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CSENEALOGY  COLLECTION 


HISTORY  OF 

KERN  COUNTY 


CALIFORNIA 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 


The  Leading  Jlen    and   ^'omen  of  the  Countii    Ulio  Have  Been    Tdentified 

]J'ith   Its  Growth  and  Development  From   tlie  Early 

Days  to  the  Present 


HISTORY  BY 

WALLACE  M.  MORGAN 


ILLUSTRATED 
COMPLETE  IN  ONE  VOLUME 


^ 


HISTORIC  RECORD  COMPANY 

LOS  ANGELES,   CALIFORNIA 

1914 


CONTENTS 

1236250 


Introductory  17 

Kern  County  of  Vast  Size — Great  Natural  Wealth — Rapid  Increase  in  Val- 
uations— Necessity  of  Large  Capital — Early  Indians  Within  Borders  of 
County — Clash  Between  White  and  Red — First  Mining  in  1851 — Yellow 
Aster  Mine— Land  Patents  and  Water  Rights— First  Oil  Developed  in  1899 
—The  High  Point  in  the  County  History. 

CHAPTER  I. 
A  Description  of  Kern  County 20 

Area  of  Countv — Boundaries — North  Line  136  Miles  in  Length — South  Line 
102  Miles  Long— View  of  the  Kern  Valley— The  West  Side  Oil  Fields— 
Buena  Vista  Gas  Belt — Recent  Activity  in  the  Oil  Fields — Reclaimed  Swamp 
Land — Miller  &  Lux  Alfalfa  Fields — Irrigation  Canals  Radiate  from  Bakers- 
field — Broad  Belt  of  Irrigated  Land — Citrus  Mesa  Skirts  the  Sierras — Begin- 
nings of  Orange  Culture — Water  for  Pumping  Abundant — Cheap  Power 
Available — Pumping  Plants  in  Other  Sections — Great  Land  Holdings— Kern 
River  Oil  Field — The  Mountain  Sections — Early  Mining  Country — Mountain 
Farming  Districts — Ranclio  El  Tejon — The  Desert  Triangle  Again — Bakers- 
field  the  Commercial  Center. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Indians  and  the  Tejon  Ranch 29 

Remains  of  a  Prehistoric  Village — Early  Indian  Tribes — The  Yokut  Indians 
— Living  the  Simple  Life^Specimens  of  Indian  Handicraft — Elaborate 
Ceremonials  of  the  Race — Tribal  Names  and  Characteristics — Distribution 
of  Tribes — Civilizing  the  Indians — Plans  of  Lieutenant  Beale  to  Protect 
and  Prosper  Indians — Renegade  Indians — Serranos — The  Tejon  Rancli — 
Sold  to  Southern   California  Syndicate. 

CHAPTER  III. 
Gold  JIining  from  1851  to  1875 35 

Rush  in  1851  to  Kern  River — Quartz  Mining  at  Keysville  in  1852 — Mining 
the  Kern  River  Placers  in  1853 — Discovery  of  the  Keys  Mine  in  1854 — The 
First  Quartz  Mill  Hauled  from  San  Francisco — Keys  and  Mammoth  Mines 
— Town  of  Keysville — The  Fort — Big  Blue  Mine  and  Whiskey  Flat — Growth 
of  Kernville — Founding  of  Havilah — Its  Most  Productive  Mine — Fondness 
of  Early  Miners   for   Gambling — Other   Mining  Districts. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Beginnings  of  Agriculture  and  Stock-Raising 43 

First  Comers  were  Sojourners  Only — Trip  Made  by  Audubon  in  1849 — 
The  South  Fork  Pioneers — Dangers  of  Early  Days — The  Mason  &  Henfy 
Gang — South  Fork  Valley — Early  Settlers  on  the  Kern  Delta — The  Immi- 
grant Road  of  the  '50s — Site  of  Bakersfield  in  1859 — Beginnings  of  the 
County's  Cattle  Industry — Some  of  the  Very  Old  Timers — Beginning  of 
the  Sheep  Industry — The  Mexican  Settlement — Catching  Wild  Horses  as 
a  Business — Stories  of  the  Outlaw  Vasquez — The   Barnes  Settlement. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Floods  and  Swamp  Reclamation 54 

Act  of  1857  for  Reclamation  of  Swamp  Land — The  First  San  Joaquin 
Valley  Canal  Project— The  First  State  Highway— Attempts  to  Interest 
Capitalists — How  a  River  in  Flood  Reclaimed  a  Swamp — Then  the  Drought 
Helped,  Too— Baker  Gets  His  Patent— Montgomery  Patent  Annulled— 
The  State  Did  Not  Get  the  Land — Beginnings  of  Bakersfield — First  Settlers 
— First  Cotton  Crop — First  Schools — F^reight  Hauled  from  Los  Angeles — 
Architecture  in  1863— The  Flood  of  1867-68— Avalanches  form  Lakes— Flood 
Reaches  Bakersfield — Reclamation  Work  Completed — Patent  Granted  to 
Colonel   Baker. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VI. 


Organization  of  the  County. 


County  Created  from  Tulare  and  Los  Angeles — First  County  Seat  at  Havilah 
— First  County  Officials — First  Court  House — First  Election  Precincts — 
First  Election  in  the  County — The  Vote  for  Governor — Officers  Elected — 
First  Swamp  Land  District  Organized — Agreement  with  Colonel  Baker — 
Changes  in  the  Swamp  Land  Laws — A  Sheep  Worth  More  Than  an  Acre 
of  Land — The  First  Mountain  Roads — Ferry  Charges — Purchase  of  Toll 
Roads  by  the  County. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Coming  of  the  Capitalists 66 

Era  of  Large  Enterprise  Begins — Bakersfield  as  it  Was  in  1870 — Sources 
of  Ready  Cash — Early  Captains  of  Industry — Cotton  Growers'  Association 
Formed — Livermore  and  Redington  Interests  Sold — Kern  County  News  of 
1871-73— Havilah  Residents  Move  to  Bakersfield— Death  of  Colonel  Baker 
in  1872. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Bakersfield  Becomes  the  County  Metropolis 72 

History  of  Bakersfield  a  Story  of  Hope  Deferred — Yet  Always  the  City 
was  Full  of  Life — Contest  for  County  Seat  Assumed  Final  Form  in  1873 — 
Contest  over  Election — Bakersfield  Made  County  Seat  in  1874  by  22  Votes 
— Contract  for  Court  House — First  Incorporation  of  Town — First  Officers 
— The  First  Hope  Deferred — Delano  Founded — The  Story  of  Johnson's 
Ox-Team— News  Notes  of  1873-75- Bakersfield  Disincorporated  in  1876— 
The  Town  Marshal  Then   Retired. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Contests  Over  W.\ter  Rights  Begin 80 

Large  Negotiations  by  Capitalists — Withdrawal  of  Redington — Decline  of 
Livermore  and  Chester — The  Largest  Plow  Ever  Built — Fertile  Causes  of 
Litigation — First  Great  Fight  Over  Water  Rights — Purposes  of  Haggin  and 
Carr — Carr's  Dealing  with  the  Ditch  Companies — Plans  to  Gather  in  the 
Desert  Lands — Enter  Miller  and  Lux  at  Rear  of  Stage. 

CHAPTER  X. 

A  Collection  of  Disconnected  Stories 89 

The  Drought  of  1877 — Disastrous  in  Its  Effects — The  Town  of  Tehachapi — 
Its  Pioneers — Moving  of  Old  Town  to  Railroad — First  Apple  Trees  Planted 
About  1880— Delano  Making  Progress— The  Last  of  Old  Clubfoot— Lynch- 
ing of  an  Outlaw  Gang — The  Tehachapi  Train  Wreck — Importation  of  the 
Negroes— News   Notes  of  1886-93. 

CHAPTER  XI. 
The  Great  Lux-Haggin  Water  Suit 98 

Involving  Some  Picturesque  Characters,  a  Supreme  Court  Decision,  Two 
State  Irrigation  Conventions,  a  Special  Session  of  the  State  Legislature 
and  an  Historic  Agreement — Some  of  Miller's  Chief  Lieutenants — Leaders 
of  the  Carr  and  Haggin  Forces — Heads  of  the  Rival  Literary  Bureaus — 
Julius  Chester  and  Richard  Hudnut — The  Kern  County  Echo — The  Great 
Water  Suit — Kern  River  Plays  Another  Prank — Supreme  Court  Decides 
for  Riparianists — Irrigators  Everywhere  Protested — Governor  Calls  Legis- 
lative Session — State  Senate  Deadlocks  on  Water  Bills — The  Miller-Haggin 
Agreement  .Ends  Litigation. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

First  Attempt  at  Colonization 110 

Haggin  Decides  to  Colonize — Carr  Gives  Place  to  Fergusson— Many  Plans 
for  Progress — Fire  Wipes  out  Business  Section — Bakersfield  Quickly  Re- 
builds— Colonization  on  a  Large  Scale — Scions  of  Nobility  Make  Things 
Hum — An  International  Romance — Journalistic  Exigencies  Aid  Cupid — 
Causes  for  Dissatisfaction  in  Rosedale  Colony — Another  Swamp  Land  Con- 
test— The  Jastro  Administration. 


CONTENTS  Vll 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Important  Events  of  a  Decade,  1890-1900 117 

Desert  Mining  Booms — Traces  of  Early  Prospectors — Discovery  of  the 
Yellow  Aster — Other  Famous  Desert  Mines — The  Town  of  Randsburg — 
Discovery  of  Tungsten  Mines — The  Amalic  District — Other  Important 
Events — Gas  and  Electric  Plants — First  Street  Railway — The  First  Levee 
Canal — The  Great  Railway  Strike — Coxey's  Army  Comes  and  Goes — Twin 
Towns  Incorporate — Companv  G  Responds  to  Duty — News  Notes  1895- 
1900. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Development  of  Oil  Fields 126 

Discovery  of  Great  Oil  Fields  That  Have  Made  the  County  Famous — Early 
Development  at  McKittrick — First  Drilling  Unsuccessful — Operators  Move 
to  Sunset— Refinery  Established  in  1891— McKittrick  Railroad  Built— Oil 
Boom  Strikes  West  Side — Discovery  of  the  Kern  River  Field — The  Elwoods 
To  be  Credited  with  Discovery— The  Great  Boom— Sunset  Railroad  Built 
— Building  of  Pipe  Lines  Begun — .Associated  Oil  Company  Formed — In- 
dependent .Agency  Organized — A  Democratic  Concern — Varying  Prices  for 
Oil — Gushers  Swamp  the  Market — The  Boom  of  1910 — Developments  at  the 
Marketing  End — More  Pipe  Lines  Built — Getting  the  Markets  Organized 
— Efforts  to  Check  Over-Production — Oil  Land  Withdrawals — The  Pickett 
Bill— The  Yard  Decision— Smith  Remedial  Bill— .Asphaltum  and  Oil  Refin- 
ing— Natural  Gas  Production — Natural  Gas  in  Bakersfield — Making  Gasoline 
from  Gas — Some  of  the  County's  Famous  Oil  Gushers — Gushers  Start 
Boom  of  1910 — Lakeview  Comes  In — Product  Swamps  Pipe  Line — The 
Consolidated  Midwav — A  Procession  of  Gushers — North  Midway  Gushers 
—Effect  on  the  Oil  Game— The  Lost   Hills  Field— The  Discovery  Well. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Progress  op  the  County  from  1900  to  1918 148 

Development  of  Punfp  Irrigation — Experiments  at  Wasco  and  McFarland — 
Development  of  the  Citrus  Belt — Pumping  Plant  Extension  in  1912 — 
Planting  .Apples  at  Tehachapi — Status  of  Fruit  Growing  in  1913 — Bakersfield 
in  1904— Good  Times  Return— Building  Boom  of  1909-10— Activity  in 
Home-Building — Raising  the  Civic  Standards — Consolidation  of  Bakersfield 
and  Kern — Bakersfield  Pave~  Her  Streets — Bonds  for  County  Roads — 
Public  Buildings  of  1900-1913— Church  Building— Progress  of  Schools— The 
Rescue  of  Lindsay  B.  Hicks— News  Notes  1899  to  1910. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Brief  Histories  of  Kern  County  Towns 173 

Bakersfield  in  1859 — Coming  of  Colonel  Baker — Kern  County  Created — 
Bakersfield  Formally  Laid  Out — Bakersfield  Wins  the  County  Seat — Bakers- 
field is  Incorporated  then  Disincorporated — Another  Era  of  Progress — The 
Big  Fire — Colonization  of  Rosedale— Public  LUilities  in  1889-90 — Kern  River 
Oil  Boom— Present  Prospects— West  Side  Oil  Field  Towns— Maricopa— 
Taft — Fellows — McKittrick — Lost  Hills — Towns  of  the  Valley  Farming 
District — Delano — Wasco — Famosa — McFarland — Rio  Bravo — Button  willow 
— Shafter — Rosedale — Edison — Towns  of  the  Mountain  Section — Tehachapi 
—Glennville— Woody— Kernville— Isabella— Weldon— Onyx— Havilah—Ca- 
liente — Towns  of  the  Desert — Randsburg — Johannesburg — Mojave — Rosa- 
mond. 


INDEX 


A 

Abels,   Fred   1506 

Ackerley,    C.   H 1111 

Adams,   G.    F 150S 

Adams,  James   S.... 1260 

Adams,  Verne  L 1518 

Albrecht,  Albert  W 1418 

Aldrich,   G.   J 1363 

Alexander,   Calvin   B 596 

Alexander,  Ford  1299 

Alexander,  James  1085 

Allardt,  Hugo  F 472 

Allen,  Charles  E :.  1319 

Allen,    Louis    921 

Amour,  Augustine  1223 

Amourig,  August  1202 

Andersen,   Barney  A 764 

Anderson.  C.  V 232 

Anderson,  Frank  1476 

Andre,   Andre   992 

Andre,  Cyrille  494 

Annette,    James    L 1326 

Ansolabehere,  Michel  1460 

Ansolabehere,  Michel  1139 

Apalatea,    Francisco 1377 

Applegarth,    Clark  1276 

Ardizzi,  Beneditto  1435 

Argy,  Michael  1538 

Armstrong,  William   E 1368 

Arp,   James    H 446 

Ashe,   Eliott   M 1530 

Atkinson,  Benjamin  M 1377 

Atkinson,  Thomas  W 1376 

Atwell,  Joe  M 798 

Augsburger,  John  H 1332 

Avila,   Mrs.   Mary  J 861 

B 

Bach,  Philip  1323 

Bailey,   E.   W 1398 

Bailey,   John   E 857 

Bailey,   Joseph    L 857 

Baker,  James  L 1380 

Baker,  Lynn  W 1344 

Baker,   R.   T 872 

Baker,   Col.  Thomas 722 

Baker,  Thomas  A 460 

Bakersfield  Brewing  Co 1282 

Bakersfield  Ice  Delivery 472 

Baldwin,   Frank   H 1460 

Ball,  Herbert  G 663 

Ballagh,  C.  E 748 

Ballagh,  E.  E 1093 

Ballagh,   Herbert   A 730 

Bandettini,    Almando    1508 

Bangsberg,  O.  C 1063 

Banks,   Henry  F , 1504 

Baptista,   Christian   and   Margaret...-     763 

Barker,  E.  J 1405 

Barker,  Vining  E 1262 

Barlow,  Hon.  Charles  A 207 


Barnett,   Floyd  H 1305 

Barr.  James  A 1280 

Barrett.  Parker  1285 

Bates.   J.   W 1085 

Bates.   Luther  A 1551 

Batz,  John   B 231 

Bauman,  Jacob  865 

Baumgartner,  Joseph  1282 

Beardsley,  Lewis  A 1232 

Beck,   Charles   G 1392 

Becker,   H.   E 674 

Bemus.    Erskine   ..  1225 

Benjamin,    Ernest   V  ..   1243 

Bennett,   A.   V ..  1374 

Bennett,    Charles    F..  ..     506 

Bennett,  J.  A ..  1399 

Bennett,  John   F ..  1312 

Bennett,  Hon.  Paul  W  ..     634 

Benson,  Clarence  D..  ..     738 

Benson,    Millard    D..  ..  1365 

Berges,  Alexander  ...  -     868 

Bergsten.  Albion  R..  ..  1451 

Beringer.   ?\Iilton   D..  ..     629 

Bernard.   Francois   ...  -  1432 

Bertrand,   Jean    E ..     944 

Bess,  R.  W....: ■      ..     582 

Bewley,  R.   L ..   1434 

Bidart,  John  ..     801 

Bimat,  Bernard  ..     901 

Bimat,   Leon   -     741 

Birchard,  S.   C ...  1385 

Blacker,   Ezra  N ...     537 

Blacker,   Robert   E...  ..  1417 

Blackball.  Alexander  R    M  ..  1021 

Blaettler,  Peter  ..  1378 

Blair,    Frank    E ...   1060 

Blanc,  Eli  ...  1475 

Blanck,   Ernest   L ...     867 

Blankenship,  Phil  ....  ...  1418 

Blodget.  Hugh  A ...     883 

Blood,  Daniel  H ...  1003 

Blood,  E.   K ...  1224 

Boese.  Rev.  John  H.  ...  1494 

Boggs,  William  S ...     360 

Boggs,  Willis  W ...     270 

Bohna,  Henry  ...     388 

Bolstad,   Fred   P ...     747 

Borda,    Domingo    ....  ...     812 

Borel,  Jean  ...  1235 

Borgwardt,  Henry  L  ...     772 

Bostaph,   C.   A ...  1371 

Bowles.   P.   E..  Jr ...  1123 

Bowman,  Charles  ....  ...  1379 

Bramham.  Virginia  ...   1025 

Brandt,  Henry  J ...  1388 

Bratt,   Frank  O ...     857 

Bresson,  Joseph  ...   1297 

Breuch,  William  ...     642 

Brinkman,  John  J....  ...     677 

Brite,   Charles  R ...  1335 

Brite.  Jesse   D ...  1361 

Brite,  John  B ....  1331 


Brite.  Liin-  F  281 

Brittan,  Edward  F  1225 

Britz,  Nick  1333 

Brockman    Fred  C  702 

Brooks,  Thomas  A  283 

Broom,  Mrs    Margaret   M  1524 

Brower,  CcNus  1037 

Brown,  Andrew  213 

Brown,  Edward  S  1097 

Brown,  Granville  I  320 

Brown,  H    H  1205 

Brown,  James   F  1385 

Brown,  L    T  1491 

Brown,  ^ewelI  J     M  D  1257 

Brown,   Thomas   \V  751 

Browning,  William  J  1106 

Bruce,  James  L  897 

Brnndage     Hon    Benjamin  1012 

Brundage    Benjamin  L  1245 

Buchanan    Lewis  R  955 

Buckreus    Fran?  330 

Bumgarner    G    M     M  D  1018 

Burge,  E    D  1448 

Burke,   D^mel  722 

Burke,  V   ilter  J  560 

Burkett,  Georsje   F  1539 

Burnes,  Andrew     \  1235 

Burnham    E    L  1371 

Burns,  F   J  1364 

Burton,  Robert  996 

Burubeltz    Jean  1335 

Busby,   Harrj    C  1305 

Bush,  Jonathan   M 1485 

Byrns,    Frank   A 1211 

c 

Caldwell,  George  0 1347 

CaldwelL  James  R 809 

Caldwell,  John   E 809 

Calhoun,   George   1237 

Call,  George  W  1308 

Campbell,   E    B  985 

Canaday,   John    W  1441 

Canfield,  W  1454 

Cannell,   Thomas    A  577 

Capdeville    Jean   B                ..  1195 

Carlock,   Francis   M  645 

Carlock,   Howard   W  1429 

Carlton,  Eugene  R  995 

Carroll,  J    P  1193 

Carter,   Da\  id  931 

Carter,   J     B  729 

Carver,  Alexander  1435 

Carver,  Mrs    Louisa  J  1251 

Cassady,   Forrest    \  1462 

Castro,   Albert    U  879 

Castro,   Domitilo  737 

Castro,    Emilio    C  1341 

Castro,  Epifamo  P  853 

Castro,   Leonides  1168 

Castro,  Perfecto  C  1550 

Castro,  Thomas  C  1202 

Cattani,   Peter  1544 

Cayori,  Chris  1304 

Chadwick,  Chessman  J  633 

Chastan,  Octa\e  846 

Chatom,  Paul  756 

Chauvin,   Alphonsc  1279 

Chavez,   Gabriel  1467 

Chinette,   John    P  918 


Chittenden,  James  E 

760 

Christensen,  Claus  P 

668 

Claflin,  Hon    Charles  L 

1250 

Clar,    Miss   Anna 

1477 

Clark,   Fred    C 

1446 

Clark,  James    \ 

1021 

Clark,   Orville    L 

216 

Clark,  Samuel  R 

1236 

dayman,  John  II 

256 

Clegg,  William  F 

1471 

Clement,    Fred 

1378 

Clickard,  John 

1466 

Cline,  Christian  \\ 

1338 

Clotfelter,  Less 

1341 

Cochran,  Joseph  A 

1542 

Coffee,   Dave 

927 

Coffee,   George    W 

1105 

Colby,    C.    B 

342 

Coleman,  Harrj    L 

1477 

Colm,   W.   W 

743 

Colton,    Francis    G 

1545 

Condict,  Henr>   F 

694 

Cook,  D.  B 

1180 

Cook,    F.    S 

1435 

Cook,  L.  R 

1471 

Cook,  W.  H  ,  M  D 

294 

Coolbaugh,  Mrs    Elizabeth 

865 

Coombs,  Leslie  D 

926 

Cooney,  Joseph  P 

1521 

Cooper,  Charles  F 

705 

Coppin,  Thomas  C 

1311 

Cornish,   Thomas   J 

948 

Corsett,  Frank  H 

1543 

Corti,  Paul 

1157 

Coulter,  Joel  W 

687 

Coulter,  L.  D 

1363 

Cowan,   Marshall  R 

973 

Coyne,  Martin 

1324 

Craghill.   Edward  W 

430 

Craig,  Fred  W 

1143 

Craig,  J.   N 

1463 

Grain,  Mrs.    Mice    \ 

1390 

Crawford,   Clinton   B 

1343 

Crawford,  James    R 

1533 

Crichton,  Da\c 

482 

Crippen,  Fred  N 

1412 

Crippen,  S.  G 

1423 

Crites,  Angus  J 

336 

Crites,  Angus  M 

1045 

Crites,   Arthur   S 

1244 

Crites,  Mrs    Louesa  M 

1046 

Croft,  J.  H 

655 

Cromwell,  Alexander  H 

603 

Cross,  Asa  A 

1300 

Cross!  John 

1370 

Crow,  Lewis   B 

793 

Cuda,  Joseph 

134S 

Cuddeback,  John   P 

353 

Cuddeback,  William  N 

347 

Cummings,  Clarence  C 

1531 

Cummings,    Edward    G 

1531 

Cummins,  Tliom.is  L 

659 

Cuneo,  P.  J  ,  M  D 

1075 

Cunningham,  W    L 

341 

Curran,  James 

407 

Curtzwiler,   Charles  W 

1246 

D 

Daggett,   Charles    E 

1552 

Dailey,    Charles    A 

1301 

Dalton.  Archibald   E 1306 

Daly,  Charles  1413 

Darnul,   John   J 767 

David,    Edward    A 1467 

Davis,  Elonzo  P 609 

Davis,  George  1516 

Davis,  Ira  B 896 

Davis,    Philip    M 151 1 

Davis,  Walter  E 1303 

Dawley,    C.    H 743 

Day,  Charles  E 420 

Dearborn,  Judge  Elias  M 816 

Delfino,   George  1157 

Demsey,  Cyrus  P.,  M.D 1047 

Denio,  John  B 315 

Dennen,   LeRoy  A 1513 

Derby,  George  W 1433 

Deuel.  J.  J.,   Sr 1214 

Deuel,  J.  J.,  Jr 501 

Devenney.    Henry    F l^'iU 

Dickey,   C.   L 1425 

Dickinson,   Charles   1278 

Dickinson,    James    E 482 

Dixon,   Archie    H 828 

Dixon,  Ola  G 836 

Dodge,   R.   M 1386 

Doherty,  William  J 887 

Dooley,  Joseph  P 1368 

Doran,  Peter  1510 

Dougherty,  Dixon   324 

Dover,   H.   J 1553 

Dowd,   Adolphus   1447 

Drader,   Charles   356 

Duhart,    Pierre   96S 

Dumble,   Herman   S 1184 

Duncan,  Eugene  B 350 

Duncan,   M.   A 434 

Dunlap,   Henry  C 1261 

Dunlop,  Samuel  J 1312 

Dunn,  John  M 1307 

Dunne,  Cornelius  1139 

Durnal,  J.  A 1527 

Duschak,  Simon  1528 

E 

Eardley,  W.  A..  244 

Echenique,    Miguel  944 

Echenique,    Tomas  827 

Echols,   A.    B....  1516 

Eckert,  Mrs.  Belle  C  1394 

Eckhoff,  Frederick  J  1253 

Edmonds,  Reuben  ,\  367 

Edwards,    E.    T  252 

Edwards,  George  B  403 

Edwards,  J.   G..  1328 

Ehlers.  Fredrick  1381 

Eiland.  Edward  F  858 

Ellis,  Katharyn  W  ,  M  D  344 

Elwood,   Harry   M  ,  M  D  956 

Emerson,    Charles  1369 

Emmons,  E.  Carroll  1398 

Emmons,  Hon.  F    J  1500 

Enas,  John  .529 

Endert,  Joseph   F  811 

Engelke,   W.   A  1454 

Engle.   William    H  1374 

Erb,  E.  J 1315 

Erickson,  Henry  K322 

Espitallier,  Joseph  1548 
Espitallier,  Marius   M                     ..       1372 


Estribou,  Jean  B 1214 

Etcheverry,    Fernando   1191 

Etcheverry,   Peter   842 

Etzweiler,  Harry  A 1194 

Evans,  Joseph  L 563 

Eyraud,   August    P 589 

Eyraud,  Jean  1549 

Eyraud,  Joseph  921 

F 

Fairchild,   Charles  H : 521 

Fairchild,   Margaret   H 522 

Farmer,  Milton  T 891 

Farris,   Hamilton  418 

Fechtner,  Paul  R 1537 

Fenneman,  Henry  H 850 

Ferguson,    Andrew    1124 

Ferguson,  W.  A 803 

Fergusson,  Reginald  A.,  M.D 338 

Fether,  Frank  A 1026 

Fether,  Harry  D 1072 

Filben,   Arthur   B 1274 

First  National  Bank  of  Taft 450 

Fishell,  Roland  R 1489 

Flournoy,   George   581 

Fogarty,   Thomas    H 1357 

Fogg,  E.  S.,  M.D 1224 

Follansbee,  William  G 706 

Forbes,  A.   D 348 

Forker,  William  N 1094 

Forsyth,   Donald   H 1420 

Foster,    Edwin    L 1249 

Foust,   Andrew   J 1457 

Foust,   Levi   E -     651 

Fox,   C.  A 957 

Fox,  J.   Frank 778 

Frazier,  William  W 1523 

Freear,   Charles   H 906 

Freear,    Henry   T 683 

Freear,    Horace    R 475 

Freear,  James  A 214 

Freear,  John  A 209 

Freear,  Joseph   P 498 

Freeman,  Albert  W 271 

Freeman,  Hon.  James  W 1212 

Freligh,  Andrew  433 

Fry,   Charles  H 1384 

Fry,  John  A 1000 

Fry,  Joseph  B 752 

Fuller,  Rev.   Edgar  R 969 

Fultz,    Thomas    S 1542 

G 

Galbraith,  G.  H 961 

Gallman.  John  J 366 

Galloway,   Ralph    E  262 

Galtes,    Paul  307 

Gardette,  Peter  197 

Gardner,  John  A  368 

Gardner,    J     E  1048 

Gates,  N.  M  1367 

Geddes,  Charles  E  1426 

Geiger,  Felix  1487 

General  Hospital  of  Taft  373 

Getchell,   C    E  718 

Giboney,   C    L  1325 

Gilfillan,  Adam   W  417 

Gill,  John  L  810 

Gillespie.  J     E  819 


XI 


Gillespie,   Patrick  1056 

Gillette,   Edward   D 623 

Gilli,  Peter  541 

Girard,   Joseph   Ill 

Girard,  Jules  1539 

Giraud,   Cyrille  1524 

Gist.  Jabez  R 981 

Glanville,  Oscar  565 

Glenn.  Mrs.  Sarah 1330 

Goode,  Albert  S 489 

Goode,  O.  P 1416 

Goodman,  H.  S 1277 

Gormley,  F.  B 673 

Gould,   Bert   E 1353 

Graham.  James  T 1404 

Grant,  James  C 1431 

Gray,   Jonathan    E 453 

Green,   A.    B 1339 

Green,  Bernard  G 1372 

Green,   Bert  1041 

Green    Brothers    1041 

Green.    Clarence    S 678 

Green.  John  L 1041 

Green,  John  T 429 

Greer.  Jefferson  M 1483 

Gribble,    Fred    L 1450 

Grimaud,    Stanislaus   1269 

Grogg,  E.  A 1326 

Guiberson,   Lorraine   P 463 

Gunderson,   Robert   1445 

Gundlach,   Max.  Jr 1554 

Gunn,  William  W 1541 

H 

Haberfelde,  George  C 1167 

Haberkern,  Charles  F 374 

Haese.  Otto  1011 

Haimes,   Reginald    F 1150 

Hall,   Hon.   Fred   H 219 

Halloran.  John   1465 

Halter.  Joseph  J 1273 

Hamilton,    E,    M 999 

Hamilton,  John   E 278 

Hamilton,    Truman   W 1497 

Hamlin,  Francis  A.,  M.D 313 

Hanning,  Cecil  H 1215 

Harbaugh,  Isaac  W 1176 

Harding,  Jack  1119 

Hardisty,    Charles   1407 

Hare,   Frederick   E 1445 

Harman.  Lane  S 269 

Harmon.  William  1052 

Harrington,  Albert   L 578 

Harris,   Witten   W 868 

Hart,  Charles  M 1356 

Hart,  John  0 1175 

Harvey,  John   H 1428 

Harvey,  Thomas  N 234 

Hastings,    George    1045 

Hatfield,    George    W 1346 

Hath.   H.   J 1329 

Hay,   George  225 

Hayden,   James   M 756 

Hayes,   Emmett    L 1147 

Heard,  J.  W 1500 

Heasley,    WilHam    E 1470 

Heck.  E.  P 341 

Heck.  O.  C 341 

Heldman.  Charles  H 1078 

Helm.   Lesrey  G 1440 


Helm,  Thaddeus  W liZ 

Henderson,  George  D 1278 

Henderson,   Lawrence  1526 

Henderson.  William   L  1534 

Hendrickson,  John  J  842 

Hern,  J.  J 1416 

Herod,  Clarence  L  1247 

Herod,  James  744 

Hickey,  John  .  637 

Hicks,  J.   W....  1459 

Hiemforth,  Peter  1188 

Higley.   E    D  1320 

Hill.  Fred    \  718 

Hill,    F.    F  349 

Hill.  Paul   C  1011 

Hill.    Roland    G  510 

Hill.   William    11  207 

Hilliard.  Weslo>   W  1210 

Hillman,   Earl  1527 

Hirsch.   L.   A..  1334 

Hitchcock,   Charles  D  1064 

Hoagland,  Arthur   E  1427 

Hochheimer,    Ira  1165 

Hoenshell,    David    L  1266 

Holden,   Rev.  John   P  566 

Holland,  W.  J  569 

Holmes,   Calvin    H  1336 

Holmes,  Fred  S  1488 

Holmes,   Myron  268 

Holson,    Dell    J  1213 

Holtby,   Robert   M  564 

Holthe.    Oscar     \  1396 

Hopkins.   Hariy    A  355 

Hopper.  Leonard  748 

Hopper,   Thoma-,  797 

Hornung.   Paul  1051 

Hosking.  Henry  1201 

Hougham,   Edward   I  438 

Houser,  William   M  111 

Howell,   William    A  293 

Hubbard,  John   E  875 

Hudson,   Hon.   R    J  295 

Hughes,  H.  Guy  763 

Hughes,  R.  C.  1388 

Hunt.  R.  R 1529 

Hunter,  Alva  1325 

Hur.st.   Willis    E  1528 

Hutchins,  V.   G  837 

Hydron,    James    F 380 

I 

Illingworfh,  Carlos  G 862 

Irwin,    Hon.    Rowen 263 

J 

Jackson,  Charles  W 446 

Jackson,  David    \  1120 

Jacobs,   A.   Neal  1415 

Jacoby,  Abraham  973 

James,  J.  B 1495 

James.    Walter  394 

Jameson,  John  M  476 

Jasper,    Mrs.    Hariiet  693 

Jastro,    Harry    \  1230 

Jastro.   Henry    \  195 

Jensen,    H.    P.  1215 

Jessup,  John  R  507 

Jewett,  Mrs.   Catherine    ^  1296 

Jewett.   Frank   C  1314 


Jewett,  Philo  L 222 

Jewett,    Solomon    1292 

Jewett,   S.   Wright 1059 

Johndrow,   Louis    F 1015 

Johnson,   Charles   F 812 

Johnson,   Charles  W 922 

Johnson,  John  595 

Johnson,   John    P -. 1042 

Johnson,  J.    Thomas,    M.D 424 

Johnson,   Mrs.   Melvina 1505 

Johnson,    Richard    A 1517 

Johnston,  Charles   N 545 

Johnston,   George   K 837 

Johnston,  H.  D 1056 

Johnston,  Lucius  689 

Jones,  J.  A 1554 

Jones,  Joseph   G 1410 

Jones,   Paul   R 1390 

Jordan,  Judson  H 467 

Jorgensen,    George    1532 

Joughin,  William  D 1133 

Judd,   Frank  S 709 

K 

Kaar,  Charles  H 1161 

Kaar,  Jacob   F 1162 

Kaar,  John  Ill 

Kammerer,  George  672 

Kamprath,  Otto  R 514 

Karns,   Ernest  1097 

Kaye,   W.    W 203 

Kean,    Michael   T 1116 

Keene,  Arthur  M 1483 

Keester,  Lloyd  P 1048 

Keleher,   T.    P 1456 

Kellermeyer,  Edward  C 872 

Kelley,  Franklin  C 1318 

Kelley,   George   C 1317 

Kelley,  Jesse  L 1082 

Kelly,   John    W 1495 

Kelly,  W.  W 789 

Kerr,    Charles   1075 

Kersey,  Joe  D 1530 

Kersey,   Mrs.   Lizzie 1467 

Kidd,    A.    M 1313 

Kimball-Stone  Drug  Store 233 

King,  George  W 1384 

King,  Layton  J 674 

Kingston,  Thomas  S 1376 

Kinton.  Miss   Ella  B 1459 

Kirsten,  A.   C.  Julius 891 

Kitchen,   Charles   E 1071 

Kizziar,   WilHam   L 902 

Klingenberg,   August   1477 

Klipstein,   Henry   W 385 

Klipstein,  Thomas  E 909 

Knight,  Harry  S 958 

Knoke,  J.    C 1425 

Knowlton,   Kent   S 962 

Koch,   John   1438 

Kosel,   Peter   1550 

Kramer,   Otto  1409 

Kratzmer,  August  978 

Kueffner,   Rev.   Louis 550 

Kuehn,   George  W 1268 

L 

Lafont,   Valentin   1339 

Laird,  Rollin  1253 

Laird,  William  H.,  M.D 569 


LaMarsna,  Gerard  C 1515 

Lamb,  Patrick  1284 

Lambert,  Peter  771 

Lapsley,  James  T 1529 

Larsen,  Christian  P 1289 

Larson,   Lewis   H 1140 

Lavers,    Frederick   768 

Lavers,  William  A 755 

Leake,   W.    R 419 

LeGar,    Keith    B 1401 

Leieritz,   E.   H 781 

Lewis,   Edwin  T 797 

Lichtenstein.    ]\I.    M 1081 

Lieb,    Edwin    P 1473 

Lierly,  W.  S 308 

Lightner,  Abia  T 227 

Lindberg,  M.  A 1442 

Lindgren,  Charles  J 1231 

Lindgren,  Otto  P 1302 

Little,  C.  C 987 

Little,   Lindsey   B 1301 

Lock.  J.  R 1333 

Long,  E.  R 1282 

Long,   Samuel   C 570 

Lonstrom,   Axel   1456 

Lopez,  Jose  J 880 

Lorentzen.   Paul  288 

Lovejoy,  George  W 1525 

Lowell,    Alexis    F 619 

Lowell,   William    H 660 

Lowell,   Wilmot   1243 

Lueschen,  Alvin  G.,  M.D 296 

Lufkin,  Harry  R 210 

Lugo.   Jose    M 1412 

Lutz.   Emil  T 1348 

M 

McCaffrey,  James   0 1400 

McCaffrey,  John  1541 

McCall,  L.  A 1370 

McCarthy,  Jeremiah  943 

McCarthy,   William   J 1125 

McCausIand,  George  W 1440 

McClimans.  John   J 1449 

McClintock,   H.   H 690 

McClure,  William  H 1475 

McCombs,  Albert  J 1101 

McCoy,  Charles  H 895 

McCullouch,  Benjamin  F 1239 

McCullough,  Harvey   N 876 

McCutchen,    Edmund   W 267 

McCutchen,  George  W 261 

McCutchen,  James  B 249 

McCutchen,  Preston  S 243 

McCutchen,  P.  J 1300 

McCutchen,  Robert  L 275 

McCutchen,  V.  D 1107 

McCutchen,   W.    C 255 

McDonald,   Dan  1332 

McDonald,  J.  C 1034 

McFarland,  James  B 442 

McFarlane,   Peter  J 1501 

McGill,    R.    W 1453 

McGovern,  Thomas   H 505 

McGuire,   Robert  R 1041 

McKamy,   James    671 

McKee,  Milo  G 684 

McKenzie,  M.  K.,  M.D 314 

McKinnie,    Carle    T 555 

McLean,    George   A 888 


Xlll 


McMahon,  Edward  T 656 

McManus,  Terence   B 372 

McMillen,  John  H 549 

McMurtry,  H.  A 1452 

McNamara,  Thaddeus  M.,  M.D 546 

McNamara,  Thaddeus  M 221 

McNew,   Hugh   L 342 

Maddux,  David  W 1078 

Maddux,  William  A 1089 

Maguire,  James   T 1196 

Mahon.  Hon.  Jack  W 319 

Maio,  John  F 1479 

Mannel,  Frederick  E 1327 

Mansfield,  James  H 1380 

Marek,  Joseph  F 1345 

Marion,   Albert   W .-. 555 

Marley,  John  C 706 

Marsh,  Fred  J 910 

Marsh,  Judson   D 1209 

Marshall,  Joseph  J 433 

Martin,  David  E 1029 

Martin,  Miles  R.,  Jr 1206 

Martin,  Richard  J 781 

Martin,   S.    H 1321 

Martinto,  Jean   P 1350 

Massa,   Harry   G 1474 

Mathews,   Sarshel   V 1429 

Matlack,  William  V 238 

Mattly,   Christian  335 

Mattly,    Peter   1365 

Mattson,  Frank  S 574 

Maurel,  August  1086 

May,  Mrs.  Amelia  H 1112 

May,    Charles    A 1342 

May,   George   S 1264 

Mayou,  Pierre  1501 

Maze,   Frederick  S 697 

Means,  Thomas  A 371 

Menzel,    William    490 

Mercy   Hospital   895 

Metcalf,  Thomas  A 437 

Meudell,  A.   Y 533 

Mier,   Jose   1410 

Mikesell,  Mrs.  W.  M 698 

Miles,  J.  A.  C 1323 

Millard,  Edward  F 1166 

Millard,    Stephen    W 1383 

Miller,   Daniel   R 1478 

Milliff,   Frank  A 1405 

Minor,  Theodore  H 413 

Molidor,  George  428 

Mon,  Vincent  1535 

Monroe,  W.  P 573 

Montgomery,  James  738 

Montgomery,   Richard  D 1480 

Moore,    Raleigh   A 802 

Mora,  Frank  J 1401 

Morgan,   Alvin    E 1258 

Morgan,  Rev.   Edward 1436 

Morgan,  James  A 1295 

Morgan,   Wallace   M 614 

Morley,  Joseph  V 1395 

Morris,   Clark   D 1205 

Morris,  John   F 1387 

Morris,   Myron   W 1503 

Morris,   R.   R 1555 

Morrison,  Charles  V 1419 

Mortenson,  Capt.  Paul 1408 

Morton,  A.  S 1101 

Mosher,   Herbert   C 329 


Moss,  A.  L..  1535 

Moss,   H.   G  849 

Moynier,  Jean  901 

Mull,    P 1350 

Mull,    Robert   J  1366 

Munzer,  Franc li  G  316 

Murdock,  Harry  F  624 

Myers,  Jasper  1422 

N 

Neff,   J.    R.. 526 

Neill,  John   1381 

Neill,  Robert  502 

Nelson,  Christian  1352 

Nelson,  David  W 1240 

Newell,   Daniel   B 630 

Newsom,    Edward    F 1443 

Newton,    Frank    H 1469 

Nicolas,   Maurice   1270 

Nicoll,  John  1524 

Niederaur,  Jacob   251 

Nighbert,    George   T 1297 

Nixon,  Andrew  1369 

Noel,    Fritz    C 1255 

Noriega,  Faustino  M 1286 

Norris,   Edward   G 258 

Norris,  James  N 296 

Norris,   Robert  T 820 

Nortlirop,   Earl  lOSS 

Nunez,  :\Iax  1093 

o 

O'Boyle,  Thomas  J 337 

O'Donnell,   Mary  832 

O'Hare,  Peter  534 

O'Meara,   P.   J  1444 

Ochs,    Oscar    R  1298 

Odeman,    Gus  1216 

Off,  Charles   I-"  397 

Ogden,  James   \  441 

Olson,  Anthony   B  293 

Orcier,    Romulus  374 

Orr,  Frank  .  1465 

Osborn,   Walter  240 

Oswald,   John    S  537 

Overall,  Joseph  W  1511 

Owen,    Erwin    W 1230 

Owen,    Josiah    1234 

Owen,  Ray  1464 

Owens,  Thomas  E 1546 

Owens,   Troy   M 1484 

P 

Palmer,  Robert  1198 

Palmer,  Walter  1038 

Parish,   George   W  530 

Parker,   James    IT  1242 

Parsons,    Horace   G  626 

Pascoe,  M.  W     M  D  215 

Pauly,  Leo  G  379 

Payne,  J.  C.  701 

Payne,   Mahlon  1406 

Peacock,  Harrison  R  479 

Peairs,    Howard   A  853 

Pearl.   M.  J..  1323 

Pearson,    Mordecai    F  1537 

Peck,  William  B  542 

Pemberton,    George    N  815 

Pensinger,    James    H  742 


Pensinger,  William  W 1120 

Perry,  William   C 1348 

Pesante,  Mrs.  Adeline 1362 

Petersen,  Niels  P., 497 

Petersen,  Peter  1176 

Petray,  Mrs.   Pauline  D 656 

Petroleum   Club,  The 1437 

Pettus,   Martin    N 1358 

Petz,    George   J 1105 

Peyton,   L 1391 

Pfost,   Joseph    F 925 

Phelan,    Harry    B 1130 

Philipp,  Jean  1549 

Philipp,  Jean  L 1378 

Pickle,   John   A 1226 

Pierce,  Charles   C 1209 

Pinnell,  Thomas  W 1296 

Pippitt,   George   H 1359 

Plaugher,  John  P 1153 

Polhemus,    A.    B 1421 

Posch,  Gustav  468 

Pourroy,  Jean 1496 

Pourroy,   Seraphim  486 

Powell,   Francis   M 1319 

Powell,   H.  G 1392 

Powers,    Sidney    1077 

Preble,  Mrs.  Margaret  H 1192 

Premo,   George   W 1154 

Prendiville,  Rev.  J.  J 1165 

Prouty.  Herbert  V.,  M.D 309 

Q 

Quails,  Oliver  1411 

Quincy,  Charles  H 457 

Quinn,   Harry   327 

Quinn,   Margaret   832 

R 

Ragesdale,  J.  W 838 

Raine,  Arthur   E 982 

Rambo,    Harry    C 1108 

Ramsey,  John  C 591 

Randolph,  E.  W 1274 

Randolph,   E.   W 1532 

Raney,   James   A 1487 

Rankin,  LeRoy  1315 

Rankin,   Walker   1473 

Ranous,  R.  E 1498 

Ratliff,   William   T 1008 

Raymond,  Jean  B 1393 

Raymond,  John   A 1303 

Real,  C.  E 836 

Rechnagel,   Charles  977 

Redlick,-  Joseph   11)67 

Rees,  R.   B.,   M.D 525 

Rench,    Arthur    W 1129 

Rhea,    E.   S 1397 

Richard,   George  J 1553 

Richart,  Joy  J 1493 

Rinaldi,  Otto  F 835 

Ripley,   John   458 

Ripple,   Jacob    N 1497 

Ritzman,   Conrad   957 

Roberts,  Col.   E.   M 201 

Roberts,  James  C 310 

Roberts,  James  E 1464 

Roberts,  John   E 1187 

Robinson.   .Monzo   B 741 

Robinson,  J 583 

Robinson,    Percy   L 1211 


Rodgers,  Warren  932 

Rodoni,  A 1340 

Rogers,   Jesse   R 1144 

Rooks,  William  J 1149 

Ross,    Harvey   L 1126 

Ross,  Lyman  C 1349 

Rowlee,   Charles  W 928 

Ruby,   Mrs.  Amanda 600 

Ruedy,   Christian   365 

Rufener,    Jules    392 

Rupp,  Alfred  350 

Rupp,   J.   G 1191 

Russell,   J.    Kelly 951 

Russell,    William    P 590 

s 

Sabichi,  George   C,  M.D 1217 

Saffell,  J.   M 1259 

Said,   Bellamy  K 652 

Salis,    Peter   1133 

Sallee,   George    H 1208 

Samuelson,   John    P 1098 

Sanguinetti,   Henry  1331 

San    Joaquin    Hospital 832 

San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corp...  1402 

Sanzberro,  Agustin  1180 

Sartiat,  Pierre  651 

Savoie,    Adlore   1492 

Schaffnit,    Henry   R 509 

Schamblin,    Gustavus    359 

SchiefTerle,  Charles  529 

Schneider,   E.  J 1422 

Schneider,  Karl  1004 

Schultz,  William  J 613 

Schutz,  Herman  H 1015 

Scofield,  Fred  N 1298 

Scott,    Marion    J 599 

Scott,    M.    P 1277 

Scott,    Robert    L 608 

Scott  &  Goodman 1277 

Seager,   Carey  L 257 

Sears,    Charles    H 1220 

Sears,    Charles    N 284 

Sedwell,  George  W 1550 

Seibert,    Benjamin    F 1187 

Seinturier,   Hippolyte  373 

Sellers,    C.    H 574 

Seran,   Joseph   1004 

Seymour,   W.   S 1514 

Shackelford,    Dick   1540 

Shackelford,   Rowzee    F 1018 

Shaffer,  George  W 1284 

Shannon,    Phares    H 1513 

Shearer,   George   W 1256 

Sheedy,    David    1397 

Sheffler,    H.    Roy 1430 

Sherman,    Charles    H 684 

Sherwood,    Edgar    E 1509 

Sherwood,   Fred   C 1455 

Shields,  Jeremiah  1086 

Shively,  Delbert  A 583 

Shurban,  Charles  H 1461 

Siemon,  Alfred  1223 

Silber,  WiUiam  G 1396 

Sill,    B.    H 898 

Silver,  Andrew   C 378 

Simpson,  R.  N 1439 

Simpson,  Hon.  William  E 1229 

Sloan,    A.    A 591 

Smartt,    Samuel    G 538 


XV 


Smetzer,   Charles   C 687 

Smith,    Bedell   393 

Smith,   Charles  D 1450 

Smith.   Charles   H 481 

Smith,    E.    C 1316 

Smith,    Frederick   1025 

Smith,  Fred  L 1366 

Smith,   Henry    E 966 

Smith,   jMateo  1263 

Smith,  Mel  P 1022 

Smith,   Hon.   Sylvester  C 299 

Smith.   Thomas    H 620 

Smith,  Thomas  S 939 

Snider,   George   L 1033 

Snow.   Francis   M 1375 

Sola,  Jose  1221 

Sowash.  Charles  846 

Spach,   Thomas   M 1503 

Spears,  H.   H 1352 

Spencer,  James  A 1544 

Sproiile,  George  C 638 

Sproule.  William  A 1017 

Stahl,  John   G 943 

Stapp,  Mary  E.  M 1433 

Star  Soda  Works  1339 

Stark.  Jesse  1295 

Stephenson.  W.  W 510 

Stevens,  James  M :.  910 

Stevenson,  J.  H 289 

Stier,  Joseph  P 1341 

St.  Lawrence  Oil  Co 706 

Stockton,  Isaac  D.,   M.D 1290 

Stockton,  Robert  L 287 

Stone,  James  E 233 

Stroble,  G.  F 1183 

Stutsman,  Grant  1414 

Suiter,  Benjamin  F.  and  Mayme  B....  803 

Sullivan,  Timothy  P 471 

Sumner,  Hon.  Joseph  W 237 

Sweitzer,  Samuel  1547 

Swett,  John  L 1373 

Swofford,  Alfred  1171 

Sybrandt,  Mrs.  Emeretta  C 1247 

T 

Talbot,  William  G .". 871 

Tam,  Hon.  Joseph  H  245 

Taussig,  Nathan  W  607 

Taylor,  Albert  M  936 

Taylor,    Charles   C  1382 

Taylor,  Charles  L  1207 

Taylor,  Charles  S  1457 

Taylor,  George  E  1424 

Taylor.  John  T.  .  427 

Taylor,  Orrin  R.  838 

Taylor,  Walter  C  1555 

Taylor,'  William  H    D  1309 

Teague,  J.  J 1508 

Templeton,  Charles,  Jr  824 

Templeton  &  Co  824 

Thomas,  Burt 1452 

Thomas,   Marcus   B        ..  1512 

Thomas,  William  H  1241 

Thomas,  W.  O.  .  1468 

Thompson.   E.   J  1310 

Thompson.  L.  T.  734 

Thompson.    Ralph    H  1275 

Thompson.  W.  N  1030 

Thomson.  David   E  1281 

Thorand.  Anton  610 


Thornbcr,  James   H 710 

Thornburgh,  George  P 1463 

Tibbet,  Mrs    Rebecca  1076 

Tibbetts,  Charles  B  1474 

Tibbetts,   Frank   C  917 

Timmons,  William  B  1228 

Todd,  George   11  349 

Tomaier,  Charles  1522 

Tough,  Frederick  B  1294 

Tracy,   Mrs.    Ellen    M  785 

Tracy,  Ferdinand  A  667 

Tracy,  William  517 

Tracy,  Mrs.  William  518 

True,  Henry  B  987 

Truesdell,  Edward  M  914 

Tryon,   S.   G  1543 

Tschurr,    Nicklas  1034 

Tuculet,  Peter  1362 

Tyler,  William  786 

Tyrer.  John   1355 

u 

Underwood,  Vernon   L 717 

Underwood.  William  E 641 

Union  Ice  Company  472 

Upton.  John   V 1261 

Upton.    William    713 

Urie.   George   W 1458 

V 

Vaccaro.  Joseph  1361 

Vandaveer,  Mrs.  Emma  L 1161 

Van  Epps.  Franklin  L 1470 

Van   Meter,  William  E 1415 

Van  Norman.  Harvey  A 454 

Van  Orman.  Mrs.  Harriet  246 

Vaughn,    Benjamin    C 559 

Vaughn.   Fred  B 1337 

Verdier,    Eugene    1304 

Vieux,    Andre    1067 

Villard,   Ambroise   786 

Villard,    Pierre    1268 

Vrooman.  Charles  M 759 

w 

Wagy,  J.    1 827 

Waldon.  Pinkney  J  1227 

Walford,  Herbert  W  1272 

Wallace,    William  1148 

Wallen,  Frank  W  1196 

Waller.    George  668 

Walser  Brothers  906 

Walser.  Daniel   V\  940 

Walter,  Jacob  782 

Walters.  E.  W  1172 

Walters.  Raymond   I  1520 

Wangenheini    Albert  L  1351 

Wanner.  Rev    Joseph  592 

Warren.   Amos   F  408 

Warren.  Arthur  R  1521 

Wasson.  John  L  646 

Watkins.  Francis  M  1391 

Watson.  Gordon  W  423 

Weaber.  Arthur  1238 

Weaver.  A.    M  1337 

Weaver.  William  H  404 

Weedall.   Albert  1358 

Weferling.  Herm  m    \  1334 

Weichelt.    ChuMiin  823 


Weichelt,    Gaudenz   1360 

Weichelt,  John  831 

Weit,  Edward  1375 

Weitzel,  M.  L 1134 

Wells,  Hyman  B 1090 

Weringer,  Joseph  913 

West,  Henry  D 947 

West,  Rev.  James  S 714 

Whaley,  J.  H 1038 

Whelan,  Roger  939 

Whitaker,    Charles    1519 

Whitaker,  E.  H 584 

Whitaker,  George  E 1267 

Whitaker,   William    F 1055 

White,  C.  LeRoy  1472 

White,  James  M 1481 

White,  Richard  E 1449 

White,  William  G 551 

Whittier,  Charles  G 599 

Whyte,  J.  M 1507 

Wible,  Simon  W 323 

Wilhelm,   W.   S 198 

Wilhite,  Richard  T 603 

Wilkes,  W.  Perry 1354 

Wilkins,  George  M 1007 

Wilkinson,   Nathaniel   R 1502 

Williams,  E.  S 1492 

Williams,  Hibbard  S 1221 

Williams,  John  R 1287 

Williams,  Nicholas  J 935 


Williams,  Percy  A 365 

Williams,  Samuel  A 552 

Williams,  William  A 556 

Willis,  Frank  T 955 

Willow,  E.  L 387 

Wilson,  Mark  : 1394 

Wilton,  John  1514 

Winney,  E.  E 832 

Winser,    Philip    1271 

Wirth,  Christian  A 1490 

Wirth,  Wilhelm  A 1384 

Wiseman,  Thomas  B 793 

Withington,  Robert  W 1294 

Women's  Improvement  Club  688 

Woodson,  Daniel  B 1536 

Woody,  Elmer  H 485 

Woody,  Stonewall  A 401 

Worley,  J.  S 1112 

Worthington,  Frank  M 988 

Worthington,  Lewis   C 1248 

Wright,  Fred  445 

Wright,   Mrs.   Walter  372 

Wynn,  Charles  H 1530 

Y 

Yancey,  George   A 1179 

Yancey,   Joseph    E 729 

Yarbrough,   Ernest   E 824 

Young.  Thomas   M 493 


/7Jl^^^-^3L.<.^ 


(^A^^^ 


HISTORICAL 


INTRODUCTION 

To  read  Kern  Ciiunl\-'s  hislory  arii^ht.  U>  luulersland  its  iiKitixc  forces, 
to  get  in  liarmony  with  the  spirit  of  its  people  and  lii  i<now  \vh_\-  certain 
otherwise  inexplicable  events  and  conditions  came  to  pass,  it  is  necessary 
to  keep  in  mind  several  things.  I'irst  of  all,  there  always  has  been  some 
big  thing  doing  in  Kern  County.  It  is  a  county  of  vast  size,  and  its  treasures 
of  natural  wealth  are  wonderful  in  their  richness  and  tremendous  in  their 
variety,  range  and  magnitude.  Think  of  200,000  acres  of  svvainp  land,  worth 
from  $50  to  $100  per  acre  now  and  soon  to  be  worth  twice  these  amoiuits, 
selling  within  the  memory  of  men  now  living  for  fifty  cents  to  a  dollar  per 
acre  and  to  be  acquired  from  an  easy-going  state  for  e\en  less  than  this. 
Think  of  the  great  expanse  of  desert  lands  almost  as  cheap  and  almost  as 
valuable.  Think  of  great  oil  wells  flowing  from  ten  thousand  to  twent\^ 
thousand  barrels  of  oil  per  day  and  leagues  on  leagues  of  oil  lands  to  be  had 
for  the  going  and  taking.  Think  of  such  manifest  richness  as  this  and  under- 
stand what  dreams  the  pioneers  indulged  in,  what  cupidity  and  greed  of 
gain  were  fostered,  what  clashes  of  strong,  aggressive,  resourceful  men  the 
scramble  to  possess  these  bounties  of  nature  brought  about. 

Remember,  then,  that  all  these  riches,  lying  about  with  such  apparent 
abandon,  were  chained  fast  and  locked  tight  with  locks  that  golden  keys 
alone  could  open.  A  penniless  man  could  squat  on  a  piece  of  government 
land,  but  it  would  cost  several  hundred  or  possibly  several  thousand  dollars 
even  to  provide  water  for  irrigating  it  and  otherwise  bring  it  to  a  jioint  where 
the  homesteader  could  make  a  living  from  it.  A  man  with  $30  or  $40  could 
locate  an  oil  claim,  but  it  might  cost  from  $10,000  to  $50,000  to  get  enough 
oil  to  prove  the  land  and  secure  a  patent. 

Add  to  these  reflections  an  appreciation  of  the  pioneer's  character — the 
daring,  the  resource,  the  gift  of  prophecy  that  enables  him  to  see  in  faith 
the  things  that  may  not  be  realized  for  generations  to  come,  the  lack  of 
perspective  that  deceives  him  into  reaching  out  his  hand  to  grasp  these  things 
that  are  a  century  beyond  his  time ;  the  genial  hospitality,  the  never-failing 
sense  of  humor,  and  the  buo\^ant  optimism  that  covers  every  loss  and  every 
defeat  with  a  hope  and  assurance  of  better  success  next  time.  Understand 
and  remember  all  these  things  while  I  touch,  first  the  high  jilaces,  the 
epoch-making  events,  in  the  historv  of  Kern  county,  and  then  recount  the 
tale  with  greater  circumstance. 

The    Story   in    Outline 

Long  before  either  the  American  or  the  Spanish  occupation,  the  territory 
now  comprised  within  the  borders  of  Kern  county  was  the  home  of  man}' 
Indians  of  diiTerent  tribes.  They  were  not  of  a  high  order  of  intelligence, 
even  for  savages,  and  they  left  few  traces  save  their  rude  weapons  and 
utensils  and  their  bones,  lying  in  shallow  graves  or  strewn  whitening  on 
the  plain  where  some  pestilence  had  descended  upon  a  village  and  left  none 
with  strength  or  heart  to  bury  the  dead. 

The  early  Spaniards  established  no  missions  in  Kern  county,  but  expe- 
ditions sent  out  by  the  padres  in  search  of  savage  souls  to  save  crossed  the 
mountains  and  carried  back  with  them  numbers  of  the  younger  braves  to  the 
chapels,  farms  and  workshops  where  they  got  some  inkling  of  the  forms  of 


18  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

religion,  learned  a  little  of  how  the  white  man  works,  came  to  know  and 
practice  some  of  the  white  man's  vices,  and  found  out  that  there  were  better 
things  to  eat  than  acorns  and  grass  seed  pounded  in  a  mortar.  So  when 
the  white  man  came,  these  young  Indians,  having  returned  to  their  tribes, 
knew  how  to  work  for  him  and  how  to  steal  from  him  and  how  to  kill  and 
eat  his  cattle. 

When  the  inevitable  clash  between  the  whites  and  the  red  men  came, 
Lieutenant  Beale,  placed  in  charge  of  Indian  affairs  in  the  state  by  the 
Washington  authorities,  gathered  the  tribes  at  El  Tejon  under  a  patriarchal 
form  of  government  patterned  in  part  after  the  methods  of  the  mission  fathers 
and  in  part  after  the  customs  and  practices  of  the  United  States  army. 

The  first  white  men  who  sojourned  in  the  county  were  hunters,  trappers, 
small  stockmen  and  farmers  who  lingered  beside  the  old  immigrant  trail  and 
raised  a  crop  of  corn  on  the  rich  Kern  delta  or  sought  out  the  fat  mountain 
meadows  for  their  herds.  But  the  fame  of  what  is  now  Kern  county  did  not 
spread  abroad  until  the  eager,  restless  swarms  of  gold  hunters  had  worked 
their  way  down  the  Sierras  from  the  north  and  found  the  first  shining, 
yellow  lumps  that  the  Kern  river  placers  yielded  up.  This  was  in  1851.  The 
great  rush  to  Kern  river  was  in  1853-4.  In  the  latter  year  Richard  Keys 
discovered  the  Keys  mine,  and  Keysville  became  one  of  the  foremost  goals  of 
the  fortune  hunters.  In  1860  Lovely  Rogers  chipped  a  chunk  of  ore  from  the 
Big  Blue  ledge  and  started  the  stampede  that  developed  the  roaring  mining 
camp  of  Whisky  Flat  where  the  pleasant  town  of  Kernville  now  stands. 

Havilah's  wealth  was  uncovered  in  July,  1864,  and  within  ten  or  a  dozen 
years  thereabout — before  and  after — Long  Tom,  Greenhorn,  Sageland,  Piute, 
Claraville,  Tehachapi,  White  river,  Woody  and  a  score  of  lesser  names 
became  familiar  in  the  lexicon  of  the  gold  miners,  and  every  gulch  and  cation 
from  White  river  to  Tejon  had  been  searched  out  by  burros  and  bearded 
men  with  picks  and  pans  and  packs  of  beans  and  bacon.  Since  those  years 
mining  in  Kern  county  has  seen  its  ups  and  downs,  but  always  it  has  been 
going  on,  and  always  there  has  been  the  lure  of  possible  sudden  wealth 
down  to  the  day  when  F.  M.  Mooers  woke  from  a  deep  and  heavy  slumber 
in  a  desert  gulch  to  see  a  myriad  of  tiny  yellow  eyes  winking  down  at  him, 
(as  he  lay  there  drowsily  on  his  back)  from  the  ledge  that  afterward  made  him 
a  millionaire  and  made  millionaires,  also,  of  his  partners,  Burchard  and  Sin- 
gleton of  the  world-famous  Yellow  Aster.  Then  came  the  tungsten  mines, 
the  silver  mines  of  Amalie,  the  copper  ledges  barely  touched,  and  all  the  other 
later  mines  of  the  mountains  and  the  desert. 

Even  before  1857  far-sighted  men  had  seen  that  the  great,  enduring 
wealth  of  Kern  county  lay  in  its  magnificent  agricultural  and  horticultural 
possibilities,  and  in  that  year  the  legislature  passed  an  act  providing  for  the 
reclamation  of  all  the  swamp  and  overflowed  land  within  the  county's  present 
borders  and  extending  north  beyond  Tulare  lake,  half  a  million  acres,  or  so, 
all  told.  W.  F.  Montgomery,  Joseph  Montgomery,  A.  J.  Downes  and  F.  W. 
Sampson  were  given  the  franchise  to  reclaim  all  this  land,  but  their  rights  were 
acquired  by  Col.  Thomas  Baker,  founder  of  Bakersfield,  and  Harvey  S.  Brown. 
Baker  was  the  active  member  of  the  partnership,  and  inaugurated  the  reclama- 
tion and  irrigation  enterprises  that  later  engaged  the  efforts  of  some  of  the 
largest  and  most  powerful  corporations  in  the  west  and  brought  on  a  legal 
battle  over  water  rights  that  focused  the  attention  of  the  entire  state. 

Floods  and  droughts  combined  to  help  Colonel  Baker  in  his  tremendous 
task  of  reclamation,  and  he  got  patent  to  89,120  acres  of  the  choicest  land 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  19 

in  the  state.  Later  the  patent  was  annulled  by  the  district  court,  and  new 
patents  were  issued  to  others  who  had  bought  lands  from  Baker  and  passed 
through  the  forms,  at  least,  of  reclaiming  them.  Livermore  and  Chester 
succeeded  Colonel  Baker  as  the  dominant  factor  in  the  county's  development, 
taking  over  his  projects  and  enterprises  as  the  fact  developed  that  Baker 
had  not  the  financial  resources  with  which  to  carry  out  his  plans.  By  the 
same  inexorable  law  of  the  survival  of  the  financially  best  fitted,  Livermore 
&  Chester  gave  way  to  Redington  &  Livermore,  and  Redington  &  Livermore 
retreated  before  the  superior  financial  strength  of  Haggin  &  Carr. 

Then  came  the  battle  royal  between  Haggin  &  Carr  (really  Haggin, 
Tevis  &  Carr)  and  Miller  &  Lux;  a  contest  that  involved  a  supreme  court 
decision  on  the  subject  of  riparian  rights,  called  two  great  state  conventions 
of  irrigators  and  water  appropriators.  occasioned  a  special  session  of  the 
legislature,  and  finally  ended  in  an  historic  compromise  that  left  the  honors 
even  between  the  two  giants  and  paralyzed  for  unknown  years  the  efforts  to 
give  the  state  laws  that  would  fix  and  determine  the  ownership  and  control 
of  irrigating  waters  for  all  time  to  come. 

Running  through  the  story  of  the  contest  over  the  disposition  of  the 
waters  of  Kern  river  is  the  story  of  the  acquisition  of  the  desert  lands  included 
in  the  county,  and  the  acquisition  by  the  same  parties  of  many  thousands 
of  acres  of  railroad  and  other  land,  all  of  which  were  included  in  the  present 
magnificent  holdings  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  The  water  contests 
settled,  there  was  launched  the  great  plan  of  colonization  of  the  Haggin 
lands,  a  project  the  path  of  which  was  strewn  with  wrecked  hopes  and 
general  failure,  not  on  account  of  the  land,  not  on  account  of  the  water,  not  on 
account  of  the  colonists  or  the  colonizers,  but  because  of  a  thousand  incidental 
errors  and  difficulties,  and  most  of  all  because  all  the  necessary  ingredients 
of  success,  abundantly  present,  got  improperly  mixed.  With  an  expensive 
lesson  to  reflect  on  and  with  complaints  and  accusations  sounding  everywhere 
in  their  ears,  Haggin  and  his  associates  retired  from  the  colonization  job  as 
far  as  they  could  get,  and  made  an  immense  grain,  alfalfa  and  stock  farm  out 
of  the  principality  that  some  day  (together  with  the  other  principality  that 
is  held  in  similar  fashion  by  Miller  &  Lux)  will  furnish  homes  for  tens  of 
thousands  of  people  and  make  Kern  county  an  agricultural  empire,  the 
superior  of  which  has  never  flourished. 

Then  came  the  development  of  the  great  Kern  county  oil  fields.  I^ros- 
pected  in  a  tentative,  ineffectual  manner  since  the  days  of  the  Civil  war,  the 
real  exploration  and  exploitation  of  the  oil  fields  did  not  begin  until  after  the 
country  at  large  had  recovered  from  the  financial  panic  of  1893  and  had 
looked  about  with  new  courage  and  eagerness  for  new  outlets  for  its  returning 
energy  and  vigor.  Development  began  in  other  fields  of  the  state,  but  soon 
spread  to  the  west  side  of  Kern  county,  where  the  oldest  drillings  in  the 
San  Joaquin  valley  had  been  made.  Then,  in  1899  the  Elwoods  dug  the  little 
shaft  that  uncovered  the  great  oil  measures  of  the  Kern  river  field,  and 
started  the  first  great  oil  excitement  in  the  hi.story  of  the  west.  The  only  rival 
of  the  rush  to  the  Kern  river  field  in  1899-1900  was  the  rush  to  the  west 
side  fields  in  1910.  The  development  of  the  Kern  river  field  made  Kern  county 
the  center  of  the  oil  industry  of  the  Pacific  coast ;  the  development  of  the  west 
side  fields,  spreading  now  over  a  territory  seventy-five  miles  in  length  and 
containing  some  of  the  greatest  gushers  that  the  world  ever  saw,  furnishes  an 
ample  guarantee  that  no  other  section  ever  will  wrest  the  honor  from  her. 

These  are  the  high  points,  the  landmarks  in  the  history  of  Kern  county. 


20  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Woven  all  through  the  story  are  the  incidents  of  county  and  community 
life,  the  development  of  towns,  of  society  and  of  homes,  the  building  up  of 
enterprises,  the  making  of  individual  fortunes — the  things  that  are  common 
to  all  histories.  But  in  the  large  the  history  of  Kern  county  so  far  has  been 
the  story  of  the  staking  out  of  the  land,  the  marking  of  nature's  treasure 
houses  for  future  exploration.  In  no  sense  and  in  no  particular  is  the  county 
developed.  The  rough  plans  have  been  drawn,  prospect  holes  have  been 
sunk,  the  oil  measures  have  been  tapped  here  and  there,  experiments  of  a 
thousand  kinds  have  been  made,  but  so  far  as  development  ahd  use  are  con- 
cerned, as  these  terms  are  understood  in  older  countries,  Kern  county  is  a 
virgin  field.  Perhaps  there  will  be  less  romance  in  the  county's  history  in 
the  future,  but  there  will  be  more  profit  and  less  labor  and  hardship  for  the 
men  who  take  up  the  work  at  the  present  point  and  carry  this  fair  empire 
forward  to  the  glorious  future  that  awaits  it. 


CHAPTER  I 
A  Description  of  Kern  County 

One  of  the  several  differences  between  history  and  romance  is  that 
whereas  romance  may  be  the  more  entertaining  by  reason  of  a  pleasurable 
suspense  and  anxiety  concerning  the  final  fate  of  the  hero,  history  is  best  read 
with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  ultimate  issue  of  the  events  recorded.  Believing 
that  all  the  pages  that  come  hereafter  will  thereby  be  fuller  of  meaning  and 
that  all  the  incidents  in  the  narrative  they  contain  will  range  themselves  in 
a  truer  perspective,  I  am  giving  in  this  initial  chapter  of  the  history  of  Kern 
county  as  clear  and  comprehensive  a  picture  as  I  ma_v  of  what  the  county 
is  today  and  of  what  the  people  of  the  county  are  looking  forward  to  in  the 
development  of  the  next  few  years. 

A  map  of  the  county  shows  at  a  glance  its  general  geographical  form 
and  character,  an  area  of  5,184,000  acres,  in  form  a  rectangular  parallelo- 
gram with  the  southwest  corner  hacked  off  by  a  jagged  line  which  con- 
forms roughly  to  the  crest  of  the  Coast  range  mountains  that  separate 
Kern  from  its  neighbor,  San  Luis  Obispo,  on  the  west.  The  north  line  of  the 
county,  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  miles  in  length,  stretches  due  east  and 
west  nearly  half  the  distance  across  the  state  and  forms  the  southern  boun- 
daries of  Kings  and  Tulare  counties  and  a  little  more  than  twenty  miles 
of  the  southern  boundary  of  Inyo  county.  This  same  line  projected  to  the  east 
constitutes  the  boundary  between  Inyo  and  San  Bernardino  counties,  and 
to  the  west  constitutes  the  boundary  between  San  Luis  Obispo  and  Mon- 
terey. It  is  practically  identical  with  the  sixth  standard  parallel  line  south, 
and  moreover  it  forms  the  only  straight  line  of  political  subdivision  across 
the  map  of  California.  For  the  latter  reason  this  line  marks  the  place  where 
the  advocates  of  separate  statehood  for  Southern  California  would  draw 
the  knife  were  they  given  permission  to  carve  the  Golden  State  in  twain — an 
event  of  which  the  small  prospects  of  realization  are  not  likely  to  be  increased 
by  the  sentiment  of  the  present  population  of  Kern  county. 

The  south  line  of  Kern  county,  lying  sixty-six  miles  south  of  and  parallel 
to  the  north  line,  is  one  hundred  and  two  miles  in  length,  and  forms  the 
northern  boundaries  of  Ventura  and  Los  Angeles  counties.  The  county's 
east  line  cuts  north  and  south  through  dry  salt  lakes,  dead,  forgotten  ranges 


HISTORY    OF    KERN'    COUNTY  21 

of  hills,  and  great  wastes  of  level,  barren  sands,  slicing  off  from  San  Ber- 
nardino county  for  the  benefit  of  Kern  a  great  triangle  from  the  western  edge 
of  the  Alojave  desert  with  its  lonesome  wildernesses,  its  bewildering  mirages, 
its  mocking,  brackish  waters,  its  great  beds  of  coarser  chemicals,  and  its 
recklessly  strewn  treasures  of  gold  and  tungsten.  The  base  and  altitude  of 
this  triangle,  which  fits  into  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  county,  are  approx- 
imately sixty  miles  each.  Its  hypothenuse  is  roughly  marked  by  the  eastern 
slopes  of  the  Sierras,  where  the  great  range  near  its  southern  end  curves 
westward  toward  the  sea.  In  the  history  of  Kern  county  this  desert  triangle 
was  the  last  and  least  tu  be  appreciated,  therefdre  we  get  its  description  first 
out  of  the  way. 

A  View  of  the  Kern  Valley 

For  our  view  of  the  valley  portion  of  the-  ci  unity — the  place  where  the 
oil  fields  and  alfalfa  pastures  are  and  where  the  orchards  and  vineyards  and 
groves  of  oranges  and  olives  are  coming  to  be — let  us  take  ourselves  to  one 
of  the  round-topped  treeless,  grass-carpeted  mountains  that  form  the  eastern 
sentinels  of  the  Coast  range.  From  such  a  point — near  the  middle  of  the 
western  line  of  the  county — spreading  out  before  us  we  would  see  a  great 
sweep  of  valley,  open  at  the  north  but  closed  in  by  the  Coast  range  on  the 
west,  by  the  Sierras  on  the  east  and  on  the  south  by  a  cross  range  that  meets 
and  joins  the  two  great  ranges  and  forms  a  mighty  horse  shoe  of  mountains 
that  walls  in  the  intervening  plains  and  mesas  and  protects  them  from 
winds  and  storms  and  gives  them  the  warm  and  e(|ual)le  climate  that  the 
vegetable  kingdom  loves. 

From  the  point  where  the  west  side  mesa  begins  to  slope  dcnvn  tu  the 
floor  of  the  valley  to  the  point  where  the  east  side  mesa  melts  into  the  fnot- 
hills  of  the  Sierras,  the  distance  is  close  to  fifty  miles,  and  from  the  upper 
edge  of  the  mesa  that  lies  along  the  northern  side  of  the  cross  range  northwest 
through  the  center  of  the  valley  to  the  north  county  line  it  is  approximately 
sixty  miles.  From  the  great  area  thus  enclosed,  an  area  every  foot  of  which 
will  one  day  be  watered  and  tilled,  or  made  productive  through  the  extrac- 
tion therefrom  of  oil  or  other  valuable  minerals,  a  new  state  like  Delaware 
could  be  carved  out,  and  of  the  scraps  left  over  a  new  Rhndc  Island  might  l)e 
pieced  together. 

In  reality  the  haze  of  dust  and  distance  covers  all  this  land  as  one 
might  see  it  on  a  summer  day  from  the  summit  of  the  Coast  range  hills, 
and  even  in  the  clearer  air  of  winter  little  of  the  prospect  could  be  seen  except 
the  nearby  mesas,  a  great  sea  of  light  hiding  the  valley  beyond,  and  far  away, 
floating  in  the  thinner  strata  of  the  upper  air.  the  rugged,  snow-capped  peaks 
of  the  high  Sierras  rising,  as  Mrs.  Mary  Austin  says,  "like  the  very  front  and 
battlements  of  heaven." 

But   let    us    suppose   the   dust   and    haze   arc    swept    away    and    mir   eyes 
can   search   out   the   objects   in   the   valley.      Then    si.mctiiing   like    this   great 
panorama  of  industry  and  natural  wealth  would  be  laid  Itefure  our  view. 
The  West  Side  Oil  Fields 

Down  below  us  in  the  foreground  is  the  great  sweep  nf  the  west  side  nil 
fields,  beginning  near  the  San  Emidio  ranch  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  tiie 
county  and  following  northwest  with  the  trend  of  the  hills  through  Sunset, 
Midway,  McKittrick,  Temblor,  the  great,  problematic  reaches  of  the  Lost 
Hills  and  Devils  Den  districts  to  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county  and 
on  thence  to  Coalinga.    The  whole  distance  prospected  with  mure  or  less  ])rofit 


22  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

or  promise  is  not  far  from  seventy  miles  within  the  county.  Wildcat  drilling, 
as  yet  without  result,  extends  eastward  of  San  Emidio  fifteen  miles  farther. 
In  width  the  proven  or  prospected  strip  varies  from  two  to  fifteen  miles. 

Only  the  merest  fraction  of  this  vast  territory  is  as  yet  commercially  pro- 
ductive— a  thin  line,  a  mile  and  a  half  to  three  miles  in  width  drawn  diagonally 
across  five  congressional  townships  represents  it.  Yet  out  of  this  small  frac- 
tion of  the  county's  west  side  oil  territory  were  taken  in  the  year  1910  not 
less  than  24,680,000  barrels  of  oil,  equal  in  fuel  value  to  between  eight  and 
nine  million  tons  of  good  coal.  Two  branch  railroads  and  four  pipe  lines 
connecting  with  tide  water  have  been  built  to  furnish  an  outlet  for  this  oil, 
and  a  great  electric  transmission  line  has  been  completed  to  furnish  current 
for  light  and  other  purposes  for  which  it  may  be  needed  in  the  fields.  Three 
towns,  large  enough  and  permanent  enough  to  aspire  to  incorporations — 
Maricopa,  Taft  and  McKittrick — are  the  fruits  of  the  local  business  activity 
of  these  oil  fields,  and  three  or  four  other  towns  are  in  process  of  building  with 
varying  reasons  to  hope  for  the  future. 

The  Buena  Vista  Gas  Belt 

Just  beyond  the  line  of  the  producing  oil  fields  lies  the  great  gas  belt  of 
the  Buena  Vista  hills,  where  wells  estimated  to  produce  from  ten  to  fifty 
million  cubic  feet  per  twenty-four  hours  have  been  brought  in  within  the 
past  two  years.  Already  this  gas  is  piped  to  Bakersfield  and  to  the  different 
parts  of  the  west  side  oil  fields  for  cooking  and  lighting  and  for  use  in  fur- 
naces, and  a  great  trunk  line  is  now  carrying  it  over  the  mountains  to  Los 
Angeles  and  other  Southern  California  towns.  In  addition  to  this  use  an  ex- 
tensive plant  recently  has  been  installed  for  extracting  gasoline  from  the 
natural  gas  by  means  of  compression  and  cooling  after  a  process  similar  in 
many  respects  to  the  making  of  liquid  air. 

If  we  search  the  fields  from  our  hypothetical  point  of  vantage  we  may  see, 
perhaps,  anywhere  trom  one  to  half  a  dozen  great  oil  wells  spouting  their  inky 
fountains  of  oil  and  gas  from  two  hundred  to  four  hundred  feet  in  the  air. 
Great  pillars  of  smoke  rise  from  where  waste  oil  and  refuse  are  burned  from 
the  sump  holes,  and  if  it  were  night  and  the  chance  served  we  might  see  the 
towering  torch  of  some  burning  gasser  lighting  the  sands  and  sage  brush 
on  the  surrounding  dunes. 

Recent  Activity  in  the  Oil  Fields 

The  past  few  years  have  witnessed  a  tremendous  activity  on  the  west 
side.  The  older  fields  of  Sunset  and  McKittrick  have  been  widened  and 
extended,  the  greatest  oil  gusher  in  the  history  of  the  industry  being  brought 
in  in  the  former  field,  and  Midway,  lying  between  Sunset  and  McKittrick, 
sprang  from  the  least  to  one  of  the  largest  of  the  oil  fields  of  the  valley. 
The  Buena  Vista  gas  fields  were  first  tapped  in  1909.  At  the  present  time 
prospectors  are  drilling  with  tireless  energy  in  the  northward  extension  of 
the  McKittrick  field,  and  all  over  the  Lost  Hills  district  that  extends  from 
McKhtrick  to  the  north  county  line,  wild-catters  are  hopefully  working,  and 
occasionally  a  productive  well  of  light  gravity  oil  is  brought  in  at  the  marv- 
elously  shallow  depth  of  500  to  1000  feet. 

In  Devils  Den,  close  to  the  hills  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county, 
a  few  drills  are  dropping,  and  strung  along  the  foothills  from  Devils  Den 
southeast  to  Temblor  are  a  few  prospectors'  derricks,  miles  apart  and  accom- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  23 

plishing  little  as  yet  save  to  demonstrate  the  faith  of  their  nwncrs  tliat  the 
oil  measures  lie  beneath  in  an  unbroken  belt. 

For  the  rest  the  foreground  is  filled  with  low,  rcilling  hills  and  gently 
sloping  mesas,  covered  in  spring  with  short  grass  and  bright  wild  flowers, 
but  dry  and  brown  throughout  the  summer  and  fall,  with  onh'^  the  wandering 
dust  pillars  of  the  whirlwinds,  the  heat  shimmer,  the  straggling  growth  of 
dwarf  sage  brush,  the  lonesome  derrick  of  the  wildcatter  and  the  InncsDmer 
cabin  of  the  lease  herder  to  vary  their  desolate  monotony. 
Reclaimed  Swamp  Land 

These  rolling  hills  and  sloping  mesas  (all  of  which  may  some  day  be 
oil-  or  gas-bearing)  fill  a  strip  of  country  at  the  base  of  the  Coast  range 
from  ten  to  twenty  miles  in  width.  Then  comes  the  western  edge  of  the 
county's  agricultural  land,  its  limit  clearly  defined  by  the  line  of  the  ancient 
swamp  that  filled  the  trough  of  the  valley  with  a  width  of  two  to  a  dozen 
miles  before  the  waters  of  Kern  river  that  fed  it  were  diverted  into  a  great 
irrigation  system,  that  waters  250,000  acres  of  land. 

Just  to  the  east  of  the  Midway  oil  fields  is  Buena  Vista  lake  reservoir,  a 
body  of  water  covering  thirty-six  square  miles,  formerly  a  natural  depression 
in  the  swamp  and  now  enlarged  by  means  of  levees  on  the  east  and  north 
for  the  purpose  of  storing  the  waters  of  the  river  for  irrigating  the  reclaimed 
swamp  lands  to  the  north.  From  this  lake  extending  northwest  along  the 
western  edge  of  the  former  swamp  is  a  canal,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in 
width,  built  for  the  combined  purpose  of  distributing  irrigation  water  and 
carrying  away  any  excess  of  water  that  may  come  down  the  river  in  time  of 
flood.  This  great  ditch,  known  as  the  Kern  Valley  Water  Company's  canal, 
runs  through  lands  now  belonging  to  Miller  &  Lux,  and  that  corporation 
is  now  extending  it  northward,  by  means  of  the  largest  steam  dredger  ever 
brought  to  the  interior  of  the  state,  with  the  ultimate  purpose  of  completing 
an  artificial  water  way  from  Buena  Vista  to  Tulare  lake.  The  canal  will  be 
of  a  size  to  serve  as  a  means  of  transportation,  but  whether  it  is  used  for 
such  a  purpose  remains  to  be  determined  by  the  demand,  the  disposition  of 
the  owners  and  the  availability  of  the  water  at  all  times  to  fill  it. 

Lying  along  this  canal  to  the  east,  in  the  bed  of  the  ancient  swamp,  fed 
by  the  deep,  black  tule  lands,  are  the  fat  alfalfa  pastures  of  Miller  &  Lux, 
the  first  expanse  of  perennial  green  that  greets  the  eye  as  we  look  eastward 
from  our  perch  on  the  Coast  range  mountain.  The  Miller  &  Lux  alfalfa  and 
grain  fields  reach  to  the  northward  from  Buena  Vista  lake  for  something  more 
than  twenty-five  miles.  Beyond  that  the  old  swamp,  dry  except  in  unusually 
wet  years,  extends  to  the  northern  limit  of  the  county  untilled  and  unpeopled. 
Irrigation  Canals  Radiate  From  Bakersfield 

Twenty  miles  northeast  of  Buena  Vista  lake  is  Bakersfield,  at  the  eastern 
edge  of  a  great,  nearly  level  plain  that  extends  from  the  old  swamp  to  the 
point  where  the  land  begins  to  rise  again  in  an  upward  slope  to  meet  the 
foothills  of  the  Sierras.  Just  northeast  of  Bakersfield  Kern  river  leaves  a 
deep  furrow  of  a  mile  and  a  half  in  width  which  it  has  plowed  for  itself 
through  the  hills  and  mesas  to  the  eastward,  and  enters  the  flat,  alluvial 
lands  of  the  valley.  From  Bakersfield  the  channel  of  the  river  runs  in  an 
approximately  direct  line  to  Buena  \'ista  lake,  but  the  river  waters  are  taken 
out  in  a  series  of  canals,  heading  above  and  below  Bakersfield  and  spreading 
fanwise  to  the  northwest,  west,  south  and  southeast. 


24  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

This  system  of  ditches  covers  roughly  a  territory  twenty  miles  wide 
and  forty  miles  long,  beginning  at  the  southern  end  of  the  valley  where  the 
mesas  slope  up  to  Tejon  and  San  Emidio,  and  extending  northwest  within 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles  of  the  north  county  line.  Only  the  circumstance 
that  the  water  is  all  used  on  nearer  lands  prevents  the  irrigation  system 
reaching  the  northern  boundary  of  the  county,  but  the  shortcoming  of  the 
canal  system  is  supplemented  by  the  presence  of  an  artesian  belt  in  the 
north  part  of  the  county,  bordering  on  the  eastern  edge  of  the  swamp,  where 
flowing  wells  are  obtained  at  a  depth  of  500  to  1000  feet,  and  by  the  existence 
of  abundant  water  strata  at  depths  varying  from  twelve  to  forty  feet  in 
depth  from  which  water  may  be  pumped  for  irrigation. 

These  facilities  for  irrigation  make  of  the  middle  distance  of  this  vast 
panorama  spread  out  before  us,  a  belt  of  country  twenty  miles  in  width 
(exclusive  of  the  swamp  land  heretofore  described)  and  fifty-five  miles  or 
so  in  length,  every  foot  of  which -can  be  irrigated,  either  from  canals,  from 
artesian  wells  or  from  shallow  pumping  wells.  Close  to  Bakersfield  this  land 
is  tilled  to  fruit,  alfalfa  and  dairy  pastures.  Farther  south  and  northwest 
it  is  utilized  for  great  grain  fields  or  pastures  for  beef  cattle.  All  of  it  is 
suitable  for  similar  purposes. 

Beyond  this  belt  of  cheaply  irrigated  land  lies  the  great  mesa  that  skirts 
the  western  foothills  of  the  Sierras.  In  width  and  length  it  is  only  a  little 
less  than  the  great  belt  of  land  just  described,  and  along  its  lower  edge  the 
cost  of  pump  irrigation  is  but  a  little  greater  than  on  the  lower  valley  lands. 
This  mesa  forms  the  county's  citrus  belt — as  yet,  for  the  main  part,  potential. 
But  while  the  county's  orange  and  lemon  production  is  yet  in  the  future, 
so  far  as  any  great  commercial  results  are  concerned,  the  capacity  of  the 
soil,  the  abundance  of  the  water  and  the  perfect  adaptability  of  the  climate 
have  been  demonstrated  past  all  doubt.  Oranges  grown  on  the  San  Emidio 
ranch,  already  referred  to  in  the  description  of  the  west  side  oil  fields,  have 
made  a  name  and  fame  for  themselves  in  the  most  critical  markets  of  the 
state.  At  Tejon,  in  the  hills  some  twenty  miles  east  of  San  Emidio,  oranges 
of  equal  size  and  flavor  are  grown,  and  scattered  all  along  the  mesa  north- 
westward to  the  north  county  line  are  smaller  groves  that  prove  the  whole 
of  the  great  thermal  belt. 

Beginning   of   Orange   Culture 

At  the  present  time  near  Edison,  eight  miles  east  of  Bakersfield,  the 
Edison  Land  &  ^^'ater  Company  is  beginning  the  cultivation  of  orange 
groves  on  a  considerable  scale,  and  is  making  all  its  improvements  in  the 
thorough-going  fashion  that  promises  the  fullest  success.  Smaller  ventures 
in  citrus  culture  have  been  launched  in  the  wide  stretch  of  mesa  land  that 
reaches  south  from  Edison  and  other  centers  of  development  have  been 
established  at  Delano,  McFarland  and  Jasmine,  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county.  The  development  around  the  latter  places  is  really  the  southern 
extension  of  the  orange  districts  of  Tulare  county.  The  great  success  of 
citrus  culture  around  Porterville  has  tempted  the  ]5lanting  of  similar  lands 
farther  and  farther  tci  the  south,  and  the  result  is  expected  to  be  the 
gradual  closing  of  the  gaps  between  Ducor  and  Jasmine  and  Edison  and 
between  Edison  and  Tejon. 

Under  all  this  mesa  land  water  for  pump  irrigation  is  found  at  depths 
that  vary  almost  directly  as  the  height  of  the  surface  above  sea  level.  Along 
the  lower  parts  of  the  thermal  lielt  water  may  he  found  at  a  depth  of  forty 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  25 

feet  or  less,  while  near  the  hills  the  depth  may  run  above  twn  hundred  feet. 
There  is  an  immense  body  of  land,  however,  on  which  water  is  to  be  had  in 
abundant  quantities  with  a  lift  of  less  than  one  hundred  feet. 

In  addition  to  the  possibilities  of  the  mesa  lands  for  the  growing  of 
oranges  and  lemons,  they  are  famous  for  their  early  fruits  of  the  deciduous 
kinds  and  for  vegetables.  The  mesa  soil  for  the  most  part  is  an  admixture  of 
sand,  gravel  and  clay  that  is  easily  tilled,  very  fertile  and  sufficiently  porous 
to  insure  the  best  results  from  irrigation.  In  places  tJie  thermal  belt  is 
almost  frostless,  and  tomato  plants  live  the  year  round.  This  means  that 
it  is  possible  to  have  strawberries  and  a  great  range  of  vegetables  at  Christ- 
mas time,  and  grapes,  apricots,  melons  and  other  delicacies  that  capture  the 
high  prices  of  the  early  markets  may  be  supplied  in  great  quantitv  and 
perfect  (|uality. 

Cheap  Power  Available 

For  tlie  further  development  of  the  mesa  lands  great  tilings  are  expected 
because  of  the  abundance  of  cheap  fuel  for  the  generation  of  power.  In 
addition  to  the  power  that  may  be  develojjed  from  steam  plants  run  by 
crude  oil  or  from  gas  and  gasoline  used  direct  in  engines,  the  San  Joaquin 
Light  &  Power  Company,  which  has  recently  entered  the  field  with  electric 
power  and  which  has  now  completed  a  transmission  line  circling  the  valley 
portion  of  the  county,  announces  that  it  will  encourage  the  use  of  electricity 
in  pumping  water  by  extending  its  service  lines  where  there  is  any  hope 
for  a  market.  The  Lerdo  Land  &  Water  Company,  which  is  a  kindred  cor- 
poration to  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Company,  is  preparing  to 
lead  the  way  in  the  use  of  water  pumped  by  electricity  by  sinking  wells  and 
installing  pumps  on  a  tract  of  several  thousand  acres  which  it  has  purchased 
recently  and  which  lies  along  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  beginning  about 
seven  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield. 

At  \\'asco  is  established  another  center  of  pumping  plant  irrigation,  and 
the  practicability  of  raising  deciduous  fruits  and  raisins  1n-  this  means  is 
being  fully  demonstrated.  At  Rio  Bravo,  south  and  west  of  Wasco  and 
nearly  due  west  of  Bakersfield,  farmers  are  proving  that  it  pays  to  pump 
water  on  the  lower  land  for  alfalfa  and  grain.  At  Semitropic,  due  west  of 
Wasco  and  thirty-five  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield,  a  combination  of 
pumping  plants  and  artesian  wells  is  solving  the  problem  of  irrigation  for 
general  farming  and  dairying.  Just  at  the  eastern  edge  of  the  swamp  land 
in  what  is  known  as  the  Goose  Lake  slough  country  is  a  thriving  settlement 
that  depends  wholly  on  artesian  wells  to  mature  its  crops. 

Beside  the  ventures  in  orange  culture  around  Delano.  Jasmine  and 
McFarland.  many  pumping  plants  have  been  installed  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  county  for  the  growing  of  deciduous  trees  and  vines,  and  for  gnjwing 
alfalfa  for  dairy  cows.  North  of  Delano,  along  the  county  line,  pump  irri- 
gators have  been  especially  active.  At  McFarland  within  the  past  three  years 
a  rose  nursery  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  has  been  established  for 
the  growing  of  rose  bushes  for  the  New  York  market. 

Along  the  foothills  and  out  on  the  mesa  as  far  as  Delano  dry  wheat 
farming  has  been  the  main  industry  from  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  the 
country  until  the  present  time,  but  it  is  considered  now  but  a  matter  of 
a  few  years  before  the  pumping  plant  will  make  the  land  too  valuable  to 
be  longer  farmed  to  grain. 


26  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Great  Land  Holdings 

As  for  the  great  area  of  country  under  the  irrigation  system  already 
referred  to,  the  bulk  of  it  is  held  by  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  a 
corporation  that  figures  largely  in  the  story  of  the  county.  Scattered  among 
the  company's  holdings  are  many  small  farms,  where  all  kinds  of  fruits, 
alfalfa,  corn,  vegetables  and  the  usual  agricultural  crops  are  raised  and  where 
dairying  is  carried  on  with  handsome  profit.  The  Land  Company's  great 
fields  are  devoted  to  wheat  and  barley  or  are  fenced  into  huge  alfalfa  pastures 
for  the  fattening  of  beef  cattle  raised  in  the  mountains  or  shipped  in  from 
other  parts  of  California  or  from  other  states.  Whole  townships  of  the  finest 
garden  soil  are  farmed  in  immense  wheat  fields  or  form  rough  pastures  for 
Arizona  steers.  The  almost  equal  Miller  &  Lux  holdings,  equally  desirable, 
are  farmed  in  about  the  same  manner. 

If  we  were  sitting  on  the  top  of  the  Coast  range  in  reality  instead  of 
metaphorically  we  could  see  that  the  county's  agricultural  possibilities  have 
not  yet  approached  the  stage  of  realization.  But  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  facts  and  the  possibilities  is  necessary  to  gain  any  conception  of  how 
far  short  of  realization  the  present  falls.  There  is  no  finer  body  of  land 
in  the  state  than  this  great  valley,  and  there  are  few  so  well  watered.  With 
the  breaking  up  of  the  large  holdings  of  land  and  the  coming  of  small  farmers 
in  numbers  adequate  to  till  the  soil  in  thorough  fashion,  Kern  county  will 
become  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  food  supply  in  the  west.  At  the  present 
time  agriculture  is  so  far  overshadowed  by  the  oil  industry  that  a  greater 
number  of  farm  products  are  shipped  into  the  county  than  are  shipped  out. 
The  Kern  River  Oil  Field 

Before  we  leave  the  valley  for  a  brief  survey  of  the  mountains  we  must 
take  note  of  the  Kern  river  oil  field,  averaging  throughout  its  history  the 
greatest  single  producing  field  of  the  state,  although  Coalinga,  Midway  and 
Sunset  have  each,  at  different  times  forged  past  it.  Thirty  miles  from  the 
nearest  of  the  other  oil  fields,  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley  and  with  no 
apparent  connection  with  the  west  side  oil  measures,  Kern  river  holds  a 
place  alone  and  needs  a  wholly  separate  description.  The  field  lies  across 
Kern  river  to  the  north  of  Bakersfield,  sloping  from  the  water's  edge  up 
to  the  top  of  the  mesa.  It  covers  approximately  eleven  sections  of  land, 
under  all  of  which  the  drill  has  found  a  great  pool  of  oil.  First  drilled  in 
1899  and  pumped  ever  since  to  the  limit  of  the  market  demand,  in  1910  the 
field  produced  13,700,000  barrels  of  oil,  and  a  large  part  of  the  proven  territory 
is  yet  untouched. 

It  was  the  Kern  river  field  that  gave  the  county  its  first  oil  boom,  and 
made  the  people  of  the  county  forget  for  the  time  their  long  demand  for 
agricultural  expansion.  The  field  has  been  the  best  dividend-payer  in  the 
state,  despite  the  fact  that  none  of  the  spectacular  gushers  which  have  given 
fame  to  the  Midway  and  Sunset  fields  have  had  a  parallel  in  Kern  river. 
The  drilling  has  been  easy  and  certain,  the  percentage  of  loss  has  been  small, 
and  even  the  limits  of  the  field  were  established  so  early  that  little  money 
has  been  spent  in  fruitless  prospecting  about  its  borders.  That  the  field 
may  not  be  extended  in  the  future  is  not  assumed.  In  fact,  recent  drilling 
to  the  north  and  northwest  has  met  encouraging  indications,  and  many  people 
believe  that  some  day  oil  derricks  will  be  scattered  along  the  east  side 
mesas  as  they  now  are  scattered  along  the  Coast  range.  Prospect  holes 
are  now  being  drilled  due  south  of  the  Kern  river  field  about  twenty-four 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  27 

miles,  and  due  north  of  the  field  almost  an  equal  distance.  Roth  these  new 
prospective  districts  are  near  the  Sierra  foothills,  but  the  results  of  their 
exploration  must  remain  for  a  later  writing. 

The  Mountain  Sections 

The  description  of  the  mountains  is  quickly  written,  although  one  might 
live  there  many  years  and  wonder  at  the  freshness  of  their  charm  and  interest. 
It  is  because  of  the  impossible  task  of  a  full  description  that  little  can  be 
said.  The  Sierras  fill  in  between  the  desert  and  the  valley  a  great  barrier, 
thirty  to  fifty  miles  in  width,  built  out  of  lofty  peaks,  rugged,  pine-clad  ridges 
and  shoulders  of  earth,  timbered  slopes,  fertile  valleys,  streams  that  tumble 
down  rocky  cascades  and  flow  gently  along  level  reaches,  great  ledges  that 
carry  treasures  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  lesser  minerals  of  many  sorts. 

Suppose  we  desert  our  Coast  range  mountain  top  for  an  airship,  pre- 
ferably a  dirigible,  and  sail  slowly  over  the  tops  of  the  Sierras  from  the  north 
county  line  southward.  On  the  western  slope  of  the  range  in  the  northern 
tier  of  townships  is  Woody,  named  for  one  of  the  county  pioneers  and  not 
for  the  big  oak  trees  that  cover  the  hills  and  fill  the  little  valleys.  A  little 
farther  east  and  a  little  higher  up  is  Glennville,  in  the  fertile  Linn's  valley, 
named  for  W'illiam  Lynn,  but  spelled  with  an  "i"  in  later  years.  Cedar  creek 
and  a  number  of  other  little  streams  water  the  country  hereabout 
and  while  stock-raising  is  the  chief  industry  all  down  the  western  slope  of 
the  range,  not  a  little  general  farming  and  some  fruit  raising  is  carried  on 
in  the  little  valleys  and  fertile  meadows  about  Glennville.  To  the  south 
of  Glennville  are  Granite  station  and  Poso  Flat,  both  small  centers  of  stock- 
raising. 

Over  the  Greenhorn  mountains  from  Glennville  and  Linn's  valley  is 
Kern  river  flowing  at  times  through  narrow  caiions,  and  elsewhere  through 
wider  valleys  where  the  stream  is  bordered  by  fertile  bottom  lands.  It 
was  along  Kern  river,  at  Keysville,  about  eleven  miles  south  of  the  north 
county  line,  that  the  first  important  mining  camp  in  the  county  was  estab- 
lished. Keysville  was  about  three  miles  below  the  junction  of  the  north  and 
south  forks  of  Kern  river.  Whiskey  Flat  (now  Kernville)  is  about  the 
same  distance  above  the  junction,  on  the  north  or  main  branch. 

Above  the  junction  the  South  Fork  flows  through  the  South  Fork  valley, 
a  fertile  strip  of  bottom  land  that  forms  the  most  important  of  the  mountain 
farming  districts.  All  this  valley,  about  twenty  miles  in  length,  is  irrigated 
and  farmed  to  alfalfa.  Weldon  and  Onyx  on  the  South  Fork,  Isabella  at 
the  junction.  Palmer  and  Vaughn  a  httle  to  the  south  from  Isabella,  form 
the  centers  of  the  sparse  population  of  the  northern  mountain  section.  Havi- 
lah,  lying  in  a  little  valley,  hardly  more  than  a  gulch,  a  little  farther  still, 
was  once  the  metropolis  and  county  seat  of  Kern,  but  its  glory  and  greatness 
long  since  have  faded. 

The  mountains  over  which  we  have  sailed  so  far  are  rugged  and  beautiful, 
stretching  away  in  purple  vistas,  clad  on  their  summits  with  pines  and  cedars 
and  on  their  lower  slopes  with  oaks,  madrones  and  chaparral.  To  the  south 
of  Havilah,  forming  the  water-shed  between  Kern  river  on  the  north  and 
Caliente  creek  on  the  south,  is  Mount  Breckenridge,  a  handsome,  broad- 
topped  mountain,  rich  in  lumber  pine  that  in  earlier  days  was  sawed  and 
hauled  to  Bakersfield.  The  mill  is  still  there  but  it  has  not  been  operated 
for  some  years. 

At  the  southern  foot  of  Mount   Breckenridge  is  Walker's  basin,  another 


28  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

of  the  cradles  of  Kern  county's  early  civilized  life,  and  farther  on  is  Piute 
mountain,  the  scene  of  some  of  the  earlier  placer  mining;  Amalie  and  Paris 
on  Caliente  creek,  centers  of  a  later  and  more  permanent  mining  development ; 
Tehachapi  creek,  up  which  the  Southern  Pacific  winds' its  difficult  and  tortuous 
passage :  Bear  mountain,  rising  to  the  west  some  seven  thousand  feet,  one 
of  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  landmarks  to  be  seen  from  the  valley  about 
Bakersfield ;  the  pleasant  and  fertile  mountain  valleys  that  bear  the  names 
of  Bear,  Brites,  Cummings  and  Tehachapi ;  then  the  saddle  at  the  crest, 
the  crow's  nest,  in  which  the  town  of  Tehachapi  sits. 

On  the  western  slope  of  Bear  mountain  is  the  Rancho  El  Tejon,  one  of 
the  early  Spanish  grants,  woven  closely  with  the  history  of  the  Indians  in 
this  part  of  the  state,  and  forming  now,  with  the  Alamos,  Castac  and  La 
Liebre  grants  a  magnificent  mountain  and  valley  stock  range — the  third  large 
land  holding  in  the  county — soon,  it  is  hoped,  to  be  subdivided  for  more 
intensive  use. 

Beyond  Tehachapi  and  the  Tejon  ranch  is  a  great  procession  of  broken, 
tumbled  and  unappreciated  hills  which  lead  the  traveler  at  last  to  the  wonder- 
ful southland  where  even  a  sand  dune  with  a  cactus  growing  on  it  is  a  para- 
dise of  health  and  beauty  and  greatly  to  be  desired  at  so  much  per  square 
foot. 

The  Desert  Triangle  Again 

Before  we  bring  our  airship  down  let  us  sail  again  over  the  great  tri- 
angle of  desert  with  which  this  description  of  the  county  began.  Skirting 
the  base  of  the  hills  at  its  western  edge  is  the  Los  Angeles  aqueduct,  a  great 
tube  of  concrete  through  which  the  people  of  the  southern  city  hope  to  lead 
the  waters  of  Owens  river  to  fill  their  faucets,  sprinkle  their  lawns  and  irrigate 
some  thousands  of  acres  of  garden  land  in  what  are  now  the  suburbs,  but 
which  undoubtedly  the  city  will  soon  annex.  The  Southern  Pacific,  the 
Santa  Fe  and  the  Nevada  and  California  railroads  all  cross  this  triangle  of 
desert  in  different  directions,  all  meeting  at  Alojave,  which  is  both  a  mining 
and  a  railroad  town.  To  'the  northeast  are  Randsburg,  Oarlock,  Goler  and 
Johannesburg,  all  of  which  figure  in  the  history  of  the  desert  mines,  and  still 
farther  north,  Indian  Wells  and  Salt  Wells  valley,  where  venturesome  pros- 
pectors would  find  still  another  oil  field,  and  Inyokern,  a  new  settlement  of 
farmers  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  county. 

Bakersfield,  the  Commercial  Center 

The  center  of  all  Kern  county's  commercial  activity  and  the  point  around 
which  the  greater  part  of  the  county's  history  revolves,  is  Bakersfield.  Lo- 
cated where  Kern  river  enters  its  delta ;  the  spot  whence  the  irrigating  canals 
diverge ;  the  place  where  the  railroads  add  the  helper  engines  for  the  heavy 
haul  up  the  mountain  ;  the  place  whence  the  branch  railroads  lead  to  the 
west  side  oil  fields ;  at  the  door  of  the  great  Kern  river  field,  where  the  citrus 
mesa  meets  the  lower  valley  land.  Bakersfield  is  in  close  and  constant  touch 
with  all  the  greater  resources  and  activities  of  the  county.  Even  the  roads 
from  the  mountain  mines  converge  here.  Only  the  mines  of  the  desert  are 
far  removed  by  distance  and  association,  from  the  count}^  seat. 

The  federal  census  of  1910  gave  Bakersfield  a  population  of  \2,727,  as 
against  4836  ten  years  before.  The  county  census  for  1910  was  37,715,  and 
for  1900,  16,480.  The  great  gain  was  mainly  due  to  the  development  of  the 
oil  fields,  although  a  slow  but  steady  gain  in  the  valley  farming  sections  was 
evident,  and  this  gain  also  assisted  the  growth  of  Bakersfield.    The  five  banks 


BASKETS   MADE    l;V    KI-KX    CoLX'I'V    INDIA: 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  29 

of  Bakersfield  on  December  31,  1910,  sliowed  a  total  uf  tleposits  aiiKiuiUiiij^ 
to  $5,679,000,  a  gain  of  more  than  two  million  dollars  in  the  twentj'  months 
just  previous  to  that  date.  The  postal  receipts  for  the  city  in  1910  were  over 
sixty  thousand  dollars.  Close  to  a  million  and  a  half  dollars  was  spent  in 
building  in  Bakersfield  in  1910,  and  the  cost  of  the  new  residences  constructed 
in  that  period  ranged  up  to  seventeen  thousand  dollars  each.  The  assessed 
valuation  of  Kern  county  in  1910  was  over  fifty-three  million,  making  a  per 
capita  wealth  according  to  the  very  low  estimates  of  the  assessor  of  $1350 
for  every  man,  woman  and  child  within  the  county's  borders. 

These  figures  give  some  fair  idea  of  the  prosperity  and  financial  stal)ility 
of  the  city  and  county  at  the  present  time.  The  prospects  for  the  future  were 
never  brighter. 


CHAPTER  II 
Indians  and  the  Tejon  Ranch 

On  the  top  of  Black  mountain,  northwest  of  Garlock,  among  the  ranges 
of  dead,  forgotten  hills  that  stand  sentinel  over  the  dead  and  forgotten  wastes 
of  desert  in  the  far  eastern  part  of  the  county,  were  found  in  the  '80s  the 
remains  of  a  prehistoric  village  which  may  have  lieen  nccupied  many  centuries 
ago  by  the  same  race  of  men  that  built  the  extinct  and  buried  cities  (if  Arizona 
and  Mexico. 

In  a  hollow  between  two  ridges  uf  the  nmuntain  are  the  ruins  of  two 
parallel  walls,  two  hundred  feet  in  length,  with  shorter  walls  extending  from 
them  at  right  angles.  From  the  size  and  form  of  the  building  to  which  the 
walls  seem  to  have  belonged  it  is  doubtless  permissible  to  assume  that  it 
may  have  been  a  temple,  a  fort  or  some  other  public  building.  Down  a  little 
way  on  the  northern  slope  of  the  mountain  stand  the  ruins  of  what  appears 
to  have  been  a  dwelling.  What  is  left  of  the  walls,  standing  two  or  three 
feet  in  height,  form  almost  a  perfect  circle.  On  the  east  was  a  door,  and  carved 
on  the  inside  of  the  walls  are  hieroglyphics  identical  with  those  found  on 
the  famous  Poston  butte  near  Florence,  Arizona.  The  rocks,  also,  are  very 
similar  to  those  of  the  Poston  carvings.  One  of  the  characters  is  described 
as  not  unlike  the  astronomical  sign  for  the  planet  Mars.  The  evident  size 
of  the  work  and  the  character  of  the  carving  indicate  that  the  ruins  are 
not  those  of  a  building  erected  by  any  of  the  more  recent  Indian  tribes,  and 
the  decay  and  discoloration  of  the  mck  slmw  that  the  carving  was  done 
centuries  ago. 

A  circumstance  that  gives  these  ruins  still  greater  interest  to  the  visitor 
is  the  old,  dead  aspect  of  all  the  country  around.  Tlie  dead.  l)arren  liills, 
the  gray  reaches  of  desert,  the  dry  wind,  the  solemn,  cloudless  sky,  the 
blazing,  unobscured  sun,  the  ineffable  silence  brooding  everywhere,  all  remind 
one,  the  travellers  say,  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  of  the  old  cradles  of  dead 
races  in  Asia  and   Egvpt. 

There  is  not  a  little  in  Kern  county  for  the  archeologist  to  unearth,  but 
even  of  our  immediate  predecessors,  the  Indians  who  possessed  the  land 
before  the  white  men  came,  we  know  comparatively  little.  There  is  reason 
to  suppose  that  at  somewhat  earlier  dates  California  was  peopled  by  a  more 
heroic  race  of  redmen  than  was  found  here  when  the  first  gold  seekers  began 


30  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

to  explore  the  Sierras  for  placer  mines.  The  descriptions  of  the  Indians  left 
by  the  first  historians  disagree  widely  as  to  the  size,  appearance  and  general 
character  of  the  tribes  that  inhabited  the  state  and  there  seems  to  be  an 
equal  discrepancy  in  the  measurements  of  the  bones  exhumed  from  the  Indian 
burying  places.  When  Kit  Carson  first  visited  California  in  1829  he  found 
the  valleys  swarming  with  large  and  prosperous  tribes.  About  that  date  it 
was  roughly  estimated  that  the  number  of  Indians  in  the  state  was  upward 
of  100,000.  In  1859  Carson  again  visited  the  valley  and  found  that  the  tribes 
he  had  known  on  his  former  tour  had  wholly  disappeared  and  that  the  people 
living  here  at  that  time  had  never  heard  of  them.  In  1863  the  Department 
of  the  Interior  counted  29,300  Indians  in  the  state. 

Between  Goose  lake  in  Kern  county  and  Tulare  lake  was  found,  years 
ago,  the  remains  of  an  old  Indian  village  with  the  ground  about  it  strewn 
with  skulls  and  bleaching  bones  as  though  some  pestilence  had  descended 
upon  the  tribe  and  mowed  it  down  so  swiftly  and  relentlessly  that  none 
were  left  with  strength  to  bury  the  dead.  Early  records  tell  also  of  epidemics 
of  smallpox  and  other  diseases  that  decimated  the  Indian  tribes. 

In  his  researches  into  the  history  and  habits  of  the  Indians,  E.  L.  McLeod, 
who  gathered  one  of  the  finest  collections  of  Indian  baskets  in  the  state, 
fell  upon  an  interesting  clue  to  the  origin  of  the  Kern  county  tribes  who  were 
known  quite  generally  by  the  name  Yokut.  Spending  a  day  in  Hanford, 
Mr.  McLeod  saw  a  number  of  Indians  squatting  along  the  curb  of  one  of 
the  streets,  and  as  was  his  custom  when  the  opportunity  served,  he  went 
to  talk  with  them.  Presently  down  the  street  came  a  runaway  team,  and 
thereafter  the  usual  crowd  of  people  gathered. 

"Yokut!  Yokut!"  exclaimed  one  of  the  Indian  women,  pointing  toward 
the  sudden  assemblage. 

Mr.  McLeod  scented  the  clue  and  at  once  inquired  what  the  women 
meant  by  the  exclamation. 

"They  come  everywhere,"  was  the  explanation  forthcoming,  and  com- 
bining this  new  knowledge  with  what  he  had  formerly  known  of  the  Yokut 
Indians,  Mr.  McLeod  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  name  did  not  indicate 
an  homogenous  tribe  but  that  the  Yokuts  came  from  everywhere. 

The  average  Indian  found  here  by  the  earliest  settlers  was  not  a  par- 
ticularly noble  specimen  of  manhood.  He  reared  no  temples  and  built  no 
monuments.  For  a  dwelling  he  hollowed  out  a  little  circle  in  the  earth, 
raised  above  it  a  cone-shaped  framework  of  poles  or  brush  and  thatched  it 
with  bark,  grass  or  rushes.  As  late  as  1874  many  of  the  old  men  wore  no 
clothes  save  a  breech  clout,  summer  or  winter.  In  cold  weather  they  huddled 
in  their  huts,  scurrying  out  into  the  wet  or  snow,  stark  naked,  when  need 
required,  to  gather  a  little  wood  for  the  fire  that  smouldered  in  the  center 
of  their  dingy,  smoky  homes.  Meat  formed  but  a  very  small  part  of  the 
diet  of  the  Kern  county  Indians  of  the  earlier  times.  Those  who  lived 
by  the  valley  lakes  caught  clams,  and  squirrels  and  smaller  game  fell  victims 
to  their  arrows.  But  the  main  staples  of  their  larder  were  acorns,  juniper 
berries,  piiions,  the  few  wild  fruits  and  nuts,  the  edible  roots  and  seeds  of 
wild  grasses  that  grew  along  the  foothills  before  the  foxtail  usurped  their 
place. 

Through  the  mountains  everywhere  are  found  in  broad,  flat  rocks  the 
clusters  of  hollowed  holes  where  the  village  women  gathered  to  pound  the 
acorns  and  grass  seeds  into  the  dough  from  which  they  baked  their  bread. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  31 

In  the  vallej-s  are  found  the  portable  stone  mortars  and  pestles,  which  the 
squaws  had  to  carry  about  with  them  because  no  native  stones  were  to  be 
found  by  the  valley  villages.  These  mortars  and  pestles,  sinkers  which  were 
cleverly  fashioned  from  granite  for  the  fishermen,  the  spear  and  arrow  heads 
which  were  chipped  out  by  touching  the  heated  stones  with  a  piece  of  wet 
wood,  and  the  handsome  and  artistically  woven  baskets  which  served  a 
multitude  of  purposes,  are  practically  the  only  specimens  of  the  handicraft 
of  the  Indians  that  remain. 

Anthropologists,  particularly  Dr.  C.  Hart  Merriam  of  Washington,  D.  C, 
have  been  fairly  successful  in  gathering  information  concerning  the  customs, 
religion  and  language  of  the  Indians  of  this  part  of  the  state,  and  Prof. 
George  H.  Taylor,  now  of  Fresno,  but  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Bakers- 
field,  after  months  of  effort  got  one  of  the  remaining  tribal  singers  to  sing  into 
a  phonograph  one  of  the  more  elaborate  ceremonials  of  her  race.  Into  the 
very  striking  music  of  the  ceremonial  is  woven  dll  the  pathos,  all  the  mystery, 
all  the  fear  and  all  the  struggling  hopefulness  that  this  childlike  people 
gained  from  the  great  ^Mother  Nature  of  whom  they  understood  so  little 
and  with  whom  they  lived  in  such  daily,  intimate  contact.  The  music  of 
the  ceremonial  has  not  yet  been  transcribed.  It  will  be  a  pity,  indeed,  if 
it  is  not  reduced  to  some  enduring  form,  for  it  is  one  of  the  few  legacies 
of  a  fast-dying  people  that  later  races  may  profitably  preserve. 

In  some  of  the  Indian  mounds  in  the  valley  between  Buena  Vista  and 
Tulare  lakes  the  bodies  of  the  dead  seem  to  have  been  buried  in  a  sitting 
posture,  but  inquiry  does  not  develop  that  this  was  always  the  case.  Many 
of  the  burying  grounds  in  the  lower  lands  have  been  disturbed  by  floods, 
however,  and  the  bones  and  whatever  articles  may  have  been  buried  with 
the  bodies  have  been  scattered  and  recovered  with  deeper  or  shallower 
washings  of  mud  and  sand.  Some  of  the  remains  in  the  valley  mounds  had 
been  wrapped  in  blankets  or  cloth  of  some  coarse  texture,  and  quite  recently 
J.  W.  Stockton  dug  up  and  forwarded  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  the 
bones  of  an  Indian  that  had  been  buried  in  a  sitting  posture  in  the  bank 
of  Kern  river  not  far  from  the  Kern  river  oil  field.  This  body  had  been 
covered  with  reeds  in  the  form  of  a  coarse  basket. 

Tribal   Names   and  Characteristics 

From  C.  Hart  Merriam's  "Distribution  of  Indian  Tribes  in  the  Southern 
Sierra  and  Adjacent  Parts  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  California,"  the  fol- 
lowing is  condensed: 

"South  of  the  Muwa,  and  ranging  from  Fresno  creek  to  Kern  lake  and 
Tehachapi  basin,  are  tribes  of  two  widely  different  linguistic  families — the 
Yokut  and  Paiute.  These  tribes  are  arranged,  in  the  main,  in  parallel  belts, 
the  Yokuts  occupying  the  lower  and  more  westerly  country,  the  Paiutes  the 
higher  and  more  easterly.  But  there  is  this  important  difference:  The  Yokut 
tribes  are  more  numerous,  and  until  the  confiscation  of  their  lands  by  the 
whites  their  distribution  was  continuous,  while  the  Paiute  tribes  are  few 
and  their  distribution  is,  and  always  was,  interrupted  by  broad  intervals. 
Powers  recognized  the  general  facts  that  the  Indians  of  this  part  of  Cali- 
fornia belonged  in  the  main  to  the  Yokut  and  Paiute  stocks ;  that  the  Yokut 
tribes  were  a  peaceful  people  and  were  the  earlier  occupants  of  the  region; 
and  that  the  Paiute  tribes  were  more  powerful  and  warlike  and  entered  at  a 
later  period.     He  states  that  bands  of  Paiutes,  leaving  their  desert  homes 


32  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

east  of  the  mountains,  had  pushed  through  the  passes  of  the  Sierras,  invaded 
certain  valleys  of  the  western  slope,  and  driven  out  the  Yokut  people. 

"Tribes  of  other  linguistic  families  inhabited  the  hot  Tulare-Kern  basin 
and  the  region  to  the  west  and  southwest,  but  they  do  not  come  within 
the  scope  of  the  present  paper.  In  the  area  south  of  Fresno  creek  I  have 
obtained  vocabularies  of  eighteen  tribes,  of  which  nine  are  of  Yokut  origin 
and  nine  of  supposed  Paiute  of  Shoshonian  origin." 

Of  the  nine  Yokut  tribes  which  Dr.  Merriam  enumerates,  the  Taches 
lived  around  Tulare  lake  in  the  lower  Sonoran  zone,  and  the  Yowelmannes 
inhabited  the  Bakersfield  plain  and  thence  to  Kern  lake.  But  a  few  of  either 
tribe  remain.  Of  the  Paiute  tribes  the  Pakanepul  are  found  on  the  South 
Fork  of  Kern  river,  and  the  Newooah  center  about  Paiute  mountain.  Dr. 
Merriam  states  that  the  languages  of  the  two  tribes  last  mentioned  differ  so 
greatly  from  each  other  and  from  the  supposed  common  Paiute  stock  as 
represented  by  the  Owens  Valley  Paiutes  that  if  they  really  are  of  Paiute 
origin  they  must  have  crossed  the  mountains  at  a  very  remote  date.  The 
chief  and  almost  onh^  resemblance  in  the  languages  is  in  the  numerals,  and 
Dr.  Merriam  says  that  this  may  have  arisen  through  contact  rather  than 
through  common  heredity. 

The  word  Yokut,  Dr.  Merriam  says,  means  "the  people,"'  as  also  does 
the  tribal  name  Newooah,  and  a  number  of  other  famil}^  and  tribal  names 
b)'  which  the  Indians  referred  to  themselves. 

The  Paiute  tribes  inhabited  the  cooler  Ponderosa  pine  belt  of  the  moun- 
tains, while  the  Yokuts  lived  in  the  hot  San  Joaquin  valley  and  rarely-  pushed 
their  way  so  high  as  the  Digger  pine  belt. 

Civilizing  the  Indian 

While  no  Spanish  missions  were  established  in  the  territory  now  com- 
prised in  Kern  county,  the  Indians  found  here  had  been  to  some  extent  in- 
fluenced by  the  civilization  of  the  padres  through  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
young  braves  from  the  different  tribes  were  taken  to  the  missions  and  kept 
there  under  the  teaching  of  the  fathers  for  longer  or  shorter  periods,  and 
also  because  tribes  that  had  been  driven  from  the  older  parts  of  the  state 
by  the  encroachments  of  the  whites  migrated  to  this  end  of  the  San  Joaquin 
valley  or  to  the  mountains  round  about. 

There  were  no  Indian  wars  worth)'  the  name  in  the  history  of  the 
state,  but  in  1850  the  Indians  from  ^^'hite  river  to  Kern  lake  made  an  appar- 
ently concerted  attack  on  the  white  miners  and  settlers,  and  the  fear  of  danger 
more  than  the  actual  harm  the  Indians  inflicted  prompted  che  President 
in  1850  to  appoint  a  peace  commission  consisting  of  Redick  McKee,  G.  \\'. 
Barbour  and  O.  M.  Wozencraft,  Indian  agents,  to  make  peace  with  the 
tribes.  These  emissaries  decided  that  the  Indians  had  been  forced  to 
steal  from  the  white  men  and  had  been  justly  angered  into  attacking  them 
by  having  been  driven  from  their  ancient  hunting  and  fishing  grounds  to 
the  less  hospitable  mountains  and  desert  plains.  The  peace  commission 
recommended  that  the  Indians  be  made  allowances  of  food  and  given  reserva- 
tions on  the  plains.  On  June  10,  1851,  it  is  recorded,  treaties  were  made  with 
eleven  tribes  around  Kern  lake. 

But  after  the  apparent  habit  of  Indian  agencies,  jealousies  interferred 
with  the  smooth  working  of  the  plans  of  the  peace  commission,  and  the 
three  commissioners  soon  divided  the  territory  into  three  jurisdictions,  Bar- 
bour taking  charge  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley.     About  the  same  time  charges 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  33 

of  graft  and  mismanagement  reached  Washington,  and  in  the  spring  oi  1852 
Lieut.  E.  F.  Beale  was  made  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  in  California. 

Beale  had  very  well  formed  ideas  concerning  Indian  management  and 
he  proceeded  to  put  them  into  effect,  concentrating  his  main  energies  at 
Tejon.  In  brief  his  scheme  was  a  mixture  and  adaptation  df  the  methods  of 
the  army  and  the  missions.  He  adopted  the  plan  of  communal  farming,  pro- 
vided instruction  under  the  supervision  of  resident  agents,  and  established 
forts  with  garrisons  of  soldiers  both  to  protect  the  Indians  and  to  keej)  them 
I  within  bounds  and  under  proper  discipline.  The  plan  was  working  admir- 
ably, but  the  government  authorities  thought  that  the  expenditures  were  out 
of  proportion  to  the  number  of  the  wards  of  the  nation  provided  for,  and 
Beale  was  replaced  by  Col.  T.  J.  Henley. 

Henley  established  three  other  reservations  at  once,  and  later  increased 
that  number,  the  reservation  on  Tule  river  being  one.  In  addition  many 
farms  and  branch  reservations  were  equipped.  Soldiers  from  the  forts  and 
visitors  to  the  reservations  carried  word  to  Washington  that  too  much  graft 
was  going  on  under  cover  of  aid  to  the  California  Indians,  and  G.  Bailey 
was  sent  to  make  an  investigation.  Further  changes  followed,  the  allowance 
for  Indian  agencies  was  reduced,  the  Fresno  and  Kings  river  farms  were 
abandoned,  and  in  1863  Tejon  was  given  up  and  the  Indians  in  this  part  of 
the  state  were  concentrated  on  the  Tule  river  farm.  In  1873  the  Tule 
farm  was  abandoned,  and  the  Indians  were  moved  to  the  reservation  on  the 
south  fork  of  Tule  river,  back  in  the  mountains. 

Such  is  a  bare  outline  of  a  very  interesting  chapter  in  the  liist(jry  of  the 
nation's  dealings  with  the  aboriginal  tribes.  J.  J.  Lopez,  for  many  years 
in  charge  of  sheep  and  cattle  at  the  Tejon  ranch,  supplies  from  memory  and 
tradition  something  of  the  local  color  and  interest.  Many  years  ago,  Lopez 
relates,  the  mountains  around  Tejon  were  a  harbor  for  renegade  Indians  from 
the  coast  and  southern  missions.  An  Indian  that  had  been  taken  to  the  mis- 
sions, baptized,  taught  the  taste  of  meat  and  the  pains  of  hard  labor  and 
who  had  gone  wild  again  was  a  worse  Indian  than  one  who  had  remained 
in  his  savage  and  ignorant  state,  and  when  the  original  Spanish  grantors  of 
the  land  now  included  in  the  Tejon  ranch  came  to  take  possession  they  found 
the  Indians  so  troublesome  and  the  bears  so  numerous  and  aggressive  that 
they  relinquished  their  plans. 

Next  to  the  renegade  Indians,  who  were  specially  adept  at  stealing,  the 
most  troublesome  of  the  savages  were  the  Serranos.  who  in  the  '505  had 
their  hunting  grounds  in  Inyo  county  and  the  Monache  meadows  and  drove 
off  cattle  wherever  they  could  find  them  through  the  mountains  from  Tulare 
to  Los  Angeles  county,  and  the  Tecuyas.  a  tribe  of  warlike  Indians  that 
migrated  from  the  coast  and  took  up  their  abode  a  little  to  the  west  of  the 
mouth  of  Tejon  canon.  It  happened  that  the  hills  between  Tejon  canon 
and  San  Emidio  had  long  been  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Pescaderos,  who 
had  their  village  on  the  border  of  Kern  lake,  and  the  result  was  perennial 
warfare  between  the  new  comers  and  the  old. 

The  Serranos,  the  Pescaderos  and  the  Tecuyas  together  with  the  peace- 
able Tehachapis  and  other  tribes  from  the  mountain  valleys,  all  were  gathered 
at  Tejon,  and  they  seem  to  have  gotten  along  fairly  well  under  the  restraint 
of  the  soldiers  and  the  influence  of  Lieutenant  Beale's  patriarchal  govern- 
ment. But  when  the  tribes  were  moved  north  the  Tecuyas  and  Castacs  elected 
to  return  to  the  coast,  not  caring  to  associate  with  the  other  clans.    A  large 


34  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

number  remained  at  Tejon,  and  after  Beale  had  bought  the  grants  and  estab- 
lished his  farming  and  stock-raising  industries  there  he  gave  such  of  the 
Indians  as  cared  to  stay  tracts  of  four  or  five  acres  each  to  farm  for  them- 
selves and  employed  them  as  herders,  shearers  and  farm  laborers.  About 
one  hundred  and  fifty  Indians,  mostly  Serranos,  now  live  on  the  Tejon 
ranch,  and  their  presence  there  links  the  Tejon  of  the  present  with  the  primi- 
tive days  before  the  white  man  came,  as  no  other  part  of  the  county  is  linked. 
The  Tejon  Ranch 
What  is  generally  known  by  the  name  of  the  Tejon  ranch  includes  the 
rancho  el  Tejon  (the  ranch  of  the  badger),  rancho  Castac  (the  lake  ranch), 
rancho  Los  Alamos  y  Augua  Caliente  (the  ranch  of  the  cottonwoods  and 
the  warm  water),  and  rancho  la  Liebre  (the  ranch  of  the  jack-rabbit),  com- 
prising in  all  upward  of  150,000  acres  of  mountain,  valley  and  mesa  land 
along  the  western  slope  of  the  Sierras  reaching  from  the  middle  of  the  county 
to   its   southern   border. 

General  Beale  bought  the  old  Spanish  grants  which  the  different  ranches 
represent  from  the  original  owners,  who  were  unable  or  indisposed  to  do 
anything  with  them,  and  following  the  removal  of  the  Indians  he  made  the 
great  sweep  of  fairly  well  watered  land  into  a  magnificent  stock  ranch.  In 
the  very  early  days  Colonel  Vineyard  ran  sheep  on  the  ranch,  selling  out 
his  flock  to  Solomon  and  Philo  Jewett  when  the  latter  first  came  to  the  county 
in  1860.  The  drought  of  1864  was  the  indirect  cause  of  the  formation  of 
the  partnership  of  Beale  &  Baker,  which  figured  as  the  owner  of  great  flocks 
in  the  early  days  of  the  county's  history.  Baker  had  been  in  the  sheep 
business  near  what  is  now  Burbank,  in  Los  Angeles  county,  but  the  shortage 
of  feed  drove  him  north  into  the  mountains,  and  he  entered  into  a  partnership 
with  General  Beale.  For  about  seven  years  the  partnership  continued,  the 
flocks  of  sheep  growing  meantime  to  100,000  or  125,000  head.  Indian  herders 
and  shearers  were  employed  then  as  at  later  dates  in  the  history  of  the  ranch. 
In  1874  W.  J.  Hill,  Dave  Rivers,  and  State  Senator  John  Boggs,  comprising 
the  firm  of  Hill,  Rivers  &  Co.,  leased  the  ranch.  About  that  time  the  stock 
kept  there  included  60,000  head  of  sheep,  10,000  head  of  cattle  and  200  horses. 
Hill,  Rivers  &  Co.'s  lease  expired  in  1880,  when  General  Beale  bought  the 
stock.  J.  J.  Lopez,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  sheep  under  the  Hill,  Rivers 
&  Co.  regime,  recalls  that  they  used  to  get  fifteen  to  thirty  cents  for  the 
wool  in  those  days,  delivered  at  Los  Angeles,  and  it  took  about  ten  days 
to  haul  it  there  in  wagons.  Wethers  were  worth  from  $2.50  to  $3  per  head, 
very  much  more  than  an  acre  of  land.  The  dry  year  of  1877  and  the  termina- 
tion of  the  lease  to  Hill,  Rivers  &  Co.  determined  the  policy  of  reducing  the 
number  of  sheep  on  the  Tejon  ranch,  and  in  1879  Lopez  was  sent  to  Montana 
with  16,000  head  of  sheep.  The  drive  consumed  six  months,  led  through 
mountains,  over  deserts,  by  long  trails  where  the  way  was  Unknown  and 
the  water  bad  and  far  to  find,  and  where  treacherous  Indian  tribes  demanded 
all  the  diplomacy  to  which  Don  Jose's  Castilian  blood  had  made  him  heir. 
The  long  drive  is  famous  in  the  alnnals  of  the  Kern  county  sheepmen,  few  of 
whom  are  strangers  to  the  long  trail,  and  as  a  reward  for  his  efficiency,  when 
Lopez  returned  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  both  sheep  and  cattle.  For  about 
eighteen  years  R.  M.  Pogson  was  general  superintendent  of  Tejon  ranch, 
J.  G.   Stitt  following  him. 

Truxtun   Beale  followed  the  methods  of  his  father  in  the  treatment  of 
the  Indians  at  Tejon.  and  the  great  ranch  with  its  unsurveyed  acres,  irregular 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  35 

lines,  Indian  homes  beside  tlie  ranch  house  and  the  patriarchal  air  that  broods 
over  the  place  continued  until  1912  to  furnish  a  picturesque  and  romantic 
reminder  of  another  age  in  the  midst  of  a  state  and  a  county  that  are  rapidly 
becoming  the  most  aggressively  modern  in  the  world.  But  Truxlun  Beale, 
shortly  before  the  closing  of  these  pages,  sold  the  Tejon  ranch  to  a  Southern 
California  syndicate  that  now  is  engaged  in  testing  the  water  supplies  with 
the  ultimate  intention  of  irrigating  so  much  of  the  land  as  possible  and 
devoting  it  to  more  productive  cultivation. 


CHAPTER  III  1 23G250 

Gold  Mining  From  1851  to  1875 

Authentic  records  of  mining  in  what  is  now  Kern  county  date  back  to 
1851.  In  the  early  '60s  a  shaft  opened  in  the  Tehachapi  valley  showed 
evidences  that  the  ground  had  been  worked  over  many  years  before,  and  in 
1870  J.  C.  Crocker,  then  a  cattleman  with  headquarters  at  Temblor,  reported 
to  the  Kern  County  Courier  the  finding  of  a  tunnel  driven  in  solid  rock  in 
the  Coast  range  west  of  Bakersfield  which  was  proven  by  a  tree  growing 
in  its  mouth  to  have  been  dug  long  before  the  country  came  into  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Americans.  Nothing  remained  in  either  case,  however,  to  show 
by  whose  hands  the  work  had  been  done,  except  that  in  the  case  of  the 
tunnel,  marks  of  a  pick  or  other  steel  instrument  seemed  to  furnish  conclusive 
evidence  that  it  was  driven  by  civilized  men. 

In  1851  occurred  the  first  rush  to  the  Kern  river  placers.  Indians  car- 
ried vague  reports  of  golden  sands  to  the  placer  miners  in  the  mountains 
farther  north,  and  the  surging  tide  of  fortune  seekers  that  swept  over  all  the 
state  in  the  days  of  '49  sent  a  little  stream  of  prospectors  to  search  out 
the  new  field.  They  found  little,  however,  and  little  record  was  left  of  their 
adventures.  The  statement  is  made  by  early  chroniclers,  also,  that  some 
quartz  mining  was  going  on  in  1852  at  what  was  later  Keysville. 

But  the  real  history  of  mining  in  Kern  county  dates  from  1853,  when  a 
lump  of  gold,  said  to  have  weighed  forty-two  ounces,  was  dug  out  of  the 
sands  in  one  of  the  gulches  between  Keysville  and  Kernville.  Word  of 
the  find  spread  rapidly  through  the  camps  of  Mariposa  and  throughout  the 
state,  and  Kern  river  took  a  foremost  place  among  the  numerous  El  Dorados 
that  attracted  the  feverish  crowds  of  gold  seekers.  Running  out  from  the 
main  bodies  of  ore  farther  back  in  the  hills  were  little  stringer  veins  from 
which  the  free  gold  washed  down  with  the  sands  into  French  gulch.  Rich 
gulch  and  all  the  other  gulches  and  canons  leading  into  Kern  river  between 
Keysville  and  Kernville.  Into  these  gulches  the  stream  of  prospectors  poured. 
The  placers  were  easy  to  work,  and  there  was  plenty  of  water.  \'ery  soon 
Kern  river  was  one  of  the  best  known  camps  in  the  state,  although  but  a 
little  while  before  it  was  wholly  unknown  save  to  the  few  trappers,  explorers 
and  stockmen  who  had  wandered  through  Walker's  Pass  and  over  Greenhorn 
mountain. 

In  1854  Richard  Keys  discovered  the  Keys  mine,  and  the  working  of 
the  quartz  ledges  began.  The  road  to  Kern  river,  so  far  as  there  was  a 
road,  lay  through  Visalia,  and  during  the  year  no  less  than  600  miners 
passed  the  Tulare  county  capital"  on  the  way  to  Kern  river.     In  this  year 


36  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

A.  T.  Lightner,  Sr.,  came  to  Keysville  from  San  Jose,  and  his  son,  A.  T. 
Lightner,  Jr.,  gives  a  graphic  account  of  the  latter  part  of  the  journey,  after 
all  semblance  of  a  wagon  road  had  been  left  behind.  Such  wagons  as  were 
brought  into  the  new  district  followed  the  gulches  or  the  backbones  of  the 
ridges,  the  teamsters  clearing  the  way  with  axes  when  necessary,  some- 
times using  as  many  as  fourteen  horses  to  haul  one  wagon  up  an  especially 
steep  place,  and  trailing  felled  trees  behind  the  wagons  to  assist  the  brakes 
in  going  down  hill. 

For  the  most  part,  however,  the  first  miners  brought  their  outfits  and 
supplies  by  pack  animals.  Even  the  first  quartz  mill  machinery  was  packed 
in,  and  nowhere  in  the  mountains  did  the  fine  art  of  balancing  heavy  and 
bulky  loads  on  mule  and  burro  back  reach  a  higher  degree  of  perfection. 
When  Lightner  hauled,  or  rather  lowered,  his  first  wagon  down  the  mountain 
side  into  Keysville,  the  route  he  had  by  chance  selected  took  him  directly 
over  the  Keys  mine. 

The  First  Quartz  Mill 

Lightner  brought  the  first  quartz  mill  to  Keysville  in  1856,  hauling  it 
from  San  Francisco,  via  San  Jose  and  Visalia,  by  wagon.  He  set  it  up  by 
the  banks  of  Kern  river  a  short  distance  below  Keysville,  where  the  gulch 
that  ran  through  the  camp  met  the  stream,  and  built  a  flume  to  carry  water 
to  his  wheel.  Meantime  he  had  engaged  in  mining,  and  was  the  owner  of 
the  Garnishee  mine,  later  known  as  the  Mammoth,  which,  with  the  Keys  mine, 
yielded  the  best  and  largest  part  of  the  gold  produced  from  quartz  in  the 
district.  The  Lightner  mill  crushed  rock  for  the  Keys  mine,  also,  and  Light- 
ner, the  younger,  although  he  was  a  small  boy  at  the  time,  says  he  clearly 
remembers  the  old  tin  bucket  in  which  Richard  Keys  used  to  carry  his  round 
balls  of  bullion  back  from  the  mill. 

The  vein  of  ore  tapped  by  the  Keys  and  Mammoth  was  traced  for 
over  two  miles,  and  many  lesser  mines  were  opened  into  it.  A  legend  noted 
by  Stephen  Barton,  one  of  the  later  pioneers  of  the  upper  Kern  river  country, 
says  that  Richard  Keys  went  back  to  his  old  home  in  1861  with  the  laudable 
intention  of  making  all  his  relatives  rich,  and  when  he  came  back  he  found 
his  mine  caved  in  and  full  of  water — hopelessly  out  of  commission.  Years 
later  Stavert  Brothers  ran  a  drainage  tunnel  at  a  level  of  350  feet  below  the 
old  Keys  tunnel,  and  the  rehabilitated  mine  yielded  some  $65,000  in  gold. 

Stephen  Barton  describes  an  old  Chilean  quartz  mill  he  saw  in  the 
Keysville  district  as  consisting  of  "two  large  wheels  hewn  from  solid  granite, 
seven  or  eight  feet  in  diameter  and  a  foot  and  a  half  thick,  each  weighing 
three  or  four  tons,"  and  both  in  good  repair  as  late  as  1888.  The  wornrout 
stamps  which  had  carried  wooden  stems,  and  the  cast-iron  slabs  that  had 
lined  a  wooden  battery  box,  continues  Mr.  Barton,  were  modelled  after  those 
used  by  Lord  Sterling  (General  Alexander),  north  of  Morristown  in  the 
reduction  of  iron  ore  in  preparing  solid  shot  for  Washington's  army. 

For  years  the  washing  of  the  sands  in  the  placers  went  on  side  by  side 
with  the  quartz  mining.  At  first  the  more  fortunate  of  the  placer  miners 
made  as  high  as  $16  to  $60  per  day  and  more,  but  a  larger  number  had  to 
be  content  with  $5  to  $8,  and  many  others  panned  out  much  less  than  this. 
Finally,  when  the  white  men  had  gleaned  the  gulches  of  their  richest  treasure, 
the  Chinamen  came,  and  these  little  men,  content  with  small  wages,  shovelled 
and  washed  the  sands  over  and  over  till  they  were  clean  and  white  to  the 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  37 

bedrock.     For  the  Chinamen,  the  aftermath  of  the   Kern  river  placers  con- 
tained fabulous  wealth. 

The  Town  of  Keysville 
The  placers  began  to  lose  their  charm  for  the  white  miner.s  abnut  1857, 
and  at  that  time  the  quartz  mines  of  Keysville  probably  were  at  their  height. 
Between  the  discovery  in  1854  and  1857  or  '58  the  town  of  Keysville  had 
no  apologies  to  oflfer  to  any  mining  cam]5  in  all  the  length  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mines.  The  town  lay  in  a  little  cove  where  the  southern  slope  of  Greenhorn 
mountain  melts  into  a  flat  at  the  edge  of  a  short,  rocky  gulch.  There  were 
no  streets.  Marsh  &  Kennedy's  store,  the  blacksmith  shop  and  the  office 
of  Gen.  J.  W.  Freeman,  then  justice  of  the  peace  and  later  district  attorney 
of  Kern  county,  stood  near  the  center  of  the  little  semicircular  flat.  A  little 
way  up  the  slope  of  the  hill  to  the  west  of  the  flat  were  the  residences, 
grouped  informally,  as  houses  may  well  be  where  all  travel  is  by  foot  or 
horseback. 

The  size  of  the  townsite  is  well  illustrated  by  a  story  told  by  Mr.  Lightner. 
General  Freeman  slept  in  his  office,  which,  as  stated,  was  near  the  center 
of  the  flat,  or  "business  section,"  and  took  his  meals  with  the  Lightners, 
who  lived  in  the  semi-circle  of  residences  on  the  hillside.  That  was  before 
the  days  of  the  handy  alarm  clock,  and  it  was  one  of  the  early  morning  duties 
of  Mr.  Lightner's  older  brother  to  step  out  in  the  front  yard  and  heave 
a  small  rock  down  on  the  roof  of  the  courthouse  to  waken  the  slumbering 
justice  to  his  breakfast. 

But  if  Keysville  was  small  in  the  amount  of  space  it  covered  its  gamblers 
could  pile  as  many  gold  pieces  on  the  table  as  those  of  many  larger  places, 
and  no  man"s  costume  was  complete  without  two  Colt's  revolvers  and  a 
bowie  knife  strapped  about  him.  After  four  or  five  years  when  the  town 
grew  older  and  more  conservative,  the  knife  and  guns  were  worn  more  as  an 
ornament  than  otherwise,  but  up  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  no  well  dressed 
man,  after  he  had  shaved  and  put  on  his  clean  shirt  on  Sunday  morning, 
forgot  to  buckle  the  big,  and  fully  loaded,  fire  arms  about  his  waist. 

William  Weldon  and  J.  V.  Roberts,  among  the  first  settlers  in  Walker's 
basin,  supplied  the  Keysville  miners  with  beef,  but  the  bulk  of  the  other 
supplies  were  brought  in  from  Los  Angeles  by  pack  animals.  This  lasted  up 
to  1857  or  '58,  when  the  pack  trains  began  to  be  succeeded  by  ox-team 
freighters.  In  the  days  of  the  pack  train  its  arrival  in  camp  or  the  sight  of 
it  winding  over  the  hills  in  the  distance  was  the  signal  for  universal  rejoicing, 
for  it  nearly  always  happened  that  the  stocks  of  provisions  were  getting  low 
before  the  new  supplies  arrived. 

The  Keysville  Fort 
Rumor  of  an  impending  attack  from  the  Indians  caused  the  Keysville 
miners  in  1855  or  1856  to  erect  the  fort  which  still  stands  on  the  point  of  a 
ridge  running  out  to  the  gulch  just  below  the  town.  The  point  of  this 
ridge  is  higher  than  the  backbone  that  joins  it  to  Greenhorn  mountain,  .so  that 
a  garrison  occupying  it  could  look  down  upon  an  enemy  approaching  from 
any  quarter.  The  fort,  which  was  buih  of  brush  gathered  from  the  chaparral 
and  covered  with  dirt  from  the  hollowed-out  center,  was  shoulder  high  and 
large  enough  to  accommodate  200  persons.  As  the  Indians  of  those  days 
were  armed  only  with  arrows  the  fort  was  considered  almost  as  impregnable 
as  Gibrahar,  arid  its  location  on  the  gulch  leading  from  the  river  to  the  camo 


38  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

was  almost  as  good  from  a  strategic  standpoint.  W.  R.  Bower,  afterward 
sheriff  of  the  county,  and  Frank  Warren  were  among  the  leaders  in  the 
building  of  the  fort,  but  it  proved  that  their  labors  were  but  an  excess  of 
caution,  for  the  Indian  war  of  1856,  exciting  enough  in  Tulare  county  and 
farther  north,  never  reached  so  far  back  in  the  mountains  as  Keysville.  Some 
sixty  of  the  Keysville  miners  were  summoned  by  John  W.  Williams  of 
Visalia  and  William  Lynn  of  Linn's  valley  to  assist  the  settlers  along  White 
and  Tule  river  in  the  Tule  river  war.  This  war,  or  so  much  of  it  as  has 
anything  to  do  with  Kern  county,  is  dealt  with  in  connection  with  the  gath- 
ering up  of  the  Indian  tribes  from  the  valley  and  foothills  and  their  concen- 
tration    at  the  Tejon  and  other  reservations. 

Meantime  the  early  gold  seekers  began  to  search  the  other  hills  and 
ranges  both  above  and  below  Keysville.  General  Freeman  and  others  mined 
on  Greenhorn  mountain  in  1855  or  a  little  later.  In  1856  Major  Erskine  had 
a  stamp  mill  on  what  is  now  the  Palmer  ranch  in  the  lower  end  of  the  Hot 
Springs  valley,  and  was  crushing  ore  for  many  miners  thereabout.  Later 
Major  Erskine  moved  away,  but  his  sons  Thomas  and  M.  E.,  remained,  and 
Erskine  creek  was  named  in  their  honor." 

The  Big  Blue  Mine  and  Whiskey  Flat 

One  day  in  1860,  it  is  related,  the  mule  of  "Lovely"  Rogers,  a  Keysville 
miner,  wandered  away  and  "Lovely,"  being  a  true  prospector,  when  he  had 
picked  up  the  trail  and  found  that  it  led  ofif  up  the  river,  tucked  his  pick 
under  his  arm  and  followed.  Whether  he  recovered  the  mule  or  not,  is  a 
matter  to  be  only  presumed.  What  is  more  important,  he  brought  back  a 
piece  of  rock  from  the  place  where  the  Big  Blue  mine  is  now  located.  That 
was  the  beginning  of  Kernville,  first  known  as  Whiskey  Flat. 

Rogers'  sample  assayed  well,  and  he  returned  to  the  place  where  his 
wandering  mule  had  led  him  and  began  to  uncover  the  ledge.  Shortly  after 
he  sold  his  mine  to  J.  W.  Sumner.  Sumner  moved  to  the  new  camp,  followed 
by  many  others,  among  the  first  being  Adam  Hamilton,  who  stood  two 
barrels  of  whiskey  on  end,  laid  a  plank  across  the  top,  and  began  to  dispense 
the  stimulant  necessary  to  the  proper  development  of  a  new  mining  camp. 
But  Hamilton's  bar  was  in  too  close  proximity  to  the  residences  of  Sumner 
and  Caldwell,  and  he  was  ordered  to  move  his  whiskey  down  on  the  flat, 
a  mile  below,  a  circumstance  which  may  or  may  not  have  suggested  the 
name  for  the  new  town. 

Hamilton  opened  a  store  as  well  as  a  bar.  Kittridge  &  Company  were 
among  the  early  merchants  in  Whiskey  Flat,  and  Lewis  Clark  was  another 
of  the  pioneer  saloon  keepers.  The  Sumner  mine,  also  the  property  of  J-  W. 
Sumner,  the  Jeiif  Davis,  the  Beauregard,  the  Nellie  Dent,  named  for  the 
wife  of  General  Grant  by  William  Ferguson,  its  owner,  the  Lady  Belle  and 
the  Sarah  Jane  were  among  the  early  Kernville  mines,  and  most  of  them 
were  onthe  same  ledge  with  the  Big  Blue  and  were  later  consolidated  under 
that  name  by  Senator  John  P.  Jones,  the  bonanza  king,  and  E.  R.  Burke.  In 
1867  Kern  county  was  considered  the  most  important  of  the  mining  counties 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  state,  and  Kernville  was  the  most  important 
mining  town  in  the  county.  There  were  upward  of  a  dozen  important  quartz 
mines,  within  a  length  of  a  couple  of  miles,  and  several  extensive  mills 
were  in  operation.  At  that  time  the  entire  county  contained  some  seventeen 
quartz  mills,  and  about  1200  people  engaged  in  mining. 

Senator  Jones  took  over  the  Big  Blue  mine  from  Sumner  in  1875,  and  at 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  39 

once  increased  the  activity  of  the  Kernviile  district.  lUirixc  was  the  manairer. 
and  under  his  direction  the  most  efficient  mining;  methods  of  the  time  were 
employed.  He  imported  a  large  number  of  Cornish  miners,  employing  about 
200  miners  all  told.  The  mine  was  equipped  with  an  80-stamp  mill,  and 
about  100  tons  of  ore  were  taken  out  and  crushed  daily. 

In  1870  there  had  been  but  little  doing  in  Kernviile,  and  there  were 
less  than  a  score  of  people  in  the  town.  In  1876  there  were  six  or  seven 
stores,  .four  saloons,  a  brewery,  three  hotels,  a  livery  stable,  and  other  busi- 
ness and  private  establishments  in  proportion. 

The  operations  in  the  Big  Blue  went  on  swimmingly  until  1879,  when  the 
bottom  dropped  out  of  certain  of  Senator  Jones'  Nevada  mining  stocks,  and 
he  ordered  the  work  at  Kernviile  shut  down.  Ed  Cushman,  who  had  been 
book-keeper  for  Jones,  secured  a  lease  on  the  Big  Blue,  and  worked  it  for 
about  a  year.  Then  Jacoby  and  Michaels  leased  it,  ran  a  drainage  tunnel  under 
the  mine  at  the  river  level,  and  took  out  a  large  amount  of  very  profitable 
ore.  They  carried  their  workings  down  to  the  level  of  their  drainage  tunnel 
and  quit. 

Founding  of  Havilah 
Long  before  the  glory  of  Whiskey  Flat  began  to  fade,  the  restless 
advance  guard  of  prospectors  had  passed  on  and  was  exploring  all  the  gulches 
and  hillsides  for  many  miles  to  the  south  and  east.  One  of  the  prospecting 
parties  about  the  last  week  in  June  or  the  first  week  in  July,  1864,  went  down 
Kern  river  and  up  Clear  creek  and  found  the  first  color  of  gold  at  Havilah, 
the  third  famous  mining  camp  of  Kern  county,  and  a  little  later,  when  the 
county  was  organized  out  of  portions  of  Tulare  and  Los  Angeles  counties, 
the  first  county  seat. 

It  is  recorded  that  Benjamin  T.  Alitchel,  Alexander  Reid,  George  McKay 
and  Dr.  C.  De  La  Borde,  the  "French  Doctor,"  composed  the  discovering 
party,  but  to  a  man  by  name  of  Harpinding  goes  the  honor  of  giving  the  new 
camp  its  name.  Harpinding  was  one  of  the  few  early  miners  who  seem  to 
have  carried  Bibles  in  their  kits,  or  his  memory  served  him  well  with  recol- 
lections of  his  boyhood  days  in  a  more  pious  land,  for  he  turned  to  the  second 
chapter  of  Genesis  and  found  it  written  in  the  tenth,  eleventh  and  twelfth 
verses  that  "A  river  went  out  of  Eden  to  water  the  garden  ;  and  from  thence 
it  parted,  and  became  into  four  heads.  The  name  of  the  first  is  Pison  ;  that 
is  it  which  compasseth  the  whole  land  of  Havilah,  where  there  is  gold.  And 
the  gold  of  that  land  is  good ;  there  is  bdellium  and  the  onyx  stone." 

The  first  camp  of  the  prospectors  was  in  a  gulch  just  below  the  spot 
where  the  town  was  afterward  located.  A  month  later  the  Clear  creek 
mining  district  was  organized,  with  Havilah  as  its  focal  point,  and  the  latest 
diggings  rapidly  assumed  first  rank  in  interest  if  not  in  importance  among 
the  county's  mining  towns. 

The  first  company  of  prospectors  called  their  mines  the  Havilah,  and 
organized  the  Havilah  Mining  Company.  They  were  prospectors  rather 
than  miners,  however,  and  soon  dissolved  their  partnership  and  continued  to 
search  for  new  leads  on  their  individual  accounts.  Dr.  La  Borde  and  August 
Gouglat  located  some  thirty-six  claims  in  the  Clear  Creek  district,  among 
them  being  the  Dijon  Nos.  1  and  2,  the  Cape  Horn,  the  Alma  Nos.  1  and  2, 
the  Rhone,  Eagle,  Rochefort,  Navarre,  Nievre,  Lyon  and  Marengo.  A  little 
later,  in  October,  La  Borde  and  Gouglat  sold  their  claims  for  $50,000. 

The  most   productive   mine   in   the  district   was   the   Delphi,   located   by 


40  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

H.  McKeadney  and  known  also  as  the  McKeadney  mine.  The  Tyrone  and 
Lexington  also  were  McKeadney's  property.  Nicewander  (or  Nyswander), 
Park  &  Co.  were  among  the  early  locators. 

The  first  mill  in  the  Clear  Creek  or  Havilah  district  was  brought  by 
Joseph  H.  Thomas,  from  the  Coso  district,  where  it  had  been  operated  by 
the  Willow  Springs  Mining  and  Milling  Company,  and  the  first  rock  crushed 
was  from  the  Dijon  mine.  It  yielded  $37  per  ton.  In  January,  1865,  Gen. 
J.  W.  Freeman  moved  his  4-stamp  mill  to  Havilah  from  his  mine  on  Green- 
horn mountain.  The  first  rock  he  put  through  the  mill  was  from  the  mines 
of  Nicewander,  Park  &  Co.,  and  out  of  twenty-seven  tons  of  ore  $5000  in 
gold  was  saved  directly  from  the  battery.  The  same  week  rock  from  the 
Rochefort  ledge  yielded  $230  per  ton.  and  a  run  of  Delphi  ore  netted  $180 
per  ton. 

These  fabulous  returns,  considering  the  crude  facilities  at  hand  for 
extracting  the  gold,  served  to  fan  the  interest  in  the  Havilah  mines  to  a  fever 
heat,  and  the  little  gulch  was  soon  resounding  by  day  to  the  sound  of  blasting 
powder  and  stamp  mills,  and  by  night  to  the  golden  clink  of  coin  on  the 
gambling  tables.  According  to  the  graphic  account  of  a  woman  whose  home 
in  those  days  stood  on  the  hillside  just  below  one  of  the  gambling  resorts, 
the  sound  was  as  though  someone  were  continually  pouring  twenty-dollar 
gold  pieces  out  of  a  tin  pan.  By  day  the  interest  in  the  gambling  tables 
was  only  a  little  less  absorbing.  A  man  who  had  occasion  to  search  the 
county  records  some  years  later  said  he  always  had  to  wait  till  a  poker  game 
was  finished  before  he  could  drag  an  unwilling  official  away  long  enough  to 
unlock  the  archives  and  give  him  access  to  the  few  and  fragmentary  docu- 
ments on  file. 

The  Relief  mine,  or  the  Rand,  as  it  was  also  known,  was  the  property 
of  Col.  Arnold  A.  Rand,  who  bought  out  the  locations  of  Nicewander,  Park 
&  Co.  The  prospectors  generally  were  succeeded  by  men  of  larger  capital 
who  began  the  development  of  the  mines,  and  when  the  county  was  organized 
in  1866  there  was  no  settlement  in  all  the  territory  embraced  that  could 
put  forward  a  rival  claim  against  Havilah  for  the  county  seat. 

A  writer  in  1867  states  that  there  were  at  that  time  thirty  stamp  mills 
in  Kern  and  Tulare  counties,  twenty-five  of  them  being  in  Kern  county  and  a 
majority  of  the  latter  number  being  in  the  Clear  Creek  district.  Throughout 
this  district  were  found  many  veins  of  ore  ranging  from  two  to  six  feet  in 
thickness,  and  most  of  them  were  worked  with  marked  success.  Speaking 
generally  of  the  quartz  mines  of  the  county,  the  same  writer  says  that  above 
the  line  of  permanent  water  the  ores  carried  mostly  free  gold  and  the  early 
miners  extracted  it  readily.  When  they  reached  the  sulphureted  ores,  how- 
ever, so  much  difficulty  was  experienced  that  in  1865  and  1867  not  more 
than  one-quarter  of  the  mills  were  in  operation,  and  the  production  of 
bullion  had  decreased  proportionately. 

Other  Mining  Districts 

So  early  as  1861  prospectors  had  drifted  over  the  hills  fifty  miles  south- 
east of  Havilah  and  twenty  miles  from  Walker's  pass  and  opened  the  Milligan 
mine  in  El  Poso  district.  They  had  sunk  a  shaft  to  the  depth  of  175  feet 
and  penetrated  a  ledge  that  yielded  from  $57  to  $150  per  ton. 

In  1868,  according  to  the  Havilah  Courier,  the  Sageland  district  was 
attracting  so  much  attention  as  to  make  things  a  little  dull  at  Kernville.  The 
Sageland  district  is  on  the  eastern  slope  of  Piute  mountain,  skirting  the  desert 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  41 

and  is  filled  with  broken  ranges  of  dry,  cactus-covered  hills.  The  St.  John, 
Hortensia,  Burning  Moscow  and  other  quartz  mines  scattered  through  these 
hills  yielded  good  quantities  and  qualities  of  ore,  and  justified,  in  the  belief 
of  the  discoverers  of  the  district,  the  pleasing  name  of  the  New  Eldorado. 
Tom  Bridger  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  Sageland  district. 

In  the  early  sixties,  also,  Henry  and  Deitrich  Bahten  were  exploring 
the  free  gold  ledges  and  placers  on  Piute  mountain.  The  old  Piute  and 
Big  Indian  mines  were  among  the  best  known  producers  in  this  district. 
Robert  Palmer  and  Wade  Hampton  Williams  discovered  some  very  rich 
placers  on  Piute,  and  the  thriving  camp  of  Claraville  was  the  result. 

Some  years  later,  about  1876,  the  Bull  Run  silver  mine,  located  on  Bull 
run  about  five  miles  above  Kernville,  was  credited  by  contemporary  writers 
with  being  one  of  the  richest  silver  mines  in  the  world. 

In  October,  1870,  a  Kernville  letter  to  the  Kern  County  Courier  stated 
that  forty  men  were  employed  about  the  Kernville  mines,  mostly  working  on 
shares  and  doing  well.  Three  men  in  one  month  cleaned  up  $500.  Ore 
from  the  Big  Blue  was  paying  about  $25  per  ton. 

About  the  same  time  it  was  reported  that  Burdett  and  Tucker  had  struck 
a  new  lead  in  the  Long  Tom  mine,  the  scene  later  of  one  of  the  memorable 
tragedies  in  Kern  county  history. 

An  optimistic  correspondent  of  the  Courier  in  1870  wrote  that  the  Joe 
Walker  mine  in  Walker's  basin  was  doing  better  than  ever  since  new  pumping 
machinery,  recently  installed,  had  enabled  the  miners  to  reach  the  lower 
ores.  But  water  trouble  finally  caused  the  abandonment  of  the  mine.  Stephen 
Barton  states  that  the  last  eflfort  on  the  Joe  Walker  was  made  by  Judge  Colby 
with  a  Cornish  pump  that  was  warranted  to  throw  100  miners'  inches  of 
water  400  feet  high.  When  the  lift  had  reached  290  feet  the  pump  was  labor- 
ing very  hard,  and  there  was  more  than  100  inches  of  water  to  be  handled. 
"A  week  of  strain  terminated  the  life  of  the  pump,  and  the  mine  was  per- 
manently closed." 

A  report  from  the  Kern  river  mines  to  the  Courier  by  C.  Schofield, 
June  3,  1871,  said  that  the  Big  Blue  was  in  steady  operation  and  keeping  a 
16-stamp  mill  going.  The  mine  had  been  worked  with  an  open  cut  to  a 
depth  of  thirty  or  forty  feet  and  about  seventy  feet  in  width  across  the 
vein.  A  drift  Had  been  run  about  thirty-six  feet  in  the  direction  of  the 
hanging  wall,  but  neither  wall  had  yet  been  seen.  The  ore  was  running 
$17.50  to  the  ton.  About  two  years  before  there  were  thousands  of  tons  of 
dump  rock,  but  all  of  it  had  then  been  worked.  A  shaft  was  sunk  sixty 
feet  below  the  bottom  of  the  cut,  and  a  drift  run,  but  the  water  was  so 
troublesome  that  work  had  to  be  abandoned  on  the  lower  level.  The  Sumner 
ledge,  the  northeasterly  half  of  the  Big  Blue,  was  then  owned  chiefly  by 
A.  Staples  &  Co.  From  the  bottom  of  an  80-foot  shaft,  ore  running  as 
high  as  $75  to  the  ton  had  been  taken  out,  together  with  immense  quantities 
of  a  lower  grade.  The  hanging  wall  had  been  barely  touched,  and  the  foot 
wall  had  never  yet  been  seen.  A  black,  massive,  sulphuret  rock  was  the  best 
producing  ore,  but  with  the  facilities  at  hand  a  large  part  of  the  sulphurcts 
were  lost. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  Big  Blue  at  this  time  was  the  Bull  Run.  which 
had  been  worked  to  a  depth  of  200  to  300  feet  with  an  engine  and  hoist,  and 
from  which  several  hundred  thousand  dollars  had  been  extracted.  Only 
two  small  companies,  working  on  shares,  were  taking  out  oi-e  at  the  time, 


42  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

and  these  were  working  near  the  east  end  of  the  ledge  on  a  vein  about  two 
feet  in  width  which  yielded  ore  running  about  $20  to  the  ton. 

The  Beauregard,  which  had  paid  well  at  the  surface,  was  not  worked  at 
that  time.  Two  small  companies  were  taking  ore  from  a  narrow  but  very- 
rich  ledge,  the  rock  paying  $75  to  $100  per  ton.  All  these  mines  had  been 
involved  in  litigation  which  interfered  seriously  with  their  development. 

In  1873  a  Tehachapi  note  in  the  Courier  says  that  Green  &  Henderson 
had  just  cleaned  up  $1438  in  their  hydraulic  mine  near  that  place. 

For  some  time  past  the  Owens  river  mines  had  been  an  indirect  means  of 
revenue  to  Kern  county,  most  of  their  freighting  being  via  Tehachapi  and 
Bakersfield  to  the  end  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  then  being  built 
down  the  valley.  On  November  9,  1872,  A.  Cross  arrived  in  Bakersfield 
with  three  teams  bringing  335  bars  or  30,000  pounds  of  bullion  from  the 
foot  of  Owens  lake,  to  which  point  it  had  been  brought  by  steamer  from 
the  furnaces  on  the  opposite  side.  It  took  ten  days  to  make  the  trip  from 
the  lake  to  Bakersfield.  The  trip  from  the  lake  to  Los  Angeles  consumed 
considerably  more  time,  and  as  a  result  the  railroad  officials  were  hopeful 
of  getting  all  the  Owens  river  trade  via  teams  to  the  end  of  the  track,  then 
Hearing  Tipton. 

In  1873  mention  is  made  of  the  fact  that  Temple,  Boushey  &  Weston 
were  about  to  begin  work  on  their  mine  near  San  Emidio,  and  expected 
to  ship  about  500  tons  of  ore  per  month  over  the  railroad  to  San  Francisco 
■for  treatment — provided  it  paid  to  do  so,  as  apparently  it  did  not. 

During  the  eight  days  ending  June  7,  1873,  1000  bars,  or  45  tons  of 
base  bullion  passed  through  Bakersfield  from  the  Cerro  Gordo  mines  in  Inyo 
county  to  the  railroad  terminus,  and  the  traffic  to  and  from  the  mines 
appeared  to  be  increasing.  The  next  month  the  Kern  &  Inyo  Forwarding 
Company  was  advertising  for  fifty  mule  teams  to  haul  between  Owens  lake 
and  Tipton,  and  was  guaranteeing  full  loads  both  ways. 

A  letter  from  the  Panamint  mountains  in  November,  1873,  tells  of  a 
little  ball  of  silver  being  taken  from  the  Dolly  Varden  lode  by  Edward  Hall. 
The  ledge  was  three  feet  in  thickness  and  looked  good  to  the  prospectors. 
R.  C.  Jacobs  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  discoverers  of  the  Panamint  mines. 
About  a  year  later  the  Panamint  excitement  was  at  its  height. 

In  December,  1874,  E.  R.  Burke,  who  was  managing  the  Big  Blue  for 
himself  and  Senator  Jones,  is  quoted  as  saying  that  the  average  run  of  the 
ore  paid  $15  and  cost  $5  to  handle.  The  season  was  an  active  one  in  the 
Long  Tom  mines. 

In  1875  a  newspaper  note  said  that  the  Kernville  ledges  had  been  ex- 
plored for  twenty-five  miles. 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  43 

CHAPTER    IV 
The  Beginning  of  Agriculture  and  Stock-Raising 

When  the  first  farmers  arrived  in  Kern  county  is  more  a  matter  of 
tradition  than  of  history.  In  the  early  '40s  an  old  immigrant  trail  came 
through  Tejon  canon  from  the  south,  skirted  the  hills  below  Bear  mountain, 
wound  over  the  mesa  northward,  crossing  the  present  line  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  between  Bakersfield  and  Edison  and  forded  Kern  river,  or  Rio  Bravo, 
as  it  was  then  known,  a  short  distance  above  the  present  bridge  between 
the  China  grade  and  the  Kern  river  oil  fields.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
sons  of  men  who  pioneered  the  virgin  forests  and  prairies  of  Tennessee, 
Kentucky,  Arkansas  and  Texas,  driven  westward  and  westward  by  the 
hereditary  wanderlust,  paused  on  their  way  to  the  older  sections  of  the  state 
to  feed  their  stock  and  let  their  children  stretch  their  legs  among  the  trees 
and  grassy  hills  around  Tejon  and  along  the  fertile  banks  of  Kern  river 
where  Bakersfield  now  stands.  Back  in  the  Tejon  hills  in  the  earliest  days 
were  gaunt  mountaineers  of  the  Tennessee  stock,  and  the  first  known  set- 
tlers on  Kern  Island  tell  of  predecessors  or  signs  of  predecessors. 

These  first  comers,  however,  or  those,  at  least,  who  paused  in  the 
valley,  were  sojourners  only.  At  most  they  may  have  hunted  and  fished  for 
a  season  and  replenished  their  stores  of  corn  with  a  crop  grown  on  the  quickly 
responding  soil  of  the  Kern  delta  where  it  was  necessary  only  to  drop  the 
seed  and  cover  it  with  a  little  earth  scraped  up  with  the  foot.  Then  they 
passed  on,  and  the  next  flood  or  the  next  sand  storm  wiped  out  all  trace 
of  their  habitation. 

John  Woodhouse  Audubon,  in  his  Western  Journal,  says  that  when 
he  passed  through  what  is  now  Kern  coimty  he  saw  one  party  of  settlers 
preparing  to  make  permanent  homes.  Audubon  came  up  from  Los  Angeles 
through  Tejon  caiion  in  the  latter  part  of  November,  1849,  with  ten  men  and 
forty-six  mules.  Coming  through  the  pass  they  had  to  wade  knee  deep  in  a 
torrent  of  water  that  poured  down  the  trail.  The  mountain  tops  about  were 
covered  with  snow,  and  when  they  emerged  on  the  plain  they  were  greeted 
with  a  blast  of  hail  in  their  faces,  swept  on  by  a  wind  that  uprooted  cotton- 
wood  trees  at  the  caiion's  mouth.  The  plain  was  wet  and  boggy,  and  the 
party  skirted  the  hills  and  made  long  detours  to  keep  on  fairly  solid  ground. 
Audubon  also  saw  an  Indian  village  and  many  scattered  huts  where  the 
natives  were  grinding  acorns  and  fanning  grass  seeds  for  their  winter  larder. 
The  Indians,  he  says,  were  friendly,  but  he  does  not  undertake  to  fix  the 
location  either  of  the  Indian  village  or  of  the  settlement  of  whites.  A  Lewis 
woodpecker,  Stellar's  jay  and  a  new  hawk  with  a  white  tail  were  objects 
that  fixed  Audubon's  attention  to  quite  as  great  a  degree  as  did  the  beginning 
of  civilization  upon  the  Kern  delta— if  that  is  where  the  settlers  he  mentions 
were  pitching  their  tents. 

The  first  settlers  who  came  and  stayed  were  those  of  the  South  Fork, 
Walker's  basin,  and  other  mountain  districts  contiguous  to  the  early  mines. 
Mr.  Seibert  is  said  to  have  first  located  in  South  Fork  Valley  in  1846.  Frank 
Barrows  about  1857  established  a  claim  on  the  South  Fork  on  the  site  of  the 
present  home  of  P.  T.  Brady.  John  Nicoll  came  about  the  same  time.  William 
Scodie  and  Thomas  H.  Smith  settled  in  the  upper  end  of  South  Fork  valley 


44  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

in  1861-62,  and  the  latter  resides  there  to  this  day.  In  1857  William  Weldon 
settled  in  Walker's  basin,  moving  thence  to  the  South  Fork.  Weldon  ami 
J.  V.  Roberts  in  connection  with  their  stock  ranch,  ran  a  butcher  business 
and  supplied  most  of  the  beef  consumed  by  the  Keysville  miners.  In  1858 
A.  T.  Lightner,  Sr.,  sold  his  mining  and  milling  interests  at  Keysville  and 
bought  a  settler's  claim  in  Walker's  basin  for  $1600.  With  the  claim  went 
certain  farming  implements  and  a  band  of  100  to  150  head  of  Spanish  cattle, 
little  and  lean  and  wild. 

Other  settlers  of  the  South  Fork  valley  were  William  W.  Landers; 
George  Clancy,  who  came  in  1861 ;  and  J.  L.  Mack,  who  arrived  about  1864. 
John  McCray,  who  had  lived  with  his  parents  for  a  few  years  on  Kern  Island 
about  1859-60  and  later  around  Visalia,  went  to  the  South  Fork  as  a  boy  in 
August,  1870,  and  worked  for  W.  W.  Landers  until  he  had  acquired  cattle  and 
land  of  his  own.  Landers  was  one  of  the  largest  stock  men  of  the  mountain 
section,  running  about  2000  head  in  the  early  days  and  as  high  as  10,000 
head  in  the  '90s. 

The  raising  of  hay,  vegetables  and  beef  constituted  the  chief  occupation 
of  the  early  mountain  farmers,  and  all  their  produce  found  a  ready  market  in 
the  mining  camps.  Lightner  sold  hay  at  Keysville  for  $40  to  $50  per  ton, 
and  a  little  later  hay  delivered  to  the  soldiers  at  Fort  Tejon  brought,  some- 
times, as  high  as  $60  per  ton.  It  was  while  hauling  hay  to  Havilah  in  1867 
that  Lightner  lost  his  life.  The  morning  was  cold  and  frosty,  and  while  going 
down  a  hill  his  foot  slipped  from  the  brake  and  he  was  thrown  forward  under 
the  wagon  wheels. 

Farming  in  the  mountains  in  these  early  days  was  not  without  other  than 
purely  pastoral  interest.  In  the  very  earhest  times  there  was  more  or  less 
danger  from  Indians  and  bear  as  well  as  white  marauders  and  renegades, 
and  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war  the  division  of  sentiment  in  the  state 
between  Union  and  Confederate  was  made  the  excuse  for  the  organization  of 
guerrilla  bands,  the  real  object  of  which  was  only  theft  and  pillage.  Neither 
the  organized  bands  nor  the  individual  marauders  appear  to  have  inflicted 
any  serious  harm  on  the  settlers,  but  they  helped  to  keep  their  nerves  at 
tension  by  not  infrequent  visits.  The  three  Kelso  brothers,  for  example, 
often  demanded  the  hospitality  of  the  Lightner  home,  and  always,  of  course, 
were  entertained.  They  slept  on  the  floor  with  their  clothes  all  on,  their 
feet  toward  the  hearthstone  and  their  heads  on  a  pile  of  murderous  guns. 
A.  T.  Lightner,  Jr.,  had  a  toy  revolver  made  of  the  barrel  of  an  abandoned 
gun  with  a  handle  whittled  out  of  wood  and  thrust  into  the  breech.  One  of 
the  Kelso  brothers,  seeing  this  one  night,  secured  it  and  while  his  youngest 
brother  slept,  stealthily  placed  it  under  his  head  and  drew  away  one  of  the 
small  cannon  that  comprised  the  desperado's  armament.  The  youthful  owner 
of  the  toy  was  a  fearful  witness  of  the  prank,  and  his  opinion  of  the  desperate 
character  of  the  youngest  Kelso  was  not  changed  when  the  latter  awoke 
and  cursed  and  glowered  for  hours  over  the  trick  that  had  been  played 
upon  him. 

The  Mason  and  Henry  gang  was  one  of  the  bands  of  murderers  and  horse 
thieves  organized  under  the  cloak  of  patriotism.  About  the  time  the  war 
broke  out  Mason  and  Henry  called  a  meeting  on  Cottonwood  creek  a  short 
distance  south  of  the  mouth  of  Kern  river  caiion,  for  the  stated  purpose  of 
organizing  a  company  of  men  to  join  the  Confederate  army.  A  large  number 
of  Confederate  sympathizers,  among  them   W.   R.   Bower,  afterward   sheriff 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  45 

of  the  county,  responded,  but  the  real  character  of  the  gang  soon  becoming 
known,  Bower  and  many  others  withdrew.  Later  Bower  saddled  his  horse, 
rode  it  through  to  Missouri  and  served  four  years  under  the  snuthern  flag, 
returning  to  Kern  county  after  a  wound  in  his  ankle  had  put  him  out  of  the 
fight. 

The  outlaw  gang,  either  before  or  after  the  meeting  mentioned,  built  a 
stone  corral  or  fort,  as  they  called  it,  on  the  banks  of  Cottonwood  creek, 
where  remains  of  it  are  to  be  seen  to  this  day.  Mason  and  Henry  formerly 
were  employes  of  the  stage  line  at  Elkhorn  station  and  started  on  their  career 
of  crime  by  stealing  so  many  of  the  stage  animals  as  they  thought  they 
needed.  They  acted  a  notable  part  in  the  drama  of  outlawry  played  out  in  the 
San  Joaquin  valley  in  the  early  days  of  its  history. 

The  South  Fork  Valley 

The  South  Fork  valley  is  about  twenty  miles  in  length  and  from  one  to 
three  miles  in  width.  Despite  its  elevation  and  the  stream  that  flows  through 
it,  it  was  practically  a  desert  when  the  first  settlers  arrived.  The  ground, 
very  fertile  when  water  was  applied,  was  covered  in  its  virgin  state  with 
high  sage  brush  and  was  suitable  for  nothing  but  a  rough  range  for  cattle. 
The  very  earliest  of  the  settlers  cleared  about  ten  acres  each  about  their 
homes  and  devoted  their  energies  to  herding  their  cattle  up  and  down  the 
river.  From  1861  to  1881  the  construction  of  irrigation  ditches  to  carry 
water  over  the  valley  progressed  with  more  or  less  industry  until  finally 
the  whole  of  the  level  land  was  watered  and  the  valley  became  one  of  the 
most  productive  areas  of  the  state. 

John  A.  Benson  surveyed  the  valley  in  1875,  charging  the  settlers  at  the 
rate  of  $150  per  quarter  section,  and  such  an  artistic  and  satisfactory  job 
did  he  do,  it  is  said,  that  hardly  a  settler  was  obliged  to  move  more  than  a 
few  rods  of  the  fences  built  on  section  lines  run  out  by  instinct  and  the  polar 
star. 

The  distribution  of  the  water  occasioned  a  little  more  difficulty.  A  number 
of  suits  were  brought  between  settlers  to  determine  their  respective  rights, 
but  few  were  carried  to  a  conclusion,  and  to  this  day  there  has  not  been  a 
court  decision  covering  the  South  Fork  irrigation  rights  generally.  About 
1899,  however,  owners  of  the  different  ditches  drew  up  and  signed  an  agree- 
ment, setting  aside  to  each  quarter  section  150  miner's  inches  of  water  and 
establishing  the  right  of  precedence  according  to  priority  of  location. 

In  1885  South  Fork  failed  fully  to  supply  the  irrigation  ditches,  and  the 
waters  of  Whitney  creek  were  diverted  from  the  North  Fork  to  the  South 
Fork  through  a. tunnel  six  feet  high  and  si.x  feet  wide,  driven  350  feet 
through  a  hill.  The  tunnel  caved  in,  and  Jeff  Gillum  was  given  a  contract  to 
make  the  tunnel  an  open  cut  for  $1000.  He  failed  to  get  the  cut  down  to 
grade,  and  in  the  suit  over  the  settlement  expert  witnesses  said  that  the 
job  could  not  be  done  under  $3500.  The  farmers  paid  the  bill,  and  put  a 
dam  across  the  creek  to  force  the  water  through  the  unfinished  cut. 

In  1895  Miller  &  Lux  and  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  with  their 
affiliated  canal  companies  filed  a  suit  asking  for  an  order  of  the  court  enjoining 
the  farmers  of  the  South  Fork  from  using  the  water  they  had  appropriated, 
claiming  a  prior  right  to  all  the  waters  of  Kern  river  and  its  aflfluents. 
The  suit  was  never  pressed  to  a  trial,  however,  and  a  similar  suit  filed 
by  the  same  parties  some  six  years  later  followed  a  similar  course.  In  1908  a 
third  suit  was  filed  and  is  still  pending  in  the  early  stages.     It  is  stated  that 


46  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

the  plaintiffs  have  no  expectation  of  depriving  the  South  Fork  irrigators  of 
their  water,  but  desire  a  court  decision  fixing  the  amount  they  are  entitled  to 
divert. 

Very  recently  a  government  agent  made  a  careful  inspection  of  the 
South  Fork  irrigation  system  and  gathered  data  regarding  the  suits  that 
had  been  filed,  but  the  purpose  was  not  given  out,  and  no  further  develop- 
ments as  yet  have  indicated  what  action,  if  any,  the  government  may  have  in 
view. 

The  height  of  the  cattle  business  in  the  South  Fork  valley  was  in  1890  to 
1899.  From  then  on  the  restrictions  of  the  Federal  Forest  Reserve  have 
curtailed  the  free  range  which  the  stockmen  previously  enjoyed,  and  the 
herds  accordingly  have  been  reduced  to  what  may  be  kept  on  the  owners' 
lands  and  pastured  to  the  extent  permitted  within  the  limits  of  the  reserve. 

The  revival  of  activity  in  the  Big  Blue  mine  in  1875  gave  farming  in 
the  South  Fork  valley  its  first  great  stimulus,  and  beside  the  cattle,  large 
quantities  of  hogs,  grain,  vegetables  and  other  products  were  delivered  to 
the  mines.  In  1872  the  culture  of  alfalfa  was  begun  in  the  valley  by  an 
Englishman  named  Jack  Waterworth  on  the  present  home  ranch  of  William 
Landers.  Gradually  the  growing  of  alfalfa  took  the  place  of  wheat  raising, 
and  now  alfalfa  is  the  principal  farm  product  of  the  South  Fork. 

Early  Settlers  on  the  Kern  Delta 

John  McCray,  now  a  resident  of  Bakersfield  but  best  known  over  the 
county  as  a  large  stock  raiser  and  rancher  of  the  South  Fork  valley,  carries 
the  story  of  farming  on  the  Kern  river  delta  back  a  little  farther  than  anyone 
else  the  writer  has  been  able  thus  far  to  find.  John  McCray,  Sr.,  with  a 
party  of  west-bound  pioneers  under  the  leadership  of  Capt.  Johnny  Roberts, 
drove  a  band  of  1000  Durham  cattle  across  the  plains  from  Missouri  in  the 
early  '50s,  and  John  McCray,  Jr.,  was  born  on  the  journey,  somewhere  near 
Donner  lake.  The  family  settled  first  in  Tuolumne  county,  and  went  from 
there  to  Centerville,  on  Kings  river.  At  the  latter  place  they  were  troubled 
so  much  with  malaria  that  in  1859  they  came  to  the  Kern  delta,  establishing 
themselves  about  three  miles  south  of  the  present  boundaries  of  Bakersfield. 
In  passing  it  is  to  be  mentioned  that  from  then  until  1864,  when  the  McCrays 
moved  to  Visalia  to  give  their  children  the  benefit  of  schools,  not  one  of  the 
family  had  a  chill. 

In  1859  the  overland  or  immigrant  road  entered  the  valley  through  Tejon 
pass,  going  from  the  fort  east  of  Adobe  and  then  drifting  westward  and 
northward  and  crossing  the  old  south  fork  about  eight  miles  south  of  what 
was  later  the  Poindexter  place.  From  there  it  followed  about  the  course  of  the 
present  Kern  Island  road  to  what  was  then  the  Walker  Shirley  place  and 
what  is  now  the  Lowell  addition  to  Bakersfield.  The  road  ran  through  the 
present  townsite  and  crossed  the  river  about  where  the  old  Jewett  avenue 
bridge  formerly  stood.  From  the  other  side  of  the  river  the  road  followed 
the  present  road  to  Poso  creek,  past  Mon's  place  and  Willow  Springs,  crossed 
White  river  at  Irish  John's  place,  and  thence  past  Fountain  springs  to  Porter- 
ville  and  Tulare. 

The  old  Butterfield  stage  road  followed  the  same  route  from  Visalia  to  a 
point  near  the  Kern  river  oil  fields,  where  it  headed  down  a  canon  to  a  point 
just  above  the  present  China  grade  bridge,  where  a  ferry  was  operated  by 
Major  Gordon  between  1861  and  1864,  and  previously,  according  to  some 
accounts,  by  a  man  named  Gale.    Major  Gordon  had  an  adobe  house  by  his 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  47 

ferry,  and  a  pile  of  dirt  remains  to  this  day  to  mark  the  spot.  From  the  ferry 
the  stage  road  turned  east  along  the  flat  between  the  river  and  the  bluffs  and 
sought  an  easy  place  to  scale  the  latter  some  distance  up  the  stream  from  the 
bottom  of  the  present  China  grade.  The  old  road  is  still  in  use  to  some  extent, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  above  the  bridge.  Out  east  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
round  house  a  few  miles  was  the  first  stage  station  south  of  the  river.  Twelve 
miles  farther  south  there  was  another,  and  at  Rose  station  there  was  another. 
They  changed  teams  every  twelve  miles  on  the  entire  route,  2888  miles  from 
some  place  back  in  Texas  through  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  close  to  the 
present  route  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  through  Yuma  to  Los  Angeles, 
thence  via  Fort  Tejon,  Kern  river,  Visalia,  Pacheco  pass  and  Gilroy  to  San 
Francisco.  Between  stations  the  horses  went  at  a  gallop,  dragging  the  lum- 
bering Concord  stage  with  its  twelve  passengers  (and  more  if  the  traffic 
demanded)  and  the  United  States  mails.  They  got  letters  through  to  San 
Francisco  from  St.  Louis  via  El  Paso  in  twenty-four  days,  and  the  govern- 
ment paid  the  company  $600,000  a  year  subsidy.  The  cancelled  stamps 
amounted  to  about  $27,000.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  this  mail  route 
was  discontinued,  and  transcontinental  letters  came  via  the  northern  route 
only. 

In  1858  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic  Telegraph  Company  started  stringing 
its  wires  along  this  stage  route,  and  in  1860  the  line  was  completed  to  Los 
Angeles,  where  the  work,  planned  to  continue  east,  was  halted.  Later  the 
Western  Union  consolidated  all  the  telegraph  lines  of  the  coast. 

Site  of  Bakersfield  in  1859 

The  present  site  of  Bakersfield  was  not,  as  some  reports  would  make  it 
seem,  in  the  least  like  a  swamp  in  the  '50s.  The  main  channel  of  the  river  was 
down  what  later  came  to  be  known  as  Panama  slough,  leaving  the  present 
river  channel  a  little  way  west  of  the  point  of  Panorama  heights  and  crossing 
the  present  intersection  of  Nineteenth  and  B  streets.  It  was  not  a  deep 
channel,  although  occasional  deep  holes  were  bored  out  of  the  soft,  alluvial 
bed  by  the  swirling  current. 

The  south  fork,  flowing  a  little  way  west  of  the  present  course  of  the 
Kern  Island  canal,  was  the  second  largest  of  the  channels  that  divided  the 
waters  of  Kern  river.  It  was  narrower  than  the  Panama  channel,  and  the 
banks  were  steep  in  most  places,  making  it  necessary  to  choose  a  place  down 
which  a  horse  could  be  ridden  and  often  to  swim  the  animal  down  stream  to 
find  a  place  where  he  could  scramble  out  on  the  other  side.  Lesser  sloughs 
and  channels  of  that  day  were  unimportant  except  as  they  encouraged  the 
growth  of  willows  on  their  banks  and  tules  in  their  beds  and  helped  the  process 
of  sub-irrigation  which  caused  sunflowers,  cockleburs,  tumble  weed  and 
other  riotous  wild  vegetation  to  grow  to  fabulous  heights  over  all  the  inter- 
vening land. 

Beginning  of  the  County's  Cattle  Industry 

The  McCrays  brought  their  Durham  cattle,  between  150  and  200  head, 
to  their  new  home,  and  are  entitled  to  the  distinction  of  bringing  the  first 
blooded  stock  to  Kern  county.  About  the  only  other  cattleman  in  this  end  of 
the  valley  at  that  time  was  Don  David  Alexander,  who  had  his  headquarters 
at  San  Emidio  about  1861,  and  whose  20,000  or  25,000  head  of  wild.  Spanish 
cattle  ranged  all  over  the  San  Emidio  hills  and  around  Kern  and  Buena 
Vista  lake  and  the  lower  reaches  of  Kern  river.     Alexander  bought  all  of 


48  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

McCray's  bull  calves  and  gradually  built  up  the  quality  of  his  herd.  Cattle 
were  marketed  then  in  San  Francisco,  and  the  herds  of  beeves  were  driven 
up  the  valley  to  the  bay  with  as  little  concern  for  the  long  journey  as  many 
a  farmer  feels  now  in  driving  his  stock. to  the  nearest  railroad  station,  six 
or  a  dozen  miles  away. 

It  was  later  on  that  the  Crockers,  J.  C.  and  Ed,  established  themselves 
at  Temblor  and  went  into  the  cattle  business  on  a  large  scale  in  connection 
with  Henry  Miller.  J.  C.  Crocker  was  an  important  figure  in  the  stock 
business  for  a  score  of  years  following  his  arrival  at  Temblor.  He  acted  as 
Miller's  agent  in  the  purchase  of  both  cattle  and  land,  and  helped  to  build 
up  the  immense  property  of  Miller  &  Lux  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  It  is 
reported  that  at  the  end  of  twenty  years  of  loose,  indefinite  partnership  with 
Miller,  Crocker  asked  for  an  accounting.  Miller  discouraged  the  idea  and 
wanted  to  know  what  was  the  use,  but  Crocker  insisted  that  he  was  getting 
on  in  years  and  would  like  to  know  how  much  money  he  was  worth.  Finally 
Miller  sent  him  to  the  book-keepers  at  the  San  Francisco  office,  where 
Crocker  was  informed,  after  due  search  of  the  ledgers,  that  he  owed  the  firm 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Despite  these  discouraging  figures,  however, 
Crocker  soon  became  the  owner  of  one  of  the  finest  of  the  Miller  ranches  in 
the  Kern  delta,  long  known  as  the  Crocker  ranch,  and  later  as  the  Balfour- 
Guthrie  ranch  near  Panama.  In  addition  to  his  renown  as  a  cattle  man,  Jim 
Crocker  was  known  throughout  the  length  of  the  valley  as  a  hunter  of  out- 
laws. He  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  successful  expedition  against  Joaquin 
Murietta,  and  helped  also  to  mete  out  summary  justice  to  other  evil  doers 
of  less  unenviable  fame. 

By  1868  there  were  many  cattlemen  and  many  herds  both  in  the  valley 
and  in  the  mountains  and  hills.  In  1870  John  Funk  had  succeeded  Alexander 
at  San  Emidio,  and  was  the  possessor  of  great  herds. 

Meantime  the  cattlemen  were  well  established  in  the  valleys  about 
Tehachapi,  in  Walker's  basin,  in  the  South  Fork  valley,  around  Poso  Flat 
and  Granite  and  in  Linn's  valley,  where  Staniford  &  Dunlap  made  their 
headquarters  and  ranged  their  herds  all  through  the  mountains  and  foot- 
hills from  Porterville  to  Tehachapi.  Meantime,  also,  the  Jewett  Brothers  had 
launched  the  sheep  industry  of  the  county  from  the  Rio  Bravo  ranch  on 
Kern  river,  midway  between  the  Kern  river  oil  fields  and  the  mouth  of  the 
canon. 

Some  of  the  Very  Old  Timers 

Getting  back  to  the  Kern  delta  in  1860-61,  the  settlers  besides  the  Mc- 
Crays  included  the  Shirleys,  the  Wickers,  the  Daughertys,  the  Gilberts,  and 
a  little  farther  south  and  west  toward  Buena  Vista  lake,  Tom  Barnes  and 
Jim  and  Jefif  Harris.  Where  Walker  Shirley  lived  (where  the  Lowell  addi- 
tion is  now)  was  a  large  thicket  of  willows  growing  along  the  banks  of  the 
south  fork.  Similar  thickets  were  scattered  about  in  the  low  places  where 
the  water  frequently  overflowed,  and  the  general  landscape,  viewed  from  the 
present  center  of  Bakersfield,  was  dotted  with  large  cottonwood  trees,  a  con- 
siderable number  of  which  still  remain,  not  so  very  much  larger  than  they 
were  fifty  years  ago.  John  Shirley  lived  close  to  where  the  Chinese  burying 
ground  south  of  D  street  is  now  located.  R.  M.  Gilbert  lived  where  the  old 
race  track  was  built  later,  at  the  north  end  of  Chester  avenue. 

Quite  a  number  of  Indian  families  lived  about  the  present  townsite, 
hunting  the    deer  and    antelope   and   other   wild    game   that   abounded,   and 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  49 

fisliing  for  the  trout  that  swam  in  lower  Kern  river  at  that  time.  Also 
they  farmed  a  little  and  worked,  on  occasion,  for  the  whites.  Mrs.  Van 
Orman,  who  was  formerly  Mrs.  Gilbert,  says  the  Indians  used  to  jab  a  sharp 
stick  into  the  earth,  drop  a  few  kernels  of  corn  therein  and  close  the  opening 
with  their  heels.  Later  on  they  harvested  the  crop,  doing  little  meantime 
save  fish  and  hunt.  The  white  settlers  farmed  little  more  thoroughly,  for 
the  crops  grew  anyway,  and  what  was  the  use?  The  Indians  built  their  abodes 
almost  wholly  of  tules.  The  whites  used  willow  poles  for  the  frames  of 
their  buildings  and  thatched  both  sides  and  roof  with  tules  and  flags.  When 
they  got  to  feeling  more  settled,  they  built  walls  of  tules  and  mud,  reinforced 
with  willow  poles  stuck  in  the  earth  outside  and  inside  at  intervals  to  keep 
them  from  falling  over.  The  most  pretentious  residences  were  built  of 
adobes.  The  floors  were  invariably  of  the  native  earth,  raised  a  little  for 
drainage.  There  was  no  lumber,  and  not  even  the  making  of  good  puncheons. 
The  Gilberts  had  a  well  some  six  or  eight  feet  deep  with  earthen  steps  leading 
down  an  incline  to  the  water.  They  walked  down  and  dipped  it  up  instead  of 
using  a  rope  and  windlass. 

Nobody  bothered  about  titles  to  land  then.  They  squatted  where  they 
pleased,  and  if  their  first  location  did  not  suit  them  moved  next  week  or 
next  year  as  their  fancy  dictated.  People  who  were  not  in  the  cattle  business 
exclusively  like  the  McCrays  and  y\le-^ander,  kept  a  few  cows,  a  few  hogs 
and  maybe  a  few  chickens.  It  was  the  easiest  place  in  the  world  in  which  to 
make  a  living,  says  Mrs.  Van  Orman.  Bill  Daugherty  was  the  pioneer  hog 
raiser  of  the  county,  and  many  tales  are  told  of  his  ability  and  prowess  not 
only  as  a  handler  of  tame  swine  but  with  the  wild  ones  that  flourished  in 
droves  about  Buena  Vista  and  Kern  lakes.  Among  his  other  accomplishments 
it  is  stated  that  Daugherty  could  grunt  so  alluringly  that  the  infant  porkers 
would  leave  their  mother's  side  and  run  squealing  to  his  outstretched  hands. 
Not  only  Daugherty  but  many  others  of  the  early  settlers  used  to  hunt  wild 
hogs  around  the  lakes.  Dogs  were  specially  trained  to  trail  the  swine  and 
hold  them  at  bay  by  barking  and  nipping  their  heels  until  the  hunters  arrived. 
No  number  of  dogs,  it  is  said,  could  kill  a  large  wild  boar.'  Sometimes  they 
chewed  his  ears  to  rags,  but  in  the  end  when  the  dogs  were  tired  out  the  hog 
would  rip  great  gashes  in  them  with  his  tusks.  An  unverified  legend  is  to  the 
effect  that  some  of  the  wild  hog  hunters,  having  corralled  a  bunch  of  the 
beasts,  would  sew  up  their  eyes  and  using  tame  hogs  as  pilots,  would  drive 
them  to  the  mountain  mines.  As  a  general  thing,  however,  the  Buena  Vista 
porkers  were  better  handled  in  the  form  of  hams  and  bacon. 

Wild  cattle  and  wild  horses  added  to  the  resources  available  to  the  early 
settlers  in  the  Kern  delta.  In  dry  seasons  when  the  early  cattle  raisers  on 
the  coast  had  not  enough  feed  to  keep  their  stock  from  starving,  they  used 
to  drive  a  portion  of  their  herds  over  a  range  into  this  valley  and  leave  them 
to  shift  for  themselves  until  the  next  rains  replenished  the  home  pastures. 
Before  their  owners  returned  to  seek  them,  many  of  these  cattle  had  wan- 
dered too  far  to  be  gathered  together. 

Beginning  of  the  Sheep  Industry 

Conspicuous  figures  in  the  history  of  the  sheep  industry  of  Kern  county 
are  the  Jewett  brothers,  Solomon  and  Philo  D.,  who,  as  related  in  a  former 
chapter,  bought  out  the  flocks  of  Colonel  Vineyard  at  Tejon  ;  Gustav  Sanger ; 
the  Troys;  Harry  Quinn,  pioneer  of  the  northern  Kern  foothills  whose  camp 
at  Rag  gulch  was  known  as  a  landmark  and  a  hospitable  watering  place  since 


50  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  early  70s ;  Peter  Lambert  of  Long  Tom ;  A.  Pauly  of  Tehachapi ;  L.  C. 
Flores,  who  kept  a  store  and  shearing  camp  at  San  Emidio  in  the  '70s  when 
there  was  Mexican  settlement  at  that  place  and  many  sheep  in  the  hills 
thereabout;  the  Borgwardts,  who  ran  sheep  on  Poso  creek;  Jesse  Stark,  who 
was  out  at  Tejon  in  the  early  days,  and  later  on  Ardizzi-Olcese  Company, 
who  were  headquarters  and  outfitters  for  the  itinerant  French  sheep  men ; 
F.  M.  Noriega,  M.  Cesmat,  J.  B.  Berges,  A.  P.  Eyraud,  all  of  whom  made 
enough  money  in  the  sheep  business  to  launch  them  in  other  ventures ;  Andre 
Vieux  and  F'aure  Brothers  of  Delano;  Pierre  Giraud,  "Little  Pete",  and 
scores  of  men  less  famous  who  followed  their  bands  to  the  mountains  and  the 
wide  ranges  beyond  in  summer  and  came  back  to  Kern  county's  warm  mesas 
for  the  February  lambing  and  shearing  time. 

The  Jewetts  have  been  shepherds  for  three  generations.  Solomon  W. 
Jewett,  father  of  Solomon  and  Philo,  the  Kern  county  pioneers,  was  a  sheep 
and  wool  grower  of  Vermont,  and  Philo  Jewett,  one  of  the  sons  of  the  second 
Solomon  Jewett,  is  today  one  of  the  largest  owners  of  flocks  in  Kern  county. 
After  they  had  purchased  Colonel  Vineyard's  sheep  in  1860,  Solomon  and 
Philo  Jewett  established  themselves  on  the  Rio  Bravo  ranch  about  a  dozen 
miles  up  Kern  river  from  Bakersfield.  Later  they  acquired  land  adjoining 
the  townsite  of  Bakersfield  and  west  of  Bakersfield  in  what  is  now  the 
Rosedale  country.  On  some  of  the  latter  land  Philo  Jewett  now  has  his 
shearing  camp,  but  the  Indians  who  sheared  the  fleeces  from  his  father's  and 
uncle's  sheep  in  the  days  before  the  Civil  war  have  given  place  to  men  with 
shearing  machines  driven  by  a  gasoline  engine. 

Next  to  the  Jewetts  in  point  of  years  and  permanence  of  location  is 
Harry  Quinn,  who  first  came  to  spy  out  the  land  in  1868  and  came  to  settle 
permanently  in  1874,  bringing  8000  or  9000  sheep  belonging  in  part  to  him  and 
in  part  to  Archibald  Leach.  A  few  years  later  Quinn  bought  out  the  band, 
and  increased  his  flocks  and  his  acres  until  he  had  eventually  some  20,000  acres 
of  land  and  one  of  the  largest  bands  of  sheep  in  the  county.  Quinn  is  now 
closing  out  his  sheep  and  has  sold  part  of  his  range  for  orange  land  and  leased 
most  of  the  remainder  for  possible  oil  land.  Young  &  Riley  and  W.  L.  Smith 
on  White  river  and  Templeton  on  Rag  Gulch  are  among  the  other  pioneer 
sheep  men  of  the  northern  part  of  the  county. 

While  his  varied  career  makes  him  hard  to  classify,  Capt.  John  Barker 
figures  quite  prominently  in  the  early  sheep  industry  of  the  county,  having 
run  large  bands  on  Kern  river  in  the  same  vicinity  as  the  scene  of  the  Jewett's 
first  ventures. 

The  setting  apart  of  a  very  great  area  of  mountain  land  as  a  federal  forest 
reserve  and  the  exclusion  of  the  sheep  men  from  the  free  ranges  which  they 
had  formerly  enjoyed  therein,  was  the  cause  of  curtailing  to  a  considerable 
extent  the  sheep  industry  in  the  county,  particularly  affecting  the  wandering 
shepherds,  the  Frenchmen  and  Basques  who  own  little  or  no  land  and  depend 
on  leasing  cheap  ranges  and  driving  their  flocks  from  section  to  section  to 
meet  the  changes  of  the  varying  season. 

Whether  the  total  number  of  sheep  in  the  county  will  again  increase  is 

doubtful.    The  cheap  ranges  are  being  put  to  more  profitable  purposes,  and 

it  will  soon  be  a  matter  for  the  shepherds  to  decide  whether  or  not  it  pays  to 

raise  sheep  inside  good  pastures  where  beef  cattle  and  dairy  cows  will  thrive. 

The  Mexican  Settlement 

What  was  known  in  the  early  days  as  the  Me.xican  settlement  where 
Panama  now  is,  was  founded  in  1865  or  thereabout,  by  Dolores  Montano, 
who  settled  on  section  26,  30-27.  Ventura  Cuen  came  about  the  same  time 
and  settled  on  section  23,  30-27,  both  of  which  places  were  later  a  part  of 
the  Panama  ranch  of  Miller  &  Lux.  Montano  went  back  to  Sonora,  Mexico, 
to  die,  but  Cuen  still  lives  a  short  distance  south  of  the  cemetery  on  Union 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  51 

avenue  with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Joseph  Sunega.  Tomas  Castro,  patriarch  of 
the  present  Castro  clan,  came  here  in  1868  from  Magdalena,  Mexico,  where 
he  had  been  driven  from  his  htime  by  the  floods  of  18(v-68,  as  severe  in 
Mexico  as  they  were  in  California.  Castro  located  on  the  Montano  place, 
later  moving  to  section  12,  30-27,  where  he  took  up  a  homestead  and  reared 
his  family  of  eight  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Among  the  other  early  settlers  at  Panama  were  Encarnacion  Padres, 
Averon  Sierras,  Guadeloupe  Gonzoles,  Tomas  Noriega  and  Jesus  Noriega, 
his  son. 

After  Miller  bought  the  land  included  in  the  Panama  ranch,  most  of  the 
settlers  there  moved  to  Saletral,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  northwest  of  Panama, 
so  named  on  account  of  a  certain  excess  of  alkali  in  the  soil  thereabout.  The 
first  store  at  Panama  was  kept  by  Lesser  Hirshfeld,  one  of  the  family  of  pio- 
neer merchants  whose  name  figures  conspicuously  in  the  early  trade  of  Bakers- 
field  and  Tehachapi  as  well.  Panama  was  about  five  or  six  miles  east  of  the 
old  Barnes  settlement.  Just  east  of  Panama,  Howard  Cross  had  a  ranch  in 
1870  or  thereabout,  but  farther  east  than  that  in  the  valley  there  was  prac- 
tically nothing  up  to  something  after  that  date. 

Tomas  Castro  built  the  Castro  ditch  in  1870  and  1871,  and  both  he  and 
his  neighbors  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising  along  the  same 
line  as  the  other  pioneers.  Dom  Castro,  son  of  Tomas,  tells  of  catching  and 
partially  taming  the  wild  Spanish  cattle  that  used  to  roam  the  lowlands  of 
the  valley.  They  used  to  lie  in  wait  for  the  cattle  as  they  would  come  from 
the  willows  in  what  is  now  the  Lowell  Addition  to  Bakersfield,  lasso  and 
brand  them  and  take  them  to  fenced  pastures  where  they  were  kept  with 
other  cattle  until  they  grew  tame  enough  to  be  herded  or  driven  in  bands. 
The  Spanish  cattle  were  small,  light  and  very  inferior  as  l^eef  animals,  liut 
they  were  excellent  runners,  if  that  can  be  considered  a  virtue  in  a  ciiw.  An 
old  Spanish  cow  would  weigh  perhaps  700  pounds — quite  as  often  consid- 
erably less.  As  late  as  1880  wild  cattle  and  deer  were  seen  about  the  Kern 
river  oil  fields,  antelope  were  plentiful  farther  west,  and  elk  roamed  in  the 
Elk  hills  and  along  the  Coast  range  mesas. 

About  1870  Francisco  Martinez  used  to  make  a  business  of  catching  wild 
horses  where  the  Lost  Hills  oil  field  is  now  located  and  all  along  the  Coast 
range  hills  from  Sunflower  valley  to  Carneros  springs.  Martinez  built  cor- 
rals with  wide  extended  wings  and  drove  the  wild  horses  therein,  or  built 
snares  for  them  about  their  watering  places.  Sometimes  he  would  get  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  of  the  mustangs  in  a  corral  at  a  drive,  and  he  sold  them,  either 
broken  or  unbroken,  for  $2.50  to  $5  per  head.  A  mustang  that  had  been  las- 
soed and  thrown  down  was  broken,  and  one  that  would  not  throw  itself 
over  backward  when  a  halter  was  put  on  it  was  a  finished  product.  Tomas 
Castro  used  to  trade  Martinez  a  hair  rope  for  a  mustang,  and  one  day  Lee 
and  Dom  were  sent  to  bring  home  a  couple  of  fillies  so  acquired.  But  in 
crossing  the  river  the  colts,  tied  together  by  their  halters,  got  dizzy  and 
turned  round  and  round  until  they  fell  down  and  drowned  in  the  shallow 
stream,  although  the  boys  did  their  best  to  hold  their  heads  above  water. 
Of  such  value  were  the  wild  horses. 

Stories  of  the  Outlaw  Vasquez 

Some  of  the  mustangs  of  the  early  day.  however,  were  famous  for  their 
speed  and  endurance.  One  of  these,  Pico  Blanco  (white  Bill),  is  the  hero  of 
sundry  adventures.  One  morning  before  the  light  began  to  streak  the  sky 
above   Bear   mountain,   Tomas  Castro   was  called    from   his   bed   by   a    voice 


52  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

shouting  his  name  from  the  road.  He  went  out  to  find  Tiburcio  Vasquez, 
the  famous  outlaw,  who  said  he  wanted  the  best  horse  on  the  Castro  ranch. 
Tomas  brought  out  Pico  Blanco,  and  Vasquez  mounted  him  and  dashed 
away — probably  pursued  by  a  posse  in  search  of  vengeance  for  some  outrage. 
No  more  was  heard  or  seen  of  Pico  Blanco  for  many  days,  when  one 
morning  Vasquez  was  again  heard  calling  from  the  road.  When  Castro 
appeared  Vasquez  tossed  him  $100  in  gold  and  a  rope,  at  the  other  end  of 
which  was  a  bony  shadow  of  Pico  Blanco,  took  his  own  horse,  which  had 
been  kept  at  the  ranch,  and  disappeared.  Pico  got  back  his  flesh  and  his 
spirit,  and  in  later  years,  Dom  Castro  says,  Morris  Jacoby,  a  merchant  of 
early  Bakersfield,  used  to  ride  him  to  Los  Angeles,  starting  in  the  morning  at 
6  o'clock  and  arriving  in  the  southern  city  by  7  or  8  in  the  evening. 

Lesser  Hirshfeld,  who  kept  the  first  store  in  the  Panama  settlement, 
tells  another  story  that  illustrates  the  methods  of  the  Vasquez  gang.  One  day 
a  Mexican  friend  stopped  at  the  store  and  invited  Hirshfeld,  or  Cristobol, 
as  he  was  known  by  his  patrons,  to  come  with  him  to  a  dance  at  a  road 
house  a  few  miles  down  the  road.  Business  was  dull,  and  a  part  of  the 
science  of  mercantile  success  is  to  maintain  friendly  relations  with  one's 
patrons,  so  Cristobol  saddled  his  horse.  Arriving  at  the  dance,  the  merchant 
was  impressed  by  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of  strangers  and  a  display 
of  fire  arms  unusual  even  for  a  dance  in  the  early  days,  and  he  was  not  long 
in  deciding  the  character  of  his  fellow  guests.  Hirshfeld  took  a  perfunctory 
part  in  the  festivities  and  did  the  proper  thing  by  treating  everyone  including 
the  outlaws  to  drinks  and  cigars,  and  then  making  some  excuse  about  a 
business  engagement,  he  took  a  circuitous  route  back  to  his  store,  gathered 
up  his  cash  and  galloped  by  another  round-about  way  to  town.  He  came 
back  next  day  expecting  to  find  his  place  robbed,  but  nothino  had  happened. 
This  was  Thursday,  and  that  night  the  pioneer  merchant  again  galloped  to 
town  with  his  day's  receipts.  The  same  process  was  repeated  Friday  and 
Saturday,  and  Hirshfeld  had  about  exhausted  his  ingenuity  in  inventing 
reasons  to  give  his  clerk  for  passing  the  nights  in  town,  but  when  he  got 
home  Sunday  morning  there  was  no  need  for  further  explanation.  In  the 
night  Vasquez  and  his  men  appeared  masked  and  held  a  parley  in  front 
of  the  store  with  some  of  Hirshfeld's  neighbors.  It  developed  later  that  the 
neighbors  convinced  the  outlaws  that  Hirshfeld  had  gone  to  town  and  taken 
all  his  money  with  him.  Thereupon  the  gang  threw  oflf  the  masks,  entered 
the  store,  called  for  drinks  and  paid  for  them  ;  called  for  another  round  and 
did  not  pay;  called  for  a  third  round  and  paid,  and  disappeared  on  their 
horses  in  the  darkness.  Any  discerning  person  will  understand  that  Vasquez, 
with  the  courtesy  for  which  he  was  noted,  did  the  proper  honors  of  the  time 
and  the  occasion  just  as  though  the  proprietor  had  been  present,  and  the 
proprietor,  when  he  returned,  fully  appreciated  it. 

Meantime  a  posse  that  left  Bakersfield  on  Friday  (taking  every  gun  in 
the  city,  it  is  said)  was  scouring  the  hills  from  Caliente  to  Tejon  canon  in 
search  of  the  men  who  were  dancing  and  feasting  at  Panama.  It  was  the 
last  visit  of  Vasquez  to  Kern  county.  From  Panama  he  went  to  the  San 
Fernando  valley  where  he  was  captured,  through  the  agency  of  a  woman 
who  played  him  false. 

The    Barnes    Settlement 

The  Barnes  settlement  was  named  for  Thomas  Barnes,  who  was  in  the 
county  in  1859,  and  who  settled  some  six  or  eight  miles  west  of  Panama  in 


81/^  J^ 


'-Jt^ 


r 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  53 

the  early  '60s.  Barnes  lived  on  section  26,  30-26,  near  a  big  natural  grove  of 
cottonwoods  that  lay  a  half  mile  wide  and  about  three  miles  long  in  the 
bed  of  an  old  slough.  Jeflf,  Jim,  Ed.,  Noland  and  Tony  Harris,  all  brothers 
of  Mrs.  Barnes,  had  ranches  there,  but  they  were  away  teaming  in  the  moun- 
tains a  larger  part  of  the  time  than  they  spent  farming.  By  1868,  when 
P.  J.  Waldon  took  up  a  claim  in  the  Barnes  settlement.  Bill  Daugherty  had 
lived  there  and  gone,  and  some  of  the  other  earlier  settlers  were  fading 
memories.  Mr.  Waldon  does  not  recall  the  name  of  an  Arkansas  woman 
who  planted  an  acre  of  peach  trees  on  the  place  where  Barnes  lived  in  1868, 
but  the  fruit  was  celebrated  throughout  the  whole  delta,  where  any  kind  of 
peaches  probably  tasted  good  in  1868.  Barnes  had  about  forty  head  of  cattle, 
and  ran  hogs  in  the  tules,  and  nearly  all  the  other  early  settlers  in  the 
vicinity  did  the  same.  Waldon  says  the  wild  hogs  were  not  very  good 
eating,  but  tame  hogs  sold  readily  in  Bakersfield  at  four  and  five  cents  per 
pound,  and  the  hog-raisers  made  money.  In  the  later  70s  Waldon,  Van 
Stoner,  W.  W.  Frazier,  Vining  Barker  and  Jock  Ellis  ran  their  hogs  in 
one  herd  for  economy  of  management,  and  the  raising  of  pork  was  a  con- 
siderable industry  about  Old  River,  the  Barnes  settlement  and  Canfield 
(so  called  in  honor  of  Wellington  Canfield.) 

Wellington  Canfield  and  F.  A.  Tracy  were  first  in  the  cattle  business 
on  Jerry  slough,  named  for  Jerry  Bush,  a  cattleman  who  ran  his  herds  there  in 
1866,  but  later  they  bought  land  near  the  Barnes  settlement,  and  a  little 
town  was  laid  out  and  christened  Canfield. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  the  first  alfalfa  in  the  county  was  grown  by 
Tom  Barnes  from  seed  sent  him  from  South  America  by  a  traveler  who  had 
visited  the  delta  and  believed  the  clover  would  do  well  there.  It  did  do  well, 
and  the  fame  of  the  Barnes  alfalfa  patch  was  spread  all  over  the  county 
in  1867  or  "68. 

The  Buena  Vista  Canal  Company  was  organized  in  1870  by  Barnes,  Har- 
ris, Gillum,  John  Oleton,  P.  J.  Waldon,  Peter  O'Hare,  John  Gordon,  James 
Cole  and  others,  and  later,  as  in  the  case  of  nearly  all  the  canal  companies,  the 
controlling  interest  was  acquired  by  Haggin  &  Carr. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  the  great  Kern  delta  in  the  early  days  every- 
body within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles  was  everybody  else's  neighbor,  ready 
to  help  dispose  of  a  feast  or  nurse  a  stricken  fellow  settler  through  a  fever 
with  impartial  alacrity.  When  Sis  Daugherty  was  married  to  Corbin  Wicker, 
old  man  Daugherty  launched  his  tule  boat  on  the  South  Fork  and  hitching  his 
riata  to  the  prow  swam  his  horse  across  to  fetch  all  the  neighbors  to  the 
wedding  supper.  On  Christmas  day  just  before  the  great  flood  of  1861-62  that 
made  history  and  geography  both  in  Kern  county,  the  Skileses.  who  lived 
somewhere  south  of  Reeder  lake,  made  a  dinner  for  the  whole  neighborhood, 
and  the  Gilberts,  returning  just  as  the  first  swelling  of  Panama  channel 
began  to  make  the  banks  boggy,  mired  down  in  the  foamy,  brown  water, 
and  friendly  Indians  waded  in  and  carried  Mrs.  Gilbert  and  her  infant  ashore. 

But  before  I  go  on  with  the  tale  of  the  flood  I  must  go  back  a  little 
way  and  relate  how  all  this  peaceful  Arcadia,  where  there  was  neither  law 
nor  present  need  of  law  was  the  subject  of  special  acts  of  the  state  legislature 
and  of  plans  and  dreams  of  men  so  far-sighted  that  they  lifted  their  feet  to 
step  over  the  threshold  into  a  future,  which  to  us,  nearly  a  whole  lifetime 
later,  seems  far  away  on  the  horizon. 


54  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

CHAPTER  V 

Floods  and  Swamp  Reclamation 

Residents  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  in  the  year  1913  look  forward,  in 
hours  of  faith  and  prophecy,  to  a  time  when  the  population  of  the  valley  shall 
be  so  large  and  the  freight  traffic  so  great  throughout  the  length  of  it  that  it 
will  be  practicable  and  profitable  to  build  and  operate  a  transportation  canal 
from  Bakersfield  to  the  bay.  We  know  that  it  would  be  neither  practicable 
nor  profitable  at  the  present  time.  But  it  is  of  the  essence  of  the  pioneer  to 
see  the  ultimate  destiny,  to  leap  over,  in  fancy  and  undertaking,  the  inter- 
vening years  or  centuries — it  makes  little  difference  to  the  true  pioneer — 
to  set  cheerfully  at  work  to  accomplish  the  impossible,  and  to  make  some 
shift  or  other  in  the  face  of  the  inevitable  defeat. 

It  is  necessary  to  keep  all  this  in  mind  and  to  remember,  also,  that 
everybody  in  the  state  of  California  was  a  pioneer  in  1857  when  we  read 
in  the  statutes  that  in  that  year  was  passed  and  approved  an  act  giving 
W.  F.  Montgomery,  Joseph  Montgomery,  A.  J.  Downes,  F.  W.  Sampson  and 
their  associates  and  assigns  the  right  to  reclaim  all  the  swamp  land  belonging 
to  the  state  "lying  between  the  San  Joaquin  river  at  a  point  known  as  Kings 
river  slough,  and  Tulare  lake,  and  also  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands 
bordering  on  Tulare,  Buena  Vista  and  Kern  lakes,  and  between  said  lakes, 
and  up  to  the  line  dividing  the  said  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  from  the 
lands  belonging  to  the  United  States." 

The  First  San  Joaquin  Valley   Canal  Project 

Also  they  were  given  the  right  and  privilege  to  construct  and  put  in 
operation  a  canal,  capable  of  carrying  boats  of  80-tons  burden,  all  the  way 
from  Kings  river  slough  on  the  San  Joaquin  river  to  Kern  lake,  or,  if  they 
chose,  they  could  switch  the  course  of  the  canal  to  intercept  the  main  channel 
of  Kern  river  instead  of  passing  through  Buena  Vista  and  Kern  lakes. 

They  were  given  a  right  of  way  200  feet  wide  on  each  side  of  the  pro- 
posed canal,  and  were  to  have  the  right  to  operate  the  waterway  and  to 
collect  such  tolls  as  the  legislature  might  authorize  for  a  period  of  twenty 
years,  after  which  the  ownership  of  the  canal  should  revert  to  the  state. 
Incidentally  the  grantees  were  to  have  all  the  odd  sections  in  the  tracts 
reclaimed,  and  for  every  odd  section  therein  of  which  the  state  might  thereto- 
fore have  disposed,  the  grantees  were  to  select  in  lieu  four  even  sections. 

Note  particularly  that  work  on  the   canal  must  begin  within  one  year 
ana  the  whole  must  be  completed  within  three  years  from  the  passage  of 
the  act  in  order  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the  grant. 
The  First  State  Highway 

In  the  spring  of  1862  the  act  was  amended,  a  provision  being  inserted  to 
the  efifect  that  out  of  the  200  feet  of  right  of  way  allowed  on  each  side  of  the 
canal  the  public  should  be  permitted  the  use  of  a  highway.  It  also  was  pro- 
vided that  when  the  work  was  done  the  governor  and  the  surveyor-general 
must  certify  to  the  reclamation  of  the  land.  The  new  act  also  extended  the 
time  limits  to  one  year  and  three  years,  respectively,  after  the  passage  of 
the  amended  act.    This  date  was  April  10,  1862. 

Meantime  W.  F.  Montgomery,  who  was  the  principal  in  the  scheme, 
had  not  succeeded  in  interesting  capital  in  the  canal  project,  and  for  a  con- 
sideration of  $10,000  he  deeded  to  Thomas  Baker  and  Harvey  S.  Brown  (each 


HISTORY    OF    KERN   COUNTY  55 

an  undivided  one-half  share)   all  his  right,  title  and  interest  in  the  lands  in 
question.     For  smaller  sums  Baker  and  Brown  bought  out  the  other  owners. 

Baker,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  active  member  of  the  new  partnership, 
set  about  iinding  capital  to  carry  out  the  enterprise,  but  he  was  no  more 
successful  than  iMontgomery  had  been.  But  the  legislature  came  to  his  aid 
most  generously  and  again  amended  the  act  providing  for  the  reclamation 
of  the  lands  in  question,  releasing  W.  F.  Montgomery,  et  al.,  their  asso- 
ciates and  assigns  from  all  obligation  to  construct  and  put  in  operation  for 
the  purpose  of  navigation,  the  several  canals  referred  to  in  the  previous  act, 
and  providing  that  in  consideration  of  the  reclamation  of  the  lands  mentioned 
in  the  act  they  should  be  entitled  to  the  same  quantity  of  land  and  all  other 
rights  and  privileges  as  if  they  had  nut  been  released  from  the  obligation 
to  construct  the  canal. 

With  somewhat  greater  verbosity  than  the  foregoing,  the  legislature  of 
1863  dashed,  for  something  more  than  half  a  century,  at  least,  the  hope  of 
Bakersfield's  standing  at  the  head  of  navigation  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley. 

But  while  the  open-hearted  members  of  the  legislature  had  generously 
relieved  Colonel  Baker  of  mure  than  half  his  monumental  undertaking  he 
was  still,  so  far  as  any  human  being  had  the  slightest  reason  to  suppose, 
in  the  position  of  a  man,  who,  having  discovered  that  he  could  not  grasp  the 
moon,  would  find  himself  elevated,  suddenly,  on  legs  ten  thousand  feet  in 
height.  The  assistance  would  not  be  effective  enough  to  be  even  genuinely 
tantalizing.  As  for  the  reasonableness  of  the  action  of  the  legislature,  con- 
sidering that  body  as  the  custodian  of  the  public  interest,  let  it  be  remembered 
that  the  flood  of  1861-62  broke  levees  right  and  left  in  the  Sacramento  valley, 
doing  damage  upward  of  $3,000,000.  The  experience  taught  a  new  lesson  to 
the  state  concerning  the  difficulty  of  handling  floods  and  swamps.  And  the 
legislature  had  no  means  of  knowing,  it  is  to  be  supposed,  what  a  merry 
prank  Kern  river  had  just  played  with  Old  Tom  Barnes'  irrigating  ditch. 
Like  as  not  many  of  the  legislators  honestly  thought  that  a  man  who  would 
reclaim  a  swamp  ought  to  have  the  whole  of  it  for  his  labor,  not  half. 

As  for  Colonel  Baker,  he  came  to  Kern  county,  hired  thirty  Indians 
from  the  Tejon  reservation  and  set  to  work  to  reclaim  a  swamp  of  upward 
of  400,000  acres  that  wound  for  150  miles  through  a  raw,  unsettled  country 
and  was  replenished  by  the  waters  of  two  of  the  great  rivers  of  the  state 
and  six  or  seven  smaller  streams.  Try  to  compass  the  sublime  audacity 
of  it,  and  then  see  how  Nature  can  bend  her  forces  to  help  a  sublimely 
audacious  man — the  kind  of  man,  apparently,  that  Nature  loves. 

Look  back  a  little  now  and  see  what  old  Kern  river  was  doing  while  the 
legislature  was  revising  its  laws,  and  first  Montgomery  and  then  Colonel  I'.aker 
were  trying  to  interest  capital— in  Civil  war  times — in  their  mad  and  visionary 
undertaking. 

How  a  River  in  Flood  Reclaimed  a  Swamp 

When  the  Gilberts  went  home  from  their  Christmas  dinner  at  the  Skiles 
place  as  related  in  the  previous  chapter,  they  had  to  cross  the  first  turbid 
forerunners  of  the  flood,  because  they  lived  out  at  the  old  race  track,  and 
the  river  then  was  all  this  side.  Their  house  of  poles  and  tules  stood  in  a 
thicket  of  willows,  but  a  little  way  to  the  north  was  the  open,  sage  brush 
country,  through  which  Tom  Barnes  and  the  Harris  brothers  had  begun  to 
build  an  irrigation  ditch  to  lead  the  water  down  to  lands  they  had  started  to 
cultivate.     For   that  dav  the   ditch    was  an   ambitious   undertaking,   both   in 


56  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

width  and  in  depth,  and  its  construction  had  progressed  for  a  mile  and  more. 

The  Gilberts  had  seen  high  water  before,  and  they  went  to  bed  with 
little  concern  after  they  had  been  rescued  from  the  river  by  the  Indians. 
Along  in  the  night,  however,  there  arose  a  great  squealing  from  the  pen 
where  some  forty  porkers  fattened,  and  when  Gilbert  rolled  out  of  bed  to 
see  what  was  the  matter,    he  splashed  to  his  knees  in  icy  water. 

By  the  time  Gilbert  and  a  couple  of  men  who  were  stopping  at  the  place 
could  carry  the  children  and  the  provisions  to  a  little  knoll  of  high  ground 
farther  north,  the  melted  snow  water  was  lapping  around  their  waists.  The 
hog  pen  and  the  corn  crib  floated  down  stream,  and  the  tule  house  followed 
them  next  day  as  the  water  continued  to  rise.  A  little  exploration  to  the 
north  showed  that  the  swollen  current  had  found  Tom  Barnes'  ditch  and 
was  scooping  it  deeper  and  wider  at  a  faster  rate  than  Barnes  could  have 
done  had  he  been  loaned  all  the  horses  and  plows  in  the  state  of  California. 
The  virgin  earth,  unprotected  by  roots  or  vegetation,  melted  before  the 
torrent  like  mounds  of  sand  before  the  incoming  tide.  Not  many  days  passed 
before  the  larger  of  the  two  streams  was  to  the  north  of  the  Gilberts  instead 
of  to  the  south  of  them,  and  at  frequent  intervals  a  dozen  tons  or  more  of  earth 
would  cave  from  the  bank  of  the  new  channel  and  fall  into  the  brown  and 
boiling  flood  with  a  roar  that  did  not  sound  good  to  the  damp  and  shivering 
refugees  perched  on  their  island  knoll  only  a  few  rods  away. 

Fortunately,  only  a  few  days  before  the  flood,  Gilbert  had  returned  with 
a  four-horse  load  of  provisions  from  Visalia,  and  a  little  while  before  that 
they  had  bought  700  pounds  of  flour  from  a  man  who  had  to  take  flour  for 
a  debt  a  Parajo  valley  rancher  owed  him  and  who  was  peddling  it  out 
through  the  length  of  the  valley  after  the  manner  of  the  day.  So  the  family 
made  out  through  what  seemed,  not  only  to  them  but  to  many  other  flood- 
bound  pioneers  in  the  state,  an  interminable  season  of  rain  and  freshet,  and 
then  they  moved  to  Reeder  hill,  the  highest  and  dryest  spot  within  the  pres- 
ent townsite. 

And  so,  when  Colonel  Baker  came  with  his  thirty  Indians  he  put  a  head 
gate  in  what  remained  of  the  old  south  fork,  and  built  the  beginning  of 
the  Town  ditch,  and  was  able  to  report  to  the  governor  and  surveyor-general 
in  all  truthfulness  that  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  400,000  acres  had 
been  reclaimed. 

Then  the  Drought  Helped,  Too 

Still  Nature  was  kind  to  this  generous,  enthusiastic  optimist  who  was 
not  afraid  to  attempt  great  things  that  other  people  said  were  impossible. 
In  the  year  1864  was  the  worst  drought  since  the  American  occupation.  All 
over  the  state  cattle  and  sheep  died  of  starvation  by  the  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands. Shepherds  were  glad  to  dispose  of  their  flocks  at  a  bit  a  head,  and 
failing  that  they  killed  them  mercifully  and  saved  their  pelts. 

Colonel  Baker,  when  he  had  built  the  head  gate  in  the  south  fork,  went 
down  to  the  north  end  of  Buena  Vista  lake  and  scraped  the  Baker  dam,  frag- 
ments of  which  are  still  to  be  found  a  little  way  north  of  the  Cole  levee. 
Then  he  took  his  family  back  to  Visalia  temporarily  while  he  did  further 
reclamation  work  north  of  Tulare  lake. 

Baker  Gets  His  Patent 

The  Governor  sent  the  surveyor-general  and  another  engineer  by  name  of 
Andrew  Jackson  to  see  if  the  lands  had  been  reclaimed.  By  that  time  the 
drought  had  done  what  Baker  could  not  do.     The  engineers  found  the  land 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  57 

as  dry  as  a  bone,  and  so  reported.  There  was  some  delay  in  the  making  out 
of  the  patent,  but  finally  it  was  sigi;:ed  by  Governor  Frederick  F.  Low  on 
November  11,  1867.  It  conveyed  to  W.  F.  Montgomery,  et  al.,  their  asso- 
ciates and  assigns,  a  total  of  89,120  acres  of  land  in  Kern  and  Fresno  coun- 
ties— about  half  as  much  as  the  grantees  originally  were  to  receive. 

The  next  great  fluod — the  greatest  in  the  history  of  the  county,  came 
between  Christmas  and  New  Years  in   the  winter  of  1867-8,  and  spread  a 
vast  lake  of  water  over  every  acre  of  Colonel  Baker's  reclaimed  land. 
Montgomery  Patent  Annulled 

Years  later  there  fell  upon  the  state  a  far-flung  fore-shadow  of  the  modern 
conservation  movement,  and  the  legislatures  of  1857  and  1862  were  sharply 
criticised  for  giving  away  so  much  land  for  so  small  an  amount  of  improve- 
ment. The  courts,  as  courts  do  now,  sometimes,  undertook  to  correct  the 
follies  of  the  lawmakers,  and  on  September  17,  1878,  in  the  case  of  People 
ex.  rel.  J.  L.  Love,  attorney-general,  versus  John  Center,  et  al.,  appellants 
and  respondents,  the  district  court  of  the  twelfth  judicial  district — San  Fran- 
cisco— handed  down  a  decree  declaring  the  Montgomery  patent  null  and  void. 
In  the  opinion  accompanying  the  decree  the  court  pointed  out  that  the 
governor  and  surveyor-general  did  not  issue  a  certificate  to  the  effect  that  the 
land  had  been  reclaimed — as  the  law  directed — and  held  that  this  omission 
was  not  cured  by  the  fact  that  the  governor  signed  the  patent,  and  that  the 
document  also  bore  the  signature  of  the  secretary  of  state,  who  happened 
to  be  the  surveyor-general  as  well.  To  a  layman  it  might  seem  that  this 
objection  was  purely  technical.  The  second  defect  noted  by  the  court — the 
fact  that  the  land  was  not  actually  reclaimed — was  not  tt)  be  disputed  by 
anyone. 

But  the  decree  mattered  little  to  Colonel  Baker.  Six  years  before  it  was 
signed  by  the  judge  his  remains  had  been  carried  to  their  last  resting  place  in 
Union  cemetery  by  the  strong  but  gentle  hands  of  other  pioneers  who  knew 
and  loved  him.  Moreover,  long  before  his  death  Colonel  Baker  had  sold  his 
share  of  nearly  all  the  immense  tract  the  Montgomery  patent  conveyed. 
Some  of  it  went  for  ten  cents  an  acre.  The  highest  price  the  smallest 
purchasers  paid  for  farms  was  $1  and  $1.50  per  acre.  Baker  was  no  land 
monopolist. 

Before  the  district  court  issued  its  decree  the  legislature  got  busy  again, 
tempering  justice  with  mercy.  An  act  approved  March  20,  1878,  provided 
that  all  persons  who  had  bought  land  covered  by  the  Montgomery  patent, 
subsequent  to  the  issuance  of  such  patent,  should  be  entitled  to  a  decree  of 
the  court  directing  that  a  patent  issue  to  them  for  such  lands,  on  their 
showing  within  sixty  days  after  the  passage  of  the  act,  that  they  had  spent 
for  taxes,  improvements,  fences  and  reclamation  a  tntal  of  nut  less  than  $1 
per  acre  for  all  the  lands  so  claimed  by  each. 

All  the  purchasers  were  able  easily  to  comply  with  these  conditions, 
and  so  the  story  ends  happily  for  all  concerned. 

Beginnings  of  Bakersfield 

The  flood  of  1861-2  is  a  convenient  mark  in  history  from  which  to  date 
the  earliest  beginnings  of  Bakersfield.  As  related  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, the  flood  moved  the  main  channel  out  of  the  future  townsite,  leaving 
the  land  dryer  and  rather  more  suitable  for  the  habitation  of  civilized  men.  It 
made  it  less  desirable  for  the  Indians.  Prior  to  that  time,  as  Mrs.  Van  Orman 
recalls,   there    was   a   considerable   settlement   of   the    aborigines   somewhere 


58  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

about  Chester  Lane,  and  huts  of  individual  savages  were  scattered  about 
the  willow  groves  everywhere.  But  the  flood  drowned  the  squirrels  and  other 
small  game  which  the  Indians  used  to  kill  and  eat,  swept  away  the  fish  they 
used  to  catch  in  the  river,  and  incidentally  the  long  season  of  rains  when  the 
freshet  rose  and  fell  day  after  day  in  apparently  interminable  succession  made 
the  place  generally  disagreeable  even  for  the  stoical  redskins.  About  that 
time,  also,  the  government  was  moving  the  larger  part  of  the  tribes  from 
Tejon  to  the  Tule  river  farm.  So  the  Indians  moved  out.  So  did  two  families 
by  name  of  Lovelace,  and  others  of  whom  the  names  are  not  remembered. 
The  settlers  who  remained  sought  the  high  spots  that  the  waters  had  not 
covered. 

The  people  who  stayed  and  helped  to  form  the  new  settlement  were 
the  Shirleys,  the  Gilberts,  Harvey  S.  Skiles,  the  grandfather  of  Herman 
Dumble,  the  present  city  trustee  of  Bakersfield,  and  Lewis  Reeder,  who 
bought  Gilbert's  second  place  on  Reeder  hill  and  gave  his  name  to  that 
ancient  landmark.  The  next  year  came  Colonel  Baker  and  his  family,  Edward 
Tibbet,  who  settled  on  the  present  Tibbet  homestead  just  south  of  the  city 
limits,  and  Allan  Rose,  who  succeeded  to  the  house  on  Reeder  hill  after 
Reeder  and  many  of  his  family  had  died.  Reeder,  himself,  died  in  the  moun- 
tains whither  he  had  gone  for  lung  trouble,  but  others  of  his  family  who  sick- 
ened and  died  there  and  later  residents  who  turned  their  faces  to  the  wall 
in  the  ill-fated  house  made  a  total  of  seven  deaths  on  Reeder  hill  in  the  first 
few  years  of  the  settlement.  Two  others,  accidentally  shot,  raised  the  total 
to  nine,  wherefrom  grew  the  tale  that  the  Reeder  hill  house  was  haunted. 

Colonel  Baker,  of  course,  at  once  directed  his  energies  toward  the  recla- 
mation of  the  swamp  lands  covered  by  the  Montgomery  franchise.  The 
others  farmed  the  fertile  townsite,  raised  cattle  and  hogs  or  hunted  both  in 
the  swamps  and  out  on  the  dry  ranges.  The  soldiers  at  Fort  Tejon  paid 
$50  per  ton  for  hay  delivered,  and  both  at  the  fort  and  in  the  mining  camps 
were  the  best  of  markets  for  meat,  potatoes,  sweet  potatoes,  onions,  and  all 
other  vegetables  that  the  early  settlers  raised.  In  a  letter  written  by  Solomon 
Jewett  in  1871  reference  is  made  to  the  fact  that  Harvey  S.  Skiles  raised  a 
small  patch  of  cotton  in  1862. 

The  first  genuine  cotton  culture,  however,  was  in  1865,  when  the  Jewett 
Brothers,  who  had  interests  in  Bakersfield  then  in  addition  to  their  extensive 
sheep  business  at  the  Rio  Bravo  ranch,  raised  130  acres  of  cotton  which  was 
harvested  and  sent  to  Oakland  to  be  ginned  and  manufactured.  Some  of 
the  cloth  was  shipped  back  to  Bakersfield  and  sold  in  the  first  store  built  in 
the  settlement.  Mr.  Jewett  imported  two  tons  of  seed,  one  from  Tennessee, 
and  the  other  from  Sonora,  Mexico.  He  got  the  crop  in  rather  late,  but  he 
declared  that  the  experiment  was  a  success,  or  would  have  been  had  it  not 
been  for  the  prohibitive  cost  of  hauling  the  cotton  to  Oakland  by  team — 
probably  ox-team. 

Colonel  Baker,  Mr.  Winfey  and  A.  R.  Jackson  were  appointed  school 
trustees  in  1866,  but  they  never  organized.  A  man  by  name  of  Brooks  taught 
a  private  school  that  year,  and  in  1863,  for  a  short  time,  Mrs.  Baker  taught 
a  few  of  the  neighbor  children  at  her  home.  They  had  no  books,  but  Mrs. 
Baker  cut  letters  out  of  paper,  and  resorted  to  other  laborious  shifts  to 
help  the  youngsters  up  the  hill  of  knowledge.  The  first  active  school  board 
consisted  of  Messrs.  Tibbet,  Troy  and  Reeder,  who  were  chosen  in  1867.  In 
that  year  Mrs.  Ranney  taught  a  three-months'  term.  In  1868  Miss  L.  A. 
Jackson   taught  a  six-months'  term.     The  first  school  house,   which   an   old 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  59 

newspaper  account  says  was  a  brick  building  40x6Q  feet  in  size,  was  built  in 
1869  and  in  June  of  that  year  A.  R.  Jackson  opened  school  in  it.  The  next 
year  there  were  two  teachers,  A.  R.  Jackson  and  :Miss  Callie  Gilbert,  ana 
thirty-five  pupils,  whose  surnames  were  Adams,  Baker,  Crawford,  Lundy, 
Patria,  Pettus,  Ranney,  Shelley,  Shirley,  Tibbet,  W^ard,  Arujo,  Collins,  Con- 
treras,  Gilbert,  AIcKenzie,  Reeder.  Troy  and  Verdugo. 

For  six  years  after  Colonel  Baker  came  to  the  Kern  delta  there  was  no 
postoffice  here.  Until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  the  removal  of  the  gar- 
rison from  Fort  Tejon  and  the  discontinuance  of  the  Butterfield  stage  line 
from  San  Francisco  to  Los  Angeles,  the  settlers  here  used  to  have  their 
mail  left  at  the  fort.  Later  on  it  was  addressed  to  Visalia,  and  the  thoughtful 
postmaster  at  that  place  would  forward  mail  for  the  whole  settlement  by  any- 
one whom  he  knew  was  coming  this  way.  Freight  was  hauled  mostly  from 
Los  Angeles,  and  the  charge  was  three  cents  per  pound.  Flour  sometimes 
got  as  high  as  $10  per  sack  in  the  earliest  days  of  Bakersfield,  and  when  the 
freshets  cut  ofif  travel  to  Visalia  and  snows  blocked  Tejon  pass,  corn  and 
wheat  ground  in  a  hand  mill  and  other  home  products  had  to  eke  out  the 
larder.  Mrs.  Tracy  (then  Mrs.  Baker)  says  she  used  to  leech  salt  out  of 
the  earth  to  cure  pork,  and  in  other  times  of  necessity  made  a  pretty  good 
article  of  soap  with  grease  and  alkali.  Ordinarily  they  made  their  own 
candles,  used  honey  in  lieu  of  sugar,  and  baked  sweet  potatoes  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  coffee.  Meal  ground  in  the  old  hand  mill  was  not  of  the  finest, 
but  the  pioneers  sifted  out  the  coarsest  part  and  used  it  for  hominy.  Dave 
Willis  of  Visalia  tried  making  salt  from  an  old  salt  lick  about  sixteen  miles 
south  of  Bakersfield,  with  indifferent  success.  In  1868  a  saw  mill  was  started 
in  Tecuya  valley  near  Fort  Tejon,  but  the  lumber,  which  was  sawed  from 
bull  pine,  was  so  prone  to  warp  that  it  needed  a  ton  of  boulders  on  each  end  of 
a  plank  to  hold  it  down,  and  then  it  would  twist  in  the  middle. 

Prior  to  the  days  of  the  Tacuya  mill  adobes  and  poles  or  brush,  tules 
and  mud  formed  the  building  materials,  as  previously  described.  Colonel 
Baker's  first  house,  the  one  the  family  was  living  in  at  the  time  of  the  great 
flood  of  1867-8,  was  of  adobe  with  a  brush,  tule  and  dirt  roof.  The  first  years 
of  Colonel  Baker's  residence  here  were  unusually  dry,  especially  the  great 
drought  year  of  1864,  and  a  dirt  roof  was  a  very  great  protection  from  the 
sun  in  summer,  and  also  was  unobjectionable  in  winter,  so  long  as  the  light 
rains  were  insufficient  to  wet  it  through  and  tJie  intervening  days  nf  sun- 
shine quite  sufficient  to  dry  it  out  again. 

The  Flood  of  1867-68 

The  winter  of  1867-68  was  different.  The  heavens  wept  as  though  their 
sorrow  never  would  be  washed  away,  and  after  a  while  the  rain  drops  began 
to  filter  through  the  bed  of  rich,  alluvial  soil  on  the  roof  until  the  shower  inside 
was  almost  or  quite  as  heavy  as  that  outside.  The  chief  difference  was  that 
the  shower  inside  came  a  few  minutes  after  the  shower  outside,  and  the  tiny 
streams  that  trickled  from  the  pendant  tule  ends  were  black  as  ink  with  the 
humus  they  extracted  from  the  dirt  on  the  roof.  They  hung  umbrellas  over 
the  tables  to  protect  the  food,  and  sheltered  the  beds  as  best  they  might. 

It  rained,  and  rained,  and  then,  very  strange,  as  it  seemed  to  the  settlers 
along  its  banks,  the  river,  for  two  days,  went  almost  wholly  dry.  They  knew 
nothing  about  it  in  the  little  village  of  Bakersfield,  but  up  in  the  mountains 
where  the  lakes  of  upper  Kern  river  now  are.  there  had  been  a  succession 


60  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

of  avalanches  that  filled  the  bed  of  the  river  with   rocks  and  earth  and  a 
whole  forest  of  great  pine'trees. 

A  closer  inquiry  seems  to  develop  the  fact  that  popular  tradition  respect- 
ing the  slip  of  earth  that  held  back  the  waters  of  Kern  river  in  the  flood  of 
1867-8,  instead  of  exaggerating  it,  as  tradition  is  wont  to  do,  falls  far  short 
of  comprehending  its  tremendous  magnitude.  The  lakes  themselves,  beau- 
tiful sheets  of  water  far  up  toward  the  head  of  the  river,  are  remnants  of  the 
great  reservoirs  that  the  avalanches  made.  Many  years  ago  the  old  Jordan 
trail  from  Visalia  to  Inyo  county  used  to  pass  through  where  the  lakes  now 
are.  To  this  day,  looking  down  through  the  clear  waters,  in  the  lake  bottom 
mav  be  seen  trees  that  grew  there  before  the  flood  overwhelmed  them. 

It  must  be  that  the  thorough  soakinsr  of  the  mountain  sides  after  a  long 
oeriod  of  drought  caused  whole  sections  of  wooded  slopes  to  plunge  down  into 
the  river  canon.  When  the  impounded  waters  finally  broke  away  they  came 
down  the  rocky  gorges  in  a  churning,  thundering  torrent,  adding  to  the  roar 
of  the  water  itself  the  crash  and  shriek  of  thousands  on  thousands  of  trees, 
sixty  and  a  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  up  to  three  or  four  feet  in  diameter, 
tumbled  end  over  end  in  the  narrower  parts  of  the  caiion  and  rolling  and 
swirling  with  the  current  in  the  wider  reaches  of  the  stream.  Kernville  resi- 
dents say  that  for  three  days  the  river  flowed  past  that  place  a  mile  in  width, 
and  from  the  bank  it  looked  as  though  a  man  could  walk  on  logs  dryshod 
from  one  side  to  the  other. 

Those  who  have  seen  the  steep,  narrow  rock-walled  gorge  through  which 
Kern  river  emerges  from  the  mountains  sixteen  miles  above  Bakersfield  can 
form  some  guess  of  their  own  concerning  the  steady,  increasing,  rolling  thun- 
der with  which  the  coming  flood  heralded  its  approach  to  the  sleeping  citizens 
of  infant  Bakersfield. 

Flood  Reaches  Bakersfield. 

It  was  the  flatness  of  Bakersfield  and  the  great  expanse  of  level  country 
that  opens,  fanwise,  west  and  south  from  the  townsite  that  saved  it  from 
annihilation.  Since  the  first  flood  people  had  sought  out  the  knolls  for  their 
dwelling  places,  and  there  was  a  little  time  after  the  drift  logs  began  to 
bob  and  crunch  among  the  willows  of  the  sloughs  before  the  water  was 
lapping  at  the  threshholds. 

Richard  Hudnut,  afterward  the  editor  of  the  Kern  County  Courier,  was 
living  in  an  adobe  house  somewhere  near  G  and  Twenty-fourth  street.  The 
noise  of  the  water  wakened  him,  and  he  went  out  a  little  wa)  from  his  house 
to  see  what  was  coming.  He  crossed  a  little  swale  dry-shod,  and  looked 
back  a  moment  later  to  find  it  full  of  water,  running  like  a  mill  race.  He 
shouted  a  warning  to  his  bride  and  the  latter's  sister,  who  remained  in  the 
house,  and  in  a  few  seconds  he  was  obliged  to  climb  a  tree  to  keep  out  of 
reach  of  the  rising  flood.  The  house  was  on  a  little  higher  ground,  but 
presently  the  chilly  stream — it  was  between  Christmas  and  New  Years — 
began  to  flow  over  the  floor.  Mrs.  Hudnut  and  her  sister  perched  themselves 
on  their  beds.  But  the  water  steadily  rose,  and  what  was  equally  appalling, 
the  roof  above  their  heads  was  slowly  but  steadily  sinking  down.  Pretty 
soon  they  realized  that  the  adobes  at  the  bottom  of  the  wall  were  melting  in 
the  flood.  By  the  time  the  ridge  pole  had  settled  down  on  top  of  Mr.  Hudnut's 
tall  book  case  at  the  end  of  the  room,  the  ladies  mustered  up  their  courage 
to  wade  outside.  The  roof  by  then  was  so  low  that  they  were  able  to 
scramble  upon   it,   and  there  they   sat   shivering  and   shouting  counsel  back 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  61 

and  forth  with  Mr.  Hudnut,  perched  in  his  tree,  until  men  with  a  boat  came 
to  their  rescue. 

Similar  experiences  happened  in  many  places,  but  no  lives  were  lost,  and 
the  pioneers,  used  to  pranks  of  Nature  and  Fortune,  took  the  experience 
philosophically,  and  with  mutual  helpfulness  and  optimism  soon  made  new 
shifts  and  forgot  their  losses.  The  day  after  the  flood  came  there  was  to  have 
been  a  neighborhood  feast  at  the  Tibbet's  home,  and  although  the  waters 
undermined  a  cupboard  where  the  roast  pig  was  stored  and  spilled  it  in  the 
flood,  it  was  rescued  and  re-garnished  and  a  little  later  than  the  hour  set 
the  guests  assembled  and  shared  the  slightly  moistened  viands  and  related 
their  several  experiences.  The  Hudnut  story  and  the  Tibbet  feast  are 
incidents  of  the  flood  most  generally  remembered,  jirobably  because  of  the 
humor  they  contain — and  that  fact  furnishes  the  key  to  the  temperament 
and  disposition  of  the  Kern  county  pioneer. 

The  Baker  adobe  was  not  overflowed.  It  was  only  wet  and  drizzling 
from  the  long  continued  rains,  and  there  a  dozen  homeless  neighbors  gath- 
ered and  were  made  as  welcome  as  flowers  in  February.    ■ 

The  trees  (live  trees,  not  dead  driftwood)  which  were  washed  down  by 
the  flood  strewed  a  strip  of  country  a  mile  wide  through  Kernville,  and 
from  the  point  of  Panorama  heights  past  Bakersfield  they  spread  over  the 
ground  all  the  way  to  Bellevue  and  the  old  Barnes  settlement,  a  distance  of 
ten  miles  or  more.  Colonel  Baker  built  a  saw  mill  to  cut  the  logs  on  the 
townsite  into  lumber,  and  Myron  Harmon  tried  the  same  plan  up  in  Kern- 
ville, but  the  logs  there  were  so  thickly  imbedded  with  sand  and  broken 
chunks  of  rock  (some  of  them  as  big  as  a  man's  fist)  that  sawing  them  was 
impracticable. 

Meantime  Colonel  Baker  had  completed  his  reclamation  of  the  swamp 
lands  covered  by  the  Montgomery  franchise,  had  gotten  his  patent  to  89,120 
acres  of  land,  and  plans  were  forming  in  the  minds  of  ambitious,  enterprising 
men  to  make  a  great  empire  out  of  the  rich  lands  through  which  the  river 
plowed  its  devious  and  shifting  channels,  and  incidentally  to  make  some 
personal  profit  thereby. 


CHAPTER   VI 
Organization  of  the  County 

The  county  of  Kern  was  created  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  approved 
April  2,  1866,  out  of  territory  formerly  included  in  the  counties  of  Tulare  and 
Los  Angeles,  chiefly  the  former.  The  act  fixed  the  county  seat  at  llavilah; 
provided  for  a  county  judge  to  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  ordered  an 
election  to  be  held  on  the  second  Thursday  in  July,  1866,  to  select  a  clerk 
who  should  be  also  a  recorder,  a  sheriff  who  should  be  tax  collector  as  well, 
a  district  attorney,  an  assessor  and  collector  of  poll  taxes,  treasurer,  surveyor, 
coroner  and  public  administrator,  superintendent  of  schools  and  three  super- 
visors. Michael  H.  Erskine,  Eli  Smith,  Dan  W.  Walser,  Thomas  Raker  and 
John  Brite  were  named  as  a  board  of  commissioners  to  appoint  election  officers 
and  canvass  the  returns.  The  county  was  assigned  to  the  fourth  senatorial 
district  of  that  day,  and  was  attached  to  Tulare  county  for  representative 
purposes.  The  supervisors  were  directed  to  name  two  commissioners  to 
meet  with  other  commissioners  from  Tulare  and  Los  Angeles  counties  to 
settle  upon  Kern  county's  share  of  the  bonded  indebtedness  of  the  other 
counties  of  which  its  territory  had  been  a  part. 


62  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

First   County   Officials 

Without  special  incident  this  program  was  carried  out,  the  following 
officials  being  declared  elected  as  the  result  of  the  first  ballots  cast  in  the 
new  county:  district  attorney,  E.  E.  Calhoun;  sheriff,  W.  B.  Ross;  clerk, 
recorder  and  auditor,  H.  D.  Bequette ;  treasurer,  D.  A.  Sinclair;  assessor, 
R.  B.  Sagely;  coroner  and  public  administrator,  Joseph  Lively;  superintendent 
of  schools,  J.  R.  Riley ;  surveyor,  Thomas  Baker ;  supervisors,  Henry  Ham- 
mell,  S.  A.  Bishop  and  J.  J.  Rhymes. 

The  governor  appointed  Theron  Reed  as  county  judge.  J.  W.  Freeman 
was  already  state  senator,  having  been  elected  while  Kern  county  was  a  part 
of  Tulare,  and  I.  C.  Brown  was  similarly  in  possession  of  the  office  of 
assemblyman. 

At  their  first  two  meetings,  held  August  1st  and  2nd,  the  supervisors 
established  three  judicial  townships  in  the  county,  fixed  the  tax  rate  at  a 
total  of  $2.61  for  state  and  county,  and  called  for  bids  for  building  a  jail. 
At  the  next  meeting  the  bid  of  T.  B.  Stuart  for  the  construction  of  the  jail 
for  $1600  was  accepted,  and  for  $800  a  site  was  bought  for  a  courthouse.  The 
latter  building  served  until  the  county  seat  was  moved  to  Bakersfield,  when  it 
was  taken  down  and  the  lumber  sold  to  P.  T.  Colby,  who  put  it  together  again 
in  the  form  of  a  residence  just  south  of  the  Kern  Valley  bank  on  Chester 
avenue  in  Bakersfield.  The  first  courthouse  was  built  by  T.  H.  Binnex  for 
the  modest  sum  of  $2200. 

Each  judicial  (or  magistrate's)  township  was  made  a  school  district  as 
follows:  township  No.  1,  Havilah  district;  township  No.  2,  Linn's  valley  dis- 
trict; township  No.  3,  Kelso  district;  township  No.  4,  Tejon  district. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Bakersfield  and  the  Kern  delta  do  not  appear 
in  the  list,  but  in  February,  1867,  Lower  Kern  River  district  was  formed 
from  the  Linn's  Valley  district.  Also,  each  magistrate's  township  was  made 
a  road  district. 

First  Election  Precincts 

The  first  election  districts  were  established  by  the  supervisors  May  25, 
1867,  as  follows : 

Havilah — vote  at  court  house.  Claraville — vote  at  Bodfish's  old  store. 
South  Fork — vote  at  John  Nicoll's  blacksmith  shop.  Kernville — vote  at  old 
Cove  house.  Keysville — vote  at  Marsh  &  Kennedy's  old  store.  Alpine — vote 
at  Eugene  Caillard's  store.  Summit  Mill — vote  at  Knox  house,  summit. 
Linn's  Valley — vote  at  Myers'  store.  Long  Tom — vote  at  Yoakum's  store. 
Kern  Island — vote  at  Chester's  store,  Bakersfield.  Reservation — vote  at  Tejon 
reservation  buildings.  Tehachapi — vote  at  school  house.  Walker's  Basin — 
vote  at  Dr.  Adams'  store.  Augua  Caliente — vote  at  Wolfskill  house.  Cross's 
Mill — vote  at  Cross'  mill.   Delonega — vote  at  Williams  &  Martin's  camp. 

First  Election  in  the  County 

Before  the  election  was  held  on  September  4th,  Sageland  voting  district 
was  established  and  Sanderson  &  Asher's  store  on  Kelso  creek  was  named 
as  the  polling  place. 

In  the  list  above  the  word  "old"  wherever  used,  is  quoted  from  the  super- 
visors' record.  After  forty-four  years  its  use  gives  some  idea  of  relative 
antiquity.  As  an  index  to  the  relative  population  of  the  districts  and  also  to 
show  the  political  complexion  of  the  new  county  the  vote  for  governor  in  the 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  63 

several  precincts  in  the  first  election  after  the  county  was  established  is  given 
herewith : 

Havilah — Haight,  147;  Gorham,  60. 

Kernville — Haight,  38;  Gorham,  43. 

South  Fork — Haight,  10;  Gorham,  nothing. 

\\'alker's  Basin — Haight,  32;  Gorham,  13. 

Alpine— Haight,  11;  Gorham,  3. 

Summit  Hill — Haight,  18;  Gorham,  5. 

Linn's  Valley — Haight,  22;  Gorham,  6. 

Long  Tom — Haight,  20;  Gorham,  nothing. 

Kern  River  Island — Haight,  21  ;  Gorham,  11. 

Reservation — Haight,  4;  Gorham,  2. 

Tehachapi — Haight,  25  ;  Gorham,  3. 

Sageland — Haight,  21  ;  Gorham,  11. 

Augua  Caliente — Haight,  3;  Gorham,  nothing. 

Claraville — Haight,  13;  Gorham,  7. 

Totals— Haight,  385  ;  Gorham,  164. 

Haight's  majority,  221. 

The  election  throughout  the  state  gave  the  following  totals  for  governor : 
Henry  H.  Haight,  Democrat,  49,905  ;  George  C.  Gorham,  Union,  40,359;  Caleb 
T.  Fay,  Union-Republican,  2,088. 

At  the  same  election  the  following  county  ofificers  were  chosen  :  Sheriff, 
R.  B.  Sagely;  clerk,  H.  D.  Bequette ;  district  attorney,  Thomas  Laspeyre ; 
treasurer,  D.  A.  Sinclair ;  assessor,  James  R.  Watson ;  surveyor,  Thomas 
Baker;  coroner,  A.  D.  Jones;  superintendent  of  schools,  E.  W.  Doss;  super- 
visors, first  district,  D.  W.  Walser ;  second  district,  J.  J.  Rhymes ;  third  dis- 
trict, John  M.  Brite;  constables,  township  No.  1,  John  B.  Tungate  and  W.  S. 
Gibson ;  township  No.  2,  J.  Pascoe ;  township  No.  3,  Thomas  F.  Owens  and 
Thomas  McFarlane ;  township  No.  4,  Isaac  Hart  and  James  E.  Williams; 
township  No.  5,  J.  J.  Yoakum  and  W.  W.  Shirley. 

Roadmasters  for  the  five  townships  were  William  F.  Klaiber,  C.  T. 
W^hite,  J.  M.  Garrett,  M.  A.  Tyler,  and  William  Higgins,  respectively. 

At  the  judicial  election  held  October  16th,  P.  T.  Colby  was  elected  county 
judge,  and  justices  of  the  peace  were  chosen  as  follows:  township  1,  G.  Martel 
and  J.  W.  Venable ;  township  2,  Thomas  Despain  ;  township  3,  ^Villiam  S. 
Adams  and  Daniel  Memckton ;  township  4,  William  P.  Higgins  and  Grant  P. 
Cuddeback ;  township  5,  P.  A.  Stine. 

First  Swamp  Land  District  Organized 

Other  matters  which  demanded  a  large  share  of  the  attention  of  the 
first  boards  of  supervisors  other  than  the  political  organization  of  the  county 
and  the  calling  of  elections  were  the  granting  of  permits  for  toll  roads  and 
ferries,  the  organization  of  reclamation  districts  and  the  adjustment  of  assess- 
ments. The  first  reclamation  districts  were  formed  on  August  7,  1866,  seven 
days  after  the  first  board  organized.  Under  an  act  of  the  legislature  ap- 
proved April  2,  1866,  the  supervisors,  whom  the  law  made  ex-officio  swamp 
land  commissioners  for  the  territory  included  in  the  county,  divided  the 
swamp  and  overflowed  land  in  Kern  county  into  two  districts.  District  No.  1 
included  all  the  swamp  land  in  the  county  east  of  the  range  between  ranges 
26  and  27  east.  District  No.  2  included  all  the  swamp  land  in  the  county 
west  of  this  line,  and  all  the  even  sections  in  both  districts  were  set  aside 
to  defray  the  expense  of  carrying  out  a  system  i>f  reclamation  and  irrigation 


64  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

provided  in  an  agreement  between  the  supervisors,  acting  in  the  capacity  of 
swamp  land  commissioners,  and  Thomas  Baker,  his  associates  and  assigns. 

According  to  this  agreement,  Baker  and  his  associates  were  to  construct 
a  good  and  permanent  improvement  to  turn  from  Kern  river  into  the  south 
fork  water  sufficient  to  irrigate  district  No.  1,  to  remove  all  timber  and 
driftwood  from  the  slough  so  that  it  would  carry  water,  to  build  a  guard  gate 
to  afford  passage  for  water  across  the  levee  already  constructed  across  said 
slough  for  reclamation  purposes  and  to  keep  said  gateway  and  levee  in  good 
repair  so  as  to  allow  enough  water  to  pass  for  irrigation  but  at  the  same  time 
to  prevent  a  flood.  Baker  was  to  begin  the  work  within  two  years  after  Jan- 
uary 1,  1867,  and  was  to  be  paid  $6000  for  the  job,  half  of  the  amount  as  the 
work  was  finished,  and  the  other  half  as  afterward  provided  in  the  agreement. 

Also,  Baker  was  to  build  irrigating  ditches  and  improve  existing  sloughs 
so  that  they  would  serve  as  channels  to  carry  irrigation  water,  being  paid 
therefor  at  the  rate  of  50  cents  per  yard  for  all  dirt  moved  up  to  a  total  of 
$8000,  half  of  the  amount  to  be  paid  as  the  work  was  completed,  which  must 
be  within  four  years  from  January  1,  1867.  The  payments  were  to  be  made 
in  land  scrip  to  be  issued  to  Baker  at  the  rate  of  $1  per  acre  in  such 
denominations  as  Baker  should  elect.  The  agreement  provided  that  Baker  was 
not  to  be  held  liable  for  damage  caused  by  any  exceptional  floods. 

For  the  reclamation  of  district  No.  2  Baker  was  to  build  a  levee  across 
Buena  Vista  slough  in  township  30-24  (a  little  north  of  Cole's  levee  of  the 
present  day)  to  improve  the  natural  channels  and  build  canals  at  the  rate  of 
50  cents  per  cubic  yard  for  the  earth  moved,  up  to  a  total  of  $26,000,  payment 
to  be  made  as  in  the  case  of  district  No.  1,  in  land  scrip  at  the  rate  of  $1  per 
acre,  subject  to  location  on  even  sections  or  fractions  thereof,  within  the 
districts  described.  In  the  two  districts  the  compensation  would  amount  to 
$40,000  or  40,000  acres  of  land.  The  control  of  the  water  and  distribution 
of  the  same  for  irrigation  purposes  was  to  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  super- 
visors. 

The  reader  will  recall  that  heretofore  Baker  and  his  associates  had,  under 
the  Montgomery  franchise,  just  completed  the  reclamation  of  all  the  swamp 
and  overflowed  lands  in  the  two  districts  mentioned  in  the  agreement  and 
had  put  in  their  application  for  a  patent  for  all  the  odd  sections  as  com- 
pensation for  their  labors.  At  this  time  and  a  few  years  later  there  was  no 
little  protest  against  this  action  of  the  supervisors  by  people  who  pointed 
out  that  the  state  had  given  half  the  land  for  taking  the  water  off,  and  now 
the  county  was  giving  the  other  half  for  putting  the  water  back  on  the  land. 
Against  this  contention,  however,  was  presented  the  argument  that  while 
the  swamps  had  been  drained  and  now  were  as  dry  as  tinder,  they  were  no 
more  suited  to  cultivation  without  water  for  irrigation  than  they  had  been 
when  they  were  submerged.  The  argument  was  good,  and  prevailed. 
Changes  in  Swamp  Land  Laws 

Before  Baker  could  complete  his  portion  of  the  contract  with  the  super- 
visors, the  state  legislature,  which  was  having  a  large  amount  of  trouble 
about  that  time  in  settling  in  its  own  mind  what  was  the  best  policy  to  follow 
respecting  the  swamp  lands,  made  another  change  in  the  law,  in  1868,  plac- 
ing the  swamp  lands  back  in  the  trust  of  the  state,  instead  of  the  coun- 
ties, and  removing  all  restrictions  formerly  in  effect  as  to  the  amount  of 
swamp  land  which  any  one  person  or  corporation  could  acquire.  The  new 
law  provided  that  purchasers  of  swamp  land  must  deposit  $1  per  acre  in  the 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  65 

count)'  treasury  as  a  guarantee  that  the  land  would  be  reclaimed,  or  twenty 
per  cent  of  the  amount  could  be  paid  outright  and  the  balance  made  up  later. 
Each  district  was  to  make  its  own  by-laws  and  regulations,  but  in  the  end, 
if  the  land  was  not  reclaimed,  the  title  remained  in  the  state. 

The  change  in  the  law  made  a  change  in  the  plans  for  reclamatinn,  and 
under  the  new  act,  on  December  24,  1870,  Livermore  &  Chester,  Thomas 
Baker,  Julius  Chester  and  Andrew  R.  Jackson  filed  with  the  supervisors  a 
petition  for  the  formation  of  a  reclamation  district  including  all  the  swamp 
and  overflowed  lands  in  townships  27-22,  28-22,  28-23,  29-22,  29-23,  29-24, 
30-24.  31-25,  31-26,  32-26  and  32-27. 

The  story  of  the  acquisition  of  the  swamp  lands  forms  a  long  and  rather 
complicated  chapter  which  would  be  of  only  casual  interest  to  the  average 
reader.  What  has  been  related  so  far  gives  a  very  guod  illustration  of  the 
manner  in  which  all  the  swamp  land  in  the  county  finally  was  acquired.  The 
odd  sections  for  the  most  part  went  to  parties  who  had  bought  them  from 
Baker  or  his  assigns  subsequent  to  the  Montgomery  patent,  the  purchasers 
being  protected  by  a  new  act  of  the  legislature  when  the  Montgomery  patent 
was  annulled  by  the  court  in  1878.  The  even  sections  were  purchased  from 
the  state  for  about  the  cost  of  completing  their  reclamation. 

A  Sheep  Was  Worth  More  Than  an  Acre  of  Land 

Probably  it  will  strike  the  present  day  reader  that  the  nio\-ing  of  two 
cubic  yards  of  earth  from  the  center  of  a  ditch  to  a  ditch  bank  was  a  small 
amount  of  labor  to  give  in  exchange  for  an  acre  of  the  rich,  Kern  delta  land, 
but  the  records  of  the  supervisors,  sitting  as  a  board  of  equalization  in  the 
early  days  of  the  county  throw  an  explanatory  light  on  the  subject  of  relative 
values.  Nowadays  nobody  pays  any  attention  to  his  assessments,  whether 
they  are  high  or  low,  but  in  the  '60s  and  '70s  the  meetings  of  the  equalizers 
were  enlivened  by  a  steady  procession  of  taxpayers  who  wanted  their  assess- 
ments lowered  or  those  of  their  neighbors  raised.  For  example :  In  1870 
sheep  were  assessed  at  $2  per  head,  and  the  San  Emidio  grant  was  assessed 
at  $1.25  per  acre.  The  supervisors  reduced  sheep  to  $1.50  and  the  land  in 
the  grant  to  $1.  In  the  same  year  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company's 
assessment  was  cut  from  $170.64  to  $85.32.  In  1868  three  American  hor.ses 
belonging  to  Dave  Lavers  were  raised  from  the  assessor's  figures  to  $300, 
and  the  next  year  the  Joe  Walker  mine  was  chopped  from  $5000  to  $500. 

The    First   Mountain   Roads 

Nearly  all  the  early  roads  through  the  mountains  were  built  by  private 
enterprise  as  toll  roads.  In  the  valley  any  traveller  could  lay  uut  a  new 
road  for  himself  if  he  chose,  and  others  who  came  after  him  soon  wore  it 
into  a  trail.  But  when  he  came  to  a  stream  he  could  not  ford  he  had  to  pay 
tribute  to  the  ferryman.  J.  M.  Griffith,  in  1868,  built  a  toll  road  from  Moore's 
station  at  the  foot  of  Tehachapi  mountain  to  Agua  Caliente  creek  and  was 
permitted  to  charge  for  its  use,  $2.50  for  a  wagon  and  twelve  horses,  $2.25 
for  a  wagon  and  ten  horses,  $2  for  a  wagon  and  eight  horses  and  down  to 
seventy-five  cents  for  a  wagon  and  two  horses,  twenty-five  cents  for  a  horse 
and  rider,  five  cents  per  head  for  loose  cattle,  two  cents  per  head  for  sheep, 
and  twenty-five  cents  for  a  pack  animal. 

Charges  were  fixed  by  the  supervisors  for  the  ferry  operated  in  the 
same  year  by  J.  E.  Stine  at  Telegraph  crossing  over  Kern  river  near  Bakers- 
field  as  follows:     For  a  wagon  and  two  horses,  $2;  for  each  extra  span  of 


66  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

horses,  fifty  cents;  for  a  horse  and  rider,  fifty  cents;  for  loose  animals  of  all 
kinds,  twenty-five  cents  each ;  for  footman,  twenty-five  cents. 

Rates  for  other  toll  roads  and  ferries  were  not  far  from  these  fifjures. 

In  1868  James  Cross  built  a  ferry  below  the  junction  of  South  Fork 
(in  the  mountains).  Cross,  Morton  &  Company  were  given  a  permit  to 
maintain  a  toll  road  from  Havilah  via  Walker's  basin  to  their  mill.  J.  W. 
Sumner  was  given  a  permit  to  build  a  toll  bridge  across  Kern  river  near 
Hot  Springs  valley.  Thomas  Baker  a  little  later  built  the  famous  Baker 
toll  road  up  the  mountains  between  Bakersfield  and  Havilah.  Eight  or  ten 
years  later  the  county  began  buying  in  these  toll  roads,  and  there  were 
numerous  and  spicy  charges  of  graft  and  extravagance  in  connection  with 
the  different  purchases. 

(Throughout  this  history  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish  between  the  South 
Fork  of  Kern  river,  which  is  one  of  the  two  chief  branches  of  the  stream  to- 
ward its  source  in  the  mountains,  and  the  south  fork  channel  which  ran 
through  the  eastern  part  of  Bakersfield  in  the  early  days.  For  the  purpose 
of  lessening  the  confusion  of  the  dual  use  of  the  name  I  have  arbitrarily  chosen 
to  give  the  mountain  stream  and  the  valley  that  bears  its  name  the  dignity 
of  capital  initials.) 


CHAPTER  VII 

Coming  of  the  Capitalist 

Dividing  the  history  of  Kern  county  into  epochs  from  an  industrial  point 
of  view,  the  years  around  1870  mark  the  beginning  of  the  influence  of  large 
capital  in  the  county's  development.  Prior  to  1860  the  settlers  in  the  valley 
were  mainly  small  farmers  or  small  stockmen,  intent  on  getting  what  they 
could  from  the  land  and  concerned  but  little  or  not  at  all  in  the  permanent 
improvement  or  development  of  the  country.  In  the  mountains  the  placer 
miners  and  the  first  quartz  miners  were  doing  the  same — getting  money  out 
of  the  ground,  and  putting  little  in.  Following  these  came  men  like  Colonel 
Baker,  fully  gifted  with  the  ability  and  inclination  to  plan  large  developments 
and  improvements  for  the  future,  but  handicapped  everywhere  for  want 
of  money  to  carry  out  their  plans.  Nevertheless,  Baker  and  others  in  the 
Kern  delta  began  the  construction  of  reclamation  levees  and  irrigation  ditches ; 
in  the  mountain  valleys  the  sturdy  pioneers,  full  of  energy  if  short  of  cash, 
were  improving  their  farms  and  beginning  to  accumulate  their  ilocks  and 
herds,  and  in  the  mineral  sections  the  quartz  miners  were  delving  deeper  in 
tTie  ledges  and  developing  shafts  and  tunnels  that  properly  were  entitled  to 
the  name  of  mines  as  distinguished  from  placers  and  prospect  holes. 

All  these  enterprises  were  carried  on  by  men  of  modest  means  and 
modest  ambitions.  But  before  1868  General  Beale  had  acquired  the  Tejon 
ranch,  and  Beale  &  Baker  were  building  up  flocks  of  sheep  aggregating  as 
high  as  100,000  to  125,000  head.  In  1868  J.  C.  Crocker  established  head- 
quarters at  the  Temblor  ranch  and  began  buying  the  land  and  accumulating 
the  herds  that  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  immense  Miller  &  Lux  holdings. 
About  the  same  time  the  Chesters  were  in  Bakersfield,  planning  big  enter- 
prises with  the  money  of  H.  P.  Livermore,  a  wealthy  druggist  of  San 
Francisco,  to  back  them.  In  1875  Senator  Jones  bought  the  Big  Blue  mine 
and  gave  a  new  character  to  the  search  for  Kern  county  gold.    In  1872  Walter 


HISTORY  OF  KERN  COUNTY  67 

James  came  to  make  a  report  on  the  Gates  tract,  a  big  body  of  land  lying 
south  and  west  of  Bakerstield  whicii  Isaac  E.  Gates  of  New  York  had  acquired 
from  the  railroad  and  which  was  later  jnirchased  by  J.  B.  Haggin  and  became 
the  nucleus  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  holdings.  In  1873  came 
the  Southern  Pacific  railroad.  It  is  pertinent,  therefore,  to  take  account, 
roughly,  of  the  county's  stock  about  the  year  1870. 

Havilah  was  the  most  important  town  in  the  county,  althuugh  there 
were  not  lacking  men  who  could  foresee  that  Bakersfield  was  soon  to  outstrip 
it  in  the  race  for  supremacy.  A.  D.  Jones,  editor  of  the  Havilah  Courier, 
was  one  of  these,  and  on  December  22,  18o9,  he  had  moved  to  Bakersfield, 
changed  the  name  of  his  paper  to  the  Kern  County  Courier,  and  had  gotten 
out  the  first  issue.  In  the  issue  of  January  18,  1870,  the  Courier  describes 
the  town : 

Bakersfield  as  It  Was  in  1870 

Bakersfield,  laid  out  about  four  months  previous  to  that  date,  contained 
the  stores  of  Livermore  &  Chester  and  Caswell  &  Ellis,  one  telegraph  office, 
a  printing  office  (the  Courier)  the  blacksmith  and  carriage  shop  of  Fred 
Hacking,  a  harness  shop  belonging  to  Philip  Reinstein,  Littlefield  &  Phelan's 
livery  stable,  John  B.  Tungate's  saloon,  a  carpenter  shop,  a  school  house 
with  fifty  pupils,  and  two  boarding  houses.  The  professions  were  represented 
by  Dr.  L.  S.  Rogers  and  Attorney  C.  H.  Veeder.  A  hotel  and  grist  mill  were 
in  contemplation.  The  Baker  toll  road  was  in  operation  between  Bakersfield 
and  the  county-seat;  there  were  good  wagon  roads  to  Visalia  and  Los 
Angeles,  and  a  grade  up  the  mountains  to  Tehachapi  was  in  progress  of 
building. 

The  town  was  protected  from  flood  by  a  levee  built  by  Colonel  Baker,  and 
the  whole  country  was  supplied  with  fuel  for  a  long  time  to  come  by  the 
logs  washed  down  by  the  flood  of  1867-8.  The  editor  cheerfully  assures  the 
world  that  the  action  of  the  elements  is  such  as  to  warrant  that  other  floods 
would  wash  down  more  driftwood  before  the  then  present  supply  ran  out. 

Of  the  lands  on  lower  Kern  river  129,625.34  acres  had  been  entered  under 
the  state  laws,  and  40,000  had  been  patented  for  reclamation  purposed  by 
individuals.  No  reclamation  districts  had  been  formed  under  the  new  law. 
which  provided  for  the  appropriation  of  $1  per  acre  for  the  reclamation  of 
swamp  lands.  This  would  make  a  fund  of  $129,625.34  available  for  the 
reclamation  of  lands  in  Kern  county,  an  amount  believed  to  be  sufficient  to 
accomplish  the  task  and  make  nearly  200,000  acres  of  fine  land  available  for 
cultivation.  There  were  still  some  275,000  acres  of  government  land  open 
to  homestead  and  pre-emption,  beside  some  50,000  acres  of  railroad  land 
in  the  Kern  delta  which  was  offered  to  settlers  at  government  prices. 

All  this  land  was  considered  among  the  potential  assets  of  Bakersfield. 
The  town  was  just  recovering  from  an  epidemic  of  fever  during  the  summer 
previous,  and  the  cause  of  the  fever  having  been  ascribed  to  drinking  water 
from  shallow  wells  and  irrigating  ditches,  an  agitation  for  deeper  wells  was 
under  way.  Residents  of  the  new  town  were  looking  forward  to  the  building  of 
the  projected  railroad  up  the  valley  and  were  worrying  about  how  they  were 
going  to  feed  the  great  number  of  people  who  would  come  with  the  laying 
of  the  tracks.  They  even  went  to  the  length  of  organizing  the  Kern  County 
Agricultural  Society  for  the  promotion  of  agriculture,  so  that  a  plenty  of 
food  would  be  assured  the  newcomers. 

In    JNIarch   of   1870   the    town    was   re-surveyed,    and    it    was   announced 


68  HISTORY  OF  KERN  COUNTY 

that  shade  trees  were  to  be  planted  at  each  lot  corner.  Colonel  Baker  was 
building  his  saw  mill,  a  saw  mill  at  San  Emidio  had  just  put  in  new  planing 
machinery,  and  Livermore  &  Chester's  saw  mill  in  the  Tecuya  valley  was 
about  to  resume  work.  In  1870  a  bill  passed  the  legislature  to  change  the 
county  seat  from  Havilah  to  Bakersfield,  but  Governor  Haight  did  not  sign 
it,  and  it  failed  to  become  a  law. 

In  the  county  there  were  five  postoffices,  the  following  being  the  post- 
masters:  At  Bakersfield,  George  B.  Chester;  at  Havilah,  H.  H.  Denker;  at 
Kernville,  G.  Martel ;  at  Linn's  valley,  John  C.  Reid ;  at  Tehachapi,  P.  D. 
Green. 

The  surveyor  general's  report  for  1867,  published  in  1870  showed  that 
Kern  county  on  the  former  date  had  5,000  acres  of  land  fenced,  2,398  acres 
under  cultivation,  550  acres  in  wheat  which  produced  16,500  bushels,  906 
acres  in  barley,  which  produced  27,180  bushels,  4,000  grape  vines.  The 
value  of  the  real  estate  was  placed  at  $440,000;  improvements,  $40,000;  per- 
sonal property,  $866,500;  total,  $1,346,500.  The  estimated  population  was 
1,400,  and  the  number  of  registered  voters  was  766. 

The  Buena  Vista  Petroleum  Company  was  working  hopefully  but  not 
profitably  at  McKittrick,  known  in  early  days  as  Asphalto,  almost  due  west 
of  Bakersfield  at  the  end  of  the  Santa  Maria  valley. 
Sources  of  Ready  Cash 

The  Courier  summed  up  five  sources  from  which  money  flowed  in  greater 
or  less  streams,  into  the  channels  of  Bakersfield's  trade.  Travellers  brought 
some ;  a  few  horses  and  mules  were  sold ;  lumber,  posts,  etc.,  from  Greenhorn 
mountain  brought  in  a  little ;  the  Jewett  Brothers,  the  Troys,  Gustav  Sanger, 
Beale  &  Baker  and  others  sent  away  sheep  and  wool  and  brought  back  large 
sums  of  gold.  George  Young,  Launder,  Tracy  &  Canfield  and  others  sold 
beef  cattle.  Finally  the  mines,  although  not  so  profitable  as  formerly,  were 
still  worked  with  profit. 

The  whole  population  on  the  "Island"  was  estimated  in  1870  at  600.  Out- 
side the  town  of  Bakersfield  and  scattered  ranches  there  was  only  the 
Barnes  settlement  and  the  Mexican  settlement  at  what  is  now  Panama.  The 
remainder  of  the  people  were  in  the  mountains.  Old  Tehachapi  was  a  thriving 
little  village,  gaining  its  support  from  the  stock  men  who  were  getting 
well  established  in  the  fertile  valleys  round  about,  and  from  the  early  placer 
miners,  who  were  working  over  the  gravels  of  China  hill.  About  forty 
men  were  working  about  the  Kernville  mines,  for  the  most  part  on  shares ; 
they  were  just  putting  in  new  pumping  machinery  in  the  Joe  Walker  mine; 
Burdette  &  Tucker  had  opened  a  new  lead  in  Long  Tom ;  Sageland,  Clara- 
ville  and  other  mining  camps  through  the  mountains  were  enjoying  fair 
to  medium  prosperity ;  Havilah  was  passing  its  best  days  and  looking  forward 
to  the  time  when  it  must  fight  for  the  retention  of  the  county  seat,  which  was 
coming  to  be  almost  as  important  to  its  existence  as  its  mines. 

The  South  Fork  valley.  Walker's  basin,  Linn's  valley,  Poso  flat  and  less 
important  valleys  in  the  mountains  were  becoming  centers  of  development 
and  industry  under  the  hands  of  the  farmers  and  stockmen. 
Early  Captains  of  Industry 

The  new  factors  in  the  county's  development  took  up  the  task  with 
energy  and  enthusiasm.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  each  instance  the  men  who 
were   supplying  the  capital   for  the  carrying  out  of  the  resident  managers' 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  69 

plans  lived  elsewhere,  and  except  in  the  case  of  Henry  Miller  they  appear 
to  have  given  little  personal  attention  to  the  details  of  their  Kern  county 
investments.  In  each  case,  however,  the  resident  managers  were  capable 
of  laying  their  own  plans  and  uf  carrying  them  out,  also,  provided  the  money 
kept  coming.  Julius  Chester  was  the  active  partner  of  the  firm  of  Livermore 
&  Chester.  Livermore  furnished  the  money,  but  he  seldom  came  to  Bakers- 
field.  George  Chester  was  less  aggressive  than  his  brother,  and  although 
he  figured  prominently  in  the  early  annals  of  the  city,  it  was  Julius  that 
generally  directed  affairs  in  which  the  company  was  interested.  Under  his 
guidance  Livermore  &  Chester  branched  out  in  all  directions.  They  estab- 
lished the  leading  mercantile  house  in  the  county;  as  noted,  they  were 
active,  in  partnership  with  Colonel  Baker  and  others,  in  the  formation  of 
reclamation  districts  and  they  began  to  acquire  land  in  all  available  ways. 
They  bought  large  tracts  from  Baker  under  the  Montgomery  patent,  paying 
ridiculously  small  prices  therefor.  In  June,  1870,  Livermore  &  Chester  were 
advertising  20,000  acres  of  farming  land  for  sale  at  $2  to  $10  per  acre.  In 
July,  1870,  the  Chesters,  Livermore  &  Chester,  Thomas  Baker,  A.  R.  Jack- 
son, B.  Brundage,  C.  G.  Jackson,  John  Howlett,  H.  A.  Cross,  Solomon  Jewett 
and  L.  G.  Barnes  filed  a  petition  for  the  formation  of  a  reclamation  district 
comprising  28,000  acres  in  townships  29-27,  29-28,  30-28,  31-28  and  32-28, 
which  include  the  townsite  of  Bakersfield  and  the  country  south  to  beyond 
Kern  lake.  The  district  previously  described  lay  mostly  to  the  north  of 
Buena  Vista  lake.  On  March  11,  1871,  the  first  Bakersfield  Club  was  organ- 
ized, with  George  Chester  as  president,  John  Howlett  as  vice  president,  J. 
Leopold  as  secretary  and  Julius  Chester  as  treasurer.  In  July,  1871,  the 
new  livery  stable  of  Livermore  &  Chester  is  described  as  one  of  the  most 
imposing  structures  in  the  city.  It  was  of  adobe,  275  feet  long,  and  35  feet 
wide,  and  was  used  in  connection  with  the  long-distance  teaming  of  those 
days,  in  which  Livermore  &  Chester  were  largely  interested  directly. 

Cotton  Growers'  Association  Formed 

In  August,  1871,  the  California  Cotton  Growers'  Association  was  organ- 
ized with  Julius  Chester  as  president  and  James  Dale  as  secretary.  Dale 
wrote  that  "Our  vast  plantation  will  be  divided  into  cotton  parks  of  50 
to  100  acres  each,  surrounded  by  hedges  of  mulberry  which  will  be  clipped 
regularly.  At  intervals  in  the  hedge  rows  different  varieties  of  fruit  trees  will 
be  planted  to  furnish  fruit  and  shade." 

A  later  and  fuller  prospectus  states  that  the  California  Cotton  Growers 
and  Manufacturers'  Association  was  composed  of  Californians  and  English- 
men ;  that  after  examining  all  the  San  Joaquin  valley  the  association  had  se- 
lected the  Kern  River  valley  as  the  scene  of  its  operations.  It  had  purchased  of 
Livermore  &  Chester  10,000  acres  at  $5  per  acre  and  planned  to  plant  1000 
acres  of  cotton  the  following  spring.  The  sale  from  Livermore  &  Chester 
to  the  association  also  included,  according  to  the  statement,  the  townsite  of 
Bakersfield,  sixteen  houses,  a  large  brick  store  and  warehouse,  the  motive 
power  and  privileges  of  the  Kern  Island  Irrigation  Company's  canal,  the 
new  flour  mill,  the  merchandising  and  transportation  business  of  Livermore 
&  Chester  and  an  improved  farm  of  1000  acres  with  tools,  teams,  etc.  The 
men  composing  the  association  were  J.  H.  Redington,  A.  P.  Brayton,  C.  J. 
Pillsbury,  L.  A.  Bonestell,  Horatio  Stebbins,  J.  D.  Johnson,  H.  C.  Liver- 
more and  C.  Maddux. 

In    Mav    of    1872,    the    Livermore    saw    mill    twentv-five    miles    east    of 


70  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Bakersfield  began  operations.  A  little  later  Julius  Chester  was  on  a  trip 
over  the  mountains  to  promote  a  road  to  the  Owens  river.  All  this  will 
indicate  briefly,  the  extent,  variety  and  general  character  of  the  activities 
which  Julius  Chester  directed,  and  the  place  which  Livermore  &  Chester 
and  their  associates  occupied  in  the  enterprise  and  development  of  Kern 
county  during  this  period.  During  this  time  the  association  was  spending 
money  freely  in  the  advertising  of  the  county's  attractions,  and  conducting  a 
campaign  of  general  promotion  that  would  have  been  a  credit  and  advantage 
to  a  much  older  community.  It  is  painful  to  record  that  Julius  Chester's 
plans  did  not  materialize  financially.  It  cost  more  to  run  the  business  than 
the  business  brought  in,  and  eventually  Celsus  grower  and  S.  J.  Lansing,  who 
had  come  to  Bakersfield  to  look  after  the  affairs  of  Livermore  &  Chester  and 
the  Cotton  Growers'  Association,  found  the  business  in  such  a  badly  muddled 
and  unpromising  condition  that  they  sent  for  Livermore  and  the  result 
was  a  change  of  management  and  a  transfer  of  the  property  involved  to 
J.  H.  Redington,  a  partner  of  Livermore,  in  the  drug  business,  as  trustee, 
for  adjustment.  Celsus  Brower  remained  in  charge  for  some  years,  un- 
tangling the  accounts,  selling  land  and  town  lots,  leasing  some  of  the  ranches 
and  generally  getting  what  returns  he  could  from  the  large  investments  of 
Livermore's  money.  Finally  the  Livermore  and  Redington  interests  were 
sold  to  Haggin  and  Carr,  and  became  a  part  of  the  principahty  of  which 
the  latter  dreamed  and  for  which  the  former  paid. 
Kern  County  News  of  1871-3 

Detached  items  of  news  from  the  papers  printed  in  1871-3  will  serve  as 
well  as  a  more  extended  description  to  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  plans 
and  ambitions,  sorrows  and  entertainments,  dreams  and  accomplishments 
of  the  people  of  the  Kern  delta  during  this  interesting  period. 

February  25,  1871 — R.  Van  Orman's  horse  lost  in  a  440-yard  race  to  a 
nag  belonging  to  Antonio  Barreras,  and  $1000  changed  hands  on  the  result. 
On  the  same  day  the  Bakersfield  sports  paid  over  $500  that  they  had  wagered 
on  Bob  Withington's  sorrel  against  Arujo's  bay. 

May  13,  1871 — Public  spirited  citizens  here  subscribed  $3200  to  build  a 
town  hall  with  a  lodge  room  upstairs  for  the  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows. 

June  3d— Mr.  Lucas  is  getting  ready  to  again  supply  Bakersfield  with 
ice  from   Cross'  mountain. 

May  27th — The  first  section  of  the  Kern  Island  ditch  is  finished  and 
ready  to  irrigate  (so  the  paper  says)  75,000  acres  of  land. 

An  effort  is  being  made  to  raise  money  for  a  church  building,  and  an 
express  office  is  soon  to  be  opened. 

Tiburcio  Vasquez,  Bartola  Sepulveda,  Procopio  Murietta,  Pancho  Go- 
linda  and  Juan  Doe  Bacinos  have  held  up  the  stage  near  San  Jose  again. 

September  9,  1871 — The  surveyors  for  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  are 
in  Bakersfield  and  the  citizens  are  awakening  to  the  fact  that  the  road  is 
going  to  miss  the  main  portion  of  the  town. 

The  third  Sunday  in  October  there  was  a  camp  meeting  on  Kern  Island. 

Stage  fare  from  San  Francisco  to  Bakersfield  is  $30,  and  from  Los 
Angeles  to  Bakersfield,  $15.     The  latter  stage  is  weekly  and  irregular. 

Laborers  get  $40  to  $60  per  month,  but  save  no  money. 

October,  1871 — Bishop  Amat  and  Father  Dade  call  the  Catholics  to- 
gether to  discuss  the  subject  of  building  a  church  and  school.  Julius  Chester, 
Pablo  Galtes  and  Alexis  Godey  are  appointed  a  committee  to  raise  the  funds. 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  71 

Alfalfa  is  proving  a  great  success  on  the  island. 

Solomon  Jewett  is  awarded  a  prize  of  $100  by  the  state  agricultural 
society  for  the  best  paper  on  cotton  growing  based  on  actual  experiment. 

October,  1871 — Havilah  residents  are  beginning  to  come  to  Bakersfield, 
bringing  their  houses  with  them. 

And  the  Santa  Barbara  Press  was  boosting  for  a  railroad  to  Bakers- 
field  just  as  cheerily  as  it  is  now  (in  1911) — and  with  the  same  result. 

The  railroad  is  finished  about  to  the  Merced  river,  and  farmers  are  still 
driving  their  turkeys  from  valley  points  to  San  Francisco  for  holiday  market. 

December  16,  1871 — J.  S.  Brittain  lands  here  to  found  a  Democratic 
paper — the    Southern    Californian. 

A  petition  is  in  circulation  to  move  the  county  seat  from  Havilah  to 
Bakersfield. 

B.  Brundage  and  E.  H.  Dumble  move  here  from  Havilah. 

December,  1871 — Surveyor  Yates  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  Canal  Com- 
pany decides  to  wait  until  the  weather  is  settled  before  continuing  his  plans 
for  a  great  canal  to  start  at  Antioch,  run  south  along  the  Coast  range  mesa 
to  the  head  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  circle  the  base  of  the  San  Emidio  hills, 
turn  north  at  Tejon,  follow  the  Sierra  Nevada  mesa  to  the  head  of  the  Sacra- 
mento valley,  and  return  on  the  west  side  of  that  valley  to  a  point  opposite 
Antioch.  The  purpose  of  the  canal  is  to  gather  all  the  waters  of  all  the 
streams  of  the  interior  into  one  great  irrigation  system  that  will  water  every 
foot  of  land  in  the  two  great  valleys.  (It  is  too  bad  the  plan  was  nevei' 
carried  out!) 

January,  1872 — Freight  by  teams  from  Los  Angeles  to  Bakersfield  costs 
4  cents  per  pound. 

April,  1872 — The  legislature  defeats  a  bill  to  repeal  the  fence  law,  and 
a  meeting  is  called  in  the  town  hall  to  discuss  means  of  protection  from  wild 
cattle.  The  fight  over  the  fence  law  is  between  the  farmers  and  the  stock- 
men. The  latter  want  a  law  which  will  practically  compel  the  farmers  to 
fence  their  lands  or  sufifer  damage  from  stock  that  may  trespass  upon  them, 
while  the  farmers  want  the  burden  of  herding  the  cattle  or  paying  damages 
placed  on  the  stockmen. 

The  same  month — Surveyors  are  laying  out  the  town  of  Fresno  on  the 
line  of  the  new  railroad. 

May  22.  1872 — The  Hotel  Association  is  selling  stock,  and  plans  to  build 
a  first  class  hotel. 

June,  1872 — Mechanics  are  leaving  their  work  in  town  and  flocking  to 
the  placer  gravels  along  Kern  river  about  nine  miles  above  Bakersfield. 

August,  1872 — Drs.  Baker  of  Visalia  and  Howard  of  San  Francisco  are 
here  to  look  at  new  coal  mines  and  petroleum  deposits  at  the  base  of  the 
Coast  range  west  of  Bakersfield.  The  San  Francisco  Gas  Company  is  plan- 
ning to  make  gas  of  crude  oil. 

The  great  register  of  the  county  for  1872  contains  785  names,  divided 
among  the  several  precincts  as  follows:  Bakersfield,  245;  Linn's  valley,  140; 
Tehachapi,  90;  Havilah,  85;  Kernville,  60;  South  Fork,  40;  Sageland,  35; 
Bear  Valley,  30;  Tejon,  25;  Walker's  Basin,  15;  Long  Tom,  10. 

November,  1872 — A.  Cross  arrives  with  three  teams  from  Owen  river 
with  335  bars  of  lead  bullion,  or  30,000  pounds.  The  bullion  was  hauled  to 
the  foot  of  the  lake  by  steamers  from  the  furnaces  on  the  other  side.  It 
took  ten  days  to  make  the  trip  by  team  from  the  lake  to  Bakersfield. 


72  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

November,  1872 — Colonel  Baker  makes  the  first  successful  attempt  to 
burn  a  kiln  of  brick. 

Sunday,  November  24,  1872 — At  1  p.  m.  Colonel  Baker  dies  of  typhoid 
pneumonia.  His  funeral  is  held  from  the  town  hall  the  following  Tuesday, 
and  the  entire  population  of  the  town  attends.  The  Masons  conduct  the 
service,  and  A.  R.  Jackson  delivers  the  oration.  The  body  was  buried  in 
Union  cemetery,  the  ground  for  which  was  selected  by  Colonel  Baker  about 
a  year  before. 


CHAPTER    VIII 

Bakersfield  Becomes  the  County  Metropolis 

In  the  process  of  gathering  the  data  for  this  history  the  author  asked 
one  of  the  men  who  have  been  intimately  associated  with  its  larger  afifairs 
during  the  last  forty  years  to  name  over  the  chief  events  in  the  history  of 
Bakersfield.     He  answered : 

"The  history  of  Bakersfield  is  a  story  of  hope  deferred,  of  promises 
unfulfilled.  First  we  prayed  for  a  railroad.  We  got  it,  but  it  did  not  unlock 
the  door  of  our  possibilities  as  we  expected  it  would.  Then  we  prayed  for 
colonization.  Everything  was  made  ready  to  answer  that  prayer,  when 
the  contest  over  the  water  rights  interfered  and  nothing  could  be  done 
toward  cutting  up  the  land  until  that  was  settled.  It  took  years  to  settle 
it.  When  it  was  out  of  the  way  and  the  colonization  scheme  was  undertaken, 
just  at  the  start,  when  everybody's  hope  was  stimulated,  the  town  burned 
up.  We  rebuilt  on  hope,  and  the  colonization  scheme  went  forward.  Most 
of  the  colonists  who  came  were  not  farmers,  or  if  they  knew  how  to  farm 
in  the  east  or  in  England  they  did  not  know  how  to  farm  here.  The 
water  was  managed  badly ;  some  of  the  ground  was  waterlogged,  the  ditches 
broke,  things  dried  out  on  the  high  ground  and  flooded  out  on  the  low  ground. 
Just  as  the  orchards  and  vineyards  came  into  bearing  the  panic  of  1893-4 
broke.  There  was  no  local  market,  and  fruit  shipped  east  would  hardly  pay 
the  freight;  sometimes  it  did  not  pay  the  freight  and  they  sent  back  a  bill 
to  the  shipper.  The  seasons  about  that  time  were  dry,  but  we  could  have 
managed  that.  The  greatest  handicap  was  transportation  charges.  Then 
we  prayed  for  a  competing  railroad.  The  Valley  road  (the  Santa  Fe)  was 
built,  but  it  did  not  compete.  There  never  was  a  thing  happened  in  this 
county  that  really  gave  it  any  chance,  that  offered  any  opportunity  to 
go  ahead  and  do  things  until  they  began  to  develop  the  oil  fields." 

Understand  that  this  is  the  speech  of  an  optimist,  not  a  pessimist. 
Through  nearly  all  this  period  (this  era  of  hopes  deferred  and  promises 
unfulfilled)  Bakersfield  was  counted  by  travellers  and  travelling  salesmen  as 
one  of  the  "best  towns"  in  the  state.  It  was  always  full  of  life  and  interest, 
always  there  was  something  doing.  Only  to  the  men  of  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  county's  possibilities  and  of  abounding  faith  in  the  county's  future 
has  the  history  of  the  past  forty  years  been  one  of  hopes  deferred  and  promises 
unfulfilled. 

Nevertheless,  throughout  these  forty  years  the  attitude  of  this  optimist 
who  speaks  like  a  pessimist  has  been  a  typical  one.  Literally  hundreds  of 
people,  looking  about  at  the  immense  body  of  fertile  land  that  fills  the 
heart  of  the  county,  the  great  river  that  flows  down  from  the  mountains  at 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  73 

exactly  the  most  convenient  spot  for  irrigating  it,  the  warm,  even  climate 
and  the  tremendous  treasures  of  oil  and  other  mineral  wealth  that  the  hills 
and  mountains  contain,  have  been  amazed,  irritated  and  angered  because 
circumstances  have  prevented  Bakersfield  from  becoming  the  largest  city 
in  the  interior  of  the  state,  as  it  justly  deserves  to  be. 

Understand,  also,  that  it  is  only  in  the  retrospect  that  the  Bakersfield 
optimist  has  seen  that  the  history  of  the  town  was  a  story  of  promises  unful- 
filled. For  only  brief  periods  during  all  these  forty  years  has  the  town  been 
lingering  elsewhere  than  on  the  threshold  of  a  great  new  boom.  It  was  on 
the  threshold  of  one  of  its  booms  when  its  founder,  Colonel  Baker,  died. 
The  fertility  of  the  Kern  delta  was  fully  established,  capitalists  in  the  person 
of  Livermore  &  Chester  were  promising  great  things,  plans  for  getting  the 
remaining  portions  of  the  public  domain  into  private  hands  with  the  least 
possible  efifort  and  the  speediest  dispatch  were  going  forward  without  a 
hitch  worth  mentioning,  the  example  of  Colonel  Baker  inspired  the  belief 
that  so  soon  as  these  public  lands  were  patented  they  would  be  ofTered  for 
sale  at  modest  prices,  and  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  was  headed  down 
the  valley  with  the  long  desired  transportation  facilities.  Bakersfield  was 
convinced  of  her  future  greatness,  and  was  preparing  to  take  her  first  steps 
forward  by  incorporating  as  a  city  and  by  wresting  the  county  seat  from 
Havilah. 

Bakersfield  Gets  the  County  Seat 

The  contest  for  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  from  Havilah  to  Bakers- 
field, preliminary  skirmishes  of  which  had  been  taking  place  occasionally  for 
years  before,  assumed  final,  serious  form  in  January,  1873,  when,  in  response 
to  a  petition  signed  by  upward  of  one-third  of  the  registered  voters  of  the 
county,  the  supervisors  called  an  election  for  February  ISth  to  determine 
the  question. 

F.  W.  Craig,  who  was  one  of  the  supervisors  at  the  time  and  who 
fought  hard  for  the  retention  of  the  county  seat  at  Havilah,  says  that  the 
Havilah  partisans  did  not  hope  to  keep  the  county  seat  permanently,  but 
they  objected  to  its  going  to  Bakersfield  because  they  considered  the  place 
unsuited  on  account  of  its  low  and  swampy  character.  They  believed  that 
with  the  building  of  the  railroad  a  new  and  more  permanent  town  would 
be  founded  somewhere  on  higher  ground  than  Bakersfield.  and  their  fight 
was  to  keep  the  county  offices  at  Havilah  until  the  expected  new  town 
could  develop  and  assert  its  claim  to  the  seat  of  government. 

The  sincerity  of  the  men  who  made  the  fight  against  Bakersfield  on  the 
ground  of  healthfulness  is  shown  by  subsequent  action  on  the  part  of  some 
of  them,  although  a  very  few  years  sufficed  to  prove  that  their  fears  were 
ungrounded.  Dr.  L.  Brown,  the  county  physician  in  the  days  of  Havilah's 
supremacy,  declined  to  follow  the  court  house  to  Bakersfield  but  gave  up 
his  practice  and  moved  to  a  farm  in  Walker's  basin  where  he  would  at  least 
have  the  advantage  of  the  mountain  air.  By  the  irony  of  fate  the  good  doctor 
died  a  short  time  thereafter,  while  his  widow,  who  some  years  later  became 
the  wife  of  General  Freeman,  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  she  still  lives  in 
the  best  of  health  and  possessed  of  an  energy  and  activity  that  would  do 
credit  to  a  woman  of  half  her  years.  Mr.  Craig,  who  afterward  was  county 
clerk,  came  down  to  the  valley  perforce,  but  he  took  up  his  residence  in 
Sumner  (now  East  Bakersfield).  and  still  maintains  that  there  is  more  ozone 
in  the  air  east  of  Union  avenue  than  west  of  it. 


'74  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Bakersfield  people  contented  themselves  with  pointing  to  the  mortality 
tables  and  making  fun  of  the  contention  of  Havilah  that  Bakersfield  was 
not  a  "fit  place  for  a  gentleman  to  live,"  but  to  the  complaint  that  it  would 
cost  the  county  a  large  sum  of  money  to  erect  the  necessary  new  buildings 
which   a   change   in   the   county    seat   would   entail,   they   presented   a   more 

.  material  answer.  Morris  Jacoby  gave  a  bond,  with  F.  A.  Tracy  and  Solomon 
Jewett  as  sureties,  that  he  would  build  a  brick  jail  and  lease  it  to  the  county 

.  for  five  years  free  of  cost  if  the  election  resulted  in  moving  the  county  seat. 
Julius  Chester  signed  a  lease  to  the  county  at  $1  per  year  for  a  one-story 
brick  building  to  be  used  to  house  the  county  offices.  On  the  same  terms 
John  Hewlett  and  Julius  Chester,  as  trustees,  leased  to  the  county  the  town 
hall  for  a  court  room.    The  lease  was  for  five  years. 

Contest  Over  Election 

First  unofficial  returns  of  the  election  gave  a  majority  of  twelve  for 
Bakersfield,  but  when  the  vote  was  canvassed  on  February  24th,  Super- 
visors Craig  and  John  M.  Brite,  father  of  the  present  supervisor,  voted  to 
reject  the  returns  of  Hudson,  Bear  valley  and  Walker's  basin  precincts  on 
account  of  irregularities  on  the  part  of  the  election  officials.  Solomon  Jewett, 
the  third  supervisor,  recently  elected,  voted  to  count  the  returns  from  the 
three  precincts  but  was  outweighed,  and  Havilah  was  declared  to  be  the 
choice  of  the  voters  for  the  county  seat  by  a  vote  of  328  to  318. 

An  application  for  a  writ  of  mandamus  compelling  the  supervisors  to 
count  the  returns  of  the  rejected  precincts  was  thrown  out  of  court  by 
Judge  Colby  on  a  demurrer  filed  by  Supervisors  Craig  and  Brite.  An  appeal 
was  then  taken  to  the  district  court. 

Meantime  there  was  another  county  election,  and  John  Narboe  suc- 
ceeded Brite  as  supervisor  from  the  third  district,  and  Andrew  H.  Denker 
was  appointed  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Supervisor  Craig,  who  had  been 
elected  county  clerk.  This  changed  the  attitude  of  the  majority  of  the  board 
on  the  county  seat  removal,  Supervisors  Jewett  and  Narboe  favoring  Bakers- 
field while  Denker,  who  was  a  merchant  and  hotel  owner  of  Havilah,  stood 
for  his  own  town.    Jewett  was  chairman  of  the  board. 

The  case  was  entitled  People  of  the  State  of  California  on  the  relation  of 
A.  R.  Jackson,  plaintiffs,  against  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  Kern  County, 
defendants,  and  was  heard  before  Judge  Alec  Deeming  at  Tulare.  B.  Brun- 
dage  appeared  as  counsel  for  the  plaintiff,  and  A.  J.  Atwell  represented  the 
board  of  supervisors  as  the  defendant.  An  answer  filed  by  Attorney  A.  C. 
Lawrence  and  verified  by  Supervisor  Denker,  was  stricken  out  by  the  court 
on  affidavit  of  Supervisors  Jewett  and  Narboe  that  he  did  not  represent  the 
board.  The  case  being  submitted  on  the  pleadings.  Judge  Deeming  issued  a 
peremptory  writ  of  mandate  requiring  the  supervisors  to  canvass  the  vote  of 
the  Hudson-Rosemyer  and  Bear  Valley  precincts.  The  returns  as  finally 
canvassed  on  January  26,  1874,  gave  Bakersfield  a  majority  of  twenty-two 
votes,  and  stood,  according  to  precincts,  as  follows: 

Havilah — Havilah,  97;   Bakersfield,  nothing. 

South  Fork — Havilah,  33;  Bakersfield,   1. 

FIudson-Rosemyer — Havilah,  nothing;  Bakersfield,  14. 

Kern  Island— Havilah,  5  ;  Bakersfield,  265. 

Long  Tom — Havilah,  nothing;  Bakersfield,  10. 

Tehachapi— Havilah,  40;  Bakersfield,  18. 

Bear  Valley— Havilah,  4;  Bakersfield,  22. 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  75 

Sageland — Havilah,  22;  Bakersfield,  1. 

Linn's  Valley— Havilah,  38;  Bakersfield,  23. 

Kernville — Havilah,  71;  Bakersfield,  nothing. 

Claraville — Haviland,  21 ;  Bakersfield,  nothing. 

Totals— Havilah,  332;  Bakersfield,  354. 

No  election  was  held  in  Alpine  precinct,  and  for  some  reason  the  vote 
of  Walker's  Basin  was  never  included  in  the  ofiicial  count. 

For  a  short  time  the  seat  of  government  was  transferred  to  the  town 
hall  in  Bakersfield,  located  on  the  present  site  of  the  Beale  Memorial  library. 
But  preparations  at  once  were  made  for  more  permanent  quarters.  An  act 
of  the  legislature  was  secured  authorizing  the  board  of  supervisors  to  bond 
the  county  for  $25,000  for  a  court  house  and  jail.  In  lieu  of  the  offers  of 
free  rent  for  the  county  offices,  George  B.  Chester  tendered  and  the  board 
accepted  on  September  1,  1874,  a  deed  to  the  block  of  land  just  south  of 
Truxtun  avenue  and  west  of  Chester  avenue.  In  those  days  the  intersection 
of  these  avenues  was  considered  the  civic  center  of  Bakersfield,  and  all 
streets  were  numbered  with  reference  to  that  point.  Seventeenth  street  was 
known  as  First  street  North,  Eighteenth  street  was  Second  street  North, 
and  Nineteenth  street  was  Third  street  North.  I  street  was  First  street 
West,  etc. 

New  Public  Buildings 

On  October  5th,  a  contract  was  let  to  A.  W.  Burrell  of  the  California 
Bridge  and  Building  Company  for  the  new  court  house  at  a  price  of  $29,999, 
the  work  to  be  completed  within  a  year.  T.  W.  Goodale,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Denker  as  supervisor,  voted  against  the  awarding  of  the  contract  for 
the  reason  that  the  price  was  in  excess  of  the  bond  issue.  The  new  court 
house  which  comprised  the  south  wing  of  the  building  now  in  use,  was  ac- 
cepted April  3,  1876,  on  the  favorable  report  of  a  committee  of  inspectors 
composed  of  J.  A.  Riley,  N.  R.  Wilkinson,  E.  H.  Dumble  and  P.  A.  Stine. 
The  court  house  was  furnished  for  $3802.  In  the  fall  a  contract  was  let 
to  William  McFarland  to  build  a  county  hospital  for  $1400.  For  a  time  a 
branch  hospital  was  maintained  at  Havilah,  and  later  a  branch  was  estab- 
lished at  Hot  Springs.  In  November,  1874,  a  branch  jail  was  built  at  Kern- 
ville for  $200,  and  in  1875  the  old  county  jail  at  Havilah  was  presented  to 
Caliente  and  moved  to  that  place. 

Bakersfield's  First  Incorporation 

Meantime  Bakersfield  had  launched  on  its  first  experiment  as  an  in- 
corporated town.  Pursuant  to  a  petition  of  the  citizens,  the  county  super- 
visors at  their  May  meeting,  1873,  declared  the  town  incorporated  and  called 
an  election  of  officers  for  May  24th.  J.  B.  Tungate,  E.  H.  Dumble  and 
A.  R.  Jackson  were  appointed  election  officers.  The  town  limits  included  all 
of  section  30,  29-28;  the  east  half  of  the  southwest  quarter  and  the  east  half  of 
the  northeast  quarter  of  section  25,  29-27.  The  following  were  chosen  for 
the  first  officers  of  the  new  municipality: 

Trustees— W.  S.  Adams,  president;  L.  S.  Rogers,  M.  Jacoby,  J.  B.  Tun- 
gate and  R.  W.  Withington. 
Recorder — A.  R.  Jackson. 
Treasurer — J.  Weill. 
Assessor — William   McFarland. 
Marshal — Joseph  Short. 


76  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Adams  was  a  liveryman,  Jacoby  and  Weill  were  merchants,  Rogers  was 
a  physician,  and  Withington  and  Tungate  were  saloon  keepers. 

The  new  board  fixed  a  license  of  $20  per  year  on  saloons  and  general 
merchandise  establishments;  $10  per  year  on  breweries,  and  lesser  sums 
on  other  businesses.  They  made  it  a  petit  larceny  oiifense  to  use  water  from 
an  irrigating  ditch  without  permission ;  required  that  all  canals  must  be 
bridged  to  the  full  width  of  the  streets;  forbade  bathing  in  the  ditches,  and 
fixed  a  limit  of  three  cubic  feet  on  the  amount  of  litter  that  might  be  piled 
in  either  of  the  two  chief  business  streets  of  the  city. 

The  First  Hope  Deferred 

Meantime,  also,  the  long  cherished  hope  of  a  railroad  into  Kern  county 
had  been  realized  at  last.  On  July  21,  1873,  the  track  had  been  completed  to 
a  point  four  miles  south  of  the  north  county  line,  and  there  work  was 
stopped,  as  the  people  of  Bakersfield  complained,  "out  in  an  open  plain, 
thirty  miles  from  wood  or  water,  thirty  miles  from  the  nearest  farm  house, 
thirty  miles  from  the  nearest  point  where  the  transportation  company  could 
hope  to  get  a  single  passenger  or  a  single  pound  of  freight."  There  was  a 
wail  of  protest  from  residents  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  Island,  who  could 
not  understand  why  the  road  had  not  been  completed  at  least  to  the  north 
bank  of  the  river.  Whether  the  railroad  builders  had  run  out  of  funds  or 
were  actuated  by  motives  of  purposeless,  inscrutable  malice  were  questions 
of  common  debate  during  the  eight  months  or  more  that  the  grading  and 
track-laying  gangs  were  idle.  The  latter  hypothesis,  however,  seems  to  have 
been  the  more  popular.  About  this  time  the  Courier  refers  editorially  to 
the  alleged  fact  that  from  its  very  beginning  the  railroad  was  the  object  of 
popular  distrust.  This  aversion  or  hostility  went  even  so  far,  the  paper 
declared,  that  settlers  were  buying  little  railroad  land,  although  it  was  offered 
at  attractive  prices  and  was  generally  of  good  quality  and  desirably  located. 

Delano  Is  Founded 

But  while  the  railroad  halted  and  the  people  of  Bakersfield  fumed,  the 
new  town  of  Delano  was  founded  and  became  a  flourishing  business  center 
on  a  small  but  active  scale.  Merchandise  that  formerly  was  delivered  to 
the  Kern  delta  and  all  the  mountain  districts  via  Visalia.  Walker's  pass  or 
Tejon  caiion  now  came  to  Delano  and  was  hauled  thence  by  freight  teams. 
All  outgoing  freight  was  delivered  there,  even  to  the  great  loads  of  bullion 
from  the  Cerro  Gordo  mines.  The  sheep  shearing  camps  that  had  been 
scattered  over  the  country  from  White  river  to  Poso  creek  moved  up  toward 
Delano  to  shorten  the  haul  by  wagon.  The  stage  from  Los  Angeles  made 
that  place  its  northern  terminal,  dry  wheat  farmers  on  the  mesas  between 
the  railroad  and  the  Sierras  increased  in  number,  and  broke  trails  to  the  rail- 
road, and  generally  Delano  became  a  very  lively  and  prosperous  place. 
The  Story  of  Eph  Johnson's  Ox  Team 

Just  how  new  and  strange  a  thing  a  railroad  was  in  the  San  Joaquin 
valley  then  is  illustrated  by  the  story  of  Eph  Johnson,  one  of  the  best  known 
of  the  teamsters  who  broke  the  trails  from  the  mountains  to  the  new  ship- 
ping point.  On  one  of  his  first  trips  to  Delano  Johnson  got  his  first  near 
view  of  a  freight  engine.  He  looked  the  thing  over,  and  did  not  think  much 
of  it.  Loyalty  to  the  old  methods  of  transportation  and  instinctive  antag- 
onism toward  this  new  machine  that  threatened  to  put  the  teams  and  team- 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  77 

sters  out  of  business  got  him  into  an  argument  with  the  trainmen,  and  finally 
Johnson  bet  his  eight  good  oxen  against  the  locomotive  that  he  could  drag  the 
iron  horse  backward  on  the  rails  that  had  been  laid  with  so  much  expense 
for  it  to  run  upon.  Johnson  stipulated  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  tighten 
the  chains  before  the  engine  was  started,  and  he  cracked  his  long  bull  whip 
and  shouted  to  Baldy,  the  leader.  Baldy  stiffened  his  neck  to  the  yoke, 
and  all  the  eight  great  animals  got  their  hoofs  against  the  ties  and  sank 
their  bellies  low  toward  the  soft,  new  roadbed  in  a  perfect  exhibition  of 
bovine  team-work.  Then  the  engineer  opened  the  throttle  and  jerked  the 
finest  eight-ox  team  in  Kern  county  into  a  tangled  mass  of  chains  and 
cattle.  The  trainmen  had  no  more  use  for  Johnson's  oxen  than  Johnson 
would  have  had  for  the  engine,  and  so  the  bet  was  never  paid,  but  it  cost 
the  teamster  the  value  of  at  least  one  yoke  of  cattle  before  the  thirst  of  the 
other  teamsters,  the  railroad  crews  and  all  the  population  of  Delano  was 
assuaged. 

News   Notes  of   1873-75 

A  few  mc>re  news  notes  of  the  time  will  fill  out  the  detail  in  this  picture 
of  the  county  in  1873-75 : 

June  22,  1873 — At  Tehachapi  Brite  &  Bennington  are  building  a  steam 
saw  mill  with  a  capacity  of  10,000  feet  in  twelve  hours. 

Tehachapi  merchants  are  asking  100  per  cent  profit  on  grain  sold  to 
Owens  river  teamsters. 

John  Narboe  &  Co.  are  gathering  salt  from  the  salt  lake  near  Tehachapi. 

Green  &  Henderson  clean  up  $1,438  in  their  hydraulic  mine  near 
Tehachapi. 

The  Kern  &  Inyo  P^orward-ing  Company  advertises  for  fifty  mule  teams 
to  haul  between  the  end  of  the  railruad  and  Owens  lake,  and  guarantees  a 
full  load  both  ways. 

Stage  fare  from  Delano  to  Bakersfield  (thirty-two  miles)  is  $7;  from 
Bakersfield  to  Los  Angeles,  $25  ;  from  San  Francisco  to  Los  Angeles,  $25. 
The  "long  and  short  haul"  problem  is  a  cause  of  complaint. 

August  2,  1873 — Escalet's  new  hotel  at  the  corner  of  Chester  avenue  and 
Third  street  (now  Nineteenth)  is  completed. 

August  23d — The  aft'airs  of  the  California  Cotton  Growers'  Association 
and  Livermore  &  Chester  have  been  assigned  to  J.  H.  Redington. 

August  23,  1873 — Tiburcio  Vasquez  is  reported  overtaken  in  Rock  caiion 
east  of  Los  Angeles. 

September  12,  1873 — ^Montgomery  and  Rurkhalter  of  Tulare  are  building 
a  schooner-rigged  boat  fifty  feet  in  length  and  of  seventj'  tons  burden  for 
Atwell  &  Goldstein,  who  have  an  immense  hog  ranch  on  an  island  in  Tulare 
lake. 

November  22,  1873 — J.  C.  Crocker  and  Miller  &  Lux  are  fencing  a  great 
tract  of  land  between  Buena  Vista  and  Goose  lakes  with  redwood  posts 
and  lumber  shipped  from  Oregon.    They  will  plant  alfalfa. 

Many  stage  robberies  are  reported  from  Visalia. 

December  6,  1873 — The  Stine  Irrigating  Canal  Company  levies  an  assess- 
ment of  $25  per  share. 

Farmers'  Irrigating  Canal  Company  is  supplying  water  to  a  new  dis- 
trict between  Panama  and  Kern  lake,  which  is  fast  settling  up.  A  school 
is  to  be  opened  there  in  February,  with  Mrs.  S.  A.  Burnap  as  teacher. 

January  17,  1874 — W.  B.  Carr,  the  "world  renowned  Billy  Carr,  political 


78  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Napoleon  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company,"  is  here  looking  over 
the  country.  He  owns  some  land  in  Kern  county  and  is  anxious  to  get  more. 
He  has  plans  for  the  complete  and  thorough  irrigation  of  the  valley. 

A  bill  is  introduced  in  the  legislature  to  form  a  new  county  out  of  a 
strip  of  territory  cut  from  the  north  end  of  Kern  and  the  south  end  of 
Tulare  counties,  Porterville  to  be  the  county  seat  and  the  name  of  the  new 
county  to  be  Monache.     (The  bill,  of  course,  did  not  pass.) 

March  7,  1874— Julius  Chester,  E.  Tibbet,  P.  Tibbet  and  R.  Trewin  are 
raising  funds  to  build  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  The  building  is  to 
be  open  for  the  use  of  all  evangelical  denominations. 

The  Pioneer  canal  is  finished  for  a  distance  of  eight  miles. 

W.  G.  Souther,  who  is  building  the  Kern  Island  canal,  is  having  con- 
structed at  Hollister  a  big  plow  with  a  mould  board  eleven  feet  long  by 
nearly  three  feet  deep  which  will  cut  a  furrow  five  feet  wide  and  two  feet 
deep.  The  naked  plow  will  weigh  1800  pounds,  and  eighty  horses  or  forty 
yoke  of  oxen  will  be  required  to  pull  it. 

The  Kern  Valley  Bank,  incorporated  on  February  24,  1874,  with  a 
capital  of  $50,000,  will  open  for  business  in  the  Wells  Fargo  office  about 
April  20th.  Solomon  Jewett  is  president;  S.  J.  Lansing,  secretary;  F.  A.  Tracy, 
P.  T.  Colby  and  P.  D.  Jewett,  directors. 

April  6,  1874 — Work  on  the  extension  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad 
south  from  Delano  is  resumed  with  100  men  and  thirty-five  teams. 

Local  option  is  the  subject  of  agitation  all  over  the  state. 

Rev.  Thomas  Fraser,  Presbyterian  missionary,  preaches  in  the  court 
house. 

Citizens  discuss  a  plan  to  build  a  water  tank  thirty  or  forty  feet  high  near 
the  flour  mill  to  afford  a  gravity  pressure  for  fire  protection. 

The  two  business  streets  of  the  town  are  sprinkled. 

Mexicans  are  preparing  for  a  bull  and  bear  fight  in  the  southern  outskirts 
of  the  town. 

Local  option  loses  in  Tulare  township  because  the  returns  from  a  pre- 
cinct giving  an  anti-license  majority  of  twenty-seven  votes  were  sealed  up 
in  the  envelope  marked  "ballots"  and  so  were  not  counted  in  the  official 
canvass.    The  unofficial  count  gave  a  majority  of  one  against  the  saloons. 

August  1,  1874 — Trains  reach  the  north  side  of  Kern  river. 

August  29,  1874 — The  Southern  Pacific  is  grading  for  the  depot  (at  the 
present  site  in  East  Bakersfield.)  A  large  body  of  land  in  the  vicinity  has 
been  covered  with  indemnity  scrip,  and  the  railroad  probably  will  lay  out  a 
town. 

October  10,  1874 — The  Bakersfield  Fire  Company  meets  to  adopt  a  con- 
stitution. N.  R.  Wilkinson  is  foreman;  W.  McFarland,  assistant  foreman; 
A.  T.  Whitman,  secretary;  W.  E.  Houghton,  treasurer.  A  fireman's  ball  is 
planned  for  November  6th. 

December  19,  1874 — Judge  Brundage  plants  out  eucalyptus  trees  about 
his  residence  (at  the  northwest  corner  of  H  and  Eighteenth  streets). 

Mining  excitement  at  Panamint. 

January,  1875 — The  river  is  in  flood  and  the  only  way  to  cross  is  by  the 
railroad  bridge.    No  damage. 

February,  1875 — Seven  or  eight  Mexicans,  supposed  to  have  been  led  by 
Chavez,  one  of  Vasquez'  lieutenants,  rob  the  store  of  William  Scodie  about 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  79 

five  miles  above  Weldon  on  the  South  Fork.  They  tied  Scodie,  stole  about 
$800,  a  new  outfit  of  clothing  and  a  horse  apiece  and  left  toward  Indian  Wells. 

\V.  B.  Carr  expects  to  sow  about  1500  acres  of  alfalfa  this  season.  The 
Southern  Pacific  engineers  are  struggling  with  the  grade  up  Tehachapi.  The 
roadbed  is  built  about  fourteen  miles  east  of  Bakersfield. 

February  27,  1875 — The  Bakersfield  brass  band  holds  its  third  anniversary 
ball.  A  revival  is  in  progress  at  the  Methodist  church.  The  Good  Templars 
organize  Kern  Island  lodge.  Murders  and  robberies  are  constantly  reported 
throughout  the  county. 

March,  1875 — Much  building  is  going  on  in  Bakersfield.  Lumber  is  $40 
per  thousand,  and  brick  are  $10.  The  great  Kernville  gold  ledge  has  been 
traced  for  twenty-five  miles.  A  thousand  men  are  working  on  the  railroad 
grade  to  Tehachapi. 

Bakersfield  Tires  of  Being  a  City  and  Disincorporates 

On  February  27,  1875,  the  Kern  County  Courier  announced  that  the 
town  government  was  a  miserable  failure.  A  large  amount  of  money  had 
been  collected  in  the  form  of  licenses,  the  editor  declared,  but  there  was 
little  or  nothing  to  show  for  it.  If  a  beginning  had  been  made  toward  build- 
ing a  sewer  system  or  a  municipal  water  works  or  if  some  other  substantial 
public  improvement  were  in  evidence,  the  incorporation  of  the  city  might  be 
justified,  but  there  were  none  of  these.  This  was  the  line  of  argument  that 
appeared  in  the  press.  Pioneers  who  were  active  in  public  affairs  at  the  time, 
however,  say  that  the  town  was  disincorporated  to  get  rid  of  the  marshal — 
Alex  Mills. 

Alex  Mills  was  one  of  the  thousand  or  more  picturesque  characters  that 
have  graced  the  history  of  Kern  county  and  given  it  the  pungent,  preservative 
spice  of  human  interest.  He  was  an  old  man,  by  the  time  he  became  marshal 
of  Bakersfield,  and  walked  with  a  cane.  But  he  was  a  Kentuckian,  a  handy 
man  with  a  gun  and  not  lacking  in  initiative  and  resource  when  the  mood 
moved  him.  For  example,  once  when  he  was  given  papers  to  serve  in  an 
attachment  suit  against  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  Alex  chained  a  log 
to  the  rails,  sat  down  on  it  with  his  rifle  in  his  hands  and  announced  that  he 
had  attached  the  track,  the  roadbed,  and  the  right  of  way  and  there  would 
be  nothing  stirring  over  them  until  the  judgment  was  satisfied.  It  was 
promptly  satisfied. 

But  these  exhibitions  of  energy  on  the  part  of  the  town's  historic  marshal 
seem  not  to  have  happened  very  often.  Urged  to  relate  what  Alex  did  that 
the  town  should  want  to  get  rid  of  his  services,  pioneers,  one  after  another 
declare,  "Nothing.  He  just  stumped  around  from  one  saloon  to  another  and 
at  the  end  of  the  month  he  drew  his  seventy-six  dollars."  But  diligent  re- 
search reveals  the  fact  that  Alex  had  a  habit  of  telling  the  truth  on  unfelicitous 
occasions.  Perhaps  he  would  stump  into  the  office  or  store  of  a  prominent 
citizen  and  something  like  this  conversation  would  ensue  : 

"Mr.  Blank,  suh,  good  morning." 

"Good  morning,  Mr.  Mills." 

"Mr.  Blank,  suh,  you're  the  pop-eyed  progeny  of  a  race  of  runts.  Nature 
never  marks  her  critters  wrong,  suh.  A  pop-eyed  man  will  steal,  a  pop-eyed 
pup  will  suck  eggs,  and  a  pop-eyed  woman  will  flirt  with  the  hired  help. 

"Good  morning,  suh." 

And  the  marshal  would  stump  out. 

Of  course  this  is  not  what  IMarshal  Mills  really  said.     His  language  was 


80  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

apt  to  be  too  lurid  and  literal  for  the  genteel  purposes  of  print.  But  the 
paraphrase  furnishes  some  faint  idea  of  the  historic  marshal's  frank  and 
freehand  ofifensiveness.  Such  means  of  recall  as  were  then  available  were  dis- 
cussed by  the  good  citizens,  but  they  were  assured  by  the  undaunted  Alex 
that  "you  may  remove  me  from  my  office,  suh,  but  my  constituents  will 
triumphantly  elect  me  again,"  which  everyone  knew  to  be  a  fact. 

And  so  the  good  citizens  disguised  the  issue.  They  pleaded  economy 
and  everything  else  that  might  suggest  itself  as  an  argument  for  disincor- 
poration.  A  petition  was  duly  circulated,  duly  signed  by  more  than  three- 
fourths  of  the  legal  voters  of  the  city,  and  the  county  supervisors,  acting 
under  the  law  as  it  then  existed,  on  January  4,  1876,  declared  that  Bakers- 
field  was  disincorporated.  Samuel  J.  Lansing  was  appointed  to  close  the 
municipality's  financial  afifairs.  On  April  3,  1876,  Lansing  filed  his  report  with 
the  county  board,  and  Bakersfield  was  free  from  all  restraint,  expense  and 
contumely  incident  to  city  marshals  until  January  11,  1898,  a  respite  of 
twenty-two  years,  during  which  period  Bakersfield  and  Kern  county  passed 
through  many  experiences  and  were  the  scene  of  many  stirring  events,  the 
story  of  which  must  now  be  recounted. 


CHAPTER  IX 
The   Contests   Over  Water  Rights   Begin 

Referring  back  to  the  news  items  reproduced  in  the  previous  chapter  it 
will  be  noted  that  on  August  23,  1873,  appeared  a  legal  notice  to  the  effect 
that  the  afifairs  of  the  California  Cotton  Growers'  Association,  and  Livermore 
&  Chester  had  been  transferred  to  J.  H.  Redington ;  that  in  November  of  the 
same  year  J.  C.  Crocker  and  Miller  &  Lux  were  fencing  in  a  great  tract  of 
land  between  Buena  Vista  and  Goose  lakes  and  preparing  to  sow  alfalfa ;  that 
in  January,  1874,  "the  world-renowned  Billy  Carr,  political  Napoleon  for  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company,"  was  in  Kern  county  looking  over  his 
possessions  here  and  planning  how  to  increase  them. 

About  1874  Dr.  George  F.  Thornton  was  getting  the  Bellvue  and 
McClung  ranches  established  for  J.  B.  Haggin.  In  the  same  year  W.  G. 
Souther  was  having  the  big  plow  built  at  HoUister  for  use  in  completing 
the  reclamation  of  swamp  land  district  No.  Ill,  a  task  which  had  been  taken 
over  by  the  Kern  Island  Irrigation  Canal  Company,  which  was  a  Livermore 
&  Chester  enterprise,  now  assigned  to  J.  H.  Redington.  In  March,  1876,  Liver- 
more mortgaged  to  William  Houston  5736  acres  of  land  for  $60,000.  On 
October  1,  1877,  Livermore  mortgaged  9792.72  acres  of  Kern  county  land  to 
Redington  for  $97,000.  On  the  same  date  another  mortgage  was  executed 
between  the  same  parties  involving  12,800  acres  of  land  and  $128,000.  In 
the  same  year,  which  was  one  of  exceptional  drought,  Livermore  &  Chester 
(as  the  concern  continued  to  be  known  despite  the  transfers  noted)  are 
credited  by  newspaper  report  with  having  spent  $20,000  in  the  construction 
of  a  dam  of  brush  and  gravel  thrown  across  Kern  river  for  the  purpose  of 
turning  the  water  into  the  Kern  Island  canal.  On  July  2,  1877,  the  Kern 
Valley  Water  Company,  of  which  J.  H.  Redington  was  president  and  H.  P. 
Livermore  was  secretary,  made  an  agreement  with  the  trustees  of  swamp  land 
district  No.   116  or  121    (lying  north  of  Buena  Vista  lake)   to  complete  the 


COL.    THOMAS    BAKER 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  81 

work  of  reclamation  which  the  trustees  of  the  district  had  begun.  In  March, 
1877,  Congress  passed  the  desert  land  act,  and  work  was  begun  on  the 
Calloway  canal.  In  January,  1878,  Livermore  made  another  mortgage  to 
Redington  covering  4480  acres  for  a  consideration  of  $44,800.  In  1878  the 
Kern  Valley  Colony  issued  a  prospectus  offering  seventeen  sections  of  land 
under  the  Kern  Island  canal  for  sale  at  $25  per  acre  in  tracts  of  forty  to 
eighty  acres  at  terms  of  one-fifth  cash,  with  the  balance  in  four  annual  pay- 
ments; interest  at  nine  per  cent.  For  information  apply  to  H.  P.  Livermore, 
San  Francisco,  or  Celsus  Brower,  Bakersfield. 

In  June,  1879,  Livermore  and  Redington  sold  to  J.  B.  Haggin  the  Cot- 
ton ranch,  comprising  729.03  acres  in  what  is  now  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  city  of  Bakersfield.  The  consideration  was  nothing.  A  previous  deed 
had  conveyed  all  the  other  Livermore  and  Redington  holdings  in  Kern 
county  to  Haggin,  and  after  the  deal  had  been  completed  Redington  threw 
in  this  remaining  body  of  land — now  selling  in  town  lots  at  $20  to  $200  per 
front  foot — for  good  measure,  and  also,  as  there  is  good  reason  to  suppose, 
because  he  did  not  care  to  keep  any  souvenir  of  his  Kern  county  investments. 

Add  to  the  foregoing  the  record  of  suit  after  suit  filed  against  Livermore 
&  Chester,  Livermore  &  Redington  and  the  diiiferent  parties  individually  by 
Haggin  &  Carr,  all  dismissed  or  compromised,  and  you  will  have  a  fairly  com- 
plete syllabus  of  the  complicated  chapter  in  the  history  of  Kern  county 
which  bridges  over  the  period  during  which  Haggin  &  Carr  and  Miller  & 
Lux  came  to  be  the  overshadowing  factors  in  Kern  county's  development ; 
during  which  Bakersfield's  first  hope  of  colonization  came  to  naught,  and 
most  of  the  remaining  sections  of  valuable  farming  land  in  the  valley  portion 
of  the  ciiunty  were  thoughtfully  gathered  up.  The  chapter  includes,  also,  the 
first  bitter  contests  over  the  control  of  the  waters  of  Kern  river,  and  the 
placing  of  the  troops  and  batteries  for  the  great  battle  that  was  to  come 
later  on  between  the  appropriators  represented  by  Haggin  and  the  riparianists 
represented  by  Miller  &  Lux. 

The  Decline  of  Livermore  &  Chester 

Livermore  &  Redington  were  wholesale  druggists  of  San  Francisco, 
men  of  large  wealth  outside  of  their  drug  business,  and  are  referred  to  by  their 
Kern  county  acquaintances  as  of  most  estimable  character.  From  the  start 
their  Kern  county  land  investments  were  a  side  venture,  and  commanded 
little  of  their  personal  attention.  Livermore  came  to  Bakersfield  but  seldom, 
and  Redington  almost  never.  Taking  them  on  their  face,  nothing  could 
have  been  more  promising  than  the  Kern  county  swamp  land  projects.  The 
early  reclamation  contracts,  as  we  have  seen,  were  taken  on  the  basis  of  an 
acre  of  land  in  return  for  moving  two  cubic  yards  of  earth  in  the  construction 
of  canals  and  levees.  Ten  or  a  dozen  years  later  E.  M.  Roberts  and  H.  W. 
Broad  took  a  contract  to  finish  the  Calloway  canal  at  seven  cents  for  moving 
ordinary  earth  and  nine  cents  for  hardpan,  and  they  made  big  money.  The 
haul  is  longer  and  heavier  in  building  a  big  canal  like  the  Calloway  than  in  a 
smaller  canal  like  the  Kern  Island,  and  the  earth  moved  in  the  former 
averaged  much  heavier  and  harder  to  handle  than  was  that  in  the  latter.  It 
would  seem  that  under  normal  circumstances  and  management  the  men  \^ho 
participated  with  Colonel  Baker  in  the  original  contract  for  the  reclamation 
of  district  No.  Ill  should  have  secured  their  land  at  an  outlay  of  ten  or 
fifteen  cents  per  acre. 

But  many  things  combined  to  overturn  what  seemed  to  be  perfectly  laid 


82  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

plans.  Before  the  arrival  of  the  railroad,  materials  of  all  kinds  that  had  to  be 
shipped  in  were  exceedingly  high  in  price,  and  after  the  railroad  came  the 
expected  reductions  in  transportation  charges  were  only  partially  realized. 
Labor  was  scarce  and  inefficient.  Drinking  water  from  shallovv  wells  or 
irrigation  ditches  resulted  in  a  liberal  infection  of  workmen  with  the  microbe 
of  weariness,  and  eiTorts  to  drown  the  microbes  in  the  bad  liquors  that 
unlimited  saloons  dispensed  were  not  wholly  successful  from  all  points  of 
view. 

Then  it  was  an  era  of  large  ideas.  The  big  plow  that  Souther  had  built 
at  Hollister  was  not  his  first  nor  largest  invention  of  the  kind.  He  built  in 
the  Livermore  &  Chester  shops  at  Bakersfield  a  plow  designed  to  cut  a  furrow 
five  feet  in  width  and  three  feet  deep,  whereas  the  Hollister  plow  cut  a  furrow 
three  feet  wide  and  two  feet  deep.  The  top  of  the  mould  board  of  the  first 
plow  was  even  with  the  head  of  a  man  on  horseback.  The  depth  of  the 
cut  was  controlled  by  a  screw  operated  from  a  platform  high  over  the  shear, 
and  a  long  lever  extending  to  the  rear  was  used  in  keeping  the  furrow 
straight.  With  forty  yoke  of  oxen  hitched  to  it  the  plow  would  cut  through 
4  Cottonwood  root  as  thick  as  a  fat  man's  arm  and  the  shear  and  coulter 
shaved  a  clean  path  through  the  thickets  of  button  willows  that  grew  along 
the  sloughs.  The  plow  was  perfectly  designed  and  constructed,  according  to 
men  who  saw  its  try-out,  but  the  oxen  walked  so  slowly  that  the  earth 
which  the  shear  picked  up  was  not  carried  out  on  the  mould  board  but  fell 
back  in  the  furrow  as  in  the  case  of  a  plow  that  does  not  "scour."  When  the 
bull  whackers  beat  the  cattle  into  a  faster  gait  the  plow  made  a  clean  furrow, 
but  the  faster  gait  could  not  be  maintained,  and  at  the  end  of  a  twelve-mile 
furrow  it  was  evident  that  the  big  plow  was  almost  as  unsuited  for  ditch- 
building  as  it  would  be  for  a  watch  charm. 

Then  Souther  had  the  "little"  plow  built  at  Hollister.  This  could  be 
handled  with  forty  head  of  mules,  and  the  faster  animals  made  the  new  plow 
a  success.  Many  of  the  smaller  ditches  about  the  delta  were  made  with  the 
Hollister  plow,  but  its  use  benefited  chiefly  the  assigns  of  Livermore  & 
Redington. 

Fertile   Causes  of  Litigation 

In  the  early  days  of  irrigation  in  Kern  county  it  was  the  custom  to 
build  wing  dams  of  sand  or  of  sand  and  brush  in  times  when  the  river  was 
low  to  force  the  water  into  the  canals.  These  wing  dams  would  start  just 
below  the  head  of  the  canal  and  extend  at  an  angle  upward  and  across  the 
river  nearly  to  the  farther  bank.  A  freshet  sufficient  to  raise  the  water  above 
the  top  of  these  dams  would  speedily  melt  them  away,  scattering  the  brush  to 
form  impeding  islands  in  the  river  bed,  and  the  work  would  have  to  be  re- 
peated so  soon  as  the  river  fell  again.  Before  the  Kern  valley  canal  was  finished 
the  cost  of  these  wing  dams  had  reached  so  great  an  aggregate  that  the 
managers  of  the  enterprise  decided  to  move  the  intake  higher  up  on  the  river. 
This  was  done,  the  new  intake  being  finished  in  1874.  The  old  south  fork 
channel,  however,  was  still  used  in  lieu  of  a  canal,  the  water  being  turned 
into  the  old  channel  from  the  new  intake.  Still  later  the  head  of  the  Kern 
Island  canal  was  moved  still  farther  up  the  river,  and  an  artificial  canal  sub- 
stituted for  the  old  natural  channel  south  as  far  as  the  present  mill.  All 
these  changes  were  made  the  excuse  for  a  number  of  law  suits  over  water 
rights,  the  questions  involved  turning  on  use,  priority  and  the  right  of 
riparian  owners  to  have  a  natural  water  course  maintained.    The  suits  and  the 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  83 

questions  involved  were  technical  and  of  little  interest  to  the  average  reader 
except  to  suggest  the  numberless  good  opportunities  for  litigation  that  arose 
while  the  waters  of  Kern  river  were  being  apportioned.  Few  such  oppor- 
tunities, it  may  be  added,  were  allowed  to  pass  unseized. 

The  agreement  between  the  Kern  Island  Canal  Company  and  the  trustees 
of  the  irrigation  district  was  that  the  company  should  construct  the  canal 
and  necessary  levees  for  $16,240,  the  company  to  own  the  canal  and  retain  the 
right  to  the  use  of  the  water,  provided  that  the  owner  of  swamp  land  should 
be  given  one  share  of  stock  in  the  canal  company  for  every  fifty  dollars  which 
his  land  paid  into  the  reclamation  fund,  and  provided  that  the  owners  of 
swamp  land  in  the  district  should  have  the  preference  right — or  the  exclusive 
right  in  case  they  demanded  it — to  purchase  the  water  in  the  canal  at 
rates  which  would  net  the  canal  comiiany  a  return  not  to  exceed  ten  per  cent 
of  its  capital  stock  annually. 

First  Great  Fight  Over  Water  Rights 

When  the  very  dry  year  of  1877  came  the  former  expedients  to  which 
the  Kern  Island  Canal  Company  had  resorted  to  draw  the  water  into  its 
ditch  did  not  suffice,  and  the  dam,  which  is  alleged  to  have  cost  $20,000  was 
built  across  the  river.  Not  only  were  brush  and  sand  used,  but  wooden 
chutes  were  built  against  the  shoulder  of  Panorama  heights  and  gravel  and 
boulders  were  chuted  down  to  the  river  edge  to  serve  as  more  enduring  bal- 
last. Heavy  timbers  also  were  used  to  stay  the  waters,  and  the  dam  took 
on  so  much  the  character  of  a  permanent  work  that  settlers  and  water  users 
over  the  entire  delta  from  Bakersfield  to  Buena  Vista  lake  were  up  in  vigor- 
ous protest  against  this  alleged  effort  to  monopolize  the  entire  flow  of  the 
river. 

It  is  profitless  now,  as  well  as  difficult,  to  decide  just  where  the  right 
and  justice  lay.  Those  who  were  close  to  Livermore  say  that  the  dam  was 
never  intended  to  take  all  the  water  of  the  river  and  never  did  so.  It  was  to 
act  merely  as  the  present  weirs  do,  and  it  was  only  for  the  purpose  of 
diverting  into  the  Kern  Island  canal  the  ajnount  of  water  which  was  due  it 
by  right  of  prior  appropriation.  This  right,  they  point  out,  was  later  estab- 
lished and  affirmed  by  the  Miller-Haggin  agreement  and  the  Shaw  decree, 
and  to  this  day  the  canal  is  entitled  to  its  quota  of  water  whenever  there  is 
that  much  in  the  river  and  whether  there  is  anything  left  for  other  canals 
or  not. 

Partisans  of  Livermore  go  on  to  say  that  much  of  the  outcry  against  the 
Kern  Island  was  raised  by  Carr,  who  had  begun  a  systematic  campaign  to 
oust  Livermore  and  Redington  from  their  commanding  position  on  the  river 
and  (like  the  astute  and  experienced  politician  that  he  was)  sought  to  enlist 
popular  sentiment  as  one  of  the  chief  means  for  carrying  out  his  ends. 

■At  any  rate,  it  appears  that  about  this  time  Carr  was  a  prince  of  good 
fellows.  He  was  suffering  as  much  as  any  of  the  smaller  water  users,  but 
he  was  willing  to  divide  with  everyone  the  little  trickles  that  the  monopolistic 
Kern  Island  people  permitted  to  come  down  past  their  works.  In  fact  Carr 
was  the  leader  and  ally  of  the  anti-monopolists,  and  he  was  efficient  and 
resourceful. 

The  men  who  relate  the  story  from  the  other  side  say  that  no  objection 
ever  was  made  to  the  Kern  Island  company's  dams  so  long  as  they  built 
them  of  brush  and  sand  as  others  did,  and  no  complaint  was  made  against 
the  Kern  Island  taking  all  the  water  to  which  it  was  entitled  and  which  the 


84  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

irrigators  under  it  could  use.  The  objectors,  however,  go  on  to  affirm  that 
so  much  water  was  forced  into  the  Kern  Island  canal  that  it  broke  and  the 
precious  fluid  ran  to  waste  over  untilled  lands  while  settlers  farther  down  the 
river  had  to  stand  by  and  see  their  crops  perish  for  want  of  moisture.  Out  of 
this  difference  of  opinion  regarding  right  and  equity  and  of  understanding 
as  to  matters  of  fact,  arose  the  first  great  contest  over  the  waters  of  Kern 
river. 

The  contests  between  Haggin  &  Carr  and  Livermore  &  Chester  were 
not  so  fierce  nor  on  so  large  a  scale  as  those  that  came  later  between  Haggin 
&  Carr  and  Miller  &  Lux,  but  they  were  fairly  strenuous.  On  one  occasion 
when  Carr  had  secured  from  the  court  a  restraining  order  to  prevent  Liver- 
more  &  Chester  from  placing  a  dam  across  the  river  to  force  the  water  into 
the  Kern  Island  canal,  instructions  were  issued  to  the  Livermore  superintend- 
ents to  proceed  with  the  work  on  the  assurance  that  the  injunction  would  be 
lifted  the  following  morning.  From  every  camp  the-  men  and  teams  were 
started  out  at  noon,  each  taking  an  independent  course  as  though  going 
about  some  ordinary  work,  but  all  of  them  arriving  during  the  afternoon  at 
the  foot  of  Panorama  heights  where  the  Kern  Island  intake  was.  The  hours 
until  nightfall  were  spent  in  quietly  filling  bags  with  sand  and  piling  them 
on  the  river's  edge.  When  darkness  fell,  two  hundred  men  under  the  direc- 
tion of  C.  L.  Connor  and  C.  C.  Stockton  began  building  a  wall  of  sand  bags 
out  into  the  stream. 

Carr's  scouts  discovered  what  was  going  on  about  midnight,  but  nothing 
was  done  until  morning,  when  Connor  and  Stockton  were  placed  under  arrest 
for  contempt  of  court.  There  had  been  a  hitch  and  the  injunction  was  not 
lifted.  The  judge  was  furious,  and  Carr  was  insistent  on  the  officers  placing 
Connor  and  Stockton  in  jail,  but  J.  C.  Crocker  interceded,  and  Crocker's 
influence  in  those  days  was  potent,  even  with  a  judge  whose  dignity  had  been 
badly  ruffled.  The  men  did  not  go  to  jail,  and  both  of  them  afterward  were 
given  good  positions  by  Carr,  who  could  recognize  an  efficient  fighter  no 
matter  which  side  he  happened  to  be  on. 

As  to  just  what  happened  to  Livermore  &  Chester's  dams  the  testimony 
differs,  but  a  notice  published  in  a  paper  of  a  little  later  date  offers  a  sub- 
stantial reward  for  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  the  person  or  persons  that 
dynamited  them. 

Colony  Plan  Is  Nipped  in  the  Tender  Bud 

Of  course,  with  Haggin's  millions  and  Carr's  far-famed  genius  and  gen- 
eralship arrayed  against  them.  Livermore  and  Redington  did  not  fight  as 
stubbornly  as  they  might  under  more  equal  terms.  No  suit  of  importance 
seems  to  have  been  decided  against  them,  and  their  contention  respecting  the 
paramount  rights  of  the  Kern  Island  canal  was  never  overwhelmed.  In  1878 
they  demonstrated  their  faith  in  their  position  by  putting  a  magnificent  body 
of  land  under  the  Kern  Island  canal  on  the  market  and  printing  a  book  and 
maps  descriptive  of  the  advantages  of  Kern  county  that  would  do  high 
honor  to  any  colonization  agency  of  present  days.  At  the  rate  of  $1000  for  a 
forty-acre  farm  and  the  best  water  right  in  the  county,  $200  down  and  $200 
each  year  for  four  years,  the  seventeen  sections  which  the  Kern  Valley  Colony 
offered  should  have  sold  readily  and  Bakersfield's  early  colonization  hopes 
should  have  been  redeemed.  But  the  sale  to  Haggin  checked  the  colony 
plans  before  they  got  under  way,  and  a  long  halt  was  called  in  the  matter 
of  inducing  settlement,  for  Carr  had  drawn  his  plans  on  a  much  greater  scale 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  85 

than  any  of  the  earlier  land  holders,  and  he  was  by  no  means  ready  to  begin 
subdivision  in  the  year  1879. 

Purposes  of  Haggin  &  Carr 

It  would  be  a  matter  of  much  interest  were  it  possible  to  ascertain  with 
absolute  certainty  what  were  the  ultimate  plans  that  Carr  had  in  mind  for 
the  vast  estate  which  he  helped  to  upbuild.  Some  of  his  old  friends  state  with 
assurance  that  he  intended  (when  he  had  gotten  together  all  the  land  avail- 
able in  the  county  and  had  secured  full  control  of  the  water)  to  launch  a 
great  colonization  scheme  and  build  a  little  empire  of  small  land  owners.  Carr 
is  quoted  as  having  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a  younger  man 
than  either  J.  B.  Haggin  or  Lloyd  Tevis,  the  other  and  larger  partners  in 
the  enterprise,  and  remarking  that  in  the  end  he  expected  his  plans  to  prevail. 
But  the  oldest  of  the  three  men  survives  alone,  and  years  before  his  death 
Carr's  policy  was  over-ridden  and  his  interest  in  the  Kern  county  lands 
purchased. 

In  a  statement  published  in  May,  1880,  J.  B.  Haggin  over  his  signature 
declared  that  his  purpose  was  not  to  monopolize  the  lands  he  was  acquiring 
in  Kern  county  but  that  he  intended  to  ofifer  them  for  sale  on  liberal  terms. 
In  the  early  days,  however,  Haggin's  trips  to  Kern  county  were  very  few 
and  very  brief.  He  came  in  his  private  car,  was  driven  direct  to  Belle  View, 
where  he  looked  at  the  blooded  racers  that  were  bred  for  him  there,  returned 
to  his  car  and  was  sped  away.  Lloyd  Tevis  was  a  banker  of  San  Francisco, 
and  while  his  financial  interest  in  the  Kern  county  venture  dates  from  the 
beginning  of  operations  here,  his  name  was  not  connected  with  the  firm,  which 
for  years  was  known  locally  as  Haggin  &  Carr  or  Carr  &  Haggin.  and  which 
appeared  in  the  chief  legal  documents  as  J.  B.  Haggin. 

Carr's  money  contribution  to  the  Kern  county  venture  is  variously  esti- 
mated as  high  as  $500,000  to  $800,000.  Others  declare  it  was  very  much  less. 
The  Gates  tract  of  approximately  52,000  acres,  being  the  odd  sections  in 
townships  30-26,  30-27,  31-26,  and  31-27,  and  comprising  the  heart  of  the 
Kern  river  delta,  was  the  foundation  of  the  Carr  &  Haggin  holdings.  This 
was  a  tract  of  railroad  land  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  Isaac  Gates  of  New 
York  shortly  after  the  grant  of  the  odd  sections  along  the  line  of  the  pro- 
posed Atlantic  &  Pacific  railway  had  been  made  by  Congress.  Carr's  position 
as  political  manipulator  for  the  Southern  Pacific  enabled  him,  without  doubt, 
to  secure  other  railroad  lands  on  agreeable  terms,  and  he  took  steps  at  once  to 
share  in  the  wealth  of  swamp  land  which  was  being  so  rapidly  and  cheaply 
acquired  when  he  arrived  in  Kern  county.  All  through  the  records  of  swamp 
land  districts  from  1875  to  1893  the  names  of  Haggin,  Carr  and  Hearst  figure 
prominently. 

Carr's  Dealings  With  the  Ditch  Companies 

Aleantime,  Carr,  on  his  first  arrival  here,  began  taking  steps  to  gain  a 
controlling  interest  in  the  canal  companies  that  had  locations  on  Kern  river. 
Few  if  any  of  these  companies  were  incorporated  and  Carr  early  set  himself 
to  induce  the  owners  to  organize  under  the  laws  of  the  state.  Dififerent 
methods  were  pursued  in  different  cases,  but  one  by  one  the  companies  filed 
incorporation  papers,  and  just  as  surely  Haggin  and  Carr  eventually  got  a 
controlling  interest  in  the  stock.  To  tell  how  this  was  done  would  require 
a  separate  chapter  for  every  canal  company,  and  in  most  cases  they  would  be 
interesting  chapters.  In  every  case,  however,  Carr  presented  the  advantages 
of  co-operation,  showed  how  nnich  faster  and  more  effectually  the  work  of 


86  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

building  canals  and  ditches  could  be  prosecuted  with  the  financial  aid  of  his 
powerful  firm,  offered  wages  to  the  stockholders,  management  and  authority 
to  the  directors  and  water  to  the  patrons  of  the  ditch,  who  usually  were  the 
stockholders  themselves. 

Testimony  respecting  the  treatment  of  the  minority  stockholders  after 
Carr  &  Haggin  had  acquired  control  of  the  canal  companies  dififers  according 
to  the  alliance  and  experience  of  the  witness.  Pioneers  of  unimpeachable 
character  and  unquestioned  sincerity  who  were  directors  and  officers  of  canal 
companies  when  Carr  began  his  overtures  and  for  a  long  time  thereafter 
declare  that  the  alliance  was  always  to  the  benefit  of  the  farmers.  "We  did  not 
have  money  to  build  weirs  and  headgates,  but  Haggin  did,"  says  one  of  these 
pioneers.  "Carr  paid  us  wages  for  working  on  canals,  his  engineers  ran  out 
the  lines  so  that  we  got  the  water  in  the  right  place,  and  it  was  my  experience 
that  when  it  came  to  dividing  the  water  we  always  got  our  share.  Carr  said 
he  did  not  care  to  manage  the  canals — that  he  would  rather  we  did  it.  Carr 
used  to  come  to  the  directors'  meetings,  but  he  let  us  run  things  as  we 
pleased." 

"Did  you  ever  notice  a  big  cow  standing  over  a  water  trough  when 
there  was  only  a  little  stream  running  in  from  the  pump?  Did  you  ever  notice 
how  she  gets  all  the  water  and  the  little  cows  have  to  stand  back?  And  did 
you  ever  notice  that  when  she  gets  all  she  wants  to  drink  the  big  cow  is 
in  no  hurry  to  move  away  and  let  the  little  cows  have  a  chance?  VVell,  that 
gives  you  an  idea  of  the  way  Haggin  and  Carr  and  the  little  farmers  handled 
the  water  in  the  early  days."  This  is  the  statement  in  brief,  of  another  pio- 
neer of  equal  standing  and  reputation  and  with  equal  opportunity  for  informa- 
tion and  observation.  Between  the  two  opinions  the  reader  may  make  his 
guess,  or  he  may  let  the  puzzle  go  with  the  knowledge  that  Carr's  control  of 
the  canals  and  the  water  in  them  finally  became  an  accomplished  fact. 

But  another  factor  entered  into  the  method  of  Carr's  acquisition  of  water 
rights  and  into  all  his  dealings  with  the  settlers.  He  clearly  foresaw,  as  testi- 
mony abundantly  verifies,  the  fierce  contest  that  was  coming  over  the  use 
of  the  waters  of  Kern  river,  and  he  made  it  a  matter  of  distinct  and  settled 
policy  to  ally  his  interests  with  the  interests  of  the  people  wherever  it  was 
possible  to  do  so.  The  wisdom  of  his  course  showed  in  the  great  suit  of 
Lux  against  Haggin,  and  in  the  celebrated  Miller-Haggin  agreement  Carr's 
policy  was  carried  to  its  logical,  ultimate  application  by  making  all  present 
and  future  land  owners  within  the  reach  of  the  river  parties  to  the  terms 
under  which  its  waters  should  be  disposed. 

Plans  to  Gather  In  the  Desert  Lands 

While  they  were  gathering  up  the  large  and  luscious  remnants  of  swamp 
land  which  the  earlier  comers  had  overlooked  and  were  buying  railroad  lands, 
homesteads  and  school  lands  and  were  getting  a  firm  grasp  on  water  rights, 
Haggin  &  Carr  were  by  no  means  overlooking  the  desert  lands.  In  March, 
1877,  just  as  Carr  was  getting  well  established  in  Kern  county,  Congress  most 
opportunely  passed  the  desert  land  act  that  is  known  by  that  date.  Already, 
on  May  4,  1875,  water  to  the  amount  of  850  cubic  feet  per  second  had  been 
appropriated  under  Carr's  direction  for  the  express  purpose  of  irrigating 
desert  land,  and  work  on  the  great  Calloway  canal  which  was  to  carry  the 
water  to  this  desert  land  had  been  commenced.  The  first  work  on  the  canal 
was  begun  by  Carr  &  Haggin's  men  and  teams,  but  a  little  later  a  contract  for 
excavation  was  given  to  Vining  Barker.     In  1877,  the  year  the  desert  land  act 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  87 

was  passed,  a  contract  to  complete  tlie  canal  a  distance  of  about  twenty-five 
miles  was  taken  by  Broad  &  Roberts. 

The  Calloway  canal  takes  water  from  the  north  side  of  Kern  river  almost 
opposite  the  center  of  Bakersfield,  bears  west  through  the  northeastern  part 
of  Rosedale  and  then  swings  to  the  northwest  over  a  great  territory  that 
needed  only  water  to  transform  it  into  the  finest  of  fruit  and  farming  land. 
Broad  &  Roberts  took  the  contract  to  complete  the  canal  at  seven  cents  per 
cubic  yard  for  dirt  and  nine  cents  per  cubic  yard  for  hardpa"  Mr.  Roberts 
says  they  found  nothing  that  they  could  not  plow  with  eight  mules  in  all 
the  length  of  the  ditch.  It  took  about  a  year  to  finish  the  job,  and  meantime 
Carr  &  Haggin  were  busy  securing  entrymen  to  take  up  the  land. 

In  his  statement  published  in  1880  Haggin  describes  his  operations  in 
Kern  county  with  special  reference  to  the  desert  lands,  which  at  that  time 
were  the  object  of  much  discussion.  He  runs  briefly  over  the  subject  of  his 
first  activities  in  the  county,  stating  that  the  Belle  View  and  McClung  ranches 
were  established  under  the  direction  of  George  F.  Thornton.  On  account  of 
the  malaria  bred  by  Buena  Vista  and  Kern  lakes  Haggin  bought  them,  and  a 
large  amount  of  swamp  land  around  them  with  a  view  to  reclaiming  them. 
He  proceeded  to  divert  the  water  of  the  river  from  the  lakes  to  land  formerly 
considered  worthless  for  agriculture.  He  then  built  Goose  lake  slough  canal 
to  carry  oflf  the  excess  water,  but  this  was  not  sufficient  to  handle  it  all.  In 
March,  1877,  the  statement  continues,  Congress  passed  the  desert  land  act. 
Haggin  bought  large  numbers  of  odd-numbered  sections  north  of  the  river,  and 
induced  his  friends  to  enter  the  even-numbered  sections  adjoining.  He  bought 
more  water  rights  and  built  canals  to  irrigate  a  much  larger  area  of  land  and  to 
utilize  all  the  surplus  waters  of  the  river.  Haggin  states  that  he  desired  the 
co-operation  of  the  owners  of  even-numbered  sections  and  desired  to  have 
them  pay  their  share  of  the  expense  of  constructing  the  irrigation  system. 
In  order  to  avoid  conflict  with  strangers  he  got  nearly  all  the  even-nUmbered 
.  sections  entered  by  friendly  parties.  Since  the  lands  were  entered,  the  state- 
ment continues,  "invidious  and  designing  persons  have  grossly  misrepre- 
sented the  facts  touching  the  character  of  these  lands,"  and  efforts  had 
been  made  to  induce  unusual  rulings  by  the  department  of  the  interior  to  have 
the  entries  cancelled.  Haggin  had  a  government  commission  previously  ap- 
pointed visit  the  lands  in  question  and  make  a  report  to  the  authorities.  In 
conclusion  he  made  the  statement  of  policy  already  referred  to,  to  the  efTect 
that  he  did  not  desire  to  monopolize  lands,  but  intended  to  offer  them  for  sale 
on  liberal  terms. 

In  some  cases,  it  appears,  agreements  were  made  with  parties  to  enter  the 
desert  lands  giving  the  entrymen  the  alternative  of  paying  a  certain  amount 
for  having  the  water  placed  on  the  lands,  or  selling  their  equities  to  Haggin 
&  Carr  at  a  stipulated  price.  In  other  cases  the  entrymen's  names  seem 
to  have  been  loaned  gratis  or  for  a  small  fee  without  the  expectation  that 
they  would  figure  in  the  ownership  of  the  land  after  it  was  reclaimed.  In 
either  event  there  were  not  lacking  arguments  to  show  that  the  bargain  was 
fair  and  advantageous  to  all  concerned.  The  lands  could  be  irrigated  by  no 
other  means  known  and  practicable  at  the  time  than  by  canal  from  Kern 
river,  and  such  a  canal  could  be  built  only  by  the  expenditure  of  large  sums 
of  money.  The  state  or  federal  government  might  have  taken  up  the  task 
but    aside    from    these    methods    there    was    no    alternative    that    would    not 


88  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

necessitate  the  bonding  of  individual  entries  to  meet  their  share  of  the  ex- 
pense. 

But  the  invidious  and  designing  persons  got  the  ear  of  the  general  land 
office  authorities,  and  orders  were  issued  suspending  all  action  with  regard 
to  the  entries.  In  February,  1891,  the  order  of  suspension  was  revoked, 
after  something  like  50,000  acres  of  land  had  been  withheld  from  settlement 
and  development  for  a  little  over  thirteen  years.  Meantime  the  original 
entrymen,  homesteaders  and  pre-emptors  generally  had  become  discouraged 
and  abandoned  their  claims;  some  of  the  friends  of  Haggin  who  had  allowed 
him  to  use  their  names  were  dead,  others  had  moved  away,  and  generally 
the  plans  for  gathering  in  the  desert  lands  were  badly  disarranged. 
Enter  Miller  &  Lux  at  Rear  of  Stage 

During  all  of  the  busy  and  important  scenes  just  described,  Miller  & 
Lux  lingered  at  the  back  of  the  stage.  Their  lands  lay  mostly  to  the  north 
of  Buena  Vista  Lake,  twenty  miles  or  more  west  of  Bakersfield,  and  about 
the  same  distance  from  the  center  of  the  contests  between  Carr  and  Liver- 
more  over  the  water  rights.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  Miller's 
interest  in  the  disposal  of  the  waters  of  Kern  river  was  quite  as  great  as  was 
that  of  Haggin,  and  it  must  be  remembered,  also,  that  his  position  on  the 
river  bore  the  same  relation  to  that  of  Haggin  as  the  position  of  Haggin 
bore  to  that  of  Livermore  &  Chester.  When  Livermore  &  Chester  put  a  dam 
across  the  river  to  force  the  water  into  the  Kern  Island  canal  it  left  dry  the 
canals  in  which  Carr  &  Haggin  had  acquired  the  controlling  interest.  Later, 
when  Carr  &  Haggin  built  the  Calloway  weir  to  force  the  water  into  the 
Calloway  canal  the  result  was  to  dry  up  Miller's  newly-planted  alfalfa  fields, 
and  the  tule  swamps  where  his  herds  gathered  rough  forage.  The  sloughs 
and  natural  water  courses  through  which  the  remnants  of  Kern  river  had 
meandered  leisurely  through  the  broad,  flat  trough  of  the  valley  to  Tulare 
lake  changed  from  clear,  though  limpid  and  leisurely  streams,  to  green  and 
slimy  sinks  of  stagnant  water.  Then  they  became  nothing  but  streaks  of 
mud  in  which  the  feet  of  the  weakened  cattle  were  held  fast  until  the  vaqueros 
came  to  drag  the  poor  beasts  out  by  riatas  about  their  horns.  A  little  later 
all  the  sloughs  and  swamps  were  parched  as  dry  as  the  naked,  gray  expanses 
of  alkali  desert  that  bordered  them,  and  where  the  waters  had  been,  great 
cracks  opened  in  the  earth  down  which  a  walking  stick  could  be  thrust  its 
entire  length.  Only  in  deep  holes,  puddled  by  the  feet  of  many  starving  cattle 
and  fouled  by  the  carcasses  of  dead  brutes,  was  any  water  left  in  all  the  fifty 
miles  of  swamp  land  between  Buena  Vista  and  Tulare  lakes. 

Of  course  such  a  state  of  affairs  could  lead  but  to  vigorous  defensive 
action  on  the  part  of  Aliller  &  Lux,  and  so  the  suit  of  Lux  versus  Haggin  was 
filed,  and  after  the  usual  delay  was  brought  to  trial  on  April  IS,  1881,  before 
B.  Brundage,  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  Kern  county. 

However,  before  I  take  up  the  story  of  this  great  contest  of  rival  cor- 
porations, let  me  tell  how  lesser  factors  in  the  development  of  the  county 
were  faring,  relate  the  stories  of  some  disconnected  incidents  of  importance, 
and  show  by  transient  items  of  interest  something  of  the  daily  doings  of  the 
citizens  of  those  days. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 


CHAPTER     X 
A  Collection  of  Disconnected  Stories 

So  long  as  the  traditions  of  the  pioneer  stockmen  of  California  remain, 
the  drought  of  1877  will  be  remembered  as  a  period  of  ruin  and  disaster. 
Possibly  the  year  was  not  so  dry  as  1864,  but  there  were  more  stock  in  the 
state  to  suffer  from  hunger  and  starvation  and  more  stockmen  to  wear  out 
the  days  and  nights  with  anxiety  and  frantic  efforts  to  save  the  remnants  of 
their  ilocks  and  herds.  In  Kern  county  the  stock  industry  was  better  estab- 
lished than  any  other  line  of  productive  enterprise,  and  the  heavy  blows 
dealt  the  cattle  and  sheep  men  in  the  long,  pitiless  months  when  not  a  drop  of 
moisture  fell  from  the  skies  and  not  a  green  blade  nor  a  dry  and  withered 
stem  of  grass  was  left  to  cover  the  absolute  nakedness  of  the  desert,  left  scars 
that  were  not  effaced  until  many  prosperous  years  were  passed. 

In  1877  Harry  Quinn,  starved  out  of  his  magnificent  range  on  Rag  gulch, 
drove  18,000  sheep  to  Nevada  and  brought  back  2700;  15,000  of  the  flock  per- 
ished in  a  great  storm  east  of  the  Sierras  that  piled  the  snow  waist  deep  on  the 
level  plain.  Other  sheep  men  of  the  county  who  had  less  resource  and  stayed 
at  home,  saw  their  flocks  literally  wiped  out.  The  cattle  men  fared  little 
better.  While  the  river  continued  to  flow  down  the  swamps  and  there  were 
tules  to  be  eaten,  the  cattle  survived,  but  finally  there  was  no  water  save 
what  was  taken  out  in  the  irrigation  ditches,  the  tule  lands  were  dry,  and  the 
few  remaining  pools  of  water  grew  stagnant,  black  and  poisonous. 

A  very  few  men,  like  the  Jewetts,  who  had  irrigated  fields  and  could 
grow  forage  despite  the  failure  of  the  rains,  were  able  to  buy  cattle  and  sheep 
at  almost  nothing  a  head,  and  so  profited  as  much  as  they  lost  by  the  long 
continued  drought.    But  the  irrigated  fields  were  few  in  those  days. 

The  next  season  the  feed  was  good,  and  the  next  was  dry  again.  It  was 
then  that  Hill  &  Rivers  sold  out  their  interest  in  the  stock  at  Tejon  to  General 
Beale,  and  Jose  Lopez,  to  reduce  the  Tejon  flocks,  drove  16,000  sheep  to  Green 
River  in  Wyoming,  whence  they  were  shipped  to  Cheyenne.  Lopez  and  his 
herders  were  six  months  on  the  trail,  and  established  a  record,  not  only  for 
distance  traveled,  but  for  small  percentage  of  loss  and  general  success  on  the 
exceedingly  difficult  expedition.  In  1880  General  Beale  bought  out  Boggs, 
the  remaining  partner  in  the  firm  of  Hills,  Rivers  &  Co.  The  sheep  were 
gradually  closed  out  on  the  Tejon  ranches,  and  the  herds  of  cattle  were  in- 
creased to  a  maximum  of  29,000  head. 

The  Town  of  Tehachapi 

The  town  of  Tehachapi  was  founded  in  the  summer  of  1876,  when  the 
Southern  Pacific  railroad  finally  surmounted  the  difficulties  of  the  grade  up 
the  mountains  and  reached  the  little  valley  at  the  summit.  Prior  to  that  time 
Old  Tehachapi  (or  Old  Town,  as  it  soon  came  to  be  known)  was  a  thriving 
and  active  little  place  of  200  or  300  inhabitants.  Old  Town  drew  its  sus- 
tenance from  the  miners  who  washed  gold  from  the  sands  and  gravels  of 
China  hill  and  from  the  stockmen  who  had  established  themselves  in  the 
fertile  Tehachapi,  Brite's,  Cummings  and  Bear  valleys  and  were  pasturing 
their  herds  on  the  meadows  and  mountain  sides.  J.  J.  Murphy  and  Hirsh- 
feld  Brothers  were  the  pioneer  merchants  of  Old  Town,  Spencer  &  Durnal 
kept  a  hotel,  and  four  or  five  saloons  dispensed  liquid  refreshments. 


90  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Among  the  early  stockmen  were  the  Brite  and  Cummings  families  (after 
each  of  which  one  of  the  valleys  was  named),  the  Cuddebacks,  Matt  Tyler, 
John  Hickey,  the  Fickerts  of  Bear  valley,  Dan  Davenport,  Joe  Kaiser,  Henry 
Seegur,  George  Rand,  and  Antone  Pauly,  one  of  the  few  permanent  settlers 
around  the  Tehachapi  who  raised  sheep.  There  were  traveling  sheepmen 
in  the  Tehachapi  country  in  the  early  day,  and  at  Pauly's  corral  in  fall 
and  spring  many  sheep  were  shorn.  The  other  shepherds,  however,  did  not 
own  land  or  maintain  established  headquarters  there. 

The  placer  mining  around  Tehachapi  dates  back  to  the  early  '60s.  As 
elsewhere  the  white  miners  were  followed  by  Chinamen,  who  worked  over 
the  abandoned  placer  sands  with  considerable  profit. 

The  railroad  missed  Old  Town  by  about  three  miles  to  the  east,  and 
a  rival  village  was  started  about  the  station.  Of  course  the  new  town  got 
the  business,  but  it  was  not  until  1883  or  thereabout  that  Old  Town  began 
to  rnove  over,   bodily,   to  the   railroad. 

Lime  burning  began  around  Tehachapi  a  little  before  1880,  but  not  until 
the  Union  Lime  Company  of  Santa  Cruz  established  a  branch  at  Tehachapi 
and  built  an  up-to-date  kiln  in  1883  or  1884,  was  the  lime  industry  any  great 
success.  From  that  time  on,  however,  the  great  lime  deposits  in  the  Tehachapi 
mountains  continued  to  grow  in  importance  until  they  now  constitute  one 
of  the  large  factors  in  the  county's  wealth. 

Farming  started  actively  in  the  Tehachapi  country  about  1885,  and  rich 
new  ground  and  a  succession  of  favorable  years  brought  the  mountain  val- 
leys rapidly  to  the  front  agriculturally.  Moses  Hale,  about  1880,  grew  the 
first  apple  orchard  around  Tehachapi,  and  is  entitled  to  the  name  of  the 
father  of  the  apple-growing  industry,  which  now  promises  to  give  a  new 
value  to  the  Tehachapi  lands. 

Ben  Kessing  was  the  first  postmaster  of  new  Tehachapi,  and  was  fol- 
lowed in  that  office  by  P.  D.  Green,  manager  of  Baldy  Hamilton's  horse  and 
cattle  ranch,  justice  of  the  peace  and  friend  and  benefactor  of  everyone  in 
the  town  who  needed  his  help  to  draw  up  a  deed,  nurse  the  sick  or  lay  out 
the  dead.  Among  the  first  school  teachers  of  Tehachapi  were  L.  A.  Beards- 
ley,  W.  W.  Frazier,  Dr.  Hoag,  and  R.  L.  Stockton. 

Delano  Making  Progress 

Meantime  the  town  of  Delano  had  ceased  to  be  a  railroad  terminus,  but 
it  was  one  of  the  most  important  wool-shipping  points  in  the  state,  and  it 
was  gradually  coming  to  be  a  noted  wheat-shipping  center.  The  warm, 
sunny  plains  about  Delano  where  feed  starts  earlier  than  almost  anywhere 
else  in  the  state,  early  attracted  the  itinerant  sheep  owners,  and  flocks  were 
driven  there  from  the  mountains  and  desert  and  from  over  the  range  in 
Nevada  for  the  lambing  and  shearing  time.  Grain  farmers  soon  found  that 
the  same  conditions  that  made  the  early  grass  were  good  for  early  wheat, 
and  homesteaders  dotted  the  mesa  with  their  dwellings  and  began  marking 
out  the  great  fields  that  were  distinctive  of  the  wheat  farming  districts  of 
the  valley  before  the  advent  of  the  orchardists  and  the  alfalfa  growers. 

By  this  time  the  South  Fork  valley,  the  Kernville  country,  Linn's  valley, 
Woody,  and  all  the  other  mountain  districts  were  developing  under  the  hands 
of  stockmen  and  farmers  into  permanent  and  prosperous  communities,  able 
to  weather  droughts  and  other  periods  of  adversity  with  less  relative  loss, 
perhaps,  than  any  other  portion  of  the  county. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  91 

The  Last  of  Old  Clubfoot 

In  1879  Uld  Clubfoot  made  his  last  trip  north  past  Tejon  and  back  to 
his  principal  haunts  in  the  San  Bernardino  mountains.  Since  the  days  of 
the  earliest  settlements,  Old  Clubfoot  was  the  hero  of  the  principal  bear 
stories  of  the  pioneers.  Big  as  an  ox,  and  easily  identified  by  sight  or  by 
his  tracks  from  the  fact  that  his  right  fore  paw  had  been  chewed  off — prob- 
ably by  a  trap  in  his  infancy — the  great  beast  used  to  make  his  pilgrimage 
into  the  mountains  of  Kern  county  every  summer,  always  coming  by  one 
trail  and  returning  by  another.  A  party  of  twelve  men  met  Old  Clubfoot  one 
day  on  the  Alamos  trail  as  they  were  going  to  Los  Angeles  from  the  Kern 
River  mines.  The  bear  did  not  offer  to  fight,  noi  did  he  exhibit  the  slightest 
disposition  to  retreat.  He  simply  stood  there,  calm  and  statuesque,  his  big 
body  filling  the  road  from  cliff  to  precipice — or  at  least  leaving  no  clear 
space  on  either  side  down  which  the  miners  cared  to  venture.  Clubfoot  got 
the  right  of  way.  What  became  of  him  at  last  neither  history  nor  tradition 
records.  After  1879  the  Tejon  herders  saw  him  no  more,  and  no  more  is 
known  of  him. 

The  Lynching  of  an  Outlaw  Gang 

It  was  while  the  long  and  ineffectual  battle  to  save  the  life  of  the  out- 
law, Tiburcio  Vasquez,  was  dragging  in  the  courts  and  before  the  governor 
that  a  number  of  vaqueros  and  amateur  horsethieves  started  out  to  emulate 
Tiburcio's  notorious  career.  They  stole  a  number  of  horses  and  saddles  from 
livery  stables  in  Bakersfield,  went  to  Caliente,  robbed  the  depot,  shot  up 
the  town  and  were  preparing  a  dastardly  assault  on  a  woman  when  the  con- 
struction train  with  a  gang  of  workmen  came  along  and  frightened  them 
away. 

Determined  to  nip  this  new  outburst  of  lawlessness  in  the  tender  bud, 
cattlemen,  ranchers  and  residents  of  Bakersfield  took  instantly  to  arms.  Jim 
Young,  a  cattleman,  saw  the  gang  on  its  way  to  the  Utah  trail  and  gathered 
a  small  posse  composed  of  himself,  Sam  Young,  Bull  Williams  and  perhaps 
one  or  two  others.  "Bull"  Williams  got  his  name  from  the  fact  (veraciously 
reported  by  his  friends)  that  when  he  started  in  the  cattle  business  as  a 
tenderfoot  the  old  timers  sold  him  a  hundred  head  of  bull  calves  as  a  nucleus 
for  his  herd.  A  very  few  years  later  Williams  sold  twelve  hundred  cattle 
as  the  increase  of  his  band,  which  indicates  that  he  did  not  remain  a  tender- 
foot all  the  rest  of  his  life. 

The  Youngs  and  Bull  Williams  found  the  outlaws  in  a  house  near  the 
Alamos  ranch  beyond  Gorman  station,  and  got  between  them  and  their  guns. 
Five  Mexicans  and  a  young  man  named  Elias  were  brought  to  the  jail  in 
Bakersfield,  and  then  a  meeting  of  the  men  who  had  been  hunting  them  was 
held  at  the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace  W.  S.  Adams.  Adams  was  requested 
to  retire,  and  an  agreement  was  drafted  and  signed  in  which  the  men  present 
pledged  their  support  and  loyalty  to  each  other. 

Then  they  went  to  the  jail,  where  the  jailor  was  easily  overpowered, 
took  the  outlaws  to  the  courtroom  and  organized  a  court  by  appointing  a 
judge,  jury  and  prosecuting  attorney  and  attorney  for  the  defense.  Mean- 
time, that  there  might  be  no  delay  in  the  workings  of  the  wheels  of  justice, 
another  man  was  appointed  to  put  ropes  to  soak  and  lay  a  heavy  timber 
between  the  crotches  of  two  willow  trees  at  the  rear  of  the  court  house 
yard.    He  also  placed  a  plank  across  two  barrels  underneath  the  heavy  timber. 

In  the  morning,  very  early,  a  great  crowd  gathered  in  the  court  house 


92  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

yard  to  see  six  bodies  hanging  stiffly  by  their  necks.  They  were  cut  down 
and  laid  out  side  by  side  on  the  floor  of  the  hall  in  the  courthouse,  and  a 
coroner's  jury  promptly  summoned  promptly  found  that  the  deceased  per- 
sons came  to  their  death  from  being  hanged  by  a  person  or  persons  to  this 
jury  unknown.  At  least  the  jury  swore  truly  so  far  as  its  official  cognizance 
was  concerned,  for  no  testimony  touching  the  identity  of  the  executioners 
was  introduced  at  the  inquest. 

Not  a  few  people  condemned  the  hanging  of  the  boy  Elias,  and  a  large 
number  of  Mexican  citizens  considered  the  affair  an  affront  to  their  race. 
There  was  some  talk  of  asking  the  Mexican  consul  to  interfere,  and  a  small 
fire  starting  in  the  alley  back  of  the  Arlington  hotel  gave  rise  to  a  report 
that  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  burn  the  town  in  resentment  of  the  lynch- 
ing. Guards  were  sworn  in  and  stationed  about  the  streets  for  a  night  or 
two,  but  the  excitement  died  out  as  the  Mexicans  were  convinced  that  no 
discrimination  between  races  had  been  intended  or  had  been  made. 

This  was  the  last  organized  gang  of  thieves  and  outlaws  to  ply  their 
profession  in  Kern  county. 

The  Tehachapi  Train  Wreck 

On  January  20,  1883,  occurred  the  train  wreck  on  the  Tehachapi  grade, 
still  remembered  with  horror.  The  Southern  Pacific  passenger  train  reached 
Tehachapi  at  2:30  a.  m.  with  seven  cars,  a  postal  car,  baggage  car,  express 
car,  two  sleepers,  smoking  car  and  day  coach  in  the  order  named.  The  con- 
ductor, B.  F.  Reid,  got  off  to  register  and  get  the  train  orders,  the  head  brake- 
man,  C.  Maltby,  went  to  turn  the  switch  when  the  engines  were  discon- 
nected and  the  helper  engine  was  being  detached,  and  the  rear  brakeman, 
John  Patten,  left  his  post  to  show  a  lady  passenger  the  way  to  the  depot. 
The  night  was  very  dark,  and  a  strong  and  bitterly  cold  wind  was  blowing 
over  the  mountain  from  the  south.  The  last  man  of  the  train  crew  had  hardly 
left  the  cars  before  they  began  moving  backward.  The  grade  at  the  station 
was  twenty  feet  to  the  mile,  and  rapidly  grew  steeper,  and  besides  there  was 
the  wind  to  help  give  the  runaway  train  velocity.  The  train  was  making 
furious  headway  before  anyone  inside  noticed  that  anything  was  wrong.  Then 
Eli  Nabro,  a  passenger,  set  the  hand  brakes  on  the  sleepers.  This  checked 
the  forward  part  of  the  train  so  that  the  smoker  and  day  coach  broke  loose 
and  dashed  on  ahead.  The  hand  brakes  however,  were  insufficient  to  hold 
the  cars  on  the  steep  grade,  and  new  velocity  was  gained.  Two  miles  and 
a  half  below  the  station,  the  sleepers  left  the  track  just  after  they  had  passed 
over  a  deep  fill.  The  first  was  thrown  against  the  wall  of  a  cut  and  crushed 
to  splinters,  the  second  turned  completely  over  in  the  air  and  landed  on  the 
bank.  Both  caught  fire,  and  the  first  was  completely  consumed  with  every- 
one in  it.  From  the  other  sleeper  and  from  the  postal,  express  and  baggage 
cars,  all  of  which  rolled  over  the  fill  to  the  bottom  of  the  gulch,  eighteen  or 
twenty  persons  escaped,  all  more  or  less  seriously  hurt.  A  Miss  Squires, 
caught  in  the  wreck  unhurt,  was  burned  to  death  before  the  eyes  of  other 
passengers  who  were  powerless  to  help  her.  The  smoker  and  day  coach 
raced  on  a  mile  and  a  half  farther,  where  the  efforts  of  the  passengers  served 
to  stop  them.  Just  how  many  people  were  killed  in  the  wreck  was  never 
accurately  established.  The  testimony  at  the  inquest  tended  to  show  that 
the  brakes  never  were  set  at  the  station,  though  railroad  officials  maintained 
that  the  brakes  were  set,  but  that  tramps  released  them  with  the  intention 
of  robbing  the  passengers.     The  body  of  one  tramp  was  found  in  the  wreck. 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  93 

Importation  of  the  Negroes 

Haggin  &  Carr  inherited  from  Livermore  &  Chester  and  the  Cotton 
Growers'  Association  the  idea  that  cotton  growing  should  be  one  of  the  most 
profitable  purposes  to  which  the  delta  lands  could  be  put,  and  as  a  means 
of  securing  suitable  labor  in  the  cotton  fields  Carr  undertook  the  importation 
of  negroes  from  the  southern  states.  The  St.  Louis  Chronicle  of  November 
13,  1884,  records  that  F.  M.  Ownbey  was  there  on  that  date  arranging  to 
bring  to  Kern  county  1100  negroes  to  work  on  the  Haggin  lands,  and  states 
that  the  immigrants  were  ofifered  wages  at  the  rate  of  $12  per  month  for 
men,  $8  for  women,  and  $6  for  boys  and  girls. 

Ownbey  never  brought  so  many  negroes  to  the  county  as  he  planned, 
but  three  or  four  parties  came  at  different  times  under  contract  to  work  for 
a  year  at  the  wages  stated.  In  the  last  party  were  130  families.  Among 
them  were  M.  Stevens  and  his  wife,  Will,  Belton  and  Gideon  Vessel;  John, 
Henry  and  Joe  Pinkney;  A.  W.  Vessel,  Mrs.  Susie  Hall,  Francis  Campbell, 
Henry  Caldwell,  Anderson  Bowen,  Mary  Bowen,  Pleasant  Martin  and  Will 
Walker  and  his  family,  all  members  of  the  colored  colony  of  Bakersfield  today. 

But  from  Carr's  standpoint  the  bringing  of  the  negroes  was  not  a  suc- 
cess. No  sooner  had  they  landed  than  the  missionaries  of  discontent  were 
among  them,  pursuading  them  to  disregard  their  contracts  and  showing  them 
how  much  better  wages  they  could  secure  elsewhere.  The  result  was  that 
the  greater  number  of  them  never  did  enough  work  for  Carr  to  pay  their 
transportation.  Some  never  did  a  stroke  of  work  for  him.  Stevens  and  per- 
haps a  dozen  others  stayed  on  the  ranches  about  eleven  months,  and  Tom 
Ferryman,  who  was  given  a  patch  of  ground  to  work  for  himself,  stayed  three 
years.  The  others  found  work  in  Bakersfield  or  scattered  over  the  state. 
The  importation  of  the  negroes  helped  to  increase  the  breech  that  was  widen- 
mg  between  Carr  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  people  around  Bakers- 
field, particularly  working  men  and  homesteaders  who  depended  on  their 
wages  to  finance  them  and  who  considered  Carr's  action  an  effort  to  cheapen 
the  price  of  labor. 

The  non-success  of  the  cheap  labor  scheme,  on  the  other  hand,  put  an 
end  to  the  plan  for  raising  cotton  and  hops,  and  helped,  in  all  probability, 
to  confirm  the  decision  of  Haggin  and  Tevis  to  dispose  uf  their  lands. 

News  Notes  of  1886  to  1893 

August,  1886 — Billy  Carr  is  undertaking  to  manage  buth  the  Democratic 
and  Republican  parties  in  Kern  county.  At  the  last  general  election  394  votes 
were  cast — 198  Republican  and  196  Democratic.  W.  W.  Drury  ships  his 
first  crop  of  ramie — about  500  pounds — to  Pittsburg,  and  the  proceeds  net 
him  about  5  cents  per  pound. 

September  11,  1886—The  adjournment  of  the  legislature  without  having 
passed  the  irrigation  bills  is  heralded  as  a  defeat  for  Haggin  &  Carr  and  a 
victory  for  Miller  &  Lux  and  their  attorney-in-chief,  R.  E.  Houghton. 

October,  1886 — Clashes  are  frequent  between  Carr  and  settlers  on  desert 
lands  under  the  Calloway  canal.  Carr  is  accused  of  trying  to  prevent  settlers 
from  remaining  on  their  claims  by  fencing  the  roads  and  otherwise,  and  set- 
tlers make  trouble  by  cutting  Carr's  fences.  Miss  Conway,  a  school  teacher 
who  has  filed  on  a  desert  homestead,  chops  down  a  Idcked  gate  while  Carr's 
men  look  on.  It  is  alleged  that  dead  hogs  were  thrown  in  Miss  Conway's 
well. 

December  9,    1886— Haggin   &   Carr   are   making  400  to    1000  25-pound 


94  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

cheeses  per  month  on  the  Mountain  View  and  Kern  Island  ranches.  From 
January  1st  to  September  26th  201,886  pounds  of  cheese  were  shipped  to  Los 
Angeles  and  San   Francisco. 

December  30,  1886 — The  people  of  Sumner  are  discussing  the  subject 
of  a  water  supply  for  fire  purposes.  The  Kern  County  Immigration  Society 
is  organized  with  H.  Hirshfeld,  president;  A.  C.  Maude,  secretary,  and  P. 
Galtes,  W.  H.  Scribner,  E.  M.  Roberts,  W.  E.  Houghton  and  B.  Ardizzi, 
directors.     It  is  planned  to  keep  a  permanent  exhibit  in  Los  Angeles. 

February  3,  1887 — The  Bakersfield  water  works  has  two  eight-inch  wells, 
seventy-five  feet  deep,  and  pumps  about  133,000  gallons  of  water  per  day. 

February  5,  1887 — A  big  sandstorm  from  the  east  almost  stops  business 
in  Bakersfield.  Complaints  are  made  concerning  the  large  bills  presented 
by  the  constables  and  justices. 

March,  1887 — The  Wright  irrigation  bill  becomes  a  law. 

June  2,  1887 — A  news  letter  from  Delano  to  the  Echo  describes  that 
town  as  having  four  stores,  two  hotels,  one  lodging  house,  one  restaurant, 
two  livery  stables,  two  meat  markets,  two  blacksmith  shops,  one  barber  shop, 
three  real  estate  offices,  and  a  right  smart  sprinkling  of  saloons  and  dance 
houses — no  church,  no  doctor,  no  drug  store,  no  lawyer.  The  spring's  ship- 
ments of  wool  amounted  to  4600  bales. 

June,  1887 — Mr.  Collins,  agent  of  the  general  land  office,  concludes  an 
investigation  of  the  Haggin   &  Carr  desert  land  claims. 

June  23,  1887 — The  Tehachapi  Lime  Company  has  recently  begun  opera- 
tions. 

June  30,  1887 — R.  M.  Pogson  buys  the  old  town  hall  and  moves  it  to 
Tejon.  The  agitation  begins  for  a  $100,000  bond  issue  for  building  roads 
throughout  the  county  and  for  the  purchase  of  fair  grounds. 

July,  1887 — In  the  election  of  a  chief  of  the  Bakersfield  fire  department, 
the  Alerts  and  the  Neptunes  combine  on  L.  F.  Burr  and  defeat  W.  H.  Ream, 
the  candidate  of  the  Eurekas,  by  a  few  votes.  Other  officers  elected  are: 
E.  R.  Jameson,  assistant  chief;  J.  W.  Ahern,  secretary;  H.  A.  Blodget,  treas- 
urer. 

Charles  A.  Maul's  peach  orchard  is  celebrated  in  the  local  press. 

September,  1887 — The  Crocker  ranch  south  of  town,  largely  in  alfalfa 
and  with  a  good  house  on  it  sells  for  $32,000 — $100  per  acre. 

September,  1887 — The  Southern  Hotel  Association  incorporates. 

September,  1887— L.  P.  St.  Clair  buys  for  $2400  a  block  of  land  southwest 
of  the  courthouse,  afterward  the  site  of  the  first  St.  Francis  hospital  at  G 
and  Fourteenth  streets. 

September,  1887 — Articles  of  incorporation  are  filed  in  San  Francisco  by 
the  San  Francisco  &  San  Joaquin  Valley  Railroad  Company.  A  camp  of 
workmen  in  Tejon  canon  is  doing  work  preliminary  to  grading^supposed 
to  be  for  the  Santa  Fe.     The  Tejon  lemon  and  orange  trees  are  in  bearing. 

September  29,  1887 — General  Beale  has  given  a  right  of  way  across  his 
Tejon  lands  for  a  railroad  from  Mojave  to  Bakersfield.  The  road  is  to  be 
completed  to  Bakersfield  within  three  years. 

November  1,  1887 — Cornerstone  of  Masonic  temple  is  laid. 

December  26,  1887 — Superintendent  J.  S.  Hambleton,  drilling  on  land 
owned  by  the  Union  Oil  &  Land  Company,  reports  a  strike  at  720  feet  on 
section  19,  30-22.  The  drill  went  through  oil  standstone  into  a  bed  of  gravel, 
and  gas  forced  oil,  sand,  and  gravel  the  size  of  walnuts  thirty  or  forty  feet 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  95 

in  the  air.  The  well  flowed  for  some  little  time,  and  the  gas  was  so  suffo- 
cating that  the  workmen  were  driven  back  from  the  well.  The  Sunset  Oil 
Company  is  daily  expecting  machinery  from  the  east,  when  it  will  begin 
drilHng.  Hirshfeld  Brothers  and  R.  T.  Norris  will  soon  begin  prospecting 
for  oil  eight  or  nine  miles  from  Bakersfield  in  the  direction  of  Kern  river 
caiion  at  a  point  where  gas  is  detected  coming  from  the  ground. 

December  25,  1887 — Fire  Chief  Burr  brings  to  town  the  new  Silsby  fire 
engine,  and  the  day  being  Sunday  and  Christmas,  a  great  crowd  gathers  on 
the  street  to  inspect  the  new  acquisition.  Alex  Heyman  is  foreman  of  the 
Eureka  engine  company. 

January  10,  1888 — An  immigrant  car  at  the  rear  of  a  Southern  Pacific 
passenger  train,  while  coming  down  the  grade  from  Tehachapi,  breaks  a 
wheel,  is  wrenched  loose  from  the  train,  leaves  the  track,  rolls  over  and  over 
down  a  seventy-five-foot  embankment,  and  is  burned  up  by  a  fire  which 
starts  from  the  heating  stove.  All  the  passengers  escape  by  crawling  through 
the  car  windows,  Charles  Ankrum  and  his  wife  (colored)  being  the  worst 
injured.  Ankrum's  shoulder  was  dislocated,  and  the  fire  burned  a  hole  in 
the  back  of  his  coat  just  as  he  was  getting  through  the  window. 

January  26,  1888 — Clerks  begin  agitation  for  Sunday  closing  of  stores  in 
Bakersfield.  Rabbit  drives  are  frequent  in  the  county.  About  40,000  jack 
rabbits  were  killed  in  drives  during  January,  Februar}^  and  March,  1888. 

February  16,  1888 — The  Kern  River  Caiion  Irrigation  Company,  which 
owns  25,000  acres  of  land  east  and  north  of  Sumner,  and  which  plans  to  take 
water  out  of  the  river  near  the  caiion  to  irrigate  lands  east  of  Sumner  and 
as  far  south  as  the  Weed  Patch,  has  bonded  its  lands  and  franchise  to  San 
Francisco  people  for  thirty  days.     (Plans  never  materialized.) 

March,  1888 — Bakersfield  Drum  Corps  organized  at  R.  A.  Edmonds'  store. 

May  10.  1888 — The  Porterville  branch  of  the  Southern  Pacific  is  graded 
from  Fresno  to  Porterville. 

June  14,  1888 — W^ork  has  been  started  on  the  Southern  hotel. 

July    12,    1888 — The   Woman's   Relief  Corps   is   organized. 

July  19,  1888 — Work  begins  on  the  new  railroad  shops  at  Sumner. 

July  26,  1888 — The  details  of  the  Miller-Haggin  agreement  are  pub- 
lished. The  only  opposition  appears  to  come  from  the  owners  of  the  McCord 
ditch.  The  immediate  effect  of  the  agreement  is  to  advance  the  price  of  land 
around  Bakersfield.  Large  land  owners  subscribe  to  a  fund  totaling  between 
$3000  and  $4000  for  the  purpose  of  advertising  Kern  county.  Carr  contri- 
buted $1500. 

September.  1888 — County  supervisors  give  L.  P.  St.  Clair  a  franchise 
for  a  gas  and  electric  light  system  for  Bakersfield.  Work  on  the  plant  is  to 
be  commenced  in  six  months  and  be  completed  within  a  year.  Briggs,  Fergu- 
son &  Co.  announce  a  great  auction  sale  of  Haggin  lands  beginning  Monday, 
December  17,  1888.  In  two  hours  ninety-two  towns  lots  were  sold.  On  Tues- 
day thirty  purchasers  bought  nineteen  colony  lots  of  five  acres  each  and  145 
town  lots.  The  grand  jury  recommends  that  the  saloon  licenses  be  raised 
from  $25  to  $75  per  quarter. 

January  24,  1889 — J.  S.  Hanibleton,  superintendent  of  the  Sunset  Oil 
Company  (Jewett  &  Blodget),  has  brought  in  on  section  16,  11-23,  at  a 
depth  of  110  feet,  an  oil  well  that  flows  five  barrels  per  day.  The  county 
officials  are  suing  the  county  for  fees  which  they  claim  they  needlessly  paid 
into  the  county  treasury. 


96  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

March  14,  1889— H.  A.  Blodget,  H.  H.  Fish  and  Jeff  Packard  get  a 
franchise  for  a  street  railway  down  Chester  avenue,  past  the  site  of  the  "new 
Southern  Pacific  depot"  (which  was  never  built)  and  out  to  the  river  bridge. 

Same  date — Another  Haggin  land  sale  is  announced.  The  sales  will  be: 
First  day,  at  the  Cotton  ranch ;  second  day,  in  Bakersfield ;  third  day,  at  the 
hop  ranch.  Barbecues  first  and  third  days.  Baldwin  and  McAfee  conduct 
the  sale.    Town  lots  sell  at  $142  to  $640.    Colony  lots  at  $57  to  $135  per  acre. 

April  4,  1889 — Hirshfeld  brothers,  who  have  been  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness in  the  county  continuously  for  twenty-five  years,  sell  to  Dinkelspiel 
brothers. 

May  13,  1889 — The  county,  by  a  vote  of  852  to  281,  elects  to  issue  bonds 
in  the  sum  of  $250,000  to  build  a  new  jail,  a  county  hospital,  an  addition  to 
the  court  house  and  to  improve  highways. 

Same  date — Second  sale  of  Haggin's  irrigated  lands  begins  under  the 
direction  of  L.  C.  McAfee,  who  is  now  the  manager,  with  C.  Brower,  of  the 
land  department  of  J.  B.  Haggin.  McAfee  announces  that  it  is  Haggin's 
policy  to  dispose  of  all  his  Kern  county  lands.  McAfee  and  Brower  have 
their  first  office  where  the  Odd  Fellows  hall  is  now. 

Same  date — Plans  of  the  Poso  irrigation  district  are  submitted. 

July  7,  1889 — The  entire  business  section  of  Bakersfield  is  destroyed  by 
fire.  Soon  after  the  great  fire  property  owners  in  the  business  section  began 
laying  asphalt  sidewalks. 

August  31,  1890 — Carr  &  Haggin  are  working  300  head  of  horses  ex- 
tending canals  to  the  lands  which  they  will  colonize  next  winter.  J.  J.  Mack 
is  here  from  San  Francisco  to  organize  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield. 

September,  1890 — The  Kern  County  Land  Company  is  incorporated  in 
San  Francisco.  Report  says  that  S.  W.  Ferguson  is  to  be  the  resident  mana- 
ger. Lloyd  Tevis  is  anxious  to  dispose  of  the  Kern  county  lands,  as  he  pre- 
fers other  investments. 

October  1,  1890 — James  Herrington  is  tarred  and  feathered  by  citizens 
who  disapprove  of  his  activity  in  jumping  lands  and  filing  contests  against 
homesteaders. 

October  27,  1890 — Work  begins  on  the  Poso  irrigation  district  canal. 
Engineers  are  here   surveying  for  the  valley  railroad. 

A  bi-partisan  committee  is  named  by  Republicans  and  Democrats  to  pre- 
vent "ward  heelers  and  toughs"  from  dominating  the  coming  election. 

November  1,  1890 — Milo  McKee  has  both  arms  blown  off  while  firing 
a  salute  with  the  old  brass  cannon  in  honor  of  Senator  Stanford,  who  had 
just  arrived  in  Bakersfield  on  a  speaking  tour.  On  the  same  day  at  Tulare, 
W.  Baker  had  one  arm  blown  off  in  almost  the  same  manner,  also  while 
firing  a  salute  to  Senator  Stanford,  and  the  engine  that  hauled  Senator  Stan- 
ford's special  train  to  Bakersfield,  while  returning  light  to  Tulare  ran  over 
and  killed  Wallace  and  Ed  Ray,  two  Delano  boys  who  were  riding  a  railroad 
bicycle  to  Alila  to  attend  a  dance.  The  headlight  of  the  engine  was  broken 
and  it  was  running  dark. 

January   1,   1891 — Ten  tons  of  asphalt  in  boxes  are  shipped  east. 

January,  1891 — Judge  Arick  dies,  and  Governor  Waterman  appoints 
A.  R.  Conklin  of  Inyo  county  to  succeed  him  on  the  superior  bench. 

Stores  in  Bakersfield  agree  to  close  on  Sunday  after  March  1,  1891. 

February,    1891 — The   ruling  of  the   interior   department    of   September 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  97 

12,  1877,  suspending  desert  land  entries  Xos.  1  to  3i7,  inclusive,  is  revoked, 
and  old  applications  to  contest  are  recognized. 

An  amendment  to  the  desert  land  act  of  1877,  just  passed,  validates  as- 
signments of  desert  entries,  and  permits  Haggin  to  complete  and  present 
proof  of  reclamation  of  his  hundreds  of  desert  claims  under  the  Calloway. 

February,  1891 — Tlie  bonds  of  the  Kern  and  Tulare  irrigation  district 
are  sold. 

April  2,  1891 — John  Barker  has  developed  a  gas  well  on  his  ranch  be- 
tween Bakersfield  and  the  Kern  canon  and  has  piped  it  to  his  house  for 
cooking  and  lighting. 

April  30,  1891 — President  Harrison  speaks  from  rear  of  train. 

April,  1891 — Colonization  Agent  Knewing  of  the  Kern  County  Land 
Company  arrives  from   England  with  thirty  young  English  colonists. 

July  17,  1891 — At  a  meeting  in  Sumner,  George  C.  Doherty  and  John 
Barker  explain  their  plan  for  the  Doherty  canal,  which  would  take  over  water 
rights  to  30,000  miner's  inches  of  water  located  by  John  Barker  in  1878, 
build  a  canal  down  the  river  to  a  point  opposite  Sumner,  run  a  tunnel  under 
the  hill  to  the  mesa  north  and  east  of  Sumner.  The  company  was  to  be 
incorporated  for  $1,000,000,  the  promoters  proposed  to  sell  perpetual  water 
rights  for  $11.25  per  acre,  and  planned  to  irrigate  80,000  acres.  (This  plan 
was  never  carried  out,  of  course,  but  it  was  believed  at  the  time  to  have  been 
partly  responsible  for  the  building  of  the  East  Side  canal,  which  covers  part 
of  the  territory  which  the  Doherty  canal  was  to  water.) 

The  state  legislature  has  placed  a  bounty  on  coyote  scalps. 

August  25,  1892 — E.  M.  Roberts  is  given  a  contract  to  construct  the 
East  Side  canal,  which  is  to  take  a  portion  of  the  water  allowed  to  the  Kern 
Island  canal  under  the  JMiller-Haggin  agreement,  and  which  is  planned  to 
irrigate  30,000  acres  of  land. 

August,  1892 — Construction  trains  are  working  on  both  ends  of  the  Mc- 
Kittrick  branch  railroad. 

November,  1892 — A  hot  campaign  and  an  election  contest  results  in 
the  election  of  H.  A.  Jastro  as  supervisor  from  the  Fifth  district,  defeating 
H.  F.  Condict  by  three  votes. 

February  10,  1893 — Kern  river  breaks  its  levee  and  floods  the  northern 
and  western  part  of  town.  The  water  was  a  foot  deep  at  I  and  Nineteenth 
street  on  Thursday,  but  by  Friday  noon  it  had  disappeared  everywhere  in 
town  except  in  very  low  places. 

February  23,  1893 — Celsus  Brower  is  chosen  to  go  to  the  world's  fair 
at  Chicago  in  charge  of  the  Kern  county  exhibit. 

March  6,  1893 — Rosedale  colonists  meet  to  discuss  water  rates  and  re- 
solve that  "no  individual  or  corporation  should  have  the  right  to  fix  the 
rates  at  which  a  necessity  of  life  shall  be  sold."  (The  Land  Company  was 
offering  the  colonists  for  signature  an  agreement  fixing  the  rate  for  irriga- 
tion water  at  $1.50  per  acre  per  year,  the  contract  to  be  perpetual  and  the 
charge  for  water  to  become  a  Hen  on  the  land  if  not  paid.) 

February  4,  1893 — President  Cleveland  signs  the  proclamation  creating 
the  Sierra  forest  reserve,  including  a  great  territory  in  the  mountains  of 
Kern  county. 

The  people  of  Delano  are  discussing  the  possibility  of  getting  water  from 
the  Calloway  and  Beardsley  canals. 


98  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

May  25,  1893 — Company  G,  National  Guard,  is  mustered  in  with  Captain, 
W.  H.  Cook;  first  lieutenant,  H.  A.  Blodget;  second  lieutenant,  H.  P.  Bender. 

August,  1893 — At  an  anti-Chinese  meeting  in  Kern  City,  is  drafted  a 
letter  to  the  United  States  district  attorney  stating  that  there  are  1500 
Chinese  in  Kern  county  who  are  not  registered  under  the  Geary  law.  It  is 
proposed  to  remove  the  Chinese,  but  by  peaceable  methods  only. 

September  21,  1893 — Fruit  shippers  catch  seven  men  stealing  fruit  from 
cars,  and  haul  them  out  to  a  quiet  place  and  spank  them  on  the  bare  skin. 
Fresh  peaches  are  bringing  $1  for  a  twenty-pound  box  in  Chicago.  The 
freight  is  sixty-five  cents  per  box,  leaving  the  shipper  thirty-five  cents. 


CHAPTER     XI 

The  Great  Lux-Haggin  Water  Suit 

While  the  short  but  interesting  preliminary  between  Carr  &  Haggin 
and  Livermore  &  Chester  was  being  fought  to  a  finish,  Miller  and  Lux 
were  getting  established  in  Kern  county  and  gathering  about  them  able 
leaders  and  captains,  of  whom  J.  C.  Crocker,  S.  W.  Wible  and  Capt.  John 
Barker  were  types.  Long  before  this  time  Miller  &  Lux  had  acquired  great 
ranches  and  ranges  around  Gilroy,  along  the  San  Joaquin  river  and  far  up 
along  the  northern  coast.  In  1872,  in  conjunction  with  W.  S.  Chapman, 
owner  of  the  Chowchilla  ranch,  Miller  &  Lux  as  owners  of  the  Columbia 
ranch  had  begun  a  canal,  the  largest  and  longest  in  the  state,  which  took 
water  from  the  San  Joaquin  river  at  the  mouth  of  Fresno  slough  and 
extended  for  seventy-five  miles  across  Fresno  and  Merced  and  a  part  of 
Stanislaus  counties. 

Miller's  activities  in  Kern  county  (Miller  was  the  active  member  of 
the  firm)  were  an  extension  of  the  operations  along  the  San  Joaquin.  It 
is  not  unlikely  that  Miller  at  some  time  had  pleasant  visions  of  a  great 
cattle  and  sheep  ranch  extending  in  an  unbroken  sweep  through  the  rich, 
black  tule  lands  from  Stockton  to  Bakersfield.  During  his  fight  with  Haggin 
&  Carr,  Miller  is  commonly  reported  as  assuring  them  that  he  would  make 
them  "pack  their  blankets  out  of  Kern  county,"  and  there  were  not  lacking 
admirers  of  the  doughty  and  vigorous  old  German  who  full)^  expected  to 
see  him  make  his  threat  good. 

Jim  Crocker  had  been  in  Miller's  employ  on  the  San  Joaquin  and  was 
sent  to  Kern  county  to  lay  the  foundations  for  the  Miller  occupancy  here. 
Crocker  was  the  sort  of  a  man  Miller  would  be  expected  to  choose  for  the 
job.  A  quiet,  self-contained  man,  but  a  good  mixer  in  spite  of  his  reserve 
and  a  man  of  native  force  and  personality  that  made  him  a  natural  leader. 
He  was  bred  to  get  up  in  the  morning  at  4  o'clock  and  go  out  on  hard 
jaunts  with  the  vaqueros.  Chasing  down  and  breaking  up  organized  bands 
of  horse  and  cattle  thieves  appears  to  have  been  his  favorite  pastime.  If 
a  friend  or  fellow  stockman  was  in  trouble,  financial  or  otherwise,  Crocker 
was  ready  to  go  on  his  bail  to  the  extent  of  his  possessions.  Men  rallied 
to  the  standard  of  Crocker  because  of  their  friendship  and  confidence  and 
because  they  liked  to  fight  with  a  fighter.  The  men  who  fought  under 
Carr's  colors  did  so  more  usually  because  they  believed  their  personal  interest 
lay  in  that  direction.     It  was  Carr's   strong  point  of  strategi',   as   we  have 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  99 

seen,  to  make  the  personal  interest  of  many  people  lie  in  the  same  direction 
as  his  own. 

S.  W.  Wible,  who  figures  prominently  among  the  Miller  forces  in  the 
Miller-Haggin  contest,  was  a  pioneer  of  1852,  beginning  his  western  experi- 
ence as  a  miner  and  constructor  of  miners'  canals  and  sluices  and  later  under- 
taking the  management  of  larger  water  engineering  enterprises.  He  came 
to  Kern  county  in  1874  and  built  a  number  of  the  early  canals  from  Kern 
river.  When  the  Kern  Valley  Water  Company  was  formed  by  Livermore, 
Redington  and  others  to  undertake  the  reclamation  of  swamp  land  district 
No.  121,  Wible  was  placed  in  charge  as  engineer.  Celsus  Brower  had  charge 
of  the  business  affairs  of  the  company.  Wible  built  the  great  Kern  Valley 
Water  Company's  canal  which  extended  north  from  Buena  Vista  lake  for  a 
distance  of  some  twenty-six  miles,  when  first  constructed,  but  which  has 
since  been  carried  much  further  down  the  swamp  and  ultimately  is  to  be 
built  through  to  Tulare  lake.  The  canal  follows  the  western  edge  of  the 
swamp  and  overflowed  district,  and  was  125  feet  wide  on  the  bottom  and  cal- 
culated to  carry  a  stream  seven  feet  in  depth.  It  was  designed  to  carry  all 
the  waters  of  Kern  river  that  might  flow  so  far,  and  also  was  to  serve  as 
the  feeder  for  irrigation  ditches  that  would  cover  100,000  or  more  acres  of 
land.  When  ]\Iiller  &  Lux  acquired  the  Kern  Valley  W^ater  Company's 
interests  Wible  went  to  the  new  management,  as  most  of  the  men  who 
were  prominent  in  the  operation  of  Livermore  &  Redington's  Kern  Island 
projects  went  over  to  Haggin  &  Carr  when  the  latter  came  into  possession  of 
those  properties.  Wible  afterward  became  the  general  superintendent  for 
Miller  &  Lux.  He  was  noted  as  one  of  the  few  men  who  stood  in  no  awe 
of  Miller  when  the  latter  flew  into  his  celebrated  fits  of  passion.  It  is  related 
that  on  an  occasion  when  Miller  had  made  the  discovery  that  one  of  his 
warehouses  had  leaked  and  wet  a  great  quantity  of  wool  and  was  dividing 
his  time  between  furiously  chopping  hole  after  hole  in  the  wall  of  the  structure 
and  as  furiously  jumping  on  his  hat  when  he  found  new  evidences  of  de- 
struction, Wible  followed  his  employer  along  the  warehouse  wall  and  jumped 
on  the  hat  while  Miller  chopped  the  holes  until  the  ludicrousness  of  the  per- 
formance finally  appealed  to  the  cattle  king  and  appeased  his  wrath.  In 
his  old  age  Wible  lived  true  to  his  pioneer  instinct.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  to  respond  to  the  Alaskan  mining  boom,  and  summer  after  summer 
he  donned  the  great  fur  overcoat  that  identified  him  for  years  to  strangers  and 
new  comers,  and  sailed  for  the  north  to  meet  the  melting  of  the  snows  above 
his  frozen  placers. 

Capt.  John  Barker  got  into  the  Miller-Haggin  fight  partly  l^ecause  he 
was  a  riparian  owner,  although  his  lands  were  higher  up  on  the  river  than 
the  intake  of  any  of  the  irrigation  canals,  and  partly  because,  like  an  old 
war  horse,  he  could  not  remain  inactive  when  his  nostrils  caught  the  scent 
of  battle.  Born  in  England  and  bred  to  the  sea,  he  came  to  California  on 
the  news  of  the  first  gold  excitement,  explored  the  upper  San  Joaquin  valley 
on  horseback  in  1854,  fought  in  the  Indian  wars  of  Tulare  county  in  1856, 
served  in  a  troop  of  volunteer  cavalry  during  war  times,  and  came  to  Kern 
county  in  the  early  70s.  He  was  a  bluff,  out-spoken  man,  a  vitriolic  writer 
when  his  righteous  wrath  was  stirred,  and  an  ofT-hand  orator,  the  sarcasm 
of  whose  phrases  was  dulled  only  by  the  sledge-hammer  method  of  their  de- 
livery. Captain  Barker  would  roast  his  victim  alive,  pour  carbolic  acid  over 
his  withered  remains  and  end  by  quoting  a  few  pages  of  Shakespeare,  Byron 


100  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

or  Bobby  Burns  to  give  a  classic  flavor  to  his  philippic.  He  entered  no  less 
fervently  into  his  friendships,  and  between  his  battles  and  his  benefactions 
Captain  Barker  left  his  record  deeply  drawn  across  the  history  of  the  county. 
In  his  old  age,  crippled  by  infirmities,  he  used  to  ride  about  Bakersfield 
and  between  the  town  and  the  mouth  of  Kern  river  canon,  driving  an  old 
white  horse  and  a  roomy  phaeton,  planning  over  old  plans  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  Pierce  and  Barker  ranches  and  the  utilization  of  resources 
and  opportunities  that  still  lie  fallow,  waiting  till  the  time  is  ripe  for  the 
fulfillment  of  the  prophecies  of  the  pioneer. 

Leaders  of  the  Carr  &  Haggin  Forces 

Incidental  references  in  preceding  pages  have  given  some  insight  into 
the  character  of  W.  B.  Carr,  the  generalissimo  of  the  Haggin  forces.  Fat, 
aggressive,  determined,  absolutely  unabashed,  with  bull-dog  courage  and 
endurance,  he  was  a  typical  political  boss  of  the  larger  and  more  perfect  type. 
Frequently  and  fervently  cursed  and  hated,  he  could  walk  into  a  saloon 
in  a  hostile  ward  and  in  ten  minutes  have  enough  sworn  allies  to  insure  the 
victory  of  his  candidates.  If  a  delegation  of  angry  farmers  in  the  days  of 
the  bitter  water  troubles  came  after  Carr  with  the  intention  of  puncturing 
him  with  bullets  or  stringing  him  up  to  a  high-branching  cottonwood,  he  met 
them  with  an  outstretched  hand  and  slaps  on  their  backs  and  sent  them  away 
wreathed  in  smiles  of  hope  and  assurance.  Moreover,  Carr  had  the  valuable 
instinct  that  showed  him  to  a  nicety  when  it  was  necessary  to  dispense  good 
coin  and  valuable  favors  and  when  mere  promises  would  suffice.  Carr  was 
a  finished  performer  and  a  skillful  tutor,  and  later  actors  on  the  Kern  county 
stage  sat  at  his  feet  and  learned  to  do  politics  in  the  scientific,  metropolitan 
style. 

Walter  James  figured  in  the  water  disputes,  in  court  and  out,  mainly 
as  an  expert  witness.  His  long  and  intimate  association  with  everything 
that  had  to  do  with  the  appropriation  and  use  of  Kern  river's  waters  from 
1870  down,  aided  by  a  retentive  memory  and  a  logical,  consecutive  manner 
of  stating  the  salient  facts  concerning  a  subject  made  him  invaluable  as  an 
authority,  and  no  investigation  of  water  or  water  rights  was  complete  until 
Walter  James  had  been  examined  and  cross-examined  and  with  a  little  nasal 
drawl  and  imperturbable  deliberation  had  told  just  how  and  why  it  all 
happened  and  came  to  pass.  It  is  difficult  to  say  whether  Walter  James 
in  his  long  record  in  Kern  county  shines  more  as  an  engineer  or  as  a 
diplomat,  but  he  is  hard  to  out-class  in  either  capacity. 
Heads  of  the  Rival  Literary  Bureaus 

Dozens  of  portraits  of  interesting  actors  in  the  great  drama  of  the  Kern 
river  water  contest  might  be  added  to  this  little  gallery  of  character  sketches, 
but  I  shall  attempt  but  two  more — those  of  the  chiefs  of  the  rival  literary 
bureaus  that  flooded  the  state  with  syndicated  editorials  and  syndicated  sup- 
plements setting  forth  the  rival  arguments  of  appropriators  and  riparian 
owners  and  the  history,  law,  custom  and  usage  touching  the  utilization  of 
water  for  any  and  all  purposes  since  Noah  launched  the  ark  on  the  diluvian 
seas. 

In  addition  to  his  numerous  other  activities  Julius  Chester,  in  the  days 
of  his  ascendency  in  Kern  county,  founded  the  Southern  Californian  and  was 
its  editor  for  a  number  of  years.  Like  the  other  weeklies  of  the  pioneer  days, 
the  Southern  Californian  was  stronger  as  an  organ  of  personal  opinion  than 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  101 

it  vyas  as  a  purveyor  of  news,  and  Uncle  Julius,  as  he  was  called  by  rival 
editors,  was  as  handy  as  the  best  of  them  in  the  use  of  the  king's  English. 
He  was  almost  as  diplomatic  and  persuasive  in  his  writing  as  he  was  in 
his  speech,  and  how  effective  he  was  in  the  latter  may  be  gathered  from  an 
incident  that  is  related  as  the  truth  by  a  veracious  citizen  of  the  time.  Uncle 
Julius  had  used  some  of  his  best  literary  art  in  writing  up  a  certain  very 
undesirable  citizen,  and  the  day  following  the  appearance  of  the  paper  on 
the  street  he  was  sitting  comfortably  in  his  ofifice  with  his  feet  on  the  desk 
when  the  undesirable  citizen  appeared.  His  eye  was  wild,  his  breath  was 
laden  with  liquor  and  he  waved  a  big  six-shooter  before  the  editor's  stomach 
in  a  very  promiscuous  manner  while  he  talked. 

"Get  your  feet  down  from  there  because  I'm  going  to  kill  \-ou,"  the  bad 
citizen   commanded. 

Uncle  Julius  recognized  that  if  the  bad  citizen  had  really  intended  to 
kill  him  a  little  matter  of  his  feet  being  on  the  desk  need  not  have  interfered, 
and  he  asked  what  the  trouble  was  all  about  as  coolly  and  pleasantly  as 
though  it  were  only  an  advertiser  wanting  to  know  why  his  announcement 
did  not  appear  to  the  top  of  the  page  next  to  pure  reading  matter  as  per 
contract. 

"You  know  blanked  well  what  the  matter  is,"  said  the  bad  citizen,  "that 
there  thing  you  wrote  about  me  in  your  paper." 

Chester  took  his  feet  down  deliberately,  deliberately  found  a  copy  of 
the  paper,  sat  down,  put  his  feet  on  the  desk  again,  adjusted  his  glasses  and 
began  to  read  the  offending  article  aloud. 

He  stopped  at  the  end  of  the  first  paragraph.  "I  don't  see  anything  the 
matter  with  that,  Tom,"  he  said.    "That's  all  so,  aint  it?" 

"Yes,"  said  Tom,  "that's  all  so,  but  you  read  on  farther." 

Chester  read  another  paragraph,  and  repeated  his  question  as  to  the 
accuracy  of  the  narrative. 

Tom  indicated  with  his  gun  that  the  most  offensive  portion  of  the  story 
was  to  be  found  still  farther  down,  and  Chester  read  on.  When  he  got  to  the 
bottom  of  the  last  paragraph  Tom  had  admitted  that  every  assertion  in  the 
red  hot  arraignment — and  it  was  red  hot — was  true,  and  the  two  men  went 
out  and  had  a  drink  together. 

Chester  in  these  days  had  descended  from  his  former  position  of  prin- 
cipal factor  in  the  county's  industry  and  commerce,  his  property  was  slip- 
ping out  of  his  hands  or  had  previously  escaped,  and  he  was  constantly  being 
sued  for  debt.  His  fighting  instinct  never  forsook  him,  and  during  the 
latter  part  of  his  journalistic  career  he  was  engaged,  a  very  large  share  of 
his  time  in  putting  the  county  officials  on  the  spit  and  turning  them  slowly 
and  scientifically  over  the  coals  of  incandescent  journalism.  The  county 
officials  winced  in  patience  at  first,  but  after  Chester  was  known  to  be  on  the 
financial  toboggan  they  joined  gleefully  in  pelting  him  on  his  way  to  the 
bottom.  Everything  Chester  had  was  attached  over  and  over.  Once  he 
was  arrested  on  a  charge  of  stealing  corn  from  a  Chinaman,  but  that  prob- 
ably was  only  a  fair  offset  to  the  defamatory  charges  which  Chester  heaped 
upon  them.  The  corn  theft  case  was  dismissed.  But  finally  Chester's  presses 
and  type  were  attached  and  sold  to  A.  C.  Maude,  and  Chester  was  able 
to  retain  possession  of  them  only  by  showing  that  they  had  been  leased  to 
George  ^^'■ear,  another  of  the  picturesque  and  notable  newspaper  men  of  the 
county,  who  figures  more  prominently  at  a  little  later  date,     ^^'ear  held  down 


102  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

the  outfit,  and  Chester  continued  to  publish  the  Southern  Californian  and  to 
berate  the  county  officials.  Maude,  who  claimed  that  he  had  bought  not 
only  the  outfit  but  the  name  of  Chester's  paper,  began  publication  of  the 
Kern  County  Californian,  with  Richard  Hudnut  as  editorial  writer  and  news- 
gatherer  in  chief.  Finally  Wear  sold  his  lease  to  a  printer  by  name  of  Warren 
and  a  school  teacher  by  name  of  Vrooman.  For  a  time  the  latter  kept  a  guard 
over  the  shop  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  but  one  evening  Maude's  forces 
inveigled  the  guard  away  and  captured  the  shop. 

With  nothing  left  but  the  name  of  his  paper,  Chester  took  himself  to 
San  Francisco  and  issued  the  Southern  Californian  from  there  until  the  close 
of  the  political  campaign  that  ended  with  the  defeat  of  what  he  was  pleased 
to  call  the  Reed  ring,  and  the  election  of  B.  Brundage,  the  opponent  of 
Judge  Reed,  to  be  the  first  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  Kern  county.  Judge 
Reed  had  been  judge  of  the  county  court,  but  that  office  was  abolished  by 
the  change  in  the  constitution. 

Richard  Hudnut  was  a  highly  educated  and  very  dignified  man.  His 
writing  was  silkier  than  Chester's,  and  he  had  such  an  easy,  refined  and 
polished  way  of  flaying  his  victim  that  after  the  victim  was  flayed  he  knew 
that  he  had  lost  his  hide,  but  had  in  his  mind  only  a  vague,  circumstantial 
suspicion  that  it  was  Hudnut  who  had  skinned  him.  When  Chester  was 
charged  with  stealing  the  Chinaman's  corn  Hudnut  mourned  over  him  in 
paragraph  after  paragraph  as  one  might  mourn  over  the  grave  of  misled 
innocence. 

It  will  be  appreciated  readily  that  in  a  fight  like  the  one  which  the  great 
water  contest  occasioned,  where  it  was  necessary  to  depict  everyone  on  the 
other  side  as  a  red-handed  pirate,  a  dark-alley  thug  and  a  horse  thief,  the 
peculiar  accomplishments  of  Hudnut  and  Chester  were  invaluable.  More- 
over, both  Hudnut  and  Chester  had  all  the  history  of  Kern  county  water 
rights  at  their  fingers'  ends,  and  when  they  were  established  at  Sacramento 
with  the  money  of  the  two  rival  corporations  behind  them,  respectively,  they 
poured  out  a  class  and  quantity  of  militant,  journalistic  literature  that  marks 
a  milestone  in  the  newspaper  history  of  the  state. 

Still  another  journalistic  factor  was  injected  into  the  great  fight.  When 
the  issue  was  fairly  joined  between  the  riparianists  and  the  appropriators,  in 
1886,  the  Kern  County  Echo  was  founded  by  a  company  of  farmers  and 
business  men,  who  gathered  one  day  at  the  old  Burnap  drug  store  and 
decided  that  there  was  still  a  third  side  to  the  great  question  and  that  a 
new  organ  should  be  established  to  advocate  it.  Capt.  John  Barker  was  sent 
to  San  Francisco  to  buy  the  plant,  and  S.  C.  Smith,  then  a  young  lawyer  of 
Bakersfield,  afterward  state  senator  and  still  later  congressman  from  the 
eighth  district,  was  elected  managing  editor.  Through  the  controversy  the 
Echo  urged  that  neither  appropriators  nor  riparian  owners  be  given  a  mon- 
opoly of  the  water  of  the  river,  but  that  the  state  retain  the  ownership  in 
trust  for  the  people  and  that  the  use  of  the  water  be  permitted  for  irrigation 
and  other  purposes  under  state  regulation  and  control.  Water  is  one  of  the 
elements  and  is  no  more  a  proper  object  of  monopoly  than  is  the  air,  was 
the  gist  of  the  Echo's  persistent  argument  during  those  days. 
The  Great  Water  Suit 

The  great  water  suit,  known  by  the  title  "Lux  versus  Haggin,"  not 
only  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  Kern  county,  but  marks  an  epoch,  also, 
in  the  history  of  irrigation  in  the  state  of  California.     It  began  with  little 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  103 

more  notice  from  the  public  than  any  of  the  other  hundred  or  more  suits 
that  had  been  filed  by  rival  claimants  to  the  waters  of  Kern  river,  but  before 
it  had  gone  far  local  people  realized  that  this  was  the  battle  royal,  and 
before  it  was  finally  dismissed  it  had  focussed  the  attention  of  the  state, 
ranged  practically  every  California  newspaper  of  general  circulation  on  one 
side  or  the  other,  resulted  in  the  calling  of  two  state  irrigation  conventions 
and  a  special  session  of  the  legislature,  and  started  a  movement  to  amend 
the  state  constitution  so  that  the  supreme  court,  which  rendered  an  unpopular 
decision  in  connection  with  the  suit,  might  be  reorganized.  The  latter 
movement  did   not   succeed. 

In  brief,  the  contention  of  the  plaintiffs  was  tliat  the}-  were  the  owners 
of  riparian  lands  along  the  lower  reaches  of  Kern  river,  that  Kern  river  was 
a  natural  stream  flowing  in  an  established  and  continuous  channel  through 
their  lands,  and  that  under  the  common  law  of  England  they  were  entitled 
to  have  the  waters  of  the  river  flow  over,  through  and  upon  their  lands, 
undiminished  in  quantity  and  unimpaired  in  quality. 

The  defendants  claimed  that  they  were  entitled  by  right  of  appropriation 
to  divert  the  waters  from  the  river  for  purposes  of  irrigation,  to  develop 
water  power,  and  for  domestic  and  other  purposes.  It  was  a  contest,  in  short, 
between  riparian  rights  and  the  right  of  appropriation.  In  addition  to  set- 
ting forth  the  rights  of  the  plaintilifs  the  complaint  alleged  that  the  defend- 
ants, by  diverting  the  water  in  their  canals  had  rendered  the  lands  of  the 
plaintiffs  dry  and  barren  to  such  an  extent  that  their  cattle  had  neither 
grass  to  eat  nor  water  to  drink. 

The  papers  in  the  suit  were  drawn  in  San  Francisco  and  sent  here  to 
be  filed  in  the  superior  court  on  September  2,  1880.  On  the  morning  of 
April  15,  1881,  the  trial  began  with  Judge  B.  Brundage  on  the  bench  and  a 
formidable  array  of  counsel  for  both  parties  before  the  bar.  Louis  Haggin 
was  in  charge  of  the  case  for  the  defendant,  and  was  assisted  by  John  Garber 
and  George  Flournoy,  Sr.,  father  of  the  present  justice  of  the  peace  of  the 
sixth  township  of  Kern  county.  Hall  McAllister  was  nominally  the  chief 
counsel  for  Lux,  but  R.  E.  Houghton,  then  a  comparatively  young  attorney, 
was  the  active  man  and  really  the  one  who  outlined  and  carried  on  the 
campaign. 

The  reporters  of  the  day  declared  that  the  testimony,  the  taking  of 
which  consumed  forty-nine  days,  was  tedious  and  uninteresting,  but  it  is 
suspected  that  they  were  too  close  to  the  scene  to  realize  in  full  its  dramatic 
interest  or  even  its  numerous  comedy  features.  The  witnesses  included 
everybody  in  the  county  who  was  supposed  to  know  anything  about  the  his- 
tory and  habits  of  Kern  river,  the  locations  of  its  various  courses  and  the 
dates  when  these  courses  were  changed,  or  anything  concerning  the  appro- 
priation of  water  from  the  river,  and  in  addition  to  these,  sundry  expert  wit- 
nesses who  had  read  in  books  what  happened  in  Calcutta  or  what  the  river 
Nile  did  in  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs  and  whose  testimony  was  duly  objected 
to  because  they  had  not  been  present  at  the  times  and  places  mentioned  nor 
seen  with  their  own  eyes  the  things  they  pretended  to  describe. 

Walter  James,  chief  engineer  for  Haggin.  and  S.  W.  Wible,  superin- 
tendent and  engineer  for  Miller  &  Lux,  were  the  star  performers  and  spent 
day  after  day  on  the  witness  stand,  mainly  under  cross-examination.  Mean- 
time all  the  attorneys  whittled  redwood  shingles,  and  it  was  a  part  of  the 
unofficial  duties  of  the  sheriff  to  see  that  the  supply  of  timber  never  ran  low. 


104  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

John  Garber  carried  a  potato  in  his  pocket  for  luck,  and  developed  a  habit  of 
taking  it  out  and  shaking  it  at  the  witness  when  he  asked  a  question  of 
especial  moment.  R.  E.  Houghton,  on  a  like  occasion  would  stand  up,  reach 
across  the  table  and  dip  his  pen  in  the  ink  as  though  he  intended  forthwith 
to  write  the  answer  down  in  plain  black  and  white  so  that  it  could  never 
be  denied,  altered  or  evaded  evermore.  The  witnesses  were  even  more  eccen- 
tric and  picturesque.  An  old  man  by  name  of  Stevens,  who  came  from  the 
head  of  the  South  Fork  valley,  made  a  speech  in  response  to  every  question 
that  was  put  to  him,  and  finally  as  he  was  leaving  the  stand  he  swept  his 
long  arm  out  over  the  big  assemblage  of  pioneers  who  crowded  the  space 
behind  the  attorneys  and  remarked :  "I'm  gettin'  to  be  an  old  man,  and  I  don't 
know  if  I'll  ever  see  you  all  here  together  again;  and  I  want  to  say  to  you 
now,  while  I've  got  you  all  together,  that  I'm  the  oldest  settler  in  Kern 
county."  Of  course  one  of  the  attorneys  took  an  exception  to  the  statement 
and  asked  that  it  be  stricken  from  the  records. 

Each  evening  when  court  was  adjourned  for  the  day  the  attorneys  and 
many  of  the  witnesses  for  Haggin  were  driven  to  headquarters  at  Bellevue 
where  the  walls  beneath  the  spacious  porches  were  lined  with  maps  and 
diagrams.  Here  the  net  results  of  the  day's  testimony  were  reviewed,  and 
engineers,  zanjeros  and  scouts  of  all  descriptions  were  sent  out  to  get  what- 
ever evidence  was  needed  to  fill  in  the  gaps. 

In  the  meantime,  if  the  local  papers  were  not  doing  much  in  the  way 
of  reporting  the  trial  they  were  sparing  no  effort  to  prove  what  the  judgment 
of  the  court  should  be.  Despite  all  efforts  to  put  him  out  of  business,  Julius 
Chester  was  still  editing  the  Southern  Californian,  and  was  presenting  through 
its  columns  the  contentions  of  the  riparianists  as  represented  by  Miller  & 
Lux.  The  Californian,  owned  by  A.  C.  Maude  and  edited  by  Richard  Hudnut, 
was  doing  no  less  valiant  service  for  Haggin.  But  the  choicest  language  of 
which  these  masters  were  possessed  they  saved  for  rhetorically  pummelling 
each  other. 

The  last  witness  was  heard  on  June  2,  1881,  and  all  the  testimony,  when 
it  was  written  up,  made  a  stack  of  paper  four  feet  high.  For  the  convenience 
of  the  lawyers  the  court  consented  to  hear  the  arguments  in  San  Francisco. 
The  speech-making  began  on  June  20th,  and  on  November  3d,  Judge  Brun- 
dage  rendered  his  decision  in  favor  of  Haggin,  which  was  to  the  effect  that 
the  appropriators  were  entitled  to  the  water  of  the  river  as  against  the  riparian- 
owners,  represented  by  Lux.  Of  course  Miller  &  Lux  appealed  to  the  supreme 
court,  and  forthwith  in  Kern  county  there  began  a  fierce  political  campaign 
to  re-elect  Judge  Brundage  on  the  one  hand  and  to  defeat  him  on  the  other. 

Kern  River  Plays  Another  Prank 

We  have  seen  heretofore  in  the  course  of  this  narrative  that  Kern  river 
seemed  possessed  of  a  certain  titanic  sense  of  humor,  and  none  will  be  sur- 
prised to  read  that  while  the  supreme  court  took  its  time  in  considering  a 
mass  of  evidence,  a  gist  of  which  was  that  neither  party  to  the  suit  was 
willing  to  let  the  other  have  any  water,  the  river  began  to  increase  its  flow, 
and  in  the  early  part  of  1884  the  two  chief  parties  to  the  suit  were  engaged 
in  a  fiercer  fight  than  ever  to  keep  the  swollen  river  from  flooding  their  lands, 
even  though  it  involved  turning  the  excess  waters  over  on  the  other. 

As  indicated  in  his  statement  referred  to  in  the  previous  chapter,  Haggin 
had  reclaimed  the  beds  of  Kern  and  Buena  Vista  lakes  and  had  built  the 
Goose  lake  canal  to  carry  off  any  excess  water  that  the  Calloway  and  other 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  105 

irrigation  canals  could  not  handle.  The  Goose  lake  canal  led  off  to  the  nurth, 
and  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  Haggin  had  built  the  Cole  levee  farther  to 
prevent  the  river  from  breaking  over  and  flooding  his  reclaimed  lake  bottoms. 

By  far  the  greater  part  of  Haggin's  reclaimed  lands  lay  to  the  south  of  the 
river,  and  by  far  the  greater  part  of  Miller  &  Lux's  reclaimed  lands  lay  to  the 
north.  The  latter  had  built  levees  along  the  north  bank  to  protect  their 
lands,  and  had  constructed  the  great  Kern  Valley  Water  Company's  canal 
to  carry  any  excess  waters  off  to  the  north  of  their  cultivated  fields. 

As  the  snows  melted  in  the  mountains  and  the  river  lapped  higher  and 
higher  against  the  levees  it  became  a  most  absorbing  question  as  to  whether 
the  waters  would  break  on  Miller's  side  or  on  Haggin's.  They  broke  on 
Haggin's  side  on  ]\Iay  17,  1884,  and  in  a  few  hours  there  was  a  hole  in  the 
Cole  levee  forty  feet  wide  and  through  it  a  stream  of  muddy  water,  twenty 
feet  deep,  was  rushing  to  cover  all  the  lands  that  Haggin  had  reclaimed  with 
so  great  expense. 

There  were  great  forces  of  men  on  the  Haggin  ranches  in  those  days,  and 
in  very  short  order  Billy  Carr,  Walter  James,  C.  L.  Conner,  Dave  Coffee  and 
other  superintendents  and  foremen  for  miles  around  were  dispatching  work- 
men, teams,  scrapers,  shovels  and  sand  bags  to  the  break.  With  the  bags 
of  sand  the  broken  ends  of  the  levee  were  rip-rapped  to  prevent  further 
washing,  and  a  row  of  piling  was  driven  across  the  break. 

Early  in  these  proceedings  Henry  Miller  arrived  with  R.  E.  Houghton. 
Having  a  suit  in  the  supreme  court  in  which  their  contention  was  that  they 
were  entitled  to  have  the  full  flow  of  the  river  run  over,  through  and  upon 
their  lands  at  all  times,  ]\Iiller  and  his  attorney  were  hardly  in  a  position  to  ob- 
ject to  Haggin's  men  repairing  a  break  in  their  levee  that  would  tend  to  throw 
the  full  force  of  the  stream  over  on  Miller  &  Lux.  But  Houghton  was  fully 
equal  to  the  emergency.  It  happened  that  Miller  owned  forty  acres  of  land 
in  the  bed  of  Buena  \^ista  lake  (surrounded  by  the  Haggin  sections)  and 
Miller  set  up  the  claim  that  he  was  entitled  to  have  the  river  flow  unhindered 
over,  through  and  upon  this  land,  also. 

Miller  strode  up  to  the  break  in  the  levee  where  Walter  James  was 
superintending  the  driving  of  the  piles.  "\\'hat  are  you  doing  here?  \\'hat 
are  you  doing  here?"  he  demanded. 

"I'm  just  carrying  out  my  instructions,"  drawled  ^^'alter  James  in  his 
imperturbable  manner.  "We  thought  we'd  put  a  few  piles  in  here,  because 
we  may  want  to  build  a  bridge  across,  or  something." 

"Well,  I  don't  want  you  to  stop  my  water.  I  don't  want  you  to  stop  my 
water.  Do  you  understand?  I  don't  want  you  to  stop  my  water,"  shouted 
Miller.    "Have  a  cigar,  Mr.  James." 

So  soon  as  the  train  could  take  him  back  to  San  Francisco,  Houghton 
went  to  Judge  Hunt  of  the  superior  court,  and  on  a  petition  setting  forth  that 
Miller  was  the  owner  of  a  piece  of  land,  to  wit,  forty  acres,  etc.,  and  that 
whereas  when  the  waters  of  Kern  river  were  allowed  to  flow  over  it  unhin- 
dered, etc.,  large  quantities  of  tules  and  other  plants  and  grasses  valuable  for 
feed  grew  thereon,  and  whereas  one  Haggin  had  a  force  of  men  at  work  with 
piles,  a  pile  driver,  brush,  etc.,  endeavoring  to  restrain  the  said  water  from 
flowing  over  Miller's  said  land,  etc.,  and  whereas  Miller  would  be  greatly 
damaged,  etc.,  etc.,  an  injunction  was  duly  secured. 

By  the  time  the  injunction  was  served  the  ends  of  the  levee  were  pretty 
well  protected  with  sand  bags,  and  most  of  the  piling  had  been  driven,  but 
the  water  was  flowing  through  the  break  almost  as  rapidly  as  ever. 


106  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Walter  James  was  out  at  the  levee  when  a  telegram  arrived  ordering 
him  to  make  all  speed  to  San  Francisco.  He  jumped  on  the  horse  that  brought 
the  inessenger,  galloped  to  Bellevue,  and  found  there  another  horse  saddled 
and  waiting.  A  man  thrust  into  his  hand  a  purse  of  money.  "The  gates  are 
all  wide  open,"  they  shouted,  and  James  was  off  for  the  Southern  Pacific 
depot.  He  got  there  fifteen  minutes  late,  but  the  train  was  an  hour  behind 
time,  and  he  walked  over  to  the  hotel.  The  first  man  he  saw  was  S.  W. 
Wible. 

"Hello,  James,"  said  Wible,  "where  are  you  going?" 

"I'm  just  going  down  to  the  city  for  a  few  days,"  said  James. 

"Well,  that's  funny,"  said  Wible,  "I'm  just  going  down  to  the  city  myself. 
Come  in  and  let's  have  a  drink." 

In  San  Francisco  the  next  morning  James  assured  Louis  Haggin  that 
if  he  had  a  free  hand  and  all  the  resources  of  the  Haggin  ranches  at  his 
command  he  could  stop  the  break  in  the  Cole  levee  in  twenty-four  hours. 
Haggin  told  him  to  take  the  first  train  back  to  Bakersfield,  and  to  look  for  a 
telegram  at  Lathrop.  Meantime  the  lawyer  would  undertake  to  get  Judge 
Hunt's  injunction  lifted,  and  if  he  succeeded  he  would  send  a  message  to 
Lathrop  reading,  "Make  the  trip." 

It  was  no  small  task  to  get  the  injunction  set  aside  for  the  reason  that 
after  he  had  issued  it  Judge  Hunt  had  gone  on  a  fishing  trip  back  into  the 
mountains,  leaving  orders  for  nobody  to  interfere  with  any  matter  in  his 
court. during  his  absence.  Louis  Haggin,  however,  prevailed  on  another 
judge  to  set  aside  Judge  Hunt's  order,  and  James  got  his  telegraphic  instruc- 
tion to  "Make  the  trip." 

On  the  journey  home  James  laid  out  his  campaign,  and  on  his  arrival 
at  Bellevue  orders  were  dispatched  in  all  directions.  Florence  Gleason  with 
a  gang  of  men  was  already  at  the  gap  in  the  levee  filling  sand  bags.  Word 
was  sent  to  C.  L.  Connor  to  report  at  once  at  the  levee  with  all  his  men.  J.  E. 
Yancey  and  Frank  Collins  with  the  crews  under  them  were  to  follow  a  little 
later,  and  still  later  were  to  come  C.  W.  Jackson  and  the  men  from  the  Poso 
ranch.  There  were  enough  men,  altogether,  to  keep*  fresh  shifts  at  work  at 
the  gap  all  day  and  all  night. 

The  camp  previously  established  en  the  levee  was  enlarged  to  accommo- 
date no  less  than  five  hundred  men.  Lender  the  direction  of  Dave  Cofifee  the 
hoisting  engine  used  in  driving  piles  was  rigged  to  haul  wagons  loaded  with 
sand  along  the  levee.  Heavy  cables  were  laced  back  and  forth  among  the  piles, 
and  the  work  of  building  in  a  wall  of  sand  bags  to  stop  the  rushing  flood 
proceeded  with  system  and  dispatch. 

"But  R.  E.  Houghton  never  overlooked  anything,"  said  Walter  James 
in  telling  the  story.  While  Louis  Haggin  was  getting  rid  of  Judge  Hunt's 
injunction  in  San  Francisco,  Houghton  was  getting  another,  injunction  out  of 
the  superior  court  of  Napa  county.  This  was  issued  at  the  request  of  George 
Cornwell,  who  owned  a  small  piece  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  the  river 
and  many  thousands  on  the  north  side  and  who  made  the  same  representation 
as  Miller  had  made  before  Judge  Hunt. 

Wible  was  less  than  a  da}-  behind  James,  but  when  he  had  reached 
Bakersfield,  and  came  dashing  down  the  road  along  the  Cole  levee  with  his 
Napa  county  injunction  and  Sherifif  Coons,  James  and  his  great  crew  of  men 
were  swarming  over  the  levee  like  human  ants,  working  in  a  frenzy  of  haste 
to  place  the  last  sand  bags  that    would  stop  the  torrent  of  water. 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  107 

Every  superintendent  from  the  Haggin  ranches  in  Kern  county  was  there, 
with  Billy  Carr  in  personal  command.  The  sheriff  waved  the  injunction  and 
ordered  the  work  stopped,  but  everyone  was  too  busy  to  hear.  It  was  an 
intense  moment,  for  many  months  of  work,  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars,  and 
(what  was  almost  more  than  either  for  the  men  of  fighting  blood  who  were 
ranged  on  either  side)  victory  or  defeat  in  the  contest  depended  on  a  few 
more  minutes  of  time. 

Sheriff  Coons  handed  the  injunction  to  Carr  and  explained  its  purport, 
but  Carr  had  to  read  the  document,  and  his  glasses  were  over  in  the  tent. 
He  went  to  the  tent,  got  his  glasses,  sat  down  and  read  the  injunction  and 
the  complaint  which  accompanied  it.  All  the  while  Wible  was  enjoining  haste. 
When  Carr  finished  studying  the  order  of  the  court  he  desired  James  to  read  it, 
and  James  read  it,  quite  as  slowly  and  carefully  as  Carr  had  done.  Wible 
stormed  over  to  where  Dave  Coffee  was  rushing  in  the  sand  bags  with 
redoubled  haste  and  energy,  and  commanded  him  to  desist  in  the  name  of 
the  law.  But  Coft'ee  knew  nothing  of  law  or  injunctions  and  he  kept  right 
on  shoving  the  sand  bags  down  to  the  men  who  were  building  them,  now, 
just  above  the  surface  of  the  yellow  water.  Finally  Carr  sauntered  back  from 
the  tent,  saw  that  the  gap  in  the  levee  was  closed  and  the  bags  of  sand  rose 
clear  and  dry  above  the  surface,  and  held  up  his  hand  as  a  signal  uf  submission 
to  the  court's  decree. 

But  one  thing  had  not  been  done.  James  had  buried  logs,  or  "dead  men" 
on  the  upper  side  of  the  levee  and  had  attached  to  them  loops  of  cable  ready 
to  slip  over  the  tops  of  the  piling  to  help  them  carry  the  great  weight  of  the 
water  pressing  on  the  narrow  dam.  But  these  loops  of  cable  had  not  been 
adjusted,  and  the  upper  ends  of  the  piling  were  without  support.  For  a  little 
while  the  piles  and  the  wall  of  sand  bags  stood,  and  then,  as  the  water  low- 
ered on  the  outer  side,  they  leaned  and  swayed ;  the  sand-bag  wall  splashed 
out  of  sight,  the  broken  piles  bobbed  merrily  to  the  surface,  and  the  yellow 
flood  leaped  through  the  breech  once  more  to  spread  over  section  after  section 
of  Haggin's  reclaimed  swamp  land,  and  "undiminished  in  quantity  and  unim- 
paired in  quality,"  flowed  over,  through  and  upon  Miller's  forty  acres  of 
Buena  Vista  lake  bottom  until  it  was  covered  a  dozen  or  fifteen  feet  in  depth, 
and  it  remained  covered  until  the  wild  geese  came  and  went  and  went  and 
came  again. 

On  July  5th,  more  than  a  month  after  the  wall  of  sand  bags  washed  out, 
the  water  was  still  pouring  thruugh  the  Cole  levee  upon  Haggin's  land 
at  the  rate  of  3000  cubic  feet  per  second. 

But  R.  E.  Houghton  never  overlooked  anything.  On  July  26th  he  had 
W.  B.  Carr  and  Walter  James  haled  before  the  court  of  Napa  county  to 
show  cause  why  they  should  not  be  punished  for  contempt  of  court  for 
consuming  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  reading  the  court's  injunction. 

"Did  you  have  any  thought  in  your  mind,  'Sir.  Carr."  said  the  Napa 
lawyer  who  appeared  for  Houghton,  "that  you  might  profit  by  the  delay  you 
were  causing?" 

"Not  in  the  least,"  said  Carr. 

"Of  course  not."  said  the  Napa  lawyer  with  fine  sarcasm. 

The  Napa  judge  let  Carr  and  James  off  with  a  mild  admonition,  but 
Judge  Hunt  was  more  obdurate.  He  declared  that  no  court  had  any  authority 
to  set  aside  his  injunction,  and  that  all  the  time  the  five  hundred  men  were 


108  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

rushing  sand  bags  into  the  break  they  were  in  contempt.  "The  defendants 
are  fined  $1000  each." 

Supreme  Court  Decides  for  Riparianists 

Another  victory  was  coming  to  the  Miller  forces.  The  same  issue  of  the 
Haggin  &  Carr  paper  that  contained  the  short  paragraph  about  the  Cole 
break  and  the  San  Francisco  injunction  carried  an  equally  short  paragraph 
stating  that  the  great  water  suit  had  been  resubmitted.  It  took  until  October 
27,  1884,  for  the  supreme  court  to  reach  a  final  decision,  and  the  remittitur 
was  not  filed  in  this  county  until  May  28,  1886,  but  not  to  make  the  story  long, 
the  supreme  justices,  or  a  majority  of  them,  found  that  Judge  Brundage  had 
committed  an  error  in  not  allowing  certain  testimony  on  the  part  of  the 
defense  that  would  have  made  but  little  diiiference,  probably,  in  the  main 
issue.  But  accompanying  their  order  was  a  most  important  expression  of 
opinion  to  the  effect  that  the  English  common  law  respecting  riparian  rights 
governed  the  use  of  water  in  the  state  of  California.  In  other  words,  as  the 
Chester  and  Hudnut  literary  bureaus  soon  after  made  the  whole  state  aware, 
the  owner  of  land  on  the  banks  of  a  natural  water  course  was  entitled  to 
have  all  the  waters  of  the  stream  flow  over  and  through  his  land,  undiminished 
in  quantity  and  unimpaired  in  quality.  That  meant  that  nobody  could  take 
water  out  of  a  stream  in  an  irrigating  ditch  and  spread  it  over  his  land,  for 
if  he  did  so,  certainly  he  could  not  restore  it  again  to  its  natural  channel,  un- 
diminished and  unimpaired,  or  either. 

Of  course  every  irrigator  in  the  state  sat  up  and  howled,  and  it  was  not 
very  long  before  an  active  and  able  politician  like  Billy  Carr  had  them 
organized  and  holding  big  irrigation  conventions,  first  at  Riverside  and  then 
at  Fresno,  and  drafting  laws  for  submission  to  the  state  legislature  that  were 
calculated  to  send  the  doctrine  of  riparian  rights  back  to  England  on  the 
first  tramp  steamer  that  left  the  Golden  Gate. 

Carr  did  more.  He  went  to  work  quietly  among  the  members  of  the 
state  legislature  and  before  Miller's  men  knew  what  was  going  on  he  had 
the  signatures  of  about  two-thirds  of  them  appended  to  a  petition  asking  the 
governor  to  call  a  special  sess'ion  of  the  legislature  and  virtually  pledging 
themselves  to  enact  into  law  the  measures  framed  at  the  two  irrigation  con- 
ventions. 

Governor  Calls  Legislature  Together 

Armed  with  this  petition  and  reinforced  by  a  stalwart  bunch  of  his 
friends  from  Kern  county  and  elsewhere,  Carr  met  Governor  Stoneman  at  a 
hotel  in  San  Francisco.  Everybody  had  a  good  time,  and  the  governor,  who 
was  a  veteran  of  the  Union  army,  distinguished  and  endeared  himself  in  the 
eyes  of  Carr's  southern  followers  by  consuming  without  a  quiver  more  mint 
julips  than  any  man  in  the  crowd  from  below  the  Mason  and  Dixon  line 
could  carry  off.  Before  the  evening  was  over  the  call  for  the  special  session 
of  the  legislature  was  signed. 

This  was  in  July,  1886,  but  meantime  Kern  county  had  gone  through 
another  political  campaign  (the  hottest  and  most  vindictive,  perhaps,  which 
was  ever  waged  in  the  valley)  in  which  the  issue  turned  on  the  election  of 
the  superior  judge  before  whom  the  great  water  suit  should  come  for  re-trial. 
Brundage,  of  course,  was  supported  by  the  Haggin  &  Carr  forces,  and  all  of 
Miller's  strength  was  thrown  behind  Judge  Arick.  The  latter  was  victorious 
by  the  scant  majority  of  four  votes. 

Meantime,  too,  the  whole  state  was  being  flooded  with  the  fruits  of  the 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  109 

labors  of  Chester  and  Hudnut  and  other  writers  of  the  Miller  &  Lux  and 
Carr  &  Haggin  literary  bureaus.  Supplements  treating  the  water  question 
from  Miller's  side  were  furnished  free  to  every  paper  of  importance  in  the 
state  that  would  handle  them.  The  next  week  an  equally  copious  flood  of 
Haggin  supplements  descended  on  the  readers.  Plain  print  was  seconded  by 
whole  page,  colored  cartoons,  and  these  in  addition  to  being  sent  to  the 
papers  were  posted  on  the  dead  walls  about  the  towns  like  circus  announce- 
ments. 

The  extra  session  of  the  legislature  convened  in  August,  1886,  and  with 
the  din  of  a  state-wide  battle  in  their  ears,  the  members  of  the  assembly 
passed  the  irrigation  bills  as  per  schedule.  But  the  senate  balked.  It  would 
not  defeat  the  bills  nor  would  it  pass  them,  and  on  September  11,  1886,  the 
legislature  adjourned  with  the  question  of  water  legislation  immersed  a 
thousand  fathoms  deep  in  statu  quo. 

It  was  sometime  during  the  events  recorded  in  this  chapter  that  Henry 
Miller  made  the  important  discovery  and  confided  it  to  a  friend  that  "plenty 
of  money  makes  a  good  politician." 

How  much  money  it  took  to  make  the  very  high  grade  politicians  that 
fought  each  other  to  a  stand  still  in  the  legislature  of  1886,  the  author  has 
not  been  able,  even  approximately,  to  ascertain,  but  battles  like  the  one  over 
the  judgeship  and  battles  like  that  at  Cole's  levee  were  evidently  so  immensely 
expensive  that  both  Haggin  &  Carr  and  Miller  &  Lux  wished  for  peace.  The 
big  suit  fell  to  Judge  Arick  to  try,  but  he  granted  a  petition  for  a  change  of 
venue  to  Tulare  county,  which  the  supreme  court  sustained,  and  there  the 
case  lay  until  all  the  points  involved  in  the  contest  were  settled  to  the  satis- 
faction of  both  parties  by  the  celebrated  Miller-Haggin  agreement. 
Miller-Haggin  Agreement  Ends  Litigation 

This  agreement,  which  was  signed  on  July  28,  1888,  and  which  bears  the 
signatures  of  thirty-one  corporations  and  fifty-eight  individuals  owning  water 
rights  at  the  time  on  Kern  river,  practically  divided  the  waters  of  the  stream 
between  Miller  &  Lux  and  Haggin  and  the  diiTerent  canal  companies  that 
were  represented  by  them.  The  length  of  the  document  is  fully  commensurate 
with  its  importance  and  the  number  of  parties  interested,  but  as  it  was  later 
incorporated  into  the  findings  of  the  Shaw  decree,  issued  by  Judge  Lucien 
Shaw  of  Los  Angeles  sitting  in  the  superior  court  of  Kern  county  in  1895, 
and  has  been  made  a  part  of  every  deed  executed  by  either  of  the  two  great 
land  owners  of  the  county  since  then,  a  scant  summary  of  its  provisions  here 
is  justifiable. 

The  agreement  begins  by  recognizing  that  certain  of  the  parties 
have  riparian  rights,  and  that  certain  other  of  the  parties  have 
-vested  rights  by  appropriation  against  all  the  world  except  the  aforesaid 
riparian  owners.  This  point  settled,  the  agreement  provides  that  the  parties 
of  the  first  part,  represented  by  Miller,  shall  have  one-third  of  all  the  waters 
of  the  river  during  the  months  of  March,  April,  May,  June,  July,  and  August 
of  each  year,  and  that  the  parties  of  the  second  part,  represented  by  Haggin. 
shall  have  all  the  remainder. 

It  provides  for  the  measurement  and  delivery  of  the  water,  and  for  the 
construction  of  the  Buena  Vista  Lake  reservoir,  covering  approximately 
thirty-six  sections  of  land.  The  two  parties  join  in  this  undertaking,  sharing 
equally  the  expense  of  construction,  repair  and  maintenance.  The  two  parties 
also  share  equally  the  expense  of  building  the  levees  necessary  to  carry  the 


110  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

water  of  the  river  from  the  second  point  of  measurement  to  the  reservoir,  and 
of  building  an  outlet  canal  from  Buena  Vista  lake  to  the  Kern  Valley  Water 
Company's  canal.  Both  parties  agree  to  join  in  suit  against  any  person  or 
persons  who  attempt  to  divert  any  water  from  the  river  above  the  second 
point  of  measurement,  and  each  is  to  bear  half  the  expense  of  such  litigation. 
All  pending  suits  between  the  two  parties  were  to  be  dismissed.  The  agree- 
ment is  made  a  perpetual  covenant,  running  with  all  the  land  owned  or  claimed 
by  any  of  the  parties  within  the  territory  described  in  the  contract. 


CHAPTER  Xn 

First  Attempt  at  Colonization 

The  first  effects  of  the  settlement  of  the  contests  over  water  rights  by 
means  of  the  Miller-Haggin  agreement  were  to  stiffen  land  values  in  all  the 
irrigated  portion  of  the  county,  and  to  bring  to  a  head  the  plans  of  Haggin 
and  his  associates  for  subdividing  their  lands  and  placing  them  on  the  market. 
The  inevitable  great  expense  of  developing  water  rights,  building  canals  and 
improving  large  ranches  had  been  increased  enormously  by  the  outlays  con- 
nected with  the  water  contests  with  Livermore  and  Chester  and  then  with 
Miller  &  Lux  and  by  the  expensive  political  campaigns  incident  thereto,  and 
by  the  summer  of  1888  the  expenditures  of  Haggin  and  Tevis  in  their  Kern 
county  ventures  had  reached  a  huge  aggregate.  Meantime  the  growing  of 
cotton  and  hops  had  not  proven  remunerative  on  account  of  the  large  labor 
cost  and  the  failure  of  the  attempts  to  secure  low-priced  workmen,  and  the 
same  difficulty  seemed  to  place  a  bar  across  other  avenues  to  profit  through 
agricultural  activities  on  a  vast  scale.  Lloyd  Tevis,  it  is  remembered,  was 
a  banker,  and  from  the  viewpoint  of  a  banker  who  keeps  tab  on  the  amount 
of  money  invested  and  the  amount  of  interest  which  it  should  bring  in  at 
current  rates,  the  Kern  county  property  of  Haggin  &  Carr  certainly  did  not 
look  very  hopeful. 

Hence  the  decision  to  colonize  the  Haggin  lands.  But  from  the  start 
differences  arose  between  the  parties  interested  as  to  the  exact  methods  of 
procedure.  According  to  seemingly  reliable  statements,  it  appears  that  Carr 
was  skeptical  about  the  wisdom  of  beginning  the  land  sales  at  all  just  at 
that  time,  and  he  interposed  strenuous  objections  to  parting  with  any  of  the 
lands  which  had  been  planted  to  alfalfa  or  otherwise  brought  into  a  revenue 
producing  condition.  He  objected,  also,  it  is  said,  to  selling  the  most  desir- 
able of  the  lands,  which  generally  were  those  south  of  Bakersfield  under  the 
Kern  Island  canal.  L.  C.  McAfee  and  C.  Brower,  managers  of  the  sales  de- 
partment under  the  name  of  the  Land  Department  of  J.  B.  Haggin,  proposed 
making  certain  improvements  on  the  lands  before  offering  them  for  sale, 
and  employing  a  superintendent  to  advise  and  instruct  the  colonists  in  the 
management  of  their  farms  and  orchards  so  that  fewer  mistakes  would  be 
made  through  inexperience.  But  all  this  involved  more  expenditures,  and  the 
plan  did  not  meet  with  favor  from  those  who  had  to  sign  the  checks. 

Still  other  points  of  difference  arose.  S.  W.  Fergusson,  who  had  estab- 
lished a  reputation  as  a  boomer  of  real  estate  subdivisions,  was  sent  to  take 
charge  of  the  Haggin  colonization,  and  clashes  of  authority  arose  between 
him  and  Carr.  For  example,  Carr  and  Fergusson  differed  as  to  the  proper  size 
for  the  irrigation   ditches  that  were  built  through   the   colonies.     Gradually 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  111 

Fergusson  superseded  Carr  in  the  control  of  different  departments  of  the 
Haggin  activities,  and  it  was  not  in  Carr's  nature  to  like  a  second  place.  In 
the  end  Carr  sold  out  his  interest,  and  the  Kern  County  Land  Company 
succeeded  to  Haggin  &  Carr.  But  these  initial  elements  of  failure  in  the 
colonization  project  were  under  the  surface,  and  the  people  of  Bakersfield 
rejoiced  over  the  prospect  that  at  last  the  great  land  holdings  that  had 
hedged  the  town  about  and  impeded  its  growth  and  development  were  to  be 
broken  up.  It  was  like  opening  the  throttle  to  the  pent  up  energies  of  the 
community,  and  new  enterprises  began  to  spring  into  life  as  the  restraint  was 
removed.  There  were  other  incentives  to  hope  and  progress.  At  a  banquet 
tendered  him  by  the  citizens  of  Bakersfield.  General  Beale  announced  that 
he  had  plans  for  the  colonization  of  the  Tejon  ranch;  the  Southern  Pacific 
was  grading  the  Porterville  branch  railroad;  the  railroad  shops  were  being 
moved  to  Sumner,  and  more  and  more  confidence  was  being  placed  in  the 
constant  report  that  the  \'alley  railroad  was  soon  to  be  built. 

Many  Plans  for  Progress 

Under  the  influence  of  all  these  better  prospects  the  Southern  Hotel 
.Association  began  the  construction  of  its  first  building  at  the  corner  of 
Nineteenth  street  and  Chester  avenue ;  L.  P.  St.  Clair  and  O.  O.  Mattson 
undertook  the  construction  of  a  gas  and  electric  lighting  system ;  H.  H. 
Fish,  H.  A.  Blodget  and  T.  J.  Packard  launched  their  plans  for  building  a 
street  railway  system,  and  citizens  of  the  town  and  land  owners  of  the  sur- 
rounding country  subscribed  a  fund  of  $3000  for  advertising  the  county  at 
Los  Angeles,  then  as  now  the  distributing  point  for  the  Eastern  home-seekers. 
In  the  spring  of  1899  the  Postal  Telegraph  Company  completed  its  line  to 
Bakersfield,  the  people  of  the  county  voted  by  852  to  381  to  bond  the  county 
for  $250,000  for  public  improvements  including  an  addition  to  the  court  house, 
a  new  jail,  a  county  hospital  and  the  grading  and  improving  of  many  roads 
in  different  parts  of  the  county. 

Fire  Wipes  Out  Business  Section 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  evidences  of  progress  and  while  Bakersfield 
was  looking  forward  with  greater  hope  and  expectancy  than  ever  before  in 
its  history,  came  the  fire  of  July  7,  1889,  and  wiped  the  business  part  of  the 
little  city  clean.  The  business  section  of  Bakersfield  was  confined  in  those 
days  to  the  area  bounded  on  the  west  by  I  street,  on  the  south  by  Seven- 
teenth, on  the  east  by  M,  and  on  the  north  by  Twentieth.  Practically  every- 
thing within  these  limits  was  destroyed. 

The  fire  started  in  or  near  N.  E.  Kelsey's  residence  on  Twentieth  street 
about  midway  between  Chester  and  I  street,  just  back  of  where  the  Bank  of 
Bakersfield  now  stands,  or  about  on  the  spot  where  the  rear  quarter  of  the 
bank  building  is  located.  J\lrs.  Kelsey  was  getting  the  Sunday  dinner  on  a 
gasoline  stove,  but  as  to  further  details  of  how  the  building  caught  fire 
reports  differ  widely.  The  volunteer  fire  department  responded  to  the  alarm 
with  ordinary  promptness,  and  hitched  the  suction  hose  of  the  Silsby  steam 
fire  engine  to  the  old  cast  iron  hydrant  that  still  stands  in  front  of  the  Southern 
Hotel  at  Nineteenth  and  Chester.  This' hydrant  connected  with  the  old  Scrib- 
ner  water  system,  which  was  supplied  by  pumps  and  wells  located  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Seventeenth  street  and  Chester  avenue.  The  small  mains 
and  the  light  engine,  however,  were  insufficient  to  provide  a  stream  that  would 
check  the  flames.    There  was  no  wind,  and  the  smoke  and  flames  for  a  time 


112  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

mounted  straight  upward.  In  a  very  little  time  the  fire  spread  to  the  Kelsey 
furniture  and  undertaking  establishment  on  the  corner  where  the  Bank  of 
Bakersfield  is,  and  to  the  store  of  Hayden  &  White  and  the  Echo  office,  all 
of  which  were  on  the  same  half  block  with  Kelsey's  residence  and  faced  on 
Chester  avenue.  From  these  the  Southern  Hotel  Association's  new  building 
at  Nineteenth  and  Chester  was  ignited.  By  that  time  the  heat  from  the  flames 
had  driven  the  firemen  east  on  Nineteenth  street,  where  the  hose  was  dropped 
into  one  of  the  cisterns  built  at  the  street  intersections  on  purpose  to  supply 
water  for  fighting  fire.  These  cisterns  were  connected  with  the  Town  ditch 
by  redwood  conduits  six  inches  square,  but  the  conduits  had  grown  full  of 
roots  and  the  cisterns  were  soon  exhausted.  Meantime  burning  shingles  carried 
high  in  the  air  by  the  draft  from  the  fire,  had  fallen  on  the  roof  of  the  Union 
stable,  on  the  south  side  of  Nineteenth  street  between  K  and  L,  and  a  new 
center  of  conflagration  had  been  started.  Also  the  fire  had  leaped  across 
Nineteenth  street  to  the  south  from  the  Southern  hotel  and  was  eating  out 
the  line  of  buildings  on  the  west  side  of  Chester  avenue.  Everything  was 
burned  along  this  street  as  far  south  as  Seventeenth  street,  where  the  skating 
rink,  standing  where  the  new  Morgan  building  now  is,  was  the  last  building 
consumed.  The  water  tower,  diagonally  across  the  avenue,  was  saved  by  the 
■man  in  charge,  who  climbed  to  the  roof  and  kept  it  wet  down. 

For  a  long  time  the  Arlington,  almost  in  the  center  of  the  fire,  was 
saved  by  two  means.  The  roof  and  veranda  were  covered  with  wet  blankets 
and  a  small  hose  was  used  to  keep  them  wet,  and  after  the  fire  was  well  under 
way  a  breeze  seemed  to  suck  around  the  Southern  hotel  corner  in  such  a 
way  as  to  keep  the  heat  from  the  Arlington.  The  building  finally  succumbed 
to  the  backfire  from  the  east,  but  it  was  one  of  the  last  to  go  down  in  the 
central  part  of  town. 

The  Episcopal  church  at  Seventeenth  and  I  streets,  the  Catholic  church 
at  Seventeenth  and  K,  and  the  Baptist  church  at  I  and  Twenty-second  were 
mentioned  roughly  as  the  limits  of  the  burned  district,  although  the  fire  did 
not  reach  really  so  far  as  the  Baptist  church.  How  completely  the  business 
houses  were  wiped  out  is  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  it  was  impossible  to 
buy  a  plug  of  tobacco  in  Bakersfield  after  the  fire. 

The  fire  occasioned  a  staggering  property  loss  to  the  people  of  Bakers- 
field, but  none  went  hungry  or  unsheltered  for  a  night.  Very  few  residences 
were  destroyed,  comparatively,  and  probably  not  over  a  hundred  people  were 
made  homeless.  These  were  speedily  cared  for  by  the  more  fortunate.  For 
provisions  there  were  the  stores  of  Sumner,  a  mile  away,  including  the  well- 
stocked  general  merchandise  establishment  of  Ardizzi-Qlcese  Company,  and 
Haggin  &  Carr  at  once  hauled  in  a  large  stock  of  provisions  of  all  kinds  from 
the  company  store  at  Bellvue.  Carr  also  had  many  beeves  slaughtered,  and 
everyone  had  meat  in  abundance,  whether  he  had  money  to  pay  or  not. 

So  soon  as  the  news  of  the  disaster  reached  San  Francisco  an  offer  of 
aid  was  tendered  by  that  city.  Bakersfield  was  able  to  answer  that  no  aid 
was  needed,  but  the  people  of  this  city  remembered  the  prompt  offer  years 
after  when  San  Francisco  was  stricken,  and  few  communities  responded  more 
promptly  or  liberally  to  the  bay  city's  need  than  did  Bakersfield. 

Bakersfield  Quickly  Rebuilds 

Before  the  embers  were  cool  on  the  lots  in  the  burned  district  new  offices 
and  business  houses  were  being  established  in  hastily  built  shacks  in  streets. 
Every  newspaper  office  in  the  city  was  destroyed,  but  George  Wear  of  the 


HISTORY  OF  KERN  COUNTY  113 

Gazette  managed  to  save  an  old  hand  press  and  some  cases  of  type,  and  the 
usual  editions  were  gotten  out  with  these  meagre  facilities,  or  copy  was  for- 
warded to  San  Francisco  and  the  papers  printed  there  until  new  plants  could 
be  obtained.  The  Southern  Hotel  Association  rebuilt  better  and  larger  than 
before,  and  almost  every  other  burned  building  was  replaced  at  once  by  a 
better  one.  In  a  year's  time  all  the  temporary  buildings  had  disappeared  from 
the  streets,  and  the  city  was  bigger  and  better  than  it  had  been  before  the 
fire.  During  the  rebuilding  time,  of  course,  the  town  was  very  active.  The 
colonists  were  coming  then  in  large  numbers,  extensions  were  being  made  in 
the  canal  systems,  and  there  was  great  activity  in  locating  desert  lands,  home- 
steads and  pre-emptions. 

A  little  more  than  a  year  after  the  fire  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield  was 
founded,  engineers  were  surveying  in  the  vicinity  of  Bakersfield  for  the  new 
valley  railroad,  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  had  been  organized  to  take 
over  the  Haggin  &  Carr  holdings,  and  S.  W.  Fergusson  was  placed  in  charge 
of  the  Rosedale  and  other  colony  lands,  including  Greenfield  and  Lerdo. 

Colonization  on  a  Large  Scale 

Fergusson  at  once  organized  a  large  office  force  in  Bakersfield,  estab- 
lished branch  agencies  in  the  east  and  in  England,  and  prepared  to  do  a 
colonization  business  on  a  very  large  scale.  His  advertising  and  the  activities 
of  his  agents  soon  had  a  stream  of  immigrants  and  prospective  land  buyers 
flowing  into  Bakersfield  from  all  points  of  the  compass.  Rosedale,  situated  six 
or  eight  miles  due  west  of  Bakersfield,  was  the  principal  scene  of  the  colon- 
ization operations,  although  numbers  of  tracts  of  land  were  sold  at  Greenfield 
and  elsewhere.  The  Rosedale  lands  lie  under  the  Calloway  canal,  and  are 
chiefly  light,  sandy  soils,  easily  tilled,  well  suited  to  irrigation  and  quite  pro- 
ductive. Most  of  the  newcomers  were  well  satisfied  with  the  propositions 
offered  them,  and  sales  were  reasonably  brisk.  The  arrival  of  the  English 
colonists  was  a  great  event  in  Bakersfield.  They  were  of  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions from  market  gardeners  of  experience  who  had  saved  small  sums  of 
money  in  years  of  industry  and  thrift,  to  scions  of  nobility  who  were  shipped 
abroad  by  their  relatives  as  a  last  despairing  means  for  their  moral  and 
industrial  redemption.  It  was  a  vain  hope  so  far  as  the  latter  was  con- 
cerned. 

The  few  farmers  among  the  English  colonists  got  to  work  in  their  own 
fashion  to  the  amazement  and  mirth  of  the  California  ranchers.  The  latter, 
used  to  driving  six  to  ten  horses  attached  to  a  gang  plow,  made  great  sport 
of  the  English  farmers  who  went  to  their  fields  with  a  boy  to  lead  the  single 
horse  while  a  man  held  the  plow  handles.  But  the  little  orchards  and  vine- 
yards that  the  Englishmen  planted  grew  and  throve,  and  so  did  the  peanuts, 
corn  and  other  vegetables  that  they  planted  between  the  rows. 

Scions  of  Nobility  Make  Things  Hum 
The  scions  of  nobility  for  the  most  part  disdained  to  toil.  There  were 
neither  orchards,  vineyards  nor  vegetables  to  show  for  their  labors,  but  they 
certainly  made  lively  times  about  the  Southern  bar  and  lobby  and  in  many 
other  parts  of  the  city  less  approved  by  good  society.  Nearly  all  the  idlers 
were  remittance  men,  and  they  ran  uniformly  successful  races  with  time  to 
dissipate  their  monthly  allowances  before  the  next  batch  of  checks  came 
from  home.  If  they  were  sent  out  here  to  be  clear  of  the  temptations  of 
English  city  life  they  were  thrown  from  the  frying  pan  into  the  fire,  for  if  the 


114  HISTORY  OF  KERN  COUNTY 

slums  of  Bakersfield  lacked  anything  that  the  young  British  bloods  were  used 
to  they  speedily  arranged  to  supply  the  deficiency  and  to  give  all  vice  a 
Western  air  and  relish  that  the  most  artistic  panderers  to  depravity  in  Euro- 
pean capitals  could  not  put  to  blush.  It  was  profitable  to  cater  to  the  pleas- 
ures and  follies  of  the  remittance  men,  and  in  those  days  a  dollar  that  was 
not  in  visible  circulation  was  counted  a  dollar  lost  in  Bakersfield.  To  illustrate 
how  cheerfully  and  enthusiastically  the  sports  from  across  the  seas  put  their 
money  into  circulation  while  it  lasted  it  is  related  that  on  one  occasion  when 
the  birthday  of  the  queen  was  being  celebrated  with  a  banquet  at  the  South- 
ern, the  loyalty  rose  to  such  a  height  that  not  only  was  her  majesty's  health 
drunk  copiously  in  the  Southern's  best  champagne  but  the  cheering  crowd 
came  storming  out  of  the  dining  room  and  tried  to  pour  champagne  down 
the  throats  of  the  ponies  tied  at  the  rail  beside  the  curb. 
An  International  Romance 

With  this  story  of  the  Rosedale  remittance  men  belongs  the  romantic 
tale  of  the  wooing  of  Loretta  Addis  by  Lord  Sholto  Douglas,  third  son  of  the 
Marquis  of  Queensbury.  Loretta  Addis  was  Miss  Maggie  Mooney's  stage 
name,  and  Miss  Maggie  Mooney  was  a  pretty  and  piquant  little  Irish  girl 
who  made  an  honest  if  not  conventional  living  for  herself  by  doing  a  turn 
on  the  stage  of  big  Frank  Carson's  place  on  Twentieth  street. 

Lord  Sholto  and  many  others  were  captivated  by  Miss  Mooney's  charms, 
and  Sholto  proposed  on  every  appropriate  and  inappropriate  occasion  he  could 
find  or  manufacture.  But  Loretta  was  suspicious  of  alliances  with  the  nobil- 
ity, and  she  did  not  lack  friends  who  told  her  that  the  marquis  and  marchion- 
ess never  would  sanction  the  match  and  that  if  she  married  their  son  she 
certainly  would  be  cast  off  and  renounced  but  a  little  later.  Being  cast  oS 
and  renounced  did  not  suit  the  fancy  of  this  spunky  Irish  girl,  and  she  set 
her  face  sternly  against  the  tender  appeals  of  Sholto.  Finally  the  young 
lord's  friends  interfered  to  break  up  the  languishing  match,  and  failing  in 
persuasive  tactics  they  had  Sholto  arrested  on  a  charge  of  insanity.  Then 
they  set  to  work  to  get  Miss  Mooney  out  of  Bakersfield. 

Undoubtedly  this  would  have  been  accomplished  had  it  not  been  for 
the  exigencies  of  journalism,  which  include  the  fostering  of  a  good  story  and 
the  making  of  a  sequel  to  a  good  story  when  the  good  story  plays  out.  The 
love  affairs  of  Lord  Sholto  and  Loretta  Addis  made  a  good  story,  or  at  least 
the  stories  that  the  Bakersfield  correspondents  sent  out  looked  good  to  the  San 
Francisco  city  editors,  and  they  gave  the  Bakersfield  correspondents  carte 
blanc,  printed  their  stuff  on  the  front  page  and  clamored  for  more.  C.  P.  Fox 
and  W.  D.  Young,  both  familiar  figures  in  Kern  county  journalism,  were 
local  correspondents  for  the  Chronicle  and  the  Examiner  and  were  working 
the  story  together.  Five  dollars  a  column  and  full  space  rates  for  pictures  was 
like  a  gold  mine  while  it  lasted,  but  it  did  not  last  sufficiently  long. 
When  Sholto  was  locked  up  in  one  of  the  private  rooms  at  the  sheriff's  quar- 
ters and  Sholto's  friends  were  about  to  succeed  in  persuading  or  hiring  Miss 
Mooney  to  move  to  another  city.  Young  and  Fox  saw  the  end  of  their  pay 
streak.  They  held  a  solemn  consultation  and  decided  that  the  only  way 
to  save  the  story  was  to  complete  Sholto's  wooing  for  him.  So  they  hired 
a  hack  and  drove  in  all  state  to  Miss  Mooney's  lodgings.  She  received  them 
graciously,  but  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  eloquent  words  in  which  they  pictured 
Sholto's  double  despair,  spurned  by  his  heart's  desire  and  charged  with 
madness,  for  nothing  more  than  that  he  loved  the  fair  Loretta. 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  115 

It  was  of  no  use.  ^liss  Alooney  knew  blarney  when  she  heard  it.  Then 
Fox  and  Young  painted  the  glamor  of  the  British  nobihty  and  showed  Aliss 
Mooney  how  much  better  off  she  would  be  as  a  member  of  one  uf  the  oldest 
families  of  England  than  as  a  dancer  and  singer  in  a  vaudeville  theater  in 
the  wild  west.  It  made  no  difference  to  Miss  Mooney  how  fine  the  British 
nobility  might  be  if  the  British  nobility  was  going  to  renounce  her,  and  she 
indicated  as  much.  It  began  to  look  pretty  desperate  for  that  five-dollar-a- 
column  stuff",  but  Fox  rallied  his  jaded  eloquence  and  taking  an  argumentative 
tone  he  recounted  the  history  of  the  Marquis  of  Queensbury,  showed  that  the 
old  gentleman  was  a  true  old  sport,  quick  to  recognize  merit,  not  too  fas- 
tidious in  his  associates  and  amusements  and  altogether  unlikely  to  play  the 
part  of  a  prude  or  a  pharisee  when  the  variety  actress  was  presented  to  him 
as  his  daughter-in-law.  The  argument  fell  flat.  The  opposition  had  preju- 
diced her  mind  too  thoroughly. 

Then  Young  played  his  last  trump  card.  He  raised  himself  to  the  full 
of  his  raw-boned  height  and  assumed  a  belligerent  air.  "Let  them  renounce 
you,  if  they  dare,"  he  exclaimed,  "and  you  go  on  the  stage  as  Lady  Sholto 
Douglas,  daughter-in-law  of  the  Marquis  of  Queensbury.  With  the  talent 
you've    got " 

The  practical  instinct  of  a  good  press  agent  won  where  flattery  and  per- 
suasion failed. 

"I'll  do  it!"  exclaimed  Miss  Mooney,  springing  up. 

"Get  on  your  hat,"  said  Fox,  also  springing  up. 

Fifteen  minutes  later  Fox  and  Young  and  Deputy  Sheriff  Joe  Droul- 
liard  were  ushering  Miss  Mooney  into  the  little  room  where  Sholto  sat  brood- 
ing his  unhappy  fate. 

Another  fifteen  minutes,  and  they  were  receiving  her  in  the  little  corridor, 
and  the  happy  Sholto  was  consoling  himself  in  his  imprisonment  with  dreams 
of  future   bliss. 

The  San  Francisco  papers  had  another  big  story  next  morning:  another 
when,  a  few  days  thereafter,  came  a  cablegram  containing  the  cheerful  consent 
of  the  Marquis  to  his  son's  proposed  alliance ;  another  when  Sholto  was 
released  without  a  complaint  of  insanity  actually  having  been  placed  against 
him,  and  still  another  when  Lord  Douglas  and  Miss  Mooney  were  happily 
married  in  an   Episcopal  church  in  San   Francisco. 

It  is  pleasant  to  conclude  the  story  with  the  statement  that  they  are 
still  living  happily  on  a  ranch  in  Canada  where  Sholto  has  learned  to 
farm  and  where  Lady  Sholto  reigns  with  all  the  grace  of  sweet  domesticity, 
her  children  growing  up  about  her. 

Not  All  Beer  and  Skittles 

But  it  was  not  all  champagne  and  romance  with  the  Rosedale  colonists. 
Only  a  small  proportion,  even  among  the  industrious  knew  how  to  irrigate 
or  understood  the  use  and  duty  of  water.  A  lot  of  them  had  a  reckless  habit 
of  shutting  down  the  gates  of  the  side  ditches  when  they  wanted  to  go  to 
their  meals,  and  the  water,  backing  up,  would  break  the  main  ditch  and  flood 
five  or  ten  acres  of  land  before  anyone  knew  anything  about  it.  The  low 
lands  were  the  ones  invariably  flooded  in  this  manner,  and  presently,  what 
with  the  breaking  of  ditches  and  the  prodigal  use  of  water  at  all  times,  the 
lower  lands  became  water-logged  and  black  with  the  alkali  that  the  rising 
water  level  brought  up. 


116  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

The  Land  Company  put  teams  and  men  at  work  digging  miles  of  drain 
ditches.  About  the  time  they  were  finished  the  dry  years  came,  and  the 
trees  and  vines  on  the  high  lands  that  had  escaped  the  drowning  began  to 
perish  for  want  of  water.  The  Calloway's  water  right  was  good  only  after 
certain  other  ditches  had  been  supplied. 

There  was  no  home  market  except  for  a  very  limited  amount  of  fruit 
and  farm  produce,  and  shipments  of  fruit  to  the  east  began  to  show  returns 
in  red  figures.  Added  to  everything  else  was  the  financial  panic  that  swept 
over  the  entire  country  in  1893-4.  It  is  little  wonder  that  Rosedale  colony 
became  a  reproach  in  the  county  and  that  Bakersfield's  second  great  hope 
for  the  cutting  up  of  the  great  land  holdings  of  the  county  came  to  naught. 

It  did  not  quite  come  to  naught,  for  a  few  steady,  industrious  farmers 
stayed  with  their  Rosedale  land,  and  in  the  end  developed  fine  homes  and 
valuable  property.  They  did  it,  moreover,  with  no  less  labor  and  waiting 
than  the  ordinary  farmer  has  to  undergo  in  any  new  country  before  his  land 
pays  for  itself  and  begins  to  earn  him  a  competency.  At  the  present  time, 
sixteen  or  seventeen  years  after  it  was  denounced  as  a  failure,  Rosedale  col- 
ony is  as  fair  and  pleasant  a  place  and  the  farmers  there  are  as  happy  and 
prosperous  as  any  to  be  found  in  all  the  valley. 

But  the  Fergusson  administration  of  the  Kern  County   Land  Company 
aflfairs  ended  in  general  denunciation,  and  the  big  concern  was  more  unpop- 
ular than  at  any  other  time,  before  or  since,  in  the  history  of  the  county. 
Another  Sw^amip  Land  Contest 

Another  incident  that  added  to  the  bad  favor  in  which  the  Land  Com- 
pany found  itself  about  the  year  1895,  was  the  contest  over  swamp  lands 
bordering  Buena  Vista  lake  between  settlers  and  the  Land  Company.  This 
contest  began  to  assume  the  form  of  open  hostilities  in  March  of  the  year 
named.  Haggin  claimed  the  land  under  certificates  of  purchase  from  the 
state  as  swamp  land  obtained  by  Duncan  Beaumont  in  the  70s  and  as- 
signed to  Haggin.  The  settlers  claimed  that  when  the  United  States  deeded 
the  swamp  and  overflow  land  in  California  to  the  state  the  land  in  dispute 
was  unsurveyed  and  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a  part  of  the  bottom  of  a 
navigable  lake  and  so  was  not  conveyed  by  the  grant  to  the  state  and  was 
not  subject  to  sale  by  the  state. 

The  contest  was  soon  carried  into  the  courts,  but  while  it  was  pending 
■there  men  sent  out  under  the  command  of  Count  Von  Petersdorf  tore  down 
a  number  of  the  settlers'  houses  and  threw  them  off  the  land.  The  settlers 
rallied,  replaced  their  houses  and  again  were  driven  off.  There  seems  to 
have  been  no  bloodshed,  but  both  parties  to  the  contest  were  armed,  and 
arrests  were  frequent.  There  was  quite  a  furore  over  the  affair,  but  the 
proceedings  of  the  justice  court  before  which  the  combatants  were  brought 
were  not  of  a  character  to  promote  solemnity.  One  day  a  company  of  settlers, 
all  of  whom  were  or  had  been  fully  armed,  would  be  brought  into  court  and 
duly  charged  with  disturbing  the  peace  by  loud,  boisterous  and  tumultuous 
language,  fighting  or  offering  to  fight  and  exhibiting  fire  arms  with  the  threat 
then  and  there  to  do  bodily  harm  to  certain  other  persons  then  and  there 
present,  all  of  which  was  contrary  to  the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  people  of 
the  state  of  California,  etc.  The  settlers  would  then  be  admitted  to  bail  in 
certain  generous  sums  and  released  on  their  own  recognizance.  The  next 
day  Von  Petersdorf  and  a  dozen  or  so  of  his  men  would  be  haled  before  the 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  117 

court  on  a  similar  charge  and  released  in  the  same  manner.  Altogether  a 
sufficient  total  of  bail  bonds  was  named  by  Justice  Fox  to  have  bought  all 
the  land  in  dispute  several  times  over.  Eventually  W.  S.  Tevis  and  Jrl.  A. 
Jastro  took  a  hand  in  the  matter,  met  the  settlers  and  effected  a  compromise 
in  which  the  Land  Company  got  the  land  but  the  settlers  were  reimbursed 
for  their  improvements  and  expenditures. 

The  Jastro  Administration 

Not  very  long  after  that  date  H.  A.  Jastro  became  the  general  manager 
of  the  Land  Company  and  inaugurated  a  new  policy  in  the  handling  of  the 
affairs  of  the  concern.  Under  Carr's  administration  nearly  all  the  money 
handled  in  the  Haggin  and  Carr  offices  went  out.  Carr  was  buying  land 
all  the  time,  and  building  canals  or  making  other  improvements.  Fergusson, 
of  course,  took  in  large  aggregates  of  cash,  but  in  another  sense  his  adminis- 
tration was  an  extravagant  one,  for  the  colonization  scheme  consumed  a 
large  sum  and  was  not  a  success,  and  the  ranches  paid  little  if  any  more  under 
Fergusson  than  under  Carr.  Jastro  put  the  business  on  a  paying  basis. 
Enterprises  that  did  not  yield  a  balance  on  the  right  side  of  the  ledger  were 
discouraged,  and  a  minimum  amount  of  money  was  spent  on  improvements 
that  did  not  add  to  the  immediate  revenue  producing  power  of  the  property. 

Jastro's  polic}'  and  its  revenue  producing  result  probably  have  prevented 
further  efforts  to  sell  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  holdings  to  the 
present  time.  At  least  there  have  been  no  more  colonization  projects  on 
the  part  of  the  Land  Company,  although  the  company  has  sold  three  consid- 
erable tracts  for  colonization — the  Wasco  and  Mountain  View  colonies,  which 
were  handled  by  the  California  Home  Extension  Association,  and  the  Lerdo 
tract  which  is  to  be  colonized  by  the  Lerdo  Land  &  Water  Company. 


CHAPTER    XIII 
Important  Events  of  a   Decade,   1890-1900 

The  desert  gold  mines  of  Goler  were  first  worked  in  the  spring  of  1893, 
and  in  December  of  that  year  a  newspaper  correspondent  writing  from  Kane 
springs  states  that  approximately  $50,000  had  been  taken  out  by  the  thousand 
or  more  men  who  had  been  there.  Four-fifths  of  this  amount  was  found 
by  less  than  a  dozen  men,  and  the  bulk  of  the  remaining  fifth  was  taken  out 
by  a  small  fraction  of  the  nine  hundred  and  eighty-eight  others.  Coming 
from  Bakersfield  or  Los  Angeles  the  first  camp  in  the  Goler  district  was  at 
Red  Rock  cafion,  in  a  side  gulch  of  which  were  developed  the  richest  placer 
diggings  in  the  state.  At  the  time  of  the  letter  eight  men  were  taking  out 
$1000  a  week  from  the  Bell  claim  in  this  gulch.  Over  the  ridge  in  another 
draw  Sullivan  &  Black  were  doing  about  as  well.  At  Goler.  fifteen  miles 
east  of  Red  Rock,  a  few  had  struck  it  rich,  others  were  doing  fairly  well, 
and  many  were  obhged  to  live  on  the  money  they  had  brought  with  them. 
Bonanza  gulch  placers  were  yielding  thirty  cents  to  the  pan  from  the  bed 
rock.  Twelve  miles  east  of  Goler  at  .Summit,  the  Van  Sykes  had  struck  it 
rich. 

That  the  desert  mines  had  been  prospected  bv  the  first  of  the  California 
gold   seekers  was  shoAvn  by  the  discovery  in   1894  by  W.   T.  Langdon  of  a 


118  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

location  notice  posted  by  Hiram  Johnson  bearing  date  of  1853.  On  a  rock 
near  by  Langdon  also  found  a  pair  of  rusty  gold  scales,  and  by  an  old  fire 
place,  buried  under  three  feet  of  drifting  sands,  the  same  prospector  found  a 
black  whiskey  bottle  with  gold  dust  in  it  to  the  value  of  $6.20. 

The  desert  placers  were  exceedingly  rich  on  the  surface,  but  the  great 
lack  of  water,  not  only  for  washing  but  even  for  drinking,  held  back  devel- 
opment until  the  remainder  of  the  state  was  long  overrun  by  the  placer  miner 
and  his  burro.  In  1894  Langdon,  Ben  Magee  of  Selma,  a  man  by  name  of 
Cummings  from  Los  Angeles,  and  F.  M.  Mooers,  formerly  a  newspaper  man 
of  New  York,  panned  the  first  gold  in  the  Randsburg  district,  then  unnamed. 
Even  then,  although  the  sands  were  found  to  be  exceedingly  rich,  the  dif- 
ficulties of  desert  mining  discouraged  the  majority  of  the  party  from  con- 
tinuing. They  all  drifted  away  except  Mooers  who  went  back  to  the  Summit 
mines  for  a  while,  worked  out  his  placers  there,  and  then,  in  partnership  with 
John  Singleton  and  C.  A.  Burcham,  went  back  to  the  Rand  district  and  began 
dry  washing  in  a  gulch.  They  made  about  $5  per  day  each  here,  and  later 
struck  a  better  placer  on  the  top  of  the  hill. 

Discovery  of  the  Yellow  Aster 

One  night  when  they  had  been  away  from  camp  and  were  coming  home 
late  they  lost  their  way  and  made  their  bed  in  a  gulch  by  chance.  They  slept 
late,  and  when  Mooers  opened  his  eyes  in  the  morning  the  sun  was  glistening 
on  the  little  particles  of  free  gold  in  the  ledge  about  his  head.  Burcham 
got  his  hammer,  struck  the  rock  of  the  projecting  vein,  and  laid  bare  before 
the  dazzled  eyes  of  the  three  prospectors  the  treasure  of  the  Yellow  Aster. 
This  was  in  the  fall  of  1895.  Not  for  more  than  a  year  later  was  the  wealth 
of  the  great  mine  demonstrated.  For  a  long  time  its  owners  were  content 
to  take  out  its  riches  in  a  modest  way.  They  had  no  money  to  begin  with, 
and  large  development  on  the  desert  meant  the  investment  of  large  sums. 
Ore  for  the  first  millings  was  hauled  to  Garlock,  a  distance  of  ten  miles. 
Water  for  all  purposes  was  hauled  back  from  the  same  place  and  retailed  for 
ten  cents  a  gallon  or  three  dollars  per  barrel.  Later  water  was  piped  from 
Goler  and  from  Squaw  springs  on  Squaw  mountain. 

With  the  Yellow  Aster,  Mooers,  Burcham  and  Singleton  located  the 
Rand,  Olympus  and  Trilby  claims,  combining  them  under  the  name  of 
Yellow  Aster  mine.  In  1898  they  built  a  thirty-stamp  mill,  and  afterward 
increased  it  to  one  hundred  stamps.  The  mine  is  now  reckoned  as  the  largest 
gold  mine  in  the  state.  The  ore  is  quarried  out  in  glory  holes,  run  down 
to  the  mill  in  cars  and  handled  in  every  way  on  a  wholesale  scale. 

Other  Famous  Desert  Mines 

Other  famous  mines  of  the  Rand  district  include  the  Kinyon,  named  for 
its  owner,  who  came  to  the  desert  without  a  dollar,  and  took  out  $40,000 
with  a  windlass  the  first  year  from  a  little  shallow  shaft  a  short  distance 
from  the  Yellow  Aster.  Silas  Drouillard  was  grubstaked  by  the  sheriff  and 
his  deputies  in  Bakersfield  and  went  to  Randsburg  in  search  of  the  desert's 
treasure.  The  desert  lured  him  across  the  sands  until  he  dropped  in  ex- 
haustion beside  a  rock.  As  a  parting  blow  in  the  face  of  fate  he  struck  the 
rock  with  his  hammer  and  broke  off  a  chunk  that  even  in  the  dazzling  days 
of  the  first  Randsburg  boom  was  worthy  a  place  on  a  shelf  in  a  saloon  where 
the  hungry-eyed  prospectors  could  look  and  marvel  between  their  libations 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  119 

to  the  fickle  Fortune  of  the  desert.  The  Wedge,  Haninioiid's  Winnie,  and 
the  Ramey  brothers'  Butte  were  among  the  strikes  that  gave  the  camp  its 
first  fame. 

The  Town  of  Randsburg 
The  town  started  first  on  the  Yellow  Aster  property  where  Cuffle  had 
a  store  and  Airs.  Freeman  ran  a  boarding  house.  In  1895  Abram  Staley  and 
his  son  Homer  opened  a  blacksmith  shop  on  the  flat,  the  first  wooden  build- 
ing on  the  present  townsite.  Charles  Keehn  opened  the  first  store  in  the 
town  proper;  Montgomery  Brothers  started  a  saloon,  John  Crawford  started 
another,  and  after  that  the  arrivals  were  too  rapid  and  numerous  to  be  remem- 
bered. 

During  the  rush  of  1896  Randsburg  had  its  first  experience  of  the  dis- 
order that  belongs  by  tradition  to  new  mining  camps.  "The  Dirty  Dozen," 
as  the  members  of  a  gang  of  dry  washers  from  an  older  camp  chose  to  call 
themselves,  conceived  the  pleasant  pastime  of  visiting  Randsburg  of  even- 
ings, making  a  rough  house  in  the  different  saloons  and  finally  promenading 
the  streets,  firing  their  revolvers.  As  most  of  the  houses  in  the  camp  had 
onh'  canvas  walls  and  as  the  members  of  the  Dirty  Dozen  were  careless 
in  their  aim  there  was  a  general  protest  which  resulted  in  a  mass  meeting 
on  the  porch  of  the  Cliff  house  (hotel)  and  the  organization  of  the  Citizens' 
committee.  At  first  it  was  planned  to  make  it  a  vigilante  organization,  but 
soberer  discussion  resulted  in  the  agreement  that  the  disorders  were  not 
grave  enough  for  such  means  of  repression,  and  "Ironsides"  Raines  was  hired 
to  act  as  town  marshal  at  a  salary  of  $100  per  month.  A  number  of  citizens 
were  made  deputy  constables  without  pay.  Personal  notice  was  served  on 
all  the  known  members  of  the  Dirty  Dozen  that  their  visits  could  be  dispensed 
with,  and  a  notice  in  the  following  words  was  posted  in  the  streets : 

The  Citizens  of  Randsburg  have  organized  to  enforce  the  laws.    Ten 
Deputy  Constables  have  been  appointed,  and  any  riotous  and  threat- 
ening conduct  will  be  punished, 
by  order  of  the 

CITIZENS'  COMMITTEE 
There  was  no  further  disorder.     At  least  there  was  no  further  general 
menace  to  life  or  limb,  although  for  some  time  afterward  the  diversions  of 
the  miners  that  assembled  in  the  desert  camp  differed  somewhat  from  those 
of  a   Sunday-school   picnic. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  more  genuine,  profitable  mining  going  on 
in  the  Randsburg  district  than  at  any  other  time  since  the  camp  was  estab- 
lished. All  the  mines  named  heretofore  are  worked  with  profit,  and  in  addi- 
tion the  King  Solomon,  Sunshine  and  Pierced  are  yielding  good  returns  to 
their  owners.  Mooers  of  the  Yellow  Aster  is  dead,  but  his  heirs  and  his 
original  partners,  Burcham  and  Singleton,  still  own  the  mine  and  are  taking 
out  about  600  tons  of  $.S  ore  per  day. 

Discovery  of  Tungsten  Mines 
About  ten  years  ago,  during  the  progress  of  a  strike  of  union  miners  at 
the  Yellow  Aster,  Charles  Taylor,  one  of  the  strikers,  and  Tom  McCarthy 
went  prospecting  and  discovered  the  afterward  famous  tungsten  mines  of 
Randsburg  district.  It  soon  developed  that  the  tungsten  deposits  were  among 
the  largest  and   most   accessible   in   the  world,   and   the   quality   was   excep- 


120  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

tionally  good.  Somewhere  between  two  million  and  three  million  dollars 
worth  of  the  mineral  have  been  taken  out,  and  the  mines  are  but  fairly 
opened  up. 

The  Mojave  mines  were  discovered  about  the  time  of  the  first  Rands- 
burg  rush  or  a  few  months  later.  The  Queen  Esther,  Carmel,  Golden  Treas- 
ure and  other  mines  of  Mojave  are  celebrated  producers,  but  the  district 
never  attained  the  fame  that  was  accorded  to  Randsburg. 

The  Amalie   District 

Among  the  more  important  of  the  recent  mining  op.erations  in  the 
county  are  those  about  Amalie,  a  short  distance  above  Caliente  on  the  north- 
ern side  of  the  Tehachapi  pass.  The  Amalie  mines  carry  both  silver  and 
gold,  and  with  depth  the  ledges  improve  greatly.  The  Gold  Peak,  Amalie 
and  other  less  celebrated  mines  of  that  vicinity  have  passed  the  stage  of 
experiment  and  are  reckoned  as  certain  producers  in  the  hands  of  competent 
management.  Mining  men  familiar  with  the  district  prophesy  that  the  future 
will  see  Amalie  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  important  mining  sections 
of  the  state. 

Other  Important  Events 

Other  matters  that  lend  a  special  interest  to  the  busy  and  eventful  period 
in  Kern  county's  history  about  the  years  of  1890  to  1900  include  the  building 
of  the  electric  light,  gas  and  street  railway  systems  of  Bakersfield,  the  begin- 
ning of  the  utilization  of  the  waters  of  Kern  river  for  the  development  of 
electric  power,  discovery  and  development  of  the  desert  mines,  the  local 
phases  of  the  great  railroad  strike  of  1894,  the  visit  of  the  Oakland  contingent 
of  Coxey's  army,  the  second  incorporation  of  Bakersfield  and  the  issuance  of 
the  celebrated  Shaw  decree,  by  which  theUerms  of  the  Miller-Haggin  agree- 
ment were  given  a  semblance,  at  least,  of  judicial  authority. 

Gas  and  Electric  Plants 

The  first  gas  plant  was  built  and  operated  by  L.  P.  St.  Clair,  Sr.,  and 
O.  O.  Mattson  about  the  first  part  of  1889.  Later  H.  A.  Blodget  and  H.  A. 
Jastro  bought  out  Mattson's  interest.  The  first  plant  was  a  crude  affair 
comprising  eight  retorts,  and  the  gas  was  manufactured  from  gasoline.  In 
summer  it  was  too  rich,  and  in  winter  it  was  too  thin  for  perfectly  satis- 
factory use.  During  the  summer  of  1889,  it  is  recalled,  a  big  bellows  was 
used  to  pump  air  into  the  holders  to  reduce  the  quality  of  the  gas  and  pre- 
vent its  smoking  by  reason  of  an  excess  of  carbon.  In  the  fall  of  1889  the 
plant  was  changed  to  use  coal  instead  of  gasoline.  The  use  of  crude  oil  in 
the  manufacture  of  gas  was  begun  in  1896  and  1897,  and  continued  to 
the  fall  of  1911,  when  natural  gas  from  the  great  gas  wells  of  the  Standard 
Oil  Company  in  the  Buena  Vista  hills  was  turned  into  the  mains. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  gas  plant  was  established  that  electric  lighting 
began  to  gain  greatly  in  popularity,  and  outside  parties  visited  BakersSeld 
with  a  view  to  obtaining  a  franchise  for  an  electric  lighting  system.  They 
failed  to  get  the  franchise,  but  their  visit  spurred  the  local  lighting  com- 
pany into  action,  and  electricity  was  added  to  gas  as  a  means  of  illumina- 
tion in  the  city.  In  the  spring  of  1890  a  40-light  dynamo  was  installed  and 
a  wood-burning  steam  engine  was  utilized  to  furnish  power.  The  limita- 
tions of  wood-generated  steam  and  the  advantages  of  water  power  in  the 
generation  of  electricity  were  speedily  recognized,  and  for  a  time  a  plan 
for  using  water  power  from  the  mill  ditch  was  entertained.     The  fact  that 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  121 

it  is  necessary  to  dry  out  the  ditch  occasionally  for  cleaning  and  repairs 
stood  in  the  way  of  this  plan,  and  the  idea  of  maintaining  a  steam  auxiliary 
plant  for  use  when  the  ditch  was  out  of  commission  did  not  appeal  to  the 
electric  company. 

It  was  the  natural  thing  to  turn  to  Kern  river  caiion  as  a  source  of 
power,  and  the  plans  for  the  first  power  plant  built  there  were  drawn  by 
Blodget,  Jastro,  W.  S.  Tevis.  S.  ^V.  Fergusson  and  C.  N.  Beale.  The  first 
intention  was  to  interest  eastern  capital  in  the  enterprise,  but  when  it  was 
mentioned  to  Lloyd  Tevis  he  said  that  he  would  take  it  up  himself,  and 
did  so.  Work  was  begun  December  13,  1894,  building  the  flume  along  the 
wall  of  the  cafion  to  carry  the  water  from  the  intake  up  the  canon  to  the 
water  wheel  at  the  caiion's  mouth  where  the  present  power  house  is  located. 
The  wooden  flume  first  used  to  convey  the  water  was  later  replaced  by  a 
tunnel  driven  in  the  rock  of  the  cafion  wall. 

First  Street  Railway 

The  first  street  railway  sj'stem  was  established  about  the  same  time 
as  the  gas  plant.  John  Al.  Keith  and  H.  A.  Blodget  were  the  originators  of 
the  project,  and  they  called  in  H.  H.  Fish,  who  was  operating  a  line  of  hacks 
and  omnibuses  and  whose  co-operation  instead  of  competition  was  desirable. 
Fish  went  into  the  street  car  plan  and  Keith  withdrew.  The  first  equipment 
of  rolling  stock  consisted  of  little  horse  cars,  and  one  of  the  diversions  of- 
fered the  passengers  was  to  help  put  the  cars  back  on  the  track  once  in 
a  while  when  the  unaccustomed  street  car  nags  would  get  scared  at  some- 
thing and  bolt  off  at  a  tangent  from  the  rails. 

With  the  building  of  the  power  plant  in  the  canon  (finished  in  1897) 
the  horse  car  system  was  supplanted  by  electric  cars  and  C.  N.  Beale  joined 
with  Fish  and  Blodget  in  the  enterprise.  Six  or  eight  years  later  the  Power, 
Transit  &  Light  Company  was  organized  as  a  subsidiary  corporation  of 
the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  and  the  street  car,  gas  and  electric  light- 
ing systems  were  taken  over  by  it.  In  1911  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power 
Corporation  bought  out  the  Power,  Transit  &  Light  Company.  Meantime, 
in  1897,  the  Electric  Water  Company,  also  a  Land  Company  corporation, 
bought  the  Scribner  Water  \\'orks  and  extended  the  system  to  meet  the 
growing  needs  of  the  city. 

The  First  Levee  Canal 

What  is  known  as  the  levee  canal,  built  a  little  distance  south  of  Kern 
river  from  the  Kern  Island  canal  near  Panorama  heights  southwest  to  the 
Stine  canal,  was  constructed  in  the  summer  of  1890.  On  May  8th  a  sub- 
scription paper  was  circulated  for  the  purpose  of  raising  money  to  buy  land 
for  a  right  of  way  and  for  building  the  levee,  and  the  following  subscrip- 
tions were  secured:  W.  B.  Carr,  $500;  Celsus  Brower,  L.  S.  Rogers,  H.  C. 
Park,  H.  A.  Jastro,  H.  A.  Blodget,  W.  H.  Scribner,  J.  Neiderauer,  Dinkel- 
spiel  Brothers,  Joseph  Weringer,  Solomon  Jewett,  Kern  Valley  Bank,  A.  C. 
Maude  and  J.  E.  Bailey,  each  $100;  Paul  Galtes,  A.  Weill  and  Hirshfeld  and 
Brodek,  each  $150;  C.  L.  Connor  and  Alex  Mills  (not  the  ancient  marshal), 
each  $50. 

The  right  of  way,  however,  was  purchased  by  the  county  from  Haggin 
&  Carr  for  $4500,  the  deed  being  made  on  July  15,  1890.  The  levee  canal 
was  built  along  the  right  of  way,  and  the  dirt  was  thrown  mostly  on  the 
side  of  the  ditch  next  to  the  river  so  as  to  make  an  embankment  sufficient 


122  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

to  restrain  any  ordinary  high  water.  This  levee  broke  toward  the  north 
end  at  the  time  of  the  flood  of  1893,  and  since  then  has  been  strengthened, 
a  little  dirt  and  sand  being  added  whenever  the  river  became  threateningly 
high. 

Ever  since  the  first  levee  was  built  periodic  movements  have  been  started 
looking  to  the  construction  of  an  embankment  that  would  permanently  dis- 
pose of  all  possibility  of  the  river  getting  into  the  town,  but  with  the  sub- 
sidence of  the  freshets  the  interest  in  the  plans  wane  and  only  the  inci- 
dental repairs  and  improvements  mentioned  have  been  made.  The  latest 
project  for  levee  building  includes  the  construction  of  a  boulevard  along 
the  top  of  the  proposed  embankment,  connecting  with  Oak  street  on  the 
west  and  mounting  Panorama  heights  on  the  east  and  connecting  thence 
by  Baker  street  and  Truxtun  avenue  with  the  southern  end  of  Oak  street 
and  forming  a  complete  driveway  around  the  northern  half  of  the  city. 
This  project  has  been  lingering  in  statu  quo  for  several  months  past,  but 
has  not  been  definitely  abandoned. 

The  Great  Railway  Strike 

The  great  strike  of  the  American  Railway  Union  which  began  Thursday, 
June  28,  1894,  affected  Bakersfield  and  Kern  about  as  it  affected  any  other 
railroad  division  point.  There  was  much  excitement  during  the  first  few 
days  of  the  tie-up,  and  on  July  12th,  two  hundred  men  met  at  Reich  opera 
house,  which  stood  just  across  Jap  alley  from  Weill's  store,  and  organized 
the  Citizens'  committee  of  safety.  S.  W.  Wible  acted  as  chairman,  and 
after  the  adoption  of  resolutions  and  a  prayer  by  Rev.  Henry,  fifty  men 
signed  the  roll  as  volunteer  home  guards,  took  the  oath  to  support  the  con- 
stitution and  pledged  themselves  to  guard  duty  in  case  Company  G  of  the 
National  Guard  were  ordered  away  from  town  and  their  services  were 
required.  Officers  were  elected  as  follows:  captain,  F.  S.  Rice;  lieutenants, 
G.  K.  Ober  and  C.  A.  Maul ;  sergeants,  John  O.  Miller,  G.  L.  DiUman,  C.  Von 
Petersdorf,  Leo  F.  Winchell  and  H.  C.  Park;  corporals,  H.  F.  Condict,  W. 
Lowell,  A.  W.  Storms  and  R.  M.  Walker. 

The  committee  of  safety,  however,  was  never  called  upon  for  active 
duty.  Before  the  guards  were  organized  the  railroad  men  had  established  a 
patrol  of  their  own  under  the  informal  but  recognized  leadership  of  Parker 
Barrett  (then  a  conductor,  but  later  one  of  the  owners  of  the  world-famous 
Lakeview  oil  gusher),  and  generally  the  best  of  order  prevailed  among  the 
strikers.  Following  the  meeting  at  Reich  opera  house  the  A.  R.  U.  repre- 
sentatives called  a  mass  meeting  at  Athletic  park,  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
Nineteenth  street  and  Union  avenue,  where  about  four  hundred  people  were 
addressed  by  three  or  four  speakers  and  where  long  resolutions  were 
adopted. 

Bakersfield  did  not  go  hungry  because  of  the  strike,  but  a  large  part 
of  it  went  thirsty  or  drank  warm  beverages.  Most  of  the  ice  used  in  the  city 
was  shipped  here  from  Truckee  in  those  days,  and  except  in  the  case  of 
E.  Downing's  candy  store  the  supplies  were  all  small  when  the  tie-up  of  the 
railroad  began.  When  the  saloons  were  out  of  ice  they  were  nearly  out  of 
business,  for  few  people  would  drink  warm  beer  in  July.  Downing  had 
3000  pounds  of  ice  when  the  strike  began,  and  for  a  time  his  soda  water 
fountain  was  the  most  popular  place  in  Bakersfield.  Finally  the  stock  of  ice 
was  reduced  to  700  pounds,  and  Downing  hung  the  closed  sign  on  the  front 
of  the  fountain.    "The  rest  of  it  is  for  the  sick  folks,"  he  explained,  and  after 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  123 

that  anyone   who  could   show  that  he   was   sick  got  ice   from   Downing  for 
nothing.     Nobody  else  could  get  it  at  all. 

Coxey's  Army  Comes  and  Goes 

On  June  7,  1894,  what  was  known  as  the  Oakland  contingent  of  Coxey's 
Industrial  Army  arrived  in  Bakersfield  on  its  way  to  Washington  to  join  in 
the  celebrated  protest  which  ended  in  the  "army"  being  ordered  off  the 
White  House  grass.  For  a  time  the  supervisors  entertained  the  army  at  the 
Reich  opera  house  and  later  they  were  kept  in  a  stockade  built  back  of  the 
jail.  Even  the  latter  accommodations  were  expensive  to  maintain,  however, 
and  the  supervisors  held  a  conference  with  Division  Superintendent  Burk- 
halter  of  the  Southern  Pacific  with  the  result  that  a  special  train  consisting 
in  large  part  of  stock  cars  was  ordered,  and  the  whole  army  was  loaded  aboard 
and  headed  for  the  south.  Chairman  Jastro  of  the  supervisors  and  some 
of  the  railroad  officials  accompanied  the  army  to  Mojave,  where  they  were 
landed  in  the  midst  of  a  blinding  sandstorm.  The  army  would  have  eaten 
Mojave  out  of  house  and  home  in  a  day's  time,  and  to  leave  it  there  was  out 
of  the  question.  So  Jastro  and  the  Southern  Pacific  men  called  the  leaders 
into  consultation.  "What  you  people  want,"  they  put  it,  "is  to  get  east  as 
quickly  as  possible.  Now  the  Santa  Fe  is  the  shortest  and  fastest  line  from 
this  coast  (think  of  the  S.  P.  men  saying  that)  and  what  you  want  to  do  is 
just  to  confiscate  the  first  Santa  Fe  train  that  comes  along  and  take  yourselves 
east  with  it." 

It  looked  like  a  good  plan  to  the  army  officers,  and  they  proceeded  to 
carry  it  out.  Then  a  telegram  was  sent  to  Los  Angeles,  and  a  light  engine 
loaded  with  United  States  deputy  marshals  ran  out,  headed  off  the  stolen 
Santa  Fe  train  at  Barstow  and  carried  the  whole  army  back  to  Los  Angeles 
under  arrest,  for  the  Santa  Fe  was  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver  at  the  time 
and  so  under  government  authority. 

Twin  Towns   Incorporate 

With  all  these  movements  for  the  progress  and  improvement  of  Bakers- 
field  under  way  the  re-incorporation  of  the  town  was  inevitable.  Kern,  the 
lesser  of  the  twin  towns,  not  half  so  populous  as  Bakersfield,  had  been  incor- 
porated. But  a  large  element  of  the  voters  in  Bakersfield  opposed  incor- 
poration, and  when,  in  December,  1896,  the  question  was  submitted  after  a 
long  period  of  agitation,  it  was  voted  down  by  268  to  197.  In  January,  1898, 
a  second  election  was  held,  and  the  proposition  won  by  387  to  146.  The 
vote  by  precincts  was  as  follows: 

Number  1 — For,  121 ;  against,  30. 

Number  2 — For,  74;  against,  15. 

Number  3 — For,  43 ;  against,  44. 

Number  4— For,  70;  against,  39. 

Number  5 — For,  79;  against,  18. 

The  first  officers  elected  were:  Trustees,  Paul  Galtes,  L.  P.  St.  Clair, 
Sr.,  H.  H.  Fish,  W.  R.  Macniurdo,  J.  Walters ;  board  of  education,  J.  A. 
Baker,  Celsus  Brower,  O.  D.  Fish,  F.  S.  Rice,  E.  P.  Davis;  assessor,  H.  F. 
Condict;  marshal,  T.  A.  Baker;  treasurer,  O.  O.  Mattson ;  attorney,  S.  N. 
Reed  ;  clerk,  A.  T.  Lightner. 

Bakersfield  was  incorporated  as  a  city  of  the  lifth  class,  taking  the  charter 
provided  by  state  law  for  such  cities,  and  the  same  charter  is  in  effect  still, 
although   Bakersfield  and  Kern  have  since  been  consolidated  and   the  com- 


124  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

bined  population  is  far  in  excess  of  the  number  required  for  a  city  of  the 
fourth  class. 

Company  G  Responds  to  Duty 

On  May  8,  1898,  Bakersfield  proudly  dispatched  its  first  company  of  citi- 
zen soldiery  to  the  defense  of  the  state.  Company  G,  National  Guard,  was 
ordered  to  San  Francisco  to  do  garrison  duty  at  San  Francisco  during  the 
progress  of  the  Spanish-American  war,  and  although  the  men  left  the  armory 
at  5  a.  m.  they  were  greeted  at  the  depot  by  a  large  body  of  citizens  who  gave 
them  a  farewell  breakfast  and  presented  them  with  a  handsome  silk  flag  on 
behalf  of  those  who  stayed  at  home.  T.  W.  Lockhart  made  the  speech  of 
presentation.  Capt.  W.  H.  Cook  made  an  address  in  response.  The  roster 
of  the  company  was  as  follows : 

Captain,  W.  H.  Cook;  second  lieutenant,  Lucien  Beer;  first  sergeant, 
B.  A.  Hayden ;  second  sergeant,  H.  C.  Lechner ;  third  sergeant,  K.  C.  Mastel- 
ler;  fourth  sergeant,  C.  E.  Harding;  corporals,  H.  J.  Haley,  C.  L.  Dunn,  J.  G. 
Broom,  H.  F.  Stanley,  C.  R.  Blodget,  F.  J.  Downing  and  William  Reddy; 
privates,  L.  C.  Moon  (musician),  A.  H.  Abram,  I.  Barnes,  John  Barnes, 
W.  Barnes,  W.  Barnhart,  E.  H.  Bartley,  J.  L.  Benoit,  F.  F.  Blackington, 
H.  H.  Borem,  D.  E.  Brewer,  A.  Brundy,  A.  M.  Cammack,  E.  H.  Chandler, 
A.  S.  Colton,  E.  R.  Crane,  A.  S.  Crites,  G.  S.  Crites,  F.  W.  Crocker,  L.  Cun- 
ningham, J.  R.  Daly,  T.  E.  Davis,  E.  Dixon,  R.  Dinwiddie,  R.  Durnal,  A.  R. 
Elder,  D.  Fiedler,  G.  N.  Frazier,  R.  Garner,  W.  G.  Garrison,  C.  Colby,  F. 
Hamilton,  W.  C.  Hewitt,  E.  A.  Hicks,  F.  M.  Hicks,  W.  F.  Hunt,  S.  A. 
Ice,  G.  H.  Ingles,  C.  W.  Kirk,  Bert  Kunkelman,  O.  P.  Lindgren,  E. 
P.  Munsey,  F.  N.  Mills,  H.  R.  McKenzie,  W.  Olds,  C.  H. 
Ortte,  J.  H.  Paulke,  J.  Pennington,  W.  H.  Powers,  Lynn  Roberts,  E.  J.  Ruddy, 
J.  Savage,  J.  Timson,  I.  W.  Tucker,  J.  B.  Ware,  C.  W.  West,  B.  F.  Whittom, 
J.  C.  Ashby,  C.  W.  Bollinger,  E.  Brodley,  A.  R.  Shurtlefif,  W.  Lakin,  C.  Man- 
ley,  F.  J.  Kincaid,  J.  Manning. 

News   Notes,    1895   to    1900 

August  29,  1895— J.  B.  Haggin  had  deeded  to  W.  B.  Carr  all  his  right, 
title  and  interest  in  14,280  acres  of  swamp  land  in  Kings  county. 

Letters  from  farmers  and  others  published  in  the  newspapers  suggest 
general  farming  as  a  solution  of  the  troubles  of  the  Rosedale  colonists.  Es- 
pecially the  farmers  are  urged  to  raise  hogs. 

October  10,  1895 — The  Kern  River  Power  Company  is  surveying  for 
its  power  generating  plant  on  Kern  river  and  for  an  electric  transmission  line 
to  Los  Angeles. 

November  14,  1895 — Mooers,  Burcham  and  Singleton  win  in  a  suit  attack- 
ing their  title  to  the  Yellow  Aster  mine. 

December,  1895 — W.  S.  Tevis  settles  with  homesteaders  on  the  Haggin 
swamp  lands  near  Buena  Vista,  giving  them  a  year's  rent  free  and  paying 
them  for  the  improvements  on  the  land. 

Same  date — Rights  of  way  are  being  secured  for  the  Valley  railroad. 

June  11,  1896 — The  new  court  house  is  finished. 

July  16,  1896 — An  unsuccessful  attempt  is  made  to  crack  the  vault  in 
the  county  treasurer's  office. 

July,  1896 — Silas  Drouillard  finds  the  St.  Elmo  mine  in  the  Randsburg 
district  and  names  it  for  one  of  his  partners,  Elmo  Pyle. 

September  25,  1896— The  contract  is  let  for  the  Power,  Transit  &  Light 
Company's  substation,  and  the  machinery  is  ordered  from  Schenectady. 


."'.    T> 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  125 

January  28,  1897 — The  business  of  the  Bakersfield  post  office  for  the 
past  year  amounted  to  $74,000. 

December,  1896 — The  Bakersfield  Creamery  is  established. 

April  4,  1897 — The  electric  current  is  turned  on  from  the  power  plant  in 
the  canon,  and  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  is  preparing  to  use  the  elec- 
tricity for  pumping  water  at  Stockdale,  to  run  a  cold  storage  plant  at  Bellevue, 
and  to  drive  the  machinery  in  its  shops  in  Bakersfield. 

May  10,  1897 — W.  B.  Carr  is  found  dead  in  his  room  in  San  Francisco 
from  asphixiation. 

August,  1897 — The  Kern  County  Land  Company  is  constructing  a 
slaughter  house  and  meat-packing  establishment  at  Bellevue. 

April,   1897 — The  Bakersfield  Labor  Exchange  is  organized. 

September  23,  1897 — The  Land  Company  is  laying  pipes  for  a  new  water 
system  in  Bakersfield. 

October  28,  1897— S.  C.  Smith  has  secured  the  last  deed  for  the  right  of 
way  for  the  San  Francisco  and  San  Joaquin  Valley  railroad. 

December,  1897 — H.  E.  Huntington  says  that  the  Southern  Pacific  is 
willing  to  build  a  loop  into  Bakersfield  and  build  a  depot  nearer  the  business 
section.  148  citizens  signed  a  petition  asking  W.  S.  Tevis  to  use  his  influence 
to  prevent  the  proposed  loop  and  depot  from  being  built. 

May  12,  1898 — Company  G  of  the  National  Guard  goes  to  San  Francisco 
lor  duty  in  the  Spanish  American  war. 

May  27,  1898 — The  arrival  of  the  Valley  railroad  is  celebrated  in  Bakers- 
field with  a  parade,  floats,  wild  west  show,  speeches  and  fireworks. 

July  14,  1898 — Fire,  starting  in  the  California  theater,  lays  waste  the 
larger  part  of  the  business  section  of  Kern  city. 

November,  1899 — The  paving  of  the  streets  in  the  business  section  of  the 
city  is  in  progress. 

During  October,  1899,  323  oil  land  locations  were  recorded  in  the  county. 

Bakersfield  is  soon  to  have  free  mail  delivery. 

Levee  agitation  is  active. 

\Y.  S.  Tevis  and  others  make  tender  of  sites  for  city  parks,  but  all  of 
them  are  rejected  for  one  reason  or  another. 

January  12,  1900 — The  corner  stone  of  the  Woman's  Club  Hall  is  laid. 

January,  1900 — Oil  land  locators  begin  to  have  trouble  with  scrippers. 

February,  1900 — The  electric  road  between  Bakersfield  and  Kern  is  soon 
to  be  started. 

March,  1900 — The  Southern  Pacific  has  begun  the  use  of  oil  as  fuel  in  its 
engines. 

March  16,  1900— Solomon  Jewett,  H.  A.  Blodget,  L.  P.  St.  Clair,  C.  N. 
Beal  and  F.  T.  Whorfif  incorporate  the  Sunset  Railroad  Company  to  build 
a  road  to  the  Sunset  oil  fields  where  Jewett  «&  Blodget  are  largely  interested 
in  development  work. 

March  26,  1900— Truxtun  Beale  presents  to  the  city  of  Bakersfield  a  deed 
to  the  Beale  ]Memorial  public  library. 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 


CHAPTER   XIV 
Development  of  Oil  Fields 


Ask  the  first  man  you  meet  on  the  streets  of  Bakersfield  what  gave  the 
town  its  great  boost  forward  about  the  year  1900,  and  he  is  very  likely  to 
answer  that  it  was  the  discovery  of  the  oil  fields.  Perhaps  he  will  be  more 
specific  and  say  the  discovery  of  the  Kern  river  oil  field.  In  either  case,  how- 
ever, he  will  be  very  far  from  the  actual,  historic  truth  as  to  the  date  of  these 
discoveries.  Titus  Fey  Cronise's  "The  Natural  Wealth  of  California,"  pub- 
lished i,n  1868  by  Bancroft  &  Company  at  San  Francisco,  states  that  from 
Fort  Tejon  to  Kern  river,  a  distance  of  forty  miles  and  extending  out  a 
space  of  ten  miles  from  the  Coast  range,  the  country  is  covered  with  salt 
marshes,  brine  and  petroleum  springs.  Petroleum  and  asphalt  deposits,  the 
same  authority  continues,  extend  from  San  Emidio  cafion  to  Buena  Vista 
lake  (so  named  by  the  Spaniards  in  1806)  the  main  deposit  being  eighteen 
miles  southeast  of  the  lake.  At  that  place  there  was  a  spring  of  maltha 
covering  an  acre  in  extent,  the  center  of  which  was  a  viscid  pool,  agitated  by 
gas,  and  the  outer  edge  of  which  was  hardened  into  stony  asphalt,  full  of  the 
bones  of  beasts.  Works  erected  here,  Cronise  says,  produced  in  1864  several 
thousand  barrels  of  good  oil,  which  was  shipped  to  San  Francisco.  The 
great  cost  of  transportation  prevented  the  enterprise  from  being  a  financial 
success. 

About  the  same  date  R.  M.  Gilbert  took  a  barrel  of  thick,  tarry  oil  out  of 
an  oil  spring  on  tlie  north  bank  of  Kern  river  at  the  lower  edge  of  the  present 
Kern  river  field  and  hauled  it  to  Solomon  Jewett's  sheep  ranch  a  few  miles 
up  the  river  to  mark  the  sheep  with.  On  April  23,  1872,  J.  O.  Lovejoy 
deeded  to  the  Buena  Vista  Petroleum  Company  all  his  right,  title  and  interest 
in  a  certificate  of  purchase  dated  April  3,  1872,  for  640  acres  in  the  northeast 
quarter  and  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  nineteen ; 
the  west  half  and  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  northwest  quarter,  the  east  half 
and  the  northwest  quarter  of  the  southwest  quarter  and  the  southwest  quarter 
of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  twenty,  and  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion twenty-nine,  all  in  township  thirty,  south  of  range  twenty-two.  This 
comprised  the  heart  of  the  old  McKittrick  field,  where  many  of  the  present 
producing  wells  are  located,  and  the  exact  description  of  the  land  is  given  to 
show  that  even  in  those  days  the  oil  men  had  learned  to  "lay  the  ruler  diagon- 
ally across  the  sections  from  northwest  to  southeast"  when  they  studied 
their  maps. 

This  is  sufficient  to  show  that  thirty  or  thirty-five  years  before  the  first 
big  oil  boom  in  Kern  county  oil  had  been  discovered  in  all  the  great  fields  of 
the  present  day  except  Midwa}^  and  Lost  Hills.  Moreover,  six  years  before  the 
oil  boom  in  1899,  when  the  Kern  river  field  was  uncovered  and  oil  began 
to  be  the  principal  subject  of  interest  in  Kern  county,  the  quiet,  laborious 
and  not  too  profitable  development  of  the  oil  and  asphalt  industry  at  McKit- 
trick and  Sunset  had  reached  such  a  stage  that  the  McKittrick  railroad  had 
been  built  and  the  Sunset  road  was  projected.  The  big  oil  boom  was  not,  ac- 
cordingly, so  much  a  boom  of  discovery  as  a  boom  due  to  the  ripening  of  mar- 
ket conditions  and  the  revival  of  industrial  enterprise  and  expansion  after  the 
financial  depression  of  1893-4.    Similarly  all  the  later  booms  have  depended  as 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  127 

much  on  outside  conditions  as  on  the  bringing  in  of  wells  in  new  territory. 
Whenever  the  market  has  demanded  more  oil  and  the  price  offered  has  been 
tempting  the  oil  industry  of  Kern  county  has  risen  to  the  emergency,  and 
there  is  now  every  reason  to  believe  that  future  renewals  of  the  same  con- 
ditions will  stimulate  the  industry  to  renewed  activity  until  the  county's  oil 
production  reaches  several  times  its  present  great  aggregate. 

Early  Development  at  McKittrick 

Aside  from  the  unprofitable  efforts  of  the  war-time  oil  prospectors  already 
referred  to,  the  first  development  of  the  Kern  county  oil  deposit  was  in  the 
early  70s  when  a  company  of  Italians  from  Mariposa  county  built  a  crude 
refinery  at  McKittrick,  sunk  shafts  into  the  beds  of  asphaltum  and  dug  some 
shallow  wells  in  search  of  oil. 

It  was  the  natural  thing  that  development  should  begin  at  this  place, 
for  near  the  present  site  of  the  town  of  McKittrick  violent  upheavals  of  the 
earth  in  ages  past  had  rent  and  torn  the  strata  leaving  a  great  body  of  oil 
sand  exposed.  From  this  oil  sand  the  crude  petroleum  oozed  and  flowed 
gently  over  the  broken  edge  of  the  hill,  thickening  as  the  sun  and  air  ex- 
tracted the  lighter  elements  and  finally  forming  great  masses  oi  natural  as- 
phalt, pure  and  clean  except  for  the  sand  and  dust  that  the  winds  carried  into 
it.  At  no  other  place  in  the  county  were  the  oil  sands  so  largely  exposed, 
and  nowhere  else  were  the  surface  evidences  of  petroleum  so  conspicuous  and 
extensive.  It  was  only  a  matter  of  quarrying  to  obtain  the  asphalt  in  great 
quantities,  and  the  early  operators  sought  only  enough  oil  to  serve  as  a  flux 
for  the  heavier  product  that  Nature  had  prepared  in  her  own  laboratory.  At 
one  place  the  Italians  drove  a  tunnel  eighty  feet  into  a  mass  of  asphalt  that 
had  flowed  over  the  edge  of  a  little  canon,  but  at  that  time  there  was  no 
railroad  in  the  valley,  and  it  was  altogether  out  of  the  question  to  reach  a 
profitable  market. 

Following  the  building  of  the  Southern  Pacific  and  the  beginning  of  new 
enterprises  in  Kern  county  with  the  capital  of  Livermore  &  Redington  and 
J.  B.  Haggin,  the  Columbian  Oil  Company  was  organized  by  Solomon  Jewett, 
F.  R.  Fillebrown,  Dr.  George  F.  Thornton,  J.  G.  Parke,  Alfonse  and  Jacob 
Weill  and  others  and  a  well  was  started  on  section  13,  30-21,  on  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Del  Monte  property.  Parke,  who  was  a  civil  engineer,  had 
some  experience  in  the  Pennsylvania  oil  fields,  and  was  the  prime  mover  in 
the  enterprise  of  the  Columbian.  The  company  drilled  to  a  depth  of  800 
feet,  but  by  that  time  the  gas  pressure  had  become  so  strong  that  the  drillers 
were  unable  to  go  deeper  with  the  imperfect  machinery  then  obtainable.  The 
derrick  was  moved  to  section  24,  and  a  contract  made  for  a  hole  1000  feet 
deep.  The  result  was  a  clean,  dry  hole  with  neither  gas  nor  oil  nor  any  other 
valuable  product. 

Operators  Move  to  Sunset 
The  Columbian  abandoned  the  field,  and  in  1890  the  derrick  was  moved 
to  Sunset,  where  Jewett  &  Blodget  had  begun  operations.  The  first  activity 
at  Sunset  began  in  1889,  when  Solomon  Jewett,  H.  A.  Blodget,  John  Ham- 
bleton.  Judge  J.  O.  Lovejoy,  J.  H.  Woody,  William  F.  Woods  and  others 
located  2000  acres  of  land  along  the  edge  of  the  hills  northwest  and  southeast 
of  Old  Sunset,  organized  the  Sunset  Oil  Company,  and  started  a  well  on  sec- 


128  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

tion  2,  11-24,  about  half  a  mile  west  of  where  the  fine  producing  wells  of  the 
Adeline  Extension  were  subsequently  brought  in. 

This  first  well  was  drilled  by  William  DeWitt  of  Tulare,  and  was  located, 
as  was  the  case  of  nearly  all  the  earlier  wells,  in  a  bed  of  brea,  just  at  the 
point  where  the  oil  sands  outcropped.  DeWitt  got  a  strong  flow  of  sulphur 
water  at  300  feet  and  abandoned  the  well.  Had  he  moved  his  derrick  a  little 
farther  to  the  east  he  would  have  developed  an  oil  well  at  a  very  shallow 
depth,  but  instead  he  found  another  bed  of  brea  on  section  21,  11-23,  about 
five  miles  southeast  of  his  first  location,  and  started  drilling  there.  At  a 
depth  of  100  feet  the  drill  went  into  a  very  heavy  oil  that  rose  in  the  casing 
and  oozed  over  the  top. 

Meantime  Jewett  &  Blodget  and  Charles  Bernard  of  Ventura  county  se- 
cured a  lease  on  the  Sunset  Oil  Company's  2000  acres  of  land,  and  Bernard, 
who  had  gained  some  experience  in  the  Ventura  oil  fields,  took  over  the  De- 
Witt  outfit  and  began  a  new  well  close  to  the  second  hole  which  was  drilled 
by  the  latter  on  section  21.  By  the  time  Bernard  had  gone  down  300  feet  he 
had  three  strings  of  tools  in  the  well,  and  decided  that  it  was  cheaper  to  move 
than  to  fish  them  out.  He  took  his  derrick  to  section  13,  11-24,  drilled  down 
300  feet,  got  a  flowing  sulphur  water  well,  and  sold  his  interest  in  the  lease 
to  Jewett  &  Blodget. 

Blodget  then  took  charge  of  the  development  of  the  Sunset  field,  bought 
the  rig  of  the  Columbian  Oil  Company  at  McKittrick,  and  drilled  a  number 
of  small  wells  along  the  edge  of  the  outcroppings  near  Old  Sunset.  None 
of  the  wells  yielded  much  oil,  but  the  total  output  was  sufficient  to  supply  the 
flux  for  making  asphalt,  and  in  1891  the  Jewett  &  Blodget  refinery  was 
established  at  Old  Sunset.  The  natural  asphalt  was  quarried  as  at  Mc- 
Kittrick and  melted  in  open  kettles  with  a  small  amount  of  crude  oil  as  a 
flux.  Then  the  hot  asphalt  was  drawn  off  into  wooden  boxes,  and  the  settlings 
of  dirt  and  sand  were  shovelled  out  of  the  kettles  ready  for  another  batch.  The 
asphalt  was  hauled  to  Bakersfield  by  teams  of  sixteen  to  twenty-four  horses 
and  shipped  east. 

McKittrick  Railroad  Built 

The  expense  of  this  method  of  transportation  was  so  great  that  Jewett 
&  Blodget  through  H.  F.  Williams  and  A.  N.  Towne  began  negotiations  with 
the  Southern  Pacific  for  a  railroad  to  Sunset  and  one  to  McKittrick,  where 
Jewett  &  Blodget  were  operating  also  to  some  extent.  The  result  was  an 
agreement  in  1892  by  which  the  railroad  undertook  to  build  a  road  to  Mc- 
Kittrick within  two  years,  and  another  to  Sunset  within  five  years,  Jewett 
&  Blodget  to  secure  the  right  of  way  and  guarantee  sufficient  business  to  pay 
the  operating  expenses.  As  a  part  of  the  agreement,  also,  the  Standard  As- 
phalt Company  was  organized  with  Jewett  &  Blodget  and  the  railroad  com- 
pany as  equal  partners.  Later  the  agreement  as  to  the  building  of  the  roads 
was  amended  by  the  Southern  Pacific  beginning  the  construction  of  the  Mc- 
Kittrick branch  at  once  and  the  Sunset  branch  construction  being  postponed 
indefinitely.  The  McKittrick  road  was  completed  in  1893,  just  in  time  for 
the  financial  panic  to  offset  by  reduced  demand  for  asphalt  the  advantage 
of  better  transportation  facilities.  The  operations  of  the  Standard  Asphalt 
Company  did  not  pay,  and  the  partnership  between  Jewett  &  Blodget  and 
the  railroad  was  dissolved,  Jewett  &  Blodget  going  back  to  Sunset  and  the 
railroad  taking  the  McKittrick  end  of  the  business. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUiNTY  129 

Jewett  &  Blodget  kept  plodding  away  in  the  Sunset  field,  bringiiig  in 
small,  shallow  wells  near  the  outcroppings,  and  in  1895  they  had  a  production 
that  justified  them  putting  in  stills  for  the  manufacture  of  asphalt.  These 
operations  comprised  the  whole  of  the  oil  business  in  Kern  county  until  1898, 
when  ]\lcWhorter,  Doheny  and  others  of  the  advance  guard  of  the  first  rush 
of  oil  men  began  to  explore  the  west  side.  In  1899  the  oil  excitement  had 
spread  from  the  south  and  from  Coalinga.  There  was  much  talk  of  the  Mc- 
Kittrick  field  and  many  visitors  and  prospectors  were  arriving  there  from  all 
parts  of  the  state. 

One  of  the  men  who  invested  in  McKittrick  was  Judson  F.  Elwood  of 
Fresno,  who  bought  a  few  shares  in  one  of  the  early  companies  and  went  to 
see  what  the  property  looked  like.  On  his  way  home  he  stopped  to  visit  his 
brother,  James  Munroe  Elwood,  who  was  keeping  a  small  wood  yard  in 
Bakersfield.  Judson  told  his  brother  about  his  McKittrick  oil  venture,  and 
remarked  that  the  country  north  of  Kern  river  looked  much  as  it  did  at 
McKittrick.  James  Elwood's  interest  was  further  excited  by  overhearing  two 
men  discussing  the  story  of  the  oil  spring  from  which  Gilbert  took  the  tar 
to  mark  Jewett's  sheep  in  the  '60s.  He  made  inquiries  of  Thomas  A.  Means, 
who  owned  land  along  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  Means  told  him  that 
the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  in  excavating  for  a  ditch  years  before,  had 
uncovered  oil  sand  and  that  gas  had  been  seen  bubbling  up  in  the  waters 
of  the  river.  The  exposed  oil  sand  had  long  been  recovered,  however,  and  the 
gas  was  seen  no  more.  Means  for  a  long  time  past  had  been  seeking  to  in- 
terest someone  in  the  oil  prospects  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  had 
shown  E.  L.  Doheny  and  W.  S.  Tevis  over  the  land  without  result.  Accord- 
ingly he  was  only  too  glad  to  give  James  Elwood  a  favorable  lease,  and 
Elwood  wrote  to  his  father,  Jonathan  Elwood,  who  was  living  in  Fresno 
county  and  who  was  an  old  prospector,  to  come  and  help  him  find  the  Kern 
river  oil. 

Discovery  of  the  Kern  River  Field 

In  a  letter  to  the  California  Oil  World  published  August  24.  1911,  Jon- 
athan Elwood  tells  the  story  of  the  discovery  in  these  words : 

"James  Munroe  Elwood  and  I,  Jonathan  Elwood,  alone  and  without  the 
assistance  of  anyone,  discovered  oil  on  the  north  bank  of  Kern  river,  seven 
miles  northeast  of  Bakersfield  on  Thomas  A.  Means'  farm.  This  was  in 
May,  1899.  We  made  the  discovery  with  a  hand  auger,  under  the  edge  of  a 
clifif,  close  to  the  river.  Our  auger  consisted  of  a  piece  of  thin  steel  about 
four  inches  wide  and  twisted  so  as  to  bore  a  hole  about  three  inches  in 
diameter. 

"We  had  a  short  piece  of  one-half  inch  iron  rod,  making  the  bit  and  rod 
together  four  feet  long.  A  screw  was  cut  on  the  end  of  this  rod  to  receive  a 
one-half  inch  gas  pipe  which  we  had  cut  in  four  and  eight-foot  lengths,  so  we 
could  bore  one  and  the  other  alternately  and  never  have  our  auger  handle 
more  than  four  feet  above  the  ground.  We  bored  a  number  of  holes  fifteen  or 
twenty  feet  deep  and  every  time  would  bore  into  water  sand  that  we  could 
not  keep  on  our  auger. 

"We  concluded  that  the  bank  must  have  slid  down  and  that  we  were 
boring  where  the  river  had  once  been.  We  then  went  where  the  bank  was 
worn  of?  by  the  river  perpendicularly  thirty  feet.  We  dug  back  into  the  bluff 
as  if  making  a  tunnel  three  or  four  feet,  and  set  our  auger  on  solid  formation 


130  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  in  three  hours  we  were  in  oil  sand  at  a  depth  of  only  thirteen  feet.  We 
had  enough  auger  stem  with  us  to  go  on  to  a  depth  of  twenty-five  feet  and  it 
was  looking  well. 

"We  then  went  up  onto  the  bluff  and  commenced  a  shaft,  and  at  the 
depth  of  forty-three  feet  we  again  struck  the  oil  sand.  We  were  then  obliged 
to  get  timber  and  curb  as  we  went  down,  as  the  oil  sand  was  too  soft  to  stand 
up.  We  were  obliged  to  put  in  an  air  blast  to  furnish  fresh  air  to  the  man 
below  on  account  of  the  strong  odor  of  gas.  At  a  depth  of  seventy-five  feet 
there  was  so  much  oil  and  gas  that  we  concluded  we  had  better  get  a  steam 
rig.    We  got  this  and  went  down  343  feet. 

"By  this  time  men  were  coming  there  from  all  over  the  state,  locating 
government  land  and  quarreling  over  first  rights,  jumping  some  that  we  had 
located,  three  or  four  claims  deep.  The  shaft  furnished  us  with  oil  to  run 
our  own  steam  rig  also  rigs  for  several  of  the  locators.  The  first  oil  taken 
away  was  when  I  took  four  whiskey  barrels  of  it  to  Kern  city  and  shipped  it 
to  Millwood  for  skid  grease,  getting  $1  a  barrel  net." 

As  Mr.  Elwood  says,  by  that  time  people  were  coming  to  Kern  county 
from  all  parts  of  the  state,  and  very  soon  after  they  were  coming  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  The  boom  resulted  in  development  that  soon  proved  the 
land  over  the  great  Kern  river  oil  pool,  and  scattered  derricks  north  along  the 
low  hills  as  far  as  Poso  creek.  It  extended  to  the  Sunset  and  McKittrick 
fields,  and  spread  a  line  of  prospectors  all  across  the  territory  between,  which 
soon  took  the  name  of  ]\Iidway. 

Sunset  Railroad  Built 

In  March,  1900,  Solomon  Jewett,  H.  A.  Blodget,  L.  P.  St.  Clair,  C.  N.  Beal 
and  F.  T.  Whorff  incorporated  the  Sunset  Railroad  Company,  and  Beal,  who 
formerly  had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Santa  Fe  railroad,  undertook  to  in- 
terest President  Ripley  of  the  Santa  Fe  in  the  Sunset  branch.  This  he  suc- 
ceeded in  doing,  and  arrangements  were  made  to  float  a  bond  issue  of  $300,- 
000,  guaranteed  by  the  Santa  Fe.  Before  the  plan  was  carried  out,  however, 
the  Santa  Fe  and  Southern  Pacific  entered  into  an  agreement  to  build  and 
operate  jointly  all  branch  or  feeder  roads  terminating  at  common  points. 
This  agreement  and  the  death  of  C.  P.  Huntington,  president  of  the  Southern 
Pacific,  delayed  the  building  of  the  Sunset  road  until  1902. 

The  Southern  Pacific  in  December,  1899,  began  building  the  short  branch 
from  its  main  line  west  of  the  Kern  river  field  into  the  lower  part  of  the  pro- 
ducing territory,  where  oil  from  all  the  leases  higher  up  could  be  delivered 
by  gravity  or  small  pumping  power  to  the  loading  racks.  By  these  means 
all  the  producing  fields  of  the  county  had  rail  transportation  by  the  latter 
part  of  1902  except  Midway,  which  was  then  hardly  in  the  producing  class. 

Begin   Building   Pipe   Lines 

In  the  spring  of  1902,  also,  the  Standard  Oil  Company  began  its  eight-inch 
pipe  line  from  the  Kern  river  field  to  Point  Richmond,  and  in  October  or 
November  it  was  practically  ready  for  use,  thus  affording  a  large  additional 
means  of  handling  the  oil.  But  the  production  of  oil  and  the  means  for 
handling  it  increased  much  faster  than  did  the  markets.  In  1902  the  Kern 
county  fields  produced  9,705,703  barrels  of  oil.  In  1903  the  amount  had  jumped 
to  over  18.000,000  barrels.  The  production  of  the  state  was  nearly  14,000,- 
000  barrels  in  1902,  and  in  1903  it  was  over  24,000,000  barrels.   The  result  of 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  131 

this  tremendous  increase  in  the  supply  of  a  commodity  which  the  state  had 
been  getting  along  without  only  a  very  few  years  before  could  have  but  one 
consequence — a  rapid  and  steady  decline  in  price.  In  spite  of  the  decline  the 
impetus  that  the  industry  had  gained  from  the  first  excitement  carried  it 
to  a  production  of  19,600,000  barrels  in  Kern  county  in  1904. 

Then  the  prices  went  to  complete  ruin,  and  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
built  great  earthen  reservoirs — holding  a  half  million  to  a  million  barrels  each 
— and  began  tilling  them  with  oil  at  fifteen,  twelve  and  a  half,  and  finally  at 
eleven  and  twu-thirds  cents  per  barrel.  Bankruptcy  stared  the  producers  in 
the  face. 

Associated  Oil  Company  Formed 

With  tlie  first  appearance  of  the  Standard  on  the  horizon  of  the  Cali- 
fornia oil  industry  a  number  of  producing  companies  in  the  Kern  river  and 
other  fields  joined  in  the  organization  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company,  the 
avowed  object  of  which  was  protection  from  the  aggressions  of  larger  con- 
cerns and  economy  and  efficiency  in  the  marketing  of  its  oil.  The  Associated 
early  effected  an  alliance  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  and 
at  the  time  of  the  depression  in  1904  it  occupied  a  position  of  great  strength  as 
compared  with  the  independent,  unorganized  producers.  In  fact  .the  large 
factors  in  the  oil  situation  in  the  state  at  that  time  were  recognized  to  be  the 
Standard,  the  Associated,  the  Union  Oil  Company,  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road and  the  Pacific  Oil  &  Transportation  Company. 

It  was  early  in  August,  1904,  that  the  Standard  announced  that  it  would 
pay  eleven  and  two-thirds  cents  for  oil  in  the  Kern  river  field.  Although  the 
Associated  and  Standard  were  commonly  supposed  to  have  a  working  agree- 
ment by  which  each  steered  clear  of  competition  with  the  other,  officers  of 
the  former  company  gave  out  that  for  the  sake  of  accommodating  the  pro- 
ducer it  would  pay  fifteen  cents.  About  the  same  time  W.  S.  Porter,  general 
manager  of  the  Associated,  estimated  the  overproduction  of  oil  in  the  state 
at  8,000,000  barrels  per  year.  On  .\ugust  15th  the  Standard,  which  was  at 
that  time  completing  storage  reservoirs  in  the  Kern  river  field  at  the  rate  of 
one  half-million  barrel  reservoir  per  month,  announced  that  it  did  not  care 
to  buy  Kern  river  oil  at  any  price. 

Independent  Agency  Organized 

Oil  men  estimated  that  under  twenty-five  cents  per  barrel  they  could  not 
produce  oil,  pay  expenses  and  set  aside  the  sinking  fund  to  meet  the  value  of 
their  investments  against  the  time  the  wells  went  dry.  The  plan  of  shutting 
down  the  wells  was  generally  discussed,  but  for  many  of  the  companies  this 
was  wholly  out  of  the  question,  either  because  they  had  leases  that  required 
the  operation  of  the  property  or  because  they  had  creditors  who  would  not 
consent  to  wait  for  their  money.  On  August  23d  the  Morning  Echo  of 
Bakersfield  printed  an  interview  with  H.  H.  Blood,  one  of  the  best  known 
of  the  early  operators  in  the  Kern  river  field,  in  which  the  organization  of 
the  producers  was  strongly  urged,  not  for  the  purpose  of  fighting,  as  Blood 
pointed  out,  but  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  sale  of  oil  and  to  prevent 
the  indiscriminate,  disorganized  competition  by  means  of  which  the  pro- 
ducers were  constantly  opposing  each  others'  interests. 

Blood's  suggestion  formed  a  stable  point  around  which  the  random 
discussion    of   the   situation   began    to   crystalize,    and    that    evening,    on    the 


132  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

initiative  of  W.  D.  Young,  a  meeting  of  oil  men  was  called  at  the  National 
Oil  Supply  Company's  office  to  talk  the  matter  over.  The  meeting  was  organ- 
ized by  the  election  of  W.  S.  Morton  as  chairman  and  W.  D.  Young  as  sec- 
retary, and  the  secretary  was  instructed  to  send  out  invitations  to  the  ind&- 
pendent  producers  of  the  state  asking  them  to  meet  in  Bakersfield  on  Sep- 
tember 1st  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  permanent  organization.  On  the  date 
named  representatives  of  forty-four  companies  met  at  the  Southern  hotel 
parlor,  elected  Timothy  Spellacy  chairman  and  W.  D.  Young  secretary  and 
appointed  a  committee  to  name  a  committee  of  five  on  organization. 

At  that  meeting  it  was  stated  that  between  9,000,000  and  10,000,000 
barrels  of  oil  were  stored  in  the  Kern  river  field,  mostly  in  the  reservoirs  of 
the  Standard.  The  next  day,  however,  the  committee  on  organization  decided 
that  the  job  was  too  big  for  it,  and  another  meeting  was  called  for  Sep- 
tember 5th  to  name  a  committee  of  ten  to  draft  a  plan  for  the  new  concern. 
This  committee,  duly  appointed  and  consisting  of  T.  Spellacy,  T.  Earley, 
M.  V.  McQuigg,  W.  B.  Robb,  A.  H.  Liscomb,  C.  H.  Ritchie,  W.  W.  Steven- 
son, F.  W.  McNear,  I.  E.  Segur  and  H.  U.  Maxfield,  met  on  September  10th, 
with  all  members  present,  and  spent  the  whole  day  and  until  10  o'clock  at 
night  in  deliberating  over  the  task.  A  further  meeting  was  held  next  day, 
and  lawyers  were  called  in  counsel,  among  them  being  George  W.  Lane,  who 
remained  with  the  organization  as  its  attorney  until  the  present  day. 

The  result  of  all  these  serious  and  extended  conferences  was  the  formal 
organization  of  the  Independent  Oil  Producers'  Agency  on  November  3,  1904. 
On  that  date  incorporation  papers  were  filed  in  Sacramento  having 
first  been  filed  in  Kern  county,  and  the  following  officers  were 
elected:  President,  M.  V.  McQuigg;  first  vice  president,  Timothy  Spellacy; 
second  vice  president,  F.  F.  Weed;  secretary,  A.  H.  Liscomb;  treasurer,  W. 

B.  Robb;  auditing  committee,  W.  H.  Hill,  T.  Turner  and  J.  Benson  Wrenn. 
The  directors  for  the  first  year,  each  representing  a  producing  oil 
company,  were  Timothy  Spellacy,  W.  B.  Robb,  A.  H.  Liscomb,  W.  S.  Morton, 

C.  H.  Ritchie,  W.  W.  Stevenson,  L.  P.  St.  Clair,  Jr.,  S.  P.  Wible,  W.  H. 
Hill,  G.  J.  Planz,  Lesser  Hirshfeld,  W.  A.  Ferguson,  E.  E.  Jones,  C.  C.  Bowles, 
J.  F.  Lucey,  J.  B.  Batz,  T.  O.  Turner,  C.  A.  Barlow,  H.  A.  Jastro,  J.  Benson 
Wrenn,  W.  D.  Young,  T.  V.  Doub,  L.  E.  Doan,  E.  Dinkelspiel,  Thomas 
Earley,  J.  F.  Ker,  F.  F.  Weed,  L.  Woodbury,  E.  Denicke,  G.  W.  Lane,  A.  J. 
Wallace,  M.  V.  McQuigg,  T.  M.  Gardner,  F.  P.  Fuller  and  F.  N.  Scofield. 

The  organization,  which  has  had  so  large  a  part  and  influence  in  the 
making  of  subsequent  history  in  Kern  county  as  to  require  especial  detail  in 
its  description,  was  organized  on  a  plan  conspicuous  both  for  its  strength 
and  its  democracy.  Each  constituent  company  signed  a  lease  of  its  property  . 
to  the  Agency  for  a  period  of  five  years,  and  the  Agency  executed  a  license 
and  agreement  giving  each  company  the  right  to  operate  its  own  property, 
the  Agency,  however,  reserving  the  right  to  handle  and  dispose  of  all  the 
oil  produced.  Each  constituent  company  was  given  one  share  of  stock  in  the 
Agency,  entitling  it  to  one  vote  in  all  stockholders'  meetings.  The  unique 
feature  of  this  arrangement  was  that  no  matter  whether  the  Agency  company 
owned  a  thousand  acres  of  oil  land  and  was  producing  100,000  barrels  per 
month  or  had  a  lease  on  two  and  a  half  acres  and  was  producing  1000  barrels 
per  month  it  had  the  same  voice  and  vote  in  the  management  of  the  affairs 
of  the  Agency.    It  is  a  matter  of  history,  also,   that  the   Agency  has  been 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  133 

remarkable  throughout  almost  its  entire  career  so  far  for  the  free  publicity 
which  has  been  given  to  its  aliairs  and  its  deliberations.  A  great  percentage 
of  its  directors'  meetings  at  which  matters  of  vital  importance  have  been 
discussed  have  been  with  open  doors  and  with  representatives  of  the  press 
occupying  seats  about  a  table  in  the  foreground.  Whether  or  not  it  has  been 
in  any  degree  a  result  of  this  policy,  it  is  a  fact  that  the  Agency,  struggling 
at  all  times  to  increase  the  price  of  its  product,  has  had  the  universal  good- 
will of  the  people  of  the  state,  including  the  "ultimate  consumer,"  who  is 
usually  supposed  to  be  hostile  to  any  movement  for  an  advance  in  prices. 

The  first  plan  of  the  Agency  was  not  to  go  into  the  business  of  marketing 
of  oil,  and  its  first  sales  contract  was  with  the  Associated.  After  two  weeks 
of  negotiations  with  the  executive  committee  of  the  Agency,  the  Associated 
agreed,  on  December  23,  1904,  to  buy,  at  eighteen  cents  per  barrel,  sixty  per 
cent  of  the  Agency's  total  output  for  the  year,  estimated  at  3,500,000  barrels, 
and  to  store  the  other  forty  per  cent  at  a  reasonable  rate. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  producers  had  been  declaring  that  oil  could 
not  be  produced  under  twentyfive  cents  per  barrel  and  meet  all  expenses  and 
depreciation,  this  contract  was  not  hailed  with  absolute  satisfaction.  It  was 
agreed,  however,  that  the  executive  committee  had  done  as  well  as  it  could 
under  the  circumstances,  and  the  situation  was  accepted  with  good  grace. 

The  low  price,  hard  as  it  bore  on  the  individual  producers,  had  two  good 
effects  on  the  market.  It  discouraged  production  and  it  encouraged  consump- 
tion. The  production  in  the  Kern  county  fields  fell  oiif  from  19,600,000  barrels 
in  1904  to  14,487,967  barrels  in  1905.  In  1906  the  Kern  county  production  was 
almost  the  same,  and  the  production  throughout  the  state  increased  only 
3.600.000  barrels  from  1904  to  1906,  inclusive. 

On  the  completion  of  the  first  year's  contract  with  the  Associated  it 
was  renewed  at  twenty-seven  and  a  half  cents  per  barrel,  the  half  cent 
representing  the  cost  of  handling  the  oil  by  the  Agency.  The  increase  in  price 
was  very  gratifying  to  the  independents,  but  it  did  not  result,  as  we  have 
seen,  in  any  great  immediate  increase  in  production.  The  prices  for  the  two 
years,  however,  did  permit  the  marketers  to  extend  the  use  of  oil  to  new  fields, 
with  the  result  that  all  the  stock  oil  in  the  state  except  what  was  stored  in 
the  Standard's  reservoirs,  was  well  cleaned  up  by  the  spring  of  1908,  and  L. 
P.  St.  Clair,  then  president  of  the  Agency  and  charged  with  the  sale  of  the 
independent  oil.  was  able  to  close  a  contract  with  W.  S.  Porter  of  the  Asso- 
ciated for  two  years  on  the  basis  of  sixty  and  a  half  cents  for  the  first  year  and 
sixty-three  and  a  half  cents  for  the  second  year. 

The  new  prices  gave  the  oil  producer  some  of  the  rewards  which  his 
toil  and  waiting  had  justified,  and  they  also  excited  the  imaginations  of  oil 
producers,  promoters  and  the  investing  public  generally  with  visions  of 
wealth  to  be  taken  from  the  Kern  county  oil  fi-elds.  Pumps  were  started 
everywhere.  Air  compressors  were  installed  on  leases  in  the  Kern  river 
field  where  the  wells  had  fallen  off  in  their  yield  or  had  gone  to  water,  and 
in  many  instances  their  oil  productivity  was  revived.  Drills  began  dropping 
everywhere,  and  Bakersfield  felt  the  blood  of  a  new  boom  quickening  in  her 
veins.  In  1907  the  oil  production  of  the  county  was  15,600,000  barrels.  In  1908 
it  had  jumped  to  17,800,000  barrels,  and  in  1910  it  reached  the  tremendous 
total  of  39,958,000  barrels. 

Fortunately  the  increase  throughout   the   state   did   not   keep  pace   with 


134  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

the  increase  in  Keni  county.  Elsewhere  the  fields  were  restricted  or  devel- 
opment expensive  or  both,  and  so  it  happened  that  of  the  entire  gain  in 
yield  throughout  the  state  in  1910,  five-sixths  was  credited  to  Kern  county. 
This  great  increase  in  output  was  due  only  in  part  to  the  activity  in  drilling 
which  the  higher  prices  for  oil  stimulated.  Operators  working  farther  out 
from  the  hills  to  the  north  of  Alaricopa  and  in  the  Midway  valley  north, 
northwest  and  east  of  Taft  began  reaching  the  great  gusher  sands  and  brought 
in  the  remarkable  procession  of  flowing  wells  that  made  the  year  1910  and  the 
latter  part  of  the  year  1909  famous  in  the  history  of  California  oil.  It  is 
literally  true  that  many  producers  got  a  great  deal  more  oil  than  they 
expected  to  get  which  is  saying  much,  indeed. 

As  early  as  the  spring  of  1909  the  men  close  to  the  marketing  end  of  the 
industry  began  to  sound  a  note  of  warning  against  another  period  of  over- 
production, but  it  always  has  been  hard  for  producers  to  curb  their  native 
instinct  to  get  more  oil  so  long  as  they  had  money  in  the  bank  to  pay  the 
bills,  and  there  is  something  about  an  oil  gusher  that  fires  the  imagination 
of  the  most  staid  and  commonplace  of  men  and  makes  him  a  plunger  for  the 
time  being.  Two  other  circumstances  lured  the  oil  men  on  to  greater  and 
greater  activity  in  drilling  new  land.  The  bringing  in  of  the  great  flowing 
wells  of  the  Midway  valley  and  the  development  of  great  gas  wells  in  the 
Buena  Vista  hills  in  the  latter  part  of  1909  proved  that  the  oil  measures 
crossed  the  valley  from  the  older  portions  of  Midway  and  Sunset  and  rose 
in  an  anticline  beneath  the  Buena  Vista  hills.  This  meant  a  great  extension  of 
the  practically  proven  territory,  and  not  only  did  operators  rush  in  to  hold 
all  the  land  within  the  newly  proven  strip,  but  they  located  everything  far 
out  on  the  Elk  hills,  to  the  north  of  McKittrick  and  to  the  east  of  Sunset  and 
Old  Sunset.  Then  came  the  oil  land  withdrawal  of  September,  1909,  which 
was  interpreted  as  permitting  the  development  of  claims  on  which  rights  more 
or  less  shadowy  had  at  that  time  been  secured,  but  which  plainly  denied  the 
right  to  any  subsequent  location  of  oil  claims  within  the  territory  described  in 
this  order.  This  made  it  necessary  to  do  something  toward  development  in 
order  to  hold  down  the  claims  already  entered,  and  most  of  the  locators  who 
were  able  to  do  so  either  began  drilling  themselves  or  leased  their  claims 
to  someone  who  could  proceed  with  development  for  them.  Others  who  could 
do  neither  built  cabins  or  derricks  on  their  land  or  did  some  other  work  which 
they  could  swear  was  in  line  with  and  necessary  to  actual  drilling. 
The  Boom  of  1910 

All  these  considerations  and  necessities  brought  about,  on  the  night 
of  December  31,  1909,  a  great  rush  of  locators  to  the  west  side  fields  and 
especially  to  the  Elk  and  Buena  Vista  hills.  The  rush  was  not  heralded,  but 
as  dusk  fell  autos  loaded  with  armed  men  and  camping  outfits  began  rolling 
out  of  Bakersfield  and  the  west  side  towns,  and  on  the  morning  of  January  1, 
1910,  the  desert  hills  were  well  sprinkled  with  tents,  armed  guards  and  stakes 
from  which  fluttered  the  little,  white  location  notices.  Nearly  all  this  land 
had  been  located  before  in  earlier  booms,  sometimes  bv  the  same  narties  and 
sometimes  by  others,  and  on  some  of  the  land  were  many  conflicting  claims. 
This  conflict  of  interest  caused  many  encounters  and  manv  threats  of  violence, 
but  for  the  most  part  actual  hostilities  were  avoided  or  the  rival  forces  lay  on 
their  arms  behind  their  entrenchments  while  their  principals  got  together 
and  divided  the  land  or  effected  a  compromise  on  some  other  basis. 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  135 

The  whole  effect  of  the  oil  boom  of  the  spring  of  1910  was  to  bring  a 
rush  of  people  to  Bakersfield  and  the  oil  fields  that  would  have  done  justice 
to  any  gold  excitement  in  the  history  of  the  state.  In  fact  the  Nevada  mining 
camps  gave  up  a  large  share  of  their  population  to  swell  the  rush  to  Bakers- 
field.  All  the  hotel  accommodations  of  Bakersfield,  Maricopa  and  McKittrick 
were  swamped.  Taft,  in  the  Midway  field,  sprang  into  existence  during  the 
year  1909  and  in  1910  claimed  the  supremacy  from  Maricopa  and  McKittrick, 
both  eif  which  had  been  small  but  prosperous  little  towns  since  the  first  oil 
boom.  All  the  lumber  yards  of  the  county  were  exhausted  and  train  loads  of 
derrick  timbers  were  hurried  here  from  all  points  of  supply  on  the  coast. 
The  oil  well  supply  houses  were  almost  equally  depleted.  Strings  of  big 
teams  made  new  roads  radiating  fanwise  to  the  northward  of  Maricopa,  Taft 
and  McKittrick.  and  autos  kept  perpetual  clouds  of  dust  hanging  over  the 
roads  from  Bakersfield  to  the  west  side.  Bakersfield  experienced  the  greatest 
building  boom  in  its  history,  and  the  new  houses  were  filled  as  soon  as  they 
were  ready  for  occupancy. 

[Meantime  important  things  were  happening  at  the  end  of  the  industry 
where  oil  is  turned  into  dollars.  In  June.  1909,  an  agreement  was  made  be- 
tween the  Union  Oil  Company,  the  Independent  Oil  Producers'  Agency  of 
Kern  county  and  a  similar  agency  which  had  been  formed  among  the  producers 
of  Coalinga  whereby  the  Union  became  a  member  of  the  agencies,  putting  its 
Kern  county  property  into  the  Kern  county  Agency  and  its  Coalinga  properties 
into  the  Coalinga  Agency,  and  also  undertook  to  act  as  sales  agent  for  the 
oil  produced  by  both  Agencies  for  a  period  of  ten  years  beginning  February 
1,  1910.  The  agreement  included  also  the  formation  of  the  Producers'  Trans- 
portation Company,  and  bound  the  Agency  for  a  period  of  ten  years  to 
deliver  its  oil  to  the  latter  for  transportation  at  certain  rates  fixed  in  the  agree- 
ment. The  Union  was  allowed  by  the  agreement  a  commission  of  ten  per 
cent  on  all  sales  of  oil  made  for  the  Agency.  An  arbitration  committee  pro- 
vided for  in  the  agreement  gave  the  representatives  of  the  Agencies  a  direct 
voice  in  the  making  of  contracts  and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  L.  P.  St.  Clair,  pres- 
ident of  the  Kern  county  Agency  (and  later  of  the  consolidated  Agency, 
when  the  Kern  county  and  Coalinga  organizations  were  joined  in  one)  has 
1)een  the  active  selling  agent  so  far  in  the  life  of  the  Union-Independent  con- 
tract. 

The  Producers'  Transportation  Company,  provided  for  in  the  Union- 
Independent  agreement,  built  during  the  winter  of  1909-10  a  pipe  line  con- 
necting all  the  Kern  county  fields  and  Coalinga  with  the  ocean  at  Port  Har- 
ford. The  Associated  meantime  had  completed  its  Coalinga-Port  Costa  pipe 
line  down  the  west  side  to  McKittrick  and  Midway,  the  Standard  had  ex- 
tended its  pine  line  from  Kern  river  to  Midway  and  McKittrick  and  was 
planning  to  duolicate  the  entire  line  from  the  west  side  fields  through  Kern 
river  to  Point  Richmond. 

All  these  pipe  lines  and  the  railroads  reaching  every  field  in  the  valley 
furnished  the  necessary  transportation  facilities,  and  the  chief  problem  re- 
mained the  expansion  of  the  market  to  consume  the  oil  produced.  .\s  a  means 
of  further  oreranization  of  the  marketing  end  of  the  industry  the  .'\gency, 
not  Ions:  after  the  signiner  of  the  Union-Independent  agreement,  took  into  its 
fold  the  Doheny  comoanies.  the  .American  Oilfields,  the  .American  Petroleum, 
the  Nevada   Petroleum   and  other  big  factors  in  the  state's  production,  and 


136  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

late  in  1910  an  agreement  was  negotiated  between  L.  P.  St.  Clair  and  the 
Associated  Oil  Company  officials  whereby  the  Associated  became  practically 
a  partner  with  the  Union-Independents  in  the  marketing  business. 

Briefly,  the  Associated-Union-Independent  agreement — which  was  made  a 
month  to  month  affair,  revocable  by  either  party  on  notice — makes  the  Asso- 
ciated the  selling  agent  for  the  Union-Independents  for  all  the  latter's  unsold 
oil.  The  Union-Independents  were  to  retain  all  their  present  business,  the 
Associated  was  to  retain  all  its  present  business,  and  so  fast  as  the  Asso- 
ciated took  new  contracts  (which  were  subject  to  approval  by  the  Union- 
Independents)  they  were  to  be  assigned  to  the  Union-Independents  until  such 
time  as  the  monthly  sales  of  the  Union-Independents  should  equal  the  monthly 
sales  of  the  Associated.  After  that  the  new  business  taken  was  to  be  divided 
equally.  Under  a  separate  contract  the  Associated  agreed  to  purchase  from 
the  Union-Independents  (which  is  to  say  the  Agency)  all  oil  which  it  might 
need  outside  its  own  production  and  present  contracts  to  supply  its  sales 
contracts. 

The  efliect  of  all  these  agreements  was  to  make  but  two  large  factors 
in  the  oil  industry  of  the  coast,  the  Agency-Union-Associated  combination  and 
the  Standard  Oil  Company.  It  is  stated  unofficially  that  an  effort  was  made 
to  bring  the  Standard  into  a  harmonious  agreement  with  the  others  to  pre- 
serve and  regulate  the  oil  market  in  the  interest  of  stability  of  price  and 
production,  but  while  the  Standard's  Pacific  Coast  representatives  were  dis- 
posed to  look  favorably  on  the  proposition  it  was  turned  down  quickly  and 
decidedly  when  submitted  to  26  Broadway  for  approval. 

Getting  the  Markets  Organized 

By  this  organization  of  the  marketing  arrangements  it  has  been  possible 
to  effect  a  very  great  saving  in  the  expense  of  handling  the  oil.  Competition 
of  the  small,  vexatious,  mutually  expensive  sort  has  been  eliminated  to  a  very 
great  extent,  and  by  the  ability  to  insure  prompt  and  unfailing  deliveries  of 
oil  in  large  quantities  it  has  become  possible  to  obtain  contracts  from  large 
consumers  of  fuel  who  could  not  be  reached  by  individual  producing  com- 
panies or  even  by  smaller  combinations  of  such  companies.  At  the  present 
time  the  larger  fuel  consumers  of  the  entire  state  are  practically  all  using 
California  fuel  oil,  and  the  same  is  true  of  western  Washington  and  Oregon 
except  in  the  immediate  vicinitv  of  the  coal  mines  or  in  the  heavy  timber 
districts.  All  the  railroads  having  Pacific  Coast  terminals  are  burning  oil 
in  their  engines.  The  northern  railroads  have  installed  but  a  comparatively 
few  oil  burners  as  yet,  but  the  way  is  opened  for  a  great  extension  of  the 
market  in  this  direction.  Oil  is  used  by  the  steamships  plying  between  the 
Hawaiian  islands  and  the  mainland,  and  by  coastwise  vessels,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved to  be  but  a  matter  of  a  short  time  before  oil  will  constitute  a  large  part, 
at  least,  of  the  fuel  of  the  trans-Pacific  liners.  California  oil  has  found  markets 
in  Arizona  and  the  northern  part  of  ^Mexico,  and  has  reached  down  along  the 
west  coast  of  South  .America. 

Efforts  to  Check  Overproduction 

But  all  these  extensions  of  the  field  of  consumption  have  not  sufficed  to 
utilize  all  the  increase  in  the  production  and  all  durinsr  1910  and  the  early 
part  of  1911  the  stocks  in  the  hands  of  the  As:ency  continued  to  increase.  Oil 
produced  outside  the  Agency  companies,  the  Associated,  and  the   Southern 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  137 

Pacific  and  Santa  Fe  railroads  has  been  sold  chiefly  to  the  Standard  in  the 
last  few  years,  and  that  company  also  has  added  greatly  to  its  stocks  on 
hand.  Early  in  the  present  year  the  Agency  adopted  a  resolution  that  in  the 
future  only  so  much  oil  should  be  received  from  the  constituent  companies 
each  month  as  would  equal  in  aggregate  the  sales  of  the  preceding  month. 
Companies  producing  more  than  their  share  of  the  deliveries  on  this  basis 
have  been  obliged  to  store  their  own  oil  or  shut  down  their  wells  to  the 
required  output.  By  this  means  a  halt  has  been  called  in  the  increase  of 
surplus  oil.  but  the  restriction  of  production  is  not  wholly  satisfactory,  and 
the  Agency  is  now  working  on  the  details  of  a  plan  for  providing  10,000,000 
barrels  of  storage  for  its  excess  oil  and  other  plans  which  it  is  hoped  may 
permit  the  companies  to  develop  and  pump  their  properties  without  restraint. 

The  oil  land  withdrawals  already  referred  to  have  served,  also,  as  a  bar- 
rier against  over-production,  although  their  effect  will  be  more  apparent 
in  the  future  than  at  the  present  time.  Very  briefly  the  history  of  the  oil 
land  withdrawals  follows : 

Oil  Land  Withdrawals 

During  the  sunuuer  (if  1909  the  news  of  bringing  in  of  great  flowing 
wells  on  land  only  recently  taken  up  from  the  public  domain  under  the  placer 
mining  laws  began  to  drift  east  and  acting  in  conjunction  with  the  great 
popular  demand  for  the  conservation  of  natural  resources  and  the  retention 
of  the  title  to  natural  resources  by  the  government,  prompted  the  summary 
withdrawal  from  further  entry  of  all  the  public  land  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley 
which  was  held  to  be  oil  bearing  by  the  government  geologists.  This  with- 
drawal order  was  dated  September  27 .  1909. 

Strange  or  not,  as  the  reader  may  consider  it,  little  attention  was  paid 
to  the  withdrawal  order  except  to  stimulate  claimants  under  locations  made 
prior  to  the  order  to  begin  drilling  or  to  induce  others  to  begin  drilling  on 
their  account.  It  was  variously  held  that  the  executive  department  exceeded 
its  authority  in  making  the  order  without  express  authority  from  Congress, 
or  that  the  order  did  not  forbid  drilling  on  lands  which  had  been  covered 
by  previous  locations.  I\Iost  of  the  larger  companies  took  leases  on  with- 
drawn land  from  men  who  held  it  under  these  previous  locations,  and  either 
began  drilling  or  indicated  their  intention  to  do  so  by  building  cabins  or 
other  improvements  thereon  and  establishing  guards  or  "lease  herders"  in 
charge.  Smaller  companies,  assuming  that  the  big  fellows  were  acting  under 
competent  legal  advice,  did  the  same. 

The  Pickett  Bill 

The  ensuing  Congress  passed  what  is  known  as  the  Pickett  bill,  which 
gave  to  the  President  authority  to  withdraw  oil  lands  from  entry,  but  which 
contained  the  following  provision  : 

"Provided,  That  the  rights  of  any  person  who,  at  the  date  of  withdrawal 
heretofore  made,  is  a  bona  fide  occupant  or  claimant  of  oil  or  gas-bearing  lands 
and  who,  at  such  date,  is  in  diligent  prosecution  of  work  leading  to  discovery 
of  oil  or  gas — shall  not  be  affected  or  impaired  by  such  order,  so  long  as  such 
occupant  or  claimant  shall  continue  in  diligent  prosecution  of  such  work." 

Following  the  passage  of  the  Pickett  bill.  President  Taft  made  a  new 
withdrawal  order,  dated  July  2,  1910,  which  included  all  the  lands  covered 
by  the  previous  order.  Subsequently  other  withdrawals  were  made,  estab- 
lishing the  fact  that  the  administration's  policy  was  to  withdraw  all  land  in 


138  HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  public  domain  on  which  there  was  any  reason  to  suppose  that  oil  might 
be  found. 

The  Yard  Decision 

Further  adding  to  the  rigors  of  the  situation  as  affecting  oil  land  locators, 
a  ruling  was  made  by  the  general  land  ofiftce  officials  to  the  effect  that  there 
could  be  no  valid  location  of  land  under  the  placer  mining  laws  prior  to  the 
actual  discovery  of  the  oil  or  other  mineral  for  which  it  was  taken  up,  and 
another  (known  far  and  wide  as  the  Yard  decision)  to  the  effect  that  "a  placer 
location  for  160  acres,  made  by  eight  persons  and  subsequently  transferred  to  a 
single  individual,  invalid  because  not  preceded  by  discovery,  cannot  be  per- 
fected l)y  the  transferee  upon  a  subsequent  discovery." 
Smith  Remedial  Bill 

By  the  spring  of  1911  the  number  of  acres  included  in  the  oil  land  with- 
drawals had  reached  the  enormous  aggregate  of  nearly  four  and  a  half  million. 
It  should  be  at  once  understood,  first  that  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres 
included  in  the  withdrawals  probably  will  never  yield  a  drop  of  oil,  and  second 
that  the  withdrawals  were  made  in  blanket  fashion  and  included  in  the  de- 
scriptions of  land  sent  out  great  tracts  which  had  been  patented  under  home- 
stead claims,  railroad  grants  and  otherwise  many  years  before.  Nevertheless 
the  withdrawals  included  an  immense  amount  of  undoubted  oil  land,  the  title 
to  which  remained  in  the  government,  and  by  far  the  greater  part  of  this  land 
is  in  Kern  county.  In  very  many  cases  oil  companies  had  spent  from  $10,000 
to  $100,C00  and  upward  in  development  work  on  land  to  which  they  would 
have  not  the  slightest  title  under  these  rulings  and  withdrawals,  and  the 
question  of  legislation  for  the  relief  of  these  companies  and  of  locators  of  oil 
land  generally  became  the  most  urgent  public  matter  in  Kern  county  and 
among  oil  men  throughout  the  state.  A  committee  of  oil  men  was  sent  to 
Washington  to  present  the  case  of  the  locators  and  developers  to  the  federal 
authorities  and  with  their  aid  Congressman  S.  C.  Smith  of  the  Eighth  Cali- 
fornia district,  whose  home  was  in  Bakersfield,  succeeded  in  securing  the 
passage  cf  the  Smith  remedial  oil  land  bill,  which  nullified  the  effects  of 
the  Yard  decision  so  far  as  oil  lands  are  concerned  and  also  cleared  away  in 
part  some  of  the  other  complexities  which  had  clouded  the  decision. 

But  while  the  Smith  bill  rescued  from  jeopardy  millions  of  dollars  in- 
vested in  legitimate  development  on  the  public  domain  and  enabled  many 
oil  companies  to  perfect  title  to  lands  which  they  otherwise  would  not  have 
been  al^le  to  retain,  the  great  1)ulk  of  the  withdrawals  remained  in  full  force, 
ami  constituted  an  eft'ectual  bar  to  further  development  or  extension  of  the 
producing  oil  fields.  In  view  of  the  present  overproduction  of  oil  this  arbitrary 
restriction  of  development  has  not  been  generally  regarded  as  a  thing  to  be 
regretted  except  by  men  who  would  like  to  assume  the  hazard  of  prospecting 
for  oil  on  the  public  domain.  When  the  withdrawn  land  will  be  restored  to 
entry  and  under  what  conditions  is  a  problem  for  the  future.  It  is  not  likely, 
however,  that  withdrawn  land  will  again  be  subject  to  entry  under  the  placer 
mining  laws,  these  laws  having  been  abundantly  shown  to  be  inadequate 
and  unfit  for  application  to'  oil  lands. 

Asphalt  and  Oil  Refining 

Paradoxical  as  it  may  appear,  the  business  of  manufacturing  the  products 
of   crude    petroleum    in    Kern    county    antedated    the    commercial    production 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  130 

of  the  crude  oil  itself.  As  has  been  noted,  in  the  early  70s  a  number  of  Italians 
began  quarrying  asphaltum  from  the  great  deposits  which  were  formed  in 
the  McKittrick  hills  by  the  evaporation  of  the  lighter  elements  of  the  crude 
oil  that  seeped  from  the  exposed  edges  of  the  broken  oil-bearing  strata.  And 
from  this  time  down  to  1898,  when  the  oil  boom  reached  Kern  county,  the 
primary  object  of  the  development  in  the  West  Side  fields  was  the  production 
of  asphaltum.    Oil  was  desired  only  as  a  flux  for  handling  the  heavier  product. 

There  is  an  interesting  legend,  however,  to  the  effect  that  kerosene,  not 
asphaltum,  was  the  very  first  commercial  product  ot  the  Kern  county  oil 
fields.  Far  back,  about  the  time  of  the  Civil  war,  some  old  chap,  whose  name 
the  legend  fails  to  preserve,  stretched  woolen  blankets  over  the  pools  of 
thick,  tarry  oil  that  oozed  out  of  the  ground  about  Old  Sunset  and  got  a 
pretty  decent  quality  of  illuminating  oil  by  wringing  his  blankets  over  a 
bucket  after  the  vapors  rising  from  the  pool  had  saturated  them.  Such  is 
the  legend.     The  writer  does  not  vouch  for  it. 

The  history  of  the  oil  refining  business  in  the  county,  however,  begins 
with  the  establishment  of  the  Jewett  &  Blodget  refinery  at  Old  Sunset  in 
1891.  From  that  time  until  the  present  the  junior  member  of  the  firm  has 
been  engaged  in  making  asphaltum,  and,  in  later  years,  many  other  products 
of  petroleum,  including  kerosene,  gasoline,  distillates,  and'  lubricating  oils  of 
different  kinds. 

With  the  development  of  the  Kern  river  field  refineries  were  established 
there,  and  because  of  the  special  aptitude  of  the  Kern  county  oils  for  the 
production  of  asphaltum  the  industry  developed  until,  in  1907,  ten  refineries  in 
the  countv  were  producing  about  6000  tons  of  asphaltum  per  month,  valued 
at  about  ?84,000. 

The  number  of  refineries  producing  asphaltum  has  not  since  increased, 
but  there  has  been  a  steady  gain  in  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  output, 
until  now  Kern  county  asphaltum  is  held  in  the  highest  esteem  by  road- 
builders  in  every  part  of  the  United  States.  The  National  Oil  Refining  & 
Manufacturing  Compan}-,  the  Phoenix  and  others,  also,  are  competing  suc- 
cessfully with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
illuminating  oil,  gasoline,  distillate  and  all  grades  of  lubricants. 

Natxoral  Gas  Production 
As  has  been  noted,  the  presence  of  gas  in  the  oil-bearing  formation  was 
one  of  the  difficulties  wdiich  defeated  the  first  eft'orts  to  drill  oil  wells  in  the 
West  Side  fields.  Nearly  all  of  the  wells  of  the  Sunset,  Midway  and  McKii- 
trick  fields  produce  a  greater  or  less  quantity  of  gas,  and  in  the  former  field 
even  the  thick,  heavy  oil  from  the  shallow  wells  is  forced  out  in  intermittent 
gobs,  rather  than  in  a  steady  stream — by  the  pressure  of  the  gas  in  the  oil 
sands. 

Natural  Gas  in  Bakersfield 

However,  it  was  not  until  the  great  gas  wells  of  the  lUieiia  \'ista 
hills  began  to  come  in  during  1909  that  plans  began  to  be  made  for  the  com- 
mercial utilization  of  natural  gas  on  any  large  scale.  The  Standard  Oil 
Company  began  using  gas  in  its  furnaces  in  the  \Vest  Side  fields  in  the  early 
part  of  1910,  and  a  little  later  laid  a  gas  pipe  line  to  carry  the  fuel  to  its 
pumping  stations  on  its  oil  pipe  line  between  Midway  and  the  Kern  river 
field.  Toward  the  last  of  1910  the  California  Natural  Gas  Company,  a  sub- 
sidiary of  the  Standard,  was  organized,  and  the  gas  pipe  line  was  completed 


140  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

to  the  city  limits  of  Bakersfield,  where  the  gas  was  turned  into  the  distributing 
system  of  the  Bakersfield  Gas  &  Electric  Company. 

During  the  past  year  a  pipe  line  has  been  laid  from  Midway  to  Los  An- 
geles to  carry  natural  gas  to  that  city,  and  late  in  the  summer  of  1913  gas  was 
turned  into  the  city  mains  along  with  the  artificial  product.  Gas  wells  in  the 
Buena  Vista  field  when  first  brought  in  range  in  output  from  twelve  million 
to  fifty  million  cubic  feet  per  twent_v-four  hours,  and  the  force  with  which 
the  gas  shoots  from  the  ground  when  first  released  by  the  drill  is  almost 
irresistible. 

For  example,  a  gas  well  belonging  to  the  Standard  Oil  Company  on 
section  26,  31-23,  one  day  tore  the  heavy  iron  gate  from  the  top  of  the  casing, 
sent  it  hurtling  through  the  derrick,  knocked  over  six  workmen  as  though 
they  had  been  ninepins,  and.  went  roaring  through  the  derrick  top  like  a 
cyclone,  while  the  men  lay  stunned  on  the  ground,  some  of  them  with  broken 
bones,  until  rescuers  came  from  a  neighboring  derrick. 

The  pressure  of  the  gas  in  one  of  the  Honolulu  Consolidated  Oil  Com- 
pany's wells  on  section  6,  32-24,  tore  away  not  only  the  massive  iron  gate  but 
a  section  of  pipe  to  which  it  was  fastened  extending  eighteen  feet  into  the 
ground.  The  outer,  "stovepipe"  casing  was  uninjured,  and  around  this  was 
dug  a  pit  fourteen  feet  across  and  thirty-seven  feet  deep.  This  pit  was  filled 
with  concrete  to  serve  as  an  anchor  for  another  cap  with  which  the  well 
eventually  was  controlled.  Before  the  well  was  finished,  however,  the  gas 
became  ignited,  and  formed*  a  giant  torch,  125  feet  in  height,  which  burned 
until  additional  boilers  could  be  installed  on  the  lease  and  pipes  laid  with 
which  to  direct  a  great  stream  of  steam  upon  the  mouth  of  the  well  to  smother 
the  flames.  Several  of  the  great  gas  wells  have  been  set  on  fire  accidentally, 
and  their  great  towers  of  flame  have  formed  one  of  the  most  awe-inspiring- 
sights  of  the  West  Side  fields,  where  exhibitions  of  the  power  of  natural  forces 
are  not  uncommon. 

Making  Gasoline  From  Gas 

During  1910  experiments  were  made  with  a  process  of  extracting  gasoline 
from  gas.  The  method  is  similar  to  that  employed  in  making  liquid  air,  and 
the  theory  is  similar.  The  gas  is  alternately  compressed  and  cooled  until  it 
is  reduced  to  a  liquid  form.  The  pressure  required  is  about  400  pounds  to 
the  square  foot,  and  in  some  instances  two  gallons  of  gasoline  are  taken  from 
1000  cubic  feet  of  gas.  The  amount  of  gasoline  contained  in  the  gas  varies 
greatly,  however.  The  extent  of  the  county's  proven  gas  belt  has  been 
estimated  at  seven  miles  in  width  and  sixteen  miles  in  length,  making  an  area 
of  about  72,000  acres. 

Some  of  Kern  County's  Famous  Oil  Gushers 

It  is  the  romance  of  oil,  the  ever  present  possibility  of  sudden  wealth  and 
the  ec|ually  ubiquitous  chance  of  sudden  disaster,  that  moulds  the  spirit  of 
the  oil  fields,  and  the  spirit  of  the  oil  fields  was  generally  the  spirit  of  Kern 
county  during  the  period  from  1899  to  1913.  And  there  is  no  better  means 
of  setting  forth  the  circumstances  that  contribute  to  this  romance  than  by 
recounting  the  history  of  the  great  gushers  that  made  the  Sunset  and  Midway 
oil  fields  celebrated  around  the  globe  in  the  years  1909  and  1910. 

Great  quantities  of  gas  confined  in  the  oil  measures  of  the  Sunset  field 
have  made  it  throughout  its  history  a  field  of  flowing  wells.  The  earlier 
wells,  drilled  into  the  shallower  strata  of  thick,  heavy  oil,  flowed  in  but 
very  small  amounts,  compared  with  the  gushers  of  the  later  period,  and  in 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  141 

very  many  cases  the  flow  was  the  merest  trickle  over  the  top  of  the  casing 
or  an  occasional  gob  of  thick,  tarry  substance,  thrown  up  with  much  guttural 
sputtering  by  the  imprisoned  gas  below.  But  during  the  year  1909,  wells 
drilled  farther  out  from  the  hills,  and  particularly  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
field,  produced  a  lighter  oil  and  a  larger  flow.  Notable  airiong  these  were 
the  wells  of  the  Ethel  D.,  the  Wellman,  the  Monte  Cristo  and  the  Kern 
Trading  &  Oil  Company  in  sections  36,  12-24,  and  1,  11-24,  a  mile  northeast 
of  Maricopa. 

In  1909,  also,  came  the  Santa  Fe's  famous  10,000-barrel  well  on  section 
6,  32-23,  in  the  North  Midway  field,  and  in  section  10,  32-24,  over  in  the 
Buena  Vista  hills,  nearly  seven  miles  north  of  Alaricopa,  the  Honolulu's 
great  gasser,  drilled  down  into  the  oil  sand,  became  an  oil  well,  flowing 
between  3000  and  4000  barrels  per  day.  Other  wells  that  prepared  the  public 
mind  for  the  big  events  that  came  later  on  the  program  were  the  St.  Lawrence, 
on  section  35,  32-23,  the  Crandall  on  31,  31-25,  and  the  Standard's  big  wells  on 
section  30,  32-24,  the  largest  of  which  flowed  for  some  time  at  a  rate  of  10,000 
barrels  per  day. 

The  bringing  in  of  all  these  wells  proved  the  whole  of  the  Midway  valley 
to  be  oil  bearing,  and  the  Honolulu's  strike  demonstrated  that  the  oil  sands 
extended  far  out  under  the  Buena  Vista  hills.  A  strip  of  territory  roughly 
estimated  at  sixteen  miles  in  length  and  five  or  six  miles  in  width  was  added 
to  the  proven  oil  belt  of  the  Sunset-Midway  field,  and  the  cause  was  laid  for 
the  oil  land  boom  of  1910,  which  swept  over  the  whole  of  the  Elk  and  Buena 
Vista  hills,  over  the  North  McKittrick  front  and  out  along  the  hills  east  of 
Old  Sunset,  far  past  San  Emidio. 

Gushers  Start  Boom  of  1910 

By  the  end  of  February,  1910,  the  secrecy  which  was  first  observed  by 
the  locators  who  swarmed  to  the  new  territory  at  the  beginning  of  the  new- 
year  had  been  cast  aside,  and  the  eyes  of  the  whole  state  were  turned  to 
the  Sunset  and  Midway  fields  and  the  great  things  that  were  going  on  there. 
On  March  6th  the  Mays  gusher  on  section  30,  32-24,  broke  loose  and  drenched 
the  surrounding  country  with  a  rain  of  oil.  There  was  the  widest  variation 
in  the  estimates  of  the  amount  of  oil  produced,  and  no  measurements  could 
be  made  for  the  reason  that  very  little  of  the  oil  was  saved  during  the  few 
hours'  flow  prior  to  the  first  sanding  up.  The  state  of  the  public  mind, 
however,  was  such  as  to  accept  the  biggest  estimates  most  readily,  and  before 
there  was  time  for  a  careful  decision  of  the  controversy  the  Lakeview  came 
in  and  for  many  months  thereafter  held  the  center  of  the  stage.  A  week 
after  its  first  performance  the  Mays  well  broke  loose  a  second  time,  tore  away 
a  "T"  that  had  been  placed  on  the  casing  to  control  the  flow,  wrecked  the 
upper  part  of  the  derrick,  wet  down  the  desert  sands  about  it  with  another 
shower  of  oil,  and  again  sanded.  Sometime  later  the  well  was  brought  under 
subjection  and  became  a  steady  producer  of  little  spectacular  interest  to  the 
public,  but  of  much  greater  profit  to  the  stockholders. 
Lakeview  Comes  In 

At  8  o'clock  on  Monday  night  on  March  14,  1910,  the  Lakeview  gusher, 
at  the  west  end  of  fractional  section  25,  12-24,  a  mile  and  a  half  due  north  of 
Maricopa,  came  in  with  a  rush  of  gas  that  hurled  the  baler  into  the  crown 
block  of  the  derrick  and  followed  it  with  a  shower  of  oil  that  was  estimated 
at  18,000  barrels  for  the  first  twenty-four  hours'  flow.  Tuesday  night  some- 
thing happened  down  at  the  bottom  of  the  well,  2260  feet  in  the  earth.    For  a 


142  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

few  seconds  the  flow  of  oil  stopped  and  its  place  was  taken  by  a  torrent  of 
rocks,  sand  and  gas  that  filled  the  derrick  with  incandescent  atoms,  tore 
away  the  top  of  the  derrick  in  which  the  baler  was  still  hanging,  and  sent 
the  drillers  scurrying  for  their  lives. 

Nobody  got  very  close  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lakeview  for  many  months 
after  that.  Oil  rained  on  everything  for  miles  around  as  the  breeze  carried  the 
spray  from  the  gusher.  The  Union  Oil  Company's  new  camp  just  built  on 
a  nearby  hill,  was  abandoned,  and  the  neat  green  cottages  soon  wore  a  funereal 
black.  Other  wells  drilling  in  the  neighborhood  were  left  unfinished,  fires 
were  put  out  in  all  the  boiler  plants  within  the  radius  that  the  gas  from  the 
Lakeview  reached.  Hundreds  of  men  and  teams  were  rushed  to  the  scene 
to  dig  ditches,  build  dams  across  gulleys  and  scrape  reservoirs  in  the  earth 
to  catch  and  hold  the  oil.  The  sand  that  the  well  threw  out  built  a  mound 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high  all  about  the  derrick,  burying  the  engine  house. 
Graduplly  the  derrick  was  torn  to  pieces  by  the  rushing  column  of  oil,  and 
sections  of  the  inner  casing  of  the  well  were  hurled  out.  The  question  of 
whether  the  casing  would  all  be  worn  out  by  the  cutting  of  the  sand 
and  the  well  become  a  great  crater  in  the  ground  became  a  very  serious  one. 
The  Union  Oil  Company's  engineers  tackled  the  job  of  harnessing  the  great 
well  with  faint  hope  of  sucqess.  An  hour's  work  in  the  suffocating  gas  and 
drenching  oil  about  the  gusher  brought  $4  or  $5  and  upward,  and  men  did 
not  seek  the  job  at  that  price.  The  first  futile  device  for  smothering  the  well 
was  a  great  wooden  hood  made  of  timbers  a  foot  or  more  in  thickness.  But 
the  stream  of  oil  ate  its  way  through  the  wood,  and  went  on  playing  the 
biggest  and  blackest  fountain  the  world  ever  saw.  Every  train  to  Sunset  bore 
sightseers,  and  a  line  of  guards  was  placed  in  a  great  circle  about  the  well 
to  prevent  the  possibility  of  any  accidental  ignition  of  the  gas. 

Finally  after  some  months  of  effort,  when  the  well  was  largely  cleared  of 
sand  and  the  upward  force  of  the  oil  was  less,  an  embankment  was  built  about 
the  gusher  with  sacks  of  sand  anc|  earth  to  a  height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet, 
thus  confining  the  oil  over  the  mouth  of  the  well  and  forming  a  cushion  against 
which  the  big,  black  geyser  could  beat.  By  that  time  every  vestige  of  the 
derrick  was  gone,  and  the  well  looked  like  an  inky  fountain  playing  in  an 
inky  pool. 

Meantime,  down  on  the  flat  a  half  mile  or  farther  away,  lakes  of  oil  were 
accumulating.  By  September  5,000,000  barrels  of  oil  had  been  stored  in  these 
makeshift  reservoirs.  The  seepage  was  great,  and  the  evaporation  was  greater, 
and  the  danger  of  accidental  fire  turning  the  whole  into  a  flood  of  flame  to  go 
farther  down  the  valley  was  the  greatest  anxiety  of  all. 
Product  Swamps  Pipe  Lines 

At  one  time  the  Lakeview's  output  reached  68,000  barrels  per  day,  twice 
the  capacity  of  the  greatest  oil  pipe  line  on  the  coast.  There  was  no  such 
fhing  as  properly  caring  for  the  oil.  During  the  months  of  September  and 
October  the  Producers'  Transportation  Company's  pipe  line  to  the  coast  was 
placed  almost  exclusively  at  the  service  of  Lakeview  oil,  and  pumps  and 
pipe  lines  installed  by  the  LTnion  were  set  to  work  forcing  the  oil  from  the 
temporary  reservoirs  on  the  flat  to  two  new  reservoirs  built  in  the  edge  of  the 
hills.  These  reservoirs,  dug  in  a  cafion  and  protected  with  earth  and  concrete 
dams  and  artificial  waterways  cut  through  the  hills  above  them,  held  five 
million  barrels  of  oil. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  143 

After  ten  or  eleven  months  of  continuous  production  the  Lakeview  was 
still  delivering  8,000  or  10,000  barrels  per  day,  but  its  product  was  a  mixture 
or  emulsion  of  oil,  water,  and  mud  called  "mulsh"  by  the  oil  men,  and  deemed 
of  no  value  at  the  then  low  price  of  good  oil.  Months  later  the  flow  suddenly 
stopped  altogether,  and  after  letting  the  giant  slumber  undisturbed  for  a 
respectful  period  the  owners  rigged  a  derrick  over  the  crater,  explored  the 
hole  with  the  drill,  patched  up  the  wornout  casing,  and  finally  tapped  the 
sands  again.  The  well  flowed  a  little  and  gave  up  large  quantities  of  gas, 
but  it  never  resumed  its  place  in  the  ranks  of  the  big  producers. 

The  Consolidated  Midway 

A  mile  east  of  the  Lakeview  was  brought  in  the  Consolidated  Midway 
gusher  on  section  30,  12-23.  It  was  spudded  in  March  2,  lyiO,  and  on  June 
20th  went  through  a  thin  shell  into  the  gusher  sand  at  2165  feet.  The  10-inch 
casing  had  been  landed  at  2145  feet  and  the  last  twenty  feet  of  the  well  was 
an  open  hole.  A  gate  was  fixed  on  the  10-inch  casing  and  the  10-inch  was  an- 
chored to  the  12-inch,  making  a  total  load  of  sixty-six  tons  of  casing  with 
which  to  hold  down  the  enormous  gas  pressure  which  was  anticipated.  The 
water  in  the  well  was  baled  down  600  feet  when  the  flow  started.  The  well 
soon  sanded,  but  each  time  it  responded  to  further  baling,  and  each  time  the 
flow  grew  greater.  Another  gate  was  placed  above  the  first  one  as  a  safe- 
guard against  one  of  them  being  worn  out  by  the  friction  of  sand  and  oil,  and 
later  reducers  were  placed  on  the  pipe  above  the  upper  gate  to  lessen  the 
flow  and  better  control  the  well.  The  result  was  that  the  well,  estimated  at 
10,000  barrels  daily  capacity,  was  as  easily  and  thoroughly  controlled  as  a 
faucet  in  a  kitchen  sink.  Like  most  gushers,  however,  the  Consolidated  Mid- 
way finally  went  to  water. 

A  Procession  of  Gushers 
Other  gushers  of  the  Lakeview  group  include  a  5,000  barrel  well  of  the 
Maricopa-Thirty-Six,  on  section  36,  12-24;  a  well  of  the  Sunset  Monarch 
which  started  flowing  at  a  24,000-barrel  rate ;  the  Standard's  three  gushers  on 
section  30,  32-24,  and  the  Sage  wells  on  section  35,  12-24,  belonging  to  the 
Union  Oil  Company.  The  Sage  wells  were  chiefly  famous  for  the  terrific  bom- 
bardments of  sand  and  rocks  which  they  sent  through  the  tops  of  their  derricks 
at  uncertain  intervals.  At  the  beginning  of  these  bombardments  would  come 
a  roll  of  thunder  from  the  casing  mouth  ;  the  drillers  and  tool  dressers  would 
scamper  to  the  lee  of  a  neighboring  hill,  and  the  tools  that  happened  to  be 
in  the  well  would  go  shrieking  through  the  crown  block,  followed  by  the 
sand  and  rock  and  a  little  sprinkling  of  oil.  Then  the  well  would  choke  with 
1500  or  2000  feet  of  sand  in  the  casing,  and  the  workmen  would  repair  the  der- 
rick and  tools  and  begin  the  long  job  of  digging  down  toward  the  oil  measures 
again.  With  a  certain  amount  of  sand  removed  the  pent-up  gas  would  hurl 
forth  another  shower,  the  casing  would  sand  up  again,  and  the  whole  process 
would  start  over  again.  And  this  kept  on  and  on,  and  on,  for  so  manv  months 
that  everyone  except  the  owners  and  the  immediate  neighbors  finally  forgot 
what  eventually  became  of  the  Sage  sand  gushers. 

North  Midway  Gushers 

Next  to  the  remarkable  group  of  wells  of  whicli  the  Lakeview  was  chief, 
range  in  interest  the  magnificent  wells  of  the  North  Midway  valley.  Reginning 
with  the   Santa   Fe,   St.    Lawrence,   the   Crandall   and    the    Mavs.   the    North 


144  HISTOR\    OJ-    KERN    COUNTY 

Midway  gusher  population  was  increased  by  the  American  Oilfields'  great 
No.  79,  several  lesser  producers  of  the  same  company,  the  Eagle  Creek,  Le 
Blanc,  the  California  Midway,  Pioneer  Midway,  the  Visaha  Midway  and 
Santa  Fe  on  section  25,  31"22,  the  Midway  Premier,  Midway  Five,  on  section 
5,  32-23,  and  others  of  lesser  fame,  if  not  of  lesser  merit. 

The  prince  of  them  all  in  North  Midway  was  the  American  Oilfields  79, 
which  ranked  next  to  the  Lakeview  as  a  producer.  At  its  best  it  made  22,000 
barrels  of  oil  per  day,  which  is  the  more  remarkable  from  the  fact  that  it  was 
finished  at  a  little  over  900  feet  with  a  single  string  of  12-inch  casing  and 
produced  23-gravity  oil.  Like  the  Lakeview,  the  well  made  great  quantities  of 
sand,  and  it  was  impossible  to  control  or  diminish  its  flow.  The  only  thing 
accomplished  in  this  line  was  to  slant  a  heavy  shield  of  boiler  iron  over 
the  mouth  of  the  well  to  deflect  the  column  of  oil  and  prevent  so  much  of 
it  being  lost  in  vapor.  The  well  gave  out  great  quantities  of  gas  and  standing 
on  the  edge  of  the  great  sump  built  about  it,  its  roar  was  like  that  of  a  Kansas 
tornado  heard  from  the  conning  tower  of  a  cyclone  cellar.  The  well  was 
brought  in. in  April,  1910,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  it  was  still  flowing  at 
the  rate  of  5000  barrels  per  day. 

The  American  Oilfield  Company's  well  No.  56  is  celebrated  as  the  first 
big  Midway  gusher  to  catch  fire.  It  ignited  at  1:30  p.  m.  September  11  from 
a  burning  sump,  and  shortly  after  the  well  of  the  Honolulu  Consolidated, 
formerly  the  Crandall,  just  across  the  section  line  to  the  east,  started  flowing 
and  immediately  was  ablaze.  The  two  great  pillars  of  flame,  200  feet  or  more 
in  height,  burned  until  5  o'clock  while  a  frantic  swarm  of  men  from  all  the 
nearby  country  employed  every  effort  to  keep  the  other  flowing  wells  and 
oil  reservoirs  in  the  vicinity  from  joining  in  the  conflagration.  The  task  of 
putting  out  the  two  burning  wells  was  too  great  to  be  seriously  attempted, 
and  a  general  pean  of  thanksgiving  went  up  from  the  tired  workers  when 
at  the  last  named  hour  both  wells  sanded  up  and  went  out.  During  the 
night  No.  56  again  started  flowing  and  again  took  fire  from  the  embers  of  the 
derrick,  but  it  stopped  once  more  of  its  own  accord. 

The  Eagle  Creek  gusher  on  section  31,  31-23,  brought  in  in  April,  1910, 
at  1600  feet,  has  the  distinction  of  having  thrown  up  a  good  portion  of  the 
vertebrae  of  some  deep-buried  saurian  monster.  When  the  Eagle  Creek 
first  came  in  the  Santa  Fe,  just  across  the  section  line,  stopped  flowing  for 
a  time,  and  then  started  in  at  a  greater  rate  than  ever  as  though  in  rivalry 
with  its  new  neighbor. 

EfTect  on  the  Oil  Game 

The  story  of  Kern  county  oil  gushers  might  be  indefinitely  prolonged. 
They  continue  to  come  in  to  the  present  day,  and  some  of  the  later  arrivals 
rival  in  interest  and  output  the  American  Oilfields  79  and  the  Lakeview 
itself.  But  the  stories  related  are  typical  of  all  the  gushers  in  a  general 
way,  and  the  partial  list  of  big  wells  that  were  brought  in  in  the  first  few 
months  of  1910  will  suggest  the  fever  of  excitement  and  expectancy  which 
spread  not  only  over  Kern  county  but  throughout  the  state  wherever  people 
read  newspapers  and  bought  oil  stocks. 

The  fact  that  nearly  all  the  gushers  were  brought  in  in  territory  which 
but  a  few  months  before  had  been  miles  away  from  the  proven  oil  belt  gained 
credence  for  the  promises  of  the  wildest  of  wildcat  oil  promoters  and  there 
was  a  rush  of  tenderfeet  into  the  oil  game,  quite  regardless  of  the  fact  that  the 
product  of  the  gushers  was  beating  the  price  of  oil  to  the  bankruptcy  level. 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  145 

and  that  seasoned  operators  were  growine^  more  and  more  pessimistic  as  the 
stocks  of  oil  on  hand  increased. 

Fortunately  for  the  old  producers  and  unfortunately  for  the  tenderfeet, 
a  great  proportion  of  the  drilling  begun  in  the  latter  half  of  1910  proved 
unproductive.  Gradually  the  prospect  holes  started  in  the  Elk  hills  were 
abandoned,  and  the  companies  that  began  pushing  the  line  of  development 
far  out  on  the  Maricopa  flat  went  broke  or  got  tired  of  paying  assessments. 
By  the  end  of  1911  most  of  the  drilling  still  going  on  was  by  old  hands  in  the 
business  who  had  contracts  to  fill  or  who  had  capital  sufficient  to  carrv  them 
over  the  period  of  low  prices. 

In  addition  to  proving  the  productiveness  of  a  portion  of  the  Maricopa 
flat  and  practically  all  of  the  Midway  valley,  the  drilling  since  the  beginning 
of  1910  has  demonstrated  that  oil  underlies  the  gas  formation  in  the  Buena 
Vista  hills ;  that  if  there  is  oil  in  the  Elk  hills  it  is  not  so  easy  to  find  as  the 
first  prospectors  hoped ;  that  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  barren  or 
excessively  deep  territory  north  of  ]\IcKittrick ;  that  just  north  of  this  seem- 
ingly barren  territory  is  the  Belridge  anticline  where  excellent  wells  of  light 
oil  are  brought  in  at  shallow  depths  and  that  still  farther  north  in  the  Lost 
Hills  country  is  another  shallow  formation  carrying  light  oil  and  large  quan- 
tities of  gas. 

To  the  Union  Oil  Company  fell  the  lot  of  demonstrating  the  unprofitable- 
ness of  the  territory  between  the  McKittrick  field  and  Belridge.  It  drilled 
a  number  of  deep  holes  without  finding  oil  in  paying  quantities,  but  the  big 
concern  went  about  the  job  in  a  quiet,  systematic,  businesslike  way  that  be- 
comes a  strong  organization  that  takes  the  lean  with  the  fat  and  so  there 
was  little  romance  and  only  a  passive  public  interest  in  its  operations  there. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  development  of  Belridge.  which  was  as  profit- 
able as  the  Union's  North  Midway  venture  was  unprofitable.  The  Belridge 
operators  were  stockholders  in  the  Associated  Oil  Company  and  other  sea- 
soned oil  men,  and  they  staked  out  the  land,  sunk  some  prospect  holes, 
found  the  oil  and  exercised  options  on  a  great  amount  of  land  surrounding 
their  strike  before  the  public  in  general  knew  what  was  going  on. 

The  Lost  Hills  Field 

Martin  &  Dudley,  who  were  the  dominant  factors  in  the  discovery  and 
development  of  the  Lost  Hills  field,  followed  the  same  plan,  but  their  opera- 
tions were  attended  by  more  picturesque  features,  and  the  Lost  Hills,  although 
no  more  important  than  Belridge  in  the  matter  of  production,  perhaps,  at- 
tracted vastly  more  attention  from  the  outside  world. 

The  story  of  the  Lost  Hills  field  really  dates  from  1899,  the  year  in  which 
the  Elwoods  found  oil  at  Kern  river.  Orlando  Barton,  son  of  one  of  the  oldest 
of  the  Kern  county  pioneers,  prospected  the  lonesome  desert  country  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  county  from  the  Devil's  Den  to  the  swamp,  includ- 
ing in  his  general  survey  the  present  Lost  Hills  field.  In  1907  he  helped  form 
the  Lost  Hills  Mining  Company,  and  located  the  section  of  land  on  which 
the  Lakeshore  well,  the  well  in  which  the  Lost  Hills  discovery  was  made,  is 
now  situated— section  30,  26-21.  A  contract  was  let  to  Los  Angeles  parties 
to  drill  the  section,  but  it  was  allowed  to  lapse  without  action.  The  news  got 
about  in  the  south,  however,  that  there  was  government  land  on  which  oil 
might  be  found,  and  shortly  all  the  government  land  in  the  township 
was  filed  upon  by  homesteaders. 

The  Square  Deal  Oil  Company  of  Hanford  made  an  unsuccessful  effort 


146  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

to  reach  the  oil  sand  on  section  18,  and  this  failure  discouraged  the  home- 
steaders, most  of  whom  abandoned  their  claims.  The  Lost  Hills  Mining 
Company  worked  its  claims  for  gypsum,  and  Barton  personally  remained 
in  possession  of  the  land  practically  all  of  the  time  until  the  Lakeshore  well 
was  brought  in. 

The  Discovery  Well 

In  December,  1909,  Barton  interested  Martin  &  Dudley,  real  estate  men 
of  Visalia,  and  after  looking  over  the  field  they  acted  on  the  advice  of  Barton, 
who  told  them  that  they  would  find  oil  at  less  than  600  feet.  Barton  picked 
the  location  of  Lakeshore  No.  1,  and  very  early  in  1910  Martin  &  Dudley 
began  to  drill. 

On  March  8,  1910,  the  well  was  down  160  feet,  and  there  was  so  much  oil 
in  the  hole  that  drilling  was  stopped,  and  arrangements  were  begun  to  take 
advantage  of  the  strike  which  the  Lakeshore  Company  felt  sure  was  coming. 
Other  rigs  were  secured,  titles  to  land  in  the  vicinity  were  looked  up,  and  the 
plans  were  laid  which  made  Martin  &  Dudley  the  complete  masters  of  the  sit- 
uation when  the  field  came  in  some  months  later. 

The  Lost  Hills  were  far  out  in  the  midst  of  the  lonesome  west  side 
desert,  but  oil  prospectors  see  far,  and  even  out  there  it  was  necessary  to  use 
the  utmost  caution  to  prevent  premature  publicity  of  the  important  find. 
Along  in  May  some  more  drilling  was  done  in  the  Lakeshore  well,  and  by 
June  3d  so  much  gas  was  developed  that  drilling  was  again  stopped  to  await 
the  progress  of  the  other  features  of  the  program.  The  place  was  fenced 
and  guards  were  left  to  see  that  inquisitive  people  did  not  get  near  enough 
to  the  well  to  smell  the  gas. 

In  July  work  was  again  resumed  and  on  July  26th,  at  a  depth  of  463  feet, 
the  gas  threw  the  water  out  of  the  hole  and  over  the  derrick  top.  After  that 
the  drillers  had  frequent  shower  baths  of  mud,  water  and  oil,  and  on  July  29th, 
at  527  feet  depth  the  oil  was  struck  and  rose  within  80  feet  of  the  top  of 
the  casing,  and  refused  to  be  lowered  more  than  a  dozen  feet  by  the  most 
rapid  baling. 

The  oil  sand  was  not  penetrated  and  the  casing  was  far  from  the  bottom 
of  the  hole,  but  Martin  &  Dudley  did  not  bother  about  finishing  their  well  in 
the  most  scientific  fashion.  They  put  a  cap  on  it,  instead,  moved  away  the 
derrick,  obliterated  all  traces  of  oil,  left  a  guard  to  keep  strangers  outside 
the  fence,  and  began  taking  options  on  all  the  land  they  could  tie  up  in  the 
district. 

How  successful  they  were  was  demonstrated  when  the  news  of  the 
strike  came  out.  Martin  &  Dudley  were  the  big  men  in  the  new  field,  and 
the  hundreds  of  oil  men  and  tenderfeet  who  rushed  to  the  Lost  Hills  dis- 
covered that  the  men  from  Visalia  had  some  sort  of  claim  on  practically  every 
piece  of  land  that  was  worth  a  prospect  hole.  Martin  &  Dudley  arranged 
with  the  Associated  Oil  Company  to  take  up  their  options  on  a  great  body 
of  land  along  the  Lost  Hills  anticline,  and  the  Associated  was  the  first  of  the 
big  concerns  in  the  new  field.  The  Universal  and  the  Standard  also  secured 
considerable  tracts  of  land  there,  and  most  of  the  development  has  been  done 
by  the  three  companies. 

But  it  took  time  for  prospectors  and  would-be  prospectors  to  find  out 
how  thoroughly  Martin  &  Dudley  had  preempted  the  ground.  Scores  of  men 
who  had  overlooked  the  opportunity  to  get  in  on  the  ground  floor  when  the 
other  oil  fields  were  opened  up,  resolved  not  to  sleep  on  their  chances  in  the 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  147 

Lost  Hills,  and  after  the  first  profound  skepticism  concerning  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  new  strike  gave  way  to  conviction,  the  dust  got  no  chance  to 
settle  on  the  road  between  Bakersfield  and  the  little  ridge  of  sand  that  was 
understood  to  mark  the  apex  of  the  Lost  Hills  anticline.  It  was  proclaimed 
as  a  poor  man's  field.  The  territory  was  wonderfully  shallow,  and  a  well 
could  be  drilled  with  a  light,  portable  rig  and  stovepipe  casing,  according  to 
popular  report.  So  there  was  presently  a  string  of  portable  rigs  headed 
toward  the  Lost  Hills.  Also  there  were  men  with  shotguns  and  rifles  to 
hold  the  claims  against  the  rival  prospectors,  and  later  on  there  were  law- 
suits to  determine  the  relative  value  of  homestead  filings  and  mineral  claims. 
Then  winter  came  on,  and  showers  of  rain  amounting  to  half  an  inch  or  less 
made  the  alkaline  roads  almost  impassable.  The  Associated  built  a  standard 
rig  a  little  west  of  the  anticline  and  drilled  for  weeks  and  months,  without 
finding  any  oil  so  far  as  the  public  knew.  Water  and  fuel  were  difficult  to 
get,  and  the  portable  rigs  were  not  efficient.  So  the  tenderfoot  operators  got 
out  with  as  little  loss  as  they  could  manage,  and  the  field  was  left  to  the 
big  concerns. 

With  a  number  of  good  walls  brought  in  a  little  to  the  south  of  the 
Lakeshore,  the  big  companies  soon  put  Lost  Hills  in  the  list  of  producing 
fields,  and  the  output  continues  to  increase  with  a  few  strong  concerns  doing 
all  the  development. 

A  Field  Not  Yet  Arrived 

One  other  oil  e.xcitement  punctuates  the  history  of  the  industry  in  Kern 
count)'.  In  the  fall  of  1912,  Dr.  A.  H.  Liscomb,  a  pioneer  operator  of  the 
Kern  river  field,  and  a  number  of  his  friends,  and  Harry  C.  Rambo,  a  rancher 
of  Semitropic,  and  a  number  of  his  friends  formed  a  theory  that  the  con- 
necting link  between  the  West  Side  oil  formation  and  that  of  the  Kern 
river  field  was  via  the  ridge  of  land  that  runs  northwest  past  Lerdo  and 
Semitropic  in  the  general  direction  of  Lost  Hills.  They  were  strengthened  in 
this  theory  by  the  assurance  of  a  Mrs.  Brown,  who  used  an  instrument  in 
detecting  the  presence  of  oil  and  minerals  hidden  in  the  earth.  They  tested 
Mrs.  Brown's  powers  by  having  her  expert  land  in  proven  fields  and  checking 
her  figures  against  the  logs  of  drilled  wells,  and  finally  they  secured  options 
on  a  large  body  of  land  at  prices  based  on  its  probable  value  for  agriculture, 
and  began  drilling  two  wells.  The  Liscomb  well  made  the  most  progress, 
and  early  in  January,  1913,  a  reported  strike  of  exceedingly  light  oil  started 
a  miniature  oil  boom  over  all  the  territory  between  Wasco  and  the  swamp. 
If  any  oil  was  found  in  the  Liscomb  well,  however,  it  was  drowned  by  water, 
and  the  well  had  to  be  abandoned.  The  Rambo  well  was  a  failure  for  the  same 
reason,  and  although  one  or  other  of  these  parties  have  been  drilling  almost 
steadily  throughout  the  year,  neither  has  yet  made  a  strike  that  the  oil  public 
accepts  as  of  any  value. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 


CHAPTER   XV 
Progress  of  the  County  From  1900  to  1913 

The  events  of  larger  and  more  permanent  importance  which  have  trans- 
pired in  Kern  county  between  1900  and  the  summer  of  1913,  when  this  chron- 
icle closes,  range  themselves  under  four  heads :  Development  of  the  oil  fields, 
the  beginning  of  a  new  agricultural  development  through  the  agency  of 
pump  irrigation,  a  great  advance  in  permanent  construction  in  Bakersfield, 
including  a  better  class  of  dwellings,  business  structures,  public  buildings  and 
paved  streets,  and  a  steady  improvement  in  civic  standards  coincident  with 
the  transition  of  the  county  from  a  field  of  speculation  and  transient  resi- 
dence to  one  of  investment  and  permanent  homes. 

First  honors  are  due  to  the  oil  development,  for  it  occupied  the  mosi 
conspicuous  place  in  the  public  interest  and  because,  to  a  very  large  degree, 
it  made  all  the  other  developments  mentioned  possible.  Because  of  theii 
importance  and  for  the  sake  of  continuity  in  the  narrative,  the  discovery  and 
development  of  the  county's  oil  fields  have  been  given  a  chapter  to  themselves 
Second  place  in  logical  sequence  belongs  to  the  development  of  pump  irriga- 
tion and  the  new  agricultural  and  horticultural  enterprises  which  it  opened 
up. 

Development  of  Pump  Irrigation 

A  history  of  the  efforts  of  the  first  pump  irrigators  would  be  but  a  dreary 
and  disheartening  tale.  As  other  portions  of  this  narrative  have  shown,  the 
waters  of  Kern  river  were  early  appropriated  by  the  owners  of  the  delta 
lands  that  lie  in  the  lower  portion  of  the  valley,  leaving  only  the  scanty 
rainfall — averaging  between  six  and  seven  inches  per  season — to  wet  the 
equally  rich  lands  along  the  mesa  and  the  higher  or  more  distant  portions  of 
the  plain.  The  efforts  of  the  dry  grain  farmers  demonstrated  that  the  mesa 
lands  were  not  only  fertile  but  easy  to  work.  Many  of  the  grain  farmers 
installed  windmills  to  pump  stock  and  domestic  water,  and  the  surplus  was 
used  to  irrigate  vegetable  gardens  and  small  family  orchards.  This  demon- 
strated, first  that  good  water  wells  were  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  valley 
or  tlie  mesas  at  depths  varying  with  the  elevation  of  the  surface ;  second, 
that  comparatively  little  water  was  necessary  to  make  the  soil  productive, 
and  third,  that  on  the  higher  lands  the  growing  season  was  even  longer 
than  in  the  trough  of  the  valley,  and  the  winter  frosts  were  less  severe.  The 
magnificent  area  of  the  dry  plain  and  mesa  lands  offered  a  tempting  prize  for 
successful  pump  irrigation,  but  the  difficulties  that  faced  the  first  experi- 
menters were  practically  insurmountable. 

These  experimenters  lived  before  the  day  of  gas  engine  efficiency,  and 
suitable  fuel  for  steam  engines,  prior  to  the  development  of  the  oil  fields, 
was  not  to  be  had.  The  steam  engines  used  for  threshing  grain  burned  straw, 
and  some  of  the  first  pump  irrigators  lifted  their  water  with  these  straw- 
burners.  Others  used  for  fuel  the  sage  brush  which  they  cleared  from  their 
land.   Both  methods  were  laborious,  expensive  and  generally  unsatisfactory. 

The  early  pumps  were  inefficient,  and  when  a  fairly  successful  combina- 
tion of  pump  and  engine  was  effected  the  irrigator  had  trouble  with  his  well. 
The  first  wells  were  well  suited  to  windmill  power,  but  when  greatly  in- 
creased  drafts   were   made  upon  them  by  larger  pumps   great   quantities  of 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  149 

sand  were  sucked  out  with  the  water,  and  presently  the  walls  ot  the  well 
near  the  bottom  caved  in,  choking  off  the  supply  of  water  with  quantities  of 
falling  clay.  Not  a  few  of  the  early  pump  irrigators  became  insolvent  trying 
to  construct  wells  that  would  not  cave  in,  and  the  general  pessimism  as  to  the 
possibility  of  obtaining  water  in  any  considerable  quantities  by  this  means 
increased. 

Simultaneously  all  these  discouraging  experiences  were  suffered  in  the 
vicinity  of  Delano,  at  Rio  Bravo,  in  what  is  now  the  Wasco  country,  and 
on  the  mesa  southeast  of  Bakersfield.  Gradually  the  pump  irrigators  learned 
to  make  the  perforations  in  their  casing  so  small  that  only  the  finer  grains 
of  sand  could  be  drawn  through,  and  also  to  attach  one  pump  to  several  wells 
so  that  the  suction  on  each  well  would  be  reduced. 

A  great  boost  was  given  to  pump  irrigation  by  a  lowering  in  the  price 
of  gasoline  and  distillate  that  followed  their  manufacture  in  the  Ivern  county 
oil  fields,  and  by  the  production  of  a  light  oil  at  Coalinga  that  could  be  used 
in  the  gasoline  engines  without  refining. 

In  the  spring  of  1902  pump  irrigation  had  reached  about  this  stage  of 
development  and  was  being  taken  seriously  by  the  people  of  Delano  where 
Ben  Thomas,  Frank  Schlitz,  R.  \\'.  Lockridge  and  several  others  were  suc- 
cessfully operating  plants.  At  Rio  Bravo,  about  this  time,  H.  S.  Knight  was 
making  about  the  same  progress,  and  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  had 
installed  several  pumps  at  Rosedale  and  Stockdale  and  was  operating  them 
with  electricity  to  supplement  canal  irrigation  in  dry  seasons.  But  the  new 
means  of  irrigation  made  progress  very  slowly  so  far  as  practical  results  were 
concerned  and  in  the  succeeding  five  years  the  area  made  productive  by  this 
means  did  not  materialh-  increase. 

Experiments  at  Wasco  and  McFarland 

With  the  founding  of  Wasco  colony  in  the  spring  of  1907  the  success  of 
•  an  entire  community  was  staked  on  pump  irrigation  for  the  first  time  in  Kern 
county.  And  the  outcome  for  the  first  two  years  was  full  of  doubt.  Most  of 
the  colonists  were  short  of  funds  and  had  to  make  payments  on  their  land 
in  addition  to  meeting  their  living  expenses  and  the  constant  demand  for 
buildings,  fences  and  implements  that  goes  with  the  founding  of  a  new  farm. 
For  this  reason  the  mutual  water  company  which  the  colonists  formed  to 
sink  wells  and  install  pumping  plants  practiced  a  frugality  far  in  excess  of 
true  economy.  Second-hand  pumps  and  engines  were  purchased,  cheap  ditches 
were  built,  and  the  inevitable  poor  service  brought  hard  times  to  the  irrigators 
and  fomented  one  storm  after  another  in  the  stockholders'  meetings. 

Despite  discouragements,  however,  the  sturdy  Wasco  colonists  gradually 
replaced  their  poor  pumping  equipment,  laid  cement  ditches  and  conduits, 
and  in  1911,  when  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corporation  began  cover- 
ing the  farming  districts  of  the  county  with  transmission  wires,  they  sub- 
stituted electric  power  for  gasoline.  From  that  date  the  advancement  of  the 
colony  was  very  marked,  and  in  a  couple  of  years  more  it  had  come  to  be  one 
of  the  show  places  of  the  county's  farming  districts,  outranking  in  attractive- 
ness and  evidences  of  prosperity  the  rich  delta  districts  where  cheap  canal 
water  had  been  available  for  many  years. 

McFarland  colony,  founded  a  year  later  than  Wasco,  went  through  less 
hardships  in  its  earliest  infancy  because  Wasco's  mistakes  were  largely 
avoided  and  better  equipment  gave  good  results  from  the  start.    To  McFar- 


150  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

land  and  Wasco,  almost  equally,  is  due  the  credit  of  having  lifted  pump 
irrigation  from  the  slough  of  doubt  and  discredit  and  made  it  generally  recog- 
nized in  the  county  as  one  of  the  greatest  factors  in  the  county's  agricultural 
development. 

Development  of   the   Citrus   Belt 

What  Wasco  and  McFarland  did  with  pump  irrigation  in  the  alfalfa  and 
deciduous  fruit  districts,  the  Edison  Land  &  Water  Company  is  doing  in 
the  citrus  belt.  The  company  began  sinking  wells  at  Edison  in  the  winter 
of  1908,  and  planted  its  first  orange  trees  in  the  spring  of  1909.  It  was  for- 
tunate in  possessing  ample  capital,  and  all  the  improvements  were  of  the  best 
character  and  workmanship.  Deep  well  pumps  were  installed  and  electricity 
was  secured  from  the  power  generating  plant  in  Kern  river  cafion.  An 
abundance  of  water  was  obtained  where  a  few  years  previous  it  was  sup- 
posed no  considerable  amount  of  water  could  be  developed.  The  orange  trees 
did  well  from  the  start,  and  the  following  year  many  orange  growers  from 
the  southern  part  of  the  state  became  interested.  In  1911  and  1912  the 
acreage  planted  was  greatly  increased.  The  unprecedented  frosts  of  1912-13 
checked  planting  at  Edison  as  in  every  other  part  of  the  state,  but  the  sum- 
mer of  1913  demonstrated  that  the  trees  in  the  Kern  citrus  belt  had  suffered 
no  more  than  in  the  most  favored  citrus  districts  and  that  the  full  extent  of 
the  damage  would  not  exceed  the  loss  of  a  year's  growth  of  the  trees. 

Meantime  pumping  plants  were  being  installed  at  intervals  all  over  the 
great  belt  of  mesa  land  that  stretches  south  and  southeast  from  Edison,  around 
Delano  and  all  along  the  high  sloping  lands  to  the  east  and  southeast  of  that 
place.  At  Rio  Bravo  the  same  progress  is  being  made,  and  the  new  colonies 
of  Shafter  and  Lerdo  are  laying  good  foundations  for  a  similar  success. 

Pumping  Plant  Extension  in  1912 

The  Lerdo  colony  was  founded  in  1912  by  a  corporation  controlled  by 
the  same  men  who  are  the  dominant  factors  in  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  ' 
Power  Corporation,  and  one  of  the  purposes  in  mind  was  to  furnish  a  market 
for  electrical  power  which  the  latter  concern  would  supply.  Wells  were  sunk 
and  pumps  and  electric  motors  installed  before  any  land  was  offered  for  sale. 
Active  selling  began  in  the  spring  of  1913.  Shares  in  the  wells  and  pumping 
plants  go  with  the  land,  which  is  sold  on  long  time  payments. 

The  Lerdo  colony  proposes  to  make  a  specialty  of  hemp  and  ramie 
culture.  George  W.  Schlichten,  inventor  of  an  improved  decorticating  ma- 
chine, is  taking  the  lead  in  this  enterprise  and  promises  to  furnish  a  market 
for  the  product  of  all  the  lands  planted  to  ramie  as  well  as  to  assist  in  fur- 
nishing the  plants  necessary  to  get  the  ramie  fields  established. 

The  Shafter  colony  is  a  venture  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  A 
number  of  wells  have  been  sunk  on  the  Shafter  lands,  but  this  is  only  for  the 
purpose  of  demonstrating  the  water  supply.  The  company  does  not  propose 
to  sell  wells  and  pumping  plants  with  the  land,  but  it  will  let  each  buyer 
develop  his  own  water. 

On  the  mesa  south  of  Edison  are  the  Sunflower  colony,  the  Citrus  Foot- 
hill Farms  colony,  and  numerous  small  centers  of  development  all  estab- 
lished within  the  past  three  years. 

As  a  result  of  all  these  successes  and  promises  of  success  the  people  of  the 
county,  who  were  very  doubtful  of  the  practicability  of  pump  irrigation  a 
very  few  years  ago,  have  come  to  believe  that  eventually  every  acre  of  arable 


I 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  151 

land  in  the  valley  portion  of  the  county  not  irrigated  from  canals  will  he 
reclaimed  by  means  of  pumping  plants. 

Conservative  estimates  place  the  number  of  pumi)ino-  plants  in  operation 
in  Kern  county  at  the  present  time  at  not  less  than  1500.  Of  this  number 
about  275  are  run  by  electricity  and  the  remainder  by  gasoline  engines.  The 
San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corporation  supplies  current  for  250  of  the  pumps 
and  the  remainder  is  furnished  by  the  Mount  Whitney  Power  Company,  whose 
lines  extend  into  the  country  about  Delano. 

The  engines  and  motors  average  about  ten  horsejiower  each,  and  with 
the  average  lift  they  are  capable  of  raising  water  to  irrigate  about  45.000 
acres  in  the  aggregate,  or  about  thirty  acres  for  each  ten  horsepower. 

Of  the  total  number  of  pumps  about  eighty  per  cent  were  installed 
within  the  past  five  years,  and  about  500  were  installed  during  the  past  year. 
At  present  about  fifty  are  in  process  of  installation,  and  between  ten  and 
fifteen  well-drilling  outfits  are  kept  busy  developing  water  for  prospective 
pumj)  irrigators.  This  summer  Miller  &  Lux  are  preparing  to  install  pumps 
and  motors  which  will  utilize  about  700  horsepower  of  electricity  in  raising 
water  to  irrigate  the  old  swamp  land  north  of  Buena  Vista  lake  reservoir. 
This  will  be  the  first  extensive  use  of  pumping  plants  in  this  section,  and  their 
installation  is  due  to  dry  seasons  just  past  when  Miller  &  Lux's  share  of  the 
waters  of  Kern  river  have  been  inadequate  for  their  needs. 

In  addition  to  the  activities  of  its  allied  corporation  at  Lerdo,  the  San 
Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corporation  is  actively  aiding  the  extension  of  pump 
irrigation  by  a  liberal  policy  of  extending  its  transmission  lines  into  new 
territory  where  there  is  any  prospect  of  building  up  a  market  for  power.  The 
company  also  is  promoting  experiments  in  the  most  economical  use  of  water. 
Rates  for  electric  power  still  remain  at  the  seemingly  exorbitant  figure  of 
$50  per  horsepower  per  year,  but  the  pumpers  are  looking  forward  to  a  sub- 
stantial reduction  in  rates  when  the  use  of  electricity  for  this  purpose  becomes 
more  general. 

At  this  time,  the  summer  of  1913,  electric  power  is  available  for  pumping 
at  Delano,  McFarland,  Famoso,  ^^'asco,  Shafter,  Lerdo,  Edison,  and  all  the 
country  south  and  east  of  Pjakersfield  so  far  as  the  pump  irrigators  have 
ventured,  which  is  about  to  the  lower  line  of  township  31. 

Planting  Apples  at  Tehachapi 

I^'ollowing  close  <in  the  successful  devehipment  nf  the  valley  districts  as 
just  related  came  evidence  that  the  mountain  valley  country  about  Tehachapi 
is  especially  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  apples,  pears,  cherries  and  other 
deciduous  fruits  of  that  character.  Tehachapi's  metamorphosis  from  a  stock 
and  grain  country  to  a  fruitgrowing  district  began  in  1910  when  B.  M.  Denison 
sunk  a  thirteen-inch  well,  installed  a  pumping  plant  and  planted  forty  acres  to 
Bartlett  pears.  The  evidences  of  an  ample  water  supply  and  the  growth 
made  by  the  young  trees  encouraged  other  ventures,  and  at  this  time 
the  young  orchards  about  the  mountain  town  make  an  imposing  displa3\ 

Still  later  the  pumping  plant  invaded  the  desert  about  Rosamond  and 
Willow  Springs,  and  in  the  far  northeastern  corner  of  the  county  at  Inyokern. 
In  the  latter  place  a  good  beginning  was  made  last  spring  in  the  planting  of 
deciduous  fruit  trees  as  well  as  in  the  raising  of  grain  and  alfalfa. 

As  this  book  is  designed  mainly  for  future  reading  it  may  lie  well  to 
leave  the  future  to  put  its  own  appraisement  on  the  permanent  value  of  the 
experiments  and  developments  recounted.    Suffice   it  to  say   that  they   have 


152  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

been  the  means  of  awakening  a  new  interest  in  the  agricultural  and  horti- 
cultural development  of  the  county,  and  also  of  raising  the  market  value  of 
the  arid  plain  and  mesa  lands  from  almost  imperceptible  figures  to  anywhere 
from  $20  to  $100  per  acre.  The  higher  prices  are  paid  for  lands  nearer  the 
centers  of  development.  Still  higher  prices  are  asked  for  land  close  to  Bakers- 
field  or  for  land  on  which  pumping  plants  have  been  installed  and  water  de- 
veloped. It  is  the  common  belief  that  these  prices  will  continue  to  ascend, 
although  the  vast  area  subject  to  development  and  settlement  and  the  moder- 
ate rate  at  which  these  processes  so  far  have  proceeded  may  make  any  further 
advance  in  values  equally  deliberate. 

Status  of  Fruit  Growing  in  1913 

Figures  collected  by  Kent  S.  Knowlton,  county  horticultural  commis- 
sioner, show  a  total  of  444,000  fruit  trees  in  the  county,  in  the  summer  of  1913, 
of  which  121,500  are  bearing  and  322,500  non-bearing,  and  935  acres  of  grape 
vines,  660  acres  of  which  are  bearing. 

The  acreage  in  grape  vines  has  fallen  off  greatly  since  the  early  days  of 
the  Rosedale  colony,  when  large  numbers  of  raisin  vineyards  were  planted. 
The  ill  success  of  the  Rosedale  colonists  and  years  of  low  prices  for  raisins 
discouraged  the  raising  of  grapes,  and  no  great  extension  of  this  industry  is 
in  sight  at  present. 

That  oranges  and  apples  are  forging  to  the  front  as  the  county's  leading 
fruits  is  shown  by  the  following  table,  which  is  prepared  by  the  commissioner 
and  which  also  shows  at  a  glance  the  recent  progress  of  fruit  growing  in  the 
county : 

Fruit  Trees  in  Kern  County  in  1913 

Variety  Bearing  Non-bearing     1  year         2  year         3  year       4  year 

Apricot    20,000         12,000  4,000  3,000  3,000  2,000 

Apple   10,000        92,500        48,000        30,000        10,000  4,500 

Fig   1,000         

Olive    4,000         15,000         15,000         

Peach   50,000        15,000  3,000  3,500  3,500        25;000 

Pear   1,500        65,000        20,000        35,000         15,000         10,000 

Plum     5,000  6,000  2,000  2,000  1,000  1,000 

Prune   20,000  2,000  1,000  500  500  

Orange 10,000       115,000        25,000        45,000        25,000        20,000 

These  figures,  of  course,  do  not  include  trees  in  family  orchards,  and 
small  orchards  of  lemons,  cherries,  almonds  and  walnuts  are  omitted.  Most  of 
the  apple  and  pear  trees  are  in  the  Tehachapi  country,  and  the  bulk  of  the 
orange  trees  are  around  Edison  and  Delano. 

Bakersfield  in  1904 

As  will  be  noted  more  fully  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  the  oil  industry, 
the  enormous  increase  in  oil  production  from  1902  to  1904  resulted  in  a  com- 
plete demoralization  of  the  market  and  brought  not  only  the  threat  of  bank- 
ruptcy to  the  producers,  but  general  depression  to  all  lines  of  business  in 
Bakersfield,  which  by  that  time  had  become  a  distinctively  oil  town,  recog- 
nized as  the  center  of  the  oil  industry  of  the  state  and  chiefly  dependent  on 
that  industry  for  its  prosperity  and  growth.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Bakersfield 
continued  to  grow  and  business  remained  reasonably  good  even  during  the 
summer  of  1904,   which   saw  the  price  of  oil  drop  to  the  ruinous  figure  of 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  153 

eleven  and  tvvo-tliirds  cents  per  barrel.  But  the  air  was  blue  with  pessimism. 
On  the  street  corners  it  was  alternately  predicted  that  consumption  never 
would  overtake  production,  and  that  the  Kern  river  field  was  going  to  water 
and  its  derricks  would  be  sold  for  kindling  wood  in  a  few  years  more. 

Good  Times   Return 

But  both  prophecies  failed.  Kern  river  continued  to' produce,  and  fol- 
lowing the  organization  of  the  Independent  Oil  Producers'  Agency  prices 
began  to  recover.  In  the  spring  of  1908  the  Agency  closed  a  contract  with  the 
Associated  for  sixty  and  one-half  cents  per  barrel,  and  a  new  oil  boom  began 
that  presently  filled  Bakersfield  to  such  a  state  of  overflowing  that  visitors 
to  the  town  were  compelled  to  telegraph  ahead  at  least  twenty-four  hours  to 
secure  any  sort  of  sleeping  quarters,  either  in  the  hotels  or  in  the  rooms,  in 
private  residences  and  elsewhere  throughout  the  city,  which  tlie  liotel  ])ro- 
prietors  had  leased  to  meet  the  emergency. 

Under  such  circumstances  a  building  boom  was  inevitable  and  in  1909 
began  a  rush  of  construction  that  involved  a  total  investment  in  residence  and 
business  buildings  before  the  close  of  1910  estimated  at  upward  of  $2,500,000. 

Quite  as  significant  as  the  size  of  the  investment  was  the  fact  that  the 
buildings  generally  were  of  a  better  character  than  had  been  erected  pre- 
viously in  the  city's  history.  The  cost  of  the  business  buildings  erected 
during  this  period  ranged  from  $10,000  to  $70,000,  and  the  residences  from 
$1500  to  $17,000.  Among  the  business  buildings  built  at  this  time  are  the 
Brower  building  at  Nineteenth  and  I  streets,  the  Manley  apartments  at 
Eighteenth  and  F,  the  Security  Trust  Company's  bank  at  Eighteenth  and 
Chester,  Southern  hotel  annex  on  Twentieth  street,  an  additional  story  on 
the  Southern  hotel,  the  Redlick  building  at  Eighteenth  and  Chester,  the  Willis 
building  on  South  Chester,  the  Rice  building  and  Baer  building  on  diagonal 
corners  at  Chester  and  Twenty-first,  the  Kosel  hotel,  Herrington-Cohn  build- 
ing, Bakersfield  garage.  Southern  garage,  Kern  Valley  garage,  Webster 
garage  and  extensive  additions  to  the  Mason  &  Flickinger  garage.  The  auto- 
mobile business  was  in  its  glory. 

It  is  particularly  worthy  of  note,  also,  that  during  this  period  a  great 
number  of  well-to-do  Bakersfield  people  who  had  been  living  in  apartments  or 
rented  houses,  manifestly  because  they  lacked  a  feeling  of  permanence  and  not 
from  lack  of  means,  cast  their  lot  with  the  city  by  building  handsome  and 
expensive  homes.  The  change  of  sentiment  that  accompanied  this  action 
was  very  marked.  Previously  a  very  great  proportion  of  the  residents  of 
the  city  considered  themselves  as  sojourners  only,  and  did  not  disguise  from 
themselves  or  others  their  expectation  of  making  their  permanent  residence 
elsewhere  when  they  had  accumulated  a  fortune,  a  competence  or  a  working 
capital  from  the  easy  money  that  circulated  in  the  oil  town. 

Raising  the  Civic  Standards 
To  this  change  of  attitude  may  be  traced  a  new  public  sentiment  de- 
manding the  elimination  of  various  forms  of  flagrant  vice  that  had  been 
tolerated  as  symptoms  of  the  general  fever  of  speculation  and  endurable 
in  a  city  of  temporary  sojourn,  but  instantly  recognizable  as  out  of  place  in  a 
city  of  permanent  homes.  The  public  dance  halls,  conducted  as  adjuncts  of  the 
more  disreputable  saloons,  went  first  as  the  result  of  a  crusade  in  which  a 
number  of  prominent  private  citizens  served  in  tlie  capacity  of  special  officers 


154  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

to  make  arrests.  Efforts  to  curb  illegal  forms  of  gambling  continued  long 
with  vacillating  symptoms  of  success  and  failure.  Gradually  the  worst  places 
were  closed,  and  the  professional  gambler  sought  less  troubled  fields  of  oper- 
ation in  the  new  West  Side  oil  towns.  The  slot  machines  vanished  in  a  day 
when  the  state  law  making  it  an  offense  to  have  them  on  one's  premises  went 
into  effect.  In  the  spring  of  1911  an  effort  on  the  part  of  the  city  trustees 
to  narrow  the  boundaries  of  the  redlight  district  provoked  a  war  between 
keepers  of  rival  resorts  and  an  injunction  suit  brought  at  the  instance  of  one 
of  the  parties  closed  every  known  disorderly  house  in  town.  Strenuous  efforts 
were  made  to  effect  a  compromise,  but  public  sentiment  refused  to  permit 
any  retrogression,  and  two  years  later  the  old  redlight  district  remains  prac- 
tically deserted. 

Consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern 

Occasional  movements  for  the  consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  the  rival 
town  which  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  founded  under  the  name  of  Sumner 
and  incorporated  later  under  the  name  of  Kern,  resulted  finally  on  February 
25,  1908,  in  an  election  in  which  the  union  was  defeated  by  ten  votes  in 
Kern,  although  the  voters  of  Bakersfield  approved  it  by  a  majority  of  342.  On 
December  21,  1909,  however,  a  second  election  resulted  in  a  vote  of  265  for,  to 
154  against,  in  Kern,  and  518  for,  to  186  against,  in  Bakersfield.  The  first 
election  of  the  consolidated  city,  held  on  July  18,  1910,  resulted  in  the  selection 
of  the  following  officers:  Trustees,  W.  V.  Matlack,  J.  R.  Williams,  F.  L. 
Gr.ibble,  H.  S.  Dumble,  P.  L.  Jewett ;  board  of  education,  L.  G.  Pauly,  George 
Hay,  H.  A.  Blodget,  G.  L.  Snider  and  Celsus  Brower ;  city  clerk,  H.  F.  Mur- 
dock ;  city  attorney,  Matthew  S.  Platz ;  marshal,  James  McKamy ;  treasurer, 
A.  Weaber;  recorder,  W.  H.  Thomas;  assessor,  Ben  L.  Brundage.  In  April, 
1911,  the  date  of  the  regular  elections  for  cities  of  the  fifth  class — which  class 
the  consolidated  city  assumed — the  trustees  and  nearly  all  the  other  city 
officials  were  re-elected. 

Bakersfield   Paves    Her    Streets 

The  same  new  feeling  of  permanence  and  proprietorship  in  the  city's 
future  that  prompted  the  building  of  many  residences  and  the  improvement 
of  moral  conditions  showed  further  evidence  in  the  demand  for  better  streets, 
and  following  the  consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  and  the  election  of  a 
new  board  of  city  trustees  in  the  summer  of  1910  systematic  preparations 
for  a  long  campaign  of  street  paving  were  begun.  The  city  leased  a  gravel 
pit  at  the  west  end  of  Panorama  heights,  installed  a  screening  plant  and 
purchased  a  steam  traction  roller  and  other  street-building  apparatus.  All 
of  these  were  placed  at  the  disposal  of  street  contractors  for  the  purpose  of 
inducing  favorable  bids   for  paving. 

The  first  ambitious  job  undertaken  was  the  paving  of  East  Nineteenth 
street.  Grove  and  Park  streets,  connecting  the  business  centers  of  East 
Bakersfield  and  the  main  portion  of  the  city.  This  main  thoroughfare  of  the 
city  had  been  in  a  chronic  state  of  bad  order  from  time  immemorial,  owing 
to  the  heavy  traffic  and  the  light,  friable  soil  of  which  the  roadbed  was 
made.  Nothing  short  of  a  standard  pavement  would  answer  the  requirements, 
and  the  fact  that  a  large  percentage  of  the  abutting  property  was  vacant  and 
producing  no  revenue  discouraged  the  hope  that  the  owners  would  bear  the 
expense  of  pax'ing.     However,  the  city  trustees  adopted  a  resolution  ordering 


HISTORY   OF    KERX    COUNTY  155 

the  work  done  under  the  Woonian  act,  and   the  proceedings  went  through 
without  protest. 

Long  before  the  paving  of  East  Nineteenth  street  was  completed  prop- 
erty owners  on  other  streets  began  tihng  petitions  for  similar  improvements 
at  their  expense,  and  for  two  years  the  work  has  continued  without  inter- 
ruption about  as  fast  as  the  facilities  at  hand  would  conveniently  permit. 
During  this  time  about  200  blocks  have  been  paved  at  a  cost  of  a  little  over 
half  a  million  dollars,  and  indications  are  that  the  campaign  will  continue 
for  many  ensuing  months. 

Bonds  for  County  Roads 

Considerations  similar  to  those  that  prompted  the  paving  of  Bakers- 
field  streets,  coupled  with  a  desire  to  bind  together  the  several  centers  of 
development  in  the  county,  led,  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1912,  to  a  county- 
wide  agitation  in  favor  of  a  county  system  of  permanent  roads.  At  this 
time  the  preliminary  survey  for  the  state  highway  had  been  comijleted 
through  the  county,  following  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  from  the  north 
county  line  to  Bakersfield,  and  running  thence  in  a  nearlj-  southerly  direction 
through  Tejon  canon  to  Los  Angeles.  People  interested  in  the  Tehachapi 
and  desert  sections  of  the  county  continued  their  efforts  to  have  the  state 
road  routed  past  the  mountain  town,  but  it  was  officially  assumed  that  the 
Tejon  route  would  be  adopted,  and  the  county  highway  commission,  con- 
sisting of  C.  E.  Getchell,  A.  J.  Woody  and  J.  L.  Evans,  laid  out  a  proposed 
system  of  county  roads  branching  from  the  line  of  the  proposed  state  high- 
way and  reaching  all  the  important  centers  of  population  of  the  county  save 
Randsburg  and  the  farthest  eastern  portion  of  the  desert  section.  This  plan 
was  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the  county  on  July  8,  1913.  and  was  approved, 
together  with  a  bond  issue  of  $2,500,000  for  carrying  it  out.  The  vote  was : 
For  the  bonds,  2,529;  against  the  bonds,  693. 

The  bond  issue  as  submitted  to  the  voters  provided  for  improving  the 
following  roads  at  the  estimated  costs  indicated:  Delano  to  the  Tulare  county 
line,  8.5  miles,  $37,243;  Wasco  to  AIcFarland,  11.6  miles,  $66,327;  Wasco  to 
Lost  Hills,  21.3  miles,  $274,766;  Rio  Bravo  to  \\'asco,  18  miles,  $87,237: 
Bakersfield  to  AIcKittrick,  37.6  miles,  $325,207;  McKittrick  to  Maricopa,  25.5 
miles,  $249,244;  Bakersfield  to  Taft,  37.1  miles,  $378,609;  Old  River  school 
house  to  JMaricopa,  28.7  miles  (connecting  with  road  from  Taft  to  Bakersfield) 
$252,314;  Bakersfield  to  Oil  Center,  7.4  miles,  $67,405;  Bakersfield  to  Sand 
Cut,  21.5  miles,  $90,086;  Weed  Patch  loop,  13.3  miles,  $69,010;  all  the  fore- 
going graded  and  paved,  and  the  following  only  graded :  Oil  Center  to 
Glennville,  30.5  miles,  $80,775  ;  Sand  Cut  to  Tehachapi,  28.2  miles,  $300,663  ; 
Tehachapi  to  Mojave,  20.8  miles,  $86,483;  Caliente  to  Kernville,  38.5  miles, 
$80,775;  Randsburg-Johannesburg-Stringer  district  highwavs,  14.5  miles, 
$53,850. 

Public  Buildings  of  1900-13 

The  new  county  court  house  heads  the  list  nf  important  ])ul)lic  l)uil(lmgs 
erected  in  the  county  in  the  past  decade.  A  $400,000  bond  issue  for  its  erection 
was  approved  by  the  voters  on  September  14.  1909,  and  construction  was  be- 
gun in  July,  1910.  F.  J.  Amweg  of  San  Francisco  secured  the  contract  for 
S340,827.  The  site,  which  includes  two  blocks  on  the  east  side  of  Chester 
avenue  between  Truxtun  avenue  and  Fifteenth  street,  was  bought  from 
Miller  &  Lux  and  R.  E.  Houghton  for  $16,000,  and  about  $50,000  was  spent 
on  the  interior  furnishings  and  the  improvement  of  the  grounds.    The  build- 


156  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

ing  is  of  white  Manti  stone,  is  three  stories  and  basement  and  covers  a  ground 
space  of  eighty-two  by  two  hundred  and  forty-five  feet. 

The  old  court  house  occupying  the  block  across  Chester  avenue  to  the 
west,  was  sold  to  the  city  of  Bakersfield  for  a  city  hall  for  $125,000  on  July  9, 
1913.  Funds  for  the  purpose  and  $25,000  additional  for  the  remodelling  of 
the  building  were  voted  by  the  city  on  June'  18,  1912,  at  which  time,  also, 
were  approved  bond  issues  as  follows :  For  the  construction  of  a  supple- 
mental sewer  system,  $210,000;  for  the  construction  of  two  new  fire  stations 
and  the  purchase  of  a  new  auto-driven  equipment,  $60,000;  for  a  library 
building  and  site  for  East  Bakersfield,  $27,000. 

Church    Building 

That  the  progress  of  the  churches  has  kept  pace  with  other  lines  of 
improvement  during  the  past  decade  is  witnessed  by  the  fact  that  nearly 
every  church  organization  has  erected  a  new  building  or  made  extensive 
additions  to  its  old  one  during  that  time.  Handsome  and  commodious  brick 
structures  have  been  built  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal,  Roman  Catholic  and 
Baptist.  The  German  Lutheran,  East  Bakersfield  Methodist  and  Christian 
Science  churches  have' built  frame  buildings,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Soutii 
and  the  Christian  churches  have  made  important  additions,  and  the  Presbyte- 
rian and  Congregationalist  are  beginning  fine  brick  edifices.  Most  of  the  new 
church  buildings  are  equipped  for  institutional  work  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree.  The  Catholic  church  has  maintained  a  parochial  school  for  three 
years  past,  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  have  this  year  completed  a  large  brick 
hospital  on  West  Truxtun  avenue  to  supplement  a  commodious  wooden 
structure  which  they  purchased  several  years  ago. 

Progress  of  the  Schools 

Recent  events  of  importance  in  the  city  and  county  educational  systems 
include  the  introduction  of  manual  training  in  the  city  schools  in  January, 
1903,  and  the  addition  of  a  thorough  course  of  domestic  science  under  the 
direction  of  Mrs.  F.  B.  Thomas  in  1906.  Inspired  by  the  same  practical  aim, 
the  high  school,  which  was  organized  in  1893,  added  consecutively  courses 
in  bookkeeping,  commercial  law  and  stenography,  manual  training,  domestic 
science,  agriculture  and  assaying.  Land  for  a  high  school  farm  was  leased 
in  1909,  and  in  June,  1910,  the  county  supervisors  purchased  for  $16,000  the 
twenty-seven  acres  comprising  the  old  Hudnut  place  and  used  just  previously 
as  a  county  fair  ground.  This  land,  which  lies  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
city,  is  being  improved  steadily  as  an  experiment  station  where  high  school 
pupils  are  taught  the  practical  art  of  husbandry,  propagation  of  plants, 
breeding  of  stock,  dairying  and  poultry  raising.  The  manual  training  depart- 
ment, meantime,  has  grown  to  include  a  well  equipped  machine  shop,  a 
wood-working  department,  blacksmith  shop  and  foundry,  all  housed  in  a 
commodious  manual  arts  building  of  brick  and  concrete  floors,  erected  in 
1911.  The  first  high  school  building  was  finished  in  1895,  and  the  second  in 
1906. 

At  the  present  time  plans  are  being  perfected  to  add  to  the  regular 
academic  course  the  first  two  years'  work  of  the  university,  which  will  enable 
graduates  of  the  high  school  to  enter  the  state  university  as  juniors,  and  will 
much  better  equip  those  who  end  their  period  of  instruction  with  their  high 
school  graduation. 

In    1910  there   were   5812   school   children   in   the   county,   eighty   school 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  157 

districts,  and  168  teachers.  The  school  property  of  the  county  was  appraised 
at  $470,667.  In  the  same  year  Bakersfield  and  Kern  contained  2600  children 
of  school  age,  and  $66,289.36  was  expended  in  their  education.  Since  that 
time  the  growth  of  the  city  schools  has  required  the  building  of  three  new 
school  buildings  and  the  construction  of  additions  practically  doubling  the 
capacity  of  two  others,  and  during  all  of  the  time  it  has  been  necessary  to 
use  temporary  buildings  to  keep  pace  with  the  demand. 

The  Rescue  of  Lindsey  B.  Hicks 

No  more  intensely  dramatic  incident  has  happened  in  the  history  of 
Kern  county  than  the  rescue  of  Lindsey  B.  Hicks  just  before  midnight  on 
December  22,  1906,  after  he  had  been  buried  nearly  sixteen  days  under  thou- 
sands of  tons  of  earth  by  the  caving  in  of  the  great  shaft  of  the  Edison 
Electric  Company  at  its  power  generating  plant  in  Kern  river  canon  about 
seventeen  miles  above  Bakersfield.  The  accident  occurred  in  the  process 
of  putting  the  heavy  steel  and  concrete  lining  in  the  shaft  which  carries 
the  water  from  the  forebay  down  to  the  power  plant  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-five  feet  below.  The  whole  length  of  the  shaft  is  seventeen  hundred  and 
twenty-three  feet.  It  was  mined  upward  from  the  bottom,  and  as  the  work 
progressed  the  walls  were  supported  by  timbers  cut  and  fitted  end  to  end  to 
form  a  succession  of  octagons  fitting  against  the  earthen  sides  of  the  shaft 
and  wedged  tightly  to  hold  them  in  place  without  nailing  or  cross  braces.  The 
placing  of  the  sections  of  steel  tubing  followed  the  same  direction.  First 
the  bottom  sections  were  placed,  and  concrete  tamped  about  between  the  steel 
and  the  walls  of  the  shaft. 

In  order  to  protect  the  workmen  engaged  at  this  task  from  clods  or 
stones  that  might  fall  from  above,  a  bulk  head  of  heavy  timbers  was  built 
across  the  shaft  a  little  way  above  them.  As  the  work  progressed  this  bulk- 
head was  moved  higher  and  higher  up.  On  the  morning  of  Friday,  December 
7th,  the  bulkhead  had  been  moved  successively  upward  until  it  was  two-thirds 
or  more  of  the  way  to  the  top  of  the  shaft,  and  the  progress  of  the  workmen 
below  had  made  it  necessary  to  move  it  once  again. 

To  do  this  work.  Hicks,  Gus  Anderson  (foreman),  George  Warner, 
C.  D.  Robles,  H.  Parris  and  John  Wilbar  were  sent  down  the  shaft  from  the 
top.  Preliminary  to  moving  the  bulkhead  one  of  the  men  was  ordered  by 
Anderson  to  knock  loose  the  lowest  of  the  set  of  timbers.  Some  objection 
was  made  to  doing  this  on  the  ground  that  it  was  not  safe,  and  it  was  stated 
later  that  express  orders  had  been  given  against  the  removal  of  the  timbers. 
However,  on  the  order  being  repeated  the  workman  knocked  out  the  wedge 
that  released  the  timbers.  The  reader  who  is  unfamiliar  with  the  subject 
should  understand  that  the  timbers  were  held  in  position  only  by  being 
wedged  tightly  against  the  walls  of  the  shaft.  No  sooner  was  the  first  set  of 
timbers  collapsed  than  a  cave  started  that  released  the  second  set  of  timbers. 
This  let  down  more  earth,  and  in  turn  released  the  third  octagon.  With  the 
falling  of  the  second  set  of  timbers  the  men  turned  to  flee  up  the  steep  incline 
of  the  shaft,  but  the  falling  of  the  timbers,  one  after  another,  like  dominoes 
that  knock  each  other  over  in  a  row,  was  too  fast  for  them.  One  man 
reached  a  point  of  safety.  The  others  were  caught  like  rats  in  a  deadfall. 

Hicks,  who  was  somewhere  midway  in  the  group  of  men,  was  struck 
by  a  falling  timber  just  as  he  reached  a  skip — or  small  car  built  to  run 
down  the  shaft  on  an  iron  track — and  he  fell  forward  beside  the  car,  with  tiie 


158  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

timber  pressing  on  his  back,  and  the  whole  mountain  above  him,  apparently 
thundering  down  to  close  him  in. 

The  superintendents  and  workmen  about  the  tunnel,  the  shaft  and  the 
power  plant  gathered  about  the  collapsed  hole  in  horror.  The  coroner  was 
notified,  the  news  of  the  death  of  the  buried  men  was  telegraphed,  and  the 
tremendous  task  of  exhuming  the  dead  bodies  began.  Seventy  hours  later,  as 
the  muckers  were  digging  away  at  the  top  of  the  cave,  Pearl  Davis,  a  shift 
boss,  heard  a  faint  tapping  that  seemed  to  come  from  deep  down  in  the  earth. 
He  stood  still  for  a  moment  while  his  flesh  turned  cold,  and  then  he  heard 
the  tapping  again.  He  put  his  ear  to  the  tram  rail  that  led  into  the  collapsed 
shaft,  and  heard  it  again,  clearly  and  distinctly.  Someone,  down  beneath 
the  crumbled  mass  of  earth  and  boulders,  was  striking  with  a  piece  of  steel 
against  the  rail.    Davis  answered  the  signal  and  was  answered  in  turn. 

The  news  spread  quickly  that  one  or  more  of  the  men  was  alive,  but  it  was 
not  until  the  11th  (the  cave  occurred  on  the  7th)  that  definite  communication 
was  established  between  the  buried  miner  and  the  men  who  now  were  keyed 
to  the  highest  tension  to  efifect  his  rescue.  A  gaspipe,  cleansed  and  sterilized 
under  the  direction  of  the  company's  physician,  was  driven  down  beside  the 
rail  of  the  tram  to  where  Hicks  lay.  On  the  eleventh  this  work  was  done  and 
Hicks  was  breaking  his  four  days'  fast  with  milk  and  broth  poured  down  the 
pipe.  General  Superintendent  W,  S,  Cone  of  the  Edison  Electric  Company 
came  from  San  Fernando.  General  Manager  Sinclair  came  from  Los  Angeles, 
The  best  miners  and  the  cleverest  engineers  were  summoned  from  the  dif- 
ferent camps,  and  one  of  the  finest  and  in  many  respects  most  remarkable 
efforts  for  the  rescue  of  a  human  being  in  the  history  of  the  state  was  begun. 
Hicks  was  absolutely  an  unknown  man,  without  a  relative  or  a  special  friend 
on  earth  so  far  as  was  known  then  or  has  developed  since,  but  the  news 
of  his  peril  and  the  heroic  work  for  his  rescue  was  telegraphed  twice  a  day 
to  every  section  of  the  United  States. 

The  plan  of  digging  down  from  the  top  of  the  caved  shaft  was  abandoned 
as  unsafe  for  both  Hicks  and  the  rescuers,  and  a  tunnel  was  started  in  the 
shoulder  of  the  mountain  a  little  below  and  ninety-six  feet  distant  from 
where  the  buried  miner  lay.  The  mouth  of  the  new  tunnel  was  seven  hun- 
dred feet  or  more  above  the  river  bed,  and  on  the  face  of  a  precipice  so  steep 
that  a  scaflfolding  had  to  be  built  from  which  to  start  the  work. 

The  earth  and  crumbled  rocks  through  which  the  path  of  the  tunnel  lay 
were  treacherous,  and  it  was  necessary  to  timber  nearly  all  the  way.  When 
nothing  else  impeded  progress,  the  miners  would  run  against  a  boulder.  Some- 
times it  could  be  cracked ;  once  they  mined  around  it,  rolled  it  out  of  the  tun- 
nel and  sent  it  hurtling  down  the  mountain  side.  The  miners  worked  in  fre- 
quent shifts,  and  pick  handles  never  cooled.  The  last  five  days  the  tension 
was  extreme.  City  editors  in  cities  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  away  called 
up  the  Bakersfield  newspapers  the  last  moment  before  going  to  press  to 
know  if  Hicks  was  rescued  yet,  or  to  know  the  exact  number  of  feet  and 
inches  of  earth  that  remained  to  be  penetrated. 

Finally,  when  the  tunnel  was  done,  and  the  foreman  of  the  rescue  shift 
had  shaken  hands  with  Hicks  and  passed  him  a  plug  of  tobacco,  it  was 
necessary  to  saw  the  rails  of  the  tram  in  four  places  and  haul  the  buried 
man  under  the  car.  A  man  had  to  lie  on  his  back  and  saw  the  rail  over 
his   head. 

Newspaper  men  at  the  tunnel   'phoned  to   Bakersfield  when  the  sawing 


HIST.ORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  159 

began,  and  a  crowd  of  thousands  of  people  walked  the  streets  and  waited  for 
further  news.  Arrangements  had  been  made  to  ring  the  fire  bell  when  the 
first  word  came  that  Hicks  was  safe.  For  two  days  and  nights  J.  M.  Duty,  an 
old  Texas  ranger,  with  two  men  hired  to  help  him,  had  kept  his  irons  hot 
ready  to  fire  a  salute  of  anvils  on  the  lot  where  the  new  court  house  stands, 
the  moment  the  good  news  should  come. 

At  11  o'clock  at  night  someone  'phoned  to  tlie  engine  house  that  Ilicks 
was  out,  and  Foreman  Arthur  Nagle  sprang  to  the  tower  and  turned  the  old 
l)ell  loose.  Duty  got  his  anvils  in  action,  loading  them,  not  with  powder,  but 
with  dynamite.  The  crowd  on  the  street  went  frantic.  Newspaper  men  at 
this  end  of  the  line  got  in  touch  with  the  watchers  at  the  tunnel.  Hicks  was 
still  beneath  the  car.  A  messenger  hastened  to  the  engine  house,  warning 
the  crowds  on  the  sidewalk  as  he  went  that  the  danger  was  not  yet  over,  that 
the  loosening  of  the  last  bit  of  rail  might  let  the  car  fall  and  render  fruitless 
the  sixteen  days  of  toil  and  care.  But  there  was  no  stopping  the  premature 
rejoicing.  By  that  time  the  engines  in  the  Southern  Pacific  and  Santa  Fe 
\ards  were  sending  up  their  shrill  jubilee,  society  women  in  the  residence 
districts  were  beating  tin  pans,  marching  and  laughing  hysterically.  Out 
in  the  Kern  river  oil  fields  the  great  steam  whistles  were  sounding  a  sym- 
phony of  joy  that  floated  into  Bakersfield  like  the  rushing  of  a  wind  in  the 
pine  trees.  Dell  Gamble,  custodian  of  the  town  clock,  was  making  the  big 
bell  in  the  tower  peal  ofif  as  many  hours  as  Hicks  had  lain  in  his  living  tomb. 
Church  bells  were  ringing  everywhere. 

It  was  a  full  quarter  of  an  hour  after  the  wild  demonstration  l)egan 
liefore  Hicks  was  out  in  the  tunnel,  and  at  least  five  minutes  more  before  the 
word  was  shouted  down  from  the  mountain  side  to  the  man  at  the  'phone 
by  the  river  and  by  him  transmitted  to  Bakersfield. 

Of  course  Hicks  went  on  the  stage,  and  his  first  appearance  was  in  the 
Armory  in  Bakersfield.  An  ordinary  sitting  room  would  have  held  the  crowd. 
He  fell. as  flat  in  Los  Angeles,  and  everywhere.  Hicks  buried  alive  with 
heroic  men  risking  their  own  lives  to  save  him  was  an  object  of  national 
interest.  Hicks  rescued  dropped  back  to  his  old  place  and  importance.  He 
was  a  mucker,  no  different  from  any  other  mucker,  no  better  nor  more  inter- 
esting than  any  other  man  that  may  be  carrying  a  hod  or  sweeping  up  the 
litter  on  the  streets. 

The  last  heard  of  Hicks  was  that  some  widow  had  married  him,  and  so 
he  passed  permanently  from  his  brief  pedestal  of  public  prominence  to  the 
common  le\-cl  of  domestic  obscurity. 

News  Notes,  1899  to  1910 

October  5,  1899 — Scribner's  opera  house  is  filled  at  a  reception  to  Major 
Frank  S.  Rice  on  his  return  from  a  campaign  in  the  Philippines. 

October  9 — Mojave's  business  section  is  wiped  out  by  a  fire  whicli  is 
believed  to  be  incendiary. 

November  16 — The  sidewalk-building  campaign  is  in  full  blast,  and  prop- 
erty owners  on  West  Nineteenth  street  petition  for  the  building  of  concrete 
walks  from  Chester  avenue  to  Oak  street,  a  total  length — counting  both 
sides — of  7556  feet. 

December  15 — Bakersfield  expects  free  mail  delivery  soon. 

December  21 — Bakersfield  is  discussing  park  and  levee  plans,  and  Engi- 
neers W.  C.  Ambrose.  W.  R.  Macmurdo  and  Walter  James  submit  a  report 


160  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

estimating  that  a  sufiRcient  levee  to  guard  against  all  danger  of  flood  from 
the  river  can  be  built  for  $12,000. 

January  17,  1900 — The  corner  stone  of  the  Woman's  Club  hall  at  Six- 
teenth and  H  streets  is  laid,  and  the  Beale  memorial  library  at  Seventeenth 
and  Chester  is  nearing  completion. 

March  21 — The  Sunset  Railroad  Company  is  incorporated  by  local  men. 

March  28 — Truxtun  Beale  deeds  the  Beale  library  to  the  city  as  a 
memorial  to  his  father.  General  E.  F.  Beale. 

April  11 — Work  starts  on  the  electric  railroad  from  Bakersfield  to  Kern. 

July  19 — A  call  is  issued  for  a  meeting  of  oil  producers  to  organize  to 
control  the  market  and  insure  remunerative  prices  for  oil.  This  is  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Associated   Oil   Company. 

July  20 — Meeting  is  held  and  a  committee  on  organization  is  appointed 
consisting  of  C.  A.  Canfield,  J.  M.  Keith,  W.  G.  Kerckhoff,  W.  E.  Knowles, 
E.  L.  Doheny,  H.  A.  Blodget,  W.  H.  McKenzie,  Burt  Green,  B.  F.  Brooks, 

0.  Scribner,  H.  H.  Blood  and  D.  S.  Ewing. 

September  12 — Producers'  Oil  Association  is  organized  as  a  result  of 
the  meetings  on  July  19  and  20. 

September  25 — Judge  Ross  of  the  federal  court  in  Los  Angeles  decides 
against  the  scrippers  in  the  cases  of  Pacific  Land  and  Improvement  Company 
against  Elwood  Oil  Company,  and  Cosmos  Exploration  Company  against 
Gray  Eagle  Oil  Company. 

Electric   cars   will   run   on    the    new    street   railway    soon    after    January 

1,  1901. 

February,  1901 — A  building  boom  is  on  in  East  Bakersfield. 

A  campaign  against  illegal  gambling  starts.  The  games  are  closed  on 
Sunday  but  run  all  the  week. 

April  17 — A  meeting  is  held  preliminary  to  the  organization  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Bakersfield. 

April  18 — The  famous  battle  at  Midway  between  representatives  of  the 
Mt.  Diablo  Oil  Company  and  the  Superior  Sunset  Oil  Company  occurs  in  the 
darkness  of  night,  and  G.  P.  Cornell  and  J.  T.  Walker,  alleged  gunmen  in 
the  employ  of  the  latter  company,  are  badly  wounded.  The  battle  is  over 
sections  24  and  26,  32-23.  The  Mt.  Diablo  people  get  the  land  by  court  de- 
cision, but  long  litigation  follows  over  the  shooting  affair. 

April  25 — Kern  City  floral  carnival  opens  with  Miss  Delia  Wells  as 
queen. 

April  26 — Bakersfield  gets  news  of  a  decision  against  the  scrippers  in 
the  case  of  Kern  County  Oil  Company  against  Gray  Eagle  Oil  Company. 

May  18 — The  Southern  Pacific  is  changing  its  engines  from  coal  to 
oil  burners. 

May  20 — George  Hinkle  has  hard  luck  in  a  poker  game,  and  just  as 
he  gets  aces  up  with  big  money  in  the  pot  his  wife  enters  and  leads  him  out 
by  the  ear..  At  home  Hinkle  gives  his  wife  a  beating,  and  has  to  leave  the 
town  hastily  to  escape  a  band  of  fellow  gamblers  who  are  warming  a  pot  of 
tar  and  emptying  a   feather  bed. 

May  23 — The  Masonic  temple  at  Chester  avenue  and  Twentieth  street 
is   dedicated   with    elaborate   ceremonies. 

May  25 — The  senior  academic  class  of  the  high  school  is  suspended  for 
insubordination  as  the  result  of  a  quarrel  about  the  place  on  the  stage  which 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  161 

the  commercial  class  is  to  occupy  at  the  graduation  exercises.  The  trouble 
is  adjusted  later  and  all  graduate  happily. 

June  1 — The  county  supervisors  are  putting  oil  on  the  Rosedale  road 
for  the  first  time. 

June  10 — An  agitation  for  the  closing  of  the  stores  at  6  o'clock  is  started. 

June  25 — The  ministers  and  the  retail  clerks  join  in  a  meeting  at  the 
opera  house  to  promote  the  6  o'clock  and  Sunday  closing  movement. 

Tulv  5— Kern  county's  assessment  totals  $20,850,000,  against  $15,184,000 
in  1900.' 

July  23 — A  petition  with  441  signers  is  presented  to  the  city  trustees 
urging  the  purchase  of  parks  for  the  city. 

August  13 — The  Santa  Fe  Railroad  adopts  plans  for  a  new  depot  at 
Bakersfield. 

August  8 — The  site  for  the  Lowell  school  is  purchased. 

August  20 — The  Edison  Electric  Company  announces  plans  for  building 
a  power  plant  in  Kern  river  canon. 

August  28— The  Pacific  Refinery  (afterward  the  Phoenix)  starts  work  on 
its  refinery  near  Reeder  lake,  just  west  of  Bakersfield. 

October  16 — The  Standard  Oil  Company  is  securing  rights  of  way  for 
its  pipe  line  to  Point  Richmond  (the  first  pipe  line  built  in  the  county). 
Producers  are  complaining  of  shortage  of  tank  cars. 

October  16 — A  party  leaves  Bakersfield  to  hunt  grizzly  bears  in  the 
mountains  above  Tejon. 

October  16 — The  contract  is  let  for  the  Lowell  school. 

October  20— The  tracks  of  the  Sunset  Railroad  have  reached  Hazelton 
in  the  Old  Sunset  field. 

November — The  Kern  River  Power  Company  is  organized  to  build 
power  plants  on  Kern  river. 

December  21 — Kern  Company,  Uniform  Rank,  Knights  of  Pythias,  is 
mustered  in. 

December  21 — The  supervisors  let  the  contract  to  L.  Wilcox  to  build  a 
bridge  across  Kern  river  opposite  the  oil  fields. 

December  23 — The  first  train  leaves  for  Sunset  over  the  new  road. 

December  24 — The  Southern  Pacific  has  ordered  more  engines  to  handle 
the  increased  business  that  the  oil  fields  create. 

January  1,  1902 — The  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  church  at  Seventeenth  and  I 
streets  is  consecrated. 

January  3 — Miller  &  Lux  offer  to  give  the  herd  of  elk  that  has  roamed 
on  the  company's  lands  for  years  to  the  Bakersfield  lodge  of  Elks.  The 
offer  was  accepted  and  the  elk  moved  to  the  national  park  in  the  Sierras. 

January  14 — Work  is  progressing  on  the  Producers'  Savings  Bank  build- 
ing at  Nineteenth  and  H  streets,  and  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield 
decide  to  build  at  Chester  and  Twentieth  streets. 

There  is  much  talk  about  an  electric  railroad  to  the  coast,  and  there  are 
rumors  that  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  will  build  through  Walker's  pass  into 
Bakersfield. 

The  January  shipments  of  oil  from  the  Kern  river  field  reach  3,000  cars 
and  break  all  records. 

January  31 — The  Board  of  Trade  is  organized  with  Frank  S.  Rice  as  presi- 
dent and  the  following  additional  members  of  the  executive  committee:  L.  M. 
Dinkelspiel,  L.  P.  St.  Clair,  A.  Weill,  W.  J.  Doherty,  Alfred  Harrell,  R.  C. 
Hussey,  L.  C.  Ross  and  S.  C.  Smith. 


162  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

February  10 — The  Southern  Pacific  begins  building  oil  storage  tanks 
along  its  tracks  through  the  state. 

February  20 — E.  F.  Carter  strikes  a  strong  flow  of  gas  on  section  25,  32-23. 

March  1 — The  First  Congregational  church  celebrates  its  tenth  anniver- 
sary.   The  church  was  organized  on  February  28,  1892. 

April  15 — The  shippers  lose  again  in  contests  over  oil  lands. 

April  22 — Miss  Theresa  Ellen  Lacey  is  elected  queen  of  the  street  car- 
nival to  be  held  on  May  3d. 

May  2 — The  Oil  Exchange  building  at  H  and  Nineteenth  streets  is 
formally  opened. 

May  3 — The  Merchants'  Free  Street  Carnival  opens  with  Queen  Tessie 
on  the  throne.  The  coronation  ball  is  held  on  Monday  night,  and  the  week 
is  given  over  to  mirth  and  gaiety.  Governor  Gage  visits  the  city  on  the  last 
day  of  the  carnival. 

May  7 — Oil  companies  talk  of  building  a  railroad  to  Maricopa  with  pri- 
vate capital.  «'' 

May  11 — The  school  census  shows  2011  boys  and  1911  girls  of  school 
age  in  the  county. 

May  21 — Pipe  is  being  delivered  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company's  pipe 
line  to  Point  Richmond. 

May  22 — Ben  Thomas  is  putting  in  a  pump  irrigation  plant  at  Delano 
at  a  cost  of  $1200. 

May  25 — Company  G  wins  a  prize  as  the  most  efficient  company  in  the 
regiment. 

July  4 — The  Kern  County  Democrats  hold  a  "non-partisan"  Fourth  of 
July  celebration  with  a  big  barbecue  on  West  Nineteenth  street. 

August  3 — The  first  carload  of  materials  for  the  Kern  River  Power  Com- 
pany's canal  is  delivered. 

September  3 — The  first  Labor  Day  celebration  is  held  in  Bakersfield. 

Many  plans  are  discussed  for  building  a  railroad  to  Ventura  and  a  meet- 
ing is  held  to  consider  a  railroad  to  Kernville.  None  of  these  plans  have  yet 
materialized. 

October  17 — Dr.  George  C.  Pardee  speaks  in  Bakersfield.  Governor 
Gage  speaks  at  the  opera  house.  A  hot  political  campaign,  both  state  and 
county,  is  in  progress. 

December  4 — A  petition  is  in  circulation  asking  that  the  legislature  create 
a  second  department  of  the  superior  court.  The  movement  was  successful, 
and  late  in  the  next  spring  Governor  Pardee  appointed  Paul  W.  Bennett  to 
the  new  office,  a  position  which  he  filled  continuousl}'  until  his  death  in  the 
summer  of  1913. 

January  7,  1903 — Sheriff  John  W.  Kelly  closes  the  illegal  gambling 
games  which  previously  had  been  running  wide  open. 

March  24 — The  Associated  Oil  Company  starts  work  on  a  470,000  barrel 
earthen  reservoir  in  the  Kern  river  field. 

April  19 — The  outlaw,  James  McKinney,  after  being  tracked  from  Visalia 
through  the  mountains  to  Arizona  and  back  to  Bakersfield,  is  killed  in  a 
battle  with  officers  on  Sunday  morning  about  9:30  o'clock  in  the  Chinese 
joss  house  on  L  street  between  Twenty-first  and  Twenty-second  streets. 
Marshal  T.  J.  Packard  and  Deputy  Sheriff  W.  E.  Tibbet  are  shot  and  killed  by 
McKinney  and  an  associate  supposed  to  be  Al  Hulse,  in  whose  room  in  the 
joss  house  the  outlaw  was  hiding.  Hulse  is  arrested,  and  B.  M.  Tibbet,  who 
shot  McKinney,  is  appointed  marshal  by  the  city  trustees. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  163 

April  27 — The  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West  hold  their  state  parlor 
in  Bakersfield. 

August  22 — City  election  ballots  are  stolen  from  a  vault  in  the  city  clerk's 
office  to  prevent  their  being  recounted  in  a  contest  filed  by  E.  P.  Davis  against 
the  election  of  T.  J.  Packard  as  city  marshal.  The  thieves  took  the  ballots 
to  a  lonely  gully  east  of  Kern  city  and  partly  destroyed  them  by  fire.  J.  T. 
Wells,  a  rancher  hauling  hogs  to  town  before  daylight  in  the  morning,  saw 
the  fire  and  two  men  with  a  buggy.  He  reported  to  Constable  Stroble,  who, 
with  Marshal  Ham  Farris  of  Kern,  went  out  and  found  the  ballots  on  the 
24th  and  placed  them  in  the  safe  in  Justice  Marion's  office.  The  theft  was 
not  made  public  until  September  10th. 

November  10— The  trial  of  Al  Hulse  begins  in  Judge  Mahon's  court. 

November  20 — The  San  Joaquin  Valley  Federation  of  Woman's  Clubs 
meets  in  Bakersfield. 

December  15 — The  city  trustees  decide  on  the  intersection  of  Chester  ave- 
nue and  Seventeenth  street  as  the  site  for  the  Beale  memorial  clock  tower. 

January  5,  1904 — The  election  contest  of  E.  P.  Davis  against  T.  J.  Packard 
comes  to  a  hearing  before  Judge  Mahon  after  long  delay,  despite  the  death  of 
Packard  and  the  burning  of  the  ballots,  and  Davis  is  declared  elected  by  a  vote 
of  442  to  445.    Davis  lost  one  vote  and  Packard  nine  in  the  hearing. 

January  15 — H.  A.  Jastro  is  elected  vice  president  of  the  National  Live- 
stock Association.     Later  he  served  several  times  as  president. 

.A.pril  15 — G.  P.  Cornell,  one  of  the  men  who  were  wounded  in  the  Mid- 
way battle  of  April  18,  1901,  enraged  at  the  outcome  of  a  preliminary  exami- 
nation of  men  against  whom  he  had  brought  a  charge  of  deadly  assault,  fired 
seven  shots  from  a  Colt's  automatic  revolver  at  Dr.  A.  F.  Schafer  and  E.  J. 
Boust,  one  bullet  passing  through  Boust's  coat  and  the  others  flying  wild 
about  Nineteenth  street  in  front  of  the  Arlington  hotel,  where  Cornell  was 
standing  at  the  time.  One  shot  drew  blood  on  the  leg  of  a  salesman  stand- 
ing in  the  door  of  Weill's  department  store  and  another  struck  the  shoe  of 
John  Herrick,  who  was  standing  in  front  of  the  Alagnolia  saloon. 

Alay  16 — The  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Rathbone  Sisters  hold  their  state 
conventions  in  Bakersfield. 

May  25 — The  second  trial  of  Al  Hulse  for  the  murder  of  Packard  and 
Tibbet  begins.  Hulse  was  convicted,  but  committed  suicide  several  years 
later  while  still  waiting  in  the  county  jail  for  the  result  of  an  appeal.  He 
never  went  to  prison. 

November  2 — The  Independent  Oil  Producers'  Agency  files  articles  of 
incorporation. 

November  8 — Roosevelt  carries  Kern  county  and  the  Republicans  elect 
an  assemblyman,  judge  and  two  supervisors.  Chairman  E.  M.  Roberts  of 
the  Democratic  -county  committee  presents  Chairman  J.  W.  Wiley  of  the 
Republican  committee  with  a  new  broom,  which  is  hung  out  of  the  window 
of  the  Republican  headquarters. 

November  19— The  Eagles  celebrate  the  fourth  anniversary  of  the  found- 
ing of  the  Bakersfield  aerie. 

November  23 — The  Independent  Oil  Producers'  Agency  completes  its 
organization  and  the  member  companies  sign  over  to  the  agency  leases  cover- 
ing $25,000,000  worth  of  property. 

November  28 — The  post  office  is  moved  to  its  present  location  in  the 
Southern  Hotel  building  on  I  street. 

December — Water  is  giving  serious  trouble  in  the  Kern  river  oil  field. 


164  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

December  20 — A  campaign  against  the  dance  halls  is  in  progress. 

December  29 — Litigation  between  the  irrigating  canal  companies  and  the 
power  development  companies  is  settled  and  Judge  Bennett  issues  a  decree 
perpetually  enjoining  the  Kern  River  Power  Company  from  building  storage 
reservoirs  or  from  diverting  water  from  Kern  river  except  for  power  develop- 
ment purposes. 

December  30 — Water  is  turned  through  the  Kern  River  Power  Company's 
tunnel  and  power  plant  and  electricity  is  carried  to  Los  Angeles  to  run  the 
street  cars. 

January  4,  1905 — The  county  supervisors  let  the  contract  to  the  Edison 
Electric  Company  to  build  the  road  up  Kern  river  canon  for  $21,000. 

January  9 — The  city  trustees  begin  hearing  a  protest  against  the  open 
dance  halls,  and  on  January  16th,  after  a  stormy  session  of  the  board,  Trustee 
R.  McDonald  left  the  meeting  and  the  other  trustees  declined  to  renew  the 
licenses  of  the  saloons  having  dance  houses  in  connection.  Mayor 
H.  H.  Fish  ordered  the  marshal  to  close  the  saloons  having  no 
licenses,  but  the  saloons  evaded  the  issue  by  selling  soft  drinks  only.  The 
dance  hall  cases  were  carried  from  the  trustees  to  the  city  recorder's  court, 
and  the  jury  disagreed.  The  dance  hall  keepers  applied  to  the  superior  court 
for  a  writ  of  mandate  to  compel  the  trustees  to  issue  them  liquor  licenses, 
but  the  writ  was  finally  refused. 

March  5 — Knights  of  Columbus  lodge  instituted. 

]\Iarch  25 — The  Catholics  make  plans  for  the  new  St.  Francis  church, 
which  is  to  cost  $40,000. 

April  9 — The  new  First  Baptist  church  is  dedicated. 

April  12 — The  Salvation  Army  buys  a  lot  at  K  and  Twentieth  street. 
,     Free  mail  delivery  is  to  be  established  in  Kern  in  June. 

April  10 — In  the  city  election  R.  McDonald  wins  over  H.  H.  Fish  by  a 
vote  of  630  to  387,  and  Mayor  Fish,  in  retiring  from  the  board,  declares  that 
the  election  is  a  victory  for  the  "wide  open  town." 

April  25 — The  new  board  of  city  trustees  reconsiders  the  action  of  the 
old  board  in  refusing  to  issue  licenses  to  the  saloons  having  dance  halls  in 
connection.  It  is  declared  that  the  dance  halls  will  not  be  allowed  to  run, 
but  they  are  gradually  reopened. 

The  Redmen  are  raising  $5000  for  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration. 

May  1 — The  Santa  Fe  railroad  has  bought  the  Chanslor-Canfield 
Midway  Oil  Company's  great  holding  of  oil  lands  at  Midway. 

May  1— H.  A.  Jastro,  on  behalf  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company, 
tenders  the  city  thirty  acres  of  land  in  the  western  part  of  the  city  for  a 
public  park  on  condition  that  the  city  spend  at  least  $3000  per  year  in  im- 
provements until  a  total  of  at  least  $30,000  is  expended.  The  city  accepted 
the  tender,  but  did  not  comply  with  the  terms,  and  the  land  was  withdrawn 
by  the  donor. 

May  12 — Plans  are  submitted  for  the  Elks'  building  on  South  Chester. 

June  2— Burglars  roll  the  safe  out  of  the  Santa  Fe  depot  and  across  the 
street  and  maul  it  open  with  sledge  hammers  stolen  from  the  section  crew's 
tool  box.     Never  apprehended. 

June  17— Kern  river  is  shipping  little  oil,  but  is  storing  a  lot. 

June  24 — The  jury  finds  E.  P.  Cornell  not  guilty  of  assault  to  kill  E.  J. 
Boust. 

July  4 — The  Redmen's  Fourth  of  July  celebration  is  a  great  success. 
Mrs.  Frank  Fether  is  Goddess  of  Liberty,  Miss  Flo  Massa  represents  Cah- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  165 

fornia,  and  Aliss  Buxton  represents   Kern  count}'  in  the  big  parade.     Gov- 
ernor Pardee  delivers  the  oration. 

August  15 — Scribner"s  opera  house  and  adjoining  builditiiis  burn  and  a 
loud  complaint  concerning  the  fire  department  and  the  water  supply  results 
in  a  reorganization  of  the  fire  company. 

August  21 — The  Standard  Oil  Company  is  pumping  oil  into  its  big 
earthen  reservoirs  west  of  the  Kern  river  field  at  the  rate  of  30,000  barrels 
per  day. 

September  1 — The  Southern  Pacific  is  corrugating  the  pipe  for  its  pipe 
line  between  the  Kern  river  field  and  Delano. 

October  12 — The  dance  halls  are  trying  to  get  permission  to  run  all  night 
Saturday  nights  and  until  3  o'clock  in  the  morning  other  nights. 

November  14 — The  county  supervisors  decide  to  build  a  new  high  school 
building  to  supplement  the  old  one.    The  cost  is  estimated  at  $50,000. 

December  23 — The  Public  Ownership  party  is  organized  by  Charles  P. 
Fox  and  W.  D.  Young,  and  during  the  meeting,  which  is  held  in  the  court 
house,  the  heaviest  earthquake  shock  felt  in  Bakersfield  in  many  years  occurs. 

January  16,  1906 — The  corner  stone  of  the  new  St.  Francis  church  is  laid 
by  Bishop  Conaty,  who  delivers  an  address  in  the  open  air  to  a  great  gathering 
of  people. 

April  3 — Rev.  A.  M.  Shaw,  president  of  the  Law  and  Order  League  of 
Kern  County,  issues  a  statement  declaring  war 'on  the  dance  halls,  but  some 
years  more  elapse  befure  they  are  finalh^  closed,  not  to  reopen. 

April  A — The  Allison  Machinery  Company  installs  a  steam  plant  to 
furnish  steam  heat  to  downtown  business  houses. 

April  8 — The  Buckeye  Refinery  is  making  kerosene  oil  in  the  Kern  river 
field. 

April  17 — Plans  are  drawn  for  the  Bakersfield  opera  house. 

April  19 — A  mass  meeting  is  held  at  Armory  hall  to  draft  plans  in  aid 
of  the  San  Francisco  fire  sufferers  and  $2777  is  subscribed  by  the  citizens 
present. 

May  27 — Kern  river  reaches  the  highest  point  since  1893. 

May  30 — The  contract  between  the  Independent  Oil  Producers'  Agency 
and  the  Associated  Oil  Company  expires  and  producers  begin  shutting  down 
their  wells  on  account  of  the  low  price  of  oil. 

July  4 — The  Bakersfield  Board  of  Trade  makes  an  excursion  to  the  Ama- 
lie  mining  district  which  is  showing  renewed  activity. 

July  7 — The  Masons  have  placed  a  six-ton  granite  boulder  in  the  center 
of  their  plot  in  Union  cemetery. 

August   11 — Plans  for  the  Santa   Fe's  new  round  house  are   announced. 

August  23 — Bakersfield's  assessment  roll  totals  $3,147,213. 

September — Northern  Kern  county  farmers  will  get  $300,000  for  wheat 
grown  on  30,000  acres. 

September  3 — The  Brodek  block  at  Nineteenth  and  K  streets  is  burned. 
Loss  $41,000. 

September  9 — Bakersfield  trustees  adopt  plans 
calculated  to  serve  a  population  of  20.000  people. 

September    10 — Bakersfield    city    schools    open 
schools,  415. 

September  29 — The   new   St.    Francis   Catholic 
pletion. 

October  14 — Al  Hulse,  partner  of  Outlaw  McKinney  in  the  joss  house 
battle  of  April  19,  1903,  commits  suicide  in  the  county  jail  where  he  is  await- 


for 

a 

new 

sewer  system 

wi 

th 

702 

pupils  : 

Kern 

ch 

urch    is 

nearing 

com- 

166  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

ing  the  result  of  his  appeal  from  the  superior  court,  where  he  was  convicted 
of  murder. 

October  25 — S.  C.  Smith  and  C.  A.  Barlow,  candidates  for  congress 
from  the  eighth  district,  hold  a  joint  debate  on  the  issues  of  the  campaign 
at  Armory  hall,  and  one  of  the  largest  audiences  that  ever  attended  a  po- 
litical meeting  in  Bakersfield  is  present. 

November  2 — Stud  poker  games  are  closed  by  Sheriff  Kelley's  order. 

November  5 — The  new  Bakersfield  opera  house  is  opened  with  Checkers, 
a  character  play. 

November  6 — The  Democrats  carry  the  county  by  pluralities  ranging 
from  400  to  1000. 

November  11 — Gen.  William  R.  Shafter,  commander  in  chief  of  the  San- 
tiago campaign  in  the  Spanish-American  war,  died  at  the  home  of  his  son- 
in-law,  Capt.  W.  H.  ]\IcKittrick,  fifteen  miles  south  of  Bakersfield. 

November    13 Bakersfield    trustees    are    discussing   dollar    gas    to    no 

effect. 

November  17 — Delano  ranchers  have  filled  the  warehouses  and  have 
thousands  of  sacks  of  wheat  piled  in  the  streets  waiting  shipment. 

November  23 — After  a  two  days'  session  in  the  Kern  river  fields  the 
Independent  Oil  Producers  Agency  closes  a  contract  to  sell  to  the  Associated 
Oil  Company  950,000  barrels  of  stored  oil  at  twenty-five  cents,  and  all  its 
product  for  the  ensuing  year,  estimated  at  2,555,000  barrels  at  twenty-seven 
and  one-half  cents. 

December  6 — The  shortage  of  cars  for  handling  oil  is  causing  agitation 
for  the  passage  of  the  "Texas  car  law." 

December  7 — Lindsay  B.  Hicks  and  five  other  miners  are  buried  alive 
by  the  collapse  of  the  Edison  Power  Company's  shaft  in  the  Kern  river 
cafion. 

December  11 — News  reaches  Bakersfield  that  Hicks  is  still  alive  and 
work  of  rescuing  him  is  begun. 

December  15 — Committee  of  Home  Extension  Association  inspects 
Wasco  land  and  decides  to  locate  a  colony  there. 

December  22 — Hicks  is  rescued  after  sixteen  days'  imprisonment  in  the 
collapsed  power  shaft  and  the  town  of  Bakersfield  goes  wild  with  jo}-. 

December  27 — Hicks  makes  his  first  appearance  on  the  stage  at  the 
Armory  and  is  a  decided  failure  as  a  footlight  hero. 

January  14,  1907 — City  trustees  order  an  election  to  vote  bonds  as  fol- 
lows: For  a  new  sewer  system,  $120,000;  for  a  city  hall  and  site,  $50,000; 
for  the  improvement  of  city  parks,  $30,000. 

January  19 — Geologists  estimate  the  original  oil  deposits  of  the  San 
Joaquin  valley  fields  at  1,254,000,000  barrels,  of  which  112,000,000  barrels 
have  been  taken  out. 

January  18 — Cornerstone  of  Oil  Center  Congregational  church  is  laid. 
^^^  '\\\  Rlley,  pastor. 

January  18 — Woodmen  of  the  World  initiate   sixty  candidates. 

January  25 — The  Porter-Higgins  Company  buys  2000  acres  north  of  De- 
lano and  a  large  acreage  east  of  Bakersfield,  and  plans  to  bring  colonists 
from  the  east. 

February  1 — One  hundred  and  ninety  families  secure  allotments  of  land 
in  Wasco  Colony. 

February  6 — State  Federation  of  Woman's  Clubs  begins  its  sixth  annual 
session  in  the  First  IMethodist  church. 

February  8 — Mrs.  E.  D.  Buss  of  Bakersfield  is  elected  president  of  the 
State  Federation  of  Woman's  Clubs. 

February  10 — The  Standard  is  pa)'ing  thirty  cents  for  Alidway  oil. 

February  18 — The  price  of  highballs,  Tom  and  Jerrys,  all  case  goods  and 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  167 

fanc)-  drinks  is  raised  to  twelve  and  one-halt  cents  by  Bakersfield  thirst  em- 
poriums. 

March  22— Cosmopolitan  hotel  block  burns,  loss  $25,000. 

March  25 — A  $120,000  bond  issue  for  building  a  new  sewer  system  car- 
ries by  a  vote  of  499  to  91. 

iMarch  26 — The  $30,000  bond  issue  for  improving  city  parks  is  defeated 
by  a  vote  of  321  to  219.     It  needed  two-thirds  to  carry. 

I\Iarch  27— The  $50,000  city  hall  bonds  are  defeated  by  a  vote  of  16  for 
and  213  against. 

April  15 — J.  E.  Bailey  becomes  mayor  of  Bakersfield.  Truxtun  Beale 
tenders  two-black  park  to  the  city. 

April  16 — City  trustees  begin  investigation  of  fire  department  that  re- 
sults in  retirement  of  Chief  Willow  and  nearly  all  the  old  firemen. 

April  16 — African  Methodist  conference  for  Northern  California  meets 
in  Bakersfield. 

April  21 — Consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  is  under  discussion. 

April  22 — ]\lany  burglaries  occur  in  Bakersfield. 

Ma}-  6 — The  sixth  regiment,  N.  G.  C,  is  mustered  out  and  Company  G 
goes  with  it. 

May  15 — The  Edison  Electric  Company's  first  power  plant  in  Kern  river 
canon  is  put  in  commission. 

May  16 — A  month's  course  of  lectures  at  the  \Voman's  Club  hall  by 
State  University  professors  is  begun.  Truxtun  Beale,  who  pays  the  expenses 
of  the  course,  proposes  to  make  it  an  annual  affair. 

May  24 — The  Bakersfield  Club  is  drawing  plans  for  a  club  building. 

May  28 — State  Aerie  of  Eagles  meets  in  Bakersfield. 

May  31 — Burglars  crack  Attorney  Clafiin's  safe  with  a  sledge  hammer 
and  trj'  to  enter  three  other  offices  in  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield  building. 

June  11 — Colored  Mason's  grand  lodge  meets  in  Bakersfield.  Illegal  gam- 
bling is  being  suppressed. 

June  21 — A  petition  for  the  consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  is  put 
in  circulation. 

July  3 — The  east  levee  of  Buena  Vista  lake  breaks  and  floods  the  old 
swamp  lands  to  the  east  border  of  Kern  lake,  doing  damage  estimated  at 
$250,000. 

July  11 — Southern  Pacific  will  continue  its  pipe  line  to  Port  Costa. 

July  12 — J.  W.  \\''iley  is  appointed  code  commissioner. 

July  15 — Work  of  repairing  break  in  Buena  Vista  levee  begins. 

July  20 — Judge  Paul  \A'.  Bennett  is  acting  as  trustee  to  secure  titles  from 
the  government  to  Havilah  town  lots.  Havilah  was  built  on  unsurveyed 
land,  and  the  residents  have  held  their  lots  all  these  years  by  right  of  occu- 
pation only. 

July  20 — Mr.  and  ]\Irs.  S.  J.  Swift,  driving  a  Ford  auto  from  Los  Angeles 
to  San  Francisco  on  their  wedding  trip,  let  the  empty  machine  run  off  the 
grade  in  Tejon  canon  and  fall  eighty  feet  to  the  bottom.  Swift,  who  is  a 
machinist,  rebuilds  the  car  with  an  old  saw,  an  axe,  a  jack  knife  and  a  lot  of 
bailing  wire  and  drives  it  into  town,  making  a  record  in  emergency  auto  re- 
pairing. 

August  6 — Trustees  sell  sewer  bonds  to  Los  Angeles  Trust  Company 
for  par  and  accrued  interest  to  date  of  delivery. 

August  9 — Enormous  deposits  of  rich  ore  uncovered  in  Clear  Creek 
canon. 

August  11 — Destructive  forest  fire  burns  over  several  thousand  acres  in 
the  Greenhorn  mountain. 

August   31 — Sunset    Road   Oil   Company   makes   contract    with    the    Salt 


168  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Lake  Road  to  supply  them  with  fuel  oil  for  a  period  of  five  years  at  thirty 
to  fifty  cents. 

September  1-1 — Eight  hundred  pupils  are  enrolled  in  the  city  schools. 

September  17 — Illegal  gambling  closed  again. 

September  18 — Kern  county  oil  takes  prize  at  the  State  Fair. 

September  20 — Eagles  hold  first  meeting  in  new  hall. 

September  25 — The  pipe  organ  for  the  Episcopal  church  arrives. 

October  1 — Trustees  order  census  of  Kern  and  Bakersfield  in  prepara- 
tion for  consolidation, 

October  10 — Truxtun  Beale  presents  to  trustees  plans  for  a  Greek  the- 
atre to  be  built  in  Beale  park.     It  is  built  later  at  Beale's  expense. 

October  22 — A  valuable  collection  of  pictures,  the  gift  of  Truxtun  Beale, 
was  placed  in  the  new  high  school  building. 

October  27 — Census  returns  for  the  city  of  Bakersfield,  7,338,  and  for 
Kern,  3,422. 

October  31 — The  first  tract  is  sold  in  the  Mountain  View  Colony. 

November  5 — The  contract  for  the  Hall  of  Records  is  let  to  Weymouth 
Crowell  of  Los  Angeles  for  $44,340. 

November  14— Thomas  B.  Larson,  a  pioneer  of  Linns  Valley  district 
dies  in  San  Francisco  aged  eighty-two  years. 

December  4 — Trustees  call  for  bids  for  sewer  construction.  M.  W.  Buff- 
ington  qualifies  as  city  engineer. 

December  5 — Supervisors  plan  to  raise  saloon  tax  from  $100  to  $300. 

December  8 — Work  begins  on  Greek  theatre. 

December  19 — The  Bakersfield  band  is  organized. 

December  31 — Thirty-one  thousand  acres  of  the  Cox  ranch  sold. 

January  1,  1908 — The  Santa  Fe  is  finishing  its  new  thirty-five-stall  round 
house. 

January  7 — City  trustees  let  contract  to  Glass  &  Fisher  to  build  new 
sewer  system  for  $53,877. 

January  10 — City  trustees  call  Bakersfield  and  Kern  consolidation  elec- 
tion for  February  25th. 

January  11 — F.  A.  Tracy,  pioneer,  dies. 

January  11 — Congressman  Smith  has  introduced  a  bill  to  provide  a  post 
ofiice  building  for  Bakersfield  and  the  post  office  department  has  asked  for 
statistics  regarding  the  town  and  the  business  of  the  ofiice. 

January  1-^1 — W.  S.  Tevis  files  libel  suit  against  San  Francisco  Bulletin. 

January  31 — The  Independent  Agency  is  standing  pat  on  its  demand  for 
seventy-five  cents  per  barrel  from  the  Associated.  First  meeting  is  held  to 
organize  a  branch  of  the  Lincoln-Roosevelt  League  in  Bakersfield. 

Februar}'  11 — The  ^^'oman's  club  plans  to  issue  bonds  to  cover  its  in- 
debtedness of  $2400. 

February  18 — I\Iayor  Bailey  introduces  an  ordinance  to  reduce  the  price 
of  gas  to  $1.  It  never  passed,  but  it  caused  a  long  controversy  and  great  ex- 
pectations. 

February  19 — Independent  Oil  Producers  Agency  closes  contract  with 
the  Associated  for  the  sale  of  its  oil  for  two  years  at  sixty  and  one-half  cents 
for  the  first  year  and  sixty-three  for  the  second  year. 

February  25 — The  first  election  for  the  cpnsolidating  of  Bakersfield  and 
Kern  is  carried  in  Bakersfield  but  is  lost  in  Kern. 

March  4 — Disorderly  saloons  are  under  investigation  and  Trustee 
Everett  St.  Clair  promises  to  introduce  the  afterward  famous  St.  Clair  ordi- 
nance, to  close  dance  halls  and  side  and  rear  entrances  of  the  saloons. 

March  9 — St.  Clair  ordinances  are  introduced  at  a  meeting  attended  by 
the  largest  audience  the  city  trustees  ever  had. 

March  11 — Municipal  reform  is  the  chief  talk  of  the  town. 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  169 

March   13 — Lincoln-Roosevelt  League  organized  b)-  Chester  H.   Rowell. 

March  16 — St.  Clair  ordinances  are  passed. 

March  17 — Santa  Fe  round  house  is  accepted. 

March  20 — Walter  Stiern  and  Drurj'  Wieman  win  third  intercollegiate 
debate  for  Kern  county  high  school,  making  three  annual  viccories  for  the 
local  school. 

March  23 — Illegal  gambling  gets  "another  death  blow." 

!March  23 — The  Tliomas  flyer.  America's  car  in  the  International  New 
York  to  Paris  automobile  race,  goes  through  Bakersfield. 

March  24 — It  is  announced  that  a  railroad  will  be  built  from  Los  Ange- 
les to  San  Francisco  via  the  Tejon  canon  and  the  west  side  oil  fields.  (It 
has  not  yet  materialized.) 

March  26 — Oil  men  meet  to  urge  passage  of  Smith  oil  land  bill. 

March  31 — To  the  tune  of  "Auld  Lang  Syne,"  "Home  Sweet  Home"  and 
"There'll  Be  a  Hot  Time  in  the  Old  Town  Tonight."  the  dance  halls  closed 
at  midnight  in  compliance  with  the  St.  Clair  ordinance.  The  Owl  and  Stand- 
ard will  continue  to  sell  soft  drinks. 

April  5 — Gambling  is  in  full  blast  again. 

April  7 — Soft  drink  dance  halls  are  dull. 

April  13 — Woman's  Club  urges  park  improvement. 

April  13 — It  is  announced  that  City  Trustee  George  A.  Tilton  will  resign 
from  the  board  as  the  result  of  an  efifort  to  get  him  to  introduce  amendments 
to  the  St.  Clair  ordinances. 

April  16 — Labor  council  endorses  Trustee  Tilton  and  petitions  are  in  cir- 
culation asking  the  trustees  to  appoint  G.  J.  Planz  to  the  expected  vacancy. 
Fred  Gunther  is  also  advanced  as  a  candidate  for  the  place. 

April  21 — Trustee  Tilton  resigned. 

April  27 — The  Wasco  Congregationalists  are  building  a  church. 

April  28 — The  Delunega  stage  and  four  horses  roll  200  feet  down  a  cliff. 
The  passengers  jump  and  escape  with  varying  degrees  of  injury. 

April  30 — Kern  city  is  discussing  municipal  water  works,  but  never 
takes  final  action. 

May  2 — The  Order  of  Owls,  Bakersfield  Nest,  is  organized  with  twenty- 
one  charter  members. 

May  2 — Ardizzi-Olcese  plant  five  acres  to  oranges  on  the  Kern  Heights. 

May  3 — R.  G.  Hill,  cattleman  of  Tehachapi,  buys  twenty-five  sections  of 
the  Towne  ranch. 

May  5 — Second  movement  for  consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern 
starts  with  petitions  circulating  in  both  towns. 

May  7 — The  funeral  of  Wellington  Canfield,  pioneer  ranch  ciwner,  is 
held  in  Bakersfield. 

May  14 — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Placido  Giglo  are  experimenting  with  silk  culture 
in  Bakersfield. 

Mav  15 — Kernites  saw  the  big  fleet  of  war  shijjs  at  San   Francisco. 

June  4 — Kern  City  stores  close  during  funeral  of  James  L.  Depauli. 

June  5 — Anti-saloon  league  presents  petition  with  624  signatures  asking 
the  county  supervisors  to  pass  an  ordinance  giving  each  precinct  local  option. 
The  ordinance  was  never  passed. 

June  11 — Bakersfield  buys  the  west  half  of  section  3,  30-28  from  the 
Southern  Pacific  for  a  sewer  farm.     Price  $2.30  an  acre. 

June  27— Bakersfield  will  spend  $2200  celebrating  the  Fourth. 

June  27 — An  organization  of  citizens  is  making  a  crusade  against  illegal 
gambling.  Constable  D.  B.  Newell  and  citizen  deputies  raid  crap  and  rou- 
lette games  at  1215  Twent3'-first  street  and  M.  H.  Sisson  swears  to  complaint 
against  the  gamblers. 


170  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

July  3 — Undersheriff  T.  A.  Baker,  Constable  Newell  and  thirty  citizens 
raid  the  Palace,  Standard  and  Owl  dance  halls  and  arrest  the  keepers. 

July  16 — The  jury  disagrees  in  the  first  gambling  trial. 

July  19 — The  county  assessment  roll  shows  an  increase  of  $2,371,641  over 
1907.    Present  total,  $26,712,953. 

July  21 — The  Sisters  of  Mercy  buy  the  L.  P.  St.  Clair  residence  at  H.  and 
Fourteenth  streets  for  a  hospital. 

July  27 — Kern  County  Anti-saloon  League  organized. 

August  4 — State  Federation  of  Colored  Woman's  Clubs  meets  in  Bakers- 
field.    Colored  Odd  Fellows  open  district  lodge. 

August  6 — Charles  P.  Fox  launches  the  California  Oil  World,  a  weekly 
devoted  to  the  state  oil  industry. 

September  6 — The  St.  Clair  Hospital,  afterward  Mercy  Hospital,  is  opened. 

September  7 — Kern  County  High  School  opens  with  two  new  depart- 
ments, manual  training  and  domestic  science.      Delano  installs  first  street  light. 

September  7 — Bakersfield  city  schools  show  attendance  of  792;  High 
School  211  ;  Kern  city  schools  440. 

September  9 — A.  F.  Stoner  is  appointed  city  trustee  to  fill  vacancy  left 
by  George  A.  Tilton's  resignation. 

September  10 — New  hall  of  records  is  accepted.     Cost,  $50,000. 

September  11 — Gamblers  arrested  in  citizens'  crusade  plead  guilty.  Crap 
and  roulette  tables  will  be  shipped  to  Nevada. 

September  22 — State  convention  of  county  assessors  meets  in  Bakersfield. 

September  25 — Woodmen  of  the  World  adopt  plans  for  building  at  I  and 
Eighteenth  streets. 

October  7 — Dance  hall  cases  go  on  trial  before  Justice  of  the  Peace  Black 
and  Slim  Moore  is  acquitted. 

October  10 — John  McWilliams  buys  5000  acres  of  Lerdo  Land  from  Kern 
County  Land  Company. 

November  13 — Building  boom  strikes  Bakersfield. 

November  18 — First  probation  committee  appointed. 

December  3 — Mrs.  F.  A.  Tracy  gives  two  acres  of  land  to  Children's 
Shelter  in  memory  of  her  husband,  F.  A.  Tracy. 

December  5 — First  Children's  Shelter  tag  day  is  held  and  $6,000  is  raised. 

December  17 — Union  Oil  Company  has  leased  6000  acres  of  land  from 
the  Sunset  Road  Oil  Company. 

December  22 — Bakersfield  new  sewer  system  is  finished. 

January  15,  1909 — High  water  in  Kern  river  threatens  levees.  The  river 
is  carrying  about  15,000  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second. 

January  21 — H.  L.  Packard  dies  in  San  Francisco. 

February  3 — O.  D.  Fish  dies  in  Los  Angeles. 

February  5 — Supervisors  create  Aqueduct  and  Standard  School  districts. 

February  7 — W.  T.  Jameson  dies  at  his  ranch. 

February  25 — The  Edison  Land  &  Water  Company  is  organized. 

February  27 — Mrs.  W.  M.  Beekman  and  four  children  are  burned  to  death 
in  their  beds  when  their  home  is  consumed  by  fire.  The  origin  of  the  fire 
still  remains  a  mystery. 

March  13 — The  edict  goes  forth  that  illegal  gambling  in  the  AVest  Side 
oil  towns  must  cease. 

April  15 — The  Independent  Oil  Producers'  Agency  asks  producers  to 
curtail  the  production  of  oil  for  six  months  on  account  of  the  increasing 
surplus. 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  171 

April  20 — Henry  J.  Martens  lands  here  with  fifty  Mennonites  to  found 
the  Lerdo  colony.  The  colony  failed  because  Martens  could  not  give  title  to 
the  land,  and  the  colonists  scattered  to  other  parts  of  the  county  and  the  state. 
The  first  children's  playground  in  Bakersfield  is  opened  under  the  supervision 
of  Aliss  Evelyn  Pluss. 

April  21 — Admiral  Robley  D.  Evans  lectures  in  Bakersfield. 

April  25 — A  Kern  county  steer  weighing  2500  pounds  live  weight  and 
standing  twenty  hands  high,  is  slaughtered  in  San  Francisco  by  Miller  &  Lux, 
who  claim  that  it  is  the  record  for  size. 

April  28— The  Associated  Oil  Company  votes  $25,000,000  bonds  to  build 
pipe  lines  from  Coalinga  to  Port  Costa  and  from  its  west  side  holdings  to 
Gaviota  and  for  other  improvements. 

April  29— A  $55,000  school  bond  election  called  fur  May  22  to  build  an 
addition  to  the  Lowell  school  and  buy  sites  for  two  more  buildings. 

May  6 — There  are  over  200  motor  cars  in  Kern  county. 

May  6 — The  Elks  are  excavating  for  their  building  on  South  Chester. 

The  Bakersfield  band  is  ])laying  at  Nineteenth  and  Chester  every  Saturday 
night  during  the  summer. 

May  9 — The  Kern  County  High  School  captures  the  pennant  in  the 
valley  inter-scholastic  track  meet.  Lloyd  Stroud,  Cecil  Baker,  Gordon  Baker. 
John  Stroud,  Antone  Wegis  and  Drury  Wieman  are  the  stars. 

May  12 — William  Harrison  Lowell,  Civil  war  veteran  and  Kern  county 
pioneer,  dies. 

May  21 — Plans  are  drawn  for  the  Producers'  Transportation  Company's 
pipe  line  to  the  coast.  Capt.  John  Barker,  pioneer,  dies  at  his  home  in  Bakers- 
field. 

June  2 — The  school   census   shows   5039  school   children   in   the  county. 

June  '^ — The  supervisors  decide  to  call  an  election  to  vote  $400,000  in 
bonds  fo\  a  new  court  house. 

June  11 — The  Producers'  Transportation  Company  files  incorporation 
papers. 

June  II — Bakersfield  merchants  organize  the  Kern  County  Credit  Asso- 
ciation to  protect  its  members  from  bad  debts. 

June  15 — Caliente  is  wiped  out  by  fire.     Loss,  $46,800. 

June  17 — The  subject  of  better  levee  protection  is  discussed  in  Bakersfield. 

July  5 — The  Eagles  celebrate  with  a  big  picnic  and  barbecue. 

July  9 — The  Druids  are  finishing  their  hall  in  East  Bakersfield. 

July  16 — ^The  county  supervisors  decide  to  add  an  agricultural  department 
to  the  High  School.  A  small  plot  of  rentf^d  ground  was  used  for  experimental 
purposes  for  a  time  and  later  the  Hudnut  Park  tract  of  twenty-six  acres  was 
bought  by  the  county  from  the  Kern  County  Fair  Association. 

July  20— The  county  assessment  roll  totals  $31,787,898. 

August  21 — The  county's  hay  and  grain  crop  is  estimated  at  $1,271,000. 

August  25 — A  Santa  Fe  freight  train  with  forty-seven  loaded  cars  runs 
away  down  the  Tehachapi  grade  and  collides  with  a  switch  engine  in  the 
yards  at  Mojave.     Five  men  killed;  property  loss,  $200,000. 

August  30 — Dr.  A.  F.  Schafer  is  experimenting  with  the  manufacture  of 
serums  for  the  cure  of  acute  diseases. 

September  12 — City  schools  open  with  965  pupils  and  twent}--four  teach- 
ers ;  High  School,  205  pupils. 

September  14 — Kern  county  votes  $400,000  to  build  a  new  court  house. 

September  22 — Miller  &  Lux  are  extending  the  old  Kern  Valley  Water 


172  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Company's  canal  north  along  the  west  side  of  the  swamp  and  plan  eventu- 
ally to  continue  it  to  Tulare  lake. 

September  25 — A  new  movement  is  launched  to  consolidate  Bakersfield 
and  Kern. 

September  27 — The  historic  oil  land  withdrawal  order  is  made,  and 
many  thousands  of  acres  of  oil  land  claims  in  the  West  Side  fields  are  clouded. 

October  1 — The  Bakersfield  Baseball  Association  is  organized  and  a 
valley  league  is  planned. 

October  2 — The  Kern  County  Land  Company  sells  five  sections  for  the 
Mountain  View  colonization  project. 

Much  general  interest  is  taken  in  oil  lands  on  the  North  McKittrick  front. 

October  10 — President  Taft  speaks  to  many  thousands  from  a  platform 
near  the  Southern  Pacific  depot  in  East  Bakersfield. 

October  13 — The  Edison  Land  &  Water  Company  is  subdividing  its  land 
at-  $200  per  acre  with  an  interest  in  pumping  plants  and  cement  irrigation 
systems. 

October  22 — The  town  of  Moron  is  wiped  out  by  fire.     Loss  $35,000. 

October  28 — Two  auto  loads  of  gun  fighters  go  out  to  do  battle  over  the 
J.  C.  Yancey  oil  claims  on  the  North  McKittrick  front.     No  blood  shed. 

Business  men  are  looking  for  stores  to  rent  in  Bakersfield,  but  none  are 
to  be  found. 

November  2 — Bakersfield  city  trustees  pass  a  12 :30  saloon-closing 
ordinance. 

Transient  visitors  to  Bakersfield  have  to  telegraph  several  days  ahead 
to  secure  rooms,  the  town  is  so  full  of  people.  The  1910  oil  boom  is  getting 
under  way. 

November  12 — The  Children's  Shelter  is  dedicated. 

November  25 — Flaming  arc  street  lights  are  being  placed  along  Nine- 
teenth street  by  property  owners. 

December  10 — Plans  are  made  for  organizing  a  building  trades  council. 

The  Producers'  Transportation  Company's  pipe  line  will  be  finished 
January  15th. 

December  21 — Bakersfield  and  Kern  vote  to  consolidate.  Bakersfield, 
518,  for;  186.  against.    Kern,  265.  for;  154,  against. 

December  29 — Barney  Oldfield  makes  a  mile  in  1 :10^  with  an  auto- 
mobile at  Hudnut  park,  lowering  the  former  record  of  1  :12  for  a  mile  on  a 
half-mile  dirt  track. 

December  30 — The  year's  building  record  in  Bakersfield  is  estimated  at 
$221,300,  and  fifty-three  buildings  are  under  construction.  Building  trades- 
men employed  are:  Carpenters.  180;  plumbers,  25;  painters,  50;  brick 
masons,  30;  plasterers,  15  ;  cement  workers,  25  :  inside  wirers,  10;  laborers,  100. 

December  30 — Fifteen  Bakersfield  architects  banquet  at  the  Southern 
hotel.     Building  activity  is  near  the  top  notch  in  Bakersfield's  history. 

December  31 — Many  auto  loads  of  armed  men  leave  Bakersfield  for  the 
West  Side  to  post  oil  land  locations  with  the  stroke  of  midnight,  and  usher 
in  with  the  new  year  the  last  great  contest  to  take  and  hold — by  force  if  need 
be — the  rich  government  oil  land  of  the  Midway  valley  and  the  Elk  and 
Buena  Vista  hills. 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  173 

CHAPTER  XVI 
Brief  Histories  of  Kern  County  Towns 

Ever  since  Bakersfield  wrested  the  county  seat  from  Havilah  in  1874 
she  has  been  the  center  of  trade,  growth  and  development  in  the  county, 
and  as  such  her  story  is  closely  interwoven  with  the  story  of  the  county, 
told  in  the  preceding  pages.  It  is  not  the  purpose  to  repeat  this  story  in  detail 
in  this  chapter,  but  only  to  pick  out  some  of  the  more  important  dates  and 
events  in  the  town's  history  for  convenience  in  reference  and  for  the  purpose 
of  furnishing  a  little  clearer  picture  of  Bakersfield's  progress  than  the  general 
history  of  the  county  affords. 

The  location  of  Bakersfield  was  fore-ordained  from  the  time  the 
geography  of  the  southern  end  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  was  determined. 
It  is  located  at  the  point  where  Kern  river  leaves  the  deep  furrow  which  it 
has  ploughed  for  itself  through  the  higher  mesa  land  and  reaches  the  flat, 
alluvial  plain.  It  is  the  point  where  the  water  of  the  river  could  be  most 
easily  and  profitably  diverted  for  irrigation,  and  the  soil  of  the  townsite  was 
such  as  to  tempt  the  first  settlers  in  the  valley  to  locate  there. 
Bakersfield  in  1859 

The  first  of  these  settlers  who  established  permanent  homes  on  what 
is  now  the  site  of  Bakersfield  came  in  1859  or  just  before  that  date.  At  that 
time  Bakersfield  was  not  a  swamp,  but  Kern  river  divided  just  below  Pano- 
rama heights  and  flowed  through  the  present  townsite  in  two  main  and  one 
or  two  lesser  channels.  The  largest  of  the  channels  was  later  known  as 
Panama  slough  and  crossed  the  townsite  diagonally  to  the  southwest,  passing 
the  present  corner  of  B  and  Nineteenth  street.  The  second  largest  channel 
was  the  old  south  fork,  the  remains  of  which  are  still  in  evidence  just  west  of 
the  Mill  ditch. 

In  1859  the  Overland  stage  road  or  immigrant  trail  which  came  through 
Tejon  pass  ran  through  the  Lowell  addition  and  crossed  the  river  somewhere 
west  of  Panorama  heights.  Immigrants  entering  the  valley  over  this  road 
formed  the  first  transient  settlement  of  what  is  now  Bakersfield,  and  in  the 
winter  of  1861-62,  at  the  time  of  the  first  flood  that  history  records,  this 
settlement  numbered  something  more  than  half  a  dozen  families  besides  na- 
tive Indians. 

The  flood  came  the  day  after  Christmas  and  cut  a  new  channel  for  the 
river — the  one  it  now  follows — as  is  described  in  more  detail  in  chapter  five 
of  this  book.  Some  of  the  settlers  and  a  good  part  of  the  Indian  population 
moved  away  when  the  roads  got  dry  enough,  but  at  least  four  families  re- 
mained, the  Shirleys,  the  Gilberts,  Harvey  S.  Skiles  and  Lewis  Reeder. 
Coming  of  Colonel   Baker 

In  1862  came  Colonel  Thomas  Baker  and  Edward  Tibbet.  Colonel  Baker 
had  a  contract  with  the  state  to  reclaim  all  the  swamp  land  that  was  over- 
flowed by  Kern  river  and  immediateh'  began  the  construction  of  a  dam  across 
the  south  fork  below  Panorama  heights.  The  other  settlers  farmed  the  future 
townsite. 

In  1863  a  private  school  was  estabHshed  in  the  settlement,  and 
the    first    public    school    was    opened    in    1877.      During    the    Civil    war    the 


174  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

mail  service  over  the  southern  route  was  discontinued,  and  the  settlers  here 
got  their  mail  from  Los  Angeles  or  Visalia  by  the  courtesy  of  neighbors  or 
travelers.    The  first  post  office  was  established  at  Bakersfield  about  1868. 

In  the  winter  of  1867-8  came  the  second  flood,  larger  than  the  first, 
cutting  the  new  channel  deeper  and  strewing  the  townsite  with  logs  from 
the  mountains. 

Kern  County  Created 

Kern  county  was  created  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  on  April  2,  1866, 
by  which  the  county  seat  was  fixed  at  Havilah.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the 
county  supervisors,  however,  was  to  organize  reclamation  districts  covering 
the  land  all  around  Bakersfield,  and  the  settlement  soon  took  on  an  activity 
that  foreshadowed  its  eclipse  of  the  mountain  town  the  legislature  had  hon- 
ored. 

Bakersfield  Formally  Laid  Out 

On  December  11,  1869,  A.  D.  Jones,  publisher  of  the  Havilah  Courier, 
moved  his  plant  to  Bakersfield,  which  Colonel  Baker  had  formally  laid  out 
the  September  preceding.  In  January,  1870,  Bakersfield  had  two  stores,  Liv- 
ermore  &  Chester's  and  Caswell  &  Ellis',  a  telegraph  office,  printing  shop, 
carriage  shop,  harness  shop,  fifty  school  children,  two  boarding  houses,  one 
doctor,  one  lawyer  and  a  saloon. 

In  March,  1870,  the  town  was  resurveyed,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year 
a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  legislature  to  make  it  the  county  seat,  but  it  did 
not  become  a  law.  At  that  time  the  whole  population  of  "the  island"  was 
placed  at  600. 

In  September,  1871,  the  surveyors  were  running  preliminary  lines  through 
Bakersfield  for  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  and  a  month  later  it  is  recorded 
that  Havilah  residents  were  moving  to  Bakersfield  and  bringing  their  houses 
with  them.    Colonel  Baker  died  November  24,  1872. 

Bakersfield  Wins  the  County  Seat 

Efforts  of  Bakersfield  to  secure  the  county  seat  resulted  in  an  election  on 
February  15.  1873,  in  which  Bakersfield  was  declared  the  winner  by  twelve 
votes.  Havilah  secured  an  injunction,  however,  and  litigation  followed  which 
resulted  in  a  new  count  of  the  ballots  on  January  26,  1874.  in  which  the 
figures  stood.  Bakersfield,  354;  Havilah,  332. 

For  the  growth  which  made  this  victory  possible  Bakersfield  was  indebted 
to  the  rich  delta  lands,  which  were  being  hungrily  gathered  up  under  the 
generous  swamp  reclamation  laws.  By  this  time  Livermore  &  Chester  had 
become  the  dominant  factors  in  the  community  and  were  carrying  on  large 
operations  in  land  reclamation,  teaming,  trading  and  other  lines.  The  town 
was  a  center  for  sheep  and  cattle  men,  and  was  a  stopping  place  for  teamsters 
hauling  ore  and  other  products  from  the  south  and  east  to  the  end  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  railroad,  which  was  then  building  down  the  valley. 

Bakersfield  Is  Incorporated 

In  May,  1873,  the  county  supervisors,  acting  on  a  petition  of  residents, 
declared  Bakersfield  an  incorporated  town,  and  on  May  24th  the  first  city 
officers  were  elected  as  follows:  Trustees,  W.  S.  Adams,  L.  S.  Rogers.  M. 
Jacoby,  J.  B.  Tungate.  and  R.  W.  Withingtnn. 

Early  in  1874  W.  B.  Carr.  the  fore-runner  of  J.  B.  Haggin  and  the  Kern 
County  Land  Company,  arrived  in  Bakersfield.     That  spring  the  first  ]\Ieth- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  175 

odist  Episcopal  church  was  built.  In  August  the  Southern  Pacific  reached 
the  north  side  of  the  river;  in  September  it  was  getting  ready  to  lay  out  the 
town  of  Sumner,  afterward  Kern,  now  East  Bakersfield.  On  September  1, 
1874,  George  B.  Chester  deeded  to  the  county  the  old  court  house  block, 
and  on  October  5th  a  contract  was  let  for  the  erection  of  a  court  house  at  a 
cost  of  $29,999. 

Bakersfield  Disincorporates 

A  perusal  of  the  fuller  accounts  in  chapters  seven  and  eight  will  show 
that  this  was  an  era  of  great  expectation  for  Bakersfield.  But  the  railroad  did 
less  for  the  town  than  had  been  expected,  and  a  series  of  dry  years  and  the 
beginning  of  a  contest  between  Livermore  &  Chester  and  Haggin  &  Carr 
for  control  of  the  irrigation  waters  caused  a  period  of  waiting  and  uncer- 
tainty that  checked  the  town's  growth.  In  1876  Bakersfield  got  tired  of  paying 
a  town  marshal  $7b  per  month  for  doing  nothing,  and  disincorporated.  It 
was  incorporated  a  second  time  January  11,  1898. 

B}-  1880  Billy  Carr  had  out-generaled  Julius  Chester,  and  Haggin  &  Carr 
succeeded  Livermore  &  Chester  as  the  dominant  factors  in  the  growth  of 
Bakersfield  and  Kern  county.  Then  came  the  contest  between  Haggin  &  Carr 
and  Miller  &  Lux  told  at  length  in  preceding  chapters,  and  the  final  com- 
promise by  which  the  waters  of  Kern  river  were  divided  between' the  two 
corporations.  This  compromise  was  embodied  in  an  agreement  signed  on 
July  28,  1888. 

Another  Era  of  Progress 

A  little  later  rumor  of  plans  for  the  colonization  of  the  Haggin  lands 
began  to  take  on  apparent  substance,  and  the  years  1888  and  1889  seem  to 
have  been  notable  for  community  progress  in  Bakersfield.  On  December  25, 
1887,  the  Silsby  fire  engine — revered  in  the  memory  of  the  pioneers — arrived 
in  town.  In  the  summer  of  1888  work  was  started  on  the  Southern  hotel.  That 
fall  L.  P.  St.  Clair  got  a  franchise  for  gas  and  electric  works,  and  the  next 
year  H.  A.  Blodget,  H.  H.  Fish  and  Jefif  Packard  got  a  franchise  for  the  first 
street  railway.  In  the  spring  of  1889  Haggin  did  put  a  small  amount  of  land 
on  the  market,  and  the  county  voted  $250,000  bonds  to  build  a  jail,  a  county 
hospital,  an  addition  to  the  court  house  and  to  improve  the  county  roads. 

July  7,  1889,  fire  swept  the  business  section  of  the  hopeful  young  city  and 
left  little  more  than 'some  acres  of  ashes  with  a  fringe  of  dwelling  houses 
around  them. 

Colonization  of  Rosedale 

In  September,  1890,  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  was  incorporated, 
S.  W.  Fergusson  was  made  manager,  and  the  colonization  of  the  Rosedale 
lands  was  begun.  Extensive  advertising  of  the  Rosedale  lands,  the  arrival 
of  colonists  and  the  expectation  of  the  people  of  Bakersfield  gave  the  town 
its  next  boom.  Building,  mostly  of  a  light  character,  went  forward  with 
feverish  activity. 

On  February  10,  1893.  Kern  river  broke  its  levees  and  the  water  flowed 
over  the  northern  part  of  the  town  and  stood  a  foot  deep  at  Nineteenth  and 
I  street,  but  in  a  few  days  it  disappeared  with  little  damage.  The  abundance 
of  water  which  the  flood  indicated  helped  the  Rosedale  colonists— nearly  all 
unaccustomed  to  irrigation — to  nvcr-irrigate  their  lands.  Succeeding  dry 
years  and  a  shortage  in  the  river  largely  remedied  the  error,  so  far  as  tlie  lands 


176  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

were  concerned,  but  the  colonists  meantime  became  doublj'  discouraged  by 
the  failure  of  their  crops  and  the  general  hard  times  of  1893  and  1894. 

When  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  fully  decided  that  the  Rosedale 
colonization  venture  was  a  failure  it  withdrew  its  agents,  stopped  selling  land, 
and  H.  A.  Jastro  succeeded  to  the  management  of  the  concern  and  its  great 
properties  in  the  county. 

Public  Utilities  in  1889-90 

The  first  gas  plant  was  built  in  Bakersfield  about  the  first  part  of  1889, 
and  the  first  electric  lighting  plant,  run  by  steam,  in  1890.  The  Power,  Tran- 
sit &  Light  Company  finished  the  electric  generating  plant  at  the  mouth  of 
Kern  river  caiion  in  1897  and  took  over  the  street  car  system,  which  pre- 
viously had  been  run  by  horse  power.  In  1897,  also,  the  Electric  Water  Com- 
pany took  over  the  old  Scribner  Water  Works  and  began  supplying  the  city 
generally  with  water.  Chapter  13  gives  important  events  and  dates  of  this 
period  in  detail. 

Kern  River  Oil  Boom 

In  May,  1899,  Jonathan  El  wood  and  his  son  James  discovered  oil  in  the 
Kern  river  field,  gave  a  great  incentive  to  the  oil  boom  that  was  beginning 
to  materialize  through  work  in  the  West  Side  fields,  and  started  the  greatest 
boom  that  Bakersfield  had  experienced  up  to  that  time  in  her  history.  In 
Bakersfield  the  result  of  this  boom  showed  mainly  in  the  rapid  building 
of  business  and  residence  buildings  to  meet  the  swiftly  expanding  demand 
and  the  laying  of  miles  of  cement  sidewalk  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  Before 
the  movement  for  public  improvement  reached  the  point  of  paving  more  than 
a  few  blocks  in  the  business  center  the  price  of  oil  dropped  under  the  weight  of 
over-production. 

Bakersfield  did  not  drop  back  from  the  eft'ects  of  this  boom,  nor  did  it 
ever  drop  back  from  the  effects  of  any  boom  in  its  history ;  it  has  always 
held  all  it  has  gained,  and  been  ready  to  take  advantage  of  the  next  incentive 
to  growth  that  good  fortune  afforded  it. 

Present  Prospects 

In  Chapter  15  the  more  recent  events  in  the  history  of  Bakersfield  are 
related  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  repeat  the  story  here.  At  the  present  time 
the  city  is  looking  forward  chiefly  to  prospective  colonization  enterprises,  to 
the  settlement  of  the  mesa  lands  through  pump  irrigation,  and  to  the  hope  of 
electric  railways  joining  this  city  and  Los  Angeles  via  the  Weed  Patch  and 
other  lines  from  this  city  to  the  West  Side  oil  towns.  Bonds  have  been  voted 
for  the  construction  of  a  system  of  paved  roads  connecting  Bakersfield  with 
all  parts  of  the  county,  and  by  these  and  other  means  the  city  is  hoping  to 
maintain  her  supremacy  as  the  trade  center  of  the  county,  a  destiny  of  no 
modest  proportions  when  the  vast  resources  of  the  county  are  developed. 

Towns  of  the  West  Side  Oil  Fields — Maricopa 

The  first  railroad  station  established  in  the  Sunset  oil  field  when  the 
Sunset  railroad  was  built  in  1.902  was  called  Hazelton,  but  the  wells  around 
the  first  terminal  were  small  producers,  and  the  development  gradually  drifted 
to  the  north.  The  railroad  followed  with  an  extension  of  its  tracks  past  the 
present  site  of  Maricopa  to  a  point  known  to  the  railroad  company  as  Monarch, 
but  which  never  attained  much  significance  in  the  mind  of  the  public.     Most 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  177 

oi  the  people  who  bought  tickets  to  Monarch  found  it  more  convenient  to 
get  off  at  a  point  a  mile  or  so  to  the  south  where  many  shallow  wells  producing 
a  heavy  road  oil  were  brought  in  about   1902  and   1903  and  thereafter,  and 

gradually — because  the  slump  in  oil  prices  discouraged  haste  in  those  days 

the  present  town  of  Maricopa  took  root  and  established  itself  as  the  per- 
manent trade  center  of  the  Sunset  field. 

The  first  store  was  opened  in  1906  by  F.  F.  Torpey,  and  the  first  hotel 
was  built  by  William  Carter.  C.  W.  Beatty  opened  a  store  in  Maricopa  in 
1C08,  and  also  served  as  postmaster  for  a  number  of  years. 

During  these  years  Maricopa  was  the  only  town  in  the  West  Side  oil 
fields,  and  she  therefore  claims  the  title  of  Mother  City  of  the  West  Side 
fields  as  well  as  the  title  of  The  Gusher  City.  But  it  was  not  until  the  gushers 
began  coming  in  and  the  boom  of  1909  and  1910  struck  the  West  Side  fields 
that  Maricopa  made  any  great  progress  toward  prosperity  or  permanence. 

But  when  the  Lakeview  gusher  baptized  the  town  with  oil  and  the  flood 
of  land  locators,  prospectors  and  genuine  oil  producers  began  to  arrive, 
Maricopa  arose  to  the  occasion.  In  1910  the  railroad  company  gave  up  the 
fiction  that  Monarch  was  the  chief  point  on  its  Sunset  line  and  built  a 
substantial  and  commodious  depot  at  Maricopa.  A  $12,000  grammar  school 
building  was  built,  two  new  hotels,  the  Lakeview  and  the  Lenox,  were  opened 
to  the  public,  the  first  garage  and  the  first  steam  laundry  were  built;  the 
VVagy  Water  Company  completed  laying  water  pipes  from  springs  in  the 
mountains,  affording  the  city  a  good  supply  of  water  for  domestic  purposes 
and  tire  protection ;  7,000  feet  of  private  sewer  main  were  laid,  and  gas  and 
electric  light  and  power  service  were  extended  to  all  parts  of  the  town. 
During  1910  new  houses  were  completed  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three  per  day, 
telephone  lines  were  extended  throughout  the  Sunset  field  with  a  central 
office  in  Maricopa,  and  later  these  lines  were  carried  to  all  parts  of  the 
expanding  West  Side  district  by  the  Kern  Mutual  Telephone  Company,  a 
West  Side  concern. 

Maricopa  was  incorporated  in  July,  1911,  at  which  time  the  following 
officers  were  elected:  Trustees,  C.  W.  Beatty,  W.  E.  Thornton,  James  Wal- 
lace, H.  C.  Doll  and  C.  Z.  Irvine;  clerk,  E.  E.  Ballagh ;  treasurer,  M.  Y. 
White;  recorder,  T.  W.  Brown;  attorney,  L.  R.  Godward ;  marshal,  H.  J. 
Babcock;  fire  chief,  Harry  Parke;  engineer,  L.  L.  Coleman. 

On  June  20,  1911,  about  a  third  of  Maricopa's  business  houses  were 
destroyed  by  fire,  but  all  the  buildings  were  promptly  replaced  by  others 
of  a  more  enduring  character. 

During  the  past  year  and  a  half  Maricopa's  growth  has  been  a  little  less 
rapid  owing  to  a  falling  off  in  the  activity  of  oil  development,  but  every 
year  the  permanence  of  the  West  Side  oil  fields  and  of  the  cities  that  depend 
upon  them  seems  more  and  more  assured. 

Maricopa  has  good  banking  facilities,  and  is  well  served  in  the  field 
of  journalism  by  the  Maricopa  Oil  News,  .\mong  the  prospects  for  the  future 
is  a  good  automobile  road  connecting  Maricopa  with  the  Ventura  coast,  and 
an  electric  railroad  from  Los  Angeles  via  Tejon  pass  through  Maricopa  to 
the  other  W^est  Side  towns.  The  citizens  of  Maricopa  have  been  actively 
promoting  the  coast  road  for  a  year  and  more  past,  and  are  now  very  hopeful 
that  it  will  be  built.  This  will  place  Maricopa  on  the  line  of  much  through 
travel  from  other  parts  of  the  valley  to  the  sea,  and  the  electric  line,  if  it  is 


178  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

built,  will  give  the  people  of  the  Sunset  town  quick  and  frequent  communica- 
tion with  Los  Angeles. 

Taft 

The  town  of  Taft  has  been  at  all  its  stages  the  logical  outgrowth  of  the 
necessities  of  the  Midway  oil  field,  of  which  it  is  the  business  center.  Although 
the  first  oil  prospectors  who  entered  Kern  county  from  Coalinga  overran  and 
located  the  greater  part  of  the  Midway  field,  the  lack  of  transportation 
facilities,  water  and  fuel  and  the  depth  of  the  oil  sands  as  compared  to  that 
in  the  older  parts  of  the  McKittrick  and  Sunset  fields  discouraged  develop- 
ment. A  map  of  the  field  published  in  1901  shows  but  six  oil  wells,  all  in 
township  32-23.  At  that  time  900  or  1000  feet  was  considered  the  limit  of 
profitable  drilling,  whereas  the  big  producers  of  the  field  in  later  years  were 
brought  in,  for  the  most  part,  at  twice  that  depth,  or  more. 

In  1903  and  thereabout,  in  the  Midway  field,  occurred  some  of  the  bit- 
terest contests  over  oil  lands  that  have  marked  the  history  of  the  industry  in 
the  state,  but  the  drop  in  oil  prices  just  after  that  period  reduced  the  activity 
of  the  Midway  operators  almost  to  the  vanishing  point.  As  late  as  1907  the 
production  of  the  Midway  field  was  only  134,174  barrels  for  the  entire  year, 
less  than  half  what  some  of  the  later  wells  of  the  territory  produced  per  well 
in  a  month. 

But  with  the  cleaning  up  of  the  surplus  oil  stocks  of  the  state  during 
1907,  interest  turned  again  to  the  Midway  field,  and  the  train  of  events  which 
resulted  in  the  building  of  Taft  began.  Foreseeing  that  the  possession  of 
its  own  supply  of  fuel  might  some  day  be  of  great  advantage,  the  Santa  Fe 
railroad  bought  the  extensive  holdings  of  Chanslor  &  Canfield  in  the  Midway 
field;  the  Standard  Oil  Company  also  began  to  acquire  land  in  Midway — the 
first  venture  of  the  big  concern  into  the  field  of  production  in  this  state — 
and  the  construction  of  the  Standard  pipe  line  from  the  Kern  river  field  to 
Midway  was  begun.  Under  the  name  of  the  Sunset  Western,  the  Sunset  rail- 
road was  extended  from  Maricopa  to  a  point  a  little  northwest  of  the  present 
townsite  of  Taft,  and  a  side  track  for  the  unloading  of  lumber  and  oil  well 
supplies  was  put  in.  In  the  winter  of  1908-9  an  excursion  of  Bakersfield 
people  went  by  train  to  the  end  of  the  Sunset  Western  road  and  spent  half 
an  hour  looking  at  the  sights  of  the  embryo  metropolis  of  the  Midway  field. 
They  consisted  of  two  or  three  shacks  and  several  acres  of  oil  well  casing 
and  derrick  timbers  piled  along  the  siding. 

But  when  the  town  began  to  grow  it  lost  no  time.  By  the  summer  of  1909 
it  had  ten  or  a  dozen  business  houses  and  some  200  inhabitants,  and  in  July 
of  that  year  it  was  given  a  post  office  with  H.  A.  Hopkins,  one  of  the  pioneer 
merchants,  as  postmaster.  Less  than  two  years  later  the  population  had  been 
multiplied  by  ten,  and  the  business  had  increased  still  faster. 

But  there  were  intervening  vicissitudes.  Before  the  railroad  was  built 
water  had  to  be  hauled  from  Buena  Vista  lake  and  cost  $8  per  barrel.  After- 
ward it  was  shipped  by  tank  cars  from  East  Bakersfield  and  retailed  at 
fifty  cents.  The  town  was  first  built  on  the  south  side  of  the  railroad  track 
on  land  leased  from  the  railroad  on  short  tenure,  and  the  architecture  was  of  a 
correspondingly  frail  and  temporary  character.  On  October  22,  1909,  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  a  drunken  man  tried  to  light  a  distillate  burner  in  a 
Chinese  restaurant.  He  turned  on  the  distillate  and  struck  a  match.  The 
match  went  out,  and  he  struck  another.    Meantime  the  distillate  flowed  out 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  179 

of  the  stove  and  through  a  hole  in  the  floor.  The  second  match  started  the 
fire.  There  was  an  explosion,  and  in  an  hour  and  a  half  the  business  street 
of  the  little  Midway  town  was  in  ashes.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  a  fire 
department,  and  the  total  supply  of  water  in  the  town  at  the  time  was  esti- 
mated at  ten  gallons.  Some  of  the  losers  by  the  fire  were  I^vans  &  Parish, 
general  merchants;  W.  L.  Alvord,  confectioner;  Hahn  &  KruU,  furniture 
dealers:  Max  Tupper.  stationer;  Fred  O'Brien,  pool  hall  and  barber  shop; 
Harry  A.  Hopkins,  general  merchant  and  postmaster;  S.  C.  Burchard,  butcher; 
James  &  Dooley,  clothing  merchants ;  Dr.  Summers,  and  two  or  three  others. 

The  remainder  of  the  town  was  composed  of  tents,  tent  houses  and 
shacks  of  the  lightest  construction.  The  railroad  company  in  July  had  notified 
its  lessees  on  the  south  side  of  the  track  that  all  that  ground  was  needed  for 
sidings,  and  had  platted  a  townsite  on  the  north  side  of  the  track  where 
lots  were  offered  for  sale  outright,  except  with  provisions  in  the  deed  reserv- 
ing the  right  to  drill  for  oil  and  forbidding  the  sale  of  liquor. 

About  the  same  time  J.  W.  Jameson  platted  a  townsite  on  the  south 
side  of  the  railroad  a  little  distance  from  the  tracks  on  section  24,  and  a 
sharp  contest  arose  over  the  location  of  the  post  office.  The  railroad  company 
won  the  post  office  and  most  of  the  business  houses,  although  enough  of  the 
latter  located  on  the  Jameson  townsite  to  make  quite  a  showing  and  to  keep 
the  ultimate  result  of  the  rivalry  between  the  two  locations  in  doubt  for  a  con- 
siderable time. 

Up  to  this  time  the  railroad  had  called  the  new  town  Moro,  but  as  there 
was  an  express  office  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  by  that  name  an  "n"  was 
added  to  the  end  of  the  name  of  the  Midway  town.  But  there  was  a  Moron 
in  Colorado,  and  the  postal  authorities  objected  to  duplicating  the  name  in 
California,  as  the  abbreviations  used  for  the  two  states  look  so  much  alike. 

After  many  weeks  of  debate  and  the  vigorous  rejection  of  several  sug- 
gested names,  Postmaster  Hopkins,  sitting  in  the  office  of  Postmaster  R.  A. 
Edmonds  in  Bakersfield  one  day,  happened  to  raise  his  eyes  to  a  portrait  of 
the  president  which  hung  above  the  desk.  "Let's  call  it  Taft,"  said  Hopkins 
10  Edmonds,  and  the  suggestion  finally  prevailed,  so  far  as  the  post  office  was 
concerned,  although  the  railroad  still  clung  to  the  name  of  Moron  for  its 
station. 

Up  to  the  end  of  1909  neither  of  the  rival  towns  had  made  much  progress, 
but  with  the  beginning  of  1910  both  began  to  forge  ahead  with  a  vigor  and 
enterprise  that  renewed  the  doubt  as  to  which  would  gain  the  supremacy. 
But  in  September,  1910,  the  Jameson  townsite  was  swept  by  fire,  and  the 
backset  which  it  thus  received  put  its  rival  hopelessly  in  the  lead. 

A  movement  for  the  incorporation  of  Taft  was  started  in  April  or  May, 
1910,  and  on  November  8th  of  that  year,  at  an  election  called  by  the  county 
supervisors,  the  proposition  carried  by  a  rousing  vote,  and  the  following 
officers  were  elected:  Trustees,  H.  W.  Blaisdell,  H.  A.  Hopkins,  E.  L.  Burn- 
ham,  J.  \V.  Ragesdale  and  J.  I^.  Dooley  ;  marshal,  E,  G.  Wood  ;  clerk,  Dr.  I^'red 
Bolstad.  The  trustees  appointed  T.  J.  O'Boyle  recorder,  and  Fred  Seybolt 
city  attorney. 

The  Taft  Public  L'tilities  Company,  the  first  corporation  formed  to 
serve  the  public  in  the  new  town,  was  incorporated  in  the  fall  of  1910.  It 
shipped  water  from  East  Bakersfield  by  tank  cars,  pumped  it  to  a  couple  of 
1200-barrel  tanks,  and  delivered  it  thence  by  gravity  to  the  consumers.    On 


180  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

February  1,  1911,  the  company's  business  and  distributing  system  was  sold 
to  the  Consumers'  Water  Company,  a  concern  controlled  by  stockholders  of 
the  Western  Water  Company,  which  pumps  water  through  a  pipe  line  from 
wells  located  not  far  from  Buena  Vista  lake  in  the  trough  of  the  valley. 

The  city  is  supplied  with  gas  from  the  natural  gas  wells  in  the  Buena 
Vista  hills,  and  with  electricity  by  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corpora- 
tion, whose  transmission  lines  run  through  all  the  West  Side  fields. 

In  November,  1912,  the  town  of  Taft  voted  bonds  in  the  sum  of  $41,000 
for  the  construction  of  a  sewer  and  a  system  of  water  mains  for  fire  protection. 
The  sewer  was  completed  in  June,  1913,  and  the  fire  mains  and  hydrants  were 
put  into  service  shortly  thereafter.  The  city  built  a  concrete  jail  at  a  cost  of 
$1650  in  1911,  and  in  the  summer  of  1913  completed  a  new  $20,000  grammar 
school  building.  The  concrete  building  used  as  a  post-office  was  built  by  popu- 
lar subscription,  and  free  sites  were  offered  to  the  city  for  a  school  building 
and  to  the  first  church  that  would  erect  a  house  of  worship.  The  Catholics 
were  the  first  to  accept  the  latter  offer. 

At  the  present  time  Taft  is  a  well-built  little  city  of  about  3,000  people; 
has  a  good  percentage  of  brick  and  concrete  buildings ;  is  well  supplied  with 
public  utilities,  as  has  been  seen  ;  has  a  daily  paper,  The  Midway  Driller,  and 
a  weekly  oil  paper,  The  Petroleum  Reporter,  edited  by  members  of  the  Petro- 
leum Club.  Besides  the  Sunset  Western  railroad  which  connects  it  with  Mari- 
copa and  Bakersfield,  it  has  an  auto  stage  line  running  to  McKittrick,  and  is 
promised  another  running  to  Bakersfield.  Within  the  last  few  weeks  an- 
nouncement has  been  made  that  an  electric  railroad  will  be  built  from  Los 
Angeles  through  the  Tejon  pass  and  thence  west  and  northwest  through  the 
Sunset,  Midway  and  McKittrick  fields.  With  all  these  facilities  and  with  the 
rich  and  steadily  increasing  oil  field  about  it,  the  future  of  Taft  as  this  history 
is  closed  is  very  bright. 

Fellows 

Fellows  first  appeared  on  the  map  as  a  railroad  terminal  in  1908,  when 
the  Sunset  Western  railroad  was  extended  from  Pentland  Junction,  near 
Maricopa,  to  the  northern  portion  of  the  Midway  field.  Nothing  but  a  grow- 
ing or  diminishing  pile  of  lumber  and  oil  well  supplies  marked  the  spot,  how- 
ever, until  the  rfival  of  interest  in  oil  development  in  1909  began  to  make  it 
an  important  point  for  the  unloading  of  supplies  for  the  oil  companies  that 
began  about  that  time  to  venture  out  into  the  upper  part  of  the  Midway  val- 
ley. Then  the  Santa  Fe,  operating  large  oil  properties  in  North  Midway  as 
the  Chanslor-Canfield  Oil  Company,  established  headquarters  at  Fellows  and 
made  the  place  noteworthy  by  sparing  enough  of  its  expensively  obtained 
domestic  water  to  grow  a  row  of  Cottonwood  trees  on  the  barren  mesa.  As 
the  field  developed  Fellows  became  a  modest  trading  point.  James  &  Dooley 
established  the  first  store  in  the  place  in  1910.  Lawton  &  Blanck  followed 
soon  after  with  a  similar  establishment,  in  which  was  located  the  postoffice, 
and  by  the  beginning  of  1911  Fellows  boasted  two  stores,  a  drug  store,  a 
billiard  room,  a  livery  stable  and  a  liberal  supply  of  saloons. 

In  the  last  two  years  Fellows  has  taken  on  an  air  of  greater  stability 
by  the  erection  of  better  buildings,  among  which  is  a  grammar  school  build- 
ing that  would  do  credit  to  a  place  of  several  times  its  age  and  number  of 
inhabitants.  The  Fellows  Courier,  an  enterprising  weekly,  has  been  estab- 
lished recently. 


\ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  181 

McKittrick 

The  town  of  McKittrick,  which  is  the  shipping  and  trading  point  for  the 
oil  fields  of  that  name,  is  about  forty  miles  west  of  Bakersfield.  The  earliest 
settlement  at  that  place  was  called  Asphalto,  because  of  an  asphalt  mine 
located  there  in  the  early  days,  and  the  railroad,  which  was  built  to  the  field 
in  1891.  still  calls  its  station  by  the  original  name,  although  everyone  else 
adopted  the  name  McKittrick  in  1895.  The  manufacture  of  asphaltum  was  the 
first  industry  of  the  town,  and  was  the  means  of  inducing  the  Southern  Pa- 
cific to  build  a  branch  of  its  railroad  to  connect  the  place  with  Bakersfield. 
The  railroad  refined  asphaltum  under  the  name  of  the  Standard  Asphalt 
Company  for  some  years.  The  first  mail  was  distributed  b-^-  Mrs.  Ouarra,  but 
she  did  the  work  as  a  matter  of  accommodation  and  not  as  a  government 
official.  When  H.  F.  Peters  built  the  first  store  in  1900  he  was  appointed  the 
first  postmaster.  Prior  to  this  date  A.  Bandettini  was  conducting  a  hotel  at 
McKittrick.    The  town  was  laid  out  as  it  now  is  in  1900. 

With  the  general  activity  in  oil  development  beginning  in  1900  McKit- 
trick began  to  grow,  and  it  has  been  conspicuous  among  oil  towns  for  the 
even  prosperity  it  has  enjoyed,  although  it  never  developed  the  booms  which 
sent  the  population  of  Taft  and  Maricopa  into  the  thousands. 

McKittrick  now  has  about  500  inhabitants.  It  was  incorporated  in  Sep- 
tember, 1911,  with  the  following  officers:  Trustees,  R.  Butterfield,  president; 
W.  J.  McCarthy,  S.  A.  Hubbard,  H.  E.  Phelan  and  Fred  Ehlers ;  city  clerk, 
Warren  Bridges.     The  McKittrick  Clarion  dispenses  the  local  news. 

Lost  Hills 

The  founding  of  the  town  of  Lost  Hills  followed  the  discovery  of  the 
oil  field  of  that  name,  the  story  of  which  is  told  in  the  chapters  devoted  to  oil. 
Martin  &  Dudley,  discoverers  of  the  field,  laid  out  a  townsite  on  sections  2 
and  3,  township  27,  range  21,  the  winter  following  the  strike.  G.  T.  Nighbert 
erected  the  first  building,  which  was  occupied  by  a  restaurant  conducted  by 
Mrs.  Hamilton,  the  first  woman  in  the  new  town.  Nighbert  also  built  the 
first  hotel  and  the  first  store  building,  the  latter  being  leased  to  Crow  & 
Cullen,  who  previously  conducted  the  first  mercantile  business  in  Lost  Hills 
in  a  tent. 

With  the  development  of  the  Lost  Hills  field  the  town  has  grown 
steadily  until  there  are  now  about  200  residents,  and  all  lines  of  business  one 
would  expect  to  find  in  a  city  of  that  size  are  represented.  Excellent  tele- 
phone service  with  the  fields  and  with  the  outside  world  is  afforded,  there 
is  a  daily  stage  to  Wasco,  and  bonds  for  a  school  house  have  been  voted. 

Two  explanations  of  the  origin  of  the  name  "Lost  Hills"  are  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  historian.  One  is  that  a  traveler  approaching  the  district  from 
the  east  sees  from  a  distance  what  appears  to  be  a  considerable  elevation  of 
land,  but  as  he  comes  nearer  the  hills  seem  to  fade  away  until,  when  he  has 
actually  reached  them,  they  appear  hardly  higher  than  the  surrounding  land. 
The  second  explanation  is  that  the  low  range  of  hills  which  bear  the  name 
has  no  apparent  relation  to  the  surrounding  country  and  the  man  who  named 
them  may  have  humored  the  conceit  that  they  had  wandered  away  from  the 
other  foothills  of  the  Coast  range — from  which  they  are  many  miles  distant — 
and  lost  themselves  on  the  desolate  and  uninhabited  mesa. 

.^s  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Lost  Hills  are  formed  by  a  very  steep  anticline 


182  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

which  the  wash  of  centuries  has  nearly  covered  with  alluvial  sands.  But  it 
required  expensive  drilling  to  ascertain  this  fact,  and  so  it  probably  did 
not  inriuence  the  selection  Of  the  name. 

Towns  of  the  Valley  Farming   Districts — Delano 

The  town  of  Delano  had  its  beginning  as  a  railroad  terminal.    On  July, 

1873,  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  building  from  Oakland  to  Los  Angeles, 
reached  that  point  with  its  tracks,  and  work  was  suspended  until  August  6, 

1874.  During  this  interval  of  a  year  and  fifteen  days  Delano  was  the  end  of 
the  line,  and  freight  to  and  from  Bakersfield  and  all  the  valley  and  mountain 
districts  south  and  even  as  far  away  as  Inyo  county,  was  hauled  to  Delano 
or  from  Delano  by  big  ox-  and  mule-teams.  For  some  weeks  before  and  after 
these  dates  Delano  was  headquarters  for  the  railroad  grading  and  track- 
laying  crews,  and  for  many  years  thereafter  it  remained  a  favorite  gathering 
place  for  itinerant  sheep  men  at  the  spring  arid  fall  shearing  times. 

In  addition  to  all  these  incentives  to  growth,  Delano  became  the  trading 
point  for  a  large  number  of  homesteaders  who  settled  the  fertile,  sunny, 
attractive  plains  that  spread  between  the  railroad  and  the  Sierra  foot  hills. 
The  rainfall  on  these  plains  is  scant,  and  the  crops  of  wheat  which  the  home- 
steaders raised  were  correspondingly  meager,  but  the  land  was  so  easily 
tilled  that  one  man  with  six  horses  and  a  gang  plow  could  farm  several  hun- 
dred acres.  As  a  result,  Delano,  a  little  later  in  its  history,  was  an  important 
wheat-shipping  point.  The  more  gradual  development  of  the  heavier  lands  to 
the  west  of  the  railroad  brought  a  little  more  business  to  Delano.  The 
organization  of  the  Poso  irrigation  district,  and  the  hope  of  getting  gravity 
water  from  Kern  river  or  from  Poso  creek  nursed  Delano's  dreams  of  great- 
ness for  some  years,  and  when  both  of  these  projects  had  to  be  abandoned,  the 
town  turned  to  the  pumping  plants. 

Delano  was  the  first  place  in  the  county  to  build  air  castles  on  a  founda- 
tion of  pump  irrigation,  but  the  somewhat  greater  depth  to  water  than  pre- 
vailed at  Wasco  and  McFarland,  and  the  fact  that  a  series  of  dry  years  and 
low  prices  had  left  the  wheat  ranchers  too  poor  to  risk  investments  in  un- 
proven  experiments  delayed  progress  in  the  successful  installation  of  pump 
irrigation. 

It  was  not  until  1908  that  pump  irrigation  began  to  be  a  considerable 
factor  in  the  development  of  Delano,  but  from  that  date  on  it  grew  steadily 
in  importance,  and  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  soil  and  the  water  con- 
ditions expect  to  see  Delano  take  rank  among  the  most  productive  and  pros- 
perous farming  sections  of  the  country. 

The  first  store  in  Delano  was  conducted  by  E.  Chauvin,  and  stood  nearly 
straight  across  the  street  from  the  railroad  depot.  Chauvin  also  was  the  first 
postmaster.  The  principal  business  houses  of  the  earliest  days  faced  the  rail- 
road, but  in  1890  a  fire  swept  most  of  them  away,  and  the  next  street  to  the 
east  took  front  rank  in  importance.  The  town  now  boasts  two  business 
streets,  a  fair  number  of  brick  buildings,  a  large  grammar  school  building,  a 
high  school,  opened  in  1912,  a  bank,  three  churches.  Baptist,  Methodist  and 
Catholic,  two  grain  warehouses,  and  a  weekly  newspaper,  the  Delano  Record. 

Wasco 

Wasco  colony  as  founded  in  February.  1907,  as  the  result  of  indirect 
efforts  of  the  Kern  county  board  of  trade.     The  executive  committee  of  the 


i 


HISTORY    OF    KERN  COUNTY  183 

board,  having  failed  of  great  success  in  the  attempt  to  induce  ininiigration, 
decided,  during  the  previous  year,  t(i  interest  colonization  agencies  and  let 
the  latter  do  the  hard  work  of  getting  in  touch  with  the  home-seeker.  This 
endeavor  resulted  in  the  purchase  of  nine  sections  of  land  from  the  Kern 
County  Land  Company  by  the  California  Home  Extension  Association  and 
the  organization  of  the  Fourth  Home  Extension  Colony  by  M.  V.  Hartranft, 
manager.  Capital  to  float  the  enterprise  was  supplied  by  the  sale  of  bonds  to 
prospective  colonists,  and  these  bonds  were  exchanged  for  land  at  a  general 
meeting  of  the  purchasers  in  February,  1907.  At  that  meeting  the  land, 
which  was  laid  out  in  20-acre  tracts  and  town  lots,  and  duly  appraised,  was 
auctioned  ofT  to  the  bond  holders.  Choice  tracts  brought  a  small  l)onus  above 
the  appraisement,  and  this  bonus  was  turned  into  a  general  improvement 
fund,  the  bonds  being  exchanged  for  the  land  at  the  appraised  \aluation. 

The  first  settlers  arrived  on  the  colony  March  1,  1907.  While  the  land 
was  under  the  Calloway  canal  it  was  sold  without  a  water  right,  and  a  mutual 
water  company  was  formed  to  sink  wells  and  install  pumping  plants.  In  a 
year  twenty-two  wells  were  sunk  and  five  pumping  plants  were  in  operation. 
As  stated  elsewhere,  the  need  of  economy  prompted  the  purchase  of  second- 
hand engines,  and  the  result  was  endless  diiificulty  and  a  perennial  shortage  of 
water  in  time  of  need  until  years  after,  when  the  San  Joaquni  Light  & 
Power  Corporation  extended  its  power  lines  to  the  colony,  electric  motors 
were  installed. 

With  more  reliable  power  the  complete  success  of  pump  irrigation  was 
demonstrated,  and  Wasco  soon  developed  into  one  of  the  most  attractive 
farming  sections  of  the  county.  All  kinds  of  deciduous  fruits  and  grapes 
were  planted  by  the  early  colonists,  but  a  large  part  of  the  land  has  been 
devoted  at  all  times  to  the  growing  of  alfalfa  and  general  farm  crops.  The 
comparative  small  water  lift  and  the  easily  tilled  land  make  this  practicable. 

The  discovery  of  the  Lost  Hills  oil  field  in  the  summer  oi  1910  and  the 
excitement  that  developed  the  following  winter  gave  a  great  boost  to  Wasco 
as  a  trading  point.  All  the  supplies  for  the  new  field  were  unloaded  frtmi  the 
Santa  Fe  railroad  at  Wasco  and  hauled  thence  about  twenty-one  miles  by  dirt 
road  to  where  the  wonderfully  shallow  wells  were  being  brought  in.  I'eanis 
of  eight,  ten,  twelve  and  sixteen  horses  speedily  wore  out  the  roads  with 
their  loads  of  derrick  timbers  and  rig  irons,  and  made  exceedingly  rough 
sledding  for  the  whirring  strings  of  automobiles  that  carried  their  loads  of 
eager  fortune  seekers  to  the  Lost  Hills. 

Wasco  became  a  very  necessary  half-way  house,  and  the  business  of  its 
merchants  trebled.  Moreover,  one  of  the  more  venturesome  land  owners 
began  sinking  a  deep  well  in  the  colony  itself,  and  persistent  rumors  that  good 
oil  indications  were  encountered  ])revailed.  Nothing  more  developed,  but 
before  hope  from  this  source  was  abandoned  Harry  Rambo  and  associates 
began  drilling  for  oil  at  Semitropic,  and  Dr.  A.  H.  Liscomb  and  a  number  of 
his  friends  started  a  similar  effort  still  nearer  Wasco  not  far  from  the  Lost 
Hills  road.  Both  these  wells  were  started  in  the  fall  of  1912.  and  shortly  after 
the  first  of  the  following  year  a  considerable  amount  of  excitement  was 
created  by  report  that  light  oil  had  been  struck  in  the  Liscoml)  well.  Real 
estate  prices  jumped  in  \\'asco  and  all  the  adjacent  country  on  the  strength 
of  the  report,  but  the  strike  did  not  materialize,  and  six  months  later  the  oil 
is  still  undisciixered.  although  the  iirdspecturs  are  not  \-et  discmiragcd. 


184  HISTORY    OF    KERN  COUNTY 

With  or  without  oil,  however,  Wasco's  future  seems  assured.  Land 
in  the  colony  is  valued  at  $150  per  acre  with  water,  and  at  still  higher 
prices  with  more  improvements.  The  population  of  the  town  is  about  300, 
and  the  business  streets  are  well  lined  with  brick  and  concrete  buildings.  A 
bank,  four  churches,  a  club  hall  and  a  fine  new  grammar  school  building  are 
among  the  landmarks  in  the  town.  The  colonists  generally  have  built  com- 
fortable houses  and  an  abundance  of  trees  and  vines  add  to  the  attractiveness 
of  the  place. 

The  Wasco  News  was  established  by  J.  L.  Gill  on  November  23,  1911, 
and  a  year  later  was  sold  to  Lawrence  Lavers,  the  present  proprietor. 

Prior  to  the  founding  of  Wasco  colony  the  Santa  Fe  railroad  maintained 
a  station  at  that  place  under  the  name  of  Dewey.  The  depot,  a  store,  a  black- 
smith shop  and  two  saloons  composed  the  town  at  the  time  the  colony  was 
launched. 

Famoso 

Famoso,  on  the  Southern  Pacific  about  midway  between  Bakersfield  and 
Delano,  took  its  place  on  the  map  as  Poso  station  when  the  railroad  was  first 
built  through  the  valley.  The  name  wa§  inherited  from  the  creek  which  flows 
past  the  place  in  time  of  freshet,  and  the  first  postoffice  was  established  there 
under  that  name.  Mail  intended  for  the  residents,  however,  got  mixed  with 
that  intended  for  Pozo.  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  and  the  government  changed 
the  name  to  Spottiswood.  The  natives  could  see  neither  reason  nor  romance 
in  Spottiswood,  so  a  protest  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  the  name  Famoso, 
which  is  understood  to  mean  the  city  of  the  rolling  hills. 

For  many  years  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  has  maintained  a  large 
warehouse,  stock  yard  and  sheep-shearing  camp  at  that  place  in  connec- 
tion with  its  Poso  ranch,  which  adjoins  the  town  on  the  west.  In  the  earlier 
history  of  the  town  the  business  that  developed  twice  a  year  during  the 
spring  and  fall  shearing  seasons  was  a  large  factor  in  its  commercial  activity. 
The  plains  to  the  east  of  Famoso  formerly  were  farmed  to  grain,  and  the 
Poso  district  achieved  some  fame  by  sending  the  first  wheat  to  the  San  Fran- 
cisco market  every  spring. 

An  ill-starred  scheme  to  bring  water  from  Poso  creek  by  canal  to 
irrigate  the  country  to  the  east  and  north  developed  the  fact  that  water  was 
not  available  from  that  source  and  left  the  Poso  irrigation  district  burdened 
with  a  heavy  load  of  bonds  and  nothing  to  show  for  it  save  many  miles  of 
useless  ditches.  This  unfortunate  venture  blocked  the  growth  of  Famoso 
down  to  the  present  time.  Recently,  however,  promising  efforts  have  been 
made  to  effect  a  mutually  advantageous  arrangement  between  the  bond 
holders  and  the  owners  of  the  land,  and  it  may  be  possible  soon  to  clear  the 
titles  which  have  been  clouded  by  unpaid  bond  assessments  for  nearly  twenty 
years.  Should  this  result  materialize  the  Famoso  district  probably  will  take 
its  place  in  the  general  march  of  progress  with  the  country  adjoining  it  on  all 
sides. 

The  first  store  at  Famoso  was  conducted  by  John  Barrington,  who  was 
succeeded  by  J.  S.  Brooks.  The  latter  previously  had  been  station  agent  for 
the  Southern  Pacific.  Brooks  retired  and  left  the  mercantile  field  to  C.  E. 
Kitchen,  who  still  occupies  it  with  a  general  merchandise  store  and  who 
also  dispenses  justice  as  a  justice  of  the  peace. 


HISTORY    OF    KE](N    COUNTY  185 

McFarland 

McFarland  colon}-  and  town  were  founded  in  the  spring  of  1908  by 
T.  B.  McFarland  and  \\'.  F.  Laird  on  land  purchased  by  McFarland  the 
year  previous.  Up  to  that  time  a  siding  on  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad 
known  as  Hunt  was  the  only  thing  that  distinguished  the  spot  from  any 
other  part  of  the  miles  of  bare  and  unfilled  plain  between  Delano  and  Famoso, 
but  through  the  energy  of  McFarland  and  Laird  water  wells  were  sunk, 
pumping  plants  installed  and  colonists  located  on  the  land,  and  in  a  few 
months'  time  the  place  took  on  the  character  of  a  permanent  settlement. 

Most  of  the  people  who  purchased  land  in  McFarland  had  some  capital, 
and  the  homes  built  and  the  other  improvements  made  gave  the  colony  from 
the  start  an  appearance  of  prosperity  and  attractiveness.  Ralph  Kern  opened 
the  first  grocery  store  early  in  1908,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  he  was 
appointed  postmaster.  The  following  year  O.  Woodard  opened  a  general 
merchandise  store  and  a  hotel  and  lumber  yard  were  established.  In  the 
same  year  the  Associated  Oil  Company  built  its  pipe  line  from  the  Kern  river 
fields  to  San  Francisco  bay,  and  built  one  of  its  pumping  stations  at 
McFarland. 

The  McFarland  colonists  have  made  a  specialty  of  dairying,  and  have 
been  very  successful.  Good  land  and  a  low  water  lift  have  formed  the  basis 
for  a  thorough  demonstration  of  the  practicability  of  pump  irrigation,  and 
to  McFarland,  perhaps,  belongs  the  honor  of  having  first  answered  that  ques- 
tion past  all  shadow  of  doubt.  In  five  years  the  place  has  progressed  from 
a  tract  of  absolutely  virgin  land  to  a  town  of  300  people  and  a  colony  of 
over  100  pumping  plants,  with  telephone,  electric  light  and  electric  power 
service,  a  new  railroad  depot,  a  creamery,  ice  plant,  bank,  two  churches,  a 
four-room  grammar  school  built  at  a  cost  of  $12,000,  and  exceptionally  at- 
tractive homes  and  prosperous  fields  and  orchards.  McFarland  butter  is 
noted  for  its  quality  and  won  a  gold  medal  at  the  state  fair  in  1911.  The 
town  and  colony  are  "dry,"  a  clause  having  been  inserted  in  the  deeds  to 
the  land  forbidding  the  sale  of  liquor  thereon. 

Other  centers  of  farming  development  in  the  valley  hardly  ranking  as 
towns  are  Rio  Bravo,  which  is  only  a  neighborhood  of  pioneer  pump  irri- 
gators about  fifteen  miles  west  of  Bakersfield ;  Button  Willow,  which  is  a 
shipping  point  and  headquarters  for  the  Miller  &  Lux  ranches;  Shafter, 
where  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  is  just  opening  a  townsite  in  con- 
nection with  a  subdivision  of  7000  acres  now  being  placed  on  the  market ; 
Rosedale,  which  was  founded  as  the  community  center  of  Rosedale  colony 
in  1889  and  which  is  now  holding  its  own  with  a  country  store,  a  school 
house  and  two  churches,  and  Edison,  which  is  the  chief  center  of  the  new 
citrus  industry  just  beginning  on  the  mesa  east  of  Bakersfield.  At  present 
Edison  is  only  a  little  group  of  residences  with  a  school  house  and  a  railroad 
station  and  unloading  tracks,  but  it  has  reasonable  prospects  fur  a  more  im- 
portant place  in  history  later  on. 

Towns  of  the  Mountain  Section — Tehachapi 

The  first  permanent  settler  in  the  Tehachapi  region,  according  to  the 
best  memorj-  of  the  oldest  present  residents,  was  John  Moore  Brite.  who 
located  in  Tehachapi  valley  in  the  fall  of  1854.  Afterward  he  moved  to  the 
valley  that  now  bears  his  name  and  built  an  adobe  residence,  in  which  he 
also  kept  a  stock  of  groceries  and  miners'  supplies  to  accommoilate  the  scat- 


186  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

tered  miners  and  stockmen  who  comprised  the  early  population  of  the  moun- 
tain district.    This  was  the  first  store  in  the  Tehachapi  country. 

The  first  of  the  Cuddebacks  arrived  soon  after  John  M.  Brite,  and  he 
settled  first  in  what  is  now  Brites'  valley,  moving  later  to  the  present  site 
of  Tehachapi. 

The  China  hill  placers  were  responsible  for  the  first  considerable  immi- 
gration to  the  Tehachapi  country.  The  hill  turned  out  several  thousand 
dollars  in  gold,  and  some  of  the  miners  made  as  much  as  $15  per  day  while 
the  placers  were  at  their  best.  Mining  created  a  demand  for  lumber,  which 
was  supplied  by  whip-sawing  the  native  pine  logs. 

According  to  the  best  authority,  the  first  post  office  in  the  vicinity  of 
Tehachapi  was  opened  about  1870  by  John  Narboe,  who  lived  in  Narboe 
canon  on  the  stage  line  that  ran  to  Havilah.  Before  Narboe's  time  the 
settlers  got  their  mail  from  Los  Angeles,  when  they  or  their  neighbors  went 
to  that  place  for  provisions.  William  Wiggins  was  the  first  postmaster 
at  Old  Town,  and  was  also  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  at  that  place. 

One  of  the  first  Fourth  of  July  celebrations  that  the  traditions  of  Kern 
county  record  was  held  under  a  large  oak  tree  near  the  present  site  of 
Tehachapi  in  1856.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  M.  Brite,  Mrs.  Smith  and  their  families 
and  a  number  of  bachelor  residents  of  the  country  helped  to  kindle  the 
fires  of  patriotism  in  the  new  land.  Red,  white  and  blue  calico  decorations 
and  a  good  dinner  stand  out  among  the  enduring  memories  of  the  day. 

Ed.  Green  opened  the  first  store,  in  the  original  Tehachapi,  later  known 
as  Old  Town,  after  Squire  Wiggins  became  postmaster  there,  and  a  little 
later  a  man  by  name  of  Murphy,  who  had  started  a  store  a  little  distance 
away,  moved  his  establishment  into  the  embryo  city.  Ed.  Green  succeeded 
to  the  office  of  postmaster  and  retained  it  for  many  years. 

W.  C.  Wiggins  taught  the  first  school  in  Old  Town  in  1861.  The  name 
of  his  successor  is  not  recorded,  but  the  third  teacher  was  "Doc"  Dozier. 
In  May,  1867,  Miss  Louisa  Jewett,  afterward  Mrs.  Crites,  began  a  term 
of  several  months  in  a  log  cabin  that  had  been  built  for  a  school  house 
about  half  way  between  Brites'  valley  and  Old  Town.  Miss  Jackson  fol- 
lowed Miss  Jewett,  and  later  the  old  log  school  house  was  abandoned  for 
a  new  building  in  Old  Town.  As  the  country  settled  up  schools  were 
started  in  Brites,  Cummings  and  Bear  valleys. 

Uncle  Jimmie  Williams  built  the  first  hotel  in  Old  Town  and  also  started 
a  blacksmith  shop,  livery  stable  and  feed  corrals  to  care  for  the  travellers 
and  teamsters  who  passed  that  way  between  Los  Angeles  and  the  San  Joaquin 
valley.  Prior  to  the  building  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  a  large  amount 
of  teaming  was  carried  on  by  way  of  Old  Town,  and  it  became  quite  a 
busy  and  hopeful  little  town. 

But  in  the  summer  of  1876  the  railroad  was  built  through  Tehachapi 
pass,  and  changes  began  to  take  place  in  the  map.  Tehachapi,  meaning  "the 
crow's  nest,"  was  located  about  three  miles  west  of  the  site  of  the  present 
town,  in  the  edge  of  the  hills.  But  the  railroad  chose  the  level  land  over 
which  to  run  its  tracks  and  on  which  to  build  its  station.  Anticipating  the 
coming  of  the  railroad  a  settlement  had  sprung  up  about  a  mile  west  of 
the  present  Tehachapi  station  under  the  name  of  Greenwich,  so  called  in 
honor  of  P.  D.  Green,  who  kept  the  post  office  there.  The  railroad  founded 
the  new  town  of  Tehachapi,  taking  the  name  of  the  older  place  in  the  hills, 
which   struggled   against  fate  for  a  time,  came  to  be  known   as  Old  Town 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  187 

and  finally  capitulated  to  the  power  of  modern  transportation.  Greenwich 
promptly  moved  itself  to  the  railroad's  townsite,  and  Green  took  his  post 
office  there.  For  a  time  the  office  continued  under  the  name  of  Greenwich, 
but  in  the  end  it  was  changed  to  Tehachapi,  and  the  name  Greenwich  sur- 
vived only  as  the  designation  of  a  voting  precinct. 

\\''hile  the  post  office  was  at  Greenwich,  William  N.  Cuddeback,  then 
but  a  boy,  carried  the  mail  on  muleback,  furnishing  his  own  mule.  P.  D. 
Green  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  at  Tehachapi  and  Charles  A.  Lee, 
afterward  county  recorder,  succeeded  him  as  postmaster. 

The  first  store  in  Tehachapi  (New  Town)  was  owned  by  J.  E.  Prewett, 
now  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  Placer  county.  The  second  store  was  built 
by  S.  Alexander,  who  had  been  a  clerk  for  Hirshfeld  Brothers  at  Old  Town. 
The  exodus  from  Old  Town  soon  became  general.  Hirshfeld  Brothers  closed 
their  store  there,  and  Isidor  Asher,  another  of  their  clerks,  moved  the  re- 
mainder of  the  stock  to  Tehachapi,  where  he  opened  a  business  on  his  own 
account. 

Many  of  the  residents  of  Old  Town  brought  their  houses  with  them 
when  they  moved  down  to  the  railroad.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kessing  and  Mrs. 
Mary  Anne  Haig  moved  in  from  "Camp  7,"  and  established  the  first  eating 
house  in  the  new  town.  Soon  after  Mrs.  Haig  opened  the  first  rooming 
house.  Jack  Eveleth  built  the  first  hotel,  which  stood  on  the  corner  oppo- 
site the  depot. 

In  1875  a  school  was  established  in  a  log  cabin  at  Greenwich,  hut  when 
the  new  town  got  under  way  it  followed  the  shifting  center  of  population 
and  was  housed  in  a  two-story  frame  building  erected  for  the  purpose.  This 
school  house  did  duty  until  1901,  when  it  was  moved  south  of  the  rail- 
road track,  made  into  a  hotel,  and  its  place  was  taken  by  a  $10,000,  three-room, 
lirick  building. 

The  Catholics  built  a  church  early  in  the  history  of  the  mountain  town, 
and  the  Protestant  denominations  united  in  the  construction  of  a  union 
church. 

At  the  present  time  Tehachapi  has  a  population  of  about  600.  It  was 
incorporated  by  an  election  held  on  August  13,  1910,  at  which  time  T.  P. 
Sullivan,  John  Hickey,  J.  M.  Jackley,  H.  S.  Downs  and  Fred  Snider  were 
elected  as  the  first  board  of  trustees;  E.  V.  Reed,  first  city  clerk;  C.  V. 
Barnard,  first  marshal,  and  C.  O.  Lee,  first  city  treasurer.  John  Hickey  is 
now  the  president  of  the  board  of  trustees. 

In  1912  Tehachapi  voted  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $14,000  and  con- 
structed a  public  water  system  consisting  of  wells  and  pumping  plants  which 
furnish  an  abundant  supply  of  good  water. 

Twice  Tehachapi  has  been  almost  destroyed  by  fire,  but  each  time  it 
has  been  pluckily  rebuilt  in  more  substantial  form. 

For  years  after  it  was  founded  Tehachapi  was  only  a  trading  point 
for  stockmen  and  miners  scattered  through  the  hills  and  mountains,  and  a  stop- 
ping place  for  the  through  travel  over  the  pass.  Then  the  fertile  valleys  began 
to  be  tilled,  and  it  became  a  shipping  point  for"  grain,  hay,  wool  and  stock. 
The  early  settlers,  however,  planted  little  family  orchards  of  apple  and  pear 
trees,  and  within  the  past  five  or  six  years  experienced  horticulturists 
have  noted  the  excellence  of  the  fruit  from  these  trees  and  have  established 
what  promises  to  be  a  very  thriving  and  profitable  industry.  In  the  past 
two   years   the   acreage    planted    to    fruit    trees    in    the    Tehachapi    and    other 


188  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

valleys  has  greatly  increased,  and  while  the  young  orchards  are  not  yet 
old  enough  to  have  demonstrated  their  producing  qualities,  the  growth  of 
the  trees  is  very  satisfactory,  and  the  orchardists  are  satisfied  to  trust  the 
matter  of  fruitfulness  to  the  evidence  furnished  by  the  old,  family  orchard 
trees. 

As  an  evidence  of  its  faith  in  the  future  of  Tehachapi  as  an  apple  country 
Kern  county  this  summer  waged  a  successful  campaign  for  the  election  of 
Miss  Ruby  Brite  as  queen  of  the  Watsonville  apple  carnival,  an  annual 
festival  in  which  all  the  apple-growing  sections  of  the  state  participate  and 
in  which  they  all  compete  for  the  honor  of  naming  the  queen. 

Glennville 

Linns  valley  was  named  for  William  Lynn  who  came  to  what  is  now 
Kern  county  in  1854  with  his  partner,  George  Ely.  Like  nearly  everyone 
else  who  came  here  in  those  days  they  were  attracted  by  the  mines,  but 
unlike  most  of  the  early  miners  they  turned  to  agriculture  and  stock-raising 
instead  of  following  the  rainbow  of  fortune  to  the  next  mining  camp.  Event- 
ually Lynn  returned  to  the  east,  but  Ely  lived  out  his  days  on  a  farm 
which  he  homesteaded  in  the  fertile  valley,  and  was  finally  buried  there. 

David  Lavers  arrived  in  Linns  valley  in  the  spring  of  1855,  and  soon 
afterward  located  on  the  farm  where  he  still  resides,  a  short  distance  above 
Glennville.  In  1857  came  the  Glenn,  Reed  and  Ellis  families.  Glennville 
was  named  for  Martin  Glenn,  who  took  up  a  farm  close  to  where  the  present 
town  of  Glennville  stands.  The  first  house  in  the  town,  an  adobe,  was  built 
by  Thomas  Fitzgerald,  and  the  first  store  was  opened  by  Reed  &  Wilkes. 

Throughout  its  history  thus  far  stock-raising,  together  with  a  small 
amount  of  farming  in  the  mountain  valleys  and  meadows,  has  been  the 
main  support  of  Glennville,  although  the  prospector  and  his  burro  have 
been  familiar  sights  along  the  roads  thereabout  through  all  the  years,  and 
some  business  is  brought  to  the  town  by  summer  campers  seeking  the 
cool  and  beauty  of  the  mountains. 

Woody 

The  little  foothill  town  of  Woody  took  its  name  from  S.  W.  Woody, 
one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  the  mountain  section.  A  school  teacher  by 
name  of  Gurnell  was  the  first  postmaster,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Thomas 
Hopper,  who  opened  the  first  store. 

Mining  and  stock-raising  have  been  Woody's  chief  industries,  and  al- 
though the  latter  finally  displaced  the  former,  interest  still  remains  in  the 
gold  ledges,  and  Woody  residents  insist  that  the  old  mines  will  again  be 
worked. 

In  1891  Joseph  Weringer  opened  the  Greenback  copper  mine  and 
founded  the  town  of  Weringdale  a  quarter  of  a  mile  above  the  old  Woody 
store.  This  copper  mine  is  now  showing  promising  ore.  carrying  some 
gold  and  silver  with  the  copper.  Weringer  is  working  day  and  night  shifts 
and  expects  soon  to  begin  shipping  ore  in  quantity. 
Kernville 

Kernville  is  the  successor  of  the  early  mining  camp  which  was  famous 
over  the  state  at  one  time  as  Whiskey  Flat.  It  lies  on  the  west  bank  of 
the  North  Fork  of  Kern  river  about  four  miles  above  its  junction  with  the 
South  Fork.  Kernville  discarded  the  picturesque  but  undignified  name  of 
Whiskey  Flat  in   1864.     The  first  store  in  the  place  was  founded  by  Curtis 


HISTORY  OF  KERN  COUNTY  189 

&  Davis  in  1863,  and  Mrs.  Carmel  taught  the  first  school,  which  was  con- 
ducted in  a  private  residence.  The  post  office  was  established  in  1864  with 
Adam  Hamilton  as  postmaster. 

The  Big  Bhie  mine  was  the  greatest  factor  in  the  early  prosperity  of 
Kernville,  but  in  later  years  the  farms  and  stock  ranches  of  the  mountain 
valley  have  maintained  its  business  activity  at  a  steady  though  not  a  killing 
pace.  In  1883  fire  destroyed  a  part  of  the  business  section  of  the  town  and 
many  dwellings.  N.  P.  Peterson,  who  lost  a  hotel  and  several  dwelling 
houses,  was  one  of  the  largest  sufiferers  in  the  fire. 

Kernville  has  a  good  grammar  school,  a  Methodist  church,  a  daily  stage 
to  Caliente  and  telephone  communication  with  the  outside  world  via  the 
same  place.  The  store  of  A.  Brown  Company  carries  a  very  complete  stock 
of  general  merchandise. 

Isabella 

Isabella,  at  the  junction  of  the  South  and  North  Forks  of  Kern  river, 
was  laid  out  in  1892  by  Stephen  Barton  on  a  portion  of  his  homestead. 
G.  W.  King  conducted  the  first  store  and  was  the  first  postmaster.  The 
place  numbers  about  fifty  residents,  has  a  grammar  school,  a  Methodist 
church,  and  a  justice  of  the  peace  who  represents  the  third  branch  of  gov- 
ernment  for  the   surrounding   mountain   district. 

Weldon 

At  Weldon,  ten  miles  above  Isabella  on  the  South  Fork,  the  A.  Brown 
Company  has  a  store  and  keeps  the  postoffice. 

Onyx 

Onyx,  four  miles  above  Weldon,  boasts  only  a  posroffice  in  a  private 
residence. 

Bodf^sh 
Budfish  is  a  little  hamlet  at  the  foot  of  Hot  Springs  hill.  For  many 
years  it  was  only  a  post  office  at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Vaughn,  the  postmistress. 
In  1896  John  Cross  opened  a  store  and  stage  office.  There  is  a  country 
grammar  school  at  the  place,  and  three  miles  distant,  on  Kern  river,  is  the 
plant  of  the  Pacific  Light  &  Power  Corporation. 

Havilah 

The  history  of  Havilah  is  told  in  chapter  three,  along  with  that  of  the 
other  early  mining  districts  and  in  chapters  six  and  seven  where  the  story 
of  its  decline  and  the  rise  of  Bakersfield  as  the  dominant  center  of  the  county's 
development  is  recounted.  Today,  Havilah  is  little  more  than  a  memory, 
and  its  memory  is  best  honored  by  letting  the  curtain  fall  over  the  years 
of  its  decline  after  it  lost  its  gallant  fight  to  retain  the  county  seat  and  its 
people  began  moving  not  only  their  household  goods  but  their  houses  as 
well  to  the  more  vigorous  and  promising  city  on  the  plain. 

Caliente 

Caliente  was  established  first  as  a  railroad  grading  camp  when  the 
Southern  Pacific  railroad  began  its  long  job  of  building  its  roadbed  up  the 
hills  of  Tehachapi.  The  town  is  located  almost  in  the  edge  of  the  hills 
where  the  canon  of  Caliente  creek  widens  out  into  a  little  valley.  About 
this  point  the  railroad  grade  begins  its  difficult  climbing,  and  the  track  makes 
great   curves   back   and    forth    that   afford    the    traveller    recurring   views    of 


190  HISTORY  OF  KERN  COUNTY 

the  town  from  different  elevations  as  he  looks  out  from  a  car  window,  climbing 
or  descending. 

Stage  lines  and  mail  carriers  leave  Caliente  for  Havilah,  Kernville  and 
other  mountain  points,  and  the  town  is  the  first  shipping  point  for  a  great 
mountain  section.  One  or  two  fires  and  a  flood  last  summer  that  filled  the 
streets  with  mud  and  washed  two  or  three  light  houses  from  their  founda- 
tions are  among  the  few  events  that  have  varied  the  slow  but  even  growth 
of  the  little  village. 

Towns  of  the  Desert — Randsburg 

Randsburg,  in  the  extreme  eastern  part  of  the  county,  is  the  principal 
trading  point  for  the  Rand  mining  district,  which  was  organized  at  a  meeting 
of  miners  held  on  December  20,  1895.  John  Singleton  presided.  A  resolu- 
tion was  adopted  naming  the  district  after  the  famous  Rand  of  South  Africa, 
and  E.  B.  McGinnis  was  elected  the  first  mining  recorder.  The  great  Yellow 
Aster,  the  largest  gold  mine  in  the  state,  located  by  John  Singleton,  C.  A. 
Burcham  and  Fred  M.  Moores,  was  first  called  the  Rand  mine,  its  name 
being  changed  in  1897,  when  the  Yellow  Aster  Mining  &'  Milling  Company 
was  organized. 

W.  C.  Wilson,  who  had  been  conducting  a  general  store  in  Mojave,  moved 
to  Randsburg  and  opened  a  like  establishment  at  the  beginning  of  the  ex- 
citement in  the  new  camp.  D.  C.  Kuffel  was  his  first  manager.  The  building 
first  occupied  was  vacated  in  1896,  and  a  larger  building,  28  by  80  feet  in  size, 
was  moved  from  Oarlock.  S.  J.  Montgomery  built  the  second  store  soon  after, 
and  both  establishments,  together  with  practically  the  whole  of  the  town, 
were  wiped  out  by  fire  in  1897. 

In  1898  a  railroad  was  built  from  Ivramer  to  Johannesburg,  about  a  mile 
distant  from  Randsburg,  but  prior  to  that  time  everything  the  Rand  mining 
district  wanted  from  the  outside  world  had  to  be  hauled  fifty  miles  by  team 
from  Mojave. 

The  post  office  was  established  at  Randsburg  in  1895  with  Fred  Moores 
as  the  first  post  master.  At  the  first  miners'  meeting  in  1895  thirty-three 
votes  were  cast,  but  so  rapidly  did  the  new  camp  acquire  fame  and  population 
that  a  year  later  the  number  of  votes  at  a  similar  meeting  was  687.  In  the 
fall  of  1896  the  St.  Elmo  hotel  was  built,  only  to  be  burned  in  the  big  fire  the 
next  June.    Twice  since  1897  fire  has  swept  the  mining  town. 

The  first  school  was  established  in  1897.  In  April,  1901,  the  present 
school  building  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $3500. 

Randsburg  now  has  a  population  of  about  1000,  and  is  the  metropolis 
of  the  greatest  mining  district  in  the  state  in  the  value  of  its  output.  The 
principal  mines  are  the  world-famous  Yellow  Aster,  the  Consolidated  Mining 
Company's  properties,  the  Little  Butte,  the  King  Solomon  group,  the  Baltic 
and  the  G.  B.  Mining  Company's  group. 

Just  at  present  Randsburg  is  being  given  a  boost  by  the  introduction  of 
electric  light  and  power  by  the  Southern  Sierras  Power  Company,  the  installa- 
tion of  dry  crushing,  the  cyaniding  of  raw  ore  and  the  starting  up  of  some 
of  the  larger  placer  mines.  The  town  is  supplied  with  water  by  the  Rands- 
burg Water  Company,  which  pipes  it  from  Squaw  and  Mountain  springs. 
Johannesburg 

Johannesburg,  a  mile  south  of  Randsburg,  "was  founded  in  the  fall  of 
1897  and  the  spring  of  1898.  it  is  said  by  Chauncey  M.  Depew  and  associates. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  191 

who  bought  a  half  section  of  school  land,  laid  out  the  townsite  and  built  the 
railroad  connecting  it  with  the  Santa  Fe  main  line  at  Kramer,  expecting  that 
the  new  and  thriving  camp  of  Randsburg  would  move  over  to  the  railroad 
en  masse.  In  this  hope  they  were  disappointed,  and  the  Johannesburg  railroad 
was  sold  to  the  Santa  Fe. 

The  founders  of  the  town  piped  water  from  Mountain  spring,  and  this 
sj'stem  later  was  combined  with  the  Randsburg  water  system,  which  had  its 
supply  from  Squaw  springs. 

Johannesburg  boasts  the  Johannesburg  Reduction  Works,  known  as  the 
Red  Dog,  a  custom  mill,  built  in  1897;  the  Santa  Ana,  the  Pioneer  and  the 
Windy. 

Mojave 

The  town  of  Mojave  was  established  by  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad 
when  it  laid  its  tracks  through  the  desert  in  1876.  The  first  store  was  built 
by  a  man  named  Moon,  and  Mrs.  Morrissey  opened  the  Morrissey  hotel, 
which  was  the  first  hostelry.  Robert  Charlton  was  the  first  postmaster. 
W.  C.  Wilson,  at  one  time  county  auditor,  conducted  a  general  merchandise 
store  at  Alojave  for  some  years. 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  railroad  has  been  the  chief  reason  for  the 
existence  of  the  town.  It  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  climb  from  the  south 
to  the  top  of  Tehachapi  pass,  and  is  therefore  a  convenient  place  for 
coupling  and  uncoupling  helper  engines.  It  is  now  the  end  of  an  oil  pipe  line 
carrying  fuel  oil  over  the  Tehachapi  mountains  for  the  use  of  the  railroads. 
Mojave  also  has  been  the  shipping  point  for  borax  hauled  from  Borax  lake 
and  Death  valley.  The  beds  at  Borax  lake  were  discovered'  by  John  Searles 
of  Skilling  &  Searles,  who  for  many  years  have  hauled  the  product  across  the 
desert  sands  to  Mojave  with  20-mule  teams,  taking  fifteen  days  for  the  round 
trip. 

During  the  early  days  of  the  Randsburg  mining  boom  Mojave  was  the 
point  at  which  miners  and  their  provisions  and  materials  left  the  railroad, 
and  the  trade  so  produced  helped  the  town  to  prosper  until  the  railroad  was 
built  to  Johannesburg.  The  building  of  the  Los  Angeles  aqueduct  gave 
Mojave  another  temporary  boom. 

For  many  years  some  mining  has  been  carried  on  in  the  country  tributary 
to  Mojave,  and  recently  satisfactory  results  have  been  obtained  in  developing 
water  for  pump  irrigation  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town.  The  desert  lands  are 
rich  and  adapted  to  cultivation  if  a  sufficient  supply  of  water  for  irrigation 
can  be  obtained,  and  on  the  experiments  in  this  line  may  depend  Mojave's 
ultimate  prosperity  or  adversity. 

During  the  past  year  a  refinery  has  been  built  at  Mojave  for  extracting 
some  of  the  lighter  elements  from  the  oil  that  is  piped  over  the  mountains,  the 
residue  being  as  valuable  for  fuel  as  the  native  oil,  and  the  part  taken  out 
selling  for  enough  to  make  a  verv  substantial  reduction  in  the  railroad's  fuel 
bill. 

Two  churches  and  a  good  grammar  school  are  among  Mojave's  public 
assets. 

Rosamond 

Rosamond  is  a  station  on  the  Southern  Pacific  fourteen  miles  south  of 
Mojave,  near  the  southern  line  of  the  county.  The  first  store  was  opened 
about  1888  bv  a  man  bv  name  of  Hyde  and  Miss  Sarah  Haves.    C.  P.  Sutton 


192  HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY 

was  the  first  postmaster  and  was  succeeded  by  E.  S.  Waite,  Charles  Graves 
and  Miss  Kinton,  in  the  order  named.  Ike  Boyles  ran  the  first  hotel,  and 
Miss  Kate  Titus  taught  the  first  school.  It  was  kept  up  for  two  seasons  by 
private  subscription,  but  not  until  1908  were  there  enough  children  to  warrant 
the  establishment  of  a  school  district. 

Rosamond  was  named  for  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  Southern  Pacific  rail- 
road ofificials. 


■i 


^^^-o^y-i^    ^>1  c     Is^x:? 


BIOGRAPHICAL 

HENRY  A.  JASTRO.— A  record  of  the  life  of  Henry  A.  Jastro  is  in 
many  respects  an  epitome  of  the  progress  of  Kern  county.  So  long  has  been 
his  identification  with  this  great  region  and  so  intimate  his  association  with 
local  development  that,  viewing  the  remarkable  transformation  wrought 
within  his  memory,  he  may  well  exclaim,  "All  of  which  I  saw  and  part  of 
which  I  was."  Great  as  has  been  his  business  activity,  bringing  to  him 
prominence  and  prestige  throughout  the  entire  United  States,  it  is  as  super- 
visor that  the  people  of  his  home  county  know  him  best  and  regard  him 
with  the  deepest  affection.  Through  the  period  of  more  than  twenty  years 
measuring  his  service  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  to  which  he 
was  chosen  by  a  large  majority  at  each  election  and  as  invariably  made  chair- 
man of  the  board,  mind  and  heart  have  been  engrossed  in  the  well-being  of 
the  count3^  Evidence  of  his  unusual  ability  as  a  financier  appears  in  the  fact 
that  Kern  county  is  operated  on  a  cash  basis  with  the  lowest  tax  rate  in  the 
state,  yet  there  have  been  erected  quite  recently  a  county  high  school  and  hall 
of  records,  an  addition  to  the  county  hospital  duuljling  its  capacity,  and  a 
courthouse  that  ranks  among  the  finest  in  the  state;  also,  the  Kern  River 
bridge,  one  of  the  longest  bridges  in  the  state,  built  of  reinforced  concrete. 
Eacii  of  these  buildings  and  structures  is  attractive  in  architecture,  substan- 
tial in  construction,  modern  in  equipment  and  convenient  in  interior  arrange- 
ment, each  in  a  word  a  model  of  its  kind,  yet  such  was  the  skill  of  the  super- 
visors as  financiers,  under  the  leadership  of  their  chairman,  that  the  enor- 
mous tasks  were  completed  amicably  and  economically  without  taint  of  graft 
or  criticism  of  extravagance.  The  courthouse  in  particular  has  attracted 
architects  from  distant  points,  for  its  pronounced  excellence  invites  a  close 
inspection  on  the  part  of  all  associated  with  the  architecture  of  public  build- 
ings. The  plans  of  the  supervisors  did  not  end  with  construction  work,  but 
include  the  ultimate  transformation  of  the  courthouse  grounds  into  a  bower 
of  horticultural  beauty  unsurpassed  in  the  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin. 

Born  in  Germany  in  1850,  Henry  A.  Jastro  was  thirteen  years  of  age 
when  he  accompanied  his  family  from  Germany  to  America.  Later  he  came 
alone  to  California  by  way  of  Panama  and  after  landing  in  San  Francisco 
traveled  from  there  by  stage  to  Los  Angeles.  With  youthful  enthusiasm  he 
threw  himself  into  the  task  of  earning  a  livelihood  in  a  strange  country,  far 
from  the  friends  of  earlier  days.  For  a  time  he  engaged  in  freighting  to 
Arizona.  .Another  task  was  that  of  working  with  cattle  and  sheep  between 
Wilmington  and  Catalina  Islands.  In  the  meantime  he  was  learning  much 
conceining  the  great  undeveloped  resources  of  the  state.  During  1870  he 
saw  Oakersfield  f(  r  the  first  time.  The  now  flourishing  city  was  a  small  ham- 
let, comprising  a  primitive  collection  of  cabins  and  offering  little  inducement 
to  the  ordinary  settler.  But  i\lr.  Jastro  was  then  as  he  is  now  an  optimist  con- 
cerning the  country.  From  the  first  he  realized  its  possibilities  and  foresaw  its 
future  growth,  although  not  realizing  at  the  time  that  oil  and  natural  gas 
would  form  the  secret  of  such  development.  Subsequent  events  have  deepened 
his  faith  in  Kern  county  and  he  is  now  a  "veritable  encyclopedia"  concerning 
its  resources.  In  his  opinion  the  discoveries  of  oil  and  natural  gas  are  the 
greatest  benefits  California  has  ever  received,  not  excepting  gold.  With  the 
advent  of  natural  gas  in  Bakersfield,  pipes  were  laid  to  convey  it  to  San 
Francisco  and  Los  Angeles;  while  it  is  not  inferior  to  manufactured  gas  for 
illuminating  pur|)Oses.  it  has  the  advantage  of  a  greater  heat  unit.  After  oil 
had  given  the  state  cheap  fuel,  California  jumped  from  the  twenty-fifth  place 


196  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

in  manufacturing  to  the  eleventh,  and  Mr.  Jastro  beheves  that  within  a  few 
years  it  will  rank  fourth  or  fifth  among  the  manufacturing  states.  In  his 
estimation  this  will  come  through  the  establishment  of  cotton  and  woolen  fac- 
tories. Already  cotton  is  being  produced  in  large  quantities  in  the  state,  while 
sheep  always  will  be  raised  on  lands  adapted  for  no  other  purpose  than  graz- 
ing. 

Through  his  marriage  to  Miss  May  E.  Baker,  who  died  in  1894,  Mr.  Jastro 
became  allied  with  a  notable  family  of  Kern  county,  for  his  father-in-law,  Col. 
Thomas  Baker,  is  remembered  in  the  annals  of  local  history  as  the  founder 
of  Bakersfield.  A  son,  Harry  A.,  and  two  daughters  were  born  of  the  union. 
One  of  the  daughters,  now  residing  at  Albuquerque,  N.  M.,  is  the  wife  of  M. 
O.  Chadbourne,  son  of  Colonel  Chadbourne,  of  San  Francisco.  Since  the  death 
of  his  wife  Mr.  Jastro  has  made  his  home  with  his  widowed  daughter,  Mrs. 
May  Greer,  in  a  comfortable  home  in  Bakersfield,  and  he  is  seldom  away 
from  the  city  except  at  such  times  as  the  demands  of  his  large  business  inter- 
ests necessitate  his  presence  elsewhere.  His  identification  with  Messrs.  Carr 
and  Haggin,  the  predecessors  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  began  in 
1874,  four  years  after  his  location  in  Bakersfield.  From  that  time  to  the  pres- 
ent, excepting  a  period  of  about  four  years  from  1886  to  1890,  he  has  become 
more  and  more  a  power  in  the  profitable  development  of  this  close  corporation, 
comprising  the  estate  of  Lloj'd  Tevis  (represented  by  William  S.  Tevis)  and 
the  holdings  uf  J.  B.  Haggin,  now  of  New  York.  Stockdale,  one  of  the  com- 
pany's great  ranches,  is  the  seat  of  the  Tevis  home.  The  tropical  splendors  of 
this  ranch  defy  any  description.  One  of  the  most  unusual  attractions  is  a 
bamboo  forest,  where  the  bamboo  by  actual  measurement  has  grown  twenty- 
five  inches  in  twenty-four  htiurs.  The  hothouse  contains  rare  plants  and 
the  artificial  lake  is  stocked  with  rare  water  fowl,  while  grottoes  and  foun- 
tains add  to  the  charm  of  the  ranch. 

A  colonization  scheme  by  the  manager  of  the  company  failed  signally  in 
1903.  Mr.  Jastro,  who  had  been  with  the  company  for  nineteen  years  in  diiTer- 
ent  capacities,  was  chosen  manager.  The  properties  over  which  he  has  absolute 
control  include  four  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  acres  in  California,  six  hun- 
dred and  ten  thousand  acres  in  New  Mexico,  one  hundred  thousand  acres  in 
Arizona,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  acres  in  Mexico.  An  ex- 
tensive irrigation  scheme  has  been  installed  by  the  general  manager  on  the 
San  Pedro  river  in  Arizona  and  this  will  irrigate  ten  thousand  acres.  The  site 
of  the  government  Elephant  Butte  dam  in  New  Mexico  is  on  forty  thousand 
acres  formerly  held  by  the  company,  but  taken  over  by  the  government  on  an 
equitable  basis,  ^^'ater  from  the  reclamation  project  will  be  used  on  the  com- 
pany land. 

As  early  as  1885  this  company  attempted  to  raise  cotton  and  in  that  year 
they  raised  the  first  big  crop  of  cotton  ever  grown  in  California.  The  product 
was  of  very  fine  quality,  but  labor  conditions  made  the  venture  a  failure.  In 
order  to  secure  the  required  number  of  cotton  pickers  they  imported  negroes, 
but  they  did  not  remain.  Next  they  tried  Chinamen,  but  cotton  picking  re- 
quires long  fingers  and  the  short  Chinese  fingers  tore  the  staple.  The  industry 
was  then  abandoned.  At  the  present  time  alfalfa  and  grain  are  the  principal 
crops,  but  citrus  and  deciduous  fruits  and  vines  are  raised,  while  in  stock 
they  have  good  success  with  every  department,  cattle,  horses,  mules,  sheep 
and  hogs.  In  Bakersfield  and  on  the  ranches  the  manager  has  established 
machine  and  wagon  shops,  warehouses,  supply  departments  and  tinshops, 
besides  which  he  has  built  canals  and  waterworks.  The  cattle  are  raised  in 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  then  brought  to  Kern  county  for  fattening  on 
alfalfa  or  corn  and  chopped  hay.  Enough  beef  is  produced  to  supply  regularly 
eighty  thousand  people.  The  stock  business  conducted  upon  such  an  enor- 
mous scale  calls  for  rare  abilities,  but  the  general  manager  lias  proved  equal 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  197 

to  every   eiiiery^ency   and   lias  displayed   a   sagacit}',   keen   discriniinatii  m    and 
wise  foresight  seldom  equalled. 

The  fact  that  .Mr.  jastro  is  a  stanch  Democrat  has  made  no  dilTcrcncc  to 
the  people  in  their  solicitude  to  secure  his  public  services.  Republicans  ha\'e 
displayed  as  much  enthusiasm  for  him  as  supervisor  as  have  the  Democrats 
and  during  the  great  Roosevelt  landslide  in  1904,  when  the  county  gave  a 
great  Republican  majority,  he  received  a  flattering  majority  for  sui)ervisor  on 
the  Democratic  ticket.  In  fact,  the  people  have  divorced  politics  from  public 
service  in  their  desire  for  his  able  assistance  in  public  affairs  and  in  this 
respect  they  resemljle  Mr.  jastro  himself,  for  one  of  his  hob])ies  is  the  divorc- 
ing of  trade  relations  and  civic  progress  from  politics.  P^ive  times  elected 
president  of  the  National  Live  Stock  Association  (the  last  time  at  Phoenix, 
Ariz.,  in  January  of  1913),  in  that  office  he  has  made  a  study  of  the  tariff 
question  in  connection  with  the  hides  and  wool  schedule.  It  is  his  belief  that 
the  commerce  of  our  countrv  will  not  much  longer  permit  itself  to  be  a 
prey  to  political  vicissitudes.  As  a  remedial  agency  he  favors  the  appointment 
of  a  board  of  tariff  commissioners  on  a  non-])artisan  basis,  such  board  to  be 
continuously  in  session  and  have  the  power  to  adjust  the  tariff  duties  as  occa- 
sion may  demand.  The  action  of  President  Taft  in  appointing  tariff  commis- 
sioners he  regards  as  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  As  a  memlier  of  the  state 
board  of  agriculture  of  which  he  was  president  for  three  terms  his  able 
services  have  been  given  to  the  uplifting  of  the  farmer,  whose  interests  he 
believes  to  be  second  to  none  in  importance  if  the  permanent  piosperity  of 
our  commonwealth  is  to  be  conserved.  In  every  post  of  honor  accepted  bv 
him  he  has  given  dignified  and  noteworthy  service.  With  his  commanding 
presence  and  magnetic  personality,  he  is  equally  a  power  among  the  great- 
est captains  of  industry  in  the  country  and  among  the  humbler  workers 
of  life's  great  field.  His  name  ever  will  stand  at  the  very  forefront  in  the 
annals  (  f  Kern  county  and  in  the  history  of  the  stock  industry  throughout 
the  we.st. 

PETER  GARDETTE.— A  record  of  the  life  of  Peter  Gardette  is  in  many 
respects  an  epitome  of  the  agricultural  development  of  Kern  county,  whither 
he  came  at  a  period  so  earh'  that  no  county  organization  had  yet  been 
effected  and  few  emigrants  had  endeavored'  to  surmount  the  sufferings  inci- 
dent to  existence  on  plains  undeveloped,  unsettled  and  often  drought-stricken. 
The  tenacity  of  purpose  which  characterized  him  is  exhibited  in  his  fearless 
attempt  to  aid  in  the  huge  task  of  pioneer  develo'iment.  While  he  knew  little 
of  frontier  hardships,  he  had  learned  to  be  persistent  in  labor  and  self-reliant 
in  action,  and  every  former  association  of  his  busy  life  had  qualified'  him  for 
pioneering.  Born  near  Danzig,  Prussia,  December  22,  1825,  he  had  attended 
a  school  of  navigation  in  youth  and  then  had  followed  the  sea  for  a  livelihood. 
During  1851  the  ship  on  which  he  was  employed  sailed  around  the  Horn  and 
came  up  the  Pacific  to  San  Francisco.  The  influx  of  emigrants  had  not 
lessened  since  the  first  excitement  caused  by  the  discovery  of  gold.  Swept 
away  from  former  plans  by  the  contagion  of  large  throngs  making  for  the 
mines,  he  left  his  ship  at  San  Francisco,  although  he  did  not  follow  the  gen- 
eral example  in  trying  his  luck  at  the  mines.  Instead'  he  spent  a  winter  in 
San  Francisco.  It  was  a  season  of  great  excitement.  Not  the  least  important 
of  his  experiences  there  was  a  participation  in  fighting  the  great  fire  of  that 
winter  which  almost  destroyed  the  city.  Shortly  afterward  he  left  the  city 
for  the  mines  of  Mariposa  county  and  in  April,  1854,  when  the  first  excite- 
ment was  aroused  through  the  discovery  of  gold  at  Keyesville,  then  in  Tulare 
county,  he  followed  the  rush  of  travel  to  the  new  camp. 

It  was  the  privilege  of  Mr.  Gardette  to  witness  the  organization  of  Kern 
county  and  to  be  one  of  the  very  first  citizens  admitted  by  naturalization 
papers,  this  being  about   1866.     In  partnership   with  Judge  Sayles,  later  of 


198  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Fresno,  now  deceased,  he  started  a  general  store  on  Greenhorn  mountain  at 
the  present  site  of  the  camp  of  the  forest  supervisors.  Within  ten  miles  of  the 
store  he  located  a  homestead  on  Poso  Flat,  where  he  began  to  raise  cattle  and 
sheep.  His  brand,  the  capital  letter  "S,"  was  the  very  first  to  be  recorded  in 
Kern  county  and  is  now  used  by  his  son,  Henry  B.,  who  continues  the  stock 
business  at  the  old  homestead.  A  log  cabin  was  built  on  the  claim  as  early 
as  1859  and  in  it  the  pioneer  stockman  kept  bachelor's  hall  for  some  time. 
Eventually  his  means  permitted  him  to  provide  better  accommodations  and  in 
1871  he  erected  a  frame  house  that  still  stands.  Meanwhile  he  had  put  in  a 
valuable  irrigation  system  for  his  own  use  and  had  purchased  adjacent  land, 
so  that  five  hundred  and  twenty  acres  were  devoted  to  grain  and  alfalfa. 
When  his  children  began  to  need  educational  advantages  he  erected  a  resi- 
dence on  the  corner  of  F  and  Twenty-first  streets,  Bakersfield,  and  there  the 
family  maintained  their  headquarters,  although  much  of  his  time  continued  to 
be  spent  upon  the  ranch  until  his  final  retirement  from  heavy  manual  work. 
It  was  not  until  1905  that  he  relinquished  the  management  of  the  ranch  into 
the  hands  of  his  son,  Henry  B.,  and  thereupon  he  retired  to  private  life, 
spending  his  last  days  quietly  in  Bakersfield,  where  he  died  May  19,  1911,  at 
the  family  residence. 

The  marriage  of  Peter  Gardette  occurred  in  San  Francisco  March  24,  1871, 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Agnes  E.  A.  Weber,  a  native  of  Dresden,  Saxony, 
and  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Augusta  W.  (Otto)  Weber.  Her  father  followed 
the  occupation  of  a  builder  and  both  he  and  his  wife  remained  in  Saxony  until 
their  death.  During  young  womanhood  Mrs.  Gardette  left  her  home  in  Ger- 
many and  came  via  Panama  to  California  in  1868,  settling  at  Visalia.  Three 
years  later  she  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Gardette  and  accompanied  him  to  the 
ranch  in  Kern  county.  Since  the  death  of  her  husband  she  has  continued  to 
reside  in  Bakersfield  and  has  superintended  her  business  matters  with  quiet, 
keen  capability,  one  of  her  undertakings  having  been  the  building,  with  her 
son,  Henry  B.,  of  the  Kern  Valley  garage  on  the  corner  of  L  and  Eighteenth 
streets.  I'or  years  she  has  been  identified  with  the  Kern  County  Pioneer 
Society,  to  which  Mr.  Gardette  also  belonged,  he  having  been  at  the  time  of 
his  demise  one  of  the  very  oldest  settlers  of  the  county.  In  religion  she  is  of 
the  Episcopalian  faith,  while  he  was  reared  in  the  Lutheran  denomination  and 
always  adhered  to  its  doctrines  and  creed.  Their  family  consists  of  four 
children,  of  whom  one  daughter,  Margaret  D.,  is  a  successful  teacher  in  the 
Bakersfield  schools;  a  son,  Henry  B.,  continues  at  the  old  home  ranch;  Mrs. 
Mildred  Munsey  is  a  resident  of  Bakersfield,  and  the  younger  son,  Helmuth  C, 
follows  the  occupation  of  an  electrical  engineer  in  Los  Angeles. 

W.  S.  WILHELM. — The  president  and  general  manager  of  the  Mari- 
copa Queen  Oil  Company  is  an  lowan  by  birth  and  was  born  in  Musca- 
tine October  16,  1864,  being  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Christ)  Wilhelm. 
The  lineage  of  the  family  is  traced  back  to  worthy  Teutonic  progenitors. 
Very  early  in  the  colonization  of  Amexica  members  of  the  family  crossed  the 
ocean  from  Germany  and  identified  themselves  with  the  material  upbuilding  of 
the  new  country.  Later  generations  became  pioneers  of  Iowa.  The  Muscatine 
branch  of  the  family  had  little  means,  but  possessed  worth  of  character  and 
nobility  of  purpose.  In  the  midst  of  discouragements  and  poverty  they  re- 
tained their  devotion  to  the  higher  principles  of  life.  It  was  not  possible  for 
W.  S.  to  attend  school  with  any  regularity,  yet  he  has  become  a  man  of  the 
broadest  information  and  widest  culture.  Brought  up  to  a  life  of  hard  work  on 
a  farm,  when  only  fourteen  years  of  age  he  engaged  in  cutting  wood  at  sixty 
cents  a  cord.  By  such  work  he  supported  himself  in  the  months  of' winter. 
The  summer  seasons  were  given  to  farming.  The  sterling  qualities  of  industry 
and  thrift  instilled  in  his  mind  during  youth  have  stood  him  in  good  stead 
through  his  subsequent  career.     For  a  time  in  young  manhood  he  was  con- 


HISTORY    ()!•    KKRN    COUXTY  201 

nected  with  the  secret  service  of  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  Railroad 
in  Missouri.  While  employed  in  that  state  he  met  and  married  Miss  Dora  J. 
Duncan,  a  cultured  woman  who  in  every  way  has  promoted  his  success  and 
enhanced  his  happiness.  Seven  children  blessed  their  union  and  they  still 
remain  to  brighten  the  elegant  and  attractive  family  residence  in  Long  Beach. 
For  two  years  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Wilhelm  engaged  in  farming  in 
Missouri,  but  later  he  remox-ed  to  Coloradu  and  interested  himself  in  mining. 
By  slow  degrees  he  rose  to  wealth.  Important  interests  were  acquired  not 
only  in  Colorado,  but  also  in  Idaho,  Montana  and  Nevada.  Since  coming  to 
California  and  establishing  a  home  in  Long  Beach  he  has  devoted  much  of 
his  time  to  tlie  interests  of  the  Maricopa  Queen  Oil  Company,  of  which  he  is 
president  and  general  manager.  The  company  has  the  distinction  of  owning 
an  exceedingly  valuable  lease,  comprising  twenty  acres  on  section  32,  town- 
ship 12,  range  23,  in  the  Sunset-Midway  field.  There  are  now  seven  wells 
on  the  lease  and  two  of  these  flow  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand 
barrels  per  day.  In  the  development  of  this  important  lease  Mr.  Wilhelm 
has  used  his  large  means  lavishly  and  the  returns  have  fully  justified  his 
most  sanguine  expectations.  In  addition  to  his  holdings  previously  men- 
tioned he  has  valuable  mining  properties  in  the  west  and  considerable  oil 
property  in  Texas. 

COL.  E.  M.  ROBERTS.— Martial  valor  has  been  a  leading  characteristic 
of  the  Roberts  family  during  the  entire  period  of  its  known  history,  which  in 
.•\merica  dates  from  the  colonial  period  of  \''irginian  settlement  and  reveals  a 
record  of  patriotic  devotion  guided  by  a  high  order  of  intelligence.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  not  only  the  Colonel's  paternal  grandfather,  but  likewise 
his  maternal  grandfather,  Adam  Harber,  served  under  General  Jackson  in 
the  memorable  battle  of  New  Orleans  during  the  war  of  1812  and  gave  loyal 
service  to  the  country  throughout  that  historic  struggle.  Of  English  birth 
and  honorable  .\nglo-Saxon  lineage,  Mr.  Harber  had  immigrated  to  the  new 
world  during  young  manhood,  settled  upon  a  plantation  in  Tennessee  and 
married  a  southern  lady.  Their  daughter,  .\nnie  Aletha,  a  native  of  Tennessee 
and  a  lifelong  resident  of  that  state,  became  the  wife  of  H.  B.  Roberts,  who 
was  born  in  North  Carolina.  While  still  a  young  woman  she  passed  away, 
leaving  a  family  of  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  the  eldest  son,  E.  M.,  having 
been  born  at  Chapelhill,  Marshall  county,  Tenn.,  September  11,  1843.  After 
the  death  of  the  mother  the  children  were  taken  to  Missouri  in  1849  by  their 
father,  who  settled  in  Springfield  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  tract  of  unimproved 
acreage.  Being  a  skilled  mechanic  he  opened  a  blacksmith's  shop  and  there 
he  made  the  first  moldboard  plow  ever  seen  in  Springfield.  With  this  he 
turned  the  first  furrows  in  the  soil  of  his  raw  land.  The  other  settlers,  seeing 
the  success  of  his  invention,  engaged  him  to  manufacture  similar  implements 
for  their  use.  The  first  decade  of  his  residence  in  Missouri  brought  him  grati- 
fying success  and,  had  fate  spared  him  for  later  usefulness,  he  would  have 
gained  financial  prosperity.  Through  all  of  his  life  a  resident  of  the  south,  in 
sympathy  with  its  institutions,  devoted  to  its  people  and  attached  to  its 
policies,  he  naturally  embraced'  the  Confederate  side  at  the  opening  of  the 
Civil  war.  At  the  very  outset  he  enlisted  under  General  Price,  but  it  was  not 
his  destiny  to  see  the  defeat  of  the  Southern  flag.  Near  the  close  of  the  year 
1861,  while  in  active  service,  he  died  in  Springfield  at  the  age  of  forty-five 
years. 

Auk  ng  the  memories  of  childhdoil  days  treasured  in  the  mind  of  ( 'ol- 
onel  Roberts  are  those  associated  with  the  removal  (jf  the  family  from  Ten- 
nessee to  Missouri  when  he  was  six  years  of  age.  In  company  with  a  train 
of  emigrants  comprising  probably  thirty  teams  he  and  other  members  of 
his  family  journeyed  in  their  own  wagon  drawn  by  oxen  and  crossed  the 
Mississippi    at    St.    Lcjuis    in    a    ferry    run    by    hiirsepower.      The    frontier    of 


202  HISTORY   OF   KERX    COUNTY 

Missouri  was  the  environment  of  his  boyhood.  The  country  was  new  and 
settlers  few,  so  that  schools  were  widely  scattered.  About  two  or  three 
months  of  each  year  a  subscription  school  was  held  six  miles  from  his  home 
and  to  it  he  walked  each  day.  Notwithstanding  the  handicap  of  limited 
education  he  became  a  man  of  broad  information  and  fine  mental  attain- 
ments. During  the  opening  year  of  the  Civil  war  he  lost  his  father,  and 
the  example  of  that  gallant  Confederate  soldier  led  him  to  enlist  in  the 
Southern  army.  During  1862,  when  scarcely  nineteen  years  of  age,  he 
enlisted  in  Company  A,  Third  Regiment  of  Missouri  Cavalry,  under  Col. 
Dick  Campbell,  of  Springfield,  Mo.,  remaining  at  the  front  until  he  gave 
up  his  arms  at  Shreveport,  La.,  in  June  of  1865.  Among  the  engagements 
in  which  he  bore  a  part  were  those  of  Pea  Ridge,  Cain  Springs,  Saline  River, 
Prairie  Grove,  Poison  Springs,  Hartville  (where  he  had  a  horse  shot  under 
him),  Camden  and  Pine  Blufif,  all  in  Arkansas,  besides  which  he  fought  in 
Price's  raid,  where  six  weeks  were  given  to  continuous  skirmishing,  includ- 
ing the  battles  of  Iron  Mountain,  JefTerson  City,  Herman,  Little  Blue  and 
Big  Blue,   Brush  Creek,  Llelena,  Little  Ruck  and  Granby,  Ark. 

During  the  battle  of  Saline  River  the  young  Southern  soldier  served  as 
an  orderly  for  General  Shelby.  Many  years  later,  when  the  General  was 
serving  as  United  States  Marshal  of  Missouri  and  had  engaged  a  negro  lad 
to  act  as  deputy.  Colonel  Roberts  met  his  old  commander  and  inquired 
about  the  deputy.  General  Shelby  replied  that  the  boy's  father  and  mother 
took  care  of  and  saved  his  family  from  danger  during  the  Civil  war  and  the 
gratitude  which  he  felt  caused  him  to  recognize  the  undoubted  worth  of 
their  son.  Returning  home  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Colonel  Roberts  visited 
there  for  a  month  and  then  went  to  Kansas  City  in  search  of  employment, 
landing  there  without  a  dollar.  His  first  position,  which  he  held  for  four 
years,  was  that  of  assistant  in  a  saw  mill  at  $33.33  per  month.  When  he 
left  the  place  he  had  saved  an  amount  sufificient  to  buy  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  near  Paola,  Miami  county,  Kansas,  and  to  that  location  he 
moved,  beginning  there  in  agricultural  undertakings  that  continued  with 
fair  success  until  the  grasshoppers  in  1874  completely  destroyed  his  crop. 
With  such  funds  as  he  could  secure  from  the  disaster  he  came  to  California 
in  September,  1874,  and  settled  at  Oakland,  where  he  formed  a  partnership 
in  the  butcher  business.  There  he  not  only  lost  the  balance  of  his  money, 
hut  was  left  in  debt.  Beginning  anew  he  became  buyer  for  H.  M.  Ames. 
Six  months  later  he  paid  the  last  of  his  debts,  besides  which  he  had  been 
able  to  buy  a  span  of  horses,  harness  and  wagon.  With  $20  in  cash  and  his 
team,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  child,  he  came  to  the  San  Joaquin 
country  in  April  of  1876.  On  the  first  of  May  he  arrived  in  Kern  county 
and  located  on  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  railroad  land,  which  he  im- 
proved with  such  success  that  the  railroad  company  charged  him  $10  an 
acre  for  the  place,  an  excessive  amount  for  those  days.  One  year  after  com- 
ing to  the  valley  he  became  superintendent  of  canal  work  for  the  Kern 
County  Land  Company  (later  known  as  Haggin  &  Co.),  and  in  addition  he 
had  the  contract  for  iDuilding  the  Beardsley  canal  of  thirty  miles  and  the 
McCord  canal  of  fifteen  miles.  With  a  partner,  W.  H.  Brand,  he  built 
twenty-five  miles  of  the  Calloway  canal  and  the  East  Side  canal  of  twenty- 
seven  miles.  Under  his  direction  about  sixteen  sections  of  desert  land  were 
reclaimed  for  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  and  after  ditches  had  been 
dug  and  the  land  brought  under  irrigation,  settlers  could  legally  prove  up 
on  claims. 

The  trials  of  frontier  existence  are  indicated  by  the  fact  that  when 
Colonel  Roberts  began  to  farm  in  Kern  county  he  and  his  wife  lived  in  a 
brush  shed  for  a  time,  then  occupied  a  log  cabin  and  next  had  to  content 
themselves  with  a  box-house  12x15.  Finally,  however,  his  increasing  pros- 
perity was  evidenced  by  the  erection  of  a  tw(  -story  residence  of  ten  rooms. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  203 

Cdnsidered  the  finest  farm  house  in  the  entire  county  in  its  day.  IJesides 
raisings  fine  horses  and  mules  extensively,  he  had  one  hundred  milch  cows 
comprising  one  of  the  largest  dairy  herds  in  the  county.  From  time  to 
time  he  added  to  his  ranch  until  he  owned  three  hundred  and  thirty-one 
acres  under  cultivation  to  alfalfa  and  fitted  for  the  stock  industry  and 
dairy  business  through  valuable  improvements.  During  March  of  1909  he 
sold  the  ranch  at  an  excellent  figure  and  removed  to  Bakersfield,  where 
he  owns  and  occupies  a  commodious  residence  at  No.  2402  L  street.  In  ad- 
dition he  owns  about  twenty  houses  in  liakersfield  and  a  ranch  of  one  lum- 
dred  and  twenty  acres  in  the  county,  besides  being  interested  in  oil  lands. 
Throughout  his  long  identification  with  the  San  Joaquin  valley  he  has 
favored  every  enterprise  for  its  development.  From  early  life  a  Democrat, 
stanch  in  his  adherence  to  party  principles,  he  has  been  a  local  leader  and 
for  sixteen  years  or  more  has  served  as  chairman  of  the  Kern  ccvunty 
Democratic  central  committee.  For  seven  years  he  was  a  member  of  the 
be  ard  of  supervisors  and  during  four  years  of  that  time  he  ofificiated  as  its 
chairman.  The  congressional  and  state  central  committees  of  his  party  have 
had  the  benefit  of  his  ripened  judgment  and  intense  devotion  to  party  tenets. 
At  the  time  of  the  election  of  Governor  Gage  he  was  the  Democratic  nominee 
for  state  senator  in  a  district  that  gives  a  customary  Republican  majority 
of  five  hundred.  Notwithstanding-  the  fact  that  the  Republicans  received 
an  overwhelming  majority  at  that  election  he  was  defeated  by  only  thirty-two 
votes,  which  in  itself  furnishes  a  tribute  to  his  popularity  and  high  standing 
in  the  district.  The  P>akersfield  Board  of  Trade  for  years  has  had  his  name 
upon  its  membership  roll  and  other  organizations  for  local  progress  have 
enjoyed  the  aid  of  his  splendid  citizenship.  Fraternally  he  is  identified 
with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
l'"ell()ws  and  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

While  living  in  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Colonel  Roberts  married  Miss  Lydia 
Eaton,  who  was  born  in  Ontario,  Canada,  and  descended  directly  from  Sir 
Francis  Eaton  of  England,  who  crossed  the  ocean  to  Plymouth  as  a  pas- 
senger on  the  historic  Mayflower.  The  family  owned  a  large  estate  in 
England,  but  the  American  descendants  were  never  able  to  secure  their 
share  of  the  property.  Three  children  of  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Roberts  are  now 
living  and  all  reside  in  Bakersfield,  viz.:  Mrs.  Maude  Davis,  Mrs.  Daisy 
Pyle  and  Herbert.  The  older  son,  Lynn,  enlisted  in  the  Sixth  California 
Regiment  at  the  t)pening  of  the  Spanish-American  war  and  died  in  the 
service  while  stationed  with  his  company  at  San  Francisco. 

W.  W.  KAYE. — The  senior  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Kaye  &  Siemon, 
who  is  also  widely  known  as  one  of  the  most  scholarly  men  of  Kern  county 
and  one  of  the  leading  representatives  of  the  Bakersfield  bar,  came  to  the 
west  from  Iowa.  On  a  farm  near  Riverside,  Washington  county,  that  state, 
where  he  was  born  June  26,  1869,  and  where  he  spent  the  first  seventeen 
years  of  his  life,  his  parents,  Jesse  I.  and  Anna  L.  (Kling)  Kaye,  labored  with 
self-sacrificing  devotion  to  provide  a  livelihood  for  their  family.  While  still 
in  the  midst  of  the  struggle  the  father  died  on  the  home  farm.  The  mother, 
who  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  but  a  resident  of  Iowa  throughout  all  of 
her  active  life,  was  privileged  to  reap  the  reward  of  her  patient  industry,  and 
now,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years,  is  passing  her  declining  days  at  I'oulder, 
Colo.,  where  she  is  surrounded  by  the  comforts  deservedly  won  in  those  years 
of  strenuous  labor.  It  was  not  possible  to  give  the  son  good  educational  ad- 
vantages, but  with  characteristic  ambition  he  determined  to  work  his  way 
through  school.  The  splendid  university  education  which  he  acquired  rep- 
resents his  unaided  exertions.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  the  Iowa 
City  Academy,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1889.  During  the  fall  of 
that  year  he  matriculated  in  the  Iowa  State  Uni\ersity  and  in  1893  he  was 
graduated  from  the  classical  course  of  that  institution.     Meanwhile  he  had 


204  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

devoted  eighteen  hours  of  each  day  to  study  or  to  teaching,  for  in  order  to 
pay  his  expenses  in  the  university  he  had  taught  higher  arithmetic,  algebra, 
geometry  and  physics  in  the  academy. 

Immediately  after  his  graduation  from  the  university  in  1893  Mr.  Kaye 
went  to  Washington  and  organized  the  high  school  at  VVaterville,  of  which 
he  was  chosen  the  first  principal.  During  the  two  years  of  his  service  in 
that  position  he  placed  the  school  upon  a  substantial  basis  and  raised  its 
standard  so  that  all  of  its  graduates  were  eligible  to  admission  to  any  uni- 
versity, their  names  being  placed  on  the  accredited  list  according  to  their 
standing".  After  two  years  at  Waterville  he  left  Washington  for  California 
and  entered  the  Hastings  Law  School  of  San  Francisco,  from  which  in  1898 
he  received  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  During  the  same  year  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  by  the  supreme  court  of  California.  Meanwhile  he  had  paid  all 
of  his  expenses  in  the  law  school.  For  a  time  he  had  taught  school  at 
Berkeley,  Cal.,  and  in  addition  as  a  traveling  salesman  carrying  a  commercial 
line  he  visited  every  town  from  Seattle  to  San  Francisco.  At  various  times 
he  worked  in  the  law  offices  of  Judge  A.  W.  Thompson,  C.  L.  Tilden.  W.  H. 
Payson  and  A.  H.  Ricketts.  After  graduating  from  the  law  college  he  spent 
several  3'ears  with  Curtis  H.  Lindley,  author  of  Lindley  on  Mines,  his  special 
task  being  the  making  of  an  abstract  on  all  current  decisions  of  state  and 
federal  courts  pertaining  to  mining  laws.  The  abstract  thus  prepared  played 
an  important  part  in  the  preparation  of  the  second  edition  of  Lindley  on 
Mines,  which  now  is  the  standard  text-book  on  mining  law.  When  Mr. 
Lindley  began  to  prepare  data  for  his  treatise  on  the  Law  of  Waters,  he 
engaged  Mr.  Kaye  to  abstract  all  statutes  and  state  and  federal  decisions  per- 
taining to  the  subject.  Another  task  that  commanded  much  of  his  time  was 
important  editorial  work  for  a  very  prominent  firm  of  publishers  of  law 
books. 

Upon  coming  to  Bakersfield  in  1902  and  opening  a  law  office,  Mr.  Kaye 
formed  a  partnership  with  C.  V.  Anderson  under  the  firm  name  of  Anderson 
&  Kaye.  Three  years  later  the  partnership  was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Kaye 
opened  an  office  in  the  Hopkins  building,  where  he  has  continued  ever  since. 
During  June  of  1911  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Alfred  Siemon,  who  had 
come  to  Bakersfield  early  in  the  previous  year  and  had  identified  himself 
with  the  Title  Assurance  Company  as  its  secretary.  The  firm  carry  o;i  a 
general  practice  in  all  of  the  courts  and  are  consulted  for  every  class  of  legal 
advice.  The  interests  of  their  large  clientele  are  protected  with  skill  and 
success.  To  aid  them  in  their  practice  they  have  one  of  the  best  law  libraries 
of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  these  books  having  been  gathered  together  by  Mr. 
Kaye  during  his  stay  in  San  Francisco  and  representing  the  decisions  of  the 
best  legal  lights  of  this  and  preceding  eras. 

]\Iuch  of  the  success  of  Mr.  Kaye  is  due  to  his  fondness  for  work.  The 
most  difficult  and  intricate  case  does  not  weary  him,  but  spurs  him  on  to 
further  efforts  in  his  zeal  to  unravel  knotty  law  problems.  No  case  can  be 
presented  to  him  that  he  finds  too  intricate  for  his  eager  mind.  An  invet- 
erate, tireless  worker,  he  finds  his  greatest  pleasure  in  tasks  that  would  dis- 
may men  of  lesser  energy  and  to  this  fact  may  be  attributed  much  of  his 
success  in  the  law.  Good  judgment  is  responsible  for  much  of  his  financial 
success.  Investments  have  been  made  sagaciously  and  have  brought  him 
gratifying  returns.  Included  in  his  possessions  are  a  ranch  of  two  hundred 
and  thirty  acres  with  an  adequate  pumping  plant,  citrus  property  east  of 
Kern,  suburban  acreage,  town  lots,  a  controlling  interest  in  the  stock  of  the 
Kern  Citrus  Realty  Company,  and  a  modern  and  attractive  residence  on 
North  B  street,  Bakersfield.  This  home  is  brightened  by  the  presence  of  his 
four  children.  Louise,  William  Minton,  Emelie  and  Jessie,  and  presided  over 
with  dignity  and  grace  by  his  accomplished  wife,  a  woman  of  culture  and  at 
one  time  a  teacher.     Born   in  Oregon,  she  bore  the   maiden  name  of   Fanny 


I 


-^J[^<X;^-^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  207 

B.  Minton  and  received  excellent  educational  advantages,  which  she  utilized 
in  her  chosen  profession.  During  1895  she  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Kaye  at 
Berkelev,  where  the)'  established  a  home  and  resided  until  their  removal  to 
Bakersfield.  Politically  a  Republican,  Mr.  Kaye  has  served  as  secretary  of 
the  Kern  county  central  committee  and  has  been  very  influential  in  local 
party  affairs.  Fraternally  a  Mason  of  the  Shriner  degree,  he  has  been  chosen 
past  master  of  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,,  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  has  served  as 
past  high  priest  of  Bakersfield  Chapter  No.  75,  R.  A.  M.,  and  has  been  an 
officer  in  Bakersfield  Commandery  No.  39,  K.  T.,  all  of  which  degrees  of  the 
order  have  benefited  by  his  devotion  to  their  advancement  and  his  cordial  co- 
operation in  all  of  their  philanthropies. 

HON.  CHARLES  A.  BARLOW  AND  WILLIAM  H.  HILL.— No 
industry  has  contributed  in  greater  degree  to  the  wealth  of  Kern  county 
than  that  of  oil  development  and  probably  no  firm  has  been  identified  more 
intimately  with  the  advancement  of  the  industry  during  the  past  decade  than 
that  of  Barlow  &  Hill,  a  title  familiar  to  all  who  have  kept  in  touch  with 
local  progress.  Since  the  organization  of  the  firm  in  1902  they  have  organized 
many  companies,  all  of  which  have  been  successful,  and  the  six  which  they 
now  operate  have  shares  of  stock  that  are  quoted  as  gilt-edged  security 
with  a  continuous  tendency  to  rise  in  public  and  private  markets.  Besides 
the  six  companies  they  are  at  present  interested  in  Maricopa  and  Midway 
oil  properties  and  in  addition  have  been  successful  in  establishing  a  national 
reputation  for  Sunset  road  oil,  which  is  extensively  used  in  the  states  of 
California,  Oregon,  Washington,  Colorado,  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Utah, 
Texas  and  Idaho  and,  in  fact,  as  far  east  as  Kansas  City.  To  the  enter- 
prise, knowledge  and  direction  of  the  two  members  of  the  firm,  Kern  county 
is  in  a  great  measure  indebted  for  its  present  high  standing  as  an  oil-pro- 
ducing section.  No  temporary  discouragement  has  lessened  their  faith  in  the 
oil  industry  of  this  region  and  in  the  natural  mineral  wealth  of  the  state. 
Thoroughly  optimistic  in  temperament,  yet  conservative  in  action,  they 
stand  for  that  large  element  of  luyal  citizenship  indissolubly  associated  with 
the  progress  of  city,  county  and  commonwealth. 

Born  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  March  17,  1858,  Hon.  Charles  Averill  Barlow 
is  a  son  of  Hon.  Merrill  and  Ann  Frances  (Arnold)  Barlow,  the  former  a 
distinguished  attorney  in  Cleveland,  who  during  the  war  administration 
was  selected  to  serve  as  quartermaster-general  of  Ohio.  About  1872,  when 
forty-eight  years  of  age,  he  was  stricken  suddenly  with  apoplexy  and  passed 
from  earth  before  he  had  achieved  financial  success,  but  in  the  midst  of  a 
remarkable  professional  career  that  had  brought  him  fame  as  a  leading  crim- 
inal lawyer  of  Cleveland.  Surviving  him  were  his  wife  and  four  children, 
the  latter  named  as  follows :  Coralinne,  now  the  wife  of  James  S.  Rice,  a 
retired  orange-grower  living  at  Tustin,  Orange  county,  Cal. ;  Charles 
Averill,  of  Bakersfield:  Edward  Sumner,  who  resides  on  the  old  home  farm 
at  Ventura,  this  state:  and  Belle  Remington,  now  the  wife  of  Frank  Bates, 
of  Ventura.  When  the  family  came  to  California  about  the  year  1875  they 
settled  at  Ventura-by-the-sea  and  C.  A.,  then  a  youth  of  seventeen  years, 
began  with  eagerness  to  study  western  conditions,  resources  and  prospects, 
meanwhile  earning  a  livelihood  on  farms  and  in  various  occupations  in  town. 
Possessing  ideas  that  were  in  advance  of  his  time,  he  joined  enthusiastically 
in  many  reform  movements  and  for  such  work  he  found  a  favorable  opening 
when  he  and  a  partner,  Mr.  Tuley.  established  and  conducted  the  Reasoner, 
a  weekly  jiaper  that  became  the  Populist  organ  for  San  Luis  Obispo  county. 
As  early  as  1888  he  began  to  support  the  free  silver  cause  and  for  years 
he  was  the  leading  exponent  of  that  movement  in  his  part  of  the  state.  Dur- 
ing 18^3  the  Populist  party  elected  him  to  the  state  legislature,  where  he 
served  not  i  nly  with  fidelity,  but  even  with  distinction. 

\\'ith  the  assistance  of  the  votes  of  free  silver   Republicans   Mr.    Barlow 


208  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

in  1896  was  elected  by  the  Populist  party  to  the  P^ifty-fifth  congress  as  the 
representative  from  the  sixth  congressional  district,  which  at  that  time 
included  the  counties  of  Los  Angeles,  Ventura,  Santa  Barbara,  San  Luis 
Obispo,  Monterey  and  Santa  Cruz.  In  congress  he  distinguished  himself 
for  his  uncompromising  stand  in  favor  of  reform  measures.  Credited  to  his 
efforts  was  the  passage  of  a  bill  setting  aside  the  Pine  mountain  forest 
reservation,  comprising  several  million  acres  of  land  extending  south  almost 
as  far  as  Pasadena.  Other  measures  for  the  permanent  benefit  of  the  state 
and  the  people  received  his  steadfast  aid.  When  the  principles  of  the  Popu- 
list party  were  to  some  extent  adopted  by  the  Democrats,  he  turned  to  the 
older  party  organization,  in  which  since  he  has  been  an  active  worker. 
During  1912  he  was  chosen  one  of  four  delegates-at-large  from  California  to 
the  national  Democratic  convention  at  Baltimore  that  nominated  Woodrow 
Wilson  for  President  of  the  United  States.  The  American  Mining  Congress, 
of  which  he  is  a  member,  selected  him  as  committeeman  to  propose  a  plank 
in  the  national  Democratic  platform  of  that  year  favcrable  to  mining  and 
the  oil  industry. 

During  1901  Mr.  Barlow  and  his  accomplished  wife,  who  was  formerly 
Miss  Elizabeth  McDonell,  of  Ventura  county,  established  their  home  in 
Bakersfield,  where  they  erected  and  now  occupy  a  beautiful  residence  fitted 
with  all  modern  improvements  and  conveniences.  Since  his  removal  to  this 
city  Mr.  Barlow  has  become  a  very  prominent  citizen  and  has  served  ably 
as  president  of  the  Kern  county  board  of  trade,  besides  being  a  large  stock- 
holder and  one  of  the  directors  in  the  new  Security  Trust  Company.  In 
business  circles  he  enjoys  a  high  reputation.  Fraternal!)'  he  has  been 
actively  associated  with  the  Woodmen,  Elks  and  Indeoendent  Order  of  Odd 
FelUws.  Since  1902  he  has  been  a  partner  of  W.  H.  Hill,  a  resident  of 
California  and  Bakersfield  from  the  year  1901  and  a  native  of  Geneseo,  Liv- 
ingston county,  N.  Y.,  born  November  19,  1848.  While  yet  very  young  Mr. 
Hill  began  to  work  in  the  lumber  business  and  for  years  he  gave  to  that 
occupation  his  entire  time  and  attention.  For  twelve  years  he  served  as  chair- 
man of  the  board  of  supervisors  of  Schoolcraft  county,  Mich.  Since  coming 
west  he  has  become  known  as  a  well-informed,  accurate  business  man  and 
his  counsel  is  much  sought,  particularly  by  those  wishing  to  embark  in  the 
oil  business.  He  is  a  stockholder  and  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Bakersfield  and  the  Producers'  Savings  Bank.  Like  his  partner,  he  owns  a 
fine  home  in  l^akersfield  and  is  a  firm  believer  in  a  prosperous  future  assured 
for  the  city. 

Concerning  the  firm  of  Barlow  &  Hill  we  quote  the  following  from  the  oil 
review  edition  of  the  Morning  Echo,  Bakersfield,  February  28,  1911 :  "Califor- 
nia has  no  Ijetter  known  industry  than  oil  and  the  oil  industr}'  has  no  more  well 
known  firm  than  Barlow  &  Hill,  for  the  past  nine  years  doing  a  large  busi- 
ness in  Bakersfield  and  Kern  county  as  dealers  in  oil  lands  and  producing 
oil  companies,  essentially  the  latter.  The  personnel  of  the  firm,  C.  A.  Barlow 
and  W.  H.  Hill,  assures  its  high  standing  and  gives  confidence  to  its  con- 
stantly increasing  clientele.  Barlow  &  Hill  formed  a  partnership  in  August, 
1902,  to  deal  in  oil  lands.  Since  that  time  they  have  organized  many  oil 
companies,  all  of  which  have  become  producers,  and  Barlow  &  Hill  have 
never  taken  a  dollar  of  their  clients'  money  but  what  in  each  case  the  com- 
pany joined  the  ranks  of  the  paying  producers.  They  have  six  oil  com- 
panies of  their  own  and  are  extensively  interested  in  Maricopa  and  Midway 
oil  properties.  They  rehabilitated  three  oil  companies  which  were  sold  to 
eastern  capitalists  and  have  produced  oil  in  quantities  as  claimed  by  the  firm, 
frequently  in  excess  of  their  estimates.  Among  the  many  successful  ven- 
tures which  Barlow  &  Hill  have  had  to  deal  with  was  the  making  of  the 
ccnmtry-wide  reputation  for  Sunset  road  oil.  They  took  hold  of  the  Sunset 
companies  at   Maricopa   when   it  was   considered   un]inifital:)le   and    well-nigh 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  209 

impracticable  to  handle  this  oil.  owing  to  its  being  too  heavy  and  hard  for 
fuel  purpcises.  But  Barlow  &  Hill  were  not  discouraged  and  by  dint  of  their 
well-directed  efforts  Sunset  road  oil  or  its  equivalent  has  become  a  part  of 
the  specifications  in  road-building  with  oil  as  demanded  by  municipalities  on 
the  Pacific  coast  and  elsewhere." 

A  Half  Century  of  Progress,  Bakersfield  and  Kern  County,  l'U2,  in 
mentioning  the  progressive  business  efforts  of  Barlow  &  Hill,  give  the 
following  summary  of  their  work  in  the  oil  industry  and  the  importance  of 
this  industry  to  the  development  of  local  wealth :  "It  should  be  a  matter 
of  the  liveliest  satisfaction  to  the  people  of  California  to  know  that  no 
single  corporation  or  group  of  individuals  is  controlling  the  destiny  of  the 
state's  oil  industry  by  the  monopolization  of  territory,  rate  tif  development 
and  production,  o'r  the  fixing  of  arbitrary  prices.  The  petroleum  interests 
of  California  are  too  big  for  any  combination  of  capital  to  swing  and  manipu- 
late at  will  for  any  period  of  time.  Petroleum  apparently  exists  in  every 
secti(  n  of  this  big  commonwealth,  so  blessed  by  nature  in  the  glories  of 
skv  and  air,  in  the  ocean  about  it  and  in  its  pregnant  soil,  blessed  even  in 
the  bowels  of  its  earth,  which  yield  a  rich  return  to  man's  labor  almost  for 
the  asking.  There  are  any  number  of  safe  investments  in  Kern  county  open 
to  inspection.  Money  must  be  active  to  make  quick  and  large  profits.  Slow 
money  slowly  responds  with  slow  interest.  The  investor  who  is  content 
with  the  latter  is  out  of  joint  with  the  times  and  in  the  rear  end  of  the  race 
for  competency  and  wealth.  No  class  of  speculative  investment  is  safer  or 
promises  larger  profits  than  investment  in  oil  companies  backed  by  unlim- 
ited ca]iital  and  experience,  and  directed  by  reputable  men.  Such  is  the 
character  of  the  six  oil  companies  operated  by  Iiarlow  &  Hill,  a  firm  estab- 
lished in  1902  to  deal  in  oil  lands,  and  that  since  has  been  one  of  the 
effectual  forces  in  the  building  up  of  the  oil  industry  in  Kern  county.  Among 
their  many  successful  ventures  was  the  making  of  a  country-wide  reputation 
for  Sunset  road  oil.  The  two  partners  in  the  firm  are  widely  known  and  are 
numbered  among  the  most  influential  men  of  the  community,  taking  an 
actix-e  interest  in  all  measures  for  the  advancement  of  Bakersfield  and  her 
commercial  interests." 

JOHN  ALFRED  FREEAR.— The  superintendent  of  the  Maricopa  Queen 
Oil  Company's  lease  of  twenty  acres  occupies  a  position  of  importance  in 
the  Sunset-Midway  field.  Not  alone  a  native  of  California,  but  also  born  in 
Kern  county  and  practically  a  lifelong  resident  hereof,  he  is  deeply  devoted  to 
this  ])(irtion  of  the  state,  believes  in  its  future  ]Kissibilities  and  promotes  with 
enthusiasm  all  movements  for  the  local  progress.  With  his  twin  brother, 
James  Albian,  likewise  associated  with  the  Maricopa  Queen  lease,  he  has 
exhibited  a  devotion  to  work,  a  morality  of  conduct  and  a  talent  for  the  oil 
business  that  reflects  credit  upon  himself  and  upon  his  native  county,  the  two 
men  displaying  an  efficiency  and  thoroughness  that  came  to  them  as  an  inheri- 
tance from  worthy  parents  and  patriotic  ancestry. 

Born  in  P.akersfield  August  24,  188.^,  John  .Alfred  Freear  was  primarily 
educated  in  the  schools  of  that  city  and  in  1905  was  graduated  from  Heald's 
Business  College  at  Stockton.  During  early  life  he  had  become  familiar  with 
farming  in  the  old  River  district,  but  agriculture  interested  him  less  than  oil 
enterprises  and  it  is  not  strange  that  his  preferences  led  him  to  seek  employ- 
ment in  the  oil  fields.  For  a  short  time  he  engaged  as  bookkeeper  for  the 
Associated  and  Union  Oil  Companies  in  the  Kern  river  field  and  there  too  he 
gained  practical  experience  in  the  industry  through  working  as  a  roustabout. 
From  this  county  he  went  to  the  Santa  Maria  oil  field  and  remained  four 
years,  meanwhile  learning  to  dress  tools  and  to  drill  wells.  Upon  returning  to 
Kern  county  and  coming  to  the  west  side  field,  in  1909,  he  secured  employment 
cm  the  .Maricopa  Queen  lease  of  twenty  acres,  situated  on  sectinn  ?>2.  t(  iwnslii]) 


210  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

12,  range  23.  At  that  time  the  lease  had  one  well,  a  gusher.  Since  then  he 
has  helped  to  bring  in  five  wells  on  the  lease,  the  last  one,  Maricopa  Queen 
No.  7,  brought  in  March  1,  1913,  being  a  gusher  yielding  two  thousand  barrels 
per  daj'  of  oil  of  twenty-five  degrees  gravity.  The  entire  production  from  the 
lease  averages  about  seventy  thousand  barrels  per  month,  an  almost  phenom- 
enal record'  and  one  indicative  of  the  value  of  the  properties.  The  superin- 
tendent understands  the  business  in  ever}-  detail  and  has  proved  thoruughly 
competent  to  handle  the  many  vexatious  problems  presenting  themselves  for 
daih-  consideration   and   S(  lution. 

"  HARRY  ROSCOE  LUFKIN.— The  day  of  the  office  boy  who  enters  a 
business  establishment  and  soon  works  his  way  to  a  place  of  high  responsi- 
bility is  well  nigh  past.  It  may  not  be  impossible  for  such  a  thing  to  occur 
under  present  conditions,  but  the  likelihood  of  its  occurring  in  the  case  of 
any  specific  office  boy  is  very  slight.  To  meet  the  strenuous  economic  condi- 
tions now  existing  young  men  and  young  women  must  be  equipped  with  a 
business  training  thoroughly  up-to-date,  such  as  may  be  obtained  at  the 
Bakersfield  Business  college,  of  which  Harry  Roscoe  Lufkin  was  the  founder 
and  of  which  he  is  the  proprietor  and  manager. 

It  was  at  Walnut  Grove.  Sacramento  county.  Cal.,  that  Professor  Lufkin 
was  born  June  3.  1880,  a  son  of  H.  T.  and  Louisa'  J.  (Wise)  Lufkin.  His 
father  was  born  at  Freeport,  Cal.,  a  son  of  David  T.  Lufkin,  a  native  of  Maine, 
who  came  to  California  in  the  early  '50s  and  died  in  the  East  while  absent 
from  home  on  a  business  trip.  Grandfather  Lufkin  farmed  and  mined  in  the 
Sacramento  valley  and  was  one  of  the  early  horticulturists  in  the  vicinity  of 
Freeport.  His  son,  H.  T.  Lufkin,  was  in  his  early  life  a  teacher  and  later  a 
general  merchant  at  Walnut  Grove.  Still  later  he  engaged  in  horticulture  on 
the  old  Lufkin  homestead  at  Freeport,  where  he  died  in  1899.  Louisa  J.  Wise, 
whom  he  married,  was  born  at  Walnut  Grove,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Wise,  a 
native  of  Missouri,  who  came  across  the  plains  with  an  ox-team  train  locat- 
ing in  1852  on  a  ranch  at  Walnut  Grove,  where  he  has  prospered  and  where 
he  is  still  living  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-four  years.  Mrs.  Lufkin,  who 
died  at  Freeport,  bore  her  husband  three  children,  of  whom  Harry  Roscoe  was 
the  eldest.  He  hved  at  Walnut  Grove  until  he  was  sixteen  years  old,  attending 
public  schools,  then  his  activities  were  transferred  for  a  time  to  Freeport. 
After  having  acquired  a  normal  school  education,  he  became  a  student  at  the 
Atkinson  Business  College  in  Sacramento,  where  he  was  graduated  May  5, 
1902.  He  found  employment  as  a  bookkeeper  in  a  commercial  house  in  that 
city,  but  after  five  months  was  sent  for  by  Professor  Atkinson  and  ofifered  a 
position  as  teacher  in  the  commercial  department  of  the  Atkinson  Business 
College,  where  he  was  in  charge  of  actual  business  instruction  for  more  than 
four  years.  He  then  went  to  Reno,  Nev.,  to  take  the  management  of  the 
Atkinson  Business  College  in  that  city.  After  a  year  and  a  half  he  went  back 
to  Sacramento  with  a  commercial  house  there,  but  at  the  solicitation  of  Pro- 
fessor Atkinson  again  took  charge  of  the  commercial  department  of  the  Atkin- 
son Business  College  in  Sacramento.  In  1907  he  gave  up  his  position  there 
and  came  to  Bakersfield  and  in  September  of  that  year  opened  the  Bakersfield 
Business  College  in  the  Galtes  building,  where  he  conducted  it  until  in  Septem- 
ber, 1910.  It  having  outgrown  its  quarters  he  removed  it  to  its  present  loca- 
tion at  No.  2020  I  street.  The  institution  was  a  success  ahuost  from  the  start. 
Beginning  with  five  students  it  had  twenty-three  before  thirty  days  had  passed 
and  has  been  growing  ever  since.  This  popular  school  is  conducted  on  strict 
business  lines  and  its  rooms  are  especially  arranged,  well  lighted  and  ventil- 
ated, and  no  expense  has  been  spared  to  afford  to  the  student  every  possible 
convenience.  The  work  of  imparting  a  business  education  is  as  systematic  as 
if  the  institution  were  a  real  financial,  commercial  or  industrial  concern.  In 
the  stenographic  department  students  work  exactly  as  they  would  work  in 
a  business  office  and  are  instructed  how  to  conduct  themselves  in  a  real  office 


cV/S-t  ^  c^i^^~/ "-^-r-*-- '^'^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  213 

position.  Shorthand,  bookkeeping,  typewriting  and  commercial  law  are  taught 
and  a  high  grade  of  scholarship  is  maintained.  Graduates,  now  filling  posi- 
tions in  commercial  and  manufacturing,  railroad,  real  estate  and  law  ofifices  are 
giving  satisfaction  and  working  their  way  to  high  places  in  the  business  wurlcl. 
In  politics  Mr.  Lufkin  is  a  Republican.  He  was  made  a  Mason  in  Bakers- 
field  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.  He  was  married  at  Reno,  Nev.,  to  Miss 
Myrtle  G.  Reel,  a  native  of  Oregon,  and  they  have  a  son,  Harry  Roscoe 
Lufkin,  Jr. 

ANDREW  BROWN— A  summary  of  the  splendid  life  of  the  late  An- 
drew Brown  would  be  indeed  lacking  were  the  mention  of  his  influence  and 
close  associations  in  Kern  county  omitted,  for  to  him  not  less  than  to  any 
other  individual  who  has  lived  in  that  vicinity  is  due  the  advancement  and 
improvement  of  commercial  ci  editions  in  the  county.  A  self-made  man  in 
the  l)est  sense  of  the  word,  upon  coming  to  Kern  county  he  lent  his  aid 
toward  its  progress,  his  keen  foresight,  wonderful  business  acumen  and 
strict  honesty  early  winning  for  him  resiiect  and  esteem  from  all  with  whom 
he  had  dealings.  The  son  of  Samuel  Brown,  a  merchant  and  farmer  in  Fal- 
carragh.  County  Donegal,  Ireland,  it  was  in  that  place  that  Andrew  was 
born  September  1.^.  1829.  Ft)rtune  brought  him  when  a  youth  U>  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.,  whence  in  1852  he  sailed  around  Cape  Horn  and  landed  in  San 
Francisco.  Like  many  of  the  early  pioneers  he  rushed  to  the  mines,  but 
not  finding  the  Eldorado  dreamed  of  he  began  the  mercantile  business  and 
conducted  a  store  in  Mariposa  county.  Later  he  became  a  farmer  and 
stockman  in  Tulare  county,  but  soon  afterward  made  his  way  to  Kernville 
to  enter  the  employ  of  Judge  Joseph  VV.  Sumner,  who  later  became  his 
father-in-law,  and  had  charge  of  operating  the  quartz  mill  of  the  latter. 
Purchasing  the  store  in  Kernville,  which  later  assumed  such  large  propor- 
tions, he  successfully  conducted  it,  and  later  seeing  an  opp.  rtunity  opened 
to  him  whereby  he  could  purchase  the  store  and  ranch  at  VVeldon  on  the 
South  Fork  he  became  owner  of  them,  continuing  the  mercantile  business 
at  W'eldon  in  connection  with  his  store  in  Kernville.  At  the  same  time 
he  began  farming  operations  on  his  Weldon  ranch.  As  business  increased 
he  bought  other  farms  on  the  South  Fork  and  became  engaged  extensively 
in  raising  cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  hogs.  Large  quantities  of  wheat  were 
raised  on  his  land,  and  to  achieve  the  best  marketing  results  he  built  a  flour 
mill  at  Weldon,  where  the  wheat  was  ground  into  flour  and  prepared  for 
the  local  trade.  This  saved  the  long  haul  over  the  mountains  to  the  railroad. 
He  next  built  a  sawmill,  where  he  manufactured  lumber  from  his  lands, 
much  of  his  lumber  being  used  in  the  building  throughout  that  section.  By 
additional  purchases  Mr.  Brown  became  the  owner  of  thousands  of  acres 
of  land,  among  which  were  several  thousands  of  acres  of  valuable  farm  lands 
on  the  South  F'ork,  which  have  been  brought  under  irrigation  by  ditches 
from  the  river.  Grain  and  alfalfa  are  raised  in  abundance.  He  also  acquired 
large  holdings  at  Pampa,  which  are  now  being  developed  with  a  pumping 
plant  fur  irrigation,  as  the  land  lies  in  a  thermal  belt  which  bids  fair  to 
prove  valuable  citrus  land. 

In  1901  Mr.  Brown  incorporated  the  North  and  South  Fork  interests 
as  the  A.  Brown  Company,  of  which  he  was  president  until  his  death,  Octo- 
ber 12,  1909,  since  which  time  Mrs.  Brown  has  filled  that  position  in  the 
company.  He  also  had  large  real  estate  interests  in  Los  Angeles  which  are 
still  owned  by  Mrs.  Brown  and  their  children.  In  1904,  after  many  long, 
useful  years  of  active  participation  in  business,  Mr.  Brown  retired  and 
moved  to  Los  Angeles,  where  he  made  his  home  until  he  passed  away, 
leaving  the  imprint  of  his  energetic  and  persevering  career  in  the  many  im- 
provements he  had  accomplished  in  the  county.  Truly  he  was  a  benefactor 
to  Kern  county,  and  he  was  known  throughout  the  cuunty  as  one  of  its 
most  prominent  upbuilders,  his  unselfishness,  dauntless  courage  and  never- 


214  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

failing  will  power  proving  a  splendid  example  for  the  young  men  of  today 
to  emulate.  In  fraternal  affiliations  he  was  a  Master  Mason,  while  his 
religious  tendencies  were  with  the  Episcopalians.  A  Protectionist  and  a 
Republican,  he  was  ever  stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  ])arty  ])rinciples.  For 
many  years   Mr.   Brown  was  a  director  in  the  bank  of   Bakersfield. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Brown  to  Miss  Alice  M.  Sumner  took  place  in 
Kernville  June  18,  1873.  She  was  born  in  Lubec,  Me.,  the  daughter  of  Judge 
Joseph  W.  Sumner,  a  native  of  Newburyport,  Mass.,  and  of  old  Colonial 
and  Revolutionary  stock.  Judge  Sumner  was  a  merchant  in  Lubec,  ^le., 
for  some  time,  in  1849,  however,  becoming  excited  over  the  gold  discoveries 
and  coming  via  Panama  to  San  Francisco.  He  followed  mining  in  different 
districts  in  California  and  even  into  British  Columbia,  and  he  was  one 
of  the  early  miners  at  Kernville,  operating  the  Sumner  mine  and  quartz 
mill  until  he  bought  his  ranch  on  the  North  Fork.  He  spent  his  last  days 
in  Kernville,  where  he  died  in  1911,  aged  ninety-two  years.  Like  so  many 
of  his  comrades  he  had  ever  a  deep  interest  in  mining,  which  he  retained 
to  the  last  days  of  his  existence.  He  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  over 
thirty  years  and  he  was  so  well  liked  and  esteemed  in  the  community  that 
there  was  not  another  person  who  held  a  higher  place  in  their  regard.  His 
wife  was  Mary  E.  Dakin,  a  native  of  Digby,  Nova  Scotia.  She  passed  away 
in  Kernville  two  months  after  her  husband's  death,  when  she  was  eighty- 
five  years -old.  They  were  the  parents  of  three  children,  of  whom  Mrs. 
Brown  was  the  youngest.  Her  girlhood  was  spent  in  Maine  and  in  the 
schools  ff  Saco  she  received  her  elementary  educatii.in.  later  attending 
Saco  Academy.  Since  her  husband's  death  she  has  alternated  her  residence 
between  Kernville  and  Los  Angeles  and  continues  to  look  after  the  large 
business  interests  which  her  husband  left.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Friday 
Morning  Club  as  well  as  the  Ebell  Club,  in  Los  Angeles,  maiking  her  home 
at  949  South  Hoover  street,  and  she  is  a  devout  member  of  the  Emanuel 
Presbvterian  Church.  Her  two  children  are  P.  Sumner,  in  the  real  estate 
business  in  Los  Angeles,  and  M.  Elizabeth,  who  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Edward 
M.  Pallette,  of  Los  Angeles.  Mrs.  Brown  is  a  woman  much  beloved,  and 
numbers  her  friends  bv  her  acquaintances.  She  is  charitable  and  kind,  but 
so  unostentatious  in  her  giving  that  none  but  those  receiving  the  benefits 
are  cognizant  of  it,  and  refinement,  intelligence  and  strong  will  power  are 
her  marked  characteristics. 

JAMES  ALBIAN  FREEAR.— The  name  of  Freear  has  been  identified 
with  the  development  of  Kern  county  for  a  period  of  almost  forty  years,  its 
first  representative  in  this  region  having  been  Henry  T.  Freear,  an  honored 
veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  a  man  of  indomitable  perseverance  and  a  farmer  of 
considerable  ability.  After  he  had  served  the  Union  for  three  years  in  the 
Civil  war  he  received'  an  honorable  discharge  from  the  Seventeenth  Illinois 
Cavalry  and  returned  to  his  old  home,  there  to  take  up  the  earning  of  a  liveli- 
hood through  the  arts  of  peace.  About  1875  he  came  to  California  from 
Nebraska,  where  he  had  engaged  in  general  farming  for  a  few  years.  In  his 
trip  to  the  west  he  was  accompanied  by  his  family,  which  at  that  time  con- 
sisted of  two  children  beside  his  wife.  Settling  in  the  Old  River  district  of 
Kern  county,  he  took  up  raw  land,  developed  a  farm,  devoted  himself  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  land  and  finally  retired  with  a  competency.  During  the  last 
years  of  his  life  he  made  his  home  in  Bakersfield,  where  he  was  a  leader  among 
the  members  of  the  Grand  Army  and  where  he  was  well  known  for  his  stanch 
allegiance  to  the  Republican  party.  Since  his  death,  March  23,  1904,  his 
widow,  Mary  (Garhck)  Freear,  has  made  her  home  at  No.  1709  Maple  avenue, 
Bakersfield,  where  she  has  a  comfortable  modern  bungalow  and  where,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-three,  she  attends  to  housekeeping  duties  with  much  of  the  zest 
and  energy  of  her  younger  years.     In  her  family  there  are  eight  children, 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  215 

namely :  H.  R.  and  C.  H. :  Lena,  wife  of  R.  L.  McCiitchen,  of  Old  River ;  J.  P. ; 
John  Alfred  and  James  Albian,  (twins)  ;  Verna,  who  married  R.  W.  Bess, 
lessee  of  the  United  Crude  Oil  Company,  of  Maricopa ;  and  Viola,  wife  of 
William  Perry,  engaged  as  a  salesman  and  demonstrator  at  Baker-sfield  for 
Ben  L.  Brundage. 

The  early  years  of  James  Albian  Freear  were  passed  in  an  uneventful 
manner.  Work  on  the  home  farm  alternated  with  attendance  at  country 
schools  in  Old  River  district.  When  twenty  years  of  age  in  1905  he  was 
graduated  from  Heald's  Business  College  at  Stockton.  From  that  time  until 
1909  he  was  employed  in  the  Santa  Maria  field,  where  he  learned  the  details 
of  the  oil  industry  and  studied  it  from  the  viewpoint  of  production.  Naturally 
he  began  work  as  a  roustabout.  Later  he  learned  to  be  a  driller.  More  recent- 
ly he  has  been  employed  in  the  production  department  of  the  Maricopa  Queen 
Oil  Company.  As  gang  pusher  he  has  proved  energetic,  capable  and  efficient, 
well  liked  b}'  the  workmen,  popular  among  other  officers.  The  high  reputation 
of  the  company  as  the  owner  of  one  of  the  best  leases  in  the  Sunset  field  may 
be  attributed  in  no  small  degree  to  his  laborious  and  intelligent  devotion  to 
the  production  department. 

M.  W.  PASCOE,  M.  D.— Intense  devotion  to  the  science  of  therapeutics 
and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  attractions,  demands  and  possibilities  of  the 
profession,  supplementing  an  excellent  practical  training  in  one  of  the  finest 
universities  of  the  new  world,  admirably  qualify  Dr.  Pascoe  for  the  building 
up  of  a  substantial  clientele  represented  by  a  growing  practice  in  the  city  of 
Taft  and  the  surrounding  oil  districts.  While  the  period  of  his  association 
with  professional  work  in  the  west  has  been  comparatively  brief  (for  it  was 
in  September  of  1911  that  he  came  to  California  and  to  Taft),  the  confidence 
and  patronage  of  the  people  of  the  community  have  been  accorded  him  and  he 
numbers  among  his  friends  the  leading  men  of  the  locality.  When  he  under- 
took the  establishment  of  a  general  hospital  at  this  point  he  received  the  warm 
support  of  the  general  public,  for  all  saw  the  wisdom  of  his  belief  that  there 
should  be  first-class  accommodations  for  the  care  of  men  injured  in  the  work 
of  the  oil  fields  or  for  those  of  the  community  in  need  of  surgical  treatment 
or  special  care.  The  success  of  the  hospital  has  been  a  source  of  gratification 
to  him  personally  besides  affording  him  an  opportunity  to  offer  to  his  patients 
superior  advantages  and  experienced  nursing. 

Of  Canadian  birth  and  parentage,  Dr.  Pascoe  was  born  at  Bowmanville, 
Ontario,  May  10,  1871,  and  is  the  fourth  among  seven  children  and  the  young- 
est of  four  sons  in  the  family  of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (Hogarth)  Pascoe, 
now  residents  of  Hempton,  Ontario.  Excellent  educational  advantages  were 
put  within  his  reach  and  of  these  he  availed  himself  to  the  utmost.  For  some 
years  he  pursued  a  special  scientific  course  in  Trinity  University.  Later  he 
took  the  medical  course  in  the  Trinity  Medical  College,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1898  with  the  degrees  of  M.  D.  C.  M.  and  F.  T.  M.  C.  Shortly 
after  graduating  he  came  to  the  States  and  settled  at  Ottumwa,  Iowa,  where 
he  practiced  for  a  period  of  twelve  years.  ^Meanwhile  he  developed  special 
aptitude  for  the  treatment  of  diseases  of  the  eye,  ear  and  nose,  and  in  order  to 
fit  himself  to  specialize  in  these  branches  he  took  a  post-graduate  course  in 
Chicago  during  1910-11,  after  which  he  came  to  California  and  settled  at 
Taft.  During  his  residence  in  Ottumwa  he  met  and  married  Miss  Mary  E. 
Hendershott  and  they  enjoy  the  comforts  of  a  cozy  home  in  a  five-room  bunga- 
low erected  by  the  i3octor  shortly  after  coming  to  this  place.  During  1913 
he  completed  the  general  hospital  which  he  erected  at  a  cost  of  $5,000  and 
which  is  open  to  all  practicing  physicians  and  surgeons  for  use  by  their 
patients,  the  most  experienced  and  skilled  care  being  given  to  every  inmate. 
Personally  the  Doctor  is  of  genial  and  companionable  disposition  and  he  has 
formed  many  friendships  through  his  active  identification  with  mernbers  of 


2\h  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  blue  lodg'e  of  Masonry,  and  with  the  Elks  and  Moose.  In  politics  he  has 
been  a  stanch  believer  in  Republican  principles  and  a  firm  supporter  of  candi- 
dates of  that  party. 

ORVILLE  LEE  CLARK.— A  colonial  identification  with  the  common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts  and  a  later  migration  to  Ohio  marked  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  Clark  family  in  America.  It  was  Orin  Clark,  a  native  of  the  old 
Bay  state,  who  established  his  branch  of  the  family  in  Ohio,  settling  upon 
a  farm  in  Cuyahoga  county  and  devoting  the  balance  of  his  life  to  its  cultiva- 
tion, excepting  only  the  period  of  his  service  in  the  Sixth  Ohio  Infantry  during 
the  Civil  war.  The  valor  which  he  displayed  in  military  service  and  the 
patriotic  character  of  his  life  both  in  peace  and  in  war  were  duplicated  in 
the  history  of  his  son,  Wallace  Watson  Clark,  a  native  of  Cuyahoga  county, 
Ohio,  and  at  the  age  of  only  fifteen  years  a  volunteer  in  the  Union  army.  Being 
accepted  in  spite  of  his  youth,  he  went  to  the  front  with  the  Fifth  Ohio  Cavalry 
and  served  with  recognized  bravery  and  devotion  for  three  years,  until  the 
struggle  had  ended,  meanwhile  receiving  several  wounds  in  battle.  For 
several  years  after  the  war  he  worked  in  the  employ  of  a  large  lumber  con- 
cern at  Saginaw,  Mich.,  but  from  there  returned  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  took 
up  contracting  and  building.  After  a  long  period  of  activity  in  that  occupa- 
tion he  removed  to  California  in  1903  and  is  now  living  retired  in  Los 
Angeles.  During  young  manhood  he  had  married  Martha  Celestia  Newton, 
who  was  born  in  Cuyahoga  county,  Ohio,  and  died  at  Cleveland  in  February 
of  1886,  leaving  four  children.  The  next  to  the  youngest  of  these,  Orville 
Lee,  was  born  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  March  10,  1883,  and  was  orphaned  by  the 
death  of  his  mother  when  he  was  yet  too  young  to  realize  his  irreparable  loss. 
The  family  continued  to  make  their  home  in  Cleveland  for  some  time  and  he 
was  sent  to  the  grammar-schools  of  that  city,  later  becoming  a  student  in  the 
high  school  at  Huntsburg,  Geauga  county.  Next  he  studied  mathematics  and 
mechanics  at  the  institute  in  New  Lyme,  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  and  at  the 
same  time  studied  architecture  with  Mr.  White,  a  prominent  architect  of 
Ashtabula.  A  breakdown  in  health  obliged  him  to  engage  in  outdoor  work 
and  he  took  up  carpentering,  from  which  he  was  promoted  to  be  superintend- 
ent of  construction  with  an  Ashtabula  concern. 

Coming  to  California  during  1907  and  from  Los  Angeles  to  Bakersfield 
in  February  of  the  next  year,  Mr.  Clark  embarked  in  business  as  an  architect 
and  engineer  and  since  then  has  been  engaged  to  design  many  of  the  most 
important  buildings  in  the  city  and  county.  Among  his  contracts  may  be 
mentioned  those  for  the  Hotels  Kosel,  Olcovich,  and  Decatur,  the  addition 
to  the  homelike  and  attractive  hotel  Massena,  the  Dixon  apartments  and  the 
Barlow,  Hill  and  Helm  residences.  The  Southern  garage  on  Chester  avenue 
and  Twenty-fifth  street  represents  a  style  of  architecture  which  is  one  of  his 
favorites  for  this  climate.  This  building  is  almost  absolutely  fireproof  and  has 
a  storage  capacity  of  fifty  cars.  In  addition  he  was  architect  and  engineer  of 
the  Bakersfield  Club  building  and  Mere}'  hospital.  Two  school  buildings  at 
Taft,  admittedly  the  most  substantial  of  their  kind  in  the  entire  county,  were 
designed  by  him,  as  were  also  the  Maricopa  school  house  and  the  H.  F.  Wil- 
liams school  house,  the  Franklin  school  house  and  the  large  wing  of  the 
Emerson  school,  the  last  three  in  Bakersfield,  as  well  as  the  Pacific  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company's  main  office  building  on  Twentieth  street  which  is 
a  fire-proof  building  and  one  of  the  most  substantial  and  artistic  office  build- 
ings in  the  city.  The  Bakersfield  Club  has  his  name  enrolled  upon  its  mem- 
bership list.  Made  a  Mason  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  he 
always  has  supported  the  philanthropic  principles  of  the  order  and  has  been 
a  most  generous  contributor  to  its  charities,  besides  being  interested  warmly 
in  the  work  of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  Among  the  scientific 
societies  of  which  he  is  a  member  is  the  American  Institute  of  Architects  and 
the  National  Geographic  Society  of  Washington,  D.  C. 


HISTORY    OF    KKKX    COUNTY  219 

HON.  FRED  H.  HALL. — From  whatever  standpoint  the  life  of  Mr. 
Hall  is  viewed,  whether  as  a  deputy  sheriff  and  marshal  in  his  earlier  years 
or  as  a  special  agent  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Company,  whether  as  a  mem- 
ber (if  the  state  legislature  promoting  measures  for  the  welfare  of  his  con- 
stituents, whether  as  the  owner  of  alfalfa  lands  or  as  a  large  stockholder  and 
director  in  oil  organizations  and  in  water  companies,  he  is  found  to  be  a  man 
of  versatile  abilities,  possessing  a  high  order  of  intelligence,  devoted  to  the 
connnonwealth  of  his  nativity,  well  informed  concerning  its  possibilities  and 
eager  to  develop  its  vast  resources.  To  such  citizens  may  be  attributed  the 
great  development  of  the  state  and  from  them  and  their  successors  must 
come  all  future  advancement.  No  narrow  spirit  has  governed  his  business 
enterprises,  for  they  have  been  as  broad-gauged  as  his  own  mental  equip- 
ment and  as  purposeful  as  his  own  existence.  Throughout  the  entire  west 
he  is  well-known  in  man}-  avenues  of  activity,  where  his  splendid  character 
and  broad  intelligence  have  left  an  indelible  impress  for  good. 

A  study  of  the  Hall  genealogy  indicates  that  Fred  George  Hall,  a  native 
of  Portland,  Me.,  learned  the  occupation  of  nurseryman  and  horticulturist 
under  his  father,  who  for  years  engaged  in  that  avocation  in  Maine.  As 
early  as  1852,  when  about  thirty-four  years  of  age,  he  came  via  Panama  to 
San  Francisco  and  engaged  in  mining  at  Mormon  Island.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  served  in  California  and  .Arizona  as  a  member  of  Comoany  I,  Second 
California  Cavalry.  After  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  from  the  army 
he  became  interested  in  horticulture  and  the  nursery  business  east  of  Visalia, 
Tulare  county,  but  a  long  period  of  invalidism  greatly  hampered  his  activi- 
ties. His  death  occurred  at  Visalia  in  July  of  1893,  when  he  was  seventy-iive 
years  of  age.  During  1907  occurred  the  demise  of  his  wife  at  Fresno,  this 
state ;  she  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Matilda  Dillon  and  was  born  at  Peoria, 
111.  Their  family  comprised  two  sons  and  four  daughters,  but  at  this  writing 
there  survive  only  Fred  H.  and  one  of  his  sisters.  The  former  was  born  near 
Visalia,  Tulare  county,  this  state.  May  17,  1868,  and  from  the  age  of  four  to 
twenty  years  he  lived  with  his  parents  at  Tulare.  After  he  was  ten  the 
invalidism  of  his  father  prevented  him  from  attending  school  and  forced  him 
to  work  not  only  for  his  own  support,  but  also  to  aid  the  family.  Indeed, 
for  Si  me  time  he  was  the  sole  support  of  the  family.  He  worked  in  brick- 
yards, harvest  fields  and  wherever  honest  labor  commanded  living  wages. 
During  1888  he  took  the  family  back  to  Visalia,  where  he  secured  employ- 
ment as  deputy  city  marshal  under  E.  A.  Gilliam.  In  addition  he  served  as 
deputy  sheriff.  For  one  term,  beginning  about  1892,  he  served  as  marshal  of 
Visalia,  but  he  was  not  a  candidate  for  re-election,  continuing,  however,  as 
deputy  sherifT  and  deputy  city  marshal  and  in  these  capacities  making  about 
thirty-four  hundred  arrests,  some  of  the  suspects  proving  to  be  desperate 
criminal  characters.  \\Miile  acting  as  marshal  O.  P.  Byrd  served  as  his 
deputy. 

Subsequent  to  his  service  in  Tulare  county  Mr.  Hall  entered  the  special 
agents'  department  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad,  where  during  the  first  fourteen 
months  his  duties  consisted  chiefly  in  investigating  stolen  goods  and  the 
pilfering  of  box-cars.  From  that  he  was  promoted  step  by  step  until  finally 
he  was  appointed  assistant  chief  of  the  department  with  headquarters  in  Los 
Angeles.  The  duties  of  the  position  consisted  in  hiring  men  and  superintend- 
ing the  department  work  between  .Albuquerque  and  San  P^rancisco,  also  in 
collecting  evidence  in  law  suits  and  investigating  matters  that  came  up  in 
the  law  department.  Often  it  was  said  concerning  him  that  he  was  the  only 
man  serving  in  the  office  who  left  the  railroad  company  without  an  enemy. 
Railroad  Brotherhoods  and  legislative  boards  wrote  him  very  complimentary 
letters  of  thanks  for  his  services.  In  every  responsibility  he  exhibited  not 
only  wise  judgment  and  practical  connnon  sense,  but  also  the  utmost  tact 
and  the  greatest  consideration  of  others. 


220  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Resigning  from  the  Santa  Fe  railroad  service  in  1906  in  order  to  engage 
in  private  business  and  havins;  previously  purchased  oil  lands,  Mr.  Hall  be- 
came a  large  stockholder  in  the  Visalia  Midway  Oil  Company  and  assisted 
in  the  development  of  lands  secured  by  that  concern.  From  the  first  he  has 
been  vice-president  and  general  manager  of  the  company  and  under  his  saga- 
cious supervision  the  work  of  development  has  proceeded  without  any  ne- 
cessity for  an  assessment  of  stock.  On  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  an 
assured  income  for  investors.  Near  Fellows  on  the  west  side  the  company 
owns  eighty  acres,  where  there  are  five  wells  producing  and  two  in  process 
of  drilling.  It  is  said  that  the  company  for  its  size  is  one  of  the  most  pros- 
perous in  the  state.  The  success  of  the  enterprise  may  be  attributed  in 
large  measure  to  the  sagacity  of  the  general  manager.  The  oil  lands,  how- 
ever, do  not  represent  the  limit  of  his  useful  activities.  As  vice-president 
and  the  largest  stockholder  of  the  Western  Water  Company,  a  company 
organized  to  furnish  water  for  the  west  side  oil  fields,  he  has  been  identified 
with  a  movement  of  considerable  importance.  By  an  expenditure  of  over 
$500,000  the  company  has  secured  water  from  the  artesian  wells  near  the 
north  end  of  Buena  Vista  lake.  This  water,  pumped  through  a  twelve-inch 
line  for  a  distance  of  twelve  miles  to  Taft  and  then  stored  in  two  tanks  of 
fifty-five  thousand  barrel  capacity  in  order  to  furnish  pressure  for  the  villages 
of  Taft  and  Fellows  and  vicinity,  was  the  first  water  of  good  quality  ever 
secured  in  the  locality  and  the  expense  to  consumers  is  only  one-quarter  for 
domestic  use,  and  one-sixth  for  oil  wells,  of  what  was  formerly  paid  for 
poor  water.  On  the  organization  of  the  National  Bank  of  Bakersfield  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors,  and  is  now  serving  as  its 
vice-president. 

Included  among  the  other  interests  of  Mr.  Hall  may  be  mentioned  his 
alfalfa  and  hog  ranch  of  two  hundred  acres  situated  four  miles  southeast  of 
Kern.  One  of  the  most  important  improvements  of  the  ranch  is  a  pumping 
plant  with  a  one  hundred-inch  stream.  In  addition  he  is  interested  in  the 
development  of  oil  in  Humboldt  county,  Cal.,  where  already  top  oil  has  been 
struck.  As  a  member  of  the  California  Oil  Men's  Association  of  Bakersfield 
he  is  connected  with  an  organization  that  fosters  this  recent  and  nrosnerous 
industry  of  the  west.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Western  Oil  Producers' 
Association,  with  headquarters  in  Los  Angeles,  he  has  served  as  a  member  of 
its  board  of  directors.  The  advisory  board  of  the  American  Mining  Congress 
also  has  the  benefit  of  his  intelligent  co-operation  as  one  of  its  members.  • 
Mr.  Hall  is  an  active  member  of  the  Prospectors'  Alliance  of  America. 
Having  made  a  close  study  of  the  question  of  conserving  our  natural  re- 
sources and  being  a  man  well-posted  on  the  subject,  he  was  selected  by  the 
executive  committee  of  the  board  of  directors  as  a  committee  of  one  to  pre- 
sent the  case  to  President-elect  Wilson,  then  Governor  of  New  Jersey.  The 
chief  object  was  to  acquaint  Mr.  Wilson  with  the  conditions  that  exist  in  the 
west  which  directly  afifect  the  mining  interests  and  the  disposition  of  the 
public  domain.  Making  the  trip  to  New  Jersey,  at  Trenton  he  visited  Mr. 
Wilson  and  in  the  interview  presented  his  subject  and  acquainted  the  latter 
with  existing  conditions  in  the  west,  laying  before  him  certain  facts  per- 
taining to  the  public  domain,  and  he  urged  him  to  appoint  a  western  man  to 
the  office  of  Secretarv  of  the  Interior.  As  his  reason  for  this  apoeal  he  stated 
that  the  people  of  the  coast  states,  where  most  of  the  unsettled  portion  of 
the  country's  acres  lies,  wanted  a  man  for  the  position  who  would  be  able  to 
see  the  needs  through  western  eyes  and  make  his  decisions  accordingly,  one 
who  was  old-fashioned  enough  to  believe  in  those  principles  laid  down  in 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  who  would  not  delegate  to  himself 
the  power  to  abrogate  the  laws  passed  by  Congress  and  in  lieu  thereof  make 
rulings  to  conform  to  his  own  ideas  and  whims.  A  western  man  received 
the    appointment,    and    the    trip    marked    success    and    clever    manipulation. 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  221 

Keenly  devoted  to  the  development  of  Bakersfield,  where  he  built  and  occu- 
pies a  comfortable  residence  at  No.  1915  Eighteenth  street,  he  is  serving  as 
vice-president  of  the  Board  of  Trade  and  by  constant  co-operation  with  all 
progressive  movements  is  endeavoring  to  promote  the  growth  of  his  Imme 
city. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Hall  took  place  in  V'isalia  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Ruth  C.  Stokes,  who  was  born  near  that  city,  being  a  daughter  of  Y.  B. 
Stokes.  Possessing  an  excellent  education  and  a  broad  culture,  she  has 
found  mental  uplift  in  the  activities  of  the  Woman's  Club  and  also  has 
enjoyed  the  social  amenities  of  the  Eastern  Star  and  the  Women  of  Wood- 
craft. The  marriage  was  blessed  by  four  children,  Rnwen  F..  ^laurice  F... 
Thelma  and  Thalia.  Fraternally  Mr.  Hall  holds  membership  with  the  Ba- 
kersfield lodge  and  chapter  of  Ma.sonry.  the  A\'oodmen  of  the  World,  and  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  of  the 
stanchest  kind,  loyal  to  all  party  principles.  His  service  was  recognized  in 
an  appreciative  manner  during  the  autumn  of  1910.  when  he  was  elected  to 
represent  the  sixty-sixth  assembly  district  in  the  state  legislature.  During 
the  thirty-ninth  session,  1911,  he  was  a  member  of  nine  committees,  among 
them  being  those  on  counties  and  county  boundaries,  county  and  township 
government,  fish  and  game,  irrigaticn  and  drainage,  manufactures  and  in- 
ternal improvements,  mines  and  mining  interests,  oil  industries  and  nil 
mining  interests.  Largely  through  his  efforts  was  secured  the  defeat  of  a 
measure  to  appoint  a  third  judge  in  Kern  county.  Needed  legislation  was 
promoted  by  his  keen,  capable  discrimination.  The  welfare  of  his  constit- 
uents was  guarded  in  every  emergency  and  he  proved  himself  not  only  a 
faithful,  loyal  representative  of  the  people,  but  also  a  most  tactful  and  intel- 
ligent promoter  of  their  interests. 

THADDEUS  M.  McNAMARA,  LL.  B.— The  first  representative  of 
the  AlcXamara  family  in  America  was  William  Murro  McNamara.  who  after 
having  served  as  an  officer  in  the  British  navy  resigned  his  commission  and 
sought  the  opportunities  afforded  by  the  vast  agricultural  areas  of  the  new 
world.  The  son  of  a  hemp  merchant  in  London,  he  was  born  in  that  city 
at  No.  9  Gloucester  place,  and  entered  the  navy  immediately  after  gradua- 
tion from  Sedgely  Park  College.  LTpon  crossing  the  ocean  in  1848  he  pro- 
ceeded direct  to  Illinois  and  located  on  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  gov- 
ernment land  in  Cook  county,  where  he  transformed  a  tract  of  virgin  soil 
into  a  productive  and  profitable  dairv  farm.  At  Favville,  Kane  county, 
February  6,  1854,  occurred  the  birth  of  his  only  son,  Thaddeus  M.,  and  on 
the  old  preemption  claim  he  spent  many  useful,  orofitable  years,  but  event- 
ually sold  the  tract  in  order  to  remove  to  California.  Close  to  Visalia  he 
boueht  a  tract  of  land  and  established  a  country  home.  On  that  place  he 
died  March  6,  1887,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  His  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Bridget  Mary  Keating,  was  born  in  Tipperary,  Ireland, 
where  her  father,  Patrick  Keating,  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  prior  to 
his  emigration  to  the  United  States  and  his  settlement  among  the  pioneer 
farmers  of  Kane  county  in  the  vicinity  of  Elgin. 

A  temperament  inclining  him  toward  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  was 
fostered  by  the  encouragement  of  devoted  parents,  so  that  Thaddeus  M. 
McNamara  had  every  opportunity  to  gain  a  thorough  education.  After  he 
had  completed  the  studies  of  the  Elgin  .Academy  and  the  University  of 
Notre  Dame,  he  matriculated  in  the  LTnion  College  of  Law  (affiliated  with 
the  Northwestern  University  as  the  law  department  of  that  famous  insti- 
tution) and  in  1874  he  was  granted  the  degree  of  I^L.  B.,  upon  the  comple- 
tion of  the  regular  course  of  study.  Believing  the  west  to  offer  favorable 
opportunities  for  the  practice  of  his  profession,  he  came  immediately  to 
California  and  opened  an  office  at  Visalia,  where  he  continued  for  fifteen 
years.     Since  1875  he  has  practiced  law  in  Tulare  and  Kern  counties,  with 


222  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  exception  of  several  years'  practice  spent  in  Seattle,  San  Francisco  and 
the  Imperial  valley.  Besides  conducting  a  general  practice  in  Bakersfield, 
he  has  affiliated  himself  with  movements  for  the  material  upbuilding  of  the 
city  and  also  has  been  prominent  in  local  fraternities,  including  the  Wood- 
men of  the  World,  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  the  Fraternal  Brother- 
hood, the  Yeomen  of  America,  and  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  McNamara  took  place  in  Visalia,  this  state, 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Alice  Asay,  who  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
and  died  at  Visalia  in  1887.  During  the  Civil  war  her  father,  J.  L.  Asay, 
M.  D.,  had  served  as  a  surgeon  in  the  Union  army.  A  graduate  of  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  he  was  well  qualified 
for  such  responsibilities  through  education  and  natural  endowments.  Upon 
removing  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  western  coast  he  settled  in  Visalia,  and 
later  he  became  an  instructor  in  surgery  .in  the  College  of  Physicians  and 
Surgeons  at  San  Francisco.  In  each  place  he  built  up  a  large  practice  and 
attained  professional  distinction.  There  are  three  children  of  the  first  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  McNamara,  the  eldest  of  these  bearing  the  name  of  the  father 
and  being  well-known  among  the  physicians  of  Bakersfield ;  the  second, 
Loretta,  lives  in  Oakland,  and  the  youngest,  Agnes,  is  the  wife  of  Edward 
C.  Crabbe,  of  Honolulu.  The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  McNamara  occurred 
in  Visalia  and  united  him  with  Miss  Christine  E.  Gilmore,  a  native  of  San 
Francisco  and  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Gilmore,  a  native  of  New  Brunswick 
and  reared  in  Maine.  In  1847  he  came  around  Cape  Horn  to  San  Francisco, 
where  he  was  very  prominent  in  building  up  the  city  and  also  in  the  banking 
business  as  a  director  of  the  San  Francisco  Savings  &  Loan  Bank,  commonly 
known  as  the  Clay  Street  Bank.  He  was  married  in  San  Francisco  to  Eva 
Pelty,  who  was  a  native  of  the  Bahama  Islands  and  came  as  a  child  to  Cali- 
fornia with  her  parents.  Mrs.  McNamara  was  a  graduate  of  the  Girls'  High 
School  in  San  Francisco.  Born  to  Mr.  McNamara's  second  union  were  three 
children,  namely:  William  E.,  now  with  the  New  York  Cloak  &  Suit  House, 
in  Los  Angeles ;  Genevieve,  wife  of  Carl  Beck,  also  of  Los  Angeles,  and 
Arthur,  of  Bakersfield. 

PHILO  LANDON  JEWETT.— Although  the  distinction  of  being  a 
native  son  of  California  does  not  belong  to  Mr.  Jewett,  who  was  born  near 
Weybridge,  Addison  county.  Vt.,  January  18,  1871,  he  has  passed  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  in  the  west  and  by  long  residence  as  well  as  close  observation 
has  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  Kern  county,  both  as  pertaining  to  its 
oil  fields  and  its  agricultural  lands.  After  his  father.  Solomon  Jewett,  the 
pioneer  stock-raiser  and  oil-promoter  of  Kern  county,  became  a  citizen  of 
Bakersfield.  the  son  was  sent  to  the  local  schools  and  later  attended  the 
Oakland  high  school  until  his  graduation  in  1889.  Upon  his  return  to  Bakers- 
field he  secured  a  position  as  bookkeeper  in  the  Kern  Valley  Bank.  Soon, 
however,  he  began  to  study  the  stock  industry  and  particularly  the  sheep 
business.  Careful  observation  convinced  him  that  there  were  great  possi- 
bilities in  the  raising  of  sheep  and  at  the  end  of  seven  months  in  the  bank  he 
resigned  in  order  to  embark  in  his  desired  specialty.  That  his  judgment  was 
not  at  fault  the  succeeding  years  have  proved  and  he  still  engages  in  the  raising 
of  sheep  with  gratifying  success.  It  is  said  that  he  has  no  superior  as  a  judge 
of  a  flock  of  sheep.  His  preference  for  this  country  is  the  Shropshire  breed, 
which  he  carries  exclusively  and  which  seem  well  adapted  to  this  climate  and 
range,  producing  both  mutton  and  wool  in  profitable  measure.  At  first  it 
was  possible  to  range  the  flocks  on  the  plains  and  hills  of  Linns  valley  during 
the  summer  months,  but  eventually  the  reservation  was  closed  to  sheep  and 
this  forced  him  to  look  for  other  quarters.  Since  then  he  has  rented  railroad 
lands. 

The  present  headquarters  of  Mr.  Jewett's  sheep  industry  are  situated  near 


HISTORY    ()!■     Kl-.KX    COUNTY  225 

Rosedale,  seven  miles  west  iif  ISaUcrstiekl.  where  he  owns  six  hunch-eel  and 
forty  acres  in  one  tract  and  an  adjacent  property  of  four  hundred  acres.  His 
mountain  headquarters  near  (ilennville  contain  the  ranch-house  known  amon<.j 
the  Mexicans  as  Casa  F.lanca  and  called  by  others  the  White  house.  The  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres  at  Rosedale  are  in  alfalfa,  large  crops  of  which  are 
cut  each  season.  The  entire  tract  lies  under  the  Beardsley  ditch  and  is  in  the 
usual  farm  crops,  all  feed  raised  being-  used  for  the  sheep  in  winter.  The  size 
of  the  flocks  varies  from  one  season  to  another,  but  there  are  never  less  than 
five  thousand  head  and  at  times  there  have  been  as  many  as  ten  thousand  in 
the  flocks. 

\\'hile  recognized  as  one  of  the  mo'^t  resourceful  and  energetic  shee])- 
raisers  in  the  county,  it  must  not  be  sui)p<.)sed  that  this  industry  represents 
the  limit  of  Mr.  Jewett's  activities.  In  addition  he  owns  an  interest  in  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres  in  the  Midway  oil  field,  also  acts  as  president  of  the 
Jewett  Oil  Company  operating  in  the  McKittrick  district  and  owning  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  13  and  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  on  24, 
operating  thirteen  wells  with  a  production  of  thirty-five  hundred  barrels  per 
week.  The  Republican  party  has  received  the  stanch  support  of  Mr.  Jewett  in 
national  elections  and  he  has  been  prominent  in  its  local  afifairs.  Upon  the 
consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  in  July.  1910,  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  new  corporation  and  at  the  regular  election 
held  in  April  of  the  following  year  he  was  chosen  by  the  people  to  fill  the 
place  for  the  next  term,  since  which  time  he  has  acted  as  chairman  of  the 
finance  committee  and  through  that  service,  as  well  as  in  other  ways,  he  has 
proved  helpful  to  the  best  interests  of  the  community.  Enterprising  in  temper- 
ament, progressive  in  ideals,  patriotic  in  citizenship  and  loyal  to  California,- 
he  represents  that  splendid  class  of  men  who  are  giving  of  their  time  and 
talents  to  further  the  permanent  prosperity  of  our  commonwealth.  As  a 
charter  meniber  of  the  Bakersfield  Club  he  was  identified  with  the  early 
history  of  an  organization  now  prominent  and  popular  and  he  also  has  been 
interested  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  in  his 
home  city. 

GEORGE  HAY. — During  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  James 
H.  Hay,  a  sturdy  young  Scot,  left  the  highlands  of  his  native  country  and 
crossed  the  ocean  to  the  United  States,  where  he  settled  upon  a  farm  in 
Delaware.  When  his  son,  John,  a  native  of  Delaware,  was  a  child  of  three 
years,  in  1835,  he  took  the  family  across  the  country  to  Indiana  and  settled 
at  Indianapolis,  but  later  moved  by  wagon  northward  to  Fulton  county  in 
that  state  and  took  up  raw  land  near  Rochester,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death.  For  perhaps  twenty  years  John  Hay  served  as  assessor  of  Fulton 
county,  where  for  years  he  ranked  as  a  leading  farmer  and  an  honored  resi- 
dent and  prosperous  citizen  until  his  death,  December  28,  1912,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-eight.  When  he  was  taken  to  Indiana  there  were  no  railroads  in 
the  entire  state,  and  he  recalled  vividly  the  excitement  incident  to  the  com- 
pletion of  the  first  railroad  built  into  Indianapolis.  In  early  manhood  he 
married  Miss  Mary  Myers,  who  was  born  in  Fulton  county,  that  state,  and 
died  there  in  1900.  To  her  father,  John  Myers,  belonged  the  distinction  of 
being  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Fulton  county  and  he  engaged  in  general 
farming  there  throughout  the  balance  of  his  busy  life. 

There  were  eleven  children  in  the  family  of  John  and  Mary  Hay  and 
nine  of  these  are  still  living,  one  son,  A.  W.,  being  now  superintendent  of 
the  Union  cemetery.  George,  who  was  sixth  in  order  of  birth  among  the 
children,  was  born  near  Rochester,  Fulton  county,  Ind.,  April  15,  1869,  and 
at  the  age  of  fifteen  began  to  earn  his  livelihood  as  a  farm  laborer.  \Vhen 
seventeen  years  of  age  he  was  given  a  teachers'  certificate  and  began  to 
follow  that  occupation  in  Fulton  county.  By  the  frugal  saving  of  his  salary 
he  was  al)le  to  spend  two  vears  in  the  Xorthern  Indiana  State  l^niversity  at 


226  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Valparaiso,  where  he  took  the  scientific  course  of  study.  During  1889  he 
was  graduated  from  the  Terre  Haute  Business  College,  after  which  he  taught 
school  in  Indiana  for  a  few  years.  May  1,  1892,  he  arrived  in  Bakersfield 
with  a  cash  capital  of  $5,  but  with  an  abundance  of  energy  and  determina- 
tion. Immediately  he  found  work  by  the  day  on  a  ranch  in  the  Rosedale 
section,  where  he  remained  during  the  summer.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
he  and  a  brother-in-law,  George  Batz,  rented  a  stock  farm  on  the  south  fork 
of  the  Kern  river,  and  there  he  engaged  in  raising  cattle  and  hogs  for  three 
years,  after  which  he  disposed  of  his  interests  and  returned  to  Bakersfield  in 
1895.  For  one  year  he  was  employed  by  Bender  &  Hewitt,  and  there  gained 
his  first  knowledge  of  the  abstract  business.  Next  for  two  years  he  served 
as  deputy  county  assessor  under  Winfield  Scott,  and  then  as  deputy  tax  col- 
lector under  Charles  Day,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  employ  of  Bender 
&  Hewitt  for  a  year.  When  the  county  treasurer,  J.  B.  Batz,  went  to  San 
Francisco  on  account  of  business  enterprises  on  the  bay,  he  appointed  Mr. 
Hay  deputy  county  treasurer  to  take  charge  of  the  office  during  the  three 
years  yet  remaining  of  his  term  of  office. 

The  Bakersfield  Abstract  Company  was  incorporated  in  1903  by  J.  H. 
Jordan,  J.  B.  Batz  and  George  Hay.  The  following  year  they  bought  out 
Bender  &  Hewitt,  and  thus  acquired  the  oldest  set  of  abstract  books  in  the 
entire  county.  From  the  organization  of  the  company  Mr.  Hay  has  acted 
as  its  secretary  and  manager.  The  office  of  the  company  is  in  the  basement 
of  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield  building,  where  there  are  private  vaults  for  records 
and  safety  deposit  vaults  for  the  public  use.  The  facilities  of  the  concern 
embrace  the  ownership  of  books  and  documents  constituting  a  complete 
record  of  the  transfers,  changes  of  ownership,  subdivisions,  and  incumbrances 
covering  all  real  estate  in  Kern  county  from  government  entry  to  date ;  and 
the  company  is  prepared  to  issue  unlimited  certificates  of  title  and  complete 
abstracts  of  land,  water  and  mining  titles  in  this  county.  By  this  system 
the  entire  details  of  the  examination  of  titles  and  the  closing  of  property  sales 
are  assumed  by  the  firm,  which  is  responsible  to  all  parties  concerned  for  the 
correct  carrying  out  of  all  instructions  as  well  as  for  the  correctness  of  the 
title,  for  which  it  issues  guaranteed  certificates.  The  company  also  buys 
and  sells  real  estate,  negotiates  loans,  takes  charge  of  property  for  non- 
resident owners,  writes  insurance  of  all  kinds,  fire,  plate-glass,  accident  and 
life,  issues  surety  bonds  and  represents  two  building  and  loan  companies 
of  Los  Angeles. 

Aside  from  his  identification  with  the  Bakersfield  Abstract  Company 
Mr.  Hay  has  numerous  personal  interests,  having  been  one  of  the  original 
stockholders  of  the  Security  Trust  Company,  and  also  owning  interests  in 
several  oil  companies.  Under  his  ownership  the  West  Park  tract  of  thirty- 
three  acres  on  Oleander  avenue  was  subdivided  and  lots  were  placed  on  sale 
with  building  restrictions  that  made  this  one  of  the  finest  residence  sections 
in  Bakersfield.  On  some  of  the  lots  he  built  modern  and  elegant  homes 
which  he  later  sold.  The  Bakersfield  Board  of  Trade  has  enjoyed  the  benefit 
of  his  progressive  ideas.  For  some  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  board 
of  education,  and  his  intelligent  labors  in  this  position  have  been  beneficial 
to  the  educational  interests  of  Bakersfield.  The  improvement  of  the  schools 
has  been  a  hobby  with  him.  No  stone  has  been  left  unturned  in  his  effort  to 
raise  the  standard  of  education.  New  buildings  have  been  erected,  locations 
have  been  secured,  a  course  in  domestic  science  has  been  added  and  a  repu- 
tation has  been  acquired  deservedly  that  ranks  the  Bakersfield  schools  with 
the  best  in  the  state.  While  not  active  in  politics  he  has  been  stanch  in  his 
allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party.  The  Woodmen  of  the  World,  Benevo- 
lent Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Ancient  Order  of  ITnited  Workmen,  also  the 
Bakersfield  Club,  number  him  among  their  members.  His  marriage  took 
place  in  this  city  and  united  him  with  Miss  Elise  Stahlecker.  who  was  born 


I 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  227 

in  Germany,  but  at  an  early  age  came  to  Kern  county.  Her  father,  John 
Stahlecker,  is  now  living  in  this  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hay  are  the  parents 
of  five  children,  Mildred,  Gerald,  Byron,  George  and  Marjorie. 

ABIA  TAYLOR  LIGHTNER.— Genealogical  records  indicate  that  dur- 
ing" the  eighteenth  century  three  l^rothers,  William  A.,  John  and  Nathaniel 
Lightner,  crossed  the  ocean  from  Holland  to  America  and  settled  in  Penn- 
sylvania, where  the  last-named  devoted  the  remainder  of  his  life  to  farming 
in  Lancaster  county.  Capt.  Abia  Tajdor  Lightner,  son  of  Nathaniel,  was 
born  in  that  county  in  October  of  1801  and  at  a  very  early  age  became  a 
pioneer  of  Missouri,  where  at  Independence  he  married  Miss  Jemima  S. 
Snelling,  a  native  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  born  in  September,  1809.  The  Snelling 
family  is  of  Welsh  lineage.  During  1849  her  aged  mother  and  two  brothers, 
Daniel  and  Benjamin  Snelling.  started  across  the  plains,  but  in  the  course  of 
the  tedious  journey  the  mother  died  at  the  age  of  about  eighty-nine  years. 
The  brothers  continued  on  their  way,  settled  in  California  and  became  men 
of  some  local  prominence,  r.enjamin  being  the  founder  of  the  village  of 
Snelling,   in   Merced   county. 

Having  decided  to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  west,  Captain  Lightner  out- 
fitted at  Independence,  Mo.,  and  during  June  of  1849  started  as  captain  of  a 
train  that  journeyed  with  ox-teams  along  the  southern  route  through  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona.  More  than  six  months  were  spent  on  the  way  and 
often  in  the  lonely  road  they  were  in  great  danger  from  the  Indians,  but 
they  traveled  well-armed,  each  family  taking  a  large  supply  of  guns  and 
ammunition.  The  twenty  wagons  comprising  the  train  were  under  his 
guidance  as  trainmaster  and  were  drawn  by  oxen,  while  milch  cows  were 
taken  along,  not  only  in  order  that  milk  and  butter  might  be  obtained  for 
daily  use,  but  also  to  be  used  for  motive  power  in  case  of  accident  to  the 
oxen  or  to  furnish  beef  if  needed.  In  every  respect  the  expedition  was  well 
equipped,  hence  they  escaped  many  of  the  privations  that  befell  other  bands 
of  Argonauts.  A  brief  stop  was  made  near  the  present  site  of  Pomona  in 
Los  -Angeles  countv.  and  there  on  New  Year's  day  of  1850  the  numerical  im- 
portance of  the  expedition  was  enhanced  by  the  birth  of  Abia  Taylor  Light- 
ner, Jr.  Proceeding  to  the  coast  and  thence  northward,  the  travelers  finally 
separated  at  Alviso,  Santa  Clara  county,  where  the  captain  took  up  land 
one  anil  one-half  miles  from  Santa  Clara  and  engaged  not  only  in  farming, 
but  also  in  teaming  for  James  Lick.  During  the  mining  excitement  on  the 
Kern  river  he  made  a  trip  of  investigation  and  decided  to  remove  to  the 
location.  As  early  as  1856  he  bought  on  that  river  near  Keyesville  a  mine 
later  known  as  the  Mammoth  and  also  built  a  quartz  mill,  where  he  not  only 
utilized  rock  from  his  own  mine,  but  also  engaged  in  custom  work.  The 
family  established  their  home  at  Keyesville  during  1857,  but  the  following 
year,  the  milling  and  mining  not  proving  profitable,  he  purchased  the  claim 
and  stock  owned  by  "Bob"  Wilson  in  Walker's  Basin  and  removed  his  wife 
and  children  to  the  new  location.  Ever  since  then  the  place  has  been  occu- 
pied by  members  of  the  family  and  is  now  owned  by  one  of  his  daughters, 
Mrs.  Walker  Rankin.  While  hauling  a  load  of  hay,  February  12,  1867,  from 
Walker's  Basin  to  Havilah,  then  the  county  seat,  he  fell  from  the  wagon  and 
was  run  over  by  the  team  and  killed.  At  the  time  of  the  accident  he  was 
alone  and  when  found  life  was  extinct.  The  widow  remained  at  the  old 
homestead  until  her  death  in  1896  Devoted  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Baptist 
Church  and  a  generous  contributor  to  denominational  work,  her  interest  and 
gifts  continued  until  her  demise;  her  daughters  have  exhibited  the  same  in- 
tense loyalty  to  Baptist  tenets. 

There  were  nine  children  in  the  parental  family.  1>ut  two  of  these  died 
in  Missouri  prior  to  the  date  of  the  westward  migration.  Isaac  died  at 
\\'alker's  Basin  in  1906,  and  William  i^assed  away  in  Calaveras  count}'  Janu- 
ary 3,   1907.   while  Daniel   S.  died   in  Cnsta  Rica.  Central   .\merica.  in   1909. 


228  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Diana  is  the  widow  of  F.  T.  Barrows  and  resides  at  Bando'n,  Coos  county, 
Ore.;  Mary  F.  married  D.  W.  Walser,  of  Walker's  Basin;  and  Lavenia  E. 
is  the  wife  of  Walker  Rankin,  also  of  Walker's  Basin.  Abia  Taylor  Lightner, 
who  was  the  youngest  of  the  family,  resides  on  the  northwest  quarter  of 
section  24,  township  29  south,  range  28  east,  this  being  the  township  in 
which  the  city  of  Bakersfield  is  located.  Proximity  to  the  city  and  the  fact 
that  this  is  a  frostless  belt  suitable  for  horticulture,  especially  for  citrus  fruits, 
induced  him  to  build  his  residence  at  this  point. 

Coming  to  Kern  county  at  the  age  of  seven  years,  Abia  Taylor  Lightner 
remained  here  from  1857  until  1861,  after  which  he  spent  a  year  in  Santa 
Clara  county  with  a  sister,  Mrs.  Diana  Barrows.  This  gave  him  an  oppor- 
tunity to  attend  school,  which  was  not  possible  at  the  time  in  Kern  county. 
After  the  death  of  his  father  in  18fi7  he  attended  Vacaville  College  fur  one 
year  and  during  1870  he  entered  Heald's  Business  College,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  June,  1871.  Returning  to  Kern  county  and  resuming 
farming  and  stock-raising,  he  continued  at  that  occupation  for  a  time,  but 
afterwarrl  engaged  as  a  bookkeeper.  The  Democrats  of  Kern  county  in  1873 
nominated  him  to  the  office  of  county  clerk,  but  he  was  defeated  by  F.  W. 
Craig.  From  1876  to  1878  he  served"  as  deputy  sherifif  under  M.  P.  Wells. 
During  1879  he  was  elected  county  clerk  and  recorder,  defeating  his  former 
opponent,  F.  A\'.  Craig.  On  the  first  Monday  in  ]\Iarch,  1880,  he  entered 
upon  his  official  duties.  The  new  constitution  went  into  efifect  during  that 
year  and  rendered  necessary  another  election.  In  the  fall  of  1880  he  was 
again  chosen  for  the  position.  At  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  two  years 
he  was  re-elected,  serving  until  January  of  1885. 

After  having  engaged  in  mining  with  a  brother,  Daniel  S.,  in  May  of 
1886  Mr.  Lightner  associated  himsetf  with  a  brother-in-law,  C.  W.  Fore,  in 
the  hotel  business  in  Tulare.  Ninety  days  later  the  hotel  was  burned  to  the 
ground.  The  disaster  was  complete  and  entailed  a  heavy  loss  upon  Mr. 
Lightner,  whose  next  position  was  that  of  searcher  of  records  for  Miller  & 
Creighton  of  Visalia.  Returning  to  Bakersfield  in  the  spring  of  1887,  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  W.  E.  Houghton  under  the  title  of  Houghton  & 
Lightner,  searchers  of  records.  Upon  being  elected  county  assessor  in  the 
fall  of  1890  on  the  Democratic  ticket  he  retired  from  the  abstract  business. 
From  January,  1891,  until  January,  1895,  he  acted  as  assessor,  after  which, 
his  former  partner  having  died,  he  took  up  the  old  Houghton  &  Lightner 
records  and  resumed  abstracting,  which  he  followed  f(  r  three  years.  Upon 
the  incorporation  of  the  municipality  of  Bakersfield  he  was  chosen  city  clerk. 
At  the  expiration  of  his  term  in  1910  he  was  not  a  candidate  for  re-election. 

As  an  authority  concerning  land  titles  and  values  Mr.  Lightner  is  said 
to  have  no  superior  in  Kern  county.  His  memory  of  location  is  unerring, 
his  knowledge  of  valuations  accurate,  his  judgment  keen  and  his  decisions 
seldom  questioned.  His  office  in  Room  1.  Producers'  Savings  Bank  l:)uilding, 
is  a  scene  of  constant  business  activity,  for  he  is  in  demand  as  a  searcher  of 
records,  a  judge  of  land  locations  and  values  and  an  authority  concerning 
titles.  As  an  attorney  practicing  before  the  Interior  Department,  he  is  re- 
garded as  authority  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  procedure  of  acquiring 
titles  to  lands  under  the  various  acts  of  congress  pertaining  thereto.  He  is 
one  of  the  inheritance  tax  appraisers  for  Kern  county,  appointed  by  the  state 
comptroller.  The  accuracy  of  his  judgment  is  enhanced  by  his  broad  knowl- 
edge of  jurisprudence,  for  at  an  early  age  he  was  admitted  to  practice  as  an 
attorney  before  Ignited  States  land  offices,  his  certificate  of  application  bear- 
ing the  signature  of  Hon.  R.  E.  Arick,  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Kern 
county.  One  of  the  oldest  native  sons  in  California,  he  is  also  one  of  the  most 
influential  and  prominent  and  further  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
past  president  of  Bakersfield  Parlor  No.  42,  N.  S.  G.  W.  Besides  being  con- 
nected with  the  Indei:)endent  Order  of  Foresters,  he  is  a  charter  member  of 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  231 

Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266.  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  is  now  the  oldest  surviving 
member  of  that  body.  Mrs.  Lightner,  former!}'  Miss  Tena  Morrell,  is  also 
a  native  Californian  and  has  spent  her  entire  life  in  the  west.  There  are 
two  daughters  in  the  family,  Gladys  and  Marguerite,  the  elder  of  whom  is 
the  wife  of  B.  K.  Stroud,  superintendent  of  drilling  operations  in  Lost  Hills 
for  the  LTniversal  Oil  Company. 

JOHN  BUTLER  BATZ.— The  president  of  the  Bakersfield  Abstract 
Coniiiau}-.  whn  is  a  picmeer  of  1874  in  Kern  county,  represents  the  fourth 
generation  of  the  'l^ntunic  family  of  Batz  in  America.  Henry,  a  son  of  the 
(M-iginal  Cierman  immigrant,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  learned  the  trade 
of  a  slioemaker  and  followed  the  same  in  Indiana  for  many  years  and  until 
his  death.  When  he  removed  from  the  Keystone  state  he  was  accompanied 
l)y  his  son.  Benjamin,  who  was  born  and  reared  near  Philadelphia  and 
after  settling  in  Indiana  followed  the  trade  of  millwright.  Xear  Rochester, 
Fulton  county,  he  built  a  grist-mill  operated  l^y  water  power.  Ten  miles 
from  the  nearest  town  he  took  up  a  tract  of  raw  land  and  from  it  he  devel- 
oped a  profitable  farm,  where  he  was  still  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits 
at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1863.  In  1911.  in  that  same  vicinity,  occurred 
the  death  of  his  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Clarissa  S.  Rice  and  was 
botn  in  Ohio.  Of  their  six  children  only  three  are  living.  John  Butler 
being  the  eldest  of  these.  His  two  sisters  are  Mrs.  Amelia  Meredith  of 
Bakersfield  and  Mrs.  Emma  Edgington  of  Indiana.  .\t  the  old  home  farm 
in  Fulton  county.  Ind..  where  he  was  born  January  25.  1852.  he  passed 
the  uneventful  years  of  boyhood  alternating  attendance  at  the  public  schools 
with  such  farm  work  as  his  size  and  strength  permitted.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  years  he  began  to  learn  the  carpenter  trade  with  a  skilled  con- 
tract(!r  in  the  home  neighborhood  and  when  only  eighteen  he  was  able  to 
take  U]-)  building  contracts  of  his  own,  making  the  doors,  sash,  blinds,  etc., 
by  hand  and  finishing  jobs  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  customers. 

Believing  that  opportunities  would  be  greater  further  west,  in  1872 
Mr.  P.atz  removed  to  Kansas  and  settled  at  Grenola.  Howard  county,  but 
now  Elk.  where  he  engaged  in  carpentering.  Not  being  entirely  satisfied 
with  the  Sunflower  state  he  came  on  to  California  in  1874  and  settled  in 
Kern  cmmty.  where  after  a  time  he  was  employed  as  superintendent  of  the 
Landers  stock  farm  in  the  -South  b^ork  country.  Next  he  secured  a  clerkship 
with  Afichaels  &  Co..  at  Kernville.  While  thus  occupied  he  established 
domestic  ties,  being  married  to  ^liss  Sophie  E.  Smith,  a  native  of  Oakland, 
this  state,  and  an  earnest  member  of  the  Methndist  Episcopal  Church.  They 
are  parents  of  two  children  now  living.  The  daughter,  Daisy  M.,  is  the 
wife  of  J.  H.  Jordan,  vice-president  of  the  Bakersfield  Abstract  Company, 
and  the  son.  Vernon  S..  is  an  employe  of  this  company.  Mrs.  Batz  is 
a  daugliter  of  Thomas  H.  Smith,  a  native  of  England,  who  after  crossing 
the  ocean  settled  in  Ohio,  but  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia he  closed  out  his  interests  in  Ohio  and  in  1849  sailed  around  the  Horn 
to  San  Francisco.     Later  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Oakland. 

r^'or  st.me  years  Mr.  Batz  engaged  in  stock-raising  and  some  time  after 
his  marriage  he  bought  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  on  South  l-'ork.  where 
he  had  a  ])rofitable  acreage  in  alfalfa,  also  engaged  in  horticulture  and 
in  addition  made  a  specialty  of  the  str  ck  industry.  For  two  years  he  served 
as  under-sheriff  with  \A'.  ].  Graham  and  he  also  held  office  as  trustee  of  the 
Scodie  school  district  for  some  years,  b'rom  the  early  period  of  his  residence 
in  the  county  he  ranked  among  the  leading  Democrats  and  his  services  were 
in  frequent  demand  as  a  member  of  the  county  central  committee  of  the 
party.  Nominated  by  the  Demt  crats  for  the  office  of  county  treasurer  in 
1894.  he  was  elected  by  a  gratifying  majority  and  took  the  oath  of  office  in 
January  of  1895.  .\t  the  expiration  (if  his  term  he  was  re-elected  1iy  a 
greatly    increased    majorit}-,    a    fact    which    bears    strong    exidence    as    to    the 


232  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

satisfactory  nature  of  his  services.  ^Vhe^  tlie  second  term  expired  in  Janu- 
ary, 1903,  he  was  not  a  candidate  for  re-election,  his  business  interests  "being 
so  important  as  to  demand  his  entire  time  and  attention.  Prior  to  that  he 
had  acquired  stock  in  the  Occidental  Oil  Company,  operating  a  producing 
well  near  Maricopa,  and  of  this  company  he  served  as  treasurer  and  manager ; 
besides  he  owned  an  interest  in  the  Monarch  Oil  Company,  proprietors  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  managers  of  a  well  of  strong  productive 
capacity.  After  he  had  sold  his  oil  interests  he  went  to  San  Francisco  and 
became  treasurer  and  manager  of  the  New  Blue  Jay  Mining  Company,  owners 
of  the  Blue  Jay  mine  on  CoiJfee  creek  in  Trinity  county  near  Carrville.  He 
assisted  in  organizing  the  Bakersfield  Abstract  Company  in  1903  and  was 
elected  its  first  president,  which  position  he  has  filled  up  to  the  present  time. 
The  company  acquired  the  plant  of  Bender  &  Hewitt  and  thus  became  owners 
of  the  oldest  set  of  records  in  the  county.  Employment  is  furnished  to  six- 
teen persons  and  a  business  of  great  importance  has  been  established.  On 
the  organization  of  the  National  Bank  of  Bakersfield  Mr.  Batz  was  one  of 
the  incorporators  and  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors.  In  the  midst 
of  extensive  business  interests  and  large  political  connections,  he  has  found 
leisure  for  social  and  fraternal  activities  and  with  his  wife  has  been  active 
in  the  Kern  County  Pioneer  Society,  while  in  addition  he  is  associated  with 
the  F'raternal  Brotherhood,  the  Degree  of  Honor  and  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen.  In  the  latter  he  is  past  master  workman  and  has  served 
as  representative  to  the  grand  lodge.  The  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
has  had  the  benefit  of  long  years  of  interested  activity  on  his  part.  As  past 
noble  grand  and  representative  to  the  grand  lodge,  he  is  a  leading  factor  in 
local  lodge  work,  while  he  further  has  Iseen  prominent  in  the  encampment 
and  the  canton,  in  the  former  having  been  representative  to  the  Grand  En- 
campment as  well  as  a  prominent  official.  Muvements  for  the  benefit  of 
Kern  county  have  received  his  stanch  support  and  not  the  least  of  these 
is  the  organization  and  maintenance  of  the  Bakersfield  Abstract  Company, 
which  is  a  concern  of  vital  importance  to  the  realty  affairs  of  the  county 
and  also  of  more  than  passing  importance  through  its  representation  of 
insurance  agencies  and  building  and  loan  associations. 

C.  V.  ANDERSON.— As  examiner  of  titles  for  the  Kern  County  Abstract 
Company,  in  which  he  is  a  large  stockholder  and  also  holds  the  office  of 
vice-president,  Mr.  Anderson  is  intimately  identified  with  one  of  the  leading 
concerns  of  its  kind  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  Descended  from  an  old 
southern  family,  he  was  born  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  March  11,  1874,  and  is  a 
son  of  James  A.  and  Maria  Anderson,  the  latter  of  whom  died  when  C.  V. 
was  a  very  small  child.  After  a  successful  career  as  an  attorney  in  Memphis 
the  father  came  to  California  in  1885  and  opened  a  law  office  in  Los  Angeles, 
where  he  engaged  in  practice  as  a  partner  of  the  late  Attorney-General  Fitz- 
gerald, of  California.  Twice  married,  by  the  two  unions  he  became  the 
father  of  fifteen  children,  seven  of  whom  are  living.  Out  of  this  large  family 
C.  V.  was  thirteenth  in  order  of  birth.  From  an  early  age  he  expressed  a 
decided  preference  for  the  profession  of  the  law,  in  which  his  two  brothers,  W. 
H.  and  James  A.,  Jr.,  have  also  been  successful,  forming  the  firm  of  Anderson 
&  Anderson,  well-known  among  the  law  firms  of  Los  Angeles. 

After  he  had  completed  the  studies  of  the  public  schools  and  St.  Vincent's 
College,  C.  V.  Anderson  entered  his  father's  office  as  a  law  student  and  during 
1897  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  With  other  members  of  the  family  he  then 
engaged  in  practice  in  Los  Angeles,  whence  he  came  to  Bakersfield  during 
the  latter  part  of  1900,  influenced  in  this  move  by  the  recent  oil  discoveries 
in  the  Kern  county  fields.  In  1901  he  formed  a  partnership  with  W.  W.  Kaye 
under  the  firm  title  of  Anderson  &  Kaye,  which  connection  continued  until 
1905  and  meantime,  from  1902  to  1905,  he  acted  as  adviser  to  the  Kern  County 
Abstract  Company.     Returning  to  Los  Angeles  in  1906  he  became  examiner 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  233 

of  titles  for  the  Title  Insurance  &  Trust  Compan\',  also  practiced  his  profession 
as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Anderson  &  Anderson,  but  in  1910  was  induced  to 
relinquish  his  associations  in  the  southern  metropolis  in  order  to  identify  him- 
self with  the  Kern  County  Abstract  Company,  an  important  and  well-estab- 
lished concern  of  Bakersfield. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Anderson  took  place  in  1903  and  united  him  with 
Miss  Elizabeth  Alexander,  of  Los  Angeles,  daughter  of  the  late  Col.  Richard 
Henry  Alexander,  and  Emily  W.  (Houston)  Alexander,  the  latter  still  a 
resident  of  Los  Angeles.  During  a  long  and  brilliant  career  Colonel  Alexander 
was  retained  successively  as  a  surgeon  in  the  army,  as  colonel  on  the  staff  of 
General  Allies  and  as  the  head  of  the  medical  department  of  the  west.  Air.  and 
Mrs.  Anderson  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters,  Emily  and  Betty.  The  re- 
ligious home  of  the  family  is  in  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Bakersfield,  to  the 
maintenance  of  which  Mr.  Anderson  has  contributed  generously  and  in  whose 
philanthropies  he  has  been  a  willing  assistant.  The  Alasonic  Order  and  the 
Bakersfield  Club  number  him  among  their  active  members  and  their  pro- 
gressive projects  have  received  his  quiet  but  earnest  co-operation.  The  Re- 
publican party  embodies  in  its  platform  the  principles  which  he  believes  to 
be  best  adapted  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation  and  he  has  given  to  it  his  stead- 
fast allegiance. 

JAMES  EDGAR  STONE.— The  Kimball-Stone  Drug  Company  ranks 
among  the  leading  business  concerns  of  Bakersfield.  The  present  organi- 
zation, which  dates  from  190-1.  has  been  engaged  in  business  since  1910  at 
No.  1413  Nineteenth  street,  where  the  first  floor  is  utilized  for  the  various 
departments  of  the  trade  and  in  addition  the  basement  furnishes  storage 
facilities  for  a  large  reserve  stock.  The  modern  stock  of  the  company, 
valued  at  $25, COO,  includes  everything  known  to  the  science  of  medicine. 
The  firm  carries  a  full  line  of  pure  drugs  and  druggists'  sundries,  patent 
medicines  of  all  kinds,  toilet  articles,  perfumes,  brushes  and  other  articles 
to  be  found  in  a  first-class  shop  of  the  kind.  The  compounding  of  prescrip- 
tions is  a  special  feature  of  the  business.  For  that  purpose  the  freshest  and 
purest  of  drugs  are  kept  in  stock.  The  prescription  counter,  unsurpassed 
by  any  in  the  state,  is  open  to  the  public  view  by  means  of  plate  glass.  The 
entire  store  is  a  model  of  neatness  and  system  and  indicates  the  thrifty 
qualities  of  the  proprietors,  whose  skill  as  pharmacists  is  attested  by  their 
high   reputation  throughout  the  community. 

The  junior  member  of  the  firm,  James  Edgar  Stone,  was  born  at  AA^'ar- 
rensburg,  AIo.,  July  23,  1881,  and  is  a  son  of  John  W.  and  Elizabeth  (Emery) 
Stone,  natives  respectively  of  Kentucky  and  Indiana,  and  early  settlers  of 
Missouri,  where  they  were  married  and  where  they  since  have  made  their 
home.  The  father  has  engaged  in  raising  live  stock  and  still  makes  a 
specialt}'  of  handling  live-stock,  through  which  occupation,  coupled  with 
general  farming,  he  has  been  enabled  to  reach  financial  success.  In  his 
family  there  are  six  children,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Nellie  Alay,  is  the  wife  ol 
AV.  L.  Hyer,  an  employe  of  a  large  packing  house  at  Warrensburg,  Mo. 
The  eldest  son,  John  AA'illiam,  Jr.,  is  engaged  in  the  drug  business  in  Kansas 
City.  The  third  and  sixth  among  the  children,  Josephine  B.  and  Pansy  K., 
are  teachers  in  the  Bakersfield  public  schools.  The  fifth,  Luther  Brooks, 
is  engaged  in  the  stock  business  with  his  father.  James  Edgar,  the  fourth 
in  order  of  birth,  received  his  education  in  Warrensburg,  where  for  three 
years  he  was  a  student  in  the  Missouri  State  Normal,  after  he  had  com- 
pleted the  regular  course  in  the  public  schools. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  Air.  Stone  matriculated  in  the  St.  Louis 
College  of  Pharmacy,  where  for  two  years  he  studied  with  industry,  diligence 
and  intelligence.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  was  graduated  with  the 
degree  of  Ph.  G.,  as  a  member  of  the  class  of  1904,  in  which  he  had  the  honor 
of  serving  as  vice-president.     During  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  came 


234  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

to  Bakersfield  and  purchased  the  interest  of  Dr.  B.  E.  Morrow  in  the  Mor- 
row-Kimball Drug-  Company,  the  predecessor  of  the  Kimball-Stone  Drug 
Company.  After  some  years  at  the  old  stand  the  firm  removed  in  1910  to 
their  present  location,  where  they  have  a  modern  and  model  shop,  equipped 
with  every  facility  and  improvement  designed  to  render  the  business  satis- 
factory and  successful.  Customers  are  treated  with  the  most  gracious  cour- 
tesy and  are  given  every  possible  attention.  The  Johnson  line  of  remedies 
and  toilet  articles  is  prepared  at  the  manufacturing  table,  back  of  which  is 
a  room  for  reserve  stock  and  in  the  basement  a  large  reserve  stock  also  is 
maintained.  The  firm  makes  a  specialty  of  poisoned  wheat  manufactured 
for  the  extermination  of  squirrels  and  gophers.  Their  stock  of  Parke-Davis 
goods  is  the  largest  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  Among  their  bacteriological 
serums  is  Dr.  Schaefifer's  phylacogeus,  manufactured  by  a  Bakersfield  physi- 
cian and  already  having  to  its  credit  many  astonishing  cures. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Stone  took  place  in  Kern  county  and  united  him 
with  Miss  Mae  Mouliot,  daughter  of  Martin  Mouliot,  a  stockman  now  resid- 
ing in  Bakersfield.  Born  at  Tehachapi,  Mrs.  Stone  received  her  early  edu- 
cation in  the  r'>akersfield  schools  and  later  completed  a  course  of  study  in  the 
Chico  State  Normal.  Eor  three  years  prior  to  her  marriage  she  taught  in 
the  schools  of  East  Bakersfield  with  gratifying  success.  Politically  Mr. 
Stone  has  been  stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  has 
maintained  a  warm  interest  in  public  affairs.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield 
he  has  been  active  in  Masonry,  and  is  now  a  Shriner  of  the  York  Rite. 
Personally  he  is  decidedly  popular  with  everyone  with  Whom  he  has  busi- 
ness dealings  or  social  relations. 

THOMAS  NORMAN  HARVEY.— The  genealogy  of  the  Harvey  family 
is  traced  to  England  and  includes  the  names  of  many  men  of  sterling  worth 
and  patriotic  spirit.  During  the  progress  of  the  Revolutionary  struggle  they 
became  associated  with  Canadian  afifairs,  and  their  intense  sympathy  with  the 
cause  of  the  Tories  led  to  their  being  classed  with  the  empire  loyalists.  Cul- 
tured endowments  marked  every  generation  of  the  past.  Out  of  the  traditions 
that  lighten  the  obscurity  of  bygone  ages  their  names  emerge  as  educators  of 
talent  and  as  far  back  as  the  lineage  can  be  traced  their  identification  with 
pedagogy  has  been  established  and  even  at  the  present  time  their  association 
with  educational  afifairs  is  as  pronounced  as  it  is  successful.  After  a  lifetime 
of  service  in  the  Canadian  schools,  during  which  time  he  had  the  supervision 
of  the  schools  at  Sydenham  and  other  Ontario  towns,  W.  B.  Harvey  died  at 
Toronto,  Canada,  January  10,  1913.  One  of  his  sons,  J.  F.,  is  superintendent 
of  the  high  schools  at  Peterboro,  Ontario.  A  daughter,  Catherine,  married  R. 
H.  Cowley,  who  now  holds  the  office  of  superintendent  of  education  for  the 
province  of  Ontario  and  resides  at  Toronto.  The  present  identification  of  the 
family  with  educational  work  in  Canada  will  thus  be  seen  to  be  intimate  and 
influential. 

The  youngest  child  in  the  family  of  W.  B.  and  Jean  (Watt)  Harvey,  (the 
latter  of  Scotch  extraction)  was  Thomas  Norman  Harvey,  whose  birth 
occurred  in  Ontario,  Canada,  December  9,  1878,  and  whose  education  was 
received  in  his  native  province.  After  he  had  graduated  from  the  Sydenham 
high  school  in  1896  he  matriculated  in  the  Ottawa  Normal  School  and  took 
the  regular  course  of  study  in  that  institution,  graduating  with  the  class  of 
1900.  Immediately  after  his  graduation  he  took  up  the  task  of  teaching  and 
served  successively  as  principal  of  the  schools  at  Strathroy  and  Parry  Sound, 
Ontario,  while  in  addition  for  a  short  time  he  acted  as  proprietor  and  publisher 
I  if  a  weekly  newspaper  in  the  village  of  Wyoming,  a  small  town  in  Ontario, 
directly  east  of  Port  Huron,  Mich.  During  January  of  1904  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia and  settled  in  the  Napa  valley,  where  for  six  months  he  studied  law  in 
the  office  of  W.  F.  Henning  and  then  continued  his  studies  in  the  Hastings 
Law  School  at  San  Francisco.     During  1905,  while  still  a  student  in  the  law 


^ 


<i2-^<?-^?'>-> 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  237 

school,  he  was  admitted  upon  examination  to  the  supreme  court  of  California 
and  since  then  he  has  devoted  his  attention  to  law  practice.  Comin^  to 
Bakersfield  in  July  of  1910  he  opened  an  ofifice  and  has  since  made  a  specialty 
of  oil  and  mining  law,  practicing  before  the  United  States  land  ofifice.  His 
office  is  located  at  No.  1667  Chester  avenue  and  there  much  of  his  time  is 
devoted  to  tireless  and  eiTective  work  in  behalf  of  clients.  Earnest  in  the 
preparation  of  cases,  logical  in  reasoning  faculties,  well  informed  in  the  law, 
he  has  demonstrated  his  admirable  qualifications  for  his  chosen  profession. 
One  month  before  he  came  to  Bakersfield  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Violet  Salter,  daughter  of  J.  W.  Salter,  who  was  a  prominent  pioneer  and 
well-known  druggist  of  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Harvey  is  the  father  of  a  son  who 
bears  his  name.  In  religion  he  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land and  has  assisted  in  other  movements  for  the  general  advancement 

JOSEPH  WARREN  SUMNER.— With  the' earlier  events  thai  shaped 
the  histiiry  of  Kern  County  the  name  of  this  California  pioneer  of  '4<)  was 
intimately  associated  and  the  title  of  Judge,  l^y  which  he  was  long  and 
familiarly  known,  came  to  him  through  an  efficient  service  of  more  than 
thirty  years  as  justice  of  the  peace  at  Kernville.  For  the  difficult  tasks 
incident  to  the  development  of  a  frontier  community  he  was  well  qualified  by 
the  inheritance  of  rugged  traits  of  mind  and  sturdy  endurance  of  bodv  from 
a  long  line  of  American  ancestors  who  were  pioneer  uobuilders.  Whether 
his  task  was  that  leading  occupation  of  earlier  days,  mining,  or  the  equally 
arduous  experiences  incident  to  hauling  freight  between  Los  Angeles  and 
Kernville;  whether  presiding  over  the  justice  court  with  keen  discrimination 
and  impartial  judgment  or  with  far-seeing  discernment  concerning  future 
conditions  planting  and  developing  the  first  commercial  orchard  in  the 
Kernville  region,  into  each  responsibility  he  threw  his  energies  with  the 
whole-souled  devotion  and  enthusiastic  interest  that  made  him  a  leader 
among  pioneers. 

The  genealogy  of  the  Sumner  family  shows  a  close  association  with  the 
colonial  history  of  New  England,  where  they  became  residents  about  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  family  history  shows  that  William, 
the  only  son  of  Roger  and  Joan  (Franklin)  Sumner  (the  former  a  husband- 
luan  of  Rice.ster,  Oxford.  England),  was  born  in  that  English  shire  in  1605 
and  some  time  after  his  marriage  to  Mary  West  he  brought  his  family  to 
.Xmerica,  settling  at  Dorchester,  Mass.,  where  for  many  years  he  was  a 
meml)er  of  the  general  court  and  a  prominent  citizen.  The  next  generation 
was  represented  by  William,  Jr.,  likewise  a  native  of  Bicester,  England,  and 
who  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Augu3tine  Clement,  of  Dorchester, 
England.  Thrc  ughout  much  of  his  life  he  followed  the  sea,  but  eventually 
he  retired  to  Boston  and  there  his  death  occurred  in  February,  167.5.  Clement, 
son  of  William.  Jr.,  was  born  in  Boston  September  6,  1671,  and  married 
Margaret  Harris,  by  whom  he  was  the  father  of  a  son,  Samuel  Sumner,  born 
in  Bo.ston  August  31,  1709,  and  married  at  Charlestown,  Mass.,  to  A))igail, 
daughter  of  Samuel  I'-rothingham,  of  that  place.  The  death  if  Samuel 
Sumner  occurred  January  26,  1784.  In  the  next  generation  was  Ebenezer 
Sumner,  liorn  in  Boston  in  March  of  1742.  married  to  Elizabeth  Ta'ipan  and 
deceased  at  Newburyport,  Mass.,  December  27 .  1823.  Hon.  Joseph  Sumner, 
son  of  Ebenezer,  was  born  at  Newburyport,  Mass.,  May  26,  1783,  becarue  a 
merchant  at  Lubec,  Me.,  served  as  a  member  of  the  Xfaine  state  legislature 
and  died  September  21,  1861.  By  his  marriage  to  Sarah  Wiggin,  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Governor  Wiggin,  of  Massachusetts,  there  was  born  at  New- 
buryport, Mass.,  January  3,  1819,  a  son,  Joseph  Warren  Sumner,  who  in 
early  manhood,  after  having  completed  an  academic  education,  engaged  in 
merchandising  in  Lubec,  Me.,  and  also  operated  a  line  of  fishing  boats  from 
that  isolated  Atlantic  port.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  furnished  the 
incentive   for  his  emigration    from   the   bleak   coast  of   eastern    Maine   to   the 


238  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

then  unknown  shores  of  the  .Pacific.  A  voyage  via  Panama  brought  him  to 
San  Francisco,  from  which  city  he  proceeded  to  the  mines  of  the  Sierras. 
From  that  time  he  never  entirely  reHnquished  his  identification  with  mining 
and  his  interests  in  that  work  took  him  as  far  away  as  British  Cohimbia. 
During  1860  he  became  the  owner  of  the  Sumner  mine  at  Kernvihe,  where 
for  many  years  he  also  owned  and  operated  the  Sumner  mill,  besides  conduct- 
ing a  freighting  business  to  Los  Angeles.  As  early  as  1869  he  purchased 
the  Sumner  ranch  across  the  north  fork  from  Ivernville  and  there  he  embarked 
in  horticulture  upon  a  scale  larger  than  that  attempted  by  previous  experi- 
menters in  that  occupation. 

The  marriage  of  Judge  Sumner  in  Lubec,  Ale..  August  3,  1843,  united 
him  with  Miss  Mary  E.  Dakin,  who  was  born  at  Digby,  Nova  Scotia,  January 
16,  1826.  They  were  spared  to  a  long  married  life  of  mutual  service  and 
helpfulness  and  in  death  were  not  long  divided,  his  demise  taking  place  at 
his  Kernville  home  ^March  29,  1911,  when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  ninety- 
two,  while  the  death  of  his  wife  followed  in  the  same  year  on  the  31st  of 
May,  rounding  out  eighty-five  useful  years.  Their  only  son,  Elisha  Payson 
Sumner,  had  passed  away  at  Saco,  Me.,  November  23,  1871.  The  older 
daughter,  Mary  Josephine,  of  Los  Angeles,  was  the  wife  of  the  late  Rev.  C.  G. 
Belknap,  a  member  of  the  Southern  California  conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcc.pal  church.  The  youngest  member  of  the  family  circle,  Alice  Maude, 
is  the  widow  of  Andrew  Brown,  formerly  a  prominent  merchant  and  banker 
of  Los  Angeles.  From  the  standpoint  of  citizenship  Judge  Sumner  was 
progressive,  in  personal  character  he  was  just  and  yet  generous  and  broad. 
For  many  years  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  and  aided  in 
the  building  of  school  houses  and  the  establishment  of  school  districts. 
Fraiernall}-  he  was  a  Master  J\Iason.  Originally  an  old-line  Whig  in  politics, 
on  the  founding  of  the  Republican  party  he  transferred  his  allegiance  to  its 
principles  and  also  supported  the  abolitionist  movement  from  its  inception. 
It  was  his  privilege  to  vote  at  eighteen  presidential  elections,  dating  back  to 
the  exciting  campaign  of  William  lienry  Harrison,  when  even  at  the  remote 
and  isolated  Maine  home  of  the  Sumner  family  the  cry  of  "Tippecanoe  and 
Tyler  too"  was  the  most  familiar  slogan  of  the  period,  and  extending  through 
all  the  years  up  to  and  including  the  scarcely  less  exciting  and  interesting 
Roosevelt  campaigns. 

WILLIAM  VANDEVER  MATLACK.— The  cashier  of  the  Security 
Trust  Company  of  Bakersfield  traces  his  lineage  to  England  and  Holland  and 
is  himself  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  born  February  20,  1859.  His  parents, 
John  R.  and  Lydia  B.  (Vandever)  Matlack,  were  natives  respectively  of 
Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  and  for  many  years  the  former  engaged  in  a 
manufacturing  business  in  his  native  city,  but  after  his  retirement  from 
business  cares  he  came  to  California,  and  in  1896  his  death  occurred  in  this 
state.  The  English  progenitors  of  the  family  had  spelled  the  name  Mat- 
lock and  during  the  Revolutionary  war  Timothy  Matlock,  a  leading  Phila- 
delphia representative  of  the  family,  had  been  identified  in  business  activi- 
ties with  Robert  Morris,  the  financier  of  the  colonists  during  the  first  strug- 
gle with  England.  The  maternal  ancestry  was  of  Dutch  extraction.  The 
records  show  that  William  Vandever,  exiled  from  Holland  during  the  thirty 
years'  war,  found  a  temporary  refuge  in  Sweden  and  during  1682  crossed  the 
Atlantic  ocean  to  the  new  world  in  company  with  a  colony  of  Swedes  that 
settled  in  Delaware.  From  him  descended  William  Vandever,  a  bookbinder 
by  trade  and  a  gallant  soldier  during  the  War  of  1812;  after  the  close  of  that 
struggle  he  settled  in  Baltimore,  where  occurred  the  birth  of  his  daughter, 
Lydia  B.,  later  Mrs.  Matlack.  Her  death  occurred  in  Philadelphia.  The 
oldest  son  in  the  family  became  a  prominent  resident  of  California  and 
served  as  member  of  congress  from  Ventura  county. 

In  a  family  comprising  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  two  of 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  239 

the  sons  are  deceased,  William  Vandever  Matlack  was  third  in  order  of 
birth  and  was  reared  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  graduated  from  the  high 
school  and  where  later  he  held  a  mercantile  position.  Coming  to  California 
in  1887.  he  made  a  sojourn  of  two  years  in  Monrovia  and  in  1889  settled  at 
Bakersfield,  where  since  he  has  made  his  home  and  where  he  has  wielded  a 
large  influence  as  public-spirited  citizen  and  progressive  business  man.  For 
some  years  he  was  associated  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company, 
first  as  an  assistant  and  later  as  chief  clerk  of  the  Bakersfield  freight  office. 
During  1898  he  was  chosen  local  freight  and  passenger  agent,  a  position  of 
great  responsibility,  which  he  filled  with  recognized  efificiency  and  tact. 
Resigning  in  1908  to  accept  a  position  as  assistant  cashier  of  the  Bank  of 
Bakersfield,  he  entered  upon  his  present  connection  with  the  financial  affairs 
of  his  home  city.  Since  February  1,  1911,  he  has  been  cashier  of  the  bank  of 
the  Security  Trust  Company.  While  still  living  in  Philadelphia  he  married 
Miss  Margaret  V.  Mendenhall,  who  was  born  in  that  city  and  descended 
from  English  ancestry.  They  are  the  parents  of  five  daughters,  Florence, 
Edith,  Lydia,  Mary  and  Ellen. 

Ever  since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Matlack  has  voted  with  the  Re- 
publican party.  Throughout  the  entire  period  of  his  residence  in  Bakers- 
field he  has  maintained  an  unceasing  interest  in  civic  and  educational  afifairs. 
During  1891  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Sumner  school  board  and  for 
fifteen  years  he  served  as  slerk  of  that  organization,  two  new  schoolhouses 
being  erected  during  the  term  of  his  service.  During  April  of  1908  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Kern  board  of  trustees  and  in  the  summer  of  the 
same  year  he  was  chosen  chairman  to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of 
James  L.  de  Pauli.  Upon  the  consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  in  1910 
and  the  organization  of  Bakersfield  as  a  city  of  the  fifth  class,  as  decided 
upon  by  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  both  towns,  a  new  election  was  held  July 
10,  1910,  and  Mr.  Matlack  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
the  new  city.  At  the  organization  of  the  board  he  was  elected  its  president. 
The  election  of  April,  1911,  again  made  him  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  and  again  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  board,  which  position  he 
now  fills,  discharging  its  duties  with  characteristic  energy  and  efficiency. 
For  years  he  has  been  a  leading  local  worker  in  the  Benevolent  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  in  which  he  served  as  Exalted  Ruler,  and  in  addition  he  has 
been  associated  with  the  Bakersfield  Club.  In  Pennsylvania  he  was  made  a 
Masrn  in  Fort  ^^'ashington  Lodge.  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

The  Security  Trust  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Matlack  is  cashier,  was 
incorporated  October  7,  1910,  with  an  original  paid-up  capital  of  $300,000, 
but  which  was  increased  to  $500,000  on  January  21,  1913,  and  conducts 
business  at  Chester  avenue  and  Eighteenth  street.  A  savings  department 
forms  an  important  addition  to  the  bank.  There  is  also  a  trust  department, 
which  acts  as  executor,  administrator,  guardian,  trustee,  etc.,  and  the  advan- 
tages of  a  strong  and  perpetual  company  over  individuals  in  these  capacities 
are  too  apparent  and  too  universally  recognized  to  call  for  special  comment. 
The  safety  deposit  department  is  outfitted  with  fire  and  burglar-proof  vaults, 
with  rental  compartments  convenient  for  the  needs  of  patrons.  Since  its 
ince]3tion  the  bank  has  pursued  a  conservative  course  in  the  making  of  loans 
and  has  won  the  confidence  of  a  growing  list  of  depositors.  On  October  19, 
1912,  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield  was  purchased  and  consolidated  with  the  Se- 
curity Trust  Company,  whose  deposits  have  now  reached  practically  $3,000,- 
000.  The  success  of  the  concern  may  be  attributed  to  the  sagacious  judg- 
ment of  its  officers  and  directors,  who  are  as  follows;  G.  J.  P.lanz,  Presi- 
dent; William  V.  Matlack,  cashier;  C.  A.  Barlow,  D.  L.  Brown,  A.  S.  Crites, 
W.  W.  Colm,  W.  W.  Frazier,  H.  R.  Peacock,  Chris  Mattlev,  J.  M.  Jameson, 
T.  A.  Hughes.  D.  Hirshfeld,  L.  P.  St.  Clair.  G.  T.  Planz.  F.  "W.  Warthnrst, 
T.  W.  Heard  and  W.  A.  Howell. 


240  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

WALTER  OSBORN.— Education  and  experience  alike  abundantly 
qualify  Mr.  Osborn  for  able  services  in  the  profession  of  law.  When  first 
he  determined  upon  his  future  calling  he  placed  before  himself  a  high  ideal 
and  aspired  to  gain  a  classical  and  legal  education  that  would  give  him  a 
standing  equal  to  the  best.  Studious  in  childhood,  always  near  the  head  of 
his  class  in  the  public  schools,  he  carried  the  same  devotion  to  scholarship  into 
ct  liege  and  university  and  allowed  no  trivial  matter  to  lessen  his  ardor  for 
his  books.  The  result  was  that  he  acquired  a  broad  knowledge  concerning 
all  subjects  of  general  importance,  while  in  his  specialty  he  grasped  the 
principles  of  jurisprudence  with  a  calm,  logical  and  well-trained  mind,  and 
upon  receiving  his  degree  entered  upon  a  professional  career  with  every 
promise  of  success.  During  the  course  of  his  practice  in  Indiana  he  was 
more  than  ordinarily  popular  and  it  was  only  the  failure  of  his  health  that 
induced  him  to  sever  ties  so  promising  for  future  gains.  Since  he  came  to 
Bakersfield  he  has  been  given  a  place  in  the  profession  for  which  his  talents, 
education  and  former  record  qualify  him. 

The  youngest  of  eight  children,  all  of  whom  lived  to  maturity,  Walter 
Osborn  was  born  near  Wanatah,  LaPorte  county,  Ind.,  June  10,  1875,  being 
a  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Mclntyre)  Osborn,  both  now  deceased.  The  father 
passed  away  when  his  youngest  child  was  a  boy  of  ten  years,  but  the  mother, 
a  woman  of  energy  and  capability,  did  not  permit  the  education  of  the  chil- 
dren to  be  neglected  by  reason  of  their  bereavement,  and  she  constantly  aided 
the  boy  in  his  eflforts  to  secure  the  best  possible  advantages.  After  he  had 
completed  the  high-school  course  at  Wanatah  he  entered  Valparaiso  Uni- 
versity, where  he  took  the  commercial  course.  Next  he  matriculated  in  the 
classical  department  of  Indiana  University  at  Bloomington,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1902  with  the  degree  of  A.B.  Continuing  in  thesame  insti- 
tution as  a  law  student,  he  completed  the  regular  course  and  in  1904  received 
the  degree  of  LL.B.,  at  the  same  time  winning  admission  to  the  state  and 
federal  courts  of  the  Indiana  bar. 

Three  and  one-half  years  of  association  with  the  firm  of  Anderson, 
Parker  &  Crabill,  of  South  Bend,  Ind.,  proved  most  helpful  to  the  young  law- 
yer, who  left  them  in  order  to  form  a  partnership  with  Charles  Weidler  under 
the  firm  name  of  Weidler  &  Osborn.  For  one  and  one-half  years  he  remained 
in  that  connection  and  meanwhile  enjoyed  a  steady  growth  in  practice,  laying 
the  foundation  of  a  success  that  would  have  been  permanent  had  not  the 
failure  of  his  health  forced  him  to  seek  another  climate.  Altogether,  his 
experience  in  South  Bend  has  proved  most  helpful  to  him  in  later  activities. 
The  firm  with  which  he  first  associated  was  one  of  great  prominence,  repre- 
senting the  Grand  Trunk  Railroad,  the  Pennsylvania  lines,  St.  Joseph  County 
Savings  Bank,  Studebaker  Bros.  Manufacturing  Company  and  other  large 
corporations  of  that  important  manufacturing  city.  Upon  leaving  the  state 
he  spent  fifteen  months  in  the  Coeur  d'Alene  district  of  Idaho,  whence  in 
October  of  1910  he  came  to  California,  settling  in  Bakersfield  on  the  13th  of 
December  of  the  same  year.  On  the  12th  of  that  month  he  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  the  courts  of  California,  this  being  about  six  years  after  he  had 
been  admitted  to  practice  in  the  St.  Joseph  Circuit  Court  of  Indiana,  the 
Supreme  Court  of  that  state  and  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  for 
the  district  of   Indiana. 

As  an  attorney  Mr.  Osborn  is  to  be  credited  for  two  things  particularly, 
first :  he  makes  a  very  thorough  preparation  of  each  case  and  his  briefs  on 
questions  of  law  are  most  thorough ;  second,  he  is  a  lawyer  of  strict  integrity. 
To  these  particulars  he  clings  with  most  unswerving  fidelity,  much  to  the 
advantage  of  his  growing  clientage.  While  engaged  in  practice  in  Indiana 
he  married  at  Remington,  that  state,  April  27,  1905,  Miss  Priscilla  Hawkins, 
by  whom  he  has  two  children,  Marion  B,  and  Priscilla  J.     In  politics  he  is 


f^Jl'Sc^A 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  243 

stanch  in  allegiance  to  Democratic  principles  and  the  present  administration. 
Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Elks  and  Masons  and  is  a  firm 
believer  in  the  principles  of  kindness,  philanthropy  and  helpful  comradeship 
for  which  these  orders  stand. 

PRESTON  SMITH  McCUTCHEN.— Very  early  in  the  colonization  of 
America  the  AlcCutchen  family  became  identified  with  the  agricultural  devel- 
opment of  a  region  lying  near  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  In  the  new  world,  as  in 
iheir  former  home  m  Scotland,  they  evinced  a  forceful  and  resolute  deter- 
mination that  won  local  prestige.  Not  the  least  conspicuous  member  of  the 
family  and  certainly  one  of  its  most  gallant  patriots  and  honored  representa- 
tives was  James  Corsey  ^IcCutchen,  a  native  of  Georgia  and  a  soldier  in  the 
war  of  1812,  where  oiUy  his  lack  of  education  prevented  him  from  winning 
an  officer's  commission.  Upon  the  close  of  the  war  he  engaged  in  the  trade 
of  blacksmithing  in  Virginia.  However,  while  giving  his  days  to  manual 
labor,  he  devoted  his  evenings  to  study,  for  he  was  ambitious  to  make  up  for 
lack  of  early  advantages.  After  he  had  attained  man's  estate  he  took  up 
the  common  branches  of  study,  taught  himself  by  dint  of  resolute  perse- 
verance and  eventually  became  the  possessor  of  a  broad  fund  of  information 
along  every  line  of  mental  activity.  Particularly  was  he  thorough  in  math- 
ematics and  his  work  in  that  line  showed  considerable  native  talent.  Withal, 
he  was  a  skilled  mechanic,  a  capable  blacksmith  and  invented  a  process  of 
.-netting  wagon  tires  which  has  never  since  been  improved  upon  by  anyone. 

XV'hile  living  in  Virginia  James  Corsey  AlcCutchen  married  Mrs.  Mary 
Humphreys,  a  widow  with  three  children,  James,  William  and  Jane.  Born  in 
the  Old  Dominion,  she  was  a  daughter  of  John  Nevins,  an  Irishman  who 
enlisted  under  the  English  flag  and  became  a  sailor  in  the  British  navy,  but 
deserted  his  ship  in  order  that  he  might  enlist  in  the  feeble  army  of  ijatriots 
fighting  for  lil)erty  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  Having  served  with  dis- 
tinction until  the  close  of  the  struggle,  he  then  secured  an  honorable  discharge 
and  settled  in  \'irginia  to  devote  his  remaining  years  to  development  work  in 
his  ad<i])ted  ci  unti y.  In  person  he  was  stalwart  and  strong,  the  possessor  of  a 
splendid  physique,  while  temperamentally  he  had  the  characteristics  of  the 
Celt.  His  daughter,  Mary  (or  Polly,  as  she  was  called  in  the  home  circle) 
became  the  wife  of  John  Humphreys,  who  served  as  a  commissioned  officer 
during  the  war  of  1812  and  remained  at  the  front  until  he  was  shot  in  battle. 
.\  few  years  later  the  widow  became  the  wife  of  James  Corsey  McCutchen. 
Nine  children  were  born  of  their  uni(in.  namely  :  John  N.,  .Allen  fwho  died  at 
the  age  of  six  months).  Preston  Smith,  Robert  Sloan.  Nancy.  Martha.  Mar}- 
Margery.  Elizabeth  and  Perry. 

From  \'irginia  the  family  removed  to  Missouri  and  after  a  brief  sojourn 
in  St.  Louis  ijroceeded  up  the  river  to  St.  Charles,  where  the  second  son, 
Prestnii  Smith,  was  born  February  24,  1820.  In  March  of  that  year  the 
family  removed  to  Callaway  county.  Mo.,  where  the  father  not  only  had  a 
blacksmith  shop,  but  also  cultivated  land.  Leaving  Missouri  in  1836.  he  took 
the  family  to  Iowa  and  settled  on  a  tract  of  raw  land  in  Van  Buren  county, 
where  his  wife  died.  Later  he  married  a  second  time,  but  had  no  children 
by  that  union.  In  1854  he  died  at  the  old  Iowa  homestead.  When  the  family 
left  Missouri  Preston  Smith  AlcCutchen  was  a  youth  of  sixteen,  strong  and 
sturdy,  eager  to  be  of  use  in  the  home  and  in  the  world.  His  father  had  not 
Dermitted  any  of  the  boys  to  learn  blacksmithing,  therefore  he  had  turned 
his  attention  to  farming  and  kindred  pursuits.  In  those  days  one  of  the  most 
important  tasks  on  a  farm  was  the  clearing  of  the  land  and  no  one  could  use 
an  axe  with  greater  skill  than  he.  nor  could  any  of  the  young  farmers  of  tlie 
locality  surpass  him  in  swinging  a  scythe  or  in  cradling  the  grain.  Agri- 
culture was  then  conducted  in  somewhat  primitive  fashion,  for  the  magnifi- 


246  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  state  in  1887,  and  immediately  afterward  began  in 
practice  in  his  native  city,  where  in  1890  he  was  elected  city  justice.  At  the  ' 
expiration  of  his  term  of  four  years  he  was  re-elected  for  another  term  and  . 
when  he  had  served  out  that  time  he  removed  from  Stockton  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, where  he  engaged  in  a  general  practice  for  six  years.  Attracted  to 
Alaska  during  1900  by  a  desire  to  travel  through  and  investigate  conditions 
in  that  country,  he  was  induced  to  establish  a  law  office  at  Nome,  where  he 
remained  for  seven  years,  meanwhile  also  engaging  actively  in  placer  mining. 
In  addition  to  a  general  practice  he  acted  as  attorney  for  the  Pioneer  Mining 
Company  and  other  corporations. 

Upon  leaving  Alaska  to  resume  residence  in  the  United  States,  Mr.  Tarn 
traveled  for  a  time  and  during  1909  opened  an  office  at  Bakersfield,  where  he 
has  since  become  prominently  identified  with  professional  and  civic  enter- 
prises. In  coming  to  this  city  to  establish  a  home  he  was  accompanied  by 
his  accomplished  wife,  whom  he  had  married  in  1896,  and  who  was  formerly 
Miss  Alice  Carey  Treadway,  of  Covington,  Ky.  Movements  for  the  progress 
and  development  of  his  home  city  receive  his  cordial  support.  The  high 
standing  which  he  occupies  in  professional  circles  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
he  has  been  chosen  chairman  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  law  library,  while 
his  popularity  in  the  Republican  party  is  evidenced  in  the  presentation  of 
his  name  September  3,  1912,  at  the  party  primaries  as  a  candidate  for  the 
assembly  from  the  fifty-sixth  district.  Although  not  solicitous  for  party 
honors,  preferring  indeed  the  quiet  round  of  professional  duties  and  social 
enjoyment,  he  is  not  negligent  of  his  duties  as  a  loyal  citizen  and  public- 
spirited  patriot,  nor  is  he  unmindful  of  the  opportunities  for  efficient  service 
for  which  his  unusual  abilities  eminently  qualify  him. 

MRS.  HARRIET  VAN  ORMAN.— Any  list  of  the  pioneers  of  Bakers- 
field  would  be  incomplete  without  the  name  of  Mrs.  Van  Orman,  whose  life 
has  been  identified  with  this  place  continuously  since  1860  and  who  has 
witnessed  the  remarkable  transformation  of  the  community  from  a  desolate, 
unpeopled  spot  to  a  large  city,  teeming  with  industry  and  surrounded  by 
fertile,  well-tilled  fields.  No  attribute  of  her  character  is  more  pronounced 
than  that  of  devotion  to  the  community  of  her  adoption.  Every  part  of  the 
city  possesses  for  her  a  unique  interest,  far  beyond  the  feeling  it  would 
arouse  in  the  casual  visitor.  For  many  years  she  has  lived  at  her  present 
home  on  the  corner  of  Seventeenth  and  K  streets,  where  it  is  her  expecta- 
tion to  remain  until  her  earth  life  ends  and  where  she  will  continue  to  watch 
with  unabated  pleasure  the  upward  growth  of  Bakersfield.  Even  in  the  days 
when  Kern  Island  had  no  population  excepting  rabbits,  mosquitoes  and 
gnats,  when  the  sole  crop  was  weeds  and  the  sole  visitor  an  occasional 
wandering  Indian,  she  had  faith  that  a  large  city  would  one  day  stand  on 
the  spot,  and  she  is  equally  optimistic  now  concerning  Bakersfield's  great 
future  and  large  influence  as  a  business  center. 

Harriet  Taylor  was  born  at  Jonesboro,  Tenn.,  September  26,  1835,  and 
is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Skelton  and  Mary  (McCray)  Taylor,  natives  re- 
spectively of  Virginia  and  South  Carolina.  Her  paternal  grandfather,  Henry 
Taylor,  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812  and  her  great-grandfather,  Christo- 
pher. Taylor,  who  descended  from  English  ancestry,  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. The  maternal  grandfather,  Henry  McCray,  a  native  of  Scotland,  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Moore  of  South  Carolina  and  became  a  large  planter  on  the 
Chattahoochee  river  in  Georgia.  When  she  was  one  year  old  her  parents 
moved  to  Alabama  and  settled  at  Huntsville,  where  she  was  educated  in 
private  schools  and  an  academy.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  she  accompanied 
her  family  to  Texas  and  there  completed  her  education  in  a  private  school. 

At  Bonham,  Tex.,  in  1854,  Miss  Taylor  became  the  wife  of  Robert  Gil- 
bert, a  native  of  Tennessee  and  for  years  a  large  land  owner  in  Texas, 
where  he  built  and  operated  a  saw  and  grist  mill  on  Bordeaux  lake.     Two 


/L 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  249 

cliiklren  were  born  of  their  union.  The  sun,  William  Gilbert,  became  a 
mining  man  and  died  at  Bakersfield  in  1904.  The  daughter,  Mrs.  Call-e 
l^ettit,  is  now  living  at  Teji  n,  Kern  county.  During  1859  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gilbert,  accompanied  by  their  two  children,  removed  from  Texas  to  Cali- 
fornia, making  the  journey  via  the  Butterfield  stage-coach.  Their  destina- 
tion was  San  Jose,  but  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  they  settled  at  Visalia 
and  September  26,  1860,  they  arrived  at  what  is  now  the  site  of  Bakersfield. 
Later  Mrs.  Gilbert  took  up  a  claim  of  a  quarter  section  on  section  18,  near 
Bellevue.  and  afterward  she  became  a  shareholder  in  the  canal,  which  made 
it  possible  for  her  to  put  the  place  under  cultivation  to  alfalfa.  Her  second 
marriage  united  her  with  N.  Van  Orman,  of  this  county.  Having  been  well 
posted  concerning  affairs  in  early  days  and  possessing  a  retentive  memory, 
she  is  a  very  interesting  conversationalist  and  an  hour  spent  in  her  society, 
when  she  is  in  a  reminiscent  mood,  enables  one  to  gain  a  vivid  comprehen- 
sion of  the  trials,  hardships  and  discouragements  of  those  far  distant  days. 

JAMES  B.  McCUTCHEN. — The  position  to  which  he  has  risen  and  the 
obstacles  which  he  has  overcome  prove  the  ability  of  Mr.  McCutchen,  at  the 
same  time  indicating  what  it  is  within  the  power  of  any  man  of  integrity, 
energy  and  determination  to  accomplish  for  himself.  Of  discouragements 
he  has  had  many  and  vicissitudes  not  a  few,  yet  all  of  these  he  endured  with 
fortitude  and  conquered  by  persistence.  Whether  it  was  the  misfortune  of 
failure  in  viticulture  or  an  attempt  in  peach-raising  where  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction exceeded  the  receipts  from  the  total  sales,  or  whether  it  was  long 
sojourns  in  Old  Mexico,  enduring  the  hardships  of  camp  life  and  the  native 
food,  none  of  his  disastrous  experiences  dampened  his  ardor  or  lessened  his 
courage,  but  each  in  turn  rendered  possible  the  attainment  of  a  final  success, 
represented  now  by  the  possession  of  a  fine  alfalfa  ranch  of  eighty  acres  sit- 
uated nine  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield  under  the  Stine  canal ; 
represented  also  by  a  valuable  dairy  herd  comprising  one  hundred  and  twenty 
cows  and  the  modern  and  sanitary  equipment  demanded  by  the  up-to-date 
development  of  the  dairy  industry.  Recently  he  erected  on  his  ranch  an 
attractive  bungalow  of  ten  rooms,  fitted  with  modern  conveniences,  not  the 
least  ni  these  being  electricity  furnished  by  his  own  electric  (Gray  and  Davis) 
plant. 

Although  not  a  native  of  California,  the  early  recollections  of  James  B. 
McCutchen  cluster  around  this  state  and  he  was  familiar  with  its  development 
from  a  frontier  community  filled  with  gold-miners  to  a  prosperous  common- 
wealth with  varied  industries  and  great  possibilities.  Born  at  Bentonsport, 
Iowa,  October  26,  1849,  he  was  four  years  of  age  when  his  father,  Preston  S. 
McCutchen  (represented  elsewhere  in  this  volume)  brought  the  family  across 
the  plains  and  settled  at  Franklin,  Sacramento  county.  During  boyhood  he 
attended  the  public  schools  and  when  not  in  school  he  aided  his  father  on  the 
home  farm.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  passed  an  examination  for  a 
teacher's  certificate  and  secured  a  school  at  Stony  creek  in  Colusa  county, 
where  he  taught  for  two  years.  From  early  life  he  was  an  expert  marksman 
and  interested  in  the  hunting  of  game.  Upon  giving  up  his  school  he  joined 
with  his  brother  in  hunting  geese,  ducks  and  quail  for  the  San  Francisco 
markets.  Their  headquarters  were  at  Tulare  lake,  from  which  place  they 
hunted  throughout  Tulare  and  Kern  counties.  During  the  winter  of  1874-75 
they  shipped  almost  forty-two  thousand  ducks  and  geese,  a  total  weight  of 
forty-two  tons  in  the  one  season  or  a  little  over  two  pounds  per  bird,  the 
express  charges  on  the  shipments  being  three  cents  a  pound. 

After  having  given  his  time  to  hunting  game  for  a  number  of  years,  Mr. 
AFcCutchen  in  1880  went  to  the  Tiger  mine  in  Arizona.  In  a  short  time  he 
secured  a  school  near  Prescott  and  during  the  next  four  years  he  taught  in 
^'a^•apai   cimnty.    The   stock-raising   industry   in   the   .Agua    P^ria   region    next 


250  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

engaged  his  attention.  Upon  his  return  to  California  in  1890  he  came  to 
Bakersfield  and  purchased  twenty  acres  in  the  Old  River  district.  This  tract 
forms  the  nucleus  of  his  present  possessions.  His  first  attempt  was  to  cul- 
tivate raisin  grapes,  but  after  two  crops  he  replaced  the  vines  with  peach 
trees.  The  orchard  developed  successfully  and  the  fruit  was  of  the  finest 
quality,  but  after  peeling  and  drying  the  peaches  he  could  not  secure  more 
than  six  cents  per  pound,  which  was  less  than  the  cost  of  production.  Poinding 
the  enterprise  unprofitable  he  grubbed  out  the  trees  and  put  the  land  under 
cultivation  to  alfalfa.  While  in  the  main  he  has  devoted  himself  to  the  ranch 
he  has  had  other  interests  in  the  meantime.  From  1892  to  1895  he  spent  much 
time  in  Old  Mexico  along  the  west  coast  from  California  to  Central  America, 
hunting  the  aigrette  and  the  heron  for  their  plumes.  At  times  he  would  have 
$3,000  worth  of  plumes  in  one  suitcase.  The  dealers  in  New  York  paid  as 
much  as  $30  an  ounce  for  aigrettes  and  $10  an  ounce  for  the  heron  plumes. 
Unfortunately  the  business  was  almost  annihilated  by  the  natives,  who 
hunted  ruthlessly,  without  any  regard  to  the  saving  of  the  young.  This  ren- 
dered continuance  in  the  business  unprofitable. 

In  order  to  secure  the  pasturage  necessary  for  his  large  herd  of  milch 
cows.  Air.  AlcCutchen  has  leased  an  alfalfa  ranch  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  two  miles  from  his  home  and  on  the  leased  property  he  main- 
tains his  stock.  The  dairy  is  equipped  with  a  modern  sanitary  system  for  the 
handling  of  the  milk  and  this,  during  the  heated  season,  is  iced  en  route  to 
Taft,  Maricopa  and  Fellows,  where  it  is  sold  to  the  local  retail  trade.  The 
utmost  care  is  maintained  in  the  management  of  the  dairy.  Not  the  slightest 
detail  is  neglected  and  it  is  due  to  the  rigid  supervision  that  complete  satis- 
faction exists  among  the  customers.  While  the  supervision  of  the  dairy  and 
the  care  of  the  ranch  require  close  attention  on  the  part  of  Mr.  McCutchen, 
he  has  found  time  for  ether  interests  and  has  been  particularly  interested  in 
oil  development.  With  his  brothers  he  located  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
forming  the  southwest  quarter  of  the  famous  section  32,  two  miles  east  of 
Maricopa.  On  twenty  acres  of  this  tract  there  has  been  developed  by  the 
Maricopa  Queen  Oil  Compan}'  one  of  the  best  oil  wells  on  the  west  side, 
the  production  from  the  well  averaging  two  thousand  barrels  per  day  of 
twenty-four  gravity  oil. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  McCutchen  was  solemnized  at  Prescott,  Ariz., 
December  26,  1886,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Margaret  P.  Dickson,  who 
was  born  at  Downey,  Cal.,  January  27,  1868,  and  is  a  woman  of  refinement 
and  true  worth.  Her  parents,  John  and  Mary  (Ehle)  Dickson,  natives  of 
Tennessee  and  Iowa  respectively  and  pioneers  of  Los  Angeles  county,  Cal.. 
afterward  became  early  settlers  of  Yavapai  county,  Ariz.,  and  lived  upon  a 
stock  ranch  there  for  some  years.  In  1901,  when  seventy-two  years  of  age, 
Mr.  Dickson  died  at  the  home  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  McCutchen,  with  whom 
Mrs.  Dickson,  now  sixty-four  years  of  age,  has  since  remained.  There  are 
four  children  in  the  McCutchen  family,  namely:  Preston  J.,  who  is  engaged 
in  the  retail  milk  business  on  the  west  side,  his  headquarters  being  at  Taft ; 
Ollie,  a  graduate  of  Heald's  Normal  and  Business  College  at  Stockton  and 
now  a  teacher  at  Taft ;  Van  Dickson,  proprietor  of  the  Chester  machine  works 
in  Bakersfield  :  and  Perry,  a  student  in  the  Kern  County  high  school.  Deeply 
interested  in  the  cause  of  education,  Mr.  McCutchen  has  not  limited  his  atten- 
tion to  aiding  his  children  in  securing  excellent  educational  advantages,  but 
has  been  desirous  that  every  child  in  the  community  should  receive  a  prac- 
tical education.  For  some  years  he  has  served  as  clerk  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  Old  River  school  district.  Politically  he  is  a  protectionist  and  a 
Republican  of  progressive  tendencies.  As  a  citizen  he  favors  all  movements 
for  the  well-being  of  the  people,  while  as  an  agriculturist  he  is  deeply  inter- 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  251 

ested  in  tlie  ile\  elnpnient  of  Kern  connty  land  and  has  an  abiding  faith  in 
the  possibilities  of  the  soil  when  rightly  cultivated  and  regularly  irrigated. 

JACOB  NIEDERAUR.— It  was  the  good  fortune  of  Bakersfield  to  enjoy 

during  its  earl\-  history,  as  in  its  later  era  of  progress,  the  loyal  dex'otion  of 
men  of  ability,  energy  and  progressive  spirit  To  the  foundation  laid  by  such 
citizens  was  added  the  superstructure  of  subsequent  efTort  that  rendered 
possible  the  prosperity  now  attained  by  the  city.  In  the  list  of  capable  pio- 
neers no  name  stands  out  with  greater  prominence  and  none  is  more  worthy 
of  an  honorable  place  in  local  annals  than  that  of  the  late  Jacob  Niederaur, 
who  from  the  time  of  his  settlement  in  the  then  struggling,  insignificant 
village  in  1869  until  his  death,  February  9,  1903,  contributed  persistently, 
effectively  and  intelligently  to  the  advancement  of  the  town  commercially, 
materiall}-  and  financialh^  contributing  his  quota  to  every  enterprise  for  the 
general  welfare  and  leaving  the  impress  of  his  forceful  personality  upon  every 
civic  project.  It  would  be  difficult,  perhaps  impossible,  to  name  an  enter- 
prise of  pioneer  days  which  failed  to  receive  his  quiet  but  efficient  support. 
A  master  workman,  skilled  in  the  use  of  tools,  and  without  a  superior  in  his 
trade  of  a  cabinet-maker,  he  did  not  limit  his  activities  to  the  occupation  in 
which  he  had  achieved  signal  success,  but  entered  into  other  avenues  of 
labor.  From  the  first  he  appreciated  the  value  to  this  county  of  its  great 
oil  resources.  Xor  did  he  fail  to  realize  the  excellent  location  of  Liakersiiekl 
as  a  business  headquarters  for  the  oil  fields.  Other  resources  of  the  com- 
munity were  backed  by  his  sincere  faith  and  generous  support  and  the  wis- 
dom of  his  judgment  was  proved  by  his  own  large  success,  as  well  as  by  the 
steady  advancement  made  by  the  county  and  city  of  his  adoption. 

Born  in  Bavaria,  Germany,  June  15,  1841,  Jacob  Niederaur  was  nine 
years  of  age  when  brought  to  America  by  his  parents,  who  settled  at  Bryan, 
Ohio.  He  was  one  of  four  sons,  all  of  whom  were  trained  by  their  father, 
a  skilled  mechanic,  into  a  thorough  knowledge  of  cabinet-making  as  soon  as 
they  were  old  enough  to  handle  tools.  In  skill  and  quickness  he  soon  proved 
the  equal  of  the  others  and  was  able  to  earn  his  livelihood  at  the  trade  while 
yet  very  young.  When  he  came  to  Bakersfield  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight 
vears  he  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  employment  as  a  cabinet-maker.  .Al- 
though he  had  no  capital  he  was  thrifty  and  economical  and  soon  he  was  able 
to  embark  in  the  furniture  business.  The  beginning  of  the  business  was  very 
small,  but  as  time  passed  he  enlarged  his  stock  of  furniture  and  became  the 
leading  furniture  dealer  in  the  entire  valley.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  in 
Bakersfield  he  was  impressed  by  the  need  of  an  undertaking  establishment 
and  he  at  once  began  to  study  the  business,  acquiring  a  thorough  familiarity 
with  its  every  detail.  He  is  remembered  today  as  the  pioneer  undertaker  of 
the  city.  During  the  early  days  the  business  houses  were  mere  shacks,  but 
he  became  a  chaniDion  of  better  buildings  and  himself  set  the  example  by 
erecting  a  suh.stantial  block,  the  first  floor  of  which  he  utilized  for  his  under- 
taking establishment  and  furniture,  while  the  second  floor  he  rented  for  general 
lodge,  hall  and  lecture  purposes.  At  the  time  of  the  incorporation  of  the 
Southern  Hotel  Company  he  became  a  stockholder  in  the  new  enterprise 
and  was  enthusiastic  in  his  efforts  to  secure  adequate  hotel  accommodations 
for  the  growing  city.  Although  intensely  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  the 
community  it  was  m-t  possible  to  secure  his  acceptance  of  public  offices  and 
he  took  no  part  in  politics  whatever  aside  from  voting  the  Republican  ticket. 
The  only  lodge  to  which  he  belonged  was  the  Knights  of  I^ythias,  and  in  that 
order  he  ever  maintained  a  warm  interest. 

For  some  years  after  his  arrival  in  the  west  Air.  Niederaur  continued  to 
lead  a  single  life,  and  it  was  in  this  city  that  he  met  the  attractive  young  lady 
whom  he  chose  as  his  wife.  She  was  Miss  Lucy  J.  Williams,  who  was  born 
in  Ross  county.  Ohio,  May  10.  1860,  but  grew  to  girlhood  in  Vermont,  her 
mother  having   returned   to   that   state   after  the   death   of  the   husband   and 


252  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

father.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  Atiss  Williams  left  the  east  to  come  to 
California  as  governess  for  the  children  of  Philo  Jewett  at  Bakersfield.  While 
filling  this  position  she  met  Mr.  Niederaur,  whom  she  married  August  6,  1878. 
Two  children  came  to  bless  their  union,  Philip  Williams  and  Helen  Jewett, 
After  the  death  of  I\Ir.  Niederaur  his  widow  continued  to  make  her  home  in 
the  elegant  family  residence,  which  since  her  death,  November  30,  1909,  has 
been  occupied  by  her  daughter  and  son-in-law,  Helen  Jewett  Forrest  and 
Thomas  W.  Forrest.  This  young  couple  were  married  October  '16,  1911, 
Mr.  Forrest  being  vice-president  of  the  E.  H.  Loveland  Produce  Company 
and  one  of  the  leading  young  business  men  of  Bakersfield.  The  son,  Philip 
Williams  Niederaur,  formerly  engaged  in  the  furniture  business  in  Bakers- 
field, but  now  resides  in  San  Francisco. 

Among  the  many  friends  whom  Mr.  Niederaur  won  through  his  fine  qual- 
ities of  heart  and  mind  there  was  none  to  whom  he  was  more  deeply  attached 
than  to  Franz  Buckreus,  for  many  years  superintendent  of  the  Kern  county 
hospital.  Between  those  two  pioneers  there  was  a  deep  bond  of  affection 
which  time -only  served  to  deepen.  The  implicit  faith  which  Mr.  Niederaur 
reposed  in  his  friend  was  shown  by  his  selection  of  him  as  administrator  of 
his  estate,  without  bonds,  and  also  as  guardian  of  his  children.  After  the 
death  of  his  friend  Mr.  Buckreus  continued  to  operate  the  furniture  and 
undertaking  establishment  for  a  time.  During  March  of  1904  he  sold  the 
undertaking  business  to  Morton  &  Connelly,  who  are  now  in  that  business 
at  No.  1712  Chester  avenue.  About  the  same  time  the  furniture  business 
was  sold  to  George  C.  Haberfelde,  who  since  has  become  a  leading  repre- 
sentative of  this  line  of  commercial  enterprise  in  Bakersfield.  The  estate 
left  by  Mr.  Niederaur  was  valued  at  $70,000  and  had  he  been  spared  to  enjoy 
the  present  remarkable  growth  of  his  chosen  city  he  would  have  attained 
much  greater  wealth,  but  the  large  estate  which  he  accumulated  is  especially 
significant  because  it  represented  the  unaided  efforts  of  a  man  who  ever 
lived  up  to  his  high  ideals  of  honor  and  his  lofty  principles  of  business 
integrity.  Of  such  pioneers  the  city  and  county  may  well  be  proud  and 
their  descendants  may  recount  their  activities  with  pardonable  gratification. 

E.  T.  EDWARDS. — Among  the  men  of  resourcefulness  and  executive 
force  who  have  sought  out  the  great  ^Midway  oil  field  as  the  center  of  their 
activities,  none  has  been  welcomed  more  heartily  and  none  is  forging  to  the 
front  more  rapidly  than  Elbert  T.  Edwards,  president  and  general  manager 
of  the  California  Well  Drilling  Company,  Incorporated,  whose  main  office 
is  on  the  well-known  Supply  Row  in  Taft.  The  company  represented  by 
Mr.  Edwards  is  young,  strong  and  aggressive.  The  special  business  is  con- 
tract drilling  of  wells,  whose  completion  is  guaranteed.  Besides  himself 
the  officers  are  H.  G.  Moss  of  Maricopa,  vice-president,  and  J.  H.  Osgood, 
of  Taft,  secretary  and  treasurer,  with  W.  W.  Stephenson,  a  director,  as  the 
Bakersfield  representative  of  the  concern.  In  addition  to  Mr.  Stephenson 
and  the  officers  J.  F.  Swank  is  also  serving  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
directors.  Incorporation  was  made  on  a  capitalization  of  $250,000,  the  stock 
being  divided  into  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  shares,  par  value  $1 
each.  The  business  of  the  company  is  not  limited  to  the  Midway  field  l)ut 
extends  through  the  west  side  and  brings  to  them  the  patronage  of  some 
of  the  greatest  organizations  doing  business  in  Kern  county  fields,  so  that 
the  general  msnager  finds  himself  crowded  to  the  utmost  with  important 
work.  Tremendous  responsibilities  rest  upon  him.  These  are  courageously 
met  and  intelligently  discharged.  In  no  respect  is  he  more  careful  than  in 
his  eft'orts  to  lessen  the  hazards  of  a  work  which,  at  best,  contains  the  ele- 
ment (if  danger  and  the  constant  fear  of  accident.  The  members  of  the 
drilling  gangs  pursue  their  work  with  the  knowledge  that  the  manager  i-^ 
using  exery  ]irecaution   to  prevent  accidents   and   injuries  to  them,   and   this 


^5^^^.^:2S,^^^...^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  255 

knowledge  is  in  itself  a  large  asset  in  giving  to  the  company  all  the  work- 
men that  are  needed,  numbering  at  times  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
The  first  eighteen  years  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Edwards  were  passed  in  Ten- 
nessee, where  he  was  born  at  Nashville  January  7,  1881.  Ever  since  leaving 
that  state  he  has  engaged  in  the  oil  industry  and  kindred  pursuits,  first  at 
Houston,  Beaumont,  Sour  Lake  and  other  Texas  oil  towns,  and  next  at 
Jennings  and  Welsh,  La.,  and  after  1909  in  California.  After  a  short  time 
in  the  Kern  river  field  he  went  to  Coalinga  and  engaged  as  a  driller  with 
the  Southeastern  Oil  Company,  Limited.  During  the  latter  part  of  1910  he 
came  to  the  Midway  field.  In  the  latter  part  of  1911  he  organized  the  Cali- 
fornia W'ell  Drilling  Company,  which  is  prepared  to  do  cementing  as  well 
as  drilling,  and  which  keeps  from  three  to  fourteen  strings  of  tools  in  use, 
using  the  rotary  tools  principally.  Among  the  concerns  for  which  the  com- 
pany has  drilled  wells  may  be  mentioned  the  West  Side,  Sunset  Monarch, 
May's  Consolidated,  Pacific  Crude,  General  Petroleum,  California  Counties, 
Northern,  Spreckels,  Maple  Leaf,  Northern  Exploration  and  other  oil  and 
gas  companies.  The  general  manager  has  many  heavy  duties  in  connection 
with  a  business  so  great  in  magnitude.  That  he  has  been  successful  proves 
him  to  be  a  man  of  force  of  character  and  high  intelligence.  Since  coming 
to  Taft  he  has  identified  himself  with  the  Petroleum  Club.  During  1912 
he  erected  a  bungalow  on  North  and  Second  streets,  Taft,  and  here  he  and 
his  wife,  formerly  Thelma  Sells,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  have  established  a 
home  that  is  sought  by  their  large  circle  of  friends  in  Kern  county. 

W.  C.  McCUTCHEN.— The  name  of  the  four  McCutchen  brothers  is 
identified  with  many  enterprises  well-known  in  the  early  history  of  Maricopa, 
wliere  they  have  been  land-owners  from  a  period  antedating  the  memorable 
rush  incident  to  the  bringing  in  of  the  world-famous  Lake  View  gusher. 
They  were  among  the  first  to  discern  oil  possibilities  in  the  region  and  events 
have  proved  the  wisdom  of  their  forecasts.  One  of  the  four,  W.  C,  a  man  of 
great  energy  and  a  leader  in  every  forward  movement  in  this  region,  has 
spent  all  of  his  life  in  the  west  with  the  exception  of  the  first  four  months, 
for  he  was  born  in  Iowa  December  4,  1853,  four  months  before  his  parents, 
P.  S.  and  Jane  McCutchen,  left  that  state  for  the  Pacific  coast.  The  long 
journey  across  the  plains  was  made  with  wagons  drawn  by  oxen.  The  first 
location  of  the  family  was  in  Placer  county,  where  the  father  engaged  in 
mining  for  a  number  of  years.  Removing  from  that  locality  to  Sacramento 
count}-,  he  ti^iok  up  land  near  Franklin  and  engaged  in  general  farming.  His 
next  removal  occurred  in  1872  and  took  him  to  Monterey  county,  where  he 
made  his  home  in  the  Cholame  valley  near  Parkfield.  During  1878  he  was 
bereaved  by  the  death  of  his  wife  and  afterward  he  went  to  live  with  his 
children,  being  for  a  time  at  Hanford.  For  some  time  he  has  resided  with  his 
s,  n,  ( leurge,  at  Maricopa.  .Although  now  ninety-three  years  of  age,  he  retains 
the  ])nssession  of  physical  and  mental  faculties  and  exhibits  a  constant  in- 
terest in  neighborhood  business  aflfairs. 

.After  the  death  of  his  mother  in  1878  the  famil}-  home  was  broken 
up  and  W.  C.  McCutchen  went  to  .Arizona  to  engage  in  mining.  For  two 
years  he  worked  in  the  silver  mines  near  Bradshaw.  Returning  to  California 
he  located  at  Hanford  in  1880  and  tcok  up  land  on  the  Lone  Oak  slough  six 
miles  southwest  of  town,  where  he  began  to  improve  a  farm  and  engage  in 
the  raising  of  crops  suited  to  the  soil  and  climate.  During  1900  he  sold  out 
and  moved  to  Tipton,  Tulare  county,  near  which  town  he  bought  land  and 
engaged  in  agricultural  enterprises.  Two  years  later  he  came  to  Bakersfield 
and  about  the  same  time  located  twent}'  acres  of  land  at  Maricopa.  During 
the  great  gold  rush  to  the  Nevada  mines  he  joined  the  Argonauts  bound  for 
that  country  and  spent  two  years  at  Goldfield,  finding  himself,  however, 
little  the  richer  f.  .r  the  venture.    Since   BX)8  he  has  had' liis  heachiuarters  at 


256  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Maricopa  and  has  been  interested  in  the  development  of  property  with  his 
brothers,  G.  W.,  J.  B.  and  R.  L.  The  company  organized  by  themselves  has 
put  down  eight  wells,  six  of  which  proved  to  be  producers,  although  only 
four  are  now  in  use,  being  flowing  wells.  In  addition  to  bearing  his  share 
in  the  management  of  these  wells  and  the  putting  down  of  new  ones,  Mr. 
McCutchen  has  devoted  considerable  attention  to  other  property  interests  and 
is  the  owner  of  real  estate  in  the  city  of  Richmond  as  well  as  orange  land 
near  Edison.  ^Vith  his  wife,  formerly  Miss  Louella  McClintock,  he  has  estab- 
lished a  home  at  Maricopa  (living  at  the  present  time  on  the  McCutchen 
Bros,  oil  property)  and  has  identified  himself  with  enterprises  for  the  upbuild- 
ing of  the  new  .town,  whose  existence  is  dependent  upon  the  oil  industry  and 
whose  future  has  the  glowing  promises  oiifered  by  that  wealth-producing 
activity.  By  a  former  marriage  he  is  the  father  of  four  children,  of  whom 
the  two  sons,  G.  P.  and  W.  W.  (twins),  are  residents  of  Maricopa,  as  is  also 
the  youngest  child,  Mrs.  G.  E.  Fritz,  while  the  third  child  and  elder  daughter, 
Mrs.  J.  A.  Fritz,  makes  her  home  at  Taft. 

JOHN  H.  CLAYMAN. — An  honored  place  among  the  pioneers  of  Cali- 
fornia is  held  by  John  H.  Clayman,  who  has  been  identified  with  the  devel- 
opment of  the  commonwealth  for  a  period  covering  more  than  fifty  years 
and  meanwhile  has  himself  been  a  large  contributor  to  the  industries  of 
agriculture,  horticulture  and  stock-raising,  Ijesides  aiding  in  the  expansion 
of  the  public-school  system  and  in  other  projects  indispensable  to  permanent 
prosperity.  It  is  to  such  pioneers  as  he  that  the  state  owes  its  remarkable 
growth  in  years  past  and  they  laid  well  the  foundation  for  future  continued 
prosperity,  so  that  it  may  be  safe  to  predict  that  the  development  of  the 
past  is  but  the  precursor  of  similar  advances  in  years  to  come,  for  all  of 
which  due  credit  must  be  given   to  the   pioneers. 

Much  of  the  active  life  of  John  H.  Clayman  was  spent  upon  the  then 
frontier,  and  it  was  not  until  1910  that  he  relinquished  agricultural  activi- 
ties, disposed  of  his  ranch  and  came  to  Bakersfield  to  enjoy  in  his  declining 
days  the  fruits  of  lung-continued  labors.  His  parents,  Benjamin  and  Per- 
melia  (Randall)  Clayman,  were  natives  respectively  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Ohio,  and  during  their  early  married  years  lived  upon  a  farm  in  Marion 
county,  Ohio,  where  occurred  the  birth  of  John  H.  Clayman  March  11,  1842. 
In  1845  the  family  removed  to  the  then  frontier  of  Indiana  and  settled  upon 
a  tract  of  unimproved  land  in  Elkhart  county,  where  the  most  arduous  labor 
was  necessary  to  improve  a  productive  farm.  The  mother  died  in  that 
county.  Of  her  seven  children  three  are  now  living,  John  H.  being  the 
fourth  in  order  of  birth.  In  1853  the  family  followed  the  tide  of  migra- 
tion still  further  toward  the  setting  sun  and  established  a  home  on  the 
desolate  prairies  of  Nebraska.  The  claim  which  they  pre-empted  was 
wild  land  and  the  task  of  developing  the  property  proved  so  formidable  that 
in  1859  the  father  with  his  family  crossed  the  plains  with  wagon  and  ox- 
teams  to  California  and  were  only  thirty-six  hours  behind  the  Mountain 
Meadow  massacre.  Accompanying  them  was  John  H.,  then  an  energetic. 
capable  youth  of  seventeen  years,  ready  and  willing  to  do  a  man's  work 
and  eager  to  see  the  vast  region  west  of  the  mountains.  With  the  hopeful 
spirit  of  youth,  he  tried  his  luck  in  placer  mines  in  Shasta  county.  The 
success  of  the  experiment  was  so  gratifying  that  he  continued  for  eight 
years  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  period  had  accumulated  an  amount 
sufficient  to  enable  him  to  invest  in  land. 

Securing  a  raw  tract  of  land  in  Tehama  county  four  miles  east  of  Red 
BlufT,  Mr.  Clayman  at  once  l)egan  the  task  of  making  the  property  pro- 
ductive and  remunerative.  At  first  he  engaged  in  grain-raising  and  in  the 
stock  industry,  but  having  ascertained  that  certain  varieties  of  fruit  would 
thrive  in  the  region  he  planted  a  large  orchard  of  apples,  prunes  and  peaches. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  257 

In  some  years  tlie  fruit  brought  him  a  very  larfje  income,  so  tliat  he  pros- 
pered beyond  his  early  expectations.  The  entire  estate  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  was  placed  under  cultivation  and  when  eventually  sold  to 
other  parties  brought  a  great  advance  over  the  original  purchase  price. 
Meanwhile  Mr.  dayman  had  interested  himself  in  movements  for  the 
material  upbuilding  of  his  township  and  county.  At  the  time  of  the  build- 
ing of  the  schoolhouse  in  the  Antelope  district  he  served  as  member  of 
the  board  of  trustees  and  his  counsel  and  progressive  spirit  proved  of  great 
assistance  in  the  enterprise.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  has  built  three 
residences  on  the  corner  of  Fourth  street  and  Chester  avenue  and  two  of 
these  he  rents,  occupying  the  third  for  a  home  for  himself  and  wife. 

The  marriage  of  John  H.  Clayman  and  Catherine  Elizabeth  Worley  was 
solemnized  at  Red  Blufif,  Cal.,  November  14,  1874,  and  was  blessed  with 
five  children,  named  as  follows :  Carrie,  now  a  teacher  in  Tehama  county ; 
Elmer,  a  resident  of  Bakersfield ;  Zola,  wife  of  Joseph  Percy  Freear,  of 
Bakersfield;  Crim  and  Mrs.  Bessie  Hosmer,  also  of  Bakersfield.  Born 
ill  A\ashington  county,  Iowa,  Mrs.  Clayman  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  James 
and  Elizabeth  (Albaugh)  Worley,  natives  of  Ohio  and  pioneer  farmers 
of  Washington  county,  Iowa.  During  1859  the  family  crossed  the  plains 
with  an  expedition  of  wagons  drawn  by  ox-teams.  For  a  time  Mr.  Worley 
engaged  in  teaming  in  Shasta  county,  but  later  he  took  up  farm  pursuits  in 
Tehama  county,  where  he  resided  until  death.  There  were  two  sons  and 
one  daughter  in  the  ^Vorley  family  and  of  these  Mrs.  Clayman  was  the 
eldest.  In  religion  she  was  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  to  which  she  since  has  adhered  with  earnest  sincerity.  Politically 
Mr.  Clayman  is  a  Republican.  Fraternally  he  has  been  connected  with  the 
Independent  CJrder  of  Odd  Fellows  and  with  his  wife  holds  membership 
with  the   Rebekahs. 

CAREY  L.  SEAGER.— The  Producers  Refining  Company,  of  which 
Mr.  Seager  is  secretary,  treasurer  and  superintendent,  ranks  among  the 
leading  organizations  of  its  kind  in  the  Kern  river  field.  Not  only  does  its 
plant  utilize  the  entire  pre  duct  from  the  Lackawanna  lease  of  eighty  acres  in 
the  Kern  river  oil  fields,  but  in  addition  crude  oil  of  the  West  side  fields 
is  bought  in  large  quantities.  An  average  of  twenty-five  hundred  barrels 
of  crude  oil  is  treated  each  month.  From  the  Kern  river  crude  oils  the 
following  products  are  made:  kerosene;  34  degrees  stove  distillate;  gas  en- 
gine cylinder  oil ;  autogram,  the  copyrighted  title  of  a  cylinder  oil  particu- 
larly adapted  to  the  use  of  automobiles  and  now  winning  the  highest  praise 
from  its  users;  light  engine  oil,  heavy  engine  oil,  steam  cylinder  oil,  fuel 
distillate  and  asphalt.  The  crude  oils  of  the  west  side  are  utilized  in  the 
manufacture  of  four  products,  viz.:  gasoline;  gas  engine  distillate  of  grades 
Nos.  1,  2  and  3;  fuel  distillate  and  asphalt.  The  lubricants  are  admittedly 
of  a  superior  grade.  Their  value  is  recognized  even  by  the  experts  con- 
nected with  the  most  formidable  rivals  and  competitors  of  the  companv. 
while  the  quality  of  both  kerosene  and  gasoline  is  of  the  highest  grade. 

Of  eastern  descent,  belonging  to  a  family  of  high  standing  and  excep- 
tional culture,  Carey  L.  Seager  was  born  at  Randolph,  Cattaraugus  county, 
N.  Y.,  August  12,  1884,  and  was  the  eldest  of  three  children.  The  second 
son,  Roy  E.,  is  engaged  with  the  Producers  Refining  Company,  and  the 
youngest  child.  Pearl  J.,  is  employed  as  a  bookkeeper  with  this  concern. 
The  lather,  George  H.  Seager.  was  born  and  reared  on  a  New  York  farm 
and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  married  Miss  Julia  F.  Mack,  a  girl  of  fifteen  who 
had  been  his  schoolmate.  Shortly  after  his  early  marriage  he  began  to  work 
in  the  oil  refining  industry,  to  which  his  later  years  have  been  devoted  with 
such  success  that  he  now  ranks  as  an  expert  in  the  construction  and  operation 
of  refineries  as  well  as  in  the  production  of  kerosene,  gasoline  and  high-grade 


258  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

lubricating  oils.  As  assistant  superintendent  he  had  active  charge  of  the 
construction  work  of  the  Gulf  refinery  owned  by  the  Gulf  Refining  Com- 
pany at  Port  Arthur,  Tex.  He  served  as  superintendent  for  the  Union  Oil 
Company  at  the  time  they  constructed  the  addition  to  their  refinery  at 
Oleum  on  San  Pablo  bay.  At  present  he  is  engaged  in  the  buying,  selling 
and  mixing  or  compounding  of  oils  at  Tulsa,  Okla.,  where  he  makes  his 
business  headquarters. 

Although  a  native  of  York  state,  the  earliest  recollections  of  Carey  L. 
Seager  are  associated  with  Pennsylvania,  for  in  his  infancy  the  family 
established  a  home  at  Corry,  that  state,  and  later  lived  in  Chester,  Dela- 
ware county.  Eventually  his  mother  established  her  permanent  home  at 
Warren,  Pa.,  and  there  he  spent  two  years  in  the  high  school.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  was  graduated  from  the  Warren  Business  College.  Shortly 
after  graduation  he  joined  his  father  at  Port  Arthur,  Tex.,  where  for  four 
years  he  was  connected  with  the  Gulf  Refining  Company,  serving  first  as 
assistant  stillman  and  later  as  foreman.  His  next  experience  was  as  assist- 
ant to  his  father  while  the  latter  superintended  the  construction  of  the  re- 
finery for  the  Union  Oil  Company  at  Oleum.  Later  he  was  given  work  for 
nine  months  as  stillman  with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  at  Point  Rich- 
mond, Contra  Costa  county.  Meanwhile,  having  determined  to  start  a  re- 
finery of  his  own,  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet  with  members  of  the 
San  Francisco  firm  of  W.  P.  Fuller  &  Co.,  compounders,  and  they  encouraged 
him  in  his  project.  In  addition,  they  rendered  him  practical  help,  introduc- 
ing him  to  George  Calhoun  of  the  National  refinery.  The  latter  agreed  to 
form  a  partnership  on  equal  terms  with  Mr.  Seager,  the  two  taking  a 
lease  of  the  Buckeye  refining  plant  and  continuing  together  for  two  3^ears. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  time  Mr.  Seager  took  a  sub-lease  from  C.  Apple- 
garth  of  the  Volcan  Refining  Company,  which  under  the  title  of  C.  L. 
Seager  &  Co.,  he  operated  for  seven  months. 

Through  a  deal  with  Dr.  Liscomb  of  Pasadena,  Cal.,  made  in  May  of 
1911,  Mr.  Seager  turned  in  his  property  and  took  stock  for  it  in  the  Pro- 
ducers Refining  Compan}',  which  since  has  made  many  valuable  improve- 
ments. The  officers  of  the  company  besides  Mr.  Seager  are  as  follows:  Dr. 
A.  H.  Liscomb,  president;  William  Ellery  of  San  Francisco,  first  vice- 
president;  and  H.  S.  Bridge  of  San  Francisco,  second  vice-president.  Em- 
ployment is  furnished  to  six  men  regularly.  The  one  ambition  of  every 
worker  is  to  maintain  a  product  of  admitted  perfection  and  a  constant  stim- 
ulus to  their  work  is  given  them  by  the  enthusiasm  and  energy  of  the  super- 
intendent. The  latter  has  his  home  in  the  oil  fields,  his  family  comprising  a 
daughter,  Margaret  Pearl,  and  his  wife,  who  prior  to  their  marriage  in 
New  York  state  in  1902  was  Miss  Pearl  G.  Bouton.  While  living  in  Penn- 
sylvania he  became  a  member  of  the  Maccabees  at  Warren  and  later  he  was 
initiated  into  Masonry  at  Port  Arthur,  Tex.,  becoming  a  member  of  Cos- 
mopolitan Lodge  No.  872,  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  that  place.  Since  coming  to  the 
west  the  demands  upon  his  time  by  business  aflFairs  have  been  so  engrossing 
that  -he  has  not  taken  an  active  part  in  fraternal  or  political  matters, 
although  always  ready  to  assist  in  any  movement  for  the  permanent  devel- 
iipment  of  Kern  county  or  the  expansion  of  its  great  resources. 

EDWARD  GARFIELD  NORRIS.— When  the  Norris  family  disposed 
of  their  interests  in  Missouri  and  made  the  long  journey  to  Bakersfield  with 
the  anticipation  of  establishing  a  permanent  home,  Edward  Garfield  Norris, 
whose  birth  had  occurred  near  Kansas  City  on  the  17th  of  April,  188L  was 
a  small  boy  only  two  years  of  age,  hence  his  earliest  recollections  cluster 
around  Kern  county  and  the  associations  of  a  lifetime  endear  him  to  the  city 
of  his  residence  and  business  afifiliations.  Educated  in  the  grammar  and 
high   schools   of   Bakersfield.   upon   the   completion   of  the   regular   course   of 


^yCA^CyTL^--^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  261 

study  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  pUimber  with  C.  H.  Ouiiicy,  re- 
maining with  that  gentleman  until  he  had  acquired  a  thorough  preparatory 
training.  Later  he  completed  the  trade  in  a  large  shop  in  Los  Angeles, 
where  he  had  the  best  possible  facilities  for  gaining  a  complete  knowledge 
of  the  many  details  connected  with  the  occupation.  Upon  returning  to 
Bakersfield  he  secured  employment  as  a  journe3'man  and  worked  for  others 
for  three  and  one-half  years.  Meanwhile  he  had  cherished  the  plan  ot 
embarking  in  business  for  himself.  During  November  of  1907  he  carried 
out  the  plan  and  established  the  Kern  Plumbing  Company,  of  which  he 
continued  to  be  the  sole  proprietor  for  the  first  two  years.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  that  time  he  sold  a  one-half  interest  to  Edward  Miller  and  the  two 
gentlemen  immediately  purchased  a  lot  at  No.  517  Grove  street,  where  they 
erected  a  building  to  be  used  for  warerooms,  shop  and  ofifice.  Since  begin- 
ning in  the  new  structure  they  have  engaged  in  sheet  metal  work  and  have 
carried  a  full  line  of  plumbing  and  heating  supplies,  by  their  excellent  busi- 
ness methods  and  recognized  skill  having  been  able  to  secure  and  carry  to 
completion  many  important  contracts  for  the  plumbing  and  heating  of  public 
buildings  and  residences. 

For  a  time  Mr.  Norris  was  honored  with  the  presidency  of  the  Master 
Plumbers"  Association  and  he  still  is  one  of  its  most  influential  members. 
Fraternally  he  holds  active  connections  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 
The  residence  which  he  erected  at  No.  815  N  street  he  still  owns,  but  lately 
he  has  built  and  now  occupies  a  home  at  No.  615  Flower  street.  East 
P.akersfield,  which  is  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Norris,  whom  he  married  in 
Pjakersfield  and  who  was  Miss  Mabel  Hunt,  a  native  of  Missouri.  The 
pleasant  and  comfortable  home  is  brightened  by  the  presence  of  one  son, 
Kenneth  Edward. 

GEORGE  W.  McCUTCHEN.— The  genealogy  of  the  McCutchen  fam- 
ily is  traced  to  Scotland,  whence  religious  persecution  caused  a  number  of 
that  name  to  seek  refuge  in  Ireland,  later  generations  establishing  the 
family  in  Georgia.  After  having  served  with  conspicuous  valor  in  the  War 
of  1812  James  Corsey  McCutchen  removed  from  his  native  Georgia  to  Vir- 
ginia and  settled  upon  a  plantation.  Marriage  united  him  with  a  daughter 
of  John  Nevins.  an  Irishman  by  nativity  and  a  sailor  by  occupation,  who 
having  landed  in  Boston  during  the  course  of  the  Revolution,  enlisted  in  the 
American  army  and  fought  until  the  close  of  the  war.  later  settling  in  Vir- 
ginia upon  a  farm.  Preston  S.  McCutchen,  son  of  the  soldier  of  1812,  was 
born  in  St.  Charles,  ]\To.,  February  24,  1820,  and  at  Bentonsport,  Iowa,  mar- 
ried Jane  Wilsey.  a  native  of  LTtica.  N.  Y.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia directed  his  attention  to  this  part  of  the  country.  During  the  summer 
of  1850  he  crossed  the  plains  from  Bentonsport,  Iowa,  (where  he  was  living 
at  the  time),  and  began  to  mine  for  gold,  although  without  any  special 
success.  However,  he  was  so  pleased  with  the  west  that  he  remained  until 
1853,  and  then  returned  only  for  the  purpose  of  getting  his  family,  who  in 
the  meantime  were  living  in  Iowa.  The  summer  of  1854  found  the  family 
en  route  to  their  new  home.  Arriving  in  safety,  they  established  themselves 
at  Wisconsin  Hill,  Placer  county,  where  May  6,  1855.  occurred  the  birth  of 
George  W.  McCutchen,  the  third  son.  His  older  brothers  are  James  P..  and 
\\'arren  C,  the  former  a  dairyman  living  at:  Old  River  in  Kern  county,  and 
the  latter  an  operator  in  the  Maricopa  oil  field. 

Besides  these  three  older  children  five  others  were  born  during  the  resi- 
dence of  the  family  in  Placer  and  Sacramento  counties.  They  are  named 
as  follows:  Edmund  W..  of  Bakersfield;  Mary  A.,  wife  of  C.  W.  Johnson, 
who  has  charge  of  the  Phoenix  Distributing  Company  at  ]\Taricopa ;  Clara 
J.,  widow  of  W.  G.  Wallace,  and  a  resident  of  Hanford,  this  state;  Mrs. 
Harriet  C.  Scott,  of  Stockton ;  and  Robert  L.,  residing  at  Old  River  in  Kern 
county.     After    the    father    had    lived    about    four    years    in    Placer    county, 


262  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

meantime  engaging  in  placer  mining  and  running  a  dairy,  in  1858,  he  moved 
to  Sacramenro  county,  settling  at  Georgetown,  seventeen  miles  south  of  the 
capital  city.  Upon  a  tract  of  land  he  took  up  in  its  primeval  state  he  en- 
gaged in  ranching  and  his  children  were  sent  to  the  schools  of  that  neigh- 
borhood. After  leaving  school  George  W.  began  to  make  a  business  of  hunt- 
ing, and  with  his  brothers  made  several  trips  from  San  Francisco  by  steamer 
to  Mexican  ports,  where  he  engaged  in  shooting  birds  of  plumage.  The 
feathers  were  marketed  in  New  York.  During  1871  he  became  interested 
in  sheep-raising  in  Monterey  county,  and  in  1877  went  to  Tulare  county, 
where  with  his  brothers  he  engaged  in  shooting  ducks  for  the  San  Francisco 
market.  Later,  with  his  brothers,  J.  B.  and  R.  L.,  he  mined  in  Arizona  for 
two  years,  thence  came  to  Kern  county  in  1885  and  took  up  ranch  land  at 
Old  River.  The  ensuing  years  were  devoted  to  farming  and  stock-raising, 
although  in  addition  he  engaged  in  hunting  during  the  winter  months  and 
made  several  trips  to  Mexico.  In  1898  he  spent  the  summer  in  the  Klondike, 
but  his  prospecting  tours  did  not  bring  any  reward,  and  he  returned  to 
California  in  October.  During  October  of  1909  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Mrs.  Martha  E.  Colly,  a  native  of  Missouri. 

Upon  the  opening  of  the  Sunset  field  Mr.  McCutrhen  and  his  brother, 
Robert  L.,  located  the  north  one-half  of  section  2,  township  11,  range  24,  and 
the  west  one-half  of  section  1,  township  11,  range  24,  also  a  fractional  26-12- 
24,  and  all  of  32-12-24.  Their  own  ten  acres  at  2-11-24  is  undeveloped,  but 
the)'  control  a  leasehold  on  the  same  section,  comprising  twenty  acres  one- 
half  mile  north  of  Maricopa,  also  lease  twenty  acres  to  the  Maricopa  Queen 
Oil  Company  on  32-12-23.  The  new  vi^ell.  No.  7,  brought  in  February  27, 
1913,  is  a  gusher  and  produces  sixteen  hundred  barrels  per  day,  while  No.  6, 
after  being  re-drilled  and  cemented,  is  a  twelve-hundred  barrel  per  day  well. 
The  firm  is  composed  of  the  four  brothers,  George  ^^^  and  ^^'arren  C,  of 
Maricopa,  also  Robert  L.  and  James  B.,  of  Old  River,  this  county.  Their 
expectations  have  been  rewarded  by  a  large  measure  of  success.  They  now 
have  six  producing  wells  with  a  net  production  of  nine  thousand  barrels  per 
month.  Not  only  are  they  successful  as  oil  operators,  but  in  public  affairs 
they  have  been  prominent,  in  ranching  enterprising,  in  their  friendships  con- 
stant, and  in  character  conscientious,  typical  of  our  fine  class  of  American 
citizenship. 

RALPH  E.  GALLOWAY.— The  superintendent  of  the  Visalia  Midway 
Oil  Company,  one  of  the  pioneer  concerns  operating  in  the  North  Midway 
field,  has  been  identified  with  Bakersfield  and  the  San  Joaquin  valley  since 
1892,  the  year  of  his  graduation  from  college.  Practically  all  of  his  active 
life  has  been  identified  with  Kern  county,  whose  resources  he  has  aided  in 
developing  through  the  aid  of  his  own  aggressive  energy  and  optimistic  faith. 
Illinois  is  his  native  commonwealth,  but  in  boyhood  he  lived  mostly  in  Wis- 
consin, where  his  father.  Rev.  John  B.  Galloway,  an  ordained  minister  in  the 
United  Presbj'terian  denomination,  held  pastorates  in  various  towns  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  state.  Throughout  all  of  his  life  this  devoted  minister 
has  labored  with  the  greatest  sacrifice  for  the  welfare  of  the  church.  When 
a  mere  boy,  in  his  native  shire  of  Ayr  in  Scotland,  he  was  trained  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  Bible  and  a  desire  to  become  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  Scarcely 
fourteen  years  of  age  when  the  family  crossed  the  ocean  and  settled  at  Sparta, 
111.,  he  directed  his  studies  toward  theology  and  by  his  own  unaided  exertions 
paid  his  way  through  college,  graduating  from  Monmouth  College  with  the 
degree  of  A.  B.,  and  later  taking  a  complete  course  in  theology  in  an  institu- 
tion at  Xenia,  Ohio.  Meanwhile  the  Civil  war  had  cast  its  dark  cloud  over 
the  country.  Taking  up  the  cause  of  the  Union,  he  offered  his  services  to 
his  adopted  country  and  was  assigned  to  the  One  Hundred  Thirty-second 
Illinois  Infantry,  in  which  he  served  as  corporal  until  the  end  of  the  great 
struggle.     Later,  having  completed  his  college  course  and  entered  the  min- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  263 

istry  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  he  held  pastorates  in  Southern  Wis- 
consin. Since  his  retirement  from  the  ministry  he  has  made  his  home  at 
Poyuette,  that  state. 

R}'  the  marriage  of  Re\-.  Jolm  r>.  (iallmvay  tn  Matilchi  Kidchxi,  who  was 
born  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  died  at  Clarence,  Iowa,  in  1878,  there  were  four 
children,  all  but  one  of  whom  still  survive.  The  eldest,  Ralph  E.,  was  born 
at  Galesburg,  111.,  July  1,  1872,  and  attended  public  schools  in  Wisconsin. 
After  he  had  graduated  from  the  Sparta  (111.1  high  school  he  taught  for  two 
years  in  Waukesha  county.  Wis.,  earning  the  money  with  which  he  defrayed 
his  expenses  through  Carroll  College  at  Waukesha.  Having  received  his 
diploma  in  1892  from  the  scientific  department  of  that  institution,  he  left 
college  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world  and  soon  afterward  arrived  in 
Rakersfield,  a  small  place  at  that  time  in  comparison  with  its  present  metro- 
politan proportions.  Pirief  experiences  as  a  clerk  in  the  Hirschfield  store,  as 
a  law  student  under  Judge  Wiley  and  as  a  collection  agent,  made  him  fa- 
miliar with  conditions  in  the  community.  During  1894  he  became  a  reporter 
on  the  Echo,  which  at  the  time  was  published  weekly.  When  the  daily  was 
established  he  became  city  editor.  Employment  with  the  Californian  for  two 
years,  during  a  portion  of  which  period  he  engaged  as  city  editor,  was  fol- 
lowed by  his  appointment  as  editor  of  the  Labor  Journal.  This  editorship 
he  resigned  at  the  expiration  of  two  and  one-half  years.  In  1910,  with  F.  C. 
Noel  as  a  partner,  he  founded  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  Farmer,  the  circulation 
of  which  he  built  up  to  large  proportions.  Since  selling  his  interest  in  that 
paper  in  April,  1912,  he  has  acted  as  superintendent  uf  the  \'isalia  Midway 
Oil  Company,  a  concern  in  which  he  has  held  stock  from  the  start  and  which 
has  developed  into  one  of  the  best  producing  properties  of  its  size  in  Kern 
county. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  Bakersfield  Chamber  of  Commerce  Mr.  Gal- 
loway has  been  one  of  its  active  workers  and  interested  members.  Politically 
he  has  been  independent  from  the  time  of  casting  his  first  ballot,  favoring 
men  and  principles  rather  than  any  specified  party  organization.  For  years 
after  coming  to  the  west  he  remained  a  bachelor,  but  May  3,  1909,  at  Bakers- 
field,  he  established  domestic  ties,  being  then  united  with  Mrs.  Lulu  M.  San- 
ford,  a  native  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa.  Of  a  genial,  friendly  temperament,  he 
has  found  pleasure  in  an  active  association  with  various  fraternities.  Among 
the  organizations  of  which  he  is  a  member  we  mention  the  following:  Al- 
buquerque Lodge  No.  461,  B.  P.  O.  E. ;  Kern  Lodge  No.  76,  K.  of  P.,  and 
Uniform  Rank,  in  which  he  has  served  as  an  officer  and  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  California;  Bakersfield  Aerie  No.  93,  Order  of  Eagles; 
Bakersfield  Camp  No.  460,  Woodmen  of  the  ^^'orld,  and  the  Brotherhood  of 
American  Yeomen. 

HON.  ROWEN  IRWIN.— Very  early  in  the  colonization  of  the  new 
world  the  Scotch  family  of  Irwin  left  their  ancestral  associations  in  the  high- 
lands and  crossed  the  Atlantic  ocean  to  Virginia,  where  they  became  capable 
planters.  Some  of  the  name  removed  to  South  Carolina  and  Isaac  Irwin,  a 
native  of  that  commonwealth,  established  the  name  in  Kentucky,  where  at 
line  time  he  served  as  sheriff  of  Jeflferson  county  which  has  Louisville  as  its 
county-seat.  After  a  short  time  he  crossed  the  Ohio  river  into  Indiana 
and  there  spent  his  last  years  upon  a  frontier  farm.  His  son  and  namesake,  a 
native  of  P>ankfort,  Ky.,  and  for  years  a  resident  of  Putnam  county,  Ind.. 
followed  agricultural  pursuits  for  a  livelihood,  while  as  a  gratuitous  offering 
to  the  cause  of  religion  he  preached  in  the  Baptist  denomination.  For  fifteen 
years  he  acted  as  pastor  of  one  church,  giving  much  of  his  time  to  its  upbuild- 
ing and  to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  congregation,  doing  all  this  work  with- 
out thought  of  remuneration.  In  that  pioneer  era  it  was  customary  for  the 
brainiest  of  the  pioneer  farmers  in  any  community  to  serve  as  preacher,  fill 


264  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  country  pulpit  on  Sunday,  unite  the  3^oung  couples  in  marriage  and  read 
the  last  prayer  over  the  dead.  P'or  such  a  task  he  was  well  qualified  by  his 
sympathetic  heart,  kindly  disposition,  splendid  reasoning  faculties  and  deep 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christianity.  During  1866  he  removed  to  Nebraska 
and  took  up  land  on  Elk  creek,  five  miles  south  of  Tecumseh,  Johnson 
county,  a  district  then  beyond  the  confines  of  civilization.  White  settlers 
had  not  yet  penetrated  regions  so  remote  from  the  east,  but  he  did  not  lack 
for  neighbors,  the  Indians  being  in  close  proximity  and  making  frequent 
visits  to  his  cabin  in  order  to  beg.  At  such  times  it  was  the  custom  for 
the  Indian  chief  to  come  first,  salute  and  appeal,  while  the  others  would 
remain  at  a  distance.  If  his  request  was  granted,  a  squaw  would  come  to  the 
cabin  and  carry  away  food  or  clothing  that  had  been  presented  to  them. 
Later  white  settlers  began  to  arrive  and  the  savages  receded ;  improvements 
were  rapidly  made  and  the  country  took  on  an  aspect  of  prosperity.  It  was 
the  privilege  of  the  pioneer  preacher  to  enjoy  some  of  the  later  prosperity 
and  when  he  died  in  1899  the  country  bure  little  resemblance  to  its  aspect 
at  the  time  of  his  arrival. 

During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Indiana  Rev.  Isaac  Irwin  had 
married  jane  Leatherman,  who  was  born  in  that  state  and  died  in  Nebraska 
during  1900.  Her  father.  Rev.  John  Leatherman,  a  native  of  Germany  and  a 
pioneer  of  Putnam  county,  Ind.,  served  in  the  ministry  of  the  Baptist  Church 
in  that  locality  until  his  death.  There  were  twelve  children  in  the  Irwin 
family  and  all  but  one  of  these  are  still  living.  Six  reside  in  California, 
namely :  Mrs.  Avert  and  Mrs.  Reynolds,  of  Hanford,  and  Mrs.  Ball,  of  Los 
Angeles ;  John,  now  district  attorney  of  Kings  county  ;  Washington,  who  fol- 
lows the  carpenter's  trade  at  Taft ;  and  Rowen,  district  attorney  of  Kern 
county.  The  last-named  was  born  at  Reelsville,  Putnam  county,  Ind.,  May 
13,  1858,  and  at  the  age  of  eight  years  accompanied  his  parents  to  Nebraska, 
where  during  three  months  of  each  year  he  attended  the  country  schools. 
The  balance  of  the  year  was  devoted  to  hard  manual  labor  on  the  farm.  A 
seeming  chance  occurrence  decided  his  destiny.  When  a  mere  lad  he  at- 
tended a  murder  trial  at  Pawnee  City,  Neb.  It  was  his  first  observation  of 
law  cases  and  he  became  deeply  interested,  watching  with  peculiar  interest 
the  movements  of  the  judge.  When  he  learned  that  the  jurist  received  a 
salary  of  $3,000  per  year  his  interest  deepened.  Afterward  he  mentioned  the 
matter  to  his  father,  who  verified  the  report  as  to  salary  and  encouraged  the 
boy  when  he  announced  that  some  day  he  would  be  a  lawyer.  His  ambition 
was  realized  by  his  own  later  efforts. 

Upon  coming  to  California  during  1881  Rowen  Irwin  secured  employ- 
ment in  Kings  count)',  working  with  headers  and  threshing  machines  during 
the  season.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  began  to  study  law  at  Hanford. 
The  following  summer  found  him  again  working  on  a  header.  In  this  way 
he  continued  until  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1883.  He  won  his  first  case 
and  received  a  fee  of  $20.  Admitted  first  to  the  superior  court,  he  later  was 
admitted  to  practice  before  the  supreme  court  and  carried  on  professional 
work  at  Hanford,  where  he  served  as  district  attorney  from  1898  until  1902. 
During  January  of  1903  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  opened  an  office  and  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law,  which  he  has  continued  with  increasing  success.  With 
him  came  to  this  city  his  wife,  whom  he  had  married  in  Portersville,  Tulare 
county,  and  who  was  Miss  Mildred  Barnes,  a  native  of  Missouri.  In  fra- 
ternal relations  he  holds  membership  with  the  Eagles.  Politically  he  has 
been  a  Democrat  ever  since  he  began  to  study  public  questions  and  as  his 
party's  candidate  he  served  as  member  of  the  assembly  in'  the  state  legis- 
lature during  the  session  of  1909,  also  during  two  special  sessions.  As  a 
legislator  he  aimed  to  promote  the  welfare  of  his  constituents,  but  also  gave 
stanch  support  to  enterprises  for  the  general  good.     The  Democratic  party 


6^^^mi^^^^yt^^c 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY  267 

in  lyiO  iiDiiiiiiated  him  fur  district  attorney  and  he  received  the  verdict  of 
popular  appro\'al  at  the  election.  Since  he  took  the  oath  of  office  in  Jan- 
uary, 1911.  for  a  term  of  four  years  he  has  devoted  himself  closely  to  the 
duties  of  the  office  and  thereby  has  added  prestige  to  an  already  enviable 
reputation.  The  office  is  one  which  calls  fur  fearless  honesty  and  more  than 
ordinary  ability.  High  as  are  its  demands,  he  has  proved  equal  to  them  and 
has  met  every  crisis  with  a  clear  brain,  accurate  judgment  and  admirable 
reasoning  faculties. 

EDMUND  W.  McCUTCHEN.— The  lineage  of  the  AlcCutchen  family 
is  traced  back  through  a  line  of  honored  ancestors  in  Scotland  to  one  of  the 
gallant  lieutenants  who  served  in  the  army  of  the  illustrious  Robert  Bruce 
during  the  fourteenth  century.  The  colonial  period  of  American  history 
found  some  of  the  name  in  the  new  world,  established  upon  Virginian  soil. 
Very  early  in  the  nineteenth  century  a  member  of  the  family  left  the  Old 
Dominion  and  followed  the  westward  tide  of  emigration  across  mountains 
and  rivers  into  Alissouri,  where  he  took  up  new  land  and  developed  a  farm. 
In  the  family  of  this  pioneer  was  a  son,  Preston,  born  in  Callaway  county, 
AIo.,  and  reared  in  Keokuk  'county,  Iowa,  where  he  took  up  agricultural 
pursuits.  While  living  in  Iowa  he  married  Miss  Jane  Wilsey,  a  native  of 
Utica,  N.  Y.,  and  by  that  union  were  born  five  sons  and  three  daughters, 
all  still  living,  the  fourth  of  these,  Edmund  W.,  having  been  born  at  Moke- 
lumne  Hill,  Calaveras  county,  Cal.,  October  18,  1856,  about  six  years  after 
the  arrival  of  the  family  in  the  west.  It  was  during  1850  that  the  father 
had  brought  his  family  across  the  plains  with  wagon  and  ox-teams  and  had 
settled  in  Calaveras  county,  where  he  engaged  in  mining  at  Mokelumne  Hill. 
Not  finding  the  occupation  as  profitable  as  he  had  anticipated,  he  deter- 
mined to  devote  himself  to  agriculture  and  accordingly  moved  to  the  vicin- 
ity of  Sacramento,  where  he  developed  a  grain  and  stock  farm.  Removing 
to  Monterey  county  in  1872,  he  again  took  up  general  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  Not  far  from  the  fertile  Cholame  valley  he  took  up  land  and  began 
to  till  the  soil.  For  a  long  period  he  devoted  his  attention  closely  to  farm- 
ing at  that  place,  but  eventually  the  infirmities  of  age  obliged  him  to  relin- 
quish manual  labors  and  now  at  the  age  of  ninety-three  years  he  is  living 
quietly  and  contentedly  at  Maricopa,  Kern  county.  His  wife  passed  away 
when  advanced  in  years. 

After  having  spent  his  boyhood  days  mostly  on  the  home  farm  near 
Franklin,  Sacramento  county,  Edmund  W.  McCutchen  accomijanied  his 
father  to  Monterey  county  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  and  continued  in  the 
stock  business  there  until  twenty-one.  From  1877  until  1880  he  engaged 
in  mining  in  MohaVe  county,  Ariz.  Upon  his  return  to  .California  he  be- 
came interested  in  farming  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  Selecting  a  location 
near  Hanford  he  devoted  about  one  thousand  acres  to  wheat,  using  headers 
in  the  harvesting  of  the  Crops.  For  ten  years  he  continued  in  the  same 
location,  but  in  1890  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  bought  a  ranch  of  sixty 
acres  nine  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield.  The  land  was  devoted  to  fruit 
and  alfalfa,  and  it  was  not  until  ten  years  after  he  had  bought  the  property 
that  he  discontinued  such  activities  for  oil  operations,  organizing  the  Supe- 
rior Oil  Company,  with  himself  as  a  director  and  manager.  Several  wells 
were  put  down  (Sunset  field),  the  land  was  patented,  and  the  investment 
proved  profitable,  but  after  a  time  the  interests  were  sold  to  other  parties. 
Next  Mr.  McCutchen  became  a  member  of  the  Eight  Oil  Company  operating 
in  the  North  Midway  district  and  owning  lands  and  wells  of  excellent  value. 
In  these  he  still  retains  a  large  interest.  Besides  his  other  enterprises  he 
engaged  in  mining  at  Goldfield  for  two  years  with  fairly  satisfactory  re- 
sults. Successful  in  striking  oil,  he  ranks  among  the  best  informed  men  that 
Kern  county  has  contributed  to  this  industry  and  his  successful  operations 
have   brought    him    financial    independence.     Mr.    McCutchen    is    developing 


268  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  citrus  resources  of  Kern  county,  having  selected  for  his  operations  forty 
acres  at  Trevis,  fourteen  miles  east  of  liakersfield.  He  sunk  a  well  three 
hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  and  installed  a  pumping  plant  which  supplies 
ample  water  facilities.  On  his  ranch  he  has  a  nursery  of  orange  trees,  of 
which  he  makes  a  specialty.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  mention  that  during  the 
cold  winter  of  1912-13  not  even  his  seed-bed  stock  nor  young  grafts  were 
injured.     About  one-half  of  the  nursery  is  set  out  to  navel  oranges. 

With  his  wife,  whom  he  married  in  Visalia,  and  who  was  Miss  Kate 
Thompson,  a  native  of  Florence,  Nebr.,  Mr.  McCutchen  is  occupying  his 
own  comfortable  residence,  located  on  the  corner  of  Seventeenth  and  D 
streets,  Bakersfield.  Having  no  children  of  their  own,  they  have  reared 
two  of  Mrs.  McCutchen's  nieces.  Iris  Taylor  is  now  Mrs.  C.  W.  Beatty, 
and  Lizzie  Taylor  is  the  wife  of  R.  V.  Dorn,  both  of  Maricopa. 

MYRON  HOLMES.— The  genealogy  of  the  Holmes  family  is  traced 
back  to  an  old  family  of  England  and  a  scion  of  that  honored  race  founded 
the  name  in  the  new  world  when  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  New  York.  Will- 
iam J.,  a  son  of  the  original  immigrant,  was  born  in  Schoharie  county,  N.  Y., 
and  early  learned  the  rudiments  of  agriculture'  as  conducted  in  that  locality 
and  era.  Establishing  a  home  of  his  own,  he  chose  as  his  wife  Miss  Marcia 
Partridge,  a  native  of  Schoharie  county  and  a  daughter  of  Adelbert  Part- 
ridge, for  years  prominent  in  the  community  as  a  manufacturing  cooper. 
Hale  and  hearty  notwithstanding  their  advanced  years  (for  he  is  eighty-five 
and  she  eighty-one)  William  J.  and  Marcia  Holmes  now  reside  in  Wellesley, 
Mass.,  surrounded  by  the  comforts  that  have  been  secured  through  their  own 
earlier,  assiduous  efforts.  All  of  their  seven  children  are  still  living,  but  the 
third,  Myron,  is  the  only  one  residing  in  California.  Born  at  Richmondville, 
Schoharie  county,  N.  Y.,  August  15,  1860,  he  received  public-school  advan- 
tages and  upon  leaving  school  gave  his  whole  attention  to  farming.  With 
a  desire  to  be  independent,  he  bought  a  farm  adjacent  to  the  old  homestead 
and  began  for  himself  as  a  general  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  which  occupation 
he  followed  in  the  same  locality  for  a  number  of  years. 

Selling  out  his  eastern  interests  in  1890  and  locating  in  Bakersfield  the 
following  3'ear,  Mr.  Holmes  here  bought  the  corner  of  I  and  Eleventh  streets, 
built  a  house  and  has  since  made  his  home  at  the  same  place.  Meanwhile 
he  spent  his  first  year  in  Kern  county  as  superintendent  of  a  farm  owned  by 
H.  H.  Fish  and  his  second  year  as  manager  of  the  Kingsley  dairy,  after 
which  he  clerked  for  six  months  in  a  grocery.  Since  1894  he  has  been  a 
trusted  employe  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  For  a  considerable 
period  he  was  connected  with  the  engineering  department,  but  in  1900  he 
was  promoted  to  be  storekeeper  for  the  company  and  since  then  has  had 
charge  of  the  company's  stores,  a  position  of  great  responsibility,  for  which 
duties  he  has  proved  eminently  qualified. 

Throughout  his  entire  active  life  Mr.  Holmes  has  been  interested  in  the 
development  of  the  free-school  system  and  since  coming  west  he  served  for 
eight  years  as  a  member  of  the  Bakersfield  Board  of  Education.  During  the 
period  of  his  service  additions  were  built  to  the  Emerson  and  Lowell  schools, 
making  of  the  buildings  modern  structures  with  complete  equipment  for  edu- 
cational work.  The  Hawthorne  school  was  erected  during  his  service  on  the 
board  and  a  block  of  land  was  bought  on  A  and  Eighteenth  streets  as  a  site 
for  a  new  school.  In  his  marriage  Mr.  Holmes  became  allied  with  a  family 
deeply  interested  in  educational  affairs  and  he  and  his  wife  have  worked  in 
unison,  striving  to  secure  for  their  own  children  and  for  other  children  in 
the  city  the  best  advantages  possible,  in  order  that  they  might  be  qualified 
for  the  duties  of  life. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holmes  were  married  at  Richmondville,  N.  Y.,  January 
16,  1883,  Mrs.  Holmes  having  been  Miss  Lillie  Mann,  a  native  of  West  Ful- 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  269 

tun,  Schoharie  county,  and  a  daughter  of  Almarien  and  Hannah  (Chapman) 
Mann.  Her  father  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  but  spent  the  greater  part  of 
his  life  in  New  York,  where  his  death  occurred  and  where  his  widow  still 
makes  her  home.  Of  their  thirteen  children  all  but  one  lived  to  mature 
years  and  eleven  still  survive,  Mrs.  Holmes  being  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth. 
All  have  engaged  in  educational  work  as  teachers  or  superintendents  of 
schools  at  some  period  in  their  lives,  the  youngest  son,  Manley  Burr  Mann, 
a  graduate  of  Cornell  University  and  a  successful  attorney-at-law,  having 
taught  in  young  manhood  in  order  to  aid  in  defraying  his  university  ex- 
penses. 

F"or  a  short  time  prior  to  her  marriage  Mrs.  Holmes  also  taught  school 
and  she,  too,  was  successful  in  the  work.  Of  her  marriage  there  are  four 
children,  namely :  George  Erwin,  a  graduate  of  the  Kern  county  high  school, 
now  employed  as  electrical  operator  with  the  San  Joaquin  Light  and  Power 
Corporation  :  Marguerite,  also  a  graduate  of  the  high  school,  now  engaged 
as  sten(  grapher  with  the  Western  Water  Company ;  Myron  Burr  and 
Charles  Raymond,  members  respectively  of  the  high  school  classes  of  1913 
and  1914.  The  eldest  son  married  Hattie  L.  Davis  and  has  four  children, 
Lillian,  Roy,  Maynard  and  Ernest.  Not  only  are  both  grandmothers  of  these 
four  children  still  living,  but  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  three  of  the  great- 
grandmothers  still  survive.  The  Holmes  family  is  sincere  in  allegiance  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  denomination.  For  years  Mr.  Holmes  officiated  as 
a  trustee  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  at  the  time  of  the 
erection  of  the  present  fine  house  of  worship  he  was  secretary  of  the  bnard. 
Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In 
1902  he  served  as  foreman  of  the  grand  jury  and  at  other  times  he  has  held 
other  public  responsibilities.  For  many  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
county  central  committee  of  the  Democratic  party  and  a  local  leader  in  that 
political   organization. 

LANE  S.  HARMAN.— An  identification  of  more  than  twenty  years 
with  the  material  upbuilding  of  Kern  county  enables  Mr.  Harman  to  judge  of 
values  and  forecast  growth  with  an  impartial  judgment  and  keen  sagacity. 
These  qualities  have  proved  helpful  to  him  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as 
manager  of  the  Kern  City  Realty  Company,  transacting  a  general  business 
in  real  estate,  dealing  in  property  throughout  the  county,  buying  and  selling 
on  a  commission  basis  and  making  a  specialty  of  oil,  orange  and  fruit  lands. 
The  company  maintains  an  insurance  department  and  underwriting  is  done 
'n  absolutely  reliable  organizations.  In  every  department  of  the  business  a 
arge  clientele  has  been  established.  The  company  is  doing  its  full  share 
n  advertising  to  the  world  the  excellence  of  the  climate,  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  and  the  opportunities  for  agricultural  and  commercial  prosperity.  The 
manager  is  usually  to  be  found  at  the  office.  No.  805^2  Baker  Street,  East 
Bakersfield,  where  he  has  every  facility  for  prompt  investigation  of  lands 
and  direct  intercourse  with  possible  buyers. 

Mr.  Harman  is  of  eastern  birth  and  lineage  and  was  born  in  York  county, 
Pa.,  March  24,  1854.  Primarily  educated  in  common  schools,  he  later  attended 
Mount  Union  College  in  Ohio  and  completed  a  commercial  course  of  study. 
The  family  of  which  he  is  a  member  comprised  three  children,  but  one  of 
these  died  in  early  years.  A  brother,  Monroe,  seven  years  older  than  himself, 
has  become  very  prominent  in  the  silver-mining  industry  in  the  state  of  Wash- 
ington. Both  had  to  make  their  own  way  unaided  from  youth.  After  he 
had  taught  one  term  of  school  Lane  S.  Harman  became  connected  with  a 
mercantile  business  at  ^^'ellsville,  Pa.,  where  he  remained  for  two  years. 
From  1877  until  1890  he  made  his  home  in  Alansfield,  Ohio,  and  Columbus, 
same  state,  and  meanwhile  in  1880  he  married  Miss  Ada  E.  Carpenter,  a 
resident  of  the  former  city.     As  a  means  of  livelihood  he  worked  as  traveling 


270  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

salesman  for  agricultural  implement  houses  and  built  up  an  enviable  reputa- 
tion as  a  specialist  in  that  line,  being  indeed  regarded  as  an  expert  judge  con- 
cerning every  kind  of  farm  machinery. 

Upon  resigning  from  the  road  in  1890  Mr.  Harman  came  to  California 
and  settled  in  Kern  county,  where  since  he  has  made  his  home.  Joining  the 
Rosedale  colony,  he  bought  forty  acres  of  land  covered  with  sage  brush.  To 
develop  the  tract  from  its  primeval  state  required  strenuous  labor.  For  years 
he  devoted  himself  diligently  to  the  task  of  removing  the  brush,  cultivating 
the  land,  providing  irrigation,  planting  portions  of  the  farm  to  fruit  and 
bringing  the  entire  acreage  to  a  high  condition  of  fertility.  The  task  was 
one  of  great  difficulty  and  brought  many  discouragements  in  its  wake,  but 
he  had  the  cheerful  co-operation  of  his  wife  and  the  assistance  of  the  chil- 
dren, so  that  he  was  able  to  develop  the  property  as  he  had  desired.  In  order 
that  his  children  might  have  the  advantages  offered  by  the  city  schools  he 
sold  the  farm  and  came  to  East  Bakersfield  a  number  of  years  ago,  since 
which  time  he  has  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business,  also 
has  acted  as  notary  public  and  conveyancer,  having  offices  in  the  First  Bank 
of  Kern  building.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  with  progressive  sympathies, 
while  in  religious  connections  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Bakersfield.  Their  family  consists  of  ten  children  and  it 
has  been  their  greatest  ambition  in  life  to  train  and  prepare  their  sons  and 
daughters  for  whatever  responsibilities  may  await  their  future  years.  The 
children  are  as  follows:  Emrie  L.,  a  carpenter,  who  follows  his  trade  in 
Bakersfield;  Will  C,  a  bridge  inspector  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  and 
a  resident  of  East  Bakersfield;  Jeanette,  wife  of  L.  T.  Peahl,  of  Bakersfield; 
Frances,  who  married  Frank  S.  \\'ilson  and  lives  at  McMinnville,  Warren 
county,  Tenn. ;  Jo  R.,  now  ]\Irs.  H.  G.  Spitler;  Helen  W.,  now  Mrs.  George 
W.  Jason,  of  Bakersfield;  Ada  I.,  Monroe,  Jr.,  Winifred  and  Alice,  who  aVe 
the  youngest  members  of  this  interesting  and  popular  family. 

WILLIS  W.  BOGGS.— The  genealogy  of  the  Boggs  family  is  traced  to 
the  colonial  era  of  American  history.  During  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  Hon.  Lilburn  \V.  Boggs  held  an  influential  position  in  the 
public  life  of  Missouri  and  he  was  serving  as  governor  of  that  state  at  the 
time  of  the  expulsion  of  the  Mormons.  By  supporting  the  anti-Mormon  ele- 
ment he  incurred  the  hatred  of  the  leaders  of  the  sect,  who  afterward  in  a 
spirit  of  revenge  sent  one  of  their  number  back  to  the  state  for  the  purpose 
of  killing  the  governor.  Several  bullets  lodged  in  the  head  of  the  intended 
victim  of  their  revenge,  but  he  escaped  fatal  injury  as  by  a  miracle.  When 
somewhat  advanced  in  years  he  joined  an  expedition  bound  for  California 
and  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Sonoma  he  was  appointed  alcalde  in  place  of 
John  H.  Nash,  whose  resignation  had  been  asked  for,  but  who,  refusing  to 
give  up  the  office,  was  taken  to  San  Francisco,  thence  to  Monterey,  in  order 
that  in  his  absence  peace  might  be  restored  to  the  community.  Ex-Governor 
Boggs   died  in  the  Napa  valley  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years. 

During  the  summer  of  1846  William  Boggs,  son  of  the  ex-governor, 
came  with  his  family  to  California.  Being  a  man  of  resolute  purpose,  excel- 
lent judgment  and  commanding  personality,  he  was  chosen  captain  of  the 
emigrant  train.  Arriving  at  Fort  Bridger,  a  dispute  arose  as  to  the  route 
to  Ije  taken.  Captain  Boggs  insisted  upon  following  the  highway  generally 
used  by  emigrants  and  he  pursued  that  road  with  the  larger  number  of  the 
party,  arriving  in  safety  at  his  destination  without  loss  of  men  or  stock. 
About  ninety  insisted  in  taking  the  Hastings  Cut-off.  They  found  travel 
impossible  through  the  mountains.  The  sad  fate  of  the  Donner  party  is  a 
matter  of  history.  Just  before  starting  across  the  plains  in  the  spring  of 
1846  Captain  Boggs  had  married  a  young  Missouri  girl.  Their  child,  Guada- 
loupe  Vallejo  Boggs,  was  the  first  white  child  born   in  California  after  the 


S^l^'^©;-^-:fe-^./^, 


t_z^f^ 


c^^^^-^'MJ^iU^. 


HISTORY    OK    KERN    COUNTY  275 

government  was  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  Mexico.  A  younger  son,  Angus 
M.  Boggs,  who  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years  is  living  at  Highland  Springs, 
Lake  county,  was  a  member  of  the  stock  commission  firm  of  Boggs  &  Behler, 
with  oiilices  in  San  Francisco  and  Napa.  His  marriage  took  place  at  Santa 
Rosa,  this  state,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Sallie  Northcott,  a  native  of 
Missouri,  who  came  to  California  in  1861.  They  are  the  parents  of  eight 
children,  all  living,  namely:  Mervin  J,,  who  spent  eleven  years  in  the  Kern 
river  oil  field,  meanwhile  being  foreman  on  the  33  and  Imperial,  later  super- 
intendent of  the  Fulton  at  Alaricopa,  and  is  now  a  rancher  at  Lindsay,  Tulare 
county;  Paul  N.,  formerly  general  manager  for  the  J.  F.  Lucey  Company  at 
Bakersfield  and  now  general  manager  for  the  same  concern  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  with  ofiices  in  Los  Angeles ;  Leland  Stanford,  of  Napa,  a  traveling 
salesman  for  the  clothing  house  of  Newmark  &  Co.,  in  Los  Angeles ;  Ken- 
neth E.,  agent  for  the  Wells- Fargo  Express  Company  at  Eureka,  Cal. ;  Willis 
W.,  who  was  born  at  Napa,  Cal.,  January  24,  1886,  and  is  now  purchasing 
agent  for  the  North  American  Oil  Consolidated  Company  on  section  15, 
township  32,  range  23;  Hugh  F.,  who  assists  his  father  on  the  ranch  in  Lake 
county  ;  Lawrence  B.,  and  Elizabeth,  who  also  remain  with  their  parents. 

Entering  the  sales  department  of  the  J.  F.  Lucey  Company  at  Bakers- 
field  in  1908.  Willis  W.  Boggs  continued  with  that  concern  for  three  and 
one-half  years,  meanwhile  going  from  Bakersfield  to  Maricopa,  thence  to 
Shale,  next  to  McKittrick  and  finally  to  San  Francisco.  During  1911  and  a 
part  of  1912  he  also  acted  as  local  buyer  for  the  North  American  Consoli- 
dated on  section  15  and  engaged  as  salesman  at  the  Taft  store  of  Fairbanks, 
Morse  &  Co.  Re-entering  the  service  of  the  J.  F.  Lucey  Company,  he  con- 
tinued with  that  corporation  from  February,  1912,  to  June,  1913,  and  on  the 
15th  of  the  latter  month  he  returned  to  the  service  of  the  North  American 
Consolidated,  for  which  he  now  acts  as  purchasing  agent,  a  post  entailing 
large  responsibilities  and  necessitating  a  thorough  knowledge  of  oil  supplies 
and  valuations. 

ROBERT  L.  McCUTCHEN.— As  a  native  son  of  California  it  has  been 
the  privilege  of  Mr.  McCutchen  to  live  through  years  marked  by  unparalleled 
growth  along  all  lines  of  industry,  in  which,  not  content  to  be  merely  an  inter- 
ested observer,  he  has  been  a  prominent  participant  and  resourceful  promoter. 
Although  still  in  the  prime  of  a  useful  existence,  his  memory  is  stored  with 
historical  data  of  value  and  his  personal  activities  have  brought  him  in  touch 
with  the  remarkable  development  of  the  west.  The  course  of  business  pur- 
suits has  taken  him  along  the  Pacific  coast  and  into  Mexico,  so  that  he  is 
thoroughly  conversant  with  localities,  soils,  climates  and  opportunities.  Years 
ago,  when  hunting  geese  and  quail  for  the  San  Francisco  market,  he  traversed 
the  section  of  country  now  known  as  the  west  side  oil  fields,  where  frequently 
he  saw  owls  and  quail  helplessly  enmeshed  in  pools  of  oil  and  asphalt,  but  at 
the  time  no  one  realized  the  commercial  importance  of  the  discovery.  Later 
developments  proved  the  immense  value  of  the  hidden  resources  of  the  region 
and  in  the  early  progress  of  the  oil  industry  he  and  other  members  of  his 
family  maintained  an  active  connection,  nor  are  his  interests  in  the  business 
less  important  at  the  present  time. 

A  member  of  a  pioneer  family  that  always  has  stood  for  integrity,  honor, 
truth  and  high  morals,  and  a  son  of  that  influential  citizen,  Preston  S.  Mc- 
Cutchen, whose  personal  history  in  many  respects  is  a  history  of  the  develop- 
ment of  certain  parts  of  the  west,  Robert  Lincoln  McCutchen  was  born  in 
Sacramento,  Cal.,  July  20,  1865,  and  at  the  age  of  seven  years  accompanied 
his  parents  to  Monterey  county,  where  he  was  reared  on  a  stock  ranch  near 
Parkfield.  During  winter  months  he  studied,  first  in  the  public  schools  and 
later  under  a  private  teacher,  while  in  the  summers  he  assisted  his  father  in 
the  care  of  the  stock  and  the  culti\-ation  of  the  farm.     Startin:r  out  for  himself 


276  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

in  1882,  he  accompanied  a  brother,  James  B.,  to  Arizona,  where,  joining  an- 
other brother,  G.  W.,  he  became  interested  in  mining  at  the  Tiger  and  Peck 
mines  in  Yavapai  county.  Returning  to  Monterey  county  at  the  expiration  of 
two  years,  he  remained,  there  for  a  year,  meanwhile  being  interested  in  farming. 

Associated  with  his  brothers,  in  1885  Mr.  McCutchen  began  to  hunt  game 
for  the  market.  For  a  time  he  made  his  headquarters  on  the  Tulare  and  Buena 
Vista  lakes.  The  game  was  shipped  to  the  San  Francisco  market,  where  it 
brought  the  highest  prices.  It  was  during  the  period  of  activity  as  a  hunter 
that  he  came  through  Kern  county  on  a  number  of  trips  and  began  to  study 
the  soil  of  this  part  of  the  state.  The  result  of  his  investigations  caused  him 
to  purchase  in  1890  twenty  acres  of  raw  land  in  the  Old  River  district.  This 
tract  he  set  out  to  vineyard,  but  the  experiment  did  not  prove  profitable. 
After  he  had  removed  the  vines  he  put  the  land  under  cultivation  to  alfalfa, 
which  he  has  continuously  raised  from  that  time  to  the  present.  By  later 
purchase  he  added  sixty  acres  to  his  tract,  so  that  he  now  owns  eighty  acres 
in  one  body,  situated  nine  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield.  With 
the  improvement  of  the  land  he  continued  in  his  hunting  expeditions  and  it 
was  ivA  until  1899  that  he  abandoned  hunting  for  the  oil  industry,  in  which 
he  since  has  been  interested.  From  1892  to  1895  he  and  his  brothers  engaged 
in  hunting  along  the  west  coast  of  Mexico,  where  they  hunted  the  heron  and 
aigrette  for  their  plumage,  selling  the  same  at  from  $10  to  $30  per  ounce.  On 
returning  from  these  expeditions  he  more  than  once  carried  $3,000  worth  of 
plumes  in  a  suit  case.  Ultimately,  however,  the  business  was  destroyed  by 
the  natives,  who  ruthlessly  slaughtered  the  birds,  even  killing  them  while 
they  were  nesting,  and  thus  rendering  a  continuation  of  the  business  un- 
profitable. 

After  having  developed  and  sold  oil  lands  in  the  Sunset  and  Midway 
fields,  during  1907  Mr.  McCutchen  with  his  brothers  selected  a  location  in 
the  north  edge  of  Maricopa,  on  section  2,  11-24,  where  they  struck  a  seven- 
hundred  barrel  well  of  thirteen-gravity  oil.  This  being  the  best  well  up  to 
that  time  and  one  of  the  early  gushers,  attracted  wide  attention  and  created 
considerable  excitement  in  the  field.  In  addition  the  brothers  located  the 
famous  sectinn  32.  12-23,  some  of  which  is  sold  and  the  balance  leased,  twenty 
acres  of  the  tract  being  now  operated  by  the  Maricopa  Queen  Oil  Company, 
that  struck  a  two-thousand  barrel  well  in  March  of  1913.  In  the  midst  of  his 
many  other  activities,  Mr.  McCutchen  has  continued  to  raise  alfalfa  and  grain 
on  his  ranch,  where  in  1914  he  completed  a  residence  of  twelve  rooms,  mod- 
ern in  every  respect,  equipped  with  every  convenience  and  forming  a  most 
desirable  improvement  to  the  property.  Besides  the  ranch  he  owns  valuable 
real  estate  on  Chester  avenue,  I'akersfield,  and  in  Richmond,  and  further  has 
a  ranch  of  eighty  acres  in  the  Edison  district  where  the  possibilities  of  citrus 
culture  are  arousing  wide  interest. 

While  political  questions  have  never  been  made  matters  of  moment  to 
Mr.  McCutchen  (who  believes  that  the  highest  type  of  citizenship  is  expressed 
in  the  character  and  not  in  the  opinions),  he  keeps  alive  to  the  issues  of  the  age 
and  has  been  steadfastly  Republican  in  his  adherence  to  party  principles. 
Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  in  Bakers- 
field.  By  marriage  he  became  allied  with  a  pioneer  family  of  Kern  county. 
In  the  Old  River  district,  November  30,  1893,  he  was  united  with  Miss  Lena 
Freear,  a  native  of  this  district  and  a  daughter  of  Henry  T.  Freear,  an  honored 
citizen  of  the  county.  Six  children  comprise  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mc- 
Cutchen, namely :  Vernon  IngersoU  and  Irene  Marie,  who  are  respectively 
members  of  the  senior  and  freshman  classes  of  the  Kern  county  high  school ; 
Harold,  Ethel,  Evan  and  Laverne.  The  influence  of  Mrs.  McCutchen  has 
been  a  benefaction  in  the  family  and  the  community.  A  resident  of  the  same 
locality  throughout  all  of  her  life,  educated  in  its  schools  and  reared  in  one  of 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  277 

its  finest  homes,  she  is  an  honored  native  daughter  and  has  a  permanent  place 
in  the  regard  of  many  friends. 

ALBERT  W.  FREEMAN.— The  Freeman  family  comes  of  old  English 
stock  and  was  established  in  America  by  Henry  Freeman,  a  native  of  Ket- 
ton,  county  Kent,  England,  born  February  28,  1828.  From  his  birthplace, 
which  was  but  a  short  distance  from  London,  the  family  removed  lo  the 
metropolis  and  in  boyhood  he  had  the  advantages  incident  to  schooling  in 
that  great  city.  It  was  his  ambition  from  childhood  to  come  to  the  United 
States  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  left  the  scenes  of  youth,  bade  farewell 
to  friends  and  relatives,  and  started  on  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  The 
sailing  vessel  on  which  he  embarked  ploughed  its  slow  way  over  the  waters 
and  finally  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  New  York  City>  whence  he  i)ro- 
ceeded  to  Ohio  and  in  a  short  time  to  Illinois.  At  Joliet,  where  he  found 
employment,  he  met  and  married  Emma  Adeline  Hart,  a  native  of  that  city. 
^\'hen  the  first  call  came  for  volunteers  for  three  months  at  the  opening  of 
the  Civil  war  he  offered  his  services,  enlisted,  was  accepted  and  sent  to  the 
front.  At  the  expiration  of  the  three  months  he  again  enlisted,  this  time 
for  three  years,  so  that  his  entire  period  of  active  service  covered  three  years 
and  three  months.  Meanwhile  he  bore  a  brave  part  in  many  memorable 
engagements,  including  Shiloh,  the  Wilderness,  Lookout  Mountain,  Chicka- 
mauga,  Bull  Run  and  Gettysburg.  Under  the  leadership  of  Sherman  he 
marched  to  the  sea  and  took  part  in  the  numerous  skirmishes  and  battles  of 
that  great  campaign.  With  the  defeat  of  the  Confederacy  he  received  an 
honorable  discharge  from  the  Union  service  and  returned  to  his  Illinois 
home.  Removing  to  Kansas  in  1870,  he  took  up  land  in  Butler  county 
twelve  miles  from  Wichita  and  on  that  farm  occurred  the  birth  of  his  sev- 
enth child,  Albert  W.,  April  15,  1872.  After  years  of  close  attention  to  ag- 
riculture he  retired  in  1899,  established  a  home  in  Wichita,  and  there  re- 
mained until  his  death  March  17,  1906.  Since  his  demise  the  widow  has  coa- 
tinued  to  reside  in  Wichita.  Like  him.  she  gives  earnest  adherence  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  Methodist  Episco;iaI  Church.  .\11  but  two  of  their  twelve 
children  are  still  living. 

At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  in  1890  Albert  W.  Freeman  left  Kansas, 
where  all  of  his  previous  life  had  been  spent,  and  went  to  .'Vrizdua,  where 
for  six  months  he  was  employed  in  the  lumbering  business  at  Flagstaff. 
From  there  he  returned  east  as  far  as  Manzano.  Valencia  county,  N.  M., 
where  he  found  employment  in  lumbering.  However,  at  the  end  of  six 
months  he  returned  to  Arizona  and  resumed  work  at  Flagstaff.  In  the  fall 
of  1892  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  f(ir  three  years  he  was  employed  l)y 
different  contractors  in  the  building  of  ditches  and  canals.  During  189.^  he 
became  a  zanjero  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  and  continued  as 
such  until  1899.  when  he  resigned  in  order  to  return  to  Arizona.  L^pon  his 
arrival  in  that  state  he  found  conditions  had  changed  since  the  period  of  his 
previous  sojourn  there.  The  outlook  was  unfavorable  and  at  the  end  of  six 
months  he  returned  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  secured  a  position  as  clerk  in 
the  old  Cosmopolitan  hotel.  During  the  spring  of  1901  he  resumed  work 
with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  After  a  brief  period  as  workman  on 
the  Calloway  canal  he  was  made  foreman,  also  was  given  charge  cf  the 
books,  and  continued  steadily  in  the  same  nlace  until  February  of  1910.  when 
he  was  transferred  to  the  charge  of  the  Home  ranch  and  made  superintend- 
ent of  the  Kern  island  canal,  his  present  post  of  duty.  The  many  responsi- 
bilities incident  to  his  position  he  discharges  with  satisfaction  to  all  cim- 
cerned. 

In  politics  Mr.  Freeman  votes  with  the  Democratic  party,  .\fter  com- 
ing to  California  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224.  F.  & 


278  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

A.  M.,  and  in  addition  he  united  with  the  Bakersfield   Lodge  No.  202,  I.  O. 
O.    F.,   while   also   he   and    his   wife   are   identified   with    the    Rebekahs.      At 
Rosedale,    Kern    county,    June    13,    1905,    he    married    Mrs.    Lucy    (Cheney) 
Adams,  who  was  born  near  Petaluma,  Sonoma  county,  Cal.,  and  by  whom 
he  has  one  child,  Martha.     Her  parents,  Return  J.  and  Martha  E.    (Green) 
Cheney,   were  born  in   Bloomington,   111.,  where  their  marriage   was   solem-    . 
nized  March  8,  1860.     As  early  as  1856  Mr.  Cheney  had  made  a  trip  across 
the  plains  with  ox-teams  and  was  so  pleased  with  the  country  that  he  de- 
termined to  remain.     Returning  to  Illinois  in   1859  upon  a  visit  to  the  old 
home,   he   married   there   during  the   spring   of    1860  and    then    brought    his 
bride  via  Panama  to  San  Francisco,  thence  to  Sonoma  county,  where  he  had 
taken  up  land.     For  years  he  operated  one  of  the   first  threshing-machines 
brought  into  Sonoma  county.     In  addition  to  his   work   as  thresherman   he 
developed  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Sonoma  county  and  was  similarly  inter- 
ested  in   Tulare   county,   after   his   removal   thither   in    1886.      From    Tulare 
county  he  came  to  Kern  county  in  1892  and  settled  at  Rosedale.     Of  recent 
years  he  and  his  wife  have  made  their  home  at  Coalinga.     They  became  the 
parents  of  ten  children  who  attained  mature  years  and  all  but  one  of  these 
still  survive.     Mrs.  Freeman,  who  was  the  youngest  of  the  large  family,  was 
given  high-school  advantages  and  received  the  careful  home  training  which 
has  made  her  a  notable  housekeeper  and  efficient  assistant  to  her  husband. 
JOHN     EDWARD     HAMILTON.— The    supervising    principal    of    the 
Conley  school  district  of  Taft   was  born   in   New  York  City  May  27.    1853, 
and  is  a  son  of  Callaghan  and  Margaret  (O'Connor)  Hamilton,  both  of  whom 
were  natives  of  county  Kerry,   Ireland,  but  crossed  the  ocean   in  early  life 
and  were  married  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn.     There  were  four  children  in  the 
family,  but  two  of  these  died  in  infancy,  the  present  survivors  being  John 
Edward   and   Charles   C,   the   latter  an   attorney   in   Oakland.      During   1868 
the   family   removed   to   California   and    settled   in    San    Francisco,    but    four 
years  later  J.  E.  returned  east  in  order  to  receive  treatment  for  spinal  trouble. 
For  a  time  he  remained  in   Indianapolis.     Upon  coming  back  to   California 
in  1874  he  settled  in  Mendocino  county,  where  his  brother  was  teaching  his 
first  term  of  school.     As  he  wished  to  take  up  the  same  line  of  work,  he 
began  to  study  under  his  brother  preparatory  to  taking  the  teachers'  exam- 
ination.    Februarjf  8,  1875,  he  began  to  teach  school  at  Willits,   Mendocino 
county.     In  order,  the  better  to  prepare  for  pedagogical  activities  he  took  a 
course  of  study  in  St.  Ignatius  College  at  San  Francisco.     Later  he  secured 
a  scholarship  in  the  Hastings  College  of  Law,  but  instead  of  entering  that 
institution  he  made  a  trip  to  Seattle  and  on  his  return  to  California  settled 
again  in  Alendocino  county.     Lentil  1886  he  taught  school  there.     Meanwhile 
in   1882  he  had   married   Miss   Margaret   E.   Muir.     By  the  union  there   are 
two  children  now  living.  Ethel  M.  and  Charles  I.     After  leaving  Mendocino 
county   he   went  to   Santa   Barbara  county   and   for  twenty-two   years   made 
that  region  his  headquarters.     Meanwhile  for  ten  years  he  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  county  board  of  education  and  for  six  years  of  the  period  he  was 
honored  with  the  presidency.     For  three  years  he  acted  as  principal  of  the 
Los  Alamos  schools  and  for  fifteen  years  he  taught  in  Santa  Maria. 

A  newspaper  experience  as  editor  of  the  Santa  Maria  Graphic  for  two 
years  (1891-92)  supplemented  the"  work  of  Mr.  Hamilton  as  teacher,  but 
when  he  was  elected  principal  at  Santa  Maria  he  abandoned  journalistic 
activities.  For  thirteen  vears  he  served  as  princioal  at  Santa  Maria.  U^pon 
resigning  in  1906  he  went  to  Kansas  City  to  act  as  eastern  representative 
of  various  enterprises  operating  in  the  middle  west  and  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
LTpon  his  return  to  California  he  came  to  Taft  in  November,  1911,  and  se- 
cured employment  as  bookkeeper  for  Lierly  &  Son.  During  January  of 
1912,  the  teacher  in  the  North  .American  school  having  resigned,  he  was  pre- 


X^v^SW^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  281 

vailed  upon  to  complete  the  unexpired  term,  at  the  same  time  maintaining 
charge  of  the  books  for  the  firm.  In  June  of  1912  he  was  chosen  supervising 
principal  for  one  year  and  in  June  of  1913  he  was  re-elected  for  four  years. 
As  principal  he  has  made  a  record  for  efficiency  and  progressiveness.  Under 
his  supervision  the  schools  are  keeping  pace  with  similar  institutions 
throughout  the  county  and  have  become  a  source  of  gratification  and  pride 
to  all  public-spirited  citizens.  In  addition  to  his  responsibilities  as  super- 
vising principal  he  has  found  leisure  for  the  composing  of  songs  and  the 
writing  of  lectures.  One  of  his  compositions,  a  baseball  song  entitled  "Base- 
ball," has  become  very  popular  among  the  boys  in  Taft.  As  a  popular  lec- 
turer he  makes  a  specialty  of  literary  subjects  and  while  all  of  his  addresses 
have  been  received  with  enthusiasm,  "An  Hour  with  Tennyson"  is  perhaps 
the  favorite  and  has  elicited  the  greatest  applause  from  interested  audiences. 
LUCAS  FRANKLIN  BRITE.— As  one  of  the  most  extensive  cattle 
growers  in  Kern  count)-  and  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors  Mr.  Brite 
is  well  known  throughout  the  entire  length  and  breadth  of  the  county  where 
he  has  made  his  home  from  his  earliest  recollections.  In  his  life  work  he 
follows  the  example  set  by  his  father,  the  late  John  Moore  Brite,  who  for 
years  engaged  extensively  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  at  the  same  time  was 
a  prominent  supervisor  of  Kern  county.  Born  in  Missouri,  but  from  early 
life  a  resident  of  Texas  and  employed  as  a  teamster  and  farmer  near  the 
capital  city  of  Austin,  the  father  crossed  the  plains  with  ox  teams  in  1854, 
accompanied  by  his  family,  arriving  at  El  Monte,  Los  Angeles  county, 
in  September  of  that  year.  The  same  fall  he  located  in  the  Tehachapi  Valley, 
where  he  began  operations  in  the  stock  business.  On  his  arrival  he  built  a 
log  house  a  little  below  what  afterwards  became  known  as  Greenwich,  resid- 
ing there  until  he  made  his  location  in  the  valley  that  now  bears  his  name, 
residing  there  continuously  with  the  exception  of  one  year,  1857-58,  spent  in 
Walkers  basin  and  nearly  a  year  in  El  Monte.  During  the  residence  of  the 
family  at  El  Monte  a  son,  Lucas  Franklin,  was  born  August  13,  1859.  In  the 
same  year  the  father  returned  with  his  wife  and  children  and  settled  in  a 
small  but  fertile  valley  in  the  Tehachapi  mountains,  where  he  entered  land  and 
built  an  adobe  house  which  is  still  standing,  and  continued  in  the  stock  busi- 
ness. As  he  was  the  first  and  principal  settler  in  the  region  and  as  the  entire 
district  is  now  owned  by  some  of  his  heirs,  the  name  of  Brite's  valley  appro- 
priately was  given  to  it.  During  the  early  days  it  was  remote  from  any  mar- 
ket and  the  large  crops  of  farm  products  as  well  as  the  large  herds  of  stock  had 
to  be  taken  long  distances  when  sold,  but  eventually  the  Southern  Pacific 
lailroad  built  to  within  six  miles  of  the  farm  house,  and  from  that  time  the 
family  found  conditions  less  irksome. 

Upon  the  organization  of  Kern  county  John  Moore  Brite  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  first  board  of  supervisors,  which  created  the  first  county  gov- 
ernment and  directed  public  affairs  from  the  county  seat,  then  known  as 
Clear  Creek,  but  later  called  Ilavilah.  For  the  greater  part  of  the  next  six- 
teen years  he  was  a  supervisor  and  during  part  of  the  time  was  honored  with 
the  chairmanship  of  the  board,  being  an  integral  factor  in  the  difficult  task 
connected  with  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  to  Bakersfield.  With  all  of  his 
work  donated  to  the  early  upbuilding  of  the  county,  he  did  not  neglect  the 
management  of  his  land  or  the  care  of  his  stock.  His  herds  increased  in  size 
and  his  brand,  a  half-moon  capital  J,  was  known  all  over  the  county,  while 
his  possessions  in  land  increased  until  at  the  time  of  his  death,  during  April 
of  1893,  he  had  about  two  thousand  acres.  He  is  still  survived  by  his  widow, 
who  was  Miss  Amanda  Emeline  Duty,  a  native  of  Austin,  Tex.  Their  family 
consisted  of  thirteen  children.  Of  these  Martha  died  in  Texas  at  two  years 
of  age,  Mattie  died  in  Brite's  valley  when  two,  and  Mary  passed  away  when 
seventeen.    The  eldest  sons,  Joseph  11.  and  James  Moore,  are  extensive  ranch- 


282  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

ers  in  Brite's  valley.  Lucas  Franklin,  of  Bakersfield,  was  sixth  in  order  of 
birth.  Eliza  Lee  married  W.  T.  Wiggins,  of  Brite's  valley ;  William  is  living 
in  the  Imperial  valley ;  John  B.  and  Charles  Richard  live  in  Brite's  valley,  the 
last-named  being  with  his  mother  at  the  old  homestead ;  Chloe  is  the  wife  of 
E.  A.  Stowell,  of  Cummings  valley ;  Clara  married  Henry  O'Neal  and  lives  at 
Stockton ;  and  Cora  is  the  wife  of  W.  H.  Adams,  of  Stockton.  The  mother, 
together  with  her  sons,  Joseph,  James,  Charles,  Richard  and  John,  also  a 
daughter,  with  her  husband  (Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  T.  Wiggins)  own  all  of 
Brite's  valley. 

The  earliest  recollections  of  Lucas  Franklin  Brite  cluster  around  the  val- 
ley which  bears  the  family  name.  Early  in  childhood  he  was  a  pupil  in  a  log 
schoolhouse  two  and  one-half  miles  from  the  old  homestead,  next  he  attended 
school  in  a  frame  building  at  Oldtown,  four  and  one-half  miles  from  home,  and 
finally  he  completed  his  study  of  the  three  R's  in  the  Cummings  valley  school, 
four  and  one-half  miles  from  home.  From  school  he  drifted  into  ranching 
and  when  he  started  out  for  himself  he  located  on  railroad  land.  When  this 
came  into  the  market  he  bought  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  at  $2.50  and 
$3  per  acre.  The  land  was  level  and  fertile,  comprising  some  of  the  best 
acreage  in  Cummings  valley.  At  this  writing  he  owns  five  thousand  acres  in 
this  valley  and  of  the  total  amount  eighteen  hundred  acres  are  level.  The  vast 
tract  represents  his  own  industrious  application  and  self-denying  perseverance. 
With  the  aid  of  his  sons  he  manages  his  large  holdings,  devoting  about  four- 
teen hundred  acres  to  grain  and  the  balance  to  stock  range.  Alfalfa  also  is 
raised  without  the  aid  of  irrigation,  although  he  installed  a  pumping  plant 
on  his  home  farm,  ten  miles  west  of  Tehachapi. 

The  raising  of  grain  formed  the  largest  agricultural  interest  of  Mr.  Brite 
for  many  years.  During  early  days  he  utilized  a  header  and  stationary 
thresher.  Later  he  operated  five  headers  which  elevated  the  grain  to  the  wag- 
ons, nets  being  placed  in  the  bed  of  the  wagons.  The  wagons  were  then 
hauled  to  the  thresher  and  the  nets  dumped  on  the  table  of  the  threshing  ma- 
chine. In  the  work  as  thus  conducted  thirty  head  of  mules  or  horses  were 
used  on  the  headers,  forty  head  were  used  on  the  ten  wagons  (four  to  a 
wagon),  two  head  were  used  for  the  lifting  of  the  derrick  and  eight  head  were 
carried  as  extras,  for  special  needs.  About  twelve  thousand  acres  of  grain 
were  harvested  and  threshed  in  two  months.  When  the  combined  harvester 
came  into  use,  Mr.  Brite  was  quick  to  see  its  advantages  and  avail  himself  of 
its  improvements  over  the  old-fashioned  methods.  At  one  time  his  brother 
John  arranged  a  plow  with  ten  gangs  hinged  in  the  middle  so  that  it  was 
possible  to  turn  the  soil  even  in  rough  places  or  in  hog  wallows.  Ten  horses 
or  rriules  were  used  on  each  plow  and  as  many  as  five  of  the  implements 
were  kept  in  steady  use  during  the  season.  The  greater  part  of  his  land  is 
located  in  the  Tehachapi  and  Cummings  valleys  and  is  well  adapted  for  grain 
and  stock.  Some  very  fine  horses  of  the  Percheron  and  French  coach  breeds 
have  been  raised  on  his  lands,  while  his  shorthorn  Durham  cattle,  with  their 
well-known  brand  of  GB,  have  no  superiors  in  quality  throughout  the  entire 
county. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Brite  took  place  in  Brite's  valley,  December  5,  1885, 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Laura  Smith,  who  was  born  in  Cummings  valley, 
Kern  county,  being  fourth  youngest  among  the  eleven  children  of  John  and 
Amanda  E.  (Stark)  Smith,  natives  of  Texas.  At  an  early  period  in  the  settle- 
ment of  the  coast  country  the  Smith  family  crossed  the  plains  with  wagon 
and  oxen  and  settled  in  Bakersfield  after  a  brief  sojourn  in  Los  Angeles.  Mr. 
Smith  died  in  Cummings  valley,  while  his  wife  passed  away  in  Brite's  valley. 
In  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brite  there  are  five  children,  of  whom  the  two 
eldest,  John  Perry  and  Lucas  Vance,  are  farmers  and  stock-raisers  at  the  old 
homestead,     Tiie  third  child.  Bertha,  is  a  student  in  the  University  of  Call- 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  283 

lurnia.  The  two  youngest,  Bonnie  and  Ruby,  are  students  in  the  Bakersfield 
high  school.  It  was  for  the  purpose  of  giving  his  youngest  children  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  Bakersfield  schools  that  in  1910  Mr.  Brite  came  to  this  city 
and  erected  a  residence  at  No.  1819  Orange  street,  where  the  family  since 
have  spent  the  school  year,  returning  to  the  ranch  for  the  summer.  In  his 
home  city  Mr.  Brite  has  a  large  circle  of  friends,  while  throughout  the  country 
he  is  well  known  and  universally  respected.  From  early  life  he  has  been 
a  supporter  of  Democratic  principles  and  it  was  upon  the  regular  party 
ticket  that  in  1902  he  was  elected  from  the  second  district  to  the  board  of 
county  supervisors.  At  the  expiration  of  his  first  term  in  1906  he  was  re- 
•elected,  and  again  in  1910  he  was  chosen  his  own  successor.  As  supervisor  he 
has  favored  all  movements  for  the  permanent  advancement  uf  the  county,  has 
given  his  support  to  needed  improvements  and  been  identified  with  the  build- 
ing of  bridges  and  county  buildings,  including  the  addition  to  the  county 
hospital,  the  new  high  school,  manual  arts  building.  Hall  of  Records  and  the 
imposing  new  court  house,  yet  at  the  same  time  he  has  maintained  a  conserva- 
tive policy  and  has  guarded  the  interests  of  taxpayers  with  conscientious  fidel- 
■\ty  and  keen  discrimination. 

THOMAS  A.  BROOKS. — The  manager  of  the  Pacific  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  for  Kern  county  has  followed  this  line  of  business  since 
the  age  of  sixteen  years  and  meanwhile  has  gained  a  varied  experience  of 
the  utmost  value  to  his  present  and  future  activities.  Sent  for  the  first  time 
to  Bakersfield  during  the  early  part  of  1911  and  for  the  second  time  in  the 
spring  of  1912,  he  has  been  closely  in  touch  with  the  development  of  the 
business  at  this  point  and  has  forwarded  with  customary  energy  the  interests 
of  the  company,  which  now  reaches  every  important  point  in  the  county. 
The  task  has  been  and  still  continues  to  be  one  of  no  slight  importance.  The 
greatest  tact  and  the  highest  intelligence  are  required  in  order  to  superin- 
tend the  local  interests  with  success.  It  speaks  well  for  the  manager  that 
he  has  been  able  to  satisfy  patrons,  enlarge  the  field  of  operation  and  at  the 
same  time  advance  the  financial  status  of  the  company  shareholders.  The 
satisfactory  growth  of  the  business  in  the  past  betokens  similar  development 
in  the  future. 

The  elder  of  two  children,  Thomas  A.  Brooks  was  born  in  San  Fran- 
cisco June  20,  1886,  and  is  a  son  of  Thomas  J.  and  Mary  (Anderson)  Brooks, 
natives  respectively  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  Bristol,  England,  who  came  to 
California,  were  married  in  Oakland,  and  shortly  afterwards  established  a 
permanent  home  in  San  Francisco.  In  that  city  the  mother  died  in  1911 
and  there  the  father  still  remains.  Educated  in  the  public  schools  until  he 
had  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  common  branches,  in  October  of 
1902  Thomas  A.  Brooks  began  the  task  of  earning  his  own  livelihood.  At 
that  time  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  telephone  company  as  a  solicitor  in 
San  Francisco.  .\  year  later  he  was  given  a  clerkship  in  the  city  office. 
Later  he  was  promoted  to  the  division  office  in  San  Francisco  as  division 
commercial  engineer.  The  splendid  manner  in  which  he  discharged  the 
duties  of  the  position  led  to  his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  commercial  en- 
gineer in  the  general  office.  All  of  these  promotions  had  occurred  within  a 
decade  after  his  original  identification  with  the  business. 

The  interests  of  the  business  caused  Mr.  Brooks  to  be  detailed  for  im- 
portant duties  at  San  Diego,  Cal,  and  Portland,  Ore.,  after  which  he  was 
sent  to  Bakersfield  in  January  of  1911.  The  result  of  his  investigations  in 
this  city  is  apparent  in  the  large  new  telephone  building  on  Twentieth  be- 
tween I  and  Chester.  During  the  process  of  construction  of  this  building 
he  filled  a  similar  mission  in  the  city  of  Los  Angeles,  from  which  place  he 
returned  to  Bakersfield  in  March,  1912,  to  act  as  manager  of  Kern  county 
for  the  company,  which  is  profiting  now,  as  it  has  profited  in   the  past,  by 


284  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

his  far-seeing  discrimination  and  keen  insight  into  matters  along  the  line  of 
his  specialty.  Since  coming  to  this  city  he  has  identified  himself  with  the 
Bakersfield  Club  and  with  other  organizations  connected  with  the  social  and 
commercial  life  of  the  city. 

CHARLES  N.  SEARS.— The  identification  of  the  Scotch  family  of 
Sears  with  the  new  world  began  during  the  colonial  period  of  American 
history,  the  first  immigrant  of  the  name  having  established  himself  on  a 
plantation  in  Virginia,  and  from  the  Old  Dominion  Enoch  Sears  removed 
to  Ohio  during  the  early  portion  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Several 
generations  have  made  their  home  in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  where 
James  and  Alary  Sears  passed  the  early  years  of  their  lives.  When  the  call 
came  for  volunteers  in  the  service  of  the  Union  during  the  Civil  war  he 
bade  farewell  to  his  young  wife  and  set  forth  to  fight  for  his  country,  going 
to  the  front  with  an  Ohio  regiment  of  which  he  was  a  member.  When  the 
disastrous  battle  of  Chickamauga  was  being  fought  he  and  three  of  his 
brothers  were  killed  in  action.  The  little  community  in  Guernsey  county 
where  they  had  been  born  and  reared  mourned  their  tragic  taking  away,  but 
revered  their  memories  as  heroes  of  the  struggle.  Surviving  this  one  of  the 
brothers  was  a  son,  Charles  N.,  who  was  born  at  North  Salem,  Guernsey 
county,  Ohio,  January  13,  1861 ;  he  was  also  survived  by  his  wife,  who  later 
became  Mrs.  Wyatt  and  is  now  living  in  Nebraska  in  the  city  of  Minden. 
The  only  child  in  the  family  was  taken  from  Ohio  to  Illinois  at  the  age  of 
thirteen  years  and  afterward  attended  school  at  Roseville,  Warren  county, 
where  he  prepared  for  college.  It  was  his  ambition  to  acquire  a  thorough 
education  and  with  that  object  in  view  he  matriculated  in  Abingdon  (111.) 
College,  from  which  in  1879  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  and 
with  a  high  standing  for  excellence  of  scholarship. 

A  desire  to  see  more  of  the  country  and  also  to  acquire  cheap  land  led 
Mr.  Sears  with  two  companions  to  start  for  Nebraska.  Buying  a  team  and 
wagon  and  securing  the  necessary  outfit,  they  drove  overland  to  Phelps 
county  and  entered  land  near  Holdrege.  Later  he  took  up  a  homestead  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  to  which  in  time  he  secured  the  title.  To  one 
of  his  energetic  temperament  the  idle  waiting  for  the  expiration  of  his  home- 
stead period  was  impossible  and  he  passed  the  time  profitably  and  pleasantly 
in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  law.  For  a  time  he  read  with  a  prominent 
attorney  and  jurist  at  Kearney,  Buffalo  county,  and  so  well  was  his  time 
passed  that  in  1887  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Nebraska,  after  which  he 
began  to  practice  at  Holdrege  with  W.  P.  Hall  as  a  partner.  In  order  to 
enlarge  his  professional  knowledge,  he  took  a  course  in  the  law  department 
of  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1892  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  Immediately  after  his  graduation  he  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  law  at  Benton  Harbor,  Mich.,  from  which  point  he 
came  to  California  during  the  fall  of  1900  and  in  February  of  the  following 
year  established  himself  in  practice  at  Bakersfield,  where  he  is  well  known 
as  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments,  an  attorney  of  ripened  experience,  a  coun- 
selor of  sagacious  judgment,  and  a  citizen  of  the  most  unquestioned  pa- 
triotism. Besides  his  professional  activities  he  also  is  interested  in  oil  opera- 
tions, while  his  deep  devotion  to  and  prominence  in  the  Republican  party 
gives  him  added  influence  in  his  home  city.  Paternally  he  holds  member- 
ship with  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  Benton  Harbor,  Mich.,  occurred  his 
marriage  to  Miss  Alberta  Putnam,,  who  was  born  in  Niles,  that  state,  re- 
ceived excellent  educational  advantages  and  is  a  woman  of  culture  and  an 
earnest  member  of  the  Congregational  Church  of  Bakersfield.  The  only 
child  of  their  union  is  a  son,  Herbert  Putnam  Sears,  a  student  in  the 
city  high  school.  The  lineage  of  Mrs.  Sears  is  historic,  one  of  her  ancestors 
having  been  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  John  Putnam,  of  Green  Mountain  fame. 


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HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  287 

and  a  brother  of  that  illustrious  ])atriot,  Gen.  Israel  Putnam,  who,  when 
news  came  concerning  the  opening  battle  at  Lexington,  left  his  plough  in 
the  field  at  Pomfret,  Conn.,  mounted  his  horse,  and  the  next  morning  was 
in  Concord,  later  led  some  untrained  patriots  in  a  successful  assault  north- 
east of  Boston,  and  from  that  led  from  one  victory  to  another  until  he  was 
recognized  as  one  of  the  greatest  men  of  his  da3^ 

ROBERT  L.  STOCKTON. — An  epitome  of  the  history  of  educational 
ad\'ancenient  in  Kern  County  presents  in  brief  a  recapitulation  of  the  life 
work  of  Robert  L.  Stockton,  county  superintendent  of  schools  since  January 
of  1903,  also  vice  president  of  the  Central  California  Teachers'  Association 
and  ex-officio  secretary  of  the  county  board  of  education.  In  reviewing  his 
identification  with  the  educational  advancement  and  present  standard  of 
scholarship  in  the  county  he  might  well  exclaim,  "All  of  which  I  saw  and 
part  of  which  I  was."  From  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he  has  given  his 
attention  with  whole-hearted  devotion  to  the  tasks  confronting  an  educator 
and  no  problem  has  been  too  vexatious  for  his  patient  consideration,  no 
progress  too  great  for  his  aspiring  vision  and  no  change  too  radical  ])rovided 
only  that  the  welfare  of  students  and  the  interests  of  the  schools  thereby 
are  promoted.  Since  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  county  superintendent 
the  school  work  has  quadrupled  entailing  upon  him  duties  far  more  weighty 
than  th(  se  incident  to  the  first  months  of  his  official  incurhbency.  In  addition 
to  the  county  high  school  there  are  now  eighty-eight  districts,  while  about 
two  hundred  teachers  are  given  employment  in  the  grammar  and  thirty 
in  the  high  schools,  there  being  expended  annually  in  the  interests  of  county 
educational  work  an  amount  approximating  a  half  million  dollars,  which 
includes  not  Only  salaries  of  teachers,  but  also  expenditures  in  new  buildings, 
reiairs  of  old  buildings,  janitor  service  and  the  manifold  lesser  expenses 
connected  with  a  work  of  such  magnitude.  The  duties  of  the  county  super- 
intendent have  expanded  to  such  proportions  that  two  assistants  now 
are  given  steady  employment  and  the  superintendent's  office  is  a  scene  of 
busv  activity  during  practically  every  season  of  the  year. 

County  Superintendent  Stockton  is  proud  of  the  fact  that  he  can  claim 
California  as  his  native  commonwealth  and  that  his  father.  Dr.  I.  D.  Stockton, 
was  one  of  the  honored  pioneers  of  Kern  County.  Born  at  Santa  Rosa 
October  25.  1863,  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Kern  County  in  1872  and 
afterward  attended  the  schools  here.  Diligent  in  study,  intelligent  in  appli- 
cation and  keen  in  mental  comprehension,  he  acquired  a  wide  fund  of  infor- 
mation notwithstanding  the  handicap  occasioned  by  poorly  equipped  schools. 
After  he  had  taken  a  course  in  the  Los  Angeles  Business  College  he  returned 
to  his  home  county  and  took  up  educational  work,  for  which  he  possessed 
inherent  ability  and  in  which  he  has  achieved  signal  success.  From  his 
first  identification  with  the  schools  as  an  instructor  he  aimed  to  advance  the 
standard  of  scholarship.  He  rejected  as  obsolete  the  inadequate  theories 
of  earlier  days  and  injected  into  pedagogy  the  spirit  of  twentieth  century 
progress.  As  a  result  of  his  efforts  the  schools  soon  gave  evidence  of  more 
thorough  work  and  the  advancement  thus  begun  has  continued  to  the  present 
with  auspicious  results.  For  many  years  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  county 
board  of  education  and  even  yet  he  retains  a  connection  with  that  useful 
organization.  As  the  Democratic  nominee  in  1902  he  was  elected  county 
superintendent  of  schools  after  an  exciting  contest  with  the  then  incumbent, 
whom  he  defeated  by  a  large  majority.  In  1906  he  was  re-elected  and 
again  in  1910,  the  latter  time  without  opposition,  but  with  the  endorse- 
ment of  all  parties.  There  are  now  about  eight  thousand  pupils  in  the  public 
elementary  schools  of  the  county,  besides  about  five  hundred  in  the  high 
schools. 

In    the    management    of    educational    work    so    large    and    important    he 


288  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

has  the  hearty  co-operation  and  helpful  assistance  of  the  board  of  super- 
visors and  the  county  board  of  education,  all  of  whose  members  have  the 
welfare  of  the  schools  as  their  slogan. 

It  should  be  stated  that  the  Kern  County  High  school  has  more  than  quad- 
rupled in  attendance  in  the  last  ten  years  and  its  departments  multiplied  until 
the  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction  pronounced  it  the  most  com- 
plete course  and  best  high  school  in  the  state.  They  have  added  courses 
in  surveying,  assaying,  wireless  telegraphy,  manual  training,  domestic 
science  and  art  and  agriculture,  and  claim  the  unique  place  of  having  the 
largest  agricultural  farm  of  any  high  school  in  the  state. 

The  marriage  of  Professor  Stockton  united  him  with  Miss  Frances  Engle, 
a  native  of  Kern  County  and  a  daughter  of  David  Engle,  a  pioneer  stockman 
near  Granite.  They  are  the  parents  of  eight  children,  namely :  Ralph,  Denton, 
Warren  and  Marion,  all  of  whom  are  graduates  of  the  Kern  County  High 
school,  and  the  two  last-named  are  now  students  in  the  Hastings  Law  school 
in  San  Francisco ;  Irving  and  Jesse,  who  are  attending  the  Kern  County  High 
school ;  Clara  and  Frank,  pupils  in  the  public  schools.  The  oldest  son  is  a 
mining  man  in  Nevada  and  the  second  son  is  engaged  in  the  stock  industry 
in  Kern  County,  where  Professor  Stockton  owns  a  stock  ranch  near  Granite, 
also  an  alfalfa  ranch  near  Button  Willow.  On  the  former  place  a  specialty 
is  made  of  horses,  mules  and  cattle,  while  on  the  latter  tract  alfalfa  is  raised 
both  for  hay  and  for  seed.  Besides  being  a  member  of  the  Bakersfield  Board 
of  Trade  he  is  interested  in  other  movements  for  the  civic  well-being  of  the 
community.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Benevolent  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  but  the 
duties  incident  to  educational  work  are  so  engrossing  that  he  has  had  little 
leisure  to  participate  in  the  activities  of  any  of  these  fraternities,  although  in 
the  heartiest  accord  with  their  philanthropies  and  social  amenities. 

PAUL  LORENTZEN.— The  genealogy  of  the  Lorentzen  family  is 
traced  back  through  a  long  line  of  worthy  ancestors  identified  with  the  po- 
litical and  religious  history  of  Schleswig-Holstein  and  transplanted  to  Amer- 
ican soil  as  a  direct  result  of  the  revolution  of  1848  in  Germany.  An  unusual 
coincidence  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  heads  of  three  successive  genera- 
tions bore  the  name  of  Paul  Lorentzen  and  each  served  as  a  minister  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  in  Schleswig-Holstein.  It  was  the  third  of  these  three 
Pauls  who  bore  an  active  part  in  the  great  revolution  and  as  a  consequence 
was  forced  to  leave  the  country.  America  appealed  to  him  as  a  land  of  free- 
dom of  thought.  Crossing  the  ocean  to  the  new  world,  he  had  among  his 
companions  in  the  voyage  Carl  Schurz,  later  one  of  the  leading  German- 
American  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Well  qualified  for  ministerial  work 
through  his  graduation  from  Heidelberg  College  and  his  successful  labors 
in  the  old  country,  he  threw  himself  actively  into  the  Lutheran  ministry  and 
held  a  number  of  important  pastorates.  Perhaps  the  most  responsible  of 
these  was  the  work  in  the  Lutheran  Church  at  Eighth  and  Mound  streets, 
St.  Louis,  and  he  continued  in  that  city  throughout  his  remaining  years. 
After  crossing  the  ocean  he  had  married  Anna  Broises,  who  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  and  died  in  Petersburg,  Menard  county.  111.  The  Revolution- 
ary participant  was  not  the  only  member  of  the  family  to  emigrate,  for  his 
father,  the  second  Paul,  also  lived  in  Pennsylvania  for  some  years  and  later 
settled  in  Illinois,  in  both  commonwealths  engaging  in  the  ministry  of  his 
chosen  denomination. 

Out  of  a  family  of  nine  children,  seven  of  whom  are  still  living.  Paul 
Lorentzen  was  the  third  youngest  and  he  represents  the  fourth  generation 
of  the  name  of  Paul.  L^nlike  his  ancestors,  however,  he  did  not  enter  the 
ministry,  although  he  has  been  devoted  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Lutheran 
Church   and   a   contributor   to   its   missionary   movements.      Born    at    Mount 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  289 

Carroll,  111.,  September  16,  1857,  he  was  reared  at  Petersburg,  four  miles 
from  New  Salem,  that  state,  and  in  early  boyluiod  attended  public  schools. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  became  an  apprentice  to  the  trade  of  carpenter. 
Having  completed  his  time  he  went  to  Denver,  Colo.,  in  1878,  and  secured 
employment  as  a  carpenter.  After  two  years  as  a  day  worker  he  was  made 
a  foreman  in  the  bridge  and  building  department  of  the  Denver  &  Rio 
Grande  Railroad,  which  position  he  tilled  fur  three  years.  Coming  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1883  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company  on 
the  Shasta  division.  Five  months  later  the  company  sent  him  to  Guatemala, 
Central  America,  for  the  purpose  of  acting  as  foreman  in  the  building  of 
the  pontoon  and  laying  of  the  track  across  lake  Amatilan,  also  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  track  to  Guatemala.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years  he  was  called 
back  from  Central  America  to  California,  where  he  acted  as  foreman  of  car- 
penters in  building  the  branch  from  Berendo  to  Raymond.  Next  he  hlled  a 
similar  position  on  the  Coast  line  between  Soledad,  Monterey  county,  and 
Templeton,  San  Luis  Obispo  county.  From  that  division  he  was  sent  to  act 
as  foreman  in  building  a  bridge  across  the  American  river  at  Sacramento, 
after  which  he  had  charge  of  construction  work  between  Napa  Junction  and 
Santa  Rosa.  In  1888  he  was  foreman  in  construction  work  from  Templeton 
to  Santa  Margarita  and  the  following  year  he  worked  on  the  bridge  across 
the  San  Joaquin  west  of  Fresno,  after  which  he  engaged  as  foreman  on  the 
line  from  Alerced  to  Oakdale,  Stanislaus  county.  The  company  then  sent 
him  to  Kingsburg,  Fresno  county,  to  take  charge  of  building  a  bridge  across 
the  Kings  river,  after  which  he  was  a  construction  foreman  between  Fresno 
and  Kerman. 

Having  engaged  as  foreman  in  the  bridge  and  building  department  of 
the  San  Joaquin  division  until  1899,  the  Southern  Pacific  Company  in  that 
year  transferred  Mr.  Lorentzen  to  Texas  and  stationed  him  in  Galveston  as 
general  foreman  of  the  Southern  Pacific  docks.  The  memorable  flood  and 
destruction  of  Galveston  were  personally  witnessed  by  Mr.  Lorentzen,  who 
took  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  rebuilding  the  city  and  particularly  the 
company  dock.  Returning  to  California  in  1905  he  here  had  the  rare  ex- 
perience of  a  vacation  of  three  months,  after  which  he  was  appointed  road- 
master  of  the  Tehachapi  division  between  Bakersfield  and  Mojave.  Since 
March  10,  1906,  he  has  served  in  that  capacity  and  his  difficult  position  has 
been  filled  with  admirable  energy  and  recognized  fidelity. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Lorentzen  and  Miss  Pearl  Hedgpeth,  a  native  of 
Eureka  Springs,  Ark.,  was  solemnized  at  San  Lucas,  Monterey  county,  Cal., 
and  was  blessed  with  five  children,  one  of  whom,  Ray,  died  in  Tulare  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  Genevieve  died  in  Tehachapi  May  16,  1912.  The 
survivors  are  Paul,  Anna  and  Harold.  Paul  is  employed  at  Needles.  Since 
attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Lorentzen  has  supported  the  Democratic  party. 
\^'hile  living  at  Tulare  he  was  a  leading  worker  in  the  Fraternal  Aid,  also 
in  Tulare  Lodge  No.  306.  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  Mount  ^^^^itney  Encampment  No. 
82  of  the  same  city.  In  addition  he  has  been  identified  actively  with  Sum- 
ner Lodge  No.  143,  K.  of  P.,  in  East  Bakersfield.  ^Irs.  Lorentzen  is  acti\'e 
in  social  and  educational  work  in  Tehachapi  and  is  a  member  of  the  hoard 
of  trustees  at  Tehachapi  and  clerk  of  the  board. 

J.  H.  STEVENSON.— The  hotel  Metropole  at  East  Bakersfield,  of  which 
Mr.  Stevenson  has  been  one  of  the  owners  since  1905,  deservedly  occupies  a 
high  place  in  the  estimation  of  the  traveling  public  and  has  become  a  favorite 
stopping  place  for  people  of  all  classes,  but  particularly  with  miners,  rail- 
road employes  and  stockmen  has  its  popularity  been  manifest  'and  its  prestige 
assured.  The  location  of  the  building,  at  the  corner  of  Baker  and  Sumner 
streets,  furnishes  every  facility  for  the  prompt  accommodation  of  travelers 


290  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  and  many  of  the  trains  stop  at  this  point 
for  meals.  Those  desirous  of  qtiick  service  are  accommodated  at  the  lunch 
counter,  while  others  find  every  facility  for  elegant  service  in  the  well- 
equipped  dining  room,  with  its  large  seating  capacity  and  its  supply  of  ex- 
cellent food  at  moderate  prices.  The  management  prides  itself  on  its  model 
kitchen,  equipped  with  every  convenience  for  cookery,  ventilated  in  accord- 
ance with  the  most  modern  s^-stems  and  finished  by  experts  understanding 
the  laws  of  sanitation.  The  hotel  maintains  thirty-five  guest-rooms  neatly 
furnished  and  provided  with  modern  conveniences,  a  number  of  them  having 
private  baths  attached. 

The  senior  proprietor  of  the  hotel  comes  from  Missouri,  but  has  made 
Kern  county  his  headquarters  for  fifteen  years  or  more.  He  was  born  in 
Texas  county,  Mo.,  March  15,  1870,  and  was  fourth  in  order  of  birth  among 
ten  children  who  lived  to  years  of  maturity.  The  father,  John,  died  in  1904, 
and  the  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Louisa  Martin,  still  makes 
Missouri  her  home  and  is  hale  and  rugged  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  (1912). 
J.  H.,  being  of  a  venturesome  disposition,  fond  of  travel  and  change,  consid- 
ered it  no  hardship  that  he  was  forced  to  earn  his  own  livelihood  from  boy- 
hood. Work  indeed  interested  him.  far  more  than  schooling  and  he  felt  a 
special  interest  in  mining,  so  it  is  not  strange  that  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he 
was  working  in  quartz  mines  in  Colorado.  Ever  since  that  time  he  has  kept 
posted  concerning  mining  of  every  kind  and  few  men  in  Kern  county  are 
better  posted  than  he  concerning  the  details  connected  with  the  occupation. 
Upon  leaving  the  Colorado  mines  in  1895  he  went  to  Alaska,  where  he  mined 
in  the  Klondike  and  the  Yukon  basin,  remaining  for  eighteen  months.  Leav- 
ing the  cold  frozen  north  he  came  to  California  and  later  mined  at  Esmerelda, 
Calaveras  county,  at  Pine  Grove  in  Amador  county,  at  Bodie  in  Mono  county, 
besides  other  mining  centers.  In  addition  for  three  years  he  spent  considera- 
ble of  his  time  in  Nevada  mines.  After  having  prospected  in  the  Panamint 
range  in  Inyo  county  he  was  attracted  to  Randsburg,  Kern  county,  and  to 
the  Mojave  district,  where  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  develop  prospects.  One 
of  his  best-paying  claims,  the  Eleven,  he  sold  to  Dr.  Nelson  in  1900,  after 
having  developed  it  to  a  high  degree  of  profit.  For  some  time  he  was  iden- 
tified with  the  development  of  the  Yellow  Rover,  and  it  was  not  until  1911 
that  he  disposed  of  his  interests  there,  the  sale  bringing  him  an  excellent 
return  upon  his  investment. 

The  first  connection  of  Mr.  Stevenson  with  the  hotel  business  occurred 
in  Caliente,  Kern  county,  in  1902,  when  he  purchased  the  Caliente  hotel,  but 
after  having  managed  the  property  for  two  years  he  sold  it  and  removed  to 
East  Bakersfield.  For  two  years  he  conducted  the  hotel  Metropole  alone,  but, 
realizing  the  need  of  co-operation  in  the  large  undertaking,  he  took  into 
partnership  James  A.  Bernard  under  the  firm  title  of  Stevenson  &  Bernard. 
Subsequent  changes  have  made  the  title  of  the  firm  Stevenson,  Woody  & 
O'Meara,  the  other  owners  being  A.  J.  Woody  and  P.  J.  O'Meara,  well-known 
real-estate  men  of  Bakersfield.  The  present  management  dates  from  April 
11,  1911,  and  has  been  successful  from  the  first,  so  that  each  member  of  the 
firm  is  receiving  a  deserved  return  for  his  time,  labor  and  investment.  While 
giving  close  attention  to  the  hotel,  Mr.  Stevenson  finds  time  to  keep  posted 
concerning  politics,  aids  the  Democratic  party  in  local  affairs  and  is  public- 
spirited  in  every  respect.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Elks, 
Eagles  and  Knights  of  Pythias.  During  1509  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  May  Gazzolo,  a  native  of  Coulterville,  Mariposa  county,  this  state. 
With  his  wife  and  two  children,  Athena  and  Regina,  he  has  a  comfortable 
home  in  East  Bakersfield  and  finds  a  special  delight  in  a  happy  and  contented 
domestic  life. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  293 

WILLIAM  A.  HOWELL. — From  the  age  of  thirteen  years  a  resident  of 
Uakerstield,  Mr.  Howell  is  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with  the  educational,  com- 
mercial and  material  upbuilding  of  this  city  and  holds  it  to  be,  in  point  of 
possibilities,  unsurpassed  by  any  place  in  our  great  commonwealth.  Born  in 
New  Orleans,  La.,  December  11,  1863,  he  is  the  only  surviving  child  of  the 
late  William  and  Mary  (Hea\ey)  Howell,  natives  respectively  of  Wales  and 
Ireland.  After  having  crossed  the  ocean  during  early  life,  the  father  settled 
in  New  (3rleans  and  worked  his  way  forward  until  he  acquired  the  ownership 
of  a  mercantile  business  in  that  city.  Seeking  the  advantages  of  the  west, 
he  came  to  Bakersfield  in  1876  and,  finding  the  outlook  favorable,  sent  for  his 
wife  and  children,  who  joined  him  in  1877,  establishing  a  permanent  residence 
in  the  county-seat  town.  Scarcely  had  he  established  himself  in  business 
here  when  in  1879  his  life  came  to  an  end.  Afterward  his  wife  remained  in 
this  city  until  her  death,  which  occurred  in  1897.  Aleanwhile  she  had  given 
her  only  remaining  son  an  excellent  education  in  the  public  schools  and  had 
trained  him  for  the  responsibilities  of  the  workaday  world.  While  yet  a  mere 
lad  he  became  proficient  in  stenography.  The  correctness  of  his  transcripts 
attracted  attention.  It  was  deemed  little  less  than  remarkable  that  one  so 
young  should  be  so  skilled  and  accurate  in  the  reporting  of  cases  involving 
technical  terms  to  which  he  was  unaccustomed.  Before  he  became  of  age  he 
was  by  stipulation  of  the  attorneys  secured  to  report  court  cases  for  over 
three  years,  and  after  he  had  attained  his  majority  he  was  regularly  appointed 
b}-  the  judge  of  the  superior  court  as  the  official  court  reporter.  Ever  since 
then  he  has  filled  the  same  position  and  it  is  said  that  he  has  the  honor  of 
being  the  oldest  oiificial,  in  point  of  years  of  continuous  service,  connected 
with  the  courthouse  of  Kern  county.  Nor  has  his  identification  with  county 
work  been  limited  to  stenographic  service,  for  in  addition  he  has  been  a 
deputy  at  different  times  in  nearly  all  the  offices  of  the  county,  also  for  three 
terms  of  two  years  each  he  filled  the  office  of  county  auditor,  there  as  in  all 
other  positions  displaying  accuracy,  fidelity,  energj'  and  wise  judgment. 
Mr.  Howell  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Security  Trust  Company  and  has 
been  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  since  its  inception. 

The  residence  which  Mr.  Howell  erected  en  the  corner  of  H  and  Seven- 
teenth streets  and  which  he  still  owns  and  occupies,  has  for  its  presiding 
genius  a  woman  of  great  capability,  a  native  daughter  of  the  commonwealth, 
formerly  i\Iiss  Elizabeth  G.  Dugan,  who  was  born  in  Amador  county,  but 
made  Bakersfield  her  home  at  the  time  of  her  marriage.  Two  children  bless 
their  union,  Genevieve  and  William  A.,  Jr.  Upon  the  organization  of  the 
Knights  of  Columbus  in  Bakersfield  Air.  Howell  became  a  charter  member 
and  later  he  held  the  office  of  district  deputy  for  three  years,  besides  which  in 
other  ways  he  has  contributed  to  the  interests  of  the  order  and  to  its  local 
growth.  For  five  years  he  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  Beale  memorial  library  and  at  the  same  time  he  has  promoted  other 
worthy  movements  identified  with  the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  city 
The  Democratic  party  receives  his  support  in  local  and  general  elections. 

ANTHONY  B.  OLSON.— Although  of  American  birth  and  tvpically 
-American  in  mode  of  thought  and  action,  he  comes  from  Scandinavian 
forbears  and  is  a  son  of  John  Olson,  a  native  of  Vermland,  Sweden,  the 
founder  of  this  branch  of  the  Olson  family  in  the  United  States.  Skilled  in 
merchant  tailoring,  he  followed  the  trade  after  his  arrival  in  the  new  world. 
Starting  in  with  a  very  small  tailor  shop  on  Chicago  avenue,  Chicago,  he 
gradually  built  up  an  important  business  and  finally  had  forty  workmen  in 
his  employ.  The  great  fire  of  1871  destroyed  his  shop  and  ruined  his  busi- 
ness. Forced  to  start  anew,  he  removed  to  Michigan  and  opened  a  tailor  shop 
at  Muskegon,  where  in  time  he  recuperated  his  losses  and  attained  a  fair  de- 
gree of  financial  success.     Upon  giving  up  the  work  of  a  merchant  tailor,  he 


294  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

returned  to  Chicago  and  there  he  died  in  1906.  One  year  later  occurred  the 
demise  of  his  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Erliana  Swensen  and  was 
a  native  of  Sparta.  Mich.  Surviving  them  are  fi.ur  children,  the  youngest  of 
whom,  Anthony  Benjamin,  was  born  in  Muskegon,  Mich.,  May  11,  1887,  and 
received  such  advantages  as  the  schools  of  that  city  afforded.  After  having 
graduated  from  the  Muskegon  high  school  in  1905  he  removed  to  Chicago 
and  there  occupied  clerical  positions  with  different  firms. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  California  during  May  of  1908  Air.  Olson  secured 
employment  at  Sanger  in  the  office  of  the  Hume-Bennett  Lumber  Company. 
A  year  later  he  was  transferred  to  the  work  of  a  yardman  and  from  that 
rose  to  be  foreman  of  the  yard,  in  which  responsible  position  he  proved  effi- 
cient and  trustworthy.  Resigning  January  1,  1911,  he  came  to  McKittrick  as 
an  employe  of  the  King  Lumber  Company,  which  in  September  of  the  same 
year  transferred  him  to  their  Bakersfield  yard  to  take  charge  of  the  work 
there.  During  February,  1912,  he  returned  to  McKittrick  in  the  capacity  of 
manager  for  the  King  Lumber  Company,  in  whose  interests  he  since  has 
served  with  conscientious  devotion  and  encouraging  results.  While  living 
in  Sanger  he  met  and  married  Miss  Carrie  L.  Barr,  who  was  born  in  Kansas, 
but  passed  her  girlhood  almost  wholly  at  Sanger.  After  graduating  from 
the  Sanger  high  school  she  had  taken  a  course  of  study  in  the  San  Francisco 
Normal  and  had  fitted  for  educational  work,  in  which  she  engaged  with  suc- 
cess prior  to  her  marriage.  In  political  allegiance  Mr.  Olson  adheres  to 
Democratic  principles  and  fraternallv  he  holds  membership  with  the  Masons. 

MAJOR  W.  H.  COOK,  M.  D.— The  notable  record  achieved  by  Dr.  Cook 
in  sanitation  and  surgical  work  during  the  Spanish-American  war  and  subse- 
quent service  in  the  Philippines  duplicates  in  many  respects  the  able  and 
prominent  identification  of  his  father,  the  late  J.  A.  Cook,  M.  D.,  with  the 
Union  army  during  the  Civil  war,  in  which  as  a  surgeon  attached  to  the 
Nineteenth  Army  Corps  he  had  charge  of  hospital  boats  and  hastily  equipped 
surgical  wards  on  Virginian  battlefields.  For  such  responsible  tasks  he  was 
qualified  by  graduation  from  Rush  Medical  College  and  by  long  service  as  a 
physician  and  surgeon  with  a  large  private  patronage.  Himself  a  native  of 
Tinton  halls,  Monmouth  county,  N.  J.,  he  had  married  some  }'ears  before  the 
beginning  of  the  war  Miss  Mary  M.  Harris,  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  they 
had  established  a  home  in  Kendall  county,  111.,  where  the  eldest  of  their 
four  children,  William  Harris  Cook,  was  born  at  Fox,  February  19,  1855. 
Following  the  Civil  war,  a  home  was  made  at  Washington,  D.  C,  but  eventu- 
ally the  doctor  removed  to  Kansas  and  engaged  in  practice  at  Humboldt  until 
his  death.  The  last  days  of  the  mother  were  passed  in  the  home  of  her  son, 
W.  H.,  at  McKittrick,  where  she  passed  away  in  1912  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three. 

Subsequent  to  graduation  from  the  Aurora  (111.)  high  school  and  the 
Naperville  (111.)  branch  of  the  commercial  department  of  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity, at  the  age  of  eighteen  William  Harris  Cook  matriculated  in  Rush 
Medical  College  and  completed  the  course  in  1875,  but,  on  account  of  not 
having  attained  his  majority,  he  was  not  granted  a  diploma  and  the  degree 
of  M.  D.,  until  a  year  later,  February  15,  1876.  Meanwhile  he  had  gained 
considerable  experience  as  an  assistant  to  his  father  in  Aurora,  111.,  but  after 
graduation  he  removed  to  Kansas  and  opened  an  office  at  Larned,  Pawnee 
county,  where  he  remained  for  two  years.  Following  a  period  devoted  to 
recuperation  in  Colorado  he  returned  to  Illinois  and  opened  an  office  at 
Elwood,  Will  county.  The  year  1880  found  him  a  pioneer  at  Globe,  Ariz., 
of  which  town  he  was  a  leading  citizen  and  successful  physician.  On  account 
of  his  familiarity  with  the  language  of  the  Mojave  and  Apache  tribes  he  was 
chosen  for  two  years  to  make  the  official  count  of  the  Indians  at  the  White 
mountain  reservation. 

A  pioneer  of   1887  at  Bakersfield,  Dr.  Cook  engaged  in  practice  in  this 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  •  295 

then  small  town.  On  the  org;anizatiiin  of  Company  G,  Sixth  California  Na- 
tional Guard,  he  was  chosen  the  first  captain  and  continued  as  such  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain.  A  commission  as  captain  in  that  war 
bore  date  of  May,  1898.  and  expired  with  his  honorable  discharge  in  Decem- 
ber of  the  same  year.  Entering  the  medical  department  of  the  United  States 
army  as  an  assistant  surgeon,  he  was  dispatched  to  Fort  Leavenworth  and 
with  the  Thirty-second  United  States  Infantry  was  sent  to  the  Philippines. 
From  assistant  surgeon  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant  he  was  promoted  in 
December,  1899,  to  captain  with  the  rank  of  surgeon  and  in  March  of  1900 
was  commissioned  surgeon,  on  the  recommendation  of  General  Wheeler,  the 
imiuediate  cause  of  the  promotion  having  been  the  skill  displayed  in  the 
command  of  the  extreme  left  of  the  firing  line  at  the  time  of  the  advance 
on  Porac.  Afterward  he  was  assigned  to  civil  service  as  deputy  insular  health 
officer  under  Major  C.  E.  Carter,  in  which  capacity  he  visited  every  province 
but  one.  established  boards  of  health  and  instructed  the  same  in  the  best  meth- 
ods of  combating  and  preventing  bubonic  plague,  cholera,  leprosy  and  small- 
pox. Within  less  than  ten  months  there  had  been  over  three  hundred  thou- 
sand deaths  from  cholera  and  one  hundred  eighty-five  thousand  deaths  from 
bubonic  plague.  Such  was  the  beneficent  result  of  the  fight  against  disease 
that  contagious  epidemics  were  almost  exterminated. 

After  a  year  in  the  United  States,  during  February  of  1905  Dr.  Cook 
returned  to  the  Philippines  with  the  Eighteenth  Infantry  and  served  as 
surgeon  on  the  island  of  Samar.  About  a  year  later  he  resigned  and  returned 
to  New  York,  but  in  March  of  1907  came  to  California  and  opened  an  office 
at  McKittrick,  where  he  has  since  engaged  in  practice,  meanwhile  forming 
associations  with  the  county,  state  and  American  medical  associations.  Dur- 
ing his  term  of  army  service  he  became  allied  with  the  military  order  of 
Caribou  and  he  is  also  prominent  in  Masonry,  being  connected  with  the 
Knights  Templar,  Scottish  Rite  Consistory  and  thirty-second  degree.  ]\Irs. 
Cook  was  formerly  Lorena  Williamson  and  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
Her  parents,  S.  Stryker  and  Mary  E.  (Hubbard)  Williamson,  were  natives 
respectively  of  Brooklyn  and  Tinton  Falls,  N.  J.,  and  the  latter  traced  her 
linea.ge  to  England,  while  Mr.  \\'illiamson  was  of  old  Knickerbocker  blood,  a 
member  of  a  family  that  bore  an  honorable  part  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
and  in  the  activities  of  the  colonial  era. 

HON.  R.  J.  HUDSON.— The  distinction  of  being  a  native  son  of  the 
great  west  belongs  to  Judge  Hudson,  who  was  born  in  Napa  county,  this  state, 
February  20,  1837,  being  a  son  of  David  and  Frances  (Griffith)  Hudson, 
natives  respectively  of  Missouri  and  North  Carolina,  the  former  now  deceased, 
and  the  latter  still  a  resident  of  California.  It  was  the  privilege  of  Judge 
Hudson,  but  a  privilege  largely  resulting  from  his  own  determined  energy 
and  ambition,  to  secure  excellent  educational  advantages.  After  he  had  com- 
pleted the  studies  of  the  Napa  high  school  he  matriculated  in  the  classical 
department  of  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor,  where  he  took  the 
regular  course  of  study.  Next  he  entered  the  law  department  of  Cumberland 
University  at  Lebanon,  Tenn.,  and  in  1878  he  was  graduated  from  that  insti- 
tution. Returning  to  California  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  supreme 
court  during  the  same  year  and  immediately  afterward  established  himself  in 
practice  in  Los  Angeles,  where  for  a  year  he  had  Judge  Anson  Brunson  as  a 
partner.  From  1880  to  1882  he  served  as  district  attorney  of  Los  Angeles 
county.  The  failure  of  his  health  led  him  to  seek  a  change  of  climate  and  he 
established  himself  in  Lake  county,  this  state,  where  he  soon  rose  to  promi- 
nence through  the  prompt  recognitu)n  of  his  splendid  abilities.  .After  a  year  in 
private  practice  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  superior  court  of  Lake  county, 
which  responsible  office  he  filled  for  ten  years,  meanwhile  regaining  his  health. 
When  he  retired  from  the  judicial  connection  he  removed  to  Manford.  Kings 
county,    where   he    engaged    in    practice    for   six    years,    coming   from    there 


296  ■  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

in  1911  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  is  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Emmons  & 
Hudson,  with  offices  in  the  Producers'  Bank  building.  Much  important  litiga- 
tion has  been  given  over  to  his  charge  in  the  various  places  of  his  residence 
and  he  has  fully  proved  his  broad  knowledge  of  the  law  as  well  as  his  ability 
to  carry  through  to  solution  intricate  cases  involving  large  issues. 

In  1882,  at  Napa  City,  Judge  Hudson  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Panthea  B.  Boggs,  a  native  of  Napa  county.  They  are  the  parents  of  two 
sons,  the  elder  of  whom,  Howard,  is  a  resident  of  San  Francisco,  while  the 
younger,  Marshall,  is  nowi  in  Dawson  City.  Ever  since  he  became  a  voter 
Judge  Hudson  has  supported  Democratic  principles. 

ALVIN  G.  LUESCHEN,  M.  D.— To  rise  out  of  a  condition  of  poverty, 
to  earn  self-support  from  the  age  of  thirteen  years,  to  secure  an  excellent 
education  without  aid  and  to  develop  into  a  successful  professional  man  and 
a  cultured  citizen  of  his  community,  such  is  an  achievement  calling  for  supe- 
rior ability  and  the  most  undaunted  persistence  of  effort.  That  this  is  the 
record  of  Dr.  Lueschen  affords  a  silent  but  eloquent  testimony  as  to  a  self- 
reliant  personality.  By  dint  of  personal  energy  he  paid  his  way  through 
medical  college  and  gained  not  only  a  thorough  professional  education,  but 
also  a  broad  knowledge  on  all  subjects  of  historical,  national  and  scientific 
interest,  thus  rounding  out  a  mental  culture  of  breadth  and  dignity. 

A  descendant  of  old  Teutonic  ancestry,  Dr.  Lueschen  was  born  in  Co- 
lumbus, Platte  county,  Neb.,  in  1880,  and  is  a  son  of  Gerhard  Lueschen,  a  pio- 
neer farmer  and  rancher  of  Nebraska,  and  in  the  early  days  a  chum  of  Will- 
iam F.  Cody,  better  known  as  Buffalo  Bill.  The  father,  still  a  resident  of 
Nebraska,  possesses  abundant  health  and  vitality  notwithstanding  his  early 
years  of  hardships.  Born  about  1848,  he  has  seen  much  of  the  development 
of  the  west  and  has  borne  his  own  share  therein.  As  previously  stated,  the 
poverty  of  the  family  forced  Dr.  Lueschen  to  become  self-supporting  when 
thirteen  years  of  age  and  by  dint  of  persevering  energy  he  carried  out  a  child- 
hood ambition  to  become  a  physician.  During  the  fall  of  1900  he  matricu- 
lated in  Creighton  Medical  College  at  Omaha,  Neb.,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1904.  Returning  to  his  native  town,  he  opened 
an  office  and  gained  his  initial  experience  as  a  practitioner,  and  in  the  same 
town  in  1908  he  married  Miss  Gertrude  Elias,  by  whom  he  has  one  son, 
Alvin  Gerald.  The  family  came  to  California  in  1910  and  settled  in  Bakers- 
field,  where  the  Doctor  opened  an  office  at  No.  212  Producers'  Bank  building 
and  about  the  same  time  erected  a  modern  and  beautifully  appointed  bunga- 
low at  No.  1917  Orange  street  at  a  cost  of  more  than  $3,000.  In  political 
faith  he  adheres  to  Republican  principles  and  in  religion  he  is  a  generous 
contributor  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  his  wife  is  an  earnest  member. 

JAMES  NICHOLAS  NORRIS.— Very  early  in  the  colonization  of  the 
new  world  the  Norris  family  became  established  in  South  Carolina  and  in 
that  state  David  Norris  owned  and  operated  a  large  plantation  during  the 
early  portion  of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  exact  date  of  his  migration 
to  Missouri  is  not  known,  but  it  occurred  early  in  the  century  named  and 
thereafter  he  devoted  his  time  to  the  difficult  task  of  developing  a  produc- 
tive farm  out  of  a  tract  of  raw  land.  Among  the  children  in  his  family  was 
a  son,  Abner,  who  became  a  man  of  such  deep  religious  fervor  and  such 
intense  spiritual  zeal  that  he  gave  his  services  for  years  to  the  Baptist  de- 
nominaticn  without  hope  of  remuneration  or  thought  of  financial  returns. 
Indeed,  he  made  his  livelihood  and  that  of  the  family  through  his  work 
as  a  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  but  always  he  was  ready  to  sacrifice  his  own 
interests  for  those  of  the  church  with  the  hope  that  thereby  the  cause  of 
Christianity  might  be  promoted.  Cheerfully,  willingly  he  gave  his  all  to 
promote  religion  and  the  ideals  that  possessed  him  he  endeavored  to  im- 
plant in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  his  children.  In  early  manhood  he  had 
married  Jane  Evans,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky  and  had  gone  from  that 


/^.^^-      /<0  ^V-v-v^/M^ 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  299 

state  to  Missouri  in  company  with  lier  father,  Samuel  Evans,  a  pioneer 
farmer  of  the  middle  west.  Sharing  with  her  husband  his  self-sacrificing 
purposes,  she  cared  for  the  farm  and  the  family  during  his  absences  on 
preaching  tours  and  desired  no  recompense  other  than  the  thought  of  duty 
done.  ^Vhen  advanced  in  years  she  came  to  Bakersfield  to  the  home  of  her 
son,  James  Nicholas,  and  here  her  death  occurred  at  the  age  of  ninety-six. 

The  youngest  of  the  ten  children  of  Rev.  Abner  and  Jane  Norris,  James 
Nicholas  Norris  was  born  near  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  April  17,  1849.  When  the 
Civil  war  began  he  was  too  young  to  participate,  but  he  recalls  the  anxieties 
and  privations  of  that  period  of  national  trouble  and  individual  distress. 
His  schooling  was  meager,  but  he  was  trained  well  in  agriculture  and  made 
that  his  occupation  for  some  years  in  Dekalb  county,  Mo.,  after  which  he 
conducted  a  general  mercantile  business  at  Cosby,  Andrew  county.  Leav- 
ing Missouri  in  1883,  accompanied  by  wife  and  children,  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia and  settled  in  Kern  county,  where  for  a  brief  period  he  devoted  him- 
self to  ranching.  However,  for  the  greater  part  of  his  residence  in  the  west 
he  has  given  his  attention  to  carpentering  and  building  in  Bakersfield.  Not 
only  has  he  taken  contracts  for  many  residences  for  others,  but  he  has  built 
a  number  of  houses  for  himself  and  he  still  owns  two  in  Bakersfield  and  one 
in  Kern  (East  Bakersfield).  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  in  religion  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  For  one  term  he  served  as  superintendent 
of  streets  of  Bakersfield.  By  his  marriage  in  Dekalb  county,  Mo.,  to  Sarah 
Lee,  a  native  of  Iowa,  he  had  a  family  of  two  daughters  and  two  sons, 
namely:  Mrs.  Lillie  Gamble,  of  Bakersfield:  Mrs.  Lulu  J.  Adams,  also  of 
this  city :  Edward  Garfield,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Kern  Plumbing 
Company :  and  Herbert  H.,  property  man  at  the  Bakersfield  opera  house. 

HON.  SYLVESTER  CLARK  SMITH.— The  Smith  genealogical  rec- 
ords indicate  an  identification  with  American  soil  dating  from  the  arrival  in 
Massachusetts  of  John  Smith  of  Puritan  fame  and  continuing  through  all  of 
the  succeeding  generations,  each  member  stanch  of  purpose,  earnest  of  soul 
and  positive  in  achievement.  The  family  remained  resident  in  New  England 
until  finally  the  westward  drift  of  emigration  bore  Sylvester  Smith  in  its  tide 
and  planted  him  upon  the  then  frontier  of  Northern  New  York.  Nor  did 
this  represent  the  end  of  his  journeyings.  With  true  pioneer  instinct  he 
followed  the  star  of  empire  in  its  course  toward  the  prairies  and  plains  of  the 
west.  When  his  son,  Edward,  a  native  of  New  York,  was  still  a  small  child 
the  family  removed  to  Ohio  and  later  traveled  by  wagon  to  Illinois.  In  that 
state  Edward  grew  to  manhood,  rugged  in  body  and  resolute  in  character. 
The  vicissitudes  incident  to  frontier  existence  had  developed  within  him  self- 
reliance  and  independence  and  he  was  admirably  qualified  to  contribute  to  the 
development  of  the  middle  west.  As  early  as  1835,  when  Iowa  was  yet  in  the 
infancy  of  its  agricultural  progress,  he  removed  to  that  state,  where  he  met 
and  married  Celia  Shockley,  a  native  of  Ohio.  She,  too,  came  of  stanch 
pioneer  ancestry.  In  infancy  she  had  been  taken  from  Ohio  to  Iowa  by  her 
parents,  who  became  residents  of  the  last-named  state  at  a  time  when  it  was 
very  sparsely  populated. 

Taking  up  land  in  the  rich  but  undeveloped  section  of  southeastern  Iowa 
Edward  Smith  gave  himself  entirely  to  the  task  of  changing  the  homestead 
into  a  productive  and  remunerative  farm.  As  the  years  went  by  he  and  his 
wife  had  the  capable  assistance  of  their  children,  numbering  five  sons  and 
three  daughters.  While  riches  did  not  come  to  them,  they  gained  that  which 
is  more  to  be  desired,  the  deep  respect  of  acquaintances  and  the  implicit 
confidence  of  all  with  whom  they  had  social  intercourse  or  business  dealings. 
In  type  they  were  representative  of  the  splendid  element  whose  labors  were 
the  foundation  of  the  ultimate  agricultural  development  of  Iowa  and  whose 
sincere  characters  reappeared  in  a  later  generation  of  practical,  sensible 
daughters  and   talented   sons. 


300  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

The  life  which  this  narrative  depicts  began  in  the  home  of  Edward  and 
Celia  Smith  near  Mount  Pleasant,  Henry  county,  Iowa,  August  26,  1858, 
and  closed  at  Hollywood,  Cal.,  January  26,  1913.  In  early  years  there  came 
ever  and  anon  glimpses  of  the  splendid  mental  endowment  and  resolute 
nature  that  were  to  bring  subsequent  national  prominence,  yet  those  years 
were  far  from  eventful.  More  fortunate  than  the  sons  of  many  pioneers,  he 
was  allowed  a  term  in  an  academy  after  he  had  completed  the  studies  of  the 
country  schools.  The  few  months  spent  in  Howe's  academy  at  Mount  Pleas- 
ant aroused  his  ambition  for  higher  educational  opportunities  and  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  began  to  teach  in  the  spring  and  summer  months  in  order 
to  earn  the  money  necessary  for  attending  school  in  the  winter.  Coming  to 
California  in  1879  he  secured  a  position  as  teacher  in  a  school  of  Colusa 
county,  where,  Ma}'  7,  1882,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Maria  Hart, 
a  native  of  Franklin  county.  Mo.,  and  soon  afterward  they  removed  to  San 
Francisco  in  order  that  he  might  have  the  best  advantages  for  the  study  of 
law.  The  summer  of  1883  found  them  newcomers  in  Kern  county,  and  from 
that  time  until  his  death  the  history  of  ]\Ir.  Smith  was  in  many  respects  a 
history  of  the  county  itself,  so  intimately  was  he  associated  with  its  moral, 
educational  and  political  growth.  An  ambition  to  complete  his  law  studies 
led  him  to  teach  school  at  Tehachapi  and  Glennville  in  order  that  he  might 
earn  expenses  during  the  course  of  his  law  education. 

After  having  been  admitted  to  the  bar  in  October  of  1885,  Mr.  Smith 
opened  an  office  in  Bakersfield.  Chance  directed  that  his  fame  should  come 
in  another  field  than  that  of  the  law.  A  great  struggle  was  being  waged 
between  the  riparian  owners  and  the  appropriators  of  the  waters  of  Kern 
river.  In  1886  the  Kern  County  Echo  was  founded  as  a  militant  factor  in  the 
controversy  and  Mr.  Smith  became  editor.  The  controversy  ended,  but  the 
Echo,  having  established  a  place  of  its  own  in  the  journalistic  field,  has  con- 
tinued with  increasing  circulation  and  popularity  up  to  the  present  time  and 
now,  as  the  Morning  Echo,  wields  a  high  influence  for  good  in  every  avenue 
of  local  activity.  During  the  early  years  of  the  existence  of  the  paper,  when 
funds  were  low  and  the  future  prospects  at  times  discouraging,  the  editor 
made  his  home  on  a  claim  at  the  extreme  southern  end  of  the  Kern  mesa, 
riding  horseback  to  and  from  the  editorial  rooms  in  Bakersfield.  Meanwhile 
he  had  become  a  member  of  the  first  company  of  the  National  Guard  organ- 
ized in  this  city,  had  helped  to  organize  debating  clubs  and  street  improve- 
ment associations,  and  from  the  very  first  had  been  a  local  leader  in  the  Re- 
publican party.  Editorial  work  then,  even  more  than  now,  necessitated  the 
possession  of  both  physical  and  moral  courage,  and  that  he  possessed  such 
qualities  is  evidenced  by  an  incident  that  still  is  told  among  his  friends.  One 
evening  a  citizen,  armed  with  a  gun,  rushed  into  the  ofifice  exhibiting  a  clip- 
ping from  the  morning  paper  that  had  aroused  his  wrath.  Presenting  the 
gun  at  the  head  of  Mr.  Smith,  he  demanded  that  the  editor  literally  eat  the 
oflFending  article.  It  was  useless  to  argue  with  the  infuriated  man.  Still 
covered  with  the  weapon,  Mr.  Smith  quietly  asked  a  clerk  to  telephone  for 
the  sherifif.  As  he  resumed  writing  at  his  desk,  the  angry  man  had  time  to 
become  ashamed  of  his  fury  and  the  afifair  ended  amicably.  Nor  was  Mr. 
Smith  less  brave  morally.  Always  he  expressed  his  personal  convictions  in 
the  paper,  no  matter  how  unpopular  they  might  be  or  how  much  they  might 
seem  to  augur  his  personal  defeat.  Indeed,  his  high  moral  courage  was  one 
of  his  most  notable  attributes,  and  while  at  times  bringing  him  criticism,  in 
the  end  it  became  the  foundation  and  the  root  of  his  great  influence.  From 
the  day  the  first  issue  of  the  Echo  appeared  until  the  last  day  of  his  life  (a 
period  of  twenty-six  years,  seven  months  and  twenty-one  days)  his  name 
appeared  at  the  head  of  the  editorial  columns  of  every  issue.  In  addition 
he  was  the  leading  editorial  writer  during  much  of  that  time.  Even  when 
official  duties  kept  him  from  the  city  he  still  directed  the  policy  of  the  paper. 


HISTORY    OF    KP:RN    COUNTY  301 

In  every  step  of  its  advancement  might  be  seen  his  quiet  Ijut  decisive  influ- 
ence. Not  only  was  he  one  of  the  oldest  editors  in  the  state  in  point  of  con- 
tinuous service,  but  he  also  had  the  distinction  of  being  one  of  the  most 
able,  forceful  and  influential. 

The  distinction  attached  to  the  career  of  Mr.  Smith  derives  much  interest 
from  the  public  service  of  the  man.  Even  more  important  than  his  labors 
as  editor  were  his  disinterested  services  in  behalf  of  his  state  and  country. 
Broad  as  was  his  field  of  usefulness  as  the  journalistic  head  of  a  great  paper, 
helpful  as  was  his  work  on  the  Bakersfield  Board  of  Trade  and  Board  of 
Health,  progressive  as  was  his  co-operation  with  many  organizations  of  the 
community,  he  realized  that  there  was  need  of  reform  movements  in  the  com- 
monwealth and  he  desired  to  aid  in  the  legislative  work  of  the  state — hence 
his  first  campaign  for  the  state  senate  in  1894.  Elected  not  only  then,  but 
again  in  1898,  he  served  for  eight  years  with  honor  and  fidelity.  Usefulness 
as  a  legislator  paved  the  way  for  a  later  service  in  congress.  As  senator  he 
was  the  author  of  a  counties  government  act,  the  registration  law  of  1898, 
the  constitutional  amendment  authorizing  the  use  of  voting  machines,  and 
(this  he  regarded  as  his  most  important  public  service)  a  bill  establishing  the 
state  polytechnic  school  at  San  Luis  Obispo.  This  institution  became  a 
pioneer  in  the  field  of  manual  training.  The  author  of  the  bill  had  in  mind 
a  training  in  agriculture,  mechanics,  engineering,  business  methods,  domestic 
economy  and  indeed  all  occupations  except  those  dealing  with  the  profes- 
sional walks  of  life.  When  he  first  presented  the  bill  in  1895  the  senate 
passed  it,  but  failure  came  in  the  assembly.  In  1897  it  was  passed  by  both 
houses,  only  to  be  vetoed  by  the  governor.  Session  after  session  he  labored 
persistently  until  finally  in  1901  it  became  a  law  and  the  school  was  estab- 
lished. His  theory  in  urging  so  persistently  the  establishment  of  the  school 
was  that  labc  r  must  be  made  more  efficient  and  better  trained,  then  it  will  be 
better  paid  and  less  irksome ;  and  every  trained  worker,  if  industrious  and 
frugal,  may  reasonably  hope  to  support  his  family  and  educate  his  children, 
in  turn  preparing  them  to  be  trained  specialists  in  some  avenue  of  employ- 
ment. 

When  he  first  announced  himself  as  a  candidate  for  congress  in  1902 
Mr.  Smith  was  defeated  in  the  convention  on  the  forty-ninth  ballot.  The 
contest,  begun  in  Sacramento  and  ended  at  Ventura,  had  been  peculiarly 
strenuous  and  even  bitter,  but  no  trace  of  the  bitterness  lingered  in  the  mind 
of  Mr.  Smith,  for  with  characteristic  enthusiasm  he  threw  himself  into  the 
campaign  on  the  side  of  his  successful  competitor.  Captain  Daniels,  and  the 
latter  was  elected.  His  own  laurels  came  to  him  at  a  later  date,  .\ugust  23, 
1904,  he  was  nominated  by  acclamation  and  in  November  he  was  elected  by 
a  majority  of  more  than  ten  thousand.  From  that  time  until  the  day  of  his 
death  he  continued  to  represent  the  Eighth  California  district.  Meanwhile 
he  had  been  recognized  in  congress  as  a  ready  debater  and  an  excellent 
committee-worker.  As  a  member  of  the  original  commission  appointed  to 
revise  the  banking  and  monetary  system,  he  served  until  the  loss  of  health 
necessitated  relinquishment  of  such  duties.  The  present  postal  savings  bank 
bill  is  a  monument  to  his  labors,  supplementing  those  of  other  congressmen. 
\MTen  the  speaker  of  the  house  was  shorn  of  much  of  his  power,  Mr.  Smith 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  new  rules  committee,  to  which  was  given  much 
of  that  power. 

As  was  natural  to  one  coming  from  Kern  count}-,  the  interest  maintained 
by  Mr.  Smith  in  the  oil  industry  led  him  to  make  an  effort  to  promote  the 
permanent  welfare  of  that  business.  A  bill  presented  by  him  sought  to 
extend  to  the  taking  up  of  oil  land  the  essential  provisions  of  the  homestead 
law,  varied  of  course  to  suit  the  different  need.  No  provisions  had  been  made 
to  secure  to  a  locator  of  oil  land  any  legal  right  of  possession  until  such  time 
as  he  might  make  an  actual  discovery  of  oil.     Before  any  such  discovery  it 


302  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

was  necessary  to  spend  thousands  of  dollars,  which  under  the  then  law  was 
jeopardized.  The  bill  limited  the  amount  of  oil  land  which  a  man  or  com- 
pany could  acquire,  but  also  insured  peaceful  possession  of  an  oil  claim 
during  the  time  necessary  to  complete  a  well.  However,  although  the  bill 
passed  in  the  house,  it  failed  of  the  support  of  the  senate,  and  before  the 
next  session  the  deluge  of  oil  land  withdrawals  swept  over  every  district  of 
the  west  where  the  presence  of  oil  was  suspected.  Then  followed  the  Yard 
decision  with  its  disastrous  results ;  the  visits  of  delegations  of  oil  men  to 
Washington ;  the  presentation  of  memorials  to  congress ;  and  finally,  under  a 
suspension  of  rules,  the  Smith  remedial  bill  was  passed  in  February,  1911, 
when  Mr.  Smith,  so  ill  that  he  was  supported  by  fellow-members  and  so  weak 
that  his  voice  could  hardly  be  heard  a  dozen  paces  away,  asked  consent  for 
the  passage  of  the  measure. 

Another  measure  of  importance  presented  by  Mr.  Smith  prevents  the 
monopoly  of  patented  articles  and  processes  by  permitting  any  person  to 
make  use  of  an  invention  on  the  payment  of  a  stipulated  royalty  to  the  in- 
ventor, and  providing  for  government  supervision  of  these  royalties  so  that 
favoritism  might  be  eliminated.  Through  his  labors  an  appropriation  of 
$2,000,000  was  secured  to  protect  the  settlers  in  the  Imperial  valley  from  the 
ravages  of  the  Colorado  river.  His  highest  honor  in  the  congress  came  with 
his  appointment  in  1908  as  a  member  of  the  national  monetary  commission. 
During  1910  he  secured  an  appropriation  of  $20,000  for  a  site  for  a  federal 
building  in  Bakersfield.  Later  a  recommendation  was  made  to  appropriate 
$135,000  for  the  erection  of  a  postofifice,  and  this  will  ensure  the  erection  in 
the  near  future  of  a  building  here  for  federal  use.  In  all  of  his  official  career 
his  affection  remained  deeply  rooted  in  Bakersiield.  When  he  returned 
hither  after  an  absence  he  noted  with  intense  eagerness  every  phase  of  indus- 
trial development,  every  improvement  made,  whether  in  an  electric  light  or 
sewerage  system,  in  the  residence  district  or  the  business  center,  in  the 
streets,  the  paving  or  the  roads.  Along  every  line  of  civic  activity  he  had 
pronounced  and  progressive  opinions  and  he  had  studied  park  systems,  fire 
departments  and  indeed  every  department  of  importance  to  a  growing  muni- 
cipality. One  of  his  ideas  was  the  establishment  of  comfortable  rest  rooms 
in  the  lodging-house  districts,  where  the  men,  necessarily  idle  at  certain  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  might  congregate  in  their  old  clothes  without  any  feeling 
of  discomfort,  but  with  a  genuine  enjoyment  of  their  own  club  room.  Many 
of  these  men,  disliking  to  loaf  on  the  sidewalk  or  in  the  saloons,  would  greatly 
enjoy  a  plain  but  pleasant  club  room  where  they  might  meet  their  friends 
and  enjoy  conversation  or  games  during  the  days  of  their  unemployment. 
Parks  also  would  aid  in  promoting  the  happiness  of  the  people  and  give  them 
healthful  outdoor  exercise,  hence  he  earnestly  advocated  them. 

Through  a  long  illness  Congressman  Smith  never  lost  touch  with  the 
world  of  progress  and  particularly  with  his  own  home  county.  The  mails 
kept  him  in  touch  with  Bakersfield  and  Washington,  the  two  spots  of  his  deep- 
est interest.  To  his  friends  he  sent  the  most  encouraging  messages.  No  word 
of  discouragement  was  allowed  to  leave  his  room  at  the  sanatorium,  but  in 
illness  as  in  health  he  was  brave,  hopeful  and  dignified,  always  interested  in 
others  and  constantly  urging  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the  people.  In  one 
of  his  last  letters  he  urged  better  church  equipment  and  pledged  his  full  co- 
operation to  that  end.  T)n  his  last  day  a  public  document  called  his  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  sixteen  members  of  the  sixty-first  congress  had  passed 
from  earth.  Before  the  sun  had  risen  he  was  the  seventeenth.  He  had  fallen 
with  his  armor  on,  with  mind  alert,  with  reputation  at  its  highest  and  with 
honor  unimpeached.  Surviving  him  were  his  wife  and  two  daughters,  Mrs. 
E.  S.  Larsen,  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and  Mrs.  A.  W.  Mason,  of  Bakersfield. 
Relatives  and  a  delegation  of  friends  accompanied  the  body  from  Hollywood 
to  Bakersfield.  where  the  magnificent  funeral  cortege  with  marchers  repre- 


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HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  307 

seating  military,  labor,  civic  and  fraternal  organizations  attested  to  his  deep 
hold  upon  the  affections  of  his  fellow-townsmen.  Thus  passed  into  eternal 
silence  one  who  had  lived  nobly  and  well  and  whose  name  will  long  stand  in 
the  annals  of  Bakersfield  as  that  of  a  distinguished  citizen,  who  climbed  by 
sterling  worth  from  obscurity  into  an  honorable  place  in  the  councils  of  the 
nation. 

PAUL  GALTES. — To  present  the  biography  of  the  pioneer  merchant 
of  Bakersfield  is  to  depict  in  many  respects  a  commercial  history  of  the  city 
itself,  with  the  development  of  which  he  has  been  identified  from  the  days 
when  it  sheltered  onl}^  six  families  up  to  the  present  time  with  a  proudly 
acclaimed  population  of  almost  seventeen  thousand.  A  few  shanties  repre- 
sented the  business  blocks  of  the  village  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  1871. 
The  railroad  had  not  been  built  and  passengers  had  no  means  of  conveyance 
aside  from  the  stage  or  their  own  private  vehicles.  On  every  side  the  barren 
land  stretched  out  toward  the  sun-stricken  desert  and  only  an  optimist 
could  have  predicted  the  possibilities  of  irrigation.  The  following  year, 
however,  found  the  county-seat  removed  from  Havilah  to  Bakersfield  and 
the  prosperity  of  the  present  dates  from  that  period.  Meanwhile  the  young 
Spaniard  had  bought  a  shanty  with  a  frontage  of  twenty-five  feet  on  Nine- 
teenth between  K  street  and  Chester  avenue  and  in  the  small  building  he 
stocked  groceries  to  the  amount  of  $600,  for  the  greater  part  of  which  he 
had  been  given  credit.  It  should  be  mentioned  for  the  good  of  young  people 
that  one  of  the  reasons  that  he  was  given  so  great  credit  was,  as  was  stated 
by  one  of  the  prominent  wholesale  merchants  of  San  Francisco  of  that  day, 
that  the  mercantile  agency  book  stated  that  Paul  Galtes  of  Bakersfield  never 
entered  saloons  nor  played  cards,  hence  his  unlimited  credit.  From  that 
time  his  rise  was  steady,  his  debts  were  met  as  promised,  his  credit  became 
first-class  and  he  entered  into  the  financial  independence  whose  later  fruition 
has  brought  him  every  comfort  of  life  as  well  as  every  possibility  for  rest, 
travel  and  recreation.  In  1889  he  returned  to  his  native  city  in  Spain  to 
visit  old  friends  and  again  in  1911  he  made  a  trip  to  Barcelona,  besides  tour- 
ing throughout   Europe  and  into  Palestine. 

Mr.  Galtes  was  born  near  Barcelona,  Catalonia,  Spain,  October  2^.  1840, 
being  a  son  of  Paul  Sr.,  a  blacksmith  and  a  manufacturer  of  tools  for  farmers. 
.'Kfter  he  had  been  given  an  excellent  education  in  the  Spanisli  language  the 
son  was  taken  from  school  and  apprenticed  for  four  years  to  the  trades  of 
locksmith  and  blacksmith.  Builders"  hardware  also  was  among  his  special- 
ties. In  those  days  all  hardware  for  buildings  was  made  by  hand  and  he 
acquired  considerable  skill  in  the  art.  .\t  the  expiration  of  four  years,  during 
which  he  liad  received  no  pay  whatever,  he  began  to  work  for  wages  and 
traveled  as  a  journeyman  throughout  Europe.  In  1861  he  crossed  the 
ocean  to  Cuba  and  secured  employment  in  Santiago  as  clerk  in  a  dry-goods 
store,  where  he  remained  for  eight  years.  While  favorably  considering  an 
offer  of  partnership  in  the  business  trouble  arose  with  the  mother  country 
over  the  city  of  Independence,  a  revolution  seemed  imminent  and,  rather  than 
take  up  arms  against  his  native  land,  he  decided  to  come  to  California. 
The  attractions  of  the  west  had  been  depicted  to  him  often  and  always 
with  alluring  eloquence,  therefore  he  was  prepared  U>  find  a  country  of 
great  possibilities  and  unexcelled  climate.  Landing  at  San  I'rancisco  De- 
ceml)er  23,  1868,  he  found  himself  at  great  disadvantage  by  reason  of  lack 
of  knowledge  of  English.  On  the  advice  of  Archbishop  Alamany  of  San 
Francisco,  who  had  come  from  the  same  Spanish  province  as  himself,  he 
spent  four  months  in  language  study  at  St.  Vincent's  College  in  Los  An- 
geles. At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  secured  work  in  a  Los  Angeles 
bakery.  During  the  erection  of  the  then  leading  hotel  he  was  a  hired  work- 
man and  when  the  building  was  completed  he  received  an  appointment  as 
steward,  with  full  charge  i>f  all  supplies.     For  fourteen  months  he  filled  the 


308  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

same  position  at  ^75  per  month  and  this  gave  him  a  little  sum  to  invest 
in  business  when  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  by  1874  he  had  accumulated 
$27,000  in  general  merchandise.  During  1878  he  erected  the  first  brick 
block  in  the  city.  This  cost  $18,000  and  was  his  business  headquarters  until 
he  retired  from  the  mercantile  business  in  1888.  At  the  time  of  his  retire- 
ment his  stock  was  valued  at  $40,000  and  his  credit  was  the  very  best. 
His  confidence  in  Bakersfield  was  shown  in  the  erection  of  the  first  two-story 
brick  block  with  plate  glass  front,  a  building  which  was  burned  in  1889,  but  re- 
placed with  a  block  equally  substantial  and  expensive.  In  retiring  from  the 
mercantile  business  it  was  not  with  any  desire  to  enter  larger  affairs,  but 
in  order  that  young  men  ambitious  to  become  merchants  might  have  a 
better  chance  to  succeed.  Since  then  he  has  built  the  Grand  hotel  on  the 
corner  of  Chester  avenue  and  Twentieth  street  and  the  Para  theatre  on 
Chester  between  Twentieth  and  Twenty-first,  besides  which  he  owns  an  ele- 
gant residence  on  Truxtun  and  F  streets. 

Upon  the  incorporation  of  Bakersfield  and  the  election  of  the  first  board 
of  trustees  Mr.  Galtes  was  elected  to  serve  as  trustee,  but  declined  re- 
election at  the  end  of  the  term.  In  politics  he  has  been  independent  and  has 
voted  for  the  man  or  the  principle  rather  than  the  party.  For  some  years 
he  has  been  a  leading  worker  in  the  Kern  County  Pioneers'  Association.  In 
addition  he  is  associated  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  At  San  Francisco 
in  1874  he  married  Miss  Mariana  Lexague,  a  native  of  Basses-Pyrenees, 
France.  Seven  children  were  born  of  the  union  and  four  are  now  living. 
The  eldest  son,  Paul,  Jr.,  a  graduate  of  Santa  Clara  College,  has  entered 
the  order  of  Jesuits  and  is  now  a  priest  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.  The  younger  son, 
Felix,  also  a  graduate  of  Santa  Clara  College,  is  employed  in  the  Security 
Trust  Company  Bank  of  Bakersfield.  The  elder  daughter.  Sister  Mary 
Christa,  is  stationed  at  Santa  Monica  with  the  Sisters  of  the  Holy  Name. 
The  younger  daughter,  Lucy,  is  the  wife  of  Edward  Helbling,  of  Bakersfield. 
Mr.  Galtes  is  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

W.  S.  LIERLY. — To  make  mention  of  commercial,  financial  or  educa- 
tional aft'airs  in  Taft  and  to  omit  therefrom  the  name  of  Mr.  Lierly  would 
be  to  do  an  injustice  to  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  town,  one  of  the  up- 
builders  of  its  permanent  prosperity  and  one  of  the  promoters  of  its  school 
system,  a  man  of  clear  brain,  strong  character,  iron  will  and  strict  integrity. 
The  importance  of  his  identification  with  Taft  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact 
that  as  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Lierly  &  Son  he  owns  and  operates 
two  barns,  known  as  the  Midway  stables,  engages  in  house-moving  and 
team  contracting,  sells  and  hauls  sand  and  gravel,  owns  and  conducts  a  well 
equipped  blacksmith  shop,  also  owns  the  Taft  harness  shop  (an  enterprise 
of  no  small  importance),  and  is  president  of  the  company,  incorporated  for 
$25,000  and  known  as  the  Taft  Ice  Delivery,  the  purpose  of  which  is  to 
handle  and  deliver  ice  to  stores  and  private  customers.  In  addition  the  firm 
carries  on  an  express  and  transfer  business  at  Taft  and  owns  nine  small 
houses  which  are  rented  to  tenants.  All  of  this  has  been  accomplished  and 
developed  since  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Lierly  at  Taft  March  10,  1909. 

Twenty-seven  miles  east  of  Quincy  in  Adams  county.  111.,  W.  S.  Lierly 
was  b(irn  and  reared.  His  father,  Elijah  W.  Lierly,  was  taken  by  his  parents 
to  Illinois  at  the  age  of  only  seven  years  and  thereafter  made  his  home  in 
Adams  county,  where  he  died  at  Kellerville  in  March  of  1913.  Surviving 
him  are  two  sons  and  the  widow.  Mrs.  Sarah  Margaret  (Hargrave)  Lierly, 
the  latter  still  living  at  the  old  Illinois  homestead.  There  were  ten  children 
in  the  family,  but  two  of  these  died  in  early  life  and  a  sister,  Nancy,  died 
at  about  twenty-four  years;  she  left  a  husband,  Albert  Huffman,  and  one 
child,  Ansil  Huffman,  of  Sacramento.  William  K.,  a  well-to-do  farmer,  oc- 
cupies the  old  homestead  in  Adams  county.  W.  S.,  who  came  to  California 
at  the  age  of  seventeen,  spent  his  first  year  in  the  west  with  his  grandfather, 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  309 

Wilson  Lierly,  on  a  ranch  in  Mendocino  county.  May  1,  1879,  he  arrived 
in  Santa  Maria,  Santa  Barbara  county,  where  he  worked  as  a  farm  hand 
for  one  year.  Next  with  a  partner  he  engaged  in  barley  farming  and  culti- 
vated about  five  hundred  acres.  On  leaving  the  farm  he  embarked  in  the 
livery  business  in  Santa  Maria,  where  for  fifteen  years  he  conducted  the 
Champion  barns,  bought  and  sold  horses  and  established  a  market  for  his 
stock  in  Los  Angeles.  In  order  to  secure  feed  and  pasturage  for  his  stock 
he  became  interested  in  agricultural  undertakings  and  at  one  time  leased 
two  thousand  acres.  After  he  had  sold  the  livery  and  retired  also  from 
ranching  he  became  a  special  agent  for  the  Equitable  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  New  York,  having  charge  of  the  work  in  Santa  Barbara,  San  Luis 
Obispo,  Kern  and  Ventura  counties,  and  remaining  in  the  business  from 
1900  to  1906.  Meanwhile  in  1902  he  was  tendered  a  fine  gold  watch,  neatly 
engraved,  this  being  the  gift  of  the  officials  of  the  Equitable  in  recognition 
of  his  having  written  the  greatest  amount  of  insurance  of  any  agent  of  that 
company  in  California.  On  two  other  occasions  he  won  the  second  prizes 
in  similar  contests. 

From  1906  to  1908  Mr.  Lierly  acted  as  manager  of  the  Pacific  Valley 
Lumber  Company  in  Monterey  county  and  he  still  owns  a  considerable 
amount  of  stock  in  that  concern.  While  still  in  Monterey  county  he  handled 
oil  lands  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  making  King  City  his  headquarters, 
and  during  that  period  he  made  a  trip  of  inspection  to  Taft,  with  the  ex- 
pectation of  speculating  to  a  small  extent  in  oil  lands  in  this  field.  An  open- 
ing for  a  livery  business  seemed  so  favorable  that  he  decided  to  establish 
himself  at  this  point  and  he  has  had  no  reason  to  regret  the  decision,  for  he 
has  prospered  to  an  unusual  degree.  Practically  his  only  oil  interests  now 
lie  in  four  sections  of  land  at  Elk  Flill.  The  express  business,  teaming  and 
livery  oblige  him  to  keep  about  one  hundred  horses  and  mules,  besides  one 
Packard  auto  truck.  A  blacksmith  shop  is  maintained  for  the  shoeing  of 
his  own  horses,  although  in  addition  considerable  custom  work  is  done  for 
outsiders.  As  before  stated,  Lierly  &  Son  own  the  Taft  harness  shop,  a 
large  bh  ck  of  stock  in  the  Taft  Ice  Delivery  and  an  express  business  and 
numerous  cottages  in  town.  One  of  their  most  important  lines  of  business 
is  the  moving  of  houses.  Each  member  of  the  firm  owns  a  residence  in 
Taft,  while  Mr.  Lierly  also  owns  a  house  at  Santa  Alaria  and  large  interests 
in  redwood  timber  in  Monterey  county.  While  living  in  Santa  Maria  he 
married  Miss  !\Iary  A.  Blcsser,  daughter  of  L.  W^.  Blosser.  of  that  place. 
They  are  the  parents  of  five  children  :  Clarence  E.,  a  team  contractor  resid- 
ing at  Imperial,  this  state;  Lorenzo  \\'illiam,  who  operates  the  Packard 
auto  truck  for  the  firm  ;  Ray  Lucas,  a  partner  with  his  father  in  the  exten- 
sive business  interests  of  the  firm  ;  Irene  and  Nellie  Margaret,  both  at  home. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Lierly  holds  membership  with  San  Luis  Obispo  Lodge 
Mo.  322,  B.  P.  O.  E.  Politically  he  is  a  staunch  Democrat.  Public  education 
interests  him  deeply.  No  citizen  of  Taft  has  done  more  for  its  schools  than 
he.  Practically  ever  since  his  arrival  in  the  town  he  has  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  board  and  he  now  fills  the  position  of  clerk. 

HERBERT  V.  PROUTY,  M.  D,— In  1852  the  Prouty  family  was  estab- 
lished in  California.  In  the  summer  of  that  year  Christopher  C,  born  in 
Ohio  in  1839.  crossed  the  plains  with  other  members  of  the  family,  the  long 
journey  being  made  with  wagons  and  ox-teams.  Although  only  thirteen 
years  of  age,  he  supported  himself  from  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  the  west 
and  contributed  also  to  the  family  maintenance.  Mining  was  his  first  source 
of  livelihood,  and  later  he  took  up  farm  pursuits.  Eventually  he  became  a 
large  stock-raiser  in  the  vicinity  of  lone.  Although  now  to  a  large  extent 
retired  from  agricultural  duties,  he  still  lives  at  the  old  homestead.  Some 
years   after  coming  west  he   married   Australia   Bennett,   who   was   born   in 


310  HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Missouri  and  during  the  '50s  came  to  California  with  her  parents.  Fourteen 
children  were  born  of  their  marriage.  Eleven  of  these  are  still  living,  the 
seventh  in  order  of  birth  having  been  Herbert  V.,  who  was  born  near  lone, 
Amador  county,  February  20,  1878,  and  passed  the  years  of  boyhood  on  the 
home  farm,  meanwhile  attending  the  country  schools  in  the  winter  months. 
Later  he  was  a  student  in  the  California  School  of  Mechanical  Arts  in  San 
Francisco.  After  his  graduation  in  1900  he  matriculated  in  the  California 
Medical  College  and  in  that  institution  carried  on  the  regular  studies  of  the 
course.  In  1904  he  received  the  degree  of  M.  D.,  and  became  an  interne  in 
the  City  and  County  hospital  of  San  Francisco,  where  he  remained  for  two 
years  in  that  capacity  and  as  resident  physician. 

Professional  interests  of  growing  importance,  first  in  San  Francisco  and 
then  at  Richmond,  where  he  established  and  superintended  a  hospital,  gave 
to  Dr.  Prouty  a  number  of  busy  years  prior  to  the  failure  of  his  health  and  his 
removal  to  another  climate,  and  since  June,  1912,  he  has  engaged  in 
practice  with  headquarters  at  McKittrick.  Ever  since  leaving  college  he  has 
kept  in  touch  with  professional  advance  and  developments  in  therapeutics. 
Membership  in  the  California  State  and  National  Eclectic  Medical  Associa- 
tions keeps  him  in  sympathy  with  the  general  progress  of  the  profession.  In 
an  especial  degree  he  finds  surgery  interesting  and  it  is  his  ambition  to  keep 
abreast  with  the  latest  developments  in  that  important  art.  Since  coming 
to  his  present  location  he  has  engaged  as  surgeon  at  McKittrick  for  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad.  In  politics  he  votes  with  the  Republican  party 
and  fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  His 
marriage  was  solemnized  in  San  Jose  and  united  him  with  Miss  Dora  Hughes, 
who  was  born  in  Kansas  and  by  whom  he  has  a  daughter,  Dorothy. 

JAMES  CHATHAM  ROBERTS.— From  the  time  of  his  arrival  in 
Bakersfield  during  December  of  1882  up  to  the  present  time,  a  period  of 
about  thirty  years,  Mr.  Roberts  has  been  a  resident  of  Kern  county  and  a 
contributor  to  the  development  of  its  agricultural  and  material  interests. 
Prior  to  his  removal  to  the  coast  he  had  called  three  states  his  home  at 
different  times,  namely:  Missouri,  where  he  was  born  near  Springfield 
December  7,  1855,  and  where  he  grew  to  manhood  upon  a  farm ;  Illinois, 
where  he  engaged  in  general  farming  near  Decatur  from  1875  until  1879; 
and  Texas,  where  he  carried  on  a  ranch  near  Pilot  Point  from  1879  until 
his  removal  to  California.  The  family  of  which  he  is  a  member  belongs  to  old 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina  stock,  and  his  parents,  H.  B.  and  Frances 
(Duke)  Roberts,  were  natives  respectively  of  North  Carolina  and  Tennes- 
see, the  former  dying  in  1861  while  serving  in  the  Confederate  army  under 
General  Price.  A  son  of  his  first  marriage.  Col.  E.  M.  Roberts,  came  to 
California  in  1874  and  settled  in  Kern  county  May  1,  1876,  since  which 
time  he  has  risen  to  prominence  and  influence.  The  family  genealogy  ap- 
pears in  his  sketch  upon  another  page  of  this  volume. 

Soon  after  settling  in  this  county  James  C.  Roberts  bought  eighty 
acres  under  the  Johnson  canal  fifteen  miles  west  of  Bakersfield  and  there 
he  engaged  in  raising  alfalfa  and  stock.  At  the  expiration  of  six  years  he 
sold  the  property.  Meanwhile  he  had  served  as  road  overseer  for  four 
years.  A  trip  back  to  Texas  iiccurred  in  1893,  when  he  bought  a  section  of 
land  in  Floyd  county  with  the  expectation  of  ranching,  but  his  plans  were 
changed  and  he  sold  the  tract  after  three  months,  then  came  back  to 
California  and  bought  eighty  acres  under  the  Beardsley  canal  nine  miles 
northwest  of  Bakersfield.  For  ten  years  he  devoted  his  attention  to  alfalfa 
and  stock-raising.  Disposing  of  that  place  he  bought  ten  acres  three  miles 
north  of  Bakersfield  on  the  road  to  the  oil  fields  and  for  seven  years  he 
made  his  home  on  his  new  purchase,  after  which  he  disposed  of  all  of  his 
ranch  property  by  sale  and  retired  to  Bakersfield.  In  this  city  and  in 
East    Bakersfield   he   has   erected    eight   houses   and    one   of   these.    No.    307 


^.^^-^^^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  313 

Grove  street,  is  his  residence.  Near  Decatur,  111.,  January  4,  1877,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Elizabeth  J.  Allmon,  a  native  of  Webster  county,  Mo.,  and  a 
daughter  of  William  and  Jane  T.  (Cowan)  Allmon,  who  were  born  in 
Tennessee,  but  settled  in  Missouri  at  an  early  day.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roberts 
are  the  parents  of  two  children.  The  son,  Ernest,  is  engaged  in  farming  and 
lives  five  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield.  The  daughter,  Maude,  is  the  wife 
of  A.  P.  Offutt  and  resides  at  Glendale,  this  state.  .'Mthough  not  a  jiartisan, 
Mr.  Roberts  is  a  stanch  Democrat. 

FRANCIS  ALLAN  HAMLIN,  M.  D.— Not  alone  through  his  paternal 
forbears,  but  also  by  the  ancestors  of  his  mother,  Dr.  Hamlin  traces  his  lineage 
to  some  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  New  England,  whose  names  are  linked  with 
the  material  development  of  that  region  and  whose  heroism  in  the  period 
of  privation  and  wars  entitles  them  to  an  honorable  place  in  the  annals  of 
their  several  communities.  Eor  several  generations  the  family  has  been 
represented  in  Maine,  where  Charles  and  Etta  (Sylvester)  Hamlin  are  now 
living  at  Topsham,  Sagadahoc  county,  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  material 
competency  secured  through  years  of  arduous  application  to  farming  pursuits. 
The  chief  ambition  of  this  couple  was  not  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  but  the 
education  of  their  sons,  Francis  A.,  Truman  L.  and  James  A.,  and  they  con- 
sidered no  hardship  too  great  that  would  promote  the  object  of  their  desire. 
With  manly  enthusiasm  their  sons  seconded  their  efifcjrts.  Working  unitedly 
and  harmoniously,  each  striving  to  help  himself  yet  lending  good  cheer  and 
sympathy  to  the  others  of  the  home  circle,  they  rose  to  positions  of  recog- 
nized worth.  The  second  son  is  now  professor  of  mathematics  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Maine  and  the  youngest  son  acts  as  principal  of  the  high  school 
at  Oldtown,  that  state. 

The  eldest  son  in  the  family  was  born  in  Oxford  county.  Me.,  June  16, 
1873,  and  attended  the  public  schools  of  Maine  between  the  years  of  six  and 
fourteen,  after  which  he  attended  the  high  school  at  Lancaster,  Mass.  The 
failure  of  his  health  forced  him  to  give  up  his  studies  and  in  1890  he  came 
to  California  with  the  hope  that  the  balmy  air  of  the  west  would  restore  his 
strength.  Joining  an  uncle,  Francis  Hamlin,  in  Sutter  county,  he  began  to 
work  in  the  open  air  and  persistently  sought  those  occupations  that  would 
prove  of  physical  benefit.  For  two  years  he  remained  in  Sutter  county  or  at 
Geyserville  in  Sonoma  county,  and  then  with  renewed  strength  he  returned 
to  the  old  Maine  homestead.  After  he  had  spent  two  years  in  the  scientific 
course  at  Bridgton  Academy  situated  in  the  lake  region  of  Cumberland 
county  he  entered  the  high  school  at  Brunswick,  Me.,  where  he  graduated  from 
the  classical  course.  Matriculating  in  Bowdoin  College  he  there  continued 
until  1898,  when  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  During  the  next 
two  years  he  held  the  principalship  of  Bridge  Academy  at  Dresden  Mills, 
Lincoln  county.  Me.,  and  then  for  four  years  served  as  principal  of  the  high 
school  at  Wilmington,  Mass.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  at  Portland,  Me., 
in  1900,  Miss  Gertrude  E.  Wilkie,  a  native  of  Michigan,  who  was  reared  in 
California  and  received  excellent  educational  advantages  in  Napa  College  and 
the  University  of  the  Pacific. 

Returning  to  California  during  the  summer  of  1904,  accompanied  by  his 
family,  Mr.  Hamlin  established  a  home  in  San  Francisco  and  there  entered 
Cooper  Medical  College,  now  the  medical  department  of  the  Leland  Stanford, 
Jr.,  University,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1908  with  the  degree  of  M. 
D.  From  1908  until  1910  he  took  special  studies  under  Prof.  Adolphus 
Barkan,  M.  D.,  a  specialist  in  diseases  of  the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat.  Dur- 
ing this  same  period  he  served  on  the  stafif  of  Lane  hospital  in  San  Francisco 
and  also  acted  as  instructor  at  Cooper  Medical  College  in  the  department  of 
the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  in  1910  he  has 
.specialized  in  these  diseases,  acquiring  a  wide  reputation  and  large  practice. 

With  his  wife  and  two  sons,  Francis  Kenneth  and  Wilkie  Sylvester,  Dr. 


314  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Hamlin  resides  at  No.  2120  B  street.  Since  coming  to  this  city  he  and  his 
wife  have  identified  themselves  with  the  First  Congregational  Church.  While 
living  at  Dresden  Mills,  Me.,  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Dresden  Lodge  and 
now  affiliates  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  King  Solomon 
Lodge  of  Perfection  No.  3.  Los  Angeles.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  leading 
officers  in  Acacia  Chapter,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  at  Wilmington,  Mass., 
and  since  removing  to  the  west  have  placed  their  membership  with  the  chapter 
at  Bakersfield.  While  living  in  San  Francisco  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Foresters  of  America.  Although  not  active  in  politics,  he  is  a  stanch  Re- 
publican and  keeps  well  posted  in  national  affairs.  However,  it  is  his  profes- 
sion that  interests  him  most  deeply.  LTpon  it  are  concentrated  the  hopes  and 
ambitions  of  a  lifetime  of  resolute  purpose.  That  he  has  been  successful  in 
large  degree  his  growing  practice  proves,  as  well  as  his  high  reputation  as 
a  member  of  the  Ophthalmological  Society  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and  the 
interest  evinced  in  his  contributions  to  various  medical  journals.  In  pro- 
fessional acquaintances  he  is  not  limited  to  the  line  of  his  specialties,  but 
has  a  host  of  friends  among  the  members  of  the  Kern  County  Medical 
Society  (of  which  he  acts  as  secretary)  and  is  likewise  identified  with  the 
California  State  and  American   Medical   Associations. 

M.  K.  McKENZIE,  M.  D.— Through  a  long  line  of  fathers  and  sons  the 
clan  of  McKenzie  led  in  the  warfare  that  darkened  the  early  history  of  Scot- 
land and  in  times  of  peace  tilled  the  soil  according  to  the  primeval  methods 
common  to  those  days.  The  founder  of  the  name  in  America  was  one 
Douglas  McKenzie,  a  true  Scot  in  birth  and  breeding,  but  loyal  to  the  welfare 
of  his  adopted  country.  The  early  American  home  of  the  family  was  on  a 
farm  in  York  state  and  Duncan,  son  of  Douglas,  was  born  near  Lockport,  N. 
Y.,  at  the  parental  homestead,  where  he  lived  until  his  removal  to  Canada 
during  young  manhood.  By  his  marriage  to  Elizabeth  Burt,  a  native  of  Scot- 
land, he  became  the  father  of  fourteen  children  and  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact 
that  every  one  of  the  large  family  lived  to  years  of  maturity.  The  thirteenth 
in  order  of  birth,  M.  K.,  was  born  in  the  province  of  Ontario,  Canada,  in  1855, 
and  at  the  age  of  one  year  was  taken  to  Michigan  by  his  parents,  who  settled 
at  Stockbridge.  Ingham  county.  The  father  later  returned  to  the  old  McKenzie 
homestead  in  Ontario.  Canada,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight,  and 
the  mother  when  sixty-eight  years  of  age. 

When  a  mere  child  M.  K.  McKenzie  did  a  man's  work  at  the  plow  and 
in  the  harvest  field,  where  the  old-fashioned  method  of  cradling  and  binding 
grain  by  hand  was  still  followed.  Timber  was  plentiful  in  that  country  and 
he  early  became  an  expert  woodman,  swinging  an  axe  with  a  skill  and  speed 
surpassed  by  few.  With  all  of  his  hard  work  in  woods  and  field  and  meadow 
he  kept  his  mind  as  busy  as  his  body  and  was  constantly  endeavoring  to  en- 
large his  store  of  knowledge.  He  seem.ed  to  have  a  natural  talent  for  the 
medical  profession  and  was  c|uite  young  when  he  commenced  to  read  with 
Dr.  Simpson  at  St.  George,  Canada,  later  reading  with  Dr.  Manwaring  of 
the  same  town.  There  was,  however,  no  well-defined  purpose  on  his  part 
to  become  a  physician  and  his  readings  were  pursued  from  the  mere  love 
of  the  healing  art.  When  he  left  home  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years  he  began 
to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world  and  devoted  his  leisure  hours  to  the  study 
of  law  under  an  older  brother,  continuing  indeed  until  he  was  able  to  pass 
an  examination  for  the  bar,  but  his  preference  for  medical  work  caused  him 
to  decide  in  favor  of  that  calling.  During  September  of  1878  he  entered 
the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor  and 
studied  there  until  his  belief  in  the  larger  clinical  advantages  offered  by  the 
Detroit  Medical  College  led  him  to  pursue  a  course  of  study  in  the  latter  in- 
stitution. There  he  became  well  acquainted  with  Messrs.  Stanton  and  Brice 
and  also  -vyith  the  yvife  of  ex-Governor  Bagley,  trustees  pf  the  Woman's  hos- 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  315 

pital  and  Foundling's  Home,  and  by  them  he  was  accorded  special  privileges 
in  connection  with  these  institutions.  In  that  way  he  laid  the  foundation 
of  his  splendid  success  in  obstetrical  cases  and  treatment  of  the  diseases  of 
women.  After  he  graduated  with  the  class  of  1881  he  opened  an  office  at 
Plainfield,  Livingston  county,  Mich.,  and  there  he  engaged  in  practice  for 
five  years.  From  Plainfield  he  removed  to  Laingsburg,  Shiawassee  county, 
same  state,  where  he  continued  until  the  fall  of  1890,  when  the  complete 
failure  of  his  health  forced  him  to  seek  another  climate.  About  the  time  of 
his  graduation  he  had  married,  March  31,  1881,  Miss  Millison  Tyler,  of  Shia- 
wassee county.  Of  their  three  children  two  survive,  Misses  Lois  Janet  and 
Florence  H.,  both  at  home. 

At  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Bakersfield  in  1890  Dr.  McKenzie  weighed 
only  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  pounds,  but  the  climate  uf  Kern  county 
proved  beneficial  and  he  gradually  renewed  his  strength.  Even  now,  not- 
withstanding a  long  and  arduous  professional  career,  he  is  in  almost  perfect 
health.  He  has  given  efficient  service  as  county  physician  and  for  fourteen 
months  was  superintendent  of  the  county  hospital.  As  guardian  of  the  public 
health,  he  has  fully  merited  his  enviable  reputation,  while  as  a  family  physician 
he  is  known  and  loved  by  many  whom  he  has  guided  safely  through  a  critical 
physical  ordeal  or  a  lingering  and  dangerous  illness.  With  true  professional 
devotion  he  has  given  his  life  to  his  chosen  calling  and  it  has  not  been  possible 
for  him  to  engage  in  civic  enterprises  or  public  affairs.  However,  he  has  kept 
well  posted  concerning  national  issues  and  has  given  stanch  allegiance  to  the 
Republican  party.  In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  membership  with  the  Ma- 
sonic blue  lodge  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

JOHN  BRITTON  DENIO.— Coincident  with  the  early  colonization  of 
America  began  the  identification  of  the  French  family  of  Denio  with  the  pio- 
neers of  New  York,  where  several  successive  generations  lived  and  labored. 
The  first  to  follow  the  tide  of  migration  toward  the  west  was  William  W. 
Denio.  a  native  of  Akron,  Genesee  county,  N.  Y.,  and  a  pioneer  of  Ingham 
county,  Mich.,  where  he  cleared  a  farm  in  the  oak  openings  and  gave  years 
of  the  most  arduous  effort  to  the  improvement  of  the  homestead.  Event- 
ually he  sought  a  home  in  the  milder  climate  of  Missouri,  where  his  last  days 
were  passed  in  retirement  from  agricultural  cares.  During  young  manhood 
he  had  married  Miss  Lucia  Atkins,  who  was  born  at  Elba,  Genesee  county, 
N.  Y.,  and  died  in  Kern  county,  Cal.,  at  eighty-two  years  of  age. 

On  the  old  homestead  near  Lansing,  Ingham  county,  Mich.,  James  G., 
son  of  William  W.  Denio,  was  born  and  reared.  For  about  ten  years  he 
worked  in  the  lumber  woods  in  the  Grand  Traverse  country  of  ^Michigan,  and 
he  also  spent  a  number  of  seasons  on  the  lakes  in  the  lumber  trade.  During 
1880  he  removed  from  Michigan  to  Kansas  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Ottawa 
county,  whence  in  1887,  he  went  to  Cameron  Junction,  Clinton  county.  Mo., 
to  take  up  farming  pursuits  in  the  more  southerly  location.  The  fall  of  1891 
found  him  in  California,  where  he  since  has  engaged  in  farming  and  poultry- 
raising  in  Kern  county.  At  this  writing  he  and  his  wife  (who  was  Mary  E. 
Bacon,  a  native  of  Sycamore,  Ind.)  own  and  have  charge  of  a  place  of  twenty 
acres  located  on  the  Rosedale  road  six  and  one-half  miles  west  nf  Rakers- 
field.  Their  family  numbers  seven  children,  namely:  John  Britton,  who 
was  born  at  the  old  liomestead  near  Lansing,  Mich.,  September  30,  1878; 
Mrs.  Daisy  Stewart,  of  Rosedale:  Truman  and  Hugh,  of  Rio  Bravo;  Charles, 
Esther  and  William. 

The  first  years  in  the  life  of  John  Britton  Denio  were  passed  in  Michigan, 
Kansas  and  Missouri,  but  since  the  age  of  thirteen  he  has  lived  in  California, 
where  he  completed  a  grammar-school  education  in  the  Rosedale  district, 
Kern  county.  From  early  life  he  has  been  interested  in  farming.  From 
1906  to  1909  he  was  employed  by  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  on  the 
Rosedale  ranch,  where  he  rose  to  be  foreman,  but  resigned  the  position  in 


316  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

order  to  engage  in  farming  for  himself.  Having  purchased  forty  acres  of 
raw  land  under  the  Beardsley  canal  six  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield,  he 
at  once  entered  upon  the  difficult  task  of  converting  the  tract  into  remuner- 
ative property.  Checking  and  leveling  the  land,  he  sowed  it  to  alfalfa  and 
now  devotes  his  attention  almost  wholly  to  the  raising  of  hay.  In  addition 
to  managing  his  own  place  he  leases  hay  and  grain  land  from  the  Kern 
County  Land  Company.     Politically  Mr.  Denio  is  a  Republican. 

Mr.  Denio's  marriage  was  solemnized  in  the  Rosedale  district  November 
7,  1903,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Bingie  Kuhs,  who  was  born  in  Worms, 
Germany,  a  daughter  of  Carl  and  Mary  (Kraud)  Kuhs,  the  father  deceased, 
and  the  mother  still  living.  A  sister,  Mrs.  Nelson,  and  a  brother,  John 
Kuhs,  having  preceded  Miss  Kuhs  in  migrating  to  California,  she  joined  them 
in  Kern  county,  where  she  met  and  married  Mr.  Denio.  They  are  the  parents 
of  two  children,  Mamie  and  Bessie. 

FRANCIS  GEORGE  MUNZER.— When  the  Munzer  family  first  be- 
came identified  with  the  industrial  development  of  America  they  established 
themselves  in  Connecticut  and  in  that  commonwealth,  at  Southington,  Hart- 
ford county,  the  birth  of  Francis  George  Munzer  occurred  February  2,  1859, 
his  parents  having  been  the  late  John  Bernard  and  Elizabeth  (Balzer)  Mun- 
zer. Both  families  are  of  German  descent,  the  Munzer  records  being  traced 
back  to  the  fifth  century  in  Germany,  where  Johan  Bernard  Munzer  took  an 
active  part  in  one  of  the  religious  wars.  Throughout  the  earlier  years  of 
his  mature  activities  the  father  conducted  mercantile  enterprises  at  South- 
ington, but  eventually  he  became  a  resident  of  Ohio  and  carried  on  busi- 
ness at  Edgerton,  Williams  county,  near  the  Indiana  line  and  not  far  dis- 
tant from  the  border  of  Michigan.  After  the  death  of  his  wife,  which  oc- 
curred at  Edgerton,  he  removed  to  Toledo  and  there  he  passed  away  in 
September  of  1911.  Of  their  thirteen  children  seven  are  still  living.  The 
eldest  of  these.  Francis  George,  attended  public  schools  in  Southington  and 
then  spent  two  years  in  a  private  school  in  New  York  City,  after  which  he 
continued  his  studies  in  Lewis  Academy  at  Southington,  from  which  in 
1878  he  was  graduated  with  an  excellent  standing  in  every  department. 
During  vacations  he  had  assisted  his  father  in  the  mercantile  business 
and  he  had  the  further  advantage  of  one  year  spent  in  a  clerkship  in  New 
York  City. 

Removing  to  Edgerton,  Ohio,  with  his  father  in  1878,  Mr.  Munzer 
secured  employment  there  as  clerk  in  a  drug  store.  After  two  years  he  re- 
signed the  position  and  removed  to  Illinois,  where  he  was  given  charge 
of  a  general  store  owned  by  F.  Menig  at  Danville.  For  five  years  he  filled 
the  position  with  characteristic  energy  and  recognized  efficiency.  In  order 
to  engage  in  business  for  himself  he  resigned  as  manager.  During  the  next 
year  he  uwned  and  conducted  a  grocery  business  in  Danville.  Selling  out  in 
the  spring  of  1886  he  came  to  California  and  made  a  tour  of  inspection  through 
the  state,  eventually  selecting  Bakersfield  as  his  home.  Here  he  secured 
a  very  humble  position  with  Carr  &  Haggin.  Six  weeks  of  persistent  industry 
as  driver  of  a  four-mule  buck  scraper  convinced  his  employers  that  he  was 
capable  of  higher  duties  and  they  made  him  bookkeeper  and  foreman  at  the 
old  Jackson  ranch.  Health  considerations  caused  him  to  go  to  Mendocino 
county  in  April  of  1887  and  during  the  next  six  months  he  worked  in  the 
lumber  camps,  remaining  outdoors  as  much  as  possible.  In  the  autumn  he 
resumed  his  former  position  in  Kern  county.  Again  in  April  of  1888  he  went 
to  the  lumber  woods  of  Mendocino  county  and  spent  six  months  in  out- 
door work,  resuming  his  position  on  the  Jackson  ranch  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year.  In  January  of  1889  he  went  to  the  Santa  Clara  valley  in  old 
Mexico  at  the  time  of  the  gold  excitement,  but  a  prospecting  tour  of  two 


% 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  319 

months  proved  futile  and  he  returned  to  the  Jackson  ranch.     About  that  time 
he  was  also  made  foreman  of  the  Poso  ranch. 

Transferred  to  the  headquarters  otitice  at  the  Bellevue  ranch  in  May 
of  1889,  -Mr.  Alunzer  was  appointed  payroll  clerk  for  the  north  side  ranch 
and  continued  at  that  place  until  October  1,  1890,  when  the  company  moved 
its  headcjuarters  to  Bakersfield  and  incorporated  the  Kern  County  Land 
Company,  with  Air.  Munzer  as  chief  clerk  of  the  water  department.  For 
a  considerable  period  he  filled  the  position ;  meanwhile,  in  July,  1892,  he 
resigned  his  position  and  went  to  Arizona,  where  he  had  charge  as  office 
superintendent  of  the  Gila  Bend  Irrigation  Company  at  Sentinel,  Ariz.  The 
Kern  County  Land  Company,  through  S.  W.  I'erguson,  the  then  manager, 
wired  him  requesting  him  to  return  at  an  increased  salary,  and  on  his  return, 
in  November,  1892,  he  was  made  assistant  office  superintendent  and  later 
he  was  promoted  to  office  superintendent,  in  February,  1895,  ever  since 
which  time  he  has  filled  the  important  position  with  marked  ability  and 
the  utmost  fidelity.  Like  the  majority  of  the  people  living  in  Kern  county, 
he  is  interested  in  oil  and  oil  lands.  In  addition  with  W.  J.  Doherty  as 
partner  he  owns  the  Breckenridge  Lumber  Company  and  has  mills  and 
timber  on  Mount  Breckenridge. 

December  20,  1892,  at  Bakersfield,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Francis 
C.eorge  Munzer  and  Mary  Ellen  Baker,  a  native  of  Missouri  and  a  daughter 
of  Melvin  Baker,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Kern  county.  They  are  the  parents 
of  two  children,  Frances  Alice  and  Bernard  Melvin.  Interested  in  the  growth 
of  Bakersfield  and  a  contributor  to  its  p'rogress,  Mr.  Munzer  served  for  five 
years  as  a  member  of  its  board  of  trustees,  is  now  prominently  connected  with 
the  Merchant's  Association  and  likewise  officiates  as  vice-president  of  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley  Water  Problem  Association.  The  Democratic  party 
receives  his  stanch  support  at  all  elections.  For  many  years  he  was  an 
active  member  of  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment  of  the  California  National 
Guard  and  finally  retired  with  the  rank  of  second  lieutenant  Made  a  Mason 
in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224.  F.  &  A.  M.,  he  later  rose  to  the  chapter 
degree  in  this  city  and  furthermore  with  his  wife  belongs  to  the  Eastern 
Star  chapter  at  this  place.  Other  organizations  having  the  benefit  of  his 
interested  ci -operation  are  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the 
Woodmen  of  the  ^^^orld  and  the  Bakersfield  .Aerie  of  Eagles. 

HON.  JACK  W.  MAHON.— The  family  patronymic  of  Mahon  indicates 
the  Celtic  origin  of  the  race.  The  founder  of  the  name  upon  American  soil 
was  Henrv  Mahon,  a  native  of  Ireland  and  for  many  years  a  planter  in  the 
vicinitv  of  Raleigh,  N.  C.  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death. 
Among  his  children  was  W.  J.,  who  was  born,  reared  and  educated  in  North 
Carolina  and  during  young  manhood  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  South.  To  the  cause  of  religion  he  gave  the  deepest 
devotion  of  his  splendid  mind  and  the  self-sacrificing  loyalty  of  his  noble 
character.  In  order  that  he  might  engage  in  ministerial  work  upon  the  then 
frontier,  he  removed  from  North  Carolina  to  Tennessee  and  crossing  that 
then  sparsely  settled  state  almost  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  river  he 
took  up  raw  land  in  Dyer  county  and  became  the  founder  of  a  church  at 
Dversburg,  the  county-seat,  where  he  labored  with  consecration  for  -the 
advancement  of  Christianity.  Cnder  his  able  efforts  his  denomination  made 
noteworthy  advances  numerically  and  spiritually.  While  he  did  not  accumu- 
late riches  nor  indeed  a  competency,  he  was  successful  in  his  labors  for  the 
uplifting  of  the  race  and  the  world  was  the  better  for  his  life  of  toil  and 
sacrifice.  During  the  Civil  war  he  found  an  opportunity  to  engage  in  religious 
activities  while  serving  as  chaplain  under  Gen.  Kirby  Smith.  Coming  to 
California  during  1875  he  became  a  minister  in  San  Francisco,  but  later  as 
presiding  elder  became  familiar   with   church   needs   in   various   portions   of 

17 


320  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  state.  For  twenty  years  he  officiated  in  that  responsible  position.  Ulti- 
mately the  infirmities  of  age  obliged  him  to  relinquish  the  responsibilities 
of  ministerial  work  and  after  a  retirement  of  five  years  he  passed  away  at 
his  home  in  Bakersfield.    He  had  reached  the  age  of  eighty-eight  years. 

In  the  counsel  and  companionship  of  a  capable  helpmate  Rev.  W.  J. 
Mahon  was  greatly  blessed.  During  early  manhood  he  had  married  Phoebe 
Gilbert  Wood,  who  was  born  in  Virginia,  the  daughter  of  George  Wood, 
an  Englishman  identified  with  the  early  development  of  Virginia.  The 
death  of  Mrs.  jMahon  occurred  in  Modesto  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years. 
In  their  family  there  were  four  children  Init  only  two  survive.  One  uf  her 
sons,  Stephen  Wood  Alahon,  an  attorney  by  profession  and  for  some  years 
a  justice  of  the  peace,  was  officiating  as  -city  recorder  of  Bakersfield  at  the 
time  of  his  demise.  The  youngest  son,  Kirby  S.,  is  now  judge  of  the  superior 
court  of  Sutter  county,  this  state.  Judge  Jack  W.  Mahon  was  born  at  Dyers- 
burg,  Dyer  county,  Tenn.,  February  24,  1858,  and  in  1875  accompanied  his 
parents  to  California,  where  later  he  was  graduated  from  the  Gilroy  high 
school.  At  the  completion  of  high-school  studies  he  began  the  study  of  law 
under  R.  H.  Ward,  of  Merced.  Possessing  a  quick  intelligence  and  receptive 
mind,  he  advanced  rapidly  in  his  readings  and  during  1883  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  California.  Immediately  afterward  he  opened  an  office  in  Bakers- 
field, where  he  soon  rose  to  a  position  of  recognition  as  a  promising  young 
attorney,  whose  knowledge  of  jurisprudence  was  broad  and  whose  devotion 
to  the  profession  was  intense.  It  soon  became  apparent  that  he  was  as  well 
qualified  for  the  bench  as  for  the  bar  and  during  1896  the  Democratic  party 
of  Kern  county  nominated  him  for  judge  of  the  superior  court.  The  nomina- 
tion was  endorsed  by  the  Populists.  The  election  brought  him  a  handsome 
majority  and  in  January  of  1897  he  took  the  oath  of  office.  At  the  expiration 
of  the  first  term  in  1902  he  was  re-elected  and  again  in  1908  he  was  chosen 
to  be  his  own  successor.  The  success  of  his  official  labors  was  shown  in 
the  fact  that  in  the  campaign  of  1908  he  had  no  opposition,  all  parties 
appreciating  his  able  service  to  such  an  extent  that  they  brought  forward  no 
other  candidate  for  the  office. 

Reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South,  Judge 
Mahon  has  never  swerved  from  his  allegiance  to  the  denomination  so  long 
honored  by  the  faithful  ministerial  labors  of  his  father.  While  not  deeply 
interested  in  fraternities,  he  was  won  by  the  philanthropic  tenets  of  the 
Masonic  Order  and  entered  its  blue  lodge,  later  rising  to  the  Royal  Arch 
degree.  His  marriage  took  place  in  Bakersfield  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Rachel  E.  Nash,  a  native. of  Dyer  county,  Tenn.,  and  a  graduate  of  an  educa- 
tional institution  in  New  York  state.  Of  the  union  two  children  were  born, 
the  elder,  Ruth  Estabrook,  being  now  the  wife  of  Ernest  Alston,  of  Los 
Angeles,  while  the  younger.  Jack  Howell,  is  a  student  in  the  Vanderbilt 
University  at  Nashville,  Tenn.  It  is  said  of  Judge  Mahon  that  no  enterprise 
for  the  permanent  progress  of  Bakersfield  lacks  his  intelligent  co-operation. 
On  the  contrary,  he  has  been  generous  in  his  sympathetic  assistance  given 
to  civic  measures  and  has  proved  public-spirited  and  progressive  in  his  broad 
comprehension  of  and  tactful  participation  in  movements  of  far-reaching  value 
to  permanent  civic  prosperity. 

GRANVILLE  L.  BROWN,  D.  D.  S.— The  family  represented  by  this 
well-known  practitioner  of  Bakersfield  comes  from  Kentuckian  and  Virgin- 
ian ancestry  and  he  himself  claims  Kentucky  as  his  native  commonwealth, 
having  been  born  in  Allen  county,  January  12,  1859.  Likewise  the  Blue 
Grass  state  was  the  native  home  of  his  parents,  Henry  and  Margaret  (Patton) 
Brown,  both  of  whom  remained  in  the  state  throughout  their  lives,  the 
father  following  the  occupation  of  a  farmer  as  a  source  of  livelihood.  Of 
this  union  there  were  four  children,  the  third  being  Granville  L.,  who  was 
reared    on    the   old    Kentucky   farm    and    received   a   fair   education    in   local 


:  yr.  'yr.Mju 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  323 

schools.  For  a  time  he  ens'aRed  in  teaching  in  the  public  schools  and  with 
the  earnings  of  his  labor  he  entered  into  mercantile  enterprises  with  a 
brother  at  Scottsville,  Allen  county.  It  was  not,  however,  his  intention  to 
devote  his  life  either  to  pedagogy  or  to  business,  for  he  had  early  been  inter- 
ested in  the  profession  of  dentistry  and  had  an  ambition  to  enter  its  study 
and  practice.  Through  a  course  in  the  dental  department  of  the  University 
of  Tennessee  he  gained  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  profession  and,  not  having 
the  means  necessary  to  complete  the  regular  course,  he  entered  upon  dental 
practice  before  he  had  been  graduated.  Later  he  was  able  to  return  to  the 
university,  complete  the  course  and  finish  the  regular  work,  so  that  in  1890, 
when  he  was  graduated  with  a  very  high  standing,  he  received  the  degree 
of  D.  n.  S.  from  the  institution. 

Prior  to  graduation  Dr.  P.rown  not  only  had  practiced  for  two  years  at 
Rurkesville,  Cumberland  county,  Ky.,  but  also  had  entered  upon  a  very 
successful  professional  connection  with  the  city  of  Glasgow.  Ky.,  where 
altogether  he  practiced  about  ten  years.  l\Teanwhile  he  had  met  and  mar- 
ried Miss  Clara  Dickey,  who  was  born,  reared  and  educated  in  that  Kentuckv 
town,  and  is  a  representative  of  a  cultured  old  Southern  family.  Upon 
leaving  Kentuckv  to  engage  in  practice  in  California  in  1892,  the  Doctor 
chose  F>akersfield  on  account  of  its  excellent  prospects  for  material  growth, 
its  healthful  climate  and  its  professional  opportunities,  and  he  certainlv  has 
had  no  cause  to  regret  his  decision.  At  first  he  had  an  office  in  the  Galtes 
building,  but  removed  to  the  Scribner  opera  building,  on  the  comple- 
tion of  that  structure  and  when  the  Producers'  ftank  building  was  com- 
pleted he  leased  a  suite  of  rooms  in  it,  his  present  location.  With  his  wife 
and  son,  Arthur  B.,  he  resides  in  a  comfortable  home  in  East  Bakersfield, 
the  same  having  been  planned  and  built  by  himself.  Since  coming  to  Bakers- 
field  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Southern  California  Dental  Association,  in 
which  his  ability  well  qualifies  him  for  a  leadership  which  his  characteristic 
modestv  prevents  him  from  claiming.  In  politics  he  votes  with  the  Republi- 
can party. 

SIMON  W.  WIBLE.— Born  near  Greonsbur-  Pn..  ATr.  W'ible  removed 
to  Illinois  with  his  father,  Peter  Wible,  and  had  settled  near  Mendon.  Adams 
county.  The  difficult  task  of  transforming  a  raw  tract  of  land  into  a  produc- 
tive farm  had  filled  his  boyhood  years  with  strenuous  labor  and  had  prevented 
him  from  attending  school  regularlv,  althourrh  during  the  winter  months 
it  was  his  custom  to  study  in  a  near-by  log  schoolhouse,  which  with  its  slab 
benches  and  puncheon  floors  presented  a  striking  contrast  to  the  educational 
equipment  of  the  present  generation.  When  old  enough  to  start  out  for 
himself  he  determined  to  follow  the  tide  of  emigration  to  California  and 
accordingly  during  the  spring  of  1852  he  joined  an  expedition  bound  for  the 
west,  making  the  trip  with  wagons  and  oxen.  Later  he  returned  east  and 
broueht  out  a  second  wagon-train.  During  the  summer  of  1858  he  piloted 
a  third  train  through,  but  on  that  trip  he  met  with  trouble,  for  the  Indians 
separated  the  train  by  a  stampede  and  not  only  stole  all  of  the  stock,  but 
killed  a  number  of  the  emigrants.  Forced  to  flee  for  his  life  and  left  without 
a  horse,  the  young  captain  of  the  train  walked  to  Fort  Laramie,  where  he 
found  an  opportunity  to  join  another  expedition  and  thus  came  through  to 
the  coast.  For  years  he  engaged  in  mining  and,  indeed,  he  never  lost  his 
interest  in  the  occupation,  for  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  owned  and  operated 
a  valuable  mine  in  Alaska.  Meanwhile  he  picked  up  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  surveying  and  came  to  be  reckoned  among  the  most  efficient  surveyors  and 
civil  engineers  on  the  coast.    Much  of  his  work  was  done  for  the  government. 

It  was  about  1872  when  Mr.  Wible  took  up  a  homestead  claim  twelve 
miles  west  of  Bakersfield  and  began  to  cultivate  the  land  and  raise  crops 
suited  to  the  soil  and  climate.  From  time  to  time  he  bought  stock  and  finally 
he   ranked   among  the   extensive   sheepmen   of  the  county.     Other   interests 


324  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

filled  his  days  with  busy  activities.  The  original  work  on  the  Pioneer  canal 
was  unsatisfactory  and  on  that  account  it  was  turned  over  to  him.  Under 
his  charge  as  superintendent  an  improvement  was  made.  When  Henry 
Miller  came  to  Bakersfield  to  look  up  matters  pertaining  to  the  reclamation 
of  the  Miller  &  Lux  lands,  which  some  man  had  attempted  to  drain,  but  only 
with  partial  success,  he  sought  out  Mr.  Wible  and  asked  his  opinion.  Mr. 
Wible  claimed  the  lands  could  be  reclaimed  and  he  could  do  it,  providing  he 
had  the  money.  Instantly  Mr.  Miller  responded  that  he  had  the  money. 
Thereupon  Mr.  Wible  made  plans  and  these  proved  satisfactory  to  Mr.  Miller, 
who  appointed  him  to  superintend  the  work.  Under  his  supervision  the 
dam  and  Buena  Vista  reservoir  were  built,  an  outlet  or  drainage  canal  was 
dug  and  levees  made  to  turn  the  water  in  and  out  of  the  lake,  also  a  canal  to 
carry  the  water  to  the  lake.  The  venture  proved  an  overwhelming  success. 
Farming  land  was  made  out  of  the  once  worthless  tules.  Seventy-five  thou- 
sand acres  were  placed  under  cultivation  as  a  result  of  this  great  feat  of  engi- 
neering. During  the  process  of  building  Mr.  Wible  checked  as  desired  against 
the  Miller  &  Lux  account  without  the  necessity  of  any  O.  K.'s,  being  the  only 
man  ever  permitted  to  do  so.  After  the  completion  of  this  task  he  continued 
with  the  same  firm  as  general  manager  of  their  ranches  until  about  1900, 
when  he  retired  from  active  labors.  However,  he  did  not  relinquish  all  in- 
terests, for  he  retained  the  management  of  his  large  mine  near  Sunrise  on 
the  Kenai  peninsula  in  Alaska  and  each  summer  for  eleven  years  he  went  to 
that  region  to  superintend  the  operation  of  the  mine.  Upon  his  return  from 
his  eleventh  trip  of  this  kind  he  was  taken  ill  and  died  in  San  Francisco 
September  13,  1911,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Wible  marked  the  passing  of  one  of  the  most  influential 
pioneers  of  Kern  county.  Every  line  of  activity  had  felt  the  impetus  of  his 
large  endeavors.  The  Bank  of  Bakersfield  was  organized  under  his  efficient 
supervision  and  he  continued  to  serve  as  president  as  long  as  he  lived.  When 
in  1858  he  joined  lone  Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows,  he  had  the  distinction  of 
being  one  of  the  first  to  be  initiated  into  that  order  in  the  entire  state.  The 
fruit  industry  num.bered  him  among  its  progressive  pioneers  and  his  enthusi- 
asm in  starting  an  orchard  and  vineyard  encouraged  many  others  to  follow 
his  example.  He  was  one  of  the  very  first  to  succeed  in  horticulture  in  Kern 
county  and  the  orchard  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  which  he  planted 
contipued  under  his  personal  oversight  until  it  was  sold  during  1910.  When 
the  water  works  were  in  an  embryonic  phase  of  development  he  and  W.  H. 
Scribner  took  charge  of  the  enterprise,  developed  the  plant,  built  a  complete 
line  of  mains  into  every  part  of  the  city,  turned  an  uncertain  project  into  a 
valuable  system  and  he  continued  to  act  as  president  of  the  Bakersfield 
Water  Company  until  its  interests  were  sold  to  the  Kern  County  Land  Co. 

DIXON  DOUGHERTY.— Since  the  age  of  twelve  years  Dixon  Dough- 
erty has  lived  in  California.  Born  at  Old  Vincennes,  Ind.,  January  6,  1861, 
he  was  one  of  seven  children,  of  whom  only  himself  and  his  brother, 
C.  A.,  are  still  living.  The  parents,  both  of  whom  died  in  Indiana,  were 
Joseph  A.  and  Palace  (Horsey)  Dougherty,  natives  respectively  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Paoli,  Orange  county,  Ind.,  the  former  a  farmer  for  many  years, 
but  also  for  a  time  a  merchant  in  Vincennes.  J.  P.  was  the  first  of  the  sons 
to  come  to  California,  and  in  1873  C.  A.  and  Dixon  came  together  to  join 
their  older  brother,  with  whom  they  spent  a  short  time  at  Pleasanton,  Ala- 
meda county.  Next  they  went  to  San  Diego  with  the  intention  of  proceed- 
ing to  Mexico  and  there  embarking  in  the  cattle  business,  but  the  fierce 
Apaches  were  on  the  war  path  at  the  time  and  the  older  brother  advised 
against  the  expedition.  Accordingly  Dixon  went  to  Sacramento  and  found 
employment.  After  his  first  trip  to  Bakersfield  in  1875  he  went  to  Los  An- 
geles and  from  there  to  the  suburb  of  Artesia,  where  with  his  brothers  he 
engaged  in  farming  for  two  years.     Upon  returning  to  Kern  county  in  1877 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  327 

he  found  employment  on  a  ranch  owned  by  Charles  Jewett  and  located  in 
the  Breckenridge  mountains.  After  eighteen  months  on  the  ranch  he  was 
brought  to  Bakersfield  by  Mr.  Jewett,  who  gave  him  employment  as  driver 
of  an  ice  wagon  and  in  that  position  he  continued  for  two  years.  Meanwhile 
having  married  Miss  Mary  Kubovec.  a  native  of  Austria,  he  and  his  wife 
found  a  desirable  opening  for  a  hotel  business  and  for  three  years  operated 
the  American  Exchange  on  Eighteenth  street. 

An  opportunity  to  secure  a  homestead  took  Mr.  Dougherty  back  to  the 
Breckenridge  mountains,  where  he  entered  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
18,  township  29,  range  31,  and  established  headquarters  at  Dripping  Springs 
ranch.  On  the  land  he  put  up  necessary  buildings.  The  place  was  fenced 
and  cross-fenced,  so  that  he  could  handle  his  stock  advantageously,  and  also 
that  he  might  devote  some  fields  to  the  raising  of  grain.  P'or  years  he  made 
a  specialty  of  the  shorthorn  Durham  breed  of  cattle  and  in  stock-raising 
operations  he  was  more  than  ordinarily  successful.  Meantime  he  had  added 
to  the  original  claim  until  his  ranch  comprised  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres,  besides  using  other  ranges  for  his  stock,  bearing  the  7L  brand.  After 
he  and  his  wife  had  lived  on  the  mountain  ranch  about  five  years  he  estab- 
lished a  home  for  the  family  in  East  Bakersfield,  in  order  that  the  two  sons 
might  attend  the  city  schools,  but  he  himself  remained  on  the  ranch  and 
gave  personal  attention  to  the  cattle.  After  he  disposed  of  the  property  in 
1913  he  came  to  East  Bakersfield  to  remain,  and  since  has  given  attention 
to  the  supervision  of  his  alfalfa  farm  near  the  city,  and  also  to  the  care  of 
the  various  residences  he  has  built  here,  five  of  which  houses  still  remain  in 
his  possession.  His  younger  son,  Joseph  A.,  assists  him  in  his  various 
enterprises,  while  the  older  son,  Charles  R.,  has  embarked  in  the  stock  busi- 
ness independently  and  now  conducts  a  stock  ranch  at  Adobe  Station. 

HARRY  QUINN.— The  Quinn  family  springs  from  Scottish  ancestry 
and  has  an  honorable  history  extending  back  to  eras  far  antedating  the  relig- 
ious persecutions  in  that  country.  About  that  time  some  of  the  name,  forced 
to  flee  from  their  native  land  on  account  of  their  religious  views,  found  a 
safe  and  permanent  refuge  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  where,  at  Kilkeel,  county 
Down,  Harry  Quinn  was  born  on  Christmas  day  of  1843  and  where  during 
boyhood  he  attended  the  national  schools.  He  was  the  son  of  Thomas  and 
Margaret  (Donaldson)  Quinn,  the  latter  the  daughter  of  William  Donald- 
son, who  was  a  wholesale  baker  and  confectioner  in  Kilkeel.  The  paternal 
grandfather,  William  Quinn,  was  a  farmer  and  also  a  linen  merchant.  In 
his  family  of  ten  children  there  were  seven  sons,  all  successful  business  or 
trades  men.  Thomas  Quinn,  the  seventh  child  in  order  of  birth,  became  a 
farmer  near  Kilkeel  and  resided  there  throughout  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

The  necessity  of  earning  his  own  livelihood  sent  Harry  Quinn  to  Aus- 
tralia at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  and  there  he  prospected  and  mined,  but  with- 
out success.  After  this  experience  he  worked  on  stock  ranches  and  thus 
was  enabled  to  save  an  amount  of  money  sufficient  for  another  stake.  \Vhile 
on  his  way  from  Melbourne  to  Queensland  he  heard  of  a  new  strike,  but 
returning  miners  brought  back  discouraging  reports  and  while  waiting  there 
he  saw  the  American  barque  Penang,  which,  on  account  of  the  fact  that  it 
was  Sunday,  was  displaying  American  flags.  Mr.  Quinn  remarked  to  his 
companions:  "Boys,  there  is  my  flag  and  my  country,"  and  the  next  day 
he  not  onh'  purchased  a  ticket  for  himself  to  San  Francisco,  but  also  for 
three  companions.  Two  of  them  afterward  repaid  him  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity, and  the  third  paid  one-fifth  of  his  indebtedness.  It  was  about  May. 
1868.  that  Mr.  Quinn  landed  at  San  Francisco,  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land. 
Working  his  way  from  place  to  place  he  was  able  to  see  much  of  the  state, 
but  did  not  find  a  location  or  an  opportunity  suited  to  his  condition.  Tie 
had  been  reared  to  a  knowledge  of  the  sheep   industry,   so  it   was  his  desire 


328  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

to  buy  sheep  and  rent  land  for  their  pasturage,  but  at  the  time  sheep  were 
held  at  a  figure  far  beyond  his  reach.  As  early  as  1868  he  came  to  Kern 
county  for  the  first  time,  but  did  not  locate  here  permanently  then.  In 
1872  he  found  employment  with  Archibald  Leitch,  an  extensive  slieep-raiser 
and  large  land-owner  in  Stanislaus  county,  who,  being  pleased  with  the 
energy  and  ability  of  young  Quinn,  sent  him  into  Kern  county  as  pilot  for 
his  flocks,  and  at  the  end  of  two  years  took  him  into  partnership.  The 
connection  continued  with  mutual  profit  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Leitch  in 
1896,  and  afterward  with  the  estate  until  1906,  whereupon  the  interest  in  the 
land  and  sheep  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Quinn. 

It  was  during  the  year  1873  that  Mr.  Quinn  purchased  one-half  interest 
in  twenty-two  hundred  head  of  sheep  and  also  took  up  a  pre-emption  claim 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  where  his  residence  now  stands.  Besides  this 
he  bought  railroad  land  and  also  acquired  large  tracts  from  homesteaders  who 
were  unable  to  prove  up  on  their  claims.  During  the  early  days  in  the  history 
of  Kern  county  the  Quinn  farm  was  the  only  place  in  miles  where  a  traveler 
could  obtain  water  and  hence  emigrants  headed  for  the  ranch  from  every 
direction,  watering  their  stock  and  resting  awhile  as  they  enjoyed  the  never- 
failing  hospitality  and  cheerful  welcome  of  Mr.  Quinn.  At  his  home  the 
latch-string  was  always  hanging  out  and  no  one  was  too  humble  or  too 
poor  to  feel  the  hearty  inspiration  of  his  welcoming  hand.  His  splendid 
hospitality  made  him  known  to  and  loved  by  early  settlers  throughout  all 
this  part  of  the  country.  At  one  time  he  owned  as  high  as  twenty-two 
thousand  acres,  but  in  1906  he  sold  a  large  tract  to  a  company  of  promoters 
and  it  is  now  being  planted  to  orange  trees.  At  present  he  still  owns  fifteen 
thousand    acres. 

While  in  the  main  successful  in  his  enterprises  and  particularly  so  in 
his  sheep-raising  ventures,  Mr.  Quinn  had  his  share  of  misfortune.  During 
the  serious  drought  of  1877  he  was  forced  to  seek  new  ranges  for  his  sheep. 
With  a  flock  of  eighteen  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty  sheep  he  went 
into  Nevada  and  at  first  found  abundant  pasturage,  but  while  at  Fish  Lake 
valley  he  was  caught  in  a  severe  snow-storm  and  fifteen  thousand  sheep 
perished  at  one  time.  On  his  return  to  Kern  county  he  had  only  twenty- 
seven  hundred  head  of  sheep  and  was  $5,000  in  debt.  Undismayed  by  a 
catastrophe  that  would  have  discouraged  most  men,  he  started  in  anew 
and  in  a  few  years  had  paid  ofif  his  debt,  enlarged  his  flock  and  secured 
another  foothold  financially.  For  many  years  he  was  engaged  in  raising 
thoroughbred  French  merinos,  and  the  high  grade  of  the  stock  can  be  esti- 
mated when  it  is  known  that  his  sheep  were  not  only  shipped  into  all  parts 
of  the  United  States  for  breeding  purposes,  but  also  to  Mexico,  South 
America  and  Africa.  After  a  long  association  with  the  sheep  industry  he 
sold  the  last  of  his  flock  about  1911  and  since  then  has  devoted  his  attention 
wholly  to  raising  Short-horn  Durham  cattle.  Not  only  was  he  the  first  set- 
tler on  the  plains  east  of  Delano  in  Kern  county,  but  besides  he  merits  men- 
tion because  he  is  one  of  the  few  successful  men  who  have  engaged  in  dry 
farming  and  stock-raising  on  the  plains.  The  Quinn  ranch  is  located  ten 
miles  east  of  Delano  and  lies  principally  in  Rag  gulch,  although  some  parts 
of  it  lie  in  the  Sierra  Nevadas  inside  of  the  forest  reserve.  The  ranch  i.-,  well 
improved  with  a  new,  modern  residence,  which  was  completed  in  Decem- 
ber. 1912,  and  is  also  equipped  with  the  needed  farm  buildings  and  three 
pumping  plants.  The  sons  are  now  preparing  to  set  out  forty  acres  to 
oranges. 

Several  of  the  state  conventions  of  the  Democratic  party  have  I)een 
attended  bv  Mr.  Quinn,  who  maintains  a  warm  interest  in  political  afifairs. 
For  vears  he  has  served  as  a  trustee  of  the  local  schools.     Fraternally  he  is 


HISTORY    OF    KI':RN    COUNTY  329 

a  charter  member  of  Porter  Lod^e.  1.  O.  < '.  I'".,  was  made  a  Ala'^oii  in 
\"isalia  Lodge  No.  123,  F.  &  A.  'SI.,  is  a  member  of  N'isalia  Ciiapter  Xm.  44. 
R.  A.  M.,  Visalia  Commandery,  K.  T.,  \'isalia  Consistory.  Scottish  Rite, 
thirty-second  degree,  and  is  also  a  member  of  Islam  Temple,  .\.  M.  S.. 
of  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Quinn's  marriage,  solemnized  in  Robertson  county, 
N.  C  December  \5.  1886,  united  him  with  Miss  Katie  Robertson,  who  was 
born  in  Robertson  county,  X.  C,  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  1858.  Seven 
chihlrcn  were  horn  of  the  union  and  to  each  lias  been  given  the  educational 
training  essential  to  a  thorough  preparation  for  life's  activities.  The  eldest 
daugliter.  Marguerite,  is  the  wife  of  Nelson  Smith.  The  eldest  son,  lohn, 
who  graduated  with  the  class  of  1912,  I'niversity  of  California,  at  Berkeley, 
with  the  degree  of  P>.  S..  is  assisting  his  father  in  the  management  of  the 
ranch.  Tom,  the  second  son,  has  charge  of  his  father's  stock.  The  third 
son,  Archie,  a  graduate  of  the  Bakersfield  high  school,  class  of  1912.  is  also 
assisting  in  the  care  of  the  stock.  The  youngest  daughters.  ]\Iary  and  Mil- 
dred, are  attending  college  at  Oakland  during  the  winter  months,  while 
in  the  summer  tliev  are  with  their  parents  on  the  ranch  near  Delano.  The 
younsrest  son.  Cletus,  is  attending  the  Kern  county  high  school  at  Bakersfield. 

HERBERT  C.  MOSHER.— The  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Torney 
&  Jones  Company,  Incorporated,  of  ]\Taricopa,  has  been  a  resident  of  Califor- 
nia almost  from  his  earliest  recollections.  Born  in  Georsria  October  25, 
1872,  he  was  scarcely  four  years  of  age  when  in  1876  the  family  became  resi- 
dents of  Los  Angeles,  where  he  received  such  advantages  as  the  public 
schools  then  offered,  supplemented  bv  a  course  of  study  in  the  normal  school. 
After  his  graduation  from  the  normal  in  1892  lie  began  to  teach  in  the  schools 
of  Goleta,  Santa  Barbara  county,  where  he  continued  in  the  saiue  school  for 
two  years,  and  then  devoted  the  next  two  vears  to  similar  work  in  the  Los 
Angeles  city  schools.  Resigning  his  position  and  retiring  from  educational 
pursuits,  he  turned  to  an  industry  then  newly  inaugurated  in  the  state.  This 
was  the  raising  of  sugar  beets.  At  that  time  Oxnard  was  the  only  center 
of  the  industry  in  the  state  and  he  took  up  land  in  Ventura  county  near  the 
Oxnard  factory,  where  he  engaged  in  raising  beets  for  a  few  years. 

Coming  to  Bakersfield  in  1899  Mr.  Mosher  began  an  active  and  prominent 
identification  with  the  upbuilding  of  Kern  county,  an  association  that  at  first 
lent  helpful  aid  to  the  making  of  good  roads.  Forming  a  partnership  with 
his  brother.  J.  W.  Mosher,  he  cirganized  the  firm  of  Mosher  Brotliers,  wh'ch 
in  1900,  under  the  oversight  of  Supervisor  H.  A.  Jastro,  oiled  the  first  roads 
in  the  entire  San  Joaquin  valley.  Their  contract  called  for  the  oiling  of  about 
seventy  miles  of  road  and  the  results  were  so  satisfactory  that  they  were 
called  to  difTerent  parts  of  the  state  by  those  desirous  of  securing  good  roads 
in  their  communities.  Eventually  J.  W.  Mosher  established  headquarters  for 
the  business  at  Stockton  and  with  that  as  a  center  he  carries  on  a  large  busi- 
ness in  the  oiling  of  roads,  an  interest  in  the  concern  being  retained  by  Her- 
bert C.  Mosher,  who,  however,  of  recent  years  has  given  over  to  the  brother 
the  active  management  of  the  entire  enterprise. 

The  business  identification  of  Mr.  Mosher  with  the  new  town  of  Mari- 
copa began  in  1909,  when  he  organized  the  Gate  City  Oil  Company  and  pur- 
chased forty  acres  owned  by  the  Maricopa  Oil  Company.  After  a  period  as 
manager  of  the  Gate  City  he  resigned  in  order  to  give  his  attention  to  other 
interests,  but  he  still  holds  stock  in  the  concern.  As  secretary  and  treasurer 
of  Torpey  &  Jones  Company,  Incorjiorated,  he  is  connected  with,  a  pioneer 
mercantile  enterprise  of  Maricopa,  having  during  June  of  1909  purchased 
the  interest  of  J.  D.  Jones  in  the  firm.  At  that  time  the  company  occupied 
twelve  hundred  feet  of  floor  space,  but  since  then  they  iia\-e  erected  addi- 
tional rooms  and  now  use  five  thousand  feet  of  floor  space.  The  same  com- 
pany also  supplies  the  town  with  water,  controlling  the  stock  in  the  Maricopa 


330  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Water  Company.  Prior  to  the  organization  of  that  concern  water  was 
shipped  in  from  Bakersfield  and  was  consequently  so  expensive  that  its  use 
was  limited  to  the  most  stern  necessities.  Torpey  &  Jones  conduct  business 
upon  the  department  system  and  each  department  is  practically  a  complete 
store  in  itself.  The  groceries,  dry-goods,  ladies'  and  gent's  furnishings,  sup- 
plies for  oil  men,  wines  and  hardware,  are  indicative  of  the  lines  carried  in 
stock  and  of  the  quality  of  the  same.  The  first  president,  F.  T.  Torpey,  was 
the  pioneer  merchant  of  Maricopa  and  the  remarkable  growth  of  the  business 
is  largely  due  to  the  substantial  foundations  laid  by  him  at  the  start.  The 
firm  passed  through  the  disastrous  fire  of  June  20,  1911,  and  aided  in  the 
work  of  rebuilding.  They  promoted  the  incorporation  of  Maricopa  as  a  city, 
which  occurred  July  20,  1911,  and  since  then  all  members  of  the  company 
have  given  liberally  of  time  and  means  to  further  civic  projects,  Mr.  Mosher 
having  served  first  by  appointment  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees,  later 
elected  to  the  position  April  8,  1912,  after  which  he  was  chosen  chairman  of 
the  board,  a  position  equivalent  to  that  of  mayor.  He  resigned  from  said 
board  on  account  of  very  pressing  business  duties  in  May,  1913. 

FRANZ  BUCKREUS.— The  superintendent  of  the  Kern  county  hos- 
pital is  of  German  birth  and  the  descendant  of  a  long  line  of  honored  Teutonic 
ancestors,  his  parents  having  been  Dr.  Michael  and  Babetta  (Sauer)  Buck- 
reus,  the  former  a  graduate  physician  and  the  son  of  a  Bavarian  millwright. 
For  a  long  period  Dr.  Buckreus  engaged  in  professional  labors  in  the  pros- 
perous village  of  Bamberg,  lying  along  the  banks  of  the  Main  river  in  Ober- 
franken,  Bavaria,  and  there  occurred  the  birth  of  his  third  child,  Franz, 
November  30,  1845.  After  he  had  been  given  the  advantages  of  the  national 
schools  and  gymnasiums  he  was  taken  into  the  doctor's  ofifice  and  taught  the 
principles  of  surgery  as  well  as  the  treatment  of  disease.  The  death  of  the 
father  in  1866  prevented  him  from  gaining  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
materia  medica  and  obliged  him  to  work  diligently  to  support  the  family. 
At  first  he  engaged  in  nursing  the  sick  and  during  the  Franco-Prussian  war 
he  held  a  position  in  the  sanitary  department  of  the  army.  Coming  to  the 
United  States  in  1871  he  followed  the  barber's  trade  in  New  York,  New 
Jersey  and  Connecticut  successively.  January  of  1875  found  him  in  Cali- 
fornia and  during  March  of  the  same  year  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where 
he  worked  as  a  journeyman  barber  for  six  months,  and  then  established  a 
shop  on  Chester  avenue  on  the  present  site  of  Scribner's  opera  house.  Later 
he  conducted  a  shop  in  the  Arlington  hotel,  but  in  1883  he  sold  out  to  accept 
the  position  of  superintendent  of  the  Kern  county  hospital,  which  had  been 
established  in  1881.  Since  then  his  own  history  has  been  practically  that 
of  the  institution  which  he  manages. 

The  early  home  of  the  hospital  was  on  G  between  Thirteenth  and  Four- 
teenth streets  and  there  it  was  conducted  until  the  inadequacy  of  the  facilities 
there  afforded  compelled  a  different  location  and  larger  quarters.  During 
1895  removal  was  made  to  Nineteenth  and  Oak  streets,  where  there  are  six 
acres  of  grounds  picturesquely  adorned  with  trees  and  shrubs  planted  by 
the  superintendent,  whose  good  taste  and  artistic  ability  are  reflected  in  the 
entire  arrangement  of  the  place.  Under  his  trained  judgment  the  grounds 
have  been  converted  into  an  attractive  park  with  permanent  walks  and  lawn, 
beautified  further  by  flowers  and  ornamental  trees.  However,  the  superin- 
tendent has  proved  more  than  a  successful  landscape  gardener,  for  in  the 
management  of  the  institution  he  has  been  efficient,  reliable  and  capable. 
The  main  building,  two  stories  in  height  with  a  frontage  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty  feet,  proved  too  small,  and  in  1911  the  company  added  a  sixty-foot 
wing  on  the  east  to  be  utilized  partly  as  a  surgical  ward  and  operating  room. 
The  capacity  has  been  increased  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  patients. 
An  excellent  system  of  heating,  lighting  and  ventilation  has  been  introduced 
and  the  entire  equipment  bespeaks  the  oversight  of  a  wise  intelligence. 


I 


f 


^BfA  CIlAAijMn  O'Ho^^, 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  335 

In  the  days  when  it  was  impossible  for  Kern  county  to  pay  a  health 
officer  Mr.  Buckreus  served  in  that  position  gratuitously.  When  the  county 
was  able  to  give  him  some  recompense  for  his  services,  he  was  paid  $25 
per  month.  The  service  without  pay  lasted  for  six  years  and  the  service 
with  pay  covered  eight  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  the  state  legis- 
lature passed  a  bill  requiring  all  health  officers  to  possess  medical  diplomas. 
In  politics  Mr.  Buckreus  has  been  a  Democrat  ever  since  he  became  familiar 
with  the  national  issues  of  his  adopted  country.  For  twelve  years  he 
officiated  as  county  coroner  and  public  administrator,  having  been  appointed 
to  fill  a  vacancy  in  1890.  At  the  expiration  of  that  term  in  1892  he  was  elected 
for  two  years.  During  1894  he  was  elected  for  a  term  of  four  years  and 
again  in  1898  for  four  years,  holding  the  office  until  January  of  1903,  when 
he  retired.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks  in  Bakersfield  he  became  a  charter  member  of  Lodge  No.  266,  in  the 
upbuilding  of  which  he  has  maintained  a  warm  interest.  In  addition  he  has 
been  actively  associated  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

CHRISTIAN  MATTLY.— A  gratifying  degree  of  success  has  rewarded 
the  industrious  efforts  of  Mr.  Mattly,  whose  profitable  management  of  a 
dairy  industry  in  Kern  county  furnishes  evidence  as  to  the  possibilities  of  the 
business  in  this  part  of  the  state  and  also  bears  testimony  concerning  his  own 
abilities  in  that  direction.  The  fact  that  he  comes  of  a  long  line  of  Swiss 
ancestors,  among  whom  were  not  a  few  famous  cheese-makers  and  skilled 
dairymen,  may  account  in  part  for  his  own  talents  in  the  same  direction. 
When  it  is  considered  that  he  was  only  seven  years  of  age  when  he  lost  his 
father  and  that  he  had  no  influential  friends  tu  assist  him  in  getting  a  start 
in  California  when  he  landed  here  without  means,  his  present  high  standing 
indicates  his  determination  of  character  and  energy  of  temperament.  Born 
at  Zillis.  Canton  Graubunden,  Switzerland.  March  30,  1852,  he  was  a  son  of 
Leonard  and  Menga  (Cayori )  Mattly,  natives  of  the  same  canton  as  himself 
and  lifelong  residents  thereof,  the  father  dying  in  1859  and  the  mother  in 
1885.  There  were  five  children  in  the  family  and  four  of  these  are  still  living. 
Christian  having  been  next  to  the  youngest  of  the  number.  After  he  had 
attended  school  for  some  years  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  a  stone- 
cutter and  from  that  time  earned  his  own  way  in  the  world.  During  1873 
he  came  from  Europe  to  the  LInited  States  and  settled  at  Gilroy,  Cal.,  but 
after  eight  months  of  work  he  removed  to  Marin  county  and  secured  employ- 
ment in  a  dairy  at  Point  Reyes.  Another  six  months  were  passed  there  and  in 
1874  he  came  to  Kern  county,  where  he  pre-empted  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  on  Kern  Island,  fifteen  miles  from  Bakersfield. 

Six  years  spent  upon  the  pre-emption  claim  were  followed  by  employ- 
ment with  W.  Canfield,  owner  of  a  dairy,  in  which  Mr.  Mattly  engaged 
as  foreman  and  buttermaker.  Previous  experience  aided  him  in  the  work 
and  he  soon  proved  himself  to  be  skilled  in  that  occupation.  Encouraged 
by  his  evident  fitness  for  the  calling,  in  1885  he  embarked  in  the  dairy  busi- 
ness fur  himself,  buying  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  fourteen  miles  south- 
west of  Bakersfield  and  at  once  starting  a  herd  of  milch  cows.  The  land 
was  under  irrigation  and  the  raising  of  alfalfa  was  thus  made  possible.  From 
the  first  he  was  prosperous.  Industrj'  and  wise  management  brought  their 
deserved  returns.  Skill  in  the  manufacture  of  butter  and  cheese  brought  him  a 
steadily  growing  business,  .^s  time  passed  he  added  to  his  possessions  until 
he  had  acquired  five  hundred  and  fifty-three  acres  in  one  body,  all  under 
irrigation  and  well  suited  to  alfalfa.  .\11  of  the  hay  raised  was  fed  to  the 
stock  during  the  winter  months.  A  specialty  was  made  of  the  shorthorn  red 
Durham  cattle  and  at  times  he  milked  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  twenty 
cows  with  the  aid  of  his  hired  help.  When  he  first  settled  on  the  ranch  he 
manufactured  Ijutter  in  the  old-fashiuned  way,  but  this  soon  proved  to  be  too 
tedious  and  so  he  began  t<i  put  in  machinery  and  at  the  time  he  rented  the 


336  HISTORY   OF    KERX    COUNTY 

dairy  to  others  in  1903  he  had  it  fitted  out  with  modern  conveniences  of  the 
most  approved  designs.  Upon  leaving  that  farm  he  settled  four  miles  south 
of  Bakersfield,  where  he  had  bought  an  alfalfa  ranch  of  eighty  acres.  On  the 
new  farm  he  started  another  dairy  and  this  he  conducted  until  1910  with 
continued  success,  eventually  renting  the  property  and  then  selling  it  to 
others.  Retiring  from  the  arduous  labors  that  had'  filled  his  life  from  early 
manhood,  in  1910  he  erected  an  attractive  and  commodious  residence  on  the 
corner  of  Eighteenth  and  B  streets,  where  he  and  his  family  since  have  made 
their  home.  While  residing  on  the  big  ranch  he  established  family  ties,  the 
ceremony  occurring  April  6,  1896.  His  wife,  formerly  Nina  Weichelt,  is  a 
native  of  the  same  part  of  Switzerland  as  himself  and  came  in  1893  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  she  was  married  in  Kern  county.  Born  of  their  union  are  three 
sons.  Leonard,  Gotleib  and  Christian.  The  family  are  identified  with  the 
Lutheran  denomination  and  Mr.  Mattly  has  been  a  regular  contributor  to 
religious  enterprises.  Since  becoming  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  he  has 
voted  with  the  Republican  party.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Security 
Trust  Company  he  was  elected  a  director  and  since  then  he  has  continued 
a  member  of  the  board.  Fraternally  he  is  associated  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  LTniform  Rank,  K.  P.  Both  himself  and  wife  are  members 
of  the  Kern  County  Pioneer  Society.  Always  interested  in  educational  work 
and  a  stanch  believer  in  the  free-school  system,  for  some  years  he  officiated 
as  director  of  the  Old  River  school  district  and  during  that  time  of  service 
he  promoted  the  school  work  and  advanced  the  grade  of  scholarship  through 
his  capable  and  constant  support. 

ANGUS  J.  CRITES.— The  honored  and  influential  pioneer  family  of 
Crites,  founded  in  Kern  county  during  the  latter  part  of  the  '50s  by  Angus 
M.  Crites  and  connected  by  marriage  with  another  leading  old  family,  that 
of  Jewett,  has  lost  none  of  its  early  prestige  or  long-time  popularity  through 
the  commercial  activities  of  the  present  generation,  one  of  whom,  Angus 
J.  Crites,  has  acquired  a  wide  reputation  as  a  successful  and  efficient  super- 
intendent in  the  Kern  river  oil  fields.  It  is  said  by  competent  judges  that 
the  Kern  river  district  holds  no  better  oil  lease  than  that  of  the  Peerless  Oil 
Company,  the  high  standing  of  which  results  frbm  the  able  supervision  of 
the  manager.  Having  filled  his  present  position  since  1904,  he  has  become 
familiar  with  the  entire  district  and  especially  with  the  growing  possibilities 
of  the  Peerless  at  Oil  Center,  which  had  thirty-four  wells  at  the  time  of  his 
original  association  with  the  company,  but  has  increased  its  leases  until  in 
1913  it  has  fifty-eight  wells,  all  of  them  productive  and  remimerative. 

Relative  to  the  family  history,  it  may  be  stated  that  Angus  M.  Crites 
settled  at  Kernville  about  the  year  1858  and  was  one  of  the  original  miners 
at  Havilah,  then  the  county-seat.  By  his  marriage  to  Louisa  Jewett,  he  be- 
came a  brother-in-law  of  Solomon  Jewett,  one  of  the  most  influential  pio- 
neers of  the  county.  For  years  he  engaged  in  ranching  and  stock-raising 
and  at  times  had  as  many  as  five  hundred  head  of  cattle  on  his  range. 
Having  valuable  water  rights  on  Clear  creek,  he  was  able  to  engage  in  the 
stock  business  with  more  success  than  many.  Among  his  children  was 
Arthur  Saxe,  who  as  Colonel  Crites  has  been  prominently  connected  with 
the  Second  California  National  Guard  and  at  this  writing  also  fills  the  posi- 
tion of  cashier  of  the  First  Bank  of  Kern.  Another  son,  Angus  J.,  whose 
name  introduces  this  article,  was  born  in  Bakersfield  April  26,  1874,  and 
passed  the  years  of  boyhood  on  the  family  ranch  near  Tehachapi.  When  a 
public  school  was  established  at  Keene  he  became  one  of  the  first  pupils 
and  there  gained  a  practical  education.  In  company  with  his  father  he 
engaged  in  mining  in  Caliente  valley,  also  in  the  vicinity  of  Sageland  and 
Red  Rock.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Jewett 
&  Blodgett  Oil  Company.  During  the  seven  years  of  his  association  with 
the  company  he   helped  to   develop  oil   fields   in   the   Sunset,   Hazleton   and 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  337 

Maricopa  districts.  When  thirty  years  of  age  he  became  connected  with 
the  Peerless  Oil  Company,  first  acting  as  superintendent  of  their  lands  at 
Coalinga,  then  coming  to  the  Kern  river  field  as  superintendent  at  Oil  Cen- 
ter. The  Peerless,  which  under  his  management  has  become  one  of  the 
most  profitable  properties  in  the  entire  field,  utilizes  about  twenty-four  hun- 
dred hi  rse-power  day  and  night  and  has  successfully  installed  an  air-lift 
system  as  well  as  other  modern  improvements.  The  storage  capacity  has 
been  increased  until  now  it  aggregates  two  hundred  thousand  barrels.  Mr. 
Crites  is  a  Republican  and  belongs  to  the  Masons  and  Elks. 

By  Mr.  Crites'  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Kirkpatrick,  a  native  nf  ^)r^•  Run, 
Pa.,  he  has  two  daughters,  Dorothea  and  Catharine.  The  family  maintain 
their  residence  on  the  Peerless  lease.  Mr.  Crites  is  an  enthusiast  on  the 
subject  of  good  roads,  and  with  such  men  taking  hold  of  the  project  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  Kern  county  will  soon  have  first-class  county  roads. 

THOMAS  J.  O'BOYLE.— Born  at  Scranton,  Pa.,  October  19,  18S3,  he  was 
the  son  of  a  poor  miner  who  lost  his  life  in  the  coal  mines  during  1863.  The 
struggle  to  support  the  family,  always  most  difficult,  was  rendered  doubly 
acute  by  this  catastrophe  and  the  boy  of  ten  years  soon  had  to  go  into  the 
mines,  where  he  was  'employed  in  driving  a  mule  and  in  picking  the  slate 
from  the  coal.  The  death  of  his  mother  left  him  wholly  orphaned  and  de- 
pendent upon  his  own  eiTorts  for  food  and  clothing.  Needless  to  say  that 
he  suffered  from  the  lack  of  necessities,  yet  he  bore  his  hardships  with 
patience  and  worked  with  the  good  cheer  sometimes  lacking  in  those  older 
than  he  was  at  the  time.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  became  an  apprentice 
to  the  trade  of  a  machinist  in  the  shops  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  & 
^Vestern  Railroad,  where  he  remained  until  he  had  completed  his  time. 
During  1873  he  became  clerk  in  a  dry-goods  store  and  remained  in  that 
business  for  four  years,  after  which  he  secured  employment  in  the  oil  fields 
of  Pennsylvania.  Meanwhile  the  lure  of  the  west  had  weakened  the  ties 
that  bound  him  to  his  native  commonwealth.  Traveling  by  way  of  Cincin- 
nati toward  the  west,  he  worked  for  a  time  in  Arkansas  and  followed  the 
machinist's  trade  as  well  as  the  dry-goods  business. 

Upon  coming  to  California  in  1879  Mr.  O'Boyle  first  settled  at  Sutter 
creek  in  Amador  county,  where  he  found  employment  in  a  dry-goods  store. 
Two  years  later  he  came  to  Bakersfield.  His  search  for  employment  met 
with  success  in  the  machine  shops  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  at  Kern. 
From  the  first  he  was  interested  in  local  affairs.  When  the  village  of  Sum- 
ner was  incorporated  as  the  city  of  Kern  he  was  one  of  the  enthusiastic 
supporters  of  the  project  and  was  elected  a  member  of  the  first  board  of 
trustees,  serving  as  such  for  six  years.  From  1887  to  1889  he  engaged  in 
the  general  mercantile  business  at  Kern  and  later  bought  and  started  to  con- 
duct the  Paul  Gates  store  in  Bakersfield,  but  in  1889  he  lost  everything  by 
fire.  Lacking  the  necessary  capital  to  embark  anew  in  mercantile  pursuits, 
he  took  a  position  as  bookkeeper  and  accountant.  The  Democrats  of  the 
town  co-operated  to  secure  the  Kern  postmastership  for  him  during  the 
administration  of  Crover  Cleveland  and  he  filled  the  position  acceptably  for 
four  years,  besides  which  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  at  Kern  for  some 
years.  During  the  early  period  of  his  identification  with  Kern  county  he 
purchased  the  Cosmopolitan  hotel  from  John  E.  Bailey  and  conducted  the 
same  for  three  years. 

The  department  store  of  Heard  &  Painter  was  started  at  Taft  during 
March  of  1909  by  J.  W.  Heard  and  C.  C.  Painter  and  Judge  OT.oyle  came 
to  the  village  shortly  afterward  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  books  for  the 
new  firm.  Later  he  was  placed  in  the  dry-goods  department  as  a  salesman. 
Upon  the  organization  of  the  district  in  the  fall  of  1910  he  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace,  which  position  he  had  filled  previously  by  appointment. 
.\s   an    indication    nf   his   high    standing   it    may   be    stated    that    in    Midway 


338  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

precinct  No.  2  only  eight  votes  were  cast  against  him  out  of  a  total  of  five 
hundred  and  fifty,  while  in  the  other  precincts  every  ballot  was  in  his  favor. 
Since  then  he  has  given  his  attention  to  the  duties  of  the  ofiice,  which  he 
has  filled  with  an  impartial  spirit  and  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the 
law.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Eagles  and  Foresters. 

The  first  marriage  of  Judge  O'Boyle  took  place  in  1882  and  united  him 
with  Miss  Margaret  Dugan,  who  died  after  a  few  years.  Two  of  their 
children,  Thomas  and  Monica,  also  are  deceased,  the  sole  survivor  being 
Edward,  assistant  cashier  of  the  First  Bank  of  Kern.  During  1890  occurred 
the  marriage  of  Judge  O'Boyle  to  Miss  Nellie  Moore,  by  whom  he  became 
the  father  of  two  children.  The  son,  Thomas,  is  deceased.  The  daughter. 
Miss  Mary,  is  now  employed  as  bookkeeper  in  the  California  market. 

REGINALD  A.  FERGUSSON,  M.  D.— The  genealogy  of  the  Fergusson 
family  is  traced  back  to  the  old  Scotch  clan  of  that  name  in  Fergus 
Castle  in  Stirlingshire.  In  the  midst  of  such  picturesque  but  isolated  sur- 
roundings was  passed  the  early  life  of  William  Long  Fergusson,  M.  D., 
whose  professional  skill  and  splendid  Scotch  qualities  of  mind  and  heart 
brought  him  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  admirers.  For  a  considerable 
period  prior  to  the  memorable  revolution  that  culminated  in  the  execution 
of  Maximilian  in  1867  he  had  officiated  as  private  physician  to  that  ill-fated 
emperor.  Upon  returning  to  Great  Britain  he  took  up  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  Claremont  Square,  London,  where  he  remained  until  his  death, 
meanwhile  rising  to  professional  prominence  in  the  metropolis  of  the  world. 
While  living  at  New  Granada  he  had  been  bereaved  by  the  death  of  his 
wife,  who  was  a  Miss  Chapman,  of  English  birth  and  education.  The  only 
son  of  that  union,  Reginald  Archibald,  was  born  in  New  Granada  in  1857 
and  received  a  classical  education  in  England  and  Scotland.  After  having 
graduated  from  Oxford  he  took  his  medical  course  in  the  Royal  College  of 
Physicians  in  Edinburgh,  from  which  he  received  the  degree  of  M.  D.  Later 
he  took  a  post-graduate  course  in  London  and  then  embarked  in  practice 
at  Corn  Hill  Exchange  in  that  city. 

Coming  to  Southern  California  in  1881,  Dr.  Fergusson  opened  an  office 
in  Los  Angeles.  A  year  later  he  removed  to  Bakersfield,  where  soon  his 
professional  skill  became  recognized.  A  constantly  increasing  practice 
filled  the  ensuing  years.  Among  his  co-laborers  his  standing  was  the  high- 
est. It  is  said  that  he  was  without  exception  the  leading  physician  of  his 
day  and  locality,  and  combined  with  professional  prominence  was  the  pres- 
tige associated  with  culture  acquired  by  association  with  people  of  the  high- 
est refinement  and  by  travels  throughout  diflfe'rent  countries.  At  the  time 
of  his  demise,  which  occurred  September  4,  1899,  he  held  the  position  of 
president  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  Medical  Society,  besides  being  actively 
associated  with  the  California  State  and  American  Medical  Associations. 
While  his  profession  had  engrossed  his  energies  and  called  forth  the  highest 
powers  of  his  fine  mind,  he  had  found  leisure  for  the  amenities  of  society 
and  for  the  pleasurable  relations  of  fraternities,  having  been  one  of  the 
founders  and  charter  members  of  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E., 
in  whose  development  he  retained  a  deep  interest  to  the  last. 

The  marriage  of  Dr.  Fergusson  was  solemnized  at  Brighton,  England, 
in  1880,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Bertha  Maud  Shriber,  who  was  born  in 
Calcutta,  India,  and  received  a  classical  education  in  England.  Her  parents 
were  Dr.  Edward  and  Eulalia  (Alexander)  Shriber,  the  former  a  native  of 
London  and  a  graduate  of  Guy's  Hospital  College  with  the  degree  of  M.  D., 
afterward  a  surgeon  in  the  English  army,  stationed  in  India  for  many  years. 
Upon  his  retirement  he  returned  to  England  to  spend  his  last  days  amid  the 
scenes  familiar  to  his  youthful  years.  A  year  after  her  marriage  Mrs.  Fer- 
gusson accompanied  her  husband  to  the  United  States  and  since  then  has 
made  California  her  home,  having  since  the  demise  of  the  Doctor  continued 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  341 

to  occupy  the  family  residence  at  No.  1521  Seventeenth  street,  Bakersfield, 
and  giving  her  attention  to  the  management  of  her  varied  business  interests, 
the  enjoyment  of  the  society  of  warm  friends  of  many  years'  standing  and 
the  benefactions  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  to  wliich  she  has  given  a  devoted 
allegiance  from  childhood. 

HECK  BROS.— Established  in  June  of  1910,  almost  simultaneously  with 
the  founding  of  Fellows,  the  history  of  the  mercantile  firm  of  Heck  Bros, 
has  been  one  of  steady  growth  and  progressive  development.  The  erection 
of  a  suitable  building  followed  the  arrival  of  the  two  brothers  in  Fellows 
during  December  of  1909,  and  as  soon  as  possible  they  put  in  the  new  build- 
ing a  suitable  stock  of  goods,  since  which  they  have  conducted  a  department 
store  with  ability  and  tact.  The  trade  is  not  limited  to  I-'ellows,  but  in  additiim 
two  teams  furnish  excellent  delivery  service  to  the  territor}-  within  a  radius 
of  seven  miles  of  Fellows. 

Upon  beginning  business  in  their  two-story  building  the  Heck  Bros, 
utilized  the  upper  floor  of  their  block  for  hotel  purposes,  while  devoting  the 
entire  first  story  to  their  stock  of  merchandise  and  household  articles.  Upon 
the  establishment  of  an  office  at  Fellows  for  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co.,  they  were 
appointed  to  act  as  agents  October  24,  1910.  Numerous  other  private  and 
public  enterprises  occupy  some  of  their  time,  but  thev  are  men  of  such  stirring 
energy  and  such  indomitable  perseverance  that  their  work  is  their  chief  joy, 
and  the  busier  they  are,  likewise  the  happier.  Their  pride  in  the  growth  of 
the  community  has  been  warranted  by  their  efforts  in  its  behalf.  It  is  their 
ambition  to  continue  to  promote  the  progress  of  Fellows  and  to  assist  in  its 
permanent  upbuilding,  so  that  from  a  commercial  and  social  standpoint  it 
may  represent  appropriately  the  rich  oil  section  of  which  it  is  the  center. 

O.  C.  Heck  is  a  native  of  Iowa  and  in  January  of  1898  married  Miss 
Fannie  Dustin,  of  Selma.  E.  P.  Heck,  a  native  of  Missouri,  was  united  in 
marriage  in  1904  with  Miss  Ada  Sturgis,  of  Kansas.  During  October  of  1894 
the  brothers  came  from  Fort  Scott,  Kan.,  to  California  and  settled  at  Selma, 
Fresno  county,  where  they  engaged  in  farming  and  teaming.  From  that 
place  they  came  to  Oil  Center  and  identified  themselves  with  the  oil  industry 
on  their  own  account,  developing  the  Walker-Heck  Oil  Company.  In  addi- 
tion they  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business.  Since  coming  to  Fellows  they 
have  continued  their  mercantile  and  oil  interests  and  have  acquired  oil  hold- 
ings here  and  at  McKittrick.  Quite  recently  they  have  undertaken  to  de- 
vehm  all  of  section  6.  tnwnship  29.  range  22.  and  have  officiated  as  directors 
in  the  Eagle  Creek  Company,  of  which  O.  C.  Heck  served  as  vice-president 
at  one  time. 

W.  L.  CUNNINGHAM. — More  of  shadow  than  of  sunshine  surrounded 
the  early  years  of  Mr.  Cunningham,  who  as  the  eldest  son  in  a  large  family 
experienced  many  privations  and  made  many  sacrifices  in  order  that  the 
younger  children  might  have  an  opportunity  to  secure  educational  advan- 
tages. When  a  mere  lad  he  became  self-supporting.  However,  it  was  not 
enough  that  he  should  support  himself.  With  characteristic  generosity  he 
used  his  earnings  to  aid  in  the  maintenance  of  the  family,  hence  it  has  been 
only  of  recent  years  that  he  has  recorded  any  individual  progress,  but  it  is 
sufficiently  rapid  to  recompense  for  past  delays  and  sacrifices.  Now  in  the 
prime  of  manhood,  he  may  look  forward  to  long  years  of  business  and  occu- 
pative  activity,  years  that  will  enhance  his  reputation  as  a  competent  engi- 
neer and  a  successful  production  foreman  in  the  oil  fields. 

A  native  son  of  the  state,  Mr.  Cunningham  was  born  at  Lakeport,  Lake 
county,  February  3,  1880,  and  was  the  second  child  and  eldest  son  in  a  family 
numbering  nine  children.  W^hen  yet  very  young  he  accompanied  his  par- 
ents to  Fresno  and  there  attended  the  public  schools  as  opportunity  offered. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  after  he  had  been  self-supporting  for  a  con- 
siderable period,  he  secured  employment  in  the  Copper  King  mine  in  Fresno 


342  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

county  and  there  he  became  familiar  with  the  work  of  an  engineer.  In  this 
occupation  he  is  said  to  be  an  expert.  About  I'y'OS  he  came  to  the  Kern 
river  oil  field  and  secured  work  as  a  pumper  on  the  Overland  lease,  whence 
in  1910  he  came  to  the  West  Shore  lease.  Since  then  he  has  continued  with 
the  West  Shore  Oil  Company  and  now  is  discharging  the  duties  of  foreman 
with  characteristic  fidelity  and  intelligence.  At  San  Jose,  on  Christmas  day 
of  1902,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Georgia  Johnson  of  that  city 
and  they  have  a  son,  Wayland.  The  family  formerly  occupied  a  comfort- 
able cottage  on  the  company  property  on  section  32,  township  28,  range  28, 
in  the  Kern  river  field,  but  now  live  on  the  home  ranch  south  of  Waits. 

HUGH  L.  McNEW,  M.D.— Born  October  12,  1869,  Dr.  McNew  is  the  eld- 
est child  uf  James  H.  and  Olivia  (Kincaid)  McNew,  parents  of  ten  chil- 
dren. James  H.  is  riow  a  resident  of  Texas,  his  wife  having  passed  away 
some  yeais  ago.  Reared  in  Campbell  county,  Tenn.,  the  place  of  his  birth, 
Hugh  L.  McNew  became  interested  in  the  study  of  medicine  at  an  early  age, 
and  after  diligent' and  patient  work  was  graduated  from  the  University  of 
Tennessee  with  the  class  of  1888,  receiving  the  degree  of  B.S.,  after  which 
he  entered  the  medical  department  of  Columbia  University,  at  Washington. 
He  was  later,  in  1892,  graduated  from  the  Nashville  Medical  College,  with 
the  degree  of  M.D..  and  he  immediately  started  in  to  practice,  choosing  as 
his  field  of  labor  Honey  Grove,  Tex.,  where  he  remained  for  ten  years. 
During  this  period  he  found  time  to  take  post  graduate  courses  in  1893  in 
the  New  York  Polytechnic,  in  1896  at  the  Chicago  Polytechnic,  and  in  1898 
at  the  New  York  Postgraduate  school. 

In  Texas  Dr.  McNew  married  Miss  Nannie  A.  Williamson,  daughter 
of  J.  M.  Williamson,  a  merchant  and  cotton  planter  there,  and  they  moved 
to  Dallas,  where  he  practiced  medicine,  and  held  the  chair  of  physiology  in 
the  Dallas  Medical  College  for  two  years.  The  following  two  years  he  held 
the  chair  of  professorship  on  the  practice  of  medicine.  In  1907  he  came  to 
Nevada,  and  then  to  Los  Angeles,  Cal,  remaining  two  years,  when  he  came 
to  Bakersfield,  to  make  it  his  home,  and  since  that  time  has  devoted  his 
time  and  attention  to  real  estate,  in  which  he  has  become  highly  successful. 
He  was  instrumental  in  the  organization  of  the  Bakersfield  Realty  &  Building 
Company,  of  which  he  is  now  vice  president,  the  other  officials  being 
Joseph  H.  Tarn,  president,  N.  A.  McNew,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  the 
company  has  offices  at  No.  3  Hopkins  building,  where  its  wide  interests  are 
handled.  They  laid  out  the  following  additions :  Santa  Fe,  Sunset  tract  and 
Mayflower,  which  have  nearly  all  been  sold  in  lots.  Individually  Dr.  McNew 
is  also  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  in  Los  Angeles,  having  offices 
at  No.  202  Mercantile  Place,  where  he  spends  part  of  his  time  keeping  in 
close  touch  with  land  values  and  where  he  has  been  very  successful  in  in- 
creasing his  record  of  big  sales. 

Dr.  McNew  has  a  fine  residence  on  Nineteenth  street,  where  he  and  his 
wife  make  their  home,  and  they  move  in  the  best  social  circles  of  the  city. 
He  has  invested  largely  in  farm  lands,  and  his  interests  in  the  county  cover 
a  large  area. 

C.  B.  COLBY. — A  native  of  Iowa,  born  in  Henry  county  October  18, 
1866,  Mr.  Colby  came  west  without  means,  but  with  an  abundance 
of  energy  and  determination  and  possessing  a  fine  intelligent  and  well- 
trained  mind  that  enabled  him  to  lay  the  foundation  for  subsequent  success. 
Since  settling  at  Oakland,  Cal.,  in  the  year  1899  he  has  witnessed  the 
steady  and  interesting  development  of  the  state  and  has  himself  been  a 
large  contributor  thereto,  his  great  energy  and  broad  intelligence  having 
been  directed  toward  movements,  not  alone  for  his  own  advancement,  but 
also  for  the  permanent  well-being  of  the  commonwealth.  ,  While  attaining 
large  wealth,  at  the  same  time  he  has  been  a  constant  factor  in  the  material 


HISTORY    or    KERN    COUNTY  343 

development  of  his  chosen  jilace  of  residence  and  his  most  recent  project, 
the  Western  Water  Company,  already  has  proved  of  inestimable  value  to  the 
oil  regions,  besides  bringing  to  its  promoters  returns  larger  than  their  most 
optimistic  hopes  had  anticipated. 

Long  association  with  the  oil  fields  convinced  -Mr.  (,'iilh\  of  the  neces- 
sity of  cheaper  water  than  they  had  been  able  to  secure.  While  acting  as 
manager  of  the  Columbian.  M.  &  S.,  Lorenzo  and  Minnehaha  Oil  Companies, 
and  the  H.  A.  Oil  &  Water  Company  (all  of  which  organizations  were  made 
successful  through  his  efficient  management  and  energetic  supervision),  he 
saw  the  need  of  a  more  adequate  water  supply  for  the  west  side  oil  fields. 
With  him  the  first  step  was  to  see  the  necessity,  the  next  step  was  to  create 
an  opportunity.  The  Western  Water  Company  of  Bakersfield  was  organized 
in  April,  1911,  and  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  state  of  California. 
-After  months  of  strenuous  activity  the)-  began  to  deliver  water  to  customers 
December  18,  1911,  and  since  then  the  demand  for  water  has  been  twice 
what  its  promoters  anticipated,  although  no  more  than  they  are  prepared  to 
supply.  Exclusive  of  the  office  force,  the  company  now  employs  twenty  men. 
Having  a  private  telephone  system  of  its  own,  the  officers  and  workmen  can 
c  mmunicate  with  every  plant  in  the  system.  Every  modern  facility  has 
l)een  adopted  that  will  promote  the  success  of  the  organization.  Capitalized 
at  $200,000,  the  company  has  two  hundred  shares  at  $1,000  each,  and  as  the 
stock  is  almost  wholly  taken  in  Bakersfield,  it  is  strictly  a  local  enterprise. 

Water  is  drawn  from  two  deep  wells,  affording  an  unlimited  supply  of 
pure  drinking  water,  used  for  domestic  purposes  and  for  the  oil  regions  at 
Midway.  Taft,  Fellows  and  Maricopa.  At  the  time  the  company  began  to 
pump  water  the  oil  fields  were  paying  at  the  rate  of  ten  to  twenty  cents  per 
barrel,  but  this  company  is  now  supplying  water  to  the  same  fields  at  about 
three  cents  a  barrel.  It  is  stated  that  $600,0C0  was  expended  on  the  water 
system  to  Taft  from  the  district  around  Rio  Bravo,  fourteen  miles.  Water  is 
distributed  to  all  parts  of  the  district  through  fourteen  miles  of  twelve-inch 
line  and  forty-two  miles  of  eight  and  six-inch  line.  Two  five  hundred-foot 
wells  are  pumped  at  station  No.  1,  where  three  two  hundred  and  fifty  horse- 
power gas  engines  are  installed.  Large  high-pressure  pumps  force  the  water 
to  Taft.  where  the  Consumers'  Water  Company  (which  recently  took  over 
the  Taft  Public  Utilities'  Company's  holdings  of  five  miles  of  city  lines) 
deli\ers  the  water  for  domestic  use  at  a  price  of  from  four  and  one-half  cents 
lo  nine  cents  per  barrel.  The  Western  Water  Company  is  now  handling 
forty  thousand  barrels  a  day,  the  capacity  of  its  lines,  and  at  a  reduced 
price  of  from  three  cents  to  one  and  three-fourths  cents  on  a  sliding  scale  to 
the  oil  companies,  a  reduction  of  fifty  per  cent  over  what  it  was  six  months 
ago  to  operators  and  the  cities.  The  engines  of  this  company  are  run  by 
steam  at  Taft  and  the  boilers  are  fired  by  natural  gas,  the  large  gas  engines 
at  their  station  No.  1  being  operated  by  gas  supplied  by  the  California  .\at- 
ural  (jas  Company.  The  four  pumps  (one  electric  and  three  steam)  are 
driven  by  six  one  hundred-horse  power  boilers.  On  the  highest  point  of  the 
neighborhood  the  company  has  installed  a  steel  tank  with  a  capacity  of  fifty- 
five  thousand  barrels  and  this  tank  is  utilized  to  conserve  the  surplus  water 
pumped. 

From  Taft  the  distributing  system  runs  twelve  and  one-half  miles  north 
and  west  and  twelve  miles  south  and  east.  The  entire  cost  of  the  plant 
approximated  $600,000.  but  enormous  as  was  the  outlay,  the  company  is  in  a 
very  prosperous  financial  condition  and  its  shares  of  stock  represent  a  safe 
and  profitable  investment,  all  of  which  satisfactory  result  may  be  attributed 
to  the  wise  management  of  the  company's  president.  C.  B.  Colby,  admittedly 
one  of  the  most  talented  business  men  of  Bakersfield,  a  promoter  of  ability, 
a  financier  whose  insight  rises  almost  to  genius  and  a  leader  who  combines 


344  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

a  conservative  spirit  with  progressive  policies.  Realizing  the  vast  resources 
of  Kern  county,  he  has  not  hesitated  to  promote  local  movements  when 
once  their  need  is  apparent  and  their  possible  success  made  manifest.  In 
every  respect  he  ranks  among  the  most  influential,  energetic  and  capable 
business  leaders  of  Rakersfield.  Early  in  1912  he  completed  one  of  the  most 
costly  and  elegant  residences  in  Bakersfield  and  here  he  and  his  wife, 
daughter,  Patricia,  and  son,  Charles  Bertram,  Jr.,  have  established  a  home 
whose  refinement  and  hospitality  has  attracted  a  host  of  admiring  friends. 
Mrs.  Colby,  prior  to  their  marriage  in  1907,  was  Miss  Florence  Nelson,  of 
Rakersfield. 

KATHARYN  W.  ELLIS,  M.  D.— \Mieu  in  1890  she  was  graduated  from 
the  Cincinnati  College  of  Medicine  and  Surgery  it  was  with  the  highest 
honors  of  the  class,  her  expenses  at  the  institution  being  partially  defrayed 
by  her  services  as  a  school  teacher.  Wider  professional  knowledge  came  to 
her  through  a  post-graduate  course  at  the  Women's  Medical  College  of  Cin- 
cinnati and  the  degree  of  M.  D.  also  was  conferred  upon  her  by  that  well- 
known  institution  in  1893. 

A  member  of  the  old  Wadsworth  family  of  New  England,  Dr.  Ellis  traces 
her  ancestry  to  the  illustrious  Captain  Wadsworth  of  Hartford,  who  in  Oc- 
tober, 1687,  upon  the  appearance  of  Andros  in  Hartford  at  the  head  of  a  troop 
of  soldiers  demanding  the  surrender  of  the  Connecticut  charter,  allowed  the 
debate  to  continue  until  evening,  then  ordered  all  of  the  candles  suddenly  ex- 
tinguished and  in  the  subsequent  confusion  seized  the  charter  from  its  box 
and  hid  it  in  a  hollow  oak  on  the  grounds  of  Samuel  Wyllys,  one  of  the 
magistrates.  Always  afterward  the  tree  was  known  in  history  as  the  charter 
oak.  Some  years  later  when  Governor  Fletcher,  of  New  York,  appointed 
to  his  office  by  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  attempted  to  usurp  authority 
in  Connecticut  and  appeared  in  person  at  Hartford  with  his  troops  for  the 
purpose  of  reading  his  instructions,  Captain  Wadsworth  commanded  his 
troops  to  drum  so  loudly  that  the  voice  of  the  reader  was  completely  lost  in 
the  tumult  of  noise,  so  that  Fletcher  was  forced  to  retreat  without  having 
carried  out  his  plan  of  usurpation. 

The  parents  of  Dr.  Ellis  are  Henry  and  Statira  (Goshorn)  Wadsworth, 
natives  respectively  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  Youngstown,  Ohio,  and  now  re- 
siding on  their  country  estate  near  Falmouth,  Pendleton  county,  Ky.  During 
early  manhood  Mr.  Wadsworth  engaged  in  manufacturing  enterprises,  but 
later  he  turned  his  attention  to  farming  and  settled  on  a  plantation  near 
Gardnersville,  Ky.,  where  occurred  the  birth  of  his  daughter,  Katharyn  W. 
the  eldest  of  six  children.  From  early  life  she  displayed  exceptional  ability 
and  a  great  desire  for  knowledge.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  she  was  graduated 
from  the  high  school  and  at  eighteen  completed  the  studies  of  the  scientific 
course  at  the  Central  Normal  College  at  Danville,  Ind.  A  portion  of  each 
year  was  then  devoted  to  teaching  school  in  order  to  add  to  the  funds  neces- 
sary for  a  professional  education.  Upon  her  graduation  in  medicine  she 
opened  an  office  at  Covington,  Ky.,  and  while  engaged  in  practice  there  she 
became  the  wife  of  James  F.  Ellis,  an  attorney-at-law.  Afterward  she  built 
up  an  important  practice  at  Butler,  Ky.,  and  later  spent  three  years  at  Evan- 
ston,  Wyo.,  where  her  clientele  included  patients  for  miles  in  every  direction, 
the  conduct  of  so  large  a  practice  entailing  many  physical  hardships,  yet 
bringing  rich  returns  in  the  satisfaction  of  realizing  a  helpful  service  to  hu- 
manity. During  1901  she  came  to  Kern,  now  East  Bakersfield,  and  opened 
an  office  on  Baker  street,  where  since  she  has  conducted  a  general  practice 
in  medicine  and  surgery.  Her  only  child,  Leland  Wadsworth  Ellis,  graduated 
from  the  Kern  county  high  school,  class  of  1913,  at  the  age  of  sixteen.  Since 
coming  to  her  present  location  she  has  identified  herself  with  the  Kern 
County  and  the  California  State  Medical  Associations  and  has  acted  as  med- 
ical examiner  for  the  women's  auxiliary  of  the  Foresters  and  the  Ladies  of 


/J^yr>^^uMiJai:Ji 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  347 

the  Maccabees.  In  religion  she  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church.  Po- 
litically she  supports  Republican  principles.  In  addition  to  having  acquired 
valuable  property  in  East  Bakersfield  she  has  invested  elsewhere  in  Cali- 
fornia, her  chief  investment  comprising  an  orange  grove  of  fifty  acres  at 
Portersville,  a  property  of  great  and  growing  horticultural   importance. 

WILLIAM  N.  CUDDEBACK.— The  early  colonization  of  .America  at- 
tracted from  all  parts  of  the  world  men  and  women  of  resolute  spirit  and 
energetic  temperament.  The  nation  was  still  in  the  infancy  of  its  historv 
when  the  Cudaback  family  crossed  the  ocean  from  Holland  and  established 
themselves  among  the  Dutch  residents  of  Manhattan  island.  Some  of  the 
name  (which  it  may  be  noted  was  spelled  difterently  at  that  period  from 
the  present  form)  became  early  settlers  of  Orange  county  on  the  Hudson 
and  there  founded  a  village  which  to  this  day  bears  the  name  of  (.'udde- 
backville. 

In  the  family  of  Peter  Cuddeback  of  Cuddebackville,  N.  ¥.,  there  was 
a  son,  Grant  Price,  who  was  put  to  service  as  a  tow  boy  on  the  Erie  canal 
on  boats  owned  by  the  earlier-day  Vanderbilts,  but  finding  the  work  diffi- 
cult and  illy-paid  he  ran  away  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  then  unknown  west, 
of  whose  mysterious  solitudes  he  long  had  dreamed  with  the  hopeful  visions 
of  youth.  The  path  to  success  proved  a  toilsome  road.  Many  adventures 
befell  him  ere  finally  he  had  found  his  way  to  the  Pacific  coast.  During 
the  memorable  year  of  1849  he  arrived  in  Kern  county  and  took  up  land 
north  of  Tehachapi,  developing  the  ranch  now  known  as  the  old  Hale  place, 
besides  which  he  improved  a  large  ranch  near  the  old  Lake  farm  east 
of  Tehachapi.  Throughout  the  Tehachapi  valley  he  was  known  as  a  warm 
friend  of  the  Indians.  Their  interests  were  ever  safe  in  his  care.  With 
wise  counsel  he  directed  many  of  their  undertakings  and  they  came  to  hold 
him  with  affectionate  regard.  By  an  Indian  ceremony  he  was  made  a 
brother  of  Chief  Phillipe,  an  adopted  relationship  that  by  the  terms  of  the 
ceremony  descended  to  his  sons  and  daughters  and  to  their  descendants 
forever.  Eventually  he  removed  to  Orange  county  and  acquired  one  of  the 
oldest  orange  groves  in  that  locality,  where  his  interests  became  very  im- 
portant and  extensive.  During  Februarj^  of  1905  death  removed  him  from 
the  sphere  of  his  usefulness  and  terminated  the  activities  that  had  crowned 
an    honorable   existence. 

In  his  marriage  Grant  Price  Cuddeback  was  united  with  Alniira  Hale, 
a  niece  of  President  Franklin  Pierce  and  a  descendant  uf  Xathan  Hale,  the 
Revolutionary  martyr,  also  connected  by  family  ties  with  the  two  presidents, 
William  Henry  Harrison  and  Benjamin  Harrison.  There  were  five  sons  and 
three  daughters  in  the  family  of  Grant  Price  Cuddeback.  None  of  these  had 
college  educations,  for  the  western  schools  of  their  childhood  were  jjoorly 
equipped  and  inefficiently  instructed.  William  N.,  who  was  born  in  San 
Bernardino  county  ]\Iarch  13,  1861,  attended  the  Los  Angeles  schools  for  a 
time,  but  his  present  broad  fund  of  information  comes  from  self-culture  and 
habits  of  close  observation.  When  a  babe  in  arms  he  was  brought  into  the 
Tehachapi  region,  Kern  county.  Fur  many  years  he  and  his  younger  brother, 
John  P.,  were  associated  together  as  ranchers  and  cattlemen.  When  only 
thirteen  years  of  age  he  began  to  be  a  wage-earner,  starting  at  fifty  cents 
a  day.  and  working  up  until  he  earned  $1.30  a  day  and  therefore,  aside  from 
what  his  father  left  to  him,  he  has  become  wealthy  in  his  own  right,  nor 
has  his  brother  been  less  successful.  Their  partnership  was  dissolved  in 
July  of  1908,  at  which  time  William  N.  bought  the  famous  old  Norboe  Salt 
Lake  ranch  of  thirty-two  hundred  acres,  five  miles  east  of  Tehachapi.  For 
a  number  of  years  he  kept  his  herd  of  cattle  on  that  ranch  and  also  rai.sed 
grain  there  in  large  quantities,  besides  shipping  thousands  of  tons  of  salt 
from  the  lake.     Some  years  ago  the  city  of  Los  Angeles  bought  the  greater 


348  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

part  of  this  ranch  as  a  site  for  a  cement  plant,  the  lake  having  proved  to 
liossess  a  bed  of  purest  clay,  exceptionally  valuable  for  the  making  of  cement. 
He  used  to  graze  his  cattle  in  San  Bernardino  county  and  Cuddeback  lake 
was  named  for  him. 

With  the  opening  and  early  development  of  the  Imperial  valley  Mr. 
Cuddeback,  who  had  watched  the  vast  enterprise  with  the  deepest  interest 
from  its  inauguration,  purchased  land  which  has  been  devoted  to  alfalfa, 
liog-raising  and  a  dairy  industry.  The  ranch  proved  a  very  profitable  in- 
vestment and  was  sold  at  a  high  figure.  A  few  years  later  he  bought  from 
lion,  h'red  Eaton,  former  mayor  of  Los  Angeles,  an  alfalfa  and  hog  ranch 
in  Inyo  county.  He  still  manages  two  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  it  with 
gratifying  success,  raising  and  feeding  stock.  During  1910  he  became  inter- 
ested in  the  S.  Watkins  Live  Stock  Auctioneering  Company  and  the  old 
Fashion  stables  in  Los  Angeles,  at  the  time  buying  an  elegant  city  residence 
in  the  southwest  district,  where  the  family  spend  the  winter  months,  return- 
ing for  the  summers  to  their  residence  in  Tehachapi.  Lately  Mr.  Cuddeback 
purchased  five  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  land  in  Palos  Verdes  valley, 
Riverside  county,  which  he  is  developing  into  a  large  alfalfa  farm.  For 
abcut  twentA'-five  years  he  ran  a  meat  market  in  Tehachapi,  but  he  now 
rents  it.  P'raternally  Mr.  Cuddeback  is  a  member  of  Tehachapi  Lodge  No. 
313,  v.  &  A.  M.,  in  which  he  has  held  a  number  of  offices.  In  politics  he  and 
his  sons  are  stanch  Republicans.  May  10,  1883,  he  married  Aliriam  Jane 
Chitwood,  a  native  of  Sonoma  county  and  a  daughter  of  Russell  and  Frances 
(Hubbard)  Chitwood,  of  the  Tehachapi  valley,  and  a  niece  of  the  famous 
superior  court  judge,  Hon.  James  E.  Prewett,  of  Auburn,  this  state.  Their 
family  comprises  eight  children,  all  living,  as  follows;  Cate  M.,  Mrs.  Bone- 
.shell.  of  Orange,  Cal. ;  Delia,  wife  of  A.  J.  Blackley,  of  .-\lhambra ;  Samuel  G., 
who  married  Elizabeth  Erbel,  of  Inyo  county;  Margie,  who  married  Arthur 
Weldon,  of  Tehachapi :  Bertha,  Mrs.  Victor  Phillips,  of  Monolith ;  Ruth, 
wife  of  W'ilsi  n  Easley,  of  Hayden,  .\riz. ;  and  Charles  and  Aiurray,  who 
make  their  home  with  their  parents. 

A.  D.  FORBES.— The  allied  companies  known  as  the  American  Oil- 
fields, Limited,  and  the  :Midland  Oilfields,  Limited,  operating  respectively  on 
section  32,  32-24,  and  section  32,  12-23,  have  as  their  assistant  superintendent 
A.  D.  Forbes,  one  of  the  capable  young  men  to  ascend  to  an  important  place 
in  the  Sunset-Midway  fields,  having  made  good  in  a  comparatively  brief 
period  of  identification  with  the  industry.  Rapid  promotion  has  resulted 
from  the  exercise  of  industry,  intelligence,  energy  and  perseverance.  Prac- 
tical experience  in  almost  every  department  of  work  gives  him  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  oil  business  and  qualifies  him  for  still  further  advancement. 
While  his  work  has  been  mainly  confined  to  California  districts,  he  has  been 
outside  of  the  state  and  has  worked  in  connection  with  the  drilling  of  wells 
for  water  and  oil  in  Oregon  not  far  from  the  city  of  Portland.  To  a  large 
extent  his  life  has  been  passed  in  California,  but  he  was  born  in  Nova  Scotia 
at  Truro,  March  26,  1885.  The  earliest  memories  of  life  cluster  around  the 
Pacific  coast  country,  for  in  1887  his  father,  J.  F.  Forbes,  brought  the  family 
to  California,  settling  in  Ventura  county.  Removal  was  made  to  Coalinga 
during  1891  and  in  1906  he  established  himself  at  Orcutt,  where  he  is  now 
postmaster  and  an  influential  citizen. 

The  eldest  of  four  children,  all  of  whom  remain  in  California,  A.  D. 
Forbes  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Coalinga  and  in  1900  at  the  age 
of  fifteen  years  he  went  to  Bakersfield,  from  there  proceeding  to  the  Kern 
river  oil  field.  For  a  year  he  worked  as  a  pumper  on  the  Kern  River  Oil 
Company's  lease.  From  1901  to  1903  he  was  employed  at  Fullerton.  Return- 
ing to  Coalinga,  he  found  work  in  the  oil  fields  there.  June  27.  1907,  he  left 
Coalinga  for  Portland  to  take  up  the  work  of  drilling  water  and  oil   wells. 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  349 

The  drilling  for  oil  was  in  the  nature  of  a  wild-cat  proposition.  During  1910 
he  returned  to  California  and  later  worked  in  various  districts  until  June  of 
1912,  when  he  first  became  associated  with  the  American  and  Midland  Oil- 
fields, Limited,  which  companies  promoted  him  'to  be  assistant  superintendent 
July  20,  1913,  by  this  promotion  recognizing  his  efficiency  and  his  ability  to 
aid  in  the  management  of  the  two  important  leases  controlled  by  the  concerns. 
While  giving  his  attention  very  closely  to  the  arduous  duties  on  the  leases, 
he  has  found  leisure  to  identify  himself  with  the  other  oil  operators  in  the 
field,  has  become  popular  among  his  co-workers  and  also  has  been  active  in 
Maricopa  Lodge  No.  831,  Loyal  Order  of  Moose. 

GEORGE  H.  TODD.— In  1909  Mr.  Todd  came  to  California  and 
began  to  be  interested  in  oil  production  and  oil-well  supplies.  A  member  of 
an  old  Missouri  family,  he  was  born  in  St.  Joe,  February  14,  187o,  and  is  a 
son  of  John  H.  and  Martha  (Frazierj  Todd,  natives  of  Missouri.  The 
latter  is  deceased,  but  the  former,  hale  and  vigorous  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
two,  still  makes  St.  Jue  his  home.  The  family  numbered  four  children 
who  attained  maturity,  namely:  B.  O.,  an  electrician  in  Oklahoma;  William 
M.,  a  farmer  at  Savannah,  near  St.  Joe,  Mo.;  George  H.,  of  California;  and 
Nora,  who  married  George  W.  Carter,  an  electrician,  and  at  her  death  left 
one  child,  I.  D.  Carter.  During  the  winters  George  H.  Todd  attended  school 
in  St.  Joe,  while  in  summer  he  helped  his  father,  who  was  proprietor  of  a 
mercantile  establishment.  After  he  had  graduated  from  the  St.  Joe  high 
school  with  the  class  of  1892  he  took  a  course  of  normal  study  in  a  branch  of 
the  Kirksville  (Mo. J  Normal.  From  1893  until  1904  he  engaged  in  teach- 
ing school  in  Missouri  and  established  a  splendid  record  for  efficiency  in 
instruction  and  discipline.  Both  in  Andrew  and  Buchanan  counties  he  is 
still  remembered  with  affection  by  former  pupils  and  old-time  friends. 

Engaging  in  the  United  States  Indian  school  service  in  1904,  Mr.  Todd 
continued  in  the  employ  of  the  government  until  1909.  For  two  years  of 
this  period  he  taught  in  the  Grand  Portage  (Minn.j  Indian  reservation  and 
for  one  year  he  acted  as  disciplinarian  at  the  Crow  agency  in  Crow,  Mont., 
after  which  for  one  year  he  was  principal  of  the  Northern  Cheyenne  train- 
ing school  at  Rosebud,  Mont.  The  last  year  of  Indian  educational  work 
was  spent  in  Kansas  as  a  teacher  in  the  Kickapoo  training  school  at  Mor- 
ton. Coming  to  Los  Angeles  in  1909,  he  soon  became  cost  clerk  for  the 
Los  Angeles  Manufacturing  Company.  In  their  interests  he  came  to 
Kern  county,  where  he  took  charge  of  the  Alaricopa  branch,  later  was  trans- 
ferred to  Taft,  where  he  is  now  a  member  of  the  Petroleum  Club  and  one  of 
the  best-known  men  in  the  oil  circles  of  the  west  side.  While  still  living 
in  Missouri  he  was  married,  at  St.  Joe  in  1901,  to  Miss  Maude  F.  Roberts, 
daughter  of  J.  P.  Roberts,  president  of  the  Rea  Banking  Company  of  Rea, 
Andrew  county,  that  state.  Since  coming  to  Taft  Mr.  Todd  and  his  wife 
have  established  a  comfortable  home  in  the  company's  residence  and  he 
has  identified  himself  with  the  town  as  a  public-spirited  citizen  and  pro- 
gressive business  man.  In  his  busy  life  there  has  not  been  much  leisure  for 
],iolitical  or  fraternal  activities,  but  he  is  well  posted  in  national  problems, 
supports  Democratic  principles,  and  while  still  making  his  home  in  Mis- 
souri took  an  active  part  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  be- 
longing to  the  lodge  at  V\'hitesville,  Andrew  county. 

F.  F.  HILL.— While  much  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Hill  has  l)eun  lived  in  Cali- 
fornia, he  is  a  native  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.  (born  January  3,  IS/h),  and  fr(.iin 
1878  to  1889  was  on  a  cattle  ranch  near  Bozeman,  Mont.,  iiis  father  lieing 
both  a  merchant  and  a  stock-raiser  in  Montana,  but  now  a  resident  of  Los 
Angeles.  Coming  to  California  in  1889  and  settling  at  Santa  Paula,  Ventura 
county,  he  became  a  warehouse  boy  with  the  Union  Oil  Company  when  he 
was  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  frotrt  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  been  with 


!50  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  same  corporation,  with  the  exception  of  two  years  devoted  to  drilling 
and  development  work  for  himself  at  Newhall  and  for  various  companies  in 
the  Los  Angeles  and  Santa  Paula  fields.  It  has  been  his  privilege  to  witness 
the  development  of  the  Union  Oil  Company  of  California  from  a  modest  be- 
ginning to  its  present  vast  influence  and  enormous  holdings,  and  with  sat- 
isfaction he  may  view  his  own  association  with  the  concern,  for  which  he 
worked  in  various  capacities,  including  tool-dressing  and  drilling.  Recogni- 
tion of  his  ability  and  faithfulness  came  in  1903  with  his  promotion  to  be 
field  superintendent  and  from  that  in  1912  he  was  assigned  to  the  place  of 
superintendent  of  development,  since  which  time  he  has  had  his  ofifice  in  the 
Union  Oil  Company's  building  in  Los  Angeles  and  has  had  charge  of  all 
development  work  in  the  California  fields,  viz.:  FuUerton,  Lompoc,  Santa 
Maria,  Ventura  county,  Coalinga,  Lost  Hills,  McKittrick,  Midway,  Maricopa, 
Sunset  and  the  Kern  river  oil  fields.  His  home  is  in  Los  Angeles,  where  he 
has  erected  and  now  occupies  a  residence  at  No.  709  South  Hope  street,  and 
his  family  consists  of  his  wife  (formerly  Miss  Blanche  Pitt,  of  Los  Angeles) 
and  their  two  children,  Wayne  and  Wanda  F.  Hill. 

EUGENE  B.  DUNCAN. — Among  the  bright  and  active  young  business 
men  of  Bakersfield  whose  splendid  energy  and  modern  methods  have  con- 
tributed not  a  little  to  the  rapid  development  of  the  community  is  Eugene 
B.  Duncan,  who  is  now  filling  the  responsible  position  of  assistant  cashier 
in  the  Security  Trust  Co.  Bank  of  Bakersfield.  The  son  of  M.  A.  and 
Emma  (Lehman)  Duncan,  he  was  born  October  9,  1878,  in  Quincy,  Adams 
county.  111.,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  Taking  a  business  course  at 
Gem  City  College  in  order  to  further  his  business  knowledge  he  was  gradu- 
ated therefrom  and  in  March,  1899,  came  to  Bakersfield  to  make  his  home. 
From  that  year  to  1904  he  worked  with  Sam  Wible  in  the  laundry  business, 
filling  the  position  of  office  foreman.  In  1904  he  took  a  position  in  the 
water  department  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Co.,  and  remained  as  one  of 
their  most  trusted  employes  for  seven  years.  Since  the  time  of  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Security  Trust  Co.,  on  March  1,  1911,  Mr.  Duncan  has  been 
■  connected  with  it,  being  a  stockholder  in  the  company  and  now  ably  filling 
the  position  of  assistant  cashier.  He  is  also  director  in  the  First  Bank  of 
Kern  and  has  been  actively  identified  with  the  financial  business  world  of 
his  community  in  the  last  few  years. 

In  October,  1909,  Mr.  Duncan  was  married  to  Miss  CaroHne  K.  Duncan 
of  Quincy,  111.,  and  they  now  make  their  home  at  No.  829  D  street,  where 
they  have  a  beautiful  and  comfortable  cottage.  Mr.  Duncan  has  a  creditable 
military  record',  having  served  six  years  (1906-1911)  as  commanding  officer 
of  Company  L,  State  Militia  National  Guard,  being  commissioned  captain. 

ALFRED  RUPP. — It  was  as  a  driller  that  Mr.  Ruop  first  became  asso- 
ciated with  Kern  county.  On  New  Year's  day  of  1900,  when  for  the  first 
time  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  from  here  rode  across  the  country  to  the 
Kern  river  fields,  he  found  only  six  derricks  in  that  entire  district.  The  rapid 
development  of  the  oil  industry  he  witnessed  with  interest.  As  superintendent 
for  the  Dolton  &  Fuller  Company  he  engaged  extensively  in  drilling  in  this 
field  and  shortly  after  his  arrival,  becoming  a  partner  in  the  company,  he  took 
contracts  for  drilling  throughout  all  of  the  district,  spending  a  little  more 
than  two  years  in  the  work  in  Kern  county.  Later  he  became  superintendent 
for  S.  Pierson  &  Son  and,  acting  in  their  interests,  he  conveyed  an  oil  rig  to 
Mexico  and  put  down  the  first  two  wells  in  the  state  of  Vera  Cruz.  After  a 
year  in  that  part  of  Mexico  he  returned  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  has  since 
made  his  home. 

Born  near  Pitston,  Luzerne  county.  Pa.,  December  17,  1870,  Alfred  Rupp 
accompanied  his  parents  to  Kansas  at  the  age  of  seven  years  and  settled  with 


i 


yAyt^i 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  353 

them  on  a  frtinticr  homestead  in  liocloeman  county,  far  from  the  railroad 
and  remote  from  other  homesteaders.  The  isolation  of  the  family  and  the 
incessant  labor  necessary  to  the  improvement  of  the  land  prevented  him  from 
having  any  special  educational  advantages,  although  he  was  sent  to  school 
whenever  possible.  The  most  of  his  time  in  boyhood  was  devoted  to  the  till- 
ing of  the  soil  and  the  care  of  the  stock.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he 
started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  going  first  to  Colorado  and 
later  to  Utah,  where  he  worked  at  any  occupation  that  ofTered  a  source  of 
income.  Returning  to  visit  tlie  family  in  Kansas,  he  there  came  to  a  deter- 
mination to  locate  in  California  and  the  spring  of  1894  found  him  a  new- 
comer in  Los  .Angeles,  where  he  found  employment  and  remained  for  several 
years.  From  that  city  he  went  to  Summerland,  Santa  Barbara  county.  There 
he  first  became  interested  in  the  oil  industry  and  learned  to  be  an  expert 
driller.  After  three  years  in  the  oil  business  in  that  field  he  came  to  the  Kern 
river  field  shortly  after  its  first  opening  and  here  he  experienced  the  hardships 
and  successes  incident  to  the  industry.  Since  leaving  this  line  of  work  he  has 
been  proprietor  of  the  Midland  hotel  on  Nineteenth  street,  Bakersfield.  In 
addition  he  has  mining  interests  in  the  Breckenridge  mountains,  where  he  and 
his  partner,  .Arthur  W'orthington.  own  a  nimiber  of  valuable  claims  and  have 
erected  machinery  at  their  principal  mine,  called  the  Crystal  and  Hercules, 
situated  thirty-two  miles  northeast  of  Bakersfield.  Mr.  Rupp  was  married  in 
San  Diego  to  Miss  Nora  Forest,  a  native  of  Kansas.  In  fraternal  relations  he 
holds  membership  with  the  Eagles. 

JOHN  PRICE  CUDDEBACK.— A  family  long  known  and  honored 
throughout  Kern  county,  particularly  in  the  Tehachapi  valley,  has  lost  none  of 
its  prestige  through  the  forceful  business  career  of  John  P.  Cuddeback,  whose 
splendid  energies  and  dauntless  courage  have  enabled  him  to  amass  an  inde- 
pendent fortune.  He  was  born  in  this  picturesque  valley  September  18,  1865. 
the  son  of  Grant  P.  and  Almira  (Hale)  Cuddeback,  who  came  across  the 
plains  with  their  respective  families  in  1849,  and  were  married  in  El  Monte. 
Later  they  became  the  second  permanent  family  to  settle  in  the  Tehachapi 
valley,  where  the  elder  Cuddeback  followed  cattle  raising.  He  was  also 
interested  in  mining  in  the  Panamint  mountains,  being  associated  in  this 
enterprise  with  John  Narbo  and  j\Ioses  Hale,  but  the  Indians  proved  so 
menacing  that  they  were  forced  to  leave  the  locality.  What  is  now  the  site  of 
Goler  and  Randsburg  was  the  scene  of  their  mining  attempt.  The  following 
children  coinprised  the  parental  family :  Clinton  ;  Celestia,  Mrs.  E.  A.  Honey ; 
Bertha,  Mrs.  Chappel,  now  deceased ;  George  G. ;  William  N. ;  Mary,  Mrs. 
Powell,  deceased  ;  John  Price ;  David  A. ;  Ernest  and  Alonzo,  the  last  two 
mentioned  also  deceased.  The  mother  of  these  children  passed  away  in  Los 
Angeles  in  1872,  while  the  father  died  in  Orange  about  1902. 

In  the  valley  where  he  was  born,  John  P.  Cuddeback  still  retains  important 
property  interests  and  worthily  upholds  a  name  as  highly  honored  as  it  is 
widely  known.  It  would,  however,  be  doing  an  injustice  to  his  rare  talents 
and  attractive  personality  to  limit  the  influence  of  his  life  to  any  one  county, 
for  almost  any  portion  of  Southern  California  has  been  benefited  by  the  fine 
business  abilities  of  himself  and  brothers.  He  and  his  brother,  Will  N.,  have 
worked  together  from  boyhood  harmoniously  and  successfully.  When  John 
Price  was  about  ten  and  Will  N.  about  thirteen,  their  brother  George  sent 
them  to  deliver  to  a  neighbor  a  bunch  of  grape-cuttings,  stating  that  they 
should  ask  ,flO,  but  be  willing  to  take  $7.50.  The  boy  of  ten  was  so  eager  to 
sell  that  he  promptly  exclaimed  :  "We  want  $10,  but  will  take  $7.50."  Needless 
to  say  that  they  received  $7.50.  The  incident,  which  greatly  amused  the  entire 
family,  taught  the  child  a  lesson  of  self-reliance,  and  in  later  years,  when 
planning  his  own  operations,  he  learned  to  kee])  his  (irices  tn  himself.    Though 


354  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

educational  advantages  were  limited,  John  P.  Cuddeback  continued  to  add  to 
his  store  of  knowledge  whenever  he  could  be  spared  from  work,  and  his  dili- 
gence and  application  have  made  him  a  man  of  broad  education.  The  same 
penetration  and  readiness  to  learn  exhibited  in  his  youth  are  still  shown  in 
every  phase  of  commercial,  industrial,  social,  and  educational  development 
that  comes  before  his  notice. 

Such  is  his  fondness  for  his  old  birth-place  that  when  the  opportunity 
arose  he  purchased  his.  father's  old  homestead  which  is  now  included  in 
his  large  ranch.  Although  once  and  always  a  cattle  man  and  rancher,  hav- 
ing added  section  after  section  until  today  he  is  among  the  largest 
individual  land  owners  and  cattle  growers  m  Kern  county,  it  must  not 
be  understood  that  his  activities  have  been  limited  to  land  and  cattle.  For 
many  years  he  and  his  brother,  Will  N.,  were  engaged  in  the  butcher  business 
in  Tehachapi,  and  were  also  pioneer  business  men  of  Randsburg,  when  that 
camp  was  started.  Many  years  before  the  placer  mines  at  Goler  and  the 
ledge  of  the  Yellow  Aster  were  discovered,  the  Cuddeback  brothers  ranged 
their  cattle  over  the  region.  It  was  necessary  for  them  to  dig  wells  at  different 
places  and  put  up  windmills  and  horsepower  pumps  that  their  cattle  might  have 
watering-places.  Ihey  were  fortunate  in  hnding  water  within  twelve  feet 
of  the  surface  in  places,  thus  demonstrating  the  feasibility  of  obtaining  on  the 
desert  that  which  meant  so  much  not  only  to  themselves,  but  also  to  other 
cattle  men  for  utilizing  the  abundance  of  dry  feed.  When  they  first  began 
occupying  that  range,  Panamint  Tom  still  held  sway  and  was  the  leader  of 
the  Panammt  Indians.  These  frequently  came  to  the  brothers'  camp,  where 
they  were  fed  and  treated  like  the  friendly  Indians  they  had  become.  This 
was  a  good  illustration  of  the  change  that  had  of  necessity  come  to  poor 
Lo  since  the  time  he  had  driven  the  elder  Cuddeback  and  his  companions  out 
of  the  country.  As  the  brothers  were  pioneers  of  that  region,  Cuddeback  Lake, 
to  the  east  oi  Randsburg,  was  named  in  their  honor. 

After  the  dissolution  of  the  partnership,  John  P.  formed  a  real-estate 
partnership  in  Los  Angeles  with  Charles  L.  Cooper,  whose  daughter.  Miss 
Ethel,  who  was  born  in  Ventura,  he  married  May  6,  1907.  At  Manvel,  in  the 
Searchlight  district  in  San  Bernardino  county,  he  carried  on  the  largest  cattle 
ranch  in  the  county,  having  as  partners  George  Briggs  and  Dan  Murphy  of 
Needles.  Alore  recently  he  has  associated  himself  with  Lawrence  B.  Burke  in 
the  purchase  of  the  Sacramento  ranch  of  fifty  thousand  acres  near  Paso 
Robles,  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  to  the  management  of  which  he  devotes  the 
greater  part  of  his  time,  and  in  so  doing  he  is  carrying  out  his  pet  project 
in  breeding  and  raising  Shorthorn  and  Hereford  cattle  and  saddle  horses. 

To  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  P.  Cuddeback  three  children  were 
born,  Virginia  Ethelwyn,  Alzada  Brooks,  and  John  P.,  Jr.  During  the  win- 
ters the  family  make  their  residence  in  San  Gabriel,  and  the  summers  are  spent 
at  the  country  home  on  the  ranch  in  the  Tehachapi  valley,  where  Mr.  Cudde- 
back enjoys  the  refinements  and  luxuries  rendered  possible  by  his  brilliant 
business  career.  In  early  youth  he  became  identified  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  at  Tehachapi,  and  he  still  retains  his  membership  in  the  order,  besides 
being  a  member  of  the  San  Gabriel  Country  Club.  When  it  is  remembered 
that  he  started  out  to  earn  a  livelihood  at  an  early  age  without  the  aid  of 
financial  friends  to  assist  him,  his  remarkable  success  in  business  and  the 
position  of  influence  to  which  he  has  risen  prove  the  truth  of  the  old  adage 
to  the  efifect  that  "What  man  wills  to  be  he  can  be."  Still  in  the  prime  of  life, 
with  many  possible  years  of  continued  usefulness  before  him.  already  he 
has  attained  a  commercial  prestige  and  landed  authority  reached  by  few 
in  long  lives  of  capable  endeavor. 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  355 

HARRY  A.  HOPKINS.— L'pon  tlie  incorporation  of  the  Tall  Ice  Ue- 
li\er\  Company,  January  3,  1913,  twenty-five  thousand  shares  of  stock  were 
sold  at  par  value  of  $1  each  and  these  were  bought  by  about  thirty  stock- 
holders, all  residents  of  this  coniniuiiity.  The  officers  and  directors  are: 
\V.  S.  Lierly,  president:  S.  J.  Dunlop,  vice-president;  H.  A.  Hopkins,  secre- 
tary-treasurer; A.  I.  Scott,  A.  1).  tJreen,  E.  A.  Henderson  and  F.  W.  O'Brien. 

Regarding  the  personal  history  of  Mr.  Hopkins,  it  may  be  stated  that  he 
represents  a  family  identified  with  America  ever  since  tlie  landing  of  the 
Mayflower.  His  father,  A.  A.  Hopkins,  a  native  of  Springfield,  111.,  and  now 
a  resident  of  Los  Angeles,  is  a  relative  of  Hon.  H.  A.  Hopkins,  of  Aurora, 
111.  Himself  a  contractor  and  builder,  he  is  well  known  in  Taft,  where  he 
built  eight  houses  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  business  buildings  in  the 
town,  r.y  his  marriage  to  Elizabeth  Shrader,  who  was  born  in  Detroit. 
Mich.,  of  German  ancestry,  he  had  a  family  of  four  sons,  namely:  Albert  J., 
who  died  unmarried  in  1903  at  the  age  of  thirty-one  years;  Benjamin  P.,  pro- 
prietor of  The  Apparel  Shop  on  Third  and  Hill  streets,  Los  Angeles,  and 
also  owner  of  The  Colton  People's  Store  at  Colton,  this  state;  Harry  A.,  of 
Taft,  and  Ray  R.,  proprietor  of  the  Puritas  Tea  and  CofTee  Company  on  Los 
Angeles  street,  between  Third  and  Fourth  streets,  Los  Angeles.  The  third 
son,  Harry  A.,  was  born  at  Ogden,  Utah,  March  28,  1882,  and  was  six  years  of 
age  when  the  family  settled  in  San  Diego,  Cal.,  only  to  remove  thence  in  a 
short  time  to  Los  .\ngeles.  In  1903  he  was  graduated  from  the  Commercial 
high  school  of  Los  Angeles.  Long  before  this,  however,  he  had  been  earning 
his  own  livelihood.  When  only  thirteen  he  had  begun  to  learn  the  trade  of 
printer.  After  school  and  on  the  Saturday  vacation  he  learned  to  feed  the 
press  and  to  set  type  in  the  composing  room  of  the  .\merican  Typefounders' 
Company.  For  a  time  he  worked  in  the  printing  department  of  the  Los 
Angeles  Daily  Times  and  he  also  was  with  the  Los  Angeles  Herald,  earning 
in  that  way  the  money  necessary  for  his  high  school  course. 

While  with  George  Rice  &  Son,  printers  of  the  magazine  supplement  of 
the  Los  Angeles  Herald,  Mr.  Hopkins  was  accustomed  to  go  to  work  imme- 
diately after  leaving  school  at  three  o'clock  on  Friday  afternoon  and  he  con- 
tinued uninterruptedly  at  work  until  midnight  Saturday.  Notwithstanding 
this  long  period  of  constant  work  without  rest  or  sleep,  he  was  able  to  resume 
his  studies  on  Monday  and  at  the  time  he  completed  the  high  school  course 
he  was  earning  $18  per  week.  After  his  graduation  he  secured  employment 
as  a  l:>ookkeeper.  For  a  time  he  engaged  as  tracing  clerk  and  stenographer 
with  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Company  in  Los  Angeles.  Later  he  worked  for 
the  Wilmington  Transportation  Company  at  San  Pedro.  In  the  interests  of 
the  Easton-Eldridge  Company  he  engaged  in  selling  acreage  in  the  Hemet 
valley  of  Riverside  county,  after  which  he  became  an  employe  of  tlie  Barber 
Asphalt  Paving  Company  of  Los  Angeles. 

Arriving  at  McKittrick,  July  10,  1904,  Mr.  Hopkins  assumed  charge  of 
the  Midway  office  of  the  Chanslor-Canfield  Midway  Oil  Company.  The 
present  site  of  Taft  then  showed  nothing  but  sage  brush  and  jack  rabbits. 
Water  was  hauled  from  Lake  Buena  Vista  and  cost  $8  per  barrel.  During 
1906  he  spent  seven  months  in  the  Indian  Territory  and  engaged  in  drilling  a 
number  of  wells  as  a  partner  of  Cremins  Brothers.  Upon  his  return  to  Mc- 
Kittrick he  took  charge  of  the  National  Supply  Company,  with  whom  he 
continued  for  eighteen  months.  Later  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Kern 
countv  business  of  the  J.  F.  Lucey  Coni]jany,  with  offices  in  the  Producers' 
Bank  building,  Bakersfield.  Meanwhile  he  had  been  interested  in  tlie  land 
arc.und  the  present  town  of  Taft.  Close  inspection  had  convinced  him  that 
the  place  offered  favorable  openings  for  great  oil  development.  Upon  re- 
signing his  position  in  Bakersfield  he  came  to  the  present  site  of  Taft,  where 
he  opened   the   first   general   mercantile   store   and    was   commissioned    ])OSt- 


356  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

master,  in  July,  1909,  under  President  Taft.  The  new  town  had  been  given 
the  name  of  Moro.  On  account  of  there  being  a  Wells-Fargo  express  office 
in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  known  by  the  name  of  Moro,  considerable  confu- 
sion resulted.  The  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  hoping  to  end  the 
confusion  of  names,  added  an  "n"  to  the  word,  making  it  Moron,  but  there 
being  a  post  office  of  that  name  in  Colorado  the  government  objected,  nor  did 
the  name  satisfy  the  people.  The  question  of  another  change  of  name  was 
then  agitated.  Postmaster  Hopkins  then  met  Postmaster  R.  A.  Edmonds 
of  Bakersfield  and  discussed  the  matter.  The  office  desk  of  Mr.  Edmonds 
was  graced  by  a  picture  of  President  Taft.  Happening  to  glance  at 
it,  Mr.  Hopkins  immediately  exclaimed :  "Name  it  Taft,"  which  suggestion 
was  seconded  heartily  by  Mr.  Edmonds.  These  are  the  real  facts  connected 
with  the  naming  of  the  now  celebrated  oil  town. 

In  the  great  fire  Mr.  Hopkins,  carrying  only  an  insurance  of  thirty  per 
cent,  lost  about  $12,000  and  the  date  of  the  conflagration,  October  22,  1909, 
remains  therefore  indelibly  impressed  upon  his  mind  as  a  time  of  the  deepest 
discouragement.  However,  with  characteristic  courage  he  set  himself  reso- 
lutely to  the  task  of  recouping  his  losses.  After  the  fire  the  Southern  Pacific 
notified  the  business  men  that  they  must  move  to  the  north  side  of  the  track. 
There  was  some  protest  to  the  move.  Some  of  the  business  men  accepted 
the  offer  of  J.  W.  Jameson  and  went  on  his  tract  south  of  the  tracks,  but  a 
majority  moved  to  the  north  side,  where  they  could  own  property  for  them- 
selves. In  September  of  1910  the  buildings  on  the  south  side  were  destroyed 
by  fire  and  this  put  an  end  to  efforts  for  the  upbuilding  of  that  section. 

After  three  months  in  the  real-estate  and  oil-land  business,  Mr.  Hopkins 
put  up  a  building  on  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Center  streets  on  the  north 
side.  The  block  is  now  occupied  by  the  Mission  Drug  Company  and  other 
establishments.  His  next  move  was  the  starting  of  the  Taft  Public  Utilities 
Company,  a  concern  formed  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  water,  which  was 
shipped  in  tank  cars  from  Kern,  pumped  into  two  tanks  with  a  capacity  of 
twelve  hundred  barrels  and  then  distributed  among  consumers  in  Taft.  "Upon 
the  organization  of  the  company  in  October,  1910,  J.  P.  Dooly  was  elected 
president,  and  Harry  A.  Hopkins  secretary  and  manager.  February  1,  1912, 
the  company  sold  out  to  the  Consumers'  Water  Company,  which  is  still  in 
existence.  Returning  to  the  real-estate  business,  Mr.  Hopkins  handled  acre- 
age in  Alono  county  and  became  interested  in  an  irrigation  project  in  that 
county,  retaining  indeed  at  the  present  time  considerable  stock  in  the  Mono 
Home  and  Canal  Companj'.  During  December  of  1912  he  inaugurated  a 
movement  looking  toward  supplying  the  people  of  Taft  with  ice.  The  fol- 
lowing month  the  company  was  incorporated.  Since  then  it  has  rapidly  de- 
veloped into  one  of  the  leading  business  enterprises  of  the  place.  In  addi- 
tion to  Ijeing  the  first  postmaster  of  Taft,  he  has  served  as  a  city  trustee  since 
November,  1910,  and  has  been  identified  with  civic  afifairs  to  an  important 
extent.  As  a  Republican  he  has  been  influential  in  the  political  life  of  the 
community.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Benevolent  Protective 
Order  of  Elks  at  Bakersfield  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at 
Los  Angeles.  His  family  comprises  two  children,  Zuva  Belle  and  Harry  A., 
Jr.,  and  his  wife,  whom  he  married  in  Riverside,  this  state,  and  who  was 
Miss  Zuva  Tyler,  daughter  of  ^^■illiam  Tyler,  a  sergeant  on  the  police  force 
of  Los  Angeles. 

CHARLES  DRADER.— From  the  earliest  recollections  of  childhood  to 
the  intelligent  efforts  of  maturity  Mr.  Drader  has  been  associated  with  the 
oil  industry  and  thus  has  become  familiar  with  every  phase  of  the  business. 
Even  the  name  of  his  native  village  in  the  western  part  of  the  province  of 
Ontario  suggests  his  occupation,  for  he  is  a  native  of  Petrolia,  a  well-known 
town  in  the  oil  fields  of  Canada,  where  his  father,  the  late  Ernest  Drader, 


I 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  359 

who  died  November  19,  1912,  was  one  of  the  leading-  pioneers  and  owned 
extensive  interests.  In  a  home  in  the  midst  of  such  an  environment  his 
birth  occurred  March  22,  1874,  and  there  he  passed  the  uneventful  years 
of  youth.  Under  the  keen  oversight  of  his  father  he  was  taught  every  branch 
of  the  work  and  thus  developed  a  judgment  not  always  seen  in  young  men  of 
his  years.  It  was  this  judgment  and  accuracy  of  discrimination  that  led  a 
prominent  English  corporation  to  engage  his  services  in  the  capacity  of 
manager  of  their  company,  known  as  the  Canadian  Oil  Fields,  Limited,  and 
he  continued  to  fill  the  position  with  conspicuous  energy  and  fidelity  until 
the  property  was  sold  to  other  parties. 

Leaving  his  old  Canadian  home  to  inspect  other  oil  districts,  Mr.  Drad'er 
visited  Mexico  and  engaged  in  the  industry  at  Tampico  for  a  brief  period, 
dating  from  Decemljer  of  1910.  While  the  oil  in  Canada  has  a  paraffine 
base,  he  soon  found  that  the  Tampico  oil  has  an  asphalt  base  and  the  two 
therefore  differed  in  mode  of  operation  and  in  by-products.  The  work  in 
Mexico  he  found  as  intensely  interesting  as  that  of  Canada,  but  the  enervat- 
ing climate  proved  unhealthful  and  he  came  to  the  Kern  river  oil  fields, 
where  since  April  1,  1912,  he  has  ably  served  as  superintendent  of  the  Kern 
River  Oil  Fields  of  California,  Limited.  On  coming  to  this  district  he 
brought  with  him  his  wife,  who  was  formerly  Miss  Margaret  Parker  of 
Petrolia,  Canada,  and  their  two  children,  Lorna  M.,  born  in  1900,  and  Ernest 
O.,  born  in  1906. 

The  Kern  River  Oil  Fields  of  California,  Limited,  was  bought  in  1910 
by  a  group  of  capitalists,  mainly  residents  of  London,  England,  and  the 
new  corporation  engaged  the  services  of  Ernest  V.  Benjamin  and  W.  W. 
Orcutt  as  members  of  the  management  committee,  and  subsequently  em- 
ployed Mr.  Drader  in  the  capacity  of  superintendent.  The  company  was 
incurporated  in  London  with  a  capital  stock  of  $6,000,000,  of  which  all 
but  $1,000,000  has  been  paid  in.  Their  holdings  are  very  large  and  valu- 
able, including  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  comprising  secticjn  33,  town- 
ship 28,  range  28;  all  of  section  1,  township  29,  range  28;  four  hundred 
and  eighty  acres  on  section  25,  township  28,  range  27;  three  hundred  and 
seventy  acres  on  section  19,  township  28,  range  28;  also  lands  in  the  Santa 
Maria  and  other  fields. 

GUSTAVUS  SCHAMBLIN.— The  possibilities  which  Bakersfield  oflfers 
to  men  uf  ability  and  integrity  appear  in  the  successful  business  career  of 
"Gus"  Schamblin,  jiresident  and  general  manager  of  the  Pii)neer  Mercantile 
Company,  president  and  a  director  of  the  Barker  Investment  Company,  vice- 
president  and  a  director  of  the  Successus  Oil  Company  operating  in  the  Mc- 
Kittrick  field,  and  secretary  and  a  director  of  the  Mannel-Minor  Petroleum 
Company  operating  a  tract  of  twu  hundred  acres  on  Bellridge  frcmt.  The 
growth  of  the  Pioneer  Mercantile  Company  has  been  little  short  of  remark- 
able and  indicates  the  business  qualifications  of  its  promoter.  When  he  opened 
the  business  in  1899  he  rented  a  building,  12x14  in  dimensions,  on  Chester 
avenue  between  Seventeenth  and  Eighteenth  streets.  Soon  he  was  forced  to 
seek  larger  c|uarters.  His  next  location  was  on  the  corner  of  Twentieth 
and  I  streets.  I->om  there  he  soon  moved  to  a  larger  place  on  Nineteenth 
between  H  and  1  streets.  Forced  to  secure  still  larger  quarters,  in  1905  he 
secured  space  on  I  street  between  Nineteenth  and  Twentieth,  double  the 
size  of  his  original  space,  the  building  being  66x80  feet  in  dimensions,  with 
a  basement  66x200  for  storage  purposes.  Flaving  again  outgrown  his  (|uar- 
ters  Mr.  Schamblin  found  it  necessary  to  secure  larger  space,  and  in  March, 
1913,  concluded  the  lease  of  a  new  concrete  building  on  the  corner  of  Twen- 
tieth and  I  streets.  Here  he  has  the  entire  basement,  first  floor  and  mez- 
zanine floor,  the  building  covering  a  floor  space  72x116  feet,  and  Ix'ing 
equipped    with    every    modern    convenience    and    elevator    service. 


360  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Born  at  Waldenburg,  Switzerland,  August  30,  1855,  Mr.  Schamblin  and 
his  sister,  Mrs.  Selina  Tschude,  now  of  Waldenburg,  were  the  only  children 
of  the  late  Mathias  and  Eliza  (Schneider)  Schamblin,  lifelong  residents  of 
that  part  of  Switzerland,  where  for  thirty-five  years  before  his  death  the 
father  served  by  continuous  re-election  as  county  clerk  of  Waldenburg.  The 
only  son  was  educated  in  the  local  high  school  and  gymnasium  and  after 
graduating  at  the  age  of  eighteen  began  an  apprenticeship  in  a  large  watch 
factory  at  Waldenburg,  but  later  he  studied  bookkeeping  and  lousiness  corre- 
spondence in  German  and  French.  Coming  to  the  United  States  in  1877  he 
spent  a  year  in  New  York  City  and  there  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company 
B,  Twentieth  United  States  Infantry.  With  his  command  he  spent  two  years 
at  Fort  Gibson  in  the  Indian  Territory.  From  there  he  was  transferred  with 
his  regiment  to  Fort  Assinniboine,  Mont.,  where  he  was  detailed  as  adju- 
tant's clerk  with  the  rank  and  commission  of  sergeant.  In  1883  he  was  hon- 
orably discharged  from  the  army.  From  the  fort  in  Montana  he  came  to 
California  and  secured  employment  on  the  bay  at  San  Francisco.  The  year 
1886  found  him  a  newcomer  in  Bakersfield,  where  for  a  number  of  years  he 
filled  clerical  positions.  During  1892  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Kern 
County  Land  Company  as  warehouse  man  in  the  Sumner  warehouse.  The 
faithful  discharge  of  duties  led  to  his  promotion  to  be  foreman  of  that 
warehouse,  from  which  he  was  raised  to  the  position  of  superintendent  of  all 
the  company's  warehouses  in  the  county.  Resigning  from  the  employ  of  the 
Kern  County  Land  Company  in  1899,  he  embarked  in  business  for  himself 
in  a  small  room,  then  and  there  laying  the  foundation  of  the  now  prosper- 
ous Pioneer  Mercantile  Company,  which  he  incorporated  in  1911  with  a  cap- 
ital stock  of  $150,000.  The  company  now  ranks  among  the  largest  and  most 
successful  of  the  kind  in  the  county.  Mr.  Schamblin  is  interested  in  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Bakersfield,  and  since  its  organization  has  been  a 
stockholder  in  the  Security  Trust  Company. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Schamblin  and  Miss  Florence  Smith,  a  native  of 
Hollister,  this  state,  was  solemnized  in  Bakersfield  and  has  been  blessed  with 
four  children,  Frank,  Charles,  Flora  and  Leo.  The  Merchants'  Association 
numbers  Mr.  Schamblin  among  its  leading  members.  Formerly  he  served  as 
a.  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  Bakersfield  Board  of  Trade  and 
he  still  maintains  a  warm  interest  in  the  welfare  of  that  organization.  Politi- 
cally he  votes  with  the  Republican  party.  For  some  years  he  has  been 
identified  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.  While  serving  with 
the  army  in  the  Indian  Territory  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Alpha  Lodge  No. 
12  at  Fort  Gibson.  Since  coming  to  this  city  he  has  transferred  his  member- 
ship to  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  besides  which  he  is  con- 
nected with  Kern  Valley  Chapter  No.  75,  R.  A.  M.,  Bakersfield  Commandery 
No.  39,  K.  T.,  in  his  home  city,  and  Al  Malaikah  Temple,  N.  M.  S.,  of  Los 
Angeles,  as  well  as  Los  Angeles  Consistory  No.  3,  Scottish  Rite. 

WILLIAM  S.  BOGGS.— The  genealogy  of  the  Boggs  family  in  America 
begins  with  the  arrival  of  six  brothers  from  Scotland  and  their  subsequent 
settlement  in  Maryland,  Alabama,  Illinois  and  Missouri.  The  first  of  the 
name  to  establish  himself  and  family  in  California  was  Hon.  Lilburn  W. 
Boggs,  ex-Governor  of  Missouri,  who  shortly  after  the  expiration  of  his  term 
in  the  gubernatorial  chair  determined  to  identify  his  future  interests  with 
the  development  of  the  then  unknown  west.  As  chief  executive  of  Missouri 
he  had  witnessed  many  stormy  scenes  and  often  had  been  in  great  personal 
danger,  the  principal  cause  of  the  trouble  having  been  the  colonization  of 
Mormons  in  the  state  after  they  had  been  driven  from  Hancock  county,  111., 
where  they  had  erected  a  temple  at  Nauvoo  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi. 
Not  being  desired  in  Missouri,  they  were  notified  to  leave  and  apparently 
obeyed  orders,  but  soon  returned.     Then  it  became  necessary  to  use  force 


HISTORY    OF    KI'.RX    COUNTY  361 

in  driving  them  from  the  state.  In  tlie  'skirmisli  Lieutenant-Governor  Sterling 
Price  was  killed.  In  the  excitement  and  turmoil  that  followed  the  governor 
was  shot  while  seated  in  his  office  in  the  .Missouri  state  capital.  The  wound, 
although  painful,  did  not  prov*-  dangerous  and  he  had  fully  recovered  before 
he  started  for  the  west.  Aft«;r  his  arrival  at  Petaluma  Mission,  Sonoma 
county,  he  served  as  alcalde  cf  the  northern  district  of  California  and  en- 
gaged in  merchandising  at  Soi-oma,  then  the  county-seat  of  Sonoma  county. 
His  death  occurred  in  1863.  After  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  who  was  a 
Miss  Dent,  he  had  married  Miss  Panthia  G.  Boone  of  Missouri,  a  daughter 
of  Jesse  Boone  and  granddai\ghter  of  Daniel  Boone,  the  famous  Indian 
fighter,  whose  name  is  indissolubly  associated  with  the  history  of  both  Ken- 
tucky and  Missouri. 

Among  the  children  of  Governor  Boggs  there  was  a  son,  William  M.,  a 
native  of  Jackson  county,  Mo.,  who  inherited  the  love  of  adventure  and  the 
fearlessness  characteristic  of  his  ancestors.  Intrepedity  of  nature  led  him  to 
the  plains  when  only  thirteen  years  of  age.  \\'hile  acting  as  a  guide  and 
helper  to  Kit  Carson  he  learned  the  different  tribal  languages  of  the  Indians, 
gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  their  customs  and  became  an  adept  in  cir- 
cumventing their  cunning  devices.  During  the  early  days  he  was  employed 
at  Fort  Laramie,  Toas  and  Santa  Fe.  where  his  expertness  with  the  rifle  and 
familiarity  with  the  tribal  dialects  Ijrought  him  the  friendship  of  the  Indians. 
After  his  return  to  Missouri  he  married  Miss  Sonora  Hickman,  a  native  of 
Cass  county,  that  state,  and  the  daughter  of  William  Hickman,  who  had  been 
a  large  planter  in  Virginia  prior  to  his  removal  to  Missouri.  Early  in  1845 
Mr.  Hoggs  started  with  family  and  friends  across  the  plains  and  en  route 
overtook  a  party  from  Sangamon  county.  111.,  consisting,  among  others,  of 
Jacob  Donner  with  wife  and  seven  children,  and  George  Donner  with  wife 
and  five  children,  who  had  left  Springfield,  111.,  April'lS,  1845.  The  two  par- 
ties traveled  together  with  William  M.  Boggs  as  captain.  The  expedition 
reached  the  Little  Sandy  river  on  the  19th  of  July,  1846,  and  there  a  discus- 
sion arose  as  to  the  best  route  to  follow.  The  Donner  party  had  heard  of  a 
cut-off  by  way  of  the  south  end  of  Salt  Lake  and  believed  by  taking  it  they 
could  save  over  two  hundred  miles.  Captain  Boggs  would  not  risk  that 
route,  but  resolved  to  adhere  to  the  Oregon  trail.  As  the  event  proved,  he 
chose  wisely  and  well.  When  he  found  the  Donner  party  determined  to 
take  the  other  road  he  divided  provisions  and  equipment  equallv  with  them 
and  brought  his  own  partv  safely  on  to  the  old  fort  at  Petaluma  Mission, 
Sonoma  county.  Meanwhile  the  Donner  partv  had  met  with  misfortune  from 
the  moment  of  separation.  Their  cattle,  some  dead  and  others  lost,  were  left 
on  the  desert.  After  a  wearisome  journey  through  Utah  and  Nevada  they 
were  imprisoned  in  the  snows  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  where  many  perished 
from  starvation.  When  finally  rescuers  arrived  George  Donner  was  dying 
and  his  wife  refused  to  leave  his  side,  but  bade  her  children  a  last  farewell 
as  they  were  carried  away  toward  the  far-distant  haven  of  Sutter's  Fort. 

The  Boggs  family  had  been  in  California  but  a  short  time  when  hostilities 
arose  with  Mexico.  As  soon  as  Captain  Boggs  had  settled  his  family  in  com- 
fort he  enl'sted  eia;ht  recruits  and  with  them  journeyed  to  the  old  Plaza  in 
San  Francisco,  where  the  men  were  added  to  a  company  then  forming  and 
sent  to  Monterey,  where  the  captain  served  as  first  sergeant.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  he  was  honoraldv  discharged  and  thereafter  was  variously  em- 
ployed, acting  as  secretary  to  General  Vallejo  and  as  recorder  of  Sonoma 
county,  also  engaging  in  general  farming  and  fruit-raising.  Besides  owning 
a  part  of  the  old  Buena  Vista  grant,  he  owned  a  large  tract  in  the  Oak  Knoll 
district,  Napa  county,  where  now  stand  Yountville  and  the  Soldiers'  Home. 
The  comfortable  dwelling-house,  erected  under  his  supervision,  was  located 
on  that  beautiful  spot,     .\fter  he  had  sold  a  i)ortion  of  the  large  ranch  tn  Mr. 


362  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Yount  he  established  a  home  at  Napa  and  there  spent  his  last  years,  but  died 
April  22,  1910,  while  visiting  his  son  at  Bakersfield.  A  Mason  from  early 
life,  he  had  been  a  member  of  the  old  California  Lodge  at  Sonoma.  Promi- 
nent in  the  state  councils  of  the  Democratic  party  and  a  leader  during  the 
memorable  Hearst  campaign,  he  had  at  fine  time  officiated  as  chairman  of  the 
state  central  committee  and  throughout  the  entire  commonwealth  he  long 
wielded  a  large  influence  ir  his  party.  Nor  was  his  ability  limited  to  agri- 
culture and  politics.  Notwithstanding  his  almost  entire  lack  of  early  educa- 
tion, he  became  a  man  of  literary  talent  and  was  well  known  by  his  contri- 
butions to  the  literature  of  his  day.  Particularly  was  he  interested  in  early 
California  history  and  his  excellent  memory,  supplementing  a  fluent  use  of 
the  pen,  enabled  him  to  give  permanency  to  many  early  happenings  that  with- 
out him  would  have  been  unrecorded  and  forgotten.  In  Bancroft's  history 
of  California  his  contributions  are  especially  numerous  and  interesting,  and 
all  his  stories  are  told  in  a  very  interesting,  realistic  manner.  For  many  years 
he  served  as  president  of  the  Sonoma  County  Association  of  California  Pio- 
neers and  among  its  members  he  was  highly  honored  and  greatly  admired. 

The  family  of  William  M.  Boggs  comprised  seven  children,  whose  mother 
died  in  Napa  county  in  1902.  The  eldest  child,  Guadelupe  Vallejo,  born  in 
June  of  1847  at  the  headquarters  of  General  Vallejo,  is  now  a  resident  of 
Salem,  Ore.  Lilburn  W.  is  living  at  Susanville,  Cal,  and  Angus  M.  in  Lake 
county.  Mary  Finley  Boggs,  a  graduate  of  Napa  College  and  Napa  Ladies' 
Seminary,  was  for  eighteen  years  librarian  at  Napa,  dying  in  that  city,  where 
she  was  known  as  an  artist  of  remarkable  ability.  Jefferson  D.  Boggs  is  now 
principal  of  the  schools  of  Watsonville,  this  state.  Sterling  Price  Boggs  died 
when  only  eight  years  of  age.  The  youngest  member  of  the  family,  William 
S.  Boggs,  was  born  in  the  Yountville  district,  Napa  county,  Cal.,  August  19, 
1864,  and  in  boyhood  was  a  pupil  in  the  Oak  Mound  school,  Napa.  He  is  a 
graduate  of  Napa  College  and  also  took  a  course  at  Heald's  Business  College. 
After  a  brief  period  as  a  clerk  at  Napa  he  went  to  Portland,  Ore.,  where  he 
was  employed  as  a  bookkeeper  and  also  engaged  in  merchandising.  Upon 
his  return  to  California  in  1888  he  engaged  in  business  in  San  Francisco, 
but  soon  went  back  to  Oregon  and  found  employment  at  Salem,  thence  re- 
turning to  Portland  in  1891  and  acting  as  bookkeeper  in  the  East  Portland 
Bank.  When  next  he  went  to  San  Francisco  in  1894  he  engaged  as  account- 
ant with  the  Iron  Mountain  Company,  going  to  Shasta  as  manager  of  the 
purchasing  department  in  their  general  offices.  Later  he  held  a  position  with 
the  Sunset  Telephone  Company.  When  he  came  to  Bakersfield  in  1900  he 
took  charge  of  the  properties  of  the  Imperial  Oil  Company  and  the  33-Oil 
Company  in  the  Kern  river  field.  Under  his  management  the  organizations 
were  prospered  and  their  wells  became  producers.  When'  the  properties  were 
sold  to  an  English  syndicate  he  continued  to  manage  them  for  two  years, 
but  in  March  of  1912  resigned  in  order  that  he  might  take  charge  of  his  in- 
dividual interests.  Previous  to  this  he  had  promoted  the  AltUras  Oil  Com- 
pany in  the  Kern  river  field;  after  one  well  had  been  developed,  the  holdings 
of  this  company  were  sold.  In  addition  he  organized  the  Boston  Petroleum 
Company  in  the  Kern  river  field,  which  developed  twelve  wells  and  then  sold 
its  holdings  to  Boston  capitalists.  Afterward  he  formed  and  promoted  the 
Coalinga  Eight  Oil  Company  in  the  Coalinga  field,  which  owns  a  tract  of 
eightv  acres  and  has  developed  three  producing  wells.  Besides  being  vice- 
president  of  this  company  he  acts  as  general  manager  and  has  been  instru- 
mental in  its  profitable  development. 

The  family  of  Mr.  Boggs  comprises  his  wife,  who  was  Miss  Nellie  Smith, 
a  native  of  Shasta  county,  and  their  three  children,  Irma,  Helen  and  William 
S.,  Jr.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Bakersfield  Club  he  was  a  charter  mem- 
ber and  afterwards  served  one  term  as  president.    After  coming  to  Bakersfield 


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HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  365 

he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  later 
became  identified  with  Los  Angeles  Consistory  No.  3  of  the  jurisdiction  of 
Southern  California,  Scottish  Rite,  thirty-second  degree,  and  Al  Malaikah 
Temple,  N.  M.  S.,  of  Los  Angeles.  In  politics  he  has  been  stanch  in  his 
allegiance  to  Democratic  principles.  For  eight  years  he  was  a  member  of 
Company  G,  First  Regiment  of  Oregon  National  Guard,  and  after  returnine- 
to  California  he  became  identified  with  Company  H,  Second  Regiment  of 
National  Guard,  with  which  he  served  in  San  Francisco  during  the  strike 
of  1894  when  called  out  to  assist  in  quelling  the  outbreak  and  restoring  order. 

CHRISTIAN  RUEDY.— In  Zillis,  Canton  Graubunden,  Switzerland, 
Christian  Ruedy  was  born  June  24,  1872,  fourth  in  a  family  of  five  born  to 
John  and  Anna  (Thoeny)  Ruedy,  farmers,  the  former  of  whom  passed  away  in 
1889,  and  the  latter  in  1902.  Christian  Ruedy  received  good  training  in  the 
public  and  high  schools  of  his  native  place,  all  of  which  was  received  prior 
to  his  seventeenth  year,  for  it  was  then  that  he  left  his  native  land  and  came 
to  the  United  States.  In  April,  1890,  he  came  to  Kern  county,  and  in  Bakers- 
field  he  procured  work  in  a  dairy.  Profiting  by  the  experience  which  this 
employment  gave  him,  in  the  year  1897,  with  Peter  Gilli  as  a  partner,  he 
leased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  from  Mrs.  Chubb.  In  1900,  associated 
with  his  brother,  John  G,  Ruedy,  and  his  uncle,  Anton  Thoeny,  he  bought 
forty  acres  of  land  that  forms  a  part  of  his  present  property,  upon  which  he 
established  a  dairy  business.  Later  the  brothers  bought  out  their  uncle  and 
in  1904  they  bought  eighty  acres  more.  During  this  period,  Mr.  Ruedy  with 
his  brother  John  G.,  Peter  Gilli  and  John  Koch,  organized  the  American- 
Swiss  Creamery  and  built  a  modern  creamery  plant  on  his  place  operated  by 
a  steam  engine.  Here  they  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  butter  for  the 
Bakersfield  market  for  about  six  years,  when  the  dairy  herd  was  sold  and 
Christian  Ruedy  then  engaged  in  raising  mules.  Ultimately  he  purchased 
his  brother's  interest  in  the  property  and  he  now  owns  the  entire  tract,  com- 
prising one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  which  is  all  in  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation, planted  to  corn  and  alfalfa.  The  raising  of  mules  is  also  an  important 
feature  of  the  ranch  income,  Mr.  Ruedy  owning  Blue  Bird,  a  jack  imported 
from  Maltese  Island,  Spain.  The  ranch,  which  lies  about  nine  miles  south- 
west uf  Bakersfield,  is  all  under  irrigation  from  the  Farmers  canal,  and  is 
improved  with  a  handsome  residence  and  large  farm  buildings. 

In  Bakersfield,  on  October  2,  1907,  Mr.  Ruedy  was  married  to  Adeline 
Ursula  Pesante,  a  native  daughter  born  in  liakersfield,  in  December.  1890, 
the  daughter  of  John  and  Adeline  (Lehner)  Pesante,  both  natives  of  Canton 
Graubunden.  Switzerland.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ruedy  are  the  parents  of  two 
children,  John  Christian  and  Vernon  Lehner.  Mr.  Ruedy  is  widely  known 
in  fraternal  circles,  being  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, \\\  odmen  of  the  World  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Eagles.  In 
their  religii.us  views  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ruedy  are  Lutherans,  while  i)nlitically 
they  fa\-or   Repuljlican  principles. 

PERCY  A.  WILLIAMS.— In  comprehensive  grasp  of  technicalities  and 
keen  insight  into  the  intricate  problems  connected  with  the  oil  industry  the 
field  superintendent  of  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company  has  gained  a  rep- 
utation that  is  not  limited  to  the  particular  field  of  his  effort,  but  extends 
throughout  the  entire  oil  district  and  among  men  connected  with  other  lines 
of  business  as  well.  The  property  of  the  company,  usually  known  as  the 
Southern  Pacific  lease,  comprises  four  hundred  and  forty  acres  lying  on 
section  3,  township  29,  range  28,  located  very  close  to  the  Ellwood  lease  on 
the  Thomas  A.  Means  farm  where  oil  was  first  discovered.  On  the  entire 
tract  there  are  two  hundred  and  seven  producing  wells  which  have  been 
drilled  as  follows:  Fifty-seven  prior  to  1906;  seventy-three  in  1906  and 
1907;  eight  in  1910;  thirty-four  during  1911;  and  thirty-five  in   1912.     Well 


366  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

No.  1  was  completed  December  8,  1899  and,  although  the  oldest  well  on  the 
lease,  is  still  a  producer. 

■  Born  at  South  Vallejo,  Solano  county,  Cal.,  on  Christmas  day  of  1881, 
Percy  A.  Williams  is  a  son  of  Alton  and  Kate  (Cuilom)  WiUiams,  natives 
respectively  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  The  father  is  an  employe  of 
the  company  store  of  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company  and  here  he  and 
his  wife  make  their  home,  the  latter  a  woman  of  capability,  energy  and  ac- 
tivity, and  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  physically  and  mentally  well  preserved.  The 
son  received  his  education  in  San  Francisco  schools.  In  youth  he  was  a 
member  of  the  state  militia  and  in  the  spring  of  1898  he  enlisted  as  a  private 
in  Company  B,  First  California  Volunteer  Infantry,  which  sailed  for  the 
Philippines  on  the  23d  of  May  and  landed  at  Cavite  on  the  2d  of  July.  During 
the  thirteen  months  of  his  service  on  the  islands  he  took  part  in  the  siege  of 
Manila,  the  insurrection  of  the  Filipinos  and  other  army  affairs.  When  peace 
was  restored  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  and  arrived  back  in  San 
Francisco  September  21,  1899.  Shortly  afterward  he  entered  the  California 
School  of  Mechanical  Arts,  an  institution  affiliated  with  the  James  Lick  Poly- 
technic College,  in  San  Francisco,  and  upon  the  completion  of  the  regular 
course  he  was  graduated  in  1901.  Securing  a  position  as  draftsman  in  the 
office  of  Stetson  G.  Hindes,  of  San  Francisco,  he  had  six  months  of  valuable 
experience  there.  In  addition  he  engaged  in  drafting  with  the  engineer  of 
th6  City  Street  Improvement  Company  of  San  Francisco  and  for  a  time  was 
under  James  T.  Ludlow  in  the  Vulcan  iron  works. 

After  his  arrival  in  Kern  county  in  November  of  1901  Mr.  Williams  took 
charge  of  the  1901  Oil  Company  at  McKittrick.  During  1904  he  became  an 
office  man  with  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Compan}'  and  in  1906  he  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  McKittrick  field,  which  he  relinquished  in  order  to  undertake 
the  superintendency  of  the  Kern  river  oil  lease  in  1909.  Since  then  he  has 
established  a  reputation  for  drilling  more  wells  than  any  other  foreman  in 
the  oil  fields.  The  ingenuity  which  he  possesses  has  found  tangible  evidence 
in  a  pumping-jack  system  by  which  as  many  as  thirty  wells  are  pumped  from 
one  central  power-house.  It  is  his  present  plan  to  introduce  the  same  system 
throughout  the  entire  field.  His  ability  is  unquestioned  and  being  an  inde- 
fatigable worker,  with  a  thorough  grasp  of  all  details,  he  manages  the  prop- 
erty with  a  skill  and  tact  that  are  little  short  of  remarkable.  Fraternally  he 
is  connected  with  the  Masons  and  Elks  at  Bakersfield.  In  1906  at  McKittrick, 
he  married  Miss  Gertrude  Bishop,  of  Oregon,  who  died  in  1909,  leaving  two 
daughters,  Kathleen  and  Gertrude. 

JOHN  J.  GALLMAN. — Through  various  changes  and  in  different  locali- 
ties he  gained  a  thorough  experience  with  every  phase  and  each  department 
of  the  industry.  In  the  early  days  of  Taft  he  came  to  the  Midway  field, 
where  since  February  of  1909  he  has  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the  Fair- 
banks Oil  Company,  a  corporation  capitalized  at  $50,000  and  operating  a 
tract  of  forty  acres  with  six  producing  wells.  Under  Ben  Stroude,  the  first 
superintendent  of  the  lease,  one  well  had  been  drilled,  but  this  is  now 
abandoned,  and  the  six  wells  in  use,  producing  an  average  of  ten  thousand 
barrels  per  month,  have  been  drilled  under  the  personal  supervision  of 
Mr.  Gallman,  who  in  addition  to  being  superintendent  is  also  a  small  stock- 
holder in  the  company. 

Although  he  has  lived  in  California  for  considerably  more  than  twenty 
years,  Mr.  Gallman  is  a  native  of  Iowa  and  a  member  of  a  German-American 
family  connected  with  the  agricultural  upbuilding  of  the  Mississippi  valley. 
His  father,  John  Jacob  Gallman,  a  native  of  Germany  and  a  pioneer  of 
Iowa,  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  was 
assigned  to  the  First  Minnesota  Infantry,  accompanied  his  regiment  to  the 
front  and  served  throughout  the  war.     Upon  receiving  an  honorable   dis- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN'    COUNTY  367 

charge  he  returned  to  tlie  northwest,  took  up  land  in  Bremer  county,  Towa, 
there  married  Miss  Catharine  Zimmerman,  and  for  years  devoted  himself  to 
agricultural  duties.  At  his  death  he  was  survived  by  the  widow,  now  a 
resident  of  Waverly,  Iowa,  and  by  three  children,  viz. :  John  J. ;  Ida  and 
Anna,  both  of  whom  married  farmers  and  are  living  in  Bremer  county. 
The  only  son  was  born  in  Bremer  county  September  25,  1869,  worked  on 
the  home  farm  as  soon  as  old  enough  to  be  of  service  and  during  the  winter 
months  walked  between  four  and  live  miles  to  a  country  school.  Leaving 
home  in  1888,  he  came  to  California,  where  he  successively  had  employment 
in  lumber  yards  and  with  grading  crews  in  Pasadena,  on  a  dairy  ranch  at 
El  Monte  and  as  a  laborer  on  a  stock  ranch  at  Puente.  The  owner  of  the 
ranch,  Mr.  Roland,  in  1889  sent  him  to  work  as  a  roustabout  for  the 
Puente  Oil  Company  in  Los  Angeles  county  and  in  that  way  he  acquired 
his  first  knowledge  of  the  oil  industry.  From  roustabout  he  worked  up 
to  be  pumper,  then  tool-dresser  and  finally  driller.  The  company  of  which 
Mr.  Roland  was  president  engaged  him  to  drill  in  the  Puente  field,  but  when 
the  wells  were  shut  down  he  was  obliged  to  seek  work  elsewhere. 

An  opportunity  to  engage  with  Will  Kellerman,  a  contract  driller,  took 
Mr.  tiallman  into  a  wild-cat  venture  in  dry  territory,  but  he  cuntinucd  with 
the  same  operator  for  perhaps  seven  years.  Happening  to  meet  Mr.  Roland 
one  day,  he  was  asked  to  return  to  the  Puente  held,  but  intimated  that  he 
considered  the  chance  for  promotion  there  too  meager,  to  which  Mr.  Roland 
replied:  "Come  back  to  me  and  you  may  yet  get  to  be  superintendent  of  the 
Puente."  Accordingly,  upon  finishing  a  job  at  Newhall,  he  went  back  to 
the  Puente  field,  where  he  was  first  drilling  foreman  and  then  superintendent. 
Two  and  one-half  years  later  the  Puente  bought  an  adjoining  oil  lease  and 
the  management  of  the  whole  was  given  over  to  the  superintendent  of  the 
company  thus  absorbed,  whereupon  Mr.  Gallman  became  a  real-estate  dealer 
in  Los  Angeles.  Not  meeting  with  success,  he  returned  to  the  oil  business 
and  for  a  time  worked  with  the  Union  Oil  Company  near  Lompoc  and  at 
Santa  Maria.  In  the  latter  field  he  drilled  on  the  celebrated  Hartnell  gusher. 
Next  he  operated  a  boarding  house  on  the  Union  and  Fox  lease,  after 
which  he  engaged  in  the  restaurant  business  for  six  months  in  Los  Angeles. 
The  excellent  profit  made  when  he  sold  that  restaurant  was  lost  in  the 
later  operation  of  the  -Delmar  Cafe  at  Long  Beach.  Forced  to  begin  anew 
at  the  bottom,  he  returned  to  the  oil  fields  and  drilled  at  Santa  Rosa  and 
for  the  Paso  Robles  Oil  Company.  Since  February  of  1909  he  has  been 
superintendent  of  the  h'airbanks  Oil  Company  in  the  Alidway  field  and 
meanwhile  has  become  well  known  among  the  oil  men  of  Taft,  where  he  is 
an  interested  member  of  the  Petroleum  Club.  His  marriage  took  place  at 
Fullerton,  this  state,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Myrtle  Sprague,  whose  father 
was  at  one  time  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  at  Fullerton,  but  now 
engages  in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  monuments  at  Los  Angeles.  Mr.  and 
Airs.  Gallman  have  one  son,  Woodley  J.  Gallman. 

REUBEN  A.  EDMONDS.— The  expansion  of  the  Bakersfield  pustofiice 
since  Mr.  Edmonds  was  first  appointed  postmaster  under  the  administra- 
tion of  President  McKinley  has  been  almost  startlingly  swift  and  has 
offered  another  evidence  concerning  the  prosperity  and  material  upbuilding 
of  the  city.  \\'hen  he  took  the  oath  of  office  for  the  first  time,  July  12, 
1898,  he  found  a  postoffice  of  the  second-class,  employing  two  clerks  and 
having  annual  receipts  not  exceeding  $9,000.  Since  then  he  has  continued 
in  the  office  by  appointments  under  Presidents  Roosevelt  and  Taft  and 
meanwhile  he  has  witnessed  and  aided  in  the  development  of  the  local 
business,  until  now  it  afifords  him  gratification  to  report  that  as  a  first-class 
office  the  annual  receipts  reach  $65,000  and  employment  is  furnished  to 
thirty-two  persons.      Free  delivery  was  established   in  the   city  in    1900  and 


368  HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY 

four  years  later  rural  free  delivery  was  started,  there  being  now  six  routes 
out  of  Bakersfield,  each  one  with  a  substantial  list  of  patrons.  The  office 
was  promoted  to  the  first  class  in  July  of  1910,  at  which  time  the  genial, 
successful  postmaster  was  the  recipient  of  merited  congratulations  from 
those  familiar  with  his  work  and  appreciative  of  his  energetic  application  to 
official  duties.  There  has  lately  been  added  the  postal  savings  bank  and 
the  parcel  post  system,  this  postuffice  being  the  depository  for  all  the  postal 
savings  banks  in  Ivern  county. 

Born  near  Eugene,  Lane  county,  Ore.,  in  1859,  Reuben  A.  Edmonds 
is  a  son  of  William  and  Adeline  (Draper)  Edmonds,  and  a  grandson  of 
Reuben  A.  Draper,  an  Illinois  pioneer  who,  accompanied  by  relatives  and 
friends,  crossed  the  plains  with  wagons  and  oxen  and  settled  in  Oregon, 
where  he  developed  raw  lands  in  Lane  county.  Eventually  he  came  to 
California  and  passed  his  last  days  in  Sonoma  county.  William  Edmonds, 
a  native  of  Carlisle,  Cumberland  county,  Pa.,  and  a  pioneer  of  Illinois. 
came  to  the  Pacific  coast  with  his  father-in-law  and  settled  near  him  in 
Oregon,  where  he  developed  a  large  farm.  However,  he  was  not  satisfied 
with  conditions  in  Lane  county,  so  he  packed  his  household  effects,  put 
his  wife  and  children  in  a  "prairie  schooner"  and  drove  along  the  coast 
route  into  California,  crossing  the  mountains  and  settling  near  Sebastopol. 
Sonoma  county.  That  was  in  1867  and  the  next  year  his  wife  died  at 
Sebastopol.  Afterward  he  drifted  into  Nevada  and  followed  mining  pur- 
suits. The  same  occupation  engaged  his  attention  when  he  returned  to 
California.  In  1906  he  was  accidentally  drowned  in  the  Kern  river.  Of  his 
three  sons  the  eldest,  Reuben  A.,  is  the  sole  survivor;  the  others,  William 
and  Joseph,  Ijoth  died  in  Bakersfield.  The  three  daughters  were  Mrs. 
Rachael  Maio,  Mrs.  Lavina  Kratzmer,  both  of  Bakersfield,  and  Mrs.  Mary 
Burgin,  who  died  in  Portland,  Ore. 

Reuben  A.  Edmonds  accompanied  the  others  from  Oregon  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1867  and  settled  in  Sonoma  county,  but  during  1874  removed  to 
Napa.  In  1880  he  was  graduated  from  the  Napa  high  school  and  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  completed  the  course  of  study  in  the  commercial  department 
of  Napa  College,  after  which  he  came  at  once  to  Bakersfield  in  1881.  Here 
he  embarked  in  the  dry-goods  business  on  Chester  avenue  near  Eighteenth 
street  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Hotz  &  Edmonds.  The  business  con- 
tinued with  fair  success  until  the  great  fire  of  1889,  which  caused  him 
a  heavy  loss.  Forced  to  start  anew,  he  secured  employment  as  a  bookkeeper 
and  continued  in  that  capacity  until  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Bakers- 
field. Besides  this  office  he  also  served  as  city  assessor  for  one  term. 
Fraternally  he  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  in  Bakersfield 
Cin  which  he  has  served  in  important  offices")  and  also  belongs  to  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  After  he  had  established  a  home  in 
fiakersfield  he  formed  domestic  ties,  being  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Lizzie  L.  Hallet,  a  native  of  Napa,  this  state.  They  are  the  parents  of  two 
children,  Shirlie  and  Reubelle.  both  of  whom  are  now  students  in  the 
Notre  Dame  College  at  San  Francisco. 

JOHN  A.  GARDNER.— The  Gardner  family  possesses  qualities  that 
bring  success  in  the  oil  industry.  .\  brother  of  John  A.,  Eugene,  is  a  tool- 
dresser  for  the  Midway  Premier,  while  their  father,  the  late  Daniel  Gardner, 
was  an  expert  driller  and  well-known  oil  operator,  following  the  business  prin- 
cipally in  his  native  Pennsylvania,  although  often  called  temporarily  to  other 
places  to  aid  in  the  drilling  of  wells.  By  his  marriage  to  Margaret  Mays, 
likewise  now  deceased,  there  were  two  sons  and  four  daughters.  Of  these 
John  A.  was  born  in  Emlenton,  Venango  county.  Pa.,  March  20,  1873,  and  at 
an  early  age  learned  the  oil  business  under  the  capable  oversight  of  his 
father,  with  whom  he  worked  both  as  a  tool-dresser  and  driller  in  Pennsyl- 


m^T-ruia  Q/r.JrUaMA 


HISTORY    OF    KERK    COUNTY  371 

vania,  Ohio  and  Indiana.  For  seven  years  his  father  engaged  with  the 
Bunnah  Oil  Company  in  India  and  during  five  years  of  that  time  John  A. 
worked  with  him,  going  out  to  India  in  1900  via  Liverpool,  Port  Said  and 
the  Suez  canal  to  Rangoon,  and  traveling  inland  a  distance  of  five  hundred 
miles.  After  five  years  of  steady  work  as  a  driller,  without  rest  or  vacation, 
he  returned  to  the  United  States,  pleased  to  again  identify  himself  with  the 
business  under  more  favorable  conditions  than  existed  in  India.  After  an 
unsuccessful  venture  in  the  buying  of  wells  at  Geneva,  Ind.,  in  1908  he  came 
to  California  and  engaged  in  drilling  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company  at  New- 
hall,  from  which  place  in  1910  he  came  to  the  Midway.  After  having  drilled 
two  wells  for  the  Midwa\'  Five  Oil  Company,  he  began  to  drill  for  the  Mid- 
way Premier  Oil  Company  and  in  1911  became  its  superintendent,  which 
responsible  position  he  since  has  filled  with  credit  to  himself  and  most  fortu- 
nate results  for  the  company.  His  family  consists  of  three  daughters,  Mar- 
garet, Edna  and  Mary,  and  his  wife,  whom  he  married  in  Toledo,  Ohio,  and 
who  was  formerly  ]\Iiss  Frances  Cook,  of  that  city. 

THOMAS  A.  MEANS.— A  good  history  of  California  would  not  be 
complete  without  the  name  of  Thomas  A.  Means,  who,  through  his  discovery 
of  oil  in  Kern  River  field  and  his  long  identification  with  that  industry, 
became  known  as  the  "Apostle  of  Petroleum."  He  owned  a  small  ranch  near 
Kern  river,  and  being  a  man  of  much  learning,  natural  intelligence  and 
close  observation,  he  early  became  convinced  in  his  own  mind  that  that 
territory  was  underlaid  with  oil.  Accordingly  he  talked  oil  to  everyone 
who  would  listen  to  him  and  was  naturally  ridiculed  by  many,  but  firm  in 
his  belief  he  continued  to  deliver  himself  of  his  convictions  on  the  streets 
of  Bakersfield  and  no  argument  would  dissuade  him  from  his  ideas. 

It  was  after  some  experience  in  the  McKittrick  field  that  Judson  EUwood 
came  to  Bakersfield,  where  a  brother,  James  Monroe  EUwood,  had  a  small 
woodyard.  During  a  conversation  on  the  subject  of  oil  the  latter  told  his 
brother  that  he  had  heard  of  the  Tom  Means  ranch  and  how  Means  had  for 
years  foretold  the  coming  great  era  of  oil.  Subsequently  James  Monroe 
EUwood  went  to  Mr.  Means  to  talk  about  cutting  some  wood,  but  the  latter 
immediately  changed  the  subject  to  his  favorite  topic  of  oil,  and  so  enthusi- 
astic was  he  on  the  subject,  that  EUwood  leased  a  portion  of  the  ranch 
for  oil  and  induced  his  father,  Jonathan  EUwood,  to  come  to  Bakersfield. 
The  two  then  began  to  dig  for  oil.  and  that  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word, 
as  they  were  obliged  to  use  the  only  tools  they  had — an  ordinary  shovel 
and  a  hand  auger.  In  May,  1899,  they  started  work  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Kern  river  about  seven  miles  from  Bakersfield,  beginning  the  rude  well 
under  the  edge  of  the  cliff.  They  went  down  with  the  hand  auger  seventy- 
five  feet,  when  they  struck  good  oil  indications.  Then  they  secured  a  steam 
rig  and  at  three  hundred  and  forty-three  feet  they  drilled  into  oil,  whereupon 
young  EUwood  rushed  to  Tom  Means  and  shouted:  "Your  prophecy  has 
been  fulfilled!"  But  Means  only  smiled  and  said,  "I  knew  it  was  there." 
However,  in  that  moment,  through  his  faith  and  preaching,  Tom  Means  had 
brought  to  California  a  new  oil  field,  whose  vastness  and  wealth  have  aston- 
ished the  world. 

Mr.  Means  was  a  native  of  New  Brunswick,  November  9,  1840.  being 
the  date  of  his  birth.  Receiving  an  excellent  educational  training  in  youth 
he  possessed  a  special  fondness  for  the  study  of  languages,  and  he  was  able 
to  speak  all  the  Latin  tongues,  or  as  it  has  been  said  of  him,  he  was  able  to 
keep  silent  in  many  languages.  As  early  as  1868  he  came  to  Bakersfield, 
which  then  boasted  of  one  house,  that  of  Colonel  Baker,  and  one  store,  that 
of  Mr.  Chester.  During  1871-72  he  worked  in  Inyo  county,  but  returning 
to  Kern  county  he  began  to  ranch  and  raise  stock,  acquiring  later  a  farm 
of  two  hundred  and   fifteen   acres.     It    was   during  the   early    '80s    that   Mr. 


Z72  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Means  first  discovered  oil  indications  in  Kern  county  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  Kern  river  on  section  three.  29-28,  and  it  was  entirely  due  to  his  stead- 
fast refusal  to  be  discouraged  in  his  endeavor  to  interest  capital  and  promote 
enthusiasm  that  the  oil  industry  was  developed  in  this  community.  At 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Mercy  hospital  August  4,  1912,  Mr. 
Means  owned  considerable  real  estate  in  BakersfTeld  and  San  Francisco. 

TERENCE  B.  McMANUS.— As  early  as  1876  Mr.  AIcManus  first  came 
to  the  west  and  spent  a  short  time  in  San  Francisco.  Again  in  1902  he 
visited  that  city,  but  returned  to  his  Minnesota  home  after  a  brief  vacation. 
During  1912  he  was  called  to  Bakersfield  by  the  demise  of  his  brother,  the 
late  Thomas  A.  Means,  and  being  himself  the  nearest  surviving  relative  he 
was  named  as  administrator  of  the  estate.  Having  therefore  business  inter- 
ests here  and  being  pleased  with  the  appearance  of  this  lively,  prosperous 
city  he  determined  to  bring  his  family  hither  and  establish  a  home.  Since 
doing  so  he  has  become  interested  in  the  real-estate  business  and  also  has 
accjuired  farming  interests. 

A  son  of  Terence  and  Thirza  (  Brownell)  McManus.  T.  B.  McManus  was 
born  in  Westmoreland  county,  N.  B..  May  11,  1849.  During  boyhood  he 
attended  the  common  schools  and  aided  in  the  work  on  the  home  farm.  After 
leaving  home  he  became  connected  with  a  mercantile  business  and  also 
engaged  in  contracting  at  Memramcook,  N.  B.  Removing  to  Minnesota 
during  1883  he  settled  near  Crookston.  purchased  land  and  improved  a  large 
farm  in  the  Red  River  valley,  where  he  engaged  extensively  in  wheat-growing 
and  passed  many  busy,  useful  years.  Meanwhile  in  1893  President  Cleveland 
appointed  him  deputy  collector  of  internal  revenue  for  the  Ninth  congres- 
sional district,  embracing  a  territory  three  hundred  miles  in  length.  For 
five  years  he  discharged  the  duties  of  that  responsible  position.  In  1905 
Governor  John  A.  Johnson  appointed  him  a  member  of  the  board  of  grain 
appeal  of  Alinnesota,  with  headquarters  in  Duluth.  At  the  expiration  of 
his  first  term  in  1907  he  was  again  chosen  for  the  same  post  and  in  1909 
he  was  reappointed,  the  last  appointment  bearing  date  of  September  13, 
1909,  having  been  the  last  official  act  of  Governor  Johnson  before  his  fatal 
illness,  .\fter  five  years  on  the  board  he  retired  in  July  of  1910,  leaving  a 
record  of  creditable  and  honorable  service  to  the  farmers  of  Minnesota. 
SuBsequent  to  his  retirement  he  continued  to  make  Duluth  his  home  until 
April,  1912,  when  he  came  to  Bakersfield  on  business  matters  and  shortly 
thereafter  he  established  a  home  in  this  city.  His  family  consists  of  his 
wife,  formerly  Miss  Helen  Hachey,  of  New  Brunswick,  and  their  five  chil- 
dren, Thomas  W.,  Loretta.  Lucile,  Arthur  and  Charles,  all  yet  remaining  at 
home,  and  the  eldest  being  now  associated  with  his  father  in  the  real-estate 
business  as  T.  B.  McManus  &  Son,  having  established  their  offices  in  the 
Bank  of  Bakersfield  building,  where  they  already  have  a  large  clientele. 

MRS.  WALTER  WRIGHT.— Mrs.  Wright  is  the  elder  of  two  daughters 
of  the  late  William  Millen,  a  drilling  contractor  in  the  oil  fields  of  ^^'est  Vir- 
ginia and  at  Marietta,  Ohio.  By  his  marriage  to  Mary  St.  Clair  he  became 
the  father  of  two  daughters,  .'Vgnes  F.  and  Edith.  The  latter  is  the  wife  of 
Lloyd  Halsell,  a  druggist  at  Jamestown,  N.  Y.,  where  Mrs.  Millen  also 
makes  her  home.  After  having  graduated  from  the  Holy  Angels'  Academy, 
an  institution  for  girls,  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  Agnes  F.  Millen  entered  the  Nurses' 
Training  School  connected  with  the  hospital  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  LTniver- 
sity  at  Baltimore,  Md.  The  best  professional  opportunities  awaited  her 
there  and  of  these  she  availed  herself  to  the  fullest  extent.  Having  gradu- 
ated from  the  training  school  with  the  class  of  1902,  she  returned  to  New 
York  state  and  engaged  in  professional  work  at  Jamestown  and  Buffalo. 
For   a   time    she   was   employed    in   the    Sisters'   Hospital   at    Meadville,   Pa. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  373 

Another  important  position  was  held  in  the  Municipal  hospital  at  James- 
town. Later  she  engaged  in  private  nursing  at  Bradford,  Pa.,  and  in  that 
city  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Walter  Wright,  to  whom  she  was  married  at 
Olean,  Cattaraugus  county,  N.  Y.  Ever  since  her  marriage  she  has  pur- 
sued her  professional  duties.  During  November  of  1912  she  came  to  Taft 
with  j\Ir.  \\'right,  who  is  a  surveyor,  now  engaged  in  the  Midway  oil  fields. 
Upon  the  opening  of  the  hospital  Alay  2.  1913,  she  became  superintendent 
and  general  manager  and  since  then  she  has  devoted  herself  to  the  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  the  position,  which  she  fills  with  recognized  capability  and 
executive  sagacity. 

GENERAL  HOSPITAL  OF  TAFT.— The  General  hospital  of  Taft, 
financed  and  erected  under  the  supervision  of  ]\I.  W .  Pascoe,  M.  D.,  and 
opened  to  the  public  j\Iay  2,  1913,  has  entered  upon  its  history  of  useful 
service  to  humanity  under  the  capable  oversight  of  Mrs.  Walter  Wright  as 
general  manager.  The  modern  equipment  of  the  hospital,  the  sanitary  con- 
ditions rigidly  observed,  the  services  of  graduate  nurses  and  of  a  trained 
dietitian  bespeak  a  most  earnest  and  sincere  purpose  to  surround  the  patients 
with  skilled  attendants  and  scientific  supervision.  The  building  contains 
fifteen  rooms  and  is  so  arranged  as  to  furnish  accommodations  for  twenty- 
five  patients.  For  convenience  and  comfort  a  hall  was  built  through  the 
entire  length  of  the  hospital,  rendering  possible  a  free  circulation  of  air 
that  mitigates  the  heat  of  summer.  On  the  left  as  the  visitor  enters  the 
building  is  the  reception  room,  furnished  in  mission  style  and  decorated  in 
soft  shades  of  green  and  brown  soothing  and  restful  to  the  eye.  The  hand- 
some clock  on  the  wall  of  this  room  was  the  gift  of  A.  T.  Connard.  On  the 
right  of  the  entrance  is  the  operating  room,  finished  in  pure  white  and 
equipped  with  the  most  modern  surgical  appliances. 

The  spacious  hall  terminates  in  the  dining  room  and  diet  kitchen,  ofif 
which  the  nurses  and  hospital  stafif  have  their  quarters.  A  screened  porch, 
large  enough  for  perhaps  eight  beds,  will  be  used  to  accommodate  patients 
who  prefer  the  open  air.  In  connection  with  the  other  conveniences  there 
is  a  laboratory  where  all  prescriptions  are  compounded.  While  the  hos- 
pital was  made  possible  almost  wholly  through  the  energy  and  progressive 
spirit  of  Dr.  Pascoe,  other  physicians  are  invited  to  take  their  patients  there 
and  the  utmost  courtesy  is  shown  to  all.  Besides  Mrs.  Wright  there  are 
three  graduate  nurses.  Miss  Julia  Trabuca,  Mrs.  Catherine  Spann  and  Mrs. 
Agnes  Marlin.  The  two  first-named  are  graduates  of  the  Los  Angeles  city 
and  county  hospital,  while  Mrs.  Marlin  comes  from  the  Post-Graduate  hos- 
pital of  Chicago.  Mrs.  Lora  Dennison.  of  Santa  Cruz,  has  been  engaged  as 
dietarian  and  prepares  the  food  for  the  patients  in  accordance  with  the  most 
modern  laws  of  science  and  sanitation. 

HIPPOLYTE  SEINTURIER.— A  resident  <.t  Kern  cunty  since  l'X31 
and  a  prosperous  sheepman  since  1W4.  Mr.  Seinturier  was  born  at  .\ncel, 
Hautes-Alpes.  France,  in  June,  1877.  being  the  youngest  in  a  family  of  eight 
children,  six  now  living,  whose  parents,  ^lartin  and  Hippolyte  fEspitallier) 
Seinturier,  have  been  lifelong  farmers  in  France.  .As  a  boy  he  was  taught 
the  rudiments  of  agriculture  as  conducted  in  I->ance.  From  an  early  age  he 
was  familiar  with  farming  and  stock-raising.  L'pon  leaving  home  in  1901 
he  came  to  California  and  at  Delano  joined  a  brother,  Joseph,  who  years 
before  had  established  himself  in  Kern  county.  Under  the  over.sight  of 
the  elder  brother  the  young  emigrant  learned  the  sheep  business  as  fol- 
lowed in  this  part  of  the  world.  For  a  year  he  helped  the  brother  in  the 
herding  of  a  flock  of  sheep.  Later  he  worked  for  other  sheepmen.  During 
1904  he  bought  a  small  flock  of  sheep  and  started  in  the  business  for 
himself.  Ever  since  then  he  has  ranged  his  flocks  in  the  vicinity  of  Delano 
and    in    the   Tehachapi    region.      In    the    main    he   has    been    successful.      His 


374  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

flock  has  increased  in  size  and  has  been  maintained  in  health,  so  that  he  is 
well  satisfied  with  the  results  of  his  California  venture.  Since  becoming 
a  citizen  of  our  country  he  has  voted  the  Republican  ticket.  At  Los  Angeles, 
in  June  of  1908,  he  married  Miss  Marie  Borel,  who  was  born  at  Ancel, 
France,  and  came  to  Kern  county  in  1907.  There  are  three  children  of  the 
union,  Berthe,  Martha  and  Edna.  During  1912  Mr.  Seinturier  bought  a 
modern  residence  on  the  corner  of  Humboldt  and  Tulare  streets  in  East 
Bakersfield  and  here  the  family  have  since  made  their  home. 

ROMULUS  ORCIER  was  born  in  Bussard,  Hautes-Alpes,  France, 
where  he  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  remaining  on  the 
home  farm  until  1890.  In  that  year  he  migrated  to  San  Francisco  and  the 
same  year  came  to  Delano,  Kern  county,  where  he  found  employment  with 
his  brothers,  Fred  and  Theophil  Orcier,  who  were  owners  of  large  flocks  of 
sheep  on  Poso  creek.  Two  years  later  he  bought  a  band  of  sheep,  ranging 
them  in  Kern  and  Inyo  counties.  He  was  successful  in  the  venture,  but  in 
1905  sold  his  sheep  and  the  same  year  opened  the  Pioneer  hotel  at  Famoso, 
of  which  he  has  since  been  the  proprietor.  He  also  built  and  opened  a 
livery  stable  for  the  accommodation  of  travelers. 

On  August  5,  1903,  in  East  Bakersfield,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Orcier  with  Miss  Marie  Morel,  a  native  daughter  of  Los  Angeles,  the 
daughter  of  Jullien  Morel,  a  pioneer  stockman  of  Southern  California  and 
afterwards  of  Kern  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Orcier  are  the  parents  of  three 
children,  Clementine,  Julia  and  Romulus,  Jr.  Fraternally  he  is  an  active 
member  of  Aerie  No.  93,  F.  O.  E.,  in  Bakersfield.    He  is  a  Republican. 

CHARLES  FRANK  HABERKERN.— Although  from  his  earliest  rec- 
ollections a  resident  of  California,  Mr.  Haberkern  claims  Illinois  as  his 
native  commonwealth  and  was  born  in  Princeton,  August  26,  1865.  The 
death  of  his  father,  Charles,  who  had  been  an  industrious  farmer  of  that 
locality,  occurred  during  the  infancy  of  the  son,  who  thereafter  became  the 
charge  of  his  aunt,  Mrs.  George  Zimmerman.  The  latter  had  accompanied 
her  husband  to  California  in  1850  and  at  the  expiration  of  their  tedious 
journey  across  the  plains  had  settled  in  Sonoma  county,  taking  up  agricul- 
tural pursuits  in  that  section.  During  1865  they  returned  to  Illinois  for 
their  orphaned  nephew  and  in  December  of  that  year  brought  him  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  was  reared  partly  on  a  farm  in  Sonoma  county  and  partly 
in  San  Francisco.  For  some  years  he  attended  the  Lincoln  school,  on 
Market  and  Fifth  streets,  San  Francisco,  and  upon  leaving  school  he  began 
to  learn  the  butcher's  trade  in  that  city,  where  he  remained  until  he  had 
acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  occupation.  While  following  the 
trade  he  engaged  to  some  extent  in  the  buying  and  selling  of  cattle. 

Coming  to  Bakersfield  in  1888,  three  years  later  Mr.  Haberkern  became 
interested  in  the  raising  of  grain  and  stock  in  the  Tejon  district  and  con- 
tinued there  until  1897,  when  he  bought  property  on  Kern  Island.  Although 
since  1908  he  has  maintained  his  residence  in  Bakersfield,  he  still  owns  the 
ranch  and  superintends  it  personally,  this  being  possible  through  the  fact 
that  the  tract  of  ninety  acres  lies  only  three  miles  from  the  city.  Alfalfa  is 
the  principal  product  grown  and  this,  instead  of  being  sold,  is  fed  to  the 
horses  and  mules  that  are  raised  there  for  the  markets.  The  excellent 
condition  of  the  property  and  its  profitable  maintenance  reflect  credit  upon 
the  owner,  who  is  considered  a  skilled  stockman  and  capable  farmer.  Since 
coming  to  Bakersfield  he  became  one  of  the  original  stockholders  in  the 
Security  Trust  Company.  The  Bakersfield  Club  numbers  him  among  its 
well-known   members. 

A  pioneer  in  the  oil  industry,  Mr.  Haberkern  dates  his  connection  with 
the  Kern  county  fields  from   1899.     During  that  year  he  became  interested 


iA^  9rU4.>-.....^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERK    COUNTY  377 

in  pnipert\-  at  the  present  site  of  Maricopa.  With  others  he  formed  a 
companv  that  put  down  a  well  and  struck  oil  in  jiaying  quantities  at  a  depth, 
of  five  hundred  and  nineteen  feet,  this  being  the  first  well  brought  in  on  the 
flat.  Two  other  wells  were  then  put  down.  The  venture  proved  profitable 
and  the  company  later  sold  at  a  profit.  Since  then  Mr.  Haberkern  has 
continued  in  the  development  of  oil  lands  in  North  Midway  and  from  the 
organization  of  the  Eight  Oil  Company  has  been  a  director  and  stockholder. 
While  his  success  in  oil  operations  has  been  excellent  and  now  gives  him 
financial  independence,  it  is  abundantly  merited  by  his  arduous  labors  during 
the  incipiencv  of  the  industry.  \\"hen  first  he  began  to  drill  wells  water 
was  so  scarce  that  it  w-as  the  custom  for  the  men  to  drive  two  miles  with 
a  team  and  tank  and  with  buckets  dip  the  water  to  fill  the  tank.  It  was 
then  brought  to  the  well,  so  that  the  work  might  be  continued  without 
delay.  If  any  break  occurred  in  the  machinery  he  would  start  at  once, 
night  or  day,  for  Bakersfield.  a  drive  of  forty-five  miles,  in  order  that  repairs 
might  be  secured  at  once,  and  there  were  many  times  when  he  started  on 
these  long  trips  at  midnight.  Drinking-water  was  brought  to  the  lease  by 
their  teams  from  the  mountains,  costing  them  about  $1.25  per  barrel.  Those 
were  days  of  hardship,  iirivation  and  unceasing  labor,  but  he  has  seen  the 
reward  of  his  eft'orts  and  is  now  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  toil. 

WILLIAM  MILES  HOUSER.— The  immediate  cause  of  Mr.  Houser's 
removal  to  this  place  frcmi  the  Santa  Clara  valley,  where  he  had  enjoyed 
a  long  and  successful  identification  with  the  Palo  Alto  ranch,  was  the  fact  that 
a  brother,  A.  W.  Houser,  had  become  a  resident  of  the  place,  had  acquired  a 
livery  stable  and  hotel  business  here  and  was  meeting  with  results  so  encour- 
aging that  the  incentive  to  join  him  was  sufficient  to  bring  about  his  de- 
parture from  the  more  northerly  section  of  the  state.  Nor  did  he  ever  have 
reason  to  regret  the  decision  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  Kern  county,  fnr  as 
president  of  the  Amber  Oil  Company,  as  supervisor  of  the  first  district  and  as 
owner  of  mines  around  Randsburg.  he  reaped  the  benefit  of  a  prosperity  that 
marked  this  section  of  the  country  and  at  the  same  time  was  instrumental  in 
promoting  the  welfare  of  the  people  of  his  district. 

Born  in  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  January  27,  186.5.  William  Miles  Houser  came 
to  California  at  the  age  of  six  years  and  settled  with  his  parents  at  Stockton, 
where  he  attended  school  until  fifteen  years  of  age.  The  father,  William,  a 
native  of  Pennsylvania,  had  been  a  coal  miner  in  that  state  from  early  life 
until  the  failure  of  his  health  necessitated  a  complete  change  of  occupation 
and  of  climate.  Thereupon  he  came  to  California,  but  he  was  benefited  only 
temporarily.  His  death  occurred  in  April  of  1875.  The  mother,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Barbara  Schwagard.  was  born  in  Pittsburgh.  Pa..  December 
12,  1833,  and  still  makes  her  home  in  San  Joaquin  county. 

Upon  leaving  school  and  taking  up  for  himself  the  i^roblem  of  self- 
support,  ^^'illiam  Miles  Houser  secured  employment  on  a  stock  ranch  owned 
by  G.  \\'.  Trahern,  for  whom  he  worked  during  the  following  six  years. 
Meanwhile  the  care  of  stock,  their  needs  and  moneyed  values  became  as 
an  open  book  to  him.  As  a  judge  of  animals  he  established  an  enviable 
reputation  in  his  locality  and  when  the  ranch  where  he  had  labored  was  sold 
to  the  trustees  of  the  Leland  Stanford  University  he  was  invited  to  remain  in 
the  capacity  of  stock-trainer  and  superintendent  of  one  of  the  ranch  depart- 
ments, later  as  foreman  of  the  ranch.  In  apiireciation  of  his  faithful  and  intelli- 
gent services  he  was  paid  excellent  wages.  For  eighteen  years  he  remained 
on  the  Palo  Alto  ranch,  relinquishing  the  position  eventually  in  1^)00  that  he 
might  cast  his  fortunes  in  WMth  those  of  the  mining  community  of  Rands- 
burg, where  the  following  year  he  bought  the  livery  stable  and  leased  the 
hotel  owned  by  his  brother.  A.  W.  After  he  had  conducted  these  tWD  enter- 
prises with  success  for  two  year<.  he  gave  ii])  the  hotel  to  continue  the  livery 


378  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

business  and  mining.  Meanwhile  he  had  acquired  an  interest  in  oil  wells  at 
Fellows,  Kern  county,  and  these  wells  by  subsequent  development  became 
very  valuable,  so  that  he  reaped  financial  benefit  from  an  early  and  judicious 
investment.  Besides  acting  as  president  of  the  Amber  Oil  Company,  he  was 
owner  of  the  Houser  group  of  mines,  adjoining  the  Yellow  Aster  mine  (the 
largest  in  the  state  of  California).  His  holdings  were  further  increased  by  the 
purchase  of  Easy  Street  mine  at  Randsburg.  In  addition  he  owned  a  tungsten 
mine  in  San  Bernardino  county  and  many  other  properties. 

When  only  twenty-one  years  of  age  Mr.  Houser  became  a  member  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  later  he  enlarged  his  fraternal 
relations  by  identification  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  and 
the  Eagles.  As  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Democratic  party  he  was  a  leading 
local  politician,  while  the  larger  interests  of  the  county  were  promoted  by 
his  earnest  service  as  supervisor  of  the  first  district,  to  which  ofifice  he  was 
elected  in  1908.  May  20,  1890,  he  married  Miss  Ella  Gofif,  who  was  born  at 
Stockton,  this  state,  the  daughter  of  Russell  and  Lucy  (Phelps)  GotT,  na- 
tives of  Michigan  and  Boston,  Mass.,  respectively.  In  1847,  when  a  mere  lad, 
Mr.  Gofl^  came  via  Panama  to  San  Francisco.  He  remained  in  the  state  for  a 
number  of  years  after  the  discovery  of  gold,  then  returned  east  and  in  1852 
he  again  returned  to  California,  becoming  interested  in  mining  and  farming. 
He  spent  his  last  days  with  Mrs.  Houser  in  Randsburg,  where  he  died  in 
1907  aged  seventy-seven  years.  Mrs.  GofT  came  with  her  mother  in  1852  via 
Panama  to  join  her  father,  Capt.  W.  G.  Phelps,  who  had  brought  a  sailing 
vessel  around  Cape  Horn  to  San  Francisco  in  1849.  A  man  of  force  and 
determination,  he  became  well  known  on  the  coast,  especially  in  the  vicinity 
of  Stockton,  where  he  had  large  ranch  interests.  Mrs.  Gofif  who  now 
makes  her  home  in  Los  Angeles,  was  the  mother  of  four  children,  all  living. 
Mrs.  Houser,  who  was  the  eldest,  passed  her  childhood  and  obtained  her 
education  in  the  schools  of  Stockton. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  M.  Houser  were  born  eight  children,  namely:  Ella 
May,  deceased;  Lillian,  Mrs.  F.  E.  Hill  of  Los  Angeles;  Ellen  Geraldine, 
Mrs.  F.  P.  Hill,  of  Los  Angeles;  M.  Melvin,  deceased;  Edith  Gertrude; 
William  Miles,  Jr.;  Reginald  Leland,  deceased;  and  Wilma  Elaine,  who  was 
birn  four  months  after  her  father's  death.  The  death  of  Mr.  Houser,  August 
11,  1912.  removed  from  his  community  one  of  its  most  dependable  citizens. 

ANDREW  C.  SILVER.— .\lmost  forty  years  intervened  between  the 
first  visit  of  John  F.  Silver  and  his  second  removal  to  the  western  coast. 
During  that  long  era  many  changes  had  been  made.  Railroads  had  spanned 
the  continent,  so  that,  instead  of  traveling  with  wagons  and  ox-teams,  as 
in  the  first  trip,  he  came  speedily,  surrounded  by  every  comfort  of  modern 
travel.  At  the  time  of  his  first  trip  he  was  a  young  man  and  as  yet  unmar- 
ried. In  the  interim  of  his  western  trips  he  had  married  and  reared  a  family, 
only  one  of  whom,  Andrew  C,  survives  at  the  present  writing.  The  father 
himself  passed  away  in  1909  and  his  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Mary  Craig  and  was  born  in  Indiana,  now  makes  her  home  in  Oklahoma, 
so  that  Andrew  C.  is  the  sole  representative  of  the  family  on  the  western 
coast.  The  trade  at  which  he  is  an  expert,  that  of  brick-laying,  was  the 
one  which  his  father  followed  for  years,  first  as  a  day  laborer  and  later  as 
a  contractor.  Not  having  gained  a  fortune  in  the  California  mines  during 
the  four  years  he  engaged  in  that  work,  he  returned  to  Michigan  in  1853 
and  resumed  the  trade  of  bricklayer.  He  had  removed  to  Michigan  from 
his  native  New  Hampshire  and  from  Michigan  he  went  to  Illinois,  where  he 
became  a  brick  contractor  at  Shelbyville.  The  next  move  took  him  to 
Kansas,  wdiere  he  settled  at  Winfield  in  1879  and  immediately  became 
identified  with  the  contracting  business  as  a  specialist  in  brick.  From 
that  place  he  came  to  California  in  1887  and  after  two  years  in  Los  Angeles 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY  379 

proceeded  to  Bakersheld.  where  lie  eiisa.yed  at  his  trade  as  loii;,'  as  his 
health  permitted. 

The  eldest  among  four  children,  Andrew  C.  Silver  was  horn  at  Shelhy- 
ville,  Shelhv  county,  111.,  August  24.  1863,  and  remained  in  Illinois  until 
sixteen  years  of  age,  meanwhile  attending  the  grammar  and  high  schools 
of  his  native  city.  During  1879  he  accompanied  his  father  to  Kansas.  His 
employment  in  that  state  was  as  a  clerk.  Going  to  Colorado  in  1882  he 
learned  the  trade  of  bricklayer  while  employed  with  the  Denver  &  Rio 
Grande  Railroad  Company.  Two  years  later  he  returned  to  Winfield,  Kan., 
to  take  up  work  at  that  occupation.  With  his  father  he  removed  to  Los 
Angeles  in  1887  and  found  employment  in  laying  brick.  During  1889 
he  became  a  resident  of  I'.akersfield  and  here  he  since  has  built  up  an 
established  reputation  for  skill  in  his  chosen  occupation.  Entering  the 
employ  of  C.  J.  Lindgren,  he  soon  rose  to  be  foreman  and  in  that  capacity 
he  aided  in  the  construction  of  a  number  of  large  buildings.  Upon  the 
removal  of  Mr.  Lindgren  to  San  Francisco  in  1907  Mr.  Silver  purchased 
his  outfit  and  ever  since  has  engaged  in  contracting  and  building,  mean- 
while having  charge  of  many  important  jobs,  including  the  Sanger  building, 
Druid's  hall.  Estribou  residence  and  others.  Ever  since  the  organization  of 
the  Builders"  Exchange  he  has  been  an  interested  worker,  while  politically 
he  has  maintained  a  warm  interest  in  the  principles  of  the  Democratic 
party,  which  he  always  supports  by  ballot  and  influence.  The  family  resi- 
dence at  No.  212  Eureka  street  is  presided  over  by  Airs.  Silver,  who  was 
Miss  Adeline  M.  Jasper,  a  native  of  Santa  Cruz,  this  state,  ])ut  a  resident  of 
Bakersfield  for  a  time  prior  to  their  marriage.  The\-  are  the  parents  of 
four  children,  Andrew,  F>lna,  Esther  and  Homer. 

LEO  G.  PAULY.— The  founder  of  the  I'auly  family  in  America  was 
Antone,  the  son  of  a  prosperous  (ierman  merchant  and  himself  of  (ierman 
birth  and  education,  but  after  1860  a  resident  of  the  United  States  and  during 
the  Civil  war  the  proprietor  of  an  omnibus  line  in  Washington,  D.  C.  The 
duties  of  his  business  necessitated  his  frequent  travel  through  different 
sections  of  the  country  and  in  order  that  he  might  not  be  discommoded  by 
delays  he  secured  passes  from  GeneraU  Miles  and  General  Beauregard. 
With  the  aid  of  these  indispensable  papers,  which  now  are  in  the  posses- 
sion of  his  only  son,  he  was  able  to  travel  back  and  forth  between  the  lines 
and  at  no  time  did  he  suffer  delay  or  inconvenience.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  sought  the  cheap  lands  of  the  Mississippi  valley  and  was  induced  to 
settle  at  Xauvoo,  in  Hancock  county.  111.,  whence  some  years  before  the 
Mormons  had  been  driven  by  citizens  not  in  sympathy  with  their  religious 
views.  Before  he  had  developed  a  farm  into  profitable  condition  he  was 
obliged  to  leave  owing  to  a  pulmonary  affection,  for  which  physicians 
recommended  the  climate  of  California.  Accompanied  by  his  family  he 
came  to  Los  Angeles  in  1869,  but,  securing  no  relief,  he  was  advi.sed  to 
•  seek  a  higher  altitude  and  in  this  way  he  first  became  associated  with 
Kern  county.  The  family  secured  a  team  and  wagon  and  followed  the 
customary  path  of  travel  to  the  Tehachapi  pass,  where,  finding  a  suitable 
location  at  the  desired  elevation,  they  took  up  a  tract  of  ginernment  land. 
Later  adjacent  property  was  ])urchased.  Sheep  and  cattle  were  bought  and 
a  large  industry  developed,  there  being  as  many  as  three  thousand  sheep  in 
the  flock  at  one  time.  By  thrift  and  wise  management  the  father  acc|uired 
seventeen  hundred  acres'  adjoining  the  village  of  Tehachapi  and  he  laid 
out  two  additions  to  that  town,  where  for  five  years  he  engaged  in  the 
butcher  business.  The  climate  enabled  him  to  regain  his  health.  He  en- 
joyed many  seasons  of  agricultural  and  business  activity  and  became  a  man 
of  note  in  his  communitv.  I'inallv.  at  an  advanced  age  and  after  a  life 
of  usefulness,  he  passed  awav  Xovenilier  18,   18').^     For  many  years  he  was 


380  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

survived  by  his  wife,  whose  death  occurred  January  7,  1911.  in  Kern.  Born 
and  reared  in  Kulmbach,  Germany,  and  known  by  the  maiden  name  of 
Catherine  Zink,  she  came  to  this  country  in  young  girlhood  and  was 
married  at   Washington,   D.   C. 

Out  of  the  nine  children  forming  the  parental  family  only  three  are 
now  living,  the  two  daughters  being  ^Irs.  Clara  Parks  of  Los  Angeles  and 
Rose,  Mrs.  H.  F.  Keeler.  of  Lancaster,  this  state.  The  only  son,  Leo  G., 
was  born  at  Tehachapi,  this  county.  July  26,  1875,  and  received  his  primary 
education  in  that  village.  During  November  of  1895  he  was  graduated 
from  the  San  Jose  State  Normal,  after  which  he  became  principal  of  the 
Tehachapi  school  and  continued  in  the  position  for  two  years.  When 
Iwenty-two  years  of  age.  in  1897,  he  was  offered  the  principalship  of  the 
Kern  school  and  accepted  the  post.  At  that  time  there  were  five  teachers 
in  a  building  of  six  rooms.  As  principal  he  advanced  the  standard  of  schol- 
arship and  made  the  school  as  thorough  as  any  in  the  county.  Other 
buildings  were  erected  during  his  tenure  of  the  office,  including  the  Lincoln 
school  of  four  rooms  and  the  addition  of  four  rooms  and  an  assembly  hall  to 
ihe  Washington  school.  When  finally  he  resigned  in  March  of  1909  he  was 
at  the  head  of  a  successful  educational  force  of  fourteen  teachers  with 
modern  equipment  and  every  facility  for  thorough  work.  Since  June  of 
1896  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  county  board  of  education  and  for 
twelve  years  of  this  period  he  officiated  as  president  of  the  board.  Upon 
the  consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  in  July,  1910,  he  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  city  board  of  education  and  at  the  regular  election  in  April, 
1911,  he  was  again  placed  in  this  position. 

Since  relinquishing  his  educational  work  Mr.  Pauly  has  been  connected 
with  the  Ardizzi-Olcese  Company  of  East  Bakersfield,  an  incorporated  con- 
cern and  the  oldest  mercantile  establishment  in  Kern  county.  Entering 
as  manager  in  March  of  1909.  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  year  he  JDCcame 
financially   interested  and   was   elected  secretary  of  the   corporation. 

The  marriage  of  ^Ir.  Pauly  and  Miss  Essa  Davis  w-as  solemnized  in 
Tehachapi  and  has  been  blessed  with  three  children,  Harold,  Leo  A.  and 
Catherine.  Mrs.  Pauly  was  born  in  Los  Angeles  county  and  grew  to 
womanhood  in  Bakersfield,  her  father,  J.  L.  Davis,  having  been  a  pioneer 
farmer  of  Kern  county.  In  national  politics  Mr.  Pauly  votes  with  the 
Republican  party.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  Bakersfield  Lodge 
No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E..  and  has  been  a  prominent  officer,  being  Past  Exalted 
Ruler.  LTpon  the  organization  of  the  old  volunteer  fire  department  in  Kern 
he  became  a  member,  realizing  the  great  need  of  adequate  fire  protection. 
At  the  time  of  the  consolidation  he  was  serving  as  chief  of  the  depart- 
ment and  he  still  retains  his  interest  in  its  equipment  and  management.  The 
old  homestead  of  seventeen  hundred  acres  still  belongs  to  the  family.  l3ut 
for  years  has  been  leased  to  tenants  for  farming  purposes. 

JAMES  FREDERICK  HYDRON.— A  responsible  position  with  the  " 
Kern  C(>nnt\'  Land  Company  is  filled  by  Mr.  Hydron,  who  has  been  a 
resident  of  Bakersfield  since  1894  and  an  employe  of  the  company  for 
practically  the  same  length  of  time.  Chance  attracted  him  to  the  great 
west.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  visit  the 
^^'orld's  Fair  in  Chicago  and  made  a  careful  study  of  state  exhibits.  The 
old  mission  building  occupied  by  the  California  exhibit  drew  him  to  a  careful 
inspection  and  he  noted  with  amazement  and  admiration  the  wonderful 
array  of  citrus  and  deciduous  fruits,  and  of  grains,  vegetables  and  other 
products.  For  the  first  time  his  attention  was  directed  to  the  Pacific  coast 
and  it  was  this  exhibit  which  caused  him  to  come  to  California  the  fol- 
lowing year,  since  which  time  he  has  made  Bakersfield  his  home  and  the 
scene    of    his    business    activities. 


^ 


J^^lM^'^i^^J^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  385 

Born  at  Louis\ille,  Ky..  February  11,  1872,  James  Frederick  Hydron  is 
a  son  of  W'illiam  and  Mary  (Roman)  Hydron,  members  of  old  southern 
families,  the  former  a  native  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  the  latter  born  near 
Louisville,  Ky.  For  a  considerable  period  the  father  engaged  in  the  car- 
riage-maker's business  at  Louisville  and  during  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted 
from  that  city  with  a  Confederate  regiment  of  soldiers,  serving  at  the  front 
until  the  expiration  of  his  term.  During  the  70s  he  removed  to  Indiana 
and  established  a  business  at  Jeffersonville,  where  he  continued  to  make 
his  home  until  his  death  in  1903  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years.  All  of 
the  children,  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  are  still  living  and  their  mother 
also  survives,  making  Louisville  her  home  at  the  present  time.  The  fourth 
among  the  six  children  was  James  Frederick,  the  only  member  of  the 
family  in  California.  After  he  had  received  a  common-school  education 
in  Jeffersonville  he  aided  his  father  until  he  came  to  California  in  1894  and 
settled  in  Kern  county.  Immediately  he  found  employment  with  the  Kern 
County  Land  Company.  His  first  task  was  that  of  driving  mules  and  a 
scraper.  Soon  he  was  transferred  to  the  surveying  department,  where 
he  remained  for  two  years.  During  his  connection  with  the  surveying  corps 
he  helped  to  survey  the  tunnel  at  Kern  river  canyon.  Later  he  served  on 
the  street-car  line  as  a  conductor  and  continued  with  the  land  company 
in  that  capacity  for  three  years.  April  15,  1906,  he  was  placed  in  charge 
of  the  Bakersfield  warehouse  owned  by  the  company  and  since  then  he 
has  filled  the  difficult  position  with  efficienc^^  In  every  capacity  he  has 
proved  himself  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and  integrity.  Politically  he  votes 
with  the  Democratic  party.  For  some  3'ears  he  has  held  office  as  banker 
of  the  local  lodge.  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  in  the  work  of  which 
he  has  been  influential  and  active.  Some  years  after  coming  to  Bakersfield 
he  married  Miss  Cora  Cowing,  a  native  of  Kern  county  and  a  daughter 
of  John  Cowing,  a  California  pioneer,  identified  for  a  long  period  with  the 
agricultural  development  of  this  county,  but  more  recently  a  resident  of 
Moneta.  Los  Angeles  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hydron  have  an  only  son, 
Harry  Edward. 

HENRY  W.  KLIPSTEIN.— The  genealogy  of  the  Klipstein  family  is 
traced  to  an  ancient  and  noble  race  in  Germany,  where  a  coat  of  arms  pro- 
claimed their  distinguished  lineage  and  honorable  station.  The  history  of  the 
family  can  be  traced  back  to  George  Klipstein.  a  citizen  and  turner  of  Eisen- 
ach, who  had  a  son  Hans,  a  forester  of  Einhaus,  and  the  latter  a  son  Casper, 
of  Hesse-Darmstadt,  who  was  chief  forester  of  the  principalities  of  Batten- 
burg,  Reidenkofif  and  Itter.  Casper  Klipstein  had  a  son  John  Casper,  who  was 
preceptor  and  organist  at  Gladenbach,  and  his  son,  John  Conrad  Theodore, 
was  a  forester.  The  son  of  the  last-mentioned,  Philip,  was  born  in  Hesse- 
Darrnstadt  and  became  a  surgeon  of  note.  In  the  capacity  of  surgeon  he  came 
to  America  with  the  Hessian  troops  and  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
When  peace  was  declared  he  was  honorably  discharged  and  settled  down  to 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  \\'inchester,  Va.  This  Philip  Klipstein  was 
the  great-grandfather  of  our  subject.  The  grandfather.  Philip  Augustin,  was  a 
native  of  Virginia,  born  in  1791.  He  was  a  minister  of  the  old  "Ironside" 
P.apti.st  denomination,  preached  the  Gospel  in  the  Old  Dominion  and  held  high 
rank  among  the  people  of  his  faith.  The  next  generation  was  represented  by 
Thomas  E.  Klipstein,  who  lived  and  died  in  Virginia.  Plis  marriage  to  Mary 
Frances  Hampton  brought  him  into  connection  with  a  distinguished  family 
of  his  state,  whose  most  noted  member  was  Gen.  \\ade  Hampton.  In  the 
family  of  Thomas  E.  Klipstein  there  were  five  children,  of  whom  four  grew  up ; 
Sallie,  Mrs.  A.  R.  Bartenstein.  of  Fauquier  county,  Yst.:  Eliza  Peyton,  Mrs. 
W.  G.  Bartenstein,  who  died  at  \'irginia  Colony,  Kern  county:  Catherine 
Hampton,  Mrs.  Basey,  of  X'irginia  Colon}- ;  and  Henry  W. 


386  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

The  home  of  the  Klipstein  family  was  in  Fauquier  county,  Va.,  and 
there  February  13,  1852,  occurred  the  birth  of  a  son,  Henry  W.,  who  being 
a  mere  lad  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war  could  not  enter  the  army,  yet  witnessed 
much  of  the  horrors  of  warfare.  The  family  home,  only  forty  miles  from  Wash- 
ington, was  often  threatened  by  opposing  forces  and  its  inmates  were  in  peril 
of  their  lives  as  the  fierce  struggle  waged  around  them.  In  their  immediate 
neighborhood  occurred  the  sanguinary  contests  of  Bull  Run  during  1861  and 
1862.  The  community  became  disrupted  by  strife  and  schools  were  closed, 
so  that  the  young  lad  studied  his  lessons  at  home  under  the  careful  oversight 
of  his  mother.  When  the  war  had  ended  and  schools  again  opened  for  study, 
he  took  up  educational  work  and  finally  obtained  a  common-school  education, 
after  which  he  began  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world. 

The  marriage  of  Henry  W.  Klipstein  took  place  in  Virginia  in  April,  1876, 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Martha  Jennings  Rixey,  the  daughter  of  Smith  H. 
and  Catherine  E.  (Triplet)  Rixey.  The  father  was  a  planter  in  Culpeper 
county,  Va.,  where  Mrs.  Klipstein  was  born.  She  is  a  near  relative  of  Con- 
gressman John  Rixey  of  the  Old  Dominion  and  also  of  Dr.  Preston  Rixey,  phy- 
sician to  President  McKinley  and  also  Surgeon  General  of  the  Navy  in  the  Mc- 
Kinley  and  Roosevelt  administrations.  For  a  number  of  successive  generations 
the  Rixey  family  has  been  prominent  in  the  annals  of  Virginia,  whose  ad- 
vancement has  been  promoted  by  their  patriotic  efforts  and  progressive  spirit. 
A  member  of  a  family  including  seven  children  (six  daughters  and  one  son), 
Mrs.  Klipstein  was  reared  in  the  home  of  an  aunt,  Martha  Rixey,  and  while 
still  a  young  girl  became  the  wife  of  Henry  \V.  Klipstein,  whom  she  accom- 
panied to  California  in  1888,  his  ill  health  having  been  the  cause  of  their  re- 
moval to  the  genial  western  climate.  Arriving  at  Bakersfield  on  Christmas 
day,  they  at  once  sought  a  means  of  livelihood  and  began  in  the  dairy  indus- 
try. Being  given  an  opportunity  to  buy  the  dairy  then  owned  by  the  Kern 
County  Land  Company,  they  availed  themselves  of  the  chance  and  were 
prospered  by  the  undertaking.  As  his  means  permitted,  Mr.  Klipstein  began  to 
buy  land  and  cattle.  At  this  writing  they  own  the  Klipstein  ranch  of  about 
twelve  thousand  acres,  located  near  Maricopa,  and  also  about  three  thousand 
acres  of  the  old  Wagy  ranch  and  farm,  and  on  account  of  the  location  of  the 
ranches  they  control  about  seventy-five  thousand  acres  of  government  range 
land.  In  the  land  and  cattle  business  he  is  in  partnership  with  his  sons,  Henry 
W.  and  Phil  A.,  and  on  their  ranches  range  more  than  three  thousand  head 
of  cattle.  The  move  to  the  west  proved  fortunate  to  him,  as  he  has  regained  his 
health  and  also  has  been  greatly  prospered  in  ranching  and  stock-raising.  For 
years  he  has  been  closely  connected  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company 
in  business  matters.  Besides  his  vast  landed  possessions,  comprising  the 
cattle  ranches  with  their  commodious  ranch  houses,  he  owns  improved  and 
unimproved  property  in  Bakersfield  and  here  has  a  modern  residence  at  the 
foot  of  Dracena  street  built  on  a  natural  mound  at  an  elevation  of  about 
twenty  feet  above  the  surrounding  country. 

Nine  children  comprised  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Klipstein,  of  whom 
seven  grew  up  and  six  are  still  living.  The  eldest,  Thomas  E.,  a  successful 
oil  operator  and  formerly  connected  with  the  Kern  County  Abstract  Com- 
pany, is  well  and  favorably  known  in  Bakersfield  and  represented  elsewhere 
in  this  volume.  The  eldest  daughter,  Kate  Hampton,  deceased,  was  the  wife 
of  J.  H.  Hillard,  of  San  Francisco  and  at  her  death  left  one  child,  Ramona 
Frances,  now  living  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Klipstein  and  attending  the  Ramona 
convent.  The  two  youngest  sons,  Henry  W.  and  Phil  A.,  are  energetic  young 
.  ranchers  and  excellent  judges  of  stock,  their  specialty  being  Cattle.  The  former 
is  first  lieutenant  of  Troop  A,  California  National  Guard.  Eugenia  is  the  wife 
of  G.  E.  Ruckstell,  formerly  of  San  Francisco,  now  proprietor  of  a  garage  at 
Maricopa.   Mildred  M.  married  J.  H.  Bacon  and  lives  at  Fellows.   The  youngest 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  387 

member  of  the  famih^  circle,  Mattie  Rixey,  resides  with  her  parents.  Politi- 
cally Air.  Klipstein  is  a  Democrat. 

E.  L.  WILLOW. — The  discovery  of  gold  proved  the  attraction  that 
brought  to  the  west  Elias  Willow,  a  Pennsylvanian  b}'  birth  and  a  cooper  by 
trade.  At  an  early  age  he  had  accoinpanied  his  parents  to  Ohio  and  had 
settled  in  Sandusky.  The  even  tenor  of  his  life  was  changed  by  the 
news  concerning  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  and  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible he  started  for  the  coast.  Joining  an  expedition  that  made  the  trip 
with  wagons  and  ox-teams,  he  crossed  the  plains  during  the  summer  of 
1850  and  arrived  in  due  time  in  Eldorado  county,  where  he  engaged  in 
placer  mining.  As  no  special  fortune  rewarded  his  efforts  he  turned  his 
attention  to  merchandising  in  the  same  county.  As  he  not  only  con- 
ducted a  general  store,  but  also  acted  as  postmaster  of  his  little  village  and 
as  agent  for  the  \A^ells  Fargo  Express  Company,  he  formed  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  people  throughout  all  that  section  of  the  country.  During  the 
early  days  he  knew  by  name  practically  all  of  the  pioneers  of  his  section  and 
by  all  of  them  he  was  regarded  as  a  friend.  More  than  one  was  indebted  to 
him  for  timely  help.  Indeed,  his  benefactions  in  those  days  of  frontier 
existence  were  often  in  excess  of  his  means,  but  his  nature  was  so  kindly 
that  he  could  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  no  appeal  for  assistance.  When  he  decided 
to  leave  Eldorado  county  he  loaded  his  household  necessities  in  a  wagon,  put 
his  wife  and  children  in  the  vehicle,  and  drove  south  until  May  13,  1874, 
at  which  time  he  arrived  at  Bakersfield.  Here  he  established  a  permanent 
home.  For  ten  years  he  had  the  contract  for  sprinkling  the  streets,  using 
for  that  purpose  a  water-wagon  of  his  own  manufacture.  After  he  discon- 
tinued that  business  he  became  secretary  of  the  county  board  of  horticultural 
commissioners  and  at  his  death  in  1891  he  was  still  filling  that  position.  As 
road  overseer  for  several  terms  he  had  charge  of  the  highways  of  his  dis- 
trict, while  in  addition  for  many  3'ears  he  filled  the  office  of  school  trustee. 

The  marriage  of  Elias  Willow  united  him  with  Miss  Ann  Eliza  Pavey, 
who  was  born  in  Coldwater.  Mich.,  April  26,  1843,  and  died  at  Bakersfield 
in  October,  1909.  Her  father,  Henry  Pavey,  had  crossed  the  plains  for  the 
first  time  during  the  summer  of  1850.  After  he  had  remained  long  enough 
to  investigate  conditions  he  decided  that  he  would  like  to  settle  perma- 
nently in  the  west,  therefore  he  returned  to  Michigan  for  his  family,  who 
accompanied  him  across  the  plains  in  1852,  making  the  trip  with  ox-teams. 
For  many  years  and  until  his  death  he  engaged  in  the  horticultural  in- 
dustry and  also  conducted  a  nursery  business  in  Eldorado  county.  '  There 
were  but  two  children  in  the  family  of  Elias  Willow,  the  daughter  being 
Mrs.  Flora  Ellen  Stanley,  of  Fairbank,  Ariz.  The  son,  E.  L..  was  born 
in  the  village  of  Mud  Springs,  Eldorado  county,  Cal..  May  14,  1864,  and 
has  been  a  resident  of  Bakersfield  since  May  13,  1874,  during  which  year 
he  entered  the  public  schools  of  this  place.  After  he  had  completed  the 
studies  of  the  local  schools  he  entered  the  commercial  department  of  the 
University  of  Southern  California  in  Los  Angeles,  where  he  remained  until 
his  graduation.  As  early  as  ten  years  of  age  he  began  to  learn  the  furniture 
business,  his  employer  having  been  J.  Neiderauer,  of  Bakersfield.  During 
early  life  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  cabinet-maker.  In  starting  out  at  the 
trade  he  earned  $8  per  week,  but  in  one  month  his  wages  were  raised  to  $9. 
After  his  graduation  he  returned  to  the  Neiderauer  store  and  continued 
to  work  as  a  cabinet-maker,  but  in  a  short  time  began  to  learn  the  em- 
balming business,  of  which  in  due  time  he  acquired  a  recognized  proficiency. 

The  firm  of  Willow  &  Kelsey  started  in  the  furniture  and  undertaking 
business  in  January,  1889.  fin  Twentieth  street  and  Chester  avenue,  the 
present  site  of  the  Bank  nf  P.akersfield.  During  July  of  the  same  year  the 
store   burned   to   the  gniuiid   and    the   entire    stock    of   goods    was    destroyed. 


388  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

entailing  an  almost  total  loss.  Next  Mr.  Willow  engaged  in  the  cabinet- 
making  business  at  No.  1219  Nineteenth  street.  From  boyhood  he  had 
been  active  in  the  old  volunteer  department  as  a  member  of  the  Eureka 
Engine  Company.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Alert  Hook  &  Ladder 
Company  he  became  a  charter  member  and  was  elected  foreman.  Later 
he  became  chief  of  the  volunteer  fire  department.  When  the  paid  depart- 
ment was  organized  he  was  chosen  the  first  chief  of  the  department,  re- 
ceiving sixty  out  of  sixty-one  votes  cast.  For  sixteen  years  he  continued 
in  this  responsible  position.  Meanwhile  the  signal  'phone  alarm  system 
was  introduced  and  other  improvements  made.  All  of  the  horses  in  the 
department  were  personally  trained  by  him  and  they  knew  his  voice  so  well 
that  even  now,  when  he  speaks  to  them,  they  instantly  recognize  him. 
During  April  of  1907  he  resigned  as  fire  chief,  having  previously  purchased 
the  furniture  business  which  he  has  conducted  ever  since.  To  show  how 
much  he  was  appreciated  by  the  men  in  the  department  it  is  a  significant 
fact  that  at  the  time  he  tendered  his  resignation  every  man  in  the  depart- 
ment excepting  two  also  handed  in  their  resignations.  The  Willow  building, 
erected  in  1904  at  No.  1227  Nineteenth  street,  extends  one  hundred  and 
thirty-two  feet  on  Nineteenth  street  and  has  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  and  one-half  feet  on  L  street.  The  location  is  unexcelled  for  building 
up  a  large  trade,  but  the  patronage  is  not  limited  to  Bakersfield  itself,  for 
Mr.  Willow  has  customers  from  all  parts  of  the  county.  From  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Merchants'  Association  he  has  served  as  its  treasurer  and  he  also 
has  been  a  prominent  member  of  Kern  county  board  of  trade.  In  national 
politics  he  votes  with  the  Republican  party.  His  marriage  took  place  at 
San  Francisco  and  united  him  with  ]\Iiss  Frances  A.  Foran,  who  was  born 
at  Mariposa,  this  state. 

HENRY  BOHNA. — The  name  of  Bohna  is  of  peculiar  interest  to  the 
people  of  Bakersfield  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  Christian  Bohna.  who  arrived 
here  February  1.  1860,  built  the  first  house  on  what  is  now  the  town  site. 
When  he  brought  the  family  to  this  region  he  found  conditions  most  unat- 
tractive. By  reason  of  the  numerous  swamps  covered  with  willow  trees  the 
location  was  most  unhealthful  and  during  1860  the  family  suffered  constantly 
from  sickness.  The  first  step  which  he  took  after  his  arrival  was  to  secure 
a  shelter  for  wife  and  children.  The  house  which  he  built  was  constructed  of 
Cottonwood  timber,  with  a  roof  of  flag-tule,  and  were  it  still  standing,  it 
would  be  an  object  of  great  interest  to  the  present  large  population  of  the 
city.  After  he  had  provided  a  home  for  the  family  he  cleared  ten  acres  of  the 
land  and  planted  a  crop  of  corn,  from  which  he  gathered  as  many  as  one 
hundred  and  ten  bushels  to  the  acre.  Encouraged  by  the  success  of  the  under- 
taking, he  cleared  more  land  and  in  1861  planted  a  large  field  of  corn,  from 
which  he  secured  a  good  crop,  but  the  great  flood  of  1861-62  was  so  huge  that 
he  became  entirely  discouraged  and  moved  away  as  soon  as  the  water  went 
down.  There  were  few  to  suffer  from  the  reverses  that  overtook  him,  for 
at  the  time  his  nearest  neighbors  fonly  two  families  being  at  that  place) 
were  nine  miles  distant. 

In  many  respects  Christian  Bohna  was  a  remarkable  man.  One  of  his 
striking  characteristics  was  a  love  of  travel  and  adventure.  It  did  not  satisfy 
him  to  remain  for  years  in  one  location,  no  matter  how  dear  might  be  the 
friends  there  nor  how  promising  the  opportunities.  He  wished  to  see  all  of 
our  great  country  and  as  facilities  for  travel  were  limited  in  those  days  he 
spent  large  sums  of  money  in  taking  his  family  from  one  state  to  another. 
Had  he  been  less  fond  of  travel,  more  willing  to  remain  in  one  place,  un- 
doubtedly he  would  have  accumulated  a  fortune,  but  as  it  was  he  left  little 
means  for  his  family.  However,  he  did  leave  something  more  to  be  desired, 
the  respect  of  acquaintances  and  a  reputation  for  integrity  and  the  highest 
principles  of  honor. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  391 

Born  in  Saxony,  Germany,  December  28,  1805,  Christian  Bohna  followed 
the  usual  procedure  among  the  youth  of  his  country,  viz. :  attendance  at  school 
until  fourteen,  apprenticeship  at  a  trade  until  eighteen  and  then  three  years 
of  service  in  the  army  of  his  country.  After  having  been  honorably  dis- 
charged from  the  army  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  came  to  the  new  world, 
prepared  for  work  by  a  thorough  knowledge  of  blacksmithing.  which  he 
followed  in  New  York  City.  With  a  desire  to  see  the  country  he  traveled 
through  Ohio,  Missouri,  Arkansas  and  Texas,  besides  making  brief  stops  in 
intervening  states.  Meanwhile  his  trade  earned  him  an  honest  livelihood. 
When  he  started  across  the  plains  in  the  spring  of  1853  he  had  his  wagon 
fitted  out  with  blacksmith's  tools  of  every  description  and  thus  he  was  enabled 
to  earn  his  way  as  he  traveled  toward  the  west.  Landing  in  Calaveras  county 
he  set  up  a  shop  and  made  considerable  money  by  his  trade,  but  invested  the 
most  of  this  capital  in  mines  in  that  locality.  During  the  fall  of  1856  he 
returned  to  Arkansas  and  settled  in  Pike  county,  where  he  took  up  farm  pur- 
suits. Soon,  however,  he  found  himself  dissatisfied,  eager  to  return  to  the 
west.  Accordingly  in  1859  he  sold  the  Arkansas  farm  and  came  to  the 
west,  arriving  at  El  Monte  in  the  fall  of  1859,  and  from  there  coming  to  what 
is  now  Bakersfield,  February  1,  1860.  The  mishaps  of  the  next  two  years  have 
been  recorded  previously  and  furnish  the  reason  for  his  removal  to  Oregon. 
From  that  state  he  soon  moved  to  Idaho.  In  both  places  he  engaged  in 
farming  and  mining.  The  year  1867  found  him  back  in  Kern  county,  where 
he  set-tied  at  Woody,  retiring  to  some  extent  from  active  labors.  He  passed 
away  in  1872  and  was  interred  in  the  cemetery  of  Linn's  valley. 

During  the  residence  of  Christian  Bohna  in  Pike  county.  Ark.,  his  son, 
Henry,  was  born  October  15,  1842.  By  reason  of  the  frequent  removals  of  the 
family  and  their  isolation  in  remote  mining  camps,  he  was  deprived  of  educa- 
tional advantages.  His  entire  attendance  at  school  was  limited  to  three  weeks, 
when  he  was  a  pupil  in  a  subscription  school.  During  1859  he  arrived  in 
El  Monte.  Cal.,  with  his  parents,  and  in  I'^ebruary,  1860,  he  came  with  them  to 
the  present  site  of  Bakersfield.  In  1862  he  began  to  mine  in  the  White  river 
district,  where  he  took  up  a  mining  claim.  In  November  (jf  1863  he  joined 
his  parents  in  Idaho,  where  he  engaged  in  mining  in  1864  and  1865.  The  fall 
of  the  latter  year  found  him  in  Montana,  where  he  bought  a  claim  at  Last 
Chance  gulch  and  engaged  in  mining.  Returning  to  Oregon  in  the  fall  of 
1866,  he  spent  a  few  months  in  and  near  Portland  and  in  1867  returned  to 
Kern  county  with  his  father,  settling  at  Woody.  Up  to  1872  he  devoted  his 
attention  to  mining,  but  after  that  he  engaged  exclusively  in  farming  and 
stock-raising.  He  had  taken  up  and  improved  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
but  in  1882  the  railroad  took  one-half  of  the  tract  from  him.  During  1882  he 
took  up  a  homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  the  Greenhorn  range 
and  moved  to  the  land  in  1883,  but  again  in  1892  the  railroad  took  eighty 
acres  from  this  tract.  While  living  in  the  mountains  he  purchased  from  settlers 
title  to  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  which  he  used  as  a  summer  range  for 
cattle.  This  place,  which  is  known  as  Shiloh,  he  still  owns.  During  1904  he 
bought  the  old  Maltby  tract  of  four  hundred  acres  at  Woody,  and  in  1905 
he  moved  to  this  place.  In  the  meantime  he  has  purchased  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  adjoining  and  now  owns  and  successfully  operates  eight 
hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  well-improved  land.  Being  profusely  wooded 
with  native  oak  the  place  has  been  appropriately  named  Oak  Lodge. 

Since  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  Mr.  Bohna  has  been  an  active  worker 
in  the  local  ranks  of  the  Democratic  party.  During  1894  he  was  elected 
supervisor  of  the  third  district  and  in  that  responsible  position  he  served  with 
the  greatest  efificiency  for  four  years.  Elected  a  trustee  of  schools  in  the 
Blake  district,  he  was  clerk  of  the  board  for  six  years.  From  early  life  he  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church  and  a  generous  contributor  to  its 
maintenance.    His   marriage   took   place   in    Woody    February    16,    1876,   and 


392  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

united  him  with  Miss  Annie  E.  Rutledge,  who  was  born  in  TuoUimne  county, 
Cal.,  September  7,  1856,  being  a  daughter  of  Paschal  and  Mary  Ann  (Mc- 
Elroy)  Rutledge.  Her  father  was  born  at  Greenville,  S.  C,  July  15,  1823, 
and  during  the  great  excitement  of  1849  joined  an  expedition  bound  for  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  was  a  pioneer  tinner  in  San  Francisco.  After  a  time  he 
added  a  stock  of  hardware  and  carried  on  an  extensive  trade  in  his  line.  Sep- 
tember 24.  1846,  he  had  married  Miss  McElroy,  who  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  January  1,  1824.  and  who  came  alone  to  California,  making  the  trip  via 
Panama.  After  having  lived  temporarily  in  various  parts  of  the  state  Mr. 
Rutledge  removed  to  Wo6dy,  Kern  county,  and  here  his  body  lies  buried ;  this 
also  is  the  last  resting  place  of  his  wife,  who  passed  away  in  1893.  The  family 
of  Henry  and  Annie  E.  Bohna  comprises  nine  children,  the  eldest  of  whom 
are  high-school  graduates  and  three  of  the  daughters  have  taught  school 
with  success.  Paschal  married  Miss  P.irdie  Morse  December  25,  1899;  Chris- 
tine M.  taught  school  for  a  time,  and  February  8,  1903,  became  the  wife  of 
F.  H.  Jameson  ;  Evelena  Paralee  taught  school  for  some  years,  and  August  15, 
1909,  became  the  wife  of  Henry  B.  Gardette  ;  Clara  J.  married  Harvey  Buf- 
fington  November  15,  1905;  Marianna,  after  completing  high-school,  took  up 
teaching  with  energy  and  intelligent  application;  Roy  H.  now  manages  the 
ranch  in  the  Greenhorn  mountains;  Alice  Muriel,  Thomas  Hugh,  and  Lillian 
Rae  complete  the  family. 

JULES  RUFENER.— ^^'here  the  foothills  stretch  from  the  Jura  range 
of  the  lofty  Alps  westward  toward  the  sunny  slopes  of  France  lies  the 
thriving  Swiss  city  known  as  La  Chaux  de  Fonds,  Canton  Neuchatel.  In 
that  place  Jules  Rufener  was  born  July  24,  1865.  there  he  passed  the  unevent- 
ful years  of.  childhood  and  there  also  he  learned  the  tedious  lessons  so 
indispensable  to  educational  or  occupative  progress.  The  family  for  several 
generations  was  noted  for  skill  in  watchmaking.  The  men  of  the  race 
seemed  to  possess  a  natural  talent  for  the  delicate  mechanism  so  essential 
to  the  trade  and  they  therefore  gained  local  prestige  in  a  calling  requiring 
exceptional  delicacy  of  touch  and  accuracy  of  vision.  Jacob,  the  father  of 
Jules,  was  born  at  Interlocken  in  the  .\lps  and  has  devoted  his  entire  active 
life  with  success  to  the  manufacture  of  watches.  Even  now,  although  he 
has  reached  the  age  of  seventy-three,  he  is  still  regarded  by  the  people  of 
La  Chaux  de  Fonds,  where  the  firm  of  Rufener  &  Co.  wields  the  influence 
due  to  long  identification  with  the  business  of  the  city,  as  the  leading  watch- 
maker and  most  competent  jeweler  in  the  entire  community. 

The  marriage  of  Jacob  Rufener  united  him  with  Barbara  Gertsch,  who 
at  her  death  in  1911  was  survived  by  seven  of  her  ten  children.  It  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  four  sons  became  very  skilled  watchmakers.  Of  these 
the  second  child,  Jules,  was  the  only  one  to  engage  in  business  in  America. 
Fritz  until  his  death  in  1910  carried  on  a  large  business  as  a  watchmaker 
and  jeweler  in  Bombay,  India,  while  Charles,  also  identified  with  business 
in  India,  is  a  wholesale  dealer  in  watches  and  jewelry  in  Lucknovv.  The 
only  one  of  the  sons  continuing  in  business  in  his  native  city  is  Alfred,  a 
manufacturer  of  watches,  well  known  throughout  Canton  Neuchatel.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  Jules  was  apprenticed  to  his  father  and  later  was  sent 
to  a  factory  in  order  that  he  might  become  familiar  with  every  department 
in  the  trade  of  watchmaker.  Coming  to  the  L^nited  States  in  1890,  he  first 
engaged  at  his  trade  in  Johnson,  Nemaha  county.  Neb.,  and  later  in  Niobrara, 
Knox  county,  same  state,  whence  in  1897  he  came  to  California  and  secured 
work  at  his'  trade  in  San  Jose.  The  following  year  he  arrived  in  Bakers- 
field,  where  he  had  no  difficulty  in  securing  a  position  suited  to  his  ability. 
From  1901  to  1906  he  engaged  in  business  on  Beacon  street,  San  Pedro, 
where  he  still  owns  two  residences  close  in.  Upon  selling  the  business  at 
that    point    he    returned    to    Kern    county    and    secured    a    position    in    East 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  393 

Bakersfield.  In  April  of  1*^08  he  bought  a  one-half  interest  in  a  business 
established  by  his  cousin.  H.  Oppliger,  and  later  known  as  the  Kern  Jewelry 
Company.  VVhen  in  1910  he  bought  the  interest  of  his  partner  he  changed 
the  title  of  the  business,  which  is  now  conducted  under  his  own  name, 
occupying  a  convenient  location  at  No.  818  Raker  street.  After  coming 
to  East  Bakersfield  he  married  in  1901  Miss  Marie  Louise  Nouguier,  who 
was  born  in  Hautes  Alpes.  I'"rance,  and  by  whom  he  has  one  st)n,  "Jules  Eli. 
He  is  a  Republican  and  belongs  to  the  Tril)e  of  lien  Hur  and  the  Woodmen 
of  the  World. 

BEDELL  SMITH.— The  first  American  representatives  of  the  Smith 
family,  which  is  of  mingled  Scotch  and  English  lineage,  lived  on  Long 
Island  and  even  to  this  day  many  of  the  name  remain  in  that  portion  of 
New  York.  Benjamin  Smith,  the  son  of  a  native  of  Queens  county,  was 
likewise  born  and  reared  on  Long  Island  and  remained  there  until  death. 
I'^or  eight  years  under  the  presidential  administrations  of  Franklin  Pierce 
and  James  Buchanan  he  held  a  i)osition  as  keeper  of  the  Fire  Island  light- 
house, retiring  to  a  farm  in  1861  and  dying  three  years  afterward.  In  young 
manhood  he  had  married  Miss  Hannah  Bedell,  a  native  of  Queens  county 
and  a  descendant  of  Teutonic  ancestr)-.  According  to  the  family  traditions 
three  brothers  came  from  Germany  in  a  very  early  period  of  the  American 
colonization.  One  brother  settled  on  Long  Island,  another  went  into  the 
northern  part  of  New  York  and  the  third  migrated  as  far  west  as  Ohio. 
From  the  Long  Island  settler  Mrs.  Smith  was  descended  and  she  passed 
her  entire  life  in  that  part  of  New  York,  dying  there  about  1866.  Of  her 
marriage  there  had  been  born  ten  sons  and  two  daughters,  of  whom  the 
daughters  and  six  of  the  sons  attained  maturity,  and  at  this  writing  four 
sons  and  one  daughter  survive.  The  third  from  the  youngest  and  the  only 
one  of  the  large  family  to  settle  in  the  west  was  Bedell,  whose  birth  occurred 
at  the  family  home  near  Freeport.  Queens  county,  N.  Y.,  November  1.  1851, 
and  who  was  given  the  name  of  his  mother's  people.  From  1853  until  1861 
he  lived  at  the  Fire  Island  lighthouse,  after  which  he  was  taken  by  the 
parents  to  a  farm  near  Freeport  and  sent  to  the  schools  of  that  Long 
Island  town.  When  he  was  thirteen  he  lost  his  father  and  two  years 
later  his  mother  passed  away,  leaving  him  without  a  home  and  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources  for  a  livelihood.  Immediately  he  secured  employ- 
ment as  clerk  in  a  general  store  at  Freeport.  In  that  position  he  learned 
his  first  business  lessons.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  went  to  New  York 
City  and  secured  a  clerkship  in  a  tea  store  on  Eighth  avenue,  where  he 
remained  until  sickness  caused  the  loss  of  the  position. 

Tune  of  1874  found  Bedell  Smith  a  newcomer  in  St.  Paul.  Minn.,  and 
eight  months  later  he  arrived  in  Denver.  Colo.,  where  he  found  employ- 
ment in  business.  During  1875  and  1876  he  spent  one  month  \isiting  with 
relatives  and  friends  in  the  east  and  on  the  15th  of  January,  1876,  he  boarded 
the  Acapulco  in  New  York  harbor,  with  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  as  his  first 
destination.  From  there  he  traveled  across  to  the  Pacific  coast,  then 
shipped  on  the  Colorado  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  landed  on  the  11th  of 
February.  In  the  same  year  of  1876  he  saw  Bakersfield  for  the  first  time 
while  making  a  trip  of  inspection  through  the  valley.  Later  he  was  en- 
gaged as  a  clerk  in  the  New  York  Exchange  hotel  at  San  Jose  for  four 
years,  and  upon  resigning  the  position  he  spent  two  years  in  travel  through 
L'tah.  Idaho.  Montana  and  Nevada.  Returning  to  San  Francisco,  he  then 
proceeded  toward  the  southwest  and  traveled  through  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico.  After  his  arrival  in  Texas  he  secured  a  position  as  clerk  in  a 
store  in  El  Paso,  where  he  remained  for  eighteen  months.  Next  he  went 
to  Los  Angeles  and  secured  work  as  clerk  and  bookkeeper.  March  14,  1890, 
he  arrived  in  Bakersfield  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  permanent  resi- 


394  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

dent.  For  nine  years  he  engaged  in  a  restaurant  and  hotel  business.  Since 
January,  1899,  he  has  served  as  deputy  county  clerk  and  as  clerk  of  depart- 
ment No.  1  of  the  superior  co.urt.  Meanwhile  he  has  been  a  warm  sup- 
porter of  Democratic  policies  and  has  served  as  a  member  of  the  county 
central  committee.  In  San  Francisco  he  married  Miss  Maggie  Larkin,  who 
was  born  in  Ireland  and  during  1875  came  from  New  York  to  California  via 
Panama.  Six  children  were  born  of  their  union,  but  only  two  of  the  number 
attained  mature  years,  these  being  Millicent  and  Edna,  the  former  now  the 
wife  of  Lawrence  Lavers,  editor  of  the  Wasco  News,  of  Wasco,  Kern 
county,  and  the  latter  the  wife  of  E.  F.  Britton,  attorney  at  law,  of 
Bakersfield. 

WALTER  JAMES. — The  irrigation  project  developed  by  the  Kern 
County  Land  Company  into  a  system  famous  throughout  the  entire  world 
owes  much  of  its  remarkable  success  to  the  genius  and  skill  of  Walter  James, 
who  came  to  Bakersfield  during  1871  and  secured  employment  as  civil 
engineer  on  the  vast  estate  that  eventually  was  merged  into  the  holdings 
of  the  organization  named.  To  him  belongs  the  distinction  of  having  been 
at  the  head  of  the  irrigation  system  that  has  made  the  county  famous. 
From  the  inception  of  the  enterprise  he  planned  and  superintended  the  con- 
struction of  the  greater  portion  of  the  works,  which  were  the  first  in  the 
entire  country  to  be  instituted  upon  so  large  a  scale.  Everything  connected 
with  the  plans  originated  in  the  minds  of  the  men  having  the  enterprise  in 
charge,  Mr.  James  having  been  foremost  among  these.  That  his  ability  has 
been  recognized  admits  of  no  question.  The  works  have  been  visited  by 
engineers  from  every  country  in  the  world  where  irrigation  is  practiced.  In 
addition  they  are  mentioned  at  length  in  almost  every  book  that  has  been 
published  bearing  upon  the  subject. 

Born  near  Marion,  Ohio,  April  22,  1837,  Mr.  James  can  scarcely  recall  a 
time  when  he  was  not  interested  in  engineering  and  matters  pertaining  to 
the  subject,  and  surveying  as  well.  At  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war,  during 
1862,  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  the  Ninety-sixth  Ohio  Infantry  and  was 
assigned  to  Company  E.  Later  he  was  transferred  to  the  signal  corps  and 
served  in  that  position  until  the  war  had  been  brought  to  an  end.  On  the 
4th  of  July,  1865,  he  was  honorably  discharged  at  New  Orleans,  and  he  then 
returned  to  his  home  in  Ohio,  where  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Lauretta  G.  Gillespie,  of  Marion,  that  state,  and  they  became  the  parents  of 
a  daughter,  Dora,  who  married  Charles  M.  Clark,  of  Los  Angeles.  Mrs. 
James,  who  has  been  a  resident  of  the  west  since  1865  and  of  the  county 
since  1871,  is  one  of  the  pioneer  women  of  Kern  county  and  has  given  of 
her  best  efforts  to  enhance  its  educational,  literary  and  social  advancement. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  Noah  and  Emily  (Owens)  Gillespie,  and  was  born  in 
Marion,  Ohio,  where  she  completed  her  education  in  the  high  school,  and 
later  followed  teaching  until  her  marriage  in  November,  1865.  Of  late  ye.ars 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  have  resided  in  Los  Angeles,  having  a  comfortable  home 
at  No.  1050  West  Forty-eighth  street.  Mrs.  James  is  a  member  of  the 
Unitarian  Church. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  his  army  service  Mr.  James  and  his  wife 
came  to  California  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  he  at  once 
entered  the  employ  of  his  brother,  I.  E.  James,  with  whom  they  made  their 
home.  The  latter  was  a  civil  engineer  employed  on  the  Comstock  lode, 
and  while  working  with  him  Mr.  James  acquired  some  valuable  experience 
in  railroading  and  other  engineering  works.  In  partnership  the  two 
brothers  became  interested  in  a  mining  enterprise  in  Eldorado  county, 
Cal.,  and  later  engaged  in  farming  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  near  what  is 
now  Newman,  Stanislaus  county.  In  1871  Mr.  James  began  farming  in 
Kern  county  on  what  is  still  known  as  the  James  ranch,  now  a  part  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    KER\-    COUNTY  397 

Bellevue,  and  he  has  ever  since  been  identified  with  the  county.  Some 
years  later,  in  1874,  he  was  employed  by  the  firm  known  as  Carr  &  Haggin, 
predecessors  of  the  present  Kern  County  Land  Co.,  entering  upon  his  long 
and  successful  association  with  that  company,  whose  irrigation  works  bear 
silent  but  eloquent  testimony  as  to  the  splendid  resources  of  his  mind,  the 
wisdom  of  his  judgment  and  the  original  nature  of  his  ideas.  The  irrigation 
system  was  installed  and  promoted  by  the  Kern  County  Land  Co.  and  its 
predecessors  at  a  large  cost.  The  investment  has  proved  to  be  profitable, 
and  its  success  has  encouraged  other  companies  seeking  in  a  similar  manner 
tu  conserve  the  use  of  fertile  soil  in  dry  countries.  Water  for  irrigation  in 
Kern  county  is  almost  entirely  taken  from  Kern  river,  which  has  its  source 
at  Mount  \\hitney,  the  highest  peak  in  the  United  States  and  covered  with 
fcrpetual  snow.  With  the  Kern  river  as  the  channel  and  conveyer,  the  water 
passes  into  canals  and  ditches  and  thence  is  brought  to  each  tract  at  stated 
intervals.  The  importance  of  the  enterprise  to  the  agricultural  development 
of  Kern  county  cannot  be  overestimated,  for  the  availability  of  water  at  a 
reasonable  price  has  been  the  basis  of  all  improvement  of  lands  and  profitable 
cultivation  of  farms. 

Although  Mr.  James'  time  was  given  very  closely  to  business  affairs  he 
nevertheless  served  as  county  surveyor  for  one  term,  from  1873  to  1875. 
l^'raternally  he  is  identified  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M., 
Kern  \'alley  Chapter  No.  7i,  R.  A.  M.,  was  one  of  the  early  members  of 
Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  is  a  member  of  Hurlburt  Post 
Nil.  127,  G.  A.  R.,  of  which  he  is  a  past  commander. 

CHARLES  FREDERICK  OFF.— Ancient  and  honorable  Teutonic  line- 
age appears  in  the  genealogy  of  the  Of¥  family  and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that 
six  successive  generations  have  had  male  representatives  bearing  the  name 
of  Charles  Frederick.  Three  generations  of  the  family  have  been  associated 
with  Los  Angeles :  The  late  Rev.  Charles  Frederick  Ofif,  formerly  a  leading 
minister  in  the  German  Evangelical  Church  of  North  America ;  Charles  Fred- 
erick (more  commonly  known  as  Charles),  who  is  superintendent  of  the 
celebrated  Lakeview  Oil  Company  and  in  the  discharge  of  official  duties 
spends  much  time  in  the  Sunset-Midway  field;  and  Charles  Frederick,  the 
youngesL  son  of  the  oil  superintendent  and  a  bright  boy  now  attending  the 
city  schools. 

From  early  life  the  German  Evangelical  minister  showed  fine  mental 
qualities.  Born  at  Canstadt,  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  and  educated  at  Basel, 
Switzerland,  he  engaged  in  educational  and  ministerial  work  throughout 
much  of  his  career.  At  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  he  married  Miss  Louise  Meister, 
who  was  born  at  Zurich,  Switzerland,  and  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  United 
States  in  1850  with  her  parents,  settling  in  Missouri.  Her  death  occurred 
in  1903  at  Stockholm,  Sweden,  and  since  that  time  the  minister,  having 
retired  frcmi  professional  labors,  has  made  his  home  with  his  eldest  son 
in  Los  Angeles.  For  years  he  was  a  man  of  great  influence  in  his  chosen 
denomination.  Following  a  service  of  eight  years  as  a  professor  of  music 
in  Elmhurst  College  near  Chicago,  he  was  given  charge  of  the  missionary 
work  of  the  Iowa  and  Nebraska  synod  of  the  German  Evangelical  Church, 
and  while  serving  in  that  capacity  and  temporarily  stationed  in  Hardin 
county,  Iowa,  a  son,  Charles  Frederick,  was  born  May  13,  1866.  There  was 
one  child  older  than  he,  a  daughter,  Louisa  A.,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
thirty-three  years.  The  other  members  of  the  family  are  as  follows :  John 
W.  A.,  a  retired  capitalist  residing  in  Los  Angeles ;  Julia  Maude,  a  teacher 
of  music:  Theofil  R.,  who  died  in  childhood;  and  Edward  T..  of  Pasadena. 

Although  he  did  not  attend  school  after  the  age  of  thirteen,  Charles 
Frederick  Off  is  a  man  of  unusually  broad  information  and  is  well  educated 
ni    both    German    and    English,    besides    having    considerable    knowledge    ci 


398  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

both  piano  and  organ.  When  only  thirteen  he  began  to  be  self-supporting. 
For  three  years  he  engaged  as  a  clerk  in  a  general  mercantile  store  at 
Plymouth,  Sheboygan  county.  Wis.  On  resigning  that  position  he  removed 
to  Denver,  Colo.,  where  he  was  employed  for  three  years  in  a  music- store. 
January  1,  1884,  he  came  to  Los  Angeles  with  his  mother  and  sister,  who 
were  invalids.  Since  then  he  has  made  his  home  on  the  northeast  corner 
of  First  and  Union  avenue,  where  he  owns  a  residence.  Shortly  after  his 
arrival  in  Los  Angeles  he  purchased  a  stationery  store  at  No.  148  North 
Spring  street  and  from  the  first  he  met  with  a  fair  degree  of  success  in  the 
business.  In  1895  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Grace  Maude  Bemis, 
formerly  of  Evansville,  Wis.  Their  marriage  was  solemnized  in  1897  at  the 
old  homestead  under  an  arch  where  three  older  sisters  had  previously  stood 
as  they  took  the  marriage  vows.  Four  children  bless  the  union.  Lillian 
Alerle,  Howard  J.,  Teddy  R.  and  Charles  Frederick. 

The  Pacific  Truck  Company,  started  by  Mr.  Of?  as  a  -ten-cent  delivery, 
developed  into  a  large  incorporated  concern  that  made  a  specialty  of  heavy 
trucking  and  hauled  the  stone  for  the  City  Hall,  Court-House  and  Phillips 
Block.  As  the  business  grew  with  startling  rapidity  and  as  the  president, 
Mr.  Off,  was  obliged  to  devote  his  time  very  closely  to  the  books  and 
office  work  of  the  company,  his  health  began  to  be  impaired  by  the  con- 
finement and  in  December,  1889,  he  sold  his  interest  in  the  business.  In 
order  that  he  might  have  outdoor  occupation,  he  bought  land  near  Whittier, 
east  of  Los  Angeles,  and  began  to  raise  standard-bred  horses  and  milch 
cows.  Unfortunately  a  serious  drought  soon  came  on,  feed  became  scarce 
and  horses  valueless,  thus  entailing  a  heavy  loss  in  the  venture. 

As  a  contractor  in  the  well-drilling  business  in  the  \^^hittier  district, 
Air.  Off  retrieved  former  loses.  In  adclition  he  engaged  in  leveling  lands 
and  planting  trees  for  others  under  contract.  In  1895  he  left  the  Whittier 
district  and  put  down  his  first  oil  well  in  the  Los  Angeles  field,  Thomas 
O'Donnell  and  Max  Whittier  doing  the  work  of  drilling.  After  having  put 
down  about  six  wells  in  the  city  he  leased  eighty  acres  of  oil  land  at 
Whittier.  where  he  drilled  wells  under  the  incorporated  title  of  the  Whittier 
Crude  Oil  Company.  At  this  writing  he  still  serves  as  manager  of  the 
company,  which  owns  twelve  wells  in  operation.  Having  completed  the 
work  of  drilling  these  twelve  wells,  he  went  to  the  Santa  Maria  field  as 
organizer  of  the  Rice  Ranch  Oil  Company  at  Orcutt  and  there  he  had 
charge  of  the  drilling  of  seven  wells.  Desiring  to  extend  the  company's 
interests  in  1908  he  came  to  Kern  county  on  a  tour  of  investigation.  After 
an  inspection  of  the  Sunset-Midway  field  he  leased  the  property  now 
controlled  b}'  the  Lakeview  Oil  Company.  From  the  first  he  was  convinced 
of  the  value  of  the  property,  but  when  he  submitted  the  details  to  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Rice  Ranch  Oil  Company  he  found  a  majority  of  them  decidedly 
against  investing  in  a  new  field.  However,  the  president  of  the  company, 
R.  D.  \^'ade,  of  Los  Angeles,  joined  him  in  forming  the  new  company  and 
through  the  assistance  of  F.  E.  Dunlap  of  Los  Angeles  a  twenty-year  lease 
was   secured  from   the  locators. 

Lender  the  management  of  Mr.  Ofif  drilling  was  begun  at  wells  Nos. 
1,  2  and  3.  Financial  necessities  forced  the  management  to  sell  fifty-one 
per  cent  of  the  stock  to  the  Union  Oil  Company.  ITnder  the  contract  the 
management  remained  with  that  company  for  three  years,  from  June  1,  1909, 
to  June  1,  1912.  At  the  latter  date  the  management  was  again  returned  to 
the  minority  and  Mr.  Ofif  was  chosen  superintendent.  Lender  his  supervision 
two  wells,  Nos.  9  and  10  are  prospective  successful  pumpers,  and  No.  11  is 
now  nearing  completion  and  it  is  the  expectation  to  begin  drilling  on  No.  12. 
Lakeview  No.  1,  popularly  known  as  the  Lakeview  gusher,  is  probably  the 
most  fanidus  well  in  the  entire  country.     During  the  period  of  the  gushing, 


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HISTORY    OF   KERX    COUNTY  401 

from  Alarch  15,  1910.  to  September  12,  1911,  it  is  conservatively  estimated 
to  have  produced  ten  million  barrels.  Such  an  enormous  output  naturally 
jjained  world-wide  attention  and  the  success  of  the  well  permanently  placed 
the  Sunset-Midway  field  upon  the  map  of  the  world's  oil  industry.  .\t 
great  expense  Lakeview  Xo.  1  was  re-drilled  and  was  brought  in  as  a  forty- 
barrel  per  day  pumper,  with  a  strong  flow  of  gas  sufificient  to  fire  eleven 
boilers  and  equal  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  barrels  of  crude  oil  per  day, 
besides  furnishing  natural  gas  to  about  twenty  private  families.  The 
association  of  Mr.  Off  with  this  famous  property  on  section  25.  township  12. 
range  24,  has  been  long  and  intimate. 

STONEWALL  A.  WOODY.— The  auditor  of  Kern  county  traces  his 
lineage  to  a  colonial  familv  of  Old  Virginia.  As  the  tide  of  migration 
drifted  toward  the  west  one  branch  of  the  name  became  established  in 
Missouri  and  from  there  Sparrell  W.  Woody,  M.  D.,  crossed  the  plains  to 
California  during  the  exciting  period  of  '49,  identifying  himself  with  the 
permanent  growth  of  the  then  unknown  coast  countrv.  Born  in  Virginia  in 
1826,  he  was  taken  to  Missouri  b\-  liis  parents  in  1835,  and'  had  endured  the 
vicissitudes  of  frontier  existence  while  aiding  in  the  clearing  and  improving 
of  a  tract  of  raw  land  in  Boone  county.  After  he  had  received  his  degree 
from  the  St.  Louis  Medical  College  he  engaged  in  professional  work  in 
Missouri  for  a  year,  but  plans  for  a  quiet  continuance  of  his  practice  gave 
way  before  the  more  alluring  visions  offered  by  the  unknown  west.  During 
the  summer  of  1849  he  crossed  the  plains  with  wagon  and  ixen  and  upon 
his  arrival  in  California  began  to  mine  on  the  American  river,  later,  however, 
turning  his  attention  to  the  management  of  an  hotel  and  livery  stable  in 
Auburn.  .\t  the  expiration  of  se\'en  years  he  sold  the  business  and  spent 
a  year  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  Returning  to  San  Francisco  he  came  on 
to  Kern  county  in  1860  and  settled  on  the  present  site  of  Bakersfield,  where 
he  engaged  in  raising  grain,  corn  and  potatoes.  The  great  flood  of  1862 
brought  him  losses  that  would  have  discouraged  a  less  optimistic  pioneer 
and  he  was  further  handicanped  by  ill  health.  Mowever,  his  was  not  the 
spirit  to  be  depressed  by  adventitious  circumstances.  The  flood  taught  him 
the  necessity  to  ranching  on  higher  ground,  so  he  removed  near  the  present 
site  of  Woody,  and  when  later  the  village  was  started  it  was  named  in  his 
honor.  Soon  he  regained  his  health  and  recuperated  his  losses.  Eventually 
he  acquired  a  grain  and  stock  ranch  aggregating  four  thousand  acres,  the 
ranch  house  standing  three  miles  from  the  town  of  Woody,  which  still 
affords  a  convenient  market  for  many  of  the  farm  products. 

While  the  demands  of  his  large  landed  possessions  were  so  great  that 
Dr.  Woody  had  no  leisure  for  professional  practice  and  only  responded  to 
calls  when  there  was  no  other  physician  near  and  the  suffering  of  the  patient 
was  intense  (in  all  of  which  cases  he  made  no  charge  whatever),  it  must 
not  be  inferred  that  he  fell  into  a  narrow  groove  of  exhausting  asfricultural 
labors.  On  the  contrary,  no  one  was  more  interested  than  he  in  the  growth 
of  the  county  and  the  development  of  its  resources.  Every  progressive  pro- 
ject received  the  benefit  of  his  calm  judgment  and  sagacious  counsel.  Dis- 
cerning the  need  of  good  educational  facilities,  he  assisted  in  the  building 
of  the  first  schools  in  Kern  county,  and  often  served  as  a  school  trustee  in 
order  that  he  might  promote  such  work.  Religion  also  entered  into  his 
character  and  implanted  in  his  soul  its  own  lofty  ideals.  From  early  life  a 
member  of  the  Christian  Church,  he  assisted  in  the  building  of  a  house 
of  worship  at  Woody  and  generously  supported  all  missionary  movements 
of  that  congregation.  Fraternally  he  was  a  Mason.  When  the  first  grand 
jury  was  convened  at  Havilah  (then  the  county-seat)  he  was  chosen  its 
chairman  and  his  impartial  judgment  aided  the  body  in  its  deliberations. 
Fond  of  the  best  books,  he   was   himself  a  scholar  and   a   man   of  unusual 


402  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

mental  attainments,  an  honor  to  the  citizenship  of  Kern  county,  and  in  his 
death,  which  occurred  September  2,  1910,  he  was  deeply  mourned. 

Where  the  city  of  Bakersfield  now  stands  Dr.  Woody  was  married  in 
1861,  his  bride  being  Miss  Louisa  Bohna,  who  was  born  in  Arkansas  and 
died  in  Kern  county  in  1909.  Her  brother,  Henry  Bohna,  is  a  resident  of 
Woody,  and  her  father.  Christian  Bohna,  who  died  here,  crossed  the  plains 
twice  during  early  days,  his  first  trip  having  been  made  shortly  after  the 
discovery  of  gold,  at  which  time  he  followed  the  southern  route  and  settled 
in  Kern  county.  His  second  trip  was  made  in  1858,  when  he  brought  his 
family  in  a  prairie  schooner  drawn  by  oxen,  a  journey  of  six  months.  His 
daughter,  Louisa,  then  thirteen  years  of  age,  was  one  of  twelve  children, 
and"  made  her  home  with  her  father  on  Kern  Island  until  her  marriage. 
She  was  a  woman  of  lovable  disposition,  kindly  traits,  and  a  strong  character, 
always  looking  to  the  high  moral  uplift  of  the  community,  and 
during  all  her  life  showed  a  true  charitable  and  Christian  spirit,  ex- 
emplified in  the  fact  that  she  reared  two  orphaned  families  besides 
her  own,  and  during  her  whole  life  was  a  conscientious  member  of  the 
Christian  Church.  Later  Christian  Bohna  became  a  pioneer  of  Oregon,  but 
after  having  made  his  home  in  that  state  from  1862  until  1870,  he  returned 
to  Kern  county  to  spend  his  last  days.  In  the  Woody  family  there  are  three 
daughters  and  two  sons.  The  eldest  daughter,  Eugenie,  married  Alexander 
Carver  and  lives  near  Delano,  Kern  county.  The  other  daughters,  Nettie, 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Howard,  and  Victoria,  Mrs.  Clark  Green,  reside  at  Dinuba, 
Tulare  county.  The  two  sons,  Stonewall  A.  and  Elmer,  own  the  old  ^^^^ody 
ranch  of  four  thousand  acres.  To  this  they  have  added  until  they  now  have 
about  sixty-five  hundred  acres  and  engage  extensively  in  raising  grain  and 
stock,  the  younger  brother  residing  at  the  old  home  ranch,  while  the  older, 
a  citizen  of  Bakersfield  since  1907,  erected  and  now  occupies  a  modern  resi- 
dence on  the  corner  of  E  and  Twenty-second  streets.  Born  at  the  old 
homestead  near  Woody  June  6,  1869,  Stonewall  A.  Woody  attended  the 
country  schools  and  in  1890  was  graduated  from  Heald's  Business  College 
in  San  Francisco.  Upon  his  return  to  the  ranch  he  assisted  his  father  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  land  and  the  care  of  the  stock.  At  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  he  took  up  a  homestead  not  far  from  the  parental  home  and  in  due  time 
proved  up  on  the  land,  after  which  he  bought  adjacent  property  and  railroad 
land.  Until  the  death  of  his  father  he  continued  to  raise  grain  and  stock 
in  partnership  with  him  and  used  the  brand  TD. 

When  only  twenty-one  years  of  age  Mr.  Woody  became  a  member 
of  the  county  central  committee.  LTnder  his  father's  supervision  he  had  been 
trained  in  the  Jacksonian  Democratic  policies  and  in  early  youth  he  was 
able  to  give  a  concise,  clear  and  positive  reason  for  his  political  views,  while 
now  he  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best-posted  Democrats  in  the  entire  county. 
In  recognition  of  his  able  services  in  behalf  of  the  party,  in  1906  the  Demo- 
crats nominated  him  for  county  auditor  and  he  was  duly  elected,  taking  the 
oath  of  office  in  January,  1907.  During  1910  he  was  re-elected,  to  serve  until 
January  of  1915.  As  a  county  official  he  has  proved  prompt  and  painstak- 
ing, enterprising  and  efficient,  and  his  popularity  has  not  been  limited  to 
members  of  his  own  party,  but  extends  to  all  those  who  appreciate  con- 
scientious, honorable  devotion  to  the  business  affairs  of  the  county.  In 
fraternal  relations  he  holds  membership  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World 
and  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West.  During  1900  at  San  Jose  he 
married  Miss  Odile  Enderlin,  a  native  of  Idaho,  and  the  daughter  of  Frank 
and  Hannah  (Gay)  Enderlin,  natives  of  France  and  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  re- 
spectively. Her  father  served  in  the  Civil  war  in  an  Eastern  regiment,  sub- 
sequently coming  to  California.  Here  he  met  and  married  Miss  Gay,  who 
had  come  to  California  by  way  of  Panama.  Her  parents  died  in  San  Jose. 
Mrs.   Woody  is  a  erraduate  of  the  Santa   Rosa   Normal   School.     Her  excel- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  403 

lent  education  was  utilized  for  some  years  as  a  teacher,  and  she  proved  well 
qualified  for  educational  work.  Since  her  marriage  she  has  joined  with 
Mr.  Woody  in  social  ail'airs  and  in  the  support  of  movements  for  the  benefit 
of  their  home  city  and  county,  believing  with  him  that  this  part  of  Cali- 
fornia is  unrivalled  in  resources  and  alluring  in  possibilities. 

GEORGE  B.  EDWARDS.— Inrtuential  among  oil  men  is  George 
B.  Edwards,  superintendent  of  and  a  heavy  stockholder  in  the  Midway 
Northern  and  the  Maricopa  Northern  Oil  Companies,  whose  properties  lie 
on  section  32.  township  12,  range  23,  the  former  consisting  of  eighty  acres 
lying  due  west  of  a  tract  of  equal  size  operated  by  the  Maricopa  Northern. 
An  investigation  of  the  properties  convinced  Mr.  Edwards  of  their  value 
and  with  characteristic  quickness  of  decision  he  purchased  an  interest  in 
the  concern,  since  which  time  he  has  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of  superin- 
tendent. The  Midway  Northern  has  three  producing  wells,  one  well  drilling; 
the  last  well  came  in  as  a  gusher  June  27,  1913,  and  is  now  making  over 
fifteen  hundred  barrels  per  da}'.  24.7  gravity  oil.  Well  No.  1  was 
brought  in  as  a  gusher  with  a  record  of  fifteen  thousand  barrels  per  day, 
but  naturally  this  high  average  could  not  be  maintained,  the  production  of 
the  two  wells  being  now  in  tlie  neighborhood  of  fifty  thuusand  barrels  per 
month. 

Since  coming  to  Kern  county  in  1909  Mr.  Edwards  has  been  associated 
with  the  Sunset  field,  and  on  the  13th  of  January,  1912,  he  became  super- 
inteadent  for  the  two  companies  previously  named.  The  company's  resi- 
dence on  the  Midway  Northern  lease  furnishes  a  comfortable  home  for 
himself  and  wife,  the  latter,  whom  he  married  at  Los  Angeles  December 
8,  1912,  having  been  Miss  Rose  Gonzales,  member  of  a  pioneer  familj'  of 
that  city.  He  himself  is  of  eastern  birth  and  education  and  was  born  on 
Christmas  day  of  1865  in  the  city  of  Buflfalo,  N.  Y..  where  his  father, 
Alfred  B.  Edwards,  at  one  time  was  a  leading  merchant.  The  family  con- 
sisted of  three  children,  George  B.,  Mary  L.  and  Dollie.  The  mother,  who 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Jane  .\nn  Falloon,  was  born  in  Ireland,  but  at 
an  early  age  accompanied  her  parents  to  Canada  and  settled  in  Toronto, 
where  she  was  reared  and  educated.  Her  death  occurred  in  187^),  twenty 
years  before  the  demise  of  her  husband. 

The  management  of  a  mercantile  business  did  not  limit  the  business 
activities  of  Alfred  B.  Edwards,  who  as  he  found  himself  financially  pros- 
pering began  to  be  interested  in  the  oil  industry.  However,  his  first  experi- 
ences were  far  from  profitable.  Indeed,  he  was  practicallv  ruined  by  invest- 
ments in  fields  that  proved  worthless.  Instead  of  becoming  discouraged 
by  the  failure  he  gave  himself  to  the  acquisition  of  a  practical  knowledge 
of  the  industry  and  through  this  means  he  retrieved  some  of  his  losses. 
About  1869  he  moved  to  \^enango  county,  Pa.,  and  became  associated  with 
the  Shamburg  oil  fields,  but  later  he  was  also  interested  in  other  fields, 
continuing  in  the  east  until  his  death.  Meanwhile  the  family  had  experi- 
enced hardships  subsequent  to  his  financial  failure  and  the  only  son,  who 
otherwise  would  have  been  reared  in  luxurious  ease,  now  found  it  necessary 
to  earn  his  own  livelihood.  Self-reliance  was  thereby  developed.  His 
success  in  the  first  instance  has  been  due  to  industry-  and  determination. 
^^'ith  courage  and  sagacity  he  has  invested  the  proceeds  of  his  endeavor 
back  into  the  same  industry.  Exceptional  insight  aided  him  in  achieving 
success  in  the  occupation.  Long  experience  in  the  various  rjil  fields  of  the 
LTnited  States  has  given  him  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  business  in  all 
of  its  departments.  Meager  educational  advantages  have  not  lessened  his 
usefulness  in  the  world.  During  early  boyhood  he  secured  work  in  the  oil 
fields  at  Tidioute.  \\'arren  county.  Pa.,  and  later  he  was  successively  em- 
ployed   in    McKean.    \^enangri,    Butler.    Clariun,    Washington    and    .\llegheny 


404  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

counties,  that  state,  after  which  he  worked  in  the  oil  fields  of  West  Virginia, 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Oklahoma  and  Wyoming. 

A  first  trip  to  California,  where  he  arrived  in  September  of  1902,  gave 
Mr.  Edwards  an  opportunity  to  investigate  the  oil  fields  of  the  state.  For 
a  short  time  he  engaged  as  a  driller  in  the  Los  Angeles  fields  with  the 
Union  Consolidated  Oil  and  Refining  Company  of  New  York.  Leaving 
California  for  Oklahoma,  he  became  a  pioneer  driller  at  Cleveland  and 
brought  in  seven  excellent  wells,  the  first  one  of  which  (the  second  well 
drilled  in  the  Cleveland  field)  proved  to  be  a  gusher,  and  the  seven  wells 
had  a  record  of  thirty-five  hundred  barrels  per  day.  From  1903  until 
1909  he  remained  in  the  oil  fields  of  Oklahoma.  He  owns  undeveloped  oil 
lands  in  two  dififerent  fields,  viz. :  at  Newhall,  Cal.,  and  the  Spring  Valley 
field,  Wyoming.  Returning  to  California  in  1909,  he  engaged  as  a  driller 
with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  at  Newhall  and  thus  enlarged  his  scope 
of  information  in  regard  to  conditions  for  discovery  and  drilling  of  wells 
in  the  west.  This  broadened  knowledge  he  utilized  through  an  investment 
in  the  stock  of  the  companies  for  which  he  now  acts  as  superintendent  and 
whose  properties  under  his  intelligent  oversight  have  been  put  on  a  paying 
basis.  While  making  his  headquarters  in  Cleveland,  Okla.,  he  identified 
himself  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  that  place.  In  politics  he  asserts 
that  he  is  a  Lincoln  Republican  and  a  Bryan  Democrat,  which  today  in  a 
time  of  progressive  politics  has  a  definite  meaning  and  puts  him  in  touch 
with  the  forward  movement  in  our  national  history.  He  was  elected  mayor 
of  the  city  of  Cleveland,  Okla.,  in  April,  1909,  defeating  Dr.  George  W. 
Sutton,  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  that  city. 

WILLIAM  H.  WEAVER.— Since  coming  to  California  in  October  of 
1907.  Mr.  Weaver  has  engaged  in  C()ntracting  and  building  in  the  Maricopa 
di.strict,  at  first  as  a  member  of  the  firm  (if  Weaver  &  Schultz  and  later  alone. 
.Scores  of  oil  derricks  have  been  built  under  his  capable  supervision.  A  num- 
ber of  frame  buildings  have  been  erected  by  him,  among  them  the  residences 
of  Dr.  Page,  Postmaster  E.  E.  Brown,  F.  A'l.  Train  and  Guy  Ball,  a  block 
of  four  buildings  since  destroyed  by  fire,  all  the  carpenter  work  on  the 
Coons  &  Price  large  brick  store  building,  besides  the  Gates  City  Pharmacy 
and  many  other  public  buildings. 

Born  in  the  vicinity  of  Memphis,  Tenn.,  William  H.  Weaver  was  an 
infant  when  his  father  returned  to  Pennsylvania  with  the  family  and  he 
was  less  than  four  years  of  age  when  that  parent  died.  The  mother,  who 
bore  the  maiden  nam-fe  of  Sarah  Kaanan  and  was  born  in  Tennessee,  after- 
ward married  again,  becoming  the  mother  of  eight  children  by  the  second 
union.  Of  her  first  marriage  there  were  three  children,  those  besides 
William  H.  being  Lizzie  and  George  W.,  the  latter  following  the  oil  business 
in  Venango  county,  Pa.  The  daughter  married  C.  D.  Mattison,  a  pumper 
employed  on  25-Hill  in  the  Midway  field,  in  Kern  county.  Beginning  to 
support  himself  at  a  very  early  age,  William  H.  Weaver  was  only  fifteen 
when  he  was  made  superintendent  for  Manning  Bros.,  oil  drillers  at  Oil 
City.     In  that  capacity  he  had  charge  of  the  production  of  sixty-three  wells. 

Going  to  Pittsburg  at  the  age  of  eighteen  Mr.  Weaver  secured  work 
as  locomotive  fireman  with  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Company. 
For  six  years  he  continued  as  a  fireman  and  meanwhile  crossed  the  Alle- 
ganies  almost  daily.  .\t  first  he  made  the  run  from  Pittsburg  to  Cumber- 
land, Md.,  on  the  Pittsburg  division  and  then  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Cleveland  division.  In  recognition  of  his  fidelity  and  efficiency  he  was 
promoted  to  be  a  locomotive  engineer  and  as  such  continued  for  three  years, 
eventually  leaving  the  railroad  service  in  order  to  remove  to  the  west. 
Immediately  after  his  arrival  in  Kern  county  he  engaged  at  the  trade  of 
rig-!)uilder.    which    he    had    learned    during    boyhood,    and    as    a    partner    of 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  407 

William  Schultz  he  also  carried  on  general  business  in  contracting  and 
building.  Their  co-partnership,  begun  in  1908,  continued  for  fourteen 
months,  after  which  Mr.  Weaver  continued  alone,  and  since  then  he  has 
engaged  in  building  frame  structures  of  all  kinds.  As  a  carpenter  he  is 
reliable,  skilled  and  popular  and  he  is  usually  kept  busy  in  the  district 
lying  near  his  own  home.  Politically  he  votes  with  the  Democratic  party 
and  fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Eagles.  While  living  in  the  east 
he  was  active  in  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen  and  Engineers. 
When  he  came  to  California  he  brought  with  him  his  young  wife,  whom 
he  had  married  in  Lorain,  Ohio,  and  who  was  Miss  Reba  Bills,  daughter 
of  L.  D.  Bills,  of  that  city.  Two  children  blessed  their  union,  Kenneth 
and  Gertrude.  The  latter  died  in  1911  at  the  age  of  eighteen  months  and 
in    1912  occurred   the   death   (if   the   wife   and   mother- 

JAMES  CURRAN.— The  identification  of  the  Curran  family  with  the 
L'nited  States  began  in  the  year  1842,  when  James  Curran,  Sr.,  accompanied 
bv  immediate  familv  and  other  relatives,  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  new  world. 
Countv  Tyrone,  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  had  been  his  home  and  the  environ- 
ment familiar  to  his  entire  life  that  had  been  passed  at  Stewartstown  in.  the 
vicinity  of  Lough  Xeagh  presented  a  striking  contrast  to  the  surroundings  of 
his  last  days,  passed  in  the  then  small  but  thriving  village  of  Dixon,  111.,  where 
he  opened  and  conducted  stone  quarries.  The  next  generation  was  i"epre- 
sented  by  Daniel  Curran,  who  was  reared  in  Illinois  and  engaged  in  the 
building  business  and  the  manufacture  of  brick  from  an  early  age,  holding 
a  position  as  a  foreman  in  New  York  City  from  1836  until  1862.  Returning 
from  the  east  to  Dixon,  he  took  up  brick-making  in  the  place  of  his  former 
residence  and  liecame  known  for  the  superior  quality  of  his  product  as  well 
as  for  the  high  character  of  his  citizenship.  For  a  long  period  of  helpful 
service  he  was  a  niem1)er  of  the  board  of  aldermen  of  Dixon  and  his  death 
occurred  in  that  city  in  1902  when  he  had  reached  the  age  of  sixty-three 
years,  \\hile  living  in  New  York  in  1860  he  had  married  Catherine  Donahoe, 
who  was  born  in  county  Tyrone,  Ireland,  and  died  at  Dixon  during  January 
of  1873.  The  four  sons  and  one  daughter  are  still  living,  the  eldest  of  these 
being  James,  who  was  born  in  New  York  City  March  14,  1862,  and  is  now 
engaged  in  the  brick-manufacturing  business  at  Bakersfield.  Charles  P.,  of 
Pomona,  Cal..  is  proprietor  of  a  lumber  yard.  I>ank  holds  a  position  with 
a  lumber  firm  in  Los  Angeles  and  W.  H.  is  assistant  superintendent  of  the, 
coast  division  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad. 

When  nineteen  years  of  age,  having  completed  the  studies  df  tlie  Dixim 
schools.  James  Curran  was  eager  to  earn  his  own  way  in  the  wnrld,  but  was 
so  afflicted  with  asthma  that  he  found  it  difficult  to  continue  steadily  at 
any  work.  A  ])hysician  advised  him  to  seek  the  inland  regions  nf  Cali- 
fornia. Crossing  the  continent  in  1881,  he  soon  proved  to  his  dwn  satis- 
faction that  the  coast  region  did  not  benefit  him  and  after  a  sojourn  of  six 
months  in  San  I->ancisco  and  a  later  residence  in  Li>s  Angeles  he  sought 
the  inland  sections  advised  by  medical  authcrities.  Meeting  Mr.  Brower 
and  referred  by  him  to  Mr.  Colton,  he  secured  employment  with  the  Kern 
Island  Canal  Company.  The  day  that  he  crossed  the  Tehachapi  range  the 
asthma  left  him,  to  return  no  more.  For  three  years  he  worked  on  the 
canal  and  during  that  time  he  was  obliged  to  ride  at  least  thirty  miles  every 
day.  During  1886  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace.  In  the  same  vear 
he  sent  east  for  a  machine  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  brick.  This 
arrived  in  1887  and  was  the  first  machine  of  the  kind  in  Southern  California, 
all  brick  prior  to  that  time  having  been  made  by  hand.  The  sandstone 
brick  which  he  began  to  make  was  the  first  of  the  kind  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
During  1903  the  Bakersfield  Sandstnne  Brick  Companv  was  (.rgani/'ed  with 
the   following  cifficers:     ^^'.   ?.   Tevis,   president:   Charles   J.    Lindgren.   vice- 


408  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

president;  First  National  Bank,  treasurer;  and  James  Curran,  manager, 
which  position,  together  with  that  of  a  director,  he  has  since  filled  with 
recognized  ability.  The  compan}'  occupies  twenty-six  acres  in  East  Bakers- 
field.  The  clay  here  found  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  manufacture  of  the 
finest  brick  and  the  plant  has  a  capacity  of  ten  million  brick  per  annum. 
The  newly  completed  office  building  is  a  model  of  its  kind,  while  the  ware- 
house, kilns  and  entire  yards  are  also  modern  and  adequate  to  every  need 
of  the  business.  The  products  of  the  plant  wherever  used  have  proved  equal 
to  the  demand.  Since  the  organization  of  the  company  in  1Q03  they  have 
furnished  the  brick  for  every  large  building  in  Bakersfield. 

In  addition  to  the  management  of  this  important  undertaking.  Air. 
Curran  has  been  interested  in  agricultural  aff'airs  and  realty  enterprises  and 
with  Mr.  Lindgren  built  the  Western  and  Kern  hotels,  besides  which  he 
has  platted  a  subdivision  to  Bakersfield,  has  erected  a  substantial  residence 
in  the  city,  and  has  been  interested  in  oil  development  in  the  county.  During 
the  early  period  of  his  residence  in  the  west  and  after  the  incorporation  of 
Kern,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  its  board  of  trustees  and  served  as  presi- 
dent of  the  same.  Later  he  became  a  director  of  the  Bakersfield  Board  of 
Trade  and  a  member  of  the  Merchants'  Association  of  this  place.  Fra- 
ternally he  holds  membership  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  Ever  since  at- 
taining his  majorit}^  he  has  supported  men  and  measures  of  the  Republican 
party.  On  one  occasion,  in  1896,  his  party  asked  him  to  accept  the  nomina- 
tion for  the  state  legislature  and  he  consented  to  make  the.  race,  although 
the  district  usually  gave  so  strong  a  Democratic  majority  that  a  campaign 
offered  little  hope  of  success.  However,  he  came  within  one  hundred  and 
eighteen  votes  of  being  elected,  which  prcived  that  he  not  only  held  his  own 
party,  but  won  many  votes  frL-m  the  other  side,  h^equently  he  has  acted 
as  chairman  of  the  county  Republican  central  committee  and  at  this  writing 
he  is  still  a  member  of  that  organization.  During  1911  he  accepted  an  ap- 
pointment from  Governor  Johnson  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
the  Fresno  State  Normal. 

The  marriage  of  James  Curran  tcok  place  at  Rosedale  ranch  in  1887 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Mary  G.  Swain,  by  whom  he  is  the  father  of  eight 
children,  namely  ;  Mrs.  Sibyl  L.  Chenoweth,  of  Bakersfield  :  Charles  S.,  Val- 
entine, Arthur.  Roland,  Hugh,  Rosalind  and  Robert.  Mrs.  Curran  was  born 
at  Loda,  Iroquois  county.  111.,  and  is  a  sister  of  Arthur  Swain,  receiver  of 
the  United  States  land  office  at  Visalia.  Her  parents,  Thomas  Howland 
and  Sarah  (Arthur)  Swain,  were  born  on  Nantucket  Island.  The  father 
descended  from  an  honored  English  family,  identified  with  the  Society  of 
Friends,  and  represented  among  the  very  earliest  settlers  in  the  new  world. 
.Succeeding  generations  bore  an  active  part  in  the  material  upbuilding  of 
New  England.  The  first  to  seek  a  home  in  the  Mississippi  valley  was 
Thomas  Howland  Swain,  who  became  a  pioneer  of  Iroc|uois  count^^  111.,  and 
took  up  raw  land  near  the  village  of  Loda.  Throughout  the  remainder  of 
his  useful  life  he  carried  on  general  farming  in  that  locality  and  from  there 
in  1879  his  widow  remo\'ed  to  California,  where  she  spent  her  last  days  with 
her   children. 

AMOS  E.  WARREN.— The  eldest  of  seven  sons  and  two  daughters, 
Amos  E.  Warren  was  born  in  Orange  county,  Ind.,  September  16,  1883,  and 
was  reared  in  Kansas,  the  famil)'  having  moved  to  that  state  in  his  early 
childhood.  In  education  he  was  limited  to  a  somewhat  brief  attendance 
in  country  schools.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  become  self-supporting 
as  soon  as  possible  and  hence  he  was  deprived  of  all  higher  advantages. 
Upon  lea\ing  home  in  1901  he  went  to  Colorado  and  for  a  year  worked  in 
the  oil  fields  near  Florence,  for  seven  months  was  employed  as  a  tool 
dresser  at  Fort  Collins  and  also  engaged  as  a  cowbo}^  on  a  cattle  ranch 
near  Greele^^     After  three  vears  in  Colorado  he  came  to  California   in   1904 


k 


G  "h^^J^    Z/}  (XyyL.<-lM.       J^i- 


T-^^--'^-Z^v-X_ . 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  413 

and  secured  work  as  a  pipeman  in  the  Kern  river  fields.  After  perhaps  five 
months  with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  he  went  over  to  the  Imperial  Oil 
Company,  for  whom  he  worked  one  year  as  a  roustabout.  Leaving  this 
locality  for  the  Santa  Alaria  field  in  Santa  Barbara  county,  he  entered  the 
emplo)'  of  the  Union  Oil  Company  as  a  roustabout  and  tool  dresser.  Within 
one-half  year,  however,  he  was  back  in  the  Kern  river  fields  and  working 
as  a  tool  dresser  with  the  West  Shore  Company  for  several  months. 

Under  J.  L.  Bruce,  then  the  foreman  of  the  drilling  department  of  the 
Associated  Oil  Company,  in  October  of  1907  Mr.  Warren  secured  a  position 
as  tool  dresser.  During  the  fall  of  1908  he  began  as  a  driller  with  the  same 
tirganization  and  continued  in  that  capacity  until  Februar}-  of  1911.  At  that 
date  he  became  assistant  to  J.  A.  Jones,  foreman  of  the  San  Joaquin  division 
of  the  Associated  Oil  Company,  and  June  1.  1912,  he  was  promoted  to  his 
present  position,  that  of  field  foreman  of  the  Green  and  \\liittier  division 
of  the  same  company,  a  responsible  post  in  which  he  is  giving  satisfac- 
tion. He  has  established  his  home  in  the  oil  fields  and  with  his  wife, 
formerly  Miss  Tina  Orton  of  Bakersfield,  and  their  onlj-  child,  Esther, 
has  a  cumfortable  cuttage  whose  hospitality  is  always  extended  to  other 
workers   in   these   fields. 

THEODORE  HENRY  MINOR.— As  president  of  the  I'araffine  Oil  Com- 
pany, the  Areata  Oil  Company  and  the  Mannel-Minor  Petroleum  Company, 
Mr.  Minor's  identification  with  the  development  of  the  oil  industry  in  Kern 
county  has  continued  throughout  an  important  period  of  local  history.  Mr. 
Minor  traces  his  lineage  to  remote  English  ancestry,  but  he  belongs  to  a 
family  that  has  been  represented  in  America  since  the  colonial  period  of 
national  history.  The  early  home  of  Revolutionary  forebears  was  in  Con- 
necticut, but  later  generations  became  established  in  New  Jersey  and  Samuel 
]\linor,  a  native  of  the  latter  Commonwealth,  transplanted  the  family  name 
to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  earned  a  livelihood  through  the  tilling  of  the 
soil.  Isaac,  son  of  Samuel,  was  born  near  Uniontown,  Fayette  county.  Pa., 
and  came  to  California  via  Panama  during  1851.  For  a  brief  period  he  en- 
gaged in  mining  and  by  chance  he  was  in  Sacramento  at  the  time  of  the 
great  flood.  Going  to  Humboldt  county  immediately  after  the  Trinity  river 
mining  excitement  of  1852,  he  there  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Hannah 
Nixon,  who  was  also  born  near  Uniontown,  Pa.,  and  who  became  his  wife 
and  shared  his  responsibilities  and  anxieties  through  a  long  and  happy  wedded 
life.  To  her  loyal  companionship  was  due  much  of  his  later  success.  In 
sunlight  and  shadow  she  walked  beside  him,  his  adviser  and  helpmate,  and 
not  until  her  death  in  1906  was  their  helpful  co-operation,  broken.  Of  eastern 
birth  and  parentage,  she  was  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Isaac  Nixon,  who  was 
an  early  settler  of  Iowa  from  Fayette  county.  Pa.,  and  started  from  lnwa, 
settling  among  the  pioneer  homesteaders  of  Humboldt  county. 

Various  interests,  all  of  them  important,  filled  the  active  years  of  Isaac 
Minor.  At  diiiferent  times  he  was  proprietor  of  a  mercantile  store  and  a 
transportation  business,  farmer  and  stock-raiser,  also  a  manufacturer  of  lum- 
ber and  builder  of  four  different  mills  in  his  home  county.  When  advancing 
years  and  the  accumulation  of  a  competency  rendered  further  labors  unneces- 
sary and  undesirable,  he  retired  to  private  life  and  has  since  enjoyed  the 
comforts  provided  by  the  incessant  labor  of  younger  days.  Of  his  twelve 
children  only  six  remain  and  the  eldest  of  these.  Theodore  Henry,  was  born 
at  .\rcata,  Humboldt  county,  Cal..  .\ugust  31.  1856.  Primarily  educated  in 
-Areata  schools,  he  later  attended  the  California  Military  .\cademy  at  Oakland 
until  his  grraduation  in  1872.  after  which  he  assisted  his  father  in  tallying 
lumber.  For  a  time  he  was  bookkeeper  in  the  sawmill,  then  assi'^ted  in  the 
manacrement  of  the  mills  and  lumber  business.  .After  his  father  ',(.1(1  all  nf 
tlie  hnnher  interests  to  the  children  in   1896.  he  organized  the  Minor  Mill  i"^ 


414  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Lumber  Company  and  continued  the  manufacture  of  lumber  and  shingles  for 
shipment  to  San  Francisco.  A  decade  of  prosperity  followed  his  mstallation 
as  president  and  manager  of  the  company.  Meanwhile  he  had  acquired  oil 
interests  and  during  1907  he  sold  his  milling  interests  to  a  brother  and  sister, 
at  the  same  time  removing  to  Bakersfield  in  order  to  take  charge  of  his 
oil  holdings  on  the  west  side. 

As  early  as  January  23,  1901,  the  Parafftne  Oil  Company  had  been  in- 
corporated by  A.  W.  Gilfillan,  under  whose  supervision  the  first  well  on  the 
Temblor  lease,  McKittrick,  had  been  sunk,  but  the  venture  proved  a  failure. 
A  contract  was  then  obtained  by  Mr.  Giltillan  personally,  to  drill  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  25  on  25-Hill,  it  being  agreed  that  if  he  struck  oil  he 
was  to  receive  a  deed  tu  forty  acres.  This  contract  he  turned  over  to  the 
company,  but  they  were  discouraged  and  the  funds  for  this  work  were  fur- 
nished personally  by  Mr.  Alinor.  As  soon  as  a  good  well  was  struck  the 
deed  to  forty  acres  was  turned  over  to  the  ParafiEne  Oil  Company,  and  since 
then  the  company  has  put  down  six  wells  on  the  forty  acres  and  all  are 
producers,  thus  giving  financial  success  to  the  concern.  It  is  said  that  this 
was  the  second  oil  company  on  25-Hill  to  pay  dividends.  Since  1905  Mr. 
Minor  has  officiated  as  president  and  since  1908  he  also  has  acted  as  manager. 

Taking  a  lease  on  property  one  mile  south  of  their  former  location, 
Messrs.  Minor  and  Gilfillan  drilled  and  struck  a  small  output  of  oil,  after 
which  they  bcjught  adjacent  property.  At  the  time  there  was  no  sale  for 
oil.  Later  it  brought  thirty  cents  per  barrel.  During  1906  this  lease  was 
incorporated  as  the  Areata  Oil  Company  and  since  then  Mr.  Minor  has  served 
as  president  and  manager  of  the  organization,  which  now  operates  on  the 
Nprth  McKittrick  front.  With  F.  E.  Manuel  as  partner  in  1912  he  organized 
the  Mannel-Minor  Petroleum  Company  and  leased  two  hundred  acres  on 
the  northwest  Belridge  front,  seven  miles  from  the  Belridge  wells  and  ten 
miles  from  the  Lost  Hills  wells.  The  first  oil  was  struck  at  a  depth  of  four 
hundred  feet,  but  they  continued  to  drill  to  a  depth  of  seven  hundred  feet. 
A  second  hole  went  to  a  depth  of  two  thousand  feet  and  gave  them  an 
exceptionally  profitable  well  of  twenty-five  gravity  oil.  At  this  writing  the 
first  well  is  being  deepened  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Manuel,  who  is 
vice-president,  Mr.  Minor  being  the  president  of  the  company.  Besides 
all  of  these  important  oil  interests  he  owns  mining  claims  in  Inyo  county, 
Cal..  is  further  interested  in  hydraulic  mining  on  New  river  in  Trinity  county, 
this  state,  and  has  built  a  mill  and  concentrating  plant  at  his  tungsten  mine 
near  Tucson,  Ariz.  .  In  addition  he  owns  farm  lands  and  real  estate  in  Kern 
county.  Ever  since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  had  maintained  his  office  in 
the  Hopkins  building.  At  present  he  serves  as  treasurer  and  member  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  Kern  County  Oil  Protective  Association,  an  asso- 
ciation formed  to  guard  against  the  encroachment  and  percolating  of  water 
into  the  oil  sand  and  securing  legislation  to  that  end. 

In  politics  Mr.  Minor  is  a  Reoublican,  while  fraternally  he  holds  mem- 
bership with  Eureka  Lodge  No.  652,  B.  P.  O.  E..  and  was  made  a  Mason  in 
Excelsior  Lodge  No.  166.  F.  &  A.  ]\I..  at  San  Francisco,  ^^^hile  Hvin?  at 
Areata  he  married  Miss  Emily  Daniels,  a  native  of  that  city,  the  daughter 
of  Hibbird  S,  and  Ann  fHawken)  Daniels,  who  were  natives  respectively 
of  New  Hamnshire  and  Encfland.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daniels  came  from  Illinois 
to  California  in  \R?3.  making;  the  wav  via  Panama  and  locatinc^  in  I^niontown, 
now  the  c'tv  of  Areata.  Humboldt  countv.  where  Mr.  Daniels  encratred  in 
farmino-.  XTnon  retirinsj  from  active  life  thev  located  in  Los  .Aneeles  where 
IVTrs.  Daniel'!  died,  her  husband  nassinsr  away  in  Fullerton.  Mrs.  Eniilv 
CDanielsl  IVTinor  was  a  graduate  of  Humboldt  Ladies'  Seminarv  in  Eureka 
and  i«  a  woman  nf  rare  taste  and  refinement.     Two  sons  were  born  to  ATr.  and 


^T^^^Ufa^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  417 

Mrs.  Minor,  namely:  Henry  Samuel,  who  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
lumber;  and  Herbert  Hibbard,  who  is  interested  with  his  father  in  the  oil 
industry   and   mining  claims. 

The  family  hold  membership  with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Rakersfield  and  Mr.  Minor  is  giving  most  efficient  service  as  chairman  of 
its  board  of  trustees,  besides  serving  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  elders. 
'\^''hile  he  was  chairman  of  the  board  the  new  Gothic  structure  was  erected 
at  the  corner  of  H  and  Seventeenth  streets,  costing  S25,000.  It  lias  a 
seating  capacity  of  five  hundred  and  is  so  arranged  that  the  large  Sunday 
school  department  may  be  separated  into  sixteen  rooms  for  class  purposes. 
The  basement  is  fitted  up  as  a  social  hall  and  equipped  for  a  gymnasium.  The 
plan  had  been  the  wish  of  Mr.  Minor  for  years,  and  he  and  his  co-workers 
feel  amply  repaid  for  their  efforts.  Mr.  Minor  was  selected  by  the  San  Joaquin 
Presbvterv  one  of  six  commissioners  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  the  United  States  of  America  held  at  Atlanta.  Ga..  May  15 
to  24.  1913.  Accompanied  by  Mrs.  Minor  he  attended  and  took  part  in  the 
important  proceedings  of  that  assembly. 

ADAM  WILLIAM  GILFILLAN.— Of  English  birth  and  ancestry,  A. 
W.  Gilfillan  was  born  at  Greenwich,  England,  during  the  year  1854,  but 
was  brought  to  the  United  States  in  early  childhood  and  passed  the  years 
of  youth  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  where  he  attended  the  public  schools.  When 
seventeen  years  of  age  he  began  to  work  in  the  oil  fields  of  the  Brad- 
ford district  in  Pennsylvania.  He  seemed  to  possess  natural  ability  in  the 
oil  industry.  With  keen  judgment  and  energetic  resourcefulness  he  quickly 
grasped  every  detail  of  the  business  and  while  yet  a  young  man  came  to 
l)e  known  as  one  of  the  shrewdest  oil  operators  in  his  district.  Upon  leav- 
ing the  oil  fields  of  Pennsylvania  for  tho.se  of  California  he  liecame  identified 
with  the  Puente  district  and  there  put  down  the  first  well  for  Rowland  & 
Lacy,  the  head  of  that  firm  having  been  Hon.  William  R.  Rowland,  ex- 
sherifl'  of  Los  Angeles  county.  When  the  work  had  been  completed  suc- 
cessfully and  promptly  in  the  Puente  district  he  went  to  the  oil  fields  of 
Xorthern  California  and  put  down  a  well  in  Humboldt  county,  but  that 
enterprise  did  not  prove  a  success.  A  later  connection  with  the  mining  in- 
dustrv  on  the  Mother  Lode  in  Tuolumne,  Calaveras  and  Mariposa  counties 
also  proved  unsuccessful.  In  1900  he  came  to  Plakersfield  and  became  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  the  oil  industry  in  Kern  county  and  the  first  to  operate  in  the 
?vlidway  district.  After  he  had  taken  contracts  for  drilling  and  had  struck 
oil,  he  then  promoted  the  Parafifine  Oil  Company,  on  section  25.  Midway 
district,  and  of  this  he  was  acting  as  general  manager  and  vice-president  at 
the  time  of  his  sudden  death  June  9,  1907. 

'l"he  marriage  of  Mr.  Gilfillan  took  place  in  San  Jose,  this  state,  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Mary  Moore,  who  was  born  at  Holton,  Kan.,  and  is 
a  graduate  of  the  normal  department  of  the  University  of  Kansas  at  Lawrence. 
By  ability  and  temperament  Mrs.  Gilfillan  was  well  qualified  to  be  a  helpmate 
to  her  husband,  whose  ventures  she  promoted  by  her  constant  encourage- 
ment and  whose  hopes  she  fostered  by  her  cheerful  sympathy.  In  addi- 
tion, she  is  the  possessor  of  business  ability  of  an  high  order.  When  the 
sudden  death  of  her  husband  threw  his  large  interests  into  her  care,  she 
proved  equal  to  the  most  trying  emergency  and  since  then  has  managed 
the  estate  with  tact,  energy-  and  discretion.  In  inheriting  his  property,  she 
became  the  largest  stockholder  in  the  Paraffine  Oil  Company,  which  ranks 
as  one  of  the  most  successful  oil  concerns  along  the  coast.  Of  this  company 
she  is  vice-president  and  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors.  From  her 
husband  she  also  inherited  a  one-half  interest  in  the  Areata  Oil  Company, 
but  this  has  been  sold  to  the  Santa  Fe  Oil  Company.  In  addition  she  was 
largely  interested  in  the  Lost  Hills  district,  where  she  was  a  f.irtunate  seller 
of  oil"  land  at  $1,000  per  acre.     She  has  lately  become   interested   in   horti- 


418  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

culture  and  has  purchased  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  at  Edison,  which 
she  will  devote  principally  to  the  growing  of  citrus  fruits.  It  has  been  dem- 
onstrated that  the  region  is  one  of  the  most  successful  for  the  cultivation 
of  oranges  in  California  and  she  is  planning  to  use  her  means  and  time  to 
develop  the  horticultural  resources  of  her  adopted  county,  where  she  has 
met  with  such  gratifying  success.  While  giving  her  attention  very  closely 
to  the  management  of  the  important  interests  bequeathed  her  by  Air.  Gilfillan, 
she  has  kept  in  touch  with  political  problems  and  always  has  maintained 
a  sympathy  with  Democratic  principles,  as  did  also  her  husband;  besides 
these  and  other  interests  she  has  occupied  an  enviable  social  position  in 
Bakersfield,  has  been  identified  with  the  Woman's  Club  in  its  civic  pro- 
jects and  public-spirited  enterprises,  and  has  manifested  a  deep  devotion 
to  the  ])ermanent  progress  of  her  home  city. 

HAMILTON  FARRIS.— The  secretary  of  the  board  of  health  of 
Bakersfield,  who  also  fills  the  position  of  health  officer,  has  witnessed  the 
development  of  Kern  county  through  a  considerable  period  of  progress 
and  with  others  originated  the  movement  that  resulted  in  the  consolidation 
of  Bakersfield  and  Kern,  a  decidedly  forward  step  in  local  upbuilding.  Al- 
though not  a  native  Californian,  nor  indeed  a  native  of  the  United  States, 
he  is  most  patriotic  in  impulses,  loyal  in  sentiment  and  true  to  every  measure 
making  for  the  advancement  of  his  adopted  home.  Of  Canadian  birth  and 
parentage,  he  was  born  at  Arcona,  Ontario,  February  19,  1869,  and  was 
the  eldest  among  three  children  comprising  the  family  of  George  and  Sarah 
(Mellen)  Farris.  A\'hile  yet  a  young  woman  the  mother  was  taken  by 
death  from  home  and  children  and  Hamilton  was  only  thirteen  when  his 
father,  a  skilled  blacksmith  and  man  of  honorable  principles,  passed  away, 
leaving  the  children  with  little  means.  Friends,  however,  came  to  their 
aid.  The  eldest  child  was  taken  from  school  and  apprenticed  to  the  trade 
of  a  blacksmith  at  Arcona,  where  he  continued  for  three  years.  Being  then 
free  to  make  his  own  plans  for  the  future,  he  entered  railroading  and 
secured  employment  as  checker  in  the  freight  office  of  the  Grand  Trunk 
Railroad.  Later  he  became  a  brakeman  with  the  same  company.  Four 
years  were  spent  with  the  Grand  Trunk  Railroad,  after  which  in  1889  he 
came  to  California  and  found  work  as  a  brakeman  with  the  Southern 
Pacific,  having  for  a  time  a  run  between  Bakersfield  and  Lathrop  in  San 
Joaquin  county. 

Securing  a  position  as  clerk  in  the  old  Central  hotel  in  Kern  in  1894, 
Mr.  Farris  left  the  road,  but  at  the  expiration  of  three  and  one-half  years 
in  the  hotel  he  went  to  work  in  the  Southern  Pacific  freight  house  as  night 
foreman.  At  the  expiration  of  one  year  he  resumed  work  as  a  brakeman 
and  continued  in  the  same  work  until  1902,  when  he  was  elected  marshal. 
On  two  separate  occasions  he  was  re-elected  marshal.  During  1907  he 
resigned  that  position  to  become  deputy  county  clerk  and  continued  as 
such  until  the  spring  of  1910,  when  he  went  to  the  Kern  river  oil  field  as  a 
foreman  for  the  Associated  Oil  Company.  Resigning  and  returning  to 
.East  Bakersfield  in  October  of  1912,  two  months  afterward  he  was 
appointed  health  officer  and  secretary  of  the  board  of  health,  since  which 
time  he  has  devoted  his  entire  time  and  the  closest  attention  to  the  careful 
discharge  of  every  dut}-  connected  with  the  responsible  place.  In  politics 
he  always  has  supported  Democratic  principles.  Fraternally  he  holds  mem- 
bership with  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  His  marriage  was  solemnized  in 
Chicago,  111.,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Matilda  Parkinson,  who  was  born 
in  Ontario  and  died  in  East  Bakersfield  November  14,  1912,  leaving  three 
children,  namely:  Clifford,  now  employed  by  the  Associated  Oil  Company 
in  the  Kern  river  field :  Floyd,  an  employe  of  the  Wells-Fargo  Express 
Company  in   Bakersfield ;  and  Olga,  who  since  the  death  of  her  mother  has 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  419 

presided  over  the  family  home  and   ministered  to   the   comfort  and  welfare 
of  her  father. 

W.  R.  LEAKE. — From  his  earliest  memories  Mr.  Leake  has  been 
familiar  with  the  oil  industry  in  all  of  its  phases.  Nor  have  his  experiences 
been  limited  to  one  field  or  to  one  state.  On  the  other  hand,  he  has  been 
employed  in  fields  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  notably  in  Pennsylvania, 
where  his  boyhood  years  were  passed,  and  in  California,  where  for  more 
than  a  decade  he  has  been  associated  with  the  development  of  the  business. 
W'ith  the  early  history  of  the  industry  in  the  Midway  field  he  became  con- 
nected through  his  arrival  in  September,  1909,  at  Taft,  then  known  as 
Moron.  The  West  Side  Oil  Company,  a  close  corporation  with  five  prin- 
cipal sto.ckholders  (all  residing  in  Los  Angeles),  selected  him  to  take 
charge  of  their  lease  of  eight  acres,  situated  on  section  25,  township  32, 
range  23,  and  for  that  purpose  he  came  from  Los  Angeles  to  Kern  county 
at  the  time  mentioned,  since  which  he  has  had  charge  of  three  producing 
wells  that  form  the  holdings  of  the  small  but  prosperous  corporation. 
Near  Bath,  Steuben  county,  N.  Y.,  W.  R.  Leake  was  born  February 
11,  1869,  being  the  only  son  of  William  H.  and  Amanda  (Beebe)  Leake, 
natives  of  New  York  state.  The  two  daughters  in  the  family  are  India 
and  Inez  A.,  the  former  married  to  Charles  Hanks,  a  prosperous  oil  operator 
of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania.  During  the  Civil  war  William  H.  Leake  served 
for  four  years  and  four  months  and  received  an  honorable  discharge  at 
the  close  of  the  struggle,  after  which  he  became  interested  in  the  oil  busi- 
ness. When  his  son,  William  R.,  was  an  infant  the  family  removed  to 
Pennsylvania  and  settled  in  Butler  county,  later  going  to  the  Bradford 
field  in  the  same  state.  In  fact,  the  father  visited  almost  every  eastern 
oil  field  at  some  period  and  he  became  a  very  successful  producer,  besides 
owning  some  wells  in  Ohio.  Nor  did  his  activities  lessen  with  advancing 
.years.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was  seventy-four 
years  of  age,  he  was  at  Beaumont,  Tex.,  as  superintendent  for  the  Higgins 
Oil  Company  at  Spindletop. 

Educated  in  the  grammar  schools  of  Butler  county.  Pa.,  followed  by  a 
business  course  in  the  Tidioute  high  school  in  Warren  county,  that  state, 
Mr.  Leake  became  a  regular  worker  in  the  Pennsylvania  oil  fields  when 
he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  His  first  work  as  a  production  man  was 
with  the  Clinton  Oil  Company.  For  ten  busy  years  he  was  an  operator 
in  the  West  Virginia  fields  and  for  two  years  he  was  associated  with  the 
development  of  the  oil  field  near  Boulder,  Colo.,  whence  in  1902  he  came 
to  California  and  sought  the  Coalinga  field.  After  a  long  term  of  service  as 
superintendent  first  with  the  K.  C.  Oil  Company  and  then  with  the  New 
Era  Oil  Company,  he  came  down  to  Taft  during  September  of  1909,  since 
which  time  he  has  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the  West  Side  Oil  Company. 
A  most  capable  assistant  in  his  counsels  and  business  enterprises  is  his 
wife,  whom  he  married  in  Elk  county.  Pa.,  May  5,  1891,  and  who  was 
Miss  Martha  M.  Parker,  daughter  of  W.  H.  Parker,  a  prominent  oil  operator 
in  Pennsylvania.  Thousands  of  acres  of  oil  lands  were  held  by  the  family. 
By  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Parker  to  a  Miss  Hilliard,  a  native  of  Clarion 
county.  Pa.,  there  were  seven  children,  namely:  Alice,  whose  husband, 
Charles  Brick,  is  superintendent  of  the  National  Gas  Company  at  Youngs- 
town,  Ohio;  W.  O.,  a  contracting  driller  at  Dewey,  Okla. ;  Martha  M., 
Mrs.  Leake ;  May,  wife  of  Alfred  Williams,  of  Youngstown,  Ohio ;  Stella, 
who  married  F.  B.  Long,  a  driller  now  living  at  Waynesburg,  Pa. ; 
Charles  S.,  a  plumber  engaged  in  business  in  West  Virginia;  and  John,  who 
has  charge  of  an  oil  company's  lease  at  Junction  City.  Ohio.  Mrs.  May 
Williams  was  first  married  to  J.  M.  Leyman,  a  successful  oil  man,  who  for 
twenty  years  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the  Jennings  Oil  Company  and 


420  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

who  held  the  confidence  of  operators  in  that  industry  throughout  the  east. 
The  only  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leake,  Irene  Romain,  is  the  wife  of  Wade 
S.  Fitch,  of  Los  Angeles,  and  the  mother  of  a  daughter,  Frances  Irene  Fitch 

CHARLES  EUGENE  DAY.— To  the  people  among  whom  Mr.  Day  has 
lived  since  the  year  1877,  and  who  have  learned  to  appreciate 
his  splendid  traits  of  character  as  a  man  and  his  tact  as  an  official,  there 
comes  a  feeling  of  pride  in  any  recital  of  his  achievements  as  a  marksman, 
for  in  tournaments  and  contests  in  this  part  of  the  state  he  carried  the  record 
for  years  and  made  the  best  score  ever  achieved  by  crack  shots.  With  one 
shell  he  has  killed  seventy  quail  and  inside  of  seventy-nine  days  he  shot 
eleven  thousand.  In  one  day  with  twenty-two  shots  he  obtained  four  hun- 
dred and  forty-six  quail,  following  the  next  day  with  four  hundred  and 
fourteen,  while  on  the  third  day  he  brought  down  three  hundred  and  forty. 
His  hunting  expeditions  have  not  been  limited  to  Kern,  Tulare,  San  Luis 
Obispo  and  Santa  Barbara  counties,  but  have  extended  as  far  south  as  the 
line  of  Mexico,  and  in  the  early  days  he  made  a  specialty  of  shipping  deer 
and  quail  to  the  San  F"rancisco  markets. 

If  skill  in  marksmanship  may  be  denominated  a  matter  of  heredity  then 
it  may  be  said  of  Mr.  Day  that  he  inherited  his  expertness  as  a  shot  from 
his  father,  who  was  one  of  the  noted  hunters  of  his  day  and  locality.  A 
member  of  an  old  family  of  New  York  and  himself  during  early  manhood 
a  farmer  in  A\'yandot  county,  Ohio,  the  father,  John  Day,  served  in  an 
Ohio  regiment  during  the  Civil  war  and  became  known  among  members 
of  his  company  for  his  skill  with  a  rifle.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
service  he  received  an  honorable  discharge,  returned  to  his  home  in  Ohio 
and  at  once  made  preparations  to  cross  the  plains  to  California.  During 
the  progress  of  the  trip,  which  was  made  with  wagons  and  ox-teams  in 
1864,  he  supplied  the  camp  with  an  abundance  of  game  and  many  a  bear, 
buffalo  and  antelope  fell  as  a  tribute  to  his  unerring  marksmanship. 

Some  years  prior  to  the  removal  of  John  Day  to  the  west  he  had  mar- 
ried Miss  Harriet  Bristol,  a  native  of  AA'yandot  county,  Ohio,  and  a  daughter 
of  William  Bristol,  for  years  employed  there  as  railroad  and  express  agent. 
They  became  the  parents  of  four  children,  the  three  daughters  being  Mrs. 
Delia  Griffin,  of  Oakland ;  Mrs.  Alice  Simpson,  who  lives  near  Bakersfield, 
and  Mrs.  Clara  Knight,  of  Rosedale.  The  only  son,  Charles  E.,  was  born  ■ 
in  Ohio  March  18,  1862,  and  was  three  years  of  age  when  he  was  brought 
by  his  mother  to  California  via  Panama,  joining  his  father  on  a  farm  near 
Lakeville.  Sonoma  county.  During  1868  the  family  removed  to  a  large 
farm  on  Marsh  creek  near  Brentwood.  Contra  Costa  county,  where  the  father 
undertook  grain  farming  on  a  large  scale.  At  first  he  met  with  unusual 
success,  but  two  years  of  continuous  drought  caused  him  a  loss  of  all  the 
accumulations  of  years.  Removing  to  Calistoga,  Napa  county,  in  1874,  he 
engaged  in  hunting  in  the  mountains  and  shipped  deer  and  bear  to  the  San 
Francisco  markets.  During  the  fall  of  1876,  with  the  assistance  of  his  i  nly 
son,  he  began  to  hunt  quail  for  the  city  markets,  and  on  this  expedition  he 
traveled  through  Ventura  and  Los  Angeles  counties,  then  came  up  to  Kern 
county,  where  he  found  surroundings  so  greatly  to  his  liking  that  he  located 
at  Bakersfield  April  25.  1877.  Soon  afterward  he  bought  forty  acres  five 
miles  south  of  town  under  the  Kern  Island  canal  and  there  he  began  to  raise 
fruit  and  alfalfa,  afterward  enlarging  the  tract  by  the  purchase  of  another 
forty.  In  addition  to  farming  he  still  engaged  in  hunting  for  game  in  the 
hills.  I-'ebruary  28,  1882.  when  about  fifty  years  of  age.  the  team  which 
he  was  driving  ran  away,  threw  him  into  the  canal  and  he  was  drowned. 
Some  years  later  his  widow  was  married  to  J.  ^V.  Fitzgerald  and  at  this 
writing  she  lives  in  East  Bakersfield. 

After  the  death  of  his  father  Charles  E.  Day  took  charge  of  the  home 
farm    in   the   interests   of   his   mother   and    sisters   and    for   twenty-one   years 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  423 

lie  operated  one  place,  ijesides  engaging  in  farming  antl  stock-raising  he 
hunted  deer  and  quail  to  ship  to  the  San  I-'rancisco  markets.  From  young 
manhood  he  has  been  a  stanch  Democrat.  During  1894  his  party  nominated 
liim  for  countv  tax  collector.  Dulv  elected,  he  took  the  oath  of  office  in 
January  of  1895.  In  1898,  1902,  1906  and  1910  he  was  re-elected,  the  last 
time  without  any  opposition  whatever.  His  present  term  will  expire  in 
January  of  1915.  While  giving  due  attention  to  the  responsibilities  of  the 
office  he  also  continued  farming  until  1910,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interests 
in  the  county.  The  residence  which  he  erected  and  occupies  in  East 
l^akersfield  is  presided  over  hospitably  by  Mrs.  Day,  formerly  Miss  Susie 
Dragoo,  who  was  born,  reared  and  married  at  Martinez,  Contra  Costa  county, 
being  the  daughter  of  a  pioneer  physician  of  that  village.  The  only  child 
of  the  union,  Leona,  is  married  to  Palo  Autrand  and  lives  in  East  Rakersfield. 
The  fraternal  associations  of  Air.  Day  are  numerous  and  important  and 
include  membership  in  the  Knights  c  f  Pythias,  in  which  he  has  been  a  leading 
officer,  besides  being  with  his  wife  connected  with  the  kindred  organization 
of  Pythian  Sisters.  In  addition  he  belongs  to  the  Woodmen  of  the  World, 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  Eagles,  Independent  Order  of  Fores- 
ters, Fraternal  Brotherhood  and  .\ncient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

GORDON  WALLACE  WATSON.— The  lineage  of  the  Watson  family 
in  America  is  traced  back  to  the  Gordon  clan,  inseparably  associated  with 
the  early  historv  of  the  highlands  and  illustrious  in  many  of  the  ancient 
wars  of  Scotland.  In  leaving  his  native  city  of  x\berdeen  to  cast  in  his 
fortunes  with  the  new  world,  Gordon  Wallace,  Sr.,  gave  up  associations 
endeared  to  him  from  earliest  memories  and  from  the  family  traditions 
concerning  bygone  centuries.  Shortly  after  his  marriage  to  Miss  Annie 
White  in  London,  England,  he  had  migrated  with  his  young  wife  to  Canada 
and  later  came  to  the  States.  For  years  he  engaged  in  contracting  and 
building  at  jersey  City,  N.  J.,  where  both  he  and  his  wife  passed  their  last 
years.  The  eldest  of  their  five  children,  born  at  Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  Decem- 
ber 8,  1868,  was  given  the  name  of  his  father,  thus  carrying  into  another 
generation  the  old  Scotch  patronymics  of  ancestral  associations.  During 
infancy  he  was  taken  to  Toronto,  Canada,  but  at  the  age  of  six  years  accom- 
panied his  parents  in  a  permanent  removal  to  Jersey  City,  where  he  attended 
the  public  schools  and  also  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter. 

During  a  trip  to  Europe  in  1901  Mr.  Watson  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  Aliss  Janetta  Haley  in  Leeds,  Yorkshire,  England,  and  they  were  mar- 
ried in  Alarch  df  the  following  year.  Mrs.  Watson  was  born  in  Yorkshire, 
lieing  a  daughter  of  Henry  and  Eliza  Margaret  (Eastwood)  Haley,  resi- 
dents of  Bramley,  Leeds,  where  Mr.  Haley  engaged  in  business  as  a  woolen 
manufacturer.  The  Haley  family  traces  its  lineage  to  Celtic  ancestry.  As 
early  as  1675  some  of  the  name  removed  from  Ireland  to  England,  where 
later  generations  engaged  in  business  pursuits  and  were  among  the  first 
manufacturers  of  woolen  goods  at  Leeds,  beginning  with  the  old  hand 
looms  and  gradually  growing  into  an  extensive  business  with  the  largest 
and  most  modern  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of  woolen  goods.  The 
family  accumulated  great  wealth  and  a  high  social  position. 

The  month  after  their  marriage  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Watson  arrived  in  Jersey 
City  and  established  a  home  at  that  place,  where  he  engaged  in  carpentering. 
Injuring  1905  they  came  to  California  for  the  first  time  and  found  the  west 
attractive  and  alluring.  Establishing  a  home  in  Bakersfield,  Cal.,  in  Novem- 
ber of  1907.  Mr.  \A'atson  followed  the  trade  of  carpenter,  also  was  identified 
with  different  branches  of  the  building  trades  and  assisted  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Building  Trades  Council,  of  which  he  served  as  business  agent 
for  two  years.  For  some  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  building  busi- 
ness   in    Bakersfield.    where    he    has    a    reputation    f.)r    reliability    as    a    con- 


424  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

tractor,  progressive  spirit  as  a  citizen  and  dispatch  as  a  worker.  Although 
an  active  worker  for  the  benefit  of  the  Democratic  party,  he  has  never 
sought  office  nor  has  he  been  willing  to  accept  political  positions.  In  relig- 
ious faith  he  and  his  wife  are  Episcopalians.  Devoted  to  the  welfare  of 
their  adopted  cit3%  they  have  the  utmost  faith  in  its  material  growth  and 
promising  future.  Since  coming  to  this  city  they  have  purchased  a  number 
of  residence  lots  and  have  erected  and  still  own  five  bungalows  of  a  modern 
and  attractive  type  of  architecture.  Their  family  consists  of  three  children, 
Margaret  Rutherford,  Gordon  Bruce  and  Donald  Keith. 

J.  THOMAS  JOHNSON,  M.  D.— Professional  connection  with  the 
United  States  navy  in  the  capacity  of  surgeon  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant- 
commander  gave  Dr.  Johnson  a  wide  e.xperience  in  the  practice  of  materia 
medica  and  brought  to  him  an  important  responsibility  in  the  management 
of  naval  hospitals  in  the  east.  The  selection  of  his  life  work  was  happily 
made.  Natural  qualifications  adapted  him  for  skill  in  therapeutics.  From 
the  beginning  of  his  practice  he  has  exhibited  skill  in  the  diagnosis  of 
disease  and  efficiency  in  the  selection  of  remedial  agencies.  Since  he  came 
to  Kern  county  and  opened  a  hospital  at  Fellows,  he  has  risen  to  a  high 
rank  professionally  in  this  new  town,  the  "gem  of  the  foothills."  Much  of 
his  early  life  was  passed  in  Chicago,  where  he  was  born  May  18,  1882,  and 
where  his  father,  Thomas  Johnson,  was  a  member  of  the  livestock  com- 
mission firm  of  Johnson  &  Wilson,  -at  the  Union  Stock  Yards.  He  spent 
considerable  time  in  Iowa  while  a  young  man  and  when  the  Spanish- 
American  war  broke  out  he  was  living  at  Des  Moines,  from  which  city  he 
enlisted  in  Company  B,  Fifty-second  Iowa  Volunteer  Infantry.  He  went 
into  camp  at  Chickamauga  Park.  Ga.,  and  later  was  transferred  to  Com- 
pany D,  Forty-ninth  Iowa  Volunteer  Infantry.  With  this  regiment  he  went 
to  Cuba  and  remained  until  the  close  of  hostilities. 

From  early  youth  he  had  felt  a  drawing  to  the  medical  profession  and 
after  he  had  received  his  honorable  discharge  from  the  army  he  determined 
to  take  up  the  study  of  pharmacy.  He  entered  the  Highland  Park  College 
of  Pharmacy  at  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  and  graduated  from  there  in  June,  1901. 
After  he  had  received  actual  experience  in  drug  stores,  at  various  places 
for  a  while,  he  opened  up  a  drug  store  at  Story  City,  Iowa,  which  he  ran 
successfully  and  sold  out  to  advantage  in  time  to  matriculate  at  the 
medical  department  of  Drake  University  at  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  in  the  fall  of 
1903,  and  thus  carry  out  his  cherished  plans  to  become  an  M.  D.  He  con- 
tinued two  years  at  Drake  University  and  finished  up  by  taking  the  last 
two  years  of  a  four-year  medical  course  at  Jefferson  Medical  College,  Phila- 
delphia, from  which  he  graduated  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.,  class  of  1907. 

To  one  of  his  ambitious  and  aspiring  mind,  the  completion  of  a 
medical  course  did  not  signalize  a  cessation  of  study.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  became  very  solicitous  in  enlarging  his  medical  knowledge  so  that  he 
might  be  better  qualified  to  practice  with  success.  For  a  time  he  served 
as  an  interne  in  the  Philadelphia  hospital  and  for  two  years  he  had  the 
advantage  of  experience  in  Bellevue  hospital  in  New  York  City.  About 
1909  he  was  commissioned  surgeon  in  the  United  States  navy,  and  assigned 
to  duty  at  the  naval  hospital  in  Philadelphia.  Soon  he  was  transferred  to 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  during  his  leisure  hours  in  that  city  he  took  a 
post-graduate  course  in  a  medical  school.  Next  he  had  a  brief  experience 
in  the  New  York  City  naval  hospital  and  from  there  was  transferred  to 
the  battleship  Mississippi,  after  which  he  was  assigned  to  recruiting  duty 
in  Chicago.  From  there  he  was  ordered  to  San  Francisco  and  there  in 
May,  1911,  resigned  his  commission. 

Immediately  after  he  resigned  as  surgeon  in  the  navy  Dr.  Johnson 
came    to    Fellows    and    opened    an    office    for    practice,    also    acquired    the 


^y  €64n./de.'/bACtP^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  427 

[iliarmacy  establisliniein  known  as  The  Fellows  Drug  Company's  store. 
Since  he  arrived  here  in  June,  1911,  he  has  won  the  confidence  of  the 
people,  who  recognize  in  him  a  surgeon  of  unusual  skill  and  an  experienced 
physician.  While  his  practice  is  general  and  includes  the  treatment  of 
disease  in  every  form,  he  has  specialized  in  the  treatment  of  diseases  of 
the  eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat,  and  surgery.  The  need  of  a  local  hospital 
led  him  to  interest  himself  in  that  work  shortly  after  he  had  located  here 
and  he  organized  a  hospital  association  of  eight  hundred  members,  of  which 
he  is  now  the  president.  The  concern  was  incorporated  in  January,  1912, 
and  the  hospital  was  opened  on  the  10th  of  February,  affording  to  the  people 
of  the  vicinity  a  moder'.i  institution  equipped  with  every  convenience  for 
the  care  of  the  sick.  Before  coming  to  the  west  Dr.  Johnson 'joined  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  at  Des  Moines,  also  Des  Moines  Lodge  No.  98,  B.  P. 
O.  E.,  and  the  blue  lodge  of  Masons.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Fellows 
Chamber  of  Ci.^mmerce. 

JOHN  TEMPLE  TAYLOR.— When  the  colonial  wars  were  calling  for 
the  stalwart  young  men  of  the  new  world  to  assist  in  the  defence  of  their 
adopted  country  among  those  who  responded  were  several  members  of  the 
Taylor  and  Temple  families,  representatives  of  the  F.  F.  V's  of  Virginia  and 
imbued  with  the  patriotic  loyalty  characteristic  of  every  generation  back  to 
the  English  progenitors.  The  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  found  the  men  of 
that  generation  eager  to  respond  to  the  call  of  the  colonies  for  help  and 
willing  to  sacrifice  money,  time,  and,  if  need  be,  their  lives  to  aid  in  securing 
independence  for  their  country.  In  the  later  years  of  peace  the  family  pros- 
pered and  acquired  large  Virginian  plantations.  On  one  of  these  estates  lived 
Richard  and  Elizabeth  (Temple)  Taylor,  whose  son,  John  R.  Taylor,  ^M.  D., 
was  born  and  reared  at  the  old  homestead  in  Hanover  county  and  was  given 
exceptional  educational  advantages  that  culminated  in  a  course  of  study  in 
that  famous  Philadelphia  institution,  the  Jefl:'erson  Medical  College.  I'pon 
receiving  the  degree  of  M.  D.  from  that  college  he  returned  to  Virginia  and 
purposed  to  devote  his  entire  life  to  professional  labors,  but  more  and  more 
the  management  of  his  lands  began  to  engross  his  attention  and  finally  he 
retired  from  practice  in  order  to  give  his  time  to  landed  interests  in  di/iferent 
parts  of  Virginia.  For  years  prior  to  his  demise  he  made  his  home  at  a 
picturesque  old  plantation.  Fall  Hill,  situated  near  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  over- 
looking the  Rappahannock  river.  On  that  place  occurred  the  birth  of  his  son, 
John  Temple,  February  16,  1845.  There  too  were  born  the  five  other  children 
comprising  the  family  and  there  also  the  mother  spent  her  last  days,  so  that 
tiie  endearing  associations  of  both  happy  and  sad  memories  clustered  around 
the  old  homestead.  Three  of  the  children  are  still  living.  Of  the  five  sons 
four  bore  arms  for  the  Confederacy  during  the  Civil  war  and  one  of  these, 
Capt.  Murray  F.  Taylor,  a  member  of  the  stafT  of  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill,  after  the 
war  came  to  California,  secured  employment  in  Kern  county,  rose  to  be 
sujierintendent  of  the  Stockdale  ranch  and  some  years  later  returned  to  Vh- 
ginia,  where  he  died. 

Attendance  at  the  Virginia  Military  Institute  at  Lexington.  \'a.,  was 
brought  to  an  abrupt  close  in  1862,  when  John  Temple  Taylor  abandoned 
the  practice  work  and  drills  on  the  college  campus  for  actual  service  in  the 
field.  At  the  time  of  his  enlistment  in  Company  B,  Ninth  Virginia  Cavalry, 
he  was  a  youth  of  seventeen  years,  courageous  and  enthusiastic,  glad  to 
enlist  in  the  cause  of  the  south  where  his  life  had  been  passed  and  where 
generations  of  his  ancestors  had  lived  and  labored.  The  regiment  to  which 
he  was  assigned  and  in  which  he  continued  until  the  close  of  the  war, 
served  around  Richmond  and  in  other  parts  of  Virginia,  taking  part  in  the 
battles  of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  the  Shenandoah  valley,  Petersburg, 
etc.  In  several  battles  he  received  saber  wounds,  at  Ashland  he  was  wounded 
by  a  bullet  in  the  right  shoulder  and  at  Five  Forks  his  horse  was  shot  from 


428  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

under  him,  but  he  escaped  by  securing  and  mounting  a  riderless  horse.  Upon 
the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  the  Fall  Hill  plantation,  but  in  the  fall 
of  the  same  year  (1865)  he  moved  to  the  Hayes  plantation  in  King  George 
county,  on  the  Rappahannock  river,  twelve  miles  below  Fredericksburg. 
This  plantation  he  owned  throughout  life,  although  for  years  it  was  leased 
to  other  parties. 

Coming  to  California  in  1875,  Mr.  Taylor  joined  a  relative.  Dr.  George 
F.  Thornton,  the  general  superintendent  for  J.  B.  Haggin.  This  relative 
gave  him  employment  as  a  foreman.  One  year  later  he  was  made  super- 
intendent of  the  Bellevue  ranch,  which  property  he  developed  and  put  under 
cultivation.  On  account  of  failing  health  in  1883  he  went  to  Contra  Costa 
county  to  recuperate  and  while  there  he  engaged  in  farming.  With  strength 
renewed  in  1887  he  returned  to  Kern  county  and  again  became  an  employe 
of  J.  B.  Haggin.  In  1891.  when  his  brother,  Capt.  M.  F.  Taylor,  returned 
to  Virginia,  he  became  superintendent  of  the  Stockdale,  Bellevue,  Buena 
Vista  and  ■NlcClung  ranches.  Later  he  was  tendered  a  similar  position  on 
the  Canfield  ranch.  Upon  the  formation  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Com- 
pany he  was  retained  as  superintendent  of  all  of  these  various  ranches. 
At  the  same  time  he  himself  became  a  property  owner  and  invested  in 
valuable  residential  sections  of  Bakersfield  and  Los  Angeles.  Mr.  Taylor's 
son,  Wallace  Temple,  is  a  railroad  and  general  contractor  with  headquarters  in 
Los  Angeles.  Through  all  of  his  life  John  Temple  Taylor  was  stanchly 
devoted  to  Democratic  principles.  Some  years  ago  he  was  chosen  a  member 
of  the  county  Democratic  central  committee  and  his  service  in  that  capacity. 
as  in  every  other  association  of  political  or  business  life,  reflected  his  own 
strength  of  character,  energy  of  temperament  and  high  ideals  of  citizenship. 
Bakersfield  mourned  the  loss  oi  one  of  her  most  dependable  citizens  when 
John  Temple  Taylor  passed  from  earth  August  23,  1913.  His  remains  were 
buried  in  Bakersfield  cemetery  by  the  side  of  his  brother,  Capt.  Murray 
F.  Taylor. 

GEORGE  MOLIDOR.— The  rotary  disc  bit,  which  was  invented 
through  the  combined  efforts  of  T.  F.  Litaker  and  George  Molidor  in  1910 
and  later  covered  by  patents  in  this  and  foreign  countries,  is  a  device  that 
will  work  quickly  and  successfully  in  all  formations,  thus  rendering  unnec- 
essary the  changing  of  bits  when  another  formation  is  struck.  October  15, 
1912,  the  Rotary  Disc  Bit  Company  was  incorporated,  the  two  hundred 
shares  being  held  by  the  gentlemen  named,  together  with  R.  U.  Harris 
and  W.  J.  Holland.  Arrangements  have  been  made  whereby  the  Oil  Well 
Supply  Company  of  Los  Angeles  will  undertake  the  manufacture  of  the  bit 
on  a  royalty  basis  and  as  this  concern  has  about  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
branch  stores  in  the  various  oil  fields  of  the  world,  it  would  appear  that 
the  bit  will  soon  become  well-known  among  oil  operators  everywhere. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  company  its  president,  Mr.  Molidor,  has 
traveled  as  a  salesman  introducing  the  bit  into  different  oil  fields,  and  he 
finds  that  oil  men  are  interested  in  the  device  by  reason  of  its  simplicity  of 
construction  and  the  fact  that  there  are  no  delicate  parts.  The  discs 
and  pins  are  the  only  parts  upon  which  there  is  any  wear,  and  these  can  be 
replaced  quickh'  and  at  small  expense.  The  discs  are  made  of  manganese 
steel  and  are  so  constructed  that  the}^  keep  a  cutting  edge.  As  the  discs 
revolve  on  their  pins  they  have  over  sixty  inches  of  cutting  surface. 
Another  advantage  of  the  rotary  disc  bit  is  that  it  uses  only  one-third  the 
amount  of  steam  required  for  a  fish  tail.  This  means  there  is  very  little 
strain  on  the  drill  pipe  and  the  danger  of  twisting  the  pipe  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum.  In  drilling  with  the  bit  it  is  necessary  to  feed  slowly  or  the 
pumps  will  be  choked.  On  the  LaBeile  lease  on  section  4-  32-23,  near 
P'ellciws,   at   a   depth   of   three   hundred   and    thirty-seven    feet,    in    ten    hours 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  429 

and  ten  minutes  of  actual  drilling,  a  soft  formation  was  struck  and  the  dril- 
lers put  in  a  fish  tail,  which  ran  through  the  formation,  struck  coarse  gravel 
and  lasted  only  thirty  minutes.  The  disc  bit  was  again  used  and  made  nine 
feet  in  boulders  in  one  hour  and  thirty  minutes.  .\s  the  discs  and  pins 
were  worn  the  disc  bit  was  taken  out  and  the  fish  tail  put  in.  which  made 
ten  feet  in  fifty  minutes  and  then  had  to  be  dressed.  The  formation  con- 
sisted of  sand  and  gravel,  two  hundred  and  seventy-four  feet ;  gypsum, 
thirty  feet ;  soft  clay,  twenty  feet ;  and  boulders,  twenty-two  feet. 

The  president  of  the  company  is  of  American  birth  and  German  par- 
entage and  belongs  to  a  family  noted  for  rugged  physique  and  sturdy  con- 
stitution. His  father,  Henry  G..  a  native  of  Hanover.  Germany,  crossed  the 
ocean  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  and  settled  in  Ohio,  where  he  followed 
his  trade  of  merchant  tailor.  After  a  few  years  he  moved  to  Sjiringfield, 
111.,  and  followed  the  same  trade.  Later  he  went  to  Kansas  and  bought  a 
farm  southeast  of  Independence.  While  living  in  Ohio  he  was  married  at 
Radnor  to  Miss  Katherine  May,  a  native  of  the  Buckeye  state.  Both  he 
and  his  wife  are  deceased  and  their  farm,  which  still  remains  intact  as  an 
estate,  has  become  valuable  oil  land,  since  about  1904  oil  having  been 
pumped  daily  from  three  wells.  The  parental  family  consisted  of  five  sons 
and  three  daughters.  The  second  son,  George,  was  twenty-one  at  the  time 
of  the  removal  to  Kansas.  After  two  years  on  the  farm  near  Independence 
he  went  to  the  mountains  and  engaged  in  prospecting  for  gold,  Four  years 
were  spent  near  Leadville.  Upon  his  return  to  Kansas  he  engaged  in 
ranching  and  also  with  two  brothers  and  another  gentleman  engaged  in 
operating  a  threshing  machine.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  Miss  Mary 
Hayes,  of  Independence,  who  died  on  the  farm  near  that  town  in  1909, 
leaving  six  children,  namely  :  Gertrude,  George  A.,  Paul  A..  Nellie,  Katherine 
and  Genevieve.  The  elder  son.  George  A.,  now  in  school,  has  devoted  his 
vacations  to  the  driving  of  a  transfer  wagon  at  Fellows  and  to  employment 
in  the  Jones  drug  store,  but  is  especially  fond  of  mechanical  work  and 
intends  to  take  up  work  with  machinery  upon  leaving  school.  The  second 
son,  Paiil  A.,  is  now  employed  in  the  Jones  drug  store.  In  1911  Mr.  Molidor 
married  Miss  Nellie  Mills,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  London,  and  of 
that  union  there  is  a  daughter,  Frances  Irene,  born  in  December,  1912. 

A  most  serious  disaster  befell  Mr.  Molidor  with  the  burning  of  his 
buildings  in  Fellows  on  Christmas  eve  of  1911,  when  he  and  his  family  were 
left  without  means  and  with  almost  no  clothing.  Encouraged  by  his  wife 
and  children,  he  took  up  transfer  work  and  anything  that  it  was  possible 
for  him  to  do.  but  in  the  meantime  he  had  been  interested  in  the  rotary 
disc  bit  and  now  devotes  his  entire  attention  to  its  sale.  For  five  years 
he  worked  in  oil  fields  and  by  actual  experience  he  has  become  familiar 
with  every  phase  of  that  industry  except  drilling.  Inventive  ability  has 
been  one  of  his  characteristics  from  early  life.  While  living  in  Kansas  he 
invented  a  combination  can-opener,  meat  and  vegetable  chopper  and  ice 
shaver,  and  sold  one-half  interest  in  the  invention  for  an  amount  that 
enabled  him  to  put  up  a  factory  building  at  Independence  in  1890.  Other 
inventions  are  also  to  his  credit  and  it  is  his  chief  ambition  to  erect  a 
factory  wherein  several  of  his  inventions  may  be  manufactured.  The  ambi- 
tion may  be  unrealized  for  a  few  years,  but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  eventually  his  hope  will  be  realized.  From  early  years  he  and  his 
wife  have  been  identified  with  the  Catholic  Church,  and  while  in  Kansas 
he  was  an  active  worker  in  the  Knights  of  Columbus  at  Independence.  In 
that  tiiwn  he  was  likewise  prtiminent  among  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

JOHN  T.  GREEN.— It  was  in  Tulare.  Cal,  that  J.  T.  Green  was  born 
March  12.  1884.  He  entered  school  when  seven  years  old  and  when  he 
was  nine  he  was  taken  bv  his  parents  to   Lemoore  on  their  removal  to  that 


430  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

town.  There  he  was  graduated  from  the  grammar  school  and  devoted  a 
year  to  high  school  attendance,  and  in  1904  he  was  duly  graduated,  at 
the  end  of  the  prescribed  course  of  study,  from  the  San  Francisco  business 
college.  That  same  year  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  for  four  years  there- 
after he  was  employed  in  the  motive  power  department  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  railroad.  In  1908  he  came  to  Wasco  to  become  manager  of  the 
Hayes  &  Murray  general  merchandise  store,  which  he  bought  a  year  later 
and  conducted  until  1911,  when  he  disposed  of  it  in  order  to  engage  in  the 
real  estate  business.  He  was  appointed  postmaster  of  Wasco  May  27, 
1909,  and  has  ably  filled  that  office  ever  since.  He  established  the  first 
barber  shop  in  Wasco,  encouraged  the  opening  of  the  first  butcher  shop 
there  and  was  instrumental  in  the  installation  of  the  first  newspaper  plant 
in  the  town,  that  of  the  Wasco  News.  He  is  the  commercial  agent  for 
the  Universal  as  well  as  the  Associated  Oil  Companies.  Another  of  his 
activities  is  his  energetic  management  of  the  Wasco  Land  Company.  It  will 
be  seen  that  not  only  as  a  real  estate  man,  but  in  numerous  other  ways  he 
has  done  much  for  the  upbuilding  of  Wasco.  He  owns  four  residences  in 
the  town,  his  home  lot  consisting  of  two  and  a  half  acres,  as  well  as 
three  business  lots.  In  1912  he  erected  a  large  brick  building,  60x70  feet, 
occupied  by  two  stores  and  the  postoffice,  which  is  located  centrally  on  the 
main  business  street.  Since  1909  Mr.  Green  has  held  a  commission  as  notary 
public. 

On  November  5,  1909,  Mr.  Green  married  Miss  Pearl  S.  Lobb,  who  was 
born  at  Traver,  Tulare  county,  Cal.,  August  25,  1887,  and  they  have  one, 
child,  Gwen  Adell  Green.  Fraternally  he  affiliates  with  Delano  Lodge, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  with  the  Bakersfield  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F..  and  with  the  local 
organization  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  of  which  latter  he  was 
a   charter   member. 

EDWARD  W.  CRAGHILL.— Three  generations  of  the  Craghill  family 
have  been  identified  with  the  material  development  of  California  and  the 
manager  of  the  King  Lumber  Company  at  Fellows  represents  the  third 
generation,  being  a  grandson  of  Charles  Craghill,  the  founder  of  the  family 
on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific.  That  gentleman,  who  was  a  native  of  London, 
England,  but  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  from  early  life,  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  in  Iowa  prior  to  the  Civil  war.  With  characteristic  loyalty 
to  the  country  of  his  adoption  he  enlisted  under  the  stars  and  stripes  and 
rose  to  the  rank  of  quartermaster  in  an  Iowa  regiment  of  infantry.  Receiv- 
ing an  honorable  discharge  at  the  close  of  the  war,  he  returned  to  Iowa,  but 
in  a  short  time  disposed  of  his  holdings  in  that  state  and  came  to  California 
accompanied  by  his  wife  and  children.  Selecting  a  location  near  Santa  Cruz, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  In  the  community  he  rose 
to  a  position  of  considerable  local  influence  and  the  highest  reputation  for 
probity  and  intelligence.  For  twenty  years  he  gave  impartial  service  in 
the  office  of  justice. of  the  peace.  His  life  was  prolonged  to  old  age  and  he 
passed  away  in  1911  after  an  intimate  and  interested  identification  with  his 
section  of  the  state. 

When  the  family  came  from  Iowa  to  California  Thomas  E.  Craghill, 
a  native  of  the  former  commonwealth,  was  a  small  child,  hence  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  has  been  passed  in  the  west.  During  young  manhood  he 
engaged  in  teaming  at  Santa  Cruz.  For  many  years  he  raised  stock  and 
grain  on  a  ranch  near  San  Luis  Obispo,  but  at  this  writing  he  operates  a 
cattle  ranch  in  Tulare  county  near  the  -village  of  Corcoran.  By  marriage 
to  Vianna  McLaughlin,  a  native  of  Santa  Cruz,  he  became  connected  with 
another  prominent  pioneer  family  of  the  western  country.  In  a  very  early 
period  of  California  colonization  her  father,  Daniel  .McLaughlin,  a  native 
of  Maine,  crossed  the  plains  with  ox-teams  and  wagons  and  became  a  pioneer 


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HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  433 

of  the  vast  undeveloped  regions  of  the  west.  Somewhat  later  he  married  at 
Santa  Cruz  Miss  Helen  Rice,  who  had  accompanied  her  parents  across  the 
plains  and,  like  himself,  claimed  Maine  as  her  native  commonwealth.  After 
their  marriage  they  engaged  in  general  farming,  with  a  specialty  of 
horticulture. 

The  eldest  of  the  sexen  chiUlrcn  of  Thomas  E.  and  Vianna  Craghill  is 
Edward  ^\'.  Craghill,  horn  on  the  ranch,  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  March 
24,  1887,  and  educated  in  country  schools  near  the  old  home.  After  leaving 
school  he  clerked  in  San  Francisco  for  a  short  time,  then  went  to  Corcoran 
to  assist  his  father  in  the  cattle  industry,  but  soon  became  an  employe  of 
the  Cross  Lumber  Company.  After  two  years  with  the  concern,  during  a 
portion  of  which  time  he  served  as  assistant  manager,  he  came  to  Fellows 
in  September  of  1910  as  an  employe  of  the  King  Lumber  Company.  In  a 
short  time  he  was  transferred  to  Wasco  to  act  as  manager  for  the  company 
at  that  point,  but  in  April,  1912,  was  sent  back  to  Fellows,  where  he  since 
has  been  manager  of  the  yards.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. 

ANDREW  FRELIGH.— Coming  to  California  in  1870  with  the  hope 
that  the  change  of  climate  might  benefit  his  impaired  health,  Mr.  Freligh  ar- 
rived in  Kern  county  during  1876  and  settled  during  1880  upon  the  ranch 
where  he  still  lives  and  labors.  The  interim  has  been  devoted  to  the  stock 
business.  L'p  to  the  year  1882  he  specialized  with  sheep,  but  a  number  of 
heavy  losses  led  him  to  dispose  of  his  flocks  and  devote  his  attention  to  hogs, 
horses  and  cattle.  At  this  writing  he  owns  six  hundred  head  of  stock.  His 
quiet,  retiring  disposition  impels  him  to  find  his  highest  pleasure  on  his  licmie 
ranch  and  in  the  care  of  his  stock. 

Born  on  the  bank  of  Seneca  Lake,  in  Seneca  county.  N.  Y.,  September 
12.  1850,  Andrew  Freligh  received  a  public-school  education  and  upon  leav- 
ing school  went  via  Michigan  to  P'rairie  City,  Kans.,  where  he  found  employ- 
ment on  farms  and  remained  for  two  years.  Ill  health  caused  him  to  come 
to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1870  and  from  San  Francisco  he  moved  to  Alameda 
county,  where  he  worked  as  an  orchardist  at  Haywoods  for  two  years,  con- 
centrating his  attention  upon  the  raising  of  deciduous  fruits.  Concluding- 
then  to  engage  in  the  sheep  industry,  he  started  in  business  at  Jones'  Ferry, 
Fresno  county,  at  first  having  about  three  hundred  head  of  sheep.  In  order 
to  secure  range  for  the  flock  he  went  into  different  parts  of  Fresno  county 
and  traveled  through  that  district  when  there  was  not  a  single  house  on  the 
present  site  of  the  flourishing  cit)^  of  Fresno.  He  saw  the  town  started  and 
attended  the  first  Fourth  of  July  celebration.  With  the  intention  of  finding 
suitable  range  for  his  sheep  he  came  into  Kern  county  in  1876  and  four  years 
later  he  settled  on  his  present  ranch,  where  in  partnership  with  an  uncle, 
George  Kinnie,  he  bought  eight  hundred  acres,  sixteen  miles  west  of  Bakers- 
field.  The  uncle  deciding  to  leave  in  1884  sold  his  interest  in  the  land  to  Mr. 
Blodgett  and  since  then  Mr.  Freligh  has  run  the  ranch,  raising  and  selling 
horses,  hogs  and  cattle,  and  making  a  specialty  of  raising  draft  horses  of  the 
Norman  strain  and  Durham  cattle.  Six  hundred  acres  of  the  ranch  are  under 
irrigation  and  in  alfalfa. 

JOSEPH  J.  MARSHALL.— An  early  identification  with  American  devel- 
opment along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  is  attested  by  the  ^Marshall  family  gen- 
ealogy, which  also  indicate-^  patriotic  loyalty  to  country  and  a  courageous 
participation  in  many  a  fiercely  contested  battle.  During  the  Civil  war 
George  Marshall,  a  native  of  New  York  City,  offered  his  services  to  the 
Union  and  was  assigned  to  service  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Third  New- 
York  Infantry,  with  which  he  went  to  the  front  and  aided  in  the  quelling  of 
the  rebellion.  During  the  earlv  '70s  he  became  an  employe  in  the  St.  Louis 
postofifice  and  the  efficiency  of  his  services  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  has 
remained  in  the  department  from  that  time  to  the  present,  being  now    with 


434  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

two  exceptions  the  oldest  employe  in  that  great  office.  He  and  his  wife, 
formerly  Mary  M.  Francis,  who  was  born  in  Davenport,  Iowa,  have  a  family 
of  eleven  children.  The  second  of  these,  Joseph  J.,  was  born  in  the  city 
of  St.  Louis,  April  4,  1875,  and  received  an  excellent  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  Christian  Brothers  College.  Immediately  after  leaving  college 
he  became  an  apprentice  to  the  trade  of  carpenter.  Inheriting  the  military 
spirit  of  his  ancestors,  he  entered  the  army  in  1895  and  was  assigned  to 
Troop  I,  Second  United  States  Cavalry,  with  which  he  served  at  Fort  Logan 
for  three  years.  Within  fifteen  minutes  after  his  honorable  discharge  in 
April,  1898,  he  had  re-enlisted  in  the  same  troop  for  service  in  the  Spanish- 
American  war.  Under  general  orders  he  received  an  honorable  discharge 
at  Huntsville,  Ala.,  in  January,  1899,  after  which  he  returned  to  St.  Louis 
and  completed  his  trade.  In  that  city  occurred  his  marriage  to  Miss  Louise 
Rathert,  who  was  born,  reared  and  educated  there,  and  who  shares  with  him 
the  good-will  of  the  people  of  their  home  town. 

.•\n  experience  as  carpenter  in  Mexico  gave  to  Mr,  Marshall  some  knowl- 
edge of  conditions  in  that  country,  where  he  worked  first  at  Mazatlan  and 
later  at  Empalme  in  the  state  of  Sonora.  From  1907  until  he  came  to  Fel- 
lows in  1910  he  spent  much  of  the  time  in  Mexico,  as  foreman  of  the  construc- 
tion department  for  buildings  erected  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company.  When  he  came  to  the  oil  fields  he  was  well  equipped  for  success- 
ful work  in  the  building  business.  At  Fellows  he  aided  in  the  erection  of 
some  of  the  first  buildings  and  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Ramage  & 
Marshall,  the  first  partnership  of  builders  in  the  new  settlement.  The  part- 
nership was  later  dissolved  and  in  January,  1912,  with  L.  H.  Moon,  he 
started  the  M.  &  M.  Construction  Company,  which  has  had  the  contracts 
for  the  improvements  on  twenty  or  more  leases,  has  erected  houses  and 
improved  business  property,  and  has  built  the  largest  bunk-houses  in  the  oil 
fields  of  the  west  side,  including  Maricopa,  Taft,  Fellows  and  McKittrick. 
Besides  keeping  busily  employed  at  his  trade,  Mr.  Marshall  is  interested 
in  the  Fellows  Suititorium  and  is  a  worker  for  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
as  well  as  other  local  organizations  of  merit.  The  Republican  party  has 
received  his  ballot  in  all  general  elections. 

M.  A.  DUNCAN. — The  Duncan  family  comes  of  a  long  line  of  sturdy, 
law-abiding  people,  who  founded  family  pride  upon  unsullied  lives  and  patri- 
otic service  and  who  cherished  an  altruistic  spirit  in  all  the  relations  of  life. 
The  fine  qualities  of  the  race  came  to  them  from  a  long  line  of  Scotch  for- 
bears and  when  Willis  Duncan,  a  native  of  Scotland,  established  the  family 
name  and  fortunes  in  the  new  world  there  were  transplanted  in  this  country 
the  sturdy  honesty  and  irreproachable  integrity  characteristic  of  elder  gener- 
ations. From  Willis  the  line  is  traced  through  his  son,  Gavin  Bennett 
Duncan,  to  the  next  generation,  represented  by  M.  A.,  of  Bakersfield,  the 
latter  being  a  grandson  -through  his  mother,  Eliza,  of  Joel  Frazier,  long  a 
resident  of  Kentucky,  but  a  native  of  Ireland,  being  a  member  of  a  family 
that  fled  from  Scotland  to  Ireland  at  the  time  of  the  religious  persecutions. 
Ten  children  formed  the  family  of  Gavin  Bennett  and  Eliza  (Frazier)  Dun- 
can. One  of  these,  the  youngest  and  the  last  survivor,  M.  A.,  was  born  on 
the  home  farm  in  Adams  county.  111..  August  24,  1850,  there  made  himself 
useful  in  the  care  of  the  stock  and  the  tilling  of  the  soil  as  soon  as  large 
enough  for  such  work.  In  that  locality  he  met  and  married  Miss  Emma 
Lehman,  likewise  a  native  of  Adams  county.  Four  children  were  born  of 
their  union,  namely:  Alta  Lelah,  wife  of  Edward'  L.  Hougham,  manager  of 
the  store  of  M.  A.  Duncan  &  Co.,  in  Bakersfield;  Eugene  B.,  also  of  Bakers- 
field  ;  Nellie  Lenora,  Mrs.  Arthur  S.  Crites ;  and  Anna  Bertram,  at  home. 

Arriving  in  Bakersfield  December  21,  1899,  Mr.  Duncan  immediately 
made   preparations   to   embark    in   the   gri.icery   business.      From    the   first   he 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  437 

retained  as  manager  his  son-in-law,  Edward  L.  Hoiighani,  formerly  manager 
of  a  wholesale  and  retail  grocery  business  at  Manhattan,  Kan.  The  estab- 
lishment has  been  conducted  along  lines  of  honor  and  integrity  and  success 
has  been  its  portion.  In  point  of  years  of  active  business  as  a  grocer  Mr. 
Duncan  has  been  considered  the  pioneer  in  the  city,  his  only  predecessor  in 
the  place  having  been  A.  Weill,  whose  store  is  somewhat  different  by  reason 
of  being  conducted'  upon  the  department  plan.  The  establishment  of  M.  A. 
Duncan  &  Co..  (of  which,  notwithstanding  the  "Company,"  Mr.  Duncan  is  the 
sole  owner),  has  given  steady  employment  to  five  experienced  salesmen,  who 
under  the  efficient  supervision  of  the  manager  fill  every  requirement  of  custom- 
ers with  dispatch,  care  and  keen  attention  to  details.  The  central  location 
at  1801  Chester  avenue  has  been  an  aid  in  the  building  up  of  a  permanent 
trade  and  securing  a  large  patronage ;  but  even  more  important  than  the 
location  has  been  the  reputation  for  the  observance  of  the  pure  food  laws. 

After  coming  to  California  and  settling  in  this  city  Mr.  Duncan  became 
a  leading  worker  in  Masonry  and  a  prominent  member  of  the  Royal  Arch 
Chapter.  In  addition  he  also  identified  himself  with  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America.  Ha\ing  the  efficient  supervision  of  his  son-in-law  in  the  store, 
it  became  possible  for  him  to  rela.x  from  business  tension  and  enjoy  the 
social  amenities  of  life.  Early  in  his  citizenship  he  won  his  way  to  the  con- 
fidence of  the  people  here  and  gained  many  friends.  Like  many  (ither  prom- 
inent and  successful  business  men  he  found  his  automobile  a  source  of 
recreation  and  pleasure,  but  he  was  unfortunate  in  an  experience  in  driving, 
a  new  car  August  b,  1912.  In  crossing  the  track  the  automobile  was  struck 
by  a  Santa  Fe  engine  and  he  was  seriously  wounded,  the  cranium  fractured 
so  that  it  was  necessary  to  remove  a  large  piece  of  the  bone.  He  was  taken 
to  the  hospital  in  a  very  serious  condition  and  for  a  while  lingered  between 
life  and  death,  but  a  strong  constitution  stood  him  well  in  hand  and  his 
recovery  was  good,  and  he  is  now  back  attending  to  business. 

THOMAS  ALEXANDER  METCALF.— The  earliest  records  that  can 
be  traced  concerning  the  Metcalf  family  indicate  their  identification  with 
North  Riding.  Yurkshire,  England,  several  centuries  ago.  From  there  some 
of  the  name  crossed  the  Irish  sea  into  Ireland  and  established  the  family  in 
Inneskillen,  from  which  point  William  Metcalf  immigrated  to  America  during 
the  colonial  era  of  our  national  history.  Curtis,  son  of  William,  was  born 
in  Lancaster  county.  Pa.,  and  devoted  his  entire  Hfe  to  agricultural  ])ur- 
suits  there.  The  next  generation  was  represented  by  Thomas  Metcalf,  a 
native  of  Lancaster  county  and  in  very  early  youth  a  soldier  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, enlisting  from  Pennsylvania.  For  a  long  period  after  the  close  of  that 
historic  struggle  he  engaged  in  farming  in  his  native  county,  but  when  ad- 
vanced in  years  he  removed  to  Ohio  and  spent  his  last  days  in  Helmont 
county.  Among  his  children  was  a  son.  William  G.,  born  near  \^■estchester. 
Pa.,  and  for  years  a  farmer  in  P.elmont  county.  Ohio,  but  later  a  pioneer 
of  Illinois,  where  he  developed  farm  land  in  the  vicinity  df  Mendon,  111. 
Although  far  beyond  the  limit  of  military  service  at  the  time  of  the  Civil 
war  he  became  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Union  and  was  accepted  as  a 
private  in  Company  G,  One  Hundred  and  Eighteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  whose 
hardships  he  endured  with  a  fortitude  not  surpassed  by  those  younger 
than  he.  \Miile  living  in  Ohio  he  married  Jane  McMillan,  a  native  of  St. 
Clairsville.  Belmont  county,  and  a  daughter  of  .\lexander  McMillan,  who 
during  early  years  had  crossed  the  ocean  from  his  birthplace,  Glasgow,  Scot- 
land, and  had  settled  in  Ohio.  For  years  he  followed  the  occupation  of  a 
merchant  tailor  at  St.  Clairsville  and  there  his  death  occurred.  P.oth  William 
G.  Metcalf  and  his  wife  spent  their  last  days  in  Illinois.  Of  their  ten  children 
all  hut  one  attained  niaturitv  and  there  nuw  survive  four  snns  and  nne  daugh- 


438  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

ter.     One  of  the  sons,  Isaac,  was  a  soldier  in  Company   K,   One  Hundred 
and  Nineteenth  Illinois  Infantry,  and  now  makes  his  home  in  Texas. 

The  oldest  member  of  the  family  circle,  Thomas  Alexander  Metcalf, 
was  born  at  St.  Clairsville,  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  May  25,  1844,  and  at  the 
age  of  twelve  years  accompanied  the  family  to  Illinois,  settling  among  the 
pioneers  of  Adams  county,  where  he  attended  public  schools  during  the  in- 
tervals of  farm  work.  During  1863  he  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Forty-fifth 
Illinois  Infantry,  and  was  mustered  into  the  service  at  Springfield,  111.  With 
his  regiment  he  participated  in  numerous  of  the  most  important  battles  of 
the  war,  being  at  Chattanooga,  ^Missionary  Ridge  and  Kennesaw  Mountain, 
taking  part  in  the  siege  of  Atlanta  and  the  engagement  at  Jonesboro,  accom- 
panying Sherman  on  the  famous  march  to  the  sea,  bearing  a  brave  part  in 
the  siege  of  Charleston  and  the  battle  of  Goldsboro,  where  he  was  wounded 
in  the  left  leg.  For  a  time  he  was  a  patient  in  a  hospital  at  Louisville,  Ky., 
and  in  June  of  1865  he  received  an  honorable  discharge  with  his  regiment. 
Returning  to  his  Illinois  home  he  took  up  school-teaching.  After  several 
years  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Ouincy  railroad  as 
an  agent  on  their  line  in  Illinois  and  at  Coatsburg,  Adams  county,  he  also 
served  as  judge  of  the  police  courts.  Coming  to  California  in  1883  and  set- 
tling upon  a  ranch  near  Bakersfield.  he  became  identified  with  the  early 
upbuilding  of  this  community.  After  a  time  he  established  his  home  on 
the  corner  of  C  and  Dracena  streets  in  the  city  itself  and  here  engaged  in 
contracting  and  building  until  the  death  of  his  brother-in-law,  S.  W.  Wible, 
when  he  became  administrator  of  the  estate  and  since  then  has  devoted  his 
time  to  its  affairs,  necessitating  trips  to  Alaska  each  summer  to  look  after 
the  mining  properties  of  the  deceased. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Metcalf  and  Aliss  Elizabeth  J.  Wible  took  place  in 
Mendon,  111.,  and  was  bles^d  with  two  children,  Simon  Hubert  and  Modena 
May,  the  former  an  electrical  engineer  employed  in  Spokane,  Wash.,  and 
the  latter  a  teacher  in  the  Bakersfield  public  schools.  Mrs.  Metcalf  was  born 
in  Johnstown,  Pa.,  and  removed  to  Illinois  with  her  father.  Peter  Wible, 
who  became  a  pioneer  farmer  of  Adams  county.  Further  reference  to  the 
family  history  appears  in  the  sketch  of  her  brother,  Simon  W.  Wible.  pre- 
sented on  another  page.  ;\Irs.  Metcalf's  demise  occurred  February  20,  1912. 
The  family  hold  membership  with  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church  in  Bakers- 
field, in  which  Mr.  Metcalf  officiates  as  senior  warden.  While  living  in  Illinois 
he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Benjamin  Lodge  No.  227.  .\.  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Camp 
Point,  Adams  county.  L'pon  the  organization  of  Hurlburt  Post  No.  127, 
G.  A.  R.,  in  Bakersfield,  he  became  a  charter  member  of  the  organization 
and  afterward  for  several  years  he  was  honored  with  the  office  of  commander 
of  the  post.  It  was  largely  through  his  effort  that  the  supervisors  set  aside 
a  room  in  the  new  court  house  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic  and  its  allied  societies,  and  it  has  been  furnished  and  fitted  up 
by  the  Post.  It  is  the  concensus  of  opinion  that  it  is  today  the  most  elaborate 
and  beautiful  Grand  .'Vrmy  Memorial  Hall  in  California  if  not  in  the  entire 
Union.  This  was  all  accomplished  while  he  was  commander  and.  being  a 
builder,  the  arrangement  was  left  to  him.  The  altar  is  his  own  design  and 
the  only  one  of  the  kind.  He  has  served  several  terms  as  an  aide  on  the 
stafif  of  different  commanders  of  the  department  of  California  and  Nevada. 
For  the  past  two  years  he  has  been  aide  de  camp  on  the  staff  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  Grand  .Army  of  the  Republic. 

EDWARD  L.  HOUGHAM.— The  manager  of  the  grocery  establish- 
ment of  M.  A.  Duncan  &  Co.,  to  whose  able  supervision  the  credit  for  much 
of  its  popularity  may  be  attributed,  is  Edward  L.  Hougham,  a  native  of  the 
state    of   Kansas,    born    at    Manhattan,    November   30,    1874.     .\s    a    boy    he 


r 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  441 

attended  the  public  schools  and  later  he  attended  the  Kansas  State  Agri- 
cultural College  in  his  home  city,  taking  a  full  course  of  four  years  in  the 
institution.  It  was  not.  however,  his  intention  to  enter  the  field  of  agri- 
cultural activities,  for  his  tastes  inclined  him  toward  a  commercial  career. 
Upon  leaving  college  he  secured  a  position  with  the  wholesale  and  retail 
g'rocery  firm  of  Whitney  &  Hougham  at  Manhattan  and  advanced  from 
one  post  to  another  until  eventually  he  became  the  manager  of  the  large 
and  important  business.  \A'hen  he  resigned  his  position  in  1899  he  came 
at  once  to  California  and  settled  at  Bakersfield,  where  in  December  of  the 
same  year  the  grocery  house  of  \I.  A.  Duncan  &  Co.  was  established. 

Both  comfort  and  culture  are  apparent  in  the  attractive  home  of  Mr. 
Hougham  at  No.  2129  Dracina  street,  Bakersfield.  The  presiding  genius  of 
this  home  is  Mrs.  Hougham,  who  prior  to  her  marriage  in  Quincy,  111.,  was 
Alta  Lelah  Duncan,  her  father  bemg  M.  A.  Duncan,  the  pioneer  grocer  of 
Bakersfield.  Of  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Hougham  there  are  four  children, 
namely :   Edward    Bennett,   Theodore   Sylvester,   Mary   Eleanor  and   Martha. 

JAMES  ARMSTEAD  OGDEN.— Very  early  in  the  history  of  the  Vir- 
ginian colony  the  Ogden  family  became  established  there.  Not  only  were  they 
among  the  oldest  families  of  that  state,  but  among  the  most  prominent  and 
popular  as  well,  and  fcr  years  after  his  return  from  the  Revolutionary  war 
one  of  the  ancestors  managed  his  plantation  with  a  diligence  that  brought 
prosperity.  Among  the  children  of  the  Revolutionary  soldier  was  a  son,  Henry, 
who  lived  upon  a  plantation  in  Bedford  county  and  remained  in  the  Old 
Dominion  throughout  all  of  his  life.  The  next  generation  was  represented  by 
Champ  Ogden,  likewise  a  native  of  Bedford  county  near  the  thriving  city  of 
Lynchburg,  but  from  early  manhood  until  1862  a  planter  in  Virginia.  In  1862 
he  removed  to  Pike  county.  Mo.,  where  he  died  March  21,  1864,  at  the  age 
of  forty-one  3-ears.  \\hen  he  removed  to  Missouri  he  was  accompanied  by  his 
wife,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Henry  Ogden,  a  Virginian  ;  born  and  reared  in 
the  Old  Dominion,  she  survi\ed  her  husband  thirteen  years,  dying  in  1877  at 
the  Missouri  homestead.  Of  her  seven  children,  James  A.  was  the  youngest 
and  he  alone,  of  the  four  now  living,  has  established  a  home  in  California. 
Born  near  Bowling  Green,  Mo.,  March  4,  1864,  he  has  no  recollection  what- 
ever of  his  father.  After  his  mother's  death  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years  he  was 
taken  from  Missouri  to  Virginia,  where  he  became  an  inmate  of  the  home  of 
his  aunt,  Mrs.  Harriet  Matthews,  in  Rockbridge  county,  and  under  her  careful 
oversight  he  was  given  a  public  school  education  at  Lexington.  When  he  had 
completed  the  studies  of  the  town  schools  he  settled  in  the  country  and  took  up 
general  farming. 

Coming  from  \'irginia  t<i  California  in  1887  and  settling  first  iii  Tulare 
county.  Mr.  Ogden  entered  upon  farming  activities.  From  the  first  he  was  a 
close  student  of  the  soil.  No  department  of  agriculture  was  beyond  his  inter- 
est. When  he  left  Tulare  county  and  came  to  Kern  county  in  1893  he  already 
had  gained  a  broad  knowledge  of  farming  in  all  of  its  diversified  forms  and 
was  well  qualified  to  fill  acceptably  his  new  position  as  foreman  on  the  Button 
\\'^ill()w  ranch  for  Miller  &  Lux.  For  eight  years,  beginning  with  1893,  he  con- 
tinued in  the  same  place.  The  ability  manifested  in  every  department  of  the 
work  and  the  resourcefulness  evident  in  every  emergency  won  recognition  for 
Afr.  Ogden,  who  in  1901  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  entire  division 
of  southern  ranches,  including  Button  A\'illow  ranch  in  Kern  county  (where 
he  makes  his  headquarters,  his  home,  however,  being  on  Chester  avenue, 
Bakersfield).  Panama  and  Lake  ranches  in  Kern  county,  Cuyama  stock  ranch 
in  Santa  Barbara  county,  Carissa  rancho  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  and  th.c 
swamp  range  in  Kings  and  Tulare  coimties.  The  three  ranches  first-named 
have  splendid  facilities  for  irrigation  with  a  modern  system  of  canals  and  reser- 
voirs.    .\ltogether    he    superintends    over    six    hundred    thousand    acres,    the 


442  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

greater  part  of  which  is  utilized  as  range  for  stock,  although  large  tracts  are 
devoted  to  the  raising  of  grain  and  alfalfa.  Shipments  of  produce  and  stock 
are  made  from  Kern  county  to  San  I'rancisco.  For  some  years  the  superintend- 
ent drove  the  teams  and  buggies  from  one  ranch  to  another,  but  this  proved  too 
slow  and  he  now  utilizes  an  automobile  in  his  frequent  trips  into  Kings,  Tulare, 
San  Luis  Obispo  and  Santa  Barbara  counties. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Ogden  occurred  in  Tulare,  Cal.,  December  31,  1891, 
uniting  him  with  Miss  Elmina  Maples,  who  was  born  in  San  Benito  county, 
Cal.,  daughter  of  Thompson  W.  and  Elizabeth  (Merritt)  Maples^  who  were 
born  in  Liverpool,  England,  and  Jefiferson  county,  Ohio,  respectively.  Mr. 
Maples  was  of  Scotch-Irish  parents,  and  came  to  California  via  Panama  in 
1851,  when  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age.  He  followed  farming  during  his 
active  years,  and  now  makes  his  home  with  Mrs.  Ogden.  Mrs.  Maples  came  in 
a  sailer  around  Cape  Horn  in  1861  and  passed  away  in  Berkeley,  October  13, 
1909.  Mrs.  Ogden  received  a  broad  education  in  our  western  schools  and  is  a 
woman  of  culture  and  a  devoted  member  of  the  Congregational  church.  The 
only  son  in  the  family,  Laurence  Armstead  (,^gden,  a  graduate  of  the  Bakers- 
field  high  school  in  1910,  is  now  attending  Leland  Stanford  University,  class 
1915.  The  only  daughter,  Miss  Edith,  is  a  member  of  the  Kern  county  high 
school,  class  of  1914,  in  Bakersfield,  where  the  family  own  and  occupy  a  mod- 
ern residence.  In  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Ogden  holds  membership  with 
Bakersfield  Lodge,  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E. 

JAMES  B.  McFARLAND.— A  native  of  Ohio,  J.  B.  McFarland  was  born 
in  Woodsfield,  Monroe  county,  December  26,  1861,  and  his  parents  were 
Andrew  and  Catherine  (Harmon)  McFarland,  natives  of  that  county,  and 
farmers  there.  The  father  died  in  Wilsonville,  Nebr.,  and  the  mother  makes 
her  home  with  her  children,  being  now  seventy-six  years  of  age.  Genealogical 
records  show  that  Mr.  McFarland  is  of  Scotch  and  German  descent. 

When  he  reached  the  proper  age  Mr.  McFarland  was  sent  to  public  school 
and  later  was  a  student  at  the  normal  school  at  Sardis,  Ohio,  until  he  was 
seventeen.  He  became  a  teacher  and  when  eighteen  was  principal  of  the  Mount 
Zion  (Ohio)  school.  In  1880  he  removed  to  Nebraska  and  continued  to  teach, 
also  farming  near  Palmyra,  and  in  1882  he  taught  school  west  of  Lincoln 
in  Lancaster  county.  At  the  same  time  he  engaged  in  farming  in  Lancaster 
county  and  in  1884  he  raised  the  first  herd  of  Hereford  cattle  in  that  state. 
In  1886  he  removed  to  near  Burlington,  Colo.,  where  he  was  in  the  cattle 
business  and  also  taught  school  until  1893,  at  which  time  he  was  attracted  to 
Oklahoma  by  the  opening  of  the  Cherokee  Strip,  and  participated  in  the 
townsite- fights  at  Enid  with  the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island  Company  This  was 
one  circumstance  when  the  people  won  out  against  the  railroad  company.  At 
Enid  he  prospered  as  a  druggist  until  1895,  when  he  engaged  in  mining  at 
Cripple  Creek,  Colo.,  where  he  delved  for  gold  and  silver  with  varying  suc- 
cess for  four  years.  Then,  locating  at  Colorado  Springs,  he  devoted  the  en- 
suing four  years  to  the  lumber  trade.  In  1904  he  came  to  California,  settling 
at  .Anaheim,  Orange  county,  where  he  engaged  in  horticulture  and  devoted 
himself  chiefly  to  the  growing  of  walnuts  for  the  market.  In  1907  he  had 
become  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  unimproved  land  in 
Kern  county,  the  present  site  of  McFarland,  associating  himself  with  W.  F. 
Laird.  In  December  of  that  year  they  laid  out  the  town  of  McFarland  and 
began  building.  Laying  out  a  subdivision  they  planned  a  town  at  the  Hunt 
switch,  twenty-six  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield,  which  has  now  become  a 
place  of  three  hundred  population  and  of  considerable  commercial  importance. 

Mr.  McFarland  was  the  father  not  only  of  the  town  but  of  its  schools 
as  well  and  they  boast  of  a  splendid  new  grammar  school.  His  own  ranch 
has  l)een  imjiroved.     He  put  in  the  first  pumping  plant  in  the  town  site  and 


92^a.t,^^^...^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  445 

demonstrated  the  success  of  raising  alfalfa  by  that  form  of  irrigation,  raising 
from  ten  to  twelve  tons  to  the  acre.  He  is  interested  in  the  dairy  business 
located  one  mile  southwest  of  town,  where  he  has  a  herd  of  Holsteins  and 
Jerseys. 

Extending  his  activities  ^Ir.  Alcl''arland  established  a  lumjjer  mill  in  the 
Green  Horn  range  in  Kern  county.  With  others  he  incorporated  the  ^Ic- 
Farland  creamery,  the  plant  of  which,  located  at  McFarland,  makes  twelve 
thousand  pounds  of  butter  per  month.  The  butter  produced  at  this  estab- 
lishment took  the  first  prize,  a  gold  medal,  at  the  California  State  Fair  in  1911. 
The  company  also  manufactures  ice  for  local  consumption.  Mr.  McFarland 
has  sold  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  and  is  the  owner  at  this 
time  of  one  hundred  acres,  all  under  cultivation.  A  five-horse-power  motor 
engine  afifords  him  sufficient  water  supply  for  the  irrigation  of  his  own  place, 
and  his  dairy  is  also  equipped  with  an  electric  pumping  plant.  He  is  also 
engaged  in  raising  PerchertJU  Norman  horses.  Since  the  organization  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  McFarland  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Ixiard  of 
directors. 

In  St.  Clairsville,  Ohio,  in  1884,  Mr.  Mcl'^arland  was  married  to  Miss 
Martha  L.  Hart,  also  a  native  of  Monroe  county,  Ohio,  and  they  have  seven 
children:  Lenora,  Mrs.  A.  E.  Sherwood,  of  McFarland;  Ethel,  Mrs.  M. 
Schumacher,  of  Los  Angeles;  Bessie,  wife  of  T.  L.  Runyon,  residing  near 
McKittrick;  Gladys.  Myron,  Marie  and  Francis.  After  coming  here  the  father 
became  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Lone  Tree  school  district 
and  with  his  usual  \'igor  and  ambition  worked  faithfully  until  they  succeeded 
in  hax'ing  a  grammar  school  second  to  none  in  the  county.  In  national  politics 
Mr.  McFarland  espouses  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party. 

FRED  WRIGHT.— The  Wright  family  history  shows  that  William 
A\'right,  a  native  of  Ireland,  came  to  America  at  an  early  age  and  during 
young  manhood  married  Anna  Rowley,  who  was  born  in  Connecticut.  For 
some  time  they  lived  on  a  farm  in  Minnesota,  but  the  rigorous  climate 
of  that  northern  state  proved  unhealthful  and  they  decided  to  seek  a  more 
southerly  location.  As  early  as  1878  thev  became  residents  of  Texas,  where 
Mr.  Wright  for  a  time  followed  the  stock  industry  and  later  gave  consider- 
able attention  to  the  contracting  business.  His  death  occurred  in  Texas 
and  afterward  the  widow  came  to  California  to  establish  her  home,  since 
which  time  she  has  resided  in  Los  Angeles.  The  family  comprised  four 
sons  and  one  daughter,  the  eldest  of  the  five  having  been  Fred,  who  was 
born  near  Austin,  Minn.,  .\ugust  12,  1873,  and  was  a  child  of  five  years  when 
the  family  removed  to  Texas.  The  public  schools  of  Tyler,  that  state, 
afforded  him  fair  educational  advantages.  .\t  sixteen  years  of  age  he  began 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  machinist  in  the  shops  of  the  St.  Louis  & 
Southwestern  Railroad  Company  at  Tyler.  On  the  completion  of  his  time 
he  traveled  as  a  journeyman  and  worked  in  many  sections  of  the  south. 
It  was  during  this  period  that  he  married  in  Pine  Bluff,  Ark.,  'Miss  Lottie 
Woodland,  a  native  of  Charles  City,  Iowa,  and  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mary 
(AVright)  W'oodland,  the  former  a  native  of  England,  but  a  resident  of  the 
United  States  from  a  boy.  Mr.  Woodland  served  in  the  Civil  war  as  mem- 
ber of  an  Iowa  regiment,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  now  residing  near  Bismarck, 
North  Dakota.  Six  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wright,  Francis, 
Robert,  Mary,  Anna.  Margaret  and  Mildred. 

During  1908  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wright  came  to  Bakersfield  and  he  entered 
the  Bakersfield  Iron  W^orks  as  a  machinist.  The  quality  of  his  work  was 
so  satisfactory  that  he  was  promoted  to  be  foreman  of  the  pump  department. 
Later  he  held  a  similar  position  with  Sprague  Bros.,  resigning  from  the  em- 
ploy of  the  last-named  firm  in  order  that  he  might  establish  a  partnership 
with    Christian    Nelson,   and   thev   started   the   East   Bakersfield   Garage  and 


446  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Machine  Company  and  developed  a  splendid  trade.  Both  being  skilled 
mechanics  and  having  a  thorough  knowledge  of  machinery  gave  them  an 
important  advantage  and  they  met  with  success.  However,  in  March,  1913, 
upon  being  tendered  his  old  position  as  foreman  of  the  pump  department 
of  the  Bakersfield  Iron  Works,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  accept  it,  and  he 
is  now  actively  engaged  in  looking  after  his  manifold  duties.  With  his  fam- 
ily he  resides  at  his  comfortable  home  on  the  corner  of  Sixth  and  R  streets 
in  Bakersfield. 

CHARLES  WILLIAM  JACKSON.— Born  at  Fort  Worth,  Texas,  March 
12,  1851.  Charles  W.  Jackson  was  a  son  of  Thomas  Jackson,  who  was 
a  native  of  Tennessee  and  removed  to  Texas,  where  he  married  Cecelia  De- 
Witt,  who  was  born  in  New  Hampshire.  He  was  a  cattle  man  in  northwest 
Texas,  where  both  parents  died.  Their  family  consisted  of  five  cliildren  of 
whom  Charles  William  was  the  second. 

Reared  on  the  frontier  Mr.  Jackson  was  deprived  of  the  advantage  of  an 
education  in  the  free  schools  as  there  were  none  in  that  locality,  and  he 
lived  part  of  the  time  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  nearest  neighbor. 
Each  full  of  moon  the  family  went  to  Pa  La  Ponte  and  forted  up.  Orphaned 
at  the  age  of  ten  he  was  early  taught  a  knowledge  of  farming  and  cattle 
raising,  as  a  mere  lad  being  thoroughly  fitted  for  the  career  that  was  before 
him,  and  he  has  always  been  more  or  less  successful  as  a  rancher  and  cattle- 
man in  different  parts  of  the  country.  For  a  time  he  was  employed  as  stage 
driver  in  Guatemala,  Central  America,  and  drove  the  first  six-horse  stage  from 
the  city  of  Guatemala  to  San  Jose  de  Guatemala,  a  distance  of  ninety  miles, 
and  his  activities  in  other  out-of-the-way  places  have  been  noteworthy.  On 
his  way  to  Guatemala  he  went  by  vessel  to  Livingston,  then  to  Pt.  Isabelle, 
from  which  point  they  crossed  the  country  on  mule  back,  bringing  a  hundred 
and  fifty  head  of  mules  to  Guatemala.  He  remained  there  for  three  years, 
when  he  came  to  Kern  county,  Cal.,  in  February,  1876,  and  entered  the  employ 
of  Haggin  &  Carr,  now  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  as  teamster  on 
the  Stockdale  ranch  under  Captain  Taylor.  Later  he  became  the  vaquero 
on  the  ranch  and  then  was  made  foreman  of  irrigation,  then  foreman  of 
haying  and  harvesting  at  different  times.  In  1884  he  was  established  as 
superintendent  of  the  ranch  on  the  north  side  of  Kern  river  known  as  the 
Jackson  ranch,  and  later  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Collins,  Jackson 
and  Poso  ranches.  Since  1886  he  has  made  his  residence  on  the  Poso  ranch. 
This  property  consists  of  about  one  hundred  thousand  acres.  Seventeen 
thousand  acres  of  it  is  in  alfalfa ;  five  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  it  is  in 
orchard,  and  fifteen  thousand  head  of  cattle  are  shipped  from  the  ranch  yearl)'. 

When  Mr.  Jackson  came  to  this  part  of  the  state  the  country  was  new  and 
sparsely  settled.  His  connection  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  has 
covered  the  entire  period  of  its  history.  He  assisted  in  the  construction  of  the 
Calloway  canal  in  1877-78,  and  in  1879  began  putting  in  an  irrigation  system. 
He  has  seen  the  country  impro\-e  from  a  dry  desert  until  it  is  one  of  the  most 
fertile  countries  in  the  world.  Fraternally  he  affiliates  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  in  political  principles  is  a  supporter  of  the  principles  of  the 
Democratic  party. 

Mrs.  Jackson,  who  was  Mary  Lillian  Rogers,  was  a  native  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. She  was  graduated  from  the  Berkeley  schools.  By  a  former  marriage 
Mr.  Jackson  has  two  sons.  George  G.  and  Claude  B. 

JAMES  HORACE  ARP.— The  first  representative  of  the  Arp  family 
in  America  came  from  Germany  during  the  colonial  era  and  settled  in  the 
south,  where  Frederick  M.  B.  Arp,  a  native  of  W^ilkes  county,  N.  C,  gave 
his  services  to  the  patriots  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  Next  in  line 
of  descent  was  Benjamin  Arp,  who,  exhibiting  the  loyal  spirit  that  had 
characterized  his  father,  enlisted  in  the  war  of  1812,  served  with  self-sacri- 


^.^^J 


/^Xa^c:^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  449 

ficing  patriotism  and  bore  a  gallant  part  under  General  Jackson  in  the  mem- 
orable engagement  at  New  Orleans.  The  war  ended,  he  returned  to  North 
Carolina,  but  later  crossed  the  Great  Smoky  range  of  mountains  into  Ten- 
nessee and  engaged  in  planting  in  Monroe  county  near  the  eastern  border 
of  the  state.  The  martial  spirit  characteristic  of  the  grandfather  and  great- 
grandfather became  an  inheritance  of  the  father,  James  Addison  Arp,  a 
native  of  Wilkes  county,  N.  C,  and  a  captain  in  the  Federal  army  during 
the  Civil  war.  He  and  his  comrades  had  many  narrow  escapes  while  making 
their  way  through  the  mountains  of  Tennessee  to  join  the  Union  army. 
After  the  close  of  the  struggle  he  returned  to  farming  pursuits  in  North 
Carolina,  where  also  he  served  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  in  addition 
carried  on  a  tannerv,  sawmill  and  gristmill  operated  by  water  power.  For 
many  years  he  lived  at  Murphy,  the  county-seat  of  Cherokee  county,  in 
the  southwestern  corner  of  North  Carolina,  near  the  Georgia-Tennessee 
state  lines  and  within  the  shadow  of  lofty  mountain  peaks.  During  young 
manhood  he  had  married  Miss  Mary  Grayson,  who  was  born  in  Sweetwater, 
Monroe  county,  Tenn.,  and  died  in  North  Carolina.  Her  father,  William 
Grayson,  a  native  of  Wilkes  county,  N.  C,  served  under  General  Jackson 
at  New  Orleans  in  the  war  of  1812  and  was  so  seriously  wounded  in  battle 
that  the  amputation  of  a  leg  was  necessary.  After  his  honorable  discharge 
he  settled  in  the  eastern  part  of  Tennessee  and  acquired  an  extensive  planta- 
tion near  Sweetwater,  where  he  remained  until  death. 

The  family  of  James  Addison  .'\rp  comprised  nine  children,  all  but  one  of 
whom  survive,  James  Horace  being  next  to  the  youngest  and  the  only  mem- 
ber of  the  family  on  the  coast.  Born  at  Murphy,  Cherokee  county,  N.  C, 
April  28,  1867,  he  had  only  limited  educational  advantages,  and  at  an  early 
age  began  to  work  in  his  father's  sawmill.  In  addition  he  gained  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  carpentering-  and  also  studied  the  lumber  business. 
Going  to  Tahlequah,  I.  T.,  in  1890,  he  worked  as  a  carpenter  for  Mr.  Thomp- 
son, the  representative  of  the  Cherokee  nation.  The  year  1891  found  him 
in  Bakersfield.  For  four  years  he  had  charge  of  a  ranch  south  of  town  owned 
by  General  Shafter  and  Captain  McKittrick,  after  which  he  spent  six  months 
lumbering  at  Fort  Bragg,  in  the  redwoods  of  Mendocino  county.  Upon 
returning  to  Bakersfield  he  was  employed  by  H.  F.  Condict,  then  the  agent 
for  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  Later,  when  Mr.  Arp  held  the  same  posi- 
tion himself,  he  built  the  first  tank  for  the  company  at  this  point  and  later 
increased  its  capacity  to  thirty-five  thousand  barrels.  At  the  time  oil 
operations  began  he  was  engaged  in  buying  and  moving  houses.  About 
that  time  he  was  boycotted  by  the  unions  because  he  employed  Mr.  Haw- 
kins, a  non-union  man,  with  whom  the  union  men  refused  to  work.  The 
boycott  advertised  him  widely  and  proved  the  foundation  of  his  later  suc- 
cess. He  had  employed  only  four  men,  but  in  thirty  days  he  jumped  to 
fort3^-four  workmen  and  within  three  months  it  was  necessary  for  him  to 
open  a  plumbing  shop,  paint  shop,  paper  store,  etc.,  in  order  to  push  forward 
his  contracts  with  the  promptness  desired.  Two  years  of  growing  success 
swiftl)^  passed.  Then  Mr.  Lindgren  asked  to  buy  one-half  interest  with 
him  in  the  business,  stating  that  he  had  a  shop  at  Fresno,  but  not  sufficient 
lousiness.     The  two  combined  and  organized  the  Quincy  Plumbing  Company. 

Shortly  after  the  earthquake  and  fire  in  San  Francisco  Mr.  Lindgren  sold 
his  interests  at  Bakersfield  and  moved  to  that  city,  where  there  was  great 
demand  for  workers  in  his  line.  About  the  same  time  the  union  ceased  to 
oppose  Mr.  Arp  and  he  consented  to  give  their  members  employment.  His 
interests  were  large  and  contracts  for  every  kind  of  structural  work  were 
consummated  with  accuracy  and  dispatch.  Among  his  contracts  may  be 
mentioned  those  for  the  Rrodek  building,  the  Mascot  apartments  with 
disappearing  beds  and  other  built-in  furniture,  the  Harding  building,  St. 
Regis  hotel,  Alicia  apartments  (he  owns  the  latter),  and  Beale  avenue  school 


450  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

in  Kern,  the  Bakersfield  Garage,  Willis  building  and  others  equally  substan- 
tial. Besides  owning  and  erecting  the  James  Arp  building,  a  three-story 
brick  structure  50x122  feet,  at  No.  1919  I  street,  he  also  built  his  own  unique 
modern   residence   in    Bakersfield. 

Besides  his  large  contracting  and  building  business,  Mr.  Arp  utilizes  the 
largest  house-moving  outfit  in  Bakersfield.  Perhaps  his  most  important  con- 
tract in  that  line  was  for  the  removal  of  the  Santa  Fe  freight  depot  a  dis- 
tance of  five  hundred  feet,  a  difficult  feat  which  he  accomplished  without 
stopping  for  even  a  day  the  handling  of  freight  or  the  sending  of  telegraphic 
messages.  In  addition  to  other  important  interests,  he  has  been  a  large 
promoter  of  subdivisions.  The  southern  addition  to  Bakersfield,  comprising 
about  twelve  blocks,  he  laid  out  and  sold  in  lots  or  improved  with  residences, 
some  of  which  latter  he  still  owns.  The  James  Arp  subdivision  along  the 
oil  field  road  he  also  platted.  Some  years  ago  he  bought  the  Sweetbrier 
ranch  and  at  this  writing  he  still  owns  forty  acres  of  the  tract,  which  con- 
tains a  walnut  grove,  the  only  one  in  Kern  county,  and  is  adorned  with  a 
row  of  palms  around  the  entire  place.  After  buying  the  E.  M.  Roberts 
ranch  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  acres  one  and  one-half  miles  from 
town,  he  subdivided  a  portion  of  the  farm  into  tracts  running  from  one  to 
five  acres  and  in  this  way  he  sold  off  about  one  hundred  and  seventeen 
acres  at  a  handsome  profit.  The  North  Bakersfield  subdivision  of  twenty 
acres  was  also  laid  out  and  platted  under  his  ownership  and  control. 

The  Bakersfield  Board  of  Trade  and  Builders'  Exchange  number  Mr. 
Arp  among  their  more  forceful  members.  In  politics  he  has  supported  the 
Republican  party.  Fraternally,  besides  being  associated  with  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  he  has  been  a  Mason 
since  early  life  in  North  Carolina  and  is  now  connected  with  Bakersfield 
Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.  After  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Anna  Tracy,  who  was  born  near  Gait,  this  state,  and 
in  January  of  1890  was  graduated  from  the  San  Jose  State  Normal  School, 
after  which  she  taught  in  Bakersfield  until  her  marriage.  From  early  life 
she  has  been  a  devoted  believer  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Congregational 
Church  and  has  contributed  to  the  missionary  projects  of  the  denomination. 
Of  her  marriage  there  are  four  children,  Tracy  Ferdinand,  Eva  Virginia, 
James  Addison  and  Alice  Martha.  The  family  of  which  she  is  a  member 
traces  its  lineage  to  old  eastern  stock.  During  the  early  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  her  grandfather,  Edward  V.  Tracy,  removed  from  Connecticut 
to  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  but  later  went  to  Ohio  and  afterward  became  a  pioneer 
of  Chickasaw  county,  Iowa,  finally  coming  west  as  far  as  Utah,  where  he 
died.  Her  parents,  Edward  Vernett  and  Mary  (Dix)  Tracy,  were  natives, 
respectively,  of  Pennsylvania  and  Chickasaw  county,  Iowa,  and  the  latter 
died  at  Gait,  Cal.  The  former,  after  crossing  the  plains  during  1856,  became 
identified  with  farming  interests  in  San  Joaquin  county,  where  he  made  his 
home  for  years  near  Gait,  Sacramento  county.  At  the  opening  of  the  Civil 
war  he  offered  his  services  to  the  LTnion  and  was  assigned  to  a  California 
regiment,  of  which  he  remained  a  member  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when 
he  returned  to  the  San  Joaquin  valley  to  resume  ranch  activities.  Eventually 
he  removed  to  Kern  county  and  here  he  since  has  made  his  home. 

FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK.— This  institution  has  been  most  essen- 
tial to  the  best  progress  of  the  town  of  Taft,  for  the  officials  of  the  bank 
have  devoted  their  time  to  conserving  the  interests  of  the  oil  operators  and 
customers  in  lines  of  business  connected  therewith.  When  the  bank  was 
established,  it  was  because  a  number  of  citizens  of  Taft  realized  the  impera- 
tive need  of  such  an  institution.  Results  have  provgd  the  wisdom  of  the 
step  which  they  took  when  they  started  to  organize  and  incorporate  a 
concern,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $25,000. 

The  checking  department  by  no  means  represents  the  limit  of  the  use- 


-^v-^^ 


> 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  453 

fulness  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Taft.  In  addition  information  is  fnr- 
nished  concerning  investments  and  business  conditions:  banking  advantages 
are  ofifered  in  the  mail  department,  for  those  unable  to  visit  the  institution 
personally;  self-identifying  travelers'  checks  are  furnished,  available  through- 
out the  world,  money  is  telegraphed  and  drafts  issued  to  any  given  city  in 
the  whole  world,  so  that  the  institution  is  metropolitan  in  its  sphere  of  ser- 
vice, and  by  its  outside  affiliations  brings  to  Taft  the  banking  service  of  the 
country.  The  officers  have  devoted  their  entire  attention  to  the  study  and 
practice  of  banking  and  they  do  not  rest  content  with  the  providing  of  un- 
surpassed local  facilities,  but  use  their  financial  strength  and  moral  in- 
tegrity to  place  their  customers  on  a  basis  of  thrift  and  orderly  knowledge. 

By  affiliation  and  co-operation  with  the  First  National  Bank  of  Bakers- 
field,  the  Producers  Savings  Bank  of  Bakersfield  and  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Maricopa,  the  First  National  Bank  of  Taft  has  increased  its  own 
strength  and  enlarged  its  sphere  of  useful  service.  Clinton  E.  Worden  has 
been  the  capable  and  successful  president  from  the  first.  The  vice-]3residents 
are  \^^  E.  Benz  and  L.  P.  Guiberson  and  in  the  sketch  of  the  latter  will  be 
found  additional  facts  concerning  this  bank,  of  whose  remarkaljle  growth  he 
is  justly  proud.  The  cashier  is  C.  L.  Shirk,  and  the  assistant  cashier,  J.  M. 
Williams.  While  the  officials  serve  as  directors,  they  are  reinforced  by  other 
stockholders,  namely:  j.  J.  Wilt,  Cyrus  Bell,  E.  D.  Gillette,  E.  M.  Brown 
and  J.  S.  Henton. 

JONATHAN  ELMER  GRAY.— The  president  and  general  manager  of 
the  J.  E.  Gray  Oil  Company  iias  the  distinction  of  being  the  oldest  living  oil 
operator  in  the  Kern  river  field,  where  aside  from  his  company  interests  he 
is  the  owner  individually  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres  under  lease 
south  of  the  Kern  river,  including  ninety-five  acres  of  the  original  quarter 
section  known  as  the  Thomas  A.  Means  land,  the  original  site  of  oil  dis- 
covery in  this  district  and  county.  For  the  period  since  1899  a  record  of  his 
life  would  be  in  man)'  respects  a  history  of  the  oil  industry  and  development 
in  these  fields,  now  well  known  throughout  the  whole  world.  While  yet 
the  numlDer  of  the  wells  here  could  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand  lie 
explored  the  entire  district  and  made  a  map  marking  the  sections  which  in 
l;is  judgment  were  oil  producing.  It  is  a  singular  fact  and  testifies  highly 
to  his  experience  and  judgment  that  this  map,  made  in  1899,  is  absolutely 
accurate  at  the  present  time,  for  in  every  spot  indicated  a  well  was  drilled 
with  excellent  results. 

From  his  earliest  recollections  Mr.  Gray  has  been  familiar  with  the  oil 
industry.  His  father,  James  Gray,  a  pioneer  oil  man  of  Venango  county,  Pa., 
was  one  of  the  first  to  embark  in  the  oil  business  on  Oil  creek,  that  county. 
'  Later  he  became  a  prosperous  contractor  and  finally  retired  fmm  active 
cares  to  spend  his  last  days  in  ease,  dying  in  March  of  1911  at  the  age  of 
eighty-four  years.  About  the  time  of  his  demise  occurred  that  of  his  wife, 
March  8,  1911,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six.  They  were  the  parents  of  nine 
children,  namely:  Mary,  Margaret  Catherine,  Nancy  Jane,  John  \\'esley, 
Jonathan  Elmer,  Samuel  A.,  Martha  Ellen,  .\rra  F.  and  Ramsey  E.,  the 
last-named  being  now  engaged  as  a  driller  for  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil 
Company  at  Coalinga,  Cal.  Three  sons,  J.  \\'.,  S.  A.  and  R.  E.,  and  a  nephew, 
G.  W.  Gray,  are  connected  with  our  subject  in  oil  operations  in  the  Kern 
river  fields.  Jonathan  E.  Gray  was  born  near  East  Brady,  Clarion  county. 
Pa.,  June  4.  1862,  and  attended  school  for  a  few  years  in  childhood,  but  as 
soon  as  old  enough  he  began  to  assist  his  father  in  contract  work.  Often, 
after  a  day  of  hard  work,  he  would  spend  the  evenings  far  into  the  night 
over  his  books  and  would  also  practice  writing  from  copy.  In  that  way  he 
laid  the  foundation  of  a  common-school  education.  .At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
began   to   work   for   wages   and    the    following   year    he    assisted    in    drilling 


454  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

wells  at  Duke  Center,  McKean  county,  Pa.,  later  working  in  Warren 
county.  By  the  time  he  had  reached  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he  was 
recognized  as  a  professional  driller.  During  the  Balltown  excitement  he 
went  to  Forest  county.  Pa.,  and  thence  moved  on  to  Butler  county  at  the 
time  of  the  Thorn  creek  excitement.  Next  he  worked  near  Iron  Bridge, 
Monroe  county,  Ohio,  and  thence  proceeded  to  Sistersville  and  Nannington. 
W.  Va.,  later  going  to  Indiana,  where  he  drilled  near  Reservoir.  His  ser- 
vices as  a  driller  were  next  called  into  requisition  at  Robinson,  111.,  and  later 
he  was  employed  in  Kansas  and  Oklahoma.  x\n  idea  of  the  extent  of  his  op- 
erations may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that  he  drilled  for  water  in  New 
York  City  and  Omaha  and  for  oil,  not  only  in  the  places  before  mentioned, 
but  also  in  Wyoming,  the  Dakotas  and  Nevada. 

Arriving  in  Los  Angeles  June  17,  1897,  Mr.  Gray  began  to  drill  for  oil  in 
the  Los,  Angeles  oil  field  and  acquired  some  oil  interests  at  Newhall,  that 
county.  For  a  short  time  he  drilled  at  Coalinga  and  in  the  Parkfield  district, 
Monterey  county.  When  news  reached  him  concerning  the  discovery  of  oil 
in  the  Kern  river  field  he  came  at  once  to  Bakersfield  and  formed  the 
acquaintance  of  Judd  F.  Elwood,  who  held  an  oil  lease  with  Thomas  A. 
Means.  With  Mr.  Elwood  he  inspected  the  entire  district  and  then  began  to 
drill  on  the  central  point  lease  on  section  4,  where,  as  soon  as  they  had 
drilled  into  the  oil  sand,  they  were  offered  $43,000  for  their  interests.  In 
order  to  secure  money  for  future  development  work  they  accepted  the  offer. 
At  that  time  there  were  only  three  wells  in  the  entire  field  and  Mr.  Gray 
mapped  out  the  land,  indicating  the  location  of  wells  with  a  remarkable 
accuracy,  as  shown  by  the  map,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Elwood. 

Investing  in  such  companies  as  he  believed  would  prove  profitable,  by 
the  end  of  a  year  Mr.  Gray  was  worth  $75,000  and  subsequent  invest- 
ment has  increased  his  fortune.  On  the  west  side  he  drilled  several  wells 
by  contract.  For  the  J.  E.  Gray  Oil  Company  he  has  drilled  twenty-six 
wells  and  on  his  individual  lease  seventeen  wells,  the  former  producing 
four  thousand  barrels  per  month  and  the  latter  one  thousand  bar- 
rels per  month.  By  means  of  a  lease  he  secured  control  of  ninety- 
five  acres  of  the  Thomas  A.  Means  quarter-section,  the  original  place 
of  oil  discovery,  and  he  also  acquired  the  Thomas  A.  Joy  lease  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  and  forty  acres  in  the  South  Kern  lease.  In  October,  1912, 
he  became  interested  in  the  American  L'nion  Oil  and  Refinery  Company,  a 
corporation  capitalized  at  $25,000,  which  bids  fair  to  become  a  very  im- 
portant industry  in  Tulare,  where  the  refinery  is  located.  Mr.  Gray  is  now 
a  large  stockholder,  president  and  general  manager  of  the  company.  The 
refinery  went  into  operation  May  1,  1913.  The  plant  is  equipped  with  the 
Trumbull  system  and  has  a  capacity  of  one  thousand  barrels  of  crude  oil 
every  twenty-four  hours.  The  products  manufactured  are  gasoline,  kerosene, 
cylinder  oil,  engine  oil,  distillate,  fuel  oil,  road  oil  and  asphaltum.  In  his 
judgment  as  to  oil  wells  and  the  entire  industry  Mr.  Gray  has  few  superiors 
and  he  is  often  sought  for  advice  by  those  whose  experience  has  been  of 
briefer  duration  or  less  successful  than  his  own.  With  his  time  and  attention 
given  closely  to  the  industry  he  has  not  had  leisure  for  participation  in  so- 
cial or  fraternal  organizations,  although  he  has  identified  himself  with  the 
Union  League  Club  in  San  Francisco  and  when  in  that  city  usually  avails 
himself  of  the  advantages  offered  by  the  club.  In  politics  he  voted  the 
Republican  ticket  for  years,  but  his  principles  lead  him  to  support  reforms 
and  he  has  allied  himself  with  the  progressive  element  of  the  old  party 
organization. 

HARVEY  A.  VAN  NORMAN.— Although  a  native  of  Victoria,  Tex., 
born  October  5,  1878,  Mr.  Van  Norman  has  lived  in  Southern  California 
from  his  earliest  recollections  and  his  only  lengthy  period  of  absence  from 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  457 

the  state  occurred  during  his  service  in  the  Philippines.  The  family  of  which 
he  is  a  member  has  ever  been  loyal  to  country  and  brave  in  battle.  During 
the  Mexican  war  his  grandfather,  J.  M .  Van  Xorman,  who  was  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania  and  a  planter  in  Tennessee,  enlisted  in  the  service  and  went  to 
the  southwest  to  fight  for  his  country.  Travel  showed  him  the  greatness  of 
the  undeveloped  prairies  of  Texas  and  on  the  expiration  of  his  time  he  sold 
out  his  Tennessee  property,  removed  to  Texas,  took  up  land  and  embarked 
in  the  cattle  business,  which  industry  likewise  engaged  the  attention  of  his 
son,  J.  AL,  Jr.,  a  native  of  Tennessee  and  a  soldier  in  a  Texas  cavalry  regi- 
ment during  the  Civil  war.  The  latter  in  1881  brought  his  family  to  Cali- 
fornia and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Santa  Ana,  but  now  lives  retired  at  San 
Gabriel.  In  Texas  he  married  Martha  M.  Halsel,  a  native  of  that  state  and 
the  daughter  of  a  Scotchman,  who  had  served  in  the  Mexican  war. 

The  fifth  in  a  family  of  nine  children,  Harvey  A.  Van  Norman  was 
three  years  of  age  when  the  family  removed  from  Texas  to  California.  When 
the  Spanish-American  war  broke  out  he  had  completed  a  course  in  the  Los 
Angeles  high  school.  During  May  of  1898  he  enlisted  in  the  Third  United 
States  .\rtillery  and  was  sent  to  the  Philippines  on  the  transport  Ohio,  which 
landed  there  in  July  of  the  same  year.  In  a  short  time  he  rose  to  the  rank 
of  first  dut}-  sergeant.  Besides  the  battle  of  Manila  he  participated  in 
twenty-seven  engagements  with  the  insurgents.  By  a  special  order  he  was 
mustered  out  and  honorably  discharged  in  September,  1899,  after  which 
he  returned  to  California.  Since  then  he  has  been  identified  with  engineering 
and  electrical  work.  During  1901  he  was  made  engineer  in  charge  of  the 
Pasadena  plant  of  the  Los  Angeles  Railway  Company.  Transferred  to  the 
electrical  construction  department  as  assistant  to  electricians  in  1903,  he  soon 
rose  to  be  superintendent  of  the  electrical  department  of  the  railroad.  In 
19C6  he  became  superintendent  of  construction  for  the  Los  Angeles  Gas  and 
Electric  Company,  l)ut  the  following  year  he  resigned  the  place  in  order  to 
engage  with  the  Los  Angeles  aqueduct  as  electrical  constructor.  Upon  the 
completion  of  the  hydro-electric  stations  in  the  Owens  valley  he  was  placed 
in  charge  of  the  construction  of  the  Owens  valley  division  of  the  aqueduct. 
On  finishing  that  task,  he  was  transferred  to  Mojave  as  division  engineer  in 
charge  of  construction  work  there.  When  the  entire  aqueduct  had  been 
completed  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  maintenance  and  operation  of  the 
entire  aqueduct,  and  as  such  superintends  the  system  whose  magnitude  and 
splendid  engineering  feats  have  attracted  the  admiration  of  the  greatest 
engineers  in  the  world.  Mr.  Van  Norman  married  Miss  Bessie  C.  Ross,  a  na- 
tive of  Chicago,  and  they  make  their  home  in  Los  Angel-es.  For  some  years 
he  has  been  prominently  connected  with  the  National  Association  of  Station- 
arv  Engineers.  ]'>aternallv  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  South  Gate  Lodge  No. 
,m   F.'  &   A.   M. 

CHARLES  H.  QUINCY.— The  Quincy  genealogy  is  traced  to  Revolu- 
tionary stock  and  back  of  that  to  the  historic  Mayflower.  The  family  name 
is  connected  with  the  early  records  of  various  portions  of  New  England, 
but  particularly  with  the  western  part  of  Maine  near  the  New  Hampshire 
line.  Several  bore  an  honored  part  in  the  Civil  war  and  among  them  was 
one  who  served  as  captain  of  a  company  in  a  Maine  regiment.  .\  brother 
of  the  captain,  likewise  a  Civil  war  hero.  Nathaniel  Haley  by  name,  was 
born  and  reared  in  Cumljerland  county.  Me.,  and  there  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  luml)er  and  the  tilling  of  the  soil  for  many  years,  but  event- 
ually removed  to  Massachusetts  and  there  passed  away  March  22,  1911, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years.  When  the  Civil  war  began  he  offered 
his  services  to  the  Union  and  was  accepted  as  a  private  in  a  Maine  regi- 
ment. I'non  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  ser\-ice  he  re-enlisted  in  another 
regiment  from   !Maine  and  remained  at  the  front   until  the  end  of  the  Rebel- 


458  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Hon.  ^Meanwhile  he  had  married  Miss  Martha  Freeman,  who  was  born 
in  Maine  and  died  there.  The  I'Veeman  famil_v  traces  its  lineage  to  the 
earliest  settlers  of  New   England. 

The  family  of  Nathaniel  Hale_v  Quincy  comprised  four  children  and 
three  of  these  are  still  living,  one,  Horace,  being  now  superintendent  of 
the  Boston  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company.  The  eldest  of  the  family, 
Charles  H.  Quincy,  was  born  at  Bridgton,  Cumberland  county,  Me.,  March 
27,  1855,  and  passed  all  of  his  early  life  in  the  western  part  of  Maine  in 
Cumberland  and  Oxford  counties.  Ambitious  in  temperament,  he  worked 
his  way  through  the  Bridgton  high  school  and  prepared  for  Bowdoin  Col- 
lege. In  order  to  secure  the  means  necessary  for  a  complete  college  course 
he  taught  school  for  about  four  years,  but  meanwhile  other  interests  claimed 
his  attention  and  he  relinquished  all  hopes  of  further  study.  Instead,  he 
earned  a  livelihood  as  head  clerk  in  a  mercantile  establishment  in  Maine. 
After  a  time  the  confinement  caused  a  failure  in  his  health  and  hoping  to  be 
benefited  by  a  change  of  climate  he  came  to  the  west. 

Arriving  in  Los  Angeles,  January  29,  1888,  Mr.  Quincy  remained  only 
a  few  days,  coming  to  Bakersfield  February  2.  Here  he  was  employed 
with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  as  a  carpenter  for  six  months  and 
then  entered  the  employ  of  A.  J.  McLeod  and  for  eighteen  months  worked 
at  carpentering,  while  Mr.  McLeod  devoted  his  entire  attention  to  the  lum- 
ber business.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  began  to  take  contracts 
for  residences  and  business  houses,  building  among  others  the  Tevis  resi- 
dence and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  and  completing  the  old 
O.  D.  Fish  building.  As  prospects  were  most  encouraging  from  a  business 
standpoint  he  was  stricken  with  typhoid  fever  and  it  was  more  than  a 
year  before  he  was  able  to  resume  work.  His  next  enterprise  was  trading 
for  a  plumbing  establishment.  The  business  soon  became  large  in  that 
line  in  the  oil  fields.  With  restored  health,  he  took  up  building  operations 
again.  Since  then  his  career  has  been  remarkably  successful.  During  1Q05 
he  sold  his  plumbing  business  and  removed  to  Los  Angeles,  where  he  now 
resides  at  No.  822  West  Thirty-sixth  Place.  The  corner  of  I  and  Twen- 
tieth streets,  Bakersfield.  where  for  years  he  had  his  plumbing  business, 
he  improved  in  1911  with  the  Quincy  building,  a  substantial  three-story 
brick  structure  that  is  an  ornament  to  the  city  and  source  of  gratifying 
annual  income  to  the  owner.  During  1909  he  built  the  Fabian  hotel  on 
Humboldt  street  near  Baker  avenue.  East  Bakersfield,  which  he  still  owns, 
and  in  addition  he-  owns  the  Hunter  &  Wilson  building,  also  of  brick,  in 
East  Bakersfield,  as  well  as  other  valuable  property  both  in  Bakersfield  and 
Los  Angeles,  where  he  continues  the  building  and  real  estate  business  upon 
an  extensive  scale.  Of  late  his  attention  has  been  given  principally  to  the 
real  estate  business,  having  offices  in  the  Hollingsworth  building,  Los 
Angeles. 

P'raternally  A-Ir.  Quincy  is  a  Mason,  having  been  initiated  in  the  order 
in  Pythagorean  Lodge  No.  11,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Fryeburg,  Oxford  county. 
Me.  In  politics  he  supports  Democratic  principles.  While  living  in  Maine 
he  married,  at  Fryeburg,  Miss  Myra  E.  Harnden,  a  native  of  Denmark,  that 
state,  and  a  descendant  of  an  old  New  England  family.  Well  educated  in 
the  schools  of  Maine,  she  is  a  woman  of  culture  and  refinement.  In  relig- 
ious connections  she  holds  membership  with  the  Congregational  Church. 
There  are  two  daughters  and  a  son  in  the  family,  the  eldest  being  Mildred, 
wife  of  Charles  T.  Metcalf,  of  Bakersfield.  Ralph  is  a  cornice  maker  in  Los 
Angeles,  and   Ethel  resides  with   her  parents  in  that   city. 

JOHN  RIPLEY. — Familiarity  with  frontier  conditions  from  earliest  recol- 
lections developed  in  Mr.  Ripley  self-reliance,  patient  endurance  of  hardships 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  459 

and  an  ability  to  overcome  obstacles  by  sheer  force  of  character.  The  farm 
where  he  lived  in  boyhi^iod  was  situated  near  Sun  Prairie  in  the  town  of 
Bristol,  Dane  county,  Wis.,  and  was  at  no  great  distance  from  Madison, 
where  now  the  art  of  landscape  gardeners  and  the  wealth  of  a  community 
has  transformed  a  frontier  environment  into  a  region  of  great  beauty.  The 
first  member  uf  the  family  to  settle  in  Wisconsin  was  his  father,  William 
Henry  Ripley,  a  native  of  New  York  state  and  for  years  a  farmer  of  Dane 
county,  but  from  1868  until  his  death  a  resident  of  Vernon  county,  AIo.  By 
his  marriage  to  Alcena  Davis,  who  died  in  1849,  he  had  four  children  and 
three  of  these  are  still  living.  One  son,  Horace,  who  served  for  three  years 
in  the  Seventh  Wisconsin  Infantry  during  the  Civil  war,  is  now  a  resident 
of  Vernon  county,  Mo.  Another  son,  Lewis,  who  served  in  the  Seventeenth 
Wisconsin  Infantry,  is  now  living  at  Mitchell,  Iowa.  The  voungest  of  the 
sons,  John,  who  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  near  Sun  Prairie,  Wis.. 
May  22,  1847.  and  was  only  two  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  mother's 
death,  left  school  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  in  August,  1864,  in  order  to  enlist 
in  the  Union  army.  Accepted  as  a  private  and  assigned  to  Battery  F,  First 
Illinois  Light  Artillery,  he  served  under  General  Thomas  in  the  battle  of 
Nashville.  During  November  of  1864  he  was  transferred  to  Battery  I, 
mounted,  in  the  same  Artillery  as  before.  With  this  regiment  he  continued 
until  June,  1865,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged  at  Eastport,  Miss.,  re- 
turning thence  to  his  school  studies  in  Wisconsin  for  one  term.  He  then 
went  to  work  at  farming  in  Wisconsin,  spending  his  winters  in  the  lumber 
woods  and  one  winter  (1866-67)  trapping  in  Minnesota.  In  1868  he  located 
in  Alissouri,  where  he  bought  a  tract  of  wild  land  in  Vernon  county,  secured 
three  yoke  of  oxen  and  with  their  aid  broke  the  first  furrows  ever  turned  in 
that  soil.  For  some  years  he  engaged  in  raising  corn  and  wheat  on  the  Mis- 
souri farm.  Seeking  a  new  location  in  1880,  he  left  Vernon  county.  Mo., 
and  went  to  Glorieta,  Santa  Fe  county,  N.  M.,  where  he  contracted  to  haul 
ties  and  piling  for  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad.  After  eighteen  months  in  that 
vvork  he  went  to  Silverton,  Colo.,  where  he  engaged  in  freighting  and  haul- 
ing ore.  The  year  1883  found  him  in  South  Dakota,  where  he  bought  a  farm 
near  Menno,  Hutchinson  county.  The  soil  was  well  adapted  to  wheat  and 
of  this  crop  he  made  a  specialty,  but  also  raised  flax  and  corn.  I'inally  he 
sold  the  farm  and  came  to  California,  settling  at  Caliente  in  1891,  and  taking 
a  contract  to  get  out  wood.  It  was  his  intention  to  complete  the  contract  and 
then  seek  a  diliferent  location,  but  at  the  expiration  of  four  months  he  was 
induced  to  begin  freighting.  W'ith  a  six-horse  outfit  he  hauled  to  the  mines 
in  the  Amelia.  Piute,  Havilah  and  Bodfish  districts.  Soon  he  purchased 
another  outfit  and  used  two  eight-horse  teams  in  freighting.  Aleanwhile  he 
had  started  a  liver}'  stable,  feed  yard  and  corral.  The  need  of  such  an  enter- 
prise was  such  that  he  soon  used  four  barns  for  his  vehicles  and  horses.  In 
addition  he  built  a  blacksmith  shop  and  gave  steady  work  to  four  skilled 
blacksmiths.  The  great  fire  of  June,  1909,  which  almost  wholly  destroyed 
the  business  portion  of  Caliente,  wiped  out  his  barns  and  shop  and  destroyed 
his  wagons  and  outfits.  For  that  reason  he  discontinued  freighting  and  built 
the  Ripley  Mouse,  the  largest  hotel  in  Caliente,  a  building  with  a  frontage  of 
one  hundred  and  eight  feet  and  containing  the  postofiice  and  public  tele|)hone 
station.  This  hotel  he  sold  in  January,  1913,  since  which  he  has  Ijeen  retired 
from  business. 

Appointed  postmaster  at  Caliente  in  1898  and  re-appointed  every  four 
years,  Mr.  Ripley  discharged  his  duties  faithfully  and  well  through  a  long 
period  of  service.  In  January,  1913.  he  resigned  the  office  and  in  June  of  the 
same  year,  upon  the  appointment  of  his  successor,  he  relinquished  the  duties 
of  the  place.  Through  all  of  his  life  he  has  been  a  stanch  Republican.  For 
two  terms   he   served   as   constable   at    Caliente.     He   was   made   a    Mason    in 


460  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Tehachapi  Lodge  No.  313,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  also  connected  with  Hurlburt 
Post,  G.  A.  R.  While  living  in  Vernon  county,  Mo.,  he  married  Miss  Clara 
M.  Albright,  a  native  of  New  York  state  and  a  woman  of  gentle  disposition, 
energetic  temperament,  large  charity  and  kindly  spirit.  Cheerfully  she  aided 
Mr.  Ripley  in  his  enterprises.  With  unfailing  optimism  she  encouraged  him 
to  surmount  every  obstacle  and  meet  every  discouragement.  At  her  death 
in  March,  1913,  many  testimonials  were  given  concerning  her  womanly  at- 
tributes and  her  devotion  to  family  and  friends.  Surviving  her  are  five  chil- 
dren, namely :  Mrs.  Hattie  Colton,  of  Bakersfield ;  Ella,  wife  of  Warren 
Rankin,  of  South  Fork;  Mrs.  Maude  A.  Walton,  of  Bakersfield;  Edward, 
who  is  living  in  Oregon;  and  Clayton,  now  engaged  as  cattle  superintendent 
on  a  large  ranch  in  the  South  Fork  country. 

THOMAS  A.  BAKER. — Not  alone  through  the  interesting  fact  that  he 
is  the  son  of  Col.  Thomas  Baker,  founder  of  Bakersfield,  but  also  by  reason 
of  his  own  intimate  identification  with  public  affairs  and  his  own  successful 
incumbency  of  important  positions,  Thomas  Alverson  Baker  worthily  has  a 
permanent  place  in  the  list  of  progressive  men  of  Kern  county.  At  this 
writing  he  fills  the  office  of  sheriff,  a  post  for  which  he  is  well  qualified  by 
reason  of  his  fearless  nature,  inflexible  determination  to  enforce  law  and 
order,  and  wide  acquaintance  with  the  country  and  its  people.  The  office  of 
sheriff  has  developed  of  recent  years  along  with  every  other  department  of 
public  work  in  the  county. 

From  Visalia.  Tulare  county,  Cal.,  where  he  was  born  July  22,  1859, 
Thomas  Alverson  Baker  came  to  the  present  site  of  Bakersfield  in  1863  with 
other  members  of  the  family.  Although  so  young  at  the  time,  he  vividly 
recalls  incidents  connected  with  the  journey  and  has  not  forgotten  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  now  flourishing  city  as  their  wagon  and  teams  were  halted 
at  the  destination.  His  father  being  a  believer  in  educational  advantages 
sent  him  to  the  public  schools  and  also  to  Washington  College  at  Irvington, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1880  as  valedictorian  of  the  class.  The 
salutatorian  of  the  class,  Maurice  Powers,  became  a  prominent  attorney  of 
Visalia  and  for  years  served  as  district  attorney  of  Tulare  county. 

Immediatel)'  after  completing  the  college  course  Mr.  Baker  returned  to 
Bakersfield,  where  he  has  since  resided  with  the  exception  of  a  brief  sojourn 
at  Globe,  Ariz.,  during  the  copper  excitement  at  that  place.  Besides  being 
employed  as  a  clerk  he  served  as  assistant  postmaster  and  had  entire 
charge  of  the  postoffice  for  one  year.  An  experience  as  bookkeeper  for  the 
Kern  River  flouring  mills  qualified  him  for  successful  work  as  an  account- 
ant. Prior  to  1882  the  offices  of  sheriff  and  tax  collector  had  been  combined, 
but  they  were  then  separated  and  a  well-known  citizen  was  elected  tax  col- 
lector at  a  salary  of  $1,000  per  annum.  The  pay  was  far  too  small  for  the 
work  involved  and  the  gentleman  elected  refused  to  qualify.  Thereupon  the 
supervisors  cast  about  for  a  man  who  would  be  willing  to  take  the  office  at 
the  small  salary,  furnish  a  bond  of  $100,000  and  do  the  heavy  work  promptly 
and  efficiently.  Taxes  were  due.  It  was  necessary  to  act  with  dispatch.  An 
appeal  was  made  to  Mr.  Baker,  who  acceded  to  their  wishes  and  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  the  office.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years  he  was  regularly 
elected  to  the  position.  Next  it  was  annexed  to  the  county  treasurer's  office 
and  he  was  elected  to  both  positions,  which  necessitated  the  furnishing  of 
bonds  of  $222,000.  For  three  terms  of  two  years  he  held  the  two  offices,  his 
work  proving  satisfactory  to  all  concerned.  Induced  by  his  friends,  he  be- 
came a  candidate  for  sheriff  in  1894,  but  was  defeated  by  forty-two  votes. 
During  1896  he  was  elected  the  first  city  marshal  of  Bakersfield  upon  its 
incorporation.  At  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  two  years  he  refused  to  be- 
come a  candidate  for  re-election.  From  January  of  1899  until  January  of 
1903  he  served  variously  as  deputy  county  assessor,  deputy  tax  collector  and 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  463 

deputy  county  auditor,  and  in  V)02.  when  J.  W.  Kell.\'  was  elected  sheriff, 
he  chose  .Mr.  i'.aker  as  under  sheriff",  a  ]K)sition  that  he  filled  with  con- 
spicuous success  for  eight  years,  resigning  only  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of 
sheriff.  In  the  fall  of  1910  he  was  nominated  for  sheriff  on  the  Democratic 
ticket.  In  the  primary  he  won  by  seven  votes  and  at  the  regular  election 
he  had  a  maj(  rity  of  five  hundred  and  eighty-three.  During  January  of  1011 
he  took  the  oath  of  office  for  a  term  <if  four  years. 

From  young  manhood  Mr.  Baker  has  been  stanch  in  his  allegiance  to 
the  Democratic  party.  His  elections  to  various  offices  have  come  through 
the  regular  party  channels  and  he  also  has  been  a  leading  member  of  the 
county  central  committee.  I^'raternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Eagles, 
also  ranks  as  past  chancelltjr  commander  in  the  Knights  (jf  Pythias  and  as 
past  exalted  ruler  of  the  Rene\'olent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  in  which  he 
IS  a  charter  member.  His  marriage  ti  ok  place  in  F'lorence,  Ariz.,  and  united 
him  with  Miss  Ann  Smith,  who  was  born  at  Keyesville,  Kern  county,  but 
grew  to  womanhood  at  Azusa,  Los  Angeles  county.  At  one  time  her  father. 
J.  M.  Smith,  owned  the  old  Keyesville  mine.  Of  her  marriage  there  are  four 
sons  and  one  daughter,  namelv  :  Thomas  Tracy,  a  graduate  of  the  liakers- 
field  high  schocil  and  now  employed  as  a  bookkeei^er ;  Francis  H..  who  is 
serving  in  the  L'nited  States  navy,  at  present  on  the  steamship  Connecticut; 
Roy  J.,  teacher  of  piano;  I-ldwin  A.  and   Ellen. 

LORRAINE  PARR  GUIBERSON.— The  genealogy  of  the  Guiberson 
family  is  traced  back  to  Scotch  and  Norwegian  blood,  but  indicates  an  identi- 
fication with  the  new  world  dating  back  tu  the  pre-Revolutionar\-  period  and 
shows  a  long  line  of  ancestors  prominent  in  the  professions  and  in  business 
circles.  Following  the  westward  drift  of  migration,  each  successive  genera- 
tion left  further  behind  it  the  Atlantic  seaboard  and  the  limitations  of  the  east. 
The  first  to  seek  the  unknown  possibilities  of  the  Pacific  coast  regions  was 
Samuel  Allen  Guiberson,  a  native  of  Ohio  and  in  early  life  a  farmer  in  Iowa. 
A  love  of  adventure  and  a  desire  to  see  the  west  led  him  to  join  an  expedition 
of  emigrants  in  1858.  The  most  eventful  occurrence  of  that  long  journey 
across  the  plains  occurred  during  a  brief  halt  at  I-'ort  Earamie,  \Vyo.,  where 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Ellen  Greene,  a  lineal  descendant 
of  General  Nathaniel  Greene  and  of  General  Stark,  of  Revolutionary  war 
fame.  Arriving  at  their  destination  the  young  couple  settled  on  a  ranch  in 
Napa  county,  but  about  1868  moved  from  there  to  \''entura  county  and  re- 
sumed agricultural  pursuits  in  the  new  environment.  Fairly  well  prospered 
by  his  long  and  sagacious  activities  as  a  farmer.  Mr.  Guiberson  is  now  living 
retired  in  Ventura  county  and  bears  well  the  weight  of  his  seventy-six  useful 
years.  His  wife  died  in  Ventura  county  at  the  age  nf  about  sixty-five.  Eight 
children  formed  their  family,  the  eldest  of  these  being  Lorraine  Parr,  born 
in  Napa  county  September  27.  1863.  The  second  son.  Hon.  J-  W.  Guiberson. 
an  extensive  dairyman  and  rancher  in  Kings  county,  residing  at  Corcoran, 
is  a  member  of  the  California  state  legislature  of  1913.  The  third  son.  Na- 
thaniel Greene,  prominent  in  the  oil  industry  and  a  dealer  in  oil-well  sup- 
plies, has  traveled  throughout  the  world  and  is  now^  in  South  .\merica  in 
the  interests  of  his  business.  The  fourth  son.  Samuel  .-\llen.  Jr..  now  livin.g 
retired  in  San  Francisco,  was  for  years  one  of  the  best  known  oil  operators 
in  the  Coalinga  field.  The  fifth  son.  William  Richard,  a  resident  of  Los  An- 
geles, formerly  engaged  in  the  oil  business,  but  more  recently  has  devoted 
his  attention  to  the  invention  and  development  of  a  smudge  pot  for  raising 
the  temperature  in  orange  groves.  The  three  daughters  of  the  family  are 
as  follows :  Zuleika.  wife  of  R.  S.  Hazeltine.  manager  of  the  British  Con- 
solidated Oil  Company,  of  Coalinga;  Carrie  Luellyn.  who  resides  with  her 
father  at  Fillmore,  Ventura  county;  and  Blanche,  who  married  John  B.  Mc- 
Nabb.  the  president  and  a  large  stockholder  of  the  Sespe  Land  and  Water 
Company. 


464  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

When  five  years  of  age  L.  P.  Guiberson  was  taken  to  Ventura  county  by 
his  parents,  who  sent  him  to  the  country  schools  there  and  trained  him  wisely 
for  the  practical  affairs  of  life.  In  order  that  his  educational  advantages  might 
go  beyond  the  curriculum  of  the  home  schools  he  was  sent  to  the  University 
of  Southern  California  and  while  a  student  there  he  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  Miss  Frank  I\I.  Fry,  likewise  a  student  in  that  institution.  The  young 
couple  were  married  in  July,  1887,  at  Bakersfield,  the  home  of  her  parents, 
the  late  John  A.  and  Mattie  J.  Fry.  In  the  early  history  of  Kern  county 
Mr.  Fry  had  been  a  well-known  figure.  For  several  years  he  engaged  with 
Messrs.  Haggin  and  Carr  as  superintendent  and  he  continued  in  the  position 
when  the  interests  of  those  gentlemen  were  merged  into  the  Kern  County 
Land  Company.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Guiberson  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters, 
Ramona  and  Ellen  Bernice.  The  elder  daughter,  now  a  student  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  California  at  Berkeley,  has  had  the  advantage  of  a  thorough  musical 
training  under  Hug(_)  Mansfeldt,  the  celel)rated  pianist  of  San  Francisco. 

After  two  years  in  the  drug  business  at  Santa  Paula  and  three  years  in 
business  in  the  east,  Mr.  Guiberson  returned  to  Santa  Paula  and  engaged  in 
ranching  near  that  town.  However,  he  soon  sold  the  ranch  in  order  ,to 
identify  himself  with  the  educational  profession  of  Ventura  county.  For 
two  years  he  engaged  in  teaching.  While  engaged  as  principal  of  the  Bards- 
dale  school  in  Ventura  county  the  summer  vacation  of  1895  afforded  him 
two  months  of  leisure.  More  as  a  matter  of  diversion  and  recreation  than 
with  any  intention  of  changing  his  occupation,  he  took  his  wife  and  infant 
daughter  up  to  the  mountains  in  Ventura  county  and  pitched  his  tent  at  a 
point  overlooking  the  Old  Tory  oil  field.  Soon  he  became  intensely  interested 
in  the  matter  of  oil  j^roduction  and  secured  employment  as  roustabout  for 
the  Union  Oil  Company  in  the  Old  Tory  oil  field.  Before  the  vacation  of 
two  months  had  ended  he  was  engaged  as  tool-dresser  on  the  Union  property 
and  was  making  more  money  than  was  possible  in  teaching.  Thereupon 
he  resolved  to  continue  in  the  business  at  least  one  year.  It  is  worthy  of 
note  that  he  has  remained  at  the  work  up  to  the  present  time  and  has  lost 
only  two  days  in  all  the  years  of  his  identification  with  the  industry  ;  further- 
more, in  changing  positions  he  has  always  gone  from  a  good  to  a  better  one. 
By  the  end  of  his  first  year  he  was  a  driller.  For  four  years  he  remained  with 
the  Union  Oil  Company  and  then  resigned  for  the  purpose  of  drilling  a  wild- 
cat well  for  Clark  &  Sherman  of  Los  Angeles.  The  well  was  drilled  on  the 
Chaffee  ranch  adjoining  the  Troy,  but  no  oil  was  found  and  the  enterprise 
proved  futile.  Entering  the  employ  of  the  Modelo  Oil  Company  in  the  Peru 
field  in  Ventura  county,  he  thus  became  identified  with  the  oil  interests  of 
W.  H.  Crocker  and  associates  of  San  Francisco.  For  three  years  he  was 
engaged  as  a  driller  and  for  two  years  as  superintendent,  after  which  he 
became  superintendent  for  the  28  Oil  Company  at  Coalinga,  also  for  three 
adjacent  leases. 

Resigning  after  seven  months  with  the  28  Oil  Company,  Mr.  Guiberson 
became  superintendent  of  the  California  Monarch  and  the  California  Diamond 
Oil  Companies,  in  which  responsible  posts  he  continued  for  five  years.  Dur- 
ing 1910  he  became  superintendent  for  the  Petroleum  Properties  Syndicate, 
Limited,  whose  successor,  the  British  Consolidated,  Limited,  continued  him 
in  the  same  position  of  trust.  These  two  concerns  were  controlled  by  boards 
of  management,  but  when  the  latter  company  sold  out  to  the  Indian  and 
Colonial  Development  Company,  Limited,  December  1,  1911,  the  ownership 
of  the  properties  passed  into  the  hands  of  another  corporation  organized  under 
the  laws  of  England,  but  by  power  of  attorney  Mr.  Guiberson  was  given 
control  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  development  of  the  lease.  This  is 
said  to  be  the  only  instance  in  all  California  where  a  large  corporation  has 
given  full  power  of  attorney,  as  well  as  complete  management,  to  one  man. 
The  fact  bears  evidence  as  to  his  judgment  and  ability. 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  467 

The  Indian  and  Colonial  Development  Company.  Limited,  owns  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  on  section  22  and  a  similar  acreage  on  section 
23.  32-2.S.  The  lease  is  completely  ei|uippe(l  with  electrical  jidwer  for  pump- 
ing. Twenty-two  wells  have  been  completed  and  well  No.  23  is  now 
being  drilled.  The  average  depth  of  the  wells  is  about  one  thousand  feet. 
Eighteen  wells  are  producers,  turning  out  an  oil  of  fourteen  degrees  gravity, 
and  averaging  a  monthly  production  of  thirty  thousand  barrels.  The  loca- 
tion of  the  company  main  residence  was  personally  selected  by  Mr.  Guiber- 
son  and  affords  a  most  enchanting  view  and  an  inspiring  outlook. 

In  social  and  public  matters  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Guiberson  are  prominent  and 
the  latter  has  been  a  leading  member  of  the  Women's  Improvement  Club, 
which  provided  and  now  maintains  the  public  library  of  Taft.  In  religion 
they  are  of  the  Methodist  faith.  Fraternally  Mr.  Guiberson  is  a  Royal  Arch 
Mason  and  in  ]wlitics  votes  with  the  Democratic  party.  Since  he  came  to 
his  present  location  in  March,  1910,  he  has  witnessed  the  remarkable  growth 
of  Taft  and  has  seen  a  city  spring  into  existence  as  if  by  magic.  In  the 
work  of  upbuilding  he  has  been  a  factor.  The  Petroleum  Club  numbers 
him  among  its  ciiarter  members  and  urganizers.  .\nnther  enterprise  that 
commanded  his  warmest  support  was  the  securing  of  a  school  building 
on  section  26,  township  32,  range  23,  now  known  as  the  Hill  school  of  the 
Conley  school  district.  With  other  progressive  citizens,  he  bore  a  part  in 
organizing  the  First  National  Bank  of  Taft  in  1911  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$25,000.  From  the  first  he  has  been  a  director  and  in  January,  1913,  he 
was  elected  vice-president.  The  institution  has  been  successful  in  a  re- 
markable degree  and  already  has  deposits  aggregating  $500,000.  Upon  its 
organization  the  directors  bought  the  building  and  fixtures  of  the  Taft  branch 
of  the  old  Oil  and  Metals  Bank  of  Los  Angeles,  but  during  1912  a  more  suit- 
able structure  was  orovided  by  the  erection  of  a  substantial  hank  tniilding 
on  the  corner  of  Fifth  and  Center  streets. 

JUDSON  H.  JORDAN.— The  vice-president  of  the  IJakershehi  .\hstract 
Compan\-  descends  from  an  honored  famih'  of  cnlduial  \'irginia,  whose 
splendid  record  in  the  professions  and  as  cotton  planters  has  been  excelled 
only  by  their  military  achievements  in  the  early  French  and  Indian  strug- 
gles, the  Revolution  and  the  war  of  1812,  the  Mexican  war  and  that  sanguinary 
contest  of  the  '60s  between  the  states.  Genealogy  fails  to  give  the  exact 
date  of  the  emigration  of  the  first  .American  representative  from  England, 
but  it  is  known  to  have  been  shortly  after  the  first  attempt  at  colonization 
in  Virginia,  Keen,  forceful  mentality  has  characterized  every  generation, 
as  evidenced  in  the  lives  of  John  H.  Jordan,  a  planter  of  the  Old  Dominion, 
and  his  sen.  Rev.  John  C.  Jordan,  an  influential  and  prominent  minister  in 
the  Baptist  denomination  and  a  graduate  of  the  Philadelphia  Theological 
University.  Shortly  after  the  young  Baptist  clergyman  entered  upon  his 
ministerial  career  he  married  ^fiss  Lucy  H.  Tyler,  an  own  cousin  of  John 
Tyler,  the  tenth  president  of  the  United  States.  In  eastern  ]iulpits  he  won 
distinction  and  accomplished  much  for  the  spiritual  uplifting  of  humanity. 
-An  opportunity  for  enlarged  ministerial  usefulness  led  him  td  bring  his  family 
to  California  in  1<S84  and  here  he  accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  Fresno  Bap- 
tist Church.  During  the  five  years  of  his  ministry  in  that  city  he  had  charge 
of  the  erection  of  a  substantial  house  of  worship.  .\  later  pastorate  at 
Bakersfield  covered  a  similar  period  and  also  witnessed  the  erection  of  an 
edifice  fi  r  the  congregational  worship.  I'pon  leaving  Bakersfield  he  was  sent 
to  .\laska  to  oversee  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  Baptists  at  Skagway,  where 
he  had  charge  of  the  construction  of  the  handsome,  substantial  edifice  that 
now  ranks  among  the  finest  buildings  in  the  city,  .\fter  several  years  in 
Alaska  he  returned  to  the  United  States  and  entered  upon  the  pastorate  of 
the  Baptist  L'liurch   at   Dillon.    Mont.,   where   he  largely   increased   tlie   mem- 


468  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

bership  and  placed  the  congregation  upon  a  permanent  basis  of  useful  service 
in  the  cause  of  Christianity.  A  later  pastorate  at  Fallbrook.  San  Diego 
county,  Cal.,  resulted  in  the  erection  uf  a  house  of  worship  for  the  Baptists 
at  that  point.  Since  his  resignation  from  that  charge  he  has  been  retired 
from  active  ministerial  labors. 

There  were  eight  children  in  the  family  of  the  ISaptist  clergyman  and  all 
of  these  are  still  living.  The  third  member  of  the  family  circle,  Judson  H., 
was  born  at  Manchester,  Chesterfield  county,  Va.,  May  9,  1876.  and  at  the 
age  of  eight  years  accompanied  his  parents  to  California,  where  for  five  years 
he  was  a  pupil  in  the  public  schools  of  Fresno.  When  only  fifteen  he  studied 
law  for  a  time,  but  he  soon  gave  that  up  for  a  salaried  position  in  an  abstract 
office.  Turning  his  attention  to  the  oil  business  about  1900,  he  became  iden- 
tified with  an  industry  in  which  he  has  been  interested  continuously  up  to 
the  present,  sometimes  with  other  men  and  at  times  alone.  Individually  he 
still  owns  valuable  oil  lands  in  difiierent  fields.  Shortly  after  the  opening  of 
the  jewett  &  Blodget  wells  in  the  Sunset  field  he  with  others  formed  the 
Occidental  Oil  Company,  of  which  he  became  vice-president.  After  two 
producing  wells  had  been  obtained  by  the  company,  they  sold  out  to  the 
.Spreckels  interests.  Later  he  was  a  member  of  different  companies  that 
developed  oil  and  owned  lands  in  the  principal  fields. 

With  the  co-operation  of  J.  H.  Batz  and  George  Hay,  Mr.  Jordan  organ- 
ized the  Bakersfield  Abstract  Company  in  1903  and  since  then  has  held 
the  office  of  vice-president,  ^^'ith  the  same  gentlemen  he  organized  the 
Bakersfield  Land  and  Development  Company,  dealers  in  argricultural  and 
oil  lands.  Of  this  concern  he  is  secretary,  George  Hay  being  president 
and  J.  1>.  Batz  vice-president.  They  also  incorporated  the  Kern  County 
Realty  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Jordan  is  the  treasurer,  the  company  owning 
valuable  tracts  of  real  estate  in  the  county.  In  addition  he  holds  office 
as  secretary  of  the  Blue  Jay  Mining  Company  in  Trinity  county,  this  state, 
where  the  company  operates  the  noted  Blue  Jay  mine,  celebrated  on  ac- 
count of  the  $42,800  nugget  taken  out  of  it  during  1897.  The  company  also 
operates  the  Morrison  gulch  mine,  an  hj^draulic  mine  in  the  same  section. 
The  important  interests  connected  with  increasing  business  responsibili- 
ties necessitated  the  removal  of  ^Ir.  Jordan  from  Bakersfield  to  San  Fran- 
cisco during  1901  and  the  familv  still  maintain  a  residence  in  that  city, 
although  for  the  past  year  or  more  he  has  made  his  headquarters  again  in 
Bakersfield.  resuming  the  management  of  local  interests. 

Prior  to  his  removal  from  the  city  in  1901  Mr.  Jordan  was  a  member 
of  the  Bakersfield  Club,  which  he  had  assisted  in  organizing  and  whose  early 
growth  was  largely  due  to  the  efYorts  of  such  progressive  leaders  as  himself 
and  other  young  men  of  like  enterprise  and  civic  devotion.  After  he  had 
established  a  residence  in  San  Francisco  he  became  a  member  of  the  Olympic 
and  Southern  Clubs  and  also  entered  San  Francisco  I^odge  No.  3.  B.  P.  O.  E., 
to  all  of  which  he  still  belongs.  I~'olitically,  although  not  active  in  public 
affairs  and  in  no  sense  of  the  word  a  partisan,  he  has  been  stanch  in  his 
allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party.  His  family  consists  of  wife  and  two 
children.  lOaisv  M.  and  John  Stanley,  the  former  having  been  Miss  Daisy 
M.  I'.atz,  a  native  of  Kernville,  Kern  county,  and  a  (laughter  of  J.  B. 
Batz,  one  of  the  honored  p.ioneers  of  the  county. 

GUSTAV  POSCH.— Extended  travels  throughout  the  old  country  as 
well  as  in  the  United  States  have  given  to  Mr.  Posch  a  broad  outlook  upon 
life  and  have  made  of  him  an  independent  thinker,  familiar  with  the  prob- 
lems which  the  world  is  facing  today  and  particularly  solicitous  concerning 
the  material  upbuilding  of  California,  the  chosen  home  of  his  adoption.  In 
his  identification  with  Bakersfield  he  has  not  been  limited  to  the  manage- 
ment   of   a   tailoring   business,   but    has   associated   himself   with    manv   local 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  471 

movements  of  note  and  in  connection  with  Messrs.  William  H.  Scribner 
and  Paul  Galtes  built  the  Grand  hotel,  hence  must  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion as  one  of  the  persons  contributing  to  the  material  upbuilding  of  the 
city.  During  earh-  life  he  was  a  resident  of  Neiderlausitz,  Germany,  where 
he  \vas  born  January  21,  1867,  and  where  he  received  a  fair  education  in  the 
German  language.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  left  school  and  entered 
upon  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  a  merchant  tailor,  which  occupation 
he  has  since  followed  with  deserved  success.  When  only  seventeen  he  had 
acquired  a  practical  mastery  of  the  trade  and  his  skill  was  so  marked  that 
he  had  no  difficulty  in  securing  employment  in  any  town.  Being  restless  as 
a  lad,  eager  to  see  the  world  and  fond  of  travel,  he  had  no  difficulty  in  work- 
ing his  way  from  one  point  to  another  until  he  had  seen  much  of  the  old 
countr_y.  Traveling  as  a  journeyman,  at  the  end  of  two  years  he  landed  at 
.\msterdam  and  in  that  interesting  city  he  spent  eight  busy  and  enjoyable 
months.  Illness  caused  him  to  return  to  Germany  when  about  nineteen 
years  of  age,  but  soon  his  socialistic  ideas  brought  him  into  conflict  with 
the  national  police  and  he  went  to  Copenhagen,  Denmark,  to  follow  his 
trade.  Shortly  returning  to  Germany,  he  set  sail  from  that  country  for  the 
United  States  when  he  was  twenty  years  of  age.  In  the  new  world,  as  in 
the  old,  he  encountered  no  difficulty  in  finding  emploj'ment  as  a  skilled 
tailor.  For  a  time  he  worked  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  but  later  he  went  as  far 
west  as  Toledo,  Ohio,  and  next  we  find  him  working  as  a  tailor  in  Leadville, 
Colo.,  whence  he  came  to  Bakersfield. 

For  a  considerable  period  Mr.  Posch  has  occupied  a  portion  of  the 
Galtes  block  for  his  tailoring  shop  and  here  he  has  built  uj)  a  large  patron- 
age. Meanwhile  he  has  exhibited  his  faith  in  the  future  of  city  and  county 
by  investing  in  property  here,  not  only  aiding  in  the  building  of  the  Grand 
hotel,  but  also  having  bought  a  particularly  fine  quarter  section  of  land  near 
Kern,  which  he  still  owns.  Since  he  became  a  citizen  of  our  country  he  has 
been  a  Republican.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Germania  Society  and  belongs  to  the 
Woodmen.  Eagles,  and  Pjenevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

TIMOTHY  P.  SULLIVAN.— Near  the  city  of  Cork  m  Ireland, 
Timothy  P.  Sullivan  was  born  June  29.  1845.  The  difficulties  surrounding  the 
school  system  of  that  day  on  the  Emerald  Isle  prevented  him  from  receiving 
an  education  in  that  land  but  he  always  has  been  cjuick  to  observe,  fond  of 
reading  and  alert  in  mental  vision.  In  1859  he  arrived  in  lioston,  Mass., 
his  total  capital  limited  to  a  six-pence,  but  he  was  able  to  obtain  work 
on  a  farm  without  any  delay,  .\fter  a  time  he  left  the  farm  to  learn  the 
trade  of  butcher.  .•\t  no  time  was  he  without  employment  and  while  his 
wages  were  ver\-  small  they  were  sufficient  for  his  modest  needs.  It  was 
fluring  this  time  he  paid  his  tuition  in  night  school  in  Boston,  api^lying  himself 
most  diligently  to  acquire  the  education  that  had  been  denied  him  as  a  boy. 
Coming  to  California  during  1872.  he  followed  the  butchers  trade  for  one 
year  in  San  Francisco.  Then  he  became  a  Southern  Pacific  em])loye  at  Ivlk 
Grove,  Sacramento  County,  where  soon  he  was  made  foreman  of  the  section. 
Later  he  held  a  similar  position  at  I'.anta  and  then  at  llethany.  San  Joac|uin 
Count}'.  l-"or  three  years  he  was  enipli  ved  as  foreman  nt  switches  in  the 
Oakland  yards  and  superintended  the  pntting  in  of  switches  tlm.ughcnit  that 
city. 

On  being  assigned  to  duty  in  Kern  County  Mr.  Sullivan  spent  eight  years 
of  faithful  service  as  foreman  of  the  Sumner  yards  (now  East  Bakersfield), 
after  which  he  was  promoted  to  be  roadmaster  of  the  Colorado  division  between 
Mojave  and  Needles,  with  headquarters  at  Fenner.  When  the  road  was 
sold  to  the  .\tchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  he  was  made  roadmaster  of  the 
Tulare  division  with  headcpiarters  at  .Sumner  for  seven  years.  .At  the 
e.xpiraticm  nf  that  yieriod  he  was  chosen  to  work  in  the  mountain  di\isinn, 
where     liis     jdug     exjierience    made    his    services    especiallx'    xahiahle    to    the 


472  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

company.  During  the  period  of  his  retention  in  that  post  he  made  his  head- 
quarters at  Keene.  Since  his  retirement  from  railroading  in  1904  he  has 
lived  retired  at  Tehachapi  and  on  the  incorporation  of  this  city  he  was 
honored  by  being  elected  to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  trustees. 
Here  too  he  has  been  prominently  connected  with  St.  Malachy's  Roman 
Catholic  church.  In  earlier  years  he  supported  Republican  principles, 
but  more  recently  he  has  become  independent  with  a  leaning  toward  Demo- 
cratic doctrines. 

The  first  marriage  of  Air.  Sullivan  took  place  in  Boston.  Mass.,  in  October 
of  1871  and  united  him  with  Miss  Ellen  Healey.  a  native  of  county  Cork, 
Ireland.  Some  years  after  her  death  he  was  married  in  Tehachapi  to  Miss 
Mary  Hickey,  who  was  born  in  county  Claire,  Ireland,  and  came  with 
her  parents  to  the  new  world,  settling  first  at  Boston,  Mass.,  and  then  at 
McKeesport,  Pa.,  but  since  1891  a  resident  of  California.  May  15,  1911,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Sullivan  started  on  a  trip  to  the  old  country.  Their  journey  took 
them  to  all  of  the  boyhood  haunts  of  Mr.  Sullivan,  who  thoroughly 
enjoyed  visiting  with  such  of  the  old  friends  as  still  remained  in  county  Cork. 
Their  travels  took  them  to  many  interesting  points  in  their  native  land,  but 
they  returned  to  California  more  than  e\-er  pleased  to  remain  permanently  in 
the  great  west. 

While  making  his  home  in  Tulare,  'Sir.  Sulli^•an,  having  faith  in  the  land 
and  an  optimistic  view  as  to  the  future  rise  in  values,  bought  six  hundred 
and  fifty-two  and  one-half  acres  for  $2.50  an  acre  about  1890.  and  this  property 
he  sold' in  1912  for  $80  an  acre. 

UNION  ICE  COMPANY.— The  Union  Ice  Company,  whose  head- 
quarters are  in  San  Francisco,  entered  Bakersfield  during  1902  and  erected 
the  large  building  which  has  since  been  the  center  of  a  growing  business. 
The  present  superintendent  of  the  plant  and  local  representative  of  the 
company,  Hugo  F.  Allardt,  whose  identification  with  the  business  dates  from 
1908,  was  born  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  June  29,  1881.  and  during  1905  came  to 
California,  where  he  engaged  as  cashier  with  the  Fresno  Consumers'  Ice  Com- 
pany, remaining  at  Fresno  until  the  larger  opportunities  offered  in  Bakers- 
field  induced  him  to  remove  to  this  city.  Here  he  has  at  No.  2109  Park 
way  a  comfortable  and  attractive  residence,  graciously  presided  over  by  Mrs. 
Allardt,  who  prior  to  their  marriage  was  Miss  Rosalie  Hamilton,  of  Oak- 
land. 

The  Union  Ice  Company  and  its  kindred  organization,  the  Bakersfield 
Ice  Delivery,  furnish  employment  to  forty  men  during  the  busy  season,  so 
that  the  business  is  a  valuable  industrial  asset  to  the  community.  The  rapid 
growth  of  the  concern  necessitated  the  erection  in  1911  of  an  additional  build- 
ing, in  which  ice-making  is  also  carried  on,  and  during  the  summer  months 
both  of  the  large  compressors  are  running  at  their  full  capacity.  Besides 
supplying  the  city  trade  the  company  furnishes  ice  for  Taft,  Fellows,  Mari- 
copa, McKittrick,  Delano,  Wasco  and  other  outlying  towns.  In  addition 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  have  a  switch  to  the  plant,  whereby 
they  are  enabled  to  ice  all  of  their  refrigerator  cars  as  desired.  A  part  of 
the  business  is  the  manufacture  of  distilled  water  for  drinking  purposes. 

In  a  large  building  immediately  west  of  the  ice  factory  there  are  five  large 
rooms  devoted  to  the  cold  storage  business,  each  of  these  rooms  having  a 
capacity  of  two  car-loads.  The  Bakersfield  Ice  Delivery  has  one  motor 
truck,  thirteen  regular  route  wagons  and  two  distributing  stations,  one  on 
Wall  street  between  G  and  H  in  Bakersfield,  and  the  other  on  the  corner  of 
Sumner  and  Tulare  in  East  Bakersfield.  Mr.  Allardt  has  recently  taken  over 
the  Oil  Center  ice  delivery,  the  supply  for  which  is  taken  from  a  twenty-ton 
store-house,  and  one  truck  auto  and  five  wagons  are  used.  The  large  ice 
plant,  located  at  Thirty-third  street  and  Chester  avenue,  is  equipped  with 
an  outfit  of  modern  refrigerating  machinery  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  475 

tons  daily  capacity.  Under  the  sagacious  and  progressive  management  of 
Mr.  Allardt  the  company  has  kept  pace  with  the  growth  of  the  city,  has 
extended  its  service  as  the  need  arose,  has  enlarged  its  plant  to  meet  the 
increasing  demand  for  its  products  and  storage  accommodations,  and  has 
proved  fully  worthy  of  the  liberal  patronage  accorded  by  the  people  of  the 
county. 

HORACE  ROBERT  FREEAR.— Those  who  by  experiment,  study  and 
experience  have  proved  the  adaptability  of  alfalfa  to  the  soil  of  Kern  county 
are  most  enthusiastic  believers  in  the  possibilities  of  the  product  from  the 
standpoint  of  profits.  The  labors  of  Mr.  Freear  in  this  department  of  agri- 
culture have  not  been  less  gratifying  than  those  of  other  ranchers.  By  con- 
scientious care  and  indefatigable  industry  he  has  developed  a  valuable  alfalfa 
ranch,  from  which,  by  cutting  the  hay  five  times  a  year,  he  is  enabled  to 
secure  an  average  of  six  or  eight  tons  per  acre.  It  has  been  his  invariable 
custom  to  cut  and  stack  the  alfalfa  with  the  greatest  care,  later  bale  the  hay 
and  then  sell  in  the  best  markets  and  to  the  greatest  advantage.  The  ranch 
which  he  now  owns  and  cultivates  is  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
under  the  Stine  canal,  situated  nine  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield  and  im- 
proved with  suitable  buildings,  including  a  modern,  substantial  residence 
erected  in  1910.  The  whole  forms  a  place  attractive  to  the  eye,  interesting 
to  the  stranger  and  profitable  to  the  owner,  whose  energetic  supervision  ap- 
pears in  even  the  smallest  details  connected  with  the  ranch. 

From  the  age  of  seven  years  Air.  Freear  has  considered  Kern  county  his 
home  and  he  has  lived  here  through  all  this  time  with  the  exception  of  three 
years  spent  in  Mexico.  A  native  of  Nebraska,  he  was  born  near  Lincoln, 
Lancaster  county,  June  25,  1869,  and  is  a  son  of  H.  T.  and  Mary  Freear, 
who  also  are  represented  in  this  work.  Immediately  after  the  family  came 
from  Nebraska  to  California  he  was  sent  to  the  Kern  county  public  schools, 
where  he  took  the  regular  course  of  study  in  the  ensuing  years.  At  the  age 
of  twenty  he  was  graduated  from  the  Stockton  Business  College  and  for 
six  months  afterward  engaged  as  a  bookkeeper  in  Bakersfield.  Being  accus- 
tomed to  an  outdoor  life,  he' soon  found  sedentary  employment  too  confining, 
therefore  gave  up  his  position  and  aided  his  father  on  a  farm.  With  his  broth- 
ers he  next  engaged  in  the  cutting  of  wood  in  the  Panama  district.  When 
finally  three  hundred  and  forty  cords  of  wood  had  been  cut  he  had  earned  an 
amount  sufficient  to  justify  an  investment  in  land. 

Upon  acquiring  the  title  to  twenty  acres  on  section  29  in  the  Old  River 
district,  Mr.  Freear  put  the  land  in  vines,  intending  to  specialize  with  grapes, 
but  these  he  found  unprofitable.  Meanwhile,  in  order  to  earn  a  livelihood, 
he  had  gone  to  Chiapas,  Mexico,  as  an  employe  of  an  uncle  on  a  sugar  plan- 
tation. A  portion  of  the  three  years  in  Mexico  was  given  to  hunting  for 
plumed  birds  along  the  west  coast.  On  returning  to  California  he  ])urchased 
twenty  acres  adjacent  to  his  first  tract,  so  that  he  owned  forty  acres  in  one 
body,  all  under  cultivation  to  alfalfa.  Ujjon  selling  the  place  to  a  lirother  he 
bought  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  located  nine  miles  southwest  of  Bakers- 
field and  on  this  ranch  during  1910  he  erected  a  modern  residence  that  is  con- 
sidered to  be  one  of  the  finest  country  homes  in  the  district.  In  addition  to 
operating  the  home  place,  the  larger  part  of  which  has  an  unusually  fine  stand 
of  alfalfa,  he  and  his  brothers,  Charles  H.  and  Joseph,  in  1912  leased  five  hun- 
dred acres  from  Miller  &  Lux.  The  large  tract  being  under  cultivation  to 
Egyptian  corn,  their  success  was  .so  gratifying  that  they  leased  about  one 
thousand  acres  the  following  year  and  their  efforts  resulted  in  a  bumper  crop, 
demonstrating  that  the  soil  and  climate  make  Kern  county  a  leader  in  the  pro- 
duction of  Egyptian  corn.  While  the  care  of  so  great  an  acreage  necessitates 
constant  labor  and  untiring  energy,  the  returns  have  justified  the  procedure 
and  at  the  same  time  lia\-c  added  further  pri^of  concerning  the  cro])  possibil- 
ities of  the  countv. 


476  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

The  principles  of  the  Repubhcan  party  receive  the  support  of  Mr.  Freear, 
whose  intelligent  advocacy  of  progressive  measures  marks  him  as  one  of  the 
public-spirited  men  of  his  community.  His  marriage  took  place  in  the  Old 
River  district  July  2,  1908,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Bertha  Weingartner,  a 
native  of  the  vicinity  of  Tully,  Onondaga  county,  N.  Y.,  and  a  daughter  of 
Albert  and  Nancy  (Barrett)  Weingartner,  also  natives  of  New  York  state. 
When  eight  years  of  age  Mrs.  Freear  came  to  California  in  company  with 
other  members  of  the  Weingartner  family.  During  girlhood  she  was  a  pupil 
in  the  public  schools  of  Tehama  and  Glenn  counties  and  since  her  marriage 
she  has  co-operated  with  her  husband  in  an  earnest  adherence  to  principles 
of  justice  and  progress,  generously  sustaining  movements  for  the  material, 
educational  and  social  upbuilding  of  the  district. 

JOHN  M.  JAMESON.--The  history  of  the  Jameson  family  in  Cali- 
fornia dates  back  to  the  era  of  the  discovery  of  gold,  while  in  America 
the  genealogy  is  traced  to  colonial  Virginia,  John  M.  Jameson,  Sr.,  having 
been  the  founder  of  the  name  to  the  west  of  the  Old  Dominion  and  having 
lived  for  years  among  the  frontier  population  of  Missouri  near  the  city  of 
St.  Louis.  While  3'et  a  mere  lad  his  son,  William  T.,  had  served  in  the 
-Mexican  war  and  had  gained  an  enlarged  comprehension  of  the  riches  of 
our  vast  domain  during  the  period  of  his  service  in  the  southwest.  Soon 
after  the  expiration  of  his  term  in  the  army  with  his  father  he  crossed  the 
plains  in  1848  with  "prairie  schooner"  and  oxen.  The  trip  into  California 
aroused  in  him  a  desire  to  locate  permanently  in  the  west,  hence  after  a 
brief  sojourn  in  Amador  county  he  returned  to  Missouri  via  Panama,  in- 
terested others  in  an  expedition,  secured  the  necessary  supplies,  procured 
a  mule-team  and  carriage  for  his  mother  and  sisters,  and  taking  every 
precaution  against  attacks  from  Indians,  slowly  made  his  way  across  the 
plains  with  a  large  following  of  emigrants.  For  a  time  after  his  arrival 
he  engaged  in  mining,  but  later  took  up  agriculture  and  during  1874  he 
became  a  resident  of  Kern  county,  where  after  a  year  at  Glennville  he 
settled  in  Bakersfield.  The  little  village  was  unattractive  in  appearance 
3nd  in  prospects,  but  he  discerned  its  possibilities  and  decided  to  remain. 
There  being  no  house  to  rent,  he  secured  an  old  blacksmith  shop,  repaired 
the  building  and  made  it  the  family  home  for  several  months  until  it  was 
possible  to  erect  a  small  cottage  to  shelter  wife  and  children.  With  fair 
success  for  years  he  engaged  in  teaming,  carried  on  general  farming,  oper- 
ated a  ranch  on  the  Cottonwood  road  and  owned  a  cattle  ranch  on  Mount 
Breckenridge.  During  the  '80s  he  served  as  county  treasurer  for  two 
years.  His  death  occurred  at  his  homestead  near  Kern  in  February  of 
1909  when  he  was  eighty  3'ears  of  age.  .\fter  coming  to  California  he  had 
married  in  Amador  county  Miss  Annie  Kendall,  who.  was  born  near 
Portsmouth,  Ohio,  and  died  in  1888.  Her  father,  R.  .\.  Kendall,  a  native 
of  Ohio,  brought  the  family  via  Panama  to  Amador  county,  but  later 
removed  to  Sutter  county,  where  his  last  days  were  passed. 

The  family  of  William  T.  and  .A.nnie  (Kendall)  Jameson  comprised  ten 
children,  of  whom  six  are  now  living,  four  being  sons.  Of  these  E.  R. 
resides  in  San  Francisco,  J.  R.,  in  Graham,  Tex.,  and  F.  H.,  in  Glennville, 
Cal.  John  M.,  who  is  next  to  the  eldest  among  the  surviving  sons,  was 
born  at  Fairplay,  Eldorado  county,  Cal.,  August  31,  1863,  but  has  been  a 
resident  of  Kern  county  since  1874.  His  education  was  secured  in  the 
public  schools  nf  Kern,  .\fter  three  years  as  clerk  in  a  store  at  Kern  and 
a  similar  period  as  superintendent  of  a  ranch  owned  by  Sol  Jewett  he  drifted 
into  farming  and  stock-raising  and  acquired  the  title  to  a  ranch  on  the 
Cottonwood  road  comprising  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  On  that  land 
his    father    lived,    while    he    gave    his    attention    to    general    contracting    and 


M  O^^^AAJUj->^  <yCv~<^    tlJL^t}i^i>0   G^(^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  47y 

teaming  for  a  long  period.  From  1890  until  1894  he  served  as  deputy  under 
County  Assessor  Lightner.  F'or  the  first  time  in  1898  he  was  elected  count} 
assessor  on  the  Democratic  ticket  and  in  January  of  the  following  year  he 
assumed  tlie  duties  of  ottice.  At  the  expiration  ot  the  term  of  lour  .years 
he  was  re-elected.  After  having  served  from  1898  to  19U0  he  was  again 
chosen  his  own  successor  and  in  1910  he  was  re-elected  without  opposition, 
a  fact  that  bears  eloquent  testimony  as  to  the  value  of  his  services  and 
ihe  appreciation  in  winch  they  are  held.  To  indicate  the  growth  of  Kern 
county,  the  hrst  assessment  of  the  county  made  under  his  official  regime 
was  about  $15,000,000,  and  the  last  which  includes  the  public  service  corpora- 
lions,  aggregated  over  $73,000,000.  Besides  owning  the  residence  on  the 
corner  of  Twentieth  and  li  streets,  Bakersrield,  he  still  retains  farm  lands 
and  also  owns  oil  interests.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Security  Bank 
of  Bakersfield  he  became  one  of  its  principal  stockholders  and  was  chosen  a 
director,  in  which  capacity  he  has  continued  to  the  present.  For  one  year 
he  also  officiated  as  a  director  of  the  board  of  trade.  In  1913,  associated 
with  Messrs.  Parker  and  O'Brien.  Mr.  Jameson  i)urchased  the  Southern 
Hotel  and  incorporated  the  Southern  Hotel  Company.  Since  then  the 
hotel  has  been  remodelled  and  partially  refurnished. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Jameson  united  him  with  Miss  Charlotte  E. 
Baker,  by  whom  he  has  two  sons,  Myron  and  Kenneth.  Mrs.  Jameson,  who 
claims  Bakersfield  as  her  native  city,  is  a  daughter  of  Col.  Thomas  Baker  and 
possesses  exceptional  ability  and  a  winning  personality.  The  Woodmen  of 
the  W'lirld,  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  Eagles  enjoy  the  benefit 
of  his  intelligent  co-operation  and  in  addition  he  is  past  exalted  ruler  of  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  Years  ago  he  was  made  a  Mason 
in  r.akersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  later  he  was  raised  to  the 
Royal  Arch  degree  in  Bakersfield  Chapter.  He  was  made  a  Sir  Knight  in 
Bakersfield  Comniandery,  K.  T..  while  more  recently  he  became  affiliated 
with  .\1  Malaikah  Temple.  X.  M.  S..  nf  Los  .Vngeles,  and  is  a  member  also 
(if  the  Bakersfield  Club. 

HARRISON  ROSS  PEACOCK.— The  Peacock  genealogy  is  traced  to 
a  ling  line  of  English  ancestry,  but  the  family  became  established  in  New 
York  state  during  the  early  period  of  American  history  and  Joseph  Peacock, 
who  was  born  and  reared  near  Rome,  N.  Y.,  was  the  first  of  the  name  to 
identify  himself  with  the  development  of  the  Pacific  coast.  Coming  by 
Panama  to  San  Francisco  in  1852,  he  engaged  in  placer  mining  near  Yreka, 
Siskiyou  county,  where  with  alternate  successes  and  reverses  he  continued 
to  operate  as  a  miner  until  1864.  In  that  year  he  went  as  far  south  as  Solano 
county  for  the  purDose  of  engaging  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising. 
Not  understanding  thoroughly  the  conditions  appertaining  to  titles  and  claims, 
he  settled  on  what  proved  to  be  a  Spanish  grant,  so  had  to  give  up  his  claim. 
Next  he  entered  a  tract  on  Suisun  creek  in  the  same  county  When  he 
removed  in  1874  to  what  is  now  Kings  county  he  profited  by  his  previous 
experience  and  instead  of  taking  a  claim  and  fighting  for  it,  like  many 
of  the  early  settlers,  he  bought  land  from  the  railroad.  Later  events  proved 
the  wisdom  of  his  act.  He  was  superintendent  of  the  76  Land  and  Water 
Company's  canal  during  its  construction  and  for  a  period  of  seven  years  after 
its  completion.  For  a  long  period  he  engaged  in  the  improvement  of  his 
farm,  but  finally  the  infirmities  of  age  obliged  him  to  relinquish  manual 
labor  and  he  retired  to  Hanford,  where  he  died  in  1910  at  the  age  of  eighty 
years.  From  the  time  of  casting  his  first  ballot  he  was  a  supporter  of 
Republican  principles  and  he  was  one  of  the  first  twelve  Republicans  to 
\-ote  in  Siskiyou  county,  \^'hile  preferring  not  to  be  a  candidate  for  office, 
he    consented    on    one    occasion    to    run    for    supervisor    and.    altiiougli    in    a 


480  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Democratic  district,  he  was  defeated  by  only  forty-nine  votes.  Some  years 
after  coming  to  California  he  married  Hannah  Bonham,  who  was  born  in 
Illinois  and  lives  now  at  Selma,  Cal.  Early  in  the  '50s  she  crossed  the  plains 
with  her  father,  Elisha  Bonham,  who  brought  a  herd  of  cattle  through  to 
Oregon  and  took  up  land  in  that  state,  but  eventually  came  to  California 
and  continued  the  stock  business  in  Solano  county  until  his  death. 

The  parental  family  comprised  five  sons  and  five  daughters.  All  are 
still  living,  Harrison  Ross  being  the  eldest  of  the  number  and  a  native  of 
Solano  county,  this  state,  born  in  Green  valley,  near  Vallejo,  April  14,  1865. 
During  1874  he  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Kings  count}^  and  settled  on 
a  ranch  near  Hanford,  where  he  attended  the  public  schools.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years  he  embarked  in  the  livery  business  at  Traver,  Tulare 
county,  and  while  thus  engaged  he  took  a  commercial  course  in  Fresno 
Business  College,  of  which  he  is  a  graduate.  In  addition  he  served  as  deputy 
sheriff  under  Dan  Overall,  the  first  Republican  sheriff  of  Tulare  county. 
Meanwhile  he  had  acquired  unimproved  land  lying  between  Dinuba,  Tulare 
county,  and  Reedley,  Fresno  county,  where  he  became  interested  in  raising 
alfalfa.  At  Traver  he  opened  and  operated  the  first  creamery  in  the  vil- 
lage, also  was  interested  in  the  first  creamery  at  Hanford.  Possessing  a 
keen  faculty  for  business  of  all  kinds,  he  seemed  particularly  well  adapted 
for  the  creamery  industry.  Seeing  an  excellent  opening  at  Bakersfield,  in 
1902  he  embarked  in  the  occupation  at  this  point.  His  success  has  been 
so  great  that  Peacock's  creamery  is  favorably  known  throughout  all  this 
section  of  the  state.  There  is  an  increasing  demand  for  Peacock's  butter  and 
ice-cream,  the  latter  manufactured  by  the  brine  S3'stem  operated  by  electric 
power. 

The  management  of  the  creamery  does  not  represent  the  limit  of  Mr. 
Peacock's  activities.  His  fine  mental  qualities  enable  him  to  superintend 
various  interests  easily  and  effectively.  At  this  writing  he  owns  and  man- 
ages the  Peacock  stock  and  alfalfa  farm  located  nine  miles  south  of  Bak- 
ersfield, under  the  old  Kern  Island  ditch.  The  ranch  embraces  two  htm- 
dred  and  forty  acres  of  fertile  land  that  by  the  aid  of  irrigation  produce 
excellent  crops  of  alfalfa  and  grain.  A  specialty  is  made  of  the  stock 
industry.  The  thoroughbred  Poland-China  hogs  kept  on  the  farm  are  as 
fine  as  may  be  seen  anywhere  in  the  county.  There  are  also  one  hundred 
and  thirty  head  of  milch  cows,  some  full-blood  Jerseys  and  other  grades 
of  superior  quality,  the  whole  forming  one  of  the  largest  dairies  in  Kern 
county  and  one  of  the  most  profitable  as  well.  Besides  owning  this  prop- 
erty Mr.  Peacock  has  an  interest  in  an  alfalfa  ranch  of  sixteen  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  on  Kern  Island,  owned  by  the  Panama  Land  Company, 
of  which  he  is  a  director.  His  interests  in  oil  operations  embrace  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Tejon  Oil  Company,  a  producing  concern  operating  nine  wells 
in  the  Kern  river  field  and  owning  eighty  acres  of  land.  Besides  his  asso- 
ciation with  the  creamery,  with  oil  interests  and  agricultural  affairs,  he  has 
entered  the  realm  of  finances  and  since  the  organization  of  the  Security 
Trust  Company,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  promoters,  he  has  acted  as 
first  vice-president  and  a  director. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Peacock  was  solemnized  in  Lake  county,  Cal., 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Harriet  M.  Wayne,  a  native  of  Illinois,  a  lady 
of  education  and  culture,  and  a  sincere  member  of  the  Congregational  Church. 
By  this  union  there  are  three  children,  Wayne,  Ross  and  Geraldine.  While 
engaging  in  business  at  Traver  Mr.  Peacock  was  made  a  Mason  and  now 
holds  membership  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.;  Bakersfield 
Chapter  No.  75,  R.  A.  M. ;  Bakersfield  Commandery  No.  39,  K.  T. ;  and  Al 
Malaikah  Temple,  N.  M.  S..  of  Los  Angeles.  The  Woodmen  of  the 
World    and    the    Bakersfield   Club    also    number   him    among   their    members. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  481 

While  he  has  limited  his  attention  and  investments  in  the  main  to  his  home 
county,  he  has  not  been  neglectful  of  excellent  opportunities  elsewhere,  has 
invested  in  lands  in  the  Imperial  valley  and  also  has  kept  in  touch  with  the 
upbuilding  of  all  sections  of  the  west.  Here  he  has  been  associated  with  the 
^lerchants'  Association  and  at  one  time  served  as  president  of  the  Board 
(if  Trade,  in  which  capacity  he  was  able  to  promote  many  movements 
for  the  local  upbuilding.     In  national  politics   he  is  a   Republican. 

CHARLES  H.  SMITH.— The  discouragements  and  obstacles  incident 
to  existence  in  a  new.  undeveloped  country  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Smith  family 
when  they  became  pioneers  of  California,  but  the  father,  John  Foster  Smith, 
;!  Kentuckian  l)y  birth,  was  a  man  of  such  resolute  purpose  and  such  indom- 
itable will  that  he  never  faltered  when  rei)eated  adversities  wiped  out  his  all. 
Early  in  life  he  had  removed  to  Texas  and  there  had  served  in  Indian 
fights  as  a  member  of  the  celebrated  Texas  Rangers,  where  his  courage  was 
put  to  manv  a  severe  test.  Nor  were  the  trials  of  pioneer  farming  less 
depressing  than  those  of  the  army.  Both  in  Texas  and  in  California  he  lived 
a  life  tif  great  privation  and  continued  self-sacrifice.  While  living  in  Texas  he 
married  .Amanda  Stark,  a  native  vi  Kentucky,  where  likewise  occurred  th.e 
birth  of  her  father.  Robert  E.  Stark.  After  having  sojourned  for  a  time  in 
Missouri  and  Arkansas,  during  1853  Mr.  Stark  brought  his  family  acro.ss 
the  plains  to  California  and  took  up  a  claim  at  Fort  Tejon.  where  he  engaged 
m  ranching  and  raising  stock. 

During  the  summer  of  1859  the  Smith  family,  which  then  consisted  of 
father,  mother  and  two  children,  left  Texas  via  the  southern  stage  route  for 
California,  where  they  arrived  on  New  Year's  day  of  1860  at  Tejon  canyon. 
With  a  brother-in-law,  Jesse  Stark,  as  a  partner  Mr.  Smith  began  to  raise 
stock,  his  specialty  at  first  being  cattle  and  sheep.  P'or  a  time  he  was  pros- 
pered, but  in  1877  he  lost  the  savings  of  years  of  difficult  labor  and  self- 
sacrifice.  Later  he  retrieved  himself  to  some  extent  and  farmed  on  a  large 
tract  near  Hakersfield.  Later  he  took  up  land  in  Rear  valley.  After  he  had 
once  again  achieved  a  fair  degree  of  success  and  had  invested  everything 
in  a  large  drove  of  hogs  he  lost  heavily  through  an  epidemic  of  cholera  that 
wiped  out  his  entire  drove.  While  operating  his  ranch  in  F>ear  Valley,  about 
1894.  he  was  accidentally  killed  by  the  fall  from  a  horse.  His  wife  passed 
awav  in  1900.  Their  children  were  as  follows :  Mrs.  Mary  Shackelford,  now 
a  resident  of  Bakersfield ;  Susie,  who  died  in  Kern  county;  Louisa,  Mrs. 
Haupt,  of  Tehachapi :  Elma,  who  is  married  to  Bruce  Tungate  and  is  living 
near  Bakersfield :  Laura.  Mrs.  L.  F.  Brit,  of  Bakersfield ;  Mrs.  Ella  Cun- 
ningham, who  died  at  Tehachapi;  Charles  H.,  deputy  sheriflF  of  Kern  county; 
and  Oliver,  now  in  the  Palos  Verdes  Valley. 

When  the  family  were  developing  a  ranch  at  the  head  of  I'Virt  Tejon 
canyon  Charles  H.  Smith  was  born  at  the  ranch-house  March  20.  1870.  At 
the  age  of  ten  years  he  accompanied  the  family  to  Tehachapi,  where  he  at- 
tended the  grammar  school.  Later  he  began  to  work  as  a  rancher  and 
farmer.  For  S(  me  years  he  was  employed  as  manager  of  the  Rock  Springs 
I^and  &  Cattle  Company.  Later  he  engaged  in  the  stock  business  for  himself. 
In  September  of  1909  he  was  appointed  deputy  sherifif  under  J.  W.  Kelly  and 
at  once  he  established  his  residence  at  Bakersfield.  where  lie  still  remains, 
although  he  had  erected  and  still  owns  a  residence  at  Tehachapi.  When 
Thomas  .A.  Baker  became  sherifif  he  was  continued  as  deputy  and  is  filling 
the  position  with  energy  and  intelligence,  displaying  the  same  fearlessness 
that  characterized  his  father  years  ago  in  fighting  with  the  Texas  rangers 
against  the  savages. 

^^'hile  living  in  Tehachapi  :\Ir.  Smith  married  Miss  Mary  Addie  Haigh. 
who  was  born  in  Tuolumne  countv.  this  state,  and  died   at   Bakersfield  July 


482  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

28,  1910,  leaving  three  children.  Alvin,  Laura  and  Emmett.  Mrs.  Smith 
was  a  daughter  of  (leorge  Haigh.  a  pioneer  who  came  to  the  west 
during  the  period  of  mining  activity  and  himself  had  some  thrilling 
experiences  in  the  mines,  but  not  finding  there  the  wealth  he  had  hoped  to 
acquire  he  settled  down  to  a  quiet  existence  as  a  rancher.  At  an  earlj-^  day 
he  settled  at  Tehachapi  and  here  he  still  makes  his  home.  In  politics  Mr. 
Smith  votes  with  the  Democratic  party.  Fraternally,  besides  being  con- 
nected with  the  Modern  Woodmen  uf  .America,  he  was  made  a  Mason  in 
Tehachapi  Lodge  No.  313,  F.  &  .\.  M.,  and  later  also  identified  himself 
with  Tehachapi  Chapter  No.  218,  (  ).  E.  S. 

DAVE  CRICHTON.— The  mining  interests  of  California  are  of  such 
miportance  that  they  iiave  been  written  of  pretty  generally  whenever  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  state  have  fallen  under  consideration.  Many  a  large  fortune 
and  numerous  snug  little  competencies  have  been  dug  out  of  the  soil  of  Kern 
and  some  of  her  sister  counties.  A  leading  mining  operator  of  Kern  county 
is  Dave  Crichton  of  Mojave,  who  is  also  interested  in  the  liquor  business  and 
is  the  owner  of  considerable  real  estate. 

It  was  in  Ontario,  Canada,  that  Mr.  Crichton  was  born  December  20, 
1861.  There  he  lived  until  in  1870,  attending  school  and  learning  useful 
work.  He  was  fifteen  when  he  laid  down  his  educational  books  and  was  in 
his  sixteenth  year  when  he  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  St.  Johns,  Mich. 
There  he  lived  until  1888,  working  for  his  father,  later  farming  on  his  own 
account.  He  then  went,  in  1889,  to  Butte,  Mont.,  where  he  engaged  in 
mining.  In  1891  he  went  into  the  business  of  running  diamond  drills.  It  was 
Mr.  Crichton  who  utilized  the  diamond  drill  in  the  operation  of  the  Hope 
mine  at  Phillipsburg,  Mont.,  in  1893.  He  came  to  Kern  county  in  1894  and 
located  at  Mojave  where  he  was  employed  by  the  old  .Atlantic  &  Pacific, 
now  the  .Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Company.  In  1901  he  asso- 
ciated himself  with  William  Concannon  in  the  liquor  trade,  in  which  they 
have  achieved  success.  He  is  engaged  in  mining  in  Inycj  county  and  is  the 
owner  of  and  has  built  up  many  houses  in  Mojave.  From  1897  until  1902 
with  George  Roper  he  operated  the  Bobtail  mine  in  Soledad  Hill,  Kern  county, 
when  it  was  sold  to  Los  Angeles  people. 

February  24,  1902,  Mr.  Crichton  married  Miss  I'"va  Underbill,  who  was 
Imrn  at  Phoenix,  .Ariz.,  in  1878.  .As  a  citizen  he  is  helpful  and  popular  and 
in  all  his  relations  with  his  fellovvmen  he  has  shown  himself  upright,  pro- 
gressive and  public-spirited. 

JAMES  EDWARD  DICKINSON.— Born  in  Newman,  Douglas  county, 
111.,  August  6,  1874,  James  Edward  Dickinson,  of  Bakersfield,  came  to  Kern 
county  Januar\  18,  1891,  at  which  time  his  parents  settled  here.  His  father, 
Samuel  Dickinson,  a  native  of  Indiana,  served  as  sergeant  of  an  Indiana  regi- 
ment in  the  Civil  war.  On  coming-  to  Kern  county  he  located  on  eighty  acres. 
of  land  on  what  is  now  the  oil  field  road,  and  there  for  a  time  engaged  in 
melon  raising.  Subsequently  he  sold  ofT  a  portion  of  the  land  and  on  this 
has  since  been  built  up  the  town  of  Waits  The  father  met  an  untimely  death 
in  1911,  when  he  was  killed  by  a  Southern  Pacific  train  at  the  Chester  avenue 
crossing.  He  was  seventy-eight  years  of  age.  His  widow,  who  was  in  maid- 
enhood Martha  J.  Danely,  survives  him,  making  her  home  with  her  son 
James  E.  The  parental  family  included  five  children  of  whom  three  are  liv- 
ing, James  E.  being  the  eldest. 

After  com])leting  his  education  James  E.  Dickinson  continued  farming 
and  raising  melons  until  his  enlistment  for  service  in  the  Spanish-American 
war  in  1898  in  Company  G,  Sixth  California  Volunteer  Infantry.  His  service 
extended  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  he  was  mustered  out  in  San  Fran- 
cisco.    .After  his  return  home  he  was  employed  for  two  years  with  the  Kern 


HISTORY    OI--    KERX    COUNTY  485 

County  Land  Company,  fuUowino-  this  h\  cy^ht  years  as  foreman  ..f  carpentcr 
work  for  the  Petroleum  De\elcjpmenl  Oil  Conipany,  after  wb.ich  lie  went  inti> 
business  for  himself  as  a  g:eneral  contractor  and  builder,  operatinjj  in  Rakers- 
field  and  vicinity.  Although  much  of  his  skill  has  been  employed  in  building 
cottages  and  apartment  houses,  he  has  also  done  much  work  in  the  oil  fields 
in  the  construction  of  rigs  and  buildings.  Associated  with  him  in  business 
is  M.  A,  Dulgar,  a  man  of  large  practical  ex])erience  as  a  builder. 

May  26/l'.^0(),  Mr.  Dickinson  married  Miss  Mabel  Clara  Poole,  who  was 
born  in  Nebraska,  September  '),  1886,  and  they  have  three  children,  Erwin, 
Laura  and  Robert.  Fraternally  Mr.  Dickinson  affiliates  with  llakersfield 
Lodge  Nt).  224,  F,  &  A.  M.,  and  with  a  local  division  <>i  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World.  He  is  also  a  member  General  .Shafter  Camp,  Spaiiisli-Anierican  War 
Veterans. 

ELMER  HENRY  WOODY.— The  genealogical  records  indicate  an 
early  identification  of  the  Woody  family  with  colonial  Virginia.  Several 
successive  generations  lived  and  labored  there,  the  majority  of  them  being 
planters  by  occupation.  In  the  family  of  one  of  these  planters,  whose  spe- 
cialty was  the  raising  of  tobacco,  there  was  a  son,  Sparrell  Walter,  born  at 
the  old  homestead  near  Rockymount,  Franklin  county,  Va.,  March  10,  1826, 
and  reared  amid  the  cultured  surroundings  characteristic  of  his  day  and 
locality.  The  best  of  educational  advantages  were  made  accessil)le  to  him  in 
youth.  .After  he  had  acquired  a  fair  classical  education  he  took  up  the  pro- 
fession of  medicine  and  from  1845  to  1848  studied  the  science  under  the 
friendly  preceptorship  of  Dr.  W.  E.  Dillard,  of  his  home  county.  Later  he 
attended  lectures  in  St.  Louis  and  received  the  degree  of  INL  D.  from  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Missouri.  Scarcely  had  he  begun 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Missouri  when  news  came  concerning  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  California.  With  all  the  eagerness  of  youth  and  with 
the  love  of  adventure  characteristic  of  him,  he  made  immediate  plans  for 
removal  to  the  west.  During  the  summer  of  1849  he  crossed  the  plains  with 
an  expedition  of  Argonauts  and  joined  the  great  throng  of  men  endeavoring 
to  find  a  fortune  in  the  mines.  For  three  years  he  remained  in  Placer  county, 
but  his  earnest  and  long-continued  efforts  brought  him  little  of  the  gold 
of  which  he  had  dreamed.  Finally  it  seemed  desirable  to  seek  other  lines 
of  enterprise,  and  accordingly  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  and  livery  business, 
which  brought  him  fair  financial  returns.  However,  an  eagerness  to  see 
more  of  the  world  led  him  to  give  up  the  business  and  go  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands  in  1858.  Securing  employment  in  the  government  custom  house  at 
Honolulu,  he  remained  for  some  months,  but  in  1859  returned  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, content  to  settle  in  that  city  for  the  time  being.  Later,  after  a  brief 
sojourn  in  Visalia,  Tulare  county,  he  came  to  the  present  site  of  the  city  of 
Bakersfield  in  the  fall  of  1860,  and  made  an  earnest  endeavor  to  engage  in 
farming,  but  the  disastrous  floods  of  1861  and  1862  entailed  a  complete 
loss  and  forced  him  to  seek  a  new  location.  In  this  way  it  happened  that 
he  settled  in  1862  in  the  district  that  now  bears  his  name. 

The  marriage  of  Dr.  Woody  took  place  in  Kern  county  May  20,  1861,  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Sarah  L.  Bohna,  who  was  born  at  Warsaw,  Benton 
county.  Mo.,  June  13,  1845,  but  had  been  brought  to  California  by  her 
father.  Christian  Bohna,  during  the  era'  of  mining  excitement.  Her  death 
occurred  March  3,  1909,  in  the  district  where  for  so  many  years  she  had  been 
a  beloved  resident,  and  here,  too,  her  husband  passed  away  September  2, 
1910.  Their  memory  is  revered  not  only  by  their  children,  but  also  by  the 
warm  personal  friends,  who  will  never  cease  to  bear  in  mind  their  many 
virtues  and  by  future  generations  who  will  learn  with  interest  of  their  asso- 
ciation with  the  pioneer  history  of  the  county. 

Elmer  H.  Woody,  son  of  Dr.  S.  W.  and  Sarah  Woody,  was  born  at 
Woody.  Kern  county,  July   10.   1880.  and  receivefl  a  public-sch(j(il   education. 


486  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

supplemented  by  attendance  at  Woodbury's  Business  College  in  Los  Angeles, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1900.  After  his  return  home 
from  the  college  he  began  to  improve  and  develop  a  quarter-section  adjoin- 
ing his  father's  estate  and  for  five  years  he  remained  on  the  new  tract, 
meanwhile  devoting  his  attentii-n  to  farming.  Until  the  death  of  his  father 
he  carried  on  a  partnership  with  him  in  the  livestock  industry  and  since 
the  death  of  his  parents  and  the  division  of  the  estate  he  and  his  brother 
own  in  partnership  about  six  thousand  acres  of  land  devoted  to  the  cattle 
business,  the  Short-horn  Durham  breed  predominating.  The  ranch  lies  on 
the  west  side,  at  the  foot  of  Blue  mountain  and  at  the  head  of  Rag  gulch. 
It  is  well  watered  by  numerous  springs  and  is  thickly  studded  with  native 
oak,  such  as  water  and  white  oak. 

On  August  27,  1911,  j\lr.  Woody  was  united  in  marriage  at  Bakersfield 
with  Miss  Frances  J.  Weringer,  a  young  lady  of  education  and  refinement, 
the  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Lucy  Weringer.  After  her  graduation  from 
the  Western  Normal  school  at  Stockton  she  was  engaged  in  teaching  until 
her  marriage.  One  child  has  blessed  their  marriage.  Ward  Sparrell.  In 
politics  Mr.  Woody  has  always  given  his  support  to  Democratic  doctrines. 

SERAPHIM  POURROY.— The  Pourroy  family  had  generations  of  repre- 
sentatives among  the  farmers  in  Hautes  Alpes,  tVance,  where  Joseph 
Pourroy  passed  his  life  as  a  stock-raiser  at  the  old  homestead  near  the 
Pondus  Fose  river.  Both  he  and  his  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Emelie  Richau.  remained  on  the  home  farm  until  death  gave  them  rest 
from  their  labors.  Of  their  five  children  four  are  yet  living,  the  youngest 
of  the  family  being  Seraphim,  born  at  the  old  homestead  September  21, 
1876,  and  reared  to  a  knowledge  of  agricultural  duties  under  wise  parental 
training.  His  brother,  Theophile,  came  from  France  to  California  in  1881 
and  settled  in  Kern  county,  whither  he  also  came  in  1884  with  the  hope  of 
securing  advantages  impossible  in  his  native  land.  The  voyage  was  made 
via  steamer  from  Havre  to  New  York  City.  Thence  he  traveled  across  the 
country  to  Sumner  (now  East  Bakersfield).  For  three  years  he  herded 
sheep  for  his  brother,  of  whom  he  then  bought  a  small  flock  with  which 
to  make  his  start  in  the  business.  On  the  range  in  this  part  of  the  country 
he  pastured  his  flock  of  seven  hundred  head.  At  first  he  was  greatly 
prospered  and  after  he  had  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother  they 
owned  five  thousand  head  in  their  combined  flocks.  Just  as  their  affairs 
seemed  to  be  established  upon  a  firm  basis  the  panic  of  1893-95  developed 
and  prices  dropped  to  such  a  point  that  both  brothers  were  bankrupted. 

Forced  to  begin  again  as  a  wage-earner,  Seraphim  Pourroy  became  a 
sheep-herder  on  the  ranges  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  At  the  expiration  of 
six  years  of  the  most  arduous  and  untiring  effort  he  was  in  a  position  to 
buy  another  flock  of  sheep  and  he  took  this  step,  undismayed  by  the  results 
of  his  former  venture.  Forming  a  partnership  with  AL  Plantier,  he  assumed 
the  management  of  the  flock  and  for  four  years  made  his  headquarters  on 
the  O'Neil  place.  This  time  he  was  prospered  in  his  undertakings  and 
when  the  partnership  was  dissolved  he  was  in  a  position  to  invest  in  land. 
Since  1906  he  has  owned  and  operated  forty  acres  seven  miles  south  of 
Bakersfield  between  Union  avenue  and  Kern  Island  road.  At  the  time  of 
purchase  the  land  was  unimproved.  It  was  no  small  task  to  make  all  the 
needed  improvements,  but  with  characteristic  energy  he  has  kept  at  the 
work  until  now  he  has  a  comfortable  house,  a  substantial  barn,  irrigation 
facilities  from  the  Kern  Island  canal  and  the  land  leveled,- sowed  to  alfalfa 
and  productive  of  profitable  crops  of  hay.  Mr.  Pourroy  is  proud  of  his 
farm,  but  he  is  even  more  proud  of  his  family,  which  comprises  his  wife 
and  three  children,  Gertrude,  Seraphim  and  Emma.  Miss  Fanny  Geraud 
was  born  in   Hautes  Aloes.  France,   in   187.^.  and   is  a  daughter  of  Jean  and 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  489 

Rosalie  (Bertrand)  Geraud,  the  former  a  farmer  by  occupation.  During 
1900  Aliss  Geraud  came  from  I""rance  to  California  and  settled  in  Cakersfield, 
where  March  12,  1904,  she  and  Mr.  Pourroy  were  united  in  a  marriage  that 
has  proved  of  mutual  happiness  and  helpfulness. 

ALBERT  S.  GOODE.— In  1853  James  M.  Goode,  a  Kcutuckian  hy 
birth  and  ancestry,  crossed  the  plains  with  his  parents  in  a  "prairie  schooner" 
drawn  by  oxen.  The  record  of  his  subsequent  hardships  and  privations  does 
not  differ  materially  from  the  history  of  other  pioneers  of  sterling  worth 
and  unwearied  energy.  In  the  land  of  the  golden  west  he  met  and  married 
Susan  H.  AlcPhetridge,  who  in  1856  had  crossed  the  plains  from  her  native 
Missouri  with  her  parents.  The  young  couple  settled  in  Santa  Barbara 
county,  took  up  land,  developed  a  ranch,  made  a  specialty  of  stock-raising 
and  eventually  attained  a  degree  of  success  more  than  merited  by  the  pains- 
taking industry  of  3'ears.  When  the  acquisition  of  a  competency  and  the 
oncoming  of  eld  age  rendered  further  labor  on  the  ranch  undesirable  they 
came  to  Bakersfield  and  have  since  lived  in  retirement  in  this  city. 

The  family  of  James  M.  Goode  comprised  eight  children,  all  but  one  of 
whom  are  still  living.  The  fifth  in  order  of  birth,  Albert  S..  was  born  at 
the  old  homestead  near  Santa  Maria.  Santa  Barbara  county,  this  state,  Jan- 
uary 26.  1879,  and  received  his  education  in  local  schools,  .\fter  he  had 
entered  the  high  school  of  Santa  Maria  the  family  removed  to  Bakersfield 
and  here  he  completed  his  studies  in  the  excellent  high  school  of  the  city. 
Two  years  after  he  came  to  Kern  county  he  started  out  to  earn  his  own 
way  in  the  world.  Since  that  year  (1901)  he  has  engaged  in  the  dairy 
business.  His  rise  in  the  industry  has  been  rapid  in  an  exceptional  degree. 
Beginning  with  one  cow,  he  delivered  milk  to  private  customers  in  Bakers- 
field. The  business  was  well  received.  Others  desired  to  be  added  to  his 
list  of  customers.  That  rendered  necessary  the  buying  of  other  cows.  By 
the  end  of  five  years  he  owned  seventy-five  cows.  During  1906  he  contracted 
to  supply  milk  and  cream  to  all  the  eating  houses  on  the  Atchison,  Topeka  & 
Santa  l""e  Railroad  in  the  states  of  California,  Arizona  and  New  Mexico. 
In  addition  he  supplies  milk  and  cream  to  all  the  Pullman  dining  cars  on  the 
same  railroad  as  far  east  as  Chicago. 

The  Goode  dairy,  located  on  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  four  and  one- 
half  miles  south  of  FJakersfield,  has  become  well  and  favorably  known  through- 
out the  county,  where  it  is  by  far  the  largest  plant  of  its  kind.  'The  proprietor 
of  the  dairy  maintains  every  modern  convenience  and  desirable  equipment  for 
the  management  of  the  business.  Since  leasing  the  Kerr  and  As!)inwall 
ranches  in  1910  he  has  kept  his  herds  here  and  has  built  three  large  silos  for 
ensilage,  also  has  provided  other  improvements  necessary  to  a  modern  and 
sanitary  dairy.  A  cold-storage  plant  gives  evidence  concerning  his  adoption 
of  modern  ideas.  Intensified  farming  has  been  adopted,  thus  rendering  pos- 
sible a  large  yield  of  alfalfa  and  grain.  It  is  a  source  of  pride  to  him  that  he 
owns  the  finest  herd  of  dairy  stock  in  the  west.  Every  head  has  been  selected 
under  his  personal  oversight.  Altogether  he  owns  three  hundred  head  of 
cattle  and  of  these  about  two  hundred  are  full  blooded  milch  cows  of  the 
celebrated  St.  Lambert  strain  of  Jerseys  and  combine  finest  quality  and  best 
breeding. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  Mr.  Goode's  business  enterprises  was 
the  laying  out  of  forty  acres  known  as  the  Goode  tract,  the  same  forming  the 
first  large  subdivision  district  in  Bakersfield.  Since  the  tract  was  subdivided  in 
1910  it  has  been  sold  in  lots,  bringing  a  fair  return  to  the  original  owner.  .\t 
the  present  writing  Mr.  Goode  owns  an  alfalfa  ranch  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  on  Kern  Island,  where  he  is  extensively  engaged  in  the  stock 
business.  With  H.  R.  Peacock  and  others  he  organized  the  Ve-seven  Cattle 
Company,  engaged  in  breeding  and  raising  cattle,  feeding,  buying  and  selling 


490  HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY 

stock,  and  shipping  the  same  to  the  markets  of  the  north  and  south.  Since  the 
organization  of  the  company  he  has  served  as  its  secretary.  So  closely  have 
his  interests  tied  him  to  business  matters  that  he  has  had  no  leisure  for  par- 
ticipation in  public  affairs,  but  he  has  formed  a  number  of  fraternal  associa- 
tions and  is  very  popular  among  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  Elks  Lodge 
No.  266  and  the  Elks  Club  in  Bakersfield.  Although  identifying  himself  to 
some  degree  with  social  functions  he  leaves  such  activities  largely  to  his  wife, 
formerly  Miss  Cornelia  K.  Hansen,  who  was  born,  reared  and  married  in 
San  Jose  and  who  is  a  woman  of  culture,  a  leading  member  of  the  Woman's 
Club  of  Bakersfield  and  a  participant  in  many  important  movements  for  the 
educational  and  social  upbuilding  of  the  city. 

WILLIAM  MENZEL. — It  is  characteristic  of  the  native  sons  of  Cali- 
fornia that  they  evince  the  utmost  interest  and  put  forth  generous  efforts 
toward  the  welfare  of  their  commonwealth,  and  this,  coupled  with  the 
natural  enthusiasm  and  sturdy  powers  of  energy  and  effort  of  his  Teutonic 
ancestors,  has  accomplished  much  to  make  William  Menzel  the  prominent 
citizen  he  is  to-day.  He  is  the  son  of  one  of  the  earliest  miners  of  Kern 
county,  his  father,  William  Menzel,  being  a  native  of  Hamburg,  Germany. 
When  a  lad  of  fourteen  he  ran  away  from  home  to  seek  the  gold  fields  of 
California,  reports  of  which  had  reached  him  in  his  far-away  home.  Working 
his  way  across  the  Atlantic  and  on  to  California  he  arrived  in  San  Francisco 
in  1849  when  the  mining  excitement  was  at  its  greatest,  and  he  immediately 
began  mining.  In  1851. he  drifted  into  the  Kern  river  placers  soon  after  the 
first  discoveries  and  followed  mining  around  Keyesville  and  Kernville  and 
also  on  the  Piute  mountains.  He  identified  himself  conspicuously  with  Kern- 
ville by  starting  the  first  butcher  shop  there,  at  the  same  time  raising  stock. 
Afterward  he  sold  this  business  to  become  head  amalgamater  at  the  Big  Blue 
Mill,  but  in  1884  removed  to  Havilah  to  become  proprietor  of  the  Golden 
Gate  hotel  which  he  conducted  until  his  demise  in  1896.  A  short  time  after 
his  arrival  in  California  he  made  a  trip  back  to  his  old  home  where  he  re- 
newed his  acquaintance  with  a  young  lady  who  later,  in  1871,  came  to  Cali- 
fornia and  married  him  in  Visalia.  Her  maiden  name  was  Johanna  Goden- 
rath,  and  she  survives  him,  residing  in  Long  Beach,  Cal. 

Of  the  four  children  born  to  his  parents  M^illiam  Menzel  was  the  eldest 
and  to  him  was  given  the  best  educational  advantages  afforded  by  the  local 
schools  of  Kernville  and  Havilah.  W^hen  seventeen  he  began  to  do  for  him- 
self, having  charge  of  the  stage  stables  at  Havilah  for  Judge  Sumner,  who 
had  the  Caliente-Kernville  mail  contract.  Thirteen  months  later  he  bought 
a  team  and  wagon  and  some  cattle  and  sheep  and  embarked  in  the  stock  busi- 
ness. Establishing  the  brand  he  had  purchased  (two  quarter  circles,  joined 
points  downward),  he  continued  the  stock  business,  and  he  is  today  still 
using  that  brand.  His  cattle  range  for  a  time  was  on  the  Breckenridge  moun- 
tains with  headquarters  on  the  old  Welch  ranch  adjoining  Havilah  on  the 
north.  In  October,  1908,  he  purchased  sixty  acres  about  seven  miles  south  of 
Bakersfield  on  the  Kern  Island  Road,  and  removing  to  this  place,  he  has 
since  made  it  his  headquarters.  The  ranch  is  under  the  Kern  Island  canal  and 
is  devoted  to  grain  and  alfalfa.  His  sheep  are  ranged  on  the  plains  and  in 
the  Kern  National  Forest. 

Mr.  Menzel  was  married  in  Hanford,  Cal.,  to  Mrs.  Ella  (Walsh)  Kincaid, 
who  was  born  in  Walkers  Basin,  Kern  county,  the  daughter  of  Martin  and 
Bridget  (Welch)  Walsh.  Her  parents  were  early  settlers  of  Kern  county. 
the  father  following  the  vocation  of  miner  in  the  early  days.  Then  he  engaged 
in  cattle  raising  and  owned  a  farm  known  as  the  Walsh  ranch,  just  north  of 
Havilah,  continuing  there  until  his  death.  The  mother  is  making  her  home 
with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Menzel.  One  child  was  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Menzel, 
Gladys.    Bv  her  former  marriag-e  to  Mr.  Kincaid  Mrs.  Menzel  was  the  mother 


(y-tA-^yCL^ 


I 


I 


HISTORY    OF    Kl-:k.\    COUNTY  493 

of  four  cliildren,  Martin,  deceased,  j(_)seph,  William  and  Myrtle  Kincaid.  Mr 
Menzel  is  a  stanch  Republican  in  political  sentiment. 

THOMAS  MILTON  YOUNG.— The  identification  of  the  Young  family 
with  the  Pacific  coast  country  dates  back  to  the  era  of  gold  discovery  and 
indicates  an  honorable  association  with  the  entire  period  of  agricultural 
development  as  well  as  with  other  occupations  scarcely  less  important 
than  that  of  agriculture.  The  first  tu  seek  the  unknown  opportunities  of 
the  west,  Thomas  1.  ^■(lun,!:;.  a  natixe  xi  Massachusetts,  made  the  long 
journey  from  the  old  Hay  state  by  way  nl  Panama  and  for  a  time  after  his 
arrival  tried  his  luck  in  the  mines.  Later  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  hotel 
and  livery  business  at  Sutter  creek.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  Elizabeth 
Hinkson,  who  was  born  in  Missouri  and  during  the  '50s  crossed  the  plains 
with  her  parents,  the  family  settling  in  .\mador  county.  Five  children  were 
born  of  the  union  and  the  third  of  these,  T.  M.,  is  a  native  of  Drytown, 
Amador  county,  this  state,  born  Decemljer  19,  1868.  During  1869  the 
family  removed  from  Amador  to  Stanislaus  county,  where  the  father  took 
up  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Modesto.  From  a  small  beginning  he  enlarged 
his  holdings  until  he  had  accumulated  five  thousand  acres.  In  the  midst  of 
his  great  holdings,  about  three  and  one-half  miles  from  Modesto,  he  made 
his  home  for  years  in  a  comfortable  ranch-house,  but  about  1900  he  retired 
to  Stockton,  where  he  has  since  lived  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  competency 
and  leisure  amply  merited  by  past  years  of  toil.  Always  a  stanch  Repub- 
lican, he  twice  was  nominated  for  sheriflf  of  Stanislaus  county,  but  the  party 
being  greatly  in  the  minority  in  that  county,  he  suffered  defeat  at  both 
elections.  He  is  a  citizen  of  great  worth  and  the  highest  standing.  The 
changes  of  sixty  years  he  has  witnessed  in  the  comnmn wealth  of  his  adoption 
and  his  name  is  entitled  tu  lasting  remembrance  in  the  annals  cif  jiioneer 
history. 

For  some  years  in  early  life  T.  M.  Young  engaged  in  the  dairy  business 
and  during  that  period  he  paid  his  way  through  the  San  Joaquin  Valley 
College  at  Woodbridge,  remaining  a  student  until  the  close  of  the  junior 
year.  At  Woodbridge,  January  23,  1895.  he  married  Miss  Odessa  Riley, 
a  native  of  Indiana  and  a  graduate  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  College.  Of 
the  union  there  is  one  son,  Hobart  Nading  Young.  Ujjon  selling  the  dairy 
business  Mr.  Young  entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company, 
which  soon  afterward  sent  him  into  Kern.  During  June  of  1893  he  was  made 
a  clerk  and  operator  in  the  freight  department  at  P>akersfield,  from  which 
he  was  promoted  to  be  cashier  and  assistant  agent,  and  later  he  held  positions 
in  the  passenger  department  and  the  superintendent's  office.  I'ebruary  Ih, 
1907  he  resigned  to  accept  a  place  as  chief  clerk  with  the  .Atchison,  Topeka 
&  Santa  Fe  Railroad  at  Stockton,  but  that  important  place  he  was  forced 
to  resign  owing  to  ill  health,  his  resignation  taking  effect  on  the  30th  of 
May.  Returning  to  Pjakersfield  he  embarked  in  the  oil  industry  and  assisted 
in  organizing  the  Emerald  ( )il  Company,  of  which  he  became  secretary  and 
manager.  Besides  being  interested  in  this  C()m])any  in  the  Kern  river  field 
he  had  other  holdings  of  stock.  \\'ith  the  organization  of  the  Topaz  Oil 
Company  in  the  .Sunset  field  in  Jime,  1008,  he  became  secretary  and 
manager. 

The  water  supply  on  the  west  side  was  inadequate,  of  poor  (|uality  an.! 
very  expensive.  For  the  purpose  of  securing  l)etter  quality  and  larger  quan- 
tity Mr.  Young  helped  to  organize  the  Kern  Midway  Water  Company,  of 
which  he  was  chosen  secretary  and  manager  and  which  shipped  water  in 
cars  by  rail  to  the  Midway  field  for  domestic  as  well  as  boiler  and  genera' 
development  use.  During  March  of  1Q09  he  assisted  in  organizing  the 
T.  \\'.  Company  in  the  Midway  field,  of  wliich  he  was  chosen  secretar_\-  and 
manager,     .\pril  of  the  same  \ear  found  him  acti\fly  ]iromoting  the  or.ganiza- 


494  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

tiun  of  the  W .  T.  &  M.  Company  operating  in  the  Midway  and  of  this  he 
also  became  secretary  and  manager.  During  June  of  the  same  year  he 
organized  the  Carbo-Petroleum  Company,  operating  in  the  Midway,  and 
in  this  he  was  made  manager  and  secretary.  In  February  of  1910  he  became 
secretary  and  manager  of  Los  Pozos  Oil  Company  in  the  Midway  field. 
May  of  the  same  year  witnessed  the  organization  by  him  of  the  23  Water 
Company,  of  which  he  was  chosen  secretary  and  manager,  and  which 
engaged  in  distributing  water  for  operating  purposes  in  the  Midway  field. 
.•\nother  Midway  concern,  the  S.  F.  Midway  Oil  Company,  was  organized 
by  his  efforts  in  August,  1910,  and  he  became  secretary  and  manager. 
January  1,  1911,  he  was  chosen  secretary  and  manager  of  the  Railroad 
Water  Company  Association,  another  distributor  of  water  in  the  Midway 
field.  A  later  enterprise  was  the  organization,  in  June  of  1911,  of  the 
^M.  G.  &  P.  Company,  operating  in  the  North  Midway,  with  himself  as 
secretary  and  manager.  In  all  of  the  before-mentioned  organizations,  except- 
ing the  Railroad  Water  Company  .\ssociation,  he  officiated  as  a  director. 
In  October,  1913,  with  associates,  he  organized  the  Midway-Simi  Oil  Com- 
pany developing  an  oil  property  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in  the  Simi 
valley,  Ventura  county,  of  which  company  he  is  secretary,  treasurer  and 
manager.  In  November,  1913,  with  associates,  he  went  to  Oklahoma  and 
Texas,  leasing  nine  thousand  acres  in  Jefferson  county,  Okla.,  and  twelve 
thousand  acres  in  southeastern  Texas,  and  the  development  of  these  proper- 
ties has  been  begun.  Aside  from  these  companies  he  is  interested  in  and  a 
stockholder  in  various  other  oil  companies.  Upon  the  incorporation  of  the 
Western  Water  Company  he  became  a  director  and  assistant  secretary  and 
since  then  he  has  been  connected  actively  with  this  concern,  which  furnishes 
water  to  the  Alidway  and  Sunset  fields.  Since  the  organization  of  the 
Consumers  Water  Company  he  has  been  secretary  and  a  director  and  has 
had  charge  of  the  company's  business  of  delivering  water  for  domestic  use 
to  the  town  iif  Taft.  The  Kern  County  Oil  Protective  Association  was 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  controlling  and  preventing  the  percolation  of 
water  into  the  oil  sand  and  to  encourage  the  proper'  drilling  of  wells.  From 
the  first  he  was  deeply  interested  in  the  movement.  In  order  that  he  might 
promote  its  helpful  influence  he  consented  to  serve  as  secretary  and  vice- 
president.  .\t  this  writing  he  is  a  director  in  the  Independent  Oil  Producers' 
Agency.  Resides  being  connected  with  the  Merchants'  Exchange  Club  of 
San  Francisco,  he  holds  membership  with  the  Bakersfield  Club,  the  Bakers- 
field  Lodge  No.  266,  F>.  P.  O.  E..  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Foresters. 
The  interests  of  Bakersfield,  where  he  has  made  his  home  for  more  than  two 
decades  receive  his  co-operation  and  encouraging  assistance,  and  with  genu- 
ine public  spirit  he  has  stood  ready  to  promote  any  measure  for  the  perma- 
nent benefit  of  city,  county  or  commonwealth. 

CYRILLE  ANDRE. — The  example  of  wise  and  frugal  parents  on  a 
small,  well-cultivated  farm  in  France  gave  to  the  early  years  of  Mr.  Andre 
the  advantages  of  a  training  that  proved  of  inestimable  value  to  later  days 
of  hardship,  toil  and  hope  delayed.  More  extended  mention  of  the  family  ap- 
pears in  the  biographical  sketch  of  .\ndre  Andre.  Suffice  it  here  to  state  that 
their  father,  Ambroise,  spent  ten  years  in  California,  but  in  1885 
closed  out  his  sheep  interests  in  this  state  and  returned  to  France  to  spend 
his  declining  days  in  the  midst  of  associations  endeared  to  him  by  every 
tie  of  affection  and  intimacy.  Cyrille  himself  left  the  old  homestead  near 
Gap.  Hautes  Alpes.  where  he  was  born  in  June,  1862,  and  sought  the 
opportunities  of  America  at  the  age  of  less  than  nineteen  years,  since  which 
time  he  has  considered  California  his  home. 

Arriving  in  this  state  during  the  spring  of  1881  Cyrille  .Andre  learned 
the  sheep  business  as  conducted  in  the  west  and  his  period  of  employment 


c-^^ri?^^^^^2^^<^-^-^ 


I 


HISTORY    Ul'    KERN    COUNTY  497 

undei-  his  fathei"  and  older  brother  proved  of  great  assistance  to  him  in  his 
efforts  to  acquire  a  thorough  familiarity  with  tlie  country,  the  language  and 
the  people.  As  early  as  1»82  he  herded  the  Hocks  of  Ins  brother  in  Kern 
county.  About  I880  he  invested  his  savings  in  a  tiock  of  his  own,  and 
these  sheep  he  ranged  in  Kern  county.  Selling  out  his  holdings  in  stock  he 
returned  to  Los  Angeles  in  1890,  but  in  a  short  time  he  again  was  the 
possessor  of  a  little  flock  which  he  ranged  in  the  vicinity  of  Cucanionga. 
In  a  search  for  more  satisfactory  range  he  brought  his  sheep  over  the 
Tehachapi  mountains  into  Kern  county  during  1895  and  here  he  ranged  them 
on  the  plains  and  in  the  mountains  until  1903,  when  he  disposed  of  the 
flock  in  order  to  give  his  attention  exclusively  to  farming.  Having  made  a 
close  study  of  land  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  he  decided  that  the  vicinity 
of  Bakersrield  aiTorded  e.xcellent  advantages  to  farmers.  Accordingly  he 
bought  sixty  acres  six  miles  south  of  Bakersiield  between  Union  avenue  and 
the  Kern  Island  road,  where  an  abundance  of  water  from  the  Kern  Island 
canal  gives  exceptional  advantages  for  the  successful  raising  of  alfalfa  and 
corn.  In  the  midst  of  a  very  busy  life  he  has  found  time  twice  to  revisit 
the  old  scenes  in  France.  During  1902  he  spent  about  six  months  at  the 
old  home  place  and  in  I'^llO  he  again  crossed  the  ocean  to  France,  where 
in  November  of  the  same  year  he  married  Miss  Marie  Barthalmy,  a  native 
of  Hautes  Alpes.  With  Mrs.  Andre  and  their  little  daughter,  Marie,  he 
has  a  happy  and  comfortable  home  on  the  ranch  near  Bakersfield  and  is 
surrounded  by  evidences  of  his  thrift,  foresight  and  enterprise.  Truly 
American  in  his  type  of  feeling  and  loyalty,  he  supports  the  Republican 
party  and  its  candidates.   He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Churcli. 

NIELS  PETER  PETERSEN.— [11  Lesso  channel  between  the  Cattegat 
and  Skager  Rack  lies  the  small  island  of  Leso,  a  portion  of  the  kingdom 
of  Denmark,  where  Niels  Peter  Petersen  was  born  October  10,  1841.  the 
son  of  a  government  official  who  also  owned  an  ocean  vessel  and  engaged 
in  the  coasting  trade  and  fishing  business.  On  the  ship  owned  by  his 
father  he  became  familiar  with  the  life  of  a  sailor.  At  the  age  of  four- 
teen he  shipped  from  Copenhagen  as  a  cook  on  a  schoo'ner  bound  for 
England.  In.  the  spring  of  the  following  year  he  shipped  from  Olberg 
as  an  ordinary  seaman  on  a  vessel  bound  for  London.  His  next  \oyage 
took  him  to  the  Mediterranean  on  a  Danish  vessel  and  later  he  shipped 
from  Hamburg  on  an  old  Danish  frigate,  the  Ada,  that  had  been  con- 
demned and  discarded  from  the  navy,  then  ccmverted  to  the  merchant 
marine  service.  ( )n  this  vessel  he  rounded  the  Cape  of  Cood  1  loj^e  to  Bombay. 
On  the  return  voyage  the  ship  sprung  a  leak.  By  manning  the  pumps  and 
working  with  desperate  haste,  the  crew  managed  to  bring  the  disaliled  shi;i 
into  the  harbor  of  Marisus,  where  the  old  craft  was  condemned. 

In  order  to  reach  his  original  destination  the  young  sailor  shipped 
on  an  English  vessel  to  Bristol.  His  next  voyage,  made  as  an  able  seaman 
on  an  iron  barque,  began  at  Swansea.  Wales,  took  him  around  Cape  Horn, 
thence  up  the  Pacific  to  Callao.  Peru,  from  which  point  return  was  made 
to  Swansea.  The  last  long  voyage  associated  with  his  life  on  the  high 
seas  began  at  Hamburg  and  took  him  in  a  brig  around  Cape  ll.irn  and 
up  the  Pacific  t^  the  harbor  of  the  Ciolden  Gate,  where  anchor  was  cast 
iji  March.  1862.  Liking  the  ai)pearance  of  the  country,  he  deserted  his 
ship  at  San  Franciscn  and  went  inland  to  Sacramento,  where  he  found  em- 
ployment cin  a  Sacramento  river  scow  for  three  months.  Next  as  able 
seaman  on  a  barque,  he  engaged  in  the  coasting  trade  as  far  south  as  .San 
Diego.  Returning  to  San  Francisco,  he  enlisted  in  the  United  States  navy 
.\pril  14.  1863.  fur  a  term  of  nne  year,  which  was  si)ent  on  the  Shcinl)rick. 
stationed    at    I'.lack    P<iint,    iust    in>ide    c,f   the    (inldcn    date,    as    coxswain    of 


498  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

the  first  cutter,  or  the  boat  of  the  lieutenant.  Upon  the  expiration  of  his 
time  he  was  honorably  discharged  from  the  service. 

Ever  since  first  landing  at  San  Francisco  there  had  been  in  the  mind 
of  Mr.  Petersen  a  desire  to  engage  in  mining,  and  this  was  gratified  through 
the  friendship  of  his  first  lieutenant,  who  was  a  stockholder  in  the  Big 
Blue  mine  at  Whiskey  Flat,  Tulare  county  (now  Kernville,  Kern  county). 
Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  lieutenant  he  was  induced  to  come  to  this 
part  of  the  countr}-  in  May,  1864,  after  which  he  found  employment- at  the 
Big  Blue  mine  for  a  year.  During  1865  he  prospected  at  Havilah  for  two 
months  and  then  spent  two  3'ears  as  engineer  in  a  quartz  mill.  Upon  re- 
turning to  Kernville  he  spent  another  two  years  in  a  quartz  mill  at  that 
point.  During  1873  he  bought  property  and  built  the  Kernville  hotel,  of 
which  he  continued  as  proprietor  for  ten  years.  Going  to  Shasta  in  1S84, 
he  leased  a  mine  in  French  Gulch  and  operated  it  for  eight  months,  then 
sold  out  his  interests  and  in   1885  returned  to  Kernville. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Petersen  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
fdrming  the  nucleus  of  his  present  large  ranch  in  the  South  Fork  valley. 
By  subsequent  purchase  he  has  become  the  owner  of  twelve  hundred  acres, 
besides  having  two  ranches  on  the  Greenhorn  mountains  where  he  ranges 
his  stock  in  the  summer  months.  The  home  property  has  been  improved 
with  several  sets  of  buildings  and  with  ditches  bringing  water  from  the 
river  for  the  irrigation  of  the  alfalfa.  Grain  is  raised  in  large  quantities. 
A  specialty  is  made  of  raising  cattle,  hogs  and  horses.  The  ranch  lies 
midway  between  Isabella  and  Onyx,  between  which  points  Mr.  Petersen 
runs  a  stage  line,  besides  a  line  between  Kernville  and  Caliente.  As  early 
as  July,  1890,  he  began  to  run  a  stage,  using  four  four-horse  teams.  Upon 
the  advent  of  the  automobile  he  bought  three  cars  and  he  now  uses  motors 
not  only  for  the  carrying  of  mail  and  passengers,  but  also  for  the  operation 
nf  the  express  line.  Besides  his  immense  land  holdings  he  owns  residence 
and  business  property   in   Kernville,   Havilah  and   Caliente. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Petersen  took  place  in  Kernville  in  1876  and 
united  him  with  Mrs.  Lizzie  Annie  (Davis)  Swet,  who  was  born  in  Boston, 
Mass.,  and  accompanied  her  parents  to  California  in  early  life,  settling 
at  Visalia,  where  she  was  educated  in  the  public  schools.  By  her  first 
marriage  she  had  two  sons,  John  Swet,  of  Bakersfield,  and  William  Swet, 
now  living  at  Madera.  Of  her  union  with  Mr.  Petersen  there  are  three 
children,  namely:  Howard,  a  farmer  on  the  South  Fork;  Mrs.  Addie  Fugitt, 
also  of  the  South  Fork  valley ;  and  ^^'alter,  who  has  charge  of  the  cattle 
interests  of  his  father.  Fraternally  Air.  Petersen  is  connected  with  Bakers- 
field  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  L^nited  Workmen. 
For  years  he  has  served  as  a  trustee  of  the  South  Fork  school  and  his  interest 
in  its  welfare  has  been  constant.  To  fill  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  super- 
visor, formerly  held  b}-  J.  W.  Kelley,  he  was  appointed  in  1902  by  Governor 
Gage  to  represent  district  No.  1  on  the  county  board.  At  the  regular  elec- 
tion in  1904  he  was  elected  by  a  good  majority  on  the  Republican  ticket 
in  a  Democratic  district,  serving  continuously  until  January,  1909.  During 
the  period  of  his  service  the  Iiall  of  records  and  high  school  were  erected. 
I-'rom  the  beginning  of  his  residence  in  the  state  he  has  been  deeply  inter- 
ested in  its  development.  When  Kern  county  was  set  apart  from  Tulare, 
he  was  one  nf  the  organizers  nf  the  new  county  and  his  interest  in  its 
progress    has    been    unceasing. 

JOSEPH  PERCY  FREEAR.— A  son  of  the  late  Henry  T.  Freear  and  a 
grandsc  n  of  Rev.  Henry  T.  Freear,  a  rector  in  the  Church  of  England,  Joseph 
P.  Freear  was  born  in  Bakersfield,  .April  18,  1881,  and  has  since  lived  in  Kern 
county.  After  he  had  completed  the  studies  of  the  local  schools  he  was 
sent     to     Stockton        Business     College,     from      which     he     was  graduated 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  501 

in  1903,  and  immediately  afterward  becainc  bookkeeper  for  the 
Union  Oil  Company  at  the  refinery  in  the  Kern  river  fiehl.  where  he  con- 
tinned  perhaps  three  years.  Meanwhile  he  had  been  interested  in  ranch 
activities  and  with  his  brothers  had  owned  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  but  finally  he  sold  his  interest  to  the  brothers  and  then  began 
to  devote  his  attention  tu  alfalfa-raising  on  a  tract  on  Union  avenue,  where 
he  remained  for  two  years.  Although  since  1908  he  lias  made  his  home  in 
Oakersfield  he  still  retains  agricultural  interests  and  during  1^12  with  his 
brothers  he  put  in  and  raised  five  hundred  acres  of  corn  at  Huena  Vista 
lake. 

Devoted  to  the  best  interests  of  Bakersficld,  manv  measures  for  civic 
advancement  have  received  the  enthusiastic  support  of  Mr.  Freear  and 
he  has  aided  local  projects  to  the  extent  of  his  abilit}'.  In  politics  he  votes 
with  the  Republican  party.  His  marriage  was  solemnized  December  9,  1906. 
at  Red  Bluff,  this  state,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Zola  Clayman,  a  native  of 
that  city,  a  woman  of  excellent  education,  an  active  worker  with  the  Order 
of  Women  of  \\'oodcraft  and  a  de\oted  mother  to  her  two  children,  Lorin 
Donald  and  Vivian.  The  father  of  Mrs.  Freear  is  John  H.  Clayman,  a 
pioneer  of  1859  in  California  and  since  1910  a  resident  of  Bakersfield,  where 
with  one  exception  all  of  his  five  children  now  make  their  homes. 

J.  J.  DEUEL,  JR. — As  treasurer  and  manager  of  the  E.  A.  Hardison  Per- 
forator Company  of  Bakersfield,  j.  J.  Deuel.  Jr.,  has  evinced  a  high  type  of 
the  capable,  foresighted  and  clear-minded  business  man.  While  interested  in 
many  fields  he  devotes  his  chief  attention  to  the  perforating  company 
of  which  he  is  the  principal  owner  and  manager,  and  his  extensive  business 
extends  to  all  the  California  oil  fields,  as  well  as  those  in  Texas  and  old 
Mexico,  and  even  to  such  remote  points  as  Trinidad,  West  Indies,  Australia. 
Austria.  China  and  Burmah.  India.  The  automatic  machine  which  this 
company  employs  is  one  of  the  most  important  innovations  in  the  oil  pro- 
ducing business  today.  Under  absolute  control  of  the  operator  perforations 
of  any  size  or  shape  may  be  made  in  casing  of  any  weight  or  dimensions. 
The  device  is  the  result  of  the  ingenuity  of  Edwin  A.  Hardison  of  Los 
Angeles  and  is  now  owned  and  improved  by  Mr.  Deuel,  who  has  his  oil- 
well  supply  store  at  No.  2111  Chester  avenue.  Bakersfield,  under  his  personal 
direction.   He  is  also  sales  manager  of  the  Axelson  Machine  Company. 

J.  J.  Deuel.  Jr..  was  born  July  31.  1879,  at  Wellsville,  Columbiana  county, 
Ohio,  son  of  Joseph  Jasper  and  Flora  V.  (Eaton)  Deuel,  natives  respec- 
tively of  Ohio  and  West  Virginia.  The  father  was  employed  fcir  many  years 
as  foreman  for  the  C.  &  P.  R.  R.,  on  the  Panhandle  and  later  fur  the  L.  &  N. 
R.  R.  at  Pensacola,  Fla.,  where  the  son  grew  to  manhixjd.  In  1904  the 
family  joined  the  latter  in  Bakersfield,  and  father  and  son  became  asso- 
ciated in  business,  outside  of  which  they  have  acquired  valuable  property 
and  real  estate.  Joseph  J.  Deuel  and  wife  were  the  parents  nf  two  sons 
and  one  daughter,  of  whom  J.  J.  Jr.,  was  the  first  born.  In  Pensacola.  I-'la., 
he  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  also  in  the  academy  there,  and 
before  he  finished  his  education  was  well  advanced  in  a  practical  knowledge 
of  the  machinist's  trade  which  he  completed  in  due  time.  In  .\pril,  1898, 
he  volunteered  in  the  Cnited  .States  navy  for  the  Spanish-.Xmerican  war, 
enlisting  at  the  navy  yard  at  Pensacola,  Fla.,  and  serving  a  year  un  the 
-San  Francisco  and  .\rmeria  as  a  machinist,  in  the  Cuban  blockade.  .Soon 
after  his  honorable  discharge  from  the  United  States  service  he  went  to 
work  at  his  trade  and  was  so  employed  at  Galveston  at  the  time  of  the  his- 
toric flood  which  destroyed  much  of  that  city,  and  he  spent  several  months 
running  a  hoisting  engine  (  n  the  water-front  clearing  up  the  de1)ris.  In 
December,  1900.  he  located  at  I'lakersfield.  Cal.,  where  for  fom-  years  he 
was  agent  for  the  Standard  ( )il  Comi)any.  buildint,'  up  a  local  bu'-ine^^  thref 


502  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

times  the  size  it  was  when  he  took  it  in  hand.  The  subsequent  two  years 
he  was  a  special  officer,  operating  on  the  San  Joaquin  division,  in  the  employ 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company.  Resigning  that  position  to  take 
charge  of  the  Bakersfield  interests  of  the  Axelson  Machine  Company,  of 
Los  Angeles,  who  were  manufacturers  of  oil  pumps  and  dealers  in  oil  well 
supplies,  with  the  Axelson  pump  and  the  Parker  pump  as  specialties,  he 
materially  advanced  the  interests  of  the  concern,  and  later  was  advanced  to 
sales  manager  of  the  entire  output  and  various  stores.  His  perforator  is 
the  most  successful  in  use  today  and  is  employed  by  the  largest  companies 
who  aim  to  obtain  the  best  results.  In  1909  Mr.  Deuel  became  the  owner 
of  the  Hardison  Perforator  by  purchasing  it  from  the  inventor,  E.  A.  Hardi- 
son,  and  since  that  time  he  has  patented  an  improvement  on  the  machine. 
His  operations  have  extended  over  a  wide  area  and  he  employs  five  experi- 
enced men  to  operate  the  perforator. 

Mr.  Deuel  and  his  interesting  family  occupy  a  high  place  among  the 
citizens  of  Bakersfield.  His  marriage  occurred  here  June  1,  1902,  uniting 
him.  with  Miss  Mary  E.  Thurlow,  a  native  of  New  York  state,  and  they  have 
six  children,  viz.:  Edwin  J.,  James  ^V..  George  A.,  Ruth,  Harry  A.  and  Jack- 
son Bryan.  Mr.  Deuel  is  a  member  of  the  Kern  County  Merchants'  Asso- 
ciation, and  politically  believes  in  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party. 
He  is  a  communicant  of  the  Christian  church  and  affiliates  with  the  Wood- 
men of  the  World.  On  Chester  avenue,  near  Twentieth,  he  occupies  a  store 
and  office  quarters.  He  owns  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  four 
miles  southeast  of  Bakersfield,  which  is  devoted  to  farming  and  horticul- 
ture and  on  which  he  has  installed  two  pumping  plants. 

ROBERT  NEILL.— The  first  twenty  years  in  the  useful  and  interesting 
life  of  Robert  Neill  were  passed  near  the  bleak  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  where 
the  family,  Scotch  by  birth  and  ancestry,  but  Canadian  by  adoption,  had 
established  a  home  near  Kensington,  Prince  Edward  Island.  The  stern  and 
rigorous  climate  to  which  he  was  inured  from  earliest  recollections  developed 
not  only  a  sturdy  physique,  but  also  a  forceful  mentality  and  a  self-reliant 
spirit,  qualifying  him  to  successfully  cope  with  the  hardships  of  the  work- 
a-day  world.  His  parents,  James  and  Marion  (McCaull)  Neill,  were  natives 
of  Scotland,  who  seeking  a  home  in  the  new  world  had  settled  in  Canada, 
identifying  themselves  with  farming  interests  on  Prince  Edward  Island, 
where,  in  the  midst  of  an  environment  given  over  to  the  fishing  business 
and  the  coasting  trade,  they  tilled  the  soil  and  raised  such  crops  as  the  all 
too  brief  summers  permitted. 

The  eldest  of  eight  children,  Robert  Neill  was  born  on  the  farm  in 
Prince  Edward  Island  February  18,  1852,  and  grew  to  manhood  at  the 
old  homestead,  where  he  worked  during  the  vacation  months  in  the  period 
of  his  school  life.  Leaving  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  devoted  his  time 
entirely  to  farm  work  as  an  assistant  to  his  father.  Upon  starting  out  for 
himself  in  1872  he  went  first  to  Massachusetts  and  spent  the  summer  months 
on  a  farm  near  Middleboro.  During  the  winter  of  1872-73  he  was  sent  by 
Swift  &  Co.  from  iMew  Bedford,  Mass.,  to  Florida,  where  he  engaged  as  a 
broad  axeman  in  getting  out  live  oak  timber  for  the  government  navy  yards. 
During  the  summer  he  went  from  Florida  to  Bath,  Me.,  to  do  similar  work 
in  the  private  yard. 

From  boyhood  it  had  been  the  desire  of  Mr.  Neill  to  see  the  land  of 
the  Golden  West  and  during  1875,  giving  up  his  work  in  the  east,  he  crossed 
the  continent  to  California.  It  was  his  original  intention  to  remain  here 
only  long  enough  to  accumulate  a  little  money  and  then  return  to  his  old 
home,  but  he  was  so  favorably  impressed  by  the  state  that  he  decided  to 
remain,  a  decision  he  has  no  cause  to  regret.  During  the  first  three  months 
he  was  employed  on  a  farm  at  Baden  Station  owned  by  Miller  &  Lux,  and 
from  that  place  in  .August  of  the  same  year  he  came  to  Kernville.     From  that 


^^Q^^J^.yk::^:!:^, 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  SOS 

time  to  the  present  he  has  been  identified  with  Kern  county,  of  which  he  is 
not  only  one  of  the  old  settlers,  but  also  one  of  the  most  honored  citizens  and 
])rogressive  farmers.  However,  his  connection  with  agriculture  does  not 
go  back  to  his  settlement  in  the  county.  First  as  a  carman  and  later  as  a 
fireman,  he  spent  four  years  with  the  Sumner  Mining  Company.  Next  he  was 
an  employe  in  the  store  of  .Andrew  Brown  at  Kernville,  where  he  re- 
mained for  ten  years,  first  as  a  clerk  and  then  as  bookkeeper  and  office-man. 
Meanwhile  he  saved  his  earnings  with  frugal  care,  for  he  had  determined  to 
engage  in  farming.  Resigning  his  position  in  the  store  in  1889.  he  purchased 
two  hundred  and  eighty  acres  and  took  up  general  ranch  pursuits. 

By  subsequent  purchase  the  ranch  of  Mr.  .Neill  has  been  enlarged  to 
eight  hundred  and  forty  acres,  all  in  one  body,  situated  about  two  and  one- 
half  miles  west  of  Weldon.  Several  hundred  acres  are  in  alfalfa,  irrigation 
for  which  is  provided  by  the  South  Fork.  The  balance  of  the  valley  land 
is  devoted  to  the  raising  of  grain.  Realizing  the  importance  of  the  stock 
industry,  the  owner  has  made  a  specialty  of  the  same  from  the  very  beginning 
of  his  farming  operations.  The  brand  of  R.  N.  (with  letters  separate)  is  to 
be  seen  on  his  large  herd  of  shorthorn  Durham  cattle. 

Throughout  this  portion  of  the  county  "Bob"  Xeill  is  known  as  a 
man  of  honor  and  integrity.  His  name  is  a  synonym  for  all  that  is  worthy 
in  citizenship  and  progressive  in  agriculture.  When  a  postmaster  was  to 
be  chosen  at  Weldon  during  the  year  1888  he  was  selected  as  one  satisfac- 
tory to  all  concerned  and  his  service  was  efficient  to  an  unusual  degree. 
At  this  writing  he  is  a  school  trustee  in  the  Weldon  district  and  he  has  acted 
in  a  similar  capacitv  for'  many  years.  Since  coming  to  this  countv  he  was 
made  a  Mascn  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.  As  a  boy  in  the 
old  Canadian  home  he  was  trained  to  a  belief  in  Presbyterian  doctrines. 
There  being  no  church  of  that  denomination  near  his  ranch  he,  with  his  sister. 
Miss  Millie  A.  Neill.  who  is  a  member  of  his  household,  attend  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  at  \\''eldon.  By  nature  religious,  his  life  expresses  less 
the  religion  of  creeds  than  that  of  a  cheerful,  hopeful  and  helpful  existence, 
devoted  to  the  uplifting  if  humanity  and  the  welfare  of  the  race.  Careful 
study  of  the  principles  upon  which  our  government  is  founded  led  him  to 
espouse  the  nlatform  of  the  Republican  party  when  he  became  a  citizen  of 
our  country  in  1884.  Of  his  services  to  his  adopted  country  it  may  be  said 
that  they  have  been  admirable,  whether  viewed  from  the  point  of  agriculture 
or  business  or  private  life. 

THOMAS  HENRY  McGOVERN.— Change  and  development  have 
marked  the  history  of  Kern  county  since  Mr.  McGovern  became  a  resident 
of  Annette  during  the  year  1881.  The  small  hamlet  near  which  he  took  up 
land  stands  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  county  and  being  remote 
from  the  railroad  has  acquired  no  significance  as  a  market  town.  The  near- 
est market  was  San  r,uis  Obispo,  a  distance  of  fifty-five  miles  toward  the 
coast,  and  thither  the  farmers  were  accustomed  to  drive  for  the  purpose  of 
buying  provisions,  clothing  and  lumber.  Immediately  after  his  arrival  in 
the  state  Mr.  McGovern  took  up  a  homestead,  a  pre-emption  and  a  timber- 
culture,  amounting  to  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  altogether,  the  tract 
being  adapted  chiefly  to  the  raising  of  grain.  With  one  exception  he  was 
the  first  settler  in  that  part  of  the  county.  Privations  were  many,  the  task 
of  caring  for  the  crops  of  oats,  wheat  and  barley  without  sufficient  help  was 
discouraging,  and  the  long  drives  to  market  took  up  much  valuable  time, 
but  ultimately  he  saw  the  fruit  of  his  labor  and  became  financially  inde- 
pendent. His  only  son,  John  A.,  took  up  a  claim  of  three  hundred  and 
twentv  acres,  so  that  the  two  owned  and  cultivated  eight  hundred  acres, 
and  this  has  been  increased  by  subsequent  purchase  to  seventeen  hundred 
acres,  the  whole  forming  a  stock  ranch  of  great  value,  now  managed  b\-  the 
son,  the  father  having  retired  to  a  life  of  ease  and  merited  rest. 


506  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

County  Cavan  in  the  north  of  Ireland  is  the  native  home  of  Thomas 
Henry  McGovern  and  September  11,  1835,  the  date  of  his  birth.  On  the 
eighth  anniversary  of  his  birth  the  family  landed  in  New  Orleans  from  the 
vessel  that  had  brought  them  from  Ireland  to  America.  A  voyage  up  the 
Mississippi  took  them  to  Illinois  and  after  a  brief  sojourn  at  Galena  they 
moved  to  Wisconsin,  where  the  father  took  up  land  near  Platteville,  Grant 
county.  As  a  boy  Thomas  H.  attended  school  at  Ellenboro,  and  aided  in 
the  development  of  the  home  farm.  After  he  ceased  to  attend  school  he 
gave  his  attention  wholly  to  farming  until  1857,  when  he  left  Wisconsin  for 
Missouri.  Holding  the  position  of  driller,  he  remained  for  four  years  in  the 
Iron  mountain  mines.  At  the  opening  of  the  war  he  decided  to  return  to 
Wisconsin  and  went  to  St.  Louis  with  that  object  in  view,  but  found  that 
no  trains  were  leaving  the  city.  Meanwhile  John  H.  McHenry,  general 
foreman  of  the  mine  in  which  he  had  worked,  became  colonel  in  the  Fif- 
teenth Mississippi  Regiment,  C.  S.  A.  At  Cape  Girardeau  Mr.  McGovern 
volunteered  for  service  in  that  regiment,  which  was  later  consolidated  with 
and  became  the  Seventeenth  Mississippi  Regiment.  For  four  years  and 
seven  months  he  remained  in  the  Confederate  army.  During  that  time  he 
endured  all  the  hardships  of  war  and  fought  in  many  bloody  battles.  One 
of  the  hardest  fought  engagements  in  which  he  participated  was  that  of 
Cold  Harbor.  At  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  he  served  as  an  army  scout. 
During  a  portion  of  his  service  he  was  under  General  Pemberton,  and  in 
addition  he  served  under  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston.  After  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  Va.,  he  was  released  from  service  and  allowed  to  return  to 
Wisconsin,  where  he  joined  his  parents,  then  living  at  Platteville,  Grant 
county.  For  several  years  he  worked  in  lead  ore  mines  during  the  winters 
and  farmed  in  the  summer  months,  but  later  he  carried  on  a  general  mer- 
cantile store  at  Trempealeau,  Wis.,  and  also  served  as  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
remaining  there  until  the  time  of  his  removal  to  California.  In  Kern  county 
he  was  twice  elected  justice  of  the  peace,  but  did  not  qualify.  He  also  filled 
the  office  of  roadmaster  for  a  number  of  years,  and  for  sixteen  years  acted 
as  clerk  of  the  Annette  school  district. 

From  early  life  Mr.  McGovern  has  been  a  member  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church.  Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  given  stanch  support  to 
the  Democratic  party.  January  8,  1866,  he  married  in  Platteville,  Wis., 
Miss  Josephine  Roselip,  who  was  born  in  Grant  county.  Wis.,  July  8,  1841. 
By  their  union  there  is  an  only  child,  John  A.,  who  resides  with  his  parents 
and  superintends  the  large  landed  interests  of  the  family.  Removing  to 
Wasco  from  the  ranch  in  1905,  Mr.  McGovern  has  since  been  retired  from 
active  agricultural  cares  and  enjoys  the  comforts  possible  after  long  years 
of  labor.  When  he  came  to  this  small  town  it  had  only  one  general  store, 
but  there  were  also  two  saloons.  Shortly  after  settling  here  he  built  the 
W^asco  Hotel  and  this  he  now  leases. 

CHARLES  F.  BENNETT.— As  county  supervisor  of  the  first  district 
of  Kern  county  and  a  successful  business  man  as  well,  Charles  F.  Bennett  has 
identified  himself  closely  with  the  industrial  work  of  this  county,  becoming 
well  and  favorably  known  for  the  impartial  execution  of  his  official  duties, 
his  painstaking  efforts  to  meet  the  approbation  of  his  constituents  and  his 
never-failing  good-will  toward  all.  He  was  born  May  8,  1862,  in  Washoe 
City,  Nev.,  the  son  of  Rev.  Jesse  Lee  Bennett,  a  well-known  minister,  who 
was  born  in  ^^'est  Virginia  and  made  his  way  to  Missouri  to  fill  the  respon- 
sible office  of  minister  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  Later  he  crossed 
the  plains  to  California  in  1849,  followed  mining  for  a  time  and  was  pastor 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Washoe  City,  Nev.  He  returned  east 
after  a  time  and  was  married,  but  the  call  of  the  west  again  brought  him  to 
Washoe  Cit>-,  this  trij)  being  made  \'ia  Panama.  Upon  arrival  he  resumed 
the  duties  of  minister  and  until  1873  he  and  his  estimable  wife,  who  before 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  507 

her  marriage  was  Elizabeth  de  Jersey,  made  their  home  in  Nevada.  In  the 
latter  year  he  came  with  his  family  to  Kernville,  this  county,  where  he  was 
the  local  pastor  until  his  death,  in  .\pril.  1888.  I'rnni  Kernville  he  went  to 
different  parts  of  the  county  to  minister,  his  trips  often  being  made  on  foot, 
and  extending  from  Tehachapi  and  P.akersfield  and  places  on  the  south  fork 
to  Linn's  valley  and  Darwin.  His  wife,  who  was  a  native  of  the  Isle  of 
Guernsey,  England,  and  was  of  French  parentage,  passed  away  in  Bakers- 
field.  Of  their  six  children,  four  are  living:  Charles  F. :  .'\nnie,  of  Bakers- 
field;  Edith,  Mrs.  Charles  C.  Taylor;  and  Nellie,  of  Bakersfield. 

Charles  F.  Bennett  was  but  eleven  years  of  age  when  his  parents 
brought  him  to  Kern  county  and  until  he  was  thirteen  he  attended  the  public 
school  of  his  vicinity.  His  first  work  was  on  neighboring  ranches ;  after- 
ward mining  took  his  attention,  and  he  learned  the  details  of  that  industry, 
becoming  foreman  of  \Varrington  mine  at  Havilah,  and  after  a  time  foreman 
of  the  Lafly  15ell  mine,  at  Kern\'ille.  and  he  also  prospected  and  mined  in 
Piute.  Subsequently  for  some  years  he  was  engaged  in  running  a  hotel  bus 
in  Kernville,  and  it  was  in  1888  that  he  entered  into  public  life  by  being 
elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket  as  supervisor  of  the  first  district,  his  term 
of  service  covering  the  period  from  January,  1889,  to  January,  1893.  In 
1903  Mr.  Bennett  started  a  livery  business  in  Caliente,  which  also  embraced 
a  hay  and  grain  business,  a  blacksmith  shop  and  a  wagon  and  carriage  fac- 
tory. The  business  was  a  splendid  success  from  the  start  and  he  built  it  up 
to  a  most  profitable  condition.  In  1910  he  built  the  store  in  which  he  is 
now  engaged  in  general  merchandising,  his  capable  wife  lending  her  assist- 
ance in  order  to  relieve  Mr.  Bennett  of  the  many  arduous  tasks  incident  to 
the  business. 

On  February  16,  1892,  Mr.  Bennett  was  married  in  Bakersfield  to  Miss 
Lulie  Jones,  a  native  of  Mariposa  county,  Cal.,  and  daughter  of  D.  E.  and 
Caroline  (W'yatt)  Jones,  born  in  Ohio  and  Virginia,  respectively.  Her 
father  was  a  miner,  but  has  passed  away,  the  mother  making  her  home  with 
her  daughter.  Three  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bennett,  Jesse  L., 
who  is  a  member  of  the  San  Luis  Obispo  high  school  class  of  1914;  Loring 
F.  and  Alice  Caroline.  Mr.  Bennett  was  for  several  years  a  member  of  the 
board  of  school  trustees  in  Caliente,  serving  as  clerk  for  seven  years.  In 
1912  he  was  an  independent  candidate  for  county  supervisor  and  received 
the  election,  taking  the  oath  of  office  in  January,  1913,  for  a  term  of  four 
years.  His  former  experience  as  well  as  his  inherent  ability  in  this  direc- 
tion, ably  qualifies  him  for  the  office  and  his  fellow-citizens  have  the  utmost 
confidence  in  his  efficiency.  He  is  a  stanch  Democrat  in  politics  and  in  fra- 
ternal connection  is  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

JOHN  ROBERT  JESSUP.— Allegiance  to  the  Society  of  Friends  char- 
acterized the  Jessup  family  both  in  their  English  home  and  in  the  colonial 
environment  of  N(  rth  Carolina,  and  their  dominant  traits  were  such  as 
marked  the  Quakers  in  every  part  of  the  world.  I'nifornily  industrious, 
thrifty  and  peace-loving,  they  aided  in  the  early  development  and  upbuilding 
of  the  south  and  particularly  wielded  a  large  influence  in  North  Carolina, 
from  which  state  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  Caleb  Jessuj) 
removed  to  Indiana.  ."Xt  the  time  of  the  migration  his  son,  Frank,  was  a 
mere  lad  and  from  that  time  until  his  death  he  continued  to  make  Indiana 
his  home,  engaging  both  in  general  farming  and  carpentering  until  his 
death  in  1853  at  middle  age.  During  )-oung  manhood  he  had  married 
Elizabeth  Sanders,  who  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  of  Quaker  parentage, 
and  whose  death  in  1851  left  him  a  widower  for  the  last  two  years  of  his 
life.  Their  family  comprised  eight  children  and  the  fifth  of  these,  John 
Robert,  whose  birth  occurred  on  the  home  farm  near  Worthington,  Greene 
county,  Ind.,  April  4,  1846,  was  only  seven  years  of  age  at  the  time  the 
death  of  his  father  left  him  an  orphan.     An  uncle,  James  Jessuj),  took  him 


508  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

into  his  home,  but  at  the  expiration  of  four  years  he  was  given  into  the 
care  of  his  eldest  sister,  the  wife  of  Fayette  A.  Dickinson.  Until  he  was 
twenty-eight  the  Dickinson  farm  continued  to  be  his  home  with  the  excep- 
tion of  four  years  in  the  army  during  the  Civil   war. 

With  the  very  first  call  for  volunteers  in  the  Union  service  the  heart 
of  the  youth  of  fifteen  years  became  fired  with  patriotic  fervor  and  he 
determined  to  go  to  the  front  in  defense  of  his  country.  During  November, 
1861,  he  was  assigned  to  Company  E,  P'ifty-ninth  Indiana  Infantry,  and 
was  mustered  into  service  at  Gosport,  Owen  county,  Ind.,  whence  he  was 
dispatched  to  the  south  in  February  of  the  following  year.  From  that 
time  until  the  close  of  the  great  struggle  he  fought  in  many  decisive  battles, 
endured  the  hardships  of  forced  marches  and  underwent  privations  in  camp 
and  on  field.  In  the  most  strenuous  exertion  and  the  greatest  danger  to 
life  and  limb,  no  one  heard  a  word  of  discouragement  from  this  lad ;  on 
the  other  hand,  he  was  always  willing,  courageous  and  helpful,  and  proved 
his  patriotism  on  many  a  fiercely-contested  field.  Among  his  leading 
engagements  were  the  following:  New  Madrid,  Mo.;  siege  of  Corinth;  battle 
of  Corinth,  October  3-4,  1862;  Forty  Hills,  Raymond  and  Jackson,  Miss., 
in  the  last-named  of  which  his  regiment  placed  the  first  flag  on  the  state- 
house  at  Jackson  ;  Champion  Hill ;  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  lasting  forty-seven 
days,  where  his  regiment  sustained  a  heavy  loss ;  Chattanooga ;  Missionary 
Ridge;  the  Atlanta  campaign  of  1864,  including  the  battles  of  Resaca,  Dallas, 
Buzzard's  Rcost,  Snake  Creek  Gap,  Kenesaw  mountain,  Atlanta  and  Jones- 
boro;  Sherman's  march  to  the  sea  with  the  siege  of  Savannah  and  the  battle 
of  Bentonville ;  and  last,  participation  in  the  grand  review  at  Washington, 
followed  by  honorable  discharge  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  August,  1865.  ,\t 
the  expiration  of  the  war  he  returned  to  the  home  of  his  sister  in  Indiana 
and  resumed  his  studies,  ending  with  a  commercial  course  in  Terre  Haute. 

The  marriage  of  John  Robert  Jessup  was  solemnized  at  Paris,  111.,  in 
December,  1874,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Annie  Alarie  Welch,  a  native 
of  Vigo  county,  Ind.  The  young  couple  began  housekeeping  on  a  farm 
near  Hume,  Edgar  county.  111.,  and  later  settled  near  Decatur,  Macon  county, 
in  the  same  state,  eventually  going  from  the  farm  into  the  city  of  Decatur 
for  the  purpose  of  operating  a  dairy.  Four  children  were  born  of  their 
marriage,  namely ;  Maude  Marie,  Mrs.  B.  S.  Hageman,  of  Rosedale,  Kern 
county ;  John  Clyde,  who  died  at  the  age  of  seven  years ;  Elizabeth  Catherine, 
wife  of  Frank  Gary,  of  San  Francisco;  and  Harry  Warren,  of  Portland, 
Ore.  The  family  came  to  California  in  1891,  arriving  at  Bakersfield  in 
December  of  that  year.  The  first  venture  of  Mr.  Jessup  proved  unsuc- 
cessful, for  the  farm  which  he  bought  in  the  Rosedale  district  eight  miles 
west  of  Bakersfield  could  not  be  made  remunerative  owing  to  the  lack  of 
water  in  the  Calloway  canal.  .\t  the  expiration  of  nine  years  of  strenuous 
exertion  he  abandoned  farming  and  gave  his  attention  to  the  teaming  busi- 
ness in  Bakersfield,  later  having  a  fruit  wagon  in  the  Kern  river  oil  field. 
During  January,  1909.  he  bought  out  the  grocery  business  of  C.  C.  Minter 
&  Bro.,  on  Chester  avenue,  and  has  continued  the  enterprise  with  the  satis- 
faction of  a  growing  trade  and  increased  patronage^  on  the  part  of  a  most 
desirable  class  of  customers.  In  politics  he  always  has  supported  Repub- 
lican candidates  and  principles.  While  still  living  in  Indiana  he  was  made 
a  Mason  in  Worthington  Lodge  and  later  identified  himself  with  Macon 
Lodge  No.  8.  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Decatur,  111.,  where  his  name  is  still  enrolled 
as  a  member.  With  his  wife  he  belongs  to  the  Eastern  Star  Chapter  at 
Bakersfield  and  in  addition  Mrs.  Jessup  is  a  leading  worker  (and  now 
president)  of  the  Hurlburt  Women's  Relief  Corps,  while  he  has  been  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  activities  of  Hurlburt  Post  No.  124.  G.  .\.  R., 
also  at  Bakersfield. 


TIISTORV    OF    KERN    COUNTY  509 

HENRY  R.  SCHAFFNIT.— The  chief  of  the  Bakersf^elcl  fire  dei)art- 
nient.  whose  wide  reputation  for  successful  work  in  this  important  specialty 
led  to  his  selection  for  iiis  present  responsible  post,  belongs  to  a  German- 
American  family  and  is  a  son  of  Leonard  and  Emma  (Miller)  SchafFnit, 
natives  of  Germany  and  descendants  of  long  lines  of  Teutonic  ancestry.  An 
uncle.  Henry  Schaffnit,  an  immigrant  to  America  in  early  life,  served  gal- 
lantly as  a  lieutenant  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war.  Leonard 
Schaiifnit  was  by  trade  a  cabinet-maker  and  trained  to  an  unusual  degree  of 
skill  in  the  occupation,  besides  being  an  expert  mechanic,  and  it  was  not 
difficult  for  him  to  secure  steady  employment  after  he  came  to  the  United 
States  and  he  worked  for  some  years  for  day  wages.  When  the  west  was 
still  undeveloped  and  he  was  yet  a  young  man,  he  crossed  the  plains  to 
California  in  1854  with  a  party  of  emigrants  traveling  with  wagons  and 
nx-teams,  but  a  short  tour  of  inspection  ended  his  residence  in  California  at 
that  period.  After  his  marriage  he  lived  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  where  his 
eldest  child,  Henry  R.,  was  born  June  27,  1874.  Shortly  after  the  birth  of 
that  son  he  took  the  family  to  Colorado  and  settled  at  Central  City,  where 
he  built  and  for  twenty-five  years  conducted  the  Washington  house.  His 
wife  died  in  Denver  in  1902  and  more  recently  he  has  established  a  home  in 
Los  Angeles,  his  present  place  of  residence. 

Out  of  seven  children  comprising  the  parental  family  all  but  two  are 
.still  living  and  the  eldest  of  these,  Henry  R.,  received  a  public-school  educa- 
tion at  Central  City.  Colo.,  from  which  place  he  went  to  Denver  at  the  age 
of  fifteen  years.  Ever  since  then  he  has  been  self-supjjorting.  As  early  as 
1894  he  became  connected  with  the  Denver  fire  department,  where  an  experi- 
ence of  six  years  proved  most  helpful  to  him  in  later  labors  along  the  same 
line.  In  company  with  George  Hale  he  attended  the  exhibitions  at  Kansas 
City  and  Omaha  and  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  at  St.  Louis,  where 
as  captain  of  the  life  line  and  pompier  work  during  the  fair  he  led  ofif  the 
best  crew  in  the  L'nited  States,  comprising  a  fine  body  of  men  personally 
selected  by  an  inspection  of  the  entire  country.  At  the  close  of  the  exposi 
tion  he  returned  to  Denver,  Colo.,  as  captain  of  engine  No.  2  under  Chief 
Owens.  Resigning  from  that  position  in  1905  he  became  chief  of  the  new 
fire  department  at  Goldfield,  Nev.,  selected  by  the  Board  of  L^nderwriters. 
The  occasion  of  his  employment  had  been  the  need  of  perfected  fire  system. 
The  task  proved  one  of  great  responsibility  and  many  difficulties,  but  he 
triumphed  over  every  obstacle,  surmounted  every  difficulty  and  succeeded 
in  securinir  for  the  town  a  splendid  system  with  headquarters  in  a  new  fire 
house  costing  $20,000  and  containing  every  equipment  for  the  fighting  of 
fire.  January  2.  1911,  he  was  transferred  by  the  Board  of  Underwriters  from 
Goldfield  in  order  to  enter  upon  similar  duties  at  Bakersfield.  where  he  has 
since  labored  with  tireless  energy  and  sagacious  judgment. 

The  Bakersfield  fire  department  at  the  present  writing  has  three  hose 
wagons,  four  engines,  one  chemical  engine,  one  hook  and  ladder  truck  and 
an  auto  truck,  also  two  large  gas  pumps  and  six  electrical  pumps,  the 
water  for  which  is  supplied  from  an  excellent  irrigation  system  with  ten- 
inch  mains  and  six  eight-inch  laterals.  At  all  times  there  is  a  pressure  of 
thirty-five  pounds  in  the  plugs.  The  signal  telephone  fire  alarm  system 
contains  forty-one  boxes  at  the  present  writing,  these  being  distributed  with 
such  care  that  no  point  is  far  distant  from  fire  alarm  call.  Fifteen  paid 
men  are  in  the  employ  of  the  department,  besides  sixteen  call  men.  L'nder 
the  present  chief  improvements  are  being  made  constantly  and  efTectively. 
Four  thousand  feet  of  hose  have  been  provided,  and  two  new  fire  houses 
are  being  built.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months  six  automobiles,  combination 
hose,  engine  and  chemical  will  be  installed,  the  expenditure  for  all  these  new 
facilities  amounting  in   all  to  $75,000.   and   in   a   short   time   Bakersfield    will 


510  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

have  a  fire  department  brought  to  the  rank  of  first  place  on  the  coast,  this 
gratifying  condition  resulting  from  the  wise  use  of  the  tax-payers'  money 
on  the  part  of  the  chief  in  charge.  Through  membership  in  the  Association 
of  Fire  Chiefs  of  the  Pacific  Coast  and  the  International  Association  of  Steam 
Engineers,  Mr.  Schatifnit  keeps  in  touch  with  every  development  in  his 
special  work  and  is  therefore  thoroughly  modern  and  up-to-date  in  his  ideas. 
While  living  in  Goldfield  he  was  connected  with  Montezuma  Lodge  No.  30, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  and  since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  has  joined  the  Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  No.  266.  His  marriage  took  place  in  Denver  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Hattie  Schultz,  who  was  born  and  educated  in  that 
city  and  by  whom  he  has  two  sons,  Robert  and  Peter.  The  family  hold 
membership  in  the  Bakersfield  Presbyterian  Church. 

ROLAND  G.  HILL. — The  task  of  converting  the  Greenfield  ranch  into 
an  alfalfa  and  stock  farm  recently  has  been  assumed  by  Mr.  Hill,  who  is 
thoroughly  i^repared  for  his  large  responsibilities  by  reason  of  previous  suc- 
cessful experience  along  the  same  line  of  enterprise.  The  property  lies  twelve 
miles  south  of  Bakersfield  and  includes  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land.  To  guests  the  chief  attraction  of  the  ranch  is  the  comfortable 
and  attractive  modern  residence,  presided  over  graciously  by  Mrs.  Hill,  for- 
merly Miss  Edith  Baker. 

A  lifelong  resident  of  Kern  county,  Mr.  Hill  was  born  in  Cummings 
valley  and  with  his  sisters.  Ruby  and  Emma,  and  a  brother,  Russell  (now 
foreman  of  the  Hill  ranch  in  the  Cummings  valley)  belongs  to  a  family  long 
known  and  highly  honored  in  this  locality.  His  father,  the  late  Ross  Hill, 
came  to  Kern  county  as  early  as  1882  and  embarked  in  the  cattle  business, 
starting  a  stock  ranch  on  a  very  modest  scale,  but  working  his  way  forward 
by  sure  degrees  to  a  position  among  the  prosperous  ranchers  of  the  valley. 
Since  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  ranch  about  1902,  his  widow  (formerly 
Lottie  Gridley)  has  removed  to  Los  Angeles  and  there  established  a  home. . 
When  sixteen  years  of  age  Roland  G.  Hill  left  school  to  take  up  ranching. 
The  next  year  his  father  died  and  that  threw  into  his  care  the  home  ranch  of 
two  thousand  acres.  Assuming  the  heavy  responsibilities  with  an  energetic 
will,  he  gave  to  the  work  close  and  undivided  attention.  A  specialty  was  made 
of  raising  horses,  cattle  and  hogs.  So  well  did  he  succeed  that  the  Hill  ranch 
increased  in  area  from  two  thousand  acres  to  fourteen  thousand  acres,  the 
latter  being  its  size  in  1912  when  it  went  into  the  hands  of  the  Tehachapi 
Cattle  Company.  The  latter  organization  was  founded  by  R.  G.  Hill  and 
Messrs,  P.  G.,  A.  H.  and  C.  W.  Gates,  three  brothers  residing  in  Pasadena 
and  owning  vast  interests  in  diflferent  places,  including  large  lumber  interests 
in  Arkansas.  In  the  present  possession  of  the  company  are  the  following 
holdings:  the  Greenfield  ranch  of  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty  acres  : 
deeded  land  in  Cummings  valley  aggregating  fourteen  thousand  acres;  and 
leased  land  in  the  same  valley  comprising  about  five  thousand  acres,  making 
a  total  of  twenty-one  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  The  cattle  in- 
dustry has  been  a  specialty  with  Mr.  Hill  for  some  years  in  the  past  and  in 
developing  the  Greenfield  ranch  it  is  with  the  intention  of  continuing  in  the 
same  business.  While  some  of  the  cattle  are  raised  on  the  range,  many  are 
shipped  in  from  Arizona  and  kept  on  the  home  ranch  for  fattening. 

W.  W.  STEPHENSON.— A  citizen  of  worth  and  integrity,  \^^  W.  Ste- 
phenson, or  "Big  Bill"  Stephenson  (as  he  is  known  among  his  confreres), 
enjoys  to  an  unusual  degree  the  confidence  of  all  who  have  known  him  during 
his  residence  in  Kern  county.  To  no  man  is  greater  credit  due  for  the 
development  of  the  oil  industry  in  this  district.  He  and  a  brother,  R.  M.,  now 
an  oil  operator  near  Tampico,  Mexico,  were  the  only  children  of  \\".  P.  Ste- 
phenson, who  in  an  early  day  removed  from  Iowa  to  Oregon,  sojourned  for 
;i  brief  period  in  Salem,  thence  removed  to  Portland,  that  state,  and  became 


a^.^-^^^t^. 


HISTORY    ()!•     Kl'.KX    COUNTY  513 

chief  engineer  tor  the  (Jreson  Railway  and  Navigation  Company,  returning 
to  Iowa  during  the  latter  i)art  of  188_'  and  re-estahlishing  himself  on  the  farm 
in  I'alo  Alto  count v  which  had  been  his  home  i>rior  to  the  removal  to  the 
west.  It  was  during  the  residence  of  the  family  in  Salem,  Ore.,  that  William 
W.  Stephenson  was  born  in  that  city  June  20,  1875,  but  his  earliest  recollec- 
tions are  associated  with  the  city  of  Portland  and  there  he  was  a  pupil  in  the 
priiuarv  grades  of  the  public  school.  At  the  age  of  seven  years  he  accom- 
panied his  parents  to  Iowa  and  from  that  time  until  seventeen  he  lived  on 
the  old  homestead  of  the  family. 

Returning  to  the  west  when  seventeen  years  of  age  Mr.  Stei)hcnson 
established  himself  in  Santa  I'.arijara  county.  Cal..  and  became  interested 
in  the  business  which  he  has  since  followed.  The  fields  at  Summerland 
and  Santa  Paula  gave  to  him  his  initial  experience  in  the  oil  industry.  Soon 
he  began  to  take  contracts  for  drilling.  Much  of  his  work  was  in  the 
interests  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company.  For  three  years  he 
continued  in  contract  drilling.  Much  of  the  work  was  in  the  ocean.  Drilling 
was  done  by  means  of  wharves  built  out  into  the  water  for  a  distance  of  one 
thousand  feet  from  shore.  Experiences  in  the  em])lov  of  others  whetted 
his  ambition  to  undertake  the  business  for  himself.  In  the  summer  of  1899 
he  purchased  two  drilling  outfits  and  brought  them  to  the  Kern  river  fields. 
The  venture  proved  a  success  and  justified  the  jnirchase  of  four  additional 
outfits  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  so  that  by  1900  he  had  six  drilling  outfits 
in   operation. 

L'pon  becoming  a  stockholder  in  the  Alma.  Wolverine  and  lilack  Jack 
Oil  Com[)anies,  Mr.  Stephenson  deemed  it  adx'isable  to  dispose  of  a  number 
of  his  drilling  rigs.  Although  the  ISlack  Jack  and  Wolverine  have  since  been 
sold,  he  still  retains  a  block  of  stock  in  each,  while  he  continues  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  Alma  Oil  Company,  which  has  recently  taken  over  the 
Alma,  Jr..  so  that  the  two  are  practically  under  one  management.  The 
officers  of  the  company  are  as  follows:  president,  W.  H.  Mason,  j'attle 
Creek,  Mich.;  vice-president,  J.  E.  Beard,  of  Napa,  Cal.;  secretary,  M.  A. 
Thomas  of  San  Francisco;  treasurer,  the  Canadian  Bank  of  Commerce  in 
San  Francisco.  The  following  gentlemen  comprise  the  board  of  directors: 
W.  H.  Mason  and  C.  E.  Thomas,  of  Battle  Creek.  Mich.;  J.  E.  Beard,  of 
Napa,  this  state:  .\.  Kaines  of  San  Francisco;  and  W\  W.  Stephenson  of 
ISakersfield.  I'jeginning  operations  in  Se])tember  of  1900.  the  company  now 
holds  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  einploys  eleven  men,  and  has 
twenty-four  producing  wells  in  the  Alma  and  Alma,  Jr..  with  an  a\'crage 
net  output  of  twelve  thousand  barrels  per  month. 

The  oil  interests  owned  by  Mr.  Stephenson,  including  his  stock  in 
various  oil  comjjanies  throughout  the  California  fields,  by  no  means  repre- 
sent the  limit  of  his  mental  activities  and  commercial  relations.  .As  ]>resident 
of  the  Pacific  Motor  and  Engineering  Company,  he  maintains  an  intimate 
association  with  the  developtuent  of  a  business  for  the  buying,  selling  and 
renting  of  motors  and  for  the  monthly  inspection  of  motors.  In  addition 
the  company  engages  in  the  manufacture  of  machinery  for  the  use  of  bakers 
and  confectioners,  also  makes  a  specialty  of  other  machine  and  repair  work, 
and  of  the  wiring  and  installing  of  motors.  The  headquarters  of  the  con- 
cern are  at  No.  527  Mission  street.  San  Francisco.  Besides  being  the  prin- 
cipal owner  of  this  large  business,  Mr.  Stephenson  is  president  and  leading 
stockholder  in  the  Butterworth-Stephenson  Company  of  Portland,  Ore., 
and  the  Hamilton  Cloak  and  Suit  Company,  the  Midway  Equipment  Com- 
pany and  the  Central  Purchasing  Company,  all  of  Bakersfield. 

The  California  W'ell  Drilling  Company  of  Taft,  the  P..  S.  &  P..  Company 
of  Los  Angeles  and  the  W^estern  Trust  Company  of  Portland.  Ore.,  have 
the   benefit   of  the   services   of   Mr.   Stephenson   as  a   director   and    jirincipal 


514  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

btockholder.  As  a  stockholder  he  is  further  interested  in  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Bakerslield,  the  California  Life  Insurance  Company  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, the  Inter-Urban  Realty  Company  of  Portland,  Ore.,  the  Willamette 
Realty  Company  of  Portland,  Ore.,  the  Hydraulic  Mining  Company  of 
Oroville,  Cal.,  and  a  number  of  mining  concerns  at  Randsburg,  this  state.  A 
stanch  believer  in  life  insurance,  for  years  he  has  carried  heavy  policies 
as  a  possible  protection  for  his  family  and  large  business  interests.  In  land 
and  real  estate  his  holdings  are  important  and  include  a  beautiful  home  on 
Perkins  street  in  Oakland,  Cal.,  an  attractive  residence  in  the  Irvington 
district  of  Portland,  Ore.,  property  in  Bakersfield  and  valuable  holdings  at 
Wildwood,  Del  Monte  and  other  points. 

In  December  of  1910  Mr.  Stephenson  lost  his  wife,  Mrs.  Edna  (Nance) 
Stephenson,  by  her  death  in  young  womanhood.  A  daughter  survives,  Zada, 
now  a  student  in  the  high  school  at  Berkeley,  this  state.  From  a  business 
standpoint  Mr.  Stephenson  ranks  among  the  most  capable  men  in  the  oil 
fields.  Taking  the  past  as  a  criterion  and  remembering  that  he  is  yet  a 
young  man,  it  is  safe  to  state  that  a  brilliant  future  awaits  him.  For  much 
that  he  has  accomplished  he  gives  credit  to  the  inheritance  of  large  mechan- 
ical and  engineering  ability  from  his  father,  who,  as  has  been  stated,  served 
for  years  as  chief  engineer  for  the  Oregon  Railway  and  Navigation  Company 
at  Portland.  Personally  Mr.  Stephenson  is  a  man  who  thinks  for  himself 
and  conducts  his  researches  independently.  Consideration  for  others  is 
a  leading  characteristic.  While  he  possesses  a  worthy  ambition  to  make 
and  enjoy  his  share  of  the  world's  wealth,  he  has  never  trespassed  upon 
the  domain  of  others  in  the  acquisition  of  his  possessions.  A  practical 
demonstration  of  the  Golden  Rule  has  been  made  in  his  interesting  career. 

OTTO  R.  KAMPRATH.— The  assistant  cashier  of  the  Security  Trust 
Company  of  Bakersfield  is  a  member  of  an  old  eastern  family  descended  from 
Teutonic  ancestors.  The  genealogy  shows  that  Ferdinand  Kamprath  in  an 
early  day  drove  overland  from  New  York  to  Michigan,  accompanied  by  his 
family,  and  took  up  a  tract  of  raw  land  from  the  government,  later  devoting 
his  time  to  the  tilling  of  the  soil  in  that  then  frontier  region.  Among  his 
children  was  a  son,  Henry  F.,  a  native  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  but  from  childhood  a 
resident  of  Michigan,  where  for  many  years  he  has  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  furniture  at  Monroe,  Monroe  county.  During  young  manhood  he 
married  Miss  Christine  Enselberger,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  the  vicinity 
of  Monroe,  being  a  daughter  of  Leonard  Enselberger,  a  pioneer  farmer  of 
honored  name.  Not  only  are  the  parents  still  living,  but  their  three  children 
also  survive,  the  eldest  of  these  being  Otto  R.,  who  was  born  at  Monroe, 
Mich.,  November  21,  1875,  and  in  1891  was  graduated  from  the  high  school 
of  his  native  city.  Immediately  afterward  he  secured  employment  as  a 
messenger  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Monroe  and  later  was  promoted  to 
be  a  bookkeeper  in  the  institution. 

A  desire  to  remove  to  California  caused  Mr.  Kamprath  to  resign  his 
position  with  the  Michigan  bank  and  thereupon  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where 
he  secured  a  place  as  bookkeeper  in  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield.  A  few  years 
later  he  was  promoted  to  be  teller.  When  by  consolidation  the  Security 
Trust  Company  was  organized  October  7,  1910,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$300,000  fully  paid  in,  he  was  chosen  assistant  cashier  of  the  new  institution. 
Since  its  inception  the  bank  has  been  noted  for  the  conservative  spirit  of  its 
officers  and  directors.  The  men  at  its  head  are  among  the  leading  financiers 
of  the  city.  Their  judgment  is  recognized  as  excellent,  their  ability  as  above 
the  ordinary  and  their  energy  as  boundless.  Much  credit  also  is  due  to  the 
assistant  cashier,  who  fills  his  position  with  accuracy,  dispatch  and  mental 
alertness,  thereby  winning  for  himself  a  recognized  place  in  local  financial 
circles,     .\fter  coming  west  he  was  married  at  Los  Angeles  to  Miss  Dorothea 


f^^'CLJAy^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  517 

Heinicke,  who  was  born  at  Pleasant  Ridge,  111.,  and  by  whom  he  has  three 
children,  Gerald,  Willard  and  Marie.  The  family  residence,  erected  by  Mr. 
Kamprath,  stands  at  No.  2212  Truxtun  avenue  and  both  in  exterior  appear- 
ance and  interior  finishings  indicates  the  cultured  tastes  of  the  family. 

As  one  of  the  founders  of  St.  John's  Lutheran  Church,  as  the  chairman 
of  its  building  committee,  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  the  present 
treasurer  of  the  congregation,  Mr.  Kamprath  has  been  closely  identified  with 
the  upbuilding  of  the  church  and  in  its  annals  his  name  will  hold  a  place  all 
its  own.  He  keeps  posted  concerning  current  events  and  national  ])rnl)lems 
and  supports  the  Republican  party  in  general  elections.  The  board  of  trade 
has  had  the  benefit  ni  his  intelligent  services  as  a  member  of  its  executive 
committee. 

WILLIAM  TRACY.— It  is  the  proud  claim  of  William  Tracy  that  he 
is  a  native  son  of  California.  In  San  Joac|uin  county,  but  near  Gal:,  Sacra- 
mento county,  he  was  born  August  8,  1866,  being  a  son  of  the  late  Edgar 
Vernet  and  Mary  (Dix)  Tracy,  natives,  respectively,  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Ohio.  The  mother  died  in  San  Joaquin  county  in  1877  and  the  father  passed 
away  ]\fay  2,  1913,  when  advanced  in  years.  Reared  and  educated  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Ohio,  and  married  in  the  Buckeye  state  in  1852,  he  had  brought 
his  young  wife  across  the  plains  in  the  summer  of  1852,  making  the  long 
journey  with  ox-teams  and  wagons.  At  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  he  re- 
turned east,  enlisted  in  his  old  home  regiment  of  Ohio  infantry,  went  to  the 
front  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  rebellion,  when  he  received  an  honor- 
able discharge  and  returned  to  California.  For  many  years  and  indeed 
until  he  retired  from  business  cares  he  engaged  as  a  liveryman  and  owned 
a  stable  at  .Acampo.  In  his  family  there  were  nine  children,  as  follows: 
Alice,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Johnston,  of  Sacramento;  Theodore,  of  Bakersfield :  Emma, 
who  married  Ellis  Kilgore  and  died  in  Sacramento;  Mrs.  Ida  Marsh,  a  resi- 
dent of  Massillon,  Ohio;  Mrs.  Mary  Barber,  of  Amador  county;  Mrs.  Sarah 
Van  A'alkenburg,  of  Lodi ;  William,  whose  name  introduces  this  article; 
Anna,  wife  of  James  Arp,  of  Bakersfield ;  and  Mrs.  Nellie  Jarvis,  who  is 
living  in  Amador  county. 

The  death  of  his  mother  when  he  was  ten  years  of  age  brought  to 
William  Tracy  a  breaking  up  of  tender  home  ties  and'  a  loss  almost  irreparable. 
During  the  next  six  years  he  was  given  a  home  by  a  farmer.  After  leaving 
here  he  lived  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Kilgore,  of  Sacramento,  where  he  finished 
the  grammar  school.  Mr.  Kilgore  is  of  the  well-known  firm  of  Kilgore  & 
Tracy,  of  Sacramento.  The  happy  days  spent  in  Mr.  Kilgore's  home  and 
about  his  place  of  business  are  among  the  happiest  recollections  of  Mr. 
Tracy's  childhood  days.  While  yet  in  his  teens  he  purchased  an  outfit  and 
engaged  in  teaming  on  the  large  ranches  in  Colusa  county,  meanwhile  saving 
his  earnings  with  frugal  forethought  for  the  future.  Since  coming  to  Bakers- 
field in  January  of  1891  he  has  been  actively  associated  with  the  farm  and 
stock  interests  of  Kern  county.  Here  he  took  up  a  homestead  and  joined 
his  brother,  Theodore,  who  had  secured  a  claim  on  the  Goose  lake  channel 
of  Kern  river,  on  the  range  of  Canfield  &  Tracy,  whose  herds  of  cattle  the 
two  brothers  superintended.  In  due  time  William  Tracy  acquired  the 
Canfield  &  Tracy  holdings  and  later  bought  out  the  interests  of  his  brother, 
who  removed  to  Bakersfield.  By  such  additions  to  his  original  homestead  he 
acquired  a  ranch  of  three  thousand  and  eighty  acres,  lying  five  miles  north- 
east of  Buttonwillow,  or  twenty-five  miles  west  of  Bakersfield  as  the  crow 
flies.  Much  of  the  ranch  is  in  pasture,  on  which  may  be  seen  cattle  bearing 
the  well-known  brand  of  91  and  horses  with  the  T  brand  that  in  the  neighbor- 
hood has  come  to  stand  for  qualitv  and  breeding.  One  section  of  the  ranch 
has  been  put  under  irrigation  and  is  devoted  to  alfalfa  and  grain,  the  balance 
being  used  for  range.  A  special  feature  of  the  ranch  is  the  breeding  of  draft 
horses,  which  find  a  ready  sale  in  western  markets  and  always  command  a 


518  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

high  price.  At  the  head  of  the  drove  of  over  two  hundred  horses  are  two 
Belgian  stallions,  viz. :  Predominant,  weight  fifteen  hundred  pounds,  and 
Silver  Tip,  two  thousand  pounds,  both  iine  specimens  of  their  popular  breed. 

A  rancher  whose  devotion  to  agriculture  has  been  so  constant  and  whose 
interest  in  county  development  has  continued  through  so  many  years  must 
necessarily  have  identified  himself  with  other  enterprises  besides  those  ot 
ranching,  and  we  find  that  Mr.  Tracy  has  exhibited  a  steadfast  devotion  to 
every  movement  of  permanent  value  to  the  county.  Particularly  has  he 
been  interested  in  the  cause  of  education.  For  many  years  he  served  as  a 
trustee  of  the  Wildwood  school  and  the  district  had  the  advantage  of  his 
painstaking  devotion  to  its  educational  system  and  his  ardent  determination 
to  promote  the  upbuilding  of  a  first-class  country  school.  Although  by  no 
means  a  partisan,  he  is  a  pronounced  Republican  and  stanch  in  his  allegiance 
to  party  principles.  In  his  marriage  to  Miss  Fannie  C.  Rowlee,  a  native 
daughter  of  San  Joaquin  county,  he  won  a  wife  possessing  in  eminent  meas- 
ure housewifely  skill,  artistic  talents  and  deep  devotion  to  country  life,  and 
they  are  earnestly  promoting  by  their  united,  harmonious  efforts  the  mental 
development  and  physical  training  of  their  children,  Cecil  Foster,  William 
Barrel,  Frances  Fav  and  Charles  Wellington. 

MRS.  WILLIAM  TRACY.— Versatility  of  mental  equipment  forms  a 
notable  attribute  of  Mrs.  Tracy,  to  whom  belongs  the  distinction  of  being 
a  native  daughter  of  the  state,  whose  entire  life  has  been  passed  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  commonwealth,  whose  education  reflects  the  training 
(iflfered  by  its  schools  and  whose  refinement  of  taste  indicates  a  cultured 
environment  from  earliest  years.  A  resident  of  Kern  county  from  child- 
hood, but  a  native  of  San  Joaquin  county,  she  is  a  daughter  of  that  sterling 
and  honored  pioneer  couple,  Charles  W.  and  Martha  (Martin)  Rowlee,  men- 
tion of  whom  is  made  at  length  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  At  a  very  early 
age  she  ga\-e  evidence  of  unusual  ability  and  desire  for  knowledge.  Not 
>atisfied  with  the  opportunities  ofTered  by  the  common  schools,  she  prepared 
for  normal  work  and  then  entered  the  Chico  State  Normal,  where  she  spent 
two  years  in  study,  pedagogy  being  her  specialty.  Next  she  availed  herself 
of  the  advantages  oflFered  by  the  San  Diego  State  Normal  and  after  she  had 
graduated  frc.m  that  institution  in  1902  she  took  up  educational  work  ui 
Kern  county  with  the  intention  of  specializing  as  a  teacher,  but  her  mar- 
riage to  Air.  Tracy,  April  3,  1904,  changed  her  plans  and  terminated  a  brief 
but  highly  successful  career  as  an  instructor.  There  was,  however,  no 
relinquishment  of  her  interest  in  schools  and  schooling,  for  she  has  con- 
tinued up  til  the  present  time  a  capable  and  enthusiastic  promoter  of  all 
educational  adxancement,  a  firm  believer  in  the  value  of  the  public  schools 
and  an  ex]3(inL'nt  nt  nioflern  methods  adopted  in  the  most  progressive  insti- 
tutions of  learning. 

For  her  four  children,  Cecil  P'oster,  William  Barrel.  Frances  P^ay  and 
Charles  ^^'ellington,  Mrs.  Tracy  cherishes  worthy  ambitions.  That  they 
may  receive  the  Ijest  of  training  and  educational  advantages  is  a  source  of 
constant  solicitude  on  her  part.  That  their  ideals  may  be  of  the  highest 
Christian  type,  not  bound  by  narrow  creed  or  selfish  egotism,  is  her  hope 
for  their  future.  While  striving  to  promote  their  physical  welfare  and 
mental  growth,  she  finds  the  leisure  to  devote  herself  to  art  and  her  own 
paintings  adorn  the  walls  of  the  ranch  home  as  well  as  the  family  residence 
in  the  city  at  No.  1919  Orange  street.  Fond  of  outdoor  life  and  a  lover 
of  the  country,  she  finds  great  pleasure  in  developing  the  natural  resources 
of  their  environment.  To  watch  things  grow  and  thrive  brings  her  hap- 
piness, and  whether  it  is  a  plant  or  tree  or  whether  some  pet  bird  or 
animal,  the  growth  of  each  interests  her  intensely.  For  this  reason  she 
surrounds  herself  with  pets.  The  pea-fowls  on  the  ranch,  the  fancy  poultry 
and   the  thoroughbred   sheep  are  objects  of  deep  interest  to   her.     Together 


(3^^:,..-....£^^^^ 


lllSroRN-    ()|-    KI-.RX    COUNTY  521 

vvitli  .Mr.  Tracv  she  is  especiall\-  interested  in  watcliinsj  the  development 
of  "Phoenix"  and  "Tem])e,"  a  pair  of  niat.niiticent  ostriches  now  eight  years 
of  age,  and  lironglit  from  Arizona  in  l')07  when  only  eighteen  months  old. 
They  were  the  first  l)irds  of  the  kind  in  the  entire  county  and  Mrs.  Tracy- 
has  made  a  special  study  if  their  needs,  growth,  the  inculcation,  hatching, 
etc.,  with  a  view,  not  onlv  to  understanding  them,  hut  also  to  making  them 
a  source  of  revenue.  The  season  of  1013  resulted  in  an  ostrich  hatch  that 
is  destined  to  play  an  imixirtant  ]iart  in  the  commercial  future  of  the  valley, 
when  their  birds  brought  forth  a  troop  o"f  eight  chicks  which  were  suc- 
cessfully raised.  These  were  the  first  ostrich  chicks  hatched  in  the  county 
and  thus  opened  a  new  industrv  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  This  led  to 
the  inirchase  of  a  troo])  of  (ift}--two  birds  from  \V.  1'.  Robison.  manager  of 
the  Southern  California  ostrich  farm  at  Idora  Park,  Oakland.  The  birds 
were  successfully  transported  by  rail  to  Rutton willow  and  from  there  they 
were  hauled  in  wagons  five  miles  to  the  Tracy  ranch,  this  being  accom- 
l)lished  without  injury  to  any  of  the  birds.  The  ease  with  which  they  are 
cared  for  is  shown  when  it  is  known  that  they  are  turned  into  an  alfalfa 
field  surrounded  by  the  usual  four-foot  woven  wire  stock  fence.  When  the 
birds  select  tlreir  mates  they  are  placed  in  indixidual  ]3ens  for  nesting. 
.Among  these  birds  there  are  representatives  from  three  difYerent  sections 
of  .Africa,  i.e.,  the  South  African  (the  most  common  breed  in  the  country), 
the  West  Coast  and  X'ubia.  The  Nubian  is  the  finest  ostrich  known,  having 
skin  of  a  blush-pink  color  and  being  a  larger  bird  and  producing  a  longer  and 
finer  feather  than  any  other  breed. 

The  feather  industry  has  grown  to  such  proportions  and  the  demand 
has  become  so  large  that  Mrs.  Tracy  has  found  it  necessary  to  remove  to 
Bakersfield  her  factory  for  cleaning,  dyeing,  repairing  and  the  manufacture 
of  feathers  into  plumes  and  ostrich  fancies.  Her  sister.  Miss  Hazel  Rowlee. 
has  charge  of  the  factory,  while  Mrs.  Tracy  devotes  her  attention  to  the 
management  and  superintendence  of  the  ostrich  farm.  She  is  recognized 
among  the  ostrich  farmers  as  an  authority  on  the  nesting,  hatching  and 
rearing  of  the  birds.  The  present  successful  status  of  the  industry  gives 
great  promise  for  the  future  and  not  only  the  family,  but  the  entire  com- 
munity finds  much  of  interest  in  the  new  undertaking  as  a  novel  industry 
with  uni(|ue  possibilities. 

CHARLES  H.  FAIRCHILD.— The  records  of  Pennsylvania  sh..w  thai 
when  ^^'illiam  Penn  brought  over  his  original  colony  of  emigrants  he 
had  among  the  number  a  member  of  the  English  family  of  Fairchild,  a  young 
man  of  bold  soirit  and  fearless  valor,  well  qualified  to  assist  in  ])ioneer  tasks, 
and  it  is  said  that  he  became  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia. Later  generations  remained  in  the  Keystone  state  and  Ephraim 
Fairchild  was  born  in  Bradford  county.  With  the  love  of  the  frontier  that 
had  been  manifested  in  the  original  immigrant,  he  came  to  California  when 
this  great  commonwealth  was  an  unknown  region  without  attractions  ex- 
cept for  goldseekers,  its  rich  soil  undeveloped  and  its  sunny  climate  unap- 
preciated. While' developing  an  important  business  in  Sacramento  and 
acquiring  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  adjacent  valley,  his  wife,  Sarah  Kelton 
(Ford)  Fairchild,  also  was  becoming  well  known  in  the  west,  where  she 
contributed  liberally  to  the  press  of  that  day  and  was  recognized  as  a  gifted 
and  popular  writer. 

The  schools  of  his  native  city  of  Sacramento  afforded  to  Charles  II. 
Fairchild  fair  educational  advantages,  of  which  he  availed  himself  to  the 
utmost.  .A  sturdy,  wideawake  and  ambitious  boy,  he  developed  into  a  suc- 
cessful man  who  was  never  content  to  do  less  than  his  best.  From  the  time 
that  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  he 
rose  rapidly  to  positions  of  trust.     Graduall}'  he  was  given  additional  respon- 


522  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

sibilities.  Any  doubts  that  might  have  been  entertained  as  to  his  ability 
were  soon  changed  to  satisfaction  and  therefore  he  was  trusted  in  a  degree 
not  always  given  to  the  young.  The  interests  of  the  company  were  promoted 
by  his  able  service  as  assistant  superintendent  at  Mojave.  In  recognition  of 
his  ability  and  sound  business  judgment  he  was  promoted  to  be  freight 
and  passenger  agent  at  Bakersfield,  which  influential  position  he  held  for 
many  3'ears,  meanwhile  establishing  in  this  city  a  home  made  beautiful  by 
the  artistic  tastes  of  his  wife  (nee  Margaret  H.  Fay)  and  made  happy  by 
the  presence  of  their  four  children.  He  was  an  influential  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  and  kind  and  charitable  to  those  in  need. 

The  discovery  of  oil  in  Kern  county  and  the  instantaneous  development 
of  a  new  industry  here  did  not  fail  to  rouse  the  enthusiastic  interest  of  Mr. 
Fairchild.  As  was  natural  to  a  man  of  his  breadth  of  thought,  he  at  once 
entered  heartily  into  the  new  work.  Grasping  the  business  with  a  celerity 
seldom  surpassed,  he  became  very  successful  as  a  dealer  in  oil  lands  and 
acquired  expertness  as  a  judge  of  values  and  possibilities.  Eventually  his 
interests  as  an  oil  operator  became  so  important  that  he  resigned  from  his 
position  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  and  devoted  himself  exclusively 
to  oil  development  thereafter,  with  the  exception  that  for  one  year  he  also 
engaged  as  proprietor  of  the  Hughes  hotel  in  Fresno.  His  most  important 
and  profitable  connection  in  the  oil  fields  was  as  vice-president  and  a  large 
stockholder  in  the  Calloma  Oil  Company  operating  in  the  Kern  river  field, 
the  other  partners  in  the  organization  having  been  H.  A.  Jastro  and  the  St. 
Clair  estate.  Another  successful  lease  which  he  promoted  with  Clarence 
Berry  as  partner  was  the  Ethel  D.,  in  the  west  side  field.  His  death  occurred 
May  14,  1910,  from  hemorrhage  of  the  brain,  and  brought  an  unexpected  and 
sudden  termination  to  his  far-reaching  activities,  entailing  upon  Bakersfield 
a  heavy  loss  to  its  citizenship,  depriving  the  Bakersfield  Club  of  one  of  its 
honored  charter  members  and  removing  from  the  oil  industry  of  Kern  county 
one  of  its  keenest  operators.  He  was  a  strong  partisan  in  politics,  possessing 
stanch  convictions,  and  was  at  one  time  chairman  of  the  Republican  County 
Central  Committee.  Fraternally  he  was  a  member  of  the  Elks,  a  Alascm  of  tlie 
Knight  Templar  degree,  and  a  Shriner. 

MARGARET  H.  FAIRCHILD.— The  career  of  Mrs.  Fairchild  is  a  most 
interesting  as  well  as  an  active  one.  Born  in  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  she  was 
the  daughter  of  Stephen  J.  and  Catherine  (Kelley)  Fay,  both  pioneers  of 
California,  having  come  hither  from  Boston,  Mass.,  and  arriving  in  San 
Francisco  in  1862.  Here  Mr.  Fay  became  an  extensive  general  con- 
tractor, but  when  at  the  height  of  his  career  his  untimely  death  occurred  in 
1869.  Her  mother  also  being  taken  from  her  when  she  was  very  young, 
Mrs.  Fairchild  was  reared  in  the  family  of  Daniel  Sullivan,  a  wealtln-  man 
of  San  Francisco,  and  here  she  receiveVl  a  thorough  educati(in.  Having  abil- 
ity and  the  spirit  to  acquire  a  firm  foundation  in  her  studies,  she  rose  rapidly 
and  was  graduated  from  the  public  school  with  a  splendid  record.  News- 
paper work  early  attracted  her,  and  after  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  busi- 
ness in  all  its  branches,  on  February  14,  1901,  she  came  to  Bakersfield, 
where  her  services  were  given  first  to  the  Bakersfield  Democrat  which  was 
edited  by  E.  A.  Pueschel,  then  the  leading  paper  of  the  county.  Later  she 
was  engaged  on  the  Kern  Standard,  owned  by  W.  D.  Young.  Her  suc- 
cess in  this  work  was  phenomenal  and  subsequently  she  purchased  a  half 
interest  with  Mr.  Young,  still  later  buying  out  his  interest  in  the  Standard 
and  conducting  it  as  sole  owner  and  proprietor  for  two  years.  She  then 
sold  the  plant  to  Messrs.  C(  nklin  &  Maude. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Mrs.  Fairchild  became  the  wife  of  Charles  H. 
I'"airchild.  the  ceremony  taking  place  in  San  Francisco.  She  is  a  well-to-do, 
prosperous  and  thorough  lousiness  w<.iman.  whose  ideas  of  business  lead  her 
t.i    transact    all    her   affairs    (mi    a    strictly    honorable    basis.      Of    the    highest 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  525 

principles,  she  is  conscientious  and  trustworthy,  and  her  influence  for  good 
is  felt  throught)ut  her  entire  community. 

-Mrs.  Fairchild  has  a  very  C(^)nifortal)le  residence  at  tiie  corner  of  Pine 
and  Twentieth  streets,  Bakersheld,  where  she  with  her  gifted  and  talented 
children  live  an  ideal  home  life.  Her  refining  influence  has  accomplished  much 
to  hring  them  to  their  present  exquisite  state,  for  their  well-mannered,  cul- 
tured ways  are  proof  of  the  best  of  breeding  and  training.  She  is  the  mother 
of  four  children,  Ruth,  Dorothy  C,  Gerald  Charles  and  Virginia  Fay,  and 
they  have  brought  much  comfort  and  cheer  to  their  deserving  mother. 

R.  B.  REES,  M.D. — Whatever  of  success  has  come  to  Dr.  Rees  is  the 
result  of  his  own  eflforts  and  constant  study.  It  was  not  possible  for  his 
parents,  John  \V.  and  Rachel  (John)  Rees,  to  give  him  any  educational 
advantages,  for  after  they  crossed  the  ocean  from  their  native  Wales  they 
had  to  labor  incessantly  to  secure  the  necessities  of  existence.  The  father, 
who  was  a  contracting  painter  in  his  younger  years,  now  makes  his  home 
in  Columbus,  Ohio,  where  the  mother  died  in  1910  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
iive  years.  Their  son,  R.  B.,  was  born  in  Newark,  Ohio,  and  in  boyhood 
attended  school  at  Columbus,  that  state,  whence  he  went  east  to  Boston  in 
order  to  earn  a  livelihood  in  a  humble  position.  During  leisure  hours  he 
studied  in  the  Boston  evening  high  school,  where  he  pursued  a  special  sci- 
entific course  until  his  graduation.  Meanwhile  all  of  his  studies  had  been 
directed  with  the  ultimate  aim  of  professional  work,  an  ambition  of  which 
he   ne\-er   lost   sight  through   all   the   financial   hardships   of  youth.      During 

1897  and   1898   he   attended   the   Univer.sity   of  Vermont   and   in   the    fall   of 

1898  he  matriculated  in  the  University  of  -Maryland  at  Baltimore,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1900.  The  degree  of  M.D.  was  conferred  upun  him 
when  he  graduated  from  the  medical  college  of  Harvard  University  at  Cam- 
bridge, Mass..  in  1901,  after  which  he  practiced  his  profession  for  three  years 
in  Boston,  later  serving  for  two  years  as  resident  surgeon  in  Carney  hospital. 
South  Boston.  It  was  there  that  his  splendid  talent  for  surgery  first  at- 
tracted attention.  In  critical  operations  he  proved  unusually  successful  and 
his  time  was  almost  wholly  given  to  surgical  duties.  Since  leaving  the  east 
he  has  retained  an  honorary  membership  in  the  Massachusetts  State  Medical 
Associatifin, 

Having  successfully  passed  an  examination  before  the  state  medical 
board  of  California  in  December  of  190>'i,  during  March  of  1907  Dr.  Rees 
selected  Bakersfield  as  the  center  of  future  professional  work  and  estab- 
lished an  rfifice  in  this  city.  Here  too  he  has  his  home,  which  is  presided 
over  graciously  by  Mrs.  Rees,  formerly  Miss  Edna  Clark'  Wetterman,  and 
is  brightened  by  the  presence  of  an  only  child,  John  Wetterman.  In  Bak- 
ersfield, as  in  the  east.  Dr.  Rees  makes  a  specialty  of  surgery  and  practices 
at  Mercy  hospital,  in  addition  to  having  built  up  a  large  private  practice. 
From  two  to  four  o'clock  he  has  office  hours  in  his  suite  above  the  Hughes 
drug  store,  while  during  the  balance  of  his  time  he  gives  his  attention  to 
home  and  hospital  professional  duties.  Devotion  to  his  specialty  is  indi- 
cated bv  membership  in  the  Surgical  Club  of  Rochester.  Minn.  In  addition 
he  is  identified  with  the  Kern  Countv  and  California  State  I\Iedical  .Asso- 
ciations, the  San  Inaquin  \^allev  Medical  Society  and  the  .American  Med- 
ical .Association,  and  through  these  <  rganizations  as  well  as  through  the 
reading  of  current  medical  literature  he  keens  in  touch  with  modern  devel- 
opments in  the  science  of  therapeutics.  Such  has  been  his  devotion  to 
the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  that  he  has  had  no  leisure  for  partici- 
pation in  political  afifairs  or  ci\'ic  enterprises,  nor  has  he  been  acti\'e  in  any 
fraternities  aside  from  the  Elks  and  the  A\^iodmen  of  the  ^^^lr1d. 


526  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

J.  R.  NEFF. — The  president  of  the  Neff  colonies,  who  has  become 
closely  connected  with  the  material  upbuilding  of  Kern  county  through  the 
promoting  of  irrigation  colonies  in  the  Weed  Patch,  began  to  be  interested 
in  this  region  during  the  year  1907  and,  after  having  carefully  studied  the 
soil,  climate  and  possible  profitable  cultivation  of  the  land  in  intensive 
farming  through  irrigation,  purchased  property  and  undertook  the  devel- 
opment of  the  plans  he  had  projected.  With  a  record  of  successful  identifica- 
tion with  the  banking  business  he  was  qualified  by  executive  ability  and 
thorough  knowledge  of  financial  problems  to  manage  and  develop  large 
landed  interests  and  those  associated  with  his  projects  in  Kern  county  have 
found  him  to  be  not  only  enterprising  and  progressive,  but  also  far-sighted 
in  discrimination,  honorable  in  action  and  sagacious  in  judgment.  The 
original  colony  which  he  established  in  Kern  county,  known  as  the  Foothill 
Citrus  Farms  Colony,  is  located  on  section  26,  township  31,  range  29,  and 
was  incorporated  during  1907  with  a  capital  stock  of  $24,000,  which  is  the 
value  of  the  pumping  plant  and  irrigation  system.  Upon  the  first  election 
of  officers  Mr.  Neff  was  chosen  president  and  he  has  filled  the  position  up 
to  the  present  time,  H.  A.  AToyers  of  San  Bernardino  being  secretary,  while 
the  California  State  Bank  of  San  i'.ernardino  acts  as  treasurer.  The  large 
tract  of  land  incorporated  by  the  coniijany  is  held  privately  b)^  about  twenty 
colonists,  who  own  shares  in  the  water  company.  The  two  wells,  which 
are  each  twelve-inch  bores,  are  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  and  three  hundred 
and  three  feet  respectively,  and  produce  sufficient  water  for  the  irrigation 
of  the  land  as  well  as  for  domestic  ])urposes,  as  needed  by  the  twenty  colon- 
ists now  on  the  tract.  During  1912  the  company  put  in  electrical  motors  and 
centrifugal  pumps  and  since  then  has  used  electricity,  buying  the  power  from, 
the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Company.  The  products  of  the  land  include 
alfalfa,  Egyptian  corn,  all  the  fruits  known  to  Southern  California;  nut  trees, 
such  as  English  and  I^'rench  walnuts  and  black  walnuts;  all  kinds  of  berries, 
Logan  berries  doing  es])ecially  well ;  and  vegetables  of  every  kind. 

The  Bear  Alountain  Orange  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Neff  is  also  presi- 
dent, is  located  on  section  24,  township  31,  range  29,  Kern  county,  and  was 
organized  in  1908.  with  a  capital  stock  of  $12,800.  on  the  same  plan  as  the 
older  company.  In  addition  he  manages  the  Or-ange  Belt  Farms  Company, 
capitalized  at  $9,600,  and  owning  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  23.  town- 
ship 31.  range  29.  All  of  the  colonists,  numbering  now  about  seventy-five 
persons,  are  interested  with  Air.  Neff  in  his  enterprise.  Under  his  capable 
leadership,  wise  judgment  and  untiring  energy,  the  prospects  for  future 
development  and  growing  success  are  most  attractive,  and  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  colonies  will  prove  most  profitable  acquisitions  to 
the  landed  wealth  of  the  county.  Alany  of  the  persons  buying  in  these  tracts 
have  come  from  Southern  California,  quite  a  few  being  from  Santa  Ana.  and 
they  were  influenced  to  select  property  here  from  the  fact  that  the  soil  and 
climate  ranked  with  their  own  section,  the  water  facilities  are  adequate,  and 
the  price  of  the  land  was  low  enough  to  meet  their  approval.  Xor  have  they 
had  reason  to  regret  their  decision  in  coming  to  Kern  county.  On  the 
other  hand,  their  prospects  for  the  future  are  the  brightest. 

Mr.  Neff  was  born  in  Baylor  county,  Tex.,  April  29,  1876,  and  grew  to 
manhood  in  that  C(  imiiion  wealth,  where  for  some  years  he  held  a  position 
as  cashier  ,.f  the  City  .\'ati.onal  Hank  of  Childress,  also  from  l')00  to  1904  he 
served  as  clerk  of  the  district  and  county  court  of  Cottle  county.  At  Austin, 
that  state,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Bessie  Hutchinson,  a  resi- 
dent of  that  city.  There  are  two  children  in  the  family,  Lawrence  and 
Pattie.  During  tlie  latter  part  of  1904  Mr.  Neff  removed  to  California  and 
settled   in   San    Bernardino  countv.   Init  afterward   removed   to    Pomona.    Los 


O^iyy^      Cf 


OU^UL^ 


IJISTORV    ()!•    KKRX    COUNTY  529 

Angeles  ccnint)'.  and  miw  makes  that  city  his  hunie,  siiiierintending  tliruugh 
frequent  personal  tri]3S  the  valuable  interests  which  he  has  acquired  in 
Kern  county  and  in  vvliich  he  has  invested  heavily  with  a  firm  faith  in  their 
steady  acl\  anccnient  in  production  and  valuation. 

JOHN  ENAS.— At  St.  George,  Azores  Islands,  J'orUigal,  John  Fuias  was 
born  .\])ril  2'K  1852,  the  son  of  John  Enas,  a  farmer  and  builder  in  that  country. 
His  wife,  Marianna  J.  Bettencurt  in  maidenhood,  died  in  1911.  John  Enas,  Jr., 
attended  school  until  fourteen  years  old.  In  1866  he  came  alone  to  the 
United  States  to  earn  his  own  way  unaided.  Settling  first  in  Stanis- 
laus count}',  Cal.,  he  worked  part  of  the  time  as  sheep-shearer,  and  part  as 
helper  on  a  threshing  machine,  being  employed  after  this  for  a  few  years 
at  different  points  in  the  state,  working  for  wages.  In  1873  he  came  to 
Kern  county  and  settled  in  Delano,  where  he  became  occupied  in  sheep  rais- 
ing for  himself,  and  he  soon  became  thoroughly  familiar  with  all  the  details 
of  that  enterprise.  He  remained  in  Delano  until  1881,  when  he  bought  what 
is  now  his  home  place,  consisting  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  land, 
located  fifteen  miles  west  of  Bakersfield  on  the  old  Headquarters  road.  Of 
this  one  hundred  acres  were  then  planted  in  alfalfa,  and  the  remainder  was 
unimproved. 

Mr.  Enas  has  since  that  time  been  extensively  engaged  in  stockraising, 
handling  horses,  mules,  sheep  and  cattle.  He  has  added  to  his  original  tract 
until  it  now  covers  an  area  of  over  nine  thousand  acres ;  three  hundred  acres 
are  under  cultivation  and  the  remainder  devoted  to  jiasture  land.  He  has 
spent  most  of  his  time  on  his  ranch,  and  it  can  be  said  of  him  that  he  is  one 
of  the  most  extensive  stockraisers  in  the  county.  He  also  owns  a  section 
of  land  in  the  Kern  River  oil  field,  of  which  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  is 
proven  oil  land.  On  this  land  are  twenty  wells,  of  which  fourteen  are  pro- 
ducing at  the  present  time.  In  1906  he  accepted  the  office  of  vice-presi- 
dent and  director  of  the  Portuguese-American  Bank  of  San  Francisco,  and 
he  was  also  a  director  in  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield  until  it  was  dissolved.  He 
is  now  a  director  of  the  Security  Trust  Company  in  Bakersfield.  He  is  a 
man  highly  successful,  but  he  has  worked  hard  to  gain  the  position  he  now 
holds,  and  has  justly  earned  his  present  prosperity.  An  expert  in  stock- 
raising,  his  stock  is  considered  the  best,  and  his  business  enjoys  the  most 
flattering  recognition.  He  is  a  member  of  the  U.  P.  E.  C.  and  the  I.  D.  E.  S. 
societies,   while   politically   is    an    Independent    Republican. 

CHARLES  SCHIEFFERLE.— -An  expert  knowledge  of  machinery 
enables  ?.Ir.  Schieiiferle  to  creditably  fill  his  responsible  position  as  chief 
engineer  of  the  V'alley  Ice  Company's  plant  in  Bakersfield,  where  although 
holding  the  place  for  a  comparatively  l)rief  i)eriod  he  has  proved  himself 
to  i)e  thon  ughly  competent  <^or  the  difficult  task  entrusted  to  him.  in  con- 
nection with  the  operation  of  the  large  plant.  Having  helised  to  install  the 
machinery,  he  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  everv  detail.  The  day  after 
he  arrived  in  Bakersfield,  during  March  of  1911,  he  entered  the  employ  of 
the  company  and  began  to  assist  in  the  erection  of  machinery.  Upon  the 
completicn  of  the  plant  he  was  retained  as  an  assistant  and  it  was  not 
long  before  his  worth  and  ability  were  recognized  by  the  management,  who 
in  ^lay  of  1912  appointed  him  tcj  be  night  engineer.  On  the  1st  of  July, 
of  the  same  year,  he  was  promoted  to  his  present  place  as  chief  engineer 
and  since  then  has  been  in  charge  of  the  plant,  capacity  one  hundred  and 
twent}-  tons.  The  company  makes  a  specialty  of  the  manufacture  of  ice 
for  the  icing  of  cars  and  also  for  the  refri,geration  of  their  large  cold-storage 
Dlant  at  this  point. 

Descended  from  (iernian  ancestors.  Cliarles  .Scliieft'erJe  was  born  at 
Northeast,  Erie  county.  Pa.,  .\pril  2^.  1876.  and  is  a  son  of  Jaci  li  ami 
Catherine    Hleehl)    Schiefiferlc.    nati\es    respectively    nf    Cerniany    ;in(!    Cal- 


530  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

taraugiis  county,  N.  Y.,  the  latter  now  a  resident  of  Northeast,  Pa.  The 
father  crossed  the  ocean  in  young  manhood  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania, 
from  which  state  he  went  to  New  York  and  enlisted  in  the  Sixty-fifth  New 
York  Infantry.  In  company  with  the  regiment  he  proceeded  to  the  front 
and  bore  his  share  in  the  hardships  of  camp  and  the  dangers  of  the  battle- 
field. During  an  engagement,  while  in  the  act  of  aiming  to  fire,  he  was 
shot  through  the  right  wrist  and  also  through  the  left  hand  in  such  a 
planner  that  the  fingers  were  cut  olT.  On  account  of  the  disability  resulting 
from  gunshot  wounds  he  was  honorably  discharged.  After  he  had  recov- 
ered sufficiently  to  resume  work  he  turned  his  attention  to  farming  and 
settled  on  a  place  near  Northeast,  Pa.,  where  in  I'^ebruary  of  1906  his  death 
occurred. 

The  family  of  Jacob  Schiefiferle  comprised  nine  children,  all  but  one  of 
whom  still  survive.  Charles,  who  was  seventh  in  order  of  birth,  passed 
the  years  of  boyhood  on  the  home  farm  and  in  the  neighboring  schools. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was  aprenticed  to  the  trade  of  machinist  m 
the  Novelty  machine  shop  at  Northeast  and  there  he  continued  until  he  had 
completed  his  time,  meanwhile  gaining  an  expert  knowledge  of  every  depart- 
ment of  the  trade.  During  1898  he  began  to  take  contracts  to  drill  gas 
wells  in  Erie  county  and  for  a  considerable  period  he  remained  in  that 
business,  meanwhile  completing  an  average  of  about  twenty  wells  each 
year.  Desiring  to  change  his  location  in  January  of  1910  he  sold  out  with 
the  intention  of  removing  to  the  west.  A  brief  sojourn  at  Cripple  Creek, 
Colo.,  where  he  operated  a  lease,  was  followed  by  his  removal  to  California 
and  his  permanent  settlement  at  Bakersfield.  The  progress  of  this  city 
is  of  interest  to  him  and  he  maintains  the  deepest  faith  in  the  future  devel- 
opment and  great,  prosperity  of  the  place.  In  politics,  although  not  a 
partisan,  he  has  stanch  convictions  in  favor  of  Republican  principles,  while 
fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Security. 

GEORGE  W.  PARISH.— The  business  of  George  \Y.  Parish  has  taken 
him  to  many  jjarts  of  the  globe  and  he  has  been  fortunate  in  gaining  the  wide 
experience  and  knowledge  which  alone  is  acquired  by  travel.  He  is  the  son 
of  George  Parish,  who  served  in  the  Confederate  army  in  the  Civil  war  from 
1861  to  1865,  and  was  twice  wounded,  carrying  two  bullets  to  his  grave. 
He  was  born  in  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  came  to  California  in  1869,  in  1873 
taking  .up  a  homestead  of  nne  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Kern  county, 
where  he  followed  general  farming  and  stockraising,  as  he  had  done  in  the 
east.  He  built  the  old  Wilson  and  Parish  ditch  before  the  Kern  County  Land 
Company  had  control,  the  water  that  supplied  the  ditch  being  taken  from  the 
Kern  river.  This  ditch  was  four  miles  long,  and  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion on  account  of  its  completeness.   George  Parish  passed  away  in  1892. 

George  W.  Parish  was  born  August  15,  1869,  in  Anaheim.  Orange 
county,  Cal.,  where  his  parents  first  settled  upon  coming  west.  He  attended 
school  in  the  old  Canfield  district,  Kern  county,  also  in  the  Fairview  district, 
and  for  a  time  attended  in  Inyo  count_v.  until  he  reached  the  age  of  fifteen. 
In  1872  he  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Kern  county,  settlement  being 
made  (,n  what  is  now  the  P.ailey  ranch,  and  the  next  year  the  homestead  was 
taken  up,  as  above  stated.  The  family  moved  to  Independence,  Inyo  county, 
in  1886,  and  there  the  father's  death  occurred.  In  1896  Mr.  Parish  returned 
to  Kern  county,  where  he  rented  the  Kiefer  ranch  and  engaged  in  general 
farming  for  six  years,  in  1900  buying  twenty  acres  of  his  present  property, 
later  adding  eighty  acres,  until  he  now  has  one  hundred  acres  at  Panama,  ten 
miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield  devoted  to  raising  alfalfa  hay.  In  addition  to 
his  ranch  interests  he  has  also  taken  an  active  part  in  the  development  of  the 
oil  fields  in  the  vicinity,  being  a  stockholder  in  the  25  Oil  Company  in  Taft, 
and  was  one  <if  the  locators  of  the   land.    He  is  also  interested  in  the  Cali- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  533 

fornia  Midway  Oil  Coiiipaii}-,  the  I'.lackmore  Oil  Company  and  the  Wyoming 
Shamrock  Oil  Company  in  W'yomini^-,  l)eint;-  a  director  in  the  last-mentioned 
company. 

In  truth  Mr.  Parish  may  be  called  a  pioneer  of  Taft,  for  he  built  the 
first  business  structure  and  the  first  residence  in  town  and  also  started  the 
first  store.  He  also  organized  the  school  district  and  served  as  the  clerk  of 
the  first  board  of  trustees,  and  while  filling  that  office  supervised  the  building 
of  the  first  school  house.  In  the  Panama  district  he  has  also  served  as  school 
trustee.  The  first  store  in  Taft,  referred  to  above,  was  established  by  Mr. 
Parish  in  1'  08  with  a  stock  of  general  merchandise,  which  was  destroyed 
l)y  fire  in  1910.  In  addition  to  the  property  mentioned  he  also  owns  other 
property  in  Taft  splendidly  located,  as  well  as  property  in  the  town  of  Rich- 
mond. 

For  ab(jut  four  years  Mr.  Parish  was  engaged  in  hunting  birds  of 
plumage  and  alligators  for  their  hides.  This  took  him  into  the  different 
states  of  South  America,  Central  America  and  Mexico.  He  has  sold  feathers 
as  high  as  $42  an  ounce  in  .New  York  and  London,  to  which  cities  he  made 
business  trips. 

At  Winside,  Wayne  county,  Nebr.,  Mr.  Parish  was  married  to  Miss  Min- 
nie Olmstead,  a  native  of  Tekamah,  Burt  county,  that  state,  the  daughter  of 
A.  E.  and  Nancy  H.  (Conklin)  Olmstead,  natives  of  New  York  and  Illinois 
respectively.  The  Olmsteads  came  from  Nebraska  to  California  in  1895, 
and  in  Kern  the  death  of  Mr.  Olmstead  occurred,  while  Mrs.  Olmstead  makes 
her  home  with  her  daughter,  I\Irs.  Parish.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parish  have  four 
children.  Earl,  Donald,  Elsie  and  Jack. 

A.  Y.  MEUDELL. — The  superintendent  of  machinery  for  the  San 
Joaquin  Light  and  Power  Corporation  possesses  qualifications  that  adapt 
him  admirabl}'  for  his  responsible  post  and  that  ha\'e  enabled  him  to  fill 
with  marked  efficiency  other  positions  of  equal  importance.  Upon  the 
mstallation  of  the  machinery  and  electrical  appliances  of  the  great  corpora- 
tion at  Bakersfield  his  services  were  retained  as  superintendent  of  machin- 
eiy,  his  selection  for  the  responsible  task  being  induced  through  his  wide 
reputation  as  an  expert  in  the  line  of  his  specialty.  VN'hen  it  is  considered 
that  the  company  operates  the  street  car  system  in  Bakersfield  and  has  laid 
double  tracks  to  East  Bakersfield,  besides  having  built  more  than  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  miles  of  feeder  lines  in  Kern  county  (the  principal  line 
being  from  Weed  Patch  to  a  point  fifteen  miles  south  of  Edison)  ;  when 
it  is  further  appreciated  that  hydro-electric  power  is  furnished  for  illuminat- 
ing cities,  propelling  factory  plants  and  raising  water  for  irrigating  purposes. 

Through  his  father,  (leorge  Meudell,  who  came  to  America  from  Edin- 
burgh, Mr.  Meudell  is  descended  from  Scotch  ancestors,  while  his  mother, 
Mary  (Yeoman)  Meudell,  was  a  member  of  an  old  New  York  family  identi- 
fied with  the  colonial  history  of  our  country.  Although  he  is  a  native  of 
Chicago,  111.,  born  in  1872,  from  the  age  of  three  years  he  was  reared  in 
Belleville,  Ontario,  and  at  a  very  early  age  he  learned  the  trade  of  machinist. 
Coming  to  California  in  1893  he  engaged  in  ranching  at  Gardena  for  two 
years,  after  which  he  worked  as  a  machinist  and  boiler-setter  for  J.  B. 
Meyer  &  Co.,  of  Los  Angeles.  During  1900  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Los  .Angeles  Railway  Company  as  engineer  and'  machinist  at  the  power 
house  and  thus  was  identified  with  the  inauguration  of  the  Huntington 
electric  system  in  that  city.  After  six  years  in  one  position  he  was  promoted 
to  be  chief  engineer  in  charge  of  the  Central  avenue  power  plant,  but  soon 
resigned  on  account  of  ill  health. 

While  engaged  with  Charles  C.  Moore,  erecting  engineer.  Mr.  ^^endell 
assisted  in  the  construction  of  the  Redondo  electric  plant  and  remained  to 
take  charge  of  the  first  test,  which  covered  a  period  of  eight  months.     During 


534  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

1908  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pacific  Light  &  Power  Company  in  Los 
Angeles  and  was  sent  to  the  Redlands  plant  as  engineer,  but  after  a  few 
months  he  resigned  to  take  charge  of  the  power  plants  of  the  Monterey  Gas 
and  Electric  Light  Company  at  Monterey  and  Salinas.  Returning  from 
Monterey  to  Los  Angeles  he  engaged  for  a  brief  period  as  erecting  engineer 
with  the  Pacific  Light  and.  Power  Company,  leaving  that  important  place 
in  order  to  accept  his  present  position  in  Bakersfield  when  the  corporation 
installed  its  plant  in  this  city.  Mr.  Meudell  is  very  optimistic  over  the  great 
possibilities  of  the  soil  production  in  Kern  county  and  owns  two  small 
farms  in  the  county.  One,  of  twenty  acres,  at  Lerdo,  is  given  to  the  raising 
of  hemp,  while  the  other,  of  ten  acres,  on  the  Rosedale  road,  is  devoted 
to  alfalfa.  While  making  his  headquarters  in  Los  Angeles  he  married  in 
that  city  Miss  Bessie  Hannam,  who  was  born  in  Witby,  Ontario,  and  by 
whom  he  has  two  daughters,  Mary  and  Myrtle.  In  fraternal  relations  he 
holds  membership  with  South  Gate  Lodge  No.  320,  F.  &  A.  M.,  in  which 
he  was  made  a  Mason.  His  life  has  been  an  existence  of  busy  activities  and 
it  has  not  been  possible  for  him,  in  any  city  of  his  residence,  to  participate 
prominently  in  civic  upbuilding  or  political  affairs,  yet  he  has  kept  posted 
on  national  problems  and  in  sentiment  is  a  stanch  upholder  of  Republican 
principles. 

PETER  O'HARE.— The  childhood  recollections  of  Mr.  O'Hare  clus- 
tered around  the  little  village  of  Banbridge,  Ireland,  where  his  father,  Michael 
O'Hare,  was  engaged  in  business  and  where  he  passed  the  carefree  days  of 
early  life.  The  family  belonged  to  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  honored  in 
the  north  of  Ireland  and  he  claimed  county  Down  as  his  native  place,  his 
birth  having  occurred  there  December  7,  1843.  After  a  course  at  college  and 
while  still  a  young  man  he  came  to  the  United  States.  After  a  comparatively 
brief  sojourn  in  Massachusetts  he  proceeded  west  to  California  and  set- 
tled in  Mariposa  county,  where  he  found  employment  in  the  mines.  While 
employed  at  Visalia  in  1869  he  accidentally  saw  a  map  of  Kern  Island 
and  being  interested  from  the  first,  determined  to  come  here. 

The  original  purchase  made  by  Mr.  O'Hare  comprised  two  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  of  unimproved  land.  This  he  brought  under  cultivation  and 
greatly  enhanced  in  value  through  systematic  irrigation.  Later  he  acquired 
the  title  to  a  second  farm  and  this  also  he  put  under  irrigation,  making  other 
improvements  of  permanent  value  to  the  property.  Both  farms  were  in  his 
possession  at  the  time  of  his  death,  August  26,  1894,  and  since  then  they 
have  been  rented  by  his  widow,  the  tenants  devoting  them  to  general  farm- 
ing and  dairying.  In  addition  to  these  two  properties  he  was  interested  in  the 
Buena  Vista  canal,  of  which  he  had  been  an  original  promoter  and  builder, 
l-'rom  the  l)eginning  of  his  citizenship  in  the  United  States  he  voted  with 
the  Democratic  isarty,  but  he  was  not  a  partisan  in  spirit  and  the  only  office 
that  he  ever  consented  to  fill,  which  was  county  supervisor,  he  won  by  a 
nomination  without  his  solicitation.  After  he  had  been  a  member  of  the 
board  from  1882  to  1886  and  had  gixen  his  influence  to  all  movements  for 
the  permanent  growth  of  the  county,  he  refused  to  continue  in  the  office, 
preferring  tn  dexdte  his  entire  time  to  private  business  and  agricultural 
enterprises. 

The  marriage  of  Peter  O'Hare  and  Miss  Marv  E.  Clancy  was  solemn- 
ized in  San  Francisco  in  June  of  1801.  Mrs.  O'Hare  was  born  in  county 
Leitrim,  Ireland,  and  during  girlhood  came  to  the  L^nited  States,  ioining  a 
brother,  T,  J-  Clancy,  who  was  a  merchant  of  San  Francisco,  Of  her  mar- 
riage two  sons  were  born.  Tames  AT.  and  Peter  C.  The  former,  a  graduate 
of  the  Bakersfield  hii?-h  school  in  1012.  is  n  w  attendinc  Sa-ita  Clara  T^ii- 
versitv,   and   the   latter   is   a   member   of  the   T-Cern   countv   high    school    class 


Okz.€'^, 


OA,.^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUiNTY  537 

of  1914.     Since  the  death  of  her  husband,  which  occurred  in  San  Francisco, 
Mrs.  U'Hare  has  made  her  home  in  liakersfield. 

JOHN  S.  OSWALD.— Although  his  earhest  memories  are  associated 
with  the  United  States  and  practically  all  of  his  life  has  been  passed  in  this 
country,  Mr.  Oswald  is  of  German  nativity  and  was  born  at  Rodersheim, 
Rheinpfalz,  December  19,  1866,  being  a  son  of  V'oUmanus  and  Eva  Barbara 
(poger)  Oswald,  likewise  natives  of  that  part  of  Germany.  During  1867 
the  father,  who  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  brought  his  family  to  America 
and  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  found  employnitent  in  the  building  busi- 
ness at  Allentown.  For  less  than  ten  years  he  remained  a  resident  of  the 
east.  The  development  of  the  central  west  was  attracting  resolute  farmers 
to  that  section  of  the  country  and  he  formed  one  of  the  number  who  under- 
took to  earn  a  livelihood  from  the  soil  of  Minnesota.  During  1876  he  took 
his  family  to  McLeod  county  and  secured  land  near  Glencoe,  where  he 
engaged  m  general  farming  for  eleven  years.  Lack  of  satisfactory  returns 
from  his  farm  led  him  to  seek  other  locations  and  finally  he  decided  upon 
Oregon,  his  son,  John  S.,  having  preceded  him  to  the  Pacific  coast  where 
he  himself  established  a  home  near  Eugene,  in  1887.  A  study  of  soil  condi- 
tions proved  gratifying  to  him  and  he  invested  in  unimproved  farm  property, 
which  at  the  time  was  selling  at  low  figures.  He  still  lives  on  his  ranch, 
but  of  recent  years  has  largely  retired  from  the  strenuous  activities  of 
younger  days.  Born  in  1837  and  his  wife  six  years  later,  both  are  still 
rugged  and  robust  and  maintain  an  intelligent  interest  in  the  progress  of 
the  world.  Adjacent  to  their  ranch  lies  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  owned 
by  their  son,  John  S..  who  bought  the  tract  for  $1200  and  since  has  had  the 
satisfaction  of  witnessing  such  a  rapid  advance  in  valuations  that  farms 
further  from  Eugene  than  his  own  have  sold  for  $400  per  acre. 

The  eldest  of  seven  children,  John  S.  Oswald  was  l)rought  to  the  United 
States  in  infancy  and  as  soon  as  old  enough  to  attend  school  was  a  ])upil 
in  the  primary  grade  at  Allentown,  Pa.  During  1876  he  accompanied  his 
parents  to  Glencoe.  Minn.,  where  he  attended  a  private  academy.  Upon  leav- 
ing school  he  learned  the  trade  of  carpenter  under  his  father  in  McLeod 
county.  \t  the  age  of  about  twenty  he  left  home  to  make  his  own  way  in 
the  world.  The  great  northwest  was  the  objective  point.  For  a  time  he 
engaged  in  carpentering  at  Spokane,  Wash.,  and  later  he  had  em])liiyment 
at  South  Bend,  that  state,  whence  in  1887  he  went  to  Oregon  and  there 
joined  his  parents  at  Eugene,  settling  upon  a  farm  in  the  vicinity.  In  the 
spring  of  1888  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  entered  the  employ  of  F.  W. 
Hickox  as  a  carpenter.  For  three  years  he  continued  in  the  same  position. 
Since  then  he  has  been  associated  with  the  hardware  department  of  the 
A.  A\''eill  establishment.  .At  first  as  a  clerk  he  proved  the  value  of  his 
services  and  justified  his  promotion  to  the  head  nf  the  department  at  the 
expiration  of  three  years. 

The  marriage  of  John  S.  Oswald  was  solemnized  in  Bakersfield  October 
6.  1897.  and  united  him  with  Miss  Maude  Hathway.  who  was  born  in 
Owensboro.  Daviess  county,  Ky.-  and  was  fourth  in  order  of  birth  among  six 
children.  Her  parents.  Howard  and  Phoebe  fKinchloe)  Hathway,  have  re- 
sided in  Bakersfield  for  many  years.  Of  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Oswald  there 
is  a  son.  Raymond  John  Oswald.  Ever  since  making  a  study  of  political 
questions  ]\Tr.  Oswald  has  favored  the  Republican  party.  Since  coming  to 
Bakersfield  he  has  identified  himself  with  Aerie  No.  96.  of  the  Eagles,  and 
Bakersfield  Lodee  No.  266  of  the  Elks,  also  the  .Ancient  Order  of  United 
"\^^orkme^  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

EZRA  NEWTON  BLACKER.— As  the  owner  of  considerable  real 
estate  in  Bakersfield.  whose  material  upbuilding  he  has  witnes^^ed   with   civic 


538  HISTOKY    Oi'    KERiN    COUNTY 

pride,  £.  iSiewton  Blacker  has  an  intimate  identification  with  local  affairs. 
JL'wenty  years  or  more  have  passed  since  nrst  he  landed  in  iJakersheld  and 
began  to  work  tor  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  on  Tosu  ranch  as  a 
fence-rider,  in  this  long  period  he  has  witnessed  the  development  ot  farms, 
the  growth  of  towns  and  the  transformation  of  the  entire  county  into  an 
aspect  of  material  prosperity,  in  removing  to  this  state  he  came  direct  from 
his  native  commonwealth  of  Indiana,  where  he  was  born  in  Clinton  county 
i'ebruary  M,  1868,  and  where  he  passed  the  years  of  boyhood  upon  a  farm 
operated  by  his  father,  j.  N.  Jjlacker.  Uf  six  children  forming  the  tamily  of 
his  father's  first  marriage  he  was  the  eldest,  the  youngest  being  i<.ubert  E., 
superintendent  ol  the  stable  department  ot  the  ivern  Lounty  Land  Company 
at  iiakersheld. 

Uy  trade  a  carpenter,  skilled  with  tools  and  an  expert  in  various  forms 
of  cabinet  work,  E.  iNewton  Jilacker  followed  the  occupation  for  some 
years  in  iiakersfield  after  he  had  resigned  his  position  on  the  ranch.  Upon 
the  starting  of  Famosa  he  went  to  the  new  town,  bought  business  property, 
erected  a  large  store  building  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  also  con- 
ducted an  hotel,  but  his  venture  had  a  disastrous  termination  through  the 
abandoning  of  the  village.  Thereupon  he  returned  to  Bakersfield  in  lyOO 
and  purchased  a  lot  on  the  corner  of  I  and  Twenty-third  streets.  To  this 
lot  he  moved  his  building  from  Famosa  and  remodeled  it  into  an  apartment 
house  of  sixteen  rooms,  which  he  now  manages.  In  addition  he  has  built 
eight  residences  in  the  same  block  and  the  adjoining  block  on  I  street.  All 
of  the  houses  were  planned  and  built  by  himself  and  represent  his  own 
skilled  knowledge  of  his  trade. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Blacker  took  place  at  Crawfordsville,  Ind.,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1891,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Ida  Cave,  who  was  born  and 
reared  near  that  city.  The  young  couple  came  to  California  in  1892  and 
settled  in  Kern  county,  where  occurred  the  birth  of  their  two  sons,  Haven 
and  Carroll.  Mrs.  Blacker  was  the  youngest  among  eight  children  com- 
prising the  family  of  James  E.  and  Carlotte  (Kious)  Cave,  natives  respec- 
tively of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  The  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Martin  Kious, 
an  Indiana  farmer,  and  two  of  her  brothers  were  soldiers  in  the  Civil  war, 
one  meeting  his  death  while  fighting  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 
James  E.  Cave,  who  engaged  in  farming  pursuits  until  his  death  in  1910, 
was  a  member  of  Company  M,  Eleventh  Indiana  Cavalry,  at  the  time  of  the 
Civil  war,  in  which  two  of  his  brothers  also  participated,  as  well  as  their 
lather,  Rev.  Alfred  N.  Cave,  the  latter  a  commissioned  officer  and  an  influ- 
ential man  in  his  regiment.  The  skill  of  the  Union  officer  was  not  confined 
to  military  tactics,  for  as  a  pioneer  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
denomination  he  proved  himself  to  be  an  able  speaker,  logical  thinker  and 
profound  exponent  of  the  Scriptures.  Although  a  native  of  Ohio,  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  was  passed  in  Montgomery  county,  Ind.,  and  he  was  known 
and  honored  by  the  Methodists  throughout  all  that  section  of  the  country. 
Throughout  all  of  their  mature  years  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blacker  have  l)een  earnest 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  gifts  to  the  church  they 
have  been  generous,  while  they  also  have  assisted  educational  and  philan- 
thropic enterprises  to  the  extent  of  their  ability.  In  national  princinles  Mr. 
Blacker  favors  the  Republican  party,  while  fraternally  he  holds  membership 
with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

SAMUEL  GRAHAM  SMARTT.— A  native  of  McMinnville,  Warren 
county,  Tenn.,  Mr.  Smartt  was  born  October  21,  1862,  the  son  of  Samuel  C. 
and  Martha  (Graham)  Smartt,  both  of  whom  passed  away  in  Tennessee.  The 
father  followed  agriculture  as  a  life  pursuit,  and  during;  the  Civil  war  served 
in  the  Confederate  army  for  a  long  period,  after  which  he  returned  to  Ten- 


(^:^Zy-^^  (^^o^^^       (/^^Ma. 


HISTORY    OF    KERiX    COUNTY  541 

iiessee  and  remained  I'ur  ihe  rest  of  his  hie.  Nnie  children  were  born  to 
•him  and  Ins  wife  Aiarlha,  of  wlioni  hve  are  now  living,  and  Samuel  G.  is  the 
only  one  of  the  family  to  reside  in  the  state  of  Calilornia. 

Brought  up  in  his  native  town,  Samuel  G.  Sniartt,  Jr.,  received  the 
s-chooling  attorded  by  the  local  public  schools  and  then  learned  the  carpenter 
trade  which  he  continued  to  follow  until  the  year  1887.  At  this  time  he 
decided  to  come  west  and  his  first  location  was  at  Fresno  where  he  was 
employed  at  raisin-packing  for  a  year.  The  building  business  then  attracted 
liim  and  he  became  engaged  in  that  line  of  work,  in  October,  1889,  coming 
to  Bakerstield  to  aid  in  the  building  up  of  that  place  after  the  big  fire. 
There  was  sore  need  for  these  workers  at  that  time,  as  the  lire  had  causert 
the  destruction  of  many  buildings  and  left  the  city  in  a  bad  state.  This 
has  been  the  field  of  operation  for  Mr.  Smartt  ever  since,  with  the  exception 
of  a  period  between  1906  and  1910  when  he  spent  his  time  in  San  Francisco, 
iniilding  among  other  houses  the  .Madison  school  and  the  St.  Luke's  church, 
which  are  fine  examples  of  his  capable,  energetic  powers.  In  1910,  however, 
lie  returned  to  Bakersfiekl.  where  he  has  built  many  residence  and  business 
liouses,  and,  in  fact,  many  of  the  schoolhouses  throughout  Kern  county  have 
been  built  under  his  direction  and  contract.  The  Smartt  apartments,  situ- 
ated at  No.  1715  Eighteenth  street,  Bakersfield,  and  owned  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Smartt.  were  built  by  him.  In  Fresno  Mr.  Smartt  married  Mrs.  Lulu  Lisk, 
a  native  of  Texas. 

PETER  GILLI. — The  excellent  opportunities  afforded  by  Kern  county 
to  young  men  of  energy  of  temperament  and  force  of  character,  find  illustra- 
tion in  the  successful  activities  of  Peter  Gilli,  a  prosperous  farmer  and  the 
owner  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  acres  of  highly  improved  land  on  the 
Kern  Island  road.  Less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  elapsed  since  he 
came  from  Switzerland  to  .America  and  identified  himself  with  the  growing 
interests  of  California,  where  since  he  has  lived  and  labored  in  Kern  county. 
During  the  early  years  of  his  residence  here  he  worked  for  wages  and  sent 
back  to  Switzerland  a  large  portion  of  his  earnings,  in  order  to  assist  his 
father  in  paying  off  an  indebtedness  on  the  home  farm.  However,  as  early 
as  1894,  four  years  after  landing  in  the  west,  he  proved  his  faith  in  this 
locality  by  investing  in  land,  the  original  purchase  comprising  sixty  acres. 
It  was  no  slight  task  to  assume  a  debt  almost  burdening  in  amount  and 
for  several  years  he  was  scarcely  able  to  meet  his  payments,  but  his  faith 
never  wavered  nor  did  his  courage  falter.  After  selling  the  place  he  pur- 
chased a  tract  from  R.  E.  Houghton  which  was  then  known  as  the  Lincoln 
farm.  Although  at  the  time  of  buying  he  could  raise  only  one-fourth  of  the 
cash,  tie  finally  succeeded  in  paying  for  it.  In  addition  he  put  about  $5,000 
worth  of  improvements  on  the  place,  including  the  elegant  residence  erected 
in  1910  and  containing  all  modern  conveniences,  not  the  least  of  these  being 
the  installation  of  electric  lights  and  of  an  adequate  water  service.  Dairying 
has  been  (,ne  of  his  specialties  and  at  this  writing  he  has  twelve  fine  milch 
cows  on  the  farm,  besides  which  lie  engages  in  raising  mules  and  hogs  as  well 
as  in  the  cultivation  of  the  ground  in  sucli  crops  as  are  best  adapted  to  the 
soil  and  climate. 

Although  the  only  member  of  the  family  now  living  in  California  Mr. 
Gilli  was  not  the  first  of  the  name  who  crossed  the  ocean  from  the  far-distant 
Alpine  home.  When  a  young  man  his  father,  John  Gilli,  was  attracted  to  the 
Pacific  coast  by  reason  of  the  discovery  of  gold  and  prospected  in  all  the 
region  lying  between  Bakersfield  and  San  I'Vancisco,  liut  meeting  with  no 
special  luck  in  the  mines  and  feeling  deeply  the  isolation  from  kindret!  he 
returned  after  a  time  to  his  native  land,  where  he  settled  on  a  farm.  About 
1905  he  lost  his  wife,  Rosa  (Grischott)  Gilli,  since  which  time  he  has  made 
his   home   with   his   youngest   daughter.     For  years   he    lived    a   life   of  self- 


542  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

sacrificing  labor  and  toiled  early  and  late  to  support  his  family  from  the 
products  raised  on  his  farm.  In  the  earning  of  a  livelihood  he  was- greatly 
aided  by  an  appointment  as  a  Swiss  road  master  and  when  he  recently 
retired  from  that  position,  after  years  of  faithful  service,  he  was  given  a  sub- 
stantial pension  by  the  government.  All  cif  his  seven  children  excepting  the 
fourth,  Peter,  continue  to  li\'e  in  Switzerland.  They  are  named  as  follows: 
Eva,  Mrs.  Florian  Cojori ;  Rosa,  Mrs.  Alexander  Joos ;  Maria,  the  widow  of 
Albert  Ritzzi ;  Christine,  Mrs.  Peter  Grischott;  John,  who  is  employed  as  a 
custom  house  official  by  the  Swiss  government;  and  Elizabeth,  who  married 
John  Tobler  and  lives  on  a  farm  in  her  native  canton. 

Descended  from  an  old  Swiss  family  that  also  boasted  of  a  pedigree  going 
back  to  ancient  Roman  blood,  Peter  Gilli  was  born  in  Graubunden,  Grisons, 
Switzerland,  November  24,  1867,  and  during  boyhood  gained  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  i.f  both  the  German  and  old  Italian  tongues.  The  schools  of  the 
home  neighborhood  were  excellent  and  after  he  had  completed  the  grammar 
course  he  spent  two  years  in  a  high  school,  but  did  not  graduate  on  account 
of  the  necessity  of  earning  his  livelihood.  Early  in  life  he  embraced  the  doc- 
trines of  the  German  Lutheran  Church  and  since  then  he  has  been  faithful  in 
devotion  to  that  denomination.  After  having  worked  for  one  year  in  a  store 
at  Zurich,  Switzerland,  and  two  years  in  Hotel  Enderlin  at  Pontresina  in  the 
picturesque  Alpine  region,  he  came  to  California,  arriving  at  Bakersfield  April 
9,  1890.  For  five  years  he  worked  steadily  in  the  employ  of  Welling  Canfield, 
a  pioneer  dairyman  of  Kern  county.  From  1895  to  1897  he  worked  for  Chris 
Mattly,  a  prominent  dairyman  of  this  county,  who  had  come  from  the  same 
village  as  himself.  Later  he  rented  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  lying  near 
Lakeside  and  belonging  to  Mrs.  R.  Chubb.  On  that  place  he  prospered  as  a 
dairyman  and  general  farmer  and  finally  he  accumulated  an  amount  suf- 
ficient to  justify  the  improvement  of  the  raw  land  which  he  had  purchased 
during  1894.  Since  then  he  has  given  his  attenticjn  to  his  own  land,  which 
forms  one  of  the  valuable  farms  of  the  vicinity.  In  politics  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican and  belongs  to  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

The  first  trip  across  the  ocean  was  made  by  Mr.  Gilli  during  1890,  when 
on  the  20th  of  March  he  boarded  a  trans-Atlantic  steamer  at  Havre,  France, 
and  journeyed  over  the  usual  ocean  route  to  New  York.  The  next  trip  was  made 
in  1900,  during  which  year  he  left  California  for  New  York  and  from  there 
sailed  for  Europe.  En  route  to  Switzerland  he  visited  the  World's  Fair  at 
Paris  and  found  both  pleasure  and  instruction  in  that  great  international  ex- 
l)Osition.  After  a  happy  renewal  of  friendships  with  the  people  of  his  native 
canton  he  came  back  to  work  in  California  and  eagerly  took  up  the  battle  nec- 
essary to  the  securing  of  financial  independence.  Again  in  1908  he  "returned 
to  his  old  home  in  the  Alps.  In  the  meantime  his  mother  had  passed  away, 
but  there  yet  remained  his  father,  then  about  seventy-three  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Gilli  was  married  at  Bakersfield  July  2,  1913,  to  Miss  Avis  Haworth, 
daughter  of  C.  N.  and  Mary  A.  (Mattley)  Haworth,  of  El  Reno,  Okla.  She  was 
born  in  Iowa,  and  went  to  Oklahoma  with  her  parents  when  she  was  four 
years  old. 

WILLIAM  BRADLEY  PECK.— In  his  native  city  of  Detroit,  Mich., 
where  he  was  born  May  23,  1840,  he  became  familiar  with  the  environment 
of  the  frontier  and  tales  of  the  dangers  of  the  west  did  not  daunt  his  resolu- 
tion to  come  hither.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  crossed  the  plains  with  a 
large  expedition  of  emigrants.  The  journey,  although  not  without  its 
dangers,  came  to  an  uneventful  end  and  the  men  dispersed  to  the  various 
mines,  Mr.  Peck  seeking  the  placer  mines  of  Hangtown.  The  camp  with 
its  throngs  of  gold-seekers  from  every  part  of  the  world  presented  a  weird 
s)iectacle  to  a  stranger,  but  he  soon  became  familiar  with  the  work  of  the 
Tiiines  and  the  customs  of  the   miners.     The  life,  although  one   of  hardship 


(^Ol  lirH^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY  545 

and  deprivation,  was  not  without  its  zest  of  adventure  and  thrilling  exploits, 
but  in  time  he  wearied  of  the  unsatisfactory  returns  and  the  lack  of 
permanency,  so  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  buying  of  horses  and  the 
running  of  a  dairy  near  Placerville,  Eldorado  county. 

Like  many  of  the  original  pioneers  Mr.  Peck  has  folkiwed  various  occu- 
pations, having  been  at  different  times  a  miner,  dairyman,  rancher  and 
liveryman,  and  while  none  of  these  callings  brought  him  a  fortune  he  has 
become  the  possessor  of  a  well-earned  competency.  During  1864  at  San 
Jose  he  married  Aliss  Hattie  Stiner  and  his  second  marriage,  which  occurred 
in  Reedley,  united  him  with  Mrs.  Amanda  (Weeks)  Burney,  born  in  P\ind  du 
Lac,  Wis.  (^f  his  first  marriage  there  are  two  daughters,  namely :  Euphemia, 
wife  of  Joseph  Stephens,  a  farmer  at  Turlock ;  and  Lillian,  wife  of  Alfred 
Giles,  who  is  employed  in  a  dairy  business  at  Fresno.  Of  Mrs.  Peck's  first 
marriage  there  were  three  children,  Elgin  of  Bakersfield ;  May,  Mrs.  Carter, 
of  Bakersfield  ;  and  Frank,  of  New  Westminster,  B.  C.  For  some  time  Mr. 
Peck  has  made  his  home  on  a  ranch  of  twenty  acres  two  and  one-half  miles 
south  of  Bakersfield.  This  property,  which  he  purchased  in  1910,  has  been 
improved  under  his  careful  oversight. 

CHARLES  NEWTON  JOHNSTON.— The  Johnston  family  long  has 
been  identified  with  New  England,  where  C.  N.  and  his  father,  John 
Eldride,  were  born  at  Bristol.  Me.  He  was  the  eighth  generation  and  lineal 
descendant  of  Governor  Bradford  of  Massachusetts,  the  originator  of  Thanks- 
giving day.  The  life  of  the  father  was  all  too  brief,  but  was  marked  by 
patriotism  and  courage.  When  yet  a  mere  lad  he  had  gone  to  sea  and  by 
slow  degrees  he  rose  to  be  first  mate  of  a  vessel.  When  the  Civil  war  began 
he  offered  his  services  as  a  member  (if  a  Maine  regiment  of  infantry,  but 
soon  after  he  had  been  accepted  he  was  transferred  to  the  United  States 
navy  as  an  officer  on  the  transport,  Potomac,  from  which  he  rose  to  the 
rank  of  captain.  Upmi  the  expiration  of  his  time  of  service  he  received  an 
honorable  discharge  from  the  navy,  whereupon  he  resumed  his  former  posi- 
tion as  first  mate  on  an  ocean  steamer.  While  yet  a  young  man  he  passed 
from  earth,  leaving  an  only  son,  Charles  Newton,  whose  birth  had  occurred 
November  14.  1865.  The  widow,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Elizabeth 
Francis  and  was  a  native  of  Maine,  was  married  again  some  time  after  losing 
her  first  husband.  Her  second  union  was  with  Joseph  Spinney,  of  Maine, 
a  man  of  ability  and  worth,  who  after  bringing  the  family  to  California  in 
1877  settled  at  Fresno.  In  that  city  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  brick 
and  also  in  the  building  business  as  a  contractor.  Some  of  the  first  permanent 
buildings  in  Fresno  were  erected  under  his  personal  oversight.  Rising  to 
prominence  in  the  city  of  his  adoption  he  was  honored  with  election  to  the 
mayoralty  and  filled  the  office  for  two  terms.  F"or  some  years  he  owned 
the  I.  O.  0.  F.  building  in  Fresno,  which  he  had  erected  during  the  period 
of  his  activities  as  a  cnntractor.  After  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Fresno. 
his  widow  removed  to  Point  Richmond,  C'lmtra  Costa  county,  and  con- 
tinues to  live  there  at  the  present  time. 

\^'hen  about  tweh-e  years  of  age  Charles  Newton  Johnston  accomi^anied 
his  mother  and  stepfather  in  their  removal  from  Maine  to  California,  where 
he  completed  his  education  in  the  Fresno  schools.  During  1879  he  left 
school  to  take  up  l)lacksmithing  as  an  apprentice  to  J.  \Y.  Williams,  whose 
shop  occupied  the  present  site  of  the  Grand  Central  hotel  in  Fresno.  Until 
the  completion  of  his  time  he  continued  in  the  same  shop,  but  upon  starting 
out  for  himself  in  1882  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  began  to  work  in 
a  shop  on  the  corner  of  L  and  Nineteenth  streets.  For  a  time  he  was  em- 
ployed by  J.  E.  Smith  and  later  he  was  under  H.  H.  Fish,  being  with  the 
two  men  about  twenty  years  altogether.  Buying  the  shop  in  1907,  he  con- 
ducted the  business  there,  which  was  the  oldest  of  the  kind  in  the  citv.     It 


546  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

was  in  Marcli.  1913,  that  he  moved  intei  his  new  building.  The  site  covers 
an  area  of  132  x  115  feet  on  Eighteenth  and  O  streets  and  the  building,  which 
is  two  stories,  is  70  x  90  feet.  This  has  been  fully  ecjuipped  with  the  most 
modern  and  complete  machinery  for  general  blacksmithing ;  woodwork,  forg- 
ings  and  repairing  for  automobiles  is  an  important  feature,  and  the  heaviest 
kind  of  work  is  handled  in  the  shops.  The  largest  automobile  stage  in  the 
valley  was  built  here  and-  is  used  for  service  on  the  Oil  Center  stage  line. 
In  the  conduct  of  his  business  ^Ir.  Johnston  is  ably  assisted  by  his  wife, 
who  has  charge  of  his  office. 

The  comfortable  home  which  Mr.  Johnston  built  at  the  corner  of  C  and 
Twenty-second  streets  is  presided  over  with  dignity  and  grace  b\'  his  capable 
wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Emma  Blanche  Redstone,  and  who  is  a 
native  of  Dutch  Flat,  Placer  county,  this  state.  During  the  era  of  mining 
activity  her  father.  Col.  A.  E.  Redstone,  with  Judge  Rhoades  and  others, 
crossed  the  plains  in  the  '50s  with  ox-teams  from  Indianapolis  to  California, 
and  engaged  in  mining.  Having  no  luck  as  a  seeker  of  gold,  he  turned  his 
attention  to  journalistic  affairs  and  became  prominent  in  newspaper  work. 
For  a  time  he  also  was  employed  in  the  secret  service.  At  this  writing  he 
and  his  wife  make  their  home  at  Woody,  Cal.  His  wife,  who  was  before 
her  marriage  Mary  Josephine  Koontz,  was  a  native  of  Indianapolis,  daughter 
of  George  Koontz.  She  was  a  niece  of  Rev.  Abraham  Koontz,  the  founder  of 
the  first  Methodist  Episcopal  Churcli  in  Indianapolis.  George  Koontz  was 
an  extensive  farmer  and  left  to  his  daughter  the  farm  that  is  now  the 
City  Park  of  Indianapolis.  Colonel  Redstone  returned  to  Indianapolis  and 
served  as  Colonel  of  an  Indiana  regiment  in  the  Civil  war.  He  was  a  prom- 
inent attorney,  and  was  very  talented.  In  California  he  published  many 
works  bearing  on  the  labor  problem  as  well  as  other  philanthropic  reforms. 
When  a  young  lad)-  Mrs.  Johnston,  then  Miss  Emma  Pdanche  Redstone,  was 
graduated  from  the  Oakland  high  school,  after  which  she  was  married  to 
F.  R.  Kalloch,  who  died  leaving  her  with  two  children,  namely:  Rita,  now 
the  wife  of  Herman  S.  Dumble,  of  Bakersfield ;  and  F.  R.  Kalloch,  contractor 
and  builder  of  the  same  city.  In  llakersfield  March  17.  1902,  she  became  the 
wife  of  Mr.  Johnston. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  first  volunteer  fire  dejjartment  in  Bakers- 
field  many  years  ago,  Mr.  Johnston  became  a  member  and  at  different  times 
he  served  as  foreman  of  the  Eureka  Engine  Company,  also  for  one  term 
he  served  as  chief  of  the  fire  department.  Before  the  incorporation  of 
the  city  he  was  chosen  a  fire  commissioner  and  served  as  such  for  two  terms,  . 
being  honored  with  the  chairmanship  of  the  board  for  one  term.  Recogniz- 
ing the  imperative  need  of  fire  protection,  he  cheerfully  gave  his  services  as 
long  as  funds  were  lacking  for  the  payment  of  a  regular  corps  of  workers. 
From  the  time  of  attaining  his  majority  he  has  voted  the  Republican  ticket 
at  all  national  elections,  but  he  is  independent  in  local  affairs.  After  coming 
to  Bakersfield  he  was  made  a  ]\lason  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  .A.  M., 
and  was  raised  to  the  Royal  Arch  degree  in  Kern  A^alley  Chanter  No.  75. 
R.  .\.  .M,  Later  he  ji  ined  the  local  lodge  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  and 
with  his  wife  is  a  member  of  Sunset  Temple  No.  16,  Pythian  Sisters.  Air. 
Johnston  is  an  influential  local  worker  in  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  is  a  member  of  the  encampment. 

THADDEUS  M.  McNAMARA,  M.D.— The  jNIcNamara  family  is  of 
Anglo-Saxon  origin  and  was  founded  in  America  by  William  M.  McNamara, 
for  years  a  farmer  in  Illinois.  The  next  generation  was  represented  by 
T.  M.,  born  on  the  home  farm  near  Elgin,  111.,  but  from  young  manhood  a 
resident  of  California.  The  eldest  of  his  three  children,  Thaddeus  M.,  was 
born  at  Visalia.  Cal.,  August  1,  1880,  received  his  early  education  at  St. 
Ignatius    College    in    San    Francisco    and    then    matriculated    in    St.    Mary"s 


^^/•^^^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  549 

College  in  Kansas,  from  which  institution  he  received  the  degree  of  A.  B. 
upon  his  graduation  in  1901.  On  returning  to  California  he  entered  the 
Cooper  Medical  College  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  took  the  regular  course 
uf  lectures,  graduating  in  1905  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.  and  with  an 
excellent  reci  rd  for  scholarshij).  Indeed,  it  was  largely  due  to  his  capabilit}- 
in  clinical  work  that  he  received  an  appointment  as  interne  in  the  city  and 
county  hospital,  where  he  remained  for  sixteen  months.  Valuable  experience 
also  was  gained  through  a  service  of  eight  months  as  resident  physician  in 
the  emergency  and  general  hospital  at  Los  Angeles.  Important  professional 
knowledge  was  further  acquired  while  acting  as  interne  in  the  Fane  hcis- 
pital  of  San  Francisco,  .\fter  he  had  filled  that  position  for  ten  months 
he  was  promoted  to  be  resident  physician  in  the  same  institution,  where 
he  continued  during  the  following  year  and  then  resigned  in  1909  in  order 
to  engage  in  practice  in  Bakersfield.  In  this  city  for  a  time  he  had  the 
advantage  of  an  association  with  Dr.  A.  F.  Schafer,  but  since  the  latter  has 
concentrated  his  attention  upon  an  important  professional  specialty.  Dr. 
AIcNamara  has  succeeded  to  their  private  practice.  Besides  the  private 
practice  and  hospital  activities  he  has  been  prominent  in  the  work  of  the 
Kern  County  Medical  Society,  and  is  now  filling  the  ofifice  of  vice-president: 
he  is  also  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Society  and  American  Medical 
Association.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  has  associated  himself  with 
the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  the  Fraternal  Brotherhood.  While  making 
his  home  in  San  Francisco  he  met  and  married  Miss  Lillian  Price,  who  was 
born  in  Stockton  and  is  a  graduate  uf  the  Lane  hospital  training  school  for 
nurses.  Two  sons  bless  their  union,  Thaddeus  M.  and  Joseph,  the  elder 
representin.g  the  third  generation  to  bear  the  same  name. 

JOHN  HENRY  McMILLEN.— Not  alone  as  a  son  of  that  honored  pio- 
neer, jnel  McMillen.  but  because  of  his  own  worthy  achievements  is  Juhn 
Henry  McMillen,  of  Wasco,  entitled  to  prominence  in  this  work.  Joel  Mc- 
Millen. a  native  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  Me.,  born  February  22,  1833,  was  educated 
in  public  schools  near  his  boyhood  home  and  early  acquired  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  the  ship-joiners"  trade.  In  1849,  when  he  was  sixteen  years  old,  he 
came  to  California  with  the  Simpson  brothers,  around  Cape  Horn  on  a  sailer 
to  San  Francisco,  Simpson  brothers  becoming  successful  lumber  manufac- 
turers and  dealers  in  that  city.  Mr.  McMillen  was  for  some  years  employed 
at  teaming,  but  eventually  engaged  in  contract  work.  From  San  Francisco 
he  moved  to  Nevada,  where  he  emisloyed  himself  profitably  in  teaming  and 
hauling,  chiefly  in  the  mining  districts.  He  followed  the  mining  booms  here 
and  there  in  Nevada  until  1879,  when  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  bought  a 
section  of  land  near  Poso  ranch  and  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock- 
raising  on  a  large  scale.  He  died  December  3,  1896,  on  his  homestead  and  his 
wife  passed  away  October  .^,  1902.  He  married  Henrietta  Matlock,  a  native 
of  New  York  City,  who  accompanied  her  parents  across  the  plains  to  Cali- 
fornia when  she  was  six  years  old.  settling  at  Placerville. 

It  was  in  Lodi,  Sacramento  county,  Cal.,  that  lohn  Henrv  McMillen 
was  born  August  11.  1877.  His  parents  brought  him  to  Kern  comnty  in  187". 
when  he  was  about  two  years  old,  and  he  remained  at  home  until  after  the 
death  of  his  mother  in  1902.  He  attended  school  until  he  was  sixteen  vears 
old.  then  took  a  commercial  course  in  Heald's  Business  College.  San  Fran- 
cisco, from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1807.  Then  returninsr  to  Kern  count\'. 
he  a'^sociated  himself  with  his  mother  on  the  old  farm,  carrying  on  general 
farming  and  stock-raisiner  on  a  laree  scale.  Mr.  McMillen  also  eneasred  in 
breedintr  and  handlinp^  for  the  market  horses,  mules,  cattle  and  ho<Ts  rnii- 
tinuin.o-  thi'^  imtil  1900.  when  he  took  un  contractinp-.  teamiu'T'  and  hnuli'i"-. 
together  with   .general   gradin.g.   the  construction   of  roads  and   the   la^'inir  of 


550  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

pipe  lines,  operating  extensively  in  different  parts  of  the  state.  For  six 
months  he  was  engaged  in  teaming  and  hauling  at  Coalinga  and  for  three 
years  in  the  building  of  levees  in  the  Tulare  Lake  district  and  he  was  busy 
for  a  time  in  the  construction  of  roads  at  McKittrick.  In  1910  he  took  up  his 
residence  at  Wasco,  since  which  time  he  has  continued  in  the  general  con- 
tracting business  and  has  done  the  hauhng  for  all  the  pipe  lines  constructed 
out  of  Lost  Hills.  He  began  contracting  in  a  small  way  and  his  business  has 
steadily  increased  until  he  owns  two  hundred  and  fifty  mules,  which  are  kept 
busy  the  year  round  in  his  contract  work  in  different  parts  of  the  state.  Mr. 
McMillen  has  lately  sold  his  farming  as  well  as  his  cattle  interests,  to  devote 
all  of  his  time  to  his  business  of  general  contracting.  His  corrals  and  head- 
quarters are  at  Wasco,  where  he  has  two  large  warehouses  for  the  storage 
of  hay  and  grain  for  his  stock. 

Mr.  McMillen  was  married  in  El  Monte,  Los  Angeles  county,  July  15, 
1911,  to  Miss  Mabel  James  Lambert,  who  was  born  in  Illinois  and  came  to 
California  with  her  parents  when  she  was  a  child.  She  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Pasadena  and  graduated  at  the  Los  Angeles  State  Normal 
.School,  after  which  she  was  engaged  in  educational  work  for  ten  years. 

REV.  LOUIS  KUEFFNER.— St.  John's  German  Lutheran  Church  of 
Bakersfield,  under  the  efficient  ministrations  of  Rev.  Louis  Kueffner  as 
pastor,  is  now  making  the  most  gratifying  progress  in  its  brief  but  meritorious 
history  and  in  its  spiritual  helpfulness  is  evincing  the  source  and  secret  of 
its  numerical  growth.  In  the  early  part  of  the  twentieth  century  a  few 
people  of  that  faith  decided  to  promote  the  establishment  of  a  congregation. 
The  beginning  was  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  insignificant  and  unpromising. 
The  few  faithful  members  held  occasional  services  in  the  old  Justice  of  the 
Peace  hall  on  I  street,  opposite  from  the  old  court  house.  It  was  impossible 
to  support  a  regular  pastor  and  dependence  was  placed  upon  the  helpfulness 
of  visiting  brethren.  Rev.  Mr.  Norden,  who  established  and  first  ministered 
to  the  congregation,  was  followed  by  Elders  Baur  and  Denninger.  Later 
the  congregation  enjoyed  the  occasional  ministrations  of  Rev.  Mr.  Grunow, 
of  Visalia.  and  still  later  Rev.  Mr.  Berner.  of  Terra  Bella,  preached  for  them 
twice  a  month.  During  the  spring  of  1911  the  congregation  completed  their 
house  of  worship  and  an  adjoining  parsonage,  on  the  corner  of  Twentieth  and 
C  streets,  and  September  17,  1911,  Rev.  Louis  KuefTner  became  their  first 
resident  pastor. 

From  his  earliest  recollections  Rev.  Louis  Kueffner  had  been  familiar  with 
the  doctrines  of  the  German  Lutheran  denomination,  for  he  was  instructed 
wisely  and  thoroughly  by  his  devoted  father,  an  ordained  minister  of  the 
church.  With  such  an  environment  in  boyhood  and  with  such  talents  as  he 
possessed,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father 
and  consecrate  his  all  to  the  service  of  the  Lord.  Born  in  Fairbank.  Iowa, 
August  22,  1886,  he  was  reared  in  Illinois  and  still  has  hosts  of  warm  friends 
in  that  state.  His  father,  Rev.  Christian  Kueffner,  a  native  of  Joliet,  111., 
received  exceptional  advantages  in  preparation  for  a  ministerial  career.  After 
he  had  graduated  from  Concordia  College  in  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  he  took  the 
complete  course  of  study  in  Concordia  College  at  Springfield,  111.,  and  was 
graduated  with  honors,  following  which  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  of 
the  German  Lutheran  denomination.  With  the  exception  of  three  years  in 
Iowa  his  entire  period  of  ministerial  service  was  confined  to  Illinois  and  he 
died  at  Plainfield,  that  state,  while  his  widow,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Anna  Wilding  and  who  was  born  in  Illinois,  is  now  a  resident  of  Aurora, 
same  state.  Seven  children  formed  their  family  and  all  but  two  are  still 
living.  The  eldest,  Louis,  was  educated  primarily  in  parochial  schools.  At 
the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  matriculated  in  Concordia  College  at  Milwaukee, 
Wis,,  where  he  completed  the  studv  of  the  classics.     Next  he  attended  Con- 


11]S-1-()RV    ()1-     KKRN    COUNTY  -551 

cordia  Theological  Seminary  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  after  his  graduation  in 
June  of  1911  he  was  ordained  to  the  ministry,  since  which  time  he  has  been 
resident  pastor  at  Bakersfield  and  supply  pastor  of  Zion  Church  at  Terra 
Bella.  Returning  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1912,  he  there  married  Miss  Clara 
Binger,  who  was  born,  reared  and  educated  in  that  city  and  who  assists  him 
most  graciously  and  effectively  in  his  ministerial  work.  Throughout  his 
denomination  he  has  become  well  known,  with  the  promise  of  growing  influ- 
ence with  ripening  years  and  added  experience.  As  a  member  of  the  Califor- 
nia district  of  the  Missouri  synod  and  also  of  the  Northern  California  con- 
ference, he  has  been  identified  with  organizations  for  the  upbuilding  of  his 
denomination  and  has  added  the  weight  of  his  labors  and  influence  to  the 
development  of  denominational  work. 

WILLIAM  G.  WHITE.— The  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  element,  which  has 
been  so  important  a  factor  in  the  permanent  upbuilding  of  American  civiliza- 
tion, appeared  in  the  ancestry  of  William  G.  White  of  Bakersfield,  whose 
paternal  forbears  established  themselves  in  Pennsylvania  during  the  colonial 
period.  Both  his  father,  Thomas,  and  grandfather,  James  White,  were  natives 
of  Mercer  county,  Pa.,  and  engaged  in  general  farming  in  that  part  of  the 
state.  The  former  married  Mary  Miller,  whose  ancestors,  forced  to  flee  from 
Scotland  on  account  of  religious  persecution,  found  a  harbor  of  refuge  in 
Ireland  and  thence  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  new  world.  The  most  illustrious 
member  of  the  family  was  Hugh  Miller,  the  Scottish  geologist  and  writer  of 
the  nineteenth  century. 

One  of  eight  children  comprising  the  parental  family,  William  G.  White 
was  born  in  Mercer  county,  Pa.,  June  7,  1876.  and  passed  the  years  of  boyhood 
on  a  farm  eighty  miles  from  Pittsburg.  In  addition  to  attendance  at  public 
schools  he  was  sent  to  the  Grove  City  College.  Although  reared  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  farming  and  from  the  age  of  fifteen  until  seventeen  practically  in 
charge  of  a  farm,  with  the  supervision  of  stock  and  field  work,  he  had  no 
inherent  fondness  for  agriculture  and  at  seventeen  he  left  home  to  serve  an 
apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  bricklayer  in  Pittsburg.  For  three  years  he 
remained  with  a  Mr.  Donoxan.  an  expert  in  the  trade.  On  the  completion  of 
his  trade  he  began  to  work  as  a  journeyman.  From  taking  small  jobs  and 
doing  day  work  he  soon  rose  to  contract  work  and  made  a  specialty  of  fur- 
naces and  boilers.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  in  his  native  county  Miss 
Harriet  Fisher,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  that  county  and  was  a  member 
of  one  of  its  old  families.  They  are  the  parents  of  four  children.  Gladys 
Emmalynn,  Milan  Tadema.  Mary  Gould  and  Helen  Rowena. 

The  ill  health  of  his  wife  and  the  desirability  of  seeking  a  change  of 
climate  in  her  interests  led  Mr.  White  to  remove  to  the  west  in  1902.  during 
which  year  after  having  traveled  over  the  coast  he  settled  in  San  Francisco 
and  took  up  contracting  and  building.  About  that  time  he  had  charge  of  the 
building  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  San  Jose.  Meanwhile  his  own  health 
had  become  impaired  and  he  was  obliged  to  remove  from  San  Francisco. 
Starting  with  his  family  for  Arizona  in  1910.  he  chanced  to  stop  at  Bakersfield, 
and  believing  that  the  climate  would  agree  with  him  he  decided  to  engage  in 
business  here.  Since  that  time  he  has  enjoyed  fair  health  and  has  been  ener- 
getically engaged  in  the  filling  of  contracts.  While  he  is  regarded  as  es|}ecially 
successful  in  brick  and  cobble-stone  work,  he  has  not  limited  his  attention  to 
these  specialties,  but  does  building  of  all  kinds.  Among  his  contracts  were 
those  for  the  Brown  building  in  Kern,  the  Gardner  building,  the  brick  work  in 
Mercy  Hospital  and  Scofield  building  in  Bakersfield,  and  four  brick  buildings 
in  Wasco,  also  the  Brix  apartments  in  Fresno.  He  has  taken  a  complete 
course  in  architecture  and  drafting  under  Aliller  &  Campbell  and  is  able  to 
design  a  private  or  jjublic  building  as  well  as  erect  the  same.  One  of  his 
chief  ambitions  has  been  to  secure  ordinances  for  the  safety  of  builders  and 
workmen ;  another  ambition  has  been  to  improve  the  standard  of  the  finishing 


552  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

of  buildings.  With  keen  alertness  he  watches  every  advance  made  in  his 
chosen  occupation  and  is  himself  foremost  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the 
building  business.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Builders'  Exchange  (in 
which  work  he  assisted)  he  was  placed  upon  the  directorate  of  the  same  and 
also  acts  as  a  member  of  the  arbitration  board.  He  is  identified  with  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World  and  interested  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which 
his  wife  is  a  member. 

SAMUEL  A.  WILLIAMS.— The  Williams  family  to  which  belongs 
Samuel  A.  Williams  is  an  old  established  and  well-known  New  England  one, 
the  American  ancestor  coming  from  England  at  an  early  day,  and  it  is  highly 
represented  in  California  in  the  personages  of  Samuel  A.  Williams  and  his 
sons  William  A.  and  Elmer  E.  Williams,  the  well-known  proprietors  of  the 
Greenfield  grocery,  with  headquarters  about  eight  miles  south  of  Bakersfield. 

A  selfmade  man  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  Mr.  Williams  has  the 
satisfaction  of  knowing  that  every  cent  he  has  in  the  world  represents  so  much 
honest  toil  and  practical  good  judgment.  His  birth  occurred  December  15, 
1854,  in  Ross  county,  Ohio,  son  of  Jonathan  B.  and  Philanda  I^.  (Freeman) 
Williams,  the  former  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  while  the  mother  was  born 
near  Moores  Junction  in  northern  New  York.  The  parents  were  married  at 
Orwell,  Vt.,  just  across  from  old  Fort  Ticonderoga,  and  moved  to  Detroit, 
Mich.,  a  short  time  later.  From  there  they  subsequently  made  their  way  to 
southern  Ohio,  where  Jonathan  Williams  conducted  a  hotel  at  Palestine,  about 
twenty  miles  south  of  Columbus,  and  his  death  occurred  during  the  war, 
when  Samuel  A.  was  but  eight  years  of  age.  He  was  one  of  five  children 
born  to  his  parents,  the  others  being:  Eugene,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nine 
years;  Affie  Eliza,  who  died  when  eighteen  months  old;  Lucy  Jane,  who 
became  the  wife  of  the  late  Jacob  Niederauer,  of  Bakersfield,  and  died  in 
Bakersfield;  and  Ellsworth,  who  now  makes  his  home  in  Bakersfield. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  the  father,  Mrs.  Williams  and  her  three  children 
returned  to  Vermont,  where  Samuel  A.  was  reared  to  manhood,  assuming  the 
responsibility  of  caring  for  his  mother  and  the  two  younger  children  at  an 
early  age.  At  an  early  age  he  worked  for  George  Hibbard,  in  Orwell,  Vt., 
where  he  made  his  home,  the  agreement  being  that  he  should  work  for  him 
for  a  year,  and  then  if  mutually  agreeable  he  should  remain  until  he  reached 
his  majority.  But  after  two  years  Mr.  Williams  decided  to  give  up  that  work 
and  until  he  was  sixteen  worked  at  various  places  in  the  vicinity  for  $6  a 
month  and  his  board.  He  then  went  to  Connecticut,  where  he  worked  on  a 
farm  for  two  years,  the  following  two  years  being  employed  in  a  saw  mill, 
and  it  was  at  this  time,  in  1875,  that  he  married.  Miss  Margaret  O'Brien,  of 
Canterbury,  Conn.,  becoming  his  bride.  While  working  at  the  saw  mill  he 
was  injured  and  his  illness  was  of  so  long  duration  that  his  means  became 
sorely  depleted,  so  that  when  he  recovered  his  strength  he  and  his  excellent 
wife  took  employment  on  a  Connecticut  farm  in  order  to  somewhat  replenish 
their  loss.  In  the  fall  of  1876  they  moved  back  to  Vermont,  and  he  there 
worked  at  general  work  for  a  number  of  years.  In  the  fall  of  1883  they  came 
to  California,  bringing  with  them  their  three  children,  and  located  at  Bakers- 
field. Mr.  Williams  started  his  life  here  under  most  discouraging  circum- 
stances, as  he  arrived  here  on  crutches,  having  sustained  injuries  in  a  railroad 
accident  on  the  New  York  Central  road  near  Syracuse,  N.  Y..  on  his  way 
west,  and  was  in  a  hospital  at  Cleveland.  Ohio,  for  six  weeks.  He  procured 
employment  with  Haggin,  Carr  &  Co.,  taking  charge  of  work  on  their  canals 
and  water  ditches,  and  such  satisfaction  did  he  give  his  employers  that  he 
was  retained  at  that  position  for  eight  years  and  seven  months,  and  only 
relinquished  his  connection  with  them  to  start  out  for  himself.  He  then  en- 
gaged in  farming  in  Panama,  but  in  1900  traded  his  farm  there  for  his  present 
sixty-acre  ranch  at  Greenfield. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Williams  became  the  parents  of  five  children.     May  married 


y.  ^''Z^c^ASi_^^t_^,v.-oa->' . 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUiNTY  555 

Frank  Parish  of  Panama  and  is  now  deceased  (she  left  no  children)  ;  William 
A.  and  Elmer  are  proprietors  of  the  Greenfield  grocery,  and  are  mentioned 
more  fully  elsewhere  in  this  volume;  Frederick  S.  married  Mrs.  Alice  Morrison, 
and  was  killed  when  twenty-five  years  of  age  in  a  railroad  accident  at  F'resno, 
on  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  on  which  he  was  a  fireman;  and  Ray  is  at 
home.  Air.  Williams  is  a  member  of  the  \\  oodmen  of  the  World  and  the 
Moose. 

CARLE  TURNER  McKINNIE.— Thomas  W  .  Alclvinnie  was  burn  in 
Ohio,  as  was  also  his  wife,  Alice  (Turner J  -Mci\.innie.  Thomas  VV.  was 
among  those  loyal  patriots  who  gave  their  services  to  aid  in  the  country's 
cause  in  the  Civil  war.  i'Tom  a  private  in  Company  li.  One  Hundred  and 
Twenty-sixth  Ohio  Volunteer  infantry  he  rose  to  be  colonel  of  his  regiment. 
He  saw  active  service  for  a  long  period,  and  his  record  on  the  field  of  battle 
was  a  most  honorable  one.  His  death  occurred  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1909, 
and  there,  too,  his  wife  passed  away  in  1895. 

Carle  Turner  McKinnie  was  born  in  Cadiz,  Ohio,  August  9,  1809,  and 
when  a  year  old  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  Fort  Scott,  Kans.,  where  for 
si.x  years  they  made  their  home,  thence  removing  to  St.  Joe,  Mo.  .\t  the  latter 
place  he  was  sent  to  school  and  grew  to  manhood,  at  which  period  he  went  to 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  there  was  employed  by  the  Simmons  Hardware  Co.,  as 
buyer  for  three  years,  after  which  he  accepted  a  position  with  the  Stanley 
Works  of  New  Britain,  Conn.,  and  New  York  City.  After  twelve  years  with 
this  company  he  and  his  brother.  iUirt  I'.  .McKinnie,  bought  a  ranch  near 
Loup  City,  Nebr.,  whither  Carle  '!".  removed  and  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock  raising  for  five  years.  During  this  time  he  was  interested  with  land 
development  in  the  Grand  valley  district  in  Colorado,  his  experience  there 
leading  him  and  his  associates  to  take  up  the  same  line  of  work  on  a  broader 
-cale  in  Tehachapi,  Kern  county.  He  made  his  way  hither  in  1910  and  located 
in  Tehachapi,  where  with  his  associates  he  bought  sixteen  hundred  acres 
of  land  adjoining  the  town,  organizing  the  Tehachapi  Fruit  &  Land  Company. 
Tncor])i  rated,  of  which  Mr.  McKinnie  is  now  the  president  and  manager, 
and  under  his  direction  the  company  have  placed  their  holdings  under  irriga- 
tion by  means  of  pumping  plants  and  have  sold  one  thousand  acres,  five  hun- 
dred of  which  have  been  set  to  Bartlett  pears  and  winter  varieties  of  apples, 
.As  fast  as  possible  the  remainder  is  being  planted  not  only  to  pears  and  apples, 
but  also  to  currants,  sour  cherries  and  crab-apples,  for  which  the  soil  and 
climate  of  the  Tehachapi  country  is  especially  adapted. 

Tn  1909  Mr.  McKinnie  was  married  to  Miss  \\'inifred  Lnis  Leach,  a 
native  of  Oakdale.  Neb.,  and  they  have  one  child,  Thomas  Carle.  Fraternally 
he  is  a  member  of  Webster  Groves  Lodge  No.  84.  F.  &  .\.  M..  of  St.  Louis, 
and  he  is  also  a  member  of  Colorado  Commandery.  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal 
Legion.     Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 

ALBERT  W.  MARION. — Tn  generations  past  the  southern  representa- 
tives of  the  Marion  familv  displaved  the  hospitalitv.  chivalrv  and  courtesy 
characteristic  of  their  section  of  the  country.  Later  identification  with  the 
north  srave  to  them  the  enerev  and  protrressive  spirit  tvnical  of  the  neonle 
of  that  re.srion.  The  founder  of  the  familv  north  of  Mason's  and  Dixon's  line 
was  Moses  Marion,  a  native  of  North  Carolina  and  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
1812.  Some  years  after  his  marriaee  and  after  the  birth  of  his  son.  John, 
he  took  the  familv  to  Indiana  and  settled  near  Lafavette.  Tinpecam'e  conntv. 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  historic  battle  srround  embodied  in  the  famous  presi- 
dential slogan  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too,"  so  familiar  to  the  frontiersmen 
durins-  the  camnaign  of  William  Henrv  Harrison.  In  the  state  of  Indiana  were 
passed  the  last  davs  of  Moses  Marion  and  his  son  Tohn,  also  there  occurred 
the  death  of  the  latter's  wife,  Margaret   (Fisher)  Marion,  a  native  of  Penn- 


556  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

sylvania,  descended  from  German  ancestry,  and  from  childhood  a  resident 
of  Indiana,  her  parents  having  been  early  settlers  of  that  state.  In  her  fam- 
ily there  were  two  sons,  one  of  whom,  Francis,  is  a  resident  of  Missouri.  The 
other,  Albert  W.,  has  made  California  his  home  since  1876.  Born  near 
Lafayette,  Ind.,  January  7,  1858,  he  passed  the  years  of  childhood  at  the  old 
home  farm  and  in  the  neighboring  schools.  Upon  the  completion  of  the 
common  branches  of  study  he  entered  Asbury  University  at  Greencastle,  Ind., 
and  took  the  regular  course,  graduating  in  the  spring  of  1876.  Immediately 
afterward  he  came  to  California  and  settled  first  in  Tulare  county,  but  after 
clerking  there  for  a  short  time  he  came  to  Bakersfield  in  the  autumn  of  1876 
and  ever  since  has  been  identified  with  the  interests  of  Kern  county. 

After  six  months  of  employment  in  the  Long  Tom  mine,  Mr.  Marion  be- 
came a  brakeman  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  between  Sumner  (later 
known  as  Kern)  and  Tulare,  also  from  Tulare  to  Lathrop.  Three  years  later 
he  was  promoted  to  be  conductor  on  the  same  line  and  continued  as  such 
until  1888,  when  he  resigned  to  engage  in  the  hotel  business  in  Kern,  becom- 
ing manager  of  the  old  Central  house  on  the  present  site  of  the  Metropole.  As 
manager  he  proved  obliging,  efficient  and  popular.  During  the  fall  of  1894 
on  the  Republican  ticket  he  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  third  town- 
ship of  Kern  county  and  in  January,  1895.  he  took  the  oath  of  office  and 
assumed  the  duties  of  the  position.  Since  then  he  has  been  successively  re- 
elected in  1898,  1902,  1906  and  1910,  the  last  time  having  no  opposition  what- 
ever, a  fact  that  bears  testimony  as  to  the  tactful,  wise  and  impartial  nature 
of  his  decisions.  Throughout  the  entire  period  of  his  service  he  has  main- 
tained his  office  in  East  Bakersfield  and  when  this  community  relinquished 
its  former  name  of  Kern  and  became  a  part  of  Bakersfield  he  maintained  a 
deep  interest  in  the  plan.  In  his  official  capacity  he  has-  proved  himself 
capable  of  discharging  the  complicated  duties  as  a  justice.  While  he 
never  studied  for  the  law  he  has  picked  up  a  varied  and  important  assortment 
of  legal  knowledge  and.  had  he  entered  the  profession,  easily  would  have 
risen  to  prominence.  It  can  be  stated  of  him  without  cgntradiction  that  rarely 
if  ever  have  his  decisions  been  reversed  in  the  higher  courts.  After  coming 
to  California  he  married  in  Stockton  Mrs.  Augusta  (Garner)  Welsh,  who  was 
born  in  Illinois,  but  at  the  age  of  three  weeks  was  taken  by  her  parents  from 
the  old  home,  the  family  then  starting  upon  the  journey  across  the  continent 
to  the  western  coast.  Fraternally  Mr.  Marion  holds  membership  with  the 
Benevolent  Protective  ( )rder  of  Elks.  Acti^•e  in  Odd  Fellows'  work,  he  served 
for  several  terms  as  noble  grand  of  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  202  and  also  has 
been  honored  with  office  in  the  Bakersfield  Encampment. 

WILLIAM  A.  WILLIAMS.— It  is  not  alone  the  cities  that  attract  men  of 
enterprise  and  business  ingenuity,  but  in  addition  the  country  itself  is  not 
lacking  in  opportunities  commercial  as  well  as  agricultural,  and  a  realization 
of  this  truth  has  led  the  firm  of  Williams  Bros,  into  mercantile  enterprises 
in  a  region  somewhat  remote  from  the  main  civic  centers  of  the  San  Joaquin 
valley.  After  having  given  careful  consideration  to  the  subject  the  brothers, 
William  A.  and  Elmer  E.,  opened  the  Greenfield  grocery  on  the  1st  of  July, 
1909,  selecting  as  their  headquarters  a  rural  building  on  Union  avenue  about 
eight  miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  The  structure  of  20x38  was  erected  in  1909. 
since  which  time  it  has  been  well  filled  with  a  stock  representing  an  invest- 
ment of  about  $2,000  and  including  both  groceries  and  general  merchandise. 
Besides  the  four  horses  which  the  proprietors  find  necessary  to  the  manage- 
ment of  their  growing  business,  they  use  an  auto  truck  and  make  four  trips 
to  Bakersfield  each  week  in  the  interests  of  their  increasing  trade. 

The  senior  member  of  the  firm.  William  A.  \\'illianis,  was  born  at  Orwell, 
\  t.,  December  19.  1879,  while  the  younger  brother  is  a  native  son  of  this  state 
and    was    liorn    at    P.akersfield    September    1.    1888,    their    father.    Samuel    .\. 


(]A.roM^./S.C^^ 


lilSTORV    OF    KERN    COUNTY  559 

Williams,  having  been  a  pioneer  i^if  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  Klsewhere  in 
this  volume  appears  mention  of  that  early  settler  and  honored  citizen. 
Both  sons  were  educated  in  Kern  county  and  represent  the  enterprise,  thrift 
and  progressive  spirit  typical  of  the  west.  Both  have  given  their  allegiance  to 
the  Democratic  i)arty  and  uniformly  support  measures  for  the  benefit  of 
their  county.  Fraternally  \\'illiam  A.  is  one  of  the  leading  local  members  of 
the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  During  December  of  1904  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Mary  Tonini,  a  native  of  San  Luis  Obispo.  Cal.,  and  a 
daughter  of  M.  and  Eliza  Tonini.  Their  union  has  been  blessed  with  two 
daughters,  Margaret  and  Hazel. 

BENJAMIN  CLAIBOURN  VAUGHN.— The  fact  that  his  father,  David 
X'aughn,  a  Kentuckian  by  birth,  was  wounded  while  serving  in  the  Thirty- 
third  Indiana  \'olunteer  Infantry  during  the  Civil  war  and  later  died  in  Libby 
prison,  obliged  Ilenjaniin  C.  Vaughn  to  aid  in  the  cultivation  nf  the  home 
farm  at  an  early  age.  Hence  his  education  was  meager  and  his  opportunities 
limited.  In  his  native  county  of  Shelby,  Ind.,  where  he  was  born  in  1860,  he 
remained  until  thirty-one  years  of  age,  meanwhile  gaining  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  general  farming  as  conducted  in  that  locality.  In  youth  his  services 
were  of  great  value  to  his  mother,  who  was  a  native  of  Ohio  and  had  borne 
the  maiden  name  of  Lucy  A.  Peake.  After  he  married  he  left 
the  home  farm  and  rented  a  tract  in  the  same  county,  where  for  about  fifteen 
ensuing  years  he  endured  the  adversities  and  enjoyed  the  successes  that  char- 
acterize the  life  of  a  grain  farmer.  From  there  he  removed  to  California  in 
1891  and  two  }-ears  later  settled  near  Uakersfield.  Kern  county,  where  at  first 
he  bought  only  twenty  acres  in  the  \\'eed  Patch  and  used  the  first  water  out 
of  the  Eastside  canal  after  it  was  built.  On  this  land  he  began  raising  alfalfa, 
and  later  traded  the  land  for  eighty  acres  at  Jeweta.  In  addition  to  raising 
alfalfa  he  also  followed  general  contracting,  leveling  land  and  building  canals 
and  reservoirs  for  about  ten  3'ears.  In  1906  he  purchased  his  present  place  of 
four  hundred  and  eight}-  acres,  which  was  then  raw  land.  In  the  meantime  he 
has  sunk  wells  and  installed  pumping  plants  which  furnish  six  hundred  and 
fifty  miner's  inches  of  water.  He  now  has  four  hundred  acres  in  alfalfa,  yield- 
ing five  crops  a  year,  which  is  baled  and  shipped  to  the  Los  Angeles  market. 
Mr.  Vaughn  was  a  pioneer  in  the  installation  of  large  pumping  plants  for 
irrigation,  and  for  the  first  five  years  used  electric  power  (ultimately  using 
eighty-four  horse  power),  but  when  increased  rates  made  this  prohibitive  he 
installed  two  gas  engines  of  forty-five  and  sixty  horse  power  respectively. 
This  arrangement  gives  him  a  pumping  plant  on  each  half  of  the  ranch.  The 
ranch  is  located  five  miles  west  of  Bakersfield,  while  the  shipping  station  is 
at  Jastro,  half  a  mile  away.  While  a  specialty  is  made  of  alfalfa,  sufficient 
stock  is  also  raised  for  the  needs  of  the  farm. 

Very  early  in  life  Mr.  Vaughn  established  domestic  ties.  His  marriage 
in  Indiana  C)ctober  26,  1879,  united  him  with  Miss  Martha  \'iola  Nelson,  a 
native  of  the  Hoosier  state  and  a  daughter  of  Leander  E.  and  Ann  (Allen) 
Nelson,  natives  of  Indiana,  the  former  deceased,  and  the  latter  still  living  in 
that  state.  To  the  union  of  Air.  and  Mrs.  \^aughn  seven  children  were  born, 
as  follows :  Hattie,  who  married  Charles  Ballinger  and  is  living  in  East 
Bakersfield;  Earlene,  Mrs.  John  H.  Morgan,  of  Pasadena,  who  died  in  August, 
1912;  Ida  and  Ira,  twins;  Rachel,  the  wife  of  Oscar  McKinney,  of  Covina,  who 
is  aiding  in  the  management  of  the  farm  ;  Mary,  also  on  the  home  farm ;  and 
Cecil,  the  youngest  of  the  family  and  a  prize-winner  in  the  seventh-grade 
examinations.  The  greatest  happiness  of  their  lives  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Vaughn 
have  found  in  their  children  and  it  has  been  a  matter  of  grave  concern  to  so 
educate  and  train  them  that  they  may  be  qualified  for  the  duties  of  life.  The 
family  are  identified  with  the  Christian  Church  at  Bakersfield  and  for  years 
have   been    generous    contributors    to    the    upbuilding   of   that    congregation. 


560  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Aside  from  the  management  of  his  farm  and  the  enjoyment  of  his  home,  Mr. 
Vaughn  has  found  leisure  to  aid  in  movements  for  the  permanent  prosperity 
of  the  county  and  has  been  an  interested  participant  in  public-spirited  pro- 
jects. At  this  writing  he  serves  as  game  commissioner,  an  office  that  he  has 
filled  for  some  years  in  the  past.  Politically  he  has  voted  with  the  Republican 
party  ever  since  he  cast  his  first  ballot  upon  attaining  his  majority.  Fraternal 
relations  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  \Vorkmen,  entered  into  many 
years  ago,  have  been  continued  up  to  the  present  time.  Meanwhile  twice  he 
has  been  chosen  master  of  the  local  lodge,  besides  which  he  now  belongs  to 
the  grand  lodge  of  the  state. 

WALTER  J.  BURKE.— On  a  farm  in  the  foothills  of  the  Greenhorn 
mountain,  where  his  parents,  Daniel  and  Mary  (Vickers)  Burke,  were  improv- 
ing a  claim  and  pre-empting  a  homestead,  VV.  J.  Burke  was  born,  March  7. 
1865.  His  father,  Daniel,  was  born  in  county  Mayo  in  1826  and  passed  his 
youth  upon  an  Irish  farm.  With  the  hope  of  benefiting  his  con- 
dition by  coming  to  the  new  world,  in  1849  he  crossed  the  ocean  and 
settled  in  Sheffield,  Mass.,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  brickmaker.  Dur- 
ing 1853  he  came  to  California  via  the  Nicaragua  route  and  at  once  went 
to  the  mines  of  Sierra  county.  With  the  exception  of  eighteen  months  in  the 
mines  of  British  Columbia,  he  spent  his  remaining  years  in  California.  On 
his  return  from  the  northern  mines  he  took  up  land  in  Tulare  county  near 
Woodville  and  began  to  raise  stock. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival  in  Kern  county  in  1864  Daniel  ISurke  took 
up  land  on  Greenhorn  mountain,  where  he  acquired  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  and  engaged  in  raising  grain,  vegetables  and  stuck,  selling  all  the 
products  of  the  farm  at  the  neighboring  mines.  By  degrees  he  liecame  fairly 
prosperous  and  at  his  death,  which  occurred  August  8,  1900,  he  was  counted 
among  the  large  land-owners  of  his  locality.  In  June  of  1862  he  had  married 
A4iss  JVIary  Vickers,  who  was  born  in  Adams  county,  111.,  and  in  1860  crossed 
the  plains  with  her  parents  in  a  wagon  drawn  by  oxen,  the  family  settling  in 
Tulare  county.  Her  death  occurred  in  Kern  cuunty  December  20,  1903.  Six 
children  had  been  born  of  her  marriage,  the  eldest  being  Mrs.  Margaret  Fritz, 
of  Ripon,  San  Joaquin  county.  The  second,  Walter  J.,  forms  the  subject  of 
this  review.-  The  others  are  as  follows:  Daniel,  a  farmer  living  near  Bakers- 
field;  Mrs.  Celia  ^Vilkers^n.  of  liakersfield;  William,  who  is  practicing  law 
in  Portland,  Ore. ;  and  X'incent,  a  resident  of  San  Jose. 

In  order  that  he  might  enjcy  educational  advantages  not  possible  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  mountain  farm,  Walter  J.  Burke  was  sent  to  Los  Angeles  and 
for  two  years  was  a  student  in  St.  Vincent's  College,  then  located  on  Sixth 
and  Hill  streets.  Upon  his  return  to  the  farm  he  began  to  take  a  very  active 
part  in  its  supervision,  besides  pre-empting  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  near 
the  old  homestead  and  later  buying  adjacent  property  from  time  to  time  as 
his  means  permitted.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  at  Porterville,  February  15, 
1892,  Miss  Sarah  Gill,  a  native  of  county  Mayo,  Ireland,  and  a  capable  assist- 
ant in  his  enterprises.  Mrs.  Burke  came  to  New  York  City  in  1880  with  a 
sister,  Mrs.  Conway,  and  in  1890  came  with  her  to  California.  Her  father, 
James  (lill,  a  farmer  in  Mayo,  died  there.  Her  mother,  Nora  Variey.  is  still 
living  on  the  old  farm  at  an  advanced  age.  F.vcntually  Walter  Burke  held  the 
title  to  one  thousand  acres  on  Greenhorn  and  this  was  utilized  for  stock 
range  or  grain-raising.  For  years  he  made  a  specialty  of  raising  cattle  and 
horses  and  in  this  line  of  work  his  judgment  was  so  keen  that  he  prospered 
to  an  unusual  degree.  During  1908  he  built  a  residence  at  No.  402  A  street, 
Bakersfield,  and  in  I^^IO  he  sold  out  the  stock,  disposed  of  some  of  the  range 
and  closed  out-  his  farming  interests,  although  he  still  owns  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  at  the  old  place.  In  addition  he  owns  one  hundred  acres 
eight    miles   south   of   Bakersfield   under   the    Kern    Island   canal   and    this   lie 


QrU^J'^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  563 

leases  to  a  tenant,  the  land  being  under  cultivation  to  alfalfa  and  grain.  In- 
cluded in  his  city  holdings  are  a  frontage  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  on 
Nineteenth  and  A  streets,  improved  with  three  cottages,  and  a  frontage  of 
equal  size  on  Chester  avenue  and  Twenty-third  street,  occupied  by  three 
business  houses.  Property  at  Princeton;  San  Mateo  county,  also  is  held  by 
him,  and  his  interests  are  further  enlarged  through  his  jjosition  as  president 
of  the  Apartment  House  lUiilding  Company  in  Los  Angeles,  of  wliich  he  is 
a  large  stockholder.  He  also  built  and  owns  the  Panama  apartment  building 
on  Second  and  Flower  streets  in  that  city.  .\11  of  his  seven  children  are  at 
home,  namely:  Mary.  Nora.  Teresa,  James,  Catherine.  Margaret  and  Walter. 
The  family  are  leading  members  <  f  St.  Francis'  Catholic  Churcji  and  he  has 
been  prominently  identified  with  the  Knights  nf  Cdlumlnis.  In  national  elec- 
tions he  sii]ipiirts  the  Democratic  partv. 

JOSEPH  LLEWELYN  EVANS.— A  narrative  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Evans 
takes  us  in  its  early  records  across  the  ocean  to  the  rugged  lands  of  Wales, 
where  his  ancestors  had  lived  and  labored  for  uncounted  generations  and 
where  the  family  held  a  position  of  great  influence  in  their  community.  For 
years  his  father.  Benjamin  Evans,  engaged  in  mercantile  undertakings  and 
general  farming  in  the  shire  of  Cajmarthen,  and  here  the  son  Joseph  L.  was 
born  January  4,  1865.  He  began  to  attend  the  public  schools  at  an  early  age 
and  afterward  studied  in  Emlyn  Academy,  from  which  institution  he  was 
graduated  in  1883  with  a  high  standing  in  all  of  his  studies.  Immediately 
after  leaving  the  academy  he  began  to  study  civil  engineering  with  Davies  & 
Davies,  a  prominent  engineering  firm  with  headquarters  at  Aberystwyth, 
Cardigan,  Wales,  and  for  several  years  had  charge  of  their  branch  ofifice  at 
Lampeter,  a  flourishing  town  situated  on  the  border  line  of  Cardigan  and 
Carmarthen. 

Meanwhile  ha\ing  read  much  concerning  America  and  belic\'ing  that  it 
would  be  possible  for  him  to  secure  greater  success  as  a  civil  engineer  in  the 
new  world  than  in  the  old.  Mr.  Evans  resigned  his  position  in  Wales  and 
during  1888  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  LTnited  States.  During  the  following 
Tiine  years  he  made  Racine.  Wis.,  his  headquarters.  His  first  employment  was 
with  the  government  as  civil  engineering  inspector  of  improvements  on  Lake 
Michigan.  During  1890-91  he  took  a  postgraduate  course  in  the  University 
of  W^isconsin  at  Madison  and  upon  his  return  to  Racine  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  city  engineer,  which  ofifice  he  held  by  apjjointment  or  election  for 
six  years.  During  1897  he  came  to  California  upon  a  leave  of  absence  and, 
traveling  through  the  state,  he  became  so  greatly  impressed  with  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  west  that  he  sent  back  his  resignation  as  city  engineer  of  Racine. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  Alaska  caused  Mr.  Evans  to  make  a  tour  of  that 
country.  During  the  early  part  of  1898  he  went  to  Kotzebue  Sound,  north 
of  the  Arctic  Circle  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  having  sailed  through  Bering  Straits, 
this  point  being  so  remote  that  few  explorers  penetrated  beyond  it.  Two 
winters  were  spent  in  the  north  ]5ros|)ecting  and  ex])loring  the  country.  Upon 
his  return  to  California  in  1000  Mr.  Evans  came  to  Bakersfield  and  secured  a 
position  in  the  office  of  the  city  engineer  and  county  surveyor.  Four  months 
later  he  was  appointed  city  engineer,  which  ofifice  he  filled  by  successive 
ap')ointment  from  1900  to  1906.  He  prepared  plans  for  a  sewer  system  which 
were  accepted  by  the  board  of  trustees,  and  bonds  were  voted  for  the  purpose, 
but  afterwards  for  some  reason  many  changes  were  made  in  the  original  plans 
by  another  surveyor  at  the  instigation  of  the  board.  Manfully  Air.  Evans 
opposed  these  changes,  claiming  that  they  were  not  practical  as  far  as  efificiency 
and  permanency  were  concerned,  and  so  positive  was  he  of  his  position  in  the 
matter  that  he  considered  it  ex])edient  for  him  to  resign  from  the  office  when 
his  advice  was  not  considered.  The  necessity  for  the  late  sewer  contract  of 
1913  has  demonstrated  that  his  o])inion  was  correct.  Since  his  retirement 
from  office  he  has  engaged  in  the  private  practice  of  surveying  and  civil  engi- 


564  HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY 

neering,  being  located  in  the  Maud  building  on  Chester  avenue.  Not  only  in 
Keni  county  but  in  other  counties  of  the  state  he  has  at  different  times  been 
retained  as  expert  engineer  in  the  courts.  He  laid  out  the  town  of  Lost 
Hills.  Pentland  and  Lerdo,  laid  out  and  superintended  the  construction  of  the 
new  race  track  upon  which  the  world's  automobile  record  was  broken,  besides 
doing  other  work  of  a  most  responsible  nature  connected  with  the  line  of  his 
special  endeavors.  In  February,  1913,  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
Kern  County  Highway  Commission  to  prepare  plans  and  estimates  for  the 
improvement  of  a  system  of  highways  for  Kern  county.  Upon  their  recom- 
mendation the  tax  payers  of  Kern  county  voted  $2,500,000  in  bonds  for  the 
purpose. 

Throughout  the  period  of  his  citizenship  in  the  United  States  the  Repub- 
lican party  has  had  the  allegiance  of  Mr.  Evans  and  the  Congregational  Church 
has  received  his  stanch  support  in  religious  movements.  Fraternally  he  is 
identified  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.  and  is  also  a  very 
prominent  Mason.  Indeed  any  mention  of  his  fraternal  and  social  activities 
would  be  incomplete  without  considerable  reference  to  his  association  with 
Masonry.  While  in  Wisconsin  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Racine  Lodge  No.  18, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  to  which  he  belongs  at  the  present  time.  Upon  locating  in  Bakers- 
field  he  transferred  his  membership  from  Racine  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  to  Kern 
Valley  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  also  from  Racine  Commandery  No.  7,  K.  T.,  to 
Bakersfield  Commandery  No.  39,  K.  T.,  of  which  he  is  a  charter  member  and 
in  which  he  has  held  every  office.  Chosen  in  1908  as  eminent  commander, 
he  was  again  elected  to  that  office  in  1912  and  is  the  present  incumbent, 
besides  being  actively  associated  with  Al  Alalaikah  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S. 
in  Los  Angeles. 

ROBERT  M.  HOLTBY.— The  movement  of  migration  to  Canada  was 
largely  promoted  by  a  sturdy  class  of  Englishmen  who  aided  in  its  agri- 
cultural development  by  their  own  patient  perseverance  and  untiring  labors. 
It  was  in  this  manner  that  the  Holtby  famil}'  came  to  be  associated  with 
Canadian  farm  advancement.  .Several  generations  of  the  name  assisted  in  the 
upbuilding  of  their  own  community.  Upon  a  large  farm  near  Manchester, 
Canada,  Robert  M.  Holtby  was  born  March  7,  1847,  and  in  the  same  locality  he 
received  a  common-school  education,  also  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
farming  and  stock-raising.  From  his  earliest  recollections  he  had  heard  much 
concerning  the  western  states.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  was  still  a 
popular  theme  of  conversation  during  his  boyhood.  It  was  said  too  that  this 
state  offered  greater  inducements  to  farmers  than  to  miners  and  thus  he 
early  determined  to  seek  the  Pacific  coast.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he 
sailed  from  New  York  around  the  Horn  to  Oregon,  where  he  engaged  in 
teaching  school  for  six  months.  On  August  26,  1867,  he  left  Oregon  for 
California,  where  afterward  he  made  his  home  until  death.  With  money  given 
him  by  his  father  he  invested  in  sheep  and  started  a  ranch  on  the  White 
river  in  Tulare  county.  In  time  he  enlarged  his  range  and  increased  his 
flock.  His  operations  became  very  large  in  extent  and  represented  an  im- 
mense outlay  of  money.  While  in  large  degree  he  prospered,  he  met  with 
many  reverses,  for  the  sheep  industry  always  has  been  characterized  by 
many  "ups  and  downs."  During  one  severe  winter  he  lost  six  thousand  head 
in  the  deep  snow. 

The  management  of  so  large  a  business  necessitated  the  employment  of 
many  men  and  in  his  dealings  with  these  employes  Mr.  Holtby  always  dis- 
played the  dee)3est  consideration  and  most  kindly  forbearance,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible overlooking  their  mistakes,  but  also  showing  an  appreciation  of  any 
special  work  which  they  did  in  his  behalf.  With  ranges  widely  scattered 
and  flocks  in  different  parts  of  the  state,  he  left  their  management  to  trusted 
employes,  but  maintained  a  close  personal  supervision  of  all.  For  several 
vears  he  made  his  home  on  a  ranch  on  Poso  creek  twelve  miles  from  Bakers- 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  565 

field.  From  1886  until  his  removal  to  Bakersheld  he  lived  on  the  Troy  ranch, 
one  of  the  most  highly  cultivated  farms  in  the  entire  county.  This  he  sold 
in  1891  and  during  the  same  year  removed  to  BaUerstield,  where  he  erected 
a  large,  cirmfortable  residence.  It  was  his  intention  to  plant  shade  trees  and 
improve  the  property,  but  ere  his  dreams  had  been  realized  he  was  called  from 
earth,  March  7,  1892,  on  the  day  that  he  was  forty-five  years  of  age.  The  era 
of  struggle  had  been  passed,  the  days  of  hardship  and  toil  were  to  be  replaced 
by  a  life  of  greater  ease,  he  was  about  to  enter  upon  a  realization  of  the 
fruits  of  his  privation,  sacrifices  and  strenuous  labor,  when  death  cut  short  all 
hopes  of  an  earthly  future.  Of  Christian  principles  and  manly  virtues,  he 
belonged  to  the  type  of  citizenship  of  inestimable  value  to  any  community  and 
his  passing  called  forth  many  testimonials  of  regard  from  friends  of  long 
standing.  After  he  became  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  he  adopted  Repub- 
lican principles,  but  never  mingled  actively  in  politics  and  at  no  time  allowed 
the  use  of  his  name  as  a  candidate  for  office. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Holtby  was  solemnized  in  San  Francisco  May  6, 
1880,  and  united  him  with  .Miss  Celia  Woodman,  who  was  born  at  Paw  Paw, 
Mich.,  and  belongs  to  an  old  family  of  New  England  that  became  established 
on  the  Atlantic  coast  as  early  as  1635.  The  original  home  of  the  family  was  in 
England.  It  was  the  privilege  of  Mrs.  Holtby  as  a  young  girl  to  receive  ex- 
cellent educational  advantages  and  she  is  a  woman  of  the  highest  refinement. 
Religion  has  mingled  with  the  other  elements  that  give  gentleness  and  beauty 
to  her  character.  An  attendant  upon  the  services  of  the  Episcopal  Church  and 
a  contributor  to  its  maintenance,  she  has  found  happiness  in  her  religious  faith 
and  usefulness  in  its  charitable  functions.  Her  only  child,  Mrs.  Roberta  Mor- 
gan, resides  in  Bakersfield.  Since  the  death  of  her  husband  she  has  continued 
to  occupy  the  home  which  he  built  for  her. 

OSCAR  GLANVILLE,  Ph.C— The  eldest  of  four  children,  Oscar  Glan- 
ville  was  born  at  Dover,  Kan.,  June  18,  1885,  being  a  son  uf  William  J.  and 
Mary  (Sage)  Glanville,  natives  respectively  of  Missouri  and  New  York.  The 
mother  died  in  Kansas  and  the  father,  who  still  makes  his  home  at  Bond,  that 
state,  has  for  years  .engaged  extensively  in  business  as  a  merchant  and  miller. 
After  having  completed  the.  studies  of  the  Dover  public  schools  Oscar  Glan- 
ville was  sent  to  the  Topeka  high  school  and  there  finished  the  prescribed 
curriculum.  Next  he  matriculated  in  the  Kansas  State  University  at  Law- 
rence, where  he  remained  until  he  received  the  degree  of  Ph.  C,  upon  grad- 
uating in  1904.  Immediately  after  finishing  his  studies  he  secured  employment 
in  the  pharmacy  of  a  Topeka  druggist  and  later  was  engaged  similarly  at 
Parsons.  During  May  of  1905  he  went  to  Arizona  and  found  work  in  a 
pharmacy  at  Prescott.  Coming  to  California  in  January  of  1906,  he  first 
engaged  as  a  pharmacist  at  Riverside,  but  during  July  of  the  same  year  he 
removed  to  San  Diego.  Tweve  months  later  he  became  a  pharmacist  with  the 
Owl  Drug  Company  at  Los  Angeles  and  after  six  months  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco in  the  interests  of  the  same  concern.  After  two  years  with  that  organ- 
ization in  San  Francisco  he  engaged  to  go  to  Honolulu  for  Benson,  Smith  & 
Co.,  and  spent  six  months  on  the  famous  islands  in  the  ocean,  with  his 
headquarters  in  the  capital  city,  where  he  was  both  salesman  and  pharmacist. 
Upon  returning  to  California  he  spent  four  months  with  William  England  of 
Marysville  and  then  was  an  employe  for  seven  months  with  the  Neve  Drug 
Company  of  Sacramento,  after  which  he  spent  a  year  as  a  pharmacist  with  a 
large  drug  firm  in  Los  Angeles.  From  that  city  he  came  to  Mojave  in 
February  of  1912  and  purchased  the  Peterson  drug  store,  which  since  he  has 
conducted  under  the  title  of  O.  Glanville.  In  addition  to  the  usual  stock  of 
drugs,  sundries,  proprietary  medicines  and  Rexall  remedies,  he  carries  a  line 
of  Eastman  kodaks,  also  acts  as  agent  for  the  Columbia  and  Edison  phono- 
graphs and  keeps  in  stock  samples  oi  the  various  styles  and   .sizes,   togetiier 


566  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

with  rectirds  fur  each.    L'pon  the  cirgjanization  of  the  Knights  of  the  Desert  he 
became  one  of  the  charter  members.    In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

REV.  FATHER  JOHN  P.  HOLDEN.— The  f^rst  pastor  of  St.  Francis 
CathoHc  Church  in  Bakersfield  was  Rev.  Father  P.  Carasco,  who  was  followed 
by  Father  P.  Bannon,  whose  pastorate  extended  to  June,  1894.  Father  Jo- 
seph O'Reilly  ministered  to  the  congregation  until  1897,  when  the  work 
was  taken  up  by  Father  P.  Lennon,  whose  earth!}-  labors  came  to  an  end 
December  11,  1904.  At  his  death  he  left  a  bequest  of  about  $2,000  toward 
the  erection  of  St.  Francis  Church.  Father  Lennon  bought  the  lot  at  K  and 
Eighteenth  streets  and  built  the  first  house  of  worship  about  twenty  years 
ago.  He  afterward  bought  the  site  of  the  present  church  at  I  street  and 
Truxton  avenue.  During  his  pastorate  he  had  charge  also  of  missions  at 
Delano  and  Wasco,  now  separate  churches,  and  of  the  congregation  gath- 
ered at  Kern,  now  East  Bakersfield.  He  ministered  also  to  the  Indian  mis- 
sion at  Fort  Tejon,  and  services  are  still  conducted  there.  For  a  few  weeks 
after  his  death  Father  Quinlan  had  charge  of  the  pastorate,  he  being  fol- 
lowed by  Father  Frund,  who  was  appointed  pastor,  and  he  it  was  who 
built  the  brick  church  and  bought  the  St.  Francis  rectory.  The  Sisters  of 
Mercy  secured  the  St.  Clair  property  near  the  Santa  Fe  depot  for  hospital 
purposes  in  1910  and  in  1911  abandoned  it  for  the  present  site  on  Truxton 
avenue,  to  which  they  removed  the  St.  Clair  house,  which  was  enlarged  and 
remodeled.  However,  even  this  was  inadequate,  and  in  1913  they  erected 
an  entirely  new  building  facing  Truxton  avenue.  This  is  a  reinforced  con- 
crete and  brick  building,  108x48,  three  stories  with  basement.  The  present 
capacity  is  thirty-six  rooms  for  patients,  in  addition  to  wards  and  two  oper- 
ating rooms.  Modern  heating  and  cooling  systems  with  other  up-to-date 
features  make  this  one  of  the  best  equipped  hospitals  in  the  country. 

During  Father  Frund's  time  he  had  several  well  remembered  assistant 
priests — Father  Lawrence  Donleavy  (now  deceased).  Father  John  Kelly, 
Father  Schiaparelli  and  Father  Leo  Von  Garsse.  The  assistants  of  Father 
Holden  have  been :  Father  Joseph  Daumas,  now  of  Fresno,  then  Father 
De  Munick,  now  cf  Los  .Angeles,  Father  Marton,  now  of  Oxnard,  and  the 
present  assistant.   Father  Morris. 

Rev.  Father  John  P.  Holden  is  the  present  pastor  of  St.  Francis  Catholic 
Church,  having  been  appointed  to  the  charge  in  November,  1910.  He  was 
born  at  Belleville,  Ontario,  Canada,  May  31,  1865,  a  son  of  David  Holden, 
manager  of  a  lumber  manufacturing  firm,  who  lived  his  active  years  at 
Belleville,  and  passed  away  there,  as  did  also  his  wife.  Her  maiden  name 
was  Mary  Byrne,  and  she  became  the  mother  of  six  children.  Father  Holden 
being  the  third  in  order  of  birth.  The  latter  was  educated  at  a  parochial 
school  at  Belleville  and  at  St.  Jerome's  college,  Berlin,  Ontario,  where  he 
made  a  specialty  of  classics  and  theology  and  where  he  was  graduated  in 
1895.  He  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  at  Hamilton  by  Bishop  Dowling, 
October  20,  1895,  and  became  secretary  to  the  Bishop  and  afterwards  chan- 
cellor of  the  Hamilton  diocese  and  superintendent  of  Catholic  schools  under 
Bishop  Dowling.  Later  he  was  for  five  A^ears  pastor  of  St.  Joseph's  Church 
at  Hamilton;  but,  because  of  throat  difificulties,  he  resigned  to  come  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  in  1910  came  to  Los  Angeles.  Before  coming  to  Bakersfield  he 
was  acting  rector  of  St.  John's  church  in  Fresno,  during  the  temporary 
absence  of  Monsignor  McCarthy  in  Europe.  The  parochial  school  of  St. 
Francis's  church  was  established  in  1910  and  now  employs  four  teachers. 
Among  the  organizations  of  the  church  are  the  St.  Francis  Congregation 
Altar  Society,  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society,  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  and 
the  League  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  the  Sodality  of  the  Children  of  Mary,  the 
Young  Ladies'  Sodality,  the  Sanctuary  Boys'  Society,  the  St.  Cecelia  Choir 
and  the  Society  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  which  is  included  in  the 
Bakersfield  branch  of  that  order. 


y  ^   ^^!^^L,^..c,<^^.^,^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  569 

St.  Francis  church  is  a  large  structure  of  Gothic  architecture,  with 
Gothic  spires,  cathedral  glass  windows  and  beautifully  decorated.  During 
1913  three  new  altars  of  Gothic  type  were  installed,  the  center  one  being 
of  marble.  Plans  are  now  under  way  to  build  a  new  rectory  on  the  church 
grounds,  when  the  present  rectory  will  be  remodeled  and  used  for  a  sisters' 
convent  and  academy ;  and  a  new  parochial  school  will  be  built  adjoining. 

WILLIAM  HUNTER  LAIRD,  M.  D.— One  of  the  early  settlers  of  the 
San  Joa(|uin  valley,  who  thrnutrh  many  years  of  identification  with  the  pro- 
fessional life  of  this  cunmuinity  served  faithfully  and  well,  winning  the  con- 
fidence of  all  who  knew  him,  was  Dr.  William  Hunter  Laird.  Born  in 
Browns  county,  Ohio,  in  1816.  he  was  there  carefully  reared  and  thoroughly 
educated.  He  entered  upon  the  study  of  medicine  and  as  a  graduate  phy- 
sician came  to  California  in  1859  and  practiced  for  a  time  at  Monterey  and 
vicinity.  In  1861  he  came  to  Yisalia,  where  he  practiced  medicine,  riding 
horseback  with  his  saddle-bags.  Subsequently  he  was  located  at  San  Ber- 
nardino for  a  time,  but  later  went  to  Bakersfield  where  he  practiced  medicine 
and  became  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  which  after- 
wards proved  to  be  in  the  Kern  river  oil  fields.  Along  with  his  many  expe- 
riences in  the  early  settlement  of  this  part  of  the  country  he  experienced  the 
trials  of  war  in  the  Mexican  war,  seeing  active  service.  Dr.  Laird  passed 
awa}'  in  August.  1909.  aged  ninety-three  years,  and  his  death  marked  the 
end  of  a  substantial  and  exemplary  career,  in  which  he  had  met  every  oI)struc- 
tion  bravely  and  had  ministered  to  the  sick  in  body  and  mind  alike,  proving 
a  friend  in  need  and  a  sociable,  congenial  and  trustworthy  fellow  citizen. 

Dr.  Laird  was  married  in  Bakersfield  to  Mrs.  Margaret  (Cox)  Pierce, 
who  was  born  in  Georgia  and  came  to  Kern  county  in  the  early  days  to  join 
her  brother,  J.  K.  Cox,  a  farmer  near  Bakersfield,  where  she  married.  Of  this 
union  there  were  two  children,  ^Margaret  and  William,  both  residents  of  East 
P>akersfield  living  with  their  mother,  who  sold  her  ranch  in  the  oil  fields  and  is 
living  retired.  Mrs.  Laird  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church  and  she  and 
her  children  are  well  known  and  highly  respected  throughout  the  community. 

W.  J.  HOLLAND. — The  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Rotary  Disc 
Bit  Company,  Incorporated,  was  born  at  Wigan,  England,  August  12,  1859, 
and  upon  the  completion  of  a  common-school  education  he  served  an  appren- 
ticeship with  a  firm  of  mechanical  engineers  in  his  native  town.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  a  term  of  fi\'e  years  he  se\-ered  his  connection  with  J.  S.  Walker 
&  Bro.,  in  1881,  and  immediately  shipped  for  the  United  States,  settling  in 
San  Antonio,  Tex.,  where  he  engaged  in  the  tea  and  coffee  business  and 
built  up  considerable  patronage  both  in  wholesale  and  retail  lines.  Holland's 
tea  store  is  now  an  institution  of  the  southern  city  and  is  being  conducted 
efficiently  by  his  father,  but  after  six  years  in  the  work  he  left  San  Antonio 
for  Missouri  and  at  Sweet  Springs,  that  state,  married  Miss  Eleanor  Haw- 
kins, daughter  of  a  well-known  physician  of  San  Antonio.  One  year  was 
spent  in  ]\Iissouri  and  one  winter  in  New  Mexico,  after  which  he  removed  to 
Alabama,  settled  at  Birmingham  and  remained  in  that  city  for  eleven  years, 
meanwhile  engaging  with  the  Hawkins  Lumber  Company  as  manager. 

Coming  to  California  in  189*5  Mr.  Holland  settled  at  Fair  Oaks,  where 
he  still  owns  a  ranch.  In  order  that  his  three  children,  Walter  H.,  Eleanor 
and  Ruth,  might  have  educational  advantages,  he  removed  to  Berkeley  and 
they  completed  the  high-school  course  in  that  city,  since  which  time  they 
have  been  students  in  the  University.  During  April  of  1910,  Air.  Holland 
came  down  to  Fellows  to  take  charge  of  the  townsite  work  as  an  employe 
of  Jamieson,  Wrampelmeier  and  Strassburger,  and  in  that  capacity  he  helped 
to  plat  and  lease  the  lots.  Since  then  he  has  remained  in  the  town,  where  he 
represents  the  Connecticut  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Hartford,  and  is  also 
acting  as  an  official  in  the  Rotary  Disc  Bit  Comjiany.  In  July  of  1011  Ik-  was 
appointed  justice  of  the  peace  at  Fellows,  and  has  since  held  that  office  in 


570  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  seventeenth  township  of  Kern  county.     In  religious  belief  he  has  been  a 
Presbyterian  and  his  family  are  active  in  that  church. 

SAMUEL  CALVIN  LONG,  M.D.— The  call  for  volunteers  in  the 
Union  army  during  the  Civil  war  received  a  quick  response  from  Hugh 
Long,  a  native  of  Mercer  county,  Pa.,  who  went  to  the  front  with  a  regiment 
from  his  commonwealth  and  gave  faithful  service  until  the  expiration  of  his 
term  of  enlistment.  With  the  close  of  the  war  he  exchanged  the  uniform  of 
a  soldier  for  the  homely  garb  of  a  tiller  of  the  soil  and  thenceforward  for  some 
years  gave  his  attention  to  the  management  of  his  farm  in  Mercer  county, 
where  he  also  operated  a  coal  mine  on  his  land.  Accompanied  by  wife  and 
children  in  1879  he  removed  from  Pennsylvania  to  Iowa  and  settled  in  the 
southwestern  part  of  the  state.  After  ten  years  in  Ringgold  county  he  crossed 
the  line  into  Taylor  county  and  bought  land  near  Lenox,  where  he  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death  in  1891.  His  wife,  who  survived  him 
for  some  years  and  died  in  Iowa  during  December  of  1899,  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Florinda  Campbell  and  was  born  in  Mercer  county,  Pa.,  of  Scotch- 
Irish  lineage ;  her  mother  lived  to  be  ninety-six  years  of  age.  The  family 
of  Hugh  and  Florinda  Long  comprised  ten  children,  namely :  Alonzo,  who 
died  in  infancy:  James  Campbell,  of  Lompoc ;  Mark,  a  farmer  near  Hanford, 
Cal.;  Dr.  George  L.,  a  physician  in  Fresno:  R.  A.,  who  died  in  Fresno:  Anna, 
residing  near  the  old  home  at  Lenox,  Iowa;  ^Irs.  Margaret  Wyant,  of  Clear- 
field, Iowa;  Wilbert  M.,  of  Clearfield,  Iowa:  Mrs.  Susie  Gordon,  of  Lenox, 
that  state;  and  Saiuuel  Calvin,  the  youngest  of  the  family  circle  and  the  only 
one  to  settle  in  Kern  county.  F>orn  near  Pardee,  Mercer  county.  Pa.,  August 
16,  1871,  he  grew  to  manhood  upon  an  Iowa  farm  and  received  his  education 
principally  in  country  schools.  He  can  scarcely  recall  when  he  first  deter- 
mined upon  a  professional  career.  At  first  his  studies  were  directed  toward 
the  occupation  of  pharmacist  and  during  July  of  1897  he  was  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  Ph.G.  from  the  de]:>artment  of  pharmacy,  Highland  Park  Col- 
lege, at  Des  Moines. 

Almost  coincident  with  his  arrival  in  California  in  August,  a  month  after 
his  graduation,  the  young  pharmacist  secured  a  position  in  a  hospital  at 
Fresno,  and  for  two  years  had  the  most  valuable  experience  as  interne  and 
pharmacist.  During  this  time  he  determined  to  continue  his  studies  with  a 
view  to  becoming  a  physician.  For  some  years  he  was  a  student  in  the 
Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  the  Pacific,  at  San  Francisco,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  May  13,  1901.  Returning  to  Fresno,  he  entered  the  office  of 
his  brother.  Dr.  George  L.  Long,  but  in  a  short  time  he  determined  to  seek 
a  new  location.  October  5,  1901,  lie  arrived  in  Bakersfield,  a  stranger  in  a 
strange  city.  For  some  years  past  he  has  maintained  his  office  in 
a  suite  of  rooms  in  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  building.  As  a  member  of 
the  American  Institute  of  Homeopathy  and  the  California  Homeopathic 
Medical  Institute,  he  has  maintained  an  intimate  identification  with  organiza- 
tions for  the  upbuilding  of  his  chosen  branch  of  therapeutics,  and  is  medical 
examiner  for  several  old  line  insurance  companies.  His  fraternal  relations 
have  been  and  still  are  very  important  and  it  has  been  a  source  of  pride  to 
him  that  he  has  been  chosen  medical  examiner  by  the  various  orders  with 
which  he  has  local  association,  including  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  Fra- 
ternal Brotherhood,  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Security,  Degree  of  Honor, 
Women  of  Woodcraft,  American  Yeomen,  American  Nobles  and  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  He  was  made  a  Mason  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  is  a  member  of  Los  Angeles  Consistory  No.  3,  Scottish  Rite,  and 
Al  Malaikah  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.,  Los  Angeles. 

The  home  of  Dr.  Long  at  No.  1715  Seventeenth  street  is  presided  over 
hospitably  by  his  wife,  who  is  a  woman  of  culture  and  was  educated  in  Simp- 
son College  at  Indianola,  Iowa.  Their  marriage  was  solemnized  in  Lenox, 
Iowa,  in  October  of  1902,  Mrs.  Long-  having-  been  Miss  Nona  E.  Adams,  a 


HIS'r()K\-    Oi'    KF.RX    c()l■^■T^•  573 

native  of  IJelle  Plain,  Marshall  county,  111.,  and  a  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  (  liarton)  Adams,  the  former  horn  in  Pittshurg,  Pa.,  and  the  latter  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  of  English  lineage,  .\fter  he  had  removed  from  Pennsyl- 
vania to  Illinois  Mr.  Adams  served  as  a  private  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
Se\enth  Illinois  Infantry  during  the  Civil  war.  Later  he  continued  to  culti- 
vate farm  land  in  Illinois  until  1882,  when  he  removed  to  Iowa  and  settled 
upon  a  farm.  His  last  days  were  spent  in  Lenox  and  there  he  passed  away 
in  1908.  A  man  of  local  prominence  and  civic  pride  he  served  for  one  term 
a-;  supervisor  and  gave  his  support  to  movements  for  the  material  upbuilding 
of  his  count)-.  His  widow  now  makes  her  home  with  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Long  at 
Uakersfield.  She  hatl  four  other  children:  \\  .  1!..  wiio  is  a  farmer  at 
Dixon,  111.;  E.  M.  and  N.  D.,  both  of  Des  Moines;  and  Chester,  now  living 
in  Kansas  City.  ^Irs.  Long  was  next  to  the  eldest  in  the  family  and  was  the 
on])'  one  to  settle  in  California.  Prior  to  her  marriage  she  taught  several 
terms  of  school.  ^Ir.  and  Mrs.  Long  are  members  of  the  Congregational 
church,  to  the  work  of  which  both  have  been  generous  contributors.  They 
are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Mary  Oneita  and  Hugh  Thomas.  In  ]5olitics 
[he  Doctor  is  stanchly  Republican. 

W.  P.  MONROE. — The  Monroe  family  has  the  distinction  of  belonging 
to  the  fine  old  jjioneer  element  of  California.  In  every  instance  its  members 
ha\e  exhibited  the  utmost  loyalty  toward  the  great  west  and  wherever  known 
iheir  name  is  a  synonym  for  patriotic  devotion  and  progressive  spirit.  The 
founder  of  the  family  on  the  coast  was  Wesley  Monroe,  a  native  of  Illinois 
and  a  member  of  that  great  throng  of  immigrants  whom  the  discovery  of  gold 
brought  to  the  then  unknown  country  beside  the  sunset  sea.  As  early  as  18.50 
he  settled  in  what  is  now  Tulare  county.  Later  he  lived  in  Sonoma  county 
and  followed  the  occupation  of  ranching,  his  large  herds  being  permitted  to 
lange  over  miles  of  uninhabited  territory  in  evei  y  direction  from  his  ranch- 
house.  He  married  Elizabeth  Condry,  who  was  born  in  Tennessee  and  died  in 
1''06  in  Tulare  county.  Their  family  numbered  seven  children,  one  of  whom, 
J.  D.,  is  a  wealth)-  stock-raiser  in  Tulare  county.  Another  member  of  the 
family,  W.  P.,  was  born  in  Sonoma  county,  this  state,  March  26,  1864,  and 
during  boyhcod  aided  in  the  care  of  the  stock  in  Tulare  and  Kings  counties. 
I'Vom  Tulare  he  came  to  Kern  county  in  1899  and  in  1901  began  to  work  for 
the  Petroleum  Development  Company,  being  promoted  to  the  position  of 
manager  in  1906  after  five  years  of  energetic  efforts  in  less  responsible 
Lapacities.  He  has  charge  of  the  wells  of  the  Petroleum  Development  Com- 
pany located  on  section  2,  township  29,  range  28. 

While  promoting  the  interests  of  the  company  Mr.  Monroe  has  acquired 
lands  of  his  own  and  is  now  the  owner  of  eighty  acres  of  land,  situated  on 
.-ection  34,  township  28,  range  28.  .\  part  of  the  tract  has  been  placed  under 
irrigation  and  the  balance  is  available  for  similar  work,  the  proximity  of  the 
Kern  river  proving  of  the  greatest  importance  to  water  development.  W'ith 
the  completion  of  irrigating  facilities,  oranges  could  be  raised  on  the  land, 
while  any  kind  of  garden  truck  would  do  well  on  such  soil.  The  marriage  of 
.Mr.  Monroe  took  place  in  Kings  county  and  united  him  with  Miss  Susie 
Becker,  who  was  bijrn  and  reared  there,  and  by  whom  he  is  the  father  of  three 
children,  Harry,  Ruljy  and  Evelyn.  The  fact  that  he  did  not  enjoy  good 
educational  advantages  has  made  Mr.  Monroe  solicitous  that  his  own  children 
and  the  children  of  other  people  in  the  community  should  receive  ever)- 
modern  school  privilege,  hence  he  urged  the  organization  of  a  school  district 
and  when  such  organization  was  effected  in  1910  in  the  Petroleum  school 
district  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  school  board.  In  this  capacity  he  has 
labored  earnestly  to  secure  good  teachers  and  to  surround  the  children  with 
every  advantage  that  will  go  toward  the  making  of  substantial  citizens  for 
future  years.    The  board  of  directors  of  the  Petroleum  school  district,  con- 


574  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

sisting  of  H.  j.  Heath,  Charles  N.  Newberry  and  W.  P.  Monroe  have  under 
construction  a  new  $10,000  school  house,  which  will  be  completed  for  the 
September  1913  term  and  will  be  the  finest  school  house  in  the  Kern  River 
field.  While  living  in  Tulare  count}-  he  became  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at  Tulare  and  maintained  a  warm  interest  in  lodge 
enterprises.  In  addition  to  his  eight}'  acres  of  good  land  he  has  acquired 
citv  property  at  Richmond  on  the  coast. 

FRANK  S.  MATTSON.— From  the  age  of  thirteen  years  up  to  the 
present  time,  when  as  an  experienced  and  skilled  oil  operator  of  fifty  years 
he  holds  a  position  of  responsibility  in  the  Midway  field,  Mr.  Mattsun  has 
known  no  business  save  that  of  oil  production.  Familiar  with  its  every  de- 
partment and  experienced  with  the  work  in  many  of  the  most  important 
fields  of  the  entire  country,  he  has  had  a  long  and  honorable  career  in  his 
chosen  occupation  and  now,  even  more  interested  in  the  work  than  when  a 
young  man  and  even  more  skilled  in  its  details,  he  is  giving  acceptable  service 
as  superintendent  of  the  Safe  Oil  Company  and  the  B.  H.  C.  Oil  Company. 
The  leases  of  these  small  but  productive  concerns  stand  on  the  celebrated 
25  Hill,  occupying  a  portion  of  section  25,  township  32,  range  23,  overlooking 
Taft  and  the  Midway  field,  and  here  he  is  always  to  be  found,  overseeing 
every  phase  of  production  and  aiming  by  intelligent  oversight  to  secure  the 
largest  possible  returns  for  the  stockholders  of  the  companies. 

Born  in  Venango  county,  Pa.,  April  14,  1863,  Frank  S.  Mattson  is  the 
son  of  Tobias  Mattson,  a  pioneer  in  the  oil  industry  in  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  first  became  familiar  with  the  business.  Practically  every  position  from 
roustabout  to  superintendent  he  has  filled  in  difTerent  parts  of  the  country. 
Following  in  the  wake  of  oil  strikes,  he  worked  in  the  fields  of  Pennsylvania, 
New  \'()rk,  Ohio  and  Indiana,  i^rior  to  coming  to  California  during  1900.  A 
list  of  the  fields  in  which  he  has  worked  would  include  many  of  the  best 
known  in  the  east.  After  coming  to  the  Pacific  coast  he  made  his  head- 
quarters in  Los  Angeles  for  a  time  and  then  went  to  Carpenteria,  from  which 
place  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  the  Midway  field.  In  his  various  re- 
movals from  one  field  to  another  he  has  been  accompanied  by  his  wife  whom 
he  married  in  Ohio  and  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Anna  E.  Behrens. 

C.  H.  SELLERS. — The  Union  Oil  Company,  operating  on  section  8, 
township  29,  range  28,  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  state  of  Cali- 
fornia by  a  number  of  stockholders,  principally  residents  of  Los  Angeles. 
where  also  reside  its  officers,  namely :  president,  Lyman  Stewart ;  vice-presi- 
dent. W.  L.  Stewart ;  secretary,  Giles  Kellogg ;  and  treasurer,  E.  W.  Alston. 
71ic  superintendent  cf  their  refinery,  which  is  said  to  be  not  only  the  first 
but  also  ihe  largest  in  the  Kern  river  fields,  has  been  connected  with  the  plant 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  its  operative  history,  for  the  factory  was  com- 
pleted in  July  of  1902,  and  he  took  charge  on  the  15th  of  September  of  the 
same  year.  Since  then  the  capacity  of  the  plant  has  been  douljled  and  employ- 
ment is  furnished  to  thirty-five  men.  A  total  capital  of  $200,000  has  been 
invested  in  the  refinery  and  the  returns  secured  under  the  efficient  manage- 
ment of  the  superintendent  have  justified  the  expenditure  of  this  sum. 

Very  early  in  the  development  of  the  Mississippi  valley  the  Sellers  family 
removed  from  the  east  to  Iowa,  where  for  years  George  Sellers  followed  the 
trade  of  a  carpenter  and  where  he  married  Rachel  Wells,  now  deceased.  Of 
recent  years,  since  his  retirement  from  active  work  as  a  carpenter,  he  has 
made  his  home  in  San  Jose,  Cal.  In  his  family  there  were  five  sons  and  three 
daughters,  one  of  the  sons  being  C.  H..  whose  birth  occurred  in  Clinton 
county,  Iowa,  March  24,  1876,  and  whose  somewhat  limited  education  was 
secured  in  Iowa  schools.  As  a  boy  he  helped  his  father  and  learned  much 
ciuiceniing  the  trade  of  carpenter,  but  when  fifteen  he  started  out  to  make 
his  own  way  in  the  world,  coming  to  California,  where  he  learned  to  be  a 
practical  butter-maker  in  a  creamery  at  San  Jose.    His  introduction  to  the  nil 


(^ 


•    CorV/icc-r'  C^a^^n^^'?-^-*^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  577 

business  took  place  when  he  became  interested  in  a  refinery  operated  by 
S.  W.  Palmer,  of  Oakland.  Havinjj  no  practical  knowledge  of  the  industry 
he  began  as  an  unskilled  laborer  and  as  a  roustabout,  but  gradually  he  worked 
his  way  up  to  a  more  profitable  position.  During  1902  the  company  showed 
their  confidence  in  him  by  sending  him  to  the  Kern  river  fields  as  their  super- 
intendent and  since  the  fall  of  that  year  he  has  had  charge  of  the  refinery, 
its  progress  and  development  being  largely  due  to  his  energy  and  intelligent 
oversight.  A  specialt}"  is  made  of  the  production  of  asphaltum  for  street 
paving  and  roofing  purposes  and  in  the  latter  specialty  the  company  has  been  a 
pioneer.  Through  the  pipe  lines  of  the  Producers'  Transportation  Company 
connection  is  made  with  the  lines  of  various  oil  companies.  About  five  thou- 
sand barrels  of  crude  oil  are  used  daily  and  tlie  monthly  production  of  asphalt 
reaches  two  thousand  tons. 

^^'ith  his  wife,  whom  he  married  at  ]\lartinez,  Cal.,  and  who  was  Miss 
Ella  Kindig  of  Chicago,  and  with  their  two  children,  Spencer  and  Inez,  Mr. 
Sellers  has  established  a  comfortable  home  on  the  company  holdings  and 
there  his  leisure  hours  are  happily  spent.  He  aided  in  the  organization  of  the 
Standard  school  district  and  acted  as  trustee. 

THOMAS  ARTHUR  CANNELL.— On  the  Isle  of  Man,  Thomas  A.  Can- 
nell  was  born  June  9,  1854,  the  son  of  Robert  and  Catherine  (Kelley)  Cannell. 
There  they  spent  their  entire  lives,  the  former  conducting  business  as  a  hatter 
in  Douglas.  There  were  eight  children  in  the  family  and  two  of  these,  John  J. 
and  Thomas  Arthur,  became  residents  of  California,  the  former  now  having  a 
home  at  Bishop,  Inyo  county.  For  several  years  the  two  brothers  in  Cali- 
fornia engaged  in  the  sheep  industry  and  had  large  flocks  upon  the  ranges  of 
Tulare,  Kern  and  Inyo  counties.  The  venture  proved  profitable,  but  a  desire 
to  avoid  the  migratory  experiences  t)f  a  sheepman  led  the  younger  brother  to 
take  up  land,  buy  cattle  anfl  embark  in  farming  and  stock-raising  in  Kern 
county. 

During  a  x'isit  at  his  old  home  across  the  seas  Mr.  Cannell  married, 
October  1*),  1891.  ;\liss  Margaret  Ann  Joughin,  daughter  of  John  and  ^largaret 
CKaighin)  Joughin,  lifelong  residents  of  the  Isle  of  Man  and  owners  of 
Ballacrebbin,  one  of  the  most  productive  farms  of  that  little  country.  ^Irs. 
Cannell  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Jurby  on  that  island  and  grew  to 
womanhood  in  the  parish  of  Andreas  near  the  town  of  Ramsey,  where 
she  remained  until  her  marriage  and  where  one  of  her  brothers,  the  present 
owner  of  Ballacrebbin  farm,  still  makes  his  home.  Her  other  brother. 
William  D.  Joughin,  came  to  California  and  now  operates  the  Cannell  ranch 
near  Isabella.  Kern  county,  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Kern  river. 

Inmiediatelv  after  their  marriage  Air.  and  Mrs.  Cannell  came  across  the 
ocean  to  California  and  settled  in  Kern  county,  where  by  their  united  eiiforts 
and  constant  industry  they  became  increasingly  prosperous.  The  brand  of 
the  triangle  inverted,  which  Mr.  Cannell  used,  was  to  be  found  on  man}' 
I  f  the  ranges  in  this  part  of  the  state,  for  his  holdings  in  stock  were  exceed- 
ingly large.  One  of  his  ranches  comprised  several  sections  of  land  at  Granite 
Station.  Kern  county,  while  his  home  ranch  was  the  tract  of  eight  hundred 
acres  near  Isabella,  a  well-improved  estate  developed  from  the  primeval  con- 
dition of  nature  through  his  own  painstaking  industry  and  wise  supervision. 
Selling  his  stock  in  1906  and  renting  the  land,  he  built  a  residence  at  No.  4-t.S 
South  Ihiion  avenue.  Los  Angeles,  where  his  widow  still  makes  her  home. 
After  coming  to  the  city  he  did  not  retire  from  business  activities,  but  became 
an  organizer  and  promoter  of  the  .\partment  House  Building  Company,  of 
which  he  acted  as  secretary,  treasurer  and  a  director  until  his  death,  and 
which  in  1911  erected  a  splendid  modern  apartment  building  on  Second  and 
Flower  streets  and  it  should  be  added  that  it  proved  to  be  such  a  success  that 
in   1913  the  company  built  an  annex  of  large  dimensions.     While  on  a  visit 


578  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

to  his  ranch  at  Isabella  Mr.  Cannell  died,  October  17,  1912,  and  his  sudden 
demise  brought  a  personal  grief  to  a  large  host  of  friends  throughout  his 
community.  All  through  his  life  in  California  he  had  been  a  loyal  citizen, 
with  progressive  views  as  to  local  development  and  upbuilding.  Although  not 
a  member  of  any  religious  movement  he  attended  church  and  contributed  to 
such  work  and  his  wife  for  years  has  been  a  generous  member  of  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Los  Angeles. 

ALBERT  LEROY  HARRINGTON.— Connected  with  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  as  night  yard-master  at  Bakersfield,  Mr.  Harring- 
ton is  regarded  by  the  officials  under  whom  he  works  as  a  most  conscientious 
and  careful  man,  devoted  to  the  business  and  alive  to  the  responsibilities  of 
his  position.  From  an  early  age  he  has  been  connected  with  some  form  of 
railroad  work.  Indeed  he  was  only  sixteen  when  he  left  high  school  to  enter 
upon  railroading,  and  ever  since,  with  scarcely  a  vacation,  he  has  continued 
with  different  companies  in  difTerent  capacities.  In  addition  one  of  his 
brothers  and  his  father  also  have  been  identified  with  railroad  work  for  many 
years  and  are  now  in  the  employ  of  the  Western  Pacific,  with  headquarters 
at  Stockton,  the  brother,  Arthur,  having  risen  to  be  a  conductor  with  that 
road.  Two  other  brothers,  Arnold  and  Lorin  L.,  are  employed  by  the  Pacific 
States  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  at  Stockton,  the  former  holding 
the  important  position  of  outside  manager.  The  youngest  brother  of  the 
five,  William,  is  still  with  the  parents  in  the  Stockton  home. 

The  parents  of  Albert  LeRoy  Harrington  are  Lorin  and  Nettie  E. 
(Hargis)  Harrington,  natives  respectively  of  Illinois  and  Iowa.  Their  eldest 
son  among  the  five  who  form  the  family  is  Albert  LeRoy,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred at  Fontanelle,  Adair  county,  Iowa,  November  2,  1882,  and  whose 
earliest  days  were  passed  upon  the  home  farm  there.  During  1883  the 
family  became  pioneers  of  Nebraska,  where  the  father  took  up  land  in  Fill- 
more county.  Results  were  not  favorable  and  learning  of  land  in  Lincoln 
county  available  for  homesteading  he  removed  there  in  1886  and  settled  near 
the  Platte  river.  Very  soon,  however,  he  went  a  little  further  west  to  Keith 
county  in  the  same  state,  where  he  made  a  determined  effort  to  develo;)  his 
homestead  into  a  productive  farm.  Climatic  conditions  were  such  that  his 
unceasing  exertions  brought  little  but  failure,  and  finally  in  1896  he  sought 
employment  on  the  railroad.  For  three  years  he  was  employed  on  the  mam- 
tenance  of  way  in  Nebraska  by  the  L'nion  Pacific  Railroad  and  in  1899  he  took 
his  family  to  Wyoming,  where  he  worked  for  the  same  company.  In  1901 
he  worked  on  the  Union  Pacific  in  Utah  and  during  1903  he  went  to  Nevada 
for  the  Central  Pacific.  Coming  to  California  in  1904  and  settling  at  Stock- 
ton, he  since  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Western  Pacific  road. 

As  early  as  1898  Albert  LeRoy  Llarrington  worked  on  the  maintenance 
of  way  for  the  LTnion  Pacific  in  Nebraska  and  in  1899  he  secured  similar  work 
in  Wyoming.  During  1901  he  entered  the  train  service  of  the  Union  Pacific 
road  as  a  brakeman  with  headquarters  at  Rawlins.  Resigning  two  years 
later  he  came  to  California  and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  as  a  brakeman  out  from  Los  Angeles.  Soon  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  yards  as  a  switchman.  In  June  of  1904  he  was  sent  to  Oakland 
as  a  foreman  on  the  maintenance  of  way.  From  there  in  July  of  1905  he 
came  to  Bakersfield  as  a  switchman  in  the  Southern  Pacific  yards.  Appre- 
ciation of  his  fidelity  and  intelligence  appeared  in  his  promotion  to  be  assist- 
ant yard-master  in  1908,  and  two  years  later  he  was  promoted  again,  this 
time  to  the  responsible  post  of  night  yardmaster.  Meanwhile  in  1908  he  had 
married  at  Santa  Ana  Miss  Mabelle  Ruell.  who  was  born  in  Kansas  and 
reared  in  California,  and  who  is  a  graduate  nurse  from  the  Sisters'  hospital 
in  Los  Angeles.  They  own  a  comfortable  home  at  No.  607  Quincy  street, 
East  Bakersfield,  which  he  erected  some  years  ago  and  in  which  they  dis- 
pense a  broad  and  kindly  hospitality.     Both  are  well  known  in  the  local 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  581 

organization  of  Pytliian  Sisters,  and  in  addition  Mr.  Harrington  is  connected 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Eagles  and  the  Brotherhood  of  Railway 
Trainmen.     Politically    he   votes    with    the   Democratic   party- 

JUDGE  GEORGE  FLOURNOY.— The  Fluiirnoy  genealogy  is  traced 
hack  to  the  middle  ages  in  I'Vance.  where  representatives  of  the  name  bore 
a  part  in  the  activities  of  the  lliiguenots.  Religidus  persecutions  led  ti^i  the 
massacre  of  many  of  that  faith  and  td  the  exile  of  others  from  their  native 
country.  They  became  transplanted  upon  .American  soil  shortly  after  the 
first  attempts  at  colonization  had  been  made  near  the  shores  of  the  .\tlantic. 
The  first  home  of  the  immigrants  was  in  \'irginia  and  later  some  of  the  family 
settled  in  ("leurgia.  Col.  George  Mournoy,  son  of  Marcus  .\.  Flourno}'.  was 
born  and  reared  upon  a  plantation  in  Georgia  and  receixed  excellent  advan- 
tages in  the  state  university  at  .Athens,  from  which  institution  in  1854  he  was 
graduated  with  a  high  standing.  He  was  well  (pialified  for  the  practice  of 
law  and  went  to  Texas  to  open  an  office  at  .Austin.  Soon  he  rose  to  such 
prominence  in  the  profession  that  in  1860  he  was  elected  attorney-general  of 
the  state.  .At  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  he  resigned  from  office  in  order 
to  serve  the  Confederate  cause  as  colonel  of  the  Sixteenth  Texas  Infantry 
and  that  regiment  he  commanded  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Meanwhile  he 
was  often  wounded  in  battle  and  several  times  the  wounds  were  serious,  but 
in  the  midst  of  physical  sufferings  and  untold  deprivations  he  continued  to 
lead  his  men  until  finally  they  crossed  the  Red  river,  the  last  Confederate 
regiment  to  retreat  from  the  victrrious  Federal  troops. 

The  south  having  been  financially  ruined  by  the  war.  Colonel  Flournoy 
found  no  professional  opening  and  accordingly  crossed  into  Mexico,  where 
as  captain  of  the  guards  of  the  palace  he  served  in  the  French  army  under 
Marshal  Besaine.  Upon  the  downfall  of  Maximilian  he  retired  with  the 
French  army.  Returning  to  Texas,  he  engaged  in  practice  at  Galvestdu  and 
became  widely  known  as  an  attorney  of  remarkable  ability  and  professional 
knowledge.  During  1879  he  came  to  California  and  opened  a  law  office  in 
San  Francisco,  remaining  there  until  his  death,  September  20.  1889,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-seven  years.  While  his  life  was  not  long  as  men  count  years,  it 
was  eventful,  useful  and  crowned  by  the  friendship  of  a  large  circle  of  asso- 
ciates, both  professional  and  social.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Virginia  Holman.  was  born  in  Tennessee  and  died  in  Oakland.  Cal.  Her 
father.  James  Holman.  a  Kentuckian  by  birth,  became  a  resident  of  Ten- 
nessee as  early  as  1804  and  upon  attaining  man's  estate  became  interested  in 
the  occupation  of  a  planter.  During  18.^2  he  took  the  family  to  Texas  and 
settled  upon  a  farm  near  Austin,  where  in  1867  his  long  and  busy  existence 
came  to  an  end.  Three  children  comprised  the  family  of  Colnnel  and  Mrs. 
Flournoy.  Eugenia,  the  wife  of  Paul  Corti.  died  in  Bakersfield  January  27. 
1912.  Marguerite,  the  wife  of  Thomas  F.  Garrity.  died  in  Oakland  in  1905. 
leaving  two  daughters.  Eugenia  and  Virginia,  both  making  their  home  with 
Judge  Flournoy.  The  next  to  the  youngest  child,  and  his  father's  namesake, 
is  Judge  Flournoy.  of  Bakersfield.  who  was  born  in  Austin.  Tex.,  .April  20, 
1863,  and  received  a  classical  education  in  the  Jesuit  College  in  the  District 
of  Columbia  and  in  the  University  of  Georgia  at  Athens.  .Vfter  his  gradu- 
ation in  1879  from  the  latter  institution  he  came  to  California  and  began  to 
study  law  with  his  father  in  San  Francisco,  later  for  two  years  enjoying  the 
advantages  of  study  in  Hastings  Law  School. 

Having  been  admitted  to  the  bar  of  California  in  1884  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years  George  Flournov  came  to  Bakersfield,  but  soon  returned 
to  San  F""rancisco.  where  in  1886  he  was  elected  city  and  county  attorney  on 
the  Democratic  ticket.  So  satisfactory  was  his  service  in  the  very  difficult 
positicn  that  in  1888  he  was  re-elected',  serving  until  1890.  .\fter  his  release 
from  official  duties  he  devoted  considerable  time  to  travel.  During  March 
of  1892  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  opened  a  law  office.  Soon  he  won  recogni- 
tion through  his  wide  knowledge  of  jurisi^rudence.     Fcsr  eight  years  he  served 


582  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

as  city  attorney  of  Bakersfield  and  for  another  three  terms  he  served  as 
deputy  district  attorney  of  Kern  county.  In  both  of  these  positions  he  dis- 
played a  broad  understanding  of  the  law,  especially  as  pertaining  to  the 
statutes  of  California.  March  6,  1911,  the  board  of  supervisors  appointed 
him  justice  of  the  peace  to  fill  a  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Judge  J.  C. 
Black,  a  position  he  has  since  filled.  Throughout  all  of  his  active  life  he  has  sup- 
ported Democratic  principles  and  has  given  to  that  party  locally  the  benefit 
of  his  sagacious  mind,  unvarying  tact  and  comprehensive  grasp  of  political 
problems.  During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  San  Francisco  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Elizabeth  Huie,  a  native  of  Sonoma  county,  this  state, 
by  which  union  there  was  one  child,  Huie,  who  died  in  Los  Angeles  Novem- 
ber 6,  1912,  leaving  a  wife  and  a  daughter,  Roberta,  four  years  of  age. 

R.  W.  BESS. — Diversified  experiences  in  many  of  the  well-known  oil 
fields  in  the  United  States  have  enabled  Mr.  Bess  to  appreciate  the  advantage 
off^ered  by  the  industry  in  California  and  particularly  by  that  portion  of  the 
btate  embraced  within  the  Kern  county  fields.  Through  a  recent  contract  he 
became  superintendent  and  manager  of  the  United  Crude  Oil  Company  at 
Maricopa  and  since  he  took  possession  in  March  of  1913,  under  an  eight-year 
lease  on  a  fifty  per  cent  basis,  he  has  raised  the  production  from  practically 
nothing  to  three  thousand  barrels  per  month,  doing  this  by  dint  of  his  own 
persistence,  energy  and  capability,  aided  by  the  three  efficient  workmen  whom 
he  employs.  Thoroughly  and  critically  competent,  he  is  well  qualified  to  de- 
velop the  lease  into  a  gratifying  and  growing  success.  From  the  time  he 
began  in  the  oil  business  at  the  age  of  fourteen  up  to  the  present  era  of 
managerial  connection  with  a  lease,  he  has  been  interested  in  no  occupation 
aside  from  the  oil  industry  nor  has  he  cared  to  enter  other  lines  of  enter- 
prise. 

'I'lie  lifelong  interest  in  the  industry  maintained  by  Mr.  Bess  results  from 
early  environment.  When  only  one  year  old  he  was  taken  by  his  parents 
from  New  York  state  to  Bradford,  Pa.,  in  the  midst  of  oil  fields  of  considerable 
importance,  and  there  he  passed  the  years  of  youth.  Born  May  19,  1882,  at 
Bolivar,  Allegheny  county,  N.  Y.,  across  the  state  line  from  the  Bradford 
fields  in  Pennsylvania,  he  was  the  eldest  of  six  children,  whose  father,  W.  W. 
Bess,  for  years  engaged  with  the  Roberts  Torpedo  Company  and  held  other 
positions  in  the  Bradford  fields,  but  is  now  an  employe  of  the  United  Crude 
Oil  Company  at  Maricopa.  The  wife  and  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Esther  Aldumas  McClellan,  is  an  own  niece  of  General  McClellan,  of 
Civil  war  fame. 

\\'hen  the  family  removed  from  Bradford  they  lived  successively  in  other 
oil  regions  of  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  West  Virginia  and  Indiana,  and  the  son 
accompanied  them  in  these  various  moves,  eventually  coming  to  California  in 
1896  and  securing  employment  in  the  Fullerton  oil  fields.  His  first  work 
there  was  in  the  capacity  of  pumper  for  the  old  Santa  Fe.  After  one  year  at 
Fullerton  he  proceeded  to  Coalinga  during  the  period  of  its  first  boom.  For 
two  years  he  engaged  with  a  company  in  that  district.  At  the  opening  of  the 
Kern  river  field  he  came  to  this  county  and  secured  a  position  as  tool-dresser, 
continuing  in  the  field  for  two  years.  From  this  puint  he  returned  to  Fullerton 
to  work,  later  went  back  to  Coalinga,  and  finally  left  the  state  in  order  to 
study  conditions  of  the  oil  industry  in  Colorado.  The  fields  near  Boulder, 
Golden,  Greeley  and  other  places  became  familiar  to  him  through  actual 
experiences  as  a  driller.  From  Colorado  he  went  into  Kansas  and  engaged  in 
drilling  in  the  oil  fields  at  Independence  and  Chanute,  thence  coming  back  to 
California,  where  for  four  years  he  engaged  in  drilling  in  the  Sunset,  Alidway 
and  Santa  Maria  fields.  Early  in  1913  he  assumed  the  duties  of  his  present 
position.  During  May  of  1905  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Rose  La 
Vern  Freear,  daughter  of  Henry  T.  Freear,  an  old  settler  of  Kern  county,  a 


IITSTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  583 

Civil  war  veteran  and  a  man  widely  knnwn  and  universally  honored.  Mrs. 
I'.ess  is  also  connected  with  the  McCutchen  faniil}-,  one  of  the  most  jirominent 
in  Kern  ci unity.  Three  children  blessed  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Bess,  hut  a  heavy 
hereaxement    came    in    the    death    of    two,    Leona    being-    the    sole    survivor. 

DELBERT  A.  SHIVELY.— The  history  of  the  Shively  family  in  America 
dates  back  to  a  very  early  period  in  the  colonization  of  Pennsylvania  and  one 
of  the  name,  who  removed  from  the  Keystone  state  to  Illinois  during  the  first 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  o])ened  and  conducted  the  first  tailor  shop  ever 
started  in  Chicago,  later  relinquishing  business  in  order  to  develop  property 
at  Freeport,  111.,  and  still  later  removing  to  Iowa  to  pass  his  declining  days. 
The  next  generation  was  represented  by  Samuel  A.  Shively,  who  was  born 
near  Freeport,  111.,  and  removed  with  his  father  to  Chickasaw  county,  Iowa, 
when  all  that  section  of  country  was  an  undeveloped  wilderness  and  prairie. 
Scarcely  had  he  arrived  at  man's  estate  when  a  call  came  for  volunteers  in 
the  Union  service  and  he  volunteered  in  the  Thirty-second  Iowa  Infantry, 
going  with  his  regiment  to  the  front  and  fighting  in  its  battles  until  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  service.  The  war  ended,  he  engaged  in  farming 
near  Lawler,  Chickasaw  county,  Iowa,  and  on  his  farm  there  his  oldest  child, 
Delbert  A.,  was  born  June  26,  1866.  The  family  contained  two  younger 
children,  whose  mother,  Cornelia  (Tisdale)  Shively,  now  deceased,  was  a 
member  of  a  very  old  family  of  New  England. 

Taking  the  family  to  Minnesota  about  1872,  Samuel  A.  Shively  home- 
steaded  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Rock  county  and  devoted  ten  years 
to  the  improvement  of  the  tract.  Upon  disposing  of  the  property  he  returned 
to  Iowa  and  settled  in  Lyon  county,  but  later  removed  to  Missouri  and  estab- 
lished a  home  at  Springfield.  Thence  he  went  to  Chicago  and  took  up  the 
study  of  medicine.  After  having  graduated  with  the  degree  of  M.D.,  he 
engaged  in  practice  in  Chicago  until  the  time  of  his  death.  His  eldest  son 
was  six  when  the  family  went  to  Minnesota  and  thirteen  when  they  became 
residents  of  Lyon  county,  Iowa.  After  he  had  completed  the  studies  of  the 
common  schools  he  learned  the  trade  of  barber  in  Rock  Rapids,  Lyon  county, 
and  there  engaged  in  the  business  for  himself.  The  summer  of  1895  was 
spent  in  Pasadena.  Cal.,  and  the  visit  gave  him  a  favorable  impression  concern- 
ing the  west.  Selling  his  business  at  Rock  Rapids  in  1901  he  came  to  Bakers- 
field  and  purchased  the  Southern  hotel  barber  shop,  which  since  he  has  con- 
ducted with  efficiency,  securing  a  large  trade  by  reason  of  rec<jgnized  skill  in 
the  trade.  Meanwhile  he  has  become  interested  in  alfalfa  ranching  in  the 
Rio  Bravo  country,  where  he  has  installed  a  pumping  plant  for  irrigation  of 
the  one  hundred  and  ten  acre  tract.  He  has  erected  two  bungalows,  one  of 
which  he  sold,  and  the  other  (at  No.  2021  Cedar  street)  he  now  occupies. 
Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Shively  took  place  at  Reck  Rapids,  Iowa,  August 
28,  1887,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Fannie  Geiser,  who  was  born  at  Normal, 
McLean  county.  111.  Their  only  child.  Vera,  is  the  wife  of  R.  C.  Hackett  of 
Rakersfield.  .\  graduate  of  the  Rock  Rapids  high  school,  she  was  a  teacher 
prior  to  her  marriage.  She  was  the  youngest  among  the  three  children  form- 
ing the  family  of  Frederick  and  Fannie  (Eicher)  &eiser,  the  former  a  native 
of  Canton  Bern,  Switzerland,  and  the  latter  of  France.  Shortly  after  his 
arrival  in  the  new  world  Mr.  Geiser  enlisted  in  an  Ohio  regiment  and  served 
in  the  Union  army  throughout  the  Civil  war.  After  the  death  of  his  wife, 
which  occurred  in  Normal,  111.,  he  removed  to  Iowa  and  embarked  in  business, 
and  later  he  resided  at  Colby,  Kans.,  where  occurred  his  death,  .Xjiril  14,  18'^'9, 
at  the  age  of  sixtv-eight  vears. 

J,  ROBINSON.— The  Revenue  Oil  Coniiiany  (J.  Robinson,  superintend- 
ent) was  incorporated  March  17,  1900,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $200,000,  and 
now  has  its  head  office  at  Nos.  404-406  Chamber  of  Commerce  building. 
Pasadena,  Cal.,  its  president,  R.  H.  Pinney,  and  secretary,  A.  K.  Nash,  both 


584  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

being  citizens  of  that  place.  The  board  of  directors  consists  of  the  two  officials 
named,  in  addition  to  C.  B.  Scoville,  Isaac  Bailey  and  J.  C.  Dalton.  Five 
men  working  under  the  direction  of  the  superintendent  care  for  the  coinpany 
holdings  of  forty  acres  on  section  4,  township  29,  range  28,  where  since  the 
first  work  was  started  seventeen  wells  have  been  put  down,  six  of  these, 
however,  now  out  of  commission,  although  by  re-drilling  the  present  super- 
intendent has  been  able  to  secure  twelve  producing  wells,  six  of  which  are 
operated  by  a  power  jack.  The  net  yield  is  six  thousand  barrels  per  month, 
an  amount  largely  in  excess  of  former  returns  and  therefore  gratifying  to  those 
financially  interested  in  the  concern. 

All  through  his  life  Mr.  Robinson  has  been  identified  with  the  oil  industry. 
Born  in  Fayette  county.  Pa.,  April  21,  1867.  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age  when 
he  began  to  work  in  the  Bradford  field  in  Ohio  and  for  twelve  years  he  was 
employed  there  by  the  Hazel  wood  Oil  Company.  Studying  the  industry  with 
assiduous  attention,  he  became  familiar  with  every  department  and  is  now 
able  to  manage  any  responsibility,  important  or  trivial.  From  the  Bradford 
field  he  went  to  the  Clinton  Rock  fields  near  Toledo,  Lima  and  Findley,  and 
acquired  the  sole  ownership  of  eight  wells,  besides  a  one-fourth  interest  in 
twenty-fom-  others.  When  eventually  he  disposed  of  all  these  interests  it 
gave  him  financial  independence,  but  the  spell  of  the  oil  fields  was  upon  him 
and  after  "wild-catting"  in  Ohio  and  finding  twelve  dry  holes,  there  was  little 
left  of  his  former  fortune.  Later  he  prospected  in  West  Virginia,  drilled 
wells  in  Guernsey  county,  Ohio,  and  Barboursville,  Cabell  county,  W.  Va., 
and  then  took  charge  of  a  property  owned  by  J.  W.  Stone  in  Wood  county, 
Ohio,  whence  he  changed  his  headquarters  to  Illinois,  working  first  at  Rob- 
inson, Crawford  county,  and  then  spending  one  summer  at  Casey,  Clark 
county.  Next  he  investigated  conditions  in  Oklahoma  and  from  there  went  to 
Utah  to  meet  Colonel  Dunn  with  a  view  to  drilling  for  him,  but  the  two 
failed  to  complete  their  negotiations. 

Upon  coming  west  to  California  and  landing  in  the  Whittier  field  near 
Los  Angeles,  Mr.  Robinson  engaged  with  the  Central  Oil  Company  and  later 
with  the  Aturphy  Oil  Company  as  production  man.  After  perhaps  three  years 
m  that  field  he  came  to  the  Kern  river  oil  fields  in  1910  and  since  has  been 
retained  as  superintendent  with  the  well-known  concern  whose  interests  he 
guards  with  extreme  care.  His  sons,  John  and  James,  bright  youths  of  nine- 
teen and  sixteen,  are  a  source  of  pride  to  him  and  he  is  sparing  no  pains  to 
prepare  them  for  whatever  responsibilities  the  future  may  hold  for  them. 
With  his  wife,  formerly  Miss  Alice  Elthringham  of  Ohio,  he  has  estab- 
lished a  comfortable  home  on  the  company's  holdings  and  such  limited  leisure 
as  his  ver}'  responsible  position  permits  is  spent  in  the  society  of  his  family 
and  friends,  there  being  no  inclination  on  his  part  to  participate  in  politics  (ir 
identify  himself  with  fraternal  organizations. 

E.  H.  WHITAKER.— The  supply  house  of  Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co..  at 
Shale,  over  which  Mr.  Wliitaker  has  been  manager  since  its  establishment. 
is  one  of  the  recent  additions  to  the  important  list  of  business  houses  in  Kern 
county  having  for  their  object  the  filling  of  the  needs  of  the  oil  operators  in 
this  section  of  the  country.  Since  the  opening  of  the  house  there  has  been 
kept  in  stock  a  full  complement  of  oil  well  supplies  of  the  guaranteed  quality 
for  which  the  name  of  the  firm  stands  sponsor.  Throughout  the  oil  fields  near 
Shale  the  manager  of  the  house  has  an  established  reputation  for  energy, 
reliability  and  sagacious  judgment,  and  he  is  not  only  capable  but  also  popular. 

A  native  of  this  state,  Mr.  Whitaker  was  born  in  the  city  of  Los  Angeles 
September  24,  1877,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  first  came  to  the  Kern  river 
oil  fields,  since  which  time  he  has  been  more  or  less  closely  identified  with 
the  business  now  engaging  his  attention.  For  a  time  he  was  employed  in 
the  shipping  department  (if  Fairbanks.  Morse  &  Co.,  in  Los  .Angeles,  but  in 


%jUi.  (x^^T.4)Y^cuLJuci 


HISTORY    01>^    KERN    COUNTY  589 

July  of  1909  the  company  transferred  him  to  Bakersfield  and  during  the  fol- 
lowing month  sent  him  from  that  city  to  Taft,  eventually  transferring  him 
in  August,  1911.  to  his  present  post  at  Shale,  where  he  was  the  first  and  has 
been  the  only  manager  of  the  supply  house.  The  erection  of  the  store  build- 
ing was  carried  forward  under  his  personal  supervision,  the  stocking  of  the 
room  with  such  equipment  as  must  be  carried  by  such  a  house  also  was  given 
over  to  his  charge  and  the  success  of  the  business  may  be  attributed  wholly 
to  his  oversight.  With  his  wife,  whom  he  married  in  Bakersfield  and  who 
was  formerlv  Miss  Josephine  Dempsey,  he  makes  his  home  at  Shale.  Fra- 
ternallv  lie  is  connected  with  the  blue  lodge  of  Masons  at  I'.akersfield  and 
the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men  at  Taft. 

AUGUST  PIERRE  EYRAUD.— As  far  back  as  the  genealogical  records 
of  tile  Kyraud  family  can  be  traced  they  were  residents  of  that  portion  of 
]<"rance  embraced  within  the  limits  of  Hautes-AIpes  lying  in  the  shadow  of 
the  snow-ca;)ped  Alps  and  a  short  distance  to  the  east  of  the  vine-clad 
valley  of  the  Rhone.  In  the  midst  of  this  fertile  section  lies  the  thriving 
city  of  Gap.  where  Joseph  Eyraud  was  liorn  in  1803  and  where,  after 
years  <  f  active  identification  with  mercantile  affairs,  he  died  in  1884,  having 
long  sur\i\ed  his  wife.  \'ictoria  (Sauva)  Eyraud,  who  passed  away  in  185.3. 
\Miile  the  family  name  is  still  represented  in  Hautes-.Alpes  the  immediate 
members  of  this  family  circle  no  longer  have  identification  with  the  region. 
for  the  sole  survivor  and  the  youngest  of  the  four  children.  August  Pierre, 
who  was  born  there  May  15,  1852,  has  made  his  home  in  the  United  States 
since  1872.  For  a  short  time  after  his  arrival  in  San  Francisco  he  was 
emi)lc  yed  as  clerk  in  a  hotel  and  later  he  worked  in  a  tanner}'  on  twenty- 
si.xth  and  Mission  streets,  after  which,  in  1877,  he  opened  the  Hotel  des  Alps 
on  Pacific  street.  San  Francisco.  Since  1880  he  has  made  his  home  in  Bakers- 
field and  while  during  this  period  he  has  endured  vicissitudes  and  faced 
business  reverses  resulting  from  fires,  by  jjersisting  in  a  course  of  straight- 
forward dealing  with  all  he  has  gained  a  gratifying  degree  of  financial 
]irosperity. 

Shortl}'  after  bis  arri\al  in  I'lakersficld  Mr.  Eyraud  became  the  i)r<]- 
prietor  of  the  .M]>s  hotel  on  the  northwest  ci  rner  of  Nineteenth  and  M 
.streets,  where  also  he  conducted  a  hotel  and  liquor  business.  During  1885 
he  took  the  agency  for  \\  ieland's  brev^'ery  and  was  able  to  reduce  the  cost 
of  bottled  beer  from  $16  to  $9  per  barrel  by  having  the  work  done  at  this 
pc-int.  -V  disastrous  fire  in  188'>  entailed  upon  him  a  heavy  loss.  Prior  to  the 
fire  he  had  bought  unimproved  real  estate  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Nine- 
teenth and  'SI  streets  and  at  imce  he  began  to  erect  the  building  which  he 
called  the  I-Vench  hotel.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  structure  he  hung  at 
its  front  the  flag  of  his  adopted  country.  For  a  number  of  years  he  made  his 
headquarters  at  that  place,  but  during  the  autumn  of  1900  he  again  met 
with  a  heavy  k  ss  through  the  total  destruction  of  the  building  by  fire. 
L'pon  rebuilding  he  changed  the  name  to  the  Commercial  hotel.  This  he 
leased  to  others,  while  on  the  corner  he  established  a  wholesale  liquor  busi- 
ness. During  1909  he  erected  on  adjacent  ])roperty  a  three-story  building 
known  as  the  St.  Regis  hotel.  This  gives  him  a  frontage  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-two  feet  and  a  depth  of  ninety  feet,  with  six  store  rooms  faciuL' 
on  Nineteenth  street.  In  .March,  1912.  lie  retired  from  the  wholesale  busi- 
ness to  devote  his  time  to  looking  after  his  city  property  and  his  ranches. 
Besides  his  other  holdings  he  owns  oil  lands  in  the  McKittrick  field  an.l 
is  also  the  owner  of  a  fine  cattle  ranch  of  nine  hundred  and  si.xty  acres  lying 
in  the  Greenhorn  mountains  fifty  miles  northeast  of  Bakersfield.  On  the 
ranch,  which  is  superintended  by  his  brother-in-law,  Jules  Caillaud,  he  has 
a  large  heul  of  cattle  bearing  the  brand  RO.  He  also  owns  two  alfalfa 
ranches  under  the   Kern   Island  canal,   which   he   is  improving  and   superin- 


590  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

tending.  In  1911  he  built  a  beautiful  modern  residence  on  the  corner  of 
N  and  Truxtun  avenue,  where  the  family  make  their  home.  On  the  organi- 
zation of  the  National  Bank  of  Baker.sfiekl  he  became  an  original  stock- 
holder and  he  is  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors.  Politically  he  has 
supported  the  Democratic  party  ever  since  he  attained  his  majority.  Fra- 
ternally he  holds  membership  with  the  Eagles  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 
His  marriage  was  solemnized  in  Bakersfield  February  4,  1884,  and  united 
him  with  Miss  Rosalie  Caillaud,  who  was  born  in  Paris,  France,  but  was 
brought  to  this  country  at  an  early  age  b}'  her  father.  Charles  Caillaud, 
who  settled  in  Kern  county  in  1869  and  engaged  in  stock-raising  on  his 
ranch  which  was  afterward  known  as  the  French  ranch.  He  passed  away  in 
1878,  and  his  widow,  Frances  (Guillion)  Caillaud,  reared  their  family  of  five 
children  and  spent  her  last  days  in  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  August 
P.  Eyraud,  in  Bakersfield,  where  her  death  occurred  in  1911,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-nine.  The  original  settler  of  the  Caillaud  family  was  Eugene,  a 
brother  of  Charles,  who  came  on  a  sailer  around  Cape  Horn  in  1849  and 
arrived  in  San  Francisco  that  year.  He  engaged  in  mining  and  drifted  into 
Kern  county  in  the  early  days ;  as  early  as  1859  he  located  in  the  Green- 
horn mountains,  where  he  was  a  storekeeper  and  miner,  engaging  in  placer 
mining  on  Bear  Trap  creek,  where  he  was  accidentally  killed  by  the  caving 
of  the  gravel  bank  in  1886, 

The  only  son  of  iMr.  and  Mrs.  Eyraud  was  .\ugust.  a  promising  youth, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  The  onl\-  daughter,  Mrs.  Alice  Ingram, 
is  a  resident  of  San   Francisco. 

WILLIAM  PARKS  RUSSELL.— Success  has  marked  the  experiences 
of  Mr.  Russell  as  a  driller.  To  him  belongs  the  credit  of  having  drilled  all 
the  wells  on  the  Acme  and  all  but  two  on  the  Sacramento,  which  two  proper- 
ties laid  the  foundation  to  the  present  prosperity  and  influence  of  their 
superintendent,  W.  W.  Colm,  one  of  the  leading  men  in  the  Kern  river  field. 
Purchasing  a  block  of  the  promotion  stock  of  the  Alberta  Oil  Company  on 
section  15,  31-22,  in  the  North  Midway  field,  where  work  was  begun  in  May 
of  1911,  Mr.  Russell  has  since  drilled  all  but  two  of  the  wells  on  the  lease  of 
forty  acres.  Under  his  able  supervision  the  five  wells  are  now  producing 
an  average  of  five  thousand  barrels  per  month  and  there  is  every  reason  to 
hope  for  an  increased  output  as  the  work  of  development  progresses.  The 
president  of  the  company  is  W.  W.  Colm  of  the  Kern  river  field,  while  Harry 
Thomas  of  Bakersfield  acts  as  secretary,  and  the  Security  Trust  Company 
officiates  as  treasurer.  Capitalized  by  Kern  county  men,  who  repose  the 
utmost  confidence  in  the  superintendent,  the  latter  has  been  able  to  work 
unhampered  by  limitations,  and  therefore  may  reasonably  hope  to  reach  the 
success  in  this  proposition  that  rewarded  his  efforts  in  the  Acme,  the  Sacra- 
mento and  all  the  other  properties  with  which  he  has  been  connected. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  great  oil  fields  of  Clarion  county.  Pa.,  on  a  farm 
owned  by  his  parents,  John  A.  and  Hannah  (Tippry)  Russell,  William  P. 
Russell  was  born  May  10,  1864.  His  father  died  at  the  old  homestead  and  the 
mother,  now  eighty  years  of  age,  is  still  living  on  that  place.  There  are  six 
children  in  the  family,  namely:  Josephine,  wife  of  Ambrose  Spencer,  who 
is  connected  with  the  iron  business  at  Scranton,  Pa. ;  Marcus  E.,  an  Alaskan 
gold  miner  now  making  his  headquarters  at  Juneau  ;  Lizzie,  Mrs.  John  Parkin, 
of  Parkers  Landing,  Pa. ;  William  P.,  of  California ;  A.  Barton,  a  farmer  living 
near  Foxburg,  Clarion  county.  Pa. :  and  Orrin  M.,  a  contract  driller  working 
in  West  Virginia.  At  the  age  of  ei.ghteen  years  William  P.  Russell  became  a 
roustabout  in  the  Clarion  fields.  Going  from  Pennsylvania  to  West  Vir- 
ginia, he  spent  fifteen  years  in  the  oil  fields  of  that  state  and  meanwhile 
acquired  a  thorough  practical  knowledge  of  drilling.  In  Ohio  he  engaged  in 
drilling  at  St.  Mary's. 

An  experience  of  six  years  in  mining  in  New  Mexico  was  sufficient  to 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  591 

prove  to  Mr.  Russell  that  he  was  far  less  interested  in  mining  than  in  the  oil 
industry,  hence  he  eventually  returned  to  the  West  Virginia  oil  fields  and 
worked  at  Cairo,  Ritchie  county.  Upon  coming  to  California  in  1900  he 
struck  the  Kern  river  field  in  the  height  of  its  fame.  At  first  he  worked  for 
the  Chicago  Crude,  now  a  property  of  the  Associated.  Later  he  drilled  all 
the  wells  on  the  Acme  and  all  but  two  on  the  Sacramento,  also  drilled  on  the 
Sterling  and  Sovereign  leases  in  the  Kern  river  field,  from  which  he  came  to 
the  North  Midway  to  take  up  development  work  with  the  Alberta.  In  1909 
he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Dunkle,  of  Parkers  Landing,  Armstrong  county, 
Pa.,  a  woman  of  culture  and  education,  and  an  earnest  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

A.  A.  SLOAN. — In  Crawford  county.  Pa.,  A.  .K.  Sloan  was  born  .Vpril 
24,  1858,  the  only  other  child,  Alice,  dying  about  1897.  The  father,  Erastus 
Sloan,  died  in  1862,  and  was  long  survived  by  the  mother,  Rosanna 
(McGuire)  Sloan,  whose  death  occurred  November  9,  1911,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-three  years.  Having  completed  the  studies  of  the  common  schools, 
A.  A.  Sloan  had  some  experience  as  a  drug  clerk  at  Little  Cooley,  Crawford 
county,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  started  west  to  see  the  country.  The  hard- 
ships of  life  on  the  plains  of  Kansas,  Colorado  and  the  Indian  Territory  did 
not  appeal  to  him  and  he  went  back  to  Pennsylvania,  there  to  gain  his  first 
knowledge  of  the  oil  industry  while  working  at  Sawyer  City,  McKean  county. 
.\s  a  roustabout  with  the  Hazelwood  Oil  Company  he  experienced  the  diffi- 
culties incident  to  the  beginning  of  work  in  the  great  industry.  Step  by  step 
he  rose  to  be  a  driller.  Successively  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana  and 
California  he  followed  the  occupation  of  drilling,  and  while  in  Indiana  he 
engaged  in  contract  drilling  as  a  partner  of  Joseph  Wilson  under  the  firm 
name  of  Sloan  and  Wilson. 

For  two  and  one-half  years  after  his  first  removal  to  California  in  1887 
Mr.  Sloan  engaged  as  a  driller  for  the  Pacific  Coast  Oil  Company  at  Newhall. 
On  returning  to  eastern  oil  fields  he  continued  as  a  driller  for  seven  years, 
when  again  he  was  induced  to  come  to  California.  On  this  second  sojourn 
in  California  he  drilled  for  the  Santa  Fe  Company  at  Fullerton.  .A.t  the  ex- 
piration of  ten  months  he  went  back  to  Pennsylvania.  January  of  1900  found 
him  again  in  the  Fullerton  field.  During  June  of  the  same  year  he  came  to 
Kern  county  to  drill  at  the  old  Sunset,  having  purchased  an  interest  in  the 
Navajo  Oil  Company.  Going  to  Lompoc  in  1901,  he  worked  for  the  Union 
Oil  Company.  On  returning  to  Kern  county  he  engaged  with  the  Bear  Creek 
Oil  Company  and  later  was  with  the  Fox  Oil  Companv.  but  in  the  meantime 
he  had  spent  one  year  on  his  ranch  at  Altadena.  His  connection  with  the 
Engineers  Oil  Company  began  July  3,  1913,  and  already  has  proved  helpful 
to  the  interests  of  the  concern  on  section  14,  where  he  makes  his  headquar- 
ters. Fraternallv  he  became  connected  with  Esperanza  Lodge  No.  339,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  at  Fullerton.  Piy  his  marriage  to  Miss  Hattie  P)ailey,  of  Jamestown, 
N.  Y.,  he  has  an  only  daughter,  ^liss  Afarie  Sloan,  who  has  developed  marked 
vocal  talent  and  is  now  studyinsj  \(iice  culture  under  competent  instructors, 
it  being  the  desire  of  her  parents  to  prepare  her  for  a  successful  career  in  the 
art.  For  some  years  Mrs.  Sloan  has  been  a  prominent  worker  in  the 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance  LTnion  and  in  religion  she  is  an  earnest 
adherent  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Congregational  Church. 

JOHN  COLE  RAMSEY.— On  a  farm  one  hundred  miles  l>elow  Pitts- 
burg, near  Morgantown.  \\\  \'a..  John  Cole  Ramsey  was  l)(irn  June  11,  187.^. 
the  son  of  Josephus  A.  and  .Annie  E.  ^^^'aters)  Ramsey.  The  father,  \xh<> 
owned  a  quarter  section  of  fine  farming  land  in  West  Virginia,  was  killed  in  a 
runaway  accident  when  he  was  sixty-seven  years  of  age.  The  mother,  who 
still  lives  at  Morgantown,  has  charge  of  the  husband's  estate,  besides  owning 
thirty-seven  acres  adjacent,  the  whole  forming  a  valuable  tract.  Of  her 
twelve  children  seven  are  now  living,  namely :     John  Cole,  the  eldest  of  the 


592  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

family:  D.  P>.,  who  has  drilled  on  the  Globe  division  of  the  General  Petro- 
leum and  in  other  places;  T.illie,  Mrs.  Charles  W.  Morris,  of  Cassville,  W. 
Va. :  Mrs.  Maude  Pride,  also  of  Cassville;  Pearl,  Grace  and  Blanche,  who 
reside  on  the  old  homestead  in  the  east. 

At  the  age  of  nineteen  years  John  C.  Ramsey  found  employment  in  the 
oil  fields  at  Cassville,  W.  Va.,  where  he  worked  for  two  years  in  the  pipe  line 
department  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  Next  he  entered  the  producing 
department  of  the  Standard  at  Mannington,  continuing  there  and  at  Bristol, 
Pa.,  and  Weston,  W.  Va.  In  each  of  these  places  he  had  charge  of  Standard 
property.  Coming  as  far  west  as  Oklahoma  in  1904.  he  worked  at  Bartles- 
ville  and  Tulsa,  mainly  as  a  driller.  The  year  1906  found  him  in  Coalinga, 
where  he  began  to  drill  in  the  employ  of  the  California  Limited.  From 
Coalinga  he  went  to  Sherman  and  engaged  with  the  American  Oilfields  Com- 
pany, Limited.  Later  periods  of  work  kept  him  in  the  employ  successively 
of  the  Alma,  Alma,  Jr.,  and  the  Blackjack  in  the  Kern  river  field,  after  which 
he  came  to  the  North  Midway  in  the  interests  of  Barlow  &  Hill.  One  year 
was  spent  at  Taft,  from  which  place  he  went  to  the  25  Hill  for  T.  M.  Yoimg. 
Two  years  were  devoted  to  various  departments  of  the  work  on  the  lease,  and 
he  then  came  to  his  present  position  in  1911,  since  which  he  has  made  all 
the  improvements  on  the  property  and  has  converted  it  into  a  remunerative 
proposition.  Politically  he  votes  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  the  Moose  at  Taft  and  the  Elks  at  Bakersfield.  While 
still  living  in  the  east  he  married  at  Oakland,  ^Id.,  Miss  Grace  Chesney,  a 
native  of  Morgantown,  W.  Va..,  and  they  are  now  making  their  home  on 
section  14,  31-22,  lease  of  tlie  :\lidway  Gas  and  Petroleum  Company. 

REV.  JOSEPH  WANNER.— Of  the  many  Roman  Catholic  priests  labor- 
ing in  California  few  have  charge  of  a  larger  territory  than  that  which  has 
been  assigned  to  Father  Wanner  for  his  spiritual  oversight  and  none  has  in 
larger  degree  than  he  the  qualities  necessary  for  the  successful  discharge  of 
great  responsibilities.  The  fact  that  he  is  able  to  speak  five  languages,  Ger- 
man, French,  Spanish,  English  and  Italian,  indicates  his  classical  education 
and  fine  powers  of  mind  and  also  makes  him  somewhat  of  a  cosmopolitan  in 
his  outlook  upon  the  world. 

Father  Wanner  was  born  at  Belford,  Haute  Saone.  France.  October  12, 
1865,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late  Casimer  and  Marie  (Grelle)  Wanner,  the  latter  a 
farmer's  daughter,  and  the  former  a  son  of  Fortune  Wanner,  an  educator  and 
owner  of  a  farm  in  Haute  Saone.  The  family  was  of  high  standing  in  the 
community  where  so  many  generations  had  lived  and  labored.  It  was  pos- 
sible, therefore,  to  give  the  ambitious  youth  excellent  educational  advantages 
and  he  was  sent  to  the  La  Chapelle  College  in  France,  where  he  completed  the 
study  of  the  classics.  Later  he  studied  philosophy  in  the  St.  Sulpician  Sem- 
inary at  \'esoul,  Haute  Saone.  On  the  completion  of  the  course  in  that  insti- 
tution he  went  to  Switzerland  and  studied  theology  at  Luzerne  near  the 
shores  of  the  beautiful  lake  of  that  name.  The  historic  university  in  which 
he  was  a  student  had  been  the  alma  mater  of  many  men  of  influence  in  former 
generations  of  religious  progress. 

LTpon  coming  to  the  new  world  the  young  priest  devoted  two  years  to 
theological  study  under  the  Benedictine  Fathers  in  St.  Vincent's  Seminary  at 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.  Ordained  to  the  holy  priesthood  by  Archbishop  Feehan  of 
Chicago  in  1891,  he  was  assigned  to  the  Chicago  diocese  as  an  assistant.  Later 
he  was  appointed  rector  of  the  Holy  Ghost  Church  in  Chicago  and  during  his 
pastorate  he  established  the  Sisters  of  St.  Agnes  convent  and  academy 
in  his  parish.  The  demands  of  the  work  upon  his  time  and  strength  were 
gieat.  After  a  time  his  health  began  to  suffer  under  the  strain  and  it 
became  necessary  for  him  to  resign  his  charge  in  order  to  benefit  by  a 
change  of  climate.  In  this  way  he  was  led  to  come  to  California  during 
1903.      For   three   years    he    serx'ed    as    chaplain    at    the    old    mission    in    San 


<Z_^^e^  .  ^?»tr^^^€^  ^^/oi^y^^nu^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  595 

Diego  and  then  for  a  similar  period  he  was  rector  at  Cayucos,  San  Luis 
Obispo  county,  where  he  built  the  new  church  and  the  parsonage.  At 
the  same  time  he  conducted  the  missions  St.  Cambria  and  St.  Simeon. 
During  1906  he  was  assigned  to  Tehachapi  as  rector  of  St.  Malachy's 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  which  had  been  started  in  1884  by  Father  Bannon. 
In  1910  he  built  the  St.  Mary  of  the  Desert  church  at  Mojave.  During 
the  construction  of  the  aqueduct  he  had  charge  of  all  the  Roman  Catholic 
missions  up  to  Cinco.  In  addition  he  has  rebuilt  the  edifice  used  by  the 
Sacred  Heart  congregation  at  Lancaster,  Los  Angeles  county,  and  has 
visited  regularly  the  missions  at  Amelia  and  Paris.  His  most  distant  mis- 
sions are  at  Tejon  ranch  and  the  Indian  mission  near  VVeldon,  on  the  south 
fork  of  the  Kern  river,  eighty-five  miles  from  his  home,  the  entire  extent 
of  his  territory  covering  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  It  is  necessary 
for  him  to  ride  horseback  over  the  mountains,  for  much  of  the  route  takes 
him  over  roads  impracticable  for  conveyances.  To  one  of  his  consecrated 
spirit  and  tireless  energy  the  hardships  of  the  trips  to  mission  points  count 
for  naught  in  his  zealous  efforts  to  advance  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the 
world.  While  he  has  traveled  extensively  in  Europe,  has  visited  Africa 
and  many  islands  of  the  Pacific,  no  country  is  so  dear  to  him  as  California 
and  no  spot  in  the  commonwealth  more  interesting  to  him  than  his  present 
parish  with  its  widely  scattered  parishioners,  its  constant  difficulties  and 
its  calls  upon   his  sympathies,  patience,   tact  and  leadership. 

JOHN  JOHNSON.— Although  having  recently  established  a  residence 
in  East  Bakersfield,  Air.  Johnson  still  makes  his  headquarters  at  Weldon  on 
the  South  Fork  of  the  Kern  river,  where  he  was  born  May  10,  1867,  and 
where  now  he  has  stock  interests.  Much  of  his  life,  however,  has  been  passed 
in  other  places,  for  the  interests  of  the  stock  industry,  to  which  his  father 
devoted  the  greater  part  of  his  active  life  and  in  which  he  has  been  con- 
stantly interested,  have  obliged  him  to  seek  different  locations  and  as  a  boy 
he  spent  much  of  his  time  in  the  Sierra  country  of  Kern  and  Inyo  counties. 
Later  un  he  had  a  disastrous  experience  in  San  Bernardino  county  in  the 
vicinity  of  Daggett,  where  a  severe  and  protracted  drought  caused  him  losses 
so  heavy  that  he  was  forced  to  begin  anew.  The  spread  of  the  Texas  fever 
among  his  herds  completed  the  catastrophe  that  left  him  without  either  stock 
or  capital.  However,  since  returning  to  Kern  county  he  has  been  more 
fortunate.  The  losses  have  been  retrieved  and  he  now  ranks  among  the 
prosperous  stockmen  of  his  district. 

Tlii(!in::h  helping  in  the  care  of  the  stock  owned  by  his  father,  John 
Johnson,  Sr.,  who  was  a  pioneer  of  California  and  a  rancher  in  Kern,  Inyo 
and  San  Bernardino  counties,  and  eventually  a  merchant  at  Daggett,  where 
he  died,  John  Johnson,  Jr.,  learned  the  stock  industry  in  all  of  its  details. 
For  thirteen  years  he  was  employed  on  the  stock  ranch  of  W.  W.  Landers 
on  the  South  Fork  and  his  proficiency  led  to  his  promotion  to  the  responsi- 
bilities of  foremanship,  in  which  position  he  continued  until  he  embarked 
in  the  stock  business  for  himself.  After  he  had  maintained  headquarters  in 
tJie  Kclse\-  \alley  for  some  time  and  had  made  a  must  gratifving  start  in 
the  industry,  he  unfortunately  took  his  cattle  to  Daggett  in  1908  and  there 
the  herd  was  practically  wiped  out  through  the  Texas  fever  and  the  drought. 
What  was  left  he  sold  in  1909  and  returned  to  Kern  county,  bought  a  small 
bunch  of  cattle  and  started  on  the  South  Fork,  where  since  he  has  maintained 
headquarters  at  Weldon  and  has  ranged  his  stock  on  the  Manache  meadows. 
The  brand  of  22  which  he  uses  is  common  in  the  district,  this  proving  the 
size  of  his  herd  and  the  extent  to  which  he  has  made  up  for  former  losses. 

Buying  a  residence  at  No.  916  Eureka  street.  East  Bakersfield,  in  1912, 
Mr.  Johnson  moved  his  family  to  their  new  home  and  since  then  a  part  of 
his  time  has  been  spent  in  the  city.  He  is  interested  in  the  development  of 
East  Bakersfield,  maintains  considerable  pride  in  its  growing  prosperity  and 


596  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

supports  all  measures  for  the  local  upbuilding.  Politically  he  votes  with  the 
Republican  party.  His  marriage  was  solemnized  near  Weldon,  Kern  county, 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Victoria  Seybert,  a  native  of  San  Bernardino 
county,  but  a  resident  of  Kern  county  since  childhood.  They  are  the  parents 
of  two  daughters  and  one  son,  namely :  Mrs.  Viola  Polkinghorn,  who  lives 
at  Weldon  and  has  one  child,  Dorothy ;  Inice  and  James.  The  father  of  Mrs. 
Johnson  is  Robert  Seybert,  who  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years,  still  survives, 
rugged  and  hearty,  and  still  makes  his  home  at  his  ranch  on  the  South  I<'ork, 
where  he  is  an  honored  pioneer  and  prominent  rancher.  In  an  early  day  he 
came  across  the  plains  from  Missouri  and  settled  in  California,  whose  devel- 
opment he  has  witnessed  during  the  long  period  of  his  identification  there- 
with. 

CALVIN  B.  ALEXANDER.— The  results  of  industry  and  perseverance 
find  a  fitting  illustration  in  the  successful  activities  of  this  well-known  farmer 
of  Kern  county,  who  orphaned  by  the  death  of  his  father  when  he  was  only 
twelve  years  of  age  took  up  the  battle  of  self-support  immediately  afterward 
and  from  that  time  onward  made  his  own  way  in  the  world.  Not  only 
did  he  accomplish  the  strenuous  task  of  self-support  when  other  boys  were 
in  school  or  enjoying  the  recreations  of  youth,  but  in  addition  he  turned  over 
all  of  his  wages  to  his  mother  until  he  was  twenty  and  thus  assisted  in  the 
general  maintenance  of  the  family,  including  at  the  time  six  children,  of 
whom  he  was  next  to  the  eldest. 

Upon  first  settling  in  America  it  is  known  that  the  Alexander  family 
established  their  home  in  Maine,  whence  later  generations  drifted  as  far 
west  as  Ohio.  There  Isaac  Alexander  met  and  married  Mary  Harshberger, 
who  was  born  in  Ohio  of  German  ancestry  and  who  is  still  living,  physically 
robust  for  one  of  eighty-six  years.  During  the  period  of  their  residence 
in  Miami  county,  Ohio,  the  second  child  in  the  family,  Calvin  B.,  was  born 
on  New  Year's  day  of  1853.  When  only  two  years  of  age  he  was  taken 
by  his  parents  to  Miami  county,  Ind,,  but  seven  years  later  the  family 
returned  to  their  old  Ohio  home,  where  the  father  died  about  the  year  1865. 
The  next  year  the  son  was  put  to  work  at  $8  per  month  and  from  that 
time  he  worked  without  intermission  for  rest  or  schooling.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  he  moved  to  Warren  county,  Ind.,  where  he  secured  work  as  a 
farm  hand.  Later  he  took  up  farming  for  himself,  working  land  for  him- 
self in  the  summer  and  then  hiring  out  to  others  in  the  winter.  For  twenty 
years  he  continued  in  Indiana. 

Coming  to  this  state  in  1893  and  purchasing  his  first  acreage  in  1898. 
Mr  Alexander  since  has  devoted  himself  industriousl}^  to  the  care  of  land 
and  of  stock.  Besides  being  a  large  grower  of  alfalfa  hay,  he  is  successful 
witli  other  crops.  In  addition  he  makes  a  specialty  of  stock,  is  considered 
an  excellent  judge  of  horse-flesh  and  has  on  his  place  two  very  fine  Percheron 
stallions,  one  of  which  is  his  private  property,  while  the  other  is  owned  by 
a  company.  The  home  place  comprises  eighty  acres  located  on  section  7. 
township  31.  range  29,  and  under  his  supervision  the  tract  has  been  im- 
proved and  greatly  enhanced  in  value.  In  addition  he  owns  an  improved 
eighty  on  section  12,  township  31,  range  28,  now  operated  and  occupied  by 
his  older  son,  John  C,  a  progressive  young  farmer  of  Kern  county  At 
this  writing  he  also  has  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  under  contract. 

During  1877  Mr.  Alexander  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  A. 
Anderson,  of  A\'arren  county,  Ind.,  by  whom  he  has  four  children,  namely: 
John  C.  who  married  INIiss  Estella  McDonald,  of  Kern  county:  Nora  .A., 
whose  husband,  William  Patterson,  formerly  a  druggist,  is  now  engaged  in 
farming  at  Lathrop  near  Stockton,  San  Joaquin  county:  Christine  I.,  the 
wife  of  Archie  T.  Rudrum,  a  farmer  near  Stockton  :  and  .'\rthur  .Arlington, 
now  in  Bakersfield.  The  family  has  a  high  social  standing  in  their  com- 
mnnity   and   all   of  its   members   receive   the   genuine   respect   which   is   their 


jC&^coTt-^yLa^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  599 

due.  In  all  of  his  cflfurts  Mr.  Alexander  has  enjoyed  the  hearty  and  wise 
co-operation  of  his  wife,  who  is  a  woman  of  education  and  culture  and 
possesses  the  ijentleness  oi  disposition  together  with  intelligence  of  mind 
that  gives  her  a  first  place  not  only  in  the  home,  but  also  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. At  no  time  an  office  holder,  Mr.  Alexander  has  always  espoused  Re- 
pulilican  principles. 

MARION  J.  SCOTT. — From  early  life  dependent  upon  his  own  eflforts 

for  a  livelihood,  Mr.  Scott  has  met  every  hardship  with  a  cheerful  optimism 
and  has  risen  to  a  position  of  considerable  importance  in  the  oil  industry, 
being  now  in  charge  of  the  Brookshire  Oil  Company's  holdings  in  the  North 
Midwa)'  field.  A  native  of  the  commonwealth  where  all  of  his  life  has  been 
passed,  he  is  a  typical  Californian  in  energy,  progressive  spirit  and  patriotic 
loyalty.  The  first  three  years  of  his  life  were  passed  in  Modoc  county, 
where  he  was  born  November  22,  1885,  but  in  1888  he  was  taken  by  his  par- 
ents to  Santa  Barbara  and  with  that  portion  of  the  state  his  early  memories 
are  most  closely  associated.  When  only  fourteen  he  was  orphaned  by  the 
death  of  his  parents.  He  was  the  youngest  of  nine  children,  the  most  of 
whom  had  reached  mature  years  at  the  time  and  were  in  a  position  to  earn 
their  own  livelihoods.  With  characteristic  energy  and  courage  he  discon- 
tinued his  studies  and  took  up  the  task  of  self-support.  From  that  time  to 
the  present  he  has  owed  his  progress  to  his  unaided  exertions.  .At  the  age 
of  nineteen  years  he  found  employment  in  the  Santa  Maria  field  and  ever 
since  that  time  he  has  been  identified  with  the  oil  industry,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  year  devoted  to  other  work. 

A  long  identification  with  the  Santa  ^Maria  field  was  broken  by  removal 
to  the  Coalinga  district,  where  Mr.  Scott  engaged  with  the  Claremont  Oil 
Company  during  1908-09.  During  1910  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  found 
employment  with  the  Brookshire  Oil  Company,  which  corporation  has  since 
had  the  benefit  of  his  arduous  services  and  competent  assistance.  When 
A.  P.  Kennedy,  superintendent  of  the  Brookshire,  died  July  22,  1913,  Mr. 
Scott  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  lease,  receiving  his  appointment  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  Brookshire  August  10,  1913,  since  which  time  he  has  devoted 
himself  with  conscientious  intelligence  and  excellent  results  to  the  many 
details  connected  with  such  tasks.  The  lease  comprises  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  located  in  the  North  Midway  field,  where  three  excellent  wells 
give  an  average  monthly  production  of  thirty-six  hundred  barrels.  He  has 
little  leisure  for  outside  affairs.  The  discharge  of  his  duties  on  the  lease  keep 
him  closely  confined  to  the  property.  While  living  at  Coalinga  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Order  of  Eagles,  but  since  coming  to  this  county  he  has  not 
identified  himself  with  any  organization  of  that  nature.  His  marriage  took 
place  at  Santa  Barbara  in  1906  and  united  him  with  Miss  Lottie  Foster,  of 
Santa  Maria,  and  Ihey  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Marion  J.,  Jr.,  and 
Alary  E.,  aged  respectively  four  and  two  years.  The  family  reside  on  the 
Brookshire  lease  in  the  North  Midway  field. 

CHARLES  G.  WHITTIER.— Allied  with  an  honored  pioneer  family  of 
New  England  and  a  distant  relative  of  the  famous  poet,  John  Greenleaf 
Whittier,  it  has  been  the  ambition  of  Charles  G.  \Vhittier  to  add  prestige  to 
the  name  and  such  has  been  the  result  achieved  in  the  midst  of  the  strenuous 
activities  of  the  oil  field  and  in  a  region  remote  from  the  scenes  of  youth. 
As  a  boy  he  was  familiar  with  the  remote  and  isolated  county  of  Aroostook 
in  the  northern  part  of  Maine,  where  he  was  born  at  Caribou,  August  4,  1871, 
and  where  he  was  reared  in  the  midst  (if  an  agricultural  en\ironment  and  a 
wilderness  that  was  bleak  and  stern  and  unfruitful.  Self-reliance  was  de- 
veloped by  force  of  circumstances.  Ease  and  comfort  was  not  possible  to  the 
family  in  their  northern  home.  The  most  diligent  efifort  was  necessary  to 
secure  a  livelihood  from  the  sterile  soil.  Strength  of  body  and  fortitude  of 
soul  were  the  heritage  of  those  reared  in  and  inured  to  stern  climatic  condi- 


600  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

tions,  and  the  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Ruth  Keach,  is  still  hale 
and  hearty  at  the  age  of  seventy-one.  The  father,  Charles  Greenleaf  Whit- 
tier,  Sr.,  died  at  the  old  Maine  homestead  in  1912,  when  seventy-one  years  of 
age.  The  eldest  of  their  seven  children  is  Milo  W.,  who  remains  at  the  old 
homestead.  The  second  son,  Mericos  H.  Whittier,  a  millionaire  oil  operator 
residing  in  Los  Angeles,  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Green  &  Whittier, 
developers  of  what  is  now  the  Green  and  Whittier  division  of  the  Associated 
Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  field.  The  third  son.  Colon  F.,  is  also  an  oil 
operator  and  a  resident  of  Los  Angeles.  The  fourth  son,  Charles  G.,  who 
has  lived  in  California  since  1903,  is  one  of  the  leading  oil  superintendents  in 
the  North  Midway  field.  There  are  three  daughters  in  the  family,  namely : 
()li^•e,  wife  of  I^ester  Fair,  a  merchant  in  Maine:  X'iora,  wife  of  Henry  Sousa. 
of  Maine;  and  Florence,  Mrs.  Henry  Vinol,  who  makes  her  home  at  Caribou. 

Upon  coming  to  the  North  Midway  field  immediately  after  his  arrival  in 
the  west  Mr.  Whittier  joined  his  brother,  M.  H.,  in  drilling  a  discovery  well 
on  section  20,  31-22.  This  was  practically  the  first  development  work  at- 
tempted in  the  district.  Although  oil  was  struck,  the  well  was  closed  down 
and  the  lease  abandoned,  after  which  he  went  to  Coalinga,  January  4,  1905. 
For  eighteen  months  he  worked  on  a  lease  in  which  his  brother  held  an  in- 
terest. Going  from  there  to  the  Los  Angeles  field  he  entered  the  employ  ol 
the  Salt  Lake  Oil  Company  and  for  five  years  continued  on  their  lease,  mean- 
time purchasing  a  substantial  residence  in  Los  Angeles  and  forming  many 
warm  and  permanent  friendships  with  well-known  operators  of  that  city. 
For  the  period  of  his  residence  there  he  held  membership  with  the  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  in  Hollywood.  During  February  of  1911  he  re- 
tttrned  to  the  North  Midway  field,  where  now  he  engages  as  superintendent 
of  the  Hondo  Oil  Company,  operating  on  section  15,  31-22.  The  name  of  the 
company  is  taken  from  a  Spanish  word  meaning  "a  deep  hole."  Wells  on  the 
lease  average  one  thousand  feet  in  depth  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  barrels 
per  day  in  production.  Forty-two  and  one-half  acres  are  leased  by  the  two 
brothers,  M.  H.  and  C.  G..  who  are  partners  in  the  Hondo  Oil  Company. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Whittier  took  place  at  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Mary  Coughlan,  who  was  born  in  County  Cork,  Ire- 
land, and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  came  to  the  LInited  States,  settling  first  in 
Boston.  From  childhood  she  has  been  an  earnest  member  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Churcli.  ^^'hile  still  retaining  their  Los  .Angeles  residence,  they  are 
now   making  their   home   un   the   lease. 

MRS.  AMANDA  RUBY.-^The  real  estate  business,  which  has  made 
such  strides  in  development  in  this  part  of  the  country  in  the  last  decade, 
has  proved  a  most  attractive  field  of  labor  for  the  progressi-\-e  business 
woman,  who  recently  has  come  to  the  fore  and  procured  such  good 
returns  that  her  fellow  workers  are  kept  busy  looking  after  their  interests 
and  keeping  in  close  touch  with  her.  Mrs.  Amanda  Ruby  is  a  fine  example 
of  the  self-made  woman,  whose  untiring  efTort  along  this  line  has  made 
her  a  most  prosperous  woman.  She  is  the  granddaughter  of  Frederick  Wise, 
who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  who  was  one  of  the  pioneer  farmers  of 
Illinois.  Frederick  and  Rebecca  Wise  were  the  parents  of  Jacob  Mason 
AN'isu,  hi>in  in  .S])ringfield.  Sangamon  count\',  111.,  who  became  the  father 
of  :\Irs.   Ruby. 

Jacob  Mason  Wise,  was  a  blacksmith  in  Sangamon  county.  111., 
for  a  while  and  later  went  to  Riverton  and  then  to  Mount  Auburn,  Chris- 
tian county,  same  state,  but  he  soon  returned  to  Sangamon  county  and 
settled  in  Niantic.  Illiopolis  was  his  ne.xt  place  of  residence  and  later  he 
returned  to  Mt.  Auburn.  He  followed  his  trade  for  some  years,  then  was  a 
hardware  merchant  while  at  Mount  Auburn,  but  finally  returned  to  black- 
smithing,  which  he  followed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  His  wife,  who  before 
her  marriage  was  Nancy  J.  Millstead,   was  born  in  AVheeling,  W.  Va.,  and 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  603 

her  death  occurred  in  Alt.  i\uburn.  111.  Mr.  Wise  passed  away  in  Mt.  Au- 
burn in  August,  1891,  aged  sixty  four  years.  He  was  a  Mason,  and  was  a 
populai-  man  in  those  circles  which  knew  him.  Three  of  the  children  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wise  are  now  living,  viz. :  Amanda,  Mrs.  Ruby ;  Alvin  A.,  a 
resident  of  San  Jose,  Cal. ;  and  George  O.,  of  Springfield,  III.  Mr.  Wise 
served  in  both  the  Mexican  and  the  Civil  wars. 

Reared  in  Illinois,  Amanda  Wise  attended  the  public  schools  of  the 
various  localities  where  her  parents  were  settled,  and  there  grew  to  woman- 
hood. She  married  in  Springfield,  Horace  S.  Ruby,  who  was  born  in  Macon 
county,  111.,  and  reared  on  a  farm  there.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war 
he  enlisted  in  Company  I,  7th  Regiment,  Illinois  Cavalry,  and  was  honorably 
discharged  at  the  end  of  the  great  conflict.  His  death  occurred  in  Bement, 
111.,  in  May,  1884. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband  Mrs.  Ruby  continued  to  reside  in 
Illinois  until  1891,  when  she  came  to  Mojave,  Cal.,  where  she  purchased  a 
hotel  and  rooming  house.  This  place  was  burned  out  twice,  but  undaunted 
she  rebuilt  again  and  remained  there  for  a  number  of  years,  in  1907  locating 
in  East  Bakersfield,  where  she  has  since  resided,  looking  after  her  interests. 

RICHARD  T.  WILHITE.— That  type  of  manhood  which,  in  spite  of 
vicissitudes  and  losses,  in  the  face  of  disappointment,  will  nevertheless  keep 
steadily  at  work,  with  untiring  effort,  is  represented  in  the  life  of  Richard  T. 
Wilhite,  who  was  born  near  Marshall,  Saline  county.  Mo.,  September  7, 
1851.  His  father,  William  Wilhite,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  became  a  farmer 
in  Saline  county,  Mo.,  where  he  married  Martha  Woolard,  a  native  of  South 
Carolina.  The  father  was  accidentally  killed  by  a  runaway  horse,  and  the 
mother  died  at  the  age  of  sixty  years.  Of  their  seven  children  Richard  is 
the  oldest.  He  received  his  educational  training  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
place   and   graduated   from   the   Marshall   high   school   in    1870. 

Mr.  ^^'ilhite  worked  at  farming  for  a  short  time,  but  in  1879  deciding  to 
come  west  he  set  out  for  California.  He  first  located  at  Modesto,  Stanis- 
laus county,  and  there  obtained  employment  in  the  grocery  of  L.  Strauss  & 
Co.  at  Turlock,  remaining  there  five  years.  In  1886  he  came  to  Kern 
county,  and  for  several  years  worked  for  Haggin  &  Carr,  later  known  as 
the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  During  this  time  he  took  up  a  home- 
stead claim  of  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  proved  up  on  it  in  five  years, 
but  he  suffered  losses  and  reverses  and  became  in  debt  to  the  amount  of 
$1000.  Not  losing  courage,  but  rather  with  renewed  effort,  in  1890  he  rented 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  which  was  under  cultivation,  and  later 
bought  the  eighty  acres  comprising  his  home  ranch,  upon  which  he  is  en- 
gaged extensively  in  general  farming,  making  a  specialty  of  raising  alfalfa 
and  grain.  In  connection  with  this  he  has  for  ten  years  also  carried  on  a 
dairy  business.  Recently  Mr.  Wilhite  disposed  of  nineteen  acres  of  his 
place  to  a  Mr.  Attwood. 

On  May  24,  1885,  Mr.  Wilhite  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mattie  J. 
Allen,  born  in  Sawmill  Flat,  Tuolumne  county,  Cal.,  on  November  24,  1864, 
the  daughter  of  James  M.  and  Eliza  (Bradford)  Allen,  natives  of  Missouri 
and  Tennessee,  respectively,  who  came  to  California  in  the  early  days.  Mr. 
Allen  died  in  Bakersfield  and  his  widow  now  resides  in  Modesto.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Wilhite  have  three  children,  Rodney,  of  Taft ;  Shirley,  Mrs.  Watson, 
of  Maricopa;  and  Veda,  at  home.  By  a  former  marriage  to  Josephine  Bene- 
dict, who  died  in  Missouri,  Mr.  Wilhite  had  one  child,  Minnie,  Mrs  E  K 
Blood,  of  Bakersfield. 

ALEXANDER  H.  CROMWELL,  D.  V.  S.— Romance  threw  its  warm 
glow  of  adventure,  travel  and  thrilling  experiences  over  the  boyhood  years 
of  Dr.  Cromwell,  whose  ]iresent  quiet  but  efficient  di.scharge  of  the  duties 
of  veterinary  surgeon  at  Taft  has  for  its  background  a  career  full  of  excite- 
ment and   more  or  less  danger.     The   trend   nf  an   entire   existence   was  for 


604  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

him  decided  by  the  fact  that  in  boyhood  he  lived  on  the  largest  cattle  ranch 
in  the  United  States  and  learned  to  ride  horses  almost  as  soon  as  he 
learned  to  talk.  He  was  born  at  Anaqua,  Victoria  county,  Tex.,  September 
5,  1878,  and  was  the  eldest  son  of  Col.  Frank  Hawkins  Cromwell,  a  man  of 
varied  abilities,  particularly  skilled  in  the  care  of  stock.  Attracting  the 
attention  of  Dull  Bros.,  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  in  1881  he  was  engaged  by  them 
to  manage  their  famous  ranch  in  Texas.  Under  his  able  supervision  the 
vast  property  was  enlarged  until  finally  the  firm  owned  one  hundred  square 
miles,  all  under  fence,  comprising  the  largest  stock  ranch  in  the  entire 
country. 

In  such  an  environment  Dr.  Cromwell  passed  his  earliest  years  and 
developed  fearlessness  and  self-reliance  to  an  unusual  degree.  Three  times 
he  followed  the  trail  up  to  the  Yellowstone  park.  The  first  of  these  trips 
occurred  when  he  was  only  twelve  years  of  age.  Leaving  the  Texas  ranch 
during  the  latter  part  of  February  he  made  the  long  trip  as  a  horse  herder 
and  reached  the  Yellowstone  the  following  Christmas.  Without  accident 
or  loss  he  brought  out  three  herds  of  cattle  numbering  about  twenty-five 
hundred  head  each,  besides  one  hundred  head  of  saddle  horses.  Scarcely  had 
he  reached  the  age  of  thirteen  when  he  joined  the  celebrated  BuiTalo  Bill 
show  in  1891.  Unusual  skill  in  trick  riding  enabled  him  to  secure  a  place 
in  this  show,  which  contained  in  its  ring  some  of  the  finest  riders  in  the 
world.  During  the  World's  Fair  in  1893  he  was  with  the  show  near  the 
exposition  grounds  and  did  fancy  riding  which  won  for  him  continued 
applause  from  the  vast  throngs  crowding  the  great  tent.  Besides  showing 
with  Buffalo  Bill  in  the  principal  cities  of  the  United  States  he  accom- 
panied the  circus  to  other  countries  and  one  of  the  first  places  visited  was 
Mexico  City,  where  there  was  an  exhibition  September  16,  1891.  Nor  did 
his  travels  end  with  his  resignation  from  the  circus  work.  In  addition  he 
has  taken  work  and  draft  horses  in  great  numbers  to  foreign  countries, 
doing  that  work  in  the  interests  of  large  English  and  American  oil  com- 
panies, and  for  some  time  he  was  employed' by  S.  Pierson  &  Son,  of  London. 

A  desire  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  veterinary  surgery  and  dentistry 
caused  Mr.  Cromwell  to  matriculate  in  the  Veterinary  Dental  College  at 
Detroit,  Mich.,  during  1900.  Two  years  later  he  became  a  student  in  the 
Veterinary  Science  Association's  College  at  Ontario,  Canada,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  March.  1903,  in  the  veterinary  surgical  course,  and  in  the 
same  year  he  received  his  diploma  in  veterinary  dentistry  from  the  Detroit 
institution.  Returning  to  Texas  in  the  same  year,  he  engaged  in  the  oil 
fields  at  Beaumont  and  continued  in  different  oil  fields  of  Texas  for  a 
number  of  years.  As  an  employe  of  S.  Pierson  &  Son,  of  London,  in  1906 
he  went  to  the  isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,  state  of  Vera  Cruz,  Mexico,  where 
he  engaged  as  transportation  manager  in  the  oil  fields.  When  the  position 
had  become  remunerative  and  the  work  had  developed  to  large  propor- 
tions, he  almost  lost  his  life  in  an  attack  of  yellow  fever  during  the  latter 
part  of  1908.  Forced  to  abandon  all  work,  he  boarded  a  steamer  that  sailed 
around  the  Horn  to  New  Orleans.  The  long  ocean  voyage  gave  him  a 
little  strength,  but  he  was  still  emaciated  and  weak  when  he  was  advised  to 
seek  the  oil  fields  of  Coalinga  in  California.  The  change  brought  him 
benefit  at  once  and  he  is  now  robust,  rugged  and  fitted  to  discharge 
efficiently  every  business  duty.  With  Dr.  W.  A.  Seabury  he  built  the 
Coalinga  veterinary  hospital  in  1909,  but  this  building  was  destroyed  by 
fire  in  1911,  and  since  1910  he  has  devoted  his  time  to  veterinary  surgery 
in  Taft,  where  Dr.  Seabury  has  likewise  been  his  partner.  Since  coming 
to  this  place  he  has  bought  stock  in  one  of  the  oil  companies  and  also  has 
taken  up  several  excellent  government  locations.  Fraternally  he  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  holds  the  office  of  secretary  in 


H\ 


^ 


S- 


4 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  607 

the  Taft  lodge  of  Knights  of  Pythias  and  is  also  an  honorary  member  of 
the  Pythian  Sisters  in  this  city. 

NATHAN  W.  TAUSSIG.— Varied  experiences  and  an  association  with 
diversified  ticcupations  have  given  to  I\Ir.  Taussig  a  broad  knowledge  of  the 
great  Southwest  and  have  deepened  in  his  mind  a  conviction  that  Kern  county 
offers  to  settlers  of  energy  and  sagacit}'  opportunities  unsurpassed  by  any 
other  section  of  the  great  empire  by  the  sunset  sea.  Practically  all  of  his 
memories  of  childhood  cluster  around  San  Bernardino,  for  he  was  only  a 
little  more  than  three  years  of  age  when  the  family  left  the  East  (where 
he  had  Ijeen  born  at  Cleveland,  Ohio.  August  30,  1862),  and  cast  in  their 
fortunes  with  the  then  insignificant  hamlet  situated  at  the  edge  of  the  desert. 
\ividly  he  recalls  the  little  schools  of  San  Bernardino,  the  slow  growth 
of  the  town  and  the  struggle  sustained  by  the  people  in  their  unceasing  efforts 
to  secure  an  adequate  supply  of  water  for  irrigation.  When  only  fourteen 
years  of  age  he  was  hired  to  drive  the  stage  coach  from  San  Bernardino 
to  Resting  Sjjrings  in  Death  \'alley.  This  was  a  task  calling  for  physical 
strength,  powers  of  endurance  and  fearless  courage,  and  the  fact  that  he 
continued  with  the  company  for  .two  years  furnishes  proof  as  to  his  fine 
physical  and  mental  c|ualities.  ^\'hen  he  resigned  the  position  he  crossed 
over  into  Arizona  and  secured  a  position  in  the  quartermaster's  department 
with  the  government  service. 

Returning  to  San  Bernardino  at  the  expiration  of  three  years  Mr.  Taussig 
made  a  brief  sojourn  in  that  town  and  then  proceeded  to  Barstow  to  work  in 
a  mill  connected  with  the  \\'aterman  mines.  I''<;)r  five  years  he  remained  in 
the  mill,  of  which  for  a  time  he  acted  as  foreman.  Next  he  spent  three 
years  with  the  Barber  Alining  and  Alilling  Company  at  Calico.  An  ardent 
desire  to  become  a  rancher  led  him  to  buy  property  near  Santa  Ana  in  1887, 
but  he  found  conditions  unfavorable  and  sold  in  about  one  year,  later 
returning  to  the  mines.  For  a  short  time  he  worked  in  the  Ibex  mill  in 
Death  \'alley,  operated  in  conjunction  with  large  gold  and  siher  mines. 
From  that  place  he  went  to  Mexicti  and  engaged  as  foreman  in  a  mine  in 
Sonora  for  one  year. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  Kern  county  during  1891  Mr.  Taussig  bought  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  unimproved  land  at  Semi-Tropic,  where  he 
spent  nine  years  in  a  vain  endeavor  to  make  a  success  of  agricultural  opera- 
tions. Discouraged  by  repeated  failures,  he  finally  sought  another  location 
and  in  IQOO  bought  one  hundred  and  si.xty  acres  of  unimproved  land  on  the 
Goose  Lake  channel  of  Kern  ri\er.  The  new  property  responded  to  his 
efforts  for  profitable  cultivation.  Crops  of  grain  were  remunerative.  Stock- 
raising  brought  to  him  considerable  success.  Dairying,  in  which  he  embarked 
during  IS'O.t,  also  proved  a  success.  .Alfalfa,  several  crops  of  which  were 
cut  each  year,  furnished  an  abundance  of  hay  for  the  stock.  With  the  profits 
of  a  few  seasons  he  felt  justified  in  buying  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  three 
and  one-half  miles  north  of  Wasco  and  this  tract  has  been  put  in  an  excellent 
state  of  cultivation.  .\  well  seventy-five  feet  deep  is  operated  by  a  pumping 
plant  with  a  ten-horse  electric  motor,  providing  a  flow  of  water  from  fifty  to 
sixty  inches,  sufficient  to  furnish  an  abundance  of  water  for  the  irrigation 
for  a  quarter-section.  During  1911  Mr.  Taussig  moved  to  his  Wasco  ranch, 
but  he  still  continues  to  manage  the  odier  place. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Taussig  took  place  at  Santa  Ana,  Cal.,  December  20, 
1886.  and  united  him  with  Miss  Edith  Siegfried,  who  was  born  in  Waterloo, 
N.  Y.,  April  27,  1862.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Henry  and  Mary  (Poorman) 
Siegfried,  natives  of  New  York.  Mr.  Siegfried  came  to  California  via  Cape 
Horn  in  1849,  landing  at  San  Francisco,  and  for  some  years  he  followed 
mining.  After  a  stay  of  eight  years  in  the  West  he  returned  to  New  York, 
where  he  was  married  and  there  he  followed  farming  until  his  death  in  1870. 
Mrs.  Taussig's  mother,  now  Mrs.  M.  A.  Hotaling,  resides  in  Orange  county. 


608  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Cal.  Mrs.  Taussig  was  educated  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  and  came  to  Santa  Ana 
in  1882.  She  is  the  mother  of  six  children,  as  follows :  Perla  E.,  wife  of  T.  T. 
Miller  of  Wasco;  James  W.,  who  has  been  educated  in  public  schools  and 
the  Heald's  Business  College  at  Riverside ;  Leona,  Nathan,  Theodore  and 
Billie  G. 

ROBERT  LEE  SCOTT.— The  Lakeview  No.  2  Oil  Company,  of  which 
Mr.  Scott  acts  as  superintendent,  operates  a  lease  of  eighty  acres  situated 
on  section  4,  township  11,  range  23,  and  is  financed  by  the  following  officers 
and  directors:  Clarence  H.  White,  president;  Floyd  G.  White,  secretary;  and 
W.  W.  Wickersham,  treasurer,  the  three  gentlemen  named  being  capitalists 
residing  in  Los  Angeles.  The  identification  of  Mr.  Scott  with  the  company 
dates  from  February,  1911,  and  since  December  of  the  same  year  he  has  filled 
the  position  of  superintendent,  in  which  capacity  he  has  proved  efficient, 
energetic  and  resourceful,  a  thoroughly  dependable  man  for  a  position  of 
great  responsibility.  When  first  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  company  he 
took  charge  of  the  drilling  of  their  well  No.  2  situated  on  section  26,  town- 
ship 32,  range  24.  This  well  has  a  depth  of  forty-five  hundred  and  fifty-five 
feet  and  is  excelled  in  depth  by  only  one  other  rotary  well  in  the  entire 
country,  namely :  well  No.  4,  of  the  Lakeview  Annex  C3il  Company,  located 
on  section  26,  township  32,  range  24,  which  has  a  depth  of  forty-nine  hundred 
feet.  Well  No.  2,  drilled  by  Mr.  Scott,  came  in  January  23,  1913,  with  a 
record  of  twenty-six  hundred  barrels  as  a  gusher  and  is  still  a  most  valuable 
proposition,  pumping  six  hundred  barrels  per  day  of  twenty-four  hours,  and 
furnishing  oil  of  twenty-six  to  twenty-seven  degrees  gravity.  Eighteen  men 
are  employed  on  the  lease,  which  presents  an  appearance  of  prosperous  activ- 
ity and  profitable  operation. 

Ever  since  the  excitement  caused  by  oil  discovery  in  the  Spindletop 
region  in  Texas  Mr.  Scott  has  been  closely  connected  with  the  oil  industry. 
All  of  his  life  has  been  spent  in  the  south  and  west,  where  prior  to  his' 
identification  with  his  present  business  he  had  been  employed  as  a  structural 
iron  worker.  A  member  of  an  old  southern  family,  he  was  born  at  Lost 
Prairie,  Miller  county,  Ark.,  March  19,  1879,  and  was  the  fourth  and  youngest 
child  of  William  B.  and  Emily  Eliza  (Evans)  Scott,  natives  respectively  of 
Virginia  and  Louisiana.  The  father,  who  migrated  to  Louisiana  in  early  life, 
there  met  and  married  Miss  Evans  and  later  removed  to  Arkansas,  where  he 
became  well-known  locally  as  an  expert  judge  of  stock.  About  the  time  that 
his  youngest  child  was  born  he  was  killed  by  being  thrown  from  a  horse.  His 
widow  afterward  continued  to  reside  in  Arkansas,  where  in  a  few  years  she 
again  married ;  her  death  occurred  at  Texarkana  in  December  of  1904.  Three 
sons  survive  her  and  a  daughter  died  in  childhood.  The  eldest  son,  John 
Harrison  Scott,  is  engaged  in  farming  at  Texarkana,  Tex.,  and  the  second  son, 
William  B.,  Jr.,  is  employed  as  a  structural  iron  worker  in  St.  Louis.  The 
youngest  child,  Robert  Lee,  who  has  always  been  known  as  Lee  Scott,  passed 
the  years  of  boyhood  at  Texarkana,  Ark.,  where  the  family  moved  shortly 
after  the  accidental  death  of  the  father.  A  difference  of  opinion  with  his  step- 
father caused  him  to  leave  home  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  in  1892,  and  since  then 
he  has  been  self-supporting.  For  two  years  he  worked  on  a  farm  about  thirty- 
five  miles  from  Texarkana,  but  agriculture  was  not  congenial  to  him  and  he 
was  glad  to  turn  from  it  to  general  work  in  a  mechanical  line,  being  engaged 
in  saw-mills,  shingle-mills  and  planing-mills  as  a  mechanic.  From  that  he 
drifted  into  structural  iron  work. 

The  owners  of  the  Missouri  Valley  Bridge  and  Iron  Works  in  Leaven- 
worth, Kan.,  were  at  that  time  extensively  engaged  in  bridge  construction 
through  the  middle  west  and  Mr.  Scott  found  employment  with  one  of  their 
construction  gangs.  For  two  years  he  was  employed  in  building  a  bridge  on 
the  Kansas  City,  Pittsburg  &  Gulf  (now  the  Kansas  City-Southern)  Railroad 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  609 

across  the  Red  river  and  later  he  worked  on  the  South  Canadian  bridge  at 
Sapulpa.  in  the  Indian  Territory.  With  his  employers  he  worked  in  various 
parts  of  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Oklahoma  as  a  bridge-builder.  At  the  outbreak 
of  the  Spanish-American  war  he  resigned  his  position  and  enlisted  at  Little 
Rock,  Ark.,  in  Company  L,  First  Regiment  of  Arkansas  Infantry,  but  at  the 
expiration  of  five  months  he  was  honorably  discharged,  there  being  no  need 
of  his  regiment  at  the  front.  Returning  to  the  structural  iron  line  of  work, 
he  continued  in  the  south  and  was  employed  on  the  North  Washataw  bridge 
at  Ravia  in  the  Indian  Territory  at  the  time  of  the  excitement  in  the  Spindle- 
top  region.  Leaving  the  work  in  which  he  had  been  so  notably  successful,  he 
embarked  in  the  oil  business.  March  10,  1900,  he  began  to  work  at  Beaumont 
and  Sjjindletop.  During  December  of  the  same  year  he  turned  his  attention 
to  drilling  in  the  Spindletop  field.  There  he  helped  to  bring  in  three  gushers. 
Leaving  that  field  in  1902,  he  went  to  Evangeline,  La.,  as  a  driller  and  super- 
intendent of  production.  Upon  returning  to  Texas  he  continued  as  a  driller. 
About  that  time  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  lady  whom  he  married, 
February  22,  1904,  at  Houston,  Tex.,  and  who  was  Mrs.  Mary  Hill,  daughter 
of  John  Manning,  of  Alabama.  By  her  first  marriage  Mrs.  Scott  had  one  child, 
Mayna,  who  is  now  a  student  in  St.  Augustine's  Academy  at  Fresno. 

As  owner  of  a  one-half  interest  in  two  drilling  rigs,  with  J.  W.  Boynton, 
of  Beaumont,  Tex.,  as  a  partner,  Mr.  Scott  took  ctintracts  for  drilling  in 
a  number  of  fields  and  made  considerable  money  at  such  work.  Unfor- 
tunately he  and  Mr.  Boynton  invested  their  means  in  a  venture  that  lost 
each  of  them  $8,000  or  more,  the  two  wells  which  they  drilled  proving 
to  be  unproductive.  Later  Mr.  Scott  engaged  in  drilling  for  the  larger 
companies  on  the  Gulf  coast  of  Texas,  but  in  1906  returned  to  his  previous 
location  at  Saratoga  and  secured  employment  as  a  fireman  and  pumper. 
During  October,  1910,  he  came  from  Texas  to  California  and  established 
himself  in  the  Sunset  field,  where  in  addition  to  serving  as  superintendent 
of  one  of  the  prominent  companies  he  has  acquired  an  enviable  reputation 
as  one  of  the  best  rotary  drillers  in  the  west.  A  portion  of  his  time  has  been 
given  to  contract  drilling  and  he  has  drilled  four  important  wells  on  the 
leases  of  the  Pacific  Midway,  Obispo  and  Brookshire  Oil  Companies. 

ELONZO  P.  DAVIS,— The  call  of  the  frontier  brought  the  Davis  family 
by  gradual  migration  and  with  several  sojourns  in  the  intervening  territory, 
from  the  plantations  of  old  Virginia,  where  they  became  established  during 
the  colonial  era,  to  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  ocean.  The  head  of  the  house 
at  the  time  of  the  removal  to  California  was  Isham  Turner  Davis,  born  near 
Lebanon,  Wilson  county,  Tenn.,  but  a  pioneer  farmer  of  Arkansas  from  a 
period  antedating  the  struggle  with  Mexico.  In  that  war  he  bore  an  hon- 
orable part  and  during  the  battle  of  Vera  Cruz,  serving  under  the  illustrious 
general,  Zachary  Taylor,  he  received  a  severe  vi^ound  in  the  leg.  Upon  the 
declaration  of  peace  and  the  discharge  of  the  army  he  returned  to  his 
Arkansas  farm,  where  for  many  years  he  continued  the  arduous  struggle  for 
a  livelihood.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  Aliss  Mary  A.  Farley,  a  native  of 
East  Tennessee  and  a  member  of  an  old  Virginia  family.  It  became 
increasingly  more  and  more  difficult  to  earn  a  livelihood  for  their  large 
family  on  their  farm,  so  their  thoughts  turned  longingly  toward  the  west. 
Finally,  during  1869,  they  started  across  the  plains  via  Texas,  New  Mexico 
and  Arizona,  loading  their  necessary  equipment  in  wagons  and  using 
oxen  for  motive  power.  The  son,  Elonzo  P.,  was  at  that  time  a  youth 
of  about  sixteen  years,  strong,  willing  and  industrious.  With  a  kind  heart 
and  willing  spirit  he  often  stood  guard  at  night  in  place  of  older  members 
of  the  party  whose  turn  it  was  for  such  a  task  and  he  recalls  vividly  the 
loneliness  of  those  occasions  and  the  anxiety  caused  by  the  least  noise  of 
unusual  portent.     One  cold,  rainy  night  a  strange  noise  put  every  nerve  on 


610  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

tension.  Twice  he  called,  but  i-eceived  no  answer.  Then  he  fired.  The 
next  morning  when  an  investigation  was  made  the  body  of  a  large  wolf 
was  found.  Fortunately  the  Indians  did  not  attack  them  at  any  time  during 
the  long  journey.  From  1869  until  1871  the  family  lived  at  El  Monte  and 
from  that  time  until  1876  they  made  their  home  in  Kern  county,  but  in 
the  year  last-named  the  father,  accompanied  by  all  of  the  family  excepting 
a  daughter  and  Elonzo  P.,  went  back  to  Arkansas,  only  to  return  to  the 
west  in  1883  and  settle  again  in  Kern  county,  where  he  died  in  1900  at  the 
age  of  eighty-seven.     Here   also   occurred   the   demise   of   his   wife. 

In  the  family  of  Isham  Turner  Davis  there  were  eight  children  who 
reached  maturity,  Elonzo  P.  having  been  the  second  among  these.  The 
eldest,  William  H.,  is  a  mining  man  at  Rosamond,  Kern  county.  Two 
daughters,  Mrs.  .\ddie  Egan  and  Airs.  Alollie  Purcell,  are  widows  living  in 
Bakersfield.  Mrs.  Sarah  Houston  resides  in  Los  Angeles  and  Lucetta,  Mrs. 
Martin  Pettis,  is  a  resident  of  Bakersfield.  The  youngest  sons  are  John 
Edward  and  Robert  Lee,  the  latter  a  resident  of  Rosamond,  while  the 
former,  who  lives  in  Bakersfield,  is  operating  oil  land  on  the  west  side 
in  the  McKittrick  field.  During  early  boyhood  Elonzo  P.  Davis  attended 
subscription  schools  in  Arkansas.  When  the  family  crossed  the  plains  he 
was  able  to  do  a  man's  work  and  proved  of  the  greatest  assistance  in  bring- 
ing the  hazardous  trip  to  a  safe  consummation.  While  living  at  El  Monte 
he  earned  a  livelihood  by  teaming  and  working  on  a  farm.  November 
of  1871  found  him  in  Kern  county,  where  he  since  has  made  his  home.  He 
had  lived  here  but  a  short  time  when  the  county-seat  question  came  up 
before  the  people  and  at  election  time  he  rode  mule-back  through  Bear 
vallej'  and  Tehachapi,  carrying  tickets  for  voting  as  well  as  the  other  neces- 
sities of  the  election.  Both  before  and  after  the  return  of  his  father  to 
Arkansas  he  engaged  in  teaming  to  the  mountains  and  into  Inyo  county, 
using  twelve  or  fourteen  mules  to  two  wagons. 

Ever  since  the  autumn  of  1881  Mr.  Davis  has  engaged  in  the  livery 
business  in  Bakersfield.  For  the  first  two  years  he  carried  on  the  Over- 
land stable  located  on  Eighteenth  near  K  street.  Next  he  bought  the  old 
Dexter  barn  on  Nineteenth  between  L  and  M  streets.  After  having  managed 
that  stable  for  almost  seven  years  he  sold  out  and  soon  afterward  the 
liarn  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Meanwhile  he  had  purchased  the  old  French 
stable,  but  when  the  Dexter  was  rebuilt  on  Nineteenth  between  M  and  N 
streets,  he  leased  the  place  and  for  more  than  twenty  years  conducted  a 
livery  business  at  that  location.  During  February  of  1910  he  leased  the 
Union  stable  on  K  and  Twenty-first  streets  and  since  then  he  has  conducted 
here  a  large  business  in  his  line. 

Politically  a  Democrat,  Mr.  Davis  has  maintained  a  warm  interest  in 
local  and  national  issues.  During  a  service  of  nine  years  as  a  member  of 
the  board  of  education  he  assisted  in  raising  the  standard  of  the  graded 
schools  and  putting  them  into  excellent  condition  for  permanent  helpfulness. 
For  four  years  he  served  as  city  marshal  of  Bakersfield.  His  comfortable 
home  in  Bakersfield  is  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Davis,  formerly  Miss  Margaret 
Hope  Taylor,  who  is  a  native  of  Virginia  and  a  member  of  an  old  and 
cultured  family  of  that  commonwealth.  About  1879  she  was  brought  to 
California  by  her  father,  J.  C.  Taylor,  who  settled  in  Kern  county  and 
engaged  in  general  farming.  In  this  county  she  received  her  education  and 
here  she  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Davis.  They  are  the  parents  of  five  chil- 
dren. Myrtle,  Elonzo  P.,  Jr.,  Pearl,  Marvin  and  Erna.  In  young  girlhood 
Mrs.  Davis  became  identified  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 

ANTON  THORAND.— Born  in  Germany,  May  14,  1863,  Mr.  Thorand  is 
a  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Hanke)  Thorand,  the  latter  of  whom  was  born  in 
rjermany  and  died  in  Illinois.    The  father  brought  his  family  to  .\merica'whcn 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  613 

Anton  was  but  four  years  of  age,  and  they  located  in  Trenton.  Clinton  count}', 
111.,  where  he  has  ever  since  made  his  home.  He  was  the  father  of  ten  children, 
of  whom  :;ix  are  now  living,  Anton  being  the  youngest  son. 

Anton  Thorand  was  reared  in  Trenton,  and  received  but  meager  educa- 
tional advantages,  being  obliged  early  in  life,  when  but  a  lad,  to  go  to  work  in 
the  coal  mines  in  that  vicinity.  This  work  he  followed  until  1889,  when  he 
came  west  and  on  October  7  or  8,  1897,  arrived  at  Bakersfield,  where  he  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  Sumner  Water  Company,  under  Simon  \V.  W'ible. 
He  began  work  at  the  bottom  as  a  general  hand,  by  his  diligent  and  attentive 
labor  receiving  rapid  promotion,  and  in  July,  1898,  he  was  made  foreman  for 
the  company.  He  superintended  the  laying  of  the  pipes  and  mains  (and  there 
were  miles  of  mains  and  pipe  laid)  and  gave  close  attention  to  the  plant  until 
it  was  sold  to  the  Bakersfield  Water  Company.  As  he  was  one  of  the  organ- 
izers of  the  present  company,  Mr.  Thorand  was  elected  vice-president  of  the 
board  of  directors  as  well  as  superintendent,  and  in  this  capacity  he  has  taken 
an  active  part  in  building  the  new  plant,  which  they  immediately  proceeded 
to  do.  Five  new  wells  were  sunk,  these  }ielding  them  more  than  ample  supply 
for  all  present  needs;  three  new  electric  pumping  stations  have  l:)een  installed, 
giving  a  service  that  has  become  appreciated  by  the  consumers,  and  that,  too. 
of  a  splendid  quality  of  water;  and  it  has  all  been  constructed  on  the  plan 
that  it  can  be  easih-  enlarged  as  the  population  grows  and  there  is  greater 
demand.  .A.  storage  system  is  arranged  by  means  of  a  reservoir  with  a  capac- 
ity of  over  two  million  gallons,  constructed  on  the  heights  above  East  Bakers- 
field. Since  the  installation  of  the  new  plant  there  has  been  more  activity  in 
building  operations  in  East  Bakersfield  from  the  fact  that  the  citizens  became 
convinced  that  they  could  be  assured  <  f  adequate  water  supply  and  a  good 
system  for  same.     Politically  Mr.  Thorand  is  a  Republican. 

WILLIAM  J.  SCHULTZ.— On  the  paternal  side  he  is  .if  Teutonic 
origin,  while  the  Genaud  family  were  of  French  lineage,  and  in  his  own 
mentality  may  be  seen  the  attributes  of  both  nationalities,  supplemented 
by  traits  distinctively  American.  His  father,  Frederick  F.,  a  native  of  Ger- 
many, but  from  young  manhood  a  resident  of  Ohio  and  for  many  years  a 
contractor  and  builder,  is  now  living  retired  in  Cincinnati,  where  the  wife 
and  mother  died  in  May  of  1901.  Of  the  five  children  comprising  the  family, 
William  J.  was  born  at  Mount  Carmel,  Clermont  county,  Ohio,  March  23, 
1879.  received  his  education  in  Cincinnati,  where  he  lived  from  the  age  of 
six  years  until  after  he  had  attained  man's  estate.  Upon  leaving  school  he 
became  a  clerk  in  a  grocery  and  for  three  years  continued  in  that  business. 

Coming  to  California  and  to  Bakersfield  during  1901.  Mr.  Schultz  pro- 
ceeded direct  to  the  Kern  river  field  and  secured  employment  as  a  roustabout. 
The  exercise  of  ability  brought  him  merited  promotion.  As  a  tool-dresser 
he  proved  efficient,  as  a  driller  he  made  good,  and  in  a  short  time  he  rose  to  be 
superintendent  of  a  company,  where  as  in  the  less  important  posts  of  duty 
he  displayed  energy,  discrimination  and  sagacity.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival 
in  the  Sunset  field  Jewell  &  Blodsrett  owned  the  principal  interests,  but  the 
north  end  of  the  field  was  entirely  undeveloped  and  the  importance  of  the 
district  as  an  oil  center  was  not  realized  by  the  mo.st  optimistic  residents. 
The  Maricopa  Oil  Company  owned  forty  acres  lying  in  the  southwest  quar- 
ter of  section  1.  12-23.  and  out  of  this  tract  they  leased  seventeen  acres  to  the 
Gate  Citv  Oil  Company,  which  later  bought  the  land  and  platted  the  town 
site  of  Maricopa.  As  early  as  1903  an  extension  of  the  Sunset  Railroad  had 
been  built  to  Monarch  (practicallv  the  nucleus  of  Maricopa),  but  it  was  not 
until  some  time  afterward  that  the  seventeen  acres  on  section  1  were  platted 
and  sold.  Upon  the  incorporation  of  Maricona  in  1910  other  lands  were 
included  in  +he  town  site,  so  that  now  the  town  lies  on  sections  1.2.  11  and  12. 
township  12.  range  23.    Even  as  early  as  1902  Mr.  Schultz  wa^  familiar  with 


614  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  tract  where  the  present  city  stands.  The  possibility  of  oil  discoveries  had 
led  him  to  this  locality.  For  some  time  he  had  engaged  with  a  firm  of  contract 
drillers.  The  first  well  that  he  drilled  for  the  Maricopa  Oil  Company  came  in 
as  a  gusher  and  this  led  to  his  appointment  as  superintendent  and  general 
manager  of  the  lease.     Later  he  became  interested  in  the  property. 

,  In  1906  a  corporation  known  as  the  Maricopa  Road  Oil  and  Development 
Company  was  organized  with  the  late  Capt.  F.  F.  Weed  as  secretary  and 
Mr.  Schultz  as  general  manager.  Four  wells  were  drilled,  all  proving  to  be 
good  producers.  In  the  fall  of  1908  the  Maricopa  Road  Oil  and  Development 
Company  sold  out  to  the  Gate  City  Oil  Company.  The  two  gentlemen  worked 
together  in  the  utmost  harmony  and  with  the  most  satisfactory  results  and 
acquired  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  in  the  gusher  belt  of  the  Midway 
field.  The  title  to  this  land  is  held  in  the  name  of  the  Maricopa  Investment 
Company,  with  Mr.  Schultz  as  manager,  while  in  addition  he  is  manager  of 
the  Maple  Leaf,  Luxor  and  Maricopa  Oil  Companies,  operating  on  the  same 
section,  namely:  22,  32-24. 

WALLACE  MELVIN  MORGAN.— Mr.  Morgan  was  born  in  De  Soto, 
Johnson  County,  Kan.,  April  21,  1868.  His  father  was  Nelson  Wallace 
Morgan,  a  native  of  New  York,  whose  forebears  had  been  residents  of  New 
York  and  the  New  England  states  since  1620.  His  mother  was  Jeanet  Storms, 
also  born  in  New  York,  of  English-Dutch  ancestry.  They  were  married  in 
Michigan,  of  which  state  both  their  families  were  pioneers,  and  moved 
to  Kansas  during  the  time  when  that  territory  was  the  principal  battleground 
in  the  contest  over  the  extension  or  restriction  of  slavery.  When  the  Civil 
War  began.  Nelson  ^^^  ■Morgan  enlisted  in  the  First  Kansas  Infantry  and 
served  through  the  war.  Except  for  a  visit  of  a  few  months  to  her  parents 
in  Michigan,  his  wife,  with  three  young  children,  remained  in  De  Soto,  a 
little  town  a  few  miles  east  of  Lawrence,  directly  in  the  path  of  the  guerilla 
bands  that  terrorized  Eastern  Kansas  in  the  days  when  nearly  all  the 
able-bodied  men  of  that  section  were  fighting  the  larger  battles  in  the 
East  and  South.  In  1870  Nelson  W.  Morgan  moved  his  family  to  Marshall 
County,  Kan.,  where  he  took  up  a  homestead  close  to  the  town  of  Irving, 
and  a  few  years  later  moved  to  the  latter  place,  where  he  conducted  a  wagon- 
making  shop  during  the  remainder  of  his  active  life. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  grew  up  in  Irving  and  was  educated  in  the 
public  school  of  that  place  with  a  few  months'  additional  instruction  in  a 
little  college  at  Holton.  Kan.  L"p  to  the  time  he  was  twenty-one,  outside 
of  the  months  he  spent  in  school,  he  worked  on  farms  in  the  summer,  chopped 
wood  in  winter,  quarried  rock,  worked  in  a  railroad  grading  camp,  lived  a 
generally  vigorous  out-door  life,  and  acquired  a  greater  or  less  degree  of 
proficiency  in  several  of  the  building  trades  to  which  his  early  intimacy 
with  the  wagon-making  shop  had  afforded  him  a  natural  introduction. 

In  December,  1889,  crops  and  the  general  business  and  industrial  outlook 
in  Kansas  being  uniformly  bad,  Morgan,  then  just  past  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  followed  the  family  instinct  to  go  West,  and  bought  a  ticket  to  Bakers- 
field,  Cal.  After  six  months  spent  on  a  Rosedale  raisin  vineyard,  he  went 
to  Miramonte  in  the  artesian  belt  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  where 
he  hoiuesteaded  a  quarter-section  of  land,  farmed  and  raised  a  little  livestock 
until  Tune,  1902,  when  he  bought  the  Delano  Record  and  moved  to  that  place. 

Meantime,  on  February  18,  1896,  he  was  married  to  Frances  Howard 
Raymond,  a  native  of  San  Francisco,  daughter  of  George  A.  Raymond  and 
Mary  Hatch  Raymond.  Mr.  Raymond  is  a  son  of  one  of  the  early  California 
pioneers  and  a  descendant,  through  his  mother's  family,  of  Abraham  Howard, 
who  came  to  New  England  in  1722.  One  of  Mrs.  Raymond's  ancestors  was 
Capt.  Thomas  White,  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  Weymouth  and  a  resident 
of  Plymouth  in   1635.     After  a  nine-months'  apprenticeship  in   country  jour- 


(ThJ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  619 

nalism  in  which  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morgan  learned  enough  about  the 
art  preservative  to  get  out  a  little  weekly  paper  without  assistance  at  any 
stage  of  its  manufacture,  they  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  Mr.  Morgan  took 
a  place  on  the  newsgathering  staf¥  of  the  Morning  Echo. 

Since  April,  1903,  Mr.  Morgan  has  been  continuously  with  the  Morning 
Echo.  In  the  summer  of  1904  S.  C.  Smith,  editor  and  principal  owner  of  the 
Echo,  began  a  successful  campaign  for  election  to  Congress,  and  delegated 
to  the  subject  of  this  sketch  the  duty  of  editorial  writing.  Since  that  time, 
with  one  or  two  intermissions  of  two  or  three  weeks  each,  nearly  all  of  the 
editorials  in  the  Echo  have  been  his  work.  In  addition  he  filled  the  position 
of  citv  editor  for  a  part  of  the  time,  and  at  all  times  has  been  one  of  the 
paper's  general  newsgatherers.  Since  Air.  Smith's  death  in  January,  1913, 
the  editorial  direction  of  the  paper  has  been  in  his  hands. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morgan  have  one  daughter,  Frances,  liurn  in  liakersfield 
on  September  6,  1903. 

ALEXIS  FLAGG  LOWELL.— The  family  of  which  Alexis  1>.  Lowell 
is  a  member  comes  of  English  extraction  and  exhibits  the  qualities  inherent 
in  that  race.  The  initial  period  of  American  development  found  the  name 
transplanted  to  the  soil  of  New  England,  where  a  number  of  genera- 
tions has  lived  and  labored  and  where  it  is  still  worthily  represented  by 
men  of  intelligence  and  patriotism.  Genealogical  records  show  that  John 
Lowell  devoted  his  entire  life  to  agriculture  in  New  England,  His  son, 
William,  a  native  of  Olney,  Me.,  learned  the  trade  of  ship  carpenter  in  youth 
and  for  years  engaged  in  the  occupation,  together  with  that  of  farming. 
Late  in  life  he  joined  his  sons  in  California  and  died  in  Bakersfield.  By  his 
marriage  to  Mary  Tyler,  a  native  of  Maine,  he  became  the  father  of  six  sons, 
of  whom  Wilmot,  Danville  and  William  Harrison  died  in  Bakersfield,  which 
city  is  still  the  home  of  John  and  Alexis  Flagg.  The  only  son  who  remained 
in  the  east  was  Henry  H.,  who  died  in  Boston,  November  20,  1912. 

The  youngest  of  the  sons,  Alexis,  was  born  at  Concord,  Me.,  November 
19,  1846,  and  attended  schools  in  his  native  township,  where  also  at  an  early 
age  he  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  farm  duties.  An  older  brother, 
VVilmot,  had  come  to  California  about  1862,  and  in  1873  he  joined  him  here. 
For  two  years  he  engaged  in  the  sheep  industry  near  Hollister  with  that 
brother.  During  1875  they  removed  the  flock  to  Kern  county  and  estab- 
lished their  headquarters  at  Bakersfield.  Here  for  a  year  or  two  they  were 
exceptionally  successful.  Their  flocks  grazed  on  the  Greenhorn  mountains 
and  along  the  plains,  where  an  abundance  of  pasturage  was  to  he  found. 
However,  the  severe  drought  of  1877  completely  changed  conditions  and 
wiped  out  all  of  their  profits,  so  that  their  flock  of  four  thousand  was  re- 
duced to  a  scant  four  hundred.  With  undaunted  courage  the  brothers  began 
anew.  Fortunately  they  were  not  again  called  upon  to  sustain  such  a  loss 
or  endure  such  a  drought.  When  they  disposed  of  their  flocks  about  1887 
they  did  so  at  a  fair  profit.  About  that  time  they  bought  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  adjoining  Bakersfield.  This  tract  they  devoted  to  general  farm 
products  and  to  fruit,  particularly  to  peaches.  Eventually  the  property  was 
sold  and  a  portion  subdivided  as  the  Lowell  addition  to  Bakersfield,  but 
Alexis  F.,  having  a  fondness  for  the  place,  bought  back  twenty  acres  and 
planted  it  to  fruit.  He  continued  to  superintend  the  acreage  and  care  for 
the  trees  until  1910,  when  he  disposed  of  the  entire  tract  with  the  exception 
of  the  corner  occupied  by  his  residence.  In  addition  he  owns  six  houses 
in  the  Lowell  addition,  as  well  as  other  property  in  the  city,  and  these  \-arious 
places  he  oversees  personalh-.  With  that  exception  he  has  retired  fr(im  all 
business  activities,  nor  does  he  take  an}-  part  in  fraternal  organizatic  ns.  nor 
in  politics  aside  from  the  casting  of  a  Republican  ballot  at  all  national 
elections. 

It  was  the  good  fortune  of  Mr.  Lowell  h<  have  the  cheerful  cc  i-()i)cratiiin 


620  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

and  capable  assistance  of  an  appreciated  helpmate.  Mrs.  Luella  (Rogers) 
Lowell  was  born  in  Vanderburg  county,  Ind.,  and  was  next  to  the  youngest 
among  five  children,  all  of  whom  attained  maturity.  Her  parents,  Samuel 
Curtis  and  Marilla  J.  (Sirkle)  Rogers,  were  natives  respectively  of  New 
Hampshire  and  Indiana.  Early  in  life  Mr.  Rogers  became  a  resident  of 
Indiana  and  took  up  a  raw  tract  of  land,  which  he  developed  into  a  pro- 
ductive farm.  During  the  summer  of  1852  he  crossed  the  plains  to  Cali- 
fornia and  engaged  in  mining,  but  without  any  gratifying  returns.  Deter- 
mining to  resume  his  profession  of  teacher,  he  went  to  Santa  Clara  county, 
where  he  opened  and  founded  the  first  public  school  in  the  county.  About 
three  years  later  he  went  back  to  Indiana  and  resumed  farm  pursuits.  How- 
ever, the  lure  of  the  west  had  sent  its  call  to  his  soul  and  in  1867  conditions 
were  such  that  he  decided  to  remove  his  family  to  Arizona.  The  trip  was 
made  with  wagon  and  ox-teams  and  he  settled  in  Prescott,  where  he  found 
employment  as  a  teacher,  in  addition  to  which  he  engaged  in  general  farm- 
ing, and  while  living  there  he  also  served  as  internal  revenue  collector  at 
Prescott.  After  the  death  of  his  wife,  which  occurred  in  Arizona,  he  came 
to  California  and  spent  his  last  days  in  the  home  of  his  daughter,  INIrs.  Lowell. 
Here  he  passed  away  in  1909.  Another  bereavement  came  to  Mrs.  Lowell 
in  1910,  when  the  second  son  of  the  family,  Raymond  Lowell,  was  called  from 
the  home  by  death.  There  still  survive  two  sons,  William  Curtis  and  Alexis, 
who  are  the  pride  of  their  parents  and  in  whose  welfare  they  maintain  the 
deepest  concern. 

THOMAS  H.  SMITH.— For  fifty  years  Mr.  Smith  has  been  an  active 
factor  in  the  agricultural  upbuilding  of  the  remote  but  rich  valley  where  he 
owns  valuable  holdings  in  land  and  stock  and  where,  in  the  calm  fruition  of 
a  life  worthily  spent,  he  is  passing  the  twilight  of  a  useful  existence  beneath 
his  own  vine  and  fig  tree  and  surrounded  by  evidences  of  his  thrifty  manage- 
ment. It  is  said  that  his  was  the  second  family  to  locate  in  this  valley  and 
certain  it  is  that  none  surpasses  him  in  point  of  long  and  intimate  association 
with  the  locality.  A  typical  pioneer  in  temperament,  he  was  well  qualified  for 
the  hardships  of  the  frontier  and  the  loneliness  of  an  isolated  cattle  ranch. 
As  he  pursued  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  adding  to  his  acreage  and  increasing 
his  herds,  he  did  not  neglect  his  duties  as  a  citizen,  but  gave  liberally  to  com- 
munity movements  and  especially  interested  himself  in  the  starting  of  schools, 
for  he  was  solicitous  that  the  young  people  of  the  community  should  receive 
excellent  educations.  Known  and  honored  for  miles  in  every  direction  frorn 
his  homestead,  he  is  recognized  as  a  pioneer  who  aided  in  the  local  upbuilding 
and  who  achieved  success  in  local  enterprises.  His  own  individual  success 
proves  the  possibilities  of  the  valley  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  extensive 
stock  business  continued  satisfactorily  by  his  son,  Thomas  S.,  represented 
elsewhere  in  this  volume. 

Descended  from  an  ancient  Anglo-Saxon  family,  Thomas  H.  Smith  was 
born  in  Bristol,  England,  in  1824,  and  from  early  life  followed  the  sea.  In  the 
course  of  several  voyages  he  saw  much  of  the  world  and  visited  many  im- 
portant ports,  but  he  finally  decided  to  locate  permanently  in  the  United  States. 
For  his  wife  he  chose  Miss  Sophia  M.  Whittock,  who  was  born  at  Salem, 
Washingtc  n  county,  Ohio,  in  1829,  being  the  granddaughter  (on  the  maternal 
side)  of  Major  Stanley,  an  illustrious  officer  in  the  war  of  1812.  The  young 
couple  were  married  at  Salem  and  remained  there  for  some  time,  but  in  185.3 
Mr.  Smith,  leaving  his  wife  in  Ohio,  came  to  California  via  Panama.  Three 
years  later  Mrs.  Smith  came  via  the  same  route  and  joined  him  at  Oakland, 
where  he  had  engaged  in  clerking.  During  1859  the  family  removed  from 
Oakland  to  Tulare  county  and  Mr.  Smith  took  up  land  near  V'isalia,  where 
he  embarked  in  ranching.  In  1862  he  crossed  the  line  into  Kern  county  and 
located  a  claim  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  Kern  river,  where  the  following  year 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  623 

he  was  joined  by  his  family.  As  time  passed  his  fields  grew  larger,  his  tracts 
more  widely  extended  and  his  herd  of  cattle  more  important,  so  that  the  brand 
13  then,  as  now,  became  known  far  and  near.  It  became  apparent  to  him  at  an 
early  period  of  his  identification  with  the  valley  that  he  must  take  steps  to 
secure  irrigation  facilities.  Accordingly  he  took  out  what  is  now  the  oldest 
ditch  at  the  head  of  the  river,  thus  bringing  under  irrigation  s<ime  four  hun- 
dred acres  of  excellent  land. 

Because  his  large  ranching  interests  have  kept  .Mr.  .Smith  remote  from  the 
great  centers  of  population,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  he  has  neglected  any 
duty  devolving  upon  a  public-spirited  citizen  or  that  he  has  failed  to  keep 
posted  concerning  national  problems.  In  politics  he  stanchly  upholds  Repub- 
lican principles.  An  abiding  faith  in  the  uplifting  influence  of  religion  has 
deepened  his  character  and  harmonized  the  elements  entering  into  his  men- 
tality. For  years  he  and  his  wife  have  been  earnest  Methodists,  loyal  to  the 
church  of  their  choice  and  generous  in  contributions  to  missionary  and  benev- 
olent causes.  Of  their  six  children  three  attained  mature  years  and  two  sur- 
\ive.  One  daughter,  Sophia,  became  the  wife  of  J.  1>.  Batz  and  is  living  in 
r>akersfield.  The  other,  Henrietta,  Mrs.  J.  H.  Powers,  died  in  the  South  l'"(irk 
district.    The  only  son,  Thomas  S.,  is  represented  elsewhere. 

EDWARD  D.  GILLETTE.— As  an  active,  benign  personality  combining 
successful  Inisiness  achievement  with  the  highest  social,  moral  and  political 
ideals,  .Mr.  (Hllette  stands  out  prominently  among  the  production  men  in 
the  Midway  oil  field  and  particularly  on  25  Hill.  Since  April  of  1909  he 
has  been  the  efficient  superintendent  of  the  T.  W.  Oil  Company,  whose 
holding  on  section  25,  township  32,  range  23,  now  shows  five  producing  wells 
with  a  monthly  jiroduction  of  twenty  thousand  barrels.  In  addition  he  has 
been  appointed  sujjerintendent  of  the  W.  T,  M.  Oil  Company,  also  on 
2^.  32,  23,  with  six  producing  wells  that  average  a  monthly  production  of 
twenty  thousand  barrels;  and  the  Carbo-Petroleum  Oil  Company,  on 
2f)-32-23.  with  ele\en  producing  wells  and  a  monthly  production  of  twelve 
thousand  barrels.  The  two  other  organizations  of  which  he  is  superin- 
tendent (the  Los  Posos  Oil  Company  and  the  San  Francisco  Midway  Oil 
Company)  have  no  producing  wells  at  present  and  are  now  idle,  while  the 
Los  Angeles  Midway  Oil  Company,  on  6-31-23,  which  he  owns,  also  has 
proved  to  be  unproductive.  In  the  management  of  the  producing  companies 
there  is,  however,  sufficient  responsibility  to  engross  the  time  of  even  so 
energetic  and  forceful  a  superintendent  as  Mr.  Gillette.  Withal  he  has 
found  leisure  to  identify  himself  with  influences  uplifting  to  the  community. 

Not  only  is  Mr.  Gillette  a  native  son,  but  his  parents,  James  ().  and 
Augusta  E.  (Murley)  Gillette,  likewise  are  natives  of  the  state,  the  latter 
born  and  reared  in  Alameda  county.  The  paternal  grandfather,  James  (!i!- 
l6tte,  the  first  civil  engineer  in  Humboldt  county,  this  state,  started  on  a 
surveying  expedition  in  1849,  and  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  a  short 
cut  to  his  destination  he  left  the  other  members  of  the  party.  When  he 
failed  to  put  in  an  appearance  a  search  was  made  and  his  body  was  found 
where  he  had  been  shot  by  Indians.  For  many  years  James  O.  Gillette  has 
engaged  in  ranching  in  Monterey  county  and  there  Edward  D.  was  born 
July  29,  1877.  There  were  three  .sons  in  the  family.  The  eldest,  Robert  L., 
a  skilled  machinist,  learned  the  trade  with  the  Union  iron  works  in  San 
I-"rancisco  and  helped  to  build  the  great  battleship,  Oregon.  W'hile  still  a 
young  man  he  died  of  appendicitis.  The  second  son,  Nathaniel,  who  studied 
assaying  and  became  a  practical  miner,  now  owns  the  Gold  Hill,  a  placer 
claim  near  the  home  ranch  in  Monterey  county.  The  third  son,  Edward  D., 
was  five  years  of  age  when  the  family  removed  to  Santa  Cruz,  the  father 
carrying  on  a  lumber  business  in  that  city.  After  two  years  a  return  was 
made  to   Monterev  county  and  to  the  old   homestead  in  the  Chelam    valley. 


624  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

where  the  lad  was  sent  to  the  grammar  school  until  he  had  completed  the 
course.  He  had  no  higher  educational  advantages.  Through  wide  general 
reading  he  has  become  well  informed.  When  only  sixteen  years  of  age  he 
began  to  operate  a  threshing  machine  and  he  continued  at  the  work  for 
three  years,  meanwhile  threshing  thousands  of  bushels  of  wheat.  When 
nineteen  he  went  to  the  Santa  Margarita  oil  fields  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county  and  there  secured  employment  in  hewing  out  timber  for  oil  der- 
ricks and  rigs.  Next  he  worked  as  a  roustabout,  then  as  tool-dresser  and 
rig-builder.  After  some  experience  as  tool-dresser  with  the  San  Luis  Obispo 
Oil  Company  he  was  transferred  back  to  Parkfield,  Monterey  county. 
Eleven  holes  were  drilled  there,  but  no  oil  was  found,  nor  was  he  much 
more  fortunate  at  San  Pablo,  where  he  drilled  three  holes  and  found  two 
dry  and  one  with  only  ten  barrels. 

Left  penniless  by  these  disastrous  experiences,  the  young  man  drilled 
a  water  well  for  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Company  at  Point  Richmond  and 
in  that  way  earned  money  enough  to  pay  his  expenses  to  the  Kern  river 
field.  Arriving  here,  he  went  to  work  for  the  Associated  Oil  Company  and 
became  superintendent  on  the  Green  and  Whittier  division  of  that  concern. 
When  he  resigned  his  position,  July  1,  1908,  at  the  expiration  of  five  years 
of  continuous  service,  he  had  thoroughly  learned  the  production  part  of  the 
oil  industry.  In  the  Sunset  field  he  spent  one  year  with  the  Sunset  Road 
Oil  Company  and  when  that  concern  became  the  property  of  the  Union 
Oil  Company  he  remained  about  ninety  days  with  the  new  crew,  in  order 
that  the  Union  employes  might  become  acquainted  with  the  location  and 
outputs  of  the  wells.  During  that  period,  in  addition  to  his  responsibilities 
on  the  field,  he  owned  the  hospital  at  Maricopa.  On  leaving  the  Sunset 
he  was  offered  the  superintendency  of  the  T.  W.  Oil  Company,  which  he 
accepted  and  has  since  filled.  At  the  time  of  his  first  association  with  the 
lease  well  No.  1  had  been  condemned  as  hazardous  and  unprofitable.  After 
drilling  twenty-nine  days  he  secured  an  average  of  four  hundred  barrels  and 
there  is  now  a  daily  average  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  barrels.  The  well 
was  the  first  profitable  venture  of  the  kind  on  the  south  side  of  25  Hill, 
where  John  Conley  had  first  discovered  oil  and  where  the  Sunset  Coast  Oil 
Company  had  brought  in  the  first  well.  The  pioneers  of  the  hill  were 
Messrs.  Barlow  and  Hill,  of  Bakersfield. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Gillette  belongs  to  Bakersfield  Camp  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E. 
For  some  years  he  has  been  a  director  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Taft. 
His  first  marriage  took  place  in  1906  and  united  him  vvith  Miss  Helen  D. 
Campbell,  of  San  Francisco,  who  died  in  1907  when  her  child,  Isabelle 
Helen,  was  only  thirty  days  old.  In  1910  Mr.  Gillette  was  united  with 
Mrs.  Constance  H.  Wilson,  widow  of  Dr.  W.  C.  Wilson,  of  South  Africa, 
and  a  daughter  of  William  Harshaw,  of  Toronto,  Canada.  The  attractive 
residence  of  Mr.  Gillette  on  the  W.  T.  &  M.  lease  affords  a  decided  im- 
provement on  the  primitive  conditions  in  the  oil  fields,  when  canvas  tents 
served  as  houses.  Often  Mr.  Gillette  mentions  the  fact  that  the  first 
night  on  his  present  lease  he  spent  in  a  rude  shack  built  on  posts  over  a 
rough  board  floor,  under  which,  the  first  sight  to  greet  his  eyes  as  he  awak- 
ened in  the  morning,  he  saw  three  rattlesnakes  ready  for  action.  No  local 
movement  is  of  deeper  interest  to  him  than  the  growth  of  the  Petroleum 
Club,  which  owes  its  organization  in  part  to  his  energy  and  enthusiasm. 
In  addition  to  his  prominent  work  in  the  Petroleum  Club  and  in  other  local 
enterprises,  Mr.  Gillette  has  been  a  booster  for  good  roads  and  maintains  a 
warm  interest  in  the  "Three  Hours  to  the  Coast"  movement,  for  no  one 
realizes  more  than  he  the  value  to  the  oil  fields  (and  to  all  of  Kern  county 
as  well)  of  a  first-class  highway  leading  to  the  ocean. 

HARRY  F.  MURDOCK.— The  citv  clerk  of  Bakersfield  traces  his  lin- 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  625 

eage  to  the  Old  Dominion  and  bears  the  name  of  his  paternal  grandfather, 
a  Virginian  of  fine  family  and  irreproachable  character,  who  removed  to 
Illinois  when  migration  was  at  its  Hood  tide  and  settled  at  Vandalia,  Fay- 
ette county.  Having  acquired  skill  in  the  carpenter's  trade  during  youth, 
he  gave  attention  to  that  occupation  and  for  years  made  a  specialty  of 
building  contracts.  Such  work  occupied  his  attention  in  Vandalia  until  the 
infirmities  of  advancing  years  prevented  manual  labor.  His  death  occurred 
in  Illinois  in  1910.  Under  his  wise  supervision  a  son,  E.  E.,  born  in  Bond 
county,  111.,  had  been  trained  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  carpentering  and 
had  entered  upon  contracting  and  building,  these  activities  filling  the  entire 
period  of  his  business  career.  At  this  writing  he  makes  his  home  in 
Omaha,  Neb.,  and  though  no  longer  active,  he  retains  full  possession  of 
mental  and  physical  faculties  and  keeps  abreast  with  current  affairs  of  city 
and  nation.  His  wife,  who  like  himself  claims  Bond  county,  111.,  as  her 
native  home,  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Emma  Gill  and  was  a  daughter  of 
James  Gill,  a  Virginian  by  birth  and  ancestry.  Subsequent  to  his  removal 
from  the  Old  Dominion  Mr.  Gill  followed  the  occupation  of  a  stage-driver 
on  the  plank  road  between  St.  Louis  and  Vandalia. 

The  family  of  E.  E.  and  Emma  Murdock  comprised  three  sons  and  one 
daughter,  all  still  living,  the  eldest  being- Harry  F.,  who  was  born  in  Bond 
county.  111.,  September  22,  1871,  and  received  excellent  advantages  in  the 
grammar  and  high  schools  of  Greenville,  that  county.  After  he  had  com- 
pleted the  high-school  course  he  spent  three  years  in  Greenville  College  and 
then  gave  up  educational  interests  in  order  to  earn  his  own  way  in  the 
world.  Going  to  St.  Louis  he  entered  the  office  of  the  "Big  Four"  Railroad 
and  held  clerkships  in  different  departments,  but  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Spanish-American  war  resigned  the  position  in  order  to  enlist  in  the  service. 
His  name  was  placed  upon  the  muster  rolls  of  Battery  L,  First  United 
States  Artillery,  in  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  and  soon  he  was  appointed  to  special 
duty  in  the  paymaster's  department,  serving  at  Pensacola,  Fla.,  until  he 
received  an  honorable  discharge  by  reason  of  the  adjutant-general's  orders. 

Immediately  after  his  return  from  the  south  Mr.  Alurdock  came  to 
California  during  the  autumn  of  1898  and  entered  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road offices  at  San  Francisco.  The  following  year  he  came  to  Kern  as 
a  clerk  in  the  superintendent's  office  of  the  operating  department  with  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  and  in  a  short  time  was  promoted  to  be  pay- 
master, which  position  he  filled  for  some  years.  During  July  of  1910  he 
retired  from  the  railroad  service.  Meanwhile  in  1908  he  had  been  elected 
town  clerk  of  Kern.  Upon  the  consolidation  of  Kern  and  ^Bakersfield  July 
19,  1910,  he  was  elected  city  clerk  of  the  new  consolidated  city.  At  the 
regular  election  in  April,  1911,  he  was  chosen  to  serve  as  city  clerk  for  a 
term  of  four  years  and  he  has  devoted  his  time  and  attention  to  official 
duties,  having  his  office  in  the  Producers  Bank  building.  Realizing  the  need 
of  securing  a  new  and  adequate  supply  of  water  for  Kern,  or  East  Bakers- 
field,  the  old  Sumner  Water  Company  having  failed  to  keep  pace  with 
the  growth  and  to  supply  the  needs  of  the  place,  he  began  individually  in 
1911  to  lay  plans  to  interest  people  of  that  section  in  a  new  company  to 
take  over  the  old  franchise  and  put  in  a  new  water  plant  and  system.  He 
secured  an  option  on  the  plant  for  S.  W.  Wible  and  organized  the  Bakers- 
field  Water  Company,  of  which  he  became  secretary  and  treasurer  and  one 
of  the  largest  stockholders.  This  company  sunk  five  wells  and  put  in  three 
pumping  plants  and  a  modern  system  at  present  sufficient  for  a  period  of 
twenty  years.  Since  the  plant's  completion  he  has  resigned  his  official 
position  and  management  of  the  company  in  order  to  devote  his  time  to 
other  improvements  which  he  is  fostering,  which  are  of  general  interest 
in   the    welfare   of   the   community.      It    should    be    stated   that    tlie    comple- 


626  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

tion  of  the  new  water  system  for  East  Bakersfield  has  established  renewed 
confidence  in  that  section  as  shown  in  the  activities  of  improvement  and 
building  that  is  now  going  on.  In  national  principles  Mr.  Murdock  favors 
Republican  tenets,  but  he  is  not  a  partisan  in  any  respect  and  his  election  to 
office  represents  the  choice  of  the  people  irrespective  of  political  ties.  The 
Spanish-American  War  Veterans  number  him  among  their  most  interested 
and  loyal  members  and  he  is  further  connected  with  the  Eagles  and 
Woodmen  of  the  World.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  has  purchased 
property  and  maintains  an  active  interest  in  realty  developments  here  and 
in  adjacent  communities.  His  family  consists  of  wife  and  three  children, 
Elizabeth,  Kelton  and  Virginia,  Mrs.  Murdock  formerly  having  been  Miss 
Margaret  Clay,  a  resident  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  but  a  member  of  an  old  Ten- 
nessee family  and  herself  a  native  of  Nashville. 

HORACE  GREELEY  PARSONS.— Thirty  years  after  the  Mayflower 
had  made  its  memorable  voyage  across  the  ocean  to  the  new  world  the  first 
representatives  of  the  Parsons  family  in  America  came  from  England  and  set- 
tled among  the  colonists  of  Massachusetts,  whence  a  later  generation  became 
transplanted  upon  New  Hampshire  soil.  When  the  tide  of  migration  began  to 
turn  toward  the  new  west  Jonathan  Parsons  removed  from  his  native  New 
Hampshire  and  settled  upon  the  prairies  of  Wisconsin,  where  he  developed  a 
farm  out  of  raw  land  in  the  primeval  condition  of  nature.  In  his  family  was  a 
son,  Samos,  born  and  reared  in  New  Hampshire  and  during  early  manhood  a 
business  man  of  Dunkirk,  N.  Y.,  where  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
fanning  mills.  Later  he  made  a  somewhat  brief  sojourn  in  Ontario,  Canada, 
whence  he  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  settled  in  W^aukesha  county.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  difficulty  connected  with  the  developing  of  a  large  tract  of  raw 
land  into  a  productive  farm  he  gave  considerable  time  to  public  afifairs  and 
served  efficiently  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  postmaster.  Eventually  he 
became  a  citizen  of  ^^'hitewater,  Walworth  county,  Wis.,  and  a  stockholder 
in  the  Esterly  reaper  factory.  Selling  out  his  interests  there  in  1874  he  came 
to  California  and  purchased  a  home  in  Santa  Clara  county,  where  occurred 
the  demise  of  his  wife,  Sophronia  (Burt)  Parsons,  a  native  of  New  York. 
His  own  life  was  spared  to  the  age  of  ninety  years,  when  he  died  at  his  home. 
In  his  family  there  were  four  sons  and  two  daughters.  Two  of  the  sons  were 
gallant  soldiers  during  the  Civil  war  and  one  of  these,  Silas,  was  killed  at 
Chickamauga  while  bravely  fighting  with  the  Twenty-fourth  Wisconsin  In- 
fantry. The  other  soldier  son,  William,  served  in  the  Thirteenth  Wisconsin 
Infantry  and  remained  at  the  front  throughout  the  entire  four  years  of  the 
war;  his  death  occurred  in  1911  in  Santa  Clara  county. 

The  youngest  member  of  the  family  circle,  Horace  Greeley  Parsons, 
was  born  in  Waukesha  county.  Wis.,  August  19,  1847,  and  received  a  grammar- 
school  education  at  Whitewater,  that  state,  later  spending  a  year  in  the 
University  of  Wisconsin.  When  yet  a  mere  lad  he  learned  the  trade  of  a 
printer  and  in  it  became  exceptionally  expert.  A  brother-in-law,  L.  H.  Rann, 
publisher  of  the  Whitewater  Register,  began  to  fail  in  health  and  at  his 
solicitation  Mr.  Parsons  agreed  to  take  charge  of  the  paper,  which  he  did 
with  considerable  success,  having  the  management  of  the  sheet  after  the 
death  of  the  brother-in-law  and  until  the  sale  of  the  plant.  Later  for  three 
years  he  published  the  Blue  Valley  Record  at  Milford,  Seward  county,  Nebr. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  moved  the  plant  to  Lincoln,  that  state,  and 
merged  the  sheet  into  the  Lincoln  Leader,  a  well-known  daily.  A  year  later 
he  sold  the  paper  and  plant  and  shortly  afterward  in  1874  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  secured  work  at  his  trade  in  San  Francisco.  By  carefully  sav- 
ing .his  wages  he  was  able  to  open  a  printing  office  of  his  own  and  in  it  he 
published  twelve  or  more  periodicals,  including  The  Pacific  (Congrega- 
tional), The  Pacific   Alethodist.  California  Christian   Advocate.  The   Rescue, 


4^ 


OAd^Gn^ 


HISTORY    OF    KER\T    COUNTY  629 

and  other  publications.  The  business  proved  fairly  profitable,  but  it  was 
too  confining  for  his  health  and  he  was  obliged  to  seek  other  lines  of  activity. 
Selling  out  he  began  to  travel  for  the  Dewey  Publishing  Company  and  for 
eight  years  he  remained  steadily  in  their  employ,  meanwhile  traveling 
from  San  Diego  as  far  north  as  Seattle,  .\fter  three  or  four  years  as  pub- 
lisher of  the  Grass  \'alley  Tidings  and  owner  of  a  one-half  interest,  he 
returned  to  the  employ  of  the  Dewey  i'ublishing  L'om]ian}',  this  time  trax'eling 
in  their  interests  for  six  years. 

When  the  oil  excitement  was  bringing  many  newcomers  to  Kern  county 
Mr.  Parsons  became  a  resident  of  Bakersfield  in  1900  and  the  following  year 
eml)arked  in  the  real-estate  business.  I"or  a  time  he  was  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Williams  &  Parsons,  but  since  1906  he  has  been  alone.  The  distinction 
of  being,  in  point  of  years  of  continuous  business,  the  oldest  real-estate  agent 
in  r)akersfield  belongs  to  him.  City  realty  and  countr}'  property  have  been 
handled  by  him  with  equal  success.  Besides  improving  a  ranch  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  he  has  been  interested  in  orange  properties  in  the  Edison 
section  and  in  other  lands.  At  his  office  on  Chester  avenue  is  located  the 
agency  for  the  Provident  Building  &  Loan  Association  of  Los  Angeles  and 
the  Continental  Building  &  Loan  Association  of  San  Francisco,  also  the 
agency  for  six  of  the  leading  insurance  companies  of  the  world,  viz. :  Hart- 
ford, New  Zealand,  Scottish  Union  and  National,  Law  Union  and  Rock, 
Manchester  of  London  and  Teutonia  of  New  C)rleans.  Deeply  interested  in 
the  progress  of  Bakersfield,  he  has  officiated  for  two  terms  as  a  director  of 
its  board  of  trade  and  has  ranked  among  its  most  resourceful  members.  All 
movements  for  the  local  upbuilding  receive  his  stanch  support.  He  was  one 
of  the  organizers  of  Bakersfield  Realty  Board  and  was  elected  its  first  presi- 
dent and  is  now  serving  his  third  term. 

Mr.  Parsons'  marriage  was  solemnized  in  Nevada  City,  Cal.,  and  united 
him  with  Miss  Anne  NaiYziger,  who  was  born  near  Keokuk,  Iowa,  and  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Laurel  Hall  school  in  San  Mateo  county.  Gifted  with  excep- 
tional artistic  ability,  she  has  devoted  herself  to  music  from  young  girlhood 
and  completed  the  course  in  the  New  England  Conservatory  of  Alusic  at 
Boston.  After  her  graduation  from  that  noted  school  she  became  a  teacher  of 
the  art  and  built  up  a  wide  reputation  for  skill  as  an  instructor  as  well  as  for 
proficiency  as  a  pianist.  Two  children  were  born  of  her  marriage  to  Mr. 
Parsons,  the  elder  being  Carrie,  wife  of  George  D.  Keller,  of  Los  Angeles, 
and  the  younger  being  Horace  G.,  Jr.,  who  is  interested  in  a  drug  business  in 
I'"resno. 

MILTON  DALLAS  BERINGER.— Born  in  Cambria  county.  Pa.,  De- 
cember .S,  1858,  Mr.  Beringer  is  a  son  of  John  Beringer,  a  farmer  by  occu- 
pation. The  latter  moved  across  the  line  from  Cambria  county  into  Clearfield 
county  and  spent  his  last  days  at  Burnside,  where  still  lives  the  aged  mother, 
Mary  Jane  (Patrick)  Beringer.  There  were  seven  children  in  the  family, 
namely:  Milton  Dallas;  George  Elmore;  Porter  Jesse,  a  machinist  now 
employed  at  Tyrone,  Pa. ;  A.  L.,  an  assistant  to  his  eldest  brother  in  the  Kern 
river  oil  field;  John  Oscar,  a  farmer,  who  remains  at  the  old  Pennsylvania 
homestead ;  Charles ;  and  Olie,  the  widow  of  Clarence  McAleese  and  a  resi- 
dent of  Parsborough,  Nova  Scotia.  The  youngest  son,  Charles,  was  acci- 
dentally killed  in  1906  at  a  railroad  crossing  in  Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  he  left  a  wife 
but  no  children. 

While  yet  a  mere  l)oy  M.  D.  Beringer  aided  his  father  cm  the  home 
farm  and  earned  extra  money  as  a  helper  in  lumber  camps.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  years  he  secured  employment  as  trimmer  and  edger  with  the 
Empire  Lumber  and  Mining  Ct)mpany  of  Philadelphia.  .After  he  had  spent 
four  years  with  the  same  concei'n  he  went  south  to  North  Carolina  and 
secured  work  as  a  lumberman   in    Mitchell   cnuntv,   where  he   met  and   mar- 


630  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

ried  Miss  Callie  Franklin,  daughter  of  the  late  Andrew  Franklin,  of  Elk- 
park,  Mitchell  county.  Two  years  were  spent  in  that  locality  and  he 
then  removed  to  Little  River,  Blount  county,  Tenn.,  where  he  remained 
for  four  years  in  the  employ  of  a  lumber  company.  From  Tennessee  in 
1907  he  came  to  California  and  settled  in  the  Kern  river  oil  field.  With- 
out delay  he  was  able  to  secure  a  position  as  engineer  with  a  natural  gas 
engine  used  in  the  Central  Point  division  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company 
and  he  continued  in  that  place  until  1910,  when  he  was  chosen  as  foreman 
of  the  waterworks  system  of  the  Kern  River  Oil  Felds  of  California,  Limited. 
With  his  family,  consisting  of  wife  and  four  children,  Charles  D.,  George  E., 
Margaret  and  Mabel,  he  is  comfortably  domiciled  in  the  residence  of  the 
superintendent. 

DANIEL  BOONE  NEWELL. — From  Kentucky  many  men  have  come 
out  to  the  West  who  have  made  their  marks  as  citizens  and  public  officials 
and  been  factors  in  the  general  development  of  the  community.  One  such 
is  Daniel  Boone  Newell,  of  Bakersfield,  who  bears  the  name  of  a  distinguished 
pioneer  and  has  himself  won  a  notable  success  in  the  home  of  his 
adoption.  He  was  born  May  20,  1865,  at  Antioch  Mills,  Pendleton  county, 
Ky.  His  father,  William  Stich  Newell,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  was  brought 
to  Pendleton  county  by  his  parents.  There  he  became  a  prosperous  farmer 
and  stockman  and  remained  until  1889,  when  he  took  up  land  near  Perkins, 
Lincoln  county,  Okla.,  where  he  improved  a  farm  on  which  he  died  aged 
eighty-five  years.  He  was  descended  remotely  from  Scotch  ancestors.  His 
wife,  before  their  marriage  Miss  Mary  Williams,  was  born  in  Pendleton 
county,  Ky.,  and  died  while  on  a  visit  to  Bakersfield  when  she  was  seventy- 
two  years  old. 

Of  the  eleven  children  comprising  the  parental  family  ten  gi-ew  to 
manhood  and  womanhood.  Daniel  B.,  the  seventh  oldest,  was  early  put  to 
work  on  a  farm  in  Kentucky  and  had  brief  educational  opportunities  in  public 
schools,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  taking  up  the  battle  of  life  for  himself.  Lo- 
cating in  Hickman  county,  Ky.,  he  worked  there  for  an  uncle  until  1881. 
when  he  went  to  Fort  Worth,  Tex.,  which  town  was  then  primitive  and 
without  a  railroad.  There  he  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  and  he 
and  his  brother  John  bought  land.  They  were  quite  successful  and  accum- 
ulated considerable  money,  which  they  lost,  however,  by  failure  of  a  bank 
in  Fort  Worth  to  which  they  had  instrusted  it.  From  Fort  Worth  Mr. 
Newell  went  to  Winfield,  Kan.,  where  he  farmed  until  1888,  when  he  came 
to  California,  without  capital.  He  and  a  partner,  Charles  Hess,  came  to- 
gether to  Kern  county,  having  only  twenty-five  cents  between  them.  They 
found  employment  with  John  Hendrickson  as  choppers  of  cord  wood  at  $2 
a  cord.  After  they  had  completed  a  contract  for  five  hundred  cords  Mr. 
Newell  found  work  in  the  bridge  department  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company,  in  which  he  was  employed  about  four  years.  Then  becoming  a 
citizen  of  Tehachapi,  he  followed  carpentering  during  the  first  winter  and 
then  he  purchased  the  Cuddeback  stable  and  ran  it  about  one  year,  after 
which  he  traded  it  for  a  farming  outfit.  For  two  years  he  engaged  in 
grain-raising  on  two  sections  of  land,  but  both  years  proved  dry  and  the 
venture  did  not  turn  out  successfully.  In  the  meantime,  in  1892,  he  had 
been  elected  constable,  in  which  capacity  he  served  two  years  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  all  interested.  For  six  years  afterward  he  was  the  proprietor 
of  a  feed  yard  at  Garlock,  and  at  the  same  time  he  tried  mining  on  the  desert 
without  success.  In  1901  he  located  in  Bakersfield.  For  a  short  time  he 
was  employed  in  the  work  of  the  street  department,  and  after  that  he  was 
for  about  four  years  a  street  car  motorman.  July  5,  1905,  he  was  appointed 
an  officer  on  the  city  police  force.     In  1906  he  was  elected  on  the  Republican 


HISTORY  Ui-  KERiN  LUUNTY  633 

ticket  as  constable  for  the  sixth  judicial  township  of  Kern,  and  in  January, 
iy07,  he  assumed  the  duties  of  the  oftice.  So  able  and  so  satisfactory  was  his 
service  that  in  1910  he  was  re-elected  to  serve  until  January,  1915.  Since 
1903  he  has  tilled  the  office  of  deputy  sheriff  of  Kern  county.  He  was  made 
a  Mason  in  Tehachapi  Lodge  No.  313,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  affiliates  with  the 
U  oodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  Mrs.  Newell 
is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star  and  of  L.  O.  T.  M. 

At  Tehachapi  Mr.  Newell  married  Miss  Kate  Davis,  a  daughter  of 
James  L.  and  Martha  (Mofi'ett)  Davis,  and  a  native  of  Los  Y^ngeles,  Cal. 
Her  father,  who  was  born  in  Missouri,  moved  to  Arkansas  and  there  married 
^liss  Aloffett,  of  Tennessee  birth.  They  crossed  the  plains  to  California  with 
an  o.x-team  caravan  in  1853,  and  he  was  for  many  years  successful  as  a 
builder  in  Los  Angeles.  He  pursued  the  same  business  after  his  removal  in 
1882  to  Bakerstield,  where  he  and  his  wife  both  passed  away.  Of  their  ten 
children  Mrs.  Newell  was  the  third  youngest.  She  was  brought  up  at  Bakers- 
tield  and  educated  in  local  public  schools.  She  has  borne  her  husband  two 
children,  Roy  and  Elsa.  Mr.  Newell  owns  his  comfortable  residence  at 
No.  1015  I  street.  He  is  locally  active  in  the  work  of  the  Republican  party 
and  is  a  citizen  of  much  public  spirit. 

CHESSMAN  J.  CHADWICK.— The  remarkable  development  of  the 
oil  industry  in  the  Kern  river  fields  may  be  attributed  in  large  degree  to 
the  energy  and  ability  of  the  men  connected  therewith  and  not  the  least 
important  of  these  is  Chessman  J.  Chadwick,  whose  first  identification  with 
the  business  in  Kern  county  dates  back  to  the  year  1901  and  who  now 
fills  a  very  responsible  position  as  general  foreman  of  the  Columbian. 
M.  and  S.,  and  the  Lorenzo  Oil  Companies,  all  located  on  section  29,  town- 
ship 28,  range  28.  In  addition  he  has  the  foremanship  of  the  Minnehaha 
Water  Company,  legally  organized  as  the  Minnehaha  Oil  Company,  whose 
lease  is  located  on  section  19,  township  28,  range  28. 

Shortly  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  west  Benjamin  D.  Chad- 
wick left  his  eastern  home  and  sailed  around  the  Horn  for  California,  where 
he  landed  safely,  but  without  means  or  friends.  In  order  to  secure  funds 
necessary  for  mining  he  became  a  sea-faring  man  and  sailed  on  vessels 
between  San  Francisco  and  Panama.  Later  he  was  a  pioneer  placer  miner 
in  Yuba  and  Nevada  counties.  For  seventeen  years  he  made  his  home 
in  Nevada  county.  Rising  to  prominence  in  his  chosen  occupation,  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  Sailor  Flat  Hydraulic  Mining  Company  and  con- 
tinued to  superintend  the  business  policy  of  the  organization  until  its 
operations  were  discontinued  by  reason  of  the  filling  in  of  the  Sacramento 
river  at  that  point.  His  death  occurred  in  1903.  His  widow,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Mary  A.  Landing,  resides  in  Hanford,  Kings  county,  and 
at  the  age   of  sixty-two   is   physically  and   mentally   well   preserved. 

Out  of  a  family  of  four  sons  and  four  daughters  all  are  still  living 
except  two  sons.  The  eldest  of  the  eight,  Chessman  J.,  was  born  in 
Yuba  county,  Cal.,  June  11,  1869,  and  grew  to  manhood  in  Nevada  City, 
where  he  supplemented  a  country  school  education  by  a  course  of  study 
in  Potter's  Academy.  When  a  mere  boy  he  was  accustomed  to  assist  his 
father  in  mining  operations  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  devoted  his  entire 
time  to  placer  and  quartz  mining.  For  two  years  he  was  employed  in 
the  Sierra  Butte  mine  at  Sierra  City  and  for  some  years  he  continued  to 
work  in  the  mines  of  Nevada  county.  Later  he  leased  a  hydraulic  proposi- 
tion at  Bloomfield  and  this  he  operated  with  considerable  profit.  When 
oil  was  discovered  at  Coalinga,  Fresno  county,  about  seventeen  years  ago. 
he  went  to  that  point  and  secured  employment  as  a  tool-dresser.  Little 
more  than  a  year  was  spent  in  that  place,  after  which  he  spent  about  the 
same  time  in   the   Los  Angeles   oil  fields,   coming  thence   to   Bakersfield   in 


634  HISTORY  OF  KERN  COUNTY 

1901  and  engaging  with  a  contractor  to  drill  on  the  Sacramento  lease. 
Next  he  drilled  on  the  Sterling  and  later  continued  as  its  foreman  under 
Messrs.  Henderson  and  Martin.  Six  busy  years  were  spent  with  the  Sterl- 
ing and  when  he  resigned  there  he  traveled  through  Nevada,  visiting  mines 
of  importance,  among  them  those  at  Tonopah  and  Goldfield.  Upon  his 
return  to  the  Kern  river  fields  in  1908  he  immediately  was  appointed  general 
foreman  of  the  Expansion  and  soon  was  promoted  to  be  superintendent, 
but  when  that  organization  was  overtaken  by  the  Traders  he  returned 
to  the  foremanship  and  for  the  past  few  years  has  been  retained  in  that 
capacity  by  the  Columbian,  M.  &  S.,  and  Lorenzo  Oil  Companies,  also  by 
the  Minnehaha  Oil  Company.    Politically  he  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 

HON.  PAUL  W.  BENNETT.— Rarely  is  there  to  be  found  in  a  com- 
munity a  man  so  deeply  honored,  so  thoroughly  respected  or  so  generally 
beloved  as  was  the  Hon.  Paul  W.  Bennett,  whose  association  with  Bakers- 
field  covered  the  period  from  1897  until  June,  1913,  when  he  passed  from 
his  earthly  labors.  As  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Kern  county  for 
the  past  ten  years,  he  had  proved  himself  one  of  the  state's  ablest  jurists, 
commanding  the  attention  of  many  outside  of  the  county  who  frequently 
called  upon  him  to  hear  important  cases  away  from  Bakersfield  and  the 
surrounding  county. 

Judge  Bennett's  birth  occurred  in  Gloucester,  Mass.,  in  1836,  and  had 
he  lived  until  June  12,  1913,  he  would  have  celebrated  his  seventy-seventh 
birthday.  His  early  days  were  passed  in  Canada,  but  as  he  grew  ';p  he 
evinced  a  desire  to  see  the  west  and  accordingly  sailed  from  Boston,  round 
the  Horn,  to  San  Francisco,  whence  he  made  his  way  to  Sonoma  county 
and  lived  there  a  short  time.  Mining  then  attracted  him  and  he  went  to 
the  mines  and  subsequently  became  a  resident  of  the  Owens  River  valley, 
in  order  to  investigate  the  country.  When  Inyo  county  was  organized  he 
became  an  undersheriff,  at  which  time  the  study  of  law  was  taking  all  of 
his  spare  time.  In  1868  he  received  the  appointment  of  district  attorney 
of  Inyo  county  and  election  by  the  people  to  a  second  term  followed.  Inde- 
pendence had  been  his  place  of  residence  for  some  time,  but  he  found  it 
expedient  for  him  to  go  to  Mono  county,  as  he  there  formed  a  partnership 
with  the  late  Senator  Pat  Reddy,  the  firm  of  Reddy  &  Bennett  becoming 
well  known  throughout  the  entire  mining  sections  of  Nevada  and  California. 
Through  handling  numerous  mining  suits  Judge  Bennett  became  an 
acknowledged  authority  on  mining  law.  In  1884  he  went  to  Stockton  to 
practice  his  profession  and  there  was  associated  at  different  times  with  J.  C. 
Campbell,  David  Terry  and  F.  D.  Nicol.  His  unusual  ability  was  soon 
recognized,  he  was  elected  district  attorney,  but  retired  after  one  term. 

The  year  1897  brought  Judge  Bennett  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  the  late  J.  W.  Ahern.  His  reputation  had  preceded 
him  and  his  associations  with  the  court  work  there  brought  him  immedi- 
ate attention;  his  clientele  was  large  and  his  wise,  unerring  judgment  was 
sought  by  scores.  With  the  creation  of  a  second  Superior  Court  depart- 
ment Judge  Bennett  was  named  as  judge  by  former  Governor  George  C. 
Pardee,  and  he  remained  on  the  bench  continuously  until  his  death.'  He 
was  re-elected  after  a  partial  term  and  at  a  subsequent  election  he  was 
nominated  by  both  political  parties  and  chosen  without  opposition,  which 
was  evidence  of  his  popularity  and  the  deep  regard  in  which  he  was  held 
by  his  fellow  citizens.  Many  important  cases  came  under  his  hearing  and 
he  presided  over  many  notable  ones,  not  the  least  of  which  was  the  great 
irrigation  suit  in  San  Bernardino  that  had  to  do  with  the  use  of  subter- 
ranean water,  and  his  decision  in  that  case  governs  the  use  of  such  waters 
throughout  the  state  today. 

Like   many   other   strong   public    characters,   Judge    Bennett    was    not    a 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  637 

partisan,  though  a  Republican  of  the  old  school.  Nevertheless  Democrats 
and  Republicans  alike  followed  in  his  support  and  he  was  the  friend  and 
associate  of  many  of  the  foremost  Democrats  in  the  state. 

Judge  Bennett  left  a  widow,  who  before  her  marriage  was  Sarah  B. 
Potter,  a  native  of  Maine.  An  only  child,  a  daughter,  passed  away  a  few 
years  ago.  Judge- Bennett  was  in  fraternal  circles  a  Knight  Templar  arid 
a  member  of  the  Elks,  and  his  associates  in  both  bodies  mourned  the  loss 
of  a  loyal,  high-minded  and  conscientious  member.  The  loss  to  Bakersfield 
was  irreparable,  to  the  county  it  proved  to  be  deep  and  sorrowful,  for  the 
judge  was  loved  not  alone  for  his  ability  and  broad-mindedness,  but  for  his 
unselfishness  and  sweet,  wholesome  character. 

JOHN  HICKEY.— Only  those  familiar  with  the  hardships  and  sacrifices 
incident  to  the  labors  of  a  pioneer  preacher  can  grasp  with  understanding 
the  record  of  the  life  of  John  Hickey,  who  while  earning  a  livelihood  in  an- 
other occupation  labored  with  unwearied  zeal  as  a  local  minister  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  denomination.  As  early  as  1868,  while  yet  living  in 
Illinois,  he  was  licensed  as  an  exhnrter  and  there  began  the  work  which  has 
since  become  so  dear  to  him.  Upon  coming  to  California  he  found  great  need 
of  such  Christian  work  as  he  could  ofl:'er  and  his  was  not  the  spirit  to  stand 
aloof  when  the  harvest  was  ripe  and  the  laborers  few. 

Born  in  Ireland  in  1848,  John  Hickey  was  brought  to  America  by  an  aunt 
in  his  childhood  and  settled  in  Illinois.  There  was  nothing  unusual  in  the 
disposition  of  the  boy  except  his  love  of  study  and  determination  to  secure 
a  thorough  education.  With  that  object  in  view  he  worked  at  any  honest 
occupation  oiTered  and  saved  his  earnings  with  the  utmost  frugality.  After 
he  had  finished  the  studies  of  the  common  schools  at  Godfrey,  111.,  he  began 
teaching  and  with  the  earnings  he  took  a  course  in  McKendree  College  at 
Lebanon,  same  state,  and  later  attended  the  university  at  Mount  Pleasant, 
Iowa.  At  the  close  of  the  sophomore  year  he  left  college  and  spent  a  year 
in  Kearne.v,  Buffalo  county,  Neb.,  as  principal  of  the  city  schools.  From 
there  he  came  to  California  in  1875,  and  settled  in  Kern  county.  After  teach- 
ing school  in  Bear  valley  he  spent  three  years  teaching  the  Woody  School, 
Linns  Valley  district,  then  returned  and  taught  for  one  year  in  Hear  vallev 
and  for  two  years  in  Cummings  valley.  Meanwhile  he  had  studied  the  soil 
and  had  become  convinced  of  its  possibilities  for  agriculture,  hence  he  took 
up  a  pre-emption,  settled  on  the  land,  later  bought  railroad  land  adjoining 
and  finally  acquired  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  in  one  body.  Until  the 
farm  became  productive  he  taught  school  in  Bear  valley,  and  when  he  re- 
signed there  he  was  succeeded  by  S.  C.  Smith,  who  later  became  United 
States  senator. 

Discontinuance  of  work  as  an  educator  did  not  lessen  the  interest  main- 
tained by  Mr.  Hickey  in  the  local  schools  and  for  twelve  years  he  served  as 
school  trustee  with  the  greatest  efficiency.  Meanwhile  he  was  devoting 
much  time  also  to  his  labors  as  an  itinerant  preacher,  filling  some  pulpit 
almost  every  Sunday  and  aiding  in  the  starting  of  congregations  of  his 
denomination.  During  the  week  he  was  busy  with  his  ranch,  where  he 
raised  grain  and  other  crops,  also  developed  quite  a  large  herd  of  cattle,  so 
that  his  brand,  the  letter  P,  became  known  all  through  that  section  of  coun- 
try. Finally  feeling  the  imperative  need  of  lightening  his  labors,  he  left  the 
ranch  in  1908  and  removed  to  Tehachapi.  For  four  years  he  managed  the 
ranch  from  his  town  place  and  then  in  1912  disposed  of  the  property,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  retired. 

Upon  the  incorporation  of  Tehachapi  in  1910  Mr.  Hickey  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  first  board  of  trustees.  At  the  general  election  he  received 
a  higher  number  of  votes  than  any  candidate.  When  the  board  was  organ- 
ized he  was  chosen  chairman  and  now  is  deeply  interested  in  the  improve- 
ment of  streets  and  the  buildipg  of  a  water  system.     The  village  has  in  him 


638  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

a  progressive  citizen  and  loyal  promoter.  Its  best  interests  have  been 
carefully  protected  by  him.  In  its  citizenship  he  occupies  a  place  of  distinc- 
tion. Fraternally  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Tehachapi  Lodge  No.  313,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  and  later  became  identified  with  the  Los  Angeles  Consistory.  His 
marriage,  in  Godfrey,  Madison  county,  111.,  August  21,  1873,  united  him  with 
Miss  Laura  E.  Waggoner,  a  native  of  that  place  and  a  daughter  of  Samuel 
and  Louise  (Powell)  Waggoner,  natives  respectively  of  Tennessee  and  Dela- 
ware. The  five  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hickey  are  natives  of  Kern  county, 
but  are  now  living  elsewhere  in  the  state.  Edwin  C.  is  employed  with  the 
Pacific  Electric  in  Los  Angeles ;  Mrs.  Laura  Edith  Howland  also  lives  in  that 
city;  John  H.  is  connected  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Company  in  San  Luis 
Obispo;  Mrs.  Bertha  L.  Perkins  lives  in  Los  Angeles;  and  Morris  L.  has  a 
position  in  San  Luis  Obispo. 

GEORGE  C.  SPROULE.— At  Oil  Springs,  Ontario,  Canada,  where  he 
was  born  February  10,  1880,  and  where  his  parents,  Jacob  and  Elizabeth 
(Hardman)  Sproule,  reside,  George  C.  Sproule  became  familiar  with  the 
oil  industry  in  childhood  through  the  fact  that  his  father  was  engaged 
as  a  driller  and  in  other  capacities  around  oil  fields.  The  family  had  no 
means  outside  of  the  daily  wages  of  the  father.  There  were  nine  children 
and  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  each  one  should  become  self-supporting 
at  the  earliest  possible  age.  Therefore  George  C,  who  was  sixth  among  the 
nine,  had  meager  educational  advantages,  but  at  the  age  of  sixteen  was  a 
contributor  to  the  family  maintenance.  From  being  a  roustabout  in  the 
Oil  Springs  field  he  was  promoted  to  be  a  tool-dresser  and  for  four  years 
he  f(  llowed  that  line  of  work,  after  which  he  became  a  driller.  When 
nineteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  the  Kern  river  fields  for  the  first  time  and 
secured  employment  as  a  tool-dresser.  Next  he  drilled  for  Chancellor  & 
Canfield  in  the  Midway  fields.  After  he  had  worked  steadily  in  the 
Kern  county  fields  for  four  years  he  returned  to  Canada,  bought  a  one- 
third  interest  in  a  well-drilling  outfit  and  embarked  in  independent  contract- 
ing. Although  he  returned  to  California  in  1906  he  still  owns  an  interesct 
in  the  oil  outfit,  his  partners  being  two  brothers,  John  and  Jacob   Sproule, 

Upon  his  return  to  the  Kern  river  fields  from  his  Canadian  home 
Mr.  Sproule  engaged  as  a  well  puller  on  the  Monte  Cristo.  Six  months 
later  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company  and  began  to 
drill  on  the  San  Joaquin  and  Canfield  divisions.  For  a  time  he  worked  as 
sub-foreman  on  the  San  Joaquin.  During  June  of  1909  he  was  made  foreman 
on  the  Green  and  Whittier  division  of  the  Associated  and  continued  to 
fill  the  position  with  ability  and  devotion  for  three  years.  June  1,  1912. 
he  resigned  to  become  superintendent  of  the  Enos  Oil  Company  at  an 
advance  of  salary.  The  Enos  employs  nine  men  and  controls  two  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  on  section  6,  township  29,  range  28,  where  six  producing 
wells  (out  of  a  total  of  twenty)  give  an  average  gross  return  of  thirty-two 
hundred  barrels  of  oil  per  month.  It  has  not  been  possible  for  Mr. 
Sproule  to  identify  himself  with  public  affairs  in  his  adopted  country,  for 
the  duties  of  his  position  confine  him  closely  to  the  oil  fields.  However,  he 
is  intelligently  posted  concerning  public  affairs  and  evinces  a  deep  devotion 
toward  the  land  of  his  adoption.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with 
the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  When  he  came  to  the  west  he  had  not  yet 
established  domestic  ties,  but  in  Kern  county  he  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  Miss  Nora  M.  Barnes,  a  sister  of  Tom  Barnes,  the  popular  superin- 
tendent of  the  Associated  Oil  Company.  Miss  Barnes  had  come  to  the 
west  from  Conway,  Laclede  county.  Mo.,  and  August  21,  1909,  she  became 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Sproule  in  Kern  county,  where  they  have  established  a 
comfortable  home  in  the  oil  fields.  Their  daughter,  Imogene  Elaine,  was 
born  here   in    1911. 


^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  641 

WILLIAM  E.  UNDERWOOD.— Through  long;  identification  with  the 
landed  development  of  Kern  county  Mr.  Underwood  has  been  brought  into 
intimate  association  with  people  similarly  engaged  and  has  acquired  thorough 
knowledge  of  soils,  climate,  crops  and  methods  of  cultivation.  An  expensive 
series  of  experiments  with  different  products,  particularly  with  several  varie- 
ties of  grapes,  finally  convinced  him  that  grain  and  alfalfa  are  the  crops 
best  adapted  to  successful  growth  in  his  district  and  hence  he  now  specializes 
with  these,  adding  thereto  an  important  interest  in  the  stock  business  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  dairy  industry.  When  he  arrived  in  Kern  county  February  3, 
1890.  he  bought  land  in  Rosedale  colonv  and  began  its  development.  Now 
he  owns  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres  under  cultivation  to  alfalfa  and 
grain  and  in  addition  he  has  on  the  farm  about  forty  head  of  stock.  When 
he  first  came  to  the  colony  he  bought  eighty  acres  and  later  added  to  the 
farm  until  he  gave  it  adequate  size  for  grain-raising.  Besides  the  manage- 
ment of  his  farm  he  is  interested  financially  in  the  Tejon  Oil  Company,  oper- 
ating in  the  Kern  river  field. 

A  member  of  a  pioneer  California  family.  William  E.  l^nderwood  was  born 
near  Stockton,  San  Joaquin  county,  November  13,  1864,  and  is  a  son  of  Ezra 
Edwin  and  Mary  (Hughes)  Underwood,  natives  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania. 
Ezra  E.  Underwood,  who  camn  of  Coh^nial  and  Revolutionary  stock,  crossed 
the  plains  with  ox  teams  in  1859  and  engaged  in  grain  farming  in  San  Joaquin 
county.  There  he  married  his  wife,  who  was  a  daughter  of  William  H. 
Hughes,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  afterwards  a  settler  in  Missouri,  where 
his  wife  died.  In  1849  he  brought  his  children  across  the  plains  and  settled 
at  Sonora,  later  locating  near  what  is  now  Ripon,  where  he  followed  stock- 
raising.  Old  ITncle  Rillie  Hughes  was  well  known  in  those  parts,  where  he 
resided  until  his  death.  Ezra  E.  Underwood  settled  near  Waterford,  Stanis- 
laus county,  and  was  closely  identified  with  the  upbuilding  of  that  county, 
being  a  member  of  the  countv  board  of  supervisors.  Upon  retiring  he  re- 
moved to  Santa  Cruz,  where  he  died  October  7,  1911  ;  his  wife  continues  to 
reside  in -the  same  place.  Of  this  union  there  were  three  children,  William 
E.  being  the  oldest:  .Mfred  F.  resides  near  Hollister;  Herbert  L.  is  a  farmer 
and  dairvman  in  the  Panama  district.  After  he  had  com'pleted  the  studies  of 
the  public  schools  William  E.  was  sent  to  University  Mound  College  in  San 
Francisco  and  afterwards  to  ths  Stockton  Business  College,  so  that  from 
an  educational  standpoint  he  was  well  qualified  for  life's  responsibilities.  Leav- 
ing business  college  at  the  age  of  twenty  vears,  he  assumed  the  management 
of  a  ranch  of  sixteen  hundred  acres  owned  by  his  father  and  situated  in  Fresno 
county.  The  portion  of  the  large  tract  under  cultivation  was  devoted  to 
wheat-growing  and  for  five  years  he  continued  the  oversight  of  the  property, 
meanwhile,  plowing,  sowing,  harvesting  and  threshing  upon  a  very  extensive 
scale,  '\^^hen  he  left  Fresno  county  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  identifiying  him- 
self with  the  new  Rosedale  colony,  and  he  purchased  the  small  tract  six  miles 
west  of  Bakersfield  on  the  Rosedale  road  where  he  continues  to  reside,  hav- 
ing, however,  enlarged  the  farm  by  subsequent  purchase.  From  1890  to  1900 
he  devoted  himself  chiefiv  to  the  cultivation  of  grapes.  This  was  not  a  suc- 
cess and  in  I'^OO  he  embarked  in  dairying,  which  proved  more  profitable. 
Later  he  specialized  with  alfalfa,  which  is  well  suited  to  the  soil  and  cli- 
mate and  is  perhaps  the  most  dependable  and  remunerative  crop  that  could 
be  grown  in  the  district.  On  his  ranch  he  has  sunk  three  twelve-inch  wells; 
on  one  ranch  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  he  installed  a  fifty  horse-power 
Western  engine,  which  yields  a  capacity  of  two  hundred  inches  of  water. 
This  latter  property  he  is  rapidly  putting  into  alfalfa.  He  is  a  stockholder 
of  the  Security  Trust  Companv  of  Bakersfield.  He  was  married  in  Santa 
Cruz,  January  1.  1890.  to  Miss  Roxana  J.  Adams,  born  in  Essex 
county,  Vt.,  the  daughter  of  Jonathan  C.  and  Elizabeth  (Babcock)  Adams, 
born  in  A^ermont.     Her  parents,  who  were  farmers,  still  reside  in  A^'ermont. 


642  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Mrs.  Underwood  came  to  California  in  1888.     Her  uncle,  Moses  Adams,  was" 
a   pioneer  of  Modesto. 

For  some  years  Mr.  Underwood  has  served  as  a  clerk  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees of  Fruitvale  School  District,  and  in  this  capacity  his  intelligence  and 
sagacious  judgment  have  been  very  helpful  to  the  free  educational  system 
of  the  community.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican  in  national  issues.  He  has 
always  stood  for  public  improvement  and  organized  and  was  president  of 
the  Rosedale  Improvement  Club,  and  through  that  organization  set  out  shade 
trees  on  each  side  of  the  Rosedale  road  for  eight  miles  between  Rosedale  and 
Bakersfield.  For  years  he  has  been  identified  with  Masonry  and  has  enjoyed 
fraternal  relations  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M. 

WILLIAM  BREUCH.— The  first  representative  of  the  Breuch  family 
to  seek  a  home  in  the  new  world  was  Peter  Breuch,  a  native  of  Witzenburg, 
Germany,  and  a  wheelwright  by  trade,  who  at  the  expiration  of  his  appren- 
ticeship when  eighteen  years  of  age  crossed  the  seas  to  the  United  States  and 
secured  employment  in  Georgia.  His  marriage  united  him  with  Miss  Johanna 
Wagner,  a  native  of  Georgia  and  now  a  resident  of  Denver,  Colo.  From 
the  south  he  removed  to  Wisconsin  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war 
and  settled  at  Madison,  where  he  was  employed  at  the  trade  of  wagon-maker 
Twice  during  the  progress  of  the  Rebellion  he  ofifered  his  services  to  the 
Union,  but  each  time  he  was  rejected  on  account  of  injury  to  his  leg.  Dur- 
ing 1871  he  removed  to  Colorado  and  settled  in  Denver,  where  he  resided 
until  death,  meanwhile  engaging  in  business  as  a  carriage-maker.  Of  his 
twelve  children  all  but  three  are  still  living  and  the  third  in  order  of  birth  is 
William,  born  at  Madison,  Wis.,  July  18,  1864,  and  reared  in  Denver,  Colo. 
At  the  age  of  eleven  years  he  was  taken  from  school  and  apprenticed  to  the 
trade  of  machinist  in  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  shops  in  Denver,  where  he 
completed  the  trade  prior  to  the  age  of  eighteen.  For  eleven  years  alto- 
gether he  continued  in  the  same  shops  and  meanwhile  he  had  attended  night 
schools,  so  that  his  education  had  not  been  entirely  neglected. 

After  two  years  in  the  machine  shops  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  in 
Denver  and  three  y^ars  in  the  shops  of  the  same  road  at  Como,  C(  lo.,  ]\Ir. 
Breuch  spent  several  months  at  Pocatello,  Ida.,  in  the  shops  of  the  Oregon 
Short  Line.  Coming  to  California  in  June  of  1890,  he  entered  the  Southern 
Pacific  shops  at  East  Bakersfield  on  the  1st  of  July,  1890,  and  there  held  a 
position  as  machinist.  During  1901  he  was  promoted  to  be  foreman  of  the 
machine  shop,  in  which  capacity  he  has  continued  up  to  the  present  time, 
being  now  the  oldest  employe  in  the  plant  in  point  of  years  of  continuous 
service.  He  has  given  his  attention  very  closely  to  his  chosen  work  and  has 
taken  little  interest  in  public  affairs.  Politically  he  is  independent.  .After 
coming  to  Bakersfield  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  and  he  also  holds  membership  with  the  Uniform  Rank,  Knights 
of  Pythias,  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

The  residence  of  Mr.  Breuch,  erected  under  his  personal  supervision, 
stands  at  No.  508  Monterey  street  and  is  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Breuch,  a 
lady  of  culture  and  gracious  courtesy.  Prior  to  their  marriage,  which  was 
solemnized  in  Denver,  July  23,  1885,  she  bore  the  name  of  Ella  Sutherland. 
Born  and  reared  in  Denver,  she  had  the  advantages  ofifered  by  the  excellent 
schools  of  that  city.  At  the  time  of  her  removal  to  California  she  was  in 
such  ill  health  that  Colorado  physicians  had  abandoned  all  hope  of  her  re- 
covery. Her  present  excellent  health  she  attributes  to  the  fine  air  and  un- 
excelled climate  of  Bakersfield.  The  family  of  which  she  was  a  member  and 
in  which  she  was  next  to  the  eldest  comprised  fourteen  children,  seven  of 
whom  are  now  living.  Her  parents  were  Prof.  Alexander  and  Anna  (Mills) 
Sutherland,  the  former  a  native  of  England,  the  latter  a  southern  lady.  The 
paternal  grandfather  was  a  Scotchman  by  birth  and  ancestry  and  for  years 


HISTORY   OF   KERX    COUNTY  645 

served  as  an  officer  in  the  English  army,  in  which  Alexander  Sutherland  also 
served  as  bandmaster  and  triimpeteer.  During  the  memorable  battle  of 
Balaklava  the  trumpeteer  served  in  the  first  platoon  and  sounded  the  first 
charge  of  the  Light  Brigade  under  Lord  Carrigan.  He  was  one  of  the  few 
survivors  of  the  charge  and  received  a  wound  from  which  he  never  fully 
recovered.  L'pon  leaving  the  army  service  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  New 
York  and  for  a  time  taught  music  in  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  but  in  1859  crossed  the 
plains  to  Denver,  where  he  organized  the  first  band  in  Colorado.  For  years 
he  engaged  in  teaching  band  instruments  and  his  reputation  as  a  musician 
and  instructeir  was  the  highest.  His  death  occurred  in  Denver  about  1908 
and  his  wife  died  in  that  city  thirteen  years  prior  to  his  demise. 

FRANCIS  M.  CARLOCK.— The  memorable  era  of  the  '50s  found  the 
Carlock  family  established  among  the  pioneers  of  California.  The  father, 
(ieorge  I\I.  Carlock,  who  had  taken  his  wife  and  children  from  Adams  county, 
111.,  to  Clark  county,  Mo.,  made  only  a  brief  sojourn  in  the  latter  location,  but 
in  the  summer  of  1853  brought  his  family  to  the  coast  via  the  Platte  route, 
settling  at  Georgetown,  Eldorado  county,  and  trying  his  luck  in  nearby  mines. 
Neither  the  occupation  nor  the  locality  proved  satisfactory  and  accordingly 
he  turned  his  attention  to  ranching  in  Washington  and  there  s|5ent  his  last 
days.  By  his  marriage  to  Margaret  E.  Rohr,  who  was  born  in  (iermany  and 
died  in  Kern  county,  Cal.,  he  had  a  family  of  eight  children.  Of  these  we  note 
the  following:  A.  B.,  born  February  8,  1833.  is  a  resident  of  Portland,  Ore.; 
Elizabeth,  Mrs.  Carter,  born  September  15,  1834,  now  lives  at  Lodi,  Cal.; 
[acob,  born  April  28,  1836.  also  makes  his  home  at  Lodi;  Ervin  \V.,  liorn 
December  3,  1842,  died  at  Ashland,  Ore.,  October  14,  1912;  Francis  M.  and 
Mary  (twins),  were  born  in  .\dams  county.  111.,  August  12,  1844.  the  latter. 
Mrs.  Pease,  dying  near  Lcdi,  Cal.,  at  thirty-eight  years  of  age;  Ceorge  H., 
born  August  27 ,  1847,  died  in  Oakland  in  November,  1911  ;  and  Hiram  M., 
born  May  28,  1855,  makes  Portland  his  home. 

When  a  little  less  than  nine  years  of  age  Francis  M.  Carlock  crossed 
the  plains  with  his  parents  and  he  recalls  vividly  his  anxiety  on  account  of 
the  close  proximit}-  of  the  Indians.  Their  depredations  among  other  emigrants 
were  recounted  frequently  and  caused  him  great  concern  as  to  their  own 
safety,  but  the  end  came  in  due  time  and  without  any  attacks  from  the 
savages.  While  he  had  limited  opportunities  to  attend  school  he  yet  acquired 
an  excellent  education.  After  clerking  a  time  at  Ft.  Jones,  Siskiyou  county, 
he  entered  Heald's  Business  College  in  San  Francisco,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated in  1868.  Returning  to  Siskiyou  county  he  became  head  bi.okkeeper 
for  his  brother,  A.  B.,  in  a  mercantile  lousiness  at  Ft.  Jones  some  distance 
ftom  the  railroad  and  near  the  mountains.  During  1871  he  went  to  Portland, 
Ore.,  and  for  a  year  was  connected  with  a  mercantile  business,  but  in  1872 
returned  to  California  and  became  a  pioneer  of  Bakersfield.  The  first  resi- 
dence in  what  is  now  East  Bakersfield  was  built  by  him  in  1874  and  he  also 
started  in  the  lumber  business  there,  but  in  a  short  time  he  moved  his 
yards  to  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Chester  avenue  and  Eighteenth  street, 
Bakersfield.  This  was  the  first  lumber  yard  in  the  town  and  for  some  time 
he  carried  on  the  business,  but  in  1889  the  fire  completely  destroyed  his 
yards  and  material,  after  which  he  did  not  resume  the  business.  Altogether  he 
was  burned  out  three  times  and  on  two  occasions,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  he  had  sustained  a  total  loss,  he  rebuilt.  From  the  time  of  his  arrival 
in  the  city  until  19C4  he  also  engaged  in  the  transfer  business,  eventually 
selling  out  and  retiring  from  business  activities.  For  thirty-two  years  his 
dray-teams  were  to  be  seen  upon  the  streets. 

Since  his  retirement  from  the  transfer  business  Mr.  Carlock  has  gi\en  his 
attention  to  looking  after  his  varied  interests.  In  I'last  Bakersfield  he  has 
held    valuable    ];roptrty.    including   a    residence    mi    the    corner   of    Kern    and 


646  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Humboldt  streets  and  four  stores.  It  is  his  intention  to  improve  some  of  the 
vacant  property  he  now  owns.  Some  years  ago  he  built  the  Overland  stables 
on  Eighteenth  street  and  in  1888  erected  a  residence  at  No.  1623  H  street, 
both  of  which  he  still  owns.  From  its  organization  he  has  been  interested  in 
the  Superior  Oil  Company  operating  at  Maricopa  and  in  addition  he  owns 
stock  in  the  Sunset  Security  Oil  Company  in  the  Sunset  field.  In  politics  he 
always  has  supported  the  Republican  party.  As  early  as  1865  he  became 
associated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at  Fort  Jones,  Sis- 
kiyou county,  and  in  1876  he  identified  himself  with  the  lodge  at  Bakersfield, 
of  which  he  since  has  been  an  honored  member  and  which  now  he  serves  as 
financial  secretary.  May  1,  1870,  at  Fort  Jones,  Siskiyou  county,  he  married 
Miss  Emma  E.  Tucker,  who  was  born  at  Milton,  Pike  county.  111.,  and  during 
1865  came  across  the  plains  by  ox  teams  with  her  father,  Walter  W.  Tucker, 
a  Kentuckian  by  birth.  After  a  six-months  trip  they  first  settled  in  Marion 
county.  Ore.,  but  later  came  to  California.  The  Tucker  family  were  devoted 
adherents  of  the  Christian  Church  and  Mrs.  Carlock  is  a  firm  believer  in  that 
faith,  aiding  in  the  charities  and  missionary  movements  of  the  church  to  the 
extent  of  her  means.  Of  her  marriage  seven  children  were  born,  but  a  heavy 
bereavement  came  in  the  loss  by  death  of  four  of  the  number.  Warren  and 
Edmund  R.  were  still  in  their  infancy  when  taken  from  the  home,  the  former 
being  only  two  months  old.  The  eldest  of  the  family  circle,  Charles  C,  died 
in  Bakersfield  in  1904,  and  the  youngest,  Inez,  wife  of  Duncan  McLennan, 
passed  away  May  12,  1911,  at  the  family  residence  in 'this  city.  Harriet  E. 
and  Howard  W.  reside  in  Bakersfield.  the  latter  being  engaged  in  a  livery 
business  here,  while  Iva,  Mrs.  Ha3res,  makes  her  home  at  Healdsburg,  this 
state.  The  latter's  daughter.  Azalea,  took  the  prize  as  a  child  orator  when 
nine  years  of  age.  The  Carlock  family  are  of  German  descent  and  migrated  in 
1816  to  Virginia,  where  members  of  the  famih'  still  reside  and  where  in  1916 
there  will  be  a  home-coming  and  gathering  of  their  descendants  from  the 
different  parts  of  the  Union. 

JOHN  LEWIS  WASSON.— John  Lewis  Wasson  was  born  near  Pleas- 
ant Grove.  Des  Moines  county,  Iowa,  April  7,  1844,  and  was  the  son  of  John 
and  Ruth  (Sherwood)  Wasson.  The  parents  were  natives  of  Sandusky, 
Ohio,  and  were  early  settlers  of  Des  Moines  county.  Iowa,  where  thej^  died 
of  cholera  in  1849.  Of  their  six  children  John  L.  is  the  third  in  order  of 
birth  and  the  only  one  now  living. 

After  his  parents'  death  Mr.  Wasson  went  to  live  on  his  Grandfather 
Wasson's  farm  in  the  same  county,  receiving  his  education  in  the  public 
schools.  In  1864  he  crossed  the  plains  with  an  ox-team  to  Oregon,  where 
he  was  employed  until  1868.  He  then  came  to  Stanislaus  county,  remaining 
until  1871.  when  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Iowa,  While  there  he  was 
married,  February  7,  1872,  being  united  with  I\Iiss  Sarah  E.  Wilhite,  who 
was  born  in  Washington,  Iowa.  Her  father.  E.  K.  Wilhite,  a  native  of  Ohio, 
was  married  in  that  state  to  Sarah  Carr  and  removed  to  Washington,  Iowa. 

In  1873  John  Wasson  with  his  young  wife  came  to  Hanford,  Cal.,  located 
a  homestead  of  eighty  acres  in  Mussel  Slough  and  proved  up  on  it.  In  1883 
he  sold  this  place.  From  1885  to  1887  he"  farmed  on  White  river,  Tulare 
county.  Being  entitled  to  another  eighty  acres  of  homestead  land,  in  1887 
he  located  eighty  acres  one-half  mile  west  of  Delano,  which  he  has  im- 
proved and  where  he  now  makes  his  home.  For  many  years  he  was  engaged 
in  raising  grain  on  the  plains,  but  now  he  devotes  his  land  to  raising  alfalfa, 
having  improved  it  with  a  well,  pumping  plant  and  reservoir. 

Of  the  union  of  Mr,  and  Mrs,  Wasson  there  are  six  children:  Ida  Bell, 
Mrs,  Merrill,  Lucy  May,  Mrs,  Johnson,  Nettie  Martha,  Mrs,  George  Small, 
all  of  Delano;  Martin  resides  in  Monmouth,  Ore,;  Grover  is  assisting  his 
father  on  the  home  ranch  and  Minnie  is  unmarried.     Always   interested  in 


^^CL/cytZa^ 


<:=r^^^t^     <^^<^-^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  651 

tlie  cause  of  education  J\Ir.  Wasson  has  been  active  in  building  up  schools 
in  the  different  localities  where  he  has  lived  and  is  at  present  a  member  of 
of  the  board  of  school  trustees  of  Delano  district.  In  his  political  views  he 
is  strongly  Democratic. 

PIERRE  SARTIAT.— His  parents,  Jean  and  Mary  ( Lassalle)  Sartiat, 
were  natives  of  Basses-Pyrenees  in  the  south  of  France  and  spent  their  entire 
lives  in  that  district,  where  the  father  carried  on  a  small  farm  and  to  some  ex- 
tent engaged  in  raising  stock.  The  old  homestead  was  in  the  village  of  Escot 
and  there  occurred  the  birth  of  Pierre  Sartiat  November  5,  1852.  He  was  the 
youngest  of  three  children.  .\  brother,  Bernard,  about  four  years  older  than 
liimself,  came  to  America  in  1871,  settled  in  California  and  after  his  own 
arri\al  in  1872,  the  two  pre-empted  land  in  the  mountainous  district  of  Kern 
county,  bought  a  flock  of  sheep  in  partnership  and  thus  started  the  large 
agricultural  operations  that   since  have  made   them   financially   independent. 

L'pon  coming  to  this  country  in  1872  and  joining  his  older  brother  in 
Kern  county,  Pierre  Sartiat  found  employment  with  a  sheep-raiser  in  the 
Cummings  valley.  For  two  years  he  continued  in  the  same  employment 
and  then  left  to  start  a  flock  of  his  own,  beginning  in  the  sheep  business  and 
in  farm  pursuits  with  his  brother  and  taking  up  a  homestead  in  the  San 
Emidiei  district.  From  time  to  time  they  bought  property  near  to  their 
original  pre-emption.  At  this  writing  they  own  five  thousand  acres  in  one 
body,  lying  in  the  shadow  of  the  San  Emidio  range,  and  watered  by  Salt 
creek,  Cacuya  creek  and  numerous  springs.  The  ranch  is  one  of  the  best 
improved  in  that  section  of  the  county.  The  sheep  industry  by  no  means 
rejjresenls  the  limit  of  the  activities  of  the  brothers,  who  also  are  now  engaged 
in  raising  horses  and  Durham  cattle  and  use  for  their  brand  the  letters  SP>. 
Grain  is  raised  in  large  quantities  upon  the  ranch.  Horticulture  gives  diversi- 
fied ])roducts  and  greatly  adds  to  the  income  from  the  property,  a  specialty 
being  made  of  apples,  pears  and  peaches.  Another  occupation  of  importance 
is  viticulture.  To  care  for  the  grapes  in  the  most  profitable  manner  a  winery 
has  been  built  on  the  ranch.  Some  years  ago  a  mine  was  opened  on  the  land 
which  is  known  as  the  Black  Bob  and  in  connection  therewith  a  substantial 
two-stamp  quartz  mill  has  been  erected.  A  part  of  the  land  is  now  being 
developed  fcr  oil  and  at  present  drilling  is  being  actively  prosecuted. 

The  marriage  of  Pierre  Sartiat  took  place  in  East  Bakersfield  June  19, 
1890.  and  united  him  with  Miss  Mary  Louisa  Octavie  Richaud,  who  was 
born  at  Pont-du-Fosse  near  Gap,  Hautes  Alpes,  France,  and  came  to  Kern 
county  in  the  fall  of  1887.  She  was  a  graduate  of  the  Female  Seminary  in  Gap 
and  after  teaching  four  years  obtained  a  leave  of  absence  to  visit  California 
and  she  liked  it  so  well  she  remained.  An  only  son,  Pierre  Bernard,  was  born 
in  Bakersfield  April  13,  1892.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  at 
Heald's  Business  College,  San  Francisco,  and  is  now  manager  of  the  National 
Hotel.  In  Los  Angeles,  in  1911,  he  was  married  to  Alice  Jouglard.  The 
family  own  and  occupy  a  residence  at  No.  510  K  street.  East  Bakersfield. 
In  addition  the  two  brothers  built  and  still  own  the  National  hotel,  on  the 
corner  of  Baker  and  Humboldt  streets.  East  Bakersfield.  Mr.  Sartiat  is  a 
Republican  and  a  member  of  the  Eagles.  Concerning  the  early  years  of  his 
identification  with  the  county  he  recounts  many  interesting  experiences,  not 
the  least  memorable  of  which  has  to  do  with  a  stranger  who  stopped  one 
evening  at  his  sheep  camp  in  the  mountains  and  asked  for  food  and  lodging. 
With  the  kindness  and  hospitality  ever  characteristic  of  him.  Air.  Sartiat  will- 
ingly kept  him  o\er  night,  onl}'  to  ascertain  after  the  stranger  had  departed 
the  following  day  that  all  unaware  he  had  entertained  the  notorious  Vasquez. 

LEVI  ERWIN  FOUST.— In  its  varied  departments  of  activity  the  As- 
sociated Oil  Company  has  brought  into  its  service  many  young  men  of  ca- 
pability and  intelligence,  who,  finding  in  the  development  of  its  holdings  an 


652  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

adequate  outlet  for  their  energies,  are  acquiring  meanwhile  so  thorough  a 
knowledge  of  the  oil  industry  as  to  give  weight  to  their  influence  and  value 
to  their  opinions  concerning  any  lease.  The  energies  of  I\Ir.  Foust  have 
been  concentrated  upon  the  rig-building  and  house-carpentering  of  the  great 
corporation  in  the  Midway  division. 

A  member  of  a  pioneer  Iowa  family  and  himself  a  native  of  the  vicinity 
of  Des  Moines,  born  July  20,  1885,  Mr.  Foust  is  the  youngest  among  the 
four  children  of  A.  J.  and  Electra  L.  (Bishop)  Foust,  natives  of  Iowa  and 
farmers  of  that  state.  During  1888  the  family  removed  to  California  and 
settled  in  Kern  county,  where  the  father  took  up  agricultural  pursuits  and 
where  he  still  owns  a  farm  adjacent  to  East  Bakersfield.  The  maternal 
grandfather,  Levi  Bishop,  was  a  soldier  in  an  Iowa  regiment  during  the 
Civil  war  and  fought  on  the  side  of  the  Union  with  courage  and  devotion. 
At  the  time  of  the  removal  of  the  family  to  the  west  Mr.  Foust  was  a  child 
only  three  years.  Hence  his  education  was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  Kern 
county.  By  study  and  observation  he  has  become  a  man  of  broad  informa- 
tion. At  the  age  of  seventeen,  during  the  spring  of  1903,  he  became  an  em- 
ploye of  the  Associated  Oil  Company  on  its  San  Joaquin  division  in  the 
Kern  river  field. 

After  he  had  been  in  charge  of  the  rig-building  gang  in  that  division  for 
a  time,  in  1908  Mr.  Foust  was  transferred  to  McKittrick  as  foreman  of  rig- 
building  and  house-carpentering.  The  year  1910  found  him  engaged  in  a 
similar  capacity  in  the  Midway  division,  where  he  has  filled  the  same  re- 
sponsible position  ever  since,  discharging  his  duties  with  alertness  and 
energy.  Politically  he  is  a  Republican.  In  Bakersfield  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Christine  Church,  a  native  of  San  Luis  Obispo,  this  state.  Two  daugh- 
ters comprise  their  family,  Dorthy  Evelyn  and  Ellen  Loraine. 

BELLAMY  KOSSUTH  SAID.— The  president  of  the  Kern  County 
Pioneer  Society  dates  his  first  association  with  the  county  from  February  of 
1873  and  his  residence  in  California  from  1852,  when  he  was  brought  across 
the  plains  by  his  parents,  Elkanah  and  Jane  (Hayden)  Said,  natives  respec- 
tively of  Kentucky  and  Missouri.  The  eldest  in  a  family  comprising  five  chil- 
dren, three  of  whom  are  now  living,  he  was  born  at  Shullsburg,  Lafayette 
county.  Wis.,  July  22,  1848.  For  some  years  the  father  engaged  in  lead  min- 
ing in  Southern  Wisconsin.  In  1848  he  went  to  Panama,  where  he  was  at  the 
time  of  the  gold  discovery  in  California.  He  immediately  came  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, landing  in  1849,  and  after  spending  some  time  in  the  mines  he  returned 
to  Wisconsin.  In  1852  he  brought  his  wife  and  children  to  California,  cross- 
ing the  plains  with  ox  and  horse  teams,  and  settled  in  Sierra  county,  where  he 
mined  for  gold  with  more  or  less  success.  When  rumors  came  concerning  the 
discovery  of  gold  at  Virginia  City  he  traveled  on  foot  over  the  mountains  in 
company  with  John  W.  Mackey,  another  adventurous  Argonaut.  Later  he 
visited  other  camps  at  the  times  of  great  mining  excitement  and  he  continued 
to  follow  the  occupation  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Eldorado  county. 
The  death  of  his  wife  occurred  at  Bodie,  Mono  county,  Cal.  Their  eldest 
child;  Bellamy  Kossuth,  was  four  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  removal  to 
California,  hence  his  education  was  obtained  wholly  in  the  west.  After  he 
had  completed  the  studies  of  the  common  schools  he  attended  Santa  Clara 
College  and  later  was  a  student  at  Gates  Institute,  San  Jose.  The  first  occu- 
pation to  which  he  devoted  himself  was  that  of  clerking. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  Kern  county  Mr.  Said  secured  a  tract  of  government 
land  sixteen  miles  west  of  Bakersfield  under  what  is  now  the  Pioneer  ditch, 
which  improvement  he  helped  to  survey  and  build.  Later  he  bought  a  tract 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  adjacent  to  his  original  claim.  In  addition 
he  managed  claims  owned  by  his  mother  and  uncle,  so  that  altogether  he 
had  charge  of  a  whole  section  of  land  under  the  Pioneer  ditch.     The  pnssi- 


UO/May>>uJ  JC^>^uJhy  .^C.<Jr^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  655 

bility  of  irrigation  in  abundance  led  him  into  the  alfalfa  Inisiness  and  for 
some  time  he  made  this  his  principal  crop,  although  he  also  engaged  in 
general  farming  and  horticulture.  On  leaving  the  ranch  he  spent  two  years 
in  Mono  county,  whence  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  has  since  devoted  his 
time  to  the  supervision  of  his  property  interest.s,  although  for  six  years  he 
was  in  business  in  the  Kern  River  oil  fields  and  for  some  years  he  also  acted 
as  the  head  bookkeeper  for  the  Union  Oil  Company  at  their  refining  plant. 
Near  Cordelia,  Solano  county,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Bertha  C. 
Morrison,  who  was  born  at  Downieville,  Sierra  county,  Cal.  She  graduated 
from  the  San  Jose  State  Normal  and  prior  to  her  marriage  followed  teaching. 
She  died  at  Berkeley,  September  27 .  1910.  Very  early  in  the  colonization  of 
the  west  her  father,  J.  Z.  Morrison,  came  across  the  plains  and  settled  in 
California,  where  he  still  lives,  owning  and  operating  a  farm  in  Solano  county. 
The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Said  comprise  four  children,  namely:  Kinney  M., 
a  resident  of  Arizona;  Mark  E.  and  Ethel  M.,  students  in  the  University  of 
California  at  Berkeley,  and  Harry  B.,  a  pupil  in  the  Kern  county  high  school. 
The  Congregational  denomination  has  had  the  active  co-operation  and  gener- 
ous assistance  of  Mr.  Said  for  many  years  and  in  the  church  of  that  faith  at 
Bakersfield  he  not  only  officiates  as  a  deacon,  but  in  addition  has  been  active 
and  helpful  in  the  Sunday  school  work. 

J.  H.  CROFT.— The  fact  that  he  has  reached  a  position  of  influence  and 
importance  in  the  oil  business  may  be  attributed  to  the  energy  which  Mr. 
Croft  has  thrown  into  every  task  since  first  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  or- 
phaned by  the  death  of  his  father,  he  took  up  the  battle  of  self-support.  The 
hardships  that  followed  the  dark  period  of  facing  the  world  alone  were  met 
with  a  courage  and  cheerfulness  that  never  deserted  him  and  that  laid  the 
foundation  for  a  later  gratifying  degree  of  success.  After  an  extended  ex- 
perience in  the  oil  fields  of  various  states,  he  came  to  California  in  1908  and 
during  September,  1912,  arrived  in  the  Sunset  field  to  engage  as  drilling  fore- 
man on  the  North  Midway  leases  of  the  Kern  Trading  &  Oil  Company,  with 
which  great  corporation  he  still  is  connected  as  head  driller,  filling  with  char- 
acteristic fidelity  and  intelligence  a  position  of  importance  and  showing  in 
his  work  an'  intimate  acquaintance  with  both  the  production  and  operating 
departments  of  the  oil  business. 

.\  son  of  Christian  Croft,  a  native  of  Ohio  and  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
I.  H.  Croft  was  born  at  St.  Marys,  .\uglaize  county,  Ohio,  in  1882  and 
passed  the  vears  of  childhood  on  the  home  farm.  After  the  death  of  his 
father  in  1894  he  began  to  work  as  a  farm  hand,  in  this  way  earning  his 
board  and  clothes,  but  having  little  opportunity  for  attending  school.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  he  had  his  first  experience  in  the  oil  industry.  The  fields 
at  Lima,  Ohio,  afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  gain  a  livelihood  as  a  rousl- 
^ibout.  Little  by  little  he  rose  to  positions  of  importance.  As  a  tool-dresscr 
he  received  good  wages  and  from  that  he  advanced  to  be  a  driller  in  the  gas 
fields  of  Marion,  Grant  county,  Ind.,  where  he  remained  for  five  years.  Gomg 
to  Kansas,  he  engaged  in  drilling  at  Independence,  from  which  place  he  went 
to  the  new  oil  fields  at  Dewev,  Okla.,  to  engage  in  drilling  wells.  When  he 
came  to  California  in  1908  he  secured  employment  as  a  driller  at  Coalinga 
with  the  Associated  Oil  Company,  but  five  months  later  changed  to  the  em- 
plov  of  the  Kern  Trading  &  Oil  Company  in  its  Coalinga  division.  Durmg 
the  fall  of  1912  the  company  sent  him  to  the  Sunset  field,  where  smce  he  has 
engaged  as  head  driller  of  the  North  Midway  leases.  While  engaged  in  the 
oil  business  in  Oklahoma  he  married  at  Bartlesville,  that  state.  Miss  Lena 
Warren,  a  native  of  Waynesfield,  Auglaize  county,  Ohio,  and  an  earnest  mem- 
ber of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  By  the  marriage  there  is  one  son, 
Robert.  In  Oklahoma  Mr.  Croft  joined  Bartlesville  Lodge  No.  1060,  B.  P.  O.  E. 


656  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

MRS.  PAULINE  DARNUL  PETRAY.— The  hardships  of  pioneer 
existence  in  California  form  a  remote  but  distinct  background  in  the 
memories  of  Mrs.  Petray,  whose  busy  life  has  been  crowded  with  useful 
activities  and  crowned  with  the  honors  always  accorded  to  women  of  intel- 
ligence, industry  and  inherent  kindliness  of  spirit.  When  her  parents, 
Cook  B.  and  Elizabeth  (Shinn)  Darnul,  removed  from  her  native  county  of 
Pope  in  Arkansas  and  sought  the  larger  opportunities  of  the  west,  she  was 
brought  with  the  other  children  to  the  then  little  known  land  of  California. 
At  the  expiration  of  an  overland  trip  that  consumed  five  tedious  months, 
the  family  arrived  in  Calaveras  county  and  entered  upon  the  difficult  task 
of  securing  a  home  and  profitable  work  in  a  frontier  environment.  Schools 
were  few  and  widely  scattered  in  those  days  and  it  was  not  possible  for 
her  to  secure  a  broad,  thorough  education,  but  she  found  an  abundance  of 
work  in  the  home.  At  an  early  age  she  became  adept  in  the  culinary 
art  and  this  accomplishment  she  has  in  no  wise  forgotten ;  on  the  other 
hand,  she  is  still  numbered  among  the  most  efficient  housekeepers  and 
skilled  cooks  in  her  neighborhood.  While  yet  a  young  girl  she  became 
the  wife  of  Robert  Bowen,  whom  in  1870  she  accompanied  to  Linn's  valley 
in  Kern  county. 

A  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  was  homesteaded  in  the  upper 
end  of  the  valley  and  there  Air.  and  Mrs.  Bowen  labored  with  indefatigable 
earnestness  to  earn  a  livelihood  and  improve  a  farm.  There  were  two  chil- 
dren born  of  this  union;  the  oldest,  a  daughter,  Alice,  passed  away  in  1891, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years;  the  son,  Robert  A.  Bowen,  a  native- 
born  son  of  California,  is  now  engaged  in  general  farming  south  of  Bakers- 
field.  Upon  the  sale  of  the  claim  the  old  Hughes  farm  on  Poso  creek  was 
bought  and  occupied  and  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  that  ranch. 
Mr.  Bowen  devoted  himself  to  the  care  and  cultivation  of  the  two  hundred 
and  forty  acres  comprising  the  tract.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Bowen  his 
widow  spent  some  time  in  Healdsburg  and  there  she  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  R.  A.  Petray,  whose  death  occurred  some  years  later  in  the 
same  city.  Since  her  return  to  Linn's  valley  she  has  made  her  home  prin- 
cipally with  her  brother,  J.  J.  Darnul,  over  whose  ranch  house  she  pre- 
sides with  unbounded  hospitality  and  unfailing  energy.  Besides  owning 
a  residence  at  White  River  she  still  owns  a  valuable  farm,  which  is  leased. 

EDWARD  T.  McMAHON. — As  division  superintendent  Mr.  AIcMahon's 
field  extends  to  the  Sigma  pumping  station  in  the  Sunset  field,  and  to  the 
Midway  pumping  station  in  the  Midway  field,  including  also  the  pumping  of 
all  the  water  used  on  the  various  leaseholds.  The  water  is  pumped  from  wells 
at  the  Rio  Bravo  pumping  station  n.ear  Lake  Buena  Vista  in  Kern  county. 
From  the  two  oil  pumping  stations  the  oil  is  sent  on  its  way  from  the  Mid- 
way and  Sunset  fields  to  the  storage  tanks  at  Point  Richmond.  That  an 
immense  amount  of  oil  can  be  cared  for  and  disposed  of  promptly  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  the  pumps  on  section  1,  township  32,  range  23,  have  a 
capacity  of  three  thousand  barrels  per  hour.  The  equipment  is  the  most 
modern  and  in  every  branch  of  the  pipe  line  department,  skill,  great  expense 
and  large  results  are  apparent. 

The  division  superintendent  is  a  New  Yorker  by  birth  and  was  born  at 
Ellicottville,  Cattaraugus  county.  July  3,  1876.  From  early  life  he  has  been 
familiar  with  the  oil  industry.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  secured  employment 
as  a  trol-dresser  with  the  Northwestern  Gas  Company  in  the  Findlay  field 
in  Hancock  county,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  for  two  years.  Chance  turned 
him  from  the  oil  business  into  structural  iron  work.  As  an  employe  of  the 
Pittsburg  Construction  Company  he  helped  to  build  bridges  on  the  Nickel 
Plate  and  New  York  Central  railroads.  In  addition  he  was  employed  in  the 
construction  of  the  American   radiator  works  in   Buffalo  and  the   Kingsford 


H/o^^tyoCfT,^^^    izO<a^^2^-»-2--'--'-^^  -^Ze^ 


.^e^-CC<:i^. 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  659 

boiler  works  at  Oswego.  For  five  years  lie  followed  the  structural  imn  trade, 
and  during  that  period  he  married  Aliss  Alary  Murray,  of  Ellicottville,  N.  Y., 
.if  which  union  there  is  now  one  son,  Edward  J. 

Re-entering  the  oil  industry  about  1903,  Air.  AIcAIahon  engaged  with 
the  East  Ohio  Gas  Company  as  an  employe  of  its  distribution  department. 
Aluch  of  his  work  was  in  connection  with  the  laying  of  mains  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  promoted  to  be  pipe  line  foreman.  After  six  years  with 
the  gas  and  oil  business  in  Ohio,  in  1909,  he  came  to  California,  arriving  in 
the  Alidway  field  during  March  and  immediately  beginning  work  as  field 
foreman  with  the  Standard.  When  oil  was  discovered  it  was  his  duty  to 
connect  the  lease  with  the  main  line  of  the  Standard  and  from  that  work 
developed  the  pipe  line  department,  of  which  since  October,  1912,  he  has  been 
division  superintendent.  Since  coming  to  this  post  of  duty  he  has  estab- 
lished a  home  for  his  family  on  section  1,  township  Z2,  range  23,  at  the  Mid- 
way station  of  the  Standard.  With  his  wife  he  belongs  to  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Church  at  Taft. 

THOMAS  L.  CUMMINS.  —  Discouragements  neither  few  nor  small 
have  been  met  by  Air.  Cummins  since  the  time  when,  a  boy  of  nine  years, 
he  began  to  earn  his  livelihood  by  driving  a  team  and  doing  other  farm 
work  on  his  father's  place  in  Illinois.  Alore  than  once  he  has  made  a  grati- 
fying start  in  business  or  occupative  tasks,  only  to  have  the  fruits  of  his 
labors  destroyed,  but  each  time  he  has  started  with  undiminished  optimism 
and  since  coming  to  Bakersfield  in  1904  he  has  been  gratified  by  continued 
prosperity  represented  by  a  large  and  important  building  business.  Previous 
experience  had  given  him  a  thorough  knowledge  of  carpentering. 

In  a  family  of  eight  children,  all  but  one  of  whom  are  still  living,  the 
third  in  order  of  birth,  Thomas  L.  Cummins,  was  born  at  Shelbyville,  Ind., 
June  13,  1864,  and  at  the  age  of  less  than  one  year  was  taken  to  Iowa  by 
his  parents,  William  L.  and  Edna  (Short)  Cummins,  natives  respectively 
of  Ohio  and  New  York.  The  paternal  grandfather,  Jesse  Cummins,  a  native 
of  Ohio,  developed  farms  successively  in  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Iowa  and  rep- 
resented the  hardy  class  of  frontiersmen  whose  efforts  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  remarkable  agricultural  development  of  the  middle  west.  During  the 
early  part  of  the  Civil  war  William  L.  Cummins  served  as  a  private  in  an 
Indiana  regiment,  but  upon  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  at  the  expira- 
tiem  of  his  time  he  returned  to  farm  pursuits,  removing  in  1864  with  his  fam- 
ily to  Wayne  county,  Iowa.  In  1873  he  made  another  move,  this  time  set- 
tling on  an  Illinois  farm,  and  about  1879  he  took  up  a  homestead  in  Sumner 
county,  Kan.,  near  the  town  of  Wellington.  The  last  move  of  his  life  took 
him  to  Los  Angeles  in  1883,  and  his  death  occurred  there  in  the  same  year. 
His  widow,  now  eighty  years  and  still  active,  makes  her  home  in  Bakersfield. 

When  the  family  came  to  California  in  1883  Thomas  L.  Cummins  im- 
mediately secured  employment  on  a  ranch.  For  such  work  he  was  well 
qualified,  being  experienced,  industrious  and  persevering,  but  at  the  expira- 
tion of  two  years  he  gave  up  farming  in  order  to  serve  an  apprenticeship 
to  the  trade  of  a  carpenter  in  Los  Angeles.  His  time  ended,  he  worked  at 
the  trade  and  soon  became  foreman  for  a  contractor.  From  1889  until  1896 
he  followed  the  trade  in  San  Diego,  where  he  became  known  as  a  careful 
builder  and  skilled  carpenter.  Aleanwhile  he  had  become  interestd  in  min- 
ing and  during  1897  he  turned  his  attention  entirely  to  the  building  and 
operating  of  mills  in  mines  of  San  Bernardino  county,  where  with  a  partner 
he  owned  a  valuable  mine  and  mill.  The  interests  became  highly  profitable 
in  their  developed  state,  but  the  partner  proved  dishonest  and  Mr.  Cummins 
lost  heavily  in  the  enterprise.  Nor  was  his  next  venture  any  more  success- 
ful. Going  to  Madera  county,  he  leased  a  sawmill  in  the  pines,  began  to 
operate  the  plant  and  had  every  promise  of  a  large  business,  but  his  sanguine 


660  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

expectations  came  to  an  end  with  the  burning  of  the  mill,  entailing  a  heavy 
loss.  During  1904  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  took  up  carpentering,  since 
which  time  he  has  bought  a  residence.  Interested  also  in  farming  he  owns 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  eight  miles  southeast  of  the  city  in  the 
Weed  Patch  country,  which  he  has  checked  and  ditched  and  will  seed  to 
alfalfa.  In  this  city  he  married  Miss  Susan  Fleckner,  a  native  of  New  York 
City,  a  woman  of  education  and  an  active  worker  in  the  Women  of  Wood 
craft.  She  is  very  literary  and  a  playwriter  of  ability,  having  .written  and 
staged  "The  Matrimonial  Club,"  "The  Last  Rehearsal,"  "Women's  Rights 
in  Pumpkin  Center,"  "Life  of  David."  "Life  of  Joseph,"  also  being  the  author 
of  Scotch,  Irish  and  American  songs  as  well  as  lectures.  All  her  productions 
proved  popular  and  were  favorably  commented  upon.  Mr.  Cummins  is  a 
well-known  member  of  the  ^Voodmen  of  the  World. 

WILLIAM  HARRISON  LOWELL.— Although  not  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  of  Bakersfield,  the  date  of  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Lowell,  May  27,  1876, 
indicates  that  he  identified  himself  with  Kern  county  long  before  its  present 
wealth  of  resources  was  appreciated  and  before  its  present  era  of  expansion 
had  been  inaugurated.  From  the  time  of  his  arrival  until  his  useful  existence 
came  to  an  end.  May  11,  1910,  he  labored  for  the  advancement  of  his  adopted 
home  and  while  endeavoring  to  attain  independence  for  himself  never  slighted 
any    movement    that    would    promote    the    growth    of    the    community. 

Descended  from  an  old  English  family  long  resident  in  New  England, 
William  Harrison  Lowell  was  born  at  Concord,  Me.,  April  14,  1841,  and  was 
a  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Tyler)  Lowell,  also  natives  of  Maine.  When 
but  little  more  than  twenty  years  of  age  he  enlisted  in  the  Civil  war  as  a 
member  of  the  Fourth  Maine  Cavalry  and  accompanied  his  regiment  to  the 
front,  where  he  served  with  valor  and  fidelity  for  a  period  of  three  years. 
In  January,  1865,  he  received  an  honorable  discharge  and  returned  to  his 
home  in  Maine,  where  he  took  up  farm  ])ursuits.  July  2,  1875,  at  Pleasant 
Ridge,  Me.,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Hannah  C.  Ball,  a  native 
of  the  same  village  as  himself,  and  a  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Eliza  (Carl) 
Ball,  farmers  by  occupation.  Both  of  her  parents  died  in  early  life. and  she 
was  but  eighteen  months  old  when  left  an  orphan,  after  which  she 
was  taken  into  the  home  of  Mrs.  Mary  Bridgen,  an  English  lady.  The 
foster  mother  sent  her  to  school  and  trained  her  carefully  in  a  knowledge 
of  housekeeping  duties,  so  that  she  was  well  qualified  to  take  charge  of  a 
home  of  her  own.  Shortly  after  her  marriage  she  started  with  her  husband 
for  California  and  here  established  a  home  in  Bakersfield. 

The  Lowell  brothers,  Wilmot,  Danville,  Alexis  and  William  Harrison, 
engaged  in  sheep-raising,  the  last-named  being  first  merely  a  salaried  em- 
ploye, but  later  admitted  as  a  partner.  While  they  met  with  the  reverses 
always  to  be  counted  upon  in  the  sheep  industry,  in  the  main  they  were  suc- 
cessful and  their  large  investments  of  means  and  time  in  the  business  brought 
them  satisfactory  returns.  W'ith  a  portion  of  their  profits  they  bought  a 
ranch  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  adjoining  Bakersfield,  and  there 
they  engaged  in  raising  alfalfa  and  fruit.  A  part  of  the  tract  was  eventually 
made  a  subdivision  and  as  such  was  sold  off  in  lots,  many  of  which  were 
improved  by  the  brothers  themselves  with  neat  cottages  or  commodious 
residences.  Eleven  of  the  houses  were  erected  by  Wilmot  and  William  H., 
and  they  also  built  a  number  of  houses  on  Chester  avenue,  besides  which 
William  H.  bought  a  large  residence  at  K  and  Twenty-first  streets,  that  he 
owned  but  rented  for  a  rooming  house  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  His 
only  son,  Arthur,  is  living  in  Bakersfield,  and  since  her  husband's  death  Mrs. 
Lowell  has  continued  to  reside  at  the  old  home  place.  No.  1120  Seventeenth 
street,  carefully  superintending  the  family  interests,  which  include  the  own- 
ership of  unimproved  property,  houses  and  lots,  stock  in  the  Bank  of  Bakers- 
field and  other  valuable  interests.     In  national  politics  he  always  voted  with 


o 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  663 

the  Republican  party,  while  fraternally  after  the  organization  of  Hurlburt  Post, 
G.  A.  R.,  at  Bakersfield,  he  was  one  of  its  leading  and  most  highly  honored 
members  and  the  incumbent  of  a  number  of  its  leading  offices.  Mrs.  Lowell 
is  a  member  of  the  W  Oman's  Relief  Corps  of  Bakersfield,  and  takes  an  active 
interest  and  is  ever  helpful  in  all  movements  that  tend  to  improve  and  better 
the  conditions  of  the  city  and  citizens  of  her  adopted  home. 

HERBERT  GEORGE  BALL.— The  history  of  the  Ball  family  is  traced 
back  to  the  early  period  of  the  American  occupancy  of  California.  The  first 
of  the  name  to  identify  himself  with  the  then  unknown  west  was  John  Ball, 
a  Kentuckian  by  birth  and  education  and  a  member  of  an  honored  and  in- 
fluential southern  family.  Such  was  the  wealth  and  prestige  of  the  family 
in  the  Blue  Grass  state  that  in  his  own  name  he  owned  two  thousand  slaves 
and  vast  tracts  of  land.  After  removing  to  Alissouri  he  became  heavily  in- 
terested in  cattle.  During  1848  he  was  made  high  sheriff  of  Missouri,  which 
at  the  time  was  undergoing  great  excitement  and  trouble  owing  to  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Mormons,  e.xiled  from  Hancock  county.  111.,  subsequent  to  the 
killing  of  Joseph  Smith  earlier  in  the  same  decade.  In  his  capacity  as  high 
sheriff  it  Ijecame  necessary  for  Mr.  Ball  to  confine  Brigham  Young  in  his 
own  home  for  three  weeks.  The  great  Mormon  leader  when  released  de- 
termined to  revenge  himself  upon  his  jailer  and  when  the  latter  determined 
to  cross  the  plains  to  California,  he  sent  word  to  him  that  he  would  not  be 
permitted  to  cross  the  plains  alive.  However,  John  Ball  was  not  a  man  to 
be  frightened  by  a  threat.  Instead,  he  became  all  the  more  resolute  in  his 
purpose  and  in  the  spring  of  1848,  shortly  after  Young  had  been  released 
and  had  gone  to  Utah,  a  large  company  of  Missouri  people  set  out  for  Cali- 
fornia. Twelve  hundred  persons  formed  the  party,  which  carried  a  suitable 
equipment  of  wagons,  cattle,  provisions,  supplies  and,  most  important  of  all, 
a  large  amount  of  ammunition.  In  the  outfit  were  two  brass  cannon  made 
at  New  Orleans,  with  one  and  one-half  inch  bore  and  shooting  balls  attached 
together  by  means  of  chains  from  three  to  seven  inches  long. 

The  winter  of  1848-49  was  passed  in  camp,  the  men  of  the  party  build- 
ing Fort  Hall  and  fortifying  it  against  the  Indians.  Every  mile  of  their 
journey  across  the  plains  was  contested  by  savages.  Through  the  country 
where  "the  Mormons  could  attack  them  their  progress  was  one  continual 
warfare.  Particularly  memorable  was  the  battle  of  Bloody  Hollow,  where 
Ball's  forces,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  six  cavalrymen,  thirteen  scouts 
(of  whom  Kit  Carson  was  the  leader)  and  twelve  hundred  men  in  the  train, 
met  and  conquered  a  great  army  of  Indians  and  Mormons,  inflicting  a  heavy 
loss  of  life.  The  expedition  was  the  first  to  get  through  after  the  ill-fated 
Donner  party.  On  account  of  the  hostilities  of  savages  they  were  forced  to 
take  the  northern  route,  and  it  was  not  until  the  spring  of  1850  that  they 
landed  in  California  via  Portland,  Ore.  Immediately  John  Ball  put  up  a 
canvas  hotel  in  Sacramento.  For  a  few  years  he  met  with  phenomenal  suc- 
cess, but  his  large  generosity  involved  him  in  financial  difficulties  and  his 
large  fortune  was  spent  before  his  death.  He  built  the  first  brick  house  in 
Sacramento  and  also  built  and  equipped  the  first  railroad  ever  in  California, 
this  being  a  road  eight  miles  in  length,  built  primarily  for  the  purpose  of 
hauling  wood  to  Sacramento.  From  the  latter  city  he  moved  to  Sonoma 
county  and  founded  Frankville,  afterwards  known  as  Santa  Rosa,  where  he 
died  in  1865  from  the  result  of  injuries  caused  by  a  kick  frorn  a  horse.  Of 
his  family  of  two  daughters  and  six  sons  only  two  are  now  living. 

At  the  time  of  starting  from  Missouri  William  P.,  son  of  John  Ball,  was 
a  child  seven  years  of  age.  In  youth  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith. 
For  manv  years  he  struggled  to  secure  a  footing  in  the  business  world. 
Meanwhile  he  lived  as  far  north  as  Washington  and  as  far  in  the  other  direc- 
tion   as    Southern    California.      During   1856.    when    taking   a    herd    of    eight 


664  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

hundred  Arizona  cattle  from  the  lower  part  of  California  to  Sacramento  via  the 
San  Joaquin  valley,  he  and  his  comrades  noticed  smoke  issuing  from  the  hills 
north  of  McKittrick.  Believing  the  smoke  to  come  from  a  volcano  they  started 
an  investigation.  They  ascertained  that  the  Indians  had  set  fire  to  the  hills 
where  the  oil  oozed  out  of  the  earth  and  the  soil  was  burned  to  the  color 
and  appearance  of  lava.  However,  Mr.  Ball  had  no  means  for  developing 
oil  and  being  anxious  to  get  his  herd  through  to  their  destination,  he  gave 
no  further  attention  to  the  discovery  of  oil.  Later  he  worked  in  the  Kern 
county  oil  fields,  but  at  this  writing  he  is  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business 
at  Santa  Rosa. 

Born  at  Healdsburg,  Sonoma  county,  Cal.,  July  28,  1875,  Herbert  George 
Ball  was  educated  mainly  in  public  schools  in  Washington,  where  he  finished 
the  grammar  grade.  As  a  boy  he  lived  in  various  places,  but  principally 
at  Walla  Walla,  Wash.,  and  San  Francisco.  From  the  age  of  fourteen  until 
twenty-one  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  old  California  Electric  Light  Company 
(now  consolidated  with  the  Edison  Power  &  Light  Company).  From 
twenty-one  until  twenty-six  he  was  employed  as  an  artistic  metal  worker 
with  Thomas,  Day  &  Co.,  of  San  Francisco.  Were  he  not  an  exceptionally 
proficient  oil  superintendent,  he  could  earn  his  livelihood  either  as  an  elec- 
trician or  as  a  metal  worker.  While  he  was  working  with  the  metal  com- 
pany an  older  brother,  residing  in  San  Francisco,  had  made  the  acquaintance 
of  E.  C.  Landis,  then  as  now  connected  with  the  Kern  River  Oil  Company. 
Mr.  Landis  was  in  need  of  a  blacksmith  to  work  upon  his  lease  and  the 
older  brother  secured  the  place  for  his  father,  who  was  an  expert  at  that 
trade.  After  the  father  had  been  working  for  some  time  on  the  lease,  a 
demand  developed  for  an  electrician  and  he  recommended  his  son,  Herbert 
George,  who  was  thereupon  requested  to  begin  work  at  the  lease.  As  an 
electrician,  the  young  man  made  good.  However,  the  price  of  oil  began  to 
drop  until  it  was  only  ten  cents  per  barrel.  This  meant  practical  ruin  to  the 
oil  industry.  The  plant  was  shut  down,  but  he  was  retained  as  caretaker 
and  when  an  increasing  price  caused  the  resuming  of  operations  he  was 
ready  to  start  in  at  the  bottom  and  work  his  way  forward  by  dint  of 
efficiency. 

Since  first  coming  to  the  oil  fields,  April  8,  1901,  Mr.  Ball  has  never 
been  out  of  the  employ  of  the  Kern  River  Oil  Company  nor  has  he  ever  been 
absent  from  the  McKittrick  field  with  the  exception  of  the  seven  months 
from  January  1st  to  August  1st,  1903,  when  his  employers  sent  him  over  to 
the  Kern  river  field  to  observe  the  water  in  the  wells  and  learn  the  best 
methods  of  shutting  it  ofif.  This  he  did  so  successfully  that  he  was  called 
to  many  of  the  leading  leases  to  aid  in  similar  tasks,  among  them  being  the 
following:  West  Shore  Oil  Company,  Monte  Cristo  Oil  Company,  Green-Whit- 
tier  Oil  Company,  Astec  Oil  Company,  Rasmussen  Oil  Company,  Red  Bank  Oil 
Company,  Del  Rey  Oil  Company,  Nevada  County  Oil  Company,  Peerless  Oil 
Company,  Kern  Oil  Company,  Omar  Oil  Company  and  the  Reed  Crude  Oil 
Company.  At  this  writing  he  has  the  Kern  River  Oil  Company's  lease  of  ten 
acres  under  contract  from  year  to  year  and  through  his  enterprise  he  has 
made  a  success  of  the  property.  Out  of  the  four  oil  wells  two  are  producing 
and  give  an  average  monthly  output  of  four  thousand  barrels.  Altogether 
he  has  spent  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  in  wild-catting  and  putting  down 
discovery  wells  in  the  McKittrick  field.  Associated  with  Mr.  Bandittini  of 
McKittrick  and  H.  S.  Williams  he  put  down  the  discovery  well  on  the 
I.  X.  L.  lease,  now  a  part  of  the  Associated,  and  sold  out  to  advantage  after 
striking  a  good  flow  of  oil.  Together  with  ]\Ir.  Williams  he  put  down  a  well 
to  a  depth  of  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  feet  on  eighty 
acres  of  government  land,  known  as  the  Leader  Oil  Company  lease.  As 
they  began   operations  before   the  government  withdrew  the   land   they  are 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  667 

entitled  to  a  patent.  Indications  for  a  gusher  of  high  gravity  oil  are  excel- 
lent and  in  that  event  the  lease  will  become  one  of  the  most  valuable  prop- 
erties at  JMcKittrick.  Upon  forty  acres  known  as  the  S.  and  VV.  lease,  Messrs. 
Williams  and  Ball  have  one  well  producing  one  hundred  barrels  per  day. 
On  his  lease  of  ten  acres  Mr.  Ball  uses  gas  for  fuel  and  for  generating  steam, 
while  he  has  installed  electrical  power  for  pumping  purposes.  In  addition 
he  has  an  electrical  pumping  plant  on  his  tine  ranch  of  eighty  acres  in  the 
Laurel  colony,  Tulare  county,  where  he  is  developing  a  model  country  home. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Progressive  Republican,  and  fraternally  he  is  a  member 
of  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.  During  1902  he  married  Miss 
Jessie  N.  Mull,  member  of  a  prominent  family  of  Tulare  county,  and  their 
union  has  been  blessed  with  two  children.  Cornelia  Elizabeth  and  Herbert 
William. 

FERDINAND  A.  TRACY.— The  life  which  this  narrative  depicts  began 
in  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  in  1829,  and  closed  at  Bakersfield,  Cal.,  January  9,  1908. 
The  intervening  years  represented  a  period  of  intense  activity  crowned  by 
the  regard  of-  friends.  From  1850,  when  he  was  attracted  to  the  west  by  the 
discovery  of  gold  and  crossed  the  plains  with  a  large  expedition  of  emi- 
grants, he  was  identified  with  the  material  upbuilding  of  California  and  gave 
to  its  development  an  intensity  of  devotion  indicative  of  his  fondness  for  the 
commonwealth  of  his  adoption.  In  the  early  '50s  he  was  commissioned 
lieutenant  of  a  company  of  United  States  troops  to  quell  an  Indian  uprising 
in  northern  California.  The  company  was  successful  in  establishing  peace, 
and  it  was  the  last  time  these  Indians  were  on  the  warpath.  When  his  ser- 
vices were  no  longer  needed  Mr.  Tracy  was  honorably  discharged.  During 
the  period  of  mining  activity  he  followed  the  occupation  in  the  Mokelumne 
region  and  indeed  he  never  lost  his  interest  in  the  industry,  but  after  he 
had  left  the  Sierras  he  became  interested  in  the  mines  of  Kern  county, 
notably  those  in  the  Tehachapi  range.  Frqm  mining  he  turned  to  stock-rais- 
ing. During  1860,  in  search  of  feed  for  his  herds,  he  came  into  the  Carissa 
valley  and  from  there  he  proceeded  to  the  Kern  delta,  whose  possibilities 
attracted  him.  Becoming  a  resident  of  Bakersfield  in  1862,  he  operated  his 
stock  interests  from  this  point  and  with  Wellington  Canfield,  under  the  firm 
title  of  Canfield  &  Tracy,  he  became  a  leader  in  the  cattle  industry  through- 
out the  San  Joaquin  vallfey.  Their  herds  increased  in  size  until  their  brand 
was  more  frequently  seen  than  that  of  any  of  the  stockmen  in  the  state.  It 
is  said  that  during  the  fifty-six  years  of  their  co-partnership,  never  a  word 
of  disagreement  arose  between  the  two  partners,  but  they  remained  in  the 
end  as  in  the  beginning  close  personal  friends,  congenial  associates  and 
devotedly  attached  each  to  the  welfare  of  the  other. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Tracy  in  1875  united  him  with  Mrs.  Ellen  Baker, 
the  widow  of  the  founder  of  Bakersfield.  Politically  he  always  advocated 
Republican  principles.  Frequently  he  was  called  upon  to  occupy  positions 
of  trust  in  county  aiTairs,  but  these  came  to  him  without  his  seeking.  In- 
deed he  was  so  unassuming,  so  reticent  in  his  own  claims,  so  strong  in  his 
dislike  for  notoriety  that  he  shunned  public  life  and  often  was  superseded  by 
others  who  had  not  the  moral  and  intellectual  equipment  for  an  honor- 
able career  that  he  possessed.  Had  it  not  been  for  his  exceeding  modesty 
he  would  have  ranked  with  men  known  in  the  annals  of  the  state.  His 
manly  nature  appealed  to  men  in  a  manly  way.  Generous  to  a  fault,  hos- 
pitable in  act,  attractive  in  personality  and  genial  in  companionship,  he 
made  friends  of  all  whether  rich  or  poor.  In  every  sense  of  the  word  he  was 
a  true  gentleman  and  this  was  particularly  noticeable  in  his  desire  to  pro- 
tect all  helpless  and  dependent  creatures.  The  poor  had  in  him  a  helpful 
friend,  the  suffering  never  sought  his  assistance  in  vain.  His  integrity  and 
honesty  were  of  the  kind  that  sought  no  personal  emoluments,  but  upheld 
the   highest   principles   of   honor   through    innate    purity    of   soul.     Self-poise 


668  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

guided  all  of  his  acts  and  was  apparent  in  every  business  detail,  but  it  was 
not  the  self-control  of  the  selfish  man,  instead  the  natural  temperament  of 
one  ever  ready  to  make  sacrifices  for  others  and  one  who  displayed  patience 
and  kindness  under  every  circumstance.  Possessed  of  splendid  mind,  he 
developed  this  through  a  wise  and  long-continued  course  of  reading.  The 
master-minds  of  all  the  ages  became  familiar  to  him  in  his  readings  and 
thus  he  acquired  a  cosmopolitan  culture.  A  fondness  for  poetry  did  not 
deter  him  from  delving  into  the  intricacies  of  science  and  political  economy, 
while  in  history  he  was  exceptionally  well  informed.  Of  religion  too  he  was 
a  thoughtful  student  and  while  with  innate  reticence  he  never  revealed  his 
thoughts  concerning  the  spiritual  life,  his  own  deeply  religious  nature  per- 
vaded his  entire  existence  and  made  beautiful  his  adherence  to  the  strong- 
hold of  Christianity. 

CLAUS  PETER  CHRISTENSEN.— Many  of  the  enterprising  men 
who  are  taking  an  active  part  in  the  development  of  Kern  county  came  here 
from  the  fertile  country  of  Denmark  and  it  was  there  that  Claus  Peter 
Christensen  was  born  near  Nakskov,  Laaland,  September  27,  1865.  He  was 
reared  on  a  farm  and  received  a  thorough  training  in  the  local  schools.  In 
1882  he  came  to  Illinois  and  for  a  time  was  employed  at  farming  in  Sanga- 
mon county.  In  1884  he  came  to  Shasta  county,  California,  where  for 
eighteen  months  he  worked  on  a  farm  and  then  began  placer  and  quartz  min- 
ing and  learned  millwrighting,  building  and  running  quartz  mills  in  Shasta 
and  Trinity  counties.  During  this  time  he  completed  a  course  in  mining  en- 
gineering in  the  International  Correspondence  School. 

Mr.  Christensen  built  a  dredger  on  the  Klamath  river  and  a  smelter  at 
Keswick,  then  was  superintendent  of  the  Dunderberg  mine  in  Mono  county 
for  two  years.  Wishing  to  still  further  perfect  himself  for  his  life  work  he 
entered  Vandernaillen's  School  of  Mines  at  San  Francisco,  where  he  was 
graduated  in  1898.  In  December  of  that  year  he  came  to  Johannesburg, 
where  he  built  two  different  cyanide  plants  and  the  Phoenix  mill.  Thence 
he  went  to  Barstow  where  he  rebuilt  a  C3'anide  plant.  His  next  venture  was 
prospecting  and  mining  in  Old  Mexico  where  later  he  was  in  the  employ  of 
the  Green-Cananea  Company.  On  his  return  to  California  he  erected  a  100- 
stamp  mill  in  Calaveras  county  and  then  went  to  Goldfield,  Nev.,  where  he 
spent  nearly  a  year.  For  the  next  three  years  he  was  engaged  in  contracting 
and  building  in  Petaluma  when  he  again  returned  to  the  Randsburg  district. 
Here  he  was  mill  man  in  the  Atolia  mills  and  afterwards  in  charge  of  the 
mill  and  cyanide  plant  of  the  Skidoo  Mines  Company,  resigning  in  1909  to 
accept  the  position  of  superintendent  for  the  Stanford  Mining  and  Reduction 
Company,  which  position  he  is  filling  with  conscientious  ability. 

In  Mokelumne  Hill,  Calaveras  county.  May  27,  1900,  Mr.  Christensen 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Edna  Vaillancourt,  a  native  of  Reno,  Nev  , 
and  they  have  two  children,  Cecil  P.  and  Hilda.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Dania  society  in  Petaluma  and  Sergeant  lodge  No.  368,  I.  O.  O.  F.. 
San  Francisco.  Politically  he  gives  his  allegiance  to  Democratic  principles. 
Mr.  Christensen  is  much  interested  in  the  cause  of  education  and  is  clerk  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Johannesburg  School  District. 

GEORGE  WALLER.— Two  generations  of  the  Waller  family  have  been 
and  are  now  in  the  employ  of  the  same  corporation,  holding  positions  of  trust 
and  discharging  their  duties  with  efficiency.  The  secnnd  generation  is  rep- 
resented by  George  Waller,  now  the  foreman  of  the  pipe  line  department^ 
on  section  1,  township  32,  range  23,  in  the  ]\lidway  field;  and  the  older  gen- 
eration is  represented  by  his  father,  J.  TI.,  a  life-long  employe  of  the  Stand- 
ard Oil  Company,  and  still  capable,  efficient  and  energetic,  refusing  to  give 
up  the  work  in  "which  he  takes  great  satisfaction,  although  officials  of  the 
company  repeatedly  have  importuned  him  to  retire  on  a  pension,     .^n  exam- 


I 


» 


)^^^Qn9(a-ryH, 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  671 

pie  of  fealty  and  devotion  is  afforded  by  the  long  and  pleasant  connection  of 
father  and  son  with  the  same  corporation. 

Although  a  native  of  West  Virginia  (born  February  15.  1870)  George 
Waller  spent  his  boyhood  years  in  the  Lima  oil  fields  in  Ohio,  for  he  was 
only  one  }ear  old  when  his  father,  J.  H.  Waller,  moved  over  to  Ohio  to  take 
up  work  in  the  pipe  line  department  of  the  Standard.  The  boy  was  educated 
in  Ohio  and  finished  the  high-school  course  at  Fort  Recovery,  Mercer  county, 
in  1897.  Meanwhile  he  had  become  self-supporting  by  working  in  the  Stand- 
ard office  during  vacations.  As  a  messenger  boy  he  proved  that  he  had  in 
him  the  making  of  an  expert  oil  worker.  Always  the  industry  has  interested 
him.  To  master  its  details  has  been  his  principal  ambition  in  life.  The 
Standard,  the  only  company  for  which  he  has  ever  worked,  has  given  him 
every  opportunity  to  gain  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  business.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-one  he  was  promoted  to  be  connecting  foreman.  In  that  ca- 
pacity he  later  worked  in  Kansas  and  Oklahoma.  Sent  back  to  Illinois,  he 
worked  successively  at  Robinson,  Rridgepurt,  Casey  and  Stoy,  and  in  1910 
left  Stoy  for  California,  being  assigned  to  work  in  the  Coalinga  field.  For 
two  years  and  eight  months  he  was  connected  with  the  pipe  line  department 
of  the  Standard  at  Coalinga,  from  which  point  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Midway  field  and  has  since  been  foreman  of  the  pipe  line  department  on 
section  1.  While  making  his  headquarters  at  Robinson,  111.,  he  married  Miss 
Myrtle  Jacobs,  and  they  now  occupy  one  of  the  Standard  houses  on  1-32-23, 
where  they  have  a  comfortable  home.  While  in  Illinois  Mr.  Waller  was  made 
a  Mason  in  the  Eaton  blue  lodge  and  after  coming  to  this  state  he  became 
connected  with  the  Scottish  Rite  Consistory  at  Fresno. 

JAMES  McKAMY. — Long  association  with  the  history  of  the  sculh  pre- 
ceded any  identification  of  the  McKamy  family  with  the  early  settlement  of 
California.  The  founder  of  the  name  on  the  Pacific  coast  was  J.  M.,  son  of 
James,  and  a  native  of  Tennessee,  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Memphis  in  1822. 
While  serving  in  the  jNlexican  war  from  1846  to  1848  he  traveled  much  through 
the  siaith  and  southwest  and  became  interested  in  the  opportunities  afforded 
by  the  undeveloped  country  beyond  the  then  confines  of  civilization.  After  he 
had  sojourned  for  a  time  in  Texas  he  joined  an  expedition  of  Argonauts  I)ound 
for  California.  The  trip  across  the  plains  via  Fort  Yuma  occupied  nine 
months  of  difficulty  and  danger.  Upon  one  occasion  the  savages  attacked 
the  party  and  decamned  with  their  stock,  but  the  emigrants  followed  on 
horseback  and  were  able  to  regain  the  animals.  Among  the  people  crossing 
the  plains  in  this  expedition  there  was  a  young  lady,  Miss  Eleannr  Petty,  a 
native  of  Alabama,  born  in  1823. 

The  young  couple  became  acquainted  and  their  friendship  rijicneil  into 
affection.  Some  time  after  they  landed  in  California  they  were  married  at 
Stockton,  from  which  point  Mr.  McKamy  engaged  in  freighting  to  the  mines. 
Later  he  took  up  land  on  the  Mariposa  road  ten  miles  east  of  Stucktnn  and 
moved  his  family  to  the  claim,  where  he  engaged  in  ranching.  \\'hile  the 
family  lived  at  that  location  a  son,  James,  was  1)orn  March  7,  1856.  During 
1873  the  father  visited  Kern  county  and  was  favorablv  imjiressed  with  the 
country.  Accordingly  the  following  year  he  brought  his  family  hither  and 
settled  on  Poso  creek  at  the  old  stage  crossing,  where  he  embarked  in  the 
sheep  business  unon  a  large  scale.  .At  first  fortune  favored  him.  The  flock 
prospered  and  thrived.  Returns  were  gratifying.  Flowever,  with  the  drought 
of  1877  conditions  changed,  feed  became  scarce  and  water  difficult  to  secure 
in  sufficient  quantities,  so  that  he  lost  all  of  his  flock,  thus  leaving  him  prac- 
tically bankrupted.  Forced  to  becrin  anew,  he  took  the  family  to  Glennville, 
Kern  county,  and  engaged  in  stock-raising  there  until  his  death  in  1895.  His 
widow,  now  eightv-eight  vears  of  age.  still  remains  at  C,lenn\ille.     For  several 


672  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

terms  he  served  as  supervisor  and  during  part  of  the  time  he  was  honored 
with  the  chairmanship  of  the  board. 

There  were  four  daughters  and  four  sons  in  the  parental  family,  namely: 
Isabella,  who  married  P.  J.  Garwood  and  lives  at  Glennville,  Kern  county; 
Minerva,  Mrs.  Collins,  who  died  in  this  county ;  James,  city  marshal  of  Bakers- 
field;  John,  a  farmer  living  in  Tulare  county;  Julian,  a  stockman  who  follows 
his  occupation  in  the  vicinity  of  Glennville ;  Daniel,  who  died  in  Mendocino 
county  in  1885;  Virginia,  Mrs.  Alfred  Harrald,  of  Bakersfield;  and  Mrs. 
Fannie  Hughes,  of  Glennville.  The  eldest  son,  James,  passed  his  childhood 
years  on  a  ranch  in  San  Joaquin  county  and  attended  the  school  of  which 
his  father  was  trustee.  The  district,  indeed,  had  been  organized  largely  through 
the  influence  of  the  father  and  still  bears  the  name  of  the  McKamy  school 
district,  although  years  have  passed  since  the  family  removed  from  the  vicin- 
ity. Even  before  leaving  that  county  the  lad  had  earned  his  livelihood  by 
teaming  and  hauling,  harvesting  and  threshing,  and  after  he  had  permanently 
located  in  Kern  county  in  1874  he  aided  his  father  in  the  care  of  the  sheep. 
When  the  flock  was  lost  in  the  drought  of  1877  he  entered  the  employ  of 
Carr  &  Haggin  and  operated  a  threshing  machine  on  their  ranch  during  the 
summer  months.  In  the  spring  he  engaged  in  sheep-shearing,  a  work  in 
which  he  gained  such  remarkable  speed  that  he  was  able  to  shear  from  one 
hundred  and  forty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  sheep  per  day. 

Leaving  the  busy  activities  of  the  ranch  and  the  farm  in  1882  Mr.  Mc- 
Kamy went  to  Colorado  and  engaged  in  mining  in  the  San  Juan  and  Ouray 
districts.  Upon  his  return  to  Bakersfield  in  1887  he  secured  a  deputyship 
under  the  county  assessor,  Thomas  Harding.  Later  for  four  years  he  acted 
as  deputy  constable  and  for  two  terms  of  four  years  each  he  was  constable. 
In  April  of  1907  he  was  elected  city  marshal  and  took  the  oath  of  office  for  a 
term  of  four  years.  However,  the  consolidation  of  Kern  and  Bakersfield  called 
for  a  special  election,  which  occurred  July  19,  1910.  After  a  hot  campaign  he 
was  elected.  During  April  of  1911,  at  the  regular  election,  he  won  by  a 
majority  of  twenty-seven  votes.  The  election  was  contested  and  he  won  in 
the  contest.  The  city  marshal's  office  is  now  in  the  second  story  of  the  fire 
department  house  on  the  corner  of  K  and  Twentieth  streets  and  here  Mr. 
McKamy  makes  his  headquarters.  In  national  politics  he  votes  with  the 
Democratic  party.  In  his  work  as  an  officer  he  does  not  consider  party,  but 
endeavors  to  maintain  law  and  order  and  to  promote  the  reputation  of  Ba- 
kersfield as  a  law-abiding  city  of  patriotic  citizens  and  high  moral  standing. 
Since  coming  to  this  city  he  has  erected  a  residence  at  No.  2124  E  Street. 
His  marriage  took  place  in  Bakersfield  and  united  him  with  Mrs.  Emma 
Gagne,  who  was  born  in  Ontario,  Canada,  and  died  in  Los  Angeles  January  31, 
1909,  leaving  one  son.  James  L.  McKamy.  In  fraternal  relations  he  is  a  local 
leader  in  the  work  of  the  Eagles,  besides  being  actively  interested  in  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

■  GEORGE  KAMMERER. — It  would  be  difficult  to  name  any  phase  of 
the  oil  industry  with  which  Mr.  Kammerer  is  not  familiar,  for  he  has  been 
connected  with  the  business  from  childhood  and  has  ever  been  a  close  ob- 
server and  careful  student  of  the  occupation.  A  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
born  at  Pleasantville,  Venango  county,  March  11,  1873,  he  was  only  six  years 
of  age  when  the  family  removed  to  Bradford  in  the  same  state  and  thus  he 
was'made  familiar  with  the  oil  fields  of  McKean  county.  The  chief  topic 
of  conversation  in  the  neighborhood  was  some  development  in  oil,  so  that 
he  grew  up  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  business,  and  he  also  learned 
much  from  his  father,  who  was  a  pioneer  driller  in  Pennsylvania.  Ever  since 
thirteen  years  of  age  he  has  earned  a  livelihood  as  a  worker  in  oil  fields. 
Industry   and  perseverance  came  naturally  to  him,   and   an   intelligent   mind 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  673 

enabled  him  to  grasp  every  prnbleni  jiresented  by  the  work.  The  path  to 
success  was  not  easy.  For  hours  each  day  he  worked  as  a  pumper,  but  pro- 
motion came  as  a  result  of  his  diligent  attention  to  duty.  He  was  onh^  fif- 
teen when  he  was  trained  in  the  task  of  tool-dressing.  All  through  his  early 
life  he  worked  for  large  firms  in  the  oil  and  gas  fields  of  the  east,  mainly  in 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  in  that  way  he  gained  an  experience  of 
the  greatest  value  to  him  in  subsequent  positions. 

The  Fullerton  field  was  first  sought  by  Mr.  Kammerer  when  he  arrived 
in  Califdrnia  in  1899  and  for  six  years  he  was  an  employe  of  the  Santa  Fe 
on  its  leases  at  that  point.  He  then  went  to  work  for  the  Union  Oil  Company 
and  spent  one  year  at  Casmalia,  four  years  in  the  Fullerton  and  three  year< 
in  the  Midway  field.  He  has  been  an  employe  of  the  Union  Oil  Company 
continuously  since  1905,  and  has  been  in  the  Midway  since  1910.  He  and 
his  wife,  formerly  j\Iiss  Kathleen  Enoch,  and  their  daughter,  Virginia,  now 
make  their  home  in  a  company  cottage  on  the  Bed  Rock  lease,  one  mile 
north  of  Taft,  on  section  14,  township  31,  range  23.  In  his  present  position 
as  superintendent  of  development  in  the  Midway  and  Maricopa  districts,  he 
gives  not  only  faithful,  but  also  intelligent  and  remarkably  efficient  service 
to  the  Union  Oil  Company,  whose  interests  have  been  protected  and  pro- 
moted by  his  alert  supervision.  Besides  his  identification  with  the  oil  indus- 
try he  has  other  interests  at  Taft,  where  he  now  owns  one-third  interest  in 
the  Taft  garage  and  where  also  he  is  popular  in  the  Petroleum  Club,  of 
which  he  is  a  charter  member.  While  making  his  headquarters  in  the  Fuller- 
ton  field  he  was  initiated  into  Masonry  at  Fullerton,  became  a  member  also 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at  that  place,  identified  himself 
with  the  Elks  at  Santa  Ana  and  with  the  Eagles  at  .\naheini. 

F.  B.  GORMLEY.— Born  at  Marion,  Ind.,  September  7,  1891,  F.  B. 
Gormley  is  the  second  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Finnigan)  Gormley, 
long  residents  of  Marion.  The  family  consisted  of  nine  children  and 
six  of  these  are  now  living.  The  father,  a  native  of  West  Virginia, 
born  about  1854,  has  been  employed  by  the  Pennsylvania  (known  as  the 
Panhandle)  Railroad  Company  since  1880,  holding  the  position  of  telegraph 
inspect(  r  in  charge  of  poles,  instruments  and  lines  extending  from  Logans- 
port,  Ind.,  to  Bradford,  same  state.  From  the  age  of  seventeen  years  F.  R. 
Gormle}^  has  been  self-supporting.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  studies  of 
the  grammar  grade  in  the  Marion  schools  he  turned  his  attention  to  the 
earning  of  a  livelihood  and  for  a  time  worked  at  bookkeeping.  While  he 
was  employed  by  the  Gulf  Pipe  Line  Company  at  Tulsa,  Okla.,  he  received 
a  telegram  stating  that  his  older  brother,  who  had  come  to  California  sufifer- 
ing  from  tuberculosis  and  was  temporarily  at  Maricopa,  was  very  ill  and  in 
all  probability  would  soon  pass  away.  Hurriedly  severing  his  business  con- 
nections at  Tulsa  he  started  for  California  and  May  10,  1909,  arrived  at  Mar- 
icopa, where  he  cared  for  his  brother  until  the  end  came  seven  weeks  after- 
ward. Accompanying  the  remains  he  went  back  to  the  old  Indiana  home 
and  afterward  visited  with  friends  and  relatives  for  two  months.  Upon  his 
second  arrival  at  Maricopa  he  became  an  employe  in  the  men's  furnishing 
department  of  the  store  owned  by  Coons  &  Price.  Eight  months  later  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Honolulu  Oil  Company,  with  which  he  continued 
for  nine  months,  meanwhile  filling  the  position  of  warehouseman.  Resign- 
ing from  the  Honolulu  he  spent  three  weeks  in  San  Francisco.  On  coming 
back  to  Maricopa  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  hardware  store  of  J.  F.  Blessing, 
with  whom  he  continued  for  eighteen  months.  From  April  until  June  of 
1912  he  visited  in  Indiana  and  since  his  return  to  Maricopa  he  has  been  en- 
gaged as  warehouseman  with  the  Lakeview  Oil  Company,  whose  interests 
he  has  promoted  by  his  uniform  business  tact,  strict  integrity  and  recognized 
capability. 


674  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

LAYTON  JUDD  KING.— An  efficient  oil  operator,  Mr.  King  is  the  son 
of  a  pioneer  in  that  business,  for  his  father,  John  King,  a  native  of 
Geauga  county,  Ohio,  worked  at  oil  camps  in  Ohio  and  Indiana,  then  re- 
turned to  Ohio  to  resume  the  business  in  the  fields  of  that  state  and  event- 
ually came  to  Los  Angeles,  where  he  makes  his  home.  While  living  in  Ohio 
he  married  Miss  Etta  Judd,  who  was  born  in  Massachusetts,  a  descendant 
of  a  colonial  family  of  New  England.  Their  son,  Layton  Judd,  was  liorn 
in  Geauga  county.  Ohio,  in  1880,  and  received  his  education  in  public  schools 
and  Geauga  Seminary.  During  1895  he  removed  to  Indiana  with  his  father 
and  found  employment  in  the  oil  fields  near  Montpelier,  but  in  a  short  time 
returned  to  Geauga  county,  and  resumed  drilling  in  Ohio.  Besides  working 
m  oil  fields  he  drilled  water  wells  and  took  many  contracts  for  such  work 
in  Geauga.  Cuyahoga  and  Ashtabula  counties.  Upon  his  arrival  in  Cali- 
fornia in  1902  he  secured  a  position  with  the  R.  D.  Robinson  Drilling  Com- 
pany as  a  tool-dresser.  Nine  months  later  in  1903  he  entered  the  employ  of 
the  Associated  Oil  Company  as  a  driller  in  the  Kern  river  field. 

An  experience  of  nine  months  as  a  driller  in  the  oil  fields  of  Cofifeyville, 
Kan.,  was  followed  by  the  return  of  Mr.  King  to  California,  where  in  Octo- 
ber, 1904,  he  again  became  an  employe  of  the  Associated  in  the  Kern  river 
field.  In  July  of  1903  the  company  appointed  him  foreman  of  the  Central 
Point  division  in  the  same  field.  A  merited  promotion  to  be  superintendent 
of  the  same  di\-ision  came  to  him  in  .\pril,  1906.  and  in  February,  1907,  he 
was  transferred  to  be  superintendent  of  the  San  Joaquin  division,  at  that  time 
the  largest  division  of  the  entire  concern.  The  year  1908  found  him  super- 
intendent of  the  McKittrick  division  and  in  that  capacity  he  developed  the 
valuable  holdings  of  the  company  in  that  field.  Transferred  in  February, 
1910,  to  act  as  superintendent  of  the  Midway  division,  he  since  has  had 
charge  of  development  work  in  the  Midway  field  and  Elk  Hills  territory. 
When  at  leisure  from  the  heavy  responsibilities  incident  to  his  important 
position  he  finds  his  chief  pleasui-e  in  the  society  of  his  wife  and  four  chil- 
dren, Rupert,  Ronald,  Reginald  and  Ethelyn.  Prior  to  their  marriage  at 
Chagrin  Falls.  Cuyahoga  county,  Ohio.  Mrs.  King  was  Miss  Ethelyn  Parker; 
born  in  the  Buckeye  state,  educated  in  its  schools,  a  graduate  of  the  high 
schcol  at  Burton,  Geauga  county,  she  is  a  woman  of  education  and  culture 
and  has  many  friends  back  in  her  girlhood  home,  as  well  as  in  the  newer 
home  of  the  west.  In  politics  Mr.  King  always  has  voted  with  the  Republi- 
can party.  Since  1905  he  has  been  connected  with  Masonry,  having  been 
made  a  Mason  during  that  year  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M. 

H.  E.  BECKER. — From  the  beginning  of  the  development  work  under- 
taken by  the  Pacific  Crude  Oil  Company  in  the  Midway  field  Mr.  Becker 
has  had  charge  of  its  important  enterprises  in  the  capacity  of  superintendent 
and  has  made  good  in  a  position  demanding  boundless  energy,  great  tact, 
quickness  of  decision  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  oil  industry.  Since 
November,  1911,  when  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  company,  work  on 
the  lease  near  Fellows  has  been  started  and  brought  up  to  a  point  of  great 
importance  and  considerable  promise.  Well  No.  1  on  the  lease  came  in  as 
a  gusher,  but  in  the  midst  of  its  first  enormous  output  the  rig  caught  fire. 
After  having  burned  for  five  days  the  fire  was  smothered  with  steam  and 
brought  under  control.  In  the  seven  following  months  the  well  produced 
one  million  barrels  and  is  now  flowing  at  the  rate  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
barrels  per  day.  Well  No.  2  came  in  as  a  gusher  of  eighty-five  hundred 
barrels  and  is  still  producing  seven  hundred  barrels  of  26  gravity  oil  as 
the  daily  output.  The  latest  development  has  been  in  well  No.  3,  the  drilling 
of  which  was  completed  in  1913  and  which  is  proving  a  valuable  acquisi- 
tion to  the  holdings  of  the  company. 

In  boyhood  l\Ir.  Becker  lived  in  his  native  city  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  where 


y^-^y^^^^^^hl^^. 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  677 

he  attended  the  schnols  and  at  the  age  of  sexenteeii  was  graduated  frcmi 
the  high  school,  later  completing  the  trade  of  machinist  as  an  apprentice  in 
the  Pittsburg  locomotive  works.  His  father,  Elias,  a  machinist  by  trade 
and  a  lifelong  resident  of  Pennsylvania,  served  throughout  the  entire  period 
of  the  Civil  war  as  a  soldier  in  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  Infantry.  Upon  com- 
ing to  California  in  1901  the  son,  H.  E.,  learned  the  oil  business  in  the  Newhall 
field  as  an  employe  of  the  Standard  Oil  Cumj^any.  While  in  that  field  he 
worked  first  as  a  tool-dresser  and  then  as  a  driller.  In  the  Santa  Maria  field 
he  engaged  as  a  driller  with  the  Union  Oil  Company.  Coming  to  Alari- 
co])a,  Kern  county,  in  1908,  he  CLUtinued  to  work  for  the  Union  Oil  Company 
as  a  driller.  Later  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  American  Alidway  Oil  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  became  superintendent,  and  he  was  further  associated 
with  the  Cleveland  Oil  Company  and  the  Canadian  Pacific  Oil  Company 
in  the  Midway  field,  where  since  November  of  1911  he  has  worked  in  the 
interests  of  the  Pacific  Crude  Oil  Company.  Always  busily  engaged  in 
occupative  duties,  he  has  had  no  leisure  for  participation  in  public  afTairs 
and  has  taken  no  part  in  fraternal  matters  aside  from  being  a  member  of 
Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E. 

JOHN  J.  BRINKMAN.— With  characteristic  modesty  and  al=fection  he 
attributes  his  success  largely  to  the  noble  example  set  by  his  mother  and  to 
the  encouraging  companionship  of  his  wife.  The  former,  who  was  Sophronia 
Beacock  and  a  native  of  Michigan,  is  now  seventy-four  years  old  and 
resides  at  the  old  Ohio  homestead  associated  with  her  younger  days.  The 
father.  Henry  Brinkman,  was  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  died  in  1910  at 
the  age  of  seventy-three,  his  death  being  caused  by  an  accidental  injury.  The 
fifth  among  seven  children,  John  J.  was  born  in  Williams  county.  Ohio.  De- 
cember 28.  1871,  and  had  but  meager  advantages  for  an  education  in  his  early 
life.  For  a  time  he  attended  the  public  schools  of  Angola,  Ind.,  from  which 
place  he  went  to  Kansas,  where  he  earned  his  livelihood  by  teaching  in  the 
winter  and  working  on  ranches  during  the  summer  months.  His  own  efforts 
were  made  to  defra}-  his  expenses  in  the  Salina  \'(jrmal  L'ni\ersity,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1895. 

Arrival  in  California  during  the  fall  of  1900  and  an  immediate  idLMitifica- 
tion  with  the  oil  fields  of  Kern  county  brought  to  Mr.  Brinkman  an  early 
and  adequate  comprehension  of  the  oil  industry.  Thus  apparently  by  chance 
he  was  led  into  the  occupation  with  which,  although  indirectly,  his  greatest 
lifework  has  been  accomplished.  After  he  had  worked  in  the  fields  until  he 
thoroughly  understood  the  business  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Hardison 
Perforating:  Company.  \\'hen  he  left  the  employ  of  that  concern  many  of  his 
friends  urged  him  to  secure  a  perforator  of  his  own  and,  acting  upon  their 
suggestions,  he  leased  two  old  contrivances,  but  found  them  to  be  unservice- 
able, so  he  turned  his  mind  toward  the  invention  of  a  new  machine.  In  this 
difficult  task  he  was  remarkably  successful.  However,  he  was  wholly  with- 
out means  and  unable  to  build  a  machine  for  lack  of  money.  At  this  crisis 
the  Associated  Oil  Company  came  to  his  aid  and  built  the  first  machine, 
also  made  the  first  test,  which  proved  the  value  of  the  perforator  without  a 
question.  Even  then  all  was  not  "smooth  sailing,"  for  the  Hardison  Per- 
forating Company  in  1903-4  brought  suits  against  him  in  the  United  States 
district  court  for  infringement  of  their  patent.  The  outcome  of  the  case  was 
that  Air.  Brinkman  was  upheld  in  court  on  every  point  of  the  case 

The  business  having  proved  very  profitable.  Mr.  Brinkman  has  been 
enabled  to  invest  in  farm  lands  and  real  estate  and  now  owns  four  hundred 
acres  in  the  Weed  Patch,  which  by  means  (f  artesian  water  and  an  adequate 
pumping  system  he  is  Ijringing  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  His  faith 
in  Kern  county  is  great  and  he  is  proving  it  by  his  investments,  and  pos- 
sessing a    com'mendable    spirit,    he    rightly    ranks    high    among     the    busi- 


678  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

ness  men  of  the  county.  Sharing  with  him  in  this  popularity  is  his  accom- 
plislied  wife,  who  prior  to  their  marriage  in  March,  1908,  was  Aliss  Margaret 
Jenkins  of  Oakland,  this  state.  They  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Rolla 
and  Helen, 

CLARENCE  S.  GREEN.— The  business  men  of  Maricopa  have  been 
leading  factors  in  its  rapid  growth  and  not  the  least  of  these  is  Clarence  S. 
Green,  who  during  May  of  1907  came  to  the  west  side  and  since  then  has 
witnessed  the  entire  material  growth  of  the  town.  At  first  its  destiny  seemed 
uncertain.  The  mushroom  character  of  the  original  growth  caused  many  to 
believe  its  importance  would  be  temporary,  but  with  each  year  it  has 
planted  its  roots  deeper  in  the  soil  of  prosperous  existence  and  since  1907 
it  has  developed  into  a  city,  rich,  progressive  and  permanent.  July  20,  1911, 
it  was  incorporated  as  a  city  and  Mr.  Green,  who  had  been  chosen  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  school  trustees  in  1909,  was  again  chosen  to  serve  the 
newly-incorporated  city  in  the  same  office.  In  fact,  it  was  his  work,  together 
with  that  of  other  leading  men,  that  rendered  possible  the  successful  incorpo- 
ration, and  since  then  these  same  citizens  have  fostered  all  public  enterprises 

Born  at  Watsonville,  Monterey  county,  Cal.,  September  16,  1868,  Mr. 
Green  has  little  recollection  of  his  birthplace,  for  at  the  age  of  three  year- 
he  was  taken  by  the  family  to  Santa  Barbara,  where  later  he  was  sent  to  the 
public  school.  He  began  to  earn  a  livelihood  as  a  farm  hand  and  soon  be- 
came an  expert  in  the  care  of  stock  as  well  as  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  As 
early  as  1889,  when  scarcely  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  came  to  Kern  county 
and  here  he  has  since  made  his  home,  having  in  1892  married  ]\Iiss  Mollie 
Emerson,  of  Kern  county,  but  who  was  born  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county, 
Cal.  She  was  reared  there  until  she  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  when  she  came 
with  her  parents  to  Kern  county.  Three  sons  were  born  of  the  union,  Clar- 
ence, Robert  and  Edward.  The  first  home  of  the  couple  was  in  the  south- 
west part  of  the  county,  where  Mr.  Green  made  a  specialty  of  stock-raising 
and  general  ranching.  During  1904  he  moved  to  the  vicinity  of  Bakersfield 
and  rented  land,  which  he  devoted  to  the  raising  of  general  crops  and  of 
stock.  As  previously  stated,  he  came  to  the  west  side  in  1907  and  has, been 
a  resident  of  ]\larico,ia  ever  since  the  town  started.  For  one  year  he  devoted 
his  time  to  contract  teaming,  next  he  started  a  livery  stable  and  six  months 
later  he  opened  a  blacksmith  shop  and  started  in  the  harness  business  also. 
During  1911  he  erected  a  building  for  a  harness  shop  and  this  he  now  occu- 
pies, doing  an  excellent  business  in  the  making,  repair  and  sale  of  harness 
of  all  kinds.  Although  he  left  his  farm  some  years  ago  he  still  retains  the 
tract  near  Old  River  twelve  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield,  where  he  owns 
a  well-improved  estate  of  three  hundred  acres  in  grain  and  alfalfa.  He  is 
identified  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  at  Bakersfield,  also 
with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  in  the  same  city. 

Mr.  Green  continues  to  run  the  livery,  harness,  blacksmith  and  team 
contracting  business  at  Maricopa,  while  Mrs.  Green,  with  the  help  of  her 
three  sons,  operates  the  large  three  hundred  acre  alfalfa,  grain  and  stock 
ranch  in  the  Old  River  district  of  Kern  county. 

Mrs.  Green  is  the  daughter  of  E.  S.  Emerson,  who  was  born  in  Missouri 
and  came  tci  California  in  the  early  days.  He  was  with  the  Government 
troops  in  Mexico  driving  team  during  the  Mexican  war  and  then  came  up 
to  California  and  engaged  in  the  stock  business.  He  was  married  in  So- 
noma county  to  Miss  Julia  Duncan,  of  Missouri,  who  crossed  the  plains  in 
1849  in  company  with  her  parents.  Settlement  was  made  in  Sonoma  county, 
where  she  grew  up  to  young  womanhood  and  where  she  was  married.  A 
part  of  her  children  were  born  in  that  county.  Later  the  parents  moved  to 
San  Luis  Obispo  county  and  in  1886  the  parents  and  their  family  came  to 
Kern  countv  and  settled  on  the  Paleto  countrv  land.     Here  thev  homesteaded 


I 


fs^^  eM^  ^ 


'--2-<i.^^H 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  683 

one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  Tlie  seven  sons  also  took  homesteads  there, 
and  this  gave  rise  to  bitter  litigation  which  ran  through  several  years,  hu.t 
the  case  was  finally  won  by  the  Emersons. 

HENRY  THOMAS  FREEAR.— Many  years  ago,  when  the  nineteenth 
century  had  scarcely  rounded  out  one-half  of  its  era  of  progress,  a  parish  in 
Norfolk,  England,  had  as  its  rector  Rev.  Henry  T.  Freear,  a  popular  and 
talented  young  clergyman  in  the  Church  of  England,  beloved  among  his 
parishioners  and  deeply  mourned  when  in  1852  death  brought  an  untimely 
end  to  his  ministerial  labors.  Surviving  him  were  an  only  child,  Henry 
Thomas,  and  the  widow,  Ann  (Stribling)  Freear,  who  was  a  native  of  the 
city  of  London.  After  being  left  a  widow  she  and  her  small  son  accom- 
panied her  brother,  John  Stribling,  to  the  United  States  and  settled  with 
him  in  Dekalb  county.  111.,  where  she  met  and  married  Robert  Mott,  a  pros- 
perous pioneer  farmer  of  the  community.  Thus  it  happened  that  Henry 
Thomas  Freear,  whose  birth  had  occurred  in  London.  England,  December 
18,  1845,  passed  the  years  of  his  youth  upon  an  Illinois  farm  owned  by  his 
stepfather,  Mr.  Mott,  and  he  gave  cheerful  aid  to  such  farm  work  as  his 
strength  and  years  permitted.  In  1863  at  the  age  of  almost  eighteen  he 
enlisted  in  Company  C.  Seventeenth  Illinois  Cavalry,  and  continued  in  the 
service  until  the  close  of  the  war,  meanwhile  receiving  a  wound  in  battle 
which  proved  slight  in  importance  and  did  not  prevent  him  from  accompany- 
ing the  regiment"  through  all  of  its  marches  and  campaigns.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  the  war  he  engaged  in  farming.  At  Sycamore,  111.,  October  24,  1866, 
he  married  Miss  Mary  Garlick,  who  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Kingston, 
Canada,  and  in  1853  removed  to  Illinois,  settling  on  a  farm  in  Dekalb 
county,  where  she  was  sent  to  the  neighboring  schools  and  trained  to  a 
knowledge  of  housekeeping.  Her  father,'joseph  Garlick,  was  born  in  York- 
shire, England,  and  died  in  Illinois ;  the  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Elizabeth  Holderness,  was  born  in  Kingston,  Canada,  of  English  parent- 
age, and  upon  leaving  Illinois  came  to  California,  where  her  declining  years 
were  passed  happilv  in  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs.  P'reear,  until  her  death 
about   1884. 

For  three  years  after  marriage  ]\lr.  and  Mrs.  Freear  lived  upon  an 
mini  is  farm.  During  1869  they  became  pioneers  of  Nebraska  and  pre- 
empted a  homestead  in  Lancaster  county  near  Lincoln,  where  a  small  sod 
house  was  their  home  for  a  number  of  years.  Meanwhile  two  sons.  Horace  R. 
and  Charles  H.,  were  born  on  that  frontier  Nebraska  farm.  In  1874  the 
family  came  to  California  and  located  on  a  claim  ten  miles  south  of  Bakers- 
field  'in  the  Old  River  district,  where  Mr.  Freear  developed  a  fine  farm  out 
of  an  uninviting  and  unpromising  quarter  section.  After  disposing  of  the 
property  he  bought  another  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  one 
and  one-half  miles  from  the  old  place,  and  this  in  turn  he  developed  from  raw 
land  into  a  remunerative  proposition.  The  work  of  improvement  was  still 
being  prosecuted  when  death  interrupted  his  activities,  March  4,  1902,  and 
terminated  the  career  of  one  of  the  most  honored  and  successful  farmers  of 
Kern  C(  unty.  In  religion  he  had  always  clung  to  the  Episcopal  faith,  in 
politics  he  had  been  a  stanch  Republican  and  fraternally  he  held  membership 
with  Hurlburt  Post.  G.  A.  R..  in  Bakersfield.  For  years  he  served  efficiently 
as  school  trustee  of  the  Old  River  district.  As  superintendent  of  roads, 
which  position  he  held  for  some  years,  he  maintained  a  close  supervision  «>f 
the  roads  of  the  district. 

For  five  years  after  the  death  (  f  Mr.  l-"reear  the  widow  co?itinued  to 
make  the  ranch  her  home,  but  in  l')07  she  rented  the  property  and  removed  to 
Bakersfield,  where  she  erected  and  now  occupies  an  elegant  residence  at  No. 
1709  Maple  avenue.  In  addition  she  has  built  and  now  owns  two  other  houses 
in  this  city.  During  1910  she  sold  the  old  homestead  to  R.  L.  McCutchen.  the 
husl)and  of  her  third  child.  Lena.     Her  eldest  sons.  Florace  R.  and  Charles  II., 


684  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

are  living  in  the  Old  River  district  and  Bakersfield  respectively,  while  the 
fourth  child,  Joseph  P.,  makes  Bakersfield  his  home.  The  twins,  Burt  and 
Alfred,  are  now  in  Maricopa.  The  youngest  members  of  the  family  circle  are 
Mrs.  Laverna  Bess,  of  Maricopa,  and  Mrs.  Viola  Perry,  of  Bakersfield.  In 
religion  Mrs.  Freear  is  of  the  Baptist  faith  and  has  been  interested  continu- 
ously in  all  movements  for  the  religious  and  moral  uplifting  of  humanity. 
Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  she  has  become  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Women's  Relief  Corps  and  has  participated  in  many  of  its  philanthropies  and 
social  functions. 

MILO  G.  McKEE. — This  well  known  citizen  of  Kern  county  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Adams,  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  October  17,  1862,  and  attended 
the  public  school  near  his  parents'  home  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old.  Then 
he  learned  the  tinner's  and  plumber's  trades,  at  which  he  worked  until  his 
removal  to  California.  He  remained  in  his  native  state  until  1888,  when  he 
came  to  California  and  located  in  Kern  county.  Here  he  worked  as  a  tinner 
and  plumber  until  1891,  when  he  bought  twenty  acres,  which  he  farmed  until 
1898.  It  was  in  the  last-mentioned  year  that  his  brother  George  S.  McKee 
came  to  the  county,  and  the  two  formed  a  business  partnership.  They  bought 
land  from  time  to  time  until  they  now  have  a  fine  homestead  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  all  under  cultivation,  seven  miles  south  of  Bakersfield  on  the 
Kern  Island  road,  and  of  this  sixty-five  acres  are  in  orchard,  sixteen  in  peaches, 
twenty-six  in  prunes  and  ten  in  apricots,  and  ninety-five  in  alfalfa  and  grain. 

Jeft'erson  county,  N.  Y.,  was  also  the  birthplace  of  George  S.  McKee,  who 
was  born  December  29,  1860.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  in  his 
neighborhood  and  when  he  was  seventeen  years  old  began  to  support  himself 
by  farm  labor.  In  1885  he  located  in  Perkins  county,  Nebr.,  where  he  home- 
steaded,  after  which  he  moved  to  Ft.  Lupton,  Colo.,  and  there  for  eight  years 
was  successful  as  a  butter-maker.  From  Colorado  he  came  to  California  in 
1898,  since  which  he  and  his  brother  have  contributed  to  the  success  which 
they  both  enji  v.    IMilo  G.  McKee  is  a  Mason,  and  both  are  Republicans. 

CHARLES  HEMAN  SHERMAN.— From  practically  the  very  begin- 
ning of  his  identification  with  the  Alidvvay  field  Air.  Sherman  has  been  finan- 
cially interested  in  the  Maj^'s  Oil  Company  and  its  successor,  the  May's  Con- 
solidated Oil  Company,  of  which  he  is  now  treasurer  and  superintendent. 
When  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  company  in  1909,  the  work  of  develop- 
ment had  only  begun  and  he  has  been  identified  with  all  of  the  subsequent 
operations.  Shortly  after  the  concern  commenced  to  develop  their  lease  he 
was  elected  treasurer  of  the  company  and  a  member  of  the  board  of  direc- 
tors, having  charge  of  the  ofiice  in  the  Midway  field,  and  in  February,  1913.  he 
was  appointed  .superintendent.  Articles  of  incorporation  were  again  taken  out 
in  1911  and  the  title  changed  to  its  present  form.  The  properties  of  the  organi- 
zation on  section  30,  31-23.  and  on  section  28,  31-23,  contain  seven  producing 
wells,  the  output  of  which  entitles  the  company  to  rank  among  the  most  suc- 
cessful in  the  entire  field. 

Of  Canadian  birth,  born  in  Ontario  in  1883,  Mr.  Sherman  is  a  member 
of  an  old  family  of  New  York  state  and  was  second  among  the  four  children 
of  Heman  and  Margaret  (Parks)  Sherman,  natives  of  New  York,  the  former 
born  at  Elizabethtown,  Essex  county.  For  many  years  the  father  lived  in 
Ontario  and  acted  as  administrator  of  a  large  estate.  After  having  com- 
pleted the  studies  of  the  public  schools  at  Roche  Point,  Charles  H.  Sherman 
worked  in  the  lumber  woods  in  Western  Ontario  and  saved  his  earnings  in 
order  to  secure  a  college  education.  He  attended  the  British-American  Col- 
lege in  Toronto  until  the  close  of  the  sophomore  year,  when  he  returned  to 
the  lumber  region  for  another  year. 

Entering  the  banking  business  as  bookkeeper  in  the  Sovereign  Bank 
of  Canada    at    Aylmer,   in    five   months    Mr.    Sherman    was   promoted   to   be 


I 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  687 

cashier  and  a  year  later  he  was  transferred  to  the  head  offices  of  the  bank 
in  Toronto,  where  he  ranked  as  sixth  on  a  staff  of  sixty-five  men.  On  account 
of  failing-  health  he  resigned  from  the  bank,  where  he  had  established  an 
enviable  record  for  ability  as  an  accountant,  and  entered  the  employ  of  F.  B. 
Chapin,  a  silverminer  at  Cobalt,  Canada,  and  in  a  short  time  he  was  pro- 
moted to  be  cashier,  filling  the  same  position  with  the  successor  of  Mr.  Chapin. 
However,  at  the  expiration  of  two  years  he  again  found  his  health  impaired 
by  the  confining  work,  and  he  resolved  to  come  to  California,  where  his 
former  employer,   Mr.   Chapin,   had  acquired   interests  in   the   Midway   field, 

JOEL  WRIGHT  COULTER.— Numbered  conspicuously  among  the 
young  men  of  Southern  California  who  have  forsaken  city  life  for  the  broad 
acres,  seeking  rather  to  live  his  life  in  the  open  under  the  blue  skies  than  to 
experience  the  exciting  tumult  of  city  life,  is  Joel  Wright  Coulter,  whose 
grandfather,  B.  F.  Coulter,  is  well  known  in  Los  Angeles  as  the  founder 
of  the  large  establishment  known  as  the  Coulter  Dry  Goods  Co.,  of  which 
V.  'SI.  Coulter  is  now  the  head. 

Joel  Wright  Coulter  was  born  in  Los  .\ngeles.  October  20,  1886,  son  of 
F.  AI.  and  Lelia  (Lockhart)  Coulter.  After  attendance  in  the  public  schools 
of  his  native  city  he  was  sent  to  Harvard  Military  College,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1905,  and  then  spent  two  years  at  the  L^niversity  of  California, 
taking  the  agricultural  course.  Subsequently,  under  his  grandfather's  instruc- 
tion, he  entered  the  Coulter  Dry  Goods  Co.  as  a  clerk,  and  after  working  in  the 
different  departments  in  order  to  familiarize  himself  with  the  details  of  the 
business  he  finall)'  became  head  of  the  toy  department.  It  was  in  1912  that 
Mr.  Coulter  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  buying  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres  in  Kern  county,  in  Buena  Vista  district,  he  resigned 
his  position  with  the  Coulter  Dry  Goods  Co.  and  l(;cated  on  his  new  place  in 
order  to  give  his  personal  supervision  and  aid  in  the  improvement  of  his  land. 
The  tract  is  splendidly  located  twelve  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield,  and 
the  whole  section  is  irrigated  by  the  Buena  Vista  Canal.  It  is  gradually  being 
leveled,  checked  and  improved  for  raising  alfalfa.  Mr.  Coulter  expects  to  have 
four  hundred  acres  in  that  crop,  and  the  land  not  set  apart  for  this  purpose 
is  devoted  to  general  farming.  In  the  improvement  of  his  ranch  he  finds 
the  knowledge  which  he  acquired  in  agricultural  college  to  be  of 
great  benefit,  enabling  him  to  run  his  own  levels  and  surveys,  as  well  as 
to  make  field  tests  and  soil  analysis,  and  make  the  selection  of  crops.  He  is 
making  a  specialty  of  stock  raising  and  has  already  made  splendid  progress 
in  his  undertaking.  He  built  a  large  eight-room  residence,  necessary  barns 
and  outbuildings,  and  has  introduced  every  modern  device  to  complete  the 
place  and  it  ranks  among  the  foremost  of  its  kind  in  the  county. 

On  June  22,  1909,  in  Los  Angeles,  Mr.  Coulter  was  married  to  Miss  Edna 
Barlow,  who  was  born  in  Ft.  Covington,  N.  Y.,  daughter  of  Allison  Barlow, 
who  has  been  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  in  Los  Angeles  for  many 
years.  Mrs.  Coulter  was  educated  in  Stanford  and  is  a  member  of  the  Kappa 
Alpha  Theta  Society.  Mr.  Coulter  is  a  member  of  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  at 
Berkeley.  They  are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Alison  Lelia.  With  his  wife  Mr. 
Coulter  is  a  member  of  the  Broadway  Christian  Church  in  Los  Angeles. 

CHARLES  C.  SMETZER.— The  president  of  the  Master  Plumbers"  Asso- 
ciation (if  Bakersfield  ranks  as  an  artisan  of  exceptional  skill  and  as  a  business 
man  of  high  reputation  for  probity,  careful  workmanship  and  accuracy  nf 
judgment.  Although  the  period  of  his  identification  with  the  interests  of 
Bakersfield  has  not  been  long  in  duration,  it  has  been  of  sufficient  length  to 
prove  the  high  quality  of  his  citizenship  and  the  substantial  nature  of  his  occu- 
pative  knowledge.  It  was  in  this  city  that  he  completed  his  apprenticeship  to 
the  trade  of  plumber  and  worked  as  a  journeyman,  later  embarking  in  business 
for  himself  at   No.  959   Baker  street.   East   Bakersfield,   where   his   wife   has 


688  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

charo;e  of  the  office,  thus  enabling  him  to  devote  his  entire  attention  to  the 
carrying  out  of  contracts  for  the  plumbing  of  residences  of  every  size  and 
style. 

Since  coming  to  California  in  1900  Mr.  Smetzer  has  seen  many  portions 
of  the  state  and  it  is  his  conviction,  founded  on  experience  and  observation, 
that  Kern  county  offers  advantages  not  to  be  surpassed  by  other  sections 
of  the  commonwealth.  Of  German  ancestry  and  Ohioan  birth,  he  is  a  son  of 
the  late  David  and  Rebecca  (ShaiTer)  Smetzer,  who  lived  upon  a  farm  in  Ohio 
for  many  years  prior  to  their  demise.  There  were  five  children  in  the  family 
and  two  of  these  came  to  California,  Charles  C.  and  William,  both  now  living 
in  East  Bakersfield.  The  former,  who  was  next  to  the  youngest  among  the 
children,  was  born  in  Williams  county,  Ohio,  June  20,  1881,  and  passed  the 
years  of  early  life  upon  the  home  farm,  meanwhile  having  such  advantages 
as  the  country  grammar  schools  and  local  high  school  offered.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  started  out  to  earn  his  own  way  in  the  world  and  immediately 
came  to  California,  where  he  found  employment  on  a  ranch  in  Tulare  county. 
Next  he  learned  how  to  manufacture  fruit-boxes  and  thereafter  worked  as 
box-maker  in  packing-houses  from  Fresno  on  the  north  to  Redlands  on  the 
south,  remaining  in  that  business  until  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  trade 
of  plumber.  Since  1905  he  has  lived  in  Bakersfield  and  East  Bakersfield  and  in 
the  latter  city  he  opened  a  plumber's  shop  in  the  spring  of  1911,  since  which 
time  he  has  devoted  time  and  attention  to  the  doing  of  first-class  work  in  his 
special  line. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Smetzer  took  place  in  Bakersfield  December  12,  1908, 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Ethel  Oren,  who  was  born  in  Topeka,  Kan.,  but  was 
reared  and  educated  in  Kentucky.  Possessing  excellent  business  ability,  she 
has  been  of  assistance  to  her  husband  by  taking  charge  of  the  office  and 
keeping  the  books.  For  some  years  she  has  been  a  leading  local  worker  in 
the  organization  of  Pythian  Sisters,  while  Mr.  Smetzer  is  an  interested 
participant  in  the  activities  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  Local  movements  of 
merit  receive  his  quiet  but  stanch  support  and  in  politics  he  gives  allegiance  to 
the  Republican  party. 

THE  WOMEN'S  IMPROVEMENT  CLUB.— Under  the  laws  of  Cali- 
fornia and  federated  with  the  state  federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  the  Women's 
Improvement  Club  of  Taft  was  incorporated  in  1912,  its  object  being  for  civic, 
literary  and  choral  improvement.  The  following  officers  direct  the  executive 
policy  of  the  organization  :  president,  Mrs.  W.  M.  Mikesell ;  first  vice-presi- 
dent, Mrs.  J.  Walter  Key ;  second  vice-president,  Mrs.  George  Seybolt ;  record- 
ing secretary,  Mrs.  J.  P.  Plaugher ;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  L.  P. 
Guiberson  ;  and  treasurer,  ]\Irs.  H.  E.  Smith.  The  literary  and  choral  depart- 
ments are  yet  in  the  incipiency  of  their  usefulness,  but  will  be  developed  at  no 
distant  day.  Up  to  the  present  time  the  civic  branch,  as  expressed  in  the  Taft 
branch  of  the  Kern  county  free  library,  has  been  developed  to  such  an  extent 
that  there  are  now  four  hundred  volumes  of  choice,  up-to-date  literature, 
including  all  branches  of  history,  art,  travel,  fiction,  humor  and  exploration, 
as  well  as  juvenile  books  and  magazines,  and  in  addition  the  leading  dailies 
and  weeklies  and  a  number  of  the  best  magazines. 

Co-operation  with  the  county  and  state  librarv  organizations  makes  it 
possible  for  a  patron  of  the  Taft  library  to  secure  an)'  book  he  or  she  may 
wish  on  any  desired  subject.  Since  its  inception  the  library  has  had  the 
kindl}'  co-operation  and  financial  support  of  the  city  trustees  of  Taft.  The 
first'home  of  the  library  was  in  the  City  Hall.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  project 
demonstrated  that  more  commodious  quarters  were  needed.  Four  of  the 
leading  women  of  Taft  took  the  matter  into  consideration.  These  women, 
Mrs.  Charles  Heath,  the  then  president  of  the  Club,  and  the  building  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Mrs.  L.  P.  Guiberson,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Key  and  Mrs.  "w.  M. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  689 

Mikesell,  gave  a  note  to  the  bank  in  order  to  secure  funds  for  erecting  a  build- 
ing in  1912.  Donations  were  not  urged,  but  the  money  has  been  raised 
through  entertainments  and  in  other  ways.  By  the  1st  of  January,  1914,  the 
ladies  hope  to  have  the  building  entirely  free  from  debt,  and  this  in  itself  will 
speak  volumes  for  their  determination  and  executive  management.  The 
uplifting  influence  of  the  library  is  evident  to  all.  About  three  hundred  and 
fifty  botiks  were  added  to  the  shelves  on  the  1st  of  July,  1913,  and  immediately 
afterward  the  rooms  began  to  be  filled  with  people,  old  and  young,  eager  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  privilege  of  reading  the  choicest  output  of  the  large 
publishing  houses  of  the  world.  In  addition  to  the  books  and  magazines,  the 
library  has  been  a  center  for  good  lectures  by  local  and  Kern  county  profes- 
sional men  and  advanced  thinkers.  The  custodian,  Mrs.  B.  J.  Krekeler,  a 
courteous  and  intelligent  woman,  ably  and  faithfully  attends  to  the  duties  of 
librarian  and  assists  the  members  nf  the  Women's  Improvement  Club  in  a 
wise  endeavor  to  promote  the  moral  and  educational  welfare  of  Taft. 

LUCIUS  JOHNSTON.— The  lineage  of  the  Johnston  family  is  traced 
back  to  \'irginia.  where  the  original  immigrant  to  America  made  settlement 
and  became  a  planter  of  considerable  local  prominence.  Of  later  generations 
the  pioneer  instinct  showed  strongest  in  Basil  Johnston,  a  Virginian  by  birth 
and  education,  but  throughout  young  manhood  a  planter  in  Tennessee  and 
ultimately  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Jefferson  county.  111.,  where  he  took  up 
raw  land  and  developed  a  farm.  Among  his  children  was  a  son,  William 
Ambrose  Johnston,  a  native  of  Tennessee  and  now  a  resrdent  of  Jefferson 
county.  111.,  where  he  has  improved  and  still  owns  a  valuable  farm  near 
Mount  Vernon.  Shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  he  left  wife  and 
family  and  went  to  the  front  as  a  volunteer  in  the  Sixtieth  Illinois  Infantry, 
with  which  he  continued  until  the  expiration  of  his  period  of  enlistment. 
Upon  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  from  the  army  he  resumed  the  man- 
agement of  his  farm  and  since  has  devoted  his  attention  to  agricultural  pur- 
suits. By  his  marriage  to  Mary  Lynch,  who  was  born  in  Jeiiferson  county  and 
died  there  in  1871,  he  had  a  family  of  five  children  and  all  but  one  of  these 
still  survive.  The  eldest,  Lucius,  was  born  at  the  home  farm  near  Mount 
Vernon,  111..  February  25,  1861,  and  received  his  education  in  country  schools, 
supplemented  by  attendance  at  Ewing  College. 

During  a  period  of  ten  years  devoted  to  teaching  school  Mr.  Johnston 
empl(  yed  all  his  spare  time  to  the  development  of  the  farm  which  he  had 
purchased  when  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age.  The  earnings  of  the  school- 
room were  given  over  to  the  improvement  of  the  land  and  to  the  erection 
of  needed  buildings.  Later  on,  besides  tilling  the  soil  of  the  farm  and  raising 
stock  thereon,  he  filled  the  positions  of  township  tax  collector  and  assessor 
and  served  with  efficiency  as  a  justice  of  the  peace.  During  1893  he  came  to 
California  and  engaged  in  ranching  in  Kern  county.  After  seven  years  he  left 
the  farm  and  settled  in  Bakersfield,  where  he  built  his  home  at  No.  2510  H 
street,  besides  erecting  three  other  bungalows  which  he  rents.  Immediately 
after  coming  to  this  city  he  secured  a  position  as  chief  operator  in  charge 
of  the  main  distributing  station  of  the  Power  Development  Company,  later 
known  as  the  Power  Transit  and  Light  Company.  Recognition  of  his  faith- 
ful service  came  in  a  merited  promotion  to  the  position  of  superintendent  of 
the  meter  department.  When  the  San  Joaquin  Power  and  Light  Corporation 
absorbed  the  old  concern  in  1911  he  was  retained  in  the  same  position,  which 
he  since  has  filled  with  customary  attention  to  details  and  unswerving  fidelity. 

While  engaged  in  farming  in  Jefferson  county.  111.,  i\Ir.  Johnston  was  first 
married,  in  1883,  to  Miss  Florida  Crosno,  a  native  of  that  county,  who  died 
there  in  1893.  His  second  marriage  occurred  in  Bakersfield  in  1897,  uniting 
him  with  Miss  Lucv  Range,  a  native  of  Germany  who  came  to  San  Diego,  Cal., 
when  a  child.    She  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  that  city  and  Los  Angeles. 


690  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

One  son,  Donald,  was  born  of  this  union,  he  now  being  a  student  in  the 
Kern  county  high  school.  The  family  are  interested  in  all  movements  for  the 
upbuilding  of  Bakersfield  and  Mrs.  Johnston  is  an  earnest  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  this  city.  In  politics  Mr.  Johnston  votes 
with  the  Democratic  party.  Fraternally  he  not  only  belongs  to  the  Woodmen 
of  the  World,  but  in  addition  he  has  been  very  prominent  in  the  local  ranks  of 
the  Knights  of  Pythias,  which  he  has  represented  in  the  grand  lodge,  besides 
holding  the  office  of  past  chancellor  commander. 

H.  H.  McCLINTOCK.— To  witness  the  remarkable  development  of  the 
Midway  field  and  to  contribute  thereto  through  the  force  of  his  own 
mechanical  and  constructive  ability  has  been  the  privilege  of  Mr.  McClin- 
tock,  who  occupies  a  most  responsible  position  as  superintendent  in  Kern 
county  for  the  Northern  Exploration  Company  and  fur  the  Southern  Cali- 
fornia Gas  Company  as  well  as  the  predecessor  of  the  latter  concern,  the 
Midway  Gas  Company.  The  corporation  named,  which  like  the  others  rep- 
resents enormous  financial  institutions,  had  for  its  principal  task  the  build- 
ing of  gas-pipe  lines  from  the  Midway  field  to  Los  Angeles,  where  the  gas 
is  distributed  and  sold  to  the  various  existing  gas  companies  through  the 
agents  of  the  Southern  California  Gas  Company.  In  turn  the  latter  is 
associated  with  the  Northern  Exploration  Company,  which  engages  in  the 
drilling  of  gas  wells  and  the  production  of  natural  gas,  a  product  superior 
to  the  manufactured  gas  for  heating  purposes. 

In  the  local  work  of  these  large  institutions  the  commanding  person- 
ality of  H.  H.  McClintock  has  wielded  a  permanent  influence.  Through  all 
his  life  a  resident  of  California,  of  which  he  is  a  native  son,  he  yet  has 
traveled  extensively,  has  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  training  abroad  and  in 
the  course  of  his  career  as  a  marine  engineer  visited  the  principal  ports  of 
the  world.  Born  at  San  Jose,  Santa  Clara  county,  November  18,  1873,  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  and  business  college  in  his  native  city,  married 
June  20,  1900,  and  identified  with  the  Midway  field  in  the  early  days  when 
its  total  output  was  less  than  one  thousand  barrels,  these  facts  give  a  sum- 
mary of  his  eventful  existence,  but  fail  to  indicate  the  thoroughness  of  his 
training  and  the  scope  of  his  influence  in  occupative  enterprises.  In  early 
years  he  served  an  apprenticeship  in  the  Fulton  iron  works  at  San  Fran- 
cisco and  at  the  expiration  of  four  years  in  that  plant  he  went  abroad  in 
order  to  study  marine  engineering  with  a  famous  firm  of  shipbuilders  in 
Belfast,  Ireland.  From  the  great  yards  of  the  firm  have  been  sent  forth 
some  of  the  largest  and  finest  ships  that  sail  the  high  seas.  The  ill-fated 
Titanic  was  one  of  their  most  majestic  creations. 

After  a  practical  experience  in  marine  engine-building  that  kept  him 
in  Belfast  from  1899  until  March,  1902,  Mr.  McClintock  then  returned  to 
San  Francisco.  For  several  years  he  engaged  as  a  licensed  marine  engineer 
and  master  mechanic.  iNIeanwhile  he  sailed  around  the  world  three  times 
and  had  charge  of  the  engines  on  a  number  of  the  greatest  steamships. 
Meeting  Mr.  Rockefeller  at  San  Francisco,  he  was  induced  to  take  up  pipe- 
line construction  work.  For  a  time  he  was  employed  in  the  mechanical 
department  and  for  one  year  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the  Central 
Division  with  headquarters  at  Hanford.  During  1907  he  directed  the  con- 
struction of  the  line  into  the  Midway  field,  an  eight-inch  pipe  to  Richmond 
and  the  pipes  for  the  water  system  to  Rio  Bravo.  Since  l908  he  has  been 
a  very  active  constructive  agent  in  the  development  of  the  Midway,  where 
as  previously  stated  he  acts  as  superintendent  of  the  Northern  Exploration 
Company,  the  Southern  California  Gas  Company  and  the  Midway  Gas 
Company,  the  latter  recently  overtaken  by  the  concern  previously  named. 
In  July  of  1911  he  took  charge  of  the  construction  work  for  the  Western 
Water  Company  and  from  that  time  until  the  completion  of  the  task  in 
June.    1912,   he   superintended   the   laying  of  pipes   and   the   building  of  the 


J^:P^^9nkil^:<^u^ 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  693 

line  fur  the  concern.     Besides  being  connected  with  the  Elks  at    Hakersfield 
he  is  actively  interested  in  the  Petroleum  Club  at  Taft. 

MRS.  HARRIET  JASPER.— The  Boucher  family,  of  which  Mrs.  Jasper 
is  a  member,  descends  from  old  French  lineage,  but  has  been  represented  in 
.\merica  for  a  number  of  generations  and  her  father,  Stephen  Boucher,  was  a 
native  of  New  York.  During  a  residence  of  some  years  in  Indiana  he  met  and 
married  Zoe  Rahome,  a  descendant  of  German  and  French  ancestry  and  a 
connection  of  the  Pollock  family,  for  years  inlluential  citizens  of  Louisville, 
Ky.  Accompanied  by  his  young  wife  Mr.  Boucher  removed  to  Canada  and 
established  a  home  at  Chatham,  Ontario,  un  the  Thames  river,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  business  and  also  bought  and  suld  grain.  The  daughter, 
Harriet,  was  born  at  Chatham  during  the  period  of  the  sojourn  of  the  family 
at  that  point.  During  1866  the  family  came  via  Panama  to  California  and 
spent  two  years  in  San  Francisco,  where  the  court  for  purposes  of  convenience 
changed  the  spelling  of  the  family  name  from  Boucher  to  Boushey.^  From  San 
Francisco  Mr.  Boushey  went  to  Catalina  Island  and  engaged  in  lead  and 
silver  mining  with  Temple  and  Workman.  In  the  interests  of  the  same 
gentlemen  he  came  to  Kern  county  in  1881  and  located  antimony  mines  in  the 
San  Emidio  mountains.  In  addition  he  and  a  partner  developed  some  claims 
of  their  own,  then  he  bought  out  the  partner  and  engaged  ak.ne  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  mill  and  smelting  plant.  In  1889  occurred  the  death  of  his  wife 
and  a  son,  Alexander,  who  had  assisted  him  in  the  development  of  the  antimony 
mines.  His  own  demise  occurred  July  24,  I89I,  when  he  was  seventy-eight 
years  of  age.  Of  the  other  members  of  the  family  his  son.  Dr.  Julius  Boushey, 
died  in  San  Francisco,  and  a  daughter,  .\nz(je,  Mrs.  Thomas  E.  O'Hare,  died 
in  Los  -Angeles. 

Of  the  four  children  in  the  Boushey  family  who  attained  mature 
years  ]\Irs.  Jasper  is  the  sole  survivor.  She  was  educated  in  San  Francisco 
and  Los  Angeles  and  in  the  latter  city  became  the  wife  of  William  Jasper, 
a  native  of  Bremen,  German}^,  and  by  occupation  a  machinist  and  locomotive 
engineer.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  Mr.  Jasper  came  to  California  and 
secured  employment  as  an  engineer  in  San  Francisco.  After  his  marriage  he 
removed  from  San  Francisco  to  Los  Angeles,  where  he  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business.  About  1885  he  came  to  Kern  county,  where  afterward  he 
assisted  Mr.  Boushey  in  the  mines  until  the  death  of  the  latter  and  the 
subsequent  sale  of  the  antimony  mine  and  smelter  by  the  administrator  to  the 
Kern  County  Land  Company.  Thereupon  he  came  to  East  Bakersfield  and 
erected  a  residence  for  his  family.  Much  of  his  time  was  spent  in  the  oil  fields 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  January  20,  1903,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years. 
He  had  taken  up  a  homestead  in  San  Emidio,  which  he  left  to  his  wife.  Later 
]\Irs.  Jasper  entered  a  claim  adjoining  that  which  he  had  developed.  Upon 
it  she  remained  for  five  years  as  required  by  law.  Meanwhile  she  made  needed 
improvements  on  both  places.  The  stipulated  time  having  expired,  she  will 
soon  hold  a  title  to  her  claim.  In  entering  upon  such  an  undertaking  after 
,  having  been  left  a  widow  with  a  large  family,  she  showed  commendable 
energy  and  a  desire  not  only  to  secure  independence  for  herself,  but  also  to 
aid  her  children  in  subsequent  years,  for  undoubtedly  the  land  will  increase 
in  value  with  development  of  the  surrounding  country  and  of  its  own  resources. 
With  her  family  she  has  been  a  lifelong  adherent  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith 
and  for  some  years  past  she  has  belonged  to  St.  Joseph's  parish.  In  politics 
both  she  and  her  husband  were  quiet  but  firm  believers  in  the  principles 
cf  the  Democratic  party.  Of  her  seven  children  we  note  the  following: 
James  William  is  a  locomotive  engineer  now  living  at  San  Bernardino; 
George  Alexander  is  employed  as  cattle  buyer  for  Miller  &  Lux  at  Hanford ; 
Edith  Adelaide  is  the  wife  of  A.  C.  Silver  and  lives  in  East  Bakersfield  ;  Fred- 
erick Stephen  is  an  oil-well  contractor  operating  on  the  west  side;  Albert  L. 


694  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

is  a  locomotive  engineer  of  East  Bakersfield;  Emma  married  Mark  Wilson 
and  lives  at  Waites,  Kern  county;  and  Myrtle  A.  married  H.  B.  Jones  and 
resides  in  Los  Angeles. 

HENRY  FORD  CONDICT.— A  study  of  genealogical  records  indicates 
that  when  William  the  Conqueror  crossed  the  channel  to  England  he  had 
among  his  soldiers  a  member  of  the  Condict  family,  a  gallant  Norman  of 
noble  blood,  who  bore  his  part  in  the  triumphal  entry  of  the  troops  into  the 
British  Isles.  Whatever  of  heroism  characterized  his  subsequent  activities  and 
whatever  of  honor  came  to  his  Anglo-Saxon  descendants,  these  possibilities 
are  hidden  in  the  mists  of  historical  obscurity.  The  next  fact  that  can  be  ascer- 
tained in  the  family  history  proves  that  one  John  Condict  came  from  Wales 
to  America  as  earlj'  as  1640  and  settled  in  the  then  wilderness  of  New  Jersey. 
From  him  descended  Nathaniel  Condict,  a  brave  soldier  and  lieutenant-colonel 
in  the  Revolutionary  war,  in  which  he  perished  ere  yet  victory  had  crowned 
the  self-sacrificing  eiTorts  of  the  feeble  band  of  patriots.  Among  his  children 
there  was  a  son,  Silas,  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  a  farmer  in  the  vicinity  of 
Paterson,  that  state,  where  also  he  had  banking  interests.  The  next  genera- 
tion was  represented  by  Sidney  Condict,  who  was  born  at  Paterson,  N.  J., 
became  a  merchant  in  New  York  City,  but  during  1842  removed  to  the  fron- 
tier of  Illinois  and  took  up  government  land  in  McHenry  county.  From  that 
time  until  his  death  in  1856  he  labored  with  unceasing  energy  to  transform 
the  raw  tract  into  a  productive  farm,  but  the  end  came  ere  he  had  realized 
his  anticipations  of  agricultural  success. 

The  marriage  of  Silas  Condict  united  him  with  Charlotte  Reynolds,  who 
was  born  in  New  Jersey  and  died  in  Illinois  in  1874.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Capt.  Abram  Reynolds,  an  officer  under  General  Scott  in  the  war  of  1812  and 
a  pioneer  of  1842  in  McHenry  county.  111.,  where  he  died  about  1856.  By  his 
own  energetic  efforts  he  acquired  large  holdings  in  land.  Not  only  was  he 
successful  in  private  affairs,  but  in  addition  he  wielded  a  wide  influence 
in  public  enterprises  and  at  one  time  filled  the  office  of  sheriff  of  his  county 
in  New  Jersey.  The  family  of  Silas  and  Charlotte  Condict  numbered  six 
children.  Four  of  these  attained  maturity,  but  only  one  still  survives,  Henry 
Ford  Condict.  who  was  born  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  July  5,  1837,  and  was 
brought  to  the  frontier  of  Illinois  in  1842.  As  a  boy  he  attended  the  country 
schools  of  McHenry  county.  Through  the  kindly  assistance  of  Hon.  E.  B. 
Washburne,  member  of  congress  from  Illinois  and  a  distinguished  citizen 
of  Galena,  in  1854  the  youth  was  appointed  to  a  cadetship  in  the  United 
States  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis.  Among  his  classmates  was  one  who, 
as  Admiral  Dewey,  later  acquired  a  worldwide  fame.  After  he  had  spent 
two  years  in  the  academy  he  was  forced  to  resign  on  account  of  failing  eyes. 
Returning  to  Illinois  he  later  married  Miss  Nancy  J.  Young,  a  native  of 
Maine.  During  1859  he  came  via  Panama  to  California  and  became  interested 
in  mining  at  Deadwood,  Siskiyou  county.  When  the  news  reached  him  con- 
cerning the  breaking  out  of  war  he  at  once  returned  to  the  east  and  at 
Manchester,  N.  H.,  enlisted  in  the  First  New  Hampshire  Battery  Septem- 
ber 26,  1861.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  troops  he  was  elected  lieutenant 
of  his  company.  Ordered  to  the  front,  he  fought  in  numerous  desperate 
engagements,  including  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run.  Antietam,  Chancel- 
lorsville  and  Fredericksburg.  In  the  last-named  battle  the  battery  was 
reduced  to  four  guns.  This  almost  total  annihilation  obliged  the  young  lieu- 
tenant to  resign  his  commission  and  retire.  Not  content,  however,  to  leave 
the  service  of  the  Union  he  went  immediately  to  Illinois  and  June  3,  1863, 
became  a  member  of  Company  H,  Eighth  Illinois  Cavalry,  which  he  ac- 
companied to  the  front.  In  the  historic  engagement  at  Gettysburg  his  regi- 
ment fired  the  first  shot.  Throughout  the  balance  of  the  war  he  bore  a 
gallant   part.      ,\fter  the   surrender  of  the   Confederate   troops   he   was    sent 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  697 

to  W  ashiiigtciii.  wliere  lie  joined  in  the  desperate  chase  after  Wilkes  jjooth, 
the  slayer  of  President  Lincoln,  then  a  clerk  at  headciuarters,  administering 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Confederates,  and  afterwards  he  participated  in 
the  grand  review  and  June  2,  1865,  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  at 
Washington. 

Returning  to  Illinois  .Mr.  Cundict  had  charge  of  the  old  homestead  until 
1872,  when  he  sold  out  there  and  came  to  California.  Bakersfield  was 
then  a  small  hamlet,  but  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  it  secured  the  county- 
seat  and  its  real  development  began  at  that  time.  For  about  two  years  he 
was  proprietor  of  the  old  Stage  hotel  on  the  present  site  of  the  Odd  Fellows 
hall  and  next  he  ran  the  old  ferry  for  one  season.  During  1877  he  embarked 
in  the  stda  business  on  Nineteenth  street,  wdiere  the  Southern  block  is, 
and  later  he  moved  it  to  G  and  Seventeenth  streets.  Two  years  later  he 
bought  one-half  block  across  the  street  reaching  from  G  to  H  on  Seventeenth 
street  and  moved  to  the  new  location,  where  he  has  continued  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  meanwhile  building  up  an  important  trade  in  all  kinds  of  soft 
drinks,  making  his  own  syrups  and  manufacturing  his  popular  products 
at  his  headquarters,  known  as  the  C.  O.  D.  soda  works.  At  the  same  time 
for  twenty-five  years  he  followed  the  truck  and  dray  business,  having  four 
large  trucks,  and  was  agent  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  In  1905  he 
sold  out  the  truck  business  and  also  gave  up  the  oil  agency.  Since  then 
he  has  devoted  his  time  to  soda  works  and  looking  after  his  private  interests. 
He  is  secretary  and  director  of  the  Paraffin  Oil  Company,  one  of  the  oldest 
producers  on  the  west  side,  and  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Coalinga  Peerless 
and  the  U.  S.  Oil  Company.  On  account  of  the  bad  well  water,  iMr.  Condict, 
with  others,  was  induced  to  organize  the  Bakersfield  waterworks,  becoming 
a  director  and  the  first  superintendent,  and  putting  in  all  the  original  pipes. 
.After  serving  as  superintendent  for  several  years  he  resigned.  Near  his 
large  manufacturing  establishment  stands  his  comfortable  residence  on  H 
and  Seventeenth  streets  and  here  he  and  his  wife  hospitably  entertain  the 
many  friends  won  during  the  long  period  of  their  residence  in  Bakersfield. 
With  them  is  one  daughter.  Miss  Charlotte,  while  the  other  daughter.  Bertha, 
Mrs.  C.  L.  Hollis,  makes  her  home  in  San  Francisco.  At  the  adoption  of  the 
city  charter  Mr.  Condict  was  chosen  the  first  city  assessor  of  Bakersfield. 
Throughout  all  of  his  life  he  has  believed  in  the  Republican  party  and  sup- 
ported its  principles.  Besides  being  connected  with  the  Sons  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, he  is  a  charter  member  of  Hurlburt  Post  No.  127,  G.  A.  R.,  and  in  1886 
was  chosen  its  first  commander.  When  he  identified  himself  with  the  An- 
cient Order  of  United  Workmen  in  1879  his  worth  was  recognized  and  he 
was  chosen  for  official  responsibilities.  For  twenty-three  years  he  served 
as  financier  of  the  local  lodge,  of  which  he  also  is  past  master  workman. 
.After  coming  to  Bakersfield  in  1873  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Bakersfield 
Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.  During  that  year  also  he  identified  himself 
with  Kern  Lodge  No.  202,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  afterward  he  was  selected  to 
serve  as  noble  grand  of  the  organization,  besides  which  he  became  prominent 
in  encampment  work  and  was  the  first  selected  to  fill  the  office  of  chief 
patriarch. 

FREDERICK  S.  MAZE.— The  emigrant  trail  across  the  plains,  although 
less  sought  by  ambitious  .Argonauts  than  in  the  memorable  years  of  1849  and 
1850.  was  still  a  popular  highway  when  in  the  summer  of  1853  J.  W.  Maze, 
a  Kentuckian  by  birth  and  ancestry,  traveled  the  course  of  its  mcmotonous 
miles  in  "prairie' schooner"  drawn  by  ox-teams.  .Accompanying  him  was  Mrs. 
Maze,  formerly  Miss  Elizabeth  Mann,  who  was  born  in  Missouri  about  1834 
and  who,  now  an  invalid  as  the  result  of  an  accidental  fall  that  broke  the  hip- 
bone, is  considerately  cared  for  by  her  son,  Frederick  S.  The  father  engaged 
in   grain-raising   in    Stanislaus    county   and    removed    from    there    to    Fresno 


698  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

county,  settling  near  Selma  about  fourteen  miles  from  Fresno.  His  death 
occurred  about  1907  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight.  Of  his  seven  living  children 
we  note  the  following:  Julia  is  the  wife  of  S.  B.  Shaw,  a  carpenter  at  Visalia  ; 
William  E.  is  engaged  in  farming  in  Kern  county;  Alice  married  Marshall 
A.  Cotton,  a  fruit-packer  at  Visalia;  Laura  is  the  wife  of  C.  H.  Brown,  a  team 
contractor  at  Fowler ;  Zetta  married  F.  S.  Jasper,  a  drilling  contractor  at  Fel- 
lows;  Frederick  S.,  a  twin  of  Zetta,  was  born  near  Modesto,  Stanislaus 
county,  August  22,  1872;  and  Christopher  E.,  is  engaged  in  the  poultry  busi- 
ness at  Fowler. 

Reared  on  a  farm  in  Fresno  county,  Frederick  S.  Maze  began  to  work  in 
the  oil  business  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years  and  since  1899,  when  he  came  to 
the  McKittrick  oil  field,  he  has  given  his  attention  wholly  to  the  industry. 
At  first  he  was  employed  in  driving  teams  and  handled  as  many  as  eight 
head  of  horses  at  one  time,  hauling  heavy  machinery  to  the  McKittrick  field. 
When  he  ceased  to  work  as  a  teamster  he  began  to  tend  boilers  with  the 
Kern  River  Oil  Company  at  McKittrick.  In  190O  he  came  to  the  Midway  field 
as  a  tool-dresser.  However,  drilling  has  been  his  main  business  and  he  has 
made  an  enviable  record  in  this  department  of  the  oil  industry.  Eight  wells  on 
the  Pierpont  stand  to  his  credit  as  a  driller.  In  1907  he  drilled  one  well  at 
McKittrick,  later  drilled  a  well  on  the  Brockton,  then  returned  to  the  Pier- 
pont and  from  that  went  successively  to  several  other  leases.  Since  1911  he 
has  been  connected  with  the  General  Petroleum  Oil  Company,  with  which 
he  has  made  a  record  for  successful  drilling  on  the  Nevada  Midway,  Holloway 
and  other  leases.  The  demands  of  the  work  are  so  engrossing  that  it  leaves 
him  no  leisure  for  outside  affairs.  Early  and  late  he  has  been  at  his  post  of 
duty.  At  one  time  he  had  five  strings  of  tools  running  on  the  Holloway, 
Scrongo,  Nevada  ]\Iidway  and  Bankline,  also  five  strings  of  tools  on  the  Mid- 
way 32,  having  charge  of  a  production  that  averaged  about  seventy-five 
thousand  barrels  per  month  until  February  1,  1913,  since  which  time  his  entire 
attention  has  been  concentrated  upon  the  Midway  32.  One  of  his  noteworthy 
achievements  was  with  well  No.  14,  which  came  to  him  as  a  fishing  job 
November  1,  1912.  Practicallj'  abandoned,  with  boiler  lost  and  equipment 
useless,  he  undertook  a  task  of  the  greatest  difficulty,  and  when  he  was  suc- 
cessful in  the  attempt,  removing  the  old  casing,  providing  new  equipment  and 
making  practically  a  new  well  that  in  June,  1913,  came  in  as  a  three  thousand 
barrel  per  day  gusher,  he'  was  accorded  the  heartiest  praise  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  a  feat  than  which  nothing  more  difficult  had  ever  been  accom- 
plished in  the  field. 

MRS.  W.  M.  MIKESELL.— The  president  of  the  Women's  Improvement 
Club  at  Taft  has,  through  co-operation  with  other  progressive  women  of  the 
city,  accrmplished  much  of  inestimable  value  to  the  community  and  made  pos- 
sible the  Taft  library  together  with  allied  enterprises  inseparable  from  civic 
advancement.  In  the  very  fineness  of  its  far-reaching  influence  the  spirit  of 
the  Club  eludes  definition.  Its  officers  and  members  endeavor  to  exercise  the 
art  of  kindliness,  of  light  and  of  progress,  and  the  city  of  Taft  is  not  unmindful 
of  the  obligations  of  its  large  debt  to  these  women  of  large-hearted  service 
and  philanthropic  natures.  In  the  task  of  promoting  civic  advancement  the 
president  has  received  the  most  able  assistance  from  other  officers  and  from 
members.  Their  tasks  have  been  labors  of  beneficence  and  philanthropy,  and 
their  achievements  have  marked  the  pathway  of  local  growth. 

Born  and  reared  in  Pennsylvania,  educated  in  the  State  Normal  School 
of  Pennsylvania  and  granted  a  state  teacher's  certificate  in  that  state,  Mrs. 
Mikesell  followed  the  profession  of  an  instructor  in  schools  until  her  marriage 
to  W.  M.  Mikesell,  of  Indiana.  During  1909  she  came  to  California  and  settled 
among  the  pioneers  of  the  new  town  of  Taft,  where  Mr.  Mikesell  became  the 
proprietor  of  a  hardware  and  furniture  store  and  where  she  has  thoroughly 


/^/^.    /^^:^,'tX-/ 


I 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  701 

identified  herself  with  every  movement  for  community  development.  Of  her 
union  with  Mr.  Alikesell  there  are  two  sons,  Emerson  and  \\'illiam  Milton,  Jr. 
To  enjoy  the  friendshij)  of  Mrs.  Mikesell  is  a  privilet^e.  tientlc  in  thnusjht,  yet 
positive  in  convictions  and  resolute  in  action,  she  possesses  the  qualities  neces- 
sary to  a  successful  presiding  officer,  yet  invaluable  also  in  the  home,  in  the 
church  and  in  society.  The  value  of  her  uplifting  influence  has  been  seen  in 
man)'  a  life  outside  of  her  home  circle  and  has  been  particularly  apparent  in 
the  philanthropic  enterprises  of  the  Women's  Improvement  Club.  The  Ladies' 
Aid  Society  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Taft  was  organized  in  Mrs.  Mike- 
sell's  home  at  Taft.  As  an  active  worker  in  that  organization  she  has  been 
instrumental  in  building  the  fine  Presbyterian  Church  at  the  corner  of  P'ifth 
and  Kern  streets,  as  well  as  the  manse,  which  was  built  in  1912  and  continues 
to  be  an  uplifting  influence  in  Taft. 

J.  C.  PAYNE. — The  colonial  era  of  American  history  witnessed  the 
arrival  from  Scotland  of  a  sturdy  representative  of  the  Payne  family,  the 
founder  of  the  name  in  the  new  world  and  a  pioneer  planter  in  Virginia.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  Collins'  Early  History  of  Kentucky  records  a  dispute 
and  disagreement  that  arose  between  General  \\'ashingt(in  and  the  progenitor 
of  the  Payne  family,  who  were  contemporaries,  but  differed  in  opinions  con- 
cerning national  policies.  A  Virginian  by  birth,  Duval  Payne  became  an 
early  settler  of  Misst.uri  and  took  up  a  tract  of  farm  land  five  miles  east  of 
Kansas  City  on  the  road  to  Independence.  When  that  property  was  sold  he 
moved  to  Cass  county.  Mo.,  about  fifty  miles  from  Sedalia,  and  there  his 
death  occurred  during  November  of  1862.  Years  before  he  had  married 
Mary  Jane  Wilson,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  seven  children  had  been  born 
to  the  union.  The  next  to  the  youngest  of  these,  J.  C,  was  born  in  Jackson 
county.  Mo.,  ]\Iarch  10,  1833,  and  was  only  eight  years  of  age  at  the  time  of 
his  father's  untimely  demise.  The  widow  was  left  in  poverty-stricken  circum- 
stances with  a  large  family,  only  the  eldest  of  whom  were  able  to  go  out  in 
the  world  to  earn  their  own  livelihoods.  Upon  the  boy  of  eight  devolved 
much  of  the  burden  of  the  family  maintenance  and  his  condition  was  ren- 
dered the  more  pitiable  by  reason  of  the  Civil  war  being  then  at  its  climax. 
The  portion  of  Missouri  in  which  the  family  lived  was  a  hotbed  of  guerrilla 
warfare.  The  lives  of  all.  old  and  yc  ung.  Union  and  Confederate,  were  con- 
stantly in  danger.  The  rising  sun  of  each  day  gave  no  prediction  of  what 
horror  might  befall  the  community  before  its  setting.  The  barefoot  boy, 
clad  in  coarse  homespun  clothing,  had  no  opportunity  to  attend  school  during 
the  war,  but  as  he  bravely  tried  to  earn  his  livelihood  he  saw  much  that 
left  an  indelible  impression  upon  his  mind,  ^lore  than  once  his  life  was 
threatened  by  outlaw  soldiers  who  sought  to  get  secret  information.  Quan- 
trell's  gang  operated  in  the  neighborhood.  At  one  time  he  saw  six  innocent 
men  shot  after  they  had  been  compelled  to  dig  their  own  graves.  Before  the 
fatal  shot  was  fired  each  man  was  required  to  stand  in  such  a  position  that  his 
b(  dy  would  drop  into  the  grave  he  had  dug. 

Finally  the  long  civil  struggle  came  to  an  end  and  in  1866  the  fatherless 
lad,  who  had  been  given  a  temporary  home  with  an  aunt.  Mrs.  I'..  !•".  Smith, 
was  taken  to  Kentucky  by  his  mother,  who  joined  relatives  in  the  vicinity 
of  Paris.  There  he  attended  the  common  schools  and  became  trained  to 
farm  pursuits.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  years  he  returned  to  ^Missouri. 
From  1878  to  1880  he  lived  in  Johnsi  n  county  and  there,  in  the  year  last- 
named,  he  married  ]\Iiss  Martha  Cook,  who  had  been  born  in  Indiana,  but 
had  spent  the  greater  part  of  her  life  in  Missouri.  During  1883  the  family 
came  to  California  and  settled  near  Selma,  Fresno  county,  where  Mr.  Payne 
planted  a  tract  of  land  to  vines  and  deciduous  fruit  trees,  .\fter  the  fruit 
was  in  bearing  condition  he  disposed  of  the  property  to  advantage.  Next 
he  engas:ed  in  raising  wheat  and  had  from  two  thousand  to  three  thousand 


702  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

acres  in  grain,  conducting  extensive  operations  and  meeting  with  consid- 
erable success.  During  1902  he  removed  to  Bakersfield,  where  with  his  only- 
child,  James  Bruce  Payne,  he  now  conducts  an  undertaking  business.  The 
son  is  a  skilled  embalmer  and  a  scientist  as  well.  June  10,  1905,  he  was 
graduated  from  the  Barnes  Schuol  of  Embalming  and  Anatomy  at  New 
York  and  March  4,  1908,  from  the  Cincinnati  College  of  Embalming. 

The  Christian  Church  of  Bakersfield  has  had  the  benefit  of  the  capable 
assistance  of  the  Payne  family,  who  are  devoted  to  the  doctrines  of  that 
organization.  In  politics  Mr.  Payne  votes  with  the  Democratic  party.  Fra- 
ternally he  holds  membership  with  the  blue  lodge  of  Masonry,  the  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  For  many  years 
he  has  been  a  forceful  worker  with  the  Kern  County  Board  of  Trade  and 
more  recently  he  has  served  on  the  executive  committee  of  the  Bakersfield 
Board  of  Trade,  in  which  he  is  a  leading  spirit  and  enthusiastic  worker. 
Never  has  he  lost  an  opportunity  to  "boost"  his  city,  county  and  state.  His 
faith  in  the  city  and  his  belief  in  its  future  prosperity  found  evidence  in 
his  erection  during  1912  of  a  three-story  brick  building  at  No.  1928  Nineteenth 
street.  On  the  top  floor  the  family  have  a  modern  apartment  fitted  up 
for  residential  purposes.  The  basement  floor  is  devoted  to  a  display,  sales 
and  stock  room  and  a  workshop,  while  on  the  first  floor  are  the  office,  the 
operating  room,  the  morgue  and  a  funeral  chapel  with  a  capacity  of  one 
hundred  visitors. 

FRED  C.  BROCKMAN. — Teutonic  descent  in  an  unbroken  line  is  indi- 
cated by  the  genealogy  of  the  Brockman  family,  whose  American  representa- 
tive, Fred  C.  Brockman,  the  proprietor  of  the  Plant  apartments  in  Bakersfield, 
is  himself  a  native  of  Hesse-Darmstadt  and  identified  throughout  youth  with 
that  important  kingdom  in  Germany.  In  the  neighborhood  where  he  was 
born  December  21,  1866,  he  attended  the  national  schools  and  served  an  ap- 
prenticeship to  the  trade  of  butcher,  thus  entering  into  manhood's  activities 
fortified  by  a  fair  education  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  a  useful  occupation. 
Meanwhile  he  had  heard  much  concerning  the  new  world  and  the  oppor- 
tunities which  it  offers  to  men  of  energy  and  determination.  Determining 
to  try  his  fortune  in  the  land  across  the  seas,  he  bade  farewell  to  the  friends 
of  boyhood  and  took  passage  on  a  steamship  bound  for  the  port  of  New 
York.  It  was  during  1884  that  he  became  a  resident  of  the  United  States  and  at 
first  he  settled  in  New  Mexico,  where  he  engaged  in  mining  at  Rio  Mimbres. 
All  the  ups  and  downs  incident  to  the  existence  of  a  miner  and  prospector  fell 
to  his  lot  in  those  early  years  of  effort.  There  were  times  when  all  went  well 
and  the  returns  were  fair,  but  also  some  seasons  of  depression  and  dis- 
couragement, when  the  profits  of  other  times  were  forced  to  be  turned  to  the 
payment  of  losses  in  unfortunate  mining  ventures.  The  Apache  Indians  were 
very  troublesome  in  New  Mexico  and  more  than  once  they  imperiled  his  life 
with  their  dastardly  attacks,  but  in  each  instance  he  escaped  in  safety. 

Mining  interests  in  Colorado  attracted  Mr.  Brockman  to  Ouray  in  1890 
and  there  or  near  by  he  continued  for  some  time,  combining  with  his  work  in 
mines  the  management  of  a  meat  market  which  he  had  started  shortly  after 
his  arrival  in  Colorado.  The  next  enterprise  that  engaged  his  attention  was  the 
purchase  of  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  at  Hotchkiss,  where  he 
engaged  in  general  farm  pursuits  and  secured  water  under  a  canal  from  the 
mountains.  The  presence  of  irrigation  facilities  and  the  fertile  nature  of  the 
soil  rendered  possible  the  undertaking  of  horticultural  enterprises.  With  this 
idea  in  view  he  platted  the  tract  in  tracts  of  ten  acres  and  sold  to  fruit-grow- 
ers, himself  retaining  ten  acres  for  his  home  place  and  planting  the  land  in 
apples  and  peaches.  The  raising  of  fruit  proved  profitable,  but  the  high  alti- 
tude afifected  the  health  of  his  wife  injuriously  and  he  therefore  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  the  fall  of  1912,  settling  in  Bakersfield,  where  he  purchased  the  Plant 


M^.<§..^u.-i>f^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  705 

apartments  at  No.  806  Nineteenth  street.  The  Imikling  contains  twenty-four 
furnished  apartments  and  Mr.  Brockman  conducts  a  grocery  on  the  first  lloor. 
^\"hen  a  lad  in  his  early  German  home  Mr.  Urockman  was  confirmed  in 
the  Lutheran  Church  and  ever  since  then  he  has  upheld  the  doctrines  of  the 
denomination.  I-"raternally  he  holds  membershi]i  with  the  \\'ot  dnien  of  the 
World.  During  18%  he  was  united  in  marriage  at  Delta,  Colo.,  with 
Mrs.  Mattie  (Rosenkranz)  Esch,  a  native  of  Keii,  Germany,  and  a  lady  of 
amiable  qualities,  who  since  coming  to  Rakersfield  has  made  many  friends  and 
also  been  greatly  lienefited  in  health.  Besides  being  active  in  church  work  and 
a  model  housekeeper  in  the  home,  she  takes  a  warm  interest  and  leading  part  in 
the  work  of  the  Royal  Neighbors  and  the  Women  of  Woodcraft.  P)y  her  fi  rmer 
marriage  she  was  the  mother  of  three  children,  namely:  Walter  Esch,  a  fruit- 
grower residing  at  Hotchkiss,  Cclo. ;  Mrs,  Gertrude  Vincent,  of  Spokane, 
Wash. :  and  Elsa,  who  makes  her  home  in  Denver. 

CHARLES  E.  COOPER.— It  is  conceded  by  competent  judges  that  few 
citizens  of  Kern  county  are  more  familiar  with  soil  conditions  and  pn  perty 
valuations  than  Charles  E.  Cooper,  who  conducts  a  real-estate,  insurance  and 
loan  business  in  Bakersfield,  with  office  at  No.  1514  Twentieth  street.  One 
of  his  specialties  has  been  the  agency  for  the  Chester  Park  tract  on  F"ourtli 
street  and  Chester  avenue,  on  the  east  line,  comprising  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  lots  well  located  on  the  main  thoroughfare  of  Bakersfield  from 
north  to  south  four  blocks  from  the  street  car  line.  In  addition  he  acts  as 
agent  for  the  Mountain  View  tract  in  the  Edison  district  east  of  Bakersfield 
and  three  n^iles  from  Edison  station. 

By  virtue  of  long  residence  in  the  west  Mr.  Cooper  has  acquired  the 
enthusiasm  and  mental  breadth  characteristic  of  those  who  breathe  the  air 
of  mountain  or  sea.  Besides  the  qualities  that  come  through  long  association 
with  the  west,  he  inherited  the  substantial  characteristics  that  belong  to  the 
sons  of  Iowa.  That  commcinwealth  was  his  early  home  and  Janosville, 
Bremer  county,  his  native  community,  while  a  nearljy  farm  gave  him  an  in- 
itiation into  agricultural  knowledge  as  well  as  valuable  information  concern- 
ing soil  necessities  and  possibilities.  His  father,  a  man  of  sterling  worth  and 
of  considerable  prominence  in  Bremer  county,  traced  his  lineage  to  Peter 
Cooper,  who  coming  from  England  to  America  during  the  colonial  era  founded 
a  numerous  family  whose  influence  has  been  felt  in  the  majority  of  the  states 
of  the  Union  and  whose  present-day  representatives  are  contributing  efifect- 
ivelv  to  the  material  upbuilding  of  their  varied  localities.  That  eminent  writer 
on  horticulture  and  recognized  authority  on  olives  and  olive  culture,  Elwood 
Cooper,  the  millionaire  olive  grower  of  Santa  Barbara,  is  a  distant  relative 
of  our  subject. 

With  the  self-reliance  that  has  characterized  every  generation  of  the 
family  in  the  new  world  Charles  E.  Cooper  started  out  to  earn  his  own  way 
in  the  world  at  an  early  age  and  became  a  resident  of  Denver,  Colo.,  where 
for  fifteen  years  he  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business.  Meanwhile  he  enjoyed 
a  substantial  prosperity  in  material  matters  and  became  popular  in  the  most 
refined  sr  cial  circles.  A  later  period  of  real-estate  activity  was  passed  in  San 
Francisco,  whence  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  in  this  city  he  has  won  recog- 
nition through  marked  business  ability  and  agreeable  personality.  Giving 
his  attention  very  closely  to  realty  enterprises,  he  takes  no  part  in  politics 
aside  from  voting  the  Republican  ticket  at  all  elections.  In  religion  he  holds 
to  the  doctrines  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Aside  frc  m  his  large  real-estate 
business  Mr.  Cooper  is  resident  agent  for  the  Philadelphia  Life  Insurance 
Company  of  Philadelphia  and  the  West  Coast  Life  of  San  Francisco,  as  well 
as  agent  for  the  Continental  of  New  York  (with  assets  of  $26,000,000),  the 
Firemen's  Insurance  Company  of  Newark,  the  Fidelity  Phoenix  of  New 
York   (with  assets  of  $17,000,000).  the  New   Jersey  Fidelitv  and   Plate  Glass 


706  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Insurance  Company,  the  American  Union  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  the  Fire  Association  of  Philadelphia. 

In  September,  1913,  Mr.  Cooper  was  elected  president  of  the  Bakersfield 
Realty  Board  and  also  selected  one  of  the  committee  of  five  to  secure  the  ap- 
pointment of  fifteen  freeholders  to  draft  a  new  charter  for  the  city.  December  3, 
1913,  at  the  Van  Nuys  Hotel  in  Los  Angeles  occm-red  the  marriage  of  C.  E. 
Cooper  and  Miss  Cora  May  St.  Clair,  a  member  of  one  of  the  pioneer  families 
of  Bakersfield,  whose  father,  L.  P.  St.  Clair,  was  the  first  mayor  of  Bakers- 
field,  owner  of  the  first  electric  light  plant  and  a  pioneer  in  the  oil  business. 
Mrs.  Cooper  had  been  identified  with  the  oil  business  prior  to  her  marriage 
and  was  a  lady  of  prominence  in  her  home  city.  Her  brother,  L.  P.  St.  Clair, 
is  president  of  the  Independent  Oil  Producers  agency. 

ST.  LAWRENCE  OIL  COMPANY. — Numbered  conspicuously  among 
the  prosperous  oil  producers  of  the  Kern  county  district  is  that  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  Oil  Company,  which  represents  the  industry  in  its  best  form  and  fur- 
nishes to  the  investigator  a  splendid  example  of  the  methods  emplnyed  in 
that  industry.  The  company  operates  a  one  hundred  and  sixty-acre  tract, 
it  being  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  5,  township  32,  range  23,  and  is  com- 
posed of  San  Francisco  investors,  who  started  operations  there  in  1908,  I.  B. 
Strassburger  of  that  city  being  president. 

LTnder  great  difficulty  well  No.  1  was  drilled,  but  at  length  was  finished 
in  November,  1910,  when  it  was  perforated  and  came  in  as  a  gusher  about 
the  same  time  as  the  No.  2-6  on  the  C.  C.  M.  Oil  Company's  holdings.  The 
well  flowed  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  barrels  and  was  soon  placed 
under  control.  It  is  still  producing,  which  marks  the  unusually  fine  con- 
ditions of  the  vicinity.  The  company  has  since  put  down  five  more  wells  and 
all  are  producers  of  better  than  twenty-one  gravity  oil.  Ably  superintending 
it  is  William  G.  Follansbee,  who  has  met  with  signal  success  in  his  opera- 
tions. 

JOHN  C.  MARLEY. — The  superintendent  of  the  Stratton  Water  Com- 
pany has  been  identified  with  the  Midway  field  since  January  of  1910,  when 
he  came  to  Fellows  to  enter  upon  the  duties  connected  with  his  present 
position.  The  organization  of  which  he  has  charge  and  which  ranks  as  the 
pioneer  water  concern  of  the  entire  field  obtains  water  from  a  system  of  four 
wells,  having  a  capacity  of  about  thirty  thousand  barrels  per  day. 

A  resident  of  California  since  1895,  John  C.  Marley  was  born  at  Winterset, 
Madison  county,  Iowa,  in  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  J.  A.  Marley,  a  florist  during  his 
lifetime,  .\fter  he  had  completed  the  studies  of  the  grammar  and  high  schools 
he  became  an  apprentice  to  the  trades  of  millwright  and  carpenter,  which 
he  learned  thoroughly  and  in  which  he  became  unusually  skilled.  However, 
instead  of  following  these  trades,  he  turned  his  attention  to  a  department 
of  the  railroad  business  and  for  some  years  acted  as  station  agent  for  various 
roads  in  Iowa,  his  first  work  being  done  with  the  Burlington  Railroad.  After 
his  arrival  in  California  in  1895  he  worked  as  a  millwright  with  the  Demming- 
Palmer  Milling  Company.  An  important  position  as  superintendent  of  the 
Holmes  Lime  Company  at  Felton,  Santa  Cruz  county,  he  filled  for  six 
years,  and  upon  resigning  from  that  place  he  came  to  Fellows  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  1910,  since  which  he  has  developed  the  business  of  the  .Strat- 
ton Water  Compan}'  and  also  has  engaged  as  local  representative  of  the 
Midway  Oil  Company  of  Oregon,  having  charge  of  the  holdings  of  that  con- 
cern in  the  Midway  field.  His  family,  consisting  of  wife  and  son  Donald,  still 
maintain  a  residence  at  No.  640  Post  street,  San  Francisco.  Mrs.  Marley  was 
formerly  Miss  Ida  Hollingshead,  of  Albia,  Iowa,  where  she  was  born  and 
reared.  In  politics  Mr.  Marley  votes  with  the  Republican  party,  while  fra- 
ternally he  holds  membership  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  the  Fraternal  Brotherhood. 


a^^-6  ^^4^^^-^^-^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  709 

FRANK  S.  JUDD.— \'ery  early  in  the  colunization  nf  America  the  Judd 
family  came  from  England  to  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  n.ick-bound 
coast  of  New  England,  where  they  aided  in  the  agricultural  development 
of  that  undeveloped  region  and  gave  of  their  energies  through  successive 
generations  to  the  material  upbuilding  of  the  new  world.  Of  all  their  repre- 
sentatives none  was  more  forceful  in  intellect  and  none  more  adventurous 
in  his  investigations  of  new  countries  than  Truman  Judd,  a  native  of  Wey- 
bridge,  Vt.,  and  a  graduate  of  Potsdam  Academy  in  St.  Lawrence  county, 
N.  Y.  Within  the  span  of  his  earthly  existence,  which  began  March  10, 
1813,  and  came  to  an  end  August  10,  1885,  he  witnessed  the  development 
of  much  of  the  United  States  and  contributed  thereto  with  the  energy  and 
resourcefulness  typical  of  the  progressive  pioneer.  While  attending  school 
in  New  York  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  the  young  lady  who  later  became 
his  wife  and  who  shared  in  his  hardships  and  frontier  experiences  until  her 
death  left  him  bereaved  and  alone.  A  native  of  Potsdam,  N.  Y.,  she  bore 
the  name  of  Lournda  U.  Taylor  and  was  a  daughter  of  Reuben  Taylor. 

Removing  from  New  York  state  to  Illinois,  Truman  Judd  settled  at 
Pecatonica,  Winnebago  county,  where  his  son,  b'rank  S.,  was  born  March 
28,  1857,  and  where  he  himself  for  some  years  engaged  in  pedagogical  work. 
The  quiet  routine  of  the  schoolroom,  however,  was  irksome  to  his  adventur- 
ous temperament  and  at  times  he  abandoned  the  profession  temporarily  for 
travels,  then  later  gave  up  the  work  entirely  in  order  to  enter  other  avoca- 
tions. During  the  spring  of  1849  he  joined  an  expedition  of  Argonauts  bound 
for  the  gold  fields  of  the  west.  Crossing  the  plains  with  ox-teams  and  wagons, 
he  found  so  much  of  interest  in  the  journey  that  he  recorded  his  impressions 
of  the  country  in  a  journal  written  as  he  traveled  from  ])oint  to  point  along 
the  lonely  route.  Such  a  record  would  be  of  priceless  value  to  his  descend- 
ants and  its  h  ss  in  the  Sacramento  fire  of  the  '50s  was  deplored.  After  his 
arrival  in  California  he  engaged  in  mining  and  later  he  took  a  contract  for 
building  a  portion  of  the  levee  at  Sacramento,  whence  in  1856  he  returned 
to  Illinois.  Not  long  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Pike's  Peak  he  traveled 
across  the  plains  to  that  portion  of  the  country  and  camped  on  the  present 
site  of  Denver  at  a  time  when  only  a  few  rude  shacks  marked  the  spot 
destined  for  a  commercial  center.  For  years  he  made  his  headquarters  at 
^Tomiment,  where  he  built  three  sawmills.  Later  he  built  a  sawmill  on  the 
Little  Fountain  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber  which  was  used 
in  the  early  material  upbuilding  of  both  Denver  and  Pueblo. 

Disposing  of  his  holdings  in  Ci  lorado  and  removing  tn  Texas  a  few 
years  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  which  had  occurred  in  the  former  state  in 
October  of  1867,  Truman  Judd  soon  became  a  power  in  the  journalistic  circles 
of  the  Lone  Star  state,  where  he  edited  and  published  the  Fort  Worth 
Tribune.  Forceful  as  a  writer  and  able  as  an  editor,  he  made  a  name  for 
himself  throughout  his  part  of  the  state  and  was  recognized  as  a  oower 
on  the  side  of  progress  and  achievement.  During  1880  he  came  to  California 
as  a  permanent  resident.  After  a  sojourn  of  five  years  in  Nevada  county 
he  came  to  Kern  county  in  July,  1885.  and  here  his  death  occurred  in  .August 
of  that  year.  To  this  same  county  his  brother.  Stoel  Judd.  a  California 
pioneer  of  1851,  had  come  during  the  '60s  and  here  he  continued  to  make 
his  home  until  he  passed  from  earth  in  1909  at  the  age  of  eighty-four  years. 

Seven  children  formed  the  family  of  Truman  Judd.  I'ive  of  these  attained 
maturity,  namely :  Airs.  Julia  Squires,  who  died  in  Colorado ;  Mrs.  Almina 
Reader,  who  died  in  Nevada  county,  Cal.,  in  1889;  Mrs.  Hattie  Webb,  of 
Texarkana,  Tex. ;  Mrs.  Lucina  Weir,  wife  of  Jerome  ^^'eir,  a  pioneer  and 
prominent  upbuilder  of  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.:  and  Frank  S..  the  youngest 
tiiember  of  the  family  circle.  The  second  daughter,  .\lmina.  migrated  tn 
California  \-ia  Panama  in   1863  and  later  became  the   wife  of   lames   Reader: 


710  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

upon  her  death  she  left  five  children,  of  whom  only  one,  Hattie,  came  to 
Bakersfield  to  make  her  home,  although  there  is  also  a  granddaughter,  Mrs. 
Amanda  Krelle,  residing  in  this  city.  When  Frank  S.  Judd  was  a  child  four 
years  of  age  he  accompanied  his  parents  from  Illinois  to  Colorado  and  later 
became  a  jjupil  in  the  public  school  in  Colorado  City.  During  1870  he  re- 
moved to  Texas  with  his  father.  Having  finished  the  study  of  the  common 
branches  in  the  Fort  Worth  schools  he  learned  the  trade  of  printer  in  the 
composing  room  of  the  Fort  Worth  Tribune.  During  May  of  1881  he  came 
to  California  and  settled  in  Nevada  county,  where  he  engaged  in  mining 
at  French  Corral.  A  first  visit  to  Kern  county  in  1885  gave  him  a  favor- 
able impression  concerning  this  portion  of  the  state.  Returning  in  the  early 
part  of  1887,  he  became  a  permanent  resident  of  the  county  on  the  12th  of 
April  and  has  since  lived  on  ranches  or  in  Bakersfield.  For  seven  years  he 
engaged  in  farming  as  an  employe  of  his  uncle,  Stoel  Judd.  Later  he  bought 
land  in  the  San  Emidio  country,  where  he  engaged  in  ranching  and  stock- 
raising. 

Upon  the  retirement  of  his  uncle  from  active  ranch  pursuits  Mr.  Judd 
purchased  the  Judd  property  near  Lakeside  ranch  and  there  he  remained 
until  the  sale  of  the  place  in  1910.  For  years  he  made  a  specialty  of  raising 
alfalfa  seed.  After  selling  the  farm  in  1910  he  bought  forty  acres  seven 
miles  from  Bakersfield  and  there  he  since  has  engaged  in  raising  alfalfa.  A 
short  time  since  he  sold  the  mountain  ranch  and  built  a  comfortable  resi- 
dence at  No.  1720  Maple  avenue,  from  which  place  he  superintends  the 
alfalfa  farm,  besides  taking  an  active  part  in  the  buying  and  selling  of  real 
estate.    He  is  a  Democrat  and  a  member  of  the  Elks. 

JAMES  H.  THORNBER.— The  Thornber  family  descends  from  Anglo- 
Saxon  ancestry  and  for  generations  has  been  represented  in  Westmoreland  in 
the  north  of  England,  where  Francis  Joseoh  and  Elizabeth  (Peters)  Thorn- 
ber passed  their  entire  lives,  the  former  being  engaged  as  an  accountant.  The 
parental  family  comprised  six  sons  and  six  daughters  and  the  eighth  in  order 
of  birth,  James  H.,  was  born  in  the  village  of  Kendal,  July  3,  1875.  Two  sons 
and  two  daughters  are  still  living  and  all  of  them  have  come  to  America,  the 
older  son,  John  P.,  being  a  resident  of  Bartlesville,  Okla.,  while  the  two 
daughters.  Mrs.  Agnes  Grisdale  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Marriott,  make  their 
home  in  Kern  county,  Cal..  the  headquarters  also  of  the  fourth  member  of  the 
family,  James  H.  The  last-named  attended  the  Kendal  grammar  school  in 
Westmoreland,  and  later  was  a  student  in  the  Friends'  school  at  the  same 
place.  After  he  was  graduated  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  was  employed 
in  the  village  until  1892,  when  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  United  States  and 
proceeded  west  to  Montana.  Securing  employment  on  a  ranch  near  Chinook 
he  soon  learned  the  business  of  operating  a  stock  farm  on  the  plains.  Later 
he  became  interested  in  operating  the  Black  Coulee  coal  mine,  besides  which 
he  also  engaged  in  general  contracting. 

LIpon  selling  some  of  his  interests  in  Montana  in  r)ctol)er  of  1908  Mr. 
Thornber  came  to  Bakersfield.  Shortly  afterward  he  purchased  one  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  of  land  in  the  Weed  Patch.  The  task  of  transforming  the 
raw  acreage  into  a  productive  farm  was  one  of  great  difficulty,  but  the  land 
was  rich  and  fertile  and  ultimately  produced  fruit  and  alfalfa  in  paying  quan- 
tities. Since  1909  he  has  made  his  home  in  East  Bakersfield,  where  he  owns  a 
residence  at  No.  1601  Pacific  street.  Besides  having  a  real-estate  and  insur- 
ance office  at  No.  919  Baker  street,  he  is  engaged  in  the  building  of  cottages 
and  bungalows  and  these  interests,  together  with  the  supervision  of  his  Mon- 
tana ranch,  which  he  still  owns,  keep  him  busily  occupied. 

Ever  since  he  came  to  this  city  Mr.  Thornber  has  been  connected  with  the 
Chesbro  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  East  Bakersfield,  where  at  this 
writing  he  officiates  as  president  df  the  board  of  trustees  and  president  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  713 

adult  F.ible  class.  With  the  cn-dperatidii  of  tlie  pastor  (jf  lliis 
cliurch  he  organized  a  Sunday-school  at  Toltec  No.  2  and  since 
then  he  not  only  has  acted  as  superintendent,  but  in  addition  he  has  given 
exceptionally  faithful  and  efficient  service  in  the  capacity  of  local  preacher. 
Being  deeply  interested  in  the  religious  life  of  the  oil  fields,  he  gives  freely  of 
his  time,  .ability  and  means  to  promote  the  cause  of  Christianity  in  that  par- 
ticular portion  to  which  he  has  been  called.  While  living  in  Montana  he  was 
married  at  Chinook,  September  23,  1900,  to  Miss  Alice  Greenough,  a  native 
of  Mechanicsburg,  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  the  late  John  K.  and  Minnie 
(Currier)  Greenough,  the  former  born  in  Concord,  N.  H.,  of  Mayflower  stock, 
and  the  latter  a  descendant  of  Scotch  forbears.  In  1886  the  family  removed 
to  Chanute,  Kans.,  where  Mrs.  Thornber  was  reared  and  educated,  remaining 
there  until  1899.  In  that  year  the  family  located  in  Chinook,  Mont.,  where 
the  marriage  of  the  young  people  occurred.  Interested  in  social  functions  and 
active  in  church  work,  Mrs.  Thornber's  deepest  affections,  however,  are  cen- 
tered upon  her  four  children,  Chester  Harve,  Grace  Elizabeth,  Agnes  Myrtle 
and  Alice  Celia.  Fraternally  Mr.  Thornber  belongs  to  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America  and  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  with  his  wife  is 
identified  with  Bakersfield  Chapter  No.  25,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

WILLIAM  UPTON.— When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Upton  bought  a  tract  (if 
twenty  acres  one  mile  southeast  of  Kern  in  1893  they  realized  the  difficnhies 
facing  them.  Not  an  attempt  at  cultivation  had  been  made.  Not  an  improve- 
ment had  been  placed  on  the  land.  No  effort  had  been  put  forward  io  secure 
irrigation.  In  all  of  its  raw  unattractiveness  the  land  awaited  the  patient 
hand  of  labor,  and  such  was  the  capability  of  the  owner  that  eventually  it 
became  known  as  a  farm  without  a  superior  in  Kern  county.  When  finally 
he  sold  in  order  to  retire  to  private  life  it  was  with  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  he  had  developed  one  of  the  finest  farms  in  this  portion  of  the  state. 

The  Upton  family  is  of  old  Virginian  ancestry.  Major  James  Upton,  a 
native  of  West  Virginia,  migrated  to  Indiana  and  engaged  in  farming  in  that 
state  until  death.  The  title  by  which  he  was  known  came  to  him  through 
service  in  the  state  militia.  At  the  time  of  removing  to  Indiana  he  was  a 
youth  and  later  he  married  Sallie  Bracken,  a  native  of  Rush  county,  that 
state.  Following  his  demise  she  removed  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Sangamon 
county,  where  her  remaining  years  were  passed.  In  her  family  there  were 
five  sons  and  one  daughter.  Two  of  the  older  sons  served  in  the  Civil  war. 
The  only  survivor  of  the  six  children  is  William,  who  was  next  to  the  young- 
est among  them.  Born  near  Lebanon.  Boone  county,  Ind.,  September  8, 
1849,  he  was  educated  in  country  schools  and  Lebanon  Academy.  During 
1866  he  accompanied  other  members  of  the  family  to  Illinois  and  settled  near 
Springfield,  where  he  aided  on  his  mother's  farm  for  a  few  years.  Later  he 
rented  a  farm  and  then  bought  land  in  Mechanicsburg  township,  Sangamon 
county.  Selling  that  place  in  1889  he  removed  to  Dawson  in  the  same 
county,  whence  in  February  of  1891  he  came  to  California.  Limited  in  means, 
he  made  a  very  small  beginning  as  a  farmer  of  Kern  county.  For  two  years 
he  owned  and  improved  a  farm  of  forty  acres  in  the  Rosedale  colony  and  on 
this  place  he  planted  fruit  and  also  sowed  alfalfa.  When  he  sold  the  property 
in  1893  he  'bought  the  small  farm  near  Kern  where  he  labored  diligently 
and  successfully  until  he  relinquished  farming  activities.  The  first  purchase 
included  twenty  acres  and  later  he  bought  ten  acres  adjoining,  so  that  he 
had  thirty  acres  altogether.  During  the  last  year  on  the  small  ranch  Mrs. 
Upton  kept  a  careful  account  of  all  receipts  and  disbursements.  For  the 
vear  a  total  of  $1,823.2.5  was  received  from  the  sale  of  hay  and  produce,  and 
in  addition  they  raised  many  of  the  necessities  for  their  own  table.  The  total 
expense,  without  counting  their  time,  was  limited  to  $300,  this  small  expense 
being  made  possible  through  their  industry  and  wise  management. 

The  marriage  of  ^fr.  l-pton  and  Miss  Flla  R.  Sutherland  was  solemnized 


714  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

at  Illiopolis,  111.,  February  17,  1875,  and  has  been  one  of  mutual  helpfulness 
and  happiness,  their  only  sorrow  having  been  the  loss  of  their  children  in 
early  life.  J\Irs.  Upton  was  born  in  ]\Iechanicsburg  township,  Sangamon 
county.  111.,  and  was  fourth  among  the  nine  children  comprising  the  family 
of  Hugh  and  Abbie  (Bird)  Sutherland.  Only  four  of  the  nine  are  now  living. 
Born  in  1809,  Mr.  Sutherland  came  from  his  native  city  of  Edinburgh,  Scot- 
land, to  the  United  States  in  1825  and  shortly  thereafter  settled  in  Illinois, 
where  he  engaged  in  farming.  Some  years  after  locating  in  that  state  he 
married  Miss  Bird,  who  was  born  in  Frankfort,  Ky.,  September  27,  1824, 
and  accompanied  her  mother  to  Illinois  in  1833.  Of  late  years -she  has  lived 
in  Springfield  and  has  been  physically  active  notwithstanding  her  advanced 
age.  Mrs.  Upton  is  an  earnest  member  of  the  Congregational  church  and  a 
leading  worker  in  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society.  In  addition  she  is  a  popular 
member  of  the  Woman's  Relief  Corps.  Mr.  Upton  is  connected  with  the 
Fraternal  Brotherhood  and  in  politics  always  has  voted  with  the  Republican 
party.  Upon  selling  their  farm  in  June  of  1909  they  came  to  East  Bakersfield, 
where  they  not  only  erected  their  present  residence  at  No.  600  Pacific  street, 
but  in  addition  built  a  number  of  cottages  for  rent. 

REV.  JAMES  S.  WEST,  A.  B.— The  history  of  the  First  Baptist  Church 
of  Bakersfield.  of  which  Rev.  James  Samuel  West  is  now  nastor,  dates  back 
to  the  year  1889,  the  inauguration  of  the  movement  occurring  on  the  21st  of 
April  with  the  union  as  a  congregation  of  a  very  few  persons,  adherents  of 
that  faith  and  formerly  communicants  of  the  denomination  in  previous  places 
of  residence.  The  following  years  were  filled  with  anxious  solicitude  regarding 
the  future  of  the  congregation,  but  nevertheless  were  years  of  spiritual  and 
numerical  growth.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  pastors  together  with  their 
periods  of  service:  Rev.  T.  C.  tordan,  .\pril,  1889-Februarv,  1893:  Rev.  C. 
O.  Tohnson,  Februarv,  1893-April,  1894;  Rev.  T.  M.  French,  October,  1894- 
Tanuarv,  1896:  Rev.  J.  T.  Collins,  Januarv.  1897- August,  1899:  Rev.  William 
Mullen,  August,  1899-May,  1900:  Rev.  W.  C.  Whitaker,  Mav,  1901-Mav,  1902; 
Rev.  W.  M.  Collins,  January,  1903-May,  1906;  Rev.  J.  Fred  Jenkins.  October, 
1906-January,  1908:  Rev.  llloyd  C.  Smith,  August,  1908-August,  1911,  and 
Rev.  Tames  Samuel  West,  the  present  pastor,  whose  ministry  commenced  in 
September  of  1911. 

Immediately  after  the  organization  of  the  few  members  into  a  congrega- 
tion steps  were  taken  looking  toward  the  building  of  a  house  of  worship.  The 
corner  of  I  and  Twenty-second  streets  was  secured  as  a  suitable  site.  Febru- 
ary 17,  1890,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  of  a  structure  of  brick,  small  but  sub- 
stantial. The  first  services  were  held  there  on  the  first  Sunday  of  April, 
1890.  With  that  building  as  headquarters,  an  excellent  work  was  conducted 
for  years,  but  eventually  the  lot  was  sold  March  2,  1904,  the  last  services  being 
conducted  in  the  old  church  on  the  13th  of  March,  of  the  same  year.  The 
corner-stone  of  the  new  structure  of  white  brick  was  laid  September  14,  1904, 
at  the  new  lot  on  the  corner  of  Twentieth  and  G  streets.  The  first  services 
were  held  in  the  Sunday-school  room  December  6,  1904,  and  in  the  main 
auditorium  Alarch  5,  1905,  while  the  formal  dedication,  April  9,  1905,  conse- 
crated the  noble  and  dignified  edifice  to  the  worship  of  God.  The  building 
contains  the  auditorium,  Sunday-school  room  and  pastor's  study,  and  in  mode 
of  construction  adheres  to  modern  ideas  of  church  architecture.  In  addition 
to  the  church  edifice  there  is  a  commodious  and  attractive  parsonage,  also  of 
white  brick.  Besides  the  home  Sunday-school  a  similar  work  has  been  estab- 
lished at  East  Bakersfield,  and  two  hundred  children  have  the  advantage  of 
the  excellent  religious  training  given  by  teachers  thoroughly  competent  to 
discharge  their  appointed  tasks.  The  present  membership  of  the  church  is 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty,  one  hundred  and  fifteen  having  been  added  since 
the  beginning  of  the  pastorate  of  the  present  minister.  While  devoting  him- 
self with  self-sacrificing  intensity  to  the  upbuilding  of  this  congregation,  the 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  717 

pastor  has  found  time  to  minister  at  regular  intervals  to  the  congregation  of 
Baptists  at  Edison,  which  was  organized  by  his  predecessor.  To  aM  in  the 
missionary  work  with  the  Mexican  population  of  Bakersfield  an  assistant  pas- 
tor has  been  engaged,  whose  time  is  almost  wholly  given  to  that  department 
of  Christian  efTort. 

The  present  pastor,  to  whose  earnest,  sincere  and  self-denying  efforts 
much  of  the  present  gratifying  growth  of  the  church  may  be  attributed,  is  a 
member  of  a  family  long  and  honorably  identified  with  the  Baptist  denomina- 
tion. His  father.  Rev.  W.  W.  West,  a  Virginian  by  birth  and  a  member  of  a 
colonial  family  of  the  Old  Dominion  established  there  by  Scotch  forbears  long 
before  the  Revolutionary  war,  has  met  with  remarkable  success  in  the  Baptist 
ministry  in  West  Virginia,  where  he  has  the  record  of  having  baptized  more 
people  into  the  Baptist  Church  than  any  other  clergyman  in  the  entire  state. 
By  his  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  Underwood,  a  native  of  Franklin  County, 
Va.,  he  became  the  father  of  four  sons  and  three  daughters,  all  still  living 
except  two  of  the  sons.  The  eldest  child  in  the  family,  James  Samuel,  was  born 
at  Highpeak,  Franklin  county,  Va.,  March  17,  1875,  and  passed  the  years  of 
boyhood  in  West  Virginia,  where  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  began  to  teach  in  the 
country  district  of  his  home  county.  It  was  his  ambition  to  acquire  a  thorough 
education  and  with  that  end  in  view  he  carefully  hoarded  his  earnings,  so  that 
he  was  able  to  work  his  way  through  higher  institutions  of  learning.  In  1897 
he  matriculated  in  Doane  Academy,  the  preparatory  department  of  Denison 
University  at  Granville,  Ohio.  After  years  of  study  he  was  graduated  from 
the  university  in  1904  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  and  at  the  same  time  was 
licen:^ed  to  preach,  but  feeling  the  need  of  more  experience  and  further  study 
before  entering  the  ministr}-  he  accepted  a  position  with  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  of  Ohio  as  state  secretary.  In  that  office  he  inaugurated 
two  departments  of  the  state  work.  viz. :  the  county  department  and  the 
bituminous  coal  miners'  department,  both  of  which  he  pioneered  and  pro- 
moted by  personal  supervision. 

After  having  spent  eighteen  months  of  pleasant  and  profitable  labor  in 
the  work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  resigning  from  such 
service  Mr.  West  matriculated  in  the  Rochester  (N.  Y.)  Theological  Semin- 
ary. Upon  his  graduation  in  1908  he  returned  to  West  Virginia  and  at  West 
Union  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the  Baptist  denomination.  For  one 
year  he  served  as  pastor  at  West  Union,  after  which  he  spent  two  years  with 
the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Bucyrus,  Ohio.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  at 
East  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Miss  Helen  Elizabeth  Tufts,  who  was  born  in  Can- 
andaigua,  Ontario  county,  N.  Y.,  and  received  excellent  advantages  in  the 
academy  in  that  city.  With  his  wife  he  has  established  a  comfortable  home 
in  the  Bakersfield  Baptist  parsonage,  which  is  brightened  by  the  presence  of 
their  small  daughter,  Virginia  Aileen.  Since  coming  to  the  west  he  has 
identified  himself  with  the  Los  Angeles  Baptist  Association  and  the  Southern 
California  Baptist  State  convention.  In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  member- 
ship with  the  Tribe  of  Ben  Hur  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  while  during 
his  university  course  he  was  identified  with  the  Kappa  Sigma. 

VERNON  L.  UNDERWOOD.— The  growing  influence  of  Mr.  Under- 
wood as  a  citizen  of  Tehachapi  and  as  a  participant  in  the  railroad  service 
results  from  the  possession  of  qualifications  eminently  afla])ting  him  for  influ- 
ential identification  with  any  measure  or  movement  that  may  enlist  his  aid. 
As  agent  at  Tehachapi  for  the  Southern  Pacific  and  Santa  Fe  Railroads  he 
discharges  duties  of  importance  and  in  addition  he  serves  acce])tablv  as  local 
agent  for  the  \\'ells-Fargo  Express  Company. 

The  only  child  of  Philip  and  Anne  (Mathevvson)  Lawler,  \'erncMi  L. 
I'ndervvood  was  born  in  Pasadena,  Cal.,  September  3.  1888,  anfl  at  the  age 
of  nine  months  was  left  fatlierless.     Some  vears  later  his  mother  became  the 


718  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

wife  of  Dr.  Maro  F.  Underwood  and  the  boy  was  given  the  name  of  the 
step-father.  Phihp  Lawler,  who  was  a  native  of  Alaine,  enlisted  in  the  Union 
army  at  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  and  remained  at  the  front  until  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  service.  Later  he  came  to  California  and  engaged 
in  the  lumber  business  in  Mendocino  county.  Although  he  lived  until  1889 
and  never  relinquished  his  business  enterprises,  always  he  suffered  as  the 
result  of  his  war  service  and  the  hardships  of  that  period  were  the  direct 
cause  of  his  death.  His  wife,  who  was  born  in  Wilmington,  Del.,  and  who 
now  makes  her  home  with  her  only  child,  was  a  daughter  of  a  pioneer  of 
1849  who  had  come  across  the  plains  to  California  with  a  brave  band  of 
argonauts. 

Upon  completing  the  studies  of  the  Los  Angeles  grammar  and  high 
schools,  Vernon  L.  Underwood  entered  the  railroad  service,  his  first  work 
being  that  of  an  assistant  in  the  ticket  office  at  Lindsay,  Tulare  county,  where 
he  remained  for  eighteen  months  and  meantime  learned  much  of  value  to 
him  in  subsequent  positions.  From  Lindsay  he  was  sent  to  Oil  City  as  cashier 
and  chief  clerk,  and  later  became  agent :  and  afterwards  acted  as  agent  at 
Owenyo  for  eighteen  months.  During  May  of  1912  he  was  transferred  to 
Tehachapi  as  agent  for  the  Southern  Pacific  Company,  besides  which  he 
has  acted  as  Santa  Fe  agent  and  as  the  local  representative  of  the  Wells- 
Fargo  Express  Company. 

FRED  ALBERT  HILL.— Simeon  Smith  Hill  came  to  Kern  county 
in  1880,  having  worked  formerly  with  the  Great  Western  Quick  Silver 
Mine  in  Lake  county.  He  had  reached  Califi  rnia  from  the  East  in  1874.  He 
and  his  five  sons  followed  farming  in  Rosedale  district,  Kern  county,  two 
years,  but  the  venture  not  proving  a  success  Mr.  Hill  bought  eighty  acres 
in  another  section  of  Rosedale  district,  and  remained  there  until  the  death 
of  the  mother  in  1885,  when  he  sold  the  place  and  went  into  the  livery  busi- 
ness in  Bakersfield.  In  1888  he  sold  out  and  moved  to  Linns  Valley,  where 
he  became  engaged  in  farming,  three  years  later  moving  to  Golanagi  Springs, 
a  summer  resort  situated  three  miles  above  Democrat  Springs,  where  he 
stayed  for  a  short  time,  then  deciding  to  purchase  eighty  acres  of  land  in 
Linns  Valley.  Some  time  later  he  sold  his  place  here  and  again  launched 
into  the  livery  business,  but  he  finally  purchased  the  Democrat  Hot  Springs, 
which  he  afterward  sold  to  his  son,  D.  D. 

Fred  A.  Hill  was  born  in  Monmouth,  Warren  county.  111.,  November  1, 
1863,  and  attended  school  there.  He  came  with  his  parents  to  California  in 
1874  and  attended  public  schools  in  Lake  county,  this  state.  With  the  rest 
of  the  familv  he  came  to  Kern  county  October  13,  1880,  and  as  early  as  1882 
began  working  for  Haggin  &  Carr,  which  firm  is  now  known  as  the  Kern 
County  Land  Company.  Mr.  Hill  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  original 
company  and  its  successor  ever  since  1880  with  the  exception  of  two  years, 
when  he  was  in  the  livery  business  with  his  father.  In  1890  he  was  made 
foreman  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  and  in  1895  he  was  promoted 
to  assistant  to  C.  L.  Conner,  superintendent  of  the  Lakeside  ranch,  upon  whose 
death,  in  December,  1910,  Mr.  Hill  was  given  full  charge. 

Mr.  Hill  was  married  in  Bakersfield  August  9,  1903,  to  Miss  Edna  M. 
Baker,  a  native  of  Hanford,  Cal.  Her  father,  John  M.  Baker,  crossed  the 
plains  with  ox  teams  in  pioneer  days  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Hanford. 
He  now  resides  in  East  Bakersfield.  To  Air.  and  Mrs.  Hill  were  born  three 
children,  Milton  S.  S.,  Evelyn  Edna  and  Fred  Richard.  A  Democrat  in 
politics,  Mr.  Hill  is  conversant  with  all  the  subjects  of  the  day,  and  adheres 
closely  to  the  principles  of  his  partv.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the 
Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

C.  E.  GETCHELL.— .\  true  and  loyal"  son  of  the  great  west  is  Mr. 
Cetchell,  who  was  Iwrn  at  Helena,  Mont.,  December  18.  1866,  and  in  all  of 
his  long  life  has  ne\'er  been  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  but   with  charac- 


.^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  721 

teristic  energy  and  progressive  devotion  has  labored  for  the  material  upl)uilil- 
ing  of  his  section  of  the  country. 

The  distinction  of  being  the  second  white  child  and  the  first  white  boy 
born  in  what  is  now  the  state  of  IMontana  belongs  to  Mr.  (Jetchell,  the  first 
white  child  having  been  Anna  Flowerre.  His  father,  F.  S.  Getchell,  came 
to  California  via  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  landed  in  San  Francisco  in 
June  of  1850,  after  which  he  engaged  in  placer  mining  on  the  American 
river,  at  Sawmill  Flat,  Marysville,  Grass  Valley  and  other  places.  In 
Tuolumne  county  he  married  Mrs.  Sarah  (Sparks)  De  Noielle,  a  widow  with 
three  children.  Of  their  union  only  one  child,  Charles  E.,  was  born,  and 
he  passed  his  early  years  in  Montana,  where  the  elder  Getchell  was  an  historic 
character  and  prominent  pioneer  miner,  known  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  mountain  state  for  his  kindly  hospitality,  positive  convictions 
and  broad  knowledge  of  gold  mines. 

When  fourteen  years  of  age  C.  E.  Getchell  became  a  cowboy,  engaging 
with  the  D.  H.  S.  Cattle  Company.  During  1880  he  helped  to  drive  the  first 
band  of  cattle  into  the  now  celebrated  Judith  basin  country  in  Montana. 
For  five  years  he  rode  the  range  as  an  employe  of  the  same  organization, 
after  which  he  filled  a  similar  position  with  Daniel  Flowerre  for  two  years. 
In  that  way  he  became  familiar  with  the  entire  country,  besides  acquiring  a 
thorough  understanding  of  stock  and  a  really  remarkable  skill  as  a  rider. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  began  to  run  horses  for  himself,  beginning  on  a 
very  small  scale  and  by  degrees  rising  to  business  of  a  larger  nature.  Together 
with  his  half-brother,  R.  \\'.  De  Noielle,  and  J.  P.  Ketchum,  he  bought  out 
the  Holter  planing  mill  in  1888.  The  plant  was  enlarged  immediately  after 
its  purchase.  Everything  indicated  an  era  of  prosperity.  However,  there 
soon  broke  out  a  local  financial  depression  which  ultimately  involved  the 
whole  country  in  a  money  stringenc3^  and  in  1892  the  business  went  into 
the  hands  of  receivers. 

Forced  to  make  a  new  start  and  determined  to  seek  a  new  location,  Mr. 
Getchell  came  to  Calif(  rnia  and  arrived  in  Los  .\ngeles  in  June  of  1893  with 
only  $7  between  him  and  destitution.  Without  delay  he  was  able  to  secure 
work.  For  two  years  he  was  employed  in  the  real-estate  business.  Later 
he  secured  employment  with  a  large  company  dealing  in  electrical,  mining 
and  irrigation  machinery,  .'\fter  some  years  with  that  concern  he  resigned 
and  in  1902  became  connected  with  the  firm  of  Fairbanks,  Alorse  &  Co.,  in 
whose  interests  he  traveled  through  the  northern  ])art  of  Arizona,  selling  and 
installing  electrical,  mining  and  irrigation  machinery.  During  1903  he  was 
dispatched  to  Bakersfield  to  take  charge  of  the  local  interests  of  the  company's 
business  and  until  1906  he  served  efficiently  as  their  manager  at  this  point. 
Since  1906  he  has  engaged  in  the  automobile  livery  business,  catering  to  the 
local  passenger  trade.  At  Helena,  Mont.,  he  met  and  married  Miss  Ella  V., 
daughter  of  Joseph '  Walton,  of  that  city.  They  are  the  parents  of  three 
children,  Frances,  Willard  and  Virginia,  whose  presence  l)riglitens  the  elegant 
residence  erected  at  No.  2118  Eighteenth  street. 

The  fact  that  Mr.  Getchell  possesses  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  roads 
of  Kern  county  led  to  his  selection  in  January  of  1913  to  serve  on  a  committee 
of  three  to  investigate  and  report  to  the  board  of  supervisors  concerning  the 
roads  of  the  county.  The  task  demands  great  familiarity  with  all  parts  of 
the  county  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  Kern  county  is  larger  than  Con- 
necticut, Rhode  Island  and  Delaware  put  together,  it  will  be  seen  that  his 
study  of  conditions  has  been  broad  and  long-continued.  A  practical  system 
of  county  roads  will  cost  between  three  and  six  million  dollars,  so  that  the 
•  committee  of  three,  viz.:  A.  J.  Woody,  J.  L.  Evans  and  C.  E.  Getchell,  have  a 
tremendous  responsibility  placed  upon  them. 


722  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

DANIEL  BURKE. — One  of  the  men  who  have  achieved  success  in  Kern 
county  is  Daniel  Burke,  a  native  son  of  the  county,  born  twelve  miles  south- 
east of  Glennville,  January  18,  1867,  a  son  of  Daniel  Burke,  Sr.  The  father  was 
born  in  County  Mayo,  Ireland,  in  October,  1828,  and  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1849  and  to  California  in  1852.  Until  1864  he  followed  mining  i-i 
different  parts  of  the  state,  during  this  time  going  to  the  Frazier  river  mines 
in  British  Columbia  and  remaining  two  years.  In  the  meantime,'  in  1862,  he 
bought  a  land  claim  on  Little  Peso  creek,  and  in  1883,  after  a  survey  had  been 
made,  he  acquired  a  homestead  and  four  sections  of  railroad  land.  In  1889 
he  also  bought  land  in  the  Panama  district,  to  which  he  moved  in  1898,  but 
he  died  on  his  ranch  in  the  Greenhorn  mountains  in  August,  1900.  He  was  a 
man  of  prominence  in  his  time  and  locality,  who  had  much  to  do  with  pulilic 
affairs. 

Daniel  Burke,  Jr.,  attended  public  schouls  until  he  was  sixteen  years  old 
and  afterward  worked  on  his  father's  homestead  at  the  stock  business  and  on 
the  Burke  property  in  the  Panama  district.  The  present  place  of  forty  acres 
seven  miles  south  of  Bakersfield  was  bought  in  1902  and  Mr.  Burke  devotes 
it  to  raising  alfalfa  and  a  small  vineyard  of  choice  varieties  of  table  grapes. 

In  Hot  Springs  valley,  near  Havilah,  January  26,  1896.  Daniel  Burke 
married  Miss  Rose  Palmer,  who  was  born  near  Kernville,  September  29,  1874, 
and  they  have  a  son,  Palmer  Burke.  Robert  Palmer,  "Sirs.  Burke's  father, 
was  born  in  Christian  county,  Ky.,  May  7,  1823,  and  settled  at  Jacksonville, 
111.,  whence  he  came  in  1850  to  California  across  the  plains  on  horseback  and 
with  pack  mules.  For  ten  years  he  was  more  or  less  successful  in  placer 
mining  in  different  parts  of  the  state,  and  in  1860  he  came  to  the  Piute  moun- 
tains and  made  his  headquarters  there  while  he  prospected  and  mined  in 
Kern  county.  XA'hile  engaged  in  his  mining  ventures  he  also  carried  on  a 
stock  business,  establishing  his  home  on  the  ranch  in  Hot  Springs  valle}'  in 
1878,  and  there  he  died  in  1905,  when  he  was  eighty-two  years  of  age.  Fra- 
ternally Mr.  Burke  affiliates  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  the  Wood- 
men of  the  World,  politically  he  is  a  Republican,  and  with  his  wife  is  a  mem- 
ber of  St.  Francis  Catholic  Church. 

COL.  THOMAS  BAKER.— During  the  pioneer  period  of  the  history  of 
California  one  of  its  foremost  men  was  Col.  Thomas  Baker,  the  founder  of 
Bakersfield  and  the  original  owner  of  the  entire  town  site.  For  the  difficult 
task  of  frontier  upbuilding  he  was  qualified  by  temperament  and  experience. 
He  possessed  in  abundance  the  qualities  characteristic  of  the  progressive 
pioneer,  the  generosity  that  sacrifices  its  own  •  needs  for  the  welfare  of 
others  and  the  hospitality  that  finds  a  friend  in  every  home-seeker.  To  an 
unusual  degree  he  possessed  foresight  and  sagacious  judgment.  When 
first  he  rode  over  the  broad  expanse  of  country  where  Bakersfield  now 
stands  as  a  commercial  metropolis  he  pointed  out  the  vast  possibilities  of  the 
region  and  asserted  that  some  day  a  large  city  would  stand  on  this  site. 
Further  than  that,  he  pointed  out  the  line  of  a  railroad  and  the  exact  point 
where  it  would  pass  through  the  Tehachapi  mountains.  When  finally  the 
railroad  was  built  it  was  remembered  by  others  that  it  followed  the  course 
of  his  prediction.  In  addition  he  predicted  that  some  day  oil  would  be 
produced  in  this  \^alley,  although  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  even  his  vivid 
imagination  grasped  the  enormous  magnitude  of  the  industry  in  the  twen- 
tieth century.  With  a  broad  and  prophetic  vision  he  united  a  kind-hearted 
helpfulness  and  unwearied  hospitality.  To  strangers  he  was  very  hospitable, 
even  when  hard  pressed  for  money  himself  and  more  than  once  he  gave  to 
newcomers  a  sack  of  flour  when  he  did  not  have  the  means  to  buy  another 
for  his  family  use.  Travelers  were  entertained  in  his  adobe  house  and  their 
horses  were  fed  in  his  corral,  nor  was  a  charge  ever  made  for  feed  or  board.  • 
Although  he  had  acquired  large  tracts  of  land  he  used  these  not  for  his  own 


Ct^^>^ 


/Jd  ^<^^<-i^^^--^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  725 

profit,  but  t(i  induce  others  to  settle  thereon.  Often  he  would  dcmate  to  an 
industrious  settler  a  quarter-section  of  land  and  many  a  time  he  gave  away 
town  lots  to  promising  but  poor  young  business  men.  Indeed,  some  of  the 
best  business  locations  in  Bakersfield  were  donated  by  him  without  any  pay 
whatever.  In  his  intense  desire  to  see  the  country  settled  he  gave  away  all 
of  his  lands  with  the  exception  of  eighty  acres  on  O  street  and  this  after 
his  death  was  sold  in  lots  by  his  widow.  When  finally  death  terminated  his 
activities,  November  24,  1872  (a  date  memorable  in  American  history  as  that 
of  the  demise  of  Horace  Greeley)  the  success  of  the  town  was  assured  and 
Bakersfield  proudly  claimed  a  piipulation  of  five  hundred  souls. 

The  title  by  which  Thomas  Baker  was  known  throughout  all  of  his 
adult  life  came  to  him  through  his  service  as  a  colonel  in  the  state  militia 
of  Ohio  before  he  had  attained  his  majority.  Born  in  1810  in  Muskingum 
county,  Ohio,  he  claimed  as  his  birthplace  the  picturesque  valley  through 
which  the  Ohio  canal  extends  and  which  was  made  famous  in  history  on 
account  of  the  identification  therewith  of  the  Rosecrans  and  Sheridan 
families  as  well  as  others  of  note.  During  youth  he  lived  on  a  farm.  Be- 
sides becoming  familiar  with  agriculture  he  gained  a  practical  knowledge 
of  surveying  and  also  studied  law  with  the  intention  of  making  land  law  his 
specialty.  Shortly  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  removed  to  Illinois, 
but  in  a  short  time  crossed  the  Mississippi  river  into  the  territory  of  Iowa. 
During  May  of  1837  he  was  driven  away  by  the  Indians  who  burned  his 
cabin,  but  in  about  one  year  he  returned.  In  the  autumn  of  1838  he  settled 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  site  of  Washington,  Iowa.  Without  question 
he  had  reached  a  point  further  west  than  the  location  of  any  other  white 
settler  in  that  part  of  the  Black  Hawk  purchase.  Frequently  he  had  be- 
friended the  Indians  and  finally,  at  the  time  of  the  Black  Hawk  uprising, 
the}-  repaid  his  kindness  to  them,  warning  him  of  the  coming  trouble  and 
thus  saving  the  family  while  other  white  settlers  were  massacred. 

The  distinction  of  being  the  first  United  States  district  attorney  of  the 
territory  of  Iowa  came  to  Colonel  Baker,  who  held  the  office  until  the  adop- 
tion of  the  state  constitution.  Elected  to  the  first  legislature  of  the  new 
state,  on  the  organization  of  that  body  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  senate. 
thus  becoming  ex  officio  the  first  lieutenant-governor  of  Iowa.  Subsequently 
he  was  re-elected  several  times  to  the  state  senate.  No  man  had  a  larger 
^hare  than  he  in  the  early  legislation  of  that  great  commonwealth.  Many 
of  the  important  laws  still  on  the  statute  books  of  Iowa  were  devised  and 
drafted  by  him.  While  he  was  becoming  prominent  and  successful  in  Iowa, 
the  love  of  adventure  lured  him  to  the  western  coast  after  the  discovery  of 
gold.  During  the  fall  of  1850  he  arrived  at  Benicia,  Cal.,  but  after  a  few 
months  he  left  that  town  for  the  vicinity  of  Stockton  and  during  1852  he 
removed  to  Tulare  county,  where  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  town  of 
Visalia.  There  in  1857  he  married  Miss  Ellen  Alverson.  Four  children  of 
that  union  lived  to  mature  years.  Mary  E.,  who  died  May  24,  1894,  was  the 
wife  of  Henry  A.  Jastro,  of  Bakersfield,  chairman  of  the  board  of  super- 
visors of  Kern  county  and  one  of  the  foremost  men  of  California.  Thomas  A. 
is  now  sheriff  of  Kern  county.  Nellie,  Mrs.  Cowgill,  died  in  Bakersfield 
May  6,  1887.  The  only  surviving  daughter,  Charlotte  E.,  is  the  wife  of 
John  M.  Jameson  and  resides  in  Bakersfield,  her  mother,  now  Mrs.  Tracy, 
being  an  inmate  of  her  home  since  her  second  widowhood. 

Elected  in  1855  to  represent  his  district  in  the  state  legislature.  Colonel 
Baker  gave  satisfactory  .service  in  that  capacity.  During  1858  he  was  ap- 
pointed receiver  of  the  new  land  office  at  Visalia  and  held  the  position  under 
the  administration  of  President  Buchanan.  During  the  legislative  sessions  of 
1861-62  he  served  as  senator  from  Fresno  and  Tulare  counties.  About  that 
time,  in  partnership  with  Harvey  Brown,  he  purchased  the  swamp  land 
franchise  granted  to  Montgomery  Brothers,  including  the  odd  sections  of  all 


726  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  swaiup  lands  extending  from  Kern  river  aronnd  by  the  lakes  and 
connected  by  the  sloughs,  reaching  northward  to  Fresno  on  the  San  Joaquin 
river.  The  original  grant  contemplated  the  construction  of  navigable  canals 
through  the  entire  length  of  this  section  of  the  state,  but  the  plan  was 
found  impracticable  and  the  legislature  released  the  grantees  from  that  part 
of  their  obligation.  September  20,  1863,  Colonel  Baker  arrived  on  Kern 
Island  with  his  family  preparatory  to  commencing  the  work  of  reclamation, 
remarking  at  his  arrival,  "Here  at  last  I  have  found  a  resting  place  and  here 
I  expect  to  lay  my  bones."  The  country  was  neither  new  nor  strange  to  him. 
Several  years  before  he  had  explored  it  carefully  and  noted  its  possibilities. 
At  a  glance  he  had  realized  the  peculiar  advantages  of  the  country  and 
its  natural  resources.  From  the  time  of  his  arrival  until  his  death,  November 
24,  1872,  he  was  ever  ready  to  promote  the  advancement  of  the  country 
and  maintained  an  intense  interest  in  the  village  which  bore  his  name.  In 
the  early  days  money  was  scarce  and  supplies  not  too  abundant,  but.  for- 
getful of  self,  he  was  ever  ready  to  aid  newcomers.  Acknowledging  every- 
one as  entitled  to  his  consideration,  he  never  allowed  a  man  to  leave  his 
house  hungry.  The  stranger  always  received  a  cordial  welcome.  So  genial 
was  his  hospitality  that  his  guests  never  suspected  that  the  stores  could  be 
exhausted  nor  did  they  realize  how  he  denied  himself  in  order  that  they 
might  have  enough.  Coolness  of  temper  and  uniform  good  nature  char- 
acterized him.  Nothing  disturbed  his  equanimity.  However  he  might  feel 
to  have  his  motive  impugned  and  his  friends  unmindful,  he  did  not  allow 
such  matters  to  disturb  his  disposition.  When  his  favorite  projects  miscar- 
ried he  retained  his  self-poise.  His  motto  was  "Time  will  always  justify 
a  man  who  means  to  do  right."  How  true  this  statement  is  both  ancient 
and  modern  history  reveals.  He  considered  that  rational  beings  should  not 
indulge  in  vain  regrets  or  useless  worries.  Whatever  ill  he  suffered  (and 
he  endured  his  share  of  hardships  and  misunderstandings)  his  friends  could 
not  see  that  he  brooded  over  them.  This  quality  of  mind  enabled  him  often 
to  gain  the  master}'  over  adverse  circumstances,  but  it  also  made  him  indif- 
ferent to  frequent  financial  losses.  Fortunes  were  made  and  lost  with  indif- 
ference. In  owning  land  his  sole  ambition  was  to  make  it  fit  for  the  sup- 
port of  families.  His  absorbing  desire  was  to  see  the  vast  tracts  reclaimed 
and  covered  with  the  permanent  improvements  made  by  new  settlers.  In 
his  gifts  to  homesteaders  he  displayed  greater  liberality  than  the  govern- 
ment itself.  Being  the  original  owner  of  the  town  site  of  Bakersfield,  he 
might  have  acquired  great  wealth  therefrom,  but  instead  he  donated  some 
of  the  best  business  locations  and  by  his  liberality  secured  the  erection  of  a 
number  of  the  first  buildings  in  the  village.  While  pointing  out  to  these 
pioneers  how  they  might  attain  wealth  he  remained  indifferent  to  the  allure- 
ments of  fortune,  but  evinced  the  financial  carelessness  characteristic  of  many 
of  the  greatest  pioneers  of  the  west,  losing  sight  of  his  own  personal  ad- 
vancement in  his  patriotic  devotion  to  the  development  of  the  country.  His 
personal  characteristics  came  to  him  as  an  inheritance  from  an  honored  old 
Virginian  family  of  English  extraction.  His  father,  Thomas,  was  a  soldier 
in  the  war  of  1812  and  his  great-grandfather,  Thomas,  was  a  participant  in 
the  Revolution,  while  he  inherited  their  valor  and  patriotic  spirit,  but  when 
the  Civil  war  came  he  was  prevented  from  participation  by  reason  of  the 
California  quota  being  more  than  full  as  well  as  by  reason  of  his  own  age, 
which  was  beyond  the  limits  of  military  service.  However,  he  served  his 
country  loyally  and  well,  although  it  was  not  his  privilege  to  bear  arms 
on  the  field  of  battle,  but  by  the  development  of  unreclaimed  lands,  by  the 
building  up  of  a  community  and  by  the  advancement  of  progressive  civic 
enterprises,  he  proved  himself  most  loyal  to  the  land  of  his  nativity  and'  the 
country  of  his  adoption. 


^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  729 

JOSEPH  E.  YANCEY.— The  suburban  community  known  as  Broad 
Ripple,  which  then  was  adjacent  to  and  now  forms  a  portion  of  the  city  of 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  made  an  interesting  environment  for  the  early  years  of 
Joseph  E.  Yancey,  who  was  born  on  a  farm  at  that  place  March  12,  1860, 
being  a  son  of  Joseph  A.  Yancey,  a  Kentuckian,  who  became  well-known 
among  the  stock-raisers  in  the  vicinity  of  Indianapolis.  In  that  cit\'  he  was 
educated,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  started  out  for  himself,  working  at 
\arious  occupations  until  he  came  to  California  in  1880  and  settled  at  Bakers- 
field.  I'or  two  winters  he  carried  on  his  studies  in  the  Crocker  school,  while  in 
the  intervening  summers  he  was  employed  as  a  clerk  or  farm  hand.  During 
the  year  1882  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company, 
then  known  by  the  firm  title  of  Haggin  &  Carr,  and  for  three  years  he 
acted  as  superintendent  of  their  Mountain  View  ranch,  after  which  for  two 
years  he  followed  mining  at  the  Long  Tom  mine.  A  subsequent  experience 
lasting  two  years  as  roadmaster  of  the  Sumner  road  district  was  followed  by 
employment  in  teaming,  general  contracting  and  building  canals  for  the 
Kern  County  Land  Company  and  for  the  Southern  California  Construction 
Company  at  Barstow.  The  business  of  a  contractor  filled  his  time  and  kept 
him  busily  occupied  until  July,  1899,  when  he  discontinued  in  order  to  be- 
come street  superintendent  of  Bakersfield.  In  that  capacity  he  served  for 
twelve  consecutive  years  or  until  after  the  consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and 
Kern  into  one  city.  In  addition  to  filling  that  position  he  also  served  as 
city  health  officer  and  plumbing  inspector.  In  an  official  capacity  he  proved 
prompt,  efficient,  reliable  and  intelligent  and  the  difficult  duties  of  his  re- 
sponsible post  were  discharged  with  exactness  and  to  the  general  satisfac- 
tion. Since  resigning  as  street  superintendent  he  has  resumed  contracting 
and  building  and  now  makes  a  siiecialty  nf  general  contracting  and  building. 
The  supervision  of  his  building  nperatinns  consumes  all  of  his  ;ime.  although 
he  is  also  interested  in  the  }\IcKittrick  r)il  Compan}-  and  in  oil  lands  in  the 
Temblor  and  McKittrick  districts. 

Fraternal  connections  have  been  formed  by  Mr.  Yancey  with  the  Benev- 
olent Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 
Politically  he  votes  with  the  Republican  part\-.  .Stmie  years  after  he  came 
to  Kern  county  he  married  Miss  Rose  L.  Williams,  who  was  born  in  Fort 
Scott.  Kan.,  but  came  to  California  at  an  early  age  and  received  a  superior 
education  in  the  schools  of  this  state.  From  an  early  age  she  has  been  a 
devoted  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  in  the  faith  of  that 
denomination  she  reared  her  adopted  daughter,  Lena,  now  Mrs.  Harvey 
DeWar,  of  Bakersfield.  Her  parents,  George  and  Achsah  (Riggs)  Wil- 
liams, were  identified  with  pioneer  agricultural  interests  in  Kansas,  but  left 
that  state  in  1875  to  identify  themselves  with  the  Pacific  coast  country. 
The  beautiful  philanthropic  spirit  which  throughout  life  has  been  a  leading 
element  in  the  character  of  Rlrs.  Yancey  led  her  to  take  up  work  among 
the  homeless  children  and  waifs  of  Bakersfield,  and  in  co-operation  with  Mrs. 
Coolbaugh  she  started  the  Kern  County  Children's  Shelter,  which  from  the 
first  has  proved  a  most  important  undertaking  and  has  increased  in  size  to 
such  an  extent  that  about  forty-five  children  are  now  cared  for  by  the  or- 
ganization. After  the  plan  first  became  merged  into  definite  form  Mrs. 
Yancey  officiated  as  superintendent  of  the  shelter,  having  the  movement  in 
charge  for  three  years  during  the  building  of  the  new  Home,  and  when  com- 
pleted she  resigned  on  account  of  a  nervous  break-down.  However,  it  was 
largely  due  to  her  efforts  and  self-sacrificing  and  constant  assistance  that  its 
success  may  be  attributed. 

J.  B.  CARTER.— As  a  trusted  employe  of  the  San  Joaquin  Light  and 
Power  Ciirpnration  Air.  Carter  is  associated  with  the  development  of 
the  valley,  particularly  the  West  Side  oil  fields,  where  he  serves  as  district 
manager  and  agent  for  the  corporation.    The  distinction  of  being  a  native  son 


730  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

of  the  great  commonwealth  belongs  to  him.  He  was  born  and  reared  in  San 
Francisco,  spending,  however,  a  portion  of  the  years  of  his  youth  in  Fresno, 
where  he  completed  the  studies  of  the  grammar  school.  His  father,  B.  B. 
Carter,  an  Englishman  by  birth  and  family,  for  years  held  a  position  as  steam- 
ship steward  on  a  vessel  out  from  San  Francisco,  but  is  now  living  a  retired 
life  in  Fresno,  where  some  years  ago  occurred  the  death  of  the  wife  and  mother, 
Margaret  (Gill)  Carter,  a  member  of  an  old  family  of  Irish  lineage. 

Having  been  employed  at  various  occupations  in  Fresno  during  early  life, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-three  J.  B.  Carter  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  secured 
employment  with  the  old  Market  Street  Railroad  Company.  In  the  capacities 
of  conductor  and  mutorman  he  remained  with  the  same  company  for  fourteen 
years.  Meanwhile  he  made  a  record  for  fidelity,  trustworthiness  and  efficiency. 
During  1902  he  left  San  Francisco  and  went  back  to  Fresno,  where  he 
engaged  as  a  conductor  on  the  Fresno  city  railway.  The  following  year, 
when  the  Fresno  Street  Railroad  Company  was  taken  over  by  the  San  Joaquin 
Light  and  Power  Corporation,  he  remained  with  the  new  owners  of  the 
property,  taking  with  them,  however,  a  somewhat  diiTerent  position  from 
any  in  which  he  had  previously  served,  viz. :  that  of  collector  of  electric 
light  and  water  bills.  For  three  and  one-half  years  he  served  as  collector 
and  then,  in  recognition  of  energy  and  ability,  was  promoted  to  the  newly 
organized  business  and  extension  department.  From  there,  January  15,  1910, 
he  was  sent  to  take  charge  of  the  corporation  interests  in  Taft  and  the  Mid- 
way fields.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  in  1897  in  San  Francisco  Miss  Alice 
Ball,  a  native  of  Butte  county,  and  she  accompanied  him  in  his  removal  to 
Taft,  where  he  still  maintains  his  headquarters.  That  his  work  possesses  the 
highest  importance  from  the  standpoint  of  development  and  expansion  of  the 
corporation  lines  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  from  1910  to  1912  he  had  charge 
of  the  building  of  more  than  sixty  miles  of  distributing  line  in  the  West  Side 
oil  fields,  a  work  involving  vast  expense  and  assiduous  labor,  but  promising 
large  returns  in  the  increased  business  secured  under  his  able  management. 

HERBERT  ALLEN  BALLAGH,  D.  D.  S.— The  Ballagh  family,  whose 
representatives  occupy  positions  of  prominence  in  Kern  county  and  have  at- 
tained enviable  reputation  for  intellectual  worth,  possesses  in  Dr.  Ballagh  of 
Maricopa  a  member  with  the  ambition  and  energy  to  add  prestige  to  the 
honored  family  name.  A  lifelong  resident  of  the  west,  he  is  a  typical  Cali- 
fornian  in  aspirations,  impulses  and  loyalty.  The  fact  that  his  father  has  been 
a  Presbyterian  minister  and  therefore  stationed  in  difTerent  parts  of  the  pres- 
bytery, gave  to  him  in  early  youth  a  knowledge  of  various  sections  of  the 
state  and  a  familiarity  with  the  general  work  of  industrial,  agricultural  and 
commercial  progress. 

During  the  residence  of  the  family  at  Red  Bluff  Dr.  Ballagh  was  born 
May  7,  1886,  being  a  son  of  Rev.  Robert  and  Elizabeth  (Gotz)  Ballagh,  now 
residents  of  Bakersfield.  After  years  of  prominent  service  in  the  Presb3^terian 
denomination  the  father  to  some  extent  has  retired,  but  he  still  ministers  to 
the  congregation  at  Glenville  and  maintains  a  deep  interest  in  matters  affect- 
ing the  Work,  both  local  and  general.  While  successful  in  ministerial  labors, 
he"  and  his  wife  were  no  less  fortunate  in  the  training  and  education  of  their 
seven  children  and  justly  felt  proud  of  the  splendid  mentality  displayed  by 
them.  The  eldest  son,  A.  Scott,  is  engaged  in  the  life  insurance  business  at 
Fresno.  The  second  son,  Charles  E.,  of  the  Kern  river  oil  fields,  is  superin- 
tendent of  the  Four-Oil  and  Apollo  Oil  Companies;  R.  G.  carries  on  a  real- 
estate  business  in  Bakersfield ;  T.  E.,  city  clerk  of  Maricopa,  is  also  engaged 
in  the  real-estate  business;  C.  S.,  of  East  Bakersfield,  is  a  druggist  and  one  of 
the  proprietors  of  the  Kern  Drug  Company ;  Herbert  Allen  was  the  sixth  son  ; 
the  only  daughter,  Ahlida,  is  a  teacher  in  the  Bakersfield  grammar  schools. 

Although  living  in  a  number  of  towns  during  different  years  of  his  boy- 


{h^irM^^^^^  >HJ3. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  733 

hood,  Dr.  Ballagh  was  a  resident  for  the  most  part  of  Portersville,  where  he 
attended  the  grammar  school  and  took  the  first  year  of  high-school  work. 
Later  he  was  graduated  from  the  Fresno  high  school.  From  Fresno  he  came 
to  the  Kern  river  fields  and  worked  as  a  pumper  on  the  Imperial  and  33  lease- 
holds, also  on  the  San  Joaquin  division  of  the  Associated  Oil  Ct.mpany.  Mean- 
while he  frugally  saved  his  earnings  in  order  to  assist  in  the  payment  of  his 
expenses  while  studying  dentistry.  September  6,  1'  06,  at  the  age  of  twenty 
years,  he  matriculated  in  the  University  of  Southern  California,  where  he  took 
the  full  course  of  three  years,  graduating  in  1909  with  the  degree  of  D.  D.  S. 
Immediately  after  graduation  he  came  to  Alaricopa  and  entered  upon  profes- 
sional work.  Soon  after  the  Maricopa  fire  in  1910  he  and  his  brother,  E.  E.. 
erected  a  substantial  concrete  building,  50x40,  on  California  street,  centrally 
located,  and  divided  into  two  store  rt)oms  and  fiur  ofilices,  his  own  office  being 
located  in  this  bluck. 

THADDEUS  W.  HELM,  M.D.— Dr.  Helm  was  born  at  Elkrun,  Fauquier 
county.  V"a.,  October  14.  1850,  a  S(  n  of  John  G.  and  Pauline  (Jones)  Helm. 
In  both  lines  of  descent  he  came  of  old  and  honored  Virginian  families 
and  in  the  paternal  line  he  traced  his  ancestry  to  Wales.  When  he  was 
yet  but  a  boy  he  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Blackwater.  Cooper  county, 
Mo.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  when  he  was  eighteen  became  a  traveling 
salesman.  Four  years  later  he  went  to  Texas  and  there  became  a  school 
teacher  and  a  medical  student.  Eventually  he  entered  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  the  L'niversitv  of  Missouri  at  Columbia,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated with  the  degree  of  M.  D.  in  1877. 

It  was  at  Brookston,  Tex.,  that  Dr.  Helm  began  his  medical  practice. 
After  a  brief  experience  there  he  removed  to  Ballinger,  in  the  same  state, 
where  he  practiced  with  much  success  for  about  ten  years.  Sometimes  he 
traveled  sixty  or  seventy  miles  on  horseback  to  see  patients,  carrying  his 
medicine  and  a  few  surgical  appliances  in  his  saddle-bags.  As  he  attained 
prominence  as  a  physician  he  won  admiration  as  a  man  and  popularity  as  a 
citizen  and  the  office  of  coroner  of  his  county  was  conferred  upon  him.  In 
1888  he  came  to  Lemoore,  Kings  county,  Cal..  where  he  labored  professionally 
until  in  1891,  when  he  settled  in  Bakersfield.  His  office  was  long  located 
on  Nineteenth  street,  but  eventually  he  removed  it  to  the  Producers  Bank 
Building.  In  California,  as  he  had  been  in  Texas,  he  was  called  by  his  ad- 
miring fellow-citizens  to  places  of  trust  and  honor  and  he  filled  the  offices 
of  coroner  and  public  administrator  of  Kern  county.  In  his  political  afifilia- 
tions  he  was  a  Democrat,  and  was  active  as  a  member  of  the  Fraternal 
Brotherhood,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the  Encampment  and 
Canton,  being  captain  of  the  last  mentioned.  He  was  an  active  member  of 
the  Kern  County  Medical  Society,  of  which  he  was  twice  elected  president 
and  of  which  he  was  vice-president  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
November  1,  1910.  He  was  long  identified  also  with  the  California  State 
Medical  Association  and  with  the  American  Medical  Association.  A  believer 
in  the  evangelical  religion  and  in  the  ministry  of  the  church  for  the  physical 
benefit  of  men,  he  was  an  admirer  of  General  Booth,  and  his  method  of  work 
for  humanity. 

In  Paris,  Texas,  November  27,  1879,  Dr.  Helm  married  Miss  Mollie 
Hatha-way,  a  native  of  that  town.  She  was  a  daughter  of  T-  ^^^  Hathaway 
and  a  granddaughter  of  William  M.  Hathaway,  natives  of  Virginia  and  mem- 
bers of  an  old  Southern  family  which  traced  its  descent  from  English  an- 
cestry. Her  father,  who  removed  to  ]\Iissouri.  and  thence  to  Paris.  Tex., 
was  a  farmer  and  a  well-known  and  popular  merchant  near  Paris.  In  the 
course  of  events  he  removed  to  Ballinger.  Tex.,  where  he  died.  During  the 
Civil  war  he  was  a  gallant  officer  in  the  Confederate  army.  His  wife,  who 
before  her  marriage  was  Miss  Naomi  Yarnell,  was  born  at  Nashville,  Tenn., 
and  died  in  Texas.     Her  father.  William  Yarnell,  a  native  of  England,  was 


734  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

a  planter  in  Tennessee,  and  later  in  Moniteau  county,  Mo.,  where  he  passed 
away.  Mrs.  Helm  grew  to  womanhood  in  Paris,  Tex.,  and  was  duly  gradu- 
ated from  Shiloh  Academy.  The  children  born  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Helm  are 
Lena,  Thaddeus  W.,  Jr.,  De  Witt  T.,  Homer  H.  and  Francis.  Thaddeus  W., 
Jr.,  was  educated  as  a  mining  engineer  at  San  Francisco.  Mrs.  Helm  is  a 
member  of  the  Rebekahs,  of  which  she  is  past  officer,  is  president  of  the  Fra- 
ternal Brotherhood,  and  is  an  active  member  of  the  Salvation  Army. 

L.  T.  THOMPSON.— One  of  the  most  capable  and  enterprising  citizens 
of  Bakersfield,  who  has  won  a  wide  reputation  for  his  exceptional  capability 
in  the  execution  of  his  duties  as  superintendent  in  the  oil  fields,  is  L.  T. 
Thompson,  who  has  supervision  of  the  INIonte  Cristo  Oil  &  Development 
Company  and  the  West  Shore  Oil  Company,  both  in  the  Kern  river  oil  fields, 
and  the  Monte  Cristo  Oil  and  Development  Company  at  Maricopa,  as  well  as 
the  Marion  Oil  Company  at  Taft.  All  of  these  are  operated  independently  of 
the  Standard  and  Union  Companies,  and  are  among  the  heaviest  producers  in 
Kern  county. 

Born  at  Roseburg,  Ore.,  December  14,  1880,  Mr.  Thompson  was  given 
the  opportunity  of  a  good  educational  training,  being  sent  to  the  public 
schools  and  then  to  business  college  at  San  Francisco,  where  was  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  business  knowledge.  His  first  position  was  that  of  stenog- 
rapher for  Fink  &  Schindler;  he  also  kept  their  books,  and  some  time  later 
he  became  private  secretary  for  Lieutenant  Ballanger,  in  the  department  of 
Quartermaster  General,  of  San  Francisco,  where  he  remained  for  a  year. 
Mr.  Thompson's  ambitions  led  him  to  look  for  a  broader  field  of  labor,  and 
he  was  attracted  by  an  advertisement  of  an  attorney  in  San  Francisco,  Henry 
Ach,  president  of  the  Monte  Cristo  Oil  Company,  who  was  searching  for 
a  competent  bookkeeper  and  stenographer  for  the  work  in  the  Kern  river 
oil  fields.  He  procured  the  position  and  came  to  the  oil  field  in  1903  to  take 
up  the  work  there,  at  which  time  the  Monte  Cristo  had  forty  wells. 

Mr.  Thompson's  interest  in  the  real  work  of  the  oil  fields  was  imme- 
diately aroused  and  he  became  anxious  to  know  more  of  the  actual  workings 
of  the  business.  At  the  same  time  he  knew  that  the  only  way  to  accomplish 
this  was  to  begin  practically  at  the  bottom  and  work  his  way  to  the  top 
by  actually  doing  the  work  himself.  It  was  at  this  time  that  his  wife  came  to 
his  rescue,  for  taking  up  his  work  as  bookkeeper  and  stenographer  she 
familiarized  herself  with  all  his  system  of  work  and  the  details  of  the  busi- 
ness, in  order  that  her  husband  might  go  to  work  as  a  laborer.  He  began 
as  a  tool-dresser  and  all  'round  man  for  the  company  at  Maricopa,  then  became 
driller  there,  and  so  well  did  he  fill  those  positions  that  he  was  put  on  as 
drilling  foreman,  which  he  occupied  until  1908.  At  this  time  he  received 
the  position  of  foreman  of  the  Monte  Cristo  Company,  but  he  soon  after 
was  given  the  superintendency,  as  he  was  then  recognized  as  authority  on 
the  work.  He  is  now  the  general  superintendent  of  all  their  divisions,  and 
his  practical  knowledge  of  the  work  has  made  him  invaluable  to  his  company. 
He  is  firm  and  just  with  his  workers,  keen  and  thorough  in  all  his  executions, 
and  an  upright,  honorable  man  in  all  his  dealings.  The  Monte  Cristo's  offi- 
cers are  as  follows:  Henry  Ach,  an  attorney  of  San  Francisco,  president; 
I.  L.  Rosenthal,  a  wholesale  shoe  man  of  San  Francisco,  vice-president; 
A.  A.  Power,  of  San  Francisco,  secretary,  and  L.  T.  Thompson,  general  super- 
intendent. The  London,  Paris  &  American  Bank  of  San  Francisco  is  their 
treasurer.  The  Monte  Cristo  employs  fifty  men,  and  its  daily  pay  roll  is 
$128;  the  West  Shore  twenty-two  men,  and  its  daily  pay  roll  is  $60;  the 
Monte  Cristo  Company  at  Maricopa  twenty-five  men,  and  their  daily  pay 
roll  is  $70;  and  at  the  Marion  Company,  at  Taft,  there  are  two  men.  The 
Monte  Cristo  Oil  Company  has  acquired  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  at  Lost 


^ 


^ 


^ 

4 


HISTORY    OF    KEUX    COUNTY  737 

Hills  by  deed,  and  one  hundred  and  one  acres  in  the  h'ullertdu  nil  fields  under 
lease,  which  will  be  developed  in  the  near  future. 

Mr.  Thompson  was  married  in  1'07  to  Miss  Mabel  Crosland,  and  they 
are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Louis  T.,  jr.  Their  home  is  on  the  Monte  Cristo 
lease.  Air.  Thompson  has  prn\c(l  himself  tt)  be  a  man  of  thrift  and  has  in- 
vested in  six  houses  in  I'akersfield.     lie  is  a  Mason  and  a  Republican. 

DOMITILO  CASTRO.— In  HermosilK',  Sonora.  Me.xico,  n<.mitilo  Cas- 
tro was  born  May  3.  1857,  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Concepcion  (X'ordnado') 
Castro,  both  natives  of  Sonora.  Mexico. 

Thomas  Castro,  the  father,  was  born  in  Banamichi.  Mexico,  and  in  1867 
brou,c:ht  his  family  to  Kern  county,  Cal..  where  he  started  in  the  stockraising 
business,  locatin.s:  about  three  miles  southwest  of  the  present  town  of  Bakers- 
field,  on  sections  twelve,  thirty  and  twenty-seven.  He  here  pre-empted  a 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  later  homesteaded  a  like  acreasje  in  Mt.  Breck- 
enridtje.  having  at  the  time  a  large  number  of  cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  ho.gs. 
His  death  occurred  January  14,  1900,  when  he  was  seventy-three  years  old, 
and  he  was  buried  in  Union  cemetery,  where  his  wife  had  also  been  laid  to 
rest.  Mrs.  Castro,  also  born  near  Banamichi,  Mexico,  was  the  daughter  of 
Jesus  Coronado.  who  came  to  California  in  1877,  soon  returning  to  Mexico, 
where  he  passed  awav.   Her  death  occurred  in  Bakersfield  April  25,  1896. 

Nine  children,  eight  sons  and  one  daughter,  were  born  to  Thomas  Castro 
and  his  wife,  as  follows:  Ramona.  widow  of  L.  O.  Castro,  residing  in  Kern 
City;  r^ee,  a  stockman  near  Bakersfield;  Domitilo,  mentioned  below;  Manuel, 
who  died  near  Bakersfield;  Thomas  C,  a  farmer  and  stockman  of  this  city; 
Perfecto  C.  who  is  in  the  hotel  business  at  Lost  Hills;  and  Luciano  A., 
E.  P..  and  Emilio.  are  farmers  and  stockmen  near  Bakersfield. 

Domitilo  Castro  remained  on  his  father's  home  farm  and  followed  stock- 
raising  for  many  years  after  he  had  left  the  public  schools.  In  1879  he  mar- 
ried and  bought  an  ei.ghty-acre  ranch  in  sections  nineteen,  thirty  and  twenty- 
eight,  on  Union  avenue,  about  six  miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  Here  he  en- 
gaged in  farming,  making  a  specialty  of  raising  alfalfa,  later  raised  cattle, 
hogs,  horses  and  mules,  and  the  land  is  now  seeded  to  alfalfa.  The  ranch  is 
under  the  Kern  Island  ditch.  The  homestead  now  consists  of  one  hundred 
and  sixtv  acres  near  the  mouth  of  Ft.  Tejon  canyon,  which  he  proved  up  and 
improved  for  a  stock  range.  After  proving  up  he  leased  the  place  and  located 
in  East  Bakersfield  in  order  to  give  his  children  better  educational  facilities. 
Since  then  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  cattle  business  on  his  father's  estate 
in  the  Breckenridge  mountains.  The  brand  which  he  uses.  DC,  is  being 
recorded. 

In  January,  1911,  after  renting  his  ranch,  Mr.  Castro  built  a  home  in 
Bakersfield  on  an  acre  of  ground,  at  No.  1101  Brown  street,  and  he  also  owns 
other  property.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  September  6,  187*^,  in  Bakersfield. 
was  before  her  m.arria,ge.  Lucy  Cage.  She  was  born  in  Berryessa.  Napa 
countv,  the  daughter  of  Edward  Ca.ge.  who  was  born  in  ]\Tississippi  and 
served  in  the  Mexican  war.  Mr.  Cage  came  across  the  plains  with  ox  teams 
in  1849.  settling  in  Napa  county,  where  he  followed  farming  for  a  time,  then 
removing  to  Los  Angeles.  Later  he  was  a  farmer  near  Bakersfield,  but 
finally  he  returned  to  Napa  county,  where  he  died  when  over  sixty  years  of 
age.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Macaria  (Arenas)  Cage,  a  native  of  Guaymas.  Sonora, 
Mexico,  came  with  her  parents  to  Napa  county,  where  she  now  makes  her 
home.  Of  the  nine  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cage  five  are  living. 
Robert  died  in  Kern  county;  John  is  a  stockraiser  living  in  East  Bakersfield; 
Mary.  Mrs.  Swiggart.  died  in  Bakersfield:  Lucy  is  Mrs.  Castro;  Dixie  is 
Mrs.  Lee  Castro  of  Kern  county;  Alice  is  Mrs.  Barry  of  Napa;  and  Edward 
is  a  resident  of  Williams,  Cal.  Mrs.  Castro's  maternal  aunt,  Mrs.  Antonia 
Rainey.  was  the  wife  of  the  late  Andrew  Jackson  Rainey.  who  for  many 
years  was  supervisor  of  Napa  county,  and  through  his  efforts  were  built  the 


738  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

mountain  roads  into  Capell  and  Berryessa  valleys,  and  it  is  the  concensus 
of  opinion  tiiat  they  are  the  finest  mountain  roads  in  the  state.  Mrs.  Rainey 
resides  in  Napa  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Reams.  Mrs.  Castro  received  her 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Los  Angeles  and  in  1874  came  to  Kern 
county  with  her  parents. 

To  the  union  of  Domitilo  Castro  and  his  wife  were  born  nine  children, 
as  follows:  Marguerite,  who  is  a  trained  nurse  in  Oakland,  Cal. ;  Domitilo 
Frank,  who  is  in  the  oil  fields  near  Fresno ;  Louis  Alfred,  who  is  an  oil 
driller  located  in  Bakersfield ;  Albert  Hamilton,  who  farms  the  alfalfa  ranch; 
Andrew  Martin,  who  is  an  oil  driller  at  Taft ;  Adlai  Stevenson  of  Coalinga; 
and  Lucy  R'lay,  Felix  Clarence  and  Amelia  Gertrude,  at  home.  Mrs.  Castro 
is  a  member  of  the  Native  Daughters  of  the  Golden  West,  her  husband  being 
affiliated  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  They  are  devout 
members  of  the  St.  Joseph  Church  of  East  Bakersfield. 

CLARENCE  DENVER  BENSON.— A  native  of  California.  Clarence 
Denver  Benson  was  born  in  San  Bernardino,  November  1,  1878.  His  father, 
I.  H.  Benson,  came  from  Illinois  to  California  when  a  boy  with  his  parents 
in  1832.  crossing  the  plains  with  ox-teams  to  San  Bernardino.  In  early  days 
he  followed  freighting  on  the  desert  and  later  mining.  In  1896  he  came  to 
Randsburg,  where  he  has  resided  ever  since.  His  wife,  Etta  Tallmadge,  was 
born  in  Los  Angeles  county,  the  daughter  of  Frank  Leslie  Talniadge,  a 
pioneer  of  Southern  California  from  New  England. 

Clarence  was  the  second  oldest  of  a  family  of  eight  children  and  received 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  San  Bernardino.  When  seventeen  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Santa  Fe  in  his  native  town  and  continued  with 
the  company  until  1898,  when  he  came  to  Randsburg,  engaging  in  mining 
with  the  Yellow  Aster  and  in  other  camps  in  Kern  and  San  Bernardino 
counties.  In  May.  1906,  he  removed  to  Goldfield,  Nev.,  where  he  mined  and 
was  also  pr(i]irietor  of  the  Merchants  hotel. 

In  I'JIO  Mr.  Benson  returned  to  Randsburg  as  foreman  in  the  Con- 
solidated ;\Iines  Companv,  and  in  1913  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the 
mine,  his  experience  making  him  well  (|ualified  to  fill  the  important  duties  of 
the    jxisitidu. 

In  Goldfield,  Nev.,  Mr.  Benson  was  married  to  Miss  Grace  A.  McCann, 
a  native  daughter  of  California  and  they  have  two  children,  Talmadge 
Edward  and  Denver  William.  Mr.  Benson's  membership  with  the  Native 
Sons  of  the  Golden  ^\'est  is  with  Arrowhead  Parlur  No.  110,  San  Bernardino. 

JAMES  MONTGOMERY.— Randsburg  has  many  loyal  citizens  who 
are  generous  in  their  support  of  movements  for  the  betterment  of  their 
community,  but  none  more  so  than  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Montgomery.  Mrs. 
Montgomery  is  serving  acceptably  as  postmistress  of  Randsburg,  while  he 
is  devoting  his  time  to  mining  as  well  as  assisting  his  wife  in  performing  the 
duties  of  the  office. 

James  Montgomery  was  born  August  15,  1854,  in  Portadown,  County 
Armagh,  Ireland,  where  he  was  educated  until  sixteen  years  of  age.  He 
then  made  his  way  to  New  York  City,  where  he  remained  for  seventeen 
years,  during  which  time  he  engaged  in  the  grocery  and  tea  business.  In 
1887  he  removed  to  Omaha,  Neb.,  where  he  was  in  the  commission  business. 
In  1896  he  located  in  Randsburg,  Kern  county,  and  has  since  been  en,gaged 
in  mining.  In  September,  1896,  he  discovered  and  located  the  W.  J.  Bryan 
group  of  mines  and  with  others  he  developed  and  worked  them.  These 
mines  rank  among  the  high  grade  ore  properties.  Aside  from  these  he  is 
also  the  owner  of  several  other  claims  and  mines. 

In  Genesee  county,  N.  Y.,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Montgomery  to 
Miss  Josephine  Gushurst,  a  native  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  whose  education 
was  obtained  in  the  public  schools  and  convent  at  Rochester.     April  12,  1910, 


C^^^c^^f^^;^?!^^^^^^ 


Ct  ^  //i/Tzr-i^^yy^i-^^^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  741 

Mrs.  Montgomery  was  appointed  ])ostniistress  at  Randsburg  Ijy  President 
Taft  and  has  ser\-ed  acceptably  in  that  cajiacity  ever  since,  bein^-  aided  by 
Mr.  Montgomery,  and  together  they  are  well  and  favorably  known. 

ALONZO  B.  ROBINSON.— F.  D.  Robinson  was  a  native  of  old  Vir- 
ginia, who  moved  to  Missmiri,  from  which  state  he  enlisted  in  the  Mexican 
war.  After  serving  nntil  the  close  of  the  conflict  he  was  mustered  out  at 
Fort  Leavenworth  in  1848.  In  the  spring  of  1849  he  came  to  California, 
crossing  the  plains  with  ox  teams.  Eager  to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  gold 
mines  he  went  to  Eldorado  county.  Later  he  removed  to  Mendocino  county 
and  took  up  ranching,  which  he  followed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  His 
marriage  united  him  with  Orpha  Hackler,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  who  crossed 
the  plains  with  relatives  in  1852.  They  were  married  at  Diamond  -Springs, 
Eldt  rado  county,  and  of  the  nine  children  born  to  them  five  are  living,  Alonzo 
being  the  third  in  order  of  birth.  He  was  born  December  8,  1858,  in  Ander- 
.son  valley,  Mendocino  county,  attending  school  there  until  he  was  about 
seventeen  years  of  age.  Following  the  custom  of  many  boys  of  that  day 
he  took  up  work  on  the  home  farm  for  a  while,  but  he  was  ambitious  to 
do  for  himself,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  secured  employment  in  the  lumber 
mills,  leaving  this,  however,  to  engage  in  sheep  shearing,  and  later  again 
entered  the  lumber  business  as  shingle  sawyer.  His  experience  in  handling 
stock  began  in  1879,  when  he  bought  and  sold  stock  for  a  short  time,  two 
years  later,  in  tht  summer  of  1881,  taking  a  position  as  tree-feller,  which 
he  continued  *^or  some  years.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four,  on  December  6, 
1882,  Mr.  Robinson  came  to  Kern  county,  which  has  been  the  field  of  his 
labors  ever  since,  and  he  began  work  for  his  father-in-law.  Three  years 
later  he  homesteaded  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  the  west  side,  which 
is  now  part  of  his  holdings  in  this  county.  In  1888  he  went  into  the  cattle 
business  for  himself,  adding  to  his  pn  perty  from  time  to  time  in  order  to 
have  a  wide  range  for  his  stock,  until  he  now  owns  and  controls  a  large 
stock  range  in  San  Emidio  district.  His  home  ranch  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  eleven  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield  is  well  improved  and  under 
irrigation  from  Stine  canal,  and  devoted  to  grain  and  alfalfa. 

On  December  2,  1882,  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Rt.binson  and 
Mary  J.  Rector.  Her  father  was  Bartley  Franklin  Rector,  a  large  sheep  owner 
in  the  county,  who  came  to  California  across  the  plains  in  1847  and  followed 
mining.  Later,  in  1879,  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  engaged  in  the  sheep 
business,  which  he  built  up  to  a  most  flourishing  state.  Mrs.  Robinson 
was  born  in  Yountville,  Xapa  county,  October  2.  1861,  and  to  her  and  her 
husband  were  born  six  children.  Albert  D.,  of  Maricopa,  married  Lillie 
Denny,  and  they  have  one  son,  Byron  D. ;  Minnie  M.  married  W.  E.  Wood- 
son, and  they  have  one  child,  Mary  M. :  Stella  D.,  Frank  E..  .Krchie  W.  and 
Dorothy  B.  are  unmarried  and  living  at  home  with  their  parents. 

Along  with  his  extensive  ranching  interests,  Mr.  Robinson  has  taken  an 
active  part  in  oil  development,  and  owns  an  interest  in  several  fields  in 
Kern  ct;unty.  Withal,  he  has  been  active  in  politics,  serving  from  1901  to 
1903  as  deputy  assessor  under  A.  P.  Lightner,  and  later  being  elected  to  the 
office  of  constable,  which  together  with  the  office  of  deputy  tax  collector 
he  filled  for  three  years,  and  he  has  filled  the  position  of  trustee  of  the  Paleto 
school  board  for  sixteen  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America  and  the  \\'oodmen  of  the  W'orld. 

LEON  BIMAT.— While  it  may  be  a  source  of  gratification  to  Mr.  P.imat 
that  he  cast  in  his  fortunes  with  those  of  the  great  western  country,  he  has 
never  forgotten  the  land  of  his  birth  and  the  home  of  his  youth.  On  the  con- 
trary he  cherishes  a  deep,  intense  devotion  for  France  and  particularly  for  the 
department  of  Basses  Pyrenees,  lying  in  the  shadow  of  the  lofty  Pyrenees 
mountains,  near  the  northern  border  of  Spain.  The  memories  of  youth  I)in<l 
him    to    that    peaceful    farming    country.     There    his    parents,    Edward    and 


742  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Marie  (Mcrisou)  Bimat,  passed  their  uneventful  but  useful  lives  and  there 
the  former  earned  a  livelihood  for  the  family  through  the  tilling-  of  the  soil 
and  the  raising  of  stock.  The  five  children  survive  their  parents  and  three  of 
them  have  established  homes  in  the  United  States.  The  fourth  among  the 
five,  Leon,  was  born  in  the  village  of  Preslion,  Basses  Pyrenees,  November 
22,  1859,  and  began  to  help  on  the  farm  as  soon  as  old  enough  to  work.  Thus 
he  learned  to  be  industrious,  painstaking  and  efficient.  He  can  scarcely  recall 
the  time  when  first  he  decided  to  migrate  to  the  new  world.  During  July,  1878, 
he  arrived  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  found  employment  as  a  gardener. 

Coming  to  Kern  county  early  in  1880  Mr.  Bimat  entered  the  employ  of  a 
sheepman,  in  whose  interests  he  took  the  flock  to  Los  Angeles  county  and 
from  there  to  Inyo  county,  thence  returning  to  Kern  county.  These  various 
moves  were  made  for  the  purpose  cf  securing  free  range  for  the  flock.  Since 
1881  he  has  engaged  in  the  sheep  business  for  himself  and  specializes  with 
Merinos  and  Shrtpshires.  the  former  valuable  by  reason  of  their  s]ilendid 
fleece,  and  the  latter  offering  special  advantages  on  account  of  their  dual 
value  of  fleece  and  mutton. 

Various  interests  in  both  business  and  residence  property  in  East  Bakers- 
field,  where  during  1910  he  erected  a  substantial  residence  on  the  corner  of 
Kern  and  Nile  streets,  bind  Mr.  Bimat  to  this  place.  Here  he  was  married 
May  14,  1892,  to  Miss  Malvina  Rostain,  a  native  of  the  village  of  Manse, 
department  of  Hautes-Alpes,  France,  and  a  daughter  of  the  late  Joseph  and 
Marie  (Cesmat)  Rostain.  For  years  before  his  death  her  father  had  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising  in  France.  In  a  family  of  six  children  (only  three 
of  whom  survive),  she  was  third  in  order  of  birth  and  came  to  the  United 
States  during  1891,  settling  in  Bakersfield,  Cal.  I^er  only  surviving  brother, 
Val  Rostain,  settled  in  East  Bakersfield,  as  did  also  a  sister,  Mrs.  Jeanne  Bon- 
net, while  another  sister,  Marie,  Mrs.  B.  Bimat,  made  her  home  on  a  ranch 
near  Bakersfield  until  her  death  in  1911.  Since  becoming  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States  Mr.  Bimat  has  voted  with  the  Republican  party.  In  religion 
he  and  his  wife  are  earnest  members  of  the  St.  Joseph  Catholic  Church.  Their 
family  comprises  five  children,  of  whom  the  two  eldest,  Edward  and  Felsie, 
are  graduates  of  the  class  of  1912  Kern  county  high  school,  while  the  three 
younger  children,  Leon  Jr..  Pascal  and  George,  are  attending  the  public 
schools  of  East  Bakersfield. 

JAMES  H.  PENSINGER.— There  are  to  be  found  in  the  famous  oil  fields 
of  Kern  county  operators  who  came  hither  from  Canada,  workers  from  the 
east  and  foreigners  from  other  lands,  but  comparatively  few  of  the  large 
number  of  men  identified  with  the  development  of  the  oil  industry  at  this 
point  can  claim  that  they  are  natives  of  Kern  county  and  lifelong  residents 
of  the  same  region.  Such  a  statement  may  be  made  in  regard  to  James  H. 
Pensinger,  formerly  superintendent  of  the  Colloma  Oil  Company  on  section 
31,  township  28,  range  28,  and  now  foreman  of  the  Traders  Oil  Company's 
lease.  Throughout  all  of  his  life  he  has  been  identified  with  this  portion  of 
California  and  his  earliest  childhood  memori.es  cluster  around  Kern  county, 
where  he  was  born  February  16,  1878,  and  where  he  lived  as  a  boy  in  poverty 
but  in  comfort  and  independence,  helping  with  the  maintenance  of  the  family 
through  his  energetic  labors  on  the  home  farm.  The  father,  Jerry  Pensinger, 
had  been  a  gold  miner  in  Nevada  and  a  man  inured  to  the  hardships  of  frontier 
existence.  \\'hen  he  came  to  Kern  county  in  1872  settlers  were  few,  towns 
small  and  the  future  outlook  discouraging,  but  with  characteristic  optimism 
he  secured  land  and  set  himself  resolutely  to  the  task  of  supporting  his  family. 
As  soon  as  the  children  were  old  enough  to  assist,  they  became  assets  of  value 
to  the  family  welfare.  Since  the  death  of  the  father  the  widowed  mother  has 
remained  on  the  home  farm  of  eighty  acres  situated  southwest  of  Bakersfield. 
Of  her  seven  children  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth,  James  H.,  displayed  great 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  743 

physical  prowess  even  in  early  life  ami  his  splendid  constitution  has  enal)letl 
him  to  do  the  work  of  two  men  without  injury  to  himself.  All  tiirough  his 
life  he  has  been  a  hard  worker  and  in  boyhood  was  earning  his  own  livelihood 
when  other  lads  of  his  age  were  enjoying  school  advantages.  In  1900  he  mar- 
ried ]\Iiss  Lulu  Hunter,  by  whom  he  had  one  child,  Bessie. 

Upon  discontinuing  agricultural  work  in  favor  of  other  pursuits  Mr. 
Pensinger  finally  drifted  to  the  Kern  river  fields  about  1904  and  there  secured 
employment  with  the  Provident  Oil  Company.  He  was  later  with  C.  P>.  Colby 
and  the  Colloma  Oil  Company,  and  October  1,  1913,  became  lease  foreman 
for  the  Traders  Oil  Company  under  Joseph  Raney. 

C.  H.  DAWLEY.— Born  January  26,  1844,  in  A.shtabula  county,  Ohio, 
when  ten  years  old  Mr.  Dawley  removed  with  his  parents  to  New  York, 
where  in  Chautauqua  county  he  was  reared  to  manhood.  He  learned  the 
carpenter's  trade,  and  later  took  up  well  drilling,  and  it  was  at  Scrubgrass, 
Venango  county.  Pa.,  that  he  first  drilled  for  oil,  beginning  as  a  laborer. 
For  five  or  six  years  Mr.  Davvle}-  continued  this  work  of  drilling,  in  the 
meantime  becoming  familiar  with  all  the  methods  employed  in  the  work, 
and  then  removed  to  Nebraska,  near  Lincoln,  where  he  engaged  in  carpen- 
tering and  building.  This  was  his  home  for  twenty  years,  but  in  1904,  learnirvg 
of  the  new  industry  opened  up  in  California,  he  moved  to  Kern  county,  where 
he  procured  employment  on  the  well-working  gang  of  the  Del  Rey  lease. 

The  Del  Rey  has  eleven  producing  wells,  the  production  being  from 
eight  to  ten  thousand  barrels  per  month,  and  they  employ  on  an  average 
from  five  to  six  men  all  the  time.  Under  Mr.  Dawley's  able  management  it 
has  proved  a  paying  enterprise,  and  it  is  largely  due  to  the  close  attention 
and  well-informed  acquaintance  which  Mr.  Dawley  has  with  the  conduct  of 
the  business. 

In  1869,  before  coming  west  to  Nebraska,  }\lr.  Dawley  married  Miss 
Hattie  M.  Bates,  and  for  many  years  they  made  their  home  on  the  Del  Rey 
property,  where  now  Mr.  Dawley  resides  alone,  his  wife  having  died  August 
24,  1912.     Both  of  their  children  died  in  infancy. 

W.  W.  COLM. — As  superintendent  of  the  Sacramentti  Oil  Cnmpany 
and  the  Acme  Development  Company,  W.  W.  Colm  heads  interests  which 
represent  the  most  active  industry  in  this  part  of  the  county.  He  is  a  native 
of  Butte  county,  Cal.,  where  he  grew  up,  and  attended  school  at  Sacramento, 
and  later  entered  Bainbridge  College,  from  which  he  graduated.  He  has 
proved  himself  to  be  a  clever,  sagacious  manager  of  the  firm  he  represents, 
and  has  brought  it  to  a  paying  basis  by  his  own  efforts.  The  stockholders  of 
the  company  reside  mostly  in  Sacramento,  and  the  officers  of  the  Sacramento 
Oil  Co.  are,  J.  L.  Gillis,  president,  Charles  Robb,  vice-president,  D.  W.  Car- 
michael,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  W.  W.  Colm,  superintendent ;  of  the 
Acme  Development  Co.,  Charles  Robb,  president.  Charles  Richardson,  vice- 
president,  J.  L.  Gillis,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  W.  W.  Colm.  superin- 
tendent. 

According  to  experienced  oil  men,  there  is  no  lease  in  the  Kern  river 
field  which  has  been  better  drilled  or  better  managed  or  can  show  better 
results  in  general  than  the  twenty  acres  owned  by  the  Acme  Development 
Co.  under  the  efficient  management  of  Mr.  Colm.  Drilling  on  the  Acme  was 
begun  on  April  1,  1907,  and  eight  wells  were  put  down  with  one  string  of 
tools.  The  deepest  of  these  wells  is  nine  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  the 
shallowest  is  nine  hundred  feet.  None  of  the  wells  is  large,  but  all  are 
uniform  producers.  The  drilling  was  completed  on  October  5,  1907,  with  no 
dry  holes,  no  spciled  wells,  no  poorly  finished  jobs  and  no  breaks  of  any  kind 
in  a  uniform  run  of  clean,  successful  work.  In  connection  with  this  record 
it  should  be  stated  that  this  section  (twenty-nine)  is  probably  the  easiest 
and   cheapest   part   of  the   field   to   drill,   but   even   considering   this   fact   the 


744  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

record  of  eight  good  producing  wells  in  six  months  with  one  string  of  tools  is 
one  of  which  any  superintendent  may  well  be  proud. 

The  product  of  the  company  has  been  exceedingly  high,  the  receipts  for 
which  reached  a  large  figure.  The  records  show  that  up  to  May  1  of  this  year 
the  wells  have  steadily  increased  in  production,  so  that  the  prospects  are  that 
the  Acme  property  will  go  on  paying  for  itself  many  times  over  before  its 
wells  are  pumped  dry,  which  time  is  variously  estimated  from  ten  to  forty 
years.  This  territory  is  underlaid  with  four  hundred  feet  of  oil  sand,  pro- 
ducing oil  of  fourteen  gravity.  ]\Ir.  Colm  has  been  manager  of  the  Sacramento 
Oil  Company  ever  since  it  was  started.  This  lease  covers  forty  acres,  and 
has  ten  oil  wells  and  three  water  wells,  and  is  fast  developing  to  a  highly 
productive  point.  Under  his  experienced  management  there  is  a  splendid 
future  success  assured  the  company. 

Mr.  Colm  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Flickinger,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  they 
make  their  residence  in  the  Kern  river  oil  fields,  where  they  are  surrounded 
by  many  warm  friends. 

JAMES  HEROD.— On  the  blufifs  above  East  Bakersfield  commanding 
a  most  magnificent  view  of  the  valley  stands  an  attractive  country  residence 
known  as  Plainview  home,  which  with  its  complete  equipment  of  modern 
conveniences,  including  a  private  water  plant  operated  by  electricity,  oflfers 
every  boasted  advantage  of  the  city,  together  with  the  many  indisputable 
benefits  associated  with  suburban  life.  An  admirable  adjunct  of  the  home  is 
the  rose  garden,  while  scarcely  less  attractive  are  the  groves  planted  to 
trees  of  oranges,  lemons  and  grape  fruit. 

The  Herods  come  of  a  very  old  Kentucky  family,  whose  first  representa- 
tive in  Indiana,  John  Herod,  settled  on  a  tract  of  raw  land  near  Greencastle 
and  developed  the  claim  into  a  productive  farm.  The  next  generation  was 
represented  by  Baila  Herod,  born  and  reared  on  the  Indiana  farm,  an  agri- 
culturist throughout  his  active  years,  but  now  living  retired  at  Coatesville, 
Hendricks  county,  that  state.  '  His  wife,  who  also  has  spent  her  entire  life 
in  Indiana,  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Harriet  Minter  and  comes  of  an  old 
and  honored  Virginia  family,  her  mother  having  been  a  sister  of  John  Clark 
Ridpath,  the  famous  historian.  There  were  ten  children  in  the  family  of 
Raila  Herod  and  all  but  two  of  these  attained  to  maturity,  while  six  now 
survive.  Three  live  in  California,  Mrs.  Scofield  having  her  home  on  Chester 
avenue,  Bakersfield,  and  Lester  living  on  Cedar  street  in  the  same  city.  The 
next  to  the  oldest  member  of  the  family,  James,  was  born  on  the  old  home- 
stead near  Greencastle,  Ind.,  October  24,  1858,  and  received  a  country-school 
education.  Starting  out  for  himself  in  1880  he  found  employment  on  a 
ranch  near  Wellington,  Sumner  county,  Kan.,  and  there  he  worked  for  two 
years.  In  April  of  1882  he  arrived  in  California,  and  after  a  month  in  Los 
Angeles  came  on  to  Kern  county  during  May.  His  identification  with  this 
county  therefore  covers  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  years. 

After  having  worked  first  as  a  day  laborer  and  later  as  a  foreman  for 
Dr.  D.  O.  C.  Williams  on  San  Emidio  ranch  for  some  time,  Mr.  Herod 
resigned  in  1885  in  order  to  take  up  ranching  for  himself.  At  first  he  en- 
gaged in  raising  stock  in  a  general  way,  but  later  he  drifted  into  the  dairy 
industry,  and  in  it  he  was  very  successful.  The  ranch  in  the  Panama  dis- 
trict which  he  still  owns,  comprises  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  under 
irrigation  and  mostly  in  alfalfa.  During  November  of  1911  he  leased  the 
ranch  and  removed  to  his  present  home  in  the  suburbs  of  East  Bakersfield, 
where  he  continues  the  dairy  business  as  a  retail  dealer  in  milk.  While 
living  on  the  ranch  he  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church  of  Panama,  and  in  it  he  served  as  treasurer  and  a  trustee  until  his 
removal  to  East  Bakersfield,  when  he  and  his  wife  became  members  of  the 
Pilgrim  Congregational  Church.  For  several  years  he  served  as  a  director 
of   the    Farmers'    Mutual    Telephone    Company    of    Kern    county,    which    he 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  747 

assisted  in  organizing-  and  steadfastly  promoted  in  its  important  work  of 
bringing  telephone  lines  into  the  entire  district.  In  politics  he  alwavs  has 
voted  with  the  Democratic  party.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with 
the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Herod  united  him  with  Aliss  Nellie  Crocker, 
a  native  of  Gilroy,  Santa  Clara  county,  Cal.  and  a  daughter  of  J.  C.  Crocker, 
a  pioneer  of  Kern  county.  Mrs.  Nellie  Herod  died  on  the  home  ranch, 
leaving  two  children,  namely:  Mrs.  Stella  G.  Hastings,  whose  husband  has 
leased  the  ranch  owned  by  Mr.  Herod ;  and  Lester  E.,  who  is  engaged  in  the 
stock  business  in  Breckenridge  district.  In  1897  in  Bakersfield  occurred  the 
marriage  of  Mr.  Herod  and  Miss  Mary  A.  May,  a  native  of  Healdsburg, 
Si  noma  county,  Cal.,  and  a  lady  of  education  and  culture.  There  are  no 
children  of  this  union,  but  with  them  lives  an  adopted  son,  Rov,  born  in 
1900  and  now  a  student  in  the  public  schools.  Mrs.  Herod  is  the  eldest  of  the 
six  living  children  of  Frank  and  Amelia  (Alexander)  May,  natives  respect- 
ively of  Pennsylvania  and  St.  Clair  county,  111.  During  the  Civil  war  Mr. 
May  served  as  a  volunteer  in  the  First  Virginia  cavalry  regiment.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  he  removed  to  California  and  settled  in  Sonoma  county, 
where  he  married  a  daughter  of  Charles  Alexander,  the  honored  pioneer  of 
Alexander  valley  in  Sonoma  county.  In  St.  Clair  county,  111.,  where  he 
was  born,  ]\Ir.  Alexander  married  Achsah  Smith,  a  native  of  New  York.  In 
1849  he  crossed  the  plains  with  ox  teams.  His  family  joined  him  in  1852, 
coming  by  way  of  Panama.  After  mining  a  while  he  located  in  the  valley 
that  was  named  for  the  family.  In  1872  Mr.  May  came  to  Kern  countv  with 
his  wife  and  family,  which  then  comprised  two  children,  four  children  having 
been  born  in  Kern  county.  Settling  in  the  Panama  district,  he  took  up  a 
claim  and  began  to  develop  the  barren  tract  into  a  productive  farm,  starting 
housekeeping  in  a  box  house  14x14.  Largely  through  Mr.  May's  influence 
the  Farmers'  canal  was  constructed  and  it  proved  of  great  benefit  to  the 
early  settlers.  Until  his  death  in  1892  he  continued  on  the  same  ranch  and 
engaged  in  the  stock  business.  The  ranch  is  still  owned  by  his  widow,  who 
is  now  making  her  home  with  Mrs.  Herod  at  Plainview,  East  Bakersfield. 

FRED.  P.  BOLSTAD,  D.  D.  S.— Born  in  Minnesota,  March  20,  1>^78,  Dr. 
Bolstad  was  educated  in  public'  schools  of  the  east.  After  coming  to  Cali- 
fornia he  matriculated  in  the  dental  department  of  the  University  of  Southern 
California,  where  he  took  the  regular  course  of  lectures  and  experi- 
mental work  and  was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1909.  For  a  brief  period 
following  his  graduation  he  had  charge  of  an  office  in  Covina.  January  2.5, 
1910,  he  arrived  in  Taft  for  the  purpose  of  entering  upon  professional  work 
and  here  he  since  has  engaged  in  practice.  September  15,  1911,  he  moved  his 
suite  to  the  Key  building,  where  he  now  has  pleasant  quarters  and  .  every 
lacilit}-  for  the  satisfactory  continuance  of  professional  work.  August  22,  1911, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Grace  M.  Bursell,  and  they  have  estab- 
lished a  comfortable  home  in  Taft,  where  they  are  prominent  socially. 

A  number  of  the  fraternities  receive  the  co-operation  and  assistance  of 
Dr.  Bolstad  in  their  philanthropies  and  social  functions,  among  these  being 
the  \A'oodmen  of  the  World,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Camp  No.  266,  at  Bakersfield.  Inter- 
ested in  political  problems  and  stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican 
party,  he  has  taken  a  warm  interest  in  national  issues  and  has  kept  posted 
concerning  large  governmental  afifairs.  Particularly  deep  has  been  his  interest 
in  local  matters.  Any  measure  for  the  upbuilding  of  Taft  receives  his  warm 
suppdrt,  for  he  is  an  enthusiastic  booster  of  the  city.  After  the  incorporation 
of  Taft  he  was  elected  the  first  city  clerk  November  7,  1910,  and  at  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  he  was  re-elected  April  8,  1912,  since  which  time  he  has 
continued  to  give  close  attention  to  the  duties  of  the  clerkship,  which  office 
he  has  filled  with  credit  to  himself  and  satisfaction  to  the  general  public. 


748  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

LEONARD  HOPPER.— A  native  of  Stuart,  Guthrie  county,  Iowa, 
Leonard  Hopper  was  born  November  14,  1881,  and  was  educated  in  the 
public  and  high  schools  in  Iowa.  When  he  removed  with  his  parents  to 
California  and  located  at  Fresno  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age.  So  well 
has  he  prospered  in  this  country  that  he  has  adopted  it  as  his  permanent  home, 
and  is  one  of  those  who  has  only  the  best  to  say  of  the  west  and  its  environ- 
ment. In  Fresno  he  worked  for  two  years  as  a  steam  engineer,  at  the  same 
time  taking  a  course  in  the  International  Correspondence  School  at  Scranton, 
Pa.  Coming  to  Bakersfield  in  1900  he  continued  at  his  trade  for  two  years, 
when  he  purchased  the  Gusher  lunch  counter.  This  was  located  on  the 
present  site  of  the  Brower  building  and  at  the  time  he  assumed  proprietorship 
boasted  only  three  or  four  stools.  From  this  small  beginning  he  built  up  a 
large  business  which  he  sold  after  three  years.  In  1906  he  bought  out  the 
American  Tt)wel  Supply  Co.  at  Bakersfield,  which  at  the  time  was  doing  a 
small  business,  the  new  proprietor  increasing  it  sixfold.  After  taking  a  course 
in  Heald's  Business  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in  1908,  he  branched 
out  in  the  laundry  business  on  a  large  scale,  starting  the  American  Laundry, 
of  which  he  is  the  sole  proprietor.  After  starting  the  enterprise  he  purchased 
the  site  and  erected  the  large  and  commodious  building  at  No.  2125  I  street, 
and  has  installed  the  latest  and  most  modern  machinery  and  other  facilities 
that  go  to  make  it  up-t(  -date  in  every  respect.  So  well  has  the  business  pros- 
pered that  today  it  is  the  largest  one  of  the  kind  in  the  county.  Mr.  Hopper 
employs  fifty  people  on  an  average,  of  whom  sixty  per  cent  are  women,  and 
his  weekly  payroll  amounts  to  $600.  Twenty  thousand  dollars  were  expended 
in  May,  1908.  by  Air.  Hopper  in  the  erection  of  this  building  and  the  business. 

A'Tr.  Hopper  has  become  most  popular  in  the  social  as  well  as  the  business 
world  of  Bakersfield.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Moose, 
also  the  \\^iodmen  of  the  World,  in  which  he  has  taken  great  interest. 

C.  E.  BALLAGH. — The  superintendent  of  the  Apollo,  4-Oil  and  Amaurot 
Oil  Companies  in  the  Kern  river  field,  who  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  able 
men  of  the  business,  claims  California  as  his  native  commonwealth  and  is 
justly  proud  of  the  fact  that  he  has  spent  his  entire  life  within  the  limits  of 
this  great  state.  The  ministerial  duties  of  his  father,  Rev.  R.  Ballagh,  caused 
the  family  to  be  residents  successively  of  a  number  of  flourishing  towns  in 
the  interior  of  the  state,  and  it  was  while  they  were  living  at  Vacaville, 
Solano  county,  that  C.  E.  was  born,  March  31,  1880,  but  subsequent  changes 
made  him  familiar  with  different  villages.  During  the  sojourn  of  the  family 
at  Selma,  Fresno  county,  he  attended  the  high  school  there  and  began  to  earn 
his  own  livelihood  upon  the  completion  of  his  educational  course.  When 
nineteen  3'ears  of  age  he  came  to  Kern  county  seeking  employment.  The 
first  job  he  secured  was  at  McKittrick,  where  he  learned  the  task  of  tool- 
dressing  and  where  he  worked  with  the  Eldorado  Oil  Company  for  five 
months.  Since  19C0  he  has  been  employed  in  the  Kern  river  oil  field  in 
various  capacities  with  different  companies.  For  a  time  he  was  retained  as 
field  foreman  with  Green  and  Whittier,  while  he  also  held  a  responsible 
position  with  the  San  Joaquin  division  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company. 
During  January  of  1911  he  became  connected  with  the  4-Oil,  and  as  the- 
two  other  leases  are  under  the  same  ownership  he  acts  as  superintendent 
of  all. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Ballagh  took  place  March  3,  1909,  and  united  him 
with  Miss  Alyrtle  Barker  of  13akersfield,  a  niece  of  the  late  Congressman 
Smith,  one  of  the  most  distinguished  citizens  ever  identified  with  the  devel- 
opment of  the  San.  Joaquin  valley.  Since  his  marriage  Mr.  Ballagh  has 
occupied  a  substantial  cottage  provided  by  the  company  on  the  Apollo  lease. 
Although  still  young  in  years,  he  is  one  of  the  pioneer  oil  men  of  Kern 
county  and  has  not  only  a  long,  but  also  an  honorable  record  in  the  industry. 


/^~-Z/ZS^tP--yxu^Z.^t^ 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  751 

THOMAS  WILEY  BROWN.— The  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  fifteenth 
township  of  Kern  county,  wlio  Hkewise  serves  as  city  recorder  of  Maricopa, 
has  been  identitied  with  the  history  of  California  ever  since  the  '50s  and  for 
a  number  of  years  has  made  Maricopa  his  home,  having  come  to  this  locality 
in  order  to  fill  a  position  as  foreman  for  the  Occidental  (now  the  Sunset 
Monarch)  Oil  Company  in  1900.  An  occasion  not  to  be  soon  forgotten  is  a 
visit  with  Judge  Brown,  for  he  is  an  interesting  conversationalist,  possesses 
a  remarkable  memory  and  narrates  incidents  connected  with  pioneer  days 
in  a  manner  impressive  and  entertaining.  Notwithstanding  his  advanced  years 
and  arduous  life  he  is  as  active,  whether  measured  physically  or  mentally,  as 
many  men  of  fifty,  and  not  only  is  still  an  omnivorous  reader,  but  a  clear 
thinker,  logical  reasoner  and  forceful  debater.  The  busy  round  of  a  frontier 
existence  and  the  almost  utter  lack  of  educational  advantages  did  not  dwarf 
his  fine  mentality,  but  in  the  intervals  of  leisure  on  ranch  or  in  mine  he  has 
familiarized  himself  with  the  best  literature  of  the  past  and  present,  has 
thoroughly  enjoyed  the  works  of  Charles  Dickens  and  Walter  Scott  and  has 
been  a  constant  admirer  of  the  brilliant  poems  of  Edgar  Allan  Poe.  With  an 
exact  memory  that  never  fails  he  quotes  classical  poems  in  their  entirety 
and  shows  a  wide  acquaintance  with  both  English  and  American  writers. 

Both  the  paternal  and  maternal  ancestors  of  Mr.  Brown  were  living  in 
America  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  war.  His  grandfathers  Brown  and 
Slocuml)  were  soldiers  in  the  war  of  1812.  His  father.  John  Hancock  Brown, 
son  of  Thomas  Brown,  was  born  in  Louisiana  in  1808  and  was  named  in 
hunor  of  the  illustrious  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  In  lineage 
he  was  of  Scotch-Irish  extraction.  Excellent  advantages  were  bestowed 
upon  him  in  youth  and  he  was  sent  to  one  of  the  best  schools  in  New 
Orleans.  He  was  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  best  Greek  and  Latin  scholars 
of  his  day.  In  his  family  there  were  three  children,  the  eldest  being  Thomas 
Wiley,  born  at  Fairfield,  Wayne  county.  111.,  November  4,  1842.  The  second. 
George  E.,  of  Berkeley,  this  state,  is  interested  in  mining  and  oil  lands.  The 
only  daughter,  Julia,  is  the  wife  of  John  G.  Knox,  deputy  county  clerk  of 
Tulare  county.  When  the  father  came  across  the  plains  to  California  during 
the  summer  of  1850  he  left  wife  and  children  in  Southern  Illinois  and  in 
1853  they  joined  him,  ccming  via  Panama.  The  mother,  Caroline,  was  an 
own  sister  of  Judge  Rigdon  B.  Slocumb,  of  Wayne  county,  111.,  and  a  native 
of  Morganfield,  Union  county,  Ky.,  being  a  descendant  of  English  ancestors 
who  settled  in  North  Carolina  in  the  colonial  era  of  colonization.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  family  migrated  from  the  Pedee 
river  region  to  Kentucky  and  a  later  generation  settled  in  Illinois. 

Although  about  eleven  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  coming  to  the  west 
Judge  Brown  had  attended  school  only  three  months  in  his  whole  life,  nor 
were  his  school  advantages  in  California  any  more  satisfactory,  but  fortunately 
he  had  the  opportunity  of  learning  from  his  father,  who  was  teacher,  preceptor 
and  companion  to  him.  The  work  of  earning  a  livelihood  was  strenuous,  but  a 
little  leisure  was  always  found  for  study  and  of  this  he  availed  himself  to 
the  utmost.  While  still  quite  young  he  engaged  in  placer  mining  in  Eldorado, 
Calaveras  and  Tuolumne  counties.  Familiar  with  both  ])lacer  and  quartz 
mining,  he  has  devoted  much  of  his  life  to  the  work,  but  never  has  met  with 
the  success  his  eiifqrts  justified.  Besides  mining  all  through  the  west  he 
even  went  into  Old  Mexico.  At  one  time  he  owned  land  now  in  the  heart 
of  Porterville,  this  state,  and  Phoenix,  Ariz.,  but  he  sold  it  before  its  value 
was  known  ;  he  now  owns  valuable  residence  property  in  East  Bakersfield^ 
Throughout  his  entire  life  he  has  been  consistent  in  his  allegiance  to  the 
Democratic  party  and  since  coming  to  Maricopa  he  has  served  as  the  first 
city  recorder,  having  turned  over  to  the  city  $2783.50  as  fees  of  his  office 
during  the  first  year. 


752  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

The  marriage  of  Thomas  Wiley  Brown  and  Miss  Cornelia  Glass  was 
solemnized  March  11,  1867,  and  was  blessed  with  two  children.  The  sole 
survivor,  Russell,  of  Maricopa,  married  Miss  Stella  Dunlap  of  Bakersfield 
and  they  have  one  child,  Thomas  Calvin  Brown.  Mrs.  Brown  was  a  daughter 
of  Robert  and  Jane  (Miller)  Glass,  natives  respectively  of  Virginia  and 
Alabama,  but  residents  of  Texas  from  childhood.  The  Glass  family  originally 
came  from  Ireland,  while  the  Millers  were  of  German  ancestry.  The  parents 
of  Mrs.  Brown  were  married  in  Texas  and  lived  there  for  many  years  after- 
ward, her  birth  occurring  in  that  state.  During  1853  they  joined  an  expedition 
composed  of  seventy-five  families  and  crossed  the  plains  and  deserts  through 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona  into  California.  When  near  the  present  site  of 
Deming,  N.  M.,  the  expedition  camped  to  rest  their  teams.  All  around  them 
were  Indians  and  one  of  the  braves  seized  Mrs.  Brown,  then  a  babe  of  eight 
months,  and  endeavored  to  escape  with  her  in  his  arms.  Evidently  the 
intention  was  to  extort  a  ransom.  The  dastardly  act  was  seen  by  J.  P.  Ownby, 
who  took  aim  and  fired  at  the  Indian,  thus  saving  the  life  of  the  child.  No 
other  event  occurred  to  imperil  the  lives  of  any  and  at  last  they  safely  landed 
in  Los  Angeles,  where  Mr.  Glass  bought  ten  acres  one  block  from  the  present 
site  of  the  Downey  building.  Having  no  thought  of  its  future  value,  he  sold  it 
later  for  a  small  sum. 

When  Mrs.  Brown  was  nine  years  of  age  the  family  removed  to  Tulare 
county  and  settled  six  miles  south  of  Visalia,  where  the  father  took  up  land  and 
engaged  in  ranching.  Through  intelligent  and  unwearied  industry  he  became 
well-to-do.  His  death  occurred  in  California  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  When 
the  mother  was  about  seventy-six  she  went  to  New  Mexico  to  visit  her 
daughter,  ]\Irs.  J.  P.  Ownby,  and  during  the  course  of  her  sojourn  there  she 
was  taken  ill  and  died.  There  were  seven  daughters  and  two  sons  in  the 
family.  Amanda  married  J.  P.  Ownby  and  they  were  early  settlers  of 
Bakersfield,  but  eventually  located  in  New  Mexico,  where  Mr.  Ownby 
engaged  in  raising  sheep  and  also  carried  on  a  hotel  business  until  his  death; 
his  wife  also  has  passed  away,  leaving  three  children.  Laura  and  her 
husband,  Solomon  Slinkard  of  Los  Angeles,  are  both  deceased  and  left  nine 
children.  Corley,  of  East  Bakersfield,  is  engaged  in  contract  teaming.  Dora 
married  E.  S.  Baalam,  who  has  an  orange  grove  at  Lemon  Cove,  Tulare 
county.  Cornelia,  the  fifth  in  order  cf  birth,  spent  her  girlhood  principally 
in  Tulare  county  and  there  married  Mr.  Brown.  Sarah  and  her  husband, 
J.  C.  Turner,  formerly  a  carpenter  in  Bakersfield,  are  both  deceased  and  left 
six  children.  Barbara  Ellen,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  M.  C.  Purcell,  a  sheep- 
man living  at  Bakersfield,  and  at  her  death  she  left  six  children.  William 
is  a  teaming  contractor  in  Bakersfield.  The  youngest  member  of  the  family, 
Louisiana  Beauregard,  married  Henry  ]\luller  and  lives  on  a  ranch  six  miles 
east  of  Bakersfield. 

JOSEPH  BENSON  FRY.— One  of  the  self-made  men  active  in  the 
recent  history  of  Bakersfield,  Kern  county,  was  Joseph  Benson  Fry,  who  was 
born  in  Iroquois  county,  111.,  July  28,  1852,  and  died  at  Bakersfield,  Alay  26, 
1911.  He  was  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Frazier)  Fry.  His  father,  a 
native  of  Ohio  and  a  pioneer  in  Illinois,  passed  away  in  the  latter  state  ;  his 
mother,  who  also  was  born  in  the  Buckeye  state,  died  in  Indiana.  His 
father's  brother,  John  Fry,  a  member  of  an  Illinois  regiment  which  served 
in  the  Civil  war,  died  in  1873  as  a  result  of  hardship  and  exposure  in  Libby 
Prison  at  Richmond,  Va. 

Twelfth  in  order  of  birth  of  his  parents'  fourteen  children,  three  of  whom 
are  living,  Joseph  B.  Fry  was  reared  on  a  farm  in  Illinois  and  educated  in 
public  schools  near  his  iDoyhood  home.  When  he  was  about  sixteen  years 
old  he  went  to  Girard.  Kans.,  and  found  employment  on  a  farm  near  by.  Sep- 
tember 29,  1872,  he  married  Miss  Joanna  Banks,  who  was  born  near  Quincy, 
Adams  Countv,  111.,  the  daughter  of  ^^'illis  Banks,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  who 


(^  <l6. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  755 

came  with  an  ox-team  caravan  across  the  plains  to  California  in  1850.  Later 
Mr.  Banks  returned  east  to  bring  out  his  family,  but  being  fearful  of  Indian 
attacks  he  gave  up  the  idea  of  coming  to  California  and  in  1861  located  at 
Girard,  Kans..  homesteading  land,  a  part  of  which  is  now  within  the  city 
limits.  During  the  war  he  was  burned  out  by  bushwhackers,  who  drove  his 
cattle  away  and  he  was  compelled  to  go  to  Marmaton  to  reclaim  them.  After 
the  war  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Girard  and  later  located  eight  miles  from 
that  town.  In  1880  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  in  1881  died  at  the  home  of 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  Fry.  His  wife,  who  was  Miss  Eveline  Thomas,  was  born 
in  Kentucky,  a  daughter  of  James  Thomas,  who  removed  to  Illinois  and 
later  to  Kansas,  where  he  died  and  where  his  wife  also  passed  away.  Of 
their  seven  sons  and  seven  daughters,  six  of  whom  are  living,  Mrs.  Joseph 
B.  Fry  was  the  next  to  the  youngest  child  and  the  ycungest  daughter.  She 
was  ten  years  old  when  her  parents  took  her  to  Kansas,  where  she  was  edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools. 

Until  1876  Mr.  Fry  farmed;  then  he  came  to  Trinity  county,  Cal.,  where 
he  worked  six  months  in  the  mines.  In  July,  1877,  he  came  to  Bakersfield 
as  foreman  on  Poso  creek  for  the  Kern  County  Land  Comoany.  After  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  at  farming  at  Fresno,  he  returned  to  his  work  as  fore- 
man for  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  at  Bakersfield.  Next  he  tried  again 
to  farm  near  Paso  Robles,  but  did  not  win  out  and  again  returned  to  Bakers- 
field and  engaged  in  general  contracting  and  heavy  teaming.  In  this  business 
he  was  very  successful  and  was  soon  able  to  build  his  fine  residence  at  No.  925 
Eighth  street,  on  a  property  of  one  and  one-third  acres  which  was  also  his 
business  headquarters.  Eventually  he  acquired  four  other  residences  and  a 
store  in  Bakersfield,  all  on  Chester  avenue,  the  store  being  on  the  corner  of 
Eighth  street.  His  business  grew  so  large  that  he  came  in  time  to  give  em- 
ployment to  a  large  number  of  men  and  teams.  He  had  the  contract  to  lay 
the  pipe  line  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company  from  the  oil  fields  in  Kern  County 
to  Point  Richmond,  which  occupied  a  year  in  building.  Since  his  death  his 
widow  has  had  his  business  interests  in  charge,  and  is  looking  after  her 
property  also.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republican.  Socially  he  affiliated  with 
the  Elks  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Foresters.  Mrs.  Fry  is  a  member 
of  the  Christian  Church  and  of  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union. 
She  has  five  children  :  Bertha,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Ramage  of  Bakersfield ;  Charles 
H.,  a  well  known  rancher  in  Kern  county;  Hattie,  ]\Irs.  Freal  Neighbert,  of 
Bakersfield;  Arthur  Delano,  a  h(  okkeeper  in  the  employ  of  a  local  concern; 
and  Lola,  Airs.  Floyd  Busby,  of  Bakersfield. 

WILLIAM  ALBERT  LAYERS.— David  Lavers,  pioneer,  father  of 
William  Albert  Lavers,  was  born  in  Nova  Scotia,  in  January,  1831,  and 
came  to  California  in  1852,  when  he  was  about  twenty-one  years  old.  For 
a  short  time  he  was  employed  in  the  mining  regions,  but  soon  took  up 
farming  in  San  Jose  and  in  1855  settled  at  Glennville,  Kern  county,  taking  up 
a  government  claim  on  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land.  The  story  of 
his  success  is  briefly  suggested  in  a  statement  that  he  is  now  the  owner  of 
three  thousand  acres  of  land,  sixty  acres  of  this  under  cultivation,  three 
acres  in  orchard,  and  he  is  extensively  engaged  in  breeding  horses,  cattle 
and  hogs.  For  several  years  past  he  has  been  in  practical  retirement  from 
active  life  and  his  business  interests  have  been  in  charge  of  his  son  above 
mentioned.  Miss  Anna  Cook,  born  in  New  Brunswick,  March  6,  1848, 
became  his  wife.  They  had  five  children  named  as  follows:  Morton  A., 
Mattie  A.,  Minnie  S..  William  A.  and  Fred  D.  The  two  daughters  have 
passed  away. 

It  was  on  the  old  Lavers  homestead  near  Glennville  that  William  Albert 
Lavers  was  born  November  12,  1886.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
at  Linn's  Valley  and  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  at  Wilmerding  school  in 
San    Francisco,   graduating   in    1905.      After    leaving   school    he    returned    to 


756  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Linn's  Valley  to  take  charge  of  his  father's  extensive  land  interests,  and  so 
successfully  has  he  handled  them  that  he  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  fore- 
most of  the  younger  business  men  of  his  community. 

PAUL  CHATOM.— Born  April  4,  1863,  in  Canton  Ticino,  Switzerland, 
Paul  Chatom  is  the  son  of  Michael  and  Maria  (Magnaghi)  Chatom.  ]\Iichael 
Chatom  had  varied  experiences  in  the  gold  fields  of  Australia,  where  he  made 
a  small  fortune,  and  upon  returning  to  his  native  Switzerland,  built  up  a 
tannery  and  butcher  shop,  which  he  continued  to  operate  successfully  until 
his  death  in  1868,  when  his  son  Paul  was  but  five  years  of  age.  His  widow 
still  survives,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three,  making  her  home  in  Switzerland 
in  the  old  home.  Four  sons  and  one  daughter  were  born  to  Michael  Chatom 
and  wife,  viz. :  Albert,  Paul,  Michael,  Jack  and  Fannie  (who  was  a  sister 
in  the  convent  in  Genoa  City  and  is  now  deceased). 

Paul  Chatom  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  village  and  also 
St.  Joseph's  College  at  Locarno,  Switzerland.  In  1882  he  came  to  California 
and  was  first  engaged  in  the  building  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  from 
Reading  to  Roseburg,  Ore.,  and  thence  to  Shasta  county,  Cal.  The  next 
year  he  worked  in  the  Maison  Doree  restaurant  at  San  Francisco,  where  he 
remained  for  a  year,  going  from  there  to  Merced,  where  he  had  charge  of  a 
restaurant  for  Johnny  Smith.  After  conducting  the  latter  place  for  two 
years  he  went  to  Modesto,  where  he  engaged  in  the  same  business  on  his 
own  account,  and  here  met  with  gratifying  prosperity.  Two  years  later  he 
sold  out  and  went  to  Santa  Barbara,  where  he  soon  built  up  a  fine  business, 
but  after  five  or  six  months  was  obliged  to  relinquish  this  interest  because 
of  poor  health,  and  going  from  there  to  Phoenix,  Ariz.,  he  accepted  the 
position  of  steward  in  the  Commercial  hotel.  After  six  months  he  returned 
to  Fresno  and  opened  up  The  Reception,  a  fine  restaurant  there  which  he 
conducted  for  the  next  two  years,  in  1890  disposing  of  it  and  coming  to 
Bakersfield,  which  place  suited  his  tastes  so  well  that  he  has  ever  since  made 
it  his  home.  For  one  year  he  ran  the  Mocha  restaurant,  and  then  leased 
the  Monte  Carlo  restaurant  for  five  years.  During  the  panic  of  1893  he  lost 
about  ten  thousand  dollars,  which  left  him  without  funds  and  almost  dis- 
heartened. Nevertheless  he  dauntlessly  opened  up  a  small  place  in  the  east 
end  of  Bakersfield,  which  he  called  The  Klondike,  in  which  business  he 
was  enabled  to  save  a  little  money  and  his  next  move  was  to  embark  in  the 
furniture  business  which  he  built  up  to  a  flourishing  condition.  Ill  luck, 
however,  seemed  to  follow  him,  for  the  last  mentioned  place  was  destroyed 
by  fire  and  the  loss  was  considerable.  He  then  took  charge  of  the  Bakers- 
field Club  for  five  years,  during  which  time  he  exercised  the  utmost  economy 
and  his  thrift  proved  valuable  to  him,  as  he  was  soon  able  to  open  the 
restaurant  over  which  he  is  at  present  the  proprietor,  the  Mascot,  located  in 
the  old  Berges  building,  on  Nineteenth  street,  for  which  he  obtained  a  three 
years'  lease.  He  then  purchased  the  Packard  property  at  No.  1517  Eight- 
eenth street,  where  he  erected  the  brick  building  30x65  feet,  which  is  occupied 
by  the  New  Mascot,  also  purchased  the  residence  at  No.  1521  Eighteenth 
street.  In  1909  he  erected  the  splendid  Alascot  Apartment  house  on  Six- 
teenth street,  and  a  year  later  the  Chatom  apartment  on  Seventeenth  street.      ' 

In  1890,  Mr.  Chatom  was  married  to  Miss  Laura  Rose  Wall,  a  native  of 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  two  children  were  born  to  them  :  Paul,  a  student  in  the 
University  of  California ;  and  Virginia,  who  is  being  educated  at  the  convent 
of  the  Notre  Dame,  at  San  Jose.  In  politics  Mr.  Chatom  is  a  stanch  Repub- 
lican, always  voting  that  ticket. 

JAMES  MARCUS  HAYDEN.— A  diversity  of  occupations  and  the 
various  environments  which  have  surrounded  him  in  his  work  have  con- 
tributed to  James  Marcus  Hayden  his  wide  knowledge  of  afTairs,  his  broad 
business  experience  and  his  clear  insight  into  afifairs  in  general.  The  son 
of  Capt.   Marcus  A.   and   Eliza    fProctorl    Hayden,   he  inherited   from  these 


2^^^iZy^^r*ty 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  759 

two  sturdy  children  of  Kentucky  the  many  adiniralile  traits  of  those  country- 
men. The  father  was  engaged  in  the  general  merchandise  business  at  May- 
^•ille,  and  during  the  war  served  as  a  captain  in  a  Missouri  regiment  under 
General  Price.  After  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  from  duty  in  the 
war  he  resumed  his  mercantile  pursuits,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  passed 
away  in  Missouri. 

Mr.  Hayden,  who  was  born  in  Lexington,  Mo.,  March  2(),  1869,  is  the 
only  surviving  child  of  his  parents.  Reared  in  Lafayette  county,  that  state, 
he  attended  the  local  public  schools  and  was  later  sent  to  the  W'entworth 
Military  Academy  at  Lexington,  where  he  was  schooled  in  the  rigid  prin- 
ciples of  honor,  courage  and  trustworthiness.  His  first  occupation  was  rail- 
roading, as  agent  at  Corder,  Mo.,  for  the  Chicago  &  x\lton  Railroad,  with 
which  company  he  continued  at  various  points  for  a  period  of  three  years. 
He  then  for  six  months  filled  the  position  of  city  agent  for  the  Burlington 
&  IMisscuri  at  Deadwood,  and  became  interested  in  mining  in  the  Black 
Hills  region.  Butte,  Mont.,  was  his  next  location  and  when  the  Rossland, 
B.  C.  excitement  was  reported  he  made  his  way  to  British  Columbia,  where 
he  mined  at  dififerent  places  for  some  time  with  varying  success.  An  oppor- 
tunity to  return  to  railroading  led  him  to  return  to  the  States  and  he  accepted 
the  pc  sition  of  agent  at  American  Fork,  Utah,  for  the  Oregon  Railroad  & 
Navigation  Company.  In  1906  he  came  to  California  and  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  in  the  pipe  line  department  at  Corcoran,  when 
he  w-as  transferred  to  Coalinga.  Here  he  was  bookkeeper  for  a  short  period, 
his  abilitv  being  soon  recognized  by  his  promotion  to  superintendent  of 
the  Coalinga  division,  and  in  this  capacity  he  served  with  splendid  success 
for  three  years,  and  in  1911  was  transferred  to  the  main  office  at  Bakersfield 
as  chief  accountant  under  J.  M.  Atwell.  When  the  property  at  Lost  Hills 
was  purchased  by  the  company  he  was  sent  there  to  superintend  the  division 
and  as  such  opened  the  work  and  continued  the  supervision  until  July,  1912, 
when  he  resigned  to  enter  the  mercantile  business  for  himself  in  Lost  Hills, 
where  he  has  already  built  up  a  good  trade. 

Mr.  Hayden  was  married  in  Logan,  LUah,  September  21,  1905,  to  Thelma 
Johnson,  who  was  a  native  of  Logan.  They  have  three  children,  Thomas, 
Marcus  and  James,  Jr.  The  family  make  their  home  in  Wasco,  where  they 
enjoy  the  friendship  of  a  host  of  well-wishers.    ]Mr.  Hayden  is  a  Democrat. 

CHARLES  MINER  VROOMAN.— The  genealogy  of  the  Vrooman 
family  is  traced  back  to  the  old  Knickerbocker  stock  that  formed  a  most 
important  element  in  the  colonial  upbuilding  of  New  York.  During  the 
Revolution  the  family  had  representatives  at  the  front  and  bore  its  share 
m  the  sanguinary  struggles  of  the  period.  Joseph  Brown  Vrooman,  a  native 
of  New  York  state  and  a  land  speculator  through  his  active  years,  married 
Abbie  Chapman,  of  Stonington,  Conn.,  whose  ancestc  rs  had  served  in  the  navy 
during  the  Revolutionary  war  and  had  been  identified  otherwise  with  the 
early  history  of  New  England.  The  only  living  son  of  this  marriage.  Judge 
Charles  Miner  Vrooman,  "was  born  in  the  city  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  November 
29,  1852,  and  received  a  public-school  education  in  his  native  town,  later 
attending  the  University  of  Rochester,  from  which  he  was  graduated,  in  1873. 
with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  Afterward  he  held  a  position  as  teacher  in  the 
Rochester  high  school.  Coming  to  California  in  1877  and  settling  in  the  then 
sparsely  inhabited  county  of  Kern,  he  was  duly  chosen  principal  of  the 
Sumner  ("now  East  Bakersfield)  schools,  a  position  that  he  filled  acceptably 
for  five  years.  After  having  taught  in  East  Bakersfield  and  other  parts  of 
Kern  county  until  1889,  he  then  gave  up  the  work  of  a  teacher  to  engage  in 
stockraising  on  Mount  Breckenridge.  From  his  advent  in  the  county  his 
summers  were  spent  in  the  South  Fork  country  and  he  has  been  a  permanent 


760  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

resident  of  this  section  since  l'J05,  meanwhile  maintaining  a  close  association 
with  local  advancement  along  every  line  of  progress. 

The  title  by  which  Judge  Vrooman  is  familiarly  known  came  to  him 
through  his  occupancy  of  the  ofifice  of  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  first  judicial 
township  of  Kern  county,  to  which  office  he  was  elected  in  1910  on  the  Repub- 
lican ticket.  During  January  of  1911  he  took  the  oath  of  office  and  entered 
upon  its  duties,  which  he  has  since  discharged  with  impartiality,  efficiency 
and  exceptional  promptness.  The  judicial  district  is  the  oldest  in  the  county 
and  he  has  in  his  office  the  docket  extending  back  into  the  '60s,  when  it  was  a 
part  of  Tulare  county.  His  office  is  located  at  Isabella,  it  being  the  most 
central  place  in  the  judicial  township.  On  the  organization  of  the  Bakersfield 
Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias,  he  became  one  of  its  charter  members,  and  in 
addition  he  is  a  member  of  the  Delta  Psi.  In  the  midst  of  his  labors  as  a 
stockraiser  and  as  a  justice  he  has  never  lost  his  early  interest  in  educational 
matters.  The  relinquishment  of  the  work  of  teaching  did  not  mean  an  aban- 
dLument  of  interest  in  the  profession.  In  every  way  possible  he  has  striven  to 
promote  the  success  of  the  public  school  system,  which  he  believes  to  lie  at  the 
very  foundation  of  all  future  prosperity  and  progress  in  our  country.  For 
eight  years  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  county  board  of  education  and  during 
part  of  the  time  he  was  honored  by  being  chosen  president  of  the  board,  in 
which  capacity  he  was  instrumental  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  schools 
and  advancing  the  standard  of  education  in  the  county. 

JAMES  E.  CHITTENDEN.— The  state  of  Illinois  has  taken  a  place  in 
the  history  of  the  development  of  western  America  as  a  stopping  place  for 
pioneers  from  the  East  and  a  breeding  ground  of  pioneers  destined  for  the 
tar  west.  Among  well  known  citizens  of  Kern  county,  Cal.,  who  were  born  in 
the  Prairie  State  none  are  better  or  more  favorably  known  than  is  James  E. 
Chittenden,  of  Glennville.  Mr.  Chittenden  was  born  in  Warsaw,  Hancock 
county.  111.,  May  17,  1839,  and  when  he  was  old  enough  entered  public  school 
there  and  studied  until  he  was  about  fifteen  years  old.  His  father,  E.  F.  Chit- 
tenden, crossed  the  plains  to  California  in  1852  and  the  rest  of  the  family,  the 
mother  and  four  children,  came  to  the  state  in  1855  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama,  and  settlement  was  made  at  Calaveras,  fifteen  miles  from  Stockton. 
There  James  E.  worked  for  his  father  until  he  was  twenty-four  years  old, 
and  then  for  six  years  he  was  a  salesman  in  the  employ  of  Bowen  Brothers  in 
Stockton.  Taking  up  his  residence  in  Sacramento  he  was  employed  during  the 
ensuing  six  years  in  a  pre  duce  house.  For  a  time  he  was  a  proof  reader  on  the 
Sacramento  Union  and  assisted  in  the  delivery  of  the  paper  to  its  subscribers. 
After  his  father's  death  he  returned  to  Stockton  in  order  the  better  to  help 
care  for  the  household.  There  he  engaged  in  the  notion  and  cigar  business, 
continuing  this  for  stime  time,  besides  which  he  was  agent  for  and  manager 
of  the  Stockton  Theatre.  Subsequently  he  became  agent  of  the  Southern  Pa- 
cific road  at  Banta  Station.  His  identification  with  Kern  county  dates  from  the 
year  1875  and  soon  after  coming  here  he  located  at  Sumner,  where  he  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  general  commission  business  which  ultimately  grew  to 
large  proportions.  In  1890  he  settled  on  the  property  which  has  come  to  be 
known  as  his  home  place,  on  Sandy  creek  near  Glennville.  It  consists  of 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  of  which  about  sixty-five  acres  are  under 
cultivation,  thirty  acres  in  alfalfa  and  the  remainder  in  fruit.  His  chief  busi- 
ness, however,  is  the  raising  cf  horses,  cattle  and  hogs.  His  buildings,  ap- 
pointments and  implements  are  thoroughly  up-to-date  and  his  methods  are 
modern  and  productive  of  the  best  results. 

Politically  Mr.  Chittenden  is  a  stanch  Republican.  In  1888  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Clapp)  Rigby,  a  native  of  Eldorado  county, 
Cal.  She  passed  away  October  17,  1905,  having  become  the  mother  of  five 
children,  of  whom  four  are  living,  as  follows :  Virgil  E..  a  rancher  in  Linn's 


s^ 


<I$i 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  763 

valley;  Justin  L.,  who  assists  with  the  ranch  duties;  Julia  F.,  who  presides 
over  his  household  ;  and  Elbert  F.,  in  Porterville. 

CHRISTIAN  AND  MARGARET  BAPTISTA.— Ani,,no  the  enterpris- 
ing citizens  who  have  aided  in  the  develoi)ing  of  farm  lands  in  Kern  conntv 
we  find  Air.  and  Airs.  Baptista,  who  have  been  industrious,  energetic  and 
honorable  in  their  effort  to  secure  a  competency,  which  they  have  accom- 
plished and  are  now  living  comfortably  on  their  twenty-acre  ranch  in  the 
Ruena  Vista  district,  while  they  lease  their  other  ranch  for  dairy  purposes. 

Mrs.  Baptista  was  in  maidenhood  Alargaret  Wolf,  a  native  of  Canton 
Graubunden,  Switzerland,  and  was  the  daughter  of  Peter  and  Alary  (Solis) 
Wolf,  both  natives  of  that  canton,  where  they  followed  farming  fdi'  a  liveli- 
hood. When  Margaret  Wolf  was  eight  years  of  age  there  occurred  a 
tragedy  in  the  family.  While  her  father  and  mother  and  three  of  their 
children  were  making  hay  on  another  place  an  earthslide  occurred  in  which 
they  lost  their  lives,  thus  leaving  the  eight-year-old  girl  and  her  brother  Christ, 
ten  years  of  age,  orphans.  The  brother  still  resides  on  the  old  home  place! 
Her  girlhood  was  spent  in  the  home  of  her  grandfather,  George  Si. lis,  a 
farmer  in  Orisons,  where  she  attended  the  common  schools.  In  earlv  life 
it  became  necessary  for  her  to  learn  habits  of  self-reliance,  and  these' have 
stood  her  in  good  stead  in  her  later  years.  Having  heard  very  favorable 
reports  from  people  returning  from  trips  to  the  United  States,  she  concluded 
to  cast  her  fortunes  in  the  New  World  and  in  1889  crossed  the  ocean  and 
came  forthwith  to  Hastings,  Adams  county,  Neb.  The  next  year,  in  1890, 
she  came  on  to  Bakersfield,  Cal.,  where  she  found  satisfactory  employment. 

February  3,  1894,  in  Airs.  Ellen  M.  Tracy's  home,  occurred  her  marriage 
with  Christian  Baptista.  He  was  born  in  Iner-ferera,  Canton  Graubunden, 
Switzerland,  July  23,  1865,  the  son  of  John  and  Alinnie  (Meule)  Baptista! 
farmers  in  the  Alps,  where  he  was  reared,  receiving  his  education  in  the 
free  schools  of  his  native  country.  In  1887  he  came  to  Kern  county,  Cal., 
where  he  was  employed  by  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  After  their 
marriage  they  engaged  in  grain-raising  in  the  Old  River  district  until  1896, 
when  they  purchased  twenty  acres  under  the  Stine  canal  in  that  same  district. 
This  was  seeded  to  alfalfa  and  later  they  added  to  it  until  they  had  tifty-six 
acres  all  in  alfalfa  and  a  dairy  herd  of  thirty-five  cows.  They  met  with  de- 
cided success  and  in  1909  leased  the  ranch.  They  now  own  and  reside  on 
their  alfalfa  ranch  in  the  Buena  Vista  district,  where  they  live  comfortably 
and  well.  With  them  resides  their  niece,  Augusta  Piper,  who  has  brought 
youth  and  joy  into  their  home,  and  they  take  genuine  pleasure  in  bringing 
her  up  and  doing  for  her  as  if  she  were  their  own  child. 

Air.  and  Airs.  Baptista  are  both  Re|)ublicans  in  their  political  views. 
While  Air.  Baptista  is  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  his  wife  is 
an  active  memlier  of  the  Women  of  Woodcraft  and  in  religion  is  a  memlier  of 
the  Baptist  Church  in  Bakersfield. 

H.  GUY  HUGHES.— Kern  county  has  many  citizens  born  within  the 
borders  of  the  state,  not  a  few  of  them  within  her  own  borders,  who  are 
leaders  in  the  various  industrial  and  commercial  movements  which  are  rapidly 
making  her  great.  H.  Guy  Hughes  was  born  on  the  Hughes  homestead 
at  Glennville  in  1887,  a  son  of  \Villiam  B.  and  Fannie  (McKamy)  Hughes. 
His  father,  who  was  born  in  Alissouri  in  1849,  was  brought  across  the 
plains  by  his  parents,  leaving  his  native  state  when  he  was  about  nine 
months  old.  The  family  settled  at  Sonora,  Tuolumne  county,  and  there 
he  passed  his  childhood  and  while  yet  but  a  boy  began  working  in  the  mines. 
Such  local  advantages  as  were  available  were  afforded  him,  however,  and 
when  he  was  sixteen  years  old  he  became  a  student  in  a  business  college 
at  Stockton.  After  the  removal  of  the  family  to  Glennville  he  bought  the 
old  Hight  place  and  engaged  in  stock-raising,  which  he  continued  until   his 


764  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

death.  Fannie  McKamy  was  born  in  Stockton,  Cal.,  June  7,  1866,  and  was 
married  in  June,  1886,  when  she  was  about  twenty  years  old.  She  bore  her 
husband  two  children,  H.  Guy  and  Florence.  The  father  died  January  4, 
1897.  Coming  to  Kern  county  in  1870,  his  life  here  embraced  the  era  of 
small  and  crude  things  and  he  experienced  many  of  the  hardships  incident 
to  pioneer  life  in  this  part  of  the  country.  For  a  time  he  was  in  charge  of  a 
large  bunch  of  cattle  in  Arizona  and  he  often  drove  cattle  to  San  Francisco 
to  market,  the  round  trip  consuming  three  months.  He  was  interested  in 
education  and  long  served  as  school  trustee  in  the  Wicher  district.  In  many 
ways  he  demunstrated  a  public  spirit  which  was  potent  in  the  advance- 
ment of  worthy  local  interests.  The  grandparents  of  H.  Guy  Hughes,  in 
both  the  paternal  and  the  maternal  line,  were  pioneer  emigrants  who  came 
across  the  plains  from  the  east. 

H.  Guy  Hughes  attended  public  school  and  high  school  until  he  was 
seventeen  years  old,  meantime  and  afterward,  busying  himself  on  the  farm. 
He  was  only  ten  years  old  when  his  father  died  and  his  mother  came  natur- 
ally, while  he  was  yet  very  young,  to  depend  on  him  in  many  matters  of 
nnportance.  He  went  to  work  in  the  oil  field  in  1908,  but  eventually  returned 
to  the  home  farm  and  devoted  himself  to  general  farming  and  cattle-raising. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Fannie  Guthrie,  a  native  of  Tulare,  Cal.  He  has 
from  early  manhood  taken  an  active  interest  in  public  matters  of  importance, 
has  been  clerk  of  the  board  of  educatiun  three  years  and  is  now  filling 
the    office    of    school    trustee. 

BARNEY  A.  ANDERSEN.— The  father  of  B.  A.  Andersen,  the  late  Fred- 
erick Andersen,  for  years  was  a  merchant  in  Germany,  where  the  mother, 
Anke,  still  makes  her  home.  There  were  nine  children  in  the  family,  but 
the  eldest,  Barney  A.,  was  the  only  one  of  the  large  family  to  establish  a 
home  in  California  and  he  came  to  this  country  and  state  in  1881  after  hav- 
ing learned  the  trade  of  a  tailor  under  his  father  at  Uhlebull,  Germany, 
where  he  was  born  November  12,  1863,  and  where  he  had  received  an 
excellent  German  education  in  the  national  schools. 

A  brief  experience  in  farming  followed  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Andersen  in 
California.  From  the  neighborhood  of  Los  Angeles  he  went  to  San  Francisco 
and  learned  the  trade  of  dyer  and  cleaner,  which  he  followed  for  some 
time  in  the  employ  of  others.  As  soon  as  possible,  however,  he  embarked 
in  the  business  for  himself.  Coming  to  Bakersfield  in  December  of  1900 
he  bought  property  and  built  a  dyeing  and  cleaning  establishment  on  the 
corner  of  Eighth  and  L  streets.  In  a  short  time  he  had  built  up  a  large 
trade.  Meanwhile  he  established  his  up-town  office  on  Nineteenth  street, 
later  removed  it  to  No.  2027  Chester  avenue  and  eventually  purchased  a 
lot  at  No.  1669  Chester  avenue,  where  he  built  a  suitable  structure  for  the 
prosecution  of  the  business.  Prosperity  had  crowned  his  efforts  and  the 
future  looked  bright  before  him,  when  suddenly  he  was  stricken  by  the  hand 
of  death  and  passed  away  May  19,  1910,  in  Los  Angeles,  where  his  body  was 
laid  to  its  last  rest.  In  his  last  days  he  had  the  consoling  influences  of  a 
deep  religious  faith,  for  he  was  an  earnest  member  of  St.  John's  German 
Lutheran  Church  in  Bakersfield  and  had  served  ably  as  president  of  its 
board  of  trustees,  doing  all  within  his  power  to  enlarge  the  sphere  of  its 
usefulness  as  well  as  to  exemplify  in  his  own  daily  acts  the  inspiring  and 
uplifting  influence  of  its  doctrines.  x\fter  he  became  a  resident  of  Bakersfield 
he  identified  himself  with  various  fraternities,  including  the  Independent 
Order  of  Foresters,  the  Modern  \A'oodmen  of  America  and  the  Improved 
Order  of  Red   Men. 

Surviving  Mr.  Andersen  are  his  widow  and  daughter,  Frieda,  the  latter 
now  the  wife  of  Martin  Fechtner,  of  Bakersfield.  Prior  to  her  marriage  in 
San    Francisco    in    1893    Mrs.    Andersen    was    Miss    Louise    Van    Goethem. 


I 


^0,,  ^a4.^,^t<J^___ 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  767 

Althoug;h  born  in  Collinsville.  111.,  she  has  lived  in  California  since  the 
age  of  four  years  and  received  her  education  in  St.  Paul's  school,  San 
Francisco.  Her  father,  Frank  Van  Goethem,  was  a  member  of  an  honored 
old  Flemish  family,  while  her  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Bern- 
hardena  Keisker,  was  a  native  of  (iermany.  After  a  residence  of  some  years 
in  Illinois  the  family  came  to  California  and  Mr.  Van  Goethem  secured 
work  as  a  tanner  in  San  P'rancisco,  where  the  daughter  was  reared,  edu- 
cated and  married.  Being  a  woman  of  business  ability  as  well  as  social 
charm,  she  has  cared  for  her  husband's  interests  with  discrimination,  has 
disposed  of  his  business  and  now  manages  the  property  with  discretion 
and  energy. 

JOHN  JEFFERSON  DARNUL.— .\s  one  of  that  illustrious  band  of 
pioneers  who  braved  the  dangers  and  endured  the  hardships  of  a  new  country 
in  order  that  the  way  might  be  paved  for  the  greater  prosperity  and  the 
easier  life  of  our  great  era  tf  progress,  Mr.  Darnul  occupies  an  enviable  posi- 
tion in  the  regard  of  the  people  of  Kern  county.  While  his  identification  with 
this  section  of  the  state  dates  back  as  far  as  1873,  it  by  no  means  covers 
the  duration  of  his  residence  in  the  west,  for  as  early  as  1835  he  crossed  the 
plains  and  became  a  permanent  resident  of  the  new  commonwealth.  He 
was  at  that  time  a  youth  of  nineteen  years,  r(  bust  of  constitution,  indus- 
trious in  habits  of  work,  persistent  in  application  and  well  qualified  to  suc- 
ceed in  the  west,  although  he  had  received  only  scant  educational  advantages 
and  had  been  deprived  of  all  the  opportunities  considered  so  essential  to 
twentieth-century  progress.  Since  coming  to  Kern  county  life  for  him  has 
meant  a  ck  se  association  with  local  development. 

The  first  nineteen  years  in  the  life  of  John  Jefferson  Darnul  were  passed 
in  Arkansas,  where  he  was  born  in  Pope  county  October  2,  1836.  His  father, 
Cook  B.  Darnul,  was  born  and  reared  in  Illinois  and  there  married  Miss 
Petray,  who  died  in  Arkansas  leaving  an  only  child,  Jchn  J.  Later  the 
father  was  united  in  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Shinn.  By  that  union  eight 
children  were  born,  but  only  two  of  these  survive,  viz. :  Mrs.  Pauline  Petray, 
of  Linn's  valley  and  Mrs.  Hannah  Wiley  of  Calaveras  county.  The  parents 
spent  their  last  years  in  California  and  died  in  Calaveras  county.  During 
the  five  months  spent  in  crossing  the  plains  from  .Arkansas  to  California  the 
eldest  son  of  the  family,  then  a  youth  of  nineteen,  proved  an  indispensable 
assistant  in  the  capacity  of  driver  of  the  ox-teams  and  in  the  other  work 
incident  to  such  an  arduous  undertaking.  Arriving  at  Sacramento,  he  ])ro- 
ceeded  to  the  mines,  but  did  not  find  the  occupation  of  miner  sufficiently 
profitable  to  induce  continuance  therein.  With  the  exception  of  that  early 
period  of  activity  as  a  miner,  he  has  devoted  himself  entirely  to  genera! 
farming,  although  he  is  now  retired. 

Settling  in  Sonoma  county  in  1858,  Mr.  Darnul  there  engaged  in  ranch- 
ing. Later  he  was  similarly  occupied  in  Ventura  county.  Since  1873  he 
has  made  his  home  in  Kern  county,  where  he  was  the  first  settler  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Kern  river,  on  the  site  of  what  is  now  Oil  Center.  From 
that  neighborhood  he  removed  to  Linn's  valley  in  1894  and  has  since  occupied 
and  operated  a  farm  comprising  two  hundred  and  forty  acres.  \\'hile 
owning  a  quarter  section  at  Oil  Center  he  decided  to  dig  a  ditch,  in  order 
that  he  might  irrigate  the  land  from  the  Kern  river.  During  the  prosecu- 
tion of  that  work  he  discovered  deposits  of  petroleum  in  the  .soil,  being 
indeed  the  first  to  note  the  presence  of  oil  in  that  field  of  later  fame.  Through 
his  efforts  the  Kern  River  Water  and  Irrigating  Ditch  Company  was  organ- 
ized and  incorporated,  thereby  establi.shing  the  now  well-known  Beardsley 
canal.  In  addition  to  doing  valuable  work  in  the  development  of  the  canal, 
he  was  associated  with  another  important  enterprise  in  Kern  county,  viz.: 
the  first  street  railroad  in  Bakersfield.  for  which  he  did  considerable  grading. 


768  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

FREDERICK  LAYERS.— Near  Glennville,  where  he  was  born  October 
26,  1888,  Frederick  Lavers  was  educated  in  the  public  schools.  Later 
he  was  sent  to  Stockton  as  a  student  in  Heald's  Business  College  and  con- 
tinued there  until  the  completion  of  the  commercial  course  in  1910,  after 
which  he  acted  as  bookkeeper  for  a  Bakersfield  firm  for  six  months.  After 
a  subsequent  short  sojourn  at  the  parental  home  he  removed  to  Hanford, 
Kings  county,  but  in  a  short  time  he  returned  to  his  native  county  and  pur- 
chased forty  acres,  comprising  his  present  homestead.  LTpon  this  farm  he 
has  engaged  in  intensive  agriculture.  October  22,  1910,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Engle,  who  was  born  at  Granite  Station,  Kern 
county,  and  is  a  daughter  of  David  Engle.  The  only  child  of  this  union, 
David,  bears  the  name  of  both  of  his  paternal  grandfathers. 

The  discovery  of  gold  induced  David  Lavers,  the  father,  to  come  to 
the  Pacific  coast.  Born  at  Windsor,  Nova  Scotia,  in  January,  1831,  his 
was  the  childhood  of  poverty,  the  boyhood  of  self-sacrifice  and  the  youth 
of  privation.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Cum- 
berland county,  Nova  Scotia,  but  work  being  scarce  and  illy-paid  he 
soon  went  on  to  Massachusetts,  where  he  was  better  able  to  earn  a  live- 
lihood. During  1852  he  sailed  from  the  Long  wharf  at  Boston  on  a  ship 
bound  for  San  Francisco  via  the  Horn.  The  voyage  occupied  six  months 
of  tedious  travel  not  altogether  exempt  from  danger  and  privation,  but  in 
the  end  anchor  was  cast  safely  within  the  Golden  Gate.  For  almost  one 
year  he  worked  in  Stockton,  but  the  great  floods  of  1853  caused  him  to 
leave  that  section  and  to  secure  employment  at  San  Jose.  During  1855 
he  came  to  Kern  county  and  mined  in  the  Greenhorn  mountains  as  a  day 
laborer,  after  which  for  one  year  he  wc^rked  on  the  ranch  owned  by  William 
Lynn,  then  for  a  while  engaged  in  mining  with  Samuel  Reed.  However, 
he  soon  began  to  realize  that  the  only  avenue  to  financial  independence  was 
the  securing  of  a  farm  and,  having  no  means  with  which  to  make  a  pur- 
chase, he  took  up  a  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  which  now  lies  half 
a  mile  south  of  Glennville.  As  best  he  could  with  scanty  means  and  no 
machinery,  he  began  to  improve  the  land.  Later  a  stage  coach  made  regular 
trips  between  Visalia  and  Havilah,  the  then  county-seat.  There  was  con- 
siderable patronage  of  the  old  coach  and  this  gave  him  an  incentive  for  a 
new  enterprise.  Building  the  first  hotel  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county, 
he  started  the  first  hotel  in  Linn's  valley  and  from  the  first  had  a  fair 
patronage.  The  hotel  later  was  converted  into  a  private  residence  and 
now  gives  him  a  comfortable  home  for  his  old  age.  For  two  years  he 
engaged  in  mining  on  the  White  river  and  later  mined  the  Ball  mountain 
mine,  where  he  met  with  gratifying  success. 

The  year  of  1859  found  David  Lavers  joined  by  his  father  and  mother, 
the  former  of  whom  aided  him  in  stock-raising,  while  the  latter  acted  as 
ranch  housekeeper  besides  looking  after  the  hotel.  The  assistance  of  his 
parents  proved  very  helpful  to  him,  while  at  the  same  time  he  was  able 
to  give  them  every  comfort  for  their  last  days.  Meanwhile  he  purchased 
railroad  land  as  he  was  able  and  added  to  his  holdings  until  now  he  has  the 
title  to  three  thousand  acres,  the  larger  part  of  which  is  utilized  as  a  stock 
range.  In  the  early  days,  when  population  was  meager  and  money  scarce, 
he  had  constant  difficulty  in  meeting  expenses  and  his  life  was  one  of  labor 
and  incessant  self-denial.  During  the  winter  of  1856-57  he  drove  with  three 
head  of  oxen  and  a  wagon  of  potatoes  through  to  Ft.  Tejon  and  then 
made  a  trip  through  Tulare  county  from  Porterville  to  Millerton,  selling  the 
spuds  at  high  prices.  As  people  began  to  settle  in  the  region  it  became  easier 
for  him  to  dispose  of  his  crops  and  existence  became  less  of  a  drudgery, 
while  the  newcomers  welcomed  his  advice  and  friendship  with  gratitude. 
From   the   first   he  was   a  local  leader  and   his   interest   has   continued   up   to 


'^su^vuImJ' 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  771 

the  present  time.  The  land  for  the  Glennville  cemetery  was  donated  h_v  him. 
He  is  an  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  has  been  a  school  trustee  and  is  a 
Republican. 

It  was  not  until  about  forty-four  years  of  age  that  David  Lavers  estab- 
lished a  home  of  his  own.  October  30,  1875,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Annie  Cook,  who  was  born  in  New  Brunswick,  Canada,  in  1848.  The 
wedding  occurred  at  Dorchester,  New  Brunswick,  Mr.  Lavers  having  gone 
east  from  California  for  the  purpose  of  winning  his  bride.  They  settled  in 
Kern  county  and  successfully  managed  their  farm  in  Linn's  valley,  so  that 
eventuallv  they  became  one  of  the  wealthiest  families  of  the  entire  district. 
Five  children  were  born  of  their  union.  Two  daughters,  Mattie  and  Minnie, 
died  at  the  old  home  farm  near  Glennville.  Three  sons  survive,  namely : 
Morton,  of  Bakersfield ;  \\'illiam,  who  is  assisting  his  father  in  the  stock 
business ;  and  Frederick,  a  farmer  near  Panama. 

PETER  LAMBERT. — The  zeal,  untiring  effort  and  thrifty  habits  char- 
acteristic of  the  French  race  are  conspicuously  found  in  the  life  of  Peter 
Lambert,  whose  birth  occurred  in  the  lofty  mountains  of  Hautes  Alpes,  in 
the  small  village  of  Ancel,  February  15,  1852.  He  was  named  for  his  father, 
who  reared  him  in  his  native  home  and  gave  him  the  advantages  of  a  thor- 
ough schooling,  meanwhile  teaching  him  the  rudiments  of  farming  in  order 
to  prepare  him  for  the  rugged  road  toward  self-support  and  independence. 
He  remained  at  his  father's  side  until  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty,  at  which 
time  he  determined  to  visit  an  uncle,  John  Roux,  who  was  a  pioneer  miner 
in  far-oft"  California  and  who  had  become  a  prominent  sheep  man  in  Los 
Angeles.  In  January,  1872,  Mr.  Lambert  left  his  mountain  home  and  came 
by  way  of  Havre  to  New  York  City  and  from  there  on  an  overland  train 
to  San  Francisco,  Cal.  Being  held  up  in  the  mountains  by  the  heavy  snow 
storms  he  did  not  reach  the  latter  point  until  March  and  he  immediately 
boarded  a  boat  for  Los  Angeles.  Flis  uncle  took  him  into  his  employ  and 
he  was  soon  well  informed  in  the  sheep  business,  in  April  driving  a  flock 
across  the  mountains  to  South  Fork,  Kern  county.  Twenty-five  months 
later  he  drove  them  into  Gilroy,  where  they  were  disposed  of  to  buyers 
from  San  Francisco.  He  then  returned  to  Los  Angeles  to  drive  another 
flock,  this  time  to  the  Mexican  border  below  San  Diego,  where  he  remained 
until  December.  Riding  a  saddle  horse  to  San  Fernando,  he  took  a  stage 
to  P.akersfield  and  then  went  by  rail  to  Delano,  where  he  entered  the  employ 
of  Germain  Pellissier.  a  prominent  sheep  man.  remaining  with  him  until 
June.  1875.  when  with  his  two  brothers  he  purchased  a  flock  of  sheep  which 
they  ranged  in  the  north  of  Kern  county.  The  drouth  of  1877  caused  a 
loss  of  one-third  of  the  sheep  and  one  of  the  brothers  dropped  out  of  the 
partnership:  in  1880  Peter  Lambert  purchased  the  other  brother's  interest  and 
ccntinued  the  business  alone  until  1884,  when  he  sold  his  sheep.  He 
had  watched  closely  the  development  of  the  industry  and  the  advancement 
in  the  method  of  handling  sheep.  He  saw  how  the  range  was  being  fenced 
and  realized  that  the  safest  mode  of  continuing  in  the  stock  business  was 
for  the  individual  to  own  landed  interests,  broad  acres  on  which  to  range 
his  stock.  Accordingly,  he  in  1883  purchased  a  school  section,  two  and  a 
half  miles  east  of  Granite  station,  and  he  afterward  purcha.sed  railroad 
lands  adjacent  until  he  had  over  eleven  sections,  or  something  over  .seven 
thousand  acres  of  land.  At  the  time  of  the  oil  boom,  however,  he  was 
induced  to  sell  seven  sections,  retaining  two  thousand  and  eighty  acres  which 
he  still  owns.  This  land  is  well  watered  by  springs  w;hich  aflford  ample 
water  for  the  stock  the  year  round.  In  the  year  1895  lie  again  embarked 
in  the  sheep  business  and  continued  it  until  1898,  when  he  again  sold,  owing 
to  the  drouth  of  that  year;  but  three  years  later,  in  1901,  he  purchased  a 
flock  of  sheep  in  New  Mexico  and  bringing  them  to  Kern  county,  continued 


772  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  business  until  1908,  when  he  sold  his  flock  and  has  since  rented  his  ranch 
for  a  cattle  ranch. 

Since  1889  Mr.  Lambert  has  made  his  home  on  his  present  place  in  East 
Bakersfield,  owning  a  valuable  piece  of  property  on  Humboldt  near  Kern 
street.  He  was  married  in  that  year  in  Sumner,  now  East  Bakersfield,  to 
Miss  Malvina  Rambaud,  who  was  also  born  in  Hautes  Alpes,  France,  and 
who  came  to  Bakersfield  the  year  of  her  marriage.  They  have  a  daughter. 
Marie.     In  his  politics  Mr.  Lambert  is  a  Republican. 

HENRY  LOUIS  BORGWARDT.— An  honored  place  among  the  Cali- 
fornia pioneers  of  the  '50s  is  held  by  Mr.  Borgwardt  of  Bakersfield,  who  has 
been  a  resident  of  Kern  county  since  1868  and  meanwhile  has  contributed  to 
the  development  of  the  agricultural  and  stock-raising  interests  of  this  portion 
of  the  state,  as  well  as  to  the  material  upbuilding  of  his  home  city.  Of 
German  nativity  and  lineage,  he  was  born  July  30,  1832,  in  the  city  oi 
Lubeck.  By  reason  of  the  town  being  one  of  the  principal  harbors  along 
the  Baltic  coast  and  therefore  a  headquarters  for  sailors  and  also  through 
the  fact  that  his  father,  Capt.  Henry  Borgwardt,  was  a  pilot  and  captain 
on  an  ocean  vessel,  he  himself  early  turned  to  the  sea  as  affording  a  means 
of  livelih6od  and  at  thirteen  years  of  age  shipped  on  the  barque  Luba 
which  was  engaged  in  the  South  American  trade.  For  four  and  one-half 
years  he  remained  on  the  same  vessel  and  afterward  sailed  on  other  ships, 
at  times  from  Lubeck  and  often  from  Hamburg.  During  1854  he  left  Ham- 
burg on  the  New  Ed  that  sailed  around  Cape  Horn,  making  stops  only  at 
Valparaiso,  Chile,  and  other  leading  ports,  and  arriving  at  San  Francisco 
on  the  28th  of  November  after  a  tedious  voyage  of  six  months. 

A  desire  to  hunt  for  gold  led  the  young  sailor  to  abandon  his  trade  for 
the  more  uncertain  occupation  of  mining.  For  some  years  he  engaged  in 
placer  and  hydraulic  mining  on  the  middle  fork  of  the  American  river  in 
Eldorado  county,  ^^'ith  the  exception  of  a  brief  period,  beginning  in  1859, 
devoted  to  the  dairy  industr}',  he  remained  in  the  mines  of  California  and 
Nevada  until  1868,  when  he  permanently  retired  from  the  work  and  took 
up  sheep-raising  on  Poso  creek  in  Kern  county.  At  that  time  Havilah  was 
still  the  county-seat  and  few  settlers  had  identified  themselves  with  the 
development  of  the  region.  Range  was  plentiful  and  the  sheep  industry, 
with  favorable  weather,  offered  large  possibilities.  Pre-empting  cne  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  on  the  creek  and  building  a  cabin  for  his  family,  Mr. 
Borgwardt  remained  there  for  thirteen  years.  Aleanwhile  he  experienced  the 
ups  and  downs  incident  to  the  business.  His  heaviest  loss  resulted  from  the 
drought  of  1877  and  four  years  later  he  sold  all  of  the  sheep  and  retired 
from  the  business. 

At  the  time  of  removing  to  Bakersfield  and  acquiring  eighty  acres 
adjacent  to  the  city  limits,  Mr.  Borgwardt  turned  his  attention  to  the  raising 
of  alfalfa  on  the  tract.  A  portion  of  this  he  cut  for  hay  and  the  balance 
was  used  for  the  pasturage  of  stock.  With  the  growth  of  the  city,  he 
decided  to  lay  out  the  land  into  lots  and  this  he  did  in  1889,  Union  and 
California  streets  forming  the  beginning  of  the  Borgwardt  tract,  from  which 
a  large  number  of  lots  have  been  sold  and  which  has  the  advantage  of 
lying  twenty  feet  higher  than  Bakersfield.  The  supervision  of  the  property 
naturally  took  the  owner  into  the  real-estate  business  and  for  more  than 
twenty  years  he  has  given  his  attention  almost  wholly  to  such  work  as 
related  to  the  development  of  his  sub-divisions.  Shortly  after  he  arrived 
in  San  Francisco  at  the  close  of  his  long  vo3'age  from  Germany  he  was 
united  in  marriage  "with  Miss  Caroline  Peterson,  who  was  born  in  Schleswig- 
Holstein,  Germany,  and  came  to  America  in  the  same  ship  with  Mr.  Borg- 
wardt. Their  long  wedded  life  of  mutual  happiness  and  helpfulness  was 
bniken   bv  her  death  in  June,   1W3.      \ine   cliildren   had  been  born   of   their 


I 


I 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  777 

union,  namely:  Mary,  who  died  in  liakersfield  June  3,  1<S88;  Henry,  wlio  for 
twelve  years  served  as  sheriff  of  Kern  county  and  died  here  in  August, 
1904;  Andrew,  who  died  in  this  city  June  10,  1878;  William,  a  rancher 
near  llakersfield ;  Dora,  who  was  taken  from  the  home  when  only  one 
month  old;  Charles,  living-  in  I'Vesno ;  Francis,  a  merchant  at  Mill  Valley; 
(ieorge  \\".,  who  follows  the  painter's  trade  in  Itakersfield ;  and  Morris, 
who  is  also  a  resident  of  this  city,  and  his  family  make  their  home  with 
Mr.  Borgwardt.  As  early  as  1872  Mr.  Borgwardt  became  identified  with  the 
Bakersfield  Lodgfe,  I.  O.  O.  F.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

JOSEPH  GIRARD. — Many  of  the  men  who  have  contributed  materially 
to  the  dc\elopnient  and  upbuilding  of  Kern  county  have  come  here  from 
the  smith  of  l<>ance  and  among  these  we  find  Joseph  Girard,  who  is  one  of 
the  old  settlers  of  Delano,  coming  as  he  did  to  this  vicinity  in  1889.  He  was 
engaged  in  the  sheep  business  up  to  1909,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in 
the  cattle  business.  He  was  born  in  Ancelles,  Hautes  Alpes,  France,  January 
4,  1869,  being  the  son  of  Francois  and  Delphino  (Jullian)  Girard. 

From  a  boy  Jose!)h  Girard  made  himself  useful  on  the  farm,  becoming 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  stock  business,  a  knowledge  that  was  of  the 
greatest  assistance  to  him  after  he  came  to  California.  In  the  local  schools 
near  his  home  he  received  a  good  education  and  training.  When  nineteen  he 
determined  to  migrate  to  Calift-rnia,  having  an  uncle,  G.  Jullian,  and  a 
brother,  F.mil,  in  San  F''rancisco,  and  he  accordingly  left  the  old  home  to  seek 
his  fortune  in  the  land  of  the  Golden  West,  arriving  in  San  Francisco  in 
December  of  1888.  Here  he  remained  for  three  months  and  in  March,  1889, 
came  to  Kern  county,  where  he  entered  into  partnership  with  his  brother, 
Philipp,  and  they  continued  together  in  sheep  raising.  Purchasing  a  ranch 
sixteen  miles  west  of  Delano,  which  was  their  headquarters,  they  introduced 
full-blooded  merinos,  thus  bringing  their  flock  to  a  very  high  grade.  In 
19C9  they  sold  their  flocks  and  began  the  cattle  business,  in  which  they  are 
very  successful,  raising  short  horn  Durhams  for  beef  cattle.  They  continue 
using  the  same  brand,  a  small  circle  within  a  circle  and  joined  by  a  bar  on 
opposite  sides.  Their  ranch  comprises  about  five  thousand  acres,  all  under 
fence,  being  well  watered  by  springs  and  by  a  pumping  plant ;  two  sets  of 
buildings  have  been  erected,  one  at  the  Springs  and  the  other  at  the  pumping 
plant.  With  his  family  he  resides  in  Delano,  where  he  owns  fifteen  acres, 
adjoining  the  city,  with  a  comfortable  residence.  In  1905  he  visited  his  old 
home  in  France  and  there  met  the  lady  who  became  his  wife  October  18, 
1905.  She  was  Eva  Chabot,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Hautes  Alpes,  born 
October  27,  1887,  the  daughter  of  Louis  and  IMarie  (Marron)  Chabot,  who 
were  both  teachers  and  for  many  years  engaged  in  educational  work. 

Air.  and  Mrs.  Girard  have  had  five  children,  four  of  whom  are  living: 
Arthur  M.,  Justin  F.,  Marcel  P.,  deceased,  Emil  J.  and  Josephine  Marie.  Mr. 
Girard  is  public-spirited  and  a  Republican  in  politics. 

JOHN  KAAR.— Born  in  Xew  Jersey  in  1845,  he  traced  his  lineage  to 
Germany  through  the  Kaars,  while  on  the  maternal  side  he  came  from 
Scotch  forefathers.  At  an  early  age  he  removed  fr(:m  New  Jersey  to  Illinois 
in  company  with  his  father,  George  Kaar,  and  settled  on  a  tract  of  raw  land 
near  Princeton,  where  he  soon  learned  to  be  helpful  in  the  difficult  tasks 
connected  with  the  improvement  of  a  farm.  Meanwhile  he  was  penuitted  to 
attend  the  country  schools  during  the  winter  months  when  his  help  on  the 
farm  was  not  needed.  During  young  manhood  he  married  Miss  Emrna 
LeFever,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  died  in  California  in  1909. 
Having  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  brick-making,  he  settled  in 
Benton  county,  Ind.,  and  embarked  in  the  manufacture  of  tile  and  brick, 
but  at  the  same  time  carried  on  a  farm  in  that  locality. 

Bringing  his   family   to  Califurnia   in    1894.   John    Kaar   arrived    at    Kern 


778  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

(now  East  Bakersfield)  on  the  5th  of  March  and  established  a  home  on 
Central  avenue.  Immediately  he  became  interested  in  the  manufacture  of 
brick.  In  connection  with  this  industry  he  engaged  in  contracting  and 
building.  It  soon  came  to  be  understood  that  he  was  an  unusually  skilled 
workman.  Indeed,  his  reputation  in  that  regard  has  not  been  surpassed.  In 
Kern  he  erected  a  number  of  brick  residences  and  cottages  that  are  still 
owned  by  his  children  and  it  is  said  that  they  stand  today  apparently  in 
as  good  condition  as  the  day  they  were  completed.  People  in  a  position 
to  make  authoritative  statements  assert  that  he  built  more  residences  and 
buildings  in  Kern  than  any  other  man  in  the  town.  Other  enterprises 
enlisted  his  sympathy  and  co-operation,  but  it  was  to  the  building  business 
that  he  gave  his  keenest  abilities  and  most  unwearied  devotion  and  until 
his  death  in  1909  he  ranked  among  the  most  proficient  and  successful  build- 
ers in  Kern.  Surviving  him  are  five  children,  all  of  whom  are  well-known 
residents  of  East  Bakersfield,  namely:  Eliza,  Mrs.  O.  F.  Howell;  Nellie,  Mrs. 
David  Sheedy ;  George  S.,  manager  of  the  Citizens'  Laundry ;  Charles  H., 
who  is  engaged  in  the  automobile  business  as  proprietor  of  the  Studebaker 
Garage,  at  Eighteenth  and  L  streets,  Bakersfield ;  and  Jacob  F.,  a  real 
estate  dealer  and  rancher  near  Bakersfield. 

J.  FRANK  FOX. — Among  the  revered  and  beloved  pioneers  of  California 
none  was  more  thoroughly  grounded  in  the  facts  historical  and  geographical, 
political  and  industrial,  pertaining  to  the  state  than  the  late  J.  Frank  Fox. 
who  C(  mbined  with  this  knowledge  the  faculty  of  putting  it  into  writing  with 
that  graphic  ease  and  clever  pen  which  attracted  many  readers.  He  was  a 
member  of  a  well-known,  historic  family,  his  maternal  grandfather,  Enoch 
Page,  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  having  seen  active  service  in  the  French 
and  Indian  war,  as  well  as  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  held  the  commission 
of  captain  in  the  latter  controversy,  and  he  was  with  Washington  when  he 
crossed  the  Delaware  and  was  present  at  the  Battle  of  Bennington  under 
General  Stark.  The  Fox  family  was  one  of  the  oldest  in  Somerset  county.  Me., 
and  Fox  Hill  was  so  named  for  the  family.  J.  Frank  Fox  was  born  in  Athens, 
that  county  and  state,  on  April  2,  1826,  and  was  there  reared  to  young  man- 
hood. In  1851  he  came  to  California  via  Nicaragua  and  made  San  Francisco  his 
destination.  His  first  occupation  was  aiding  in  the  building  of  the  first  steam- 
boat on  Mission  Bay.  In  1853  he  was  United  States  consul  in  Old  Mexico, 
where  he  remained  for  about  fifteen  years.  He  traveled  considerably  and  was 
.1  newspaper  correspondent,  his  natural  bent  being  to  accumulate  knowledge 
and  write  down  his  ideas  of  conditions  and  observations,  which  always 
proved  entertaining  as  well  as  instructive.  He  later  spent  several  years  on  the 
frontier  of  Texas  and  in  1876  returned  to  California.  After  spending  a  few  years 
in  Oakland  and  Sonoma  county  in  May  of  1886  he  located  in  Kern  county, 
homesteading  a  ranch  two  and  a  half  miles  west  of  Delano.  He  improved  a 
larm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  resided  there  until  his  retirement, 
and  thereafter  made  his  home  with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Martin,  until  his  death, 
October  12,  1913.  Mr.  Fox  was  married  in  Mexico  to  Miss  Lucita  Benavidez, 
who  was  born  in  Pueblo,  Mexico,  of  Castilian  extraction.  She  passed  away  in 
Delano. 

Six  children  were  born  to  this  union,  of  whom  but  tw(.)  are  now  living, 
Mrs.  Alice  J.  Fox-Martin,  and  Mrs.  Emma  DeSoto  of  Stockton.  Mr.  Fox  was 
an  ardent  supporter  of  Republican  principles,  and  "was  always  well  posted  on 
current  topics.  He  was  an  able  historian,  a  clear  and  forceful  writer,  and  was 
at  the  time  of  his  death  writing  the  history  of  National  Presidential  Cam- 
paigns, covering  the  period  from  1828  to  the  present,  drafting  principally  from 
his  own  recollections,  and  it  bids  fair  to  be  one  of  the  most  interesting  works 
of  its  kind  ever  published. 


I 


I 


HISTORY    OF   KERN  COUNTY  781 

RICHARD  JAMES  MARTIN.— Just  west  of  the  flourishinj^  town  of 
Delano  is  situated  a  ranch  of  eighty  acres  whose  well-improved  condition 
together  with  the  fine  cattle  seen  on  the  ranch  evidence  the  thorough  con- 
ception of  the  details  essential  in  the  dairy  business  which  the  proprietor, 
Richard  J.  Martin,  has  been  able  to  give  them.  A  member  of  an  old  family,  Mr. 
Martin  was  born  in  Bristol,  England,  .\ugust  3,  1864,  the  .son  of  Alfred  and 
Ann  (Garland)  Martin  of  that  place.  The  father  was  a  merchant  and  shoe 
manufacturer.  He  brought  his  family  to  the  United  States,  locating  at  Colum- 
bus, Ohio,  in  1869,  and  two  years  later  found  him  located  thirteen  miles 
southwest  of  Tulare,  Cal.,  on  a  homestead  which  lay  two  miles  from  Tulare 
lake.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  at  this  time  there  was  a  steamboat  plying 
on  the  lake.  Alfred  Martin  followed  the  stock  business  until  he  was  obliged 
10  retire  from  active  labors,  and  thereafter  he  made  his  home  in  Tulare,  where 
he  passed  away  at  the  age  i  i  eighty-four  years.  His  wife  passed  away  at  the 
age  of  eighty  years.  Six  children  had  been  born  to  this  worthy  pioneer  couple, 
four  now  surviving. 

The  3'oungest  child  born  to  his  parents,  Richard  J.  Martin  was  reared  on 
the  parental  farm  and  received  his  literary  training  in  the  public  school  of  the 
locality.  He  was  married  in  Visalia  March  5,  1890,  to  Miss  Alice  J.  Fox,  who 
was  born  in  JNIcnterey,  daughter  of  J.  Frank  Fox,  who  was  a  pioneer  in  Cali- 
fornia and  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  Delano.  Mrs.  Martin 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Oakland  and  Santa  Rosa,  and  later 
received  a  thorough  musical  training  at  Pacific  University,  Santa  Rosa.  For 
many  years  she  engaged  as  a  music  teacher  and  her  splendid  talent  was  recog- 
nized and  deeply  appreciated  by  all  her  associates.  After  their  marriage  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Martin  resided  in  Tulare  until  1893,  when  they  located  permanently 
in  Kern  county  and  engaged  in  the  dairy  business.  On  their  ranch  is  a  pump- 
ing plant  with  a  capacity  of  sixty-five  inches,  and  Mr.  Martin  is  sowing  niList 
of  the  acreage  to  alfalfa.  The  dairy  business  is  conducted  on  the  most  sanitary 
and  carefully-adjusted  plans,  and  the  vicinity  around  Delano  is  supplied  with 
its  product,  a  portion  being  shipped  to  Tulare.  Together  with  these  dairy 
interests  Mr.  ^Martin  owns  valuable  residence  pri^iperty  in  Delano  and  three 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  further  west.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Wood- 
men of  the  World  and  affiliates  too  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  at 
Delano.  Mrs.  Martin  is  a  member  of  the  Women  of  ^^'oodcraft  at  llakers- 
field  and  the  Royal  Neighbors  of  Delano,  of  which  latter  she  has  been  pre- 
siding officer  for  two  terms.  Socially  active  and  popular  they  are  prominent 
in  religious  and  musical  circles,  and  Mrs.  Martin  has  been  organist  for  both 
the  Methodist  and  Baptist  churches  at  Delano  at  dift'erent  times  for  the  past 
twenty-five  years.  As  ardent  Republicans  the  Martins  take  public-spirited 
interest  in  all  local  issues  and  unite  with  all  good  purposes  for  the  c  mmun 
welfare. 

E.  H.  LEIERITZ.— A  feature  of  the  modern  building  in  I'.akersfield  is 
the  develi  pment  of  the  bungalow  plan.  When  Mr.  Leieritz  came  to  this  city 
in  December  of  1908  to  make  his  home  and  to  embark  in  contracting,  he 
brought  with  him  many  ideas  profitably  utilized  in  Los  Angeles,  his  former 
place  of  business,  and  in  addition  he  evolved  many  original  ideas  of  his  own 
that  added  to  the  beauty  and  utility  of  these  artistic  structures.  The  first 
bungalow  in  this  city  was  erected  under  his  supervision.  At  once  the  popu- 
larity (if  the  plan  was  pronounced.  Since  then  over  one  hundred  bungalows 
have  been  erected  from  his  own  plans  and  under  his  personal  sui)ervision, 
all  of  these  buildings  constituting  a  distinct  addition  to  the  attractions  of 
Bakersfield  as  a  city  of  pretty  homes. 

By  virtue  of  his  birth  in  Los  Angeles  .\Ir.  Leieritz  ranks  as  a  native  son. 
His  parents,  George  and  Julia  (Meyers)  Leieritz,  were  natives  res])ectively  of 
.•\lsace,  Germany,  and   Kansas  City.  Kan.,  and  are  now  living  i  m   a  farm   at 


782  HISTORY    OF   KERN  COUNTY 

Downey,  Cal.  The  maternal  grandfather,  Ernest  Meyers,  born  and  reared 
in  Germany,  became  a  pioneer  of  Kansas  and  served  throughout  the  entire 
Civil  war  as  a  member  of  a  Kansas  regiment  of  infantry.  After  some  years 
in  Kansas,  George  Leieritz  came  to  California  and  settled  in  Los  Angeles, 
where  his  son,  E.  H.,  was  born  October  11,  1880.  There  were  thirteen  chil- 
dren in  the  family  and  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  all  but  two  are  still 
living.  The  fourth  in  order  of  birth,  E.  H..  received  his  education  in  the 
Los  Angeles  schools  and  later  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of 
carpenter  in  his  native  city.  Upon  having  gained  a  thorough  practical 
knowledge  of  every  detail  connected  with  the  occupation  he  began  to  work 
by  the  day,  from  that  he  gradually  drifted  into  contract  work.  After  three 
years  as  a  contractor  in  Los  Angeles  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  here  he  has 
enjoyed  a  successful  business  experience  and  has  also  become  a  member  of 
the  Bakersfield  Club.  Accompanying  him  to  this  city  was  his  wife,  whom  he 
had  married  in  Los  Angeles  and  who  was  formerly  Aliss  Elizabeth  Kennedy, 
member  of  a  family  that  came  to  California  from  her  native  city  of  Burling- 
ton, Ljwa.     One  child  blesses  their  union,  Francis  Louis. 

JACOB  WALTER.— Since  1901  Mr.  Walter  has  devoted  his  time  to 
the  management  of  his  interests,  which  include  the  ownership  of  the  Walter's 
hotel  building  on  Nineteenth  street,  a  ranch  near  Corners,  eight}'  acres  in  the 
Weed  Patch,  forty  acres  in  peaches  and  apricots  near  Beardsley  school  house 
and  an  alfalfa  ranch  under  the  Beardsley  canal  three  miles  northwest  of 
Bakersfield. 

The  village  of  Lohningen,  Canton  Schaflfhausen,  Switzerland,  near  the  bor- 
der of  Germany,  was  the  childhood  home  of  Jacob  Walter,  who  was  born  there 
October  7.  1840,  being  a  son  of  Johannes  and  Ann  (Bollinger)  Walter,  lifelong 
residents  of  the  same  region.  There  were  seven  children  in  the' parental  family 
and  Jacob  is  the  youngest  of  the  three  now  living.  As  a  boy  he  assisted  on 
the  farm  ooerated  by  his  father,  who  being  a  practical  weaver  as  well  as  a 
farmer  taught  the  lad  the  trade  of  a  linen  weaver.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years  he  relinquished  his  work  in  Europe  and  came  to  the  United  States,  in 
1865,  where  he  found  employment  in  a  factory  in  Chicago.  From  there  in 
1868  he  removed  to  San  Francisco  and  learned  the  trade  of  a  baker  and  cook. 
The  following  year  found  him  employed  as  a  cook  in  Sacramento  and  in  1872 
he  went  to  Nevada,  but  from  there  in  1873  he  came  to  Bakersfield  as  the  first 
cook  in  the  Arlington  house.  At  the  expiration  of  five  months  he  bought 
out  the  City  bakery  on  Nineteenth  street  and  operated  this  in  connection  with 
a  restaurant.  Upon  being  burned  out  in  1889  he  erected  a  brick  block  on 
Nineteenth  between  L  and  M  streets.  The  structure,  still  known  as  the 
Walter's  hotel,  is  99x68  feet  in  dimensions,  on  a  lot  99xll5>4  feet,  and  in 
addition  to  the  hotel  a  grocery  and  a  bakery  also  lease  space  on  the  first 
floor.  Since  the  retirement  of  the  original  proprietor  in  1901  the  hotel  has 
been  rented  and  he  has  devoted  his  attention  to  the  management  of  his 
large  property  interests.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Security  Trust  Com- 
pany-he became  one  of  the  first  stockholders  and  still  retains  shares  in  the 
concern,  besides  being  interested  in  the  Los  Angeles  Fire  Insurance  Company. 

The  attractive  family  residence  at  No.  1C08  Truxtun  avenue  is  graciously 
presided  over  by  Mrs.  Walter,  formerly  Miss  Evelena  Funk,  whose  native 
home  was  in  Eldorado  county,  this  state,  but  who  had  lived  in  Bakersfield  for 
some  time  prior  to  her  marriage.  A  lifelong  resident  of  the  state  and  a  mem- 
ber of  a  pioneer  family,  she  cherishes  a  deep  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  the 
west  and  with  her  husband  finds  pleasure  in  the  reunions  of  the  Society  of 
Pioneers,  to  which  both  belong.  Their  family  comprises  four  children,  name- 
ly :  Gustav,  Mrs.  Olive  Grogg,  Leo  and  Gertrude,  all  of  whom  make  Bakers- 
field their  home.  The  political  views  of  Mr.  Walter  bring  him  into  sympathy 
with  the  Republican  party  and  he  always  has  kept  posted  concerning  prob- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  785 

lems  of  national  or  civic  importance,  his  devotion  to  the  city  leading  him  to 
fill  the  office  of  city  trustee  for  a  period  of  two  years. 

MRS.  ELLEN  M.  TRACY.— As  a  link  between  the  deprivations  of 
frontier  existence  and  the  refinements  of  twentieth-century  civilization  the 
life  of  Mrs.  Tracy  possesses  a  rare  and  permanent  interest  to  the  residents  of 
Bakersfield,  who  appreciate  the  importance  of  her  optimistic  faith  to  the 
early  upbuilding  of  the  city  and  the  value  of  her  unfailing  hospitality  to  the 
social  amenities  of  the  then  frontier  town.  Rooted  deep  in  her  soul,  a  part 
indeed  of  life  itself,  is  her  love  for  California,  whither  she  came  during 
the  '50s  and  to  whose  material  progress  she  has  given  of  time  and  physical 
strength  and  mental  resources.  Particularly  has  she  been  interested  in  the 
advancement  of  Bakersfield,  the  city  named  in  honor  of  her  first  husband, 
Col.  Thomas  Baker,  and  dear  to  her  not  only  for  that  reason,  but  also  on 
account  of  her  own  long  identification  therewith.  As  the  pioneer  woman 
resident  of  the  then  unattractive  hamlet,  she  and  the  Colonel,  himself  one  of 
the  few  white  male  citizens,  lived  in  an  adobe  cabin  which  he  had  built  on 
the  corner  of  Nineteenth  and  N  streets.  During  the  first  three  years  they 
spent  in  the  cabin  it  had  no  floor  save  ]\Iother  Earth.  There  was,  however, 
in  the  hospitality  extended  by  the  mistress  of  this  primeval  home  a  gracious- 
ness,  a  warmth  and  a  kindness  that  won  the  heart  of  every  visitor. 

Descended  from  Holland-Dutch  ancestry,  Ellen  M.  Alverson  was  born 
in  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  December  21,  1837.  being  the  daughter  of  a  talented 
physician  whose  birth  had  occurred  in  Perry,  Wyoming  county,  N.  Y.,  in 
1808  and  whose  remarkable  professional  attainments  had  led  to  his  selec- 
tion to  serve  as  a  lecturer  in  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of 
Michigan.  After  resigning  that  position  he  removed  to  Marengo,  Iowa 
county,  Iowa,  where  he  engaged  in  practice  for  twenty  years  and  became 
widely  known  for  skill  in  diagnosis  and  accuracy  in  the  treatment  of  disease. 
Upon  his  removal  to  California  in  1874  he  opened  an  office  at  Bakersfield 
and  scon  built  up  a  practice  that  extended  into  all  of  Kern  county,  con- 
tinuing in  active  professional  labors  until  shortly  before  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1879  at  Tehachapi.  Prior  to  his  departure  from  New  York  he 
had  married  in  Genesee  county  Miss  Charlotte  Graves,  who  was  Ijorn  in 
Perry,  that  state,  and  in  1866  died  at  Marengo,  Iowa.  From  her  earliest  rec- 
ollections Mrs.  Tracy  was  familiar  with  the  frontier.  During  the  '40s  the  now 
cultured  and  pupulous  city  of  Ann  Arbor  was.  an  insignificant  hamlet  whose 
one  claim  to  distinction  was  its  seat  of  learning,  then  as  now  one  of  the 
great  educational  institutions  of  the  countr^^  For  a  time  she  attended  school 
in  that  town,  but  in  young  girlhood  she  came  to  California,  where  at  Visalia 
in  1857  she  became  the  wife  of  Col.  Thomas  Baker,  one  of  the  noted  pioneers 
of  the  west.  In  all  his  work  he  had  the  benefit  of  her  shrewd  counsel  and 
active  co-operation.  While  he  was  acting  as  receiver  of  the  United  States 
land  office  at  Visalia  an  occasion  arose  when  he  had  $20,000  on  hand  be- 
longing to  the  United  States  government  and  to  be  taken  to  San  Francisco 
for  deposit.  When  preparing  for  the  journey  an  Indian  smuggled  to  him  a 
note  written  on  a  dirty  piece  of  paper  and  warning  him  that  \'asquez  and 
his  band  were  planning  to  rob  him  in  the  stage  when  he  took  the  govern- 
ment money  to  San  Francisco.  The  woman's  wit  of  Mrs.  Baker  saved  the 
day.  She  suggested  that  she  accompany  him,  taking  their  infant  son, 
Thomas  A.,  (now  the  sheriff  of  Kern  county),  believing  that  by  so  doing  the 
desperadoes  would  conclude  that  they  were  not  taking  the  money  with  them. 
The  ruse  was  successful.  The  money  was  packed  in  a  buckskin  sack  and 
placed  in  the  bottom  of  a  carpet-bag,  with  baby  clothes  on  top.  On  Monday 
morning  they  mounted  the  stage  and  departed  from  Visalia.  By  eight 
o'clock  on  Tuesday  night  they  were  in  San  Francisco  and  the  money  had 
been  turned  over  in  safety  to  the  proper  authorities. 

After  the  Colonel's  death  his  widow  made  her  home  in  Kern  county  and 


786  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

took  charge  of  his  estate.  During  1875  she  married  Ferdinand  A.  Tracy,  a 
pioneer  citizen  and  extensive  stockman,  whose  demise  occurred  in  Bakers- 
field  January  9,  1908.  Mrs.  Tracy  now  makes  her  home  with  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  John  M.  Jameson,  of  Bakersfield.  In  this  city  she  still  owns  real  estate 
purchased  by  her  first  husband  during  frontier  days.  From  all  of  his  lands 
and  possessions  she  saved  eighty  acres  located  in  the  vicinity  of  O  and 
Twenty-second  streets.  On  Nineteenth  street  she  erected  a  neat  frame 
house,  but  shortly  after  the  completion  of  the  residence  it-  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  July  7,  1889.  The  tract  of  eighty  acres  was  mostly  subdivided  and  sold 
ofT  in  lots.  From  it  she  donated  the  site  for  two  public  institutions,  one  of 
these  being  the  Children's  Shelter,  where  about  fifty  orphans  are  cared  for. 
Under  her  supervision  were  erected  a  number  of  residences  that  were  a  credit 
to  Bakersfield.  She  is  a  member  of  Bakersfield  Chapter  No.  125,  O.  E.  S., 
and  for  the  past  fifteen  years  has  been  worthy  chaplain. 

AMBROISE  VILLARD.— Near  Gap,  Hautes-Alpes,  France,  Ambroise 
Villard  was  born  July  1,  1851.  the  son  of  Ambroise  and  Amiee  (Rambaud) 
Villard,  farmers  near  Gap,  where  they  reared  their  nine  children,  of  whom 
five  are  living,  Ambroise  being  the  oldest.  Educated  in  public  schools 
in  his  native  land,  IMr.  Villard  lived  with  his  parents  till  in  1872, 
when,  having  heard  good  reports  of  the  Golden  West,  he  came  to 
California  to  try  his  fortune.  Settling  in  Ventura  county,  Cal.,  he  worked 
there  for  wages  three  years,  after  which  he  engaged  in  sheep  raising 
for  himself  in  that  county,  herding  his  sheep  through  the  San  Joaquin  valley 
into  Inyo  county.  In  1877  he  made  his  first  trip  to  Kern  county,  but  he  did 
not  locate  here  permanently  until  1881,  at  that  time  making  his  headquarters 
in  Delano.  By  adhering  steadily  to  the  business  which  he  had  undertaken 
he  finally  made  a  success  of  it,  bringing  to  bear  in  its  fruition  a  good  knowl- 
edge of  aiifairs  and  a  strong  personality.  In  1903,  after  over  thirty  years  con- 
tinuous experience,  he  sold  his  sheep  in  order  to  give  his  attention  to  cattle 
raising,  a  business  which  he  has  since  developed  to  large  proportions.  Eight- 
een miles  east  of  Delano  Mr.  Villard  took  up  a  claim  to  which  he  later  added 
from  time  to  time  by  the  purchase  of  adjoining  land  until  he  became  the 
owner  of  forty-eight  hundred  acres  all  in  one  body.  All  of  his  cattle  and 
horses  bear  the  brand  which  he  has  adopted  as  his  trade  mark,  which  is  a 
"V"  and  "A"  closely  connected,  "VA."  All  in  all  Mr.  Villard's  business 
career  is  one  of  which  any  man  might  be  proud.  Coming  to  this  country 
with  very  little  capital,  he  has  won  a  place  as  leader  of  leaders  in  a  great 
state.  As  he  has  found  good  opportunity  he  has  invested  in  enterprises  of 
different  kinds,  always  with  profitable  results.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Delano  and  in  the  Delano-Linn's  valley  telephone 
system,  in  which  he  is  a  director,  and  is  also  interested  in  the  Rochdale  store 
here. 

In  San  Francisco,  January  29,  1887,  Mr.  Villard  married  Eugenie  Marie 
Faure,  also  a  native  of  Hautes-Alpes,  France,  born  January  24,  1868.  Upon 
coming  to  California  she  resided  in  Los  Angeles  until  coming  to  Kern  county. 
Mrs.  Villard  became  the  mother  of  eleven  children,  as  follows.  Ambroise, 
deceased;  Albert,  who  in  1912  was  married  to  Agnes  Panero ;  and  Adriene, 
Eugene,  August,  Joseph,  Mary,  Jule,  Gabriel,  Annie  and  Daniel,  all  of  the 
last  mentioned  at  home,  and  the  older  sons  assist  their  father  in  tlie  cattle 
business. 

WILLIAM  TYLER. — The  honor  of  having  recorded  the  first  deed  in 
Kern  county  1)elongs  to  this  well-known  California  pioneer  of  1859,  who 
although  of  Canadian  birth,  is  of  American  parents,  and  allows  none  to 
surpass  him  in  devotion  to  the  commonwealth  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  The 
old  homestead  where  he  was  born  June  20,  1836,  stood  in  Napierville,  Que- 
bec, Canada,  only  a  few  miles  north  of  the   New  York  state  line,  and   the 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  789 

later  residence  of  the  family,  at  Iberville,  Quebec,  was  almost  equally  near 
to  the  United  States.  His  father.  Orange  Tyler,  a  member  of  a  colonial  family 
of  New  England,  was  born  at  Thetford,  Orange  county,  Vt.,  in  1801  and 
from  there  remeived  to  the  province  of  Quebec,  took  up  land  and  acquired 
considerable  property  first  at  Napierville  and  later  in  Iberville,  where  he 
remained  until  death.  In  the  same  Canadian  district  occurred  the  demise  of 
his  wife,  Mary  (Poutre)  Tyler,  who  was  of  French  extraction.  After  having 
been  a  student  in  the  public  schools  of  Iberville  and  an  academy  at  Bakers- 
field,  Vt.,  William  Tyler  went  to  New  York  City  to  earn  a  livelihood  and 
from  there  in  1859  came  via  Panama  to  California,  making  the  voyage  on 
the  Star  of  the  ^^'est  to  the  Isthmus  and  the  Golden  Gate  on  the  Pacific. 
After  he  had  landed  at  San  Francisco  May  17,  1859,  he  went  direct  to  Amador 
county  and  began  mining  at  Jackson,  but  was  unsuccessful  and  returned  to 
San  Francisco  in  1862. 

A  brief  experience  during  1863  as  a  clerk  in  a  general  mercantile  store 
at  Santa  Clara  was  followed  by  a  return  to  mining,  but  this  time  Mr. 
Tyler  went  into  NeA^ada  and  prospected  at  Aurora  and  also  in  the  Mont- 
gomery district.  From  there  in  18()4  he  and  a  companion  walked  across  the 
countrv  a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles,  down  the  Owens  river,  through 
Walker's  Pass  and  through  a  valley  where  only  three  days  before  the 
Indians  had  massacred  a  party  of  white  men,  finally  landing  at  Havilah, 
Kern  county,  after  a  perilous  and  wearisome  journey.  Shortly  after  his 
arrival  the  county  was  organized  with  H.  D.  Bequette  as  the  first  county 
clerk  and  he  chose  as  his  deputy  Mr.  Tyler,  who  in  that  capacity  recorded 
in  his  own  handwriting  the  first  deed  in  the  county.  For  several  years 
lie  was  employed  in  a  mine  owned  by  Dr.  de  La  Borde.  During  1869  he 
went  to  Los  Angeles,  then  a  picturesque  but  small  and  unpromising  Spanish 
village.  Returning  to  Kern  county  in  1870  he  resumed  mining  and  pros- 
pecting, but  later  gave  his  attention  to  boring  wells  in  the  interests  of 
L.  R.  Hodgkins.  Upon  establishing  a  permanent  home  in  Bakersfield  he 
held  deputyships  under  various  county  officers,  including  the  position  of 
deputy  assessor  under  T.  E.  Harding.  Later  he  held  the  office  of  county 
auditor  for  two  terms  of  two  years  each,  after  which  he  engaged  in  the  real- 
estate  business  for  some  years  with  his  brother,  Edmond  Tyler,  and  since 
retiring  from  that  business  he  has  devoted  his  attention  to  the  oversight  of 
his  personal  interests.  At  this  writing  he  acts  as  manager  of  the  Tyler 
Timber  Company  of  Delano,  Kern  county,  in  which  capacity  he  superin- 
tended the  planting  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  eucalyptus  trees  and 
has  a  general  charge  of  the  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  owned  by  the 
company  in  the  vicinity  of  Delano. 

Mr.  Tyler  is  a  widower  and  his  hume  in  Bakersfield  is  presided  over 
by  his  daughter.  Miss  Louise  Adelaide.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  in 
San  Francisco  and  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Carrie  B.  Evans,  was  born 
at  New  Durham  Ridge,  N.  H.,  and  died  in  San  Francisco  October  24.  1902. 
The  only  child  of  the  union,  who  possesses  her  mother's  energy  of  tempera- 
ment and  charm  of  manner,  is  a  popular  guest  at  social  functions  and  alscj 
a  leading  worker  in  the  Eastern  Star.  Fraternally  Mr.  Tyler  was  made  a 
Mason  in  Dorchester  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  St.  Johns,  Canada,  and  now 
holds  membership  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  to  whose 
Ijhilanthropies  he  has  contributed  generously  and  regularly  for  years.  In 
politics  he  vntes  with  the  Democratic  party. 

W.  W.  KELLY. — Genealogical  records  attest  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  origin 
of  the  Kelly  family  and  their  emigration  from  England  to  Alabama,  where 
occurred  the  birth  of  G.  M.  Kelly,  a  son  of  the  original  immigrant  and  him- 
self a  pioneer  of  1857  in  California.  When  a  young  man  he  had  married 
Miss   Sarah   Henderson,   who   was  born   in    Illinois   in    1837,  and   the   eldest 


790  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

of  their  children  was  an  infant  when  they  joined  an  expedition  bound  for 
the  western  coast.  A  brother-in-law,  Capt.  Bass  Parker,  acted  as  leader  of 
the  emigrant  train  and  all  went  well  until  a  shortage  of  provisions  led  to 
changes  in  the  route.  The  party  divided,  the  larger  part  going  by  way  of 
Salt  Lake  in  order  to  secure  necessary  supplies.  A  smaller  body  decided  to 
proceed  via  Mountain  Meadows  and  started  along  that  highway  without  fear 
of  trouble.  The  savages  fell  upon  them  and  massacred  them  without  mercy. 
Shortly  afterward  the  larger  expedition  came  along  and  first  learned  of  the 
disaster  when  they  found  the  dead  bodies  of  their  former  companions. 
The  bodies  were  given  a  Christian  burial  and  the  party  then  came  on  to 
California.  Always  afterward  Captain  Parker  clung  to  the  belief  that  if  the 
smaller  party  had  remained  with  them,  they  would  have  formed  a  force 
sufficiently  large  to  withstand  any  assault  made  by  the  Indians. 

Arriving  at  Visalia  in  the  autumn  of  1857  G.  M.  Kelly  made  a  temporary 
home  there,  but  soon  went  to  Elkhorn  in  Fresno  county  for  the  purpose  of 
conducting  a  stage  station.  In  the  fall  of  1858  he  again  came  to  Visalia  and 
bought  land  one  mile  south  of  town.  The  property  still  remains  in  the 
family.  Immediately  after  his  arrival  he  put  up  a  crude  cabin  of  shakes  with 
a  puncheon  floor.  Later  he  replaced  this  with  a  better  house  and  eventually 
erected  a  modern  house.  The  original  tract  of  forty  acres  has  been  enlarged 
until  the  fine  stock  and  grain  farm  now  includes  one  hundred  and  ninety 
acres.  Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Kelly  in  1884  at  the  age  of  fifty-three  years  the 
widow  has  continued  at  the  old  homestead  and  now  occupies  the  third  house 
built  on  the  tract.  Of  her  eleven  children  all  but  one  are  still  living,  W.  W., 
the  fifth  of  these,  having  been  born  in  Visalia,  this  state,  July  22,  1863. 
When  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West  organized  a  parlor  in  Visalia  he 
became  one  of  its  charter  members.  During  early  life  he  assisted  his  father 
on  the  farm  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  clerked  in  a  store.  After  the  death  of 
his  father  he  remained  at  the  old  homestead  for  some  time,  meanwhile  engag- 
ing in  the  dairy  industr)',  general  farming  and  the  raising  of  alfalfa. 

Upon  coming  to  Bakersfield  in  1895  Mr.  Kelly  started  in  the  agricul- 
tural implement  business  with  W.  C.  Baker  and  \"an  Stoner.  Eventually 
they  sold  out  to  A.  F.  Stoner,  the  present  owner,  for  whom  Mr.  Kelly  acted 
as  manager  until  1902,  resigning  then  in  order  to  embark  in  the  real-estate 
business.  Since  then  he  has  been  among  the  most  active  and  successful 
handlers  of  property  in  the  county  and  has  bought  and  sold  various  farms, 
also  bought  lots  and  built  residences  in  Bakersfield.  Altogether  he  has 
erected  about  sixty  houses.  Included  in  his  activities  may  be  mentioned  the 
improvement  of  one-half  block  on  Thirteenth  and  I  streets,  where  he  built 
four  houses,  one  of  these  being  his  own  modern  and  comfortable  residence. 
In  the  organization  of  the  Bakersfield  Realty  Board  he  was  deeply  inter- 
ested and  became  its  first  secretary,  holding  the  office  for  a  long  time. 
Resides  real  estate  he  has  an  insurance  department  and  represents  the  Mary- 
land Casualty  Company,  Phoenix  Assurance  Company  of  London,  Con- 
necticut Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Hartford  and  American  Surety  Com- 
pany of  New  York. 

The  fraternal  relations  of  Mr.  Kelly  bring  him  into  active  association 
with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  Woodmen  of  the  World,  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  Politically  he  always 
supports  the  men  and  measures  advocated  by  the  Republican  party.  His 
marriage  took  place  in  Kern  county  and  united  him  with  Miss  Lillie  Pulliam, 
who  was  born  in  Clinton,  Henry  county.  Mo.,  and  is  the  daughter  of  T.  J. 
Pulliam,  a  builder  by  occupation.  The  only  child  of  the  union,  Edward  A., 
a  graduate  of  the  Kern  county  high  school,  now  assists  Mr.  Kelly  in  the 
real-estate  and  insurance  business. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  793 

LEWIS  B.  CROW.— A  native  son,  Lewis  W.  Crow,  of  Delano,  Kern 
counly,  was  born  on  the  Stanislaus  ri\er  near  Ripon,  San  Joatjuin  county, 
Cal,  June  2,  1859,  and  has  lived  in  Kern  county  since  1892.  He  is  the  son 
of  William  H.  and  Barbara  E.  (Dye)  Crow,  born  in  Kentucky  and  Ohio 
respectively.  Married  in  Scotland  county,  -Mo.,  they  were  farmers  in  that 
state  as  early  as  1852.  The  father  first  crossed  the  plains  alone  to  California 
with  ox-teams.  Returning  east,  he  again  crossed  the  plains  in  1854,  bringing 
with  him  his  wife  and  one  child.  Settling  in  Sonoma,  he  later  located  on 
a  ranch  near  Ripon,  where  he  followed  stock-raising  and  grain-raising  until  his 
death,  in  1884.  His  wife  died  about  1866.  Of  their  union  were  born  five 
children,  three  daughters  and  two  sons,  of  whom  two  daughters  and  one  son 
are  living,  Lewis  B.  Crow  being  the  youngest  member  of  the  family. 

.After  leaving  the  grammar  school,  young  Crow  was  for  two  years  a 
student  at  Santa  Rosa  College.  Having  completed  his  education,  he  was  for 
two  years  an  assistant  to  his  father  in  stock-raising.  When  at  length  he 
left  home  he  went  to  W'aterford,  the  same  county,  where  he  farmed  rented 
land  seven  years.  Failing  to  make  a  success  there  because  of  adverse  con- 
ditions which  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  overcome,  he  came  to  Kern  county 
in  1892,  locating  at  Delano.  For  fifteen  years  after  his  arrival  he  worked 
for  wages  at  general  farming.  In  1907.  having  accumulated  a  little  capital, 
he  engaged  in  the  butcher  business  at  Delano,  an  enterprise  which  has  since 
commanded  his  best  efforts  and  advanced  him  to  a  good  position  in  local 
i)usiness  circles.  The  business  covers  a  wide  territory,  extending  throughout 
the  northern  part  of  Kern  and  southern  Tulare  ctumty.  delivery  being  made 
l)y  automobile.  Farming  also  has  had  his  attention  and  he  has  been  much 
more  successful  in  Kern  county  than  he  was  in  Stanislaus  county.  At  this 
time  he  is  operating  over  six  thousand  acres  of  rented  land,  raising  wheat 
which  he  gathers  with  a  combined  harvester.  As  occasion  has  furnished 
opportunity  he  has  had  to  do  with  various  business  interests  and  he  is  at 
this  time  a  stockholder  in  the  local  telephone  system,  the  Delano  &  Linn's 
Valley  Telephone  Company. 

Since  his  young  manhood  Mr.  Crow  has  been  interested  in  politics  and 
wherever  he  has  lived  he  has  been  in  a  public-spirited  way  active  and  helpful 
in  the  promotion  of  local  interests,  and  frrm  time  to  time  he  has  filled  various 
offices  of  importance.  While  still  a  resident  of  Stanislaus  county  he  was  an 
unsuccessful  candidate  for  the  office  of  sheriff.  In  1906  he  was  appcjinted 
a  justice  of  the  peace  at  Delano  to  fill  a  vacancy  and  afterward  elected  to 
the  ofifice  of  ci  n stable.  Both  these  offices  he  filled  with  signal  ability  and 
fidelity.    I'ratenially  he  affiliates  with  Camp  No.  460,  W.  O.  W.,  at  P.akersfield. 

THOMAS  BLAINE  WISEMAN.— The  opportunities  offered  by  the 
great  northwest  attracted  .Xbner  Wiseman  from  his  native  commonwealth  of 
Kentucky  during  the  year  1884,  when,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Sarah  E. 
(Abney)  Wiseman,  and  their  children,  he  established  a  home  in  Walla 
Walla.  For  some  years  he  was  unusually  successful  and  carried  on  a  grain 
business  representing  large  interests.  In  all  probability  he  would  have 
become  very  wealthy  had  not  the  unfortunate  panic  of  the  Cleveland  admin- 
istration occurred,  but  in  1894  he  was  forced  to  give  up  his  business,  having 
lost  many  thousands  of  dollars.  The  following  year  he  moved  to  California 
and  began  anew  in  the  world,  but  he  never  regained  his  lost  fortune  and  his 
children  were  cbliged  to  become  self-supporting  when  yet  quite  young.  At 
this  writing  he  makes  his  home  at  Sawtelle,  Los  .Angeles  county,  and  is 
practically  retired  from  business  cares.  He  served  in  the  Civil  war  as  mem- 
ber of  the  Fourth  Kentucky  Mounted  Infantry  for  three  years  and  then 
joined  the  Eighth  Kentucky  Infantry,  .serving  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
is  an  active  member  of  the  Grand  .Army  of  the  Republic. 

There    were   six   children   in    the   parental    family,   the    eldest   of    whom. 


794  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Annie,  married  Jefferson  D.  Wiseman  and  died  in  1895,  leaving  two  children. 
The  eldest  son,  George  W.,  resides  at  Sawtelle,  where  he  owns  diversified 
interests  as  proprietor  of  a  livery  stable,  flour  and  feed  business  and  ice 
business,  also  buys  and  sells  real  estate ;  he  was  a  member  of  the  Thirtieth 
United  States  Infantry  and  served  in  the  Philippines  during  the  Spanish- 
American  war.  Martha  married  J.  R.  Armstrong,  of  Turlock,  Stanislaus 
county,  Cal.,  now  engaged  in  ranching  and  in  the  commission  business, 
besides  being  proprietor  of  a  store  and  postmaster  at  Irwin,  Stanislaus 
county.  Joel  S.  is  a  contractor  and  builder  at  Sawtelle  and  Haldon.  Ray 
is  an  inventor,  residing  at  Santa  Monica.  The  youngest  of  the  six  members 
of  the  family  circle  was  Thomas  Blaine,  whose  birth  occurred  at  Walla 
Walla,  Wash.,  April  23,  1885,  and  who  was  ten  years  old  when  the  family 
came  to  California,  where  he  attended  the  public  schools  of  Santa  Monica. 
At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  left  school  and  began  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade. 
When  seventeen  he  began  to  take  contracts  for  building  and  in  the  same 
year  he  built  the  Christian  Church  building  in  Sawtelle,  also  the  Sawtelle 
branch  of  the  Santa  Monica  Bank  and  the  first  railroad  depot  at  Sawtelle  on 
the  Los  Angeles  Pacific  road.  B.  A.  Nebeker  of  Santa  Monica  was  his  first 
backer.  Later  W.  E.  Sawtelle,  founder  of  the  village  of  that  name,  Roy 
Jones  of  Santa  Monica,  and  L.  D.  Loomis,  seeing  his  ability,  industry  and 
his  skill  in  construction,  backed  him  financially  in  his  contracts,  and  this  was 
of  the  greatest  assistance  to  him.  The  mid-winter  edition  of  the  Los  Angeles 
Times  in  1903  devoted  considerable  space  to  the  young  contractor  and 
emphasized  the  remarkable  success  which  he  had  achieved  when  still  less 
than  twenty  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Wiseman  removed  from  California  to  Arizona  and  on  the  day  of 
his  arrival  became  superintendent  of  construction  on  the  government  cus- 
tom-house building  at  Douglas.  For  eighteen  months  he  continued  at  that 
place,  meanwhile  building  perhaps  more  than  twelve  stores  and  public 
structures,  several  buildings  for  the  Arizona  &  Mexico  Realty  Building  Com- 
pany, the  Nihart  building  and  the  store  owned  by  the  Douglas  Wholesale 
Feed  &  Fuel  Ci  mpany,  and  he  also  drew  plans  for  and  built  the  branch 
territorial  jail  at  Douglas.  On  his  return  to  California  he  became  draftsrnian 
and  superintendent  of  construction  for  leading  architects  of  Los  Angeles. 
During  the  latter  part  of  1909  he  removed  to  Bakersfield  and  took  up  archi- 
tecture as  manager  for  Train  &  Williams,  of  Los  Angeles,  whose  interests 
lie  purchased  in  1910.  During  February  of  1911  he  took  the  examination 
before  the  California  state  board  of  architecture  and  received  his  license  as 
architect.  At  this  writing  he  is  the  youngest  licensed  architect  in  the  state 
and  enjoys  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  person  who  has  passed  the 
state  board  examination  without  a  technical  training  or  scholastic  course  in 
architecture  and  without  having  received  university  or  high-school  education. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Wiseman  took  place  in  Lcs  Angeles  in  1902  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Alice  E.  Thacher,  a  native  of  Onyx,  Kern  county,  and 
ihey  have  three  children,  Chauncey  E.,  Thomas  B.,  Jr.,  and  Alice.  The  par- 
ents of  Mrs.  Wiseman  were  Oliver  and  Bertha  Thacher,  the  former  a  soldier 
of  the  Civil  war  (having  served  in  a  Pennsylvania  regiment)  and  a  pioneer 
of  1869  in  Kern  county  where  for  some  time  he  resided  at  Havilah,  then 
the  county  seat.  Later  the  family  removed  to  Los  Angeles,  where  Miss 
Thacher  met  and  married  Mr.  Wiseman.  In  the  early  part  of  his  business 
career  Mr.  Wiseman  had  the  contracts  for  the  Roy  Jones  residence  at  Santa 
Monica,  the  Santa  Monica  garage  and  the  Savannah  school  in  El  Monte. 
Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  has  the  following  buildings  in  this  city  to  his 
credit :  Hotel  Euclid,  Hotel  Manchester,  Baldwin  building,  Gardner  build- 
ing. Hotel  Moronet,  Scofield  building.  El  Reposo  Ccrte,  Echo  building,  Mor- 
gan building,  and  the  manual  arts  building  of  the  Kern  county  high  school; 


^oCu^c  ^^p<2^U^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  797 

also  in  the  outside  districts,  the  Bank  of  Maricopa,  Coons  &  Price  Ijuilding 
and  the  Bush  building  at  Maricopa;  the  Conley  school  at  Taft ;  Midway 
school  at  Fellows ;  grammar  school  at  Wasco,  the  Helm  and  Cormack  build- 
ings and  the  Greene  building  at  Wasco;  Lowell  school  at  Turlock  and  I  law- 
thorne  grammar  school  in  the  same  town  ;  and  the  Merced  Security  Savings 
Bank  at  Atwater,  Cal.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Los  Angeles  Architectural 
Club  and  the  American  Institute  of  Architects. 

EDWIN  THOMAS  LEWIS.— Allured  by  reports  concerning  the  pos- 
sibilities of  the  then  unknown  west,  Josuah  Flood  Lewis,  a  native  of  Pike 
county,  Mo.,  while  a  young  man  left  his  lifelong  home  during  the  summer 
of  1851  and  crossed  the  plains  to  California  in  an  ox-team  train.  The  tedious 
trip  ctntained  the  usual  round  of  excitement  and  danger,  but  came  to  a 
safe  and  uneventful  end  with  the  arrival  of  the  expedition  at  its  point  of 
dispersion.  As  he  had  brought  cattle  and  horses  across  the  country  from 
Missouri,  it  was  his  desire  to  find  land  suitable  for  a  stock  range.  In  his 
search  for  a  suitable  location  he  visited  Tulare  county  and  selected  a  tract 
of  land  above  Visalia,  where  afterward  he  engaged  in  the  stock  industry 
with  more  or  less  success.  During  the  residence  of  the  family  on  that  ranch 
Edwin  T.  Lewis  was  born  March  12,  1858,  and  in  due  time  he  was  sent  to 
the  Visalia  school,  later  attended  the  Porterville  school,  and  after  his  par- 
ents moved  to  Kern  county  in  1869  he  became  a  pupil  in  the  Woody  school. 
The  father  continued  as  a  stock-raiser  in  this  county  until  his  death  in 
1879.  Leaving  home,  the  son  worked  on  farms  in  California  and  Ariz.aia  for 
a  time. 

Upon  returning  to  this  part  of  the  state  Mr.  Lewis  worked  at  Tehachapi 
for  a  short  time,  then  engaged  in  the  cattle  business  at  Kernville  for  two 
years  and  for  a  similar  period  made  a  specialty  of  hog-raising  in  Linn's  \allcy 
near  Woody.  During  1880  he  became  an  employe  on  the  Miller  &  Lux 
ranch,  where  he  continued  for  about  a  year,  and  in  1881  he  became  a  vaquero 
on  the  Buena  Vista  ranch  owned  by  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  ^lean- 
while  he  had  attained  his  majority  and  was  thus  able  to  carry  out  a 
long  cherished  plan,  that  of  taking  up  government  land  under  the  homestead 
laws.  For  his  tract  he  selected  a  quarter  section  in  Jerry  slough,  where  at 
once  he  began  the  task  of  cultivation  of  the  virgin  soil.  He  bored  the  first 
artesian  well  on  the  undeveloped  portion  of  Jerry  slough,  obtained  a  flowing 
well,  and  since  then  has  put  down  other  wells  to  obtain  water  for  irrigation 
and  built  a  reservoir  to  store  the  water,  lie  still  retains  one  hundred  and 
forty  acres,  and  engages  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising.  To  earn  means 
necessary  for  the  development  of  his  ranch  he  entered  the  employ  of  Mr. 
Canfield,  for  whom  he  worked  about  eleven  years,  and  thus  secured  the 
start  so  indispensable  to  a  pioneer  rancher.  A  glance  at  his  splendid  stand 
of  alfalfa  convinces  a  stranger  as  to  the  adaptability  of  the  soil  to  that 
crop,  for  at  times  the  hay  grows  as  high  as  seven  feet,  and  each  year  he  cuts 
four  or  five  crops,  averaging  six  tons  to  the  acre.  Few  sections  of  the  state 
are  as  well  adapted  to  alfalfa  as  this  part  of  Kern  county  and  it  is  largely 
to  this  fact  that  Mr.  Lewis  owes  his  high  rating  as  a  farmer  anrl  his  suc- 
cess in  the  stock  industry. 

THOMAS  HOPPER.— The  agent  of  the  Wells-Fargo  Express  Company 
at  r.akersfield  has  been  familiar  from  boyhood  with  the  business  in  which  he 
now  engages,  for  he  was  but  a  lad  when  he  began  to  act  as  assistant  to  his 
father,  an  express  agent  in  a  California  town,  and  thus  he  gained  a  practical 
experience  of  the  greatest  value  to  him  in  later  positions  of  responsibility. 
All  of  his  life  has  been  passed  within  this  commonwealth  and  his  native  vil- 
lage, lone,  afforded  him  fair  opportunities  in  an  educational  way.  It  was 
in  this  town  that  his  father,  Benjamin,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Liverpool,   England,  and  came  to  California  at  the  age  of  eighteen  tn 


798  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

engage  in  mining  ventures,  served  as  agent  for  the  Wells-Fargo  Express 
Company  for  many  years,  in  addition  to  carrying  on  a  general  store.  The 
town  being  situated  at  the  terminal  point  of  a  railroad  possessed  considerable 
commercial  importance  and  formed  the  trading  point  for  people  living  in 
every  direction  therefrom.  Naturally,  also,  the  express  business  had  much 
impcrtance  and  the  agent  trained  his  only  son  to  assist  him  in  every  way 
possible.  The  wife  and  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  Miller 
and  was  born  at  Volcano,  Amador  county,  died  at  lone,  in  the  same  county, 
when  her  two  children  were  very  small.  The  younger  of  the  two,  Thomas, 
was  born  at  lone  August  21,  1879,  and  remained  at  home  until  he  was 
twenty-one,  meanwhile  working  in  the  store  of  his  father.  When  starting 
out  for  himself  he  was  given  a  position  with  the  Wells-Fargo  Company  as 
messenger  between  lone  and  Gait,  Sacramento  county.  Two  years  later  he 
resigned  in  order  to  become  a  messenger  on  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  out  from 
Fresno  and  at  the  expiration  of  three  years  he  was  promoted  to  be  agent  at 
the  Southern  Pacific  depot  in  that  city. 

The  next  promotion  brought  Mr.  Hopper  to  Bakersfield  in  1910  as  agent 
for  the  Wells-Fargo  Express  Company,  whose  interests  he  since  has  man- 
aged at  this  point  with  characteristic  intelligence  and  sagacity.  Although 
still  a  young  man,  he  has  had  an  experience  of  sixteen  years  in  the  business 
and  is  thoroughly  familiar  with  all  of  its  details,  so  that  he  possesses  every 
qualification  necessary  for  positions  of  great  responsibility  in  the  express 
service.  In  the  various  places  of  his  residence,  when  voting  at  all,  he  invar- 
iably has  voted  the  Republican  ticket,  for  he  believes  in  the  principles  and 
platform  of  that  party  and  attributes  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  our  coun- 
try to  the  wise  leadership  of  its  statesmen.  His  family  comprises  wife  and 
one  daughter,  Ramona  'Marbine,  Mrs.  Hopper,  formerly  Gertrude  Scott 
McArdle,  having  been  a  native  of  Placer  county. 

JOE  M.  ATWELL. — The  general  superintendent  of  the  producing  de- 
partment of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  in  California  comes  of  an  old  and 
honored  American  lineage.  Through  his  father  the  genealogy  of  the  family 
is  traced  to  remote  Scotch  ancestry.  The  maternal  records  indicate  a  direct 
descent  from  the  illustrious  Ethan  Allen,  leader  of  the  Green  Mountain  boys 
in  the  famous  attack  upon  Ticonderoga,  the  brave  and  fearless  man  who  hav- 
ing crossed  the  lake  to  the. fort  at  dawn  marched  at  the  head  of  his  untrained 
and  insignificant  command,  captured  the  garrison  and  called  on  the  captain 
(according  to  tradition)  to  surrender  in  the  name  of  the  great  Jehovah  and 
the  Continental  Congress.  The  deference  shown  to  Allen  and  the  respect 
entertained  for  his  sagacity  appears  in  the  fact  that  he  was  sent  into  Canada 
to  endeavor  to  persuade  the  Canadians  and  Indians  to  ally  themselves  with 
the  Americans.  However  when  later  in  the  same  year  of  1775  he  made  an 
attack  upon  Montreal  he  lost  many  of  his  men  and  himself  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy  and  was  sent  to  England  as  a  prisoner  of  war. 

Tracing  the  family  history  through  the  nineteenth  century  we  find  that 
Ethan  Allen  Washburn,  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  Revolutionary  com- 
mander, left  his  native  Vermont  to  aid  in  the  agricultural  upbuilding  of 
Michigan,  which  at  the  time  was  beyond  the  confines  of  civilization.  Not 
only  did  he  develop  a  farm  in  Lenawee  county,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers,  but  in  addition  he  served  as  the  first  sheriff  of  that  county, 
filled  other  public  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility,  and  further  had  a  local 
reputation  for  skill  as  a  veterinary  surgeon.  Among  his  children  there  was 
a  daughter,  Lura  Washburn,  a  native  of  Adrian,  Lenawee  county,  Mich., 
where  in  young  womanhood  she  became  the  wife  of  John  Atwell,  who  was 
born  in  Port  Henry,  N.  Y.  For  some  years  Mr.  Atwell  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business,  but  later  he  became  interested  in  Michigan  mines.  Event- 
ually  he   devoted   his   entire   time    to    the   mercantile    business    in    Glasgow, 


^Xd^Ar 


ir,  Joe   .M 

.,   was 

ulucation 

in  i;rai 

I-..r   tw.i 

years 

HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  801 

Lenawee  county.     Of  his  two  children  the  sole  s 

in  Adrian,  Mich.,  January  26,  1868,  and  received  a 

and   high   schools   and   in    Brown's    Business   Collej:;e.      I-'or   twn   years   afti 

leaving  school  he  worked  along  agricultural  lines. 

The  first  association  of  Mr.  Atwell  with  the  Standard  Oil  Company 
occurred  during  the  year  1889.  At  the  beginning  of  the  construction  of  the 
refinery  at  \\'hiting,  Ind.,  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  corporati(  n,  occupy- 
ing different  positions  and  remaining  at  the  same  place  for  about  eight  years. 
Next  he  was  transferred  to  Kansas  and  assigned  to  work  on  the  construction 
of  the  refinery  at  Neodesha.  where  he  remained  for  one  year.  Returning  to 
Indiana  and  to  Whiting,  he  was  assigned  to  the  paymaster's  (  ffice  with  the 
Standard  Oil  Company.  In  the  general  offices  at  Whiting  he  held  different 
positions,  remaining  there  until  1900,  when  he  was  transferred  to  California 
as  a  special  agent.  As  superintendent  of  constructitJii  he  had  charge  of  the 
pipe-line  work  through  the  ui\  fields  of  Southern  California  and  the  Santa 
Maria  and  San  Joaquin  valleys.  Meanwhile  he  had  been  united  in  marriage, 
at  Oakland,  this  state,  with  Miss  Emma  ^Vylie,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  had 
established  a  hi  me  at  Bakersfield.  where  he  is  now  a  popular  and  prominent 
member  of  the  Bakersfield  Clul).  Since  1908  he  has  officiated  as  general 
superintendent  of  the  producing  department  of  the  Standard  Oil  Comi)any's 
oil  fields  in  California  and  since  1911  the  headquarters  of  his  business  have 
been  at  Bakersfield.  In  earlier  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Transporta- 
tion Club  of  San  I'^ancisco. 

JOHN  BIDART.— Third  in  a  family  of  twelve  children  born  to  Jean 
and  Catherine  (Inda)  Bidart,  ten  of  these  children  now  living,  John 
Bidart  was  born  in  1867,  in  Basses-Pyrenees,  in  the  town  of  Urapel, 
where  he  received  his  education.  He  remained  in  his  native  country  until 
he  reached  his  majority,  when  he  fulfilled  a  long-felt  desire  to  come  to  the 
United  States  and  try  his  fortune  here.  In  1888  he  reached  California,  and 
coming  to  Kern  county  engaged  in  the  stock  business,  starting  with  sheep, 
which  he  ranged  during  the  winters  in  Kern  county;  in  the  summers,  how- 
ever, they  were  ranged  in  the  mountains  in  the  counties  of  Kern,  Inyo, 
Tulare,  Fresno,  Alerced,  Stanislaus,  Mariposa,  Kings,  Mono,  Sonoma,  Cala- 
veras, Tuolumne,  Amador,  Lassen,  Eldorado,  Placer,  San  Luis  Obispo.  Ven- 
tura and  San  Joaquin,  thus  covering  an  enormous  amount  of  territory.  He 
is  one  of  the  largest  sheep  men  in  the  county.  He  also  raises  cattle,  horses 
and  hogs  of  the  best  variety,  his  hogs  l^eing  the  Poland-China  breed,  his 
sheep  Merino,  cattle  the  full  blooded  Durham  variety  and  his  horses  are 
roadsters  and  saddle  bred. 

Mr.  Bidart  has  his  residence  in  East  T.akersfield,  while  bis  ranch  head- 
quarters are  at  Kancherio  on  Kern  river.  His  ranch  on  Kern  Island  co\ers 
about  four  hundred  acres,  which  is  planted  to  alfalfa  and  corn,  and  this  is 
situated  about  twelve  miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  I'ifteen  hundred  head  of 
cattle  are  run  out  of  Rancherio,  and  are  rai.sed  with  such  excellent  care 
and  attention  that  their  reputation  in  the  market  is  ranked  among  the  best. 
Mr.  Bidart's  experience  in  the  stock-raising  business  has  covered  a  quarter 
of  a  century  more  or  less,  and  it  is  to  this  that  he  owes  his  present  pros- 
perity and  exceptional  success.  He  is  known  far  and  wide  as  an  authority 
on  breeding  and  the  care  of  stock,  and  his  advice  is  often  sought  by  th  'Se 
whose  experience  has  not  been  so  far-reaching.  When  Mr.  Bidart  started  in 
the  sheep  business  supplies  were  carried  on  the  backs  of  pack  animals,  while 
today  he  uses  an  automobile  to  go  from  ranch  to  ranch  and  to  his  various 
flocks. 

Mr.  Bidart  was  married  in  East  Bakersfield  to  Miss  Marian  Inda.  who 
like  himself  was  a  native  r)f  Basses-Pyrenees,  France.  To  them  have  been 
born  five  children,  Leonard,  Catherine,  Francois,  Lfuiisa  and  lohn  .\nton.   The 


802  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

last-mentioned  child  died  in  1913.   Another  child  born  to  the  parents  now  bears 
the  name  of  John  A. 

RALEIGH  A.  MOORE.— With  the  tide  of  migration  that  carried  the 
sturdy  American  pioneers  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  ocean  to  the 
undeveloped  prairies  that  stretched  out  toward  the  setting  sun,  the  Moore 
family  became  established  in  Ohio  and  thence  was  transplanted  upon  the 
soil  of  Indiana  by  Samuel  Aloore,  a  resourceful  frontiersman  whose  ener- 
getic temperament  left  a  permanent  impress  upon  his  own  neighborhood. 
William  F.,  son  of  Samuel,  and  a  teacher  by  occupation,  married  Sarah  E. 
Danely,  who  was  born  in  Indiana  and  died  near  Mattoon,  111.  Descended 
from  fine  old  southern  stock,  Mrs.  Moore  was  a  daughter  of  Ira  Danely,  a 
Virginian  who  removed  to  Indiana  in  a  very  early  day  and  developed  a 
large  farm  from  the  raw  prairie  land.  After  his  marriage  the  young  school- 
teacher followed  his  chosen  calling  with  patient  devotion,  but  when  the  Civil 
war  began  he  felt  that  he  owed  a  duty  to  the  Union  and  accordingly  offered 
his  services  as  a  private  in  the  ranks.  During  July  of  1861  he  was  enrolled 
in  the  army  and  sent  to  the  front,  where  he  bore  a  brave  part  in  the  battles 
of  the  Seventy-first  Indiana  Infantry.  The  death  of  officers  in  the  company 
and  his  own  superior  knowledge  of  military  tactics  caused  him  to  be  chosen 
to  lead  his  men  in  several  engagements  and  he  was  elected  their  captain, 
but  before  the  papers  had  been  received  commissioning  him  to  the  office, 
while  he  gallantly  led  his  troops,  he  fell  on  the  battlefield  of  Kenesaw 
mountain  in  1864.  At  the  time  of  his  tragic  death  he  was  still  a  young  man. 
His  son,  Raleigh  A.,  who  was  born  at  Worthington,  Greene  county,  Ind., 
February  22,  1859,  was  taken  into  the  home  of  an  uncle,  who  gave  him  such 
advantages  as  his  means  permitted,  sending  him  to  the  grammar  and  high 
schools  of  Worthington  until  he  had  completed  the  regular  course  of  study. 

Upon  starting  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world  Mr.  Moore  went 
to  Kansas  in  1879  and  took  up  land  near  Beloit,  Mitchell  county.  The 
country  was  new  and  few  attempts  at  improvement  had  been  inaugurated. 
The  location,  in  the  north  central  portion  of  the  state,  v\'as  somewhat  remote 
from  the  sections  of  the  commonwealth  already  improved  and  developed. 
In  time  he  became  the  owner  of  a  half-section  farm  where  he  made  a  spe- 
cialty of  Polled  Angus  cattle.  Like  all  who  lived  in  Kansas  at  that  time 
he  enjoyed  seasons  of  prosperity  alternating  with  years  of  discouragement 
and  heavy  loss,  but  eventually  he  sold  his  holdings  at  a  fair  profit.  During 
1890  he  came  west  to  Oregon  and  spent  a  year  in  Salem.  The  year  1891 
found  him  in  California,  a  newcomer  in  Kern  county,  where  he  bought 
unimproved  land  in  the  Beardsley  district.  Through  his  industry  and  saga- 
cious management  the  tract  was  converted  into  a  valuable  farm  and  he 
cultivated  the  place  with  profit  until,  feeling  the  need  of  lightening  his 
labors,  he  relinquished  agricultural  activities  and  in  1907  began  to  engage 
in  the  real-estate  business  in  Bakersfield,  where  now  he  handles  both  city 
and  country  property,  has  been  a  leading  associate  of  the  Bakersfield  Realty 
Board  and  is  also  a  charter  member  of  the  Kern  County  Board  of  Trade. 

After  going  to  Kansas  Mr.  Moore  was  married  in  Beloit  to  Miss  Mary 
M.  Talley,  who  was  born  in  Greene  county,  Ind.  They  became  the  parents 
of  two  children,  Fleda  O.  and  Columbus  F.  The  family  are  identified  with 
the  Bakersfield  Christian  Church  and  have  been  among  its  most  generous 
supporters.  Every  department  of  congregational  activity  has  felt  the 
impetus  of  their  devoted  zeal,  while  as  a  member  of  the  official  board  and 
also  as  a  member  of  the  building  committee  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of 
the  new  edifice  Mr.  Moore  has  been  associated  intimately  and  inseparably 
with  the  policy  of  advancement  manifested  by  the  church.  In  fraternal 
relations  he  has  been  identified  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen 
for  many  years.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  803 

BENJAMIN  F.  AND  MAYME  B.  SUITER.— With  the  early  col,,niz:i- 
tion  of  America  the  Suiter  family  crossed  the  ocean  from  Holland  and  set- 
tled among  other  Dutch  colonists  of  Pennsylvania,  where  several  successive 
generations  lived  and  labored.  Benjamin  F.,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Davenport, 
Iowa,  of  Pennsylvania  parentage,  and  he  lived  in  Illinois  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  his  useful  existence.  During  young  manhood  he  married 
Lydia  Page,  who  was  born  in  New  York  and  received  a  classical  education 
in  Lombard  University.  Two  children  were  born  of  their  union,  the  son, 
Benjamin  F.,  Jr.,  having  been  born  in  Mercer  county,  111.,  December  1.^,  1864, 
about  the  time  of  the  death  of  the  father  in  .Vndersonville  prison.  Leaving 
his  home  and  family,  the  father  had  served  at  the  front  as  a  member  of  the 
Ninth  Illinois  Cavalry  and  in  one  of  the  battles  during  the  fall  of  1864  he  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  by  whom  he  was  conveyed  to  the  historic  south- 
ern prison  to  end  his  days  in  suffering  and  privation.  .After  his  death  the 
mother,  who  was  a  woman  of  fine  mind  and  exceptional  attainments,  sup- 
ported herself  and  children  by  teaching  school.  As  soon  as  the  son  was  old 
enough  he  began  to  be  self-supporting  and  thus  made  it  easier  for  his  moiher. 
whose  last  days  were  passed  in  comfort  and  whose  death  occurred  in  1893 
in    Illinois. 

Ct  ming  to  California  in  1884  Benjamin  F.  Suiter,  Jr.,  spent  four  years 
near  Mojave,  Kern  county,  whence  he  returned  to  the  old  home  in  1888  and 
became  a  student  in  Lombard  LTniversity.  While  attending  that  institution 
he  served  as  non-commissioned  officer  in  the  Illinois  National  Guard.  .After 
leaving  the  university  he  engaged  in  general  merchandising  at  Oneida,  Knox 
county.  111.  During  the  fall  of  1893  he  came  to  California  for  the  second 
time.  At  Palo  Alto  he  conducted  a  mercantile  establishment  and  in  that 
university  town,  June  26,  1895,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mayme 
Bass,  principal  of  the  Palo  .Alto  schools  and  a  woman  of  exceptional  educa- 
tion, ability  and  attainments.  Born  near  Chicago,  111.,  she  was  the  daughter 
of  |ose;)h  and  Jane  (Gordon)  Bass,  who  died  when  she  was  a  child  of  three, 
and  she  was  adopted  by  her  uncle.  Dr.  Cyrus  A.  Bass.  With  the  latter  and 
his  wife,  .Anna  (\'an  de  \'oort)  Bass,  she  came  to  California  in  childhood, 
and  settled  at  Pleasanton,  .Alameda  county,  where  she  attended  schoi  1  under 
Prof.  C.  E.  Alerwin,  a  talented  educator.  In  1886  she  was  graduated  from  the 
San  Jose  State  Normal,  the  youngest  member  of  a  class  numbering  sixty- 
three  students.  .After  graduating  she  taught  in  the  schools  of  Alameda 
county  for  seven  years.  On  the  opening  of  the  schools  of  Palo  .Alto  she  was 
chosen  the  first  principal.  The  choice  reflected  credit  upon  her  ability  and 
success  as  an  educator,  for  there  were  more  than  one  hundred  applicants. 
During  the  two  years  of  her  connection  with  the  schools  of  the  university 
town  she  gave  them  a  substantial  organization  and  systematized  the  standard 
of  the  grades,  so  that  the  work  was  in  excellent  condition  at  the  time  of  her 
resignation.  In  religion  she  has  been  for  some  years  a  warm  believer  in 
the  doctrines  t  f  the  Christian  Science  Church.  Of  her  marriage  there  is  one 
son,  Gordon  Page  Suiter. 

Removing  from  Palo  .Mto  to  Oakland  in  1900,  .Mr.  and  .Mrs.  Suiter 
resided  in  that  city  for  two  years  and  meantime  he  located  nil  lands,  r.elore 
a  railroad  had  been  built  into  the  Sunset  field  in  Kern  county  he  located  at 
that  point  and  in  1905  removed  to  the  Coalinga  fields,  where  he  had  the  able 
assistance  of  his  wife  in  land  and  oil  ventures.  The  family  came  to  liakers- 
field  in  the  spring  of  1907  and  since  then  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Suiter  have  engaged 
in  the  real-estate  business  in  partnership,  having  offices  at  No.  1615  Nine- 
teenth street.    They  are  Republicans  in  politics. 

W.  A.  FERGUSON.— The  original  promoter  of  the  Knob  Hill  Oil  Com- 
pany and  likewise  the  first  and  only  secretary  of  the  organization,  Mr.  Fer- 
guson   merits   recognition    for   his   continuous    connection    with    the    concern. 


804  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

The  history  of  the  company  has  been  one  of  uninterrupted  success.  The 
striking  of  oil  in  the  lease,  September  15,  1900,  marked  an  epoch  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  Kern  river  oil  field,  for  therewith  passed  the  experimental 
stage  of  the  work  and  since  then  the  field  in  the  opinions  of  its  friends  and 
investors  has  been  the  safest  oil  proposition  in  the  entire  state.  It  is  worthy 
of  mention  that  the  company  has  never  made  an  assessment  on  its  stockhold- 
ers, nor  has  it  ever  failed  to  declare  monthly  dividends  in  the  past  ten 
years.  Since  the  first  derrick  was  built  in  July  of  1900  under  the  supervision 
of  Mr.  Ferguson  and  since  the  first  well  was  completed,  as  previously  stated, 
in  September  of  the  same  year,  with  a  flow  of  two  hundred  barrels,  there 
have  been  many  other  wells  sunk  by  the  company,  which  now  owns  thirty- 
six  producing  wells  on  its  lease.  The  concern  has  been  incorporated  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $25,000  and  with  James  Porteous  as  president,  W.  J.  Kittrell, 
secretary,  the  Fresno  National  Bank  treasurer,  and  W.  A.  Ferguson  super- 
intendent, the  three  gentlemen  named  acting  as  directors  together  with  G.  T. 
Willis  and  F.  Cathgart. 

The  Ferguson  family  comes  of  Scotch  lineage  and  was  established  in 
California  by  J.  R.  Ferguson,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  born  in  the  city  of  Lex- 
ington, where  in  early  manhood  he  married  Julia  Dryden,  a  native  of  Mis- 
souri. After  their  marriage  they  lived  upon  a  Missouri  farm  until  1862,  when 
they  disposed  of  their  holdings  and  crossed  the  plains  in  a  "prairie  schooner" 
drawn  by  oxen.  Six  months  were  spent  in  the  tedious  journey.  Settlement 
was  made  in  Santa  Cruz  county,  where  Mr.  Ferguson  engaged  in  general 
farming  and  stock-raising  until  the  infirmities  of  age  obliged  him  to  relin- 
quish all  responsibilities.  Both  he  and  his  wife  are  eighty  years  of  age  and 
continue  to  make  their  home  in  Santa  Cruz  county,  where  their  son,  W.  A., 
was  born  March  15,  1870,  and  where  he  spent  the  first  fourteen  years  of  life. 
In  a  family  of  eight  children,  all  but  one  still  living,  he  was  fourth  in  order 
of  birth.  The  eldest  child,  Belle,  is  the  widow  of  J.  T.  Lowry  and  lives  in 
Los  Angeles.  Mollie  is  a  resident  of  Fresno.  Charles,  now  in  the  Kern  river 
oil  field,  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Knob  Hill  Oil  Company  and  superintendent 
of  its  power  plant.  Marie  is  the  widow  of  Charles  Sexton,  a  court  reporter 
in  Los  Angeles.  Ida.  Mrs.  S.  F.  Mitchell,  is  living  in  San  Francisco,  and 
Fred,  the  _voungest  of  ihe  family,  engages  in  the  raising  of  stock  in  Fresno 
county. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  W.  A.  Ferguson  moved  with  his  parents  to 
San  Benito  county  and  settled  near  Hollister.  Later  he  accompanied  the 
family  to  Georgetown,  Eldorado  county,  where  he  completed  the  studies  of 
the  common  schools.  After  leaving  school  he  began  to  work  on  a  stock 
ranch  south  of  Fresno  and  from  there  he  came  to  Kern  county  in  18'^9. 
Among  his  personal  friends  was  J.  E.  Ellwcod,  who  sank  the  first  oil  well 
in  the  Kern  river  field  and  had  the  first  lease  (written  on  brown  paper)  with 
the  late  Thomas  Means,  the  same  covering  section  4,  township  28,  range  28, 
which  property,  later  absorbed  by  the  Associated,  is  known  as  the  Central 
Point  lease.  Through  the  in.strumentality  of  Mr.  Ferguson  a  lease  was 
secured  from  the  Aztec  Oil  Company,  managed  by  B.  F.  Brooks,  said  lease 
covering  forty  acres  on  section  4,  township  28,  range  28.  Upon  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Knob  Hill  Oil  Company,  in  which  he  was  a  large  factor  and 
principal  stockholder,  he  returned  to  Fresno,  but  later  estalilished  his  home 
at  No.  2029  Truxtun  avenue,  Bakersfield.  Besides  his  home  place  he  owns 
several  other  residence  properties  in  the  city  and  his  local  investments  are 
enlarged  through  the  purchase  of  stock  in  the  new  Bakersfield  National 
Bank.  At  Fresno  in  1893  he  married  Miss  Theo  Ormsby,  (,f  that  city,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  three  children.  The  daughters,  Cleo  and  Tina,  are 
graduates  of  the  Bakersfield  high  school  and  the  only  son,  Robert,  a  bright 
lad  of  twelve  years,  is  a  student  in  the  grammar  school  of  the  city. 


/^^Ly^^-^^  ^....^..^^zi^^^^-t^^t^ 


M^^.(3^ALM. 


HISTORY    OF  KERN    COUNTY  809 

JOHN  E.  CALDWELL.— lly  birth  and  ancestry  he  is  a  southerner 
and  his  early  childhnod  days  were  passed  in  his  native  C()mmf)n\vcaltli  of 
ALississippi,  where  his  father,  the  late  W.  A.  F.  Caldwell.  M.  D.,  had  a  hijjh 
standinaf  as  a  physician  and  surgeon.  During  the  Civil  war  he  went  to  the 
front  as  a  surgeon  and  endured  all  the  hardships  and  jjrivations  incident  to 
that  long  struggle,  returning  to  his  Mississippi  home  at  the  close  of  the 
conflict  to  take  up  again  his  private  practice  in  the  midst  of  the  associations 
long  familiar  to  him.  It  was  not  until  1879  that  he  removed  from  Mississippi 
and  for  four  years  he  engaged  in  professional  work  in  .\rkansas,  whence  in 
1883  he  brought  the  family  to  California.  He  made  his  home  near  White 
River.  Tulare  county,  where,  having  given  up  the  practice  of  medicine  and 
being  a  great  lover  of  horses,  throughout  the  balance  of  his  life  he  devoted 
his  attention  almost  wholly  to  raising  horses,  besides  raising  a  few  cattle. 
His  death  occurred  in  Tulare  county,  which  is  still  the  home  of  his  widow, 
Mrs.  Sarah  J.  (Cochran)  Caldwell.  Of  their  ten  children  the  third  in  order 
of  birth,  John  E.,  forms  the  subject  of  this  article.  Educated  in  grammar 
schools,  he  has  made  the  cattle  industry  his  life  work  and  has  continued  in 
Kern  county  since  young  manhood,  with  the  si  le  excejition  of  three  years 
spent  in  Arizona. 

Having  been  joined  by  a  brother,  James  Robert,  in  1909  .Mr.  Caldwell  em- 
liarked  in  the  cattle  business  upon  a  somewhat  larger  scale  than  herettjfore, 
the  two  brothers  buying  the  French  ranch  of  nine  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
in  addition  to  which  they  own  a  ranch  of  eight  hundred  acres  at  Granite. 
Both  ranches  are  well  w^atered  and  therefore  offer  exceptional  advantages 
to  cattle-raisers.  I'esides  the  land  which  they  own  they  lease  land  in  Kern 
county.  Through  a  long  and  intimate  identification  with  the  stock  industry 
in  Kern  county  Mr.  Caldwell  has  become  known  to  men  in  the  occupation 
and  everywhere  he  is  Yn  nored  for  ability,  intelligence  and  energy.  Particu- 
larly is  he  urominent  and  popular  in  the  vicinity  of  Granite,  where  he  makes 
his  home  and  has  his  headquarters.  Liberal  and  enterprising,  he  favors  all 
niii\cnicnts  for  the  UDbuildin;.'^  of  Kern  county.    He  is  a  member  of  the  Flaijlcs. 

JAMES  ROBERT  CALDWELL.— A  firm  believer  in  the  future  of  Kern 
county  and  in  the  excellent  opportunities  it  affords  to  men  of  intelligence  and 
energy  is  to  be  found  in  the  person  of  James  Robert  Caldwell,  whose  early 
identification  with  this  and  Tulare  counties  gave  him  a  positive  knowledge  of 
conditions  existing  during  the  '80s  and  whose  later  association  with  the  stock 
industry  here,  dating  from  1909,  makes  him  familiar  with  twentieth  century 
possibilities.  While  he  has  great  faith  in  the  county  its  citizens  have  an  equal 
faith  in  him  and  few  men  are  more  popular  than  "Bob"  Caldwell,  whose 
genial  disposition,  progressive  outlc  ok  upon  life,  kind  heart  and  energetic 
temperament  are  as  well  known  as  his  name  itself.  At  the  time  of  first  com- 
ing to  this  county  and  state  in  1883  he  was  a  youth  of  about  fifteen  years,  at 
the  impressionable  and  plastic  age  when  the  impressions  are  the  most  tenacious 
and  the  faculties  of  observation  the  most  alert.  Although  a  later  sojourn  of 
many  years  was  made  in  another  section  of  country,  it  was  only  to  return  to 
Kern  county  with  renewed  faith  in  its  advantages  and  increased  desire  to 
identify  himself  with  its  agricultural  development. 

A  member  of  an  old  southern  family,  James  Robert  Caldwell  was  born 
in  Sumner.  Miss.,  in  1868,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late  W.  A.  F.  Caldwell.  .M.  D.,  a 
graduate  physician  and  skilled  surgeon,  whose  quiet  and  successful  practice 
of  the  profession  in  the  south  covered  many  years,  broken  only  by  arduous 
service  as  a  surgeon  in  the  Civil  w^ar.  During  1879  the  family  moved  across 
the  Mississippi  river  into  Arkansas,  but  not  being  satisfied  with  conditions  in 
that  state,  they  came  to  California  in  1883,  where  afterward  Dr.  Caldwell 
engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising  in  Kern  and  Tulare  counties.  His  death 
occurred  in  Tulare  county  and  the  widow  is  still  living  at  the  ohl  homestead 
there.     (M  the  ten  children  in  the  family  all  but   four  are  still   living,  James 


810  HISTORY    OF  KERN    COUNTY 

Robert  being  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth.  After  coming  to  California  he  at- 
tended school  in  Kern  county  for  a  brief  period,  but  for  the  most  part  he  gave 
his  time  to  the  cattle  industry.  During  1891  he  went  to  Arizona,  where  he 
embarked  in  the  cattle  business.  As  soon  as  able,  he  purchased  a  ranch  in 
the  Williamson  valley.  After  having  continued  in  stock-raising  for  a  long 
period,  in  1909  he  disposed  of  his  interests  and  returned  to  Kern  county,  join- 
ing his  brother,  John  E.,  a  cattleman  in  the  Greenhorn  mountains.  The 
brothers  purchased  the  old  French  ranch  of  nine  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in 
these  mountains,  adjacent  to  the  government  reserve.  An  abundance  of  rain- 
fall enables  the  land  to  afford  excellent  grazing  for  the  stock.  In  addition  to 
this  large  tract,  the  brothers  own  eight  hundred  acres  near  Granite,  a  tract 
well  watered  and  used  exclusively  for  their  large  and  growing  cattle  business. 
January  17,  1913,  Mr.  Caldwell  was  bereaved  by  the  passing  of  his  wife,  Laura 
M.  (Cook)  Caldwell,  who  left  four  children,  Claude,  Alice,  Harry  and  Walter. 
Giving  his  attention  closely  to  his  important  cattle  interests  and  devoting  his 
leisure  to  his  home  and  family,  Mr.  Caldwell  has  had  little  opportunity  or 
inclination  to  enter  into  public  life,  political  campaigns  or  fraternal  activities, 
and  the  only  organization  in  which  he  has  been  especially  interested  is  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World. 

JOHN  L.  GILL. — The  Gill  family  to  which  belongs  the  present  editor 
of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  Farmer  is  an  old  historic  one  in  the  United  States, 
many  of  its  members  numbering  among  the  pioneer  citizens  who  have  aided 
in  the  development  of  the  country,  settling  first  in  Virginia,  and  then  pioneer- 
ing in  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Missouri.  John  L.  Gill  grew  to  manhood  in  Kirks- 
ville.  Mo.,  where  he  was  born  March  24,  1872.  His  grandfather,  John  Gill, 
was  one  of  the  early  builders  of  the  west.  He  was  a  native  of  Ohio.  Upon 
going  to  Indiana  he  helped  remove  the  Indians  from  that  section  to  Kansas, 
and  deciding  to  settle  in  the  west  he  became  a  pioneer  in  Missouri  and  a 
large  landowner  in  Northeastern  Missouri  before  the  war.  Developing  his 
land  he  had  it  in  splendid  condition  when  the  war  broke  out,  as  a  result  of 
which  he  lost  most  of  it. 

The  parents  of  John  L.  Gill  were  married  in  Missouri,  the  father,  Wil- 
liam Maxwell  Gill,  "being  an  only  son.  He  was  a  self-educated  man,  well 
read  in  history,  the  scriptures  and  belles-lettres,  and  was  extremely  intel- 
lectual. He  enlisted  in  the  Ninth  Iowa  Cavalry  and  served  during  the  Civil 
war.  For  forty  years  he  was  in  the  newspaper  business  in  Missouri  and 
California.  He  established  the  Kirksville  (Mo.)  Graphic,  and  was  at  one 
time  half  owner  in  the  Kirksville  Journal.  He  married  Anna  M.  Link,  and 
they  came  together  to  California  and  settled  at  Lemoore  in  what  is  now 
Kings  county.  There  he  established  in  connection  with  his  son  John  L. 
the  Lemoore  Leader  and  he  made  his  home  in  Lemoore  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  the  fall  of  1901.  The  mother  of  John  L.  is  still  living,  making  her 
home  on  a  hundred  and  sixty-acre  ranch  situated  about  eleven  miles  from 
Bakersfield.  These  children  were  born  to  the  marriage  of  William  Maxwell  ■ 
and  Anna  M.  (Link)  Gill;  Maud,  who  is  the  wife  of  L.  C.  Hyde,  cashier  of 
the  National  Bank  of  Visalia ;  John  Louis,  who  is  mentioned  below;  William 
E.,  who  is  a  farmer  in  Kern  county,  having  a  ranch  of  a  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  eleven  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield;  Samuel,  who  is  manager  cf  the 
Walter  Scott  Company  store  and  resides  in  Selma;  Frank,  who  is  manager 
of  the  Walter  Scott  Company  store  at  Kingsburg;  Bert,  who  is  a  plumber 
and  resides  at  Lindsay ;  and  Harry,  who  is  an  accountant  and  connected 
with  the  K.  T.  &  O.  Company  at  Coalinga. 

John  L.  Gill  was  early  taught  the  printer's  trade  by  his  father.  Gradu- 
ating from  the  Northeastern  Missouri  Business  College  he  early  became 
interested  in  the  business  and  evinced  a  particular  talent  for  that  trade. 
When  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age  he  came  with  his  parents  to  California 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  811 

and  settled  at  Lemoore  where  he  established  the  Lemoore  I.eader  in  partner- 
ship with  his  father.  Competent  at  so  early  an  age  to  conduct  a  newspaper 
business  he  early  branched  out  for  himself,  and  for  one  year  was  editor 
and  manager  of  the  Antiich  Leader,  which  he  conducted  successfully.  He 
then  established  the  Sanger  News  and  the  Wasco  News,  the  latter  of  which 
he  conducted  for  fourteen  months  and  brought  it  to  a  high  state  of  success. 
Selling  the  Wasco  News  he  then  bought  out  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  Farmer, 
and  this  he  is  at  present  conducting  along  the  most  modern  and  up-to-date 
lines.  This  paper  is  a  first-class  family  weekly  with  a  circulation  of  about 
two  thousand  copies.  The  subjects  treated  are  the  current  topics  of  the  day, 
good  short  stories  and  some  serials,  the  object  being  to  put  before  the  sub- 
scribers the  best  literature  obtainable,  be  it  fiction,  history  or  politics. 

In  1900  'Sir.  Gill  married  Miss  Ida  May  Whitmore,  tf  Sanger,  and  to 
them  six  children  have  been  born,  viz.:  John  Louis,  Jr.,  William,  Ruth,  Doug- 
lass, George  and  Wilbur.  In  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Gill  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Foresters  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  in 
political  sentiment  unites  his  forces  with  those  of  the  Progressive  i)arty. 

JOSEPH  F.  ENDERT.— Mr.  Endert  was  born  at  Crescent  City, 
Del  Norte  county,  Cal.,  February  24,  1878,  the  eldest  of  four  children  of 
Joseph  Bernard  and  Clara  (Fleming)  Endert.  His  father,  a  native  of  Ohio, 
and  of  German  descent,  was  born  in  1851,  and  in  due  time  crossed  the  plains  to 
California.  After  living  many  years  in  San  Francisco  he  removed  to  San 
Diego,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  construction  of  the  first  wharf,  and 
whence  he  came  forty-two  years  ago  to  Del  Norte  county,  locating  at  Crescent 
City,  where  he  attained  distinction  in  many  ways.  He  filled  the  office  of  sher- 
iiT  i;f  Del  Norte  county  for  sixteen  years  and  that  of  tax  collector  for  fourteen 
years,  and  he  is  also  well  known  for  his  long  connection  with  the  banking 
business  as  a  director  of  the  Del  Norte  County  Bank.  The  first  theatre  at 
Crescent  City  having  been  destroyed  by  fire,  he  was  the  builder  of  the  second 
theatre  in  the  town  ;  he  erected  an  ice  plant  and  bottling  works  and  became  the 
owner  of  valuable  timber  land  and  of  much  city  property.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Jthn  P^leming,  a  Pennsylvanian,  who  came  overland  to  the  Pa- 
cific coast  with  ox-teams,  went  up  the  Snake  river  and  down  the  Columbia 
river  to  Astoria,  Ore.,  and  had  memorable  experiences  in  the  Rogue  River 
Indian  war  in  which  he  served.  He  farmed  for  a  time  and  then  established  the 
Del  Norte  Hotel  at  Crescent  City,  wliich  he  owned  until  he  removed  to  luireka, 
where  he  passed  away. 

It  was  in  the  public  school  at  Crescent  City  that  Joseph  F.  Endert  began 
his  education.  Later  he  studied  at  the  Van  Der  Naillen  School  of  Engineering 
at  San  Francisco,  making  a  specialty  of  electricity  and  graduating  in  1901. 
Until  1904  he  was  associated  with  his  father  in  different  enterprises  at  Cres- 
cent City,  then  went  to  San  Francisco  to  become  a  traveling  salesman  with  the 
John  M.  Klein  Company,  in  which  capacity  he  made  his  earlier  visits  to  Kern 
county.  Later  he  organized  the  Sterling  Electric  Company,  afterward  known 
as  the  Pacific  States  Electric  Company,  with  headquarters  in  San  I'Vancisco 
and  branches  at  Oakland,  Portland,  Seattle  and  Los  Angeles.  He  severed  his 
relations  with  that  ci  ncern  in  1910  to  succeed  J.  H.  Cai-r  as  proprietor  of  the 
Kern  Valley  Electric  Supply  Company  in  Bakersfield,  which  under  his  man- 
agement has  built  up  a  large  trade  in  Bakersfield  and  vicinity,  aft'ording  ample 
service  in  the  way  of  appliances  and  repairs  to  all  who  use  electricity  in  any 
form.  Mr.  Endert  furnishes  estimates  for  any  work  in  the  electrical  line  and 
contracts  awarded  to  him  are  carried  out  according  to  latest  scientific  methods. 
He  makes  a  specialty  of  fixtures,  carrying  a  large  stock  of  electric  and  gas 
and  electric  goods,  and  has  wired  and  furnished  fixtures  for  most  of  the  resi- 
dences and  bungalows  built  in  Bakersfield  in  recent  years  as  well  as  for  the 
Redlick,   Tegeler  and    Brower  buildings,   the    Kern   County   court  house,   the 


812  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Southern  Hotel  and  the  Security  &  Trust  building.  He  did  the  electric  work 
in  more  than  two  hundred  cottages  in  1910,  averaging  more  than  one  cottage 
a  day  for  eight  months.  From  time  to  time  he  has  interested  himself  in  other 
business  enterprises.  For  years  he  has  been  a  stockholder  in  the  Olsen  & 
Mahoney  Steamship  Company,  which  owns  thirteen  vessels  in  the  coasting 
trade  out  of  San  Francisco.  He  is  a  member  and  director  and  vice-president 
of  the  Builders  Exchange  of  Bakersfield  and  a  member  of  the  California  State 
Electrical  Contractors'  Association.  In  his  political  alliance  he  is  a  Democrat. 
He  is  identified  with  the  Bakersfield  Club  and  with  the  Merchants  Association 
of  this  city  and  affiliates  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  the  Benevolent  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks  and  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West.  He  married 
at  Bakersfield  Miss  lola  Havey,  a  native  of  Oroville,  Butte  county,  and  they 
have  a  son,  Joseph  Francis  Endert. 

DOMINGO  BORDA.— Mr.  Borda  is  the  son  of  Martin  and  Dominica 
(Latsalda)  Borda,  both  of  whom  passed  away  in  their  native  France,  at  Basses 
Pyrenees.  The  father  followed  farming,  and  was  well  informed  on  all  the 
details  of  that  work.  Six  children  were  born  to  this  union,  four  of  whom  grew 
to  maturity  and  are  now  all  living  in  California. 

Born  December  12,  1863,  Domingo  Bcrda  was  brought  up  in  his  native 
place  at  Cambo,  and  there  was  sent  to  the  public  school,  to  attain  what  edu- 
cation that  school  aiiforded.  When  he  reached  manhood  he  decided  to  try  his 
luck  in  the  New  World  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1884,  locating  in 
California.  His  first  employment  was  with  a  sheep  man  in  San  Bernardino 
county,  driving  between  San  Gabriel  and  Pomona  valley,  and  also  between 
Perris  and  San  Jacinto.  Four  years  later  he  bought  a  lot  of  sheep  and  em- 
barked in  the  sheep  business  in  San  Jacinto,  following  this  until  1894,  when 
he  drove  them  to  Tehachapi,  in  Kern  county.  After  remaining  there  four  or 
five  summers  he  decided  to  range  them  near  Famosa,  about  four  miles  east 
of  there  on  the  plains,  and  in  the  summers  in  the  mountains  of  Garcia. 

Mr.  Borda  resides  at  No.  719  Nile  street.  East  Bakersfield.  He  home- 
steaded  a  quarter  of  section  twenty-six,  one  mile  fmm  Buena  Vista  Lake,  and 
built  a  house  and  barn.  In  all,  his  place  covers  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
on  which  he  raises  grain.  He  also  owns  an  eighty-acre  ranch  about  five  miles 
south  of  Bakersfield,  which  is  under  irrigation  and  planted  to  alfalfa. 

In  Tehachapi  Mr.  Borda  married  August  28,  1902,  Mary  Etcheverry, 
who  was  also  born  in  Basses  Pyrenees,  France,  and  to  them  have  come  four 
children:  Catherine,  Pierre.  Baptiste  and  Michel.  Politically  Mr.  Borda  is  a 
Republican. 

CHARLES  F.  JOHNSON.— As  manager  of  the  Consolidated  Pipe  Com- 
pany at  Bakersfield,  president  of  the  Kern  County  Board  of  Trade  and  presi- 
dent of  the  Kern  County  Democratic  League,  Charles  F.  Johnson  is  throw- 
ing the  influence  of  his  aggressive  and  forceful  personality  into  the  upbuild- 
ing of  this  part  of  California.  Significant  of  the  future  of  Bakersfield  is  the 
increase  in  its  manufacturing  plants.  One  of  the  recent  accessions  of  local 
industries  is  the  Consolidated  Pipe  Company,  manufacturers  and  jobbers  of 
riveted  steel  well  and  water  pipe,  galvanized  steel  irrigation  pipe,  hydrants, 
gates,  valves,  flanges,  tanks  and  sheet  metal  pipe  of  every  description.  The 
present  plant  located  in  Los  Angeles  covers  about  three  acres  of  ground 
space,  furnishes  employment  to  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  skilled 
mechanics  and  is  under  the  personal  direction  of  able  business  men  includ- 
ing the  president.  Gus  D.  Harper;  the  vice-president.  Bert  G.  Harper;  and 
the  secretary,  N.  W.  Myrick.  When  the  officials  determined  to  establish  a 
new  plant  in  Bakersfield  they  chose  Mr.  Johnson  as  its  manager  and  since 
Decemlier  13,  1911,  he  has  filled  the  position  with  energy,  tact  and  skill.  The 
plant  is  located  on  LTnion  avenue  at  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  tracks. 

Born  in  San  Francisco  October  31,  1865,  Mr.  Johnson  accompanied  the 
family  to  Los  Angeles  in  1870,  when  according  to  census  reports  the  popula- 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  815 

tion  of  that  place  was  only  five  thousand  two  iuindred  and  seventy.  All  of 
the  subsequent  growth  he  has  witnessed  with  pride  and  interest.  <  )n  l)oth 
sides  of  the  house  he  represents  the  pioneer  element  of  California.  His 
widowed  mother,  who  now  makes  her  home  with  him  in  Bakerslield,  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Mary  'SI.  Johnson  and  was  born  in  St.  Joseph,  .Mo.  During 
the  memorable  summer  of  184'*  she  traveled  across  the  plains  in  a  wagon 
drawn  by  oxen.  .After  the  arrival  of  the  family  in  Sonoma  county  her  father, 
David  C,  who  had  been  a  miller  and  merchant  first  in  Tennessee  and  later 
in  Missouri,  became  a  pioneer  of  Ilealdsburg  and  turned  his  attention  to 
farm  pursuits.  Later  he  tilled  the  soil  in  Merced  county.  During  1870  he 
removed  to  Los  Angeles  and  there  he  remained  a  resident  until  his  death  in 
1882.  His  daughter  in  j-oung  womanhood  had  become  the  wife  of  John 
Henry  Johnson,  a  native  of  New  York  City  and  a  pioneer  carpenter  of  San 
Francisco,  where  he  had  the  contract  for  the  building  of  the  old  Lincoln 
school  and  other  public  structures.  While  yet  a  young  man  he  passed  away, 
leaving  his  widow  to  care  for  their  children,  whom  she  then  took  to  Los 
.Angeles,  the  home  of  her  father.  There  were  four  sons  in  the  family  and 
three  of  these  are  still  living,  Charles  F.  being  next  to  the  eldest.  After  he 
had  studied  for  a  short  time  in  the  Los  Angeles  high  school  he  left  in  order 
to  earn  his  own  livelihood.  Entering  the  Los  .Angeles  woolen  mills  in  a 
very  humble  capacity  he  worked  up  to  be  a  weaver.  When  the  late  B.  F. 
Coulter  took  over  the  mills  he  was  made  assistant  superintendent  of  the  plant 
and  ujjon  their  being  closed  down,  he  was  tendered  a  clerkship  in  the  Coulter 
mercantile  establishment. 

Upon  resigning  his  position  in  the  Coulter  stnre  .Mr.  Johnsim  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Harper-Reynolds  Hardware  Company  as  a  shipping  clerk 
and  later  was  transferred  through  other  departments  until  he  was  made  a 
traveling  salesman  for  the  firm  in  Southern  California.  I'or  twenty-six  years 
altogether  he  continued  with  the  same  firm,  but  eventually  resigned  in  order 
to  accept  the  management  of  the  Consolidated  Pipe  Company's  plant  in 
I'akeisfield.  While  his  identification  with  Bakersfield  has  not  been  of  long 
duration,  already  he  has  become  associated  with  movements  for  the  heal 
upbuilding  and  has  proved  a  factor  in  commercial  i)rogress.  The  recognition 
of  his  abilities  led  to  his  unanimous  choice  as  president  of  the  Kern  County 
Board  of  Trade  while  his  devotion  to  the  principles  of  Democracy  caused  him 
to  be  elected  president  of  the  Kern  County  Democratic  League.  For  years 
he  was  actively  connected  with  the  United  Commercial  Travelers.  During 
his  residence  in  Los  Angeles  he  was  a  leading  worker  in  the  Royal  .\rcanum 
and  Modern  \\\-odmen  of  America,  while  since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  has 
joined  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  Prominent  in  the  D.  O.  K.  K.  and  Mira- 
monte  Lodge  Xo.  79,  K.  of  P.,  until  his  removal  from  Los  .Angeles,  he  had 
officiated  in  the  latter  as  chancellor  commander  and  also  was  a  member  of 
the  Grand  Domain  of  California.  In  Los  .Angeles  occurred  his  marriage  to 
Aliss  Clara  L.  Dangerfield,  a  native  of  London,  England,  and  a  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Dangerfield,  now  residents  of  Los  .Angeles.  The  only 
living  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Johnson  is  Clinton  Shields  Johnson,  who  was 
educated  in  the  Los  Angeles  Polytechnic  high  school,  Occidental  Ci  liege  and 
Holman's  Business  College  and  is  now  engaged  as  b(Hikkee|ier  fur  the  Cnn- 
solidated  Pipe  Compan}'  of  Bakersfield. 

GEORGE  N.  PEMBERTON.— A  Californian  by  birth,  having  been  born 
in  Napa  in  1873.  George  X.  Pemberton  is  a  son  of  R.  W.  Pemberton.  who 
came  to  California  in  the  pioneer  days.  He  was  brought  up  on  farms  in  Kings 
and  Kern  counties,  where  he  attended  the  public  schools.  .After  farming  for 
some  time  he  engaged  in  the  wood  and  hay  business  in  Hanford  for  about 
twelve  years.  During  this  time  he  also  operated  the  Henry  Burris  ranch  and 
in  one  year  put  up  twelve  hundred  tons  of  hay.    On  the  place  he  also  l)nrned 


816  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

charcoal,  having  three  large  pits  burning  at  one  time.  For  ten  years  of  the 
time  he  had  wood  choppers  busy,  sometimes  as  many  as  fifty  men  cutting 
wood  on  the  grant,  and  during  this  time  he  cut  the  willow  and  oak  wood  from 
a  strip  ten  miles  in  length.  He  also  ran  a  horseshoeing  shop  and  was  pro- 
prietor of  the  Corey  House. 

Selling  his  interests  in  Hanford,  Mr.  Pemberton  leased  land  from  Cham- 
berlain and  Carr  and  raised  barley  and  grain  on  about  one  thousand  acres. 
In  April,  1911,  he  located  in  Lost  Hills,  where  he  built  the  Pioneer  House,  the 
third  building  erected  on  the  townsite,  and  at  the  time  there  were  only  five 
derricks  in  the  Lost  Hills  oil  field.  Here  he  is  engaged  in  raising  corn  on 
fifteen  hundred  acres  near  his  old  adobe  house  on  the  southwest  end  of 
Tulare  Lake,  and  for  the  purpose  is  utilizing  his  forty  head  of  mules  and 
horses.    He  is  also  engaged  in  contract  teaming  and  heavy  hauling. 

The  marriage  of  JMr.  Pemberton  occurred  in  Fresno,  uniting  him  with 
Margaret  B.  Winsor,  who  was  born  in  Newfoundland,  and  to  them  have 
been  born  four  children :  George,  Evelyn,  Alvina  and  Irene.  Fraternally  Mr. 
Pemberton  is  a  member  of  the  Eagles. 

ELIAS  MARQUESS  DEARBORN.~The  identification  of  the  Dear- 
born family  with  California  dates  from  the  early  period  of  American  oc- 
cupancy and  from  the  exciting  era  of  gold  discovery,  for  it  was  during  1849 
that  Elias  Dearborn,  a  youth  of  some  seventeen  years  and  a  native  of  Bangor, 
Me.,  came  via  the  Horn  to  San  Francisco  for  the  purpose  of  trying  his  luck 
in  the  vast  and  unknown  west.  The  stories  concerning  the  presence  of 
gold  in  the  streams  and  mountains  aroused  his  ambition  and  allured  his 
imagination  to  test  by  actual  experience  the  prospects  of  the  country.  It 
was  not,  however,  his  good  fortune  to  make  any  valuable  discoveries  or  to 
gain  wealth  from  the  mines  of  the  state,  although  he  worked  in  many  from 
the  north  country  as  far  south  as  Havilah  in  Kern  county.  Eventually  he 
decided  that  any  chance  for  independence  must  come  to  him  from  another 
occupation  besides  mining  and  he  turned  to  the  stock  industry,  taking  up 
land  in  the  Rincon  country,  Kern  county,  and  eventually  becoming  the  owner 
of  large  tracts  of  land  and  large  herds  of  cattle.  Until  his  death  about  1907 
he  continued  to  make  his  home  m  the  ranch.  Three  years  after  his  demise 
his  widow  died  in  Mojave.  Prior  to  their  marriage  in  Los  Angeles  she  had 
been  Mrs.  Elizabeth  (Lemon)  Covington.  Born  in  Indiana,  she  was  a 
young  girl  when  the  family  crossed  the  plains  in  a  prairie  schooner  drawn 
by  ox-teams,  and  from  that  time  she  continued  to  make  California  her  home. 
Of  her  union  with  Mr.  Dearborn  there  were  three  children,  two  now  living, 
Elias  Marquess  being  one  of  twins;  the  other  son,  Jacob,  has  charge  of  the 
old  Kern  county  homestead. 

While  the  family  were  living  in  the  Rincon  country  Elias  Marquess 
Dearborn  was  bcrn  on  the  home  ranch  October  30,  1872.  The  first  seventeen 
years  of  his  life  were  spent  on  the  farm.  Having  comoleted  the  studies  of 
the  common  schools  he  went  to  Los  Angeles  and  matriculated  in  Wood- 
bury's Business  College.  From  that  institution  he  was  graduated  in  1895. 
In  the  mean  time  he  had  studied  law  in  an  evening  school.  LTpon  his  return 
to  Kern  county  he  settled  in  Mojave  and  engaged  in  mining  and  prospecting. 
.An  appointment  as  justice  of  the  peace  in  July  of  1898  was  followed  by  elec- 
tion to  the  office  during  November  of  the  same  year  and  for  four  years  he 
filled  the  position  with  fidelity,  resigning  by  reason  of  removal  to  Caliente. 
In  the  latter  village  he  not  only  engaged  in  mining,  but  in  addition  for  one 
term  he  served  by  election  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  fourteenth  town- 
ship of  Kern  county.  On  returning  to  Mojave  in  1910  he  again  was  selected 
to  serve  as  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  tenth  township  and  ever  since  he 
has  filled  the  position,  besides  engaging  in  the  real-estate  business,  in  mining 
and  in  farming.     The  town  hall  in  Mojave  was  erected  by  him  and  he  also 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  819 

has  built  other  Iniildiugs  in  the  town,  where  iicnv  he  owns  residence  and 
business  property.    In  addition  he  owns  a  ranch  in  the  Rincon  country. 

As  a  justice  of  the  peace  Judge  Dearborn  shows  impartiality  and  a  wide 
knowledge  of  the  law.  Some  of  the  cases  brought  to  his  court  have  per- 
tained to  mining  rights  and  have  been  of  great  importance.  Although  some- 
times appealed  to  higher  courts  of  the  state,  there  has  not  been  in  a  single 
instance  a  reversal  of  his  decisions.  His  family  consists  of  a  daughter, 
Catherine,  and  his  wife,  who  was  Miss  Catherine  Cuddahy,  a  native  of  Colo- 
rado, but  a  resident  of  Mojave  at  the  time  of  their  marriage.  In  national 
politics  he  has  given  stanch  support  to  the  Democratic  party.  I'"requently 
he  has  been  selected  to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  county  Democratic  central 
committee,  has  twice  been  delegated  to  the  state  convention  and  always  his 
work  has  been  efficient,  intelligent  and  helpful.  For  years  he  has  served  as 
a  member  of  the  Alnjave  Board  of  Education,  his  principal  service  having 
l>een  as  clerk  of  the  board,  in  which  responsible  post  he  has  been  vigilant, 
energetic   and  thoroughly   capable. 

J.  E.  GILLESPIE.— The  treasurer  of  the  firm  of  Tenipleton  &  lo.,  under- 
takers and  funeral  directors,  of  Bakersfield,  was  born  June  22,  1865,  on  a 
farm  near  Evansville,  Ind.,  where  his  father,  Jacob  E.  Gillespie,  now  deceased, 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  for  many  years.  The  mother,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Matilda  Wilson,  is  still  living,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy- 
six  years,  and  now  makes  her  home  with  her  son  in  Bakersfield.  Other 
members  of  the  family  have  become  prominent  in  localities  further  east.  A 
brother.  Rev.  AI.  L.  Gillespie,  is  a  Presbyterian  minister  at  Fayettville,  Ark., 
and  has  a  wide  acquaintance  among  the  leading  men  of  his  denomination.  A 
half-brother,  C.  A.  McGrew,  acts  as  manager  of  the  Evansville  (Ind.)  Coffin 
Company,  which  is  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  caskets  and  undertakers' 
supplies.  After  he  had  completed  the  studies  of  the  public  schools  and  had 
attended  the  Oakland  City  (Ind.)  Normal  School,  J.  E.  Gillespie  became  an  in- 
structor in  that  institution  and  for  three  years  followed  the  profession  of  an 
educator.  During  1894  he  became  connected  with  the  Evansville  Cuifin  Com- 
pany as  a  traveling  salesman  and  for  sixteen  years  he  represented  the  con- 
cern in  Illinois  and  adjacent  territi  ry,  meanwhile  Ijecduiing  familiar  with  the 
requirements  of  the  undertaking  business,  a  knowledge  that  stands  him  well 
in  hand  since  he  became  connected  with  the  firm  of  Templeton  &  Co.,  in 
Bakersfield.  After  he  came  to  this  city  he  was  bereaved  in  1910  by  the  death 
of  his  wife,  Mrs.  Ida  (Harris)  Gillespie,  who  left  two  children,  Cecil,  now 
seventeen  years  of  age,  and  I^'inis  L.,  twelve  years  old.  C~)n  June  22,  1912,  Mr. 
Gillespie  married  Mrs.  Ella  V.  Harris,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  who  is  delighted 
with  her  new  social  environment  at  Bakersfield  and  is  an  active  worker  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

The  firm  of  Templeton  &  Co.  may  be  denominated  the  pioneer  undertaking 
l)usiness  of  Bakersfield.  Jacob  Niederauer,  the  pioneer  undertaker  of  Bakers- 
field, sold  to  Morton  &  Connelly,  who  in  turn  sold  to  Dixon  &  Sons,  and 
eventually  Messrs.  Templeton  and  Gillespie  bought  an  interest  in  the  busi- 
ness, including  the  original  Niederauer  funeral  records.  On  the  corner  of 
Nineteenth  and  1'  streets  the  firm  has  erected  funeral  parlors.  The  commo- 
dious and  attractive  building,  which  is  32x110  feet  in  dimensions,  is  built  in 
Ihe  colonial  style  of  architecture.  Instead  of  being  grewsome  or  dreary  in 
aspect,  it  is  beautiful  in  its  architectural  simplicity  and  cheerful  furnishings. 
The  building  contains  a  vestibule,  hall,  family  recej^tion  room,  chapel  with 
accommodations  for  upwards  of  one  hundred  ])ersons  at  funerals,  a  laying- 
out  room  and  a  morgue  with  a  cement  floor,  also  a  stockroom  and  a  casket 
showroom,  with  fireproof  vault  and  all  the  other  modern  conveniences  fi.r  the 
management  of  such  a  business.  .\  lady  attendant  has  charge  of  the  bodies 
of  women  and  children.    In  the  laying  out  of  the  dead  Mr.  Gillespie  himself  is 


820  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

exceptionally  efficient,  being  a  graduate  of  Clark's  School  of  Embalming  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  the  Barnes  school  in  Chicago  and  the  Alyers  School  of 
Embalming  in  Cincinnati.  Automobile  ambulance  service  has  been  installed 
by  the  firm,  this  being  the  only  service  of  the  kind  from  San  Francisco  to  Los 
Angeles.  By  the  use  of  the  latest  scientific  methods  bodies  are  prepared  for 
shipment  to  all  parts  of  the  world  and  in  this  respect  the  firm  yields  superiority 
to  none. 

ROBERT  T.  NORRIS.— An  honorable  lineage  is  indicated  by  the  gene- 
alogy of  the  Norris  family,  who  belong  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  and  were 
identified  with  England  in  the  remote  period  to  which  the  records  can 
be  traced.  The  colonial  era  of  American  development  found  them  associated 
with  the  agricultural  upbuilding  of  the  eastern  states  and  several  genera- 
tions remained  near  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  During  the  Revolution  they 
fought  for  independence.  As  the  tide  of  migration  began  to  turn  toward 
the  west  one  of  the  name  removed  from  South  Carolina  to  Tennessee  and 
settled  upon  a  plantation,  but  eventually  removed  to  Missouri  to  spend  his 
last  days.  Rev.  Abner  Norris,  who  was  a  son  of  the  frontier  emigrant,  was 
born  in  Tennessee  and  died  in  Missouri.  Throughout  life  he  earned  a  live- 
lihood by  farming,  but  much  of  his  time  was  given  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  in  which  he  labored  without  salary  but  with  a  simple-hearted 
devotion  that  aided  greatly  in  the  local  upbuilding  of  the  denomination. 
In  early  manhood  he  had  married  Jane  Evans,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky, 
but  in  childhood  went  to  Missouri  with  her  father,  Samuel  Evans,  and 
later  came  to  California.  When  ninety-eight  years  of  age  her  death  oc- 
curred at  Bakersfield.  The  Evans  family  is  of  Welsh  lineage,  but  has  been 
identified  with  American  history  for  a  number  of  generations. 

There  were  six  sons  and  four  daughters  in  the  family  of  Abner  and 
Jane  Norris.  Five  of  the  number  are  still  living.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact 
that  three  of  the  sons,  Samuel,  David  and  Roljert  T.,  served  during  the  Civil 
war  as  memlDers  of  Company  H,  Fourth  Missouri  Cavalry,  United  States 
Volunteers,  and  finally  received  honorable  discharges  at  the  expiration  of 
the  struggle.  All  settled  in  Missouri,  and  David  remained  there  until  his 
death  ;  Samuel  removed  to  California  and  died  in  Long  Beach  in  November, 
1912.  Robert  T.,  who  was  seventh  among  the  ten  children,  was  born  near 
Platte  City,  Platte  county.  Mo.,  March  4,  1841,  the  date  of  the  inauguration 
of  William  Henry  Harrison  as  president  of  the  United  States.  For  a  time 
in  boyhood  he  was  a  pupil  in  a  subscription  school  and  later  he  attended  a 
free  school.  March  26,  1862,  he  volunteered  in  Company  H,  Fourth  Mis- 
souri Cavalry,  and  was  mustered  in  at  Stewartsville  as  corporal,  from  which 
later  he  was  promoted  to  be  sergeant.  With  his  regiment  he  bore  a  part  in 
battles  throughout  the  south,  particularly  in  Texas  and  Arkansas.  The 
war  ended,  he  was  mustered  out  April  18,  1865,  at  Warrensburg,  Johnson 
county,  Mo.,  and  during  the  same  year,  in  Dekalb  county,  that  state,  he 
married  Miss  Virginia  Tvler,  who  was  born  in  Ohio  and  died  at  Riverside, 
Cal.,  in  1899. 

The  family  home  continued  to  be  in  Missouri  until  1875,  when  Mr. 
Norris  came  to  California  and  spent  one  year  at  Visalia.  March  of  1876 
found  him  a  resident  of  Kern  county,  where  he  located  a  homestead  in  the 
Weed  Patch  and  embarked  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Later  he  took  up  and 
improved  a  desert  claim.  Finally  he  had  eighty  acres  in  alfalfa  and  made 
a  snecialty  of  selling  hay.  When  he  sold  that  property  he  bought  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  in  this  county  and  became  interested  in  the  cattle 
industry.  Coming  to  Bakersfield  in  August  of  1888,  he  bought  property, 
planted  trees  and  eneaeed  in  raising  alfalfa,  besides  improving  the  place  he 
still  owns.     Meanwhile  he  spent  some  years  on  a  ranch  in  Riverside  county 


^    ^      %,r^u^^ 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  823 

and  after  his  leturu  to  Eakersfield  he  began  to  operate  the  City  dye  works 
I  in  Eighth  and  N  streets.  This  business  he  still  owns  and  manages,  his 
trade  extending  through  Eakersfield  and  East  Bakersfield  and  into  the  Kern 
river  oil  field.  A  few  years  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife  he  married  Mrs. 
Maggie  A.  Brooks,  of  Healdsburg;  she  was  born  in  Kentucky  and  died  at 
liakersfield  July  6,  1911.  Of  his  first  marriage  there  are  two  children.  The 
daughter,  Alfarata,  married  William  W.  Baker,  associated  with  Mr.  Norris 
in  the  dye  works;  they  became  the  parents  of  eight  children,  seven  living. 
The  son.  Perry,  owns  and  manages  the  dye  works  at  Chico,  this  state.  In 
religious  belief  Mr.  Norris  adheres  to  the  Presbyterian  faith.  Politically 
he  votes  with  the  Republican  party.  After  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  became 
associated  with  Hurlburt  Post  No.  127,  G.  A.  R.,  and  holds  office  as  senior 
\-ice-ci  mmaiider. 

CHRISTIAN  WEICHELT.— A  native  of  Zillis,  Graubunden,  Switzer- 
land, born  February  12,  1869,  Christian  Weichelt  was  the  only  son  of  John 
and  Freda  (Readhauser)  Weichelt,  who  died  at  seventy-six  and  seventy-seven 
years  respectively.  Bidding  farewell  to  his  parents  March  29,  1889,  Mr. 
Weichelt  proceeded  to  Havre,  France,  from  which  point  he  sailed  to  New  York. 
At  the  expiration  of  fourteen  days  he  landed  in  the  new  world  and  at  once 
crossed  the  continent  to  California,  landing  at  Bakersfield  April  30,  1889.  For 
six  months  he  worked  under  Christ  Stockton  on  the  Lakeside  ranch,  then  spent 
four  months  under  Mr.  Pyle  on  the  Sixteen  ranch,  and  from  there  went  to 
Mono  county,  where  under  Mr.  Reese  as  foreman  he  worked  on  the  railroad 
and  in  a  sawmill  for  eighteen  months.  During  the  winter  he  worked  on  Mr. 
Xeigh's  ranch  near  Mono  Lake.  In  the  spring  he  proceeded  to  San  Francisco, 
looked  up  his  former  employer,  Mr.  Reese,  and  asked  him  for  work.  Within 
an  hour  he  was  given  a  position  as  helper  to  carpenters  in  the  employ  of 
Runtra  Bros.,  with  whom  he  continued  for  six  months.  About  that  time  Mr. 
Rantree  brought  him  to  the  notice  of  Mr.  Button,  a  large  and  prosperous 
cement  contractor,  who  taught  him  the  cement  business  with  the  utmost 
thoroughness  and  then  gave  him  steady  employment  in  San  Francisco. 

After  having  continued  with  Mr.  Dutton  for  four  years  Mr.  Weichelt  re- 
turned til  Bakersfield  in  1897  and  found  employment  in  a  dairy  operated  by 
John  Ellis,  afterward  entering  the  employ  of  a  cousin,  Gaudenz  Weichelt, 
with  whom  he  continued  for  two  years.  During  six  months  of  the  time  he 
drove  a  milk  wagon.  Going  up  to  Tehachapi,  he  spent  one  winter  on  the 
Fickett  ranch.  Returning  to  Bakersfield  in  the  spring  he  engaged  with  George 
Beardsley  in  the  dairy  business,  Mr.  Beardsley  having  purchased  the  dairy 
formerly  owned  by  Gaudenz  Weichelt.  Later  he  was  with  Klepstein  Bros, 
and  then  with  Goode  Bros.,  continuing  steadily  at  work  until  K04,  when  he 
sufl'ered  a  very  severe  attack  of  typhoid  fever.  For  some  time  his  life  hung 
in  the  balance.  It  was  four  months  before  he  was  able  to  leave  his  bed  and 
even  longer  before  he  was  able  to  do  the  lightest  work.  When  he  had  finally 
regained  his  strength  he  entered  the  employ  of  T.  H.  Fogarty,  a  sti  ckman 
on  Cnion  avenue.  After  a  year  with  him  he  assumed  the  management  of  the 
Herschfield  fruit  orchard  on  L'nion  avenue  and  there  he  was  engaged  for  four 
years,  thence  returning  to  Bakersfield  to  enter  the  employ  of  Weitzel  &  Lar- 
son. In  the  fall  of  1887  he  married  Miss  Mary  Heim  at  the  old  Anderson  dairy 
near  Stockdale.  Mrs.  Weichelt  was  born  in  Germany,  whence  in  1892  she  had 
immigrated  to  California.  From  early  life  she  has  been  a  devoted  member 
nf  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  her  two  children,  Freda  Alma  and  Hilda 
Pauline,  are  being  reared  in  this  religious  faith.  Since  becoming  a  citizen  of 
our  country  IMr,  Weichelt  has  voted  with  the  Republican  party  in  local  and 
general  elections,  while  in  fraternal  connections  he  holds  membership  with 
the  Ancient  Order  of  L'nited  \\'orkmen.  He  is  one  of  the  strongest  and  most 
active   unii  n   labor  men    in   the   city  of   Bakersfield   and   is   vice-president   of 


824  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

Local    No,    130,    Cement    W'orkeVs.    and   always   the    delegate    to   the    Labor 
Council, 

ERNEST  E.  YARBROUGH.— Long  identification  with  the  oil  industry 
in  Kern  county,  dating  back  to  the  opening  of  the  Kern  river  field  and  extend- 
ing almost  continuously  up  to  the  present  time,  has  made  Mr,  Yarbrough 
an  expert  in  his  judgment  concerning  the  possibilities  of  any  lease  and  enables 
him  to  fill  with  accuracy  and  intelligence  his  present  position  as  superintend- 
ent of  the  leases  of  the  State  Consolidated  Oil  Company  in  the  McKittrick, 
North  Midway  and  Bellridge  districts,  in  which  capacity  he  has  engaged  with 
efficiency  since  July  of  1911,  besides  being  a  stockholder  in  the  same  concern. 

A  resident  of  California  since  1891,  Ernest  E.  Yarbrough  came  to  the 
state  from  Kansas,  where  he  was  born  near  Winfield,  Cowley  county,  Feb- 
ruary' 12,  1879,  His  parents,  Newton  L.  and  ]\Iollie  Yarbrough,  were  natives 
respectively  cf  Missouri  and  Illinois  and  homesteaded  a  claim  in  Kansas, 
where  the  father  engaged  extensively  in  stock-raising.  The  purchase  of  land 
adjacent  to  his  original  claim  gave  him  a  large  acreage  to  superintend  and 
cultivate.  During  1891  he  removed  from  Kansas  to  California  and  settled  in 
Sonoma  county,  where  he  and  his  wife  own  and  conduct  a  summer  resort, 
known  as  the  Yarbrough  farm,  one  mile  north  of  Guerneville,  Of  their  two 
children  the  elder,  Ernest  E.,  was  about  twelve  years  of  age  at  the  time  of 
settling  near  Guerneville,  where  later  he  attended  school  during  several  terms. 
From  the  age  of  sixteen  he  has  been  self-suporting.  His  first  experience  in 
the  industrial  world  gave  him  employment  in  a  sawmill  at  Guerneville  for  one 
year,  after  which  he  spent  another  year  in  the  McFadden  mill  above  Spring- 
ville, 

With  the  opening  of  the  Kern  river  oil  field  Mr,  Yarbrough  sought  em- 
ployment in  the  new  center  of  oil  development.  In  a  short  time  he  had  gairred 
a  knowledge  of  dressing  tools.  After  a  period  of  employment  with  Anderson 
&  Morton  in  1900  he  came  to  the  McKittrick  field  to  work  as  a  driller  with  the 
Dabney  Oil  Company.  .\  year  later  he  went  to  the  Sunset  field,  but  another 
twelve  months  found  him  back  in  the  McKittrick  field,  where  he  did  consider- 
able important  work  in  drilling.  About  that  time  (1905)  he  was  induced  to 
seek  employment  in  the  famous  Goldfield  mines  in  Nevada  and  later  he  located 
and  developed  mines  at  Lida.  Nev.,  where  he  remained  for  a  year  or  until  sell- 
ing the  property.  From  that  district  he  went  to  the  Needles,  now  known  as 
California  hills,  where  he  discovered  and  located  the  Gold  Dollar  group  of 
mines  and  the  Bluebird  claims.  Upon  selling  these  properties  he  took  employ- 
ment with  a  Los  Angeles  capitalist  and  as  a  mining  expert  traveled  through 
almost  every  portion  of  Nevada  and  Arizona.  Returning  to  McKittrick  in 
1907,  he  began  to  work  with  the  Associated  Oil  Company  as  a  driller,  but  in 
March  of  1909  he  transferred  to  the  State  Consolidated  Oil  Company  for 
similar  work,  since  which  he  has  been  promoted  to  be  superintendent  of  the 
company's  holdings  in  the  McKittrick,  North  Midway  and  Bellridge  fields. 
While  in  Los  Angeles  he  met  and  married  Mrs,  Sadie  (Woods)  Riggan,  who 
was  born  in  San  Francisco  and  by  her  first  marriage  had  two  children,  Stan- 
ley and  LI  el  en, 

CHARLES  TEMPLETON,  Jr.— An  identification  of  several  years  with 
the  undertaking  firm  of  Templeton  &  Co,  brought  Mr,  Templeton  into  promi- 
nent relations  with  the  business  men  and  commercial  activities  of  Bakers- 
field,  where  he  is  known  and  honored  as  a  young  man  of  ability  and  com- 
mendable public  spirit.  Born  in  the  southern  part  of  Illinois,  at  llarrisburg. 
Saline  county,  July  2S,  1884,  he  received  a  fair  common-school  education  in 
that  state  and  also  acquired  there  his  early  knowledge  of  the  undertaking 
business,  being  a  graduate  of  the  Chicago  College  of  Embalming,  class  of 
1902,  Later  he  had  the  advantages  afforded  by  a  post-graduate  course  in  the 
Renaurd  School  of  Embalming  in  New  York  City.   During  1909  he  was  united 


/^^  <^  //M  J^. 


^/pOi^    hc:^^-^^^^^^'^^-' 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  827 

in  marriage  with  Aliss  .Mabel  Rubiiison,  a  native  of  Illinois,  and  accom|)anied 
l)y  her  immediately  after  his  marriage  he  came  to  Bakerstield,  where  in  the 
same  vear  he  acquired  an  interest  in  the  undertaking;  business  of  Dixon  & 
Sons,  buying  out  F.  S.  Dixon,  Sr..  in  the  establishment  originally  founded  by 
lacob  Niederauer,  then  sold  by  him  to  Morton  &  Connelly,  who  in  turn  sold 
out  to  Dixon  &  Sons.  January  1,  1913,  Mr.  Templeton  sold  out  his  interests  in 
t,he  said  firm  of  Templeton  &  Co.  to  J.  C.  Flickinger.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Templeton 
have  one  son,  Charles  Frederick. 

TOMAS  ECHENIQUE.— Jose  Maria  Echenique,  father  of  Tnmas,  was 
born  in  Maya,  Navarre,  Spain,  where  his  son  also  was  born.  He  followed 
farming  all  of  his  life,  his  death  occurring  at  the  home  place.  His  wife,  Petra 
Dendarieta,  now  deceased,  was  born  there,  and  was  the  mother  of  seven 
children,  all  of  whom  are  now  living,  Tomas  being  the  youngest. 

The  birth  of  Tomas  Echenique  occurred  April  19,  1878,  at  the  same 
place  where  his  father  first  saw  light  of  day,  and  there  he  spent  his  young 
days,  receiving  his  educational  training  in  the  local  school.  As  he  grew 
up  he  became  interested  in  accounts  of  the  new  wi  rid,  and  in  1897  finally 
Started  for  America,  full  of  ambition  and  purpose  to  succeed  in  his  new 
efforts.  On  January  24,  1897,  he  came  to  San  Francisco,  and  in  less  than 
a  week  he  procured  employment  with  a  sheepman  at  Huron,  Fresno  county, 
where  he  remained  for  some  time,  learning  all  the  details  of  the  business. 
As  he  was  energetic  and  thrifty,  having  the  future  in  mind,  he  saved  his 
earnings,  and  in  1903  bought  a  small  flock  of  sheep,  which  installed  him  in 
the  sheep  business  on  his  own  account.  The  ensuing  year  brought  him 
good  results,  and  in  1904  he  came  to  East  Bakersfield  to  make  his  home, 
ranging  his  sheep  during  the  winters  in  Kern  county,  and  in  the  summers 
in  the   Tehachapi   mountains.     His   ranch   headquarters  are  on   Poso   creek. 

On  April  4,  1908,  Mr.  Echenique  married  one  of  his  countrywomen, 
Miss  Jeanne  Etcheverry,  born  in  Aldudes,  Basses-Pyrenees,  becoming  his 
wife.     They  are  the   parents  of  two   children,   Marie   and   Jeanne    Matliilda. 

J.  I.  WAGY. —  It  would  1)e  practically  impossible  to  name  any  enterprise 
for  the  upbuilding  of  Maricojia  and  vicinity  tliat  has  lacked  the  sturdy  sup- 
]iort  of  Mr.  W'agy,  but  perhajjs  his  mf)st  important  association  is  with  the 
^^'est  Side  Water  Company,  of  which  he  is  manager,  director  and  principal 
owner.  The  mi  st  serious  problem  in  the  oil  districts  of  Kern  county  has  been 
to  secure  pure,  wholesome  water  for  house  use,  and  it  is  indeed  fortunate  that 
Maric(  pa,  located  in  a  desert  country,  should  be  in  possession  of  an  abundant 
supi)ly  of  go(  d  water  furnished  by  the  West  Side  Water  Com'iany,  a  con- 
cern incorporated  in  1910  with  a  capital  stock  of  $100,000.  The  mctli-id  nf 
organization  included  the  placing  of  one  thousand  shares  at  $100  each,  and  of 
these  ninety-tw^o  thousand  have  been  issued,  ?ilr.  Wagy  being  owner  of  four- 
fifths  of  the  entire  stock  and  therefore  almost  sole  proprietor  of  the  business. 
The  water  is  available  for  domestic  and  other  purposes.  Several  of  the  finest 
springs  located  in  the  Coast  Range  mountains  toward  Ozena  form  the  s  urce 
of  supply.  In  four-inch  mains,  by  means  of  the  gravity  system,  the  water  is 
piped  to  Maricopa  from  Ventura  county,  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles.  Sub- 
stantial tanks  have  been  built  and  lines  i  f  mains  laid  with  particular  refocncc 
to  use  for  fighting  fires,  and  under  a  pressure  of  ninety  nounds  a  three-fourths 
stream  can  be  thrown  seventy-five  feet  into  the  air.  When  the  pure  mountain 
source  of  the  water  is  appreciated,  it  will  be  understood  that  it  is  entircb-  free 
from  disease  germs  and  may  be  used  freely  1)y  all  citizens  who  \aluc  ihoir 
health. 

The  successful  putting  through  of  an  undertaking  so  important  a-  the 
water  company  by  no  means  represents  the  limit  of  the  business  activilii's  of 
Mr.  Wagy,  who  is  further  known  as  the  proprietor  of  the  Gordon  livery  s(  hies 
at  Maricopa  and  engaged  in  a  general  contracting,  hauling  and  house-m    ving 


828  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

business,  owning  and  working  sixty  head  of  horses  and  mules.  The  develop- 
ment of  land  also  has  enlisted  his  forceful  labors.  South  of  Bakersfield  he  has 
developed  a  fine  alfalfa  ranch.  In  the  Coast  Range  mountains  he  has  estab- 
lished the  Ozeiia  ranch,  a  vast  tract  embracing  four  thousand  acres,  whereon 
he  now  has  approximately  seventeen  hundred  head  of  cattle. 

To  listen  to  a  recital  from  the  friends  of  Mr.  Wagy  concerning  his  finan- 
cial success  and  large  possessions  and  to  glance  at  his  stalwart  figure  indica- 
tive of  robust  health  and  sturdy  strength,  eine  finds  it  difficult  to  believe  that 
he  came  to  California  without  means  and  broken  in  health,  given  up  by 
many  friends  as  beyond  hope  of  recovery.  He  was  born  near  Chillicothe,  the 
county-seat  of  Ross  county,  Ohio,  February  13,  1865,  and  passed  the  years  of 
childhood  principally  in  Richland  county,  111.,  where  his  father  engaged 
m  farming.  From  early  life  he  was  not  rugged  and  health  considerations 
caused  him  to  come  to  California  in  1888.  With  resolute  determination  he 
earned  his  own  livelihood  in  spite  of  his  lack  of  strength.  Soon  he  began  to 
show  marked  improvement  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  was  able  to  endure 
the  most  difficult  tasks.  The  first  industry  that  engaged  his  attention  was  the 
raising  of  grapes.  Securing  twenty  acres  in  Tulare  county,  he  planted  a 
vineyard  and  soon  had  his  tract  covered  with  grape  vines  of  the  raisin  varie- 
ties. It  was  no  slight  task  to  remove  the  sage  brush  that  had  covered  the  land, 
plow  and  cultivate  the  soil,  plant  the  vines  and  care  for  the  vineyard  until 
it  had  become  productive,  but  he  proved  equal  to  the  emergency.  The  busi- 
ness, however,  did  not  attract  him  as  a  source  of  permanent  income,  so  he 
sold  out  and  then  bought  a  shoe  store  in  Tulare,  where  he  remained  for  two 
and  one-half  years. 

Coming  to  Kern  county  in  1893  Mr.  Wagy  settled  east  of  Lake  Buena 
Vista  near  the  present  site  of  Conner's  Station  and  there  he  rented  grain  land 
until  a  succession  of  dry  years  made  the  occupation  unprofitable.  As  early 
as  1894  he  began  freighting  from  Bakersfield  to  the  west  side  oil  fields  and 
engaged  in  hauling  between  the  two  points  until  1901.  From  1904  until  1907  he 
was  very  successful  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Sunset  and  during  1907  he 
had  a  real-estate  office  in  Los  Angeles,  where  he  dealt  in  west  side  oil  lands. 
At  this  writing  he  owns  eighty  acres  of  oil  lands  lying  one  mile  east  of 
Maricopa.  For  some  years,  indeed  since  the  beginning  of  oil  activities  at 
Maricopa,  he  has  been  interested  in  this  locality  and  his  faith  in  the  future  of 
the  town  itself  has  been  exhibited  by  the  erection  of  a  substantial  residence, 
provided  with  modern  conveniences  and  with  all  the  comforts  usually  seen  only 
in  the  large  cities.  This  home  is  presided  over  graciouslv  bv  l\Irs.  ^^'agv  and 
is  brightened  by  the  presence  of  their  two  sons,  Julian  and  Philip.  Mrs.  Wagy 
was  Julia  Maples  of  Bakersfield,  her  father,  T.  W.  Maples,  having  long  been  a 
well-known  citizen  of  that  place. 

ARCHIE  H.  DIXON.— The  secretary  of  the  undertaking  firm  of  Temple- 
ton  &  Co.,  who  is  also  filling  the  position  of  deputy  coroner  of  Kern  county, 
claims  Kansas  as  his  native  commonwealth  and  was  born,  reared  and  edu- 
cated at  Fairview,  Brown  county,  that  state,  whence  in  1901  he  removed  to 
California  in  company  with  his  father  and  mother  and  wife.  During  the  period 
of  his  residence  in  Bakersfield  he  has  been  identified  with  movements  for  the 
local  upbuilding  and  assisted  in  conducting  the  undertaking  business  of 
Dixon  &  Sons,  in  which  his  father,  F.  S.  Dixon,  was  the  senior  member  and 
leading  partner.  Later,  through  the  purchase  of  the  interests  of  the  senior 
Dixon  by  Messrs.  Templeton  and  Gillespie,  the  name  was  changed  to  Temple- 
ton  &  Co.,  and  as  such  is  now  conducted.  A  new  building  has  been  erected, 
modern  in  every  respect,  and  every  convenience  has  been  added  for  the  satis- 
factory management  of  the  business.  In  addition  to  acting  as  secretary  of  the 
company  Mr.  Dixon  since  1911  has  served  as  deputy  coroner,  having  received 
the  appointment  from  the  present  coroner  and  public  administrator  of  Kern 


^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  831 

county,  \\/..:  \\.  A.  McGinn,  wlui  is  also  an  attorneA-  and  has  offices  in  the 
Morgan  huildins;.  I'v  the  niarriajje  nf  ^[r.  Dixdii  tn  Miss  Jessie  Ciil verhcmse, 
(if  Kansas,  there  is  one  daughter,  Alta. 

JOHN  WEICHELT. — The  science  of  dairying  as  taught  and  worked 
out  in  Switzerland  has  formed  the  basis  of  thp  success  which  has  come  to 
John  Weichelt  in  the  field  of  dairying  in  Kern  county.  Thoughts  of  his 
boyhood  home  take  him  back  to  the  beautiful  surroundings  in  which  the 
parental  farm  was  located,  nestled  among  the  mountains  of  Switzerland, 
and  there,  September  14.  1880.  he  was  born  in  Zillis,  Canton  Graubunden. 
His  parents  were  Gottleib  and  Katherina  (VVald)  Weichelt,  natives  of  the 
same  locality,  and  stanch  communicants  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  in  the 
faith  of  which  they  reared  their  seven  children.  All  of  the  children  are 
living  and  filling  their  appointed  places  in  the  activities  of  the  world:  Chris- 
tian, who  still  makes  his  home  in  Switzerland ;  Gottleib,  a  rancher  in  the 
Panama  district.  Kern  county;  Gaudenz,  a  resident  of  Bakersfield ;  John, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch;  ]\irs.  Katherina  Mattly,  wife  of  Christian  Mattly, 
of  Bakersfield;  Mrs.  Mary  Koch,  the  wife  of  John  Koch,  of  Panama;  and 
Carl,  a  resident  of  Bakersfield. 

With  his  brothers  and  sisters  John  Weichelt  was  given  the  best  educa- 
tional advantages  that  the  schools  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  parental  home 
afforded,  and  like  them,  too,  he  was  given  a  practical  training  in  the  duties 
that  fell  to  them  as  the  sons  and  daughters  of  farmers,  all  working  together 
with  a  common  interest  and  all  reaping  a  benefit  that  accrues  from  unity 
of  purpose  and  common  weal.  He  was  about  seventeen  years  old  when 
he  assumed  the  responsibilities  of  life  on  his  own  account,  leaving  the  con- 
genial surroundings  of  his  boyhood  for  the  unexplored  field  of  activities 
that  awaited  him  in  the  United  States,  whither  he  came  in  1897.  April  13 
of  that  year  found  him  in  Kern  county,  and  as  he  had  a  good  knowledge 
of  the  dairy  business  his  search  for  employment  was  brief.  He  was  for- 
tunate in  securing  employment  with  Christian  Mattly,  in  whose  service  he 
remained  for  four  years,  during  which  time  he  became  familiar  with  the 
dairy  business  as  conducted  in  this  country  and  also  became  familiar  with 
the  language  and  customs  of  his  adopted  home.  After  leaving  Mr.  Mattly's 
employ  he  worked  at  the  harness-maker's  trade  in  Bakersfield  for  about  a 
year,  but  as  it  was  not  to  his  liking  he  turned  his  attention  once  more  to 
the  dairy  business  and  has  followed  it  ever  since.  His  first  venture,  in  1903, 
was  in  company  with  his  bn  ther  Gaudenz,  they  renting  the  farm  of  their 
former  employer.  Christian  Mattly,  the  property  comprising  five  hundred 
and  fifty-two  acres  well  adapted  to  the  industry.  The  partnership  lasted 
three  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  Gaudenz  Weichelt  removed  to  his  own 
place  and  John  continued  to  manage  the  property  alone.  Here  at  times  he 
had  as  high  as  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  head  of  Durham  cows  and  the 
land  not  used  for  pasturage  was  devoted  to  alfalfa.  The  raising  of  this  com- 
modity was  not  confined  to  supplying  his  own  needs,  but  formed  a  source 
of  income  in  the  sale  of  seed,  the  yield  at  times  running  as  high  as  five  hun- 
dred pounds  to  the  acre.  A  change  in  Mr.  Weichelt's  activities  was  necessi- 
tated by  the  sale  of  the  INIattly  ranch  in  1912,  when  he  moved  onto  a  ranch 
of  his  own  which  he  had  purchased  in  1910.  This  consists  of  eighty  acres 
one  mile  west  of  the  Old  River  school  house,  in  the  district  of  that  name, 
and  here  he  makes  a  specialty  of  raising  grain  and  alfalfa.  In  1913  he  raised 
a  banner  crop  of  oat  hay,  the  yield  being  over  four  tons  to  the  acre,  the 
largest  crop  of  the  kind  ever  raised  in  the  vicinity.  The  ranch  is  splendidly 
supplied  with  irrigation,  water  being  provided  by  the  Stine  canal,  and  he 
also  has  installed  a  pumping  plant  on  the  property  for  irrigating  the  orchard 
and  gardens  and  for  domestic  use. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Weichelt  occurred  in  Bakersfield  and  united  him 
with  Mrs.  Pauline  (Ruefernacht)  Conger,  a  native  of  Yelta,  Crimea.  Russia. 


832  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Her  father,  Gottleib  Ruefernacht,  was  a  native  of  Canton  Bern,  Switzerland, 
while  the  mother,  Fredericka  Metzger,  was  born  near  Ulm,  Wurtemberg. 
Mrs.  Weichelt  was  educated  in  Yelta  and  came  to  California  in  1893.  Mr. 
Weichelt  and  his  wife  are  members  of  St.  John's  Lutheran  Church,  Bakers- 
field,  and  in  sympathy  with  Republican  principles. 

SAN  JOAQUIN  HOSPITAL.— With  the  opening  of  the  San  Joaquin 
Hospital,  October  6.  1910,  the  city  of  Bakersfield  and  the  surrounding  country 
were  given  the  opportunity  of  prompt  and  skilled  attention  in  surgical  opera- 
tions and  critical  illnesses,  and  thus  was  met  a  need  felt  for  many  years  not 
only  by  physicians  but  by  all  interested  in  the  general  health  of  the  com- 
munity. The  building  occupies  an  excellent  location  at  No.  2628  I  street, 
being  removed  from  the  noise  of  the  commercial  centers  of  the  city,  yet  suffi- 
ciently near  to  render  expeditious  and  easy  all  trips  with  patients  or  any  com- 
munication for  business  purposes.  The  three-story  structure,  erected  by  the 
well-known  contractor,  M.  T.  Kean,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,  represents  a  total 
investment  of  $30,000  on  the  part  of  its  owners,  Misses  Margaret  Quinn  and 
Mary  O'Donnell,  the  former  a  native  of  Richmond,  Indv,  and  the  latter  a 
native  of  Philadelphia.  Both  are  professional  nurses,  skilled  in  every  depart- 
ment of  the  healing  art  and  particularly  efficient  in  surgical  operations.  Since 
the  erection  of  the  building  and  the  opening  of  the  hospital  Miss  Quinn  has 
served  as  the  executive  and  business  manager  while  Miss  O'Donnell  is  in 
charge  of  the  surgical  department. 

In  erecting  the  hospital  the  owners  considered  suitability  to  climate 
and  therefore  placed  a  broad  porch  on  the  south  and  west,  thus  tempering  the 
strong  rays  of  the  sun,  while  at  the  same  time  admitting  an  abundance  of 
light  and  allowing  the  cooling  breezes  to  mitigate  the  heat  of  midsummer. 
The  general  ward  for  men  is  on  the  first  floor  with  toilet  and  bath  adjacent, 
while  similar  quarters  for  women  have  been  equipped  on  the  second  floor. 
In  addition  there  are  about  twenty  private  rooms,  some  equipped  with  private 
baths,  a  large  kitchen,  dining  room  for  nurses,  doctors'  dining  room  and 
doctors'  dressing  rooms.  The  most  remarkable  room  is  the  one  equipped 
for  operations.  This  has  a  Baldwin  operating  table,  adjustable  at  any  angle, 
which  is  a  great  advantage  in  surgical  operations.  The  floors  are  made  of 
tile;  walls  are  enameled.  Adjoining  the  operating  room  is  the  sterilizing  and 
doctors'  scrub  room,  which  is  also  tiled  and  enameled.  The  operating  room 
is  constructed  of  glass  on  practically  three  sides,  making  the  department  very 
light  and  thus  facilitating  delicate  operations.  In  an  adjoining  room  two 
enameled  wash  basins  have  hot  and  cold  water  faucets  controlled  by  pedals 
so  that  nothing  except  water  touches  the  hands  of  the  surgeon  while  cleaning 
them  preparatory  to  the  operation.  The  arrangements  of  the  entire  operating 
denartment  are  absolutely  sanitary  in  every  respect.  No  expense  has  been 
spared  here,  for  the  owners  appreciate  the  incomparable  importance  of  perfec- 
tion of  detail  in  every  matter  relative  to  surgical  operations.  At  the  same  time 
they  exercise  equal  care  in  all  departments  and  fever  patients  or  chronic  cases 
receive  the  same  skilled  supervision  given  to  those  undergoing  operations,  so 
that. each  class  of  patients  has  the  experienced  care  of  trained  nurses  and  the 
vigilant  attention  of  conscientious  physicians. 

E.  E.  WINNEY. — Among  those  industrious  and  persevering  men  who 
have  come  to  the  coast  to  aid  in  making  for  progress  and  development  the 
younger  generation  has  carried  with  it  the  essential  spirit  and  vigor  which  is 
so  necessary  in  the  fight  for  success  in  a  new  country.  Among  the  latter 
we  find  E.  E.  Winney,  manager  of  the  King.  Lumber  Company,  and  also  pro- 
prietor of  the  bowling  alley  at  Maricopa.  Mr.  Winney  is  a  native  of  Manning. 
Carroll  county,  Iowa,  born  June  17.  1884.  He  attended  the  public  schools  and 
then  became  a  student  at  Humboldt  College,  where  he  was  graduated  with 
the  class  of  1904.  He  had  taken  the  normal  business  course,  and  after  his  grad- 
uatii  n  became  engaged  in  teaching  school  until  March  17,  1905.    On  the  first 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  835 

of  the  followinsj  April  he  arrived  at  Spokane,  Wash.,  and  became  an  employe 
of  the  Washington  Mill  Company,  after  a  short  time  being  placed  in  full 
charge  of  the  cutting  department  of  the  sash  and  door  works.  Here  he  re- 
mained employed  for  about  fifteen  months,  and  then  went  to  Vancouver,  P>.  C, 
to  take  charge  of  the  sash  and  door  factory  of  the  T'airview  Cedar  Lumber 
Company,  where  he  was  employed  about  eight  months.  Through  the  intro- 
duction and  kind  offices  of  his  former  employer  at  the  Washington  Mill  Com- 
pany, G.  \\'.  Palmer,  he  secured  a  position  with  the  West  Side  Lumber  Com- 
pany, at  Tuolumne,  and  he  continued  there  as  assistant  salesman  until  in 
December.  1908.  At  this  time  he  came  to  iMaricopa,  where  he  became  mana.ger 
of  the  King  Lumber  Company,  and  also  the  proprietoi^  of  a  bowling  alley. 

Mr.  Winney  was  married  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  to  Margaret  Smith. 
Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Elks,  of  Bakersfield. 

OTTO  FRANK  RINALDL— The  family  of  which  Mr.  Rinakli  is  a 
member  comes  of  Italian  and  German  descent  and  was  established  in  Cali- 
fornia by  his  father,  Charles  Robert  Rinaldi,  a  German  by  birth  and  education, 
but  after  the  '50s  a  resident  of  the  Pacific  coast  country.  With  a  partner  he 
established  the  first  furniture  store  in  Los  Angeles,  but  in  a  short  time  he 
disposed  of  the  business  in  order  to  undertake  agricultural  pursuits  near 
San  Fernando.  After  3-ears  of  varying  success  as  a  stock-raiser,  during 
which  time  he  also  served  as  deputy  sheriff,  he  sold  his  property  to  the  city  of 
Los  Angeles  and  it  is  now  the  rese'rvoir  for  the  Owens  river  aqueduct.  Since 
his  death  San  Fernando  has  continued  to  be  the  home  of  his  wife,  who  was 
Francisca  Valdez,  a  native  of  Los  Angeles  and  a  member  of  a  prominent 
old  Spanish  family  of  that  city.  Of  their  seven  children  all  but  one  are  still 
living.  The  third  in  order  of  birth.  Otto  Frank,  was  born  at  San  Fernando, 
this  state,  December  12,  1872,  and  received  a  public-school  education,  mean- 
while learning  the  details  of  farm  work  and  stock-raising.  At  the  age  of 
twenty-one  he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  blacksmith  in  Los  Angeles  and  on 
thoroughly  mastering  the  occupation  he  opened  a  shop  in  San  Fernando,  but 
soon  abandoned  the  business  in  order  to  devote  himself  to  the  butcher's 
trade.  For  a  time  he  conducted  a  meat  market  at  Newhall.  Meanwhile  dur- 
ing 1902  he  had  purchased  the  butcher  shop  at  Randsburg  and  had  put 
his  brother  in  charge  of  the  business,  but  at  the  expiration  of  two  years  he 
closed  out  other  interests  in  order  to  devote  himself  to  his  enterprises  in 
Kern  county. 

.\s  proprietor  of  a  wholesale  and  retail  meat  market  Mr.  Rinaldi  has 
important  interests  in  Randsburg,  from  which  point  he  sells  meat  to  all 
adjacent  places.  Aside  from  conducting  the  market  he  engages  in  retail  ice 
delivery  and'  also  acts  as  agent  for  the  Maier  Brewing  Company  of  Los 
Angeles.  A  suitable  warehouse  has  been  provided  for  storage  purposes. 
Since  1910  he  has  had  charge  of  the  stage  between  Johannesburg  and  P)allarat, 
also  between  Johannesburg  and  Skidoo,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
miles,  covered  by  three  trips  each  week.  In  addition  he  hauls  all  the  freight 
and  supplies  from  Johannesburg  to  all  points  as  far  as  Skidoo.  For  this  work 
he  utilizes  about  "seventy-five"  head  of  horses  and  mules  besides  a  large 
number  of  wagons  and  freighting  outfits.  Since  coming  to  this  part  of  Kern 
county  he  has  purcha-sed  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  the  Kelso  canyon 
in  the  South  Fork  country.  Of  this  half-section  he  has  put  forty-five  acres 
under  cultivation  to  alfalfa  and  beans..  As  farmer,  business  man.  agent  for 
various  companies  and  stage-coach  operator,  his  interests  are  diversified, 
important  and  engrossing,  and  leave  him  little  leisure  for  outside  enterprises, 
although  we  find  him  a  leader  in  local  politics.  During  1912  Governor  John- 
son appointed  him  supervisor  of  the  first  district,  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term 
of  William  M.  Houser.  deceased,  and  lie  remained  in  the  office  until  the 
expiration  of  the  time  siiecified.    While  still   living  in  San    Fernando  he  was 


836  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

made  a  R/[ason  in  San  Fernando  Lodge  No.  343,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  since  coming 
to  Kern  county  he  has  been  prominently  identified  with  Randsburg  Aerie 
No.  188  of  the  Eagles.  His  family  comprises  a  son  Fred,  and  Mrs.  Rinaldi, 
formerly  Miss  Laura  Nieto,  a  native  of  Los  Angeles  and  member  of  an  old 
family  of  that  city. 

C.  E.  REAL. — The  Real  family  descends  from  a  long  line  of  Teutonic 
ancestry  and  was  founded  in  the  new  world  by  Frederick  Real,  a  native  of 
Germany,  who  desirous  of  improving  his  condition  sought  the  opportunities  of 
America  and  settled  in  Salem,  Mass.,  where  he  met  and  married  Ellen  Gill- 
man,  a  native  of  that  city  and  a  descendant  of  French  forefathers.  For  years 
he  was  associated  with  a  shipping  business,  but  during  that  long  period  of 
useful  activity  he  had  an  interval  of  travel  and  experiences  in  the  west.  L-pon 
hearing  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Califcirnia  he  came  to  the  Pacific  coast 
during  1849,  proceeded  direct  to  the  mining  camps  and  began  to  prospect 
for  himself,  meeting  with  some  encouragement  for  a  time.  As  soon  as  his 
success  began  to  wane  he  returned  to  the  east  with  his  little  store  of  gold 
and  erected  in  Salem  a  large  and  comfortable  home  for  his  family.  The  young- 
est of  his  twelve  children,  C.  E.,  was  born  in  Salem  December  29,  1861,  and 
shortly  before  his  birth  the  father  was  taken  from  the  home  by  death.  The 
amount  he  left  was  small,  wholly  insufficient  to  the  support  and  rearing  of  so 
large  a  number  of  children  ;  therefore  C.  E.  began  to  support  himself  while 
yet  he  was  a  small  lad.  Various  occupations  earned  a  livelihood  for  him.  but 
he  worked  principally  in  shoe,  glue  and  box  factories  in  Salem. 

Coming  to  California  during  1883  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  years  C.  E. 
Real  landed  in  Los  Angeles  with  only  $75  in  his  possession.  The  first  job  he 
found  was  that  of  working  on  the  section  and  he  went  to  work  eagerly  and 
continued  perseveringly.  In  May  of  1884  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  for  a 
time  worked  under  E.  M.  Roberts  on  the  old  McCord  ditch.  Proceeding  next 
to  Stanislaus  county,  he  engaged  in  wheat  farming  for  three  years,  but  found 
little  or  no  profit  in  the  venture.  As  early  as  18S6  he  took  up  a  homestead  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  at  Rio  Bravo,  sixteen  miles  west  of  Bakersfield. 
Proving  up  on  the  land,  he  continued  to  till  the  soil  until  the  financial  panic  of 
1893-94,  when  unable  to  meet  his  interest  he  lost  the  entire  property.  He  was 
thus  left  to  begin  anew  at  the  bottom  once  more.  Afterward  he  bought  and 
sold  city  property  and  oil  stocks  and  of  recent  years  has  been  proprietor  of  the 
Peerless  cafe,  at  No.  1819  Chester  avenue,  Bakersfield.  In  addition  he  owns  a 
ranch  of  forty  acres  three  miles  southwest  of  this  city,  also  a  ranch  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  about  thirteen  miles  west  of  McKittrick.  At  the 
time  of  the  organization  of  Section  12  Oil  Company  he  was  a  prime  mover 
in  the  enterprise  and  has  since  continued  as  a  stockholder,  the  concern  now 
being  a  dividend-payer.  The  McKittrick  Oil  Company  and  Section  25  Oil  Com- 
pany also  have  the  benefit  of  his  identification  with  their  interests  as  a  large 
stockholder  and  in  addition  he  owns  town  property  in  Bakersfield,  so  that  he 
has  retrieved  the  losses  of  times  of  panics  and  is  now  comfortably  provided 
with  a  competency.  During  1902  he  married  Miss  Bettie  Monkmyer,  by 
whom  he  has  one  daughter,  Ellen,  born  in  1904.  In  political  belief  he  supports 
I^emocratic  principles  and  fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Eagles. 

OLA  G.  DIXON. — The  four  members  of  the  undertaking  firm  of  Temple- 
ton  &  Co.  have  each  contributed  effectively  to  the  development  of  the  business 
and  not  the  least  prominent  of  these  partners  is  Ola  G.  Dixon,  who  has  been 
connected  with  the  concern  ever  since  he  became  a  resident  of  Bakersfield 
and  gives  of  his  time  to  its  upbuilding  as  one  of  the  essential  factors  in  the 
welfare  of  the  city,  liorn  in  Kansas  in  1880,  on  the  2d  of  November,  he  re- 
ceived the  JDest  educational  ad\'antages  afforded  by  Fairview,  his  native  place. 
In  addition  to  completing  the  study  vi  the  various  grades  of  the  grammar 
school,  he  is  a  graduate  of  the  liigh  school.    .\t  the  age  of  twenty-one  years 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  837 

in  1901  he  came  to  California  in  compan}-  with  other  members  of  the  family 
and  for  a  time  made  his  home  in  Lns  Angeles,  where  with  his  brother,  A.  H. 
(now  deputy  coroner  of  Kern  county),  he  conducted  a  store.  After  six  years 
in  business  in  that  city  he  removed  to  Bakersfield  and  united  with  his  father 
and  brother  in  carrj'ing  on  the  undertaking  concern,  of  Dixon  &  Sons,  now 
known  as  Temi^leton  &  Co.,  and  he  has  continued  with  the  same  establishment 
since  its  change  of  name,  devoting  liimself  to  assisting  in  the  discharge  of 
the  important  duties  devolving  u])on  the  compan_\-.  Thrnugli  liis  marriage  to 
Miss  Ethel  Munsingcr.  a  native  of  Kansas,  he  is  the  fatlier  of  two  children. 
Dorris  and  Hazel. 

V.  G.  HUTCHINS.— Reared  to  a  knowledge  of  the  oil  industry,  the  son 
of  one  of  the  pioneer  operators  in  the  Los  Angeles  fields,  it  was  but  natural 
that  \'.  G.  Hutchins  should  select  the  business  as  his  chosen  avenue  of  occu- 
jiative  activity.  The  enthusiasm  that  he  always  has  possessed  for  the  work 
appears  in  the  fact  that,  having  graduated  from  the  Los  Angeles  high  school 
on  a  Friday  during  1907.  he  re])orted  for  duty  the  following  Sunday  at  tlic 
Coalinga  oil  fields  and  at  once  began  an  identification  with  the  industry  that 
lias  continued,  although  in  another  district,  up  to  the  present  time.  Still  a 
young  man  (he  was  born  October  23,  1885),  he  has  every  reason  to  look  for- 
ward to  many  years  of  continued  usefulness  and  increasing  influence  in  his 
chosen  calling,  and  taking  the  past  as  a  criterion  a  prosperous  future  may  be 
l)redicted  for  him.  His  parents,  .Mvin  G.  and  Ida  Hutchins,  continue  to  make 
Los  .A.ngeles  their  home  and  the  former,  now  forty-six  years  of  age,  has  en- 
gaged in  the  i  il  business  e\er  since  the  first  discoveries  were  made  in  the 
Los  Angeles  district. 

Familiar  with  Los  Angeles  fr()m  his  earliest  reci  llections,  educated  in 
its  schools,  acquainted  with  its  progress  and  interested  in  its  activities. 
\'.  G.  Hutchins  is  a  typical  Californian  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  From 
youthful  years  the  oil  industry  has  engaged  his  attention.  After  he  went  to 
Coalinga  he  engaged  in  dressing  tools  on  a  rotary  drill  for  the  Associated 
Oil  Compan)'  and  scon  acquired  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  work.  From 
Coalinga  he  came  to  Maricopa  in  October  of  1908  and  since  then  has 
engaged  in  drilling  on  almost  all  of  the  wells  on  the  Ruby  lease.  On  the 
1st  of  July.  1912,  he  was  promoted  to  be  sunerintendent  of  the  Ruby  Oil 
Company  on  section  2,  township  11.  range  24  of  the  Sunset  field,  where 
lie  has  charge  of  a  lease  (  f  twenty  acres  with  ten  wells,  from  which  is 
secured  a  net  monthly  production  of  fifty-five  hundred  barrels.  Giving  his 
attention  closely  to  the  oversight  of  the  company's  interests,  he  has  had 
little  leisure  for  political  or  fraternal  activities,  but  has  become  a  member 
of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  at  Bakersfield  and  is  a  con- 
tributor to  its  various  enterj^rises.  During  1939  at  Los  .\ngeles  occurred 
liis  marriage  to  Miss  Cora  E.  Canfield.  daughter  of  N.  O.  Canfield,  a  pros- 
jjerous  rancher  of  Tulare  county  and  a  niece  of  C.  A.  Canfield  of  Los 
Angeles,  the  influential  and  widely  known  oil  operator.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hutchins  are  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Frances  Ida. 

GEORGE  KAY  JOHNSTON.— Dr.  Johnston  was  born  in  Santa  P.arliara 
county,  Cal..  April  1,  1876.  .After  attending  public  school  he  worked  on  a 
ranch  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  old.  He  then  matriculated  in  the  Kansas 
City  Dental  College,  taking  the  regular  course,  and  in  the  year  1902  was  grad- 
uated from  there  with  the  degree  of  D.D.S.  He  then  returned  to  his  native 
state  and  opened  a  dental  oflRce  in  San  Francisco,  practicing  there  until  1904, 
but  in  a  short  time  he  removed  to  Lompoc  and  was  there  for  four  and  a  half 
years,  following  his  chosen  work.  Thence  in  1910  he  came  to  Taft.  where  he 
has  since  successfully  practiced  with  gratifying  results. 

His  profession  is  Doctor  Johnson's  chief  interest  in  life.  To  serve  the 
l)ul)lic  zealotisly,  to  give  satisfaction   and  to  build  up  an   lionorable.   as   well 


838  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

as  a  lucrative,  business  has  been  his  aim,  and  he  has  won  this  by  untiring 
energy  and  effort.  He  has  suffered  losses,  and  it  has  been  only  his  perse- 
verance and  tenacity  of  purpose  which  have  enabled  him  to  be  successful. 
A  week  after  coming  to  Taft  he  was  burned  out  and  had  to  begin  again 
with  renewed  effort,  which  only  makes  him  more  to  be  admired. 

Dr.  Johnston  was  married  in  1906  to  iVIiss  Eleanor  F.  Lowe,  daughter 
of  James  F.  Lowe  of  San  Jose,  who  is  an  ex-State  Senator.  Two  children 
have  come  to  them,  viz.:  Bernard  L.  and  Enna. 

ORRIN  R.  TAYLOR.— A  native  of  New  York  state,  Mr.  Taylor  was  born 
Januarj'  23,  1843,  in  Tioga  county,  where  his  father,  Alonzo  F.  Taylor,  was  also 
born.  The  father  was  a  shoemaker  and  farmer  by  trade  and  with  his  wife, 
Sarah  M.  (Ellis)  Taylor,  and  their  family,  removed  to  Summit  county,  Ohio, 
where  they  remained  nine  years,  subsequently  'going  to  Orland,  Ind.,  where  he 
passed  away.  The  mother,  who  was  born  in  New  York,  still  survives  at  the 
age  of  ninety-four  years.  Nine  children  were  born  to  this  worthy  couple, 
of  whom  six  are  now  living.  The  eldest,  Lorenzo,  also  served  in  the  Civil 
war,  being  a  member  of  the  Twelfth  Indiana  Cavalry,  and  his  death  occurred 
in  Angola,  Ind. 

Orrin  Taylor  was  about  seventeen  years  of  age  when  his  parents  re- 
moved to  Indiana,  having  obtained  his  educational  training  in  the  public 
schools  in  Ohio.  He  entered  the  Orland  Seminary  to  take  a  preparatory  course 
before  entering  Hiram  College,  but  his  enlistment  for  war  cut  short  this  course 
of  study.  Enlisting  on  August  14,  1862,  he  was  mustered  in  as  private  in 
Company  B,  One  Hundredth  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  August  24,  and  on 
the  day  before  he  was  ordered  to  the  front  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary 
E.  Barnard,  who  was  born  in  Steuben  county,  Ind.,  daughter  of  John  A. 
Barnard,  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  a  farmer  in  Indiana.  Mr.  Taylor 
saw  active  service  until  June,  1863,  when  he  was  mustered  out  on  account  of 
physical  disability.  He  re-enlisted  in  1864,  becoming  a  member  of  Com- 
pany K,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-second  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
served  until  after  the  close  of  the  war,  receiving  his  honorable  discharge 
September  5,  1865,  when  he  returned  home.  He  then  bought  a  farm  near 
Orland,  and  engaged  in  general  farming  for  eight  years,  then  embarking  in 
the  hardware  business,  which  he  continued  until  failing  health  caused  him 
to  relinquish  those  interests.  Realizing  the  need  of  a  more  moderate  cli- 
mate he  came  to  California  in  November,  1892,  and  located  in  Kern  county, 
where  he  farmed  for  about  eight  years,  in  Rosedale.  He  then  made  his 
way  to  Panama  and,  buying  a  forty-acre  farm  there,  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  for  some  years.  Two  years  were  spent  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness in  Porterville  and  he  then  returned  to  Panama  and  bought  a  half  inter- 
est with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Hastings,  in  the  general  merchandise  establish- 
ment, and  here  he  still  continues  in  business.  His  wife  passed  away  in 
Porterville  in  1908;  she  was  the  mother  of  three  children,  of  whom  two 
survive,  Ona  E.,  Mrs.  Hastings  of  Panama,  and  Orrin  Ross,  of  Douglas, 
Ariz.  Mrs.  Hastings  is  the  mother  of  three  children,  Guy,  Esther  and 
Thelma;  she  is  n  clever  business  woman,  able,  thrifty  and  fulLof  that  splen- 
did integrity  which  proves  the  most  important  characteristic  in  a  noble 
makeup.  Mr.  Taylor  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 
In  religion  he  unites  with  the  Congregational  church  in  Panama  and  is  a 
member  of  its  board  of  trustees.  To  him  is  largely  due  the  credit  for  the 
upbuilding  of  this  church,  as  he  served  as  one  of  its  founders  in  Panama, 
having  drawn  the  plans  and  aided  in  the  building  of  the  church  edifice  as 
well  as  the  parsonage,  and  he  gave  freely  of  time,  labor  and  means. 

J.  W.  RAGESDALE.— From  the  organization  of  Taft  up  to  the  present 
time  Mr.  Ragesdale  has  been  a  large  contributor  t(j  the  material  growth  of 
the  place  and  as  a  member  of  the  city  board  of  trustees,  as  proprietor  of  a 
large  and  popular  hotel,  as  a  stockholder  in  \'arious  concerns  for  the  (level- 


d^^  c]yA 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  841 

upnient  of  public  utilities  and  as  the  optimistic  projector  of  civic  enterprises 
of  worth,  he  justly  occupies  a  position  of  permanent  influence  in  the  midst 
of  a  growing  citizenship.  Attracted  to  this  place  in  January  of  1910,  almost 
one  year  prior  to  the  organization  of  the  town  under  its  present  name,  he 
immediately  discerned  a  favorable  opening  for  an  hotel  business.  The  Alvord 
hotel,  which  he  acquired  shortly  after  his  arrival,  occupied  small  quarters  at 
the  time,  but  by  building  a  substantial  addition  he  has  provided  ample 
accommodations  for  the  traveling  public. 

The  distinction  of  being  a  native  son  of  California  belongs  to  .Mr. 
Ragesdale,  who  was  born  in  San  Joaquin  county  in  1862,  being  a  son  of 
John  \\'.  and  Sarah  (Ketcham)  Ragesdale.  .\s  early  as  1847  the  father  made 
his  first  trip  across  the  plains  to  California,  coming  from  his  home  common- 
wealth of  Kentucky.  Later  he  returned  to  Kentucky,  but  again  made  the 
tedious  trip  across  the  plains  to  the  western  coast,  this  time  to  make  a 
permanent  settlement.  Some  time  after  settling  in  the  state  he  met  and 
married  Miss  Ketcham,  who  had  come  to  the  west  in  1852  by  way  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama.  After  years  of  residence  in  San  Joaquin  county  the 
family  removed  to  the  town  of  Merced,  where  the  son,  J.  W.,  was  appren- 
ticed to  the  trade  of  blacksmith.  For  fourteen  years  he  devoted  himself  to 
that  occupation  with  skill  and  perserverance  and  during  much  of  the  period 
he  operated  a  shop  at  Madera.  Meanwhile  he  studied  mines  and  mining, 
ill  which  he  gained  considerable  experience  through  opening  up  a  cjuartz 
mine  in  Maricopa  county. 

The  most  profitable  venture  ever  engaging  the  attention  of  Mr.  Rages- 
dale was  the  organization  of  the  Fortune  mine  by  a  company  of  which  he 
became  president.  The  mine  was  named  in  honor  of  Mrs.  Fortune,  one  of 
the  stockholders  of  the  company,  and  the  name  did  not  prove  a  misnomer, 
for  the  results  were  such  as  to  delight  everyone  concerned.  At  intervals 
during  ten  years  Mr.  Ragesdale  owned  important  interests  in  mines.  From 
1896  to  1898  he  was  connected  with  the  Alameda  mine  at  Randsburg.  With 
the  advent  of  the  oil  industry  at  Coalinga  he  sought  that  field,  where  he 
operated  successfully  in  oil  stock.  .  I-'rom  Ct'alinga,  after  a  season  of  suc- 
cessful activities,  he  came  to  Taft  in  1910  and  has  since  devoted  his  time 
largely  to  the  management  of  the  Alvord  hotel,  which  he  owns  jointly  with 
R.  H.  McCreary  of  Hanford,  under  the  firm  title  of  Ragesdale  &  McCreary. 
In  all  of  his  hotel  enterprises  he  has  had  the  capable  co-operation  of  his  wife, 
formerly  Miss  Annie  Pratt,  a  woman  of  energy,  amiability  and  business 
judgment.    Their  only  son,  Elmer,  is  now  in  Mono  county,  this  state. 

L'pon  the  organization  of  the  California  Well  Drilling  Company  at  Taft 
Mr.  Ragesdale  became  a  charter  member,  but  after  some  time  he  disposed 
of  his  interest  in  the  concern.  For  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  people  of  the 
town  in  their  elTorts  to  secure  water,  he  helped  to  organize  the  Taft  Public 
l'tilit\-  Company,  a  concern  established  by  a  few  leading  men  of  the  ])lace 
and  engaged  in  the  business  of  bringing  water  to  Taft  in  tank  cars,  from 
which  it  was  distributed  to  private  customers.  The  directors,  H.  A.  Hop- 
kins, R.  H.  McCreary.  C.  C.  Painter.  R.  L.  Wood.  C.  A.  Ford  and  J.  W. 
Ragesdale.  were  actuated  by  a  desire  to  help  the  town  rather  than  from 
monetary  motives  and  when  they  sold  out  to  the  Consumers'  Water  Com- 
pany in  1912  it  was  at  actual  cost.  The  first  electric  light  company  was 
organized  by  Mr.  Ragesdale.  who  became  its  first  president;  it  was  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  electricity  for  the  town  and  received  the  ener- 
getic assistance  of  Mr.  Ragesdale  as  a  promoter  and  stockholder.  However, 
the  original  owners  soon  sold  out  to  the  San  Joaquin  Light  and  Power  Cor- 
poration, the  present  owners  of  the  plant.  The  pioneers  in  this  utility  move- 
ment managed  to  generate  electric  current  from  the  power  furnished  by  a 
large   l-'airhanks-Morse  engine  and  the  small  concern   was  well   and   success- 


842  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

fully  managed  by  Mr.  Ragesdale  as  president  of  the  company,  with  the  fol- 
lowing board  of  directors:  C.  C.  Painter,  H.  E.  Smith,  A.  A.  McCumber, ' 
J.  A.  Wurdock,  E.  L.  Bnrnham  and  I.  A.  Felter. 

PETER  ETCHEVERRY.— The  facilities  for  stock-raising  and  agri- 
culture that  are  bringing  Kern  county  increasingly  into  public  notice  induced 
Mr.  Etcheverry  to  identify  himself  with  the  Rosedale  district  after  fourteen 
years  of  experience  in  this  portion  of  the  country.  Starting  in  1908  on  an 
unimproved  tract  of  eighty  acres,  he  has  since  erected  a  farmhouse  and  other 
buildings  and  has  put  the  entire  tract  into  alfalfa.  The  farm  is  under  the 
Beardsley  canal  and  he  has  put  in  an  excellent  pumping  plant. 

A  native  of  Basses-Pyrenees,  France,  born  at  Aldudes  April  4,  1875, 
Peter  Etcheverry  is  a  son  of  John  and  Catherine  (Laxague)  Etcheverry,  who 
still  live  in  that  district  in  France,  owning  and  occupying  a  farm  that  lies 
in  the  valley  and  extends  into  the  foothiUs  near  the  lofty  Pyrenees.  Fine 
cattle  are  kept  on  the  farm  and  a  specialty  is  made  of  the  manufacture  of 
cheese  and  butter,  to  which  work  the  owner  and  his  wife  still  give  their  per- 
sonal attention.  The  family  comprises  nine  children,  namely:  Mrs.  Maria 
Laxague,  on  a  farm  in  Basses-Pyrenees,  France ;  Jean,  on  the  old  homestead 
in  Basses- Pyrenees ;  Martin,  a  farmer  still  living  in  France;  Peter,  of  Kern 
county;  Mathilda,  Mrs.  Fernando  Etcheverry,  on  a  farm  in  Kern  county; 
Mary,  Mrs.  D.  Bordo,  also  on  a  farm  in  Kern  county;  Michel,  a  ])artner 
of  his  brother,  Peter;  Jennie,  wife  of  Tomas  Echenique,  of  Kern;  and  M. 
Louise,  wife  of  Miguel  Echenique,  also  a  resident  of  Kern. 

•Michel  Etcheverry  was  burn  in  Aldudes,  France,  January  6,  1882,  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  common  schools  and  came  to  Kern  county  in 
1901.  Two  years  later  he  became  associated  with  his  brother  Peter  in  the 
sheep  industry,  and  in  1908  in  the  farming  enterprise,  to  which  he  has  since 
given  his  entire  attention.  He  was  married  in  1910  to  Miss  Mars:uerite 
Othar,  born  in  Basses-Pyrenees,  France,  and  they  have  one  child,  Mathilda. 

On  coming  to  California  in  1894  at  the  age  of  nineteen  Peter  Etcheverry 
joined  his  older  brother,  Jean,  who  had  preceded  him  to  the  new  world  by  a 
number  of  years  and  had  been  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Kern  county, 
there  embarking  in  the  sheep  business.  For  five  years  the  youncf  Frenchman 
worked  in  the  employ  of  the  older  brother,  but  about  1899  he  bought  a  few 
head  of  sheep  and  gradually  acquired  a  flock  of  considerable  size.  From 
that  time  until  1908  he  gave  his  attention  wholly  to  the  sheep  industry, 
then  with  his  brother  Michel  bought  eightv  acres  cf  land,  all  now  in  alfalfa. 

In  1909  at  East  Bakersfield  Peter  Etcheverry  married  Miss  Catherine 
Saldonbehere,  a  native  of  Basses-Pyrenees,  who  died  seven  months  later. 
Subsequently  Mr.  Etcheverry  was  married  again,  October  28,  1913,  in  East 
Bakersfield,  being  united  with  Miss  Marianne  Saroiberry,  a  native  of  Al- 
dudes, France.  Since  coming  to  this  country  Mr.  Etcheverry  has  made  a 
study  of  political  conditions  and  is  now  an  ardent  supporter  of  Republican 
principles. 

JOHN  J.  HENDRICKSON.~The  ancestral  home  of  the  Hendrickson 
family  was  situated  in  the  village  of  Husuni  on  the  western  coast  of  Schles- 
wig-Holstein  and  uwing  to  the  location  being  in  close  proximity  to  the  North 
sea  various  members  of  the  family  in  generations  gone  by  followed  mari- 
time pursuits,  but  Henry  V.,  having  learned  the  trade  of  watchmaker  in 
youth,  devoted  all  of  his  active  years  to  the  occupation,  including  also  the 
sale  of  jewelry  and  the  repair  of  watches  and  clocks,  .\11  of  his  life  was 
passed  in  Schleswig-Holstein  and  there  also  occurred  the  death  of  his  wife, 
Catherine  (Johnson)  Hendrickson,  daughter  of  Caut.  John  J.  Johnson,  who 
was  commander  of  an  ocean  vessel  that  took  him  in  the  course  of  many 
voyages  to  the  principal  ports  of  the  world.  There  were  five  children  in  the 
family  of  Henry  V.  Hendrickson  and  of  these  John  J.  was  third  in  order  of 
liirth.  he  ]ia\ing  been  born  in  1841  at  the  family  home  in  Husum.     From  his 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  845 

earliest  recollections  he  was  familiar  with  the  sea  and  very  naturally  there- 
tore,  upon  coming:  to  the  L'nited  States  in  1850  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  tO(ik 
up  a  sea-faring  existence.  The  early  voyages  out  from  New  "^"ork  City  took 
him  to  the  Mediterranean  sea  and  South  America,  after  which  for  sixteen 
months  he  sailed  on  the  Maygi  to  the  Philippine  Islands  and  around  the 
Cape  of  Gotd  Hope,  thence  back  to  New  York.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  years 
he  shipped  as  mate  on. the  J.  N.  Hicks  out  of  New  York  via  southern  ports 
to  England  with  cargoes  of  cotton.  Three  trips  were  made  on  that  vessel, 
after  which  he  shipped  as  boatswain  on  the  ATinnehaha  via  Cape  Horn  to 
San  Francisco;  and  his  arrival  there  in  April  of  1862  brought  to  an  end  all 
identification  with  the  occupation  of  a  sailor. 

Six  months  after  landing  in  the  west  Mr.  Hendrickson  went  to  the  mines 
in  the  Slate  range,  located  in  San  Bernardino  county.  After  a  few  months 
he  proceeded  to  Los  Angeles  in  1863  and  engaged  in  supplying  its  residents 
with  water  from  a  water-cart  filled  by  buckets  dipped  into  the  zanje  or  ditch 
that  ran  dcwn  Los  Angeles  street.  Recalling  the  appearance  of  that  place 
during  the  period  of  its  early  history,  he  has  witnessed  its  subsequent  rapid 
de\-elopnient  with  constant  interest.  During  the  early  days  he  and  Charles 
Russell  prospected  for  oil  at  Santa  Paula  and  near  the  San  Fernando  mis- 
sion, only  to  find,  after  they  had  discovered  quantities  sufficient  to  make 
production  profitable,  that  the  land  office  at  Los  Angeles  had  all  of  that  land 
recorded  as  a  portion  of  a  large  grant.  Coming  to  Havilah,  Kern  county, 
in  1864,  he  operated  the  Delphi  hotel  with  Andrew  Denker  and  found  the 
business  profitable  owing  to  the  fact  that  Havilah  was  then  the  county- 
seat  and  the  headquarters  for  stage  lines  running  from  Visalia  and  Los 
Angeles.  At  different  times  he  conducted  other  hotels  on  the  desert  and 
more  than  once  he  had  trouble  with  the  hostile  Indians,  but  he  suffered 
small  loss  from  their  depredations.  In  the  Tehachapi  mountains  he  bought 
and  later  operated  an  hydraulic  mine,  which  eventually  he  sold  to  John  Brite. 
Meanwhile  he  had  pre-empted  a  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and 
liad  taken  up  a  homestead  of  eighty  acres,  also  bought  an  adjacent  tract  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  so  that  he  acquired  the  title  to  four  hundred 
acres  four  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Tehachapi.  On  the  land  now  stand 
the  cement  wcrks  of  the  Los  Angeles  aqueduct. 

Upon  leaving  the  ranch  Mr.  Hendrickson  embarked  in  the  lime  business 
and  built  his  first  kiln  on  a  claim  in  the  mountains,  where  he  opened  and 
operated  quarries.  Later  he  had  kilns  in  other  places.  After  the  limestone 
had  been  burned  to  lime,  the  product  was  shipped  to  Los  Angeles,  Bakers- 
field  and  Fresno,  where  a  large  trade  was  established.  In  addition  to 
managing  the  lime  business  he  owned  a  one-half  interest  in  a  mercantile  busi- 
ness at  Tehachapi  for  two  years,  having  A.  Weill  as  a  partner.  While  mak- 
ing his  headquarters  at  Tehachapi  he  there  married  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Jane 
McVicar,  who  was  born  in  Missouri  and  during  1863  was  brought  across  the 
plains  by  her  parents.  Dr.  Russell  and  Margaret  (Cook)  Peery,  l)orn  in 
Virginia  and  Kentucky,  respectively.  Mrs.  Peery  traced  her  ancestry  back 
to  the  Cooks  who  came  from  England  in  the  Mayflower.  Dr.  Peery  was  a 
pioneer  physician  of  Missouri  and  Nebraska.  The  trip  west  was  made  with 
wagons  and  ox-teams  and  came  to  an  uneventful  termination.  Three  years 
later  Dr.  Peerv  returned  to  Johnson  county.  Neb.,  and  there  passed  away. 
By  her  first  marriage  Airs.  Hendrickson  has  three  daughters,  namely:  Mrs. 
Laura  Tourpin,  of  Tacoma,  Wash.;  Mrs.  Alargaret  Jones,  of  Taft.  Cal. ;  and 
Mrs.  Emma  Lovejoy,  of  Los  Angeles.  There  are  two  sons  of  the  second 
marriage.  The  elder.  John  James  Hendrickson,  is  connected  with  the  San 
Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Company.  The  younger,  Edward  Hale  Hendrick- 
son. has  charge  of  the  postal  savings  bank  department  in  the  Bakersfield 
postofiEce. 


846  •  HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Hendrickson  lived  for  many  years  upon  a  grain 
and  stock  ranch  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  situated  near  Tehachapi. 
The  management  of  the  land  brought  him  financial  prosperity.  When  event- 
ually in  1905  he  retired  to  Bakersfield,  it  was  with  a  competency  repre- 
sented by  the  continued  ownership  of  the  fine  ranch  and  by  other  invest- 
ments. In  Bakersfield  he  makes  his  home  at  No.  637  R  street,  where  he 
owns  one  and  one-third  acres  of  land,  the  whole  forming  an  attractive  and 
valuable  property.  The  ranch  is  rented  to  tenants  and  brings  him  an  im- 
portant annual  revenue,  for  the  land  is  the  very  choicest  in  its  locality  and 
the  presence  of  fine  springs  enhances  its  value.  While  living  on  the  ranch 
he  maintained  a  warm  interest  in  the  material  and  educational  upbuilding 
of  that  neighborhood  and  contributed  to  all  progressive  enterprises,  and  this 
excellent  public  spirit  he  has  continued  to  manifest  since  coming  to  Bakers- 
field to  make  his  home.  From  young  manhood  he  has  been  an  advocate  of 
Republican  principles.  During  the  administration  of  President  Grant  he 
served  as  postmaster  at  Tehachapi  and  for  years  he  also  served  as  a  trustee 
of  the  Tehachapi  schools,  besides  hclding  other  local  offices  that  gave  him 
an  opportunity  to  work  for  the  ad\'ancement  of  his  community. 

OCTAVE  CHASTAN.— Jean  Chastan  was  born  in  France,  where  he  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  shoemaker  all  his  life,  his  death  occurring  there.  He 
married  Philomen  Bressong,  and  their  children  were  four  in  number, 
three  of  whom  are  now  living,  Octave  being  the  third  oldest  in  the  family. 
The  mother  of  these  children  also  passed  away  in  France. 

Octave  Chastan  was  born  January  9,  1872,  in  Embrun,  Hautes-Alpes, 
France,  and  was  sent  to  the  public  school  there  to  obtain  his  educational 
training.  lie  learned  the  shoemaker's  trade  under  his  father,  and  continued 
to  work  at  this  trade  until  1895,  when  he  came  to  California  and  settled  in 
Sumner,  now  East  Bakersfield.  For  four  years  he  was  in  the  employ  of 
Philip  and  Joseph  Girard,  sheepmen  at  Delano,  and  then  purchased  a  flock 
of  sheep,  engaging  in  the  business  for  himself  in  the  vicinity  of  Delano,  but 
he  now  herds  his  sheep  in  both  Kern  and  Tulare  counties  along  the  line  be- 
tween the  two  counties.  His  herd  consists  of  from  two  to  three  thousand 
head  of  fine  merino  sheep,  and  he  has  always  found  a  ready  market  for  them, 
as  they  are  recognized  as  well-bred  and  well-kept  animals,  of  the  best  variety. 

j\lr.  Chastan  was  married  in  East  Bakersfield  to  Berthe  Espitallier,  also 
a  native  of  Hautes-Alpes,  and  they  make  their  home  in  East  Bakersfield, 
where  Mr.  Chastan  has  bought  a  residence  at  No.  1410  Baker  street. 

CHARLES  SOWASH.— The  opportunities  afiforded  by  Maricopa,  Kern 
county,  to  men  of  self-reliant  and  persevering  energy  find  a  most  noteworthy 
illustration  in  the  activities  and  success  of  Charles  Sowash,  the  proprietor  of 
the  Sowash  Clothing  Store  of  Maricopa,  the  stock  of  which  embraces  fur- 
nishings of  all  sorts  for  gentlemen's  wear.  They  are  extensive  boot  and  shoe 
outfitters  as  well  and  handle  a  fine  and  uo-to-date  line  of  clothing  supplied  from 
the  shops  of  Adlers  Collegiate,  Royal  Tailoring  and  Lamm  &  Company  busi- 
ness houses,  whose  reputations  for  good  taste  and  the  fine  quality  of  their 
materials  are  widely  known  throughout  the  country. 

Born  October  17,  1881,  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  Charles  Sowash  was  the  son  of 
Dr.  M.  F.  Sowash,  an  eminent,  well-known  physician  there,  who  for  a  time 
served  as  county  physician  and  made  his  home  in  Pittsburgh.  From  the  latter 
Charles  Sowash  inherited  his  logical  mind  and  unusual  ability  which  earlv 
evidenced  itself  in  the  honors  which  he  received  at  graduation  from  the  high 
school  when  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  At  this  time  he  stood  third  in  the 
order  of  scholarship,  ranking  high  in  the  estimate  of  his  preceptors,  and  upon 
his  graduation  he  became  engaged  in  the  paymaster's  department  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railway  Company.  Eater  he  was  employed  by  the  Westinghouse 
Electric  Company,  serving  in  the  cashier's  department,  and  so  well  did  he 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  849 

fill  that  position  that  he  was  entrusted  with  large  sums  of  money,  handling 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  each  week.  However,  the  duties  of  this 
position  finally  became  so  irksome  as  to  impair  his  health,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  relin(]uish  it  and  remove  to  Calift)rnia,  where  he  settled  at  Chino  and  for 
a  ])eriod  was  timekeeper  for  the  American  Sugar  Beet  C'ompany.  Going  from 
there  to  Los  Angeles,  he  was  in  the  auditor's  office  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railway 
tumpany  for  one  year  and  then  went  to  Bakersfield  where  he  filled  the  posi- 
tion of  cashier  fi  r  the  latter  company  for  four  years.  In  the  meantime  his 
(|uick  observation  and  the  close  study  of  conditions  prompted  him  to  invest  in 
Marico]ia  interests  and  he  resigned  from  a  very  lucrative  position  in  order  to 
take  charge  of  his  business  interests  in  the  last  nained  place.  He  came  here 
permanently  in  1908.  He  has  rebuilt  his  store  building,  which  accommodates  a 
stock  to  the  value  of  seven  thousand  dollars  and  which  is  up-to-date  and  first 
class  in  every  respect.  Mr.  Sowash  enji  ys  a  wide  patrona.ge  and  his  pleasant, 
genial  manner  and  kindly  disposition  have  not  only  made  him  deservedly 
popular  in  the  business  and  social  world  of  his  community,  but  have 
lirought  him  many  ]iatrons. 

In  1910  Mr.  Sow^ash  was  married  to  Miss  F.liza  Humphreys,  of  Pitts- 
burgh, Pa.,  who  with  her  husband  enjoys  a  wide  circle  of  friends. 

'  H.  G.  MOSS.— The  development  of  the  Kern  River  oil  district  has  at- 
tracted capital  from  all  portions  of  the  Ignited  States  and  even  from  abroad, 
bitt  in  an  especially  large  degree  California  capital  is  invested  in  this  great 
district  and  it  is  western  capital  (the  Spreckels  interests)  which  owtis  the 
.great  corporation  known  as  the  Sunset  Monarch  Oil  Company.  Every  depart- 
ment (  f  this  organization  has  been  csta1)lished  and  developed  with  a  view  to 
j)erinanence.  Modern  equipment  has  been  introduced.  Large  tracts  have  been 
acquired.  The  work  of  oil  develo]3inent  is  still  in  its  infancy.  The  demands 
made  upon  managing  employes  are  therefore  unusually  great.  Particularly  is 
the  post  of  superintendent,  filled  by  H.  G.  Moss,  one  of  arduous  application 
and  engrossing  oversight. 

Mr.  Moss  comes  of  English  fainily  and  naturally  possesses  the  character- 
istics of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  He  was  born  in  the  shire  of  Cumberland,  Eng- 
land. May  23.  1871.  His  family  came  to  California  when  he  was  fourteen  years 
ui  a.ge  and  settled  in  Orange  county.  At  the  time  the  discovery  of  oil  was 
tiiade  there  he  began  with  a  pick  and  shovel  as  a  day  laborer  and  for  several 
years  he  continued  in  the  district  near  Los  .\ngeles.  Then  he  became  a  stu- 
dent in  Van  Der  Naillen's  School  of  Engineers  at  San  Francisco.  For  three 
winters  he  carried  on  engineering  studies  in  that  institution. 

.After  leaving  the  San  Francisco  institution  Mr.  Moss  engaged  as  a  civil 
and  mining  engineer.  Unfortunately  he  decided  to  go  to  Alaska  and  there  he 
lost  everything  he  had.  returning  after  two  seasons  in  that  country  as  emnty 
of  purse  as  when  he  first  began  to  be  self-supporting.  On  his  return  in  1900 
he  heard  of  the  discovery  of  oil  in  the  Kern  river  field.  Immediately  he  jnined 
the  throng  of  operators  making  for  this  new  pros])ect.  Llere  he  began  to 
take  contracts  for  drilling  on  the  property  of  the  Reed-Conde  Oil  Company. 
For  some  time  he  continued  to  drill,  meeting  with  alternating  success  and  dis- 
coitragement.  However,  his  work  and  ability  attracted  attention  and  he  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  the  Eastern  Consolidated  Oil  Company,  with 
which  he  continued  for  seven  years  or  until  his  acceptance  of  the  position  of 
superintendent  with  the  Sunset  Monarch  Oil  Company  in  1908.  Since  that  time 
he  has  devc  ted  himself  with  unwearied  assiduity  to  the  many  responsibilities 
connected  with  his  position,  taking  no  part  whatever  in  political  affairs  or 
fraternal  organizations,  although  when  living  in  Orange  county  he  was  con- 
nected with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  \\'ith  his  wife,  formerly 
Miss  Clara  I<"inley,  of  Orange  county,  and  their  two  children.  Zada  and  Mar- 
garet, he  has   established  a   home  on   the  company  propertv   near   Marici'pa. 


850  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Under  his  oversight  are  the  various  departments  necessary  to  the  correct 
continuance  of  the  business.  The  interests  of  the  company  are  large  and 
include  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  without  wells,  situated  on  section  7, 
township  11,  range  23;  also  ninety  acres  with  five  wells,  on  section  26,  town- 
ship 12,  range  24;  a  quarter  section  and  another  tract  of  sixty  acres,  both  on 
section  2,  township  11,  range  24,  having  twenty-seven  wells,  the  whole  form- 
ing a  total  of  four  hundred  and  seventy  acres  with  thirty-two  wells. 

HENRY  H.  FENNEMAN.— The  United  Electric  and  Mercantile  Com- 
pany, established  at  Taft  during  1910  under  the  title  of  Fenneman  Bros., 
and  incorporated  with  its  present  title  in  January  of  the  following  year,  has 
the  following  well-known  citizens  of  Taft  as  its  officers :  E.  C.  Kelermeyer, 
president ;  L.  R.  Buchanan,  vice-president ;  J.  Pope,  secretary,  and  Henry 
Fenneman,  treasurer,  superintendent  and  general  manager.  The  concern 
acts  as  general  contractors  for  electrical  machinery  and  electrical  work  of 
all  kinds,  and  makes  a  specialty  of  wiring  oil  rigs,  installing  motors  on  oil 
leases  and  wiring  buildings  for  electric  light.  All  cf  their  work  is  guaranteed 
to  stand  the  inspection  of  the  National  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters.  Earn- 
estly recommending  the  wiring  of  oil  rigs  in  iron  conduits,  they  have  filled 
many  contracts  of  this  nature  for  many  of  the  large  operating  companies. 
At  their  office,  which  is  also  their  warehouse  and  workshop,  they  carry  a 
complete  line  of  fixtures,  motors,  batteries,  fans  and  the  celebrated  Mazda 
lamps,  the  most  perfect  light  manufactured.  A  great  number  of  Monarch 
Mazdas  have  been  installed  by  them  in  the  district.  Besides  having  con- 
tracts for  electrical  wiring  of  many  cottages,  they  also  had  the  contracts  for 
the  work  on  the  buildings  erected  by  Smith  Brothers  and  Dr.  Key,  the  Taft 
garage,  C.  B.  Callahan  building,  Conley  school.  First  National  Bank  of  Taft, 
Hotel  y\lvord  and  the  new  Mariposa  hotel  built  by  C.  A.  Fox,  a  leading 
citizen  of  Taft.  While  this  list  is  by  no  means  complete,  it  will  give  some 
idea  of  the  important  nature  of  the  contracts  carried  by  the  firm  to  suc- 
cessful consummation. 

The  manager  of  this  large  business  was  born  and  reared  in  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  entered  the  employ  of  the  Sanborn 
Electric  Company  of  that  city,  afterward  continuing  with  the  firm  for  ten 
years  altogether.  Meanwhile  he  rose  to  be  construction  foreman  and  was 
assigned  to  important  work  in  St.  Louis,  Mount  Carmel,  111.,  Chicago,  and 
Soringfield,  Ohio.  For  two  years  and  nine  months  he  worked  without  vaca- 
tion or  change  on  one  government  job  at  Fort  Benjamin  Harrison,  where 
among  other  tasks  he  completed  the  wiring  of  forty-six  two-story  houses. 
At  the  opening  of  the  war  with  Spain  he  was  eager  to  enlist  and  when  vol- 
unteers were  being  accepted  for  service  in  the  Philippines  he  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Sixty-first  Company  of  the  Sixth  Coast  Artillery  of  Ijaltimore 
and  was  sent  with  the  regiment  to  the  islands,  where  he  remained  for  two 
years,  and  nine  months,  meanwhile  serving  as  electrician  with  the  rank  of 
sergeant.  When  peace  was  declared  and  the  troops  were  returned  to  the 
United  States  he  went  back  to  Indianapolis  to  resume  work  with  the  San- 
born Electric  Compan}'^^.  September  19,  1910,  he  arrived  in  Taft,  where  in 
partnership  with  a  brother,  W.  H.  Fenneman,  now  the  manager  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Oil  W^ell  Supply  Company,  he  organized  the  firm  of  Fenneman 
Bros.,  now  known  as  the  United  Electric  and  Mercantile  Company.  Being 
an  expert  electrician  as  well  as  a  capable  business  man,  he  is  well  qualified 
for  the  successful  supervision  of  the  business  and  is  making  good  in  his 
important  responsibilities.  While  living  in  Indianapolis  he  married  Miss 
Vona  Louthain  of  that  city,  a  young  lady  of  education  and  culture.  Since 
coming  to  California  he  has  allied  himself  with  various  organizations  of  a 
fraternal  nature,  including  the   Bakersfield  Camp   No.  266,   B.   P.   O.   E.,   at 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  853 

Hakei-sfield:  also  tlie  linpruvc-d  Order  .it  Red  Men,  Tribe  of  Pocahontas  and 
Knislits  of  Pythias  lodged  in    I'aft. 

EPIFANIO  P.  CASTRO.— Asricullure  has  been  the  life  work  of  Kpifanio 
P.  Castro,  who  has  been  identified  with  the  farming  interests  of  Kern  comity 
since  he  was  able  to  work,  following  the  pursuit  of  his  father.  Pxirn  April 
7,  1872,  in  Kern  county,  Cal,  he  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Castro,  a  pioneer 
settler  of  this  county. 

Thomas  Castro  was  born  in  1830  in  Sonora,  Mexico,  where  he  grew  to 
manhood  and  married.  In  1867  the  Revolution  broke  out,  and  because  of 
his  political  inclinations  he  decided  to  remove  from  there,  coming  to  Bakers- 
tield,  Kern  county,  where  he  remained  for  the  balance  of  his  life,  successfully 
engaged  in  stock  raising.  His  death  occurred  here  when  he  was  sixty-eight 
years  old.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the  Castros  are  near  relatives  to  the 
iate  Gen.  Jose  Castro,  one  of  the  most  prominent  historical  figures  in  the  state 
of  California. 

Twelve  children  were  born  to  Thomas  and  Concepcion  (Coronada)  Cas- 
tro, nine  of  whom  grew  up,  as  follows :  Ramona,  Leonides,  Domitilo,  Manuel 
(now  deceased),  Thomas,  Luciano,  Perfecto,  Epifanio  P.  and  Amelia.  The 
mother  of  these  children  passed  away  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years. 

Epifanio  P.  Castro  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Kern 
county,  attending  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  work 
tor  his  father  on  the  ranch.  Until  he  was  twenty-three  he  gave  his  entire 
time  to  this  work,  giving  his  father  every  assistance  in  his  power,  and  look- 
ing after  the  home  place.  Then  for  two  years  he  worked  for  the  Kern  County 
Land  Company,  in  1896  buying  a  forty-acre  tract  four  miles  south  of  Bakers- 
field  on  Kern  Island  road,  which  he  has  cultivated  and  brought  to  an  excel- 
lent state  of  production.  He  has  labored  industriously  and  his  property  is 
yielding  a  fine  crop  which  he  markets  at  a  substantial  price.  In  1913  he 
leased  the  Brundage  ranch  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  on  South 
Union  avenue,  and  here  he  is  engaged  in  horticulture  and  hay  and  grain 
raising. 

HON.  HOWARD  ALLEN  PEAIRS.— A  strong,  forceful  mentality 
whose  judicial  bent  is  no  less  pronounced  than  its  humanitarian  tendencies 
indicates  that  Judge  Peairs  has  inherited  the  substantial  qualities  that  char- 
acterized the  early  settlers  of  America.  The  ancestral  lineage  can  be  traced 
to  several  countries,  for  the  Peairs  and  Davis  families  were  of  Welsh  origin, 
while  the  Byers  genealogy  indicates  a  mingling  of  the  blood  of  the  Scotch, 
the  Irish  and  the  Dutch.  In  the  life  record  of  the  Judge  a  careful  student  of 
humanity  may  note  the  thrift  of  the  Welsh,  the  sturdiness  of  the  Dutch, 
the  logical  temperament  of  the  Scotch  and  the  humur  of  the  Celt,  mingled 
with  the  enterprise  that  is  distinctively  American,  the  whole  combining  to 
form  a  personality  at  once  progressive  and  conservative,  vividly  interesting, 
and  well  adapted  to  leadership  in  any  community.  The  forebears  were 
mostly  Presbyterians  in  their  religious  views  and  mostly  farmers  in  their 
chosen  life  occupations.  With  the  drifting  of  the  tide  of  emigration  toward 
the  west  they  became  transplanted  from  Pennsylvania  into  Ohio,  where  some 
of  the  Peairs  family  were  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Zanesville. 

Another  removal  took  the  family  across  the  Mississippi  and  out  to  the 
prairies  of  Kansas,  where  John  Byers  Peairs  and  his  wife,  Jerusha  (Davis) 
Peairs,  who  was  a  native  of  Germantown,  Pa.,  became  pioneers  of  Law- 
rence during  1876.  Of  their  seven  children  the  third,  Howard  Allen,  was 
born  near  Zanesville,  Ohio,  September  25,  1861,  received  his  early  educa- 
tion there,  and  after  the  age  of  fifteen  continued  his  studies  in  Lawrence. 
Kan.,  where  he  spent  considerable  time  at  the  university.  In  order  to  pay 
his  way  through  college  he  taught  school,  but  it  was  not  his  desire  to 
make  a  life  work  of  pedagogy;  on  the  other  hand,  his  talents  seemed  to  point 


854  HISTORY  OF  KERN  COUNTY 

toward  the  law  and  he  took  up  special  law  studies  under  D.  S.  Alford,  an 
influential  attorney  in  Lawrence.  In  1888  he  was  graduated  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Kansas  with  the  degree  of  LL.B.  and  the  same  year  was  admitted 
to  practice  before  the  courts  of  Kansas.  Afterward  he  received  the  degree 
of  A.B.  from  the  same  university.  F^or  a  time  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Poehler  &  Peairs  in  that  city. 

During  the  entire  period  of  his  continued  residence  in  Lawrence  he 
was  popular  with  the  faculty  at  the  university  and  frequently,  in  the  absence 
or  illness  of  one  of  the  professors,  he  was  engaged  to  act  as  substitute  in  the 
chair.  Meanwhile  he  mastered  a  number  of  studies  in  the  institution,  where 
he  specialized  in  analytical  chemistry,  law,  pharmacy,  history  and  economics. 
In  the  course  of  his  identification  with  the  bar  of  Kansas  he  became  inti- 
mately ac(|uainted  with  William  Allen  \\'hite.  General  Funston,  James  H. 
Canfield,  Messrs.  Kellogg  and  Franklin,  ex-Governor  Stubbs  of  Kansas  and 
ex-Governor  Hadley  of  Missouri,  together  with  many  other  men  who  since 
have  become  eminent  in  various  avenues  of  endeavor.  For  a  short  time  he 
was  connected  with  the  Kansas  City  Journal  and  for  another  period,  begin- 
ning in  1898;  he  was  connected  with  the  Indian  service,  where  he  developed 
various  advanced  ideas  in  vocational  and  manual  training  and  also  com- 
menced to  apply  these  methods  of  instruction. 

Certain  unfavorable  tendencies  in  health  led  Judge  Peairs  to  remove  to 
California  in  1898  and  here  he  sotn  regained  his  former  ruggedness  and 
strength.  For  a  time  he  engaged  as  a  manufacturing  chemist  in  Los  Angeles. 
His  knowledge  of  pharmacy  and  analytical  chemistry  has  led  him  at  times 
into  research  work  wholly  unallied  with  his  law  practice,  yet  interesting 
to  him  and  often  quite  important.  An  instance  of  his  original  investiga- 
tions appears  in  his  profound  knowledge  of  every  phase  of  food  adultera- 
tion and  it  was  this  thorough  information  that  enabled  him  to  assist  in  the 
drafting  of  the  national  pure  food  law  passed  in  1906.  Having  embarked  in 
the  practice  of  law  in  Los  Angeles,  he  soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
growing  clientele  and  his  worth  as  an  attorney  has  been  demonstrated  repeat- 
edly in  cases  of  great  responsibility.  A  stanch  Republican  of  progressive 
sentiments,  in  1912  he  was  his  party's  candidate  for  the  assembly  and  was 
elected  to  represent  Los  Angeles  county  in  the  legislature  of  1913.  Among 
the  important  bills  which  he  introduced  and  championed  may  be  mentioned 
the  medical  bill,  the  juvenile  law,  the  Torrens  act  relating  to  an  improved 
system  of  land  titles,  the  law  fixing  the  age  of  consent  at  eighteen  years  and 
the  asexualization   bill. 

The  marriage  of  Judge  Peairs  in  Lawrence,  Kan.,  united  him  with  Miss 
Helen  Webber,  by  whom  he  has  two  children,  Marion  and  Howard  Allen,  Jr. 
Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  Los  Angeles  Lodge  No.  278,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  Fraternal  Brother- 
hood. LTpon  the  death  of  Judge  Bennett  of  Bakersfield,  Governor  Johnson, 
August  14,  1913,  appointed  Judge  Peairs  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
passing  of  the  jurist.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  also  has  been  made 
judge  of  the  juvenile  court.  At  present  he  is  advocating  a  project  for  the 
establishment  of  a  vacation  or  "opportunity"  farm  in  Kern  county,  the  same 
to  comprise  about  one  thousand  acres,  to  be  devoted  to  the  industrial  and 
vocational  training  of  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  county,  the  idea  being  that 
during  vacations  spent  on  the  farm  each  child  will  be  taught  some  special 
work.  Work,  not  merely  as  a  necessity,  but  also  as  a  desirability,  will  he. 
made  attractive  to  their  plastic  minds.  Machinery  of  all  kinds  is  to  be 
explained  to  the  boys  who  show  a  fondness  for  agriculture  or  mechanics. 
Horticultural  courses  and  agriculture  are  to  be  taught  to  youthful  fruit- 
growers and  farmers.  Classes  in  cooking  and  hygiene  would  be  made  as 
interesting  as   possible.     In   fact,   the   object   of   the   great   enterprise   would 


/^- 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  857 

be  to  liettcr  prepare  the  youth  of  the  count}-  for  life's  responsibihties.  thus 
eliminating  the  work  (if  the  juvenile  courts. 

FRANK  O.  BRATT.— A  native  of  Nebraska,  Frank  O.  Bratt  was  born 
in  Xeniaha  count}-  May  26,  1874.  The  same  county  in  Nebraska  was  the 
place  of  residence  and  of  marriage  of  his  parents,  Garrett  and  Salome  ((irove) 
Bratt,  the  former  now  deceased,  and  the  latter,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  (1912), 
still  a  resident  of  Riverside  county,  Cal.  It  was  during  1891  that  the  family 
removed  from  Nebraska,  where  the  father  had  conducted  a  wholesale  and 
retail  furniture  business  at  Hastings,  and  established  their  home  in  Riverside 
county,  where  the  only  daughter.  Miss  Ina,  passed  away  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years.  Upon  coming  to  California  the  family  brought  considerable  means 
with  them,  but  during  the  panic  of  1893-94  the  City  Bank  of  Lbs  Angeles 
failed  and  about  $8,000  which  the  father  had  deposited  in  that  institution 
was    entirely    lost    to    him. 

Having  gained  a  very  heljiful  ex])erience  in  the  stock  business  while 
assisting  his  father  on  the  home  farm,  Frank  O.  Bratt  has  had  the  practical 
benefit  of  such  work  in  his  later  operations.  During  1902  he  went  to  Nevada 
and  engaged  in  teaming  and  freighting  between  Austin,  Tonopah  and  Gold- 
field.  By  means  of  his  two  fourteen-mule  teams  he  was  able  to  haul  twenty- 
eight  tons  each  month  and  for  this  he  received  $100  per  ton.  The  profits, 
however,  were  not  as  large  as  this  statement  would  seem  to  indicate,  for  his 
expenses  were  proportionately  great,  hay  being  worth  $100  per  ton  and  barley 
for  feed  $135  per  ton.  When  at  the  expiration  of  two  years  the  railroad 
had  been  completed  and  thus  rendered  further  association  with  the  hauling 
business  undesirable,  he  left  Nevada  in  1905  and  came  to  Kern  county,  where 
during  some  years  he  engaged  in  the  stock  business  as  a  partner  of  the  late 
John  E.  Bailey,  a  prominent  and  well-known  resident  of  Bakersfield.  During 
the  lifetime  of  Mr.  Bailey  they  handled  as  many  as  three  thousand  head  of 
cattle  in  one  year,  as  many  as  four  hundred  head  of  mules  and  about  two 
hundred  head  of  hogs.  While  mainly  engaging  in  the  stock  business,  Mr. 
Bratt  also  had  a  fourteen-mule  team  engaged  in  hauling  borax.  After  the 
death  of  Mr.  Bailey,  which  occurred  February  22,  1912,  Mr.  Bratt  formed  a 
jjartnership  with  Joseph  L.  Bailey,  a  nephew  of  John  E.,  and  together  they 
purchased  the  ranch  and  stock  and  continue  farming  operations  on  a  larger 
scale  than  ever.  They  have  the  home  ranch  of  five  hundred  forty-seven 
acres,  also  one  thousand  acres  on  the  plains.  Having  gone  extensively  into 
the  dairy  business  they  put  in  an  auxiliary  pumping  plant  with  a  capacity  of 
one  hundred  fifty  inches.  They  are  large  producers  of  alfalfa  for  their  cattle 
and  hogs. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Bratt  took  place  in  1898  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Lucy  Clark,  a  native  of  Inyo  county,  this  state.  Two  children  bless  their 
union,  namely:  Margaret,  born  in  1900;  and  Francis,  born  in  1910.  The 
family  now  occupy  the  commodious  brick  residence  of  the  late  Mr.  Bailey  at 
No.  1002  Nineteenth  street.  In  religious  associations  Mrs.  Bratt  belongs  to 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  has  been  a  generous  contributor  to  its 
missionary  enterprises.  Politically  Mr.  Bratt  votes  with  the  Republican  party. 
bVaternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Woodmen  and  the  Foresters. 

JOHN  E.  BAILEY. — It  is  a  matter  of  family  history  that  the  religious 
persecutions  connected  with  the  early  history  of  Scotland  forced  the  Baileys 
to  flee  from  that  country  across  to  Ireland,  where  they  established  a  per- 
manent home  in  the  north  country.  James  Bailey,  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
has  spent  his  entire  life  in  county  Down,  as  has  also  his  wife,  Rosanna  (Edgar) 
Bailey,  who  too  claims  Scotland  as  the  country  of  her  ancestors.  Both  are 
still  living,  he  at  ninety  and  .she  at  eighty-five  years  (1912)  and  both  retain 
their  physical  and  mental  faculties  to  an  unusual  extent  considering  their  great 
ages.  Of  their  six  children  all  but  one  have  preceded  them  to  the  grave. 
The  only  one  living  is   Matthew,   who   resides  on   a   farm   in   countv    Down. 


858  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

The  next  to  the  oldest,  John  E.,  was  born  November  28,  1852,  in  county- 
Down,  eighteen  miles  from  Belfast,  and  there  he  passed  the  days  of  boy- 
hood on  the  home  farm  and  in  the  neighboring  school.  During  1869  he  left 
Ireland  and  came  via  Panama  to  San  Francisco,  thence  proceeded  to  Sonoma 
count}'  and  found  employment  on  a  farm.  His  identification  with  Kern 
county  dated  from  1872,  when  he  secured  work  as  a  farm  hand.  Husbanding 
and  saving  his  wages  with  frugal  care,  he  was  enabled  in  1877  to  acquire  the 
title  to  eighty  acres  eight  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield  on  the  Kern  river. 

By  subsequent  purchases  of  adjacent  tracts  Mr.  Bailey  increased  his  ranch 
to  five  hundred  and  forty-seven  acres,  all  under  irrigation,  the  main  conduits 
being  two  ditches,  one  on  each  side  of  the  river.  About  three  hundred  acres 
were  put  into  alfalfa  and  on  the  balance  of  the  tract  grain  and  corn  were 
raised  by  irrigation.  Although  he  rented  much  of  the  ranch  during  his  last 
years,  he  retained  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  alfalfa  land  and  found  the 
hay  very  essential  to  his  industry  of  cattle-feeding,  in  which  he  specialized. 
For  twenty  years  he  engaged  in  raising  cattle  on  his  mountain  ranch  of  three 
thousand  acres  at  the  Dead  Ox  and  even  after  he  sold  that  large  tract  he  still 
retained  his  cattle  for  a  few  years.  After  he  had  sold  the  large  drove  he  began 
to  buy  steers  from  others  as  he  needed  them  in  his  feed-yards. 

In  addition  to  his  ranch  holdings  Mr.  Bailey  owned  property  in  Bakers- 
field.  On  the  corner  of  Nineteenth  and  M  streets  he  conducted  a  livery  busi- 
ness until  the  stable  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1889.  Later  he  erected  on  the 
same  site  the  Cosmooolitan  hotel  and  ran  it  for  many  years  until  it  burned 
to  the  ground  in  1907.  He  then  discontinued  the  hotel  business  and  only 
partially  built  up  the  lots.  On  Nineteenth  street  he  erected  the  Decatur,  one  of 
the  finest  rooming  houses  in  the  city.  Included  in  his  other  property  was  a 
modern  and  substantial  residence  on  the  corner  of  Nineteenth  and  O  streets. 
Besides  this  valuable  real-estate  he  owned  one-half  interest  in  the  Southern, 
the  largest  hotel  in  Taft,  also  owned  a  large  amount  of  stock  in  the  Kern 
Mutual  Telephone  Company  which  operates  a  line  from  Bakersfield  to 
Maricopa  and  Taft.  Some  years  after  coming  to  Kern  county  he  married 
Miss  Carrie  Voges,  a  native  of  New  Orleans,  La.,  but  from  girlhood  a  resident 
of  the  west;  she  died  January  1,  1905. 

The  fraternal  associations  of  Mr.  Bailey  included  membership  in  the 
Eagles,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Foresters.  His  death,  which 
occurred  February  22,  1912,  was  a  distinct  loss  to  these  lodges  as  it  was  to 
other  interests  in  Bakersfield  and  the  county.  From  the  re-incorporation  of 
Bakersfield  until  the  consolidation  with  Kern,  a  period  of  about  eleven  years, 
he  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  for  the  four  years  prior 
to  the  consolidation  he  was  honored  with  the  chairmanship  of  the  board, 
a  position  corresponding  to  that  of  mayor  and  carrying  with  it  all  of  the  heavy 
responsibilities  and  official  duties  connected  with  the  mayoralty. 

It  should  be  mentioned  that  during  the  last  five  years  of  Mr.  Bailey's 
life  he  was  assisted  in  the  management  of  his  diversified  interests  by  his 
nephew,  Joseph  L.  Bailey,  a  native  of  county  Down,  Ireland,  and  a  son  of 
Matthew  Bailey.  Joseph  L.  Bailey  was  a  graduate  of  the  Royal  LIniversity  of 
Ireland  in  Dublin.  Coming  to  California  in  1907  he  assisted  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  uncle's  general  affairs,  and  after  the  death  of  his  uncle,  he  and 
Frank  O.  Bratt  purchased  the  ranches  and  stock  and  are  continuing  stock- 
raising  and  dairying  on  a  large  scale.  In  the  management  of  the  ranch  and 
in  making  improvements  the  new  owners  are  following  the  policy  and  methods 
which  iiroved  so  successful  with  the  elder  Mr.  Bailey. 

EDWARD  F.  EILAND.— Although  by  occupation  an  oil-field  worker 
and  more  interested  in  that  occupation  than  in  any  other  industry,  at  the 
present  time  Mr.  Eiland  gives  'his  attention  wholly  to  the  duties  of  city 
marshal,  an  appointment  to  the  office  having  been  conferred  upon  him  March 
1,   1913,  by  the  board  of  citv  trustees,  at  the  expiration  of  a  year's  service 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  861 

as  nisht  watcliman.  I">oiii  the  a^c  (if  t\)urteen  he  has  lived  in  California, 
but  Texas  is  his  native  commonwealth  and  he  was  born  at  Henderson, 
Rusk  coiint)',  June  5,  1875,  being  a  son  of  E.  H.  and  Mary  L.  (Moore) 
Eiland,  natives  respectixely  of  Alabama  and  Texas,  but  now  living  retired  at 
Fresno,  Cal.  Throughout  his  active  life  the  father  engaged  in  teaching- 
school.  The  parental  family  comprised  nine  children  and  seven  of  these  are 
still  living,  the  third  in  order  of  birth  being  Edward  F.,  who  was  fourteen 
years  of  age  at  the  time  of  coming  to  California,  .\fter  a  year  at  Templeton, 
San  Luis  Obispo  county,  he  removed  to  Fresno  county  and  began  to  work 
upon  a  farm  there.  I'^om  an  early  age  he  was  familiar  with  the  oil  industry 
and  had  considerable  experience  in  the  fields  as  a  roustabout,  later  rising 
to  be  a  tool-dresser  and  from  that  being  promoted  to  jiroduction  foreman. 
While  working  for  J.  C.  McDonald  on  the  Amazon  he  became  a  driller 
and  to  a  considerable  extent  he  has  made  a  specialty  of  that  branch  of  the 
oil  business.  For  a  time  he  had  charge  of  various  properties  for  Barlow 
&  Hill,  the  capitalists,  of  Bakersfield. 

.Ks  a  city  official  Mr.  Eiland  has  had  a  harmonious  connection  with 
civic  affairs.  Cool-headed  and  quick  in  action,  he  is  well  qualified  for  the 
position  of  marshal  and  has  the  city's  business  well  in  hand.  The  place  is 
quiet  and  orderly,  fortunately  having  none  of  the  rougher  element  to  be 
found  in  some  towns.  The  difficulties  that  confront  some  marshals  have  not 
come  into  his  experience  at  Taft,  but  should  they  arise  he  would  receive 
the  stanch  support  of  his  many  friends  and  the  practical  aid  of  other  city 
officers.  He  still  owns  a  farm  in  Fresno  county  and  also  has  city  property 
at  San  Diego.  Twice  married,  his  first  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Frances  M.  Pitts,  was  born  in  Chalome  valley,  Monterey  county,  Cal.,  and 
died  in  1904,  the  body  being  interred  in  Mountain  View  cemetery  in  Fresno 
county.  Of  that  union  there  are  two  sons,  Franklin  W.  and  Benjamin,  now 
sixteen  and  thirteen  years  of  age  respectively.  The  present  wife  of  Mr. 
Eiland,  whom  he  married  at  Stockton,  was  Miss  Mabel  Askew,  of  Visalia. 

MRS.  MARY  J.  AVILA.— Descended  from  a  long  line  of  Portuguese 
ancestors,  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Avila  was  born  on  the  Azores  islands  and  received  a 
fair  education  in  parochial  schools  there.  Her  father,  John  J.  Soares,  now 
eighty-two  years  of  age,  still  makes  his  home  on  these  islands,  but  her 
mother,  Isabel,  has  passed  from  earth. 

On  the  Azores  occurred  the  bif-th.  May  11.  1861,  of  Manwell  Jose  Avila, 
a  descendant  of  a  Portuguese  family  of  high  standing  and  ancient  pedigree. 
■  When  but  eighteen  years  of  age  he  left  his  native  place  and  crossed  the 
ocean  to  America,  proceeding  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco  and  securing 
employment  in  the  west.  As  the  years  passed  busily  with  their  cares  and 
labors  he  gave  no  thought  to  marriage  or  a  home  of  his  own,  but  when 
finally  he  returned  to  the  Azores  to  visit  the  home  of  his  boyhood  he  there 
met  ATiss  Soares,  then  a  charming  young  lady  of  eighteen  years.  Instantly 
a  change  was  made  in  his  plans  and  a  new  purpose  entered  into  his  life. 
When  after  a  visit  of  one  year  in  Portugal  he  returned  to  California  in  1893, 
it  was  with  the  thought  of  saving  his  earnings  with  the  utmost  frugality 
in  order  that  he  might  establish  a  home  of  his  own.  During  1898  he  sent 
for  his  betrothed,  who  took  passage  from  one  of  the  Portuguese  harbors  on 
the  steamer,  Pininiolar,  which  after  a  voyage  of  seven  days  landed  her 
on  American  soil  on  the  27th  of  September.  Frcmi  New  York  she  traveled 
across  the  continent  to  San  Francisco,  where  Mr.  A\ila  awaited  her  cimiiiig 
and  where  they  were  united  in  marriage. 

For  twenty  years  Mr.  .\vila  remained  an  emploj'e  of  Miller  &  Lux 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  superintendent  of  their  sheep  department, 
having  charge  at  times  of  as  many  as  one  hundred  thousand  head  of  sheep. 
In  the  discharge  of  his  great   responsibilities  he   gave   universal    satisfaction 


862  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

to  the  firm  and  acted  with  rare  discretion  and  ahnost  unerring  judgment.  In 
the  meantime  he  had  purchased  eighty  acres  on  Union  avenue  about  eight 
miles  south  of  Bakersfield  and  had  commenced  to  improve  the  property 
with  a  view  to  establishing  a  permanent  home  here,  but  his  plans  were 
brought  to  naught  by  an  untimely  fate.  While  at  Hanford  he  became  ill  with 
ptomaine  poisoning  and  was  brought  to  the  hospital  at  Bakersfield,  but 
no  remedies  availed  to  lighten  his  suffering  and  after  four  weeks  he  passed 
away  November  19,  1910.  Besides  his  wife  he  is  survived  by  their  four 
children,  Gloria,  John,  Manuel  and  Isabel.  During  1911  Mrs.  Avila  erected 
on  their  farm  a  residence  that  for  beauty  and  convenience  is  surpassed  by 
few  within  the  limits  of  Kern  county  and  here  she  and  her  children  have 
established  their  home,  meanwhile"  winning  the  regard  of  neighbors  and 
holding  a  prominent  position  in  the  membership  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  of  Bakersfield. 

CARLOS  GRANT  ILLINGWORTH.— The  oldest  established  general 
store  in  the  Alojave  Desert,  which  is  situated  in  the  town  of  Randsburg, 
Kern  county,  and  its  several  branches  which  are  found  in  the  smaller  towns 
in  this  vicinity,  are  owned  by  Carlos  Grant  Illingworth,  the  inventory  of 
whose  stores  in  1912  showed  stock  amounting  to  $100,000.  Mr.  Illingworth's 
childhood  was  passed  in  various  places,  he  having  been  born  in  Mt.  Carroll, 
Carroll  county.  111.,  April  30,  1873,  and  from  there  brought  by  his  parents 
when  he  was  aged  five  years  to  Wichita,  Kan.  Here  he  was  sent  to  school  for  a 
short  time,  in  1887  moving  with  his  parents  to  California  and  settling  at 
Pomona,  where  they  stayed  but  a  short  time.  In  the  same  year  they  moved 
to  Upland,  San  Bernardino  county,  and  Mr.  Illingworth  went  to  work  for 
himself.  Buying  a  team  he  started  into  the  contracting  business  for  grading 
and  leveling  land,  remaining  in  this  vicinity  until  1896,  when  he  came  to 
Randsburg  to  contract  with  the  Yellow  Aster  Mine  Company  to  haul  ore 
for  them.  This  he  followed  until  the  time  the  company  built  their  plant 
in  1898,  when  he  embarked  in  the  general  mercantile  business,  which  has 
proved  such  a  successful  undertaking.  It  is  fitting  here  to  relate  that  the 
extent  of  Mr.  Illingworth's  capital  at  this  time  was  a  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  stock,  and  when  it  is  considered  that  he  is  now  the  owner  of  a  large 
flourishing  establishment  with  a  number  of  branch  stores  and  four  ware- 
houses, it  is  readily  understood  that  he  is  peculiarly  fitted  for  the  conduct 
of  this  form  of  business.  One  of  the  branch  stores  is  located  at  Atolia,  San 
Bernardino  county.  In  connection  with  his  mercantile  business,  Mr.  Illing- 
worth has  also  engaged  in  mining,  at  the  present  time  working  the  Santa 
Ana  group,  and  he  also  owns  the  Pearl  Wedge  mine.  These  have  proved 
profitable,  and  promise  to  bring  in  exceptional  results  in  the  near  future. 
In  1913  he  incorporated  the  G.  B.  Mining  &  Reduction  Company,  of  which  he 
is  majority  owner,  and  serves  as  president  of  the  company.  They  built  a 
twenty-ton  capacity  roll  mill  and  engaged  in  mining  and  milling  the  ore. 
They  h-ave  already  found  it  necessary  to  increase  it  to  fifty-ton  capacity, 
which  has  been  done,  and  the  showing  made  demonstrates  that  it  is  one  of 
the  best  mines  in  the  state.  The  plant  was  built  to  mine  and  mill  $4  rock 
profitables,  but  at  285  feet  they  have  $42  rock  and  find  it  necessary  to  build 
the  new  mill  mentioned  above.  Needless  to  say  the  outcome  far  exceeds  his 
expectations. 

Mr.  Illingworth  married  Leah  Blanch  Baker,  who  was  born  in  Ottawa, 
Canada,  their  marriage  occurring  June  17,  1909.  Mrs.  Illingworth  came  to 
California  in  January,  1908,  and  has  since  made  it  her  home.  She  assists 
her  husband  in  making  their  establishment  the  modern,  well-equipped  place 
of  business  it  is  today,  and  is  a  popular  and  pleasant  woman.  They  are  the 
parents  of  two  children,  A-Iyrtle,  born  March  12,  1910;  and  James  Grant 
Illingworth,  born  January  2,  1913.     Mr.  Illingworth  is  interested  in  the  cause 


iMc>i/i^(^u^  cJj. 


&i>2^yr>t^i>^^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  865 

of  education  and  is  a  member  of  the  Imaril  of  trustees  of  the  Randshurt; 
district. 

JACOB  BAUMAN.— Since  his  arrival  in  California  durin'-  1XS7  and  Iun 
settlement  in  Kern  county  the  following'  year  Mr.  Uaunian  has  devoted  his 
attention  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  by  his  individual  success  has  proved 
the  possibilities  of  dry  farming  when  rightly  jirosecuted.  Wheat  raised  by 
this  process  makes  an  excellent  crop  in  most  years  and  harvests  as  high 
as  fifteen  hundred  sacks  of  grain  of  finest  quality,  so  that  his  large  wheat- 
fields  fi  rm  a  positive  asset  in  his  agricultural  operations.  The  first  land, 
a  tract  of  eighty  acres,  which  he  accpiired  in  the  county  was  secured  by 
pre-em])tion  and  lies  on  section  14  of  township  2S,  range  29,  in  the  famous 
Weed  Patch.  Later  he  homesteaded  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  section 
4,  township  30,  range  30.  The  final  actiuisition  of  land  gave  him  the  title 
through  purchase  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  on  section  8,  township 
30,  range  30,  so  that  his  landed  pi  ssessions  now  aggregate  five  hundred  and 
sixty  acres.  On  the  tract  last  acquired  he  has  erected  a  comfortable  cot- 
tage, also  a  barn  50x60  feet  in  dimensions,  together  with  a  granary  and  such 
other  Iniildings  as  the  needs  of  the  work  render  desirable.  In  addition  he 
has  fenced  the  half-section  and  has  further  enhanced  its  value  through  a  well 
three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep,  pumped  l)y  means  of  a  four  horse-j)ower 
gasoline  engine. 

liern,  Switzerland,  is  the  native  canton  of  Mr.  Caunian.  and  August 
20,  1860,  the  date  of  his  birth,  his  parents  having  been  Jacob  and  Susan 
(Stadtman)  Bauman,  lifelong  residents  of  Switzerland,  where  the  father 
gained  modest  success  through  intelligent  labors  in  the  dairy  industry.  There 
were  seven  children  in  the  family,  namely:  Susan,  who  married  in  girlhood, 
became  the  mother  of  fifteen  children  and  died  in  Switzerland;  Magdalena, 
who  is  married  and  remains  in  her  native  country;  Jacob,  of  Kern  county; 
Christ,  who  immigrated  to  America,  settled  in  Ohio  and  died  there,  leaving 
seven  children;  Annie  and  John,  both  of  whom  died,  unmarried,  in  Ohio; 
and  Fred,  a  resident  of  Bakersfield,  Cal.  From  an  early  age  Jacob  Bauman 
was  familiar  with  the  care  of  stock  and  the  rudiments  of  farming.  The  home 
farm  comprised  only  twenty-five  acres,  but  was  made  remunerative  through 
intensive  methods  of  cultivation  and  he  was  taught  to  be  useful  in  every 
department  of  the  farm  work.  The  family  were  identified  with  the  Cerman 
Lutheran  Church,  in  which  he  was  confirmed  at  the  age  of  sixteen. 

I'pon  attaining  his  majority  in  1881  Jacol)  P.auman  came  to  the  I'nited 
States  and  secured  employment  as  a  farm  laborer  near  Cleveland,  (^hio. 
Returning  to  Switzerland  he  there  married,  February  2,  1884,  Miss  ]\Iargarel 
Tschanz,  a  native  of  Canton  Bern,  and  a  daughter  of  the  late  Christ  and 
Margaret  (Von  Gonton)  Tschanz.  the  fc  rmer  a  farmer  by  occui)ati(>ii.  lie- 
sides  Mrs.  Bauman  there  were  three  other  daughters,  Magdalena.  .\nna  and 
Mary,  in  the  Tschanz  family  and  one  son,  Christ,  who  died  at  nineteen  years 
of  age.  The  three  sisters  of  Mrs.  Bauman  are  married  and  reside  in 
Switzerland.  Upon  settling  in  Ohio  after  his  marriage  Mr.  I'auman  found 
work  in  a  stone  quarry  at  Cleveland  and  later  farmed  near  that  city,  whence 
he  came  to  California  in  1887  and  identified  himself  with  ihe  agricultural 
upbuilding  of  the  west. 

MRS.  ELIZABETH  COOLBAUGH.— The  matron  and  superintendent 
of  the  Kern  Cnunty  Children's  Shelter  is  nf  western  birth  and  has  sjKMit  the 
greater  portion  of  lier  life  in  California.  .As  early  as  1843,  when  the  first 
movement  of  white  settlers  was  being  made  in  the  direction  of  the  Pacific 
coast  and  ere  yet  paths  had  Ijeen  blazed  for  the  emigrants.  Alexander  I'devins. 
a  native  of  the  vicinity  of  Lexington.  Ky..  crossed  the  plains  of  Oregon 
accompanied  by  his  wife  and  their  three  small  children.  The  trip  required 
the  greatest  courage  and  fortitude.  Dangers  seen  and  unseen  snrmnnded 
them  all  of  the  way  as  well  as  after  they  had  settled  in  a  little  cabin   near 


866  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Salem,  where  the  hardy  pioneers  took  up  a  six  hundred  and  forty  acre 
donation  land  claim  from  the  government.  The  tract  was  in  the  primeval 
condition  of  nature  and  he  made  a  number  of  improvements,  also  placed 
the  land  under  profitable  cultivation.  While  living  on  that  ranch  a  daughter, 
Elizabeth,  was  born.  The  family  removed  to  the  Livermore  valley  of" Cali- 
fornia during  1857  and  there  Mr.  Blevins  engaged  in  ranching  and  stock- 
raising,  but  later  he  moved  to  Stockton  and  finally  to  Lodi,  where  he  passed 
away  at  the  age  of  eighty-seven  years.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Levina  Vanderpool,  was  born  in  Tennessee,  lived  in  Iventucky 
during  girlhood,  and  now,  at  the  age  of  ninety-four  years,  remains  at  the 
old  homestead  in   Lodi. 

There  were  in  the  Blevins  family  twelve  children,  all  of  whom  attained 
maturity  and  seven  are  now  living,  Mrs.  Coolbaugh  having  been  the  fifth  in 
order  of  birth.  In  childhood  she  attended  the  public  schools  and  later  was 
graduated  from  the  Stockton  Young  Ladies'  Seminary.  Her  marriage  took 
place  at  Lockeford,  San  Joaquin  county,  and  united  her  with  David  H.  Cool- 
baugh, who  was  born  in  Bradford  county,  Pa.,  came  via  Panama  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1860  and  engaged  in  general  contracting  and  in  stock-raising  near 
Stockton.  During  the  spring  of  1881  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  settled  six 
miles  south  of  Bakersfield,  where  he  had  charge  of  thirty-three  hundred 
acres  of  land  for  G.  M.  Fisher.  Six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  the  tract, 
known  as  the  Berkshire  farm,  were  improved  through  his  personal  labors. 
After  nine  years  on  the  ranch  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  here  engaged  in 
general  teaming  and  contracting  until  his  death,  which  occurred  April 
30,  1898.  Fraternally  he  belonged  to  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen, 
while  in  religious  matters  both  he  and  his  wife  from  early  years  were  earnest 
supporters  of  the  Methodist  doctrines. 

Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Coolbaugh  his  widow  has  remained  at  their  home 
in  Bakersfield  and  has  had  charge  of  the  interests  left  her,  representing  the 
savings  of  their  years  of  economy  and  wise  management.  A  woman  of 
large  charities  and  deep  sympathies,  she  always  has  been  a  worker  for  the 
needy  and  suffering.  It  always  has  been  her  aim  to  help  the  poor  to  help 
themselves,  but  no  one  is  quicker  than  she  to  realize  that  there  are  occa- 
sions when  they  must. have  help  or  all  is  lost.  Upon  the  organization  of  the 
Associated  Charities  she  was  chosen  the  first  registrar  and  continued  to  fill 
that  office  until  1912,  when  she  resigned.  With  Mrs.  Yancey  she  organized 
the  Juvenile  court  committee  for  Kern  county,  having  been  chosen  for  the 
work  by  Judge  Bennett ;  the  court  has  for  its  object  the  mental  and  moral 
upbuilding  of  waifs  of  humanity  whose  early  path  in  life  has  turned  toward 
evil.  About  the  beginning  of  the  twentieth  century,  with  Mrs.  Yancey  and 
E.  J.  Emmons,  she  started  the  Kern  County  Rescue  Society  for  the  preven- 
tion of  cruelty  to  children.  October  19,  1906,  there  came  to  Bakersfield  a 
woman  with  three  half-fed,  half-clothed  children,  with  only  a  few  crackers 
between  them  and  starvation.  These  children  were  taken  temporarily  by 
.Mrs.  C.  P.  Larsen.  Upon  investigaticn  Mrs.  Coolbaugh  and  IMrs.  Yancey 
found  they  could  not  provide  a  home  for  the  children  anywhere  in  the  state 
without  the  mother  relinquishing  her  right.  There  was  need  of  a  home 
where  helpless  children  could  be  left  until  the  father  or  mother  was  able  to 
support  them.  November  12,  1906,  these  courageous  women  rented  a  cot- 
tage of  six  rooms  at  No.  1408  Eleventh  street.  They  had  not  a  cent  of  money 
to  pay  the  rent  nor  a  piece  of  furniture  to  put  in  the  house,  but  they  did 
have  the  promise  of  Mrs.  M.  E.  Stephenson  to  work  free  of  charge  for  six 
months.  Donations  had  been  made  for  the  victims  of  the  San  Francisco 
disaster  and  some  of  these  supplies,  not  being  needed  there,  were  available 
for  use  and  gave  a  start  in  bedding,  groceries  and  t)ther  supplies.  Rev. 
Angus    Alathevvsdn    donated    new    matting    for    two    rooms,    window    shades. 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  867 

bedstead  and  kitchen  furniture.  Others  res]xinded  gladly.  In  six  months 
after  the  house  had  been  secured  the  way  opened  for  the  Kern  County 
Children's  Shelter  to  be  incorporated  as  a  state  institution,  April  16,  1907. 
At  that  time  thirteen  children  were  being  supported.  May  24,  1907,  the 
first  ofificers  were  elected,  also  an  advisory  board  of  seven  gentlemen.  Dur- 
ing 1908  twenty-one  children  were  supported  in  the  Home  under  the  care 
of  Airs.  M.  E.  Stephenson,  who  was  retained  at  a  fair  salary.  In  September 
of  1910  the  institution  was  moved  to  its  present  cjuarters.  No.  920  Twen- 
tieth street.  On  the  first  tag  day,  which  was  celebrated  in  Bakersfield  in 
190',  nearly  $6,003  was  raised  to  pay  for  this  building,  the  site  for  which 
was  donated  by  Mrs.  Ellen  M.  Tracy.  Generous  men  of  Bakersfield  donated 
the  furniture.  In  all  of  this  work  Mrs.  Coolbaugh  bore  her  share  and  as 
superintendent  she  now  devotes  all  of  her  time  to  the  worthy  philanthropy, 
finding  a  constant  pleasure  in  the  thought  of  helping  these  little  ones  in  their 
unequal  struggle  against  adverse  circumstances.  The  Shelter  has  accommo- 
dations for  forty-six  children  in  single  Ijeds.  The  furnishings  are  simple  but 
substantial  and  the  arrangement  of  the  house  conduces  to  convenience.  Fer- 
ha])s  no  part  of  the  building  is  a  source  of  greater  pride  to  the  superin- 
tendent than  the  Sunshine  room,  a  bright,  sunny,  pleasant  room,  where 
the  sick  ones  are  cared  for  and  nursed  to  recovery,  and  where,  when  not 
needed  for  hospital  purposes,  the  children  enjoy  many  a  pleasant  hour  of 
recreation  and  play.  In  their  health  and  in  their  preparation  for  future 
usefulness  through  instruction  in  simple  tasks  suited  to  their  years,  the 
children  have  the  sympathetic  oversight  of  the  superintendent  and  the  other 
[)liilanthropic  women  whose  names  are  indissolulily  associated  with  this 
worthy  enterprise. 

ERNEST  L.  BLANCK.— A  life  of  varied  activities,  during  the  course 
c  f  which  he  has  been  familiar  with  conditions  in  three  different  parts  of 
the  world,  has  given  to  Mr.  Blanck  a  cosmopolitan  knowledge  of  men  and 
affairs.  The  first  eight  years  of  his  life  were  passed  in  New  Zealand,  where 
he  was  born  May  17.  1878.  Reared  in  Seattle  and  educated  in  its  i)ubhc 
schools,  he  was  on  the  threshold  of  maturity  when  in  1897  gold  was  dis- 
co\-ered  in  the  Klondike,  ^^'ith  eager  hopefulness  he  started  for  the  north. 
The  long  overland  journey  to  Dawson  was  safely  consummated  and  he 
then  began  to  prospect  in  the  gold  fields,  where  he  met  with  the  usual  round 
of  success  and  failure,  prosperity  and  adversity.  Taken  altogether,  how- 
ever, the  returns  were  satisfactory  and  when  finally  he  returned  to  Cali- 
fornia to  establish  a  home  he  still  left  interests  in  the  north  so  important 
and  \aluable  that  he  returns  each  summer  to  superintend  their  development. 

AX'ith  the  first  starting  of  a  village  on  the  site  of  Fellows  Mr.  Blanck 
came  to  the  new  place  in  January  of  1910  and  on  the  7th  of  February 
formed  a  partnership  with  H.  J.  Lawton  in  the  general  mercantile  business, 
buying  a  location  and  putting  up  a  suitable  building  which  the  firm  still 
(jccupies.  Accompanying  him  to  the  town  were  his  wife  and  only  child, 
Lois,  and  the  family  are  comfortably  established  in  a  home  of  their  own. 
Mrs.  Blanck,  prior  to  her  tnarriage  in  1902.  was  Miss  I".  E.  i'.oynton  and 
lived  in  Berkeley,  this  state.  Since  coming  to  this  county  Mr.  Blanck  has 
joined  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  in  Bakersfield.  During 
his  sojourn  in  Alaska  he  was  associated  with  the  Arctic  ISrotherhijod  and 
Camp  No.  7h.  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  at  Nome. 

The  store  of  Lawton  &  Blanck,  Inc.,  contains  the  Fellows  pi  stcifficc, 
for  Mr.  Lawton  was  chosen  the  fir.st  postmaster  May  26,  1910,  and  in  July, 
1912,  Mr.  Blanck  was  appointed  iiostmaster,  succeeding  his  said  ijariner, 
whose  interests  in  the  large  mercantile  store  he  bought  out  at  the  same  time. 
As  dealers  in  general  merchandise  Lawton  &  Blanck,  Inc.,  gained  a  wide 
reputation.     The  line  of  goods   is  the  best   of  its  kind.      Mr.    Blanck  acts  as 


868  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

exclusive  agent  for  the  canned  goods  of  Sussman  &  AVormser,  also  for 
Carson  gloves,  Hannan  shoes  and  Selz  Blue  shoes.  Not  only  does  he  main- 
tain a  large  trade  in  Fellows,  but  he  has  customers  in  the  entire  district 
surrounding  the  town.  His  two  delivery  autos  are  used  for  the  convenience 
of  customers  in  a  radius  of  six  miles  of  town. 

ALEXANDER  BERGES.— Born  in  France  March  19,  1862,  Alexander 
Herges  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  bade  farewell  to  friends  and  native  land 
and  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  new  world,  where  at  first  he  se- 
cured employment  in  San  Francisco.  In  1880,  three  years  after  his 
arrival  in  California,  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  with  this  section  of 
the  state  his  subsequent  interests  were  intimately  identified.  During  1889 
at  Bakersfield  occurred  his  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret  Rouquette,  a  native 
of  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  Cal.,  and  a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Dora  (Cer- 
vantes) Rouquette,  both  now  deceased.  As  a  girl  from  the  age  of  eight 
years  Miss  Rouquette  lived  on  Palata  ranch,  a  large  stock  farm,  of  which 
her  father  served  as  foreman  for  a  number  of  years.  Later  the  parents 
removed  to  Bakersfield  and  here  she  met  and  married  Mr.  Berges,  their 
union  resulting  in  the  birth  of  six  children,  namely;  .\lexander,  Jr.,  Leopold, 
Grace,  Henrietta,  Armand  and  Eugene. 

At  his  death,  which  occurred  on  Christmas  eve  of  1910,  Mr.  Berges 
left  to  his  family  a  valuable  estate,  including  the  Quitol  ranch  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  in  Ventura  county,  the  Sunset  ranch  of  six  hundred  and 
forty  acres  and  the  home  place  of  eighty  acres  on  Union  avenue  six  miles 
south  of  Bakersfield.  It  was  as  a  stockman  that  Mr.  Berges  made  his  greatest 
success  and  the  raising  of  sheep  was  his  specialty,  his  prominence  in  the 
occupation  proving  a  special  adaptation  for  the  work.  Since  his  death  Mrs. 
Berges  has  remained  at  the  elegant  country  residence  and  has  managed  her 
landed  and  stock  interests  with  the  assistance  of  her  oldest  son,  a  young- 
man  of  worth,  of  character  and  energy  of  temperament,  well  adapted  to  take 
up  the  father's  work  with  every  hope  of  future  success.  The  family  hold 
membership  with  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Bakersfield  and  are  gen- 
erous in  their  contributions  to  its  maintenance  as  well  as  to  general  philan- 
thropic projects. 

On  May  10,  1912,  occurred  an  accident  which  caused  added  sorrow  to 
the  Berges  family.  While  at  work  on  the  Sunset  ranch,  near  ^Maricopa,  the 
horse  which  young  Leopold  Berges  was  riding  fell  down  on  him  and  broke 
his  left  leg  above  the  knee.  As  a  result  of  this  injury  he  died  July  14,  1912. 
He  was  an  exceptionally  bright  and  able  young  man.  Although  less  than 
twenty-one  he  was  of  great  assistance  to  the  mother  in  operating  the  ranches. 

WITTEN  W.  HARRIS,  A.B.— The  ranks  of  labor  have  no  champion 
more  sincere  in  purpose,  more  brilliant  in  mind  or  more  helpful  in  counsel 
than  Witten  W.  Harris,  who  as  an  editor  of  the  Union  Labor  Journal  has 
cast  in  his  fortunes  with  those  of  the  great  army  of  workmen  toiling  cour- 
agCLUsly  for  their  daily  bread.  The  Kern  County  Labor  Council,  recogniz- 
ing the  imperative  necessity  of  a  sheet  devoted  to  their  own  interests,  estab- 
lished the  Union  Labor  Journal  during  1904  as  a  weekly  and  its  pages  have 
since  been  used  for  the  advancement  of  the  labor  organizations  of  this  local- 
ity, at  the  same  time  posting  all  readers  concerning  the  great  field  of  social- 
ism the  world  over.  The  Journal  is  a  six-column  quarto,  pungent  in  denun- 
ciation of  the  evils  of  the  age,  acute  in  criticism,  penetrating  in  its  analysis 
of  national  problems  and  characterized  by  an  editorial  policy  as  effecti\-e 
as  it  is  forcible. 

In  lineage  Mr.  Harris  represents  two  families,  these  (jf  Harris  and 
Witten,  that  have  been  identified  with  American  history  since  the  colonial 
period  and  that  had  representation  in  the  ])atriot  army  during  the  Revolu- 
tion.     His  parents,   W.   M .   and   Mary    (A\'itten)    Harris,   were 'born   in    Ken- 


c:^-^^^^  /:i^^^>2^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  871 

tiicky  and  \'irg'inia  respectively  ami  now  make  their  Imme  in  llakcrslicld, 
but  for  years  engaged  in  farming  near  Alljany,  Gentry  comity,  Mo.,  where 
the  father  held  the  office  of  county  assessor  for  several  terms.  The  original 
home  of  the  Harris  family  in  America  was  upon  the  eastern  shore  of  Mary- 
land, but  the  tide  of  migration  afterward  took  them  to  Kentucky  and  Mis- 
souri. There  were  eight  children  in  the  parental  family  and  all  are,y.now 
living,  the  third  being  Witten  W.,  who  was  born  near  Albany,  Gentry 
county.  Mo.,  August  17,  1872,  and  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools,  afterward  taking  the  complete  course  of  study  in  Christian  College 
at  Albany.  During  the  spring  of  1897  he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of 
A.R.,  after  having  paid  all  the  expenses  of  his  college  course  by  means  of 
teaching  and  preaching.  Ordained  to  the  ministr}'  of  the  Christian  Church, 
he  held  a  pastorate  at  Princeton,  Mo.,  prior  to  his  graduation  and  afterward 
he  was  elected  by  the  state  board  of  the  denomination  as  evangelist  for  the 
district  south  of  the  Missouri  river  in  the  state  of  Missouri.  For  two  years 
he  engaged  actively  in  evangelistic  work  through  all  of  Southern  Misscjuri 
under  the  auspices  of  the  society.  Meanwhile  he  had  been  a  deep  student 
of  theology.  The  result  of  his  studies  caused  him  to  espouse  the  cause  of 
the  higher  critical  school  of  Biblical  interpretation.  His  views  therefore  took 
him  away  from  the  teachings  of  the  church  to  which  he  belonged.  Heing  too 
liberal  for  sympathetic  and  harmonious  relations  with  the  church,  he 
resigned  his  position  and  retired  from  the  ministry. 

A  brief  connection  with  the  Cabool  Democrat  at  Cabool,  Texas  county, 
Mo.,  gave  Mr.  Harris  an  experience  in  the  work  of  editor  and  publisher  and 
after  he  had  sold  that  paper  he  held  similar  positions  with  other  journals. 
I'Vom  1905  until  1909  he  served  as  editor  of  the  Union  Labor  Journal  in 
Bakersfield,  but  retired  to  remove  to  Oakland  and  establish  the  Harris  print 
shop.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years  he  left  Oakland  on  account  of  the  ill 
health  of  his  wife.  Hoping  she  might  be  benefited  by  the  climate  of  New 
Mexico  he  established  a  home  near  Albuquerque,  but  the  change  proved  of 
no  avail  and  she  passed  away  in  June  of  1912,  leaving  four  children,  Gerald, 
Robert,  George  and  \\'itten.  She  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Louise  ■Murphy 
and  was  bi.rn  in  Dekalb  county,  Mo.,  but  her  marriage  was  solemnized  in 
Springfield,  Greene  county,  that  state.  After  her  demise  Mr.  Harris  returned 
to  Bakersfield  and  again  took  up  the  editing  of  the  Linion  Labor  Journal, 
which  owes  much  to  his  wise  editorial  policy  and  devotion  to  the  labor 
movement.  During  1909  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  con- 
trol of  the  Socialist  party. 

WILLIAM  G.  TALBOT.— The  Western  Pipe  and  Steel  Company  of 
California,  which  has  engaged  the  services  of  Mr.  Talbot  as  manager  of  its 
Taft  branch,  is  a  well-known  corporation  organized  under  the  laws  of  the 
state  and  dealing  in  steel  and  galvanized  tanks,  steel  well  casing,  riveted 
steel  water  pipe  and  irrigation  supplies.  In  the  oil  fields  of  Kern  county 
the  trade  of  the  company  has  mostly  to  do  with  oil  and  water  storage  tanks 
of  ever}'  size  and  description,  from  the  small  galvanized  iron  tank  to  the 
largest  steel  tank.  Stove-pipe  casing  also  is  manufactured  by  the  concern 
in  large  quantities,  while  the  Taft  shop  further  engages  in  riveted  steel  work. 
A  large  business  is  carried  on  in  the  irrigated  sections  of  the  county  in  the 
way  of  water-well  casing  and  water  pipe  for  surface  irrigation,  so  that  the 
company  in  its  various  departments  controls  an  extensive  and  valuable  trade. 
Besides  the  shop  and  office  at  Taft,  there  are  offices  at  San  Francisco,  Los 
Angeles  and  Fresno,  also  factories  at  Los  .\ngeles  and  Richmond,  so  that 
access  is  easy  and  shipments  prompt  to  every  portion  of  the  state. 

The  first  fourteen  years  in  the  life  of  William  G.  Talbot  were  ])assed 
ill  Bourbon  county,  Ky.,  where  he  was  born  November  7,  1882.  and  whence 
in    1896  he  came  to   California   in   compati\-    with    his   father.    Diidle\-   Talbot. 


872  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

The  family  settled  in  Los  Angeles  county  and  the  youth  grew  to  manhood 
there,  working  for  a  time  upon  the  orange  grove  of  his  father,  but  after 
sixteen  years  of  age  employed  in  business  houses  and  principally  retained  in 
a  clerical  capacity  in  railway  offices.  About  1910  he  became  connected 
with  the  Western  Pipe  and  Steel  Company  of  California,  founders  of  the 
second  supply  house  at  Taft,  where  a  building  was  erected  in  1908  and  T.  H., 
brother  of  W.  G.  Talbot,  put  in  charge  as  manager.  Until  William  G.  suc- 
ceeded to  the  management  of  this  shop  he  was  employed  at  Richmond  and 
Los  Angeles  by  the  same  company  and  meanwhile  gained  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  every  phase  of  the  work.  With  his  wife,  who  was  formerly  Aliss 
Lucy  Craig,  of  Kansas  City,  he  has  established  his  home  in  Taft,  where  he 
is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Petroleum  Club  and  popular  among  the  men 
of  the  West  Side  oil  field. 

R.  T.  BAKER. — More  than  one-half  century  of  progress  has  marked  the 
history  of  California  since  R.  T.  Baker  came  hither  with  a  small  expedition 
of  emigrants,  who  to  the  number  of  about  thirty,  including  men,  women  and 
children,  crossed  the  plains  during  the  summer  of  1857  and  early  in  the 
autumn  landed  safely  at  Sacramento,  he  then  being  about  twenty  years  old. 

Clark  county  in  Illinois  was  the  native  place  of  R.  T.  Baker  and  there 
his  father,  James,  died  at  the  age  of  seventy,  many  years  after  he  had 
removed  thither  from  his  native  Kentucky.  The  mother,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Malinda  Fry  and  was  born  in  South  Carolina,  came  to 
California  after  the  death  of  her  husband  and  made  her  home  with  her  son, 
R.  T.,  in  Los  Angeles  county,  where  she  passed  away  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
seven  years.  Upon  his  arrival  in  California  Mr.  Baker  had  proceeded  from 
Sacramento  to  Solano  county  and  had  engaged  in  farming  near  Dixon,  where 
he  made  his  home  from  1857  until  1895  and  then  for  seven  years  engaged  in 
farming  in  Los  Angeles  county.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  Miss  Mary  A. 
Bailey,  who  at  the  age  of  four  years,  in  1849,  had  iDeen  brought  across  the 
plains  from  Illinois  by  her  father,  Peter  Bailey,  a  pioneer  of  Solano  county, 
where  she  was  reared  to  womanhood.  Born  of  their  marriage  were  three 
children.  The  eldest,  Vina,  is  the  widow  of  Juhn  A.  Johnson  and  lives  in 
Kern  county.  The  only  son,  Frank  C,  is  engaged  in  the  oil  business  in 
Kern  county,  near  Maricopa,  and  the  youngest,  Louisa,  Mrs.  McGar.  died 
in  Yolo  county,  leaving  six  children. 

Having  purchased  in  1902  a  tract  of  land  in  Kern  county  Mr.  Baker 
brought  his  family  to  this  place  and  since  then  has  devoted  his  attention  to 
the  improvement  of  his  property,  which  comprises  twenty  acres  on  section 
19,  about  twelve  miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  Quietly  following  the  duties 
of  his  chosen  occupation  and  caring  little  for  outside  activities,  he  never- 
theless maintains  a  warm  interest  in  all  movements  for  the  general  upbuild- 
ing of  Kern  county.  Ever  since  he  cast  his  first  presidential  ballot  for 
Abraham  Lincoln  he  has  continued  a  stanch  advocate  of  Republican  prin- 
ciples and  a  voter  for  measures  promulgated  by  the  leaders  of  that  party. 
Various  fraternal  organizations  have  had  the  benefit  of  his  active  co-opera- 
tion, most  important  of  these  having  been  the  blue  lodge  of  Masons,  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

EDWARD  C.  KELLERMEYER.— The  Independent  Well  Supply  Com- 
pany, of  which  Mr.  Kellermeyer  is  treasurer  and  in  the  promotion  of  which 
he  has  maintained  a  warm  interest,  was  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  Cali- 
fornia .April  6,  1912,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $500,000.  Practically  a  closed 
corporation,  its  stock  has  not  been  placed  upon  the  market  and  its  stock- 
holders have  been  fully  satisfied  with  the  management  of  their  interests  on 
the  part  of  the  directors  of  the  ccncern.  The  main  office  of  the  company  is 
located  in  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield  building  at  Bakersfield  and  the  officers 
are  as   follows:   William    II.    I<>nneman,   of  Coalinga,   president;  William    H. 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  875 

Landme3-er.  of  Los  Angjeles.  vice-president ;  Clarence  \\' ilson,  of  Bakeistield, 
secretary ;  and  E.  C.  Kellermeyer,  treasurer,  also  manager  of  the  Taft  branch. 

Identified  with  the  Taft  branch  of  the  concern  since  June  of  1912  and 
a  resident  of  California  since  1901,  Mr.  Kellermeyer  came  west  equipped  for 
practical  work  bj'  thorough  training  as  a  machinist  and  by  superior  mechan- 
ical skill  that  already  had  made  him  an  expert  in  the  building  and  repair- 
ing (if  bicycles  and  in  similar  tasks.  lie  is  a  native  of  the  city  of  Indian- 
apolis, Ind.,  and  was  born  January  13,  1876,  being  a  son  of  A.  I*".  W.  and 
Minnie  (Teckenbrock)  Kellermeyer.  The  latter,  a  native  of  Germany,  was 
brought  to  America  in  infancy  and  grew  to  womanhood  in  Indianapolis, 
where  her  parents  were  pioneers.  The  former,  a  mechanic  by  trade,  still 
follows  his  chosen  occupation  in  Indianapolis,  and  in  the  same  city  the 
paternal  grandfather,  a  native  of  Germany,  now  eighty-seven  years  of  age, 
had  a  long  and  active  career  as  a  railroad  mechanic  and  inspector.  The 
parental  family  included  five  children,  named  as  follows :  Harry,  a  machinist 
employed  at  his  trade  in  Indianapolis ;  Edward  C,  the  only  member  of  the 
family  to  leave  his  native  city;  Walter,  who  is  connected  with  the  Indianap- 
olis fire  department;  Charles,  an  employe  of  the  Indiana  Trust  Company  in 
Indianapolis;  and  Clara,  who  is  employed  by  a  large  business  corporation 
of    Indianapolis. 

Having  completed  the  studies  of  the  grammar  school,  Edward  C.  Keller- 
meyer served  an  apprenticeship  of  four  years  to  the  trade  of  machinist  with 
Sinker  &  Davis  and  meanwhile  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  iccu- 
pation.  The  bent  of  his  mind  was  toward  such  work  and  he  has  shown 
unusual  aptitude  in  the  care  and  repairing  of  machinery.  At  the  expiration 
of  his  apprenticeship  he  engaged  with  the  Standard  bicycle  works  in  Indian- 
apolis for  two  years  and  for  a  similar  period  he  was  with  the  Waverly 
Bicycle  Company,  after  which  he  held  a  trusted  position  as  machinist  with 
the  Central  bicycle  works,  also  in  Indianapolis.  After  a  year  with  the  last- 
named  concern  he  went  to  Logansport,  Ind.,  and  secured  employment  in 
the  shops  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company.  Coming  to  California 
in  1901,  he  secured  work  as  a  roustabout  with  the  \V.  T.  McFie  Supply 
Ceimpany  of  Los  Angeles  From  the  delivery  force  he  worked  his  way  up 
to  be  a  city  salesman.  June  29,  1902,  he  arrived  in  Bakersfield,  from  which 
point  he  proceeded  to  the  Kern  river  oil  fields  and  for  nine  months  remained 
there  as  a  field  solicitor.  Returning  to  Los  Angeles  he  remained  for  a  year, 
then  came  back  to  the  Kern  river  field  and  entered  the  service  of  the  33 
Oil  Company  as  a  lease  foreman.  A  year  later  he  resigned  the  position, 
returned  to  Los  Angeles  and  resumed  work  for  the  W.  T.  McFie  Supply 
Company,  whose  supply  department  he  superintended  for  nine  months,  .\s 
an  employe  of  the  Oil  Well  Supply  Company  he  arrived  in  Maricopa  ;\Iay 
1,  1'07.  Four  months  later  he  was  sent  over  to  McKittrick  to  take  charge 
of  the  branch  at  that  point.  After  a  year  as  manager  of  that  branch  he  was 
transferred  to  Moron  (now  Taft),  where  he  built  the  Oil  Well  Supply  Com- 
pany's store.  On  the  completion  of  the  store  he  became  its  manager  and 
continued  to  fill  the  position  with  the  greatest  efficiency  until  he  resigned, 
April  1,  1912,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  the  Independent  Well  Supply 
Company.  Since  coming  to  Taft  he  has  been  interested  in  various  local 
organizations  and  enterprises,  particularly  the  Taft  Petroleum  Club,  of 
which  he  is  a  charter  member.  His  marriage  took  place  in  Coalinga  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Florence  J.  Williams,  daughter  of  B.  C.  Williams, 
who  is  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business  at  that  place. 

JOHN  E.  HUBBARD.— The  Buckeye  state  gave  to  California  in  the 
first  and  second  generations  many  citizens  of  thrift,  enterprise  and  high 
moral  character,  who  have  taken  a  manful  part  in  the  work  of  development 
which  has  made  the  state  one  of  the  greatest  in  the  Union.     John   F..    Hub- 


876  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

bard  of  Delano,  Kern  count}',  was  born  in  Butte  county,  Cal.,  December  8, 
1872,  a  son  of  William  and  Nancy  (McBride)  Hubbard.  The  father  was 
born  near  Ottawa,  Putnam  county,  Ohio,  July  9,  1849,  and  the  mother  was 
born  in  Hancock  county,  that  state,  June  22,  1850.  Of  their  marriage,  which 
occurred  near  Sacramento,  January  1,  1872,  six  children  were  born.  The  elder 
Mr.  Hubbard  was  blessed  with  only  limited  educational  advantages  in  the 
east  and  early  in  life  began  to  give  his  attention  to  agriculture.  In  1864  he 
came  to  California  and  settled  in  Yolo  county,  where  he  farmed  for  a  time, 
or  until  he  pre-empted  a  tract  of  his  own  near  Oroville,  Butte  county.  After 
remaining  there  for  two  years  he  returned  to  Yolo  county  and  resumed  farm- 
ing. Later  he  was  similarly  employed  in  Stanislaus  county  until  1884,  when 
he  located  in  Fresno.  From  there  in  1886  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  located 
seven  miles  east  of  Delano,  where  he  took  up  a  homestead  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  which  has  been  his  home  ever  since.  Besides  the  homestead 
he  also,  with  his  son,  is  the  owner  of  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  which 
is  devoted  to  grain  raising.  In  connection  with  his  agricultural  endeavors 
he  takes  contracts  for  leveling-  land  for  alfalfa  and  orchard  purposes,  using 
a  large  steam  roller  in  the  operation. 

The  six  children  comprising  the  parental  family  are  John  Edson,  Chaun- 
cey  N.,  Rachel  E.  (Mrs.  Simpson  of  Munson),  Rilla  A.,  Oren  F.,  and  Archie 
F.  John  E.,  the  eldest  of  the  family,  was  early  in  life  enrolled  in  a  public 
school,  where  he  continued  his  studies  until  1879.  Later  he  was  a  student 
for  three  years  in  the  public  school  at  Oakdale,  Stanislaus  county.  After  the 
removal  of  his  parents  to  Fresno  he  continued  his  studies  there  until  1884. 
Coming  to  Kern  county  with  his  parents  in  1886,  he  busied  himself  until  he 
was  nineteen  years  old  in  assisting  his  father  on  the  farm.  By  the  time  he 
was  twenty-one  he  was  master  of  the  secrets  of  successful  farming  and  his 
father  took  him  as  his  partner  in  a  dry  farming  enterprise  which  has  proved 
a  successful  undertaking.  For  three  years,  from  1905  to  1908,  they  farmed 
in  Tulare  Lake  basin,  but  on  account  of  floods  during  the  rainy  season  their 
efforts  did  not  meet  with  the  results  they  had  anticipated.  In  connection 
with  their  farming  they  operate  a  steam  harvester  and  leveler,  a  thoroughly 
up-to-date  outfit  which  has  been  in  wide  demand.  In  April,  1908,  John  E. 
Hubbard  married  Miss  Alice  Harris,  who  was  born  in  Missouri. 

HARVEY  NEWTON  McCULLOUGH.— An  illustration  of  the  power 
of  a  determined  will  in  the  overcoming  of  obstacles  appears  in  the  life  activi- 
ties of  Mr.  McCullough,  who  during  boyhood  encountered  many  vicissitudes 
and  endured  countless  hardships.  The  family  were  of  southern  birth  and 
associations,  yet  of  Union  sympathies,  hence  they  suffered  from  the  Civil 
war  in  an  unusual  degree  and  undoubtedly  the  heaviest  loss  of  all  was  the 
death  of  the  father  while  serving  with  the  First  Arkansas  Infantry  in  the 
Federal  army.  This  gallant  soldier,  Marion  R.  McCullough,  was  born  in 
North  Carolina  and  became  a  pioneer  of  Arkansas,  where  he  started  to 
improve  a  tract  of  raw  land.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  Lovenia  Robinson, 
a  native  of  North  Carolina,  who  died  in  February,  1856,  and  their  only  child, 
Harvey  N.,  was  born  August  17,  1853,  at  the  home  farm  near  Harrison, 
Boone  county.  Ark.  After  he  left  home  to  serve  under  the  flag  of  the  Union 
news  was  scant  and  privations  many  for  his  son  left  behind.  It  was  learned 
that  he  had  been  captured  and  held  as  a  prisoner  of  war  and  later  word  came 
of  his  death  from  hardships.  The  community  being  intensely  southern  in 
sympathy,  the  boy  was  taken  to  Missouri  by  the  federal  troops  for  protec- 
tion, and  found  refuge  at  Springfield,  that  state,  where  he  remained  until  it 
was  safe  for  him  to  return  to  the  old  homestead.  Going  back  about  1866, 
he  found  the  stock  stolen,  the  farm  despoiled  and  the  old  home  scarcely  fit 
for  human  habitation,  but  he  undertook   its   restoration. 

On  account  of  all  these  privations  it  had  not  been  possible  for  the  youth 
to  attend  school.     At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  began  to  feel  his  deprivations 


/^a^A.^-^  ^^  pf 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  879 

so  greatly  that  he  determined  to  attend  school  and  for  several  years  he  was 
a  pupil  in  free  and  pay  schools.  ^Vhen  finally  in  1876  he  completed  the 
course  of  study  in  Crooked  creek  school  district,  he  was  presented  with  a 
quilt  made  by  thirty-six  young  ladies,  each  of  whom  had  sewed  her  name 
into  a  piece  of  the  quilt.  Through  all  the  changes  of  later  years  this  present 
was  retained  and  no  diploriia  ever  gave  to  its  recipient  greater  pleasure  than 
the  handiwork  of  these  young  girls.  In  1877  Mr.  McCullough  traveled  with 
ox-teams  to  the  Round  valley  in  Arizona,  where  he  arrived  after  a  trip  of 
ninety-five  days.  The  following  year  he  proceeded  to  Phoenix,  Ariz.,  and 
took  up  farming,  but  in  the  same  year  he  went  back  to  Arkansas.  During 
the  return  trip,  which  was  made  with  horses,  he  had  an  encounter  with  the 
Apaches  and  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life.  Returning  to  .A.rkansas  and 
resuming  agricultural  pursuits,  he  continued  there  until  1882,  after  which 
he  spent  a  year  at  Silver  City,  N.  M.  For  some  years  afterward  he  engaged 
in  farming  near  Phoenix,  Ariz.,  and  from  there  came  to  California  in  1889, 
settling  at  Bakersfield.  For  a  year  he  teamed  in  the  employ  of  H.  A. 
Jastro,  and  on  his  return  after  a  brief  trip  to  Phoenix  he  became  interested 
in  raising  strawberries  on  the  Kern  river,  where  he  owned  an  apiary.  Five 
years  later  he  sold  out  and  returned  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  opened  a  wood 
yard  on  the  corner  of  Humboldt  and  Sacramento  streets.  Since  then  he 
has  continued  at  the  same  location  and  meantime  has  built  up  a  large  trade 
in  groceries,  grain,  hay,  feed  and  fuel.  At  this  writing  he  owns  two  corners 
with  two  residences  and  has  recently  completed  a  brick  store  building, 
40x150  feet  in  dimensions.  His  famil_y  consists  of  one  daughter  and  two 
sons,  namely :  Mrs.  Mary  Sterwalt,  of  San  Diego ;  James,  who  is  engaged 
in  farming  at  Phoenix,  Ariz.;  and  David,  who  assists  his  father  in  the 
grocery,  feed  and  fuel  business.  In  politics  Mr.  McCullough  gives  stanch 
support  to  Republican  principles,  while  fraternally  he  has  been  prominently 
connected  with  the  local  work  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias. 

ALBERT  HAMILTON  CASTRO.— The  ancestral  home  of  the  family 
was  in  Mexico,  where  was  born  the  father  of  Albert  Hamilton  Castro,  by  name 
Domitilo  Castro,  he  in  turn  being  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Concepcion  (Coro- 
nado)  Castro,  both  natives  of  Mexico. 

It  was  in  1867  that  the  grandfather  of  Mr.  Castro  brought  his  family 
to  Kern  ci  unty  to  embark  in  the  stock-raising  business  three  miles  south- 
east nf  the  present  town  of  Bakersfield.  Homesteading  a  half  section,  he 
later  became  owner  of  a  stock  range  in  the  Breckenridge  mountains,  having 
at  the  time  a  great  number  of  head  of  stock,  and  at  his  death,  January  14, 
1900,  he  left  to  his  nine  children  a  substantial  heritage.  His  wife,  who  was 
the  daughter  of  Jesus  Coronado,  a  pioneer  of  Califcirnia,  passed  away  in 
Bakersfield  April  25,  1897.  Domitilo  Castro  was  the  third  in  order  of  liirth 
of  their  children,  and  with  them  he  received  the  benefits  derived  from 
the  public  schools  of  the  district.  Remaining  on  his  father's  ranch  he  fol- 
lowed stock-raising  for  many  years  and  September  6,  1879,  married  Miss 
Lucy  Cage,  who  was  a  native  of  Napa  county,  Cal.,  and  the  daughter  of 
Edward  and  Macaria  (Areneas)  Cage,  the  former  born  in  Mississippi  and 
the  latter  a  native  of  Mexico.  Besides  Mr.  Castro's  home  five  miles  south 
of  Bakersfield  he  owns  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres  at  the  mouth  of  Fort 
Tejon  cai'ion,  and  where  he  ranges  his  cattle,  bearing  the  brand  DC.  Jn  I'Hl 
he  left  the  ranch  to  move  to  his  residence  at  No.  1101  Brown  street.  I'.akers- 
field,  which  he  had  built.     He  also  owns  other  property  in  Bakersfield. 

The  children  born  to  Domitilo  Castro  and  his  wife  were:  Alarguerite. 
who  is  a  trained  nurse  at  Oakland;  Frank,  who  is  a  blacksmith  in  Coalinga 
and  is  married  to  Effie  Godley.  of  Bakersfield ;  Louis,  who  is  an  oil  man  at 
Mojave:  Albert  H.  and  Andrew  M.,  twins,  the  latter  an  oil  driller  at  Taft  for 
the  K.  T.  &  O.  Company;  Adlai.  in  the  employ  of  the  American  Petroleum 
Oil  Company :   Lucv   M.,    Felix  C.   and   .Vmelia,   at   home.     Of  these    Albert 


880  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Hamilton  Castro  was  born  in  Bakersfield  September  29,  1886.  After  gradu- 
ation from  the  .e^ramniar  school  he  attended  high  school  and  then  took  a 
course  at  the  Bakersfield  Business  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 
1908.  He  immediately  found  employment  in  the  Sunset  oil  field  at  Maricopa, 
where  he  became  a  tool-dresser.  In  the  latter  capacity  he  worked  for  the 
Western  Minerals  Oil  Company  and  continued  in  their  employ  for  fifteen 
months.  In  1911  he  assumed  the  management  of  his  father's  ranch,  five  miles 
south  of  Bakersfield,  where  he  raises  chiefly  alfalfa,  hay  and  barley  and  is 
making  a  success  of  it.  His  forty  acres  of  alfalfa  he  cuts  five  times  a  year, 
his  annual  product  amounting  to  two  hundred  tons  of  alfalfa,  while  he  also 
raises  annually  fifty  tons  of  barley.  He  has  also  taken  up  a  one  hundred 
and  sixty-acre  tract  in  the  Rreckenridge  mountains,  twentv-seven  miles  east 
of  Bakersfield. 

Mr.  Castro  is  a  trustee  of  the  P'airview  school  district,  and  is  greatly 
interested  in  the  cause  of  education.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Red- 
men,  Woodmen  of  the  World,  and  the  Knights  of  Columbus. 

JOSE  J.  LOPEZ. — The  honored  old  Castilian  family  of  Lopez  became 
established  in  the  new  world  when  Claudio  Lopez,  an  officer  in  the  Spanish 
army,  crossed  the  ocean  during  one  of  the  revolutions  that  occasionally  dis- 
rupted Mexico  and  gave  efficient  service  in  the  quelling  of  the  disturbances. 
In  recognition  of  his  capable  assistance  the  Mexican  government  appointed 
him  an  Indian  agent  for  Southern  California  and  he  established  his  home 
at  San  Gabriel,  Los  Angeles  county,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until 
his  death.  Next  in  line  of  descent  was  Estavan,  a  native  of  San  Gabriel  and 
a  lifelong  resident  of  Los  Angeles  county,  where  he  died  after  many  years 
of  successful  identification  with  the  stock  industry.  The  following  genera- 
tion was  represented  by  Geronimo  Lopez,  who  was  born  in  Los  Angeles  and 
is  now  living  in  the  San  Fernando  valley,  hale  and  robust  notwithstanding 
his  eighty-four  useful  and  active  years.  Until  he  retired  from  business  cares 
he  engaged  extensively  in  the  raising  of  sheep  and  cattle  and  ranked  among 
the  leading  stockmen  of  his  locality.  His  old  homestead,  situated  one  and 
one-half  miles  north  of  San  Fernando,  has  been  purchased  by  a  company 
which  intends  to  build  thereon  the  last  dam  of  the  Los  Angeles  aqueduct. 
During  early  manhood  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Catherine  Lopez 
and  thus  became  allied  with  a  family  whose  maternal  ancestors  held  rank 
among  the  prominent  pioneers  of  Southern  California.  Under  the  priesthood 
administration  her  father,  Pedro  Lopez,  a  native  of  Los  Angeles,  held 
office  as  administrator  of  the  mission  of  San  Fernando,  but  his  main  occu- 
pation in  life  was  that  of  stock-raiser  and  for  many  years  he  followed  that 
pursuit  with  industry  and  fair  success.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Lopez,  has  reached 
the  age  of  eighty-one  years  and  is  physically  and  mentally  vigorous  for 
one  of  that  advanced  age. 

The  family  of  Geronimo  and  Catherine  Lopez  coniprised  sixteen  chil- 
dren, of  whom  eight  daughters  and  two  sons  are  now.  living.  Jose  J.,  the 
eldest  of  all,  was  born  at  the  family  homestead  in  Los  Angeles  October  22, 
1853,  and  at  the  age  of  seven  years  accompanied  the  family  to  the  San  Fer- 
nando valley.  Until  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  alternated  his  time  between 
Los  Angeles  and  the  ranch,  meanwhile  attending  the  public  schools  and 
also  gaining  under  his  father  a  very  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  stock 
business.  Coming  to  Kern  county  as  early  as  1874,  he  embarked  in  the  sheep 
business  and  made  his  headquarters  at  the  Tejon  for  three  years.  Meanwhile 
his  success  with  his  flock  attracted  the  attention  of  others  and  led  to  his 
selection  as  manager  of  the  sheep  industry  for  General  Beale  at  Rancho  el 
Tejon.  During  the  seven  years  of  his  incumbency  of  the  position  of  manager 
he  had  charge  of  about  sixty  thousand  head  of  sheep.  At  the  expiration  of 
that  time  the  sheep  industry  was  turned  over  to  J.  W.  Forbes  and  Mr.  Lopez 


s4 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  883 

was  transferred  to  the  cattle  and  horse  departments,  Ijoth  of  whicli  he  super- 
intended fur  twenty-one  years.  In  these  industries  no  less  than  with  sheep 
he  proved  exceptionally  resourceful,  sa^^acious  and  succesful.  Finally, 
twenty-eight  years  after  he  had  become  identified  with  the  ranch,  he  was 
chosen  its  manager,  at  the  same  time  being  appointed  manager  of  Ranclio 
Costec.  la  Liebre  and  Los  Alamos,  by  Truxtun  Beale,  with  whom  he  can- 
tinued  for  four  years  or  until  1909,  when  he  retired,  after  an  identification  of 
thirty-two  years  with  the  Beale  interests,  and  removed  to  Bakersfield,  erecting 
a  residence  at  No.  1203  Chester  avenue.  On  May  1,  1912.  the  Tejon  Ranch 
Company  that  purchased  all  of  the  interest  in  the  estate  of  the  late  Gen.  E.  F. 
Beale,  comprising  the  four  above-na.:ied  ranches  with  stock  and  improve- 
ments, induced  Mr.  Lopez  to  accept  the  management  of  the  four  ranches, 
and  he  is  once  more  actively  engaged  in  the  management  of  large  affairs 
with  which  he  has  been  so  closely  identified  in  Kern  county.  On  his  large 
ranch  of  eight  hundred  acres  near  Gorham  station  he  keeps  fine  droves  of 
cattle,  using  not  only  the  brand  of  L  with  a  cross,  but  also  L  with  an  Indian 
arrow,  which  brand  was  used  by  his  father  for  sixty-three  years. 

The  marriage  of  Jose  J.  Lopez  was  solemnized  in  Bakersfield  May  27, 
1885,  uniting  him  with  Miss  Mary  Winter,  who  was  born  at  La  Providencia 
rancho,  near  Burbank,  Los  Angeles  county,  the  daughter  of  James  P.  and 
Jennie  (Christie)  Winter,  natives  of  Aberdeen,  Scotland.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lopez 
have  one  daughter,  Margaret  Pearl.  L^pon  coming  to  the  United  States  ATr. 
and  Mrs.  ^^'inter  crossed  the  plains  to  California,  locating  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  state.  They  now  make  their  home  in  Kern  county,  near  the 
Tejon  ranch. 

HUGH  A.  BLODGET.— The  records  of  the  family  show  that  Arba 
Blodget,  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  a  soldier  of  the  war  of  1812,  migrated 
to  New  York  state,  and  took  up  land  from  the  Holland  Land  Company.  An  ac- 
cident caused  his  death  while  yet  he  was  in  the  prime  of  usefulness.  The  farm 
which  he  had  purchased  in  Chautauqua  county,  N.  Y..  and  which  extended 
over  the  state  line  into  Pennsylvania,  was  the  birthplace  of  his  son,  Wil- 
liam O.,  and  grandson,  Hugh  .-V.,  but  the  former,  having  little  taste  for 
agriculture,  gave  up  farming  for  merchandising.  Upon  the  outbreak  of  the 
Civil  war  he  ofTered  his  services  to  the  Union  and  aided  in  raising  a  com- 
pany, of  which  he  was  chosen  lieutenant.  AV'hile  a  member  of  Reynolds 
division,  fighting  in  front  of  the  historic  stone  wall  at  Gettysburg,  he  was 
slightly  wounded,  and  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1865,  when  he  was  forty-one 
years  old,  was  the  result  of  exposure  and  arduous  campaign  duty.  Three 
days  before  his  death  his  wife  passed  away,  leaving  three  orphan  children. 
Prior  to  her  marriage  she  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Esther  A.  Spencer.  Born 
in  W'arren  county.  Pa.,  she  was  a  member  of  an  old  established  family  of 
that  section. 

Hugh  A.  Blodget  was  born  October  2?i.  1855,  and  was  about  ten  years  of 
age  at  the  time  he  was  doubly  (jrphaned.  During  the  next  seven  years  he 
made  his  home  with  his  maternal  grandmother  and  meanwhile  took  a  course 
in  the  Jamestown  Collegiate  Institute.  Quite  early  in  life  he  became  self- 
supporting  and  destiny  turned  his  steps  toward  the  west.  During  Decem- 
ber of  1872  he  arrived  at  Windsor,  Sonoma  county,  poor  in  purse,  but  rich 
in  hope.  For  two  years  he  clerked  in  a  store  during  the  winters  and  worked 
nn  a  ranch  in  the  summer.  After  coming  to  Kern  county  he  worked  on  a 
ranch  for  about  two  months,  after  which  for  two  years  he  served  as  clerk 
in  the  office  of  the  county  recorder.  Next  he  became  bookkeeper  in  the 
Kern  Valley  Bank.  During  1884  he  was  chosen  cashier  of  the  bank  and  in 
1902  was  made  its  president,  but  the  following  year,  owing  to  the  pressure  of 
outside  business,  he  retired  from  the  bank,  since  which  he  has  devoted  his 
energies  largely  to  oil  development  aufl  refining  business. 


884  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

One  of  the  first  promoters  of  the  oil  industry  in  the  Sunset  region,  dur- 
ing 1890  Mr.  Blodget,  associated  with  Solomon  Jewett  and  Charles  Barnard, 
put  down  the  first  wells  drilled  in  that  district,  but  the  project  did  not 
prove  a  success  and  Air.  Barnard  withdrew  from  the  field.  .Although  Messrs. 
Blodget  and  Jewett  continued  further  experiments  with  undiminished  energy, 
it  was  not  until  1897  that  they  met  with  any  results.  Mr.  Blodget  organized 
the  Phoenix  Refining  and  Manufacturing  Companj'  in  1907  with  Arthur 
Webster  as  its  manager  and  himself  as  president,  since  which  time  the  com- 
pany has  built  up  a  large  refining  plant.  The  enterprise  then  started  has 
developed  into  one  of  much  importance  to.  Bakersfield  and  Kern  county  and 
is  the  largest  manufacturing  concern  in  the  city  and  county.  This  corpora- 
tion on  its  own  account  and  that  of  its  allied  companies  maintains  a  monthly 
pay  roll  of  approximately  $5000,  which  supnorts  many  families  and  which  is 
distributed  among  the  various  merchants  of  Bakersfield.  It  uses  exclusively 
in  the  manufacture  of  its  various  products,  oils,  distillates  and  greases,  Kern 
county  crude  oils  and  Kern  county  fullers  earth.  Through  the  medium  of  its 
superior  and  economic  gas  engine  distillates  and  lubricating  oils,  which  are 
sold  at  prices  which  represent  only  a  reasonable  profit  on  the  cost  of  manu- 
facture, this  corporation  will  be  instrumental  to  a  large  degree  in  rapidly 
developing  this  and  adjoining  counties  through  pump  irrigation.  Mr. 
Blodget  expresses  himself  as  feeling  a  pardonable  pride  in  this  achievement 
as  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Kern  county  for  more  than  thirty-nine  years. 
Those  competent  to  judge  assert  that  no  one  has  done  more  than  Mr. 
Blodget  to  encourage  and  develop  the  oil  business  in  Kern  county.  His 
ample  facilities  for  ascertaining  facts  and  his  clear  judgment  have  been  given 
to  the  industry  from  the  first,  while  his  reputation  for  reliability  has  counted 
for  much  in  the  business.  In  addition  to  aiding  in  the  development  of  the 
oil  producing  and  oil  refining  business  he  has  been  a  leading  factor  in  local 
enterprises  of  permanent  benefit.  The  first  sewer  system  of  the  town,  a 
private  enterprise,  received  his  financial  aid.  Railroad  and  street  transporta- 
tion have  been  nromoted  by  his  foresight ;  also  the  gas  and  electric  light 
systems.  As  a  director  of  the  Bakersfield  Board  of  Trade  he  has  encouraged 
all  measures  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  city.  That  he  has  a  firm  faith  in  his 
chosen  town  appears  from  his  many  investments  in  real  estate  and  in  the 
building  of  an  elegant  residence,  where  he  and  his  wife,  formerly  Miss  A.  L. 
Park,  dispense  a  gracious  hospitality.  Mrs.  Blodget,  who  was  born  in 
Wisconsin  and  came  to  California  during  1878,  is  the  mother  of  three  chil- 
dren, Haselton  P.,  Ruth  and  Anna  L. 

Frateinally  connected  with  the  Masons.  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Benev- 
olent Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Mr.  Blodget  has  been  a  local  leader  in 
each  order.  In  politics  he  always  has  supported  Republican  principles.  Into 
whatever  line  of  activity  he  has  entered  his  fine  mental  endowments  have 
proved  helpful  to  the  work  in  question.  Particularly  has  this  been  the 
case  in  educational  afifairs.  A  firrh  believer  in  the  public  schools,  he  has 
given  freely  of  his  time,  means  and  intelligence  to  promote  the  educational 
system  of  Bakersfield  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  name  any  citizen  whose 
contribution  to  this  line  of  public  welfare  has  been  of  more  value  than  his 
own.  Apoointed  on  the  school  board  May  24,  1898,  he  was  regularly  chosen 
to  the  office  at  the  ensuing  election.  Ever  since  that  time  he  has  served  as 
president  of  the  board.  Under  his  incuinbency  the  schools  have  increased 
in  enrollment  four  fold,  while  in  efficiency  they  have  reached  a  point  abreast 
of  the  best  schools  of  the  state.  The  natural  energy  and  wise  zeal  charac- 
terizing Mr.  Blodget  in  all  of  his  other  dealings  has  been  carried  into  this 
department  and  the  result  has  Iieen  highly  gratifying  to  all  patrons  of  the 
city  schools. 


Ikf^A^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  887 

WILLIAM  J.  DOHERTY.— A  son  of  William  Al.  ami  Alice  (Kcville) 
Doherty,  he  was  burn  at  Derby,  Orleans  county,  Vi.,  in  1848.  Derby  lies  near 
the  line  of  Quebec  and  a  little  further  to  the  north  in  that  province,  at  Sher- 
brooke,  the  father  owned  and  operated  a  large  farm  fur  }-ears,  also  engaged  in 
lumbering  there  and  in  Vermont,  shipping  ship  timbers  to  Portland  and  con- 
tinuing in  the  lumber  industry  as  long  as  he  lived.  In  this  way  the  son 
gained  a  thorough  knowledge  i^if  such  work  and  later  he  was  sent  to  Lowell, 
ATass.,  (the  native  place  of  his  mother)  to  serve  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade 
of  a  carpenter.  Upon  the  completion  of  his  apprenticeship  he  worked  as  a 
journeyman  for  three  years  at  Fall  River  and  for  a  similar  period  at  Worcester, 
Mass.,  after  which  in  1876  he  came  to  California  and  followed  his  trade  in  San 
Francisco  and  Oakland.  Thence  he  went  to  Arizona  and  devoted  three  years 
to  contracting  and  building  at  Tucson.  Upou  his  return  to  California  he 
helped  to  build  up  Tulare,  after  a  disastrous  lire  had  almost  destroyed  the 
town.  Meanwhile  in  1875  his  brother,  George  C,  had  established  himself  in 
the  building  business  at  Bakersfield  and  also  had  engaged  in  the  management 
of  an  apiary,  continuing  both  lines  of  work  until  his  death  in  1894.  He  served 
for  one  term  as  supervisor  of  Kern  county  and  filled  other  positions  of  local 
trust. 

A  visit  to  this  brother  gave  Mr.  Doherty  an  opportunit}'  to  bid  on  the 
construction  of  the  Southern  he  tel.  The  contract  was  given  him  and  in  1889 
he  erected  the  hotel,  but  sixty  days  after  he  had  turned  it  over  to  the  owners 
it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Meanwhile  he  had  joined  with  his  brother  in  the 
bee  business.  In  diiiferent  parts  of  the  county  he  had  from  twelve  hundred 
to  fifteen  hundred  colonies,  but  these  he  sold  upon  engaging  in  the  lumber 
business.  AVhile  he  has  built  many  houses  in  Bakersfield,  including  his  own 
residence  at  No-  2504  Nineteenth  street,  and  has  also  had  contracts  for 
important  public  buildings,  including  that  for  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in 
1905,  his  leading  business  associations  have  been  with  the  lumber  industry. 
After  he  completed  the  Southern  hotel  he  was  absent  from  the  city  for  a  year 
and  upon  his  return  in  1890  he  became  interested'  in  the  lumber  business.  A 
company  of  men  had  been  organized  to  take  over  five  thousand  acres  of  timber 
land  on  M(,unt  Breckenridge  and  under  the  title  of  the  Kern  County  I^umber 
Compan}-  they  built  a  saw  mill.  A  road  was  built  to  the  mill  on  the  east  slope 
of  the  mountain,  about  thirty-five  miles  from  Bakersfield. 

From  the  first  the  Fresno  Flume  Company  made  a  determined  effort  tu 
put  the  new  concern  out  of  business.  The  easiest  way  to  accomplish  their 
purpose  was  to  drop  the  price  of  lumber.  This  they  did,  so  that  the  organ- 
ization at  Bakersfield,  after  operating  the  mill  for  two  years  at  a  great  loss, 
abandoned  all  effort  to  continue  their  enterprise.  Their  troubles  were 
enhanced  by  the  sudden  death  of  their  manager,  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  the  stock 
of  the  company  was  almost  worthless.  About  that  time  Mr.  Doherty  nego- 
tiated with  a  Bakersfield  lumber  firm  to  buy  their  business  and  take  over 
their  yard.  Having  almost  closed  the  deal,  he  ordered  a  large  consignment 
of  lumber  from  Oregon.  Meantime  the  Fresno  company  bought  the  yard  after 
secret  negotiations.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  find  a  place  to  unload  his 
lumber,  shipped  from  Oregon,  so  he  secured  the  corner  of  Eighteenth  street 
and  Chester  avenue  and  started  in  business.  His  next  step  was  to  go  to  Fresno 
and  endeavor  to  buy  mountain  pine  from  the  company  there,  but  they  refused 
to  sell.  Immediately  he  secured  an  option  to  lease  the  property  of  the  Kern 
County  Lumber  Company  on  Alount  Breckenridge  and  when  he  had  taken 
over  the  mill  and  lumber  he  incorporated  the  Union  Lumber  Company,  witli 
himself  as  president,  manager  and  sole  owner.  Heavy  teams  were  utilized 
to  haul  the  pine  lumber  to  the  Iiakersfield  yard.  A  need  for  more  space  cause<l 
him  in  1902  to  buy  another  yard  on  the  corner  of  Truxtun  and  Chester  avenue. 
where  now  stand  the  new  Hall  of  Records  and  the  Catholic  Church.     .\  vear 


888  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

after  he  had  established  a  yard  at  that  point  he  was  burned  out,  whereupon 
he  bought  one  and  one-half  blocks  on  I  and  Fifteenth  streets,  along  the  Santa 
Fe  Railroad,  where  he  established  a  new  lumber  yard  and  built  and  operated 
a  planing  mill  and  box  factory  in  connection.  In  the  fall  of  1905  he  sold  the 
business  to  J.  H.  Mallett  of  San  Francisco,  who  still  operates  the  Union 
Lumber  Company  at  the  same  location. 

Having  purchased  in  1911  the  entire  tract  and  holdings  of  the  old  Kern 
County  Lumber  Company,  consisting  of  forty-seven  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
with  a  large  area  of  timber,  approximating  forty  million  feet,  Mr.  Doherty 
immediately  prepared  to  resume  the  manufacture  of  lumber  and  put  the  roads 
in  shape  so  that  gasoline  trucks  could  haul  heavy  loads  from  the  mill  to 
Bakersfield.  His  long  experience  and  thorough  knowledge  of  timber  con- 
ditions in  this  part  of  the  state  give  promise  of  continued  success  in  the  lumber 
business.  While  carrying  on  extensive  business  afifairs  he  has  not  withheld 
his  support  from  civic  enterprises,  but  has  been  a  liberal  contributor  to  move- 
ments for  the  advancement  of  Bakersfield  along  every  line  of  endeavor.  His 
first  marriage  united  him  with  Miss  Theresa  Leeper,  by  whom  he  had  one 
son.  Earl  L.,  now  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  at  Larkspur,  Marin 
county.  He  married  (second)  Gertrude  Borgwardt  of  Bakersfield  and  has 
two  children,  Keville  and  William  Henry.  His  present  wife,  whom  he  married 
in  Bakersfield  in  the  year  1904,  was  Miss  Lillie  C.  McClaskey,  a  native  of 
Marysville,  Cal.  Aside  from  taking  part  in  numerous  social  and  literary 
organizations  she  is  identified  with  the  Rebekahs  and  Mr.  Doherty  also 
belongs  to  that  lodge,  besides  being  a  member  of  the  Bakersfield  Lodge  and 
Encampment,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  The 
father  of  Mrs.  Doherty,  Hon.  Calvin  McClaskey,  crossed  the  plains  with  a 
large  expedition  during  the  summer  of  1851  and  settled  in  Yuba  county.  An 
attorney  by  profession,  he  turned  his  attention  to  law  practice  after  having 
endeavored  in  vain  to  find  a  fortune  in  the  mines.  During  1872  he  established 
an  office  at  Susanville  and  for  years  he  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Lassen 
county.  Through  his  service  as  county  judge  he  received  the  title  of  Judge 
McClaskey,  by  which  he  was  known  among  his  acquaintances.  While  still 
a  resident  of  Yuba  county  he  was  elected  to  the  state  assembly  and  served 
during  the  sessions  of  1869-70,  while  during  1883  and  1884  he  served  as 
assemblyman  representing  Plumas,  Lassen  and  Sierra  counties.  His  marriage 
at  Virginia  City,  Nev.,  in  1865,  united  him  with  Miss  Anna  J.  Slavin,  who  two 
years  before  had  come  from  the  east  by  way  of  Panama.  As  a  legislator  he 
achieved  considerable  prominence. 

GEORGE  A.  McLEAN. — Possession  to  a  marked  degree  of  unusual 
business  abilit_y  and  well-grounded  information  of  his  particular  line  has  been 
evidenced  in  the  responsible  position  held  by  George  A.  McLean,  who,  after 
entering  the  employ  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  so  proved  his 
valuable  services  that  he  was  promoted  to  the  superintendency  of  the  North 
Side  Canals  with  headquarters  at  what  is  known  as  the  Calloway  headquar- 
ters in  the  company.  A  Canadian  by  birth,  he  is  of  Scotch  extraction,  his 
father,  Archie  McLean,  being  a  native  of  Scotland.  When  a  young  man  the 
father  had  come  to  Ontario  to  follow  his  trade  of  mason,  but  instead  he  em- 
barked in  contracting  and  building.  In  about  1888  he  came  to  Riverside, 
Cal.,  where  he  followed  contracting  mason  work,  later  removing  to  Colton. 
While  at  Riverside  he  was  engaged  in  constructing  the  Gage  canal  for  the 
Riverside  Water  Company.  He  still  makes  his  home  at  Colton,  having  fol- 
lowed contracting  in  different  parts  of  California.  His  wife,  before  her  mar- 
riage. Phoebe  Harris,  was  born  in  Ontario,  and  she  is  making  her  home  in 
Colton,  in  the  enjoyment,  with  her  husband,  of  a  beautiful  afternoon  of  life. 
Of  their  family  of  four  children  three  survive. 

The  second  eldest  child  of  his  parents,  George  A.  McLean  was  born  in 


c^.    C^,     ''O.^-.-Scic-^  /^^Oi-t^s^Si 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  891 

Catlicart,  Ontario,  May  3.  18S4,  and  a  few  vcars  later  was  brought  to  Cali- 
fornia by  his  parents,  who  gave  him  splendid  opportunities  for  an  education. 
After  graduating  from  the  local  high  school  at  Colton  he  entered  the  San 
Bernardino  lUisiness  College  and  was  graduated.  l)eing  thoroughly  equipped 
to  enter  the  business  world.  For  the  subsequent  year  he  was  in  the  employ 
of  the  Colton  Cement  Company  as  storekeeper,  and  then  entered  the  sur- 
veying denartment  of  the  Ray  Cities  Water  Company,  spending  most  of  the 
time  in  Santa  Clara  county.  His  next  employment  was  with  the  Union  Con- 
struction Company  at  Calaveras  and  Tuolumne  counties  in  the  engineering 
department  on  the  construction  of  power  plants,  and  then  was  with  the 
Pacific  Improvement  Company  on  a  topographical  survey  of  the  peninsula. 
In  1008  he  came  to  Bakersfie'.d  to  work  in  the  engineering  department  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  continuing  in  this  connection  until  March,  1910, 
when  he  started  his  association  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  as 
liookkeeper  and  foreman  at  the  Calloway  headquarters.  It  was  not  long, 
however,  when  his  qualities  and  fitness  for  the  special  line  of  work  attracted 
his  superiors  and  on  January  1,  1911,  he  was  made  superintendent  of  the 
North  Side  Canals  with  his  headquarters  at  the  above  ranch. 

Mr.  McLean's  marriage  occurred  in  Colton  to  Miss  Cora  Lee  Sisson, 
who  was  born  in  Missouri.  Two  children  bless  their  union,  Edith  Lee  and 
Virginia  Phoebe. 

A.  C.  JULIUS  KIRSTEN.— A  native  of  the  kingdom  of  Prussia  the 
subject  of  this  biographical  review  was  born  at  Nordhausen  December  7, 
1859,  being  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Emelia  (P""erchland)  Kirsten,  natives  of 
Germany  and  lifelong  residents  of  Prussia.  For  many  years  the  father  offici- 
ated as  mayor  of  Rossla.  By  trade  he  was  a  glazier.  The  only  child  in  the 
family  was  Julius,  who  was  educated  in  the  Kelbra  gymnasium  and  served 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  confectioner  at  Nordhausen.  On  the  close 
of  his  term  he  went  to  Russia  in  1878  and  found  work  at  his  trade  succes- 
sively in  St.  Petersburg.  Moscow  and  Odessa.  When  the  time  for  military 
examination  drew  near  he  returned  to  Germany,  but  there  was  exempted 
from  service,  so  he  immediately  started  for  New  York.  After  landing  Janu- 
ary 29,  1882,  he  experienced  no  delay  in  securing  employment  in  a  bakery 
in  the  metropolis,  where  during  the  same  year  he  married  Miss  Frances 
Pope,  who  died  in  October  of  1888.  Meanwhile  he  had  come  to  California 
and  worked  for  five  months  in  San  Francisco.  Later  he  followed  his  trade 
for  three  years  in  Honolulu.  Upon  returning  to  San  Francisco  he  bought 
a  bakery,  but  the  business  proved  unprofitable  and  he  went  to  Guatemala, 
where  for  fourteen  months  he  engaged  in  business.  Next  we  find  him  in  Costa 
Rica.  After  four  years  in  that  and  other  Central  American  states  and  four 
months  in  New  Orleans,  during  1896  he  returned  to  San  Francisco,  where 
he  followed  his  trade  at  the  ciifif  House.  Later  he  was  similarly  engaged 
in  Spokane,  Colorado  Springs  and  El  Paso.  From  the  last-named  city  he 
traveled  into  Mexico,  then  returned  to  the  east  on  a  tour  of  inspection,  later 
finding  employment  in  Denver,  Colo.  There  was  much  to  interest  him  in 
these  various  places  and  sections  of  the  country,  nor  did  he  find  less  inter- 
esting the  three  years  spent  in  Arizona.  ]\Ieanwhile  a  tract  of  land  he  had 
owned  in  Washington  was  sold  and  with  the  money  he  bought  a  bakery 
at  Florence,  Cal.,  but  at  the  expiration  of  ten  months  he  si  Id  out,  and  .August 
16,  1908,  settled  in  Mojave,  where  on  J  street  he  erected  the  building  in 
which  is  housed  his  present  fine  bakery  and  delicatessen.  In  politics  he  is 
a  Republican. 

HON.  MILTON  T.  FARMER.— The  judge  of  the  superior  curt  depart- 
ment No.  3  of  Kern  county  has  the  distinction  of  being  a  native  son  as 
well  as  a  descendant  of  a  California  pioneer  of  18.S0  and  a  representative  of 
old    .American    stuck    identified    with    the    cnjunial    and    Revolutionarv    eras. 


892  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Tradition  associates  the  Farmer  family  with  man_v  interesting;  events  in  the 
Olfl  Di  minion,  whence  some  of  the  name  crossed  the  mountains  into  Ken- 
tnck-A'.  From  the  Blue  Grass  state,  his  native  commonwealth,  George  Farmer 
migrated  to  Iowa  and  settled  among  the  pioneer  farmers  at  Riverton,  a  fron- 
tier community  of  small  population.  From  that  region  he  went  to  the  front 
with  an  Iowa  regiment  during  the  Civil  war.  His  service  was  made  note- 
worthy by  ccnspicuous  valor  and  one  of  the  war  heroes  passed  away  when 
he  met  his  death  from  a  wound  received  while  campaigning  in  Tennessee. 
;\mong  the  surviving  members  of  his  family  there  was  a  son,  George  Thomas 
Farmer,  born  at  Riverton,  Iowa,  and  a  pioneer  of  Yolo  county,  Cal.,  where 
he  married  Miss  Gertrude  Ruggles,  a  member  of  a  family  identified  with 
New  England  during  colonial  times  and  represented  in  the  army  of  patriots 
during  the  Revclution.  Born  in  Woodland,  Cal.,  !\Irs.  Farmer  was  a 
daughter   of   L.   D.    Ruggles,   a   native   of   Illinois    and    a   California    pioneer 

of  isso. 

After  a  somewhat  prolonged  sojourn  in  Yolo  county,  during  which  time 
IVIilton  T.  Farmer  was  born  at  Woodland  December  7,  1883,  the  Farmer 
family  .sought  a  more  southerly  location  and  during  1884  became  residents 
of  Tulare  county,  where  the  father  was  a  witness  of  the  historic  Mussel 
Slough  fight.  The  famih'  comprised  eight  children,  of  whom  the  four 
youngest,  Theodore  P.,  Paul,  Clarence  W.  and  Lucile  B.,  make  their  home 
with  their  parents  in  Kings  county.  The  eldest  daughter,  Leta  D.,  is  the 
wife  of  Dr.  Lincoln  Cothran,  of  San  Jcse.  The  second  son,  Lyman  D.,  is 
the  present  sheriff  of  Kings  county,  and  the  second  daughter,  Ethel  R.,  is  the 
wife  of  Simon  Levy,  a  banker  of  Visalia.  From  his  earliest  memories  Judge 
Farmer  was  reared  on  a  ranch  in  Tulare  county,  where  he  completed  the 
grammar-school  course  of  study  in  the  Excelsior  district,  one  of  his  earliest 
teachers  having  been  Harry  Weems,  now  of  Wasco.  After  he  had  grad- 
uated from  the  Hanford  high  school  in  1901  he  matriculated  in  the  San  Jose 
State  Normal  and  continued  in  that  institution  until  he  had  completed  the 
studies  in  1903.  As  principal  of  the  Grangeville  school  in  Kings  ci  unty  he 
proved  to  possess  a  decided  bent  for  the  high  calling  of  a  teacher  and  it 
was  with  universal  regret  on  the  part  of  the  patrons  of  the  school  that  his 
resignation  was  accepted  in  January,  1906,  in  order  that  he  might  pursue  the 
social  science  course  of  study  in  the  University  of  California.  In  addition 
he  took  up  the  study  of  law.  During  1909  he  received  the  degree  of  A.B. 
and  two  years  later  the  degree  of  doctor  in  jurisprudence  was  tendered  to 
him.  During  the  period  of  his  connection  with  the  institution  he  played  on 
the  Varsity  football  team  with  high  honors  and  for  two  years  engaged  as 
manager  of  athletics. 

A  period  of  connection  with  the  office  of  Judge  Bolton  in  San  Francisco 
and  the  management  of  a  private  office  associated  with  W.  J.  Hayes  of  Oak- 
land, gave  Judge  Farmer  considerable  experience  in  the  law.  In  December, 
1911,  he  was  appointed  as  one  of  the  counsel  for  the  State  Banking  department, 
but  resigned  the  p(  sition  in  1912,  as  well  as  relinquishing  his  lucrative  pri- 
vate practice,  in  order  that  he  might  accept  an  appointment  tendered  by 
Governor  Johnson  .August  14,  1913,  as  judge  of  superior  court  department  3, 
Kern  county,  in  which  most  responsible  post  he  has  justified  the  wisdom  of 
the  appointment  and  proved  his  wide  knowledge  of  the  law.  His  marriage 
took  place  .August  21,  1912,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Helen  M.  Yo.ung,  of 
Berkeley,  a  native  daughter  of  Visalia,  but  reared  principally  in  Seattle. 
\A'ash.,  and  a  graduate  of  the  LTniversity  of  California.  The  only  child  of 
the  union  is  Milton,  Jr.  Aside  from  his  association  with  the  bench  and  the 
bar  Judge  l-'armer  has  numerous  affiliations,  being  a  member  of  Pomero}' 
Caj)ter,  Phi  Delta  Phi,  LTniversity  of  California;  Phi  Beta  Kanpa,  National 
Scholarshii)  Fraternitv;  fianford  Parlor  No.  37,  X.  S.  G.  W. ;  Durant   Lodge 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  895 

No.  268,  1".  &  A.  .\I..  of  I'.erkeley,  Lns  An.uclcs  Cmisistorv.  and  I'.crkclcv 
Lods-e  Xo.  1002.  Order  of  Klks. 

MERCY  HOSPITAL.— The  new  and  ek'sanl  Mercy  lIosi)iial.  which 
occupies  a  block  of  ground  on  Truxtun  a\enue  between  15  and  C  streets,  is  a 
branch  of  and  was  built  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  whose  Mtther  House  is 
located  at  West  Washington  and  Concord  streets.  Los  Angeles.  The  Bakers- 
field  institution  dates  from  February  19.  1910.  when  the  St.  Clair  property, 
near  the  Santa  Fe  depot,  was  secured.  It  was  soon  discovered  that  this  loca- 
tion was  too  noisy  for  a  hi  spital  site  and  the  block  on  which  it  now  stands 
was  bought  and  the  building  removed  to  it  and  enlarged.  The  new  Ijuilding, 
which  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Conaty  November  9.  1913,  is  on  the  Spanish 
renaissance  order,  constructed  of  concrete  below  the  ground,  while  above  it 
is  brick  plastered  with  white  Medusa  cement  and  inlaid  tapestry  brick. 
It  is  108x48  feet  in  dimensions  and  is  three  stories  high,  with  a  high  base- 
ment besides.  A  C(  mplete  steel  frame  forms  the  center  of  the  building  and  the 
roof  is  of  Spanish  tile.  Thirty-six  private  rooms,  the  greater  number  oi  them 
with  private  baths,  constitute  this  hospital  and  there  is  on  each  floor  a  well- 
equipped  diet  kitchen.  In  the  center  of  the  building  is  an  electric  automatic 
passenger  elevator,  which  was  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  city.  The  stair- 
ways are  located  one  at  each  end  of  the  building.  Two  glass  sun  parlors  and 
a  large  veranda  fir  the  patients  are  located  on  the  ground  floor,  and  the 
operating  department,  which  is  said  to  be  without  exceiition  the  finest 
equipped  in  the  state,  having  every  facility  with  which  to  obtain  the  best 
possible  results,  is  on  the  third  floor.  A  great  many  special  features  have  been 
provided  for  the  lighting  of  the  operating  department  as  well  as  the  entire 
building,  an  electric  light  signal  system  is  installed,  the  entire  lighting 
arrangement  being  a  decidedly  fine  addition. 

The  interior  of  the  building  is  finished  in  white  enamel,  all  the  doors 
being  finished  in  mahogany.  A  vacuum  steam  heating  plant,  which  is  also  a 
source  of  supply  for  the  sterilizers  and  the  diet  kitchens,  provides  the  heating. 
Separate  kitchen  and  laundry  room  are  located  at  the  rear  of  the  hospital 
building  and  the  old  hospital  of  two  stories  is  connected  with  the  new  by 
means  of  a  steel  bridge.  In  connection  with  the  hospital  the  Sisters  manage 
a  large  parochial  school,  under  the  St.  Francis'  church,  the  pastor  of  which  is 
Father  H(  Iden,  who  is  given  further  mention  elsewhere. 

CHARLES  HENRY  McCOY.— Even  prior  to  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
California  a  cnnsiderable  amnnnt  of  emigration  had  been  turned  toward  the 
west  and  as  early  as  1848  the  AlcCoy  family  joined  a  party  of  home-seekers 
whose  course  of  travel  took  them  across  plains,  deserts  and  mountains,  and 
through  Nevada  near  the  present  site  of  Winnemucca.  Toward  the  end  of 
the  tedious  journey  the  Indians  became  more  and  more  annoying.  Finally, 
in  fear  of  their  lives,  the  McCoy  family  deflected  their  path  from  the  destina- 
tion originally  planned  and  turned  north  into  Modoc  county,  where  they 
became  the  very  first  white  settlers  in  Surprise  valley.  Taking  up  land,  they 
embarked  in  the  cattle  industry.  Abundance  of  water  and  pasturage  enabled 
them  to  prosper,  but  for  years  they  continued  to  find  the  red  men  troublesome. 
.\n  old  log  house  on  Eagle  creek  was  fortified  for  use  whenever  the  Pitt  River 
or  Modoc  Indians  went  on  the  war-path.  John  Henry  McCoy,  who  was  a 
native  of  Arkansas,  had  not  attained  man's  estate  at  the  time  of  the  migration 
to  the  west  and  all  of  his  active  life  was  ])assed  in  Modoc  county,  where  he 
was  prominent,  honored  and  influential.  While  serving  as  sherifif,  which 
office  he  filled  with  energy  and  courage,  he  was  shot  down  in  cold  blood  by  a 
Mexican.  The  white  settlers,  aroused  by  the  death  of  a  pioneer  of  such 
splendid  qualities  of  manhood,  lynched  the  murderer.  Surviving  Mr.  McCoy 
were  his  young  wife  and  two  sons.  The  elder.  Charles  Henry,  is  a  resident 
of  Kern   county,  and   the  }-ounger.  James,   who   went   to  Oregon,  is   now   an 


896  HISTORY   OF  KERN   COUNTY 

extensive  rancher  of  Lake  county.  The  wife  and  mother,  Elizabeth  (Moulton) 
McCoy,  was  brought  across  the  plains  in  infancy  by  her  parents,  who  became 
pioneers  of  Surprise  valley.  After  the  death  of  her  husband  she  continued 
in  the  cattle  business  and  is  still  living  at  Bear  ranch,  the  old  homestead. 

On  the  Modoc  county  ranch  Charles  Henry  McCoy  was  born  January  31, 
1870,  and  there  he  was  reared  to  manhood.  In  1877  his  father  was  murdered. 
At  that  time  and  even  later  Indians  frequently  made  raids  into  the  valley  and 
stole  the  cattle,  so  it  was  necessary  to  maintain  an  unceasing  vigilance.  From 
his  earliest  recollections  he  was  familiar  with  horses  and  accustomed  to  the 
saddle.  While  yet  a  small  child  he  began  to  ride  the  range  and  round  up  the 
cattle.  As  soon  as  he  was  old  enough  to  manage  the  stock,  his  mother  turned 
the  supervision  of  the  property  over  to  him,  but  the  failure  of  his  health 
forced  him  to  seek  a  different  climate.  Acting  upon  the  advice  of  physicians 
he  went  to  Arizona  in  1895.  Some  time  was  spent  in  that  territory  and  in 
New  Mexico  and  Colorado,  where  he  was  interested  in  the  cattle  business. 
During  1899  he  was  one  of  five  men  appointed  by  the  United  States  govern- 
ment to  serve  as  "broncho  busters"  in  the  Philippines.  After  his  arrival  at 
the  seat  of  war  he  engaged  in  breaking  and  training  wild  horses.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  Boxer  disturbance  he  was  sent  to  China  with  the  American 
troops,  remaining  at  Pekin  until  quiet  had  been  restored,  when  he  was  ordered 
to  return  to  the  Philippines.  Having  completed  the  work  of  training  horses, 
he  was  placed  in  charge  of  pack  trains  in  different  parts  of  the  islands.  More 
than  once  he  was  forced  into  skirmishes  with  the  natives,  but  in  each  instance 
he  came  off  victorious. 

Returning  to  California  in  1906,  Jlr.  McCoy  came  to  Kern  county  the 
following  year  and  secured  employment  in  riding  after  cattle  on  the  range. 
During  1909  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
and  became  a  stationary  engineer  at  Caliente,  where  now  he  has  charge  of 
the  pumping  plant.  Besides  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Honey 
Lake  valley  he  owns  sixty  acres  of  fertile  land  in  the  Weed  Patch.  His 
marriage  was  solemnized  in  Lassen  county  and  united  him  with  Miss  Katherine 
Bond,  a  native  of  that  county  and  a  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Bond,  now  living 
retired  on  his  large  ranch  in  the  Honey  Lake  valley.  Three  sons,  Marvin, 
Bernard  and  Lester,  comprise  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCoy.  In  addi- 
tion to  caring  for  her  husband  and  sons  with  exemplary  diligence  and  house- 
wifely skill,  Mrs.  McCoy  has  been  an  earnest  worker  in  the  Methodist  Church, 
an  official  member  of  the  Native  Daughters  of  the  Golden  West,  and  a  leading 
member  of  the  Rebekahs  and  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

IRA  B.  DAVIS.— Since  1911  Ira  B.  Davis  has  been  a  resident  of 
Caliente,  where  as  a  clerk  under  John  Ripley,  postmaster,  he  became  familiar 
with  the  management  of  the  office,  winning  recognition  as  a  capable  man  in 
such  responsibilities  and  rendering  possible  his  own  appointment  as  post- 
master in  June,  1913.  In  filling  the  office  he  has  for  a  deputy  his  wife,  who 
also  engages  as  operator  of  the  Caliente  long  distance  telephone. 

Springhill,  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  is  the  native  place  of  Ira  B.  Davis 
and  January  27,  1851,  the  date  of  his  birth,  his  parents  being  Benjamin  and 
Sarah  (Patton)  Davis,  natives  respectively  of  Kentucky  and  Virginia,  but 
during  their  married  life  residents  of  Ohio.  The  father  died  on  the  home 
farm  in  1873,  having  survived  his  wife  for  many  years.  Of  their  fourteen 
children  all  but  one  attained  years  of  maturity  and  three  of  the  sons  were 
soldiers  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war.  Two  events  impressed 
themselves  vividly  uoon  the  youthful  years  of  Mr.  Davis,  one  of  these  being 
the  departure  of  his  older  brothers  for  the  war  and  the  other  being  the  death 
of  his  mother.  With  these  exceptions  his  early  life  was  uneventful.  He 
attended  the  country  schools  and  the  St.  Paris  high  school  and  in  vacations 
assisted  his  father  on  the  home  farm.  Upon  leaving  school  he  learned  the 
butcher's  trade  at  West  Lil)erty,  but  did  not  like  the  occupation  and  turned 


HISTORY    OF   KERN    COUNTY  897 

to  otlier  pursuits.  l"'or  a  tinn'  he  clerked  in  a  general  store.  Folluwiny  the 
drift  of  emigration  toward  the  west,  he  took  up  land  in  Kansas  during  1880 
and  developed  a  farm  near  Burlingame,  Osage  county. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Da\is  was  solemnized  at  Empuria.  Kan..  March 
25,  1881,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Belle  Beckes,  who  was  born  in  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  and  received  an  excellent  education  culminating  in  a  course  of  study  in 
the  Emporia  Normal.  For  a  time  prior  to  her  marriage  she  engaged  in  teach- 
ing school  in  Kansas.  Her  parents,  Caleb  and  Mary  (Graham)  Beckes,  were 
natives  of  Indiana.  After  the  death  of  Mrs.  Beckes  in  that  state  the  father 
removed  to  Kansas  in  1859  and  took  up  a  claim  in  Osage  county,  where  he 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  The  last  days  of  his  life  were  passed  in 
Emporia.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  Davis  remained  in  Kansas  and  continued 
in  farming  until  1893,  when  he  removed  to  Salem.  Fulton  county,  Ark.  Later 
he  spent  some  time  in  Missouri,  but  removed  from  there  in  1900,  after  which 
he  spent  four  years  with  the  Sandoval  Manufacturing  Company  in  Sandoval, 
111.  For  a  time  he  later  engaged  as  a  foreman  with  a  manufacturing  concern 
at  Galesburg,  that  state.  Upon  resigning  his  position  in  1911  he  came  to 
Caliente,  since  which  time  he  has  been  connected  with  the  postofifice.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  are  stanch  believers  in  Republican  principles,  but  partisanship 
has  not  entered  into  their  service  in  the  office,  which  has  come  to  them  through 
meritorious  service  rather  than  political  prestige.  Mrs.  Davis  has  been  iden- 
tified with  the  Presbyterian  denomination  since  girlhood.  In  fraternal  rela- 
tions Mr.  Davis  is  a  member  of  the  Court  of  Honor.  Their  only  daughter, 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Schanbert.  is  living  in  Colorado,  her  home  being  at  Cripple 
Creek. 

JAMES  LINDSAY  BRUCE.— During  the  nineteenth  century  represen- 
tatives of  the  Bruce  family  came  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  to  the  shores 
of  America  and  established  themselves  in  Canada,  where  for  many  years 
George  Bruce,  a  son  of  the  original  immigrant,  engaged  in  the  drilling  of  oil 
wells  and  the  operating  of  oil  leases  at  Petrolea,  County  Lambton,  Ontario, 
near  the  river  St.  Clair.  Since  his  demise,  which  occurred  in  his  home  town, 
his  widow,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  Lindsay  and  was  born  in 
Ontario,  has  removed  to  California  and  is  now  living  in  Bakersfield.  Of  their 
seven  children  there  now  survive  four  daughters  and  one  son,  James  Lindsay, 
who  was  next  to  the  oldest  among  the  children  and  was  born  at  Petrolea, 
Canada,  August  2,  1876.  As  a  boy  he  became  familiar  with  that  narrow  strip 
of  country  lying  between  Lakes  Huron  and  St.  Clair.  The  family  home  was 
only  fifteen  miles  from  the  river  that  joins  these  two  lakes  and  he  was  there- 
fore very  near  to  the  United  States.  While  yet  a  small  boy  he  began  to 
assist  his  father  in  such  work  as  was  possible  for  him  to  do  in  the  oil  business. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  became  a  tool  dresser.  Two  years  later  he  became 
a  driller,  running  a  string  of  tools.  When  about  twenty  years  of  age  he 
ceased  to  work  for  his  father  and  began  in  the  employ  of  other  oil  operators. 

Coming  to  California  in  1901  and  seeking  the  oil  regions  of  Kern  county, 
Mr.  Bruce  drilled  on  25-Hill  one  of  the  first  wells  sunk  there.  In  1902  he 
became  an  employe  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company,  .^t  first  he  filled  a  very 
humble  position.  Gradually  he  worked  up  from  one  position  to  another,  each 
more  important  than  the  former,  and  at  the  expiration  of  four  years  he  was 
made  general  superintendent  of  the  company's  afTairs  in  the  Kern  river  field. 

After  having  been  connected  with  the  company  for  ten  years  Mr.  Bruce 
resigned  August  1,  1912,  in  order  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  the  automobile 
business  and  to  his  personal  interests.  The  Southern  garage,  of  which  he  is 
now  the  proprietor,  stands  at  the  corner  of  Twenty-fifth  street  and  Chester 
avenue  and  in  construction  represents  the  mission  type  of  architecture.  Brick 
and  cement  used  in  the  building  render  it  practically  fireproof.  The  storage 
capacity  is  sufficient  for  fifty  cars.  Reliable  work  is  done  at  reas  inable  prices. 
Repairing  is   done   ])r(im]itl\-   and   satisfactorilv.     He   has   the   agency    for   the 


898  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Buick  automobile  for  Kern  county  and  the  garage  is  also  the  headquarters 
for  the  Packard,  Chalmers  and  other  cars.  Every  facility  is  to  be  found  in 
the  garage  in  the  way  of  modern  machinery  and  improved  tools.  The  vul- 
canizing shop  is  complete  and  expert  service  is  guaranteed.  Although  the 
present  proprietor  has  been  connected  with  the  business  for  a  short  time  only, 
he  has  gained  great  popularity  among  owners  of  automobiles  and  has  won  his 
share  of  repair  work  as  well  as  orders  for  new  cars.  In  addition  to  his  inter- 
ests in  Bakersfield  he  owns  property  in  Los  Angeles  and  also  has  forty  acres 
of  fine  orange  land  in  the  Porterville  district.  In  politics  he  is  stanchly 
Republican,  while  socially  he  holds  membership  with  the  Bakersfield  Club. 
After  coming  to  California  he  married  in  Bakersfield  Miss  Maude  Lingwood, 
who  was  born  in  Missouri.    They  have  two  daughters,  Velma  and  Silva. 

B.  H.  SILL. — Long  before  the  American  occupancy  of  California  had 
becc  me  an  historic  fact  Daniel  Sill  had  identified  his  destiny  with  that  of 
the  then  unknown  West,  where  with  his  own  hands  and  the  aid  of  such  few 
carpenters'  tools  as  he  could  secure  he  put  up  the  fifth  house  ever  built  in 
San  Francisco.  (This  was  the  Sill  blacksmith  shop  marked  35  on  picture 
of  San  Francisco  1846-7.)  His  first  trip  to  this  country  occurred  as  early  as 
1832,  when  the  Spanish  and  the  Indian  inhabitants  had  as  yet  been  undisturbed 
in  their  dreamy,  contented  existence  by  the  arrival  of  throngs  of  eager, 
enterprising  settlers  of  ether  races.  It  was  as  an  employe  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Fur  Company  that  the  young  man  had  come  to  the  West  from  Michigan, 
where  he  left  his  wife  and  children  to  await  his  return.  The  fascination  of 
the  West  impelled  him  to  remain,  and  in  1850  his  family  joined  him,  among 
them  being  a  son,  Daniel,  Jr.,  who  came  overland  from  Dowagiac,  Mich. 
Meanwhile  the  energetic  pioneer  had  followed  various  occupations  besides 
working  for  the  fur  company.  His  trade  of  blacksmith  earned  him  a  livelihood 
at  various  places.  For  a  time  he  engaged  in  the  stock  business  at  Monterey 
and  after  gold  was  discovered  he  spent  some  time  at  the  placer  mines,  later 
engaging  in  the  building  business.  Daniel,  Jr.,  spent  his  mature  years  prin- 
cipally in  the  Santa  Clara  and  Sacramento  valleys,  where  he  engaged  in 
farm  pursuits.  Both  he  and  his  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sarah 
Mayhew,  are  now  deceased. 

The  next  to  the  youngest  among  eight  children,  six  of  whom  are  still 
living,  B.  H.  Sill  was  born  in  Santa  Clara  County,  Cal..  June  7,  1869,  and 
grew  to  manhood  upon  a  farm  in  the  Sacramento  Valley.  While  still  a 
very  small  child  he  was  bereaved  by  the  death  of  his  mother.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  he  became  an  apprentice  in  a  carriage  factory  at  Marysville,  this  state, 
where  he  served  for  six  years,  meanwhile  gaining  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
carriage-making.  The  occupation,  however,  did  not  interest  him  and  when 
his  apprenticeshin  had  been  terminated  he  began  to  work  on  a  farm  owned 
by  Hon.  Leland  Stanford  in  Tehama  County,  this  state,  where  he  helped  to 
plant  Aa'c  thousand  acres  in  a  vineyard  of  choice  grapes.  Later  he  aided  in 
the  establishing  of  a  winery  and  distillery  on  the  ranch.  During  the  five  years 
of  his  employment  with  Governor  Stanford  he  attended  school  at  Vina. 

As  early  as  1850  Mr.  Sill  made  a  trip  to  Bakersfield,  but  it  was  not  until 
1898  that  he  became  a  permanent  resident.  Meanwhile  he  had  been  employed 
at  Seattle  and  Spokane  as  well  as  in  other  western  cities.  Shortly  after  his 
arrival  in  this  city  he  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  Fred  Gunther 
Comnany,  capitalized  at  $15,000,  of  which  he  is  the  president.  In  politics 
he  has  voted  with  the  Democratic  party  ever  since  he  became  of  the  age 
required  for  the  exercise  of  the  franchise.  Fraternally  be  is  connected 
with  the  Elks.  By  his  first  wife,  Catherine  Collins,  he  has  one  son,  Daniel, 
now  a  student  in  the  Harvard  Military  school  in  Los  Angeles.  After  the 
death  of  his  first  wife  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Catherine  Bresna- 
ham,   a   native   of   Grand   Rapids,   Mich.,   and   one    son,    Benjamin    N.,   l^lesses 


a.f  ft 'J  IMi 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  901 

their  union.  Aside  from  other  interests  Mr.  Sill  since  ccunino-  to  Kern  t'oiinty 
lias  bought  oil  lands  and  acquired  ])art  ownership  in  oil  wells. 

BERNARD  BIMAT.— Since  1906  he  has  owned  and  worked  forty  acres 
imder  the  east  side  canal  eight  miles  southeast  of  Bakersfield,  where  alfalfa 
is  raised  profitably  by  the  aid  of  abundant  irrisjation  and  where  he  also  has 
given  profitable  attention  to  the  raising  of  Percheron  horses  and  sheep.  His 
judgment  concerning  horses  is  seldom  at  fault.  At  a  glance  he  seems  able 
to  detect  defects  and  appraise  values,  this  being  the  result  of  natural  intuition 
and  early  experience  in  the  business.  From  boyhood  he  was  trained  to  under- 
stand equine  flesh  and  he  also  learned  to  ride  trotters  and  runners  in  the 
races,  but  as  he  grew  toward  manhood  his  increasing  weight  prevented  a 
continuance  of  riding  in  races.  His  love  of  horses  comes  perhaps  as  an 
inheritance  from  his  father,  Edward  Bimat,  who  made  a  specialty  of  raising 
standards  and  thoroughbreds  on  his  farm  and  who  was  considered  one  of  the 
best  judges  of  horses  in  the  entire  locality.  The  mother,  who  was  Mary 
Mirasson-Casteigt,  member  of  a  very  ancient  famih^  of  Basses-Pyrenees,  is 
still  living  at  the  old  home  in  the  French  valley  lying  beneath  the  shadow  of 
the  mountains. 

The  youngest  of  five  children,  all  still  living,  Bernard  Bimat  was  born  at 
Precilhon,  Basses-Pyrenees,  France,  and  received  his  education  in  local  schools, 
the  high  school  at  Oloron  (of  which  he  is  a  graduate)  and  the  Normal  School 
at  Lescard.  For  a  year  he  was  employed  in  the  revenue  department  of  the 
government.  A  brother  and  sister  having  gone  from  the  old  home  to  Cali- 
fornia, in  1885  he  joined  them  in  Kern  county,  where  the  brother,  Leon,  was 
engaged  in  the  sheep  indu.stry.  For  two  years  he  was  employed  as  a  herder, 
after  which  he  bought  six  hundred  ewes  from  his  brother  and  began  to  range 
his  flock  in  the  mountains  of  Kern.  Inyo  and  Mono  counties  during  summer 
months,  bringing  them  down  to  the  valleys  for  the  winter.     From   1891   to 

1893  he  engaged  in  partnership  with  his  brother.  The  free  trade  measures 
of  the  Cleveland  administration  caused  the  ruin  of  his  sheep  business  and  in 

1894  he  turned  to  teaming  and  ranching.  Taking  a  homestead  on  section 
26.  32-30,  he  proved  up  on  the  land,  built  barns  and  house,  and  engaged  in 
raising  grain,  cattle  and  horses.  Later  he  bought  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  in  the  Cummings  valley,  moving  to  the  place  in  order  that  his  children 
might  have  educational  advantages.  Meanwhile  he  ran  his  cattle  on  the 
range  between  Tejon  and  Cummings  valley,  using  for  a  brand  a  triangle  with 
the  base  down,  beneath  which  were  two  connecting  bars.  At  a  later  date 
he  brought  the  cattle  to  the  Long  Tom  country,  but  eventually  sold  the  entire 
herd  to  John  Bidart.  Since  then  he  has  resumed  the  raising  of  sheen  and  has 
sold  his  mountain  ranches.  In  East  Bakersfieid  he  married  Miss  Alary  Ros- 
tain,  who  was  born  in  Hautes  Alpes,  France,  near  the  village  of  Mans,  and 
died  in  Kern  county  in  1911,  leaving  five  children,  namely:  Marie,  now  Mrs. 
\'idailliet,  of  San  Pedro;  Leon,  Edward  and  Bernard,  Jr.,  who  remain  with 
their  father  on  the  home  ranch  ;  and  Felix,  who  died  in  1913  at  the  age  of 
four  years.  Air.  Bi'mat  is  a  member  of  the  Druids  and  politically  votes  with 
the  Republican  party. 

JEAN  MOYNIER.— A  native  of  Canton  Ogier,  Hautes  Alpes,  France, 
born  August  4,  1864,  he  was  a  son  of  Jean  and  Marie  Rosalie  (Gugler)  Moy- 
nier,  the  former  a  stockman  in  Ogier,  and  later  the  owner  of  a  farm  at  St. 
Bonnet.  Since  his  death  the  widow  has  continued  to  reside  on  the  old 
homestead  at  that  place.  There  were  six  children  in  the  family  and  four  of 
these  are  now  living.  The  eldest.  Jean,  was  reared  on  the  farm  at  St.  Bonnet, 
received  his  education  in  local  schools  and  learned  the  sheep  business  under 
the  wise  supervision  of  his  father.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  in  1881  he  came 
to  America,  arriving  in  Los  Angeles  in  April.  .After  a  month  with  an  uncle. 
Francois  Gugler,  in  that  city,  in  May  he  came  to  Kern  county,  whore  he 
found   emiiloyment   in  the  care  of  sheep.     So  frugal   was  he  in   expenditures 


902  filSTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

that  in  fourteen  months  he  had  saved  $500,  which  he  invested  in  a  small  flock 
of  sheep.  From  that  he  built  up  a  profitable  business.  Just  at  the  time  when 
the  future  seemed  most  promising  the  free-trade  movement  of  1894  resulted 
in  a  panic  that  depreciated  prices  and  he  was  left  penniless. 

Forced  to  begin  anew,  Mr.  Moynier  entered  the  employ  of  others  and 
saved  his  earnings  with  such  care  that  in  a  few  years  he  was  able  to  buy 
another  flock  of  sheep.  From  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  continued 
steadily  in  the  business.  The  sheep  are  now  ranged  in  two  separate  bands. 
For  many  years  he  has  engaged  in  buying  and  shipping  sheep,  or  in  shipping 
flocks  for  growers,  and  at  times  he  has  shipped  out  for  growers  as  many  as 
fifteen  hundred  carloads  in  one  year,  which  means  that  he  is  kept  very  busily 
engaged  in  that  line  of  the  work.  Meanwhile  he  also  manages  his  ten-acre 
ranch  just  east  of  East  Bakersfield,  where  he  and  his  family  make  their  home. 
For  a  time  he  served  as  sheep  inspector  for  Kern  county  under  the  state 
inspector.  Movements  for  the  benefit  of  the  sheep  industry  in  this  section 
receive  his  stanch  support.  He  is  a  progressive  and  public-spirited  citizen, 
alive  to  the  welfare  of  his  adopted  country.  In  national  politics  he  votes  the 
Republican  ticket.  During  1884  at  East  Bakersfield  he  married  Miss  Marie 
Lorette,  who  was  born  in  Oloron,  Basses-Pyrenees,  and  in  1881  came  to  Cali- 
fornia, settling  in  Kern  county.  They  are  the  parents  of  ten  children,  viz.: 
Mrs.  Pauline  Chevellier,  of  East  Bakersfield;  Louis,  of  San  Francisco;  Mrs. 
Jennie  Geraud  and  Mrs.  Marie  Martin,  both  of  East  Bakersfield;  Leon,  an 
assistant  of  his  father  in  the  sheep  business  and  in  the  care  of  the  home  farm; 
Sidonie,  Mrs.  Ricon,  of  East  Bakersfield;  Harry,  also  assisting  his  father; 
Henriette,  Emily  and  Jean. 

WILLIAM  L.  KIZZIAR. — The  genealogy  of  the  southern  family  of 
Kizziar  is  traced  to  England,  where  the  records  of  the  ancestry  are  lost 
in  the  maze  of  tradition.  In  that  country  the  family  name  was  Kizziah 
and  the  change  to  the  present  form  was  made  about  the  time  of  the  immi- 
gration to  America.  It  is  known  that  James  Kizziar  and  his  father  were 
Englishmen  by  birth,  while  a  grandson  of  James,  Thomas  J.  Kizziar,  was  a 
native  of  Alabama,  the  identification  of  the  family  with  the  new  world  hav- 
ing occurred  between  these  generations.  From  Alabama  the  family  migrated 
westward  to  Arkansas  and  William  L.,  son  of  Thomas  J.,  was  born  in  Pike 
county.  Ark.,  in  1847,  there  passed  the  years  of  childhood  and  owing  to  the 
poverty  of  the  family  and  the  scarcity  of  schools  had  the  most  meager  edu- 
cational advantages.  Guerrilla  warfare  imperiled  the  lives  of  the  Arkansas 
people  in  his  boyhood  and  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  precipitated  grave 
dangers.  Although  he  was  only  fourteen  and  one-half  years  of  age  he  thought 
it  a  matter  of  safety  to  enlist  in  the  Confederate  army.  Accordingly  he 
became  a  private  in  Company  I,  Thirty-third  Arkansas  Infantry,  which  went 
into  service  with  one  hundred  and  eleven  men  and  finally  was  reduced  to 
but  four  men.  Their  service  was  peculiarly  dangerous.  In  the  thickest  of 
the  most  sanguinary  battles  these  gallant  young  southerners  were  always 
to  be  found,  fighting  with  valor  for  the  cause  which  they  had  espoused. 
After  the  surrender  of  Vicksburg  he  escaped  and  found  his  way  back  to  the 
old  Arkansas  home,  where  he  again  enlisted  at  the  re-organization  of  Com- 
pany I  and  later  was  sent  down  to  Louisiana  under  General  Price.  At  the 
close  of  the  Red  river  campaign  his  command  was  dispatched  to  Tyler,  Tex., 
and  he  finally  was  mustered  out  at  Marshall,  that  state,  at  the  expiration 
of  three  years  of  service,  during  which  he  took  part  in  some  of  the  most 
terrific  fighting  of  the  whole  war. 

About  five  weeks  after  being  mustered  out  Mr.  Kizziar  took  the  oath 
(if  allegiance  to  the  government  at  Washington,  Hempstead  county,  Ark., 
and  then  engaged  as  a  teamster  in  the  employ  of  the  federal  government. 
Soon  he  gave  \ip  the  work  and  returned  to  the  old  homestead,  where  he 
assisted  his  father  in  i)utting  in  a  crop,     .\fter  the  same  had  been  harvested 


^ 


■«K 


i 


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HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  90S 

he  secured  employment  in  railroading.  In  this  occupation  he  had  his  share 
of  danger  and  difficulty  and  rose  to  a  position  of  trust  solely  as  a  result 
of  his  own  perseverance,  industry  and  sobriety.  At  first  he  worked  as  a 
brakeman  on  the  Little  Rock  &  Memphis  railroad,  now  a  part  of  the  Iron 
Mountain  railrcad.  Next  he  was  made  a  fireman  and  then  a  freight  engineer, 
from  which  he  soon  was  promoted  to  be  a  passenger  engineer,  making  daily 
trips  between  Little  Rock  and  Memphis.  His  identification  of  four  years 
with  the  same  company  was  gratifying  to  himself  and  satisfactory  to  his 
superiors,  whose  confidence  he  won  by  his  dependable  character.  However, 
it  had  been  his  ambitiem  to  engage  in  farming  and  accordingly  he  resigned 
his  position,  went  to  Texas  and  took  a  homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  twelve  miles  west  of  W'axahachie,  Ellis  county,  and  took  up  the  stren- 
uous existence  of  a  rancher.  For  almost  fourteen  years  he  remained  on 
the  farm,  but  eventually  the  lure  of  railroading  drew  him  back  to  his  old 
occupation  and  he  became  car  inspector  at  Cleburne,  Tex.,  in  the  employ  of 
the  Gulf,  Colorado  &  Santa  Fe  railroad.  While  filling  that  position  a  most 
unfortunate  accident  occurred  and  he  was  almost  crushed  to  death  between 
two  passenger  coaches.  The  injury  was  so  serious  that  it  was  fully  six 
years  before  he  had  recovered  his  health  and  even  to  this  day  he  suffers 
from  the  effects  of  the  accident.  It  being  impossible  for  him  to  do  heavy  work 
he  returned  to  farming,  his  children  being  old  enough  to  relieve  him  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  work.  After  two  years  tm  a  Texas  farm  he  moved  to 
Oklahoma  and  settled  on  an  unimproved  tract  near  Mangum,  Greer  county, 
where  he  remained  for  three  years. 

Upon  coming  to  California  in  1903  Mr.  Kizziar  secured  employment 
as  stationary  engineer  in  the  Kern  river  oil  fields.  For  three  years  he  re- 
mained in  the  employ  of  the  .Associated  Oil  Company.  Since  then  he  has 
superintended  his  ranch  and  also  has  engaged  in  the  buying,  improving  and 
selling  of  real  estate  in  Bakersfield,  where  he  makes  his  home.  For  years 
he  has  been  a  devoted,  zealous  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
South.  At  this  writing  he  acts  as  a  member  of  the  official  board  besides  tilling 
the  office  of  Sunday-school  superintendent.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with 
the  ]\lasons.  In  politics  he  has  voted  with  the  Democratic  party  ever  since 
he  attained  his  majority.  In  Texas  in  1868  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Neta  E.  Burks,  of  Ellis  county,  that  state.  They  are  the  parents  of 
ten  children  and  also  have  thirty-five  grandchildren  and  two  great-grand- 
children, of  whom  they  are  very  proud.  The  eldest  daughter,  Frances  A., 
now  Mrs.  J.  K.  Blair,  of  Texas,  has  nine  children.  Amanda  I.,  Mrs.  J-  A. 
Austin,  who  lives  on  a  farm  north  of  Bakersfield.  has  three  children.  Alary 
Jane  is  the  wife  of  R.  L.  Ralph  and  lives  three  miles  north  of  Bakersfield ; 
they  have  a  family  of  three  children.  William  L.,  a  farmer  living  at  Kern, 
this  county,  married  Miss  Ollie  Hargett  and  has  six  children.  Elizabeth 
is  the  wife  of  F.  H.  Newton,  a  dairyman  living  nine  miles  north  of  Bakers- 
field. John  J.  married  Lillie  Hargett.  James  S.,  a  farmer  west  of  Bakers- 
field, married  Odessa  Lindsey  and  has  one  child.  Oda,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Taylor, 
has  three  children  and  lives  on  a  farm  in  Oklahoma.  Alvin  M.,  a  farmer 
four  miles  west  of  Bakersfield,  married  Pearl  Stanclifife  and  has  two  children. 
Lulu  married  T.  D.  Goodpasture,  of  Bakersfield,  and  they  have  one  child. 

The  mother  of  this  family  was  before  her  marriage  Neta  E.  Burks,  and 
was  born  in  Ellis  county,  Texas,  the  daughter  of  John  ^^'esley  and  Louisa 
(Martin)  Burks,  the  former  a  native  of  Alabama  and  the  latter  of  Tennessee. 
The  Burks  family  is  an  old  Southern  English  one.  The  parents  were  mar- 
ried in  Tennessee,  where  the  father  was  a  farmer  and  drover.  In  1848  they 
moved  to  Texas  and  in  1850  settled  in  what  is  now  Ellis  county,  where  they 
ever  after  remained,  the  mother  passing  away  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  while 
the   father   was   eighty-six   years    at   the   time   of   his   death    which    occurred 


906  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Easter  Sunday  in  1910.  His  wife  survived  him  but  four  months.  Fifteen 
children  had  been  born  to  them  and  the  parents  lived  to  see  twelve  of  these 
grow  to  maturity ;  at  the  time  of  their  death  their  family,  including  their 
children,  grandchildren  and  great-grandchildren,  and  their  wives  and  hus- 
bands, as  the  case  might  be,  numbered  five  hundred  and  thirty-six. 

CHARLES  HENRY  FREEAR.— A  son  of  Henry  T.  Ereear,  mention 
of  whom  is  made  elsewhere  Charles  H.  was  born  in  Lincoln,  Neb.,  June  2,  1872, 
and  in  1874  was  brought  to  California  by  his  parents.  Reared  on  the  Kern 
county  ranch  of  the  family,  he  attended  the  common  schools  in  the 
winter  months  and  during  the  summer  vacations  learned  the  rudiments 
of  agriculture  as  an  assistant  to  his  father.  After  he  had  completed  the  course 
of  instruction  in  the  public  schools  he  entered  the  Stockton  Business  College 
and  remained  there  until  he  was  graduated  in  1882,  after  which  he  returned 
to  the  home  ranch.  In  a  short  time  he  started  out  independently  as  a  farmer. 
The  first  investment  he  made  consisted  of  twenty  acres  of  raw  land.  This 
he  leveled  and  placed  under  cultivation  to  alfalfa.  Although  he  had  been 
obliged  to  go  heavily  in  debt  on  the  purchase,  it  was  not  long  until  he  had 
the  property  clear  of  incumbrance.  Then  he  bought  an  adjacent  tract  and 
this,  too,  paid  for  itself  through  the  raising  and  sale  of  alfalfa.  After  a  time 
he  became  interested  in  the  stock  business  and  fed  the  hay  principally  to  the 
stcck.  When  finally  he  had  acquired  one  hundred  acres  forming  a  valuable 
alfalfa  ranch,  he  specialized  in  the  dairy  business  and  maintained  on  the 
ranch  a  fine  herd  of  Jersey  cows. 

y\t  Old  River,  Kern  county,  November  28,  1893,  occurred  the  marriage 
of  Charles'  H.  Ereear  and  Miss  Cleoria  A.  B.  Crabtree,  a  native  of  Santa 
Maria,  Santa  Barbara  county,  Cal.  The  young  couple  spent  the  early  years 
of  their  wedded  life  in  Mexico,  where  Mr.  Ereear  had  been  engaged  as  an 
assistant  to  an  uncle,  John  W.  Garlick,  in  the  management  of  a  sugar  plan- 
tation at  Tapachula  in  the  state  of  Chiapas  near  the  border  of  Guatemala.  For 
three  years  they  lived  on  the  sugar  plantation  and  during  that  period  their 
eldest  child,  Cleoria  Luella,  was  born.  The  two  younger  children,  Laura 
Lorena  and  Charles  Elmo,  are  natives  of  Kern  county.  Mrs.  Ereear  was 
the  youngest  of  four  children,  the  others  being  as  follows:  Mrs.  Cora  Hobbs, 
of  Old  River ;  Mrs.  Carrie  Gale,  of  San  Francisco ;  and  Clyde,  of  Klamath 
county.  Ore.  The  parents  of  this  family,  Ephraim  Jasper  and  Laura  (Foster) 
Crabtree,  were  natives  respectively  of  Texas  and  Boston.  Alass.  About  1851, 
when  nine  years  of  age,  Mr.  Crabtree  crossed  the  plains  with  his  parents, 
following  the  southern  route  from  Texas.  For  a  long  period  he  lived  in  the 
vicinity  of  Porterville,  where  he  married  Miss  Foster  and  where  he  conducted 
a  stock  ranch.  Later  he  engaged  in  the  stock  industry  near  Santa  Alaria, 
where  he  was  bereaved  by  the  death  of  his  wife.  Upon  retiring  from  active 
cares  he  came  to  Kern  county  to  make  his  home  with  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Charles  Ereear,  and  here  in  1908  his  useful  life  came  to  an  end. 

Selling  out  his  dairy  farm  in  the  fall  of  1911,  Mr.  Ereear  came  to  Bakers- 
field  and  built  three  cottages  on  the  corner  of  Chester  avenue  and  Eleventh 
street.  The  corner  residence  he  has  since  maintained  for  his  family  home  and 
here  he  and  his  wife  extend  a  gracious  hospitality  to  friends  from  every  part 
of  the  county.  Much  of  his  attention  is  given  to  the  buying  and  selling  of 
city  property  and  farm  lands  and  he  is  considered  exceptionally  well  posted 
as  to  the  merits  of  Kern  county  property.  In  politics  he  supports  Republican 
princinles.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World,  while  his  wife  and  two  daughters  are  leading  workers  in  the  Order 
of  \A'omen  of  Woodcraft. 

CASWELL  AND  SIDNEY  WALSER.— Coming  into  Walker's  Basin 
from  Caliente  by  way  of  Piute  one  arrives  at  the  ranch  of  the  Walser  brotli- 
ers,  with  its  herds  of  cattle  and  green  meadows,  a  scene  of  beauty  that  lends 
pleasure  and   delight  to   the  eye.    Their   father,   Daniel   Wagner   Walser,    a 


^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  909 

pioneer  uf  Kern  county,  was  Imrn  in  Jefferson  Lily.  M...  I'ehruary  '),  1S34. 
The  grandfather  was  reared  on  the  Yadkin  river  in  North  Carolina,  whore  the 
ancestors  resided  ditring  the  Re\ohitionary  war,  taking  part  in  the  struggle 
for  freedom,  as  well  as  seeing  active  service  in  the  war  of  1812. 

In  1852  Daniel  W'alser  crossed  the  plains  with  ox-teanis,  locating  in 
Eldorado  cuunty,  where  he  followed  placer-mining  with  its  ups  and  downs. 
In  1856  he  came  to  Tulare  county  and  there  he  engaged  in  buying  cattle 
and  selling  them  in  the  mines  in  California  and  Xe\ada  until  1864,  when  he 
came  to  Walker's  Basin,  Kern  county.  He  located  a  ranch  at  the  lower 
end  of  Walker's  Basin,  which  he  afterwards  sold  to  Walker  Rankin,  and 
llicn  purchased  a  ranch  at  the  head  of  the  Basin  from  Williams  and  Wyatt, 
and  continued  the  cattle  business,  buying  adjoining  land  until  he  had  three 
thousand  acres.  On  his  retirement  to  Santa  Ri'sa,  he  sold  the  cattle  interests 
to  his  sons,  wh(5  continue  the  business.  In  1866  he  was  ajipointed  one  of  four 
commissioners  to  organize  Kern  county  from  parts  of  Tulare  and  Los  An- 
geles counties,  and  in  July  of  that  year  the  board  met  at  Havilah  and  ap- 
(jointed  the  tirst  otificers  to  hold  an  election  and  divided  the  county  into 
voting  precincts.  He  has  been  prominent  in  different  enterprises  in  the 
county.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  P>ank  of  Bakersfield.  and  with 
others  he  set  out  the  Wible  orchard,  one  of  the  largest  fruit  farms  in  the 
county.  He  married  Mary  Lightner,  a  sister  of  A.  T.  Lightner  of  Bakers- 
field,  and  of  the  union  were  born  seven  children:  Charles  and  William,  de- 
ceased; J.  Caswell  and  Sidney  Johnston  (the  Walser  Bros.);  h'rank  and 
Maria,  deceased  ;  and  Daisy,  Mrs.  Wallace  of  Santa  Rosa. 

J.  Caswell  and  Sidney  J.  Walser  were  born  in  Walker's  Basin  in  18.')9 
and  1871.  respectively,  receiving  their  education  in  the  public  schools,  while 
Sidne}^  also  attended  business  college  in  Los  Angeles.  The  brothers  learned 
the  raising  and  care  of  cattle  from  boyhood  and  became  proficient  in  all 
tT-.e  details  of  the  business.  When  gold  was  discovered  at  Dawson  in  1898, 
Caswell  started  for  the  Eldorado,  going  over  Chilcoot  Pass.  On  the  way  he 
was  taken  ill  at  White  Horse,  and  after  nine  days  arrived  at  Dawstm.  There 
for  sixty  days  he  remained  in  the  hospital ;  after  recovering  he  located  and 
liought  claims.  In  1899  Sidney  Walser  made  the  trip  to  Dawson  by  the  "same 
route,  and  being  ice-bound  he  walked  the  remaining  eighty  miles  to  his 
<iestination.  They  both  followed  mining.  Caswell  returned  to  Kern  county 
in  1901,  and  Sidney  in  1903.  They  then  began  the  cattle  business,  leasing 
their  father's  place,  and  later  on  purchased  the  cattle.  Of  the  three  thousand 
acre. ranch,  abi  ut  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  are  in  meadow  and  under  the 
plow.  The  ranch  is  well  watered  by  streams  and  springs  from  which  water  is 
obtained  for  irrigation,  and  it  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  that  it  is  one  of  the 
finest  stock  ranches  in  the  county.  They  are  not  only  large  growers  and 
feeders  of  cattle,  but  extensive  shippers  to  the  Los  Angeles  and  San  Fran- 
cisco markets,  and  both  are  members  of  the  National  Live  Stock  .Association, 
and  the  Stockmen's  Association  of  Kern  county. 

Caswell  Walser  was  married  in  San  Francisco  to  Blanche  Dunlap,  who 
was  born  in  Glenville,  the  daughter  of  Calvin  Dunlap,  a  native  son  of  Cali- 
fornia. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Caswell  Walser  have  one  child,  \\'anda.  Sidney  \\'alser 
married  Josephine  Dunlap,  also  a  daughter  of  Calvin  Dunlap. 

THOMAS  E.  KLIPSTEIN.— The  Klipstein  family  is  of  colonial  con- 
nections and  descends  from  Dr.  Philip  Klipstein,  a  native  of  Hesse-Darm- 
stadt, Cermany,  and  a  physician  of  remarkable  talent,  who  served  as  a 
surgeon  in  the  Revolution  and  afterward  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine 
at  \\inchester,  \'a.  In  the  second  generation  from  his  is  Henry  \\'.  Klip- 
stein, a  well-known  cattleman  of  Kern  county,  represented  alse where  in  this 
volume;  and  in  the  third  generation  is  Thomas  E.,  son  of  Ilenry  W..  and  a 
native  of  the  vicinity  of  ^\■arrenton.  Faurpiier  county.  \'a.,  born  February  14, 


910  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

1877,  but  reared  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bakersfield  from  the  age  of  about 
eleven  years.  As  a  youth  he  attended  the  Kern  county  high  school  and 
Woodbury  Business  College  at  Los  Angeles,  from  which  latter  institution 
he  was  graduated  in  1902.  After  a  year  with  his  father  on  the  home  ranch  he 
became  connected  with  the  Kern  County  Abstract  Company,  of  which  he  was 
elected  secretary.  Meanwhile  he  became  interested  in  oil  lands.  With 
others  in  1909  he  incorporated  the  Eight  Oil  Company,  of  which  he  since 
has  been  secretary  and  which  from  the  start  has  met  with  success  in  the 
locating  of  oil  lands.  Among  the  holdings  of  the  company  is  an  oil-producing 
property  near  Fellows,  comprising  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  the  North 
Midway  field. 

An  important  possession  of  the  company  includes  several  sections  in 
the  Elks  hills,  where  valuable  ledges  of  fuller's  earth  have  been  developed 
and  where  they  have  erected  a  mill  for  its  manufacture.  In  thickness  the 
ledges  run  from  one  foot  to  ten  feet,  thus  making  a  most  valuable  deposit. 
With  the  development  of  this  property  and  the  management  of  oil  lands, 
Mr.  Klipstein  found  his  time  so  occupied  that  he  resigned  his  secretaryship 
with  the  abstract  firm  and  now  devotes  himself  to  oil  and  real-estate  inter- 
ests. An  addition  to  his  responsibilities  is  found  in  the  handling  of  farm  and 
city  holdings  on  his  own  account.  Quite  recently  he  completed  a  modern, 
substantial  bungalow  on  D  street,  and  there  he  has  established  a  comfortable 
home,  graciously  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Klipstein,  a  cultured  woman  and 
accompHshed  musician.  She  was  Miss  Louise  Wilson,  a  native  of  Virginia 
and  a  daughter  of  T.  A.  Wilson,  one  of  the  old  employes  of  the  Santa  Fe 
Railroad.  Reared  in  California,  she  is  a  graduate  of  the  Los  Angeles  State 
Normal  and  has  a  large  circle  of  warm  friends  in  Los  Angeles,  where  she 
resided  prior  to  her  marriage,  September  21,  1912,  and  where  her  family  still 
make  their  home.  In  politics  decidedly  Democratic,  Mr  Klipstein  has  re- 
cently been  indi-rsed  by  the  state  and  county  central  committee,  as  well  as 
Congressman  Church  for  the  position  of  postmaster  at  Bakersfield.  On  the 
organization  of  the  Bakersfield  Club  he  became  a  charter  member  and  still 
takes  part  in  the  work  of  the  organization,  besides  being  allied  with  Bakers- 
field Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E."^ 

FRED  J.  MARSH. — Many  property  holders  around  the  city  of  Bakers- 
field have  benefited  materially' in  the  development  and  growth  of  that  city, 
ihe  value  of  their  holdings  constantly  increasing  with  the  tide  of  advance- 
ment, making  those  fortunate  owners  well-to-do  and  prosperous.  That  por- 
tion of  land  owned  by  Fred  J.  Marsh,  whose  thirty-acre  ranch  is  situated 
on  Union  avenue,  two  miles  south  of  Bakersfield  proper,  has  materially  in- 
creased in  value  during  the  past  few  years,  and  as  Mr.  Marsh  has  ably 
unproved  it  and  cultivated  the  entire  expanse  to  most  profitable  results,  it 
has  proved  a  most  judicious  investment  on  his  part. 

The  son  of  a  farmer,  born  May  18,  1869,  in  Beatrice,  Nebr.,  Mr.  l\Iarsh 
there  grew  to  manhood,  receiving  his  training  in  the  common  schools  and 
assisting  his  parents  on  the  home  farm.  In  1891  he  married  Mrs.  Rosetta 
Bull,  and  with  her  came  to  California  in  1896,  his  desire  to  make  his  home 
here' finally  being  fulfilled.  He  immediately  purchased  his  present  place  near 
Bakersfield  and  has  here  spent  his  labors  to  his  great  satisfaction.  Besides 
these  holdings  he  has  eighty  acres  below  Panama,  which  has  proved  a  wise 
purchase  and  bids  fair  to"  become  very  valuable  in  the  near  future. 

Mr.  Marsh  is  a  Woodman  of  the  World,  in  which  he  holds  a  deservedly 
estimable  place,  and  in  politics  he  votes  with  the  Democratic  party.  He 
holds  a  prominent  place  among  the  citizens  of  Bakersfield,  and  has  taken 
more  than  a  passing  interest  in  all  its  affairs. 

JAMES  M.  STEVENS.— The  proprietor  of  the  Old  Panama  blacksmith 
shop  is  popular  among  the  ranchers  of  his  district  and  has  acquired  a  large 


HISTORY   OK   KERN   COUNTY  913 

business  due  to  his  ability  to  acconiplisli  the  tasks  brou,e;ht  to  him  to  th.e 
entire  satisfaction  of  his  customers.  After  coming;  to  California  he  selected 
Kern  county  for  the  field  of  his  labor  and  he  has  found  it  so  remunerative 
and  encountered  such  splendid  oppnrtunilies  that  he  has  decided  to  stay 
here,  and  pronounces  it  to  be  by  far  the  place  of  I)est  chances  for  young 
men  that  he  has  ever  seen- 

James  M.  Stevens  was  born  in  Chesterfield,  Macoupin  county,  111.,  on 
-March  3.  1885,  the  son  of  Lewis  M.  and  Sarah  J.  (Watkins)  Stevens,  na- 
tives of  Buffalo,  N.  v.,  and  jMedora,  111.,  respectively,  and  worthy  farmers, 
now  living  at  Chesterfield,  111.  Of  their  six  children  James,  the  oldest, 
passed  his  boyln  od  on  the  farm,  receiving  his  education  in  the  public  and 
high  schools  of  his  native  place.  In  1902  he  started  west  and  at  Pecos  City, 
Tex.,  learned  the  blacksmith  and  horseshoers'  trade.  In  l'"04  we  find  him  at 
Carlsbad,  N.  Alex.,  following  the  same  business.  In  1911  he  came  to  Kern 
county,  Cal.,  and  soon  afterward  bought  out  E.  D.  Harrison's  blacksmith 
business  at  Old  Panama,  continuing  the  business.  He  and  his  helpers  are 
kept  busy  all  the  time,  having  a  successful  and  profitable  trade. 

He  holds  membership  in  the  A\'oodmen  of  the  World,  the  Modern  \\'^ood- 
men  of  America  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  In  religious 
belief  he  is  a  Presbyterian,  and  politically  is  a  Democrat. 

JOSEPH  WERINGER.— Born  in  Vienna,  Austria,  February  3,  1855, 
Joseph  Weringer  came  to  the  United  States  in  1876  and  spent  several  years 
in  travel  through  different  states,  .stopping  at  intervals  in  Michigan,  Colorado, 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  The  course  of  his  extensive  journeyings  brought 
him  a;  last  to  the  Pacific  coast  and  he  was  so  favorably  impressed  with 
conditions  that  he  determined  to  remain,  and  since  the  fall  of  1881  he  has  lived 
in  Kern  county.  For  a  time  he  was  proprietor  of  the  City  brewery,  also  was 
interested  in  a  wholesale  liquor  and  ice  business  for  ten  years. 

Having  been  familiar  with  and  interested  in  the  copper  mines  in  Michigan, 
Mr.  Weringer  was  in  a  position  to  examine  appreciatively  specimens  of  ore 
brought  from  the  vicinity  of  Woody.  His  faith  in  the  copper  was  so  great 
that  in  1891  he  removed  to  Woody  in  order  to  develop  the  mines.  Since  then 
he  has  done  a  large  amount  of  development  on  the  Greenback  mine.  Shaft 
No.  1  paid  for  itself  from  the  grass  roots  down  and  its  vein  shows  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  feet  wide.  Shaft  No.  2  is  a  vein  showing  three  hundred  to  four 
hundred  feet  in  width  and  at  a  depth  of  one  hundred  feet  was  found  native 
copper  and  other  very  high  grade  copper  ores.  The  first  ore  that  he  shipued 
brought  no  profits  on  account  of  the  high  freight  rate  and  exorbitant  smelting 
charges.  The  discovery  that  the  mine  was  on  patented  land  changed  his  line 
of  operation  and  resulted  in  the  purchase  of  the  property  by  him,  since  which 
time  he  has  secured  better  freight  rates  and  has  shipped  over  $40,000  worth 
of  ore  as  shown  by  government  reports  and  smelter  rcceii)ts.  In  carload  lots 
the  smelter  reports  show  more  than  thirty-one  per  cent  copper.  Through  the 
purchase  of  adjacent  lands  he  has  become  the  i.wner  of  nearly  three  thousand 
acres,  nearly  all  copper-bearing,  and  he  is  now  the  sole  owner  of  the  Greenback 
mine.  It  is  his  present  plan  to  erect  at  an  early  date  a  concentrating  plant, 
after  which  he  will  ship  the  concentrates.  Eventually  he  hopes  to  erect  a 
smelting  plant  in  the  oil  fields,  centrally  located  for  all  the  mining  interests  of 
Kern  county.  In  addition  to  being  one  of  the  best-showing  copper  properties 
in  California,  the  tract  possesses  valuable  depo='ts  of  iron  ore  as  yet  unde- 
veloped, also  contains  wolfromite,  the  highest  gr^Je  tungsten  ore. 

Surrounding  the  mine  at  Camp  Weringdale,  which  is  located  about  one- 
quarter  mile  above  the  old  Woody  store,  Mr.  Weringer  has  platted  a  town 
site,  has  erected  a  modern  garage  and  blacksmith  shop  where  a  specialty  is 
made  of  auto  supplies  and  repair  work,  and  also  maintains  a  general  mercantile 
store.     One  of  the  principal  attractions  of  the  tract  is  a  large  hotel   for  tiic 


914  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

accommodation  of  the  public,  near  which  may  be  seen  a  large  fig  orchard 
with  trees  forty-four  years  old  and  still  bearing.  The  grounds  have  been 
improved  for  the  pleasure  and  convenience  of  guests.  In  addition  Mr. 
Weringer  has  an  orange  grove,  on  which  in  1908  he  raised  the  largest  oranges 
produced  at  that  time  in  California.  Some  of  these  weighed  two  pounds  and 
measured  eighteen  and  one-third  inches  in  circumference.  The  ranch  beyond 
the  mine  is  utilized  for  the  pasturage  of  cattle,  horses  and  mules.  For  the 
accommodation  of  the  stockmen  of  the  district  he  has  erected  corrals  and 
installed  a  large  Fairbanks  and  Morse  stock  scale,  which  is  arranged  so  as  to 
weigh  stock  on  hoof,  or  in  wagons  and  trucks. 

In  shaft  No.  2,  at  the  second  or  water  level,  they  have  now  struck  high- 
grade  copper  ore.  Ten  men  are  employed  at  present  and  ore  will  soon  be 
shipped  to  the  smelters. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Weringer  was  solemnized  in  Bakersfield  and 
united  him  with  Mrs.  Lucy  Miller,  who  was  born  in  Baden,  Germany,  and 
died  in  Bakersfield,  leaving  two  children.  Afterward  Mr.  Weringer  married 
Miss  Rosa  Haberstroh,  a  native  of  Baden,  Germany.  No  children  were  born 
of  that  union.  His  only  son,  Franz  Joseph,  born  in  Bakersfield  December 
14,  1886,  is  a  graduate  of  Heald's  Business  College  in  San  Francisco  and 
Van  der  Nailen's  School  of  Mines,  Berkeley.  He  is  a  chemist  of  ability  and 
is  now  assisting  his  father  in  the  management  of  their  large  interests.  The 
only  daughter,  Frances  J.,  is  the  wife  of  Elmer  H.  Woody,  a  cattle  man  of 
Wocdy.    In  national  principles  Mr.  Weringer  is  a  Democrat. 

EDWARD  MAURICE  TRUESDELL.— For  twenty  years  a  resident  of 
California  and  for  nine  years  associated  with  the  material  development  of 
Kern  county,  Mr.  Truesdell  is  familiar  with  the  remarkable  growth  of  the 
past  two  decades  and  has  been  a  personal  contributor  to  the  general  progress 
by  his  own  efficient  labors.  Although  a  native  of  Illinois,  he  is  a  member  of  a 
Kentucky  family  and  spent  much  of  his  early  life  in  the  Blue  Grass  state, 
where  his  father,  Harmon  B.,  was  a  native  and  lifelong  resident  of  Campbell 
county.  The  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Ann  Nicholson,  was 
born  at  Lima,  Adams  county.  111.,  of  Pennsylvania  parentage,  and  passed 
away  in  Kentucky.  Of  the  thirteen  children  comprising  the  parental  family 
all  attained  mature  years,  but  only  six  are  now  living,  Edward  Maurice  being 
the  eldest  of  the  entire  number.  Born  at  Lima,  111.,  April  6,  1861,  he  attended 
the  public  schools  of  Campbell  county,  Ky.,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  left  the 
home  farm  to  take  up  the  burden  of  self-support.  For  three  years  he  was 
employed  as  a  night  watchman  on  cotton  boats  on  the  Washita  river.  Going 
from  there  to  Ohio  he  was  engaged  for  six  years  as  general  foreman  of  the 
Addyston  ]npe  works  at  Cincinnati.  Next  he  went  to  Virginia,  where  for 
eighteen  months  he  held  a  position  as  general  foreman  with  the  Radford 
Pipe  &  Steel  Company  at  New  Radford,  on  the  New  river. 

Returning  to  Cincinnati  and  holding  positions  with  different  firms  until 
New  Year's  of  1894,  Mr.  Truesdell  then  made  preparations  to  remove  to  the 
west  and  February  found  him  in  California,  where  his  first  work  was  on  the 
Horseshoe  ranch  near  Los  Angeles.  Next  he  engaged  as  superintendent  of 
orange  groves  at  Glendora.  For  seven  years  he  worked  in  the  Santa  Fe  oil 
fields,  where  he  acquired  proficiency  as  a  driller.  Coming  to  Kern  county  in 
1905  he  took  up  a  homestead  one  mile  from  Lerdo,  where  he  put  down  a 
twelve-inch  well  by  his  own  labor,  built  a  house  and  proved  up  on  the  property. 
Meanwhile  he  secured  a  standard  rig  and  engaged  in  drilling  water  wells. 
For  several  years  he  made  a  specialty  of  that  laborious  work,  but  eventually 
disposed  of  the  rig.  Renting  his  Lerdo  ranch  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
he  took  up  a  desert  claim  of  a  quarter  section  near  Mojave,  where  he  put 
down  two  wells  and  built  a  neat  bungalow.  After  living  there  about  a  year 
he  sold  the  place  and  since  then  has  made  his  home  in  East  Bakersfield. 
The  first  wife  of  Mr.  Truesdell.  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Addie  Hutch- 


\X.  Q.  \Z/^£:^^~-^^a..oc£y, 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  917 

inson,  was  born  in  Campbell  county,  Ky.,  and  died  there  at  Newport.  Two 
sons  were  born  of  that  union,  but  the  older,  William  E.,  died  at  llu-  a,i(c-  of 
three  months.  The  other.  James  Blanchard.  is  now  a  resident  of  Los  .'Vnsifeles. 
At  Visalia,  Noveml)er  7.  1910,  Mr.  Truesdell  married  Mrs.  Milfdrd  (Gooch) 
Warner,  by  whom  he  has  two  sons.  Ralph  and  Leo.  IMrs.  Truesdell.  a  woman 
of  stronnr  character  and  attractive  personality,  was  born  at  Eubank,  Pulaski 
county,  Ky.,  and  is  a  daughter  of  William  Milford  and  Malcie  (Master.son) 
Gooch  natives  respectively  of  Eubank,  Ky..  and  Ripley,  Ohio.  Her  father,  a 
teacher  during  young  manhood,  eventually  became  a  prosperous  country 
merchant  and  continued  at  Eubank  until  his  death,  since  which  time  Mrs. 
Gooch  has  lived  in  Cincinnati.  Their  daughter  was  educated  in  the  high 
school  of  Covington,  Ky.,  and  there  married  H.  L.  Warner,  of  that  city.  Two 
children.  Maxine  and  Evelyn,  were  born  of  the  union.  During  1907  the 
family  came  to  Bakersfield.  where  Mr.  Warner  engaged  as  a  chemist  with 
the  Standard  Oil  Company  until  his  death.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Truesdell  are 
earnest  members  of  the  Methodist  F.piscr)pal  Church  and  have  lieen  generous 
contributors  to  religious  movements.     In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat. 

FRANK  CROMWELL  TIBBETTS.— The  geneab  gy  of  the  Tibbetts 
lamily  indicates  their  English  extraction  and  proves  their  close  relation- 
ship to  the  Cromwells.  whose  most  distinguished  representative,  Oliver 
Cromwell,  holds  a  prominent  place  in  the  history  of  the  seventeenth  century 
and  achieved  a  worldwide  renown.  It  is  known  that  the  early  colonization 
of  America  found  members  of  the  Tibbetts  family  engaged  in  the  arduous 
task  of  earning  scanty  livelihoods  through  the  cultivation  of  the  rocky  soil 
of  New  England,  where  they  endured  the  privations  and  faced  the  dangers 
incident  to  life  in  that  location  and  period  of  our  national  history.  Patriot- 
ism characterized  them  from  the  first  establishment  of  their  name  in  the 
new  world.  During  the  Revolution  Ichabod  Tibbetts.  who  was  born 
December  17,  1748,  served  the  cause  of  liberty  with  devotion  and  self- 
sacrifice.  It  was  his  privilege  to  witness  the  growth  of  the  cause  to  which 
he  had  given  of  his  youthful  strength  and  when  he  died.  May  23,  1841,  the 
country  had  become  a  nation  great  in  the  galaxy  of  the  world.  Ann  ng  his 
children    w'as   a   son.    Benjamin,   born   on    Sunday.    November   20,    1786.    and 

married   April   23,    1809.   to   Sarah   A ,   who   was   born    September   5, 

1790.  and  died  April  21,  1843.  Of  the  union  there  were  twelve  children, 
namelv :  Samuel,  born  November  3.  1810;  fulian,  August  17.  1812;  Cvrus, 
August  26,  1814;  Stinscn,  April  3,  1816;  Benjamin  R.,  August  9,  1818;  Sarah. 
February  10.  1821;  Martha  J..  March  3.  1823;  Ann  S..  October  7,  1825; 
Edmund  W.  February  7.  1828;  Roswell  Goodsneed.  who  was  born  in  Maine 
near  the  citv  of  .Augusta  May  29.  1830.  and  died  at  Bakersfield.  Cal.,  June 
1.  1910;  Jane,  who  was  born  June  29,  1833;  and  Emeline,  .August  13,  183.^'. 
The  greater  number  of  the  family  are  now  numbered  with  the  dead.  Ben- 
jamin, at  the  age  of  ninety-four,  is  a  helpless  invalid  and  lives  with  a  son 
in  r^Iaine ;  Emeline  has  been  blind  for  years  and  is  cared  for  by  her  husliand 
and  daughter.  Emma,  at  the  family  home  near  Palermo,  Me.  Jane,  Mrs. 
Hussey,  is  a  widow  and  lives  with  her  son.  Joseph,  at  the  old  Hussey  home- 
stead near  Houlton.  Me.,  while  near  her  live  her  son.  Benjamin,  and  her 
daughter,  Sadie,  the  former  the  father  of  nine  children  and  the  latter  tlie 
mother  of   two   sons   and   two   daughters. 

Several  generations  of  the  Tibbetts  family  in  Maine  earned  their  live- 
lihood either  from  tilling  the  soil  or  from  following  the  sea  and  Roswell  Good.- 
speed  Tibbetts.  while  very  young  chose  the  life  of  a  sailor  fcr  his  occujation.  In 
this  way  it  happened  that  he  came  to  California  as  second  mate  on  a  vessel 
that  rounded  Cape  Horn  and  cast  anchor  at  San  Francisco  in  I8.7O  six 
months  after  the  commencement  of  the  voyage.  Unlike  manv  sailors  of 
that  time,  tempted  bv  the  lure  of  gold,  he  did  not  desert  his  shij)  or  leave 


918  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

his  employment  until  the  term  of  his  service  had  expired.  For  a  time  he 
engaged  in  placer  mining  on  the  Feather  river.  Later  he  worked  in  and 
helped  to  develop  the  celebrated  Comstock  mine  of  Nevada.  Still  later  he 
engaged  in  mining  at  Truckee  and  in  the  Sierra  valley.  During  1874  he 
brought  his  family  to  Kern  county  and  for  many  years  conducted  the 
American  Eagle  hotel  at  Kernville,  the  hostelry  enjoying  great  popularity 
under  his  sagacious  and  genial  oversight.  Among  the  old  settlers  he  had 
wide  acquaintance  and  a  host  of  friends.  Indeed,  the  circle  of  his  friends 
was  as  large  as  that  of  his  acquaintance  and  among  his  most  intimate  friends 
was  Judge  Sumner,  there  existing  between  the  two  a  remarkable  sympathy 
of  thought  and  tenderness  of  affection.  Soon  after  he  came  to  the  west 
he  married  at  San  Francisco  in  1850  Mrs.  Helen  Zeruah  (Branch)  Nor- 
cross,  who  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three  makes  her  home  at  No.  1028 
Fifty-fourth  avenue,  East  Oakland.  The  family  to  which  she  belongs  was 
identified  with  the  pioneer  history  of  California  and  possessed  character- 
istics most  admirable.  With  them,  as  with  the  Tibbetts  family,  longevity 
was  noticeable,  the  paternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Tibbetts  having  lived  to 
be  one  hundred  and  three  years  of  age,  while  her  maternal  grandmother  was 
ninety-seven  at  the  time  of  her  death. 

There  were  three  sons  in  the  family  of  Roswell  Goodspeed  Tibbetts 
and  wife,  namely:  Frederick,  who  died  in  the  Bullfrog  mining  district  in 
December  of  1S06 ;  William  E.,  who  makes  his  home  at  Kernville ;  and  Frank 
Cromwell,  who  was  born  September  2,  1869,  in  the  Sierra  valley  of  Cali- 
fornia during  the  period  that  his  father  engaged  in  gold  mining  in  that  sec- 
tion. Brought  to  Kern  county  in  1874,  he  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Kernville  and  as  he  grew  toward  manhood  he  became  intimately 
connected  with  the  interests  of  his  father.  At  first  he  worked  in  mines, 
later  he  engaged  in  general  farming  and  in  the  raising  of  stock.  While 
never  a  partner  in  the  hotel  business,  he  operated  a  store  and  a  butcher 
shop  with  his  father  and  became  one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Kern- 
ville. During  the  year  1900  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  now  he  has 
a  residence  at  No.  910  K  street  and  where  he  prosperously  conducts  a 
store  at  No.  1905  Fifteenth  street.  About  1898  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Lizzie  Cross,  a  member  of  a  pioneer  family  of  Kern  county. 
Of  this  union  there  are  two  children,  Marion  Wallace  and  Maybelle  E. 
In  political  views  he  adheres  to  Republican  principles,  while  fraternally 
he  holds  membership  with  the  Loyal  Order  of  Moose  and  the  Ancient  Order 
of  L'nited  Workmen. 

JOHN  P.  CHINETTE.— A  decided  acquisition  to  the  French-American 
population  of  Kern  county  as  well  as  one  of  its  pioneer  sheepmen,  John  P. 
Chinette  has  been  a  factor  in  the  agricultural  development  of  this  section  of 
the  state  and  is  considered  an  authority  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  care 
and  range  of  sheep.  From  boyhood  he  was  familiar  with  the  sheep  industry 
as  pursued  in  the  mountains  separating  France  and  Spain,  and  it  was  there- 
fore not  difificult  for  him  to  understand  the  business  from  an  American  stand- 
point. With  the  quick  comprehension  native  to  his  mind  he  grasped  the 
details  of  the  work,  learned  the  best  places  to  range  the  flocks  and  the  best 
modes  of  feeding  them  in  the  winter  months,  so  that  his  practical  experience 
is  most  valuable  indeed.  A  native  of  Ogier,  Basses-Pyrenees,  France,  born 
January  4,  1861,  he  was  reared  on  the  home  farm,  and  had  such  educational 
advantages  as  the  local  schools  afforded.  During  1878  he  came  to  California. 
In  the  vicinity  of  Los  Angeles  he  remained  for  nearly  one  year,  working  for  a 
sheep-grower.  Next  he  drove  a  flock  of  sheep  into  Inyo  county.  Coming  to 
the  Tehachapi  region  of  Kern  county  in  1879,  he  became  a  herder  here  and 
in  1883  invested  in  a  small  flock  of  sheep,  which  he  ranged  in  Kern  and  Inyo 
counties. 


a! 


v^ 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  921 

About  seven  years  were  devnted  In  the  personal  nianagenieiit  of  his  own 
flock  of  sheep,  which  he  then  sold,  and  since  1890  he  has  varied  his  time 
between  farming  and  caring  for  flocks  of  other  growers.  At  this  writing  he 
owns  ten  acres  eight  miles  southeast  of  Bakersfield  under  the  east  side  canal. 
This  he  has  improved,  placing  it  under  profitable  cultivation  to  alfalfa.  He 
makes  his  home  on  the  small  farm  and  devotes  much  of  his  time  to  its  per- 
sonal oxersight.  Meanwhile  he  has  been  deeply  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  Kern  county,  has  supported  movements  for  its  material  upbuilding 
and  in  politics  has  given  allegiance  to  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party. 

JOSEPH  EYRAUD.— a"  resident  of  Kern  county  for  the  most  part  since 
1887,  Joseph  Eyraud  was  born  at  Ancel,  Hau;es-Alpes,  France,  June  22,  1868, 
and  is  a  son  of  Franc  and  Victoria  (Ledge)  Eyraud,  lifelong  farmers  in 
France.  In  a  family  of  eight  children,  all  but  two  of  whom  still  survive, 
Joseph  was  the  youngest  and  he  was  quite  small  when  his  brothers,  Yrene 
and  Franc,  left  the  home  farm  to  establish  themselves  in  the  new  world. 
Sending  back  favorable  reports  from  their  destination  in  Kern  county,  the 
youngest  brother  was  induced  to  join  them  in  California  November  27,  1887, 
when  he  arrived  at  Sumner  (now  East  Bakersfield).  Without  delay  he  found 
employment  with  sheeomen  in  the  county.  His  beginnings  in  the  sheep 
industry  date  from  1888,  when  he  bought  a  few  head.  The  flock  increased 
rapidly  and  when  he  sold  in  1909  there  were  thirteen  thousand  head  alto- 
gether. They  had  been  raised  both  for  the  mutton  and  the  wool.  For  years 
the  flocks  were  ranged  in  Tulare,  Fresno,  Kern  and  Inyo  counties,  their 
owner  thus  gaining  a  most  thorough  knowledge  of  this  section  of  the  state. 
He  is,  indeed,  particularly  well  pc  sted  concerning  the  country,  knows  the 
character  of  the  different  soils,  the  prospects  for  water,  the  varying  climates 
in  mountains  and  foothills  and  the  opportunities  for  successful  work  as  a 
stockman  or  rancher.  .Xfter  selling  his  large  flock  he  spent  two  years  in 
San  Francisco  and  then  established  a  home  on  his  ranch  of  forty  acres, 
eleven  miles  south  of  Bakersfield,  between  Union  avenue  and  Kern  Island, 
where  by  means  of  water  from  the  Kern  Island  canal  he  is  specializing  in 
alfalfa  and  grain.  His  marriage  was  solemnized  in  San  Francisco  and  united 
him  with  Miss  Augustine  Bertrand.  who  was  born  in  Chorges,  Hautes-Alpes, 
and  by  whom  he  has  a  daughter,  Augustine.  Ever  since  becoming  a  voting 
citizen  he  has  cast  his  ballot  for  Republican  men  and  measures  at  general 
elections.  Besides  the  fine  farm  upon  which  he  lives  and  to  the  improvement 
of  which  his  attention  is  given  largely,  he  owns  thirty  acres  of  alfalfa  one 
mile  distant,  also  under  the  Kern  Island  canal;  this  is  cared  for  by  a  ten- 
ant. In  addition  he  owns  a  number  of  lots  on  Humboldt  street.  East  Bakers- 
field, these  being  improved  with  cottages  that  he  rents.  When  it  is  remem- 
bered that  he  came  to  the  county  without  any  means  and  worked  for  some 
time  as  a  sheep  herder  for  day  wages,  his  present  financial  independence 
indicates  energy  and  industry  (  n  his  part,  and  at  the  same  time  proves  that 
Kern  offers  opportunities  unsurpassed  by  any  other  agricultural  county  in 
the  state. 

LOUIS  ALLEN.— The  proprietor  of  the  St.  Francis  cafe  at  Bakers- 
field was  born  April  16,  1880,  at  Patras,  Greece,  and  received  an  excellent 
education  in  a  private  college  of  his  native  city.  Pharmacy  was  made  a 
special  study  during  his  collegiate  course  and  by  clerking  in  a  drugstore  he 
supplemented  the  theoretical  knowledge  of  books  with  actual  experience. 
Upon  coming  to  the  United  States  in  1903  he  became  a  student  in  St.  .Anna's 
Academy,  New  York  city.  From  there  he  went  to  St.  Louis  and  there  en- 
gaged in  the  restaurant  business  during  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition. 
Afterward  he  spent  some  time  in  Oklahoma  and  Texas.  During  .April  of  190.^ 
he  came  to  the  Pacific  coast  and  managed  a  restaurant  at  the  Lewis  &  Clark 
exposition  grounds.  On  the  close  of  the  e.xj)osition  he  went  to  San  Fran- 
cisco and  readily  found  a  position  in  Tait's  cafe,  but  the  great  fire  of  the  fol- 


922  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

lowing  year  temporarily  closed  out  the  business.  Later  he  served  as  a 
steward  of  Tait's  cafe  and  continued  in  the  same  place  until  he  had  worked 
up  to  be  the  head  waiter.  Experience  had  qualified  him  for  a  business  of 
his  own  and  he  decided  to  embark  in  similar  work  for  himself.  In  search  of  a 
location  he  came  to  Bakersfield.  The  city  and  its  favorable  prospects  at- 
tracted his  attention  and  he  decided  to  locate  here.  During  March  of  1911 
he  leased  the  place  which  he  still  occupies  and  which  he  has  transformed 
into  an  attractive  and  elegantly  appointed  cafe,  with  service  first-class  in 
every  respect.  The  entire  aspect  of  the  cafe  proves  that  the  manager  is  the 
possessor  of  original  ideas  and  wise  business  judgment.  Through  his  expe- 
rience in  the  leading  place  of  its  kind  in  San  Francisco  he  is  enabled  to  give 
to  his  customers  and  guests  the  finest  service  that  modern  art  can  suggest. 

CHARLES  WILLIAM  JOHNSON.— Of  English  nativity,  belong- 
ing to  an  old  and  illustrious  family  of  his  native  land,  he  was  born  in  the 
city  of  Leeds  in  1849,  being  a  son  of  Thomas  Varley  and  Mary  Johnson. 
When  he  was  only  three  years  of  age  and  his  sister,  Evalina,  an  infant  they 
were  bereaved  by  the  death  of  their  mother.  Afterward  the  father  gave 
ihem  the  most  devoted  personal  care  and  attention,  endeavoring  so  far  as  pos- 
sible to  take  the  place  of  the  lost  mother.  The  daughter  became  the  wife 
of  Dr.  J.  Murray  Matthews  and  died  in  San  Francisco,  leaving  five  sons. 

A  grandson  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  of  England  and  an 
own  cousin  of  Sir  Jonathan  Johnson  Courte,  Thomas  Varley  Johnson  was 
born  at  Bentham,  Yorkshire,  England,  August  11,  1822,  and  at  the  age  of 
about  sixteen  was  an  eager  spectator  at  the  coronation  of  Queen  Victoria. 
Although  always  very  proud  of  the  land  of  his  birth,  he  became  an  exem- 
plary American  citizen  and  exhibited  the  utmost  patriotism.  His  first  trip 
to  the  new  world  occurred  when  his  son  was  a  youth  of  nine  and  the  two 
settled  at  Lowell,  Mass.,  where  the  father  became  foreman  of  the  wool  sort- 
ing department  for  the  carpet  corporation  of  the  city  of  Lowell.  Two  years 
later,  when  the  son  was  eleven,  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  firm  of  Aldrich  & 
Richardscn,  manufacturing  jewelers,  of  Providence,  R.  I.  At  the  expiration 
of  two  years,  the  apprenticeshio  being  completed,  the  son  suggested  that 
they  leave  for  California  and  with  father  and  sister  sailed  from  New  York 
to  Aspinwall  and  there  crossed  the  isthmus,  thence  taking  passage  on  the 
old  Sacramento  to  San  Francisco,  where  they  arrived  during  October  of 
1868. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival  in  the  west  the  senior  Johnson  settled  in 
Santa  Cruz  and  bought  the  Ocean  View  house,  which  site  and  hotel  forms  a 
part  of  the  present  Sea  Beach  hotel.  .\t  his  death  Mr.  Johnson  was  sur- 
vived by  his  second  wife  (whom  he  had  married  in  California)  his  son 
and  a  niece,  Mrs.  Lottie  Thompson,  of  Santa  Cruz.  The  daughter  had  died 
a  short  time  before  his  own  demise. 

Leaving  home  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  Charles  William 
Johnson  found  employment  as  a  vaquero  in  the  southern  part  of  Monterey 
county  and  from  that  time  he  was  interested  in  the  cattle  industry  until 
1885,  when  an  injury  resulting  in  the  dislocation  of  his  neck  obliged  him 
to  seek  other  means  of  livelihood.  .A  brief  and  unsuccessful  experience  in 
business  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county  was  followed  by  removal  to  Arizona, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  dairy  business  near  Prescott  for  three  years.  Next 
he  lived  for  a  short  time  in  Phoenix  and  then  returned  to  California  in  1892, 
settling  in  Bakersfield,  and  ever  since  then  he  has  been  identified  with  the 
oil  business  in  Kern  county.  During  1877  he  married  Miss  Mary  A.  Mc- 
Cutchen,  member  of  a  very  prominent  and  influential  family  of  Kern  county. 
They  are  the  parents  of  five  children  now  living,  George  W.,  Rosalind,  Eve- 
lyn, Laura  and  Florence.  The  son  is  superintendent  of  the  Walker  &  Hick 
Oil   Company   in   the   Kern   river   field.     Rcsalind   married    ^^^   T.   Tavlor,   of 


HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY  925 

Maricopa.  Evelyn  is  Mrs.  .Marion  Nidever,  of  Carpenteria.  Laura  is  the  wife 
of  Elmer  Fux,  of  Kern  county.  The  youngest  of  the  daughters  is  the  only 
member  of  the  family  still  remaining  at  the  home. 

JOSEPH  F.  PFOST.— Several  generations  of  the  Pfost  family  engaged 
in  farming  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Ohio  river.  The  founder  of  the  name  in 
America,  Abraham  Pfost,  a  German  by  birth  and  education,  migrated  to 
the  new  world  and  took  up  a  tract  of  wild  land  in  what  is  now  West 
Virginia,  his  first  and  only  home  in  this  country  being  situated  near  Ripley, 
Jackson  county,  a  short  distance  from  the  Ohio  river.  On  that  same  farm 
his  son,  Abraham,  lived  and  labored  for  many  years.  Among  the  children 
of  the  younger  Abraham  was  a  son,  George  W.,  born  and  reared  on  the 
old  Mrginian  plantation  and  ultimately  the  heir  to  a  portion  of  the  estate. 
In  young  manhood  he  removed  to  Alason  county,  VV.  Va.,  and  there  mar- 
ried Angeline  Rickard,  a  native  of  that  county,  where,  at  Point  Pleasant 
at  the  junction  of  the  Great  Kanawha  and  the  Ohio  river  their  son,  Joseph  P., 
was  born  on  the  4th  of  July,  1855.  During  the  Civil  war  the  father  served 
in  the  Confederate  army  on  an  Ohio  river  gunboat.  Leaving  Mason  county 
in  1870,  he  spent  four  years  in  Missouri,  and  then  returned  and  established 
his  home  at  Springhill  on  the  Great  Kanawha.  Impoverished  by  the  Civil 
war,  he  endured  many  privations  and  hardships  in  endeavoring  to  provide 
for  his  large  family  and  it  was  wholly  impossible  to  give  them  any  advantages. 
Of  the  eleven  children  only  five  are  now  living.  The  eldest  of  the  eleven. 
Joseph  P.,  to  an  unusual  degree  shared  in  the  anxieties  of  his  parents  and 
assisted  them  in  the  maintenance  of  the  younger  children,  for  this  reason 
being  almost  wholly  without  any  opportunities  for  education  or  advancement. 

Upon  reaching  the  age  of  twenty-one  a  desire  to  attend  school  caused 
Mr.  Pfost  to  leave  home  and  work  for  his  board  with  a  family  and  he 
attended  the  district  school  during  the  winter  months.  To  such  splendid 
advantage  did  he  utilize  these  months  that  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 
obtained  a  first-grade  certificate  and  began  to  teach  in  P>oone  county,  W.  Va., 
his  wages  being  $35  per  month.  In  a  short  time  he  left  for  Missouri,  where 
for  six  months  he  attended  school  at  Montrose,  Henry  county.  From  Mis- 
souri he  traveled  overland  with  team  and  wagon,  following  the  usual  route 
through  Nebraska,  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Utah  and  Idaho  into  Oregon,  where 
he  parted  from  the  expedition  of  which  he  had  been  a  member,  .\fter  a 
brief  sojourn  at  Pendleton,  Ore.,  he  returned  to  Idaho  and  engaged  in 
ranching  and  teaminc:  near  Boise  City.  At  the  time  of  the  Sittintj  P<ull 
Indian  campaign  in  1878  he  hauled  supplies  to  the  troops  of  General  Howard 
and  met  with  many  thrillinc;  experiences,  not  a  few  of  them  exceedingly 
dangerous.  From  Idaho  in  1880  he  went  to  Nebraska  and  found  employ- 
ment with  the  Lakotah  Cattle  Company  at  the  33  ranch.  \\'ith  tw  >  others 
in  1886  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Thayer  of  Nebraska  to  serve  on  a 
special  commission  for  the  organization  of  Sioux  countv.  That  task  com- 
pleted, he  was  chosen  the  first  sherifif  at  the  first  election  and  so  well  did 
he  discharsre  every  duty  that  he  was  re-elected  every  two  years  up  to 
1893,  serving  three  terms  altogether,  and  resigning  at  the  time  of  his 
removal  from  the  state.  From  1893  until  1808  he  enlaced  as  superintendent 
for  a  comnany  opening  up  lands  on  the  Cheyenne  river  in  South  Dakota, 
but  unfortunatelv  the  venture  failed,  the  companv  lost  everything  and  to 
add  to  his  difficulties  the  bank  in  which  his  savings  had  been  depi  sited  closed 
its  doors. 

Forced  to  becin  anew,  Mr.  Pfost  investisfated  conditions  in  Montana. 
then  returned  to  Nebraska,  but  shortly  proceeded  to  Oklahoma,  and  .August 
fi,  1899.  arrived  at  Bakersfield,  Cal.,  where  on  the  15th  of  the  same  month 
he   secured   employment  in   the  well-bfiring  department   of  the   Kern   County 


926  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Land  Company.  In  October  of  the  same  year  he  was  engaged  as  foreman 
of  the  Panama  ranch  for  Miller  &  Lux,  but  in  January,  1900,  he  re-entered 
the  employ  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  with  which  he  has  con- 
tinued ever  since.  For  eighteen  months  he  served  in  the  Goose  Lake  country 
as  camp  foreman  under  Charles  W.  Jackson,  who  then  sent  him  to  the 
Rosedale  ranch  to  act  as  foreman.  At  that  time  the  Rosedale  was  a  part 
of  the  Peso  ranch.  After  two  years  or  more  the  two  tracts  were  separated 
and  he  was  made  foreman  of  the  Ppso  under  Mr.  Jackson.  After  nearly 
four  years  he  was  transferred  to  the  Rosedale  ranch,  of  which  he  has  been 
superintendent  since  December  2,  1905.  From  early  life  he  has  been  inter- 
ested in  political  questions  and  has  supported  Democratic  principles.  Fra- 
ternally he  holds  membership  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  in 
Bakersfield.  His  family  consists  of  his  wife  (whom  he  married  at  Pawnee 
City,  Neb.,  in  1885  and  who  was  formerly  Miss  Emma  Llitchcock,  of  Bloom- 
ington.  111.)  and  their  five  daughters,  namely:  May,  Clara,  Edna,  Lizzie 
and  Lillian,  all  now  living  in  Kern  county  with  the  exception  of  Clara,  Mrs. 
Knowles,  who  remains  in  Nebraska,  making  her  home  at  Bookwalter,  that 
state. 

LESLIE  DAVID  COOMBS.— Born  July  22,  1857,  in  Hermon,  Me., 
L.  D.  Coombs  was  the  son  of  Nathaniel  D.  Coombs,  who  was  also  a 
native  of  that  state  and  followed  the  vocations  of  hotel  proprietor  and 
farmer.  He  erected  and  became  proprietor  of  the  Bangor  hotel,  later  selling 
it  in  order  to  spend  all  his  time  t  n  his  farm  at  Browns  Corner  Farm,  where 
he  died.  His  wife,  Jane  (Creamer)  Coombs,  also  a  native  of  Maine,  iiassed 
away  there.  The  father  was  twice  married,  becoming  the  father  of  five 
children  by  his  first  marriage,  of  whom  Hon.  Nathaniel  D.  Coombs  became  a 
member  of  the  Assembly  of  California  from  Butte  county,  and  passed  away 
during  his  second  term  of  office  abc  ut  twenty  years  ago. 

The  only  child  of  his  father's  second  marriage,  Leslie  Coombs  was 
reared  in  the  little  village  of  China.  Me.,  and  then  for  a  time  at  Browns 
Corner  Farm  on  his  father's  place,  attending  the  public  school  at  Vassal- 
boro.  I^ater  he  became  a  student  at  the  Oak  Grove  Seminary  at  East  Vas- 
salboro,  supplementing  this  with  a  course  at  HcUowell  .Academy.  In  1873 
he  came  to  California  where  his  brother  Nathaniel  D.  was  in  the  stock  and 
farming  business  at  Honcut,  Butte  county.  Immediately  entering  the  latter's 
employ  he  worked  by  the  month  for  about  four  years  and  became  foreman 
of  his  ranch  ;  at  the  end  of  this  time  he  engaged  in  the  sheep  business  for 
himself  on  the  plains  and  mountains,  meeting  with  such  success  that  he 
continued  along  these  lines  for  about  fourteen  years.  During  this  time 
he  ran  a  flock  of  sheep  into  Oregon  and  sold  them  at  Prineville,  and  then 
he  bought  the  Olive  Hill  Colony  ranch  of  a  thousand  acres  near  Honcut, 
Butte  county,  and  continued  in  the  sheep  business  and  farming.  In  1892  he 
sold  out  his  ranch  stock  and  came  to  Bakersfield.  Purchasing  a  ranch  at 
Angeola,  he  resumed  the  sheep  business.  This  farm  he  found  it  necessary  to 
improve  and  fence,  and  he  raised  grain  and  sheep,  in  coimection  with  which 
he  conducted  the  Angeola  hotel,  but  later  he  sold  these  interests  and  re- 
turned to  Bakersfield,  where  he  became  associated  with  the  Quimby  Bros., 
contracting  to  drill  oil  wells  in  the  Kern  river  field.  They  put  down  the 
fourth  well  in  that  field  and  later  the  Oriental  well  was  under  their  contract. 
With  others  he  leased  lands  and  put  down  oil  wells  of  his  own,  becoming 
well  informed  t  n  the  details  of  the  work.  He  then  became  manager  for  the 
Livestock  Oil  Company,  operating  in  the  Midway  field,  the  name  of  this 
company  being  later  changed  t'o  the  Tannihill  Oil  Company,  in  which  he  is 
still  a  large  stockholder.  This  company  now  has  twelve  producing  wells  and 
has  a  flourishing  business.  He  has  also  been  engaged  for  nearly  twenty  years 
in  teaming  and  the  leasing  of  horses  and  mules  and  has  an  extensive  business 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  927 

in  that  line.  Mr.  Coombs  purchased  lots  on  K  and  T\vent_v-eit;:hth  streets,  the 
lots  ninnins?  through  from  K  to  L  streets,  and  here-  he  built  his  residence 
and  has  his  headquarters ;  he  also  owns  lots  in  various  parts  of  Bakersfield. 

In  1910  Mr.  Coombs  built  the  Colonial  Hotel  at  Nineteenth  and  R 
streets,  a  two-story  concrete  building,  and  he  also  owns  other  residence  prop- 
erty in  the  vicinity.  He  owns  several  ranches  near  Lemoore,  Kings  county, 
under  the  Kings  river  ditch,  all  of  which  is  farmed  under  his  own  supervision 
and  is  highly  productive.  He  has  a  hundred  and  ten  acres  at  Shatter,  on 
which  he  has  a  pumping  plant  and  is  raising  alfalfa  and  stock.  He  is  very 
optimistic  over  the  business  outlook  of  Bakersfield  and  with  Mr.  Snively 
owns  the  Southern  Barber  Shop  which  has  just  been  refurnished  and  is  one 
of  the  most  elegantly  appointed  tonsorial  parlors  in  the  state.  His  informa- 
tion on  property  values  has  led  him  to  purchase  property  in  Los  Angeles. 
Hollywood  and  Naples. 

Mr.  Coombs  married  Mrs.  Rosalie  (Shay)  Coombs,  whn  like  her  hus- 
band was  a  native  of  Maine,  having  been  born  in  Pittston,  and  who  proved 
a  true  helpmeet  to  him  in  his  every  interest.  Her  death  occurred  January  1, 
1914,  mourned  by  all  who  knew  her.  Mr.  Coombs  embraces  the  principles  of 
the  Republican  party  in  his  political  views,  and  fraternally  he  unites  with 
the  \^'oodmen  of  the  World. 

DAVE  COFFEE.— The  son  of  Absalom  Coi¥ee,  a  planter  of  Alabama, 
Dave  CoiYee  was  born  October  3.  1853,  in  Jackson  county,  that  state,  and 
passed  the  first  twelve  years  on  the  old  home  plantation,  meanwhile  at- 
tending subscription  schools.  Going  to  Texas  in  1868,  he  settled  at 
JeiTerson,  Marion  county,  and  began  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  car- 
penter and  builder  with  a  construction  company  engaged  in  the  building 
of  the  Texas  Pacific  Railroad,  l-av  .some  years  he  remained  with  the  same 
concern,  resigning  at  the  time  of  his  removal  to  California.  During  the  fall 
of  1874  he  worked  at  Truckee  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company. 
The  summer  of  1875  found  him  in  Kern  county,  where  immediately  he  found 
employment  with  H.  P-  Livermore  in  the  construction  of  buildings  on  the 
property  now  known  as  the  Greenfield  ranch.  A  year  later  llaggin  &  Carr 
acquired  the  Livermore  interests  and  he  continued  as  a  carpenter  with  the 
new  owners,  who  in  time  were  superseded  by  the  Kern  County  Land 
Company.  As  foreman  of  carpenters  he  had  charge  of  putting  in  the  head- 
gates  and  weirs  in  the  river  reservoirs  and  canals,  including  Beardsley,  Kern 
Island,  Calloway,  James,  Buena  Vista,  Pioneer,  Stine,  East  Side,  etc.,  and 
when  the  task  of  construction  was  completed  he  remained  as  superintendent 
of  the  entire  system  in  all  canal  carpentering,  as  well  as  all  building  con- 
struction for  the  company. 

During  the  long  years  of  his  heavy  responsibilities  with  the  Kern 
County  Land  Company  as  an  employe  on  its  canal  system  Mr.  Coffee  re- 
mained undisturbed  by  any  idea  of  establishing  a  home  of  his  own  until 
finally  he  succumbed  to  the  charms  of  a  most  estimable  woman,  Mrs.  Mary 
(Gofif)  Magoon,  whom  he  married  in  llanford  and  who  lends  comfort  to  his 
home  at  No.  1825  Orange  street.  Bakersfield,  aiding  him  in  dispensing  its 
hospitalities  to  his  nnany  friends.  She  was  born  in  Jafifrey,  N.  H.,  the 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Annie  (Magi  on)  GofT,  natives  of  New  Hampshire 
and  Vermont,  respectively.  Her  ancestors,  on  both  maternal  and  paternal 
sides,  served  in  the  Colonial  and  Revi  lutionary  wars,  and  settled  in  Jaffrey, 
N.  H..  after  the  war.  By  her  former  marriage  she  has  two  children,  Ruth 
Esther  and  Dorris  A.  Formerly  Mr.  CofTee  owned  property  on  Twentieth 
and  G  streets  and  he  has  held  other  ecpiities  at  diiTerent  times.  A  year  afte;: 
coming  to  Kern  county  he  was  initiated  into  the  Bakersfield  Lodge  of  Odd 
Fellows,  with  which  he  has  been  continuously  connected  since  1876  and  to 
whose  philanthrojiies  he  has  licen  a  generous  contributor.     In   adilitinn   Imth 


928  .  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

he  and  his  wife  are  identified  with  the  Order  of  Rebekahs.  Mrs.  Cofifee  has 
always  been  interested-  in  religion  and  in  advancing  its  influence  for  moral 
uplift,  and  she  holds  membership  with  the  First  M.  E.  Church  in  Bakersfield. 

CHARLES  WESLEY  ROWLEE.— Grandfather  James  Rowlee  left  the 
Fatherland  in  early  youth  and  settled  in  New  York  state.  The  son  of  this 
immigrant  was  LaFayette  Rowlee,  a  native  of  the  Empire  state  and  a 
wagon-maker  by  trade.  It  was  in  1857  that  he  set  out  from  Tioga  county 
for  the  west,  first  settling  in  Rockford,  Winnebago  county.  111.  He  made 
his  home  there  on  land  which  he  had  purchased  from  the  government,  and 
later  located  in  Rock  Grove  City,  Floyd  county,  Iowa.  After  coming  to  the 
middle  west,  farming  had  formed  his  chief  occupation,  first  in  Illinois  and 
then  in  Iowa,  and  it  was  while  making  his  home  in  Linn  county  in  the 
latter  state  that  he  passed  away  at  the  comparatively  early  age  of  forty- 
nine  years.  In  maidenhood  his  wife  was  Mary  Ring,  a  native  of  Vermont 
and  the  descendant  of  old  New  England  ancestors,  her  father,  Levi  Ring, 
being  a  participant  in  the  war  of  1812.  Though  born  in  Vermont,  she  was 
reared  chiefly  in  Tioga  county,  N.  Y.,  where  in  young  womanhood  she 
followed  teaching.  She  is  now  living  in  Pasadena,  Cal.,  at  the  venerable 
age  of  ninety-two  years.  In  her  youth  there  were  neither  matches  nor 
stoves,  and  fires  had  to  be  started  with  flint  or  from  the  banking  of  coals. 
The  parental  family  comprised  eight  children,  as  follows :  Charles  W. ; 
Martha,  now  Mrs.  Deeble  of  San  Francisco;  Eugene,  who  resides  near 
Sacramento :  Emma,  now  Mrs.  John  C.  Martin  of  Marion,  Iowa ;  Jessie,  Mrs. 
Smith  of  Sacramento;  Mariette,  who  lives  in  Pasadena;  Minnie,  who  died 
in  Oakdale,  Cal. ;  and  William,  who  resides  in  Oregon. 

Charles  Wesley  Rowlee  was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  just  over  the 
New  York  state  line,  near  Owego,  Tioga  county.  He  was  a  lad  of  nine 
years  when  the  immigration  westward  took  the  family  to  Illinois.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  in  that  state  and  completed  his  education  in 
the  Upper  Iowa  University  at  Fayette.  When  nineteen  years  old  he  began 
leaching  in  Linn,  that  state,  and  so  successfully  did  he  prosecute  the  duties 
of  that  work  that  he  continued  at  it  for  seven  years,  during  which  time 
he  was  married  in  Cedar  Rapids  December  24,  1869,  to  Miss  Martha  A. 
Martin.  She  was  a  native  of  Marion,  Linn  county,  Iowa,  daughter  of  John 
T.  Martin,  who  was  born  in  Westchester,  Pa.  In  1876  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Rowlee  came  to  Stockton,  Cal.,  and  he  soon  became  engaged  in  grain  farm- 
ing near  Lockeford,  but  in  1884  they  decided  to  come  to  Kern  county,  and 
here  they  saw  the  first  artesian  well  bored  in  the  county,  the  operation 
taking  place  on  the  Hoskin's  place  near  Semi-Tropic,  section  24,  town- 
ship 27,  range  23.  Locating  on  the  Goose  Lake  Channel,  he  pre-empted 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  sunk  an  artesian  well  to  the  depth  of  five 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  which  flows  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  miners'  inches, 
and  also  constructed  a  reservoir  for  irrigating  his  crops.  He  has  since  added 
to  his  tract  and  now  has  six  hundred  acres  in  one  body,  two  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  this  devoted  to  growing  alfalfa,  the  remainder  being  used  for 
grazing.  He  also  engaged  in  cattle-raising,  establishing  as  his  brand  the 
half  circle  over  a  V,  and  raised  many  valuable  horses  as  well.  He  is  still 
engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising.  In  1913  he  moved  into 
Bakersfield,  having  built  a  beautiful  residence  on  Chester  Lane,  and  he  is 
now  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  hard  labors,  and  a  well-earned  rest.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Rowlee  were  the  parents  of  six  children :  Nellie  May,  who  married 
George  Tilton.  passed  away  in  Bakersfield.  Dollie,  a  graduate  of  the 
San  Diego  Normal  class  of  1902,  has  been  engaged  in  educational  work, 
being  principal  of  the  Standard  district  school;  she  is  the  wife  of  George  E. 
Tavlnr,  a  merchant  in  Bakersfield.     Clifton  died  in  infancv.     Fannie  C,  also 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  931 

a  graduate  uf  the  San  Diego  Normal  class  of  1902,  followed  teaching,  and 
is  now  the  wife  of  William  Tracy,  of  liutton  Willow.  Gilbert  1'.  is  a 
farmer  on  Goose  Lake  Channel.  Hazel  Irene  is  a  manufacturer  uf  home- 
grown ostrich  plumes  from  the  Tracy  Ostrich  farm.  Mr.  Rowlee  is  a 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Knights  of  i'ythias. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Socialist  and  adheres  closely  to  principles  pertaining  to 
the  party. 

The  heaviest  disaster  which  has  befallen  .Mr.  Reiwiee  in  his  ialjors  as  a 
farmer  was  the  total  loss  of  his  crops  in  I'JUb  through  the  Hooding  uf  the 
land,  when  the  Kern  river  broke  through  and  came  down  the  Goose  Lake 
channel.  Like  all  practical  and  sensible  farmers,  he  at  once  began  to 
fornudate  plans  to  prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  a  disaster  and  by  the  end 
of  the  year  1908  he  had  erected  a  substantial  levee,  which  in  the  future  will 
protect  the  home  place  from  disastrous  floods.  As  a  pioneer  and  progres- 
sive farmer,  he  is  held  in  the  highest  res;)ect  by  acquaintances.  His  thrift 
has  been  of  the  highest  value  as  an  example  to  other  agriculturists  of  the 
community.  F.very  portion  of  his  large  acreage  is  kept  in  first-class  con- 
dition and  is  made  a  source  of  revenue  to  this  far-sighted,  capable  and 
resourceful  farmer.  Mrs.  Rowlee's  father  was  a  cousin  of  Thaddeus  Stevens, 
and  her  great-grandfather  Stevens  was  the  author  of  Steven's  .\rithmelic. 
John  T.  Martin  migrated  from  Pennsylvania  to  Indiana,  whence  he  joined 
the  early  settlers  of  Linn  county,  Iowa.  He  was  an  architect  and  builder. 
Later  he  removed  to  Anderson  county,  Kans.,  and  there  passed  away.  His 
wife,  who  before  her  marriage  was  Miss  Lydia  T.  Moore,  was  born  in 
\A'hitewater,  Ind.,  a  daughter  of  David  Moore  of  an  old  Quaker  family. 
She  died  in  Marion,  Iowa,  in  1911,  when  she  was  eighty-nine  years  of  age. 
.She  always  remained  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  which  she  was 
reared.  Four  of  their  children  grew  to  maturity :  D.  W.  I\Tartin  resides 
in  Buckley,  Wash. ;  John  C.  ]Martin  passed  away  in  Marion,  Iowa  :  Martha  .\. 
became  Airs.  Rowlee;  and  Benjamin  L.  Martin  is  an  apple-grower  in  Chelan, 
^^^^sh.  The  Martin  family  are  originally  from  Fusjland,  the  first  settler  in 
.'Xmerica  locating  at  Philadelphia,  si  cm  after  the  settlement  by  \\'iniani  Penn. 
the  family  being  members  nf  the  Society  of  Friends. 

DAVID  CARTER.— The  adventures  that  filled  the  early  years  of  David 
Carter  would  ha^-e  been  possible  at  no  period  of  our  national  histnr\-  s;ive 
that  of  evolution  and  material  upbuilding.  His  first  exnerience  on  the  vast 
unsettled  plains  came  when  he  was  scarcely  thirteen  years  of  age.  at  which 
time,  in  1852,  he  accompanied  his  parents  as  far  west  as  Salt  Lake  City. 
Prior  to  that  journey  he  had  lived  in  Illinois,  wdiere  his  birth  had  occurred  in 
Adams  county  in  1839.  In  removing  to  the  west  the  family  had  honed  to 
enjoy  greater  advantages  in  the  cultivation  of  land  than  the  state  of  Illinois 
then  afforded.  The  lad,  being  cpiick  to  learn,  soon  acquired  an  excellent 
knowledge  of  the  Indian  language  and  was  on  terms  of  the  greatest  friend- 
liness with  such  of  the  original  Americans  as  remained  on  the  plains  and  in 
the  mountain  reservations.  For  this  reason  he  encountered  no  dangers  of 
Indian  attacks  when  he  engaged  in  teaming  and  hauling  all  through  the  west. 
On  one  occasion  in  1857.  while  freighting,  he  had  overtaken  a  large  train  of 
emigrants  bound  for  California.  While  camping  with  them  a  band  of  savages 
approached.  Mr.  Carter  overheard  them  plotting  in  their  own  language  to 
massacre  every  member  of  the  expedition.  Finally  one  Indian  who  knew  him 
came  up  to  him  and  entered  into  conversation.  In  behalf  of  the  emigrants 
he  made  an  urgent  appeal  to  spare  their  lives,  promising  for  them  that  they 
would  start  early  in  the  morning  and  i)roceed  without  delay  toward  their 
destination  and  also  [ironiising  that  they  would  molest  no  member  of  the 
Indian  race  whom  thev  mitrht  chance  to  meet.     Thmugh  the  intervciitinn  uf 


932  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

this  Indian  chief  who  knew  him,  he  was  able  to  save  the  lives  of  the  entire 
group  of  emigrants.  So  terrified  were  they  by  their  narrow  escape  that  they 
forced  him  to  accompany  them  for  many  days  as  guide  and  protector. 

AVhen  twenty  years  of  age  Mr.  Carter  came  to  California  in  1859  and 
settled  at  San  Bernardino,  where  he  resumed  teaming,  the  occupation  to 
which  throughout  all  of  his  life  he  has  given  his  time  and  attention.  Coming 
to  Kern  county  in  1865  and  selecting  land  on  Kern  Island,  he  began  to  till 
the  soil.  On  that  place  he  built  a  willow  shanty,  to  which  in  1856  he  brought 
his  bride,  who  was  Miss  Sarah  Ann  Carter,  a  native  of  Spencer  county,  Ind., 
and  a  friend  of  his  boyhood.  During  1852  she  had  crossed  the  plains  with 
her  parents  and  had  settled  in  Salt  Lake  City,  whence  in  1859  she  had  accom- 
panied them  to  San  Bernardino  county,  Cal.,  where  she  remained  until  her 
marriage.  Two  daughters  blessed  their  union.  Arminda,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Blanch, 
died  in  Bakersfield,  leaving  three  children,  William,  May,  Mrs.  W.  E.  Piatt, 
of  Taft,  and  Minnie.  William  and  Minnie  reside  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carter 
and  are  a  source  of  pride  and  afifectionate  joy  to  their  grandparents.  The 
other  daughter,  Myrtle,  is  the  wife  of  Otto  P.  Lindgren,  of  Bakersfield,  and 
they  have  one  child.  Otto  Frederick.  After  he  had  spent  a  short  time  on  the 
farm  and  had  then  engaged  in  teaming  at  Kernville  for  two  years,  David 
Carter  removed  to  Los  Angeles  and  gave  his  attention  to  hauling  and  teaming 
in  that  city.  Returning  to  Bakersfield  in  1889,  he  since  has  kept  a  number  of 
teams  and  has  earned  a  comfortable  livelihood  from  hauling,  freighting  and 
teaming.  Throughout  all  of  his  adult  existence  he  has  supported  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  Fraternally  he  has  been  connected  with  the  Ancient  Order 
of  United  Workmen  for  many  years.  As  he  reviews  the  transformation 
wrought  in  Kern  county  since  first  he  came  to  this  region  in  1865,  it  is 
difficult  to  realize  how  much  has  been  accomplished  in  less  than  one-half 
century.  Tall  buildings  stand  where  once  he  hunted  the  wild  hogs  on  the 
streets  of  Bakersfield.  An  expert  marksman,  he  often  shot  deer  and  elk 
in  these  then  unpopulated  regions  and  always  there  was  an  abundance  of 
wild  game  in  the  family  larder.  The  wealth  that  has  been  taken  out  of  the 
earth  by  means  of  the  oil  wells  was  then  undreamed  of.  except  by  a  few 
enthusiasts  regarded  by  others  as  visionary. 

WARREN  RODGERS.— The  late  city  clerk  and  present  postmaster  of 
McKittrick,  a  pioneer  of  1884  in  Pasadena  and  of  1899  in  his  present  locality, 
claims  Iowa  as  his  native  commonwealth  and  was  born  at  Sigourney,  Keokuk 
county,  September  16,  1870,  being  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Ellen  (Payton) 
Rodgers,  natives  respectively  of  Ireland  and  Illinois.  Ancient  Celtic  blood 
flows  in  the  veins  of  the  Rodgers  representatives  in  the  new  world.  Accom- 
panying his  parents  to  the  eastern  part  of  Ohio  from  his  native  land,  Samuel 
Rodgers  grew  to  manhood  in  the  Buckeye  state,  whence  he  settled  in  Iowa 
during  the  pioneer  period  of  agricultural  development  in  Keokuk  county. 
On  a  farm  near  Sigourney,  he  and  his  wife,  who  was  descended  from  an  old 
German  family,  labored  with  the  most  painstaking  industry  in  order  to  care  for 
their  children  and  provide  a  livelihood  for  the  large  family.  Eventually  the 
interests  in  Iowa  were  sold  and  removal  was  made  to  California.  During 
April  of  1884  a  place  was  bought  in  the  v.]d  Indiana  colony  (now  Pasadena) 
on  Cypress  avenue,  and  there  he  continued  to  make  his  home  until  he  passed 
out  of  the  earth  life.  Since  then  his  widow  has  remained  at  the  homestead 
in  Pasadena.  Of  their  ten  children  seven  are  still  living.  Warren,  who  was 
less  than  fourteen  at  the  time  of  the  removal  to  the  west,  completed  the 
grammar-school  studies  in  Pasadena,  after  which  he  began  to  earn  his  live- 
iiho(  d  liy  work  in  a  nursery.  Later  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  butcher  and 
upon  coming  to  the  present  site  of  McKittrick  in  the  spring  of  1899  it  was 
with  the  intention  of  opening  a  meat  market  in  this  oil  field,  where  drilling 
had    nnl}'    recenth-    begun.     However,    during    the    first    six    months    here    he 


^:.^.^^  ^f^^^.-^--.. 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  935 

engaged  on  a  surveying  corps,  and  then,  in  the  spring  of  1900,  put  into  elTect 
his  plans  for  opening  the  first  meat  market  of  the  place.  While  continuing  in 
the  business  for  some  years,  before  the  railroad  had  been  built,  he  ran  a  meat 
wagon  into  Taft. 

Associated  with  another  gentleman  in  1912  Mr.  Rodgers  organized  the 
McKittrick  Brick  Company,  of  which  he  has  acted  as  manager  and  wliich 
is  engaged  in  the  handling  of  lime,  cement,  lire  clay  and  explosi\es.  The 
need  of  such  an  enterprise  was  manifest  from  the  first  and  the  company  has 
been  fi  rtunate  in  building  up  an  excellent  trade  in  the  line  of  their  specialties. 
Ever  since  coming  to  this  county  Air.  Rodgers  has  been  a  leader  in  Demo- 
cratic party  afTairs  and  at  this  writing  he  serves  as  a  member  of  the  county 
central  committee.  Deeply  interested  in  the  advancement  of  McKittrick,  he 
has  contributed  to  local  enterprises  by  co-operation,  influence  and  practical 
assistance.  The  appointment  as  the  first  city  clerk  of  McKittrick  came  to 
him  in  1911  and  during  the  spring  of  the  following  year  he  was  elected  to  the 
office  without  any  opposition.  Besides  filling  the  position  he  served  as  e.x- 
officio  city  assessor.  August  19,  1913,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Mc- 
Kittrick, and  it  is  safe  to  "say  that  the  office  will  have  a  very  first-class  service. 

\Miile  making  Pasadena  his  home  Mr.  Rodgers  married  in  that  city  Miss 
Bonnie  M.  Jones,  a  native  of  Marshalltown,  Iowa.  In  that  city  also  he  took 
an  active  part  in  fraternal  affairs.  On  the  organization  of  Pasadena  Camp 
No.  253,  Woodmen  of  the  World,  he  became  a  charter  member,  and  later  he 
entered  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  as  an  active  member,  besides 
which  he  is  an  influential  member  of  the  McKittrick  Tribe,  I.  O.  R.  M.,  in 
which  he  has  been  honored  with  the  iffice  of  sachem. 

NICHOLAS  JAMES  WILLIAMS.— .'V  successful  cattle  man  of  Walk- 
er's Basin,  Mr.  Williams  is  a  native  of  Kern  county,  born  at  Havilah,  May  25, 
1866,  and  was  one  of  the  first  white  children  in  the  county.  His  father,  Thomas 
Williams,  was  born  in  Cornwall,  England,  where  he  was  married  to  Alary 
.Andrews.  Coming  to  California  anund  the  Horn  in  a  sailing  vessel,  he  arrived 
in  San  Francisco  in  1853.  Following  mining  in  various  camps,  he  drifted  into 
Kern  county  in  1855,  where  with  his  brother  he  built  a  mill  at  Keyesville.  which 
they  ran  until  the  freshet  of  1S62  carried  it  away.  He  then  began  farmnig  in 
Walker's  Basin,  continuing  there  until  his  death  in  1906  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
two  years.     His  wife  died  in  1909,  aged  eighty-five  years. 

The  only  child  of  his  parents,  Nicholas  James  WilHams  spent  his  child- 
hood on  the  ranch  in  Walker's  Basin,  receiving  his  education  in  the  public 
schools.  In  1873  his  father  gave  him  a  line-back  heifer  calf,  which  was  his 
beginning  in  the  cattle  business.  While  continuing  to  help  his  father,  he 
watched  his  own  herd,  which  was  continually  growing  larger.  From  the 
age  of  eleven  he  rode  the  range  and  he  has  been  interested  in  cattle  raising 
ever  since,  his  brand  being  the  well-known  Mule  Shoe  L.  Many  years  ago 
he  purchased  the  Joe  Welch  homestead  in  Walker's  liasin  which  has  since 
been  his  residence  and  headquarters.  He  also  owns  three  other  ranches  in 
Walker's  Basin,  one  of  which,  adjoining  his  father's  old  place,  he  home- 
steaded.  The  latter  has  seven  hot  springs  on  one  flat,  not  only  mineral  water, 
but  suitable  fc  r  irrigating  his  lands,  as  he  built  reservoirs  for  that  purpose. 
For  his  summer  range  he  owns  a  stock  ranch  at  the  foot  (if  Piute  Mountain, 
a  valuable  acquisition  to  his  stock  business.  His  investments  are  not  alone 
confined  to  Kern  county,  for  he  owns  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  api)le 
iand  in  Mariposa  county,  which  is  rapidly  growing  into  value. 

Mr.  Williams  was  first  married  in  Kernville  to  Miss  Alice  Yates,  who 
was  bom  in  Kernville,  the  daughter  of  William  and  .Anna  Yates,  pioneers 
of  the  county.  Mrs.  Alice  \\'illiams  died  in  1899,  leaving  four  children  :  Mary 
-Mice,  who   is   a   graduate   of   the   Stockton    Normal   and    who   is    engaged    in 


936  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

teaching ;  Virginia  A.,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Crocker  Street  Hospital,  Los 
Angeles,  and  is  now  a  nurse ;  Lyman  E.,  and  Beatrix,  who  are  remaining  at 
home.  At  Havilah  in  1901  Mr.  Williams  was  married  a  second  time,  being 
united  with  Mrs.  May  (Palmer)  McClure,  who  was  born  in  Merced,  Cal. 
Her  father,  Frank  C.  Palmer,  was  for  many  years  prior  to  his  death  super- 
visor of  Mariposa  county.  Mrs.  Williams  was  a  graudate  of  the  Mariposa 
schools.  Her  first  marriage  was  to  George  McClure.  who  died  in  Mariposa 
county,  and  of  the  union  there  was  one  child,  Georgia,  a  graduate  of  the 
Dinuba  high  school,  and  now  a  teacher.  Of  the  present  union  there  are  five 
children :  Elva,  Helen,  Clara,  Violet  and  Hazel.  Mr.  Williams  has  always 
been  a  Democrat.  For  many  years  he  has  been  clerk  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees of  the  Walker's  Basin  school  district,  and  is  greatl}'  interested  in  main- 
taining a  high  standard  for  the  district  schools.  He  is  also  one  of  the  state 
fire  wardens  in  the  Kern  National  Forest  Reserve. 

ALBERT  M.  TAYLOR.— The  manager  of  the  Fellows  branch  of  the 
Associated  Supply  Company  has  been  a  resident  of  California  since  the  latter 
part  of  1906  and  in  various  capacities,  each  rising  above  its  predecessor  in 
point  of  importance,  he  has  been  connected  with  the  same  firm  since  August 
of  1908,  having  first  been  retained  as  clerk  in  dififerent  departments,  then 
promoted  to  be  assistant  storekeeper,  and  finally,  in  November,  1912,  trans- 
ferred to  the  Fellows  branch  as  manager,  which  responsible  position  he  fills 
with  efficiency.  Although  a  native  of  Iowa,  born  near  Brandon,  Greene 
County,  May  17,  1880,  but  little  of  his  life  has  been  passed  in  that  state,  for 
he  was  only  four  years  of  age  when  the  family  removed  to  Missouri  and 
settled  in  Gentry  County.  His  parents,  Levi  W.  and  Margaret  B.  (Albert) 
Taylor,  were  natives  of  Ohio.  At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia the  father,  who  was  then  a  young  man  without  domestic  ties,  crossed 
the  plains  with  a  party  of  emigrants  and  tried  his  luck  in  the  gold  fields 
without  any  great  success.  Upon  returning  east  of  the  mountains  he  settled 
in  Iowa  and  took  up  farm  pursuits.  During  1884  he  removed  to  Missouri  and 
eventually  became  a  resident  of  Oklahoma,  where  he  died  at  Anadarko.  Later 
his  widow  came  to  California,  where  she  now  makes  her  home  in  Bakersfield. 

In  a  family  of  six  children  that  grew  to  maturity  and  are  now  all  living, 
Albert  M.  Taylor  was  the  fourth  child.  After  he  had  finished  the  grammar 
grade  in  Gentry  County,  Mo.,  he  took  up  the  study  of  telegraphy  and  soon 
became  an  assistant  on  the  O  system,  rising  to  be  an  operator  and  agent  on 
that  line.  From  Missouri  he  went  to  Colorado.  At  the  time  of  the  Boxer 
rebellion  in  China  he  enlisted  in  the  regular  army.  In  June  of  1900  his  name 
was  enrolled  as  a  private  in  Comnany  K,  Eighth  United  States  Infantry. 
With  his  command  he  set  sail  from  San  Francisco  on  the  31st  of  August  and 
proceeded  across  the  ocean  on  a  transport.  The  original  destination  was 
Nagasaki,  Japan,  but  later  orders  changed  the  course  of  the  vessels  to  Manila 
where  in  December  of  the  same  year  he  was  transferred  to  the  signal 
corps.  After  having  served  on  dififerent  parts  of  the  various  islands  of  the 
Philippines  and  particularly  on  the  Negros,  Cebu  and  Panay  islands,  where 
his  skill  as  an  operator  proved  of  value  to  the  command,  he  was  honorably 
discharged  in  March,  1903,  by  special  order  of  William  H.  Taft,  then  secretary 
of  war.  Next  he  was  commissioned  a  second  lieutenant  in  the  telegra^hic 
division  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Philippine  constabulary  and  from  that 
rank  he  rose  to  be  first  lieutenant.  During  the  fall  of  1905  the  teleeraphic 
division  was  removed  from  constabulary  jurisdiction  and  placed  under  the 
postoffice  department,  Mr.  Taylor  thereupon  being  appointed  a  district  post- 
office  inspector.  Upon  his  resignation  from  that  position  in  November,  1906, 
he  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  from  there  went  south  to  Long  Beach, 
where  for  two  years  he  served  as  a  deputv  in  the  office  of  the  city  assessor. 
In  that  city  he  married  Miss  Bessie  B.   Boettcher,  who  was  born  in  South 


i 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  939 

Dakota  and  by  whom  he  has  two  sons,  Albert  M.,  Jr.,  and  Eugene  E.  Since 
leaving  L<ing  Reacli  he  has  Vjeen  connected  with  the  Associated  Su])i)ly  Com- 
pany, with  whose  officials  he  has  a  high  standing  for  integrity,  intelligence 
and  business  acumen.  Since  his  return  from  the  Philijjpines  he  has  held  mem- 
bership with  the  Spanish-American  War  Veterans,  and  during  the  period 
of  his  residence  in  Ltng  Beach  he  was  a  prominent  member  of  Copipanj'  L, 
Seventh  Regiment.  California  National  Guard. 

ROGER  WHELAN.— The  country  of  Ireland  has  presented  to  the 
L'nited  States  some  of  its  alilest  citizens  who  ha\c  figured  ])rominenth'  in 
both  political  and  commercial  fields,  as  well  as  in  all  the  fields  of  labor 
found  in  this  country  requiring  tact,  keen  perceptive  ability  and  industry. 
Roger  \Mielan  is  one  of  her  sons  who  came  to  the  L'nited  States  in  1862 
to  build  up  his  fortune  and  make  it  his  home.  Settling  first  in  the  state  of 
Connecticut,  he  engaged  in  the  general  work  of  farming,  which  he  followed 
for  some  years,  in  1870  coming  to  California,  which  had  attracted  him  by 
its  exceptional  crops  and  unusually  fine  climate. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  California  Mr.  Whelan  first  h  cated  in  YcAo  county, 
where  he  engaged  in  ranching,  coming  from  there,  in  1873.  to  Kern  county. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  ]\Ir.  Whelan  became  interested  in  sheep  raising, 
realizing  the  profits  attained  thereby,  and  accordingly  he  bought  six  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres  of  land  in  the  Tehachaiu  valley  and  began  farming 
and  stock  raising,  which  became  his  chief  occupation.  lie  raised  high  grade 
cattle,  hogs  and  sheep  which  increased  in  number  so  that  he  was  obliged 
to  add  to  his  holdings  until  he  owned  a  thousand  acres.  When  he  entered 
into  the  stockraising  business  Mr.  Whelan  moved  onto  his  ranch  before  the 
town  of  Tehachapi  was  in  existence,  and  he  has  seen  it  expand  and  grow 
into  a  thriving,  prosperous  place,  taking  an  active  part  himself  in  its  de- 
velopment. In  1913  he  sold  his  ranch  and  sttck  and  located  in  Wilmington, 
where  he  purchased  and  also  built  several  houses,  and  the  same  enterprise 
exhibited  in  building  up  the  Tehachapi  country  is  shown  in  Wilmington. 

THOMAS  S.  SMITH.— Son  of  an  old  pioneer,  T.  S.  Smith  was  born 
at  Visalia,  Tulare  county.  Cal.,  October  25.  1861,  his  parents  being 
Thomas  H.  and  Sophia  M.  (Whittock)  Smith,  who  have  further  mention  in 
another  part  of  this  publication.  A  long  line  of  Anglo-Saxon  forbears  have 
contributed  to  Air.  Smith's  inheritance,  his  father  being  a  native  of  Bristol, 
England,  born  in  1824,  and  throughout  his  life  and  the  rearing  of  his 
family  he  has  exhibited  marked  traits  of  that  excellent  race. 

In  1862  Mr.  Smith  was  brought  by  his  parents  into  Kern  county  where 
the  business  interests  of  the  father  increased  rapidly  and  brought  with 
them  a  degree  of  success  which  has  always  prevailed.  Before  the  end  of 
the  year  1863  they  were  making  their  home  on  the  south  fork  of  the  Kern 
river  and  a  few  years  later  he  was  sent  to  school  in  Havilah.  which  was  then 
the  county  seat.  Later  he  pursued  his  studies  in  Kernville  until  he  was  nine- 
teen, at  which  time  he  took  up  the  activities  of  a  business  life  and  entered 
the  cattle  business.  This  line  of  enterprise  was  naturally  the  one  to  which 
he  would  turn,  as  his  father  had  become  well  known  throughout  the  \icinity 
as  a  large  and  successful  cattle  grower.  Attentive,  alert  and  strictly  honest 
m  his  every  dealing  he  soon  acquired  an  enviable  position  in  the  cattle 
business  world.  He  has  added  to  his  holdings  from  time  to  time  as  his  success 
has  become  more  assured  until  he  is  now  the  owner  of  about  a  thousand  acres 
of  land  and  six  hundred  head  of  well-kept,  fine  cattle. 

Always  interested  in  the  progress  and  general  advancement  of  his 
native  cruntry,  Mr.  Smith  has  never  been  found  wanting  when  his  help  was 
needed,  especial!}-  in  the  local  work  of  his  party,  liis  political  principles 
being  Republican.     For  his   wife  he   chose   a   native   of   San    Francisco,    Miss 


940  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Ella  P.  Merriam,  who  has  proved  a  helpmate  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word, 
by  her  quiet  influence  and  unfailing  co-operation  being  invaluable  to  her 
husband  in  his  many  enterprises.  Three  children  have  been  born  to  this 
union,  Hattie  M.,  Stanley  L.  and  Helen.  The  family  home  is  on  the  South 
Fork  near  Onyx,  Cal. 

DANIEL  WAGGONER  WALSER.— Born  near  Jefferson  City,  Mo., 
February '9,  1834,  D.  W.  Walser  is  the  son  of  Squire  P.  and  Elizabeth  (Wag- 
goner) Walser.  The  former  was  born  on  the  Yadkin  river.  North  Carolina, 
and  on  both  sides  descended  from  old  Southern  families  of  German  descent. 
On  the  maternal  side  his  grandfather  Laup  served  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
as  a  commissioned  officer  under  Gen.  George  Washington. 

Squire  Walser,  a  farmer  in  Tennessee,  was  there  married,  his  wife  being 
a  native  of  that  state.  They  removed  to  near  Jefferson  City,  Mo.,  where  they 
spent  their  last  days.  Of  the  five  children  Daniel  was  the  youngest  and  is 
the  only  one  living.  His  childhood  was  spent  on  the  Missouri  farm,  and  he 
received  a  common  school  education.  In  1852  he  crossed  the  plains  with  ox- 
teams,  being  en  route  four  months  and  seventeen  days.  The  first  four  years 
were  spent  in  placer  mining,  after  which  he  came  to  Visalia,  arriving  in 
November,  1856,  and  engaged  in  the  cattle  business.  He  bought  cattle  in 
Los  Angeles,  then  only  a  small  adobe  town  of  about  four  thousand,  and  drove 
them  by  way  of  Ft.  Tejon  and  Placerville  to  Nevada,  selling  them  in  the 
mines,  and  generally  making  two  trips  in  a  season.  In  the  fall  of  1863  he 
went  with  a  party  overland  to  Arizona,  but  not  being  satisfied  with  the  outlook 
he  returned  to  Los  Angeles,  and  there,  in  December,  1863,  met  the  lady  who 
afterwards  became  his  wife.  Her  father,  A.  T.  Lightner,  Sr.,  was  then  living  in 
Walkers  Basin.  Mr.  Walser  arrived  there  in  January,  1864,  and  on  March  24, 
1864,  he  married  Miss  Mary  F.  Lightner,  born  in  Lexington,  Mo.,  January  6, 
1845.  (For  more  facts  relative  to  the  Lightner  family,  refer  to  biography 
of  Mrs.  Walser's  brother,  A.  T.  Lightner,  Jr.) 

Mrs.  Walser  was  only  five  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  crossing  the  plains 
and  her  education  was  obtained  principally  in  San  Jose,  coming  to  Kern 
county  in  1857. 

After  their  marriage  Mr.  Walser  bought  a  claim  in  the  lower  part  of 
Walkers  Basin,  where  he  resided  for  two  years,  when  he  sold  and  purchased 
a  part  of  his  present  place  at  the  head  of  Walkers  Basin  on  which  he  imme- 
diately located.  After  clearing  the  meadow  of  willows,  grubbing  and  break- 
ing the  soil,  he  erected  suitable  buildings.  A  part  of  the  place  is  a  natural 
meadow  and  is  well  watered  with  large  springs  and  a  creek  that  is  called 
Walser's  creek.  He  purchased  land  adjoining  until  it  contains  twenty-seven 
hundred  acres  and  is  considered  one  of  the  finest  stock  ranches  in  Kern  county. 
All  these  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  cattle  business.  At  first  his  brand  was  a 
7  with  a  bar;  this  he  sold  and  afterwards  established  as  his  brand  the  quarter 
circle  L  which  his  sons  still  use.  He  first  raised  thoroughbred  Shorthorn  and 
afterward  Herefords.  His  business  was  not  limited  to  Walkers  basin,  for  in 
1867  we  find  him  driving  a  flock  of  five  thousand  head  of  sheep  from  Oregon 
to  San  Francisco,  where  they  were  sold,  and  he  also  at  one  time  owned  ranches 
in  Tulare  county,  where  for  some  time  he  engaged  in  wholesale  and  retail 
butcher  business  in  Visalia. 

With  J.  J.  Mack  and  S.  W.  Wible  he  set  out  the  first  commercial  prune 
orchards  in  the  county ;  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield 
and  a  director  of  the  bank  for  nine  years,  when  he  retired.  Of  late  years  he  has 
been  retired  from  active  business,  having  turned  the  business  over  to  his  two 
sons,  and  he  divides  his  time  between  his  old  home  in  Kern  cnunty  and  Santa 
Rosa. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walser  had  seven  children,  of  whom  three  are  living:  John 
Caswell  and  Sidney  J.,  who  are  operating  the  ranch  and  are  extensive  cattle 


/yyhy\-aJ^ 


t^T^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  943 

men  in  Walkers  Basin,  and  Daisy,  Mrs.  Morgan  Wallace  of  Santa  Rosa.  In 
July,  1866,  Daniel  W'alser  was  one  of  four  commissioners  appointed  by  an 
act  of  legislature  to  organize  Kern  county.  The  other  members  of  the  com- 
mission were  Col.  Thomas  Baker,  J.  M.  Brite  and  Michael  Erskine,  all  de- 
ceased but  Mr.  Walser.  They  met  at  old  Havilah  and  there  laid  the  county  out 
into  voting  precincts  and  called  the  first  county  election  and  arranged  for  the 
survey  of  the  county  line.  One  year  later  Mr.  Walser  became  a  candidate  and 
was  elected  supervisor  and  served  as  chairman  of  the  board  for  one  term. 
During  all  these  early  years  he  gave  of  his  time  and  means  to  upbuilding  and 
furthering  the  interests  of  the  county.  Always  interested  in  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation he  was  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  school  trustees  of  Walkers 
Basin  district  and  aided  in  building  the  first  school  house.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Walser  are  both  members  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Bakersfield.  Mr.  Walser 
is  a  Democrat  and  a  leader  in  the  councils  of  his  party  in  Kern  county. 

JEREMIAH  McCarthy.— Born  on  a  farm  in  County  Cork,  Ireland, 
April  13,  1843,  Jeremiah  AlcCarthy  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  educated 
in  the  national  schools.  In  1862  he  came  to  Boston.  Mass.,  and  for  two  years 
he  worked  at  farming:  then  was  an  employe  of  the  weighers  and  gangers. 
Having  heard  many  encouraging  reports  from  California  he  became  inter- 
ested and  in  1867  came  out  west  to  see  the  land  of  gold  and  sunshine.  He 
arrived  in  San  Francisco,  February  7,  1867,  coming  on  the  Moses  Taylor 
from  San  Juan  del  Sur,  he  having  made  the  journey  to  the  Pacific  coast  via 
the  Nicaragua  route  from  New  York  city.  He  was  employed  by  the  Spring 
Valley  \\'ater  Company  until  1868,  when  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Cen- 
tral Pacific  Railroad  at  Palisades,  Nev.,  where  he  worked  on  repairs,  s.wing- 
ing  a  hammer  and  using  the  shovel.  In  1870  we  find  him  working  on  the 
construction  of  the  railroad  at  Lathrop.  In  1871  he  became  a  foreman  on 
construction  for  the  Northern  Pacific  in  Washington,  where  he  remained 
until  1873,  then  returning  to  California  to  become  foreman  for  the  Southern 
Pacific  at  Borden  and  other  places  along  the  road  to  Tehachapi,  where  he  was 
extra  foreman.  In  1881  he  again  took  a  position  as  foreman  on  construction 
of  the  Northern  Pacific,  working  in  Washington,  Idaho  and  Montana,  and 
while  there  was  promoted  to  general  foreman.  On  his  return  to  California 
in  1883  he  became  foreman  on  the  hill,  as  it  is  called  by  railroad  men,  and 
after  two  years  at  Tehachapi  he  was  eight  years  at  Keene.  In  November, 
1893,  he  became  foreman  at  Bealeville  and  continued  in  that  capacity  until 
1907  when  he  resigned  and  retired  from  railroading  to  engage  in  farming 
and  stock-raising.  He  owns  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  at  Bealeville  where 
he  has  made  the  necessary  impro\-ements  for  carrying  on  the  raising  ol  hay 
and  cattle,  his  two  brands  Ijeing  the  quarter-circle  under  the  figure  3  and  a 
dtiuble  J  with  bar  underneath. 

Mr.  McCarthy  was  first  married  in  Tehachapi  to  Hattie  Walsh,  who 
was  born  in  County  Sligo,  Ireland,  and  died  in  Dixon,  Cal.  His  second 
marriage,  June  13,  1898,  was  with  Mrs.  Mary  (Heskin)  Davron,  a  native  of 
County  Ma3'o,  Ireland,  the  ceremony  being  performed  in  Tehachajji  by  Rev. 
John  Reynolds.  Of  this  union  are  three  children:  Jeremiah  Michael,  Thomas 
Patrick  and  Eugene.  By  her  former  marriage  Mrs.  McCarthy  has  one  living 
child,  Mortimer.  Having  been  reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
church,  Mr.  and  Airs.  McCarthy  are  members  of  that  church. 

JOHN  G.  STAHL.— As  president  of  the  Kern  Live  Stock  .Association, 
and  as  a  director  of  the  California  Jersey  Breeders  Association,  Mr.  Stahl 
holds  a  position  in  the  state  which  evidences  his  extensive  knowledge  of  the 
many  fine  points  of  the  cattle  business,  as  well  as  an  executive  ability  which 
is  capable  of  a  vast  amount  of  labor.  He  has  made  a  scientific  study  of  the 
business,  and  has  put  forth  his  utmost  efifort  to  bring  about  the  finest  and 
best  results. 


944  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Mr.  Stahl  came  to  Kern  county  in  1887.  His  early  life  was  spent  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  was  born  January  16,  1864,  and  where  he  at- 
tended school  up  to  the  age  of  twelve  years.  He  was  obliged  to  look  after 
himself  at  an  early  day,  owing  to  the  death  of  his  father,  and  until  he  was 
seventeen  worked  on  farms  through  Ohio.  .  Going  to  Nebraska  he  worked 
there  for  about  a  year,  in  the  fall  of  1882  coming  to  California  and  procur- 
ing work  on  the  Nadeau  ranch  in  Los  Angeles  county.  In  1887  he  came 
to  Kern  county  and  engaged  in  the  hauling  of  borax  from  Death  Valley  to 
Mojave,  driving  the  twenty-mule  team  for  about  two  years.  He  then  took 
up  a  homestead  and  timber  claim  adjoining  the  Tejon  ranch,  on  which  he 
carried  on  dry  farming.  Besides  serving  as  school  trustee  there  he  also 
gave  public  service  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  his  fulfillment  of  the  duties 
of  these  offices  proved  highly  satisfactory  to  the  community  he  represented. 
Some  time  later  he  sold  out  and  came  to  Bakersfield  and  for  two  years 
engaged  in  hauling  oil  from  the  oil  fields  to  town.  In  1902  he  leased  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  for  five  years  on  what  is  called  the  Island, 
and  on  this  property  he  engaged  in  farming  and  dairying.  In  the  year  1906 
he  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land,  but  did  not  come  into  possession  of  it 
until  1907.  This  land  he  developed  and  improved,  and  in  April,  1910,  he 
sold  it  and  came  to  his  present  place.  Associating  himself  with  H.  R.  Pea- 
cock, he  went  east  with  him  in  1911  and  assisted  in  the  purchase  of  cattle 
for  Mr.  Peacock's  ranch,  of  which  he  was  the  manager  for  three  years. 

JEAN  EDWARD  BERTRAND.— A  native  of  France,  Jean  Edward 
Bertrand  was  born  in  Basses-Alpes,  January  25,  1870,  the  son  of  Jacques 
and  Josephine  (Bernard)  Bertrand,  farmers  and  stockraisers  in  that  country. 
Jean  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  in  France  and  educated  in  the  local  schools. 
Having  heard  reports  of  splendid  opportunities  in  California,  when  twenty 
years  of  age  he  determined  to  come  hither  and  start  for  himself.  He  arrived 
in  San  Francisco  June  10,  1850,  and  in  September  of  the  same  year  came  to 
Delano,  Kern  county.  He  immediately  entered  the  e'mploy  of  a  sheepman 
and  three  years  later  bought  a  flock  of  sheep  and  ranged  them  in  Kern,  Inyo 
and  Tulare  counties,  meeting  with  great  success.  In  1899  he  sold  his  sheep 
and  purchased  ten  acres  on  Brundage  Lane,  adjoining  Bakersfield,  and  there 
he  began  farming. 

Mr.  Bertrand  was  married  in  East  Bakersfield  in  July,  1899,  being 
united  with  Lola  Bauer,  a  native  of  Bakersfield  and  the  daughter  of  Fred  and 
Belle  (Kilbreth) )  Bauer,  born  in  Germany  and  San  Francisco,  respectively. 
Her  parents  were  stock  raisers  in  Kern  county.  The  father  died  in  1902, 
while  the  mother  makes  her  home  in  Bakersfield,  where  the  daughter  was 
reared  and  educated.  With  the  aid  of  his  wife  Mr.  Bertrand  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock  raising,  in  which  they  have  been  very  successful.  In 
1913  they  sold  their  place  on  Brundage  Lane  and  purchased  forty  acres 
ten  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield  in  the  old  river  district  under  the  Stine 
canal,  where  they  are  raising  alfalfa  and  grain.  He  also  owns  a  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acre  ranch  two  miles  above  Granite  Station  which  he  uses  for 
cattle  range  in  the  summer,  his  brand  being  J.  B.,  and  he  is  meeting  witli 
merited  success.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bertrand  are  the  parents  of  four  children, 
as  follows:  Jean  Edward,  Josephine  Martlia,  Frederick  and  Dorothy. 

MIGUEL  ECHENIQUE.— The  sheep  business,  which  has  proved  a 
source  of  most  gratifying  results  to  many  who  have  come  to  the  Golden 
State  to  try  their  fortunes,  has  become  the  successful  vocation  of  Aliguel 
Echenique,  who  made  his  way  hither  from  his  native  country  of  Spain  to 
follow  his  brother,  Tomas,  who  had  settled  in  California  and  become  inter- 
ested in  the  sheep  raising  industry.  These  sturdy  sons  of  Spain  were  the 
children   of   Jose    Maria   and    Petra    (Dendarieta)    Echenique,    the    former   a 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  047 

farmer  and  stucknian  in  Xa\arrc  and  the  father  of  se\cn  children.  (  )f  lliose 
Miguel  was  the  fifth  and  was  born  in  Navarre  January  4,  1874. 

The  local  school  of  his  native  place  aft'orded  ]\Ir.  Echeni(|iie  liis  educa- 
tional training:  and  he  completed  his  course  of  studies  in  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage. The  year  18^9  brought  him  to  Kern  county,  Cal.,  where  his  brother 
Tomas  had  settled,  and  he  immediately  began  work  for  a  sheep  grower 
herding  sheep.  By  industry  and  economy  he  soon  found  himself  in  the  pos- 
session of  means  and  in  1905  he  purchased  a  flock  of  sheep  and  began  for 
himself  a  business  that  he  has  continued  to  the  present  time.  His  increasing 
flock  he  ranges  on  the  plains  and  in  the  mountains  of  Kern,  In}-o  and  Mono 
counties,  and  his  stock  has  an  enviable  reputation  in  the  market  for  its 
special  quality  and  fine  condition  generally. 

W'ith  his  wife,  whose  maiden  name  was  Marie  Louisa  Etcheverry  and 
whose  birthplace  was  Aldudes.  I'.asses-Pyrenees,  France,  he  makes  his  home 
in  a  comfortable  residence  at  Xo.  801  Quincy  street.  East  Bakersfield.  Mrs. 
Echenique  was  the  daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  (Laxague)  Etcheverry, 
who  still  reside  on  their  farm  in  the  lofty  Pyrenees.  One  child  was  born  to 
the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Echenit|ue,  which  took  place  in  East  I'.akersfield 
in  1911,  and  they  have  named- him  Tomas  to  perpetuate  the  name  of  Mr. 
Echenique's  brother. 

HENRY  DIBBLE  WEST.— \\'hen  the  tide  of  pioneer  travel  to  Cali- 
fornia was  yet  at  its  height  there  came  across  the  plains  during  the  summer 
of  1853  Dr.  Charles  N.  and  Martha  (Dibble)  West,  natives  respectively  of  New 
Hampshire  and  Connecticut.  The  young  couple  settled  in  Stanislaus  county, 
where  occurred  the  birth  of  their  eldest  child,  Henry  Dibble,  April  23.  1854. 
Later  th6  family  removed  to  Santa  Cruz  county,  where  the  mother  died;  and 
at  this  writing  the  father,  active  and  mentally  alert  notwithstanding  his 
ninety-one  busy  years,  is  living  in  San  Francisco.  The  eldest  child  received 
public-school  advantages  supplemented  by  attendance  at  the  University  of  the 
Pacific,  San  Jose.  A  clerkship  in  the  store  of  an  uncle,  Elisha  Giddings,  at 
Turlock  gave  him  his  early  knowledge  of  mercantile  pursuits.  Later  he  was 
employed  in  the  store  of  Simon  Jacobs  at  Plainsburg,  Merced  county,  still 
later  conducting  a  mercantile  establishment  at  that  place  on  his  own  account. 
In  1881  he  moved  the  business  to  Hanford,  two  years  later  selling  out  to  be- 
come manager  of  the  store  of  Manassa  &  Jacobs  at  Traver.  During  his  resi- 
dence at  Traver  he  served  for  several  years  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  also 
acquired  farming  interests.  Upon  his  arrival  in  Kern  county  in  1889  he  lo- 
cated a  homestead  in  the  Weed  Patch.  After  proving  up  on  the  property  he 
sold  it  and  bought  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  school  land  three  miles 
south  of  what  is  now  Edison.  On  that  place  he  engaged  in  raising  grain  and 
stock.  During  1900  he  bought  twenty  acres  in  the  Fairfax  district,  three  miles 
from  East  Bakersfield,  where  he  engaged  in  raising  alfalfa.  Forty  acres  have 
been  added  to  the  original  twenty,  and  both  being  under  the  east  side  canal, 
he  has  an  excellent  alfalfa  ranch.  liesides  operating  the  land  he  sold  hay  to  the 
oil  companies  in  the  Kern  river  field  and  continued  in  the  hay  business  from 
1904  until  his  death,  which  (  ccurred  January  20,  1911,  on  the  home  ranch. 
Politically  a  Democrat,  a  citizen  of  progressive  views  and  splenilid  public 
spirit,  he  had  served  as  deputy  county  assessor  and  for  seven  years  had  been 
clerk  of  the  school  boards  in  both  Mountain  View  and  Fairfa.x  districts.  .\n 
organizer  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Bakersfield,  to  which  his  wife 
and  all  the  members  of  her  family  still  belong,  he  served  as  a  trustee  and  elder 
and  aided  largely  in  the  erection  of  the  house  of  worship  on  O  street. 

The  marriage  of  Henry  Dibble  West  and  Rebecca  E.  Lauder  was 
solemnized  at  F^lainsburg,  Merced  comity,  February  20,  1881.  Miss  Lauder 
was  a  native  of  Rockburn,  Huntingdon  county,  province  of  Quebec,  Canada, 
and  was  the  eldest  daughter  in  a  familv  of  eleven  children,  six  of  whom  now 


948  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

survive.  The  father,  Andrew  Lauder,  a  native  of  Montreal  of  Scotch  descent 
and  a  wheelwright  and  carpenter  by  trade,  married  Eliza  Waller,  a  native  of 
Ireland.  Leaving  his  family  in  Canada  he  came  on  to  California  in  1868  in 
search  of  a  suitable  location.  The  mother  died  in  1869  and  it  was  not  until 
1875  that  the  children  joined  their  father  in  California,  settling  at  Plainsburg, 
where  he  had  engaged  in  carpentering  and  also  served  as  justice  of  the  peace. 
His  last  days  were  passed  at  Merced.  During  the  last  twelve  months  of  his 
life  he  was  an  invalid  as  a  result  of  a  stroke  of  paralysis.  It  fell  to  the  lot 
of  the  eldest  daughter  in  this  large  family  to  act  as  housekeeper  after  the 
death  of  her  mother  and  hence  she  had  not  the  opportunity  for  a  collegiate 
education,  yet  she  is  the  possessor  of  unusual  business  ability  and  always 
has  been,  not  only  a  home-maker,  but  a  practical  assistant  in  the  business 
affairs  of  the  family.  One  year  after  the  death  of  her  husband  she  left  the 
farm  and  settled  at  No.  2020  E  street,  Bakersfield.  Aside  from  the  home 
ranch  she  owns  fifty  acres  of  citrus  land  near  Edison,  on  which  there  is  a  deep 
well  and  a  pumping  plant  sufficient  to  irrigate  the  land  for  alfalfa  and  fruit. 
The  family  also  has  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  Cedar  creek  near  Poso 
Flat,  where  a  specialty  is  made  of  the  raising  of  draft  horses.  Her  eldest  sons, 
Henry  D.,  Andrew  L.  and  Albert,  are  in  charge  of  the  farming  operations  of 
the  estate.  Mrs.  Martha  Treadway  lives  on  a  farm  near  Bakersfield;  Mrs. 
Emily  Kiger  makes  her  home  in  East  Bakersfield ;  Mrs.  Laura  Parker  is  a 
resident  of  Bakersfield.  The  three  youngest  children.  Ruby,  Francis  S.  and 
Charles  W.,  remain  with  their  mother  in  the  Bakersfield  home. 

THOMAS  J.  CORNISH.— Whatever  of  success  Mr.  Cornish  has  achieved 
(and  it  has  been  noteworthy)  it  must  be  attributed  to  his  own  persistence  in 
the  midst  of  the  discouraging  experiences  of  his  early  years.  He  wais  born  in 
Cornwall,  England,  August  8,  1870,  being  the  only  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
(Ball)  Cornish,  honest  and  well-to-do  farmers  of  that  shire.  At  the  age  of 
six  months  his  father  was  taken  from  him  by  death,  after  which  he  and  his 
mother  went  to  live  with  his  grandfather,  George  Ball,  a  farmer  of  Cornwall. 
The  boy  was  sent  to  the  St.  Columb  schools  and  thus  acquired  a  knowledge  of 
the  three  R's.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  left  Cornwall  for  Canada  and  in 
Toronto  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  a  baker  under  his  uncle.  Mr. 
Tonkyn,  who  did  all  in  his  power  to  give  the  lad  a  correct  knowledge  of  the 
principles  of  the  bakery  business.  Upon  the  completion  of  his  time  he  came 
to  the  States  and  followed  his  occuoation  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  A.ustin,  Pa.. 
after  which  in  1903  he  came  to  California.  The  failure  of  his  health  prevented 
him  from  devoting  his  attention  to  his  trade  and  therefore,  having  invented 
and  patented  an  oil  burner  for  bake-ovens,  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  this  article.  While  able  to  earn  a  livelihood  he  made  no  financial 
progress  and  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Bakersfield  during  June  of  1908  he 
had  little  capital  except  his  restored  health  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
baking  business. 

Having  no  acquaintance  with  business  men  and  no  financial  standing, 
he  worked  for  one  year  on  a  salary  and  then  began  baking  on  a  very  small 
scale.  In  his  subsequent  success  his  wife  has  been  of  the  greatest  assistance. 
Indeed,  to  her  intelligent  co-operation  he  attributes  in  large  part  the  splendid 
standing  he  now  enjoys  as  a  business  man  and  skilled  baker.  Prior  to  their 
marriage  in  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y.,  she  was  Miss  Bessie  Mcintosh,  a  resident 
of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  having  been  born  at  Springville,  Erie  county.  Possessing 
ability  of  an  high  order,  she  has  been  able  to  promote  the  success  of  the  busi- 
ness in  which  her  interest  has  been  as  great  as  his  own. 

For  a  time  after  opening  his  bakery  Mr.  Cornish  did  all  of  the  baking 
without  help  and  during  the  first  two  weeks  his  boy  delivered  the  goods  with 
a  basket.  That  soon  proved  inadequate  and  he  rented  a  horse  and  wagon. 
.^s  soon  as  he  had  saved  sufficient  money  he  bought  a  horse  and  wagon,  but 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  951 

still  used  the  rented  vehicle.  The  liakery  goods  proved  po])ular  with  critical 
housekeepers.  'J'he  demand  increased  from  time  to  time  and  now  he  uses  five 
wagons  besides  one  automobile  for  delivery  purposes.  Bakers  are  kept  steadily 
at  work  and  five  thousand  loaves  of  bread  are  baked  every  day,  besides  pies, 
cakes,  cookies,  and  other  bakery  goods  in  like  proportions.  His  payroll  amounts 
to  $2500.00  per  month  and  about  $30,000.00  per  annum.  Three  modern  ovens 
of  large  capacity  are  in  constant  service.  The  bakery,'  which  is  by  far  the 
largest  in  Kern  county,  is  located  at  Xo.  1127  Nineteenth  street,  with  a  large 
branch  store  at  No.  1610  Nineteenth  street.  Plans  are  made  for  a  new  factory 
for  the  manufacture  of  bread  and  bakery  goods  on  a  larger  scale  and  a  much 
greater  variety.  This  factory  will  be  installed  with  latest  and  most  modern 
machinery  for  bakery  goods.  The  capacity  will  be  increased  ten  times  in  all 
the  different  lines. 

J.  KELLY  RUSSELL.— The  cashier  of  the  National  Bank  of  Bakers- 
field  traces  his  genealogy  to  several  old  and  honored  colonial  families,  among 
them  being  not  only  the  Russells,  but  also  the  Duncans,  Kellys  and  Rays. 
His  father,  George  C.  Russell,  a  native  of  Bardstown,  Ky.,  and  an  extensive 
stock-raiser,  made  a  specialty  of  breeding  the  thoroughbred  and  standard 
horses  for  which  the  blue  grass  region  has  been  famous  for  more  than  a 
century.  The  farm  which  he  owned  and  operated  stood  in  the  heart  of  that 
noted  region,  six  miles  from  the  city  of  Lebanon,  and  from  it  were  sent  out 
a  number  of  rare  specimens  of  equine  perfection.  One  of  these  animals 
made  a  record  of  2:11  in  Cleveland  more  than  twenty  years  ago.  In  judg- 
ment of  horses  he  was  regarded  as  an  expert  and  in  their  training  he  ac- 
quired a  local  reputation.  By  his  marriage  to  Annie  Kelly,  who  like  himself 
remained  a  lifelong  resident  of  Kentucky,  there  was  an  only  child,  J.  Kelly, 
born  at  Lebanon,  Marion  county,  Ky.,  December  26,  1873,  reared  at  the  old 
homestead,  educated  in  public  schools  and  a  graduate  of  a  local  high  school. 

Regarding  the  ancestry  of  the  mother  of  George  C.  Russell  (who  was 
a  member  of  the  Duncan  family)  it  may  be  stated  that  during  the  eighteenth 
century  three  brothers  left  their  native  Scotland  and  crossed  the  ocean  to  the 
new  world,  where  they  became  separated.  Concerning  the  fate  of  two  of 
these  brothers  nothing  is  known  with  accuracy.  The  third,  Henry  Duncan, 
who  was  born  September  3,  1710,  in  Scotland,  and  who  became  a  pioneer  of 
Virginia,  married  Rebecca  Briggs,  who  was  born  January  7,  1710.  By  their 
union  seven  sons  and  three  daughters  were  born  and  six  of  these  became 
pioneers  of  Kentucky,  namely:  Coleman,  Charles,  George,  Henry,  Fanny 
and  Rebecca.  The  first-named,  Coleman,  married  Mary  Lyne,  and  they  be- 
came the  parents  of  seven  sons  and  three  daughters.  Among  the  sons  was 
George,  born  August  11,  17.S0,  and  married  to  Nancy  Connelly,  member  of  a 
colonial  Virginian  family.  The  family  of  George  and  Nancy  Duncan  com- 
prised six  sons  and  three  daughters.  Of  these  there  still  survived  as  late  as 
1897  two,  the  eldest  and  the  youngest,  viz. :  John  S.,  eighty-two  years  of 
age,  and  Jennie,  who  was  at  that  time  past  sixty. 

The  mother  of  J.  Kelly  Russell  was  a  daughter  of  John  J.  and  Susan 
Jane  (Ray)  Kelly  and  a  granddaughter  of  Richard  A\'.  and  ^Iary  (Knott) 
Ray,  of  whom  the  late  ex-Governor  J.  Proctor  Knott  was  also  a  lineal  de- 
scendant ;  and  also  a  granddaughter  of  George  P.  and  Ann  (Kelly)  Kelly. 
George  P.,  a  son  of  John  and  Jane  (Payne)  Kelly,  was  born  April  6,  1793, 
and  died  April  27,  1847.  Ann,  the  wife  of  George  P.  Kelly  and  a  daughter 
of  James  and  Nancy  Kelly,  was  br)rn  February  21,  1796,  and  died  in  Obion 
county,  Tenn.,  September  27.  1830.  John  J.,  son  of  George  P.  and  Ann 
Kelly,  was  born  November  23,  1818,  and  died  July  12,  1861,  while  his  wife, 
Susan  Jane,  daughter  of  Richard  W.  and  Marv  (Knott)  Ray,  was  born  April 
28,  1824,  and  died  December  19,  189.S.  The  Ray  family  was  prominent  and 
active  in  the  early  colonization  of  Kentucky.  About  the  year  1774  three 
brothers,  John,  James  and  ^Villiam   Ray,   removed   from   Maryland   to   Ken- 


952  HISTORY   OF   KERN    COUNTY 

tucky  and  settled  near  the  present  site  of  Harrodsburg,  Mercer  county,  where 
William  was  soon  killed  by  the  Indians.  John  and  James  represented  the 
very  highest  type  of  physical  manhood,  being  over  six  feet  tall,  muscular, 
broad-shouldered,  fearless  and  brave,  endowed  with  remarkable  powers  of 
endurance  and  with  every  requisite  of  the  typical  pioneer,  Indian  fighter  and 
woodsman.  During  their  first  years  in  Kentucky  they  made  extensive  ex- 
plorations of  the  surrounding  wilderness.  In  one  of  these  trips  they  visited 
the  wild  lands  of  Kentucky  county  (now  Marion  county)  and  there  they 
entered  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  western  part  of  the  county  near  the  present 
site  of  Raywick. 

During  the  year  1794  a  number  of  families  (including  the  Rays,  Beards 
and  Knotts)  from  near  the  present  site  of  Ellicott  ]\Iills  in  Maryland  re- 
moved to  the  wilderness  of  Kentucky  and  settled  on  the  lands  of  John  and 
James  Ray,  including  the  present  site  of  Raywick  and  the  surrounding 
country.  Even  before  the  migration  of  that  colony  as  early  as  1792,  Thomas 
P.  and  Frances  (Ray)  Knott,  had  left  Maryland  for  Kentucky  and  had  taken 
passage,  on  a  flat-boat  at  Pittsburg,  whence  they  sailed  down  the  Ohio  river 
to  the  Falls  near  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Louisville.  Leaving  the  boat 
at  that  point,  they  traveled  by  wagon  to  the  new  colony  near  Raywick  and 
in  the  primeval  wilderness  established  a  frontier  home.  Their  family  in- 
cluded the  following-named  children :  Nancy,  who  married  Anthony  Bick- 
ett;  Joseph  P.,  who  married  Maria  I.  McElroy;  Mary,  wife  of  Richard  Ray; 
Thomas  P.,  who  married  Frances  Payne;  Frances,  Mrs.  Stephen  Bristow ; 
Jane  Hart,  who  died  unmarried  at  the  age  of  twenty-five;  Samuel,  who  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  Ray;  Lloyd,  who  married  Martha  Allen;  and  Ellen,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  sixteen.  Included  in  the  Ray  family  were  the  following 
brothers  and  sisters:  John  S.,  who  married  Kitty  Beard;  Samuel,  who  mar- 
ried Rosa  Everhart;  Frances,  Mrs.  Thomas  P.  Knott;  Deborah,  Mrs.  Lloyd 
Thurman ;  Mrs.  John  Barbee.  whose  husband  was  the  son  of  a  noted  general ; 
Lloyd,  who  married  Nancy  Wickliffe,  a  sister  of  Governor  Charles  A.  Wick- 
liflfe  and  Robert  Wicklifife,  the  most  famous  lawyers  of  their  day  in  Ken- 
tucky; and  William  (known  as  Col.  Billy  Ray),  who  married  his  cousin, 
.Sarah  Ray. 

In  life,  character  and  attainments  J.  Kelly  Russell  has  added  prestige  to 
the  honored  name  which  he  bears.  After  leaving  school  he  became  a  mes- 
senger in  the  Marion  National  Bank  in  Lebanon,  Ky.,  and  later  was  pro- 
moted to  be  bookkeeper.  Upon  resigning  that  position  he  came  to  Califor- 
nia, where  for  eight  years  he  was  connected  with  the  Edison  Electric  Light 
and  Power  Company  of  San  Francisco.  After  a  period  of  service  as  assistant 
cashier  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  branch  office  in  San  Francisco  and  be- 
came office  manager  of  the  Western  Light  &  Power  Company,  in  which  also 
he  was  secretary  and  a  director.  When  he  resigned  that  responsible  position 
he  became  credit  man  and  confidential  secretary  for  Swabacker  Bros.,  a  firm 
of  wholesale  commission  merchants,  with  whom  he  continued  until  the  busi- 
ness was  sold  and  the  partners  retired.  During  January  of  1911  he  came  to 
Bakersfield  as  assistant  cashier  of  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield  and  a  year  later 
was  promoted  to  be  cashier,  remaining  in  that  capacity  until  the  bank  was 
discontinued  at  its  old  location  November  1,  1912,  having  been  consolidated 
during  the  previous  month  with  the  Security  Trust  Company.  However,  in 
the  meantime  he  had  become  convinced  of  the  great  possibilities  of  Bakers- 
field. Entertaining  the  most  optimistic  opinion  of  the  city's  future  develop- 
ment, he  was  anxious  to  continue  in  the  banking  business  at  this  point.  Ac- 
cordingly through  his  own  efTorts,  supplementing  the  enterprise  of  other  pro- 
gressive citizens,  a  new  bank  was  organized  ]\Iarch  6,  1913,  and  on  the  15th 
of  April  the  National  Bank  of  Bakersfield,  with  a  paid-in  capital  of  $100,- 
000.00,  began  in  business.  The  success  of  the  institution  has  surpassed  the 
most  sanguine  hopes  of  its  projectors.     Conservative  loans  and  judicious  in- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  955 

vestments  govern  tlie  policy  of  tlie  managers,  who  make  their  motto,  "Not 
the  largest  business,  but  a  safe  business  at  all  times."  The  officers  are  as 
follows:  C.  L.  Claflin,  president;  F.  H.  Hall  and  W.  A.  Bonynge,  vice- 
presidents;  I.  K.  Russell,  cashier;  F.  J.  Galtes,  assistant  cashier.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  directors:  C.  L.  Claflin,  F.  H.  Hall,  W.  A.  Bonynge,  J.  O. 
Michelle,  ].  K.  Russell,  Joseph  Redlick,  George  Haberfelde,  A.  P.  Evraud, 
W.  W.  Kelly,  L.  P.  Keester,  J.  B.  Batz,  E.  D.  Burge  and  E.  M.  Brown. 

Since  coming  to  this  city  Mr.  Russell  has  allied  himself  with  the  Bakers- 
field  Club  and  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.  During  the  period 
of  his  residence  in  San  Francisco  he  met  and  married  Miss  Aimee  Rogers,  a 
native  of  Los  Angeles  and  a  graduate  of  the  San  Jose  high  school,  her  father, 
William  J.   Rogers,  having  been  a  well-known  citizen  of  San  Jose. 

LEWIS  ROGER  BUCHANAN.— Of  western  birth  and  formerly  a  resi- 
dent of  various  parts  of  the  west,  Mr.  Buchanan  was  burn  at  Coal  Creek  near 
Pueblo,  Colo.,  November  7,  1882,  and  is  a  son  of  John  L.  and  Mary  Ann  (Buck- 
bee)  Buchanan,  the  former  a  laboring  man  for  years  employed  as  a  well-digger 
by  the  Santa  h'e  Railroad  Company.  There  were  three  children  in  the  family, 
namely :  Lewis  Roger,  of  Taft ;  Ora  P.,  a  partner  of  his  older  brother 
in  the  pool  hall  at  Taft ;  and  Eva  May,  who  married  J.  W.  Skaggs,  an  employe 
at  McKittrick  of  the  great  corporation  of  Miller  &  Lux.  When  the  eldest 
child  was  a  mere  infant  the  famil}-  removed  from  Colorado  to  the  Indian 
Territory,  where  the  father  was  employed  in  digging  wells  for  the  .Santa  Fe. 
.About  1885  another  move  was  made  to  CVegon,  where  the  father  first  engaged 
in  construction  work  at  Cascade  Falls.  The  mother  died  at  Roseburg,  that 
state,  when  Lewis  R.  was  a  lad  of  ten  years  and  afterward  he  left  the  schools 
of  Roseburg,  finishing  the  grammar-school  studies  at  Myrtle  Point,  Coos 
county.  During  1900  he  came  to  California  and  settled  at  llanford,  where 
his  father  still  resides. 

After  having  been  variously  employed  until  190()  Mr.  lUiclianan  then 
spent  a  short  time  in  Los  Angeles  at  the  carpenter's  trade.  During  the 
winter  of  1906-07  he  worked  as  a  carpenter  at  Coalinga.  In  a  short  time  he 
was  made  head  rig-buik!er  for  the  Imperial  Oil  Company  and  for  two  years 
he  filled  the  position  with  efficiency.  Shortly  after  the  great  fire  at  Taft  he 
came  to  the  town  and  began  to  work  in  the  rebuilding  of  stores  and  houses. 
Much  of  his  work  was  done  fur  the  J.  F.  Lucey  Company,  the  Union  Tool  Com- 
pany and  the  McCutchens.  Besides  putting  up  shops,  stores  and  houses  in 
town  he  engaged  in  building  houses  on  the  leases  in  the  Midway  field  and  in 
1911  he  had  charge  tjf  the  erection  of  the  I-'ellows  hotel.  Forming  a  partner- 
ship with  his  brother,  he  started  the  pool  and  billiard  hall  which  has  been 
conducted  by  them  up  to  the  present  time.  .About  Xovember  of  1912  he 
received  the  appointment  of  chief  of  the  Taft  fire  department.  After  coming 
to  Taft  in  April,  1910,  he  organized  and  became  manager  of  the  baseball  nine 
of  the  town. 

In  various  fraternities  Mr.  Buchanan  has  been  influential.  While  making 
his  headquarters  at  Coalinga  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Coalinga  Lodge  No. 
387,  F.  &  A.  M.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men, 
Tribe  No.  233,  at  Taft,  he  became  a  charter  member  and  was  chosen  the  first 
presiding  officer.  In  addition  he  has  been  prominent  in  Taft  Lodge  No.  426. 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  at  this  writing  is  a  member  of  the  building  committee  having 
charge  of  the  erection  of  the  new  hall  on  Center  street.  The  corner  stone  was 
laid  June  21.  1913.  and  the  building  completed  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year. 

FRANK  TEMPLETON  WILLIS.— Mr.  Willis  is  one  who  has  had  much 
experience  as  a  stationary  engineer  and  has  taken  a  three  years'  course  in 
engineering  with  the  International  Correspondence  School.  He  now  holds 
the  position  of  foreman  in  charge  of  the  pumping  plant  of  the  Chanslor-Can- 
field  Midwav  Oil  Companv  located  six  miles  west  of  McKittrick  in  the  Little 


956  HISTORY  OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Santa  Maria  Valley.  The  plant  supplies  water  fur  the  company's  oil  opera- 
tions in  the  North  Rlidway  at  Fellows.  It  comprises  a  system  of  deep  wells 
and  the  water  is  pumped  over  the  hills  and  delivered  at  a  distance  of  fourteen 
miles  to  the  Fellows  Camp  and  has  a  capacity  of  about  fourteen  hundred 
barrels  per  day. 

Frank  Templeton  Willis  was  born  in  Mt.  Vernon,  Posey  county,  Ind.. 
October  29,  1876,  and  is  the  son  of  Joshua  and  Hannah  (Templeton)  Willis, 
natives  of  Mt.  Vernon,  Ind.,  and  White  county.  III,  respectively.  They  were 
farmers  at  Mt.  Vernon,  but  now  reside  in  Wickenburg,  Ariz.  Of  their  three 
children  Frank  is  the  oldest ;  he  was  brought  up  in  Lakin,  Kans.,  where  he 
was  educated  in  the  public  and  high  schools,  graduating  in  1893,  when  he 
began  to  learn  engineering  in  Victor,  Colo.,  and  in  time  became  a  stationary 
engineer.  Later  he  held  positions  with  mining  companies  in  different  parts 
of  Colorado,  Montana,  Oregon  and  Arizona,  and  during  this  time  learned  min- 
ing in  all  its  details  and  held  positions  as  foreman  and  superintendent  of 
mines.  He  was  for  five  years  foreman  of  the  water  service  department  of  the 
Santa  Fe,  Prescott  and  Phoenix  Railroad  at  Prescott,  Ariz.,  a  position  which 
he  resigned  in  September,  1910,  to  accept  his  present  position  as  foreman 
of  the  Chanslor-Canfield  Midway  Oil  Company's  water  plant,  since  which 
time  he  has  remodeled  the  plant  to  its  present  efficient  service  and  capacity. 

Mr.  Willis  was  married  in  Phoenix,  Ariz.,  to  Miss  Anna  Wilson,  who 
was  born  in  Oakland,  Cal.,  and  to  the  union  have  been  born  three  children : 
Dorothy,  Frances  and  Charles.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  with  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Women  of  Woodcraft.  Mrs. 
Willis  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  For  many  years  Mr.  Willis 
was  a  member  of  the  Stationary  Engineers  Union  and  is  a  Democrat. 

HARRY  MILO  ELWOOD,  M.D.— A  thorough  preparation  for  the 
practice  of  medicine  and  surgery  qualifies  Dr.  Elwood  for  successful  work 
in  his  chosen  calling.  As  the  surgeon  at  Mojave  for  the  Atchison,  Topeka  & 
Santa  Fe  and  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroads,  and  as  a  private  practitioner 
with  a  large  list  of  families  to  whom  he  acts  as  physician,  he  stands  at  the 
head  of  the  men  of  his  profession  in  his  community. 

The  older  of  two  children,  Dr.  Elwood  was  born  at  Nunda,  Livingston 
county,  N.  Y.,  May  9,  1880,  and  is  a  son  of  Homer  C.  and  D.  Estelle  '(Gif- 
ford)  Elwood,  natives  respectively  of  Nunda  and  Gainesville,  N.  Y.,  the 
father  for  sixteen  years  a  manager  in  the  postofiSce  department  of  the  govern- 
ment service,  but  more  recently  and  at  present  a  partner  in  a  wholesale  hard- 
ware business  in  the  city  of  Buffalo.  After  he  had  completed  the  studies  of 
the  grammar  and  high  schools  of  Nunda  and  had  enjoyed  the  excellent  ad- 
vantages of  being  a  Normal  post  graduate,  H.  M.  Elwood  matriculated  in 
the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Buffalo,  where  he  completed 
the  regular  course  and  was  graduated  in  1905  with  the  degree  of  M.D.  Spe- 
cial opportunities  for  the  study  of  nervous  diseases  came  to  him  during  a 
service  of  one  year  as  interne  in  the  New  York  state  hospital  and  later  he 
engaged  in  private  practice  in  Buffalo,  from  which  city  in  January  of  1909  he 
came  to  Los  Angeles  and  since  then  he  has  engaged  in  professional  work  in 
California. 

Not  long  after  his  arrival  in  the  west  the  young  Doctor  received  an 
offer  to  take  up  surgical  work  for  the  Los  Angeles  aqueduct  project.  By  the 
nature  of  the  work  there  were  frequent  accidents  among  the  workmen  and 
the  company  desired  to  secure  the  services  of  a  physician  of  ability,  surgical 
skill  and  thorough  medical  knowledge.  In  their  selection  of  Dr.  Elwood  they 
were  peculiarly  fortunate,  for  he  was  b}'  temperament  and  education  qual- 
ified for  the  difficult  task  of  establishing  and  maintaining  hospitals  in  the 
different  fields  of  labor  extending  from  Saugus  as  far  north  as  Haiwee.  Dur- 
ing the  period  of  aqueduct  construction  work  he  started  and  conducted  hos- 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  957 

pitals  at  Cinco,  San  Caiion,  Le  Briin  and  Monolith,  meanwhile  establishing 
headquarters  at  Mojave,  where  ever  since  he  has  made  his  home.  His  wife, 
formerly  Elizabeth  Gray,  was  born  at  Tombstone,  Ariz.,  and  is  a  daughter 
of  John  Gray,  who  served  as  a  division  engineer  of  the  aqueduct.  After 
severing  his  connection  with  the  aqueduct  Mr.  Gray  was  engaged  by  the 
Pierson  Engineering  Company  to  put  through  a  four-track  subway  power 
and  light  tunnel  in  Barcelona,  Spain,  which  was  successfully  accomplished 
by  him,  after  the  failure  of  foreign  engineers.  Politically  the  Doctor  votes 
with  the  Republican  party.  In  religion  he  is  of  the  Baptist  faith.  Made  a 
Mason  in  York  state  in  Nunda  Lodge  No.  682,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  after  coming 
west  he  became  identified  with  Los  Angeles  Consistory  No.  3,  Scottish  Rite 
of  Los  Angeles.  In  addition  he  is  associated  with  the  Royal  Arcanum,  also 
the  Alpha  Chapter  of  the  Alpha  Omega  Delta. 

C.  A.  FOX. — The  town  of  Taft  has  doubtless  no  more  energetic  and 
liopular  citizen  than  the  proprietor  of  the  Mariposa  Hotel  and  cigar  business, 
who  is  now  busying  himself  in  the  erection  of  the  forty  thousand  dollar 
hot€l  building,  a  three-story  brick  structure  which  promises  to  be  the  most 
sighth'  building  in  the  town.  Mr.  Fox  has  been  in  Taft  since  November, 
1909,  and  since  then  he  has  evidenced  his  sincerity  in  making  it  his  adopted 
home  by  broadening  his  interests  and  taking  an  active  part  in  the  com- 
munity welfare. 

A  native  of  Cass  City,  Tuscola  county,  Mich.,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred September  20,  1870,  he  was  but  six  years  of  age  when  brought  by 
his  parents  westward  to  Texas.  His  boyhood  was  spent  at  Honey  Grove, 
that  state,  where  he  attended  the  public  and  high  schools,  and  his  first  busi- 
ness interest  was  running  a  cotton  gin  at  Monkstown  when  he  was  eighteen 
years  of  age.  He  learned  the  trade  of  jeweler,  serving  an  apprenticeship, 
and  conducted  a  successful  jewelry  business  in  connection  with  the  cotton 
gin  at  Monkstown.  He  next  went  on  the  road,  and  for  a  time  made  Port- 
land, Ore.,  his  home,  going  later  to  San  Francisco  and  then  tn  Mariposa 
county,  at  the  latter  place  becoming  proprietor  of  the  general  store  known  as 
the  Horseshoe.  At  the  inauguration  of  activities  in  Taft  he  came  to  this  town 
and  invested  in  property,  which  has  so  increased  in  value  that  he  has  become 
a  wealthy  man.  His  place  of  business  is  strictly  up-to-date,  having  every  line 
of  equipment  necessary  to  make  a  place  of  recreation  complete,  a  barber  shop, 
club  room  and  news  depot  being  maintained  in  connection  witli  the  billiard 
and  pool  room. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Fox  took  place  in  Minnesota,  uniting  him  with 
Miss  Alaude  M.  Roney,  who  has  surrounded  herself  with  a  host  of  friends. 

CONRAD  RITZMAN.— -Not  a  few  representatives  of  the  Swiss  nation- 
ality have  found  their  way  to  California  and  almost  invariably  they  have 
proved  to  be  thrifty,  industrious  and  persevering  people,  a  splendid  acces- 
sion to  the  population  of  the  west.  Of  the  late  Mr.  Ritzman  it  may  be  said 
that  he  displayed  the  traits  of  his  countrymen  and  during  the  long  period 
of  his  identification  with  our  state  he  proved  himself  to  be  a  capable  work- 
man and  honest  citizen.  He  was  a  member  of  an  agricultural  family  of 
Switzerland  and  was  brought  up  on  a  farm  in  Canton  Zurich,  but  had  no 
desire  to  enter  the  occupation  as  a  means  of  livelihood,  therefore  he  was 
apprenticed  in  boyhood  to  the  trade  of  stone-dresser,  later  serving  his  time 
at  the  miller's  trade,  in  which  he  became  very  proficient.  During  young 
manhood  he  married  Miss  Susanna  Reck,  who  was  born  and  reared  in 
Zurich.  They  established  a  home  in  Canton  Zurich,  where  were  born  their 
two  children.  Carl  and  Alice.  The  latter,  however,  was  taken  from  the  home 
by  death  at  the  early  age  of  five  years. 

Crossing  the  ocean  from  the  old  country  and  proceeding  to  California, 
during   1882   Conrad    Ritzman   entered   the    employ    of   the    Starr    mills    as    a 


958  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

stone-dresser.  Later  he  bought  and  operated  a  mill  at  Roseville,  Placer 
county.  The  destruction  of  the  plant  by  fire  entailed  upon  him  a  heavy 
loss  and  forced  him  to  begin  anew.  Coming  to  Bakersfield  he  found  work 
as  a  stone-dresser  in  the  Kern  river  mills  and  the  excellent  character  of 
his  services  led  to  his  promotion  to  be  head  miller,  in  which  capacity  he 
continued  for  many  years.  In  the  meantime  he  had  been  very  economical 
and  thrifty,  so  that  he  had  accumulated  a  neat  sum  for  investment.  Upon 
resigning  from  the  mill  he  bought  the  northwest  corner  of  Humboldt  and 
Baker  streets  and  erected  a  frame  building,  in  which  he  engaged  in  the 
liquor  business.  When  the  frame  structure  was  destroyed  by  fire  he  erected 
the  Ritzman  building,  a  brick  structure,  76x100  feet  in  dimensions,  con- 
structed with  a  view  to  use  as  retail  stores.  For  a  time  he  engaged  in 
business,  but  on  his  retirement  he  rented  the  room  to  other  parties.  His 
death  occurred  October  4,  1910,  at  his  home  in  Bakersfield. 

The  only  son  of  the  late  Conrad  Ritzman  and  the  sole  survivor  of  the 
family  is  Carl  Ritzman,  who  was  born  at  Flaach,  Canton  Zurich,  Switzerland, 
in  1870,  and  came  to  the  United  States  in  1882,  after  which  he  attended 
public  schools  and  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  English  language.  For 
some  years  he  was  employed  on  farms  in  Minnesota,  but  upon  his  return 
to  California  he  learned  the  trade  of  car-repairer  in  the  Southern  Pacific 
shops  at  East  Bakersfield  and  is  still  a  member  of  the  Car  Repairers'  Union, 
although  since  the  death  of  his  father  he  has  not  followed  the  trade,  but 
has  given  his  attention  to  looking  after  his  interests.  Politically  he  votes 
for  the  men  and  measures  promoted  and  sustained  by  the  Republican  party. 

HARRY  SYLVESTER  KNIGHT.— Three  diflferent  commonwealths 
have  formed  the  environment  for  distinct  periods  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Knight, 
who  passed  the  first  twelve  years  of  his  useful  existence  in  Iowa  and  spent 
the  ten  ensuing  years  in  Nebraska,  but  since  1888  has  been  a  resident  of  Cali- 
fornia, identifying  himself  with  the  development  of  the  west  and  proving 
a  trustworthy  citizen  and  capable  farmer.  Jasper  county,  Iowa,  is  his  native 
place,  and  March  13,  1866,  the  date  of  his  birth.  When  only  five  years  of 
age  he  was  sent  to  the  country  school  near  the  home  farm.  There  were 
very  few  children  in  the  district  and  in  order  to  secure  the  number  absolutely 
necessary  before  a  teacher  would  be  furnished  for  the  school,  every  available 
child  was  sent  as  a  pupil,  hence  his  early  initiation  into  the  tasks  of  the 
schoolroom.  The  same  little  primitive  country  building  remained  the  center 
of  his  educational  activities  and  his  daily  pleasures  for  the  next  seven  years 
and  then  he  bade  farewell  to  boyhood  friends  and  accompanied  his  parents 
to  Valley  Junction,  Douglas  county,  Neb.,  where  they  took  up  land  and  gave 
close  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  a  prairie  farm.  Until  attaining  his  ma- 
jority he  worked  for  his  father,  after  which  without  means  or  friends  he  came 
to  California  to  take  up  the  battle  of  life  alone  and  single-handed.  After 
his  arrival  in  Pasadena  in  1888  he  began  to  team  and  to  haul  freight. 

Identified  with  Kern  county  since  1890,  Mr.  Knight  first  settled  in  the 
Weed  Patch  district  and  spent  three  years  on  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  included  in  the  claims  of  "Lucky"  Baldwin.  Although  he  lived 
there  only  those  few  years  he  placed  the  land  under  cultivation  and  greatly 
enhanced  its  possible  returns.  Next  he  removed  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Tejon 
ranch  and  engaged  in  dry  farming  for  eight  years.  Discouraged  by  lack  of 
success,  he  finally  left  the  ranch  and  removed  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  took 
contracts  for  the  grading  of  streets.  In  addition  he  teamed  to  and  from 
Oil  City.  The  Standard  Oil  Company's  interests  kept  him  in  the  oil  fields 
for  four  years  and  meanwhile  he  also  built  oil  tanks  on  contract.  During 
1904  he  leased  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  sixteen  miles  west  of  Bakersfield 
for  a  term  of  five  years,  with  the  privilege  of  purchase  at  the  expiration  of 
the  term  of  rental.    From  the  first  he  was  pleased  with  the  land  and  convinced 


RESIDENCE    OF    HARftY    SYLVESTER    KMlJHT,   RIO    BRAVO,   CAL. 


ti^kkm^ 


PUMPING  PLANT  ON  THE  KNIGHT  RANCH    AT   RIO    BRAVi 
350   MINER'S  INCH   STREAM 


THROWING    A 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  961 

of  its  possibilities  lor  general  farming.  Therefore,  instead  of  awaiting  the 
end  of  his  lease,  he  took  up  negotiations  with  the  owner  in  three  years  and 
the  year  1907  found  him  with  the  title  vested  in  his  own  name.  In  addi- 
tion he  has  since  bought  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  on  section  4,  this 
being  wholly  unimproved.  Altogether  he  now  owns  an  entire  section  of 
land,  the  home  place  having  one  hundred  acres  under  cultivation  to  alfalfa 
and  grain.  One  of  his  specialties  is  the  raising  of  horses,  cattle  and  hogs 
and  he  now  has  two  hundred  head  on  the  farm.  It  is  said  that  he  has  here 
the  best  water  well  in  the  entire  county,  the  supply  being  abundant  and  of 
superior  quality.  The  pumping  plant,  which  was  the  first  brought  into  the 
locality,  comprises  a  forty  horse-power  engine  manufactured  by  the  Besse- 
mer Gas  Engine  Company  and  operated  at  a  cost  of  seven  cents  per  hour. 
It  is  a  tw-elve-inch  well,  in  which  is  placed  a  Xo.  8  centripetal  pump,  bring- 
ing a  stream  of  water  flowing  at  the  rate  of  about  three  thousand  and  eighty- 
five  gallons  each  minute,  or  three  hundred  and  fifty  inches  of  water.  It 
has  the  best  record  of  any  single  well  in  the  county. 

-After  coming  to  California  Mr.  Knight  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Miss 
Clara  Day,  who  was  born  in  Contra  Costa  county,  this  state,  August  28,  1872, 
antl  is  a  daughter  of  John  Day,  a  hunter  and  a  farmer  in  Contra  Costa  county. 
They  were  united  in  marriage  on  New  Year's  day  in  1892  and  are  now  the 
parents  of  seven  children,  namely :  Errol.  Lydia,  Loma,  Doris.  Virginia. 
Hal  and  Alta. 

G.  H.  GALBRAITH.— The  era  of  early  .American  occupancy  of  Cali- 
fornia witnessed  the  arrival  in  San  Francisco  of  John  Galbraith.  an  advent- 
urous youth  of  Irish  birth  and  ancestry,  who  sailed  around  Cape  Horn  and 
at  the  end  of  a  tedious  voyage  landed  in  San  Francisco.  .Although  he  landed 
here  almost  penniless  and  friendless,  his  own  energy  enabled  him  to  sur- 
mount olistacles  and  achieve  success.  The  Celtic  wit  carried  him  through 
many  a  trying  situation  and  gave  him  friends  in  every  circle.  To  the 
crude  conditions  of  the  nascent  west  he  adajited  himself  with  ready  ease 
and  such  was  his  popularity  that  at  one  time  he  was  elected  by  a  large 
majority  to  represent  his  district  of  San  Francisco  in  the  state  senate. 
With  the  exception  of  some  years  spent  in  \'irginia  City,  Xev.,  during  the 
period  of  the  great  mining  excitement  in  that  region,  he  remained  in  San 
Francisco  until  his  death  and  during  much  of  the  time  he  was  proprietor 
of  a  grocery  establishment  in  that  city. 

By  the  marriage  of  Hon.  John  Galbraith  and  Ellen  McCary,  who  came 
via  Panama  to  San  Francisco  at  an  early  age  and  who  is  ni-iw  living  in 
Bakersfield.  there  were  four  children,  the  only  scm  and  youngest  child  being 
G.  H.,  whose  birth  occurred  in  San  Francisco  February  22.  1875.  The 
schools  of  his  native  city  gave  him  fair  advantages.  After  he  had  been 
graduated  from  the  San  Francisco  high  school  in  1890  he  secured  a  clerical 
position  with  a  mercantile  agency  and  ct)ntinued  in  the  same  place  until 
1897.  During  that  year  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  as  a  clerk  in  the  San  Francisco  warehouse.  Later  he 
was  transferred  to  the  freight  house  in  the  same  city  and  there  continued  until 
1907.  Meanwhile  the  ordeal  of  the  earthquake  and  fire  had  placed  him 
under  a  great  strain.  The  work  of  the  department  became  greatly  involved. 
Under  the  pressure  of  his  responsibilities  his  health  became  impaired  and 
he  found  it  necessary  to  resign.  In  order  to  recuperate  he  followed  ranch- 
ing for  nine  months  in  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains  eight  miles  from  .^anta 
Cruz. 

Upon  coming  to  Bakersfield  in  September  of  1908  Mr.  Galbraith  entered 
upon  his  duties  as  chief  clerk  of  the  freight  ofifice.  For  two  years  he  filled 
the  position  with  ability  and  tact.  In  recognition  of  faithful  service  he  was 
promoted  in   September.    1910,   to  be   freight   agent    at    Bakersfield   and   con- 


962  HISTORY  OF   KERN   COUNTY 

tinued  in  the  position  until  May  of  1912.  But  he  had  determined  to  embark 
in  business  for  himself  and  became  proprietor  of  the  Bakersfield  Truck 
Company,  which  he  now  owns  and  operates.  Under  his  active  supervision 
the  business  has  been  made  successful.  In  addition  to  the  use  of  teams 
and  wagons  he  owns  two  auto  trucks  and  these  are  kept  in  almost  constant 
use.  Some  time  since  he  acquired  by  purchase  a  block  of  land  on  the  Santa 
Fe  Railroad  and  on  Fifteenth  and  S  streets.  On  this  site  he  has  erected 
large  stables,  garage  and  storeroom  as  a  headquarters  for  rigs.  The  main 
office  is  at  No.  2016  Chester  avenue. 

In  politics  Mr.  Galbraith  votes  with  the  Republican  party.  Fraternally 
he  is  connected  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.  His  family 
consists  of  two  sons,  Howard  and  Donald,  and  his  wife,  formerly  May  Helen 
Lowney,  who  is  a  native  daughter  of  San  Francisco  and  a  graduate  of  the 
Polytechnic  high  school  of  that  city.  Thoroughly  educated  in  the  schools 
and  naturally  talented,  she  has  been  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  her  hus- 
band, for  she  is  not  only  a  wise  mother  but  a  capable  home-maker.  She 
represents  the  third  generation  of  the  Lowney  family  in  California.  Her 
father,  Thomas,  was  brought  to  this  state  when  only  a  year  old  by  her 
grandfather,  Timothy  Lowney.  who  had  been  a  shipbuilder  in  Massa- 
chusetts and  crossed  the  plains  in  1849,  and  who  for  some  years  served  as  a 
foreman  in  the  Mare  Island  navy  yard,  afterwards  was  proprietor  of  a  car- 
riage repository  in  San  Francisco.  Eventually  he  became  very  prominent 
in  the  public  life  of  San  Francisco  and  filled  a  number  of  important  offices, 
among  them  that  of  superintendent  of  streets  of  that  city.  Thomas  Lowney- 
was  a  graduate  of  San  Francisco  Boys'  high  school  and  St.  Mary's  College, 
and  continued  the  business  established  by  his   father. 

KENT  S.  KNOWLTON.— In  an  era  when  horticulture  to  an  ever  in- 
creasing extent  is  attracting  the  attention  and  commanding  the  highest  talents 
of  the  people  of  California  the  office  of  county  horticultural  commissioner 
imposes  great  responsibilities  upon  its  incumbent,  who  necessarily  must  be 
an  authority  upon  the  subject,  a  man  of  wide  information  and  wise  judgment, 
and  one  regarding  a  public  office  as  a  public  trust.  After  having  engaged 
for  one  year  as  deputy  to  Dave  Hirshfield,  then  the  horticultural  commis- 
sioner of  Kern  county,  Kent  S.  Knowlton  was  commissioned  to  the  office 
April  1,  1912,  by  the  board  of  supervisors,  who  selected  him  after  thoughtful 
consideration  of  the  matter,  and  with  a  realization  that  the  office,  in  a  county 
as  large  as  Kern  and  one  just  entering  upon  a  great  horticultural  develop- 
ment, demands  more  than  ordinary  ability  on  the  part  of  its  incumbent. 
Already  it  has  been  proved  that  no  mistake  was  made  in  the  selection  of  Mr. 
Knowlton,  who  is  a  man  of  progressive  tendencies,  a  warm  admirer  of  Bur- 
bank,  and  an  influential  member  of  the  State  Association  of  County  Horticul- 
tural Commissioners.  One  of  his  first  steps  after  entering  upon  official  duties 
was  the  preparation  of  a  county  map  outlining  the  lands  suitable  for  suc- 
cessful orange-growing.  On  the  completion  of  the  map  and  after  having 
made  a  most  careful  study  of  the  subject,  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  there 
are  at  least  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  of  mesa  land  in  the  county, 
upon  which  the  growing  of  oranges  can  be  made  a  commercial  success. 

Although  from  his  earliest  recollections  a  resident  of  California,  Mr. 
Knowlton  is  a  native  of  Nebraska  and  a  member  of  an  old  Pennsylvania 
family.  His  father,  O.  V.,  was  born  at  Spottsylvania,  Pa.,  but  accompanied 
his  parents  to  Illinois  in  early  life  and  settled  near  Marengo.  When  only 
fifteen  years  of  age  he  enlisted  in  the  Seventeenth  Illinois  Cavalry  and  served 
during  the  three  last  years  of  the  Civil  war,  returning  home  with  a  record 
which,  considering  his  extreme  youth,  was  not  only  meritorious,  but  almost 
remarkable.  About  1885,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  Julia  (Huntington) 
Knowlton,  and  their  children,  he  came  to  California  and  settled  at  Fullerton, 


Z^e^T-^^  77^ytin^^^^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  965 

where  his  wife  died  in  1902.  Ever  since  coming  to  the  west  he  has  been 
interested  in  the  orange  business.  Meanwhile  he  has  been  prominent  as  a 
citizen  and  influential  as  a  worker  in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  Dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1913  he  was  elected  commander  of  the  Southern  Cali- 
fornia Association  at  the  Huntingtem  Beach  encampment,  an  honor  richly 
merited  by  his  long  connection  with  the  Army.  Of  his  five  children  the  eldest, 
Charles  S.,  of  Fullerton,  is  an  expert  in  the  budding  and  grafting  of  oranges; 
the  second,  Avis  S.,  resides  at  home;  Hollis  is  an  employe  of  the  Lord  Motor 
Company  in  Los  Angeles  and  Ruth  C.  is  a  student  in  the  Fullerton  high 
school. 

In  this  family  of  five  the  second  son  and  third  child,  Kent  S.,  was  born 
July  23,  1883,  in  Nuckolls  county.  Neb.,  near  the  village  of  Davenport.  The 
scenes  of  his  early  recollections  are  in  Orange  county,  this  state,  where  as 
a  boy  he  attended  public  school  and  learned  tu  bud,  graft  and  plant  oranges. 
When  sixteen  years  of  age  he  became  an  employe  of  C.  C.  Chapman,  who 
had  purchased  the  Leffingwell  ranch  near  Fullerton  and  who  since  has  devel- 
oped the  largest  orange  ranch  in  the  state.  After  fourteen  months  on  that 
place  he  went  to  Riverside  to  work  in  a  packing  house.  Later  he  spent  a 
year  under  a  contractor,  A.  A.  Polhemus,  engaged  in  the  construction  of  a 
breakwater  at  San  Luis  Obispo.  Next  he  took  the  full  course  of  three  years 
in  the  California  Polytechnic  at  San  Luis  Obispo,  where  he  specialized  in 
dairying  and  horticulture.  Upon  completing  the  course  and  finding  no  imme- 
diate opening  in  the  line  of  his  special  preparation,  he  went  to  the  mining 
districts  of  Nevada  and  engaged  as  an  engineer  and  freighter,  also  for  a  time 
carried  on  a  feed  business.  Returning  to  California,  he  worked  in  the  Santa 
Maria  and  Coalinga  oil  fields,  thence  came  to  the  west  side  fields  of  Kern 
county,  where,  finding  an  available  opening  in  the  line  of  his  preferred  occu- 
pation, he  turned  his  attention  to  horticulture  and  is  now  county  commis- 
sioner, with  office  in  the  court-house.  Aside  from  the  duties  of  the  office, 
he  finds  leisure  to  participate  in  the  work  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  at 
Bakersfield  and  since  1911  has  been  a  member  of  Troop  A  First  Squadron  of 
Cavalry,  National  Guard  California,  in  which  he  ranks  as  sergeant. 

PIERRE  DUHART. — An  intimate  association  of  some  twenty-five  years 
with  the  sheep  and  farming  industries  of  California  has  enabled  Mr.  Duhart 
to  conduct  his  farming  operations  along  the  most  successful  lines,  and  his 
active  citizenship  and  untiring  efforts  toward  the  benefit  of  his  community 
have  been  deeply  appreciated  by  all  who  have  come  to  know  him.  He  is  a 
native  of  the  Canton  of  Hasparren,  Basses-Pyrenees,  France,  his  birth  having 
occurred  there  in  1837.  His  father,  Jean  Duhart,  was  a  farmer  and  stockman 
in  that  vicinity  and  he  reared  his  son  in  that  environment,  imparting  to 
him  the  rudiments  of  that  occupation  and  thus  preparing  him  for  his  life's 
work.  His  educational  opportunities  were  naturally  limited,  as  at  that  time 
there  was  no  demand  for  public  schools  as  now,  and  the  young  boy  grew 
to  young  manhood  learning  the  lessons  necessary  for  his  development  more 
by 'observation  than  by  teaching.  In  1888  he  came  to  Los  Angeles,  and 
later  followed  farming  and  sheep  raising  in  Orange  county  for  a  period  of 
five  years.  Then  purchasing  a  flock  of  sheep  he  ranged  them  in  Orange 
and  San  Bernardino  counties.  In  1894  he  came  to  Kern  county  with  his 
flock  and  ranged  them  in  this  vicinity,  becoming  so  pleased  with  the  country 
that  he  brought  his  family  and  settled  in  Tehachapi,  where  he  built  a 
comfortable  residence  which  he  still  owns.  He  sold  his  sheep  in  1905 
and  then  purchased  a  forty-acre  tract  of  land,  located  three  and  a  half  miles 
southwest  of  Bakersfield.  which  he  immediately  set  to  work  to  improve. 
Leveling  it,  he  sowed  it  to  alfalfa  and  corn,  and  the  place  is  irrigated  by 
the  Stine  canal. 

Mr.   Duhart   was   married   in    I^os   Angeles   to   Miss   Elizabeth    Borda,    a 


966  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

native  of  Cambo,  the  beautiful  watering  place  of  France,  in  Basses-Pyrenees. 
An  only  child  has  come  to  them,  Lida,  who  is  a  graduate  of  the  Kern  county 
high  school,  class  of  1912.  The  family  worship  at  St.  Francis  Catholic 
Church.     Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 

HENRY  E.  SMITH.— From  early  life  identified  with  the  oil  industry 
and  employed  in  the  eastern  oil  fields  at  an  age  when  the  majority  of  boys 
are  receiving  educational  advantages,  Mr.  Smith  correctly  stands  among  the 
most  experienced  men  in  the  oil  fields  centering  around  Taft.  Born  in 
Pennsylvania  April  8,  1862,  he  passed  the  days  of  childhood  in  Venango  and 
Crawford  counties  and  had  meager  opportunities  to  gain  an  education.  While 
in  text-books  he  advanced  no  further  than  a  knowledge  of  the  three  R's,  by 
reading  and  observation  he  has  become  a  man  of  broad  culture  and  wide 
information,  with  a  reputation  for  being  particularly  well  informed  in  the 
oil  industry.  By  working  in  various  departments  and  in  several  capacities 
he  acquired  a  versatile  familiarity  with  the  business.  During  1890  he  became 
an  employe  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  at  Franklin,  Pa.,  and  remained 
with  them  there  for  three  years,  after  which  he  bought  an  oil  lease  and 
devoted  two  years  to  its  improvement.  Next  he  represented  the  Standard 
Oil  Company  at  Gibsonburg,  Sandusky  County,  Ohio,  for  a  number  of  years 
and  then  was  transferred  to  their  interests  at  Marion,  Ind.,  where  he  remained 
for  eight  years. 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1909,  Mr.  Smith  and  his  family  arrived  at  Bakers- 
field  after  a  quick  trip  from  their  former  eastern  home.  On  the  8th  of  the 
same  month  they  came  to  what  is  now  Taft,  and  here  he  engaged  as  store- 
keeper for  the  Standard  Oil  Company^  having  charge  of  their  warehouse. 
On  the  present  townsite  of  Taft  he  erected  the  first  rooming  house  in  the 
new  town,  it  being  the  first  building  erected  for  business  purposes,  and  was 
completed  two  weeks  before  the  disastrous  fire  which  wiped  out  all  the  busi- 
ness houses  which  were  then  located  on  Sidetrack  No.  2.  Since  then  he 
and  his  wife  have  continued  to  operate  the  rooming  business  and  meanwhile 
have  established  a  regular  patronage  among  people  whose  business  interests 
often  bring  them  to  this  district.  Upon  the  organization  of  a  company  to 
operate  an  electric  light  plant  Mr.  Smith  was  chosen  vice  president  and  a 
director  of  the  new  concern,  which  later  became  a  branch  of  the  San  Joaquin 
Light  &  Power  Company.  When  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  was  established 
he  was  chosen  its  first  vice  president  and  gave  of  his  time  and  influence  to 
place  the  new  venture  upon  a  substantial  basis  to  aid  in  the  material  upbuild- 
ing of  the  town.  His  marriage  took  place  at  Olean,  N.  Y.,  in  March  of  1886 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Mary  Fitzpatrick,  a  native  of  Canada.  One  son, 
George,  blessed  their  union. 

In  all  his  life's  work  Mr.  Smith  has  had  the  most  hearty  co-operation  of 
his  excellent  wife.  She  has  not  only  carefully  managed  many  of  the  business 
aiTairs  connected  with  their  household  and  rooming  house,  but  has  taken  a 
decided  stand  for  the  civic  betterment  and  the  social  and  moral  upliftment  of 
Taft.  She  bears  the  distinction  of  having  been  the  fifst  woman  to  vote 
at  a  general  municipal  election  at  Taft.  She  is  treasurer  of  the  Woman's 
Improvement -Club  of  Taft,  and  is  a  very  active  spirit  in  the  St.  Mary's 
Catholic  Church  of  said  city.  She  was  elected  the  first  president  of  the 
Altar  Society  of  the  Taft  church,  a  position  which  she  still  fills  with  ability 
and  fidelity.  In  company  with  Mrs.  Fred  O'Brien  and  Mrs.  J.  McEnany  of 
Taft  she  started  out  with  a  subscription  list  and  raised  $1600  for  the  building 
of  St.  Mary's  church  the  first  week,  thus  insuring  the  splendid  concrete 
church  edifice  at  the  corner  of  Kern  and  Second  streets,  which  is  under  the 
pastorate  of  Father  Prendiville  and  belongs  to  the  East  Bakersfield  district. 

In  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Smith  has  allied  himself  with  the  Loyal  Order 
of  Moose  since  coming  to  his  present  place  of  residence  and  his  interest  in 
the  organization  has  promoted  its  numerical  growth  in  substantial  measure. 


M.^. 

^  w^ 


O'T^Z.cA^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  969 

Witli  a  number  of  other  prominent  men  of  the  town  he  was  instrumental 
in  securing  the  incorporation  of  Taft,  the  vote  for  which  was  taken  November 
7,  1910.  resulting  in  the  town  being  made  a  city  of  the  sixth  class.  At  the 
regular  election,  April  8,  1912,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  receiving  forty  votes  more  than  even  the  most  successful  of  the 
other  nominees.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  board  at  its  first  meeting 
he  was  chosen  president,  a  deserved  tribute  to  his  intelligence  and  one  which 
received  the  warm  approval  of  the  general  public. 

REV.  EDGAR  R.  FULLER,  A.M.,  B.D.— The  life  which  this  narrative 
depicts  began  August  15,  1864,  in  New  York  state,  on  a  farm  near  Gouver- 
neur  in  St.  Lawrence  county  a  short  distance  from  the  river  of  that  name, 
riie  home  was  one  of  unostentatious  comfort,  in  which  high  thinking  and 
lofty  i)rinciples  of  honor  were  made  the  chief  objects  of  character  devekip- 
nient.  Sturdy  and  patriotic  New  England  ancestry  was  represented  in  the 
pedigree.  The  parents,  Charles  Thatcher  and  Ora  Frutilla  (Alanley)  Fuller, 
were  natives  of  northern  New  York.  The  family  lineage  traces  directly  to  the 
illustrious  Dr.  Samuel  Fuller,  who  was  a  passenger  on  the  Mayflower,  phy- 
sician of  the  colony  and  deacon  of  Pilgrim  Church,  Plymouth,  Mass.  There 
were  six  children  in  the  immediate  family  and  two  of  these,  together  with 
the  parents,  have  passed  from  earth.  Of  the  four  survivors,  and  fourth  in 
order  of  birth,  was  Edgar  Roselle  Fuller,  now  pastor  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Bakersfield  and  one  of  the  leading  men  of  the  denomina- 
tion in  Southern  California. 

Whatever  of  ministerial  success  has  come  into  the  life  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Fuller,  whatever  of  culture  he  has  achieved,  whatever  of  good  he  has  accom- 
plished, may  be  attributed  to  his  own  indomitable  determination,  coupled 
with  an  inheritance  of  splendid  moral  and  mental  qualifications  and  the 
religious  zeal  that  led  his  ancestors  in  centuries  agone  to  seek  freedom  from 
persecution  in  the  new  world.  The  substantial  position  of  his  parents  came 
from  character  rather  than  wealth.  There  was  little  to  aid  him  in  his  edu- 
cational aspirations,  yet  with  characteristic  determination  he  started  out  to 
secure  first-class  advantages.  To  accomplish  this  result  it  was  necessary  not 
only  to  earn  a  livelihood,  but  to  lay  aside  a  considerable  amount  for  college 
expenses.  Self-reliance  was  thus  developed.  The  struggle  that  he  expe- 
rienced in  trying  to  gain  an  education  lent  him  strength  for  the  subsequent 
struggle  to  establish  a  church  in  the  midst  of  a  discouraging  environment. 
After  having  completed  the  course  in  the  Gouverneur  Wesleyan  Seminary 
he  studied  for  one  year  (1882)  in  the  Dansville  Seminary  and  in  September 
of  188.^  matriculated  in  the  Hiram  (Ohio)  College,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1890  with  the  degree  of  A.B.  Meanwhile  in  the  fall  of  1885  he 
had  married  in  Hiram,  Ohio,  Mrs.  Julia  (Buckingham)  Mowbray,  a  descend- 
■mt  of  the  Buckinghams  of  New  England  and  the  Mastersons  of  Virginia, 
who  was  then  a  widow,  with  one  child,  Henry  B.  Mowbray,  .•\fter  his  mar- 
riage he  took  his  wife  to  Florida  and  engaged  in  ministerial  work  until  1888, 
meanwhile  being  ordained  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  He  returned  to  Ohio 
and  completed  the  classical  course  at  Hiram.  In  1893  his  alma  mater  con- 
ferred upon  him  for  literary  work  the  degree  of  AM.  As  a  high  school 
teacher  and  minister  he  earned  an  amount  sufficient  to  defray  his  college 
expenses  and  complete  the  classical  course  in  ( )berlin  Theological  Seminary 
at  Oberlin,  Ohio,  where  in  1896  he  received  the  degree  of  B.D.  at  graduation. 

A  successful  pastorate  of  one  year  at  Imlay  City,  Mich.,  was  terminated 
because  the  failing  health  (f  Mrs.  l'"uller  rendered  imperative  a  radical 
change  in  climate.  From  among  several  opportunities  he  chose  the  call  to  the 
I'irst  Congregational  Church  of  Bakersfield.  This  was  accepted  with  the 
hope  that  the  California  climate  would  prove  beneficial  to  his  wife  and  in 
tiiat   lii)])e  he   was  gratified   b}-   her   steady   imiirovement.    Church   conditions 


970  HISTORY  OF   KERN   COUNTY 

at  Bakersfield  then  were  discouraging  to  an  unusual  degree.  Had  he  been  a 
man  of  less  determination  he  would  have  given  up  the  charge  as  hopeless. 
There  were  not  more  than  twenty-five  church  members  that  could  be  found 
and  their  house  of  worship  was  a  small  frame  building  on  Fifteenth  street 
facing  a  large  open  irrigation  ditch  and  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  tracks,  then 
being  built.  The  church  had  been  organized  in  1892  by  Rev.  A.  K.  Johnson, 
D.D.,  who  ministered  to  the  charge  for  a  time,  followed  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Phil- 
lips. The  pulpit  was  then  vacant  for  six  months,  after  which  Rev.  j\lr.  Fuller 
was  called.  Most  of  the  members  favored  disbanding.  However,  the  home 
missionary  superintendent.  Dr.  James  T.  Ford,  importuned  the  new  pastor 
to  make  a  last  desperate  effort  to  maintain  the  church,  assuring  him  that 
it  would  be  no  discredit  to  him  if  he  failed  in  such  an  apparently  hopeless 
undertaking,  while  if  he  succeeded  it  would  prove  his  own  ability  and  the 
zeal  of  his  few  parishioners.  Studying  the  problem  with  prayerful  earnest- 
ness, he  decided  to  accept  the  call,  provided  a  change  of  location  was  secured 
as  the  first  step.  Accordingly  a  lot  was  purchased  on  Seventeenth  street  near 
G  and  thither  the  old  box  building  was  removed,  then  enlarged  and  remod- 
eled to  better  suit  the  needs  of  the  work.  In  1898  a  parsonage  was  erected. 
Later  the  corner  lot  was  bought,  giving  them  an  area  of  132x116  feet  and  ren- 
dering possible  such  an  adequately  equipped  plant  as  a  working  church  in  a 
growing  city  requires. 

So  prosperous  has  been  the  work  under  the  present  pastorate  that  the 
membership,  now  numbering  more  than  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  per- 
sons, plans  to  erect  a  more  suitable  building  in  the  not  distant  future,  it 
being  the  intention  to  erect  a  building,  in  the  mission  style  of  architecture, 
that  covers  the  entire  lot,  plans  for  which  are  now  in  hand  and  the  progress 
of  the  building  fund  foreshadows  early  realization.  Fifteen  years  ago  few 
would  have  predicted  that  the  church  could  have  reached  its  present  size, 
zeal  and  prosperity.  Nor  has  the  work  of  the  congregation  been  limited  to 
the  spiritual  and  material  needs  of  the  local  parish,  for  with  missionary  en- 
thusiasm they  have  planted  a  mission  for  the  Mexicans  and  another  for  the 
Chinese  and  the  former  receives  regular  pastoral  supervision.  In  addition 
they  organized  the  Pilgrim  Congregational  Church  in  East  Bakersfield  and 
have  generously  supplied  funds  to  maintain  and  equip  the  work.  Aggressive 
and  laborious  as  has  been  his  local  work,  it  has  not  represented  the  limit 
of  his  activities.  Elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  for  the  South- 
ern California  Home  Missionary  Society  in  1904,  and  later  of  the  State  Con- 
ference, he  has  helped  mould  the  work  of  his  own  denomination.  Requested 
to  take  the  supervision  of  congregational  work  throughout  his  own  county, 
which  then  had,  besides  the  church  at  Bakersfield,  another  at  Rosedale  and  a 
schoolhouse  appointment  at  Wasco,  he  has  seen  seven  Congregational 
churches  organized  and  four  of  these  come  to  self-support  and  acquire  good 
properties.  These  are  East  Bakersfield,  Oil  Center,  Panama,  Greenfield,  Mc- 
Kittrick,  Mountain  View  and  Maricopa.  When  the  total  number  had 
reached  five  a  Congregational  Association  was  formed  in  the  county  and 
this  has  been  a  source  of  great  help  in  the  work  of  religious  upbuilding. 
The  steady  growth  of  the  cause  in  Kern  county  is  largely  due  to  the  tact, 
ability  and  sagacity  of  Mr.  Fuller,  whose  keen  -intelligence  may  be  seen 
in  every  forward  movement,  as  his  consecrated  spirit  is  seen  in  the  devo- 
tion to  the  work  evinced  by  the  majority  of  the  members. 

It  is  a  source  of  gratification  to  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Fuller  that  her  son.  Rev. 
Henry  B.  Mowbray,  now  filling  the  important  position  of  associate  pastor  of 
Pilgrim  Presbyterian  Church  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  is  a  recognized  specialist 
in  Bible  school  and  all  lines  of  institutional  church  work,  and  they  also 
maintain  a  just  pride  in  the  only  child  of  their  union,  Clarence  Mark  Fuller, 
a  young  man  of  exceptional  ability,  now  a  trusted  official  of  the   National 


^6/^.v^ykixM    /^  '■^<iyiA^^iyt<^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  973 

Petroleum  Company,  also  president  and  manager  of  the  C.  M.  Fuller  Com- 
pany, Incorporated,  dealers  in  oils,  asphalt  and  real  estate. 

MARSHALL  R.  COWAN. — At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  tide  of  emigration  brought  members  of  the  Cowan  family  into  Ten- 
nessee and  it  is  authoritatively  stated  that  Ross  Cowan,  a  native  Virginian, 
was  the  first  white  man  to  establish  a  home  in  the  wilds  of  middle  Ten- 
nessee, where  he  built  his  cabin  as  early  as  1800.  His  son  and  namesake 
lived  and  died  in  Tennessee,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  a  planter. 
.Among  the  children  of  the  second  Ross  Cowan  there  was  a  son,  James 
Wilson  Cowan,  who  married  Jennie  Williams  and  settled  upon  a  farm  in 
Tennessee,  of  which  state  both  he  and  his  wife  were  natives.  After  their 
children  were  grown  they  gave  up  their  Tennessee  home  and  came  west  to 
California,  settling  in  Kern  county,  where  the  father  since  has  become  a 
prominent  and  influential  farmer.  All  of  their  children  also  live  in  Kern 
county  with  the  exception  of  their  eldest  son,  Frank,  who  resides  in  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.,  and  follows  the  trade  of  a  cement  contractor.  The  only  daughter, 
Mamie,  is  the  wife  of  Arthur  'M.  Cravath,  employed  as  a  tool  dresser  for 
the  Associated  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  field.  The  youngest  son, 
Manney  G.,  engages  in  general  farming  south  of  Bakcrsfield. 

The  second  son  and  third  child,  Marshall  R.,  was  born  at  Winchester, 
Tenn.,  December  1,  1880,  and  received  such  limited  advantages  as  the  means 
of  the  family  rendered  possible.  As  a  boy  he  helped  with  the  work  on  the 
plantation.  Industry  and  energy  aided  him  to  secure  a  foothold  and  also 
to  pay  his  expenses  for  two  terms  in  the  Tyrrell  Normal  College  at  Deckard, 
Tenn.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  he  came  to  California  in  1901  and 
settled  temporarily  at  Bakersfield.  Two  years  later  his  parents,  brother  and 
sister  joined  him  in  this  county.  For  one  year  he  was  employed  in  the  coop- 
erage department  of  the  Vulcan  refinery  in  the  Kern  river  fields.  Next 
he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Central  Point  Oil  Company  of  the  Associated, 
where  he  acted  as  gang-pusher  of  the  well  pullers,  continuing  with  the 
same  organization  for  eighteen  months.  The  two  following  years  were  spent 
in  the  employ  of  the  Peerless  and  afterward  he  lived  for  nine  months  in 
San  Francisco,  where  he  was  engaged  as  fireman  with  the  Geary  Street 
Railroad  Company.  While  employed  in  San  Francisco  he  married  Miss 
Ida  T.  Carlson,  daughter  of  the  late  John  Carlson,  at  one  time  a  well-kmiwn 
mine  contractor  living  at  Bakersfield.  There  is  one  child  of  the  union,  James 
\\'ilson  Cowan,  Jr. 

Upon  returning  from  San  Francisco  to  the  Kern  river  fields  Mr.  Cnwan 
secured  a  position  without  difficulty,  for  his  former  record  was  in  his 
favor  and  he  was  known  as  a  young  man  of  industry  and  energy.  During 
1907  he  was  made  foreman  under  George  A.  Betts,  superintendent,  of  the 
Yellowstone,  Seaboard  and  Section  6  Oil  Companies,  and  since  then  he  and 
his  family  have  made  their  home  in  a  comfortable  cottage  on  the  section 
6  lease.  There  are  ten  acres  in  each  of  the  lease«.  The  Yellowstone  produces 
forty-five  hundred,  the  Seaboard  three  thousand  and  Section  6  about  eighteen 
hundred  barrels  per  month.  February  1,  1913,  he  was  made  superintendent 
of  the  Yellowstone  Oil  Company,  which  necessitated  relinquishing  the  fnre- 
manship  of  the  Seaboard  and  Section  6,  and  he  is  now  giving  his  entire  time 
and  attention  to  the  Yellowstone.  Fraternally  he  belongs  to  the  Woodmen 
of  the  \A'orld  at  Bakersfield  and  politically  he  is  a  Democrat. 

ABRAHAM  JACOB Y.— The  genealogy  of  the  Jacoby  family  shows  an 
unbroken  line  of  thriftv  merchants  and  prosperous  business  men  identified 
with  various  sections  of  Germany,  but  jjarticularly  with  \\'est  Prussia,  where 
Marcus  Jacoby,  for  years  a  leading  merchant  at  Loebau  and  a  man  of 
the  utmost  integrity  and  the  highest  character,  died  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
seven  vears.     In   the  same   Prussian   town   r>ccurred   the   death   of  his   wife. 


974  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Henrietta,  daughter  of  Israel  Lowenstein,  a  volunteer  in  the  army  of  the 
illustrious  Napoleon  and  a  participant  in  the  march  to  and  the  retreat  from 
Moscow,  being  one  of  the  fortunate  few  who  was  able  to  eventually  reach 
his  home  in  safety.  The  family  of  Marcus  and  Henrietta  Jacoby  comprised 
eight  sons,  one  of  whom,  Solomon,  is  a  retired  merchant  and  former  coun- 
cilman of  Magdeburg,  Germany.  Another  son,  Herman,  now  of  Los  Angeles, 
gave  the  most  devoted  service  to  the  Union  army  in  the  Civil  war,  going  to 
the  front  with  the  Twenty-sixth  Pennsylvania  Infantry.  Among  the  numer- 
ous engagements  in  which  he  bore  arms  was  that  of  Gettysburg,  where  he 
was  wounded.  For  many  years  he  has  been  a  leader  in  Grand  Army  work 
in  his  home  city,  as  well  as  an  unusually  prominent  merchant  and  progressive 
citizen. 

It  is  concerning  another  son  of  this  family,  Abraham,  that  these  lines 
are  written.  Burn  at  Loebau,  West  Prussia,  June  30,  1852,  he  received  an 
excellent  German  education  in  local  schools  and  the  gymnasium.  During 
May  of  1868,  when  almost  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  left  home  to  join  his  older 
brothers  in  Los  Angeles,  then  a  sleepy  town  with  only  five  thousand  inhabi- 
tants. The  brothers,  who  had  established  themselves  in  the  place  as  early 
as  1861,  already  had  built  up  a  mercantile  business,  the  nucleus  of  the 
great  mercantile  house  of  Jacoby  Bros.,  now  well  known  throughout  South- 
ern California.  From  the  first  Abraham  Jacoby  was  interested  in  the  new 
location  and  in  the  environment  so  diiiferent  from  anything  common  to 
earlier  experiences.  With  an  eager  desire  to  secure  an  English  education 
he  entered  the  College  of  Southern  Methodists  near  Downey,  where  he 
worked  his  way  by  dint  of  unceasing  industry  and  forceful  application. 
Next  he  secured  a  clerkship  in  Los  Angeles  with  I.  W.  Hellman,  merchant 
and  banker,  being  employed  in  both  places  of  business,  and  later  engaged  in 
business  in  San  Bernardino.  With  the  inauguration  of  the  present  firm  of 
Jacoby  Bros.,  in  1879,  he  became  one  of  the  active  partners  and  not  a  little 
of  the'  remarkable  success  enjoyed  by  the  business  may  be  attributed  to  his 
intelligent  devotion  and  wise  supervision  in  the  early  years  of  struggle. 

As  owners  of  a  growing  retail  business  on  Main  street  and  an  important 
wholesale  establishment  on  Los  Angeles  street,  Jacoby  Bros,  witnessed 
and  contributed  to  the  commercial  development  of  their  home  city.  When 
the  interests  of  their  large  trade  demanded  consolidation  of  the  retail  and 
wholesale  departments,  -removal  was  made  to  Spring  street,  whence  later 
they  transferred  their  store  to  the  central  location  now  occupied  on  Broad- 
way. Patrons  of  their  store  came  not  only  from  the  city,  but  also  from  all 
parts  of  Southern  California.  From  the  first  up  to  the  present  time  they 
have  sustained  an  enviable  reputation  for  exclusiveness  of  styles,  variety  of 
merchandise  and  reasonableness  of  price,  and  these  characteristics  have 
made  their  great  department  store  popular  and  profitable.  As  the  financial 
manager  of  the  firm,  Abraham  Jacoby  not  only  guarded  their  vast  mercantile 
interests,  but  also  developed  their  real-estate  holdings  to  enormous  propor- 
tions and  in  1888  he  laid  out  a  sub-division  and  opened  Los  Angeles  street 
between  Eighth  and  Ninth.  In  1889  he  established  the  first  public  market 
in  the  city  at  Los  Angeles  and  Ninth  streets,  and  this  market  was  the  nucleus 
of  the  present  large  market  in  Los  Angeles  that  is  second  to  none  in  the 
United  States.  His  idea  was  the  full  market  basket,  dealing  direct  from 
consumer  to  producer.  For  a  time  he  served  as  president  of  the  Los 
Angeles  Chamber  of  Commerce,  both  of  which  organizations  profited  by  his 
keen  insight  into  details,  his  optimistic  citizenship  and  his  wise  discrimina- 
tion. 

The  first  investments  made  by  Mr.  Jacoby  in  Kern  county  included 
five  sections  of  unimproved  land  in  the  Weed  Patch  and  one  and  one-half 
sections   at    Bakersfield,   all    purchased    as    early    as    1887.      During    1893    he 


HISTORY   OF  KERN   COUNTY  977 

acquired  the  title  to  eighty  acres  in  the  city  of  Bakersfield.  whicli  lie  still 
owns.  At  other  times  he  bought  other  holdings.  Finding  that  the  climate 
here  agreed  with  his  health  more  than  that  of  the  country  south  of  the 
Tehachapi  range  and  believing  that  Bakersfield  has  a  great  future  before 
it,  he  located  in  this  city  in  order  to  develop  his  property  and  also  to  engage 
in  business  as  a  sub-division  specialist.  Already  his  efforts  in  the  latter 
line  have  added  millions  to  the  value  of  Kern  county  property.  Much  of 
his  success  in  sub-division  work  is  due  to  wise  advertising.  Just  now  he  is 
enthusiastically  promoting  a  plan  for  a  park  of  eighty  acres  and  also  for  a 
free  market  in  Bakersfield.  It  is  his  belief  that  Bakersfield,  having  cheap 
fuel  for  factories  at  its  very  door,  is  destined  to  become  a  great  manu- 
facturing city.  The  presence  of  oil  and  gas  combine  to  make  it  an  ideal 
location  for  factories  and  he  can  see  nothing  ahead  but  steady  growth  and 
ultimate  greatness.  Such  views  make  him  a  booster  for  Kern  county.  At 
his  office  on  Nineteenth  street  near  Chester  avenue  he  spends  much  of  his 
time  in  plans  for  property  development  and  there  he  often  is  sought  by 
citizens  desiring  advice  on  realty  problems,  for  his  long  and  successful 
experience  gives  weight  to  his  counsel.  Having  lived  in  Southern  California 
since  1868  and  having  owned  property  in  Ivern  county  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  he  is  thoroughly  posted  concerning  the  advantages  of 
this  locality  in  comparison  with  those  of  other  sections  of  the  west  and  no 
trivial  depression  or  discouragement  detracts  frcim  his  faith  in  city  and 
county. 

Since  coming  to  the  west  Mr.  Jacoby  has  been  identified  prominently 
with  various  organizations  for  benevolence  and  philanthropy,  also  has  been 
associated  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  was  made  a 
Mason  in  the  West  Gate  Lodge  No.  335,  F.  &  A.  M..  of  Los  Angeles,  while 
in  political  views  he  has  been  a  stanch  adherent  of  the  Republican  party 
ever  since  he  became  a  voter.  Some  years  after  coming  to  Southern  Cali- 
fornia he  was  married  in  Los  Angeles  to  Miss  Louise  Lazard,  a  native  of 
Los  Angeles  and  the  daughter  of  Solomon  Lazard,  a  pioneer  and  influential 
merchant  of  that  western  metropolis,  also  one  of  the  founders  and  for  a 
time  the  president  of  the  Los  Angeles  Water  Company.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Jacob}-  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters,  Carolyn  and  Rosalie. 

CHARLES  RECHNAGEL.— The  foreman  of  the  Knob  Hill  Oil  Com- 
pany in  the  Kern  river  fields  is  a  sturdy,  efficient  and  enterprising  Danish- 
American,  who  has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world  from  the  age  of  seven 
years  and  in  spite  of  hardships  innumerable,  with  the  most  meager  educa- 
tional opportunities,  has  learned  to  read  Fnglish,  German  and  Danish  liter- 
ature, at  the  same  time  speaking  the  language  of  the  Danes  with  extreme 
ease  and  fluency  besides  mastering  the  English  tongue  in  ordinary  conver- 
sation. That  a  man  could  attain  such  linguistic  skill  and  at  the  same  time 
forge  ahead  to  business  prominence  argues  much  for  his  mental  alertness 
and  keen  intelligence  of  temperament.  '  It  was  his  good  fortune,  during 
a  visit  back  to  Denmark  in  1910.  to  win  for  his  wife  an  educated  young  lady 
of  that  country.  Miss  Marie  Rosendahl.  who  although  not  yet  familiar 
with  the  English  language  received  an  excellent  education  in  her  native 
land  and  is  furthermore  well  trained  in  the  domestic  arts. 

Born  in  Schleswig-Holstein.  Germany.  September  8.  1866,  Charles 
Rechnagel  is  a  member  of  an  old  Danish  family  and  at  the  aee  of  seven- 
teen crossed  the  line  into  Denmark  in  order  that  he  mieht  become  a  citizen 
of  that  country.  When  seven  years  of  age  he  was  employed  to  herd  cows. 
Later  he  was  given  more  difficult  work.  The  pav  was  small,  but  sufficient 
to  meet  his  simple  needs.  After  he  went  to  Denmark  he  received  two 
hundred  marks  a  year,  the  mark  being  a   German   coin   equivalent   to   about 


978  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

twenty-four  cents  of  our  money.  Believing  that  he  could  do  better  in  the 
new  world  he  left  Denmark  in  March  of  1900  and  crossed  the  ocean  to  New 
York,  thence  traveled  to  Nebraska,  where  for  two  months  he  worked  as  a 
section  hand  on  the  railroad  in  Kimball  county.  The  work  did  not  suit 
him  and  he  determined  to  come  further  west.  Accordingly  he  journeyed 
to  Fresno  county,  this  state,  where  he  secured  an  unimportant  job  with 
Lowry  &  Ferguson,  extensive  farmers  of  the  locality.  When  Gus  Ferguson 
became  superintendent  of  the  Knob  Hill  Oil  Company  he  suggested  that 
Mr.  Rechnagel  leave  the  Fresno  county  farm  and  come  to  the  Kern  river 
fields  to  work  as  a  teamster.  The  suggestion  was  carried  out  and  he  has 
lived  here  since  October  of  1901,  meanwhile  holding  different  positions 
until  about  1908,  when  he  was  promoted  to  be  foreman.  A  man  of  excep- 
tional worth,  he  has  proved  faithful  and  industrious  in  the  highest  degree. 
Aside  from  voting  the  Democratic  ticket  he  takes  no  part  whatever  in  the 
politics  of  his  adopted  country,  but  gives  his  undivided  attention  to  the  fore- 
manship  of  the  company  holdings.  Out  of  thirty-six  wells  thirty-three  are 
producers  and  twenty-eight  of  these  are  pumped  from  one  jack,  the  net  pro- 
duction averaging  twelve  thousand  barrels  per  month. 

AUGUST  KRATZMER.— The  Kratzmer  family  is  of  Danish  origin. 
The  capital  city  of  the  kingdom  was  the  birthplace  of  Christian  and  Caro- 
line (Keck)  Kratzmer  and  in  Copenhagen  also  their  last  days  were  passed, 
the  former  throughout  active  life  having  earned  a  livelihood  through  his 
ability  as  a  musician  and  through  his  services  as  bandmaster  of  the  King's 
orchestra,  a  position  of  great  honor  and  dignity.  The  parental  family  consisted 
of  seven  children  and  all  but  two  of  these  attained  mature  years,  but  the  only 
one  to  locate  in  the  United  States  was  August,  the  next  to  the  youngest 
and  a  native  of  Copenhagen,  born  August  5,  1852.  Primarily  educated  in  a 
private  school,  later  he  was  sent  to  a  college  in  Copenhagen  and  on  the 
completion  of  the  course  in  1864  he  continued  his  studies  at  a  military 
school  until  1866.  Starting  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  he 
crossed  the  ocean  to  America  and  settled  in  Chicago,  where  he  served  an 
apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  wheelwright.  On  the  completion  of  his 
time  he  engaged  in  business  for  himself,  opening  a  carriage  shop  on  Thirty- 
ninth  street  in  Hyde  Park,  Chicago. 

Having  sold  the  business,  in  1877  Mr.  Kratzmer  came  to  Bakersfield 
and,  being  favorably  impressed,  he  decided  to  remain.  As  foreman  of  the 
wagon  shop  at  Bellevue  he  engaged  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company, 
but  resigned  in  1884  in  order  to  embark  in  business  for  himself.  On  H 
and  Nineteenth  streets,  Bakersfield,  he  bought  a  lot  and  built  a  shop,  where 
he  engaged  in  blacksmithing  and  carriage-making.  In  1891  he  sold  the 
place  and  leased  from  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  a  place  on  H  and 
Twentieth  streets.  During  1898  he  sold  his  tools  and  supplies  to  the  com- 
pany and  bought  a  lot  on  Twenty-first  and  I  streets,  where  he  built  a 
foundry,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Bakersfield.  At  the  expiration  of  four  years 
he  sold  out  to  Webster  &  Co.,  after  which  he  engaged  in  ranching  for  one 
year.  Returning  to  his  former  line  of  work,  for  four  years  he  carried  on 
a  blacksmith  and  carriage  shop  on  I  street  between  Eighteenth  and  Nine- 
teenth streets.  Meanwhile  he  had  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  raw  land  thirteen  and  one-half  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield.  On 
relinquishing  business  enterprises  he  moved  to  the  farm,  which  is  under 
the  Calloway  canal,  in  the  Rosedale  district.  Abundance  of  irrigation  adapts 
the  place  to  alfalfa,  which  in  turn  renders  possible  the  raising  of  cattle,  horses 
and  poultry.  To  provide  summer  range  for  the  cattle,  a  mountain  ranch 
at  Granite  is  leased.  In  addition  to  his  farm  Mr.  Kratzmer  owns  a  resi- 
dence lot  on  I  street  near  Twentieth,  which  being  close-in  property  has 
rapidly  advanced  in  value.     In  politics  he  is  independent.     The  co-operation 


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HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  981 

and  advice  of  his  capable  wife  has  been  invaluable  to  him  in  his  work. 
Mrs.  Kratzmer,  who  is  a  sister  of  R.  A.  Edmonds,  the  present  postmaster 
at  Bakersfield,  was  born  in  Lane  county,  Ore.,  and  at  the  time  of  her  mar- 
riage to  Mr.  Kratzmer  in  Bakersfield  she  was  Mrs.  Lavina  Brown,  the 
mother  of  a  son,  Frank  A.  Brown,  now  living  in  San  Francisco.  Of  her 
second  marriage  there  was  one  child,  Lotus  Jule,  a  resident  of  Bakersfield. 

JABEZ  RIGHT  GIST.— A  long  period  of  identification  with  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  has  proved  the  value  of  the  services  of  Mr. 
Gist  and  the  importance  of  the  position  which  he  has  filled  with  marked 
efficiency  for  many  years.  As  early  as  1891,  when  the  shops  were  moved 
from  Tulare  to  Kern,  he  came  to  the  new  plant  in  the  capacity  of  store- 
keeper. Considerations  of  health  led  him  later  to  seek  a  change  of  location, 
although  this  did  not  bring  a  severance  of  his  relations  with  the  railroad. 
When  he  returned  to  Kern  in  April  of  1896  he  was  made  engine  inspector. 
Eventually  he  was  promoted  to  be  stationary  engineer,  which  position  he 
fills  with  such  intelligence,  neatness  and  orderliness  that  in  1911  he  received 
a  medal  from  the  inspector  of  power  plants  for  the  Southern  Pacific  system 
and  the  following  year  he  was  awarded  an  additional  bar  un  the  medal  in 
recognition  of  his  efficiency  as  engineer. 

The  lineage  of  the  Gist  family  is  traced  back  to  Christopher  Gist,  the 
companion  and  friend  of  George  Washington.  From  that  Revolutionary 
hero  descended  J.  C.  Gist,  a  native  of  Jackson  county,  Tenn.,  and  for  years  .i 
farmer  near  Tompkinsville,  Monroe  county,  Ky.,  where  also  he  served  as  a 
justice  of  the  peace.  In  that  county  he  married  Kittie  M.  Alarrs,  who  was 
born  there,  of  Scotch  descent,  and  whose  death  occurred  in  Tulare,  Cal., 
at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  The  family 'removed  from  Kentucky  to 
California  in  1875  and  settled  in  Yolo  county,  afterward  acquiring  farm  land 
in  the  vicinity  of  Madison,  that  county.  Removal  was  made  to  Tulare 
county  in  1881  and  a  ranch  was  acquired.  In  addition  to  cultivating  the  land 
Mr.  Gist  served  from  1884  to  1898  as  justice  of  the  peace.  When  seventy- 
seven  years  of  age  he  died  in  Tulare. 

The  parental  family  comprised  ten  children  and  all  but  three  of  these 
attained  maturity,  five  being  alive  at  the  present  time.  The  next  to  the 
youngest,  Jabez  Right,  was  born  in  Jackson  county,  Tenn.,  September  13, 
1860,  and  as  a  boy  attended  country  schools  in  Monroe  county,  Ky.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  he  accompanied  the  family  to  California,  where  he  immediately 
began  to  assist  his  father  in  the  cultivation  of  a  farm.  During  1881  he  removed 
with  his  parents  to  Tulare  county  and  resumed  agricultural  operations  at  that 
point.  At  Tulare  in  1885  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Abbie  Boone,  a  native  of 
Jones  county,  Iowa,  and  a  daughter  of  George  W.  and  Sarah  Ann  (McCul- 
louch)  Boone,  the  latter  a  native  of  Ohio,  the  former  a  direct  descendant  of 
Kentucky's  famous  pioneer,  Daniel  Boone.  The  Boone  family  came  from 
Iowa  to  California  in  1876  and  Mrs.  Gist  attended  the  public  schools  of  Tulare 
until  she  had  completed  the  regular  course  of  study.  By  her  marriage  there 
are  two  children.  The  son,  Mervil  Ward,  is  employed  by  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  in  Los  Angeles.  The  daughter.  Ruby  Grace,  is  the  wife  of 
T.  B.  Kunselman,  of  Los  Angeles. 

Entering  the  Tulare  shops  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company  in  the  fall 
of  1887,  Jabez  Right  Gist  has  continued  with  the  same  corporation  up  to  the 
present  time.  After  his  first  three  years  in  railroading  he  was  transferred  to 
the  clerical  department  of  the  Tulare  shops.  In  1891  he  came  to  Kern  (East 
Bakersfield)  as  store-keeper.  Two  years  later  he  was  transferred  to  Los 
Angeles,  where  he  worked  in  the  car  department  as  air  inspector.  Returning  to 
Kern  in  April  of  1896,  he  has  since  been  with  the  same  plant,  first  as  engine 
inspector  and  later  as  stationary  engineer.  Since  coming  to  East  Bakersfield 
he  has  acquired  property,  including  two  houses  on  Kentucky  street.    For  two 


982  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

terms  he  served  as  trustee  of  the  city  library.  As  a  member  of  the  board  of 
education  in  East  Bakersfield  he  gave  long  and  satisfactory  service.  The 
erection  of  the  Beale  avenue  school  and  the  enlargement  of  the  Baker  street 
school  were  largely  the  result  of  his  energetic  efforts.  During  his  entire  term 
of  office  he  gave  practical  evidence  of  the  genuine  interest  felt  in  school  affairs 
by  making  an  official  visit  to  each  school  two  or  three  times  a  year,  suffering 
the  loss  of  his  wages  for  every  day  thus  given  to  educational  interests. 

Since  the  age  of  eighteen  years  Mr.  Gist  has  been  a  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  For  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  during 
part  of  that  time  he  served  as  president  of  the  board.  The  interest  which  he 
maintains  in  the  church  is  also  felt  by  his  wife.  Both  likewise  are  interested 
in  the  work  of  the  Eastern  Star.  After  coming  to  this  city  he  was  made  a 
Alason  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  as  master  of  the  lodge 
he  participated  in  the  exercises  connected  with  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone 
of  the  new  Kern  county  courthouse  in  December,  1910.  Besides  being  a 
prominent  Mason  he  is  connected  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Foresters  and 
while  living  at  Tulare  was  an  active  lodge  worker  in  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows.  From  the  time  of  casting  his  first  presidential  ballot  for 
James  G.  Blaine  he  has  supported  Republican  nominees  at  every  election 
and  has  maintained  a  warm  interest  in  public  affairs. 

ARTHUR  E.  RAINE. — Several  generations  of  the  Raine  family  were 
identified  with  Kentucky,  where  Albert  E.  and  his  father,  James  B.,  were 
born  in  the  vicinity  of  Bowling  Green  and  where  the  latter,  a  planter  by 
occupation,  had  served  with  conspicuous  bravery  for  the  lost  cause.  The 
struggle  ended  and  his  old  home  locality  disrupted  by  the  sanguinary  con- 
flict, he  determined  to  seek  a-  home  elsewhere.  Accordingly  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1865  he  crossed  the  plains,  accompanied  by  his  family,  which  included 
Albert  E.,  then  a  lad  of  about  twelve  years.  Settlement  was  made  at  Ana- 
heim, where  years  afterward  the  firm  of  J.  B.  Raine  &  Son  became  very 
prominent  along  the  line  of  its  chosen  specialties.  Throughout  that  section 
of  the  state  they  planted  orchards  and  vineyards  for  absent  owners,  also 
bought  land  for  themselves,  which  they  set  out  in  horticultural  products. 
In  addition  they  engaged  in  hop  culture  and  farming.  Eventually  the 
senior  member  of  the  firm  retired  from  business  pursuits  and  now,  vigorous 
and  sturdy  notwithstanding  his  more  than  eighty  years,  he  is  living  retired 
at  Santa  Ana.  Meanwhile  the  business  is  being  continued  by  Albert  E., 
who  resides  on  his  valuable  walnut  orchard  near  Orange.  During  young 
manhood  he  married  Anna  King,  who  was  born  in  Huntington,  W.  Va.,  and 
died  at  the  family  residence  in  1892,  leaving  three  sons. 

The  eldest  of  the  sons,  Arthur  E.,  was  born  at  Santa  Ana,  this  state, 
February  8,  1880,  and  attended  the  grammar  and  high  schools  of  his  native 
city.  For  three  years  he  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  machinist 
in  the  Santa  Ana  machine  shop.  At  the  expiration  of  his  time  he  entered 
the  Orange  County  Business  College  in  Santa  Ana,  of  which  he  is  a  graduate. 
During  1900  he  came  to  Bakersfield  fur  the  first  time  and  here  he  secured 
a  position  as  accountant  and  private  secretary  to  George  Easton  of  the 
Easton,  Eldridge  Company,  a  San  Francisco  firm,  who  were  pioneers  in 
the  Sunset  oil  fields.  A  year  later  he  became  connected  with  the  construc- 
tion department  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  and  had  charge  of  the 
material  used  in  the  building  of  the  Kern  river  branch.  Upon  the  comple- 
tion of  the  road  he  was  transferred  to  the  .Vtlantic  system  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  as  private  secretary  to  George  W.  Boschke.  chief  engineer  in  charge 
of  the  company's  docks  in  Galveston,  these  being  the  largest  of  the  kind  in 
the  world. 

I'pon  the  completion  of  the  construction  work  at  that  point  Mr.  Raine 
returned  to  Bakersfield  as  an  accountant  and  stenographer  in  the  transporta- 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  985 

tion  department  of  the  Suiitherii  Pacific  Railroad.  During  May  of  1903 
he  resigned  an  excellent  position  in  order  to  enter  the  employ  of  the 
Bakersfield  iron  works  as  bookkeeper  and  stenographer.  At  the  time  he 
was  the  only  clerical  help  in  the  office,  but  the  business  grew  steadily  and 
when  Henry  D.  ]\IcCoy  resigned  in  1904  and  E.  C.  Wilson  was  appointed 
to  fill  the  vacancy  as  manager,  Mr.  Raine  became  chief  clerk,  continuing 
as  such  until  June  of  1909,  when  upon  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Wilson  he 
was  promoted  to  be  manager.  He  filled  this  responsible  position  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  company  until  February  1,  1913,  when  he  resigned. 
Shortly  afterward  he  associated  himself  with  S.  Wright  Jewett,  and  unde/ 
the  firm  name  of  Jewett  &  Raine  engaged  in  buying  and  sub-dividing  Kern 
county  lands,  and  the  result  is  that  they  are  doing  more  to  bring  new 
people,  not  only  from  different  parts  of  California  but  from  the  Middle  States 
and  Rocky  Mountain  region,  than  any  other  firm  in  the  business.  Both 
members  are  native-born  Californians  and  believe  in  the  great  future  of  the 
state  and  particularly  as  :\lr.  Raine  expresses  it,  "Kern,  the  county  that  made 
California  famous." 

The  residence  of  Mr.  Raine  occupies  the  corner  of  Twenty-fourth 
and  B  streets,  Bakersfield,  and  is  graciously  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Raine, 
formerly  Miss  Ann  MacAIurdo,  who  was  born  in  Bakersfield,  Kern  county, 
where  her  father,  W.  R.  MacMurdo  served  for  eighteen  years  as  county 
surveyor  and  now  follows  the  occupation  of  a  civil  engineer.  The  family 
of  Mr.  Raine  comprises,  besides  his  wife,  their  two  children,  Arthur  E.,  Jr., 
and  Kathleen  Ruth.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Bakersfield 
Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West.  Upon 
the  organization  of  the  Bakersfield  Club  he  became  a  charter  member  and 
since  then  he  has  served  as  a  member  of  its  board  of  directors. 

E.  B.  CAMPBELL. — The  superintendent  and  manager  of  the  Section 
5  Oil  Company,  the  King  Refining  Company  and  the  Petrophalt  Paint 
Company,  is  further  identified  with  the  Kern  river  fields  through  being 
successor  and  owner  of  the  Capital  City  Oil  Company,  which  is  now  suc- 
cessfully producing  in  this  district.  While  having  made  his  home  in  Cali- 
fornia since  1892,  he  is  a  Canadian  by  birth,  having  been  born  in  that  country 
January  15.  1859,  the  son  of  a  Baptist  minister.  In  the  early  history  of  the 
Kern  river  field  Mr.  Campbell  became  well  informed  in  matters  pertaining  to 
oil  production,  oil  refining,  the  asphalt  industry  and  the  manufacture  of 
petrophalt  paint  which  one  of  his  subsidiary  companies  has  produced  with 
success.  He  first  became  identified  with  the  so-called  Lincoln  Oil  Company, 
being  persuaded  to  invest  largely  in  the  project  upon  the  representations  of 
the  treasurer  of  the  new  concern,  who  was  president  of  the  Oakland  Bank. 
Having  the  utmost  confidence  in  the  men  at  the  head  of  the  proposition 
he  did  not  investigate,  but  invested  in  this  concern.  When  he  came  to  the 
Kern  river  field  he  at  once  saw  that  the  proposition  had  been  grossly  mis- 
represented to  him,  and  that  the  territory  was  outside  of  the  real  oil  field. 
Immediately  he  severed  his  connection  with  the  company  as  a  director  and 
notified  his  friends  of  the  frauds  he  had  discovered,  being  fortunate  in  saving 
his  friends  from  loss,  but  unfortunate  in  losing  his  own  investment. 

Having  determined  with  resolute  fortitude  to  regain  what  he  had 
lost  in  the  place  where  he  had  lo.st  it.  Mr.  Campbell  secured  a  lease  on 
twenty  acres  and  organized  the  Section  5  Oil  Company.  In  this  he  likewise 
met  with  personal  disappointment,  as  oil  declined  from  ten  to  fifteen  cents 
per  barrel  to  a  point  below  the  cost  of  i)roduction,  and  he  sold  out  to  the 
Associated  Oil  Company,  receiving  stocks  and  bonds  for  the  company's 
rights  under  the  original  lease.  Soon  afterward  he  converted  said  stocks 
and  bonds  into  cash  and  purchased  a  part  of  section  9,  where  he  immediately 
began  the  work  of  development.     His  stockholders  maintained  implicit  faith 


9§6  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

in  him  and  later  large  profits  for  them  justified  that  confidence.  The  Section 
5  Oil  Company  now  owns  the  holdings  on  section  9,  where  it  has  eight  pro- 
ducing wells  with  a  monthly  production  of  several  thousand  barrels. 

The  credit  of  building  the  first  refinery  in  the  Kern  river  fields  belongs 
to  Mr.  Campbell,  who  became  interested  in  the  subject  through  the  repre- 
sentations of  an  enthusiastic  employe,  formerly  connected  with  a  Standard 
oil  refinery.  After  much  discussion  and  study  he  resolved  to  put  in  a  small 
refinery  and  this  he  built  himself.  Although  built  on  a  small  scale  it  demon- 
strated the  feasibility  of  refining  the  Kern  river  oil  and  the  value  of  the 
by-product  and  asphalt  for  street  paving.  He  organized  a  stock  company 
called  the  King  Refining  Company,  named  after  the  late  W.  B.  King,  attor- 
ney-at-law,  of  San  Francisco.  The  stock  was  sold  to  a  few  of  their  friends, 
being  a  close  corporation.  Only  a  small  proportion  of  the  stock  was  sold, 
and  the  industry  was  built  up  mainly  from  the  earnings  of  the  corporation. 
The  company  has  surpassed  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  its  stock- 
holders. It  erected  a  refinery  which  ran  the  first  seven  years  day  and  night 
without  shutting  down,  and  is  still  running  at  a  capacity  of  seven  hundred 
tons  of  asphalt  per  month.  The  residuum  oils  are  taken  by  certain  other  oil 
manufacturing  concerns  and  largely  used  in  the  manufacture  of  lubricants. 

Still  another  industry  growing  out  of  the  refinery  business  and  under 
the  management  of  Mr.  Campbell  is  the  manufacture  of  petrophalt  paint, 
now  being  made  on  a  large  scale  by  a  company  known  as  the  Petrophalt 
Paint  Company  and  located  in  the  Kern  river  field.  This  paint  is  non-cor- 
rosive and  a  most  excellent  preservative,  and  is  extensively  used  in  painting 
oil  and  gas  pipes.  Three  coats  of  the  paint  ordinarily  make  pipes  immune 
to  rust  and  well-nigh  everlasting.  This  company  has  been  doing  business 
about  five  years  and  has  painted  several  hundred  miles  of  oil  lines,  this  paint 
being  considered  one  of  the  best  preservers  of  iron  when  buried  in  the 
ground  or  subjected  to  salt  water  or  alkali.  It  is  also  used  very  largely 
now  by  all  large  concerns  on  the  coast,  such  as  the  Associated  Oil  Company, 
the  Southern  Pacific  and  Santa  Fe  Railways  in  their  oil  departments,  the 
Southern  California  Edison  Company,  the  Lacey  Manufacturing  Company 
and  the  Llewellyn  Iron  Works,  and  is  now  being  handled  extensively  by 
such  concerns  as  Fairbanks-Morse,  J.  F.  Lucey  Company,  the  Associated 
Supply  Company,  and  by  nearly  all  of  the  other  large  supply  houses  on 
the  Pacific  coast.  The  paint  is  now  becoming  very  popular  for  the  painting 
of  steel  structures  and  all  metal  surfaces  either  hot  or  cold,  being  used 
for  heated  surfaces  such  as  smoke  stacks  and  boiler  fronts,  and  is  also 
being  used  largely  for  roof  paint  on  account  of  its  lasting  qualities. 

At  times  it  has  been  thought  that  the  Sunset  and  Midway  fields  with 
their  gushers  were  so  far  superior  to  the  Kern  river  fields,  that  comparison 
became  absurd.  If,  however,  the  steady  production  of  the  Kern  river  fields 
is  taken  into  account  it  will  be  seen  that  the  latter  field  is  one  of  the  greatest 
importance.  Take  for  instance  well  No.  1  of  the  Section  5  Oil  Company, 
located  on  the  county  road  in  section  9:  It  was  the  first  one  put  down  by 
Mr.  Campbell  and  has  now  produced  steadily  for  twelve  years.  Its  pro- 
duction keeps  right  up  to  fifty  barrels  per  day  and  produces  as  much  now 
as  ever,  18,250  per  year,  or  219,000  barrels  since  it  was  drilled,  at  fifty 
cents  per  barrel.  It  has  produced  more  than  $100,000  in  wealth.  The 
Kern  river  field  is  therefore  one  of  the  best  paying  propositions  in  existence. 

The  oil  storage  in  the  Kern  river  field  is  the  largest  of  any  field  in  the 
world,  the  soil  being  of  such  a  nature  as  to  hold  oil  in  earthen  reservoirs 
of  enormous  capacity,  running  from  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  (450,000) 
to  one  million  barrels  each.  The  Standard  Oil  Company  is  the  first  in 
capacity,  with  approximately  fifty  million  barrels,  besides  about  one  hundred 
thirty-five-thousand-barrel  steel  tanks.     Then  come  the  Associated  Oil  Com- 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  987 

pany,    Petroleum    Development    Company    and     Producers'    Transportation 
Company,  which  have  many  million  barrels  more  storage. 

Here  is  also  located  the  first  oil  pipe  line  pumping  plant.  The  Standard 
Oil  .Associated  Pipe  Line  Company  and  Independent  Transportation  Com- 
pany pump  under  several  hundred  pounds  pressure  three  eight-inch  streams 
of  crude  oil  across  the  valley  and  over  the  mountain  to  several  seaports 
from  San  Francisco  to  Los  Angeles  and  Long  Beach  harbor.  The  total  cost 
of  these  enterprises  runs  well  up  to  twenty  millions  of  dollars,  making  the 
Kern  river  field  the  head  and  one  of  the  greatest  oil  centers  in  the  world. 

HENRY  B.  TRUE. — Born  in  Androscoggin  county,  Me.,  August  28, 
1848,  Henry  B.  True  was  the  son  of  John  True,  who  died  when  Henry  was 
a  babe.  Consequently  he  was  reared  on  the  farm  by  his  mother,  working  at 
farm  duties  and  attending  school  during  the  winters.  In  1865  he  came  to 
Windsor,  Sonoma  county,  and  in  1867  to  Los  Angeles  county  and  followed 
farming  near  Los  Nietos. 

On  j\Iay  26,  1870,  Mr.  True  was  married  near  Porterville  to  Miss  Mary 
Gilliam,  a  native  of  Dallas,  Ore.,  and  the  daughter  of  Robert  and  Julia  Ann 
(Chance)  Gilliam,  who  were  born  in  North  Carolina  and  Logan  county 
Ky.,  respectively.  Crossing  the  plains  in  1846  with  ox-teams  to  Oregon 
Mr.  Gilliam  took  a  Donation  Land  Claim.  In  1858  he  came  to  Contra  Costa 
county,  Cal.,  and  afterward  to  Stockton.  In  1864  he  located  in  Visalia  and  in 
1865  in  Porterville.  The  father  died  in  Dallas,  Ore.,  while  the  mother, 
aged  eighty-nine  years,  makes  her  home  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  True.  The 
latter  is  a  near  relative  of  Gen.  Cornelius  Gilliam,  a  pioneer  Indian  fighter  in 
Oregon,  who  had  command  of  the  soldiers  against  the  Indians  and  was 
killed  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  gun.  Mrs.  True  is  the  third  eldest 
of  a  family  of  eleven  children. 

Coming  to  Kern  county  in  1872,  Mr.  True  worked  at  the  blacksmith 
trade  in  Glennville  until  1878,  when  he  started  the  first  blacksmith  shop  in 
Weldon,  continuing  in  business  there  for  five  years.  He  then  purchased  his 
present  place  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  three  miles  east  of  Weldon  and 
has  improved  the  place  so  it  is  under  irrigation,  and  he  is  engaged  in  raising 
alfalfa,  grain,  cattle  and  hogs  and  meeting  with  merited  success. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  True  have  one  child,  Lillian  D..  now  Mrs.  Diment,  of 
Exeter.  Mrs.  True  has  aided  her  husband  materially  in  his  efforts  to  suc- 
cess and  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  Mr.  True  was  a  member 
of  the  board  of  school  trustees  of  the  Weldon  district  for  eighteen  years 
and  politically  is  a  Democrat. 

C.  C.  LITTLE.— Some  distance  above  the  point  where  the  waters  of 
the  Penobscot  empty  into  the  ocean  and  lying  on  the  eastern  bank  of  that 
turbid,  restless  stream,  lies  the  quiet  little  city  of  Bucksport,  near  which  for 
many  years  J.  L.  and  Fannie  (Blood)  Little  have  made  their  home  on  a 
farm.  At  the  same  old  homestead  occurred  the  birth  of  C.  C.  Little  on  the 
26th  of  April,  1884,  and  in  all  probability  his  life  might  have  been  passed  in 
the  community  had  not  ill  health  forced  him  to  seek  a  less  rigorous  climate. 
His  common-school  education  had  been  completed  and  he  had  carried  on  the 
studies  of  the  East  Maine  conference  seminary  at  Bucksport  for  some  tirne, 
when  the  failure  of  his  health  cut  .short  his  seminary  course  and  caused  hirn 
to  seek  a  more  genial  climate  than  that  of  his  own  state.  Arriving  in  Cali- 
fornia during  August  of  1904,  he  entered  the  Chestnut  Woods  Business 
College  at  Santa  Cruz,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  July  of  1905.  Mean- 
while he  had  been  restored  to  fair  health  by  the  invigorating  influence  of 
the  sunny  western  climate. 

A  brief  period  of  service  as  bookkeeper  in  San  Francisco  to  II.  H. 
Blood,  president  of  the  Gold  Peak  Mining  Company,  convinced  Mr.  Little 
that    outdoor    occupation    would    better    conserve    his    health.      Accordingly 


988  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

in  December,  1905,  he  was  transferred  to  the  company's  headquarters  in 
the  Amelia  mining  district  of  Kern  county  and  was  given  a  position  as 
assayer  and  superintendent  of  the  cyanide  plant.  A  course  of  study  in 
a  school  of  mines  in  San  Francisco  had  qualified  him  for  such  work  and 
he  filled  the  responsible  position  with  intelligence  and  adaptability.  From 
that  district  he  went  to  Piute  in  the  fall  of  1909  and  engaged  in  the  building 
of  a  mill  and  concentrating  plant  for  the  Little  Mining  Company,  owners 
and  operators  of  the  Lulu  mine.  Since  February  of  1912  he  has  acted  as 
proprietor  of  the  Caliente  hotel,  a  two-story  concrete  building,  of  fireproof 
construction  and  convenient  interior  arrangement.  Being  independent  in  his 
attitude  toward  public  questions,  he  has  not  identified  himself  with  any 
political  party,  nor  is  he  particularly  interested  in  fraternal  affairs,  although 
holding  membership  with  the  Woodman  of  the  World  in  Bakersfield.  In  the 
supervision  -of  the  hotel  he  has  been  assisted  by  his  wife,  who  was  Miss 
Nettie  Fitch,  of  Bakersfield,  a  native  of  that  city  and  educated  in  its  schools. 
They  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters,  Margaret  and  Mabel. 

FRANK  MERRILL  WORTHINGTON.— The  superintendent  of  the 
San  Joaquin  division  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  is  a  member  of  a 
pioneer  family  of  the  west  and  himself  claims  California  as  his  native  com- 
monwealth. The  Worthington  genealogy  goes  back  to  the  colonial  era  of 
American  history  and  the  records  show  that  Timothy  Worthington  mar- 
ried Maria  Merrill  February  12,  1823,  at  Hebron,  Washington  county,  N.  Y., 
whence  they  soon  removed  to  the  then  frontier  of  Indiana  and  took  up  a 
tract  of  raw  land  in  Elkhart  county  near  the  village  of  York.  From  them 
the  lineage  is  traced  through  their  son,  Samuel  Merrill  Worthington,  a 
native  of  Hebron,  N.  Y.,  but  from  early  life  familiar  with  the  vicissitudes 
incident  to  existence  upon  the  frontier.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  California 
turned  his  attention  toward  the  far  west  and  with  several  friends  he  determ- 
ined to  seek  the  mines.  The  young  men  boarded  a  sailing  vessel  in  New 
York  City  and  sailed  around  the  Horn.  The  voyage  was  one  of  great  hard- 
ship. For  seventy  days  they  were  becalmed.  Meanwhile  the  supply  of  food 
and  water  ran  short.  Every  heart  was  filled  with  joy  when  finally  the 
vessel  entered  the  Golden  Gate  and  discharged  its  passengers  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, whence  naturally  a  rush  was  made  for  the  mines.  After  several  years 
as  miners  the  young  men  decided  to  go  back  to  the  east  and  return  with 
stock  and  implements  to  aid  in  farming.  Two  young  men  went  back  with 
Mr.  Worthington  and  they  became  brothers-in-law  by  marrying  three  sisters. 

The  marriage  of  Samuel  Merrill  Worthington  took  place  in  Granville, 
Licking  county,  Ohio,  March  4,  1858,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Julia  Ann 
Hillyer,  a  native  of  that  town.  The  young  couple  spent  a  few  months  in 
Indiana  and  then  joined  a  party  bound  for  California.  Owing  to  trouble 
with  the  Indians  the  government  stopped  all  travel  across  the  plains,  which 
forced  them  to  remain  at  Leavenworth,  Kan.,  for  some  time.  The  journey  was 
resumed  in  April  of  1859  with  a  train  of  thirty  wagons,  some  drawn  by 
oxen  and  others  by  horses.  As  Mr.  Worthington  was  then  in  ill  health  his 
wife  drove  their  four-horse  team  and  also  cared  for  her  small  babe,  besides 
ministering  to  the  invalid.  To  those  who  had  taken  the  trip  and  knew  of 
its  roughness  she  was  a  heroine.  At  times  it  was  necessary  to  chain  the 
four  wheels  of  the  wagon,  on  the  rear  of  which  all  of  the  men  would  ride, 
m  order  to  prevent  a  somersault,  as  the  way  was  rough  and  steep.  Only 
one  wagon  could  be  taken  down  at  a  time.  About  fifty  men  were  in  the 
party.  They  started  with  a  thousand  head  of  cattle,  but  many  perished  on 
the  way  because  c.f  the  scarcity  of  feed  and  water. 

The  trip  was  full  of  danger  and  anxiety.  The  train  ahead  of  them  had 
been  attcked  l)y  savages  and  some  of  the  travelers  had  been  massacred. 
The    train    following    them    also    met    with    misadventure    and    losses    from 


}-  )^  yro^t^^^^^^^a^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  991 

Indians.  This  party  fortunately  escaped,  although  they  had  several  encount- 
ers with  the  Indians.  They  always  found  that  kindness  won.  At  one  time 
they  were  furced  to  sell  a  pony  rather  than  incur  the  enmity  of  their  unde- 
sired  guests.  Two  of  the  white  men,  while  hunting  for  camp  quarters, 
suspected  Indians  of  a  theft  and  determined  to  bring  them  back  to  camp 
for  justice.  Wiser  men  realized  the  mistake,  but  the  two  persisted  in  a  spirit 
of  fun.  Thus  they  incurred  the  enmit)'  of  the  Indians,  who  vowed  to  have 
their  scalps.  Intercessions  were  made  and  the  Indians  were  persuaded  to 
leave,  but  they  departed  in  anger.  The  train  had  two  very  an.xious  days. 
At  every  moment  they  feared  an  attack  by  the  savages  in  retaliation  for 
the  trouble.  Meanwhile  a  consultation  was  held  and  the  party  decided,  in 
case  the  two  men  were  demanded,  they  would  be  given  up,  as  they  alone 
should  sufler  the  consequences  of  their  own  deed.  The  entire  party  already 
had  gone  through  the  experience  of  viewing  a  war-dance  and  bonfire  and 
they  did  not  wish  to  continually  encounter  Indians  during  the  remainder  of 
the  trip.  Fortunately,  however,  nothing  further  was  heard  concerning  the 
matter. 

It  was  the  custom  at  camping  time  to  form  a  corral  with  wagons  with 
the  men  taking  turns  as  guards.  On  one  occasion  they  camped  for  several 
days  to  permit  the  cattle  to  rest  and  the  women  to  do  their  baking  and  laun- 
dering (for  they  had  more  conveniences  than  previous  trains),  Indians  sud- 
denl}'  a[)peared.  Spying  a  tiny  babe,  the  smaller  of  the  two  infants  in  the 
company,  they  determined  to  possess  the  child,  and  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  they  were  dissuaded  from  their  purpose.  In  order  to  refuse  them  yet 
retain  their  friendship,  various  articles  were  bestowed  upon  them  as  peace 
offerings.  The  train  never  traveled  on  Sunday  unless  for  lack  of  feed  and 
water.  Toward  the  last  provisions  became  very  scarce  and  when  tinally  the 
party  reached  Sacramento  in  October,  1859,  they  greatly  enjoyed  a  feast  of 
potatoes  and  salt,  the  former  bought  at  cc  st  of  twent}^  cents  per  pound. 

From  Sacramento  the  members  of  the  expedition  scattered  in  various 
directions.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Worthington  went  to  San  Lorenzo,  Alameda 
county,  where  a  sister  of  the  latter  was  located,  having  preceded  them  to 
California  via  Panama.  Having  been  reared  to  farm  work,  Mr.  Worthington 
decided  to  engage  in  ranching  and  he  selected  a  claim  in  Santa  Clara  county 
in  the  foothills  between  Milpitas  and  Warm  Springs.  There  he  remained 
for  some  time,  but  eventually  the  Nevada  mining  excitement  made  him  rest- 
less and  desirous  of  a  change,  so  he  took  his  wife  and  three  children  over 
the  mountains  by  team  to  Dayton,  Nev.,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  mills 
as  amalgamator.  However,  the  climate  of  Nevada  did  not  agree  with  his 
wife  and  she  returned  to  California,  accompanied  by  the  three  children. 
The  only  accident  of  the  trip  was  caused  by  meeting  a  team  between  sta- 
tions on  a  steep  and  narrow  grade,  which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  a  second 
wagon  containing  freight.  On  their  return  to  California  the  family  settled  at 
Haywards,  Alameda  county,  and  about  1870  the  father  returned  from  Nevada 
to  resume  agricultural  pursuits.  Of  a  strong  religious  nature  he  and  his 
wife  \vere  charter  members  of  the  Haywards  Congregational  Church  and  he 
served  as  an  official  until  his  death.  Of  a  gentle,  retiring  nature,  he  was 
never  so  happy  as  when  surrounded  by  his  family  or  able  to  aid  some  one. 
The  end  came  in  accord  with  his  life,  so  quietly  that  not  even  the  loved 
companion  by  his  side  knew  of  the  call  until  he  was  gone  ;  always  desirous 
of  not  becoming  a  burden,  his  prayer  had  been  answered.  Of  his  family 
there  survive  only  Frank  M.  and  Cora  M.  The  latter  married  John  Penney 
in  October,  1880,  and  they  have  an  only  daughter,  California  Myrtle  Penney. 
who  in  February,  1911,  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Robert  D.  Healey,  a  very 
successful  osteopathic  physician.  The  Penney  and  Healey  families  reside 
at  Pacific  Grove,  Monterev  countv. 


992  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

Born  near  Hayward,  Alameda  county,  Cal.,  March  11,  1862,  Frank  Mer- 
rill Worthington  was  educated  in  local  schools  and  Heald's  Business  College 
in  San  Francisco  (of  which  he  is  a  graduate),  also  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia. During  1880  he  became  baggageman  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road Company  at  Madison,  Yolo  county,  where  he  learned  telegraphy.  Next 
he  became  a  brakeman  and  then  was  made  conductor  between  Elmira  and 
Madison.  During  September  of  1886  he  resigned  and  went  to  Los  Angeles, 
where  later  he  worked  under  Superintendent  Muir  of  the  Southern  Pacific. 
After  a  short  service  as  brakeman  between  Los  Angeles  and  Bakersfield  in 
1887  he  became  conductor  between  Los  Angeles  and  Kern.  Upon  the 
death  of  his  father  he  resigned  his  position  in  order  to  settle  the  estate  and 
upon  his  return  in  1894,  there  having  been  a  change  of  superintendents,  he 
was  obliged  to  begin  again  as  brakeman,  but  soon  he  was  promoted  to  be 
a  conductor  and  after  a  time  he  was  selected  as  traveling  conductor.  From 
1898  to  1900  he  served  as  train  master  on  the  San  Joaquin  division  and  then 
became  assistant  superintendent  of  the  Tucson  division.  In  December  of 
19C6  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  San  Joaquin  division  with  his 
headquarters  in  Bakersfield.  At  that  time  the  division  included  the  Southern 
Pacific  from  Los  Angeles  to  Fresno  with  all  of  the  branch  lines,  also  the 
line  between  Saugus  and  Santa  Barbara,  comprising  nine  hundred  and  four 
miles.  Since  then  the  line  from  Saugus  to  Santa  Barbara  has  been  taken 
out  of  the  division,  but  as  many  new  miles  have  been  added,  so  that  the 
total  mileage  is  practically  unchanged. 

Besides  filling  the  many  responsible  duties  connected  with  his  prominent 
position  Mr.  Worthington  acts  as  a  director  in  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Bakersfield  and  also  in  the  Producers'  Savings  Bank.  Politically  he  keeps 
posted  concerning  national  problems  and'  votes  with  the  Republican  party. 
He  was  made  a  Mason  in  Bakersfield  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  member  of  Kern 
Valley  Lodge  No.  75,  R.  A.  M.,  and  Bakersfield  Commandery,  K.  T.  His 
family  have  been  identified  with  the  Emanuel  Presbyterian  Church  of  that 
city.  His  marriage  took  place  at  Hayward,  Alameda  county,  April  23,  1882, 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Sarah  Frances  Hampton,  a  native  of  Kentucky 
and  a  daughter  of  Henry  Hampton,  M.  D.,  a  pioneer  physician  of  Ventura 
county.  Mrs.  Hampton  died  in  December,  1912,  at  ninety  years  of  age.  The 
other  surviving  members  of  the  Hampton  family  are  Mrs.  Glenn  Wallace  and 
Mrs.  Worthington,  also  three  grandchildren,  Mrs.  A.  A.  Lee,  of  Los  Angeles, 
and  Edwin  and  Frances  Wallace,  of  Venice,  Cal.  Ethel  Marguerite,  the  only 
child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Worthington,  was  married  to  Arthur  Albert  Lee  in  Los 
Angeles  April  23,  1906,  and  has  one  son,  Merrill  Worthington  Lee. 

ANDRE  ANDRE.— Near  Gap,  Hautes-Alpes,  Mr.  Andre  was  born  Sep- 
tember 18,  1854,  and  trained  to  till  the  soil,  care  for  growing  crops 
and  tend  the  flocks  of  sheep  on  the  home  farm.  His  parents,  Ambroise  and 
Marian  (Brocheir)  Andre,  died  in  France,  the  latter  during  1875  and  the 
father  in  1897.  During  the  decade  from  1875  to  1885  the  elder  Andre  lived 
in  California,  but  a  homesick  longing  for  his  beloved  native  land  led  him 
back  to  France  to  spend  his  last  days  in  the  midst  of  the  friends  and 
scenes  beloved  of  his  youth. 

In  a  family  of  ten  children,  only  three  of  whom  are  now  living,  Andre 
Andre  was  the  first-born  and  for  that  reason  he  was  perhaps  unusually  self- 
reliant  and  industrious.  The  care  of  the  young  children  and  the  necessity 
to  work  early  and  late  that  so  many  might  be  supported  taught  him  the 
importance  of  frugality  and  industry.  As  he  labored  quietly  at  home  he 
heard  much  concerning  California  and  early  resolved  to  seek  a  livelihood 
in  this  portion  of  the  new  world.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  left  home  for 
New  York  and  thence  traveled  west.  Eighteen  days  were  spent  on  an 
emigrant   train   between    New   York   and   San    Francisco.     After   sailing   via 


Oyi^^'^^   (^^^^^^ 


HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY  995 

steamer  on  the  Pacific  from  San  Francisco  he  landed  at  the  harbor  of 
San  Pedro,  September  24,  1874.  E\er  since  then  he  has  kept  more  or  less 
closely  in  touch  with  that  city,  where  for  twenty-five  years  he  has  owned 
a  residence  on  Pleasant  avenue. 

A  stockman  in  Los  Angeles  county  gave  the  young  French  lad  employ- 
ment as  a  sheep-herder  and  he  remained  for  eighteen  months  with  his  first 
employer,  after  which  he  herded  sheep  for  Eugene  Garnie  for  eighteen  months 
and  then  spent  five  months  in  the  same  work  for  the  San  Fernando  Company. 
By  1878  he  had  saved  enough  to  buy  a  small  flock  of  sheep.  These  he 
ranged  in  various  parts  of  Los  Angeles  county,  but  in  1881  he  drove  the 
flock  across  the  Tehachapi  mountains,  arriving  in  Kern  county  on  the  3d 
of  December.  He  continued  in  the  sheep  business  until  1889,  when  he 
sold  the  flock  and  returned  to  Los  Angeles.  Returning  to  France  in  1890, 
he  spent  seven  months  in  the  old  home  neighborhood,  and  during  that 
visit,  October  28.  1890,  he  married  Miss  Inez  Nichols,  who  was  born  in 
Hautes-Alpes  and  died  in  Kern  county  May  28,  1913.  Five  children,  all  at 
home,  form  the  family  of  Mr.  Andre,  namely:  Andre,  Louis,  Gabriel,  Irene 
and  Inez.  The  family  are  communicants  of  St.  Francis  Roman  Catholic 
Church. 

From  1890  to  1895  Mr.  Andre  made  his  home  in  Los  Angeles,  but  spent 
much  of  his  time  on  the  range  with  his  sheep.  During  1895  he  brought  this 
flock  of  sheep  over  the  Tehachapi  and  settled  in  Kern  county,  where  he 
devoted  his  time  to  the  occupation  until  1906.  At  that  time  he  sold  the 
sheep  in  order  that  he  might  devote  his  attention  wholly  to  farm  pursuits. 
During  January  of  1904  he  had  purchased  sixty  acres  on  the  Kern  Island 
road  a  few  miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  This  tract  he  has  improved  with 
residence  and  barns  and  has  developed  an  abundance  of  irrigation  from 
the  Kern  Island  canal,  so  that  grain  and  alfalfa  are  raised  with  profit.  Dur- 
ing 1912  he  added  to  his  possessions  by  the  purchase  of  eighty  acres  on 
Union  avenue.  This  tract  also  is  under  irrigation  and  is  in  alfalfa.  For 
the  present  the  larger  farm  is  operated  by  a  tenant,  the  care  and  cultivation 
of  the  sixty  leaving  Mr.  Andre  no  time  for  more  than  a  close  supervision 
of  the  other  property. 

EUGENE  RICHARD  CARLTON.— The  manager  of  Hotel  Carlton  at 
Caliente  has  been  a  resident  of  California  from  early  childhood,  but  claims 
South  Dakota  as  his  native  commonwealth,  having  been  born  at  Custer, 
Custer  county,  on  the  20th  of  September,  1884,  From  the  age  of  four  years 
he  has  lived  in  California,  first  in  Tulare  and  then  in  Kern  county.  With 
this  portion  of  the  state  he  is  familiar  by  long  residence  and  active  busi- 
ness identification.  Through  his  kindly  efforts  he  has  been  enabled  to 
provide  a  comfortable  home  for  his  parents  in  their  declining  days,  while  his 
energy  and  enterprise  have  benefited  also  his  own  financial  and  business 
standing.  The  family  of  which  he  is  a  member  comes  of  old  southern 
extraction.  His  father,  A.  T.,  a  native  of  Hickory  county,  Mo.,  gave  his 
support  to  the  Union  at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war,  entering  the  army  and 
serving  as  a  private  until  the  expiration  of  his  time.  After  the  war  he  aided 
in  quelling  a  number  of  Indian  outbreaks  and  meanwhile  had  several  nar- 
row escapes.  After  his  marriage  in  Missouri  to  Telutha  Minter  he  removed 
to  the  Dakotan  frontiers  and  settled  on  the  plains  of  Custer  county,  where 
he  entered  a  claim,  proved  up  on  the  land,  developed  a  stock  ranch  and 
labored  indefatigably,  but  without  the  merited  returns  of  prosperity  and 
comfort.  Hoping  to  be  benefited  by  a  change,  in  1888  he  brought  the  family 
to  California  and  settled  at  Tulare  where  with  his  wife  he  resides  on  a 
small  farm  within  the  city  limits  of  Tulare.  Among  their  nine  children,  six 
now  living,  Eugene  Richard  is  the  third  eldest. 

On  leaving  the  Tulare  high  school  Eugene  Richard  Carlton  secured  em- 


996  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

ployment  as  clerk  in  a  grocery  and  later  conducted  the  old  Exchange  gro- 
cery with  considerable  success.  When  he  sold  out  in  1901  he  devoted  the 
proceeds  of  the  business  to  buying  a  small  place  for  his  parents,  after  which 
he  started  anew  in  the  world.  A  brief  experience  in  the  teaming  business 
in  Bakersfield  provided  him  with  funds  utilized  in  the  establishment  of  the 
firm  of  Carlton  &  Crockett,  which  in  January  of  1913  bought  the  hotel  at 
Caliente.  After  the  building  had  been  remodeled  and  overhauled,  it  was 
opened  as  the  Hotel  Carlton,  with  Mr.  Carlton  as  the  affable  and  popular 
landlord.  Since  then  he  has  devoted  himself  faithfully  and  intelligently  to 
the  management  of  the  hotel,  giving  little  attention  to  politics  aside  from 
voting  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  taking  no  part  in  any  fraternities  aside 
from  the  Eagles  and  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men.  After  coming  to 
Kern  county  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Effie  M.  Cootes,  of  Bakers- 
field,  a  native  of  San  Diego,  and  they  have  one  son,  Eugene  Richard,  Jr. 

ROBERT  BURTON.— In  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  Mr.  Burton  was  born  Sep- 
tember 28,  1877.  When  only  two  years  of  age  he  lost  his  father,  David 
Burton,  an  attorney  of  prominence,  whose  untimely  death  cut  short 
a  most  hopeful  career  and  left  the  family  without  means  of  support. 
There  was  another  son,  William,  two  years  younger  than  Robert,  and  these 
two  were  taken  into  the  home  of  their  maternal  grandparents,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Joseph  King,  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.  When  Robert  was  nine  years  of  age  he 
was  orphaned  by  the  death  of  his  mother  and  two  years  later  he  started  out 
to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  From  that  time  forward  he  was  self- 
supporting.  Having  always  been  fond  of  horses  and  experienced  in  their  man- 
agement, he  became  a  jockey  and  followed  the  circuit.  For  a  time  he  worked 
with  Bob  Burns.  The  life  was  exciting,  the  experiences  thrilling  and  the 
work  interesting,  but  the  boy  whose  admirable  control  of  horses  won  many 
a  cheer  in  closely  contested  races  lacked  the  educational  opportunities  and 
the  refined  environment  that  would  have  been  his  if  his  cultured  parents  had 
survived.  From  the  race-track  he  went  to  the  sea  and  shipped  as  cabin-boy 
from  New  York  City,  afterward  sailing  from  one  port  to  another  and  visiting 
Japan,  China,  Africa,  South  and  North  America,  and  the  princioal  seaports 
of  Europe.  When  he  left  the  sea  he  returned  to  jockeying  and  followed  the 
circuit  to  San  Francisco,  where  later  he  was  variously  engaged,  then  came  to 
Kern  county  in  1903  and  settled  down  to  learning  the  oil  business.  For  a 
time  he  worked  on  the  San  Joaquin  division  of  the  Associated  and  the  Peerless 
lease  in  the  Kern  river  field. 

Going  to  the  Santa  Maria  field  Mr.  Burton  engaged  as  gang  pusher  for 
eighteen  months.  Meanwhile  he  assisted  in  the  construction  of  a  pipe  line 
for  the  Pennell  Oil  Company.  Later  he  worked  for  the  Brookshire  and  Rice 
Ranch  Oil  companies.  Upon  returning  to  the  Kern  river  field  he  again  took  a 
position  with  the  Associated  and  later  was  with  the  Enos  Oil  Company  as 
foreman  and  superintendent.  After  a  service  of  five  months  in  the  latter  office 
he  resigned  to  come  to  Maricopa,  where  he  joined  the  force  of  the  J.  F.  Lucey 
Supnly  Company.  In  the  interests  of  that  concern  he  went  to  Taft  and  worked 
in  the  oil  business  there.  In  September  of  1911  he  was  called  to  the  super- 
intendency  of  the  Muscatine  Oil  Company,  a  close  corporation.  In  San 
Francisco  he  married  Miss  Delia  Lewis,  a  native  of  Tulare  county,  this 
.state,  and  by  the  union  there  are  two  daughters,  Bernice  and  Fay. 
Some  years  ago  he  purchased  two  lots  at  Richland,  but  with  that  excention 
he  has  not  invested  in  land.  Politically  he  votes  with  the  Republican  party 
and  fraternally  is  associated  with  the  Eagles,  but  he  has  little  leisure  for 
public  affairs  or  fraternal  activities,  his  attention  being  given  closely  to  the 
production  of  oil  for  his  company  and  his  time  being  spent  wholly  on  the 
forty  acre  lease,  on  section  1,  11-24. 


HISTORY   OF  KERN   COUNTY  999 

E.  M.  HAMILTON. — The  great  improvement  wrought  at  Willow 
Springs,  eight  miles  west  of  Rosamond,  shows  what  can  be  done  on  the 
desert  by  developing  the  natural  resources  of  the  county.  It  has  become  the 
show  place  of  the  region.  Nine  years  ago  it  was  barren  land  covered  with 
brush,  and  today  it  is  improved  with  fields  of  alfalfa,  orchards  and  vine- 
yards. Mr.  Hamilton  studied  the  country  and  found  that  by  laying  cement 
pipes  for  sub-irrigation  it  resulted  in  producing  larger  crops  and  of  sweeter 
and  finer  flavor.  The  fruits  of  the  orchard  and  vine  have  been  tested  and 
found  to  contain  twenty-two  per  cent  of  sugar.  The  soil  in  the  locality  is 
good  and  being  surrounded  by  water  the  climatic  conditions  are  most 
excellent.  On  account  of  these  existing  conditions  Mr.  Hamilton  built  a 
sanitarium  with  the  idea  of  furnishing  a  retreat  for  those  afilicted  with 
pulmonary  trouble  and  kindred  ailments. 

E.  M.  Hamilton  was  born  near  Mt.  Sterling,  Brown  county,  111.,  Feb- 
ruary 22,  1833,  his  educational  advantages  being  th^ise  of  the  common 
schools  of  his  day.  When  sixteen  years  of  age  he  left  the  home  farm  and 
began  boating  on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  he  rose  from  third  cook  to  first 
steward.  In  1853  he  discarded  his  kid  gloves  and  picking  up  an  ox  whip, 
drove  five  yoke  of  oxen  across  the  plains,  arriving  in  Oregon,  and  from  there 
he  worked  his  way  to  California.  For  a  time  he  followed  mining  in  northern 
California  and  then  began  farming  at  Shasta  City.  At  one  time  he  owned 
the  Canon  ranch  on  a  part  of  which  the  city  of  Redding  is  now  built.  In 
1861  he  returned  east  and  in  1862  enlisted  in  Company  D,  First  Minnesota 
Regiment  and  later,  on  the  reorganization,  he  was  in  Company  B,  First 
Battalion.  Among  other  battles  he  served  in  the  Wilderness.  Cold 
Harbor,  Deep  Bottom,  Ream's  Station,  Siege  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond. 
After  taking  part  in  the  Grand  Review  he  was  mustered  out  and  honorably 
discharged  and  then  returned  to  Maine  where  his  parents  lived.  For  a  time 
he  followed  farming  and  afterwards  the  trade  of  stone  mason.  In  1872  he 
followed  the  Robinson  mining  excitement  to  Montana.  From  1873  until  1875 
he  followed  contracting  in  Alinneapolis,  and  in  the  year  last  mentioned  he 
located  in  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  in  the  same  line  of  business.  He  also  estab- 
lished the  first  artificial  stone  works  in  Los  .Angeles.  In  18%  his  health 
became  so  impaired  that  he  came  to  Antelope  valley  and  in  October,  1896, 
he  camped  at  Willow  Springs.  He  began  prospecting  and  discovered  the 
Alida  mine,  which  he  developed,  later  building  a  stamp  mill,  and  in  two 
years  took  out  $200,000  of  gold  from  the  mine.  Some  time  afterwards  he 
sold  the  mine. 

About  1904  Mr.  Hamilton  purchased  Willow  Springs  from  the  Beale 
estate  and  since  that  time  has  made  valuable  improvements  on  the  desert, 
having  groves  of  willows,  cottonwood  and  mulberries.  His  experiments  with 
raising  the  silk  worm  proved  a  success  and  showed  the  adaptability  to  rais- 
ing silk.  In  connection  with  the  sanitarium  he  has  a  grocery  store,  garage, 
blacksmith  shop,  ice  and  cold  storage  plant,  electric  light  plant,  public  hall 
and  theater,  and  telephone.  He  obtained  the  postoffice  and  has  since  been 
the  postmaster.  He  built  the  Hamilton  house  at  Rosamond,  a  two-story 
fireproof  building. 

Mr.  Hamilton  has  been  married  three  times;  the  first  time  was  in  Min- 
neapolis to  Sarah  Landson.  who  died  there,  and  the  three  children  born  to 
them  are  also  deceased.  He  was  married  again  in  Minnesota  to  Harriett 
Moffitt,  who  died  in  Los  Angeles.  Of  their  four  children  three  are  living. 
Fred  is  the  manager  of  Willow  Springs;  Lester  resides  in  Los  .\ngeles ; 
Eugene  is  deceased  ;  and  Truman  is  proprietor  of  the  Hamilton  House  at 
Rosamond. 

Mr.  Hamilton's  third  marriage  was  with  Mrs.  Elsie  E.  Galloway,  a 
native  of  Canada.     While  residing  in  Los  .Angeles  he  served  three  terms  as 


1000  HISTORY   OF   KERN   COUNTY 

councilman,  being  elected  on  the  Independent  ticket.  He  is  proud  of  the 
fact  that  during  his  service  he  voted  to  have  electric  lights  on  the  street 
corners.  He  is  of  an  inventive  genius  and  has  made  many  useful  inventions, 
among  them  asbestine  sub-irrigation  to  apply  water  below  the  surface  of  the 
ground  thus  keeping  the  surface  dry.  He  holds  membership  in  Kenesaw 
Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  the  Society  of  Los  Angeles  Pioneers. 

JOHN  ADOLPHUS  FRY.— The  Teutonic  origin  of  the  Fry  family  has 
given  to  its  various  members  the  traits  of  excellent  manhood,  thrifty  habits 
and  loyal  citizenship  evidenced  in  all  branches  of  the  family,  many  of  the 
representatives  proving  valuable  to  their  chosen  country  by  heroic  effort 
in  war,  and  patriotic  helpfulness  in  time  of  peace.  The  founder  of  this 
branch  of  the  family  in  America  was  Col.  Philip  Fry,  who  was  born  in 
Germany  and  came  at  an  early  day  to  the  United  States,  settling  first  in 
Virginia,  where  he  founded  the  well-known  southern  family,  many  mem- 
bers being  prominently  identified  with  the  American  Revolution  as  active 
participants. 

Col.  Philip  Fry  himself  served  under  Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene  and  spent 
the  memorable  winter  at  Valley  Forge  with  his  regiment ;  in  the  Battle 
of  Brandywine  fought  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  the  famous  Lafayette. 
Later  his  son,  William  Livingston  Fry,  was  commissioned  an  officer  in  the 
Indian  service  under  Zachary  Taylor.  Gathering  up  the  Indian  tribes  re- 
maining in  the  Southern-Atlantic  states,  he  recorded  them,  and  then  took 
them  to  the  Cherokee  country  in  Indian  Territory,  which  at  that  time  was 
a  vast  wilderness.  For  his  valuable  work  in  this  direction  he  was  com- 
missioned Colonel.  He  afterwards  removed  to  Alabama  and  there  reared  his 
family  of  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  the  eldest  of  the  family  being 
John   Adolphus. 

On  November  14,  1827,  John  A.  Fry  was  born  in  Huntsville,  Jackson 
county,  Ala.,  where  he  grew  up  and  acquired  an  excellent  education,  his 
parents  affording  him  more  than  usual  advantages  in  this  direction.  His 
first  marriage,  to  Dian  Olan,  which  occurred  in  Alabama  in  1850,  was  blessed 
with  two  children,  Calvin  Columbus  and  William  Harrison,  the  latter  a 
farmer  in  Kings  county.  After  the  death  of  the  mother  in  Alabama,  Mr. 
Fry  decided  to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  new  west,  reaching  California  in  1862 
and  settling  at  Sonora,  Tuolumne  county.  With  his  brother  Wesley  and 
Levi  Street,  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  for  a  while,  and  later 
engaged  in  mining.  Associated  with  his  brother,  S.  Wesley  Fry,  James 
Hodges  and  Captain  Turner,  he  embarked  extensively  in  the  mining  industry, 
and  together  they  owned  the  Rawhide  with  a  twenty-stamp  quartz  mill.  This 
mine  brought  in  such  splendid  returns  that  they  became  very  wealthy,  as 
wealth  was  counted  in  those  days.  This  mill  and  mine  were  later  burned  and 
flooded  and  were  finally  abandoned.  With  his  brother  Mr.  Fry  also  owned 
the  Comstock  of  Sonora,  the  Calder,  the  Jackson,  the  Blue  Jacket  and  the 
Rock  Pile  mines. 

In  1870  Mr.  Fry  gave  up  mining  and  went  to  Stockton  and  engaged 
extensively  in  agriculture  or  grain-raising,  owning  his  own  headers,  threshers 
and  stock,  as  well  as  everything  necessary  to  extensive  farming,  and  each 
year  farmed  many  hundreds  of  acres  of  land.  But  in  spite  of  close  application 
the  venture  did  not  prove  a  success  and  he  disposed  of  his  property  and  in 
1873  went  to  Hollister,  where  he  engaged  in  the  hotel  business. 

Fatalities  seemed  to  follow  Mr.  Fry  in  close  succession,  for  in  1875  the 
Bank  of  California,  in  which  he  had  his  account,  failed  and  he  found  himself 
ruined  financially.  At  this  time  he  proved  what  a  dauntless  spirit  and  a 
courageous  heart  will  do  to  help  an  individual  retrieve  his  losses.  He  came 
to    Bakersfield    in    the    fall    of    1876   and    became   connected    with    the    early 


^^^^^^^.^^^^ 


HISTORY    t)l-     KICRX    COLXTV  10U5 

operations  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Coni[)any,  then  known  as  the  llaggin 
&  Larr  Company.  He  worked  under  the  superintendency  of  Mr.  Carr  lor 
several  years  and  in  1879  became  superintendent  of  the  Kosedale  ranch, 
north  of  Bakersfield,  which  consisted  of  many  sections.  In  1884  he  pur- 
chased a  half  section  of  land  near  Rosedale  and  began  farming  for  himself. 

Mr.  Fry  was  a  consistent  Democrat  in  politics  and  in  fraternal  circles 
was  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  at  the  time  of  his  death  being  the  second  oldest 
Mason  in  the  state  of  California.  His  death  occurred  in  Coalinga  April  6, 
1912,  and  he  was  buried  in  Bakersfield  with  impressive  Masonic  services. 
He  and  his  wife  and  family  were  Presbyterians.  Mrs.  Fry,  who  before  her 
marriage  was  Miss  Mattie  Dorsay,  was  a  native  of  Arkansas,  having  been 
born  in  the  Ozarks.  She  was  a  member  of  an  English  and  Scotch  family, 
lier  father  having  been  born  in  Maryland,  whence  at  an  early  day  he  and  his 
family  removed  to  Arkansas.  Mrs.  Fry  came  across  the  plains  with  her  par- 
ents in  1852  and  married  her  husband  in  Sonora,  Cal.,  February  14,  1865. 
She  survived  him  but  ten  days. 

Mr.  Fry  was  the  father  of  seven  children,  two  by  his  first  marriage 
and  five  by  his  second.  Frances  M.  is  now  the  wife  of  L.  P.  Guiberson, 
who  has  further  mention  in  this  publication.  John  W.  is  superintendent 
of  the  \\'illiam  McKittrick  ranch,  south  of  Bakersfield.  Dessie  M.  is  the 
wife  of  Henry  Dubbers,  a  farmer  and  stockman  ;  Mrs.  Dubbers  has  taught 
school  in  Kern  and  Fresno  counties  for  twenty-five  years  and  is  one  of  the 
county's  most  successful  instructors.  Helen  M.  is  the  wife  of  Roberts  Coats, 
of  Bakersfield.  William,  the  brother  of  the  half  blood,  is  a  ranchman  near 
Lemoore,  Cal.  Calvin  died  in  Kern  county,  unmarried,  and  Charles  Adolphus 
in  his  childhood.  The  father  of  these  children  was  at  his  death  one  of 
the  best  known  and  most  loved  pioneers  in  the  county.  He  had  occasion 
to  lend  his  aid  to  many  unfortunates  among  the  Rosedale  colonists  and  he 
gave  of  his  stores  with  a  free  and  generous  hand.  All  in  need  found  in  him 
a  readv  giver  and  his  memory  is  held  dear  by  many  who  have  been  rescued 
from  want  and  hunger  through  his  kindly  assistance  and  forethought.  Mr. 
Fry  never  held  any  public  office,  but  his  life  was  full  of  duties  well  done, 
and  he  was  ever  deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  community. 

DANIEL  H.  BLOOD.— Among  the  men  who  cast  their  lot  in  Kern 
countv  and  helped  to  build  it  up  to  the  best  of  their  ability  we  find  Daniel 
H.  Blood,  who  was  born  near  Ovid,  Clinton  county,  Mich.,  December  10, 
1849.  He  is  the  son  of  Daniel  and  Susan  (Turner)  Blood,  natives  of  New 
York  state,  who  were  honored  farmers  of  Clinton  county,  Mich.  Daniel  H. 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  his  vicinity  and  was  brought  up  on  the  home 
farm.  After  reaching  his  majority  he  engaged  in  farming,  thereafter, 
except  for  the  period  that  he  followed  the  mercantile  business  and  later  ran 
a  grist  mill. 

Being  desirous  of  locating  in  California  Mr.  Blood  leased  his  farm  and 
in  March,  1891,  came  with  his  wife  and  family  to  Bakersfield.  The  first  two 
years  were  spent  in  farming  in  the  Rio  Bravo  district  and  he  then  pur- 
chased three  and  one-half  acres  on  Dracena  street.  Bakersfield.  This  they 
improved  and  brought  to  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  setting  it  out  to  berries 
of  all  kinds  which  he  continued  to  raise  for  many  years,  afterwards  following 
carpentering  until  his  death,  December  24,  1905. 

Mr.  Blood  was  married  in  Ovid,  Mich.,  November  12,  1873.  when  he  was 
united  with  Miss  Adelia  Jones,  who  was  born  in  Yates  county,  N.  Y.  When 
a  mere  child  she  went  with  her  parents,  Silas  E.  and  Fannie  (Eldred)  Jones, 
to  Clinton  county.  New  York,  where  they  were  farmers.  Mrs.  Blood  was 
reared  in  Michigan  where  she  also  received  her  education.  They  were  the 
parents   of  four  children ;   Ella,   Mrs.    McCloud   of   Hollywood :   Clifford,   de- 


1004  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

ceased;  Fred  M.,  of  Braly ;  and  Roscoe,  who  resides  with  his  mother  in 
Bakersfield. 

Since  her  husband's  death  Mrs.  Blood  has  continued  to  reside  on 
Dracena  street,  where  she  built  a  new  residence  and  enjoys  meeting  her 
many  friends,  who  esteem  her  for  her  many  acts  of  kindness. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Blood  was  a  Mason  in  Laingsburg,  Mich.,  but  after 
coming  to  Bakersfield  he  affiliated  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224, 
F.  &  A.  M. 

JOSEPH  SERAN.— Lockhaven  stock  farm  located  five  miles  southwest 
of  Bakersfield,  comprises  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  devoted  to  raising 
alfalfa,  Holstein  cattle,  Percheron  horses  and  Yorkshire  hogs.  The  latter 
were  exhibited  at  the  state  fair  in  1913,  taking  fourteen  blue  ribbons  and 
four  gold  medals.  The  owner  of  the  ranch  is  Otis  Lockhart  cif  Los  Angeles, 
while  Joseph  Seran  is  the  superintendent  of  the  ranch  and  he  is  intensely 
interested  in  having  all  stock  of  the  purest  blood  and  highest  grade.  On 
the  ranch  is  a  herd  of  full  blooded  Holstein  cattle,  one  hundred  and  forty-two 
of  them  comprising  the  dairy. 

Joseph  Seran  was  born  in  Lenape,  Leavenworth  county,  Kan.,  January 
26,  1874,  the  son  of  Capt.  William  L.  and  Amanda  (Lashley)  Seran,  born 
in  Aura,  N.  J.  The  father  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  H,  Twelfth  New 
Jersey  Volunteer  Lifantry.  Afterwards  he  was  commissioned  captain  of 
Company  H,  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-fifth  U.  S.  Colored  Troops  and  after 
the  close  of  the  war  was  ordered  to  Ft.  Bliss,  Texas,  where  he  was  quarter- 
master's quartermaster.  He  was  mustered  out  October  31,  1867,  then  located 
in  Lenape,  Kan.,  and  engaged  in  farming.  Later  he  removed  to  Muskogee, 
I.  T.,  making  his  home  there  until  he  retired,  and  he  now  resides  with  his  son. 
The  mother  died  in  Oklahoma  in  1909. 

Of  their  family  of  ten  children  nine  are  living,  Joseph  being  the  fifth 
oldest.  His  boyhood  was  spent  on  the  farm,  securing  his  education  in  the 
public  schools.  He  followed  farming  in  Indian  Territory  until  1903,  when 
he  came  to  Los  Angeles  county  and  became  superintendent  of  the  Lockhart 
ranch  in  Inglewood.  In  1911  he  came  to  Kern  county  to  take  charge  of  the 
Lockl:aven  stock  farm  at  Gosford  to  which  he  gives  his  best  efforts. 

In  Indian  Territory  occurred  the  marriage  of  Joseph  Seran  with  Cora 
Stackhouse,  a  native  of  Missouri  and  they  have  one  child,  Otis.  Fraternally 
he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Seminole  Lodge  No.  106,  F.  &  A.  M.,  but  his  mem- 
bership is  now  at  Inglewood.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  jModern  Woodmen  of  America.  Politically 
he  is  a  Republican. 

KARL  SCHNEIDER.— A  native  of  Germany,  Karl  Schneider  was  born 
at  Laugenbach,  Weisbaden,  October  19,  1850,  the  son  of  Christian  and 
Katherina  (Schob)  Schneider.  The  father  was  a  contractor  and  builder  in 
Laugenbach,  where  he  and  his  wife  died.  Of  their  seven  children  Karl  was 
the  third  oldest  and  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools,  after  which 
he  became  a  stationary  engineer,  being  employed  in  the  iron  mines  in 
Herdorf.  In  1883  he  came  to  the  LTnited  States,  locating  in  Marion  county, 
Kan.,  where  he  followed  farming  and  later  also  worked  as  a  carpenter  and 
afterward  as  a  bricklayer.  In  1892  he  located  on  a  homestead  twenty-two 
miles  west  of  Hennessey,  in  Kingfisher  county,  Okla.  He  made  valuable  im- 
provements, bought  land  adjoining  and  had  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres 
which  he  devoted  to  raising  grain  and  stock. 

In  1910  Mr.  Schneider  brought  his  family  to  California  and  located 
on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  and  one-half  acres  which  he 
purchased  eight  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield.  He  has  made  improve- 
ments, built  a  residence  and  barns,  sunk  a  well  and  installed  an  engine  and 
pumping  plant  for  irrigating  alfalfa.    He  is  also  raising  grain  and  hay. 


^-^-^.(^n. 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COIIXTY  1007 

Mr.  Schneider  was  married  in  Marion  county,  Kan.,  to  Loiii.se  Ortner, 
who  was  born  in  Caucasus,  Russia,  the  daughter  of  Christian  and  Kathrina 
fMiller)  Ortner,  who  emigrated  to  Marion  county,  Kan.,  and  later  to  Okla- 
homa. To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schneider  were  born  twelve  children,  ten  of  whom 
are  living,  namely:  Carrie,  Mrs.  Voth.  who  resides  in  this  county;  Samuel, 
a  farmer  in  Blaine  county,  Okla. ;  Amelia,  Airs.  Sinner  of  Shafter,  this 
county;  Karl,  a  farmer  in  Kingfisher  county,  Okla.;  and  Hannah,  Ezra, 
Isaac,  Williain,  Louise,  and  Herman,  who  reside  at  home.  Mr.  Schneider 
and  his  family  are  meml)ers  of  the  Seventh  Day  Adventist  Church. 

GEORGE  M.  WILKINS.— The  growth  and  prosperity  of  a  city  is 
evidenced  by  its  building  operations  and  in  this  respect  the  advance  of 
Bakersfield  has  been  more  than  notable.  Much  capital  has  been  invested  in 
new  buildings,  the  designing  and  construction  of  which  have  called  for 
trained  ability  of  a  high  order.  Many  architects  and  builders  who  would 
have  made  their  marks  in  much  larger  cities  have  found  here  a  worthy  field 
for  their  endeavor,  and  among  the  most  successful  of  them  is  George  M. 
Wilkins,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  Builders'  Exchange  as  its  president.  Mr. 
Wilkins  was  born  in  Nevada,  Mo.,  May  20,  1873,  a  son  of  Alexander  and 
Martha  J.  (Pryor)  Wilkins.  His  father,  Alexander  Wilkins,  Jr.,  was  a  son 
of  Alexander  Wilkins,  Sn,  a  native  of  Scotland,  who  became  a  contractor 
and  builder  in  Vermont  and  lived  out  his  days  there.  The  younger  Alex- 
ander Wilkins  was  born  and  reared  in  Vermont  and  early  learned  the  builders' 
trade.  In  the  course  of  events  he  removed  to  Wisconsin,  from  which  state 
he  went  to  the  Civil  war  as  a  member  of  a  Wisconsin  regiment  which  did 
gallant  service  in  that  struggle.  His  brother,  A.  B.  Wilkins,  was  an  officer 
in  the  same  regiment,  and  another  brother,- Matthew,  also  fought  under  the 
stars  and  stripes  on  southern  battlefields.  Alexander  is  now  a  resident  of 
Bakersfield,  where  he  lives  retired.  His  wife,  Martha  J.  Pryor,  was  born  on 
Pryor's  creek  in  Vernon  county,  Mo.,  a  daughter  of  James  P.  Pryor,  a  pioneer 
in  that  vicinity,  and  she,  too,  is  living.  Of  their  thirteen  children  four  sur- 
vive, George  M.  being  the  eldest  of  these.  When  he  was  six  years  old  he 
was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Barry  county.  Mo.,  and  he  grew  up  and  attended 
public  school  in  that  vicinity.  His  natural  inclination  led  him  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  carpenter's  trade  and  at  eighteen  he  began  work  as  a  journeyman 
at  Fort  Worth,  Tex.  Later  he  located  at  Dublin,  Tex.  He  availed  himself 
of  an  opportunity  to  take  a  commercial  course  meanwhile,  and  later  pursued 
a  course  in  architecture  under  the  system  of  the  International  Correspondence 
School  at  Scranton.  Pa.  From  Dublin  he  went  to  Osawatomie.  Kans.,  and 
thence  removed  to  Kansas  City,  where  until  1899  he  was  employed  in  con- 
structing refrigerating  cars  for  the  Armour  Packing  Company.  After  that 
he  took  up  farming  in  Barry  county.  Mo.,  but  in  1901  found  himself  in 
Truckee,  Cal.,  superintendent  for  the  McClellan  Construction  Company.  In 
1903  he  established  himself  as  a  contractor  and  builder  at  Fresno  and  about 
a  year  later  he  went  into  the  real  estate  business  at  Long  Beach,  handling 
property  there  and  in  Los  Angeles  with  considerable  success,  acquiring  a 
residence  on  Hermosa  street.  In  1907  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Bakers- 
field, opening  an  office  as  an  architect  and  builder,  and  since  that  time  he 
has  drawn  plans  for  over  four  hundred  buildinc^s.  He  was  for  a  time  super- 
intendent for  James  Arp,  but  resigned  in  1909  to  accept  a  local  superin- 
tendency  of  the  business  of  the  Linds:ren  Company  of  San  Francisco. 

At  Lon.g  Beach  Mr.  Wilkins  married  Miss  Anna  J.  O'Hanrahan,  a  native 
of  Dublin,  Ireland.  Fraternally  he  affiliates  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America.  One  of  the  organizers,  in  1910,  of  the  Bakersfield  Builders'  Ex- 
change, he  is  now  president  of  that  body.  In  all  his  relations  with  his  fellow 
citizens  he  is  public-spiritedly  helpful  to  all  local  interests. 

In  1912  he  purchased  fifteen  acres  in  the  Mayflower  addition,  subdivided 
it  into  one  hundred  and  fifty  lots,  and  erected  five  residences  and  a  store, 


1008  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  last  mentioned  being-  on  Brundage  lane  and  Wilkins  street.  He  opened 
up  the  store  with  a  line  of  general  merchandise  and  the  business  is  under 
the  management  of  Mrs.  Wilkins.  A  splendid  example  of  Mr.  Wilkins'  abil- 
ity as  an  architect  and  builder  may  be  seen  in  the  fine  residence  which  he 

owns  at  No.  2700  Chester  avenue. 

WILLIAM  T.  RATLIFF.— The  attainment  of  a  considerable  degree  of 
financial  success  and  commercial  prestige  may  be  attributed  to  the  self- 
reliant,  energetic  labors  of  Mr.  Ratliff  and  his  persistence  in  the  face  of 
repeated  discouragements  that  would  have  brought  failure  to  a  man  of 
less  determination.  In  addition  to  the  ownership  of  an  important  business, 
conducted  under  the  title  of  the  Bakersfield  Produce  and  Implement  Com- 
pany, he  engaged  in  the  poultry  and  dairy  business  and  owned  and  occupied 
a  well-improved  ranch  of  fifteen  acres  situated  on  Jewett  lane.  It  was  his 
good  fortune  to  have  the  assistance  of  one  son  in  the  store  and  of  the  other 
son  on  the  ranch  and  the  three,  working  in  harmony,  gained  the  confidence 
of  business  associates  as  well  as  a  satisfactory  financial  return  for  their 
investment  of  time  and  capital.  Ill  health  overtook  Mr.  Ratliff  in  the  midst 
of  his  business  success,  and  in  the  hope  of  regaining  his  former  strength 
he  went  to  Long  Beach,  where  his  death  occurred  June  5,   1913. 

Noting  the  history  of  the  Ratliff'  family  we  find  that  Milton  Ratliff 
was  born  in  Kentucky  and  returned  to  that  state  to  spend  his  last  days  after 
many  years  of  active  business  association  with  the  city  of  Indianapolis, 
where  still  lives  his  widow,  Elizabeth  (Bracken)  Ratliff  and  where  occurred 
the  birth  of  their  two  children.  Of  these  the  only  one  to  attain  mature  years 
was  William  T.,  whose  birth  occurred  December  2,  1863,  and  whose  educa- 
tion was  secured  in  Indiana  public  schools.  For  a  time  during  young  manhood 
he  engaged  in  farming  in  Boone  county,  Ind.,  but  in  1891  he  closed  out 
his  interests  in  that  state  and  came  to  Bakersfield.  Near  this  city  he  became 
interested  in  general  farming,  stock-raising  and  fruit-growing.  Afterward 
he  engaged  in  shipping  hay  and  grain.  The  discovery  of  oil  caused  him  to 
discontinue  the  running  of  a  stage  to  Glenville  and  take  up  the  freighting 
business  to  the  Kern  river  field  and  to  the  west  side  field.  At  first  he  kept 
only  two  horses,  but  the  demands  of  the  business  caused  him  to  enlarge  his 
stable  until  finally  he  owned  ten  teams  of  fine  horses. 

As  an  employe  and  as  manager  of  the  pit  owned  by  the  Union  refinery 
Mr.  Ratliff  held  for  three  years  a  position  involving  constant  work  and 
many  responsibilities.  During  the  following  two  and  one-half  years  he 
engaged  as  a  carpenter  in  the  building  of  the  roofs  of  the  large  reservoirs 
owned  by  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  Upon  resigning  that  position  he 
embarked  in  the  livery  business,  buying  the  Panama  stable  in  Bakersfield 
and  later  buying  the  old  Diamond  stable  on  Chester  avenue.  After  operating 
both  barns  for  two  and  one-half  years  he  disposed  of  them  and  bought  the 
Union  stable  on  K  street.  For  two  years  he  operated  that  business  and 
then  sold  to  E.  P.  Davis.  We  next  find  him  connected  with  the  oil  industry 
on  the  west  side  as  an  organizer  of  the  Sunset  Security  Oil  Company.  Upon 
the  incorporation  of  the  concern  he  was  made  vice-president  and  manager. 
The  company  acquired  one  thousand  acres,  most  of  it  on  section  29,  town- 
ship 11,  range  23,  in  the  Sunset  field.  During  Janua,ry  of  1910  he  resigned 
his  official  position  with  the  company  and  in  September  of  the  ensuing  year 
he  bought  a  one-third  interest  in  the  Bakersfield  Produce  and  Implement 
Company  at  No.  1711  Chester  avenue.  Afterwards  he  bought  out  both  of 
his  partners,  maintaining  in  his  establishment  a  complete  line  of  heavy  and 
shelf  hardware,  agricultural  implements,  paints  and  oils,  feed  and  seed,  dairy 
and  poultry  supplies.  In  1884,  while  living  in  Indiana,  he  was  married  in 
Boone  county  to  Miss  Rosa  Emmert,  born  in  Montgomery  county,  Ind., 
bv  whom  he  had  four  children,  namely :  Carrie,  Mrs.  H.  A.  Martin  of  Taft ; 


t=^ 


HISTORY    OF    KFRN    COUNTY  1011 

Opal,  Mrs.  Arthur  Bean  of  San  Francisco;  Joseph  William,  who  assists  in 
the  store;  and  Ora  Warren,  who  manages  the  little  ranch.  In  politics  Mr. 
Ratliff  voted  with  the  Democratic  party.  Fraternally  he  was  identified  with 
the  Elks,  Eagles  and  \\'oodmen  of  the  World,  and  was  also  a  member  of  the 
Bakersfield  ^[erchants'  .Association.  Mrs.  Ratliff  is  a  member  of  the  Women 
of  W^oodcraft. 

OTTO  HAESE, — The  postmaster  at  Mojave  is  one  of  those  capable, 
efficient  young  men  who  have  been  attracted  to  this  section  of  the  country- 
through  the  development  and  construction  work  connected  with  the  Los 
Angeles  a<|ueduct.  While  coming  hither  merely  to  fill  a  temporary  position 
on  the  clerical  force  of  a  contractor,  he  saw  the  opportunities  of  the  country 
and,  being  an  enthusiastic  Democrat,  he  was  induced  to  seek  the  appointment 
as  postmaster.  The  recommendation  of  prominent  Democrats  and  his  own 
high  reputation  combined  to  bring  him  the  position.  June  6,  1913,  President 
W^ilson  signed  the  papers  tendering  him  the  appointment  and  on  the  7th  of 
July  he  took  charge  of  the  ofifice.  at  the  same  time  purchasing  the  stationery 
and  magazine  business  formerly  conducted  by  Mr.  Preble,  ami  in  addition  he 
has  charge  of  the  public  long  distance  telephone  station. 

From  a  very  early  age  Otto  Haese  has  been  forced  to  make  his  own  way 
in  the  world  unaided  by  others.  He  was  born  at  Manitowoc,  Wis.,  October 
16,  1883,  and  was  only  eight  years  of  age  when  his  father,  Carl  Haese,  a 
farmer  of  Wisconsin,  was  taken  from  the  family  by  death.  Few  opportuni- 
ties came  to  the  orphan  lad.  Early  in  life  he  became  self-supporting.  For 
five  years  he  engaged  as  a  clerk  in  a  hardware  store.  During  much  of  that 
time  his  wages  were  only  $2  per  week,  but  he  was  gaining  a  business  experi- 
ence of  great  value  to  him.  While  clerking  during  the  day  he  devoted  the 
evenings  to  the  study  of  telegraphy.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was  appointed 
assistant  agent  at  Hilbert  Junction  for  the  AX'isconsin  Central  Railroad.  Six 
months  later  he  was  appointed  assistant  agent  at  Forest  Junction,  Calumet 
county,  in  the  employ  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad.  Three 
months  later  he  was  transferred  to  Menominee,  Mich.,  to  act  as  night  operator 
and  then  became  day  operator  and  ticket  agent  for  the  St.  Paul  at  the  same 
place.  At  the  expiration  of  three  years  he  entered  the  Gem  City  Business 
College  in  Quincy,  111.,  from  which  institution  he  was  graduated  in  1908. 
Coming  to  Los  Angeles,  a  stranger  on  the  coast,  he  secured  employment  as 
chief  clerk  for  Dr.  O.  C.  McNary  at  the  Soldiers'  Home  hospital  in  Sawtelle. 
Three  months  later,  in  November,  1908,  he  came  to  Mojave  to  act  as  stenog- 
rapher and  bookkeeper  for  D.  J.  Desmond,  subsistence  contractor  on  the 
Los  Angeles  aqueduct.  In  due  time  he  was  promoted  to  be  chief  clerk  in 
the  subsistence  department  and  continued  with  Mr.  Desmond  until  he  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Mojave,  when  he  relinquished  an  important  clerical 
position  in  order  to  associate  himself  with  the  permanent  interests  of  the  town. 

PAUL  C.  HILL.— A  native  of  Massachusetts,  Paul  C.  Hill  was  born 
in  Groton  August  2,  1886,  the  son  of  Capt.  Joseph  C.  Hill,  also  a  native  of 
Groton.  When  the  latter  was  fourteen  years  of  age  he  went  to  sea  and  was 
in  Calcutta  during  the  Sepoy  rebellion.  He  enlisted  and  served  in  the 
Fifth  Bengal  Yeoman  Cavalry  for  one  year  and  for  his  valued  services  he 
was  presented  with  a  medal  from  Queen  Victoria.  When  he  was  eighteen 
years  old  he  was  the  first  man  on  record  in  the  state  of  Maine  to  volunteer 
for  the  Civil  war,  enlisting  in  the  First  Maine  Regiment  as  a  private.  He 
rose  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  was  later  transferred  to  the  staff  of  General 
Rosecrans,  and  still  later  commissioned  captain  in  the  Fifth  Kentucky  Cav- 
alry. Some  years  after  the  war  he  served  as  chief  of  the  Indian  bureau  in 
Washington  for  five  years.  .Afterwards  he  entered  commercial  life  and  was 
for  many  years  in  charge  of  the  western  agency  of  the  Scott's  Emulsion 
Company  in  Japan,  China  and  India,  until  his  death  in  Yokuhama. 

The  mother  was  Charlotte  Caryl,  a  daughter  of  Alexander  Hamilton  and 


1012  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Elizabeth  (Kipp)  Caryl,  the  former  being  a  manufacturer  of  horseshoe  nails 
in  Forge  Village,  Mass. 

Paul  C.  Hill  was  reared  in  the  various  places  where  his  father  was 
located,  having  the  advantages  of  the  public  school.  When  fourteen  he 
began  working  for  the  Illinois  Steel  Company  in  Chicago  and  at  seventeen 
became  foreman  of  the  blast  furnace.  In  1906  he  spent  six  months  with  the 
Alleghany  Ore  &  Iron  Company  at  Iron  Gate,  Va.,  and  then  was  foreman 
of  the  blast  furnace  of  the  Lackawanna  Steel  Company  at  Buffalo.  In  1908 
he  was  employed  with  Allen  &  Burke  drilling  gas  wells  in  western  New 
York. 

In  1909  Mr.  Hill  came  to  California  and  was  employed  by  the  Standard 
at  Coalinga,  later  with  the  Coalinga  Oil  Company,  afterwards  in  the  pipe 
line  department  of  the  Standard  for  one  year,  then  a  year  with  the  Santa  Fe 
Company.  In  January,  1912,  he  became  foreman  for  the  General  Petroleum 
Company  at  Lost  Hills  and  afterwards  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Lost 
Hills  division  for  the  same  company. 

HON.  BENJAMIN  BRUNDAGE.— The  genealogical  records  of  the 
Brundage  family  bear  evidence  concerning  their  long  and  honorable  identifica- 
tion with  America  as  well  as  their  Anglo-Saxon  extraction,  indicating  also 
that  the  name  was  established  in  the  new  world  by  three  brothers  from  Eng- 
land, one  of  whom  settled  in  York  state,  another  in  New  Jersey  and  the  third  in 
Pennsylvania.  Thomas,  a  native  of  New  York  and  a  descendant  of  the  orig- 
inal immigrant  to  that  state,  followed  the  tide  of  migration  into  Ohio,  where 
he  took  up  raw  land  near  McCutchenville,  Wyandot  county,  and  improved  a 
large  farm.  In  his  family  there  was  a  son,  Benjamin,  who  became  a  success- 
ful attorney  and  honored  jurist  of  Rakersfield,  rising  to  influence  through  his 
own  unaided  efforts  and  the  development  of  his  splendid  mental  faculties. 
Working  his  way  to  the  law  through  faithful  services  as  a  teacher,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  and  practiced  law  at  Sandusky,  Ohio.  At  the  time  of  Mor- 
gan's raid  he  enlisted  and  served  as  a  private  in  a  regiment  of  Ohio  state 
militia.  Immediately  after  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  from  the  army  in 
the  spring  of  1865  he  came  to  California  and  for  a  few  months  sojourned  in 
San  Francisco,  where  he  acted  as  agent  for  an  insurance  company.  During 
the  autumn  of  1865  he  arrived  in  Kern  county  and  opened  a  law  office  at 
Havilah,  then  the  county-seat.  In  a  short  time  his  ability  had  won  recogni- 
tion. When  the  question  of  county-seat  removal  began  to  be  agitated  he  was 
engaged  by  citizens  of  Bakersfield  to  appear  before  the  state  legislature  and 
secure  the  passage  of  a  bill  for  the  removal,  which  task  he  engineered  to  a  suc- 
cessful and  satisfactory  consummation.  Shortly  afterward  he  removed  his 
office  to  the  new  county-seat  and  continued  his  practice  from  this  point.  On 
the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution  he  was  elected  the  first  superior  judge 
and  filled  the  position  for  one  term,  later  returning  to  his  private  practice, 
which  he  conducted  with  unimpaired  ability  until  six  years  prior  to  his  demise. 
The  close  of  his  useful  existence  came  January  29,  1911,  when  he  had  reached 
the  age  of  seventy-seven  years. 

Upon  coming  west  Judge  Brundage  was  unmarried  and  it  was  in  Cali- 
fornia that  he  first  met  the  young  lady  who  became  his  wife  in  the  city  of  Sac- 
ramento, March  27,  1870.  Mary  B.  Lively  was  born  in  Yelvington,  Daviess 
county,  Ky.,  and  is  now  a  resident  of  Bakersfield.  At  a  very  early  age  she 
was  brought  to  the  west  by  her  father.  Dr.  Joseph  Lively,  who  crossed  the 
plains  with  wagon  and  oxen  during  the  summer  of  1850,  and  after  a  short 
sojourn  in  Nevada  county  began  to  practice  medicine  at  Santa  Clara  in  the 
county  of  that  name.  Later  he  removed  to  Glennville,  Kern  county,  where 
from  1866  until  his  removal  to  Irvington,  Alameda  county,  he  engaged  in 
professional  work.  For  a  time  he  also  conducted  the  Hotel  Glennville.  His 
demise  occurred  at  Watsonville.     At  the  time  of  the  removal  of  the  family  to 


^,        96>    .      (/^r>^i^<-uc^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COITNTY  1015 

Kern  county  the  daiip:Iiter  was  a  young  lady,  well  educated  for  tliat  day  and  a 
decided  accession  to  the  social  and  educational  circles  of  the  community. 
She  was  one  of  tlie  first  school  teacliers  in  Havilah  and  there  she  met  Judge 
Brundasje,  who  filled  the  ofiice  of  school  trustee.  Their  marriage  was  blessed 
with  three  children  and  two  of  these,  Benjamin  L.  and  George  H.,  are  still 
living.  Tiiroughout  the  county  where  for  so  many  years  he  made  his  home 
Judge  Brundage  was  well  known  and  universally  honored. 

HERMAN  H.  SCHUTZ.— Born  in  St.  Gallen,  Switzerland,  March  17, 
1862,  Mr.  ^chutz  was  the  son  of  John  and  Catherine  (Leverer)  Schutz,  farmers 
in  St.  Gallen,  who  in  1881  brought  the  family  to  Missouri,  locating  near  Spring- 
field, where  Mr.  Schutz  fallowed  farming  until  his  death  about  18')8.  Mrs. 
Schutz  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  her  son  Herman  had  removed  and  here  she 
passed  away  in  1906.  Five  of  the  seven  children  survive  them,  Herman  H. 
Iseing  the  eldest;  he  was  brought  up  on  the  home  farm  and  received  the  usual 
common  school  training  in  his  native  land.  Reports  of  the  encouraging  out- 
look in  America  and  a  great  desire  to  see  the  new  country  and  try  his 
fortune,  impelled  the  family  to  migrate  to  the  United  States.  F'or  three  years 
he  followed  farming  in  Springfield,  Mo.,  after  which,  in  1884,  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia. Turlock,  Stanislaus  county,  was  his  first  stopping  place,  and  there 
he  immediately  found  employment,  starting  at  well-bnring,  which  has  since 
been  his  occupation.  Two  weeks  later  he  bought  the  rig  and  engaged_  in 
contracting  for  the  boring  of  wells  in  Stanislaus  and  Merced  counties,  having 
his  headquarters  at  Turlock.  It  was  in  1887  that  he  finally  located  in  Bakers- 
field,  as  he  recognized  this  to  be  a  more  central  point  for  his  line  of  work. 
At  this  time  the  boring  was  done  by  hand  power,  and  later  by  horse  power, 
but  Mr.  Schutz  now  has  a  steam  engine  rig  and  also  a  gas  engine  rig,  which 
do  the  work  more  rapidly,  and  much  more  effectively.  His  work  takes  him 
all  over  the  county,  where  he  has  bored  wells  from  fifty  to  twelve  hundred 
feet  in  depth,  and  he  has  brought  in  some  good  flowing  wells.  For  many 
years  he  has  done  all  the  work  for  the  Kern  County  Land  Company. 

In  addition  to  his  well-boring  business  Mr.  Schutz  is  interested  in  ranch- 
ing at  Wasco,  his  property  having  been  improved  from  a  desert  tract.  Of  his 
three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  two  hundred  acres  are  already  under  cul- 
tivation to  alfalfa  and  it  is  the  intention  of  Mr.  Schutz  to  sow  the  whole  half- 
section  to  alfalfa.  The  pumping  plant  is  equipped  with  a  thirty-two  horse 
power  engine.  Mr.  Schutz  has  built  two  sets  of  buildings  and  has  two  tenants 
on  the  place.  Prior  to  improving  the  above-mentioned  property  he  improved 
four  other  ranches  in  the  Rio  Bravo  country  with  wells  and  pumping  plants 
for  general  farming  and  alfalfa.  His  home  is  at  No.  2111  Twenty-first  street, 
Bakersfield.  He  Jjelongs  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Foresters  and  is  a 
Republican. 

LOUIS  FRANK  JOHNDROW.— French-Canadian  ancestry  is  indicated 
by  the  genealogy  of  the  Jnhndrnw  family.  The  first  of  the  name  to  establish 
permanent  residence  in  the  States  was  the  father  of  John  B.,  who  when  the 
latter  was  a  lad  of  thirteen  years  removed  to  York  state.  The  youth  was 
even  then  familiar  with  the  shipping  industry  and  for  years  he  followed  the 
lakes,  but  eventually,  wearying  of  the  constant  exposure  necessary  to  such 
an  existence,  he  settled  down  on  a  farm.  Naturally  he  chose  a  location  not  far 
distant  from  the  lakes.  The  land  which  he  developed  was  located  in  JefTerson 
county,  N.  Y.,  near  lake  Ontario,  where  so  much  of  his  previous  life  had 
been  passed  as  a  sailor.  From  that  time  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
eight  he  continued  on  the  same  property  and  meanwhile  he  made  a  specialty 
of  dairying  and  kindred  activities.  During  young  manhood  he  had  married 
Julia  Cornaire,  a  native  of  France,  who  died  in  New  York  at  the  age  of  forty- 
eight.     Of  their  eight  children  only  two  survive. 

Of  the  entire   familv  the  next  to  the  youngest   was   Louis   Frank,  burn 


•1016  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

January  7,  1850,  at  the  home  farm  in  Jefferson  county,  N.  Y.,  near  lake 
Ontario.  From  very  early  life  he  made  himself  useful  on  the  farm.  His  father 
being  a  dairyman,  it  was  natural  that  he  should  be  instructed  in  milking, 
cheese-making  and  similar  work.  Efficient,  energetic  and  persevering,  his 
assistance  was  of  the  utmost  value  in  the  management  of  the  stock  and  the 
land.  It  was  not  until  1876  that  he  decided  to  leave  the  old  homestead  and 
seek  an  opening  in  Mexico.  January  1,  1877,  he  left  Watertown,  N.  Y.,  on  an 
emigrant  train  bound  for  San  Francisco,  where  he. arrived  at  the  expiration 
of  fifteen  days  of  tedious  travel.  The  country  was  so  much  to  his  liking 
that  he  abandoned  all  intention  of  proceeding  to  Mexico.  For  a  time  he 
worked  in  a  dairy  at  Gilroy,  Santa  Clara  county.  Next  he  spent  eighteen 
months  in  Monterey  county,  where  he  drove  a  stage  between  Soledad  (then 
the  end  of  the  railroad)  and  Paraiso  Springs.  Returning  from  there  to  Gilroy, 
he  became  cheese-maker  on  the  old  Bloomfield  ranch  for  E.  A.  Davidson,  who 
manufactured  drum  cheese  averaging  about  sixty  pounds  to  the  cheese.  While 
in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Davidson,  aside  from  cheese-making,  he  milked  a  string  of 
twenty-two  cows  or  more,  so  that  he  was  kept  busy  eighteen  hours  out  of  the 
twenty-four.  On  one  occasion  he  had  just  finished  making  the  cheese  at  1 
p.  m.,  when  the  cows  were  brought  in.  About  six  milkers  had  left  and  help 
was  scarce.  Sitting  down  on  the  stool  with  his  pail,  he  continued  to  milk  until 
after  sundown,  at  which  time  he  had  milked  a  total  of  sixty-eight  cows  for 
the  day. 

The  next  work  that  occupied  the  attention  of  Mr.  Johndrow  after  leaving 
Gilroy  was  that  of  conducting  a  milk  business  at  No.  1015  Valencia  street, 
San  Francisco.  During  1882  he  spent  a  few  days  in  Bakersfield  and  received 
a  favorable  impression  concerning  this  part  of  the  country.  Having  closed 
out  the  business  in  San  Francisco,  in  1884  he  started  for  Bakersfield  to 
establish  a  permanent  home  in  the  locality.  At  San  Jose  he  bought  one  hundred 
and  seven  head  of  fine  dairy  cows.  These  animals  he  drove  through  to  Bakers- 
field, where  he  landed  November  22,  after  twenty-two  days  of  hard  travel.  The 
cows  were  not  acclimated  and  in  the  next  summer  all  but  thirty-five  died. 
Seven  months  later  he  sold  the  balance  for  $35  per  head.  He  had  paid  $50  per 
head  for  the  bunch,  besides  the  expense  of  $4  each  in  bringing  them  to  Kern 
county,  so  that  in  seven  months  he  had  lost  $6,0C0.  Had  he  brought  his 
money  to  Bakersfield  instead  of  bringing  the  cows  and  had  he  invested  in 
some  of  the  splendid  land  for  which  this  county  is  noted,  he  would  have  been 
prosperous  from  the  start.  However,  he  did  not  allow  the  failure  to  discourage 
him.  With  undaunted  courage  he  started  anew.  His  knowledge  of  the  dairy 
business  was  so  thorough  that  Carr  &  Haggin  engaged  him  to  take  charge  of 
their  dairy  of  three  hundred  cows,  which  were  then  grazing  on  a  ranch  extend- 
ing on  both  sides  of  Nineteenth  street  from  the  Panama  slough  west.  For 
some  time  he  had  charge  of  the  manufacture  of  cheese  and  butter  and  man- 
aged the  large  dairy  acceptably  to  all  concerned. 

Having  bought  forty-four  acres  on  section  4,  township  31,  range  27, 
in  the  Panama  district,  in  1892  Mr.  Johndrow  resigned  his  position  with  the 
great  corporation  of  land-owners  and  devoted  himself  to  the  improvement 
of  the  land.  It  was  not  then  known  what  products  could  be  raised  most 
profitably  in  the  district,  hence  he  experimented  with  prunes.  The  results 
were  disastrous.  In  years  when  prices  were  high  he  had  no  crop  and  in 
seasons  of  large  yield  he  could  get  only  a  very  low  price  for  the  fruit,  so  at  the 
expiration  of  twelve  years  of  struggle  he  grubbed  out  the  fine  large  trees 
and  sowed  the  land  to  alfalfa.  Thereafter  with  alfalfa  and  hogs  on  the  land 
he  was  greatly  prospered.  Eventually  he  sold  the  property  and  in  November, 
1911,  came  to  Bakersfield.  where  he  erected  two  houses  on  the  corner  of 
Eleventh  and  N  streets.  In  one  of  these  he  makes  his  home ;  the  other  is 
rented.    While  operating  his  ranch   in  the   Panama  district  he  became  inter- 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COUNTY  1017 

esterl  in  the  Loveland  Produce  Cmiipany  at  i'.akerslield.  Since  1904  he  has 
engaged  in  buying  hay  and  grain  for  the  firm  and  meanwhile  also  has  had 
charge  of  the  storage  of  the  products  in  two  large  warehouses  at  VViblc  and 
Gosford.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  has  given  all  of  his  time  to  the 
business  of  the  firm. 

Before  leaving  the  cast  Mr.  Jolindrow  was  made  a  -Mason  in  Chaumont 
Lodge  No.  172,  A.  F.  &  A.  M..  at  Chaumont,  Jcfifcrson  county,  N.  Y.,  and  his 
name  has  been  enrolled  among  its  list  of  members  ever  since  1876.  In 
politics  he  has  voted  with  the  Republican  party  from  the  time  of  attaining  his 
majority.  His  family  comprises  Mrs.  Johndrovv  and  their  boy,  Louis  Frank 
johndrow,  a  child  of  nine  years.  Prior  to  their  marriage  at  San  Jose  October 
3  1883,  Mrs.  Johndrow  was  Miss  Fannie  Pyle.  Her  father,  William  Pyle, 
crossed  the  plains  to  California  in  1850.  For  a  time  he  ran  a  ferry  across  the 
Sacramento  river.  Afterward  he  engaged  in  wheat  farming  in  Solano  county 
and  later  in  Fresno  county.  His  last  days  were  passed  in  Santa  Ana,  this 
state.  The  wife  and  mother,  Mary  Mack,  is  living  at  San  Jose  and  at  the  age 
of  eighty-four  is  hale  and  hearty.  During  the  residence  of  the  family  in 
Solano  county  the  daughter,  Fannie,  was  born,  and  she  accompanied  her 
parents  in  their  various  removals,  receiving  her  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  at  the  LTniversity  of  the  Pacific  at  San  Jose. 

WILLIAM  ARTHUR  SPROULE.— The  Sproule  family  was  established 
in  the  LTnited  States  during  the  year  1846  by  William  A.  Sproule,  Sr.,  who 
brought  his  family  of  eight  children  across  the  ocean  from  Ireland  and  set- 
tled in  Connecticut.  Taking  up  the  business  of  an  undertaker,  he  continued 
to  follow  that  line  of  work  until  his  death.  Prior  to  his  departure  from  the 
home  country  he  had  lost  his  wife,  Letitia  (Henderson)  Sproule,  who  was 
born  in  Ireland  and  was  forty-five  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  her  demise. 
Among  their  eight  children  the  next  to  the  youngest  was  William  Arthur, 
who  was  born  in  Belfast,  Ireland,  June  25,  1842,  and  therefore  had  reached 
only  the  age  of  four  years  at  the  time  of  the  landing  of  the  family  in  the 
harbor  of  New  York.  As  a  boy  he  lived  in  the  Greenwich,  Conn.,  home  and 
attended  the  public  schools.  When  the  Civil  war  began  he  had  completed 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  landscape  gardener  and  had  followed  the 
occupation  first  in  Connecticut  and  later  in  Pennsylvania.  Enthusiasm  for 
the  Union  cause  led  him  to  volunteer  his  services  as  a  soldier.  During  1862  he 
was  assigned  to  Company  K.  One  Hundred  and  Forty-third  Pennsylvania  In- 
fantry, vvhich  was  mustered  into  service  at  Wilkesbarre,  Luzerne  county,  and 
sent  to  the  front  with  the  old  Fifth  .A.rmy  Corps  under  General  Warren.  With 
characteristic  courage  the  young  soldier  bore  his  part  in  the  battlefield  and  on 
the  dreary  line  of  march  as  well  as  when  suffering  the  deprivations  of  camp- 
life.  Not  only  did  he  bear  arms  in  many  small  battles,  but  in  'addition  he 
fought  in  eighteen  decisive  and  bitterly  contested  engagements,  including 
those  of  Gettysburg,  Fredericksburg,  Antietam,  the  Wilderness,  second  bat- 
tle of  Bull  Run,  Spottsylvania  Court-house,  Cedar  Mountain,  Cold  Harbor 
and  Petersburg.  Fortunate  was  his  experience,  for  at  no  time  was  he  ser- 
iouslv  wounded,  although  he  had  many  narrow  escapes.  When  peace  had  been 
restored  he  received  an  honorable  discharge  in  June  of  1865  and  resumed  the 
ordinary  vocations  of  the  workaday  world. 

For  some  years  subsequent  to  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Sproule  was  emiiloyed 
as  a  landscape  gardener  in  and  near  New  York  City  and  many  of  the  most 
beautiful  grounds  along  the  Hudson  river  bore  evidence  to  his  skill  and  cul- 
tured taste.  After  coming  to  California  in  1871  he  spent  two  years  as  fore- 
man on  the  Camp1)cll  ranch  in  Kern  county  and  in  1873  established  his  head- 
quarters in  Bakersfield,  where  shortly  afterward  he  bought  sixty-six  feet  of 
frontage  on  the  corner  of  I  and  Twenty-first  streets.  At  that  time  Bakersfield 
had  one  store  and  a  very  few  houses.     It  would  seem  as  if  there  was  little 


1018  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

need  for  a  landscape  gardener  in  a  community  so  obscure  and  isolated,  but  with 
the  incoming  of  people  and  the  building  of  residences  he  was  given  constant 
employment  in  his  chosen  occupation.  For  twenty-two  years  he  followed 
landscape  gardening.  Meantime  he  laid  out  many  of  the  beautiful  grounds 
that  make  Bakersfield  a  city  of  beauty  and  a  source  of  pride  to  its  residents. 
Since  retiring  from  the  occupation  in  1910  he  has  devoted  his  attention  to 
the  oversight  of  his  private  affairs  and  with  his  wife,  who  was  Frances  Greg- 
ory, a  native  of  Connecticut,  he  enjoys  the  esteem  and  regard  of  the  friends 
won  during  the  long  period  of  residence  in  the  city.  Mrs.  Sproule  was  the 
daughter  of  John  and  Mary  (Osborn)  Gregory,  natives  of  Danbury,  Conn., 
and  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  respectively.  Her  father  was  a  merchant  in  South- 
port  and  there  died,  while  her  mother  passed  away  in  Bakersfield.  In  pol- 
itics Mr.  Sproule  has  been  stanchly  Republican  and  in  religion  has  adhered 
to  the  Episcopal  faith  in  which  he  was  reared.  Their  family  numbers  two 
sons  and  a  daughter.  The  eldest,  Warren,  is  now  a  clerk  in  a  hardware 
store  in  Los  Angeles,  and  the  second,  Albert,  who  is  a  conductor  on  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  makes  Watsonville  his  headquarters,  while  the 
youngest,  Mrs.  Jessie  Argabrite,  is  living  in  San  Diego. 

ROWZEE  F.  SHACKELFORD.— Born  in  Brite's  Valley,  near 
Tehachapi,  May  17,  1879,  Mr.  Shackelford  is  a  son  of  "Dick"  Shackelford, 
whose  life  record  appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  During  boyhood  he 
lived  at  the  old  home  farm  in  Brite's  Valley  and  attended  the  public  schools 
of  that  locality.  In  work  and  in  recreation  the  years  of  youth  passed  unevent- 
fully. When  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  started  out  to  make 
his  own  way  in  the  world.  The  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Company  in  1899  gave 
him  emplcyment  as  a  fireman  out  from  Needles  running  east  and  west, 
but  the  following  year  he  resigned  and  returned  to  the  farm  to  assist  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  property.  Returning  to  the  railroad  work  in  1903,  he  again 
became  a  Santa  Fe  fireman  out  from  Needles.  In  1906  he  was  promoted  to 
be  an  engineer  and  was  transferred  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  has  since  been 
retained  by  the  company  and  where  he  has  become  a  well-known  and  popular 
citizen. 

The  marriage  of  ]\Ir.  Shackelford  was  solemnized  in  Los  Angeles  in 
February,  1905,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Lillian  Mae  Culver,  a  native  of 
North  Prairie,  Waukesha  County,  Wis.  Their  union  has  been  blessed  with 
two  children,  Ray  and  Marie.  The  fraternal  and  occupative  associations  of 
Mr.  Shackelford  are  important  and  varied  and  include  membership  with 
the  Eagles  and  the  Masons.  At  the  time  of  being  made  a  Mason  in  Tehachapi 
Lodge  No.  313,  F.  &  A.  M.,  he  was  raised  by  his  father,  a  Mason  of  the 
pioneer  period  and  long  a  prominent  local  worker  in  the  order.  For  some 
years  Mr.  Shackelford  has  held  membership  with  the  Kern  Valley  Division 
No.  739,  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers,  at  Bakersfield.  In  addition 
he  has  been  prominently  identified  with  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive 
Firemen  and  Enginemen  and  at  one  time  was  honored  with  the  presidency 
of  Kern  River  Lodge  No.  731  in  Bakersfield,  of  which  he  is  now  recorder 
and  financial  secretarv  as  well  as  one  of  the  leading  workers. 

G.  M.  BUMGARNER,  M.D.— In  his  native  town  of  Guthrie,  Ky.,  Dr. 
Bumgarner  began  to  read  medicine  with  Dr.  Marshall  when  eighteen.  For 
the  arduous  duties  of  a  physician  he  had  laid  well  the  foundation  of  a  thor- 
ough classical  education,  having  been  graduated  with  the  class  of  1889  from 
the  college  at  South  Carrollton,  Muhlenberg  county,  Ky.  This  institution 
conferred  the  degree  of  A.B.  upon  him,  while  the  degree  of  M.D.  came  to 
him  in  1892  from  the  Beaumont  Medical  College  at  St.  Louis.  It  is  stated 
that  he  was  not  only  one  of  the  most  gifted  and  intellectual  members  of 
the  class,  but  the  youngest  as  well.  Upon  leaving  college  he  served  for  one 
year  as  interne  in  the  Missouri  Baptist  Sanitarium  in  St.  Louis,  a  position 
that  gave   him    many   valuable   opportunities    for   different    practice.      After- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1021 

ward  he  practiced  his  profession  for  eight  years  at  Martinsburg,  Audrain 
county,  Mo.,  and  meanwhile  in  1893  married  Miss  Annie,  daughter  of  Dr. 
J.  N.  Moorman,  of  South  CarroUton,  Ky. 

Leaving  Missouri  to  engage  in  professional  work  in  the  west,  Dr.  Bum- 
garner  established  his  home  and  office  at  Escondido,  San  Diego  county,  in 
1901,  hut  in  1906  removed  to  the  newly-developed  Imperial  valley,  where 
he  engaged  in  a  general  practice  in  the  city  pf  Imperial.  From  there  in  March 
of  1910  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  and  his  wife,  with  their  two  chil- 
dren, Polly  and  Waldo,  have  a  comfortable  home  at  No.  1722  Blanche  street. 
At  the  time  of  the  epidemic  of  typhoid  he  was  appointed  by  the  board  of 
county  supervisors  to  the  position  of  county  health  officer  and  since  Decem- 
ber of  1910  he  has  filled  the  position  with  devotion,  tact  and  intelligence, 
endeavoring  to  conquer  conditions  that  give  rise  to  local  epidemics  and  to 
so  conserve  the  health  of  the  community  that  such  disastrous  experiences 
may  be  prevented.  The  office  of  Dr.  Bumgarner  is  on  the  second  floor  of 
the  Brower  building,  on  Nineteenth  street. 

ALEXANDER  R.  M.  BLACKHALL.— Alexander  Reith  McLag- 
gan  Blackball  was  born  in  the  shire  of  Inverness,  Scotland,  March  7, 
1882,  being  a  son  of  Alexander  and  Agnes  (Reith)  Blackball,  both  natives  of 
Aberdeen.  The  father,  a  man  uf  exceptional  powers  as  a  financier,  is  one  of  the 
heads  of  a  large  banking  institution  and  even  now,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one,  he 
wields  a  large  influence  in  the  financial  circles  of  his  part  of  Scotland.  Three 
sons  and  one  daughter  comprise  the  family.  The  second  son,  John,  is  connected 
with  Lloyd's  Bank  at  Coventry,  England,  and  the  third  son,  Douglas,  holds  an 
important  pusition  with  the  William  Galloway  Company  at  Waterloo,  Iowa. 
The  youngest  member  of  the  family,  Miss  Agnes  Blackball,  now  residing  with 
her  parents  at  Nairn,  Scotland,  has  studied  music  in  Germany  and  is  a  fellow 
of  the  Royal  College  of  Music  in  London. 

Graduated  in  the  classical  course  from  the  Royal  Academy  at  Inverness 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  Mr.  Blackball  immediately  thereafter  entered 
the  Royal  Bank  of  Scotland  as  a  junior  clerk.  For  two  years  he  cimtinued 
with  that  institution,  in  which  his  father  was  one  of  the  leading  officials. 
Leaving  for  London  in  1902,  he  entered  the  English  office  of  the  Hong-Kong 
and  Shanghai  Banking  Corporation  and  for  three  years  held  positions  of  in- 
creasing importance  with  that  great  concern.  During  1905  he  was  sent  over  to 
the  New  York  branch  of  the  said  bank,  where  for  two  years  he  engaged  as  an 
assistant  accountant.  From  there  he  was  transferred  to  San  Francisco  in  the 
fall  of  1907.  After  a  successful  identification  with  the  western  branch  of  the 
house  he  was  transferred  to  Hong-Kong  as  an  assistant  official  in  the  great 
original  bank,  where  he  remained  for  more  than  a  year.  When  returning  to 
Great  Britain  on  a  year's  furlough  he  stopped  at  San  Francisco  to  visit 
friends  and  in  that  city  he  met  A.  M.  Kemp,  the  first  vice-president  of  the  South- 
ern California  Gas  Company,  who  urged  him  to  come  to  Taft  and  accept  the 
office  cf  auditor  with  the  Northern  Exploration  Company.  After  due  consid- 
eration he  accepted  the  oft'er,  resigned  from  the  Hong-Kong  Bank  and  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  Midway  field,  where  he  is  now  connected  with  the  Petro- 
leum Club  and  identified  with  various  organizations  for  the  permanent  up- 
building of  the  district.  April  16,  1913,  at  Berkeley,  Cal.,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Grace  L.  Pack,  daughter  of  John  Wallace  Pack,  a 
resident  of  Berkeley  and  an  employe  in  the  San  Francisco  mint. 

JAMES  A.  CLARK. — A  native  of  Tennessee,  James  A.  Clark  was  born 
in  Celina,  July  29.  1869,  the  son  of  Hayden  and  Lillie  A.  (Davis)  Clark,  the 
former  born  in  Kentucky  and  the  latter  in  Tennessee.  For  many  years  they 
were  farmers  near  Celina,  but  are  now  residing  at  Sulphur  Wells,  Ky.  Of 
their  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  are  living,  James  was  the  second  oldest 
and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky.  At  the 
age  of  fifteen  he  removed  to  Greensburg,  Ky.,  where  he  attended  the  high 


1022  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

school,  after  which  he  took  a  course  at  the  Glasgow  Normal.  During  these 
years  he  followed  teaching,  thus  paying  his  own  way  during  his  normal 
course,  as  well  as  at  Bryant  &  Stratton's  Business  College  at  Louisville, 
where  he  was  graduated. 

For  some  years  Mr.  Clark  was  engaged  at  teaching  and  as  a  bookkeeper 
and  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  railroad,  working 
up  in  the  transportation  department,  and  in  due  time  became  a  conductor 
on  the  road,  filling  the  position  until  1900.  He  then  resigned  to  try  to  secure 
a  quarter  section  of  land  in  Oklahoma.  He  remained  at  Cordell,  Okla.,  but 
in  the  drawing  for  a  location  was  unsuccessful,  so  he  came  to  Kern  county, 
Cal.,  arriving  in  1904,  and  immediately  entered  the  employ  of  the  Kern  County 
Land  Co.,  and  was  soon  made  a  foreman  on  the  Poso  ranch,  a  position  which 
he  filled  for  seven  years  and  then  served  in  the  same  capacity  on  their  Lake- 
side ranch  until  1912.  At  this  time  he  became  foreman  of  the  Canfield  ranch, 
where  he  is  now  devoting  his  time  to  the  advancement  of  the  company's 
interests. 

Mr.  Clark  was  made  a  Mason  in  Beachville  Lodge  No.  619,  F.  &  A.  M., 
at  Sulphur  Well,  Ky.,  was  demitted,  and  is  now  a  member  of  Bakersfield 
Lodge  No.  224. 

MEL  P.  SMITH.— The  president  of  the  California  Market  Company 
has  risen  to  an  influential  position  among  the  business  men  of  Bakersfield 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  in  youth  he  was  handicapped  by  lack  of 
means  and  of  educational  advantages.  From  thirteen  years  of  age  a 
resident  of  California  and  for  the  same  period  associated  with  Bakersfield, 
he  was  born  in  Ottawa,  Kan.,  in  1884,  being  a  son  of  M.  P.  and  ;\Iary  (Price) 
Smith,  natives  respectively  of  Quincy,  111.,  and  Kentucky,  but  after  1897 
citizens  of  the  great  West.  At  this  writing  the  father  fills  the  position  of 
boiler  inspector  for  Kern  County.  There  were  only  three  children  in  the 
family  and  of  these  the  only  daughter  married  W.  H.  Breene  and  resides 
at  Arkansas  City,  Kan.  The  second  of  the  three  children,  Mel  P.,  began 
to  learn  the  meat  business  in  1898,  when  he  entered  the  employ  of  J.  J. 
Anderson,  manager  of  the  wholesale  and  retail  meat  market  handling  the 
output  of  the  ranches  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  From  the  most 
humble  position  the  youth  rose  to  employment  of  greater  responsibility  and 
when  the  California  Market  Company  was  incorporated  April  8,  1909,  he  was 
selected  as  president  and  manager,  L.  P.  Keester  being  secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  headquarters  of  the  company  are  at  No.  1618  Nineteenth  street, 
where  every  modern  convenience  has  been  provided  for  the  efficient  conduct 
of  the  business.  The  California  Market  Company  handles  the  product  of 
the  Kern  County  Land  Company's  ranches  and  averages  from  $40,000  to 
$50,000  per  month,  the  products  including  beef,  pork,  mutton  and  poultry. 
Slaughter  houses  have  been  provided  in  a  convenient  location  and  to  these 
are  conveyed  the  products  of  the  company's  ranches,  as  well  as  considerable 
stock  purchased  from  the  farmers  of  the  county. 

September  15,  1912,  the  California  Market  Company  began  to  make 
extensive  improvements  in  their  retail  store  at  No.  1618  Nineteenth  street. 
The  entire  inside  of  this  market  has  been  remodeled  at  a  cost  of  $11,000;  and 
it  is  now  unsurpassed  in  convenience  and  elegance  by  any  similar  plant 
on  the  Pacific  Coast.  The  Monroe  system  recently  installed  has  proven  a 
valuable  addition  to  the  equipment.  Indeed,  the  entire  plant  contains  every 
modern  improvement,  creating  an  effect  that  reflects  business  system, 
artistic  ideas  and  orderly  oversight. 

While  the  work  naturally  demands  much  time  and  constant  supervision, 
Mr.  Smith  still  finds  leisure  to  participate  in  local  affairs  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  to  maintain  active  relations  with  the  Elks  and  the  Bakersfield  Club. 
In  his  marriage  he  became  united  with  a  Bakersfield  family  of  high  standing. 
It  was  on  Christmas  day  of  1910  that  he  was  united  with  Miss  Maude  Day, 


^r^<:^^-'^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1025 

of  this  cit)',  a  young  lady  of  excellent  education  and  wide  acquaintance.  They 
are  the  parents  of  a  son,  Melvin  Paul,  who  represents  the  third  generation 
to  hear  that  name. 

VIRGINIA  BRAMHAM.— The  owner  and  manager  of  the  \irginia  Pipe 
Line  Contracting  Company,  although  still  a  young  man,  has  reached  a  high 
degree  of  success  by  sheer  force  of  will  and  by  the  exercise  of  constructive 
ability.  The  concern  which  he  founded  and  has  since  operated  engages  ex- 
tensively in  the  Midway,  Sunset,  Lost  Hills  and  Coalinga  fields.  Any  enu- 
meration of  its  contracts  means  practically  a  record  of  the  dew^lopment  of 
pipe-line  construction  through  this  part  of  the  state,  and  in  addition  he  has 
made  a  specialty  of  teaming,  trucking  and  heavy  hauling  throughout  the  west 
side  fields.  Recently  he  had  the  contract  for  the  laying  of  the  fire  system  of 
water  mains  in  Taft,  affording  the  city  a  line  that  will  prove  of  uiitold  value 
in  case  of  a  fire.  Several  lines  for  the  General  Petroleum  have  been  laid  in  the 
Midway  and  one  has  been  constructed  to  the  Lost  Hills,  besides  which  he 
has  had  large  contracts  with  the  California  Natural  Gas  Company,  has  laid 
all  the  pipes  for  the  Western  Water  Company  in  the  Midway  and  at  Fellows, 
has  laid  all  the  water  mains  for  the  August  Oil  Company  and  the  water  lines 
for  the  California  Amalgamated.  The  main  line  supplying  Fellows  with  water 
and  owned  by  Heck  Bros.,  was  constructed  by  his  company,  also  the  oil 
mains  at  Fellows  for  the  Bankline  Oil  Company  and  the  water  mains  at  Taft 
for  the  Northern  Exploration  Company.  Recently  the  company  closed  a  con- 
tract with  the  General  Petroleum  for  the  construction  of  an  eight-inch  oil 
pipe  line,  a  loop  across  the  Tejon  Pass.  This  will  be  the  second  line  con- 
structed by  the  General  Petroleum  across  the  Pass,  intersecting  the  Mojave 
line  at  Lebec  and  together  with  the  line  previously  laid,  forming  a  loop-line 
through  the  Tejon  Pass. 

Descended  from  honored  English  forbears  and  representing  an  influential 
family  of  the  Old  Dominion,  Mr.  Bramham  was  born  at  Charlottesville.  Albe- 
marle county,  Va.,  December  22,  1881,  and  grew  to  manhood  on  the  old  home- 
stead, aiding  his  father  in  the  mercantile  establishment  of  the  latter,  as  well 
as  on  the  farm  where  they  lived.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  went  to  the  oil 
fields  of  West  Virginia,  where  he  began  to  work  in  the  construction  of  ])ipe 
lines.  When  he  left  West  Virginia  at  the  age  of  nineteen  he  had  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  every  detail  connected  with  such  work.  The  year  1900  found 
him  at  Spindletop,  Tex.,  and  for  ten  years  he  was  connected  with  pipe-line 
construction  in  Texas  and  Louisiana.  i\Ieantime  he  worked  successively  for 
the  Texas  Oil  Company,  the  Gulf  Refining  Company,  the  Gulf  Pipe  Line  Com- 
panv  and  held  an  im!)ortant  position  as  superintendent  of  construction  for  the 
Evangeline  Oil  Company  of  Louisiana.  Coming  to  California  from  Louisiana 
in  September  of  1909  he  engaged  with  the  Producers'  Transportation  Company, 
for  whom  he  had  previously  worked  in  Louisiana.  The  filling  of  an  important 
contract  took  him  to  McKittrick.  Later  he  came  to  the  Midway  field  and 
superintended  the  laying  of  an  eight-inch  oil  line  from  the  Midway  to  Santa 
Barbara.  After  six  months  with  the  Producers'  Transportation  Company  he 
entered  the  service  of  the  Honolulu  Oil  Company  and  in  four  months  had 
completed  a  water  system  for  their  entire  lease.  Next  he  came  to  Taft,  where 
December  1,  1910,  he  organized  the  Virginia  Pipe  Line  Contracting  Company 
and  since  has  engaged  in  business,  with  headquarters  in  this  city,  where  a 
sister  presides  over  his  comfortable  home. 

FREDERICK  SMITH.— Among  the  business  men  of  ability  in  Kern 
county  we  find  Frederick  Smith,  who  has  charge  of  the  store  of  Miller  & 
Lux  at  Buttonwillow.  He  was  born  in  Blackburn,  Lancashire.  England, 
July  17,  1861,  being  the  son  of  Dr.  Joseph  Harker  Smith,  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Glasgow  with  the  degree  of  M.D.,  and  a  practicing  physician 
in    Blackburn   until   his   death   at   the   age   of   forty-nine   years.     His   widow. 


1026  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

who  was  in  maidenhood  Jane  Sutcliffe,  also  of  Lancashire,  died  in  1910. 
Frederick,  the  only  child  of  the  union,  was  educated  in  the  public  school  of 
Blackburn  and  at  Mintholme  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1881. 
He  then  studied  medicine  for  a  while,  but  not  liking  it  he  entered  commercial 
pursuits  and  was  a  clerk  in  mercantile  establishments  until  he  came  to 
Massachusetts  in  1886. 

Coming  to  California  the  next  year,  Mr.  Smith  purchased  a  small  ranch 
at  Los  Gatos,  which  he  sold  a  j'car  later,  and  then  engaged  in  superintend- 
ing ranches  in  the  Cupertino  district  in  Santa  Clara  county.  Becoming  well 
versed  in  the  fruit  business  he  built  the  first  fruit  dryer  at  Wawawai,  Wash., 
and  after  starting  it  he  returned  to  his  former  work  in  Santa  Clara  county. 
Five  years  later  he  went  to  Mendocino  county,  where  he  was  with  the  Cot- 
toneve  Lumber  Co.  until  he  accepted  the  management  of  a  dry  goods  store 
in  San  Rafael.  After  five  years  he  resigned  and  started  a  private  messenger 
service  in  San  Francisco,  which  was  continued  until  1910,  when  he  entered 
the  employ  of  Miller  &  Lu.x  as  storekeeper  at  Buttonwillow,  Kern  county, 
which  position  he  is  filling  acceptably. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Smith  is  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and 
of  the  Eagles,  of  which  latter  order  he  has  been  secretary.  He  is  a  com- 
municant of  the  Episcopal  church  and  politically  adheres  to  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party. 

FRANK  A.  FETHER.— In  Fulton  county,  Ohio,  Mr.  Fether  was  born 
near  Pettisville,  January  1,  1868,  son  of  Alexander  and  Sarah  (Gu3'man) 
Fether,  natives  respectively  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  and  now  residents 
of  Bakersfield,  Cal.  The  father,  who  for  years  engaged  in  the  milling  busi- 
ness in  Fulton  county,  Ohio,  drifted  from  that  occupation  into  the  oil  in- 
dustry and  took  contracts  for  production  in  that  state  as  well  as  in  Indiana. 
After  removing  to  California  and  settling  at  Bakersfield  in  March,  1900,  he 
engaged  in  drilling  oil  wells  by  contract.  Now  at  the  age  of  seventy-three 
years,  he  is  living  in  retirement  from  business  cares.  Of  his  six  children  four 
are  now  living.  The  second  son,  Louis  C,  was  killed  on  New  Year's  day  of  1908 
by  a  dynamite  explosion  on  a  lease  in  the  Kern  river  field.  A  daughter,  Effie, 
died  in  Toledo,  Ohio.  Mrs.  Celia  Klofenstein  is  a  resident  of  Los  Angeles 
and  George  is  engaged  in  drilling  water  wells  for  the  Santa  Fe  in  Arizona. 
The  youngest  member  of  the  family  circle,  Harry,  born  in  1884,  began  to 
work  in  the  Kern  river  field  in  1901  and  is  now  foreman  of  production  with 
the  United  Oil  Company. 

Upon  leaving  high  school  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  Frank  A.  Fether 
began  to  assist  his  father  in  his  drilling  contracts,  by  which  work  he  soon 
became  competent  in  the  care  of  the  tools  and  as  an  assistant  in  drilling.  At 
different  times  he  worked  in  many  of  the  oil  fields  of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  With 
the  money  earned  in  the  oil  business  he  paid  his  expenses  while  attending 
the  Wauseon  Normal  in  Fulton  county,  Ohio.  Fortified  by  a  varied  experi- 
ence in  eastern  fields,  he  came  to  California  in  1900  to  take  up  work  in  the 
same  business.  After  an  experience  as  driller  in  the  Kern  river  field  with 
dift'erent  companies,  in  1902  he  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Monte  Cristo 
Oil  Company,  which  responsible  position  he  filled  for  more  than  four  years. 
A  brief  time  spent  in  the  Whittier  field  as  superintendent  of  the  Central  Oil 
Company  was  followed  by  his  entrance  into  the  Utah  oil  fields  in  1907  as 
superintendent  of  a  lease  in  the  Virgin  river  district.  Returning  to  California 
January  1.  1908,  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  superintendent  of  Section  25 
Oil  Company  in  the  Midway.  Under  his  supervision  four  wells  were  drilled 
and  brought  into  paying  production.  Upon  resigning  that  position  he  he- 
came  superintendent  of  drilling  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  Later  he 
was  promoted  to  be  assistant  general  superintendent.  From  the  Standard 
he  went  to  the  Palmer  Oil  Company  in  the  Santa  Maria  field,  where  he  con- 
tinued for  two  and  one-half  years,  until  1913,  when  he  became  superintendent 


^^.^a^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY  1029 

of  the  United  Oil  CLinipany  in  the  Midway  field,  liy  his  marriage  to  Miss 
McGuire,  of  Antwerp,  Ohio,  he  has  two  sons,  Donald  and  Kenneth.  While 
living  in  Ohio  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Bryan  Lodge  No.  215,  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
at  Bryan,  Williams  county,  and  since  coming  to  the  West  he  has  identified 
himself  with  the  Elks  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266. 

DAVID  E.  MARTIN.— The  superintendent  of  the  Oakland  Midway  Oil 
Company,  owners  of  a  lease  of  thirty  acres  on  section  13,  31-22,  was  born  near 
Lettsville,  Louisa  county,  Iowa,  June  1,  1856,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late  David 
and  Mary  (Walters)  Martin,  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  Allured  by  the  rich  soil 
of  Iowa,  the  father  left  Pennsylvania  in  the  hope  of  bettering  his  condition  in 
the  newer  state,  but  poverty  retarded  his  efYorts  and  hampered  his  success. 
His  rented  farm  was  scarcely  equal  to  the  task  of  supporting  the  family  and 
returning  a  revenue  to  the  owner.  There  were  five  small  children  (David  E. 
the  eldest)  to  be  cared  for  and  four  of  these  are  now  living.  When  a  call  was 
made  for  volunteers  during  the  stress  of  the  Civil  war,  the  father  left  his 
home  and  family  and  offered  his  services  to  the  Lhiion.  Accepted  as  a  private 
in  the  ranks,  he  was  sent  into  camp  to  be  drilled  in  military  tactics,  Init  he  died 
suddenly  before  the  company  had  been  ordered  to  the  front.  The  mother 
survived  him  for  many  years  and  eventually  died  about  1908  at  Batavia,  Iowa, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 

When  the  father  died  the  task  of  caring  for  the  children  proved  too  great 
lor  the  widowed  mother  and  she  therefore  put  the  eldest  child,  David  E., 
in  the  care  of  Jim  Thompson,  of  Louisa  county,  it  being  the  agreement  that 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  should  be  paid  $100  besides  a  horse,  saddle  and 
bridle.  For  some  years  all  went  well.  The  boy  worked  on  the  farm  in  the 
summers  and  attended  the  country  school  in  the  winter  months.  However, 
at  the  age  of  nineteen  he  began  to  grow  dissatisfied.  The  fact  that  his  chum, 
Anson  Kelly,  had  been  made  an  engineer  on  the  Rock  Island  Railroad  turned' 
his  thoughts  toward  railroading  and  he  determined  to  be  a  fireman.  At  first 
Mr.  Thompson  protested  against  losing  his  services,  but  finally  he  agreed 
to  let  him  go  and  gave  him  $100.  Then  his  mother  raised  objections,  stating 
that  if  he  must  leave  the  farm,  she  wished  him  to  return  to  relatives  in  Penn- 
sylvania. His  consent  to  this  measure  was  secured,  a  ticket  was  purchased  for 
Scrub  Grass,  \'enango  county.  Pa.,  where  he  duly  arrived  December  8,  1875. 
Immediately  he  found  that  all  of  his  cousins  and  uncles  were  engaged  in  the  oil 
industry  and  a  resolve  was  formed  in  his  own  mind  to  engage  in  the  same 
work.  An  excellent  training  was  had  in  the  employ  of  Isaac  Dean,  a  large 
oil  operator  who  gained  a  national  reputation  through  being  the  Greenback 
nominee  for  vice-president  in  the  days  of  Horace  Greeley.  After  some  ex- 
perience as  a  day  laborer  with  this  gentleman,  the  latter  presented  him  with 
an  entire  outfit  of  standard  tools  and  entered  into  a  contract  with  him  to  drill 
seven  wells  at  $1.25  per  foot.  The  work  was  to  be  done  at  Bullion,  Venango 
county.  The  job  was  completed  in  one  year  and  netted  the  young  contractor 
$2,000.  At  Crawford's  Corners  in  Venango  county.  Pa.,  during  the  fall  of 
1878  he  drilled  a  well  for  John  P.  Crawford  and  struck  a  strong  flow  of  natural 
gas.  Next  he  drilled  a  well  for  \\'illiam  P.  Crawford  and  struck  oil.  Prior  to 
that  time  wood  and  coal  had  been  used  for  steam  purposes.  After  starting  the 
oil  well  Mr.  Martin  suggested  to  W^illiam  P.  Crawford  that  he  provide  suf- 
ficient two-inch  pipe  so  that  his  boilers  could  be  connected  with  the  gas  well 
on  the  land  of  John  P.  Crawford.  The  gentleman  shook  his  head  in  discour- 
agement of  such  a  proposition,  stating  that  gas  would  not  run  through  a  two- 
inch  pipe  for  such  a  distance  (one  mile).  The  insistence  of  the  young  driller, 
however,  won  the  day  and  the  two-inch  pipe  was  procured,  the  main  laid,  the 
gas  fed  into  the  boilers  and  the  experiment  proved  a  success.  Thereupon  the 
authorities  at  Hugginsville  were  encouraged  to  lav  an  inch  pipe  from  the  same 
gas  well  to  their  city  during  the  winter  of  1878-79.    The   pipe   was  rim   up 


1030  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

about  twelve  feet  high  in  the  center  of  the  public  square,  where  the  gas 
burned  day  and  night.  The  History  of  Pennsylvania  verifies  the  statement 
that  this  was  the  first  experiment  in  using  natural  gas  for  lighting  in  the  state. 
Soon  afterward  mains  were  laid  and  natural  gas  became  available  for  cooking 
and  other  domestic  purposes. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  David  E.  Martin  played  a  very  important  part 
in  the  utilization  of  natural  gas.  Encouraged  by  his  first  success,  he  engaged 
in  contract  drilling  at  Bradford  from  1879  to  1882.  Meanwhile  in  Venango 
county  in  1879  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Matilda  Huffman, 
a  daughter  of  D.  Huffman,  a  farmer  and  coal  miner  living  near  Mechanicsville. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  namely:  S.  H.,  superintendent  of  the 
Sterling  division  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company;  Mary  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
N.  B.  Harris,  who  is  connected  with  the  detective  service  in  Los  Angeles ; 
and  Golden  Loretta,  wife  of  Russell  Vaughn,  a  driller  on  the  Oakland. 

As  drilling  contractor  for  H.  B.  Porter,  of  Titusville,  Pa.,  in  1882  Mr. 
Martin  drilled  the  first  well  in  the  Clarendon  field.  After  three  years  in  that 
field  he  went  to  Titusville,  where  he  engaged  in  the  oil  business  and  also  pur- 
chased a  home.  In  the  interests  of  the  Union  Oil  Company  and  at  the  request 
of  Milton  Stewart,  of  Titusville,  he  came  to  California,  settling  at  Santa 
Paula  in  1892,  after  which  he  drilled  in  that  field  for  three  years.  Later  he 
engaged  in  contract  drilling  in  the  Los  Angeles  field,  but  the  work  was 
entirely  different  from  similar  work  in  the  Pennsylvania  fields,  consequently 
he  did  not  meet  with  success.  Selling  his  interest  in  the  drilling  outfit,  he  went 
10  Whittier  in  1897  and  engaged  as  superintendent  for  Central  Oil  Company, 
which  corporation  was  greatly  prospered  by  reason  of  his  executive  super- 
vision. After  five  and  one-half  years  on  the  same  lease,  in  July,  1902,  he  came 
to  the  Kern  river  field  and  took  charge  of  the  Sterling  Oil  Company.  During 
1903  he  spent  four  months  at  Point  Angelus,  on  the  west  coast  of  Mexico, 
where  he  built  two  rigs  and  started  the  task  of  developing  a  large  property 
for  the  Mexican  republic  under  the  presidency  of  General  Diaz.  However, 
it  was  soon  discovered  that  the  rigs  were  too  far  from  the  seepage  and  there- 
fore the  project  had  to  be  abandoned.  After  a  short  visit  in  Mexico  City, 
where  he  received  the  pay  for  his  services,  he  returned  to  the  Kern  river  field 
and  resumed  work  with  the  Sterling. 

At  the  expiration  of  four  and  one-half  years  with  the  Sterling'  lease  Mr. 
Martin  went  to  Utah  in  October,  1907,  and  remained  there  until  March,  1908, 
meanwhile  engaging  in  wildcat  drilling  under  the  supervision  of  H.  H.  Blood. 
Upon  his  return  to  California  he  took  charge  of  the  American  Petroleum  on 
the  Niles  lease  at  Sherman  Junction,  where  he  remained  for  three  months. 
Next  at  Maricopa  he  had  charge  of  the  Fulton  for  one  year.  From  there  he 
went  to  Byron  and  Salt  creek  to  open  up  the  Wyoming  field  for  William  G. 
Henshaw,  of  Oakland.  The  venture  proved  successful.  A  fine  flowing  well 
was  secured.  After  one  year  in  Wyoming  he  returned  to  California  and 
entered  the  service  of  the  Tanuary  Oil  Company  on  25  Hill,  where  he  remained 
for  two  years.  March  11,  1912,  he  became  superintendent  of  the  Oakland  Mid- 
way Oil  Company.  Since  beginning  his  duties  in  this  capacity  he  has  built  all 
the  houses  on  the  lease  and  has  transformed  the  district  from  sage  brush  to  a 
finely  improved  holding,  with  three  wells  making  an  average  of  six  thousand 
barrels  each  month.  A  fourth  well  will  soon  be  brought  in,  thus  increasing 
the  production.    After  coming  here  he  bought  forty  acres  near  Edison. 

W.  N.  THOMPSON.— A  Texan,  Mr.  Thompson  was  born  at  Cleburne, 
-August  24.  1885,  and  is  next  to  the  oldest  among  the  four  surviving  children 
of  H.  F.  Thompson,  a  farmer  in  the  Lone  Star  state.  The  discovery  of  oil  at 
the  Spindletop  caused  him  to  go  to  Beaumont  when  he  was  only  fifteen  and 
ever  since  then  he  has  supported  himself  through  his  labors  in  oil  fields.  Nat- 
urallv  he  began  as  a  roustabout.   The  hardships  of  the  life  did  not  dishearten 


^^--c^.    <Kr^^^^^^<j>Ji^;^fi^r-^ 


HISTdRY    OF    K1:R\    lOlXTY  1033 

him.  I'Vom  the  first  he  determined  to  actiuire  a  thorough  knowledge  of  every 
department  of  the  industry.  When  only  seventeen  he  was  an  experienced  tool- 
dresser,  gang-pusher  and  driller,  his  first  experience  as  a  driller  having  been 
gained  in  the  Sour  Lake  field  in  Texas.  When  nineteen  years  of  age  he  was 
,-teadiIy  employed  by  the  Texas  Oil  Company  as  a  driller  in  the  Saratoga 
field,  in  which  district  oil  was  struck  at  a  depth  of  about  sixteen  hundred  feet. 
During  his  service  with  that  concern  he  brought  in  some  profitable  wells,  a 
number  of  them  being  gushers.  For  four  months  he  engaged  in  drilling  at 
Evangeline,  parish  of  Arcadia,  La.,  and  later  he  spent  eight  months  drilling  in 
West  Texas  on  a  wild-cat  well.  During  the  period  of  work  in  that  part  of 
the  country  he  was  married  in  New  Mexico,  August  12,  1910,  to  Miss  Norena 
Hughes,  a  native  of  Texas.  From  that  state  he  and  his  wife  came  to  California 
and  settled  at  Coalinga  in  February.  1911,  after  which  for  fourteen  months  he 
engaged  in  drilling  for  the  Kern  Trading  &  Oil  Company,  from  them  in 
March,  1912,  coming  to  the  Standard  Oil  Company  at  Taft.  With  his  wife 
and  son,  Horace  W.,  he  has  a  comfortable  home  in  the  residence  formerly  oc- 
cupied by  C3TUS  Bell  during  the  period  of  his  service  as  division  sunerintendent 
for  the  Standard.  The  now  justly  celebrated  well  of  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany, known  as  the  McNee  No.  10  on  Section  36,  was  drilled  bv  means  of 
rotary  tools  and  brought  in  during  July,  1912,  under  the  foremanship  of  Mr, 
Thompson.  Without  doubt  it  is  the  largest  gusher  in  California  today.  It 
approaches  the  celebrated  Lakeview  itself. 

GEORGE  LEE  SNIDER.— The  transplanting  of  the  Snider  family  from 
Germany  to  Pennsylvania  took  place  in  the  era  of  colonial  settlement  in 
America.  Later  generations  removed  from  the  Keystone  state  to  Ohio  and 
A.  W.  Snider,  a  native  of  Montgomery,  Hamilton  County,  Ohio,  established 
the  family  fortunes  still  further  toward  the  west,  removing  first  to  Illinois 
and  later  to  Missouri,  where  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  lumber.  About 
1877  he  became  a  pioneer  of  Florida  and  settled  at  Ouincy,  Gadsden  County, 
where  he  operated  a  sawmill  and  made  a  specialty  of  the  manufacture  of 
lumber.  Years  of  active  bi:siness  pursuits  were  followed  by  retirement  to 
private  life  and  in  1908  he  and  his  wife  joined  their  youngest  child  in  East 
Bakersfield,  where  he  still  makes  his  home.  For  a  number  of  years  before 
the  consolidation  he  served  as  a  trustee  of  Kern.  His  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Ellen  Conover,  was  born  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  of  Scotch  and 
Dutch  ancestry,  and  died  in  East  Bakersfield.  Five  children  comi^rised  their 
family  and  the  youngest  of  these.  George  Lee,  was  born  near  Carthage,  Mo., 
November  22,  1875,  but  was  only  two  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  removal 
to  FFrida.  During  boyhood  he  attended  the  public  schools  of  Ouincy,  where 
later  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  machinist  and  the  details  of  the  sawmill  business. 

Arriving  in  Bakersfield  on  a  November  day  in  1886  with  only  $16  in 
his  possession,  George  Lee  Snider  immediately  inquired  concerning  employ- 
ment and  was  fortunate  in  securing  work  at  once.  The  day  after  his  arrival 
he  began  to  work  for  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  and  for  tliree  years 
he  continued  in  their  warehouse  department,  meanwhile  being  promoted  to 
the  foremanship  of  the  Sumner  warehouse.  Upon  resigning  from  that 
company  he  entered  the  machine  department  of  the  Southern  Pacific  shops, 
where  he  remained  a  valued  and  trustworthy  employe  until  June  of  1904, 
resigning  at  that  time  in  order  to  engage  in  business  for  himself,  .\bility 
as  a  mechanic  led  him  to  embark  in  the  bicycle  business.  For  a  time 
he  had  a  shop  in  a  basement  on  the  corner  of  Humboldt  and  Baker  streets^. 
Soon,  however,  he  outgrew  those  quarters.  From  there  he  removed  to  No.  985 
Baker  street.  Next  he  purchased  unimproved  property  at  No.  058  Baker 
street,  where  he  erected  a  frame  business  building,  22x90  feet  in  dimensions, 
equipped  with  the  conveniences  desirable  for  the  satisfactory  management 
of  his  afifairs.     In   1913  he  moved  the  old  building  and  erected  a  new  brick 


1034  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

building,  25x60,  two  stories,  with  an  addition  25x30  feet.  He  occupies  the 
entire  building  for  his  business. 

Besides  owning  his  business  building  and  a  residence  at  No.  1012 
Sacramento  street,  East  Bakersfield,  Mr.  Snider  owns  a  stock  ranch  near 
Glennville  and  is  engaged  in  raising  cattle  and  horses.  In  Calvary,  Ga.,  he 
married  Miss  Lochie  L.  Herring,  a  native  of  that  town  and  a  daughter  of 
P.  H.  Herring,  who  for  years  has  held  the  office  of  county  ordinary.  They 
are  the  parents  of  three  children,  Leota  Ellen,  Lloyd  Conover  and  George 
Lee,  Jr.  The  family  hold  membership  with  the  Chesboro  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  in  East  Bakersfield.  The  Bakersfield  Motorcycle  Club  numbers  Mr. 
Snider  among  its  most  interested  members.  Politically  he  votes  with  the 
Democratic  party  in  general  elections.  Perhaps  no  movement  of  public 
importance  interests  him  in  a  greater  degree  than  does  that  of  education.  The 
public  school  system  has  in  him  a  stanch  friend.  When  the  consolidation  of 
Kern  with  Bakersfield  took  place  he  was  serving  as  a  member  of  the  Kern 
board  of  school  trustees.  At  the  first  election  (special)  he  was  chosen  a 
member  of  the  Bakersfield  board  of  education.  At  the  regular  election  in 
June  of  1911  he  was  re-elected  to  serve  for  a  term  of  four  years. 

NICKLAS  TSCHURR.— A  native  of  Switzerland,  Nicklas  Tschurr  was 
born  in  Donath,  Canton  Graubunden,  January  9,  1888.  His  father,  Chris 
Tschurr,  was  a  farmer  and  dairyman  at  Donath,  where  he  was  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  village  trustees.  In  this  Alpine  village  Nicklas  received 
his  education  in  the  public  and  high  school,  assisting  his  father  and  learn- 
ing the  dairy  business  from  the  time  he  was  a  boy. 

In  1907  Nicklas  Tschurr  determined  to  try  his  fortune  in  the  United 
States,  and  having  heard  good  reports  from  Kern  county,  Cal.,  came  here 
forthwith,  arriving  in  April,  1907.  For  eighteen  months  he  was  employed 
as  buttermaker  at  the  Swiss-American  Creamery,  after  which  he  leased  land 
and  ranched  with  such  success  that  three  years  later,  in  1912,  he  was  able 
to  purchase  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  wild  land  two  miles  south  of  the 
Old  River  school  house.  This  he  has  put  under  the  plow  and  into  grain, 
while  twenty  acres  has  already  been  checked  and  sown  to  alfalfa.  It  is  his 
intention  just  as  soon  as  it  is  possible  to  have  it  all  in  growing  alfalfa  and 
engage  in  the  dairy  industry  that  he  understands  so  well.  The  place  is  all 
under  irrigation  from  the  Stine  canal.  He  has  put  up  substantial  improve- 
ments, such  as  a  comfortable  bungalow  and  a  large  barn.  Politically  he  es- 
pouses the  cause  of  the  Republican  party. 

J.  C.  McDonald. — To  serve  the  Combination  Midway  Oil  Company  as 
superintendent  and  to  hold  rank  among  the  thoroughly  reliable  operators  in 
the  west  side  field  does  not  represent  the  limit  of  activities  of  Mr.  McDonald, 
for  being  a  carpenter  and  builder  by  trade,  he  obtained  the  contract  for  the 
building  of  the  I.  O.  O.  F.  hall  on  Center  street,  Taft.  The  summer  of  1913 
was  largely  devoted  to  the  task  of  building  this  hall,  which  is  50x118  feet  in 
dimensions,  with  a  cement  basement  surmounted  by  two  stories,  of  pressed 
brick  construction,  with  plate-glass  front. 

It  is  natural  that  Mr.  McDonald  should  show  skill  in  carpentering,  for 
he  was  brought  up  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  trade  by  his  father,  J.  W. 
McDonald,  a  contractor  and  builder  in  Missouri,  more  recently  a  resident  of 
Lemoore,  Kings  county,  Cal.  Born  in  Centralia,  Mo.,  July  28,  1881,  J.  C.  Mc- 
Donald was  orphaned  by  the  death  of  his  mother  when  he  was  only  two  years 
of  age  and  the  loss  of  her  affectionate  oversight  cast  a  gloom  over  the  days  of 
his  boyhood.  On  the  day  that  he  was  eighteen  he  left  Missouri  for  California. 
To  earn  a  livelihood  he  was  prepared  by  a  knowledge  of  carpentering.  Imme- 
diately after  his  arrival  in  Bakersfield  he  secured  day  work  with  Superintendent 
Canfield  on  the  Central  Point.  In  a  short  time  he  had  mastered  the  business 
of  perforating  wells  and  he  continued  at  that  work  in  the  Kern  river  field 
until  1902,  when  he  went  to  Los  Angeles  to  take  up  work  as  a  carpenter  and 


W~T 


HISTORY    OF    KT.RX    COUNTY  1037 

builder.  Four  and  one-half  years  were  spent  in  that  city  and  in  1907  he 
returned  to  Kern  county,  came  to  the  Midway  field  and  secured  a  position  with 
one  of  the  companies  engaged  in  development  work.  For  a  time  he  was  with 
the  Amazon  and  Alpine  Oil  Companies.  For  some  years  he  has  been  asso- 
ciated with  Barlow  &  Hill,  the  well-known  oil  operators  of  Bakersfield,  and 
for  them  he  has  built  rigs  in  the  North  Midway  field  and  more  recently  has 
had  charge  of  the  Combination  Midway  Oil  Company  on  section  2,  31-23.  At 
Bakersfield  in  1901  he  married  Miss  Lizzie  McMahan,  of  Missouri,  and  they 
and  their  children,  Erwin  and  Irma,  occupy  a  cottage  on  the  lease  of  the 
Combination  Midway,  where  also  he  has  his  office  and  headquarters. 

CELSUS  BROWER.— Descended  in  direct  line  from  Jacob  Brower  (or 
Brauer,  as  originally  spelled),  who  came  from  Holland  to  New  York  during 
the  seventeenth  century,  Celsus  Brower  was  born  in  New  York  City  July  21, 
1840,  and  received  the  advantages  of  the  New  York  free  schools  and  free 
academy.  However,  owing  to  ill  health,  he  left  the  academy  during  the 
second  year  of  his  attendance,  and  in  October  of  1859  came  to  California, 
where  he  settled  in  Sierra  county  and  engaged  in  the  hotel  business.  The 
floodtide  of  patriotism  sweeping  through  Sierra  county  in  1863,  he  joined  a 
company  organizing  there  under  promise  of  incorporation  with  an  expedition 
under  General  Banks  against  Texas,  which  falling  through,  and  failing  of 
muster-in  under  a  commission  received  as  second  lieutenant  in  the  Sixth 
California  Infantry,  he  served  on  extra  duty  in  the  commissary  department  in 
San  Francisco  during  the  remainder  of  his  term.  Upon  being  mustered  out 
as  sergeant-major  in  1866  he  immediately  was  appointed  chief  clerk  in  the 
offices  of  the  mustering  and  disbursing  officer,  the  acting  assistant  provost- 
marshal  general  and  superintendent  of  volunteer  recruiting  service,  under 
Gen.  Washington  Seawell,  an  officer  noted  for  system  and  integrity  in  the 
performance  of  his  official  duties. 

Upon  the  closing  of  the  military  department  and  the  arranging  of  its 
records  for  preservation  at  Washington,  the  interim  between  that  time  and 
coming  to  Kern  county  was  divided  by  Mr.  Brower  between  service  as 
inspector  of  customs  at  San  Francisco  and  a  visit  in  the  east.  In  search  of 
health,  which  had  been  shaken  through  pulmonary  afifection,  he  left  San 
Francisco  in  October,  1872,  and  settled  at  Bakersfield,  where  since  he  has 
made  his  home.  Business  activities  in  Bakersfield  began  with  the  keeping  of 
books  for  the  firm  of  Liverm^re  &  Chester.  In  1873,  upon  assignment  of 
the  afifairs  of  the  Cotton  Growers'  Association  to  J.  H.  Redington  in  trust  for 
settlement,  he  was  appointed  attorney-in-fact  for  the  trustee,  with  manage- 
ment of  the  business,  which  later  was  absorbed  by  Horatio  P.  Livermore 
and  continued  under  the  name  of  the  Livermore  agency  of  Kern  county. 

The  various  litigations  over  water  rights  resulted  finally  in  the  transfer 
of  the  Livermore  property  to  J.  B.  Haggin.  Mr.  Brower  was  retained  as 
secretary  in  charge  of  the  canal  deiJartment  of  Haggin  &  Carr  until  the  year 
1898,  when  ill  health  forced  him  to  resign  and  seek  change  through  a  visit  in 
the  eastern  states.  Returning  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  when  the  Haggin  & 
Carr  lands  were  about  to  be  ofifered  for  colonization,  he  accepted  a  position 
with  L.  C.  McAfee  in  the  management  of  the  colony  sales  under  the  name  of 
the  land  department  of  J.  B.  Haggin,  subsequently  turned  over  to  S.  W. 
Ferguson  upon  a  general  change  in  the  business  of  Haggin  &  Carr  to  the 
Kern  County  Land  Company,  in  present  existence.  Upon  the  approach  of  the 
four  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America  the  Kern  County 
World's  Fair  Association  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  and 
installing  a  Kern  county  exhibit  at  the  Chicago  exposition.  Having  been 
selected  as  secretary  and  manager,  Mr.  Brower  completed  the  assembling 
and  installation  of  Kern  county's  products  at  that  exposition.  As  of  more  inti- 
mate association   with  the  affairs  of  Bakersfield,  it  mav  be  stated  that   Mr. 


1038  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Brower  was  the  first  president  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  elected  in  1889;  first 
president  and  afterward  secretary  of  the  Southern  Hotel  Association,  director 
variously  in  the  Kern  Valley  Bank  and  the  First  National  Bank  of  Bakers- 
field  ;  secretary  of  the  Bakersfield  school  department  since  1897,  a  position 
still  held,  and  in  which,  in  association  with  E.  P.  Davis,  a  trustee,  and  H.  A. 
Blodget,  subsequently  the  president  of  the  school  board,  the  school  affairs  of 
the  city  were  wrested  from  political  influences  and  placed  upon  a  constantly 
advancing  line  of  progress.  At  present  l\Ir.  Brower  is  interested  in  oil  and 
real  estate,  also  in  the  management  of  his  office  building  recently  erected  in 
Bakersfield.  The  Brower  building  is  a  four-story  brick  building  on  the  corner 
of  Nineteenth  and  I  streets,  in  the  center  of  the  business  district,  which  was 
erected  in  1910-11,  is  the  most  up-to-date  office  building  in  the  city,  having 
all    the    modern    conveniences. 

J.  H.  WHALEY. — It  would  be  impossible  to  make  an  extended  mention 
of  the  Honolulu  Consolidated  Oil  Company  without  considerable  reference  to 
the  popular  superintendent,  J.  H.  Whaley,  whose  association  with  the  great 
corporation  has  been  conducive  to  the  profitable  development  of  its  holdings 
in  the  famous  Midway  field.  Equally  impossible  would  it  be  to  mention  either 
the  superintendent  or  the  property  without  extensive  reference  to  the  presi- 
dent of  the  company,  Capt.  William  Matson,  of  San  Francisco,  a  wealthy  and 
influential  sea  captain,  who  owns  large  holdings  in  that  city  and  is  also  a 
large  stockholder  in  the  steamship  line  and  president  of  the  Matson  Navigation 
Company.  In  the  course  of  his  many  voyages  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands  he  has 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  capitalists  in  Honolulu  and  some  of  these  gentle- 
men organized  the  Honolulu  Oil  Company,  choosing  the  Captain  as  presi- 
dent.   The  majority  of  the  stock  is  held  in  the  island  city. 

The  honor  of  being  a  native  son  of  California  belongs  to  Mr.  Whaley, 
who  was  born  in  Placer  county  July  18,  1870,  and  was  one  of  three  sons  attain- 
ing to  maturity.  Of  these  Edward  is  now  deceased  and  C.  C,  a  carpenter,  is 
living  at  Santa  Maria,  this  state.  The  parents,  John  Q.  and  Margaret  E.  (Hol- 
land) Whaley,  were  natives  respectively  of  Missouri  and  Georgia.  As  early 
as  1852  the  former  came  across  the  plains  with  a  train  of  wagons  and  ox-teams. 
Arriving  in  California,  he  mined  in  Placer  county  and  later  engaged  in  farm- 
ing. His  marriage  to  Miss  Holland  was  solemnized  in  Sacramento  county. 
For  some  years  he  has  been  living  a  retired  life  at  Santa  Maria,  enjoying  in 
his  declining  days  the  comforts  accumulated  during  an  identification  with 
California  of  more  than  sixty  years. 

From  an  early  age  Mr.  Whaley  was  self-supporting  and  upon  his  arrival 
in  Kern  county  he  secured  empk  yment  as  a  day  laborer  for  the  A.  N.  Towne 
Company,  on  the  Towne  ranch  south  of  Bakersfield.  With  the  opening  of  the 
Kern  river  oil  field  he  became  interested  in  the  oil  industry  and  ever  since 
then  he  has  devoted  himself  with  energy  to  the  business.  After  seven  months  in 
the  Kern  river  field  he  went  to  the  Sunset  field  and  worked  with  a  drilling 
gang.  For  seven  years  he  was  engaged  at  Coalinga  with  a  number  of  promi- 
nent companies,  but  much  of  his  association  with  the  industry  has  been  in 
the  Midway  field.  After  a  year  as  superintendent  of  the  Commercial  Oil  Com- 
pany he  came  to  the  Honolulu  at  the  request  of  Captain  Matson,  whose  ac- 
(luaintance  he  had  formed  while  engaged  as  a  driller.  For  some  years  he  has 
made  his  home  on  the  company  property.  After  coming  to  Taft  he  aided  in 
the  organization  of  the  blue  lodge,  became  one  of  its  charter  members  and  is 
the  present  master,  besides  which  he  is  a  Scottish  Rite  Mason  and  belongs  to 
the  Fresno  Consistory. 

WALTER  PALMER.— One  of  the  native  sons  of  Kern  county  is  Walter 
Palmer,  born  at  Claraville  November  21,  1876,  the  son  of  Robert  Palmer,  who 
was  a  pioneer  of  California  and  Kern  county  and  whose  biography  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  volume. 


(/o.^(^^i^(r^^^''^t-i^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KL-:RX    COUNTY  1041 

Robert  Palmer  from  a  boy  was  reared  on  the  Palmer  ranch  in  Hot 
Springs  valley,  receiving  a  good  education  in  the  local  schools.  He  was 
actively  helpful  to  his  father  in  the  stock  business  and  learned  ranching 
and  the  cattle  business.  He  also  tried  his  hand  at  mining  and  began  develop- 
ing one  of  his  father's  old  claims,  the  Ticknor  creek  placer  mine,  where  he 
has  been  mining  for  many  seasons. 

In  1910  Mr.  Palmer  joined  with  his  mother  in  ojierating  the  Palmer 
ranch,  where  they  are  engaged  in  hay  and  stock-raising.  Ninety  acres  of 
the  ranch  is  devoted  to  alfalfa  and  he  is  making  a  specialty  of  raising  hogs. 

GREEN  BROTHERS.— In  1907  John  L.  and  Bert  Green  purchased 
eighty  acres  five  and  a  half  miles  south  of  East  Bakersfield,  upon  which  an 
excellent  system  of  irrigation  was  established.  Here  they  engaged  in  raising 
alfalfa  for  hay  until  leasing  the  property  in  1912. 

The  brothers  are  native  sons  of  the  state  and  were  born  in  Santa  Barbara 
county,  John  L.,  January  12,  1873,  and  Bert,  March  17,  1875,  being  sons  of 
J.  W.  Green,  an  honored  citizen  of  Kern  county  and  Californian  pioneer, 
having  come  to  the  state  January  6,  1846,  and  now  acting  as  road  overseer 
under  Supervisor  J.  M.  Bush,  whose  wise  judgment  in  selecting  him  for  the 
responsible  position  is  proved  by  the  excellent  work  done  on  the  county  roads. 
The  father  being  unable  to  give  the  sons  any  financial  help,  it  was  necessary 
for  them  to  take  up  the  battle  of  self-support  when  still  young  in  years  and 
they  therefore  had  only  limited  educational  advantages,  although  through 
reading  and  observation  both  have  become  well  informed.  After  having  spent 
the  years  of  early  life  in  Santa  Barbara  and  Ventura  counties  they  came  to 
Kern  county  in  November  of  1891  and  began  to  earn  their  livelihoods  as 
teamsters.  For  some  years  they  made  a  specialty  of  hauling  freight  to  "Old 
Simset'.  Working  early  and  late  and  saving  their  earnings  with  frugal  fore- 
thought, they  were  able  to  secure  an  amount  finally  that  justified  them  in 
buying  land,  and  thus  they  have  become  property  (jwners  solely  through 
their  own  unaided  and  long-continued  efiforts.  The  younger  brother  is  un- 
married. The  older  brother,  John  L.,  in  1900  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Margaret  T.  Wright,  a  resident  of  Sacramento  and  a  native  daughter 
of  the  commonwealth,  her  father,  Oren  Wright,  having  been  a  pioneer  of 
California.  The  brothers  have  been  stanch  in  their  allegiance  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party  ever  since  they  became  voters,  but  neither  has  sought  official 
honors  or  local  party  leadership.  Fraternally  they  hold  membership  with  the 
Woodmen  of  the  \^''orld  at  Bakersfield.  In  regard  to  the  future  of  Kern 
county  both  are  optimistic.  Appreciating  the  possibilities  of  the  land,  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  and  the  advantages  of  the  climate  for  the  production  of 
many  valuable  agricultural  crops,  they  discern  for  their  community  a  future 
of  material  prosperity  and  enlarged  imnortance,  and  their  own  diligent  efforts 
and  unwearied  industry  are  promoting  the  attainment  of  this  desired  result. 
The  brothers  sold  out  their  stock  and  dairy  interests  December  10.  1912, 
and  rented  their  eighty-acre  ranch  for  five  years.  John  L.  has  assumed 
the  superintendency  of  the  H.  R.  Peacock  stock  farm,  situated  nine  miles 
south  of  Bakersfield.  while  Bert  is  taking  charge  of  the  W.  W.  Frazier  stock 
and  hay  ranch  of  four  hundred  and  forty  acres,  near  the  Gosford  ranch, 
one  mile  west  of  Gosford  Station. 

ROBERT  R.  McGUIRE.— A  reputation  as  one  of  the  experienced  and 
skilled  drillers  in  the  Midway  field  belongs  to  "Boh"  McGuire.  who  has  had 
an  extensive  training  in  many  of  the  oil  fields  of  the  United  States  and  who 
is  perhaps  as  favorably  known  as  any  west  side  oil  man.  It  is  natural  that  he 
should  be  interested  in  the  oil  industry,  for  his  father  before  him.  although 
a  farmer  by  occunation,  devoted  much  time  to  the  oil  business  in  the  pioneer 
period  of  its  development  in  the  York  state  fields,  and  in  addition  his  only 
brother,  Harry   H.,  now  in   Olean,   Cattaraugus  county,    N.   Y.,   has  been   a 


1042  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

skilled  driller  for  some  years  and  recently  had  charge  of  a  very  important 
drilling  contract  in  the  Brazilian  fields  of  South  America.  Besides  these  two 
brothers  there  is  a  sister,  Eva,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  R.  L.  Turner,  employed 
in  the  Fullerton  oil  fields  in  California.  The  father,  J.  G.  McGuire,  a  native 
of  New  York,  is  now  deceased ;  the  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Elizabeth  Gross,  is  now  making  her  home  at  Santa  Paula,  Ventura  county. 
The  first  twelve  years  in  the  life  of  Robert  R.  McGuire  were  passed  at  Olean, 
Cattaraugus  county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was  born  December  24,  1882.  After  the 
death  of  his  father  the  family  came  to  California  and  settled  at  Santa  Paula, 
where  he  completed  the  studies  of  the  grammar  schools.  He  also  attended  the 
Ventura  high  schools  for  two  years.  At  seventeen  he  began  to  work  in  the 
Santa  Paula  oil  fields.  For  a  time  he  was  engaged  in  laying  pipe  lines  for  the 
Union  Oil  Company  and  later  he  was  with  other  companies  in  the  same  field. 

Coming  to  Kern  county  in  1501  and  engaging  with  Easton,  Eldridge  & 
Co.,  in  the  Sunset  field,  he  remained  with  that  concern  for  eight  months. 
Upon  returning  to  the  Santa  Paula  field  he  secured  employment  with  Hobson 
&  Co.,  with  whom  he  continued  for  four  months.  Coming  again  to  Kern 
county,  he  went  over  to  the  Kern  river  field  and  engaged  with  the  California 
Mutual  Oil  Company.  In  a  short  time  he  left  for  McKittrick,  where  he 
dressed  tools  on  the  Southern  Pacific  lease  and  then  for  some  years  engaged 
in  drilling  under  the  superintendent,  W.  E.  Ott.  An  experience  with  the 
Kansas  oil  fields  began  in  1905  and  continued  for  one  and  one-half  years,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  drilled  successively  at  Peru,  Bolton,  Sedan  and  Cofifeyville. 
Upon  his  return  to  California  and  the  resumption  of  work  with  the  Union  Oil 
Company,  he  was  put  to  drilling  in  the  Santa  Maria  field.  Eighteen  months 
later  he  went  to  San  Luis  Obispo  and  took  charge  of  the  drilHns:  for  the 
Southern  and  Encinal  Oil  Company.  From  there  he  went  to  Humboldt  county 
and  drilled  for  the  Petrolia  Oil  Company,  but  was  not  able  to  find  oil  in  pro- 
ductive quantities.  Returning  to  the  Midway  field,  he  took  charge  of  the 
Golden  Gate  Petroleum  Company  near  Maricopa  and  again  suffered  the  dis- 
appointment of  drilling  without  success.  His  next  experience  as  a  driller  was 
on  the  Sunset  Extension.  From  there  he  went  to  the  Northern  Exploration 
Company  as  field  foreman  and  six  months  afterward,  in  1913,  he  entered  upon 
his  present  duties  as  drilling  foreman  on  the  lease  of  the  Honolulu  Con- 
solidated  Oil   Company,  situated  on   section   10,  32-24,  in  the  Midway  field. 

JOHN  P.  JOHNSON.— The  Scandinavian  countries  have  given  to  the 
United  States  numerous  industrious  citizens,  whose  untiring  effort,  econom- 
ical habits  and  thrifty  manner  of  living  have  made  them  prosperous  home- 
makers,  bringing  their  families  up  to  be  loA'al,  patriotic  citizens  of  America. 
In  Kern  county  there  are  large  numbers  of  these  residents,  who  have  brought 
their  worldly  goods  here  with  the  intention  of  settling  and  making  California 
their  permanent  homes,  and  almost  inevitably  they  have  prospered  and  be- 
come well-to-do  and  contented.  John  P.  Johnson,  owner  and  manager  of  the 
liquor  house  situated  at  No.  705  Sumner  street,  East  Bakersfield,  was  born 
on  the  island  of  Oeland,  Sweden,  September  22,  1882,  and  his  earl}'  j'outh  was 
there  passed  on  the  farm  of  his  parents. 

The  father,  John  P.  Johnson,  Sr.,  was  a  native  of  Sweden  and  there  passed 
his  entire  life,  following  agricultural  pursuits.  He  was  prosperous  and  so  en- 
abled to  give  to  his  children  the  advantages  of  a  thorough  educational  training, 
rearing  them  to  become  representative  men  and  women.  In  such  an  atmos- 
phere John  P.,  Jr.,  grew  to  manhood,  working  on  the  farm  with  his  father 
during  his  vacations  from  school  until  he  reached  the  age  of  seventeen  years, 
then  embarking  for  the  new  world  to  try  his  fortune  among  the  people  of  the 
far  west.  Sailing  for  America  he  upon  arriving  immediately  made  his  way 
to  San  Francisco,  where  he  arrived  in  1900.  and  after  a  month  came  to  Bakers- 
field,  where  he  has  ever  since  resided.    Until  January,  1909,  he  was  employed 


HISTORY    (^F    KHRX    CC^UXTV  10+5 

)))'  various  firms,  gaining'  a  footlmld  in  tiic  l)usiness  world,  and  at  this  tinu' 
he  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Leader  Hc|uor  estalilishnient,  which  he  con- 
ducted with  such  success  that  in  January,  1912,  he  accepted  an  offer  to  buy  it. 
After  selling  the  business  to  G.  Galli  he  was  persuaded  l)y  the  new  owner  to 
remain  as  manager.  His  knowledge  of  the  conduct  of  the  place  and  his 
familiarity  with  its  details  made  him  invaluable  in  this  direction.  In  June, 
1912.  he  bought  back  the  Leader  and  is  now  its  sole  owner. 

Mr.  Johnson  has  been  thrifty  in  his  manner  of  living  and  keen  in  invest- 
ing his  accumulations,  and  he  owns  property  in  Last  P.akersfield.  including  city 
lots  and  a  residence,  which  have  become  valuable  holdings.  He  and  his  charm- 
mg  wife,  who  was  Miss  Marcelle  Phillips  before  her  marriage,  reside  in  their 
well-built  home  in  East  Bakersfield.  where  they  give  a  hearty  welcome  to  their 
many  friends.  Mrs.  Johnson  was  horn  in  East  P)akersfield  and  is  a  daughter 
of  Jean  Phillips,  well  known  in  this  town.  In  party  affairs  Mr.  Johnson  in- 
terests himself  with  the  Republican  party,  th(3ugh  he  does  not  hold  political 
office  or  have  any  desire  for  same.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Eagles  and  the 
Order  of  M(  ose. 

GEORGE  HASTINGS.— In  a  family  of  nine  chililren,  f.uir  of  whom  are 
living.  George  Hastings  was  third  and  was  born  in  Newmarket,  Highland 
county.  Ohio,  September  1,  1851.  When  four  years  of  age  he  was  taken  to 
Illinois  by  his  parents.  James  and  Rebecca  (Dill)  Hastings,  natives  of  Ohio, 
who  settled  in  Chicago.  Eventually  the  father  became  a  pattern-maker  in 
a  shop  in  Rock  Island.  111.,  where  he  remained  throughout  the  balance  of 
his  life.  His  wife  also  died  in  Illinois.  When  the  family  removed  to  Rock 
Island  the  son  was  a  boy  of  nine  years  and  afterward  he  attended  the  public 
schools  of  that  city  until  sixteen  years  of  age.  when  he  was  apprenticed  to 
the  trade  of  a  machinist  in  the  Rock  Island  shops  in  Chicago.  LIpon  the 
completion  of  his  time  he  was  given  work  as  a  fireman  on  a  Rock  Island 
train  out  of  Chicago,  and  in  1876  he  was  promoted  to  be  an  engineer  from 
Chicago  to  Peru,  and  Peoria.  111.,  after  which  he  served  successively  with 
the  Illinois  Central,  the  Wabash  and  the  Frisco  roads.  Coming  to  the 
Santa  Fe  road  he  was  retained  for  a  time  as  machinist  in  the  Albuquerque 
shops  and  in  January  of  1882  was  given  an  engine.  Five  months  later  he 
was  transferred  to  Arizona  and  stationed  at  Winslow  as  headquarters. 

Beginning  in  the  fall  of  1884  Mr.  Hastings  had  a  run  between  Needles 
and  Mojave,  after  which  he  had  charge  of  an  engine  from  Barstow  to  Mojave, 
making  his  headquarters  in  the  latter  town.  Nor  was  there  any  change  in 
his  location  when  he  was  given  the  helper  engine  over  the  Tehachapi  moun- 
tains, and  he  still  makes  his  home  in  Mojave,  where  he  owns  a  cottage 
erected  by  himself.  For  years  he  has  been  interested  in  the  work  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers.  His  marriage  took  place  in  Peoria, 
III.,  and  united  him  with  Aliss  Ida  West,  who  was  born  in  New  York  state 
and  died  at  Mojave  in  May  of  1909.  Five  children  had  l-)1cssed  their  union, 
namely:  Mrs.  Eva  Parton.  of  Mojave;  Howard,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
twenty-two  years ;  William  and  Elmer,  both  employed  in  Los  Angeles ;  and 
Bessie,  who  remains  with  her  father.  Always  interested  in  the  cause  of 
education,  he  has  been  active  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  grammar  schools  of 
Mojave.  having  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  for  about  thirteen 
years,  most  of  the  time  serving  as  clerk  of  the  board.  Fraternally  Mr.  Hast- 
ings holds  membership  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  with 
the  Masons,  having  been  made  a  Mason  in  Tehachapi  Lodge  .\'n.  .^1.^. 
F.  &  A.  M..  and  also  being  connected  with  Tehachapi  (liajiter  No.  18S,  ( )rdcr 
of  the  Eastern  Star. 

ANGUS  McLEOD  CRITES.— For  a  period  of  more  tiian  one-half  cen- 
tury 'Sir.  Crites  was  intimately  identified  witli  the  upl)uilding  of  California, 
and  for  fort\'  \ears  he  made  Kern  county  his  home,  meanwhile  associating 
himself  with  manv  nunements  for  the  lucal  advancement.     It  was  his  privi- 


1046  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

lege  to  witness  a  radical  transformation  in  the  country.  Its  crudities  gave 
place  to  refining  influences  and  its  primeval  aspect  became  merged  into  an 
attractive  environment  of  great  productive  possibilities.  Today  it  boasts  of  a 
population  as  refined  and  cultured  as  is  to  be  found  in  the  state.  Born  near 
Massena  Springs,  St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York,  on  the  St.  Lawrence  river, 
in  1838,  Angus  McLeod  Crites  was  a  youth  of  seventeen  when  he  followed 
the  tide  of  emigration  toward  the  far  west.  During  1855  he  sailed  from  New 
York  on  a  ship  bound  for  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  Arriving  there,  he 
walked  the  entire  distance  across  to  the  Pacific  coast  and  then  boarded  a  ship 
bound  for  San  Francisco.  On  his  arrival  he  secured  work  on  Alcatraz  island 
and  later  helped  in  the  building  up  of  Fort  Point.  By  practical  experience 
he  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  carpentering  and  the  millwright's  trade. 
After  he  came  to  Kern  county  in  1864  he  was  employed  as  a  millwright  at 
Havilah  and  built  several  quartz  mills,  including  the  mill  for  the  Big  Blue 
mine  at  Whiskey  Flat.  From  there,  in  1868,  he  went  to  Rio  Bravo  and  built 
the  farm  buildings  for  Jewett  Brothers.  Next  he  became  interested  in  the 
sheep  business,  bought  a  flock  and  ranged  them  on  the  plains  and  mountains, 
later  locating  land  in  Keene  district,  on  what  is  now  the  road  between  Te- 
hachapi  and  Bakersfield,  and  building  a  house  at  that  place.  Like  many  other 
of  the  early  sheep-growers,  he  left  that  industry  for  the  cattle  business  and 
in  time  he  became  the  owner  of  a  very  large  herd  of  stock.  In  addition  to  his 
cattle  interests  he  served  as  deputy  county  assessor,  and  at  the  time  that 
the  railroad  ended  at  Caliente  he  was  serving  as  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was 
married  in  1870  to  Miss  Louesa  M.  Jewett,  whose  biography  appears  else- 
where. His  death  occurred  September  28,  1904,  and  removed  from  among  his 
family  and  friends  one  who  ever  had  been  devoted  to  their  welfare,  a  pro- 
moter of  their  happiness  as  also  of  the  general  community  prosperity.  In  the 
annals  of  the  county  history  his  name  is  worthy  of  a  permanent  place. 

MRS.  LOUESA  MARIA  CRITES.— The  distinction  of  having  been 
the  first  woman  teacher  in  Kern  county  belongs  to  Mrs.  Crites,  who  as  Miss 
Jewett  began  to  teach  at  Tehachapi  May  20,  1867,  and  continued  in  the  same 
position  for  five  months.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  many  pupils  she  had 
in  that  first  school  and  to  what  families  they  belonged.  The  school  was  com- 
posed of  the  following  pupils  :  five  of  the  Dozier  children  and  the  Same  number 
from  the  Wiggins  family ;  four  of  the  Brites  family,  one  Hossick,  two  Hart 
children,  four  of  the  Cuddeback  family,  three  of  the  Tyler  and  one  of  the  Hale 
family,  and  Nellie  Calhoun,  later  a  celebrated  actress,  who  was  then  seven 
years  of  age  and  staying  with  her  grandmother,  Mrs.  James  Williams,  at  Old- 
town.  At  first  the  teacher  boarded  with  the  Dozier  family,  but  when  their 
house  was  destroyed  by  fire  she  was  taken  into  the  Wiggins  home,  from  which 
place  she  rode  on  horseback  to  her  school.  The  original  agreement  provided 
that  she  should  teach  for  three  months,  but  when  the  patrons  of  the  school 
found  that  if  she  taught  for  five  months  they  could  draw  public  money  for  her 
salary  the  change  was  made  and  she  remained  for  a  longer  term  than  originally 
stipulated.  When  she  made  the  trip  to  Tehachapi  she  rode  h(irseback,  as 
there  was  only  a  trail. 

Born  at  Weybridge,  Addison  county,  Vt.,  in  1833,  Louesa  Maria  Jewett 
was  a  daughter  of  Solomon  Wright  Jewett,  the  most  prominent  im- 
porter and  breeder  of  merino  sheep  of  his  day.  Further  mention  of  the  family 
appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume,  in  the  sketch  of  her  brother,  thejate  Solo- 
mon Jewett.  The  best  educational  advantages  of  the  locality  were  given  to 
her  during  girlhood  and  of  these  she  availed  herself  to  the  utmost.  After  her 
graduation  from  the  seminary  at  Middlebury,  Addison  county,  she  went  south 
to  Virginia  and  taught  in  a  young  ladies'  boarding  school  in  Mecklenburg 
ciamty.  During  1860  she  went  to  Texas  to  serve  as  teacher  in  private  schools 
in  Gonzales  county  and  continued  in  that  position  until  1866,  when,  after  hav- 


HISTORY    OV    KERN    COUNTY  1047 

ing  spent  the  suiiimer  in  Wisconsin,  she  came  in  the  autumn  to  California  by 
way  of  Panama,  arriving  in  Kern  county  January  17.  1867.  Until  her  mar- 
riage she  made  her  home  with  her  brothers,  Solomon  and  Philo  D.,  on  the 
Kern  river.  As  previously  stated,  she  was  the  first  woman  teacher  in  the 
county.     Miss  Jackson,  who  was  the  second,  soon  followed  her  in  the  work. 

Rev.  Mr.  Edwards,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  officiated  at  the  marriage 
of  Angus  McLeod  Crites  and  Louesa  Maria  Jewett,  which  was  solemnized 
at  Visalia,  August  30,  1870.  Four  children  came  to  bless  their  union.  The 
eldest,  Fidelia  P)elle,  died  at  the  age  of  eleven  years  and  eleven  months.  There 
are  three  sons  now  living,  namely :  Angus  Jewett,  who  is  superintendent  of  the 
Peerless  Oil  Company ;  Arthur  Saxe,  cashier  of  the  First  Bank  of  Kern ;  and 
George  SoUmon,  a  supervising  engineer  at  Tucson,  Ariz.  I'Yom  girlhood  Mrs. 
Crites  has  been  an  earnest  Christian. 

CYRUS  FELIX  DEMSEY,  M.D.— The  strong  qualities  that  made 
members  of  the  Demsey  family  desirable  citizens  in  every  locality  in  which 
they  settled  were  well  represented  in  the  make-up  of  Cyrus  F.  Demsey,  who 
lur  over  sixty  years  was  a  resident  of  this  state,  twenty  years  of  this  time 
being  passed  in  Mojave,  where  as  physician  during  the  earlier  years  and  as 
postmaster  in  later  life  he  rendered  conscientious  service  to  his  fellow-citizens. 
Ohio  was  the  early  home  of  the  Demsey  family,  and  in  Portsmouth  C.  F. 
Demsey  was  born  April  30,  1838.  The  schools  of  his  birthplace  sup])lied  him 
with  a  good  educational  foundation  and  the  locality  otherwise  contributed  to 
his  well-being  until  he  attained  young  manhood,  when  the  interest  in  Califor- 
nia which  had  then  become  so  general  throughout  the  country  attracted  him 
to  the  west.  By  way  of  Panama  lie  reached  California  in  the  early  '50s  and 
was  interested  in  mining  more  or  less  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  war. 
As  a  member  of  what  was  known  as  the  "California  Hundred,"  he  returned 
east  and  enlisted  his  services  for  the  defense  of  the  Union,  becoming  a  i^rivate 
in  Company  A,  Second  Massachusetts  Cavalry,  and  during  the  three  years 
of  his  enlistment  he  was  twice  wounded.  It  was  after  his  service  in  the  army 
that  he  turned  his  attention  toward  a  professional  life,  having  in  the  mean- 
time determined  to  become  a  physician  and  surgeon.  With  this  idea  in  view 
he  went  to  Chicago  and  matriculated  in  Rush  Medical  College,  from  which 
well-known  institution  he  was  graduated  in  due  time  with  the  degree  of 
M.D.  Subsequently  he  established  an  office  for  the  practice  of  his  profession 
in  Missouri,  and  later  in  Macon  county,  Illinois,  but  still  later  he  returned  to 
California  and  for  a  number  of  years  carried  on  a  very  successful  practice  in 
San  Francisco. 

The  year  1892  marked  the  advent  of  Dr.  Demsey  in  Moja\'e,  and  here 
as  in  his  previous  places  of  residence  his  ability  received  recognition  and  he 
built  up  a  commendable  practice.  Mining  also  engaged  his  attention  to  some 
extent,  and  in  April,  1906,  he  was  honored  with  the  appointment  of  postmaster 
at  Mojave  under  President  Roosevelt,  and  under  President  Taft  he  was 
reappointed  in  1909.  He  continued  to  fill  the  office  with  efficiency  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  March  27,  1913,  when  he  was  seventy-five 
years  of  age.  In  Los  Angeles,  in  January,  1902,  Dr.  Demsey  married  Miss 
Matilda  Kern,  a  native  of  Bluffton,  Ohio,  their  marriage  resulting  in  the 
birth  of  one  child,  Naomi  Kern.  Mrs.  Demsey,  a  woman  of  .strong  and  deep 
personality,  was  peculiarly  fitted  to  be  an  able  helpmate  to  her  husband.  Dur- 
ing the  later  years  of  his  life  she  was  his  valued  assistant  in  the  postoffice  and 
so  well  fitted  was  she  to  l)ecome  his  successor  in  office  that  following  his 
death  she  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Optimistic  as  to  the  future  of  the 
west  in  general  and  of  California  and  Mojave  in  particular.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Dem- 
sey gave  proof  of  their  faith  by  the  purchase  of  real  estate  from  time  to  time, 
ultimately  becoming  owners  of  considerable  property.  This  they  improved 
for  business  purposes,  the  postoffice  being  located  in  one  of  their  buildings, 


1048  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  they  also  erected  one  of  the  largest  and  most  comfortable  residences  in  the 
city,  which  is  still  owned  by  Mrs.  Demsey. 

LLOYD  P.  KEESTER.— The  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  California 
Market  Company  holds  a  prominent  position  among  the  rising  young  busi- 
ness men  of  Bakersfield,  with  whose  interests  he  first  became  identified  as 
a  resident  in  1901  and  as  a  partner  in  the  present  business  during  1906. 
The  market  which  has  developed  even  beyond  the  most  sanguine  anticipa- 
tions of  its  projectors  occupies  a  central  location  on  Nineteenth  street  and, 
remodeled  as  recently  as  1912,  is  now  unsurpassed  by  any  similar  plant  in 
the  entire  state. 

In  identifying  himself  with  the  west  Mr.  Keester  came  hither  from 
Kahoka,  Clark  county,  Mo.,  where  he  was  born  October  23,  1884,  being  a 
son  of  William  Keester,  a  native  of  Lima,  Ohio,  and  for  years  a  hardware 
merchant  of  the  Missouri  town,  but  now  retired  from  business  activities. 
After  he  had  graduated  from  the  Kahoka  high  school  Mr.  Keester  became  a 
student  in  the  business  department  of  the  Highland  Park  College  at  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  where  he  completed  his  education.  From  bo3'hood  he  had  been 
a  frequent  assistant  in  the  hardware  store  of  his  father  and  after  leaving 
college  he  clerked  for  one  year  with  the  Wengert-Bishop  Hardware  Com- 
pany of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  returning  from  that  place  to  Kahoka,  where  for 
two  years  he  assisted  his  father  in  the  store.  From  Missouri  he  came  to 
California  during  1501  and  settled  in  Bakersfield,  where  he  learned  the 
butcher  business  as  an  employe  of  J.  J.  Anderson,  on  the  site  even  at  that 
time  known  as  the  California  market.  Being  credit  man,  he  also  became 
familiar  with  business  conditions  in  the  town  and  with  the  financial  respon- 
sibility of  customers. 

Together  with  Mel  P.  Smith,  also  an  employe  of  the  same  market,  in 
1906  Mr.  Keester  purchased  the  business  which  since  has  grown  to  very 
large  proportions.  The  California  Market  Company  was  incorporated  in 
1908  with  Mr.  Smith  as  president  and  Mr.  Keester  as  secretary  and  treasurer. 
In  1911  the  firm  built  and  opened  a  wholesale  warehouse  and  cold  storage 
plant,  on  the  west  side  at  Taft,  where  they  maintain  a  supply  of  wholesale 
meats,  provisions  and  produce,  operating  their  own  refrigerator  car  line 
between  Bakersfield  and  Taft,  and  in  addition  they  own  and  operate  the  Pa- 
cific market  at  Taft  for  the  accommodation  of  the  retail  trade.  The  history 
of  the  business  has  been  one  of  rapid,  but  conservative  and  substantial  growth. 
Mr.  Keester  is  a  leading  member  of  the  Bakersfield  Merchants'  Association 
and  the  board  of  trade,  also  keeps  well  posted  concerning  the  policies  of 
the  Democratic  party,  to  which  he  adheres  with  conscientious  devotion.  Fra- 
ternally he  holds  membership  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 
Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  has  established  domestic  ties  through  his 
marriage  to  Miss  Frances  Gagne,  a  native  of  Oakdale,  this  state,  and  to 
secure  a  suitable  home  he  erected  on  the  corner  of  Twenty-second  and  E 
streets  a  modern  bungalow  supplied  with  every  comfort  and  furnished  in 
a  manner  reflecting  the  culture  of  the  family.  He  is  a  director  in  the  National 
Bank  of  Bakersfield,  which  he  helped  to  organize  in  the  latter  part  of  1912. 
This  institution  threw  open  its  doors  to  business  April  1,  1913,  and  will 
be  located  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Eighteenth  and  Chester  avenue. 

J.  E.  GARDNER. — An  experience  in  the  lumber  woods  of  Michigan,  while 
radically  different  from  the  work  in  the  oil  fields,  nevertheless  prepared  Mr. 
Gardner  for  such  enterprises,  for  he  had  to  combat  with  many  difficulties  of  a 
similar  nature.  There  was  the  same  isolation  from  the  great  centers  of  popu- 
lation and  the  same  shadow  of  aloofness  from  the  world's  activities,  yet  the 
same  specialized  interest  and  intense  devotion  to  the  work  at  hand.  When  he 
gave  up  the  work  in  Michigan  lumber  regions  and  came  to  California  oil  dis- 
tricts, arriving  at  Bakersfield  March  13,  1905,  he  was  eager  to  accept  any  kind 
of  employment.   The  first  that  ofl'ered  was  as  roustabout  with  the  East  Puente 


<:^fiUd.' 


HISTORY    OF    Kl'.RX    COUX'TY  1051 

Oil  Company  and  for  a  long  time  he  continued  with  the  organization,  rising 
meanwhile  to  the  position  of  superintendent  of  the  lease. 

Descended  from  an  old  eastern  family,  J.  E.  Gardner  was  born  in  Isabella 
county,  Mich.,  March  30,  1882,  being  a  son  of  L.  C.  and  Mary  (Watson) 
Gardner,  the  latter  deceased.  \\'hen  seven  years  of  age  he  accompanied  other 
members  of  the  family  to  Huntington,  Ind.,  the  change  being  made  for  the 
convenience  of  his  father,  who  was  a  railroad  man  for  many  years.  Later, 
however,  the  latter  returned  to  Michigan  and  is  now  living  retired  from  active 
cares  in  the  little  village  of  Rosebush  in  Isabella  county.  There  were  two 
marriages,  so  that  Mr.  Gardner  has  five  half-brothers  and  sisters  in  addition  to 
his  own  sister,  Oleva,  who  is  the  wife  of  Olin  \\'alker,  a  farmer  of  Isabella 
county.  As  a  schoolboy  he  lived  in  Indiana  and  attended  the  schools  of 
Huntington,  completing  the  grammar  grade  and  taking  two  years  in  the  high 
school.  During  1902  he  was  graduated  from  a  business  college  at  Ypsilanti, 
Mich.,  and  thereafter  worked  in  the  lumber  woods  until  his  removal  tn  the 
west.  May  18,  1904,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Lulu  Belle  Graham, 
of  Isabella  county,  Mich.,  and  they  now  have  two  sons,  Lyle  D.  and  Thomas  L. 

Understanding  every  department  of  production,  Mr.  Gardner  became  an 
efificient  superintendent.  Close  attention  was  given  to  every  detail.  Having 
simple  tastes,  he  laid  aside  a  portion  of  his  earnings  each  year  and  thus  was 
enal)led  to  make  some  advantageous  investments  in  Bakersfield  income  prop- 
erty. His  position  with  the  East  Puente  Oil  Company  he  resigned  April  1, 
1913,  after  eight  years  of  satisfactory  service  and  received  the  best  of  recom- 
mendations. Moving  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  has  valuable  real  estate,  on  the 
28th  of  April,  1913.  he  ooened  up  the  Chester  avenue  meat  market  at  No.  2709 
Chester  avenue,  where  the  firm  of  Gardner  &  Calkins  engages  as  retail  purvey- 
ors of  fresh  and  salt  meats,  poultry,  eggs  and  game  in  season. 

PAUL  HORNUNG.— The  business  originally  conducted  by  the  C.  M. 
Stoll  Company  and  purchased  during  1910  by  Paul  Hornung  forms  one  of  the 
most  complete  of  the  kind  within  the  limits  of  Kern  county.  x'\  central  and 
desirable  location  in  the  Masonic  Temple,  originally  secured  by  the  earlier 
organization,  has  been  continued  by  the  present  proprietor,  who  from  child- 
hood has  been  skilled  in  harness-making  and  also  possesses  an  expert  know- 
ledge concerning  machinery  and  vehicles.  Besides  acting  as  agent  for  the 
Henney  buggies,  Studebaker  wagons  and  Oliver  chilled  plows,  all  of  which 
have  an  established  reputation  and  a  steady  sale  in  the  community,  he  deals 
in  wagons  and  buggies  of  other  makes,  carries  implements  called  for  by  the 
farmers  of  the  county,  has  a  valuable  stock  of  harness  and  saddles,  and  makes 
a  specialty  al.so  of  carriage  and  automobile  trimming,  these  varied  lines  of 
business  activity  enabling  him  to  furnish  employment  to  a  large  corps  of 
workmen  and  thus  become  a  valuable  factor  in  the  industrial  life  of  his  city. 
Besides  the  capital  invested  in  this  I)usiness,  which  reaches  the  large  total  of 
S18,000.  he  has  about  $3,000  invested  in  a  business  at  Ventura,  where  he  started 
in  business  in  1905. 

The  name  Hornung  is  indicative  of  Teutonic  ancestry.  Paul  Hornung 
was  born  in  Oberferrenden,  Germany,  January  6,  1876,  and  passed  the  years 
of  earlv  childhood  at  Nuremberg,  where  his  father,  Henry  Hornung,  followed 
the  trade  of  harness-maker.  The  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mar- 
garet Stoll,  and  who  is  still  living  in  Germany,  is  a  sister  of  George 
Stoll.  who  during  1884  brought  his  nephew,  a  boy  of  eight  years,  to 
California.  In  a  family  comprising  four  children  Paul  was  next  to  the  youngest 
and  after  coming  to  this  country  he  made  his  home  with  the  uncle,  who 
apprenticed  him  to  the  trade  of  a  harness-maker  and  gave  him  common-school 
advantages.  For  four  years  he  .served  as  an  apprentice  at  Red  Bluff,  this  state, 
and  then  worked  as  a  journeyman  at  Sacramento  for  six  months  Thence,  at 
an  age  of  eighteen  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  engaged  as  a  harness-maker  for 


1052  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

his  uncle,  C.  M.  Stoll,  continuing  there  for  nine  years  and  then 
going  to  Ventura  to  embark  in  business.  Skilled  in  his  trade,  he 
has  met  with  a  success  abundantly  merited  and  constantly  increasing. 
During  1901  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Edna  Herrington,  of 
Fresno,  and  by  this  union  he  has  one  child,  Ventura.  It  has  not  been  possible 
for  him  to  engage  actively  in  public  affairs,  because  the  interests  of  his  large 
business  demand  his  entire  time,  but  he  keeps  posted  concerning  national 
issues,  voting  the  Republican  ticket  at  all  elections.  In  Masonic  relations  he 
holds  membership  with  the  Blue  Lodge,  Royal  Arch,  Chapter,  Commandery, 
Eastern  Star  and  Amarinth,  also  is  fraternally  connected  with  the  Woodmen 
of  the  World  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  A  thorough  believer  in  the  city  of 
Bakersfield  and  Kern  county,  he  homesteaded  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in 
the  Weed  Patch  in  Kern  county  sixteen  years  ago  and  has  recently  (1913) 
bought  forty  acres  at  Rio  Bravo.  In  addition  he  is  the  possessor  of  one  of  the 
best  residence  lots  in  the  Kruss  tract,  where  he  will  soon  erect  a  bungalow 
which  will  be  up-to-date  in  its  appointments  and  suited  to  the  cultured  and 
refined  tastes  of  himself  and  wife.  He  still  owns  his  original  residence  at 
Ventura. 

WILLIAM  HARMON. — At  this  writing  Mr.  Harmon  makes  his  home 
upon  a  mining  claim,  comprising  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  34,  township 
29,  range  30,  in  which  township  and  range  as  early  as  1891  he  located  about 
twelve  hundred  acres  mostly  valuable  for  clays  and  gypsum,  and  on  this 
property  he  has  continued  to  keep  up  the  assessment  work.  .Mtogether  he 
has  twelve  mining  claims,  some  of  which  have  valuable  deposits  of  fuller's 
earth,  potter)^  and  china  clay,  aluminum  and  silver,  while  in  a  few  there  are 
indications  of  gold. 

In  the  southern  part  of  Illinois,  in  Randolph  county,  William  Harmon 
was  born  February  14,  1852,  being  a  son  of  William  and' Sarah  (Gant)  Har- 
mon, the  latter  deceased  in  Randolph  county  during  middle  age.  The  father, 
who  was  born  and  reared  in  that  county,  removed  from  there  to  Kansas 
about  1876  and  settled  in  Saline  county,  where  his  death  occurred  some  years 
afterward.  There  were  seven  children  in  the  familv,  namely:  Lila,  Zachariah, 
Eliza,  William,  Robert,  Rosamond  and  Mattie.  The  fourth  in  order  of  birth, 
William,  passed  the  years  of  boyhood  in  Randolph  county,  where  he  had 
somewhat  meager  educational  advantages.  In  the  early  part  of  1871  he  left 
home  for  Kansas  and  secured  employment  in  a  sawmill  in  Montgomery  coun- 
ty, but  in  a  short  time  he  returned  to  Illinois.  During  the  autumn  of  1872 
he  again  went  to  Kansas,  this  time  taking  up  a  pre-emption  fourteen  miles 
west  of  Oswego.  On  that  tract  he  remained  until  he  had  proved  up  on  the 
property  and  brought  it  under  cultivation.  Meantime  he  married  and  two 
daughters  were  born  of  this  union.  The  elder,  Leonora,  is  the  wife  of  John 
A.  Slininger,  a  cigar  manufacturer  living  in  Bakersfield.  The  younger,  Vio- 
lante,  is  the  wife  of  Paul  Weichelt,  at  present  engaged  as  a  mechanic  for 
the  Kern  County  Land  Company  and  resides  at  Bakersfield. 

It  was  on  the  17th  of  March,  1886,  that  Mr.  Harmon  arrived  in  California 
from  Kansas  and  concluded  his  long  railroad  journey  at  Goshen  on  the  main 
line,  from  which  point  he  proceeded  to  the  vicinity  of  Kettleman  plains  and 
took  up  a  homestead.  After  having  proved  up  on  the  land  in  1893  he  came 
to  Kern  county  in  the  same  year  and  took  up  a  timber  claim  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  in  the  Weed  Patch,  choosing  as  his  location  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  12,  township  31,  range  29.  During  1898  he  proved  up  on 
his  claim.  Later  he  bought  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  formintj  the  east 
one-half  of  section  26,  township  30,  range  29.  Both  of  these  tracts  he  has  im- 
proved and  placed  under  cultivation,  but  he  now  rents  them  to  other  parties 
for  farming  purposes.  Since  1901  he  has  been  interested  in  mining  claims, 
and  of  late  years  he  has  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  their  development, 


n4^^'''^^-S^i'iym<mJ 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COrXTV  1055 

although  he  also  engages  in  the  teaming  business  to  some  extent.    Ever  since 
attaining  his  majority  he  has  voted  with  the  Kepiihlican  party. 

WILLIAM  FRANKLIN  WHITAKER.— The  engineering  ability  pos- 
sessed by  Air.  Whitaker  has  made  him  a  potent  factor  in  the  development  of 
the  San  Joaquin  valley  and  enables  him  to  fill  with  unquestioned  success  his 
present  positions  as  civil  engineer  for  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  and 
superintendent  of  canals  for  the  Kern  County  Canal  &  Water  Company. 
Descended  from  an  old  eastern  family,  he  is  himself  a  native  of  Indiana  and 
was  born  in  Boone  county,  January  20,  1880.  During  boyhood  he  attended  the 
public  schools  of  that  county  and  the  high  school  of  Lebanon.  Upon  leaving 
Boone  county  he  came  west  to  California  in  the  latter  part  of  1898  and  for  six 
months  carried  the  chain  for  a  surveying  party  employed  by  the  Kern  County 
Land  Company.  From  the  first  the  work  interested  him  and  he  manifested 
ability  for  the  occupation,  therefore  he  determined  to  educate  himself  for 
.-  imilar  activities.  Going  to  Palo  Alto  in  the  fall  of  1899  he  matricr.lated  in  the 
Leland  Stanford  University,  where  he  took  the  regular  course  in  civil  en- 
gineering and  thus  became  qualified  for  what  has  proved  to  be  his  life  work. 
.■\  subsequent  position  kept  him  in  Santa  Clara  county  for  eighteen  months. 
As  an  employe  of  the  Bay  Cities'  Water  Company  he  held  a  responsible  po- 
sition in  the  preliminary  work  connected  with  the  securing  of  a  large  water 
=upply. 

Upon  returning  to  Bakersfield  in  December  of  1904  Mr.  Whitaker  was 
employed  in  the  engineering  department  of  the  Kern  County  Canal  Company. 
The  following  year  he  was  given  charge  of  the  canal  system  and  since  then, 
in  the  capacity  of  superintendent,  has  had  the  oversight  of  the  oneration  and 
maintenance  of  the  canals  owned  by  the  Kern  County  Canal  &  W^ater  Com- 
pany. Giving  his  attention  closely  to  personal  matters  and  business  concerns, 
he  has  taken  no  part  in  elections  aside  from  the  voting  of  the  Democratic 
ticket.  The  Bakersfield  Club  has  received  the  benefit  of  his  active  member- 
ship and  he  is  further  allied  with  the  Masons  in  this  city.  During  1907  he 
married  Miss  Gertrude  Scribner,  by  whom  he  has  one  daughter,  Mary  Eliza- 
beth. The  religious  views  of  the  family  bring  them  into  affiliation  with  the 
Episcopal  Church.  Mrs.  Whitaker  is  a  member  of  an  honored  pioTjeer  family 
of  Bakersfield,  her  father,  W.  H.  Scribner,  having  been  an  earlv  settler  and 
also  one  of  the  most  progressive  men  of  the  community.  The  Scribner  opera 
house  is  a  monument  to  his  enterprise  as  a  builder  and  he  al.so  erected  build- 
ings on  Chester  avenue,  besides  being  one  of  the  builders  of  the  Grand  Hotel. 
In  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1906,  the  city  lost  one  of  its  efficient  citizens. 

EARL  NORTHROP.— It  is  the  younger  generation  that  is  materially 
aiding  in  the  development  and  forging  to  the  front  in  Kern  county,  and  among 
this  class  we  find  Earl  Northrop,  proprietor  of  the  Wasco-Lost  Hills  auto 
stage  line,  who  was  born  in  Plover,  Pocohontas  county,  Iowa,  in  1891,  the  son 
of  T.  D.  and  Lillie  (Conley)  Northrop,  natives  of  Batavia,  N.  Y.,  and  .\ttica. 
Green  countv.  Wis.,  respectively.  The  parents  were  farmers  in  Iowa,  then 
ranchers  at  Durango,  Colo.,  and  Farmersville,  Tulare  county,  Cal..  and  still 
own  the  farm  in  the  latter  place,  but  now  reside  in  \^^asco.  Of  their  seven 
children  Earl  is  the  second  oldest.  His  early  life  was  spent  on  the  farm  in 
Iowa  and  a  cattle  ranch  near  Durango.  Colo.,  where  the  family  had  moved  in 
1899.  ^^'hile  making  himself  generally  useful  on  the  cattle  ranch  he  also 
attended  the  public  school  in  the  vicinity. 

In  lanuarv,  1910,  Mr.  Northrop  came  to  Visalia  and  in  May  ..f  l''ll  in 
Wasco, "Kern  county,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  Martin  &  Dudley  as  a 
chaufTeur,  afterwards  working  in  the  same  capacity  with  the  Associated  and 
the  Universal.  Early  in  1913  he  started  the  mail  stage  line  between  Wasco 
and  Lost  Hills,  a  distance  of  twenty-one  miles,  and  for  the  purpose  he  uses 
two  automobiles.     Aside  from   the  daily  trips  he  makes  special   trips   to  ac- 


1056  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

commudate  the  public.    He  is  an  energetic  young  man  and  by  close  application 
is  making  a  success  of  the  undertaking. 

PATRICK  GILLESPIE.— Before  the  world  had  been  aroused  by  the 
remarkable  story  concerning  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  there  had 
come  around  the  Horn  as  early  as  1847  an  active  young  Irishman  bearing 
the  name  of  Patrick  Gillespie.  Being  near  the  early  gold  mines,  it  was  but 
natural  that  he  should  hasten  to  the  scenes  of  mining  activity  as  soon  as 
he  heard  of  the  great  discoveries  at  Sutter's  camp.  For  some  years  he 
and  his  wife  lived  at  Placerville  and  there  occurred  the  birth,  November  22, 
1849,  of  a  son  to  whom  was  given  the  name  of  the  father  and  whose  earliest 
recollecions  cluster  around  that  strange  and  bustling  town  then  known  by 
the  unattractive  and  suggestive  appellation  of  Hangtown.  When  he  was  a 
mere  lad  he  was  accustomed  to  go  on  horseback  to  Coloma,  Eldorado  county, 
twice  each  week,  carrying  for  a  merchant  of  Placerville  a  generous  amount 
of  gold  dust  in  buckskin  purses  hid  in  the  bottom  of  a  flour  sack.  Although 
prowlers  constantly  lurked  along  the  highway,  seeking  to  steal  the  gold  dust 
from  miners,  the  small  boy  was  allowed  to  pass  unmolested,  for  no  one 
suspected  that  gold  would  be  entrusted  to  his  care. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  the  young  miner  left  the  mines  to  seek  other 
avenues  of  occupation.  Teaming  presented  the  most  favorable  opening  and 
he  began  to  haul  freight  to  Virginia  City.  At  first  he  had  a  single  team, 
but  later  he  became  the  owner  of  two  twelve-mule  teams.  The  bell  arrange- 
ment on  the  housings  of  the  leaders  of  the  team  is  well  known  and  was 
adopted  by  him  as  a  precaution  and  means  of  safe  travel.  On  his  trucks  he 
hauled  the  first  locomotive  ever  brought  into  Virginia  City.  Long  after  the 
railroad  had  connected  the  east  and  the  west  and  even  after  branch  roads 
had  brought  interior  points  into  close  connection,  he  continued  in  the  team- 
ing business  and  found  not  only  a  livelihood  in  the  work,  but  also  much 
that  was  interesting  and  pleasant.  When  he  sold  out  in  1880  he  became 
a  fireman  on  the  Central  Pacific  railroad  and  continued  as  such  for  five  and 
one-half  years,  when  he  was  promoted  to  be  engineer.  When  he  resigned 
from  the  Central  Pacific  in  1888  he  came  to  Sumner  (now  East  Bakersfield) 
and  secured  a  position  as  engineer  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany. For  some  years  he  has  been  running  the  switch  engine  in  the  East 
Bakersfield  yards.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Fire- 
men and  Enginemen  and  ranks  as  one  of  the  oldest  engineers  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  road. 

A  firm  believer  in  the  principle  of  every  man  aiding  in  the  upbuilding  of 
his  town,  Mr.  Gillespie  has  not  only  erected  his  family  residence  at 
No.  926  K  street,  but  in  addition  he  has  built  seven  other  houses  in  East 
Bakersfield  and  six  of  these  he  still  owns.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias.  In  politics  he  votes  with  the  Democrats  and  his  wife, 
a  warm  admirer  of  Speaker  Clark,  was  the  first  woman  in  Kern  county  to 
contribute  to  the  Champ  Clark  campaign  fund  in  1912.  Mrs.  Gillespie  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Melissa  Adams  and  was  born  and  educated  at  Ludlow. 
Windsor  covmty,  Vt.,  being  a  daughter  of  Abel  and  Abigail  (Spaulding) 
Adams,  natives  of  Vermont,  the  former  a  direct  descendant  of  ex-Presidents 
John  O.  Adams  and  John  Adams.  From  1882  until  she  came  to  California 
Mrs.  Gillespie  was  a  resident  of  Nevada,  and  at  Reno,  that  state.  Rev.  Mr. 
Lucas  performed  the  ceremony  that  united  her  with  Mr.  GillesDie.  By  her 
first  marriage  she  was  the  mother  of  two  children.  The  only  son,  Bert 
Coolidge,  died  at  Sumner.  Kern  county.  The  daughter,  Katie  CooHdge,  mar- 
ried T.  J.  Yeargin  and  resides  in  Sacramento.  For  many  years  Mrs.  Gillespie 
has  been  an  earnest  and  devoted  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  a 
generous  contributor  to  denominational  activities. 

H.  D.  JOHNSTON.— Until  twenty-one  years  of  age  Mr.  Johnston  lived 
in   Ontario.     He  was  born   near  Guelph   and   reared   at  Windsor.     He   is  a 


/^M^^  ^^^4> 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COl-XTY  1050 

son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (M(.)i)re)  Johnstdii  and  hclon.ns  to  an  old  Cana- 
dian family  whose  name  originally  was  spelled  Johnstime,  the  final  "e"  having 
been  dropped  for  the  purpose  of  convenience  and  brevity.  After  he  had 
completed  the  studies  of  the  common  schools  he  attended  the  Windsor  Colle- 
giate Institute  and  during  his  vacations  devoted  his  time  to  the  study  of 
telegraphy,  in  which  he  soon  became  an  adept.  During  1899  he  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Great  Northern  Railn  ad  Company  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  where 
he  spent  seven  months  as  division  relief  agent.  From  there  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Cascade  division  of  the  same  road  at  Everett,  Wash.,  where  he 
remained  for  a  year.  Next  he  received  an  appointment  as  agent  at  Burlington 
Junction,  A\'ash.  Coming  to  California  in  Alarch  of  1901  he  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railrrad  Company  and  officiated  as  cashier  of  the 
freight  office  at  Santa  Barbara.  From  that  city  in  1909  he  was  transferred  to 
Fresno  as  clerk  in  the  freight  ofiice.  In  January  of  1910  he  was  promoted  to  be 
agent  at  Porterville  and  there  remained  until  May  of  1912,  when  he  was 
transferred  to  Bakersfield  as  freight  and  passenger  agent  for  the  Southern 
Pacific  road.  Fie  maintains  a  deep  interest  in  every  feature  of  the  business 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Freight  Agents'  Association.  While 
engaged  in  the  freight  office  at  Santa  Barbara  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of 
and  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Rosa  Beatrice  Logan,  a  native  daughter 
of  that  coast  city  and  a  young  lady  of  education  and  culture,  who  had  been 
given  the  best  educational  advantages  by  her  father.  Dr.  D.  D.  Logan,  a  retired 
surgeon  in  the  English  army  with  a  splendid  record  for  professional  service 
both  in  India  and  England. 

S.  WRIGHT  JEWETT.— The  family  of  Jewett  has  an  honored  and 
influential  representative  in  this  native  son  of  California,  a  citizen  whose 
prominent  association  with  Bakersfield  and  whose  identification  with  the 
development  of  many  of  its  important  projects  causes  his  name  to  be  insep- 
arably connected  with  the  local  history.  The  interests  of  a  lifetime  of  useful- 
ness endear  him  to  Bakersfield.  Here  he  was  born  at  the  family  residence  on 
Jewett  avenue.  May  24,  1877.  Here  he  received  the  advantages  offered  by  the 
grammar  and  high  schools.  In  this  vicinity,  under  the  wise  training  of  his 
father,  Solomon  Jewett,  one  of  the  most  prominent  upbuilders  of  Kern 
county,  he  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  stock  industry  while  yet  a 
mere  lad.  He  was  taught  to  discriminate  between  poorly-bred  stock  and  the 
better  grades  and  soon  became  an  expert  judge  of  cattle  and  sheep.  With  a 
natural  liking  for  stock  and  a  decided  ability  in  the  direction  of  their  manage- 
ment, it  is  probable  that  he  would  have  made  a  specialty  of  the  business 
throughout  life  had  not  other  interests  intervened,  but  even  with  many  enter- 
prises to  engross  his  attention  he  has  retained  in  some  degree  his  association 
with  the  stock  industry. 

When  the  oil  business  began  to  be  one  of  the  most  promising  oppor- 
tunities for  young  men  in  Kern  county,  Mr.  Jewett  relinquished  his  activities 
in  stock  and  began  to  study  oil  operations.  In  1898  he  entered  the  enr^loy 
of  Jewett  &  Blodgett  and  from  a  very  humble  position  rose  to  be  a  driller, 
meanwhile  acquiring  a  very  comprehensive  knowledge  of  every  department 
of  the  work.  Notwithstanding  the  many  experts  now  identified  with  the 
work  in  this  county  he  is  considered  one  of  the  best  posted  men  concerning 
local  fields.  As  a  stockholder  and  director  he  is  connected  with  the  Jewett 
Oil  Company,  a  concern  operating  in  the  McKittrick  district.  During  1901 
he  made  a  trip  to  the  east  and  to  Canada  and  at  Riceberg,  province  of  Quebec, 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Lucy  Eleanor  I'otter,  a  native  of  Montreal, 
a  young  lady  of  culture,  and  an  earnest  member  of  the  Episcojjal  Church. 
Two  children  have  blessed  their  union,  Philo  Landon  and  Lois   Evelyn. 

From  the  time  of  his  marriage  until  the  closing  of  the  Kern  Valley  Bank 
Mr.  Jewett  was  connected  with  that  institution  of  Bakersfield,  first  holding 
a  position  as  bookkeeper,  then  receiving  a  promotion  to  be  assistant  casliier 


1060  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  finally  becoming  vice-president  of  the  concern  and  member  of  the  board 
of  directors.  As  a  financier  he  possesses  exceptional  qualifications.  His 
judgment  of  men  and  of  valuations  is  keen  and  shrewd.  His  personal  char- 
acteristics are  such  as  to  win  and  retain  the  friendship  of  associates.  Since 
his  retirement  from  the  banking  business  he  has  devoted  his  attention  to  his 
oil  and  stock  interests  and  to  the  oversight  of  his  landed  holdings.  At  this 
writing  he  owns  eighty  acres  on  Kern  Island,  where  the  soil  and  the  prox- 
imity to  Bakersfield  make  the  market-garden  business  profitable.  The  irri- 
gation facilities  for  the  tract  are  adequate  and  permanent.  In  addition  he 
owns  a  two  hundred  and  forty  acre  alfalfa  ranch  at  Rosedale  with  a  sixty 
horsepower  pumping  plant  having  a  capacity  of  two  hundred  and  twenty 
inches,  and  a  stock  range  just  east  of  the  Kern  river  oil  field  and  embracing 
three  sections  of  land.  While  at  no  time  has  he  sought  political  prominence, 
his  opinions  nevertheless  are  firm  and  positive,  and  bring  him  into  sympathy 
with  the  Republican  party.  The  Bakersfield  Club  numbers  him  among  its 
members  and  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  also  has  the 
benefit  of  his  capable  co-operation  in  the  local  lodge. 

FRANK  ERWIN  BLAIR.— The  genealogy  of  the  Blair  family  extends 
back  to  a  long  line  of  Scotch  ancestors.  The  first  American  representative, 
James  A.  Blair,  came  from  his  native  Scotland  across  the  waters  of  the 
Atlantic  to  the  new  world  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  passed 
the  balance  of  his  life  in  industrial  pursuits.  In  the  family  of  the  Scotch- 
American  emigrant  there  was  a  son,  Brice  Hugh  Blair,  whose  birth  occurred 
at  Shadegap,  Huntingdon  county,  Pa.,  and  whose  early  years  were  devoted 
to  attendance  at  school  and  to  the  learning  of  the  carpenter's  trade.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-one  he  sought  the  larger  opportunities  of  the  west  and  settled 
in  Illinois,  where  he  followed  the  occupation  of  a  cabinet-maker  for  some 
years.  VV  hen  news  came  concerning  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  he 
immediately  sold  out  his  interests  in  Springfield  and  invested  the  proceeds 
in  the  common  fund,  started  by  a  party  of  six,  toward  the  purchase  of  mule 
teams  and  wagons.  Properly  outfitted,  the  small  party  joined  a  larger  expe- 
dition and  started  across  the  plains  in  the  spring  of  1848.  During  the  spring 
of  1849  they  landed  at  Gold  Hill.  A  year  later  Mr.  Blair  arrived  at  Sacra- 
mento. For  two  years  he  mined  in  or  near  Coulterville,  Mariposa  county. 
Later  he  had  the  contract  for  hauling  brick  and  sand  used  in  the  construction 
of  the  first  insane  asylum  built  at  Stockton  and  on  the  completion  of  that  task 
he  took  up  agricultural  pursuits  in  Santa  Clara  county.  Three  years  after- 
ward he  outfitted  to  haul  freight  between  Stockton  and  Coulterville. 

When  the  Indians  were  moved  from  the  reservation  at  Stockton  to 
Fort  Tejon  a  position  as  guide  with  the  expedition  was  given  to  Mr.  Blair, 
who  later  resumed  agricultural  pursuits  in  Santa  Clara  county.  Next  he 
opened  a  mercantile  store  at  Santa  Clara  and  at  the  same  time  engaged 
as  agent  for  the  Wells-Fargo  Company  at  that  point.  While  living  in  Santa 
Clara  he  married  in  1859  Miss  Jane  Quinlin,  who  was  born  in  Ireland, 
but  had  accompanied  her  parents  to  New  York  at  a  very  early  age  and  in 
1858  came  via  Panama  to  California.  Immediately  after  their  marriage  the 
young  couple  began  housekeeping  at  Napa,  where  Mr.  Blair  engaged  as  agent 
for  a  steamship  Tine.  During  1863  he  secured  employment  as  millwright  in  the 
old  flour  mill,  but  two  years  later  he  resigned  to  remove  to  Vallejo,  where 
he  was  employed  in  the  Mare  Island  navy-yard  as  foreman  of  the  ship- 
joining  department.  When  the  yards  were  closed  down  in  1874  he  removed 
to  Oakland  and  took  up  carpentering,  but  in  April  of  1876  returned  to  the 
vicinity  of  Napa  and  engaged  in  ranching  in  the  Foss  valley.  There  he  re- 
mained until  his  death,  which  occurred  May  9,  189L  There  likewise  occurred 
the  demise  of  his  wife  in  1900. 

Four  children  comprised  the  family  of  Brice  Hugh  Blair.  All  are  still 
living.   The  eldest,  Frank  Erwin,  was  born  in  Napa,  this  state,  May  15,  1860, 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUN'IT  1063 

and  cnnipleted  his  education  in  the  hi^h  sclinol  of  Yallejo.  after  which  he  aided 
his  father  in  the  care  and  cultivation  of  the  ranch  in  h'oss  valley.  l-"roni  1882 
until  1884  he  engaged  in  ranching  near  Chico,  after  which  he  settled  in  Los 
Angeles  and  established  a  teaming  and  transfer  business  at  No.  3  Market 
street.  The  business  continued  under  his  manageiuent  for  six  years  and  when 
it  was  sold  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
as  a  carpenter  and  builder.  Two  years  later  he  resigned  the  place  and  entered 
the  Santa  Fe  employ,  being  from  1892  until  1898  .stationed  at  Mojave  as  car 
inspector.  Meanwhile  he  built  a  cottage  in  that  i)lace.  The  position  at  that 
pc  int  had  been  sought  by  him  with  the  hope  that  the  climate  might  benefit 
the  health  of  hjs  wife  and  in  this  respect  the  change  proved  most  gratifying. 
During  October  of  1898  he  removed  to  Napa  and  engaged  in  ranching  near 
that  city,  whence  during  April  of  1900  he  came  to  Bakersfield  as  car  inspector 
for  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad. 

Transferred  to  Point  Richmond  during  the  spring  of  1901.  Mr.  Blair 
remained  with  the  railroad  there  until  February  of  1904,  when  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  as  car  inspector.  Later  he  was 
transferred  to  Bakersfield  to  take  charge  of  the  Union  tank  line  department 
of  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  with  which  concern  he  has  since  remained  in 
the  same  capacity  and  meanwhile  he  has  bought  his  present  home  at  No.  1217 
Baker  street.  In  politics  he  has  given  stanch  support  to  the  Repulilican 
party.  For  two  years  prior  to  the  consolidation  of  the  two  cities  he  served 
as  trustee  of  the  Sumner  school  district.  Fraternally  he  is  a  trustee  of  the 
Lo3'al  Order  of  Moose,  an  active  worker  in  the  \\^3odmen  of  the  World  and 
a  charter  member  of  Napa  Parlor  No.  62,  N.  S.  G.  W.  Since  19C6  he  has 
served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  library  trustees  for  the  city  of  Bakersfield. 
Mr.  Blair's  family  comprises  four  children  and  his  wife,  the  latter  hav- 
ing been  Lizzie  Agnes  Hayes,  a  native  of  Ottawa,  111.,  their  marriage  occur- 
ring in  Los  Angeles  June  18,  1890.  Mrs.  Blair  was  the  daughter  of  Michael 
and  Honora  (O'Brien)  Hayes,  early  settlers  of  Ottawa,  111.  The  father  served 
in  the  Civil  war  in  a  Massachusetts  regiment.  The  mother  spent  her  last 
years  in  Los  Angeles.  Mrs.  Blair  was  graduated  from  the  Ottawa  high  school, 
and  in  1884  came  to  \Vilmington,  Cal.,  where  lived  her  uncle,  T.  B.  Hayes, 
then  United  States  marshal  for  the  district.  The  children  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Blair  are  as  follows :   Herbert,  ]\Iay,  Brice  and  Frank. 

O.  C.  BANGSBERG.— The  responsible  position  of  superintendent  of  the 
power  plant, -canal  and  lands  on  the  Kern  river  for  the  Pacific  Light  &  Power 
Corporation,  of  Los  Angeles,  is  filled  by  O.  C.  Bangsberg,  who  was  born  near 
Christiana,  Norway,  November  27,  1879.  His  father.  Christian  Bangsberg, 
was  a  builder,  but  in  1882  disposed  of  his  interests  and  brought  his  family  to 
La  Crosse,  \\'is.  There  he  engaged  in  contracting  and  building  until  1897  and 
then  purchased  a  large  farm  in  Vernon  county,  Wis.,  which  he  still  operates. 

O.  C.  Bangsberg  graduated  from  the  La  Crosse  high  school  and  when 
eighteen  years  of  age  entered  the  employ  of  the  Central  Electric  Companj',  of 
La  Crosse,  as  a  fireman.  Being  greatly  interested  in  the  science  of  electricity 
and  desirous  of  making  it  his  life-work,  he  took  a  course  in  electricity  in  the 
International  Correspondence  School  of  Scranton,  Pa.,  from  which  he  was  duly 
graduated.  Meantime  he  had  risen  to  the  place  of  chief  engineer  wilh  the 
I^  Crosse  Gas  &  Electric  Company,  having  charge  of  three  electric  light  plants 
and  one  gas  plant. 

Desiring  to  come  west  to  seek  greater  opportunities,  Mr.  I'.angsberg  re- 
signed his  position  in  1910  and  came  to  Cheyenne,  Wyo.,  where  he  was  con- 
sulting engineer  for  the  Northern  Colorado  Power  Company.  In  June  of  1912 
he  accepted  the  position  of  electrical  operator  for  the  Pacific  Light  &  Power 
Corporation  at  Redondo  Beach,  Cal.,  and  in  .August  of  the  same  year  he  was 
transferred  to  Borel,  Kern  county,  as  power  house  foreman  at  the  power 
plant,  and  in  May  of  1913  he  was  made  superintendent.     The  power  plant  is 


1064  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  largest  in  Kern  cuunty.  Tlie  twelve  miles  of  canal  gives  a  fall  of  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  feet.  The  water  enters  five  large  pentstocks,  to  which  are  con- 
nected five  waterwheels,  each  generating  2500  k.  w.,  and  the  electricity  thus 
generated  is  transmitted  by  two  three-phase  power  lines  to  Los  Angeles,  a 
distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles,  where  it  is  connected  with  the 
Pacific  Light  &  Power  system,  furnishing  power  for  operating  the  cars  of  the 
Pacific  Electric  and  Los  Angeles  railways,  as  well  as  the  suburban  lines. 
Superintending  this  large  plant  and  looking  after  the  company's  vast  hold- 
ings takes  all  of  his  time  and  he  is  kept  continually  busy.  During  this  last 
year  four  of  the  five  waterwheels  have  been  replaced  by  the  latest  type  of 
Francis  turbines,  thus  greatly  increasing  the  efficiency  of  the  plant. 

In  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  Mr.  Bangsberg  married  Miss  Josephine  Tucker,  who 
was  born  near  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  they  have  one  child,  Ralph.  Mr.  Bangsberg 
was  made  a  Mason  in  Acacia  lodge  No.  11,  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Cheyenne,  Wyo. 
In  religious  views  he  is  a  Methodist.    Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 

CHARLES  D.  HITCHCOCK.— The  ability  as  a  production  man  which 
Mr.  Hitchcock  displays  is  particularly  noteworthy,  inasmuch  as  his  identifica- 
tion with  the  oil  industry  does  not  cover  any  lengthy  period  of  years.  As 
superintendent  of  the  Kern  Crown  Oil  Company  he  manages  a  lease  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  on  section  23,  township  32,  range  23. 

The  honor  of  being  a  native  son  belongs  to  Mr.  Hitchcock,  who  was 
born  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  April  7,  1878,  and  passed  his  early  years 
upon  a  ranch.  His  father,  the  late  Isaac  N.  Hitchcock,  a  native  of  Ohio, 
joined  an  expedition  of  Argonauts  bound  to  California  during  the  eventful 
summer  of  1849  and  reached  Eldorado  county  at  the  end  of  a  tedious  but 
uneventful  journey.  Like  the  majority  of  early  settlers  he  tried  his  luck  in 
the  placer  diggings.  When  he  had  made  his  little  stake  he  decided  to  quit 
the  mines  and  embark  in  the  cattle  business.  Accordingly  he  looked  up  a 
locaticn  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  took  out  a  claim  to  land,  developed  a 
ranch  and  ultimately  acquired  one  thousand  acres  in  his  home  place.  Mean- 
while he  had  married  Elizabeth  Gibson,  a  native  of  Missouri,  but  a  resident 
of  Eldorado  county  after  she  had  crossed  the  plains  with  her  parents  during 
the  '50s.  Seven  children  comprised  their  family,  namely:  Annie  B.,  Mrs.  Gay, 
a  resident  of  Cambria,  San  Luis  Obispo  county ;  Eugene  L.,  who  is  engaged 
in  the  creamery  business  at  Santa  Barbara ;  Etta,  wife  of  C.  K.  Bright,  who 
is  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business  in  San  Diego ;  Alvin,  of  Cambria,  Cal., 
a  stock-raiser  and  proprietor  of  a  meat  market ;  Charles  D.,  of  Kern  county ; 
Lillie,  who  married  Henry  Pugh,  a  grain  farmer  of  Monterey  county,  and 
died  at  twenty-two  years  of  age ;  and  Thomas  F.,  who  is  employed  as  a 
driller  in  the  Lost  Hills  field. 

At  twenty  years  of  age  Charles  D.  Hitchcock  left  the  home  ranch  and 
went  to  Tuolumne  county,  where  he  began  to  work  on  the  Eureka  gold  mine. 
Later  he  was  employed  at  the  Black  Oak  mine  as  a  foreman  and  held  a 
similar  position  with  the  Liberty  quicksilver  mine  at  San  Luis  Obispo.  Ill 
health  forced  him  to  relinquish  work  in  gold  mines  during  1S08  and  it  was 
then  that  he  directed  his  attention  to  the  oil  business.  His  first  experiences 
in  the  industry  would  have  discouraged  a  man  less  optimistic  than  he,  for 
while  operating  unsuccessfully  in  the  Arroyo  Grande  he  lost  practically  all 
of  his  savings.  Forced  to  begin  anew,  he  came  over  to  the  Midway  in 
February,  1910,  and  secured  employment  as  a  pumper.  Since  then  he  has 
not  lost  a  day  from  his  work  and  meanwhile  he  has  been  promoted  so  that 
he  is  now  suoerintendent,  a  fact  that  bears  testimony  concerning  his  a])ility 
and  the  intelligence  with  which  he  has  grasped  the  difficulties  of  the  industry. 
At  no  time  has  he  been  deeply  interested  in  public  affairs,  yet  he  keeps 
posted  concerning  the  issues  of  the  age  and  in  politics  votes  with  the  Demo- 
cratic   party.     With    his   brother,   Alvin,    he    owns   two   farms    in    San    Luis 


e^^Jryz^^iCnje^      (y^^^t^ 


>z.e^^t5t 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COl'XTY  lOr.7 

Obisnii  county,  one  of  these  coniprisini;  nine  hundred  and  t\vent\-  acres, 
while  the  other  is  three  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  extent.  In  addition  he 
owns  a  meat  market  in  Cambria  witli  the  same  lirother  as  a  partner,  and  he 
now  devotes  his  savings  to  these  large  and  important  interests,  which 
eventually  will  assume  a  moneyed  value  commensurate  with  his  !nost  optim- 
istic expectations.  His  marriage  in  Alameda  united  him  with  Miss  .Xgnes 
Tucker,  daughter  of  Ira  N.  Tucker,  and  by  this  union  there  are  two  children. 
Ira  and  \'erna.  six  and  four  years  of  age  respectively. 

ANDRE  VIEUX. — Writers  on  the  growth  and  development  of  California 
have  had  occasion  frequently  to  refer  to  the  part  played  by  Frenchmen  in 
bringing  about  the  wonderful  advancement  which  has  given  this  state  world- 
wide fame.  Andre  Vieux,  of  Delano,  Kern  county,  was  born  in  Sainte  Laurent, 
Hautes-.-\lpes.  France.  August  18,  1870,  the  son  of  \'ictor  and  Madelena  (Vol- 
laer)  Vieux.  He  has  no  personal  recollection  of  his  father,  for  that  parent 
died  when  he  was  only  one  year  old.  Necessity  forced  him  to  begin  to  earn 
his  own  livelihood  at  the  age  of  eight  years,  and  three  months  schooling  each 
year  was  the  extent  of  his  advantages  for  obtaining  an  education.  Until  the 
year  1889  he  continued  to  work  out  on  farms,  giving  his  earning  therefrom  to 
his  mother.  In  the  year  mentioned,  however,  he  came  to  the  United  States, 
landing  in  Los  Angeles  May  22,  1889.  After  working  for  six  months  in  that 
city  he  came  to  Delano,  his  residence  here  dating  from  November  7,  1889.  For 
several  years  he  was  employed  as  a  sheep  herder  in  this  vicinity.  Mr.  Vieux 
made  an  unfortunate  move  in  loaning  his  money  to  sheepmen,  for  in  the  panic 
of  1894  he  lost  all  of  it  and  was  compelled  to  defer  his  own  ambition  to  man- 
age a  business  of  his  own.  In  1896,  however,  he  was  able  to  purchase  some 
sheep,  which  he  fed  among  the  hills  of  Inyo  and  Kern  counties.  By  buying  and 
selling  stock  to  the  very  best  advanta.g^  whenever  opportunity  was  presented 
he  soon  won  a  notable  success.  Such  operations  he  continued  until  1910,  when 
he  sold  his  sheep  and  engaged  in  cattle  raising,  importing  fine  stock  from 
Mexico,  but  he  soon  sold  out  and  again  engaged  in  the  sheep  business.  Gradu- 
ally he  has  acquired  real  estate  holdings  of  considerable  value.  In  October, 
190i,  he  made  an  investment  in  a  hardware  store  at  Delano,  which  he  owns  and 
is  conducting  at  this  time  as  the  Delano  Hardware  store.  In  1904  he  bought 
out  the  general  merchandise  store  of  Faure  Brothers,  continuing  the  business 
with  success,  until  it  is  now  one  of  Delano's  most  dependable  concerns.  Mr. 
Vieux  was  also  one  of  the  organizers  of  and  a  director  in  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Delano. 

As  a  citizen  Mr.  Vieux  is  known  for  his  generous  and  patriotic  public 
spirit,  which  impells  him  to  aid  to  the  extent  of  his  ability  any  movement 
which  in  his  good  judgment  promises  to  enhance  the  fortunes  or  prospects 
of  any  considerable  number  of  his  fellow  citizens.  He  has  consistently  demon- 
strated his  solicitude  for  the  upbuilding  of  Delano  by  taking  a  prominent  part 
in  all  work  conducive  thereto.  A  man  of  progressive  ideas,  he  favors  all 
political  measures  looking  to  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  people 
at  large.  Fraternallv  he  affiliates  with  the  Bakersfield  organization  of  the  F. 
O.  E.  He  was  married  in  Los  Angeles  to  Mrs.  /\miee  (X'lllard)  Kostin.  l)..rn 
in  Hautes-Alpes,  France.    In  national  principles  he  is  a  Republican. 

JOSEPH  REDLICK. — .\ny  mention  of  the  large  commercial  enter- 
prises of  liakersfield  would  be  incomplete  without  reference  to  the  important 
business  founded  by  the  four  Redlick  brothers,  namely:  Henry,  Samuel  15.. 
(deceased  in  1904),  A.  L..  and  Joseph.  Such  was  their  enterprise  and  such 
their  keen  commercial  insight  that  they  not  only  established  and  built  to 
large  proportions  the  department  store  in  this  city,  but  in  addition  they  owned 
and  operated  a  chain  of  similar  stores  at  Tulare,  Fresno,  Stocktc  n,  Sacra- 
mento and  Jackson,  and  upon  selling  out  these  several  establishments  they 
became  the  owners  and  proprietors  of  the  Redlick-Abrams  Company  and  the 


1068  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Redlick-Newman  Company,  both  of  which  have  established  large  furniture 
stores  in  San  Francisco  and  have  built  up  an  enormous  trade  in  the  line  of 
their  specialty.  Meanwhile  the  Redlick  Mercantile  Company  at  Bake'rsfield 
has  advanced  in  power  and  prestige  with  the  constant  growth  of  the  city  and 
under  the  able  and  systematic  supervision  of  its  secretary  and  manager, 
Joseph  Redlick,  has  attained  a  position  unsurpassed  by  any  similar  institution 
in  the  San  Joaquin  valley. 

Throughout  practically  all  of  his  life  Mr.  Redlick  has  lived  in  centers 
of  the  oil  or  gas  industry.  A  native  of  the  oil  district  of  Pennsylvania  and  in 
early  life  a  resident  of  the  Indiana  gas  district,  he  now  claims  as  his  home 
Bakersfield,  the  commercial  center  of  the  oil  and  natural  gas  district  of  Kern 
county  and  easily  a  leader  among  all  the  districts  devoted  to  the  production 
and  development  of  these  indispensable  factors  of  a  modern  civilization. 
Born  at  Meadville,  Pa.,  May  2,  1860,  he  is  a  son  of  the  late  Ludwig  Redlick, 
member  of  an  old  Teutonic  family  and  himself  likewise  of  German  birth.  The 
mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Bertha  Sheftel,  is  also  a  native  of  Ger- 
many and  now  makes  San  Francisco  her  home.  Besides  the  four  sons  already 
mentioned  as  having  been  the  founders  of  the  Redlick  Mercantile  Company, 
Ihere  were  four  daughters  in  the  family,  namely:  Mrs.  P.  E.  Newman,  of 
San  Francisco;  Mrs.  Henry  Latz,  of  Bakersfield;  and  Misses  Fannie  and 
Louisa,  both  residing  in  San  Francisco. 

Becoming  a  resident  of  Indiana  at  an  early  age,  Joseph  Redlick  entered 
upon  business  activities  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  and  with  his  brothers 
conducted  a  shoe  store  in  Fort  Wayne,  where  he  made  his  first  ventures 
into  the  realm  of  business  and  gained  his  first  experiences  in  merchandising. 
The  lessons  learned  in  those  days  of  youthful  earnestness  proved  invaluable 
as  aids  to  a  later  large  success.  During  1889  the  brothers  disposed  uf  their 
interests  in  Fort  Wayne  and  came  west  to  San  Francisco,  where  they  soon 
acquired  business  interests  of  growing  importance.  ]\Iay  10,  1895,  they  open- 
ed a  small  store  in  the  Galtes  block  in  Bakersfield.  It  was  not  long  before 
they  had  outgrown  those  modest  quarters.  During  1901  they  moved  into  the 
J.  B.  Berges  building,  which  had  been  erected  and  fitted  up  esoecially  for  their 
use  and  occupancy.  There  they  enjoyed  continued  growth.  Toward  the 
expiration  of  their  lease  of  ten  years  they  began  to  plan  for  still  larger  quar- 
ters. With  this  object  in  view  they  acquired  a  quarter  of  a  block,  115x132 
feet  in  dimensions,  on  the  corner  of  Chester  avenue  and  Eighteenth  street, 
and  on  this  site  they  erected  a  substantial  structure  at  a  cost  of  $100,000. 
January  1,  1911.  the  Redlick  Mercantile  Company  formally  took  possession 
of  the  building  and  moved  into  their  new  quarters.  This  is  said  to  be  the 
finest  and  most  commodious  store  building  in  Kern  county,  while  it  is  also 
architecturally  substantial,  convenient  and  attractive.  A  perfect  system  of 
ventilation  was  introduced  and  the  sanitation  also  is  without  fault,  therefore 
the  health  of  employes  has  been  conserved.  Steam  heat  renders  the  building 
comfortable  during  the  winter  months  and  electric  lights  add  a  desirable  fea- 
ture to  the  interior  completeness.  The  ladies'  rest  room  contains  every  com- 
fort and  there  are  also  lavatories  for  both  sexes,  these  arrangements  being  as 
complete  in  behalf  of  employes  as  in  the  interests  of  customers.  A  stranger 
entering  the  great  building  is  impressed  with  the  healthful,  contented  appear- 
ance of  the  employes  and  with  their  uniform  courtesy  of  manner,  and  this 
is  explained  b}'  the  attention  given  to  their  welfare  by  the  proprietors  and 
also  by  the  fact  that  a  profit-sharing  system  has  been  adopted  whereby  the 
employes  may  buy  of  the  capital  stock  of  the  company  according  to  their 
merit  and  worth.  This  was  a  concession  in  the  interests  of  the  employes,  for 
the  company  was  founded  as  a  close  corporation,  with  the  members  of  the 
family  owning  all  of  the  stock. 

These  modern  innovations  and  manv  other  matters  not  herein  mentioned 


ia^iccui.  S  y'uufzJU 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COUX'n-  1071 

express  the  views  of  the  secretary  and  manager  C(iiK-erniii,i;  l)nsiiiess  affairs, 
the  welfare  of  his  employes  and  the  interests  of  his  cnstonicrs.  Thoroufjhly 
up-to-date  in  commercial  affairs,  he  represents  the  twentieth  century  merchant 
of  the  west,  brilliant  in  mind,  keen  in  insight,  skilled  in  the  art  of  salesman- 
ship and  original  in  ideas.  In  regard  to  the  welfare  of  Bakersficld  and  Kern 
county  he  is  optimistic.  Their  future  wealth  and  prosjierity  he  cannot  doubt. 
Judging  the  future  by  the  past  he  sees  a  long  era  of  growth  stretching  ahead 
of  this  district,  with  assured  prosperity  for  the  nu-n  who  have  been  foremost 
in  the  work  of  upbuilding. 

An  active  spirit  in  the  organization  <  f  the  P.akersfield  Itoard  of  Trade, 
Mr.  Redlick  was  serving  as  its  president  in  1906  and  took  the  initiative  in  the 
matter  of  relieving  the  sufferers  of  the  San  Francisco  fire  and  earthquake. 
Immediately  upon  hearing  of  the  catastrophe  he  sent  a  dispatch  to  the  mayor 
of  San  I'rancisco  inquiring  whether  money  or  provisions  were  most  desired. 
The  answer  came  back,  "provisions."  Through  his  energy  and  promptness  a 
large  consignment  of  provisions  from  Bakersfield  reached  the  stricken  city  and 
did  much  to  meet  the  material  needs  of  its  unfortunate  people.  For  some 
years  he  has  been  a  leading  member  of  the  Bakersfield  Club,  also  has  held 
membership  with  Masonry  and  the  Eastern  Star,  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias, 
the  Elks  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

CHARLES  E.  KITCHEN.— A  man  well  known  for  honesty  and  integ- 
rity of  purpose  and  who  had  the  respect  and  confidence  of  his  fellow-men 
was  the  late  Charles  E.  Kitchen,  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  fifth  judicial 
township  of  Kern  county,  and  who  was  also  engaged  in  mercantile  business 
in  Famoso. 

A  native  son,  Charles  E.  Kitchen  was  born  in  San  Jose,  Cal.,  January  7, 
1869,  the  son  of  John  and  Wilhelmina  (Henry)  Kitchen,  natives  of  England 
and  Germany  respectively  and  both  pioneers  of  California.  The  father  was 
a  farmer  near  San  Jose,  but  afterwards  engaged  in  tf\e  insurance  business 
in  San  Francisco,  which  he  has  fcllowed  to  the  present  time. 

Of  the  family  of  four  children  Charles  E.  was  the  second  oldest  and 
received  a  good  education  in  the  schools  of  Oakland  and  San  Francisco  and 
later  was  employed  in  a  printing  office  in  San  Francisco.  He  became  a 
member  of  Company  A,  Fifth  California  National  Cnard.  Coming  to  Kern 
county  in  18'"0  he  pre-empted  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  at  Semi 
Tropic  and  in  drilling  for  water  obtained  a  flowing  well.  He  followed  farm- 
ing and  fruit-raising  there,  but  later  purchased  a  ranch  at  Famoso,  where 
he  raised  grain.  In  1905  he  built  a  store  and  put  in  a  stock  of  general 
merchandise  in  Famoso  which  business  he  conducted  successfully  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  Christmas  day,  1913.  He  was  also  postmaster  .-it 
Famoso,  but  in  June,  1912,  he  resigned  the  position.  Meantime,  in  1902.  he 
was  first  elected  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  fifth  judicial  district  on  the 
Republican  ticket  and  so  ably  and  well  did  he  conduct  his  court  that  his 
constituents  re-elected  him  to  the  office  in  1906  and  again  in  1910  and  at 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  serving  his  twelfth  year  in  the  position  with  a 
fairness  and  justice  of  decision  that  won  him  the  commendation  of  all  who 
knew  him. 

In  January,  1903,  in  I-"amoso  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Kitchen  to 
Miss  Mary  Lois  Smith,  who  was  born  near  Bloomington,  McLean  county, 
111.,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  W.  F.  Smith,  now  of  San  Francisco,  who  served 
in  an  Ohio  regiment  in  the  Civil  war.  Of  their  union  were  born  four  children 
as  follows  Thomas  E.,  Olga,  McKinley  and  Albert. 

Always  a  believer  in  Republican  principles  Mr.  Kitchen  aided  in  the 
hustings  of  his  party  and  was  a  prominent  and  influential  man  therein. 
Fraternally  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Delano  Lodge  No.  309,  F.  &  .A.  M. 
in   1902  and  was  a  member  of  Bakersfield  Aerie  No.  03   F.  O.   E.     He  was 


1072  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

greatly  interested  in  the  welfare  of  Kern  county  and  very  optimistic  for  its 
future  greatness,  and  being  a  liberal  and  enterprising  man,  was  ever  ready 
to  give  of  his  time  and  means  toward  any  project  that  had  for  its  object  the 
enhancement  of  its  great  natural  resources.  Mr.  Kitchen  died  December 
25,  1913,  and  the  funeral  was  held  in  Oakland  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Masons. 

HARRY  D.  FETHER.— The  United  Oil  Company's  production  foreman, 
who  has  been  identified  with  the  Midway  field  almost  continuously  since  April 
of  1901,  is  a  native  of  Ohio  and  was  born  at  Archbold,  Fulton  county,  March 
19,  1884,  being  the  youngest  son  of  Alexander  and  Sarah  (Guyman)  Fether, 
natives  respectively  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  For  a  number  of  years  the 
father  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  at  x\rchbold  and  became  the  sole  owner 
of  two  sawmills,  and  at  one  time  was  engaged  in  furnishing  hardwood  lumber 
to  the  Studebaker  firm  at  South  Bend,  Ind'.,  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
their  high-class  vehicles.  Unfortunately  he  was  induced  to  dispose  of  his 
lumber  interests  and  embark  in  the  oil  industry.  At  first  it  appeared  that  his 
prospects  were  fair.  While  drilling  in  the  vicinity  of  Bryan,  Williams  county, 
Ohio,  he  struck  gas.  Indications  seemed  so  favorable  that  he  piped  the  gas 
into  the  city  of  Bryan  and  sold  to  consumers  there,  but  in  a  short  time  the 
supply  was  exhausted  and  he  was  left  a  heavy  financial  loser.  Next  he  turned 
to  contract  drilling  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  oil  fields.  Eventually  he  came  to 
California  and  at  present  he  and  his  wife  are  living  in  East  Bakersfield. 
Their  eldest  son,  Frank,  who  is  also  represented  in  this  work,  holds  a  very 
responsible  position  as  superintendent  of.  the  United  Oil  Company.  The 
second  son,  Louis,  while  drilling  for  the  Nevada  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern 
river  field,  was  killed  January  1,  1908,  by  a  dynamite  explosion.  Surviving 
him  is  an  only  son,  Victor,  now  fifteen  years  of  age  and  living  in  Los  Angeles 
with  an  aunt,  Celia,  wife  of  John  Klofenstein,  a  tailor.  Besides  Mrs.  Klofen- 
stein  there  was  anotli^r  daughter,  Effie,  who  died  unmarried  in  1898.  The 
youngest  members  of  the  family  are  George  and  Harry  D.,  the  former  engaged 
at  present  in  drilling  water  wells  at  Peach  Springs,  Ariz.,  for  Mrs.  A.  B. 
Canfield. 

After  completing  the  studies  of  the  grammar  grade  Harry  D.  Fether 
attended  the  high  school  at  Bryan,  Ohio,  for  two  years.  Meanwhile  in  INIarch, 
1900,  his  father  and  brother,  George,  had  come  to  California  and  engaged  in 
contracting  and  drilling  at  Maricopa.  In  the  fall  of  1900  Frank  and  Louis 
joined  the  others  in  the  west,  whither  the  youngest  son  followed  in  1901, 
immediately  afterward  beginning  to  work  as  a  tool-dresser  with  his  father 
at  Maricopa.  In  the  same  year  he  went  to  the  Kern  river  field,  where  for  five 
months  he  worked  with  Green  &  Whittier  as  a  tool-dresser.  Next  he  engaged 
at  the  Monte  Cristo  lease  as  a  roustabout  and  pumper,  from  which  he  was 
promoted  to  be  well-puller,  tool-dresser  and  foreman  successively.  During 
the  summer  of  1904  he  spent  three  months  in  the  east,  returning  with  his 
mother  in  the  fall  and  then  securing  employment  as  a  driller  on  the  Monte 
Cristo  in  the  Kern  river  field.  As  a  cable  tool  driller  he  is  considered  an 
expert  and  since  the  fall  of  1904  this  has  been  his  special  line  of  work.  For 
about  one  year  he  drilled  on  the  Sesnon,  Piedmont  and  Lunda  Vista  leases 
for  Sanguinetti  and  later  he  continued  in  the  Kern  river  field  as  an  employe 
of  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company.  When  their  sixty  or  more  wells 
had  been  drilled  and  they  had  shut  down  six  strings  of  tools,  he  went  to 
Utah  and  spent  two  and  one-half  months  at  Virgin  City.  Upon  returning 
to  Kern  county  he  spent  three  years  with  the  Standard  in  the  Midway  field 
and  then  drilled  without  success  on  a  prospect  well  at  Dolgeville,  near  Pasa- 
dena. From  Bakersfield  he  next  came  out  to  Fellows  and  engaged  with  the 
Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company  as  a  driller  for  a  year,  resigning  in  order  to 
take  a  vacation  trip  back  to  his  old  Ohio  home.     Two  months  later  he  came 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  1075 

back  to  Fellows  and  entered  upon  his  duties  as  production  lorcnian  with  llie 
United  Oil  Company,  which  position  he  now  fills  with  energy  and  ability. 

CHARLES  KERR.— After  having  passed  his  childhood  days  unevent- 
fully near  Belfast,  county  Antrim,  Ireland,  where  he  was  born  in  August 
of  1830  and  whither  his  ancestors  had  emigrated  from  Scotland,  Charles  Kerr 
came  to  the  United  States  when  scarcely  fifteen  years  of  age  and  settled  in 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  there  learning  the  trade  of  a  butcher.  Upon  learning  of 
the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  he  determined  to  seek  the  west  and 
during  1850  he  traveled  via  Panama  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  spent  a  long 
period  of  commercial  activity.  Forming  a  partnership  with  Hugh  O'Neil  and 
Barney  Horn  he  opened  a  meat  market  and  conducted  a  wholesale  and  retail 
business,  with  slaughter  house  on  the  wharf.  The  partners  later  engaged  in 
business  at  the  Presidio  and  e\entually  at  South  San  Francisco,  but  subse- 
quently the  partnership  was  dissolved  and  each  man  continued  in.  business 
alone. 

The  identification  of  Charles  Kerr  with  Bakersfield  and  Kern  county 
began  in  1885,  when  he  bought  the  Jackson  farm  of  several  hundred  acres 
on  Kern  Island  and  engaged  in  raising  alfalfa  and  stock.  Upon  selling 
the  tract  he  bought  two  farms  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  each,  situated 
five  miles  south  of  Bakersfield  and  well  adapted  to  alfalfa  and  stock.  On 
that  place  he  became  extensively  engaged  in  the  breeding  of  thoroughbred 
horses,  buying  the  mares  from  J.  B.  Haggin  and  increasing  the  drove  until 
at  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  on  the  ranch  one  hundred  mares  of  the 
finest  pedigrees,  together  with  two  valuable  stallions,  Apache  and  Kismit. 
It  was  his  custom  to  hold  an  annual  sale  in  San  Francisco.  Upon  these  days 
he  placed  upon  sale  at  auction  all  of  the  animals  that  could  be  spared  from 
his  large  herd  and  the  quality  of  the  stock  was  such  that  great  crowds  of 
horsemen,  not  only  from  all  over  the  coast,  but  also  representative  horse- 
men from  the  east,  came  to  the  sales  every  year.  His  life  was  full  of  activi- 
ties and  both  as  a  business  man  and  as  a  rancher  he  won  a  high  reputation 
in  the  state.  While  he  had  little  leisure  for  participation  in  politics  and  never 
consented  to  hold  office,  he  was  always  depended  upon  to  cast  a  straight 
Democratic  ballot  at  elections.  When  almost  sevent}^-seven  years  of  age 
he  passed  away  April  20,  1907,  and  the  body  was  taken  to  St.  Mary's  ceme- 
tery,'Oakland,  for  interment. 

For  a  time  after  the  death  of  her  husband  Mrs.  Kerr  continued  to  man- 
age the  ranch,  but  eventually  the  horses  were  sold  and  she  erected  for  her 
home  a  substantial  residence  in  Chester  Lane,  Bakersfield.  Still  later,  in 
1911,  she  erected  and  removed  to  a  modern  and  attractive  residence  on  I 
street,  where  in  the  afternoon  of  existence  she  is  surrounded  by  every  material 
comfort  and  enjoys  the  affectionate  regard  of  her  circle  of  friends.  The  other 
house  and  also  the  alfalfa  farm  are  rented.  Mrs.  Kerr,  who  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Jennie  Dean,  was  born  at  Port  Glasgow,  Renfrew.shire,  Scotland, 
and  her  earliest  memories  of  childhood  cluster  around  that  place.  Her  par- 
ents. James  and  Agnes  (Mackenzie)  Dean,  were  natives  res-iectively  of 
Manchester,  Fngland,  and  Port  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  her  father  died  in 
the  latter  place,  he  having  settled  there  as  a  civil  engineer  in  early  manhood. 
Her  mother  died  in  San  Francisco  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years.  The  only 
child  in  the  family,  Mrs.  Kerr  grew  to  girlhood  at  the  old  homestead  and 
during  1852  came  to  California  via  Panama,  settling  in  San  Francisco,  where 
August  7,  1866,  she  became  the  wife  of  Charles  Kerr.  Two  children  blessed 
the  union,  William  D.  and  Jennie  K.,  Mrs.  Sylvester,  both  residents  of  Bak- 
ersfield. Mrs.  Kerr  has  been  a  generous  contributor  to  those  movements 
of  a  public  nature  bearing  upon  the  material  prosperity  or  educational  ad- 
vancement of  the  community. 

P.  J.  CUNEO,  M.D.— The  Cuneo  family  has  been  located  in  Kern   since 


1076  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

1893,  at  which  time  Bartholomew  and  Adelaide  Cuneo  brought  their  children 
to  this  place,  where  they  have  since  maintained  a  home,  the  former  now 
conducting  a  restaurant  at  No.  903  Sumner  street.  They  are  the  parents  of 
eight  sons  and  one  daughter,  namely :  Peter  J.,  who  was  born  in  San  Fran- 
cisco December  22,  1884,  and  was  nine  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  coming  to 
Kern ;  Charles,  who  is  connected  with  the  general  office  of  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad'  Company  in  San  Francisco;  Emil,  who  is  associated  with  an 
oil  company  at  Taft ;  Albert,  bookkeeper  in  the  First  Bank  of  Kern ;  Rose, 
chief  deputy  in  the  county  recorder's  office;  Frank,  who  is  employed  in  the 
office  of  the  superintendent  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad ;  Will,  an  em- 
ploye in  the  Southern  Pacific  freight  office ;  Alfred  and  George,  who  are 
students  in  the  Bakersfield  high  school. 

After  having  completed  the  studies  of  the  Kern  grammar  school  and 
the  Bakersfield  high  school,  from  which  latter  he  was  graduated  in  1904,  P.  J. 
Cuneo  entered  the  Hastings  Law  College,  an  institution  affiliated  with  the 
University  of  California  and  located  in  San  Francisco.  At  the  completion  of 
the  regular  course  of  study  he  was  graduated  in  1907  and  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  the  state  of  California.  However,  he  felt  himself  less  drawn  toward  the 
law  than  he  had  anticipated  and  in  spite  of  his  excellent  college  record  he  deter- 
mined to  seek  another  field  of  work.  During  1908  he  passed  the  state  exam- 
ination of  the  pharmacy  board  and  then  entered  Cooper  Medical  College  of 
San  Francisco,  the  medical  department  of  Leland  Stanford  University,  and 
there  he  continued  his  studies  until  he  received  the  degree  of  M.D.,  upon  his 
graduation  in  May  of  1911.  In  the  following  August  he  was  expmined  by 
the  state  medical  board  and  received  a  license  to  practice  medicine  and  surgery 
in  California.  Meanwhile  he  had  accepted  an  appointment  as  interne  at  St. 
Luke's  hospital  and  there  he  continued  throughout  the  term,  the  work  proving 
of  the  greatest  benefit  to  him  in  broadening  his  professional  knowledge  and 
giving  him  valuable  experience  in  surgery.  Since  his  return  to  East  Bakers- 
field, the  community  where  he  passed  his  school  days  and  where  he  has  many 
oldtime  boyhood  friends,  he  has  devoted  himself  to  the  building  up  of  a 
private  practice. 

MRS.  REBECCA  TIBBET. — Among  the  very  first  settlers  on  Kern 
Island  and  a  pioneer  of  Kern  county  is  Mrs.  Rebecca  Tibbet,  who  came 
hither  on  March  1,  1864,  v.'ith  her  husband  and  four  children.  Grandma 
Tibbet,  as  she  is  called,  was  born  in  La  Grange  county,  Ind.,  July  31,  1835, 
and  was  the  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Annie  (Lawrence)  Callahan,  natives 
of  Delaware  and  Ohio,  respectively.  In  her  native  county  Rebecca  Callahan 
was  brought  up  and  received  her  education  in  the  local  schools  of  the  day. 
There  she  was  married  April  24,  1853,  to  Edward  Tibbet,  a  native  of  Ohio. 

The  week  after  their  marriage  they  started  on  their  honeymoon  trip, 
which  arrangement  included  a  trip  by  boat  to  St.  Joe,  \lo.,  and  thence  they 
crossed  the  plains  by  the  overland  trail  with  ox  teams,  being  en  route  from 
May  3  until  November  25,  when  they  arrived  at  San  Gabriel  mission.  They 
located  in  Arroyo  Seco,  now  Pasadena,  then  a  Spanish  grant,  where  Mr. 
Tibbet  was  engaged  in  cutting  wood,  which  he  disposed  of  in  Los  Angeles. 

In  1864  they  located  on  Kern  Island  and  purchased  an  eighty  acre  farm 
from  Colonel  Baker  and  later  homesteaded  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
adjoining,  all  of  which  now  adjoins  the  city  on  the  south.  They  paid  for 
the  eighty  acres  by  raising  beef,  beans  and  vegetables,  and  afterward  con- 
tinued farming  and  stockraising. 

Mr.  Tibbet  died  in  1879,  at  fifty-two  years  of  age.  Since  her  husband's 
death  she  continues  to  reside  at  her  old  home,  making  it  her  residence 
except  when  she  visits  her  children.  She  became  the  mother  of  twelve 
children,  seven  of  whom  grew  up  as  follows:  Eliza,  Mrs.  \\^  T.  Hoke,  of  Los 
Angeles;  George,  deceased,  at  one  time  city  marshal  of  Bakersfield;  William, 
who  was  killed  by  the  desperado  ]\IcKinney  while  performing  his  duty  as  a 


HISTORY    OF    K1-:RX    COL'N'rV  1077 

deputy  sheriff;  Alfred,  who  died  at  liis  home  near  Baker.stield  October  26, 
l'>13:  Emma,  Mrs.  C.  P.  Larsen,  who  resides  in  Bakersfield ;  Edward,  also 
of  Bakersfield;  and  Burton  M.,  of  Taft. 

;\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Tibbet  were  pioneer  members  of  the  Methodist  church 
and  assisted  in  organizing  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  Bakers- 
field, in  which  Mr.  Tibbet  was  trustee  and  class  leader  as  well  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  school.  About  twenty  years  ago,  when  the  Salvation 
Army  was  organized  in  this  city,  Mrs.  Tibbet  became  a  member  and  has 
since  been  active  in  the  cause. 

SIDNEY  POWERS. — When  the  various  countries  of  Europe  were  con- 
tributing- of  their  brain  and  brawn  to  the  colonization  of  America  there  were 
not  wanting  immigrants  from  the  rugged  hills  of  Scotland  to  aid  in  the 
herculean  task  of  founding  a  new  nation  and  among  these  colonial  settlers 
were  representatives  of  the  ancient  Scotch  family  of  Powers,  whose  early 
home  in  the  new  world  was  among  the  gallant  cavaliers  of  Maryland.  It 
is  said  that  the  Scotch  formed  an  important  element  in  the  early  history  of 
that  state,  where  they  were  noted  for  energy  of  character  and  success  in 
business.  Originally  planted  in  that  colony,  the  Powers  family  became  iden- 
tified with  Virginia  through  the  removal  thither  of  Richard  Powers,  a  gen- 
tleman of  Maryland  nativity  and  education.  The  next  generation  was 
represented  by  Sidney  Powers,  Sr.,  a  native  of  Cumberland  county,  Md.,  but 
throughout  much  of  his  life  a  planter  in  Virginia,  where  he  owned  a  large 
plantation  in  Stafford  county  not  far  from  the  city  of  Fredericksburg.  A 
quiet,  uneventful  devotion  to  farming,  that  continued  until  his  death  in  1896, 
was  broken  only  by  the  advent  of  the  Civil  war,  which  found  him  enthusi- 
astically advocating  the  doctrine  of  states  rights  and  he  served  throughout 
the  war  as  a  private  in  the  Confederate  army.  During  young  manhood  he 
had  married  Mary  Ann  Thompson,  a  native  of  Fauquier  county,  Va.,  and  a 
descendant  of  an  old  Scotch-Irish  family.  Since  the  death  of  her  husband 
she  has  continued  at  the  old  homestead  in  Stafford  county  near  Fredericks- 
burg, where  her  sixth  child,  Sidney,  was  born  March  30,  1880,  and  where 
also  had  occurred  the  birth  of  her  other  children.  There  were  eleven  in 
the  family  and  all  but  one  of  these  still  survives. 

When  attending  the  country  schools  in  Virginia  and  working  on  the 
home  farm,  Sidney  Powers,  Jr.,  was  impressed  by  the  lack  of  opportunities 
in  that  region.  Hearing  much  concerning  the  west,  he  resolved  to  seek  an 
opening  somewhere  along  the  Pacific  coast.  Accordingly  as  soon  as  he 
attained  his  majority  and  was  free  to  start  out  for  himself,  he  began  to  make 
plans  for  removal  to  California.  December  18,  1901,  found  him  newly  arrived 
in  Bakersfield,  where  the  following  day  he  secured  employment  in  a  livery 
stable  owned  by  R.  A.  Moncure.  A  few  months  later  he  began  to  work 
at  the  butcher's  trade  under  Mr.  Graves.  Later  he  assisted  in  the  building 
of  the  steel  tanks  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  field,  fol- 
lowing which  he  worked  in  the  \Vhite  Star  dairy  for  nine  months.  His  next 
position  was  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  for  which  he  continued 
as  a  collector  for  almost  eight  years.  Eventually  he  resigned  the  position  in 
order  to  embark  in  business  for  himself.  During  June  of  1910  he  purchased 
the  Ideal  stables  at  No.  2221  I  street,  in  Bakersfield,  which  he  since  has  con- 
ducted with  efficiency  and  success,  having  since  the  acquisition  of  the  business 
equipped  and  improved  the  property,  which  now  includes  two  stables,  one  a 
brick  building  80x100  feet  in  dimensions,  and  the  other  73x80,  both  substantial 
in  construction  and  convenient  in  arrangement.  While  he  has  not  maintained 
an  active  interest  in  public  affairs,  he  is  decidedly  Democratic  in  his  sym- 
pathies and  adheres  to  the  political  faith  in  wdiich  he  was  reared.  Fraternally 
he  belongs  to  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  in 
Bakersfield  he  was  a  young  man  without  domestic  ties  and  it  was  not  until 
some  years  afterward  that  he  established  a  home  of  his  own.  his  marriage  in 


1078  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Bakersfield  uniting  him  with  Miss  Mary  W.  Wilson,  by  whom  he  has  one 
son,.  Thomas  Sidney,  and  who  like  himself  is  of  Virginian  birth  and  education, 
a  native  of  Isle  of  Wight  county  and  descended  from  an  old  and  honored 
family  of  the  southeastern  portion  of  the  Old  Dominion. 

CHARLES  H.  HELDMAN.— Nestling  in  the  foothills  on  the  north 
slope  of  Piute  mountain  near  Bodfish,  Kern  county,  is  the  ranch  of  Charles 
H.  Heldman,  who  owns  four  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  on  which  he 
has  a  full  bearing  orchard  of  apples,  pears,  cherries,  peaches  and  plums, 
the  place  having  been  improved  from  the  wild  land,  and  which  bears  evidence 
of  his  energy  and  enterprise. 

ATissouri  is  the  native  state  of  Charles  Heldman  and  Augusta,  St.  Charles 
county,  the  place  of  his  birth,  where  he  first  saw  the  light  of  day  August  17, 
1849.  His  parents  were  of  German  nativity,  and  he  was  orphaned  by  his 
father's  death  when  he  was  three  years  of  age.  In  Augusta,  where  he  was 
reared,  he  attended  the  public  schools,  and  when  a  lad  he  began  to  learn  the 
cooper's  trade  under  his  stepfather,  Eberhart  Fuhr.  In  1871  he  went  to 
Colorado  and  thence  to  Montana,  being  engaged  at  mining.  In  the  fall  of 
1871  he  made  his  way  to  the  Pacific  coast,  following  his  trade  in  San  Fran- 
cisco until  the  spring  of  1872,  when  we  find  him  in  Utah,  remaining  there 
until  the  fall  of  1872.  In  that  year  he  became  a  miner  in  Pioche,  Nev.,  and 
in  1873  he  started  for  Panamint,  at  the  time  of  the  excitement  in  Death 
Valley,  where  he  prospected  until  the  spring  of  1874,  and  then  came  to  Kern 
county.  Soon  afterward  he  began  mining  on  the  Bodfish,  where  he  built 
an  arrastre  and  operated  it  for  seven  years.  Next  he  located  and  opened 
the  Centennial  mine  on  Erskine  creek,  operating  it  until  he  sold  it  to  good 
advantage,  when  he  purchased  the  present  ranch  from  the  railroad  com- 
pany and  began  improving  it,  and  during  the  past  seventeen  years  has 
wrought  a  wonderful  change  in  the  appearance  of  the  place.  He  dug  a  ditch, 
taking  water  from  Bodfish  creek  for  irrigating  his  alfalfa,  while  he  irrigates 
his  orchard  from  a  spring.    His  orchard  is  thrifty,  and  a  large  producer. 

Mr.  Heldman  has  been  a  constant  reader  and  having  a  retentive  mem- 
ory, he  has  accumulated  a  fund  of  information  which  makes  him  a  very  inter- 
esting and  entertaining  conversationalist.  He  is  very  broad  in  his  views 
and  is  a  member  of  the  Thomas  Payne  Historical  Association,  as  well  as 
The  American  Secular  Union. 

DAVID  W.  MADDUX. — Among  the  native  sons  who  have  rendered  a 
creditable  showing  and  been  instrumental  in  the  development  and  improving 
of  the  natural  resources  of  Kern  county  we  find  David  W.  Aladdux,  born  at 
El  Monte,  Los  Angeles  county,  the  oldest  child  of  William  and  Joanna  (Mar- 
ney)  Maddux,  the  date  of  his  birth  being  March  1,  1856.  His  father  died  in 
1858  and  in  1859  the  family  removed  to  Hillsboro,  Ore.,  where  they  resided 
for  about  five  years,  then  removing  to  a  place  near  Salem,  Ore.,  and  remaining 
until  1866.  They  then  returned  to  California  and  located  on  a  ranch  at  the 
foot  of  Mt.  Diablo,  in  Contra  Costa  county. 

On  this  ranch  David  Maddux  worked  faithfully  for  a  few  years,  mean- 
time attending  the  public  schools  near  his  home.  From  a  boy  in  his  teens 
he  earned  his  own  livelihood  by  working  on  ranches.  He  spent  two  years 
prospecting  near  Tombstone,  Ariz.,  during  the  early  excitement  of  that  cele- 
brated frontier  mining  camp,  and  then  spent  two  years  at  Temple  Junction, 
Tex.,  where  he  engaged  in  cotton  growing.  However,  neither  the  business  nor 
locality  pleased  him  very  much  and  he  resolved  to  return  to  his  native  Cali- 
fornia. In  1884  he  located  in  the  Semi-Tropic  district  in  Kern  county  and  with 
other-members  of  the  family  improved  the  place  by  boring  artesian  wells.  He 
obtained  two  excellent  flowing  wells  and  set  out  orchards  and  sowed  fields  of 
alfalfa.  In  1895  he  located  on  the  ranch  that  now  has  the  Santa  Fe  wells,  six 
miles  west  of  what  is  now  McKittrick.     On  this  place  he  engaged  in  farming 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  1081 

with  his  brother.  William  A.,  and  later  he  traded  his  farm  in  Semi  Tnipic 
for  the  place  on  which  he  now  resides,  also  located  in  the  Little  Santa  ATaria 
valley.  He  also  homesteaded  one  luinclred  and  sixty  acres  adjoininp;,  im- 
provine^  it.  buildinsj  a  comfortable  residence  and  suitable  barn,  and  since 
provinsj  up  on  it  has  also  purchased  other  lands  and  now  own.s  about  six 
hundred  acres  on  which  he  is  raising  hay  and  stock.  On  his  original  farm 
he  bored  three  wells  and  obtained  a  large  flow  of  excellent  water  wliicli  he  has 
lately  sold  to  the  Santa  Fe  Company. 

Mr.  Maddu.x  has  also  become  interested  in  real  estate  in  I'akcrsfiold. 
owning  a  residence  on  Twenty-third  and  M  streets,  and  with  bis  partner. 
M.  S.  Platz,  built  eight  bungalows  on  the  corner  of  Twenty-third  and  D 
streets.  While  he  has  never  aspired  to  public  office  he  is  interested  in  the 
success  of  the  Repufclican  party. 

M.  M.  LICHTENSTEIN.— .\n  artistic  and  imposing  business  establish- 
ment of  liakersfield  is  the  jewelry  store  situated  at  No.  1414  Nineteenth  street 
and  owned  by  The  Lichtenstein  Jewelry  Company.  When  I\Ir.  Lichtenstein 
came  to  this  city  in  1910  and  selected  for  his  store  the  central  location  he  now 
retains,  he  decided  to  reproduce  in  the  fixtures  a  Parisian  establishment  which 
he  had  admired  during  one  of  his  trips  abroad.  The  development  of  the  idea 
proved  successful.  In  all  probability  there  is  no  other  store  in  America  simi- 
larly equipped  and  finished,  and  visitors  in  Bakersfield  invariably  pause  before 
the  store  in  admiration  which  always  finds  expression  in  terms  of  highest 
praise.  The  walls  are  made  of  French  plate  mirrors,  while  the  large  scjuare 
slu-wcases  of  French  plate  glass  rest  on  marble  bases,  the  entire  equipment 
representing  an  expenditure  of  $8500  and  testifying  silently  as  to  the  elegant 
tastes  of  the  owners. 

The  Lichtenstein  family  comes  of  German  lineage.  M.  H..  father  of 
M.  M.,  was  born  near  Berlin,  Germany,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  came  to  the 
United  States  with  his  parents,  settling  in  St.  Louis.  After  he  had  grown  to 
manhood  he  went  to  New  York  City  and  there  with  his  father  engaged  in  the 
millinery  business.  Tales  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Califi^irnia  lured  him  to 
the  west,  for  he  was  of  an  adventurous  disposition,  fond  of  travel  and  fearless 
in  danger.  During  1850  he  landed  at  San  Francisco  after  an  uneventful  voyage 
via  Panama.  For  a  time  he  was  employed  in  the  express  business  in  San 
Francisco,  but  in  1852  he  started  an  express  and  exchange  business  between 
that  city  and  Sacramento.  It  was  his  characteristic  love  of  adventure  that  led 
him  to  join  the  filibustering  expedition  organized  by  William  ^^'alker,  who 
attempted,  with  a  force  of  four  hundred  men,  to  make  himself  master  of 
Nicaragua.  In  that  brief  but  disastrous  campaign  he  had  even  more  excite- 
ment and  danger  than  he  liked.  He  narrowly  escaped  execution  with  many 
of  the  other  members  of  the  expedition.  The  fate  which  others  met  he  for- 
tunately escaped.  Without  doubt  he  owed  the  preservation  of  his  life  to  the 
fact  that  he  wore  his  Masonic  eml)lem.  As  he  made  his  way  alone  up  the 
coast,  riding  on  a  burro,  he  sutTered  many  hardships,  went  through  many 
exciting  experiences  and  often  traveled  on  very  short  rations. 

\\'hen  finally  the  unfortunate  adventure  had  reached  a  safe  termination. 
Mr.  Lichtenstein  returned  to  San  Francisco,  secured  employment  and  re- 
mained until  about  1870.  Joining  the  rush  to  Pioche,  Nev.,  at  the  time  of  the 
Raymond-Ely  excitement,  he  met  with  good  luck  and  made  a  fortune  of  $150,- 
UOO  in  the  mines.  However,  being  a  true  Californian  of  the  old  school  and  fond 
of  speculating  on  the  Stock  Exchange,  he  soon  lost  his  entire  fortune.  Nothing 
daunted,  he  began  at  the  bottom  once  more  and  as  soon  as  he  had  a  suf- 
ficient capital  he  engaged  in  the  jewelry  business  in  San  Francisco.  In  spite 
of  his  frequent  losses  on  the  Stock  Exchange,  he  became  well-to-do  and  con- 
tinued to  conduct  a  large  jewelry  trade  until  the  time  of  the  fire,  .-\fter  that  he 
Jailed  rapidly  and   .■\pril  21.   1007.  he  passed  away.    .Surviving  him   and   still 


1082  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

"living  in  San  Francisco  is  his  widow,  Mrs.  Toba  Lichtenstein,  who  settled  in 
that  city  in  1865.  Of  their  ten  children  four  sons  and  one  daughter  still  sur- 
vive. The  youngest  son,  M.  M.,  was  born  in  San  Francisco  September  5,  1872, 
and  received  his  advanced  education  in  the  city  high  school  and  Heald's 
Business  College.  After  he  had  graduated  from  the  latter  institution  in  1887 
he  engaged  in  the  jewelry  business  with  his  father  on  Stockton  street,  but 
after  the  fire  he  opened  a  store  on  Market  street  near  Powell,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  his  removal  to  Bakersfield.  Meanwhile  he  made  his  first  trip  abroad 
in  1894,  when  he  met  Miss  Mathilda  Herzog,  a  native  of  Mainz.  They  later 
married  at  San  Rafael,  Cal.,  where  she  visited  relatives.  During  1909  they 
made  a  long  and  enjoyable  tour  of  Europe.  All  public  movements  receive  the 
support  of  Mr.  Lichtenstein  when  he  is  convinced  of  their  utility.  In  politics 
he  votes  with  the  Democratic  party.  Several  fraternities  'have  the  benefit  of 
his  cordial  co-operation.  At  this  writing  he  acts  as  secretary  of  Bakersfield 
Parlor  No.  42,  N.  S.  G.  W.,  and  with  others  is  endeavoring  to  develop  and  pre- 
serve all  of  the  historical  places  in  Kern  county. 

JESSE  L.  KELLEY.— The  ability  to  judge  stock  accurately  Mr.  Kelley 
inherits  from  his  father,  the  late  Thomas  Kelley,  who  was  considered  a 
successful  stockman  of  his  day  and  locality.  Born  in  Maine,  he  had  set- 
tled in  Missouri  during  young  manhood  and  by  gradual  development  he  had 
built  up  a  large  stock  industry,  owning  thousands  of  head  of  cattle,  horses 
and  mules.  Early  in  the  '50s  he  had  crossed  the  plains  with  a  party  of  men 
desirous  of  inspecting  the  west.  Soon  he  returned  to  JMissouri,  but  subse- 
quently he  made  four  other  trips  to  the  coast,  at  times  traveling  with  ox- 
teams  and  at  times  with  horses.  In  addition  to  his  homestead  of  fifteen 
hundred  acres  near  Marysville,  Nodaway  county.  Mo.,  he  acquired  large 
tracts  of  farm  lands  in  Iowa,  Nebraska  and  Kansas.  Eventually  he  sold 
his  stock  and  closed  out  his  extensive  interests  in  Missouri,  removing  from 
that  state  to  California,  where  he  settled  in  Humboldt  county.  There  he 
soon  became  interested  in  the  stock  business  and  on  his  large  ranch  near 
Ferndale  he  always  kept  a  drove  of  fine  horses  as  well  as  many  head  of 
mules  and  cattle.  On  that  ranch  he  remained  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years. 

While  living  in  Missouri,  Thomas  Kelley  had  met  and  married  Mary 
Lee,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky  and  died  in  Missouri.  At  an  early  age 
she  left  her  home  in  the  Blue  Grass  state  in  company  with  her  father,  Noah 
Lee,  a  native  Kentuckian  and  a  member  of  a  pioneer  family  of  that  com- 
monwealth. For  years  Mr.  Lee  was  one  of  the  extensive  and  prominent 
farmers  of  his  county  in  Missouri.  The  twelve  children  of  Thomas  and 
Mary  (Lee)  Kelley  are  living  at  the  present  writing  and  the  youngest  of 
the  large  family,  Jesse  L.,  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  near  Marysville, 
Nodaway  county,  Mo.,  April  2,  1878.  Reared  on  the  farm,  from  boyhood 
he  was  familiar  with  the  stock  industry  in  every  department.  As  a  boy 
he  was  able  to  point  to  the  defects  in  a  horse  or  steer.  He  also  studied  their 
diseases  and  the  best  cures  for  each.  When  only  eleven  years  of  age  he  was 
trading  in  horses  and  while  some  of  his  trades  were  more  fortunate  for  the 
other  party  than  for  himself,  yet  each  was  a  stepping-stone  in  his  training 
and  added  to  his  knowledge  of  animals.  As  early  as  1893  he  made  his  first 
trip  to  California  and  at  San  Francisco  followed  the  riding  of  race  horses. 
In  other  large  cities  of  the  United  States  he  engaged  in  the  same  work. 

When  twenty-one  years  of  age  Mr.  Kelley  began  to  buy  and  sell  stock 
at  Marysville,  Mo.,  where  he  had  a  yard  of  his  own  and  operated  with  a 
skill  that  was  little  short  of  remarkable  in  view  of  his  youth.  Older  dealers 
in  stock  were  amazed  at  his  trained  judgment.  After  some  years  in  the 
same  place  he  decided  to  remove  to  California.  During  1899  he  located  in 
San    Francisco   and   engaged    in   buying   and   selling  horses   and   mules,    fre- 


U/^i^^^^ 


HISTORY    OF    K1':RX    COUNTY  1085 

cjuently  returning  to  Missouri  on  business,  but  always  considering-  Cali- 
fornia his  home.  Since  1906  he  has  engaged  in  business  in  Bakersficld  and 
has  become  the  largest  shipper  of  stock  in  the  entire  San  Joaquin  valley. 
His  shipments  of  horses  and  mules  have  been  especially  large.  Growers  of 
stock  have  come  to  place  every  confidence  in  his  judgment  and  have  found 
his  prices  the  best  that  the  market  justifies.  Four  miles  from  Bakersfield 
on  the  Kern  Island  road  he  owns  a  fine  alfalfa  ranch  of  eighty  acres  and 
finds  the  care  of  the  property  an  enjoyable  change  from  his  business  affairs 
in  the  city.  While  he  never  has  been  active  in  politics  nor  has  sought  office 
he  keeps  posted  concerning  public  affairs,  and  votes  the  Republican  ticket 
at  general  elections.  By  his  marriage  in  Marj'sville,  Mo..  November  20,  1900, 
to  Miss  Mattie  McLean,  who  was  born  and  reared  near  Marysville,  Mo.,  he  is 
the  father  of  two  children,  Floyd  and  Clara,  now  students  in  the  Bakersfield 
schools. 

JAMES  ALEXANDER.— Everywhere,  in  every  community,  people  Im.k 
up  to  Scotchmen  as  an  example  of  that  which  constitutes  good  citizenshi]j.  The 
Scotchman  is  a  worker,  an  economist,  a  lover  of  country  and  a  friend  of  educa- 
tion and  enlightenment.  He  prospers  and,  prospering,  helps  others  to  prosper. 
The  citizen  of  Weldon,  Kern  county,  Cal.,  whose  name  is  at  the  head  of  this 
brief  notice  daily  impresses  upon  his  neighbors  the  truth  of  these  reflections. 
Born  in  Kincardineshire,  Scotland,  October  22,  1875,  a  sun  of  David  Alexander 
and  a  descendant  of  old  and  honorable  Scottish  families,  he  was  early  placed  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  place  and  studied  hard  until  he  was  twelve  year* 
old,  when  he  was  obliged  to  lay  down  his  books  and  help  to  earn  the  family 
livelihood.  Owing  to  his  father's  ill  health,  the  boy  had  from  a  very  early  age 
much  responsibility  in  the  conduct  of  the  family  affairs.  When  he  was 
eighteen  years  of  age,  in  1893,  the  whole  family  came  to  America  and,  making 
their  way  to  California,  settled  before  the  end  of  that  year  on  what  is  now 
James  Alexander's  ranch  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  Kern  river.  He  took  charge 
of  affairs  and  they  leased  from  the  A.  Brown  Company  until  1911,  when  they 
purchased  the  place.  Mr.  Alexander  owns  two  hundred  and  forty  acres,  one 
hundred  and  ninety  acres  of  which  is  under  cultivation.  It  is  under  irrigation 
and  about  one  hundred  acres  is  in  growing  alfalfa.  He  is  also  a  grower  of 
grain  and  is  engaged  quite  extensively  in  the  breeding  of  cattle,  hogs  and 
horses,  also  cattle  and  hogs  for  the  market,  his  brand  being  a  JA  joined. 

Fraternally  ]\Ir.  Alexander  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  affiliating  with  Kernville  Lodge  No.  251.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  Weldon  School  District  and  is  clerk  of  the  board.  .\  suc- 
cessful man,  of  public  spirit,  he  has  been  a  promoter  of  many  local  m()\e- 
ments  for  the  general  good.  June  27,  1907,  he  married  Miss  Grace  L.  Bishop, 
in  Kings  county.  She  was  born  in  Nova  Scotia,  daughter  of  William  A. 
Bishop,  who  brought  his  family  to  California.  ^Irs.  Alexander  was  educated 
in  Santa  Clara  county  and  was  graduated  from  the  state  normal  at  San  Jose 
in  1900.  engaging  in  educational  work  until  her  marriage.  Two  daughters  have 
been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander  and  his  wife,  Mabel  and  .\lice.  The 
mother  of  Mr.  Alexander  died  in  1906,  and  his  father  now  lives  with  him.  . 

J.  W.  BATES.— As  field  superintendent  of  the  Fairfield  Oil  Company, 
Mr.  Bates  has  charge  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  lying  on  section  13, 
31-22,  a  similar  tract  on  section  19,  31-22,  all  of  section  11,  31-22  (which  is 
undeveloped),  and  twenty  acres  on  section  19,  30-22,  at  McKittrick,  upon 
which  there  are  seven  producing  wells.  The  average  production  runs  from  ten 
thousand  to  twenty  thousand  barrels,  and  it  is  the  ambition  of  the  superintend- 
ent to  develop  the  leases  to  the  fullest  degree  possible,  with  the  hope  that  the 
returns  may  be  commensurate  with  justifiable  expectations. 

Prior  to  coming  to  the  west  Mr.  Bates  made  his  home  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, where  he  was  born  January   18,   1889,  where  he  received   a  common- 


1086  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

school  education  and  where  he  was  trained  for  the  responsibilities  of  the  busi- 
ness world.  An  interesting  experience  at  Dartmouth  College  was  brought  to  a 
close  with  his  graduation  in  1910.  In  the  course  of  his  study  in  that  institution 
he  had  been  prominent- in  a  number  of  societies  and  fraternities.  In  the  fall  of 
1910  he  left  the  east  and  came  to  California,  where  a  friend  in  San  Francisco 
secured  work  for  him  in  the  McKittrick  oil  field.  The  position  was  not  one  of 
importance,  being  that  of  mule-driver.  To  work  strenuously  and  laboriously 
did  not  daunt  him  in  the  least.  By  the  quiet  discharge  of  uninteresting  duties 
he  proved  that  a  college  graduate  was  not  superior  to  manual  labor  and  did 
not  disdain  the  humblest  duties.  Soon  he  was  promoted  to  be  a  tool-dresser 
and  in  May,  1913,  he  was  made  manager  of  the  Fairfield  Oil  Company,  which 
has  four  wells  and  one  now  drilling.  During  1912  occurred  the  death  of  his 
father,  F.  C.  Bates,  for  years  the  owner  and  proprietor  of  a  large  boot  and 
shoe  business  at  Somersworth,  Strafford  county,  N.  H.  Surviving  him  are  the 
wife  and  daughter,  still  residents  of  New  Hampshire,  and  the  only  son,  who 
inherited  the  shoe  business.  Being  pleased  with  California  and  the  oil  busi- 
ness, Mr.  Bates  has  given  over  to  his  mother  the  management  of  the  store  at 
Somersworth  and  she  in  turn  has  entrusted  it  largely  to  an  experienced  old 
employe  long  connected  with  the  establishment. 

AUGUST  MAUREL.— Gap,  Hautes-Alpes,  France,  was  the  birthplace 
of  August  Maurel,  the  date  being  July  11,  1865.  His  father,  Francois  Maurel, 
being  a  farmer,  he  was  reared  to  that  pursuit,  attending  school  until  he  reached 
the  age  of  fifteen.  In  1882  he  made  his  way  to  the  United  States,  coming 
directly  to  the  Pacific  coast  and  followed  gardening  in  San  Francisco  for  a 
while,  in  January  of  1883  coming  to  Sumner.  Mr.  Maurel  found  work  with 
a  sheepman  on  the  plains,  being  thus  occupied  for  about  three  years,  when 
he  purchased  a  flock  of  ewes  and  started  out  for  himself.  This  he  has 
since  continued  with  such  marked  success  that  he  is  designated  as  one  of 
the  large  sheepmen  in  the  county.  His  herd  at  starting  consisted  of  about 
fifteen  hundred  head,  but  at  times  it  has  reached  twelve  thousand.  For 
the  first  seven  3'ears  he  ranged  his  sheep  at  Poso  Bridge,  then  between  Kern 
river  and  Poso  creek,  then  for  about  ten  years  at  Granite  Station  and  vicinity, 
and  still  later  in  the  Weed  Patch  and  Rock  Pile  country. 

Mr.  Alaurel  owns  property  near  San  Bernardino,  but  he  has  always  made 
his  home  in  Kern  county,  his  place  of  residence  being  now  at  the  corner  of 
Eureka  and  Owens  streets.  East  Bakersfield.  He  has  invested  in  real  estate 
in  this  city  and  owns  five  other  residences  which  are  valuable  pieces  of  prop- 
erty. He  was  married  in  East  Bakersfield  July  12,  1893,  to  Miss  Marie 
Robert,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Hautes-Aloes,  France.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  three  children,  viz.:  August  G.,  who  is  attending  Heald's  Business 
Colles-e,  San  Jose ;  Alice,  attending  Bakersfield  Business  College ;  and  George. 
Mr.  Maurel  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Eagles  and  the  Druids,  and  in 
politics  is  a  stanch  Renublican. 

JEREMIAH  SHIELDS.— .Among  the  ancestors  of  Jeremiah  Shields  on 
the  maternal  side  his  great-ereat-grandfather  McElroy  came  from  Scotland 
and  settled  in  county  Eondonderry,  Ireland,  where  later  generations  have  been 
identified  ud  to  the  present  time.  The  Shields  family  were  distinctly  from 
countv  Donep-al,  that  being  the  lifelong  home  of  James  and  Catherine  (Mc- 
Elrov)  Shields.  The  earlv  associations  of  their  son,  Jeremiah,  bound  him 
closelv  to  that  county,  where  he  was  born  on  New  Year's  day  of  1843  and 
where  he  was  reared  on  a  farm  sixteen  miles  from  the  city  of  Londonderry. 
May  4,  1868,  he  landed  in  the  city  of  New  York,  oenniless  but  hooeful.  and 
possessine  a  robust  constitution  that  enabled  him  to  endure  without  harm  the 
heavv  work  of  later  vears.  After  a  brief  sojourn  in  New  York  Citv  and  Phila- 
delphia he  went  to  Omaha,  Nebr.,  and  secured  employment  on  the  construc- 
tion work  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.   The  vast  plains  were  almost  wholly 


C^'^-^^'^/^a<^ 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COl^XTY  1089 

unsettled  and  Laramie,  the  last  station  dii  the  hue.  was  a  hamlet  (if  a  few- 
tents.  The  particular  task  of  the  young  immigrant  was  that  of  laying  track 
and  for  over  one  year  he  was  given  steady  employment  by  the  contractors. 
When  finally  the  work  was  completed  he  came  by  train  to  Sacramento  in 
January,  1869.  He  followed  farm  work  until  1871,  and  then  removed  to 
Lodi,  where  he  secured  work  as  foreman  of  track  repairs  for  the  Central  Pacific 
Railroad.  For  five  years  he  filled  the  position  with  praisevvorthv  fidelity  and 
efficiency,  after  which  he  spent  six  months  in  Oakland. 

Coming  to  Kern  county  for  the  first  time  in  September  of  1876,  Mr. 
Shields  became  foreman  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  at  Tehachapi,  being 
the  first  permanent  incumbent  of  the  position.  The  work  entailed  many  re- 
sponsibilities, yet  it  was  so  congenial  and  acceptable  that  he  refused  an  offer 
to  become  roadmaster  of  the  Mojave  and  Needles  branch,  preferring  to  con- 
tinue in  the  foremanship.  In  the  highest  part  of  the  mountain  section  there 
were  six  tunnels  within  one  mile.  The  dangers  of  earth  slides  and  winter 
snows  were  so  constant  that  he  kept  a  vigil  night  and  day.  Nothing  affords 
him  greater  gratification  than  the  fact  that  during  the  period  of  his  occu- 
pancy of  the  position,  covering  almost  sixteen  years,  there  occurred  no  acci- 
dent that  could  be  attributed  to  carelessness  on  his  part.  In  the  mean- 
time he  had  taken  up  land  and  when  in  December  of  1891  he  resigned  as  fore- 
man it  was  for  the  purpose  of  giving  his  entire  time  to  farming  and  stock- 
raising.  He  now  owns  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  one  and  a  half  miles  west 
of  Tehachapi.  While  he  still  owns  the  ranch,  since  1903  he  has  resided  in 
Rakersfield,  where  he  owns  a  comfortable  residence  at  No.  1612  H  street. 

Ever  since  he  became  a  citizen  of  our  country  Mr.  Shields  has  advocated 
Democratic  principles.  Formerly  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  county 
Democratic  central  committee.  For  years  in  Tehachapi  he  held  office  as  school 
trustee,  but  that  position  came  to  him  less  through  his  desire  for  political 
])referment  than  through  his  known  interest  in  educational  afifairs  and  his 
intelligent  realization  of  the  needs  of  the  schools.  The  Democrats  of  his  dis- 
trict secured  his  election  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  county  smervisors 
in  1894,  his  duties  beginning  in  January  of  the  next  year.  At  the  expiration  of 
the  term  in  1898  he  was  again  chosen  to  fill  the  prsition.  The  end  of  the  term. 
January  1,  1903,  was  also  the  beginning  of  his  first  term  as  county  treasurer,  to 
which  responsible  post  he  was  elected  by  the  Democratic  party  of  Kern 
county.  During  1906  he  was  re-elected  and  so  satisfactory  was  his  service  that 
when  the  time  came  for  the  next  election,  1910,  he  had  no  opponent,  being 
again  chosen  his  own  successor,  to  fill  the  office  until  New  Year's  of  1915. 
The  details  connected  with  the  office  are  many  and  the  responsibility  great, 
but  he  has  proved  equal  to  every  emergency  and  has  vindicated  the  choice  of 
his  party.  During  his  busy  and  successful  life  he  has  had  little  leisure  for 
participation  in  social  functions  or  fraternal  activities,  and  the  only  organiza- 
tion with  which  he  has  been  prominently  connected  is  the  Order  of  Knights 
of  Columbus,  which  he  serves  as  a  trustee.  In  his  marriage,  which  occurred  at 
Sacramento  in  1873.  he  was  united  with  Miss  Catherine  Shields,  a  young  Irish 
girl  of  gentle  character  and  industrious  habits,  well  qualified  to  assist  a  poor 
but  ambitious  man  in  his  efTorts  to  secure  success.  Six  sons  and  one  daughter 
blessed  their  union,  natnely :  Minnie,  deceased  in  1874  at  six  months  of  age; 
James  D.,  employed  as  a  stationary  engineer  in  Bakersfield  ;  Henry  P.,  a 
painter  in  this  city;  George  F.,  a  machinist,  who  follows  his  trade  in  Los  .\n- 
geles :  Jeremiah  P.,  now  serving  as  deputy  county  treasurer;  Edward  J.,  who 
holds  the  position  of  locomotive  engineer  for  the  Santa  Fe  road  out  of  P.akers- 
field;  and  Hugh  M.,  a  cartoonist  and  commercial  artist  now  following  his 
chosen  occupation  with  recognized  success  in  San  Francisco. 

WILLIAM. A.  MADDUX. — Among  the  men  who  have  done  much  to 
improve  land  and  build  up  the  agricultural  resources  of  Kern  county  we  find 


1090  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

William  Maddux,  a  native  son,  born  in  El  Monte,  Los  Angeles  county,  No- 
vember 6,  1858,  the  son  of  William  and  Joanna  (A'larney)  Maddux.  In  1850 
the  father  crossed  the  plains  with  ox  teams  to  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  where  he 
met  and  married  Miss  Marney,  who  had  also  crossed  the  plains,  coming  with 
her  uncle.  Fielding  Hathaway,  in  1852.  Mr.  Maddux  was  one  of  the  early 
merchants  of  El  Monte,  but  before  he  had  an  opportunity  to  accomplish  much 
in  his  line  he  passed  away  late  in  the  fall  of  1858.  There  were  two  children 
born  of  this  union.  The  oldest,  David  W.  Maddux,  is  also  a  resident  of  Kern 
county,  residing  on  his  farm  near  McKittrick.  The  mother,  who  married 
the  second  time  to  J.  E.  Morgan,  is  again  a  widow  and  resides  in  San  Jose. 

William  A.  Maddux  was  reared  from  the  time  he  was  eight  years  of  age 
on  the  farm  in  Contra  Costa  county,  the  place  being  located  at  the  foot  of 
Mt.  Diablo,  and  he  attended  the  public  school  at  Clayton.  As  early  as  thirteen 
he  began  paddling  his  own  canoe  by  working  on  ranches,  besides  performing 
his  duties  on  the  home  place.  He  spent  two  years  farming  at  Pilot  Grove, 
Falls  county,  Tex.,  and  in  1884  came  with  the  family  to  Kern  county.  Here  he 
located  land  at  Semi-Tropic  and  drilled  artesian  wells  and  was  successful  in 
improving  the  place,  sowing  alfalfa  and  setting  out  orchards  and  vineyards 
which  were  irrigated  from  the  flowing  wells.  He  still  owns  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  in  that  district.  In  1895  he  located  a  homestead  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  at  the  foot  of  Temblor  mountain  in  the  little  Santa  Maria  valley, 
six  miles  west  of  McKittrick,  which  he  improved  and  proved  up  on  and  has 
also  purchased  land  adjoining  until  he  owns  eight  hundred  acres  of  land.  On 
the  homestead  he  sunk  a  well  and  at  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
feet  he  struck  an  abundant  flow  of  good  water,  thus  richly  enhancing  the 
value  of  his  place.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  Delano  Lodge  No.  356,  I.  O. 
O.  F.,  and  politically  is  an  independent  Republican. 

HYMAN  BLOCK  WELLS.— This  young  man  has  by  industry,  energy 
and  perseverance  acquired  a  competency  and  has  the  esteem  and  confidence 
of  his  fellow  men.  Although  not  a  native  son  he  was  reared  in  California, 
coming  here  with  the  family  when  he  was  two  years  of  age.  His  birth  occurred 
in  Ashley,  Pike  county,  Mo.,  January  26,  1877.  The  father,  James  M.  Wells, 
was  a  farmer  in  Ashley,  when  he  was  married  to  Susie  Block,  also  a  native 
of  that  county.  In  1877  James  ]\I.  Wells  came  to  California,  the  fannly  joining 
him  in  1879.  Until  1886  he  followed  farming  at  Lemoore,  and  from  there 
removed  to  Coalinga,  where  he  purchased  land  from  the  railroad  and  from 
individuals  as  he  made  the  money  to  buy  them  out  until  he  acquired  about 
five  thousand  acres  in  that  vicinity.  After  years  of  successful  farming  he 
retired  to  Visalia,  where  he  and  his  wife  now  live,  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their 
labors.  Of  their  ten  children  Hyman  B.  is  the  second  oldest ;  he  was  reared  on 
the  farm  and  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Coalinga  and  at  the  San  Jose 
Business  College.  After  finishing  his  schooling  he  rented  his  father's  farm 
for  one  year,  then  entered  the  employ  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company  at  Mc- 
Kittrick and  became  superintendent  of  the  water  department  which  supplies 
McKittrick  and  the  McKittrick  oil  fields  with  water.  In  1908  he  resigned  and 
located  his  present  homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  six  miles  south- 
west of  McKittrick,  where  he  has  made  the  improvements  and  built  his 
home.  In  March,  1913,  he  proved  up  and  obtained  a  title  to  the  land  from  the 
government.  He  also  leases  adjoining  land  from  Miller  and  Lux  and  is  raising 
about  four  hundred  acres  of  grain  hay,  in  which  he  has  been  very  successful. 

In  Hanford  occurred  Mr.  Wells'  marriage  with  Miss  Eva  Merrill,  who  is 
a  native  daughter,  born  near  Stockton,  and  to  them  have  been  born  three 
children :  Susie  Marie,  Thelma  Elizabeth  and  Kingsley  Hyman.  Fraternally 
Mr.  Wells  is  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  politically  is  a 
Republican.  Mrs.  Wells  is  a  member  of  the  Women  of  Woodcraft  and  the 
Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 


^^  (^t^-.-^-^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1093 

MAX  NUNEZ. — Among  the  men  of  affairs  who  have  left  their  imprint 
on  tiie  growth  and  upbuilding  of  East  Bakerstield  is  .Max  Nunez,  who  was 
born  at  Old  Almaden,  Santa  Clara  county,  in  June,  1859,  and  there  he  grew  up, 
receiving  his  education  in  the  local  schools.  Although  the  schools  offered 
limited  opportunities,  he  being  of  a  studious  nature  continued  his  research 
for  knowledge  and  became  a  well-informed  man.  Mis  father  was  a  contractor 
at  the  Almaden  mines  and  Max  aided  him  in  packing  cinnabar  ore  from  the 
mines  to  the  mill.  Next  he  spent  some  time  in  Hollister  and  in  1882  he  came 
to  Sumner,  now  East  Bakerstield,  and  for  a  time  he  engaged  in  the  liquor 
business.  Subsequently  he  founded  the  waterworks,  obtained  the  franchise  to 
supply  the  town  of  Sumner,  as  it  was  called,  with  water  and  put  down  wells, 
laid  the  mains  and  started  the  waterworks,  managing  it  until  he  sold  it  to 
the  Sumner  W'ater  Company. 

After  this  Mr.  Nunez  spent  many  years  as  roadmaster,  building,  looking 
after  and  improving  the  public  roads  in  his  district.  Then  he  l)uilt  sheep- 
shearing  stations  where  during  the  season  he  employed  about  three  hundred 
hands  to  shear  the  multitude  of  sheep  of  the  prosperous  flock  owners  of 
those  days.  He  became  the  owner  of  very  valuable  property  in  East  Rakers- 
field,  some  of  it  located  on  Raker  and  Grove  streets,  which  have  become 
valuable  business  holdings. 

The  death  of  ]\Ir.  Nunez  occurred  January  8.  1905.  He  was  a  very  liberal 
and  enterprising  man  and  in  his  death  the  city  lost  one  of  its  most  generous 
uphuilders.  His  wife,  who  survives  him,  was  in  maidenhood  Rosa  Lopez,  a 
native  of  Sinaloa,  Mexico.  She  continues  to  reside  in  East  Bakersfield, 
looking  after  her  real  estate  interests  and  building  up  her  property. 

E.  E.  BALLAGH. — It  is  conceded  among  residents  of  the  west  side  that 
no  citizen  of  Maricopa  was  more  intimately  identified  with  its  incorporation 
and  subsequent  civic  upbuildins;  than  E.  E.  Ballagh,  who,  while  engaging  in 
insurance  and  real-estate  activities,  handling  and  selling  oil  lands,  farm  lands 
and  town  property  in  Kern  county  as  well  as  lands  and  city  lots  in  and  near 
Porterville,  has  also  been  able  to  give  the  city  most  able  and  intelligent  service 
in  the  canacitv  of  clerk.  Upon  the  incorporation  of  Maricopa  as  a  city  in 
July  of  1911  he  was  chosen  the  first  city  clerk  and  the  following  year  was 
re-elected,  to  serve  until  1914.  As  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  he  is  a 
co-worker  with  C.  W.  Reatty  (mavor).  W.  E.  Thornton.  Tames  Wallace, 
H.  C.  Doll  and  C.  Z.  Irvine,  the  other  city  officers  being  as  follows:  M.  Y. 
White  of  the  First  National  Bank,  city  treasurer;  T.  W.  Brown,  city  recorder; 
L.  R.  Godward,  city  attorney;  H.  J.  Babcock,  citv  marshal;  Harry  Parke, 
fire  chief;  Dr.  H.  N.  Tavlor,  health  officer;  and  L.  L.  Coleman,  city  engineer. 
The  Maricopa  board  of  health,  whose  vigorous  measures  have  urged  forward 
all  enterprises  for  the  promotion  of  healthful  sanitary  conditions,  comprises 
the  following  gentlemen  under  Dr.  Taylor  as  chairman  ;  F.  T.  Torpey,  R.  R. 
Lucas.  L.  L.  Coleman  and  H.  J.  Babcock. 

A  native  Californian  and  the  son  of  an  able  and  popular  Presbyterian 
minister,  E.  E.  Ballagh  was  born  at  Red  Rluff.  Tehama  county.  Bv  reason 
of  the  various  removals  of  the  familv  from  one  Presbyterian  parish  to  an- 
other, he  attended  public  school  in  dififerent  places.  .After  he  had  finished  his 
hieh-school  studies  he  matriculated  in  the  Leland  Stanford.  Jr..  L^niversity, 
where  he  was  graduated  after  a  thorough  course  in  the  department  of  electri- 
cal engineering.  As  an  engineer  he  found  his  first  employment  at  Glcnnville. 
Cal.  From  1904  to  1909  he  was  a  salaried  employe  of  the  Consolidated  Cop- 
per Company,  his  field  of  labor  being  principally  in  the  mines  of  Cananea, 
state  of  Sonora.  Mexico.  Meanwhile  in  1907  he  married  Miss  Minnie  L. 
Campbell,  daughter  of  Daniel  Campbell,  a  California  pioneer  who  passed 
away  on  Christmas  day  of  1911.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ballagh  have  an  only  son, 
Ernest  M, 


1094  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Together  with  his  brother,  Dr.  H.  A.  Ballagh,  during  1910  Mr.  Ballagh 
erected  the  Ballagh  block  at  a  cost  of  $6,000.  This  is  a  cement  building, 
50x40  feet  in  dimensions,  and  divided  into  four  offices,  one  of  these  being 
occupied  by  Dr.  Ballagh  for  a  dental  office.  Throughout  the  period  of  his 
residence  in  Maricopa,  his  work  as  real-estate  agent  as  well  as  the  office  of 
city  clerk  have  given  to  Mr.  Ballagh  an  excellent  opportunity  to  study  condi- 
tions on  the  west  side.  While  selling  real  estate  in  town  ^Ir.  Ballagh  also  has 
handled  oil  lands  and  has  watched  with  unceasing  interest  the  growth  of  the 
oil  industry  as  new  wells  and  deeper  sands  are  constantly  being  developed  in 
the  field  tributary  to  Maricopa.  What  the  extent  and  wealth  of  the  field  will 
be,  he  states,  is  only  a  matter  of  conjecture,  but  exaggeration  would  be  diffi- 
cult. The  Coronation  well  on  section  4,  township  11  north,  range  23  west, 
producing  about  eight  hundred  barrels  per  day,  has  increased  the  extent  of 
the  proved  oil  district  by  many  thousands  of  acres  on  which  there  is  still 
practically  little  development.  The  Edmunds  Midway  and  Knickerbocker 
Oil  Companies,  operating  northwest  of  Maricopa,  have  penetrated  a  lower 
stratum  of  oil  sand  and  these  remarkable  gushers,  each  producing  from  five 
thousand  to  six  thousand  barrels  daily,  will  in  all  probability  be  the  cause 
of  the  redrilling  of  all  of  the  adjoining  sections  of  land  heretofore  producing 
from  a  shallower  depth.  El  Camino  Oil  and  Development  Company,  oper- 
ating on  the  flat  five  miles  east  of  Maricopa  and  passing  through  excellent 
showings,  is  being  watched  in  its  work  with  exceptional  interest,  for  a  pro- 
ducing well  there  will  widen  and  lengthen  the  area  of  the  field,  also  will  sub- 
stantiate the  reports  of  geologists  who  maintain  the  continued  trend  of  the 
main  35  Hill  anticline  to  that  point.  On  the  southeast  of  town.  Anaconda 
well  No.  14  is  in  operation.  To  the  northwest  and  southeast  the  develop- 
ment is  extending  gradually,  but  with  substantial  success.  On  the  northeast 
the  Maricopa  Queen  has  brought  in  two  fifteen  hundred  barrel-per-day 
gushers  within  the  past  year. 

The  world  of  progress  moves  onward  and  Maricopa  is  no  exception  to 
other  districts  in  the  development  of  its  tributary  territory.  Mr.  Ballagh 
reports  companies  organizing  for  development  in  the  mountains  and  plains 
west  of  Maricopa,  where  indications  are  favorable  for  new  fields.  Progress 
is  seen  not  alone  in  the  oil  industry.  The  farmer  and  stock-raiser  are  begin- 
ning to  take  up  the  adjacent  fertile  acres,  the  miner  is  prospecting  in  the 
mountain  beyond,  and  the  market  gardener  and  fruit-raiser  are  experimenting 
with  intensive  cultivation  of  land.  All  of  these  workers  are  looking  forward 
with  eager  anticipation  to  the  building  of  the  highway  from  Maricopa  to  the 
coast. 

It  has  been  the  joy  and  pride  of  the  pioneers  of  Maricopa  to  build  a  sub- 
stantial modern  school  building,  to  maintain  a  hospital  with  modern  equip- 
ment, to  put  in  street  lights,  erect  a  fire  department  house  and  also  a  city  hall. 
A  sewage  system  is  being  installed  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  town  for  many 
decades  to  come.  The  water  supply  for  the  fire  system  is  gravity  pressure, 
capable  of  throwing  six  streams  of  water  to  a  height  of  seventy-five  feet.  A 
new  jail  has  been  completed.  Although  many  improvements  have  been  made, 
there  still  remain  ample  funds  in  the  city  treasury. 

WILLIAM  N.  FORKER.— As  the  holder  of  the  responsible  position  of 
Water  Commissioner  in  Kern  county,  Cal.,  W'illiam  N.  Porker  fills  a  most 
important  place  in  the  general  working  of  that  department,  and  as  inspector 
of  the  oil  production  there  he  assumes  a  vast  amount  of  responsibility,  for 
there  is  drubtless  no  greater  producer  in  any  other  state  in  the  United  States 
than  in  Kern  county.  Mr.  Forker  received  his  appointment  from  the  Board  of 
Supervisors,  who  showed  excellent  judgment  in  their  choice  of  him  as  he  has 
well  proved  to  them,  and  no  man  perhaos  in  the  oil  fields  today  has  a  more 
practical  idea  of  that  industry  and  its  branches  than  has  he.  Born  in  Clarion 
county.  Pa.,  he  worked  from  boyhood  in  the  oil  fields  in  that  vicinity,  starting 


^-J^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COl'NTY  1097 

from  the  bottuni  and  working-  gradually  U|)  tu  an  important  place.  In  1900, 
when  the  discovery  of  oil  in  Kern  county  attracted  many  to  this  part  of  the 
state,  Air.  I'orker  decided  to  come  here.  He  first  engaged  in  the  West  Side 
oil  fields,  since  which  time  he  lias  helped  to  develop  several  of  the  producing 
wells  of  today.  His  experience  in  these  fields  has  enabled  him  to  gain  an 
insight  into  climatic  conditiLins  and  the  general  system  of  working  these  jiro- 
ducers,  and  he  is  reputed  to  be  an  authority  on  the  oil  question. 

Mr.  Forker  married  Miss  Soto,  who  with  her  talented  daughters  are  active 
workers  in  St.  Francis  Catholic  Church  of  Bakersfield.  The  daughters  are 
highly  gifted  musicians,  while  the  son,  William  M.,  a  student  at  the  University 
of  California,  is  a  baseball  pitcher  of  reputation.  They  make  their  home  at 
No.  2724  Nineteenth  street,  Bakersfield. 

ERNEST  KARNS. — No  production  foreman  in  the  North  Midway  field 
gives  to  his  work  more  exclusive,  more  conscientious  attention  than  char- 
acterizes the  capable  activities  of  Ernest  Karns,  who  in  his  identification 
with  one  of  the  great  organizations  in  the  oil  industry  has  proved  markedly 
efficient  and  tht^roughly  reliable. 

The  next  to  the  youngest  among  six  children.  Ernest  Karns  was  born 
near  Clarendon,  Warren  county.  Pa.,  and  at  an  early  age  was  taken  to  the 
vicinity  of  Rising  Sun,  Ohio,  by  his  parents,  Pierce  and  Amanda  (Kleinfelter) 
Karns.  likewise  natives  of  Pennsylvania.  For  years  the  father  has  been  an 
expert  driller  and  has  devoted  himself  to  the  oil  industry,  which  he  now 
follows  in  the  Midway  field  in  Kern  county.  When  a  mere  lad  Ernest  Karns 
entered  the  oil  business  as  a  roustabt  ut.  Step  by  step  he  advanced.  In 
each  position  he  proved  reliable  and  diligent.  After  a  time  as  pumper  he 
was  trained  to  be  a  tool-dresser  and  from  that  he  rose  to  be  production  man, 
which  work  he  was  following  at  the  time  of  his  removal  from  Ohio.  Coming 
to  California  in  19C8,  he  secured  employment  in  the  Midway  field.  His  first 
job  was  that  of  well-puller  on  the  Oregon  Midway,  from  which  he  came 
to  the  service  of  the  C.  C.  M.  O.  Co.,  commcnly  known  as  the  Santa  Fe,  one 
of  the  greatest  producing  companies  in  the  state,  and  since  1912  he  has  been 
production  foreman  for  this  gigantic  corporation.  Aside  from  voting  the 
Republican  ticket  he  takes  no  part  whatever  in  politics,  nor  is  he  interested 
in  fraternities,  but  prefers  to  devote  his  time  whollv  to  the  duties  connected 
with  the  company's  production. 

EDWARD  STEWART  BROWN.— Through  a  long  line  of  worthy 
American  ancestry  the  genealogy  of  the  Brown  family  is  traced  back  to  Ire- 
land and  from  that  country  to  Scotland,  where  all  authentic  records  are  lost 
in  a  maze  i  f  traditional  lore.  \\^orthy  of  especial  note  is  the  long  and  honor- 
able record  of  Robert  S.  Brown  as  a  locomotive  engineer,  first  vv'ith  the  Ill- 
inois Central  Railroad  and  later  with  the  New  York  Central  in  charge  of  the 
North  Shore  Limited,  the  fastest  train  between  Syracuse  and  Buffalo.  Dur- 
ing the  period  of  his  service  on  the  Illinois  Central  he  witnessed  the  destruction 
of  Chicago  by  the  great  fire  cf  1871.  On  resigning  from  that  road  he  removed 
back  to  New  York  state  and  settled  at  Rochester,  later  going  on  the  old  home- 
stead ten  miles  northwest  of  that  city.  By  his  marriage  to  Jane  E.  Bascom  he 
had  three  sons,  Edward  S.,  Herman  Bascom  and  Archibald  R.  After  a  splendid 
record  as  an  engineer  he  met  his  death  in  1891  in  an  accident  at  Rochester 
and  nine  months  later  his  wife  passed  away.  Their  son,  Edward  S.,  was  born 
in  Chicago  July  17,  1871,  and  received  his  education  in  the  Albion  high  school 
and  the  Brockport  Normal.  The  occupations  which  had  interested  his  fore- 
bears did  not  attract  him.  Railroading,  in  which  his  father  had  achieved  note- 
worthy distinction,  did  not  fascinate  him  with  its  possibilities,  and  the  occupa- 
tion of  cabinet-making,  which  his  grandfather,  Dennis  Patrick  Brown,  had 
followed  through  a  busy  life,  in  these  later  years  has  been  taken  by  the  great 
factories  out  of  the  hands  of  the  skilled  artisans.    The  modern   industry  of 


1098  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

oil  production  gave  him  an  opening  of  interest  for  the  present  and  of  promise 
for  the  future. 

Arriving  in  California  May  16,  1897,  Mr.  Brown  at  once  found  em- 
ployment in  the  Fullerton  field.  Starting  in  at  the  bottom,  he  continued  for 
five  and  one-half  years  on  the  lease  of  the  Puente  Oil  Company.  Meanwhile 
he  became  an  expert  driller  and  when  he  left  the  Puente  it  was  to  work  as 
driller  for  the  Olinda  Land  Company.  From  Fullerton  he  went  to  Santa  Maria, 
where  he  was  associated  with  the  Union  Oil  Company  for  nearly  three  years. 
Afterward  he  drilled  on  various  leases.  For  perhaps  a  year  he  engaged  as 
drilling  foreman  with  the  General  Oil  Company  at  Santa  Maria.  Since  De- 
cember of  1909  he  has  been  connected  with  the  Pinal  Dome  Oil  Company, 
owners  of  two  tracts  of  eighty  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  respectively, 
all  located  on  section  23,  31-22.  As  foreman  he  has  charge  of  the  lease  and  is 
engaged  in  drilling  a  new  well.  Already  there  are  ten  active  wells,  with  a 
monthly  production  of  about  twenty  thousand  barrels. 

In  addition  to  managing  the  interests  of  the  company  on  the  lease  Mr. 
Brown  maintains  a  warm  interest  in  national  problems  and  is  a  reader  of 
papers  and  periodicals,  although  naturally  he  finds  the  publication  of  oil  news 
more  interesting  than  the  news  of  other  enterprises  or  of  political  questions. 
While  in  New  York  state  he  was  made  a  Mason  and  later  he  was  raised  to  the 
Royal  Arch  Chapter  at  Santa  Maria,  where  also  he  and  his  wife  were  con- 
nected with  the  Eastern  Star,  and  he  further  was  connected  with  the  Elks  at 
San  Luis  Obispo-  At  Greigsville,  Livingston  county,  N.  Y.,  he  married  Miss 
Sarah  E.  Clement,  a  capable  woman,  whose  co-operation  in  her  husband's 
work  is  shown  by  her  willingness  to  board  and  care  for  the  men  on  the  lease. 
The  two  sons  also  co-operate  as  much  as  possible,  the  elder,  Robert  S.,  being 
"now  a  driller  on  the  Pinal  Dome  lease.  The  younger,  Edward  Archibald,  who 
is  now  a  student  in  the  California  Polytechnic  at  San  Luis  Obispo,  gives 
his  entire  vacation  season  to  the  task  of  pumping  on  the  Pinal  Dome,  it  being 
his  present  plan  to  embark  in  the  industry  upon  the  completion  of  his  college 
course. 

JOHN  P.  SAMUELSON. — Few  men  have  traveled  more  widely  or  seen 
more  of  the  world  than  has  John  P.  Samuelson,  now  the  transportation  fore- 
man fcr  the  General  Petroleum  Company  at  Taft.  As  a  boy  he  became  familiar 
with  the  interesting  old  city  of  Stockholm,  Sweden,  where  he  was  born  May  12, 
1878,  and  where  his  father,  David  Oscar  Samuelson,  still  conducts  one  of  the 
largest  bakeries  of  the  capital.  As  far  back  as  the  records  can  be  traced  his 
ancestors  were  people  of  worth  and  intelligence.  Caring  little  for  travel,  but 
devoted  to  their  own  country,  they  were  not  tempted  to  leave  Sweden  and 
it  is  thought  that  all  of  the  living  representatives  of  the  name,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  John  P.,  continue  to  make  that  land  their  home.  By  the  marriage  of 
David  Oscar  Samuelson  to  Anna  Louisa  Samuelson,  now  deceased,  there  were 
three  sons,  one  of  whom,  named  for  his  father,  now  owns  a  meat  market  and 
other  properties  in  Sweden,  while  the  youngest,  Nels  A.,  also  a  resident  of 
Stockholm,  is  engaged  in  the  automobile  livery  business.  The  second  son, 
John  P.,  left  home  at  the  age  of  seventeen  to  become  a  sailor  on  the  high  seas. 
As  an  employe  on  Swedish  and  American  sail  buats  and  steamships  he  visited 
the  principal  ports  of  the  world. 

After  having  followed  the  sea  from  1895  to  1899,  Mr.  Samuelson  gave 
up  the  life  of  a  sailor  and  became  a  miner  in  Alaska.  There  he  had  many 
adventures.  Nome  was  a  very  small  place  when  he  first  arrived  in  the  town 
and  he  saw  much  of  its  development  during  the  following  years.  Fairbanks 
also  was  frequently  visited  by  him.  His  prospecting  tours  took  him  to  every 
part  of  the  country.  Aside  from  mining  he  gave  attention  to  no  work  except 
ditching.  From  1899  until  1909  he  remained  continuously  in  Alaska  with  the 
exception  of  three  return  trips  to  the  United  States  for  the  winter  months. 


I 


HISTORY    OF    Kl'.RX"  CorXTV  1101 

In  Xoveniber  of  l''Oy  he  arrivetl  in  Taft,  which  tlien  presented  an  uninviting 
aspect  owing  to  the  recent  tire.  1  laving^  a  financial  interest  in  the  Bed  Rock 
lease,  he  began  to  work  there  as  a  production  man.  From  Alay  of  1910  until 
May  of  1911  he  had  charge  of  the  Nome  Oil  Company  in  the  Elk  Hills,  from 
which  lease  he  came  to  the  Esperanza  Consolidated  (^il  Company  (the  nu- 
cleus of  the  General  Petroleum).  Transportation  rather  than  production  has 
appealed  to  him.  Throughout  his  connection  with  the  General  Petroleum  he 
has  acted  as  transportation  foreman.  To  him  is  given  the  oversight  of  all 
freight.  He  handles  the  materials  used  for  drilling  and  the  machinery  used  in 
connection  with  production.  Under  his  supervision  is  all  freight  for  the 
leases  and  properties  of  the  General  Petroleum  Oil  Company  in  the  Central 
^lidway.  Belle  Ridge,  Lost  Hills,  Shale,  Maricopa,  McKittrick  and  Fellows 
fields,  and  on  the  (Hobe.  Buena  Vista.  Silsyl.  Continental,  Nevada,  Brunswick, 
Section  22,  Oakburn  and  Carnegie  divisions. 

From  the  first  Mr.  .Saniuelson  has  Ijelieved  in  the  future  prnsperity  of 
Taft.  .Acting  on  that  belief,  he  acquired  three  houses  and  lots  in  the  town. 
In  one  of  these  bungalows,  erected  by  himself  and  occupying  a  desirable  loca- 
tion on  the  corner  of  Kern  and  I-'ifth  streets,  he  and  his  wife  have  a  com- 
fortable home,  the  hospitality  of  which  is  known  to  every  friend.  After  com- 
ing to  Kern  county  Mr.  Samuelson  was  married  at  Bakersfield,  his  wife  being 
]\Iiss  Ethel  Fawcett,  of  Chico,  a  native  daughter  of  California,  her  father  being 
John  Fawcett,  a  prosperous  orchardist  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Chico.  While 
"living  in  Alaska  Mr.  Samuelson  became  connected  with  the  Eagles  in  Nome 
and  since  coming  to  Kern  county  he  has  become  a  member  of  the  Loyal  Order 
of  A  Torse  at  Taft. 

ALBERT  JAMES  McCOMBS.— The  success  of  the  well-known  citi- 
zen of  Kern  county  whose  name  is  above  is  the  legitimate  fruitage  of  in- 
dustry, enterprise  and  integrity.  These  are  the  foundation  stones  on  which 
he  has  most  ably  buikled.  Albert  James  iNIcCombs  was  born  in  Cedar 
county,  Iowa,  March  3,  1875,  and  when  he  was  about  a  year  old  was  taken 
by  his  parents  to  Kansas  and  a  little  later  to  near  Sidney,  Cheyenne  county, 
Nebr.,  where  he  lived  until  after  his  twentieth  birthday  and  where  he  at- 
tended public  school  until  he  was  about  seventeen.  He  began  life  for  himself 
as  a  farm  hand  and  early  acquired  a  knowledge  of  ranching  and  stockraising. 
In  1895  he  came  to  California  and  settled  at  Hanford.  Kings  county,  where 
he  worked  for  a  time  for  wages.  Three  years  later  he  came  to  Kern  county 
and  entered  the  employ  of  H.  L.  Weems,  apiarist,  with  whom  he  remained 
two  years  and  during  the  ensuing  three  years  he  was  foreman  of  the  Palms 
fruit  ranch  at  The  Palms,  three  miles  south  of  Wasco.  While  there  he  also 
engaged  in  the  bee  business,  and  at  the  end  of  four  years  he  disposed  of  his 
thirteen  hundred  stands  to  good  advantage.  In  1904  he  bought  one  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  of  land  two  miles  east  of  Wasco,  most  of  which  is  under 
alfalfa,  and  in  1908  he  acquired  eighty  acres  known  as  the  Golden  Gate  fruit 
orchard,  upon  which  he  grows  peaches,  grapes  and  prunes.  In  Wasco  he 
installed  a  cold  storage  plant  and  built  a  shop  with  a  capacity  of  two  tons. 
Here  he  engaged  in  the  wholesale  and  retail  butcher  business,  his  slaughter- 
house being  located  two  miles  east  of  town  on  his  alfalfa  ranch.  He  now 
has  two  hundred  acres  of  land  under  cultivation,  and  is  engaged  successfully 
in  the  breeding  of  hogs  and  cattle. 

In  politics  and  in  measures  for  the  general  good  Mr.  McCombs  has  long 
been  active  and  casts  his  ballot  for  Republican  candidates.  He  is  a  Blue 
Lodge  Mason,  belonging  to  the  lodge  at  Delano,  and  affiliates  with  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World.  December  17,  1903.  he  married  Miss  May  E. 
Bacome,  who  was  born  in  Cedar  county,  Iowa,  in  June,  1885,  and  they  have 
a  daughter  and  son,  Edna  May  and  Albert  J.,  Jr. 

A.  S.  MORTON.— The  senior  member  of  the  undertaking  firm  of  Morton 
&  Connelly  is  a  Californian  bv  birth  and  unswervinglv  loval  to  tin-  materia! 


1102  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

upbuilding  of  Bakersfield,  with  whose  business  interests  he  has  been  asso- 
ciated in  an  influential  degree.  Suisun  City,  Solano  county,  is  his  native  place 
and  October  18,  1859,  the  date  of  his  birth,  his  parents  having  been  Thomas  H. 
and  Sophia  (Barnes)  Morton,  the  latter  a  California  pioneer  of  1849.  The  father, 
a  New  Yorker  by  birth,  made  two  trips  to  California  in  the  pioneer  days. 
After  their  marriage  in  New  York  City  the  parents  came  west  and  conducted 
the  first  hotel  established  at  Suisun  City,  engaging  actively  in  business  until 
his  death  in  1877.  The  youngest  among  five  children  who  attained  mature 
years  and  the  only  son  in  the  family,  A.  S.  Morton  was  given  such  advan- 
tages as  the  common  schools  afforded.  From  an  early  age  he  was  self-support- 
ing. While  yet  a  young  man  he  carried  cm  a  hardware  and  furniture  business 
in  his  native  town.  Forming  the  acquaintance  of  his  present  partner,  W.  B. 
Connelly,  he  became  interested  in  undertaking  and  began  to  study  the  art  of 
embalming,  in  which  he  soon  acquired  unusual  skill.  No  expense  has  been 
spared  to  gain  proficiency  in  his  difificult  occupation.  Besides  having  grad- 
uated from  the  Renaurd  school  in  New  York  he  is  a  graduate  of  the  Chicago 
College  of  Embalming.  It  is  said  that  he  and  his  wife  have  a  technical  knowl- 
edge of  embalming  that  is  equalled  by  few  members  of  their  craft.  Equally 
skilled  in  the  occupation  is  the  partner,  Mr.  Connelly,  manager  of  the  Suisun 
City  branch  of  the  business,  and  a  graduate  of  the  New  York  School  of  Em- 
balming, also  the  Carl  L.  Barnes  school  in  Chicago. 

Many  years  ago  Jacob  Niederaur  established  an  undertaking  establish- 
ment in  Bakersfield,  the  first  business  of  its  kind  in  the  community.  Upon  his 
death  the  estate  offered  the  business  for  sale  and  it  was  purchased  March  1, 
1901,  by  Morton  &  Connelly,  who  since  have  added  every  modern  facility  for 
the  proper  care  of  the  dead.  At  the  time  Mr.  Morton  came  to  Bakersfield  to  as- 
sume the  management  of  the  business  it  was  supposed  that  the  climate  of  this 
section  was  tt  o  warm  to  permit  a  body  to  be  kept  for  any  length  of  time  after 
death.  Through  his  skill  in  embalming  he  proved  the  fallacy  of  this  belief. 
Soon  after  he  began  in  business  a  Chinaman  died  and  the  body  was  brought 
to  the  undertaking  establishment  for  embalming.  This  work  accomplished, 
the  body  was  kept  in  perfect  condition  for  seventy-three  days  befc  re  shipping 
to  Hong  Kong.  Later  a  letter  was  received  by  Mr.  Morton  stating  that  the 
body  was  received  at  Hong  Kong  in  first-class  condition,  notwithstanding  the 
long  period  that  had  elapsed  since  death.  In  the  possession  of  Mr.  iMorton 
there  are  also  many  other  letters  from  relatives  of  deceased  persons,  testifying 
as  to  the  satisfactory  manner  in  which  the  remains  of  the  dead  were  pre- 
pared for  distant  burial. 

During  1903  the  firm  of  Morton  &  Connelly  purchased  and  brought  to 
Bakersfield  the  first  ambulance  ever  used  in  the  city.  This  ccnveyance,  which 
cost  about  $1400,  is  equipped  with  every  modern  device.  The  office  and  parlors 
of  the  undertaking  establishment  possess  every  modern  convenience.  The 
chapel,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  two  hundred  and  fifty,  is  offered  free  to 
patrons.  The  display  room  contains  caskets  and  burglar-proof  vaults,  while 
the  store  room  is  in  the  basement.  An  embalming  room  and  private  laying-out 
rooms  are  so  arranged  as  to  insure  entire  privacy  even  though  a  number  of 
cases  should  happen  to  be  in  charge  at  one  time.  Five  hearses  are  utilized, 
suitable  for  all  ages  and  occasions. 

Outside  of  the  interests  of  his  business  Mr.  Morton  is  known  as  a  genial 
gentleman  of  cultured  tastes  and  progressive  spirit.  While  living  at  Suisun 
City  he  became  identified  with  the  blue  lodge  of  Masonry  and  later  he  asso- 
ciated himself  with  the  Eagles,  IMoose  and  Woodmen,  in  all  of  which  organ- 
izations he  has  been  interested  and  liberal.  His  marriage  united  him  with  Miss 
Eleanor  E.  Dunn,  by  whom  he  has  two  children.  The  son.  Raymond  A., 
formerly  secretary  to  the  Hotaling  estate,  is  now  bookkeeper  with  a  San  Fran- 
cisco firm  and  is  regarded  as  a  rising  young  man.  The  daughter,  Mrs.  Hazel  A. 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COUNTY  1105 

Stephens,  resides  at  Xo.  511  Chester  avenue,  Bakersfield.  In  order  that  they 
may  devote  their  entire  attention  to  the  business  Air.  and  Mrs.  Morton  occupy 
apartments  in  the  same  building  with  their  undertaking  establishment,  at  No. 
1712  Chester  avenue,  from  which  headquarters  they  respond  promptly  to  all 
calls.  Mrs.  Morton  has  proved  of  the  greatest  assistance  to  her  husband  in 
the  business. 

GEORGE  J.  PETZ.— In  Newark,  N.  J.,  Mr.  Petz  was  born  June  22,  1860, 
son  of  Charles  and  Mary  (Burghof)  Petz.  The  father  was  born  in  Germany, 
and  settled  in  Newark,  where  he  followed  landscape  gardening,  and  there  he 
died.  Mrs.  Mary  Petz  was  also  a  native  of  Germany,  and  her  death  in  1892 
was  the  result  of  an  accident  on  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western 
railroad,  the  end  taking  place  in  Newark.  Three  children  had  come  of  their 
marriage,  one  of  whom  has  passed  away. 

George  J.  Petz  was  the  second  of  his  parents'  children.  He  grew  to 
manhood  in  his  native  city,  attending  the  public  schools,  upon  leaving 
which  he  learned  the  butcher's  trade.  For  five  years,  until  1877,  he  followed 
this  trade,  and  then  made  his  way  to  Florence,  Marion  county,  Kan.,  where 
he  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising  until  1886.  He  then 
removed  to  C(  lorado  Springs,  in  the  spring  of  1888  going  to  Durango,  Colo., 
and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  decided  to  go  west.  He  started  with  mule-team 
and  wagon  across  the  mountains  and  Death  valley,  arriving  in  Kern  county, 
Cal.,  a  short  time  later,  and  immediately  became  employed  in  general  team- 
ing for  Haggin  &  Carr  in  Bakersfield.  .\fter  the  fire  in  1889  he  bought  out 
the  American  bakery,  a  small  concern  situated  on  the  corner  of  Eighteenth 
and  Chester  streets,  which  business  he  continued  to  conduct  until  1893, 
when  he  sold  out  and  traveled  for  a  while  reoresenting  dift'erent  lines.  One 
year  was  spent  at  Enid,  Okla.,  and  he  finally  returned  to  Bakersfield,  in 
September,  1897,  entering  the  employ  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company, 
in  the  building  of  their  headgates.  and  he  has  since  been  associated  with 
them  in  dififerent  capacities.  So  efficient  and  apt  did  he  prove  himself  that 
in  1901  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  department  of  the  headgates  and 
is  today  carrying  out  those  duties  to  the  complete  satisfaction  of  his  em- 
ployers. Mr.  Petz  erected  a  residence  at  No.  90S  K  street,  Bakersfield, 
where  he  and  his  wife  make  their  home. 

On  December  5,  1883,  in  Florence,  Kans.,  Mr.  Petz  was  married  to  Miss 
Ida  M.  Howard,  who  was  born  in  Wisconsin,  daughter  of  George  H.  and 
Elizabeth  (Allen)  Howard,  the  former  a  native  of  New  York  and  the  latter 
of  Pennsylvania.  George  H.  Howard  settled  in  Wisconsin,  later  going  to 
Trenton,  Iowa,  and  then  to  Florence.  Kans.,  where  he  was  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits,  moving  thence  to  Leadville.  Colo.  In  1886  he  came 
to  Bakersfield,  locating  on  government  land  in  Santiago  canyon,  which  he 
improved,  later  returning  to  Iowa,  staying  for  a  time  at  Banning,  that 
state,  and  then  to  .•Xrkansas,  where  his  death  occurred.  l\Irs.  Howard  nassed 
away  in  Iowa.  Four  children  were  born  to  ATr.  and  Mrs.  Howard,  of 
whom  Mrs.  Petz  was  the  youngest. 

]\Tr.  and  Mrs.  Petz  have  no  children,  Init  give  much  of  their  time  and 
attention  to  social  activities.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Eagles,  is 
past  officer  of  the  subordinate  lodge  of  the  Encampment.  I.  O.  O.  F.,  a 
member  of  the  Canton  of  the  same  order,  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Moose, 
and  the  Rebekahs.  Mrs.  Petz  is  a  past  noble  grand  of  Rebekah  Lodge 
No.  47,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  a  member  and  chief  of  honor  of  Valentine  Lodge,  Degree 
of  Honor,  and  a  member  of  Hurlburt  Pest,  No.  115.  W.  R.  C.  In  his  political 
views  Mr.  Petz  is  a  Republican. 

GEORGE  W.  COFFEE.— For  more  than  thirty  years  the  capnblc  activ- 
ities of  George   W.   Coffee  identified   him    with   the    stock   industry   in    Kern 


1106  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

county,  whither  he  came  in  young  manhood  and  to  which  he  gave  the  remain- 
ing years  of  a  useful  existence  as  rancher,  stock-raiser  and  progressive  citizen. 
From  childhood  he  was  familiar  with  the  stock  business.  He  could  scarcely 
recall  the  time  when  he  first  began  to  assist  in  the  care  of  cattle.  Little  by 
little  he  came  to  be  an  expert  judge  of  stock  and  understood  the  best  methods 
of  caring  for  them,  of  treating  their  ailments  and  of  promoting  their  prepara- 
tion for  the  markets.  Through  this  accurate  knowledge  of  the  business  he 
was  chosen  superintendent  of  the  stock  interests  of  Carr  and  Haggin  in  Kern 
county  and  from  that  position  he  drifted  into  business  for  himself. 

Although  not  a  Californian  by  birth,  the  conscious  existence  of  Mr.  Coffee 
was  practically  associated  with  this  state,  for  he  was  only  two  years  of  age 
when  his  father,  Eli,  brought  the  family  across  the  plains  with  ox-teams  and 
wagon.  The  previous  home  of  the  family  had  been  in  JefTerson  county.  Mo., 
where  he  was  born  December  13,  1855,  but  after  1857  the  home  was  on  a 
ranch  near  Visalia,  Tulare  county,  and  there  the  boy  was  educated  in  common- 
school  branches  and  in  a  knowledge  of  farming  and  stock-raising.  Upon 
starting  out  for  himself  in  1876  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  entered  the  employ 
of  Carr  and  Haggin.  He  remained  with  them  as  superintendent  uf  stock  and 
resigned  only  when  he  had  determined  to  embark  in  the  stock  business  for 
himself.  The  small  herd  which  he  had  at  first  increased  by  slow  but  sure 
degrees  and  a  high  order  of  ability  was  manifest  in  his  supervision  and  suc- 
cessful oversight.  While  owning  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  Greenhorn  moun- 
tains and  ranging  his  droves  there,  he  maintained  his  home  and  headquarters 
on  a  ranch  four  and  one-half  miles  from  Bakersfield  and  there,  January  19, 
1907,  death  came  to  him,  terminating  his  useful  activities  and  depriving  the 
community  of  a  citizen  of  recognized  worth.     He  was  a  Democrat. 

Surviving  Mr.  Cofifee  are  his  wife,  Mrs.  Charity  F.  (Thompson)  Coffee 
and  their  three  daughters,  Georgia,  Mrs.  Staley,  of  San  Francisco,  Anna,  Mrs. 
Smoot,  of  W'hite  River,  and  Dorothy,  who  resides  with  her  mother.  Prior  to 
their  marriage,  which  was  solemnized  in  this  city,  Mrs.  Coffee  had  engaged  in 
teaching  for  some  years  and  had  been  successfully  identified  with  educational 
work  in  Kern  county.  The  family  of  which  she  is  a  member  belongs  to  pioneer 
Californian  associations.  Her  father,  Isaac  N.  Thompson,  who  had  been  born 
in  Virginia  and  reared  in  Michigan  near  the  city  of  Niles,  came  to  California 
by  way  of  the  Horn  in  1849,  attracted  by  the  discovery  of  gold.  The  mines, 
however,  did  not  long  engage  his  attention,  but  he  was  so  pleased  with  the 
west  that  he  located  here  permanently.  After  some  years  in  the  state  he  re- 
turned to  Michigan,  married  Miss  Anna  Smith,  a  native  of  that  common- 
wealth, and  returned  to  California  accompanied  by  his  young  wife.  After 
a  short  sojourn  in  Sacramento  he  settled  near  Santa  Clara  and  there  Mrs. 
Coffee  was  born,  reared  and  educated.  There,  at  the  age  of  ninety  years,  Mr. 
Thompson  still  makes  his  home,  continuing  the  pleasant  associations  en- 
deared to  him  through  long  residence  in  the  same  locality.  Many  years  ago 
he  lost  his  wife,  who  passed  away  at  the  age  of  forty.  Of  the  seven  children 
comprising  the  family,  all  but  one  are  still  living,  Mrs.  Coffee  having  been 
next  to  the  oldest  of  the  number.  Since  the  death  of  her  husband  she  has  con- 
tinued the  stock  business  established  by  him  and  has  superintended  affairs 
with  an  energy  meriting  the  most  satisfactory  results. 

WILLIAM  J.  BROWNING.— Important  as  may  be  the  work  of  the 
specialist  if  individual  advancement  is  to  be  considered,  it  is  the  man  of  affairs 
who  contributes  most  largely  to  the  general  prosperity.  A  man  may  engage 
in  one  enterprise  calling  for  the  investment  of  moderate  capital  and  the  em- 
ployment of  only  a  few  assistants  and  achieve  a  notable  personal  success.  But 
the  man  who  sets  numerous  enterprises  going  must  necessarily  employ  a  larger 
capital  and  many  more  helpers,  thus  ccming  in  contact  with  the  public  through 
many  avenues.    Of  the  latter  class  is  \\^illiam    T-   P>ro\vning,  of  Delano,  who 


HISroKY    ()|-    Kl-.RX    COl'NTY  1107 

as  will  be  seen  has  worthily  conquered  success  in  many  fields  of  endeavor. 
Mr.  Browning  was  born  at  Phillips  Flat,  Merced  county,  June  10,  1854.  His 
father,  Jacob  A.  Browning,  was  born  in  New  York  City.  Me  was  a  pioneer  of 
California,  coming  across  the  plains  with  teams  in  1851.  He  ran  a  trading  post 
in  Mariposa  as  early  as  1853  and  was  also  engaged  in  the  stock  business  until 
bis  death  in  1865.  He  had  married  in  Mariposa,  in  1853,  Elizabeth  Marr,  who 
was  born  in  Scotland  and  came  with  her  parents  in  the  sailing  barque  Glou- 
cester around  Cape  Horn  to  San  Francisco,  arriving  in  the  spring  of  1849. 
Grandfather  John  Marr  brought  with  him  several  houses  already  framed, 
which  he  put  up  in  the  new  town,  which  had  just  had  its  name  changed  from 
Verba  Buena  to  San  Francisco.  The  mother  is  now  living  with  a  daughter 
in  Kansas  City. 

William  J.  Browning's  educational  advantages  were  restricted  to  those 
of  the  common  school  in  the  summer  months,  terminating  when  he  was  four- 
teen years  old.  He  was  only  eleven  years  old  when  he  went  to  work  in  the 
Washington  mine  in  Mariposa  county  where  he  was  employed  two  years. 
Then,  gcing  to  Merced  county,  he  found  work  with  a  butcher,  for  whom  he 
drove  a  delivery  wagon  two  years  and  worked  in  the  meat  market  one  year. 
In  1871  he  took  up  surveying  as  a  member  of  the  force  of  U.  G.  Curtis,  at 
Modesto.  He  was  engaged  on  railroad  surveys  and  surveyed  the  town  site 
of  Fresno  before  that  town  was  started.  Later  he  was  employed  at  Hermosa 
and  in  Merced  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company.  Then  for  a  time 
he  handled  printing  on  commission.  In  1874  he  began  hunting  game  for 
market  and  from  that  time  down  to  a  comparatively  recent  date  he  has  em- 
ployed many  hunters  and  has  himself  hunted  from  time  to  time.  At  times 
his  operations  have  been  on  a  large  scale,  giving  work  to  from  thirty  to  forty 
men  experienced  in  hunting,  trajjping  and  killing  game  and  preparing  it  for 
market.  In  1885  he  received  an  offer  of  $1030  for  one  thousand  live  rabbits 
and  engaged  actively  in  rabbit  trapping.  In  1887  he  invented  and  perfected  the 
Browning  system  for  capturing  rabbits  in  large  drives  and  he  has  for  years 
shipped  many  live  rabbits  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  Mexico  and  Eng- 
land. For  seven  3'ears  he  conducted  a  fishery  on  Tulare  lake,  and  his  expe- 
riences as  hunter  and  trapper  formerly  took  him  to  all  parts  of  the  state. 

In  1884  Mr.  Browning  took  up  a  homestead  on  which  he  moved  and  which 
he  improved,  living  there  until  in  1892.  By  subsequent  purchases  he  in- 
creased his  holdings  to  two  thousand  acres.  In  association  with  Andre  Vieux 
he  is  the  owner  of  eight  hundred  acres  of  fine  orange  land.  He  has  acquired 
property  in  Tulare  county  which  is  under  productive  cultivation.  For  some 
years  he  has  made  his  home  at  Delano,  where  he  is  the  owner  of  the  New 
Central  Hotel,  and  he  is  active  in  the  handling  of  real  estate.  In  1888-89  he  in- 
^.talled  the  first  pumping  plant  in  Tulare  county.  At  that  time  it  was  small, 
but  he  has  increased  its  capacity  to  one  hundred  horse  power  and  he  is  exten- 
sively engaged  in  raising  alfalfa,  cattle,  horses,  mules  and  hogs  for  the  markets. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  an  important  local  irrigating  sys- 
tem, is  a  member  of  the  Bnard  of  Trade  of  Delano,  is  interested  in  oil  fields  in 
Maricopa  and  is  extensively  engaged  in  stockraising  and  general  farming.  As 
a  citizen  he  is  helpful  in  a  public-spirited  way  to  all  important  movements. 
He  was  married  in  1884  at  Merced,  Cal.,  to  Miss  Emma  VVheating,  a  native 
oi  New  Orleans,  and  they  have  one  daughter,  Ethel.  Fraternally  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Eagles  and  the  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West. 

V.  D.  McCUTCHEN.— It  is  possible  that  the  distinction  of  being  the 
youngest  business  man  in  Bakersfield  belongs  to  Van  Dixon  McCutchen, 
the  proprietor  and  manager  of  the  Chester  machine  shop  located  on  the 
corner  of  Chester  avenue  and  Twenty-fourth  street.  When  only  seventeen 
vears  of  age,  in  November  of  1911,  he  embarked  in  the  automobile  business 


1108  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  opened  the  garage  and  repair  shop  which  has  continued  under  his 
successful  management  ever  since. 

Although  a  native  of  Arizona  (born  at  Prescott  September  13,  1894), 
Van  Dixon  McCutchen  has  lived  in  Kern  county  from  his  earliest  recollec- 
tions. The  third  among  four  children,  of  whom  the  others  are  Preston  (at 
Taft),  Ollie  and  Perry,  he  is  a  son  of  J.  B.  and  Margaret  (Dixon)  Mc- 
Cutchen, natives,  respectively,  of  Iowa  and  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  The  father 
came  west  in  early  life  and  worked  for  a  time  at  Sacramento,  afterward 
taking  his  wife  and  family  to  Prescott,  Ariz.,  whence  he  came  to  Kern 
county  in  1894  and  ever  since  has  engaged  in  farming  and  in  oil  operations. 
With  his  brothers  he  became  a  pioneer  in  the  Maricopa  oil  field  and  did 
much  to  aid  in  the  early  development  of  that  district.  Further  mention  of 
his  career  is  made  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Reared  on  the  home  farm  in 
the  Old  River  district,  V.  D.  McCutchen  alternated  attendance  at  school 
with  work  on  the  home  place,  but  all  of  the  time  he  studied  machinery  and 
when  yet  a  mere  lad  he  displayed  remarkable  mechanical  skill,  which  led 
him  to  embark  in  the  repair  and  machine  business  in  Bakersfield.  A  skilled 
motorcyclist  and  an  expert  in  the  use  and  repair  of  that  machine,  he  has 
become  a  member  of  the  Federation  of  American  Motorcyclists  and  mam- 
tains  a  warm  interest  in  the  activities  of  that  growing  organization. 

HARRY  C.  RAMBO.— A  native  of  Iowa,  Mr.  Rambo  was  born  in 
Monroe  county,  February  4,  1866,  and  in  1874  was  taken  to  Union  county, 
that  state,  by  his  parents,  William  and  Rebecca  (Moffett)  Rambo.  Edu- 
cated principally  in  the  schools  of  Union  county,  he  was  there  fitted  for 
the  activities  of  the  world  and  was  taught  to  be  self-reliant  and  industrious. 
From  an  early  age  he  was  self-supporting.  Of  a  persevering,  industrious 
nature,  he  prepared  himself  for  a  life  of  able  service  in  agriculture.  Self- 
reliance  was  his  watchword  and  independence  his  aim.  Upon  coming  to 
California  he  alternated  between  Fresno  and  Kern  counties  for  the  first  six 
years.  His  interests  were  manifold  and  included  contract  freighting,  the  dig- 
ging of  ditches,  the  buying  of  land  and  the  raising  of  grain  and  fruit.  As 
early  as  1887  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  at  once  began  improving  a  ranch 
in  the  Semi  Tropic  district.  In  1893  he  began  grain-raising  on  land  of  the 
Kern  County  Land  Company,  meanwhile  learning  much  concerning  the 
soil  and  its  possibilities.  During  1899  he  established  himself  in  Bakersfield 
and  for  five  years  was  associated  with  the  Chamberlain  Canning  Company. 
Later  he  embarked  in  the  plumbing  and  tinning  business.  Other  interests 
also  engaged  his  attention,  among  them  being  the  introduction  and  instal- 
lation of  oil  burners  and  the  sale  of  distillate,  and  the  incorporation  of  the 
Western  Burner  and  Fuel  Company.  He  was  president  and  manager  of  the 
business,  the  ofifice  of  the  company  being  located  at  I  and  Twentieth  streets. 

Upon  disposing  of  his  business  interests  in  Bakersfield  during  1906  Mr. 
Rambo  traveled  for  about  two  years  in  Texas  in  the  interest  of  oil  and  min- 
ing. With  Mr.  Wickard  and  others  he  was  the  first  to  develop  the  Chelite 
Tungsten  mine  at  Randsburg.  After  farming  for  a  year  on  South  Union 
avenue  he  next  became  interested  in  farming  and  the  dairy  business  at  Wasco 
and  Semi  Tropic,  having  sold  his  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  that  he  and 
his  brother  had  purchased  in  partnership.  The  cultivation  of  the  land  has 
occupied  his  attention  for  several  years,  the  experience  enabling  him  to 
ascertain  what  products  are  best  adapted  to  the  soil.  Meanwhile  he  has 
put  much  of  the  land  into  grain  and  alfalfa,  having  found  these  two  products 
remunerative  beyond  his  most  sanguine  expectations.  Applying  his  knowl- 
edge and  experience  he  incorporated  the  Wasco  Land  and  Stock  Company, 
the  company  purchasing  nine  hundred  acres  eleven  miles  west  of  Wasco, 
and  he  has  since  been  manager.  Wells  have  been  sunk  on  the  propert}^  and 
a  pumping  plant  installed  with  a  capacity  of  one  hundred  inches.     In  addi- 


Ai>a^.A).  /^au^. 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  1111 

tion  to  raising  alfalfa  and  grain  the  dairy  business  is  followed  with  splendid 
success.  Recent  developments  show  strong  indications  of  nil  of  a  high  grav- 
ity, although  no  satisfactory  tests  have  resulted. 

Mr.  Ranibo  was  married  in  Rakersfield  February  4,  1908,  to  Miss 
Bertie  Blalock,  born  in  Texas,  the  daughter  of  James  \'.  and  Nancy  (Tank- 
ersley)  Blalock.  The  latter  brought  their  family  to  California,  locating  in 
Kern  county,  where  the  daughter  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  public 
schools.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rambo  are  the  jiarents  of  two  children,  Ethel  and 
Gilbert.  In  his  religious  views  Mr.  Ranibo  is  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  in  AVasco.  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  founders  and  a  member 
of  its  first  board  of  trustees. 

C.  H.  ACKERLEY.— Horn  in  Los  Angeles  county.  May  27,  188.S,  Mr.  Ack- 
erley  was  reared  on  his  father's  ranch  and  from  an  early  age  has  been  an  ex- 
pert telegrapher,  filling  positions  of  responsibility  at  various  points  in  the  state. 
June  26,  1911.  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Maude  \\'ithers,  a  native 
of  Kansas  City,  Mo.  Since  coming  to  Taft  he  has  erected  a  number  of  cot- 
tages and  in  one  of  these  he  resides  with  his  wife  and  son.  C.  Harold,  Jr. 

When  only  eighteen  years  of  age  Mr.  Ackerley  was  sent  to  Kern  Junc- 
tion to  act  as  telegraph  operator  for  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
at  that  point,  previous  experience  as  an  assistant  having  qualified  him  for 
larger  responsibilities.  From  Kern  Junction  he  was  transferred  to  Hazelton, 
then  known  as  Sunset.  April  1,  1909.  he  came  to  Moron  and  took  charge  as  sta- 
tion agent,  continuing  with  the  Southern  Pacific  at  this  place  until  December 
1,  1911,  when  the  Santa  Fe  assumed  the  management  here  and  since  then  he 
has  been  retained  by  the  latter  company.  As  early  as  1902  the  Sunset  Railroad 
was  built  from  Bakersfield  to  Hazelton.  A  branch  was  built  from  Pentland 
Junction  to  Fellows  during  1908  and  was  opened  for  business  early  in  1909, 
and  a  branch  from  Fellows  to  Shale  was  constructed  during  1911.  The  whole 
system  from  Kern  to  Monarch  (Maricopa)  and  from  Pentland  to  Shale  is 
now  known  as  the  Sunset  Railway  Company's  road.  A  Southern  Pacific  box 
car  was  headquarters  for  all  the  freight  business  at  Taft  and  was  utilized  for 
a  time  also  as  office  for  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company  and  the 
Wells-Fargo  Express  Company. 

An  experience  at  Hazelton,  where  the  receijjts  for  one  month  amciunted  to 
$300,000,  qualified  INIr.  Ackerley  for  the  heavy  responsibilities  at  Taft,  which 
in  1910  had  the  third  largest  freight  business  in  the  state,  being  surpassed  only 
by  San  Francisco  and  Los  Angeles.  The  responsibilities  of  the  freight  agent 
were  heavy.  The  business  was  much  congested.  To  add  to  his  difficulties, 
he  not  only  had  a  very  inadequate  office,  but  also  an  insufficient  force.  There 
were  only  six  helpers  at  first.  \\'hen  the  company  realized  the  ent;rmity  of 
the  business,  he  was  allowed  an  increase  and  given  twenty-two  assistants, 
while  the  telegraph  and  express  offices  were  removed.  The  shipments  now 
are  not  as  great  as  in  the  boom  days  of  1910,  yet  the  amount  is  satisfactory 
and  the  revenues  gratifying.  Taft  is  now  a  day  and  night  office,  with  three 
telegraph  operators  and  nine  clerks  and  warehousemen,  besides  the  station 
agent  himself.  A  waiting  room  has  been  pmvided  for  passengers,  conve- 
niences have  been  put  in.  the  accommodations  for  freight  have  been  enlarged, 
and  the  agent  finds  his  work  far  less  strenuous  than  in  the  early  period  of 
development.  For  one  year  after  he  took  charge  he  was  the  only  agent  be- 
tween Pentland  Junction  and  Fellows  and  he  handled  as  much  as  $500,000 
per  month  for  the  Southern  Pacific  in  freight  and  passenger  charges.  In 
those  days  about  eighty  cars  of  water  were  brought  to  Taft  everv  twenty- 
four  hours  and  from  the  tanks  distributed  throughout  the  oil  fields.  Shipments 
of  oil  from  the  fields  were  also  continuous  and  unprecedented.  Since  then 
pipe  lines  have  been  built  that  convey  the  greater  part  of  the  oil  (  ut  of  the 
west  side  fields,  although  two  large  train  loads  of  tanks  are  still  shipped  out 


1112  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

daily  and  two  switch  engines  attend  to  hauling  freight  to  and  from  Pentland 
Junction  and  Shale  and  intermediate  points.  While  the  Southern  Pacific  was 
first  in  charge  of  the  freight  business,  by  contract  the  management  was  given 
over  to  the  Santa  Fe  December  1.  1911,  for  a  period  of  five  years,  the  Southern 
Pacific  to  resume  control  December  1,  1916.  Immediately  after  the  Santa  Fe 
came  into  charge  the  name  Moron  was  superseded  by  that  of  Taft,  reforms 
were  inaugurated,  improvements  made  and  a  passenger  service  adopted  that 
enables  a  man  to  leave  San  Francisco  in  the  morning  and  reach  the  oil  field  of 
the  Midway  during  the  evening  of  the  same  day;  or,  leaving  Lcs  Angeles  in 
the  evening,  any  of  the  west  side  points  will  be  reached  in  the  morning. 

MRS.  AMELIA  H.  MAY. — One  of  the  pioneer  women  who  have  given 
of  their  best  efiforts  and  energies  towards  the  development  and  upbuilding 
of  Kern  county  from  a  region  of  unbroken  desert  to  one  of  broad  fields  of 
growing  crops  is  Mrs.  Amelia  H.  May,  who  was  born  in  St.  Clair  county, 
111..  September  18,  1848,  the  daughter  of  Charles  and  Achsah  (Smith)  Alex- 
ander, natives  of  St.  Clair  county.  111.,  and  Wayne  county,  N.  Y.  respectively. 
The  father  was  a  farmer  in  St.  Clair  county  until  1852,  when  he  brought  his 
family  to  California  by  way  of  Nicaragua  route,  locating  n\  Sonoma  county, 
where  he  purchased  a  farm  from  his  uncle,  Cyrus  Alexander.  This  had  been 
0  part  of  the  Sotoyome  grant  and  there  they  followed  horticulture  and  farm- 
ing on  the  Russian  river  until  they  died.  The  Alexander  family  trace  their 
genealogy  to  Scotland.  The  progenitor  of  the  family,  Hugh  .Mexander.  came 
to  America  in  1736,  afterwards  locating  on  a  tract  of  land  in  Sherman's  Valley, 
now  Perry  county.  Pa.  He  was  very  active  during  the  Revolution  in  the  cause 
of  freedom  and  served  as  a  deputy  from  Cumberland  county  on  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  in  Philadelphia,  Pa'.,  June  18,  1876. 

Of  the  family  of  Charles  and  Achsah  Alexander  there  were  five  children, 
three  of  whom  are  now  living,  Amelia  H.  being  the  oldest.  Hei  childhood  was 
spent  in  Alexander  Valley,  Sonoma  county,  attending  the  public  schools  and 
Alexander  Academy  in  Healdsburg,  the  latter  having  been  founded  by  her 
uncle,  Cyrus  Alexander.  After  completing  the  academic  course  she  followed 
teaching  in  Sonoma  county  until  her  marriage  October  31,  1867,  to  Frank  P. 
May,  who  was  born  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  October  31,  1845.  At  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  left  school  and  ofifered  his  services  to  the  cause  of  the  Union  in  the 
First  Virginia  Cavalry,  which  formed  a  part  of  the  famous  Light  Brigade 
and  during  his  service  was  wounded  in  the  right  leg.  At  the  expiration  of  his 
term  of  enlistment  he  was  honorably  discharged  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant. 
After  the  war  he  came  to  Sonoma  county,  Cal.,  where  as  stated  he  was  mar- 
ried. They  engaged  in  farming  until  April  11,  1872,  when  they  came  to  Kern 
county  and  located  in  the  Old  River  district,  where  they  homesteaded  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  began  making  improvements,  engaging  in  general 
farming  and  stock  raising  and  as  rapidly  as  possible  checking  the  land  and 
sowing  it  to  alfalfa.  However,  his  labors  were  cut  short  before  his  ambition 
was  accomplished,  for  he  died  in  1892.  After  his  death  his  widow  continued 
the  improvements;  she  now  owns  eighty  acres  under  the  Farmers  canal 
devoted  to  raising  alfalfa  and  stock;  it  is  leased,  and  she  makes  her  home  in 
Bakersfield.  Her  family  consisted  of  six  children,  four  of  whom  grew  up : 
Mary,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Herod,  of  Bakersfield;  Chester,  who  died  at  thirty-seven 
years  of  age;  Howard,  living  in  Arizona;  and  Cora,  Mrs.  Bowen,  of  Maricopa. 

Mr.  May  served  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  from  the  org.iniza- 
tion  of  the  Panama  school  district  until  his  death.  Mrs.  May  is  a  devoted 
Christian  woman  and  is  an  active  member  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Bakersfield. 

J.  S.  WORLEY. — The  difficulty  in  securing  water  has  been  one  of  the 
most  serious  problems  confronting  the  people  of  Taft  ever  since  the  founding 
of  the  town.     Not  only  was  the  cost  of  water  altogether  unreasonable  and 


^^^^-^^i^L.  '^  yj^ccy^ 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1115 

exorbitant  in  the  first  years  of  the  town's  history,  but  it  could  be  secured 
at  any  price  only  after  the  most  self-sacrificing  efi:'orts  on  the  part  of  the 
pioneers.  That  a  more  reasonable  price  is  now  possible  results  from  the 
sagacious  policy  adopted  by  the  Consumers  Water  Company,  an  organiza- 
tion subsidiary  to  the  Western  Water  Company,  and  the  successor  to  the 
Taft  Utilities  Company,  which  was  incorporated  and  financed  by 
a  number  of  the  representative  pioneers  and  public-spirited  citi- 
zens of  Taft.  For  two  years,  1910-12,  the  concern  placed  water 
within  the  reach  of  those  desiring  it  for  domestic  purposes.  The  water  was 
bought  at  Kern  or  East  Bakersfield  and  shipped  to  Taft  in  tank  cars,  from 
which  it  was  forced  out  into  two  twelve  hundred-barrel  tanks  on  the  hill, 
thence  gravitated  down  to  the  residence  and  business  section  of  Taft.  Neces- 
sarily this  was  done  at  a  high  cost,  viz. :  twenty  cents  per  barrel.  The 
Consumers  Water  Company  has  completed  its  connection  for  domestic 
and  mechanical  use  and  now  supplies  water  at  a  ma.ximum  of  twelve  and 
one-half  cents  per  barrel,  with  a  discount  for  cash,  if  paid  before  the  10th 
of  each  month,  so  as  to  bring  the  price  down  to  nine  cents  per  barrel  to 
the  private  users.  In  addition  the  company  provides  water  for  fire  pro- 
tection to  the  municipality  of  Taft.  During  June  of  1913  the  city  of  Taft 
completed  a  water  system  which  at  its  expense  had  been  constructed  and 
installed  for  fire  protection.  Under  the  agreement  now  in  force  the  Con- 
sumers Water  Company  pumps  into  a  large  tank,  of  fifty-five  thousand  barrel 
capacity,  situated  at  an  altitude  of  five  hundred  feet  on  the  crest  of  25-lIill, 
enough  water  to  provide  adequate  fire  protection,  the  same  having  a  pressure 
originally  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  per  square  inch,  which  however 
has  been  reduced  by  valves  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds. 

The  Western  Water  Company,  to  which  the  Consumers  is  subsidiary, 
has  a  reputation  for  large  enterprises.  An  immense  concern,  capitalized  in 
Kern  county,  incorporated  for  $500,OCO  under  the  laws  of  California,  it 
has  had  the  guiding  genius  of  such  men  as  F.  H.  Hall,  C.  B.  Colby  and 
others,  and  has  laid  mains  to  supply  with  water  the  oil  fields  of  the  west 
side  as  well  as  all  the  towns  situated  therein. 

A  native  son  of  the  state,  Mr.  Worley  was  born  in  San  Bernardino 
December  20,  1865,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late  Benjamin  and  Harriet  (Court- 
ney) Worley,  pioneers  of  the  west.  The  parents  were  married  in  Ohio  and 
shortly  afterward  joined  an  expedition  bound  for  California,  making  the 
journey  overland  through  Colorado  and  Utah.  Although  they  passed  the 
site  of  the  Mountain  meadow  massacre  shortly  after  that  catastrophe  they 
were  not  attacked  by  Indians  nor  did  they  meet  with  other  misfortunes, 
but  arrived  in  health  and  safety  at  their  journey's  end.  The  family  com- 
prised six  children  and  the  third  of  these,  J.  S.,  was  sent  to  the  San 
Bernardino  schools,  where  he  received  a  good  rudimentary  education.  Long 
before  a  tie  or  rail  was  ever  laid  he  traveled  over  the  route  where  after- 
ward he  carried  a  chain  and  helped  to  survey  for  the  road  built  by  the 
Santa  Fe  from  Needles,  Ariz.,  to  San  Bernardino,  Cal.  In  such  work  he 
received  his  first  training  as  a  civil  engineer.  Later  he  was  connected  with 
the  construction  of  the  water  system  for  the  Bear  Valley  Water  Company 
of  Redlands  and  on  the  completion  of  the  plant  he  continued  in  the  employ 
of  its  officials,  being,  indeed,  for  eighteen  years  a  trustworthy  manager  of 
its  lines.  When  he  resigned  the  positi(  n.  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  entering 
the  employ  of  the  Edison  Power  Company  as  a  civil  engineer  and  con- 
struction foreman.  Largely  due  to  his  efTorts  was  the  erection  of  power 
house  No.  1  on  the  Kern  river.  To  him  was  given  charge  of  the  entire 
system  of  the  Edison  Power  Company,  which  for  the  first  time  made  him  a 
resident  of  Kern  county.  The  completion  and  management  of  the  aqueduct 
and   power   house   occupied   the   years    from    1907    to    1910   inclusi\e    and    in 


1116  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

June  of  1911  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Western  Water  Company,  taking 
charge  of  the  construction  of  pumping  station  No.  1.  In  addition  he  super- 
intended the  laying  of  mains  and  the  installing  of  engines  and  power  plants. 
During  February  of  1912  he  came  to  Taft,  where  since  he  has  been  in 
charge  of  the  business  of  the  Consumers'  Water  Company. 

MICHAEL  THEODORE  KEAN.— A  native  of  Alichigan,  Michael  T. 
Kean  was  born  in  Marine  City,  St.  Clair  county.  May  9,  1853,  a  grandson 
of  John  Kean,  Sr.,  who  served  the  American  cause  gallantly  in  the  war 
of  1812,  being  present  at  Hull's  surrender.  John  Kean,  Jr.,  father  of  Michael 
T.,  was  born  at  the  old  home  of  the  Keans  in  Ireland  and  settled  in  Michigan 
at  a  comparatively  early  date.  A  man  of  business  ability,  he  became  a  con- 
tractor of  government  work  and  had  to  do  with  much  important  construc- 
tion in  St.  Clair  county,  including  a  light  house  and  jobs  on  St.  Clair  Flats. 
When  not  busy  with  contracting,  which  was  his  chief  business,  he  devoted 
himself  to  farming.  He  married  Mary  Moran,  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  they 
both  passed  away  in  Michigan. 

Of  the  five  children  of  the  worthy  couple  just  referred  to  1\I.  T.  Kean 
was  the  first  born  and  three  others  are  living.  When  he  was  old  enough  he 
was  put  to  school  in  St.  Clair  county,  where  he  studied  until  he  was  fifteen. 
He  was  then  apprenticed  to  the  ship  carpenters'  trade  in  his  native  town, 
working  six  months  without  pay,  then  for  a  time  at  fifty  cents  a  day  and  later 
at  $1  a  day.  After  completing  his  apprenticeship  in  1872  he  went  to  Lincoln, 
Neb.,  where  he  found  employment  as  a  carpenter  and  where  he  soon  entered 
the  University  of  Nebraska  to  take  a  three  years'  scientific  course.  It  is 
greatly  to  his  credit  that  he  worked  his  way  at  that  institution,  earning 
money  at  odd  times  with  which  to  pay  all  his  expenses.  Before  his  course 
was  finished,  however,  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  his  studies  because  of  an 
aflfection  of  his  eyes.  Entering  the  employ  of  the  Fitzgerald  &  Mallory  Con- 
struction Company  as  a  carpenter,  he  was  soon  advanced  to  the  position  of 
general  foreman  of  their  work  on  such  lines  as  the  B.  &  M.,  in  Nebraska  and 
Kansas ;  the  M.  P.  in  Nebraska  and  Kansas ;  and  the  Chicago,  Burlington  & 
Quincy  in  Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and  Iowa.  When  the  M.  P.  Company  built 
its  road  to  Pueblo  in  1888  he  was  its  general  foreman  in  bridge  and  building 
construction.  When  the  work  was  finished  he  took  up  contracting  and  build- 
ing at  Pueblo,  with  a  real  estate  business  on  the  side,  prosoered  for  awhile, 
but  in  1893  fell  with  others  under  the  influence  of  the  panic.  Not  disheart- 
ened at  having  been  thus  "reduced  to  the  ranks,"  he  went  back  to  carpenter 
work.  In  1895  he  came  to  San  Diego,  Cal.,  and  was  foreman  of  carpenter 
work  for  Spreckels  until  the  fall  of  1897,  when  he  resigned  and  went  to 
Arizona  for  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Company  as  foreman 
of  bridge  and  building  construction  between  Albuquerque  and  Needles.  He 
was  thus  employed  until  September,  1901,  when  he  took  up  his  residence 
in  Bakersfield,  where  after  working  at  his  trade  for  a  short  time  he  became 
foreman  for  Burleigh  and  was  put  in  charge  of  work  on  the  Producers'  Bank 
building,  then  in  course  of  construction.  Later  he  was  similarly  employed 
on  the  Metrooole  Hotel  building.  About  1902  he  began  contracting  at  Bak- 
ersfield on  his  own  account,  and  among  the  artistic  and  substantial  structures 
which  he  has  since  erected  are  the  B.  P.  O.  E.  building,  the  Baer  building,  the 
Hotel  Koesel,  the  Morgan  block,  the  Moronet  building,  the  Herrington-Cohn 
building,  the  Hambleton  building,  the  Rainier  building,  the  Blue  &  Gold 
Bottling  works,  the  Kern  Valley  garage,  the  San  Joaquin  hospital,  the  Car- 
lock  stables,  the  Manual  Arts  building,  an  addition  to  the  Noreiga  hotel, 
and  many  handsome  residences  in  Bakersfield  ;  much  fine  work  throughout 
Kern  county,  including  the  Maricopa  school  house  and  the  Rio  Bravo  bridge 
across  the  Kern  river;  besides  other  notable  buildings  in  near-by  districts 
of  the  state,  and  superintended  the  building  of  the  Kern  County  high  school. 


/  /myiy^^>^^ 


HISTORY    OF    KICRX    COUNTY  1119 

In  Bakersfield,  July  6,  1912,  occurred  the  niarriai;e  of  J\Ir.  Kcan.  uniting 
him  with  Airs.  \"ictoria  (Adams)  Michener,  a  native  of  Gonzales,  Tex.,  who 
came  to  California  when  a  babe,  in  1867,  with  her  parents,  crossing  the  plains 
with  ox  and  horse  teams.  Her  father,  Thomas  Adams,  born  in  Illinois,  was 
married  in  Tennessee  to  Nancy  Taylor.  He  became  a  stockman  in  Gonzales, 
Tex.,  served  in  the  Mexican  war  and  in  1867  brought  his  family  to  Cali- 
fornia and  located  in  San  Diego  county  where  he  and  his  wife  died.  Through- 
out California  Mr.  Kean  is  known  as  the  father  of  organized  labor  in 
Kern  county  and  he  was  president  of  the  labor  council  for  two  years. 
One  of  the  organizers  of  the  Builders'  Exchange  of  Bakersfield,  he  was  its  , 
first  president  and  is  still  president  of  its  board  of  directors.  Fraternally 
he  affiliates  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

JACK  HARDING.— The  Harding  family  is  of  Anglo-Saxon  ancestry. 
Joseph  Harding  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  United  States  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  and  enlisted  from  New  York  City  for  service  in  the  Union 
army.  In  company  with  his  regiment  he  went  to  the  front  and  participated 
in  a  number  of  serious  engagements,  in  one  of  which  he  was  wounded 
through  the  right  leg.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  came  to  California  and 
entered  the  machine  shops  at  the  Mare  Island  navy  yard,  where  he  com- 
pleted his  ap'irenticeship  and  where  he  has  been  steadily  employed  from 
that  time  to  the  present,  being  not  only  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  experi- 
enced, but  also  one  of  the  most  skilled  and  capable  machinists  in  the  yard. 
.'\fter  settling  in  Vallejo  he  married  Miss  Mary  Lawrence,  who  was  born  in 
Canada,  but  at  an  early  age  accompanied  her  parents  to  California  and 
settled  at  Vallejo. 

In  a  family  of  three  children,  two  still  living,  Jack  Harding  was  the 
eldest  and  his  birth  occurred  at  Vallejo  in  1871,  his  education  was  obtained 
in  Vallejo  schools  and  his  business  training  came  to  him  in  one  of  the 
mercantile  establishments  of  that  town.  From  the  age  of  fourteen  until 
he  was  twenty-one  he  worked  under  S.  Dannebaum,  a  well-known  merchant 
of  the  place,  whose  experience  and  ability  proved  of  assistance  in  the  early 
business  training  of  the  apprentice.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  Mr.  Harding 
went  to  San  Bernardino,  secured  a  position  as  a  clerk  and  remained  for 
three  years.  Returning  to  Vallejo,  he  retained  his  former  position  for  a 
short  time.  Next  he  embarked  in  the  clothing  business  with  Harry  Titconib 
as  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Harding  &  Titcomb.  Upon  disposing  of  his 
interests  in  that  store  in  1905,  he  removed  to  Hanford  and  became  manager 
of  the  clothing  department  of  the  Kuttner-Goldstein  Company.  From  Han- 
ford he  came  to  Bakersfield  in  1908  as  manager  of  Redlick's  clothing  depart- 
ment and  in  this  city  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Harding  &  Bert- 
rand,  clothing  merchants,  in  1911,  but  in  January  of  1913  disposed  of  his 
interest  in  that  business,  since  which  time  he  has  owned  and  conducted 
an  exclusive  tailoring  establishment. 

While  still  living  at  Vallejo  Mr.  Harding  was  made  a  Mason  in  Xava! 
Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  later  he  was  initiated  into  San  Pablo  Lrdge, 
I.  O.  O.  F.  Politically  he  has  voted  with  the  Republican  part}-  ever  since 
he  attained  his  majority.  His  marriage  toe  k  place  at  Colusa,  Cal..  in 
1899,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Willie  May  Beville,  who  was  born,  reared 
and  educated  in  that  city.  -'\s  a  girl  she  was  given  exceptional  musical 
advantages  and  became  one  of  the  most  skilled  musicians  in  her  home  town, 
where  also  she  was  an  active  worker  in  the  Episcopal  Church.  The  Order 
of  the  Eastern  Star  also  has  received  the  benefit  of  her  talented  co-operation. 
Her  parents,  William  T.  and  Lutie  Beville,  were  natives  respectively  of 
\^irginia  and  Missouri.  Throughout  the  period  of  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Beville 
served  as  a  private  in  a  Virginia  regiment  of  the  Confederate  army  and 
afterward  he  came  to  California,  settling  near  Colusa,  where   he  eventually 


1120  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

became  a  prominent  farmer  and  where  also  he  served  with  fearlessness 
and  efficiency  as  sheriff  for  a  period  of  two  terms. 

WILLIAM  WILLARD  PENSINGER.— Born  December  4,  1868,  in 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  Mr.  Pensinger  was  taken  the  next  year  to  Nevada, 
where  the  parents  remained  for  three  years,  then  settled  at  San  Luis  Obispo 
for  a  time.  In  1874  they  came  to  Kern  county,  and  here  he  attended  school 
in  the  New  River  district  until  he  reached  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  Until 
he  was  twenty-three  he  worked  for  his  father  on  the  home  place,  and  then 
rented  land  and  started  to  farm  for  himself,  also  engaging  in  teaming  and 
hauling.  He  remained  on  this  place  for  about  two  and  a  half  years,  then 
leasing  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  for  the  purpose  of  general  farming. 
This  he  followed  for  about  three  years,  also  engaging  to  some  extent  in 
stock-raising,  and  then  gave  up  the  place  and  entered  the  employ  of  Mr. 
Frazier,  a  general  farmer,  for  whom  he  worked  about  eight  years.  While 
working  here,  three  years  before  moving  on  same,  he  bought  a  tract  of 
twenty  acres  and  later  twenty  more,  and  he  now  has  the  entire  forty 
acres  in  alfalfa.  The  property  is  located  four  miles  southwest  of  Bakers- 
field  and  is  under  the  Buena  Vista  canal.  The  average  cuttings  amount  to 
about  six  tons  to  the  acre,  which  evidences  the  productive  state  of  his 
land  and  the  careful  management  of  it.  In  addition  to  this  Mr.  Pensinger 
does  some  stock-raising,  but  he  devotes  a  large  portion  of  his  attention 
to  his  hundred  stands  of  bees,  which  he  has  had  on  his  place  for  the  past 
twelve  years.  This  business  has  proved  highly  profitable  from  a  business 
standpoint,  and  Mr.  Pensinger  has  made  a  deep  study  of  its  conduct,  taking 
great  pleasure  in  the  work.  He  is  also  interested  in  eighty  acres  of  the 
family  estate  which  he  operates,  besides  renting  sixty  acres  more,  and  now 
runs  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  devoted  to  alfalfa,  grain  and 
pasture.  He  is  fond  of  out-door  life,  interested  in  all  that  is  up-to-date,  and 
is  withal  a  capable,  successful  ranchman  and  politically  is  a  Republican. 

DAVID  ALBERT  JACKSON.— The  genealogy  of  the  Jackson  family 
indicates  a  colonial  identification  with  the  new  world  and  a  participation 
in  the  Revolution  by  William  Jackson,  whose  son,  William,  Jr.,  bore  a 
valiant  part  in  the  war  of  1812  under  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson.  In  one  of  the 
engagements  of  that  second  struggle  with  England  he  was  wounded  so 
seriously  as  to  render  necessary  the  amputation  of  an  arm.  After  the  close 
of  the  war  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  where  his  son,  Samuel,  was  born 
and  reared  in  Chester  county.  He  engaged  in  the  iron  industry  on  the 
Octoraro  river  near  Coatesyille,  Pa.  In  that  state  he  married  Miss  Mary  A. 
Moore,  who  was  born  in  county  Derry,  Ireland,  but  at  the  age  of  nine 
months  was  brought  to  America  by  her  parents,  who  settled  in  Pennsylvania. 
Eventually  Samuel  Jackson  and  wife  removed  to  Iowa  and  acquired  large 
interests  in  the  vicinity  of  Cedar  Rapids,  where  they  continued  to  reside 
until  death.  They  were  the  parents  of  six  sons  and  three  daughters.  The 
four  sons  old  enough  to  bear  arms  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  during  the 
Civil  war  and  'gave  to  their  country  the  patriotic  devotion  and  courageous 
service  which  had  characterized  their  ancestors  in  previous  wars. 

The  youngest  member  of  the  family  was  David  Albert  Jackson,  who 
was  born  near  Coatesville,  Chester  county,  Pa.,  March  7,  1850,  and  he 
received  his  primary  education  in  the  schools  of  that  county.  His  desire 
was  to  become  a  mining  engineer,  and  with  that  aim  in  view  he  entered 
the  Hebron  academy  at  Cochranville.  However,  before  he  could  graduate 
his  parents  arranged  to  remove  to  Iowa,  and  he  finished  his.  course  under 
private  instruction  in  Montezuma,  that  state,  where  he  received  the  degree 
of  M.  E.  Soon  thereafter  he  became  chief  mining  engineer  for  the  North- 
western Fuel  Company  at  their  coal  mines  in  What  Cheer,  Iowa,  these 
mines  consisting  of  the  properties  of  the  Star  Coal   Mining  Company  and 


^ /^  (^V^^X^/^^^ 


JiA^ 


HISTORY    OF    Kl'.RX    lOlXl'^-  1123 

the  (iranger  LDal  Company.  Later  as  general  superintendent  he  developed 
these  properties  and  they  acquired  the  largest  coal  mining  interests  in  the 
state.  During  1893  he  resigned  his  position  with  the  company  and  came 
to  California,  where  he  established  his  home  at  Fresno.  As  an  expert  in 
examining  mines  in  California  and  Nevada  he  soon  gained  a  wide  reputa- 
tion. In  1900  he  first  became  interested  in  the  oil  industry.  After  a  brief 
period  of  prospecting  at  Coalinga  he  came  to  AIcKittrick  in  February,  1903, 
as  superintendent  for  the  San  F'rancisco  &  McKittrick  Oil  Company.  When 
their  oil  wells  were  shut  down  he  returned  to  Coalinga  as  superintendent 
for  the  I'resno  St.  Paul  Company,  but  at  the  expiration  of  two  years  he 
returned  to  his  former  connections  in  McKittrick,  where  a  test  well  had 
developed  oil  in  paying  quantities  and  where  the  San  Francisco  and  McKit- 
trick Oil  Company  now  owns  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres  with  seventeen 
wells,  sixteen  of  these  being  producers.  In  addition  to  superintending  the 
large  enterprises  owned  by  this  concern  Mr.  Jacksim  holds  oftice  as  secre- 
tary and  superintendent  of  the  Jackson  Oil  Company,  operating  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  acres  of  adjacent  oil  land. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Jackson  was  solemnized  at  Whitewater,  Wis.,  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Helen  E.  Vincent,  a  graduate  of  the  State  Nonnal 
School  and  the  Conservatory  of  Music,  and  a  woman  of  the  highest  culture 
and  refinement.  The  family,  which  consists  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jackson  and 
their  only  child,  Jessie  Nena,  are  attendants  at  the  services  of  the  Fresno 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  fraternally  Mr.  Jackson  was  formerly  active  in 
Masonr}',  having  been  made  a  Mason  in  Montezuma  Lodge  in  Iowa. 

P.  E.  .BOWLES,  JR.— As  far  back  as  1903  the  organization  of  the 
Reward  Oil  Company  was  promoted  by  the  elder  Mr.  Bowles,  with  other 
capitalists.  Immediately  afterward  the  property  was  placed  under  develop- 
ment. At  this  writing  the  company  owns  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres, 
on  which  they  are  drilling  well  No.  40.  It  is  worthy  of  inention  that  the 
wells  are  without  exception  good  producers  of  fifteen  and  sixteen  gravity 
oil,  their  splendid  development  indicating  the  foresight  and  executive  ability 
of  the  president,  P.  E.  Bowles,  Sr.,  and  the  secretary-treasurer,  Fred 
McNear,  while  the  large  production  proves  that  the  manager,  P.  E.  Bowles, 
Jr.,  understands  the  difficult  art  of  increasing  the  output  of  an  already 
profitable  enterprise.  The  comfort  of  their  workmen  has  been  a  matter  of 
special  interest  to  the  company.  Their  welfare  is  made  a  matter  of  serious 
concern  and  constant  solicitude.  A  commodious  and  comfortable  clubroom 
has  been  erected  for  their  pleasure  and  in  it  has  been  provided  a  large  hall 
equipped  for  moving  picture  shows,  so  that  the  men  in  their  hours  of 
leisure  have  an  inviting  place  for  rest  and  recreation. 

Many  years  ago  when  he  was  but  a  youth  P.  E.  Bowles,  Sr..  made  a 
trip  into  Kern  county  with  a  friend  and  investigated  the  since  famous 
W'eed  Patch.  Since  then  he  has  never  ceased  to  maintain  a  warm  interest 
in  this  section  of  the  country.  His  optimistic  faith  in  its  future  has  led 
him  to  make  large  investments  here,  both  mineral  and  agricultural.  In  the 
midst  of  many  large  enterprises  in  San  Francisco  and  Oakland,  where  he  is 
president  of  the  American  National  Bank  of  San  Francisco,  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Oakland  and  the  F'irst  Trust  and  Savings  Bank  of  Oakland, 
he  became  interested  in  the  pioneer  development  of  the  McKittrick  field, 
where  he  promoted  the  California  Standard  Oil  Company,  later  selling 
these  interests  to  the  Associated  Oil  Company.  In  addition  he  promoted 
the  Reward  Oil  Company,  of  which  he  is  still  the  head  and  his  son  the 
manager.  The  Result  Oil  Company,  of  which  his  son  also  acts  as  manager, 
is  another  enterprise  that  has  had  the  benefit  of  his  executive  leadership.  In 
his  marriage  he  became  connected  with  a  very  influential  California  family, 
ior  his  father-in-law,  the  late  George  W.  McNear,  of  Oakland,  was  for  years 


1124  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  most  extensive  grain  shipper  on  the  Pacific  coast,  besides  being  one 
of  the  pioneer  operators  in  the  Kern  river  and  Coalinga  oil  fields.  Valuable 
lands  at  Coalinga  were  located  under  his  personal  selection  and  in  that  field 
he  became  one  of  the  largest  stockholders  m  the  ^Vestern  Oil  Company  and 
the  Maine  State  Oil  Company. 

Born  and  reared  in  Oakland,  this  state,  a  graduate  of  the  high  school 
of  that  city,  P.  E.  Bowles,  Jr.,  was  sent  from  high  school  to  the  University 
of  California,  where  he  took  the  course  in  mechanical  engineering  until 
the  close  of  the  junior  year.  While  at  Berkeley  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Iota  Chapter  of  the  Zeta  Psi.  From  California  he  went  east  to  Columbia 
University  in  New  York  City,  where  he  took  the  scientific  course  and  was 
graduated  in  1907  with  the  degree  of  B.  S.  For  a  short  time  afterward 
he  engaged  with  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad  in  charge  of 
bridge  work  on  a  new  line  built  from  Idaho  to  Seattle.  That  position  he 
resigned  in  order  to  act  as  private  secretary  to  Victor  H.  Metcalfe,  secre- 
tary of  the  navy,  and  thereafter  he  made  his  headquarters  at  Washington. 
D.  C,  until  the  resignation  of  the  cabinet  officer  in  1908.  Returning  to 
Oakland,  he  took  charge  of  general  outside  work  for  E.  B.  and  A.  L.  Stone, 
a  large  contracting  firm  of  that  city.  Upon  his  resignation  in  1909  he  came 
to  McKittrick  as  foreman  of  the  Reward  Oil  Company,  of  which  he  is  now 
manager,  besides  being  superintendent  of  the  Result  Oil  Company.  Together 
with  his  father  and  Mr.  McNear  he  opened  territory  in  the  North  Midway 
field  on  section  26,  31-21,  where  two  wells  of  19  gravity  oil  have  proved  a 
great  success.  The  land  thus  developed  has  been  absorbed  by  the  Reward 
Oil  Company,  which  also  owns  considerable  land  on  section  1,  29-21, 
McKittrick  front,  having  now  one  producing  oil  well  on  that  tract,  and  in 
addition  the  company  owns  oil  lands  on  the  Bellridge  front,  so  that  their 
holdings  altogether  aggregate  an  amount  surpassed  by  few  of  the  great 
organizations  engaged  in  the  development  of  the  field.   , 

On  July  31,  1913,  Mr.  Bowles  was  married  to  Miss  Jessie  N.  Jackson, 
daughter  of  D.  A.  Jackson,  superintendent  of  the  San  Francisco  &  McKittrick 
lease. 

ANDREW  FERGUSON.— The  general  traveling  production  agent  for  the 
Kern  Trading  &  Oil  Company,  now  in  charge  of  the  McKittrick  division,  has 
been  connected  with  every  department  of  the  oil  industry  and  now  fills  a  very 
responsible  position  with  the  most  noteworthy  efficiency.  Since  he  was 
a  youth  his  activities  have  been  in  the  one  line,  following  in  this  respect  the 
example  of  his  father,  John  Ferguson,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  California 
oil  fields  and  a  man  of  unusual  information  in  regard  to  their  development. 
The  family  is  of  Scotch  lineage.  As  far  back  as  the  genealogy  can  be 
traced,  it  shows  an  identification  with  the  highlands  and  the  historic  regions 
around  Dundee,  where  both  John  and  Andrew  Ferguson  were  born,  the 
latter  on  the  24th  of  May,  1875.  The  former,  a  marine  engineer  by  trade, 
traveled  much  over  the  high  seas  and  on  one  of  his  voyages  anchored  in 
the  port  of  San  Francisco,  from  which  place  he  made  a  tour  of  inspection 
throughout  the  state. 

An  old  acquaintance  from  Scotland,  a  Mr.  Kelsey,  had  settled  in  Tulare 
county  and  had  improved  a  farm  near  Visalia.  Through  his  representations 
of  that  part  of  the  country  the  new  settler  was  induced  to  locate  at  Goshen, 
where  he  opened  a  blacksmith  shop.  For  three  years  he  met  with  encour- 
aging results,  but  the  failing  health  of  his  wife  induced  him  to  seek  a  new 
and  more  healthful  location.  The  following  three  years  were  spent  at 
Salinas  as  owner  of  a  large  blacksmith  shop.  During  that  period  he  first 
became  interested  in  contracting  for  water  wells  and  from  that  he  drifted  into 
the  business  of  drilling  oil  wells.  Assisted  by  his  son,  Andrew,  he  drilled 
one  of  the  first  wells  in  the  Coalinga  field  and  he  also  drilled  in  the  Kern 


HISTORY    OF    Kl'.KX    ColWTY  1123 

river  field  for  the  Trumbull  Oil  Company,  pioneers  in  that  district.  Later 
contracts  and  wild-cat  propositions  took  him  to  Vacaville,  Suisun  City, 
Monticello  in  Napa  county  and  Pleasanton  in  Alameda  county.  Now  at 
the  age  of  sixty-two,  he  is  living  in  retirement  from  business  cares  and  finds 
a  pleasant  home  with  his  son,  Andrew,  in  the  latter's  residence  at  Fresno, 
where  also  lives  the  wife  and  mother,  who  was  Annie  Aludie,  a  native  of 
Scotland.  The  family  comprises  one  daughter  and  four  sons,  all  living. 
The  eldest  of  the  family,  Andrew  Ferguson,  was  eleven  years  of  age 
when  the  family  immigrated  to  California  in  1886  and  six  years  later  he 
began  to  assist  his  father  in  the  oil  industry,  working  for  some  time  in  the 
capacity  of  tool-dresser  bt)th  in  the  Coalinga  and  the  Kern  river  fields. 
With  a  brother  he  contracted  to  drill  a  well  on  the  Lake  county  line  for 
the  Anglo-American  Oil  Company.  After  he  had  incurred  a  very  heavy 
exj^ense  in  the  prosecution  of  the  work  the  company  failed  and  that  precipi- 
tated his  own  financial  collapse.  Forced  to  start  anew,  he  returned  to 
C\ialinga  and  found  employment.  Later  he  drilled  wild-cat  wells  near  Red 
Bluff.  Upon  going  back  to  Coalinga  he  secured  employment  with  the  Zier 
Oil  Company.  A  year  later  he  was  promoted  to  be  superintendent  of  their 
lease  and  in  that  capacity  he  continued  for  six  years,  meanwhile  building 
up  the  production  from  nothing  to  fifteen  thousand  barrels  a  month.  Resign- 
ing that  superintendency,  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Kern  Trading  &  Oil 
Company,  with  which  he  has  filled  various  positions  in  the  line  of  suc- 
cessive promotions,  being  now  traveling  production  agent,  a  post  that  neces- 
sitates considerable  travel  over  the  different  leases.  For  convenience  as 
headquarters,  he  established  his  home  in  Fresno,  where  he  owns  ])roperty 
at  No.  413  F'resno  avenue.  In  politics  he  votes  the  Republican  ticket. 
Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men  and 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  F'ellows  and  is  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Rebekahs,  with  which  his  wife  also  is  associated.  In  Los  Angeles  he  married 
Miss  Georgia  Burkley,  a  native  of  Boston,  Mass.,  but  from  childhood  a 
resident  of  California,  her  parents  settling  in  Los  Angeles,  where  she  com- 
pleted the  course  of  study  in  the  high  school. 

WILLIAM  J.  McCarthy. — a  personal  connection  with  the  manufac- 
ture of  boilers  in  many  of  the  most  extensive  boiler  works  in  the  country 
qualified  Air.  AlcCarthy  for  successful  independent  work  when  in  1909 
he  came  to  McKittrick,  built  a  plant  of  suitable  dimensions  and  modern 
equipment,  and  embarked  in  the  business  of  making  boilers  and  tanks, 
having  for  his  field  of  patronage  the  entire  west  side  of  Kern  county.  To 
build  and  sell  boilers  and  tanks  of  the  highest  quality  and  greatest  depend- 
ability does  not  represent  the  limit  of  his  identification  with  the  locality, 
for  in  addition  he  has  been  a  homesteader  and  through  personal  residence 
on  a  quarter-section  of  land  fourteen  miles  west  of  AIcKittrick  he  has 
acquired  the  title  to  a  ranch,  on  which  grain,  vegetables  and  melons  may  be 
raised  with  profit,  irrigation  being  provided  by  means  of  a  pumping  plant  of 
sixty  inches  capacity. 

The  business  in  which  Mr.  McCarthy  has  lieen  markcdlv  successful 
is  one  familiar  to  his  earliest  recollections,  for  his  father,  J.  J.,  was  a 
boiler-maker  by  trade  and  for  years  prior  to  retirement  from  business  he 
was  head  of  the  firm  of  McCarthy  &  Sons,  boiler-makers,  of  Indianapolis. 
Both  J.  J.  McCarthy  and  his  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Catherine 
Murphy,  are  still  living  in  Indianapolis,  where  their  second  son,  Frank, 
is  now  president  of  the  board  of  aldermen.  There  were  fourteen  children  in 
the  family  and  of  these  eight  are  now  living.  The  eldest  of  all,  William  }.. 
was  born  in  Indianapolis,  August  3,  1871,  and  as  a  boy  attended  tlie  gram- 
mar and  high  schools  of  that  city.  When  sixteen  years  of  age  he  became  an 
apprentice    to    the    trade    of    boiler-maker    with    Sinker    &    Davis.      Having 


1126  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

completed  the  trade,  he  went  to  Chicago  in  1889  and  remained  there  for 
two  years,  after  which  he  worked  with  his  father  for  a  time.  During  the 
financial  depression  of  1894  he  returned  to  Chicago  and  resumed  work. 
Later  he  was  employed  in  Alexandria,  Ind.,  and  thence  went  to  Kansas  City, 
Mc,  where  he  filled  a  position  as  superintendent  of  the  Urie-Snyder  iron 
works.  After  a  time  as  superintendent  of  the  Ducktown  Copper  &  Iron 
Company  at  Isabella,  Tenn.,  he  went  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  to  engage  as 
superintendent  of  the  Borger  Brothers  boiler  shop.  Next  he  held  an  impor- 
tant position  as  superintendent  of  the  boiler  shop  of  the  Power  Mining  & 
Machine  Company  at  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  from  which  place  he  went  to  South 
Bend,  Ind.,  to  serve  as  superintendent  of  a  boiler  shop  owned  by  the  Folsom 
Manufacturing  Company. 

Coming  to  Cahfornia  after  a  successful  identification  with  the  before- 
named  plants,  Mr.  McCarthy  engaged  at  San  Francisco  as  superintendent 
for  T.  J.  Monahan  &  Co.,  and  later  was  with  the  Pacific  boiler  works  in 
the  same  city,  remaining  with  them  as  superintendent  until  his  removal  to 
McKittrick  in  1909.  His  citizenship  in  this  place  has  been  helpful  to  local 
development  and  is  proving  profitable  to  himself.  In  national  politics  he 
has  voted  with  the  Republican  party.  Upon  the  incorporation  of  McKittrick 
he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  trustees.  However,  having 
decided  to  take  up  a  homestead  and  being  thereby  obliged  to  take  up  resi- 
dence on  the  claim,  he  resigned  the  office  of  trustee,  but  after  his  return  to 
McKittrick  and  at  the  time  of  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Hubband  in  1913  he 
was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy,  since  which  time  he  has  been  most  efficient 
as  trustee.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Loyal  Order  of  Moose 
and  is  past  sachem  of  the  Red  Men.  His  marriage  was  solemnized  in 
Marion,  Ind.,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Nellie  Smith,  a  native  of  Delaware 
county,  that  state,  and  by  the  union  there  is  a  son,  Robert  Edwin. 

HARVEY  LURANUS  ROSS.— Fortified  by  an  extensive  experience  in 
the  production  of  oil  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and  West  Virginia,  Mr.  Ross 
eventually  gave  up  identification  with  the  east  in  order  that  he  might  asso- 
ciate himself  with  the  growing  oil  industries  of  the  Pacific  coast  region 
and  from  July  of  1904  until  he  retired  from  active  business  life  he  had 
his  headquarters  in  the  Kern  river  fields,  where  he  became  known  as  a 
dependable  workman  and  a  competent  superintendent,  also  as  a  true  gen- 
tleman, carrying  with  him  not  only  the  culture  and  refinement  characteristic 
of  the  east,  but  the  breezy  good-nature  and  broad-hearted  sympathies  more 
especially  characteristic  of  the  west.  The  position  to  which  he  was  appointed 
July  15,  1912,  that  of  superintendent  of  the  Patricia  Oil  Company,  he  resigned 
September  15  of  that  year. 

Harvey  L.  Ross  is  a  son  of  James  and  Elizabeth  (Smith)  Ross,  life- 
long residents  of  Venango  county.  Pa.,  and  farmers  there  until  death  ended 
their  activities.  Six  children  comprised  their  family,  namely :  Henderson, 
now  proprietor  of  a  store  at  Reno,  Venango  county ;  Harvey  Luranus,  the 
only  one  to  settle  in  California ;  Mary,  Mrs.  James  Manson,  of  Rockland, 
Venango  county;  Edward,  who  prior  to  his  death  July  18,  1911,  engaged 
successfully  in  the  oil  business  in  Ohio ;  Lizzie,  Mrs.  Charles  Gaggin,  who 
lives  near  Pittsburgh,  Pa. ;  and  Carrie,  who  married  Edward  Bell  and  lives 
near  Freedom,  Beaver  county.  Pa.  The  second  son  was  born  August  13, 
1855,  in  the  village  of  Emlenton,  Venango  county,  Pa.,  where  he  attended 
school  as  often  as  possible.  The  broad  information  he  now  possesses  is 
the  result  of  extensive  reading  rather  than  attendance  at  school.  At  an  early 
age  he  became  self-supporting.  The  first  work  which  he  secured  in  the 
oil  business  was  in  the  "Scrub"  grass  field,  where  he  was  hired  as  a  pumper. 
Next  he  worked  in  the  Clarion  field  and  afterward  he  was  employed  in  the 
McKean  county  fields  for  about  six  vears.     Leaving  Pennsylvania  for  New 


c^^fn^:6^..^^^--^JJ 


HISTORY    OF    K1:RX    COl'NTV  1120 

\'iirk  he  found  cmpUivincnt  in  tlie  r.(ili\ar  oil  fields,  wiierc  lie  continued 
about  six  years  and  durinsj  niucli  of  the  time  he  had  cliargc  of  production. 
From  New  York  he  went  to  West  X'irjjinia  and  secured  work  at  Sisters- 
ville,  Tyler  county,  h'or  fifteen  years  he  remained  at  tlie  one  place  and 
duringf  fourteen  years  of  that  lonij  ])eriod  he  was  employed  by  J.  T.  Jones, 
an  extensive  and  influential  oil  operator,  l^pon  leavin<j  West  X'^irginia  he 
came  to  California  and  thereafter  until  his  retirement  he  was  engatjed  in 
the  Kern  river  fields,  his  first  position  lieing:  that  of  foreman  for  the  C"a]iital 
City  Oil  Company  and  later  he  had  charjj:e  of  the  .\cnie  Development  Com- 
pany until  he  became  superintendent  of  the   Patricia. 

The  marria,q;e  of  Mr.  Ross  was  .solemnized  at  Oil  City,  VenauRo  county, 
Pa.,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Mary  Farren,  daughter  of  James  Farren, 
for  years  a  well-known  Venango  county  farmer.  The  union  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Ross  was  blessed  with  twelve  children,  but  a  deep  bereavement  came 
to  them  in  the  loss  of  five  of  the  number  by  death.  Seven  have  attained 
mature  years  and  the  four  eldest  of  these  have  left  home  to  do  for  them- 
selves in  the  world,  the  girls  entering  homes  of  their  own  and  the  boys 
taking  up  the  oil  business  in  which  they  are  thoroughly  trained.  Clififord, 
the  eldest  of  the  eight,  is  now  a  driller  in  the  Kern  river  fields.  Fffie, 
Mrs.  Lovring,  is  living  in  Kern  ccunty.  and  Freda,  Mrs.  Fllsworth,  makes 
her  home  at  Maricopa.  Claude,  the  fourth  child,  is  working  in  Oklahoma  in 
the  oil  industry.  Kahle.  Kenneth,  and  Flossie  are  still  with  their  parents 
in  the  family  liome  at  the  corner  of  Fleventh  and  Kern  streets.  I'.ast 
Bakersfield. 

ARTHUR  W.  RENCH.— An  important  business  enterprise  of  East 
Bakersfield  is  the  Metropole  meat  market  at  No.  810  Baker  street,  which 
established  about  1900  on  a  very  small  scale,  has  developed  into  a  large  and 
popular  concern  that  receives  the  patronage  of  people  throughout  the  entire 
community.  Although  it  has  been  owned  by  Mr.  Rench  for  a  comparatively 
brief  period,  he  has  the  advantages  of  previous  experience  in  the  same  busi- 
ness and  is  well  qualified  to  maintain  the  reputation  established  under  former 
management.  In  connection  with  the  market  he  and  his  partner  operate  a 
slaughter-house  two  miles  east  of  town,  and  from  there  lieef  and  pork  of  the 
choicest  qualities  are  brought  to  the  market  fur  sale. 

Much  of  the  life  of  Arthur  W.  Rench  has  been  passed  in  California  and 
Bakersfield  has  been  his  home  since  1804.  The  youngest  of  the  four  children 
of  Dan  and  Emily  (Foote)  Rench,  natives  respectively  of  Maryland  and  New 
York  state,  he  was  Ijorn  at  Tooele,  LUah,  June  4,  1877.  His  father  had 
crossed  the  ])lains  during  young  manhood  and  settled  in  Utah,  where  he 
served  as  a  deputy  sheriff  at  Salt  Lake  City  and  livedfor  a  time  at  Tooele. 
After  his  death  the  mother  removed  to  Kansas  with  her  children,  the  youngest 
of  whom  was  then  four  years  of  age.  Eight  years  later  she  brought  them  to 
Calif(irnia  and  settled  in  the  Antelope  valley,  where  her  father,  Erastus 
Foote,  had  moved  from  Utah  in  a  very  early  day.  For  a  few  years  the  family 
lived  on  a  ranch  in  the  valley.  Meanwhile  the  son,  primarily  educated  in 
Kansas  in  the  schools  of  Lawrence  and  Topeka,  had  finished  his  schooling 
and  was  ready  to  take  up  the  task  of  self-support.  In  search  of  emijloyment 
he  went  to  Los  Angeles  and  engaged  as  delivery  clerk  for  various  stores. 

Coming  to  Kern  county  in  1894  and  engaging  in  horticultural  work  for 
a  year,  Mr.  Rench  then  secured  work  in  Odell's  market  on  Nineteenth 
street,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  butcher.  A  year  later  the  market  was 
bought  by  Graves  &  Baker  and  he  continued  in  their  employ,  but  later  left 
them  in  order  to  run  a  meat  wagon  through  the  country.  When  he  sold  the 
wagon  he  entered  Mr.  .Anderson's  employ  in  the  California  market,  which 
with  Mel  P.  Smith  as  a  partner  he  bought  in  1907.  Afterwards  Lloyd  P. 
Keester  became  a  partner  and  the  business  was  incorporated  with  Mr.  Rench 


1130  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

as  vice-president.  During  1910  he  sold  his  interest  and  purchased  the  City 
market  on  Nineteenth  street  in  partnership  with  Louis  Johnson,  but  in  1912 
sold  that  business  and  in  April  of  the  same  year  he  bought  from  Jean 
Estribou  the  Metropole  market,  which  he  now  owns  in  conjunction  with 
Forrest  Cassady ;  this  has  now  grown  to  an  extensive  wholesale  business. 
Besides  owning  one-half  interest  in  the  market  he  owns  real  estate  in  Bakers- 
field  and  an  alfalfa  ranch  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  about  four  miles 
southeast  of  the  city,  while  his  identification  with  Bakersfield  is  rendered 
even  more  intimate  and  important  through  his  membership  in  the  board 
of  trade  and  the  Merchants'  Association.  With  his  wife,  who  was  formerly 
Mrs.  Delia  (Cox)  Laird,  and  whom  he  married  at  San  Diego,  he  has  estab- 
lished a  comfortable  home  in  East  Rakersfield  and  has  a  host  of  friends  in 
the  town.  In  politics  he  always  has  voted  with  the  Republican  party,  while 
fraternally  he  belongs  to  the  Eagles  and  is  a  contributor  to  the  philanthropic 
and  social  interests  of  the  order. 

HARRY  B.  PHELAN.— The  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  McKit- 
trick  was  formerly  a  professional  baseball  player  of  more  than  local  fame,  and 
recent  interests  in  other  directions  have  not  lessened  his  love  for  a  good  game. 
With  his  old-time  skill  he  has  promoted  the  success  of  a  local  club,  devoting 
many  of  his  leisure  hours  to  such  work  and  watching  the  reports  from  the 
great  metropolitan  teams  with  true  professional  zeal.  However,  this  interest 
does  not  lessen  his  energetic  oversight  of  the  drug  store  (the  first  in  McKit- 
trick),  which  he  owns  and  manages  and  which  has  a  profitable  accessory  in 
the  form  of  a  modern  and  well-equipped  soda-water  fountain.  LTpon  the  in- 
corporation of  the  city  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  trustees 
and  has  since  continued  in  that  office,  being  at  present  chairman  of  the  board 
and  as  such  an  influential  factor  in  every  measure  for  the  local  upbuilding. 

On  a  quarter-section  homestead  eight  miles  east  of  Tecumseh,  Johnson 
county,  Neb.,  Harry  B.  Phelan  was  born  August  1,  1876,  being  a  son  of  James 
A.  and  Mary  E.  (Clotfelter)  Phelan,  natives  of  Galesburg,  111.  The  paternal 
grandfather,  Jacob,  was  also  a  pioneer  of  Johnson  county,  where  the  father 
shortly  after  the  close  of  an  honorable  service  in  the  Civil  war  as  first  lieu- 
tenant of  a  company  in  the  Thirty-second  Illinois  Infantry,  took  up  a  raw 
tract  of  government  land  in  the  midst  of  an  undeveloped  region,  practically 
beyond  the  then  confines  of  civilization.  The  transformation  of  the  raw  tract 
into  a  remunerative  farm  was  no  slight  task,  but  he  engaged  in  it  with  enthus- 
iasm and  tireless  energy.  For  years  he  made  a  specialty  of  buying  and  feed- 
ing cattle,  shipments  of  which  he  sent  to  Kansas  City  in  carload  lots.  The 
Johnson  county  farm  is  still  his  home,  but  with  advancing  years  his  activities 
have  narrowed  and  he  has  enjoyed  a  leisure  richly  merited  by  industry  and 
honesty. 

Among  seven  children,  all  but  one  of  whom  still  survive,  Harry  B.  Phelan 
was  fourth  in  order  of  birth.  After  he  had  completed  the  studies  of  local 
schools  he  was  sent  to  the  State  Normal  School  at  Peru,  but  at  the  close  of 
the  junior  year  he  left  college  for  the  purpose  of  entering  the  professional 
baseball  field  with  the  Des  INToines  team,  .\fter  a  year  as  catcher  he  was 
transferred  to  the  Atlanta  team  in  the  Southern  league,  where  he  was  catcher 
for  one  year.  The  next  two  years  were  spent  as  catcher  with  the  North- 
western Indian  School  at  Genoa,  Neb.  With  the  opening  of  the  Spanish- 
American  war  he  ofifered  his  services  as  a  soldier.  Assigned  to  Company  I, 
Sixteenth  L^nited  States  Infantry,  he  served  as  first  sergeant  in  the  Philip- 
pines for  two  years  and  four  months.  AA'^ith  his  command  he  was  ordered 
back  to  the  L^nited  States  and  honorably  discharged  from  the  service.  Re- 
turning to  the  old  homestead  he  aided  in  the  management  of  the  ranch  and 
also  carried  on  a  barber  shop  at  Tecumseh,  but  in  1905  he  came  to  California 
and  played  with  the  Bakersfield  team.  Next  he  was  assigned  to  the  Fresno 
team  in  the  Coast  league.     After  the  earthquake  he  retired  from  baseball  and 


HISTORY    Ol-    K1:KX    corXTV  1133 

came  to  Kern  county,  where  he  started  a  barber  shop  at  McKittrick  ami  since 
has  ene:a,Li;ed  in  other  lines  of  business.  In  San  Francisco  lie  married  Miss 
Elizabeth  E.  Hock,  a  native  of  that  city,  now  sharing-  with  him  in  the  respect 
of  accpiaintances  in  Kern  county.  \\'hilc  at  Atlanta,  Ga..  he  was  made  a 
Mason  in  East  Point  Lodtje  No.  288,  F.  &  .\.  M.  For  a  time  he  was  actively 
connected,  at  Peru,  Neb.,  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  In 
addition  he  has  affiliated  with  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men.  Politically 
he  votes  with  the  Democratic  party. 

PETER  SALIS.— Born  in  .Vrvis.  Cranbundcn.  Switzerland.  January  26, 
]86.=i,  Mr.  Salis  attended  school  in  his  native  land.  He  was  the  eldest  son 
of  fi\e  children  born  to  Melchior  and  .Ki^nes  Salis.  The  father  died  in  1874 
when  his  son  Peter  was  only  nine  years  of  age.  P)eing  the  eldest  of  the  family 
he  had  to  help  his  mother  look  after  the  property.  Completing  the  grammar 
school  when  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  he  continued  on  the  home  place  until 
he  came  to  the  United  States  in  1889.  As  he  had  determined  on  California 
as  his  point  of  destination  he  set  out  from  home  and  arrived  here  December 
28,  1889.  On  January  1,  1890,  he  was  employed  by  Wellington  Canfield, 
for  whom  he  worked  for  two  years,  being  the  only  employer  he  had  after 
reaching  the  United  States.  With  John  Koch  and  Michel  Mazolt  as  part- 
ners he  leased  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land  on  Union  avenue  from 
J.  C.  .\nderson,  and  later  a  si.x  hundred  and  forty  acre  section  adjoining,  upon 
which  he  engaged  in  dairying  and  raising  alfalfa,  the  dairy  consisting  of  sev- 
ent}'  cows.  The  iiartners  remained  here  for  about  five  years,  but  during  the 
last  year  the  partnership  was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Salis  continued  alone  until 
1897.  He  then  i)urchased  land  to  the  amount  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  acres  on 
Jerry  slough,  which  was  all  unimproved  land.  He  cleared  it  of  sage  brush  and 
sunk  a  flowing  artesian  well,  with  a  capacity  of  ninet\-si,x  inches,  and  con- 
structed a  reservoir  to  irrigate  the  farm,  which  was  devoted  to  raising  alfalfa 
and  the  dairy  business.  In  the  early  days  of  his  e.xperience  on  the  farm  the 
coyotes  howled  at  his  door,  but  before  he  left  it  was  comfortably  improved 
with  residence  and  buildings.  On  account  of  the  flood  in  1907,  when  the  waters 
came  down  Jerry  slough,  he  came  to  what  is  now  his  home  place,  originally 
a  tract  of  forty  acres.  To  this  he  later  added  twenty  acres  adjoining  and  now 
has  sixty  acres  planted  to  alfalfa,  besides  which  he  also  carries  on  a  small 
dairy  business. 

In  June.  1870.  was  born  Miss  Ursula  Stotifel,  in  . Vrvis.  Switzerland,  who, 
October  15,  1892,  became  the  wife  of  Peter  Salis,  and  they  have  two  children: 
.Agnes,  who  graduated  from  the  Kern  County  high  school  at  P>akersfield  in 
1912  and  now  attending  the  University  of  California:  and  Melchior.  who  is 
attending  the  public  school. 

Mrs.  Salis  was  the  daughter  of  .\nlon  and  Ursula  (  r.ernhard)  StofTel,  of 
an  old  Graubunden  family.  She  came  to  Hastings.  Xebr..  in  .April.  188<),  and 
to  California  December  28,  1889.  She  has  been  an  able  helpmate  and  com- 
fort to  her  husband  and  both  are  deeply  interested  in  giving  their  children 
the  best  educational  advantages  in  their  power.  In  1901  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Salis 
with  their  two  children  visited  his  old  home,  relatives  and  friends.  After  a 
four-months'  trip  they  returned  to  their  home  near  P>utton  Willow.  Mr. 
Salis  is  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

WILLIAM  D.  JOUGHIN.— .\mong  those  men  who  have  given  of  their 
time  and  best  energ}-  towards  the  development  of  Kern  county  we  find 
\A'illiam  D.  Joughin,  who  was  born  on  the  family  farm,  P.allacrebbin,  in  the 
Parish  of  Andres,  Isle  of  Man.  He  was  the  son  of  John  and  Margaret  .\nn 
(Kaighin)  Joughin,  who  were  proprietors  of  Ballacrebbin  and  were  of  old 
families  of  that  Isle,  the  families  having  lived  there  for  generations.  William 
•  D.  was  born  November  12,  1870,  and  received  his  education  in  the  local 
schools   of   the   parish.     At   the   age   of   seventeen    he    was   apprenticed   as   a 


1134  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

grocer  in  Ramsey.  After  three  years,  disliking  the  trade,  he  concluded  to 
take  up  farming  instead  and  he  returned  to  the  old  farm,  and  after  his  father's 
death  he  continued  to  live  with  his  mother,  until  her  death,  after  which  he  de- 
termined to  come  to  California,  where  his  sister,  Mrs.  T.  A.  Council,  resided 
on  the  south  fork  of  Kern  river.  On  May  1,  1898,  he  came  into  Kern  county, 
where  he  remained  for  one  year  with  Mr.  Connell.  This  was  his  introduc- 
tion into  the  cattle  business  and  farming,  as  it  was  done  in  California.  In 
1899  he  went  to  Bishop,  Inyo  county,  where  he  was  for  eight  years  employed 
in  the  cattle  business.  He  then  returned  to  the  south  fork  and  with  J.  Robert 
Stephen  rented  the  Connell  ranch,  and  since  then  the  two  have  operated  it  in 
partnership.  Aside  from  the  Connell  ranch  of  eight  hundred  acres  they  also 
lease  the  Patterson  and  Cook  ranches  on  the  south  fork  adjoining,  and  they 
also  lease  the  Five  Dog  ranch  at  Granite  station  for  ranging  their  cattle.  On 
the  south  fork  the  ranches  are  irrigated  from  the  ditches  and  they  are  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  raising  alfalfa  and  grain.  The  balance  is  used  for  pas- 
ture and  range.  They  make  a  specialty  of  raising  and  feeding  cattle  and 
hogs  for  the  Los  Angeles  market.     The  brand  is  a  triangle  inverted. 

At  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Los  Angeles,  June  3,  1912, 
occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Joughin  and  Miss  Ethel  Christian,  a  native 
daughter  of  Kern  county,  and  the  daughter  of  Robert  Christian,  one  of  the 
old-time  merchants  of  Kernville. 

Mr.  Joughin  was  made  a  Mason  in  Winnedumah  Lodge  No.  287,  F.  &  A. 
M.,  at  Bishop.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
at  Isabella  and  a  believer  in  protection  and  Republican  principles. 

M.  L.  WEITZEL.— The  name  of  Weitzel  is  indicative  of  Teutonic 
ancestry  and  we  find  that  the  genealogy  of  the  family  points  back  to  a  long 
identification  with  Germany.  The  first  representative  of  the  family  to  seek 
a  home  in  the  new  world  was  Frederick  Weitzel,  who  left  his  native  land  in 
young  manhood,  crossed  the  ocean  to  America,  proceeded  from  New  York 
to  Michigan  and  settled  in  Detroit,  where  he  followed  his  trade  of  a  mill- 
wright. After  a  time  he  moved  to  the  southern  part  of  Indiana  and  bought 
a  tract  of  farm  land  which  he  developed,  while  in  addition  he  managed  a 
saw  and  grist  mill.  The  second  generation  in  America  was  represented  by 
Lewis  Weitzel.  a  native  of  Detroit,  Mich.,  but  throughout  the  greater  part 
of  his  life  a  resident  of  Indiana.  Like  his  father,  he  engaged  in  farm  pur- 
suits and  also  conducted  a  saw  and  grist  mill.  A  man  of  ability  and  intelli- 
gence, he  rose  to  political  prominence  and  for  many  years  served  as  chair- 
man of  the  county  central  Democratic  committee  in  Dearborn  county.  For 
four  years  he  served  as  deputy  sheriff  of  that  county  and  so  well  did  he 
fill  the  position  that  he  was  chosen  sheriff,  in  which  capacity  he  rendered 
efficient  service  for  another  four  years.  During  1882  he  left  Dearborn 
county  and  went  further  north  and  west  in  Indiana,  buying  a  farm  in  Boone 
county,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death.  He  is  survived  by 
his  widow,  Mrs.  Margaret  Weitzel,  a  resident  of  Boone  county  and  a  native 
of  Germany,  whence  in  early  life  she  was  brought  to  the  new  world  by 
her  father,  Henry  Miller,  the  family  settling  in  Indiana  and  taking  up  land 
in  Dearborn  count3\ 

All  of  the  ten  children  of  Lewis  and  Margaret  (Miller)  Weitzel  are 
still  living.  One  of  the  youngest  members  of  the  family  was  M.  L.,  a  native 
of  Dearborn  county,  Ind.,  born  June  3,  1872,  but  from  the  age  of  ten  years 
until  he  was  twenty  a  resident  of  Boone  county,  where  he  received  a 
public-school  education.  When  sixteen  years  of  age  he  became  an  appren- 
tice in  the  machine  shops  of  the  Midland  Railroad,  where  he  remained  until 
he  had  acquired  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  machinist's  trade.  LTpon 
starting  out  for  himself  he  came  to  California  in  1892  and  settled  in  Kern  . 
county,   where   he   hoped   to   secure   employment   in    the   railroad    shops.      In 


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c,y^aA^a^^  ^a^     e^f^$^^^Y?^z>^^-y^^d-z-^ 


HISTORY    OF    Kl'.RX    COUXTY  1139 

this  ho|)e,  howexer,  he  was  destined  to  l)e  disappointed,  for  work  was 
slack  and  no  new  hands  were  beinef  added  to  the  force.  Farm  work  pre- 
sented itself  as  a  teniporar\'  source  of  livelihood.  Durinj.;  January  of  1803 
he  was  employed  on  Tutman"s  ranch  and  the  followine;  month  he  went  to 
the  Underwood  ranch.  From  there  he  went  to  the  warehouse  and  packing 
house  July  26,  1893.  and  on  the  10th  of  October  of  the  same  year  he  became 
an  employe  on  the  Lindgren  ranch,  where  he  remained  for  a  long  jieriod  of 
productive  activity.  It  was  during  1898  that  he  first  became  interested  in 
cement  work,  to  which  he  since  has  devoted  his  entire  time.  After  having 
been  employed  for  some  years  as  foreman  of  cement  construction  he  l)egan 
for  himself  in  1906  and  since  then  has  risen  to  a  position  among  the  leading 
cement  contractors  in  Kern  count_y.  Some  of  the  finest  work  of  the  kind 
in  Bakersfield  is  the  result  of  his  eilficient  skill.  To  his  credit  there  are 
also  seventeen  substantial  cement  and  brick  reservoirs  in  the  oil  fields.  Upon 
the  organization  of  the  Builders'  Exchange  he  became  a  charter  member 
and  since  has  maintained  an  intimate  association  with  afifairs  in  this  progres- 
sive body.  In  1912  he  incorporated  the  Weitzel-Larsen  Contracting  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  is  general  manager,  the  company  being  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  engaging  in  general  contracting  on  an  extensive  scale.  Some 
years  after  coming  to  Kern  county  he  married  Aliss  Annie  Psherer,  a  native 
of  this  county,  and  bv  the  union  there  are  two  children,  Henry  and  Gertrude. 
He  belongs  to  the  A\'oodmen  of  the  World,  and  is  a  Democrat. 

MICHEL  ANSOLABEHERE.— Mr.  Ansolabehere  in  early  life  made 
himself  helpful  at  the  old  home  farm  near  Baigorry,  Basses  Pyrenees,  France, 
where  he  was  born  March  5,  1871,  and  where  the  first  twenty  years  of  his 
busy  existence  were  uneventfully  passed,  in  a  round  of  farm  duties  and 
school  work.  A  desire  to  see  something  of  the  world  and  to  try  his  fortunes 
in  California  led  him  to  leave  his  old  home  in  the  foothills  of  the  Pyrenees 
mountains.  Crossing  the  ocean,  he  arrived  in  Kern  county  in  December. 
1891,  and  without  difficulty  found  employment  as  a  herder  of  sheep.  In  the 
same  year  as  himself  there  also  came  to  Kern  county  his  brother,  Gratian, 
who  was  born  in  France  in  1868  and  who  since  1895  has  been  intimately 
associated  with  the  younger  brother  in  stock-raising  and  agricultural  activi- 
ties. By  his  marriage  to  Clara  Aharabide,  also  a  native  of  France,  he  has 
three  children,   Marie,  John   and   Babe. 

After  he  had  worked  for  different  sheepmen  about  four  years,  Michel 
Ansolabehere  bought  a  flock  of  sheep  and  engaged  in  business  in  part- 
nership with  his  brother,  Gratian,  since  which  time  the  two  have  co-operated 
in  their  enterprise.  It  was  their  custom  to  summer  their  flocks,  comprising 
from  four  to  six  thousand  head,  in  Mono  county,  from  which  place  they 
brought  them  down  to  Buena  \'ista  lake  and  other  favorable  points  to  feed 
through  the  winter.  During  1909  the  two  brothers  bought  in  the  Rosedale 
district  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  eight  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield, 
under  the  Beardsley  canal,  and  since  then  they  have  put  the  property  under 
cultivation  to  alfalfa.  During  1913  they  disposed  of  their  sheep  in  order 
to  give  their  entire  time  to  the  raising  of  hay  for  the  market.  Neat  buildings 
have  been  erected  on  the  half-section  and  the  large  tract  shows  the  thrift, 
intelligence  and  constant  care  of  the  owners.  In  politics  ixith  lirothers  vote 
with  the  Republican  party.  The  younger  brother  married  in  East  Bakersfield 
in  1909  Miss  Mariana  Ir'ulegy,  who  was  born  in  .-Mdudes.  Basses-Pyrenees, 
France,  and  by   win  m  he  has  two  children,  Margaret  and  John 

CORNELIUS  DUNNE.— Born  in  County  Cork,  Ireland,  in  1861,  Cor- 
nelius Dunne  attended  the  national  schools  and  learned  carpentering.  .'\t  the 
age  of  twenty  years  he  left  the  old  home  and  crossed  the  ocean  to  America, 
where  for  a  year  he  w^orked  in  Boston,  Mass.,  meanwhile  being  employed 
in   the   Tremont   hotel.      .\t    the    expiration    of   the   twelve   months    he   came 


1140  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

west  and  entered  the  railroad  service,  his  first  work  of  that  kind  being  in 
a  roundhouse  at  Needles.  A  )'ear  later  the  Southern  Pacific  Company 
built  into  Needles  and  he  secured  a  position  in  the  department  of  bridge- 
building.  About  1884  he  was  transferred  to  Mojave  and  here  he  has  smce 
remained.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  very  few  buildings  had  been  put 
up  at  this  point  and  he  has  witnessed  the  steady  growth  of  the  equipment 
here.  For  two  and  one-half  years  he  was  employed  as  car-repairer,  after 
which  he  served  as  inspector  of  trains  for  seven  years.  Next  he  was 
made  foreman  of  gangs  and  in  1910  he  became  car  foreman,  which  position 
has  since  taken  all  of  his  time. 

With  judicious  economy  Mr.  Dunne  has  saved  his  earnings,  investing 
them  in  California  property,  so  that  now  he  is  the  owner  of  two  houses  in 
Mojave,  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  fine  farm  land  in  the  fertile  and 
famous  Weed  Patch  of  Kern  county  and  a  walnut  grove  of  twenty  .acres 
near  Anaheim,  Orange  county,  these  various  properties  representing  his 
own  unaided  efforts  to  attain  independence.  In  politics  he  has  been 
staunch  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party.  After  coming  to  Kern 
county  he  was  married  at  Keene  to  Miss  Mary  O'Meara,  a  native  of  San 
Francisco  and  a  sister  of  P.  J.  O'Meara,  represented  elsewhere  in  this 
volume.  The  Dunne  family  comprises  five  children,  namely:  Catherine, 
Dennis,  Margaret,  Francis  and  Eugene.  The  eldest  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Los  Angeles  Normal,  class  of  1913,  and  the  second  is  a  graduate  of  the 
1913  class  in  the  Fresno  high  school.  Margaret  is  attending  the  Sisters' 
School  in  Los  Angeles  and  Francis  is  a  pupil  in  the  Fresno  high  school, 
while  the  youngest  son  is  a  pupil  in  the  local  schools. 

LEWIS  H.  LARSON.— The  proprietor  of  the  Home  Transfer  &  Stor- 
age Company,  who  has  been  a  citizen  of  East  Bakersfield  since  November 
of  1901,  claims  Missouri  as  his  native  commonwealth  and  was  born  at  St. 
Joseph,  Buchanan  county,  December  19,  1858,  being  a  son  of  Kittel  T.  and 
Mary  (Kennard)  Larson,  the  latter  a  native  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  the  former 
of  Norwegian  birth  and  ancestry.  After  having  learned  the  trade  of  black- 
smith in  his  native  country  the  father  migrated  to  the  new  world  at  the 
age  of  twenty  years  and  soon  settled  on  a  farm  near  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  where 
in  addition  to  tilling  the  soil  and  raising  stock  he  devoted  considerable  at- 
tention to  his  chosen  occupation.  A  building  on  the  farm  was  utilized  as  a 
shop  and  farmers  from  all  directions  came  there  to  avail  themselves  of  his 
skill  in  repair  work  and  in  horse-shoeing.  Eventually  he  retired  from  the 
farm  and  established  a  home  in  St.  Joseph,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-three years,  having  survived  his  wife,  who  was  fifty-six  at  the  time 
of  her  demise.  Of  their  five  children  the  third,  Lewis  H.,  was  reared  on  the 
home  farm  and  attended  country  schools.  After  he  had  completed  the  com- 
mon-school branches  of  study  he  devoted  his  entire  time  to  farm  work. 
When  the  family  removed  to  the  city  of  St.  Joe  he  engaged  in  the  teaming 
business.  Three  years  later  he  became  the  proprietor  of  the  Red  Tank  oil 
line  and  conducted  a  retail  oil  business  for  four  years,  after  which  for  five 
years  he  carried  on  a  retail  milk  business  as  proprietor  of  the  Globe  dair}- 
in    his   home   town. 

Upon  leaving  Missouri  for  California  and  settling  in  Kern  (now  East 
Bakersfield),  Mr.  Larson  secured  employment  in  the  boiler-shop  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Companv,  with  which  company  he  continued  for 
three  and  one-half  years.  Upon  resigning  the  position  he  embarked  in  the 
dairy  business.  In  order  to  have  ample  space  for  the  industry  he  bought 
three  blocks  of  ground  and  eleven  lots  on  East  Nile  street,  where  he  operated 
the  Kern  dairy  for  five  years.  At  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  sold  the 
dairy  herd  and  closed  out  the  business.  Next  he  became  interested  in  the 
transfer  business   under   the   title   of  the   Home   Transfer   Company.      Later 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  1143 

he  houpht  the  interests  of  the  Hume  Transfer  &  Storag^e  Company,  under 
which  name  the  business  since  has  been  conducted.  Near  his  residence 
at  No.  1600  Nile  street  he  has  built  a  storage  warehouse  with  ample  facilities 
for  the  storage  of  furniture  consigned  to  him  by  patrons.  For  business 
purposes  he  keeps  three  wagons  in  steady  use  and  at  this  writing  maintains 
his  office  in  his  home.  Much  of  the  original  acreage  has  been  sold,  but  he 
still  retains  one  block  of  land  and  therefore  has  sufficient  room  for  all  the 
demands  of  the  business. 

While  living  at  St.  Joe,  Mo.,  Mr.  Larson  married  Miss  Vetiira  L.  Moore, 
a  native  of  that  city  and  there  deceased.  Three  children  survive  of  that 
marriage,  namely:  Mrs.  Lulu  Lee  Roden,  of  East  Bakersfield ;  Nora  E., 
wife  of  O.  P.  Coats,  of  Fresno;  and  George  S.,  who  is  employed  as  a  driver 
in  the  transfer  business.  By  his  marriage  to  Miss  Christina  Olson,  who 
died  in  St.  Joe,  Mr.  Larson  is  the  father  of  one  son,  Andrew  K.  His  present 
wife,  whom  he  married  at  St.  Joe  in  1898,  was  formerly  Mrs.  Debbie  (Shaffer) 
Etzweiler,  a  native  of  New  BufTalo,  Perry  county.  Pa.,  and  a  daughter  of 
Benjamin  and  Marj'  (Radel)  Shaffer,  also  natives  of  the  Keystone  state. 
During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  ShafYer  served  as  a  private  in  a  Pennsylvania  regi- 
ment and  was  wounded  in  an  engagement,  .\fter  having  engaged  in  farm- 
ing in  Pennsylvania  for  some  years  in  1876  he  removed  to  Kansas  and 
settled  on  a  farm,  but  later  followed  the  trade  of  shoemaker  at  Ellsworth. 
From  Kansas  he  came  to  California  and  briefly  sojourned  at  East  Bakers- 
field,  thence  went  to  Long  Beach,  where  he  died  at  eighty-one  years  of 
age.  His  wife  had  died  in  Pennsylvania,  leaving  four  children,  two  of  whom 
now  survive.  The  youngest  child  of  that  union  was  Debbie,  who  in  Kansas 
became  the  wife  of  Jacob  I.  Etzweiler,  a  carpenter  and  builder  by  trade. 
Mr.  Etzweiler  was  born  at  Millersburg.  Dauphin  county.  Pa.,  and  died  in 
Texas,  leaving  the  widow  and  six  children.  Four  of  the  children  survive, 
namely:  Mrs.  Katherine  E.  Johnson,  of  East  Bakersfield;  Minnie,  a  grad- 
uate nurse  living  at  Coffeyville,  Montgomery  county.  Kan.;  Harry,  now 
at  Maricopa.  Cal. ;  and  Jacob,  who  is  emnloyed  at  Oil  Center.  Mrs.  Larson 
has  been  actively  identified  with  the  Ladies  of  the  Maccabees,  Pythian 
Sisters.  Rebekahs  and  Fraternal  Aid,  while  IMr.  Larson  holds  membership 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Fraternal  Brotherhood  and  Pythian  .Sisters  In 
politics  he  upholds  Democratic  principles. 

FRED  W.  CRAIG.— IMr.  Craig  was  born  in  New  York  City,  June  25,  1826. 
a  son  of  Archiliald  and  Ann  (Coffin)  Craig,  natives  of  New  Jersey  and  of  New 
York  state,  descendants  respectively  from  Scotch  and  from  English  ancestors. 
They  both  lived  out  their  days  and  passed  away  in  New  York  City.  The 
father  was  long  cashier  of  the  Chemical  Bank  of  New  York.  All  of  their 
seven  children  are  deceased.  Fred  \V.  Craig  began  his  education  in  New  York 
City  and  when  he  was  twelve  years  old  w-ent  to  Monmouth  county,  N.  J.,  to 
live  with  an  uncle.  Later  he  became  a  clerk  in  a  store  and  thus  gained  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  mercantile  business.  In  1848  he  went  to  Spring- 
field. 111.,  where  in  1852  he  was  a  salesman  in  the  hardware  store  of  Mr. 
Pease,  his  uncle.  Responding  to  the  lure  of  gold,  he  turned  his  face  toward 
California.  Sailing  from  New  York  on  the  Ozark,  he  came  around  the 
Horn  to  San  Francisco,  the  vessel  putting  in  at  Rio  for  repairs,  and  landed 
in  July,  1853.  From  San  Francisco  he  went  to  Placerxille,  which  tow-n  was 
then  known  by  the  not  euphonious  but  accurately  descriptive  name  of  Hang- 
town.  After  a  short  time  we  find  him  in  Sacramento,  where  he  was  a  clerk 
in  a  commission  house  eighteen  months.  Next  he  established  himself  at 
Indian  Diggings.  Eldorado  county,  as  a  merchant,  where  for  two  years  he 
sold  goods  that  were  hauled  into  the  camp  from  San  Francisco.  In  1857  he 
became  proprietor  of  a  restaurant  at  Oroville.  which  he  continued  with  suc- 
cess for  two  years.     Tn   1861   he  made  his  first  trip  to  Kern  cmmty.     After  a 


1144  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

short  stay  there  he  tarried  briefly  in  Tulare  county,  then  returned  to  San 
Francisco.  Late  in  that  year  until  deep  snow  he  was  a  clerk  in  a  store  at 
Caribou.  Later  he  was  variously  employed  until  1864,  when  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  Kernville.  where  he  was  employed  in  general  merchandising 
as  a  clerk  until  1866.  In  this  year  he  established  a  store  on  Kern  river,  near 
Kernville,  which  in  1870  he  removed  to  Havilah.  Meantime,  in  1868,  he 
had  been  elected  to  serve  three  years  as  supervisor.  He  was  re-elected  in 
1871  and  in  1873  he  resigned  to  take  the  office  of  county  clerk,  which  he 
assumed  in  March,  1874,  about  a  month  after  the  county  seat  was  located  at 
Bakersfield.  Before  the  close  of  the  year  last  mentioned  his  store  was 
burned  down.  In  1875  and  again  in  1877  he  was  re-elected  county  clerk, 
in  which  oiifice  he  served  continuously  six  years.  He  was  for  some  years 
postmaster  of  old  Kern,  but  resigned  the  place  to  accept  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace  for  the  third  judicial  township,  which  he  ably  filled  for  two 
terms.  In  1894  he  was  recalled  to  the  office  of  county  clerk,  by  election  on 
the  Republican  ticket,  and  assumed  its  duties  in  January,  1893,  and  served 
until  January,  1899.  From  then  until  his  death  he  was  engaged  in  the  real 
estate  and  insurance  business,  holding  a  commission  as  notary  public.  He  had 
been  a  citizen  of  East  Bakersfield  since  1875  and  built  his  fine  house  there  in 
the  summer  of  that  year.  In  politics  he  was  a  Republican.  Fraternally  he 
affiliated  with  the  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  married,  at 
Havilah,  Miss  Hava  M.  Crosby,  a  native  of  Illinois  and  also  a  pioneer  of  Kern 
county  of  1851.  Their  daughter,  Anna  M.,  is  librarian  at  the  East  Bakersfield 
branch  of  the  Beale  Memorial  Library. 

JESSE  ROY  ROGERS.— When  the  first  adventurous  emigrants  crossed 
the  ocean  from  Great  Britain  and  landing  in  Virginia  planted  the  English 
flag  on  a  spot  which  they  named  Jamestown  in  honor  of  their  king,  there 
was  among  the  number  a  gallant  young  Englishman  bearing  the  family  name 
of  Rogers.  From  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Jamestown  in  1607  through 
the  more  than  three  centuries  following,  his  descendants  have  been  loyal  to 
America  and  brave  in  the  defence  of  their  country  in  war.  During  the  Revo- 
lutionary struggle  several  of  the  name  were  in  the  army,  among  them  the 
great  grandfather  of  Isaiah  Rogers,  whose  grandfather  was  a  soldier  in  the 
war  of  1812,  while  his  father  went  to  the  front  during  the  Mexican  conflict. 
He  himself,  of  Kentuckian  birth,  nevertheless  opposed  slavery  and  felt  so 
strongly  in  favor  of  the  LTnion  cause  that  he  left  his  native  commonwealth 
to  take  up  arms  for  the  north.  Relatives  were  of  southern  sympathies  and 
friends  also  joined  the  Confederacy,  but  he  persisted  in  his  course,  althougti 
deeply  regretting  the  estrangement  that  necessarily  followed.  Some  time 
after  the  war  had  come  to  an  end  he  established  his  home  in  Louisville,  Ky., 
where  his  son,  Jesse  Roy,  was  born  on  New  Year's  day  of  1875.  Removing 
to  Missouri  in  1879,  he  established  the  family  on  a  farm  near  St.  Louis. 
Eventually  he  retired  from  agricultural  pursuits  and  settled  in  Carthage,  Mo., 
where  he  now  makes  his  home.  By  his  marriage  with  Miss  Nancy  Davis, 
he  became  allied  with  an  old  southern  family  early  resident  in  South  Caro- 
lina, although  her  birth  had  occurred  in  Alabama.  The  Davis  family  traces 
its  genealogy  back  to  the  Grahams,  of  well-known  Scotch-Irish  lineage. 

Among  eight  children  comprising  the  family  of  Isaiah  Rogers  and  of 
whom  five  are  still  living,  Jesse  Roy  Rogers  was  third  in  order  of  birth, 
and  he  was  six  years  of  age  at  the  time  the  family  removed  from  Kentucky 
to  Missouri.  It  was  in  the  latter  commonwealth  therefore  that  he  received 
his  education.  When  fourteen  years  of  age  he  left  school  and  began  to  serve 
as  an  apprentice  to  Robert  Graham,  a  plasterer  in  Kansas  City,  with  whom 
he  continued  for  five  years,  meanwhile  learning  every  branch  of  the  busi- 
ness. On  the  conclusion  of  his  apprenticeship  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  in 
Kansas  City,  St.   Louis,  Chicago,  Omaha  and   Denver.     By  persistent  efifort 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COl^NTY  1147 

he  became  an  expert  in  his  occuiiation.  The  deinaiul  for  high-class  work- 
men in  Los  Angeles  led  him  to  establish  himself  in  that  city  during  UW, 
after  which  he  devoted  several  months  to  filling  contracts  in  that  city.  One 
of  his  most  important  contracts  in  that  city  was  the  plastering  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  building.  Removing  to  Long  Beach  in  1901  he  at  once  took  a 
merited  position  among  the  leading  men  in  his  line,  .\mong  his  principal 
contracts  in  that  place  were  those  for  the  Long  Beach  National  Bank,  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Long  Beach,  the  City  National  Bank,  Carnegie 
Library  and  Kennebec  hotel.  A  great  number  of  smaller  jobs  kept  him 
busily  occupied  in  the  same  locality  until  1907,  when  he  began  to  follow  his 
trade  in  and  near  San  Diego.  Coming  to  Bakersfield  in  March,  1909,  he 
entered  upon  occupative  tasks  in  this  city  and  in  Kern  count)',  where  he  had 
the  contracts  for  the  plastering  of  the  Elks  building,  the  New  Southern 
Annex,  the  Brower  building,  Redlick  building,  Manly  apartments,  Koesel 
hotel,  Morgan  building,  Russ  residence,  Manual  Training  school.  Morrow 
&  Barnett  building,  and  numerous  other  structures  in  Bakersfield,  besides  the 
schoolhouse  in  Alaricopa  and  other  contracts  at  points  near  to  his  home  city. 
In  1912  he  branched  out  into  general  contracting  in  partnership  with  loseph 
E.  Yancey,  and  the  firm  of  Yancey  &  Rogers  have  built  the  Fellows  high 
school  annex,  have  plastered  the  Bakersfield  Club  building  and  have  remod- 
eled the  City  Hall.  LTpon  fhe  organization  of  the  Builders'  Exchange  he 
became  a  charter  member  and  one  of  the  directorate,  besides  which  he  has 
officiated  as  second  vice-president.  While  living  in  Kansas  City  he  met  and 
married  Miss  Cora  Gray,  a  native  of  Illinois,  and  with  her  and  their  only 
child,  Albert  Edison,  he  has  established  a  comfortable  home  in   Bakersfield. 

EMMETT  L.  HAYES.— The  general  manager  of  the  large  business  in 
Bakersfield  conducted  under  the  title  of  Hayes  &  Murray  belongs  to  an 
old  southern  family  and  is  himself  a  native  of  the  south,  born  at  \Iurfrees- 
boro,  Tenn.,  August  28,  1882,  being  a  son  of  the  late  Thomas  and  ]\Iar- 
garetta  (Burgess)  Hayes.  The  former,  born  in  North  Carolina,  became  a 
resident  of  Tennessee  in  early  life  and  identified  himself  with  agricultural 
pursuits  there,  continuing  in  the  same  locality  until  death.  After  removing 
to  that  commonwealth  he  had  married  Miss  Burgess,  a  native  of  Tennessee 
and  a  lifelong  resident  of  the  state.  They  became  the  parents  of  ten  chil- 
dren who  attained  maturity,  but  only  five  of  these  are  now  living  and  only 
one,  Emmett  L.,  the  next  to  the  youngest,  has  established  a  home  in  Cali- 
fornia. After  he  had  completed  the  studies  of  the  countr\'  schools  he  was 
sent  for  one  term  to  the  Baptist  University  at  Murfreesboro  and  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  left  school  and  home  to  begin  the  battle  of  self-su[)port.  .\s 
a  clerk  with  the  Mayo  Grocery  Company  at  Dresden,  Tenn.,  he  gained  his 
first  experience  in  business.  That  his  services  were  satisfactory  appears 
in  the  fact  that  Mr.  Mayo  toc^k  him  to  Mayfield,  Ky.,  and  upon  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  firm  of  McEllrath,  Brooks  &  Mayn  made  iiirn  cashier  of 
the  department  store. 

The  work  was  congenial  and  the  returns  satisfactory,  but  Mr.  Hayes 
found  the  constant  confinement  to  the  cashier's  desk  altogether  too  great 
a  strain  upon  his  health  and  he  resigned  in  1901,  coming  to  California  and 
securing  a  temporary  position  with  J.  J-  Owen  &  Co.,  in  San  Bernardino. 
For  a  brief  period  he  also  clerked  in  a  grocerydwned  by  Feetham  &  McNeill. 
The  year  1502  found  him  in  Bakersfield,  where  for  eighteen  months  he  held 
a  position  with  Dinklespeil  Brothers,  grocers.  Next  he  entered  the  grocery 
department  of  Hochheimer  &  Co.  Upon  resigning  that  place  he  removed 
to  Madera  and  became  manager  of  the  grocery  department  of  Rosenthal- 
Kuttner  Company,  but  in  a  few  months  came  back  to  Bakersfield  to  serve  as 
manager  of  the  grocery  department  of  Hochheimer  &  Co.  During  .\pril 
of    1907    he    purchased  'from    Tipton    Mathews    the    first    and    only    grocery 


1148  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

business  in  Wasco,  where  he  not  only  conducted  mercantile  pursuits,  but 
also  acted  as  postmaster.  With  P.  A.  Murray  as  partner,  in  1909  he  opened 
a  grocery  in  Bakersfield.  For  a  few  months  he  ran  the  two  stores,  but  in 
the  autumn  of  1909  he  disposed  of  the  store  at  Wasco,  and  since  then  has 
devoted  his  entire  time  to  the  management  of  the  Bakersfield  establishment. 
Starting  in  business  with  groceries  exclusively,  the  firm  later  added  a  com- 
plete line  of  hardware  and  now  have  in  stock  not  only  these  two  lines,  but 
also  paints  and  oils,  roofing  and  fencing.  The  location  of  the  store  on 
I  street  between  Nineteenth  and  Twentieth  streets  is  sufficiently  central  to 
be  easy  of  access  to  all  its  customers  and  it  enjoys  the  patronage  of  a  large 
number  of  city  people,  besides  a  goodly  contingent  from  the  country. 

The  Ashton  Baking  Company,  organized  in  1912,  with  the  firm  of  Hayes 
&  Murray  aa  owners  of  one-half  interest,  under  the  management  of  Mr. 
Hayes  has  built  up  a  successful  patronage,  equipped  a  new  shop  and  ovens 
and  turns  out  an  excellent  product  that  finds  a  ready  sale  in  increasing 
quantities.  The  supervision  of  the  two  separate  lines  of  business  keeps 
the  manager  busily  occupied,  but  he  nevertheless  finds  leisure  for  active 
participation  in  the  Kern  County  Board  of  Trade  and  served  for  three  years 
as  a  member  of  its  executive  committee.  In  addition  he  keeps  well  posted  in 
the  policies  of  the  Republican  party,  which  he  supports  with  ballot  and 
influence.  Made  a  Mason  in  Delano  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  he  was  raised  to 
the  Royal  Arch  chapter  in  Bakersfield,  where  also  he  has  identified  himself 
with  the  Elks  and  Woodmen  of  the  World.  At  Visalia,  in  April  of  1907, 
he  married  Miss  Mamie  Murray,  a  native  of  Tulare  county,  this  state,  and 
a  daughter  of  P.  A.  and  Henrie  L.  (Hess)  Murray,  the  former  a  pioneer 
engineer  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  and  also  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Hayes  &  Murray.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hayes  are  the  parents  of  two  children, 
Thelma  Vivian  and  Jack  Murray.  The  family  live  at  No.  317  Eighteenth 
street,  in  the  Kruse  tract,  Bakersfield,  where  they  own  a  recently  completed 
and  attractive  residence.  He  is  a  director  in  the  Colorado  Pacific  Land 
Company,  the  owners,  platters  and  improvers  of  Kruse  tract,  one  of  the 
finest  residence  portions  of  the  city. 

WILLIAM  WALLACE.— Inventive  ability  of  a  high  order  would 
have  brought  worldly  fame  and  material  prosperity  to  Mr.  Wallace  had  not 
his  career  been  cut  short  by  untimel}'  death  when  he  was  forty-one  years 
of  age.  Notwithstanding  his  passing  ere  he  had  reached  the  zenith  of  his 
powers  he  left  behind  him  a  reputation  for  inventive  skill  based  upon  inven- 
tions that  now  are  in  constant  use.  As  a  machinist  his  skill  was  so  great 
that  man)'  considered  him  a  genius.  From  childhood  he  had  the  faculty  of 
grasping  the  intricate  details  of  any  piece  of  mechanism  and  to  him  more 
pleasing  than  the  usual  sports  of  youth  was  the  success  with  which  he 
could  put  together  the  numerous  parts  of  a  machine  into  working  order. 
As  is  common  with  men  of  his  type,  he  had  his  discouragements  and  reverses, 
but  he  never  allowed  failure  to  depress  him  or  to  retard  even  momentarily 
his  enthusiastic  labors  upon  his  patents.  Evidence  of  his  ability  and  of  the 
successful  business  supervision  of  his  widow  appears  now  in  the  Wallace 
Pump  Works,  located  at  No.  718  Twentieth  street,  Bakersfield,  where  are 
manufactured  some  of  his  most  important   inventions. 

Born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1869,  apprenticed  in  youth  to  the  trade  of  a 
machinist  near  Pittsburg,  and  removing  to  California  about  1900,  Mr. 
Wallace  first  secured  employment  as  an  expert  machinist  in  the  Bakersfield 
iron  works,  and  later,  as  superintendent  of  the  machine  department  for 
Reed  Brothers,  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  the  Parker  pump  on  Chester 
avenue.  After  a  time  he  went  to  the  Kern  river  oil  field  and  started  a 
machine  shop,  but  the  venture  had  a  disastrous  termination,  and  in  one 
year  he  returned  to  Bakersfield  to  start  anew.     Here  he  opened  a  machine 


HISTORY    OF    KI:R\    CorX'I-V  1140 

shop  on  Twentieth  street,  where  he  ent^aj^ed  in  reh(irin<;  oil  well  pumps. 
During  1905  he  obtained  a  patent  for  rebrushing  oil  well  i)unips  and  in 
1908  he  patented  the  Wallace  interchangeable  nil  well  pump,  which  now  is 
manufactured  in  large  numbers  and  used  with  gratif}ing  success  by  the 
largest  companies  in  the  county.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  which  ccc'urrcd 
October  9,  1911,  he  was  engaged  with  a  number  of  other  patents,  liut  his 
untimely  demise  prevented  their  completion.    lie  belonged  to  the  Maccabees. 

In  New  York  City  occurred  the  marriage  of  William  Wallace  and  Miss 
Sadie  Summers,  who  was  born  in  Copenhagen,  Denmark,  being  a  daughter 
of  Christian  Summers,  a  native  of  London,  England,  hut  for  many  years  a 
manufacturer  in  Copenhagen.  From  childhood  she  was  trained  in  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Lutheran  denomination  and  she  always  has  been  a  generous 
contriliutor  to  that  church  as  well  as  a  firm  believer  in  its  creed.  Possessing 
business  ability  of  a  high  degree,  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Wallace  she  determined 
to  maintain  the  business  and  manufacture  his  patents.  The  results  have 
proved  the  wisdom  of  her  decision.  It  has  been  her  good  fortune  to  secure 
the  services  of  Perry  McAninch  as  manager;  with  his  skilled  and  capable 
co-operation  she  has  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  the  Wallace  Interchange- 
able oil  well  pump  and  the  Wallace  l^ushed  pump.  The  plant,  of  which  site 
is  sole  proprietor,  stands  on  Twentieth  near  O  street  and  is  operated  by 
electrical  power. 

WILLIAM  J.  ROOKS.— The  American  genealogy  of  the  Rooks  family 
extends  back  to  the  period  of  the  colonization  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 
Andrew  J  and  Jane  (Smith)  Rooks,  now  residents  of  Baldwin's  Park,  Cal., 
are  natives  of  Georgia  and  their  son,  William  J.,  was  born  November  2, 
1864,  in  that  state,  at  a  small  hamlet  known  as  Newton  Factory.  In  early 
life  Andrew  J.  Rooks  followed  the  trade  of  blacksmith  at  Monroe,  Walton 
county,  his  native  Georgian  city,  from  where  he  served  as  a  sharpshooter 
and  scout  throughout  almost  the  entire  period  of  the  Civil  war,  being  a 
member  of  Company  C,  Ninth  Georgia  Regiment,  C.  S.  A.  There  were  but 
three  of  his  nine  children  who  lived  to  years  of  maturity  and  the  eldest  of 
these,  William  J.,  has  followed  the  occupation  which  he  learned  so  thor- 
oughly under  the  skilled  instruction  of  the  father.  Beginning  to  learn  the 
trade  when  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  served  his  apprenticeship  at  Newton 
Factory  and  then  spent  two  years  in  a  carriage  factory  in  Atlanta,  Ga.,  after 
which  he  conducted  a  shop  of  his  own  at  Snellville,  same  state,  for  two 
years.  Next  w^e  find  him  in  Alabama,  engaged  in  the  car-shops  of  the 
Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroad  at  Decatur,  where  for  eighteen  months  he 
specialized  in  the  manufacture  of  coach  and  engine  springs,  .\fter  three 
and  one-half  years  in  the  car-shops  he  opened  a  carriage-shop  of  his  own 
in  Decatur,  where  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  carriages  and  wagons 
with  considerable  success. 

Upon  selling  out  his  interests  in  the  south  in  1901  and  c<niiing  to  Cali- 
fornia to  make  his  home,  Mr.  Rooks  was  first  employed  in  the  Pike  carriage- 
-shop  in  Los  Angeles,  next  was  in  the  Tabor  shop  in  the  same  city,  and 
then  for  two  years  and  three  months  served  as  foreman  of  the  blacksmithing 
department  in  the  car-shops  of  the  Pacific  Electric  Railroad  Company  at 
Sherman.  From  Los  Angeles  he  went  to  Hollywood,  where  he  conducted 
a  blacksmith's  shop  for  three  years.  Meanwhile  he  bought  and  sold  real 
estate  and  was  able  to  leave  the 'city  with  a  profit  of  $10,000.  Next  he  bought 
twenty  acres  in  Azusa  and  engaged  in  raising  oranges  and  strawberries.  The 
latter  crop  was  particularly  profitable  and  brought  him  returns  beyond  his 
most  sanguine  expectations. 

November  of  1909  witnessed  the  location  of  Mr.  Rooks  in  Kern  county, 
where  in  1907  he  had  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  alfalfa  land 
for   $12,000.     After   securing  $5,000   in    rent    from    the   place   he    sold    it    for 


1150  HISTORY    OK    KERX    COUNTY 

$25,000  and  had  previously  purchased  a  tract  of  four  hundred  acres,  also 
about  the  same  time  purchased  four  hundred  and  ten  acres  of  improved 
land  under  the  ditch.  On  this  property  he  put  down  a  well  three  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  deep,  thus  securing  an  abundance  of  water  for  irrigation. 
Eventually  he  sold  the  entire  acreage  and  then,  in  November  of  1912,  he 
bought  a  blacksmith's  shop  at  No.  617  Grove  street,  where  he  and  his  son 
have  since  made  a  specialty  of  horse-shoeing,  although  doing  also  a  general 
blacksmith  and  repair  business  in  the  line  of  wagons  and  carriages,  also 
the  manufacture  of  automobile  springs  and  machine  forgings.  While  living 
in  Alabama  Mr.  Rooks  married  Miss  Theodusia  P.  Mason,  who  was  born 
near  Stone  Mountain,  Ga.,  in  Gwinnett  county.  They  became  the  parents 
of  twelve  children,  of  whom  the  following  survive :  Mrs.  Lulu  James,  of 
Tulare;  Mrs.  Bessie  Ward,  of  Florida;  William  J.,  Jr.,  member  of  the  firm 
of  W.  J.  Rooks  &  Son;  Afurray,  now  at  Taft ;  Mrs.  Linnie  Sutlifif,  of  Escalon, 
San  Joaquin  county ;  Eunice,  Cleo,  Florence  and  Lyman,  who  remain  with 
their  parents  in  the  Bakersfield  home.  The  family  holds  membership  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  In  national  principles  Mr.  Rooks 
is  stanchly  Democratic  and  fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Independent 
Order  uf  Odd   Fellows  at   Bakersfield. 

REGINALD  FRANK  HAIMES.— Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  during 
April  of  1895  Mr.  Haimes  has  been  identified  with  the  Kern  County  Land 
Company,  first  as  an  employe  on  the  Poso  ranch  and  later  as  a  clerk  at  the 
Kern  island  headquarters.  Each  of  these  places  was  made  his  headquarters 
for  a  number  of  years.  To  the  work  of  both  he  gave  the  satisfactory  service 
that  furnishes  abundant  reason  for  promotion.  Appointed  in  September 
of  1907  to  the  responsible  position  of  payroll  clerk  in  the  Bakersfield  office, 
he  now  gives  his  time  and  attention  closely  to  the  responsibilities  of  the 
j-.lace  and  discharges  every  duty  with  painstaking  fidelity.  For  a  consid- 
erable period  he  devoted  his  leisure  hours  to  military  tactics  and  for  seven 
years  he  served  in  the  California  National  Guard,  retiring  with  the  rank  of 
sergeant.  Enlisting  in  the  old  Company  G  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  he 
remained  with  it  after  the  re-organization  into  Company  L,  Second  Regi- 
ment. At  the  time  of  the  great  fire  in  1906  in  San  Francisco  he  was  sent 
with  other  members  of  the  guard  to  that  city. 

The  third  in  a  family  of  six  children.  Reginald  Frank  Haimes  was  born 
in  Liverpool,  England,  February  22.  1875,  and  was  a  son  of  the  late  Francis 
and  Elizabeth  ('\\'insborough)  Haimes,  natives  of  Devonshire.  For  many 
years  prior  to  his  death  the  father  had  engaged  as  a  wholesale  tobacconist 
in  Liverpool  and  it  was  there  that  R.  F.  Haimes  attended  school  from  1881 
until  about  1889.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  apprenticed  on  an  English 
merchant  ship,  Crompton,  which  sailed  to  Burma,  Asia,  thence  returning 
to  Dundee.  On  the  voyage  he  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  twice, 
repeating  this  on  a  subsequent  round  trip  between  Liverpool  and  Calcutta. 
The  next  voyage  of  the  Crompton  took  him  from  Cardiiif,  Wales,  to  Portland, 
Ore.,  thence  back  to  England,  thus  rounding  Cape  Horn  twice.  When  he 
passed  the  Horn  for  the  third  time  it  was  on  a  voyage  to  San  Francisco. 
Having  concluded  the  apprenticeship  he  left  the  vessel  at  San  Francisco  in 
the  fall  of  1894,  intending  to  become  a  permanent  resident  of  the  west. 

A  brief  experience  in  the  coasting  trade  out  from  San  Francisco  was 
followed  by  removal  to  Napa,  where  Mr.  Haimes  secured  employment  as 
clerk  in  a  hardware  store  and  from  there  in  the  spring  of  1895  he  came  to 
Kern  county,  the  location  of  his  subsequent  activities.  In  the  city  of 
Bakersfield  he  erected  a  comfortable  residence  at  No.  2729  Twentieth  street, 
and  here  he  and  his  wife,  with  their  only  child.  Kathleen  Greta,  have  a  home 
whose  delightful  hospitality  is  often  enjoyed  by  their  wide  circle  of  friends. 


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HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COl'N'TY  1153 

Mrs.  Haimes  was  reared  and  educated  in  Liverpool,  Enj^land,  and  is  a  wunian 
uf  culture  and  charm,  popular  in  social  functions  and  an  interested  partici- 
pant in  the  work  of  the  Pythian  Sisters,  to  which,  as  also  to  the  Knights 
of  P3thias,  Mr.  Haimes  belongs.  Since  becoming  a  citizen  of  our  country 
he  has  espoused  Democratic  principles  and  always  gives  his  vote  to  the 
men  and  measures  advocated  by  that  party.  Although  reared  in  England, 
Mrs.  Haimes  is  of  Irish  birth  and  lineage,  and  was  born  at  Banbridge,  county 
Down,  which  likewise  was  the  birthplace  of  her  parents,  Martin  and  Selina 
(Crawley)  Kehoe.  The  parents  removed  from  Ireland  to  Liverpool,  England, 
where  Mr.  Kehoe  engaged  in  business  as  a  merchant  tailor,  remaining  in 
the  same  city  througheiut  the  balance  of  his  life.  There  were  fourteen  chil- 
dren in  the  Kehoe  family  and  si.x  of  these  are  still  living.  The  youngest, 
Margarita,  was  educated  in  public  and  private  schools  in  Liverpool  and  came 
to  Bakersfield  May  17,  1908,  where  on  June  7,  1908,  was  solemnized  her 
marriage  to  Mr.  Haimes,  and  since  then  they  have  remained  residents  of 
this  city. 

JOHN  P.  PLAUGHER.— The  Plaugher  stable  at  Taft,  for  which 
Mr.  Plaugher  paid  T.  T.  Hunter  $7,000  and  the  value  of  which  has  been 
increased  by  subsequent  purchases  and  improvements,  does  not  represent 
the  limit  of  his  investments,  for  outside  of  his  holdings  in  Taft  he  owns  a 
house  and  lot  at  Hueneme,  Ventura  county,  four  lots  in  Del  Monte  Heights, 
-Monterey  county,  two  lots  in  Oakland  and  forty  acres  in  unimproved  farm 
land  situated  three  and  one-half  miles  northwest  of  the  court-house  at 
Fresno,  besides  which  he  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Amber  Oil  Company. 

A  resident  of  California  since  the  4th  of  July,  1896,  on  which  day  he 
arrived  in  Los  Angeles,  J.  P.  Plaugher  had  earned  his  own  livelihood  for 
a  decade  before  he  came  to  the  west.  The  family  of  which  he  was  a 
member  comprised  ten  sons  and  two  daughters,  and  the  old  home  was  in 
Pendleton  county,  W.  Va.,  one  and  one-half  miles  from  the  state  line  of 
Virginia.  ■  There  he  was  born  September  8,  1873,  and  there  he  worked  early 
and  late  as  a  boy.  deprived  of  every  educational  advantage  and  in  that 
way  greatly  handicapped  for  the  activities  of  the  business  world.  \Vhen 
scarcely  more  than  sixteen  he  left  home  and  he  has  not  since  been  I^eneath 
the  old  roof  nor  has  he  visited  the  neighborhood  whose  only  memories  are 
of  hardship,  sacrifice  and  poverty.  Having  considerable  mechanical  ability, 
he  found  employment  in  running  a  traction  engine  which  at  diiTerent  times 
operated  a  threshing  machine,  a  hay  baler  and  a  wood-saw.  March  4,  1892, 
he  left  Harrisonburg,  Va.,  and  proceeded  to  Lima.  Ohio,  where  two  older 
brothers  were  employed  in  the  oil  fields.  For  a  year  he  engaged  as  teamster 
and  roustabout  with  the  Manhattan  Oil  Company.  During  the  spring  of 
1893  he  entered  the  emplov  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  as  a  tool-dresser 
on  the  Marion  and  Bellefontaine  pikes  east  of  Lima.  At  the  expiration 
of  eighteen  months  the  plant  was  shut  down  and  he  then  became  a  boiler- 
maker  in  the  Solar  refinery  (the  largest  refinery  in  the  entire  world V  .After 
eight  months  he  was  made  foreman  of  the  crew  that  built  the  railroad  car 
tanks,  but  a  year  later  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  the  w-ork  on  account  of 
threatened  deafness.  Transferred  to  the  yard  as  a  nipe-fitter,  having  charge 
of  a  gang  of  five  men,  he  continued  with  the  Standard  Oil  Companv  at  the 
Solar  refinery  for  eieht  months,  after  which  he  drilled  for  the  same  corpora- 
tion at  St.  Marys,  Ohio. 

Resigning  from  the  employ  of  the  Standard  June  28.  189ri.  Mr.  PhuLilier 
came  to  California,  and  on  the  7th  of  July  began  to  work  in  the  Little 
Sespe  canyon  at  Santa  Paula  for  the  LTnion  Oil  Company,  with  which  he 
continued  for  five  years  as  a  driller.  The  boom  began  in  the  Kern  river 
field  in    1899  and   perhaps   a   year  later  he   had   his   first   experience   in    that 


1154  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

field,  where  he  was  employed  as  a  driller  on  the  San  Joaquin  division  of 
the  Associated.  Later  he  was  with  the  Imperial  and  33  Oil  Companies, 
after  which  he  engaged  as  rig-builder  and  well-driller  for  the  Rhode  Island 
and  Connecticut  and  California  Oil  Companies.  From  that  work  he  went 
to  section  27  of  the  Coalinga  field,  where  he  brought  in  the  flowing  well 
that  laid  the  foundation  of  the  later  fortunes  of  the  California  Oilfields,  Lim- 
ited. August  1,  1901,  he  married  Miss  Emma  Webb,  daughter  of  E.  C. 
Webb,  and  a  native  of  Bradford,  Pa.,  but  at  the  time  of  their  marriage  a 
resident  of  Santa  Paula.  One  son,  Edward  W.,  was  born  of  their  union. 
Mrs.  Plaugher  is  a  woman  of  ability  and  executive  force  and  has  been  a 
leading  worker  in  the  Women's  Improvement  Club  of  Taft. 

An  experience  in  drilling  a  well  in  San  Benito  county  proved  so  dis- 
astrous that  j\Ir.  Plaugher  was  not  only  left  penniless,  but  also  with  a 
heavy  debt  that  eventually  was  paid  in  full.  After  having  worked  for 
some  time  with  the  California  Oilfields,  Limited,  he  resigned  on  Thanks- 
giving day  of  1908  and  returned  to  Fresno,  where  he  had  bought  residence 
property.  From  there  he  proceeded  to  section  6  in  the  Kern  river  field, 
where  he  drilled  to  a  depth  of  twenty-nine  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  but 
failed  to  strike  oil.  With  the  failure  of  the  Big  Indian  Oil  Company,  in 
which  he  had  been  a  shareholder,  he  again  suffered  a  heavy  loss.  In  1909 
he  became  a  driller  on  the  Santa  Fe  lease,  but  left  that  place  in  September, 
1910,  in  order  to  work  for  Wallace  Canfield  on  the  lease  of  the  Kern  Trad- 
ing &  Oil  Company.  Having  resigned  his  position  with  that  large  concern 
he  bought  a  livery  stable  in  Taft,  October  11,  1912,  and  has  since  engaged 
in  the  livery  business  and  in  contract  teaming.  Eleven  head  of  horses 
were  in  the  barn  at  the  time  of  purchase  and  since  then  he  has  added  seven- 
teen, so  that  he  now  owns  twenty-eight  horses  besides  two  mules.  The 
equipment  has  also  been  enlarged  by  the  purchase  of  new  vehicles.  In- 
cluded with  the  barn  and  the  stock  in  the  purchase  were  four  lots,  100  x  125, 
on  Center  street,  and  two  lots  and  houses  in  block  15,  Kern  street.  Shortly 
after  coming  to  California  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  the  Santa  Paula  blue 
lodge  in  1896  and  is  now  a  member  of  Los  Palmas  Lodge  No.  366,  F.  &  A.  M. 

GEORGE  W.  PREMO.— The  name  of  Premo  indicates  the  French 
lineage  of  the  family  (the  name  being  originally  spelled  Primeau,  but  after- 
ward changed  to  Premo  for  convenience)  and  the  records  further  show  that 
from  France  they  became  transplanted  in  Canada  upon  the  soil  of  the  province 
of  Quebec.  Born  near  Montreal,  Michael  Premo  came  to  the  United  States 
in  early  life  and  during  the  latter  part  of  the  Civil  war  served  as  a  private  in 
a  Michigan  regiment  of  volunteers.  Later  in  the  '60s,  while  still  a  young  man, 
he  came  via  the  Horn  to  California  and  settled  uoon  a  tract  of  raw  land  in 
San  Joaquin  county.  Early  in  the  '80s  he  removed  to  Tulare  county,  secured 
a  tract  of  land,  developed  a  grain  farm  and  for  years  conducted  agricultural 
pursuits  upon  a  large  scale.  About  1903  he  retired  from  farming  and  estab- 
lished a  home  in  Los  Angeles,  but  more  recently  he  has  come  to  Bakersfield 
with  the  expectation  of  passing  the  remaining  years  of  his  life  in  this 
growing  city. 

The  marriage  of  Michael  Premo  united  him  with  Miss  Maggie  Minges, 
who  was  born  in  San  Joaquin  count}',  this  state,  and  died  at  Pcrterville.  Her 
father,  John  Minges,  a  native  of  Germany,  came  to  the  United  States  with 
his  parents  in  boyhood  and  in  the  eventful  summer  of  1849  crossed  the  plains 
with  oxen  to  California,  where  he  remained  until  his  death  in  Stockton.  There 
were  nine  children  in  his  family.  A  mechanic  of  exceptional  ability,  he  ranked 
among  the  successful  men  of  his  day  and  locality.  Inventive  ability  led  him 
to  experiment  with  improvements  in  farm  implements.  He  invented  and 
patented   the   first   combined   harvester,   but    sold   the    patent    to    Shippey   of 


GEORGE  DELFIXO  VICTORIA   DELFIXO 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COItxtY  1157 

Stockton,  who  in  turn  sold  tu  Air.  Ilouser  the  oritjinal  nunlel  d'  the  com- 
bined harvester  of  today.  In  addition  he  invented  and  pert'ecled  a  header  as 
well  as  other  improvements  in  machinery. 

There  were  eight  children  in  the  family  of  Miciiael  and  .Maj^i^de  I'remo. 
Seven  of  these  are  now  living,  namely:  Walter,  who  is  engaged  in  the  real- 
estate  business  at  Porterville;  P>ed,  a  contractor  doing  business  at  Tulare; 
George  \\.,  of  Bakersfield ;  Emily,  wife  of  F.  L.  Tubbs.  of  Tulare;  Charles  C, 
who  is  associated  with  his  eldest  brother  in  the  real-estate  business  at  Purtcr- 
v'ille;  Marguerite,  now  a  student  in  the  University  of  California  at  Berkeley; 
and  Kenneth,  who  was  educated  at  Porterville.  All  of  the  children  but  the 
youngest  are  graduates  of  the  Tulare  high  school.  The  third  son,  George  W., 
was  born  at  Stockton,  this  state,  January  18.  1878,  and  was  reared  on  a 
farm  in  Tulare  county.  After  he  had  been  graduated  from  high  school  in 
1897  he  spent  two  years  as  a  student  in  the  scientific  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  California.  Next  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road Company,  in  whose  interests  he  came  to  Bakersfield  in  1903.  Later 
he  devoted  one  year  to  the  butcher  business  in  Kern  as  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Tubbs  &  Premo.  At  the  time  of  the  great  fire  in  San  Francisco  he 
went  to  that  city,  where  he  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business  for  a  year. 
Upon  his  return  to  Bakersfield  he  resumed  a  connection  with  tlie  Southern 
Pacific  road,  but  at  the  expiration  of  two  years  resigned  his  position  as 
conductor  and  turned  his  attention  to  realty  work  in  P)akersfield.  l-'or  a 
time  employed  by  Ballagh  &  Nighbert,  in  September  of  1912  he  b.  ught  their 
interests  and  now  engages  in  the  real-estate,  loan  and  insurance  business  at 
No.  1717  Chester  avenue.  In  addition  to  being  an  active  member  of  the 
Bakersfield  Realty  Board,  he  is  still  a  member  of  the  BrotherhoLd  of  Raih-oad 
Trainmen.  Politically  he  favors  Republican  principles.  In  Bakersfield 
occurred  his  marriage  to  Miss  Ethel  Carlisle,  who  was  born  in  Ste  ckton  and 
completed  her  education  in  the  Tulare  high  school.  A  son,  George  W.,  Jr., 
blesses  tlieir  union.  Mrs.  Premo  is  a  daughter  of  J.  H.  Carlisle,  a  pioneer 
of  Tulare  count}-,  now  living  at  Fresno,  this  state. 

GEORGE  DELFINO.— Near  Milan,  Italy,  George  Delfino  was  born,  De- 
cember 15,  1872,  and  there  attended  school  until  twelve  years  old, 
after  which  he  worked  for  his  parents  for  about  eight  years.  In  1892  he 
decided  to  come  to  America,  and  accordingly  arrived  in  the  United  States 
that  year,  coming  direct  to  California  and  settling  in  Tulare  county,  where 
he  obtained  work.  In  1894  he  came  to  Kern  county,  where  he  became  an 
employe  of  the  Miller  &  Lux  Land  Company,  remaining  with  thtm  until 
1898,  when  he  started  out  for  himself.  With  three  others  he  rented  two 
sections  of  land,  which  they  worked  for  two  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
he  worked  alone,  in  1900  purchasing  forty  acres  on  Kern  Island  road,  four 
miles  south  of  Bakersfield,  and  here  he  lived  for  six  years.  He  bought  his 
present  home  place  of  forty  acres  in  1907,  and  in  1912  f(.rty  acres  adjoining 
and  he  now  owns  and  operates  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  all 
under  irrigation  and  cultivation  to  alfalfa.  His  place  is  well  improved  with 
residence  and  buildings  and  is  located  three  miles  .south  of  Bakersfield. 

Mr.  Delfino  married  in  Bakersfield  \'ictoria  Bianche.  who  was  born 
in  July.  1883.  in  Italy.  She  came  to  Bakersfield  with  her  parents  at  the  age 
of  ff  ur  years.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Delfino  occurred  July  28, 
1900,  and  six  children  have  been  born  to  this  marriage:  Marciano.  Willie, 
Joe,  Dalsolina  L.,  Frank  and  James. 

PAUL  CORTI.— A  son  of  Louis  an<l  Mary  (.\riguni)  Corti,  farmers 
of  Italy,  Paul  Corti  was  be  rn  in  that  country  near  the  city  of  .Milan,  .Xovembcr 
1,  1838,  and  was  next  to  the  youngest  in  a  family  of  nine  children.  Only  two 
members  of  the  once  large  family  are  now  living  and  none  excei)ting  Iiimself 
ever  came  to  the  United  States.     Reared  on  a  farm,  he  can  scarcely  recall  the 


1158  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

time  when  he  first  determined  to  seek  a  livelihood  elsewhere  and  to  see  some- 
thing of  the  great  world.  The  ambition  of  boyhood  came  into  realization 
during  January  of  1860,  when  he  saw  for  the  first  time  the  metropolis  of  the 
world  and  began  to  be  familiar  with  the  sights  of  old  England.  For  three 
years  he  served  an  apprenticeship  in  London  to  the  trade  of  mirror-making 
and  cutting.  At  the  expiration  of  his  time  he  sailed  on  the  ocean  ship, 
Exeter,  to  South  Africa,  reaching  the  Cape  of  Good  Flope  after  a  voyage  of 
four  months  and  settling  in  the  town  of  that  name.  However,  there  were 
only  a  few  white  people  as  yet  at  the  cape  and  he  could  not  secure  steady 
employment  at  his  trade,  nor  did  the  surroundings  cause  him  to  desire  a 
permanent  residence  in  South  Africa. 

The  island  of  New  Zealand  next  attracted  Mr.  Corti  to  its  citizenship  and 
for  a  time  he  lived  at  Auckland,  but  later  went  to  Dunedin.  During  the  war 
between  the  native  tribes  and  the  white  settlers  he  helped  to  guard  the  city  of 
Auckland.  At  the  time  of  the  first  mining  excitement  at  Otago  he  hastened 
to  the  camp  and  there  prospected  and  opened  a  placer  mine  which  he  named 
the  Garibaldi.  Associated  with  others,  twelve  in  all,  he  put  in  hydraulic  mining 
machinery  and  developed  the  property,  remaining  at  the  mine  for  four  years. 
Meanwhile  he  married  Miss  Susan  Carroll,  who  was  born  at  Lancaster,  Eng- 
land, and  died  at  Bakersfield,  March  15,  1903,  leaving  five  children.  During 
the  spring  of  1869  he  disposed  of  his  holdings  in  New  Zealand  and  accompanied 
by  his  family  went  to  Melbourne,  Australia,  thence  north  to  Sydney  and 
Newcastle,  from  there  by  a  sailing  vessel  to  Honolulu.  From  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  he  and  his  family  came  via  steamer  to  San  Francisco,  where  they 
landed  May  19,  1870.  During  the  same  year  he  came  to  Kern  county,  whose 
county-seat  was  then  still  located  at  Havilah.  At  first  he  worked  in  the 
Morrell  sawmill.  Next  he  spent  a  winter  on  a  farm  in  Bear  Hollow,  Linn's 
valley.  The  following  winter  was  spent  at  the  very  top  of  the  Greenhorn 
mountains. 

As  early  as  1873  Mr.  Corti  pre-empted  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on 
section  18,  township  31,  range  27,  which,  together  with  adjacent  land,  he  still 
owns.  During  1874  he  assisted  in  cutting  a  ditch  out  of  the  old  river  twelve 
miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  The  following  year  the  little  canal,  which  is  known 
as  the  Stine  ditch,  was  opened  and  made  available  for  use  by  settlers.  In  this 
ditch  he  owned  an  interest  and  from  it  he  secured  the  water  necessary  for  the 
cultivation  of  his  claim.  During  1876  he  began  to  develop  his  farm  and  to  make 
the  necessary  improvements.  In  1878  he  sowed  fifteen  acres  of  the  ranch  to 
alfalfa.  It  has  been  cut  for  hay,  or  pastured  by  stock,  or  cut  for  seed  every  suc- 
ceeding year,  a  period  of  thirty-five  years,  and  is  still  a  good  stand.  At  differ- 
ent times  he  bought  adjoining  tracts,  so  that  now  he  owns  the  whole  of  section 
18.  As  early  as  1875  he  bought  two  cows  and  started  in  the  dairy  business. 
By  gradual  increase  he  became  the  owner  of  a  herd  of  seventy  milch  cows, 
besides  having  a  large  number  of  stock  cattle.  From  1882  until  1888  he  and 
his  family  lived  in  San  Francisco,  but  returned  to  the  ranch  in  the  year  last- 
named  and  resumed  the  dairy  industry  as  well  as  stock-raising. 

The  family  came  to  Bakersfield  in  1901  and  Mr.  Corti  erected  a  house  on 
the  corner  of  Twenty-second  and  E  streets,  but  later  bought  his  present  home 
on  the  corner  of  Twenty-first  and  E  streets.  Two  years  after  the  death  of  his 
first  wife  he  married  Miss  Eugenia  Flournoy,  a  sister  of  Judge  George  Flour- 
noy,  and  a  native  of  Texas,  but  this  estimable  lady  was  called  from  earth 
January  27,  1912,  leaving  a  large  circle  of  friends  to  mourn  her  untimely 
death.  The  family  have  been  identified  with  St.  Francis  Catholic  Church 
ever  since  they  came  to  Kern  county  and  Mr.  Corti  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Columbus.  In  politics  he  adheres  to  Democratic  principles.  About 
1905  he  sold  all  of  his  stock  on  the  ranch,  which  he  has  since  rented  to  a 
dairyman,  the  latter  keeping  about  one  hundred  head  of  cows  on  the  place. 


<^/^*<p^^<.  ^  /a.9^ji/A 


ayi-c^CAy 


res  are  in   alfal 

la   and   perl 

laps   ail 

1   e(ii 

lal 

rty  is  exceptini 

lally   well  a 

dai)tcd 

U,  I 

he 

isidered  mie  n\ 

the  finest  (: 

lairy  fa 

rms 

in 

HISTORY    <)!■■     KI:R\    l(  JrXTY  1161 

Alxmt   three  hundred  and   twenty 
amount  in  pasture,  sn  that  the  pri 
dairy  Inisincss  and  indeed  is  nciw  i 
the  entire  count}'. 

MRS.  EMMA  LEA  VANDAVEER.— P.orn  a:  St.  I.ouis  de  Gonzasue, 
near  Montreal,  province  of  (juelxc.  Mrs.  \'andaveer  is  a  daughter  of  Michael 
and  r.enevieve  (Maheu)  Prnneau.  both  natives  of  St.  Martinc,  Chateaufiuay, 
Quebec.  P.oth  the  Primeau  aijd  the  Maheu  families  came  oriijinally  from 
France  and  were  of  old  and  honored  ancestry  in  that  country,  while  their 
French-Canadian  descendants  displayed  the  same  qualities  of  thrift  and  indus- 
try that  had  characterized  the  ancestors  in  Europe.  For  years  Michael  Primeau 
enn-ased  in  farminc:  near  St.  Louis  de  Cionzague,  but  with  all  of  his  arduous 
labors  he  could  grive  to  his  children  few  advantages  aside  from  helping  them 
to  secure  good  educations.  There  were  four  children  in  the  family  and  three 
are  still  li\ing.  Mrs.  Vandaveer,  wdno  was  the  youngest  of  the  family  circle, 
completed  her  education  in  the  Notre  Dame  convent  at  Huntingdon  in  Lower 
Canada,  near  York  state.  After  she  was  graduated  from  the  convent  she 
engaged  in  teaching  school  for  five  years,  but  since  coming  to  California  in 
May  of  1887  she  has  been  interested  principally  in  the  hotel  business.  For 
seven  years  she  managed  the  Petrolia  hotel  in  Santa  Paula,  after  which  she 
followed  the  same  business  in  San  Francisco.  Upon  coming  to  Bakersfield 
in  1904  she  continued  in  the  same  line  of  activity  and  for  eight  years  managed 
the  Poston  hotel.     This  jiroperty  she  sold  I-'ehruary  13,  1913. 

From  the  first  identification  of  Mrs.  Vandaveer  with  Bakersfield  she  has 
had  a  deep  faith  in  its  fuuire  prosperity  and  growth.  The  upbuilding  of  the 
city  is  a  matter  of  personal  interest  and  pride  with  her.  The  many  favorable 
features  for  community  growth  have  impressed  her  deeply.  .\s  an  illustra- 
tion of  her  faith  in  local  upbuilding  it  may  be  stated  that  she 
has  erected  four  large  and  substantial  houses  in  the  city,  three 
of  these  being  located  on  the  corner  of  Twenty-first  and  E  streets,  and  the 
fourth  standing  at  No.  2727  Twentieth  street.  Throughout  all  of  her  life  she 
has  been  a  devout  Roman  Catholic,  an  earnest  worker  in  the  church  and  a 
large  contributor  to  its  charitable  enterprises.  St.  Francis'  Catholic  Church 
has  in  her  not  only  a  faithful,  but  also  an  active  and  capable  member.  As 
president  of  the  Altar  Societ}',  promoter  of  the  League  of  the  Sacred  Heart 
and  treasurer  of  St.  Francis  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  she  has  been  identified  inti- 
mately with  organizations  for  the  uj)building  of  the  church  and  the  enlarge- 
ment of  its  sphere  of  usefulness. 

CHARLES  H.  KAAR. — The  growing  importance  of  the  automobile 
industry  won  the  apreciative  recognition  of  Mr.  Kaar  to  such  an  extent  that 
during  September  of  1911  he  relinquished  other  business  interests  in  order 
to  accept  the  agency  for  Bakersfield  of  the  Studebaker  automobiles.  The 
garage  is  established  at  Eighteenth  and  L  streets,  the  dimensions  being 
115'/  .X  132  and  covering  more  floor  space  than  any  one-story  garage  in 
California,  having  room  for  about  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  cars.  It  is 
equipped  with  machine  sho)  run  by  electric  power,  has  a  vulcanizing  flepart- 
ment,  electric  battery  charging  department  and  carries  a  full  line  of  acces- 
sories and   supplies. 

It  was  (  n  the  .^th  of  March,  1S')4.  that  Charles  H.  Kaar  first  landed  at 
East  Bakersfield,  in  company  with  his  father,  John  Kaar,  the  latter  (  ne  of 
the  honored  upbuilders  of  this  community  and  a  man  of  sterling  traits  of 
character.  (His  biography  ajipears  in  this  publication.)  There  w-ere  five 
children  in  the  family  and  the  fourth  of  these,  Charles  H.,  was  born  near 
Lochiel.  Benton  county,  Ind.,  January  15,  1878,  hence  was  sixteen  at  the  time 
of  the  removal  to  California.  For  two  years  he  was  a  student  in  the  public 
schools,  but  in   1896  he  gave  up  his  studies  in  order  to  earn  his  own  liveli- 


1162  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

hood.  The  first  work  which  he  undertook  was  the  learning  of  the  brick- 
layer's trade  and  in  this  occupation  he  served  a  thorough  apprenticeship. 
At  the  expiration  of  his  time  he  worked  as  a  journeyman,  visiting  various 
points  of  the  west  and  finding  temporary  employment  at  San  Diego  and 
other  California  cities,  as  well  as  Reno,  Ngv.,  and  elsewhere.  After  taking 
contracts  for  mason  work  he  began  also  to  contract  for  houses  and  other 
buildings  and  upon  his  return  to  Bakersfield  in  1907  he  engaged  in  con- 
tracting and  building,  which  he  followed  until  he  entered  the  automobile 
business.  Meanwhile  he  erected  a  number  of  houses  in  Kern,  some  of 
which  he  scld,  but  still  owns  eight  at  the  present  time,  including  the  resi- 
dence which  he  erected  for  his  family.  To  his  efforts  in  no  small  measure 
was  due  the  organization  of  the  Builders'  Exchange  in  1910  and  he  was 
honored  by  being  chosen  its  first  vice-president,  which  office  he  filled  for 
one  year  and  then  withdrew  from  the  organization  upon  giving  up  his  build- 
ing activities.  Fraternally  he  belongs  to  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  has 
been  a  generous  contributor  to  the  philanthropic  work  of  the  order.  In 
marriage  he  became  united  with  a  native  daughter  of  Kern  county,  Miss 
Agnes  Montgomery,  who  was  born  and  reared  here,  received  an  excellent 
education  in  Bakersfield  and  has  made  her  lifelong  home  in  this  community. 
Two  children  bless  their  union,  John  and  Emma. 

JACOB  FETROW  KAAR.— With  other  members  of  the  family  Jacob 
F.  Kaar  came  to  East  Bakersfield  in  1894  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years 
and  in  this  vicinity  he  has  since  been  a  resident,  promoting  local  activities 
by  his  own  admirable  qualities  of  manhood  and  his  devoted  loyalty  to  the 
community.  Son  of  John  Kaar,  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  publication, 
he  was  born  at  Lochiel,  Benton  county,  Ind.,  July  31,  1879,  and  received  a 
fair  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native  locality,  but  at  an  early  age  he 
left  school  in  order  to  earn  his  own  livelihood.  When  fifteen  years  of  age 
he  began  to  learn  the  butcher's  trade.  Every  department  of  that  business 
soon  became  familiar  to  him.  His  judgment  concerning  fat  stock  was  excel- 
lent even  when  he  was  a  mere  lad  and  now  it  is  doubtful  if  any  man  in  the 
county  surpasses  him  in  that  respect.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  engaged 
in  the  business  with  his  father,  John  Kaar,  and  a  brother.  Charles,  but  at  the 
expiration  of  six  months  he  began  to  assume  the  entire  management  of  the 
industry  and  when  he  was  less  than  twenty-one  he  bought  the  interests  of 
his  two  partners.  Not  having  any  money  of  his  own  he  went  in  debt  for 
the  entire  sum,  but  such  was  his  resolution  and  so  accurate  was  his  judgment 
that  in  eight  months  he  was  able  to  discharge  the  entire  indebtedness.  His 
next  step  was  to  start  a  bank  account,  in  order  that  he  might  accumulate 
the  capital  necessary  for  the  buying  of  stock. 

The  small  shack  on  Baker  street  with  its  limited  space  (20x20)  soon 
became  inadequate  to  the  needs  of  the  growing  business,  whereupon  ^Ir. 
Kaar's  father  assisted  him  in  the  buying  of  his  present  site  in  East  Bakers- 
field and  here  he  erected  a  brick  block  of  two  stories,  SO  x  90.  Later  he  added 
a  third  story.  The  first  floor  contains  a  laundry  which  has  an  anne.x  of 
40  X  100.  A  grocery  and  the  meat  market  occupy  the  remaining  space  on  the 
first  floor,  while  the  upper  stories  are  devoted  to  a  rooming  establishment. 
Modern  conveniences  aid  the  proprietor  in  his  effort  to  give  the  people  of 
his  town  the  best  service  and  meat  of  the  finest  quality.  The  trade  is  so 
large  that  the  slaughtering  of  the  beeves  forms  an  essential  part  of  the 
business  and  this  work  is  done  at  the  slaughter-house  one  and  one-half  miles 
southeast  of  the  city.  Besides  owning  this  important  business  Mr.  Kaar  has 
other  interests,  including  the  ownership  of  an  eighty-acre  ranch  at  Rosedale, 
where  irrigation  enables  him  to  put  the  entire  tract  into  alfalfa  and  thus 
engage  profitably  in  the  raising  of  hogs.  In  addition  he  owns  valuable 
residence  property  in  East  Bakersfield.     In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  mem- 


HISTORY    OV    KF.RX    C-()rXTY  1165 

bership  with  ihe  Knishts  ul  rythias,  wliile  |Hililical!\-  he  vulcs  with  tlic 
Democratic  party.  His  marriage  took  place  in  l]akerstiel(l  and  united  him 
with  ;\Iiss  Laura  Edna  Wells,  a  native  of  Lochiel,  Ind.,  the  recipient  of 
excellent  educational  ail  vantages  and  a  devoted  adherent  of  the  Congre- 
gational Church.  Their  family  consists  of  three  daughters,  Kmma  Carolyn, 
Laura  Edna  and   M;ir\-  l-"lizal)elh. 

REV.  J.  J.  PRENDIVILLE.— St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church,  East  P.aUers- 
field.  was  founded  in  1900  as  a  mission  by  Father  Patrick  Lennon,  wlio  con- 
tinued to  officiate  as  jiastor  until  it  was  made  a  separate  pastorate  in  1' 07.  Jt 
was  then  that  Eugene  Ilefferman  became  the  first  resident  pastor  and  he  was 
succeeded  in  March,  1910,  by  Father  J.  J.  Prendiville,  the  present  pastor,  who 
soon  after  his  arrival  also  began  holding  services  in  Taft  and  Maricopa. 

In  September,  1911,  Father  Prendiville  built  the  Catholic  Church  at  Taft, 
a  $5,000  edifice.  He  originated  the  plan,  following  the  old  mission  style,  be- 
sides which  he  superintended  the  building,  selected  the  lumber  and  his  efforts 
have  produced  one  of  the  finest  churches  in  the  San  Joaf|uin  \'alley.  He  has 
also  built  a  church  for  St.  Patrick's  congregation  in  Maricopa  and  he  is  holding 
services  in  Fellows. 

St.  Joseph's  Church  and  parsonage  occupy  about  half  a  block  of  ground 
on  Kern  street.  East  Bakersfield,  and  among  the  different  societies  are  the 
Children  of  ]\Iary,  League  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  Total  Abstinence  Society  and 
The  Sanctuary  Society  for  Beys.  In  1011  St.  Joseph's  Dramatic  Society  gave 
a  play  that  proved  a  success  and  was  repeated  in  the  Bakersfield  ( )pera  House 
for  the  benefit  of  St.  Francis  Church. 

The  pastor.  Father  Prendiville,  was  born  in  Ireland,  was  graduated  at  St. 
Brendaus  Seminary  in  Killarney,  then  studied  theology  and  philosophy  at 
Carlovv  college.  In  1907  he  was  ordained  priest  by  Bishop  Foley  for  the  Los 
Angeles  diocese.  He  was  assistant  to  M(  nsigneur  Fisher  at  Holy  Cross 
Church,  Santa  Cruz,  until  March,  1910,  when  he  was  appointed  to  St.  Joseph's 
Church. 

IRA  HOCHHEIMER.— The  Hochheimer  department  store  on' Chester 
avenue,  extending  one  entire  block  from  Xineleenth  to  Twentieth  street,  rep- 
resents the  tireless  supervision  of  its  present  manager,  Ira  Hochheimer;  as 
well  as  the  ability  of  his  father,  Amiel  Hochheimer,  who  is  yet  living,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-two;  Moses  Hochheimer,  an  uncle,  now  deceased,  a  man  of  great 
executive  abilit\-  and  a  moving  spirit  in  the  upbuilding  of  this  establishment : 
Monroe  Hochheimer,  who  acts  as  assistant  manager  at  the  j^resent  time; 
M.  H.  Wangenheim,  deceased,  a  former  manager  and  a  merchant  possessing 
unusual  faculty  for  organization;  and  Henrj^  Wangenheim,  who  has  charge  of 
the  San  P'rancisco  offices  of  the  four  Hochheimer  &  Co.  stores.  Duly  organ- 
ized as  a  corporation  under  the  laws  of  the  state  of  California,  the  company 
operates  in  all  four  departments  stores  in  this  state,  one  at  each  of  the  follow- 
ing places:  \\'illow,  Germantown  and  Orland  in  Glenn  county,  and  Bakers- 
field, the  establishment  at  Willow  having  been  the  first  in  the  chain  of  stores. 

The  brothers,  Amiel  and  Moses,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Penn- 
sylvania but  residents  of  California  from  early  years,  embarked  in  mercantile 
pursuits  at  Dixon,  Cal.,  but  upon  the  completion  of  the  railroad  went  to  Wil- 
low, Glenn  county,  and  established  a  store  at  that  point,  later  establishing 
the  three  other  stores  still  owned  by  the  corporation.  About  the  year  1900 
Closes  Hochheimer  and  M.  H.  Wangenheim,  both  now  deceased,  came  to 
Bakersfield  and  purchased  from  Mr.  Belau  the  establishment  known  as  the 
Pioneer  store.  At  that  time  there  were  twelve  employes.  Business  was  ci  in- 
ducted in  a  single  store-room  on  Chester  avenue,  immediately  north  of  the 
alley  between  Nineteenth  and  Twentieth  streets.  Today  the  business  supports 
one  hundred  and  fifty  employes  and  ranks  as  next  to  the  largest  mercantile 
establishment   in   the   entire   San  Joaquin   valley.     An   entire  block  of  ground 


1166  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

floor  space  is  occupied  on  the  east  side  of  Chester  avenue  from  Nineteenth  to 
Twentieth  street,  in  the  Hopkins,  Brodek  and  Scribner  and  Grand  buildings. 

The  manager  of  this  great  business  enterprise  was  born  in  the  city  of 
San  Francisco  August  6,  1876.  The  store  at  Willow  was  established  in  the 
same  year  (1876)  and  his  parents  moved  thither,  so  that  he  grew  to  manhood 
in  Glenn  county.  Besides  having  such  advantages  as  were  ofYered  by  the 
public  schools  he  took  a  regular  course  of  study  in  the  University  of  California, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1898.  Immediately  after  gradua- 
tion he  returned  to  Willow  and  became  manager  of  the  store  at  that  point. 
Four  years  later,  upon  the  death  of  M.  H.  Wangenheim,  the  manager  of  the 
Bakersfield  store,  he  was  transferred  to  this  city  to  fill  the  vacancy  and  thus 
at  the  age  of  only  twenty-six  assumed  responsibilities  of  a  very  weighty  nature. 

The  presidency  of  the  company  is  still  held  by  Amiel  Hochheimer,  who 
remains  actively  in  the  business  world  and  displays  an  energy  scarcely  less 
than  that  of  his  younger  years.  His  Ijrother,  Moses,  who  died  in  the  year  1912, 
is  remembered  kindly  by  the  people  of  Bakersfield,  where  he  was  considered 
the  leading  merchant  of  the  town  and  a  man  of  high-minded,  noble  and 
humanitarian  impulses.  At  one  time  Mr.  Hochheimer  served  as  lieutenant 
on  the  staff  of  Governor  Gillett.  Notwithstanding  his  business  responsibilities 
he  is  sociable  and  companionable  and  finds  relaxation  from  business  cares 
through  membership  in  various  organizations,  including  the  Bakersfield  Club, 
Army  and  Navy  Club  of  San  Francisco,  Argonaut  Club  of  San  Francisco,  and 
the  Shriners  and  thirty-second  degree  Masons. 

EDWARD  F.  MILLARD.— The  Millard  family  comes  of  old  English 
lineage  and  the  first  representative  of  the  name  in  America  was  Stephen 
William  Millard,  a  natixe  of  the  shire  of  Somerset,  England,  and  a  pioneer  of 
1852  in  California,  having  been  allured  on  the  long  voyage  around  the  Horn 
by  reason  of  tales  heard  concerning  the  rich  mines  of  the  then  unknown 
west.  By  the  time  of  his  arrival,  however,  a  reaction  from  mining  had  begun 
and  many  were  seeking  their  livelihoL  ds  along  other  lines  of  labor.  It  was  to 
ranching  that  he  turned  his  attention  after  he  had  landed  at  San  Francisco 
and  had  taken  a  tour  of  inspection  toward  the  interior  of  the  state.  For  a 
time  he  held  the  position  as  foreman  of  the  ranch  owned  by  Lyman  Beard  at 
Mission  San  Jose.  Later-he  began  to  farm  rented  land  for  himself,  living  for 
a  time  at  Sum  Iglen,  Alameda  county,  where  his  son  Edward  F.  was  born 
August  12,  1875;  but  later  removing  to  Irvington  in  the  same  county  and 
during  1892  coming  to  Kern  county  to  take  up  general  farming.  For  a  number 
of  years  after  his  arrival  in  California  he  remained  a  bachelor,  but  after  a 
time  he  met  and  married  Rebecca  Lively,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky  and  at 
the  age  of  three  years  had  been  brought  across  the  plains  by  her  parents,  the 
family  making  the  long  journey  in  a  wagon  drawn  by  oxen. 

Among  nine  children  comprising  the  parental  family,  seven  of  whom  are 
now  living,  Edward  F.  ]\lillard  was  next  to  the  youngest.  As  a  boy  he  at- 
tended country  schools  in  .Alameda  county.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  began 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  printer.  Three  years  later,  when  the  family 
came  t(_i  Kern  county,  he  secured  work  as  a  type-setter  in  the  composing  room 
of  the  ^\'eekly  Echo  under  ]\Iessrs.  Gregory  and  Smith,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained for  eighteen  months.  Next  he  began  to  be  interested  in  horticulture 
and  general  farming.  The  stud}'  of  the  fruit  industry  proved  interesting  to 
him.  He  devoted  much  time  to  developing  kinds  of  fruit  adapted  to  the  cli- 
mate and  soil  of  Kern  county.  After  about  ten  years  of  labor  in  fruit-growing 
and  kindred  pursuits  he  became  a  conductor  with  the  Bakersfield  and  Kern 
Electric  Railway  Company  and  in  that  position  proved  alert,  capable  and 
courteous.  For  about  six  years,  beginning  in  1906,  he  was  connected  with 
the  office  force  of  the  Power  Transit  and  Light  Company,  continuing  in  the 
meter  department  after  the  concern   had  been  absorbed  by  the  San   Joaquin 


HISTORY    ()\-     KI':F>:X    COrXT^'  1167 

Lig:ht  and  Power  CdriHiratidii.  Diiriii-  I"12  Ik-  received  a  merited  iironmtic  m 
to  the  position  of  window  clerk. 

Politics  has  not  received  a  threat  anicnint  of  attentif)ii  fmin  Mr.  Millard, 
yet  he  keeps  in  touch  with  national  ])rol)leni.s.  favors  protjressive  measures 
in  It  cal  affairs  and  votes  with  the  Republican  party  in  the  general  elections. 
Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 
In  I'akersfield.  May  4.  1902,  occurred  his  marriage  to  Miss  Josephine  Cowinp, 
who  was  born  in  Tulare,  this  state,  and  completed  her  studies  in  the  Kern 
county  high  school.  Descended  from  old  Anglo-Saxon  ancestry,  she  is  a 
daughter  of  John  Cowing,  an  Englishman  who  came  to  California  in  young 
manhood  and  engaged  in  farm  pursuits.  After  he  had  settled  in  Tulare  county 
he  met  and  married  Sarah  P.aley,  a  native  of  Georgia.  Upon  his  removal  to 
Kern  county  he  purchased  land  five  miles  from  Bakersfield  and  devoted  many 
years  to  the  development  of  the  property,  making  of  it  a  productive  and  val- 
uable tract.    For  some  years  he  and  his  wife  have  lived  in  Los  Angeles. 

GEORGE  CARL  HABERFELDE.— As  proprietor  of  one  of  the  most 
important  furniture  establishments  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  and  as  secretary 
of  the  liakersfield  Merchants'  Association,  Mr.  Haberfelde  has  been  intimately 
identified  with  the  commercial  upbuilding  of  his  community  and  holds  a  posi- 
tion among  those  enterprising,  capable  and  resourceful  merchants  who  sur- 
mount obstacles  and  rise  superior  to  misfortune.  Of  German  birth-  and  an- 
cestry, he  was  born  in  Nuremberg,  November  20,  1871,  and  was  a  son  of  John 
and  Barbara  Haberfelde,  also  Bavarians  by  birth.  For  some  time  the  father 
carried  on  a  factory  where  he  manufactured  frames  for  pictures  and  for  mir- 
rors, but  influenced  by  the  reported  opportunities  of  the  new  world  he  closed 
out  his  interests  in  Bavaria  and  brought  the  family  to  America  about  1880. 
After  a  brief  sojourn  in  New  York  City  he  went  further  west  and  settled  in 
Chicago,  where  George  C.  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trades  of  cabinet- 
maker and  upholsterer  and  gained  a  knowledge  of  the  furniture  business  of 
the  utmost  value  to  his  later  undertakings.  There  are  four  sons  and  one 
daughter  in  the  parental  family  and  all  of  these  now  reside  in  California,  one 
brother,  Henry,  having  come  to  Bakersfield  after  the  arrival  of  George  C.  in 
this  city. 

The  year  1891  witnessed  the  arrival  of  George  C.  Haberfelde  in  California 
and  the  establishment  of  his  headquarters  in  San  Diego,  where  he  opened  and 
operated  a  bakery.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years  he  disposed  of  that  shop 
and  resumed  work  in  the  furniture  business  as  manager  of  a  large  San  Diego 
firm.  During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  that  city  he  married  Miss  Alvina 
Schmidt  in  1894  and  they  are  the  parents  of.  four  children,  .\lbert,  Clarissc,  Ed- 
mund and  Roland.  The  family  removed  from  San  Diego  to  Bakersfield  in  1897 
and  here  Air.  Haberfelde  later  bought  out  the  furniture  business  of  Jacob  Nie- 
deraur  at  Nineteenth  and  K  streets.  Although  almost  wholly  without  means, 
he  had  a  good  credit  and  was  able  to  maintain  a  business  of  growing  im- 
pcrtance.  The  little  frame  building  where  he  first  started  in  business  has 
since  been  replaced  by  the  Fish  building.  But  before  it  had  been  removed  it 
proved  inadequate  to  the  demands  of  his  increasing  trade  and  as  there  were 
no  large  store  buildings  in  Bakersfield  at  the  time  he  secured  a  shack  a  little 
larger  than  the  original  jilace  i  f  business.  When  he  removed  to  it  he  had  a 
total  capital  of  only  $200.  From  that  small  beginning  he  rose  to  prominence  and 
success.  By  the  prompt  payment  of  his  bills  he  maintained  an  excellent  credit. 
Little  by  little  he  increased  his  stock  of  furniture  until  it  represented  a  valua- 
tion of  about  $8,0C0.  Just  then,  when  he  had  only  a  small  insurance  protection 
of  $600.  a  disastr(  us  fire  entirely  destroyed  the  building  and  left  him  worse 
than  penniless. 

Undismayed  by  the  great  disaster.  Mr,  Haberfelde  began  in  business  once 
more,  for  his  reputation  was  so  high  that  he  had  no  difficulty  in   securing  nn 


1168  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COITNTY 

credit  all  the  merchandise  he  desired.  By  his  upright  treatment  of  customers 
he  had  won  their  friendship  and  they  rallied  to  his  support.  In  a  short  time  he 
had  regained  his  former  position  in  commercial  circles  and  since  1908  he  has 
occupied  commodious  quarters  in  the  Dinkelspiel  building  at  Nos.  1904-1906 
Nineteenth  street,  having  the  most  extensive  establishment  of  its  kind  in  the 
county,  of  which  he  is  now  the  pioneer  furniture  dealer.  In  former  years  he 
was  compelled  to  buy  his  furniture  through  middlemen,  but  even  then  he  had 
resolved  that  when  the  business  justified  different  procedure,  he  would  go  to 
headquarters  for  the  source  of  his  supplies.  It  is  now  possible  for  him  to  buy 
direct  from  the  factory  and  thus  save  all  of  the  profits  of  the  middlemen,  which 
in  turn  enables  him  to  give  to  his  customers  the  advantage  of  the  reduced 
rates  at  which  he  buys.  With  all  of  his  heavy  business  responsibilities  he 
finds  leisure  to  serve  efficiently  as  secretary  of  the  Kern  County  Merchants' 
Association,  besides  which  he  has  been  connected  actively  with  the  Knights 
of  Pythias.  W'l  odmen  of  the  World  and  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 
In  politics  he  supports  Democratic  principles. 

LEONIDES  CASTRO.— \\'ith  nothing  but  a  stout  heart  and  his  good 
health  to  aid  him,  it  is  to  his  credit  and  a  high  compliment  to  his  abilities  that 
Leonides  Castro  has  reached  his  present  standing,  due  largely  to  his  un- 
daunted effort  and  determined  industry.  He  was  born  May  18,  1856.  in 
Sonora,  Mexico,  sen  of  Thomas  and  Concepcion  (Coronada)  Castro,  who 
were  pioneers  of  Kern  county.  Leonides,  familiarly  known  as  Lee,  is  the 
eldest  of  their  twelve  children,  seven  of  these  now  surviving.  In  his  boyhood 
it  was  necessary  for  him  to  aid  in  the  support  of  the  growing  family  and  as 
he  gave  his  time  to  work  on  the  home  farm  it  left  little  opportunity  for  attend- 
ing school.  Meager  as  were  his  facilities  for  gaining  an  education  he  never- 
theless became  a  well-informed  man,  self-study  and  observation,  coupled  with 
a  quick  mind  and  a  retentive  memory,  being  largely  responsible  for  this.  In 
1867  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Kern  county  and  here  he  worked  for  his 
father  more  or  less  until  he  was  twenty-five  years  old.  He  first  settled  on 
Panama  ranch,  where  his  father  engaged  in  stockraising  and  general  farming, 
later  purchasing  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  section  twelve.  In  1876  he 
and  his  brothers  were  taken  into  partnership  by  the  father  and  together  they 
farmed  this  tract  for  about  two  years,  when  Lee  Castro  withdrew  and  entered 
the  employ  of  Miller  &  Lux  as  horsebreaker.  He  remained  with  this  com- 
pany for  ten  years,  after  which  he  was  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company, 
engaged  in  the  stock  business.  In  1890  he  bought  twenty  acres  of  land,  five 
miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  From  time  to  time  he  added  to  this  until  he  now 
owns  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  devoted  entirely  to  general  farming,  with 
the  exception  of  about  eighty  acres  in  alfalfa,  under  the  Kern  Island  canal. 
It  should  be  stated  that  the  oldest  ditch  in  the  county  was  built  by  his  father 
and  was  known  as  the  Castro  ditch.  Thomas  Castro  built  this  for  four  and 
a  half  miles  by  the  aid  of  ox-teams,  plows  and  men  to  do  the  shoveling. 

Mr.  Castro  is  raising  horses,  mules,  cattle  and  hogs.  He  has  three  jacks 
and  two  stallions,  all  splendid  specimens,  and  in  his  herd  are  some  large,  well- 
built  mules  and  horses.  For  his  cattle,  horse  and  mule  range  he  owns  four 
hundred  and  eight)'  acres  on  Cottonwood  creek,  on  the  south  slope  of  the 
Breckenridge  mountains,  where  he  also  has  access  to  a  large  public  range. 
His  brands  are  two  Js  with  an  inverted  C  above  and  VC.  He  is  also  engaged 
m  contracting  and  teaming,  grading  and  leveling  of  land. 

Mr.  Castro  was  married  in  Sacramento,  Cal.,  in  1880,  to  Miss  Dixie  Cage, 
who  was  born  in  Napa  county,  the  daughter  of  Edward  Cage,  a  pioneer  of 
that  county,  whose  sketch  appears  in  that  of  ^Irs.  Domitilo  Castro,  her  sister. 
Mrs.  Castro  was  reared  in  Los  Angeles  and  Kern  counties,  and  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Castro  became  the  parents  of  ten  chil- 
dren, five  of  whom   are  living.      Named   in   order  of  birth,  the  children   are: 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COUNTY  1171 

Charles,  who  helps  his  father  and  superintends  the  farm  and  stock  business  ; 
Daniel,  assisting  in  the  care  of  the  cattle ;  Robert,  who  died  at  twenty  years ; 
Henry,  who  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen;  Sylvania,  when  twenty-two;  Annie, 
when  six  years;  John,  who  is  with  Miller  &  Lnx ;  Lottie,  Mrs.  Hughes,  of 
Kern  county;  Martin,  attending  the  Kern  county  high  school;  and  Louisa, 
who  died  at  fifteen  years  of  age.  Mr.  Castro  is  a  Democrat.  The  family  resi- 
dence is  at  No.  708  Oregon  street.  East  Bakersfield. 

ALFRED  SWOFFORD.— Born  in  Daviess  county,  Mo.,  February  20, 
1874,  Mr.  Swofford  there  grew  to  manhood,  giving  diligent  attention  to 
his  studies  at  the  local  schools,  and  becoming  a  healthy,  well-bred  and  am- 
bitious VLung  man.  .Attracted  early  to  the  west  and  hearing  reports  which 
assured  him  of  a  good  chance  to  improve  his  circumstances,  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1898,  in  March  of  that  year  locating  in  Tulare  county,  where  he 
found  employment  and  worked  for  about  two  years.  Coming  in  April,  1900, 
to  Hill's  V^alley,  Fresno  county,  he  went  to  work  on  a  wheat  ranch,  of 
which  J.  \V.  Carpenter  was  proprietor.  The  latter  did  freighting  as  well  as 
farming  and  ran  two  twelve-mule  freight  teams  in  hauling  lumber  from  the 
sawmills  of  the  Pine  Ridge  Lumber  Company  in  the  mountains  to  Fresno. 
Mr.  SwofTord  be,gan  as  a  teamster  and  worked  his  way  up  to  be  head  teamster, 
continuing  at  this  job  until  July,  1902,  when  Mr.  Carpenter  sold  out  to  the 
Reed  Bn  thers  of  Reedley,  Cal..  and  he  continued  in  their  employ  doing  team- 
ing until  1905.  During  this  interval  the  Reed  Brothers,  H.  M.  and  E.  R.  Reed, 
were  filling  their  freighting  contract  to  haul  up  all  the  heavy  freight  consisting 
of  material  and  machinery  for  the  Kern  River  Power  Company,  now  known 
as  the  Huntington  Electric  Power  Plant,  twelve  miles  below  Kernville.  .'\t 
times  Mr.  SwofTord  handled  teams  of  eight,  sixteen,  twenty-four  and  thirty- 
two  horses,  as  the  weight  demanded,  and  machinery,  some  pieces  weighing 
as  much  as  fifty-two  tons,  was  hauled,  this  necessitating  the  utmos:  skill  in 
driving  and  the  most  accurate  solving  of  the  problems  of  directions  and  the 
careful  management  of  his  teams.  Freight  machinery,  lumber  and  cement 
were  carried  for  this  firm,  and  Mr.  Swofiford  hauled  the  first  and  last  load,  his 
services  proving  most  valuable  to  his  employers.  The  job  was  completed  in 
November,  1904.  He  remained  with  the  Reed  Brothers  until  July  1,  1905,  then 
driving  sixteen-horse  teams  fcr  the  borax  contractor.  Hank  Hawn,  and  hauled 
borax  from  the  Frazier  Borax  Mines  in  Ventura  county  to  Bakersfield,  taking 
eight  days  to  make  the  round  trip.  In  about  November.  1905.  he  went  to  Los 
Angeles  and  engaged  with  Donovan-Bourland  as  a  teamster,  and  remained 
with  them  through  the  winter,  then  returning  to  Bakersfield.  He  went  to 
logging  for  the  Frazier  Borax  Company  until  September,  1906,  and  through 
September,  October  and  November  of  that  year  was  at  Edison  hauling  heavy 
machinery  for  the  Edison  Electric  Company  as  teamster  for  the  Short  Broth- 
ers, who  had  the  contract  for  hauling  all  that  heavy  machinery.  It  was  while 
in  this  employment  that  he  drove  thirty  horses  and  hauled  some  i)ieces  of 
machinery  weighing  as  much  as  twenty-eight  tons  apiece.  In  1907  he  re- 
engaged with  the  Frazier  Borax  Company  and  became  head  teamster,  work- 
ing for  them  until  January,  1908.  when  he  was  transferred  to  Lang,  Los 
Angeles  county,  and  there  continued  teaming  until  August  1,  1908.  when  he 
went  east  to  ^lissouri  for  a  three  months'  visit,  during  August,  September 
and  October.  The  first  of  November  found  him  back  in  Kern  county  and  he 
then  leased  the  Beeknian  ranch  for  five  years,  this  ])eing  his  present  place, 
which  bids  fair  to  become  one  of  the  most  productive  places  in  the  county. 
Mr.  Swofford  has  snent  much  time  in  corn-growing  and  has  evinced  a  great 
interest  in  its  production.  In  1912  he  grew  several  acres  of  corn  which  in  yield 
and  quality  would  compare  favorably  with  that  grown  in  Missouri.  He  has 
raised  fine  corn  as  a  second  crop  after  the  first  crop  (of  barley  hay)  has  been 
taken  of¥.    In  1912  he  planted  several  acres  in  this  manner  and   found  to  his 


1172  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

surprise  that  the  seconti  crop  outyiehled  the  ccirn  planted  as  the  first  crop 
over  two  tons  to  the  acre  and  the  ears  were  exceptionally  large  and  fine.  So 
fuccessfiil  has  he  been  in  this  venture  that  he  is  becoming  a  specialist  on  corn- 
raising.  Mr.  Swofford  is  also  interested  in  the  breeding  of  good  horses  and  is 
a  shareholder  in  the  celebrated  Union  Avenue  Horse  Company,  owner 
of  one  of  the  best  imported  stallions  ever  brought  to  this  state.  Politically 
Mr.  Swofl^ord  is  a  Democrat. 

E.  W.  WALTERS.— A  personal  identification  with  Kern  county  cover- 
ing one-quarter  of  a  century  and  a  connection  with  ranching  for  twenty  years 
of  that  period  entitle  Mr.  Walters  to  rank  among  the  pioneer  farmers  to 
whose  optimistic  labors,  unwearied  application  and  large-hearted  devotion 
the  county  owes  in  large  degree  its  high  standing  as  an  agricultural  center. 
When  eventually  approaching  age  imposed  its  limitations  upon  his  strength 
and  necessitated  his  retirement  from  ranching  he  sold  the  farm  that  had 
been  his  home  for  twenty  years  and  removed  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  has 
bought  lots,  erected  a  number  of  cottages  and  now  makes  his  home,  having  no 
labor  more  arduous  than  the  supervision  of  the  six  houses  he  still  owns.  It  is 
but  natural  that  a  man  who  fought  under  the  stars  and  stripes  during  the 
Civil  war  and  who  has  been  a  lifelong  student  of  governmental  problems, 
should  maintain  a  patriotic  interest  in  every  movement  bearing  upon  our 
national  prosperity  and  continued  development.  Political  economy  has  been 
studied  bv  him  for  many  years  and  has  made  hiin  a  Socialist. 

In  a  family  of  seven  sons  (all  now  deceased  excepting  two)  the  fourth  in 
order  of  birth,  E.  W.  Walters  was  born  in  Tuscarawas  county,  Ohio,  Janu- 
ary 15,  1842,  being  a  son  of  the  late  Isaac  and  Isabelle  (Correll)  Walters, 
natives  of  Ohio,  where  the  mother  remained  until  death.  The  father,  who 
had  followed  the  trade  of  blacksmith  in  the  Buckeye  state,  removed  to  Illinois 
during  1858  and  embarked  in  the  mercantile  business.  The  last  years  of  his 
life  were  passed  in  Alissouri  and  there  his  death  occurred.  At  the  time  of 
the  removal  of  the  family  to  Illinois  in  1858  E.  W.  Walters  was  a  youth  of 
sixteen  years,  rugged  and  energetic,  well  qualified  to  do  a  man's  work  in  the 
breaking  of  new  land  and  placing  under  cultivation  of  a  farm.  When  twenty 
years  of  age  he  was  accepted  as  a  private  in  the  Union  army,  becoming  a 
member  of  Company  H,  Fifty-seventh  Illinois  Infantry,  during  August  of 
1862.  With  his  regiment  he  marched  to  the  front  and  bore  an  active  part 
in  the  contest  between  north  and  south.  His  principal  engagements  were 
those  at  Resaca,  Dallas,  Snake  Creek  Gap,  Peach  Tree  creek,  Kenesaw  moun- 
tain, l.oveioy  S:ation  and  Atlanta.  From  beginning  to  end  of  the  great  march 
to  the  sea  he  was  with  the  troops,  enduring  the  hardships  of  forced  marches, 
the  fatigue  of  camp  routine  and  the  dangers  of  frequent  skirmishes.  On  that 
march  the  most  important  battles  in  which  he  bore  a  part  were  at  Golds- 
borough  and  Bentonville.  As  one  of  "Sherman's  Greezers"  he  marched  in  the 
grand  review  at  Washington,  D.  C,  and  from  that  city  was  ordered  to  Louis- 
ville, Ky.,  where  in  August  of  1865  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  service.  From 
there  the  regiment  proceeded  to  Chicago,  where  he  was  honorably  discharged. 

A  clerkship  of  about  twelve  months  was  followed  by  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
Walters  in  November,  1866,  and  his  removal  to  an  Illinois  farm.  For  twenty 
years  he  followed  agriculture  in  that  state,  after  which,  from  1886  to  1888, 
he  made  his  home  in  Creston,  Iowa,  and  thence  came  to  California  in  1888, 
settled  in  Kern  county,  took  up  a  homestead  and  began  to  transform  the 
virgin  soil  into  a  productive  ranch.  The  task  was  one  of  great  difficulty. 
The  arduous  nature  of  the  work  might  have  daunted  one  less  persevering  than 
he,  but  in  the  end  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  owning  an  improved  ranch,  with 
neat  residence,  other  substantial  buildings,  fences,  fine  stock,  needed  ma- 
chinery, etc.,  the  property  being  one  of  the  best  in  the  San  Emidio  country. 
In    1908  he  sold  the  ranch  and  came   to   Bakersfield.  which   has   since   been 


IH^iA^  ^  CWoJjUjl 


n 


(§>7h'haMj^. 


I 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY  1175 

the  home  of  himself  and  wife,  the  latter  formerly  Miss  Mary  E.  Scott  and  a 
native  of  SistersviUe,  Tyler  county,  \V.  Va.  Her  father,  John  Scott,  removed 
to  Adams  county  and  later  to  Hancock  county.  He  and  his  wife,  Marv  E. 
Scott,  both  passed  away  in  Illinois.  Of  the  four  sons  and  three  daughters^ 
two  are  living.  Three  of  the  sons  served  in  Illinois  regiments  in  the  Civil' 
war,  two  of  them  giving  up  their  lives  in  battle.  Mrs.  Walters,  ne.xt  to  the 
youngest  of  the  children,  was  brought  up  in  Illinois.  To  herself  and  husband 
six  children  were  born,  five  of  whom  are  living.  Named  in  order  of  birth 
they  are  as  follows:  Mrs.  Etta  I.  Allen,  of  Los  Angeles;  Frank  A.,  a  farmer 
at  Lerdo:  John  R.,  an  oil  driller  on  the  west  side;  Oscar  E.,  who  died  in 
infancy ;  Thomas  E.,  who  served  in  a  California  regiment  in  the  Spanish- 
American  and  Philippine  war,  and  now  employed  in  the  Kern  river  oil  field; 
and  Raymond  I.,  a  plumber  engaged  in  business  in  Bakersfield.  For  many 
years  Mr.  Walters  has  been  connected  with  Hurlburt  Post  No.  126,  G.  A.  R., 
while  he  also  is  identified  with  the  blue  lodge  of  Masonry.  Mrs.  Walters  is 
a  charter  member  of  Hurllnirt  Relief  Corps  No.  115,  \\'.  R.  C,  and  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

JOHN  OLIVER  HART.— Kern  county,  Cal.,  is  particularly  for- 
tunate in  having  a  board  of  supervisors  composed  of  men  large  in  char- 
acter and  in  achievements.  Prominent  among  these  is  John  Oliver  Hart, 
supervisor  representing  the  third  supervisorial  district.  Mr.  Hart  is  a 
native  of  Kern  county,  a  son  of  Joseph  Bishop  Hart,  whose  father,  Joseph 
B.,  early  located  in  Texas  and  came  overland  with  ox-teams  to  California, 
through  the  Indian  country,  by  way  of  Fort  Yuma,  to  Elmonte,  soon  after 
1850,  accompanied  by  his  son  and  other  meml)ers  of  his  family.  Jdseph 
Bishop  Hart  obtained  his  schooling  at  Elmonte  and  engaged  in  stock- 
raising  and  farming,  operating  for  many  years  near  Keene.  Kern  county. 
In  1897  he  sold  his  land  and  located  at  East  Bakersfield,  where  he  is  now 
living  aged  sixty-nine  years.  He  was  a  pioneer  at  Tehachapi,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming,  stock-raising  and  freighting  with  o.x-teams  from  Los 
An,geles  across  Tehachapi  to  Havilah.  In  the  latter  enterprise  he  was 
assisted  by  his  brothers  Aaron  and  Martin  and  sometimes  by  others. 
Once  his  outfit  was  attacked  by  Indians  near  \\'alker's  Basin  and  his  two 
brothers  were  killed,  a  companion  named  Dawson  making  his  escape.  Jo- 
seph Bishop  Hart  married  Mary  A.  Finley,  a  native  of  Texas,  who  was 
brought  to  California  while  a  child  by  her  father,  John  Henry  Finley.  She 
grew  up  in  Fresno  county  to  be  a  true  woman  of  the  west,  and  1)ore  her 
husband  three  sons  and  three  daughters,  uf  whom  two  sons  and  two 
daughters    are    living. 

John  Oliver  Hart,  the  eldest,  was  born  at  Tehachapi.  October  21.  1S71, 
and  obtained  his  education  in  the  public  schools.  He  early  gained  a  jirac- 
tical  knowledge  of  the  stock  business,  and  after  having  assisted  his  father 
for  some  years,  began  to  raise  cattle  in  the  mountains  for  himself.  The 
brand  he  used  was  one  which  his  father  had  established  and  was  one  of 
the  early  brands  used  in  the  county.  It  represented  a  heart  with  a  yoke 
underneath,  connected.  In  1899  5lr.  Hart  settled  in  East  Bakersfield, 
building  his  residence  on  Grove  street,  and  he  has  since  made  his  home 
there,  giving  attention  meanwhile  to  his  extensive  stock  interests.  His 
stock  range  on  the  Kern  river  is  one  of  the  best  in  this  part  of  the  county. 
He  has  become  well  known  to  the  business  community  as  the  local  repre- 
sentative of  the  Union  Hardware  &  Metal  Company,  the  .Associated  Oil 
Company  and  Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co.  Some  of  these  relations  have 
been  maintained  for  twelve  years.  He  was  long  foreman  for  the  Asoociated 
Oil  Company  and  severed  his  connection  with  Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co. 
only  because  of  his  election  as  supervisor  of  the  third  district,  to  which 
he  was  chosen  as  a  Democrat  in  November,  1910.  He  took  the  oath  of 
office,    to    serve    four    years,    in    Tanuary,    1911.    and    is    making   an    cnvialile 


1176  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

record  as  an  official,  taking  an  active  part  in  public  improvements,  such 
as  road  building,  the  building  of  the  court  house  and  the  Kern  river 
bridge  and  jail.  Fraternally  he  affiliates  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World, 
Eagles  and  the  Order  of  Moose.  As  a  citizen  he  has  demonstrated  his 
public  spirit  in  many  ways.  He  was  married,  at  Tehachapi  July  2,  1897, 
to  Miss  Carrie  Roberts,  daughter  of  Lewis  and  Nellie  (Miller)  Roberts, 
natives,  respectively,  of  Canada  and  Vermont,  both  of  whom  are  living  in 
Globe,  Ariz.  She  was  born  in  Burlingcon,  Vt.,  and  accompanied  her  par- 
ents to  Idaho  in  1882  and  thence  came  to  California  in  1896.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hart  have  four  children,   Lila,   Nora,  Agnes  and   John. 

PETER  PETERSEN.— A  native  of  Denmark  Mr.  Petersen  was  born 
at  Swenburg,  on  the  Island  of  Fyen,  May  23,  1879,  being  the  second  oldest 
of  a  family  of  twelve  children  born  to  Hans  and  Katrina  (Hansen)  Petersen. 
The  father  is  a  carpenter  in  his  native  place,  but  the  mother  is  deceased. 

Peter  Petersen  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  until  fourteen  years 
of  age,  when' he  began  working  at  the  carpenter's  trade  under  his  father, 
continuing  with  him  until  he  was  seventeen.  In  the  meantime,  having 
saved  some  mcne}^  he  began  attending  the  high  school  and  after  completing 
the  course  he  entered  the  Government  Dairy  School  at  Joelland,  working 
his  way  through  school  and  graduating  in  1902.  He  further  perfected  him- 
self as  an  engineer  by  taking  a  course  at  the  Engineers'  School  in  Odense, 
after  which  he  became  manager  of  a  creamery  at  Skaro,  Denmark.  Having 
a  desire  to  try  his  fortunes  in  California  he  came  hither  in  1906  and  the 
first  six  months  was  an  engineer  with  a  gas  well-borer  near  Stockton.  He 
was  then  manager  of  a  creamery  in  Oregon,  later  buttermaker  at  Layton, 
Cal.,  and  later  held  a  similar  position  in  Fresno. 

In  1911  Mr.  Petersen  came  to  McFarland  and  became  manager  of  the 
McFarland  Creamery  Company,  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  butter,  and 
since  then  the  compan)-  has  taken  first  prize  at  the  state  fair  for  the  best 
quality  of  butter  in  the  state.  The  company  is  also  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  ice.  Mr.  Petersen  owns  twenty  acres  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
west  Lif  McFarland,  where  he  has  built  his  home  and  is  engaged  in  intensified 
farming  and  the  dairy  business.  He  has  two  pumping  plants  yielding  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  inches  of  water,  not  only  supplying  his  own  place 
with  ample  water  for  irrigation,  but  also  sixty  acres  adjoining,  all  devoted 
to  raising  alfalfa.  He  has  on  the  place  a  herd  of  sixteen  cows,  all  full- 
blooded  and  high  grade  Holsteins. 

Mr.  Petersen  was  married  in  Denmark  in  1906,  being  united  with  Afiss 
Christene  Willumsen,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one  child.  Harry.  Having 
been  reared  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  he  and  his  wife  adhere  to  that  faith. 

ISAAC  W.  HARBAUGH.— Mr.  Harbaugh  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Md.,  October  20,  1855,  a  son  of  Lewis  F.  and  Anna  (Hoffman) 
Harbaugh  of  old  Maryland  families.  His  grandfather,  Alexander  Har- 
baugh, served  as  a  captain  through  the  war  of  1812.  After  he  had  completed 
the  studies  at  the  public  schools  Isaac  W.  Harbaugh  entered  a  business  col- 
lege in  Baltimore  and  took  a  commercial  course.  Leaving  college  at  the  age 
of  eighteen  he  began  to  work  for  his  father  and  continued  with  him  for  three 
years,  when  he  started  cut  to  earn  his  own  way  in  the  world.  During  1877, 
he  came  to  the  west  and  became  a  resident  of  California,  where  for  six  years 
he  was  employed  as  a  bookkeeper  in  a  store  in  Mendocino  county.  Thence 
he  went  to  Fresno  to  join  his  father,  who  had  embarked  in  farm  pursuits  in 
that  section  of  the  state.  In  1889  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  bought  a  quar- 
ter-secticn  of  unimproved  land  from  the  railroad  company.  The  tract,  which 
he  still  owns,  lies  twelve  miles  west  of  Bakersfield  in  the  Rosedale  district 
and  in  addition  he  owns  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  between  his  home  place 
and  Rosedale.  and  he  also  owns  property  in  Bakersfield.    His  quarter-section 


HISTORY    OI-     KI'RX    (OrXTY  n7-> 

ranch  is  rented  and  he  devute;;  liis  attenliun  to  ihc  raising  of  alfalfa,  grain  and 
stock  on  his  home  place,  where  now  he  has  seventy-live  head  of  hogs,  the  same 
number  of  cattle  and  twelve  head  of  horses.  The  success  crowning  his  well- 
directed  efforts  has  been  enhanced  by  the  unceasing  co-operation  of  his  wife, 
whom  he  married  August  10,  1898,  and  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Cecelia 
Burr.  She  is  a  native  daughter  of  the  state,  having  been  born  in  San  Francisco, 
where  her  parents  were  earl}^  settlers.  Her  father,  Charles  H.  Burr,  served  in 
the  Seventh  Battery  Wisct  nsin  Light  Artillery  during  the  Civil  war,  and  he 
passed  awaj'  October  27,  1911.  Her  mother  was  before  her  marriage  Martha 
L.  Cantrell.  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  she  now  makes  her  home 
with  Airs.  Harbaugh.  The  education  of  Mrs.  Harbaugh  was  acquired  in  the 
public  schools  and  the  Universit_v  of  California,  and  she  was  engaged  in  teach- 
ing in  Kern  county  until  her  marriage.  There  are  two  children  in  the  family, 
Charles  L.  and  Clarence  Arthur,  whose  training  for  future  usefulness  in  the 
world  forms  the  chief  ambition  of  Mr.  Harbaugh  and  his  capable  wife.  The 
father  is  interested  in  the  cause  of  education  and  is  clerk  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees of  the  Greeley  school  district.  The  family  attends  the  Episcopal  church 
of  which  Mrs.  Harbaugh  is  a  member. 

GEORGE  A.  YANCEY. — Two  miles  south  of  the  town  proper  of 
Bakersfield,  Kern  county,  lies  the  improved  and  up-to-date  farm  of  Ceorge 
A.  Yancey,  a  farmer  of  prominence  in  the  community,  who  has  prospered 
well  since  his  coming  to  California  in  1897,  at  which  time  he  became  a 
permanent  and  loyal  resident  of  the  coun;y,  giving  his  support  to  all 
projects  proposed  for  the  advancement  and  development  of  his  community. 

William  Yancey,  father  of  George  A.,  was  born  in  Tennessee  and  was 
formerly  a  resident  of  Indiana,  where  in  Benton  county  his  son  was  born 
March  12,  1860.  He  married  Maria  Onesettler,  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
together  they  made  their  way  to  California  in  1895,  settling  in  the  Weed 
Patch  in  Kern  county.  Inured  to  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life,  they  soon 
found  themselves  the  owners  of  an  improved  and  well-cultivated  farm 
which  they  had  acquired  by  their  hard  labors  from  the  land  in  its  wild 
state,  and  many  happy  days  were  spent  there  in  the  enjoyment  of  their 
well-earned  prosperity.  The  father  passed  away  in  1903,  the  mother,  now 
at  the  age  of  seventj^-two  years,  making  her  home  at  Glennville,  Cal. 

Receiving  his  primary  education  in  his  native  county,  George  A.  Yan- 
cey made  his  home  in  Indiana  for  many  years,  growing  to  manhood  and 
developing  splendid  traits  of  character  which  his  parents  had  instilled  in 
him  in  their  quiet,  even  home  life.  At  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  removed 
to  Cass  count)'.  Mo.,  where  he  was  married  to  Aliss  Sadie  Bateman,  a  native 
of  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  the  daughter  of  Mathew  and  Mar:ha  (McFar- 
land)  Bateman,  who  were  natives  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania,  respectively. 
She  was  reared  in  Cass  county.  Mo.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Yancey  became  the 
parents  of  two  children,  Gertrude,  who  is  now  the  wife  of  Bob  Kincer,  a 
farmer  of  Gosford ;  and  John,  who  is  at  home  with  his  parents.  Mr.  Yancey 
made  his  home  in  Missouri  for  many  years,  following  the  vocation  of 
farmer,  which  has  been  his  life  work.  His  interest  had  ever  been  turned 
toward  the  west  and  with  the  thorough  understanding  of  a  farmer  as  to  the 
exceptional  conditions  of  the  fertile  soil  and  the  climate  in  California,  he 
decided  in  1897  to  follow  his  parents  to  Kern  county,  where  upon  arrival 
he  purchased  his  present  forty-acre  farm  on  Union  avenue  and  Brundage 
lane,  just  two  miles  south  of  the  town  of  Bakersfield.  Building  house  and 
barns,  he  set  out  to  improve  this  land  and  such  has  been  his  success  that 
today  he  is  the  owner  of  one  of  the  best  producing  and  generally  well-kept 
farms  in  the  vicinity  devoted  principally  to  alfalfa.  His  wife  is  also  the 
owner  of  twenty  acres  of  land  on  Union  avenue,  which  tract  is  situated 
six  miles  south  of  Bakersfield  and  is  a  select  piece  of  property.  .-V  Democrat 
in  political  matters,  Mr.  Yancey  is  well  versed  in  party  afl^airs  and  is  alive 


1180  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

to  all  questions  of  importance  concerning  his  party's  welfare.  He  unites 
fraternally  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  and  Mrs.  Yancey  is  a  member  of 
the  Congregational  church. 

AGUSTIN  SANZBERRO.— The  exercise  of  judicious  foresight  and  care- 
ful management,  supplementing  perseverance  and  untiring  industry,  has 
enabled  Mr.  Sanzberro  to  achieve  independence  while  yet  a  young  man  and 
within  a  comparatively  brief  period  frtjm  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  California, 
a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  unfamiliar  with  the  soil  of  the  country.  Only  a 
few  years  have  elapsed  since  he  purchased  his  present  well-improved  farm 
nine  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield.  At  the  time  of  buying  the  tract  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  no  improvements  had  been  put  on  the  property 
and  the  possibilities  of  the  soil  were  little  known.  Under  his  keen  over- 
sight and  wise  judgment  as  to  cultivation,  large  crops  of  alfalfa  are  annually 
cut  and  fed  or  sold.  Irrigation  is  provided  by  means  of  the  Beardsley  canal. 
Combined  with  or  supplementary  to  the  making  of  hay,  the  owner  of  the 
ranch  devotes  much  time  to  the  sheep  business,  in  which  indeed  he  has  been 
more  or  less  interested  from  boyhood  and  in  which  his  experience,  skill  and 
expertness  are  unquestioned  by  those  standing  at  the  head  of  the  business 
in  the  county. 

Born  in  the  village  of  Bastan,  Navarra,  April  2,  1878,  Agustin  Sanzberro 
is  a  son  of  Julian,  a  farmer,  and  was  reared  on  the  old  home  farm,  giving  his 
time  to  the  aid  of  his  father  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  twenty.  Mean- 
while a  brother,  Marcos,  had  preceded  him  to  California  and  the  reports  he 
sent  back  induced  the  younger  brother  to  join  him  in  Kern  county,  where 
he  arrived  in  February  of  1898,  ready  to  earn  a  livelihood  as  a  herder  of 
sheep.  Starting  out  from  East  Bakersfield,  he  gave  his  attention  to  the  care 
of  the  flock  of  his  brother  and  ranged  the  sheep  on  the  plains  to  the  north- 
east. After  five  years  as  a  herder  he  bought  a  flock  of  his  own  and  started  in 
business  for  himself,  making  his  headquarters  in  jMono  county,  where  he 
found  an  abundance  of  feed  and  water.  Even  when  he  bought  his  present 
farm  in  1900  he  did  not  relinquish  his  interests  in  sheep,  but  still  owns  a  flock 
and  finds  their  care  neither  laborious  nor  unprofitable.  However,  he  no  longer 
travels  with  the  flocks  over  the  ranges,  but  since  his  marriage  in  1910  to  Miss 
Catherine  Etchart,  of  East  Bakersfield,  a  native  of  Basses-Pyrenees,  he  has 
remained  on  the  home  farm,  devoting  himself  earnestly  to  its  care,  cultivation 
and  improvement.  With  his  wife  he  holds  membership  in  St.  Joseph's  Catholic 
Church  at  Fast  Bakersfield.     Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 

D.  B.  COOK. — Experience  in  various  lines  of  work  in  various  parts  of  the 
east  did  not  prove  profitable  to  Mr.  Cook,  who  dates  the  beginning  of  his 
prosperity  from  the  time  of  his  removal  to  California.  By  birth  and  lineage 
he  is  a  Virginian,  identified  with  that  part  of  the  Old  Dominion  that  during 
the  Civil  war  remained  true  to  the  Union  and  resulted  in  the  erection  of  a 
new  commonwealth.  West  Virginia.  Born  in  Rowlesburg,  Preston  county, 
in  October  of  18S6,  he  is  a  son  of  the  late  Isaac  Cook,  likewise  a  native  of 
Preston  county  and  long  a  resident  of  that  locality.  During  1860  he  crossed 
the  Ohio  river  into  Ohio  and  settled  in  Washington  county,  where  he  engaged 
in  farming  for  a  long  period,  ultimately,  however,  removing  to  Michigan  to 
spend  his  declining  days  Since  his  demise  the  widow,  who  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Alcinda  Newman,  has  made  Chicago  her  home.  Of  their  thirteen  chil- 
dren only  five  are  now  living,  the  next  to  the  eldest  being  D.  B.,  whose  birth 
occurred  in  the  decade  prior  to  the  Civil  war  and  whose  memories  therefore 
include  the  privations  incident  to  that  period.  The  migration  of  the 
family  to  Michigan,  in  the  hope  that  better  fortune  awaited  them  in  a  newer 
country  remote  from  the  scenes  of  the  war,  caused  him  to  earn  his  livelihood 
during  youth  as  a  worker  in  the  northern  lumber  woods.  Having  learned  the 
trade^of  a  blacksmith,  he  followed  that  occupation  in  Kansas  and  for  a  time 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COl'NTY  118.^ 

cuiidiicted  a  shop  of  his  own  at  Seward,  with,  however,  ver}-  little  profit  from 
the  undertaking. 

From  Kansas  to  Ohio  and  from  hlacksniitliint;-  tn  luniberini;  represented 
the  next  change  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Cook,  who  later  spent  some  time  in  lum- 
bering in  Preston  county,  W.  \'a.,  thence  going  to  the  city  of  Washington 
and  from  there  to  Lewinsville,  Va.  It  was  the  next  move  that  brought  him 
to  California  and  to  Kern  county,  where  he  has  made  his  home  since  1903. 
Arriving  here  with  little  means,  he  secured  employment  as  a  pumper  in  the 
Kern  river  oil  fields.  Later  he  filled  a  similar  position  at  McKittrick,  where 
he  soon  embarked  in  the  butcher's  trade  and  also  carried  on  an  hotel.  Mean- 
time in  190.T  he  had  bought  a  tract  of  land  six  and  one-half  miles  northwest  of 
|]akersfield,  under  the  lieardsley  ditch.  This  he  leased  to  tenants  for  three 
years,  but  in  1908  sold  out  his  business  interests  and  settled  on  the  place, 
where  he  since  has  engaged  in  raising  alfalfa.  The  forty  acres  are  in  the  highest 
possible  state  of  cultivation.  Large  crops  of  alfalfa  are  harvested  and  sold  and 
the  owner  has  found  the  investment  a  profitable  one-  While  living  at  Mc- 
Kittrick he  held  membership  with  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men. 

G.  F.  STROBLE. — A  citizen  who  conscientiously  devotes  himself,  his  abil- 
ity and  his  high  integrity  to  the  public  service  is  richly  worthy  of  all  the  honor 
that  can  possibly  come  to  him.  To  hold  an  office  is  at  the  best  an  unsatisfac- 
tory task,  unsatisfactory  at  least  to  the  incumbent.  However  well  he  may 
do  there  will  always  be  jiersons  who  will  censure  him  ;  but  there  are  a  few 
officials  who,  like  G.  F.  Stroble,  constable  of  the  third  judicial  township  of 
Kern  county.  Cal.,  win  almost  universal  approval.  Mr.  Stroble  was  born  near 
Burgettstown,  ^Vashington  county.  Pa.,  February  3,  1862,  a  son  of  Frederick 
and  Elizabeth  Stroble,  who  were  of  German  birth.  The  father,  a  native  of 
\\'urtemberg,  became  a  miner  in  Pennsylvania  and  later  in  West  Virginia 
and  was  eventually  killed  by  an  accident  while  at  work.  His  widow  died  at 
Steubenville,  Ohio,  December  8,  1910,  in  her  eight}'-fifth  year.  They  were  the 
parents  of  three  sons  and  one  daughter,  all  of  whom  are  living.  John  Frank's 
home  is  near  Steubenville,  Ohio.  Charles  lives  in  Idaho  and  Fredericka  is 
Mrs.  Ahrns,  of  \\'ashington  county.  Pa.  G.  F.  lived  at  St.  Mary's,  \\\  Va., 
until  he  was  thirteen  years  old,  then  returned  to  W'ashington  county.  Pa., 
where  he  was  educated  in  public  schools.  He  farmed  there  until  1888,  or 
until  about  twenty-six  years  old.  It  was  in  that  year  that  he  came  to  Kern 
county,  Cal.,  and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Com- 
pany as  fireman,  running  on  trains  between  Kern  and  Tehachapi.  In  1894 
he  was  elected  constable' to  the  third  judicial  township  and  in  January,  1895, 
entered  upon  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  his  office.  In  1898  he  was 
re-elected  as  an  Independent  and  received  a  plurality  of  votes  over  two  regu- 
larly nominated  opponents.  In  1902  he  was  re-elected  on  the  Republican 
ticket  by  a  good  majority,  and  again  in  1906.  In  1910  he  was  re-elected  over 
opDc  sing  nominees  of  both  parties,  and  if  he  lives  will  serve  until  January, 
1915,  a  period  of  twenty  years  from  the  time  he  entered  upon  his  first  term. 
The  fact  that  he  has  been  so  many  times  re-elected  is  sufficient  evidence  not 
alone  of  his  popularity,  but  of  the  obligation  under  which  he  has  put  the 
people  of  his  district.  He  was  for  nine  years  a  member  of  the  library  board 
of  Kern  City  and  seven  years  of  that  time  was  its  chairman  until  the  ci  n- 
solidation  of  that  institution  with  the  Beale  library.  Having  prospered, 
perhaps  not  as  he  has  deserved,  but  in  a  satisfactory  degree,  he  has  acquired 
considerable  valuable  residence  property  and  in  1911  erected  a  large  resi- 
dence at  No.  714  Kentucky  street.  In  May,  1913,  he  and  Judge  Marion  sold 
the  corner  of  O  and  Baker  streets,  150  x  135  feet,  which  they  had  owned  and 
improved  jointly,  to  the  city  of  Bakersfield  for  the  site  of  the  new  library 
building  in  East  Bakersfield. 

.■\s  a  citizen   Mr.  Stroble  has  always  been  public-spirited  and   helpful   tn 


1184  HISTORY    OF    Kl'RX    COUNTY 

all  worthy  interests.  He  is  influential  in  local  Republican  councils  and  is  a 
member  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  He  was  made  a  Mason  in  Bakersfield 
Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  affiliates  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266, 
B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  He  married  at  Fresno,  October  4, 
1891,  Miss  Maggie  Emma  Garrett,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Vance  and  Georgie.  Mrs.  Stroble  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  South,  a  Pvthian  Sister,  and  is  past  matron  of  Bakersfield 
Chapter,  O.  E.  S. 

HERMAN  S.  DUMBLE.— Comparatively  few  of  the  men  now  active 
in  the  business  aft'airs  of  Kern  county  can  claim  this  as  their  native  place, 
but  such  is  the  distinction  enjoyed  by  Herman  S.  Dumble,  whose  birth 
occurred  December  13,  1868,  at  Havilah,  then  the  county  seat.  The  family 
had  been  established  in  the  west  by  his  father,  E.  H.  Dumble,  a  native  of 
Chambersburg,  Pa.,  and  a  pioneer  of  the  '50s  in  California,  who  after  having 
crossed  the  plains  with  wagons  and  oxen  engaged  in  mining  in  the  Sierras 
and  along  the  Kern  river.  For  some  years  he  conducted  a  general  store 
at  Havilah,  but  later  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at  Los  Angeles, 
returning  to  Kern  county  about  1874  and  settling  at  Bakersfield,  whither 
the  count}'  seat  had  been  taken  in  accordance  with  the  popular  vote. 
Near  town  he  began  to  improve  an  alfalfa  and  fruit  farm.  By  his  success 
in  growing  the  first  lemons  and  oranges  in  Kern  county  he  proved  that  it 
was  possible  to  raise  citrus  fruits  here.  Too  much  credit  cannot  be  given 
him  for  his  participation  in  the  progress  of  horticultural  activities.  Believ- 
ing that  the  soil  and  climate  equalled  those  of  more  widely  advertised 
regions,  he  undertook  to  prove  his  theory  by  actual  experiment  and  thus 
accomplished  work  of  inestimable  value  to  the  county.  When  Kern  and 
Kings  counties  were  still  a  part  of  Tulare  he  held  the  office  of  assessor. 
As  a  pioneer  he  labored  for  the  advancement  of  his  chosen  locality  and 
when  he  died  in  1903  many  tributes  of  respect  gave  evidence  of  his  high 
citizenship  and  the  appreciation  in  which  his  services  were  held.  After 
he  came  west  he  married  Drusilla  Skiles,  who  was  born  in  Texas,  came 
to  California  during  the  early  "SOs  via  the  southern  route  and  died  at 
Bakersfield  during  1881.  The  trip  to  the  coast  had  been  made  with  her 
father,  who  first  settled  at  El  Monte  and  later  cultivated  a  part  of  the 
John  Wolfskin  ranch  near  the  present  site  of  Sawtelle,  but  eventually 
removed  to  Kern  Island  and  engaged  in  general  farming  throughout  his 
remaining  years. 

The  parental  family  included  five  children,  three  of  whom  are  now 
living,  one,  W.  R.,  being  now  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  at 
Bakersfield.  The  eldest  member  of  the  family  circle,  Herman  S.,  received 
a  public-school  education.  At  a  very  early  age  he  showed  that  he  had 
unusual  ability  as  a  mechanic,  hence  was  sent  to  the  Jones  Mechanical 
Insti<:ute  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  completed  the  regular  eotirse  ol 
training.  Afterward  he  engaged  in  drilling  wells  and  in  installing  pumping 
plants  and  machinery  for  irrigation  and  stock  purposes,  this  work  taking 
him  through  Kern,  Tulare,  Kings  and  Fresno  counties,  and  giving  him  a 
wide  circle  of  acquaintances  as  well  as  a  general  appreciation  of  his  skill 
in  his  chosen  work.  During  1898  he  became  superintendent  of  the  machin- 
ery department  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  and  since  then  he 
has  devoted  his  entire  time  and  attention  to  the  oversight  of  the  shop, 
discharging  his  many  responsible  duties  with  tact,  skill  and  promptness. 
Some  years  ago  he  erected  a  comfortable  residence  on  the  corner  of  B 
and  Twentieth  streets,  Bakersfield,  where  he  and  his  wife  and  their  chil- 
dren, Charles  and  Frances,  have  an  attractive  home  hospitably  open  to 
their  many  friends  in  the  city  and  adjacent  communities.  Mrs.  Dumble 
was  formerly  Miss  Rita  Kalloch  and  was  born  in  the  state  of  Washington, 
but  had  lived  in  Bakersfield  lor  some  time  before  their  marriage.     Frater- 


HISTORY    OF    KI'.RX    COUNTY  11S7 

nally  Mr.  Dunible  is  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  U.  R.,  in  which  he  has  been  the  recipient  of  official 
honors.  From  early  life  he  has  been  staunch  in  his  allegiance  to  the 
Democratic  party  and  at  one  time  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  county 
Democratic  central  committee.  Upon  the  consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and 
Kern  in  July,  1910,  he  was  selected  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
and  in  April  of  the  next  year,  at  the  first  general  election  he  was  re-elected 
to  the  position,  where  he  has  rendered  faithful  service  as  a  member  of 
various  committees  and  has  been  particularly  efficient  as  chairman  ol  the 
street    committee. 

JOHN  E.  ROBERTS.— One  of  the  enterprising  and  industrious  citi- 
zens of  East  Bakersfield  who  is  making  e\ery  effort  possible  to  obtain  a  com- 
petency and  one  also  who  is  well  known  in  fraternal  and  social  circles  there 
is  John  E.  Roberts.  His  father,  Henry  O.  Roberts,  was  born  in  Kentucky, 
but  was  reared  in  Indiana,  where  he  was  a  farmer  in  Ripley  county  all 
his  life,  and  where  his  death  occurred.  He  was  married  to  Zela  Graham, 
born  in  Indiana,  and  to  them  were  born  three  children,  of  whom  John  E. 
was  the  eldest,  having  been  born  April  7,  1871,  in  Versailles,  Riplev  countv. 
Ind. 

After  attending  the  common  schouls  of  this  native  place.  John  E. 
Roberts  was  sent  to  the  Versailles  Normal  school,  where  be  received  a 
thorough  training.  He  then  fidlowed  farming,  first  in  his  native  state,  and 
then  in  Illinois,  Minnesota  and  Iowa,  and  upon  hearing  such  excellent 
reports  of  the  prospects  in  this  country,  he  in  1895  set  out  for  the  west, 
arriving  in  California  in  May  of  that  year.  In  August  following  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Co.,  as  bridge  builder  at  Tulare, 
after  which  he  became  a  fireman  for  the  same  road  running  out  of  Bakers- 
field  to  Los  Angeles.  For  four  and  a  half  years  he  remained  in  this  position, 
giving  it  diligent  attention  and  becoming  so  familiar  with  that  work  that  in 
1903  he  was  promoted  to  locomotive  engineer  and  he  holds  that  position 
to-day.  He  has  invested  in  forty  acres  of  farming  land  on  Unii  n  avenue,  aliout 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  Bakersfield,  upon  which  he  has  installed  an 
electric  pumping  plant  and  is  raising  alfalfa. 

In  1901,  in  the  city  of  Los  Angeles,  Mr.  Roberts  married  Miss  Georgia 
Sommars,  who  was  born  in  Springfield,  III.,  daughter  of  Michael  Somniars. 
who  was  a  brick  mason  in  Illinois,  where  his  death  occurred.  Her  mother, 
who  before  her  marriage  was  Margaret  Dexereaux,  also  passed  away  in 
Illinois.  Mrs.  Roberts  is  an  active  member  of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern 
Star  of  Bakersfield,  while  her  husband  is  a  member  of  Masonic  Lodge  No. 
224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Bakersfield  Chapter  No.  75,  R.  A.  M.,  also  of  Sumner 
Lodge,  K.  of  P.,  and  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers.  He  votes 
the  Republican  ticket,  and  is  actively  interested  in  the  welfare  of  that  party. 

BENJAMIN  F.  SEIBERT.— One  of  the  substantial  citizens  of  Kern 
county,  wild  has  been  actively  identified  with  its  business  life  for  a  period 
of  over  twenty-five  years  is  Benjamin  F.  Seibert,  who  came  to  this  county 
in  March,  1886.  He  was  born  April  20,  1867,  in  South  \'ineland,  Cumber- 
land county,  N.  J.,  and  at  the  age  of  six  years  moved  with  his  ))arents,  I'en- 
jamin  and  Marcha  J.  (Sell)  Seibert,  to  Reno,  Nev.  where  they  remained 
one  year,  thence  moving  to  Ogden,  Utah.  They  were  at  this  point  but  a 
short  time,  and  then  moved  to  San  Francisco  and  from  there  to  San  Diego, 
wdiere  thev  remained  but  a  vear  and  a  half,  going  from  there  t,)  Anaheim 
in   1876. 

The  schooling  received  by  Mr.  Seibert  was  naturally  varied,  as  he  was 
obliged  to  change  schools  as  his  parents  moved  on  from  place  to  place,  but 
he  was  mentalh-  of  a  bright  mind  and  he  learned  easily.  He  studied  at 
school  until  he  reached  the  age  of  about  fourteen  and  in  December,  1882, 
began   to   learn    the   blacksmith's   trade.     He   came   from    .\nahcim   to    Kern 


1188  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

county  in  March,  1886,  and  secured  employment  with  C.  N.  Johnston,  with 
whom  he  remained  for  eleven  years,  working  at  general  blacksmi thing  and 
proving  himself  an  able  and  energetic  laborer  in  this  line  of  work.  Then  he 
moved  to  the  Panama  district  and  started  in  the  business  for  himself,  opening 
up  a  well-equipped  blacksmith  shop,  and  here  he  has  since  been  engaged  in 
building  up  a  fine  trade.  In  1908  he  bought  an  acre  of  land  at  Panama,  Cal., 
and  the  next  year  moved  upon  it,  having  his  shop  built  on  the  home  prop- 
erty. Mr.  Seibert  was  in  Bakersfield  to  witness  the  flood  of  1893,  having 
been  there  also  at  the  time  of  the  big  fire  on  July  7,  1889. 

Mr.  Seibert  was  married  December  23,  1890,  in  Los  Angeles,  to  Clara 
L.  Searle,  who  was  born  in  Stanislaus  county,  Cal.,  and  attended  the  public 
schools  in  her  native  county  and  in  Los  Angeles.  She  came  with  her 
parents  in  1877  to  Kern  county,  and  lived  on  what  is  known  as  Reader  Hill, 
at  present  the  site  of  the  Santa  Fe  depot,  and  they  lived  there  a  year  and  a 
half,  at  that  time  moving  to  Los  Angeles,  but  in  1889  they  returned  to  Kern 
county  to  make  their  permanent  home.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Seibert  have  three 
children:  Frank  S.,  Arthur  A.  and  Vera  V.  Politically  he  believes  in  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party,  and  fraternally  is  connected  with  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World. 

PETER  HIEMFORTH.— Still  in  the  prime  of  life  (for  his  birth  occurred 
in  Leelanau  county,  near  Traverse  City,  Mich.,  September  30,  1867),  Mr. 
Hiemforth  may  expect  many  years  of  continued  usefulness  in  the  farming 
circles  near  Rosedale  and  in  all  probability  these  will  also  be  years  of  increased 
gains  through  his  experienced  management  of  farm  land. 

Educated  in  public  schools  of  Michigan,  his  native  commonwealth, 
Peter  Hiemforth  assisted  his  father,  Frederick  Hiemforth,  at  home  during 
vacations  and  after  he  left  school  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  gave  his  entire 
time  to  the  work  of  an  assistant  to  his  father  on  the  home  place.  At  the 
attainment  of  his  majority  he  left  home  and  began  to  work  for  wages,  at 
times  being  on  farms  and  at  other  times  working  in  lumber  mills.  Being 
of  a  frugal  nature,  inclined  to  save  his  wages  instead  of  dissipating  them 
in  amusements,  he  was  able  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  to  buy  the  equity 
in  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  Later  he  increased  his  hold- 
ings through  purchase  until  he  had  one  hundred  and  ninety  acres,  where 
he  engaged  in  raising  wheat  and  also  made  a  specialty  of  potatoes.  To 
the  regret  of  his  many  friends  there  he  was  obliged  to  dispose  of  his  hold- 
ings and  seek  a  more  healthful  climate.  Attracted  to  California,  he  arrived 
in  Kern  county  during  April  of  1903  and  at  once  settled  near  Rosedale, 
where  he  now  owns  one  hundred  and  fifteen  acres,  of  which  all  but  five 
acres  is  in  alfalfa.  At  the  time  of  his  purchase  of  the  tract  it  was  wholly 
unimproved.  The  task  of  preparing  the  place  for  alfalfa  was  one  of  great 
difficulty  and  necessitated  incessant  toil,  but  he  has  his  reward  in  being 
the  owner  of  one  of  the  fine  alfalfa  farms  in  the  county.  While  some  of  the 
hay  is  sold  each  year,  much  of  it  is  fed  to  his  dairy  herd  of  thirty-two  Jersey 
cows  and  to  the  other  stock  kept  on  this  splendid  alfalfa  ranch.  He  has 
lately  put  down  wells  and  installed  a  pumping  plant  with  a  capacity  of 
two  hundred  inches.  In  his  work  he  has  had  the  assistance  of  his  wife, 
whom  he  married  in  Northport,  Mich.,  November  26,  189L  and  who  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Jennie  Scott.  She  v^as  born  in  Northport,  Mich.,  and 
was  the  daughter  of  Andrew  Scott,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  came  to  the 
United  States  and  served  in  the  Civil  war  in  a  Michigan  regiment.  ^Ir.  and 
Mrs.  Hiemforth  are  the  parents  of  four  children:  Andrew,  Kate,  Theodore 
and  Phillip.  Mr.  Hiemforth  was  made  a  ^lason  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No. 
224,  F.  &  A.  M.  and  also  holds  membership  in  the  Woodmen  of  the  World, 
while  he  is  politically  a  Republican.  He  takes  a  great  interest  in  keeping 
up  the  standard  of  the  free  schools  and  with  that  end  in  view  he  has  con- 


HISTORY    OF    KKR\    COUNTY  11<51 

seuted  to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  school  trustees  of  the  Ixoscd.nle 
district. 

FERNANDO  ETCHEVERRY— The  opportunities  afforded  by  the 
Rosedale  district  as  an  agricultural  region  and  its  adaptability  to  the  profit- 
able cultivation  of  alfalfa  induced  Mr.  Etcheverry  to  invest  in  a  tract  of 
eighty  acres  in  1908  and  the  following  year  he  came  to  the  place  in  order 
to  take  up  the  task  of  building  a  house  and  barn,  checking  the  land  and 
sowing  it  to  alfalfa.  The  farm  lies  eight  and  one-half  miles  northwest  of 
Bakersfield  and  is  under  the  Eeardsley  canal.  During  1913  the  owner  sunk 
two  wells  to  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  five  feet  with  water  rising  to  within 
twenty-seven  feet  of  the  surface,  and  has  since  had  an  abundance  of 
water,  pumping  by  means  of  an  engine  of  fifty-horse  capacity  producing 
two  hundred  and  fifty  inches  of  water  and  thus  afifording  adequate  irri- 
gation for  the  valuable  ]irriperty. 

Of  French  birth  and  lineaee,  Fernando  Etcheverry  was  born  in  Aldudes, 
Basses-Pyrenees,  March  1,  1869,  and  was  the  only  child  of  Michel  and  Louisa 
(Chabano)  Etcheverry.  the  former  still  living  on  his  farm  in  France,  the 
latter  being  deceased.  In  boyhood  Fernando  was  sent  to  school  during 
the  winter  months  and  trained  to  help  on  the  farm  during  the  summer, 
but  when  sixteen,  in  1885,  he  left  France  to  seek  a  livelihood  in  the  new 
world.  At  first  he  joined  two  aunts  (Mrs.  Peter  Gastambide  and  Mrs. 
Domingo  Gastambide),  near  Los  P)anos,  iMerced  ci  unt}',  ("al.,  where  he 
soon  found  employment  as  a  herder  of  sheep,  an  occupation  made  familiar 
to  him  through  earlier  life  in  the  valley  extending  from  the  Pyrenees  moun- 
tains to  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  a  region  peculiarly  suited  to  the  sheep  industry. 
In  1890  he  came  from  Merced  county  to  Kern,  now  East  Bakersfield.  Mak- 
ing this  place  his  headquarters,  he  engaged  in  the  sheep  business,  ranging 
his  flocks  on  the  plains  and  in  the  mountains.  Meantime,  in  1892,  he  became 
proprietor  of  the  Pyrenees  hotel  on  Sumner  street.  .After  four  years  as 
a  partner  of  F.  M.  Noriega,  he  purchased  the  interest  of  his  partner  and 
then  continued  alone  for  two  years.  Meanwhile  he  had  continued  an  identi- 
fication with  the  sheep  industry.  For  eighteen  months  he  owned  a  flock, 
but.  not  being  able  to  give  the  sheep  personal  attention  owing  to  his  business 
interests,  he  sold  them  to  <  ther  parties.  Soon  afterwards  he  began  to  im- 
prove his  Rosedale  ranch  and,  having  sold  out  his  hotel  interests  to  his 
former  partner,  Mr.  Noriega,  he  since  has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to 
the  raising  of  alfalfa.  He  has  been  a  useful  man  to  his  community,  an  up- 
builder  of  East  Bakersfield  and  Kern  county,  an  earnest  supporter  of  St. 
Joseph's  Catholic  Church  in  East  Bakersfield  and  a  contributor  to  move- 
ments for  the  benefit  of  the  people.  In  politics  he  has  voted  with  the  Re- 
publican party  ever  since  casting  his  first  ballot.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival 
in  Kern  county  he  was  unmarried  and  at  East  Bakersfield  September  4.  1902, 
he  was  united  with  Miss  Mathilda  Etcheverry,  also  a  native  of  Aldudes, 
Basses-Pyrenees,  and  a  daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  (Laxague)  Etche- 
verry, farmers  in  France.   They  have  two  sons,  Felix  and  Peter. 

J.  G.  RUPP.— .'^ince  first  coming  to  the  Kern  river  fields  during  the 
spring  of  1900  Mr.  Rupp  has  risen  by  dint  of  his  own  untiring  persever- 
ance and  constant  application  from  a  very  humble  identification  with  one 
of  the  oil  concerns  to  a  position  of  influence  and  responsibility.  It  has 
been  his  privilege,  partly  through  chance  and  partly  through  his  own 
plans,  to  secure  considerable  experience  in  the  oil  industry  in  other  parts 
of  California  and  in  other  states  of  the  west,  so  that  he  has  the  distinct 
advantage  of  being  able  to  utilize  at  this  place  ideas  of  worth  tested  out 
at  other  points.  During  the  spring  of  1912  he  was  called  to  the  superin- 
tendency  of  the  Ojai  Valley  Petroleum  Company,  proprietors  of  forty 
acres  situated  on  section  21.  township  28,  range  28.  Under  his  supervision 
there  are  sixteen  producing  wells,  exclusive  of  the  Melwood  lease  operated 


1192  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

by  the  same  company.  The  holdings  of  the  company  are  located  in  the 
extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  Kern  river  fields. 

Born  in  Luzerne  county,  Pa..  December  17,  1871,  J.  G.  Rupp  is  a  twin 
brother  of  Al  Rupp  of  Bakersfield.  At  the  age  of  seven  years  he  accom- 
panied other  members  of  the  family  to  Kansas,  where  he  received  a 
common-school  education.  By  chance  his  early  industrial  efforts  brought 
him  into  the  oil  business  and  he  learned  the  work  in  every  detail,  serving 
as  roustabout,  tool-dresser,  driller  and  in  other  capacities  up  to  that  of 
superintendent.  As  a  driller  he  has  worked  in  various  parts  of  the  west, 
one  of  his  principal  experiences  being  in  the  San  Juan  fields  in  San  Juan 
county,  Utah.  While  working  in  Colorado  he  was  married  at  Boulder, 
that  state.  Miss  Sarah  Hand  becoming  his  wife.  They  have  three  children, 
Mariam,  Georgia  and  Kermit,  and  the  family  now  occupy  the  superin- 
tendent's cottage  on  the  company  holdings.  Called  to  his  present  position 
in  May  of  1912  by  the  company  of  which  R.  A.  Sweet  of  Los  Angeles  is 
president,  Mr.  Rupp  has  devoted  his  attention  closely  and  untiringly  to  the 
many  responsibilities  incumbent  upon  him  in  his  effort  to  transform  the 
holdings  of  the  concern  into  a  dividend-paying  investment  and  in  the 
meantime,  while  thus  working,  he  has  won  the  confidence  of  stockholders 
in  the  organization  as  well  as  the  respect  of  other  leading  oil  men  of  the 
field. 

MRS.  MARGARET  H.  PREBLE.— No  one  among  the  older  residents 
of  Moiave  occupies  a  higher  place  in  the  esteem  of  the  people  than  does 
Mrs.  Preble,  who  since  coming  to  this  city  during  1891  has  won  the 
friendship  of  everyone  with  whom  she  has  maintained  business  or  social 
relations.  Not  only  is  she  a  woman  of  gracious  and  attractive  tempera- 
ment and  agreeable  disposition,  but  in  addition  she  possesses  ex- 
ceptional mental  qualities  and  has  a  broad  education  supolemented 
by  the  self-culture  of  later  years.  Shortly  after  her  arrival  here 
she  was  tendered  the  appointment  of  postmistress  under  President 
Harrison.  So  satisfactory  was  her  service  that  she  also  received  the 
appointment  under  President  Cleveland  and  remained  in  the  office 
for  ten  years  altogether.  INleanwhile,  in  order  to  increase  the  small  income 
received  from  the  office,  she  carried  a  stock  of  notions,  confectionery  and 
stationery,  and  also  secured  an  appointment  as  manager  of  the  long  distance 
service  of  the  Pacific  Telegraph  &  Telephone  Company.  As  there  was 
no  location  suited  to  her  needs  she  bought  a  lot  on  Main  street  and  built 
the  store  which  she  has  since  occupied,  and  in  addition  she  erected  a  modest 
cottage  for  a  home,  thus  surrounding  herself  with  the  simple  comtorts 
that   she   found    essential    to   the    highest    happiness. 

From  early  life  a  resident  of  California,  Mrs.  Preble  was  born  at 
Springbrook,  Erie  county,  N.  Y.,  being  a  daughter  of  Capt.  A.  J.  W.  and 
Phylancy  (Gilson)  Palmer,  natives,  respectively,  of  Erie  county  and 
Pembroke,  Genesee  county,  N.  Y.  After  some  years  of  fairly  prosperous 
activities  as  an  architect  and  builder  in  New  York  state.  Captain  Palmer 
came  to  California  in  1859  and  settled  at  Sacramento.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  served  as  captain  of  a  company  of  militia  fn.  m  that  city.  For  years 
he  was  employed  as  a  bridge-builder  or  as  superintendent  of  bridge-build- 
ing for  the  Central  Pacific  Company  and  meantime  he  constructed  the 
first  snow-plow  ever  used  on  that  railroad.  For  a  time  he  had  charge 
of  the  car  department  at  San  Diego.  Upon  leaving  the  California  South- 
ern &  Central  Pacific  Railway  Company  he  formed  an  alliance  with  the 
Santa  Fe  as  manager  of  their  car  department  and  bridge  building  and 
continued  in  that  capacity  until  his  death  in  San  Bernardino  at  the  age 
of  sixty-eight  years.  In  that  city  also  occurred  the  demise  of  his  wife,  who 
had  been  a  resident  of  California  ever  since  making  the  tedious  trip  from 
Xevv   York  via   Panama   to   San    Francisco   during   1863,   some   years   before 


HIS'n^RV    OI'-    KI-RX    CnV\-y\  ll'M 

the  buildintj  of  the  first  railroad  across  tlie  continenl.  Tliey  were  the 
parents  of  six  children,  namely:  Mrs.  Margaret  H.  Preble;  H.  J.,  who 
died  in  Sacramento  county;  S.  A.,  former  mayor  of  Santa  Cruz,  this  state; 
Mabel,  who  died  in  girlhood;  Charles  M.,  now  living  in  Santa  Cruz;  and 
IMrs.    Hettie   A.    Dunn,   of    Sacramento. 

Graduated  from  the  Sacramento  high  school  at  the  age  of  sevcniccn 
years,  Miss  Margaret  H.  Palmer  taught  school  for  four  years  afterward 
in  Sacramento.  Three  months  after  starting  she  was  promoted  to  be 
principal  of  the  intermediate  department  and  continued  in  that  post 
throughout  the  balance  of  her  work  as  teacher.  At  Sacramento  in  1874 
she  became  the  wife  of  Charles  B.  Preble,  who  was  born  in  Massachusetts 
and  died  at  Mojave  January  5.  18')').  i'or  a  time  during  the  early  ])art  of 
his  identification  with  the  west  he  had  been  connected  with  a  manufactur- 
ing business  in  San  Francisco.  After  going  to  Rarstow  in  188.^  he  served 
as  a  clerk  in  the  California  Southern  &  Central  Pacific  office.  During  1891 
he  came  to  Mojave  as  a  clerk  in  the  freight  department  of  the  Southern 
Pacific,  which  position  he  filled  throughout  his  remaining  years.  In  poli- 
tics he  favored  Republican  principles  and  his  widow  holds  to  the  same 
political  views,  although  when  in  charge  of  the  postofiice  her  friends  and 
supporters  were  not  limited  to  that  part}',  but  included  the  entire  popula- 
tion, irrespective  of  partisan  affiliations.  In  religion  she  has  adhered 
to  the  Congregational  faith  from  childhood  and  has  maintained  a  deep, 
generous  interest  in   movements   for  the  uplifting  of  humanity. 

JO.  P.  CARROLL.— .\s  secretary  of  the  Bakersfield  Aerie  of  Eagles 
and  house  manager  of  the  club  headquarters  in  this  city,  Mr.  Carroll  has 
been  closely  identified  with  one  of  the  popular  and  prominent  organizations 
of  his  home  town.  Through  his  own  personal  energy  and  capability  he  has 
been  instrumental  in  forwarding  the  success  of  the  club  enterprise.  Work- 
ing in  harmonious  relations  with  the  house  committee  consisting  of  Messrs. 
F.  Gunther,  C.  A.  Newman,  Sam  Sweitzer  and  X.  R.  Solomon,  and  ably 
seconding  the  executive  leadership  of  the  local  president,  he  has  promoted 
the  welfare  of  the  fraternity  and  enhanced  the  success  of  the  club  through 
his  sagacious  jud.gnient  as  house  manager.  Having  earned  his  own  liveli- 
hood from  the  age  of  thirteen  years  and  having  been  in  practically  every 
section  of  the  west,  he  has  gained  a  wide  acquaintance  and  everywhere  he 
is  known  as  a  wide-awake,  hustling  and  genial  citizen,  typical  in  tempera- 
ment of  the  breeziness  of  the  coast  and  reflecting  in  mental  anrihuics  the 
qualities   belonging   to   men   of  the   west. 

Born  in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  April  1,  18.^4.  reared  and  educated 
in  that  place.  Mr.  Carroll  had  to  stop  school  at  the  age  of  thirteen  in  order 
to  earn  his  own  livelihood.  As  a  messenger  for  the  \\'estern  I'nion  Tele- 
graph Company  he  learned  his  first  lessons  in  the  business  world.  After  a 
time  he  was  promoted  by  the  conipany  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was 
acting  as  chief  tracer  for  the  St.  Louis  office,  but  the  failure  of  his  health 
forced  him  to  resign,  thus  abandoning  a  career  that  gave  every  promise  of 
success.  During  1872  he  arrived  in  San  Francisco.  Removal  to  the  west 
had  been  influenced  by  the  hope  of  regaining  his  health  through  a  change  in 
climate.  In  that  city  he  secured  employment  as  clerk  in  a  hotel.  However, 
the  anticipated  physical  benefit  was  not  realized  and  he  acted  upon  a  sug- 
gestion that  he  try  the  air  of  the  mountains  During  1874  he  spent  some 
time  at  Silver  City,  Idaho.  Later  he  spent  several  years  on  a  cattle  ranch 
near  Grant's  Pass  in  Oregon.  By  riding  the  range  as  a  cowboy  he  not  only 
gained  physical  benefit,  but  in  addition  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  country  and  of  the  stock  industrv.  Other  occujjations  associated  with  a 
frontier  environment  were  followed  from  time  to  time.  When  gold  was  dis- 
covered in  the  Klondike  he  went  to  .\laska  with  a  crowd  of  prospectors, 
but  the  trip  gave  him   no  returns  aside  from  a  knowledge  of  a  most  inter- 


1194  HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COL-XTY 

esting  country.  When  other  strikes  were  made  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada  he  was  among  those  who  sought  the  new  mines,  but  none  of  these 
expeditions  proved  profitable  from  a  financial  standpoint. 

Facility  of  expression  and  an  ability  to  state  facts  in  an  interesting  and 
concise  manner  had  taken  Mr.  Carroll  into  the  journalistic  field  at  anearly 
age  and  frequently  he  acted  as  correspondent  for  San  Francisco  dailies  from 
mining  camps  in  California  and  Nevada.  During  1891  he  came  to  Visalia, 
Tulare  county,  to  take  up  journalistic  work  in  connection  with  the  Visalia 
Times  and  while  in  that  town  he  acted  as  correspondent  for  the  San  Fran- 
cisco Call.  After  five  years  in  Visalia  he  joined  the  first  rush  of  miners 
to  Randsburg  in  1896,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a  resident  of  Kern 
county,  although  there  have  been  intervals  of  absence  from  the  county  in 
the  interests  of  enterprises  at  other  places.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he 
has  been  engaged  as  correspondent  to  various  city  papers  and  also  has  been 
prominent  in  local  politics  as  a  leading  Republican.  During  1901  he  became 
a  member  of  Bakersfield  Aerie  No.  93  of  the  Eagles.  At  this  writing  he  is 
serving  his  fifth  term  as  secretary  of  the  lodge  and  by  virtue  of  that  office 
he  is  in  charge  of  the  Eagles  Club,  besides  which  he  has  been  induced  to 
serve  as  an  associate  editor  of  the  Eagles'  magazine. 

On  the  second  floor  of  the  Niederaur  building,  at  a  cost  of  $12,000,  the 
Eagles  have  fitted  up  a  club-house  that  is  one  of  the  "show"  places  of 
Bakersfield.  The  visitor  first  passes  into  a  lobby  and  reception  room,  fur- 
nished in  weathered  oak,  with  massive  davenports,  desks,  chairs,  rockers  and 
a  center  table  with  all  the  leading  newspapers  and  magazines,  the  whole 
being  provided  for  the  comfort  of  the  members  and  visiting  brethren.  The 
ladies'  parlors  and  dressing  room  are  furnished  in  mahogany  and  birdseye 
maple.  Handsome  pictures  adorn  the  walls  and  the  electric  light  chande- 
liers are  works  of  art.  In  the  bnfifet  there  are  card  tables  and  a  collection 
of  steins  that  is  growing  in  number  and  interest,  also  a  bulletin  board  con- 
taining the  names  of  applicants  for  membership  as  well  as  letters  from 
absent  brothers.  A  billiard  room  adjoins  the  bufifet  and  in  a  corner  thereof 
is  a  den.  a  favored  place  for  members,  for  from  its  balcony  one  can  sit  in 
ease  and  comfort,  looking  up  and  down  the  streets  and  watching  the  hurry- 
ing crowds  as  they  pass.  The  secretary's  office  is  the  headquarters  of  Mr. 
Carroll.  The  lodge  room,  75x60  feet  in  dimensions,  has  a  seating  capacity 
of  six  hundred  and  is  provided  with  a  fine  Emerson  piano.  An  eagle  with 
outstretched  wings  stands  on  the  altar  in  the  center  of  the  hall  and  a  paint- 
ing of  the  same  bird  gives  an  artistic  effect  to  the  ceiling  of  the  roorh. 
When  dances  are  given  ;he  hall  is  transformed  into  a  ball  room,  over  whose 
polished  floor  the  devotees  of  the  dance  glide  merrily  at  the  frequent  social 
functions  given  by  the  club.  To  complete  the  comforts  of  the  place  a 
banquet  hall  has  been  built  with  a  capacity  of  two  hundred  and  connected 
therewith  is  a  kitchen  containing  every  modern  equipment  known  to  the 
culinary  art.  The  Eagles  have  every  reason  to  be  proud  of  their  luxurious 
quarters  and  the  people  of  Bakersfield,  irrespective  of  fraternal  affiliations, 
evince  the  highest  gratification  in  the  public  spirit  that  has  resulted  in  the 
acquisition  of  the  handsome  and  modern  club  rooms. 

HARRY  A.  ETZWEILER.— Born  at  St.  Joseph,  Mu.,  January  22.  1886. 
Mr.  Etzweiler  is  a  son  of  Jacob,  a'  Pennsylvanian.  and  an  architect  and 
builder  by  occupation.  Several  builnings  and  warehouses  in  St.  Louis  and 
Galveston  were  erected  under  his  supervision  and  from  plans  of  his  own 
drawing,  while  in  addition  he  served  for  some  vears  as  a  government  in- 
spector of  construction  work  at  Galveston.  His  death  occurred  in  1910 
and  four  of  his  children  grew  up.  Catherine,  Minnie,  Harry  Aaron 
and  Jacob.  The  mother.  Mrs.  Debbie  (Shaffer)  Larson,  is  now  living  in 
Bakersfield,  to  which  city  Harry  A.  came  in  1900  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
vears.     For  a  short  time  he  worked  in  a  brick  vard.     From  that  time  tmtil 


HlSTOm-    <)l'     KI'.RX    COrXTV  1105 

1905  he  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  boiler-maker.  Meanwhile 
he  had  the  further  advantagre  of  nitrht  study  in  the  National  Correspon- 
dence School.  For  one  year  he  en.c;a,c:ed  as  boiler-maker  in  the  Los  An- 
geles boiler  works  under  Georjje  Hanke,  after  which  he  became  an  em- 
ploy of  the  Pioneer  boiler  works  in  the  same  city.  As  foreman  of  con- 
struction with  the  Los  Ang^eles  Gas  and  Electric  Light  Company  he  en- 
gaged in  installing  gas  tanks.  Such  was  his  success  in  completing  a 
$30,000  job,  with  three  hundred  workmen  under  him,  that  he  was  engaged 
by  the  Fulton  engine  works  to  superintend  a  similar  work,  representing 
about  the  same  outlay  of  money.  As  a  representative  of  the  San  Pedro, 
Los  Angeles  &  Salt  Lake  Railroad  Company  he  was  sent  to  Los  Vegas, 
\ev.,  and   remained   there  for  ten   months,  working  as  a  boiler-maker. 

Returning  to  Bakersfield  in  June  of  1908,  Harry  A.  Etzwciler  soon 
engaged  with  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  field, 
where  as  boiler-maker  and  superintendent  of  concrete  work  he  i)roved  so 
efficient  and  reliable  that  he  was  sent  to  the  Kerto  division  February  7, 
1911.  Mr.  Etzweiler's  present  ])osition  in  the  boiler  department 
of  the  Sunset-Monarch  Oil  Company  dates  from  July  28,  1913.  During 
1907  he  married  Miss  Mamie  Davis,  daughter  of  Ola  and  Celesta  (Edgar) 
Davis,  of  Los  Angeles.  Two  daughters  blessed  their  union,  namely: 
Hazel,  who  died  in  November,  1912;  and  Audrey  D.,  two  years  old.  Be- 
sides being  a  leader  in  the  Kerto  Club,  Mr.  Etzweiler  is  identified  with  the 
Loyal  Moose  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  With  his  wife  he  has 
maintained  a  deep  interest  in  the  organization  and  maintenance  of  the 
Kerto  Sunday-school,  which  now  numbers  forty  pupils.  In  addition  he 
formerlv  served  as  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday- 
school  at  Kern  and  also  aided  in  the  organization  of  the  Epworth  League 
and  the  Junior  League. 

JEAN  BAPTISTE  CAPDEVILLE.— One  of  the  first  to  settle  in  the 
town  of  Tehachapi,  and  who  since  1892  has  been  one  of  the  prime  movers  in 
its  advancement,  is  Jean  Baptiste  Capdeville.  A  native  of  France,  he  has 
fince  1888  made  California  his  home,  and  is  numbered  among  the  most  exten- 
sive sheep  growers  in  the  state.  He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Osse,  Basses- 
Pyrenees,  France,  October  17.  1868,  the  son  of  Jean  Pierre  Capdeville,  a  farmer 
and  husbandman,  who  served  for  seven  years  in  the  French  army.  His  wife, 
who  before  her  marriage  was  Marie  Anne  Iriate,  still  survives.  Of  the  eight 
children  born  to  this  couple  Jean  B.  was  the  third.  Lentil  he  was  thirteen 
years  old  he  attended  public  school  and  thereafter  until  he  was  twenty  he 
followed  farming  in  his  native  land.  Full  of  ambition  to  achieve  greater  suc- 
cess in  life  than  he  felt  he  could  gain  by  remaining  there,  he  came  to  .\merica 
in  November.  1888,  making  his  way  directly  to  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  where  for 
a  year  he  was  employed  in  the  butcher  business.  He  then  moved  to  Porter- 
viile,  Tulare  county,  and  there  his  experience  in  the  herding  and  care  of  sheep 
began,  for  in  1894  he  had  gathered  enough  knowledge  of  the  business,  as  well 
as  sufficient  capital,  to  enable  him  to  embark  in  the  business  on  his  own  ac- 
count. He  bought  a  flock  of  sheep  and  ranged  them  there  for  a  while,  later 
bringing  them  to  Kern  county,  where  ever  since  he  has  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness on  a  very  large  scale.  Iia\ing  from  four  to  seven  thousand  head  at  various 
times.  •- 

Mr.  Capdeville  came  to  Tehachapi  in  1892,  again  in  1902  and  finally 
in  1909,  at  which  time  he  made  it  his  permanent  place  of  residence.  He  has 
acquired  property  holdings  here  as  well  as  in  Bakersfield,  and  has  put  forth 
everv  effort  to  aid  in  the  public  activities  of  Kern  county,  his  keen  observation 
as  to  its  needs  and  his  accurate  ideas  of  carrying  out  the  details  of  all  projects 
making  him  valued  among  the  citizens.  In  1912  he  erected  the  most  beauti- 
ful residence  in  Tehachapi. 

On  September  21,  190.^.  the  marriage  of  Jean  B.  Capdeville  and  Anne  I'illet 


1196  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

took  place  in  Los  Angeles.  She  was  born  in  La  Doux,  France,  in  1885,  and 
is  the  mother  of  four  children  as  follows :  Magdalene,  Bertha,  Annie  and 
Albert.  Mr.  Capdeville  was  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  in  Tehachapi 
until  the  lodge  surrendered  its  charter. 

FRANK  W.  WALLEN. — Numbered  among  those  enterprising  men  of 
Kern  county  who  have  come  here  with  ambitious  spirit  and  undaunted  courage 
to  face  the  hardships  of  a  new  country  is  Frank  W.  Wallen,  whose  productive 
ranch  covers  forty  acres  in  this  county,  all  under  cultivation.  A  native  of 
Sweden,  born  in  Skane  on  February  1,  1863,  he  was  there  during  the  early  part 
of  his  life,  attending  school  until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age.  Llis  parents  were 
farmers  and  he  was  reared  as  an  agriculturist,  but  when  fifteen  years  old  was 
apprenticed  to  the  blacksmith's  trade  for  three  years.  After  completing  this 
he  came  to  Michigan  and  for  a  short  time  remained  there,  later  going  to  Mon- 
tana, where  he  worked  taking  contracts  for  teaming  and  hauling.  Mr.  Wallen 
had  attended  school  for  a  short  time  also  in  the  United  States.  In  Montana 
he  also  followed  the  livery  business  for  a  time,  and  his  line  of  work  carried 
him  through  various  parts  of  the  state.  Remaining  there  for  a  period  of  six 
years  he  then  moved  to  the  Bradford  oil  district  of  Pennsylvania  and  worked 
there  as  a  tool-dresser,  then  as  a  driller,  until  he  came  to  Kern  county,  Cal,, 
arriving  in  the  year  1899.  Having  gained  experience  in  the  oil  fields  in  the 
east  he  had  little  difficulty  in  procuring  a  position  in  the  oil  fields  here,  and 
went  to  work  as  a  driller  in  the  various  fields  of  Kern  county.  During  this 
time  he  lived  in  Bakersfield  for  about  twelve  years,  working  most  of  the  time 
in  the  oil  fields,  and  in  1911  bcught  the  forty  acres  of  land  four  miles  south  of 
Bakersfield,  on  the  Kern  Island  road,  which  is  now  his  home  place.  Here  he 
engages  in  general  farming,  hog  raising  and  the  poultry  business,  his  large 
assortment  of  chickens  consisting  of  Rhode  Island  Reds,  Minorcas  and 
Plymouth  Rocks. 

Mr.  Wallen  is  fraternally  connected  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  is  a  Mason  of  the  Knight  Templar  degree, 
being  also  a  member  of  Islam  Temple,  N.  M.  S.,  of  San  Francisco.  He  was 
married  August  2,  1896,  in  Pennsylvania  to  Capitola  Hyatt,  who  was  born 
in  Elk  county,  Pennsylvania,  February  7,  1877.  They  are  the  parents  of  four 
children,  as  follows:  Leonard  C,  Francis  Capitola,  Irene  M.  and  Lilas. 

JAMES  THOMAS  MAGUIRE.— With  the  development  of  a  community 
and  with  the  increasing  of  its  industrial  interests  comes  the  many  facilities  of 
labor  to  lend  their  hand  in  alleviating  the  burden  and  smoothing  the  rough 
places  in  the  road  of  progress.  One  of  the  most  important  of  these,  if  not  the 
most  essential,  is  the  telephone,  which  in  its  installation  will  bring  the  com- 
munity in  touch  with  outside  interests,  report  its  progress  and  eradicate  jour- 
neys and  troublesome  drawbacks  through  loss  of  time.  It  is  to  James  T. 
Maguire  that  the  West  Side  district  is  most  indebted  for  its  fine  telephone  and 
telegraph  system,  for  it  is  due  almost  entirely  to  his  efforts  and  zeal  that 
they  were  first  placed  in  the  vicinity.  Mr.  Maguire  was  born  ]\Iay  10,  1873,  in 
San  Jose,  Cal.,  the  son  of  Patrick  J.  Maguire,  who  had  learned  the  iron 
moulding  trade  in  Boston,  whence  he  had  made  the  trip  across  the  plains  to 
the  Pacific  coast.  In  San  Francisco  he  engaged  for  a  few  years  in  the  wood 
and  con1  business  at  the  corner  of  Third  and  Folsom  streets  until  his  marriage 
to  Bridget  McMahon,  when  he  located  at  the  Hacienda  mine,  in  Almaden. 
Santa  Clara  county,  and  followed  mining.  Continuing  thus  until  1871  he  then 
located  in  San  Jose,  where  he  was  the  first  to  engage  in  the  local  express  and 
draying  business,  and  this  he  continued  to  follow  until  his  retirement.  His 
death,  when  he  was  seventy-two,  took  place  September  16,  1905,  and  his  wife 
passed  away  six  weeks  later.  Of  their  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  grew  to 
maturity,  James  T.  was  the  third  eldest. 

Educated  in  the  public  schools,  Air.   Maguire  later  entered   Santa  Clara 


HISTORY    ()!<■    KI'.RX    COrXTV  1197 

Collepe  and  continued  his  studies  until  his  sophomore  year  when  he  took  a 
course  in  the  Garden  City  Business  College  in  San  Jose,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1892.  His  first  employment  was  with  the  Sunset  Telephone  & 
Telegraph  Company,  and  later  he  began  as  an  apprentice  with  the  Pacific 
States  Telephone  &  Telegraph  Company.  By  careful  and  observing  work  he 
ddvanced  through  the  different  departments,  mastering  all  of  them,  and  he 
soon  rose  to  be  district  superintendent  of  constructions,  covering  territory  from 
South  San  Francisco  to  Santa  Barbara.  Later  he  was  transferred  to  Oakland 
in  the  same  capacity,  covering  territory  from  Eureka  to  South  San  Francisco, 
including  San  Francisco  and  Oakland.  In  m05  he  was  transferred  from  the 
construction  department  to  the  commercial  department  and  sent  to  Bakers- 
field  as  manager  for  the  company,  and  the  next  year  he  was  made  manager  at 
Los  Angeles.  Aleanwhile  he  had  become  interested  in  the  oil  business  on  the 
west  side,  and  he  returned  to  Bakersfield  in  1''07  as  manager  for  the  Pacific 
States  Telephone  &  Telegraph  Company,  finding  time  to  devote  to  his  per- 
sonal business  while  managing  that  territory.  Until  March  1,  1911,  he  con- 
tinued thus  and  then  resigned  to  devote  all  of  his  time  to  his  own  affairs.  Air. 
Maguire  was  the  pioneer  telephone  man  on  the  west  side.  In  1908,  associated 
with  C.  S.  Garfield  of  Bakersfield.  but  now  of  Ocean  Park,  he  started  to  build 
the  teleohone  line  from  Bakersfield  to  JMcKittrick  and  the  first  station  was  in 
TetzlafT's  store.  Then  he  built  the  line  into  Maricopa,  establishing  the  second 
station  in  Coons  and  Price's  store  in  that  place.  When  Taft  started  to  build 
up,  they  built  their  line  in  there,  and  the  third  station  was  placed  in  Hopkins 
grocery  store  at  Taft.  The  next  station  was  in  Fellows,  in  the  Lawton  and 
Blanks  store.  In  all  these  fields  the}^  extended  their  lines  to  the  different  wells 
or  company  headquarters  and  business  assumed  such  proportions  that  they 
erected  a  new  building  at  Maricojja  for  their  statit)n.  About  the  same  time  a 
new  station  was  built  at  Taft  on  the  south  side  of  the  railroad,  but  when  the 
business  district  of  the  town  was  moved  on  to  the  north  side  they  built  on 
that  side  also,  and  there  their  headquarters  are  now  found.  In  Fellows  they 
built  and  established  their  own  station  and  office  on  the  main  county  road,  just 
north  of  town,  and  in  McKittrick  they  also  found  it  expedient  to  move  into 
their  own  building.  The  telephone  system  embraces  the  vast  oil  fields  of 
Sunset,  Midway,  North  ]\lidway,  McKittrick,  Bellridge  and  also  the  Buena 
Vista  and  Elk  Hills,  covering  an  extensive  area  and  including  about  seven 
hundred  subscribers.  At  the  time  of  the  incorporation,  in  1908,  the  firm  became 
known  as  the  Kern  Mutual  Telephone  &  Telegraph  Company,  with  C.  S. 
Garfield  as  president  and  manager.  It  was  thus  continued  until  Mr.  Maguire 
resigned  from  the  management  of  the  Pacific  States  and  he  then  assumed 
the  presidency  and  general  management,  which  he  still  retains,  making  his 
headquarters  in  Taft. 

On  August  29,  1896,  .Mr.  .Maguire  was  married  at  San  J^se  to  Miss 
Blanche  Kamp,  a  native  daughter  (jf  San  Jose,  the  daughter  of  .\emilius  and 
Cynthia  (Morse)  Kamp.  who  both  crossed  the  plains  in  ox-team  trains,  the 
father  as  early  as  1849.  He  was  a  pioneer  nurseryman  and  horticulturist  in 
Santa  Clara  county,  and  later  was  superintendent  of  Oak  Hill  cemetery.  Both 
parents  are  now  living  retired  in  San  Jose.  Mr.  Kamp  had  not  received  many 
educati<  nal  advanta,ges  in  early  youth,  but  he  was  ambitious  to  learn  and 
by  study  and  close  observation  he  became  a  learned  man,  well  informed  on 
current  subjects  and  the  master  of  several  languages,  acquiring  culture  and 
intellect  of  a  high  order.  Of  the  seven  children  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kamp 
four  are  living,  of  whom  Mrs.  Maguire  is  the  second  eldest.  She  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  and  at  Xotre  Dame  College  at  San  Jose. 

Three  children  were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  ^laguire,  Maybelle  Bernicce. 
James  Thomas,  Jr.,  and  John  Patrick.  The  father  is  a  mcm1)er  of  I'.akersficld 
Lodge  \o.  266.  B.  P.  O.  E..  of  which  he  is  past  fCxalted  Ruler,  and  be  is  als.) 


1198  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

a  member  of  the  Bakeisfield  Club,  serving  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  and  as  treasurer  until  his  business  interests  took  him  to  the  West 
Side.  He  is  also  prominent  as  a  Knight  of  Columbus.  In  political  issues  he  is 
a  Democrat  and  is  a  member  of  the  Kern  County  Democratic  Central  Com- 
mittee. The  family  residence,  which  he  erected  in  Bakersfield  in  1909,  is 
located  at  Xo.  2318  B  street. 

ROBERT  PALMER.— That  he  should  have  worked  his  way  forward 
from  po\'erty  to  independence  and,  notwithstanding  the  handicap  of  being 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources  at  an  early  age  before  he  had  secured  a 
common-school  education,  should  have  broadened  his  mind  by  self-culture 
and  habits  of  close  observation,  proves  that  Mr.  Palmer  was  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  force  of  character  and  energy  of  purpose.  The  conditions 
that  environed  his  early  years  were  made  discouraging  by  the  death  of  his 
father,  Edward  Palmer,  a  native  Kentuckian  and  a  lifelong  resident  of  the 
Blue  Grass  state,  where  his  death  occurred  about  1829.  About  1834  the 
mother,  Martha  (Patton)  Palmer,  removed  to  Illinois  with  her  family  and 
settled  at  Jacksonville.  At  that  time  Robert,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky 
May  7,  1823,  was  a  lad  of  eleven  years,  scarcely  ready  to  take  up  the 
difficult  burden  of  self-suppcirt,  yet  forced  to  do  so  by  reason  of  the  circum- 
stances of  the  family.  It  was  as  a  miner  that  he  earned  a  livelihood.  While 
the  work  was  difficult  and  physically  exhausting  he  managed  to  find  time 
for  reading  and  developed  into  a  manhood  of  broad  mental  vision,  qualified 
in  mind  and  body  for  the  difficult  task  of  pioneering. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  changed  the  entire  tenor  of  the 
life  of  Mr.  Palmer,  who  early  in  1850  joined  an  expedition  bound  for  the 
west.  The  journey  was  made  on  horseback  and  with  pack-animals.  What 
might  have  been  a  tedious,  uneventful  trip  was  made  memorable  through 
several  attacks  on  the  part  of  savages  and  Mr.  Palmer  long  carried  in  his 
arm  a  wound  made  by  an  arrow.  Fortunately,  however,  none  of  the  party 
was  killed  and  it  was  without  loss  that  they  landed  at  Hangtown  in  August, 
immediately  after  which  the  young  gold-seeker  went  to  the  Sierras  to  engage 
in  placer-mining.  After  about  ten  years  in  the  mines  of  that  region  he  came 
to  Kern  county  in  1860  and  became  interested  in  the  mines  at  Kernville 
(then  called  Whiskey  Flat).  During  1862  with  three  other  prospectors  he 
located  and  developed  placer  mines  at  Claraville.  This  attempt  proved  success- 
ful. While  working  the  mines  he  began  to  buy  cattle  and  selected  the  LH  brand 
for  his  herd.  In  1876  he  purchased  from  J.  M.  Lewis  a  tract  now  known  as 
the  Palmer  ranch.  To  this  raw  land  in  Hot  Springs  valley  he  brought  his 
family  and  from  that  time  until  his  death.  May  30,  1905,  he  gave  his  atten- 
tion to  the  raising  of  cattle  and  to  general  farming,  meanwhile  winning  the 
warm  friendship  of  associates  and  co-workers  throughout  the  valley.  So 
great  was  his  popularity  that  he  could  have  had  local  offices  had  he  chosen, 
but,  while  always  voting  the  Democratic  ticket,  he  steadfastly  refused  to 
run  for  public  office. 

The  marriage  of  j\Ir.  Palmer  at  San  Francisco  June  14,  186;'),  united 
him  with  Miss  Rose  Glennon,  a  native  of  Kells,  ceiunty  Meath,  Ireland,  and 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Mary  (Brady)  Glennon,  the  former  superintendent 
of  a  large  estate  in  that  county.  During  May,  1863,  Miss  Glennon  crossed 
the  ocean  to  New  York  City.  January  13,  1864,  she  embarked  on  a  vessel 
for  Panama  and  on  the  8th  of  February  she  landed  in  San  Francisco,  where 
she  lived  up  to  the  time  of  her  marriage.  Afterward  she  made  Kern  county 
her  home  and  at  this  writing,  although  spending  her  time  largely  with  mar- 
ried daughters  in  Los  Angeles,  she  still  owns  the  old  homestead  of  two 
hundred  and  eighty-two  acres  in  Hot  Springs  valley.  The  ranch  is  devoted 
to  alfalfa  and  stock  and  is  without  a  superior  on  the  Kern  river,  the  present 
manager,  Walter  Palmer,  continuing  the  careful  oversight  maintained  by  his 


HISTORY    OF    KVAIK    COL'XTY  1201 

father.  The  family  consisted  of  twelve  children  who  attained  mature  years, 
namely:  Robert,  a  stockman  of  Kernville;  Margaret,  wife  of  William  Wear, 
of  Wallace,  Idaho;  Richard,  who  died  in  Los  Angeles  in  October,  1894; 
Edward,  now  living  in  Oregon;  Mrs.  Alary  E.  Moberly,  of  Los  Angeles; 
Lee  Palmer;  Rose,  wife  of  Dan  Burke,  of  Panama,  Kern  county;  Walter, 
on  the  home  farm  ;  Mrs.  Hettie  Curtis,  of  Hollywood  ;  Mrs.  Rebecca  Dunn, 
of  Los  Angeles  ;  Patton,  deceased ;  and  Mrs.  Nellie  Beaty.  of  Los  Angeles. 
The  children  received  fair  educations.  ]'>om  1876  until  1883  the  parents 
were  the  only  family  in  the  entire  valley  having  children  and,  public  schools 
not  having  been  established,  they  were  obliged  to  hire  at  their  own  expense 
a  teacher,  but  in  1883  the  arrival  of  other  people  with  children  necessitated 
the  establishment  of  free  schools,  which  important  work  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Palmer  promoted,  as  they  did  all  movements  for  the  general  upbuilding 
of  the  South  Fork  country. 

HENRY  HOSKING.— That  Kern  county  has  offered  exceptional  ,.ppor- 
Uinities  to  young  men  of  industry,  intelligence  and  steadfastness  of  purpose  is 
illustrated  by  the  success  here  attained  by  Henry  Hosking,  an  Englishman 
by  birth  and  education,  but  since  the  autumn  of  1885  a  resident  of  the  San 
Joaquin  valley  and  for  a  long  period  of  rising  importance  an  employe  of  the 
Kern  County  Land  Company.  When  eventually  he  resigned  the  respon- 
sible position  which  he  held  with  that  large  corporation  it  was  for  the  pur- 
pose of  developing  and  improving  a  tract  of  land  which  he  had  purchased  some 
years  before  and  for  which  he  had  jiaid  by  installments  out  of  his  wages. 
Thrift  as  a  farmer  is  indicated  by  the  appearance  of  his  valuable  tract  of 
eighty  acres  lying  on  the  Kern  Island  road  six  miles  south  of  Bakersfield. 

The  first  recollections  of  Mr.  Hosking  cluster  around  the  shire  of  Corn- 
wall, England,  where  he  was  born  March  8,  1863,  and  where  he  received  a  fair 
education  in  the  schools  of  the  Church  uf  England.  His  parents,  Richard  and 
Mary  (Sandow)  Hosking,  were  lifelong  residents  of  Cornwall,  where  the 
former  died  at  eighty  and  the  latter  when  eighty-one  years  of  age.  For  a 
long  period  they  had  earned  a  livelihood  for  their  famil}'  from  agricultural 
cfiForts  and  had  leased  and  cultivated  a  Cornwall  farm,  retiring  onlj'  when  old 
age  rendered  further  manual  labor  impracticable.  There  were  nine  children 
in  the  parental  family  and  of  these  Henry  was  fifth  in  order  of  birth.  When 
nineteen  years  of  age  he  took  passage  for  America  on  one  of  the  steamers  of 
the  White  Star  line  that  landed  him  in  Quebec  early  in  1882.  In  company  wilh 
his  friend,  Whitsed  Laming,  he  traveled  to  Kansas  and  settled  in  Leavenworth 
county,  where  he  secured  work  on  a  farm  near  Tonganoxie.  For  three  years  he 
continued  in  the  same  locality  and  in  the  same  line  of  work,  after  which  he 
came  to  California  and  joined  his  brothers.  Richard  and  .\ndrew,  who  had 
preceded  him  to  the  Pacific  C(iast.  Immediatel}-  after  arriving  in  Bakersfield 
he  secured  employment  as  a  ditch-tender  for  the  Kern  County  Land  Company, 
in  whose  empk.y  he  continued  for  nineteen  j-ears,  meanwhile  receiving  promo- 
tions from  time  to  time  until  at  last  he  was  made  foreman  of  the  water  courses 
and  canal  system  of  the  corporation.  Upon  leaving  the  employ  of  the  com- 
pany he  removed  to  his  farm  six  miles  south  of  I'akersfield  and  here  he  has 
since  followed  a  practical  and  pn.fitable  system  of  agricultural  work. 

The  marriage  of  Henry  Hosking  and  Emily  Lincoln  White  took  place  in 
Bakersfield,  to  which  city  the  bride  had  come  from  her  native  commonwealth 
of  Iowa.  Her  parents,  Bushrod  and  Margaret  (Cork)  White,  were  natives 
respectively  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky  and  were  married  in  the  Blue  Grass 
state,  whither  Mr.  White  had  removed  at  an  early  age.  The  next  removal 
took  them  to  Iowa  and  from  that  state  they  came  to  California  and  became 
pioneers  of  Kern  county,  where  they  made  many  friends  among  the  early 
settlers.  In  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hosking  there  are  two  sons,  Ronald 
R.  and  Raymond  H..  the  former  a  graduate  of  the  commercial  department  of 


1202  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  Kern  county  high  school  and  the  latter  a  high-school  student,  both  being 
young  men  of  fine  minds  and  excellent  abilities.  In  religious  connections  the 
family  hold  membership  with  the  Bakersfield  Episcopal  Church,  and  politically 
Mr.  Hosking  is  a  Republican. 

THOMAS  C.  CASTRO.— A  native  of  Santa  Ana,  Sonora,  Mexico,  Thomas 
C.  Castro  was  born  December  21,  1864,  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Concepcion 
(Coronado)  Castro,  both  of  whom  were  natives  of  Mexico.  (For  a  full  ac- 
count of  the  parental  history  refer  to  the  sketch  of  Domitilo  Castro.) 

Of  their  children  Thomas  C.  Castro  was  the  fifth  in  order  of  birth. 
Reared  in  Kern  county,  where  he  attended  the  public  schools  and  learned  the 
business  of  his  father,  that  of  raising  stock,  he  became  well  versed  on  all 
matters  pertaining  to  that  line  of  work,  remaining  on  the  home  place  until  he 
was  seventeen.  He  then  went  to  Nevada,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  a 
ranchman  who  was  largely  interested  in  stock-raising,  and  after  three  years 
with  him  came  to  Bakersfield  again  and  followed  ranching  on  the  home  place 
for  a  short  time.  He  soon  started  out  for  himself,  purchasing  a  twenty-acre 
tract,  which  he  cultivated,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  had  a  fine  herd  of 
cattle,  also  raising  horses,  both  draft  and  roadsters.  These  are  Belgium 
and  Standard  bred  animals,  and  he  has  had  many  of  the  finest  horses  bred 
in  the  state  on  his  place.  His  short-horn  cattle,  of  Durham  variety,  have  at- 
tracted much  attentitm,  and  he  has  taken  much  pride  in  their  exceptionally 
fine  condition.  He  also  ran  cattle  on  the  Breckenridge  mountains.  He  now 
has  forty  acres  of  land  under  cultivation  to  alfalfa,  about  three  miles  south- 
west of  Bakersfield,  where  he  makes  his  home. 

In  Bakersfield,  in  1885,  Mr.  Castro  was  married  to  Maria  Gonzales,  a 
native  of  Sonora  and  the  daughter  of  Guadalupe  and  Natividad  (Peralta) 
Gonzales,  both  natives  of  Mexico.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Castro  became  the  parents 
of  five  children,  as  follows:  Angel,  Mrs.  Charles  E.  Castro,  of  Bakersfield; 
Ramon ;  Carmelita,  Mrs.  Winn,  and  Josephine,  Mrs.  O'Brien,  both  of  Bakers- 
field;  and  Thomas  Mcllvain.  The  family  are  devout  members  of  the  St. 
Francis  Catholic  Church,  of  Bakersfield,  toward  which  they  are  liberal  con- 
tributors, helping  greatly  in  the  building  of  the  church.  In  politics  Mr. 
Castro  is  a  Republican. 

AUGUST  AMOURIG.— The  only  one  of  three  brothers  to  settle  in  Cali- 
fornia, August  Amourig  was  born  at  Gap,  Hautes-Alpes,  France,  September  4, 
1865,  and  is  a  son  of  Etienne  Amourig,  a  farmer  and  stockman  between  the 
Rhone  river  and  the  Alps  mountains.  As  a  boy  he  helped  with  the  care 
of  the  stock  when  not  in  attendance  upon  the  neighboring  free  schools.  Dur- 
ing October  of  1884  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  America  and  settled  permanently 
in  California,  where  he  found  steady  work  in  the  employ  of  sheepmen  on  the 
plains.  From  the  first  he  frugally  saved  his  wages.  W.ithin  two  years  he  was 
able  to  buy  a  small  band  of  ewes.  This  gave  him  a  start  in  the  sheep  industry. 
Enjoying  the  free  life  of  the  plains  and  the  care  of  the  sheep,  it  seemed  as  if 
he  would  be  favored  by  fortune,  for  his  flock  increased  from  year  to  year  until 
it  numbered  about  thirty-five  hundred  head.  A  change  came  in  1893.  when 
the  Democratic  administration  began  to  urge  the  removal  of  the  tariff  on  wool, 
thus  greatly  injuring  the  sheep  business.  To  make  matters  worse,  a  severe 
drought  came  at  the  same  time.  The  result  was  that  the  young  sheep-grower 
lost  the  work  of  nine  years  and  began  anew  without  any  means. 

After  having  worked  about  six  months  for  wages  Mr.  Amourig  had 
earned  enough  to  buy  a  team  and  he  then  engaged  in  the  raising  of  grain  near 
the  lake.  It  was  possible  in  that  section  to  raise  alfalfa  and  he  secured  excel- 
lent returns  through  allowing  his  hogs  a  free  range  of  the  meadows.  Unfor- 
tunately as  he  was  again  prospering  he  made  the  mistake  of  going  on  the 
]-)lains  to  raise  grain  and  two  dry  years  left  him  penniless.  His  next  venture 
was  the  cutting  of  wood  along  the  river.  This  he  sold  in  Bakersfield  and 
earned  enough  to  buy  a  team.    At  the  time  of  the  first  oil  boom  he  engaged 


TIISTOKY    OF    KF.RX    ("orXTV  1205 

in  teaming  to  the  ui\  fields.  (lri\  ing  an  eight-liorse  team.  Later  lie  bought  two 
lots  in  Kern  and  erected  a  cottage,  making  his  home  there  and  engaging  in 
general  farm  work  near  the  town.  .\t  first  he  specialized  with  alfalfa  and  later 
he  also  operated  a  dairy.  Tlic  purchase  of  forty-si.x  acres  under  the  Mill  ditch 
proved  an  excellent  investment.  This  land,  situated  aixiut  one  and  one  half 
miles  from  Kern,  was  under  irrigation  and  in  alfalfa,  from  which  he  secured 
five  or  six  cuttings  each  year.  In  1911  he  bought  four  lots  on  Grove  near  Baker 
street,  Ilakersfield,  and  erected  a  livery  iiarn  where  he  now  conducts  a  feed  and 
sales  stable,  also  sells  hay  and  grain.  Since  l^ecoming  a  citizen  of  this  county 
lie  has  supported  Republican  principles  in  national  elections.  iM-aternallv  he 
holds  membership  with  the  l'"i.resters  of  .'\merica. 

H.  H.  BROWN. — Indiana  claims  Mr.  Brown  a  native  son ;  his  birth 
occurred  in  Ripley  county,  that  state,  about  fifty  miles  south  of  Indianapolis, 
on  June  1,  18c0,  and  here  his  early  youth  was  spent.  At  twenty-two  years  of 
age  he  removed  from  there  to  Kansas,  where  he  remained  for  four  years  en- 
gaging in  agricultural  pursuits  and  accustoming  himself  with  the  many  details 
and  haljits  of  that  life.  In  1891  he  came  to  Kern  county,  Cal.,  and  taking  up  a 
homestead  in  the  Button  Willow  country,  proved  up  on  it,  and  this  was  the 
field  of  his  labors  for  six  years.  In  1907  he  purchased  his  present  place  of 
twenty-nine  acres  on  Unicn  avenue,  about  two  miles  from  Bakersfield.  Suc- 
cess has  come  to  him  in  every  project,  and  this  has  been  largely  due  to  Jiis 
imtiring  effort  in  his  undertakings,  his  clever  manipulations  of  tiiem  and  his 
unusual  executive  ability,  which  has  ser\ed  him  well  in  his  building  o;ierations 
especially,  where  he  has  had  great  need  of  those  characteristics  to  bring  alu  ut 
favorable  results.  The  Brown  block  in  East  Bakersfield,  which  lie  has  built, 
is  a  brick  structure,  65x75  feet,  three  stories  in  height,  and  the  arrangement 
is  such  as  to  make  twelve  apartments,  of  three  and  four  rooms,  four  stores 
and  basement,  the  stores  being  given  over  to  mercantile  firms.  In  addition 
he  has  built  six  cottages  in  East  Bakersfield  which  are  well-built  and  nu  dern 
in  every  w'ay,  their  general  appearance  being  most  artistic.  On  his  farm, 
which  he  calls  the  Ltcust  farm,  Mr.  Brown  has  found  time  to  devote  himself  to 
the  poultry  business  on  a  large  scale,  handling  mostly  thoroughbred  Leghorns 
and  the  Silver-Laced  Wyandottes,  his  poultry  holding  a  wide  and  enviable 
reputation.  In  1881  Mr.  Brown  was  married  to  Miss  Emily  Hamilton,  who 
was  born  in  Jackson  county,  Ind.,  and  to  them  were  born  six  children,  five 
now  surviving,  viz.:  Pearl  married  A.  J.  Ferguson,  a  farmer  in  the  Panama 
district,  six  miles  south  of  Bakersfield,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  three  chil- 
dren. Fay,  Fern  and  Harold.  Ralph  married  at  Denver,  Colo.,  Miss  Clara 
Fisher;  he  served  as  soldier  in  the  Philippines.  Stanley  is  mailing  clerk  in  the 
postofiice  at  Bakersfield.  Harold  and  Helen  are  attending  the  high  .school  at 
Bakersfield.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  l^.rown  are  members  of  the  Baptist  church  at 
Bakersfield,  and  in  politics  Mr.  Brown  is  a  stanch  Republican. 

CLARK  DAVIS  MORRIS.— The  development  of  the. Morris  ranch  of 
eighty  acres  lying  on  section  31,  township  30,  range  28,  is  due  to  the  jjains- 
taking  and  intelligent  labors  of  Clark  D.  Morris  since  first  he  acquired  the 
property  about  1904  and  established  a  home  thereon.  The  neat  appearance  of 
the  tract,  with  its  meadows  of  alfalfa  and  its  orchard  of  assorted  fruits,  indi- 
cates the  systematic  oversight  of  the  owner,  while  his  love  of  comf(,rt  and 
order  appear  in  his  substantial  residence  and  outbuildings.  Prior  to  the 
removal  to  this  property  he  lived  three  miles  to  the  north  and  three  years 
before  that  he  had  experimented  with  dry  farming  near  Rose  station,  to 
which  point  he  had  removed  fn  m  Jiis  native  county  in  Missouri.  The  family 
of  which  he  is  a  member  became  established  in  Missouri  perhaps  one  hundred 
years  ago  and  his  parents.  Joshua  P>.  and  Klsie  (P.aker)  Morris,  were  lifelong 
residents  of  that  state.  Their  family  comprised  seven  children,  five  of  wliom 
attained  mature  vears.  namely:  John  F. ;  Clark  Davis;  Clay  B..  who  died  at 


1206  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

about  tvventy-tive  years;  Julia,  Mrs.  R.  L.  Edwards,  of  Bakerstield ;  and 
Alice,  wife  of  Albert  Whitmer  and  a  resident  of  Palo  Alto,  this  state. 

On  the  home  farm  in  Montgomery  county,  Mo.,  about  seventy  miles  west 
of  St.  Louis,  Clark  Davis  Morris  was  born  December  9,  1859,  and  his  educa- 
tion was  received  in  the  country  schools  of  the  locality.  During  1888  he 
married  Miss  Lucile  S.  Garrett,  a  native  of  the  same  county  as  himself  and 
a  daughter  of  Wilson  and  Mary  (McMahan)  Garrett.  Very  early  in  the 
colonial  settlement  of  the  new  world  the  Garrett  family  became. estalilished 
in  Virginia,  where  \Villiam  B.  Garrett  was  born  in  1795,  and  where  the  birth 
of  his  wife,  who  ])ore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  Ockmon,  occurred  August  27, 

1805.  With  the  occupation  of  agriculture  William  B.  Garrett  harmoniously 
united  the  trade  of  a  millwright  and  after  he  removed  to  the  prairies  of  the 
middle  west  he  built  the  lirst  mill  in  Callaway  cuunty,  AIo.  Among  his  children 
was  a  son,  Wilson,  a  native  of  Virginia  and  an  early  settler  of  Montgomery' 
county.  Mo.,  having  taken  up  land  in  that  region  when  all  of  the  surrounding 
country  was  in  the  primeval  state  of  nature.  In  early  manhood  he  married 
Mary  McMahan,  daughter  of  John  F.  and  Polly  (Blackwell)  McMahan,  na- 
tives of  Kentucky,  the  former  born  June  29,  1804,  and  the  latter  November  18. 

1806.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Garrett,  which  occurred  in  Missouri,  his  widow 
came  to  Kern  county  and  now  resides  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Morris.  Be- 
sides this  daughter,  who  was  sixth  in  order  cjf  birth  among  the  sons  and 
daughters,  she  had  eight  children,  named  as  follows :  Lydia,  who  passed 
from  earth  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  ;  Henry  L.,  a  resident  of  St.  Louis,  Mo. ; 
Mary  A.,  living  at  Bonneterre,  St.  Francois  county,  Mo. ;  John  F.,  who  died  in 
1910 ;  Emma  C.,  whose  home  is  in  Montgomery  City,  Alontgomery  county. 
Mo.;  William  B.,  of  Choctaw,  Okla. ;  James  M.,  living  in  Kern  county;  and 
Benjamin  C,  of  Bakersfield.  Although  now  (1912)  seventy-eight  years  of  age, 
Mrs.  Garrett  retains  the  full  possession  of  her  physical  and  mental  faculties 
and  enters  fully  into  the  activities  of  the  world  around  her,  being  especially 
interested  in  and  devoted  to  her  grandchildren,  whose  happiness  and  welfare 
are  ever  dear  to  her.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris  became  the  parents  of  six  children 
and  four  of  these  are  now  living,  Elden  G..  Howard  B.,  Fletcher  :\I.  and 
Lucile. 

Politically  Mr.  Morris  votes  with  the  Democratic  party.  Although  reared 
m  the  faith  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  identified  with  that  denom- 
ination in  Missouri,  he  and  his  wife  became  prime  movers  in  the  organization 
of  the  Greenfield  Congregational  Church,  which  was  established  on  Sunday, 
May  12,  1912,  with  twenty-one  names  on  the  list  of  charter  membership.  For 
the  present  these  members  and  others  of  the  community  who  worship  with 
them  are  holding  religious  services  in  the  Greenfield  schoolhouse  and  enjoy 
the  ministerial  oversight  of  Rev.  Mr.  Reiley  as  pastor. 

MILES  R.  MARTIN,  JR.— The  acquisition  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  raw  land  two  and  one-half  miles  northwest  of  McFarland  marked  the  be- 
ginning of  the  identification  of  Mr.  Martin  with  this  portion  of  Kern  county, 
whither  he  had  come  in  1909  and  into  whose  possibilities  and  resources  he  has 
since  investigated  with  gratifying  results.  From  the  first  his  impressions  con- 
cerning the  county  have  been  favorable.  IDuring  January  of  1913  he  became 
the  owner  of  the  quarter-section  he  now  operates.  The  need  of  water  was  im- 
perative. Immediately  after  buying  the  raw  tract  he  sunk  two  wells  and  in- 
stalled an  electric  pumping  plant  which  yields  him  over  one  hundred  and  ten 
inches  of  water.  The  entire  quarter  section  has  been  leveled  and  he  is  rapidly 
sowing  the  whole  acreage  to  alfalfa.  Modern  improvements  are  being  made 
and  the  place  presents  a  well-tilled  appearance,  with  every  prospect  of  becom- 
ing one  of  the  most  valuable  alfalfa  ranches  in  this  part  of  the  county. 

Born  in  Clarion  county,  Pa.,  September  13,  1873,  Miles  R.  Martin,  Jr.,  is 
the  son  of  the  late  Miles  R.,  Sr.,  who  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey  and  resided 


HISTORY    Ol'     KI'RX    ((H'NTV  1207 

near  Newark,  that  state.  Throiii;h  a  cun.'^idcrablc  period  of  prosperous  activity 
he  was  in  business  as  a  wholesale  coal  merchant.  Later  he  became  an  oil 
operator  in  the  Clarion  field  in  Pennsylvania,  where  a  brother,  Mahlon  C, 
had  preceded  him,  the  latter  becoming  also  largely  interested  in  railroads  as 
well  as  in  manufacturing.  One  of  the  greatest  enterprises  attempted  by  the 
two  gentlemen  was  the  building  of  a  street-car  line  in  Bogota,  South  America. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  Miles  R.,  Jr.,  entered  the  office  of  the  Cincinnati, 
Hamilton  &  Dayton  Railroad  as  supervisor's  clerk  at  Lima,  Ohio,  where  he 
continued  for  several  years.  Gning  east  to  New  York  City,  he  engaged  as 
clerk  with  the  LInited  States  Rubber  Company  and  continued  for  ten  years  in 
the  same  office.  LTpon  resigning  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania  to  look  after 
the  business  interests  of  his  father  and  for  two  5'ears  he  remained  in  that  state. 
During  1905  he  went  to  P)Ogota,  South  America,  and  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  acting  general  manager  of  the  Bogota  City  Street  Railroad,  of  which  his 
father  was  treasurer  and  his  brother  the  general  manager.  During  the  absence 
of  the  brother  in  Europe  and  elsewhere  he  served  as  manager  for  two  years, 
after  which  he  came  to  California  in  1907  and  took  up  mining  pursuits  at  Hart, 
San  Bernardino  county.  In  that  locality  he  bought,  developed  and  sold  mines. 
Some  of  his  interests  there  he  still  retains.  While  living  in  that  part  of  the 
state  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Needles  Lodge  No.  326.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  later 
he  was  raised  to  the  Scottish  Rite  Consistory  in  Bakersfield.  His  marriage  took 
place  at  Paterson,  N.  J.,  in  1904,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Frances  May,  a 
native  of  Elizabeth,  that  state,  and  a  daughter  of  William  F.  May,  a  manu- 
facturer conducting  business  in  New  York  City. 

CHARLES  L.  TAYLOR. — Significant  of  the  abundant  opportunities  of- 
fered by  Bakersfield  to  men  of  business  ability  and  untiring  energy  is  the  suc- 
cess already  achieved  by  Charles  L.  Taylor  as  proprietor  of  Taylor's  bargain 
store  at  No.  1333  Nineteenth  street  on  the  corner  of  K,  an  establishment  built 
up  through  his  own  painstaking  industry  and  tireless  devotion  to  busmess. 
That  there  is  "no  royal  road  to  success"  his  own  history  indicates,  for  it  has 
been  only  by  indefatigable  industry  and  keen  sagacity  that  he  has  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  large  business  and  has  gained  a  rank  among  the  progressive 
merchants  of  the  city.  Selecting  as  his  specialties  articles  of  small  value,  he 
built  up  an  establishment  known  as  the  five  and  ten-cent  store,  in  which  he 
carries  a  full  line  of  glassware,  crockery  and  stationery,  also  many  styles  of 
neckwear  and  underwear,  jewelry  and  hosiery;  with  such  other  articles  and 
notions  as  may  usually  be  found  in  stores  of  the  kind.  The  tremendous  sales 
enable  him  to  buy  at  the  very  lowest  prices.  The  goods  are  moved  rapidly 
and  thus  everything  is  new,  in  excellent  condition,  pleasing  to  the  most  fas- 
tidious. An  amount  between  $18,000  and  $20,000  has  Ijecn  invested  in  the 
stock  of  merchandise. 

The  proprietor  of  this  large  business  is  a  native  of  Ohio  and  was  Ijorn 
at  Winchester  in  the  southern  part  of  that  state  March  10,  1868.  From  an 
early  age  he  has  been  self-supporting  and  always  his  interests  have  been  along 
general  lines  of  merchandise.  As  a  youth  in  Ohio  he  clerked  in  general  stores 
and  acquired  a  knowledge  of  dry-goods  enterprises.  The  first  mercantile  ven- 
ture that  he  made  was  at  Antrim,  Ohio,  where  he  conducted  a  general  store. 
When  he  came  to  California  in  1900  he  selected  Bakersfield  as  his  headquarters 
and  secured  employment  in  the  laundry  at  this  place,  where  he  held  a  trust- 
worthy position  for  four  years.  During  1905  he  organized  and  opened  a  five 
and  ten-cent  store  out  of  which  he  has  developed  his  present  large  establish- 
ment, which  each  year  shows  a  healthy  growth  in  its  trade  and  a  satisfactory 
enlargement  in  patronage.  Many  regard  his  success  in  business  as  phenome- 
nal, but  it  is  rather  the  anticipated  result  of  his  energy,  sagacity  and  keen 
business  talent. 

Mr.  Taylor  is  at  present  engaged  in  erecting  a  new  brick  two-story  build- 
ing (plans  by  Architect  J.  M.  SafTell),  on  Chester  avenue  between  Seventeenth 


1208  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

and  Truxtun,  53>^xlOO  feet.  Ground  was  broken  March  15,  1913,  and  it  is 
expectetl  that  building  will  be  completed  by  September  1,  1913.  The  entire 
first  floor  will  be  occupied  by  Taylor's  bargain  store,  and  the  second  floor  will 
be  devo;ed  to  offices. 

While  the  store  has  taken  much  of  Mr.  Taylor's  time,  attention  and  capi- 
tal, he  has  had  other  interests,  notably  the  Tejon  Oil  Company,  of  which  he  is 
vice-president,  and  in  which  he  owns  a  one-eleventh  interest  as  a  stockholder. 
The  members  of  the  concern  are  principally  residents  of  Bakersfield,  the  wells 
being  located  only  six  miles  from  this  city.  The  company  is  a  dividend-payer 
and  has  excellent  prospects  for  a  growing  success.  Five  years  Ijefore  coming 
to  the  west  Mr.  Taylor  married  Aliss  Ola  Beggs,  of  Antrim,  Ohio,  and  they 
are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Raymond,  born  in  1900.  The  family  hold  member- 
ship with  tlie  Bakersfield  Presbyterian  Church  and  contribute  generously  to 
religious  movements.  In  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Taylor  is  connected  with  the 
Elks,  Woodmen  and  Workmen.     In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

•  GEORGE  H.  SALLEE.— The  superintendent  of  the  Volcan  Oil  and 
Refining  Company  has  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  life  in  California,  Init 
claims  Missouri  as  his  native  commonwealth  and  Kentucky  as  the  hime  of 
his  paternal  ancestors  during  the  pioneer  era,  while  his  maternal  progenitors 
were  members  of  an  old  family  of  Roxbury,  Mass.  His  parents.  Jasper  N.  and 
Lucinda  (White)  Sallee.  for  years  worthy  and  industrious  members  of  the 
farming  population  of  Missouri,  eventually  established  their  home  in  California 
and  embarked  in  stick-raising  and  general  farming  in  the  far  west.  At  this 
writing  they  have  retired  from  active  cares  and  are  living  comfortably  and 
happily  at  Dinuba,  Tulare  county,  the  father  being  quite  rugged  notwithstand- 
ing liis  seventy-two  useful  years  of  existence.  The  family  consisted  of  two 
sons  and  six  daughters.  The  second  child,  who  was  likewise  the  second  son, 
George  H.,  was  born  in  Knox  county.  Mo.,  on  the  last  day  (jf  the  year  1870 
and  attended  the  country  schools  near  the  home  farm  in  that  state.  After 
he  came  with  his  parents  to  California  in  1883  he  also  attended  the  public 
schools  of  the  state,  but  for  the  most  part  in  boyhood  he  helped  his  father 
with  the  farm  we  rk.  While  yet  a  mere  lad  he  did  a  man's  work  in  the  care 
of  the  stock  and  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  The  early  home  of  the  family  was  in 
Amador  county,  where  he  helped  to  improve  and  place  under  cultivation  a 
tract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 

When  twenty  years  of  age  George  H.  Sallee  removed  from  Amador  to 
Tulare  county,  where  he  became  interested  in  fruit  culture,  making  a  specialty 
of  a  vineyard  and  also  raising  peaches  and  pears,  in  which  way  he  aided  his 
father  in  securing  a  financial  foothold  as  a  horticulturist.  While  residing  there 
he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Jeannette  McWherter,  with  whom  he  was 
united  in  marriage  in  1C03.  Three  children  bless  their  union,  George  McW.. 
Fay  and  Fern.  Mrs.  Sallee  is  a  sister  of  George  McWherter,  a  prosperous 
fruit-grower  in  Fresno  county,  and  a  daughter  of  Elias  and  Jeannette  (Ben- 
nett) McWherter,  the  former  deceased  in  1901  and  the  latter,  at  the  age  of 
sixty  years,  still  living  at  the  old  homestead  in  Fresno  county. 

As  early  as  December  of  1901  Mr.  Sallee  came  to  the  Kern  river  fields 
and  secured  employment  as  a  boilerman  for  the  Nevada  Oil  Company.  Six 
months  later  he  transferred  to  the  Peerless,  with  which  company  he  continued 
for  six  years,  meanwhile  working  in  every  department  except  that  of  drilling. 
By  constant  study  and  practical  application  he  developed  into  an  efficient 
worker  and  his  services  were  called  into  requisition  as  superintendent  by  the 
Del  Rey  Oil  Company.  After  eighteen  months  with  the  Del  Rey  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Volcan  in  1909.  At  that  time  the  organization  was  known 
as  the  Cleveland  Oil  Company,  but  through  bankruptcy  of  the  proprietors  the 
plant  reverted  to  its  original  owners,  the  present  officers  being  as  follows: 
C.  H.  Wagner  of  San  Diego,  president;  S.  S.  Johnson,  postmaster  at  National 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    CorXTY  1209 

City,  vice-iiresident ;  Mr.  Nulan  of  San  Uici^o.  secretary;  and  the  People's 
National  Bank  of  National  City,  treasurer.  Mr.  Bailee  i.s  a  Mascm,  l)cl(ine^in.c: 
to  the  blue  lodge,  chapter  and  commandery  at  Bakersfield. 

CHARLES  CLARENCE  PIERCE.— Mr.  Pierce  claims  Indiana  as 
his  native  commonwealth  and  Lake  county  as  the  place  of  his  birth,  which 
occurred  January  12.  18,^9.  During  1872  he  came  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  com- 
pany with  his  parents,  Isaac  B.  and  Emily  (Hayward)  Pierce,  and  settlcd'in 
Santa  Barbara,  where  his  education,  primarily  carried  on  in  Indiana  schools, 
was  completed  through  the  grammar  grade.  Upon  attaining  the  age  of  seven- 
teen years  he  left  high  school,  where  he  had  studied  for  several  terms,  and  then 
took  up  the  task  of  earning  a  livelihood.  At  first  he  worked  for  his  father,  but 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  left  the  home  place  and  removed  to  the  Tejon 
canyon,  where  he  remained  for  six  years,  meanwhile  buying  land  of  E.  D. 
Parks  and  also  acquiring  a  ranch  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  that  had 
been  owned  by  Joe  Short.  -In  many  respects  the  location  was  unsatisfactory 
and  he  was  led  therefore  to  dispose  of  his  holdings,  whereupon  in  about  1888 
he  bought  from  H.  .\.  Blodgett  a  farm  cf  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  ad- 
joining Bakersfield  on  the  west,  and  he  has  so  improved  it  as  to  make  it  a 
source  of  a  growing  income  and  an  object  of  admiration  to  those  familiar  with 
the  work  of  its  transformation  into  a  profitable  holding.  For  some  eight  or 
ten  years  he  engaged  in  the  dairy  business  and  meanwhile  built  r.p  a  herd  of 
milch  cows  of  known  quality  and  breeding.  Since  relinquishing  his  dairy 
interests  he  has  engaged  in  the  raising  of  grain  and  alfalfa.  Eighty  acres  were 
sown  to  alfalfa  which  gives  him  a  meadow  of  superior  excellence  and  large 
yield,  there  being  from  five  to  seven  tons  cut  to  the  acre,  with  four  and  some 
times  five  cuttings  a  year.  Forty  acres  are  in  grain,  which  usually  give  a 
gratifying  yield.  Mr.  Pierce  has  K  cated  a  desert  claim  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres,  six  miles  north  of  Bakersfield  on  the  Glennville  read,  where  he 
has  developed  water,  sinking  a  well  to  the  depth  of  four  hundred  and  twenty 
feet.  This  gives  an  abundance  of  water  for  growing  of  citrus  fruit,  to  which 
the  soil  and  location  is  well  adapted. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Pierce  took  place  December  23,  1880,  and  united 
him  with  Alice  "Maude  Hunt,  who  was  bi  rn  in  Chicago.  111.,  June  29,  1862, 
and  received  her  education  principally  in  the  schools  of  that  city.  At  the  age 
of  fifteen  years,  during  C^ctober  of  1877,  she  came  to  California  with  her 
parents,  loseph  and  Mary  (Deming)  Hunt,  and  established  the  family  home 
at  Santa"  Barbara,  where' she  continued  to  reside  until  her  marriage.  There 
were  five  children  in  the  family,  namely :  Grace  A.,  who  was  graduated  from 
the  Kern  County  high  school  and  passed  away  at  the  age  of  twenty  years; 
Herbert  L..  of  C«  alinga ;  Cliflford  E.,  at  Taft ;  and  Jennings  J.  and  Irene  M. 
Mr.  Pierce  is  a  school  trustee  and  belongs  to  the  W'oodmen  of  the  World. 

JUDSON  DAILY  MARSH.— The  eldest  of  three  children,  of  whom  the 
youngest.  Flomer,  is  with  an  automobile  firm  at  Tecumseh,  Midi,,  and  the 
second,  Genevieve  A.,  is  a  trained  nurse  in  Seattle,  Wash.,  J.  D.  Marsh  was 
l-orn  at  Hillsdale,  Mich..  July  2.  1879,  and  is  a  son  of  Enibery  !•'.  and  R(  sa 
(Berry)  Marsh,  natives  respectively  of  New  York  and  .Michigan,  and  the 
former  now  employed  by  the  Peerless  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  fields. 
It  was  not  possible  for  the  youth  to  secure  desired  educational  advantages,  for 
he  became  self-supporting  at  an  early  age.  After  having  served  an  a  iprentice- 
bhip  of  three  years  under  Frank  Van  Riper  of  the  old  iron  w.  rks  atFIillsdale 
and  having  been  employed  also  for  three  years  in  the  Alamo  gas  engine  works 
in  the  same  town,  he  went  to  Jackson  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  and  secured  a 
position  with  the  Jackson  .Automobile  Company.  Under  William  Deal,  who  is 
still  engaged  as  a  machinist  and  manager  with  the  company,  he  helped  to  build 
the  first  gas  automobile  ever  turned  nut  by  the  firm.  Later  he  spent  six  months 
in  the  employ  of  the  Cook  Manufacturing  Comi)any,  builders  of  gas  engines. 


1210  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Returnine:  to  Hillsdale,  he  had  chartre  of  the  tool  room  at  the  Alamo  for  one 
year  and  of  tlie  testing  room  for  a  similar  period.  Upon  his  return  to  Jackson 
he  engaged  in  experimental  work  for  the  Lockwood  Ash  Motor  Company 
and  during  the  two  years  of  his  identification  with  the  firm  he  developed  a 
marine  motor  that  eventually  became  very  successful,  bringing  the  company 
a  wide  reputation. 

In  the  interests  of  the  Hall-Rittenhouse  Heavy  Duty  Gas  Engine  Com- 
pany, a  large  corporation  organized  at  Bucyrus,  Ohio,  Mr.  Marsh  finally 
perfected  and  built  a  large  engine.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  model  he  be- 
came chief  inspector  for  the  firm  while  they  were  building  the  first  twenty- 
five  engines.  Next  he  was  sent  out  to  erect  engines  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  his  first  work  of  the  kind  being  at  Elk  Rapids,  ]\Iich.,  the  next  at 
Traverse  City,  that  state,  and  the  third  at  Oklahoma  City.  As  an  expert  in  the 
employ  of  the  Buckeye  Engine  Company  of  Salem,  Ohio,  he  next  installed 
engines  for  that  firm  in  Dodge  City,  Kan.,  Whitewater,  Kan.,  Hutchinson, 
Kan.,  Guthrie,  Okla.,  Mulvane,  Kan.,  and  Oklahoma  City.  From  the  last- 
named  place  he  went  to  Kansas  City  to  erect  an  engine  of  one  thousand  horse- 
power for  the  Missouri  and  Kansas  Interurban  Railway  Company.  Later  he 
completed  the  erection  of  a  gas  engine  at  Jcplin,  Mo.,  next  he  was  called  to 
Ponca,  Neb.,  for  a  similar  purpcse,  and  then  came  to  California  to  erect  at 
Maricopa  two  engines  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  horse-power.  From  Mari- 
copa he  was  called  to  the  Kern  river  oil  fields  to  erect  a  gas  engine  of  five 
hundred  horse-power  for  the  Peerless  Oil  Ccmpany,  whose  superintendent,  A. 
J.  Crites,  quick  to  see  and  appreciate  mechanical  genius,  immediately  hired 
him  as  chief  engineer.  Since  then  he  has  installed  another  engine  of  the  same 
kind.  These  two  engines  use  natural  gas  from  the  oil  wells  on  the  Peerless 
lease  for  fuel  and,  with  their  aggregate  of  one  thousand  horse-power,  are 
conceded  to  be  the  largest  and  finest  gas  engines  in  the  field.  When  the  chief 
engineer  accepted  his  present  position  he  brought  hither  his  family,  consisting 
of  his  wife  (whom  he  had  married  at  Hillsdale,  Mich.,  in  1901,  and  who  was 
Miss  Louise  Weisel,  of  that  city),  and  their  children,  Gladys,  Norma  and 
William. 

WESLEY  WASHINGTON  HILLIARD.— Before  coming  to  this  state 
Mr.  Hilliard  was  engaged  in  farming  in  Texas,  where  he  was  born  at  Cameron, 
Milam  countv,  March  9,  1881,  and  where  he  grew  to  manhood  on  a  farm.  The 
familv  comes  of  old  southern  lineage.  His  parents,  J.  H.  and  Rosalia  (Hop- 
per) Hilliard,  were  natives  respectively  of  Florida  and  Texas.  The  former 
is  engaged  in  stock  farming  in  Runnels  county,  Tex.,  and  the  mother  died 
in  the  Lone  Star  state  about  1889.  There  were  three  children  who  attained 
mature  years,  namely:  Wesley  Washington,  of  California;  Fannie,  Mrs.  S. 
S.  Price,  and  William  M.,  both  living  on  farms  in  Mills  county,  Tex.  At 
the  age  of  about  nineteen  years  W.  W.  Hilliard  accompanied  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family  to  ]\Iills  county,  in  his  native  commonwealth,  and  there  he 
assisted  his  father  in  running  a  stock  ranch.  From  1900  to  1904  he  continued 
in  Mills  county,  but  in  the  latter  year  he  came  to  California,  arrived  in 
Bakersfield  on  the  11th  of  December' and  on  the  17th  of  the  same  month  se- 
cured a  position  as  a  roustabout  on  the  Central  Point  division  of  the  Asso- 
ciated Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  field. 

After  an  experience  of  six  months  as  a  roustabout  and  at  the  expiration 
of  ten  months  spent  in  California,  Mr.  Hilliard  returned  to  Texas  and 
resumed  general  farming  and  stock-raising.  However,  the  quiet  round  of 
agricultural  duties  no  longer  satisfied  him  and  at  the  end  of  eighteen  months 
he  returned  to  the  Pacific  coast,  this  time  first  going  to  Seattle,  Wash.,  and 
there  working  for  one  month.  Wages  were  lower  in  that  city  than  in  Kern 
county,  which  fact  caused  him  to  seek  California  once  more.  The  trip  was 
made  by  boat  to  San   Francisco  and  thence  by  train  to   Bakersfield,  where 


HISTORY    OF    K1<:RN    COUNTY  1211 

he  arrived  in  May  of  1907.  Since  then  he  has  been  connected  in  some  way 
with  the  oil  industry  in  Kern  county.  In  the  Kern  river  field  he  worked  for 
the  Imperial,  Federated  and  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company.  While  with 
the  last-named  concern  he  devoted  his  time  to  tool-dressing.  After  two  years 
as  a  tool-dresser,  in  1910  he  did  his  first  drilling  on  the  Cleveland  Oil  Com- 
pany's lease  in  the  Kern  river  fields.  Receiving  an  oiTer  to  enter  the  employ 
of  the  E.  A.  Hardison  Perforating  Company,  he  accepted  August  1,  1910, 
and  at  first  worked  from  the  Bakersfield  headquarters,  operating  on  leases 
in  the  Kern  river  field.  Meanwhile  the  west  side  was  making  a  phenomenal 
development  and  his  employers  deemed  it  advisable  for  him  to  change  his 
center  of  work  to  that  stirring  locality.  During  Nnvember  of  1912  he  and 
J.  W.  Wood  began  to  operate  on  the  west  side,  where  his  e.xpert  knowledge 
of  a  most  difficult  enterprise  has  given  him  the  confidence  of  oil  operators 
on  all  of  the  leases.  Giving  his  attention  closely  to  business  duties,  he  has 
little  time  and  less  interest  in  public  aiTairs,  nor  has  he  been  deeply  inter- 
ested in  social  or  fraternal  organizations,  although  during  the  period  of  his 
residence  in  Texas  he  united  with  the  Mullin  Camp.  W^iodmen  of  the  World, 
and  in  addition  he  is  a  member  of  the  Loyal  Order  of  Mouse  No.  473,  at 
Bakersfield. 

FRANK  A.  BYRNS.— The  superintendent  of  the  pipe  line  department 
of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  at  Lost  Hills  was  born  in  Oil  City,  Pa.,  Jan- 
uary 31,  1879.  His  father,  jNI.  A.  Byrns,  was  connected  with  the  oil  and  gas 
industry  in  Pennsylvania  all  his  life  and  he  is  still  an  active  business  man, 
now  engaged  in  general  merchandising  at  Cranberry,  Venango  county. 
From  a  youth  Frank  A.  Byrns  grew  up  familiar  with  the  oil  industry. 
After  graduating  from  the  Oil  City  High  School  in  1896  he  began  the  oil 
business  under  his  father,  continuing  until  1899,  when  he  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Kenawah  C)il  Company  in  West  \'irginia.  but  two  years  later  he 
left  their  employ  to  become  pumper  for  Guffy  &  Galey  at  Weston,  W.  Va. 
In  the  spring  of  1901  he  was  employed  at  Deadwood,  Dak.,  putting  in  a  gas 
system,  on  the  completion  of  which  he  came  to  California  in  September, 
1902,  and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  as  stationary 
engineer,  under  W.  V.  Miller.  The  next  year  he  filled  the  same  position  at 
Coalinga.  afterwards  becoming  field  ganger.  In  1909  he  was  transferred  to 
San  Pablo  in  charge  of  the  storehouses,  but  he  was  later  returned  to  Kern 
county  by  the  company  as  assistant  superintendent  of  the  pipe  line  depart- 
ment at  Lost  Hills.  In  January,  1913,  he  was  made  superintendent  of  the 
department,  a  position  he  is  now  filling  with  his  usual  tact  and  ability. 

In  Stockton,  Cal.,  in  1906,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Ryrns  with  Miss 
Margaret  Neville,  a  native  daughter  of  San  Francisco,  and  they  have  one 
child,  Frank  L.  Mr.  Byrns  is  well  and  favorably  known  and  fraternally  is 
a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

PERCY  L.  ROBINSON.— An  aptitude  for  mechanical  work  inherited 
from  his  father  who,  although  an  agriculturist  by  occupation,  exhibited  ex- 
ceptional skill  in  the  handling  and  repairing  of  machinery,  early  turned  the 
thoughts  of  Mr.  Robinson  toward  the  earning  of  a  livelihood  through  an 
occupation  demanding  mechanical  skill  and  in  the  selection  of  the  oil  indus- 
try as  his  life  work  he  has  made  no  mistake,  as  his  rising  success  abundantly 
proves.  Of  English  birth  and  lineage,  he  displays  the  dignity,  strong  per- 
sonality and  practical  common  sense  that  have  characterized  his  nationality 
from  the  beginning  of  history.  When  he  came  to  the  United  States  in  1908, 
accompanied  by  his  wife  and  infant  child,  he  proceeded  direct  to  California 
and  secured  employment  in  the  Kern  river  fields,  where  since  1911  he  has 
engaged  as  sub-foreman  under  S.  H.  Martin,  having  charge  of  the  pump 
work  on  the  Sterling  division  of  the  Associated  Oil  Cnmpany. 

The    sliire   of   Bedford   is   Mr.    Robinson's   natix'e   place   and   January   24, 


1212  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

1881,  the  date  of  his  birth.  As  a  boy  he  lived  on  a  farm  operated  by  his 
father,  Henry  R.,  who  not  only  showed  wise  judg-ment  in  the  tilling  of  the 
soil,  but  in  addition  was  so  capable  in  the  handling  of  machinery  that  he 
was  regularly  employed  in  the  running  of  threshing  machines  and  similar 
work  calling  for  considerable  skill  in  mechanics.  While  attending  school 
until  fourteen  'years  of  age,  the  son  during  vacations  had  every  opportunity 
to  assist  his  father  with  the  machines  and  thus  he  developed  his  native 
talent  for  such  work.  During  December  of  1903  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Susan  Sophia  Johnson,  a  native  of  the  adjoining  shire  of  Buck- 
ingham in  England,  and  for  some  years  after  marriage  he  remained  in  Eng- 
land, earning  a  livelihood  for  his  family  through  mechanical  and  kindred 
work.  At  Wakefield,  Yorkshire,  England,  their  eldest  child,  Ethel  Maudie, 
was  born,  and  a  second  daughter,  Lillian,  was  born  in  the  Kern  River  oil 
fields.  After  settling  in  Kern  county  Mr.  Robinson  engaged  in  the  oil  indus- 
try and  was  with  various  concerns,  but  principally  the  Cleveland  Oil  Com- 
pany, until  his  selection  for  his  present  position  with  the  Associated  Oil 
Company.  He  belongs  to  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  Loyal  Order  of 
Moose. 

HON.  JAMES  WILLIAM  FREEMAN.— The  life  which  this  narrative 
delineates  began  in  Culpeper  county,  Va..  November  6,  1821,  and  closed  at 
Bakersfield,  Cal.,  October  10,  1890.  In  1850  he  crossed  the  plains  to  California, 
going  to  Mariposa  county,  thence  to  Tulare  county  and  becoming  one  of  the 
founders  of  Visalia.  While  living  there  he  represented  Tulare  county  in 
the  state  senate,  and  it  was  at  this  session  that  he  succeeded  in 
passing  the  bill  to  form  Kern  county  out  of  Tulare.  At  the  time  of  the  mining 
excitement  in  1854  he  became  a  resident  of  Keyesville  and  later  engaged  in 
practice  at  Havilah,  at  that  time  the  ci  unty-seat  of  Ivern  county.  For  four- 
teen years  he  served  as  district  attorney  of  Kern  county  and  his  oratorical 
skill,  fluency  of  speech  and  soundness  of  logic  made  him  a  power  in  profes- 
sional circles.  The  title  of  General,  by  which  he  was  known,  came  to  him 
through  his  leadership  of  a  company  formed  at  Visalia  at  time  of  the  Civil 
war.  The  larger  opportunities  ofifered  by  Bakersfield  caused  him  to  give 
up  the  happy  associations  of  years  and  he  removed  from  Havilah  to  the  later 
county-seat,  where,  just  after  the  completion  of  his  new  home,  he  passed 
away,  followed  to  the  grave  bv  manifold  tokens  of  afifection  and  sincere 
regard.  Fraternal!}',  he  was  a  blaster  Mason.  From  early  life  until  the  close 
of  his  useful  existence  he  supported   Democratic  principles. 

The  marriage  of  James  W.  Freeman  and  Mrs.  Martha  Ann  (Burkett) 
Brown  was  solemnized  in  Sacramento,  Cal.,  October  13,  1876,  and  resulted 
in  the  birth  of  a  daughter,  Mattie,  now  Mrs.  O'Reilly,  of  Pasadena.  Mrs. 
Freeman,  who  still  occunies  the  residence  in  Bakersfield  built  for  her  by  the 
General  shortly  before  his  death,  was  born  in  Lexington,  Tenn.,  and  received 
her  education  in  Arkansas  public  schools.  Her  parents,  James  and  Mary 
(Greer)  Rurkett,  were  born  in  Tennessee,  the  former  in  1818  and  the  latter 
in  1821  ;  both  died  in  Arkansas,  the  mother  during  1863  and  the  father  in 
1876. 

Shortly  after  leaving  school  Miss  Martha  Ann  Burkett  became  the  bride 
of  Dr.  Leonidas  Brown,  who  was  born  in  Tennessee  September  18,  1839.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  which  occurred  shortly  after  he  had  graduated  • 
from  a  medical  college  in  Tennessee,  he  volunteered  as  a  surgeon  in  the  Con- 
federate army,  was  assigned  to  the  First  Tennessee  Regiment  and  remained 
at  the  front  until  the  end  of  the  struggle.  Twice  wounded  in  battle,  he  car- 
ried two  bullets  in  his  body  throughout  the  balance  of  his  life  and  they  were 
finall}'  the  cause  of  his  death.  When  the  south  no  longer  had  need  of  his 
services  as  a  surgeon  he  began  to  practice  in  Arkansas,  where,  December  22, 
1867,  he  was  united  in  m'arriage  with  Miss  Burkett.  The  young  couple  set- 
tled in  Texas,  but  about  1870  thev  came  to  California  and  established  a  home 


HISTORY    OI'     KI'.RX    fOliXTY  1213 

at  Havilah.  where  he  served  several  terms  as  cuimty  physician.  He  resisnecl 
from  that  office  when  the  county  seat  was  moved  to  liakersficld.  His  death 
occurred  October  20,  1875,  from  the  effects  of  his  army  service.  Resides 
his  wife  he  left  an  only  child.  Dardan  I.,  i'.rown.  now  a  resident  cif  I'.ak-cr.s- 
field.  For  many  years  Mrs.  iMcenian  has  been  a  niemher  (if  llic  Kern  County 
Pioneer  Society. 

Upon  the  death  of  .Mr.  I'Veeman  the  Idllmvins'  rcsolulions  were  passed 
by  the  bar  of  Kern  county,  October  14,  1890: 

Whereas:  .\lmighty  God  in  his  infinite  wisdom  has  seen  fit  tci  remove 
from  our  midst  our  esteemed  fellow  citizen,  beloved  brother  attorney  and 
able  jurist,  the  Hon.  J.  W.  Freeman,  and  Whereas:  He  beinjj  one  of  the 
oldest  residents  in,  and  organizers  of  Kern  County,  California,  and  Whereas: 
He  has  represented  this  part  of  the  State  of  California  in  the  .Senate  of  this 
State  for  the  period  of  two  terms,  and  has  represented  Kern  County,  Cali- 
fornia, as  District  .\ttorney  thereof,  for  about  sixteen  years,  and  Whereas: 
He  has  been  a  kind  husband,  a  loving  and  indulgent  father  and  mild  and 
honorable  in  all  he  did,  and  Whereas:  His  death  has  deprived  Kern  County, 
California,  of  one  of  its  ablest  and  most  honorable  lawyers,  and  the  people 
of  this  county  and  the  members  of  the  Ivern  Count v  !'>ar  in  particular  of 
one  of  their  purest,  noblest  and   truest   friends. 

Resolved:  That  while  we  deeply  deplore  his  untimely  death,  we  bow 
our  heads  in  humble  submission  to  this  evidence  of  divine  will.  Resolved: 
That  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  have  our  deepest  sympathy  in  this  their 
hour  of  affliction.  Resolved:  That  in  the  death  of  the  Hon.  J.  W.  Freeman, 
not  only  has  his  family,  relatives,  the  members  of  this  Kern  County  P.ar,  and 
the  judicial  interests  of  this  county,  suft'ered  irreparable  loss,  but  si  ciety  at 
large  has  been  deprived  of  one  of  the  most  useful  members  and  brightest 
lights.  Resolved:  That  these  resolutions  be  si)read  upon  the  minutes  of 
this  court,  and  a  copy  thereof  be  sent  to  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and  one 
to  each  of  the  newspapers  published  in  the  County  of  Kern,  State  of  Cali- 
fornia, with  a  request  to  publish  the  same. 

Thomas  Rhodes,  J.  \\'.  Mahon  and  .\lvin  I'ay,  Committee. 
DELL  J.  HOLSON.— In  Silver  City.  X.  Me.x.,  where  his  y.uth  was 
spent,  Dell  J.  Holson  first  saw  the  light  of  day  on  September  10,  1874.  He 
was  the  son  of  Thomas  W.  and  Nannie  (Rees)  HoLson.  the  former  a  native 
of  Glasgow,  Scotland,  while  the  mother  was  born  in  the  Alps,  Switzerland. 
Both  early  settlers  in  Colorado,  it  was  there  they  met  and  married.  For  a 
time  the  father  followed  mining  and  then  ran  quartz  mills.  Removing 
subsequentlv  to  Silver  City,  N.  Mex.,  he  became  interested  in  the  stock 
business  and  had  a  cattle  ranch  near  the  city  which  proved  so  profitable  that 
he  followed  that  as  his  life  work  and  the  family  are  now  making  their  home 
there.  Three  children  were  born  to  this  couple,  our  subject  being  the  second, 
and  he  was  the  first  white  boy  born  in  Silver  City.  Receiving  the  education 
afforded  by  the  grammar  and  high  schools  in  his  native  city,  the  boy  early 
learned  the  cattle  business  and  became  .so  thoroughly  inured  to  the  life  of  a 
stockman  that  he  has  followed  it  ever  since.  He  is  very  proficient  with  the 
lasso  and  in  the  saddle  is  much  at  ease,  and  he  was  considered  one  of  the 
best  riders  and  ropers  in  that  section,  having  won  in  contests  on  many 
occasions.  When  he  was  twenty-one  he  took  charge  of  his  father's  cattle 
ranch  and  conducted  it  most  successfully,  later  forming  the  Holson  Cattle 
Company,  of  which  he  was  president.  They  ran  a  very  large  herd  of  cattle 
until  1910,  when  the  comnany  sold  out  and  dissolved  and  Mr.  Holson  then 
came  to  Bakersfield  to  enter  the  employ  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company 
as  cattle  shipper.  Two  years  later  he  was  promoted  to  stock  foreman  of  tlie 
Stockdale  division,  and  in  August,  1913,  on  the  death  of  the  late  Temple 
Tavlor,  he  was  promoted  to  superintendent  of  the  division,  which  includes 
five  of  the  company's  ranches,   thus   reajjing  the   reward    for   earnest,   jiain^- 


1214  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

taking  labor  and  an   unsullied   record  in  the   employ  of  the   large   company 
for  which  he  is  working. 

Mr.  Holson  was  married  in  Silver  City,  N.  Mex.,  to  Miss  Lillian  Clayton, 
a  native  of  Texas  and  a  graduate  of  the  Silver  City  Normal.  They  have  two 
daughters,  Gladys  and  Fay.  Mr.  Holson  was  made  a  Mason  in  the  Silver 
City  Lodge  No.  8,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Isaac  Tiffany 
Lodge  No.  13,  L  O.  O.  F.,  and  of  the  Knights  of  the  Maccabees.  Mrs. 
Holson  is  a  devout  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  In  "political  senti- 
ment Mr.  Holson  is  a  Democrat. 

J.  J.  DEUEL,  SR.— Descended  from  French-Huguenots,  Mr.  Deuel  fur- 
nishes a  fine  illustration  of  the  possibilities  before  a  skilled  Amer- 
ican mechanic,  for  he  has  maintained  an  excellent  reputation  at  his  trade, 
besides  showing  ability  as  a  farmer.  Born  at  Wellsville,  Columbiana  county, 
Ohio,  September  20,  1856,  he  began  to  earn  his  own  livelihood  at  the  age 
of  eleven  years  and  for  some  time  was  employed  in  the  oil  fields  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  West  Virginia.  From  1871  until  1875  he  served  an  apprentice- 
ship to  the  trade  of  boiler-maker  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  whence  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  the  year  last-named,  settling  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  worked 
for  a  steamship  company  until  June  of  that  year.  Next  going  to  Los  An- 
geles he  worked  for  almost  two  years  with  the  George  M.  Wheeler  geograph- 
ical survey  and  in  the  meantime  surveyed  from  the  Mexico  line  to  Blount 
Whitney.  During  that  period  he  was  on  top  of  every  large  mountain  in 
California  as  far  north  as  Mount  \\'hitney. 

Leaving  the  west  Mr.  Deuel  for  ten  years  engaged  in  building  bridges, 
tanks  and  boilers  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  and  in  the  mean- 
time maintained  his  home  at  Wellsville,  Ohio,  where  in  1879  he  married 
Miss  Flora  Virginia  Eaton.  His  next  location  was  at  Pensacola,  Fla.,  where 
for  twelve  years  he  was  engaged  as  foreman  with  the  Louisville  &  Nashville 
Railroad  Company,  having  entire  supervision  of  all  boiler  work  for  the 
company.  Leaving  Florida  he  returned  to  California  and  settled  at  Kern, 
where  for  five  years  he  was  employed  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company.  The  particular  task  in  which  he  engaged  was  the  changing  of 
the  engines  from  coal  to  oil.  When  that  task  was  completed  he  left  the 
railroad  employ  and  began  to  work  for  the  Axelson  Alachine  Company  in 
Bakersfield,  delivering  the  pumps  and  fittings  to  the  Kern  river  oil  fields. 
Meanwhile  he  bought  from  Louis  Smith  eighty  acres  situated  five  miles 
southeast  of  Bakersfield.  comprising  one-half  of  the  northeast  quarter  of 
section  2,  range  29,  where  he  now  makes  his  home.  This  he  has  improved 
with  three  wells,  one  having  a  two-inch  pump  operated  by  a  six  horse  power 
engine,  and  the  other  two  have  four-inch  centrifugal  pumps  operated  by 
twenty  horse  power  oil  engines  which  can  deliver  eighty  inches  of  water. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Deuel  are  members  of  the  Bakersfield  Christian  Church. 
Besides  their  own  three  children  they  have  reared  two  other  children, 
sisters,  Flora  and  Eva  Ramsey,  the  elder  of  whom  is  now  the  wife  of  a 
blacksmith  at  Kern.  Of  their  own  children,  J.  J.,  Jr.,  holds  a  very  respon- 
sible position  as  sales  manager  with  the  Axelson  Machine  Company  for  the 
state  of  California ;  the  only  daughter,  Lottie  M.,  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Pierce 
and  lives  at  Pensacola,  Fla. ;  and  the  younger  son,  H.  P.,  follows  the  trade 
of  a  boiler-maker  at  McCook.  Neb.,  where  he  is  employed  by  a  railroad 
company. 

JEAN  B.  ESTRIBOU.— Besides  the  management  of  the  Metropole 
market,  Mr.  Estribou  devoted  much  time  to  the  raising  of  cattle  and  alfalfa, 
for  which  purpose  he  bought  and  improved  a  ranch  two  miles  south- 
east of  town,  and  there  he  built  and  now  maintains  a  slaughter-house.  In 
addition  to  raising  cattle  on  the  ranch  he  buys  elsewhere,  for  his  trade  is  large 
and  there  is  a  constant  demand  for  beef  of  the  finest  quality.    It  is  said  that 


HISTORY    OF    KI'.RX    COUNTY  1215 

few  men  in  Kern  county  excel  him  in  judsjino;  the  best  points  of  stock  and  he 
shows  especial  skill  in  selecting;  cattle  capable  of  being  developed  into  the  best 
o.iialitv  of  beef.  In  1912  he  sold  his  retail  market,  but  continued  the  whole- 
sale beef  business  and  then  started  the  Estribou  delicatessen,  in  the  Metro- 
pole  block,  from  which  place  he  manages  his  wholesale  business.  It  is 
equipped  with  a  modern  refrigeration  plant. 

From  early  life  Mr.  Estribou  has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world,  but 
the  necessity  of  self-support,  instead  of  proving  a  detriment,  developed  in 
him  qualities  of  frugality,  self-reliance  and  thrift  and  proved  the  foundation 
of  ultimate  success.  During  childhood  he  lived  in  Basses  Pyrenees,  France, 
where  he  was  born  June  16,  1865,  in  the  village  of  Ogeu.  The  second  child 
in  the  family  and  the  only  one  to  attain  mature  years,  he  was  only  five  when 
death  deprived  him  of  the  loving  care  of  his  mother,  Marie  (Fayance)  Estri- 
bou. and  later  his  father,  Paul,  spent  some  years  in  Buenos  Ayres,  South 
America,  engaging  there  in  the  stock  business  until  his  death.  The  break- 
ing up  of  the  home  threw  the  boy  upon  the  world  at  an  age  when  he  should 
have  been  in  school,  but  in  spite  of  this  handicap  he  has  acquired  by  self- 
culture  a  broad  knowledge  of  the  world.  In  boyhood  he  served  an  appren- 
ticeship to  the  trade  of  butcher.  Coming  to  California  in  1882  and  arriving 
in  San  Francisco,  he  worked  at  the  dairy  industry  on  the  bay  and  also  found 
employment  in  a  laundry,  as  well  as  in  other  lines  of  business.  During 
1893  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  two  years  later  opened  the  Metropole 
market  at  East  Bakersfield.  Since  then  he  has  erected  on  Humboldt  street 
a  substantial  brick  residence,  said  to  be  one  of  the  finest  homes  in  the  place. 
This  beautiful  home  is  presided  over  by  his  wife,  whom  he  married  in 
San  Francisco  and  who  was  Miss  Sophie  Laborde,  a  native  of  Basses  Py- 
renees, France.  Five  children  blessed  their  union  and  the  three  youngest, 
Paul,  Alfred  and  Denise.  still  remain  to  brighten  the  home  with  their  pres- 
ence. The  eldest,  Mrs.  Jeanette  Bryan,  is  living  in  Bakersfield,  and  the 
second,  Frank,  a  graduate  of  Heald's  Business  College  at  San  Jose,  is  now 
a  bookkeeper  in  the  First  National  Bank  of  Kern.  Besides  being  a  leading 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trade.  Mr.  Estribou  has  allied  himself  with  other 
movements  for  the  business  and  material  upbuilding  of  his  chosen  place  of 
residence.  In  politics  he  votes  with  the  Republican  party.  Fraternally  he 
holds  membership  with  the  Eagles.  Druids.  \Voodmen  of  the  World  and 
Improved    Order    of    Red    Men. 

CECIL  H.  HANNING.— A  native  of  Maine.  Mr.  Hanning  was  born 
in  Littleton,  Aroostook  county,  July  14,  1872,  the  son  of  Merrell  B.  and 
Martha  J.  (Levitt)  Hanning.  farmers  in  Aroostook  county.  The  father 
served  in  a  Maine  regiment  during  the  Civil  war  for  four  years  and  eight 
months  as  a  second  lieutenant. 

Cecil  H.  Hanning  is  the  youngest  of  four  children,  all  living.  As  a 
boy  he  was  sent  to  the  public  school  near  his  home  and  studied  in  that  New 
England  institution  until  he  was  eighteen  years  old.  The  ensuing  year  he 
spent  in  labor  on  the  family  homestead  and  in  1891  he  came  to  California, 
arriving  November  24  and  settling  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  Kern  river 
in  Kern  county.  Being  without  capital  with  which  to  start  in  life  on  his 
own  account,  he  worked  for  wages  eight  years  and  in  1899  found  himself 
able  to  set  up  as  a  farmer  in  a  modest  way.  Renting  four  hundred  and 
eighty  acres  of  land,  he  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising.  At 
this  time  he  has  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  under  cultivation, 
grows  much  grain  and  alfalfa  and  has  two  hundred  and  si.xtv  head  of  cattle 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  hogs.  December  25.  1900,  Mr.  Hanning  married 
Miss  Mav  M.  McCray.  who  was  born  at  Kernville.  October  26.  1880.  and  they 
have  three  children,  John  C,  Charles  F.  and  Ruth. 

H.  P.  JENSEN,  O,  D. — .\  patronymic  indicative  of  Scandinavian  ancestry 
finds  confirmation  in  the  fact  that  Dr.  Jensen  is  a  native  of  the  fine  did  king- 


1216  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

dom  of  Denmark  and  a  descendant  of  a  race  identified  with  thai  rugged  coun- 
try from  a  period  when  authentic  history  lapses  into  tradition.  His  father, 
Mads,  a  man  of  exceptional  expertness  in  the  jewelry  business,  followed  that 
line  of  work  for  years  in  Odense,  Denmark,  and  later  in  Scranton,  Iowa, 
where  he  still  makes  his  home  and  carries  on  a  prosperous  trade.  By  his 
marriage  to  Caroline  Larsen  he  had  two  children,  the  second  of  whom,  II.  P., 
was  bi.rn  at  Nyborg,  on  the  east  coast  of  the  island  of  Fyen,  Denmark,  Octo- 
ber 27,  1875.  In  addition  to  the  usual  public-school  opportunities  he  had  the 
privilege  of  a  polytechnic  course.  During  vacations  he  assisted  his  father  in 
the  store  and  thus  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  jewelry  business 
while  yet  a  mere  lad.  Accompanying  his  father  to  the  United  States  in  1895 
he  remained  with  him  in  Iowa  for  a  brief  period  and  then  drifted  west  to 
Kansas,  where  he  secured  a  position  as  manager  of  a  jewelry  business  in 
Great  Bend,  continuing  in  the  same  place  for  five  years  and  then  resigning  in 
order  that  he  might  enter  upon  a  course  of  professional  study. 

From  his  young  boyhood  the  study  of  diseases  of  the  eye  had  interested 
Dr.  Jensen  and  as  much  of  his  work  in  the  jewelry  store  had  to  do  with  the 
fitting  of  eye-glasses  and  spectacles  he  began  to  specialize  along  this  line, 
the  result  being  that  in  1900  he  matriculated  in  the  Kansas  City  College  of 
Ophthalmology.  At  the  completion  of  the  regular  course  of  study  he  was 
graduated  in  1902  with  the  degree  of  O.  D.  and  with  an  exceptionally  fine 
record  for  successful  work.  Not  content  with  the  information  thus  acquired  he 
took  a  pi  st-graduate  course  in  Dr.  Hamilton's  School  of  Ophthalmology,  a 
department  of  the  Columbia  Medical  College  of  Kansas  City.  After  the  com- 
pletion of  the  second  course  he  opened  an  office  at  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  where  he 
built  up  a  growing  and  valuable  practice  during  the  eighteen  months  of  his 
residence  in  the  place.  Desiring,  however,  to  establish  a  home  in  the  west 
he  came  to  California  during  1907  and  spent  six  months  in  a  tour  of  inspection 
through  the  state. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  time  Dr.  Jensen  selected  Bakersfield  as  his 
future  field  of  professional  endeavor  and  at  once  opened  an  office  at  No.  1413 
Nineteenth  street,  where  he  began  the  practice  of  ophthalmology.  In  1912 
he  removed  to  his  present  quarters  at  No.  1513,  where  he  has  a  suite  equipped 
with  every  modern  appliance  fur  the  successful  prosecution  of  his  work. 
Possessing  superior  ability  along  inventive  lines,  he  recently  invented  a 
cylindrical  grinding  machine  superior  to  an}'  similar  appliance  now  in  the 
market  and  it  is  his  expectation  to  utilize  this  invention  in  his  own  grinding 
establishment,  which  is  operated  by  electricity.  Recognized  as  a  master  of 
all  diseases  of  the  eye,  he  is  consulted  in  all  such  cases  in  the  community, 
not  only  by  the  patients  themselves,  but  very  frequently  by  physicians  and 
other  opticians,  and  his  recurd  for  prompt  and  successful  diagnosis  of  eye 
troubles  entities  him  to  a  position  among  the  leading  men  of  his  profession 
in  the  state.  To  assist  him  in  his  practice  he  has  his  wife,  whom  he  married 
in  Fresno  and  who  was  Miss  Lena  Weiser,  a  native  of  Texas.  Being  a  grad- 
uate of  the  California  Optical  College  of  San  Francisco,  she  is  thoroughly 
competent  to  assist  him  in  the  most  delicate  and  intricate  operations.  Along 
the  line  of  professicnal  developments  he  finds  pleasure  and  profit  in  asso- 
ciation with  members  of  the  American  and  California  Optical  Associations 
and  further  has  served  as  vice-president  of  the  Central  California  Optical 
Association,  in  which  he  ranks  as  a  leading  member.  In  fraternal  relations 
he  is  connected  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  politically 
votes  the  Republican  ticket  at  all  national  elections  and  in  religion  adheres 
to  the  Lutheran  denomination,  the  church  of  his  forefathers  and  the  faith  in 
which  he  was  reared  in  his  early  home  in  Denmark. 

GUS  ODEMAN. — A  member  of  a  family  of  eleven  children  and  fifth 
among  the  nine  that  attained  maturity,  Gus  Odeman  was  born  at  Sayrsborg, 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COl'XTY  1_'17 

Norway,  December  lo,  187S.  His  parents  sent  him  to  schuul  and  brought 
him  up  in  the  faith  of  the  Methodist  Church.  Like  many  of  the  boys  of 
the  community,  he  early  went  to  sea.  When  only  fifteen  years  of  age 
he  earned  his  livelihood  as  a  sailor  on  the  North  sea.  About  1896,  after 
three  years  in  brief  voyages  on  that  water,  he  shipped  before  the  mast 
of  an  English  vessel  that  started  from  Frederikstad  on  a  cruise  around  the 
world,  touching  port  at  Australia  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  At  the  time 
of  stopping  at  Honolulu  the  plague  raged  in  that  city.  The  vessel  was  then 
turned  toward  America  and  cast  anchor  at  Tacoma,  where  it  was  sold,  over- 
hauled and  loaded  with  lumber  for  the  Australian  markets.  Altogether  he 
made  three  voyages  to  Australia.  In  1<'02,  after  having  sailed  several  times 
around  the  world,  first  under  the  English  flag  and  later  under  that  of 
France,  he  settled  in  San  Francisco  and  announced  his  intention  of  ])ecoming 
an  American  citizen.  During  the  two  following  years  he  was  in  the  revenue 
service  ah  ng  the  Pacific  coast  and  as  a  salmon  fisher  in  Alaskan  waters. 
During  1904  he  retired  from  the  life  of  a  sailor  after  eleven  years  spent  on 
the  high  seas. 

A  brief  period  of  employment  as  fireman  on  a  dredge  on  the  San  Joaquin 
river  was  followed  by  promotion  to  be  a  leverman,  but  soon  Mr.  Odeman 
was  obliged  to  leave  on  account  of  an  attack  of  malarial  fever.  The  doctor 
ordered  him  to  the  mountains,  but  a  sojourn  in  Shasta  county  did  not  bring 
restoration  of  health  and  he  then  began  work  at  a  logging  camp  in  the 
Santa  Cruz  mountains,  where  soon  his  strength  was  restored.  Upon  leaving 
the  logging  camp  he  spent  five  months  as  a  fireman  on  river  boats  in  the 
San  Francisco  bay,  after  which  he  engaged  in  fishing  at  Santa  Cruz  and 
followed  kindred  occupations  in  the  same  locality.  Later  he  spent  a  few 
months  in  dredging  at  Moro  Rock.  For  eighteen  months  he  was  employed 
in  the  vicinity  of  San  Pedro,  where  a  passageway  for  ocean  vessels  was 
being  opened  up  to  \\'ilmington.  From  there  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
J.  F.  Lucey  Company  of  Los  Angeles,  and  was  engaged  in  constructing 
siphons  in  connection  with  the  building  of  the  Los  Angeles  aqueduct  which 
conveys  the  waters  from  the  Owens  river  on  its  way  to  Los  .\ngeles.  Much 
of  his  work  was  in  connection  with  the  construction  of  the  San  .Antonio  and 
Dove  Spring  Camp  siphons.  \\'hen  the  job  neared  completion,  he  resigned 
for  the  work  had  been  replete  with  accidents  and  inimical  to  life.  Since 
then  he  has  been  in  the  Sunset  and  Midway  fields.  He  has  worked  for  the 
United  Crude  and  American  Oil  companies  and  for  the  Monarch  refinery, 
owned  by  the  Sunset  Monarch  Oil  Company,  but  more  recently  lias  been  a 
pumper  in  the  employ  of  the  P>oston  Pacific  Oil  Comnanv.  Since  coming  to  the 
oil  fields  he  has  invested  in  a  tract  of  sixteen  acres  in  Merced  county  and 
it   is    his   intention    tn    impro\e    the   propertv   bv    planting   fig   trees. 

GEORGE  CARLOS  SABICHI,  M.  S.,  M.  D.— Romance  enters  into  the 
association  of  the  Sal)ichi  family  with  Califnrnia.  .As  early  as  183S  Matthias 
Sabichi,  of  Austrian  birth,  came  from  Vienna  to  Los  .Angeles  and  there  won  a 
bride  from  an  old  family  long  resident  at  the  Mexican  capital.  Two  sons. 
Matthias,  Jr.,  and  Frank,  were  born  of  the  union,  the  younger  of  these  claiming 
October  4,  1842,  as  the  date  of  his  birth.  \\'hen  eight  years  of  age,  his  mother 
having  passed  awa}-.  his  father  decided  to  take  the  boys  to  England  in  order 
that  they  might  have  the  advantages  ni  a  liberal  education.  .At  that  time  Los 
Angeles  was  a  mere  hamlet  without  schools  worthy  of  the  name.  The  dis- 
covery of  gold  was  drawing  immense  throngs  to  the  west,  but  was  not  in- 
creasing the  population  of  the  southern  part  of  the  state.  To  a  man  am- 
bitious for  his  sons,  there  seemed  little  opportunity  in  the  Spanish  pueblo 
that  as  yet  had  not  become  imbued  with  American  enterj)rise.  .Accordingly 
father  and  sons  started  on  the  long  journey  to  the  old  world.  While  they 
were  crossing  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  the  father  was  sufldenlv  stricken  with 


1218  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

yellow  fever  and  succumbed  to  the  disease,  leaving  the  young  boys  alone  and 
friendless.  When  the  unfortunate  voyage  had  come  to  an  end  and  they  were 
landed  in  England,  the  American  consul,  Joseph  Rodney  Croskey,  received 
them  into  his  own  home,  became  a  foster-father  in  every  sense  of  the  word 
and  carefully  attended  to  their  education. 

Upon  the  completion  of  a  course  of  several  years  in  the  Royal  Academy 
at  Gosport  near  Portsmouth,  England,  where  he  had  received  a  practical 
education,  Frank  Sabichi  was  given  a  commission  in  the  English  navy  and 
cruised  through  the  waters  of  Europe,  visiting  the  principal  cities  of  the  con- 
tinent, besides  seeing  much  of  the  Orient.  In  his  voyages  he  found  abundant 
opportunity  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  history,  customs  and  languages  of 
the  various  countries,  and  thus  he  became  iluent  in  the  use  of  all  the  lan- 
guages of  the  south  of  Europe.  His  own  misfortunes  had  made  him  self- 
reliant.  Forced  to  care  for  himself  from  an  early  age,  he  became  observant 
beyond  his  years,  while  association  with  cultured  people  in  addition  to  his  own 
thorough  education  gave  him  a  culture  of  manner  and  dignity  of  address. 
During  his  service  in  the  navy  he  took  part  in  many  historical  adventures, 
notably  the  Sepoy  war  in  India  and  the  siege  of  Sebastoool.  Upon  more 
than  one  voyage  he  visited  the  Philippine  Islands,  whose  wealth  and  possi- 
bilities greatly  impressed  him.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  was  both 
popular  and  successful  in  the  navy,  he  never  ceased  to  yearn  for  the  land  of 
his  birth  and  during  1860  it  became  possible  for  him  to  return  to  Los  Angeles. 
Having  determined  to  prepare  himself  for  the  practice  of  law,  he  entered  the 
office  of  Glassell.  Smith  «&  Patton,  at  that  time  leading  lawyers  of  Southern 
California,  and  there  continued  until  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 

Through  familiarity  with  the  language  of  the  then  prevailing  population 
and  through  knowledge  of  local  afifairs,  Frank  Sabichi  came  rapidly  to  a 
substantial  and  remunerative  practice.  However,  as  a  practitioner  in  a  com- 
munity of  small  population  he  felt  himself  to  be  hampered,  and  so  gradually 
entered  into  business  enterprises,  eventually  retiring  from  practice  in  order 
to  give  his  entire  time  to  personal  matters.  Several  important  land  syndicates 
and  projected  railroad  systems  received  his  practical  counsel  and  co-operatinn. 
He  became  a  director  in  the  San  Jose  Land  Company,  which  controlled  a  vast 
acreage  now  in  the  heart  of  the  orange  belt  of  Southern  California.  Appre- 
ciating the  necessity  of  extending  railway  lines  throughout  the  country,  he 
became  associated  in  the  promotion  of  the  Los  Angeles  &  Ballona  Railroad 
and  for  a  time  acted  as  vice-president  of  the  company.  His  purchases  of  real 
estate  in  Los  Angeles  testify  as  to  his  sagacity  and  foresight.  The  twenty 
acres  formerly  the  family  homestead  are  now  included  in  East  Seventh  street, 
a  thoroughfare  of  great  commercial  importance,  whose  first  establishment 
was  in  a  great  measure  due  to  the  activity  of  Mr.  Sabichi.  From  the  first  he 
had  a  great  faith  in  the  future  of  the  city  and  this  conviction  he  supported  by 
personal  investments,  which  eventually  brought  him  wealth.  As  a  progres- 
sive citizen  he  maintained  a  warm  interest  in  political  and  public  affairs. 
Every  movement  for  the  local  advancement  received  his  aid.  It  was  not  his 
desire  to  accent  public  office,  for  his  business  afifairs  engrossed  his  attention 
and  were  more  to  his  taste  than  public  service.  After  repeated  refusals  to 
become  a  candidate  he  was  elected  to  the  city  council  in  1871  and  re-elected  in 
1874,  acting  for  the  latter  term  as  president  of  that  body.  The  presence  of  a 
man  of  executive  ability  and  civic  rectitude  being  necessary  in  the  council  in 
1884  to  establish  an  additional  water  supply,  he  reluctantly  consented  to  be- 
come a  member  of  the  board.  During  his  incumbency  he  took  up  and  con- 
cluded negotiations  by  which  the  city  acquired  immensely  important  water 
rights  upon  Los  Feliz  rancho,  which  in  later  years  became  of  strategic  advan- 
tage to  a  city  of  constant  development. 

During  1893  Mr.  Sabichi  was  urged  to  permit  his  name  to  be  presented 
to  President  Cleveland  for  appointment  as  minister  to  Guatemala.   Thirty-nine 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COUNTY  121') 

senators  and  twenty-six  assemblymen  of  the  state  legislature,  irrespective 
of  party  affiliation,  the  justices  of  the  supreme  court  of  California,  the  bench 
and  bar  of  San  Francisco  and  Los  Angeles,  together  with  merchants,  bankers, 
lawyers  and  captains  of  industry  throughout  all  of  the  state,  inscribed  a 
memorial  to  the  president  presenting  the  abundant  and  admirable  personal 
qualifications  of  Mr.  Sabichi  and  his  fitness  for  the  delicate  task  of  repre- 
senting the  national  government  in  the  southern  country.  In  addition  to 
many  other  public  offices,  Mr.  Sabichi  served  several  times  on  important 
commissions  if  the  city,  particularly  the  park  commission  and  the  board  of 
police  commissioners,  besides  being  a  charter  member  of  the  Pioneer  Society 
of  Southern  California  he  was  identified  actively  with  the  Native  Sons  of 
the  Golden  West  and  held  in  it  the  office  of  grand  trustee  until  his  death. 

The  marriage  of  Frank  Sabichi  took  place  May  4,  1865,  and  united  him 
with  Magdalena,  daughter  of  William  Wolfskill.  The  story  of  the  life  of 
Mr.  Wuliskill  is  replete  with  interest  and  adventure.  One  of  the  earliest 
settlers  of  Los  Angeles,  he  became  the  owner  of  a  broad  domain  which  in- 
cluded within  its  limits  the  first  orange  grove  planted  in  Southern  California 
outside  of  the  old  missions.  This  consisted  of  one  hundred  acres.  When  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  was  brought  into  the  city  the  family  donated  a 
part  of  this  valuable  grove  of  fifteen  acres  to  be  utilized  for  depot  and  freight 
yards.  The  example  of  his  honored  father-in-law  and  the  remembrance  of  his 
own  father,  so  long  since  dead,  aroused  in  Mr.  Sabichi  a  desire  to  add  to  the 
prestige  of  their  names  and  he  spent  his  whole  life  as  one  who  has  a  trust  in 
his  keeping.  When  finally  he  passed  from  earth  April  12,  1900,  he  was  fol- 
lowed to  the  grave  b}'  tributes  of  admiration  and  praise  from  the  many  who 
had  occasion  to  test  his  generosity,  appreciate  his  worth  and  esteem  his 
gracious  dignity.  His  widow,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years,  is  still  making 
Los  Angeles  her  home. 

Among  the  children  of  Frank  and  Magdalena  Sabichi  the  following  at- 
tained mature  years:  Francis  Winfield,  who  died  at  the  age  of  forty;  Magda- 
lena, Agatha,  Joseph  Rodney,  George  Carlos,  William  W.,  Louis  M.,  Rosa 
and  Beatrice.  Juanita,  Ruth  Naomi  and  Leopold  died  in  early  years.  Of 
those  who  attained  maturity  Gei  rge  Carlos  Sabichi,  M.  S.,  M.  D.,  was  fifth  in 
order  of  birth.  After  having  been  sent  through  the  grammar  grades  of  the 
public  schools  in  the  city  where  he  was  born  November  4,  1878,  he  became 
a  student  in  St.  \'incent's  College  and  there  in  1898  received  the  degree  of 
B.  S.  During  1899  he  was  granted  the  degree  of  M.  S.,  after  a  thorough  post- 
graduate course.  Next  he  took  biological  studies  at  Berkeley,  where  he  be- 
came a  charter  member  df  the  Beta  Xi,  of  Kappa  Sigma.  With  the  advantage 
of  such  excellent  classical  and  scientific  training,  he  matriculated  in  the  medi- 
cal department  of  the  University  of  Southern  California,  where  he  studied  for 
four  successive  years,  being  given  the  degree  of  M.  D.  in  June,  1904.  at  the 
time  of  graduation.  From  that  time  until  1906  he  acted  as  house  surgeon 
in  the  Los  .Angeles  County  hospital,  with  a  capacity  of  nine  hundred  and  fifty 
beds  and  where  his  advantages  for  practical  experience  were  unexcelled.  There 
he  laid  the  foundation  for  the  wide  reputation  in  surgery  he  now  enjoys.  Dur- 
ing 1906  and  1907  he  served  as  first  assistant  surgeon  at  the  National  Soldiers' 
Home  for  Disabled  Soldiers  at  Sawtelle,  Cal.,  receiving  the  appointment  to  the 
position  from  Brigadier-General  La  Grange.  At  the  same  time  he  carried 
on  a  general  practice  at  Sawtelle  and  Los  Angeles.  Upon  resigning  his  post 
at  the  hospital  he  went  east  for  post-graduate  study  and  took  a  course  at 
Columbia  University,  New  York  City,  where  he  made  a  specialty  of  surgery 
and  received  the  degree  of  M.  D.  Returning  to  Los  Angeles  in  June  of  1907, 
he  was  married  there  on  the  26th  of  that  month,  his  wife  being  Miss  May 
Myers,  whose  mother  is  a  direct  descendant  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee  and 
whose  father,  lohn  Myers,  is  an  honored  pioneer  of  Los  Angeles.  There 
are  two  children  in  the'family  of  Dr.  Sabichi,  namely:  Isabelle  Magdalena  and 


1220  HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY 

Juanita  Ronero.  On  December  27.  1912,  the  University  of  Southern  California 
granted  Dr.  Sabichi  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  an  honor  extended  to 
only  such  of  the  alumni  whose  work  has  proven  highly  meritorious. 

A  residence  at  Randsburg  during  1907-08  was  brought  about  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  Dr.  Sabichi  as  chief  surgeon  for  the  Yellow  Aster  Mining  and 
Milling  Company,  which  employs  about  one  thousand  men.  From  Randsburg 
he  came  to  Bakersfield  in  April,  1908,  and  here  in  addition  to  conducting  an  of- 
fice practice  and  acting  as  family  physician  he  has  become  consulting  surgeon 
for  the  coast  lines  of  the  Santa  Fe,  covering  the  entire  system  from  Albu- 
querque to  Los  Angeles  and  from  Bakersfield  to  San  Francisco.  He  has 
his  office  in  the  Producers'  Bank  building  and  his  residence  at  No.  1620  Seven- 
teenth street.  Alcng  the  line  of  his  profession  he  has  maintained  an  active  as- 
sociation with  the  Los  Angeles  IMedical  Society,  the  California  State  Med- 
ical Association,  the  American  Medical  Association  and  the  American  .Asso- 
ciation for  the  Advancement  of  Science.  In  addition  he  has  acted  as  surgeon 
for  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  of  which  he  is  a  leading  member.  Other  organ- 
izations to  which  he  gives  allegiance  are  the  Fraternal  Brotherhood.  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  and  Woodmen  of  the  World,  also  Bakersfield  Parlor 
No.  42,  Native  Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  in  which  he  has  been  honored  with 
the  office  of  nresident.  The  ;\lu  Sigma  Mu  and  Bakersfield  Club  have  his  name 
enrolled  upon  the  list  of  members  and  his  interests  have  been  broadened  still 
further  by  an  active  identification  with  the  National  Geographical  Society. 

DR.  CHARLES  H.  SEARS.— A  native  of  Michigan,  Charles  H.  Sears 
was  born  in  Battle  Creek,  the  son  of  Allen  H.  and  Edna  (Howe)  Sears.  His 
boyhood  was  spent  in  Michigan  where  he  learned  the  trades  of  blacksmith 
and  horseshoer.  Upon  coming  to  California  in  1886  he  secured  emph  yment 
on  the  Richard  Gird  ranch  near  Pomona,  where  for  two  years  he  had 
charge  of  the  machine  work.  Upon  leaving  the  ranch  he  went  into  Pomona 
and  opened  a  blacksmith  shop  en  Second  street  and  Garey  avenue,  where 
now  stands  a  large  implement  house.  At  that  time  Pomona  was  a  mere 
villajje.  giving  little  prospect  of  its  present  high  state  of  development,  and 
he  worked  with  other  pioneers  to  secure  needed  civic  improvements.  Grad- 
ually his  shop  increased  in  importance  and  ten  hands  found  steady  employ- 
ment. While  living  in  Pomona  he  first  began  to  practice  veterinary  surgery, 
although  he  can  scarcely  recall  a  time  when  he  was  not  interested  in 
horses  and  successful  in  caring  for  them.  A  practical  knowledge  of  the 
profession  was  acquired  under  Dr.  W.  J.  Fleming  and  upon  the  death  of  the 
latter  he  succeeded  to  the  veterinary  practice,  later  passing  a  most  creditable 
examination  before  the  state  board  of  veterinary  examiners. 

From  Pomona  Dr.  Sears  removed  to  San  Bernardino  in  1900  and  engaged 
in  veterinary  practice,  thence  coming  to  Bakersfield  in  January  of  1905.  Since 
then  he  has  conducted  a  veterinary  hospital  at  No.  2211  Chester  avenue,  where 
now  he  has  forty  head  of  horses  in  his  care.  This  being  the  only  hospital 
of  the  kind  in  Kern  county  and  having  a  reputation  for  skilled  management,  it 
naturally  receives  the  bulk  of  the  practice  for  miles  around  Bakersfield.  As 
a  member  of  the  State  Veterinary  Medical  Association  the  Doctor  keeps  in 
touch  with  the  work  throughout  California  and  meets  every  improvement 
with  an  earnest  determination  to  avail  himself  of  its  advantages.  Asa  judge 
of  horses  his  reputation  is  widely  extended,  while  in  the  breeding  of  fine 
animals  he  also  has  been  successful.  A  number  of  well-known  horses  have 
come  from  his  barns  and  he  still  owns  Richard  B.  by  Woolsey,  a  three-year-old 
with  a  record  of  2:16,  trial  2.06;  also  Donello.  said  to  be  without  a  superior 
along  the  coast,  record  of  2:18,1^,  trial  2:10;  besides  other  animals  that  stand 
at  the  head  in  the  list  of  equine  favorites  throughout  the  state. 

HENRY  F.  DEVENNEY  was  born  in  Santa  Ana.  Orange  county.  Cal.. 
May  11,  1879,  the  fourth  oldest  of  the  eight  children  born  to  John  and  Eliza 


HlSTom'    ()!•     Kl'RX    CorXTY  1221 

(McDonald)  Devenney,  wlui  were  Ijoni  in  l'enns\  Ivaiiia  and  Iowa  respec- 
tively. The  family  came  to  California  in  1874  and  located  at  Santa  Ana,  where 
the  parents  were  farmers.  Eventually  they  retired  to  I'.ay  City,  where  they 
now  reside. 

Henry  F.  Devenney  was  Immsht  up  on  tlic  ranch  and  received  liis  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  uf  Santa  .\na.  on  the  c 'nipletion  of  which  he  fol- 
lowed farming  until  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Santa  Ana  brickyard.  In 
a  short  time  he  resigned  and  engaged  as  foreman  of  the  Stanton  ranch  at 
Brookhurst  for  four  years.  At  the  end  of  that  period  he  came  to  Wasco  in 
August.  1909,  kcating  a  homestead  of  eighty  acres  six  miles  south  of  town. 
Afterwards  he  obtained  title  to  it  and  since  then  has  improved  the  property. 
In  February,  1911,  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Fourth  Extension  Water 
Company,  having  charge  of  their  engineering  and  pumping  plants.  He  also 
purchased  a  local  water  system,  which  he  has  extended,  and  is  sup|)lying 
water  for  domestic  use  to  his  patrons  in  Wasco.  He  is  a  firm  believer  in  the 
future  prosperity  of  Wasco  and  has  invested  his  surplus  and  owns  two  resi- 
dences in  town. 

In  Anaheim  occurred  the  marriage  of  Henry  F.  Devenney  and  Miss  Mar- 
garet L.  Williams,  who  is  a  native  daughter  of  Orange  county.  Of  the  union 
there  is  one  child,  Carl  Henry.  Politically  Mr.  Devenney  is  a  Republican. 
Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  .America  and  with 
his  wife  belongs  to  the  order  of  the  Fraternal  Brotherhood.  • 

JOSE  SOLA  was  born  in  the  city  of  Ochagarvia,  Province  of  Navarra, 
Spain,  June  20.  1881,  where  he  grew  uji  on  the  farm  and  received  his  education 
in  the  local  schools.  He  aided  his  parents  all  he  could  and  also  managed  to 
work  out  and  in  that  way  made  enough  extra  money  to  attend  night  school. 
When  nineteen  he  enlisted  in  the  Spanish  army,  serving  three  years  and  be- 
coming a  corporal.  ^Vhile  in  the  army  he  learned  the  Ijarbers'  trade  and  fol- 
lowed it  until  his  honorable  discharge  in  December,  1902,  when  he  came  to 
California  and  in  the  same  month  to  Bakersfield. 

Not  understanding  the  language  or  customs,  he  accepteil  the  first  place 
he  could  find,  that  of  sheep  herder  for  Miller  &  Lux.  After  eleven  months  in 
their  employ  and  five  months  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  he  came 
to  Tehachapi,  where  he  worked  for  Jamison  at  the  Lime  Kiln  for  four  months 
and  was  then  taken  sick.  Upon  his  recovery  he  went  to  San  Francisco,  where 
he  established  himself  in  the  barber  business  on  Powell  and  Broadway.  On 
selling  out  he  worked  in  the  Palace  shop  until  three  days  before  the  earth- 
quake; he  had  taken  a  boat  for  San  Pedro  and  thus  escaped  the  terrors  of  that 
period.  Then  working  at  the  trade  in  Los  Angeles,  Bakersfield  and  San  Pedro, 
he  next  opened  a  barber  shoji  in  Fresno  and  while  engaged  in  business  there 
he  married  Miss  Ignacia  Errea,  also  a  native  of  Spain. 

On  account  of  his  wife's  health  he  sold  his  business  in  Fresno  and  re- 
moved to  Tehachapi.  Two  years  later  he  opened  the  Yellowstone  liarber  shop, 
where  he  has  been  successfully  in  business  ever  since  and  is  well  and  favorably 
known.  He  has  built  a  residence  in  the  town  where  he  resides  with  his  wife 
and  three  children,  Mike,  Ignatius  and  Margaret.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member 
of  Fresno  Aerie  No.  3'^,  Eagles.  He  is  favorably  impressed  with  the  country 
of  his  adoption  and  his  admiration  for  the  Stars  and  Stripes  impelled  him  to 
acquire  American  citizenship  November  20,  1911.  Politically  he  adheres  to  the 
principles  of  the  Rei)ublican  party. 

HIBBARD  SMITH  WILLIAMS.— Having  been  brought  to  California 
when  only  four  years  of  age,  Mr.  Williams  is  a  typical  Californian  in  all 
except  nativity,  and  no  one  is  more  enthusiastic  than  he  regarding  the  future 
possibilities  of  this  state.  In  this  respect  he  resembles  his  father,  the  late 
Charles  H.  Williams,  who  from  tli£  time  of  his  arrival  in   Los  Angeles  in 


1222  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

1874  until  his  death  in  1879  always  contended  that  it  would  eventually  become 
the  greatest  city  along  the  Pacific  coast.  The  faith  he  cherished  concerning 
the  future  of  Los  Angeles  he  backed  by  his  actions,  acquiring  the  title  to 
about  five  city  blocks  in  the  downtown  district.  It  was  not  his  privilege  to 
live  to  witness  the  fruition  of  his  hopes  and  the  realization  of  his  optimistic 
faith,  but  by  his  identification  with  T.  E.  Rowan  in  the  real  estat-e  business 
he  promoted  civic  development  and  became  a  factor  in  permanent  upbuild- 
ing. F(  r  years  he  was  an  influential  Knight  Templar.  At  dift'erent  periods 
of  his  life  he  had  lived  in  the  three  great  sections  of  the  country:  the  east, 
where  he  was  born  at  Boston,  Mass..  and  where  he  engaged  in  the  stationery 
business  at  Waltham  ;  the  middle  west,  where  he  settled  after  the  Civil  war 
in  Floyd  county,  Iowa,  and  built  and  operated  a  flour  mill  at  Rockford ;  and, 
lastly,  the  far  west,  where  his  closing  years  were  spent. 

The  marriage  of  Charles  H.  Williams  united  him  with  Miss  Emma 
Irene  Hibbard,  a  native  of  Milwaukee,  and  now  Mrs.  E.  I.  Winslow,  of 
Fresno.  There  were  three  sons  of  the  first  marriage  and  of  these  Hibbard 
Smith  Williams  was  born  at  Rockford,  Floyd  county,  Iowa,  November  18, 
1870.  Onlv  the  vaguest  memories  remain  to  him  of  the  old  Rockford  home 
and  the  flour  mill  built  by  his  father  near  the  placid  Shell  Rock  river.  After 
the  age  of  four  years  he  lived  in  Los  Angeles,  where  he  attended  the  public 
schools,  the  University  of  Southern  California  and  the  Los  Angeles  Business 
College.  Early  in  life  he  began  to  work  as  a  freight  clerk  with  the  Hancock- 
Banning  Company,  after  which  he  attended  business  college  until  gradua- 
tion. Having  a  desire  to  study  machinery,  he  apprenticed  himself  to  the 
trade  of  a  machinist  with  Fairbanks,  INTorse  &  Co.  in  San  Francisco,  con- 
tinuing with  them  from  1898  until  1901.  On  the  15th  of  January  of  the  latter 
year  he  came  to  the  Kern  river  oil  field,  engaging  as  a  bookkeeper  and  assis- 
tant foreman  with  the  Green-Whittier  Oil  Company.  Seeing  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  oil  industry,  he  determined  to  learn  all  of  its  details.  With  that 
obiect  in  view  he  went  into  the  field  and  took  anv  position  possible  to  fill. 
For  a  time  he  was  employed  as  a  pumper.  Later  he  learned  drilling.  After 
fourteen  months  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Associated  Oil  Companv  as 
division  superintendent  at  McKittrick,  arriving  at  this  place  April  15,  1902. 
For  seven  years  he  filled  the  position,  discharging  its  duties  with  the  great- 
est efficiency.  Meanwhile  he  had  opened  up  the  McKittrick  field  for  the 
companv  and  had  accomplished  much  in  their  interests.  When  finally  he 
resigned  from  their  employ  in  1909  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the 
Pacific  iron  works  at  McKittrick,  which  place  he  had  nurchased  in  partner- 
ship with  J-  M.  Smith.  Later  he  bought  out  the  interest  of  his  partner,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  sole  pronrietor  nf  the  plant.  A  specialty  is  made  of 
the  manufacture  of  oil  well  machinery,  fishing  and  drilling  tools. 

The  distinction  of  being  the  largest  manufacturing  business  in  the  north- 
west part  of  Kern  county  belongs  to  the  Pacific  iron  works.  Steam  and  elec- 
tric power  enable  the  work  to  be  conducted  with  dispatch.  Besides  carrying 
on  this  important  plant  Mr.  Williams  is  known  as  the  pioneer  wild-catter 
in  the  McKittrick  field.  Some  years  ago  he  drilled  a  well  on  the  Leader  Oil 
Company's  lease  in  North  McKittrick,  but  found  no  oil.  With  a  Ball  and 
Williams  outfit  he  drilled  a  well  in  the  same  field  that  still  gives  out  a 
splendid  production,  but  his  interests  in  this  well  have  been  sold.  .'Kbout 
1911  he  obtained  a  lease  of  forty  acres  seven  miles  north  of  McKittrick, 
where  he  put  down  a  well  to  a  depth  of  fourteen  hundred  feet  and  obtained  a 
good  supply  of  oil.  Considerable  profit  has  come  to  him  through  his  specu- 
lation in  the  oil  game,  in  which  he  has  taken  many  hazards,  but  has  come 
out  in  excellent  financial  shape.  He  has  given  very  little  attention  to  poli- 
tics, but  votes  the  Republican  ticket  in  national  elections.  Fraternally  he 
was  made  a  Mason  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  he  is  also 
identified  with  the  Bakersfield  Club.    His  marriage  took  place  in  Los  Angeles 


HIST(')RY    OV    KF.RX    CC^l'NTY  lJ2.i 

and  united  him  with  Miss  Delia  A.  Bowlsby,  who  was  born  at  Elizabeth,  Jo 
Daviess  county.  111.,  but  has  been  a  resident  of  California  from  girlhood. 

AUGUSTINE  AMOUR.— Horn  at  Marseilles,  France,  February  12,  1SS1, 
and  reared  at  Gap,  Hautes-Alpes.  Mr.  .Amour  was  orphaned  in  biixlindd. 
\\  liile  still  very  youne;  he  served  an  apprenticeship  tn  the  trade  nf 
butcher,  workin.?'  for  his  board  and  clothes,  and  at  the  cc  inclusion 
of  his  time  receiving;  regular  wa.ges.  Neither  the  trade  nor  the  sur- 
roundings afforded  him  satisfaction.  Prospects  for  the  future  s'^emed 
discourag-ing.  Hearing  much  concerning-  the  favorable  openings  in  California 
he  determined  to  come  to  the  west.  When  he  first  reached  the  state  and  landed 
finally  in  IJakersfield  in  November,  1903,  he  was  without  means,  but  he  experi- 
enced no  difficulty  in  earning  a  livelihood  through  the  herding  of  sheep.  A 
year  later  he  went  to  San  Francisco  and  in  about  three  months  proceeded  to 
Napa  county,  where  for  three  years  he  held  a  position  in  the  dairy  department 
of  the  state  hospital. 

Upon  coming  to  Bakersfield  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  permanent 
resident,  Mr.  .Amour  embarked  in  the  bakery  business  on  Humboldt  street. 
In  time  he  bought  the  lot  and  building,  continuing  in  that  location  until 
August,  1913,  when  he  rented  the  place.  Iminediately  thereafter  he  began  to 
improve  his  lots  on  the  corner  of  I\ern  and  Grove  streets,  where  he  has 
erected  a  two-story  brick  structure,  37x52  feet  in  dimensions.  The  Amour 
building  will  be  utilized  for  a  store  and  a  roomin.g  house,  both  under  the  per- 
sonal supervision  of  Mr.  Amour,  assisted  by  his  wife,  who  was  Miss  Alberta 
Riccalde,  a  native  of  the  province  of  Asturias,  Spain,  but  a  resident  of  Cali- 
fornia from  girlhood.  Their  family  comprises  two  children,  Augustina  and 
Albert.  Since  becoming  a  citizen  of  our  country  Mr.  Amour  has  been  stanch 
in  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party.  In  fraternal  relations  he  is  con- 
nected with  the  Druids. 

ALFRED  SIEMON.— Born  in  Van  Buren  county,  Iowa,  January  2,  1881, 
Afred  Siemon  is  a  son  of  William  and  Josephine  Siemon,  who  for  a  consider- 
able period  made  a  home  in  Iowa,  but  when  their  son  had  become  a  pupil  in 
the  eighth  grade  of  the  public  schools  they  moved  to  ]\Iissouri.  settling  in 
Caldwell  county.  Later  he  became  a  student  in  the  high  school  of  Brecken- 
ridge,  Caldwell  county,  and  continued  there  until  his  graduation  with  the 
class  of  1898.  In  his  early  life  the  family  made  a  number  of  removals  and 
thus  he  was  privileged  to  see  something  of  the  country  in  Iowa,  Missouri  and 
Colorado  before  they  came  to  California  in  1902  and  established  their  home 
in  WMiittier.  Los  Angeles  county.  The  presence  in  that  section  of  a  con- 
siderable number  of  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends  had  attracted  them  to 
Whittier,  where  for  four  years  he  attended  the  Friends'  College  in  the  classical 
course.  Before  he  had  ci  mpleted  school  he  had  fixed  his  ambition  upon  the 
profession  of  law  and  his  first  studies  in  that  line  were  conducted  in  the  law 
ofifice  of  A.  Moore  at  Whittier,  where  also  he  served  for  four  months  as  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  but  resigned  at  the  time  of  .going  into  Los  .Angeles  to 
pursue  his  law  studies.  There  he  matriculated  in  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  Southern  California  and  while  carrying  on  his  studies  in  that 
institution  he  earned  a  livelihood  as  a  law  clerk  in  the  offices  of  H.  T.  Gordon 
and  A.  P.  Thompson. 

While  still  in  the  Thompson  law  office,  during  the  July  session  of  the 
district  court  of  appeals,  Mr.  Siemon  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1908,  and  in 
the  following  year  he  finished  his  work  at  the  law  school.  While  employed  as 
law  clerk  he  had  acquired  a  thorough  knowdedge  of  stenography  and  type- 
writing and  his  skill  in  the  art  proved  of  great  advantage  to  him  in  his  work  in 
law  offices.  Possibly  his  most  important  and  most  helpful  position,  from  the 
standpoint  of  experience  gained,  was  that  of  salaried  assistant  for  one  year 
to  Oscar  A.  Trippett,  general  attorney  for  many  extensive  interests  in  South- 


1224  HISTORY    ()F    KKRX    COUNTY 

ern  California,  and  special  attorney  for  the  California  National  Bank,  the 
Home  Telephone  Company,  the  William  R.  Staats  Company,  the  Lowe  Gas 
Company  and  other  corporations.  The  prominence  of  Mr.  Trippett  in  trial 
cases  gave  Mr.  Siemon  an  opportunity  to  appear  in  court  on  motions,  etc.,  and 
he  also  became  an  expert  in  the  preparation  of  briefs,  so  that  when  he 
opened  an  office  in  Bakersfield  he  was  thoroughly  qualified  to  attend  to  the 
interests  of  clients  in  every  department  of  the  law.  Since  establishing  himself 
in  this  city  he  has  been  associated  with  W.  W.  Kaye,  with  offices  in  the  Hop- 
kins building,  and  the  firm  has  become  well  known  throughout  all  of  the  San 
Joaquin  valley.  Six  months  before  he  came  to  this  city  he  had  married,  in 
July,  lt09,  Miss  Inez  Bennett,  of  Whittier,  Cal.,  and  they  have  a  pleasant 
home  in  Bakersfield,  brightened  by  the  presence  of  a  daughter,  Josephine,  and 
a  son,  15ennett.  The  family  hold  membership  with  the  First  Methudist  I'-pisco- 
pal  Church,  in  which  Mr.  Siemon  officiates  as  a  steward  and  in  addition  he  has 
been  for  many  years  an  active  adherent  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, in  which  organization  he  rendered  intelligent  and  constant  assistance 
during  the  period  of  his  college  and  university  attendance. 

Mr.  Siemon  is  taking  an  active  part  in  furthering  the  work  of  the  Good 
Citizenship   League  of  Bakersfield 

E.  S.  FOGG,  M.  D. — Northern  Kern  County  is  fortunate  in  having  located 
in  its  midst  the  person  of  Dr.  Fogg,  a  man  of  much  professional  ability,  high 
ideals  and  strong  moral  worth.  He  is  well  and  favorably  known,  not  only 
among  his  patients  and  wide  range  of  practice,  but  among  the  men  of  his 
profession  in  the  county.  His  birth  occurred  in  Cumberland  County,  N.  J., 
August  28,  1867,  and  he  is  the  youngest  child  of  a  family  of  eight  children 
born  to  Joseph  H.  and  Rebecca  W.  (Davis)  Fogg,  both  having:  been  born  in 
that  county.  On  his  paternal  side  he  is  descended  from  an  English  family, 
members  of  which  came  to  Philadelphia  in  its  early  settlement  and  were 
Quakers.     On  the  maternal  side  he  is  of  Welch  extraction. 

His  parents  were  farmers  so  that  early  in  life  Dr.  Fogg  learned  the  rudi- 
ments of  farming,  receiving  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  and  high 
school  at  Shiloh,  N.  J.  After  completing  the  high  school  he  took  the  scientific 
cc  urse  at  Alfred  university  in  western  New  York,  where  he  remained  two 
years.  During  this  time  he  became  acquainted  with  Dr.  Mark  Shepherd  and 
the  association  with  him  decided  him  to  study  medicine  when  he  should  have 
acquired  the  necessary  credits  to  enter  medical  college.  He  next  spent  two 
years  in  the  scientific  department  at  Milton  college.  Rock  county.  Wis.,  and 
then  entered  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann 
Arbor  and  was  graduated  in  July,  1897.  with  the  degree  of  ]M.  D.  For  one 
year  he  attended  the  Philadelphia  Polyclinic  Hospital  and  then  began  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Bridgeton,  N.  J.,  a  place  in  his  native  county 
where  he  continued  with  marked  success  until  1910.  During  this  time  he  was 
surgeon  to  the  Bridgeton  hospital  for  about  ten  years.  Coming  to  California 
in  1910  he  located  in  Wasco  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  and  here  he  has 
met  with  deserving  success  as  a  physician  and  surgeon,  having  attained  a 
large  and  lucrative  practice  throughout  the  northern  and  northwestern  part  of 
Kern  county.  He  is  the  local  surgeon  for  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe 
Railroad. 

The  marriage  of  Dr.  Fogg  to  Miss  Emma  Bullock  was  celebrated  in 
Shiloh,  N.  J.,  his  wife  being  a  native  of  Derbyshire,  England,  and  they  have 
one  child,  Katherine.     Fraternally  he  is  a  Master  Mason. 

E.  K.  BLOOD. — When  the  eastern  states  were  giving  up  some  of  their 
finest  young  people  to  aid  in  the  settlement  of  the  vast  regions  to  the  west, 
Daniel  H.  and  Susan  (Turner)  Blood,  natives  of  Ontario  county,  N.  Y., 
joined  the  tide  of  westward  emigration  and  betook  themselves  to  the  then 
wilds  of  Michigan.    Clinton  county  had  few  settlers  when  they  arrived -to  take 


ITIS'|-()RV    Ol-     KI:RX    cOL-XTV  1223 

up  residence  there.  One  of  their  first  steps  was  the  locating  of  a  claim  and 
the  securing  of  title  to  land,  from  which  they  endeavored  to  develop  a  farm. 
Near  them  sprang  up  a  tiny  village,  wdiich  Mr.  Blood  named  Victor  in  honor 
of  his  n.itive  town  nf  X'ictor  in  New  ^'urk.  At  that  place  in  LS.^f)  occurred 
the  birth  of  a  son.  E.  K.,  who  was  next  to  the  youngest  in  a  family  that  com- 
prised twelve  children,  eight  of  whom  are  now  living.  In  boyhood  this  youth 
had  few  advantages.  The  country  was  new,  schools  widely  scattered,  the 
towns  small  and  industries  stagnant.  The  new  tide  of  progress  had  not  yet 
begun  which  was  to  make  of  Michigan  one  of  the  greatest  states  in  the  union. 
Theirs  was  the  pioneer  task  of  working  in  the  midst  of  discouraging  difficulties 
and  earning  a  livelihood  by  the  most  strenuous  and  unceasing  exertion. 

Cominer  to  (\-ilifornia  during  18''3  and  settlins;  at  r.akcrsficld.  where  later 
he'built  a  residence  on  Dracena  avenue,  Mr.  Blood  began  to  work  at  his  trade 
under  Frank  Hicox.  For  two  years  he  continued  with  the  same  employer  and 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  period  he  acted  as  foreman  on  jobs.  Later  he 
worked  for  James  Rich  and  Mr.  Ashton.  About  1899  he  began  to  take  con- 
tracts for  building.  Since  then  he  has  built  numerous  public  structures  and 
private  residences,  including  the  Noriega  block  in  East  Bakersfield  at  No.  525 
Sumner  street,  the  barns  for  the  Union  Ice  Company  in  Bakersfield,  the 
Gregory  building,  Ideal  Livery  Stable,  home  of  J.  B.  Wrenn  and  residence  of 
Arthur  Crite  as  well  as  many  others.  For  three  years  he  was  employed  on 
contracts  in  Monterey  county  at  Carmel  by  the  Sea,  where  he  built  stores  and 
cottages  and  aided  in  the  early  construction  work  in  that  popular  resort.  From 
the  time  of  attaining  his  majority  he  has  voted  the  Republican  ticket  and  his 
interest  in  national  issues  has  been  that  of  a  progressive,  loyal  citizen.  In 
religious  belief  he  is  connected  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  has 
been  unvaryingly  generous  in  contributions  to  such  work  as  well  as  to  gen- 
eral philTithrojiic  pri  jects.  Before  leaving  Michigan  he  had  married  Miss 
Carrie  Chapman,  a  native  of  that  state;  she  died  at  Bakersfield,  leaving  an 
only  child,  Laverne.  Afterward  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Minnie 
Wilhite,  a  native  of  Missouri,  and  by  this  union  there  is  a  daughter,  Agnes. 

EDWARD  F.  BRITTAN.— Born  in  Adams  county.  Iowa,  October  2, 
1881,  >'r.  T'.rittan  recei\cd  a  good  common-school  education  there,  and  at 
the  age  of  about  eighteen  he  removed  to  Montana  with  his  parents,  L.  A.  and 
Olive  J.  (Moore)  Brittan.  The  parents  settled  on  a  large  farm  near  Boze- 
man,  Montana,  and  there  the  father  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  while 
the  boys  took  care  of  the  farm,  raising  many  cattle.  Edward  F.  became  a 
student  in  the  Montana  Agricultural  College  at  Bozeman  and  finished  the 
sophomore  year,  coming  then  to  California  and  securing  employment  in  the 
vicinity  of  Los  Angeles.  For  one  year  he  was  employed  as  an  officer  in  the 
Whittier  reform  school,  but  resigned  that  position  in  order  to  take  up  the 
study  of  law  in  the  L'niversity  of  Southern  California.  In  order  to  pay  his 
way  through  the  law  school  he  secured  a  clerkship  in  the  law  office  of  VVood- 
rutt  &  McClure.  with  whom  he  continued  for  two  years  after  he  had  been 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1908,  and  his  service  in  their  emi)loy  proved  of  the 
greatest  assistance  to  him  through  the  gaining  of  a  wide  experience  in  their 
large  practice.  Coming  to  Bakersfield  in  1910  he  opened  a  law  office  in  the 
Havden  building  and  upon  the  completion  of  the  Brower  building  engaged  an 
office  in  this  block,  where  since  he  has  given  his  attention  to  a  general  prac- 
tice. Mr.  Brittan  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Republican  Central  Commit- 
tee of  Kern  county  in  1912,  in  which  capacity  he  is  still  serving.  In  October, 
1912,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Edna  H.  Smith,  daughter  of 
Bedell  Smith,  deputy  county  clerk  of  Kern  county. 

ERSKINE  BEMUS.— During  the  colonial  period  of  American  settle- 
ment the  Benuis  family  crossed  the  ocean  from  England  and  settled  on  the 
Atlantic  seaboard  in  New  England.    Later  generati(jns  aided  in  the  coloniza- 


1226  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

tion  of  New  York  and  in  Genesee  county,  that  state,  occurred  the  birth  of 
S.  J.  Bemus,  son  of  Asael,  a  fifer  in  the  war  of  1812.  Throughout  much  of  his 
life  he  followed  the  occupation  of  an  architect,  first  in  Dunkirk,  N.  Y.,  and 
later  in  Corry,  Erie  county.  Pa.,  where  he  passed  from  earth  at  an  advanced 
age.  In  young  manhood  he  had  married  Laura  Richardson,  who  was  born  in 
New  York  and  died  in  Pennsylvania.  Of  their  three  children  the  eldest, 
Erskine,  was  born  in  Dunkirk,  Chautauqua  county,  N.  Y.,  August  25,  1849, 
and  received  public-school  advantages  in  his  native  county  and  in  Erie  coun- 
ty. Pa.  In  the  fall  of  1864  when  only  fifteen  years  of  age  he  offered  his 
services  as  a  volunteer  in  the  Union  army,  was  accepted  as  a  private,  and  at 
Meadville,  Pa.,  was  mustered  into  Company  E,  One  Hundred  and  Third  Penn- 
sylvania Infantry,  with  which  he  went  to  the  front.  The  greater  part  of  his 
service  was  in  North  Carolina.  At  the  expiration  of  the  war  he  was  honorably 
discharged  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  in  June  of  1865,  and  returned  to  his  home  with 
a  meritorious  record  for  fidelity  to  his  country  and  gallant  service  in  the 
army.  In  later  years  he  has  maintained  an  intimate  association  with  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  and  is  now  actively  connected  with  Hurlburt 
Post. 

A  year  in  school  followed  the  return  from  the  war  and  in  1866  I\Ir.  Bemus 
removed  to  Ohio,  first  living  in  Ashtabula  and  later  in  Urbana.  At  an  early 
age  he  took  up  the  study  of  architecture  and  ever  since  he  has  followed  the 
occupation.  For  seventeen  years  he  was  the  leading  architect  in  Sidney, 
Shelby  C'  unty,  Ohio,  where  he  designed  and  superintended  the  erection  of 
an  opera-house,  school-house  and  many  private  residences  as  well  as  a  num- 
ber of  churches.  Meanwhile  during  1897  he  spent  six  months  in  Pasadena  and 
thus  became  interested  in  California.  After  his  return  to  Ohio  he  resumed 
occupative  work  at  Sidney,  but  he  never  ceased  to  reflect  with  pleasure  upon 
his  western  experiences  and  eventually  he  closed  out  his  Ohio  interests, 
removed  to  California  in  1909  and  took  up  the  work  of  an  architect  in  Bakers- 
field.  His  ability  as  an  architect  appears  in  the  Labor  Temple  building,  the 
Bakersfield  garage,  the  Barlow,  Baer,  Jamison  and  Beggs  residences,  and 
otlier  buildings  of  unusual  attractiveness.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  he 
has  officiated  as  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  in  the  Baptist  Church  and 
has  been  a  leading  local  worker  in  that  denomination.  Fraternally  he  holds 
membership  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  While  living  in 
Urbana,  Ohio,  he  married  Miss  Lucy  Fisher,  who  was  born  in  Defiance,  that 
state,  and  died  at  Sidney  in  1908.  Throughout  her  years  of  maturity  she  had 
been  an  earnest  member  of  the  Baptist  Church  and  a  liberal  giver  to  charit- 
able movements.  Surviving  her  are  six  children,  namely:  Temperance,  Mrs. 
Given,  of  Sidney,  Ohio;  Mrs.  Clara  McLeod,  of  Bakersfield;  Mrs.  Beatrice 
Steffa,  of  Los  Angeles;  Alice,  who  owns  and  conducts  the  Sweet  shop  in 
Bakersfield;  Denton,  a  cement  contractor  in  Sidney,  Ohio;  and  Harry,  who  is 
engaged  in  the  building  business  in  Bakersfield. 

JOHN  A.  PICKLE.— From  the  time  of  his  arrival  at  the  McKittrick  oil 
fields  during  November  of  1902  up  to  the  present  time,  with  the  sole  excep- 
tion of  two  months  spent  in  the  Coalinga  oil  fields,  Mr.  Pickle  has  been  em- 
ployed on  the  quarter  section  which  includes  the  ten-acre  lease  of  the  Kern 
River  Oil  Company  and  the  lease  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  owned  by 
the  Jewett  Oil  Company.  Since  July  of  1909  he  has  filled  the  position  of 
superintendent  of  the  latter  company,  whose  large  lease  now  has  fourteen 
wells,  ten  of  them  producers,  with  a  monthly  average  of  eight  thousand  bar- 
rels. The  company  takes  its  name  from  the  president,  Philo  Jewett,  of  Bakers- 
field. The  vice-president,  H.  A.  Blodgett,  and  the  secretary-treasurer,  A.  Weil, 
also  are  Bakersfield  capitalists. 

As  early  as  1851  the  Pickle  family  established  itself  in  California.  During 
the  fall  of  that  year  John  F.  Pickle,  a  native  of  Alabama,  came  across  the 
country  with  a  herd  of  cattle  and  settled  on  a  tract  of  raw  land  in  Sonoma 


HISTORY  ()!•   Ki'Rx  c■()^^"^^■  1:27 

coiinty.  Later  he  lived  for  l^rief  periods  in  Mendocino,  Santa  Barbara,  San 
Dic^o  and  Orange  counties,  and  now,  hearty  and  robust  for  a  man  of  eighty, 
he  is  making  his  home  at  Ukiah.  All  of  his  twelve  children  attained  maturity 
and  only  one  is  now  deceased.  From  their  father  they  inherited  a  robust 
constitution  and  under  his  training  each  was  prepared  for  life's  responsi- 
bilities. John  A.  was  born  in  Mendocino  county  .April  30,  1879.  and  aitcnded 
school  in  his  native  county  and  Santa  Barbara  county,  followed  by  one  term  in 
the  public  schools  of  San  Diego  county.  From  the  age  of  thirteen  years  until 
nineteen  he  aided  in  the  cultivation  of  farm  lands  operated  by  his  father  in 
San  Diego  and  Orange  counties,  and  afterward  for  four  years  he  helped  to 
cultivate  a  farm  in  Mendocino  county,  from  which  he  came  to  the  oil  fields 
of  Kern  county  to  enter  upon  an  occupative  identification  that  has  reflected 
credit  upon  his  intelligence  and  industry.  During  1905  he  was  married  at 
Santa  Rosa,  Sonoma  county,  to  Miss  Lulu  Gavin,  of  Potter  valley,  Mendocino 
county.  Besides  owning  a  city  residence  at  Santa  Rosa  he  has  purchased  a 
tract  of  forty  acres  near  the  Rosedale  colony  in  Kern  county,  where  he  is 
improving  a  small  farm  and  brihging  the  land  under  excellent  cultivation.  In 
politics  he  voles  with  the  Demricratic  party.  Fraternally  he  is  ctmnected 
with  the  Lnproved  Order  of  Red  Men  at  McKittrick. 

PINKNEY  J.  WALDON.— Xear  Enterprise,  Ind.,  1'.  J.  Waldon  was 
burn  March  11,  1837,  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Lucinda  (Bennett)  Waidun,  the 
latter  of  whom  died  in  Indianapolis,  Ind.  The  former,  a  lifelong  farmer, 
removed  from  Indiana  to  Missouri  in  1839  and  remained  in  that  state  for 
five  years,  returning  to  Indiana  in  the  spring  of  1844  and  settling  at  Rising 
Sun,  Ohio  county,  where  he  died  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year.  Of 
his  family  of  four  daughters  and  five  sons  there  now  survive  two  daughters 
and  three  sons.  The  third  in  order  of  birth,  Pinkney  J.,  was  two  years  of 
age  when  the  family  went  to  Missouri  and  seven  when  they  returned 
to  Indiana.  As  a  boy  he  lived  in  Ohio  and  Switzerland  counties,  which 
adjoin  each  other,  lying  near  the  state  of  Ohio  and  the  Ohio  river.  Owing 
to  the  early  death  of  his  father  he  had  mi  educational  advantages,  but 
was  forced  to  support  himself  by  farm  work  from  boyhood.  During  the 
first  raid  by  Morgan  in  1862  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  an  Ohio  regiment 
of  state  militia  and  served  as  guard  along  the  Ohio  river  until  receiving 
an  honorable  discharge.  During  April  of  1863  he  started  overland  for  the 
west  and  en  ssed  the  plains  with  a  nuile  team.  Stopping  in  Nevada,  he 
secured  work  in  the  mines  at  \'irginia  City  and  continued  there  for 
five    years. 

With  packmules  for  the  carrying  of  sujiplies  Mr.  W'aldon  came  to 
Cafifornia  on  horseback  in  1868  and  settled  in  Kern  county,  where  he  took 
up  land  in  the  Canfield  neighborhood.  Lack  of  water  prevented  him  from 
securing  satisfactory  returns  frtm  .his  quarter  section.  A  company  of 
twenty-six  farmers,  of  whom  he  was  one.  ])romoted  and  organized  a  concern 
for  the  building  of  the  Buena  Vista  ditch.  With  the  securing  of  an  abund- 
ance of  water  he  put  his  farm  largely  into  alfalfa,  although  he  also  raised 
grain  on  a  portion  of  the  tract.  After  selling  the  place  in  1877  he  spent 
several  years  in  the  hog-raising  industry  on  lake  Buena  Vista,  where  he 
was  very  successful.  With  a  partner  he  drove  fourteen  hundred  head  of 
hogs  across  the  mountains  to  San  Luis  Obispo  county.  On  the  way  many 
of  the  animals  died,  but  they  were  able  to  clear  considerable  money  through 
fattening  the  balance  on  acorns  and  then  selling  them  at  an  excellent  figure. 
Later  he  bought  land  that  now  forms  a  part  of  the  Bellevue  ranch  and  there 
he  engaged  in  raising  grain  and  alfalfa.  When  the  property  was  sold  he 
became  interested  in  alfalfa-raising  on  the  Blodgett  ranch,  but  this  proved 
an  unfortunate  enterprise.  Three  different  crops  of  alfalfa  were  drowned 
in   overflows   of  the    river   and    he    was    left    almost   financialh-    ruined.      En- 


1228  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

deavoring  to  make  another  start,  he  turned  his  attention  to  Standard-bred 
horses  and  while  he  raised  some  fine  specimens  of  equine  flesh,  the  market 
dropi^ed,  all  thorough-bred  stock  depreciated  in  price  and  he  was  left  with 
nothing,  after  years  of  hard  work  and  tireless  industry. 

A  brief  experience  on  a  ranch  in  the  Rio  Bravo  district  was  followed 
by  the  removal  of  Mr.  Waldon  to  Kern  in  1898,  his  object  in  coming  to 
town  being  the  education  of  his  children.  Trading  his  land  for  a  block 
on  Flower  street  he  built  a  house  and  established  his  family  there.  For 
eight  years  he  served  faithfully  as  janitor  of  the  school-houses  in  Kern. 
Meanwhile  his  children  had  been  educated  and  four  of  them  were  holding 
jiood  positions,  so  he  resigned  as  janitor  with  only  $105  as  capital.  It  was 
his  good  fortune  to  find  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  alkali  land  that  no  one 
wanted,  but  appreciating  its  possibilities  he  secured  it  in  haste.  At  first  he 
used  it  for  pasture  and  for  that  purpose  he  built  a  substantial  fence  around 
the  entire  tract.  Later  he  took  up  an  adjacent  desert  claim  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  of  which  he  has  since  sold  eighty  acres,  so  that  he  now  owns 
two  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  one  body.  In  national  principles  he  supports 
the  Democratic  party. 

In  Bakersfield'  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Ann  Dunn,  who  was  born 
in  Countv  Carlow,  Ireland,  came  to  California  in  1882,  and  to  Kern  county  in 
1884.  Six  children  were  born  of  this  marriage,  namely:  Frederick,  a  con- 
crete worker  of  Bakersfield;  Belle,  a  teacher  in  the  East  Bakersfield  schools; 
May,  who  is  employed  as  a  bookkeeper  in  Bakersfield;  James  I.,  a  partner  in 
the  Bakersfield  sheet  metal  works;  Edward,  who  is  engaged  as  a  well-borer; 
and  \\'esley,  who  is  with  the  firm  of  Reilly  and  Brown  in  Bakersfield. 

HON.  WILLIAM  BYARD  TIMMONS.— The  Timmons  family,  to 
which  the  Hon.  \\'illiam  B.  Timmons  belc  ngs,  has  been  represented  in  this 
country  by  sturdy  warriors,  every  generation  having  produced  a  patriotic 
soldier  who  gave  valiant  service  to  the  cause  they  were  upholding.  Elijah 
Timmons,  great-grandfather  of  ^Villiam  B.,  was  resident  in  Maryland  and 
served  during  the  Revolutionary  war;  his  son,  Stephen,  was  born  in  Mary- 
land, but  afterward  settled  in  Ohio,  where  he  enlisted  in  the  war  of  1812  in 
the  Kentucky  Riflemen  and  saw  service  with  Jackson  at  New  Orleans.  Rev. 
James  T.  Timmons,  son  of  Stephen,  was  born  in  Pickaway  county,  Ohio.  A 
minister  in  the  United  Brethren  Church,  he  was  a  pioneer  preacher  in  Indiana, 
later  in  Illinois  and  then  in  Missouri,  where  he  passed  away.  During  the 
Black  Hawk  Indian  war  he  served  in  the  same  regiment  as  did  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  was  actively  engaged  throughout  that  trouble.  He  married  Sarah 
Oxford,  who  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  daughter  of  John  Oxford,  a  pioneer 
of  Tippecanoe  county,  Ind.,  who  served  in  the  North  Carolina  line  in  the 
war  of  1812  and  was  also  with  Jackson  at  New  Orleans.  He  was  a  farmer  by 
occupation.     Mrs.  Timmons  passed  away  in  Missouri. 

The  eldest  of  a  family  of  ten  children  born  to  his  parents,  of  whom  nine 
are  living,  William  Byard  Timmons  was  born  September  4,  1833,  in  Milford, 
Tip!3ecanoe  county,  Ind.  Until  sixteen  he  remained  with  his  father  learning 
the  rudiments  of  agriculture  and  attending  the  common  school,  which  was 
a  log  house  with  slab  benches.  He  then  went  to  near  Lexington,  McLean 
county.  111.,  and  did  farm  work,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  starting  out  for  him- 
self and  farming  in  McDonough  county.  He  remained  there  until  1857, 
removing  then  to  Scotland  county,  Mo.,  to  farm  there.  True  son  of  a  noble 
soldier,  at  the  call  to  arms  he  volunteered  and  enlisted  for  service  in  the  Civil 
war,  being  sworn  into  service  July  6,  1861,  and  becoming  a  private  in  Com- 
pany B,  Twenty-first  Missouri  Volunteer  Infantry.  Unflinching  courage, 
brave  effort  and  patriotic  devotion  to  duty  soon  won  him  the  attention  and 
admiration  of  superior  officers  and  he  rose  to  rank  of  sergeant,  serving  the  first 
two  years  in  Missouri.    In  1861  he  was  detailed  as  a  scout  under  General  Pope 


HISTORY"    Ol-     KF.RX    COUXTV  1_'2" 

in  northeast  Missouri,  and  during-  this  service  had  many  narrow  escapes.  When 
Pope  was  ordered  to  Tennessee,  Mr.  Tinimons  was  one  of  three  selected  from 
the  old  regiment  and  detailed  as  scouts  to  report  to  General  McNeal,  and 
under  the  latter  he  saw  scouting  service  in  Missouri  until  1863.  gi  ing  then  to 
his  regiment  already  in  Tennessee.  He  veteraned  with  the  regiment  in  1864, 
serving  until  a  year  after  the  war,  and  was  mustered  out  of  service  at  l-'ort 
Morgan.  Ala.,  in  1866.     He  received  his  honorable  discharge  in  St.  Louis. 

Judge  Timmons  returned  to  his  farm  in  Scotland  county  after  the  war 
and  continued  to  live  there  until  the  year  1887  when  he  came  to  Kern  county 
and  hoiiiesteaded  a  tract  one  mile  west  of  Delano.  This  he  imnrovcd  and 
engaged  in  stockraising,  principally  cattle  and  horses,  but  in  1910  he  disposed 
of  his  ranch  and  the  stock  and  has  since  lived  retired  in  Delano.  He  served  as 
postmaster  of  Delano  for  four  years,  being  appointed  by  President  Harrison 
and  in  1906  was  elected  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  Fourth  township  of  Kern 
county,  being  re-elected  in  1910  and  he  has  his  office  in  Delano.  Judge  Tim- 
mons married  Miss  Vashti  A.  Koontz,  who  was  born  in  Illinois,  and  to  the 
union  were  born  ten  children  :  Sarah,  Mrs.  Baldwin,  resides  near  P.akersfield. 
Jesse  is  a  farmer  near  Long  Beach.  Ri  se.  Mrs.  \\'ilson,  resides  in  Idaho. 
Adeline,  Mrs.  Slocum,  lives  in  Scotland  county,  Mo.  Frank  lives  in  Yuma, 
Ariz.  Emma,  Mrs.  Woosley,  is  a  resident  of  Delano.  Cora  is  Mrs.  Spaulding 
of  Los  .Angeles.  Eva,  Mrs.  Dresser,  of  Los  .Angeles;  Zorada,  Mrs.  Penaro,  of 
Oakland,  and  Everett,  of  Delano,  complete  the  family  The  revered  and  hon- 
ored father  is  a  member  of  Delano  Lodge  No.  356,  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  in  politics 
unites  with  the  Republican  party. 

HON.  WILLIAM  E.  SIMPSON.— The  records  of  the  Simpson  family 
indicate  Canadian  ancestry  and  Robert  E.  was  a  native  of  Hamilton, 
Ontario,  but  in  young  inanliocd  removed  to  Illinois  to  take  up  work  at 
the  trade  of  blacksinith,  which  he  followed  for  years  in  Cialesburg.  .After 
he  had  removed  from  Canada  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Mason,  a  native  of 
Joliet,  111.  They  became  the  parents  of  six  children,  all  of  whom  are 
still  living.  The  eldest  of  the  six,  AA'illiam  E.,  was  born  in  Galesburg, 
111.,  April  12.  1889,  and  at  the  age  of  eleven  years  accompanied  the  family 
to  California,  where  his  father,  settling  in  Kern  county,  found  employ- 
ment in  the  Bakersfield  iron  works  for  the  next  nine  years.  ATeanwhile 
he  also  worked  as  a  machinist's  helper  and  apprentice  and  in  that  way 
earned  enough  to  pay  his  expenses  in  the  Kern  county  high  school,  from 
which    he    was    graduated    in    1909    with    a    high    standing. 

It  had  long  been  the  ambition  of  Air.  Simpson  to  secure  an  education 
in  the  law  and  three  months  after  he  comnleted  the  high-school  course 
he  matriculated  in  the  law  department  of  the  Leland  Stanford,  Jr..  Uni- 
versity. During  the  course  in  that  institution  he  earned  the  means  for  all 
expenses.  Each  summer  he  worked  in  the  oil  fields  of  Kern  county  or 
found  employment  in  the  Bakersfield  iron  w(  rks.  The  vacations  also 
were  utilized  as  periods  for  the  earning  of  necessary  money  for  the  cour.se. 
The  fact  that,  in  sf)ite  of  the  time  devoted  to  outside  work,  he  was 
graduated  in  Alay  of  1912  with  an  exceptionally  high  .standing  proves  not 
only  determination  of  character  and  resolution  of  purpose,  but  also  an 
unusual  capacity  of  intellect  and  superior  powers  of  mind.  Immediately 
after  his  graduation  from  the  university  and  his  admission  to  the  bar  of 
California  he  opened  an  office  at  P)akersfield.  where.  September  3,  1912, 
he  was  honored  by  nomination  at  the  Democratic  nrimary  as  a  member 
of  the  assembly.  -At  the  election,  Xovember  ri.  follo'wing,  he  received  a 
majority  of  seventeen  hundrerl  and  fifty,  and  is  now  representing  his 
county,  the  fifty-sixth  assembly  district,  in  the  fortieth  session  of  the 
state  legislature. 

On  December  31,  1912.  Mr.  Simijson  married   Rthel    Robeskv.  of  Bakers- 


1230  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

field,  Cal.,  and  a  native  of  Iowa.  Both  had  gone  thnmgh  high  school  and 
college  together. 

During  his  residence  at  Palo  Alto  Mr.  Simpson  was  identified  with 
the  Delta  Chi  of  the  university  and  for  some  years  he  also  has  been 
associated  very  prominently  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  As  a  legis- 
lator he  regards  his  task  as  an  exalted  privilege,  believing  that  there 
can  be  no  greater  responsibility  of  citizenship  than  the  aiding  of  progres- 
sive movements  and  the  upbuilding  of  the  commonwealth  along  lines  of 
permanent    progress. 

HARRY  A.  JASTRO.— It  was  the  privilege  of  Mr.  Jastro  to  enjoy 
exceptional  advantages  in  the  preparation  for  his  life  activities  and  of  these 
opportunities  he  availed  himself  to  the  utmost,  thus  laying  the  foundation 
for  the  broad  knowledge  he  now  possesses.  Born  in  Bakersfield  October  14, 
1875,  a  son  of  Henry  A.  Jastro,  chairman  of  the  Kern  county  board  of  super- 
visors, he  was  sent  to  the  local  schools  during  early  boyhood,  but  at  the  age 
of  fourteen  went  to  Europe,  where  he  spent  six  years  in  study.  For  a  time 
he  enjoyed  the  advantages  afforded  by  the  technical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Berlin.  From  there  he  went  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  Aachen,  Rhenish 
Prussia,  and  entered  the  Technical  College,  where  he  took  the  complete  course 
and  finished  with  a  creditable  standing.  After  an  absence  of  six  years  he 
returned  to  the  United  States  and  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  Bakersfield 
secured  employment  with  the  Power  Development  Company.  Six  months 
later  he  went  to  San  Francisco  and  found  a  position  as  draftsman  with  Cobb 
&  Hesselmeyer,  hydraulic  and  mechanical  engineers,  then  employed  as  con- 
sulting engineers  for  the  Power  Development  Company.  With  them  he  con- 
tinued for  eighteen  months  and  later  for  six  months  worked  with  the  old 
San  Francisco  Gas  &  Electric  Company.  These  varied  positions  were  most 
helpful  in  enabling  him  to  gain  a  practical  experience  in  all  the  departments 
of  his  chosen  calling. 

Upon  returning  to  Bakersfield  and  entering  the  employ  of  the  Bakersfield 
Gas  &  Electric  Light  Company,  Mr.  Jastro  began  in  a  very  lowly  capacity,  but 
by  dint  of  perseverance,  accurate  knowledge  of  the  business  and  resource- 
fulness in  his  daily  emergencies,  he  worked  his  way  up  to  be  assistant  super- 
intendent. When  he  left  the  firm  it  was  to  enter  the  employ  of  the  Edison 
Eleciric  Light  Company  of  Los  Angeles  and  for  three  years  he  was  con- 
nected with  their  engineering  and  business  departments,  during  the  period  of 
the  construction  of  their  nine-million-dollar  plant  on  Kern  river.  For  the 
tunnels  of  this  company  he  contracted  to  build  eight  miles  of  concrete  line, 
an  undertaking  of  great  importance  involving  large  expenditures  and  many 
responsibilities.  From  1906  until  the  shutting  down  of  the  plant  in  1907  he 
was  connected  with  the  engineering  and  business  departments  of  the  Eastern 
Colorado  Power  Company,  located  at  Boulder,  Colo.,  on  Clear  creek.  Soon 
after  his  return  to  Bakersfield  he  became  general  manager  of  the  Power 
Transit  &  Light  Company,  which  during  1910  was  absorbed  by  the  San 
Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Company.  The  latter  concern  retained  him  as  man- 
ager at  Bakersfield  for  six  months  and  then  appointed  him  manager  of  their 
commercial  department,  which  position  he  has  since  filled  with  accuracy, 
intelligence  and  marked  professional  skill.  Along  the  line  of  his  chosen  calling 
he  has  been  connected  with  the  Pacific  Coast  Gas  Association,  while  socially 
he  is  a  leading  member  of  the  Bakersfield  Club.  During  1910  he  married  in 
San  Francisco  Miss  Edna  M.  Crooks,  a  native  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  a  lady 
of  exceptional  culture.  In  politics  he  supports  Democratic  men  and  meas- 
ures. Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  Bakersfield  Parlor  No.  42,  N.  S.  G.  W., 
has  filled  the  office  of  secretary  of  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E., 
and  is  ex-secretary  and  past  president  of  Aerie  No.  93,  F.  O.  E.,  as  well  as  a 
member  of  the  grand  lodge  of  the  order. 

ERWIN   W.   OWEN.— An   identification   of   but   a   few   years   with   the 


HISTORY    ()!■     KI'RX    COUNTY  1231 

citizenship  of  Bakersfield  and  the  oil  interests  of  Kern  county  has  been  suf- 
ficient to  s^ive  Mr.  Owen  an  influential  position  in  this  section.  When  the 
failing  health  of  his  father.  Josiah  Owen,  rendered  advisable  the  presence 
of  a  member  of  the  family  in  Kern  county  to  direct  the  important  interests 
here,  it  was  the  request  of  the  parent  that  this  son  should  come  hither.  Ac- 
cordingly he  closed  out  his  interests  in  Texas,  resigned  the  office  of  county 
treasurer  of  ^laverick  county,  and  in  January  of  1909  became  a  resident  of 
Bakersfield,  where  he  since  has  maintained  a  supervision  of  the  family  busi- 
ness attains  and  at  the  same  time  has  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  with 
growing  success.  As  vice-president  and  a  director  of  the  Eight  Oil  Com- 
pany and  as  a  stockholder  in  the  Buena  Vista  Land  &  Development  Company, 
also  as  a  stockholder  in  the  Colorado  Pacific  Development  Company,  he  has 
become  closely  associated  with  important  industries.  He  is  now  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Clafiin  &  Owen,  attorneys  at  law,  with  offices  in  the  Morgan 
building. 

In  his  removal  to  California  Mr.  Owen  was  accompanied  by  his  family, 
which  consists  of  wife  and  two  children,  Erwin  W.  and  Ellen  A.  Mrs.  Owen, 
formerly  Miss  Anna  Lege,  was  born  and  reared  in  Texas,  and  is  identified 
with  the  Daughters  of  the  Republic  of  that  state.  Her  father,  Capt.  Charles 
L.  Lege,  a  pioneer  of  the  Lone  Star  state,  served  as  captain  of  a  Texas  com- 
pany in  the  Confederate  army  and  proved  his  valor  bv  heniic  actii  n  on 
more  than  one  fiercely  contested  battle-field.  Mrs.  Owen  has  been  a  member 
of  the  Episcopal  Church  from  girlhood  and  Mr.  Owen  contributes  to  the 
maintenance  and  charities  of  that  denomination.  In  national  politics  he  votes 
with  the  Republican  party.  \Vhile  living  in  Texas  he  was  made  a  Mason  in 
Eagle  Pass  Lodge  No.  626,  F.  &  A.  I\I.,  also  became  associated  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  while  since  coming  to  Bakersfield  lie  has 
allied  himself  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

CHARLES  J.  LINDGREN.— The  life  which  this  narrative  delineates 
began  August  5,  1858,  at  Norrkdping  in  the  eastern  part  of  Sweden  near  the 
shores  of  the  Baltic  sea  and  closed  in  San  Francisco  April  24,  1913.  Between 
these  two  dates  that  span  an  era  of  one-half  century  or  more  there  was  a  con- 
stantly broadening  influence  on  the  part  of  the  man  himself  in  occupative 
connections,  in  commercial  avenues  and  in  the  material  upbuilding  of  Cali- 
fornia. Throughout  all  of  his  life  he  made  a  specialty  of  the  building  business, 
but  this  did  not  represent  the  limit  of  his  forceful  activities,  for  in  addition 
he  was  a  heavy  stockholder  in  the  Bakersfield  Sandstone  Brick  Company,  be- 
sides holding  stock  in  the  Lindgren-Hicks  Company  of  San  Francisco,  the 
Golden  Gate  S-mdstone  Brick  Company  and  the  IL  Hand  I'rick  Company  of 
Antioch.  As  a  contractor  his  name  was  inseparably  associated  with  construc- 
tion work  in  the  state.  Many  substantial  business  blocks  and  public  buildings 
in  various  parts  of  the  state  furnish  a  silent  but  convincing  evidence  concern- 
ing his  skill  and  ability,  among  these  being  the  Sacramento  county  court  house, 
the  Humboldt  Bank  building  and  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  in  San  Francisco, 
the  Southern  Hotel  and  its  Annex,  the  Bakersfield  opera  house,  Scribner  opera 
house,  Kern  county  high  school,  Manchester  Hotel  building,  Manley  apart- 
ments, the  Security  Trust  Company's  Bank,  the  Bank  of  Bakersfield,  and  the 
Brower,  Redlick  and  Tegler  buildings,  all  in  Bakersfield,  also  the  Tevis  resi- 
dence at  Stockdale,  which  is  among  the  most  attractive  homes  in  Kern  county. 

The  first  nineteen  years  in  the  life  of  the  late  Charles  J.  Lindgren  were 
passed  uneventfully  in  a  part  of  Sweden  offering  few  opportunities  to  people 
of  ambition  and  enterprise,  but  furnishing  a  humble  livelihood  to  those  who 
sought  such  with  diligence.  In  a  family  of  ten  children,  six  of  whom  are  now 
living,  he  had  only  such  advantages  as  the  locality  and  period  afforded  in  an 
educational  way.  His  parents  were  John  Frederick  and  Ii)hanna  (  [nhanson') 
Lindgren.     The  former,  who  died   at  the  age  of  seventy-two,   followed   the 


1232  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

occupation  of  a  builder.  Many  of  his  buildings,  all  constructed  of  brick  or 
stone,  still  stand  as  substantial  as  when  first  erected  and  give  abundant  testi- 
mony concerning  his  efficiency  as  a  skilled  workman. 

Under  the  careful  oversight  of  such  an  experienced  builder  Charles  J. 
Lindpren  gained  a  substantial  knowledge  of  the  building  business.  When  he 
crossed  the  ocean  to  America  at  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was  able  to  secure  im- 
mediate employment  with  a  force  of  carpenters.  For  some  time  he  worked  in 
Chicago,  but  the  possibilities  of  the  west  lured  him  across  the  mountains.  His 
identification  with  Bakersfield  began  in  1889,  when  the  work  of  rebuilding  was 
begun  after  the  disastrous  fire.  While  he  did  not  remain  in  the  city  until  his 
death,  his  identification  with  its  interests  never  ceased.  When  business  occa- 
sionally brought  him  back  to  Bakersfield,  he  found  the  greatest  possible  pleas- 
ure in  meeting  and  shaking  hands  with  old  friends.  Nor  was  his  circle  of 
friends  limited  to  Bakersfield.  Throughout  Kern  county  he  had  hosts  of 
friends.  In  Fresno,  where  he  lived  for  a  time  and  where  he  had  a  number  of 
very  important  contracts,  he  ranked  high  as  a  builder  and  as  a  man.  In  the 
San  Joaquin  valley  many  important  structures  gave  expression  to  his  ability 
and  splendid  command  of  every  phase  of  the  building  business.  During  the 
latter  part  of  his  life  he  maintained  offices  in  the  Monadnock  building,  San 
Francisco,  and  officiated  as  president  of  the  Lindgren  Company,  one  of  the 
most  substantial  building  concerns  in  .America. 

While  living  in  Chicago  Mr.  Lindgren  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Bergquist,  who  survives  him,  occupying  the  elegant  family  residence  on  Pierce 
street,  San  Francisco.  Three  children  survive  their  father,  Charles  J.,  Gertrude 
and  Edna.  In  politics  Mr.  Lindgren  was  a  Republican.  Although  large  busi- 
ness interests  prohibited  an  active  political  life,  he  was  ready  to  support  all 
measures  for  the  benefit  of  city  or  state.  No  native-born  son  of  the  west  cher- 
ished for  it  a  deeper  affection  than  that  exhibited  by  Mr.  Lindgren,  who  was 
loyal  to  state  and  patriotic  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  As  vice-president  and  a 
large  stockholder  in  the  Bakersfield  Sandstone  Brick  Company  he  had  intimate 
business  relations  with  the  president  of  the  concern,  James  Curran,  whom  he 
selected  as  executor  t  f  his  estate  by  will.  An  intimacy  covering  many  years 
only  served  to  deepen  Mr.  Curran's  original  favorable  opinion  of  Mr.  Lindgren, 
whose  promptness  and  unswerving  integrity  attracted  him  and  whose  business 
course  he  followed  with  the  interest  of  a  true  friend.  The  secret  of  Mr.  Lind- 
gren's  rapid  rise  he  found  to  be  his  skill  in  judging  and  directing  workmen,  his 
honesty  in  dealing  with  them  and  his  unerring  ability  to  discern  any  weak  spot 
in  a  building  or  in  the  method  used  in  construction.  Through  these  qualities 
he  was  able  to  fill  every  contract  expeditiously,  efficiently  and  honorably; 
through  them  he  arose  from  noverty  to  independence  and  from  an  unknown 
station  in  the  world  to  a  leading  position  among  the  contractors  of  his  city 
and  state. 

LEWIS  A.  BEARDSLEY. — An  honored  and  influential  position  among 
the  pioneers  of  Kern  county  was  held  by  the  late  Lewis  A.  Beardsley,  at  one 
time  superintendent  of  county  schools,  also  principal  of  the  Bakersfield 
school.  The  annals  of  the  county  record  his  name  and  it  is  further  preserved 
in  local  nomenclature,  for  the  Beardsley  school  district  and  the  Beardsley 
canal  give  evidence  of  his  early  and  intimate  association  with  movements  for 
the  permanent  upbuilding  of  the  locality.  More  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
has  brought  its  startling  changes  since  he  passed  into  eternity,  but  the  com- 
munity of  his  adoption  has  not  forgotten  his  long  and  interesting  identification 
with  its  pioneer  history.  The  canal  which  he  and  two  other  pioneers  built 
still  flows  through  the  same  channel,  although  it  has  been  enlarged  to  meet 
an  increasing  demand  for  irrigation.  The  school  district  to  which  he  donated 
an  acre  of  ground  still  bears  his  name  and  from  the  old  school  many  children 
have  gone  forth  to  take  places  of  honor  in  the  world  of  business  or  agriculture. 

The  life  delineated  in  this  review  began  at  Danby,  Tompkins  county,  N. 


HISTORY    (W    KI'RX    CDrXTY  1233 

Y.,  November  23,  1832,  and  closed  in  Kern  county,  November  3,  1886.  The 
family  is  of  old  eastern  Hneag^e  and  Darius  and  Naomi  Beardsley,  parents 
of  Lewis  A.,  lived  upon  a  farm  in  Tompkins  county  for  many  years.  Primari- 
ly educated  in  country  scliools  and  later  a  j^raduate  of  tlie  Danby  .Academy, 
L.  A.  Beardsley  came  to  California  in  1853  and  tried  his  fortune  in  the  mines, 
without,  however,  meeting  with  any  conspicuous  success.  September  27, 
1861,  at  Visalia,  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  Second  California  Cavalry,  and 
served  with  his  regiment  until  Octolier  7.  1864,  when  he  was  honorably  dis- 
charged from  the  army.  Immediately  afterward  he  began  to  teach  school 
at  Piano,  Tulare  county,  and  after  coming  to  Kern  county  in  1869  he  taught 
at  Glennville.  A  vacancy  occurring  in  the  office  of  county  superintendent  of 
schools,  he  was  appointed  to  the  position  and  at  the  expiration  of  one  year 
was  duly  elected  to  the  place,  then  re-elected  at  the  expiration  of  the  first 
term.  Meanwhile  for  two  years  he  served  as  principal  of  the  Bakersfield 
school. 

Believing  that  much  of  the  ultimate  wealth  of  Kern  county  would  come 
from  the  cultivation  of  its  soil,  Mr.  Beardsley  entered  a  homestead  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  three  miles  north  of  Bakersfield  and  identified  him- 
self with  the  agricultural  class.  One  acre  of  the  tract  he  donated  for  school 
purposes  and  when  a  school  was  started  there  he  taught  in  it  for  two  years. 
In  order  to  secure  irrigation  for  his  farm  he  interested  himself  in  the  develop- 
ment of  a  canal  and  with  two  others  built  the  original  canal  that  still  bears  his 
name.  An  abundance  of  water  was  thus  secured  for  the  raising  of  alfalfa  and 
he  put  the  farm  largely  in  that  crop.  A  pioneer  in  agricultural  development, 
much  of  his  work  was  in  the  nature  of  an  experiment  and  he  was  among  the 
first  to  prove  the  value  of  alfalfa  in  this  section  of  the  country. 

.At  (ilcnnville.  Kern  county,  June  10.  1866,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Lewis 
A.  Beardsley  and  Louisa  A.  Finley,  the  latter  a  native  of  Saline  county.  Mo., 
born  on  Christmas  day  of  1845.  ^^'hen  a  babe  in  arms  she  was  brought  to 
California,  in  the  spring  of  1846  the  family  starting  across  the  plains  with 
ox-teams  and  wagons.  The  expedition  was  of  considerable  size  and  met  with 
a  number  of  vexatious  delays.  Finally  some  of  the  members,  known  in  his- 
tory as  the  Donner  party,  decided  to  try  the  short  cut-ofT,  but  fortunately 
the  Finley  family  did  not  leave  the  old  route.  Finally,  after  much  sufTering, 
they  reached  their  destination  in  safety,  but  the  Donner  party  met  with  a 
sad  fate,  all  but  two  perishing  from  starvation  amid  the  snows  of  the  Sierras. 
The  trials  of  the  Finley  family  were  not  ended  with  their  arrival  in  California, 
for  during  the  Mexican  war  they  were  obliged  to  guard  theniselves  in  a  fort 
and  it  was  not  until  peace  was  declared  that  they  could  safely  resume  farm- 
ing operations.  During  1861  they  settled  on  a  farm  near  Piano,  Tulare 
county;  later  Mr.  Finley  returned  to  the  Santa  Clara  valley  and  li\ed  at  .San 
Ji:se  for  three  years.  Upon  coming  to  Kern  county  he  spent  four  years  on  a 
farm  near  (dennville  where  he  lost  his  wife.  Saiah  {Cam-)))ell)  I-'inley,  who 
was  born,  reared  and  married  in  Kentucky.  .\sa  Finley  himself  was  a  native 
of  Saline  county.  Mo.,  and  had  spent  his  life  almost  wholly  in  that  locality 
prior  to  his  removal  to  the  west.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  he  lived  with 
their  children  and  died  at  Stevinson,  Merced  county,  this  slate,  at  the  age 
of  eighty-six  years.  Of  his  eight  children  all  but  two  are  still  living.  Mrs. 
Beardsley,  who  was  third  of  the  number,  received  her  education  in  Santa  Clara 
Seminary  supplementing  attendance  at  country  schools.  Of  her  marriage 
four  children  were  born,  all  living  except  George,  who  died  in  Bakersfield. 
The  other  son,  Lewis  C,  is  now  in  Redwood  City,  and  the  older  daughter, 
Mrs.  Naomi  Bowles,  makes  her  home  in  Oklahoma,  so  that  the  only  member 
of  the  family  continuing  in  Kern  county,  aside  from  Mrs.  Beardsley,  is  the 
younger  daughter,  Mrs.  Clara  Kent,  of  Bakersfield.  For  twelve  years  after 
the  death  of  Mr.  Beardsley  his  widow  remained  on  the  ranch.  .After  she  had 
disposed  of  the  property  she  came  to  Bakersfield  and  erected  a  residence  at 


1234  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

No.  715  I  street,  where  since  she  has  made  her  home,  meanwhile  acquiring  the 
friendship  of  the  people  of  her  community  and  taking  a  warm  interest  in  the 
activities  of  the  Women's  Relief  Corps  of  Bakersfield,  as  well  as  the  Kern 
County  Pioneer  Society. 

JOSIAH  OWEN. — The  noble  impulse  which  led  men  of  the  courageous 
pioneer  type  to  identify  themselves  with  the  material  development  of  the 
frontier  furnished  the  impetus  that  governed  the  westward  migrations  of  the 
Owen  family.  Early  in  the  history  of  Missouri  they  were  planted  upon  its 
soil  and  assisted  in  its  agricultural  upbuilding.  From  that  state  Frederick 
Owen  removed  to  Idaho,  where  he  devoted  the  rest  of  his  years  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  Josiah,  son  of  Frederick,  was  born  in  Caldwell  county,  Mo.,  and 
received  a  public-school  education  in  that  state.  At  a  very  early  age  he  began 
to  study  the  rocks  and  minerals  on  the  home  farm  and  along  the  Missouri 
streams.  The  talents  so  evident  in  his  later  years  were  manifested  even  in 
childhood.  With  no  one  to  encourage  him  in  his  studies  and  with  no  oppor- 
tunity for  training  under  educated  geologists  and  mineralogists,  he  yet  rose  to 
an  eminence  that  won  the  attention  of  the  greatest  specialists  in  the  science. 
This  resulted  from  natural  abilities  fostered  by  a  painstaking  practical  study  of 
the  secrets  of  IMother  Earth. 

During  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Owen  offered  his  services  to  the  Union  and  was 
accepted  as  a  member  of  the  Forty-Fourth  Missouri  Infantry,  in  which  he 
remained  until  the  close  of  the  struggle.  Early  in  the  70s  he  removed  from 
Missouri  to  Texas  and  for  a  time  lived  in  the  Panhandle,  but  later  settled  in 
Johnson  county,  where  in  1876  occurred  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  Sarah 
(Cramer)  Owen,  a  native  of  Ray  county,  Mo.  Three  sons  were  born  of  that 
union,  namely:  Wilbur  F.,  now  engaged  in  mining  in  Mexico;  Oscar  D., 
a  horticulturist  living  at  Beverly,  Ohio;  and  Erwin  W.,  of  Bakersfield,  Cal. 
After  the  death  of  his  wife  Mr.  Owen  gave  his  attention  to  mining  in  Mexico 
and  Texas  and  made  and  lost  several  fortunes.  His  ability,  however,  had 
come  to  be  widely  recognized  and  led  to  his  selection  by  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  to  represent  their  interests  as  geologist  and  to  develop 
their  coal  fields  in  Sonora,  Mexico.  In  addition  he  acted  as  assistant  to  the 
state  geologist  of  Texas,  Prof.  E.  T.  Dumble,  of  San  Francisco  and  Houston, 
Texas.  Coming  to  California  during  1899,  he  settled  at  Los  Gatos,  built  a 
residence  and  improved  the  grounds  until  they  became  among  the  most 
beautiful  in  the  city,  their  interest  being  enhanced  by  the  presence  of  plants 
and  trees  brought  by  him  from  all  parts  of  Mexico.  The  llos  Gatos  home  is 
occupied  by  his  widow,  Margaret  (Crawford)  Owen,  a  native  of  Texas  and 
a  daughter  of  Col.  J.  S.  Crawford,  member  of  an  honored  and  well-kno-wn 
pioneer  family  of  the  Lone  Star  state.  By  that  marriage  Mr.  Owen  had  two 
daughters,  Ethel  and  IMargaret,  the  elder  of  whom  is  now  a  student  in  the 
Leland  Stanford  L^niversity. 

As  manager  of  the  Kern  Trading  &  Oil  Company,  a  subsidiary  concern  of 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  Mr.  Owen  came  to  the  oil  fields  of 
Kern  county,  where  in  addition  to  acting  as  representative  for  that  company 
he  acquired  interests  of  his  own,  perhaps  the  most  important  of  these  having 
been  stock  in  the  Eight  Oil  Company.  In  addition  he  was  interested  in  the 
Buena  Vista  Land  and  Development  Company  and  owned  oil  lands  in 
Colorado  and  Nevada  oil  fields.  Perhaps  no  one  excelled  him  in  a  close 
acquaintance  with  the  California  oil  fields,  especially  those  of  Kern  county. 
These  he  had  mapped  out  thoroughly  and  exhaustivel3^  His  death,  which 
occurred  at  Los  Gatos  December  19,  1909,  was  conceded  to  be  a  deep  loss  to 
the  geological  interests  of  the  west,  which  he  had  studied  with  profound 
concentration  of  mind  and  devotion  of  spirit.  After  he  settled  in  Los  Gatos 
he  became  a  prominent  member  of  the  General  Ord  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  his  interest 
in  it  continuing  until  death,  and  Doliticallv  he  was  a  Republican. 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COITNTY  1235 

JEAN  BOREL.— This  veteran  of  the  Franco-rrussian  war,  who  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  was  engaged  actively  in  the  sheep  industry  in  Cali- 
fornia, but  now  is  living  retired,  is  a  native  of  Canton  Daspre  sur  Buis, 
Hautes-Alpes,  France,  and  was  born  in  December,  1849,  being  the  fifth  in  a 
family  of  ten  children,  seven  of  whom  are  still  living.  The  parents,  Pierre 
and  Marie  (Gilbert)  Borel,  were  engaged  in  husbandry  in  the  Alps  moun- 
tains and  the  children  were  trained  to  be  helpful  at  home,  so  that  they  were 
well  prepared  for  the  responsibilities  incident  to  self-support.  .Attendance 
at  the  country  schools  and  work  on  the  home  farm  kept  Jean  Rorcl  busily 
occupied  in  the  years  of  his  youth  until  seventeen,  when  he  enlisted  in 
the  French  army.  For  five  years  he  served  faithfully  and  well  in  the 
Second  Company,  One  Hundred  Fourteenth  Infantry,  in  which  he  rose 
from  the  ranks  to  be  sergeant.  During  the  Franco-Prussian  war  he  was  in 
active  and  continuous  service.  Many  times  he  was  in  peril  of  his  life.  Some 
of  the  battles  (including  that  of  Sedan)  were  peculiarly  dangerous  and 
decisive,  but  it  was  his  good  fortune  to  receive  no  wounds,  so  that  he  was 
able  to  take  his  place  in  every  engagement.  One  of  his  most  thrilling  war 
experiences  was  the  siege  of  Paris,  which  lasted  about  six  months.  .\l 
the  close  of  the  war  he  received  an  he  norable  discharge. 

After  a  period  of  employment  as  a  workman  and  later  as  foreman  on 
a  construction  job  for  a  railroad,  Mr.  P>orel  left  France  to  cast  in  his 
fortunes  with  the  new  world.  For  a  year  he  herded  sheep.  Meanwhile  he 
was  studying  the  business  as  conducted  in  California,  so  that  when  he 
bcught  a  flock  of  his  own  in  1885  he  was  in  a  position  to  handle  it  intelli- 
gently. During  the  ensuing  years  he  met  with  a  growing  success.  After  a 
long  and  prosperous  identification  with  the  same  business,  in  1910  he  sold 
his  flock  and  retired  to  private  life,  purchasing  property  in  East  Bakersfield, 
where  he  has  built  a  residence.  His  time  is  devoted  to  the  oversight  of 
his  property  interests.  When  a  young  man  in  France  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Aliss  ^Marie  P.ertino.  who  passed  away  in  that  country. 

ANDREW  ALFRED  BURNES.— Talents  that  are  winning  recognition 
in  widely  different  lines  nf  activity  characterize  Mr.  Rurnes  of  Bakersfield. 
The  fact  that  he  is  achieving  success  is  all  the  more  remarkable  when  it  is 
known  that  his  boyhood  was  signally  lacking  in  opportunities  and  was 
made  gloomy  by  the  loss  of  his  parents,  loseph  and  Susan  Burnes,  honored 
members  of  a  farming  community  in  Arkansas.  The  second  among  three 
children,  he  was  born  near  Fa\-etteville,  that  state,  on  the  22d  of  February, 
1883,  and  upon  being  orphaned  at  the  age  of  six  years  was  taken  into  the 
home  of  an  uncle,  Henry  Burnes,  a  struggling  farmer  whose  means  were 
so  limited  that  the  lad  was  forced  to  assist  in  the  maintenance  of  the  family. 
For  a  few  months  of  each  year  he  was  allowed  to  attend  school,  but  for 
the  most  part  he  worked  in  the  fields  doing  a  man's  part  when  yet  a  mere 
lad.  His  present  large  fund  of  information  has  been  obtained  by  study 
and  self-culture  since  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  In  addition  to  complet- 
ing an  engineering  course  in  the  International  Correspondence  Scho.  1  of 
Scranton,  Pa.,  from  which  he  received  a  diploma,  he  is  now  taking  a  course 
in  mechanical  drawing  under  Fred  W.  Dobe,  of  Chicago. 

Having  heard  and  read  much  concerning  California,  in  November  of 
1900  Mr.  Burnes  came  to  this  state.  For  several  months  he  was  employed 
in  a  copper  mine.  Later  he  secured  work  as  a  stationary  engineer  in  the 
building  of  the  Folsom,  Fair  Oaks,  Upper  and  Lower  Stockton  macadam 
roads  in  Sacramento  county.  During  April  of  1911  he  came  to  Bakersfield 
and  entered  the  employ  of  the  \'alley  Ice  Company,  whnse  machinery  he 
helped  to  erect  and  whose  plant  he  assisted  in  comideting.  Since  then  he 
has  continued  in  the  employ  of  the  company.  During  the  snring  of  1912 
he  was  promoted   to  be  night   engineer,   which   position   he   has   held   up   to 


1236  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  present  time.  In  addition  to  understanding  thoroughly  this  department 
of  engineering  he  is  well  posted  as  an  electrical  engineer  and  also  has  made 
a  special  study  of  refrigeration.  For  some  years  he  has  been  an  interested 
member  of  the  International  Union  of  Steam  and  Operating  Engineers. 

Engineering  skill  by  no  means  represents  the  limit  of  the  ability  of 
Mr.  Burnes,  who  is  also  of  a  literary  bent  of  mind,  a  student  of  the  best  liter- 
ature of  the  ages,  the  composer  of  a  number  of  songs  now  in  the  hands  of 
publishers  and  the  author  of  several  scenarios  that  have  been  accepted  for 
publication.  One  of  the  pastimes  of  his  leisure  hours  has  been  the  writing 
of  shirt  stories  and  these  have  appeared  in  Sunday  papers  in  the  west. 
SAMUEL  R.  CLARK.— It  would  be  difficult  to  name  any  depart- 
ment in  the  meat  business  which  is  not  thoroughly  understood  by  Mr. 
Clark,  proprietor  of  a  large  market  at  Mojave  and  a  joint  owner  with  H.  A. 
Wenz  in  a  first-class  market  in  San  Diego.  To  a  large  extent  he  gives  his 
attention  to  the  lousiness  in  Mojave.  This,  since  its  purchase  from  his  brother 
in  1908.  he  has  continued  to  operate  under  the  name  of  the  City  meat  market, 
with  himself  as  sole  proprietor  and  owner.  The  location  is  central,  the  busi- 
ness flourishing,  the  equipment  up-to-date  and  the  sanitary  conditions  un- 
surpassed, so  that  the  energetic  manager  is  reaping  the  financial  profit  to  be 
expected  from  a  work  so  well  conducted.  Nor  is  the  San  Diego  business 
less  flourishing.  Indeed  the  Palace  market  on  D  between  Seventh  and  Eighth 
streets,  with  its  attractive  new  fixtures,  its  fine  refrigerating  conveniences 
and  its  sanitary  conditions,  ranks  as  the  finest  place  of  its  kind  in  the  city 
by  the  southwestern  sea. 

The  Clark  family  comes  of  Irish  lineage,  David  Clark,  a  native  of 
the  Emerald  Isle,  but  a  resident  of  the  new  world  from  youth,  crossed  the 
plains  with  wagon  and  oxen  to  California  during  the  summer  of  1853  and 
mined  for  a  time  with  other  Argonauts  in  search  of  gold.  Not  finding  the 
hoped-for  fortune  he  returned  to  Illinois  and  became  a  pioneer  of  Warsaw, 
a  river  town  in  Hancock  county,  where  for  many  years  he  served  as  constable 
and  was  well-known  among  the  early  settlers  of  that  then  prosperous  place. 
From  Illinois  he  removed  to  Kansas  and  took  up  land  in  Morris  county. 
Nine  years  later  he  became  a  pioneer  farmer  in  Thomas  county,  same  state, 
where  he  and  his  son,  Samuel  R.,  still  own  the  old  homestead  of  four  hun- 
dred and  eighty  acres,  although  of  recent  years  he  and  his  wife,  Lucinda 
(Webster)  Clark,  a  native  of  Iowa,  have  been  making  their  home  in  Cali- 
fornia at  the  ocean  port  of  San  Pedro. 

There  were  thirteen  children  in  the  family  of  David  Clark  and  all  of 
these  are  still  living.  The  fourth  youngest,  Samuel  R.,  was  born  at  Warsaw, 
III.,  April  25,  1877,  and  received  a  common-school  education  in  Kansas,  where 
from  a  very  early  age  he  assisted  in  the  work  of  the  home  farm.  During  1898 
he  volunteered  for  the  Spanish-American  war  as  a  private  in  Company  M, 
Twentieth  Kansas  Infantry,  with  which  he  went  to  the  Philipnines  and  served 
under  General  Funston  on  battlefield  and  in  camp.  At  the  expiration  of  nine- 
teen months  of  active,  arduous  service  on  the  islands  he  was  mustered  out 
in  October  of  1899  and  settled  in  California  during  December  of  the  same 
year.  Joining  a  brother,  D.  S.,  in  Mojave,  he  became  an  employe  in  the  butcher 
business  own.ed  by  the  former  and  in  time  he  bought  one-half  interest,  then 
in  1908  became  sole  proprietor,  continuing  as  such  up  to  the  present  time. 
Markets  which  he  formerly  owned  at  Barstow  and  San  Pedro  he  has  sold, 
retaining  only  the  home  market  and  the  business  at  San  Diego,  which,  to- 
gether with  his  farm  interests  in  Kansas  and  his  ownership  of  two  houses  in 
Mojave.  combine  to  give  him  a  place  among  the  most  prosperous  business 
men  of  Mojave.  His  family  consists  of  his  wife,  who  was  Miss  Minna  Mc- 
Bride.  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  during  girlhood  a  resident  of  Los  Angeles, 
and  their  two  sons,  Webster  and  Norbert.  Interested  in  educational  matters. 
he  is  rendering  eiificient  service  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  school  trustees 


HISTORY    OF    KI':RN    Ccn^NTY  1237 

and  is  ciulcavoriiit;-  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  Moja\'e  schools.  Since  com- 
ing to  this  city  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Tehachapi  Lodge  No.  313,  V.  &  A.  M. 

GEORGE  CALHOUN.— The  president  of  the  National  Oil  Refining 
and  Manufacturing  Company  and  the  eiHcient  business  manager  to  whose 
keen,  capable  supervision  may  be  attributed  the  growing  importance  of  the 
organization,  traces  his  lineage  to  Scotland  and  exhibits  in  his  own  forceful 
personality  many  of  the  qualities  that  brought  fame  to  the  representatives  of 
that  country.  He  is  a  son  of  Uavid  and  Isabelle  (McKay)  Calhoun,  natives 
respectively  of  Edinburgh  and  Inverness,  Scotland,  but  from  early  life  resi- 
dents of  Nova  Scotia,  where  they  bought  land  near  Pictiu  and  developed 
a  large  farm.  It  was  at  that  old  homestead  Ceorge  Calhoun  was  born  Sep- 
tember 7,  1850,  and  from  there,  after  having  gained  such  book-learning  as  the 
country  schools  afTorded,  he  went  forth  to  earn  his  own  livelihood  in  the 
world.  Early  travels  took  him  to  Maine,  where  in  1864  he  began  an  appren- 
ticeship to  the  trade  of  a  stone-cutter  and  served  his  time  with  fidelity, 
meanwhile  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  occupation.  When  ready 
to  do  journeyman  work  he  engaged  in  contracting.  Later  for  five  years  he 
had  charge  of  the  Boston  water  works  and  during  the  period  of  his  superin- 
tendency  he  put  in  all  of  the  city  reservoirs. 

A  new  line  of  business  next  engaged  the  attention  of  Mr.  CallKuni.  who 
embarked  in  the  publishing  business  in  New  York  City  as  an  employe  of  F. 
A.  Munscy  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  latter's  spectacular  career  as  a  pub- 
lisher. Later  he  held  an  important  position  with  Robert  Bonner  on  the  New 
York  Ledger.  Upon  resigning  from  that  publishing  plant  he  went  with  the 
George  ]\Iunro  Publishing  Company  as  a  traveling  salesman.  After  he  had 
traveled  for  one  year  in  their  interests,  they  stationed  him  in  Chicago  as 
western  manager  and  for  sixteen  years  he  continued  in  that  city,  meanwhile 
(iromoting  their  interests  by  his  energetic  application  to  business.  During 
the  later  years  of  his  identification  with  the  company  he  had  become  inter- 
ested in  California  oil  fields.  In  1901  he  began  the  organization  of  the 
National  Oil  Refining  and  Manufacturing  Company,  which  was  incorporated 
under  the  Arizona  laws  and  ca])italized  at  $1,000,000,  with  himself  as  president 
and  general  manager.  Both  of  these  positions  he  has  retained  to  the  present 
time.  Construction  work  on  the  refinery  was  begun  in  1903.  The  following 
year  the  plant  was  started  for  the  refining  of  oil  and  the  manufacture  of 
asphalt,  the  latter  product  now  being  shipped  to  every  part  of  the  world. 
The  refinery  is  situated  in  the  Kern  river  oil  field  and  has  a  capacity  of 
fourteen  thousand  tons  of  asohalt  a  year.  Aside  from  asphalt  they  also 
manufacture  gasoline,  ga.s-engine  distillate,  coal  oil  and  a  variety  of  lubricating 
oils.  Amon^  the  leading  brands  are  the  Golden  State.  Pioneer.  Superior  and 
National.  In  order  that  he  might  be  able  to  devote  all  of  his  time  and  atten- 
tion to  the  refinery  the  president  in  1906  established  his  home  in  Bakersfield 
and  as  a  result  of  his  wise  judgment  and  keen  ability  he  has  been  able  to 
develop  one  of  the  largest  refineries  in  the  entire  state.  In  1912  he  organized 
the  Bakersfield  Investment  Conij)any,  of  which  he  is  president  and  his  .son 
IS  secretary  and  superintendent.  At  Hanford  the  company  built  a  refinery 
for  the  manufacture  of  light  oils. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Calhoun  took  place  in  Conway.  N.  H.,  in  1870 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Nellie  G.  Bachelder,  who  was  born  in  New  Hamp- 
shire and  died  in  Chicago  .May  3,  1906.  leaving  an  only  child,  George  W.. 
now  the  superintendent  of  the  National  Oil  Refining  and  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany. At  Bakersfield.  November  8.  1908.  occurred  the  marriage  of  "S]r.  Cal- 
houn and  Miss  Alice  M.  Rogers,  of  Covington,  Ky..  a  lady  of  cultured  mind 
and  many  attractions,  wdio  shares  with  him  in  the  res])ect  and  regard  of 
acquaintances.  F(  r  years  he  has  been  closely  interested  in  ^Tasonic  affairs 
and  meanwhile  he  has  taken  many  of  the  degrees  of  the  order.    First  made 


1238  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUXTY 

a  Mast)!!  in  Hope  Lodge  Xo.  244,  A.  F.  &  A.  AI.,  in  New  York  City,  he  later 
identified  himself  with  Lincoln  Park  Chapter  No.  177,  R.  A.  M.,  in  Chicago, 
also  Chicago  Council  No.  4  and  Oriental  Consistory,  Scottish  Rite,  in  Chi- 
cago. While  still  residing  in  that  city  he  also  became  connected  with  Lincoln 
Park  Commandery  No.  64,  K.  T.,  and  Medinah  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.,  in 
addition  to  maintaining  an  intimate  association  with  the  work  of  T^Iizpah 
Chajiter  No.  .S4Q,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star. 

ARTHUR  WEABER.— During  the  early  portion  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury Benjamin  Weaber,  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  became  a  pioneer  in  the 
sparsely  settled  regions  of  Illinois  adjacent  to  the  city  of  Chicago.  The  gov- 
ernment land  which  he  first  pre-empted  formed  a  part  of  the  vast  swamp 
district  near  Naperville,  Dupage  county,  but  later  he  took  up  land  at  Brush 
creek,  Cook  county,  fifteen  miles  out  from  Chicago,  and  from  there  eventually 
he  remoA-ed  t"  a  tract  of  raw  land  two  miles  from  the  present  site  of  Riverside. 
Among  his  children  there  was  a  son,  Edward,  born  prior  to  the  removal  of 
the  family  from  the  vicinity  of  Allegheny,  Pa.,  and  throughout  life  an  industri- 
ous tiller  of  the  soil,  giving  time  and  attention  to  no  other  occupational  calls, 
except  that  he  served  with  quiet  heroism  during  the  Civil  war  as  a  member 
of  Company  B,  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Illinois  Volunteer  Infantry.  It  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  he  had  three  brothers  in  the  same  company,  while  four 
of  the  Townsend  family,  brothers  of  his  wife,  also  served  in  the  same  company. 
In  spite  of  participation  in  many  desperate  engagements  and  the  dangers  inci- 
dent to  long  forced  marches  and  camp  life,  all  of  the  number  returned  except 
one  of  the  Weaber  brothers,  who  fell  in  battle.  For  some  years  after  the  war 
Edward  engaged  in  farming  in  Illinois,  but  during  1876  he  took  his  family  to 
Kansas  and  homesteaded  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  Russell  coun- 
ty. His  death  occurred  ten  years  after  he  had  settled  upon  that  farm.  Two 
years  before  had  occurred  the  demise  of  his  wife,  Alida  May  (Townsend) 
Weaber,  who  was  born  near  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  at  an  early  age  had  been  taken 
to  Illinois  by  her  father,  Gilbert  Townsend,  pioneer  of  the  region  adjacent  to 
Chicago. 

Among  four  daughters  and  two  sons  comprising  the  family  of  Edward 
Weaber,  all  of  whom  are  still  living  with  the  exception  of  one  daughter, 
Arthur  Weaber  was  next  to  the  oldest  and  was  born  at  Hinsdale,  Cook  coun- 
ty, III.,  April  6,  1868.  but  at  the  age  of  eight  years  accompanied  the  family  to 
Kansas.  That  country  was  then  new  and  unimproved.  Little  opportunity  to 
attend  school  came  to  him.  His  present  wide  fund  of  information  results  from 
self-culture  rather  than  attendance  at  school.  From  the  age  of  twelve  years 
he  gave  his  entire  time  to  the  work  of  the  home  farm,  where  the  struggle  for 
a  livelihood  was  stern  and  discouraging.  After  the  death  of  his  mother  and 
father  he  started  out  to  make  his  own  way,  returning  in  1887  to  Illinois,  where 
for  eighteen  months  he  was  employed  as  a  switchman  in  the  Chicago  yards  of 
the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  Railroad.  During  that  time  he  studied 
telegraphy  and  then  was  given  employment  as  an  assistant  in  offices  between 
Chicago  and  Aurora,  where  he  continued  for  eighteen  months.  Next  he  was 
appointed  assistant  agent  at  Hinsdale.  During  December  of  1889  he  came 
to  California  and  after  a  brief  sojourn  at  Delano,  Kern  county,  on  the  1st  of 
March,  1890,  he  was  appointed  agent  for  the  Postal  Telegraph  Company  at 
Bakersfield.  This  position  he  has  since  held  with  the  exception  of  one  year, 
when  as  an  employe  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  (now  the  Santa  Fe)  Railroad 
he  held  a  position  as  assistant  agent  at  Bakersfield  for  three  months  and  as 
agent  at  Wasco,  Kern  county,  for  nine  months.  At  the  expiration  of  the  year 
he  resigned  and  returned  to  Bakersfield  where  he  resumed  the  agency  of  the 
Postal  Telegraph  Company.  His  high  reputation  as  a  citizen  and  his  devo- 
tion to  Republican  principles  led  that  party  to  nominate  him  in  1902  for  city 
treasurer  and  tax  collector,  and  he  was  elected  by  a  gratifying  majority,  not 


HISTORY    nV    KKRX    COl'X'l'V  123'» 

only  that  time,  but  in  190(j  at  the  expiration  of  his  tirst  term.  Upon  the  con- 
solidation of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  in  July,  1910,  he  was  chosen  to  act  in  a 
similar  capacity  for  the  new  town  and  in  April  of  1911  he  again  was  elected  to 
the  offices  of  city  treasurer  and  tax  collector. 

When  the  stationery  store  belonging  to  the  Scribner  estate  was  placed 
on  sale  during  1907  Mr.  W'eaber  acquired  the  business  and  since  then  he  has 
occupied  the  quarters  at  No.  1822  Chester  avenue,  where  he  carries  a  full 
line  of  stationery,  office  supplies,  carbon  paper,  typewriter  ribbons,  fountain 
pens,  sporting  goods,  toys,  books  and  games,  and  other  articles  to  be  found 
in  a  first-class  establishment  of  that  kind.  In  the  store  he  has  the  Postal 
Telegraph  office  as  well  as  the  office  of  the  city  treasurer  and  tax  collector. 
As  a  business  man  he  has  proved  his  worth,  while  as  a  citizen  his  standing 
is  the  highest.  As  a  member  of  the  Kern  Coimty  Board  of  Trade  and  Bakers- 
field  Merchants'  Association  he  has  been  identified  with  two  leading  organiza- 
tions for  the  material  upbuilding  of  the  city.  After  he  came  to  Bakersfield 
he  here  married  Miss  Myrtle  Tyler,  who  was  born  at  Shaftsburg,  Mich.,  and 
by  whom  he  has  two  children,  Ora  and  Perry.  His  fraternal  relations  are 
extended  and  include  membership  in  the  Yeomen,  Ancient  Order  of  I'nited 
Workmen  fin  which  he  is  past  master  workman).  \\'oodmen  of  the  ^^^^rld. 
Modern  Woodmen  of  .\merica  and  the  Degree  of  Honor  (in  which  he  has  held 
leading  official  positions'),  beside  which  with  his  wife  he  has  been  identified 
with  tile  Women  of  \\'o(  dcraft  at  Bakersfield. 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  McCULLOUCH.— The  McCullouch  family 
traces  its  history  back  to  an  early  identification  with  that  of  America.  The 
first  of  the  name  to  establish  a  home  in  the  central  west  was  John,  born  at 
Pittsburg,  Pa.,  in  1804,  and  by  trade  a  weaver  and  spinner,  working  for  some 
years  in  a  factory  in  his  native  city,  but  attracted  to  the  Mississippi  valley 
during  the  period  of  its  early  development.  Settling  in  Iowa  in  1848,  he 
operated  a  sawmill  and  a  planing  mil!  at  Ozark  on  the  Maquokcta  river  in 
Jackson  county.  The  mill  was  run  by  water  power  and  became  popular  among 
pioneers  throughout  all  that  section  of  the  country.  To  establish  a  lumber 
yard  and  engage  in  the  lumber  business  followed  as  a  direct  result  of  his  suc- 
cessful management  of  the  mill  and  until  his  death  in  1868  he  continued  to  be 
one  of  the  leading  business  men  of  Jackson  county.  By  his  marriage  to  Mary 
McSurley,  who  was  born  at  Youngstown,  Ohio,  in  1815,  and  died  in  Iowa  in 
1887,  he  became  the  father  of  seven  sons  and  four  daughters.  Six  of  the 
eleven  children  still  survive.  One  of  the  sons,  .Vlfred,  enlisted  in  the  Twelfth 
Iowa  Infantry  at  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  and  while  gallantly  fighting 
at  Shiloh  lie  was  wounded  and  captured.  \\'hile  imprisoned  at  Macon,  Ga., 
he  died,  and  another  son,  Charles,  died  at  St.  Louis  while  on  his  way  home 
from  the  front,  having  served  through  the  war  as  a  member  of  the  Twenty- 
sixth  Iowa  Infantry. 

The  youngest  of  the  sons,  Benjamin  Franklin,  was  liorn  near  Canton, 
Jackson  county,  Iowa.  September  23,  1849,  and  was  a  child  of  about  twelve 
years  when  the  war  opened.  He  recalls  vividly  the  uneasiness  of  that  period 
and  the  sorrow  of  the  family  over  the  untimely  fate  of  his  older  brothers. 
From  childhood  he  had  been  taught  to  be  useful.  His  w-ork  in  the  lumber  vard 
and  the  mill  gave  him  such  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  business  that  at 
eighteen  he  was  able  to  run  the  sawmill  at  Ozark  without  assistance.  After 
two  vears  there  he  operated  a  similar  business  at  Clay  Mills  for  seven  years. 
An  experience  with  other  occupations  followed  and  in  April  of  1879  he  came 
to  California.  On  the  23d  of  that  month  he  arrived  at  Tulare,  where  he 
engaged  at  carpentering  for  three  years.  As  manager  of  a  warehouse  he  spent 
one  year  at  Tipton,  Tulare  county.  Entering  the  employ  of  the  Puget  Sound 
Lumber  Company  in  1885,  he  became  a  salesman  in  their  Tulare  yard  and 
continued  as  such  for  twelve  years. 

A  resident  of   Kern   county   since    1898.   Mr.    McCullouch   for  ten   vears 


1240  HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY 

acted  in  the  capacity  of  stationary  engineer  in  the  Southern  Pacific  shops  at 
Kern,  now  East  Bakersfield.  Since  1908  he  has  been  a  yard  salesman  for  the 
King  Lumber  Company  in  Bakersfield.  His  long  experience  in  the  business 
and  excellent  knowledge  of  different  grades  of  lumber  give  value  to  his  serv- 
ices. Meanwhile  he  has  erected  four  houses  in  East  Bakersfield,  but  all  of 
these  have  been  st  Id  and  he  now  resides  on  Terrace  Way,  a  suburb  of  Bakers- 
field, where  he  owns  ten  acres  of  land  under  irrigation  and  devoted  to  alfalfa, 
poultry  and  fruits.  Before  leaving  Iowa  he  had  married  Miss  Emma  Bick- 
ford,  who  was  born  in  Jackson  county,  that  state,  and  died  at  Tulare,  Cal., 
in  1884.  Of  that  union  there  are  two  children  now  living,  namely:  James  A., 
on  the  ranch  ;  and  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Bishop,  of  Bakersfield.  The  second  marriage 
of  Mr.  McCullouch  took  place  in  Tulare  and  united  him  with  Miss  Mary  J. 
Berry,  a  native  of  Oregon.  The  nine  children  of  their  union  are  named  as 
follows:  Mrs.  Eulalia  Blalock  and  Mrs.  Frankie  Karpe,  both  of  East  Bakers- 
field; Mrs.  Veldora  Maston,  of  Los  Angeles;  Mrs.  Mida  Garrett  and  Mrs. 
Marie  Finn,  both  living  in  East  Bakersfield;  Naomi,  Eva,  Leo  and  Emma, 
who  remain  with  their  parents  in  the  suburban  home.  While  living  at  Tulare 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  McCullouch  were  prominently  connected  with  Rebekah  Lodge 
No.  118,  and  in  addition  he  was  past  noble  grand  of  Tulare  City  Lodge  No. 
306,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  also  past  district  deputy  grand  master  and  a  leading  local 
worker  in  the  order.      Poli:icallv  he  is  a  Democrat. 

DAVID  WHITSON  NELSON.— The  superintendent  of  the  city  schools 
of  Bakersfield  is  a  descendant  of  a  colonial  family  of  old  Virginia,  whose 
earlier  representatives  bore  an  honorable  part  in  the  material  upbuilding  of 
the  colony  and  whose  later  representatives  followed  the  tide  of  migration 
across  the  mountains  into  the  blue  grass  regions  of  Kentucky.  Still  another 
generation  crossed  the  Ohio  river  into  the  undeveloped  country  of  Indiana  and 
rendered  pioneer  service  upon  that  then  frontier  of  agriculture  and  civilization. 

Into  such  a  pioneer  family  Rolla  T.  Nelson  was  born  in  Indiana,  the  son 
of  a  Kentuckian  who  developed  a  farm  in  the  state  further  north.  He,  how- 
ever, turned  to  carpentering  rather  than  to  agriculture  and  made  the  building 
business  his  principal  occupation,  following  it  for  some  years  in  Hendricks 
county  and  later  in  Boone  county,  where  he  died.  When  a  young  man  he 
had  married  Mary  E.  Jordon.  a  native  of  Indiana,  now  residing  in  Boone 
county.  The  family  comes  of  Irish  extraction  and  her  father,  David  Jordon, 
came  to  America  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  settling  in  Indiana.  In  the  old 
country  he  had  learned  and  followed  the  trade  of  a  weaver,  but  in  the  new 
world  he  gave  his  attention  to  general  farming.  The  family  (jf  Rolla  T. 
Nelson  comprised  nine  children  and  seven  of  these  are  still  living,  one,  L.  E., 
being  a  resident  of  East  Bakersfield.  The  next  to  the  eldest  in  the  family 
circle,  David  Whitson  Nelson,  was  born  in  Hendricks  county,  Ind.,  May  30, 
1856,  and  began  his  education  in  public  schools  in  Boone  county,  later  taking 
the  regular  course  of  study  in  an  academy  at  Battleground,  Tippecanoe  coun- 
ty. It  was  not  possible  for  his  parents  to  give  him  the  advantages  his  ambi- 
tious spirit  craved.  With  typical  resolution  he  determined  to  earn  his  own 
way  through  college.  Fortified  by  that  high  ambition,  he  began  to  teach 
school  while  yet  a  mere  youth.  For  a  considerable  period  the  work  of  teach- 
ing alternated  with  attendance  at  institutions  of  learning.  By  his  own  efforts 
he  completed  the  course  in  Wabash  College  as  far  as  the  close  of  the  sopho- 
more year.  In  the  same  way  it  was  possible  for  him  to  spend  several  terms 
at  the  Lebanon  Normal  and  a  similar  institution  at  Ladoga,  Ind.,  where  dili- 
gent application  to  study  qualified  him  for  important  future  responsibilities. 

The  first  position  of  especial  importance  to  which  Professor  Nelson 
devoted  himself  was  that  of  principal  of  the  literary  department  in  the  insti- 
tution for  the  education  of  the  blind  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  he  taught 
for  eight  years,  meanwhile  winning  a  high  place  in  the  regard  and  confidence 
of  those  having  the  oversight  of  the  school.     With  the  end  of  the  eighth  year 


II1S'I"(1RV    1)1-     Kl-RX    COrXTV  1241 

he  resigned  in  order  that  he  might  take  some  pedagogic  work  of  esjiecial  value 
to  future  educational  work.  For  the  accomplishment  of  his  purpose  he 
matriculated  in  the  Indiana  State  Normal  at  Terre  Haute,  from  which  lie 
was  graduated  in  October  of  1893  with  high  honors.  Immediately  after  gradu- 
ating he  came  to  California  and  established  his  residence  at  Rakersfield,  where 
for  a  year  he  served  as  deputy  county  recorder  under  T.  A.  Wells.  Meanwhile 
he  had  secured  a  position  in  the  Beardsley  school  and  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fall  term  entered  tipon  his  duties  there,  where  he  continued  for  two  years. 
During  18^6  his  ahilitv  was  recognized  bv  election  as  sunervising  principal  of 
the  Rakersfield  schools  and  he  has  continued  for  eighteen  yenrs  in  the  same 
position,  the  title  in  1904  having  been  changed  to  that  of  superintendent.  Un- 
der his  administration  a  remarkable  improvement  has  been  effected,  manual 
training  has  been  introduced,  the  schools  have  been  well  graded  and  brought 
to  a  hi-h  stnndnrd. 

Fraternally  Professor  Nelson  is  a  Master  Mason.  Prior  to  l^is  removal 
to  the  west  he  was  married  in  Lebanon.  Ind.,  to  Miss  Clara  Ross,  who  was 
born  and  reared  near  that  place.  In  national  princinles  he  favors  the  Demo- 
cratic nartv.  .Mong  the  line  of  his  chosen  profession  he  has  maintained  a 
warm  interest  in  the  work  of  the  California  .State  Teachers'  .Association  and 
is  also  an  associate  member  of  the  National  Educational  Association.  Ever 
since  he  established  his  home  in  Rakersfield  he  and  his  wife  have  been  identi- 
fied with  tl'e  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  at  this  writing  he  is  officiating 
as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Reale 
library  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  for  several  years 
he  h.i'';  ^erve''  .-'s  'lorretarv  of  that  bodv. 

WITLTAM  HENRY  THOMAS.— Of  ^^'elsh  de-^nent  A\'i|'vi-n  ilen.-v 
Thomas'  familv  was  founded  in  .America  early  in  the  '30s  by  his  father,  John 
Thomas,  a  native  of  Caermanthenshire.  in  the  southern  part  of  Wales  and  by 
trade  a  harness-maker  and  saddler.  After  he  had  crossed  the  ocean  to  Penn- 
sylvania and  had  taken  up  land  in  Union  county  he  followed  his  chosen 
occupation  while  at  the  same  time  he  devoted  some  attention  to  the  clearing 
of  a  farm  near  Bufifalo  Cross  Roads.  For  a  short  time  subsequent  to  his  im- 
migration he  remained  unmarried,  but  among  the  fair  daughters  of  Union 
county  he  chose  a  wife  and  then  established  a  home  of  his  own.  The  capable 
woman  who  remained  the  companion  of  his  maturity  and  advanced  vears 
was  Lydia  Ann  Hartman.  a  native  of  Union  county  and  a  member  of  a  very 
old  and  honored  family  of  that  portion  of  Pennsylvania,  her  father,  Jacob 
Hartman,  having  been  likewise  a  native  of  the  same  county,  where  he  devoted 
his  active  years  to  farm  pursuits.  While  the  family  were  living  near  what 
was  then  known  as  RufFalo  Cross  Roads  (now  RufFalo  R.ads)  a  son  was 
born  in  1847  to  whom  was  given  the  name  of  \^'illiam  Henry  and  who  is  now 
city  recorder  of  Rakersfield.  The  tide  of  migration  was  taking  men  and 
women  to  the  unimproved  prairies  of  the  Mississippi  valley  and  the  Thomas 
family  joined  in  the  westward  movement,  during  18.^2  establishing  a  home 
at  Cedarville.  Stephenson  county.  111.,  where  the  father  found  emplovment  as 
a  saddler  and  harness-maker.  .Anqther  move  was  made  during  186.S  and 
settlement  was  made  in  Iowa,  where  a  fine  farm  was  developed  near  Marshall- 
town.      I'oth  the  father  and  mother  reni;iined  in   Iowa  until  their  death. 

The  parental  family  comprised  eight  children,  all  but  one  of  whom  at- 
tained maturity  and  three  .sons  and  one  daughter  now  survive,  the  eldest  being 
William  Henry,  whose  birth  occtirred  .August  22.  1847,  and  whose  hovhnod 
from  five  years  was  passed  in  Illinois.  One  of  the  most  vivid  recollections  of 
his  vouth  is  that  of  hearing  the  celebrated  debate  in  Freeport,  111.,  between 
Abraham  Lincoln  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  When  scarcely  seventeen  years 
of  age  in  the  soring  of  \S(A  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  F,  One  Hun- 
dred Forty-second  Illinois  Infantry,  and  was  mustered  into  service  at  Spring- 
field, that  state,  alter  which  he  accompanied  the  troops  into  Kentucky  and 


1242  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Tennessee.  The  enlistment  had  been  for  a  hundred  days  only,  but  they  were 
kept  in  service  about  six  months  and  in  November.  1864,  he  was  honorably 
discharged  at  Springfield.  Immediately  afterward  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of 
Company  G,  Forty-sixth  Illinois  Infantry,  and  again  he  accompanied  his  regi- 
ment into  Confederate  territory,  where  he  participated  in  the  siege  of  Mobile 
and  the  taking  of  Fort  Blakely,  the  final  engagement  of  the  war.  His  regi- 
ment was  retained  in  the  south  after  the  close  of  the  long  struggle  and  he  was 
finally  mustered  out  at  Baton  Rouge,  La.,  in  February  of  1866.  Meanwhile  his 
father  had  removed  to  Iowa  and  had  settled  upon  a  farm  near  Marshalltown, 
where  the  young  soldier  joined  him.  At  once  he  began  to  assist  in  the  im- 
provement of  the  land  and  the  raising  of  the  crops.  The  years  passed  by 
swiftly  and  for  some  years  he  was  connected  with  the  sheriff's  office  in  Mar- 
shall county.  In  1881  he  left  Iowa  for  California,  settling  in  Los  Angeles  and 
engaging  in  the  real-estate  business.  From  that  city  in  1888  he  removed  to 
Fresno  to  continue  the  same  line  of  business.  From  1890  to  1893  he  made  his 
home  in  Chicago,  but  during  the  year  last-named  he  returned  to  the  west  and 
February  28,  that  year,  settled  in  Bakersfield,  where  he  was  employed  as 
superintendent  of  the  horse  department  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Com- 
pany. For  a  long  period  he  continued  in  the  same  position  and  even  after  he 
had  resigned  from  their  employ  in  1902  he  continued  to  handle  horses,  a  work 
in  which  he  was  unusually  proficient.  In  1907  he  was  elected  city  recorder  of 
Bakersfield  and  at  the  consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  in  July,  1910,  he 
was  elected  to  the  same  position,  to  which  in  April,  1911,  he  was  re-elected 
for  another  term  of  four  years.  In  Bakersfield  he  married  Miss  Arvad  Mel- 
linger,  a  native  of  Stephenson  county.  111.  Since  coming  to  this  city  he  has 
identified  himself  with  Hurlburt  Post,  G.  A.  R..  and  has  been  generous  in  his 
contributions  to  its  charities.     Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 

JAMES  H.  PARKER.— The  force  that  resides  in  individual  character 
and  that  impels  to  the  development  of  mental  powers  finds  an  illustration  in 
the  life  of  Professor  James  H.  Parker,  assistant  superintendent  of  the  schools 
of  Bakersfield  and  a  leading  promoter  of  educational  work  in  the  city.  The 
promise  that  he  gives  of  increasing  usefulness  in  the  public  school  system 
afifords  gratification  to  those  who  watch  the  careers  of  the  native  sons  and 
the  descendants  of  our  western  pioneers,  for  he  claims  California  as  the 
place  of  his  birth  and  is  the  son  of  one  of  the  early  and  extensive  ranchers 
of  Butte  county.  The  elder  James  Parker,  who  was  a  native  of  Wayne 
county.  Mo.,  and  a  corporal  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  war,  left 
Missouri  for  the  west  shortly  after  the  close  of  the  struggle  in  which  he  had 
borne  so  honorable  a  part.  Upon  his  arrival  in  California  he  selected  for 
his  future  home  a  tract  of  raw  land  near  Chico  and  thereafter  gave  his 
attention  to  the  developing  of  the  place  into  a  productive  and  remunerative 
ranch  with  abundant  pasturage  for  his  fine  herds  of  stock.  Eventually  he 
became  the  owner  of  two  large  ranches  in  Butte  county,  and  these  were 
not  only  utilized  for  stock  range,  but  also  for  the  raising  of  grain  and  hay, 
and  in  each  department  of  agriculture  he  met  with  encouraging  success. 
When  he  began  to  feel  the  encroachment  of  age  with  its  attendant  infirmities 
he  sold  his  farms  and  retired  to  private  life.  The  last  eighteen  months  of 
his  life  were  passed  in  East  Bakersfield  and  he  died  here  in  1911,  while  the 
death  of  his  wife,  who  was  Mary  E.  Reese,  a  native  of  Missouri,  occurred 
in  Butte  county,  June  9  of  the  following  year. 

There  were  ten  children  in  the  Parker  family,  and  all  but  two  are  still 
living.  The  fifth  in  order  of  birth,  James  H.,  was  born  at  the  old  home- 
stead near  Chico  December  23.  1881,  and  grew  to  manhood  at  the  ranch, 
meanwhile  attending  neighboring  country  schools.  From  youth  he  exhib- 
ited keenness  of  intelligence  and  acuteness  of  mental  powers.  It  was  his 
ambition  to  fit  himself  for  educational  work.  With  this  object  in  view  he 
began  the  study  of  pedagogy  in  the  Chico  State  Normal  School  and  there- 


HISTORY    Ol'     Kl'.KX    torNTV  1243 

after  continued  in  the  same  institution  until  he  was  ^lachiated  with  the  class 
of  190(),  after  which  he  eni^a.ijed  in  teaching  in  Siskiyou  county.  From  that 
county  he  came  to  East  F.akersfield  in  1907  to  become  an  instructor  in  the 
Washington  school,  wliere  the  following:  year  he  served  as  assistant  principal 
in  charge  of  that  work.  Effectiveness  in  discipline  and  thoroughness  in  in- 
struction led  to  his  retention  in  the  same  office.  L^pon  the  consolidation  of 
the  school  work  at  the  union  of  the  two  cities  in  1910  he  was  elected  assistant 
superintendent  of  the  city  schools,  which  position  he  has  since  filled  with 
ability,  tact  and  fidelity.  Meanwhile  he  has  kei)t  in  active  touch  with  the 
work  of  the  State  Teachers'  .Association  and  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  Teach- 
ers' .Association,  in  both  of  which  he  is  a  member,  while  in  addition  he  has 
become  an  associate  member  of  the  National  Educational  Association.  Since 
coming  to  Hakersfield  he  has  become  identified  fraternally  with  Bakersfield 
r^odge  Xo.  266,  P>.  P.  O.  E.  In  religious  views  he  is  in  harmony  with  the 
doctrines  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  has  been  a  regular  contributor  to 
its  maintenance  and  philanthropies.  Politically  he  gives  his  allegiance  to 
Republican  principles. 

ERNEST  V,  BENJAMIN.— It  is  not  uncommon  to  read  in  fiction  of 
young  men  who  through  sheer  force  of  ability  and  character  forge  their  way 
to  the  front  and  take  their  ]ilace  among  the  leading  men  of  public  affairs  or 
captains  of  industry.  In  actual  life  such  occurrences  are  rare,  since  wealth 
or  influence  or  prestige  form  important  elements  in  determining  the  position 
of  men.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  in  the  instance  of  j\Ir.  P.enjamin 
ability  and  acumen  have  brought  him  to  prominence  without  the  aid  of  facti- 
tious circumstances.  The  fact  that  he  is  a  member  of  the  management  com- 
mittee (if  the  Kern  River  Oilfields  of  California,  Limited,  which  forms  one  of 
the  most  important  oil-producing  organizations  in  the  entire  district,  bespeaks 
the  possession  of  an  high  order  of  business  judgment.  Nor  is  his  only  asso- 
ciate on  the  committee.  ^^'.  \\'.  Orcutt  of  Los  .Angeles,  less  talented  than 
himself,  for  he  stands  among  the  most  influential  geologists  of  America  and 
has  an  enviable  reputation  as  a  specialist  on  matters  pertaining  to  the  geology- 
of  the  oil  fields  of  California. 

On  section  33,  townshin  28,  range  28,  the  Kern  River  Oilfields  of  Cali- 
fornia, Limited,  own  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  formerly  belonging  to 
the  old  Imperial  and  33  Oil  Companies.  In  addition  they  own  all  of  section 
1,  township  29,  range  28,  also  have  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres  on  section 
25,  township  28,  range  27,  and  three  hundred  and  seventy  acres  on  section  19, 
township  28,  range  28.  Besides  this  large  acreage  the  company  is  acquiring 
lands  in  the  Santa  Maria  and  other  fields.  The  Standard  is  now  putting  down 
a  deep  well  on  section  35  to  test  the  territory  in  this  respect  and  if  successful 
the  Kern  Ri\-er  Oilfields  will  no  doubt  proceed  to  further  development.  They 
have  two  hundred  and  forty  wells  on  section  33  and  are  deepening  some  in 
order  to  szet  better  results  from  the  new  air-compressor  system. 

Of  English  birth  and  lineage,  possessing  the  force  and  aggressive  char- 
acter that  has  made  the  Englishman  a  dominant  power  in  the  world,  Mr. 
Benjamin  is  a  nati\e  of  London,  England,  and  was  born  April  28,  1883. 

WILMOT  LOWELL.— Probably  few  men  were  more  intimately  identi- 
fied with  the  early  upbuilding  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  county  than  was 
Wilmot  Lowell,  and  certainly  none  exhibited  a  greater  devotion  to  its  wel- 
fare, according  to  his  means,  than  did  he,  for  whenever  possible  he  contributed 
of  time  and  means  and  influence  to  progressive  projects.  Few  of  the  enter- 
prises advanced  for  the  general  welfare  lacked  his  enthusiastic  support  and 
sagacious  aid.  .Among  the  early  settlers  who  came  here  from  the  east  and 
established  homes  in  this  growing  country,  none  was  more  loyal  to  his 
adopted  community,  none  more  generous  in  the  maintenance  of  neighborhood 
enterprises,  and  none  more  highly  honored  for  worth  of  character  than  was 
the   late   Wilmot    Lowell,   who   for  years   ranked   among   the   leading  sheep- 


1244  HISTORY    OF    K1':RX    COUNTY 

raisers  of  Kern  county,  later  engaged  in  horticultural  pursuits  in  the  suburbs 
of  Bakersfield  and  iinally  became  interested  in  the  real-estate  business  and 
in  the  building  up  of  comfortable  homes  for  the  people.  For  some  years 
the  city  had  the  benefit  of  his  executive  ability  in  the  office  of  trustee  and 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  persuaded  him  to  fill  the  same  position  in 
their  local  work.  Besides  the  building  up  of  property  on  Eighteenth  street 
and  on  Chester  avenue  he  was  interested  in  the  building  of  the  Southern 
hotel  and  also  donated  one  acre  of  ground  to  be  sold  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Beale  library.  In  honor  of  his  memory  and  in  recognition  of  his  generous  aid, 
a  room  in  the  library  bears  the  name  of  the  Lowell  room. 

Born  at  Concord,  Me.,  November  16,  1836,  Wilmot  Lowell  was  a  son 
of  William  and  Alary  (Tyler)  Lowell,  likewise  natives  of  ATaine,  and  a 
grandson  of  John  Lowell,  a  farmer  by  occupation  and  of  English  ancestry. 
The  parental  family  consisted  of  six  children,  namely:  Wilmot,  Danville 
and  William  H..  all  of  whom  died  in  Bakersfield;  Henry,  who  died  in  Boston 
in  1912;  John  and  Alexis,  both  now  living  in  Bakersfield.  When  advanced 
in  years  the  father  relinquished  his  farming  activities  in  Maine,  also  retired 
from  ship-carpentering,  in  which  he  had  engaged  to  some  extent,  and  came 
to  Bakersfield.  where  he  remained  until  death.  About  1862  Wilmot  I^owell 
came  via  Panama  to  California  and  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Hollister,  San 
Benito  county,  where  he  engaged  under  Flint  &  Bixby,  and  there  gained  his 
first  knowledge  of  the  sheep  industry.  The  work  proving  congenial  from 
the  start,  he  soon  made  preparations  to  enter  the  same.  After  he  came  to 
Kern  county  he  continued  the  sheep  business  with  his  brothers,  William  H. 
and  .Alexis,  meeting  with  alternating  successes  and  reverses.  Their  liome 
ranch,  which  has  since  been  laid  out  and  built  up  as  a  part  of  the  city  of 
Bakersfield,  was  sold  soon  after  they  discontinued  the  sheep  business,  in 
1887,  to  the  Lowell  Land  &  Improvement  Co.,  and  was  laid  out  as  the 
Lowell  addition.  In  this  company  Mr.  Lowell  held  a  one-fifth  interest  and 
filled  the  ofifice  of  president.  He  gave  his  entire  attention  to  the  upbuilding  of 
this  addition  and  to  other  real  estate  holdings  which  he  owned  until  his  health 
failed  and  he  was  obliged  to  relinquish  active  work.  During  1902  he  resigned 
as  city  trustee  and  his  death  occurred  December  14,  1905,  at  his  residence  in 
Bakersfield.  From  young  manhood  he  had  sustained  Republican  tenets  and 
given  his  allegiance  to  the  party  in  all  elections. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Lowell  took  place  at  Westboro,  Mass.,  in  1889  and 
united  him  with  I\liss  Sarah  Elizabeth  Flagg,  daughter  of  Alexis  and 
Mehitable  (Lowell)  Flagg,  natives  respectively  of  Vermont  and  Maine,  the 
mother  dying  in  her  native  commonwealth,  and  the  father  in  Massachusetts, 
where  he  had  followed  general  farming.  Mrs.  Lowell  was  born  in  Wilming- 
ton, Windham  county,  Vt.,  and  is  the  survivor  of  two  children.  Her  educa- 
tion was  received  in  the  schools  of  Maine  and  qualified  her  for  the  responsi- 
bilities of  business.  Since  the  death  of  ]\Ir.  Lowell  she  has  remained  at  the 
family  residence,  No.  1119  Eighteenth  street,  and  superintends  personally 
her  varied  interests  and  continues  as  far  as  is  possible  Mr.  Lowell's  deep 
interest  in  and  devotion  to  the  advancement  of  Bakersfield. 

COL.  ARTHUR  SAXE  CRITES.— The  title  by  which  the  cashier  of 
the  First  Bank  of  Kern  is  familiarly  known  comes  to  him  through  his  service 
as  lieulenant-ccjlcinel  of  the  Second  Regiment.  California  National  Guard. 
His  experience  in  military  tactics,  however,  has  not  been  limited  to  the 
Guard,  for  he  holds  membership  with  the  Spanish-American  War  Veterans 
by  right  of  identification  with  that  recent  struggle.  During  May  of  1898  his 
name  was  enrolled  as  a  member  of  Company  G,  Sixth  California  Volunteer 
Infantry,  stationed  in  camp  at  San  Francisco,  and  drilled  during  the  summer 
to  an  intimate  knowledge  of  all  military  details.  Upon  being  mustered  out 
in  December  of  the  same  year  he  held  the  rank  of  quartermaster  sergeant. 


HISTORY    Ol-     KI'.RX    COl-XTV  124r 

At  the  reorjjanizatiim  cjf  the  Xational  (iiiard  in  18*)9  he  became  a  mcmlier  of 
Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment,  and  was  elected  its  captain.  From  the  first 
he  was  popular  with  the  members  of  the  Guard,  who  about  190:)  elected  him 
major  of  the  regfiment.  When  the  Sixth  was  mustered  out  in  May,  1907,  he 
re-enlisted  as  a  private  in  Com])any  L,  Second  Regiment,  California  National 
Guard,  and  was  promoted  to  be  first  sergeant,  later  was  chosen  second  lieu- 
tenant and  battalion  quartermaster.  On  the  20th  of  October,  of  the  same 
year,  he  was  elected  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Second  Regiment,  which  com- 
mission he  has  held  ever  since. 

-A.  son  of  Angus  McLeod  and  Louesa  Alaria  (Jewett)  Crites,  early  set- 
tlers of  Kern  county,  Arthur  Saxe  Crites  was  born  near  Caliente,  this 
county,  February  4,  1879,  and  in  childhood  walked  a  distance  of  four  miles 
to  the  grammar-school  in  Keene.  Later  he  became  a  student  in  the  Kern 
county  high  school,  P.akersfield,  and  when  he  completed  the  course  in  1895 
he  was  a  member  of  the  second  graduating  class  of  that  institution.  Before 
the  Spanish-American  war  he  engaged  in  ranching,  but  after  his  return  in 
December,  1898,  he  became  bookkeejier  for  the  Kern  County  Land  Company. 
Later  he  entered  the  Kern  Valley  Bank  and  after  two  years  as  bookkeeper 
he  was  promoted  to  be  assistant  cashier,  which  position  he  filled  for  three 
years.  Aleanwhile  the  First  Rank  of  Kern  had  been  organized  in  1901  and 
early  in  1905  he  and  G.  J-  Planz  bought  a  controlling  interest  in  the  institu- 
tion, of  which  he  since  has  been  cashier  and  manager. 

In  addition  to  the  management  of  this  well-known  banking  institution 
Col.  Crites  acts  as  secretary  and  manager  of  the  Kern  County  Mutual  Build- 
ing &  Loan  Association,  also  is  a  member  of  the  original  board  of  directors  of 
the  Security  Trust  Company  (now  the  largest  banking  institution  in  Kern 
county)  and  has  other  interests  that  identify  him  intimately  with  the  financial 
affairs  of  city  and  county.  From  early  life  he  has  been  strong  in  his  adher- 
ence to  Republican  policies  and  at  this  writing  he  acts  as  a  member  of  the 
county  central  committee  of  the  party.  Masonry  appealed  to  him  in  young 
manhood  by  its  philanthropic  principles  and  spirit  of  brotherhood.  .As  past 
master  he  is  connected  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.  Besides 
being  king  of  Bakersfield  Chapter  No.  75,  R.  A.  M.,  he  officiates  as  prelate 
of  Bakersfield  Commandery  No.  39,  K.  T.,  also  is  associated  with  Al  Malaikah 
Temple,  N.M.S.,  in  Los  Angeles.  Three  children,  Emma  C,  Arthur  Saxe,  Jr., 
and  Angus  D.,  have  been  born  of  his  union  w'ith  Miss  Nellie  L.  Duncan,  who 
was  born  near  Quincy,  111.,  but  came  to  California  at  an  early  age  and  was 
a  resident  of  Bakersfield  at  the  time  of  their  marriage. 

BENJAMIN  LEONARD  BRUNDAGE.— In  the  passing  .,f  IJenjamin 
L.  Brundage.  cm  August  -U,  1"L\  in  Lds  .\ngeles,  the  city  of  Bakersfield 
lost  one  <.if  its  most  conscientidus.  enterprising  and  liberal  citizens,  one 
whose  efforts  toward  the  advancement  of  civic  interests,  whose  un- 
selfish activity  in  the  development  of  conditions  and  whose  per- 
sonal progressive  spirit  aided  ni,t  a  little  in  the  rapidity  with  which  Bakers- 
field has  come  to  the  fore.  Probably  best  known  as  the  city  assessor  of 
Bakersfield,  he  for  a  number  of  years  officiated  as  secretary  of  the  Bakers- 
field Board  of  Trade  and  in  this  position  spared  no  effort  to  ])rcimi)te  the 
permanent  prosperity  of  the  community. 

Mr.  Brundage  was  a  lifelong  resident  nf  Kern  county ,  the  sun  of 
Benjamin  and  Alary  B.  (Lively)  Brundage,  and  was  born  in  Glennville 
March  2,  1871.  From  the  age  of  one  year  he  lived  at  the  county-seat  where 
he  became  well  known  not  only  through  his  official  capacity,  but  also  as 
an  enterprising  business  man,  as  an  extensive  rancher  and  progressive 
horticulturist,  and  as  an  automobile  dealer  as  well.  Primarily  educated 
in  the  local  schools,  he  later  was  sent  to  Hopkins  .Academy  in  Oakland 
and    then    entered    tiie    L'niversily    of   California    as    a    member    of    the    class 


1246  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

of  1892.  For  years  he  operated  with  success  the  Brundage  ranch  of  four 
hundred  and  seventy  acres,  which  is  devoted  to  general  crops.  In  1912 
he  constructed  a  brick  and  concrete  business  block  at  the  corner  of  Fif- 
teenth and  I  streets,  which  he  devoted  to  his  automobile  business. 

For  some  years,  beginning  in  January  of  1899,  Mr.  Brundage  acted 
as  deputy  county  assessor  under  J.  M.  Jameson.  During  April  of  1899  he 
was  chosen  city  assessor  for  the  first  time  and  since  then  he  has  been  re- 
elected at  the  expiration  of  each  term.  His  long  retention  in  the  office 
furnishes  abundant  evidence  as  to  the  trustworthy  quaHty  of  his  services  and 
the  devotion  which  he  gave  to  every  duty  while  in  office.  As  a  Democrat 
he  was  a  loyal  party  leader,  a  champion  of  the  principles  for  which  that 
organization  stands,  and  a  believer  in  its  adaptability  to  promote  national 
prosperity. 

During  the  j-ear  1906  Mr.  Brundage  married  Miss  Virginia  Stark,  who 
was  born  in  the  county  of  Los  Angeles,  and  was  educated  in  Bakersfield, 
and  who  survives  him.  Mr.  Brundage  was  a  prominent  and  most  popular 
member  of  the  Elks  and  the  Kniglits  Templar,  which  orders  graciously 
conducted  his  funeral  service  with  the  attendant  honors,  and  he  was  laid 
to  rest  in  Union  Cemetery,  Bakersfield,  mourned  by  not  only  a  host  of 
loving  friends  and  relatives  but  by  an  entire  community  who  deeply  felt 
the  loss  of  one  whose  generous  motives  and  untiring  energy  had  contributed 
so  much  to  their  well  being.  His  memory  shall  live  long  in  the  hearts  of 
those  who  have  benefited  by  his  kindly  and  thoughtful  acts  and  he  has  gone 
to  eternal  rest  with  the  assurance  of  having  done  his  duty  well,  justly 
earning  the  praise,  "Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant." 

CHARLES  W.  CURTZWILER.— The  Curtzwiler  family  lineage  is 
traced  to  Germany  and  after  emigration  from  that  country  the  original 
name  of  Kurtzweiler  was  for  convenience  changed  to  the  present  spelling. 
Charles,  father  of  Charles  W.,  was  born  and  reared  in  Cologne,  but  after 
the  death  of  his  father  he  accompanied  the  widowed  mother  and  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family  to  the  new  world.  A  brief  sojourn  was  made  in  Kentucky 
and  then  removal  was  made  to  Holgate,  Henry  county,  Ohio,  where  his 
mother  passed  her  last  days.  Attracted  to  the  west  by  reports  concerning 
its  mining  possibilities,  i\Ir.  Curtzwiler  tried  his  luck  in  the  Sierras,  but 
found  no  gold  to  reward  his  laborious  effort.  For  a  time  he  conducted  a 
hotel  at  \\'aterford.  Stanislaus  county.  Later  he  lived  at  Tulare  and  eventu- 
ally removed  to  Merced,  his  present  place  of  residence.  Some  time  after 
he  came  to  the  west  he  married  Miss  Eureka  Garrison,  who  was  born  in 
this  state  and  died  at  Tulare.  Fler  father,  William  T.  Garrison,  came  of  a 
colonial  family  of  New  England  and  was  an  emigrant  across  the  plains 
during  the  era  of  the  prairie  schooner  and  the  overland  trail.  For  years  he 
engaged  as  a  contractor  in  the  building  business,  but  is  now  retired  from 
active  labors  and  makes  his  home  in  Tulare. 

The  family  of  Charles  Curtzwiler  comprised  six  children,  of  whom  five 
are  still  living.  The  eldest,  Charles  W.,  was  born  July  22,  1880,  during  the 
residence  of  the  family  at  Waterford,  Stanislaus  count3^  and  he  was  six  at 
the  time  of  their  removal  to  Tulare.  He  was  graduated  May  24,  1901.  from 
the  Tulare  high  school,  and  on  the  6th  of  July  following  he  arrived  in  Kern 
county.  LTp  to  September  1,  1903,  he  had  been  employed  as  a  clerk  for  two 
different  firms,  after  which  he  was  engaged  as  mailing  clerk  with  the  Kern 
Count}'  Land  Company,  with  whom  he  has  continued  ever  since,  by  promo- 
tion going  from  one  position  to  another  until  in  April  of  1910  he  was  made 
water  clerk  for  the  concern.  Since  that  time  he  has  devoted  himself  assid- 
uously to  the  duties  of  the  position. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Curtzwiler.  which  was  solemnized  in  East  Bakers- 
field  in   jNlarch,   1905,  united   him   with   Miss   Minta   Lawhorn  and  has  been 


HISTORY    OF    Kl'-.RN    COUNTY  1247 

blessed  with  two  daughters,  Constance  and  Wilma.  Mrs.  Curtzwiler  is  a  na- 
tive of  Kansas,  but  was  reared  and  educated  in  Visalia,  where  her  father,  John 
W.  Lawhorn,  resided  for  many  years  prior  to  his  demise.  In  recent  years 
Mr.  Curtzwiler  has  erected  a  cunifortablc  and  attractive  residence  at  No. 
2728  Twentieth  street  and  there  he  spends  his  leisure  hours  in  the  society 
of  family  and  friends.  Although  a  believer  in  Democratic  principles,  he  is  nut 
a  partisan  and  takes  no  active  part  in  political  movements.  In  religion  he  is 
in  sympathy  with  all  measures  for  the  uplifting  of  humanity,  but  maintains 
an  especial  interest  in  the  Congregational  Church,  of  which  his  wife  is  a 
member.  In  fraternal  relation.s  he  is  connected  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
and  the  .\ncient  Order  of  United  AWirkmen, 

MRS.  EMERETTA  C.  SYBRANDT.— The  suj.ervisur  .f  music  in  the 
public  schools  of  Bakersfield  has  utilized  her  rare  talents  in  developing 
among  her  pupils  a  love  for  and  a  knowledge  of  the  art  to  which  she  has 
devoted  a  lifetime  of  intelligent  study.  Four  years  of  successful  work  in 
this  position  have  given  to  the  people  an  admiring  recogn,ition  of  her 
ability  and  efficiency.  Thoroughly  educated  in  the  rudiments  of  music,  pos- 
sessing a  native  talent  for  the  art  supplemented  by  the  best  educational 
opportunities  the  east  afl'orded,  at  one  time  she  made  a  specialt)'  of  the  lead- 
ing parts  in  operas  and  oratorios,  but  with  her  marriage  in  young  wuman- 
hood  to  George  Sybrandt,  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  she  retired  from  professional 
labors.  Thereafter  for  four  years,  until  the  untimely  death  of  Mr.  Sybrandt, 
she  irradiated  a  home  life  with  the  tender  ministrations  of  wife  and  mother, 
giving  to  her  husband  the  cordial  co-operation  and  loving  helpfulness  of  the 
true  wife,  and  surrounding  their  two  children,  Ida  and  Paul,  with  self-sacri- 
ficing care  which  became  even  more  watchful  after  the  death  of  their  father. 

Although  a  resident  of  the  east  for  a  considerable  period  and  enjoying 
the  advantages  of  its  splendid  conservatories  of  music,  Mrs.  Sybrandt 
I'roudly  claims  California  as  her  native  commonwealth,  the  home  of  her 
early  girlhood,  Rocklin,  Placer  county,  having  been  her  native  locality  and 
the  environment  of  her  earliest  memories.  She  cannot  recall  the  time  when 
her  interest  in  music  began.  It  seemed  a  part  of  her  being,  an  innate  pos- 
session of  her  soul,  giving  expression  to  the  deepest  thoughts  and  holiest 
aspirations  of  her  nature.  Fortunately  it  was  possible  for  her  to  develop  her 
conspicuous  talent  for  the  art  and  she  was  trained  under  competent  in- 
structors in  Boston,  Mass.,  Albany.  N.  Y.,  and  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  where  for 
some  years  she  held  a  prominent  position  in  musical  circles.  Her  married 
life  was  passed  in  New  York  and  after  the  death  of  her  husband  at  Albany, 
that  state,  she  returned  to  California,  where  for  eight  years  she  taught 
music  in  the  bay  cities,  moi^tly  at  Alameda.  For  a  time  she  was  the  solo 
soprano  in  the  Unitarian  Church  and  later  held  a  similar  position  in  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  both  in  Alameda.  Later,  at  San  Jose, 
she  held  positions  as  solo  singer  in  the  First  Congregational  Church  and 
Unitarian  Church,  after  which  she  took  charge  of  the  choir  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church.  Meanwhile  students  under  her  wise  guidance  were 
trained  in  a  knowledge  of  music  and  carefully  prepared  to  enjoy  a  steady 
progress  and  an  ultimate  success  in  the  art.  When  the  board  of  education  in 
Bakersfield  during  1909  sought  an  artist  competent  to  serve  as  supervisor 
of  music  in  the  public  schools,  her  enviable  reputation  led  them  to  offer  the 
position  to  her  and  it  has  been  a  matter  of  subsequent  congratulatiin  thai 
they  were  successful  in  enlisting  her  interest  and  securing  her  acccjjtancc  of 
the  difficult  and  responsible  position. 

CLARENCE  LESTER  HEROD.— The  si.xth  in  a  family  of  ten,  C.  L. 
Herod  was  born  nc;ir  (Ireencastlc.  Putnam  county,  Ind.,  a  son  of  Bailey  and 
Harriet  (Minter)  Herod,  and  a  brother  (jf  James  Herod,  mentioned  else- 
where.      Reared      in      F-'ntnam      and      Hendricks      counties.      Tnd..      lie      had 


1248  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

such  advantages  as  the  local  schools  afforded.  In  1887,  when  yet  a  mere  lad, 
he  came  lo  California  and  began  to  work  at  Big  Pine  in  Inyo  county.  Soon, 
however,  he  crossed  the  state  line  into  Nevada  and  secured  employment  in 
Fish  Lake  valley  in  Esmeralda  county  as  a  laborer  on  a  ranch  owned  by 
N.  T.  Piper,  who  in  a  short  time,  recognizing  his  efficiency,  placed  him  in 
charge  of  a  general  store  at  Oasis.  At  the  same  time  he  had  charge  of  the 
postoffice  which  was  in  the  store  room.  Leaving  Nevada  in  1890  he  came 
to  Kern  county  and  became  connected  with  his  older  brother,  James,  in 
the  dairy  business,  operating  the  Keefer  ranch  in  the  Panama  district  and 
manufacturing  butter  for  the  Bakersfield  markets.  At  the  expiration  of  two 
years  he  sold  his  interest  to  the  brother  and  secured  a  clerkship  with 
Dunkelspiel  Brothers,  later  holding  a  similar  position  with  other  Bakersfield 
firms,  and  in  1910  associating  himself  with  the  Ardizzi-Olcese  Company. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Herod  took  place  in  Bakersfield  December  10,  1895, 
and  united  him  with  ]\Iiss  Louise  Yoakum,  a  native  daughter  of  Kern 
county  and  a  lady  of  business  ability  and  social  prominence.  Her  father, 
William  Yoakum,  was  born  in  Missouri  and  crossed  the  plains  to  Cali- 
fornia before  a  railroad  had  been  built  across  the  continent.  Afterward  he 
engaged  in  mining  and  milling  until  his  death.  Particularly  was  he  asso- 
ciated with  the  development  of  three  of  the  well-known  old  mines  of  Kern 
county,  viz.:  Long  Tom  (where  he  built  a  mill),  the  Little  Hattie  and  Isa- 
bella. Some  time  after  coming  west  he  married  Callie  Gilbert,  a  native  of 
Texas.  Three  daughters  blessed  their  union.  The  youngest  of  these. 
Louise,  was  born  at  the  Long  Tom  mine  in  this  county.  The  eldest  daughter, 
Harriet  E.,  formerly  a  teacher  in  Bakersfield,  is  now  the  wife  of  J.  S. 
Douglas,  of  the  San  Emidio  ranch.  The  second  daughter,  Minnie,  now  Mrs. 
W.  F.  McKinzie,  of  Lebec,  Kern  county,  also  engaged  in  teaching  in  the 
Bakersfield  schools  for  some  years.  Mrs.  Yoakum,  who  afterward  became 
Mrs.  Pettit,  crossed  the  plains  with  her  parents  in  the  days  when  wagons  and 
oxen  were  utilized  as  the  only  sure  means  of  transportation  across  the 
deserts  and  plains.  Her  father,  Robert  Gilbert,  had  served  in  the  Mexican 
war  and  had  traveled  through  California  as  early  as  1848,  but  returned  to 
Texas  and  it  was  not  until  some  years  later  that  he  brought  the  family  to 
live  in  the  west.  The  present  home  of  Mrs.  Pettit  is  at  Fort  Tejon  Canyon, 
where  she  owns  a  ranch.  Mrs.  Herod  was  educated  in  the  Kern  county 
schools  and  has  always  remained  a  resident  of  this  community.  Politically 
she  favors  the  Democratic  principles,  while  her  husband  is  equally  stanch  in 
allegiance  to  the  Republican  party.  Besides  being  prcminent  in  the  local 
work  of  the  Women  of  ^Voodcraft,  she  is  a  charter  member  and  leading 
worker  in  Tejon  Parlor  No.  136,  Native  Daughters  of  the  Golden  West,  at 
Bakersfield,  in  which  organization  she  was  formerly  the  president  and  is  now 
the  recording  secretary. 

LEWIS  CASS  WORTHINGTON,— Descended  from  an  old  southern 
family  that  became  established  in  X'irginia  during  the  colonial  period  of  our 
national  history,  Lewis  Cass  ^^'orthington  was  born  in  Oregon,  Ogle 
county.  III,  in  1848,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late  John  and  Nancy  (Drummond) 
Worthington.  .Primarily  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Ogle  county,  he 
later  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  study  in  Mount  Morris  Seminary,  an  old, 
influential  and  leading  educational  institution  of  northern  Illinois.  After 
being  graduated  from  the  seminary  he  left  Mount  Morris  and  returned  to 
the  home  farm,  later  being  interested  in  agricultural  pursuits  in  Illinois  for  a 
few  years.  During  1874  he  came  to  California  and  secured  employment  in 
the  building  of  the  west  side  canal  at  Los  Banos,  Merced  county.  In  a 
short  time  he  was  promoted  to  be  superintendent  of  construction  and  from 
that  he  became  superintendent  of  canals  and  ditches  at  Madera.  The  same 
line   of   work   kept    liiiu    busy    in    that    county    for   some    time    and    there    he 


HISTORY    ()]•     Kl'RX    COrXTY  1249 

filled  important  contracts  with  trustwurthincss  and  fidelity.  When  less 
activity  beg-an  to  he  manifested  in  the  building;  of  canals  he  turned  his  at- 
tention to  ranching;,  although  he  never  wholly  abandoned  the  work  of 
building  canals  and  irrigation  systems,  .\bout  1894  he  came  to  Rakersfield 
and  became  interested  in  the  teaming  business  as  well  as  in  contracting, 
since  which  time  he  has  become  widely  known  as  an  authority  and  an  expert 
in  all  canal  and  irrigation  work.  Several  of  the  modern  irrigation  systems 
of  California  have  been  built  wholly  or  in  part  Ijy  him.  The  Stevenson  sys- 
tem he  built  in  its  entirety.  The  San  Joaquin  and  Kings  river  canal  was 
pushed  to  completion  through  his  energetic  oversight,  and  in  addition  he 
built  a  iiart  of  the  Turlock  and  Madera  systems,  as  well  as  sixty-four  miles 
of  the  Sutter-Butte  system  of  canals. 

Since  the  death  in  Bakersfield  in  1907  of  Mrs.  Worthington,  who  was  a 
native  of  Oregon,  Ogle  county.  111.,  and  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Alice  R. 
Mix,  Mr.  W'orthington  has  made  his  home  in  this  city  witli.his  daughters  and 
has  continued  to  superintend  his  varied  local  and  outside  interests.  His 
eldest  daughter,  Lois  \\'orthington,  M.  D.,  now  the  wife  of  Frank  Davis, 
was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.,  from  Cooper  Medical  College  De- 
cember 8.  1897.  and  since  then  has  engaged  in  professional  practice,  her 
office  being  now  in  the  Producers'  Bank  building  in  Bakersfield.  Prominent 
in  the  nrofession.  she  maintains  a  warm  interest  in  the  work  of  the  .American 
and  California  State  Medical  Associations.  Socially  she  has  been  influential 
in  the  organization  of  Native  Daughters  at  Bakersfield.  The  second  daughter, 
Jean  \Vt  rthington,  D.  D.  S.,  now  the  wife  of  Jack  Bennett,  an  oil  oi)erator 
with  headquarters  at  Bakersfield,  is  a  graduate  of  the  dental  department  of 
the  University  of  California  and  now  has  a  dental  ofifice  in  her  home  city. 
The  voungest  daughter,  Mazie  Worthington,  D.  D.  S.,  a  graduate  of  the 
dental  department  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, now  has  a  suite  of  rooms  for  dental  practice  in  the  Producers'  Bank 
building  in  Bakersfield. 

Dr.  Lois  \\'orthington.  who  is  a  native  of  .San  Leandm.  .\lameda  county, 
became  the  wife  of  Frank  Davis  in  Bakersfield  October  IS.  lOOfi.  Since 
March  of  1902  Mr.  Davis  has  lived  in  Bakersfield  and  meanwhile  has  filled 
a  responsible  position  as  yardmaster  with  the  Santa  Fe  road.  I'orn  at 
Marca,  Macon  county.  III.,  he  is  a  son  of  John  T.  Davis,  a  native  of  Illinois 
and  now  residing  in  the  Randsburg  district.  A  farmer  by  occupation,  he 
came  to  California  during  the  '80s  and  settled  at  Rosedale,  where  he  devel- 
oped a  tract  of  raw  land.  Later  he  removed  to  Tehachapi,  entered  a  claim 
and  improved  a  farm.  U])on  selling  that  place  he  took  up  a  desert  claim  in 
the  Mojave  desert,  where  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  he  is  still  actively  at 
work  as  a  farmer.  Of  his  five  living  children  only  two  settled  in  California. 
The  eldest  of  the  five,  Frank,  was  born  Alay  4,  1864,  and  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  secured  work  as  a  brakeman  on  the  Illinois  Central  road. 
Later  he  worked  in  a  similar  capacity  with  other  roads,  after  which  he  was 
promoted  to  be  a  conductor  on  what  is  known  as  the  Big  Four  road  out 
from  Urbana.  111.  His  first  trip  to  Bakersfield  occurred  about  twenty-five 
years  ago  and  he  spent  a  short  time  in  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company.  On  returning  to  Illinois  he  was  employed  as  yardmaster 
in  the  Peoria  yards  of  the  Peoria  &  Pekin  road,  but  resigned  the  position  to 
settle  permanently  in  California  during  the  fall  of  1901  and  after  a  few- 
months  with  the  Santa  Fe  at  Fresno  he  was  transferred  tn  I'.akcrsfield  as 
yardmaster  for  the  same  road. 

EDV>^IN  L.  FOSTER.— Significant  of  the  importance  of  Bakersfield  is 
the  fact  that  it  lia^  atiracicd  to  local  professional  circles  men  of  breadth  of 
thrmght,  energy  of  temperament  and  acuteness  of  reasoning  faculties,  among 
wb'^m  not  the  least  conspicuous  or  inflr.entir.l  is  F.dwin   L.  Foster.  attorne\-- 


1250  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

at-law.  Like  the  majority  of  the  professional  men  of  the  commnnity,  he  is  on 
the  sunny  side  of  life's  prime,  with  a  future  of  growing'  possibilities  Iiefnre 
him  and  with  a  present  reputation  that  comes  from  a  profound  knowledge  of 
the  law.  not  only  as  related  to  California,  but  also  as  applied  to  other  states 
and  the  general  government.  When  he  assumes  a  case  his  clients  realize  that 
his  vast  fund  of  legal  knowledge,  his  personal  probity  and  his  resourcefulness 
are  enlisted  in  their  favor,  and  they  repose  in  him  a  confidence  won  by  a 
knowledge  of  the  skill  with,  which  invariably  he  has  conducted  all  of  his  cases. 
Having  once  given  himself  to  a  case  in  the  courts,  he  becomes  a  persi.stent 
fighter  for  his  client  and  gives  the  closest  attention  to  every  detail  connected 
with  the  affair.  In  support  of  progressive  projects  he  is  equally  capable  and 
persistent  and  the  city  has  in  him  one  of  its  most  able  citizens  and  public- 
spirited  men. 

Prior  to  removing  to  California  with  his  parents  in  1885,  Mr.  Foster  lived 
in  Macoupin  count}'.  111-,  where  he  was  born  at  Brighton,  July  8,  1871,  and 
where  he  had  received  his  elementary  education.  After  coming  to  the  west 
he  comnleted  his  high-school  course  and  also  took  a  thorough  course  in  the 
law.  Admitted  to  practice  in  the  superior  court  of  California  in  1898,  he  at 
once  established  himself  for  professional  work  and  has  since  practiced  in  this 
state,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years  spent  in  the  east  as  an  attorney  in 
Massachusetts  and  New  York  City.  Through  his  education,  which  to  some 
extent  was  acquired  in  Massachusetts,  and  also  through  a  residence  in  the 
east  in  the  years  1902-1905,  he  gained  an  excellent  knowledge  of  conditions 
in  that  part  of  the  country  and  has  found  the  information  of  value  to  later 
activities.  Since  coming  to  Kern  county  in  February  of  1905  he  has  risen  to 
prominence  among  the  attorneys  of  Rakersfield,  where  he  maintains  his  office 
in  the  Andersen  building  at  No.  1669'/  Chester  avenue  and  where  he  lias 
proved  a  distinct  and  influential  acquisition  to  the  professional  element  of  the 
community. 

HON.  CHARLES  LEMUEL  CLAFLIN.— For  generations  uncounted 
the  bright  aspiring  minds  of  the  youth  of  every  locality  have  turned  tov.'ard 
the  law  as  offering  an  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  their  unquestioned 
talents  and  as  affording  a  desirable  avenue  to  future  success.  In  choosing 
the  law  as  his  life  work  Judge  Claflin  was  influenced  by  a  decided  preference 
for  the  profession  and  by  a  recognition  of  talents  of  his  own  admirably  qual- 
ifying him  for  such  activities.  That  his  choice  was  wisely  made  thirtv  years 
of  successful  practice  have  proved  beyond  question.  Since  he  came  to  i3akers- 
field  he  has  risen  to  leadership  among  the  members  of  the  Kern  county  bar 
and  has  built  up  a  large  practice  whose  basic  strength  is  his  own  exceptional 
ability  and  unwavering  integrity.  As  the  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Claflin 
&  Owen,  he  has  established  a  large  corporation  practice,  has  been  chosen  to 
attend  to  the  law  business  of  the  First  Bank  of  Kern  and  the  National  Bank  of 
Bakersfield  and  exerts  a  wide  professional  influence  founded  upon  his  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  law. 

Judge  Claflin  was  born  at  Lebanon,  Van  Buren  county,  Iowa,  August  17, 
1858.  received  a  public  school  education,  studied  law  in  an  office  at  Keosanqua, 
Iowa,  came  to  California  in  1880  and  the  following  year  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  ]\Iodoc  county,  where  he  began  upon  professional  work.  During  1882 
he  was  elected  district  attorney  of  Modi  c  county  and  held  the  office  for  one 
term.  In  1890  he  was  elected  superior  judge  of  Alodoc  county.  For  six  years 
he  continued  on  the  bench  and  won  recognition  through  impartial  service  and 
wide  knowledge  of  jurisprudence.  Upon  retiring  from  the  office  January  1, 
1897,  he  resumed  private  practice,  remaining  in  Modoc  county  for  three  years, 
and  thence  removing  to  Bakersfield  in  1900  at  the  time  of  the  great  oil  boom  in 
Kern  count3^  In  his  removal  to  Bakersfield  he  was  accompanied  by  his  wife, 
whom   he  had  married  in   Modoc  county  in   1884  and  who  was   Miss  Nellie 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1231 

Welch,  of  Nevada  county,  this  state.  Their  family  consists  of  six  children, 
namely:  Harlan  W..  Charles  L.  Jr..  Anita  E..  George  E.,  Harry  L.,  and  Theo- 
dore R.  Besides  the  family  residence  in  Bakersfield  and  other  city  property, 
Judge  Claflin  owns  farming  lands  and  also  has  acquired  interests  in  the  oil 
fields,  the  entire  investment  representing  an  aggregate  of  large  value.  Pro- 
nounced in  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  he  nevertheless  seeks  no 
offices  at  its  hands  and  the  positions  which  he  has  filled  came  to  him,  not 
through  political  influence,  but  in  recognition  of  his  superior  qualifications 
and  splendid  type  of  citizenship.  The  years  of  maturity  he  has  devoted  to  the 
law  and  as  a  counselor  he  exhibits  ripened  judgment,  while  as  an  advocate 
he  shows  a  profound  knowledge  of  legal  technicalities.  Indeed,  in  every  de- 
partment of  the  profession  his  talents  are  manifest  and  his  standing  assured. 

MRS.  LOUISA  J.  CARVER.— Throughout  an  identification  of  more 
than  sixty  years  with  California  it  has  been  the  privilege  of  Airs.  Carver  to 
witness  the  remarkable  development  of  the  state,  the  building  of  railroads, 
the  starting  of  towns,  the  opening  up  of  ranch  lands  and  the  foundation 
of  the  remarkable  material  prosperity  which  makes  the  sunset  state  a 
favored  region  if  destiny.  The  atmosphere  of  romance  lingers  around  her 
eventful  life,  yet  in  the  actual  passing  there  has  been  less  of  romance  than 
of  unquestioned  adherence  to  duty  and  a  courageous  endurance  of  the  hard- 
ships incident  to  frontier  existence.  No  memory  of  gir!ho(-d  stands  out  more 
clearly  in  her  well-stored  mind  than  that  of  the  crossing  of  the  plains  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1850.  The  family  had  lived  on  a  ranch  near  Jefferson 
City,  AIo.,  where  she  was  born  and  where  at  an  early  age  she  had  been 
trained  to  a  knowledge  of  housewifely  arts  and  practical  farm  duties.  Her 
father,  Hiram  Hughes,  a  pioneer  of  brain  and  brawn,  with  the  sturdy 
physique  of  the  frontiersman,  had  left  his  native  Tennessee  for  Alissouri  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  years  and  settled  near  Jefferson  City  with  his  parents, 
who  were  farmers  and  stockraisers.  Some  years  after  going  to  Missouri  he 
married  Lucinda  Johnson,  a  native  of  Kentucky.  On  their  Alissouri  farm 
two  children  came  to  bless  the  home,  the  younger  being  Napoleon,  who  be- 
came a  cattleraiser  and  died  in  Linn's  valley  many  years  after  coming  to 
California. 

The  elder  of  the  two  children.  Louisa  J.,  was  a  young  girl  im  the 
threshold  of  womanhood  at  the  time  the  family  crossed  the  plains.  March 
9,  1850,  they  started  on  the  long  journey  as  members  of  an  expedition  that 
numl)ered  seventy-two  men  and  thirty-one  wagons.  Ox-teams  were  used 
to  draw  the  wagons  and  m  addition  Mr.  Hughes  started  with  sixty  head  of 
loose  cattle,  but  unfortunately  he  lost  the  greater  number  of  these  on  the 
load.  The  rejjort  of  trouble  at  Salt  Lake  City  led  them  to  deflect  their 
course  from  that  point,  so  they  tra\-eled  via  Sublet's  Cut-oft"  and  on  the  31st 
of  August  arrived  at  Hangtown  (now  Placerville).  In  common  with  the 
majority  of  the  early  settlers  Air.  Hughes  at  first  earned  a  livelihood  in-  the 
mines.  After  some  years  he  embarked  in  the  stock  business  in  Tuolumne 
county.  From  there  he  removed  to  Stanislaus  county.  Eventually  he  came 
to  Linn's  valley  and  bought  a  raw  tract  of  land.  The  development  of  the 
ranch  engaged  the  remaining  years  of  his  activity  and  he  resided  there  until 
his  death  at  eighty-one  years  of  age.    His  wife  lived  to  be  eightj'-three. 

During  the  long  journey  across  the  plains  the  young  girl  had  acci- 
dentally met  on  one  occasion  a  youthful  Argonaut,  Joel  Carver,  who  was 
crossing  the  plains  with  a  large  expedition  from  Alissouri,  but  not  connected 
in  any  way  with  the  Hughes  ]iarty.  By  chance  the  young  couple  met  a 
second  time  in  Sonora  in  1851  and  were  again  introduced.  Their  acquaint- 
ance ripened  into  affecticm  and  they  were  married  in  Calaveras  county  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1853,  after  which  they  settled  on  a  stock  ranch  in  Stanislaus 
countv  fifteen  miles  from  the  present  site  of  Oakdale.    Mr.  Carver  was  born 


1252  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

in  Springfield,  111.,  January  17 ,  1832,  the  original  Carver  homestead  having 
stood  within  two  miles  of  the  state  capitoi.  During  boyhood  he  accompanied 
his  parents  to  Missouri  and  settled  near  Neosho,  but  in  1850  he  again  sought 
a  location  further  west,  this  time  traversing  mountains  and  deserts  to  en- 
gage in  mining  and  ranching  in  California. 

The  year  1869  brought  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carver  to  Linn's  valley  as  pioneer 
stockraisers.  Arriving  here,  he  continued  to  use  the  brand  adopted  by  him 
in  Stanislaus  count}-,  but  finding  a  similar  brand  in  use  in  the  valley  he  was 
compelled  to  change.  Thereupon  he  adopted  the  brand  H  with  a  bar  over  it, 
which  Mrs.  Carver  has  continued  to  use  up  to  the  present  time.  In  all  of 
his  work  she  proved  a  most  efficient  hel')er  and  they  worked  together  hap- 
pily and  successfully  until  his  death  in  1885.  The  care  of  the  house  and  of 
the  children  did  not  represent  the  limit  of  her  wonderful  energies.  Hour 
after  hour  she  would  ride  on  the  range  helping  in  the  care  of  the  stock  and 
the  rounding  up  cf  the  cattle.  No  difficulty  daunted  her  ardent  spirit.  No 
hardship  depressed  her  optimistic  soul.  To  such  as  she  success  cannot  fail 
to  come.  That  it  came  to  her  is  the  legitimate  result  of  her  splendid  execu- 
tive ability,  keen  foresight  and  unwearied  perseverance. 

The  old  Dunlap  place  of  four  hundred  acres  formed  the  first  purchase 
of  the  Carver  family  in  Linn's  valley.  Realizing  that  the  range  would  soon 
be  taken  up  so  that  cattle  could  not  roam  at  large,  Mrs.  Carver  understood 
that  the  only  successful  way  to  conduct  a  cattle  industry  was  through  the 
ownership  of  vast  areas.  Acting  upon  that  conviction,  she  began  to  fortify 
her  business  by  purchasing  large  tracts.  From  the  railroad  she  bought  the 
Coyote  ranch,  a  tract  of  forty-fi-.ur  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  lying  just 
northwest  of  Woody,  Kern  county.  This  great  ranch  lies  in  one  body  and  is 
fenced,  besides  being  well  watered  by  large  springs  and  afifording  early  feed 
for  fattening  cattle  in  the  spring.  Across  the  county  line  in  Tulare  county 
Mrs.  Carver  later  purchased  the  Coho  ranch  (jf  thirty-two  hundred  acres  in 
one  body,  fenced,  and  amply  watered  by  a  branch  of  White  river.  The  large 
property  is  utilized  for  a  breeding  ranch:  At  Bull  Run  meadows  she  also 
owns  nineteen  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  a  body,  located  in  the  Forest 
reserve,  so  that  she  is  able  to  avail  herself  of  the  government  privilege  of 
renting  thcusands  of  acres  from  that  vast  range.  The  home  farm  on  Upper 
Poso  creek  in  the  upper  portion  of  Linn's  valley  has  been  increased  and 
now  comprises  five  sections  or  thirty-two  hundred  acres.  About  four  hun- 
dred acres  are  rich  meadow  lands  and,  being  irrigated  from  Poso  creek, 
yield  an  abundance  of  hay  and  feed.  The  property  is  well  improved  with  a 
commodious  and  comfortable  residence  as  well  as  the  buildings  necessary 
to  the  proper  management  of  a  great  ranch.  On  all  of  the  ranches  a  spe- 
cialty is  made  of  raising  Shorthorn  Durham  cattle. 

A  devout  believer  in  the  home  mission  of  women,  i\Irs.  Carver  always 
made  her  home,  her  husband  and  her  children  the  paramount  issue  in  her 
active  years,  although  such  was  the  versatility  of  her  talents  that  she  could 
also  engage  in  outside  activities  without  neglect  to  more  intimate  duties. 
Four  of  her  seven  children  are  now  living.  The  only  son,  JefT  Carver,  is  a 
stockman  in  Linn's  valley.  The  daughters  are  Mrs.  Lou  Conner,  also  of  the 
valley ;  Mrs.  Annie  Huey,  of  Tulare  county ;  and  Mrs.  Rose  Danner,  of 
Willows,  this  state.  Heme  and  ranch  have  not  engrossed  the  entire  thought 
of  this  remarkable  pioneer.  It  has  been  her  pleasure  to  keep  in  touch  with 
the  development  of  the  state  and  to  contrast  its  present  height  of  develop- 
ment with  the  primeval  conditions  prevailing  when  first  she  saw  the  Pacific 
coast  country.  Nor  does  she  live  wholly  in  the  past,  interesting  as  its  mem- 
ories are  and  eventful  as  was  its  record.  Modern  questions  of  suffrage  and 
various  movements  to  improve  industrial  and  civic  conditions  receive  her 
sympathetic,  and  in  some  cases  active,  interest.     While  always  a  Democrat 


HIS'foRV    OF    KHRX    CorXTV  1253 

politically,  she  has  been  cinitent  to  play  a  i)assive  role  on  all  public  (pies- 
tions  and  her  devotion  to  the  development  of  cminty  and  coniniunwealth  has 
been  free  from  partisan  spirit. 

FREDERICK  J.  ECKHOFF.— A  native  of  P.altimore,  Md.,  Mr.  Eckhoff 
is  the  son  of  John  EckhofT,  who  was  born  in  Hanover,  Prussia,  and  who 
became  an  early  resident  of  I'.altimore,  Md.  Thoroucjhly  n^roiinded  in  the 
knowledge  of  stock-raising  he  became  a  dealer  in  that  line,  filling  con- 
tracts for  the  provision  of  stock,  and  he  built  up  a  good  business.  In  1846 
he  removed  to  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  locating  just  south  of  the  city,  where  he  con- 
ducted a  small  stock  yards,  there  dealing  in  live  stock.  He  had  married 
Annie  Berger,  also  a  native  of  Hanover,  and  her  death  occurred  in  St.  Louis. 
They  became  the  parents  of  five  children,  four  of  whom  now  survive,  Fred- 
erick J.  being  the  second  eldest. 

It  was  on  March  15,  1841,  in  Raltimore,  Md.,  that  I'Vederick  J.  Eckhoff 
first  saw  the  light  of  day,  and  he  was  but  five  when  taken  to  St.  Louis  by  his 
parents.  He  had  the  advantage  of  attending  the  public  schools  in  a  large  city 
and  made  rapid  progress  there,  in  the  meantime  helping  his  father  in  his  stock 
business.  In  1865  he  started  across  the  plains  to  California,  which  had  been  the 
destination  he  had  long  had  in  mind.  With  horse  and  mules  he  came,  taking 
the  route  via  Salt  Lake  to  Northern  California,  and  after  four  months  of  hard 
travel  arrived  in  Plumas  county.  The  Indians  were  then  t  n  the  warpath  and 
the  train  had  several  serious  combats  with  them  and  during  the  trip  six  of 
them  were  killed.  Upon  arriving  in  California  for  some  months  Mr.  EckhofT 
was  engaged  in  mining  near  Quincy.  From  there  he  went  on  horseback  via 
Carson  City  and  Owens  river  into  Arizona  and  then  back  into  California  again, 
arriving  in  Kern  county  December  25,  1869.  He  worked  at  mining  for  various 
parties  in  difTerenfplaces  for  some  time  making  his  headquarters  at  Havilah, 
Kern  county,  but  finally  entered  into  the  project  for  himself.  With  others  he 
was  interested  in  the  remodeling  of  the  5  Stamp  mill  at  Clairville  in  the  Piute 
Mountains,  but  this  did  not  prove  a  profitable  undertaking  and  he  decided  to 
give  up  mining  as  it  was  too  unsatisfactorj'  at  that  time. 

In  1876  Mr.  Eckhoff  started  in  the  liquor  business  in  Kernville.  and  con- 
tinued successfully  engaged  in  that  work  until  1888,  when  he  located  in 
Bakersfield  and  engaged  in  the  same  business  in  partnership  with  Thomas 
E.  Owens,  but  later  sold  out  to  his  partner.  Mr.  Eckhoff  has  done  a  little  real 
estate  business  in  connection  with  these  interests.  Mr.  Eckhoff  was  married 
in  Bakersfield,  in  1907,  to  Miss  Louisa  Raaz,  who  was  born  in  Oakland,  Cal. 

ROLLIN  LAIRD.— The  present  city  attorney  of  Bakersfield  belongs  to 
an  honored  pioneer  family  of  California  and  traces  his  genealogy  to  Scotland, 
whence  cne  of  the  name  crossed  the  ocean  to  America  shortly  after  the  close 
of  the  Revolutionary  war.  When  the  great  unknown  west  first  attracted 
worldwide  attention  through  the  discovery  of  gold  Peter  Laird  determined  to 
cast  in  his  lot  with  the  enthusiastic  army  of  Argonauts  bound  for  the  mines 
of  the  coast.  Accompanied  by  his  family,  in  1851  he  came  across  the  ])lains 
with  a  prairie-schooner  and  a  drove  of  stock.  In  the  care  of  the  stock  he  was 
aided  by  his  boy  of  seven  years,  John  W.  P.,  whose  extreme  youth  did  not 
prevent  him  from  attempting  to  do  a  man's  work  in  the  long  and  fatiguing 
journey.  The  difficult  tasks  devolving  upon  father  and  son  were  rendered 
less  arduous  through  the  constant  encouragement  and  cheerful  aid  of  the 
beloved  wife  and  mother,  a  woman  of  deep  religious  spirit  and  gentle  char- 
acter. She  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Julia  A.  Pierce.  While  still  a  young 
woman,  needed  in  her  home  and  unspeakably  dear  to  her  family,  she  was 
taken  from  them  by  an  unfortunate  accident.  The  family  had  settled  in 
Eldorado  county  and  the  father  had  engaged  in  mining  at  Mokelumne  mines, 
where  he  established  his  wife  and  children  in  camp.  One  day  in  1854, 
while   Mrs.   Laird   was  lying  in  a  hammock,  a  mine  blast  occurred   and   she 


1254  HISTORY    OF    KERK    COUNTY 

was  killed  by  a  flying  rocket  when  one  of  the  powder  charges  exploded. 
Her  passing  was  mourned  not  alone  by  the  immediate  family,  but  also  by 
the  miners,  to  all  of  whom  she  had  been  a  friend,  benefactor  and  nurse. 

After  the  Laird  family  had  lived  for  some  time  at  the  old  mining  camps 
of  Diamond  Springs  and  Shingle  Springs,  about  1858  they  moved  to  Sacra- 
mento county  and  became  interested  in  the  stock  business.  During  the 
latter  part  of  the  '60s  they  removed  to  Inyo  county.  Peter  Laird 
died  at  the  home  of  his  son,  Judge  J.  W.  P.  Laird,  at  Bakersfield 
in  January,  1910,  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years.  John  W.  P.  Laird 
was  born  at  Mount  Carroll,  Carroll  county,  111.,  May  28,  1844,  and  in 
1851  came  across  the  plains  from  Missouri  with  his  parents.  Later  he 
worked  in  the  mines  and  on  ranches.  While  engaged  in  the  cattle  industry 
he  procured  some  law  books  from  an  old-time  attorney  in  Sacramento  and 
after  the  day's  work  was  done  he  read  law  by  the  camp  fire.  Thus  by  dint 
of  hard  work,  both  manual  and  mental,  he  fitted  himself  for  the  career 
of  an  attorney.  When  he  resolved  upon  a  legal  career  he  was  considerably 
past  thirty  and  in  1879,  soon  after  he  was  admitted  to  practice  before  the 
California  supreme  court,  he  was  elected  district  attorney  of  Inyo  county, 
serving  as  such  until  1886.  During  the  first  administration  of  President 
Cleveland  he  served  as  register  of  the  Independence  land  office.  His  first  ap- 
pearance as  an  attorney  in  Kern  county  occurred  in  1890,  when  he  came  to 
Bakersfield  as  special  prosecutor  in  the  trial  of  W.  T.  C.  Elliott  for  murder, 
the  case  resulting  in  mistrial,  and  Elliott  was  never  acquitted  or  found 
guilty.  Being  well  pleased  with  Bakersfield,  Mr.  Laird  determined  to  estab- 
lish an  office  in  this  city  and  in  May,  1891,  he  arrived  here,  being  followed 
by  his  family  in  July.  In  the  practice  of  law  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Jackson  W.  Mahon,  then  a  young  attorney  just  rising  to  prominence,  now  a 
superior  judge  of  Kern  county.  The  pleasant  and  profitable  association  was 
terminated  after  a  few  years  by  the  election  of  Mr.  Mahon  to  the  bench. 
Later  Mr.  Laird  formed  a  partnership  with  H.  L.  Packard  and  this  con- 
nection existed  until  1903,  when  he  was  appointed  district  attorney  to  suc- 
ceed the  late  J.  W.  Ahern,  an  able  lawyer  and  a  loyal  friend.  Such  was  the 
ability  with  which  the  vacancy  was  filled  that  in  1906  Mr.  Laird  was  regu- 
larly elected  to  the  office  and  in  that  capacity  he  was  regarded  as  an  able 
prosecutor  and  a  fearless  champion  of  the  people's  cause. 

A  recognized  leader  of  the  Kern  county  Democracy,  Mr.  Laird  exercised 
a  wide  influence  in  the  party  councils  and  in  1900  was  elected  assemblyman 
on  the  regular  party  ticket.  While  a  member  of  the  house  he  served  on  the 
Pardee  investigating  committee  during  the  Chinatown  scandal  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, taking  a  prominent  part  in  the  investigation.  In  the  fall  of  1910  the 
Democrats  nominated  him  without  opposition  to  represent  the  thirty-second 
district  in  the  state  senate.  At  the  election  Kings  and  Tulare  counties  gave 
large  Republican  majorities,  which  defeated  him,  although  he  carried  his 
own  county  by  a  flattering  vote.  Upon  the  death  of  Judge  Ben  L.  Brundage, 
less  than  a  year  before  his  own  demise,  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  resolutions  and  in  that  capacity  gave  a  deserved  tribute  to  that  honored 
California  pioneer,  whose  career  in  the  law  was  long  and  brilliant. 

\¥hile  living  in  Inyo  county  in  1872  Mr.  Laird  married  Henrietta  Mc- 
Laughlin, who  had  come  to  California  ten  years  before  and  whose  death 
occurred  at  Bakersfield  during  1900.  They  were  the  parents  of  three  sons, 
Ernest,  Lester  and  Rollin.  all  residing  in  Bakersfield,  where  the  eldest  son 
is  employed  as  court  reporter  and  the  youngest  serves  as  city  attorney. 
After  the  death  of  his  first  wife  Mr.  Laird  married  again  and  is  survived  by 
his  widow,  also  by  four  step-daughters,  namely :  Afrs.  A.  K.  Miller,  of 
Berkeley;  Mrs.  Ralph  Knight,  of  Stockton;  Mrs.  Oscar  Reynolds,  of  Helena. 
Mont. ;  and   Mrs.   Ralph   Toland,   of   Bakersfield.    During  the   latter   part   of 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    CorX'TY  1255 

1910  ill  health  began  to  assail  the  Jiiilgc  (for  by  that  title  lie  was  commonly 
known)  and  early  in  1911  he  spent  three  months  in  the  mountains  near 
W'eldon,  but  the  change  of  climate  proved  of  no  avail.  A  few  days  after 
his  return  from  the  mountains  he  dro])ped  dead  from  heart  failure  on  the 
sidewalk  a  short .  distance  from  the  residence  of  his  step-daughter,  Mrs. 
Miller,  in  Berkeley,  whither  he  had  gone  to  put  himself  under  the  care  of 
physicians.  The  body  was  brought  to  Bakersfield  and  interment  was  made 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Masonic  fraternity,  of  which  he  was  an  honored 
member.  Universal  regret  was  felt  on  account  of  his  sudden  demise.  None 
knew  him  but  to  admire  him  fur  his  splendid  qualities  of  mind  and  heart. 
It  was  profoundly  felt  that  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  community  he,  as  a 
member  of  the  bar.  ranked  with  the  most  brilliant  who  ever  practiced  law 
in  the  broad  San  Joaquin  valley.  His  youngest  son.  Rollin,  whose  career 
has  somewhat  resembled  his  own  up  to  the  present  date  and  who  is  be- 
lieved to  possess  many  of  his  sterling  characteristics,  was  born  in  Inyo 
county,  this  state,  September  8,  1880,  is  a  graduate  of  the  Valparaiso  find.) 
Law  School  in  1909.  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Indiana  and  during  the 
same  year  in  Los  Angeles,  from  which  place  he  returned  to  Bakersfield  to 
engage  in  practice.  Elected  city  attorney  in  I'lll.  he  is  filling  the  office 
with  such  efficiency  that  his  friends  predict  fur  him  greater  honors  and  a 
bright  future  in  the  political  world. 

FRITZ  CHARLES  NOEL.— Authentic  history  reveals  the  identification 
of  the  Noel  family  with  the  Huguenots  in  France  as  far  back  as  the  year 
1416  and  indicates  their  sufferings  during  the  religious  persecutions  that 
culminated  in  the  famous  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew.  Exiled  from  their 
home  land,  the  Noels  sought  refuge  in  Germany  and  thence  migrated  to 
Sweden,  where  they  lived  and  flourished  for  many  generations.  After  having 
engaged  for  years  in  the  lunil)er  business  at  Stockholm.  F.  A.  Noel  removed 
with  his  family  to  England  and  secured  a  position  with  the  Maxim-Norden- 
felt  machine  gun  works  in  London,  where  he  spent  his  remaining  years  in 
successful  business  activities.  By  his  marriage  to  Hilda  Rampe.  who  is  like- 
wise deceased,  he  had  a  family  of  six  children,  of  whom  four  are  now  living, 
namely :  Frederick  .Adolph,  a  lumljer  merchant  in  London ;  Fritz  Charles, 
the  only  one  of  the  family  to  settle  in  America :  Ernest  Rudolph  and  Gerda, 
both  residing  in  Paris.  France,  where  the  former  is  a  proficient  and  prominent 
civil  engineer. 

Stockholm,  Sweden,  is  the  native  city  of  F.  C.  Noel  and  May  11,  1867, 
the  date  of  his  birth.  He  was  educated  in  a  high  school  in  Sweden  and  in 
the  City  of  London  College.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  accompanied  his  par- 
ents from  Stockholm  to  London  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  crossed  the 
ocean  to  America,  settling  first  at  Montreal,  Canada,  where  he  secured  em- 
ployment on  the  Montreal  Herald.  During  1892  he  came  to  the  United 
States  and  established  himself  in  Chicago,  where  he  engaged  with  the 
Chicago  Tribune  until  1808.  While  living  in  Chicago  he  met  and  married 
Miss  Martha  Klove.  of  Lelaiid,  111.,  and  for  some  years  he  carried  on  the 
Leland  Times,  an  eight-page  weekly  which  he  had  founded.  This  he  still 
owns,  although  since  he  came  to  California  in  1911  he  has  leased  it  to 
others.  During  1901  he  visited  his  relatives  in  London  and  Paris  and  trav- 
eled through  other  parts  of  Europe,  finding  in  the  tour  much  to  interest 
and  impress  him.  but  returning  to  the  United  States  more  than  ever  con- 
vinced of  its  superiority  to  the  old  world. 

Upon  his  removal  to  the  west  Mr.  Noel  bought  ten  acres  of  orange  land 
one  and  one-half  miles  south  of  Edison,  in  the  Porter  Land  colony,  and  this 
he  has  commenced  to  improve.  In  addition  he  owns  his  residence  at  No. 
1745  Orange  street.  Bakersfield.  and  recently  purchased  forty  acres  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  W'eed  Patch  near  the  Tejon  ranch,  as  well  as  one  hiniflred 


1256  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

acres  at  Lerdo,  the  new  fibre  center.  Together  with  Mr.  Soper,  who  owns 
one  hundred  and  forty  adjacent  to  his  forty,  he  has  undertaken  the  devel- 
opment of  water  on  the  land,  with  the  intention  of  planting  the  tract  to 
orange  trees  as  soon  as  adequate  irrigation  is  assured. 

The  real-estate  firm  of  G.  W.  Shearer  &  Co.,  formed  in  May  of  1912,  and 
constituting  a  continuation  of  the  old  company  of  Sears  &  Shearer,  is  com- 
posed of  two  energetic  young  men,  G.  W.  Shearer  and  F.  C.  Noel.  Mr.  Noel's 
family  consists  of  his  wife  and  three  children,  Gladys  J.,  Frederick  A.  and 
Myra  H.  They  are  popular  in  social  circles  and  are  regular  attendants  at  the 
services  of  the  First  Ci  ngregational  Church  of  Bakersfield. 

GEORGE  W.  SHEARER.— The  senior  partner  in  the  real  estate  firm  of 
G.  W.  Shearer  &  Co.  is  a  member  of  an  old  eastern  family  and  was  bi  rn  in 
Franklin  county,  Pa.,  on  Christmas  day  of  1879,  being  fourth  in  order  of 
birth  among  the  five  living  children  that  comprise  the  family  of  Jacob  F. 
and  Margaret  (McCartney)  Shearer.  The  eldest  of  the  five,  Annie,  married 
S.  R.  Fortna,  a  farmer  living  in  Franklin  county,  Pa.  The  second,  Mac  VV., 
is  engaged  in  general  farming  in  that  county,  where  also  lives  the  second  son, 
Frank  S.,  a  capable  farmer.  The  youngest  member  of  the  family  circle, 
May,  is  the  wife  of  Calvin  Leidig,  proprietor  of  a  meat  market  at  Orrstown, 
Franklin  county.  The  only  one  of  the  five  to  leave  his  native  county  was 
George  W..  who  has  been  a  resident  of  California  since  1907.  The  father, 
now  sixty-five  years  of  age  and  a  man  of  considerable  means,  has  devoted 
his  entire  active  life  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  is  still  a  large  landed  pro- 
prietor and  stock-dealer  at  Upper  Strasburg,  Franklin  county,  where  for 
years  he  and  his  wife  have  made  their  home. 

By  working  on  the  home  farm  and  by  teaching  school  in  Franklin 
county  for  four  years,  George  W.  Shearer  earned  the  money  necessary  for 
the  completion  of  his  education.  In  a  business  college  at  Lancaster,  Pa.,  he 
studied  bookkeeping  and  shorthand  and  thus  became  qualified  for  the  posi- 
tion which  he  secured  with  the  Chambersburg  Electric  Light  &  Power  Com- 
pany. Upon  giving  up  that  place  he  taught  one  term  of  school  and  then 
became  an  instructor  in  stenograph}'  and  typing.  After  two  years  as  a 
professor  in  a  commercial  institution  he  resigned  in  1907  in  order  to  come  to 
California,  and  here  he  immediately  secured  a  place  with  the  Associated  Oil 
Company  at  Oil  Center,  Kern  county.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years  with 
the  oil  company  he  embarked  in  the  real  estate  business,  opening  an  office 
in  the  Oil  Exchange  building,  Bakersfield,  in  May  of  1909,  and  at  this  location 
he  has  since  continued.  During  May  of  1911  the  firm  of  Sears  &  Shearer 
was  organized  with  W.  L.  Sears  as  senior  member.  Tune  1,  1912,  the  com- 
pany was  re-organized  and  is  now  composed  of  G.  W.  Shearer  and  F.  C.  Noel, 
both  voung  men  of  integrity,  ability  and  energy.  Since  coming  to  this  county 
Mr.  Shearer  has  acquired  property  in  East  Bakersfield  and  \\'asco,  also  a  tract 
in  the  Lost  Hills  district  and  citrus  lands  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Weed  Patch 
near   the   Tejon    Pass. 

Arrangements  have  recently  been  made  whereby  the  firm  of  G.  W. 
Shearer  &  Co.  are  the  exclusive  agents  for  the  new  seven  thousand  acre 
colony  at  Lerdo,  Kern  county,  which  is  owned  by  the  San  Joaquin  Light  and 
Power  Corporation.  It  is  here  that  the  ramie  plant  is  being  successfully  culti- 
vated and  grown,  and  it  is  here  also  where  the  inventor,  G.  W.  Schlichten. 
has  located  one  of  his  justly  famous  decorticating  machines.  The  ramie  plant 
has  heretofore  been  grown  principally  in  the  Orient,  in  India,  China  and 
Japan,  where  labor  is  cheap.  Mr.  Schlichten's  great  invention,  however,  will 
now  make  it  possible  to  produce  the  ramie  fibre  at  a  cost  cheaper  than  it  can 
be  produced  by  hand  work  in  India,  China  or  any  other  country.  This  venture 
at  Lerdo  is  attracting  attention  from  far  and  near,  so  much  so  that  the  agricul- 
tural department  sent  to  Lerdo  the  expert.  Professor  Dewey,  to  investigate 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1257 

and  report  on  this  industry.  Ex-Secretary  of  Agriculture  James  Wilson  lias 
said  that  Schlichten"s  invention  is  the  most  important  and  valuable  to  the  fibre 
industry  of  any  machine  since  the  cotton  gin.  It  does  the  work  of  three  thou- 
sand men  and  revolutionizes  the  former  expensive  and  wasteful  hand  method. 
Since  the  ramie  fibre  can  be  used  in  making  twines,  ropes,  threads,  fishing 
nets  and  lines,  as  well  as  cloths  of  the  finest  and  most  durable  texture,  it 
requires  no  great  stretch  of  the  imagination  to  see  that  Lerdo  and  its  new 
industry  will  soun  hold  an  important  place  in  the  industrial  development  of 
California.  Ramie  cloth  has  the  fine,  beautiful  gossamer-like  tissue  of  China 
or  Japan  linen.  It  is  the  identical  cloth  from  which  was  made  fur  the  ancient 
queens  of  India  bed  sheets  so  fine  and  thin  that  they  could  be  drawn  through 
finger  rings;  while  the  Bible  reveals  the  fact  that  ramie  cloth  was  linen  that 
was  used  in  wrapping  the  bodies  of  the  mummies,  and  the  quality  of  the 
cloth  is  elsewhere  fitly  expressed  in  the  words  "raiment  of  fine  linen." 

NEWELL  JONATHAN  BROWN,  M.  D.— The  principle  of  heredity 
appears  in  the  selection  of  a  profession  by  Dr.  Brown  and  in  his  gratifying 
success  as  a  surgeon  and  medical  practitioner,  for  the  genealogical  records 
show  that  on  one  side  of  the  house  seven  successive  generatii  iis  rose  to  local 
prominence  as  physicians  and  it  has  been  a  source  of  gratification  to  him 
that  two  of  his  sons  have  entered  the  |)rofession,  for  which  they  exiiibit  a 
decided  talent.  Although  of  Canadian  birth,  he  is  a  member  of  an  l  Id  family  of 
New  England,  whom  chance  or  destiny  caused  to  cross  the  border  line  into 
the  province  of  Quebec.  During  the  colonial  period  of  our  national  history 
the  family  came  to  this  country  from  England  and  his  grandfather,  Capt. 
John  Brown,  a  native  of  New  Hampshire,  served  as  an  officer  in  the  war  of 
1812.  Later  he  crossed  into  Quebec  and  engaged  in  farming.  On  that  trip 
he  was  accompanied  by  his  family,  which  included  a  son,  Ozias  Gilbert,  a 
native  of  Epsom,  N.  H.,  near  the  city  of  Concord,  born  March  27 ,  1806,  and 
died  at  the  old  home  December  25,  1901,  at  almost  ninety-six  years  uf  age. 
He  too  became  a  farmer  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  where  he  met  and  married 
Margaret  Foss,  a  lifelong  resident  of  Canada  and  of  Scotch  extraction.  It  is 
through  the  Foss  ancestrj-  that  the  heritage  of  professional  ability  is  derived, 
their  male  representatives  having  been  men  of  remarkable  intelligence  and 
manifest  talent  in  surgery. 

The  youngest  of  six  children.  Dr.  Brown  was  born  March  10,  1854,  in 
Stanstead,  province  of  Quebec,  a  short  distance  across  the  line  from  Vermont. 
It  was  the  desire  of  his  father,  Ozias  Gilbert  Brown,  that  he  be  educated  for 
the  medical  profession  and  his  own  talents  turned  his  ambitions  in  that  direc- 
tion. After  he  had  graduated  from  a  local  academy  he  matriculated  in  McGill 
University,  a  famous  medical  college  at  Montreal,  where  he  studied  medicine 
for  three  years.  He  then  entered  Dartmouth  College  in  New  Hampshire, 
being  graduated  from  that  institution  in  November,  1875,  with  the  degree  of 
M.  D.  Immediately  he  came  west  as  far  as  Iowa,  where  he  opened  an  office 
at  Red  Oak,  but  in  1877  he  removed  to  Grundy  county,  the  same  state.  The 
following  year  he  married  Miss  Celia  Frances  Eastman,  who  was  born  at 
Oskaloosa,  Iowa,  being  a  daughter  of  Lieutenant-Governor  (later  State  Sena- 
tor) E.  W.  Eastman,  deceased  in  1884.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Brown  are  the  parents 
of  four  sons,  namely:  Xewbern  Nuckolls,  M.  D.,  of  Bakersfield  :  Newell  Jon- 
athan, Jr.,  M.  D..  of  Tehachapi ;  Austin  Foss,  a  druggist  and  pharmacist  by 
education;  and  Gilman  Grenough,  who  is  now  engaged  in  farming  near 
Modesto. 

Professional  labors  liecame  so  exhausting  and  increased  with  such 
rapidity  that  Dr.  Brown  failed  in  health.  During  1878  he  spent  three 
months  in  Colorado,  camping  and  living  an  outdoor  life  in  Elbert  county. 
The  result  was  su  gratifying  that  he  decided  to  remain  and  engage  in 
practice.     When  he  moved  further  west  five  years  later  his  health   was  re- 


1258  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

established  and  his  practice  large.  Establishing  an  office  at  Hailey,  Blaine 
county,  Idaho,  in  1883,  he  soon  became  known  as  a  successful  physician 
and  surgeon.  For  many  years  he  served  as  coroner  and  health  officer  of 
Blaine  county.  Meanwhile  he  had  become  owner  and  medical  director  of 
the  Miners'  hospital,  the  leading  institution  of  the  kind  on  the  line  of  the 
Oregon  Short  Line  Railroad.  Much  of  his  time  was  given  to  the  care  of 
patients  in  the  hospital,  which  had  a  capacity  of  fifty  beds  and  was  equipped 
with  every  modern  convenience  for  the  care  of  the  sick  or  the  needs  of 
operative  surgery.  As  surgeon  for  the  Oregon  Short  Line  Railroad  he 
also  had  a  considerable  practice.  More  than  eighteen  years  were  spent  in 
Hailey  and  they  were  filled  with  professional  successes.  Meanwhile,  how- 
ever, he  had  begun  to  realize  the  limitations  of  the  region  from  an  educa- 
tional standpoint  and  a  desire  to  give  his  sons  better  educational  advantages 
than  Idaho  atTorded  caused  him  in  1901  to  remove  to  Los  Angeles,  where 
he  opened  an  office  at  No.  4235<2  South  Spring  street.  In  addition  to 
private  practice  he  engaged  as  professor  of  dermatology  in  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Los  Angeles,  from  which  institution  his  eldest 
sons,  Newbern  N.  and  Newell  J.,  Jr.,  twins,  were  graduated  in  1905.  Newell 
J.,  Jr.,  afterward  opened  an  office  at  Tehachapi,  where  he  is  now  surgeon 
for  the  Santa  Fe  and  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroads.  Newbern  N.  came 
to  Bakersfield  in  the  fall  of  1907,  and  two  years  later  he  was  joined  by  his 
father,  the  two  having  since  practiced  together  with  offices  in  the  Oil 
Exchange  building.  In  addition  to  their  large  private  patronage  they  act 
as  surgeons  for  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad.  The  two  sons  and  their  father 
have  maintained  an  active  association  with  the  county,  state  and  American 
Medical  Associations.  The  son,  Austin  F.,  is  also  a  resident  of  Bakers- 
field,  so  that  the  youngest  son,  a  resident  of  Stanislaus  county,  is  the 
only  member  of  the  family  living  away  from  Kern  county.  In  politics 
all  affiliate  with  the  Republican  party.  While  making  his  home  at  Hailey, 
in  1884,  Dr.  Brown  was  made  a  Mason  in  Hailey  Lodge  No.  16,  F.  &  A.  M., 
of  which  he  is  still  a  member;  he  was  raised  to  the  Royal  Arch  in  Alturas 
Chapter  No.  5  and  served  as  high  priest.  In  1887  he  was  made  a  Knight 
Templar  in  Boise  Asylum  Commandery  No.  1,  and  the  same  year  took  the 
Scottish  Rite  thirty-second  Consistory  degrees  and  the  K.  C.  C.  H.  in 
Hailey.  On  his  removal  to  Los  Angeles  he  affiliated  with  Los  Angeles  Con- 
sistory No.  3.  of  which  he  is  still  a  member,  and  since  coming  to  Bakersfield 
he  has  been  elected  president  of  the  Scottish  Rite  Association.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  El  Kalah  Temple,  A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.,  of  Salt  Lake  City, 
being  a  charter  member.  He  holds  membership  also  in  the  Los  Angeles 
Lodge  No.  99,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  with  his  son,  Newbern  N.,  belongs  to  the 
Bakersfield  Club. 

CAPT.  ALVIN  E.  MORGAN.— Throughout  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
a  resident  of  Bakersfield,  where  until  his  death  he  followed  the  building  busi- 
ness, Capt.  Alvin  Edgar  Morgan  found  another  field  of  useful  service  in  an 
identification  with  the  California  National  Guard.  When  about  twenty-four 
years  of  age  he  enlisted  and  was  accepted  as  a  member  of  Company  G, 
Sixth  Regiment  of  the  California  Guards.  Later  through  consolidation  this 
became  merged  into  Company  L,  Second  Regiment,  from  which  he  was 
transferred  to  the  hospital  corps  as  sergeant.  Later  he  was  returned  to  Com- 
pany L  as  first  sergeant,  from  which  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
second  lieutenant.  During  the  chaotic  condition  in  San  Francisco  following 
the  fire  he  was  on  active  duty  as  first  sergeant.  During  1911  he  was  success- 
ful in  organizing  Troop  A  of  the  First  Squadron,  California  Cavalry,  and 
immediately  after  the  organization  he  was  chosen  captain,  which  office  he 
filled  with  ability  and  characteristic  energy  until  his  death  February  20, 
1913,  when  he  was  buried  with  military  honors. 


HISTORY    Ol--    Kl'.RX    COl^K'TY  1259 

Born  at  Rochelle,  Ogle  county.  III.,  September  8,  1875,  Alvin  Edgar 
Morgan  was  a  son  of  C.  M.  and  Ida  (Canfield)  Morgan,  natives  respectively 
of  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  and  now  residents  of  Kern  county.  The  father, 
who  is  a  plastering  contractor  by  trade,  came  to  Hakersfield  during  1884  and 
joined  a  brother,  Alfred,  then  superintendent  of  the  McClung  ranch.  The 
brother  until  his  death  in  l910  retained  him  in  the  capacity  of  foreman  and 
since  then  he  has  been  employed  as  night  watchman  on  another  ranch  in 
this  county.  Of  the  eight  children  comprising  his  family  all  but  three  still 
survive.  The  eldest  of  the  family,  Alvin  Edgar,  attended  the  primary  schools 
of  Illinois  and  the  grammar  schools  of  California,  and  while  still  a  mere  lad 
acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  stock  business.  Upon  starting  out 
for  himself  he  became  an  employe  and  learned  to  manufacture  soda  in  the 
C.  O.  D.  soda  works,  remaining  with  that  company  for  nine  years  in  all 
and  holding  the  positii  n  of  manager  during  the  latter  part  of  his  connec- 
tion with  them.  In  1906  he  went  to  San  hVancisco  and  worked  at  the  trade 
of  a  carpenter,  remaining  for  eighteen  months.  Meantime  he  took  a  corre- 
spondence course  in  the  drawing  of  plans  and  in  general  architecture,  also 
in  the  building  business.  From  San  Francisco  he  came  back  to  Bakersfield 
and  secured  empKyment  as  foreman  for  Mr.  Lindgren.  During  the  eighteen 
months  of  his  association  with  that  contractor  he  aided  in  the  building  of 
the  New  Southern  hotel,  Tegeler  building,  Hotel  Morence  and  Security 
Trust  Company's  bank.  L'i)on  severing  his  association  with  Mr.  Lindgren 
he  engaged  in  business  for  himself  and  since  then  had  made  a  specialty  of 
building  cottages  and  bungalows,  meanwhile  having  erected  his  own  resi- 
dence on  the  corner  of  Ninth  and  L  streets.  This  comfortable  home  is  pre- 
sided over  with  dignity  and  economy  by  his  capable  wife,  whom  he  married 
in  Bakersfield  and  who  was  Miss  Mamie  Long,  a  native  of  Lawrence,  Kans. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Jennie  (Canfield)  Long,  and  came  to 
California  in  1897.  Of  the  marriage  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morgan  was  born  one 
son,  Alvin  Reese.  In  fraternal  relations  Captain  Morgan  held  membership 
with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

J.  M.  SAFFELL. — The  genealogy  of  the  Saffell  family  indicates  an 
honorable  southern  lineage  dating  back  to  the  colonial  era.  Nor  was  there, 
in  the  entire  American  history  of  the  family,  any  member  more  intelligent  in 
mind,  more  efficient  in  service,  more  patriotic  in  citizenship  or  more  earnest 
in  religious  work  than  Rev.  Samuel  Peck  SafTell,  who  was  born  in  Tennessee, 
November  29,  1820.  With  scarcely  an}^  educational  advantages,  he  pos- 
sessed such  great  native  endowments  and  such  intense  spiritual  devotion  of 
character  that  at  the  age  of  only  seventeen  he  was  a  lay  preacher  of  local 
tame.  The  bishop  of  the  Methi  dist  Episcopal  Church  of  his  district,  recogniz- 
ing his  superior  talents,  ordained  him  to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  Through- 
out a  long  and  active  life,  while  earning  a  livelihood  in  various  occupations, 
he  gave  his  services  gratuitously  in  frontier  communities.  After  a  week  of 
arduous  labor  as  carpenter,  wheelwright  or  wagonmaker  (in  all  of  which 
trades  he  excelled)  he  was  never  too  weary  to  devote  the  entire  Sabbath  to 
preaching  and  other  work  of  a  similar  nature.  Remote  and  isolated  regions, 
where  people  had  no  church  i)rivileges,  felt  the  impetus  of  his  generous  aid 
and  helpful  sermons.  At  dififerent  periods  of  his  mature  years  he  lived  in 
Arkansas.  Illinois.  Kansas  and  California,  and  in  each  of  these  states  he 
accomplished  much  for  Christ  and  His  church.  Born  in  Tennessee  and 
deceased  in  Fresnn,  Cal.,  the  interval  between  birth  and  death  represented 
an  era  of  intense  religious  activity  and  self-sacrificing  labors  for  the  uplift- 
ing of  humanity. 

By  the  marriage  of  Rev.  Samuel  P.  SafFell  and  Mary  A.  Watson,  who 
was  born  in  Lawrence  county.  Ala.,  January  9,  1823.  and  died  in  Fresno,  Cal., 
there  were  thirteen  children  and   seven  of  these  are  now  living.    J.    M..  the 


1260  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

fourth  among  the  survivors,  was  born  in  Marion  county,  Ark.,  February  27, 
1858.  and  at  the  age  of  six  years  accompanied  his  parents  to  Illinois,  when 
ten  years  old  moved  with  them  to  Kansas  and  at  twelve  returned  with  them 
to  Arkansas.  In  each  of  these  states  he  attended  public' schools.  As  soon  as 
large  enough  to  assist  his  father  he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  carpenter. 
After  he  arrived  in  Kelseyville,  Lake  county,  Cal.,  in  November  of  1873  he 
earne_d  his  livelihood  at  carpentering.  After  he  had  removed  to  Red  Bluff 
in  18/7  and  had  taken  employment  under  Hans  Hansen,  builder,  he  began  the 
study  of  architecture,  his  interest  in  the  specialty  having  been  fostered  by  the 
exceptional  ability  as  architect  and  designer  displayed  by  his  employer. 
Initial  experience  as  architect  and  superintendent  of  construction  came  to 
him  with  his  location  in  Fresno,  where  he  remained  for  eleven  years,  mean- 
while meeting  with  gratifying  success.  The  first  four-story  building  erected 
in  the  town  was  the  Fresno  Loan  and  Savings  Bank,  which  he  designed  and 
superintended.  Other  important  buildings  were  planned  under  his  super- 
vision. A  long  period  of  intense  devotion  to  professional  w^ork  undermined 
his  health.  L'nable  to  continue  in  business,  he  gave  up  his  interests  in 
Fresno  and  for  seven  years  traveled  in  different  parts  of  the  west,  working 
when  able,  roughing  it  in  camp,  living  in  the  open  air  and  seeing  much  of  the 
country,  while  gradually  regaining  his  strength. 

As  early  as  1901  ^Ir.  Saffell  came  to  Bakersfield  for  the  first  time.  In  a 
temporan*-  residence  of  eighteen  months  in  this  city  he  laid  the  foundation 
of  the  high  professional  standing  he  now  enjoys.  Among  his  architectural 
plans  were  those  for  the  First  Bank  of  Kern  and  the  Mortenson  hotel.  Upon 
leaving  this  city  he  spent  a  number  of  years  at  San  Pedro  and  there  super- 
intended the  construction  of  various  large  structures  as  well  as  private 
homes.  Returning  to  Bakersfield  in  1909,  he  since  has  devoted  his  time  to 
the  work  of  architect  and  superintendent  of  construction,  having  planned  in 
this  period  the  Axelson  machine  building,  the  Verdier  building  and  many 
schoolhouses  and  residences.  To  a  large  degree  he  has  recovered  his  health, 
so  that  it  is  possible  for  him  to  give  to  his  profession  the  close  attention  and 
painstaking  care  it  demands.  By  his  first  marriage  he  has  a  son,  Joseph 
Edward,  m w  a  resident  of  Trinity  county.  By  his  second  wife,  who  was 
iliss  Ella  Milne,  a  native  of  Nevada,  he  has  four  children,  namely:  Frank, 
now  in  Los  Angeles:  Mrs.  Laura  Zuver.  whose  husband  is  employed  in  the 
Kern  river  oil  fields :  Melvin  and  Lillie.  of  Bakersfield.  Reared  in  the  Meth- 
odist faith,  Mr.  Saffell  always  has  retained  a  deep  affection  for  that  church 
and  a  practical  interest  in  its  progress.  Politically  he  votes  with  the  Reoub- 
lican  partv.  In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  membership  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

JAMES  SHANNON  ADAMS.— As  engineer  for  the  North-American  Oil 
Consolidated  in  the  Midway  field  Mr.  Adams  is  well  qualified  by  an  aptitude 
for  mechanical  engineering  inherited  from  his  father,  a  competent  engineer 
at  one  time  largely  interested  in  saw-milling  and  lumbering. 

L'ntil  about  seventeen  years  of  age  Mr.  Adams  lived  in  Michigan  and 
he  was  born  in  Isabella  county,  that  state.  August  6-  1891.  being  the  only 
surviving  son  of  Thomas  G.  and  Sarah  Jane  (Muma)  Adams,  the  latter 
of  whom  died  in  1905.  The  two  daughters  in  the  family.  Sarah  L.  and 
Hattie  Irene,  still  reside  in  Michigan,  the  former  in  Detroit  and  the  latter 
at  Clare.  Clare  county.  The  father,  who  engaged  in  lumbering  and  also 
operated  an  engine  at  Gilmore.  Clare  county,  finally  removed  from  Michigan 
to  the  Pacific  northwest  and  is  now  living  in  ^^'ashington.  From  early  life 
he  had  a  local  reputation  for  skill  as  a  mechanic  and  for  ability  to  handle 
any  kind  cf  an  engine.  Training  his  only  son  with  exacting  care,  he  taught 
the  lad  in  early  years  to  understand  even,^  detail  connected  with  engines 
and  to  operate  them  with  unerring  skill.    Natural  ability  developed  by  care- 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  1261 

ful  training  lias  enabled  the  younger  man'  to  make  good  as  an  engineer. 
March  12,  1908,  he  arrived  in  Bakersfield,  and  secured  work  in  the  Kern 
river  field.  During  Jul}-  of  1911  he  went  to  Los  Angeles,  but  soon  returned 
to  the  Kern  river  field.  In  March  of  1912  he  came  to  the  Midway  field  and 
secured  wurk  as  an  oiler  under  Mr.  Caffrey  on  section  16  division  of  the 
Xorth  .American  Oil  Consolidated,  with  which  corporation  he  has  continued 
up  to  the  present  time,  and  since  January,  1913.  has  been  filling  the  position 
of  engineer.  January  1,  1913,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mildred 
Leone  Whittekin,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and  immediately  after  his  mar- 
riage he  brought  his  wife  to  the  section  16  division,  where  they  now  nccupy 
one  of  the  company  residences. 

JOHN  V.  UPTON.— At  Dundas,  Richland  county.  III.  Mr.  Upton  was 
born  December  22,  1863,  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Cynthia  (Malick)  Ui)ton, 
the  former  born  in  Kentucky  of  Irish  descent,  and  the  latter  a  member  of  an 
ancient  and  honorable  Teutonic  family  whose  genealogy  is  recorded  back  two 
hundred  years  in  German  history.  The  parental  family  numbered  five  chil- 
dren and  John  \'.  was  the  only  son  who  attained  mature  years.  After  he 
had  completed  the  studies  of  the  country  schools  he  devuted  himself  to  gen- 
eral farming  and  in  1888  left  Illinois  for  California,  where  he  investigated 
conditions  in  Kings,  Tulare  and  Kern  countj'.  August  of  1888  found  him 
in  the  county  last-named,  where  he  pre-empted  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  30,  township  30,  range  30,  and  during  the  period  of  pre-emption  he 
earned  a  livelihood  at  ditch  work  in  Tulare  county. 

During  October  of  1895  Mr.  Upton  bought  one-half  section  of  school 
land  forming  the  south  half  of  section  24,  township  30.  range  29,  and  of  this 
tract  he  still  owns  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  devoted  to  dry  farming,  in 
which  he  is  regarded  as  an  expert.  The  family  home  is  located  on  the  forty- 
acre  tract  three  and  three-fourths  miles  southeast  of  Edison  and  eleven  and 
four-tenths  miles  southeast  of  Bakersfield,  where  he  and  his  wife  have  a 
comfortable  ranch-house,  brightened  by  the  presence  of  their  children  and 
made  happy  by  mutual  devotion  and  harmony.  In  April  of  1899  Mr.  Upton 
returned  to  Illinois  and  there  married  Miss  Mary  J.  Hershey,  of  Lawrence 
county.  Upon  his  return  to  California  he  settled  on  the  ranch  and  has  since 
labored  with  undaunted  determination  to  develop  the  land.  His  task  has 
been  one  requiring  great  courage  and  optimism.  For  years  he  was  obliged  to 
haul  water  from  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company's  tank  at  Bena. 
not  only  paying  a  high  price  for  the  water,  but  in  addition  devoting  much 
time  to  the  diiificult  work  o>f  hauling  all  that  he  needed  on  his  farm.  Under 
all  of  his  discouragements  he  has  not  lost  faith  in  the  ultimate  success  of 
agriculture  in  the  district  and  in  the  final  value  of  his  ranch  for  general 
farming  purposes.  In  his  family  there  were  eight  children.  One  son,  Robert 
v.,  was  only  one  week  old  at  the  time  of  his  death.  The  surviving  children 
are  Isaac  M.,  Cynthia  E.,  Roy  Smith,  Ruth  Lucile,  Ina  M.,  Bertha  M.  and 
Elizabeth  Irene,  the  latter  born  June  6,  1913.  All  are  intelligent  and  ener- 
getic and  are  a  source  of  pride  and  joy  to  the  parents. 

HENRY  C.  DUNLAP.— Throughout  this,  his  native  county,  Mr.  Dun- 
lap  has  a  wide  circle  of  acquaintances,  particularly  among  the  county  officials 
and  their  assistants,  for  he  has  acted  as  courthouse  custodian  ever  since  Jan- 
uary 1,  1895. 

A  member  of  a  pioneer  family  of  Kern  c<  unt}',  where  he  was  born 
December  10,  1803,  Henry  C.  Dunlap  descends  from  good  old  southern  stock 
and  is  a  son  of  James  and  Lucy  (  Ellis )  Dunlap,  both  natives  of  Texas,  the 
latter  now  deceased,  but  the  former  is  a  resident  of  Tulare  county.  The 
Ellis  family  removed  from  Mississippi  to  Texas  during  the  early  settlement 
of  the  Lone  Star  state,  while  the  Dunlaps  lived  in  Missouri  during  the  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century.    There  were  six  children  in  the  parental   fam- 


1262  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

ily.  but  of  these  one  daughter  diecl  in  infancy  and  one  son,  Thomas,  who  had 
rendered  efficient  service  as  deputy  under  Sheriff  W.  J.  Graham,  died  in 
Kern  county  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years.  The  only  surviving  daughter, 
Emma,  married  H.  L.  Conner,  now  superintendent  of  a  large  ranch  near 
Tipton,  Tulare  county.  Two  sons,  John  and  J.  W.,  are  prominent  stockmen 
and  ranchers  in  that  county.  Henry  C,  who  has  been  a  lifelong  resident  of 
Kern  county,  married  in  April,  1888,  Miss  Callie  Slinkard,  who  was  born  in 
Los  Angeles  county  and  their  union  has  been  blessed  with  four  children, 
namely:  Clotean,  now  the  wife  of  E.  P.  Harmony,  of  Missouri;  Breer  M.,  a 
bookkeeper  at  Weil's  department  store,  Bakersfield  ;  Leonard  J.,  bookkeeper 
for  R.  Pyle,  Bakersfield ;  and  Ward  J.,  who  is  a  student  in  the  Bakersfield 
schools.  Like  Mr.  Dunlap,  Mrs.  Dunlap  also  comes  from  pioneer  California 
families,  who  originally  came  from  the  south.  Her  father,  Solomon  Slinkard, 
was  a  native  of  Arkansas,  while  her  mother,  Laura  (Glass)  Slinkard,  was 
born  in  Texas.  The  mother  crossed  the  plains  with  her  parents  while  a 
mere  girl,  and  the  father  was  about  twenty  years  of  age  when  he  came  to 
California.  They  were  married  in  Los  Angeles  county  and  had  nine  children, 
of  whom  Mrs.  Dunlap  was  the  fifth  child.  The  father  prospered  excep- 
tionally well  in  Los  Angeles  county  for  a  while,  but  owing  to  the  ill  health 
of  his  wife  he  sold  out  there  and  moved  to  Tulare  county,  settling  on  the 
White  river,  near  California  Hot  Springs,  where  he  engaged  in  the  cattle 
business.  Both  are  now  deceased,  but  are  well  remembered  by  a  host  of 
pioneer  friends  in  Los  Angeles,  Tulare,  as  well  as  Kern  counties,  where 
many  of  their  children,  including  Mrs.  Dunlap,  grew  to  maturity,  and  en- 
joyed all  the  experiences  and  incidents  common  to  the  well-to-do  pioneer 
California  ranchman's  life. 

'VINING  E.  BARKER.— Perhaps  throughout  the  entire  county  of  Kern 
there  is  not  td  be  found  a  more  complete  and  splendidly  conducted  ranch 
than  that  of  Vining  E.  Barker,  its  wide  area  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  well-irrigated,  jiroductive  land  evidencing  the  untiring  energy  and 
clever  management  of  its  details.  This  was  originally  the  property  of  an 
uncle  of  Vining  Barker  who  was  a  native  of  New  York  and  left  there  in 
1851  to  make  a  home  in  California.  He  came  by  way  of  Panama  and  was 
engaged  in  mining  for  a  time  in  various  places,  in  1872  locating  in  Kern 
county,  where  he  purchased  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  and 
followed  farming  until  his  death  December  25,  1895. 

Vining  T.  Barker  was  born  February  22,  1851,  and  brought  up  on  the 
home  farm  in  Morenci,  Lenawee  county,  Mich.,  whither  his  parents,  Albert 
and  Julia  (Wilcox)  Barker,  had  come  from  New  York  in  the  early  days. 
Driving  from  New  York  over  the  difficult  corduroy  roads,  they  settled  in 
Lenawee  county,  Mich.,  where  they  bought  a  claim  ;  there  the  father,  who 
was  a  native  of  New  York,  passed  away.  Receiving  all  the  advantages  af- 
forded to  him  by  the  local  public  schools,  Mr.  Barker  then  attended  the 
Bryant  &  Stratton  Business  College  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  after  graduation 
was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Morenci  for  a  time.  His  first  trip 
10  California  occurred  in  1877.  and  he  returned  to  the  coast  in  the  fall  of 
1890  expecting  to  make  a  visit,  but  the  many  advantages  appealing  to  a 
young  man  finally  influenced  him  to  make  California  his  home,  and  returning 
to  the  east  to  dispose  of  his  interests,  he  came  back  and  superintended  the 
farm  nf  his  uncle  in  Kern  county  for  a  time,  later  purchasing  it  from  his 
estate.  The  ranch  is  situated  about  fourteen  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield 
in  the  Old  River  district,  under  the  Stine  canal,  and  here  are  raised  alfalfa 
and  stock,  and  a  flourishing  dairy  business  is  carried  on.  Irrigation  is  also 
procured  from  a  flowing  artesian  well  that  has  a  depth  of  six  hundred  and 
fifteen  feet,  the  orchard,  vineyard  and  garden  being  irrigated  and  water  for 
domestic  use  is  supplied.    It  is  known  to  be  one  of  the  finest  flowing  wells  in 


HISTORY    OI'     KKRN    COUNTY  1263 

the  county.  There  is  also  on  the  ranch  a  large  artificial  lake  in  which  fish 
abound  and  the  whole  effect  of  the  place  is  one  of  beauty,  system  and  pro- 
ductiveness. Along  with  this  interest  Mr.  Barker  has  oil  property  in  Mc- 
Kittrick,  and  he  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Ignited  States  Oil  and  Develop- 
ment Company. 

The  marriage  of  Air.  liarker  occurred  in  .Morenci,  .Mich.,  l-'ebruary  22, 
1882.  uniting  him  with  Miss  Ella  Uean.  wh(j  was  born  in  Wauseon,  Fulton 
county,  Ohio,  daughter  of  James  S.  and  Eunice  E.  (Clemmans)  Dean,  the 
former  born  in  Chemung  county,  N.  Y.,  and  the  latter  in  Ohio.  James  S. 
Dean  served  in  the  Civil  war  in  Company  .-\,  Sixty-seventh  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry,  holding  the  office  of  lieutenant.  He  was  a  large  farmer  in  Ohio  and 
resided  in  Wauseon,  where  he  died  in  1905  ;  his  widow  still  survives.  Mrs. 
Barker  was  educated  in  the  college  at  Ada,  Ohio,  and  with  her  husband 
shares  in  the  friendship  of  a  host  of  well-wishers.  They  have  one  child.  Jay 
A.  Barker,  of  Bakersfield.     In  politics  Mr.  Barker  is  a  Republican. 

MATEO  SMITH.— Loyalty  to  local  development  is  a  characteri.'^tic  of 
the  citizens  of  East  Pjakersfield  and  in  this  attribute  Mr.  Smith  stands  second 
to  none.  .After  having  Ijeen  variously  occupied  at  other  places,  in  1907  he  be- 
came identified  with  the  real-estate  business  in  this  place  and  has  since  been 
successful  in  handling  ]iroperty  for  others,  developing  his  own  holdings, 
and  buying,  selling  and  trading  real  estate.  To  an  unusual  degree  he  under- 
stands valuations  in  his  home  town  and  he  also  exercises  a  keen  foresight 
concerning  future  increases  and  the  upward  trend  of  the  realty  market.  Be- 
sides his  residence  at  No.  903  Fremont  street,  which  he  erected  some  years 
ago,  he  owns  other  property  in  the  city  and  he  is  also  the  owner  of  a  small 
ranch  three  miles  out.  where  he  is  interested  in  the  raising  of  alfalfa  and 
stock.  In  addition  he  owns  interests  in  oil  companies  and  oil  lands  in  the 
fields  of  this  county. 

A  native  son  of  the  state.  Mr.  Smith  was  born  at  CJilroy,  Santa  Clara 
county,  October  21,  1868.  and  is  a  son  of  the  late  Charles  and  Carmen  (Pas- 
caida)  Smith.  The  father,  an  .Austrian  by  birth  and  a  sailor  by  occupation, 
was  attracted  to  California  by  the  discovery  of  gold  and  during  1849  rounded 
the  Horn,  sailed  up  the  Pacific  and  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. For  some  years  he  followed  mining  and  in  addition  he  also  owned  and 
conducted  hotels.  After  having  conducted  an  hotel  at  Old  .Alameda  he  fol- 
lowed the  same  business  in  Gilroy  and  later  in  Hollister.  While  engaged  in 
placer  mining  in  Tuolumne  county  he  died  there  at  the  age  of  seventy-four. 
Later  his  wife,  who  was  a  member  of  a  pioneer  family  of  Santa  Clara  county, 
came  to  East  Bakersfield  to  make  her  home  with  her  son,  Mateo,  and  here 
she  died  at  seventy-three  years  of  age.  There  were  eleven  children  in  the 
family  and  five  of  these  are  .still  living.  Of  the  eleven  Mateo  was  fifth  in 
order  of  birth.  From  ten  years  of  age  he  not  only  supported  himself,  but 
also  aided  in  the  maintenance  of  the  family.  It  was  impossible  for  him  to 
secure  a  good  education,  liut  he  has  acquired  a  broatl  fund  of  information 
through  habits  of  close  iil)ser\ati(in  and  tlirnugh  tlu-  intelligent  cultivation  of 
his  mental  faculties. 

After  having  been  a  helper  in  a  dray  business  at  Hollister  for  a  number 
of  years  Mr.  Smith  came  to  Bakersfield  in  1886.  His  energy  and  versatile 
talents  led  him  to  acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of  carpentering  and  of 
plumbing  and  steam-fitting,  besides  the  trade  of  a  stationary  engineer,  which 
last-named  occupation  he  followed  not  only  in  this  city,  but  also  in  the  moun- 
tain sawmills.  All  of  these  trades  he  followed  more  or  less  and  should  he 
choose,  he  could  now  earn  a  livelihood  at  any  of  them.  In  addition  he  has 
been  interested  in  mining  and  has  improved  a  number  of  claims,  but  this 
work  he  has  found  far  from  profitable.  .Among  the  i)rincipal  points  of  his 
mining  \entures  Keyesville  and  Piute  have  been  the  most  important  and  now 


1264  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

he  also  has  claims  on  Mill  creek  in  the  Breckenridge  mountains.  While  min- 
ing at  Keyesville  he  located  a  ledge,  Good  View,  out  of  a  small  strata  of 
which  he  took  $6,000,  but  that  entire  sum  he  afterward  sunk  in  attempting  a 
further  development  of  the  same  ledge.  While  mining  has  been  an  interest- 
ing occupation  for  him,  as  for  all  who  have  ever  entered  it,  it  is  his  belief  that 
the  greatness  of  California  consists  less  in  its  mines  than  in  its  rich  soil,  its 
possibilities  of  horticulture  and  agricultural  cultivation  and  its  superb  climate. 
His  marriage  took  place  in  East  Bakersfield  February  12,  1911,  and  united 
him  with  Mrs.  Delia  (Fowler)  Miller,  a  native  of  Kirksville,  Mo.,  and  the 
mother  of  one  child,  Mary  Elizabeth,  by  her  first  marriage. 

Mrs.  Smith  is  the  daughter  of  Dr.  R.  M.  and  Martha  (O'Brien)  Fowler, 
natives  of  Berlin,  Germany,  and  Dublin,  Ireland,  respectively.  The  father 
was  a  graduate  physician  from  the  University  of  Berlin  and  for  many  years 
practiced  medicine  in  Kirksville,  but  he  is  now  retired  and  Ifoking  after  his 
large  real-estate  interests.  Mrs.  Smith  is  a  graduate  of  the  State  Normal  at 
Kirksville.  Most  of  her  life  has  been  spent  in  business;  since  coming  to 
Bakersfield  she  has  engaged  actively  in  the  real-estate  business  and  is  ably 
assisting  her  husband.  She  has  charge  of  the  renting  department,  which 
she  is  bringing  to  marked  success,  and  has  a  large  clientele  among  the  large 
property  owners  of  the  city. 

GEORGE  S.  MAY.— The  president  of  May's  Transfer  and  Storage  Com- 
pany, incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  state  of  California,  has  had  many 
interesting  experiences  since  first  he  embarked  in  the  draying  business  in 
1898.  The  incident  which  led  to  the  starting  of  the  business  was  in  itself 
apparently  insignificant.  The  proprietors  of  what  was  then  the  leading 
transfer  company  of  Bakersfield  caused  his  arrest,  as  he  thought  very  un- 
justly, for  hauling  a  trunk  without  a  city  license.  A  second  complaint  against 
him  caused  him  to  embark  in  the  business  for  himself  and  he  then  organized 
the  Opposition  Transfer  Company.  For  a  year  his  sole  equipment  comprised 
one  horse  and  a  wagon  which  had  been  rebuilt  from  an  old  hotel  bus,  the 
whole  worth  about  $40.  One  of  his  first  friends  and  helpers  was  Las  Mon- 
toya.  who  aided  in  the  rebuilding  of  the  wagon.  Opposition  of  every  kind 
was  presented,  but  he  steadily  gained  in  the  competing  game  against  his 
business  opponents.  Soon  it  became  apparent  that  the  trade  required  addi- 
tional equipment.  Accordingly  he  bought  out  the  George  Carlock  Trucking 
Company  and  thus  secured  needed  wagons  and  horses.  Later  he  took  in  the 
Union  Transfer  Company  on  a  percentage  basis  and  on  his  suggestion  his 
brother,  Charles  A.,  purchased  that  concern,  becoming  one-third  owner  with 
his  brother.  About  three  months  afterward  Charles  A.  bought  out  Wood's 
Transfer  Company  and  thus  became  one-half  owner  in  the  whole  business. 

Disposing  of  their  trucking  and  draying  interests,  the  brothers  devoted 
themselves  strictly  to  the  transfer  and  storage  business  and  for  fifteen  years 
have  handled  the  business  of  all  the  theatrical  companies  in  Bakersfield. 
Meanwhile  they  secured  the  government  contract  for  hauling  mail  between 
the  depots  and  the  postoffice.  They  also  secured  the  contract  with  the  Wells- 
Fargo  Company  for  transfer  of  packages  between  the  depots.  Last  of  all 
they  won  the  commercial  trade  of  the  city.  From  a  very  modest  beginning 
their  trade  increased  steadily  and  now  they  utilize  eleven  transfer  and  dray- 
age  trucks.  Trunks  and  suit-cases  formerly  were  stored  in  a  room,  10x16, 
which  previously  had  been  used  as  a  harness-room  in  their  barn.  Soon  this 
small  space  proved  inadequate.  Other  rooms  were  rented,  but  each  in  turn 
became  too  small  for  the  growing  business.  It  then  became  necessary  to 
erect  a  suitable  storage  warehouse  and  in  August  of  1911  the  brothers  began 
the  construction  of  a  building,  50x110  feet  in  dimensions,  with  a  capacity  of 
ten  thousand  square  feet.  This  fireproof  structure  stands  on  the  corner  of 
Stockton  and  Humboldt  streets.  East  Bakersfield,  and  the  large  barns  stand 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1265 

in  the  same  block  not  far  distant  from  the  residences  of  the  two  brothers. 
The  office  of  the  company  is  in  the  basement  of  the  Old  Fish  building  in 
Bakersfield.  The  capital  stock  of  the  company,  $20,000  paid  in,  was  secured 
by  the  sale  of  two  thousand  shares  of  stock  at  $10  per  share. 

A  native  son  of  the  state,  George  S.  May  was  born  at  Sierraville,  Sierra 
county,  near  Truckee,  Nevada  county,  where  his  father,  George,  was  a  popu- 
lar pioneer,  a  well-known  miner  and  the  manager  of  a  sawmill.  The  pos- 
sessor of  musical  ability  of  a  high  order  (although  undeveloped)  he  learned  to 
play  the  violin  and  was  in  constant  demand  at  the  country  dances  of  the 
early  days.  In  that  way  he  came  to  be  known  as  "Fiddler"  May.  His  warm- 
hearted disposition  brought  him  hosts  of  friends,  while  his  remarkable  exec- 
utive ability  made  him  a  leader  in  pioneer  circles.  While  engaged  in  mining 
he  had  business  relations  with  Senator  Jones  of  Nevada  and  Senator  Stewart 
and  at  ciie  time  he  was  a  partner  of  Senator  George  Hearst.  For  some  years 
his  life  record  was  a  history  of  the  mining  development  of  the  west,  whither 
he  had  come  during  the  eventful  year  of  1849.  Born  in  Hamilton  county, 
Ohio,  in  1829,  he  had  gone  to  Springfield,  that  state,  in  early  life  and  thence 
to  Springfield  in  Illinois.  As  soon  as  he  heard  <jf  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
California  he  made  preparations  for  the  trip  to  the  west  and  during  the 
summer  of  1840  he  crossed  the  pla.ins  with  ox-teams.  In  1850  he  arrived 
at  the  placer  mines  above  Sacramento.  For  a  time  he  hauled  freight  with 
oxen  from  Sacramento  to  Yuba  City,  Yubatovvn,  Grass  Vallej',  Nevada  City 
and  other  early  mining  camps. 

The  first  shaft  on  the  Yellow  Jacket  in  the  near  vicinity  of  the  Com- 
stock  lode  in  Nevada  was  sunk  by  George  May,  who  received  his  pay  in 
ore  and  sold  the  same  for  $100,000,  but  unfortunately  lost  the  entire  fortune 
in  a  similar  venture  with  the  Golden  Curry  mine.  Later  he  was  elected 
sheriff  of  Nevada  county,  Cal.,  and  during  the  Civil  war  he  served  as 
United  States  marshal.  When  the  war  closed  he  began  in  the  livery  business 
at  Nevada  City,  but  was  unfortunate  in  having  his  stables  twice  destroyed  by 
fire.  From  that  county  he  went  to  Sierra  county  and  there  married  Miss 
Isabelle  Davis,  daughter  of  T.  J.  Davis,  Jr.,  an  honored  pioneer,  and  grand- 
daughter of  T.  J.  Davis,  Sr.,  commonly  known  as  "Grizzly"  Davis  on  ac- 
count of  his  record  in  the  killing  of  bears,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  the 
owner  of  the  land  now  occupied  by  Davisville  in  Yolo  county.  In  the  family 
of  George  May  there  were  ten  children.  l)ut  three  of  these  died  in  infancy. 
The  seven  now  living  are  named  as  follows:  George  S.,  of  this  article;  Grace 
G.,  wife  of  Henry  Williams,  of  East  Bakersfield;  Charles  A.,  represented 
elsewhere  in  this  volume;  John  Clarence  and  James  Albert,  farmers  in  the 
Weed  Patch  ;  Lillian  E.,  who  married  Clay  Phillips,  now  living  on  a  farm 
in  the  Weed  Patch,  but  employed  for  some  years  as  manager  of  associated 
.stores  in  the  various  oil  fields  of  the  state:  and  .\rthur.  also  a  farmer  in  the 
Weed  Patch  district. 

When  George  S.  May  was  five  years  of  age  the  family  moved  from 
Placer  county  to  a  farm  at  Tracy's  Crossing,  Kern  county,  but  later  removal 
was  made  to  Havilah,  near  which  place  the  father  engaged  in  cattle  ranch- 
ing. After  a  time  return  was  made  to  the  valley  three  miles  .south  of  Bakers- 
field. During  the  gold  excitement  at  Bodie,  Mono  county,  the  father  pros- 
pected in  that  region.  Later  he  managed  the  Whiskey  Hill  mine  in  Calaveras 
countv,  where  he  took  out  as  high  as  $40,000  per  month.  On  his  return  to 
Kern  county  he  resumed  farming.  He  then  went  to  Randsburg,  where  he 
became  interested  in  the  Buckboard  mine  and  was  also  a  factor  in  developing 
the  townsite  of  Randsburg.  While  engaged  in  filling  a  logging  contract  at 
Breckenridge  mill  he  died  suddenly  of  heart  failure,  .August  12,  1899.  mourned 
by  friends  in  every  part  of  the  state.  The  widow,  now  sixty  years  of  age, 
lives  at  the  old  homestead  in  the  \\'ecd  Patch.    Their  eldest  son,  George  S., 


1266  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

was  married  in  1897  to  Miss  Trinity  Silva,  who  was  reared  in  Bakersfield  and 
educated  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  University  at  Los  Angeles.  Mrs.  May 
is  an  own  sister  of  the  lieutenant-governor  of  the  state  of  Colima,  Mexico. 
By  her  marriage  she  is  the  mother  of  two  danghters,  Evelyn  B.  and  Berniece 
D.,  aged  eleven  and  thirteen  respectively,  both  students  in  the  Paige  Sem- 
inary for  Girls  at  Los  Angeles.  This  school  has  an  attendance  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-six  girls,  ranging  in  age  from  eleven  to  nineteen.  In  June, 
1913,  each  of  Mr.  May's  daughters  took  one  of  the  three  prizes  offered 
for  the  best  scholarships. 

DAVID  L.  HOENSHELL.— Well  known  as  a  contractor  of  Bakersfield 
and  a  resident  of  this  city  since  September  of  1889,  Mr.  Hoenshell  is  a 
native  of  Coshocton  county.  Ohio,  and  was  born  in  the  year  1860.  Rural 
environment  made  agriculture  familiar  to  his  boyhood  years,  for  his  father, 
John,  tilled  the  soil  as  a  means  of  livelihood  for  the  family.  After  he  had 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  three  R's  in  the  country  school  near  his  home 
he  was  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  a  carpenter  and  during  the  course  of  his 
service  he  was  sent  into  the  timber  to  fell  the  trees  and  hew  in  pieces  the 
logs ;  by  so  doing  he  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  lumber  in  its  natural 
state  and  the  information  thus  acquired  was  a  help  to  him  in  later  expe- 
riences. Upon  attaining  his  majority  he. left  home  to  make  his  own  way  in 
the  world  and  following  the  trend  of  emigration  toward  the  west  found  a 
place  of  sojourn  in  Kansas,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  in  Atchison  county. 
Later  he  became  interested  in  the  stock  business  and  also  conducted  a 
butcher  shop  in  the  same  locality.  Coming  to  California  during  1885  he 
proceeded  from  Los  Angeles  to  Tulare  county  and  found  employment  in 
agricultural  pursuits.  During  the  spring  of  1889  he  became  agent  for  the 
Union  Ice  Company  at  Visalia  and  in  September  of  the  same  year  he  re- 
moved to  Bakersfield  as  agent  for  the  same  company,  which  shipped  in 
large  quantities  of  natural  ice  from  Truckee.  Until  1893  there  was  no  other 
ice  lousiness  conducted  in  Bakersfield.  He  continued  with  the  firm  until 
1898  and  then  resigned  his  position  in  order  to  engage  in  other  enterprises. 

Ever  since  1898  Mr.  Hoenshell  has  engaged  in  contracting  and  building. 
For  four  years  his  principal  task  was  the  building  of  derricks  in  the  oil 
fields.  For  more  than  two  years,  about  1906-07,  he  gave  his  whole  attention 
to  a  contract  for  roofing  the  twenty-eight  reservoirs  of  the  Standard  Oil 
Company,  each  of  these  reservoirs  covering  seven  acres.  Of  recent  years  he 
specialized  in  bungalows  in  Bakersfield  and  residences  in  the  west  side  oil 
fields  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  Kern  county,  while  his  splendid  reputation 
for  excellence  of  work  has  brought  him  contracts  from  Orange,  Santa  Bar- 
bara and  Ventura  counties.  In  addition  to  the  filling  of  numerous  contracts 
for  buildings  in  the  oil  regions  and  for  city  and  country  residences,  he  ha.= 
erected  a  number  of  public  buildings  and  in  every  class  of  construction  he 
has  been  alike  successful.  At  one  time  he  held  stock  in  the  Superior  Oil 
Company  and  at  this  writing  he  owns  an  interest  in  the  Parafifine  Oil  Com- 
pany. During  1891  he  bought  a  corner  on  Eighteenth  and  H  streets.  At  that 
time  there  were  only  a  few  scattered  houses  west  of  Chester  avenue,  where 
now  business  blocks  of  substantial  construction  abound  and  it  is  safe  to  pre- 
dict that  eventually  a  valuable  block  will  occupy  the  site  which  he  still  owns. 
In  addition  to  this  fine  city  property  and  other  town  realty,  he  owns  one 
hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  fine  ranch  land  in  Kings  county.  While  living 
in  Atchison  county,  Kans.,  he  married  Miss  Hattie  Handley,  a  native  of 
Indiana.  They  are  the  parents  of  four  children,  of  whom  the  eldest,  Hattie, 
is  a  successful  teacher,  and  the  second,  William,  follows  the  trade  of  a 
machinist.  The  two  youngest.  Toby  and  Rosse,  are  high  school  students. 
Fraternally  Mr.  Hoenshell  is  connected  with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen.    For  seven  years  he  was  deputy  sheriff  under  Henry  Borgwardt. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  12o7 

GEORGE  E.  WHITAKER.— i-ur  ihirteea  years  George  E.  VVhitaker 
has  been  a  practitioner  at  the  Kern  County  bar.  His  lather,  iienjamin  L. 
VVhitaker,  was  born  in  Ireland,  as  was  also  his  mother,  the  iormer  being 
assistant  cashier  of  the  liank  of  Ireland  in  Dublin.  His  death  occurred  when 
lie  was  but  thirty-four  years,  before  the  birth  of  George  E.,  which  took 
place  in  Derby,  England,  on  October  22,  1860.  Later  the  widowed  mother 
married  the  late  Dr.  J.  H.  Stallard,  of  San  Francisco,  a  native  and  resident 
of  England,  who  was  a  man  of  wealth  and  spent  most  of  his  time  in 
travel.  Owing  to  unfortunate  mining  investments  which  swept  away  his 
fortune,  the  family  left  England  to  reside  permanently  in  San  Francisco, 
where  Dr.  Stallard  resumed  the  duties  of  his  profession,  enjoying  a  large 
and  lucrative  practice. 

George  E.  Whitaker  was  educated  at  Rugby  school  in  England,  after- 
ward going  to  the  Government  Military  College  at  Versailles,  F'rance.  Upon 
his  arrival  in  San  Francisco  he  proceeded  to  fit  himself  for  a  mercantile 
career  by  taking  a  business  course  in  the  Heald's  Business  College.  Shortly 
after  completing  such  course  he  left  for  the  Hawaiian  Islands  to  accept 
a  position.  He  remained  in  the  islands  between  nine  and  ten  years,  occupy- 
ing a  position  of  trust  and  responsibility  with  one  of  the  largest  sugar 
corporations  there.  During  all  of  this  time  he  had  cherished  the  desire 
to  engage  in  the  practice  of  the  law  and  devoted  a  great  portion  of  his 
spare  time  to  its  study,  for  which  he  was  well  grounded  by  reason  of  his 
course  at  Rugby,  as  well  as  by  the  practical  business  experience  he  had 
acquired  in  the  island.  He  resigned  his  position  and  returned  to  San 
Francisco  about  1894,  and  a  short  time  after  his  return  he  entered  the  law 
office  of  Walter  H.  Linforth,  one  of  the  leading  attorneys  of  that  city.  On 
August  28,  1896,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
state  of  California  and  later  on  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  United 
States  Court.  After  his  admission  he  formed  a  law  partnership  with 
Walter  H.  Linforth,  under  the  firm  name  of  Linforth  &  VVHiitaker,  with 
offices  at  No.  310  Pine  street,  in  the  old  McCreary  building,  San  Francisco. 
Soon  thereafter  the  partnership  was  enlarged  by  the  entrance  of  Hon. 
Grove  L.  Johnson,  father  of  Governor  Hiram  Johnson,  the  firm  name 
becoming  Johnson,  Linforth  &  Whitaker,  with  suite  of  offices  located  in 
the  Call  building.  This  partnership  continued  about  a  year,  when  the 
senior  member  removed  to  Sacramento  and  the  law  business  was  con- 
tinued by  Linforth  &  Whitaker,  who  kept  the  same  offices  and  built  up  a 
lucrative  practice,  continuing  thus  until  the  end  of  1900,  when  it  was 
dissolved  by  mutual  agreement,  .\bout  this  time  there  was  great  excite- 
ment over  the  discovery  of  oil  in  the  Kern  River  field  in  Kern  county  and 
this,  connected  with  the  fact  of  his  growing  intimacy  with  the  late  Harry 
V.  Reardnn,  who  ofifered  him  a  partnership,  determined  Mr.  ^^^^itaker  to 
come  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  and  !Mr.  Reardon  started  a  law  office  under 
the  firm  style  of  Reardon  &  W'hitaker.  with  offices  in  the  Stoner  Block.  Mr. 
Reardon  had  already  reached  an  eminent  position  as  trial  lawyer,  having 
for  several  years  been  the  trial  lawyer  for  the  land  denartment  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railway  Company  and  having  risen  to  distinction  in  his 
own  county  of  Butte.  His  father,  Judere  Reardon,  was  District  Judge  of 
Placer  and  Nevada  counties.  The  yntinsr  law  firm  rapidlv  forced  to  the  fore. 
but  in  1903  was  disrupted  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Reardon.  leaving  Mr.  Whitaker 
to  conduct  the  large  and  constantly  increasintr  practice  alone  and  he  has 
ever  since  retained  the  same  location  for  his  office  and  field  of  operation. 

Mr.  Whitaker  has  a  clear,  active  lec-al  mind,  and  his  tireless  work,  un- 
questioned inte.erity.  courteous  and  affable  manner,  profound  knnwledjre  of 
law     and     his     excellent     business     judgment      have     brought      his      success 


1268  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

in  abundant  measure.  He  has  the  unqualified  respect  of  court  and  bar  alike, 
while  he  numbers  among  his  clientele  many  of  the  leading  corporations  and 
oil  companies  known  to  Kern  county.  Although  a  clever  criminal  lawyer,  his 
successful  ventures  in  the  oil  business  and  his  large  clientele  among  oil 
men  and  financiers  divert  his  time  and  efforts  mainly  to  civil  practice  in 
which  department  he  has  become  very  proficient.  Although  a  general  prac- 
titioner, his  corporation  practice  has  become  very  large  and  he  has  in  con- 
sequence reaped  wealth  in  goodly  measure.  In  his  political  views  he  holds 
steadfastly  to  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party.  At  San  Francisco  in 
1889  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Nettie  M.  Sisson,  the  niece  of  A.  W. 
Sisson,  late  of  the  well-known  constructing  firm  of  Sisson,  Crocker  &  Co., 
who  won  wide  acquaintance  as  contractors  on  the  Union  Pacific  and  South- 
ern Pacific  Railroads.  Mr.  W'hitaker  has  abiding  faith  in  the  future  of 
Bakersfield  and  Kern  county. 

PIERRE  VILLARD. — After  more  than  twenty-five  years  of  industry 
as  an  employe  of  others  or  as  the  owner  of  a  flock  of  sheep,  eventually  Mr. 
Villard  was  in  a  position  to  invest  in  a  tract  of  Kern  county's  splendid  irri- 
gated land  and  since  then  he  has  concentrated  his  attention  upon  the  improve- 
ment of  his  farm. 

A  son  of  Pierre,  Sr..  ajarmer  in  France,  Pierre  \"illard,  Jr.,  was  born  in 
Hautes  Alpes  April  19,  1862,  and  arrived  in  Kern  county  October  3,  1881. 
For  many  years  he  was  engaged  as  herder  for  the  flock  owned  by  Peter  Lam- 
bert, an  influential  stockman  of  that  day.  Aleanwhile  he  made  his  headquar- 
ters at  Sumner  (now  East  Bakersfield).  During  1898  he  bought  a  small 
flock  of  sheep  and  for  the  next  decade  he  gave  his  time  largely  to  the  care 
of  the  drove,  ranging  them  in  Kern,  Inyo,  Fresno  or  Tulare  county  as  con- 
ditions directed  or  the  necessities  of  pasturage  rendered  advisable.  In  19C7 
he  sold  the  sheep  and  invested  the  proceeds  in  the  purchase  of  seventy-one 
acres  on  Brundage  lane  near  Union  avenue  six  miles  south  of  Bakersfield. 
The  land  is  under  irrigation  from  the  canal  and  is  devoted  to  grain  and  al- 
falfa, besides  being  improved  with  family  orchard  and  vineyard,  neat  farm 
house  and  substantial  barn.  In  Bakersfield,  July  20,  1907,  he  married  Miss 
Rose  Grimaud,  a  native  of  Hautes  Alpes,  France,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  two  children,  Peter  and  Rose.  The  family  holds  membership  with  St. 
Joseph's  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  East  Bakersfield. 

GEORGE  W.  KUEHN.— Shortly  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war 
there  came  from  Germany  to  the  United  States  a  young  man  named  William 
Kuehn,  a  native  of  the  vicinity  of  Hamburg  and  the  possessor  of  very  limited 
means,  but  of  an  excellent  education  in  his  native  tongue.  Settling  in  Penn- 
sylvania in  1861,  he  immediately  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  E,  Fifty- 
fifth  Pennsylvania  Infantry,  and  went  to  the  front  with  his  regiment,  taking 
part  in  a  number  of  important  engagements.  Three  years  of  active  service 
had  been  passed  when  he  was  seriously  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Drury's 
BlulT.  The  wound  was  so  serious  that  the  amputation  of  a  leg  was  made 
imperative.  For  many  months  after  the  operation  he  was  unable  to  work, 
but  meanwhile  he  had  received  an  honorable  discharge  from  the  army,  and 
as  soon  as  possible  he  entered  a  business  cr liege  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
took  a  commercial  course.  Soon  afterward  he  opened  a  lumber  yard  at 
Minersville,  Schuylkill  county.  Pa.,  and  there  he  remained  in  business  until 
his  final  retirement  at  an  advanced  age.  For  almost  thirty  years  he  also 
served  as  the  city  justice  of  the  peace.  At  Minersville,  where  he  still  makes 
his  home,  he  married  Alice  Jones,  who  was  born  near  that  city,  of  Welsh 
parentage.  Eight  children  were  born  of  their  union  and  seven  are  still  living, 
George  W.  being  next  to  the  eldest  of  the  number  and  a  native  of  Minersville, 
born'^March  30,' 1872. 

Upon   the   completion   of   a   high-school   course   in   his   native   city   Mr. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COITNTY  1269 

Kuehn  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  moulder  in  Minersville. 
However,  his  tastes  led  him  to  a  study  of  music  rather  than  to  the  life  of  a 
tradesman.  From  childhood  he  had  loved  music  and  had  displayed  excep- 
tional ability  in  that  art.  This  led  to  the  takinsj  up  of  its  study  at  Dana's 
Musical  Institute  in  Warren,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  a  student  until  he 
was  o:raduated  at  the  completion  of  the  regjular  course.  Meanwhile  he  had 
made  a  specialty  of  the  piano  and  clarionet,  in  both  of  which  he  possesses 
exceptional  proficiency.  From  1898  until  HX)0  he  engaged  in  orchestra  work, 
traveling  in  different  states  and  teaching  students  who  had  advanced  beyond 
the  rudiments  of  the  profession.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  at  Warren, 
Ohio,  Miss  Effie  Smith  Pinkard,  who  was  born  in  Illinois,  but  grew  to 
womanhood  in  Ohio.  The  ill  health  of  his  wife  caused  him  to  leave  the  east 
in  K'OO,  with  the  hope  that  she  might  be  benefited  by  the  sunny  climate  of 
California.  It  happened  that  he  arrived  on  the  coast  shortly  after  oil  had 
been  discovered  in  the  Kern  river  field.  Emigration  was  turned  to  Kern 
county  and  he  saw  in  Bakersfield  an  excellent  field  for  his  professional  activi- 
ties. Accordingly  he  established  a  home  here  and  began  as  an  instructor 
of  the  piano,  in  which  he  has  been  successful  from  the  start,  being  not  only 
the  pioneer  piano  teacher  in  the  city,  but  one  of  the  most  prominent  and 
popular.  Kuehn's  orchestra,  the  principal  organization  of  the  kind  in  Hakers- 
field,  was  started  under  his  personal  supervision  and  has  been  trained  to  a 
degree  of  professional  skill  apparent  in  its  rendition  of  the  most  difficult 
compositions.  The  gratifying  position  held  by  the  orchestra  may  be  attrib- 
uted in  large  part  to  the  painstaking  and  intelligent  supervision  of  the  leader, 
whose  musical  temperament  enables  him  to  guide  the  instruments  with  fine 
feeling  and  judicious  restraint.  Mr.  Kuehn  saw  the  possibilities  of  Bakers- 
field  soon  after  he  came  and  purchased  the  northwest  corner  of  G  anrl  Twenty- 
first  streets,  where  he  built  three  substantial  residences,  one  of  which  he  occu- 
pies, and  in  another  he  has  his  studio. 

Having  given  time  and  thought  and  attention  very  closely  to  professional 
duties,  Mr.  Kuehn  has  had  neither  the  inclination  nor  the  leisure  for  partici- 
pation in  public  affairs  and  indeed  takes  no  part  in  such  aside  from  casting  a 
Republican  ticket  at  national  elections.  Of  the  two  daughters  born  of  his 
marriage  Alargaret  is  the  only  survivor,  Estella  having  died  at  the  age  of 
seven  years.  Both  he  and  his  wife  hold  membership  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  and  also  are  interested  in  the  activities  of  the  Women  of  Woodcraft, 
their  membership  in  the  same  resulting  from  his  association  with  the  Wood- 
men of  the  World.  In  addition  he  has  been  identified  for  years  with  the 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

STANISLAUS  GRIMAUD.— Sturdy  French  ancestry  has  contributed  to 
Stanislaus  (:riniaiul  tliat  strength  nf  character,  firmness  of  purpose  and  shrewd 
business  ability  which  has  placed  him  among  the  most  successful  stockmen 
of  Kern  county.  He  was  born  December  13,  18.S4,  in  St.  Bonnet,  among 
the  lofty  Hautes  Alpes,  France,  the  son  of  an  active  and  thrifty  farmer  of 
that  place,  Pierre  Grimaud,  who  married  Marie  Boyer  and  became  the  father 
of  eleven  children  of  whom  but  two  survive.     The  parents  are  both  deceased. 

Exceptional  educational  opportunities  were  those  afforded  to  Mr.  Gri- 
maud, his  studies  in  the  jinblic  schools  being  suimlemented  liy  a  course  at 
the  college  in  Grenoble,  and  being  naturally  of  quick  mind  and  keen  percep- 
tion he  imbibed  the  principles  of  developing  his  intellect  with  such  celerity 
that  he  was  ready  to  face  life's  problems  when  still  quite  young.  In  No- 
vember, 1873,  he  left  France  for  America  with  the  intention  of  making  Cali- 
fornia his  destination,  and  coming  via  Havre  and  New  York  arrived  in  San 
Francisco  January  10th,  following.  He  immediately  set  to  work  to  procure 
emplovment,  and  went  to  work  in  a  coffee  and  spice  factory  for  nine  years. 
In  1882  he  came  to  Delano,  Kern  county,  to  enter  the  employ  of  a  sheep  man, 
and  two  years  later  he  bought  a  flock  of  fifteen  hundred  sheep  and  began  to 


1270  HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COL^XTY 

engage  in  that  enterprise  for  himself,  ranging  his  flocks  around  Delano  and 
the  mountains  of  Kern,  Inyo  and  Mono  counties.  In  1892  he  made  a  trip 
to  his  old  home,  his  visit  lengthening  to  fifteen  months,  when  he  returned 
to  Kern  county  to  resume  his  sheep  business.  In  1901  he  sold  his  sheep  and 
removed  to  Paulina,  Crook  county,  Ore.,  where  he  again  engaged  in  sheep 
raising,  his  flock  numbering  five  thousand  head,  and  he  also  had  three  hun- 
dred head  of  cattle.  Deciding  to  return  to  Delano  he  sold  his  business  in 
November,  1909,  and  upon  arriving  in  Kern  county  bought  a  band  of  sheep 
and  continued  until  1912  in  the  sheep  raising  business,  but  then  sold  out. 
In  January,  1913,  he  bought  forty  acres  near  the  Kern  Island  road,  seven 
miles  south  of  Bakersfield,  and  engaged  in  dairying,  which  still  is  his  busi- 
ness. All  the  land  is  under  irrigation,  and  alfalfa  and  grain  are  raised  in 
abundance.  A  large  dairy  herd  is  kept  and  the  most  excellent  facilities  used 
for  the  dairying. 

Mr.  Grimaud  was  married  January  19,  1889,  to  Miss  Rosine  Borel,  who 
was  born  in  St.  Laurent,  Hautes  Alpes,  France,  and  came  to  California  in 
1888.  Three  children  have  come  to  this  union,  Emma,  who  was  educated 
at  St.  Mary's  Academy,  The  Dalles,  Ore. ;  Stanislaus,  who  also  attended  St. 
Mary"s ;  and  Adrien.     Mr.  Grimaud  is  Republican  in  his  politics. 

MAURICE  NICOLAS.— The  sterling  integrity  and  honesty  of  purpose 
noticeable  in  every  business  transaction  and  in  every  association  of  life 
place  Mr.  Nicolas  high  among  the  French-American  farmers  of  Kern  county, 
while  the  possibilities  ofYered  by  this  county  to  such  energetic,  industrious 
farmers  as  he,  find  illustration  in  the  growing  success  attendant  upon  his 
labors.  In  the  early  period  of  his  residence  in  America  he  made  Minnesota 
his  home,  but  the  rigorous  climate  and  the  lack  of  satisfactory  returns  from 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil  led  him  to  disy)ose  of  his  stock  and  implements 
there  and  direct  his  activities  toward  work  in  the  far  west.  In  coming  to 
this  country,  a  lad  of  only  sixteen,  unfamiliar  with  the  English  language  or 
the  conditions  of  life  in  the  new  world,  he  had  the  advantage  of  being 
directed  and  advised  by  uncles,  a  number  of  whom  had  come  to  this  country 
in  preceding  years.  His  parents,  Joachim  and  Anna  (Andre)  Nicolas,  were 
lifelong  residents  of  France,  where  the  mother  died  in  1874  and  the  father 
in  1897,  the  latter  having  devoted  all  of  his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits  in  his 
native  province.  There  were  three  children  in  this  family  and  the  second  of 
these,  Maurice,  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  in  Hautes  Alpes  February  16, 
1869,  and  alternated  his  time  in  youth  between  the  country  schools  and  the 
usual  routine  of  farm  work.  As  previously  stated,  he  was  only  sixteen 
when  he  cast  in  his  fortunes  with  the  possibilities  of  the  new  world.  Two 
uncles,  Frank  Andre  and  Father  Jean  Andre,  had  settled  in  Minnesota  and  in 
1885  he  joined  them  in  Renville  county,  where  he  worked  for  wages  on  a 
farm. 

Perhaps  a  year  after  his  arrival  in  this  country  Mr.  Nicolas  began  to 
operate  land  as  a  renter,  an  uncle  having  established  him  on  his  own  farm, 
where  he  learned  agricultural  affairs  as  conducted  in  that  part  of  the  world. 
The  farm  was  under  cultivation  principally  to  wheat,  but  other  oroducts  also 
were  raised.  In  1891  the  young  tenant  sold  off  his  implements  and  stock 
and  came  to  Los  Angeles,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  a  brother-in-law, 
Andre  Andre,  a  large  sheepman  owning  flocks  in  the  mountains  and  on  the 
range  not  far  from  that  city,  and  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Dur- 
ing 1894  the  sheep  were  brought  to  Kern  county  in  order  to  have  the  advant- 
age of  the  excellent  pasturage  afforded  by  this  section  of  the  state.  Here,  as 
in  Los  Angeles  county,  Mr.  Xicdas  was  given  charge  of  the  stock,  which 
thrived  under  his  efficient  oversight.  Finding  the  industry  interesting  and 
profitable,  in  1900  he  bought  a  flock  and  entered  into  partnership  with  Mr. 
Andre,  ranging  the  large  flock  in  Kern,  Tulare  and  Inyo  counties.  After 
some  years  of  personal  ownership  of  a  flock  in  1906  he  sold  the  sheep,  with- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1271 

drew  from  the  partnership  and  gave  himself  the  merited  enjoyment  of  a  trip 
back  to  France,  where  he  spent  fonr  months  in  visitinnf  the  scenes  familiar 
to  his  youth  and  rcnewin,i^  acquaintanceship  with  kindred  and  boyhood 
friends.  Upon  his  return  to  Bakcrsiield  he  I^ought  forty  acres  on  Union 
avenue  five  miles  south  of  the  city,  under  irrip^ation  from  the  central  branch 
of  the  Kern  Island  canal,  and  well  adapted  to  the  raising  of  grain  and  alfalfa, 
which  are  the  principal  products  of  the  farm  and  form  the  leading  and  re- 
munerati\e  activities  of  the  thrifty  owner.    He  is  a  Republican  in  politics. 

PHILIP  WINSER.— Descended  from  an  old  and  honored  family  of  Kent, 
England,  Mr.  Winser  was  l)orn  near  Tenterden,  October  29,  1<S63,  a  son 
of  Albert  and  Mary  J.  (Beaufoy)  Winser,  natives  respectively  of  Kent  and 
Norfolk.  The  latter  passed  away  in  1908;  the  former,  hale  and  rugged  for 
one  of  eighty-one  years,  is  now  living  retired  at  his  country  home.  Rats- 
berry.  The  family  consisted  of  ten  children,  but  of  these  Philip  was  the 
only  one  to  seek  a  location  in  California  and  it  was  during  1891,  after  he 
had  finished  his  education  in  different  English  schools  and  had  followed 
farming  in  his  native  shire  for  fifteen  years,  that  he  became  a  resident  of 
Tulare  county,  having  joined  the  Kaweah  Co-operative  colony,  of  which  he 
was  elected  a  trustee.  While  the  colony  did  not  prove  to  be  a  financial  suc- 
cess, he  had  learned  much  concerning  the  soil  and  its  needs  during  the  period 
of  his  experimental  work  as  a  colonist.  Such  lessons  brought  later  returns  of 
great  value.  Having  purchased  and  cleared  a  tract  of  land  on  the  North 
Fork  of  Kaweah,  he  joined  with  a  few  neighbors  in  building  a  ditch  for  irri- 
gation and  then  planted  an  apple  orchard.  For  a  time  he  got  some  returns 
by  selling  grafted  nursery  stock.  Before  he  had  received  any  returns  from 
the  land  he  worked  in  the  employ  of  others  in  order  to  meet  expenses  of 
a  livelihood  and  of  the  improvement  of  the  tract. 

W^hen  finally  the  apple  trees  came  into  full  bearing  Mr.  Winser  found 
that  he  had  more  than  could  be  sold  in  his  regular  trips  among  the  residents 
of  near-by  towns.  Exeter,  Hanford  and  Visalia  furnished  him  with  excel- 
lent markets  during  the  first  year  of  his  sales.  ^leanwhile  he  had  heard 
much  concerning  Bakersfield  and  in  October  of  1904  he  hauled  a  load  across 
the  country  to  this  city.  Immediate  sale  was  made  at  a  fair  price.  Return- 
ing home,  he  loaded  and  shipped  a  car  to  this  place,  but  the  apples  having 
been  put  in  the  car  loose  arrix'ed  in  poor  condition  and  scarcely  paifl  ex- 
penses. Quick  to  learn  the  lesson,  he  carefully  packed  his  next  consignment 
in  boxes  loaded  with  care,  then  shipped  his  car,  which  arrived  intact.  Mean- 
while he  had  received  favorable  mention  for  his  fruit  and  twice  had  been 
awarded  medals  for  his  apple  exhibit  at  the  Central  California  fair.  For 
three  winters  he  and  his  wife  spent  about  three  months  in  Bakersfield.  hand- 
ling and  selling  their  shipments  from  the  ranch.  During  1906  they  erected 
a  house  at  No.  216  Twenty-second  street,  but  later  they  bought  a  lot  and 
built  a  comfortalile  home  at  No.  200  Twenty-second  street,  where  they  have 
since  resided. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  handling  of  the  products  of  his  farm  Mr. 
Winser  has  built  two  cellars  with  a  capacity  of  twenty-five  tons,  and  he  is 
now  in  a  position,  through  the  running  of  two  wagons  in  Bakersfield,  to 
market  his  own  crops,  also  to  buy  and  market  the  crops  from  other  ranches. 
He  has  a  regular  route  for  jiis  wagons  and  delivers  to  customers  apples, 
walnuts,  dried  fruits,  oranges,  lemons,  almonds  and  grape  fruit.  The  apples 
come  from  his  ranch  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  twelve  miles  above 
Lemon  Cove  in  Tulare  county,  while  the  other  products  are  bought  from 
ranchers  and  fruit-growers  of  Kern  and  Tulare  counties.  On  his  ranch  he 
has  nine  acres  in  Ben  Davis  and  Winesap  apples. 

Since  coming  to  Kern  county  to  make  his  home  Mr.  Winser  has  bought 
a  number  of  lots  and  has  built  several  houses  in  Bakersfield  and  East  Bakers- 
field, these  being  now  rented  to  tenants.     At  Tulare,  February  17,  1892,  he 


1272  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Blanche  Beaufoy,  who  was  born  in 
Dover,  Kent,  England,  and  by  whom  he  has  a  son,  Lindley,  a  member  of  the 
Kern  county  high  school  class  of  1915.  They  are  both  believers  in  social- 
ism and  regard  its  theories  as  ofifering  a  practicable  solution  to  the  growing 
labor  evils  of  the  age.  The  family  to  which  she  belongs  comprises  eight 
children  and  three  of  these  came  to  California,  the  others,  William  and 
Albert  Beaufoy,  being  also  residents  of  Bakersfield.  Their  parents,  the  late 
Samuel  and  Mary  A.  (Ayling)  Beaufoy,  were  natives  respectively  of  Nor- 
folk and  Surrey,  England,  and  lived  for  many  years  in  Dover,  where  Mr. 
Beaufoy  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  for  a  time  and  later  followed  the 
occupation  of  an  accountant.  It  was  not  until  1905  that  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Winser  returned  to  England  to  make  their  first  visit  among  the  friends  and 
relatives  known  to  their  earlier  years  and  in  that  visit,  as  well  as  in  a  later 
trip  made  in  1912.  tluy  had  a  uleasant  \acati'.n. 

HERBERT  WILLIAMS  WALFORD.— Interesting  experiences  have 
individualized  the  career  of  Herbert  \V.  Walford,  who  at  different  periods 
of  his  life  has  made  his  home  in  Europe,  Africa  and  America,  and  therefore 
has  gained  a  broad  knowledge  of  the  world  through  travel  and  habits  of  close 
observation.  In  all  of  his  travels  he  has  found  no  place  more  to  his  liking 
than  California  and  no  country  more  genial  and  attractive  in  climate  than 
this  land  i  f  sunshine  anfl  flowers.  \\  hue  attracted  hither  in  the  hrst  in- 
stance through  considerations  of  health  he  remained  through  his  own  satis- 
faction with  prospects  and  people,  and  even  after  a  long  period  of  service 
in  the  Boer  war  he  still  bore  in  mind  the  thought  of  California,  returning 
hither  after  a  service  of  five  years  under  the  British  government  in  Africa. 

Mr.  Walford  was  born  in  Weston  Super  Mare,  Somerset,  England,  and 
is  a  member  of  a  family  of  musicians.  His  parents,  Edward  and  Fannie 
(Mable)  Walford,  were  natives  respectively  of  Bridgewater,  Somerset,  and 
Millverton,  England,  and  now  make  their  home  at  Fenny  Stratford.  The 
family  comprises  four  sons  and  three  daughters.  Among  the  seven,  Her- 
bert W.,  born  September  26,  1870,  was  fourth  in  order  of  birth  and  is  the  sole 
member  of  the  family  to  establish  a  home  in  the  United  States.  The  father, 
a  musician  of  ability  and  a  teacher  of  considerable  prominence,  for  some  years 
acted  as  manager  of  concert  tours  given  in  all  parts  of  the  British  Islands 
and  participated  in  by  all  of  the  children,  each  of  whom  he  trained  for  a 
special  part.  The  specialty  of  Herbert  W.  was  comic  and  character  song, 
but  he  was  also  proficient  with  the  'cello  and  mandolin.  As  the  family 
traveled  extensively  he  was  educated  under  the  charge  of  a  governess.  Dur- 
ing 1895  he  suffered  the  loss  of  his  voice  and  that  experience  changed  his 
entire  future.  Hoping  to  be  benefited  by  a  change  he  came  immediately  to 
California  intending  to  remain  but  three  months.  Six  weeks  after  his  arrival, 
owing  to  an  attack  of  malaria,  he  sought  the  fine  air  of  the  San  Emidio 
mountains,  where  he  rapidly  recuperated.  At  the  expiration  of  three  months 
in  California  he  wrote  to  relatives  in  England  that  he  had  decided  to  remain 
one  year.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  he  had  gotten  into  the  saddle  in  the 
employ  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  and  was  busily  engaged  in  riding 
the  range,  punching  cattle  and  bossing  ditch  gangs.  When  the  year  came 
to  a  close  he  had  decided  to  stay  for  three  years  and  by  that  time  he  liked 
the  country  so  well  that  he  determined  to  remain  until  he  had  lived  in  the 
west  for  five  years  altogether  and  this  determination  he  carried  into  action. 

Returning  to  England  in  1900  with  the  intention  of  going  on  to  the 
Paris  Exposition,  Mr.  Walford  fell  a  victim  to  the  war  fever  before  he  had 
started  for  Paris  and  enlisted  in  the  same  year  as  a  member  of  the  Baden- 
Powell  Mounted  Police  or  South  African  Constabulary.  Gallant  service 
caused  his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  corporal  at  the  expiration  of  seven 
months  and  two  months  later  he  was  commissioned  sergeant  and  posted  at 
the  depot  troop,  their  military  base.     Having  gained  the  sergeant's  stripes  for 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1273 

services  in  the  field,  he  obtained  permission  from  the  colonel  for  his  marriage 
to  his  fiancee.  Miss  Edith  Maynard,  an  Enf;:lish  girl,  who  was  born  and  reared 
at  Bletchingley,  Surrey,  being  a  daughter  of  William  and  Alice  (Smith) 
Maynard,  the  former  still  a  contractor  and  builder  in  Bletchingley.  Just 
befiire  lie  started  ivr  Capetown  to  join  his  intended,  who  came  out  from 
England  to  be  married,  the  sergeant  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  troop 
sergeant  major  and  as  he  traveled  to  Capetown  he  had  as  an  escort  a  corporal 
and  two  troopers,  the  war  being  still  under  full  swing.  The  marriage  was 
solemnized  in  April  of  1902  and  at  the  end  of  a  week  the  groom  returned  to 
his  post  at  Heidelberg,  Eastern  Transvaal.  Three  months  after  the  close 
of  the  war  he  was  honorably  discharged  in  January  of  1903  and  then  became 
connected  with  the  Central  South  ^African  Railroad  Company  as  foreman 
of  construction  work.  Being  able  to  speak  the  native  Zulu  and  Basuto 
languages  he  was  well  qualified  to  manage  his  crew  of  almost  seven  hundred 
natives.  Later  he  was  appointed  store-keeper  in  the  resident  engineer's 
office  at  Braamfontein  and  next  was  transferred  to  the  signalling  department 
of  the  chief  engineer's  oflice  in  Johannesburg.  Although  ofifered  induce- 
ments to  remain  in  South  Africa  he  resigned  his  commission  April  27,  1905, 
and  returned  to  England  on  the  Saxon. 

After  a  visit  of  three  months  with  relatives  and  friends  in  I£ngland 
during  September  of  1905  Mr.  Walford  returned  to  California  and  imme- 
diately resumed  work  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  For  four 
months  he  held  a  position  as  foreman  of  a  ditch  camp,  after  which  he  took 
up  water  measurements.  Five  years  later  he  resigned  to  become  bookkeeper 
for  M.  T.  Kean,  contractor.  At  the  expiration  of  four  months  he  again  re- 
signed, this  time  to  become  assistant  dispatcher  with  the  San  Joaquin  Light 
and  Power  Corporation  and  after  ten  months  in  that  capacity  he  was  pro- 
moted to  his  present  position  in  the  main  offices  of  the  company.  On  his 
return  to  Bakersfield  he  built  a  residence  at  No.  2009  Twenty-second  street, 
and  this  attractive  home  is  presided  over  graciously  by  Mrs.  Walford  and 
is  brightened  by  the  presence  of  four  children,  namely :  Guy,  who  was  born 
at  Johannesburg,  Africa;  Mollie,  whose  birth  occurred  in  Surrey,  England; 
and  Jack  and  Dorothy,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  the  Bakersfield  home. 
The  family  -ire  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church  of  llakersfield  and  frater- 
nally Mr.  Walford,  prominent  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  holds  rank  as 
first  sergeant  of  the  Uniform  Rank  of  that  Order. 

JOSEPH  J.  HALTER.— Born  in  Neckarsulm,  Wurtemberg,  Germany, 
August  19,  1858,  Mr.  Halter  attended  school  there  and  then  entered  horti- 
cultural college  at  Hohenheim,  graduating  in  1879.  In  1882  he  came  to  the 
United  States  and  located  first  in  ^Montgomery  county,  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  for  five  years,  being  employed  in  a  nursery.  In  the  fall 
of  1890  he  came  to  California  to  start  a  nursery  for  E.  E.  Elliott  in  Kern 
county,  and  he  remained  here  for  a  year  giving  valuable  service  to  his 
employer.  He  then  took  charge  of  the  vineyard  of  Mr.  Galtes  and  after 
two  years  moved  to  Tehachapi,  where  he  engaged  in  grain  farming,  and 
also  stockraising.  In  1904  he  came  to  his  present  home  tract  of  twenty 
acres  at  Panama,  which  he  now  owns  and  in  addition  to  this  he  rents  two 
hundred  and  forty  acres,  eighty  of  which  adjoins  the  homestead  farm.  He 
devotes  most  of  his  time  to  general  farming,  dairying  and  stockraising,  and 
in  addition  finds  time  to  run  an  apiary  of  sixty  stands  of  Italian  bees,  which 
has  proved  a  great  success. 

Mr.  Halter  is  an  active  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  He  is 
a  well-known  man  in  his  community,  and  has  many  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances. Up-to-date  and  reliable,  he  is  a  citizen  that  takes  deep  interest  in 
his  countrv's  welfare,  and  though  he  has  never  held  office,  he  is  ever  ready 
to  do  a  public-spirited  man's  duty  if  called  upon.  Mr.  Halter  was  married 
October  5,    1891,   in   St.    Francis   Church   at   Bakersfield,   to   Odella   Rothen- 


1274  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

fluch,  who  was  born  in  Alsace  Lorraine,  Germany,  June  3,  1871.  They  are 
the  parents  of  nine  children,  as  follows:  Lena,  Bertha,  William,  Carrie, 
Josie,  Clair,  Anna  and  Martha. 

E.  W.  RANDOLPH.— The  Randolph  homestead  was  on  the  Massa- 
sinawa  river  near  Marion,  Grant  county,  Ind.,  and  for  years  its  care  en- 
grossed the  attention  of  Jacob  Randolph,  who  had  removed  thither  from 
his  native  Ohio.  While  yet  in  middle  aa:e  he  died  at  the  old  home  farm  in 
March  of  1880,  leaving  to  his  wife  and  children  the  memory  of  an  honorable 
existence  devoted  to  the  discharge  of  the  duties  devolving  upon  him  as 
head  of  a  household  and  as  a  progressive  citizen  of  the  community.  Of  his 
five  sons  the  third,  E.  W.,  born  on  the  home  farm  December  7,  1869,  is  now 
the  sole  survivor.  The  wife  and  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Sarah  E.  Connelley  and  was  born  near  Marion,  Ind.,  has  married  again 
since  the  death  of  Mr.  Randolph  and  is  now  a  resident  of  the  village  of 
Upland,  in  Grant  county. 

The  death  of  his  father  forced  upon  Mr.  Randolph  the  responsibilities 
of  self-support  when  he  was  only  ten  years  of  age,  and  ever  since  then  he 
has  "paddled  his  own  canoe."  The  family  with  whom  he  made  his  home 
allowed  him  to  attend  school  in  the  winter  months,  so  that  his  education 
was  not  wholly  neglected.  By  doing  chores  in  the  mornings  before  school 
and  in  the  evenings  after  he  returned  to  the  home  he  paid  for  his  board, 
while  in  the  summer  months  he  proved  very  helpful  in  the  fields  long  be- 
fore he  was  large  enough  to  do  a  man"s  work  in  the  world.  .\t  the  age  of 
sixteen  he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  sawyer  in  Grant  county.  From  that 
he  drifted  into  the  work  of  a  planing  mill.  During  1891  he  went  to  Upland, 
Grant  county,  where  for  fifteen  years  he  held  a  position  with  T.  J.  Deeran, 
owner  of  the  largest  nlaninc;  mill  in  all  that  section  of  the  c  imtrv.  In  his 
place  he  was  almost  indispensable  and  his  resignation  in  March  of  1907  was 
greatly  regretted  by  all  those  connected  with  the  plant.  Resigning  with 
the  intention  of  settling  in  the  west,  he  came  at  once  to  California  and  has 
since  been  connected  with  the  Union  Lumber  Company  of  Bakersfield. 
Promoted  from  one  position  to  another,  since  October  of  1907,  he  has  been 
mill  foreman,  and  upon  the  destruction  of  the  plant  by  fire  in  1909  he  helped 
in  the  work  of  rebuilding,  had  charge  of  the  millwright  work  and  installed 
the  machinery,  this  being  thoroughly  modern  and  complete.  His  comfort- 
able home  at  No.  1131  Eighth  street  is  presided  over  by  his  wife,  formerly 
Lissa  Marshall,  who  was  born  at  L'pland,  Ind.,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Milton 
Marshall,  an  old  settler  of  Grant  county,  a  prosperous  farmer  of  that  section 
of  Indiana,  and  for  four  years  a  member  of  a  Union  regiment  during  the 
Civil  war.  In  national  politics  Mr.  Randolph  votes  with  the  Democratic 
party.  Fraternally  he  belongs  to  the  lodge  and  encampment  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  with  his  wife  holds  membership  with  the  Rebekahs  in  Bakers- 
field. 

ARTHUR  B.  FILBEN.— The  citizens  whose  identification  with  Kern 
county  has  proved  of  the  greatest  value  to  local  advancement  are  those  who 
have  endeavored  to  ascertain  the  most  profitable  crops  for  farm  production, 
those  who  have  developed  important  business  enterprises  and  those  who  in 
other  avenues  of  labor  have  promoted  the  general  welfare.  Not  the  least 
prominent  nor  the  least  successful  of  such  public-spirited  men  are  the  Fil- 
bens,  father  and  son,  the  former  of  whom  has  developed  a  particularly  valu- 
able ranch  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  while  the  latter  now  acts  as  man- 
ager of  the  same.  The  planting  of  sixty  acres  of  the  tract  in  a  vineyard  of 
muscat  grapes  seemed  in  the  nature  of  an  experiment,  but  the  results  justi- 
fied the  undertaking,  for  it  was  discovered  that  the  product  possessed  a 
flavor  unsurpassed  by  the  grapes  of  even  the  famed  Fresno  vineyards. 
Much  of  the  ranch  has  been  put  into  alfalfa  and  grain,  both  of  which  are 
well   adapted   to   the   soil   of   Kern   county.     During   1904,   after  Arthur   B. 


HISTOm"    Ol'    KI'.RX    ("OL'NTY  1275 

Filben  had  completed  the  studies  of  the  San  Francisco  schools  and  the  San 
Jose  Academy,  he  came  to  Kern  county  to  assume  the  managifement  of  this 
productive  property.  At  that  time  Wasco  was  known  as  Dewey,  and  it 
possessed  the  insignificance  of  a  small  hamlet  remote  from  all  business 
activity,  but  later  the  development  of  oil  brought  the  district  into  consider- 
able prominence  and  enabled  Mr.  Filben  to  engage  successfully  in  the  real 
estate  business.  At  the  present  time  he  has  charge  of  a  number  of  sub- 
divisions in  Wasco  and  in  addition  he  manages  twelve  hundred  acres  of  land 
well  adapted  to  orange  culture.  The  management  of  these  various  interests 
leaves  him  little  leisure  for  outside  matters,  but  we  find  him  cheerfully  co- 
operating in  all  movements  for  the  progress  and  advancement  of  the  county. 
He  has  the  distinction  of  being  a  native  son,  his  birth  having  occurred  Aug- 
ust 1,  1884,  at  Manchester,  Mendocino  county.  October  1,  1907,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Louise  Gustavus,  who  was  born  at  Antigo, 
Wis.,  October  1,  1888.  Two  daughters,  Dorothy  F.  and  Helen,  comprise 
their  family. 

In  referring  to  the  ancestry  of  the  Filben  family  we  find  that  they 
descend  from  colonial  residents  of  New  England.  The  father.  Rev.  Thomas 
Filben,  a  native  of  Hoston,  Mass.,  born  in  1857,  accompanied  his  parents  to 
San  Francisco  at  the  age  of  five  years  and  attended  the  public  schools  of 
that  city.  During  1880  he  was  graduated  from  the  College  of  the  Pacific  at 
San  Jose.  He  then  engaged  in  educational  work  in  Mendocino  county  and 
was  a  meml^er  of  the  county  board  of  education.  Afterward  he  entered  the 
ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  denomination.  For  twenty-five  years 
he  held  pastorates  in  San  Francisco  and  Sacramento  and  adjacent  points,  and 
the  value  of  his  labors  was  evident  in  the  results  secured.  As  early  as  1883 
he  superintended  a  Chautauqua  at  Pacific  Grove,  which  was  the  first  of  its 
kind  in  California  and  the  second  in  the  United  States.  For  a  time  he  acted 
as  superintendent  of  instruction  at  the  summer  sessions  and  even  at  the 
present  time  he  retains  an  important  identification  with  the  work.  Upon 
first  visiting  Kern  county  during  1892  he  formed  a  business  connection  with 
the  ranch  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  owned  by  the  Palm  Fruit  Company, 
Incorporated.  His  services  as  manager  were  retained  for  a  considerable 
period.  About  that  same  time  the  Rosedale  colony  was  established  and 
small  tracts  were  planted  to  grapes  as  well  as  various  deciduous  fruits.  Al- 
though owning  interests  in  Kern  county  he  continued  to  make  San  Fran- 
cisco his  home  from  1892  until  1905,  when  he  bought  the  present  home  place 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  near  Wasco  and  here  he  has  since  lived  with 
his  son,  being  retired  from  all  active  cares,  but  maintaining  a  warm  interest 
in  every  movement  for  the  further  development  of  the  large  resources  of 
Kern  county.  Realizing  the  imperative  need  of  irrigation  facilities,  he  put 
on  his  ranch  one  of  the  very  first  wells  in  this  part  of  the  county.  The  pump- 
ing plant  comprises  a  gasoline  engine  of  fifty  horse-power  with  a  Mow  iil  two 
hundred  and  fifty  inches,  abundantly  sufficient  to  provide  water  for  all  the 
needs  of  the  ranch. 

RALPH  H.  THOMPSON.— A  luvc  nf  travel  and  adventure  characterized 
the  earlv  \ears  ni  Mr.  'I'Ik  inipson,  \vli<)  wiien  yet  a  mere  ix  v  started  out  for 
himself  in  the  world  and  earned  a  livelihood  by  manual  labor  as  he  traveled 
from  place  to  place  thmughout  all  of  that  vast  region  stretching  west  from  the 
Rocky  mi  untajns.  I'rom  his  earliest  memories  he  was  familiar  with  the  \ast 
unsettled  plains  of  Texas.  Born  in  that  state  May  10,  1879.  lie  learned  a 
love  of  freedom  from  its  great  expanse  of  unpeopled  lands  and  from  the  lure 
of  its  sun-kissed  valleys.  Vel  the  Lone  Star  state  did  not  satisfy  his  thirst  for 
adventure,  which  led  him  (  n  and  on  into  the  mines  of  the  west,  the  great  timber 
lands  of  the  northwest,  the  lofty  nKamtains  and  the  broad  plains  of  America. 
It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  when  only  eighteen  he  made  a  tri])  overland 
through  the   I'.ritish   possessions  into  .Maska.    In  the   midst  of  the  exposures 


1276  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  hardships  of  sucli  an  adventure  many  might  have  perished,  but  a  robust 
constitution  carried  him  through  in  safety  and  he  arrived  at  Dawson  in  splen- 
did physical  condition  for  active  mining  operations.  The  great  discovery  of 
gold  in  the  Klondike  was  made  shortly  after  his  arrival  and  stimulated  him  to 
increased  exertions,  resulting  in  the  establishment  of  a  location  on  No.  32 
above  on  Bonanza,  where  he  opened  a  mine  and  engaged  successfully  in 
mining  for  a  year  or  more.  From  boyhood  he  had  been  interested  in  mining 
and  it  was  his  faith  in  the  possibilities  of  the  Alaskan  fields  that  led  him  to  the 
Klondike  before  gold  had  been  discovered  in  that  field. 

As  early  as  18^6  ]\Ir.  Thompson  had  made  his  first  trip  to  California  and 
then  and  later  he  saw  much  of  the  country  through  his  travels  among  the 
mines  and  lumber  camps.  While  at  different  times  he  has  visited  the  greater 
part  nf  the  United  States  he  has  found  no  region  whose  climate  and  oppor- 
tunities interest  him  more  than  California  and  the  state  has  in  him  a  loyal 
citizen.  When  the  "wanderlust"  of  earlv  years  had  given  place  to  a  desire  to 
establish  himself  in  the  permanent  citizenship  of  a  community  he  selected 
California  as  his  chosen  home  and  Bakersfield  as  the  center  of  his  business 
activities,  arriving  here  in  1906  and  embarking  in  the  business  of  a  contracting 
painter.  In  boyhood  he  had  been  trained  in  both  painting  and  carpentering, 
and  always  more  or  less  he  has  f(  llowed  these  occupations,  so  that  he  was 
prepared  to  take  up  contracting  with  every  assurance  of  a  successful  outcome 
for  his  labors.  His  comfortable  home  at  No.  822  Oregon  street  is  presided 
over  by  his  wife,  formerly  Miss  Antonia  Jacomini  and  a  native  of  Bakersfield, 
where  she  was  educated  and  married.  One  son,  Charles,  blesses  the  unit  n.  For 
some  years  Mr.  Thompson  has  been  identified  with  the  Builders'  Exchange 
of  Bakersfield.  In  addition  to  the  management  of  his  contracts  in  the  building 
business  he  is  proprietor  of  the  Buck  stables  on  Baker  street  in  East  Bakers- 
field, where  he  conducts  an  important  livery,  feed  and  sale  business.  Frater- 
nally he  holds  membership  with  Sumner  Lodge  No.  143,  K.  of  P.,  and  is  past 
chancellor  ci  mmander. 

CLARK  APPLEGARTH.— The  superintendent  of  the  Applegarth  Re- 
fining Company  possesses  the  energy  of  temperament,  activity  of  mind  and  sa- 
gacity of  judgment  that  secures  for  his  business  undertakings  an  excellent 
measure  of  success  notwithstanding  opposition  of  a  most  formidable  nature. 
The  high  quality  of  his  product  and  the  untiring  energy  of  his  nature  have  been 
the  two  elements  entering  into  his  steady  progress.  The  production  of  asphalt 
for  paving  forms  his  special  line  of  business  and  his  product,  the  Williams 
asphalt  mastic,  a  patented  mixture,  has  a  rcnitation  for  quality  and  dura- 
bility that  is  not  excelled  by  any  of  the  productions  of  the  modern  industrial 
plants  of  the  country.  Since  he  became  the  active  head  of  this  business  and  se- 
cured the  entire  control  of  the  plant  he  has  increased  the  output  by  a  slow  but 
steady  development.  At  this  writing  the  refinery  uses  two  hundred  and  fifty 
barrels  of  crude  oil  per  day  and  turns  out  approximately  twenty  tons  of  as- 
phalt in  the  same  time,  the  average  production  per  month  being  almost  six 
hundred  tons. 

The  distinction  of  being  a  native  son  of  California  belongs  to  Clark  Apple- 
garth,  who  was  born  in  Merced  September  25,  1877,  and  is  a  son  of  Clark  and 
Martha  (Norman)  Applegarth.  During  his  early  childhood  the  family  re- 
moved from  Merced  to  Hanford  and  in  the  latter  town  he  received  his  school- 
ing. From  youth  he  has  been  self-supporting  and  always  his  inclinations 
turned  him  toward  the  oil  fields,  so  that  he  acquired  an  expert  knowledge  of 
the  oil  industry  while  still  quite  young.  At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  went 
TO  the  oil  fields  of  South  Coalinga,  Fresno  county,  where  he  secured  work  as  a 
day  laborer.  Little  by  little  he  worked  his  way  out  of  the  ranks  of  unskilled 
laborers.  The  first  experience  he  ever  had  as  a  driller  was  secured  in  the  South 
Coalinga  fields.    Other  parts  of  the  industry  became  familiar  to  him   while 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COUNTY  127/ 

working"  at  that  place.  I'^rom  Coalinga  lie  went  to  Stocktcm  and  secured  work 
as  a  day  laborer  for  the  Davis  Refining  L'oni])any,  manufacturers  of  asphallum. 
In  addition  he  worked  for  the  Tesla  Rricquetlc  Company.  From  a  very  humble 
position  he  worked  up  step  by  step  until  finally  he  was  made  superintendent  of 
the  Davis  Company  and  it  was  while  connected  with  that  organization  in  its 
large  refinery  that  he  mastered  the  production  of  asphaltum. 

While  living  at  Stockton  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  asphaltum 
there  Mr.  Applegarth  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Emma  Thyarks,  by 
whom  he  now  has  one  son,  Norman.  From  Stockton  he  was  sent  to  Alma, 
Mich.,  to  put  the  Alma  ]\Iastic  plant  on  a  paying  basis,  in  which  he  succeeded. 
The  time  spent  in  the  east  proved  nn  st  helpful  to  him  from  a  business  stand- 
point and  gave  him  a  thorough  familiarity  with  the  production  of  the  patented 
product  in  which  he  since  has  specialized.  Upon  his  return  from  Michigan  he 
leased  the  old  \'olcaii  refining  plant  from  the  Yolcan  Oil  and  Refining  Com- 
pany and  since  1906  he  has  devoted  his  energy  to  the  building  up  of  the  plant. 

SCOTT  &  GOODMAN.— The  first  store  in  the  little  settlement  at  Re- 
ward was  started  by  M.  P.  Scott  and  took  the  form  of  a  mercantile  estab- 
lishment containing  a  stock  of  goods  suited  to  the  needs  of  oil  operators, 
through  which  he  gained  a  wide  circle  of  friends  in  the  entire  field.  Increase 
of  popularity  came  to  him  wi;h  his  appointment  as  the  first  postmaster  of  the 
new  town,  a  position  that  he  since  has  filled  with  marked  efficiency,  although 
having  disposed  of  the  store  in  which  for  a  time  he  had  his  office.  Recently 
he  has  associated  with  himself  his  nephew,  H.  S.  Goodman,  who  like  himself 
is  a  native  of  Roanoke,  Roanoke  county,  Va.,  descended  from  an  old  family 
of  that  commonwealth. 

A  son  of  Joseph  and  Lou  (Scott)  Goodman  and  a  graduate  of  the 
National  Business  College  of  Roanoke,  Mr.  Goodman  came  to  the  Pacific 
coast  shortly  after  he  had  completed  his  studies  in  the  commercial  school. 
Not  long  after  his  arrival  in  Kern  county  he  became  connected  with  his 
uncle,  AI.  P.  Scott,  in  the  mercantile  establishment  and  in  the  (  perating  of 
the  Reward  postoffice.  Since  the  sale  of  Mr.  Scott's  former  business,  uncle 
and  nephew  have  been  partners  in  a  general  store  carrying  a  stock  of  sta- 
tionery, confectionery,  cigars  and  notions,  and  they  are  well  known  through- 
out all  this  part  of  the  oil  field,  where  their  sterling  qualities  and  exce])tional 
business  capability  have  brought  them  the  confidence  of  acquaintances  and 
the  warm  regard  of  intimate  associates.  In  their  efforts  to  promote  the 
prompt  delivery  of  mail  to  the  people  using  the  Reward  postofifice  they  have 
instituted  a  service  direct  from  the  train  at  McKittrick,  which  saves  about 
two  hours  delay  in  the  delivery  of  the  mail  bags  at  their  office.  In  many 
other  ways  they  have  promoted  the  convenience  of  the  patrons  of  the  ofifice. 
Both  maintain  warmest  interest  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  community  and  the 
development  of  this  portion  of  the  oil  field.     In  politics  both  are  Democrats. 

M.  P.  Scott  is  a  native  of  Princeton.  Mercer  county.  \'a..  (now  \\'.  Va.l. 
his  birth  occurring  January  4,  1860,  the  son  of  Dr.  John  D.  Scott,  who  was 
a  mechanic  of  such  exceptional  ability  that  he  made  the  principal  i)ortion  of 
his  dental  instruments,  and  these  he  used  in  his  practice  until  the  time  of 
his  death  at  Roanoke,  Va.,  about  1907.  He  moved  to  Christiansburg  when 
his  son  was  only  a  year  old.  and  it  was  there  that  M.  P.  Scott  passed  his  boy- 
hood days,  ^^'hen  he  reached  the  age  of  nineteen  he  began  to  clerk  in 
a  general  mercantile  store  at  Floyd  Court  House.  Floyd  county.  Va..  and 
continued  there  for  four  years.  He  then  went  to  Roanoke.  Va.,  where  he 
lived  for  twentv-five  years,  a  part  of  this  time  being  in  business  for  himself 
and  the  remaining  time  working  as  a  clerk.  At  Roanoke  he  was  led  to 
overbuy  real  estate  during  the  boom  and  when  the  panic  between  1893-1898 
occurred  he  met  with  financial  disaster,  losing  everything,  so  that  it  took  him 
three  years  of  hard  work  for  wages  to  pay  his  debts,  which  he  cleared  up 
entirely.     In  May.  1908,  he  came  to  California,  being  at  the  time  in  a  nervous 


1278  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  .Ejreatly  debilitated  state  of  health.  Putting  up  a  tent  he  camped  for  six 
months  and  drove  a  team  for  the  Benedict  &  Merrill  Company,  meantime 
circulating  a  petition  for  a  post  ofifice  to  be  established  at  Reward.  In  Aug- 
ust, 1909,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  the  newly  established  ofifiCe  (which 
was  begun  in  March,  1909),  and  in  December  he  received  his  commission  and 
supplies.    Mr.  Scott  has  never  married. 

CHARLES  DICKINSON.— Long  experience  in  eastern  oil  fields  pre- 
pared Mr.  Dickinson  for  critical  recognition  of  the  values  of  western  districts 
and  the  fact  that  he  has  been  a  stanch  upbuilder  of  the  Maricopa  field,  an 
earnest  advocate  of  its  possibilities  and  a  generous  contributor  to  its  progres- 
sive projects,  furnishes  ample  evidence  as  to  his  faith  in  its  future.  Of  east- 
ern birth,  born  at  Silver  Creek,  Chautauqua  county,  N.  Y.,  he  began  to  work 
in  the  Ohio  oil  fields  at  a  very  early  age  and  for  ten  years  he  experienced  the 
reverses  and  successes  incident  to  oil  operations  in  Wood  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  filled  almost  every  position  from  that  of  roustabout  to  foreman. 
Altogether  he  worked  in  Ohio  oil  districts  for  ten  years  and  then  came  west 
to  California,  where  he  secured  employment  in  the  Whittier  and  Ventura 
oil  fields.  Coming  to  Maricopa  in  1904  he  engaged  with  the  Adeline  Oil 
Company,  on  whose  )3roperty  he  drilled  eight  wells,  besides  drilling  four  wells 
on  the  Adeline  Extension  Oil  Company's  property.  Altogether  he  has  drilled 
twenty  wells  in  the  Sunset  field.  Having  become  intimately  acquainted  with 
Barlow  &  Hill,  oil  operators,  of  Bakersfield,  he  has  entered  into  business  rela- 
tions with  them,  their  combined  interests  owning  the  Adeline  and  Adeline 
Extension  properties  at  Maricopa.  While  living  in  Ohio  he  married  Miss 
Mary  Weaver,  a  native  of  that  state,  and  they  now  have  a  substantial  resi- 
dence on  the  Anaconda  lease. 

Besides  being  manager  of  the  Anaconda  lease  of  forty  acres  with  three 
producing  wells,  located  on  section  12,  11-24.  Mr.  Dickinson  is  proprietor  of 
the  Maricopa  Realty  Company,  a  director  and  one  of  the  largest  stockholders 
in  the  Maricopa  Bank,  builder  and  owner  of  the  Dickinson  block,  the  original 
locator  of  the  Adeline  Extension  Townsite  subdivision  in  Maricopa,  and  with 
others  a  leading  factor  in  the  erection  in  1911  of  a  two-story  brick  block,  63x93 
feet  in  dimensions,  the  largest  and  most  attractive  public  building  in  the  city, 
occupied  by  the  Maricopa  postofifice  and  the  Carroll  hotel,  the  Maricopa 
Drug  Company,  and  the  \Vells-Fargo  Express  Company.  The  fine  structure 
now  occupied  by  the  Maricopa  Bank  received  his  substantial  support  in  its 
erection. 

With  all  of  his  other  varied  interests  Mr.  Dickinson  finds  time  to  serve 
efficiently  as  vice-president  of  the  West  Side  Good  Roads  Club,  of  which 
F.  W.  Train  is  president  and  Charles  Barnhart  secretary,  among  the  other 
active  members  being  J.  I.  Wagy,  L.  L.  Collman  and  C.  Z.  Van  de  Hork. 
In  this  official  capacity  he  energetically  promotes  the  "Three  Hours  bv  Auto 
to  the  Coast"  movement,  a  project  which  it  is  estimated  will  cost  $200,000, 
but  will  be  worth  far  more  than  that  sum  to  the  people  of  the  west  side. 
Indeed,    the    building    of    the    road    would    ensure   the    future    of    Maricopa. 

GEORGE  D.  HENDERSON.— Allured  by  the  hope  that  he  might  find 
in  California  more  attractive  business  opportunities  and  a  more  healthful 
climate  than  his  own  Canadian  country  could  boast,  during  the  year  1878 
William  P.  Henderson,  a  bookkeeper  formerly  employed  by  a  Toronto  con- 
cern, brought  his  family  to  the  western  coast  of  the  L^nited  States  and  settled 
in  San  Jose.  A  later  removal  established  them  at  Ontario,  San  Bernardino 
county.  At  the  time  of  coming  to  this  state  there  were  four  children  in  the 
family  and  anoiher  child,  named  Muriel  Grace,  was  born  after  the  location  of 
the  family  in  the  Santa  Clara  valley.  Two  other  daughters,  Margaret  and 
Lillian,  both  of  Canadian  birth,  are  now  residents  of  Los  Angeles.  The  older 
=on.  Thomas,  a  civil  engineer  by  occupation,  is  connected  with  the  KerckhofT 
mining  interests  in  Los  .Angeles.     The  younger  son.  George  D.,  born  in  To- 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY  127^) 

roiito,  Canada,  February  4.  1875.  was  only  three  years  of  age  at  the  time  of 
accompanying-  the  family  to  the  west,  hence  his  early  recollections  cluster 
around  sights  and  scenes  in  tiie  Santa  Clara  valley.  Although  ambitious  to 
acquire  a  good  education,  he  had  no  opportunities  to  attend  school  aside  from 
the  grammar  grade,  but  the  lack  of  thorough  schooling  has  not  greatly  handi- 
capped him.  Industry  and  determination  have  enabled  him  to  forge  ahead 
and  earn  a  livelihood.  While  yet  a  mere  lad  he  worked  in  the  press-rooms 
of  Wannop  &  Forbush,  also  Goodwin  &  Thomas,  and  other  job  printing  firms 
of  Los  Angeles. 

When  news  of  the  discovery  of  oil  in  the  Kern  river  field  readied  Mr. 
Henderson  he  resigned  his  position  and  caine  at  once  to  Kern  county.  As 
this  was  in  the  j-ear  1898,  he  ranks  among  the  earliest  workers  to  secure  em- 
ploj'ment  in  the  Sunset  field.  Beginning  as  a  day  laborer  with  Messrs.  Blod- 
gett  aind  Jewett  at  the  old  Sunset  refinery,  he  soon  gained  an  excellent 
knowledge  of  the  industry  and  was  able  to  fill  the  position  of  foreman  with 
the  old  Occidental  Oil  Company,  many  of  whose  wells  were  put  down  under 
his  supervision.  During  1903  lack  of  transportation  facilities  caused  the  oil 
industry  to  languish.  Some  of  the  companies  stopped  work  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  workers  sought  other  fields.  It  was  then  that  Mr.  Henderson  de- 
cided to  try  his  luck  in  the  gold  mines.  Proceeding  promptly  to  Searchlight, 
Nev.,  he  secured  employment  in  the  Duplex  mine  and  became  foreman  of  the 
shaft  gang.  In  a  short  time  he  left  that  country  for  New  Mexico  and  at 
Fierro,  Grant  county,  gained  a  valuable  experience  in  coi)per  mining  during 
an  empIo3'ment  of  one  year  with  the  Hanover-Bessemer  Iron  Ore  Associa- 
tion. The  spring  of  1908  found  him  again  in  Kern  county.  For  a  short  time 
he  was  employed  on  section  35.  with  the  Sunset  Road  Oil  Company,  but  in  the 
same  year  he  came  into  the  employ  of  the  Sunset  Monarch  Oil  Comnany.  That 
he  has  won  the  confidence  of  superior  officials  is  evident  from  the  fact  that 
in  January  of  1911  he  was  promoted  to  he  foreman  of  section  2  lease  with 
twenty-five  producing  wells. 

ALPHONSE  CHAUVIN.— Descended  from  French  ancestors,  Mr.  Chau- 
vin  was  horn  at  Buenos  Aires,  Argentina,  South  America,  December  23,  1880,  a 
son  of  Jean  Baptiste  and  Clerice  Chauvin,  the  former  a  native  of  Marseilles, 
France,  and  now  living  retired  at  Las  Mees  in  that  republic.  Generations  of 
the  Chauvin  family  had  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  shoes  and  the  tanning 
of  leather.  Naturally  therefore  he  turned  to  the  hide  and  leather  business  in 
early  life.  After  his  marriage  he  took  his  young  wife  to  South  America  and 
settled  in  Buenos  Aires,  where  he  established  a  plant  for  the  tanning  of 
leather.  His  travels  took  him  throughout  the  Argentine  Republic,  in  every 
part  of  which  he  interested  himself  in  the  buying  of  hides.  Prosperity  came 
to  him.  By  degrees  he  acquired  a  large  fortune.  Meanwhile  his  son,  Al- 
phonse,  at  the  age  of  two  years  had  been  sent  to  Marseilles,  France,  to  be  cared 
for  in  the  home  of  an  uncle.  The  parents  themselves  later  went  back  to 
France,  hoping  to  enjoy  life  and  health  among  their  old  friends,  but  soon  the 
mother  passed  away  and  not  long  afterward  the  father  lost  almost  his  entire 
fortune  through  the  failure  of  the  Bank  de  la  Provincia,  in  which  he  was  a 
heavy  dem  sitor.  Hoping  to  retrieve  his  losses  he  returned  to  Buenos  Aires 
and  remained  for  a  time,  but  without  the  success  fif  the  first  s(]jf)urn  in  that 
city. 

In  addition  to  the  son.  Alphonse,  the  family  included  twins  born  in 
France,  but  only  one  of  these  attained  mature  years,  namely:  Emile,  now  a 
teacher  of  languages  at  Bogota,  Colombia,  South  America.  From  two  until 
ten  Alphonse  lived  in  France.  When  he  returned  to  South  America  with  his 
father  he  had  a  thorough  knowledge  of  tlie  French  language.  Later  he  stud- 
ied Spanish  in  the  .Argentine.  L'pon  his  return  to  France  he  was  sent  to  the 
public  schools.  .At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  became  a  bell  boy  in  one  of  the 
leading  hotels  of  Marseilles.      Later  he  was  employed  at   Nice,  Monte  Carlo 


1280  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  Geneva,  next  going  to  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Germany,  and  from  there 
to  London.  At  Nice  he  had  served  an  apprenticeship  in  a  bakery.  While  in 
London  he  wished  to  enlist  in  the  English  army  for  service  in  the  Boer  war, 
but  upon  asking  the  advice  of  a  friend,  Mr.  Todd  from  Genoa,  he  was  urged 
to  keep  out  of  the  army  and  at  the  same  time  advised  to  go  to  Genoa,  where 
a  position  as  Lalian-English  interpreter  would  be  tendered  him  on  the  Prince 
line  of  steamships.  Accepting  at  once,  he  traveled  via  France  to  bid  his 
father  farewell  and  then  started  on  the  long  journey.  At  the  expiration  of  his 
second  voyage  to  America,  January  \,  1903,  he  decided  to  remain,  so  resigned 
the  position  and  found  employment  in  New  York  City.  During  the  excite- 
ment caused  by  the  discovery  of  gold  at  Tonopah,  Nev.,  he  traveled  across 
the  continent  to  the  scene  of  the  new  camps,  and  remained  there  long  enough 
to  clear  up  some  gold. 

While  en  route  to  San  Francisco  and  when  as  far  as  Reno,  word  was  re- 
ceived of  the  earthquake  and  fire  at  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Chauvin  pursued  his 
way  to  Oakland,  where  he  entered  the  relief  service.  His  linguistic  ability 
enabled  him  to  be  of  great  assistance  as  an  interpreter.  When  the  excite- 
ment had  somewhat  subsided  he  engaged  to  go  to  Costa  Rica,  Central  Amer- 
ica, in  order  to  hunt  birds  for  the  San  Francisco  Museum.  In  addition  while 
in  the  southern  country  he  engaged  in  hunting  birds  for  their  plumage,  which 
he  shipped  to  the  New  York  markets.  Within  eight  months  he  had  cleared 
about  $2,000.  For  the  purpose  of  continuing  such  work  he  went  to  Barran- 
quilla,  Colombia,  South  America,  but  found  that  the  government  had  imposed 
heavy  fines  and  penalties  for  shooting  the  particular  kind  of  birds  desired. 
This  brought  the  object  of  the  expedition  to  an  end.  Later  he  was  joined  by 
his  brother,  Emile,  from  France  and  the  two  went  to  Bogota,  where  the 
younger  brother  remains.  His  own  attention  was  given  to  the  purchase  and 
management  of  an  English  soap  factory.  Raw  material,  however,  was  so 
difficult  to  procure  and  so  expensive  that  he  abandoned  the  manufacture  of 
soap.  Intending  to  again  hunt  birds  of  plumage,  he  pushed  into  the  interior, 
but  there  fell  seriously  ill  with  malaria,  and  for  some  time  hovered  between 
life  and  death.  At  such  a  crisis  he  was  fortunate  in  having  as  a  nurse  Miss 
Elena  Gonzales,  whose  mother  owned  a  ranch  of  fifteen  thousand  acres  in  that 
section  of  the  country.  When  the  invalid  had  regained  his  strength  through 
the  ministrations  of  the  beautiful  3'oung  Spanish  nurse,  the  two  were  married 
at  Bogota,  and  for  a  time  afterward  he  engaged  with  his  brother  in  the  man- 
agement of  a  school  of  languages  in  that  city. 

Chance  brought  Mr.  Chauvin  into  contact  with  the  great  magician,  Ray- 
mond, at  Panama,  where  he  entered  into  a  contract  with  him  to  act  as  man- 
ager and  interpreter.  Accompanied  by  his  wife,  he  traveled  with  the  Ray- 
mond party  through  Colombia  and  Venezuela,  thence  proceeded  to  the  ad- 
joining islands  of  Grenada  and  Trinidad,  also  exhibited  in  various  cities  of  the 
larger  West  Indian  group  and  toured  through  the  Barbadoes  and  St.  Vincent's 
Island.  The  itinerary  of  the  party  included  Brazil,  but  the  yellow  fever  being 
very  prevalent  in  that  country,  Mr.  Chauvin  refused  to  continue  and  resigned 
at  the  Barbadoes.  With  his  wife  he  then  visited  Canada,  where  he  engaged 
with  a  stock  company  of  actors  and  in  that  work  visited  the  principal  cities  of 
Canada  and  Nova  Scotia.  Later  he  went  south  to  Mexico,  where  he  met  with 
success  in  his  specialties.  Since  1910  he  has  lived  in  California  and  has 
carried  on  a  bakerv  business  in  Kern  countv.  Since  coming  here  he  has 
identified  himself  with  Blue  Lodge  No.  426,  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Taft." 

JAMES  ALLEN  BARR.— The  developments  that  have  made  the  Kern 
county  oil  regions  the  cynosure  for  the  eyes  of  the  world  and  that  have 
attracted  hither  young  men  of  brain  and  optimistic  faith,  drew  to  their  ever- 
present  possibilities  James  Allen  Barr,  the  manager  of  the  store  of  the  Asso- 
ciated Supply  Company  at  McKittrick  and  a  young  business  man  of  excep- 
tional capability,  well  qualified  by  training  and  experience  to  take  charge  of 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY  1281 

the  responsibilities  associated  with  a  position  of  unusual  importance. 
Throughout  almost  his  entire  life  Mr.  P.arr  has  lived  in  California,  but 
Kansas  is  his  native  commonwealth,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  the  city 
of  Topeka  on  the  5th  of  Septem1)er,  1887.  In  company  with  other  members 
of  the  family  he  came  to  the  west  and  settled  in  the  little  town  of  Sanger, 
where  he  attended  the  grammar  and  high  schools,  graduating  from  the  latter 
in  1907  when  nineteen  years  of  age. 

In  a  family  of  six  children,  all  still  living,  James  .Mien  r>arr  was  next 
to  the  eldest.  His  father,  \\\  Al.  Rarr,  a  native  of  Iowa,  and  during  young 
manhood  a  merchant  in  Topeka,  Kan.,  married  Miss  Janie  Chandlers  .Mien, 
who  was  born  in  West  Virginia  and  died  at  Sanger,  Cal.,  during  1902.  Sub- 
sequent to  the  removal  of  tbe  family  to  the  Pacific  coast,  W.  M.  Barr  engaged 
in  the  real  estate  and  insurance  business  at  Sanger.  Upon  his  election  in 
1907  as  cashier  of  the  Sanger  State  Bank  he  closed  out  his  other  interests  and 
gave  his  time  wholly  to  the  banking  business.  Upon  the  merging  of  that 
institution  into  the  First  Xatitmal  Bank  of  Sanger  he  remained  as  casiiier. 

Following  his  graduation  from  the  high  school  James  Allen  Barr  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company  at  Oil  Center,  where  he  continued 
for  one  year,  resigning  his  position  in  order  to  take  a  business  course  in  the 
College  of  Commerce,  University  of  California.  One  year  was  spent  in  that 
institution.  Upon  his  return  to  Oil  Center  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Associated  Supply  Company  in  1909.  and  was  sent  to  the  McKittrick  field 
immediately.  As  an  assistant  in  the  Company's  stores  at  McKittrick,  Oil 
Center  and  Fellows,  he  gained  the  experience  and  the  familiarity  with  the 
business  that  qualified  him  for  promotion  and  since  December  of  1912  he  has 
served  with  efficiency  as  manager  of  the  store  at  McKittrick. 

DAVID  EDWARD  THOMSON.— Born  near  Piano,  Tulare  county,  July 
8,  1869,  D.  E.  Thomson  is  a  son  i  f  William  Thomson,  wlio  came  to  California 
in  1865  and  became  a  merchant  near  Piano. 

The  grandfather  of  David  E.  Thomson  was  a  native  of  Kilmarnock, 
Scotland.  In  the  public  schools  of  Piano  our  subject  received  his  edu- 
cational training.  Upon  leaving  school  he  druve  stage  from  Visalia 
into  White  River  for  some  years  until  he  reached  his  majority,  when  he  went 
into  the  cattle  business  on  Deer  Creek  in  Tulare  county.  In  1894  he  left  his 
home  place  and  made  his  way  to  Lone  Pine,  Inyo  county,  where  he  followed 
the  cattle  business  for  two  years,  at  which  time  he  came  to  Randsburg,  Kern 
county,  as  one  of  the  first  settlers,  in  October  of  1896.  He  took  a  position 
with  the  Yellow  Aster  Mining  Company  with  whom  he  remained  for  a  short 
time.  However,  he  was  not  the  man  to  be  satisfied  with  working  for  others, 
and  he  branched  out  for  himself,  locating  in  the  Struger  district,  where  he 
remained  for  about  ten  years  engaged  in  mining.  For  four  years  he  worked 
for  a  wholesale  liquor  concern,  but  finally  gave  that  up  to  devote  his  time  to 
his  own  interests.  At  present  he  is  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Houser 
hotel  at  Randsburg,  and  he  also  has  some  mining  property,  all  of  which  is  a 
source  of  income  for  him,  which  is  extremely  gratifying.  .Aside  from  the 
hotel  business  he  is  agent  for  the  Bakersfield  Brewing  Company.  Since  No- 
vember, 1912.  he  has  been  conducting  a  meat  market  in  Randsburg;  also  a 
retail  ice  business. 

As  a  public-spirited  and  interested  citizen  Mr.  Thomson  has  served  his 
adopted  town  as  constable,  and  also  as  deputy  sheriff,  and  his  services  have 
been  most  satisfactory  to  his  fellow-citizens.  He  is  a  popular  member  of  the 
Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles,  and  his  name  is  well-known  in  that  locality  as 
that  of  a  reliable,  conscientious  man.     Politicallv  he  is  a  Republican. 

]\lr.  Thomson  was  married  February  12.  1908,  in  Los  Angeles,  to  Sadie 
Nieto,  who  was  born  in  Los  Angeles,  and  they  have  two  children,  Ploomey 
Jane  and  Edward.  Mrs.  Thomson's  parents  were  of  old  Southern  California 
families  and  the  town  and  valley  of  Los  Nietos  were  named  for  her  father,  he 


1282  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

being  the  owner  of  a  very  large  landed  estate;  his  death,  however,  occurred 
when  he  was  still  a  young  man. 

E.  R.  LONG. — The  growing  business  interests  of  Bakersfield  have  a 
capable  representative  in  E.  R.  Long,  who  for  some  years  has  conducted  a 
wholesale  hay  and  grain  business  with  office  in  the  Fish  block.  Since  coming 
to  this  section  of  the  state  he  has  formed  a  wide  acquaintance  among  the 
farmers  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  from  whom  he  buys  hay  and  grain  in  large 
quantities  for  shipment  to  his  customers  in  Los  Angeles  and  elsewhere.  Ship- 
ments are  made  in  carload  lots,  the  cars  being  filled  at  various  stations  along 
the  line  of  the  railroad,  thus  affording  the  utmost  convenience  to  the  farmers 
who  deliver  the  product  and  enabling  them  to  avoid  the  annoyance  of  long 
hauls.  In  other  instances,  when  the  hay  is  purchased  in  the  bulk.  Mr.  Long 
himself  attends  to  the  matter  of  baling  and  hauling,  and  these  large  interests 
make  him  a  very  busy  man  indeed  during  certain  seasons  of  the  year.  As  a 
commission  man  he  has  proved  resourceful,  energetic  and  industrious,  and  by 
integrity  in  all  transactions  has  won  the  steady  patronage  (if  a  large  number 
of  customers. 

Allen  county,  Ohio,  is  Mr.  Long's  native  place,  and  he  was  born  near 
Lima,  January  7,  1875,  being  a  son  of  M.  H.  and  Clara  A.  (Cochran)  Long, 
the  latter  of  whom  passed  away  many  years  ago.  The  father,  who  engaged 
in  the  hay  business  in  Ohio  for  many  years,  came  to  California  about  1908 
and  is  now  living  retired  in  Los  Angeles.  E.  R.,  who  was  the  eldest  child  in 
the  family,  has  an  own  brother  and  one  half-brother  living.  When  not  in 
school  he  assisted  his  father  in  the  hay  business  and  thus  early  acquired  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  industry  now  engaging  his  attention.  At  the  age 
of  nineteen  years  he  came  to  California  and  settled  in  Los  Angeles,  where 
during  1895  and  1896  he  was  in  the  hay  commission  business.  Later  other 
business  enterprises  commanded  his  time  and  gave  him  the  training  essential 
to  successful  business  activities.  When  he  came  to  Bakersfield  in  1903  he 
embarked  in  the  wholesale  commission  business  with  E.  H.  Loveland  as  a 
partner  and  gave  personal  supervision  to  the  hay  business  of  the  firm.  After 
five  years  in  the  co-partnership  he  retired  from  the  firm  in  order  to  establish  a 
business  of  his  own,  and  since  then  he  has  maintained  an  office  in  the  old  Fish 
building  in  Bakersfield.  but  spends  much  of  his  time  in  various  parts  of  the 
valley  buying  hay  and  baling  it  for  the  markets  of  the  city. 

The  marriage  of  Air.  Long  took  place  in  1905  and  united  him  with  Aliss 
Minnie  B.  Painter,  of  Los  Angeles,  by  whom  he  has  three  children,  Helen 
Anita  and  Orley  Delbert,  and  a  baby  girl  yet  unnamed.  In  political  views  he 
votes  the  Republican  ticket,  but  never  exhibited  any  partisanship  in  his  opin- 
ions, on  the  contrary  placing  a  genuine  public  spirit  ahead  of  narrow  partisan 
strife.  From  early  life  he  has  been  interested  in  religious  afifairs  and  now  is 
a  leading  member  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Bakersfield. 
Here,  as  well  as  in  his  former  home  in  Los  Angeles,  the  church  has  had  the 
benefit  of  his  sincere  interest,  generous  contributions  and  unwavering  devo- 
tion. He  is  trustee  of  the  official  board  and  the  Sunday  school  superintendent, 
which  latter  position  he  has  faithfully  held  for  the  last  eight  years. 

JOSEPH  BAUMGARTNER,  SR.— The  founder  and  first  president  of 
the  Bakersfield  Brewing  Companv  was  born  in  Koetzing,  Bavaria,  Germany, 
February  19.  1859,  and  died  at  his  home  in  Bakersfield  April  2,  1912,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-three  years.  As  a  boy  in  his  native  land  he  served  an  appren- 
ticeship to  the  brewers'  trade  and  gained  noteworthy  skill  in  the  occupation, 
so  that  when  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  new  worlcl  he  experienced  no  diffi- 
culty in  securing  steady  employment.  After  a  sojourn  in  New  York  City 
he  went  to  the  then  new  district  of  Winnipeg,  Canada,  where  he  held  a 
position  as  brewmaster  in  the  Drewry  brewery.  Removing  from  Canada  to 
Pennsylvania  he  worked  as  a  brewmaster  in  Allegheny  and  was  a  trusted 
employe  of  the  large  concern  operated  by  Hiple}'  &  Son.     Meanwhile  he  had 


HISTORY    OF    KRRN    COUNTY  128.5 

been  utilizing  every  experience  so  that  he  might  cinalify  himself  fur  inde- 
pendent business  undertakings  and  when  he  went  to  Latrobe,  I'a.,  in  1893, 
he  built  the  Latrobe  brewery,  which  later  he  sold  to  a  syndicate,  operating 
under  the  title  of  the  Pittsburg  Brewing  Company.  The  venture  had  l)een 
profitable  and  he  had  laid  the  foundation  of  a  substantial  fortune  during  his 
Pennsylvania  experiences.  His  next  enterprise  took  him  to  Iowa,  where  he 
built  a  brewery  in  Sioux  City  and  conducted  the  same  under  the  title  of  the 
Sioux  City  Brewing  Company  until  he  sold  in  1899  at  a  gratifying  profit. 

When  the  Iowa  venture  had  been  brought  to  a  successful  consumma- 
tion Mr.  Baumgartncr  went  to  New  jersey  and  built  a  brewery-  at  Camden. 
This  likewise  proved  a  profitable  investment  and  during  1910  he  sold  for 
a  sum  that  represented  large  returns  for  his  capital  and  labor.  Imme- 
diately afterward  he  came  to  California  and  settled  in  Bakersfield,  where  he 
purchased  a  desired  site  on  Twenty-fourth  street  and  there  erected  a  brew- 
ery with  a  capacity  of  thirty  thousand  barrels  per  annum.  The  plant  repre- 
sents an  investment  of  $300,000  and  the  product,  known  as  the  Lion  brew, 
was  put  on  the  Bakersfield  market  for  the  first  time  Ma}-  2,  1912,  since  which 
time  it  has  leaped  into  great  popularity. 

The  Bakersfield  brewery  was  from  its  start  equipped  with  every  appli- 
ance and  improvement  that  modern  science  could  suggest,  including  two 
electrically  driven  boilers  of  one  hundred  horse-power  each  ;  fourteen  chip 
casks  of  one  hundred  and  ten  barrels  each  ;  fourteen  stock  tubs  of  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  barrels  each  ;  twelve  fermenting  tubs  of  one  hundred  and 
ten  barrels  each,  and  the  capacity  of  the  outfit  is  one  hundred  and  twenty 
barrels  to  a  brew. 

In  the  refrigerating  room  ten  new  chip-casks,  with  a  capacity  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  barrels  apiece,  are  now  being  installed,  while  the  bottling 
department  has  added  a  Xational  soaker  of  the  Berry-Wehlmiller  make,  with 
a  capacity  of  one  hundred  barrels  per  day,  said  machine  insuring  the  highest 
possible  sanitary  service.  The  bottles  are  soaked  in  two  separate  antiseptic 
solutions  and  twice  rinsed  in  hot  water,  after  which  they  are  taken  to  the 
new  Eick  washer,  where  they  are  thoroughly  scrubbed  by  a  most  ingenious 
mechanism.  Being  thus  thoroughly  cleansed  and  rinsed,  the  bottles  are 
next  filled  by  means  of  a  new  Henes-Keller  rotary  counter  pressure  filling 
machine,  and  promptly  corked  by  means  of  a  "Jumbo"  crowner.  The  prod- 
uct is  then  treated  to  a  thorough  pasteurizing  process,  and  finally  labelled  by 
means  of  a  new  Ermold  labeling  machine.  Thus  the  whole  process  of 
bottling  is  done  by  a  complete  set  of  the  latest  and  most  approved  machinery 
built  for  that  purpose,  in  the  most  cleanly  and  sanitary  manner  which  busi- 
ness ingenuity  has  thus  far  been  able  to  devise.  The  company's  large  and 
constantly  increasing  trade  has  necessitated  the  use  of  two  new  auto  trucks 
of  one  and  one-half  and  three  tons  capacity  respectively. 

The  most  skilled  brewers  are  employed  and  the  best  of  ingredients  are 
utilized,  the  aim  being  the  highest  stage  of  perfection  possible.  The  insti- 
tution is  destined  to  become  an  important  factor  in  the  future  development 
of  the  city.  Much  of  the  material  used  will  be  produced  in  Kern  county,  so 
that  farmers  will  be  benefited.  However,  some  of  the  hops  will  be  imported 
from  Bavaria  and  Bohemia,  these  varieties  being  essential  in  the  manufacture 
of  their  beer.  A  well  ninety-three  feet  deep  has  been  driven  on  the  premises, 
which  is  pumped  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  gallons  a  min- 
ute. Employment  is  furnished  to  about  thirty  persons.  The  company  was 
incorporated  for  $200,000,  with  the  following  officers:  Joseph  Baumgartner, 
Sr.,  president;  John  Baumgartner,  vice-president;  William  Baumgartner, 
treasurer ;  and  Joseph  Baumgartner,  Jr.,  secretary.  The  death  of  the  founder 
in  no  respect  changed  the  plans  of  the  institution,  for  John  and  William  for 
years  have  been  practical  brewers,  while  Joseph,  Jr.,  has  been  thoroughly 
familiar  with  everv  detail  of  the  office  work.     There  has  been,  therefore,  no 


1284  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

essential  change  in  the  management  since  the  death  of  the  founder  of  the 
business. 

The  marriage  of  Joseph  Baumgartner,  Sr.,  united  him  with  Miss  Mar- 
garet Brautigam,  a  native  of  Bavaria,  and  now  a  resident  of  Bakersfield. 
Eight  children  comprise  the  family,  namely:  Joseph,  Jr.,  John,  William, 
George,  Rose,  Anna,  Charles  and  Margaret. 

PATRICK  LAMB. — Descended  from  an  honored  eastern  family  Patrick 
Lamb  was  born  at  Mount  Clemens,  Alich.,  June  11,  1869,  and  is  a  son 
of  the  late  Frank  and  Mary  (Feller)  Lamb,  the  former  of  whom,  an  attorney 
well  known  among  professional  men  in  Mount  Clemens  and  also  widely 
acquainted  in  Kentucky,  passed  away  about  1898  after  a  long  and  successful 
career  as  a  lawyer.  After  his  decease  the  widow  went  to  Kansas  to  make 
her  home.  A  lady  of  culture  and  education,  she  had  made  a  specialty  of  the 
study  of  music  in  girlhood  and  for  years  was  recognized  among  the  most 
skilled  and  proficient  musicians  in  Mount  Clemens.  The  family  comprised 
five  sons  and  one  daughter,  viz.:  Patrick,  Charles  C,  Hugh  B.,  Frank  C, 
Ralph  and  Mamie,  the  last-named  being  a  trained  nurse  residing  in  St.  Louis. 

After  having  completed  the  studies  of  the  grammar  and  high  schools  of 
his  native  city,  Patrick  I^amb  started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world. 
When  seven:een  years  of  age  he  found  employment  in  the  Lima  oil  field  in 
Ohio,  where  he  worked  his  way  up  from  roustabout  to  tool  dresser.  Succes- 
sively he  was  employed  in  the.  fields  at  Findlay,  Signet  and  Bowling  Green, 
Ohio.  From  that  state  he  went  over  into  West  Virginia  and  engaged  in 
drilling  at  Sistersville.  A  desire  to  see  more  of  the  world  led  him  to  Kansas, 
where  he  had  considerable  experience  in  the  Neodesha  oil  fields.  Returning 
to  Ohio,  he  resumed  work  at  one  of  the  oil  centers  in  that  state.  The  same 
industry  took  him  to  Bartlesville,  Okla.,  in  the  boom  period  of  that  oil  center. 
At  different  times  he  engaged  in  other  oil  fields,  principally  in  the  Caddo 
field  in  Louisiana.  Again  going  to  Oklahoma,  he  resumed  work  at  Bartles- 
ville, and  also  made  brief  sojourns  at  Cleveland,  Nowater,  and  Kiefer.  Im- 
mediately after  coming  to  California  early  in  1908  he  secured  employment  in 
Kern  county,  where  he  has  engaged  successively  as  driller  on  the  Santa  Fe 
lease,  with  the  Consolidated  ]\Iidway  and  Western  Minerals  for  one  year 
each,  with  the  Gate  City  for  five  months,  the  Sunset  Extension  for  seven 
months,  and  lastly  with  the  Miocene,  where  at  present  he  is  retained  in  the 
capacity  of  driller. 

GEORGE  W.  SHAFFER.— A  member  of  an  old  eastern  family,  G.  W. 
Shaft'er  was  born  October  19,  1881,  at  Cumberland,  Md.,  also  the  birthplace 
of  his  father,  Conrad,  while  his  mother,  Alice,  also  claimed  Maryland  as  her 
native  commonwealth.  When  yet  a  mere  infant  he  was  taken  by  his  parents 
into  a  timber  and  mountainous  region  about  twelve  miles  west  of  Cumber- 
land, and  there  the  father  secured  employment  in  connection  with  the  running 
of  a  sawmill.  Later,  however,  the  parents  removed  to  a  farm  and  took  up 
agricultural  pursuits,  which  they  have  since  followed  in  the  vicinity  of  Cum- 
berland. Besides  their  only  son,  who  was  the  youngest  child,  thev  had  three 
daughters,  Jessie  May,  Cora  Jeanette  and  Clara  Belle.  From  childhood  the 
son  exhibited  an  inclination  toward  mechanical  work.  One  of  his  favorite 
pastimes  was  the  making  of  wooden  models  for  engines.  Any  department  of 
mechanics  became  a  hobby  with  him.  His  first  practical  experience  was 
gained  while  operating  the  engine  in  the  saw-mill  for  the  W.  C.  White  Lum- 
ber Company.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  became  an  apprentice  in  the 
Westinghouse  shops  at  East  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  where  he  won  the  good-will  of 
the  foreman  and  gradually  worked  his  way  out  of  the  ranks  of  unskilled 
laborers. 

An  idea  of  the  remarkable  exactness  demanded  by  the  shop  superinten- 
dents of  their  workmen  may  be  cained  from  the  statement  that,  while  varia- 
tions of  one-fourth  of  .001  would  be  allowed  to  pass,  any  greater  variation 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  1285 

would  not  be  accepted  and  the  workman  must  take  up  the  task  asjain.  While 
at  times  this  extreme  accuracy  seemed  needless,  in  the  main  every  worker  in 
the  shops  saw  the  justice  of  the  demand  and  strove  with  painstaking  care  to 
bring  his  work  up  to  the  mark  of  |icrfcction.  Such  training  was  nf  invaluable 
aid  to  Mr.  Shaft'er  then  and  has  assisted  him  in  later  positions,  causing  him  to 
discharge  every  duty  with  unfailing  accuracy.  After  he  had  spent  five  busy 
and  helnful  years  in  the  W'estiiighonse  shops  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Union  Switch  and  Signal  Company  at  Swissvale,  Pa.,  but  resigned  his  posi- 
tion at  the  expiration  of  six  months  in  order  to  come  to  California.  On  the 
6th  of  May.  1908,  he  arrived  in  San  Francisco  and  there  he  was  engaged  to 
enter  the  employ  of  the  Los  Angeles  Aqueduct  Company  at  Mojave,  this 
state.  For  two  years  he  worked  as  a  machinist  with  the  construction  corps 
at  Mojave,  his  leading  jobs  being  the  repairing  of  steam  shovels,  gas  engines, 
concrete  mixers  and  automobiles.  Upon  leaving  that  place  he  came  to  the 
oil  fields  near  Maricopa  and  entered  upon  his  duties  as  machinist  with  the 
Monte  Cristo  Oil  and  Development  Company  in  the  Sunset  field  at  Maricopa. 
Since  coming  to  this  locality  and  engaging  in  his  present  position,  November 
11.  1911,  he  has  had  charge  of  all  work  in  a  mechanical  line  upon  the  two 
Monte  Cristo  leases  at  Maricopa  and  Kern  river,  besides  which  he  is  pre- 
pared tn  do  outside  job  work. 

PARKER  BARRETT.— As  the  original  Ijcator  of  sectinn  twenty-five,  on 
which  the  well-known  gusher  I.akevicw  appeared,  Parker  Barrett  became 
prominent  in  the  oil  fields  in  Kern  county,  but  he  has  been  identified  with  va- 
rious industries  throughout  the  west  in  which  he  has  evidenced  his  keen 
business  judgment  and  unquestionable  integrity  in  whatever  he  finds  at  hand. 
His  enterprise  has  taken  him  into  the  fields  of  mining,  railroading,  contracting 
and  building,  and  the  automobile  business  as  well  as  the  oil  industry,  and 
his  vast  experience  in  these  lines  has  served  him  in  good  stead  in  his  de- 
cisions and  movements.  His  father,  Uriah,  a  native  of  Ohio  and  of  old  Quaker 
family,  was  a  pioneer  in  Jasner  county,  Iowa,  owning  the  original  site  of 
Grinnell,  that  state,  where  Parker  Barrett  was  born  September  3,  1860. 
However,  Uriah  Barrett  returned  to  Ohio  and  located  in  Belmont  county  until 
1866,  when  he  removed  to  Marshall  county,  Kans..  and  settled  at  Barrett,  o-i 
Vermilion  creek,  where  he  passed  away.  His  wife  was  Nancy  Beall,  a  native  of 
old  \'irginia,  whose  death  occurred  in  Ixansas.  Six  of  their  seven  children 
are  surviving  them.  Parker  being  the  third  youngest  and  the  only  one  of  the 
family  living  on  the  coast. 

From  the  age  of  six  Parker  Barrett  lived  on  his  father's  farm  at  Barrett, 
Kans..  and  attended  the  local  schools.  When  eighteen  he  went  to  Nevada 
to  follow  mining  and  stock  ranging  for  two  years,  and  then  returned  to  Kan- 
sas to  remain  a  year.  The  year  1884  brought  him  to  California  and  he  soon 
made  his  way  to  Kern  county,  and  in  Caliente  entered  the  bridge  and  building 
department  of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad.  One  year  later  he  went  to  the 
mines  in  Piute,  wdiere  he  spent  a  year  and  then,  in  1886  went  on  to  Tulare, 
where  he  again  entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific,  serving  this  time  as 
fireman  on  the  run  between  Tulare  and  Bakersfield  and  north  to  Lathrop. 
In  1889  he  was  promoted  to  engineer  and  in  this  capacity  drove  the  engine 
between  these  same  points,  but  the  railroad  union  trouble  in  1894  influenced 
him  to  give  up  railroading  and  for  two  years  he  mined  in  northern  California 
in  Shasta  and  Trinity  counties.  The  inauguration  of  the  oil  industry  in  Kern 
county  caused  him  to  cfime  back  to  Bakersfield  and  in  1900  he  made  a  loca- 
tion on  25  Hill  and  succeeded  in  getting  a  well  under  way,  when  he  sold  out 
and  engaged  in  contracting  and  building  in  Bakersfield.  In  1906,  when  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  began  the  construction  of  their  pipe  line  on  the  west 
side,  he  located  there  and  continued  in  the  contracting  and  Iiuilding  business, 
making  his  headquarters  at  Maricopa.  In  this  business  Mr.  Barrett  was  asso- 
ciated with  J.  M.  Dunn,  they  making  a  specialty  of  rig  building  until    Mr. 


1286  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Barrett  sold  out  his  interests  to  his  partner.  In  1908  he  began  locating  oil 
iands  in  partnership  with  Messrs.  Freed,  Dunn  &  Stroud,  the  company  locating 
on  fractional  25,  34  and  8  and  fractional  30,  building  rigs  on  a  large  scale. 
Later  they  sold  their  improvements  to  the  Lakeview  Oil  Company,  leasing 
their  property  to  them,  with  the  result  that  the  world-renowned  gusher  made 
its  appearance.  Associated  with  Messrs.  Dunn,  McReynolds  &  Derby,  Mr. 
Barrett  also  located  sections  24,  26,  14,  12,  2,  4  and  8  in  Buena  Vista  Hills, 
which  were  leased  to  Captain  Mattson,  now  the  Honolulu  Consolidated  Oil 
Co.  Valuable  wells  have  been  struck  and  the  property  is  considered  the  best 
oil  holdings  on  the  west  side,  as  there  is  a  production  of  gas  as  well  as  oil  and 
they  are  now  the  greatest  natural  gas  producers  in  the  state  of  California. 
Mr.  Barrett  is  now  associated  with  J.  M.  Dunn  in  the  M  and  F  Garage  under 
the  firm  name  of  J.  M.  Dunn  Auto  Company  and  he  is  serving  as  vice  presi- 
dent. They  handle  the  Overland,  Stutz  and  Marion  cars  and  the  business 
has  shown  rapid  increase  since  the  organization. 

Along  with  his  many  business  interests  Mr.  Barrett  is  largely  interested 
in  the  Bank  of  Maricopa,  and  with  his  investments  and  oil  property  has  be- 
come a  well-to-do  man.  He  married  in  Bakersfield  Miss  Oma  Dover,  a  native 
of  California,  who  bore  him  three  children,  Percy  M.,  Gladys  E.  and  Thelma. 
Socially  he  is  a  member  of  the  Ijakersfield  Club,  the  Sierra  Madre  Club  of  Los 
Angeles  and  the  Los  Angeles  Athletic  Club. 

FAUSTINO  MIER  NORIEGA.— Born  in  Santander,  Spain,  February 
15,  1856,  when  fifteen  years  cjld  Mr.  Noriega  left  his  parents'  home  and 
became  errand-boy  in  a  nearby  city,  but  when  tired  of  his  work  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1872,  his  choice  of  location  being  influenced  by  the  fact  that  his  god- 
father, Vincent  Noriega,  lived  in  Tulare  county.  The  journey  here  was  an  event 
to  the  untraveled  boy  and  consumed  many  weeks,  for  he  immigrated  first  to 
New  York,  and  from  there  came  to  the  coast  by  way  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
reaching  San  Francisco  October  4,  1872.  His  first  experience  of  importance 
was  not  calculated  to  impress  him  favorably  with  his  adopted  country,  for 
upon  stepping  off  the  train  at  Oakland  he  broke  his  ankle.  Recovering,  he  was 
taken  by  friends  to  Visaiia,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year  he  came  to 
Kern  county.  By  working  with  his  cousin  at  sheep  herding  he  in  time  man- 
aged to  save  enough  money  to  take  up  land  on  his  own  responsibility.  He 
homesteaded  eighty  acres  and  pre-empted  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  just 
west  of  Famoso,  which  he  afterward  sold  to  the  Kern  County  Land  Com- 
pany. In  1879  he  became  identified  with  this  company  as  a  sheep  driver.  In 
1882  he  entered  the  employ  of  Miller  &  Lux  and  was  foreman  of  their  sheep 
department  until  1893.  During  this  time  his  operations  as  buyer  and  seller 
were  conducted  on  a  large  scale  and  he  had  from  thirty  to  forty  men  under 
his  charge.  That  his  services  were  satisfactory  in  the  extreme  is  evidenced 
from  the  fact  that  he  remained  with  the  same  employer  for  twelve  years. 

In  December,  1893,  Mr.  Noriega  came  to  Sumner,  now  East  Bakersfield, 
and  erected  on  Sumner  street  the  Ivaria  hotel,  now  called  the  Noriega,  for 
which  he  was  obliged  to  borrow  $3,500,  and  of  which  he  is  still  the  proprietor. 
He  also  erected  the  new  brick  hotel  Pyrenees  on  Kern  street  which  cost  $9,000, 
and  besides  is  the  owner  of  other  houses  and  property  in  the  town.  His  inter- 
est in  sheep  continued  unabated,  as  for  many  years  he  was  half  owner  of  about 
eight  thousand  sheep  which  during  the  winter  were  grazed  on  the  plains  and 
in  the  summer  were  driven  to  the  mountains  of  Inyo  and  Mono  counties.  He 
owns  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  at  Saco,  about  eight  miles  from  Bakersfield. 
which  is  devoted  to  the  raising  of  alfalfa  and  is  under  the  Beardsley  canal,  and 
besides  this  he  owns  range  land  for  his  stock.  Mr.  Noriega  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  First  Bank  of  Kern  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of 
directors  and  its  vice-president  from  the  beginning. 

On    February   14,    1893,   Mr.   Noriega   married   Louise   Inda,  a  native   of 


HISTORY    OI'     KI'.RX    COl-NTY  1287 

Basscs-I'yrcnccs.  I'rancc.  and  tliev  ha\c  fi\e  children,  Martha  I-cna,  Julia, 
Christena,  Frank  and  Albert.  About  1890  Mr.  Xoriega  erected  a  large  mod- 
ern brick  residence  on  I'.aker  and  Oregon  street  which  the  family  now  occupy. 

JOHN  RICHARD  WILLIAMS.— An  early  period  in  the  colonization 
of  Virginia  f(^und  the  W  illiaiiis  family  associated  with  the  Old  Dominion 
and  Henry  i'.  Williams  was  Imni  in  I'rince  William  county,  that  state,  being 
a  .son  of  John  Williams,  a  lifelong  resident  of  the  commonwealth.  When  a 
mere  lad  the  former  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  carpentering  and  fol- 
lowed the  same  in  Washington,  D.  C,  from  which  city  in  November  of  1848 
lie  started  for  California.  At  that  time  no  news  had  been  received  in  the  east 
concerning  the  discovery  of  gold,  but  he  had  been  interested  in  the  west  from 
the  reports  of  General  Fremont  containing  accounts  of  its  climate  and  soil. 
With  the  idea  of  coming  west  firmly  fi.xed  in  his  mind  he  secured  passage  on 
the  steamship  Falcon,  which  left  New  York  December  1,  1848,  for  the  Isthmus 
of  Panama.  There  were  no  passengers  bound  for  California  except  a  few  gov- 
ernment officials,  four  missionary  clergymen  and  four  young  mechanics,  he 
being  one  of  the  latter.  When  the  ship  reached  New  Orleans  en  route  to 
Chagris,  news  of  the  discovery  of  gold  having  reached  that  point,  the  ship 
was  there  filled  to  overflowing  with  men  whose  sole  object  was  to  hunt  for 
gold,  with  no  intention  of  settling  permanently  in  the  west.  At  Panama  a 
wait  of  several  weeks  was  necessary  before  the  arrival  of  the  steamship  Cali- 
fornia, which,  crowded  to  the  point  of  suffocation,  finally  conveyed  the 
ardent  .Argonauts  to  San  Francisco.  Upon  landing  almost  everyone  of  that 
vast  throng  rushed  for  the  gold  diggings,  but  the  young  carpenter,  who  had 
brought  with  him  a  complete  set  of  tools  for  cutting  down  lumber  and  build- 
ing houses,  did  not  swerve  from  the  resolution  he  had  made  before  he  learned 
of  mining  afifairs. 

No  wharf  had  been  built  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers  or  the 
unloading  of  cargoes.  The  passengers  crowded  the  small  boats  that  conveyed 
them  to  the  beach  from  the  ship,  anchored  in  the  bay.  Mr.  Williams  waited 
until  the  second  day,  when  the  crowd  having  diminished  he  was  able  to  take 
his  tools  with  him.  Immediately  after  landing  he  secured  a  job,  which  was  to 
fit  up  a  small  postoffice  for  Charles  L.  Ross,  who  had  been  appointed  the  first 
postmaster  by  the  postal  agent,  Hon.  William  Van  Voorhies,  an  ap[)ointee  of 
President  Polk  and  a  fellow  passenger  of  Mr.  Williams  on  the  steamship  from 
Panama.  As  he  fitted  up  the  first  postoffice  for  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Williams 
might  justly  be  called  one  of  the  founders  of  the  town.  That  honor  he  claimed 
for  himself  throughout  all  of  his  later  years.  .As  soon  as  he  had  saved  enough 
money  he  built  a  carpenter  shop,  the  first  in  the  city,  and  over  it  he  hoisted 
his  sign  in  large  letters,  this  being  the  first  sign  nf  any  kind  in  the  town.  The 
shop  was  located  on  the  east  side  of  Montgomery  street  between  Washington 
and  Jackson  streets.  Sometimes  it  was  necessary  to  elevate  the  little  shop  on 
stilts,  for  the  waters  of  the  bay  would  come  up  to  it  and  cover  it  to  a  depth  of 
several  feet.  The  location  proved  convenient  for  the  landing  of  lumber  and 
other  materials  when  brought  in  lighters  from  the  ships  lying  at  anchor  in 
the  bay.  There  Ijeing  no  wharf  at  which  the  vessels  could  discharge  their 
cargoes,  it  was  necessary  to  float  them  ashore  at  high  tide  in  small  barges, 
of  which  there  was  great  need  for  more.  That  fact  being  apparent  to  the 
voung  carpenter,  he  decided  to  supply  the  deficiency  and  cast  about  for  a 
partner  with  money.  He  was  fortunate  to  win  the  consideration  of  Hon. 
Henry  T.  Robinson,  who  had  been  a  fellow  passenger  on  the  ship  and  had 
brought  money  with  him.  Later  he  was  elected  a  state  senator  from  Sacra- 
mento to  the  first  legislature  and  also  became  jirominent  as  a  member  of  the 
constitutional  convention.  He  agreed  to  advance  $500  for  materials  to  con- 
struct a  barge,  which  Mr.  Williams  would  build,  and  the  latter  constructed  the 
boat  on   the  beach   near   what   is   now  the   intersection   of  Montgomery   and 


1288  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

Jackson  streets,  and  from  that  spot  floated  it  into  the  bay  at  high  tide.  The 
venture  proved  successful.  The  laarge  was  rented  at  $50  per  day  until  it  had 
paid  for  itself.  Then  it  was  sold  to  a  sea  captain,  Mott,  for  $2,000  and  the  new 
owner  handled  it  with  large  profit.  The  cost  of  landing  freight  from  ships  at 
that  time  was  almost  as  great  as  the  freight  charges  are  now  from  Boston  to 
San  Francisco. 

The  next  venture  of  Mr.  Williams  proved  even  more  successful  than  the 
first.  Wishing  to  build  another  barge  and  having  the  means  to  do  so  alone,  he 
found  that  it  was  impossible  to  secure  lumber  of  the  desired  quality.  Then 
he  conceived  the  idea  of  going  to  the  nearest  body  of  timber  land  and  manu- 
facturing by  hand  the  necessary  timber.  Capt.  W.  A.  Richardson  owned  or 
controlled  a  timber  tract  near  Sausalito  and  he  consented  to  the  establishing 
of  a  logging  camp  on  his  land,  also  agreed  to  haul  on  his  schooner  any  sup- 
plies needed.  A  competent  ship  carpenter  was  made  foreman  at  $16  per  day 
and  he  hired  his  assistants  at  $10  per  day,  with  an  additional  man  as  cook 
and  man  of  all  work  around  the  camp.  Camp  supplies  and  implements  were 
ordered  from  the  store  of  C.  L.  Ross  &  Co.,  and  the  expedition  boarded  Rich- 
ardson's schooner  at  Clark's  Point  for  Sausalito.  Mr.  Williams  trusted  every- 
thing to  his  foreman  and  did  not  go  near  the  camp.  In  less  than  three  weeks 
Captain  Richardson  brought  the  party  back  in  his  schooner  with  the  barge  in 
tow,  filled  with  the  waste  and  surplus  material  around  the  camp,  all  of  which 
was  of  such  value  in  his  construction  work  that  the  venture  proved  highly 
profitable.  The  barge  was  given  in  charge  of  Captain  Johnston,  with  an  option 
to  buy  one-fourth  interest  for  $1,000,  and  he  managed  it  so  well  that  it  paid 
$150  per  day  until  it  had  nearly  paid  its  full  cost.  Then  it  was  sold  outright 
lor  $4,000.  The  same  day  it  sold  at  that  sum  a  full  rigged  barque  lying  at 
anchor  in  the  bay,  which  had  been  deserted  by  the  crew,  sold  for  only  $3,000, 
all  of  which  was  due  to  the  fact  that  there  were  no  buyers  for  barques  at  the 
time,  but  barges  were  in  great  demand,  for  as  yet  the  first  wharf  (known  as 
Long  wharf)  "had  not  been  built.  All  things  considered,  Mr.  Williams  always 
believed  this  to  be  the  most  successful  venture  of  his  life,  and  yet  he  was  then 
scarcely  twenty-one  years  of  age.  His  first  full  day  in  San  Francisco,  March  2, 
1849,  had  been  the  twenty-first  anniversary  of  his  birth.  Many  more  years 
of  usefulness  were  given  him  in  the  city  he  loved  so  well  and  when  he  passed 
away  March  16,  1911,  it  was  shortly  after  he  had  celebrated  his  eighty-third  an- 
niversary. 

While  in  the  main  the  career  of  Mr.  Williams  was  very  prosperous  and  he 
accumulated  large  holdings,  yet  he  was  not  without  his  reverses,  the  most 
serious  of  which  was  connected  with  the  contract  for  the  building  of  the  Second 
street  cut.  Through  a  technicality  he  lost  $250,000  and  was  left  a  bankrupt. 
However,  to  a  man  of  his  indomitable  determination  and  great  faith  in  San 
Francisco,  continued  disappointment  was  impossible  and  in  time  he  retrieved 
those  losses.  As  agent  for  the  Pacific  Improvement  Company  he  came  to 
Kern  county  and  laid  out  the  town  site  of  Sumner,  which  later  was  known  as 
Kern  and  eventually  was  made  a  part  of  Bakersfield.  With  headquarters  in 
San  Francisco,  he  had  the  exclusive  agency  for  property  owned  by  that  con- 
cern throughout  the  state.  Through  his  efforts  and  as  a  result  of  the  donation 
of  part  of  his  commission,  he  induced  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  to  build 
a  depot  at  Sumner.  Acquiring  property  at  Kern,  he  aided  in  building  up  the 
town,  although  he  continued  to  reside  in  San  Francisco,  where  in  the  early 
days  he  was  associated  in  enterprises  with  Huntington,  Crocker  and  other 
pioneer  magnates.  For  many  years  he  served  as  secretary  of  the  state  Demo- 
cratic central  committee  and  for  a  considerable  period  he  was  a  school  director 
in  San  Francisco.  After  coming  west  he  was  made  a  Mason,  being  the  first 
to  enter  the  order  in  the  state,  where  later  he  rose  to  the  Knight  Templar 
degree.    On  the  organization  of  the  Society  of  California  Pioneers  he  became 


HISTORY    OF    KI'.RX    COUNTY  1289 

one  of  its  first  members  and  ever  afterward  retained  a  warm  interest  in  its 
reimions.  While  his  holdings  sulTercd  temporarily  from  tlie  great  fire  in  San 
Francisco,  that  disaster  did  not  diminish  his  faith  in  his  beloved  city  and  he 
always  cherished  the  optimistic  belief  that  after  the  completion  of  the  Panama 
canal  his  own  city  would  rank  in  population  and  importance  close  to  London 
and  New  York. 

During  the  pioneer  period  of  California's  history  Catherine  E.  Duval,  a 
native  of  Florida,  came  to  the  west  via  Panama  and  settled  in  San  Francisco, 
where  she  still  makes  her  home.  In  young  womanhood  she  became  the  wife 
of  Mr.  Williams.  Five  sons  and  five  daughters  blessed  their  union,  of  whom  the 
sixth  in  order  of  birth,  John  Richard,  was  born  in  San  Francisco  October  13, 
1873.  After  graduating  from  lleald's  Business  College  he  became  an  assistant 
in  his  father's  office.  In  order  to  manage  the  family  holdings  in  Kern  county 
he  came  here  February  22.  1899.  and  embarked  in  the  real-estate  business, 
also  bought  lands  and  improved  farms  for  alfalfa.  With  his  father  and  C.  J. 
Lindgren  he  built  a  private  sewer  system,  which  has  been  extended  until  now 
there  are  about  six  miles  of  sewer  in  Kern.  The  system  is  now  owned  by 
Williams  Brothers,  the  interests  of  Mr.  Lindgren  having  I)een  bought,  and 
about  1909  the  firm  of  Williams  Brothers  was  established  by  John  Richard, 
Thomas  C,  Fairfax  and  Duval.  Besides  engaging  in  business  as  contractors 
and  builders,  they  carry  on  a  general  real-estate  business,  also  build  up  tlieir 
own  holdings,  and  own  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  adjacent  to  Kern  or  East 
Bakersfield,  suitable  for  addition  purposes.  At  least  nine  residences  have  been 
built  by  them  in  this  part  of  town.  They  maintain  an  office  at  No.  410  Hum- 
boldt street  and  control  interests  of  great  value  and  importance.  In  the  fall 
of  1911  they  with  others  organized  the  Bakersfield  Water  Company,  which 
purchased  and  rebuilt  the  old  Sumner  Water  Company's  system.  The  com- 
pany sunk  three  new  wells  and  installed  a  new  pumping  plant.  This  is  now  a 
modern  and  up-to-date  water  system  with  ample  capacity  to  care  for  the 
needs  of  the  communit}-.    Mr.  ^Villiams  is  president  of  the  company. 

Besides  his  other  activities  John  Richard  Williams  still  devotes  consid- 
erable time  to  his  large  farm,  which  is  now  under  irrigation  and  in  part  is 
devoted  to  alfalfa,  although  he  also  makes  a  specialty  of  horses  and  cattle. 
In  national  politics  he  favors  Democratic  principles.  Chosen  a  trustee  of  the 
Kern  library,  he  had  served  as  its  secretary  for  four  years  when  the  consoli- 
dation with  Bakersfield  merged  the  insitution  into  that  owned  by  the  larger 
city.  For  one  year  he  served  as  city  marshal,  during  which  time  he  succeeded 
in  straightening  out  vexatious  matters  relating  to  the  collection  of  licenses. 
Upon  the  consolidation  of  Bakersfield  and  Kern  in  July,  1910,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  at  the  regular  election  held  in  April  of 
1911  he  w^as  re-elected  for  a  term  of  four  years,  since  which  time  he  has  acted 
as  chairman  of  the  public  safety  and  light  committee  and  has  promoted  manv 
measures  for  the  permanent  upbuilding  of  the  cit}-.  The  i'.;ikersfield  Club 
numbers  him  among  its  interested  adherents. 

CHRISTIAN  P.  LARSEN.— Recollections  of  his  boyhood  home  take  Mr. 
Larsen  back  in  memory  to  the  fertile  farm  occupied  by  his  parents  in  Laaland, 
Denmark.  The  father,  Hans,  who  was  a  well-to-do  farmer,  died  when  his  son, 
C.  P.,  was  six  years  old,  and  the  mother,  Martha,  passed  away  when  he  was 
eighteen.  Four  children  were  born  of  their  marriage  and  C.  P.  was  born  July  9. 
1861.  After  the  death  of  his  father  he  was  taken  into  the  home  of  an  uncle, 
who  sent  him  to  school  and  taught  him  to  be  useful  and  self-reliant.  The  little 
island  of  Laaland,  where  he  was  born,  is  one  of  the  most  productive  of  Den- 
mark's holdings;  as  land  was  held  at  a  high  figure  and  wages  were  small  Mr. 
Larsen  gave  up  the  hope  of  1:)ecoming  a  landowner  there  and  came  to  the 
United  States.  During  1879  he  made  the  voyage  and  found  employment  in 
Cleveland,  where  he  learned  brick-making  and  followed  the  occupation  for  a 


1290  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

considerable  period.  As  early  as  1888  he  came  to  California  and  became  a 
worker  in  one  of  the  brickyards  of  Los  Angeles,  but  from  there  in  1891  he 
came  to  Bakersfield,  his  present  home. 

After  a  brief  experience  in  the  brickyard  owned  by  H.  A.  Jastro  Mr. 
Larsen  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  foreman.  When  the  yard  was  closed 
down  two  years  later  he  was  given  the  foremanship  of  Curran's  brickyard, 
where  he  continued  for  nine  years,  finally  resigning  in  order  to  take  up  con- 
tract work  for  himself.  For  a  time  he  worked  alone  as  a  cement  contractor, 
but  more  recently  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Weitzel  &  Larsen, 
manufacturers  of  woodstone  for  floors,  builders  of  cement  walks  and  curbs,  and 
contractors  for  foundations  and  basements  of  buildings  of  all  kinds.  The 
firm  conducts  a  large  business. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  Builders'  Exchange  Mr.  Larsen  became  one 
of  its  members  and  still  maintains  a  warm  interest  in  the  organization.  Fra- 
ternally he  has  been  a  member  for  years  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men. When  he  came  to  Bakersfield  he  was  a  single  man,  but  on  September  22, 
1892,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Emma  Agnes  Tibbet,  a  native  of  this  city  and  a 
daughter  of  Edward  and  Rebecca  (Callahan)  Tibbet,  the  former  born  in 
Ohio  and  the  latter  in  Indiana.  Many  years  ago  Mr.  Tibbet  became  a  pioneer  of 
Kern  county,  where  he  took  up  land,  developed  a  ranch  and  engaged  in 
general  farming.  Since  his  death  Mrs.  Tibbet  has  continued  to  reside  at  the 
old  homestead  situated  on  the  Kern  Island  road.  There  are  three  daughters  in 
the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Larsen,  namely:  Clara  Belle,  Julia  May  and  Frances 
Arline.  of  whom  the  eldest,  a  graduate  of  the  Kern  county  high  school,  class  of 
1913,  is  now  a  student  at  the  Fresno  Normal. 

ISAAC  DENTON  STOCKTON,  M.D.— The  association  of  the  Stockton 
family  with  America  dates  back  to  the  colonial  period  of  our  history.  During 
the  war  of  1812  a  young  Kentucky  physician  and  planter,  Robert  Stockton, 
served  as  an  aide-de-camp  to  General  Jackson  and  participated  in  the  memor- 
able battle  of  New  Orleans.  Although  a  southerner  by  birth  and  education, 
he  became  an  abolitionist  and  his  desire  to  remove  from  an  environment  where 
slavery  was  practiced  caused  him  to  settle  in  Illinois  shortly  after  his  return 
from  the  war.  Southern  Illinois  had  very  few  settlers  when  he  established  a 
frontier  home  in  one  of  its  counties.  The  slaves  he  had  inherited  were  freed 
by  his  voluntary  act.  So  kind  had  he  been  to  them  always  that  they  had  no 
desire  to  leave  him,  so  they  built  cabins  near  him  and  ministered  to  his  needs 
as  he  did  also  to  theirs,  forming  an  harmonious  little  settlement  of  frontier 
farmers.  In  the  struggle  to  establish  a  comfortable  home  he  had  the  wise  and 
constant  co-operation  of  his  wife,  who  was  Phoebe  Whiteside,  a  native  of 
Kentucky  and  a  niece  of  Gen.  Samuel  Whiteside,  the  pioneer  Indian  fighter 
in  whose  honor  a  well-known  valley  of  Kentucky  received  its  name. 

Born  in  Southern  Illinois  in  1815  shortly  after  his  father  had  removed 
thither,  Isaac  Denton  Stockton  grew  to  manhood  on  the  frontier.  During  the 
Black  Hawk  war  he  served  under  Captain  Gates  and  although  but  a  lad  he  had 
the  unique  distinction  of  bringing  in  the  last  prisoner  of  that  struggle,  an 
Indian  who  had  sought  his  life.  Being  a  splendid  shot,  he  was  sent  out  on 
reconnoitering  expeditions  and  many  a  narrow  escape  he  experienced  during 
those  perilous  times.  Participation  in  frontier  warfare  did  not  lesson  his  am- 
bition to  secure  an  education.  After  he  had  graduated  from  ShurtlefT  College 
at  Upper  Alton,  111.,  with  the  degree  of  A.B.,  he  entered  the  Jefferson  Medical 
College  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  took  the  complete  course  of  lectures  and 
received  the  degree  of  M.D.  Later  he  received  the  same  degree  from  a  New 
York  city  institution.  His  first  professional  experiences  were  difficult  and  try- 
ing, for  they  kept  him  in  the  south  during  long  epidemics  of  yellow  fever  and 
smallpox.  In  recognition  of  his  services  the  government  tendered  him  a 
certificate  that  entitled  him  to  practice  medicine  in  every  part  of  the  United 


HISTC^n-    ()|-    Kl-.RX    C-Ol'\TY  1291 

States.  Scillin.t;  in  William.sciii  (.niiniy.  111.,  ami  <)|)<.-iiiiis,'  an  ufiicc,  lie  soon 
became  pnnnineiit  in  the  jirofe.s.sion.  in  addition  to  a  lartje  ])ractice  lie  oper- 
ated a  coal  mine  and  also  established  a  wagon  factory  and  i)lacksmith  shop, 
where  he  made  wagons  for  use  on  the  Santa  l-'e  trail.  As  he  kept  fourteen  fires 
in  constant  use,  it  is  evident  tliat  his  business  was  extensive. 

Accompanied  by  his  family  and  dri\in,e:  a  herd  of  cattle.  Dr.  .StucklDii 
traveled  by  wagon  antl  o.\-teams  from  Illinois  to  Kansas  during  18.^4  and  set- 
tled in  Linn  county,  where  he  founded  Mound  City.  'I'here  he  took  up  land 
and  also  jjracticed  his  ])rofession,  l)esides  taking  a  ])rominent  part  in  public 
affairs.  One  of  his  closest  neighbors.  Dr.  James  Montgomery,  later  became  a 
very  desperate  character  during  the  border  troubles  and  even  at  that  tiine  was 
so  notorious  that  only  Dr.  Stockton's  intervention  iireveiited  a  duel  between 
him  and  John  Goodall.  .About  1855  the  Doctor  and  "Gabe"  Sutherland  took 
three  wagonloads  of  l)ells  from  Kansas  to  Texas  and  sold  them  at  a  fair  profit. 
With  a  large  sum  of  money  they  started  to  return  to  Kansas,  but  soon  were 
held  up  by  two  desperadoes.  Their  lives  were  saved  by  their  promptness  in 
hiding  behind  trees,  from  which  refuge  they  used  their  pistols  to  such  good 
effect  that  the  robbers  were  finally  routed.  However,  Dr.  Stockton  received 
seven  wounds,  one  of  these  ])assing  through  the  lungs  and  forining  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  his  death  in  1807.  Three  physicians  ministered  to  him  in  a  hotel 
at  .Austin.  Tex.,  and  after  weeks  of  suffering  he  was  able  to  return  home.  The 
sympathy  for  him  was  great  and  neither  the  h<itcl  authorities  nor  the  i)liy- 
sicians  would  accept  a  cent  frcnn  him.  altlumgh  they  had  been  untiring  in  tlieir 
kindnesses. 

Resigning  as  a  member  of  the  Kansas  territorial  legislature  early  in  1836, 
Dr.  Stockton  started  for  California  at  the  head  of  a  large  expedition  of  neigh- 
bors and  friends,  outfitted  with  three  wagons  with  three  yoke  of  good  oxen 
to  each  wagon,  also  a  large  bunch  of  loose  cattle  wliich  he  had  purchased 
at  $12.50  per  head.  The  route  took  the  party  via  Forts  Laramie  and  Bridges. 
The  grass  was  excellent  and  when  California  was  reached  the  cattle  were  in 
such  good  condition  that  they  brought  $60  per  head.  Being  an  old  Indian 
fighter  and  understanding  many  of  the  Indian  dialects.  Dr.  Stockton  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  entire  train  and  went  well-armed,  prepared  for  any 
emergency,  but  his  train  was  not  molested,  although  those  ahead  and  behind 
suffered  from  the  dejjredations  of  the  savages.  When  he  landed  at  Santa  Rosa 
he  found  only  one  store,  a  blacksmith  shop  and  a  saloon.  Seeing  the  place, 
Rebecca,  a  little  daughter  of  the  family,  queried,  "Mother,  don't  you  think 
this  will  make  a  town  some  day?"  Her  optimistic  prophecy  has  seen  its  ful- 
fillment. 

One  and  three-fourths  miks  from  Santa  Rosa  on  the  Guerneville  road  Dr. 
Stockton  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  at  $1.25  per  acre.  W'liile  he 
practiced  medicine  he  also  began  to  improve  the  land.  Forty  acres  were 
planted  to  fruit  trees  or  vinej'ard.  Twelve  and  one-half  acres  were  put  in 
grapes  of  sixty  different  varieties.  The  balance  of  the  forty  was  planted  to 
Gravenstein,  Pippin  and  Russet  ap[)les,  and  he  thus  became  one  of  the  pioneer 
apple-growers  of  Sonoma  county,  now  justly  celebrated  for  its  splendid  out- 
put of  that  fruit.  Eventually  the  land  was  sold  for  $20Q  per  acre,  but  its  value  is 
now  far  beyond  that  figure.  Coming  to  Kern  county  in  the  fall  of  1872  he 
entered  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  the  center  of  what  is  now  the  Lake- 
side ranch.  He  became  the  leader  in  the  organization  of  the  Farmers  Canal 
Association  and  was  one  of  the  three  directors.  They  perfected  a  ditch  from  the 
Kern  river  known  as  the  Panama  canal,  taking  its  name  from  the  Panama 
slough,  the  latter  being  used  in  part  as  a  ditch.  When  completed  it  was  a 
success  and  was  the  largest  ditch  in  the  county  uj)  to  that  time.  Its  operation 
interested  capitalists,  who  took  u])  the  irrigation  project  on  a  more  extensive 
scale.  This  has  resulted  in  Kern  county  having  the  largest  irrigation  system  in 


1292  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  world.  Here  Dr.  Stockton  engaged  in  raising  sweet  potatoes,  often  clearing 
$100  per  acre.  Exhibited  at  Philadelphia  during  the  Centennial  Exposition  of 
1876  was  a  sweet  potato  from  his  farm.  It  weighed  twenty-five  and  one-half 
pounds  and  is  supposed  to  be  the  largest  ever  grown.  Five  of  such  tubers 
would  fill  a  barrel.  In  addition  he  sold  alfalfa  seed  that  brought  him  about 
$40  an  acre.  Eventually  he  sold  the  farm  to  his  son,  C.  C,  who  in  turn  sold  it 
and  adjacent  property,  the  whole  forming  a  part  of  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Lakeside  ranch. 

During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Williamson  county,  111.,  Dr.  Stockton 
married  Louisa  Marion  Spiller,  a  native  of  Tennessee  and  a  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin Spiller,  an  abolitionist  who  freed  his  slaves  and  settled  among  the  pio- 
neers of  Williamson  county.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Stockton  were  the  parents  of  nine- 
teen children,  sixteen  of  whom  reached  maturity  and  thirteen  are  now  living. 
After  the  sale  of  their  Kern  county  ranch  the  Doctor  and  his  wife  removed  to 
Florence,  Los  Angeles  county,  where  occurred  the  death  of  Mrs.  Stockton. 
He  then  spent  some  time  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  after  which  he 
becam.e  a  member  of  the  household  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Rebecca  Chubb, 
on  Kern  Island.  There  he  died  in  1897,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  years.  In  the 
days  of  the  slavery  agitation  he  had  been  stanch  in  his  advocacy  of  the  freedom 
of  the  slaves,  believing  their  enslaved  condition  to  be  a  blight  upon  the  honor 
of  our  great  country.  From  early  manhood  he  aided  in  the  work  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  and  while  living  at  Santa  Rosa  he  contributed  generously  toward 
the  establishment  of  the  Christian  College  there,  assisted  in  founding  the 
institution  and  gave  it  the  benefit  of  his  timely  aid  and  practical  counsel,  as 
indeed  he  did  with  many  other  movements  for  the  religious,  educational  and 
material  upbuilding  of  his  adopted  commonwealth. 

SOLOMON  JEWETT.— The  Jewett  family  traces  its  lineage  to  Edward 
Jewett  of  Lincolnshire,  England,  and  has  been  represented  in  America  since 
the  year  1638,  when  the  founder  of  the  name  in  the  new  world  crossed  the 
ocean  to  Plymouth,  Mass.  Later  generations  removed  to  Connecticut.  Sam- 
uel, son  of  Thomas  and  Eunice  (Shafter)  Jewett,  left  Connecticut  for  Vermont 
and  out  of  the  forests  near  Weybridge,  Addison  county,  cleared  a  place  for  a 
home.  During  the  pioneer  era  of  the  sheep  industry  in  Vermont  their  son, 
Solomon  Wright  Jewett,  was  one  of  its  leading  men.  While  Wisconsin  still 
remained  a  part  of  the  great  undeveloped  wilderness  he  removed  thither  and 
settled  at  Racine.  When  advanced  in  3'ears  he  came  to  California  and  died  at 
Summerland,  Santa  Barbara  county.  He  was  born  at  Weybridge,  Vt.,  in 
1808,  and  died  in  1892.  His  only  sister  married  Peter  Saxe  and  became  the 
mother  of  John  Godfrey  Saxe,  the  illustrious  poet. 

The  name  of  Solomon  Wright  Jewett  acquired  national  prominence 
through  his  association  with  the  sheep  industry.  The  stock  journals  of  his 
day  frequently  contained  articles  from  his  pen  concerning  the  sheep  business, 
these  usually  being  accompanied  with  drawings  which  he  made  for  the 
purpose  of  illustrating  the  form  of  animals,  peculiarities  in  their  constitu- 
tions or  conditions  of  fleece.  As  early  as  1834,  when  only  twenty-six  years 
of  age,  he  was  known  as  the  largest  flockmaster  in  Vermont  and  during  that 
year  his  ram,  Fortune,  .took  the  first  prize  at  the  New  York  state  fair.  He 
was  the  first  importer  of  French  merino  sheep  into  the  United  States  and 
those  that  he  imported  in  1859  cost  him  $9,000  in  freight  alone.  To  him 
belongs  the  distinction  of  establishing  the  breed  all  through  this  country 
and  in  South  America  and  so  high  was  the  reputation  of  his  stock  that  at 
times  he  sold  rams  of  his  own  raising  for  $5,000  each.  To  California  he 
brought  some  of  the  first  and  finest  merinos  ever  seen  in  the  state,  where  his 
sons,  Philo  and  Solomon,  had  succeeded  him  as  the  leading  sheep-breeders  of 
their  day-  In  addition  he  brought  the  first  bees  to  California  and  sold  them  in 
Sacramento  at  a  fair  price. 


IITSTORV    Ol-     KI-.RX    COUXTV  1293 

Twice  married,  SoloiiKin  \\"rit;iu  Jewell  was  ihe  father  of  three  children 
by  his  first  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  J-"idelia  Bell.  Tiie  only  daughter 
of  that  union,  Luuesa  M.,  is  now  Mrs.  .\.  M.  Crites,  of  Bakersfield.  The 
older  son,  Solomon,  who  forms  the  subject  of  this  review,  was  born  at 
Weybridge.  V't.,  March  13,  1835,  and  died  at  ISakersfield,  Cal.,  December  26, 
1905.  The  younger  son,  Philo  D.,  removed  from  Bakersfield  to  San  h'rancisco 
in  1881  and  there  died.  By  his  second  wife,  who  was  Mary  Catherine  Jcwett, 
Solomon  Wright  Jewett  was  the  father  of  six  children.  Uf  these  Mrs.  Mary 
Kendrick.  of  Alton,  111.,  is  the  wife  of  .\lgernt)n  Kendrick,  at  one  time  presi- 
dent of  ShurtlefT  College.  Susan  died  at  St.  Helena,  Napa  county.  Charles  E-, 
who  served  in  a  Wisconsin  regiment  during  the  Civil  war,  later  came  to  Cali- 
fornia and  acted  as  cashier  of  the  Kern  \'alley  Bank  until  his  death,  May  30, 
1892.  While  attemjiting  to  rescue  two  children,  who  while  picnicking  had 
fallen  into  the  Kern  river,  he  met  a  tragic  death  by  drowning.  Mrs.  Martha  C. 
Nash  lives  in  Vermont;  Fidelia  has  been  a  teacher  in  the  San  Francisco  schools 
for  forty  years ;  and  Mrs.  Kate  \\'.  Swett  makes  Cambridge,  Mass.,  her  home. 

From  the  age  of  eight  years,  at  which  time  he  drove  a  flock  of  sheep  from 
Vermont  to  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Solomon  Jewett  engaged  in  the  sheep  industry. 
After  leaving  Vermont  he  taught  school  for  a  time  at  Racine.  Wis.,  and  from 
there  in  1858  went  to  Nebraska,  where  he  ran  a  ferry-btiat  on  the  Missouri 
river.  During  1859  he  started  for  Pike's  Peak,  but  on  the  journey  he  met  so 
many  discouraged  men  returning  to  their  eastern  homes  that  he  changed 
his  plans,  proceeded  to  Nevada,  and  in  1860  landed  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley 
of  California.  Soon  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  engaged  in  raising  sheep 
on  the  Tejon  ranch,  securing  a  start  by  .going  shares  with  CoIducI  Vineyard. 
Soon  afterward  Philo  D-  Jewett  crossed  the  plains.  The  two  brothers  formed  a 
partnership  in  the  sheep  business  at  Rio  Bravo  (Brave  river)  ranch  above 
the  village  of  Kern.  When  they  sold  their  lands  and  flocks  in  1874  to  the 
Wool  Growers'  Association,  Solomon  Jewett  bought  land  just  north  of  Ba- 
kersfield at  Jewett's  lane.  Prospered  in  his  undertakings,  he  acquired  large 
flocks  of  sheep  that  ranged  on  the  plains  and  among  the  foot-hills.  It  was 
not  until  1899  that  he  sold  his  sheep  and  turned  his  attention  exclusively  to 
cattle.  Meanwhile  he  had  become  the  owner  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres 
irrigated  by  the  Beardsley  canal,  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  under  the  Mc- 
Caffery  canal  and  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  under  the  Emory  ditch. 
The  admirable  irrigation  facilities  enabled  him  to  raise  any  desired  crops,  but 
he  made  alfalfa  his  specially. 

To  create  an  impression  that  the  sheep  industry  and  agriculture  repre- 
sented the  limit  of  the  activities  of  Mr.  Jewett  would  be  to  do  an  injustice  to  a 
man  of  extensive  interests,  progressive  spirit  and  unusual  faculty  for  the 
management  of  diversified  affairs.  Tn  him  belongs  the  distinction  of  having 
built  the  first  store  in  Bakersfield.  During  1874  he  organized  and  became 
president  of  the  Kern  \^alley  Bank,  opening  for  business  in  a  frame  building  on 
the  corner  of  Eighteenth  street  and  Chester  avenue.  During  1869  he  erected 
a  very  substantial  building  of  brick  which  was  destroyed  b)'  fire  on  the  day 
of  its  completion.  Undismayed  by  the  calamity,  he  immediateh'  rebuilt,  this 
time  with  excellent  results  and  for  years  he  retained  the  management  of  the 
bank  after  it  had  been  removed  to  the  new  building,  continuing  indeed  to  act 
as  president  until  he  died,  .\mong  the  very  first  workers  in  the  oil  fields, 
during  the  '70s  he  discovered  oil  in  the  McKittrick  field  and  organized  the- 
Buena  Vista  Oil  Company,  later  the  firm  of  Jewett  &  Blodget,  which  secured 
the  rights  of  way  for  the  railroads  to  McKittrick  and  to  Maricopa.  As  presi- 
dent of  the  Jewett  Oil  Company  he  was  a  pioneer  in  the  McKittrick  field  and 
later  mined  for  asphalt.  \\'hen  the  county-seat  was  removed  from  Havilah  to 
Bakersfield  in  1872  he  was  serving  as  chairman  of  the  board  of  supervisors 
and  had  charge  of  the  removal  of  the  county  records  to  the  new  r|uarters.     In 


1294  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

politics  he  steadfastly  supported  Republican  principles.  Fraternally  he  was  a 
Mason  of  the  Knights  Templar  degree  and  also  held  membership  with  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

In  every  respect  Mr.  Jewett  was  a  man  of  large  affairs.  Beginning  to 
learn  the  sheep  business  at  an  age  when  the  majority  of  boys  are  nut  yet  out 
of  the  primary  department  in  the  public  schools,  he  worked  his  way  forward 
steadily,  surely  and  tirelessly.  When  finally  he  reached  his  goal  of  succiess  he 
did  not  forget  other  strugglers  upim  life's  vast  highway,  but  cheerfully 
aided  those  less  fortunate  than  himself.  A  man  of  broad  sympathies,  no  cause 
that  had  for  its  object  the  good  of  men  appealed  to  him  in  vain.  The  impress 
of  his  sturdy  character,  his  rugged  honesty,  his  public-spirited  helpfulness 
and  kindly  nature  is  indelibly  fixed  upon  Kern  county,  which  he  honored  with 
his  high-minded  citizenship  and  which  in  turn  honored  him  with  an  affectionate 
regard.  As  measured  by  results,  civic,  educational  and  financial,  he  was  one 
of  the  greatest  men  the  county  has  produced  and  an  active  force  of  vital 
importance  in  its  upbuilding.  In  his  home  and  in  his  children  he  was  signally 
blessed.  His  first  wife,  who  died  in  1879  in  Bakersfield,  was  Emma  Landon,  a 
native  of  Vermont  and  daughter  of  Philo  Landon,  a  farmer.  Four  children 
survived  her  and  three  of  these  are  living,  viz. :  Philo  Landon,  a  prosperous 
agriculturist  of  Kern  county;  ]\lrs.  Kate  Moncure,  of  Berkeley;  and  S.  Wright, 
a  business  man  of  Bakersfield.  The  second  wife  of  Mr.  Jewett  was  Miss  Lois 
Rice,  a  school  teacher,  who  died  eight  years  after  their  marriage.  In  San 
Diego  in  1889  he  married  Mrs.  Catherine  A.  McConkey,  who  survived  him. 

FREDERICK  BEVAN  TOUGH.— The  resident  geologist  of  the  Kern 
Trading  and  Oil  Company  in  the  Sunset  and  Midway  fields  was  born  in 
Baltimore,  Md.,  December  3,  1885,  and  is  a  son  of  L.  M.  and  Elizabeth  C- 
(Bevan)  Tough,  the  latter  still  a  resident  of  Baltimore.  The  father,  now  de- 
ceased, was  at  one  time  manager  of  an  ice  and  cold-storage  plant  in  Baltimore 
and  later  had  charge  of  a  similar  business  at  Detroit,  still  later  going  to 
Kansas  City  in  a  similar  capacity.  There  were  three  children  in  the  family, 
namely:  Littleton  M.,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  now  engaged  as  civil  engineer  with 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company ;  Elizabeth  B.,  a  resident  of  New  York 
City ;  and  Frederick  Bevan,  who  was  primarily  educated  in  the  Baltimore 
public  schools  and  at  the  age  of  nineteen  entered  the  Johns  Hopkins  Univers- 
ity. Excellent  advantages  for  the  study  of  mathematics  and  physics  were  af- 
forded him  in  that  institution.  A  foundation  for  engineering  skill  was  laid  in 
those  years  of  study.  During  the  fall  of  1907  he  entered  Columbia  University 
at  New  York  City  and  continued  there  until  his  graduation  in  1910  with  the 
degree  of  E.M.  WMiile  studying  that  course  he  also  became  proficient  in 
geology.  Coming  to  California  in  July  of  1910,  he  engaged  with  the  Kern 
Trading  and  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  field.  November  of  the  same  year 
found  him  at  Coalinga  as  resident  geologist,  but  in  July  of  1912  he  was  trans- 
ferred from  that  station  to  the  Midway-Sunset  district,  where  he  has  since 
given  efficient  service  to  the  corporation  in  the  capacity  of  resident  geologist. 
One  daughter,  Edith  Lyttleton,  has  been  born  of  his  union  with  Miss  Edith 
Wells  Sioussat,  daughter  of  L.  M.  Sioussat,  of  Baltimore  county,  Md.,  an  old 
and  prominent  family  of  that  locality. 

ROBERT  W.  WITHINGTON.— A  member  of  an  old  family  of  the  east, 
Mr.  Withington  was  born  in  1838  at  Apollo,  Armstrong  county.  Pa.,  a  short 
distance  northeast  of  Pittsburg.  The  schools  of  his  boyhood  were  few  in 
number  and  crude  in  instruction,  hence  he  had  little  education  save  what  he 
acquired  by  reading  and  observation.  The  trip  around  Cape  Horn  in  1853 
was  in  itself  a  liberal  education  and  gave  to  him  a  comprehensive  knowledge 
of  the  western  hemisphere.  Upon  his  arrival  in  San  Francisco  he  proceeded 
at  once  to  the  mining  regions  of  the  Sierras  and  for  years  engaged  in  mining 
in   Calaveras,  Tuolumne  and   Mariposa  counties,   alternating  the   occupation 


HISTORY    Ol'     KKRX    COUXTY  1293 

with  wurk  as  a  teamster.  Drifting  ahuul  from  place  to  place,  he  landed  at 
IJavilah  in  the  early  days  before  it  was  the  county-seat.  There  he  established 
headquarters  and  engaged  in  freighting  to  Los  Angeles. 

When  Bakerstield  was  still  a  new  town  and  before  it  had  been  granted 
the  county  court-house,  Mr.  Withington  came  to  the  town  and  became  a  large 
purchaser  of  property.  After  his  death,  which  occurred  in  February,  1897,  at 
the  age  of  fifty-eight  years,  his  estate  improved  the  corner  of  Nineteenth  and 
K  streets  and  they  also  continue  to  own  a  corner  on  Eighteenth  and  K  streets, 
both  of  these  properties  having  been  purchased  by  him  prior  to  the  rise  in  land 
values.  In  politics  he  was  a  Democrat.  In  California  he  married  Rachel  Free- 
man, who  was  born  in  Austin,  Tex.,  and  died  in  Bakersfield  in  1902  at  the  age 
uf  fifty  two  years.  As  a  young  girl  she  had  crossed  the  plains  with  her  father, 
Rev.  John  A.  F>eeman,  a  pioneer  Baptist  preacher,  still  living  and  now  a 
resident  of  Los  Angeles.  Of  the  union  nine  children  were  born,  but  three  of 
the  family,  John  W'-,  Robert  \V.  and  Claude,  are  deceased,  the  two  first- 
named  having  died  in  Bakersfield  at  the  ages  of  thirty-eight  and  thirty  years 
respectively.  The  surviving  members  of  the  family  are  Mrs.  Harriet  LeMay, 
Airs  Callie  Sweitzer.  Carl.  Lester,  Norma  and  Lysle  \\'.,  all  residents  of 
Bakersfield. 

JAMES  ALBERT  MORGAN.— Among  the  men  who  are  aiding  in  ad- 
vancing the  efficiency  of  the  Bakersfield  fire  department  is  James  Albert 
Morgan,  who  has  charge  of  Engine  House  No.  4.  He  was  born  in  Chicago, 
111.,  April  22,  1891,  the  son  of  Paul  and  Louise  (Morton)  Morgan.  The  father 
was  for  many  years  an  engineer  on  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Rail- 
road, running  out  from  Chicago  until  he  met  his  death  in  a  head-on  collision  in 
the  Chicago  yards.  The  mother  is  still  residing  in  Chicago.  Of  their  union 
there  were  three  children,  J.  .\.  being  the  second  oldest  and  the  only  son. 
.^fter  completing  the  grammar  schools  he  entered  the  employ  of  Montgomery 
Ward  as  messenger  boy,  being  later  advanced  to  shipping  clerk.  After  two 
years  and  three  months  with  the  firm  he  resigned  and  became  express 
messenger  for  the  Great  Northern  Express  Company  between  St.  Paul  and 
Duluth,  a  position  he  filled  for  three  years,  when  he  accepted  a  place  in  the 
St.  Paul  of^ce  of  the  Adams  Express  Company  as  trailer  for  two  years- 

In  1910  Mr.  Morgan  came  to  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  where  for  about  a  year 
he  was  employed  in  the  shipping  department  of  the  Fuller  Paint  Company. 
It  was  in  1911  that  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  January  7,  1913,  he  joined  the 
fire  department  as  driver  of  the  big  gray  team  at  Engine  House  No.  2  and 
in  July  of  the  same  year  he  was  transferred  to  No.  1  engine  house  as  hose- 
man.  As  in  all  positions  he  filled  the  trust  with  conscientious  ability  which  in 
turn  led  him  to  his  promotion,  October  10,  1913,  to  lieutenant,  when  he  was 
transferred  to  Engine  Company  No.  4  on  Pacific  street,  East  Bakersfield. 

JESSE  STARK.— One  of  the  pioneers  of  Kern  county  was  Jesse  Stark, 
who  was  horn  May  10,  1832,  in  liowling  Green,  Ky.,  the  son  of  Robert  Edward 
and  Mary  \irginia  (Reed  I  Stark,  natives  of  Kentucky  and  Virginia  respec- 
tively. They  were  planters  in  Kentucky,  whence  they  removed  to  Texas  and  in 
April,  1853,  started  across  the  plains  with  their  family  in  a  train  of  a  hundred 
wagons,  arriving  in  Los  .Angeles  in  November,  1853.  In  the  same  wagon 
train  was  a  little  girl  of  nine  years  who  was  destined  to  play  a  very  important 
part  in  the  life  of  Jesse  Stark.  The  little  girl  was  Permelia  Brown,  who  was 
born  in  Texas  in  1844,  the  daughter  of  Williain  Harrison  Brown,  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  who  was  bringing  his  family  overland  to  California  from 
Texas.  The  wife  and  mother  was  Elizabeth  Stowell,  a  native  of  Ohio.  In 
January,  1862,  in  Los  Angeles  occurred  the  marriage  of  Jesse  Stark  and  Per- 
melia Brown,  after  which  they  removed  to  the  ranch  in  the  Ft.  Tejon  country 
which  he  had  located  and  on  which  he  had  engaged  in  the  stock  business 
soon  after  his  ari'ival   in  the  state     He  purchased   land  and   in   time  bccaine 


1296  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

an  extensive  land  owner  and  stockman.  In  1874  he  located  with  his  family 
in  Bakersfield,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1876. 

After  his  death  Mrs.  Stark  continued  to  make  her  home  at  the  old  family- 
residence  at  the  corner  of  Chester  and  Fourteenth  street,  from  which  place 
she  has  all  these  years  been  directing  and  looking  after  her  many  interests. 
Here,  too,  she  reared  and  educated  her  five  daughters,  all  of  whom  reside  in 
Bakersfield,  as  follows:  Ella,  wife,  of  A.  F.  Stoner;  Virginia,  Mrs.  Ben  L. 
Brundage;  Frances,  Mrs.  H.  L.  Packard;  Lida,  Mrs.  S.  N.  Reed;  and  May, 
wife  of  Charles  P.  Fox.  Mrs.  Stark  is  a  member  of  the  Christian  Church. 
Jesse  Stark  is  affectionately  remembered  by  all  who  knew  him  for  his  moral 
worth,  integrity  and  high  regard  for  honor. 

MRS.  CATHERINE  A.  JEWETT.— A  useful,  contented  and  prosperous 
existence  marked  the  life  of  Mrs.  Catherine  A.  Jewett,  one  filled  with  duty 
well  done,  with  a  never-failing  interest  in  her  fellowmen,  a  generous  and 
helpful  attitude  toward  every  unfortunate  individual  who  crossed  her  path, 
and  a  sympathetic  understanding  which  brought  with  it  comfort  and  blessing. 
Naturally  endowed  with  unusual  mental  faculties,  she  was  a  perfect  leader  in 
the  circles  in  which  she  moved,  imparting  of  her  intellect  with  such  ingenious 
judgment  as  to  aid  the  less  advanced  in  a  quiet  yet  forceful  manner.  Her 
artistic  taste  and  splendid  ability  won  her  the  admiration  of  many  friends 
and  she  was  prominent  in  the  work  of  the  Eastern  Star,  in  which  she  was  a 
member  of  the  local  chapter  at  Bakersfield  for  a  number  of  years.  It  was 
througji  her  that  the  woman's  club  house  was  built  in  that  city. 

In  her  youth  Mrs.  Jewett  was  surrounded  with  many  incentives  to  large 
accomplishment-  She  was  born  in  Chicago,  111.,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  S. 
and  Statira  (Brooks)  Parker,  who  were  natives  of  New  York  state  and  pioneers 
of  Chicago.  After  Mr.  Parker  had  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  Chicago 
for  a  considerable  period  he  disposed  of  his  interests  in  that  city  and  came 
to  California  on  account  of  ill  health,  in  1887  settling  at  San  Diego,  where  both 
he  and  his  wife  spent  their  last  days  and  passed  away.  Catherine  A.  was  the 
only  child  of  their  union  who  lived  to  maturity,  and  to  her  were  afforded  the 
privileges  of  a  thorough  education  in  the  public  schools  and  a  select  seminary 
at  Chicago,  where  she  married  David  E.  ]\IcConkey,  a  member  of  the  Chicago 
Board  of  Trade.  Some  years  after  the  death  of  Mr.  McConkey,  which  oc- 
curred in  San  Diego,  she  was  married  to  Solomon  Jewett,  whose  death  oc- 
curred in  Bakersfield,  Cal.,  December  26,  1905. 

Mrs.  Jewett  had  taken  up  her  home  with  Mrs.  L.  H.  Stevens  in  Los  Ang- 
eles, with  whom  she  lived  until  her  death,  and  where  she  became 
prominent  in  fraternal  and  social  circles  and  surrounded  herself  with  many 
loving  friends.  In  religious  faith  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  she  took 
an  active  part  in  all  of  its  departments,  giving  her  most  unselfish  aid  and  inter- 
est. To  touch  upon  all  that  enlists  the  sympathy  and  tenderness  of  woman, 
to  note  a  splendid  breadth  of  mind  and  a  conscientious  and  joyous  spirit,  would 
in  a  brief  manner  picture  the  character  study  of  Mrs.  Jewett,  whose  death,  No- 
vember 13,  1912,  removed  from  this  sphere  a  stanch,  straightforward  woman, 
whose  left  hand  knew  not  what  the  right  hand  did,  yet  whose  unswerving 
judgment  was  the  lever  which  brought  soothing  and  sweet  relief  to  many  a 
troubled  mind,  and  whose  soft  and  gentle  ways  were  a  peace  and  comfort  to  all. 

THOMAS  WILEY  PINNELL.— The  men  who  hold  responsible  posi- 
tions in  the  fire  department  must  be  endowed  by  nature  with  keenness  of  per- 
ception and  decision  and  also  a  natural  coolness  under  excitement  in  order  to 
accomplish  the  results  that  are  not  only  expected  but  demanded  of  them.  A 
young  man  having  these  qualifications  is  Thomas  Wiley  Pinnell,  a  native  son 
of  California,  born  at  White  River,  Kings  county.  June  13,  1891,  the  son  of 
W.  E.  and-Addie  (Montgomery)  Pinnell,  born  in  Stanislaus  county  and  Iowa 
respectively.    The  father  from  early  life  followed  the  range  and  excelled  as  a 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  1297 

rider  and  roper,  becoming  known  as  one  of  the  most  efficient  in  California 
and  Texas.  For  some  years  he  was  cattle  foreman  for  the  Sharon  estate  in  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley.  He  finally  crave  that  up  and  followed  blacksmithing 
and  now  holds  a  position  with  the  Monte  Cristo  Oil  Company  at  Oil  Center. 

Of  the  family  of  eight  children  Thomas  Wiley  Pinnell  is  the  second  oldest. 
From  boyhood  he  rode  the  range  with  his  father  in  Madera  county,  meanwhile 
attending  the  public  schools.  In  1905  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  after  leaving^ 
school  he  was  appointed  a  mail  carrier,  serving  about  three  years.  December 
18,  1912,  he  entered  the  fire  department  as  a  call  man  and  September  9,  1912, 
he  became  a  regular.  After  the  completion  of  Engine  House  No.  3  he  was  pro- 
moted to  lieutenant  in  the  department  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  house,  to 
which  he  gives  all  of  his  time  and  best  efforts.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of 
Bakersfield  Camp  No.  460,  W.  O.  W.,  and  Kern  Lodge  No.  202,  I.  O.  O.  F. 

JOSEPH  BRESSON.— Among  the  Frenchmen  who  have  made  a  success 
in  Kern  county  is  Joseph  P.resson,  proprietor  of  the  Universal  Hotel  in  East 
Bakersfield,  who  was  born  in  Orciere,  Hautes-Alpes,  France,  October  29,  1883. 
He  grew  to  young  manhood  on  his  father's  farm,  receiving  a  good  education 
in  the  local  public  schools.  In  November,  1900,  he  left  his  home  and  friends 
and  about  a  month  later  arrived  in  Delano,  Kern  county,  where  he  immediately 
found  employment  with  a  sheep  man.  After  continuing  in  the  occupation 
about  four  years  he  purchased  a  flock  of  sheep  and  herded  them  in  the  moun- 
tains and  cin  the  plains  for  a  few  years,  or  until  he  sold  the  bunch  and  located 
in  Kern,  now  East  Bakersfield.  Here  he  purchased  the  bakery  on  Humboldt 
street  from  ^I.  M.  Espetallier  and  continued  the  business  for  two  and  one-half 
years,  when  he  sold  out.  For  over  five  years  he  was  employed  at  the  Plantier 
Hotel,  and  in  May,  1913,  he  bought  the  Universal  Hotel,  which  he  conducted 
with  splendid  success  until  he  sold  it  in  February,  1914-  He  is  now  confining 
his  attention  to  looking  after  his  investments.  Besides  other  property  he  owns 
a  comfortable  home  at  No.  508  Humboldt  street. 

Mr.  Bresson  was  married  in  East  Bakersfield  November  30,  1907,  being 
united  with  Mary  Roux,  who  was  also  born  in  France.  Her  father,  Joseph 
Roux,  was  at  one  time  a  pioneer  sheep  raiser  in  Kern  county  but  later  sold  his 
interests  and  returned  to  France,  where  he  now  resides.  To  IMr.  and  Mrs. 
Bresson  were  born  three  children :  Irene,  Louise  and  Ernest.  In  politics  Mr. 
Bresson  is  a  Republican. 

GEORGE  THOMAS  NIGHBERT.— The  history  of  Kern  county  would 
not  be  complete  without  a  mention  of  the  life  history  of  the  pioneer  of  Lost 
Hills.  George  Thomas  Nighbert,  who  aided  in  the  survey  of  the  town  site 
in  September,  1910,  built  the  first  building  and  opened  the  first  eating  house 
and  later  built  the  first  hotel  and  has  continued  in  business  ever  since.  He 
came  to  California  in  April,  1871,  remaining  in  Gait,  Sacramento  county,  until 
1884.  when  he  removed  to  \'isalia,  where  for  seven  years  he  was  proprietor  of 
the  Millwood  Hotel.  During  this  time  he  was  numinated  by  the  Republican 
convention  as  the  party's  candidate  for  sheriflf  of  Tulare  county,  but  being  of 
the  minority  party  was  defeated.  In  1901  he  located  in  Bakersfield  and  became 
proprietor  of  the  Gait  House  at  the  Santa  Fe  station  for  a  year  and  then 
the  Cosmopolitan  Hotel  for  fnur  years  and  the  Princeton  for  two  years. 
During  this  time  he  purchased  his  home  at  No.  2115  Nineteenth  street,  where 
he  and  his  family  still  reside. 

On  the  discovery  of  oil  at  Lost  Hills  he  came  immediately  and  was  the 
leading  factor  in  building  the  first  buildings  in  the  place. 

George  Thomas  Nighbert  was  born  at  Palmyrna,  Macoupin  county.  111., 
February"l3,  1849,  the  son  of  Joseph  A.  and  Hannah  (Wiser)  Nighbert.  He 
was  reared  on  the  farm  and  educated  in  the  public  schools  until  he  was  four- 
teen years  of  age.  when  his  father  died,  after  which  he  made  his  living  by 
working  on  farms  in  that  vicinity.    In  1871  he  came  tf)  California. 


1298  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

In  Lodi,  Cal.,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Nighbert  with  Miss  Josephine 
Smith,  a  native  of  San  Joacjuin  county,  the  daughter  of  Andrew  and 
Mary  (Doyle)  Smith,  pioneers  of  California  who  crossed  the  plains  with  ox 
teams  in  1849.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nighbert  have  four  children :  Fred  Wright, 
superintendent  of  streets  of  Bakersfield ;  Fred  A.,  also  of  Bakersfield,  engaged 
in  the  real  estate  business ;  Clyde  A.,  a  music  teacher  now  studying  at  the 
Shepherd  School  of  Music,  New  York  City;  and  Maude  E.,  Mrs.  Irwin  Tup- 
man  of  Globe,  Ariz. 

Air.  Nighbert  has  always  been  greatly  interested  in  the  growth  of  Kern 
county  and  is  liberal  in  his  efforts  to  advance  the  importance  of  this  section- 
Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows  and  Encampment  and  of  the 
Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E. 

OSCAR  RICHARD  OCHS.— Among  the  enterprising  business  men  of 
Wasco  is  Oscar  Richard  Ochs,  who  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  building 
business  in  Kern  county.  He  was  born  in  Okawville,  111.,  August  9,  1878,  the 
son  of  George  and  Josephine  (Ferguson)  Ochs.  The  father  served  in  an 
Illinois  regiment  in  the  Civil  war.  In  1883  he  brought  his  family  to  Fresno, 
r.fterwards  locating  in  Coalinga,  where  he  followed  contracting  and  building 
and  still  continues  to  make  that  his  home. 

Oscar  Richard  Ochs  was  the  youngest  of  seven  children,  receiving  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Fresno.  From  boyhood  he  began  to  learn  the 
carpenter's  trade.  After  spending  three  years  in  the  Hollenbeck  and  Bush 
planing  mill  in  Fresno  he  spent  two  years  in  a  sash  and  door  factory  at  Sea- 
side, Ore.  Returning  to  Fresno  he  engaged  in  contracting  and  building  in 
partnership  with  his  brother.  Walter  J- 

In  1906.  after  the  fire  in  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Ochs  engaged  in  the  same 
line  of  business  there  until  1908,  when  he  located  in  Coalinga  and  while  there 
did  a  large  business.  Among  some  of  the  buildings  he  erected  are  the  follow- 
ing: The  Sullivan  Hotel,  Bennett,  Phelps.  Cheney.  May.  Amy.  Wells-Fargo 
and  Rockwell  buildings,  the  Union  High  and  Polk  schools.  Southern  Pacific 
depot  and  numerous  residences.  In  1910  located  in  Taft,  where  he  was 
very  active  in  the  building  up  of  the  town.  Among  his  contracts  were  the 
Smith,  First  National  Bank,  Axelson  Machine  Company,  and  Telephone  build- 
ings and  the  Bank  apartment  house,  also  the  Realty  building  in  Maricopa. 
During  this  time  he  also  carried  on  building  in  Wasco,  where  he  now  resides, 
doing  a  general  contracting  business.  He  built  the  Bank  of  Wasco  building. 
Wasco  ]\Iercantile  Company  store,  IMcCausland.  Beckwith,  Gordon  and  other 
residences. 

In  San  Francisco  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Ochs  to  Madeline  Mc- 
intosh, a  native  daughter  of  San  Francisco,  and  to  them  have  been  born  three 
children  :  Herbert  (who  died  when  three  years  old),  Allen  and  Gertrude.  Fra- 
ternally he  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men. 

CAPT.  FRED  N.  SCOFIELD.— One  of  the  most  active  workers  in  the 
oil  field  has  been  Capt.  Fred  N.  Scofield,  who  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the 
Independent  Oil  Producers  Agency,  serving  as  an  active  director  of  same  from 
its  inception  until  the  spring  of  1912,  when  it  had  grown  to  such  proportions 
ihat  it  handles  one-third  of  the  production  of  oil  in  the  state  of  California. 
In  this  agency  Captain  Scofield  represented  the  East  Puente  Oil  Co..  in 
which  he  held  interests  and  it  was  at  the  time  of  disposing  of  these  interests 
that  he  withdrew  from  the  aforesaid  agency  of  which  he  had  been  prominently 
connected  on  its  executive  committee. 

Descended  from  an  old  family  of  New  York  state.  Capt.  F.  N-  Scofield 
was  born  at  Paw  Paw,  Mich..  December  5,  1858,  and  was  given  a  common 
school  training.  During  early  life  he  lived  in  Chicago,  but  in  1876  he  made  his 
way  to  California  and  settled  at  San  Diego.    For  many  years  he  engaged  in 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  1299 

the  mining  business  and  the  oil  industry,  which  latter  proved  a  source  of  such 
attraction  to  him  that  he  afterward  became  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  its 
production.  Meanwhile  he  had  his  headquarters  successively  in  Arizona,  Col- 
orado and  California,  but  made  his  home  most  of  the  time  at  Phoenix,  Ariz., 
whence  he  had  moved  in  1880  and  where  he  was  leading  citizen  and  influential 
man.  Years  ago  he  held  a  prominent  place  in  the  Arizona  National  Guard 
and  having  received  a  commission  as  captain,  thus  acquired  the  title  by  which 
he  since  has  been  known.  Since  he  removed  to  Bakersfield  in  1901  he  has  been 
interested  principally  in  the  oil  industry  and  in  addition  he  managed  his  large 
and  valuable  stock  ranch  in  Humboldt  county,  this  state.  It  is  said  that  few 
men  in  Kern  county  are  more  familiar  than  he  with  the  condition  and  prospects 
of  its  oil  industry  and  the  heavy  investments  which  he  has  made  in  the  Kern 
river,  McKittrick  and  Midway  fields  prove  his  deep  faith  in  the  growing  pros- 
[)erity  of  these  districts. 

The  Scofield  home  on  the  corner  of  Third  and  D  streets  is  one  of  the 
most  attractive  in  Bakersfield,  four  acres  of  ground  providing  an  appropriate 
setting  for  the  modern  residence.  Besides  his  residence  Mr.  Scofield  has  erected 
a  three-story  brick  apartment  house  on  Chester  avenue,  which  is  known  as  the 
Chester  Apartments,  and  the  Pioneer  Mercantile  building. 

\\'hile  making  his  home  in  .Arizona  Captain  Scofield  was  united  in  mar- 
riage, at  Phoenix,  with  Miss  Margaret  Fogal.  a  native  of  Los  Angeles,  by 
whom  he  has  five  children,  George,  Vera,  Frederick,  Addie  and  Edna.  Politic- 
ally he  is  a  Republican.  When  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  estab- 
lished a  camp  at  Phoenix  he  became  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  or- 
ganization and  maintained  a  warm  interest  in  lodge  affairs  as  long  as  he  re- 
mained a  resident  of  that  city,  and  he  still  retains  his  membership. 

FORD  ALEXANDER.— As  a  member  of  the  .\lli.son  &  Berry  Company, 
Incorporated,  and  manaLjer  of  their  Taft  branch,  Mr.  Alexander  has  been  of 
the  utmost  practical  aid  in  the  expert  well-shooting  which  has  given  to  the 
firm  the  appropriate  name  of  "The  Dynamiters."  From  the  main  office  at 
Glendale,  Los  Angeles  county,  and  from  the  branches  at  Coalinga  and  Taft, 
the  company  transacts  a  business  covering  all  the  oil  fields  of  California  and 
influencing  in  large  degree  the  results  obtained  in  production  work.  The 
three  members  of  the  firm,  IMessrs.  Allison,  Berry  and  Alexander,  are  practical 
oil  operators,  familiar  with  every  department  of  production  and  supply,  and 
identified  with  the  industry  in  difTerent  districts  prior  to  their  organi- 
zation into  the  present  concern.  About  1910  Mr.  Allison  conceived  the 
idea  of  the  practical  efficacy  of  dynamiting  the  wells,  for  the  purpose  of  open- 
ing up  the  cavities  in  the  sand,  releasing  the  oil  and  increasing  the  produc- 
tion. The  idea  proved  to  be  feasible.  A  company  was  formed  and  after  Mr. 
Alexander  was  admitted  as  a  third  partner,  papers  of  incorporation  were  filed 
and  a  close  corporation  formed.  .At  the  present  time  patents  have  been 
applied  for  on  the  invention  of  cap  protectors  and  on  single  electric  wire- 
shooting  appliances.  The  claim  is  that  the  electrical  processes  of  exploding 
the  dynamite  insure  alisolute  safety.  Large  magazines  are  maintained  at 
Glendale,  Taft  and  Coalinga. 

The  junior  member  of  the  firm,  Ford  .\lexander,  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Ohio,  near  the  county-seat  town  of  Marietta,  .April  20,  1886.  and  is  a 
son  of  James  Alexander,  a  pioneer  oil  operator  in  the  Marietta  field.  He  was 
the  eldest  of  three  children,  the  others  being  Laura  Hope  .Alexander  (now  a 
school  teacher  in  Washington  county),  and  James  Glenn  Alexander.  .After 
completing  the  studies  of  public  schools  and  a  local  academy.  Ford  .Alexander 
began  to  earn  a  livelihood  in  the  oil  business.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  took 
charge  of  the  estate  of  James  D.  Lehmer,  who  had  owned  one  of  the  principal 
oil  properties  in  southeastern  Ohio.  For  eight  years  he  continued  in  the 
capacity  of  general  foreman.  Lfpon  resigning  that  position  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia.    On  Christmas  eve  of  1911  he  arrived  in  Taft.     The  following  day  he 


1300  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

exploded  two  shots  for  the  Allison  &  Berry  Company,  and  in  May  of  1912  he 
purchased  a  one-third  interest  in  the  concern,  which  later  was  incorporated. 
While  still  living  in  Ohio  he  married  ]\Iiss  Nellie  E.  Hendershot,'of  Washing- 
ton county,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Garnet  and  J.  Boyd. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  of  progressive  sentiments.  Since  coming  to 
Taft  he  has  been  an  active  worker  in  Taft  Lodge  No.  426,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  in  which 
he  now  officiates  as  chaplain. 

ASA  ADDISON  CROSS.— A  native  of  the  state,  Asa  Addison  Cross  was 
born  near  Glennville,  Kern  county,  April  17,  1867,  and  has  lived  in  Kern 
county  all  of  his  life.  He  was  the  son  of  Joel  and  Julia  (Whistman)  Cross, 
natives  of  Illinois  and  Missouri  respectively.  His  father  crossed  the  plains 
when  a  young  man  and  after  a  residence  for  a  time  in  Mountain  View,  in  1846 
located  in  Linns  Valley,  where  he  followed  the  vocation  of  stockman  until 
his  death.  His  mother  was  brought  across  the  plains  by  her  parents  in  1846, 
her  father,  J.  W.  Whistman,  running  the  first  stage  line  in  Santa  Clara  county ; 
she  is  now  Mrs.  Grant  of  Weldon.  To  her  union  with  ]oe\  Cross  there  were 
four  children,  three  of  whom  survive. 

Asa  A.  Cross  attended  the  public  schools  in  Linns  Valley  and  at  Weldon 
until  he  was  twelve  years  old,  from  which  time  he  looked  out  for  himself.  His 
first  employment  was  with  W.  W.  Sanders  in  the  cattle  business  on  his  ranch 
"and  then  with  Andrew  Brown,  ranching  for  four  years.  It  was  not  until  1894 
that  he  was  in  business  for  himself  as  the  lessee  of  the  Wallace  ranch  of  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres,  on  South  Fork,  which  he  operated  four  years.  Then 
for  two  years  he  worked  a  tract  of  the  A.  Brown  land,  and  after  that  he  leased 
the  Palmer  ranch  in  Hot  Springs  valley.  During  all  these  years  he  was  gen- 
erally successful,  gradualh'  but  sureh'  acquiring  capital,  and  in  1908  he  was 
enabled  to  buy  his  present  ranch  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres.  He  has 
devoted  the  place  to  general  farming  and  stock-raising,  giving  attention  to 
hogs,  cattle  and  horses,  and  has  one  hundred  and  five  acres  of  his  land  under 
cultivation.  This  is  under  irrigation  and  used  for  raising  alfalfa  and  grain. 
His  brand  is  the  capital  O. 

Mr.  Cross  married  Olla  Beaty,  who  was  born  in  Kernville,  April  9,  1883, 
and  she  has  borne  him  eight  children:  Lola  (deceased  in  infancy),  Eula  (de- 
ceased at  three  years),  Dell  C,  Claude  and  Clifford  (twins),  Muriel,  Nell  and 
James  Kenneth.  As  a  citizen  Mr.  Cross  is  progressive  and  public-spirited, 
and  for  five  years  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Weldon 
school  district.  A  Democrat  in  politics,  he  is  not  without  a  recognized  politi- 
cal influence  which  he  e.xerts  uniformly  for  the  good  of  the  community. 

Mrs.  Cross  was  the  fourth  child  born  to  John  and  Elvina  (Pemberton) 
Beaty,  the  former  a  native  of  Pulaski  county,  Ky.,  and  the  latter  of  Missouri. 
Mr.  Beaty  came  across  the  plains  in  1858  with  o.x-teams,  finally  making  his 
way  to  Kern  county,  where  he  mined  on  Greenhorn  mountain  for  a  time, 
afterward  for  four  years  in  Oregon,  and  then  returning  to  Kern  county, 
engaged  in  teaming  until  he  retired.  He  now  resides  in  Los  Angeles.  His 
marriage  occurred  in  Visalia  in  1859  and  to  this  union  a  family  of  nine  chil- 
dren were  born,  of  whom  six  are  living.    The  mother  died  in  Kernville. 

P.  J.  McCUTCHEN.— To  battle  against  ill  health  in  youth  is  to  face  tre- 
mendous odds  in  life's  unending  struggle  for  advancement.  That  Mr.  Mc- 
Cutchen,  while  yet  a  young  man,  should  not  only  overcome  invalidism  and 
reach  a  condition  of  excellent  health,  but  in  addition  should  establish  a  busi- 
ness of  growing  volume,  testifies  much  concerning  his  force  of  will  and 
energy  of  character. 

Although  not  himself  a  native  of  California,  Mr.  McCutchen  is  a  member 
of  one  of  the  old  families  of  Kern  county,  and  his  father,  J.  B.  McCutchen, 
still  has  charge  of  the  old  home  ranch  about  twelve  miles  southwest  of  Bakers- 
field  in  the  Old  River  district.  During  a  sojourn  in  Arizona  in  young  man- 
hood he  married  Margaret  Dixon,  who  was  there  born  in  Skull  valley;  her 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY  1301 

mother  was  the  first  white  woman  ever  married  in  Arizona  and  the  Dixons 
also  were  very  early  settlers  of  that  part  of  the  country.  Born  in  Arizona 
February  3,  1889,  P.  J.  McCutchen  was  brought  to  Kern  county  by  his  par- 
ents in  1892  and  grew  to  manhood  on  the  Old  River  farm,  meanwhile  attend- 
ing the  school  in  that  district.  For  a  time  he  also  studied  in  a  commercial 
college  in  Fresno  and  in  1909  he  was  graduated  from  Heald's  Business  Col- 
lege at  Santa  Cruz.  In  spite  of  ill  health  he  has  been  a  worker  from  his 
youth  up  and  steadfast  persistence  in  the  performance  of  each  duty,  together 
with  practical  care  of  the  bod}',  has  restored  him  to  strength  and  given  him 
the  promise  of  a  useful  life.  For  three  years  he  worked  on  the  ranch  for  his 
father  and  received  one  cow  a  month  for  his  wages.  In  this  way  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  herd  of  fine  milch  cows  and  at  the  present  time  he  owns  thirty- 
nine  head,  the  majority  being  pure-bred  Jerseys,  although  in  the  bunch  there 
are  to  be  seen  a  number  of  Durhams  and  Holsteins.  In  1912  he  bought  the 
Terser  dairy  milk  route  and  has  since  supplied  customers  at  Taft  with  the 
best  quality  of  milk,  delivered  twice  a  day  from  the  Old  River  ranch. 

CHARLES  A.  DAILEY.— From  an  elevation  at  Taft  the  stranger  is  in- 
terested in  observing  the  derricks  that  extend  in  every  direction  as  far  as  the 
eye  can  see.  To  the  northeast  and  southwest  for  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles, 
and  six  miles  across  the  main  range  of  hills  to  the  Buena  Vista  and  Elk  range, 
probably  every  section  of  land  contains  from  half  a  dozen  to  half  a  hundred 
oil  rigs,  not  all  of  course  re|)resenting  producing  oil  wells,  but  indicative  of  the 
great  activity  of  the  region.  To  the  north  of  Taft  and  adjacent  to  the  city 
lie  the  holdings  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  in  whose  interests  Charles  A. 
Dailey  is  engaged  as  cable-tool  foreman. 

Mr.  Dailey  was  born  in  Wells  county,  Ind.,  January  2,  1880,  and  is  the  son 
of  Michael  Dailey,  a  lifelong  worker  in  the  oil  fields  of  the  east  and  middle 
west.  Trained  early  in  boyhood  to  a  knowledge  of  the  industry,  he  became 
self-supporting  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  when  he  secured  a  position  in  the  oil 
field  at  Alontpelier,  Ind.,  working  as  an  assistant  to  his  father  and  learning 
the  details  of  the  occupation.  At  one  time  and  another  he  worked  in  a  num- 
ber of  the  best-known  Indiana  fields.  Coming  to  California  in  1908,  he  spent 
five  months  in  the  Los  Angeles  fields,  and  in  1909  became  a  pioneer  at  Aloron 
(now  Taft),  where  he  has  since  been  connected  with  the  Standard,  first  as  a 
driller,  then  as  a  driller  foreman  and  now  as  cable-tool  foreman.  So  closely 
has  his  attention  been  given  to  occupative  duties  that,  aside  from  identifica- 
tion with  the  Elks  at  Bakersfield,  he  has  formed  no  fraternal  ties  nor  has  he 
taken  any  part  whatever  in  public  or  political  afi'airs.  The  Standard  employs 
two  systems  of  drilling,  namely:  the  old-time  cable-tool  standard  drilling 
system  and  the  newer  rotary  system. 

LINDSEY  B.  LITTLE.— Trustworthiness  and  intelligence  have  been 
the  keynote  to  the  gradual  rise  of  L.  B.  Little,  recently  appointed  superin- 
tendent for  the  Standard  Oil  Company  in  the  Midway  field  as  successor  to 
Cyrus  Bell.  In  turn  the  latter  has  been  promoted  to  the  place  held  by  F.  M. 
Atwell,  of  Bakersfield,  while  Mr.  Atvvell  has  been  transferred  to  San  Fran- 
cisco to  fill  a  post  of  great  trust  for  the  Standard  in  that  city.  Mr.  Little  re- 
flects credit  upon  his  family  and  upon  South  Carolina,  his  native  common- 
wealth. Attending  strictly  to  business,  unmarried,  not  connected  with  politi- 
cal aflfairs  and  caring  little  for  social  functions,  with  no  fraternal  associations 
aside  from  membership  with  the  Elks  when  living  at  Jennings,  La.,  and  identi- 
fication with  the  Masons  of  the  thirty-second  degree  and  \oblcs  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine,  he  has  given  practically  all  of  his  mature  existence  to  the  oil  industry. 
In  Gafifnev,  S.  C,  where  he  was  born  May  16,  1881,  L.  B.  Little  attended 
the  public  schools  and  had  his  first  experience  of  business  while  clerking  in  a 
store.  For  a  year  he  was  employed  as  fireman  on  the  Southern  Railroad 
in  South  Carolina.  Upon  attaining  his  majority  he  went  to  Jennings,  La., 
and  secured  work  as  a  roustabout.     For  six  years  he  remained  in  the  same 


1302  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

field  and  during  four  years  of  that  time  he  was  employed  as  a  driller.  While 
in  Louisiana  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Standard,  and  when  he  came  to 
California  in  1908  he  drilled  at  Altamont  as  an  employe  of  the  same  corpora- 
tion. In  the  summer  of  1909  he  came  to  the  Midway  field,  where  at  first  he 
worked  as  a  driller  and  then  as  tool  foreman,  from  which  position  in  July, 
1913,  he  was  promoted  to  be  division  superintendent  in  the  Standard's  produc- 
tion department. 

OTTO  P.  LINDGREN.— The  village  of  Norkoping  in  Ostergotland, 
Sweden,  on  the  shores  of  the  Baltic  sea,  formed  the  environment  familiar  to 
the  childhood  of  Otto  P.  Lindgren,  who  was  born  there  July  20,  1873,  being 
among  the  youngest  in  a  family  of  twelve  children,  seven  of  whom  are  now 
living,  all  but  one  of  them  in  the  United  States.  The  parents,  John  and 
Marie  (Johnson)  Lindgren,  died  respectively  in  1905  and  1893  at  Norkoping, 
where  the  father  had  engaged  extensively  in  building  and  general  contracting. 
The  surviving  members  of  the  family  are  named  as  follows :  Mrs.  Mathilda 
Lindstrom,  of  Norkoping,  Sweden :  Charles  J.,  president  of  the  Lindgren 
Construction  Company,  of  San  Francisco ;  Mrs.  Annie  Excell,  of  Kansas  City, 
Mo.;  A.  Frederick,  of  San  Francisco;  Hilma,  Mrs.  Manley,  of  Bakersfield; 
Otto  P.;  and  Ellen,  now  living  at  Merrick,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.  When  only 
twelve  years  of  age  Otto  P.  Lindgren  was  brought  to  the  United  States  by  his 
older  brother,  Charles  J.,  who  settled  in  Chicago.  Two  years  later  they  came 
to  California  and  settled  in  Los  Angeles,  where  the  lad  of  fourteen  years 
served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  a  bricklayer.  September  9,  1889,  he 
came  to  Bakersfield  and  worked  at  his  trade  in  the  rebuilding  of  structures 
ruined  by  the  disastrous  conflagration  of  two  months  before.  Later  he  be- 
came foreman  for  his  brother,  who  was  the  most  extensive  contractor  in  the 
city  at  that  time.  With  full  charge  of  all  the  brick  work  for  the  Lindgren 
Construction  Company,  he  continued  in  active  employment  until  July,  1911, 
when  the  firm  disposed  of  their  Bakersfield  interests,  and  since  then  he  has 
engaged  as  foreman  for  dififerent  contractors.  He  is  now  conducting  the 
LTnion  Cigar  Store  at  Chester  and  Twenty-first  streets. 

Of  recent  years  Mr.  Lindgren  has  erected  four  brick  houses  in  East 
Bakersfield  and  one  of  these,  built  in  1910,  is  owned  by  himself  and  occupied 
by  his  family,  this  residence  occupying  an  attractive  location  at  No.  818  Ore- 
gon street.  April  20,  1899,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Lindgren  and  Miss 
Myrtle  Carter,  who  was  born  at  Santa  Ana,  Cal.,  being  the  youngest  daughter 
of  David  Carter,  an  honored  pioneer  now  residing  at  No.  1600  Kern  street. 
East  Bakersfield.  When  a  mere  youth  Mr.  Carter  left  Illinois  for  Utah,  but 
finding  little  inducement  to-  remain  there  he  came  to  California.  At  the  time 
of  his  arrival  in  Bakersfield  the  place  was  a  very  insignificant  hamlet,  and  he 
frequently  hunted  wild  game  on  the  present  site  of  the  Southern  hotel  and 
also  where  stand  other  buildings  of  permanent  and  substantial  construction. 
Mrs.  Lindgren  has  spent  the  larger  part  of  her  life  in  East  Bakersfield  or  in 
Bakersfield,  and  received  an  excellent  education  in  the  local  schools.  Of  her 
marriage  there  is  an  only  child.  Otto  Frederick.  In  politics  Mr.  Lindgren  is 
a  Democrat  and  fraternally  he  belongs  to  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  Upon 
the  organization  of  the  Bricklayers'  International  Lhiion  Local  No.  3,  Septem- 
ber 10,  1901,  he  became  one  of  its  charter  members  and  from  that  time  to  the 
present  he  has  been  very  influential  in  its  activities.  Formerly  he  was  hon- 
ored with  the  office  of  president  and  at  another  time  he  was  elected  secretary, 
while  at  this  writing  he  is  filling  the  office  of  treasurer.  He  also  holds  the 
position  of  first  vice-president  of  the  California  State  Conference  of  Brick- 
layers, Masons  and  Plasterers'  LInion  of  America,  and  has  been  called  upon  at 
different  times  to  proceed  to  dififerent  cities  on  the  Pacific  Coast  as  far  north 
as  Vancouver,  British  Columbia,  to  settle  labor  disputes.  In  May,  1898,  he 
volunteered  for  the  Spanish-American  war,  enlisting  in  the  Hospital  Corps  of 
the  Fourth  Army  Corps,  with  the  expectation  of  going  to  the  Philippines,  but 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COUNTY  1303 

the  corps  was  not  ordered  there.  He  was  mustered  out  and  honorably  dis- 
charged December  18th,  1898.  He  is  a  member  of  Shatter  Camp  No.  3, 
Spanish-American  War  \'eterans,  and  is  a  member  of  its  board  of  trustees. 

JOHN  A.  RAYMOND.— The  Raymond  ancestry  is  of  old  French  lineage, 
represented  for  generations  in  Hautes-Alpes,  and  John  A.  Raymond  is  a 
native  of  the  vicinity  of  Gap,  born  August  2,  1881.  During  boyhood  he 
learned  the  essentials  of  agriculture  at  home  and  the  three  R's  in  school,  so 
that  he  was  qualified  for  the  responsibilities  of  maturity.  As  early  as  1887 
his  father.  August,  had  left  the  little  farm  for  America  and  had  settled  in 
California,  where  he  became  interested  in  the  raising  of  sheep.  For  a  con- 
siderable period  the  length  of  his  sojourn  in  the  west  was  uncertain,  but 
eventually  he  decided  to  remain  and  therefore  sent  for  his  wife  and  children, 
who  joined  him  in  Kern  county  in  1898.  The  mother,  Rosalie  (Martin)  Ray- 
mond, died  in  this  county,  and  here  in  1904  also  occurred  the  death  of  the 
father.  Of  their  four  children,  Mrs.  Rosie  I^ambaud  lives  in  Kern,  Peter  is 
engaged  in  the  sheep  business  with  our  subject,  and  Louise  is  the  wife  of  Eli 
Blanc,  of  Kern. 

The  second  in  order  of  birth  among  the  four  children  was  Jean  (or  John) 
August,  who  on  his  arrival  in  California  in  December,  1898,  found  work  with 
Jean  Escallier,  known  as  "Fourteen,"  who  was  a  sheepman  in  Delano,  and 
later  had  employment  with  others  in  the  same  line  of  work.  .\t  the  end  of 
about  five  years  he  formed  a  partnership  with  his  father  and  brother,  the 
three  buying  a  flock  of  sheep  to  range  on  Poso  creek.  Upon  the  death  of  the 
father,  the  two  brothers  succeeded  to  his  interests  and  since  then  they  have 
worked  together,  ranging  their  flocks  on  the  plains  or  in  the  Tehachapi 
mountains  as  abundance  of  pasturage  and  water  render  advisable.  The  com- 
fortable home  of  John  A.  Raymond  at  No.  924  Humboldt  street,  East  Bakers- 
field,  is  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Raymond,  formerly  Aliss  Rose  Eyraud.  who 
was  born  in  Hautcs-.\lpes  and  l)y  whose  marriage  there  are  two  children, 
Marcelle  and  Jean. 

WALTER  E.  DAVIS.— The  City  meat  market  under  the  capable  owner- 
ship and  management  of  the  two  partners,  Messrs.  Venator  and  Davis,  has 
risen  to  a  prominent  rank  among  the  business  enterprises  of  Tehachapi,  where 
since  August  of  1908,  Mr.  Davis  has  made  his  home  and  business  headquar- 
ters. The  esLablishment  in  town  has  been  etjuipped  with  every  modern 
convenience  to  be  found  in  model  city  markets,  while  at  some  distance  from 
town  the  partners  own  and  operate  a  slaughter  house.  To  supply  their  whole- 
sale and  retail  trade,  they  ship  in  cattle  by  the  train-load  from  .Arizona  and 
their  operations  reach  an  aggregate  of  many  thousands  of  dollars  every 
month.  A  modern  cold-storage  and  ice  plant  has  been  added  to  their  equip- 
ment and  as  the  machinery  has  a  capacity  of  three  thousand  pounds  daily  they 
are  able  not  only  to  keep  their  own  refrigerators  supplied  with  an  abundance 
of  ice,  but  in  addition  they  sell  to  consumers  throughout  the  town.  P>esides 
their  other  operations  they  sell  water  for  city  consumption,  liaving  a  deep 
well  and  pumping  plant  that  furnishes  more  water  than  is  needed  for  the  use 
of  their  own  business. 

The  youngest  among  four  children,  Walter  F.  Davis  was  liorn  at  Lowell, 
Washington  county,  Ohio,  September  11,  1879,  and  is  a  son  of  Walter  and 
Elizabeth  (Trapp)  Davis,  natives  respectively  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania. 
The  latter,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years,  is  still  living  at  the  old  Wash- 
ington county  homestead.  The  former,  who  served  in  the  Thirty-seventh 
Ohio  Infantry  during  the  Civil  War,  took  up  mercantile  pursuits  at  an  early 
age  and  rose  from  a  clerkship  to  the  inanagement  of  a  general  store  of  his 
own.  Later  he  engaged  in  farming  near  the  town  of  Lowell,  and  there  he 
died  about  1892.  .\t  the  time  of  his  death  his  youngest  child,  Walter  E., 
was  a  boy  of  thirteen  and  from  that  time  he  became  self-supporting.  With 
characteristic  energ\-  he  determined  to  work  his  way  through  school  and  so 


1304  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

learned  the  butcher's  trade,  from  which  he  earned  enough  to  pay  his  expenses 
in  the  Lowell  high  school  and  Marietta  College.  After  he  had  completed  the 
studies  of  the  freshman  class  he  left  the  institution  at  Marietta  and  matricu- 
lated in  the  Ohio  Valley  Business  College,  where  he  remained  until  gradua- 
tion. During  1898  he  came  west  as  far  as  Colorado  and  started  a  butcher 
shop  on  Nineteenth  and  Curtis  streets,  Denver.  From  1899  to  1901  he  en- 
gaged in  mining  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  after  which  he  embarked  in  the 
meat  business  in  Prescott,  where  he  remained  for  about  six  years.  Coming 
to  California  during  April  of  1908  he  settled  in  Tehachapi  four  months  after- 
ward and  since  then  by  energy,  intelligence  and  business  acumen  he  has  de- 
veloped a  valuable  trade.  The  Tehachapi  Board  of  Trade  has  had  the  benefit 
of  his  services  as  a  progressive  citizen  and  an  upbuilder  of  the  town.  Al- 
though a  stanch  Republican,  he  has  not  been  active  in  politics  nor  has  he 
displayed  a  partisan  spirit  in  his  support  of  public  measures.  Fraternally  he 
holds  membership  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  While  engaged 
in  business  at  Prescott  he  met  and  married  Mrs.  Susie  (Merrill)  Robbins,  who 
was  born  and  reared  in  that  Arizona  city  and  who  by  her  first  marriage  had 
one  daughter,  Maude.  Her  education  was  secured  in  the  Prescott  schools 
and  in  that  city  she  was  an  active  worker  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
to  which  she  has  belonged  since  early  life. 

CHRIS  CAYORI. — A  native  of  Switzerland,  Chris  Cayori,  who  now 
lives  fourteen  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield,  was  born  in  Zillas,  Graubunden, 
July  2,  1878.  and  has  been  a  citizen  of  Kern  county,  Cal.,  since  1896.  His 
father,  George  Cayori,  was  a  native  of  the  same  place,  and  followed  farming 
in  the  Alps.  He  married  Menga  Catrina,  and  both  are  still  living  on  the  old 
home  place.  Of  their  five  children  Chris  was  the  third  in  order  of  birth.  He 
attended  public  school  in  his' native  land  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old,  and 
during  the  succeeding  three  years  was  employed  by  his  father.  He  had 
heard  much  of  the  opportunities  offered  in  America  to  honest,  industrious  men 
of  enterprise  and  upon  coming  to  the  United  States,  made  his  way  direct  to 
Kern  county,  Cal.  For  ten  years,  or  until  1906,  he  worked  at  dairying,  then 
leased  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  alfalfa  land,  the  old  Chubb  place,  which 
he  has  operated  to  the  present  time.  In  1912  with  his  partners,  Peter  and 
Hill  G.  Mattly,  he  bought  the  old  Chris  Mattly  place  of  five  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  upon  which  their  efforts  are  concentrated.  All  the  land  is  under  the 
Stine  canal  and  planted  to  alfalfa.  This  property  the}^  are  developing  into  a 
good  dairy  plant,  and  they  are  raising  cows  with  a  view  to  the  early  establish- 
ment of  what  they  confidently  expect  to  make  one  of  the  best  producing  milk 
and  butter  establishments  in  the  county.  In  connection  with  these  prepara- 
tions, they  have  also  given  their  attention  quite  successfully  to  the  breeding 
of  mules.     Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 

EUGENE  VERDIER.— Since  1878  Eugene  Verdier  has  been  a  resident 
of  California,  and  since  1883  has  made  his  home  in  Kern  county,  having  in  the 
meantime  figured  prominentl_y  in  the  upbuilding  of  Kern,  now  East  Bakers- 
field.  He  was  born  in  the  department  of  Gers,  Hautes-Pyrenees,  July  4,  1863, 
and  attended  the  schools  of  his  native  place  until  fifteen,  when  he  came  to 
San  Francisco  with  friends,  there  attending  public  school  for  two  years, 
when  he  began  working  in  a  restaurant.  In  1883  he  came  to  Sumner,  after- 
wards Kern,  and  now  East  Bakersfield,  where  he  engaged  in  the  sheep  busi- 
ness, ranging  his  flocks  on  the  plains  and  in  the  mountains  until  1886,  when 
he  sold  out  and  returned  to  San  Francisco,  but  in  1889  he  again  returned  to 
Kern  and  purchased  two  separate  corners  on  Humboldt  and  Baker  streets, 
afterwards  selling  one  corner  to  the  First  Bank  of  Kern  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  their  bank  building".  On  account  of  their  making  this  permanent 
improvement,  Mr.  Verdier  reduced  the  price  of  the  lot  $500.  He  afterwards 
built  a  concrete  hotel  building  on  the  other  corner,  75x75,  two  stories,  which 
he  leases  and  which  is  known  as  the  Imperial  Hotel.     In  February,  1908,  he 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1305 

located  at  Granite  Station,  where  he  is  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel  and  store 
and  is  the  postmaster  at  Klmer,  as  the  postoffice  is  named.  In  connection  he 
owns  and  operates  a  stock  ranch  located  six  miles  above  Granite. 

Mr.  Verdicr  was  married  in  San  Francisco  to  Miss  Marie  Laborde,  also 
a  native  of  Basses-Pyrenees,  France,  and  they  have  two  children:  George, 
who  has  charge  of  the  ranch,  and  Eugene,  who  is  in  charge  of  the  store,  and 
is  assistant  postmaster.  Fraternally  Mr.  Verdier  is  a  member  of  the  Eagles 
and  Owls,  while  politically  he  is  a  Protectionist  and  Republican.  In  l')li  lie 
made  a  trip  back  to  France,  visiting  the  place  of  his  childhood  afier  thirty- 
four  years'  absence. 

FLOYD  H.  BARNETT.— Prior  to  the  Revolutionary  war  the  Barnett 
family  became  established  in  X'irginia.  where  successive  generations  lived  and 
labored  and  where  they  bore  themselves  courageously  alike  in  war  and  peace. 
One  of  the  brave  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  was  Isaac  Barnett,  who  partici- 
pated in  a  number  of  memorable  engagements  with  his  comrades  of  the  Vir- 
ginian troops.  A  son  and  namesake  of  this  Revolutionary  hero  left  the  Old 
Dominion  for  the  then  primeval  forests  of  Tennessee  and  his  son,  Frank, 
was  a  native  of  Washington  county,  that  state,  while  the  next  generation 
is  represented  by  Floyd  H.  Barnett,  a  great-grandson  of  the  Virginian 
patriot-  In  his  marriage  to  Emily  Randolph,  a  native  of  Tennessee,  Frank 
Barnett  became  allied  with  a  very  prominent  and  patriotic  family  originally 
connected  with  the  settlement  at  Jamestown.  The  most  distinguished 
representative  of  the  name  was  Payton  Randolph,  who  two  times  served  as 
president  of  the  continental  congress. 

At  the  old  homestead  near  Sparta,  White  county,  Tenn.,  Floyd  H. 
Barnett  was  born  August  25,  1876,  and  from  there  he  accompanied  the 
family  to  a  cattle  ranch  near  Ranger,  Tex.,  where  he  learned  the  stock 
business  and  also  received  a  high-school  education.  At  the  age  of  twenty 
he  went  to  Colorado  and  found  work  in  the  Cripple  Creek  mines.  Next  he 
went  to  the  eastern  part  of  Oregon  and  engaged  in  mining  in  Baker  county, 
besides  running  a  stage  line  out  of  that  town.  A  later  tour  of  inspection 
took  him  to  Idaho,  where  he  became  acquainted  with  the  Thunder  moun- 
tain and  other  central  districts  in  that  state.  He  made  a  special  study  of 
the  development  of  mines,  assaying  and  mining  geology  and  became  well 
posted  in  his  line  of  work.  At  the  time  of  the  famous  strike  in  Nevada  he 
was  early  on  the  ground  and  later  he  devoted  himself  to  promoting  mining 
enterprises  and  managing  ])roperties.  A  visit  to  Bakersfield  in  1910  con- 
vinced him  of  the  possibilities  of  the  place  and  caused  him  to  establish  a 
real-estate  office  here  for  the  handling  of  city  and  country  properties  as  well 
as  oil  lands,  his  headquarters  being  at  No.  1917  I  street.  With  the  Bakers- 
field  Realty  Board  he  has  become  prominently  associated  and  has  added 
to  its  meetings  the  benefit  of  his  sagacious  judgment  and  ho])eful  spirit. 
The  Fraternal  Brotherhood  and  Ancient  Order  of  l'nite<l  Workmen  number 
him  among  their  well-known  members. 

HARRY  C.  BUSBY.— The  Busby  family  is  of  old  Virginian  ancestry. 
During  the  Civil  war  William  \'.  Busby,  a  young  Virginian  who  was  born 
and  reared  at  Hampton  Roads,  entered  the  Confederate  service  and  re- 
mained at  the  front  until  the  surrender  of-  arms  and  the  defeat  of  his  cause. 
Returning  to  the  old  neighborhood  he  resumed  the  trade  of  a  brick  mason 
and  under  the  adverse  conditions  incident  to  the  reconstruction  period 
patiently  endeavored  to  gain  a  foothold  in  the  industrial  growth  of  the 
country-  In  the  belief  that  better  opportunities  awaited  him  elsewhere, 
he  removed  to  Indiana  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  brick  at  Indian- 
apolis. From  1878  until  1884  he  aided  in  the  material  upbuilding  of  Kansas 
City,  where  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Sibley  &  Busby,  contractors 
and  builders  and  brick  manufacturers.     Next  he  engaged  in  the  manufacture 


1306  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

of  brick  at  Rich  Hill,  Mo.,  whence  he  removed  to  Denver,  Colo.,  to  take  up 
contracting.  From  1893  until  1900  he  followed  contracting  and  building 
in  St.  Louis,  but  in  the  latter  year  he  retired  to  Dallas,  Tex.,  where  his 
last  days  were  passed.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Louise  Clark, 
was  born  at  Asbury,  Miss.,  and  died  in  Los  Angeles. 

The  youngest  of  the  three  children  comprising  the  family  of  the  Virgin- 
ian soldier,  Harry  C.  Busby  was  born  in  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  June  26,  1877. 
On  the  conclusion  of  a  grammar-school  course,  when  he  was  sixteen,  he 
became  an  apprentice  to  the  trade  of  brick-layer  in  Denver,  Colo.,  but  in  the 
same  year  accompanied  his  parents  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  completed  the 
trade  under  his  father.  Returning  to  Denver  in  1899  he  spent  a  year  at 
the  trade  in  that  city,  whence  in  1900  he  came  to  Los  Angeles.  As  an 
employe  of  Carl  Leonardt  he  had  steady  work  and  an  important  experience 
m  every  department  of  brick  contracting,  so  that  when  he  came  to  Bakers- 
field  in  1911  he  was  well  qualified  to  engage  in  the  contracting  business 
lor  himself.  At  first  he  engaged  in  business  with  A.  C.  Silver  under  the 
firm  title  of  Silver  &  Busby  and  among  their  contracts  were  those  for  the 
Quincey  and  Ochavich  buildings,  the  Citizens  laundry  and  the  addition  to  the 
Eagles  Hotel.  Since  the  spring  of  1913,  when  the  partnership  was  dis- 
solved, he  has  had  the  contracts  for  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  raised 
gardens  of  the  court-house  square,  the  Bakersfield  Club  and  the  Amour 
building.  In  national  elections  he  votes  the  Republican  ticket.  Fraternally 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield 
he  has  established  his  residence  at  No.  827  Nile  street,  where  with  his  two 
children,  Harry  Gilmore  and  Clara  Elizabeth,  and  his  wife,  formerly  Miss 
Clara  A.  Gilmore,  whom  he  married  in  Denver  and  who  is  a  native  of  Iowa, 
he  has  a  comfortable  home. 

ARCHIBALD  EDWIN  DALTON.— The  Dalton  family  comes  of  old 
English  lineage.  The  founder  of  the  name  in  the  new  world  was  Capt. 
George  W.  Dahon,  a  native  of  England,  who  at  the  age  of  eleven  ran  away 
from  home  and  became  a  sailor.  Ultimately  he  was  made  captain  of  a 
vessel  in  the. English  merchant-marine  service.  When  finally  he  retired  from 
a  sea-faring  life  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Ohio  at  Cir- 
cleville,  and  there  occurred  the  birth  of  his  son,  Edwin  Henry. 

The  excitement  caused  by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  directed 
the  attention  of  Captain  Dalton  toward  the  then  unknown  west.  Accom- 
panied by  his  family  he  boarded  a  sailing  vessel  bound  for  the  Pacific  coast 
via  Cape  Horn.  The  ship  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  San  Pedro  October 
29,  1851,  and  on  the  same  day  the  newcomers  arrived  in  Los  Angeles,  where 
they  made  permanent  settlement.  The  old  sea  captain  found  great  pleasure 
in  developing  a  tract  of  land.  His  death  occurred  at  the  family  home  on 
Washington  and  Central  avenues  and  the  surrounding  tracts  were  left  to  his 
heirs.  Edwin  H.  owns  a  home  at  No.  1436  East  Washington  street  and 
Archibald  Edwin  owns  a  house  at  No-  1420,  on  the  same  street.  The  father 
served  with  efficiency  for  twenty-eight  years  as  water  overseer  for  the  city 
of  Los  Angeles,  but  more  recently  he  has  given  attention  largely  to  the 
sale  of  city  realty  and  in  addition  he  now  serves  as  vice-president  of  the 
Industrial  Oil  Company  of  Los  Angeles,  owning  large  holdings  at  Olinda. 

The  marriage  of  Edwin  Henry  Dalton  united  him  with  Hattie  E.  Dye, 
who  was  born  in  Missouri  and  is  now  living  in  Los  Angeles.  At  an  early 
age  she  came  to  California  with  her  father,  George  W.  Dye,  crossing  the 
plains  with  oxen  and  settling  on  what  is  now  Figueroa  street  and  Slauson 
avenue,  Los  Angeles.  The  Dalton  family  numbered  eleven  children  and  all  are 
still  living.  The  next  to  the  oldest,  Archibald  Edwin,  was  born  at  the 
Los  Angeles  homestead  December  20,  1875,  and  received  a  high-school 
education,    after    which    he    worked    for    several    years    in    the    city    water 


HISTORY    ()!•     K1-.R\    COUNTY  1307 

department.  In  1899  he  bc^an  an  aiiprcnticeship  to  the  trade  of  sheet-metal 
worker  with  the  Consolidated  Pipe  Company  of  Los  Angeles.  On  the  com- 
pletion of  his  time  he  remained  with  the  company  as  a  paid  employe.  In 
December  of  1911,  when  they  started  the  works  in  Bakersfield,  they  assigned 
him  to  this  point  for  the  purpose  of  installing  the  machinery.  Working 
with  great  energy  and  expeditinn.  he  enabled  the  company  to  open  the  plant 
January  10,  1912.  Since  then  two  buildings  have  been  added  and  additional 
machinery  installed,  all  of  this  work  being  done  under  his  supervision  as 
foreman  of  the  plant.  .Aside  from  voting  the  Republican  ticket  he  gives  no 
attention  to  politics.  I-'raternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Maccabees. 
In  Santa  Ana  he  married  Miss  Josephine  McDonald,  who  was  born  in 
Los  Angeles  and  is  a  graduate  uf  the  high  school  of  that  city.  The  eldest 
in  a  family  of  twelve  children,  she  is  a  daughter  of  A.  S.  McDonald,  one 
of  the  pioneer  shoe  merchants  of  Los  Angeles  and  now  a  well-known 
retired  business  man  of  that  city.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dalton  are  the  parents  of 
four  children.  Kdison,  Naudine,  Douglas  and  Juanita- 

JOHN  M.  DUNN. — A  year  before  the  first  great  rush  of  gnld-.seekers 
across  the  plains  to  California  a  father  and  three  sons  started  on  the  long 
journey  from  the  east.  It  proved  to  be  the  last  journey  which  the  father 
was  destined  to  make,  for  ere  they  had  reached  the  mountains  a  fatal  illness 
run  its  course  and  the  three  sons  laid  his  body  in  a  last  resting-place  in  the 
Flint  hill  region  of  Kansas  along  the  old  Santa  Fe  trail.  One  of  these  three 
brothers,  William  T.,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1832  and  at  the  time  of 
the  death  of  the  parent  he  was  a  youth  of  si.xteen.  In  disposition  he  was 
courageous,  aspiring  and  his  absolute  disregard  of  precaution  or  fear 
amounted  at  times  almost  to  recklessness,  yet  a  kind  destiny  seemed  to 
guard  his  steps  and  he  passed  through  ctiuntless  dangers  unscathed.  For 
many  years  he  acted  as  a  guide  with  Kit  Carson  on  the  plains,  the  latter 
being  his  tutor  as  a  scout,  and  he  also  had  many  experiences  with  Buffalo 
Bill  and  Wild  Bill  as  companions.  When  Wild  Bill  finally  was  fatally  shot 
he  fell  back  into  the  arms  of  the  young  scout. 

After  some  years  of  dangerous  experiences  on  the  plains  William  T. 
Dunn  tried  mining  in  California  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  was  able  to 
return  east  with  a  fortune.  Going  via  Cape  Horn  to  New  York  City,  he 
there  purchased  a  seat  on  the  stock  exchange,  where  in  less  than  two  years 
he  lost  $250,000.  Coming  to  California  once  more  he  again  took  up  mining 
and  though  less  successful  than  on  the  first  trip,  he  made  enough  to  start 
in  farming.  Later  he  went  to  Missouri,  bought  land  in  Chariton  county  and 
remained  there  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  His  wife, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Ann  Lingo  and  was  born  in  Missouri  of 
Pennsylvanian  parentage,  had  passed  away  when  her  children  were  small. 
Of  the  children,  five  are  still  living:  Cyrus,  of  Texas;  Mrs.  Maggie  Allen, 
of  Arkansas:  Mrs.  May  Heavilin,  of  Bakersfield;  John  M.  and  J.  F.,  of 
Bakersfield.  John  M.  was  born  April  8,  1880,  at  the  old  home  farm  in  Chari- 
ton county,  Mo.,  near  Marceline.  From  an  early  age  he  was  self-supporting. 
Employment  with  the  Little  Pittsburg  Coal  Company  enabled  him  to  pay 
his  expenses  through  school.  Leaving  school  he  traveled  in  Illinois  and 
Iowa  for  Snyder,  Buell  &  Lavin  of  the  Chicago  stockyards  and  for  Eu])ank 
&  Hutton  of  the  Kansas  City  stockyards.  Later  the  buying  of  stock  took 
him  into  Oklahoma,  Indian  Territory,  California  and  Texas.  As  a  cowboy 
on  the  range  in  the  round-ups  of  cattle  he  was  considered  to  be  unexcelled  in 
the  management  of  horses  and  cattle,  but  this  was  not  to  his  liking  as  a 
permanent  means  of  livelihood,  so  he  changed  to  carpentering  and  served 
an  apprenticeship  of  two  years  at  the  trade.  For  two  years  he  worked  in 
the  oil  and  gas  fields  near  Elk  City,  Kan.,  and  at  the  opening  of  Lawton, 
Okla.,  he  engaged  in  carpentering  and  building  in  the  new  tcuvn. 


1308  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

The  year  1901  found  Mr.  Dunn  in  California  and  Kern  county,  where  he 
followed  rig-building  and  contracting  in  the  Kern  river  and  west  side  fields. 
At  the  time  of  the  great  fire  in  San  Francisco  in  1906  he  went  to  that  city 
to  fill  a  position  as  superintendent  for  Carroll  Bros.,  contractors.  Returning 
to  Kern  county  in  July  of  1907,  he  engaged  in  contracting  and  rig-building 
in  the  Maricopa  district.  Soon  afterward  he  became  interested  in  oil  lands 
with  Parker  Barrett  and  located  several  claims.  It  was  this  firm  who  located 
all  of  section  34  and  fractiunal  25  that  gave  the  Lakeview  gusher  to  the 
world.  When  they  located  the  property  it  was  a  wild-cat  proposition  and 
the  people  declared  the  two  partners  were  insane  and  that  their  rig  in 
two  years  would  be  sold  for  kindling  wood.  Undaunted  by  such  dire  pre- 
dictions they  developed  the  property  and  the  remarkable  success  is  well 
known.  In  other  fields  that  looked  more  promising  they  lost  money,  but 
here  they  made  a  large  sum.  They  located  the  Consolidated  Midway  gusher 
on  fractional  section  30,  section  8  at  Pentland  Junction  where  good  wells 
were  struck  and  the  great  Matson  tract  in  the  Buena  Vista  hills,  also  a 
success.  In  each  location  they  did  the  first  work,  but  in  order  to  hold  the 
properties  from  jumpers  they  have  been  obliged  to  spend  as  much  as  eleven 
days  and  nights  on  the  spot  without  rest  or  change  of  clothes.  Air.  Dunn 
is  still  interested  in  lands  in  different  oil  territories  and  during  the  winter 
of  1910  he  spent  several  months  in  Washington,  D.  C,  aiding  to  put  through 
the  Sixty-first  congress  the  celebrated  Smith  bill,  which  afforded  temporary 
relief  to  oil  operators. 

The  M.  and  F.  garage  in  Bakersfield,  said  to  be  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  complete  in  all  of  Kern  county,  was  purchased  during  June  of  1912 
by  Mr.  Dunn,  the  business  being  conducted  under  the  name  of  the  J.  M. 
Dunn  Auto  Company.  The  company  was  incorporated  June  22,  1912,  with 
himself  as  president,  Parker  Barrett,  vice-president,  and  Mrs.  J.  M.  Dunn, 
secretary.  The  company  is  agent  for  the  Knox  automobile,  Knox  truck 
and  fire  apparatus,  also  the  Moreland  truck,  and  the  Stutz  and  Overland 
automobiles.  The  first-class  location  of  the  garage  and  the  business-like 
methods  pursued  by  the  proprietors  are  bringing  a  high  class  of  patronage 
to  the  place,  which  has  proved  very  popular  among  owners  and  drivers  of 
machines.  The  partnership  of  Air.  Dunn  and  Mr.  Barrett  which  was  so 
successful  in  the  oil  lands  has  continued  very  agreeably  and  profitably  in 
other  enterprises,  notably  in  the  M.  and  F.  garage.  In  addition  to  the 
enterprises  mentioned  Mr.  Dunn  manages  the  Dunsmuir  ranch  eleven  miles 
south  of  Bakersfield  and  adjoining  the  Alameda  farm,  and  here  he  raises 
alfalfa  and  grains.  He  also  owns  other  valuable  property  in  Bakersfield, 
including  his  residence.  Panorama  Heights,  situated  on  the  heights  above 
the  city.  Mr.  Dunn  is  a  member  of  the  Bakersfield  Club  and  the  Sierra 
Madre  Club  of  Los  Angeles.  In  Bakersfield  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Selena  Ritter,  who  was  born  in  Helena,  Mont.,  and  by  whom 
he  has  two  children,  William  H.  and  Marjorie  T. 

GEORGE  W.  CALL.— The  association  of  the  Call  family  with  the  agri- 
cultural development  of  the  new  world  began  with  the  arrival  in  this  country 
of  seven  brothers  from  the  north  of  Ireland.  In  the  old  country  they  had 
been  known  by  the  surname  of  MacCall,  but  they  dropped  the  prefix  upon 
their  immigration  to  America  and  ever  since  their  descendants  have  borne 
the  name  of  Call.  The  lineage  of  the  ancestors  is  traced  to  Scotland,  but 
a  religious  persecution  forced  them  to  flee  from  their  country  and  they  found 
refuge  in  the  north  of  Ireland.  Prior  to  the  Revolution  the  seven  brothers 
became  pioneers  of  our  own  land,  where  several  of  them  served  with  patri- 
otic spirit  and  great  bravery  in  the  first  struggle  with  England.  From  one 
of  the  Revolutionary  soldiers  the  line  is  traced  down  to  Hiram  H.  Call,  a 
native  of  Ausable   Forks,   Essex  county,   N.   Y.,   and   a   machinist   by   trade. 


HISTORY    OF    KI'^RX    COl'XTV  1300 

During  early  manhood  he  was  employed  in  a  rolling-mill  and  later  he  became 
a  locomotive  engineer.  He  helped  to  l)uild  some  of  tiie  first  engines  ever 
used  on  the  Erie  Railroad.  Afterward  he  took  his  family  to  Illinois  and 
settled  in  Belleville,  St-  Clair  county,  where  from  that  time  until  his  death 
he  was  employed  in  a  nail-mill.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Mary  Jerome,  was  born  at  Keyesville,  Esse.x  county,  N.  Y.,  and  died  in 
St.  Louis,  Mo.     Only  two  of  their  six  children  are  now  living. 

The  youngest  member  of  the  family  was  George  W.,  born  at  Kingston, 
Luzerne  county.  Pa.,  July  4,  1860,  and  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Lancaster,  Pa.,  and  Oxford,  Warren  county,  N.  J.  After  he  had  accom- 
panied other  members  of  the  family  to  Illinois  he  learned  the  trade  of  nailer 
at  Belleville,  where  he  completed  an  apprenticeship  of  four  years.  At 
Belleville,  during  1884,  he  married  Aliss  Nannie  E.  Smart,  a  graduate  of 
the  Emporia  (Kan.)  State  Normal  School  and  a  woman  of  fine  mental  endow- 
ments. An  only  child  blessed  their  union,  Joel,  now  a  skilled  and  expert 
machinist,  connected  with  the  San  Joaquin  &  Eastern  Railroad. 

Removing  from  Illinois  to  Missouri  in  September  of  1885,  Mr.  Call 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Company. 
At  first  he  engaged  as  passenger  brakeman  running  from  Kansas  City  (where 
he  made  his  home)  to  Nickerson,  Reno  count}',  Kan.,  and  later  he  was 
employed  as  baggageman  between  Kansas  City  and  Pueblo,  Colo.  In  1888 
he  resigned  and  became  an  apprentice  machinist  in  the  roundhouse  of  the 
Missouri  Pacific  Railroad  in  Kansas  City  and  there  completed  the  trade- 
Seven  years  later  he  was  promoted  to  be  foreman  of  the  roundhouse  and 
continued  in  the  position  until  his  removal  from  the  city.  August  16,  1898, 
he  and  his  family  arrived  in  Bakersfield.  On  the  17th  he  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railruad  Company  as  foreman  of  the  truck  depart- 
ment in  the  roundhouse.  December  17,  1900,  he  was  promoted  to  be  night 
roundhouse  foreman. 

Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Call  have  erected  their  resi- 
dence at  No.  808  Monterey  street  and  they  also  have  purchased  the  Haber- 
felde  ajiartments  on  Nineteenth  and  I  streets,  which  Mrs.  Call  manages. 
In  addition  for  a  time  the}'  owned  a  ranch  of  fifteen  acres  nine  miles  from 
Bakersfield  and  im])roved  the  property  with  a  pumping  plant  and  a  fine 
stand  of  alfalfa,  after  which  they  disposed  of  the  place  to  advantage.  In 
social  circles  they  have  made  many  friends  and  they  also  are  prominent  and 
popular  in  various  fraternities,  Airs.  Call  being  a  leading  member  of  the 
Royal  Neighbors  and  the  Degree  of  Honor,  while  he  has  identified  himself  with 
the  Ancient  Order  of  L'nited  WUrkmcn  and  the  Alodern  Wocidmen  of 
America. 

WILLIAM  HENRY  DEAN  TAYLOR.— The  genealogy  of  the  Taylor 
family  as  far  back  as  tiie  records  can  be  traced  indicates  an  intimate  identi- 
fication with  England  and  an  association  with  the  commercial  development 
of  Lancashire.  The  first  to  establish  a  business  in  the  new  world  was 
John  Taylor,  who  left  his  native  shire  to  establish  a  manufacturing  industry 
in  New  York  City,  thereafter  maintaining  a  high  position  among  the  manu- 
facturers of  the  metropolis  of  the  western  world,  ])ut  at  the  same  time  con- 
tinuing his  business  and  social  relations  with  Lancaster.  Indeed,  for  a 
number  of  years  his  family  residence  was  maintained  in  Lancashire  and 
thus  it  happened  that  his  son,  William,  was  a  native  of  that  English  shire, 
although  reared  for  the  most  part  in  New  York  City,  where  in  due  time 
he  joined  his  father  in  the  manufacturing  business.  Frequent  visits  to 
England  gave  him  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances  in  Lancashire,  where  he 
married  Miss  Mary  Dean,  daughter  of  Samuel  Dean,  a  farmer  in  the  shire. 
It  was  at  Failsworth,  Lancashire,  that  William  Henry  Dean,  son  of  William, 
and   grandson  of  John   Taylor,    was   born,   although    like   his   father   he   was 


1310  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

reared  almost  wholly  in  New  York  City.  In  addition  to  attending  the 
schools  there  he  was  for  a  time  a  student  in  the  College  of  the  City  of 
New  York. 

Mr.  Taylor  set  sail  from  New  York  in  1867  on  a  vessel  bound  for  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama-  There  he  was  employed  for  one  year  as  a  freight  clerk 
with  the  Panama  Railroad  Company.  During  the  fall  of  1868  he  secured  a 
position  as  purser  with  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company  on  the  steam- 
ship Colima,  plying  between  Panama  and  San  Francisco.  Until  1871  he  con- 
tjnued  with  the  same  company  and  then  resigned  in  order  to  take  up  ranch- 
ing in  California.  He  first  purchased  a  tract  of  ranch  land  near  Clayton, 
Contra  Costa  county,  where  he  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising 
until  1893,  meanwhile  enduring  the  hardships  incident  to  the  bringing  under 
cultivation  of  a  large  tract  of  raw  land.  After  disposing  of  his  interests  in 
Contra  Costa  county  in  1893  he  came  to  Kern  county,  where  ever  since  he 
has  been  an  efficient  and  trusted  employe  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Com- 
pany. Until  1897  he  engaged  as  a  clerk  at  the  Poso  ranch  and  then  was 
transferred  to  Bakersfield  to  act  as  clerk  in  the  cattle  department  of  the 
company.  During  1899  he  was  appointed  bookkeeper  for  the  company  at  the 
Stockdale  ranch,  where  he  has  since  remained.  From  early  life  he  has  been 
an  Episcopalian  and  since  coming  to  Kern  county  he  has  been  a  com- 
municant in  St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  he  has  officiated  for  two 
terms  as  vestryman.  On  the  organization  of  the  Bakersfield  Club  he 
became  a  charter  member.  In  addition  he  holds  membership  with  Bakers- 
field Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  Kern  Lodge  No.  76,  K.  of  P.  While 
making  his  home  in  Contra  Costa  county  he  became  interested  in  political 
problems  and  espoused  the  principles  of  the  Democratic  party. 

E.  J.  THOMPSON.— Although  a  resident  of  the  west  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  his  life  (having  moved  with  the  family  to  Montana  when 
fourteen  years  of  age),  Mr.  Thompson  claims  Canada  as  his  native  country, 
his  birth  having  occurred  January  25,  1874,  at  Brantford,  in  the  province  of 
Ontario.  During  early  childhood  he  lived  in  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  where  his 
father,  Joseph,  followed  the  trade  of  a  saddler  and  harness-maker.  Remov- 
ing to  Montana  in  1888  the  father  established  himself  in  business  at  Missoula, 
and  there  continued  until  his  death,  the  mother,  Jennie  (Lee)  Thompson, 
later  coming  to  Bakersfield  and  making  her  home  here  with  her  son,  E,  J., 
until  death  ended  her  labors.  There  were  five  children  in  the  family  and 
three  of  these  are  now  living.  The  youngest  of  the  number,  E.  J.,  was 
only  sixteen  when  he  became  self-supporting  and  even  before  that  he  had 
earned  a  little  during  vacation  months.  Being  of  a  resolute,  independent 
spirit,  he  was  anxious  to  earn  his  own  livelihood  at  as  early  an  age  as  possi- 
ble. His  first  steady  employment  was  as  call-boy  with  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  at  Missoula.  Step  by  step  he  worked  his  way  from  one 
position  to  another.  Merit  won  his  promotion  in  the  face  of  rivalry  and 
competition.  Eventually  he  was  made  a  conductor  on  the  North  Coast 
limited  and  the  Burlington  limited,  overland  passenger  trains  of  the  Northern 
Pacific. 

A  visit  to  Kern  county  during  June  of  1911  convinced  Mr.  Thompson 
that  there  was  an  opening  for  an  auto  stage  line  between  Bakersfield  and 
Oil  Center.  With  him  decisions  have  been  made  with  promptness  through- 
out his  entire  life  and  this  instance  was  no  exception  to  the  usual  rule. 
Without  delay  he  ordered  a  three  thousand  pound  White  gas  truck,  removed 
his  family  to  Bakersfield,  established  a  home  in  the  city  and  began  business 
as  proprietor  of  the  Oil  Center  stage.  During  June  of  1912  he  admitted 
Fred  L.  Smith  into  partnership  and  they  added  another  White  truck  of 
one  and  one-half  tons.  The  third  truck  was  secured  in  November,  1912, 
and  was  another  \Miite  of  three  thousand  pounds,  with  a   new  body,   built 


ins'H^m"  ()]■    KMRx  corxTV  1311 

Ijy  C.  N.  Johnston,  of  Bakerstiekl.  This  last  car  has  tlie  advantage  of 
greater  convenience  and  larger  capacity.  In  1913  they  purchased  four 
more  White  trucks,  one  of  them  one  and  a  half  tons,  and  the  others  fifteen 
hundred  pounds,  to  be  used  for  a  rapid  auto  stage  line  to  the  different  towns 
in  the  west  side  oil  fields,  making  the  forty  miles  in  two  hours  and  two 
round  trips  a  day.  Sixteen  round  trips  are  made  daily  to  the  Kern  river 
oil  fields  and  at  times  of  great  rushes  seventy  passengers  have  been  carried 
in  one  car.  but  this,  although  not  beyond  the  power  of  the  car  itself,  is 
far  beyond  the  seating  capacity  of  the  trucks.  It  is  estimated  that  since  the 
first  stage  was  started  to  the  Kern  river  field  more  than  two  hundred 
thousand  passengers  have  been  carried,  yet  never  has  one  of  them  been 
injured  in  the  least  nor  has  any  accident  ever  occurred-  While  living  in 
Montana  he  was  a  prominent  local  worker  in  the  Order  of  Railway  Con- 
ductors, but  took  no  part  in  politics  or  in  any  of  the  fraternal  activities  of 
his  locality.  His  marriage  in  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  united  him  with  Miss 
Edna  Ordella  Lee,  who  was  born  in  Seafortli,  Huron  county,  province  of 
Ontario,  and  by  the  union  there  is  one  daughter,  Laura  Blanche. 

THOMAS  CHARLES  COPPIN.— The  two  confectionery  establishments 
known  as  Coppin's  Hon  Bon  on  Nineteenth  street  and  Coppin's  Cupid's 
Palace  on  Chester  avenue  in  Theatre  row  stand  as  an  evidence  of  the 
ability  and  superior  business  judgment  of  their  promoter  and  proprietor, 
Thomas  Charles  Coppin,  who  came  to  Bakersfield  in  1902-  The  more  recent 
of  his  two  shops,  Cupid's  Palace,  established  during  I""ebruary  of  1911  at 
No.  2028  Chester  avenue,  occupying  a  space  26x120  feet  with  a  balcony, 
is  said  to  be  the  finest  confectionery  establishment  between  Los  Angeles 
and  San  Francisco.  In  the  rear  of  the  building  a  manufacturing  equipment 
has  been  provided,  where  under  strictly  sanitary  conditions  are  manufactured 
all  varieties  of  sweetmeats  and  ice-cream  for  the  wholesale  and  retail  trade. 

The  family  of  which  ]Mr.  Coppin  is  a  member  belongs  to  Cornwall, 
England,  and  his  father,  Edward,  after  an  adventurous  existence  in  different 
parts  of  the  world,  has  returned  to  Land's  End  to  spend  his  last  days. 
In  early  life  Edward  Coppin  was  allured  to  the  gold  mines  of  Australia, 
but  found  there  little  opportunity  to  gain  the  hoped-for  wealth  of  the  mines. 
.After  his  marriage  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Riddles,  a  native  of  Cornwall,  he  set- 
tled in  Ontario,  Canada,  where  he  held  an  official  i)osition  under  the  domin- 
ion government.  Coming  to  the  United  States  he  took  up  a  homestead  in 
Richland  county,  N.  Dak.,  at  the  same  time  entering  land  and  locating  a  tree 
claim  from  the  government.  The  utmost  difficulty  was  experienced  in  im- 
proving his  three-quarter  section  and  transforming  it  into  a  remunerative 
farm.  After  the  death  of  his  wife,  which  occurred  on  the  farm,  he  sold 
his  Dakota  property  and  returned  to  England  to  establish  his  home.  Of 
his  ten  children  all  but  two  are  still  living.  The  eighth  in  order  of  birth 
and  the  only  one  to  settle  in  California  is  Thomas  Charles,  whose  birth 
occurred  at  Alitchell,  Ontario,  Canada,  June  4,  1879,  and  whose  educa- 
tion was  secured  in  Dakota  country  schools.  When  only  twelve  years  of  age 
he  began  to  work  in  a  store  at  Hankinson,  N.  Dak.  During  vacation  times 
and  after  fifteen  he  gave  his  entire  time  to  a  clerkship,  but  resigned  in 
January  of  1899  and  came  to  California. 

In  San  Francisco  Mr.  Coppin  learned  his  trade  under  Confectioner 
Schafer.  a  man  of  skill  and  originality.  Coming  to  Bakersfield  in  1902  he 
bought  a  small  confectionery  owned  by  Mrs.  Hartzel  on  Nineteenth  street 
near  Chester  avenue,  where  he  remained  for  eighteen  months  Removal 
took  him  to  No.  1524  Nineteenth  street,  where  he  built  up  the  substantial 
business  known  as  Coppin's  Bon  Bon.  following  this  with  Cupid's  Palace. 
In  addition  to  the  mana.gement  of  his  large  business  interests  he  owns  inter- 
ests in  the  Jerome  \'erde  Copper  Company  at  Jerome,  .Ariz.,  has  become  i)rom- 


1312  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

inently  connected  with  the  board  of  trade  in  Bakersfield  and  has  further  identi- 
fied himself  with  many  civic  enterprises  of  note.  Since  coming  to  this  city  he 
has  married  Miss  Alta  Graham,  a  native  of  Selma,  Cal.,  and  at  this  writing 
they,  with  their  daughter,  Thelma  Corease,  make  their  home  at  No.  2224 
Nineteenth  street,  where  he  owns  a  substantial  residence  situated  only  five 
blocks  from  the  heart  of  the  city.  Reared  in  the  faith  of  the  Church  of 
England,  he  has  been  stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Episcopal  Church  and 
fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the 
Modern   Woodmen   of  America. 

SAMUEL  J.  DUNLOP.— The  oil  interests  of  Taft  have  an  exceptionally 
capable  representative  in  the  manager  uf  the  Dunlop  Oil  Company.  Since 
the  formation  of  the  company  and  its  acquisition  of  forty  acres  lying  on 
section  26,  it  has  been  officered  by  the  following  capitalists :  C.  H.  Holbrook, 
Jr.,  president;  W.  L.  Maguire,  secretary;  John  D.  Spreckels,  Jr.,  and  Samuel 
J.  Dunlop,  directors,  the  last-named  also  acting  in  the  capacity  of  manager. 
As  the  resident  executive  head  of  the  company's  interests  he  has  drilled 
five  producing  wells  and  during  the  year  1912  has  superintended  the  putting 
down  of  four  more  wells.  It  was  during  1909  that  the  manager  located 
permanently  in  Taft  bringing  to  the  new  home  in  the  oil  fields  his  wife  and 
daughter,  Lela,  the  former  having  been  Miss  Ellen  Tombs  prior  to  their 
marriage  in  1892  in  Fresno,  this  state.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  Taft  was 
a  mere  hamlet. 

Born  in  Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada,  May  2,  1867,  Samuel  J.  Dunlop  began 
to  earn  his  own  livelihood  at  a  very  early  age  and  was  only  sixteen  when 
employed  at  railroading  in  Michigan.  Two  years  later  he  went  to  Chicago, 
where  he  remained  for  eighteen  months-  From  1885  until  1902  he  was  in  the 
employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  and  his  long  retention  in 
positions  of  increasing  importance  by  the  same  company  indicates  his  fidelity 
and  energy.  From  Chicago  he  was  transferred  to  California  and  made 
Needles  his  headquarters.  Meanwhile,  upon  the  discovery  of  oil  in  Kern 
county,  he  had  come  here  in  1899  and  had  purchased  location  rights  to 
section  26  for  $15  per  acre.  The  following  year  he  promoted  and  became  the 
first  president  of  the  Mount  Diablo  Oil  Company,  but  later  transferred  his 
capital  and  energies  to  the  development  of  the  interests  with  which  he  now 
is  identified.  After  he  had  established  his  headquarters  in  Taft  he  joined 
with  George  Barr  in  starting  and  conducting  a  hay,  grain  and  feed  busi- 
ness under  the  firm  title  of  Dunlop  &  Barr,  and  this  barn  has  since  been 
carried  on  under  the  same  management.  The  people  of  Taft  elected  him 
a  trustee  of  the  city  April  8,  1912,  and  since  then  he  has  been  a  helpful 
factor  in  promoting  civic  development.  He  still  retains  his  connection  with 
the  Order  of  Railway  Conductors,  although  no  longer  identified  with  the 
railroad  service.  In  addition  he  retains  membership  in  Camp  No.  99, 
B.  P.  O.  E.,  of  Los  Angeles. 

JOHN  F.  BENNETT.— A  few  miles  from  Warsaw,  the  county-seat  of 
Kosciusko  county,  Ind.,  John  F.  Bennett  was  born  September  19,  1845,  being 
a  son  of  Benjamin  Bennett,  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth  and  the  son  of  German 
parents  who  became  immigrants  in  the  new  world.  The  mother  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Susan  Irwin  and  was  born  in  Kentucky  of  Irish  ancestry. 
The  family  had  little  means  and  the  struggle  for  a  livelihood  was  unceasing, 
so  that  John  F.,  instead  of  attending  school,  devoted  his  attention  principally 
to  aiding  in  the  family  maintenance-  When  the  Civil  war  opened  he  was 
less  than  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  consequently  was  not  eligible  for  service. 
After  a  time,  however,  he  was  accepted  as  a  private  in  Company  E,  One 
Hundred  and  Thirty-eighth  Indiana  Infantry,  assigned  to  the  front  under 
General  Rosecrans.  Having  enlisted  for  ninety  days  only,  at  the  expiration 
of  that  time  he  was  honorably  discharged  at  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  in  September 


HISTORY    OF    KI'.RX    COUNTY  1313 

of  1864.  Again  he  enlisted,  this  time  for  one  year,  as  a  private  in  the  One 
Hundred  and  Fifty-second  Indiana  Infantry,  serving  with  Company  D. 
He  received  his  second  honoralile  discharge  at  Charleston,  W.  Va.,  August 
30,   1865. 

Not  long  after  the  close  of  the  Rebellion  Mr.  Bennett  went  to  Michigan 
and  embarked  in  the  lumber  business  as  a  sawyer.  Much  of  his  work 
was  done  in  Kent,  Montcalm  and  Newaygo  counties  and  at  Big  Rapids, 
Mich.,  and  the  lumber  was  rafted  down  the  Flat,  Grand  and  other  rivers. 
After  he  had  worked  almost  ten  years  in  the  forests  of  Michigan  he  came  to 
California  in  1875,  settling  in  Eureka,  which  was  the  headquarters  of  his 
lumbering  business  for  nine  years.  November  10,  1875,  he  lost  an  eye 
through  an  accident  in  a  sawmill.  November  10,  1884,  exactly  nine  years 
after  the  first  catastrophe,  he  lost  three  fingers  of  the  left  hand  through 
another  sawmill  accident.  The  second  accident  completely  incapacitated 
him  as  a  sawyer  and  proved  a  serious  misfortune. 

Obliged  to  seek  another  occupation,  Mr.  Bennett  removed  to  Orange 
county,  this  state,  and  embarked  in  business  as  a  vineyardist.  The  twenty- 
five  acres  which  he  purchased  had  been  planted  to  grapes  of  a  fine  quality, 
but  unfortunately  a  mysterious  blight  fell  upon  the  vineyard  and  nothing 
could  be  found  to  stay  the  progress  of  the  disease.  The  entire  vineyard 
finally  died  and  he  was  left  practically  bankrupted.  Looking  around  for 
another  h  cation  he  came  to  Kern  county  in  1892  and  took  up  a  home- 
stead of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  the  Tejon  country,  living  on  that 
place  for  five  years  and  then  proving  up  on  the  claim-  His  home  place  com- 
prises twenty  acres,  and  he  also  has  forty  acres  one  and  one-half  miles  north 
of  it.  During  his  residence  at  Eureka  he  married  Miss  Ella  Roterman,  of 
that  place.  They  have  a  son,  Leland,  now  a  driller  in  the  oil  fields.  Ever 
since  giving  his  support  to  Abraham  Lincoln  during  the  war  Mr.  Bennett 
has  supported  Republican  principles. 

A.  M.  KIDD.— Born  at  Reynoldsville,  Pa.,  May  19,  1875,  A.  M.  Kidd 
is  a  son  of  the  last  Benjamin  B.  and  Nancy  Kidd,  likewise  natives  of  the 
Keystone  state,  where  the  father,  a  skilled  mechanic  and  carpenter,  built 
the  first  house  in  Oil  City.  About  1878  he  took  the  family  to  Kansas  and 
pre-empted  a  homestead  in  Ottawa  county,  where  he  devoted  a  number  of 
years  to  the  most  arduous  work  of  transforming  a  tract  of  raw  prairie  into 
a  productive  farm.  During  1892  he  moved  to  Missouri  and  settled  at  Joplin, 
where  his  wife  died  in  1896  at  the  age  of  forty-six  years  and  where 
occurred  his  demise  in  1903  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years.  In  the  parental 
family  there  were  seven  children,  namely:  .Archie  M.,  of  the  Midway  field; 
Mattie,  Mrs.  Marion  Warren,  and  .'Knnie,  Mrs-  Robert  Conover,  l)oth  the 
wives  of  grocerymen  in  Seattle.  \\'ash. ;  Onna  C,  employed  as  a  tool-dresser 
in  the  Midway  field:  Benjamin  C.  and  Nancy,  residents  of  Seattle:  and  James, 
who  died  at  an  early  age.  The  paternal  grandfather,  the  well-known  Wil- 
liam Kidd,  now  about  eighty-eight  years  of  age,  retired  about  ten  years 
ago  to  Verona,  a  suburb  of  Pittsburg,  where  he  is  highly  respected  and 
lives  in  affluence.  He  owned  a  farm  just  outside  of  Milltown  fnow  a  part 
of  Pittsburg)  and  on  his  property  drilled  a  well  and  struck  a  strong  flow  of 
gas.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneer  men  in  the  natural-gas  industry  in  Pittsburg 
and  built  one  of  the  first  fif  not  the  first)  natural-gas  lines  ever  run  into 
iTiat  citv. 

Immediately  after  the  removal  of  the  family  to  Missouri  .\.  AI.  Kidd 
began  as  an  apprentice  in  a  machine  shop  at  Joplin,  where  he  served  for 
three  years.  In  that  term  of  service  he  laid  the  foundation  of  his  present 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  machinery.  Afterward  he  was  employed  as  a 
journeyman  machinist.  During  1898  he  enlisted  in  Company  G,  Scccuui 
Missouri  Infantry,  and  served  as  sergeant-major  until  the  expiration   of  his 


1314  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

time,  when  he  was  honorably  discharged.  Returning  to  Joplin  he  became 
foreman  in  the  machine  shop  of  McNeal  &  Co.,  and  continued  in  the  same 
place  until  1902.  Meanwhile  he  had  married,  March  8,  1899,  at  Lexington, 
Ky.,  Miss  Maud  M.  Kidd,  a  descendant  of  Scotch  ancestry  and  a  native  of 
Kentucky.  Although  having  the  same  family  name  the  young  couple  were 
not  related.  They  are  the  parents  of  three  living  sons,  Kay  Kelso,  Albert 
Collins  and  Cecil  William,  and  lost  another  son,  Archie  H.,  at  the  age  of 
fourteen    months. 

Upon  leaving  Missouri,  after  three  months  in  Colorado  Mr.  Kidd  went 
to  New  Mexico  and  for  a  year  followed  his  trade  at  Alamogordo,  Otero 
county.  A  year  was  also  passed  in  work  at  Tucson,  Ariz.,  whence  he  came 
to  California  and  found  employment  in  Los  Angeles.  Two  years  later  he 
came  to  Bakersfield  and  at  the  expiration  of  another  two  years  he  removed 
to  Coalinga,  where  he  was  employed  as  a  machinist  for  four  years.  Since 
December  of  1911  he  has  engaged  as  foreman  of  the  machine  shop  of  the 
Honolulu  Consolidated  Oil  Company  and  has  eight  men  working  under  him. 
He  is  affiliated  with  the  blue  lodge  of  Masonry  at  Taft,  the  Scottish  Rite 
Consistory  at  Fresno  and  the  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  at  San  Francisco. 

FRANK  C.  JEWETT.— The  manager  of  the  Wasco  hotel,  who  is  like- 
wise the  owner  of  extensive  interests  in  the  oil  fields  at  Maricopa  and  Lost 
Hills,  has  been  identified  with  business  afifairs  in  Kern  county  since  1900 
and  particularly  has  been  active  in  his  association  with  the  oil  industry. 
During  boyhood  he  lived  in  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  where  his  birth  had  occurred 
September  30,  1882,  and  where  his  brief  period  uf  schooling  was  received. 
When  a  small  lad  he  began  to  work  at  odd  jobs  and  do  chores  for  neigh- 
bors. Coming  across  the  country  to  California  in  1900  he  landed  in  Bakers- 
field  and  from  there  proceeded  to  Maricopa,  where  he  secured  work  in  the 
oil  fields.  F'or  seven  years  he  ftillowed  this  occupation,  then  opened  a 
hotel  and  saloon  at  Maricopa,  owning  and  occupying  the  first  two-story 
building  erected  in  that  oil  town.  In  1910  he  sold  out  the  business  at 
Maricopa  and  the  next  year  he  became  a  resident  of  Wasco,  where  he 
bought  and  still  owns  a  part  interest  in  the  Wasco  hotel.  Since  coming 
west  he  has  identified  himself  with  the  Eagles.  With  the  discovery  of  the 
Lost  Hills  oil  field,  some  twenty-five  miles  west,  he  became  an  investor  in 
the  new  district  and  has  appreciated  the  impetus  given  by  the  valuable 
discovery  to  all  lines  of  business. 

The  marriage  of  Frank  C.  Jewett  took  place  in  Los  Angeles  October  1, 
1911,  and  united  him  with  Pearl  Pickering,  who  was  born  in  Kansas  and 
during  girlhood  came  to  California  with  her  parents,  settling  at  Fullerton. 
Orange  county.  The  family  represented  by  Mr.  Jewett  originally 
comprised  six  children,  three  of  whom  are  living,  he  being  the  youngest. 
His  father,  Lorenzo,  was  born  in  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  February  12, 
1842,  and  attended  school  between  the  years  of  six  and  eleven,  then  stopped 
in  order  to  help  in  the  work  on  the  home  farm.  After  a  number  of  years  in 
that  state  he  removed  to  Missouri  and  resumed  agricultural  pursuits.  The 
next  move  took  him  to  Illinois,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  for  eight 
years.  Later  he  moved  to  Johnson  county,  Kan.,  where  he  placed  under 
cultivation  a  large  tract  of  land  which  he  had  taken  up  from  the  guvernment. 
Although  he  engaged  in  farming  in  Kansas  for  thirty-six  years  he  was  not 
particularly  successful,  for  he  lost  his  crops  often  through  droughts  and 
cither  calamities  impossible  to  overcome.  Meanwhile  in  1885  he  had  visited 
California  and  had  been  favorably  impressed  with  the  country,  especially 
with  Kern  county,  so  that  in  1901  he  came  to  the  west  as  a  permanent 
resident.  While  living  in  Kansas  he  had  taken  a  warm  interest  in  politics 
and  had  served  as  constable.  The  year  1902  was  spent  in  Bakersfield. 
whence   in    1903   he   moved  to   Maricopa   and   found   employment   in    the    oil 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1315 

fields.  From  Maricopa  he  came  to  Wasco  and  is  now  living  with  his  son, 
retired  from  farming  and  from  all  business  cares.  During  1S78  he  married 
Miss  Nancy  Squires,  who  was  born  in  .Athens  county,  Ohio,  and  died  in 
Kansas  January  <>,  1888,  while  still  a  yuung  woman,  leaving  a  fatnily  of 
small  children. 

LE  ROY  RANKIN.— .\  native  S(mi  of  the  state,  Le  Roy  Rankin  was 
born  June  17,  1873,  in  Walker's  Basin,  Kern  county,  and  is  the  son  of 
Walker  Rankin,  a  pioneer  represented  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  As  soon  as 
lie  was  old  enough  he  began  the  acquisition  of  an  education  in  the  public 
schools.  At  eighteen  he  entered  the  Kern  County  High  School,  where  he 
was  a  student  two  years.  For  some  years  afterward  he  was  employed  by 
his  father,  obtaining  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  cattle  business.  In  1901, 
in  partnership  with  his  brothers,  he  leased  eight  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of 
land,  and  together  they  operated  this  successfully.  In  l')08  he  located  on 
what  is  now  his  homestead,  a  ranch  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres,  formerly 
a  part  of  the  old  Wirth  property,  near  ^^'eldon  on  the  south  fork  of  Kern 
river,  and  engaged  in  cattle-raising  and  in  the  growing  of  grain  and  alfalfa. 
His  land  is  irrigated  from  south  fork,  and  he  has  one  hundred  and  eighty 
acres  in  alfalfa.  He  owns  a  goodly  number  of  horses  and  five  hundred  head 
of  cattle  and  his  ranch  is  well  improved  and  thoroughly  modern-  For  his 
brand  he  uses  the  capital  R.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  Bakersfield 
Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.  He  married,  May  17,  1911,  Miss  Marie  Wake- 
man,  who  was  born  in  Michigan  in  1888,  and  they  have  a  son  named  Le  Roy, 
Jr.  Mr.  Rankin  operates  successfully  not  only  the  fine  property  above 
referred  to.  but  four  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  leased  land. 

E.  J.  ERB. — The  surname  of  Erb  indicates  the  Teutonic  origin  of  the 
family,  which  for  several  generations  has  had  representation  in  America 
and  as  early  as  1849  became  established  temporarily  in  California  through 
the  removal  hither  of  Peter  Erb,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  After  he  had 
engaged  in  mining  for  a  few  years  with  fair  success  he  returned  to  Pennsyl- 
vania via  Panama.  Later  he  followed  farming  in  Ohio  and  then-  in  Indiana, 
after  which  he  migrated  to  Minnesota,  took  up  land  from  the  gdvernment 
and  improved  a  farm.  The  last  six  years  of  his  life  were  passed  in  North 
Dakota,  where  his  death  occurred.  Surviving  him  is  his  wife,  Catherine 
(Ferciott)  Erb,  who  was  born  in  Washington,  D.  C,  of  French  descent,  and 
now,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six,  makes  her.  home  with  her  son,  E.  J.,  in 
Bakersfield  There  were  eleven  children  born  of  her  marriage  and  nine 
of  these  are  still  living.  The  seventh,  E.  J.,  was  born  at  the  home  farm 
near  Lewiston,  Winona  county,  Minn.,  October  9,  1866,  and  received  his 
early  education  in  his  native  county,  but  later  had  the  privilege  of  attending 
Battle  Creek  (Mich.)  College.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  accom])anied 
his  parents  to  North  Dakota  and  there  assisted  in  the  de\elopment  of  a  fron- 
tier farm. 

Upon  attaining  his  majority  and  starting  out  to  make  his  own  way  in 
the  world,  Mr.  Erb  came  to  California  and  settled  in  San  Diego  during  1887. 
Shortly  after  his  arrival,  having  meantime  learned  the  trade  of  carriage- 
maker,  he  bought  one-half  interest  in  the  largest  shop  in  San  Diego.  For 
six  years  the  business  was  conducted  under  the  title  of  Parrott  &  Erb.  As  a 
salaried  employe  he  remained  there  until  1899  and  then  came  to  Bakersfield, 
where  with  William  Drury  he  started  the  Pacific  iron  works  on  Twenty- 
fourth  and  M  streets.  Later  the  plant  was  remcived  to  McKittrick  and 
established  in  the  first  building  completed  in  the  new  oil  town.  For  a 
time  they  prospered,  but  when  the  price  of  oil  dropped  to  ten  cents  and 
hard  times  ensued  his  partner  sold  out  to  him  and  later  he  was  obliged  to 
close  the  shop  in  1903,  eventually  finding  a  buyer  for  the  plant.  Meanwhile 
for  two  years  he  was  justice  of  the  peace  and  deputy  county  coroner. 


1316  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

After  a  brief  period  of  work  as  superintendent  of  the  shops  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  field,  in  1905  Mr.  Erb 
resigned  that  position  to  open  the  Bakersfield  garage  on  the  corner  of  Nine- 
teenth and  G  streets.  During  1907  his  old  friend  and  former  partner,  Wil- 
liam Drury,  became  associated  with  him  as  partner  and  in  the  same  year 
{hey  incorporated  the  Bakersfield  Garage  and  Auto  Supply  Company,  with 
Mr.  Erb  as  president  and  Mr.  Drury  as  secretary  and  treasurer.  Soon  out- 
growing their  quarters,  in  1908  they  purchased  the  corner  of  Twentieth  and 
G  streets,  where  they  built  a  one-story  garage,  115x122  feet  in  dimensions- 
In  a  brief  period  the  new  space  became  too  small  for  the  growing  trade. 
During  1909  they  erected  a  second  story  with  an  elevator  and  on  this  upper 
floor  they  placed  their  machine  and  repair  shop  with  a  complete  and  up-to- 
date  equipment.  In  1913-14,  finding  it  necessary  to  still  further  enlarge 
their  building,  they  purchased  the  corner  of  Twentieth  and  H  streets  adjoin- 
ing their  garage.  Here  they  erected  a  two-story  building  62x149,  making  a 
frontage  of  an  entire  block  on  Twentieth  street.  The  second  floor  of  the 
new  building  is  devoted  to  manufacturing,  while  the  first  floor  of  the  same 
is  used  for  offices  and  supply  store.  The  latter  is  arranged  so  that  auto- 
mobiles may  be  driven  through  the  center  of  the  store,  thus  enabling  cus- 
tomers to  make  their  purchases  without  leaving  their  cars.  In  addition  to 
a  complete  vulcanizing  department,  there  is  a  charging  and  repair  department 
for  storage  batteries  and  electric  automobiles.  The  firm  acts  as  agents 
for  the  Oakland  car  and  the  White  automobiles  and  trucks,  also  fire 
apparatus.  About  1906  Mr.  Erb  started  the  first  car  used  in  the  rent 
service  in  Bakersfield.  There  was  constant  demand  for  the  machine  and  it 
soon  became  necessary  to  keep  three  cars  on  hand  for  rent,  but  eventually 
he  sold  out  in  order  to  devote  his  entire  attention  to  the  agency  and  the 
garage.  Besides  owning  one-half  interest  in  this  substantial  business  he 
has  real  estate  in  Bakersfield  and  Kern  county  and  is  a  stockholder  in  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Bakersfield.  In  politics  he  votes  the  Republican 
ticket.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  'Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266, 
B.  P.  O.  E-,  while  along  civic,  business  and  occupative  lines,  he  holds  mem- 
bership with  the  board  of  trade,  the  Bakersfield  Merchants'  Association  and 
the  Southern  California  Automobile  Association. 

E.  C.  SMITH. — From  the  age  of  seventeen  years  up  to  the  present  time 
Mr.  Smith  has  been  associated  .with  the  oil  industry  in  Kern  count}'  and 
meanwhile  he  has  occupied  practically  every  position  from  roustabout  up 
to  general  foreman.  He  is  now  general  lease  foreman  for  the  Section  25 
Oil  Company,  commonly  known  as  the  25  Hill  Oil  Company,  whose  holdings 
include  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  lying  on  section  25,  32-23,  and  whose 
oil  wells,  thirty-five  in  number,  average  a  monthly  production  of  fifty  thou- 
sand barrels.  The  stock  of  the  comnany  is  held  principally  in  Bakersfield 
by  the  wealthy  oil  firm  of  Barlow  &  Hill. 

Clinton,  Summit  county,  near  Akron,  Ohio,  is  the  native  place  of  E.  C. 
Smith,  and  February  24,  1883,  the  date  of  his  birth.  The  family  was 
founded  in  Clinton  by  his  grandfather,  William  Smith,  a  typical  pioneer  of 
the  period  and  locality,  and  for  many  years  intimately  identified  with  the 
material  growth  of  Summit  county,  where  he  died  at  ninety  years  of  age. 
Among  his  children  was  a  son,  Charles,  who  prospered  as  a  farmer,  acquired 
the  title  to  three  valuable  country  estates  in  Ohio  and  became  the  owner 
of  three  boats  on  the  Ohio  canal.  When  a  stroke  of  paralysis  ended  his 
career  in  1910  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years  he  left  a  large  estate  that 
still  remains  intact,  under  the  personal  supervision  of  his  wife,  Adeline 
(Young)  Smith,  a  capable  woman  who  at  sixty-five  years  retains  much  of 
her  earlier  strength  of  body  and  mind.  Of  her  twelve  children  five  are 
now  living  and  it  was  largely  through  the  efforts  of  her  youngest  child,  E-  C, 


HISTORY    OF    KFRX    COUNTY  1317 

that  the  estate  will  not  be  divided  durinc:  her  lifetime.  The  Young  family 
were  contemporaries  of  the  Smiths  in  the  early  development  of  Summit 
county,  where  the  father  of  Mrs.  Smith,  John  Young,  arrived  with  all  of 
his  worldly  goods  in  a  wagon.  Attracted  by  the  then  small  town  of  Akron, 
he  chose  a  home  in  the  place  and  ever  afterward  remained  in  the  same 
location.  His  death  occurred  when  he  lacked  imly  five  years  of  having 
rounded  out  a  full  century. 

Between  the  years  of  six  and  seventeen  E.  C.  Smith  was  a  pupil  in 
the  grammar  and  high  schools  of  Clinton.  Starting  out  to  earn  his  own 
way  in  the  world,  he  arrived  at  Bakersfield  in  March,  1900.  Here  he  found 
public  interest  centered  in  the  Kern  river  oil  field.  Joining  the  early  devel- 
opers of  that  district,  he  found  employment  as  a  roustabout  on  the  33  and 
Imperial  leases.  It  was  not  long  before  he  had  learned  to  do  expert  work 
as  a  tool-dresser.  ^\fter  two  and  one-half  years  he  went  to  the  Munte  Cristo 
lease,  where  he  was  employed  for  five  years.  During  a  later  (jeriod  of 
work  on  the  Associated  lease  he  became  a  driller  and  for  perhaps  a  year 
he  engaged  in  drilling  on  the  Canfield  division.  Next  he  was  sent  to 
McKittnck  by  Superintendent  Bruce.  In  that  field  he  engaged  as  produc- 
tion foreman  and  later  as  drilling  foreman  for  the  Associated.  He  accepted 
an  important  position  as  a  superintendent  of  the  Reward,  one  of  the  McKit- 
trick  leases,  but  owing  to  the  ill  health  of  his  wife  and  his  desire  to  take 
her  to  Ohio  for  a  change  of  climate  he  resigned  after  holding  it  one  and 
one-half  years-  Mrs.  Smith  had  been  Miss  Alabel  Church,  of  Bakersfield, 
and  her  death  occurred  in  1912.  After  an  absence  of  nine  months,  Air. 
Smith  returned  to  Kern  county,  where  he  tocjk  a  position  under  Ed  Gillette 
and  after  two  years  he  engaged  as  a  driller  on  Syndicate  No.  2, 
from  which  place  he  came  to  his  present  position  February  10,  1913,  and 
since  then  "has  devoted  his  attention  closely  to  the  responsibilities  of  general 
lease  foreman.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Woodmen  of  the 
\Vorld. 

GEORGE  C.  KELLEY.— From  boyhood  associated  with  the  oil  indus- 
try, it  has  no  phase  with  which  Mr.  Kelley  is  unfamiliar  and  he  has  filled 
practically  every  position  from  roustabout  to  superintendent.  At  the  present 
time  he  fills  a  responsible  place  as  production  foreman  on  section  22  division 
of  the  North  American  Oil  Consolidated,  whose  holdings  on  section  22, 
32-23,  comprise  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres.  Entering  upon  these 
duties  in  1910,  he  since  has  witnessed  a  remarkable  development  in  the 
company's  properties.  The  lease  has  been  developed  with  such  rapidity 
that  it  contains  fifty-five  oil  wells  and  from  the  fifty-three  now  active  there 
is  an  average  monthly  production  of  seventy  thousand  barrels. 

Although  his  earliest  memories  are  associated  with  Ohio,  George  C. 
Kelley  is  a  native  of  Kansas  and  was  born  in  a  sod-house  in  Lane  county, 
June  2,  1887.  His  parents,  John  A.  and  Emma  (Severns)  Kelley,  arc  now 
living  on  a  rented  farm  in  Allen  county,  Ohio,  but  the  father  has  worked 
perhaps  more  in  the  oil  fields  than  on  a  farm,  and  he  is  well  posted  in 
every  detail  of  the  oil  business.  The  family  comprised  five  sons  and  two 
daughters  and  the  eldest  of  these,  George  C,  attended  the  common  schools 
in  Ohio.  In  early  youth  he  worked  on  a  farm  during  the  summer  months, 
but  later  he  gave  all  of  his  time  to  the  oil  business,  which  he  learned  in 
every  detail.  His  father  being  employed  as  a  pumper  on  a  lease  at  Spen- 
cerville,  Ohio,  he  was  taken  on  the  same  lease  and  taught  to  he  useful  in 
many  ways-  From  a  roustabout  he  worked  up  to  be  a  well-puller.  From 
the  age  of  fifteen  until  nineteen  he  continued  in  the  Spencerville  district, 
thence  going  to  Oklahoma,  where  he  worked  at  Tulsa  during  much  of  the 
next  two  years.  Besides  his  experience  in  the  Oklahoma  oil  fields  he  was 
employed  for  a  time  in  the  Aluncie  oil   fields  in   Indiana  and  the   Robinson 


1318  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

oil  fields  in  Illinois.  For  six  months  before  coming  to  California  he  made 
his  headquarters  in  Ohio  and  at  Spencerville  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Myrtle  Ilogue,  daughter  of  W.  M.  Hogue,  formerly  of  Spencer- 
ville, but  now  employed  on  section  16  of  the  North  American.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Kelley  have  one  son,  Paul,  born  in  1910.  By  correspondence  with  Mr.  Kurtz 
of  the  North  American,  Mr.  Kelley  had  secured  a  position  as  tool-dresser  in 
the  Midway  field,  so  he  left  his  eastern  home  and  came  to  Bakersfield,  arriv- 
mg  at  his  destination  November  1,  1909,  ready  to  begin  work  without  delay. 
There  was  then  only  one  well  on  the  lease  that  was  making  oil,  but  since 
then  the  development  has  been  remarkable  and  the  upbuilding  of  the 
division  has  been  constant,  much  of  this  progress  being  attributable  to  the 
energy  of  Mr.  Kelley  in  his  capacity  of  production  foreman.  Since  coming 
to  the  west  he  has  bought  a  ranch  of  thirty  acres  in  Merced  county. 

FRANKLIN  C.  KELLEY.— At  Mendon,  Mercer  county,  Ohio,  Franklin 
C.  Kelley  was  born  November  15,  1875.  The  name  in  America  was 
established  by  his  great-grandfather.  After  a  voyage  of  six  months  on 
a  sailing-vessel  this  original  immigrant,  who  came  from  Dublin,  Ireland, 
landed  in  New  York  during  1760  and  eventually  became  a  pioneer  of  Knox 
county,  Ohio.  In  young  manhood  he  married  Henrietta  Shritchfield,  who 
lived  to  be  ninety-eight  years  of  age.  Among  their  descendants  was  a 
grandson,  Caleb  A.  Kelley,  who  now  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years  is 
living,  retired  from  agricultural  labors,  at  his  home  in  St.  Marys,  Auglaize 
county,  Ohio.  All  of  his  children  were  born  of  his  first  marriage,  which 
united  him  with  Eunice  Griffin,  a  native  of  the  vicinity  of  Mendon,  Ohio. 
The  children  are  as  follows:  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Thomas  Murlin,  a  farmer 
near  Mendon,  Ohio;  John,  formerly  an  oil  man,  but  now  farming  near 
Spencerville,  Ohio ;  Francis,  a  farmer  near  St.  Marys,  Ohio ;  Lenora,  who 
married  Edgar  Hawkins,  a  farmer  near  Celina,  Ohio;  Foster,  who' is- engaged 
in  farming  near  Mendon,  Ohio ;  Joseph,  formerly  a  farmer,  but  now  engaged 
in  the  oil  industry  in  the  Robinson  fields  of  Illinois ;  and  Franklin  C,  the 
youngest  member  of  the  family  and  the  only  one  to  settle  in  California. 
The  family,  however,  has  another  representative  in  the  Midway  field,  for 
George  C,  son  of  John  Kelley  and  nephew  of  Franklin  C,  is  now  engaged 
as  production  foreman  on  the  section  22  division  of  the  North  American 
Oil  Consolidated. 

When  eighteen  years  of  age  Franklin  C.  Kelley  began  as  a  roustabout  in 
the  St.  Marys  (Ohio)  oil  field.  In  that  district  the  average  depth  of  the 
wells  was  from  twelve  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  and,  as  old-fashioned 
methods  of  well-pulling  were  still  in  vogue,  he  was  assigned  to  the  task 
of  driving  a  horse  for  such  work.  For  seventeen  years  he  continued  with 
the  J.  H.  Van  Wormer  Oil  Company  at  St.  Marys  and  meantime  he  rose 
from  one  position  to  another-  When  eventually  he  resigned  it  was  for  the 
purpose  of  coming  to  California  and  joining  the  force  of  the  North  American, 
in  accordance  with  an  agreement  made  with  ]\Ir.  Kurtz.  November  of  1909 
found  him  at  Moron,  from  which  point  he  immediately  went  to  section  22 
division  and  began  his  duties  as  a  roustabout.  After  seven  weeks  he  was 
transferred  to  the  section  16  division.  Since  then  he  has  come  to  the 
front  as  a  production  man.  The  two  leases,  sections  16  and  22,  produce  an 
average  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  barrels  per  month  and  this 
places  him  among  the  foremost  production  superintendents  of  California. 
On  section  22  there  are  fifty-three  and  on  section  16  twenty-six  producing 
weJIs  with  George  C.  Kelley  as  production  foreman  with  the  former  lease 
and  Keith  LeGar  as  production  foreman  with  the  latter  division,  the  general 
superintendent  being  William  C.  McDuffie,  a  resident  on  section  16  division. 
President  Titus  resides  in  San  Francisco,  which  city  is  also  the  place  of 
residence  of  the  vice-president,  Duncan  McDufiSe,  and  the  secretary-treasurer. 


HIST(^RY    Ol'     K1:R\    CorXTY  131" 

C.  L.  Nance.  While  living  in  Ohio  Mr.  Kelley  married  Miss  Josephine 
Lewis,  by  whom  he  has  two  children,  Lenore  May  and  Guy  A.  Since  com- 
ing to  the  west  he  has  invested  in  farm  property  and  now  owns  a  tract 
of  twenty  acres  in  Merced  county. 

CHARLES  E.  ALLEN.— The  Allen  family  has  been  identified  with 
horticultural  activities  in  the  Santa  Clara  valley  from  the  very  infancy  of 
the  fruit  industry  in  that  locality.  As  early  as  1862  L.  S.  Allen,  a  native 
of  New  York  state,  settled  among  the  pioneers  of  the  valley  and  put  out 
one  of  the  first  prune  orchards  planted  in  this  entire  valley-  In  the  ensuing 
years  he  had  his  share  of  discouragements  and  successes,  but  no  adverse 
circumstance  has  lessened  his  deep  aiifectiun  for  the  valley  and  its  people, 
and  he  is  still  living  on  the  old  homestead,  hale  and  hearty,  notwithstanding 
seventv'-three  years  of  life  with  its  struggle  and  hardships.  His  wife,  now 
deceased,  was  Miss  Emma  ]\leeks,  a  native  of  Iowa.  A  brother-in-law,  E.  L. 
Bradley,  had  the  distinction  of  planting  the  first  prune  orchard  ever  set  out 
in  the  Santa  Clara  valley  and  the  entire  connection  of  the  family  with  that 
part  of  the  state  has  been  long  and  honorable. 

Out  of  eight  children  who  attained  maturity  and  who  formed  the  family 
of  L.  S.  Allen,  seven  are  still  living,  the  fourth,  Charles  E.,  being  the  only 
one  to  engage  in  the  oil  business.  The  others  live  in  or  near  San  Jose  and 
have  devoted  themselves  to  ranching.  Near  San  Jose,  where  he  was  born 
September  15,  1880.  Charles  E.  Allen  passed  the  years  of  boyhood  upon 
the  home  ranch.  Fair  educational  advantages  were  given  to  liim  and  he 
was  graduated  from  the  San  Jose  high  school  with  the  class  of  1900.  For 
a  time  thereafter  he  assisted  his  father  in  horticultural  work.  The  excite- 
ment caused  by  the  discovery  of  oil  attracted  him  to  the  Kern  river  field 
during  May  of  1902.  at  which  time  he  secured  employment  with  the  Standard 
Oil  Company  and  was  detailed  to  a  pipe  gang  engaged  in  the  construction 
of  the  line  frum  this  field  to  Richmond.  In  a  short  time  his  ability  was 
recognized  by  his  promotion  to  the  position  of  foreman  and  as  such  he  had 
the  supervision  of  a  gang  numbering  one  hundred  men.  The  company  sent 
him  to  Coalinga  in  1904  to  take  charge  of  field  work  and  to  assist  in  the 
constructiein  of  pipe  lines.  Returning  to  the  Kern  river  field  during  1906 
he  engaged  for  a  year  as  ganger  and  then  became  general  foreman  for  the 
Standard,  in  charge  of  the  construction  of  pipe  lines  and  the  building  of 
stations.  In  the  next  few  years  he  worked  at  all  the  stations  along  the  line 
to  Point  Richmond  and  had  charge  of  the  building  of  the  station  at  McKit- 
trick,  returning  in  1909  to  the  Kern  river  field,  where  since  he  has  been 
retained  as  chief  ganger  for  the  company.  During  1909  he  married  at 
Oakdale,  Stanislaus  county.  Miss  Jessie  Johnson,  by  whom  he  has  one 
daughter,  Margaret  Dorothy.  Coming  to  the  west  from  Nebraska,  where 
her  father,  Dr-  W.  H.  Johnson,  had  been  a  well-known  practitioner  in  the 
city  of  Lincoln,  Mrs.  Allen  had  received  in  that  place  excellent  educational 
advantages  and  had  been  identified  with  the  Christian  Church,  while  since 
coming  to  Bakersfield  she  has  also  been  a  member  of  that  church. 

FRANCIS  M.  POWELL.— The  Missouri  division  of  the  Associated  Oil 
Company,  under  the  field  foremanship  of  Mr.  Powell,  has  reached  an 
average  monthly  production  of  approximately  eighteen  thousand  barrels  ne't' 
and  thus  ranks  among  the  impurtant  organizations  doing  business  in  the 
Kern  river  fields.  The  holdings  of  the  company  lying  on  section  29.  town- 
ship 28.  range  28,  consist  of  the  following:  Alva,  ten  acres  with  four  produc- 
ing wells;  Hecia,  ten  acres  with  three  producing  wells;  Bolena,  ten  acres 
with  six  producing  wells ;  Gillellen,  ten  acres,  four  wells ;  Vernon,  twenty 
acres  and  six  wells;  Missouri,  twenty  acres,  seven  wells;  and  Richmond, 
ten  acres  with  three  wells,  making  a  total  of  thirty-three  producing  wells. 
The  field  superintendent,  who  moved  into  the  Kern  river  fields  January  22, 


1320  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

1909,  became  identified  with  the  Associated  three  days  after  his  arrival,  at 
first  filling  a  position  as  well-puller  and  after  six  months  being  promoted 
to  the  well  foremanship.  A  year  later  he  was  made  field  superintendent, 
which  post  he  has  since  filled  with  recognized  efficiency. 

At  Newhall,  Los  Angeles  county,  Cal.,  Mr.  Powell  was  born  April  10, 
r883,  being  the  son  of  John  T.  and  Dora  (Lake)  Powell.  The  mother  died 
April  29,  1901,  at  the  age  of  forty-seven.  The  father,  a  Bostonian  by  birth, 
came  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1873  and  settled  at  Los  Angeles.  Although  now 
seventy-three  years  of  age,  he  is  active  physically  and  mentally,  maintains 
a  warm  interest  in  the  development  of  Los  Angeles  county  and  in  his  home 
town  of  Newhall  serves  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  as  well  as  mining  recorder. 
Since  the  death  of  his  wife  his  comfortable  home  at  Newhall  has  been 
presided  over  by  his  daughter,  Florence  Marie,  besides  whom  he  has  two 
other  children,  Francis  Matthias  and  Alfred  Clyburn.  The  elder  son  com- 
pleted the  studies  of  the  Newhall  grammar  school  when  about  fourteen 
and  then  began  to  earn  his  own  way  in  the  world.  March  17,  1897,  he 
became  a  roustabout  for  the  Pacific  Coast  Oil  Company  in  the  Newhall  field, 
and  he  continued  at  that  work  until  November  1  of  the  same  year.  An 
uncle,  Alexander  Mentry,  being  superintendent  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Oil 
Company,  gave  him  a  position  in  a  minor  capacity  at  the  water  station 
pumping  plant.  In  a  short  time  he  was  given  charge  of  the  engines,  pumps 
and  general  water  system- 

On  New  Year's  of  1901  the  Pacific  Coast  Company  sold  out  to  the 
Standard  and  on  the  15th  of  April  of  that  year,  Mr.  Powell  was  transferred 
to  the  production  department.  For  one  year  he  remained  in  the  general 
]iroduction  department  of  the  Standard,  which  transferred  him  April  IS,  1902, 
to  the  Kern  river  fields  in  order  that  he  might  assist  in  putting  in  the  eight- 
inch  pipe  laid  by  that  organization  from  the  Kern  river  fields  to  Point  Rich- 
mond on  the  bay.  December  13,  1902,  the  Standard  transferred  him  to 
Newhall,  where  he  was  assigned  to  work  in  the  production  department  and 
there  he  remained  until  August  31,  1906.  Meanwhile  he  had  felt  the  need 
of  better  educational  advantages  and  when  he  resigned  his  position  he 
entered  the  Southern  California  Business  College  as  a  student  in  the  com- 
mercial department,  graduating  August  2,  1907.  In  addition  to  this  course 
of  instruction  he  had  taken  an  English  course  in  the  International  Corre- 
spondence Schools  at  Scranton. 

While  working  in  the  Newhall  field  Mr.  Powell  formed  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Miss  Reath  Prall  and  they  were  married  August  14,  1904,  in  Santa 
Paula,  Ventura  county,  her  home  town.  They  are  the  parents  of  one  child, 
Florence  Helen.  During  her  residence  in  Santa  Paula  Mrs.  Powell  was 
an  active  worker  in  the  J\Iethodist  Episcopal  Church.  After  his  marriage 
Mr.  Powell  was  employed  as  field  foreman  with  the  Union  Oil  Company 
Ml  the  Santa  Paula  fields,  but  that  position  he  resigned  December  31,  1908, 
and  a  few  weeks  afterward  came  to  the  Kern  river  fields,  where  he  has  since 
been  connected  with  the  Associated  and  where  he  and  his  family  occupy  the 
foreman's  house  on  the  Alva  lease,  on  section  29,  township  28,  range  28. 

E.  D.  HIGLEY. — Continuous  application  has  marked  the  activities  of 
Mr.  Higley  from  early  life.  When  yet  a  mere  lad  he  became  self-supporting 
and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  had  gained  a  skill  in  carpentering  such  as  is 
not  always  possessed  by  those  having  years  of  experience  in  the  occupation. 
Starting  out  with  scanty  education  and  no  money,  assuming  domestic  oIdH- 
gations  at  an  early  age,  he  was  handicapped  in  his  first  eflforts-  A  native 
of  Nebraska,  born  in  Lincoln  county  March  7,  1880,  he  was  familiar  from 
his  earliest  recollections  with  the  isolated  frontier,  the  broad  ranges  lying 
be5'ond  the  then  confines  of  civilization.  Nor  did  removal  to  North  Dakota 
broaden   his  outlook  upon   the   world,   for  the   homestead  there   stood   aloof 


HISTORY    (")!•     Kl'.RX    COITNTY  1321 

."♦ '-  e  T  ^  •. 

from  the  great  markets  of  the  country  and  iiad  little  to  offer  in  comfort 
or  opportunity.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  married  Miss  Ella  Ree  McKay,  a 
young  lady  living  in  Wells  county,  which  adjoined  his  home  county  of 
Kidder.  The  little  home  started  upon  the  plains  of  North  Dakota  was 
barren  of  comforts,  j-et  within  its  walls  there  was  much  of  joy  and  con- 
tented work.  As  the  land  was  brought  under  cultivation  and  ere  it  had 
become  a  source  of  income,  ihe  young  homesteader  earned  his  livelihood  as 
a  carpenter. 

Belie\'ing  he  could  better  his  ctuidition  in  California  Mr.  Iliglcy  brought 
his  family  to  the  coast  in  1906  and  has  since  been  empluj'ed  in  the  oil 
fields.  It  is  his  intention  to  soon  establish  the  family  home  at  Waits,  Kern 
county,  so  that  his  work  may  not  take  him  far  distant  from  his  wife  and 
four  children,  Eunice,  Gurdon  H.,  Lois  Amy  and  Elberta.  After  coming 
to  this  locality  he  worked  with  different  companies,  including  the  Southern 
Pacific  (six  months),  Canfield  (five  months)  and  Merrill  Crude  (two 
months),  after  which  he  was  em])loyed  by  Captain  Black  for  eighteen 
months  in  the  building  of  oil  derricks.  For  two  months  he  worked  in  the 
Sunset  and  Midway  fields,  but  with  that  exception  he  has  limited  his  labors 
largely  to  the  Kern  river  fields.  For  a  time  he  conducted  a  livery  business, 
located  upon  the  lease  of  the  Hald  Eagle  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river 
fields,  but  recently  he  sold  out  his  interest  to  his  partner,  W.  B.  Austin, 
who  continues  the  business  at  the  same  location,  while  Mr.  Higley  gives  his 
entire  time  and  attention  to  contracting  and  building.  His  specialty  is  the 
building  of  derricks,  in  which  he  has  become  so  expert  that  his  services  are 
in  constant  requisition.  In  fraternal  relations  he  hold  membership  with 
the  W^oodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Modern  \\'oodmen  of  America. 

S.  H.  MARTIN. — The  foreman  of  the  Sterling  division  of  the  Asso- 
ciated Oil  Company,  who  likewise  holds  a  position  as  superintendent  of  the 
Sovereign  Oil  Company  on  section  31,  township  28,  range  28,  has  been 
familiar  with  the  oil  industry  from  his  very  earliest  memories-  The  incum- 
bent of  his  present  resnonsible  positions  since  1907,  he  meanwhile  has  pro- 
moted the  financial  welfare  of  both  organizations  and  has  guided  every  detail 
with  a  careful  eye  and  keen  discriminatinn.  The  Sterling  owns  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres,  but  leases  forty  acres  to  the  Vesta  Oil  Company  and 
twenty  acres  to  the  Sovereign,  the  balance  of  their  tract  containing  forty- 
one  producing  wells.  The  Sovereign  shows  ten  producing  wells.  Both 
companies  are  equipped  with  every  modern  convenience  for  the  prosecution 
of  the  work  and  conduct  all  affairs  in  a  model  and  business-like  manner. 

Born  in  Venango  county.  Pa.,  July  14,  1880,  Mr.  Martin  is  a  son  of 
David  E.  Martin,  now  of  Kern  county,  the  present  superintendent  of  the 
Oakland  Midway  Oil  Company  on  the  west  side.  Business  changes  took 
the  family  from  one  point  to  another  and  the  son,  primarily  educated  in 
Pennsylvania,  later  had  excellent  advantages  in  the  Los  Angeles  high  school 
and  in  a  commercial  college  of  the  same  city.  After  he  had  graduated  from 
the  business  college  he  devoted  himself  wholly  to  the  oil  business,  of 
which  he  previously  had  gained  an  expert  knowledge.  His  father,  who  had 
come  from  Pennsylvania  to  take  charge  of  the  department  of  drilling  for 
the  Union  Oil  Company  at  Santa  Paula,  Cal.,  went  to  Missouri,  where  he 
became  superintendent  of  the  W'hitney  AN'ater  Supply  Company  at  St. 
Louis.  During  1896  he  came  again  to  California  and  settled  in  Los  Angeles, 
where  his  son,  who  previously  had  assisted  him  in  his  work  with  the  St. 
Louis  organization,  became  yet  more  helpful  to  him  in  the  work  of  dressing 
tools  for  drilling. 

When  only  nineteen  years  of  age  S.  H.  Martin  engaged  as  a  driller 
with  the  Central  Oil  Company  of  Whittier,  Cal.,  and  for  four  years  he  con- 
tinued in  the  same  place.     From  there  he   went  to  the   lower   part  of   Old 


1322  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Mexico  near  the  Pacific  ocean  and  engaged  in  drilling  for  oil  at  Pochutla, 
state  of  Oaxaca,  where  he  was  employed  for  eight  months.  Meantime  he 
acted  as  geologist  for  the  Pacific  Coast  Oil  Company  of  Mexico.  From 
Mexico  he  transferred  his  labors  to  Lower  California,  where  he  drilled  a  well 
for  a  company  capitalized  at  Birmingham,  Ala.  Returning  to  the  United 
States  he  engaged  in  drilling  with  the  California  Oilfields,  Limited,  at 
Coalinga,  and  later  had  similiar  work  at  McKittrick,  Kern  county,  where 
he  drilled  on  the  Reward  lease.  After  having  held  a  position  as  driller  with 
the  Union  Oil  Company  in  Ventura  county,  he  went  to  Los  Angeles  county 
and  started  work  on  the  Oilman  property  at  Sherman.  Having  engaged  in 
the  oil  industry  in  so  many  different  places  and  with  so  many  varied  com- 
panies, he  was  well  prepared  for  successful  effort  when  finally  he  came  to 
Kern  river  fields  in  1905.  After  two  years  as  a  driller  in  1907  he  became 
superintendent  of  the  Sterling  and  Sovereign,  which  he  since  has  managed 
with  success.  Since  coming  to  Kern  county  he  was  married  at  Bakersfield 
to  Miss  Ethel  Fall,  of  Globe,  Ariz.,  by  whom  he  has  two  sons,  David  and 
Joe.    In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  membership  with  the  Elks  at  Bakersfield. 

HENRY  ERICKSON.— The  superintendent  of  the  Junction  Oil  Com- 
pany in  the  Kern  river  fields  is  of  Pennsylvanian  birth  and  Scandinavian 
descent.  Born  at  Oil  City,  Venango  county.  Pa.,  June  19,  1880,  he  was  sixth 
in  order  of  birth  among  the  nine  children  comprising  the  family  of  John  and 
Caroline  Erickson,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Sweden,  but  at  early  ages 
became  residents  of  Pennsylvania.  The  family  lived  upon  a  farm  near 
Venango  and  the  son  began  to  assist  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil  as  soon  as 
old  enough  to  handle  machinery  and  horses.  Scanty  educational  privileges 
came  his  way,  for  from  boyhood  his  was  a  struggle  for  self-support.  In  spite 
of  the  handicap  of  lack  of  schooling  he  has  become  a  man  of  broad  general 
information.  When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  left  the  farm  for  the  oil 
fields  near  his  home  and  ever  since  then  he  has  been  connected  with  the 
oil  industry.  After  a  brief  experience  as  a  pumper  he  was  promoted  to  be 
a  tool-dresser,  in  which  he  soon  became  quite  skilled.  After  a  year  at  Oil 
City  he  went  to  Indiana  and  soon  became  field  foreman  for  the  Ohio  Oil 
Company  at  Marion,  where  he  continued  for  three  years. 

The  next  district  that  attracted  the  young  man  was  the  oil  fields  of 
Illinois,  where  for  thirteen  months  he  engaged  as  foreman  and  pumper  with 
the  Campbell  Oil  Company  at  Casey-  From  Illinois  he  came  to  California 
and  settled  in  the  Kern  river  oil  fields,  where  he  secured  work  as  a  foreman 
with  the  West  Shore  Oil  Company.  A  year  later  he  was  made  foreman  for 
the  Section  5  Oil  Company,  remaining  with  them  for  eight  months  and  then 
resigning  in  order  to  return  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  worked  at  Oil  City 
for  six  months.  Upon  his  return  to  the  western  oil  regions  he  secured  employ- 
ment in  the  Santa  Maria  fields  in  Ventura  county,  where  he  had  charge  of  the 
installation  of  gas  engines  for  the  Union  Oil  Company.  Eight  months  later 
he  returned  to  the  Kern  river  fields,  where  for  a  short  time  he  served  as 
foreman  of  the  Capital  City  Oil  Company.  September  15,  1910,  he  was  chosen 
superintendent  of  the  Junction  Oil  Company,  a  corporation  composed  prin- 
cipally of  San  Francisco  capitalists.  Eighty  acres  of  land  are  owned  by  the 
company  and  the  work  of  development  has  only  begun.  Of  the  eight  pro- 
ducing wells  six  have  been  redrilled  and  the  average  net  production  is  between 
five  thousand  and  six  thousand  barrels  per  month.  Having  given  his  atten- 
tion to  the  details  of  the  oil  industry  and  to  his  own  particular  responsibilities, 
Mr.  Erickson  has  not  had  leisure  for  participating  in  public  affairs  or  local 
enterprises,  but  he  aims  to  keep  posted  concerning  all  enterprises  of  worth  to 
community  or  county.  While  living  in  Santa  Maria  he  became  identified  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  that  place  and  since  coming  to  Kern  county  he 
has  joined  the   Loyal  Order  of  Moose  at   Bakersfield.     By  his   marriage   to 


HIS'I■()R^•    (»l-     KI'.RX    t"()l'\TY  1333 

Miss  llnilic  liwiii  of  (  )il  (in-.  I'a.  he  has  two  children,  Lawrence  and 
Mary. 

J.  A.  C.  MILES.— Althuui^h  a  resident  of  California  during  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  and  since  December  of  1910  identified  with  the  Kern  river  oil 
fields,  Mr.  Miles  was  horn  November  16,  1887,  on  a  lar!.;e  sugar  plantation  of 
Hawaii.  'The  death  of  his  father,  G.  W".  Miles,  who  had  been  a  traveling  sales- 
man, caused  a  breaking  up  (f  famil}-  tics  and  resulted  in  the  fatherless  boy 
being  taken  into  the  home  of  an  uncle,  William  E.  Miles,  in  San  Francisco, 
where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  There  were  two  younger  children  in  the 
family  and  both  of  these  still  reside  in  Honolulu,  Fannie  Isabel  being  the 
wife  of  Paul  Burns,  of  that  city,  while  William  E.  conducts  a  dairy  and 
stock  ranch  and  a  banana  ]ilantation  in  the  same  district.  The  mother,  who 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Jennie  K.  Harvey  and  who  at  the  age  of  furty-seven 
(1914),  is  still  a  resident  of  Hawaii,  is  a  sister  of  the  late  senator,  lion.  Frank 
Harvey,  from  the  territory  of  Hawaii. 

A  thorough  education  secured  in  the  San  Francisco  high  school  was 
supplemented  by  specialized  work  through  correspondence  courses  in  elec- 
tricity and  electrical  engineering,  and  in  that  way  Rlr.  Miles  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  a  broad  expert  knowledge  inestimable  in  its  value  to  subsequent 
endeavors.  During  early  youth  he  became  an  apprentice  with  the  Pacific 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  uf  San  Francisco  and  Oakland.  From  a 
very  humble  position  he  worked  his  way  rapidly  to  a  post  of  importance,  and 
before  he  was  twenty-three  years  of  age  he  had  been  appointed  chief  installer. 
Through  the  influence  of  his  uncle,  William  E.  Miles,  who  is  a  man  of  prom- 
inence in  the  oil  fields  and  now  serving  as  secretary  of  the  Apollo,  4-Oil  and 
Amaurot  Oil  Companies,  he  secured  a  position  as  bookkeeper  for  these  organi- 
zations in  December  of  1910,  since  which  time  he  has  been  identified  with 
the  Kern  river  district,  and  here,  at  Oil  Center,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Hazel  Long,  daughter  of  John  Long,  of  Missouri. 

M.  J.  PEARL — Since  the  acquisition  of  its  great  holdings  by  the  Kern 
River  Oilfields  of  California,  Limited,  in  1910,  as  well  as  prior  to  that  date 
with  the  old  Imperial  and  33  organizations,  Mr.  Pearl  has  been  one  of  the 
trusted  employes.  Not  content  to  be  merely  a  good  workman,  he  has  always 
tried  to  do  whatever  came  to  his  department  better  than  he  ever  had  wrought 
before.  Not  only  is  he  active,  alert  and  industrious,  but  in  addition  he  has  a 
genial  temperament  and  his  kindly  spirit  radiates  cheer  and  carries  encour- 
agement to  other  workers  around  him.  He  was  the  son  of  ])Oor  parents  and 
was  born  at  W'illiamsport,  Pa.,  May  5,  1864,  removing  with  the  family  to 
Kansas  at  the  age  of  seven  years  and  receiving  a  limited  education  in  Topeka 
schools.  Later  throu.gh  his  own  efforts  he  paid  his  way  through  $'•  Mary's 
College  in  Kansas.  In  the  town  of  St.  Mary's  he  married  Miss  Blanche  San- 
nier  and  six  years  later  moved  to  Flagstaff,  .\riz.,  where  he  found  employment 
with  the  Arizona  Lumber  and  Timber  Company. 

For  two  3^ears  engaged  as  a  plumber  with  that  concern,  Mr.  Pearl  later 
spent  six  years  with  the  same  company  in  the  capacity  of  stationary  engineer. 
From  Arizona  he  came  to  California  in  1907  and  settled  in  Kern  count)',  where 
immediately  he  secured  work  as  a  plumber  and  steamfitter  on  the  Imperial 
and  33  leases,  being  retained  in  the  same  department  when  the  firm  of  Keith, 
Mack  &  Guggenheim  in  1910  was  overtaken  by  the  Kern  River  Oilfields  of 
California,  Limited.  Since  coming  to  this  county  he  and  his  family  have  been 
members  of  St.  Francis'  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  Bakersfield.  while  frater- 
nally he  is  connected  with  the  Eagles,  Wcjodmen  of  the  World  and  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America.  The  family  home  is  a  cottage  on  the  company  prop- 
erty and  the  family  comprises  six  children,  Irene,  Edmund,  Clement,  Joseph, 
John  and  Clarence,  of  whom  the  eldest  sons  are  now  employed  in  the  oil  fields. 

PHILIP  BACH.— Philip  Bach  is  of  German  extraction,  his  grandfather 


1324  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

having  been  born  in  Baden-Baden,  Germany-  His  father,  Philip  Bach,  was 
engaged  in  the  dry  goods  business  at  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  being  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Bach  &  Able  there.  He  married  Nancy  Royce,  whose  people  came 
to  Michigan  from  Massachusetts,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  Philip,  Jr. 
The  father  died  in  1895,  and  the  mother  in  1871. 

Born  in  Ann  Arbor,  Washtenaw  county,  Mich.,  October  20,  1863,  Philip 
Bach  was  there  reared  to  manhood,  attending  the  public  schools,  and  finally 
becoming  a  student  in  the  University  of  Michigan  at  Ann  Arbor.  Ill  health, 
however,  compelled  Mr.  Bach  to  relinquish  his  studies  and  he  went  to  New 
Mexico  to  regain  his  strength.  He  began  in  the  store-keeping  business  at 
Alma,  Socorro  county,  then  at  Cooney,  going  from  there  to  Magdalena,  whence 
he  found  his  way  to  Silver  City,  Grant  county,  at  which  latter  place  he  kept  a 
general  store  and  also  became  interested  in  silver  mining.  Having  in  the 
meantime  gained  his  former  good  health,  in  1897  he  came  to  Los  Angeles,  Cal., 
to  engage  in  the  securities  brokerage  business,  but  after  a  year  and  a  half  at 
this  line  of  work  he  gave  it  up  and  went  to  Portland,  Ore.,  where  he  secured 
a  position  in  a  dry  goods  store.  After  a  year  and  a  half  there  he  returned  to 
Los  Angeles,  and  when  oil  was  struck  in  Kern  county,  he  came  here  and  was 
employed  by  J.  A.  Chancellor  and  C.  A.  Canfield  to  take  charge  of  the  twelve 
wells  belonging  to  the  Canfield  Company.  As  superintendent  of  this  com- 
pany Mr.  Bach  increased  this  property  to  fifty-seven  wells,  and  so  successful 
was  he  in  the  conduct  of  it  that,  in  1902,  when  it  was  taken  over  by  the  Asso- 
ciated Oil  Company,  he  was  retained  by  the  latter  as  foreman  of  the  Canfield 
division,  which  position  he  has  since  held.  The  Canfield  produces  thirty  thou- 
sand barrels  of  oil  per  month  and  is  numbered  among  the  best  producers  in 
the  oil  fields. 

Mr.  Bach  makes  his  home  on  the  Canfield  properties,  where  he  and  his 
wife,  who  before  her  marriage  in  1905,  to  Mr.  Bach,  was  a  Mrs.  Page,  give 
hearty  welcome  to  their  numerous  friends  and  acquaintances.  Mrs.  Bach  is  a 
daughter  of  John  R.  Matlack,  of  Philadelphia,  and  sister  of  William  V. 
Matlack,  mayor  of  Bakersfield,  a  sketch  of  whom  appears  elsewhere  in  this 
publication. 

MARTIN  COYNE.— A  native  of  Ireland,  Martin  Coyne  was  born  at 
Castleray,  County  Roscommon,  in  1860,  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Rourke) 
Coyne.  His  father  died  when  the  son  was  about  four  years  old,  and  the  mother 
passed  away  at  Avon,  Livingston  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1875.  Of  their  twelve 
children  Martin  was  the  third  youngest.  Six  of  them  preceded  their  mother 
to  the  United  States,  and  she  brought  over  the  remaining  six  in  1870.  He 
was  a  student  for  a  time  in  the  public  school  at  Avon,  N.  Y.,  but  early  went 
to  work  on  farms  in  the  vicinity.  Accompanied  by  an  older  brother,  James 
Coyne,  he  came  to  California  in  1876  and  joined  their  brother,  Bartley,  in  the 
Santa  Clara  valley.  They  engaged  in  farming  there  and  in  Yuba  county  more 
than  a  year-  James  and  Bartley  went  back  to  New  York  state.  Martin 
remained  at  Smartsville  for  a  time,  mining  in  the  winter  months  and  herding 
cattle  during  the  balance  of  the  year,  then  went  to  Nevada  county  and  mined 
at  Bli  omfield  until  he  met  with  an  accident  caused  by  a  cave-in,  by  which  he 
was  buried  up  to  his  head  in  a  heavy  mass  of  gravel  for  more  than  half  an 
hour.  When  he  was  dug  out  it  was  found  that  his  arms  and  legs  were  crushed 
and  he  was  laid  up  two  years,  during  which  he  completely  exhausted  his  little 
supply  of  money.  His  first  employment  after  the  accident  was  as  a  clerk  in 
the  Derbeck  hotel,  where  he  remained  two  years  gradually  improving  in  health. 
Then  for  three  years  he  engaged  in  the  liquor  business  in  Nevada  City.  In 
1886  he  established  a  liquor  store  at  Fifth  and  D  streets,  San  Diego,  which  he 
operated  until  1892.  Early  in  that  year  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  was 
employed  in  the  Hermitage  saloon  until  1904,  when  he  bought  the  establish- 
ment which  he  has  since  managed  and  which  is  now  the  property  of  the  firm 


HISTORY    ()!••    K1-;RX    (.( Jiwrv  1325 

of  Coyne  &  Hewitt.  In  I'XIO  the  Inisiness  was  removed  to  its  present  location 
on  Chester  avenue.  Mr.  Coyne  erected  his  l)eautifiil  residence  at  Eighteenth 
and  D  streets  at  an  expense  of  $10,000.  He  was  one  of  the  orijanizers  of 
the  Paraffine  Oil  Company,  was  a  member  of  its  first  board  of  directors,  has 
been  one  of  its  directors  ever  since  and  was  for  a  time  its  vice-president.  The 
company  put  down  two  wells  in  the  Templor  country  without  success,  but 
later  operations  on  25  Hill  were  productive  of  better  results.  It  now  has  six 
wells  which  produce  about  twenty  thousand  barrels  of  oil  per  month.  He  is 
also  interested  in  the  U.  S.  Oil  &  Mininjj  Company,  of  which  he  is  a  director 
and  vice-president  and  which  has  sunk  four  producing;  wells  at  McKittrick. 
He  is  a  director  and  vice-president  also  of  the  Bakersfield  Six  Oil  Company, 
which  owns  one  hundred  acres  at  McKittrick.  and  in  numerous  other  cor- 
porations engaged  in  the  development  of  the  California  oil  fields. 

At  San  Diego  Mr.  Coyne  married  Miss  Nellie  Hewitt,  a  native  of 
Schenectad}-,  X.  "\'.,  who  has  borne  him  five  children.  Marguerite,  George, 
Helen,  Esther  and  ]\Iary.  Marguerite  is  a  graduate  of  Notre  Dame  College, 
San  Jose,  and  George  is  a  senior  in  Kern  county  high  school-  Mr.  Coyne 
served  as  an  officer  in  the  Royal  Arch,  is  a  member  of  the  Elks,  and  as  a 
member  of  the  Rt  ard  of  Trade  and  otherwise  he  has  demonstrated  a  public 
spirit  wliicli  has  placed  him  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  citizens  of  Bakersfield. 

ALVA  HUNTER. — Among  those  self-reliant,  self-made  citizens  of  Kern 
comity  who  have  solved  the  vital  problem  of  achieving  success  in  spite  of  the 
many  impediments  which  have  crossed  their  paths  in  the  new  country  is  Alva 
Hunter,  the  efficient  and  well-known  superintendent  of  the  Nevada  Oil  Com- 
pany, which  is  known  as  one  of  the  most  profitable  producers  in  the  region. 

Alva  Hunter  is  the  son  of  Aaron  and  Charlotte  (Grant)  Hunter, 
born  in  Indiana  in  1872.  He  was  twenty  years  old  when  he  came 
with  his  parents  to  Bakersfield,  Cal.,  and  he  immediately  began  to  work  for 
the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  Subsequently  he  farmed  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  this  state,  and  it  was  here  that  he  became  interested  in  the  oil  business, 
obtaining  employment  at  Rio  Grande  as  tool-dresser  for  L.  D.  Heine.  A  year 
later,  in  1902.  he  came  to  the  Kern  River  field  and  secured  a  position  as  driller 
for  the  Nevada  Oil  Company,  at  which  he  worked  for  a  year  and  a  half.  He 
remained  with  this  comjiany  from  that  time  on  and  proving  himself  to  he  so 
well-grounded  in  the  details  of  the  work,  that  in  1010  he  was  made  superin- 
tendent of  the  company- 

Sime  idea  of  the  company  may  be  obtained  from  the  information  that  it 
has  twenty-two  wells,  and  produces  about  ten  thousand  barrels  monthly.  Mr. 
Hunter  fills  the  office  of  superintendent  of  this  company  and  enjoys  the  con- 
fidence of  his  employers  and  the  respect  of  all  with  wlioni  lie  has  business 
relations. 

In  1909  Mr.  Hunter  was  married  to  Miss  Effie  Walker,  of  Arkansas,  and 
they  have  two  children,  Xellia  .\.  and  William  Grant.  Mr.  Hunter  takes  no 
part  in  public  affairs,  holding  no  offices,  but  he  is  actively  interested  in  the 
Republican  party,  and  votes  that  ticket.    His  home  is  on  the  Nevada  holdings. 

C.  L.  GIBONEY.— At  an  early  age  the  obligation  of  self-support  de- 
volved upon  Mr.  Giboney.  who  assumed  such  responsibilities  with  the  cheerful 
aptitude  that  has  marked  every  step  of  his  bu.sy  existence.  When  only  fifteen 
years  of  age  he  l)egan  to  hustle  for  himself,  yet  he  did  not  abandon  all  efforts 
toward  securing  an  education ;  on  the  other  hand,  side  by  side  with  his 
energetic  devotion  to  material  affairs  was  a  persistence  in  educational  work, 
so  that  he  not  only  was  able  to  graduate  from  the  Kern  county  public  schools 
but  in  addition  he  took  a  commercial  course  in  the  business  college  at 
Bakersfield.  A  native  son  of  California,  he  was  born  Deceinber  23,  1885,  and 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of 
a  machinist  at  Needles,  at  the  satne  time  learning  the  blacksmith  trade.     Later 


1326  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

he  engaged  as  a  horse-shoer  at  a  railroad  camp  in  Arizona.  When  the  Edison 
plant  was  installed  on  the  Kern  river  he  went  to  Havilah  in  Kern  county, 
where  he  worked  under  the  contractor,  J.  B.  Reed.  It  was  the  latter  who  had 
induced  him  to  locate  in  the  town.  Besides  doing  general  work  in  the  black- 
smith shop  he  did  the  greater  part  of  the  horse-shoeing  in  the  Kingman 
blacksmith  shop. 

An  opening  for  a  bookkeeper  occurred  in  the  department  store  of  Hoch- 
heimer  &  Co.,  at  Bakersfield,  where  Mr.  Giboney  found  employment  for  which 
his  talents  qualified  him  in  an  admirable  degree.  So  well  did  he  succeed  as 
bookkeeper  for  the  concern  that  at  the  expiration  of  eighteen  months  he  was 
made  cashier  and  was  given  charge  of  the  entire  office  force  in  the  store,  where 
he  remained  through  a  period  aggregating  five  and  one-half  years.  On  May  4, 
1908,  he  became  bookkeeper  for  the  Associated  Oil  Company.  In  a  short 
time  he  was  made  chief  clerk.  After  two  years  of  office  labor  he  was  given 
a  position  as  outside  man  and  since  then  he  has  acted  as  foreman  in  the  oil 
department-  In  every  respect  he  has  given  satisfaction  to  the  company  and 
his  work  has  reflected  credit  upon  himself.  In  addition  to  handling  the  oil 
produced  by  the  Associated,  he  also  handles  all  that  is  bought  by  the  company 
in  the  Sunset,  Midway  and  McKittrick  fields.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  at  Bakersfield.  His  marriage  at 
Fresno  united  him  with  Miss  Rose  Basye  and  they  have  an  adopted  child. 

E.  A.  GROGG. — The  Fellows  Mercantile  Company,  although  one  of  the 
recent  institutions  of  Kern  county,  is  unsurpassed  in  the  character  of  its 
establishment  and  in  the  appreciation  of  its  patrons.  June,  1910,  the  company 
was  incorporated  with  a  capitalization  of  $10,000,  and  on  the  1st  of  August 
their  house  of  business  was  opened,  with  E.  A.  Grogg  as  treasurer  and 
manager,  C.  W.  Dickinson  as  president  and  John  Patterson  as  vice-president. 
In  every  respect  the  store  would  do  credit  to  a  city  far  larger  than  Fellows. 

The  son  of  Samuel  J.  Grogg,  an  Ohio  farmer,  E.  A.  Grogg  was  born  in 
Fayette  county,  that  state,  January  15,  1863,  and  became  inured  to  the  hard 
loil  of  the  farm  at  a  very  early  age.  Leaving  the  country  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
he  turned  his  attention  to  mercantile  pursuits.  When  twenty  he  became  a 
clerk  in  a  country  store  at  Balbec,  Jay  county,  Ind.,  and  continued  there  for 
eight  years,  after  which  he  clerked  at  Pennville  for  four  years-  Continuing  in 
Jay  county,  he  established  himself  as  proprietor  of  a  general  store  at  Bryant, 
where  he  remained  until  1903.  The  complete  failure  of  his  health  forced  him 
to  sell  out  and  seek  a  dilTerent  climate.  Going  to  Florida,  he  bought  a  small 
lanch  near  the  town  of  Ripley  and  there  engaged  in  the  poultry  industry. 
The  illness  of  a  brother  caused  him  to  leave  Florida  to  be  with  the  invalid 
during  an  operation  at  Mobile  and  later  he  sold  the  Florida  place,  returned 
with  the  brother  to  Indiana  and  cared  for  the  suliferer  until  the  end  came 
after  an  illness  of  six  months.  The  management  of  a  store  at  Dunkirk,  Jay 
county,  kept  him  in  that  town  for  a  time,  but  later  he  availed  himself  of  a 
better  opening  in  the  county-seat  town,  Portland,  where  he  was  connected 
with  the  department  store  of  Cartwright  &  Haddington. 

A  desire  to  see  the  west  caused  Mr.  Grogg  to  relinquish  his  interests  at 
Portland,  Ind.,  from  which  place  he  went  to  Portland,  Ore.,  in  October  of  1907. 
In  1908  he  came  to  California,  settled  in  Tulare  county  and  became  manager 
of  the  Rochdale  store  at  Orosi.  After  one  year  he  embarked  in  the  gent's 
furnishing  business.  At  first  there  was  every  indication  of  success,  but  a 
panic  resulted  from  the  depreciated  values  of  raisins,  the  principal  crop  of  the 
locality,  and  he  was  forced  to  retire  from  business  at  a  considerable  loss. 
Thereupon  he  sought  a  new  location  and  was  led  to  establish  himself  in 
Fellows,  where  he  has  a  business  that  is  solid,  growing  and  substantial  and 
that  merits  and  receives  an  excellent  patronage  from  the  community. 

JAMES  LOWELL  ANNETTE.— The  founder  of  his  name  in  the  new 


HISTORY    ol'    KKRX    COUNTY  1327 

world.  J.  Wyatt  Annette,  led  an  eventful  existence  from  the  time  that  he  left 
his  native  France  and  crossed  the  ocean  to  America,  settled  in  Missouri  and 
engaged  in  coal  mining  near  St.  Louis,  until  he  was  impelled  to  join  an 
expedition  of  Argonauts  who  crossed  the  plains  with  wagons  and  ox-tcams 
early  in  the  '50s.  Upon  arriving  at  his  destination  he  began  to  mine  on  the 
Feather  river.  At  first  fortune  seemed  to  favor  him,  for  he  struck  gold  and 
with  seven  partners  developed  a  profitable  mine.  After  they  had  taken  out 
as  much  gold  as  they  were  able  to  carry,  in  buckskin  bags  fastened  to  their 
bodies,  they  left  the  mine  and  started  with  their  treasure  for  a  place  to  market 
the  gold,  but  as  they  were  crossing  Feather  river  all  were  drowned  On- 
lookers were  powerless  to  aid  them,  for  the  weight  of  the  gold  caused  them 
to  sink  before  help  could  reach  them. 

The  unfortunate  gold-miner  left  a  son.  James  William,  a  native  of  the 
vicinity  of  St.  Louis.  >Io..  and  from  young  manhood  a  resident  of  California, 
where  he  planted  an  orchard  of  Bartlett  pears  in  Lake  county.  By  his  mar- 
riage to  Fannie  Baker,  who  was  born  in  Missouri  and  died  in  California, 
there  was  only  one  child,  James  Lowell,  born  at  Kelseyville,  Lake  county, 
Cal.,  November  14.  1880.  and  reared  on  the  home  farm,  meanwhile  attending 
local  schools  and  the  Kelseyville  academy.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  became 
an  apprentice  under  Mr.  Kemper  in  the  old  Star  mills  at  South  Vallejo.  Three 
years  later  he  left  the  mill  temporarily  in  order  to  take  a  course  of  study  in 
the  Oakland  Polytechnic  Business  College,  but  after  his  graduation  in  1904 
he  returned  to  the  mill  to  resume  his  trade.  Two  years  later  he  resigned  as 
second  miller  there  to  accept  a  position  as  head  miller  with  the  Dixon  Milling 
Company,  but  stayed  there  only  five  months,  resigning  in  order  to  become 
head  miller  of  the  Kern  river  mills  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company, 
coming  December  27,  1906.  to  the  ]ilant  where  he  has  continued  ever  since. 

In  addition  to  acting  as  head  miller  of  this  mill  Mr.  Annette  started  and 
for  one  year  operated  the  Annette  bakery,  where  he  put  in  the  first  dough 
mixed  in  Bakersfield.  After  selling  the  bakery  he  started  on  Nineteenth 
street  the  A.  &  L.  sweet  shop,  which  he  sold  about  1910.  He  now  owns  twenty- 
seven  acres  near  Lakeport  which  he  set  out  to  Bartlett  pears. 

Mr.  Annette  is  a  Republican.  \\'hile  at  \'allejo  he  was  made  a  Mason  in 
Solano  Lodge  No.  229,  F-  &  A.  M.,  is  a  member  of  Bakersfield  Chapter  No. 
75,  R.  A.  M.,  Bakersfield  Commandery  No.  39,  K.  T.,  and  .Al  Malaikah  Temple. 
N.  M.  S..  of  Los  .Angeles.  In  \"allejo  occurred  his  marriage  to  Miss  Lillian 
Steflfan.  a  native  of  that  city  and  a  graduate  of  the  high  school  there.  For 
many  years  her  father,  Philip  StefFan.  has  been  engaged  in  the  wholesale  and 
retail  meat  business  in  Vallejo.  The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  .\nnette  com- 
jjrises  two  daughters,  Madelyn  Beth  and  Doris. 

FREDERICK  E.  MANNEL.— The  youngest  in  a  family  of  four  children 
and  the  only  one  of  the  number  to  establish  himself  in  the  United  States, 
Frederick  E.  Manuel  was  born  in  Dresden.  Saxony,  Germany,  .\ovember  30, 
1864.  and  was  named  after  his  father,  the  manager  of  the  zoological  gardens 
in  Dresden.  An  excellent  education  was  afforded  him  through  attendance 
itpon  grammar  and  high  schools  in  Dresden  and  he  was  educated  with  a  view 
to  becoming  a  medical  practitioner,  but  the  profession  did  not  appeal  to  him 
and  he  emigrated  to  the  L'nited  States  in  1880.  With  him  he  brought  letters 
of  introduction  to  William  Conklin,  manager  of  the  zoo  in  Central  park.  New 
York  City,  and  that  gentleman  gave  him  employment  for  a  year.  During  1881 
he  shipped  to  Montevideo,  South  .America,  impelled  by  a  desire  to  see  some- 
thing of  that  part  of  the  world.  Upon  his  return  to  New  York  he  proceeded 
west  to  iMontana  in  1882  and  secured  work  in  the  government  employ.  Some 
time  later  he  went  back  to  Dresden  to  visit  friends. 

It  was  during  1885  that  Mr.  Manuel  saw  California  for  the  first  time. 
After  a  brief  sojourn  in  San  Francisco  he  proceeded  to  Sonoma  county  and 


1328  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

bought  a  small  vineyard  near  Mark  West  Springs,  later  locating  near  Colfax, 
Placer  county,  where  he  planted  vines  and  developed  a  valuable  vineyard. 
Upon  the  sale  of  that  property  he  removed  to  San  Jose  and  became  a  retailer 
of  oil  and  gasoline,  continuing  the  business  until  1896,  when  he  sold  out  and 
started  upon  a  trip  around  the  world.  The  beginning  of  his  journey  took  him 
to  the  old  German  home  and  gave  him  an  opportunity  again  to  renew  the 
associations  of  childhood.  Traveling  through  Germany  and  Denmark,  he 
went  thence  to  Norway  and  Sweden  and  as  far  north  as  Spitzbergen,  after 
after  which  he  returned  to  Germany  and  from  there  traveled  through  Austria 
and  Russia,  next  back  to  France  and  from  there  to  England.  A  long  voyage 
from  London  took  him  to  Cape  Town,  Africa,  and  after  debarking  he  traveled 
with  a  hunting  expedition  to  Fort  Salisbury.  The  trip  was  made  with  wagons 
and  oxen  and  enabled  the  men  to  prospect  and  hunt  in  leisurely  manner.  Upon 
leaving  the  party  he  traveled  on  foot  across  the  Zambesi  river  into  the  interior 
of  Africa,  where  he  passed  six  months  in  exciting  explorations  among  the 
natives.  From  there  he  traveled  back  south  to  Transvaal,  Orange  Free  State 
and  Cape  Colony. 

Australia  was  the  next  country  visited,  where  he  made  a  study  of  the  pearl 
fisheries  on  Thursday  Island,  later  visiting  Port  Darwin  at  the  extreme 
northern  end  of  the  continent.  Next  he  went  to  the  island  of  Timook,  his 
intention  being  to  investigate  some  oil  formations,  but  the  natives  were  on 
the  warpath  and  rendered  personal  investigations  impossible.  He  next  sailed 
for  the  Philippines  and  made  a  sojourn  in  Manila.  In  China  he  visited 
Shanghai,  Hong-Kong  and  other  points.  En  route  to  the  United  States  he 
stopped  at  Yokohama,  Japan,  and  Honolulu,  Hawaiian  Islands,  landing  in 
1899  at  San  Francisco,  whence  he  came  to  Bakersfield.  With  friends  he 
secured  a  tract  of  oil  land  on  section  11-29-21.  His  associates  having  been 
misinformed,  decided  to  abandon  the  work  at  a  depth  of  five  hundred  feet, 
but  afterward  this  was  found  to  be  excellent  oil  territory.  Next  he  prospected 
at  McKittrick  and  in  the  Sunset  and  Midway  fields,  after  which  he  went  to 
Coalinga,  bought  a  lease  and  extended  the  field  three  miles  toward  the  north. 
On  coming  back  to  Kern  county  he  developed  his  property  in  the  Midway 
field  and  afterward  as  manager  of  the  Mountain  Girl  lease  put  down  several 
wells  that  became  good  producers.  With  others  he  secured  the  building  of 
the  Standard  pipe  line  into  the  Midway  field-  During  1908  he  started  the 
Bakersfield  soap  works,  which  he  developed  into  a  plant  of  considerable  size 
and  importance.  As  the  organizer  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Oil  Company  operating 
on  section  5  in  the  Midway  field,  for  some  time  he  held  a  large  number  of 
shares  in  the  concern,  but  later  sold  his  interest.  Further  he  organized  the 
Successus  Oil  Company  now  operating  on  the  McKittrick  front. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  ]\Iannel  and  Miss  Elsinore  Hutton  took  place  in 
San  Francisco.  Although  a  native  of  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  Mrs.  Mannel  was 
reared  in  Alameda,  Cal.,  where  her  father,  Edward  L.  Hutton,  was  at  the 
head  of  a  mercantile  establishment.  After  coming  to  Bakersfield  Mr.  Mannel 
built  the  residence  which  he  now  occupies  at  No.  2116  B  street  and  which  is 
brightened  by  the  presence  of  his  two  children,  Elsie  Hutton  and  Frederick 
E.,  Jr.  Since  1912  he  has  been  manager  of  the  Mannel-Minor  Petroleum 
Company  operating  on  the  Balridge  lease  of  two  hundred  acres.  The  com- 
pany was  organized  that  year  by  himself  and  F.  F.  Minor  and  he  is  vice- 
president  and  manager.  Two  wells  have  been  completed  and  a  third  started. 
One  of  these  at  a  depth  of  two  thousand  feet,  has  a  capacity  of  two  hundred 
barrels  per  day  of  twenty-five  gravity  oil-     Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 

J.  G.  EDWARDS. — The  farming  element  of  Kern  county  has  a  note- 
worthy representative  in  the  person  of  J.  G.  Edwards,  who  after  having  fol- 
lowed the  (  ccupation  of  a  millwright  for  years  in  Missouri  finally  met  with 
reverses  that  took  from  him  the  fruits  of  his  long  toil,  forcing  him  to  start 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    aU'NTY  1329 

anew  at  an  ai;e  when  he  inif;ht  have  been  juslifietl  in  anticipating  ease  and 
comfort.  It  was  liis  good  fortune,  in  choosing  a  new  location,  to  select  Kern 
cuiinty  for  a  home  and  here  he  has  retrieved  tlie  losses  of  the  past,  so  that  he 
and  his  capable  wife  are  now  surrounded  by  every  comfort.  Their  success  has 
been  made  possible  by  the  possession  and  ownershij)  of  a  fertile  farm  in  the 
Weed  Patch.  Working  contentedly  and  iiappily  and  enjoying  life  to  the  ut- 
most, they  do  not  shut  themselves  out  from  the  sorrows  uf  the  world  and  are 
especial!}'  in  sympathy  with  the  an.xieties  of  the  laboring  man  in  his  effort 
to  provide  food  and  raiment  for  his  family.    Mr.  Edwards  is  a  Socialist. 

As  a  soldier  in  the  Civil  war  he  fought  for  the  Union  and  in  times  of 
peace  he  has  been  equally  loyal  to  the  nation.  Although  himself  of  American 
birth,  he  is  a  descendant  of  Scotch  progenitors.  His  father,  Hugh  Edwards, 
was  born  in  Scotland,  but  crossed  intu  Ireland  during  boyhood  and  as  a  young 
man  became  an  immigrant  to  the  United  States,  where  he  si)ent  his  remaining 
years  in  Pennsylvania.  In  that  state  he  married  Miss  Catherine  Cantwell,  a 
member  of  a  Welsh  family.  By  trade  a  wagonmaker,  he  engaged  in  the  inanu- 
facture  of  vehicles  in  Pennsylvania  throughout  the  balance  of  his  life.  When 
gold  was  discovered  in  California  he  was  employed  to  build  wagons  for  the 
trip  to  the  coast. 

Born  near  Johnstown,  Pa.,  February  8,  1839,  J.  G.  Edwards  was  one  of 
three  children  who  attained  mature  years.  A  brother,  Charles  G.,  twelve 
years  older  than  himself,  died  in  the  army  during  the  Civil  war.  His  younger 
sister,  Catherine,  Mrs.  McKnight,  died  in  Philadelphia.  At  the  age  of  twelve 
years  he  went  to  Coshocton  county,  Ohio,  joining  an  uncle,  Ciuy  Edwards, 
a  millwright  and  farmer.  In  thai  community  the  uncle  had  a  reputation  as  an 
expert  mechanic.  The  most  intricate  jobs  were  taken  to  him.  It  was  under 
such  excellent  direction  that  the  lad  took  up  the  occupation  of  mill-building. 
While  thus  engaged  he  enlisted  in  the  Unit  n  army  as  a  substitute.  Becoming 
a  member  of  Company  F,  One  Hundred  and  Seventy-eighth  Ohio  Infantry, 
he  engaged  in  guard  duty  below  Baltimore,  was  stationed  for  some  time  in 
Virginia  and  \\  est  Virginia,  and  later  was  assigned  to  the  secret  service  for 
duty  in  Ohio,  Michigan,  Indiana  and  Pennsylvania.  At  the  expiration  of  two 
years  and  eight  months  at  the  front  he  received  an  honorable  discharge. 

A  period  of  activity  as' a  millwright  in  Ohio  was  followed  by  the  removal 
of  Mr.  Edwards  to  Missouri,  where  he  took  up  his  trade  in  Greene  county. 
There  in  1872  he  married  Miss  Torinda  V.  Tuttle,  wiio  was  born  in  Indiana 
and  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  accompanied  relatives  to  Missouri.  Until 
1892  Mr.  Edwards  continued  to  live  in  Missouri  and  meanwhile  he  built 
or  bought  and  sold  mills  in  about  six  of  the  leading  counties  of 
southeastern  Missouri.  At  first  he  was  prospered,  but  reverses  began  to 
fall  upon  him  and  eventually  he  was  obliged  to  give  up  the  business.  It  was 
then  that  he  came  to  California  and  secured  work  as  a  ranch-hand  for  Blodgett, 
Fish  &  Daggett.  Next  he  spent  a  year  in  the  employ  (jf  Captain  McKittrick. 
Meanwhile  he  had  saved  his  earnings  and  thus  was  enabled  to  buy  twenty 
acres  in  1895,  three  years  after  his  arrival  in  Kern  county.  The  place  cost  him 
51,000  including  the  water  right  from  the  east  side  canal.  I'Yom  that  invest- 
ment he  has  been  able  to  earn  a  livelihood  from  year  to  year.  The  older  son, 
Charles,  is  a  mechanic  and  farmer  living  at  Salem.  Ore.  The  younger  son, 
Arthur,  is  an  oil-well  driller,  now  following  his  trade  at  Vera  Cruz,  Mexico. 
The  only  daughter,  Katie  \'..  is  the  wife  of  .A.  F.  Wilson  and  lives  on  a  ranch 
in  Kern  county. 

H.  J.  HATH.— Considerations  of  health  brought  Mr.  Hath  to  California 
when  twenty-four  years  of  age  and  since  then  he  has  lived  in  Kern  county. 
A  native  of  Michigan,  he  was  born  September  1,  1878,  in  Clinton  county, 
seven  miles  north  of  Lansing  and  seventy  miles  east  of  Grand  Rapids.  His 
father.   Tames  M.,  for  years  a  farmer  in  Clinton  county,  died  there  in   190'^*, 


1330  ■   HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  the  mother,  Lovina  (Burdy)  Hath,  still  remains  at  the  old  homestead.  The 
parental  family  included  eight  children  and  of  these  H.  J.  was  next  to  the 
youngest.  Like  the  other  children,  he  was  early  taught  to  aid  in  the  work  on 
the  home  farm  and  during  winter  months  attended  a  country  school.  Later 
he  had  the  advantage  of  a  course  of  study  in  a  business  college  at  Lansing. 
During  1901  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Stella  M.  Dunn,  of  Shia- 
wassee county,  Mich.,  and  they  have  two  children,  Elno  and  Thelma. 

ReaHzing  that  he  could  not  hope  to  live  long  if  he  remained  in  Michigan 
he  came  to  California  in  1902  and  here  he  has  had  the  satisfaction  of  com- 
pletely regaining  his  strength  and  has  done  well  from  a  business  standpoint, 
so  that  he  has  had  no  reason  to  regret  his  removal  to  the  west.  After  coming 
to  this  county  he  worked  in  the  Southern  Pacific  shops  at  Kern  for  seven 
months  and  then  came  to  the  Kern  river  oil  fields,  where  ever  since  he  has 
been  employed,  at  first  as  a  day  laborer  and  since  August  1,  1911,  as  fore- 
man of  the  machine  shop  on  the  lease  of  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Com- 
pany. Ever  since  boyhood  he  has  displayed  mechanical  ability  and  has  pre- 
ferred work  with  machinery  to  other  forms  of  labor,  so  that  he  finds  his 
present  position  congenial  and  suited  to  his  abilities.  In  political  affiliation  Mr. 
Hath  is  a  Republican  and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Woodmen  of 
the  World.  In  1912  he  was  elected  trustee  of  the  Petroleum  school  district,  in 
the  Kern  river  field,  where  is  being  erected  an  elegant  $10,000  school  house, 
the  finest  structure  of  its  kind  in  the  field. 

MRS.  SARAH  GLENN.— One  of  the  early  pioneers  of  California,  whose 
many  experiences  of  untold  hardship  and  deprivation  are  often  retold  to  the 
many  friends  and  relatives  who  now  surround  her,  is  Mrs.  Sarah  Glenn, 
now  making  her  home  with  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Morris  Borgwardt,  of  Bakers- 
field.  She  was  born  November  21,  1835,  near  Nashville,  Tenn.,  daughter  of 
Neal  and  Charity  (Hall)  Dennis.  She  was  the  fifth  of  her  parents'  family 
of  eight  children  born  in  Tennessee,  three  others  being  born  in  Texas,  and 
she  was  twelve  years  old  when  brought  to  Texas,  ox-teams  and  horses  fur- 
nishing the  means  of  transportation  and  travel,  and  a  settlement  was  made 
at  Belton,  Bell  county,  that  state,  where  the  father  followed  farming.  Mrs. 
Glenn  was  but  fourteen  when  she  was  married  to  James  Madison  Glenn, 
who  was  born  in  the  southwest  February  22,  1821.  The  couple  crossed  the 
plains  in  wagons  drawn  by  ox-teams  to  California  and  her  eldest  son,  John 
Glenn,  a  cattle  man  at  White  River,  Tulare  county,  was  born  on  the  journey, 
which  took  seven  months  and  three  weeks.  In  this  company  crossing  the 
plains,  which  took  place  in  1854,  were  the  Dunlap,  Arnold  and  Brite  families 
and  they  shared  in  many  exciting  and  terrible  encounters.  At  the  head  of 
the  Gila  river,  the  Glenn  band  was  overtaken  by  Apache  Indians,  and  it  was 
only  through  the  kind  intervention  of  Adolph  Moore  that  bloodshed  was 
averted.  However,  a  member  of  the  band,  by  name  Jim  Houston,  brother 
of  Mrs.  Dunlap,  was  shot  by  the  Indians  in  trying  to  recover  twenty-three 
head  of  horses  which  had  been  stolen.  The  first  stop  was  made  at  Los 
Angeles,  where  the  Glenns  remained  during  1854-55  and  then  went  to 
Visalia,  where  the  year  1856-57  was  spent,  and  later  they  lived  at  the  upper 
crossing  of  the  San  Joaquin  river.  Then  returning  to  Tulare  county,  they 
lived  for  a  year  on  the  Kings  river,  whence  they  went  to  Linn's  valley  and 
later  moved  to  Havilah.  Upon  their  return  to  Linn's  valley  they  settled 
here  and  Glennville  was  named  after  Mr.  Glenn,  who  followed  his  trade  of 
blacksmith,  building  the  first  shop  of  that  kind  in  the  vicinity.  He  con- 
tinued to  follow  this  trade  and  conduct  the  blacksmith  shop  at  Glennville 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1883,  and  at  his  death  there  passed  away 
one  of  the  most  sturdy  and  energetic  pioneers  California  has  ever  known. 
Six  children  survived  him.  John  A.  is  a  cattleman  at  White  River,  Cal. 
Charity  became  the  wife  of  William  Melburne,  and  now  resides  at  Terra 
Bella.     William  is  at  Oxnard.  Ventura  counlv.     Virginia  Lee  is  the  wife  of 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1331 

Frank  C.  Beale,  of  \'isalia.  Xeal  is  a  gardener  of  Los  Angeles.  Ftla  is  the 
wife  of  Morris  Corgwardt,  of  Bakersfield,  who  is  the  custodian  of  the  Emer- 
son school.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Borgwardt  have  two  children,  Sibyl,  who  is  a 
freshman  in  the  Bakersfield  high  school :  and  Henry  Lawton,  who  is  in  the 
Bakersfield  grammar  school. 

JOHN  BRECKENRIDGE  BRITE.— The  Brite  family,  of  which  John 
Breckenridge  Brite  is  a  member,  has  been  so  closely  identified  with  Kern 
county,  as  to  give  its  name  to  one  of  that  county's  fertile  valleys,  and  Brites 
Valley  has  been  the  center  of  their  industries  for  many  years.  \\'hile  his 
parents  were  in  Southern  California,  whither  they  had  gone  because  of  ill- 
ness in  the  family,  John  B.  Brite's  birth  occurred  in  El  Monte,  Los  Angeles 
county,  December  20,  1866.  He  is  the  son  of  John  M.  Brite,  the  pioneer 
settler  of  the  Tehachapi  region,  whose  sketch  appears  elsewhere  in  this 
publication.  John  B.  Brite  received  the  education  afforded  by  the  local 
public  schools  of  his  vicinity,  attending  until  he  was  sixteen,  when  he  went 
to  work  for  his  father,  continuing  thus  until  he  was  twenty-one.  For  four 
years  in  partnership  with  his  three  brothers,  he  ran  the  home  ranch,  and  it 
was  finally  divided  among  them,  John  B.  becoming  owner  of  three  luindred 
and  twenty  acres,  which  he  has  since  cultivated  and  where  he  has  made  his 
home,  .\side  from  ranching,  Mr.  Brite  was  in  the  livery  and  blacksmithing 
business  in  the  town  of  Tehachapi  in  1902,  but  his  large  land  interests 
engaged  most  of  his  time  and  he  found  it  necessary  to  give  them  his  entire 
attention.    Consequently  he  disposed  of  the  business  and  returned  to  his  farm. 

]\lr.  Brite  at  present  is  owner  of  twelve  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of 
land  and  has  about  seven  hundred  acres  of  it  under  cultivation,  the  produc- 
tion of  which  finds  a  ready  market.  It  has  been  proved  that  the  land  under 
cultivation  is  well  adapted  for  fruit,  vieing  with  any  in  the  Tehachapi  region, 
but  the  chief  production  on  Mr.  Brite's  land  is  wheat  and  barley.  He  owns 
a  combined  harvester  and  in  connection  with  his  tilling  the  soil  he  raises 
thoroughbred  Poland  China  hogs,  having  about  four  hundred  head  on  his 
place.  He  has  some  fine  cattle,  using  his  father's  old  brand,  the  half  moon 
and  capital   J. 

In  January,  1909,  Air.  Brite  was  married  to  Belle  Smith,  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  they  have  made  a  pleasant  and  hospitable  home  in  the 
valley. 

HENRY  SANGUINETTI.— One  of  the  oldest  superintendents  now  op- 
erating in  the  Kern  river  fields,  and  one  who  has  seen  great  changes  take 
place  in  this  locality,  is  Henry  Sanguinetti,  who  at  present  superintends  the 
works  of  the  Linda  Vista,  Piedmont  and  Sesnon  Oil  Companies,  and  is  man- 
ager of  the  Oakland  Water  Company,  being  also  superintendent  of  tlie 
Broadway  Oil  Company. 

Mr.  Sanguinetti  was  l)orn  in  Vallicita.  Calaveras  county,  Cal.,  where 
his  father,  John  Sanguinetti,  settled  upon  coming  to  America.  The  latter 
was  one  of  the  "forty-niners"  who  were  attracted  to  this  part  of  the  world 
bv  the  report  of  the  discovery  of  gold.  Reaching  this  state,  he  worked  in 
the  mines  and  later  took  up  farming,  and  here  he  and  his  estimable  wife, 
Rosa  (Campa)  Sanguinetti,  lived  and  raised  their  family  of  five  children, 
four  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  mother  is  now  living,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three  years,  on  the  old  homestead  of  Calaveras  county,  where  Mr.  Sanguin- 
etti's  three  brothers  and  sister  also  reside. 

Henrv  Sanguinetti  was  born  August  16,  186".  and  his  public  school 
education  was  supplemented  by  a  course  at  the  Stockton  Business  College, 
from  which  he  was  graduated.  He  worked  with  a  construction  gang  in 
Calaveras  and  Amador  counties,  building  stamp  mills,  flumes,  hoists  and  all 
structures  pertaining  to  mine  operations.  In  1886  he  came  to  Kern  county 
and  did  repair  work  on  the  Long  Tom  Mine  about  twenty-five  miles  north  of 
Bakersfield,  and  in  1889  came  to  Bakersfield  to  engage  as  a  contractor  and 


1332  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

builder.  It  was  in  the  spring  of  1900  that  he  decided  to  go  to  Alaska,  where 
he  was  employed  in  building  the  Snattesham  stamp  mill,  situated  about 
thirty  miles  northeast  from  Juneau.  This  took  him  a  year,  after  which  he 
returned  to  California,  coming  direct  to  the  Kern  river  oil  field,  having  been 
sent  hither  by  Frank  Littlefield,  who  operated  the  Snattesham  stamp  mill, 
and  here  he  has  since  remained.  Mr.  Sanguinetti  has  drilled  about  thirty- 
six  wells,  and  in  his  work  has  proven  himself  a  man  of  great  constructive 
genius  and  a  capable  draftsman. 

Before  going  to  Alaska,  in  1900,  Mr.  Sanguinetti  was  married  to  Miss 
Marie  Meinecke,  of  Vallicita,  Cal.,  whose  parents  were  pioneers  of  Cala- 
veras county,  of  German  descent.  Before  her  marriage  she  was  a  teacher 
in  the  schools  in  her  native  county,  and  with  her  husband  has  always  taken 
a  deep  interest  in  school  affairs.  He  helped  to  organize  the  Toltic  school 
district,  and  now  serves  as  clerk  of  the  board  of  trustees.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Sanguinetti  have  three  children,  Marie,  Dorris  and  Henry,  Jr. 

Mr.  Sanguinetti  is  a  stockholder  in  the  Linda  Vista,  Piedmont  and 
Broadway  companies,  and  he  now  reaps  the  benefit  of  his  stanch  integrity 
and  unfailing  eflfort  in  their  conduct. 

JOHN  H.  AUGSBURGER.— Born  and  reared  in  Ohio,  John  J.  Augs- 
burger,  the  father  of  our  subject  removed  to  Indiana,  devoted  his  active 
life  to  agricultural  pursuits  and  died  July  8,  1911,  at  the  old  homestead. 
Surviving  him  are  the  widow  and  six  children.  The  former,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Fannie  Hirschy,  was  born  in  Indiana,  descended  from  Swiss 
forebears,  and  is  still  living  on  the  old  home  farm  in  her  native  common- 
wealth. The  place  lies  near  the  eastern  Indiana  oil  fields  in  the  vicinity  of 
Geneva.  The  six  children  are  as  follows:  Rebecca,  wife  of  Charles  Tremp, 
of  VVoodburn,  Allen  county,  Ind. ;  Noah,  a  farmer  near  Linn  Grove,  Adams 
county,  Ind. ;  Albert,  who  is  engaged  in  farming  near  Bern,  Adams 
councy,  Ind.;  Ella,  who  resides  with  her  mother;  John  H.,  who  was  born 
near  Linn  Grove,  Ind.,  December  11,  1884,  and  is  the  only  member  of  the 
family  to  remove  from  the  old  home  state;  and  Elmer,  who  now  has  charge 
of  the  homestead  near  Linn  Grove.  The  next  to  the  youngest  son  com- 
pleted his  education  in  the  Linn  Grove  high  school,  where  he  took  a  course  of 
three  years.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  engaged  as  a  roustabout  with  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  in  the  Geneva  district.  After  two  weeks  as  a  roust- 
about he  began  pumping.  From  that  he  rose  to  be  a  tool-dresser  and  then 
a  driller.  Two  years  were  spent  in  the  Casey  field,  where  he  worked  suc- 
cessively for  several  different  companies.  For  the  next  two  years  he  worked 
in  the  Glenn  Pool  field  in  Oklahoma,  and  during  1909  came  from  there  to 
California,  where  he  worked  at  Orcutt  in  the  Santa  Maria  field.  A  year 
later,  in  1910,  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  for  two  years  drilled  in  the 
vicinity  of  Maricopa.  July  16,  1912,  he  became  connected  with  the  Kern 
Trading  &  Oil  Company  in  the  North  Midway  division  of  the  Sunset  field 
near  Fellows.  As  lease  foreman,  with  headquarters  on  section  23,  31-22,  he 
holds  a  very  responsible  position  with  one  of  the  greatest  concerns  operat- 
ing in  this  county,  and  has  won  the  confidence,  not  only  of  higher  officials 
of  the  corporation,  but  also  of  co-workers  and  other  employes,  all  of  whom 
unite  in  testifying  as  to  his  ability,  intelligence  and  devotion  to  duty. 

DAN  McDonald.— The  birth  of  Mr.  McDonald  occurred  in  Boston, 
Mass.,  January  1,  1870,  and  he  received  a  public-school  education  in 
his  native  city.  During  1893  he  became  an  employe  in  the  shipyards  at 
Newport  News,  Va.,  and  later  he  drifted  to  the  Southwest  to  identify  himself 
with  the  vast  region  that  was  drawing  on  the  east  for  men  of  energy  and 
intelligence.  For  nearly  a  year,  he  rode  the  range  in  Oklahoma  and  Indian 
Territory  for  different  cattle  outfits.  After  leaving  there  he  drifted  into 
Montana  and  followed  the  same  occupation  with  John  Murphy  on  the 
Seventy-Nine  Horse  Ranch  near  Billings,  but  resigned  at  the  time  of  the 
discovery  of  gold  in  the  Klondike,  intending  to  accompany  an  expedition  to 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  133,^ 

Xome.  However,  lie  had  gone  no  further  than  Seattle,  when  he  was  taken 
seriously  ill  with  pneumonia.  When  tinnlly  he  had  recovered  his  health  he 
went  to  Butte,  Mont.,  and  engaged  in  mining.  Next  he  engaged  in  mining  at 
Brigham,  Utah,  and  from  that  point  proceeded  to  San  Juan,  Colo.;  thence 
to  Bland,  N.  Ale.x.,  from  which  place  he  went  to  Jerome  and  Hishee,  .\rizona. 
Employment  in  Los  Angeles  filled  the  years  between  180S  and  1902. 
During  April  of  the  year  last  named  Mr.  McDonald  came  to  Mojave,  where 
ever  since  he  has  made  his  home.  I-'or  si.x  years  he  followed  mining  with 
the  Exposed  Treasury  Company  and  the  Queen  Esther  Company,  after  which 
he  embarked  in  the  liquor  business,  becoming  proprietor  of  the  Los  .\ngeles 
House,  since  which  time  he  has  built  an  annex  to  the  house.  In  addition  he 
has  erected  a  cottage  in  the  same  block,  which  he  used  in  connection  with  the 
hotel.  In  Los  Angeles  he  married  Miss  Lillie  E.  Taylor,  a  native  of  Eng- 
land. By  the  union  he  is  the  father  of  four  children,  Lillie,  Mabel  and  Mary, 
twins,  and  Joseph.  In  politics  he  always  has  been  stanch  in  his  allegiance  to 
the  Democratic  partv.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  Bakersfield  Lodge 
No.  473,  L.  O.  O.  M',  and  also  with  the  Los  Angeles  Aerie  No.  202,  F.  O.  E. 
NICK  BRITZ  is  the  son  of  John  and  Gertrude  (Salm)  Britz,  both 
of  whom  were  natives  of  Germany  and  are  now  deceased.  The  father  was  a 
farmer  and  a  member  of  an  old  and  much  respected  family  in  that  country. 
Six  children  came  to  their  marriage,  four  having  survived  the  parents,  and 
Nick,  who  was  the  j'oungest  and  only  one  to  come  to  America,  w.is  born 
June  29,  1860,  near  Sarbruchen  or  Treves,  in  Rhenish-Prussia.  He  was 
brought  up  in  his  native  place  and  sent  to  the  schools  there,  meanwhile 
aiding  his  father  on  the  home  farm.  In  1881  he  came  to- the  United  States 
and  after  stopping  in  Pennsylvania  for  a  while  he  went  to  Pueblo,  Colo.,  at 
the  time  of  the  building  of  the  Bessemer  Steel  Works  there,  being  employed 
on  the  construction  of  the  blast  furnace.  In  December,  1882,  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia and  secured  employment  in  the  Hills  Ferry  hotel,  later  doing  farm 
work,  and  in  1884  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Co.  Not  long  afterward  he  was  transferred  to 
Los  Angeles  by  that  company  and  worked  in  the  roundhouse  at  Colton  and 
Lancaster.  In  1889,  he  returned  to  Bakersfield,  first  entering  the  employ  of 
the  German  hotel,  then  the  Walters  liotel.  after  which  he  decided  to  start  in 
business  for  himself.  He  opened  up  a  liquor  business  on  the  corner  of  K  and 
Nineteenth  streets  in  1892,  and  later  added  the  French  Cafe,  but  this  he  later 
sold  and  has  since  continued  the  original  business,  in  which  Gaudenz  \Vei- 
chelt  al.so  has  an  interest.  Besides  this  business  Mr.  Britz  is  interested  in  the 
Los  Angeles  Fire  Insurance  Company. 

Nick  Britz  was  married  in  Santa  Cruz,  Cal.,  to  Miss  Josephine  Matske, 
who  was  born  in  Berlin,  Germany.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  Order  of  Eagles  and  the  Order  of  Royal  Arch.    He  is  a  Democrat. 

J.  R.  LOCK. — .\n  identification  with  the  .Associated  Oil  Company  that 
began  in  November  of  1909  and  that  kept  him  at  the  McKittrick  holdings  of 
the  corporation  for  a  considerable  period,  has  since  brought  Mr.  Lock  to  the 
companv  properties  at  Fellows,  where  he  is  now  employed  as  head  machinist, 
having  charge  of  all  outside  work  pertaining  to  the  machinery  at  the  com- 
pany properties  one  and  one-half  miles  northeast  of  the  town.  Long  experience 
as  a  machinist  qualifies  him  for  expert  work  in  this  important  department  of 
the  devolopment  work  of  the  concern. 

A  Missourian  by  birth,  Mr.  Lock  was  born  near  Darlington,  Gentry 
county,  December  18,  1877.  The  farm  where  uneventfully  were  passed  the 
years  of  bovhood  and  youth  had  been  occupied  by  his  father  since  1856,  when 
that  hardy  pioneer  took  up  the  land  and  began  the  transformation  of  the  raw 
prairie  into  a  remunerative,  productive  estate.  Now  unable  to  continue  the 
heavy  agricultural  labors  of  his  younger  days,  he  has  leased  his  farm  of  three 
hundred  and  eighty  acres  and  is  enjoying  the  comiorts  of  old  age.    By  his 


1334  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

marriage  to  Eliza  Williams,  who  died  in  1894  at  the  age  of  forty-four  years, 
he  had  a  family  of  live  sons  and  one  daughter.  All  are  .still  living  with  the 
exception  of  one  of  the  sons.  The  youngest  son  and  next  to  the  youngest 
child,  J.  R.  Lock,  was  reared  at  the  old  homestead  and  received  a  common- 
school  education.  Upon  starting  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  west,  he 
left  Missouri  in  February,  1898,  and  removed  to  Colorado.  For  a  short  time 
he  remained  at  Pueblo.  Afterward  he  found  employment  in  the  mines  at  Crip- 
ple Creek,  where  his  first  employment  was  that  of  fireman  for  the  hoisting 
engine.  Within  one  year  he  was  promoted  to  be  hoisting  engineer,  which 
responsible  task  he  continued  most  successfully  for  a  few  years. 

Upon  coming  to  California  in  February,  1909,  Mr.  Lock  proceeded  to 
Fresno  and  for  two  years  was  employed  in  running  the  pumps  at  the  St.  George 
winery.  From  there  he  removed  to  San  Joaquin  county  and  secured  work  as 
foreman  of  the  R.  C.  Sargent  estate  on  a  ranch  comprising  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  acres.  During  three  and  one-half  years  he  filled  the  position  and 
had  charge  of  a  herd  of  five  thousand  head  of  cattle.  In  order  to  prepare  so 
large  a  drove  for  the  markets  it  was  necessary  to  raise  large  amounts  of  alfalfa 
and  grain  and  all  of  such  work  was  placed  under  his  charge. 

While  engaged  as  foreman  on  this  ranch  he  met  and  married  Miss  Emma 
A.  Blohm  and  they  and  their  three  sons,  James  S.,  Arthur  R.  and  John  H., 
now  occupy  a  comfortable  cottage  on  the  property  of  the  Associated  near 
Fellows.  From  the  ranch  in  San  Joaquin  county  Mr.  Lock  came  to  Kern 
county  and  engaged  with  the  old  Amalie  gold  and  silver  mine  near  Caliente, 
where  he  had  charge  of  the  hoist  for  four  years,  and  since  giving  up  that  work 
he  has  been  continuously  with  the  Associated.  His  attention  is  given  wholly  to 
the  duties  of  his  position.  He  is  a  member  of  Taft  Lodge  No.  593,  L.  O.  O.  M. 

L.  A.  HIRSCH. — Merit  and  persistence  are  the  qualities  that  have  con- 
tributed to  the  rapid  rise  of  Mr.  Hirsch  in  the  oil  industry.  Although  stil!  a 
young  man,  scarcely  yet  in  the  prime  of  manhood  and  with  years  of  possible 
continued  usefulness  stretching  before  him,  his  knowledge  of  the  oil  business 
is  not  surpassed  by  that  of  men  many  years  older  than  he  and  his  intelligent 
application  to  the  work  forecasts  increased  results  for  the  future.  As  lease  fore- 
man of  the  American  Oilfields  Company,  with  headquarters  on  section  36, 
31-22,  he  is  identified  with  production  work  on  one  of  the  greatest  properties 
in  the  state. 

Descended  from  an  old  eastern  family,  L.  A.  Hirsch  was  born  at  St. 
Marys,  Auglaize  cnunty,  Ohio,  ilarch  22,  1887,  received  a  fair  education  in 
the  grammar  and  high  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years  became  a  pumper  in  the  employ  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  Ever 
since  that  time  he  has  continued  in  the  same  occupation.  Upon  leaving  Ohio 
he  went  to  Illinois,  still  as  an  employe  of  the  Standard,  and  for  a  time  he 
worked  in  the  oil  fields  at  Westfield,  twelve  miles  north  of  Casey.  A  later 
position  with  the  Silurian  Oil  Company  at  Bridgeport  occupied  him  for  two 
years  and  four  months,  after  which  he  came  to  California  in  September,  1910, 
and  found  employment  on  section  22  division  of  the  North  American  Con- 
solidated. After  a  short  period  with  that  company,  on  May  6,  1911,  he  became 
lease  foreman  with  the  American  Oilfields  Company,  and  has  since  filled  this 
responsible  position  with  creditable  efiiciency.  With  his  wife,  whom  he  mar- 
ried in  Bakersfield  and  who  was  formerly  Miss  Blanche  Worman,  of  St. 
Marys,  Ohio,  he  has  established  a  comfortable  home  on  section  36  in  a  com- 
pany residence. 

HERMAN  AUGUSTUS  WEFERLING.— The  organization  of  the  Te- 
hachapi  Hay  and  Grain  Company,  effected  in  1909  through  the  efforts  of  a 
number  of  progressive  local  men,  has  added  another  enterprise  to  the  com- 
mercial activities  of  Tehachapi  and  has  been  pushed  forward  to  a  gratifying 
degree   of   financial    importance   through    the   capable   management   of   Mr. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1335 

W'eferling,  who  assisted  in  the  starting-  of  the  concern  and  has  since  acted  as 
its  superintendent-.  While  Mr.  Weferlinc^  is  ably  and  efficiently  conducting  the 
large  interests  of  the  company  his  wife,  formerly  Mrs.  Luella  (Duty)  Wiggins 
and  a  native  of  Te.xas,  is  devoting  her  attention  to  the  management  of  her 
millinery  store  in  Tehachapi. 

Of  German  birth,  a  native  of  Braunsweich,  Prussia,  born  August  21,  1867, 
Herman  Augustus  Weferling  was  next  to  the  oldest  in  a  family  consisting  of 
two  sons  and  three  daughters  (all  still  living.)  The  parents,  William  and 
Louise  (Bressel)  Weferling,  were  born  in  Prussia  and  the  father  engaged  in 
the  sugar  manufacturing  business  at  ]\Iagdeburg  on  the  Elbe.  During  1868  he 
brought  his  family  to  America,  proceeded  as  far  west  as  Wisconsin  and  in 
Black  Hawk  county  built  one  of  the  first  sugar  mills  in  the  state.  Coming  to 
California  in  1871  he  worked  for  a  time  in  a  sugar  factory,  but  soon  went  to 
Santa  Cruz  and  near  Soquel  began  to  cultivate  a  farm.  During  1880  he  re- 
moved to  Monterey  county  and  bought  a  farm  in  Lockwood  valley,  where 
he  remained  until  his  death  and  where  his  widow  still  makes  her  home. 

Reared  in  California  and  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  the  state, 
Herman  Augustus  Weferling  holds  in  highest  honor  the  institutions  of  this 
commonwealth  and  is  loyal  to  every  movement  for  the  permanent  upbuilding 
of  the  state.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  left  home  to  make  his  own  livelihood. 
Coming  direct  to  Kern  county  he  located  land  in  the  Weed  Patch  and  took  up  a 
claim  under  the  homestead  laws.  Unfortunately  a  season  of  prolonged  drought 
destroyed  all  of  his  crops  and  discouraged  him  to  such  an  extent  that  he  gave 
up  the  claim  after  two  years.  During  1890  he  came  to  Tehachapi  and  secured 
a  clerkship  with  Isidore  Asher.  Later  he  worked  in  the  quartz  mills.  Since 
1909  he  has  devoted  his  time  whi  lly  to  the  Tehachapi  Hay  and  Grain  Com- 
pany. In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  The  development  of  Kern  county  inter- 
ests him  deeply.  A  firm  believer  in  the  opportunities  offered  by  this  section 
of  the  state,  he  adds  another  to  the  list  of  the  progressive,  liberal  and  public- 
spirited  men  whose  citizenship  has  been  of  inestimable  value  to  the  county. 

JEAN  BURUBELTZ.— The  death  of  Jean  Burubeltz,  on  June  7,  1911, 
removed  from  East  P.akersfield  one  of  its  oldest  and  best-known  citizens,  who 
had  been  identified  with  the  interests  of  Kern  county  f>  r  thirty-five  years,  and 
who  since  1901  had  been  the  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  d'Europe  of  East  Bakers- 
field.  He  was  born  in  Lasse,  Basses-Pyrenees,  France,  in  January,  1852.  and 
he  grew  up  on  the  farm  of  his  father,  gaining  the  rudiments  of  his  agricultural 
training  under  him.  Coming  to  Kern  count}',  Cal.,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
he  engaged  in  the  sheep  business  until  1890,  when  he  sold  out  and  went  to 
Los  Angeles,  where  he  became  interested  in  the  hotel  business.  In  1901  he 
returned  to  Kern  count}'  and  opened  the  hotel  in  East  Bakersfield  which  he 
ever  afterward  conducted,  and  which  his  widow  still  continues  with  success. 
His  death  was  a  severe  blow  to  many  in  his  city,  and  he  was  mourned  by  a 
large  circle  of  intimate  friends.   In  politics  he  was  a  Republican. 

On  August  5,  1890,  occurred  the  wedding  of  Jean  Burubeltz  and  Miss 
Jeanne  Erreca,  who  was  born  in  LVapel,  Basses-Pyrenees,  France.  She  is  the 
daughter  of  Pierre  and  Catherine  (Mariluch)  Erreca,  the  ft)rmer  now  farming 
in  France,  while  the  mother  is  deceased.  Pierre  Erreca  was  engaged  for  some 
time  in  the  stock  business  in  Buenos  Ayres,  South  America,  but  returned  to 
France,  where  he  purchased  a  farm  and  is  now  residing.  lie  was  the  father  of 
nine  children,  all  living,  of  whom  Mrs.  Burubeltz  is  the  eldest. 

Mrs.  Jeanne  (Erreca)  Burubeltz  came  to  the  ITnited  States  in  1883  and 
was  married  to  Mr.  Burubeltz  in  Los  Angeles,  whence  they  came  to  East 
Bakersfield  in  1901.  She  has  five  children,  Michel,  Carmen,  Paul,  Lawrence 
and  Helen. 

CHARLES  RICHARD  BRITE.— The  name  of  Brite's  Valley  shall  serve 
as  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  John  Moore  P.ritc,  a  pioneer  of  '59  in  this 


1336  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

part  of  the  state  and  in  whose  honor  Brite's  valley  was  named  and  a  sketch  of 
whom  appears  in  this  work. 

Charles  R.  Brite  was  born  at  El  Monte,  Los  Angeles  county,  October  20, 
1868,  during  the  temporary  residence  of  the  family  there  and  six  months  later 
they  returned  to  Kern  county  and  as  he  grew  up  he  was  sent  to  school  in  the 
valley.  Compelled  to  go  to  work  at  only  twelve  years  of  age,  he  drove  an  ox- 
team  at  his  father's  sawmill.  For  six  years  he  was  employed  in  the  mill  and 
then  WL>rked  on  his  father's  ranch,  remaining  with  him  until  he  reached  his 
twenty-third  year.  In  partnership  with  his  three  brothers  he  conducted  the 
ranch  for  about  four  years,  and  then  the  estate  was  divided,  and  each  started 
out  for  himself.  At  this  time  he  had  acquired  three  hundred  acres  of  land, 
also  owning  a  hundred  and  sixty  of  the  home  place,  and  he  engaged  in  general 
farming  and  stockraising,  at  various  times  buying  land,  until  he  now  owns 
five  thousand  acres  in  all.  Four  hundred  acres  are  under  cultivation,  the  re- 
mainder being  utilized  for  the  ranging  of  his  stock,  as  he  has  about  five  hun- 
dred head  in  all.  In  addition  to  this  Mr.  Brite  owns  forty  acres  of  land  planted 
to  alfalfa  on  Union  avenue  near  Bakersfield,  under  the  Kern  Island  Canal, 
and  he  has  found  this  a  most  profitable  investment. 

Mr.  Brite,  like  his  brothers,  has  become  prosperous  in  his  undertakings. 

On  January  25,  1901,  Mr.  Brite  married  Ella  Buhn,  who  was  born  in 
Tehachapi,  January  28,  1885,  and  died  June  22,  1908,  leaving  two  children, 
Richard  G.  and  John  E.,  both  of  whom  are  attending  public  school.  Subse- 
quently Mr.  Brite  married  Delia  Merwin,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  He  is 
much  interested  in  educational  work  and  at  present  is  serving  as  trustee  of 
the  Brite's  valle}^  school  district.    Politically  he  is  a  Democrat. 

CALVIN  HALL  HOLMES.— Three  generations  of  the  Holmes  family 
have  lived  and  labored  in  California,  and  the  present  representatives  feel  a 
merited  pride  in  the  long  and  honorable  identification  of  their  name  with  this 
section  of  the  country.  When  news  was  received  in  Arkansas  concerning  the 
discovery  of  gold  at  Sutter's  camp  three  brothers,  Calvin,  Henderson  and 
William  Holmes,  at  once  began  to  make  preparation  for  the  long  journey  to 
the  west.  The  summer  of  1849  found  them  traveling  overland  towards  Cali- 
fornia. It  was  the  brother  first-named  who  became  the  ancestor  of  C.  H. 
Holmes,  of  Taft.  Following  the  example  of  the  majority  of  early  settlers,  he 
tried  his  luck  at  mining  and  even  after  he  had  taken  up  land  in  Sonoma  county 
he  helped  to  develop  the  Yellow  Jacket  quicksilver  mines  on  his  ranch.  Three 
diiterent  times  he  traveled  back  to  Arkansas  and  to  Kentucky  for  the  purpose 
of  buying  horses  and  cattle  to  drive  overland  to  California  and  on  one  of  these 
trips  to  Kentucky  he  married  Miss  Elvira  Hoffman,  who  accompanied  him 
on  the  long  joairney  across  the  plains  to  the  new  home.  To  an  unusual  degree 
he  identified  himself  with  the  upbuilding  of  California,  where  he  was  widely 
known.  On  the  site  of  the  new  mint  in  San  Francisco  he  built  one  of  the 
first  slaughter-houses  in  that  city.  To  aid  in  building  the  railroad  from  San 
Francisco  to  Calistoga,  Napa  county,  he  donated  $10,000,  and  many  other 
public  improvements  of  early  days  felt  the  impetus  of  his  generosity.  Finan- 
cially and  politically  he  was  a  man  of  -influence.  When  finally  his  earth  life 
came  to  an  end  friends  and  family  mourned  the  passing  of  one  whose  existence 
had  counted  in  the  world's  work  and  whose  patriotic  services  placed  him  high 
in  the  citizenship  of  his  adopted  state. 

There  were  three  children  in  the  family  of  this  pioneer  and  of  these 
Edward,  whose  death  occurred  in  1902,  was  the  youngest.  By  his  marriage 
to  Miss  Emily  John  six  children  were  born,  viz :  Edward,  who  is  engaged 
in  farming  a  part  of  the  old  homestead ;  Calvin  Hall ;  Anna  L.  wife  of  Egbert 
Smith,  a  farmer  of  Napa  county;  Herman  and  Ovid,  who  are  ranching  on  a 
part  of  the  old  homestead ;  and  Kate,  a  student  in  the  Berkeley  high  school 
who  resides  with  her  mother,  now  Mrs.  Fred  Emerson  Brooks.    Born  at  Kel- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  13.V 

lopg,  Sonoma  county,  Cal.,  March  20,  1888,  C.  H.  Holmes  began  to  Iielj)  on  the 
ranch  when  he  was  only  seven  years  of  age.  By  the  time  he  was  fourlcen  lie 
did  a  man's  work  on  the  farm  and  earned  $20  per  month  as  wages  during  the 
busy  season.  His  father  was  a  college  graduate  and  desired  that  his  children 
should  also  have  good  advantages,  so  he  bought  a  residence  in  Herkclcv  and 
sent  the  children  to  the  splendid  educational  institution  in  that  city. 

During  an  attendance  of  three  years  and  six  months  in  the  P.erkciey 
high  school  C.  H.  Holmes  became  an  athlete  and  still  holds  the  records  on 
one-quarter  mile  run,  accomplished  in  52  2-5  seconds,  in  the  spring  of  1907. 
For  a  time  he  was  business  manager  of -the  high  school  paoer.  On  returning 
to  the  ranch  he  acted  as  assistant  foreman.  Later  he  spent  si.x  months  as 
manager  of  the  Jewett  fruit  ranch.  Going  back  to  Berkeley,  he  became  official 
coach  for  the  Berkeley  high  school  track  team  and  remained  for  a  year.  In 
April  of  1910  he  left  Berkeley  and  proceeded  to  Maricopa  where  he  secured  a 
position  as  stock  clerk  with  J.  F.  Lucey  Co..  continuing  in  their  employ  for 
tw^o  and  one-half  years.  During  the  last  year  of  his  association  with  the  firm 
he  served  as  manager.  May  15,  1912,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Axelson 
Machine  Co.,  and  since  February  of  1913  he  has  been  their  manager  at  Taft. 
The  company  is  a  Bakersfield  concern,  but  now  has  its  headquarters  in  Los 
Angeles,  although  retaining  the  store  at  Bakersfield,  besides  the  branches  at 
Coalinga  and  Taft.  Giving  his  time  and  attentic  n  closely  to  the  interests  of  the 
company,  he  has  had  little  leisure  for  identification  with  outside  activities, 
but  he  and  his  wife,  who  was  formerly  ?kliss  Cleta  Lamb  Hickerson,  of  Bakers- 
field, have  a  large  circle  of  friends  in  Kern  county.  Politically  he  favors  the 
principles  of  the  Democratic  party. 

A.  M.  WEAVER. — A  son  of  C.  \\'eavcr.  who  had  conducted  a  cooper  shop 
and  lampblack  factory  in  Pennsylvania.  A.  M.  \\'eaver  was  born  at  Oil  Citv, 
Pa.,  July  6,  1884.  became  an  employe  of  the  Oil  Well  Supply  Company  when  lie 
was  only  fifteen  years  of  age.  since  which  time  he  has  been  connected  contin- 
uously with  the  same  firm.  A  long,  successful  and  honorable  record  with  the 
same  concern  stands  to  his  credit  and  testifies  as  to  his  ability. 

As  a  clerk  in  the  store  of  the  Oil  ^\'ell  Supply  Company  at  Oil  City.  Mr. 
Weaver  gained  his  first  practical  knowledge  of  business  in  general  and  the  oil 
supply  business  in  particular.  Transferred  from  one  Pennsylvania  town  to 
another  in  the  interests  of  the  same  concern,  he  became  proficient  as  a  sales- 
man, and  .\pril  28,  1905,  opened  up  the  company's  store  at  Bullion,  that  state, 
where  he  was  the  first  manager.  His  selection  for  such  a  position  attested  to 
his  high  standing  with  ofiicials  of  the  corporation.  During  1909  he  came  to 
California  and  spent  nine  months  in  the  Los  Angeles  salesroom,  from  which 
he  was  sent  to  Kern  county  in  A])ril,  1910,  in  order  to  open  the  company's 
store  at  Shale,  two  miles  northwest  of  Fellows.  Here  he  has  since  ct)ntinued 
as  manager  of  the  Shale  branch  of  the  R.  II.  Herron  Co.,  afliliated  with  the  Oil 
Well  Supply  Company.  While  living  in  Pennsylvania  he  was  connected  with 
the  Elks  at  Franklin.  In  Lc  s  Angeles  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mi,=s 
Eva  Eakin,  daughter  of  Alonzo  Eakin.  at  one  time  a  prominent  oil  operator  in 
Pennsylvania  fields.  Mrs.  Weaver  met  her  death  in  a  runaway  accident  .March 
5,  1913,  leaving  a  small  child.  May,  who  since  has  made  her  home  with  the 
maternal  grandmother,  Mrs.  Eakin,  in  Los  .Angeles.  .\  woman  of  culture 
and  charming  social  graces,  Mrs.  Weaver  was  much  beloved  in  the  circle  of  her 
intimate  friends  and  her  death  was  an  irreparable  bereavement  to  the  imme- 
diate family. 

FRED  B.  VAUGHN.— The  selection  of  the  oil  business  as  his  life  occu- 
pation was  the  natural  cjutcome  of  the  early  environment  of  Mr.  V'aughn,  wlio 
as  a  boy  became  familiar  with  the  sights  and  scenes  in  the  great  oil  fieMs  of 
Colorado  lying  near  the  city  of  Florence.  Himself  a  native  of  that  state,  born 
at  Rosita,  Custer  county,  January  14,  1883.  lie  is  the  son  of  Bridfl  and  Clara 


1338  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

(Blakesley)  Vaughn,  the  latter  deceased  in  1903,  and  the  former,  a  gold-miner 
by  occupation,  still  a  resident  of  Florence,  Colo.,  and  quite  active  notwithstand- 
ing his  sixty-three  years.  In  remote  and  isolated  communities,  far  from  the 
commercial  centers,  he  has  lived  his  life  in  patient  toil,  and  much  of  the  remark- 
able energy  displayed  by  his  son.  Fred  B.,  is  an  inheritance  from  this  pioneer 
miner  of  the  Rocky  mountain  region.  Of  the  five  children  in  the  family,  Fred 
B.  was  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth  and  the  second  son.  During  boyhood  he 
spent  the  winter  months  in  school  and  the  summer  seasons  at  work  in  the 
oil  fields  of  Colorado. 

When  he  had  advanced  so  that  he  could  fill  the  position  of  a  tool-dresser 
Mr.  Vaughn  came  to  California  in  1905  and  for  a  year  worked  in  the  Los 
Angeles  field,  from  which  he  came  to  the  Kern  river  field  to  work  as  a  pro- 
duction man  on  the  Associated  lease.  After  four  years  there  he  began  as  a 
tool-dresser  for  the  same  company  on  the  west  side,  where  later  he  drilled 
on  the  Bear  Creek  lease.  After  eight  months  as  superintendent  of  the  .Stock- 
ton Midway  Oil  Company  he  came  into  the  service  of  the  M.  &  M.  Oil  Com- 
pany as  a  driller,  from  which  he  was  promoted,  June  23,  1913,  being  made 
superintendent  of  the  company's  holdings  on  section  15,  31-22.  Ten  active 
wells  on  the  tract  of  eighty  acres  now  average  a  monthly  production  of  seven- 
teen thi  usand  barrels,  and  it  is  the  ambition  of  the  superintendent  to  not  only 
maintain,  but  also  increase  the  output  of  the  lease.  His  time  is  given  closely 
to  the  work  and  his  advancement  has  been  made  wholly  on  merit.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  With  his  wife,  who  was  formerly 
Miss  Fannie  Westfall,  of  Florence,  Colo.,  he  has  established  a  comfortable 
home  in  the  superintendent's  residence  on  the  M.  &  M.  lease. 

CHRISTIAN  W.  CLINE.— Perseverance  in  the  face  of  obstacles  which 
to  many  another  man  would  have  been  insurmountable  has  been  the  chief 
factor  in  the  success  of  C.  W.  Cline.  He  was  born  in  Franklin,  Ohio,  May  25, 
1864,  and  was  educated  in  schools  in  different  parts  of  his  native  state.  After 
leaving  school  he  made  his  home  with  his  parents  and  was  employed  on 
farms  until  he  was  twenty-four  years  old,  then  coming  to  California  and 
settling  in  Orange  county,  where  he  worked  two  years.  From  there  he  went 
to  Redlands,  where  he  spent  a  year.  In  1890  he  came  to  Delano  and  found  em- 
ployment in  the  store  of  M.  Swartz  &  Son,  where  for  three  years  he  filled  the 
position  of  head  salesman.  By  this  time  he  had  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
merchandising  and  sufficient  capital  to  engage  in  trade  on  his  own  account 
in  a  modest  way.  He  opened  a  general  store  in  Tehachapi,  but  his  health 
soon  became  so  greatly  impaired  that  he  was  obliged  to  close  out  his  interests 
there  and  seek  a  more  favorable  location.  This  for  a  time  he  thought  he 
had  found  at  Sumner  (East  Bakersfield).  He  established  a  store  there  and 
soon  worked  up  a  business  which  promised  great  success ;  but  again  ill  health 
interefered  with  his  plans  and  he  was  obliged  to  find  out-door  employment. 
This  he  found  on  Senator  Cox's  ranch,  where  he  engaged  as  a  laborer  and  later 
was  made  superintendent  of  the  ranch.  Eventually  he  resigned  that  position 
to  take  charge  of  the  W.  H.  Harrelson  ranch  in  Tulare  county,  which  he 
managed  until  1908.  Then,  going  to  Bakersfield,  he  was  assistant  postmaster 
under  Postmaster  Edmonds  for  six  months,  at  the  end  of  this  time  resigning 
his  position  as  he  was  unable  to  longer  continue  indoor  work.  He  then  came 
to  Delano,  leased  land  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  and  began  a  career 
as  a  grain  farmer  which  has  been  almost  uniformly  successful  to  the  present 
time.  The  acreage  which  he  operates  under  lease  varies  from  year  to  year  from 
three  kundred  to  eight  hundred  acres. 

As  a  farmer  Mr.  Cline  has  won  distinction  among  the  leaders  in  his  vicin- 
ity. The  family  residence  is  in  Delano,  where  Mr.  Cline  owns  a  comfortable 
home.  As  a  Republican  he  is  active  in  politics,  as  a  citizen  is  public  spirited 
and  fraternally  belongs  to  Delano  Lodge  No.  309,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Tulare  Chapter 


HISTORY    OF    KI:RX    COUNTY  1330 

No.  71,  R.  A.  ^r.,  X'isalia  Commandcry  No.  26,  K.  T.,  and  .\1  Malaikah  Tem- 
ple, N.  M.  S.  in  Los  Angeles.  December  26,  1903,  Mr.  Clinc  married  Miss 
Edna  McCutchen,  a  native  of  Augusta  cniinty,  \'a.,  and  they  have  two  chil- 
dren, Harry  T.  and  Virginia  M. 

STAR  SODA  WORKS  was  started  on  a  small  scale  in  Sumner  (now- 
East  Bakersfield)  in  18S8  by  G.  Galli,  who  was  born  on  a  farm  near  Lucca, 
Italy,  May  8,  1856.  lie  came  to  San  Francisco  in  1871  and  on  October  1,  1879, 
he  arrived  in  Bakersfield,  following  farming  in  this  county  until  he  started  the 
Star  Soda  Works.  The  enterprise  was  the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  village  and 
for  a  time  its  success  was  problematical,  but  eventually  the  energy  of  the 
owner  brought  a  merited  measure  of  financial  success  and  business  standing. 

The  incorporation  of  the  Star  Soda  Works  occurred  in  1905  with  Mr. 
Galli  as  president  and  he  still  fills  the  same  office,  having  entire  supervision 
of  the  plant  en  Grove  street  in  East  Bakersfield,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  soda  and  soft  drinks,  also  acts  as  agent  for  the  products  of  the 
Mathie  Brewing  Company  in  Los  Angeles.  While  the  main  business  of  his 
company  is  in  Bakersfield  he  also  makes  shipments  to  dift'erent  parts  of  Kern 
county  and  has  built  up  an  important  trade  through  efficiency  and  energy. 
Besides  owning  the  location  of  his  plant  he  also  owns  three  houses  in  East 
Bakersfield,  including  the  residence  which  he  built  and  now  occupies.  Since 
becoming  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  he  has  affiliated  with  the  Republican 
party.    In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  membership  with  the  Druids. 

A.  B.  GREEN. — Although  the  association  of  Mr.  Green  with  business 
interests  in  California  has  been  of  but  brief  duration  as  counted  by  years, 
already  he  has  risen  to  a  position  of  distinct  importance  along  the  line  of  his 
chosen  occupation  and  at  Taft,  where  he  has  engaged  in  business  since 
April  of  1910,  he  is  known  as  a  man  of  tireless  energy  and  shrewd  business 
judgment.  Prior  to  his  removal  to  the  west  he  resided  in  Kentucky,  of 
which  commonwealth  he  is  a  native,  having  been  born  at  Bowling 
Green,  June  4,  1878,  and  having  received  a  common-school  educa- 
tion in  that  town.  His  studies,  with  the  exception  of  a  subsequent  commercial 
course,  were  cut  short  at  a  very  early  age  and  he  turned  his  attention  to  the 
sheet-metal  work  and  to  drafting,  along  which  lines  he  acquired  efficiency. 
With  the  exception  of  a  visit  to  California  during  1906  he  devoted  his  atten- 
tion steadily  to  occupative  labors  in  Kentucky  until  1908,  when  he  relinquished 
associations  with  the  Blue  Grass  state  and  became  a  citizen  of  California. 
In  coming  here  he  had  the  advantage  of  a  previous  experience  of  fourteen 
years  at  his  trade  and  therefore  possessed  every  qualification  for  a  successful 
continuance  in  the  same  or  kindred  pursuits.  For  one  year  after  his  arrival 
in  Bakersfield  he  held  a  salaried  position  with  Alax  Gundlach,  Jr. 

One  year  was  sufficient  to  convince  the  employer  of  the  value  of  the 
clerk,  therefore  a  partnership  was  proposed  and  inaugurated,  the  firm  con- 
sisting of  Max  Gundlach,  Jr.,  George  A.  Morris  and  A.  B.  Green,  associated 
under  the  title  of  the  Gundlach  Tank  Company,  with  places  of  business  at 
Bakersfield,  ]\Iaricopa  and  Taft.  Alarch  1,  1913,  George  .A  Morris  sold  out 
his  interest  to  the  two  other  i)artners,  who  have  since  conducted  the  business. 
Mr.  Green  was  sent  to  Taft  in  April,  1910,  to  open  the  branch  house  at  this 
point  and  to  erect  the  necessary  buildings.  He  has  established  a  home  at  Taft, 
having  been  married  in  1911  to  Miss  Jessie  Balderson,  a  native  of  Illinois  and  a 
daughter  of  a  pioneer  of  that  state.  With  the  exception  of  an  active  associa- 
tion with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  Improved  Order 
of  Red  Men,  he  gives  his  time  and  attention  wholly  to  business  affairs  and 
takes  just  pride  in  the  large  trade  he  is  building  up  through  the  whole  field 
extending  from  Maricopa  to  JiIcKittrick.  Sheet-metal  wcirk  of  every  descrip- 
tion is  conducted  along  modern  lines. 

VALENTIN    LAFONT.— .\    gentleman    well    and    favorablv    known    in 


1340  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Kern  county  is  Valentin  Lafont,  who  was  born  in  St.  Laurent,  Haiites-Alpes, 
France,  August  27,  1876,  the  son  of  Xavier  and  Josephine  (Borel)  Lafont, 
who  were  progressive  farmers  of  that  community  and  whose  family  comprised 
four  children.  Valentin,  the  third  in  order  of  birth,  from  a  youth  attended 
the  local  schools  during  the  winters,  while  in  summers  he  made  himself  useful 
on  the  home  farm  learning  the  mode  of  agriculture  as  it  is  accomplished 
in  the  South  of  France.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  went  to  the  adjoining 
department,  Bouche  du  Rhone,  where  for  three  years  he  was  employed  on 
a  farm  at  teaming  until  he  enlisted  in  the  Twenty-second  Regiment  of  Infantry 
in  the  French  army.  At  the  expiration  of  three  years  of  service  he  was 
honorably  discharged  with  the  rank  of  corporal.  After  spending  a  year  in 
St.  Laurent  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  Cal.,  in  1901  and  immediately  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  Later  placed  in  charge  of 
the  tallow-rendering  department  of  their  Bellevue  packing  house,  he  continued 
in  that  capacity  until  1908,  when  he  accepted  a  position  in  the  P>akersfield 
ice  plant  but  after  eighteen  months  resigned  to  re-enter  the  employ  of  the 
Kern  County  Land  Company  as  fence  rider  on  the  Poso  ranch.  Desiring  to 
engage  in  farming  for  himself  in  1911  he  leased  the  present  ranch,  which 
he  has  since  operated  and  devotes  his  time  to  raising  grain,  alfalia  hay 
and  corn. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Lafont  occurred  in  East  Bakersfield,  March  21,  1903, 
when  he  was  united  with  Miss  Marie  Pauline  Achin  (also  a  native  of  St. 
Laurent,  France),  who  is  his  able  helpmate  and  assists  him  in  his  efforts 
towards  success. 

A.  RODONI. — The  Vineland  cheese  factory,  which  is  being  conducted 
in  Kern  county  by  A.  Rodoni  and  Peter  Cattani,  was  the  first  factory  of  its 
kind  in  this  part  of  the  country.  It  has  a  daily  capacity  of  three  hundred 
pcunds  of  cheese,  the  quality  of  which  is  excellent  and  bears  wide  reputa- 
tion the  country  round.  The  fact  that  both  these  men  have  had  a  long  experi- 
ence in  the  dairy  business,  and  were  brought  up  to  learn  the  secrets  of  the 
making  of  this  product  in  Italy  explains  their  success. 

A.  Rodoni  is  a  native  of  Switzerland,  having  been  born  in  December, 
1853,  at  Biasca,  in  Canton  Ticino.  There  he  was  sent  to  school  and  reared 
to  the  life  ci  mmon  in  that  country.  He  had  early  evinced  a  desire  to  see 
America,  and  when  he  had  reached  eighteen  he  started  out,  July  24,  1871,  to 
make  his  way  hither.  From  his  home  place  he  went  to  Liverpool,  from  there 
taking  passage  to  New  York,  and  he  arrived  in  that  port  in  early  September, 
a  few  weeks  later  reaching  San  Francisco,  Cal.  He  immediately  went  to 
San  Mateo  county,  where  he  worked  at  dairying  for  a  long  period,  later 
being  engaged  in  farming,  and  fur  a  short  period  in  the  saw  mills.  Before 
his  marriage  in  1894  he  rented  a  dairy  farm,  and  at  this  event  he  renewed 
his  eftorts  in  this  direction,  with  the  aid  of  his  efficient  wife  building  up  a 
fine  business  in, the  manufacture  of  cheese,  which  he  conducted  for  about 
fourteen  years.  In  Merced  county,  he  had  bought  a  dairy  ranch  and  started 
a  creamery,  and  he  is  now  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  acres 
in  that  county. 

In  November,  1911,  in  partnership  with  Peter  Cattani,  Mr.  Rodoni  pur- 
chased one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  on  section  20,  31-29,  and  later  two  hun- 
dred acres  adjoining,  making  a  total  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  acres  for 
their  dairy  farm.  They  are  milking  a  hundred  cows,  and  their  product  is 
a  full  cream  cheese  which  is  classed  among  the  best  produced  in  the  factories. 
A  large  barn  was  built  by  the  partners  which  is  well  equipped,  the  aim  being 
to  procure  the  best  results  with  the  best  methods.  In  1894  he  married  Flor- 
enda  Mattel,  who  was  born  in  the  same  canton  of  Switzerland  as  was  her 
husband.  She  came  to  this  country  in  company  with  her  brother,  Victor 
Mattel,  who  settled   at  Pescadero,   San   Mateo  county.     Four  children   were 


HISTORY    ()!•     Kl'.RX    COl'XTV  1341 

born  to  i\Ir.  and  Mrs.  Rodoiii  as  follows:  Roy,  Henry.  Tlicodnra  and  I'lorencc. 
Mrs.  Rodoni  is  an  intellij:i;ent,  sturdy  woman,  whose  aid  has  l)een  no  small 
element  in  her  husband's  success. 

LESS  CLOTFELTER.— Since  cominsj  to  Bakersfield  in  1901  and  to 
McKittrick  in  1904  ^Nlr.  Clotfelter  has  watched  the  development  of  the  oil 
industry  in  this  section  of  the  country  with  the  deepest  interest  and  the 
keenest  intelligence.  \\'hile  not  participating  actively  in  the  strenuous  tasks 
of  oil  development,  like  the  majority  of  men  living  in  the  locality,  he  has 
invested  in  organizations  devoted  to  such  work  and  offering  considerable 
promise  of  future  returns.  At  this  writing  he  owns  shares  in  different 
oil  companies  now  operating  in  the  vicinity  of  McKittrick  and  the  North 
Midway  field.  All  of  his  life  has  been  passed  within  the  boundaries  of  Cali- 
fornia and  from  the  age  of  nineteen  he  has  lived  in  Kern  county.  Born  at 
Visalia  in  1882.  he  is  a  son  of  Daniel  L.  and  Sophia  (Grove)  Clotfelter,  who 
still  reside  in  Visalia,  the  father  having  been  identified  for  years  with  mer- 
cantile interests  and  the  stock  industry  in  that  locality. 

The  parental  family  numbered  eleven  children.  All  of  these  attained 
mature  years  and  are  still  living,  Less  Clotfelter  being  the  fifth  in  order  of 
birth.  After  he  had  graduated  from  the  Visalia  high  school  in  1898,  he 
secured  emplo3^ment  in  a  fruit-packing  house  and  also  engaged  in  buying 
fruit  for  the  packers.  Different  fruit  companies  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley 
secured  his  services  in  these  capacities  for  brief  periods,  but  at  the  age  of 
nineteen  he  gave  up  that  work  and  came  to  Kern  county,  where  he  since 
has  engaged  in  the  liquor  business.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  the  Eagles 
and  the  Moose.  His  marriage  touk  place  in  San  Francisco  and  united  him 
with  Miss  Abigail  Hock,  a  native  of  that  city.  By  this  marriage  he  has  two 
daughters,  Ruth  and  Hazel.  Interested  in  educational  matters,  he  has  aided 
the  development  of  the  AIcKittrick  school  and  has  served  as  a  member  of 
the  board,  in  which  for  one  term  he  officiated  as  clerk.  Through  his  valuable 
oil  holdings  in  the  McKittrick  and  North  Midway  fields  he  has  enjoyed  the 
prosperity  resulting  from  investments  in  this  highl}-  favored  district. 

JOSEPH  P.  STIER  is  a  member  of  an  ancient  German  family  whose 
successive  generations  have  been  represented  by  specialists  in  the  brewing 
of  beer  and  whose  name  in  certain  localities  became  a  synonym  for  skill  in 
the  business.  The  first  to  immigrate  to  the  United  States  was  Leo  Stier, 
whose  education  and  training  in  the  old  country  proved  of  the  utmost  assist- 
ance to  him  in  Chicago,  where  he  followed  the  brewing  industry  and  reared 
his  family.  Among  his  children  was  a  son,  Joseph  P.,  born  in  Chicago  in 
1880,  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  that  city,  trained  to  the  trade  of 
brewer  by  the  father  and  apprenticed  to  the  bottling  business  with  the 
Godfrey  Brewing  Company,  of  Chicago.  On  the  conclusion  of  his  time  he 
remained  with  the  same  company  as  a  paid  employe.  After  working  at  the 
bottling  business  for  some  time,  he  took  a  course  in  the  Siebel  Brewing 
Academy,  Chicago,  from  which  he  w^as  graduated  in  1910,  upon  the  comple- 
tion of  the  regular  course  of  study  and  practical  work. 

Coming  to  California  and  settling  in  Bakersfield  in  April,  1912,  .Mr.  Stier 
has  since  filled  the  position  of  brewmaster  with  the  Bakersfield  Brewing 
Company.  Understanding  the  work  thoroughly,  he  superintends  the  manu- 
facturing with  intelligence  and  is  not  only  an  able  brewer,  but  also  a  resource- 
ful business  man.    Fraternally  he  holds  membershi])  with  the  Hermann  Sons. 

EMILIO  C.  CASTRO. — A  native  son  of  Kern  county.  Emilio  C.  Castro 
was  born  August  .^.  1873.  His  elementary  training  was  obtained  in  the 
local  public  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  began  to  work, 
procuring  a  position  with  the  Kern  Count}-  Land  Compan}-,  where  he  remained 
for  nine  years.  Then  he  became  employed  by  the  ^Filler  &  Lux  Company, 
working  for  them  for  a  period  of  seven  years.     It  is  proof  of  Mr.  Castro's 


1342  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

ability  that  his  employers  held  him  as  long  as  he  would  remain  with  them 
and  reluctantly  gave  him  up.  However,  he  was  ambitious  to  be  doing  for 
himself,  and  accordingly,  in  1907,  he  bought  twenty  acres  of  land  two  and 
one-half  miles  south  of  Bakersfield  and  started  farming,  putting  his  land  in 
alfalfa.  He  has  also  interested  himself  in  stock-raising  and  runs  cattle  in 
the  Breckenridge  mountains,  where  recently  he  has  expanded  his  interests, 
giving  much  of  his  time  to  this  enterprise.  He  is  a  Democrat  in  political 
principles  and  takes  a  deep  interest  in  the  progress  of  his  country. 

Mr.  Castro  was  married  May  28,  1907,  in  Bakersfield,  to  Mrs.  Mary  Pink 
CClark)  May,  who  was  born  in  Lake  county.  Ore.,  June  15,  1874.  She  came 
with  her  parents,  William  and  Martha  (Robinson)  Clark,  to  Kern  county 
in  1887,  and  they  settled  in  Cummings  valley,  Tehachapi,  where  they  lived 
for  some  years;  her  father  died  there  and  the  mother  in  Iowa.  She  then 
returned  east  to  Iowa,  but  came  back  to  Kern  county  in  1907  and  was  mar- 
ried to  Mr.  Castro.  By  her  former  marriage  she  had  two  children,  Pink  and 
Clark  Allen.  Of  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Castro  there  is  one  daughter, 
Frances  Leonora. 

CHARLES  A.  MAY. — The  May  Transfer  and  Storage  Company,  Incor- 
porated, forms  one  of  the  stable  business  concerns  of  Bakersfield,  where  under 
the  enterprising  management  of  the  brothers,  Charles  A.  and  George  S.  May, 
the  business  has  been  developed  from  a  very  unimportant  affair  to  a  concern 
of  large  transactions.  To  meet  the  demands  of  the  business  the  proprietors 
have  erected  a  substantial  and  commodious  transfer  building  and  their  stor- 
age capacity  is  equal  to  every  demand  that  can  be  made  upon  it.  Other 
activities  have  engaged  their  attention  at  different  periods.  Like  their 
father,  they  have  tried  their  luck  in  the  mines  and  have  gained  little  from 
them  excepting  experience.  Like  him,  also,  they  have  had  identification 
with  stock-ranching,  but  of  recent  years  they  have  found  it  profitable  to 
concentrate  their  energies  upon  the  transfer  and  storage  business,  which 
now  receives  all  of  their  time  and   intelligent  supervision. 

The  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  company,  Charles  A.  May,  was 
born  in  Placer  county,  Cal.,  May  27,  1873,  and  at  the  age  of  one  year  was 
brought  by  his  parents  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  has  lived  much  of  the 
time  since  infancy.  His  father,  George  May,  a  California  pioneer  in  1850, 
became  a  mining  partner  of  George  A.  Hearst  during  the  early  days  and 
while  thus  associated  he  sank  the  Yellow  Jacket  shaft,  the  first  in  the  now 
famous  Comstock  mine.  For  a  time  he  had  mining  interests  in  connection 
with  Senator  Jones  of  Nevada.  During  the  era  of  gold  mining  in  Kern 
county  he  prospected  here  and  did  work  in  connection  with  the  Big  Blue 
gold  mine  at  Kernville.  Although  a  man  of  great  energy  and  an  excellent 
judge  of  mines,  they  brought  him  no  success  financially  and  eventually 
he  abandoned  the  occupation  for  that  of  agriculture,  taking  up  a  home- 
stead sixteen  miles  south  of  Bakersfield  at  the  old  Tracy  Crossing.  There 
he  built  and  for  some  years  maintained  a  ferry.  Next  he  operated  a  cattle 
ranch  in  the  mountains  at  Walker's  Basin  and  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1898,  he  devoted  his  attention  wholly  to  stock-raising  and 
farming. 

From  an  early  age  Charles  A.  May  earned  his  own  livelihood,  for  his 
father  was  unable  to  aid  him  in  securing  a  start  in  the  world.  Any  occu- 
pation that  offered  honorable  work  and  fair  wages  became  an  object  of 
interest  to  him.  For  some  years  he  engaged  in  teaming  to  the  oil  fields 
and  mines  and  during  1896  he  tried  his  luck  at  mining  near  Randsburg  in 
the  eastern  part  of  Kern  county,  but  the  goddess  of  fortune  did  not  smile 
upon  his  efforts.  As  early  in  1896  he  and  his  brother,  George  S.,  embarked 
in  the  transfer  business  at  Bakersfield,  where  they  built  a  warehouse  on 
the  corner  of  Union  avenue  and  Humboldt  street.     After  his  first  marriage, 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1343 

which  uccnrred  in  1900  and  united  him  with  Miss  Alice  Yost,  of  Montana, 
he  removed  to  that  state  and  for  four  years  lived  at  Red  I^odge,  Carbon 
county.  During  the  four  years  of  his  residence  in  Montana  he  filled  numer- 
ous important  contracts,  including  the  sinking  of  a  three-compartment  shaft 
one  thousand  feet  deep  for  the  Anaconda  Mining  Company.  Upon  return- 
ing to  Bakersfield  he  became  a  teaming  contractor  for  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company,  but  more  recently  has  devoted  his  entire  attention  to 
the  transfer  and  storage  business.  In  1907  his  first  wife  died  leaving  two 
children.  Halcyon  and  Marshall.  During  December  of  1911  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Mrs.  Florence  Bradley,  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and  they  established 
their  home  at  No.  127  Humboldt  street,  Bakersfield.  In  politics  he  votes 
the  Republican  ticket.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America.  Having  passed  so  much  of  his  life  in  Bakersfield, 
he  feels  an  especially  deep  interest  in  this  city  and  in  the  surrounding 
country,  and  patriotism  and  loyalty  have  characterized  his  citizenship. 

CLINTON  BUFFUM  CRAWFORD.— The  founder  of  the  Crawford 
family  in  California  was  Daniel  Peers,  who  was  born  at  Spring  Hill,  Nova 
Scotia,  November  10,  1847,  and  came  to  the  United  States  as  soon  as  he 
became  old  enough  to  earn  a  livelihood.  After  his  arrival  in  Boston  during 
1865  he  found  employment  in  factories  in  and  near  that  city.  In  1868  he 
came  to  California,  spending  the  first  year  in  San  Francisco,  where  he 
held  a  position  as  cashier  in  a  bank.  While  making  his  headquarters  in 
that  city  he  met  and  married  Miss  Anna  Carter  Taylor,  who  was  born  in 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  September  15,  1850,  and  at  the  age  of  four  years  was 
brought  to  the  west  by  her  parents.  The  family  traveled  via  Panama  and 
the  four-year-old  girl  was  carried  across  the  isthmus  on  the  backs  of 
natives.  Her  education  was  received  in  the  schools  of  San  Francisco  and 
she  made  her  home  in  that  city  until  her  marriage.  During  1872  she  accom- 
panied her  husband  to  San  Luis  Obispo,  where  their  son,  Clinton  B.,  was 
born  Alay  30,  1873.  Some  years  later  the  family  removed  to  the  southern 
part  of  the  state  and  bought  land  at  Olive,  then  in  Los  Angeles  county, 
but  now  a  part  of  Orange  county.  The  father  still  owns  business  interests, 
also  an  orange  grove,  at  Olive,  where  he  is  a  well-known  and  honored 
citizen. 

After  he  had  graduated  from  the  schools  of  Olive,  June  30,  1890,  Clinton 
B.  Crawford  remained  at  the  old  homestead  and  worked  for  his  father 
until  1895,  when  he  came  to  Kern  county.  Near  Rosel  station,  on  what 
then  was  the  Toolwass  district,  he  took  up  a  homestead  claim  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres,  where  he  experimented  with  dry  farming  for  a  few 
years.  The  chief  drawback  was  the  lack  of  irrigation  facilities.  He  was 
obliged  to  haul  water  from  a  distance  of  eight  miles  for  domestic  use.  The 
hard  work  and  lack  of  success  incident  to  dry  farming  led  him  to  move 
to  a  new  location,  but  he  still  retains  his  farm  in  that  district.  Since  1899 
he  has  lived  on  a  farm  in  the  old  Goose  Lake  channel  of  Kern  river,  where 
at  first  he  bought  eighty  acres  and  later  purchased  an  adjacent  tract  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  thus  giving  him  a  farm  of  two  hundred 
acres,  five  miles  northeast  of  Button  Willow.  The  land  was  in  the  primeval 
condition  of  nature  at  the  time  of  his  settlement  here.  The  most  difficult 
exertion  was  required  in  order  to  transform  it  into  a  productive  condi- 
tion. The  task  has  been  attended  with  many  discouragements,  his  heaviest 
losses  being  caused  by  the  floods  of  1906  and  1908.  In  1903  he  determined 
to  specialize  in  the  dairy  industry  and  in  order  to  secure  the  desired  stock 
with  which  to  start  his  herd  he  drove  to  Orange  county  and  bought  six 
head  of  thoroughbred  Jerseys,  which  he  hauled  back  by  wagon,  a  distance 
of  two  hundred  miles,  being  nine  days  en  route.  This  was  the  first  pure- 
bred Jersey  stock  brought  into  his  locality,  and  he  now  has  ninetv  head  of 


1344  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

pure  Jerseys.  The  success  of  the  dairy  business  proves  that  the  industry 
can  be  made  profitable  in  this  part  of  the  county,  while  the  modern  improve- 
ments on  the  farm  indicate  that  he  is  a  man  of  thrift,  intelligence  and  pro- 
gressive agricultural  spirit.  The  place  is  one  of  the  best  cared  for  in  the 
entire  district. 

The  Republican  party  has  received  the  vote  of  Mr.  Crawford  in  national 
as  well  as  local  elections  and  he  has  served  as  a  delegate  to  local  conventions. 
He  favors  educational  movements  and  served  most  acceptably  as  trustee  of 
the  Wildwood  school  district.  His  marriage  took  place  in  Bakersfield  October 
26,  1895,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Alpha  Helen  Sisson,  by  whom  he  is  the 
father  of  four  children,  Naomi  H.,  Daniel  M.,  Roy  M.  and  Bruce  M.  Mrs 
Crawford  was  born  in  Muscatine,  Iowa,  February  1,  1875,  and  at  the  age  of 
ten  years  accompanied  her  parents  to  California,  settling  at  Santa  Ana,  where 
she  attended  the  public  schools.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Martin  H.  Sisson,  who 
for  many  years  was  a  farmer  in  Kern  county  and  now  lives  retired  in  Bakers- 
field.  During  the  Civil  war  he  served  in  a  \Visconsin  regiment.  With  her 
husband  Mrs.  Crawford  has  labored  tirelessly  to  secure  the  development  of 
their  farms  and  to  promote  the  welfare  of  their  children,  and  in  the  com- 
munity she  shares  with  him  the  regard  of  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances. 

LYNN  WILLIAM  BAKER.— His  father,  J.  K.  Baker,  was  born  in 
Indianapolis,  Ind.,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  His  first  experience  in 
the  stock  business  was  at  Keokuk,  Iowa,  where  he  had  located,  and  he  became 
a  breeder  of  standard  and  thoroughbred  horses,  which  proved  a  successful 
venture  from  the  start.  In  1902  he  located  in  San  Jose,  Cal.,  where  he  now 
is  living  retired,  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  earlier  labors.  His  wife  was 
Rebecca  Campbell,  born  in  Ohio,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  three  sons, 
Lynn  W.  being  the  second  oldest. 

L.  W.  Baker  was  born  June  23,  1885,  in  Keokuk,  where  he  attended 
the  common  school  until  he  reached  the  age  of  thirteen.  In  1899  he 
went  to  Shoshone,  Idaho,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Stockgrowers 
Mercantile  Company,  which  position  he  filled  for  eleven  months.  For  thir- 
teen months  following  he  followed  mining  in  Inkum,  Bannock  county,  Idaho, 
working  in  the  old  Wildhorse  mine  there,  and  he  then  removed  to  Quincy, 
111.,  where  he  was  enabled  to  take  a  course  at  the  high  school  and  also  at 
the  Gem  City  Business  College,  from  which  latter  he  was  graduated  in  1903. 
Returning  to  Keokuk  he  was  an  employe  of  a  clothing  firm  for  some  time,  in 
1905  coming  to  San  Francisco  to  enter  the  employ  of  the  wholesale  grocery 
firm  of  Garretson  &  Company.  He  remained  with  the  latter  company  until 
1910  when  they  sold  out,  and  in  February  of  that  year  he  came  to  Kern  county 
where  he  has  since  made  his  home  in  Bakersfield.  Buying  out  the  cigar  busi- 
ness of  which  he  is  now  proprietor  he  built  up  a  flourishing  trade.  In  1912  with 
W.  C.  Taylor  he  built  the  Dreamland  Rink,  on  Nineteenth  and  R  streets,  62x 
116,  the  largest  pleasure  hall  in  the  county  and  a  venture  that  has  been  a 
decided  success.  Methodical  and  painstaking  he  has  proved  himself  an  apt 
business  man. 

As  one  of  the  organizers  of  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  473,  L.  O.  O.  M.,  Mr. 
Baker  was  most  prominent,  putting  forth  every  eft'ort  to  procure  their  charter 
and  establish  the  lodge  on  a  firm  basis.  At  the  first  election  he  was  elected 
as  secretary  and  was  installed  at  the  first  meeting  February  4,  1911,  when 
there  were  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  members  in  the  lodge.  It  grew  to 
large  proportions  and  numbered  over  eleven  hundred  in  its  membership 
when  he  resigned  the  position  in  September,  1912,  in  order  to  devote  his  time  to 
his  various  interests,  as  the  duties  of  his  secretaryship  demanded  more  of  his 
time  and  attention  than  he  could  spare  from  his  business.  Mr.  Baker  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Eagles.  He  takes  no  active  part  in  politics  other  than  to  vote 
independently  for  the  local  men  whom  he  deems  best  fitted  for  oilfice. 


HISTORY    ()!•     KI'RX    COUXTY  1343 

JOSEPH  CUDA.— In  ])oiiU  of  years  of  actual  residence,  it  is  doubtful 
if  the  celebrated  Weed  Patch  of  Kern  county  can  boast  an  older  settler  than 
Joseph  Cuda,  who  for  a  long  period  of  useful  activity  has  been  a  leading 
horticulturist  of  the  locality  and  owns  a  finely  improved  ranch  of  eighty  acres. 
The  property  and  an  adjacent  tract  of  equal  size  were  taken  up  by  him  as  a 
homestead.  Born  near  the  city  of  Prague,  Bohemia,  Jnnc  28.  1864.  Joseph 
Cuda  was  brought  to  America  in  infancy  l)y  his  parents,  John  and  Catherine 
(Pracil)  Cuda.  The  parents  settled  in  Nebraska  between  Omaha  and  Lincoln 
and  there  two  sons  and  a  daughter  were  born.  Having  no  means,  the  children 
were  obliged  to  become  self-supporting  as  soon  as  old  enough  and  therefore 
liad  no  educational  advantages.  The  information  Josei)h  Cuda  now  possesses 
has  been  acquired  l)y  observation,  experience  and  reading.  Upon  arriving  in 
this  state  he  settled  on  a  farm  in  Kings  county  near  Hanford,  but  a  year  later, 
in  1888,  he  came  with  his  family  to  Kern  county,  where  he  took  up  a  home- 
stead of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  the  Weed  Patch.  At  the  end  of  seven 
years  he  proved  up  on  the  land,  one-half  of  which  he  sold,  retaining  eighty 
acres  for  his  own  hi  mestead.  There  are  two  children,  Frank  and  Helen.  The 
son  is  engaged  as  a  driller  of  oil  wells. 

To  have  seen  the  Cuda  farm  in  1888  and  not  again  until  1912,  a  stranger 
might  have  considered  that  a  miracle  had  been  wrought.  But  the  only  miracle 
is  that  of  hard  work,  which  has  transformed  the  sage  brush  into  a  fine  fruit 
farm.  Besides  the  valuable  vineyard  of  four  acres  there  is  a  tract  of  eight 
acres  in  figs  now  twenty  years  old,  while  during  1910  Mr.  Cuda  planted 
ten  acres  in  the  same  fruit.  Twenty  acres  have  been  planted  to  peaches  of  the 
finest  varieties.  Of  this  peach  orchard  five  acres  were  put  out  in  1907  and  fif- 
teen acres  in  1908,  the  whole  being  now  in  thrifty  bearing  condition.  The  bal- 
ance of  the  farm  is  in  corn  and  alfalfa. 

JOSEPH  F.  MAREK.— The  president  of  Horn  &  Co.,  of  Bakersfield, 
J.  V.  -Marek.  is  an  lowan  by  liirth,  but  his  earliest  memories  are  associated  with 
the  frontier  of  Nebraska,  where  his  father,  John  Marek,  settled  in  1876  and 
acquired  a  tract  of  raw  land  with  the  intention  of  converting  it  into  a  pro- 
ductive farm.  The  tract  was  situated  in  Platte  county  near  Columbus,  at  the 
edge  of  the  then  confines  of  agricultural  development  and  until  his  death  he 
continued  at  that  place.  It  was  imi)ossible  to  give  to  the  large  family  of  ten 
children  any  special  educational  advantages  and  each  was  obliged  to  become 
self-supi)orting  at  as  early  an  age  as  nracticable.  The  j'oungest  of  the  ten, 
Joseph  F..  was  born  February  10,  1873,  during  the  residence  of  the  family 
in  Chickasaw  county,  Iowa,  and  in  boyhood  attended  country  schools  in 
Nebraska,  but  his  present  broad  fund  of  information  has  been  obtained 
principally  by  habits  of  close  obser\ati(jn  and  reading  and  by  his  long  identi- 
fication with  the  printer's  trade.  When  only  fifteen  he  began  as  printer's  devil 
to  serve  an  apprenticeship  in  the  pressroom  of  the  IIumi)hrey  (Neb.)  Dem- 
ocrat and  continued  in  the  same  place  until  he  had  mastered  the  trade.  During 
1891  he  left  Nebraska  and  came  to  California,  where  he  followed  his  trade 
in  a  commercial  printing  office  at  Los  Angeles.  For  twelve  years  he  con- 
tinued in  that  city  and  during  a  brief  part  of  that  time  he  engaged  in  the 
printing  business  for  himself.  Coming  to  Bakerseld  in  1903,  he  was  for  three 
years  a  type-setter  on  the  Daily  Californian. 

After  many  years  of  active  identification  with  the  i)rinting  business  Mr. 
Marek,  believing  that  he  would  be  profited  financially  by  a  change,  in  1906 
bought  a  cigar  stand  at  No.  1308  Nineteenth  street,  where  he  remained  until 
1S09.  Next  he  purchased  the  stand  at  No.  1511  Nineteenth  street,  where  he 
established  Marek's  Smoke  House.  Meanwhile  he  had  embarked  in  the 
wholesale  business,  which  had  developed  beyond  his  quarters  and  the  limits 
of  his  capital.  During  .August  of  1912.  associated  with  Messrs.  B.  H.  Pendleton 
and  T.  J.  Brooke,  of  Horn  &  Co..  <jf  San  Francisco,  he  organized  and  incor- 


1346  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

porated  Horn  &  Co.,  of  Bakersfield,  to  which  new  concern  he  sold  the 
wholesale  business,  retaining,  however,  one-half  interest  in  the  company, 
of  which  he  now  is  president  and  manager.  The  warehouse  and  office  are 
located  at  No.  1513  Twenty-first  street,  from  which  point  shipments  are  made. 
The  distinction  of  being  the  first  exclusive  wholesale  tobacco  business  to  be 
established  in  Kern  county  belongs  to  the  house  of  Horn  &  Co.,  of  Bakers- 
field,  and  the  credit  for  the  rapid  growth  of  the  concern  belongs  to  the  man- 
ager, Mr.  Marek.  Since  coming  to  this  city  he  has  established  a  home  of  his 
own,  being  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Edith  Myers,  a  native  of  Kern 
county.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Eagles  and  Woodmen  of 
the  World,  while  in  politics  he  stanchly  upholds  Democratic  principles  and 
serves  as  a  member  of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee. 

GEORGE  W.  HATFIELD.— Since  1911  Mr.  Hatfield  has  had  charge  of 
the  station  at  Fellows  and  has  had  included,  under  his  own  field  of  suner- 
vision,  the  station  at  Shale  and  Suplico,  the  end  of  the  line.  His  eldest  son, 
George  E.,  has  entered  the  railroad  service  as  clerk  in  the  freight  department 
at  Fellows. 

The  eldest  in  a  family  of  eight  children,  seven  of  whom  are  still  living, 
George  William  Hatfield  was  born  at  Ripley,  Brown  county,  Ohio,  February 
24,  1862,  and  is  a  son  of  Dr.  George  E.  and'  Minerva  W.  (Mefford)  Hatfield, 
natives  of  that  same  Ohio  county.  Throughout  active  life  Dr.  Hatfield  suc- 
cessfully followed  the  medical  profession.  Prior  to  his  graduation  from  the 
Louisville  Medical  College  and  while  he  earned  a  livelihood  by  teaching  school, 
he  gave  up  educational  work  in  order  to  serve  in  the  Union  army,  becoming 
a  member  of  the  Sixty-third  Ohio  Infantry.  With  his  regiment  he  went  to  the 
front  and  gave  active  service  until  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  enlistment, 
after  which  he  resumed  the  work  of  a  teacher.  When  he  had  completed  his 
medical  education  and  received  the  degree  of  M.D.,  he  gave  his  whole 
attention  to  practice  and  from  1868  until  the  present  day,  at  seventy-four  years 
of  age,  he  carried  on  professional  work  in  Kansas  City,  Mo.  There  his  wife 
passed  away  April  9,  1899.  her  remains  being  buried  at  Parkville,  Mo. 

From  the  age  of  five  years  George  William  Hatfield  lived  in  Kansas  City, 
where  he  received  a  public-school  education.  For  some  years  afterward  he 
was  a  student  in  Park  College  at  Parkville,  Mo.,  and  in  that  same  town  he 
gained  his  first  knowledge  of  telegraphy.  For  four  years  he  was  employed  as 
agent  and  operator  in  Missouri,  from  which  state  he  went  to  New  Mexico. 
Beginning  as  brakeman  on  the  run  from  Albuquerque  to  Winslow  he  worked 
his  way  to  the  position  of  conductor  through  merit  and  fidelity  to  duty.  After 
he  had  been  connected  with  the  railroad  work  in  New  Mexico  from  1885  until 
the  fall  of  1890,  he  removed  to  the  state  of  Washington  and,  making  Seattle 
his  headquarters,  engaged  as  brakeman  and  then  as  conductor  for  the  North- 
ern Pacific  and  Great  Northern  Railroads  successively.  Later  he  was  appointed 
agent  at  Lowell,  the  same  state.  During  1903  he  came  to  California  and  re- 
entered the  service  of  the  Santa  Fe,  becoming  cashier  at  Pasadena,  which 
responsible  position  he  filled  for  four  years  and  ten  months.  Next  he  was  as- 
signed to  various  places  on  the  Valley  division  as  agent  and  in  1911  came  to 
Fellows  to  enter  upon  the  duties  which  he  has  since  discharged  with  the 
greatest  capability.  While  still  living  in  Missouri  he  was  married  at  Union 
Star,  that  state,  to  Miss  Ida  Mary  Harman,  a  native  of  Marion,  Grant  county, 
Ind.,  and  a  woman  of  education  and  ability,  a  devoted  member  of  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  now  affectionately  ministering  to  the  welfare  of  the 
family.  Six  of  the  seven  children  are  now  living,  namely  :  Helen  M.,  George  E., 
Milton,  David,  Richard  and  Byron.  In  the  suburbs  of  Fresno  Mr.  Hatfield 
bought  a  tract  of  five  acres  and  built  a  residence  which  he  still  owns.  In 
politics  he  has  always  voted  with  the  Democratic  party.  Fraternally  he  holds 
membership  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1347 

GEORGE  OSCAR  CALDWELL.— The  ..Id  Caldwell  homestead  at  (Jas- 
l^reaux.  Kin^rs  county,  Nova  Scotia,  has  been  in  possession  of  successive  gen- 
erations of  the  same  family  for  more  than  two  hundred  years,  having^  been 
purchased  and  improved  by  the  remote  ancestors  who  crossed  the  ocean  to 
America  from  England  and  founded  the  name  upon  the  bleak  shores  of  the 
northern  Atlantic.  At  that  place  occurred  the  birth  of  George  Oscar  Caldwell 
January  18,  1847,  there  also  were  born  his  father,  Hibbert,  and  grandfather. 
AVilliam,  and  there  too  had  occurred  the  birth  of  his  great-grandfather,  who 
lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  eight  years  of  age.  The  family  had  representa- 
tives in  the  Revolutionary  war,  but  Mr.  Caldwell  is  descended  only  in  a  col- 
lateral line  from  those  soldiers  of  a  day  long  past.  Hibbert  Caldwell  married 
Miss  Helen  Church,  who  was  born  in  Lunenburg  county.  Nova  Scotia,  and 
died  tin  the  peninsula  that  had  been  her  lifelong  home.  At  the  same  place 
occurred  the  death  of  the  father  when  he  had  attained  the  age  of  seventy-four 
years.  The  Church  lineage  is  not  only  interesting,  but  also  indicates  the  valor 
of  the  family  and  the  antiquity  of  the  race.  It  was  one  of  that  name  who 
crossed  the  ocean  from  Kingston,  England,  and  settled  in  Rhode  Island, 
there  founding  a  village  that  in  loyal  afTection  for  his  old  home  he  called 
Kingston.  Each  of  his  nine  sons  was  taught  to  love  their  land  and  to  exhibit 
toward  colonial  institutions  a  patriotic  reverence.  \\'hen  the  Revolutionary 
war  began  seven  of  the  nine  offered  their  services  to  the  struggling  band  of 
patriots,  were  accepted  and  throughout  the  struggle  fought  with  ardor,  hero- 
ism and  devotion.  The  branch  of  the  family  that  settled  in  Nova  Scotia  has 
exhibited  the  same  loyal  fidelity  to  tiieir  Canadian  country  and  their  talents 
have  Ijeen  called  into  service  on  various  occasions  for  the  good  of  their  province. 
The  father  of  Mrs.  Caldwell,  Hon.  Lot  Church,  served  for  twenty  years  as  a 
member  of  the  house  of  assembly  at  Halifax  and  during  that  long  period 
aided  materially  in  promoting  and  passing  measures  for  the  advancement  of 
Nova  Scotia.  One  of  his  grandsons,  Hon.  Charles  E.  Church,  a  man  of  dis- 
tinguished attainments  and  fine  mental  endowment,  was  a  member  nf  the 
senate  at  Ottawa  for  many  years. 

The  eldest  c.f  the  six  surviving  members  of  a  family  that  originally  num- 
bered seven,  George  Oscar  Caldwell  passed  his  early  years  upon  a  farm  and 
aided,  as  best  he  could,  in  the  struggle  to  maintain  the  younger  children  of  the 
lamily.  September  4,  1864,  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  blacksmith, 
which  he  has  since  followed  and  in  which  he  has  acquired  exceptional  efficiency. 
The  apprenticeship  of  four  years  was  served  at  Lower  Horton,  Kings  county. 
At  its  expiration  in  1868  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  for  five  years  ful- 
lowed  the  trade  in  Boston.  Returning  to  Nova  Scotia  in  1873,  he  established  a 
shop  at  Great  Village,  Colchester  county,  and  conducted  a  business  at  that 
place  until  1879,  when  he  sold  out  and  came  to  the  Pacific  coast.  From  San 
Francisco  he  proceeded  to  Santa  Rosa  and  established  a  shop  on  Mendocino 
street,  where  he  continued  for  six  years.  From  1886  until  1892  he  engaged 
in  business  at  Cloverdale,  Sonoma  county,  after  which  he  spent  .seven  years 
as  a  blacksmith  in  Neenach,  Los  .\ngeles  county,  and  there  built  up  a  trade 
extending  throughout  the  entire  Antelope  valley.  .\  desire  to  see  something 
of  the  great  northwest  caused  him  to  drive  through  California  and  Oregon  as 
far  as  Salem,  in  the  latter  state,  where  he  followed  his  trade  for  two  months 
and  spent  his  leisure  hours  in  investigating  the  country.  However,  Oregon 
did  not  impress  him  favorably  and  he  was  glad  to  return  to  California,  where 
in  1899  he  chose  Kern  county  as  the  center  (•{  his  future  activities.  Excitement 
over  oil  discoveries  was  then  at  its  height  and  he  spent  two  years  on  the  \Vest 
side  field  as  an  employe  of  Jewett  &  Blodgett,  after  wdiich  he  worked  for  the 
Edison  Power  Company.  Since  the  spring  of  1903  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
shops  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  being  in  pnint  of  years  of  associa- 
tion with  the  business  the  oldest  blacksmith  in  their  employ. 


134S  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Since  coming  to  this  county  Air.  Caldwell  has  erected  the  residence  which 
he  now  owns  and  occupies  at  No.  2315  Palm  street,  Bakersfield.  The  com- 
fortable home  is  presided  over  by  his  wife,  whom  he  married  at  Newton,  Mass., 
and  who  was  Miss  Susan  Findlay,  a  native  of  Colchester  county,  Nova  Scotia, 
and  a  daughter  of  William  and  Isabella  (Thompson)  Findlay,  representatives 
of  old  families  of  that  province.  Eight  children  were  born  of  the  marriage,  but 
three  daughters,  Helen,  Isabella  and  Margaret,  died  in  infancy,  and  a  son, 
Sylvester,  died  in  Bakersfield  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  years.  Of  the  four 
survivors  Oscar  lives  in  Los  Angeles  county  and  William  in  Colton,  Mrs.  Julia 
Woods  makes  Bakersfield  her  home  and  Mrs.  Bessie  White  is  a  resident  of 
Wasco,  Kern  county.  In  national  politics  Mr.  Caldwell  supports  the  Repub- 
lican party.  \\'hile  living  in  Santa  Rosa  he  became  very  prominent  in  the 
activities  of  Santa  Rosa  Lodge  No.  54,  I.  O.  O.  F.  Before  leaving  Nova  Scotia 
he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Corinthian  Lodge  No.  63,  F.  &  A.  M..  at  Great  Village, 
and  after  he  came  to  California  he  identified  himself  with  Curtis  Lodge  No. 
140,  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Cloverdale.  He  is  a  stanch  believer  in  the  growth  and 
prosoerity  of  Bakersfield  and  is  an  ally  of  all  measures  for  civic  advancement 
and  local  upbuilding. 

WILLIAM  C.  PERRY.— From  the  organization  of  the  Mammoth  Oil 
Company  Mr.  Perry  has  been  a  stockholder  and  since  June  1,  1913,  he  has 
engaged  as  superintendent  of  the  lease.  There  are  four  producing  wells  of 
23  gravity  oil  on  the  lease.  Besides  the  connection  with  this  growing  con- 
cern he  has  been  a  stockholder  in  the  August  Oil  Company  from  the  time  of 
its  organization  and  for  two  years  or  more  he  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the 
company's  lease  at  Maricopa.  Although  still  a  young  man,  he  has  had  an 
extended  experience  in  the  oil  industry  and  has  acquired  a  thorough  acquaint- 
ance with  many  of  the  western  fields. 

A  resident  of  California  since  1899,  William  C.  Perry  was  born  in  Chanute, 
Kan.,  October  2,  1876,  and  was  fifth  in  order  of  birth  among  ten  children,  all 
of  whom  are  still  living.  The  parents,  John  and  Lucinda  (Bradley)  Perry, 
natives  respectivelj'  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  and  for  years  .engaged  in 
farming  in  Kansas,  now  make  their  home  in  Venice,  Cal.  Reared  on  a  farm 
in  the  Sunflower  state  and  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  on  the  completion 
of  a  public-school  education,  j\Ir.  Perry  decided  in  1899  to  seek  another  occupa- 
tion and  a  new  location.  Accordingly  he  became  a  worker  in  the  Olinda  oil 
fields  in  California,  where  he  rose  from  roustabout  to  tool-dresser.  During  a 
later  experience  in  the  Los  Angeles  oil  field  he  gained  his  first  exoerience  as  a 
driller.  From  that  place  he  came  to  the  Kern  river  field.  Still  later  he  spent 
two  and  one-half  years  as  a  driller  in  a  Wyoming  oil  field  at  Spring  Valley, 
Uinta  county,  after  which  he  returned  to  California  and  resumed  work  in 
Kern  county.  Since  then  he  has  worked  steadily  in  the  west  side  districts.  For 
two  years  he  held  an  important  position  as  head  driller  on  the  Dabney  lease, 
in  the  McKittrick  field,  while  for  a  considerable  period  he  has  been  employed 
in  Maricopa  and  Fellows  districts.  Meanwhile  he  established  domestic  ties 
through  his  marriage  in  Los  Angeles  to  ]\Iiss  Edith  Bush,  who  was  born  near 
Selma,  Fresno  county,  this  state,  and  died  at  Los  Angeles  June  19,  1912,  leav- 
ing to  her  relatives  and  friends  the  memory  of  a  gracious  womanhood  and 
cultured  mentality.  Aside  from  voting  the  Republican  ticket  Mr.  Perry  takes 
no  part  in  political  contests,  yet  he  is  progressive  and  may  be  relied  upon  to 
promote  by  time,  influence  and  co-operation  all  measures  for  the  general 
welfare  and  especially  all  projects  for  the  development  of  the  oil  industry  in 
Kerfl  county. 

EMIL  T.  LUTZ.— Born  at  Monroe,  Monroe  county,  Mich.,  E.  T.  Lutz 
went  to  Philadelphia  while  a  mere  lad  and  there  grew  to  young  manhood. 
When  about  eighteen  years  old  he  went  on  the  road  as  a  commercial  traveler 
for  the  firm  of  Palidini  &  Cappale,  importers  and  wholesale  manufacturers  of 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COUNTY  1349 

silk.  While  still  very  young  he  became  a  nieniber  of  a  Philadelphia  c<impany  of 
the  Pennsylvania  National  Guard.  Going  to  Chicago  he  secured  employment 
in  a  restaurant.  For  some  years  he  acted  as  steward  of  the  Stock  lixchange 
restaurant  on  the  corner  of  Washington  and  LaSalle  streets  and  later  he  held 
the  position  of  steward  in  the  .American  oyster  hciuse  for  several  years. 

Arriving  in  Bakersfield  .April  29,  1' 00,  led  hither  by  the  recent  oil  dis- 
coveries in  Kern  county,  Mr.  Lutz  embarked  in  the  liquor  business  and  for 
some  years  was  a  part  owner  of  the  Turf  on  Nineteenth  street,  but  now  in 
company  with  J.  B.  McKinley  he  is  conducting  the  Commercial  at  No.  1129 
Nineteenth  street.  Fond  of  sports  and  particularly  interested  in  baseball, 
during  1909  he  consented  to  take  the  management  of  the  Bakersfield  base- 
ball nine  and  his  leadership  brought  victory  to  the  organization.  A  lover  of 
fine  horses,  he  has  trained  some  of  the  finest  horses  exhibited  on  the  turf  in 
Southern  California  and  his  reputation  as  a  judge  of  equine  flesh  is  unex- 
celled. During  the  streetcar  strike  in  San  Francisco  he  was  assigned  to  duty  at 
that  place,  serving  as  first  lieutenant  of  a  coni|)any  in  the  Second  regiment 
National  Guards  of  California.  He  has  purchased  and  now  occupies  a  resi- 
dence at  No.  2228  Nineteenth  street,  this  being  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Lutz, 
formerly  Miss  Susie  Hill,  a  daughter  of  W.  W.  Hill,  the  first  county  treasurer 
of  Fresno  cuunty.  Reared  and  educated  in  that  county,  Mrs.  Lutz  is  a  mem- 
ber of  one  of  its  old  families. 

LYMAN  C.  ROSS.— .\  native  son  of  the  state  Mr.  Ross  was  born  in 
Santa  Clara  ci  unty  March  15,  1865,  his  father  having  been  James  Ross,  a 
California  pioneer  of  1852.  Educated  in  the  local  schools,  he  has  been  self- 
supporting  from  an  early  age  and  about  1895  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  has 
since  made  his  home.  For  a  time  he  engaged  in  business  as  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Anderson  &  Ross,  but  about  1905  he  bought  the  interest  of  his  partner 
and  since  then  has  conducted  the  business  under  the  title  of  L.  C.  Ross.  United 
in  marriage  with  Anna  D.  McBain,  he  has  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  the  co- 
operation and  companionship  of  a  woman  of  culture,  education  and  gentle 
character  and  who  shares  with  him  the  faculty  of  winning  and  retaining  warm 
friends.  There  are  five  children  in  the  family,  Edna,  Harold,  Stuart,  Donald 
and  Margaret. 

Concerning  the  business  established  and  built  uj)  by  L.  C.  Ross  we  quote 
the  following  from  "Bakersfield  and  Kern  County,  1912,  A  Half  Century  of 
Progress:"  "Never  were  the  people  of  the  United  States  more  in  earnest 
regarding  the  strict  enforcement  of  the  laws  prohibiting  adulteration  and  the 
misbranding  of  foods,  dru.gs  and  li(|uors  than  they  are  today.  Out  of  the 
smoke  and  the  fog  of  controversy  has  ci  me  a  better  understanding  of  the 
conditions  under  which  the  upright  manufacturers  are  laboring,  and  the 
spirit  of  unscrupulous  greed  animating  their  competitors,  who  seek  to  foist 
upon  the  public  impure  and  adulterated  products.  A  concern  in  Bakersfield 
handling  the  products  of  manufacturers  known  to  live  up  to  the  very  spirit 
and  letter  of  the  pure  food  law  is  L.  C.  Ross,  wholesale  liquor  dealer.  .Ad- 
herence to  strict  business  methods  has  enabled  him  to  grow  from  a  compara- 
tively small  beginning  to  a  position  of  prominence  in  Bakersfield's  cnmmer- 
cial  life.  At  his  up-to-date  establishment.  No.  1521  Nineteenth  street,  he  has 
every  facility  for  the  proper  handling  and  storage  of  his  immense  stock,  and 
his  specialties  are  fine  old  straight  Kentucky  bourbons,  Pennsylvania  ryes, 
California  invalids'  ports  and  sherries,  imported  sherry  from  Puerto  Sta 
Maria,  Snain  ;  imported  port,  old  and  tawny  from  O'Porto;  the  leading  brands 
of  eastern  beer,  also  the  famous  Rainier,  the  best  beer  made  west  of  St.  Louis, 
and  various  mineral  waters.  Mr.  Ross  caters  particularly  to  the  family  trade  of 
Bakersfield  and  vicinity,  and  personally  guarantees  the  purity  of  everything 
carried  in  his  stock." 

In   addition   to   the   wholesale   business   on    Nineteenth   street    Mr.    Ross 


1350  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

is  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Hoagland  &  Ross,  proprietors  of  the  bottling  works 
on  the  corner  of  Fifteenth  street  and  Chester  avenue.  Since  about  1909  the 
firm  has  acted  as  distributors  of  Rainier  beer.  The  proprietors  give  much  time 
to  the  development  of  the  business,  as  they  also  do  to  outside  movements  for 
the  general  upbuilding  of  Bakersfield  and  they  are  known  as  optimistic  be- 
lievers in  the  continued  prosperity  of  their  city. 

P.  MULL. — One  of  the  progressive  farmers  of  Kern  county,  and  an 
original  homesteader,  is  P.  Mull,  who  is  well  informed  on  all  matters  pertain- 
ing to  his  chosen  work.  He  was  born  in  Keosauqua,  Van  Buren  county,  Iowa, 
July  12,  1852,  son  of  Nathan  and  Eliza  Mull,  who  removed  from  Iowa  when  he 
was  a  boy  of  two  years.  They  came  directly  to  California  and  settled  in  So- 
noma county,  where  they  were  pioneers  in  the  farming  industry. 

P.  Mull  grew  to  manhood  in  Sonoma  county,  experiencing  the  hardships 
and  vicissitudes  of  the  early  life  in  this  part  of  the  country,  and  his  first  work 
for  himself  was  in  the  vineyards  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1881  he  went  to 
Hanford  and  engaged  in  raising  alfalfa  and  following  stockraising  to  some 
extent.  As  the  years  came  and  went  he  added  to  his  property  and  became 
independently  well-to-do,  reaping  good  results  from  his  toil  and  being  most 
fortunate  in  his  crops.  While  there  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Bartlett, 
of  Kings  county,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  four  children,  Leland  E., 
Nathan  H.,  and  Alice  and  Eva. 

In  1887  Mr.  Mull  came  to  Kern  county,  where  he  bought  from  Judge 
Brundage  his  present  tract  of  land.  The  latter  has  a  desert  filing  of  this  prop- 
erty, and  Mr.  Mull  bought  a  relinquishment  from  him,  it  being  located  at 
section  twelve,  township  thirty,  range  twenty-eight.  About  three-quarters  of 
this  .Air.  Mull  sold  off  to  other  parties  who  filed  homesteads.  He  has  proved 
up  on  about  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  this,  eighty  of  which  he  has  sold, 
and  the  remainder  is  the  property  he  now  holds  and  operates.  He  has  fifty  acres 
planted  to  alfalfa,  has  some  fruit  and  is  continually  improving  his  property  to 
make  it  one  of  the  most  modern  in  the  vicinity. 

Mr.  Mull  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  development  of  his  community, 
and  has  helped  to  organize  the  Fairfax  public  school,  which  was  so  much 
needed  there.  He  is  a  stanch  Republican,  thoroughly  familiar  with  all  its 
principles,  and  is  conversant  on  ail  subjects  of  the  day.  He  has  a  fine  family 
to  which  he  is  much  devoted,  and  his  life  is  lived  on  an  even,  conscientious 
plane,  being  a  most  fitting  example  for  his  children  to  follow. 

JEAN  PIERRE  MARTINTO.— Near  Osses,  Basses-Pyrenees,  toward 
the  southern  border  of  France,  stood  the  old  family  home  where  he  was 
born  January  22,  1871.  That  neighborhood  remained  the  abiding  place 
of  his  father,  Michael,  a  stone-mason  and  contractor,  his  business  activi- 
ties continuing  until  his  demise  in  1907.  The  mother,  who  remains  at  the  old 
home,  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  Peyrot  and  was  born  in  Canton  St. 
Jean-Pied-de-Port,  Basses-Pyrenees,  not  far  distant  from  the  native  place 
of  the  senior  Martinto.  Their  family  numbered  five  sons  and  three  daughters 
and  of  these  six  attained  mature  years,  namely  J.  F.,  now  living  in  Fresno, 
Cal. ;  Mrs.  Laffargue,  who  died  at  Tehachapi,  Kern  county;  Jean  Pierre; 
Mrs.  Molle,  living  at  San  Pedro,  this  state ;  Dominick,  of  Fresno  ;  and  Mrs. 
Chalias,  who  resides  at  the  old  home  in  France.  In  order  of  birth  Jean  Pierre 
was  fourth  among  the  eight  and  he  was  educated  in  the  schools  near  his 
early  home.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  left  France  and  crossed  the  ocean  to 
the  United  States,  proceeding  direct  to  Los  Angeles  where  he  found  employ- 
ment on  a  ranch  near  by. 

Upon  coming  to  Kern  county  in  1888  Mr.  Martinto  was  employed  to 
herd  sheep  for  his  older  brother,  J.  F.,  and  later  he  did  similar  work  for  other 
parties  in  Kern  and  Fresno  counties,  continuing  in  the  sheep  industry  until 
he  determined  to  embark  in  the  hotel  business  at  Tehachapi.     Purchasing  six 


HlSTOl'lY    OF    Kl-.RX    C()l".\  TV  1351 

unimproved  lots  on  Main  street  in  1895,  he  built  a  substantial  structure  which 
he  named  the  Basses-Pyrenees  hotel.  CJn  the  same  lots  he  put  up  a  large 
livery  barn.  Another  improvement  on  the  same  property  was  that  of  a  hand- 
ball court  constructed  of  stone  and  cement,  as  substantial  and  complete  as 
gOLid  workmen  and  good  material  could  make  it  and  said  to  be  the  best  in 
the  county.  From  the  first  the  hotel  proved  i)opular.  Not  only  was  it  the 
largest  hotel  in  Tehachapi,  but  it  acquired  a  patronage  surpassed  by  none. 
\Mien  finally  in  1908  he  retired  from  the  business  and  leased  the  building, 
the  new  tenants  changed  the  name  to  Martinto's  hotel  and  as  such  it  still 
is  known.  After  leaving  the  hotel  business  he  purchased  a  ranch  of  forty- 
five  acres  near  Bakersfield.  The  property  was  whully  unimproved.  The 
fertility  of  the  soil  convinced  him  as  to  the  wisdom  of  buying  the  land  and 
results  justified  his  investment.  The  ranch  is  under  the  Kern  county  ditch 
and  is  devoted  to  alfalfa  and  vegetable  gardens.  The  neat  house  which  he 
erected  on  the  land  was  occupied  by  his  family  for  two  years,  but  he  then 
leased  the  place  and  built  the  residence  at  No.  1223  California  avenue,  Bakers- 
field,  where  he  has  since  resided.  Since  becoming  a  citizen  if  our  country  and 
attaining  his  majority  he  has  supported  Republican  principles.  At  Tehachapi 
in  1896  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Veronica  Borda,  who  was  born 
and  reared  at  Cambo  Basses-Pyrenees,  France,  and  came  from  that  country 
in  1894,  settling  in  Bakersfield.  Four  children  were  born  of  their  union  and 
three  are  now  living,  Elizabeth.  Jean  Baptiste  and  Lyda. 

ALBERT  L.  WANGENHEIM.— To  assure  success  in  the  conduct  of  an 
up-to-date  store  it  is  necessary  that  the  officials  in  charge  of  the  various 
departments  are  thoroughly  acquainted  with  all  the  details,  quick  to  see  the 
necessity  for  improvement,  and  able  to  cope  with  other  like  enterprises  in 
the  best  selection  of  their  goods.  The  firm  of  Hochheimer  &  Co.,  the  largest 
department  store  in  Bakersfield,  has  such  a  man  in  its  employ  in  the  person 
of  Albert  L.  W'angenheim,  whose  varied  experience  has  made  him  the  practical 
manager  he  is  today. 

Mr.  Wangenheim  was  born  October  31,  1874,  in  San  Francisco,  the  son 
of  Henry  Wangenheim,  who  makes  his  home  in  San  Francisco.  The  latter 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  business  of  Hochheimer  &  Co.  at  Willows, 
and  also  at  Bakersfield.  He  was  als^)  interested  in  the  starting  of  stores  in 
Germantown  and  Orland,  and  is  at  present  a  large  stockholder  in  the  com- 
pany. Albert  L.  grew  to  manhood  in  his  native  city,  where  he  attended  the 
public  schools  and  was  graduated  from  the  Cogswell  College,  which  covers 
a  high  school  course,  normal  training  and  business  course.  From  schuol  he 
went  to  work  in  the  shops  of  Porter  Schlessinger  &  Co.,  manufacturers  of 
boots  and  shoes,  then  worked  in  the  wholesale  store  of  that  firm,  and  later 
became  traveling  salesman  for  tliem,  his  territory  being  the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin  valleys.  In  order  to  thoroughly  learn  the  retail  business,  he 
then  took  positions  in  the  following  stores  of  Hochheimer  &  Co.,  located 
respectively,  at  Willows,  Germantown  and  Orland,  Cal.,  serving  as  clerk  at 
each  place,  after  whicli  he  became  sales  manager  in  the  large  wholesale 
furnishing  business  of  Greenebaum.  Weill  &  Michaels,  lucatcd  at  San 
Francisco. 

In  1908,  at  the  death  of  his  brother,  Melville  II.,  Mr.  Wangenheim  was 
called  to  Bakersfield,  to  take  his  position  of  manager  of  the  men's  furnish- 
ings, boots  and  shoes  and  clolliing  department  of  Hochheimer  &  Co.  Mr. 
W^angenheim  fills  his  position  with  that  ability  which  has  marked  him  a 
progressive,  capable  business  man  from  the  start  of  his  career. 

j\lr.  Wangenheim  was  married  in  1903,  in  Oakland.  He  lias  a  com- 
modious residence,  which  he  built  in  1909  and  wherein  is  dispensed  a  warm 
hospitality.  Mr.  Wangenheim  affiliates  with  the  Native  Sons,  the  Woodmen 
of  the  World,  the  Eagles  and  the  Loyal  Order  of  the  Moose. 


1352  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

H.  H.  SPEARS. — The  distinction  of  being  the  first  to  locate  on  the 
town  site  of  Fellows  belongs  to  H.  H.  Spears,  who  arrived  here  March  23, 
1910,  having  moved  up  from  Bakersfield  with  his  entire  stock  of  horses  and 
necessary  equipment,  including  a  cook-house.  Since  then  he  has  witnessed 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  place  and  its  transformation  from  an  uninhabited 
waste  to  a  progressive  little  town  whose  residents  work  unitedly  and  harmon- 
iously for  the  general  welfare  and  civic  advancement.  He  has  been  connected 
personally  with  almost  every  measure  for  the  benefit  of  the  place  and  the 
people.  As  proprietor  of  the  Fellows  livery  stable  he  engages  about  ten 
head  of  livery  stock  and  fifty  head  of  work  stock  and  these  he  hires  out  by  the 
month  or  uses  in  the  filling  of  contracts  for  jobs  where  the  heaviest  of 
machinery  is  to  be  hauled  to  the  fields.  Through  personal  oversight  given  to 
his  farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  near  Button  Willow  (one  hundred 
acres  of  which  are  in  alfalfa)  he  secures  large  crops  of  hay  and  grain  and 
thus  is  in  a  position  to  sell  feed,  besides  having  an  abundance  of  grain  and 
hay  for  his  own  teams.  Primarily  for  the  purpose  of  attending  to  his  own 
work  he  has  established  a  blacksmith  shop,  where  two  blacksmiths  are  steadily 
employed. 

The  life  of  Mr.  Spears  has  been  filled  with  adventure.  He  was  born 
at  the  family  home  a  short  distance  from  Detroit,  Mich.,  August  10,  1862,  and 
is  a  son  of  Henry  Spears,  who  was  a  butcher  by  trade  and  conducted  a 
meat  market  in  Detroit.  Of  a  roving  disposition,  with  little  fondness  for 
school,  but  with  a  love  for  travel  and  a  desire  to  see  the  world,  the  lad 
became  self-supporting  in  early  years  and  drifted  from  one  place  to  another 
as  work  could  be  found.  Always  he  loved  horses  and  showed  an  aptitude  in 
their  care.  His  skill  in  breaking  colts  was  remarkable  even  when  he  was 
very  young.  After  a  short  period  of  employment  in  Chicago  he  drifted  out 
to  Idaho  and  became  a  cowboy  on  the  plains.  Similar  work  took  him  to 
Eastern  Oregon  and  from  the  White  Horse  ranch  in  that  country  he  came 
down  into  California,  bringing  a  drove  of  cattle  to  San  Francisco.  Next 
he  worked  in  Fresno  county,  after  which  he  spent  four  years  in  Inyo  county 
as  a  teaming  contractor,  and  engaged  in  freighting  from  the  railroad  at 
Mojave  up  to  Bishop  and  Independence  for  four  years.  Meanwhile  he 
had  never  lost  his  interest  in  horses,  but  had  maintained  a  drove  and  had  also 
done  much  work  in  breaking  colts  for  others.  The  fall  of  1889  found  him 
in  Bakersfield  with  his  horses  and  wagons.  With  that  town  as  headquarters 
he  teamed  in  difl'erent  parts  of  the  surrounding  country,  also  bought  and 
sold  horses  and  broke  colts.  After  coming  to  Bakersfield  he  married  Miss 
Alice  Dickinson,  by  whom  he  has  one  child  now  living,  Elizabeth  G.  The 
family  has  been  identified  with  the  Episcopal  Church  of  Bakersfield  and  fra- 
ternally he  holds  membership  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  in  that  city, 
while  since  coming  to  Fellows  he  has  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  Throughout  this  part  of  the  oil  district  he  is  well 
known.  His  work  has  brought  him  into  personal  relations  with  many  oil 
men  and  in  every  instance  he  has  won  their  confidence  as  a  business  man  of 
honorable  methods  and  distinct  efficiency. 

CHRISTIAN  NELSON. — One  of  the  most  recent  accessions  to  the  indus- 
trial life  of  East  Bakersfield  is  the  East  Bakersfield  Garage  and  Machine 
Company,  organized  in  January  of  1913  by  Christian  Nelson,  who  has  since 
engaged  in  the  automobile  repair  business,  also  a  general  repair  and  machine 
trade,  and  in  addition  is  acting  as  agent  for  the  Warren  and  Hupmobile  cars. 
The  fact  that  he  is  a  first-class  machinist  contributes  to  his  success  and  enables 
him  to  carry  out  the  most  difficult  tasks  with  ease  and  promptness. 

The  Nelson  family  comes  from  Norway.  For  generations  its  members 
lived  on  the  rockbound  coast  of  that  bleak  country,  earning  a  livelihood  by 
the   most   arduous   exertion.     Seeking  something  better   than   his   own    land 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  1353 

afforded,  Lewis  A.  Nelson,  who  was  born  and  reared  at  Bergen  on  tlic  Atlantic 
ocean  in  1848,  left  Norway  in  1865  for  the  United  States  and  followed  the 
trade  of  machinist  in  Chicago,  111.,  where  he  married  March  16,  1870,  Sorine 
Skarning,  a  native  of  Christiana,  Norway.  From  Chicago  he  moved  to 
Kansas  and  secured  employment  as  a  machinist  in  the  Santa  Uc  shops  in 
Topeka.  After  having  followed  the  trade  at  various  points  in  the  central  west 
he  came  to  California  in  1904  and  now  makes  his  home  in  Rakersticld.  His 
wife  passed  away  April  1,  1913.  Her  seven  living  cliildren  are:  Edward,  of 
Fairbury,  Nebr.,  Walter  A.,  of  El  Paso,  Te.xas,  Jennie,  Mrs.  Sornborger, 
Christian,  Lewis,  of  Lincoln,  Nebr.,  Andrew,  of  San  Francisco,  and  Martha. 
The  last  named  was  a  pioneer  teacher  in  Lost  Hills,  opening  the  first  school 
there. 

Christian  Nelsun  was  born  at  Topeka,  Kans.,  October  30,  1881,  and 
received  his  education  in  public  schools  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen  he  entered  upon  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  machinist  in 
the  Santa  Fe  shops  at  Albuquerque,  N.  M.,  where  he  completed  his  trade. 
Thereafter  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  in  New  Mexico  and  Arizi;na  and  while 
living  in  Arizona  he  joined  Douglas  Lodge  No.  955,  B.  P.  O.  E.  From  Arizona 
he  came  to  California  in  1904  and  settled  at  Bakersfield,  wliere  for  some  time 
he  was  employed  as  a  machinist  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company. 
Work  at  his  trade  kept  him  in  the  Kern  river  oil  field  for  a  time  and  later  he 
gained  further  valuable  experience  as  a  machinist  in  the  west  side  field.  On 
leaving  the  oil  fields  and  coming  to  East  Bakersfield  he  became  interested  in 
the  establisliment  of  the  business  to  which  he  now  devotes  time,  attention  and 
his  splendid  skill  as  a  machinist. 

BERT  E.  GOULD.— The  first  manufacturing  establishment  started  in 
Fellows  and  the  fifth  business  house  to  be  erected  in  tlie  town,  the  Fellows 
Tank  and  Job  shop,  dates  its  history  from  the  year  1910,  when  Mr.  Gould 
took  advantage  of  the  opportunities  offered  by  the  new  town  in  tlie  heart  of 
the  oil  fields  and  built  the  present  plant. 

Prior  to  his  removal  to  the  west  Mr.  Gould  had  been  a  resident  of  Water- 
loo, Iowa,  where  he  was  born  June  12,  1875,  and  where  his  parents,  George  E. 
and  Ella  M.  (Wolfe)  Gould,  natives  respectively  of  Wisconsin  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, still  make  their  home,  the  father  being  engaged  in  the  building  business 
in  that  city.  The  second  among  four  children  and  the  only  member  of  the 
family  to  locate  in  California,  Bert  E.  Gould  received  educational  ad\-antages 
in  the  Waterloo  public  schools  and  found  emphyment  during  the  summer 
months  on  farms  near  town.  -Vt  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  became  an  emiloye 
of  the  Tallarday  Steel  and  Pipe  Company  in  Waterloo.  That  he  was  a  steady 
worker  and  faithful  employee  is  evidenced  by  the  eleven  years  of  continuous 
service  with  the  same  firm.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  peril  d  he  acted 
as  foreman  of  the  pipe  dejiartment.  Resigning  in  1906  and  coming  to  Cali- 
fornia, he  engaged  at  Alhambra  with  Tallarday 's  Steel-pipe  and  Tank  Com- 
pany. Later  he  traveled  for  the  company,  erecting  tanks  for  parties  who  had 
ordered  them.  Leaving  the  employ  of  the  Alhambra  firm  for  an  important 
position  in  the  Los  Angeles  plant  of  the  Western  Pipe  and  Steel  C<  mpany, 
he  continued  there  until  1910,  the  year  of  his  removal  to  Fellows.  In  this 
city  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  building  up  a  trade  along  the  line  of  his 
specialties  and  also  has  acted  as  the  local  representative  for  the  J.  McDonald 
Gas  Compan}'  of  Taft. 

The  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  other  organizations  for  the  material  and 
commercial  upbuilding  of  Fellows  have  in  Mr.  Gould  an  able  and  intelligent 
member.  He  is  stanchly  Republican  in  his  opinions  and  at  national  elections 
votes  the  straight  ticket.  Besides  his  interests  at  Fellows  he  owns  some 
valuable  oiHand  in  the  Cuyama  valley.  One  daughter,  Murel,  was  born  of 
his  first   marriage,  which  united  him  with   Miss   Luclla   M.   ^Marfpn's,  a   life- 


1354  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

long  resident  of  Waterloo,  Iowa.  Her  demise  occurred  in  young  womanhood 
and  afterward  he  was  united  with  Miss  Mabel  Shields,  a  native  of  Wisconsin, 
their  union  being  blessed  by  a  son,  Howard  M. 

W.  PERRY  WILKES.— An  identification  with  the  west  covering  a  period 
of  more  than  fifty-five  years  has  given  to  Mr.  Wilkes  a  comprehensive  knowl- 
edge of  the  resources  and  possibilities  of  this  promising  region.  At  the  time 
of  his  arrival,  during  the  fall  of  1856,  mining  was  still  the  principal  occu- 
pation of  the  country.  The  possibilities  of  the  land  for  agriculture  and  horti- 
culture were  dimly  grasped  by  only  a  few  far-seeing  optimists;  by  far  the 
larger  number  of  the  people  still  considered  that  mining  for  gold  offered  the 
only  opportunity  for  material  prosperity.  One  of  the  shrewd,  keen-sighted 
pioneers  whose  vision  of  the  future  evinced  a  wise  judgment  was  Albert  G. 
Wilkes,  who  brought  a  large  herd  of  cattle  to  California  at  the  time  of  his 
migration  hither  in  1856  from  Missouri.  He  had  come  to  California  in 
1849  from  the  same  state,  arriving  in  Eldorado  county  (Georgetown)  October 
1  of  that  year.  For  a  while  he  carried  on  placer  mining,  but  later  established 
a  bakery  and  store  in  Georgetown  which  he  operated  three  years.  He  then 
returned  to  Missouri  for  his  family,  and  brought  them  with  him  when  he 
came  west  in  1856. 

With  the  expedition  of  immigrants  traveling  with  ox-teams  and  wagons 
came  the  boy  of  thirteen  years,  W.  Perry  Wilkes,  who  was  born  March  21, 
1843,  at  the  home  farm  thirty  miles  south  of  Jefferson  City,  Mo.  He  did 
not  allow  the  fact  of  his  extreme  youth  to  deter  him  from  doing  a  man's 
work  during  the  long  journey.  To  his  charge  was  given  the  driving  of  the 
one  hundred  head  of  dairy  cows  and  he  maintained  considerable  pride  in  his 
success  with  the  herd,  for  he  lost  only  one  cow  during  the  long  and  difficult 
journey  across  the  plains.  Among  the  drove  there  were  sixteen  head  of 
Durham  cows,  these  being  the  first  thoroughbred  Durhams  ever  brought 
into  California  and  from  them  as  foundation  stock  a  large  business  was 
established  in  that  now  popular  breed.  A  dairy  ranch  was  established  on 
the  Tassejara,  in  Contra  Costa  county,  and  the  successful  prosecution  of 
dairy  interests  through  a  considerable  period  of  years  brought  wealth 
to  the  family,  enabling  the  father  eventually  to  retire  with  ample  means 
to  Stockton,  where  his  death  occurred  in  1880.  He  was  a  brother  of  Col. 
P.  S.  Wilkes  and  also  of  Rev.  L.  B.  Wilkes,  for  years  a  leading  minister 
in  the  Christian  Church. 

After  having  completed  the  studies  of  the  common  schools  of  Contra 
Costa  county  and  also  spent  one  term  as  a  student  in  Union  academy,  in 
1863  W.  Perry  Wilkes  went  to  Arizona  to  aid  in  developing  the  Vulture 
mine,  but  the  following  year  he  returned  to  California  and  settled  in  Kern 
county,  of  which  he  now  is  among  the  oldest  living  pioneers.  During  the 
winter  of  1864-65  he  taught  the  first  public  school  ever  held  in  the  county  at 
Linn's  Valley.  After  his  marriage  in  1866  he  engaged  in  the  livery  busi- 
ness at  Havilah,  then  the  county  seat  and  a  town  of  considerable  promise. 
The  discovery  of  gold  had  caused  a  boom  at  Havilah  and  within  eighteen 
months  it  had  grown  from  nothing  to  a  population  of  fifteen  hundred,  but 
that  represented  the  height  of  its  prosperity,  for  many  of  the  mines  failed 
to  pay,  the  miners  sought  other  locations  and  then  the  county  seat  was 
removed  to  Bakersfield. 

Removing  from  Havilah  to  Glennville  in  1869,  during  that  year  Mr.  Wilkes 
was  appointed  the  first  postmaster  of  the  village  and  at  the  same  time  he 
built  the  first  hotel  there.  For  years  he  acted  as  postmaster  and  as  landlord 
of  the  hotel,  also  carried  on  a  general  mercantile  store,  and  besides  he  pur- 
chased and  improved  a  tract  of  eight  hundred  acres,  where  he  engaged  in 
raising  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs.  For  years  the  buying  and  selling  of  cattle 
formed  his  principal  business  and  in  it  he  was  prospered  greatly.  Mean- 
while his  father  had  died  in  1880  and  upon  the  settlement  of  the  estate  he 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1333 

had  received  SI  1,000,  which  aided  him  in  the  development  of  his  ranch  and 
the  carrying  on  of  a  stock  business.  The  inheritance  was  greatly  increased 
through  wise  management,  so  that  he  in  turn  was  able  to  assist  liis  children 
financially  and  yet  retain  a  sufficient  amount  to  provide  all  cc  mforts  for  his 
old  age.  \\hile  his  investments  were  almost  wholly  in  California,  there  were 
occasional  exceptions,  chief  among  these  being  the  purchase  of  Lookout 
Springs  ranch,  thirty  miles  east  of  Hackbcrry,  Mohave  county,  .\riz.,  and 
that  property  he  developed  from  a  raw  tract  into  an  improved  stock  ranch. 
The  location  on  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  and  tlie  presence  of  water  on  the 
ranch  rendered  it  a  desirable  place  for  the  stock  industry. 

In  the  midst  of  varied  business  activities  Mr.  Wilkes  found  the  time  to 
keep  posted  concerning  public  affairs  and  national  issues.  Politically  he  has 
always  voted  the  Democratic  ticket.  He  served  as  county  auditor  (1880-82) 
and  dej)uty  county  assessor  (1880-90).  For  a  number  of  years  he  has 
owned  and  occupied  a  finely-improved  tract  of  twenty  acres  on  Union  avenue, 
which  he  purciiased  from  ]>en  L.  P.rundage  and  which  combines  the  advant- 
ages of  a  country  home  with  those  offered  by  cluse  proximity  to  the  city 
of  Bakersfield.  During  1883  he  was  bereaved  by  the  death  of  his  wife,  who' 
was  Ann,  daughter  of  Col.  John  C.  Reid,  a  former  sheriff  of  Tulare  county. 
Of  his  four  children  now  living  the  eldest,  Albert  R.,  who  married  Miss  Lizzie 
Preston  of  Kern  county,  is  an  extensive  rancher,  a  successful  oil  operator  and 
a  merchant  at  Linn's  valley.  The  younger  son,  Carl,  who  married  Miss  Ida 
Shackleford  of  Bakersfield.  is  now  proprietor  of  the  Pioneer  gun  store  in 
this  city.  The  third  child,  Irene,  married  Robert  B.  McGee,  who  is  employed 
as  a  foreman  with  Kern  River  Oil  Company,  and  the  youngest  daughter, 
Austie,  is  the  wife  cif  George  \\'.  Leonard,  a  teaming  contractor  living  in 
Bakersfield. 

JOHN  TYRER.— In  coming  to  California  from  England  Mr.  Tyrer  feels 
that  he  made  no  mistake,  for  he  has  met  with  success.  There  had  been  con- 
siderable uncertainty  on  his  part  as  to  the  merits  of  California  compared  with 
those  of  New  Zealand  and  he  had  read  much  concerning  both  regions.  Finally 
he  cast  his  decision  in  favor  of  California,  came  to  the  west  and  made  his 
permanent  home  in  the  region  whose  subsequent  growth  he  has  witnessed. 

Born  in  Manchester,  England,  April  7,  1846,  John  Tyrer  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
Tyrer,  who  lived  and  died  near  Manchester,  and  that  locality  also  remained 
the  lifelong  home  of  the  mother.  There  were  four  children  in  the  parental 
family  and  of  these  Mary  is  now  deceased,  Hannah  is  living  at  Windsor, 
Canada,  and  Thomas  is  employed  as  a  plumber  near  Liverpool,  England,  so 
that  John  is  the  sole  representative  of  the  name  in  the  L'nited  States.  After 
he  had  completed  his  education  in  a  school  conducted  under  tlie  auspices  of 
the  Church  c  f  England  he  became  an  ai)]jrentice  to  the  trades  of  painter  and 
plumber,  at  which  he  served  from  fifteen  until  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Upon 
starting  out  for  himself  as  a  journeyman  he  went  to  Yorkshire,  England,  and 
secured  a  position  with  the  firm  of  George  Walsh  &  Sons,  of  Halifax.  By 
dint  of  hard  work  and  intelligence  he  rose  to  be  manager  of  the  firm,  with 
which  he  continued  for  eight  years.  Meanwhile  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven 
years  he  married  Miss  Isabella  Bradley,  of  Halifax,  England. 

After  having  conducted  a  plumbing  business  at  Liverpool  for  a  time  Mr. 
Tyrer  determined  to  seek  a  home  in  another  part  of  the  world.  California  was 
his  choice  for  a  location  and  with  his  wife  and  two  children  he  took  passage 
on  the  National  line.  During  the  fall  of  1887  he  arrived  in  Los  .Angeles  and 
immediately  afterward  he  secured  a  position  under  W.  C.  Furry,  who  con- 
ducted a  hardware  and  plumbing  establishment.  For  three  years  he  continued 
with  Mr.  Furry,  but  in  the  fall  of  1889,  resigning  the  position,  he  started 
out  independently.    .After  fourteen  v'ears  of  independent   work  in   plumbing. 


1356  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

during  1904  he  retired  from  the  business  and  now  gives  his  attention  to  the 
inanagement  of  his  ranch  of  twenty  acres  south  of  Bakersfield,  in  addition 
to  which  he  owns  other  property  in  town,  including  a  lot  on  the  corner  of  O 
street  and  Truxtun  avenue.  After  he  had  been  in  this  country  a  few  years 
he  decided  to  remain  permanently  and  accordingly  took  out  naturalization 
papers,  since  which  time  he  has  maintained  a  warm  interest  in  all  move- 
ments for  the  national  welfare.  In  politics  he  aims  to  vote  for  principles  and 
to  give,  his  support  to  men  of  high  character  and  recognized  public  spirit. 
For  years  his  wife  has  been  one  of  the  most  earnest  and  helpful  members  of 
the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Bakersfield  and  his  contributions  to 
the  church  maintenance  have  been  generous.  One  of  his  daughters,  Miss 
Lucy,  resides  with  her  parents  on  the  ranch,  while  the  other,  Mary,  is  the  wife 
of  Charles  E.  Hallett,  postmaster  of  Graton,  Sonoma  county,  Cal.,  and  pro- 
prietor of  a  general  mercantile  business  in  that  village,  which  is  the  home  of 
himself  and  wife  and  their  daughter,  Lucile. 

CHARLES  M.  HART.— The  father  of  the  immediate  subject  of  this 
sketch,  Moses  Hart,  was  birn  in  Chickasaw,  Indian  Territory,  December  1, 
1833,  and  in  1850  started  across  the  plains  with  ox  teams,  arriving  in  San 
Jose,  Cal.,  in  1852.  From  there  he  soon  moved  to  Mariposa  county,  where  he 
mined  until  in  1856.  Later  he  lived  for  a  time  in  Los  Angeles  county  whence 
he  came  in  1857  to  Kern  county.  Locating  in  Oak  creek  two  years  later  he 
became  the  owner  of  a  ranch  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  of  a  quarter 
section  of  railroad  land.  It  is  a  matter  of  record  that  he  was  one  of  the 
petitioners,  in  1865,  for  the  organization  of  Kern  county.  In  1863  he  was  in 
the  Indian  fight  in  Kelsey  Caiion,  Kern  county,  where  he  was  waylaid  by  the 
Indians ;  his  brother  Martin  and  his  step-brother  Oliver  were  both  killed 
July  3,  1863.  The  father  organized  a  pi  sse  and  followed  the  Indians  to  Owens 
River,  where  they  attacked  the  Indians  eighteen  days  later.  Nineteen  of  the 
Indians  were  killed  in  the  battle,  the  remainder  escaping.  Mr.  Hart  married 
July  15,  1859,  J\liss  Julia  Ann  Findley,  who  bore  him  twelve  children.  She 
passed  away  January  21,  1907,  and  his  death  occurred  December  21,  1903. 

It  was  at  Old  Town,  Tehachapi,  that  Charles  M.  Hart  was  born  March  19, 
1870.  He  attended  public  school  at  Tehachapi  and  in  Bear  Valley  until  he 
was  seventeen  years  old,  when  he  bravely  took  up  the  battle  of  life  on  his 
own  account.  He  entered  the  employ  of  the  Santa  Fe  and  learned  the  machin- 
ist trade  at  Needles.  From  1891  to  1894  he  had  a  market  and  butcher  busme-^s 
at  Jerome,  Ariz.  In  the  year  last  mentioned  he  sold  out  and  returned  to  Kern 
county  and  for  a  time  lived  at  Bakersfield.  In  1896  he  established  himself  in 
the  meat  business  at  Tehachapi  but  soon  sold  his  market  and  homesteaded 
land  in  the  Weed  Patch  and  for  some  time  he  farmed  seventeen  hundred  acres 
of  land,  the  greater  part  of  which  he  leased.  Eventually  he  disposed  of  his 
ranch,  moved  to  Mojave  county,  Ariz.,  and  established  a  meat  market  at 
Chloride  which  he  conducted  successfully  three  years.  During  the  ensuing 
two  years  he  was  in  the  same  business  at  Needles,  San  Bernardino  county, 
Cal.  Then,  disposing  of  his  interests  at  Needles,  he  went  to  Nevada,  where 
he  was  employed  as  master  mechanic  for  the  Green  Water  Death  Valley 
Mining  Company.  After  eleven  months'  experience  there  he  came  back  to 
Kern  county  and  became  the  owner  and  lessee  of  mining  land  in  the  Caliente 
Valley  which  he  operated  a  short  time.  In  November,  1907,  he  took  charge 
of  the  department  distributing  all  the  meat  along  the  Los  Angeles  aqueduct 
for  the  butcher  trade  of  the  Bressler  Meat  Company  of  Los  Angeles  and 
for  a  year  and  a  half  filled  the  position  of  general  manager.  Then,  removing 
to  Lost  Hills,  Kern  county,  he  opened  a  meat  market  there,  of  which  he  has 
since  been  proprietor.  He  owns  the  hotel  and  general  merchandise  store  at 
Hart  station,  on  the  stage  line  two  miles  east  of  Lost  Hills  and  also  gives 
considerable  attention  to  teaming  and  contracting,  and  the  buying  and  selling 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  1357 

of  stock,  hay  and  grain.  He  has  interests  in  the  oil  fields,  has  invested  in  land 
in  Lost  Hills,  bnt  still  maintains  his  home  at  Wasco.  As  a  Democrat  Mr. 
Hart  has  been  active  in  local  politics  and  as  a  delegate  he  has  taken  part  in  the 
deliberations  of  a  number  of  Democratic  county  conventions  and  is  serving  as 
deputy  sheritt.   Fraternally  he  affiliates  with  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles. 

On  April  3.  1900,  he  married  Katherine  Watchman,  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  had  come  west  with  her  parents,  who  located  at  Cripple  Creek, 
Colo.,  where  her  father  was  chief  clerk  of  the  Colorado  Fuel  &  Iron  Com- 
pany at  \Valsenburg.  Colo.,  for  fourteen  years.  From  there  Mr.  W^atchman 
removed  to  Cripple  Creek,  where  he  remained  until  1896,  at  which  time  he 
located  at  White  Hill,  Alohave  county,  where  for  several  years  he  succe.s.s- 
fully  operated  a  mine.  Thence  he  removed  to  Chloride,  .\riz.,  where  he  bought 
mining  property  which  he  operated  until  in  1907,  when  he  sold  it  and  removed 
to  Tonopah.  Nev.  After  living  there  a  year  and  a  half  he  came  to  Kern  county 
and  leased  a  mine  near  Tehachapi.  In  1908  he  lived  for  eight  months  at  Rands- 
burg,  where  he  operated  the  Butte  mine  with  satisfactory  results.  He  then 
leased  the  King  Solomon  mine  which  he  has  since  handled  with  success.  Mrs. 
Hart  has  borne  her  husband  four  children,  Laura  J.,  Daniel  C.,  Thomas  M. 
and  Frank  M. 

THOMAS  H.  FOGARTY.— Through  a  lifelong  identification  with  Cali- 
fornia, of  which  his  parents  were  pioneers.  .Mr.  Fogarty  gained  a  compre- 
hensive knowledge  of  the  resources  and  possibilities  of  the  commonwealth 
and  became  an  enthusiastic  advocate  of  its  interests.  Born  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, educated  in  the  schools  and  in  St.  Ignatius  College,  within  the  brief 
span  of  his  useful  existence  (1861-1907)  he  witnessed  the  remarkable  develop- 
ment of  that  city  and  saw  it  become  the  metropolis  of  the  Pacific  coast.  For 
many  years  his  parents,  James  F.  and  Nora  (English)  Fogarty,  were  numbered 
among  the  industrious  working  element  of  that  growing  city,  where  the 
former  died  and  where  the  latter,  advanced  in  years,  still  makes  her  home. 

An  early  location  at  Lompoc,  Santa  Barbara  county,  and  an  association  of 
several  years  with  the  hotel  business  in  that  village,  gave  Mr.  Fogarty 
the  experience  and  information  that  proved  valuable  to  him  when  in  March. 
1900,  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  bought  the  .Arlington  hotel  in  partnership 
with  M.  A.  Lindberg,  the  two  continuing  together  until  1906,  when  the 
present  proprietor,  Air.  Lindberg,  acquired  the  ownership  of  the  building. 
Turning  his  attention  to  other  matters,  Mr.  Fogarty  bought  a  farm  one  mile 
south  of  Kern  and  there  until  his  death  he  engaged  in  raising  standard  thor- 
oughbred and  full-bl(  oded  Percheron  draft  horses.  The  Arlington  stock  farm 
acquired  a  wide  reputation  for  the  fine  quality  of  its  stock  and  the  keen  business 
ability  of  its  manager  and  owner.  Joining  with  others,  he  had  an  interest  in 
the  building  of  the  Hudnut  driving  track  for  race  horses,  in  which  he  was  a 
prime  factor,  creating  interest  in  the  raising  of  fine  horses  and  also  in  starting 
a  county  fair  and  races.  His  starting  of  the  county  fair  in  the  fall  of  1900  was 
the  beginning  of  a  series  of  fairs  which  have  proved  an  important  factor  in  the 
county.  Among  Mr.  Fogarty 's  finest  animals  was  Richmond  Chief,  which  had 
a  reputation  as  one  of  the  most  perfect  specimens  of  its  class  in  the  west. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Fogarty  took  place  at  San  Luis  Obispo,  Cal.,  and 
united  him  with  Mrs.  Nettie  (Overholtz)  Hoover,  who  was  born  in  Santa 
Rosa  and  holds  membership  with  the  Native  Daughters.  The  Overholtz  family 
was  represented  in  the  east  through  several  generations  and  her  father, 
William,  was  born  and  reared  in  Pennsylvania,  but  came  across  the  plains 
in  young  manhood  and  settled  at  Santa  Rosa.  Cal.,  where  he  follow^ed  the 
trade  of  a  cabinet-maker.  While  still  in  the  prime  of  manhood  death  ended 
his  activities  and  later  his  widow,  Elizabeth  (Alankins)  Overholtz,  a  native  of 
Missouri,  removed  to  San  Benito  county,  where  she  now  makes  her  home. 
Of  their  familv  nnh-   two  children   are  now  living.   Mrs.    Fogarty  being  the 


1358  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

younger  of  these.  Her  education  was  received  in  the  schools  of  San  Benito 
and  Santa  Barbara  counties  and  she  was  well  qualified  by  natural  endowments 
as  well  as  school  training  to  fill  all  the  responsibilities  of  life.  Two  children 
blessed  her  marriage,  James  English  and  Norrine  Elizabeth.  Subsequent  to 
the  death  of  Mr.  Fogarty  she  sold  the  ranch  and  the  stock  and  removed  to 
Bakersfield,  where  she  has  invested  in  city  property.  She  built  a  comfortable 
residence  at  No.  2322  Eighteenth  street,  which  she  herself  designed,  and  she 
also  improved  two  residences  on  K  street  which  she  has  since  sold.  On 
Beale  avenue  and  Jackson  street.  East  Bakersfield,  there  is  a  large  residence 
built  by  her,  which  she  leases.  She  has  been  very  fortunate  in  investments 
and  owns  other  valuable  real  estate  in  Bakersfield  and  throughout  Kern 
county, .as  well  as  in  Monterey,  Oakland  and  Richmond.  She  is  truly  optimistic 
for  California  and  believes  the  next  decade  will  show  wonderful  results  as  to 
increase  in  values  to  the  investor. 

ALBERT  WEEDALL.— England  has  furnished  to  the  western  country  an 
especially  high  class  of  citizens  whose  thorough  understanding  of  the  work  to 
which  they  are  attracted  and  whose  painstaking  effort  in  their  every  under- 
taking have  caused  them  to  be  recognized  as  a  distinct  value  to  their  various 
communities.  Among  those  who  have  made  California  their  adopted  common- 
wealth are  James  and  Albert  Weedall,  father  and  son,  who  were  both  natives 
of  Northwich,  Cheshire,  England.  The  elder  followed  the  trade  of  florist  and 
horticulturist  in  Cheshire,  England,  until  1892,  when  he  brought  his  family  to 
the  United  States  and  settled  in  Bakersfield,  Cal.  In  Rosedale  he  engaged  in 
general  farming  and  remained  at  this  work  until  1909  when  he  retired  from 
active  work  and  now  makes  his  home  in  Bakersfield.  His  wife  was  Susanna 
Penny  and  was  also  born  in  Northwich,  England. 

Albert  Weedall  was  born  December  19,  1870,  and  was  reared  in  his  native 
land,  attending  the  public  school.  Upon  completing  his  studies  he  entered 
into  the  employ  of  his  uncle,  who  was  a  stock-dealer  and  butcher,  but  in  1892 
left  there  to  accompany  his  parents  to  Bakersfield,  Cal.  He  there  procured 
employment  with  H.  A.  Blodgett  as  a  landscape  gardener,  working  at  garden- 
ing and  nursery  work  for  six  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  started  out  for 
himself,  and  he  is  now  the  proprietor  of  the  oldest  and  finest  nursery  and 
florist  business  in  Bakersfield.  This  is  located  at  No.  603  Chester  avenue, 
where  Mr.  Weedall  has  built  three  greenhouses,  growing  plants  of  all  kinds, 
trees  and  shrubs. 

Mr.  Weedall  was  married  (first)  in  Los  Angeles,  to  Ida  Florence  Capper, 
born  in  Northwich,  England,  whose  death  occurred  in  Bakersfield.  Two  of 
their  children  are  now  living,  Newton  and  Florence.  Mr.  Weedall's  second 
marriage  was  in  Bakersfield,  to  Nellie  Straker  Shields,  who  was  born  in  New- 
castle-upon-Tyne, England,  and  they  have  one  child,  Albert  William. 

IMr.  Weedall  and  family  are  members  of  St.  John  Episcopal  Church  in 
Bakersfield.  In  political  questions  he  unites  with  the  Democratic  party,  and 
fraternally  he  is  afifiliated  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
Woodmen  of  the  ^^'orld,  Order  of  Eagles,  and  the  Order  of  Moose. 

MARTIN  NEELY  PETTUS.— During  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
centurj'  James  E.  Pettus,  of  Virginian  birth,  accompanied  his  widowed  mother 
to  Arkansas  and  settled  in  Sevier,  where  later  he  conducted  a  general  store  in 
the  small  hamlet  of  Paraclifta.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Mexican  war  he  of- 
fered his  services  to  his  country,  was  accepted  and  sent  to  the  front,  where  he 
took  part  in  the  battles  of  Vera  Cruz  and  Buena  Vista.  Upon  the  ending 
of  the  war  he  received  an  honorable  discharge  and  returned  to  his  Arkansas 
home,  whence  during  1850  he  came  via  Panama  to  California.  A  brief  ex- 
perience at  the  mines  was  followed  by  identification  with  the  hotel  business, 
first  in  Vallejo  and  later  at  Petaluma.  Next  he  went  to  Calpella,  a  small  town 
eight  miles  north  of  Ukiah,  Mendocino  county,  where  he  had  charge  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  135') 

Indian  ag^ency  and  also  engaged  in  general  merchandising.  During  the  period 
of  his  residence  in  that  small  village  his  son,  Martin  Neely  Pettus,  was  born 
November  22.  1861.  Removing  to  Kern  county  in  1869  the  father  located  a 
homestead  and  developed  and  improved  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
on  the  old  Buena  Vista  slough.  Heing  able  to  secure  water  from  the  slough 
for  irrigation  he  raised  alfalfa  with  profit  and  made  a  success  of  the  stock 
business.  When  eventually  he  retired  from  agricultural  pursuits  he  lived  his 
last  days  with  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Leonora  Cross,  in  Bakersfield  on  the  present 
site  of  the  Producers'  Bank  and  here,  in  July  of  1899.  he  passed  away,  at  the 
age  of  seventy  years. 

A  few  years  after  his  arrival  in  the  west  James  E.  Pettus  married  Cornelia 
Veader.  who  was  born  in  Minden,  La.,  and  died  in  Kern  county,  Cal.,  at  the 
age  of  forty  years.  Her  father.  Col.  Charles  II.  Veader,  a  native  of  Schenec- 
tady, N.  Y.,  came  south  during  the  war  of  1812  and  after  the  engagement  at 
New  Orleans,  in  which  he  bore  an  active  ]iart,  he  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge from  the  army.  Remaining  in  Louisiana,  he  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits  and  also  practiced  law.  During  the  memorable  year  of  1849  he  and 
his  family  crossed  the  plains  in  a  wagon  drawn  by  oxen.  Eor  a  time  he  prac- 
ticed law  in  Vallejo,  where  his  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Pettus.  Later 
he  became  an  attorney  at  Petaluma.  Next  he  followed  his  profession  at  Ukiah. 
Coming  to  Kern  county  in  1868.  he  practiced  law  at  Havilah  and  did  much  of 
the  early  surveying  in  this  part  of  the  state.  When  the  county-seat  was 
brought  to  F'.akersfield  he  established  his  home  and  office  in  this  city,  but 
finally  entered  land  near  Stockdale  and  there  passed  his  last  days. 

There  were  five  children  in  the  Pettus  family.  The  following  survive: 
Mrs.  Leonora  Cross,  a  widow  residing  in  Bakersfield;  Martin  Neely,  of  this 
review ;  Carrie,  wife  of  William  H.  Davis,  of  Rosamond,  Kern  county ;  and 
Howard,  who  is  living  in  the  state  of  Washington.  Erom  the  age  of  seven 
years  Martin  N.  Pettus  has  been  familiar  with  conditions  in  Kern  county, 
where  he  attended  school  and  learned  general  farming.  .\t  the  age  of  sixteen 
he  became  an  employe  of  Carr  &  Haggin.  A  desire  to  see  the  old  home  of  his 
father  in  .Arkansas  induced  him  to  visit  Sevier  county,  that  state,  and  for 
thirteen  years  he  raised  cotton  in  that  county.  Meanwhile  he  met  and  married 
Miss  Lucettie  Davies.  who  was  born  near  W'ashington,  Ark.  Their  union  was 
blessed  with  three  daughters,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Ruby,  is  now  the  wife  of 
F.  M.  Clark,  of  Stockton,  Cal.  The  younger  daughters,  Alice  and  Thelma, 
reside  with  their  parents.  During  December  of  1800  Mr.  Pettus  brought  his 
family  to  California  and  became  a  rider  for  the  Kern  County  Land  Company. 
After  five  years  in  the  same  position  he  turned  his  attention  to  farming  and 
three  years  later  came  to  East  Bakersfield,  where  he  owns  a  residence  at  No. 
502  Pacific  street.  During  1898  he  became  janitor  of  the  old  H  school,  next 
was  with  the  Emerson  school,  later  was  transferred  to  the  W^ashington  school 
in  East  Bakersfield  and  since  1910  has  acted  as  janitor  of  the  Kern  county 
high  school.  He  maintains  a  warm  interest  in  national  issues  and  votes  the 
Democratic  ticket.  The  Fraternal  Brotherhood  has  his  name  enrolled  upon  its 
list  of  members,  while  in  religious  faith  he  is  in  sympathy  with  the  doctrmes 
of  the  ^fethodist  Episcopal  Church  South  and  has  served  for  some  years  as  a 
member  of  the  official  board  in  the  local  congregation. 

GEORGE  H.  PIPPITT.— With  the  exception  of  the  first  eight  years  of 
his  life,  which  were  s[)ent  in  New  Jersey,  IMr.  Pippitt  has  always  been  identified 
with  the  west.  Born  at  Birmingham,  Burlington  county,  N.  J.,  June  6.  1869, 
George  H.  Pippitt  is  a  son  of  Joseph  M.  and  Hannah  A.  (Akins)  Pippitt.  na- 
tives of  New  Jersey,  the  latter  now  a  resident  of  Sacramento,  Cal.  The 
father,  after  coming  to  the  west  about  1875,  secured  employment  as  a  mill- 
wright with  a  large  lumber  company  in  the  redwood  district  of  San  Mateo 
county.     In  the  region  made  famous  by  reason  of  its  great  forests  he  worked 


1360  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

for  some  time  and  meanwhile  had  his  family  join  him  in  1877  but  in  1881  he 
took  his  wife  and  children  to  a  ranch  in  Sutter  county,  where  he  engaged  in 
general  farming.  October  of  1885  found  them  residents  of  Oakland  and  in 
that  city  he  died  during  February  of  the  following  year.  There  were  two  sons 
and  two  daughters  in  his  family  and  the  youngest  of  these,  George  H.,  received 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  California.  After  having  taken  a  com- 
mercial course  in  the  Pacific  Business  College  of  San  Francisco  he  became  a 
bookkeeper  in  Oakland  with  a  large  wholesale  house. 

Railroading  has  engrossed  the  time  and  attention  of  Mr.  Pippitt  since 
the  year  1890,  when  he  became  a  tallyman  in  the  lumber  department  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  at  Sacramento.  Afterward  he  was  transferred  to  the 
car-repair  department  and  by  promotion  rose  to  be  foreman.  From  1893  until 
1898  he  had  charge  of  the  station  at  Winnemucca,  Nev.,  but  in  the  latter  year 
he  was  transferred  to  Bakersfield,  Cal.,  to  fill  temporarily  the  position  of 
general  car  foreman.  At  the  expiration  of  three  months  he  was  assigned  to 
Sacramento,  but  in  July  of  1899  he  was  returned  to  Bakersfield  as  chief  inter- 
change inspector  and  assistant  foreman.  December  of  the  same  year  found 
him  in  Mojave  as  general  foreman  of  the  car  and  locomotive  department  and 
wrecking  foreman,  from  which  position  in  May,  1900,  he  was  promoted  to  be 
joint  general  foreman  of  the  same  department  for  the  Southern  Pacific  and 
Santa  Fe  Railroads.  For  more  than  a  decade  he  continued  in  the  same  post. 
Meanwhile  the  work  became  very  heavy  and  the  duties  exceedingly  exacting. 
Finally  it  became  necessary  to  divide  the  work.  In  April  of  1911  the  depart- 
ment was  changed  so  that  his  responsibilities  were  lessened  and  since  then  he 
has  been  round-house  and  wrecking  foreman  for  both  companies. 

Being  a  man  of  thrift  and  a  believer  in  the  future  of  the  state  Mr.  Pippitt 
has  invested  in  real  estate  from  time  to  time  and  now  owns  a  ranch  of  ten 
acres  near  Downey,  also  residence  property  in  Sherman.  While  making  his 
headquarters  in  Nevada  he  married  Miss  Jeannette  E.  Webb,  a  native  of 
Sacramento,  a  lady  of  excellent  education  and  an  earnest  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Her  father,  Edwin  Webb,  who  had  served  in 
the  Black  Hawk  war,  crossed  the  plains  with  wagon  and  ox-team  during  the 
early  '50"s.  For  a  time  he  lived  on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
situated  in  the  vicinity  of  Westlake  park,  Los  Angeles.  When  one  hundred 
and  four  years  of  age  he  died  in  Sacramento.  There  are  three  children  in  the 
family  of  Mr.  Pippitt,  namely:  Otis  N.,  who  is  in  the  naval  training  schoul  in 
San  Francisco;  Irene  E.,  and  Gordon  D.  In  Tehachapi  Lodge  No.  313,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  of  which  he  is  past  master,  Mr.  Pippitt  was  made  a  Mason,  and  he  is 
also  past  patron  of  Tehachapi  Chapter  No.  188,  O.  E.  S.  Mrs.  Pippitt  is  past 
matron  of  the  local  chapter  and  a  leader  in  the  work  of  the  order. 

GAUDENZ  WEICHELT.— Born  July  26,  1873,  at  Cillis,  Canton  Grau- 
bunden,  upon  the  farm  occupied  by  his  parents,  Gottleib  and  Katherina 
(Wald)  Weichelt,  G.  Weichelt  passed  the  years  of  early  life  in  an  industrious 
but  uneventful  manner  and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  was  confirmed  in  the  Lutheran 
Church.  The  parental  family  comprised  seven  children  and  all  are  still  living, 
namely :  Christian,  the  only  one  of  the  seven  to  remain  in  Switzerland ;  Gott- 
leib, a  farmer  in  the  Panama  district;  Gaudenz,  of  Bakersfield;  John,  who  is 
engaged  in  farming  in  the  Old  River  district;  Katherina,  Mrs.  Christian 
Mattly,  of  Bakersfield;  Mary,  Mrs.  John  Koch,  who  lives  on  a  farm  in  the 
Panama  district;  and  Carl,  of  Bakersfield.  The  first  member  of  the  family  to 
come  to  America  was  Gaudenz  and  the  reports  he  sent  back  encouraged  the 
others  to  follow  him,  the  father  and  mother  also  coming  to  California  to  spend 
their  last  days  in  Kern  county. 

After  having  worked  as  a  day  laborer  in  Palermo,  Italy,  from  the  age  of 
fifteen  until  he  was  seventeen,  Gaudenz  Weichelt  then  returned  to  his  native 
place  at  Graubunden,  Switzerland,  and  in  a  short  time  started  for  the  new 


HIST(^RY    OI'    KI'RX    (( )rNTY  IMA 

world.  April  1,  1891,  he  arrived  in  Bakersrield.  The  fullowiiig  day  he  secured 
employment  as  a  day  laborer  on  a  dairy  farm  situated  on  Union  avenue, 
remaining  there  about  a  year.  Later  he  was  employed  on  two  other  dairy 
farms,  the  last  one  that  of  Chris  Mattley.  Meanwhile  he  had  saved  his  wages 
with  frugal  care.  His  next  venture  was  the  renting  of  land  two  and  one-half 
miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield,  where  he  started  a  dairy  farm  and  engaged 
also  in  stock-raising.  With  his  savings  he  bought  twenty  acres  three  miles 
southwest  of  Bakersfield.  Moving  to  the  new  farm,  he  embarked  in  the  dairy 
business.  Later  he  added  to  the  tract  and  now  owns  sixty-six  acres  in  one 
body,  under  the  Stine  canal,  well  adapted  for  an  alfalfa  and  dairy  farm. 
From  that  farm  he  drove  a  retail  milk  wagon  through  the  city  and  built  up 
patronage  that  proved  profitable  although  requiring  constant  attention.  Dur- 
ing January,  1908,  he  closed  out  the  dairy  business,  leased  the  land  and 
moved  into  Bakersfield  to  engage  in  business  on  the  corner  of  Nineteenth 
and  K  streets.  Of  recent  years  he  has  been  financially  interested  in  the  Sun- 
shine Oil  Company  and  also  in  the  Seabreeze  Oil  Company. 

In  1896  he  married  .Miss  Martha  Ruefenacht,  a  native  of  Jalde,  Russia, 
and  a  daughter  of  Gottleib  and  I-^cda  (Metzger)  Ruefenacht,  born  in  Bern, 
Switzerland,  and  near  Heilbronn,  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  respectively.  Dur- 
ing the  year  1893  Mrs.  Ruefenacht  brought  the  family  to  California  and  settled 
in  Bakersfield.  Mrs.  Weichelt  died  August  30,  1904.  leaving  four  children, 
Walter,  Freda,  Elsie  and  Martha,  and  with  them  Mr.  Weichelt  makes  his 
home  on  the  corner  of  Nineteenth  and  Myrtle  streets.  Politically  Mr.  Weichelt 
has  been  stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  Republican  principles,  while  in  fraternal 
relations  he  is  identified  with  the  Eagles  and  the  Hermann  Sons,  and  he  and 
his  family  are  members  of  St.  Johns  Lutheran  Church.  Deeply  interested  in 
the  free-schoi  1  system,  he  served  for  some  years  as  school  trustee  in  the  Stine 
district  and  during  the  term  of  his  official  service  the  site  for  a  school  was 
selected  and  a  new  building  erected.  Of  industrious  and  persevering  tem- 
perament, he  has  found  in  California  an  opportunity  for  material  advancement 
which  his  nati\'e  land  could  not  offer. 

JOSEPH  VACCARO.— Burn  July  25,  1868,  in  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  Joseph 
Vaccaro  is  the  son  of  early  settlers  in  Kern  county,  who  upon  coming  to  this 
country-  first  settled  in  San  I-'rancisco,  thence  moving  to  this  county.  In  1885 
he  also  came  here  and  procured  work  with  the  Miller  &  Lux  Land  Company, 
working  for  them  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  learning  the  many  par- 
ticulars concerning  the  tilling  of  the  soil  and  the  conduct  of  a  prt  ductivc  farm. 
He  familiarized  himself  with  these  details  and  his  ability  was  soon  recognized. 
In  1901  he  was  called  to  become  superintendent  of  the  Alameda  ranch, 
owned  by  R.  E.  Houghton  of  San  Francisco.  During  the  summers  he  has 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  men  working  under  him  on  the  ranch,  in  the 
winters  having  from  six  to  ten,  and  so  systematically  is  the  arrangement  that 
the  work  moves  quickly  and  smoothly  to  the  ultimate  gain  of  the  owner  and 
the  complete  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 

Mr.  Vaccaro  is  unmarried  and  devotes  all  of  his  time  and  attention  to  his 
duties.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  Bakersfield  Aerie  No.  93,  Order  of 
Eagles.  He  takes  no  active  i)art  in  public  affairs,  but  his  interest  is  ever  for  the 
promotion  of  better  conditions  in  his  community. 

JESSE  DECATURE  BRITE.— Among  the  native  sons  who  have  risen  to 
prominence  and  have  been  appointed  to  fill  responsible  positions  is  Jesse  D. 
Brite,  who  was  born  in  Brites  X'alley,  Kern  county,  I'ebruary  27,  1885,  the 
son  of  James  M.,  and  grandson  f  f  John  Moore  Brite,  the  pioneer  settler  of  the 
Tehachapi  region  and  from  whom  Brites  valley  receives  its  name.  His 
father  is  an  old  and  honored  settler  and  stock-raiser  of  the  valley.  Jesse  was 
brought  up  on  the  farm  and  learned  the  stock  business,  receiving  his  education 
in  the  local   schools  and   Brownsberger's   Business   College  in    L<>s   Angeles, 


1362  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

where  he  completed  the  course  in  typewriting  and  stenography.  He  then 
entered  Heald's  Business  College  at  Stockton  and  after  completing  the  course 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  at  Tehachapi  as  a  clerk, 
which  position  he  held  about  four  years. 

On  being  appointed  postmaster  at  Tehachapi  by  President  Wilson  July 
10,  1913,  Mr.  Brite  resigned  his  clerkship  and  assumed  the  duties  of  his  office 
August  30,  1913.  With  his  usual  tact  he  is  filling  the  position  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  the  citizens. 

In  Hackberry,  Mohave  county,  Arizona,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Jesse 
Brite  and  Miss  Eva  Cofer,  who  was  born  there  and  is  the  daughter  of  A.  F. 
Cofer,  a  large  cattle  man  of  Hackberry.  Of  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Airs.  Brite 
have  been  born  two  children,  Chester  C.  and  Viola.  Fraternally  he  holds 
membership  with  the  Arroyo  Grande  Lodge,  M.  W.  A.  He  has  always  been 
much  interested  in  and  an  active  local  worker  of  the  Democratic  party. 

MRS.  ADELINE  PESANTE.— Among  the  pioneer  residents  of  Old  River 
who  have  contributed  to  the  material  upbuilding  of  the  community  and  raised 
a  large  family  to  be  men  and  women  of  credit  to  the  county  we  find  Mrs. 
Pesante,  who  was  born  in  the  town  of  Andeer,  Canton  Graubunden,  Switzer- 
land, the  daughter  of  Christian  and  Katherina  (Engle)  Lehner.  The  father 
was  a  contractor  and  farmer.  The  daughter,  Adeline,'  was  reared  in  the  beau- 
tiful Alps  region,  receiving  her  education  in  the  public  schools  of  that  vicinity, 
and  there  she  was  married  April  4,  1880,  to  Peter  Pesante.  who  was  born  in  the 
same  village  July  18,  1858,  the  son  of  a  farmer.  Naturally  he  learned  that  pur- 
suit, which  he  followed  in  that  country  until  1883,  when  he  came  to  California 
to  select  and  establish  a  home  for  his  family  in  the  region  of  which  they  had 
heard  such  good  reports.  The  family  joined  him  in  1885.  They  resided  in 
Salinas'  until  1886,  when  they  moved  into  Kern  county  and  he  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  on  the  Lakeside  ranch,  remaining 
there  until  his  death  in  1889.  Mrs.  Pesante,  left  with  four  children,  continued 
to  reside  at  Lakeside  and  was  employed  there  until  her  second  marriage  to  a 
brother  of  her  former  husband,  John  Pesante,  born  in  1863.  Soon  afterwards 
they  purchased  the  twenty  acres  near  Old  River,  where  he  farmed  until  his 
death  in  1S07.  Since  then  she  continues  to  reside  on  her  ranch,  which  is  well 
improved  and  is  run  under  the  supervision  of  her  son. 

By  her  first  marriage  she  had  four  children,  as  follows :  Christian,  who  is 
a  farmer  in  this  county;  Peter,  an  employe  on  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad; 
Lena,  Mrs.  Small,  who  resides  in  San  Francisco ;  and  Dina,  in  the  employ  of 
the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corporation  in  Bakersfield.  Of  the  second 
marriage  there  were  six  children,  namely :  Adeline,  Mrs.  Christian  Ruedy,  of 
Panama ;  Mary,  Mrs.  Zillig,  residing  in  Arizona ;  John,  Everett,  Florence  and 
Irving,  who  are  still  at  home.  Mrs.  Pesante  takes  much  pleasure  in  having 
been  able  to  care  for  and  train  her  children  to  habits  of  industry  and  self- 
reliance.  Having  been  reared  in  the  Protestant  faith,  she  is  a  member  of  St. 
John's  Lutheran  Church  in  Bakersfield. 

PETER  TUCULET  was  born  in  Spelet  near  Bayonne,  Basses  Pyrenees, 
France,  ]May  12,  1875.  His  father,  also  named  Peter  Tuculet,  has  been  a 
farmer  and  stockman  all  these  years"  and  still  resides  on  his  little  farm  in 
the  lofty  Pyrenees  with  his  wife,  Frances.  To  them  were  born  ten  children, 
nine  of  whom  are  living,  Peter  being  the  fifth  in  the  order  of  birth.  From  a 
lad  he  made  himself  useful  on  the  farm  and  learned  the  stock  business  as  it 
was  done  in  the  Pyrenees  of  France.  Two  of  his  brothers  having  located  in 
Kern  county,  Cal,  he  also  determined  to  see  the  land  of  which  he  had  heard 
such  glowing  reports  and  setting  out  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  arrived  in 
Kern  county  in  1892.  Immediately  he  found  employment  with  a  sheepman 
herding  the  flocks  in  Kern,  Inyo  and  Mono  .counties  for  eight  years,  when  he 
purchased  a  band.    A  year  later  he  sold  his  flock  to  engage  in  mining  in  the 


'  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  13(k^ 

Amelia  district,  being  employed  in  the  (luld  Pick  and  also  the  Amelia  mine 
until  1907.  From  that  time  until  1909  he  was  foreman  of  stone  quarries  at 
\^ictorville,  and  then  returned  to  Bakersfield,  since  which  time  he  has  been 
foreman  of  the  Noriega  ranch,  a  position  he  is  filling  with  his  customary  zeal. 

Mr.  Tuculet  was  married  in  East  Bakersfield  in  1900  to  Miss  foanna 
Mier,  a  native  of  Spain,  and  to  them  have  been  born  six  children,  as  follows: 
Peter,  ^lanuel,  Joseph,  Marie,  Dominic  and  Frank.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Tuculet  arc  members  of  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church  in  East  Bakersfield. 

G.  J.  ALDRICH.— A  resident  of  California  since  1909,  Mr.  Aldrich  claims 
Ohio  as  his  native  commonwealth  and  was  born  at  Weston,  Wood  county, 
November  21,  1888,  being  a  son  of  the  late  D.  L.  Aldrich,  for  years  a  druggist 
at  Cygnet,  Ohio,  but  deceased  in  1909.  The  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Flora  A.  Hoover,  was  born  in  Weston,  Ohio,  and  now  makes  her  home  at 
Lima,  that  state.  The  family  comprises  three  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom, 
Harry  F.,  is  employed  as  a  drug  clerk  at  Toledo,  O.,  while  the  youngest,  Rob- 
ert Lloyd,  is  engaged  as  a  tool-dresser  with  the  Syndicate  Oil  Company  in  the 
Midwa}'  field.  The  second  son,  George  J.,  attended  school  as  a  boy,  helped 
his  father  in  the  drug  store  during  vacations,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  left 
school  and  store  in  order  to  engage  in  the  oil  industry  in  the  Lima  fields  for 
the  Standard  Oil  Company.  From  the  pipe-line  gang  he  was  raised  to  be 
a  ganger,  which  position  he  filled  about  eighteen  months.  Meanwhile  he  was 
married  at  Adrian.  Mich.,  to  Miss  Mina  Clark,  of  Cygnet,  Ohio,  and  socm 
after  his  marriage  he  moved  to  California,  where  he  has  since  engaged  in  the 
oil  business.  For  ten  months  he  worked  on  the  pipe  line  of  the  Standard  at 
Orcutt  in  the  Santa  Maria  field.  When  the  Producers  Transportation  Com- 
pany built  their  line  through  to  the  coast  he  was  empkyed  in  the  capacity  of 
engineer  for  three  months,  after  which  he  became  an  engineer  for  the  Asso- 
ciated Oil  Company.  A  short  visit  at  the  old  Ohio  home  was  followed  by  his 
return  to  the  west  and  the  resumption  of  work  with  the  Standard,  in  whose 
employ  he  came  to  the  Signa  station  as  a  fireman  and  during  September  of 
1912  received  a  merited  promotion  to  be  engineer.  In  his  work  he  has  had 
the  cheerful  and  wise  counsel  of  his  wife,  who  is  a  woman  of  gentle  Christian 
character,  a  devoted  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  a  house- 
keeper whose  attractive  home  radiates  good  cheer,  as  dues  also  her  kindly 
hospitality  and  amiable  disposition. 

L.  D  COULTER.— Born  in  McKean  county,  Pa..  September  25,  1884, 
he  w-as  reared  in  the  oil  fields  of  his  native  commonwealth  and  received  a  com- 
mon-school education,  supplemented  by  attendance  at  the  academy  in  West 
S.unburv.  Butler  county.  The  beginnings  of  the  oil  work  became  familiar 
to  him  while  he  was  yet  a  boy.  From  the  first  he  gave  indication  of  special 
aptitude  for  the  occupation.  At  the  age  of  twenty  he  was  doing  work  of 
considerable  responsibility  in  the  Butler  county  fields.  Much  of  his  work  in 
the  east  was  done  in  West  \'irginia,  where  he  was  employed  at  St.  Marys  for 
some  time  as  a  tool-dresser  and  where  he  gained  a  reputation  for  skill  and 
efificiencv.  After  four  and  one-half  years  in  West  X'irginia  he  sought  a  larger 
field  for  his  activities  and  since  1909  has  been  connected  with  the  industry  in 
California,  where  for  some  eighteen  months  he  worked  at  Coalinga  before 
identifying  himself  with  the  Midway  field.  Merit  alone  caused  the  rise  of  Mr. 
Coulter  from  roustabout  through  the  varying  grades  of  work  to  the  posi- 
tion of  foreman  with  a  concern  of  great  prestige  and  large  interests.  Since 
coming  to  the  Midway  field  he  has  engaged  as  production  foreman  on  the 
Shale,  Oakburn  and  Brunswick  divisions  of  the  General  Petroleum  Oil  Com- 
pany. While  in  West  Virginia  he  was  identified  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias 
at  Glover  Gap  and  since  coming  to  the  west  he  has  been  associated  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at  Taft  and  the  Eagles  at  Coalinga.  In 
1912,  a  year  after  his  marriage,  he  was  deeply  bereaved  by  the  death  of  his 


1364  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

wife,  who  was  Miss  Sarah  Robards,  member  of  an  old  Kentucky  family  and  a 
lady  of  such  culture  and  gentleness  as  to  win  and  retain  the  friendship  of  her 
large  circle  of  acquaintances. 

F.  J.  BURNS. — The  oil  industry  in  Kern  county  has  an  able  representative 
in  the  person  of  F.  J.  Burns,  superintendent  of  the  Dominion  Oil  Company  and 
identified  with  other  organizations  engaged  in  the  business  of  development  in 
this  district.  While  the  upbuilding  of  the  Dominion's  lease  of  forty  acres  on 
section  15,  31-22,  with  its  four  wells  averaging  a  monthly  production  of  twelve 
thousand  barrels,  has  been  his  principal  task,  it  by  no  means  rearesents  the 
limit  of  his  energies,  for  in  addition  he  started  the  King  George  Oil  Company 
in  191 1  and  also  drilled  down  two  thousand  feet  on  the  Bobby  Burns  lease  at 
McKittrick  and  has  had  other  interests  more  or  less  successful.  A  resident 
of  McKittrick,  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  from  November,  1912,  until 
April.  1913,  when  he  resigned  in  order  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  the  oil 
business. 

Near  Woodbridge,  Suffolk  county,  England,  F.  J.  Burns  was  born  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1875,  the  son  of  John  Franklin  and  Elizabeth  Burns,  the  latter  of 
whom  died  one  week  after  the  birth  of  her  son,  F.  J.,  while  the  former  died 
the  following  year.  There  was  only  one  other  child,  a  brother  ten  years  older 
than  F.  J.;  he  became  a  surgeon  in  the  British  army  and  was  sent  to  Egypt, 
where  he  was  shot  and  killed  while  attending  to  wounded  soldiers  on  the  battle- 
field. The  father  was  a  country  gentleman  and  owned  Marleybone  Court,  an 
estate  comprising  about  eighty  acres.  The  family  was  both  prominent  and 
financially  prosperous,  and  a  nurse  and  governess  were  kept  for  the  special 
care  of  the  children,  who  after  the  death  of  their  parents  were  the  special 
charge  of  relatives  holding  the  estate  in  trust  for  their  use. 

In  1894  F.  J.  Burns  sailed  from  Antwerp  for  Jersey  City,  landing  in  June 
of  that  year  after  an  uneventful  voyage.  From  the  east  he  proceeded  to 
Chicago  and  thence  to  Victoria,  B.  C.,  where  he  engaged  to  work  as  book- 
keeper in  the  office  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Company.  Later  he  be- 
came purser  on  the  steamship  Monmouthshire  of  the  same  line.  For  six 
months  he  filled  that  position,  meanwhile  visiting  the  ports  of  China  and 
Japan,  as  well  as  many  American  ports  on  the  Pacific  coast.  These  voyages 
gave  him  a  varied  knowledge  of  much  of  the  world,  thus  supplementing  the 
information  he  had  gained  thrL.ugh  his  travels  in  England,  Holland,  Belgium 
and  France,  in  company  with  his  brother.  Captain  Burns,  during  the  furloughs 
of  the  latter  while  acting  as  surgeon  in  the  British  army.  Upon  resigning  as 
purser  he  came  to  the  oil  fields  of  California,  bringing  letters  of  introduction 
to  leading  oil  operators  in  the  Santa  Maria  field.  For  two  years  he  engaged  as 
superintendent  of  the  Pinal  and  Brookshire  Oil  Companies  and  in  1909  came 
to  McKittrick,  where  he  has  since  organized  the  Bobby  Burns  Oil  Company, 
the  Scottish  Oilfields  Limited,  the  Carnegie  Oilfields  Limited  and  the  Domin- 
ion Oil  Company,  the  two  last-named  being  in  the  North  Midway  field.  After 
the  Carnegie  had  been  developed  to  a  depth  of  thirty-nine  hundred  feet  it 
was  changed  to  a  water  well,  then  sold  and  is  now  being  operated  by  a  water 
company.  The  Scottish  Oilfields  developed  a  lease  in  the  Elk 
Hills  to  a  depth  of  forty-one  hundred  feet,  but  found  no  oil  and 
therefore  abandoned  the  holdings.  The  King  George  was  organized  and 
incorporated  in  1911,  but  no  attempt  has  as  yet  been  made  to  drill  and  test  the 
property.  These  various  organizations  have  required  much  time  and  thought 
on  the  part  of  Mr.  Burns,  who  entertains  great  hopes  concerning  the  ultimate 
development  and  future  value  of  the  Dominion  properties  and  believes  this 
section  of  the  county  to  be  unsurpassed  in  its  openings  for  oil  operators. 
He  is  interested  in  public  affairs  and  votes  the  Democratic  ticket.  For  some 
years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Democratic  county  central  committee.  In 
addition  he  is  a  member  of  the  Bakersfield  Club. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  l.Vo 

PETER  MATTLY.— Many  of  the  most  enterprising  men  who  have 
made  a  success  of  the  dairy  business  in  Kern  county  have  come  hither  frum 
the  region  of  the  Alps  in  Switzerland,  and  among  them  we  find  Peter  Mattly, 
who  was  born  in  Zilles,  Canton  Graubunden,  April  19,  1879.  He  was  the  son 
of  John  C.  and  Christene  (Grischott  )  Alattly,  who  were  both  descended  from 
old  families  in  Graubunden  and  were  prosperous  farmers,  residing  at  their  old 
htime  until  they  passed  from  earth.  Of  their  four  children  three  arc  living, 
as  follows:  Christian,  who  resides  in  Mono  county;  Peter,  of  this  review, 
and  Hill  G.,  who  is  associated  with  Peter  in  the  dairy  business. 

Peter  Mattly  was  reared  in  his  native  place  and  received  his  education 
in  the  public  schools.  l-"rom  a  youth  he  learned  farming  and  was  early  set 
to  work,  thus  learning  habits  of  industry,  carefulness  and  economy.  Having 
become  interested  in  repurts  from  the  United  States  he  concluded  to  cast  his 
lot  in  the  land  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  with  that  end  in  view  came  to 
Montana  in  1901,  remaining  one  year.  Then  he  came  to  Mono  county,  Cal., 
where  with  his  two  brothers  he  bought  out  their  uncle,  Leo  Alattly,  who 
was  in  the  stock  business.  They  continued  raising  cattle  there  until  1912 
when  he  and  his  brother  Hill  sold  their  interest,  and  cuming  to  Kern  county 
formed  a  partnership  with  Chris  Cayiri  and  purchased  the  old  Chris  Mattly 
place  of  five  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  where  they  are  engaged  in  raising  alfalfa 
and  have  a  large  dairy.  To  this  business  Mr.  Mattly  devotes  all  of  his  time. 
He  was  also  interested  in  starting  the  Meadowland  Creamery.  In  1938  he 
made  a  visit  to  his  old  home  in  Zilles  where  he  was  married  to  Dora  Cayori, 
the  daughter  of  George  and  Menga  Catrina  Cayori.  After  their  marriage  he 
returned  to  California  with  his  bride.  Politically  they  espouse  the  Republican 
principles  and  in  religious  belief  they  are  Lutherans. 

MILLARD  D.  BENSON.— Embarking  in  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith  M.  D. 
Benson  with  a  partner  purchased  from  W.  I>".  Hubbard  the  blacksmith  shop  at 
McKittrick,  where  he  now  conducts  a  growing  and  profitable  business,  using 
;.  gas  engine  for  power  and  having  in  his  shop  every  modern  equipment  for 
efficient  work  in  his  line. 

The  Benson  family  is  of  old  eastern  lineage.  Dallas  Benson,  a  native  of 
Coudersport,  Potter  county,  Pa.,  and  a  railroad  contractor  for  some  years 
during  young  manhood,  established  himself  in  Michigan  for  the  purpose  of 
pursuing  his  chosen  business.  While  at  St.  Clair,  that  state,  he  married  Miss 
Naydell  .Millward  and  established  a  hi.me  in  that  town.  After  the  birth  of  a 
son,  Alillard  D.,  which  occurred  at  St.  Clair,  October  5,  1873,  the  familj'  re- 
turned to  Pennsylvania,  the  father  establishing  a  home  in  his  native  town. 
After  some  years  as  a  railroad  contractor  in  that  part  of  the  country  he  took 
up  agricultural  pursuits  and  also  engaged  to  some  extent  in  lumbering.  Until 
his  death  in  1892  he  remained  a  resident  of  Pennsylvania.  The  widow  after- 
ward became  the  wife  of  H.  L.  Hnlcomb,  now  a  well-known  resident  of  Bakers- 
field. 

Upon  the  completion  of  the  regular  course  of  study  in  the  Coudersport 
high  school  Mr.  Benson  took  up  lumbering  in  Pennsylvania.  There  also  he 
learned  every  phase  of  the  oil  business.  As  a  driller  he  proved  to  be  excep- 
tionally capable.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  Alaska  attracted  him  to  that  coun- 
try. During  the  spring  of  1898  he  went  by  steamer  to  Skagway  and  from 
there,  crossing  the  White  ])ass,  to  Dawson.  After  six  months  in  the  mining 
regions  of  the  Klondike  he  was  taken  ill  with  typhoid  fever.  As  soon  as  he 
was  able  to  travel  he  followed  the  trail  westward  to  St.  Michaels,  where  he 
boarded  a  steamer  for  Seattle  and  then  entered  a  hospital  for  recuperation  from 
the  fever.  As  soon  as  able  to  travel  he  came  to  Tulare  county,  where  he  soon 
regained  his  health.  In  the  fall  of  1899,  at  the  opening  of  the  Kern  river  field, 
he  engaged  as  a  driller  for  the  Peerless  Oil  Company.  Two  months  later,  in 
December  of  1899  he  came  to  McKittrick,  where  he  secured  employment  as  a 


1366  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

driller  for  the  Grant  Oil  Company.  Later  tasks  in  drilling  gave  him  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  Midway,  Sunset,  Fellows  and  North  Midway  fields. 
Together  with  Mr.  Iribarne  in  1910  he  bought  the  old  Headquarters  hotel 
and  livery  barn,  but  in  1911  he  sold  out  to  his  partner.  Later  he  bought  a 
blacksmith  shop,  the  largest  in  McKittrick,  in  which  business  he  has  Mr. 
Holcomb  as  a  partner.  After  coming  to  Kern  county  he  was  married  at 
Bakersfield  to  Miss  Jennie  Allen,  a  native  of  Kalamazoo,  Mich.  In  fraternal 
lelations  he  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Improved  Order  of  Red  Men. 

ROBERT  J.  MULL.— It  has  been  necessary  for  Mr.  Mull  to  earn  his  own 
support  from  boyhood.  Although  still  a  young  man  (born  in  1885)  already 
he  has  established  and  developed  an  important  business.  After  some  time 
devoted  to  work  around  oil  wells,  in  1909  he  embarked  in  the  livery  business 
at  McKittrick,  where  he  built  a  barn  and  corral,  purchased  driving  horses 
and  buggies,  and  opened  a  stable  that  he  still  conducts  with  fair  profit.  In 
addition  he  makes  a  specialty  of  auto  livery  and  also  owns  and  operates  a 
blacksmith  and  horse-shoeing  shop,  so  that  in  the  varied  lines  of  activity  he 
keeps  busily  and  profitably  employed. 

When  only  one  year  old  Robert  J.  Mull  was  left  an  orphan.  During  1887 
he  was  brought  from  his  birthplace,  Newport,  Ark.,  to  California,  where  he 
was  taken  into  the  home  of  an  uncle  at  Merced.  Later  he  lived  successively 
at  Santa  Barbara  and  Bakersfield  and  attended  the  schools  of  those  cities.  A 
course  in  Heald's  Business  College  completed  his  education.  Upon  leaving 
school  he  secured  work  in  the  Coalinga  oil  field,  where  he  was  employed  as  a 
tool-dresser.  Coming  to  the  McKittrick  field  in  1906,  he  continued  here  as  a 
tool-dresser  until  l909,  when  he  embarked  in  the  business  that  since  has 
engaged  his  time  and  attention.  Since  coming  to  McKittrick  he  has  become 
a  member  of  the  Yoko  Tribe  No.  252,  I.  O.  R.  M.  Politically  he  supports 
Democratic  principles.  His  family  consists  of  wife  and  daughter,  Evelyn. 
Mrs.  Mull,  prior  to  their  marriage  in  Tulare,  was  Miss  Hattie  Stevenson, 
and  is  a  woman  of  culture  and  education,  a  native  of  Licking,  Mo. 

FRED  L.  SMITH. — The  tide  of  emigration  that  bore  great  multitudes  of 
sturdy  pioneers  away  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  into  the  unknown 
regions  of  the  interior  found  the  Smith  family  transplanted  from  the  east  to  the 
then  undeveloped  regions  of  Michigan,  where  William  H.  was  born  at  Ply- 
mouth and  where  in  youth  he  learned  the  trade  of  stonemason  under  his 
father.  However,  the  young  man  was  more  fond  of  adventure  and  started 
cut  to  see  something  of  the  world.  While  in  Louisiana  he  was  induced  to  join 
the  regular  army  and  received  an  assignment  to  the  Twenty-fourth  Lhiited 
States  Infantry,  which  was  dispatched  to  Fort  Missoula,  Mont.  Through  the 
request  of  his  mother  he  was  honorably  discharged,  on  account  of  being  under 
age.  He  secured  employment  in  Montana  and  after  a  brief  period  became 
manager  of  the  grocery  department  of  the  Missoula  Mercantile  Company, 
continuing  in  the  same  position  for  fifteen  years.  Meanwhile  he  was  elected 
county  clerk  and  recorder  of  Missoula  county  and  he  won  the  election  two 
terms,  but  during  the  last  year  of  the  second  term  he  resigned  in  order  to 
accept  a  position  as  chief  of  police  of  Missoula.  Ten  months  later  he  gave  up 
that  post  and  embarked  in  the  real-estate  business,  but  soon  afterward  was 
appointed  city  clerk,  which  office  he  now  holds. 

Mr.  Smith  married  in  Montana  Miss  Alice  V.  Amiraux,  a  native  of 
Maine,  who  had  accompanied  her  family  across  the  plains  in  a  "prairie 
schooner"  drawn  by  oxen.  Upon  reaching  Montana  her  father,  Henry  A. 
Amiraux,  located  near  Missoula  and  embarked  in  stock-raising  and  ranching. 
Later  he  was  chosen  to  serve  in  the  territorial  legislature  of  Montana.  There 
were  three  children  in  the  family  of  William  H.  and  Alice  V.  Smith  and  two 
of  these  survive.  Youngest  of  the  three,  Fred  L.,  was  born  at  Missoula,  Alont., 
November  3,  1882,  and  received  his  elementary  education  in  his  native  town. 


HISTORY    OI'    KF.RX    COUXTY  13f>7 

Alter  he  had  graduateil  from  tlie  Missdula  lii.uh  schcx.l  in  IS'/)  he  entered 
All  Hallow's  College  in  Salt  Lake  L'ity  antl  continued  in  that  institution  for 
three  years,  receiving  in  1902  a  diploma  from  the  commercial  department. 
Upon  his  return  to  the  old  home  town  he  entered  the  emi)loy  of  the  Missoula 
Mercantile  Comjiany  as  a  bookkee])er.  When  his  father  was  elected  ctuinty 
clerk  and  recorder  he  was  appointed  chief  deputy  in  the  office  and  upon  the 
resignation  of  the  incumbent  toward  the  close  of  the  second  term  he  was 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  When  a  new  incumbent  had  been  elected  he  con- 
tinued as  chief  deputy  for  one  year,  after  which  for  a  similar  period  he  man- 
aged a  hotel  in  .MissLiula.  Next  he  engaged  in  the  cigar  business  in  Wallace, 
Idaho.  December  1,  1911,  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  soon  formed  a 
partnership  with  E.  J.  Thompson  in  the  running  of  the  Oil  Center  stage 
between  Bakersfield  and  Oil  Center,  a  distance  of  seven  miles. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Smith  took  place  at  Spokane,  \Vash.,  December  31, 
1904,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Julia  Butler,  who  was  born  in  Rush  City, 
Minn.,  and  was  the  youngest  in  a  family  that  includes  two  daughters  and  two 
sons  now  living.  Her  parents,  A.  \V.  and  Marie  (Kelley)  Butler,  were  natives 
respectively  of  Maine  and  Lake  Forest,  111.,  and  the  former,  after  many  years 
as  a  builder  in  Minnesota,  removed  to  Spokane,  \\'ash.,  and  took  up  the  same 
line  of  business.  The  eldest  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith,  Billie,  died  at  the 
age  of  three  years.  The  others  are  Frederick,  Jule  and  William  H.,  to  whom 
(he  parents  hope  to  give  the  best  educational  advantages  this  city  afTords. 
In  politics  Mr.  Smith  votes  with  the  Democratic  party.  While  lix'ing  in 
Idaho  he  became  identified  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus  at  Wallace,  also 
with  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men,  while  at  ]\Iissoula  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Eagles  and  Elks,  and  in  addition  he  has  maintained  an  active  association 
with  the  Yeomen. 

N.  M.  GATES. — To  engage  in  drilling  for  the  La  lielle  Oil  Company  in 
March  of  1910  Mr.  Gates  came  to  the  Midway  field.  When  he  had  comj)leted 
the  drilling  of  the  first  well  he  was  chosen  superintendent  of  the  lease. 
Scarcely  had  well  Xo.  1  been  started  when  the  concern  sold  out  to  the  Cali- 
fornia Counties  Oil  Company,  which  has  retained  him  in  the  pi  sition  of  super- 
intendent. The  first  two  wells  have  been  continuous  producers  and  well  No.  3, 
which  yields  enough  gas  to  run  the  entire  lease,  also  came  in  as  a  gusher.  At 
this  writing  well  No.  4  is  in  process  of  drilling. 

Born  at  Pittsfield,  Pike  county.  111.,  September  11,  1859,  he  was  ten  years 
of  age  when  his  father,  Joseph  Gates,  removed  to  Missouri  and  settled  on  a 
farm  in  Lafayette  county.  During  1876  he  removed  to  Texas  and  settled  on  a 
farm  in  Callahan  county,  where  the  father  died.  Returning  to  the  old  home 
in  Missouri  in  1880,  he  began  to  earn  his  livelihood  as  a  farmer,  but  the 
following  years  he  temporarily  abandoned  such  work  and  the  year  of  1882 
found  him  mining  near  (jeorgetijwn,  Colo.  Three  different  times  he  made  the 
round  trip  between  Missouri  and  Colorado,  farming  in  the  former  slate  and 
mining  in  the  latter.  During  1886  he  went  to  Idaho  and  found  employment  in 
mining,  but  at  the  expiration  of  fifteen  months  he  left  to  make  a  tour  of  the 
Pacific  coast  country.  Returning  thence  to  a  Missouri  farm,  in  1888  he  again 
left  home  to  try  his  luck  with  the  pioneers  of  Oklahoma.  However,  when  the 
famous  run  was  made  in  April  of  1889  he  felt  the  chances  to  be  so  small  that  he 
withdrew  from  the  race,  afterward  renting  a  farm  at  Lenapah,  I.  T.,  for  four 
years. 

On  coming  to  California  in  1893  Mr.  Gates  engaged  in  farming  in  Tulare 
county  for  a  year,  1)ut  in  1894  he  returned  to  the  Indian  Territory  and 
resumed  farm  pursuits  in  that  country.  At  Wagoner,  I.  T.,  occurred  his  mar- 
riage to  Mrs.  Jennie  (Merchant)  Young,  a  daughter  of  John  ^lerchant,  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Merchant  Bros.,  large  cattle  buyers  in  Texas.  By  her  first 
marriage  there  were  two  sons,  both  later  adopted  l)y  Mr.  Gates,  and  there  are 


1368  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

also  two  sons  of  her  second  marriage,  the  four  being  as  follows :  Howard, 
now  employed  as  a  driller  at  Brea,  this  state ;  John,  who  is  engaged  with  the 
California  Counties  Oil  Company;  Joseph  and  Lee.  The  family  are  of  the 
Presbyterian  faith.  During  1897  Mr.  Gates  removed  from  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory to  Colorado  and  soon  afterward  he  secured  employment  as  a  helper  at 
Florence  in  the  oil  fields,  where  later  he  was  promoted  to  be  a  driller.  Coming 
to  the  California  oil  fields  in  1905,  he  engaged  as  a  driller  with  the  Radium 
Oil  Company  at  Santa  Maria.  In  1906  he  became  superintendent  of  the  prop- 
erty. When  he  resigned  that  position  early  in  1910  he  came  to  the  Midway 
and  has  since  been  connected  with  the  lease  now  operated  by  the  California 
Counties  Oil  Company.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

WILLIAM  E.  ARMSTRONG.— Upon  attaining  his  majority  in  1897 
he  entered  a  claim  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Kern  county,  which  he 
proved  up  on  and  then  sold.  Another  early  venture  in  Kern  county  took 
him  into  partnership  with  a  brother,  C.  W.  Armstrong,  the  two  undertaking 
general  agricultural  pursuits  in  the  Weed  Patch,  where  two  favorable  years 
brought  them  excellent  returns,  but  the  third  year,  being  dry,  lost  them  all  the 
profits  of  the  preceding  seasons.  At  another  time  he  bought  and  subdivided  a 
block  in  East  Bakersfield,  afterward  selling  a  number  of  the  lots  for  building 
purposes,  the  balance  remaining  in  his  possession. 

Of  Virginian  ancestry  and  lowan  birth,  Mr.  Armstrong  is  a  son  of 
Thomas  E.  and  Margaret  (Walker)  Armstrong,  natives  respectively  of  West 
Virginia  and  Illinois,  the  former  a  pioneer  first  of  Illinois  and  then  of  Ringgold 
county,  Iowa,  where  he  died.  The  family  consisted  of  six  children,  all  of 
whom  are  living  except  C.  W.,  late  of  Kern  county.  The  third  in  order  of 
birth,  William  E.,  was  born  in  Ringgold  county,  Iowa,  May  29,  1876,  and 
received  public-school  education  and  farm  training.  At  the  age  of  about 
twenty  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  arriving  in  March  of  1896,  after  which  he 
tried  his  luck  as  a  farmer  in  the  Weed  Patch  and  next  turned  his  attention  to 
teaming  between  Bakersfield  and  the  Kern  river  oil  field.  Becoming  interested 
in  the  oil  industry,  he  learned  tool-dressing  and  general  work  aiound  the  wells. 
During  1907  he  went  to  San  Joaquin  county  and  purchased  property  which 
is  to  be  put  in  alfalfa.  Returning  to  Kern  county  in  1910  after  having  rented 
the  farm  he  resumed  work  in  the  Kern  river  oil  field.  In  May,  1913,  he  became 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Armstrong  &  Reynolds,  proprietors  of  a  general  mer- 
cantile store  at  Reward,  but  August  20,  1913,  he  bought  out  his  partner's 
interest,  being  now  the  sole  owner.  Recently  he  opened  another  store  in  Mc- 
Kittrick,  which  is  conducted  under  the  firm  name  of  Armstrong  &  Co. 

Ever  since  casting  his  first  ballot  Mr.  Armstrong  has  been  a  Republican. 
Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  in  Bakers- 
field. His  first  marriage  united  him  with  Miss  Anna  Shackelford,  who  was 
born  in  Iowa  and  died  at  Bakersfield,  Cal.,  leaving  two  daughters.  Pearl  and 
Ethel.  Some  years  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife  he  married  Miss  Sadie 
Jenkins,  of  Bakersfield,  a  native  of  Nodaway  county.  Mo.,  and  a  woman 
whose  capabilities  are  shown  in  her  co-operation  with  Mr.  Armstrong  in 
movements  for  their  own  personal  advancement  as  well  as  the  general  welfare. 
Some  years  ago  she  located  a  desert  claim  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres 
at  Rio  Bravo,  where  an  abundance  of  water  was  found  at  a  depth  of  eighty 
feet.  In  order  that  the  water  might  be  utilized  as  needed,  Mrs.  Armstrong 
put  in  a  pumping  plant  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  inches  capacity. 

JOSEPH  PETER  DOOLEY.— The  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  James 
&  Docley,  dealers  in  clothing  and  men's  furnishing  goods,  is  a  pioneer 
merchant  of  Taft.  He  arrived  in  Taft  September  1,  1909,  and  that  same  month 
became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  James  &  Dcoley,  establishing  the  first  clothing 
store  in  Taft  on  Siding  No.  2.  This  was  burned  out  October  22,  1909. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  KV." 

ANDREW  NIXON.— One  of  the  self-made,  self-reliant  men  of  Rands- 
bursj,  Kern  county,  is  Andrew  Nixon,  wlio  since  the  age  of  thirteen  years  has 
been  earning  his  own  way  and  providing  for  himself,  without  the  aid  and 
comfort  of  a  parent's  guidance  in  the  struggle.  He  is  now  the  successful  owner 
of  several  placer  mines  and  one  quartz  mine  in  the  county. 

Mr.  Nixon  came  to  Randsburg  in  1895,  after  having  numerous  experiences 
elsewhere  in  the  country  between  there  and  Nova  Scotia,  where  his  birth  oc- 
curred January  22,  1865,  in  Anapolis  county.  He  was  sent  to  the  public  schools 
until  he  was  thirteen,  when,  left  an  orphan,  he  found  it  incumbent  upon  him  to 
look  after  his  own  interests  and  find  a  way  to  procure  his  livelihood.  In  1884 
he  came  west  to  Butte  City,  Mont.,  where  he  started  in  the  mining  business, 
taking  up  his  residence  in  that  city,  where  he  remained  up  to  the  time  he  came 
west  to  California.  In  1902  he  bought  out  a  liquor  business  in  Randsburg, 
which  he  is  conducting  at  the  present  time.  He  was  one-third  owner  of  the 
Stanford  Gold  Coin  Mill,  afterward  called  the  Stanford  Mining  and  Milling 
Company.  He  was  the  locator  of  the  Blackhawk  mine  which  he  afterwards 
sold  to  a  mining  company.  Mr.  Nixon  is  a  member  of  the  i'"ratcrnal  Order  of 
Eagles. 

CHARLES  EMERSON. — In  the  .southwest  corner  of  Kern  county,  run- 
ning uji  til  within  erne  mile  of  Ventura  county  and  about  three  miles  from  the 
San  Luis  Obispo  county  line,  lies  the  Paleto  ranch  of  five  thousand  acres 
operated  by  Emerson  Bros.  The  identification  of  the  family  with  the  ranch 
dates  back  to  the  ^-ear  1886,  when  Edward  Simpson  Emerson  removed  to 
Kern  ccunty  and  pre-empted  and  homesteaded  land  twelve  miles  south  of  the 
present  site  of  Maricopa.  For  years  before  coming  to  this  locality  he  had  lived 
in  California  and  had  engaged  in  ranching.  By  birth  a  Missourian,  he  had 
engaged  in  the  government  service  in  1848  and  as  a  teamster  had  hauled 
freight  to  the  various  government  posts.  During  1852  he  sailed  from  Mexico 
to  San  Francisco,  thence  proceeded  to  Sonoma  county  and  took  up  land. 
There  he  married  Miss  Julia  Dunbar  and  in  that  county  their  five  eldest  chil- 
dren were  bi  rn.  Removing  to  San  Luis  Obispo  county  in  1868,  he  continued 
to  engage  in  ranching  and  stock-raising.  When  he  brought  his  family  to 
Kern  county  in  1886  he  and  his  seven  sons  engaged  in  rancliing  in  the  Paleto 
country.  When  his  demise  occurred  in  1904  and  that  of  his  wife  in  1908,  both 
had  attained  to  the  age  of  seventy-one  years. 

The  family  of  Edward  Simpson  Emerson  comprised  nine  children,  all 
still  living,  as  follows :  Perry,  on  a  ranch  near  Bakersfield ;  Zaza,  who  is  on  the 
Paleto  ranch  ;  Henry,  who  makes  his  home  on  a  ranch  eight  miles  south  of 
Bakcsfield  ;  Charles,  who  w^as  born  in  Sonoma  county  July  6,  1865,  and  is 
still  unmarried:  Elbert  T.,  a  resident  of  Fillmore,  Ventura  county;  Mollie  L., 
who  married  Clarence  S.  Green,  of  Maricopa  (represented  elsewhere  in  this 
v(  lume)  ;  Edward  E.,  on  the  Paleto  ranch  ;  Robert,  who  makes  his  home  at 
Fillmore.  Ventura  county;  and  Josephine,  Mrs.  M.  T.  Bush,  who  resides  on 
the  Paleto  ranch.  Since  attaining  his  majority  Charles  Emerson  has  lived  in 
Kern  county  and  has  engaged  in  ranching.  With  his  brothers  as  partners 
he  usually  maintains  a  herd  of  about  three  hundred  head  of  cattle,  but  at  the 
present  time  they  have  reduced  the  bunch  to  one  hundred  head,  these  being 
mostly  Durham  and  Hereford  cattle  of  the  finest  beef  grades. 

On  account  (  f  a  spring  of  water  on  the  land  taken  up  by  Charles  Emerson 
Messrs.  Carr  and  Haggin  entered  suit  against  him  and  attempted  to  eject 
him  from  the  holdings.  He  was  enjoined  from  using  the  waters  of  the  spring. 
Litigation  followed.  Defying  the  injunction  of  the  superior  court  of  Kern 
county,  he  spent  thirty  days  in  jail  for  conteniDt  of  c(,urt  and  in  that  way 
became  well  known  in  this  section  of  the  state.  Through  the  purchase  by  hirn 
of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  and  by  his  father  of  a  similar  amount  from 
the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  the  successors  of  the  original  contestants, 


1370  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  matter  was  eventually  settled  and  peace  was  restored.  Since  then  he  has 
continued  his  ranching  enterprises  and  with  his  brothers  operates  five  thou- 
sand acres  forming  what  is  known  as  the  Paleto  ranch,  situated  twelve  miles 
south  of  Maricopa. 

JOHN  CROSS. — A  pioneer  in  Kern  county,  John  Cross  was  born  in  Santa 
Clara  county,  June  16,  1864,  and  was  brought  by  his  parents  to  a  home  within 
the  present  borders  of  Kern  in  1866.  He  attended  public  schools  in  a  school- 
house  which  stood  near  Weldon,  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  Kern  river,  until 
he  was  seventeen  years  old,  then  devoted  himself  to  farm  work  until  he  was 
twenty.  His  first  venture  for  himself  was  in  homesteading  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  government  land  on  the  North  Fork  about  three  miles  above 
Kernville,  which  he  began  to  improve  and  on  which  he  prospered  as  a  stock- 
raise--  and  general  farmer  until  1897.  Then  he  sold  his  land  and  became  a  mer- 
chant at  Bodfish,  where  he  built  and  started  the  first  store  and  sold  goods 
until  1906,  when  he  took  up  his  residence  at  Mojave.  There  he  is  the  owner 
of  a  liquor  store,  at  the  same  time  owning  a  business  place  at  Isabella,  which 
he  leases.  For  many  years  he  gave  his  attention  to  farming  and  cattle  raising 
on  the  South  Fork  of  the  Kern  river,  but  has  lately  sold  out  his  stock-raising 
interest. 

In  nearly  all  his  business  ventures  Mr.  Cross  has  been  successful.  Be- 
sides the  interests  already  mentioned  he  is  the  owner  also  of  property  in  Los 
Angeles.  Fraternally  he  affiliates  with  the  Loyal  Order  of  Moose.  He  mar- 
ried Miss  Clio  B.  Tilley,  June  14,  1897.  Mrs.  Cross  is  a  native  daughter  of 
Kern  county,  born  in  Kernville,  and  is  the  mother  of  five  children,  Louis, 
Raymond,  Marion,  John,  J.,  and  Clio  Helen. 

L.  A.  McCALL. — What  is  known  in  the  oil  world  to  be  the  largest 
gusher  in  the  L^nited  States,  and  indeed  in  the  entire  world,  is  situated  on 
section  36,  31-23,  in  Kern  county  and  owned  by  the  Standard  Oil  Company. 
This  lease  is  the  most  important  owned  by  the  company  and  contains  more 
gushers  than  any  other  lease  in  the  Midway  field,  or  in  fact  in  any  other 
lease  in  the  world,  and  it  was  here  that  the  celebrated  oil  gusher  known  as 
McNee  No.  10  was  brought  in  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  1913;  and  the  McNee 
No.  6  during  the  first  part  of  September.  No.  10  came  in  as  a  powerful  gusher, 
breaking  loose  and  destroying  connections,  and  flowed  uncontrolled  for  two 
weeks,  it  being  estimated  that  twenty  thousand  barrels  of  oil  were  taken 
from  it  per  day.  The  skill  with  which  this  well  was  controlled  and  the 
difficult  and  expert  work  of  management  are  due  entirely  to  the  ability  of 
L.  A.  McCall,  the  present  foreman,  who  with  the  aid  of  thirty-five  expe- 
rienced oil  men  worked  night  and  day  for  five  days,  removing  the  broken 
casing  and  making  a  new  connection  with  such  success  that  the  well  was 
brought  under  perfect  control  and  is  making  twelve  thousand  barrels  per 
day,  a  record,  so  far  as  is  known  (1914),  greater  than  any  other  gusher  in  the 
world.  This  section  contains  besides  the  No.  10  the  following  wells,  which 
are  all  large  gushers:  Nos.  1,  4,  6,  12,  15  and  17.  All  the  wells  in  the  sec- 
tion with  the  exception  of  No.  1  and  No.  4,  which  were  already  drilled  before 
his  appointment,  have  been  brought  in  and  drilled  under  the  direction  of 
Mr.  McCall,  who  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  for 
four  years,  a  year  and  a  half  as  foreman  of  section  36. 

The  son  of  a  veteran  oil  man  of  Pennsylvania,  Samuel  McCall,  he  was 
born  at  Beaver  City,  Clarion  county,  Pa.,  April  2,  1878,  and  his  father  is 
now  working  with  him  on  section  36.  It  was  in  McKane  county,  Pa.,  that 
L.  A.  McCall  started  as  a  tool  dresser  to  learn  the  oil  industry  under  his 
father.  He  was  then  sixteen,  and  three  years  later  he  went  to  West  Vir- 
ginia to  work  in  the  oil  fields,  remaining  three  years.  Next  for  a  like  period 
he  worked  in  Ohio  oil  fields  and  then  moved  to  Indiana,  where  he  was 
employed  by  a  contract  driller,  and  did  drilling  for  the  first  time.  His  next 
location  was  in  Tilberrv,  Ontario,  Canada,  where  he  drilled  for  a  year  and 


HISTORY    OI-     KI-RX    C'CU'N'TY  1371 

then  came  to  California  in  l''()()  and  cn-a,L;ecI  with  tlic  C'alifurnia  Limited  Oil 
Comiiany,  at  Coalins^a.  for  one  year,  six  months  of  whidi  he  worked  as  a 
driller,  and  then  retnrnod  east  and  drilled  in  Lawrenceville,  Lawrence  county, 
111.,  for  a  year.  The  west  attain  attracted  him,  and  in  I'W  he  came  to  Taft 
and  found  employment  as  driller  for  the  Standard  Oil  Com])any.  He  is  a 
cable  as  well  as  a  rotary  tool  driller  and  his  understanding;  of  the  work,  his 
accuracy  and  good  judgment  earned  him  the  promotion  to  lease  foreman,  in 
March,  V)\2.  Since  then  he  has  continued  to  give  his  employers  the  utmost 
satisfaction  in  his  work.  Mr.  McCall  has  the  advantage  of  unusually  fine 
physical  and  mental  strength,  which  have  materially  aided  him  in  his  upward 
striving-.  With  his  wife,  who  before  her  marriage  in  Lawrenceville,  111., 
was  Miss  So])hronia  Stanley,  he  resides  on  section  36,  in  the  Standard  house. 

C.  A.  BOSTAPH.— Dating  his  identification  with  the  Kerto  lease  from 
March  17,  1911,  he  has  since  been  connected  with  the  concern  as  driller  and 
as  foreman,  in  which  latter  ca])acity  he  now  has  charge  of  nine  strings  of  tools, 
one  of  these  being  rotary  and  eight  cable.  Not  only  does  he  have  a  wide  per- 
sonal acquaintance  among  oil  operators  in  Kern  county,  but  in  addition  he  is 
actively  connected  with  the  Petroleum  Club  at  Taft  and  is  a  trustee  in  the 
Kerto  Club,  which  was  founded  in  September  of  1912  and  is'  now  under  the 
care  of  H.  H.  Madern,  president;  F.  B.  Tough,  vice-president;  and  J.  D. 
Calder,  secretary,  together  with  the  board  of  trustees  including  three  gentle- 
men besides  himself. 

A  native  of  Clarion,  Clarion  county,  Pa..  C.  A.  Bostaph  is  a  sun  of  An- 
drew J.  and  Mary  A.  (Black)  Bostaph,  who  still  reside  on  the  old  Pennsylvania 
homestead.  I'esides  being  engaged  in  farming,  the  father  has  oil  interests 
and  the  old  farm  contains  six  oil  wells  of  considerable  value.  The  family 
has  been  connected  with  the  oil  industry  for  years.  lie  and  his  wife  are  the 
parents  of  five  sons  and  three  daughters.  Three  of  the  sons  are  working  for 
the  Standard  Oil  Company  in  the  jiipe-iine  department  between  West  Vir- 
ginia and  Philadelphia.  The  fourth  son  is  also  engaged  in  the  oil  industry 
in  \Vest  \'irginia.  while  C.  A.,  the  second  in  order  of  birth,  is  following 
the  same  business  in  California.  Two  of  the  daughters  are  wives  of  oil  men 
working  respectively  in  Pennsylvania  and  West  \'irginia.  The  third  daughter, 
who  is  unmarried,  lives  in  Oklahoma  and  is  a  trained  nurse. 

Born  April  25,  1876,  C.  A.  Bostaph  was  sixteen  years  of  age  when  he 
began  to  work  as  a  tool-dresser,  going  from  the  Clarion  fields  to  those  of 
Findlay,  Ohio,  and  four  years  later  removing  from  Ohio  to  West  Virginia, 
where  he  drilled  and  had  charge  of  tools.  From  1896  until  December,  1901, 
he  continued  in  West  Virginia,  whence  he  came  to  California.  Arriving  at 
Whittier  early  in  1902,  he  continued  in  that  field  until  June  of  the  same  year 
and  then  removed  to  V'entura  county,  to  enter  the  employ  of  the  Union  Oil 
Company.  L'ntil  1908  he  continued  with  the  Union  Oil  Company.  Meanwhile 
he  engaged  in  drilling  in  the  FuUerton  and  Lompoc  fields  and  later  put  down 
some  wells  at  Taft.  Returning  to  Ventura  county,  he  remained  there  for  two 
months.  Ne.xt  he  drilled  on  the  Ethel  D.  lease,  from  which  point  he  went  to 
25  Hill  and  engaged  in  drilling  for  ten  months.  A  short  period  of  labor  in 
Ventura  county  was  followed  by  his  arrival  at  Kerto  and  his  association  with 
the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company.  Lifelong  familiarity  with  the  oil  industry 
has  made  him  acquainted  with  every  phase  f)f  the  work.  When  only  a  small 
boy  he  was  put  to  work  at  ])umping  every  day  as  soon  as  he  reached  home 
from  school,  and  he  found  the  oil  business  far  more  engrossing  than  any  text- 
books, so  that  his  education  as  an  oil  oiJerator  progressed  even  more  rapidly 
than  his  high-school  training.  In  the  oil  field  of  his  |)resent  connection  he 
is  known  as  an  expert  driller  and  a  man  of  wide  general  knowledge. 

E.  L.  BURNHAM. — With  the  exception  of  the  first  eighteen  years  of  his 
life  spent  in  Iowa,  where  he  was  born  in  (Jctober  of  1865,  .Mr.  Burnham  has 


1372  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

been  identified  permanently  with  the  interests  of  California  and  at  the  time 
that  Taft  began  to  attract  wide  attention  as  the  center  of  a  great  oil  industry 
he  came  to  this  village.  Upon  coming  to  the  west  he  made  his  first  stop  at 
Fresno  and  near  that  town  in  1883  he  secured  employment  on  a  ranch  at  day 
wages,  while  later  he  also  found  employment  in  the  freighting  business.  From 
Fresno  he  removed  to  Madera  county  and  engaged  in  general  ranching  during 
the  next  seven  years.  From  there  he  removed  to  Stanislaus  county  and 
settled  upon  a  farm.  The  ensuing  three  years  were  given  to  successful  agri- 
cultural effort  in  that  community.  His  marriage  in  1888  united  him  with  Miss 
Sadie  Musick,  a  native  of  California.  The  residence  of  the  family  was  estab- 
lished at  Madera  and  the  two  children,  Clarence  and  Lillie,  have  received  the 
educational  advantages  offered  by  the  schools  of  that  city. 

The  development  of  the  oil  industry  in  Kern  county  made  Taft  a  new 
town  of  great  importance.  Business  opportunities  led  Mr.  Burnham  to  this 
place  during  March  of  1910.  Immediately  after  his  arrival  he  embarked  in 
the  meat  and  produce  business  as  the  representative  of  a  firm  whose  other 
members,  besides  himself,  are  H.  L.  Musick  of  Pasadena  and  Charles  Musick 
of  Fresno,  the  company  thus  formed  being  engaged  in  the  maintenance  of  an 
important  trade  built  up  at  this  point.  Their  trade  extends  both  into  whole- 
sale and  retail  lines.  While  Mr.  Burnham  has  given  his  time  with  assiduous 
devotion  to  the  development  of  the  business  interests  under  control  of  his 
company,  he  has  neglected  none  of  the  duties  devolving  upon  progressive 
citizens  solicitous  for  the  advancement  of  the  community.  Regarding  a 
public  office  as  a  public  trust,  he  consented  to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  Taft,  to  which  office  he  was  elected  in  the  fall  of  1910 
scarcely  six  months  after  his  removal  to  the  town.  At  the  expiration  of 
the  term  he  was  again  chosen,  April  8,  1912,  for  the  same  office  and  is  now 
filling  the  position  with  the  energy  and  intelligence  characteristic  of  him  in 
every  relation  of  life.  His  fraternal  affiliations  are  with  the  Loyal  Order  of 
Moose  at  Taft  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  at  Madera. 

BERNARD  G.  GREEN.— Mr.  Green  is  the  son  of  John  W.  and  Sarah  E. 
Green,  who  now  make  their  home  in  Taft,  where  the  former  is  employed  as  a 
roadmaster  under  Supervisor  Bush.  One  of  a  family  of  nine  children,  Bernard 
G.  Green  was  born  December  19,  1880,  in  Santa  Barbara  county  and  was  twelve 
years  of  age  when  in  1892  he  came  with  his  parents  to  Kern  county,  settling 
in  Bakersfield.  In  the  schools  of  this  county  he  completed  his  education  and 
on  neighborhood  farms  he  learned  the  rudiments  of  agriculture,  which  he 
has  since  followed  as  a  renter  of  various  tracts.  After  he  had  engaged  for  two 
years  as  a  teamster  in  the  west  side  oil  fields  he  formed  a  business  association 
with  John  J.  Brinkman,  whereby  he  agrees  to  level,  check  and  break  the 
land  lying  sixteen  miles  southeast  of  Bakersfield  and  put  in  an  irrigation  plant, 
receiving  fi  ur  crops  free  in  return  for  his  work. 

A  well  five  hundred  and  twenty  feet  deep  furnishes  a  steady  flow  of 
water,  utilized  by  means  of  a  centrifugal  pump  operated  by  a  gasolme  engine 
of  forty  horse-power.  It  is  the  intention  to  devote  the  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  to  alfalfa  and  other  staple  crops  of  Kern  county.  The  abundance  of 
water  supply  and  fertility  of  the  soil  argue  in  favor  of  gratifying  results  when 
the  work  of  cultivation  is  well  under  way. 

With  his  family  consisting  of  his  wife  and  daughter,  Margaret  R.,  Mr. 
Green  has  established  a  home  on  the  ranch  and  has  entered  upon  his  many 
responsibilities  with  energy  and  intelligence.  Mrs.  Green,  who  prior  to  their 
marriage  in  October  of  1907  was  Miss  Margery  L.  Jenkins,  is  a  daughter  of 
J.  E.  Jenkins  and  a  sister  of  Mrs.  J.  J.  Brinkman,  of  Bakersfield. 

MARIUS  MARTIN  ESPITALLIER.— The  first  twenty  years  in  the  life 
of  Marius  Martin  Espitallier  were  passed  happily  and  uneventfully  in  the 
humble  home  of  his  father,  Dominic,  a  farmer  and  shoemaker  at  Ancil,  near 


HISTORY    Ol"    Kl'.RX    COUNTY  1373 

Gap.  ill  the  tlepartnient  of  Ilautes-Alpcs,  l'"raiicc.  'I'lie  iiinsl  diligent  applica- 
tion to  the  slioeiiiaker's  trade  aiui  the  most  unwearied  cultivation  of  liis  few 
acres  scarcely  sufficed  to  gain  for  the  father  the  means  necessary  for  the 
support  of  the  family,  hence  the  son,  whose  birth  had  occurred  March  16,  1854, 
was  early  put  to  work  to  earn  his  own  way  in  the  w<irld.  .Vot  only  did  he 
assist  on  the  farm,  but  in  addition  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  baker  and  while  not 
busy  at  some  useful  task  he  was  allowed  to  attend  scliool  in  order  that  he 
might  acquire  some  knowledge. 

It  was  on  the  15th  of  December.  1874.  that  Mr.  F.spiiallicr  landed  in  San 
Francisco,  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  Having  a  good  knnwlcdge  of  the 
bakery  business  he  was  enabled  to  secure  empKyment  in  a  shop  in  San 
Francisco,  where  he  remained  for  a  number  of  years.  Cuming  to  Kern  county 
in  1880  he  embarked  in  the  sheep  business,  with  headquarters  at  F.ast  Bakers- 
field,  and  for  si.x  years  he  experienced  the  reverses  and  successes  incident  to 
that  industry.  During  December  of  1886  he  bought  the  I'^rench  bakery  in 
East  r.akersfield  on  Humboldt  street  between  Baker  and  King  and  there  he 
conducted  a  thriving  trade  for  twenty-four  years.  His  patronage  extended 
through  every  part  of  Bakersfield  and  East  Bakersfield  and  into  the  sur- 
rounding country.  \\'hen  finally  he  sold  the  business  in  1910,  with  his  wife 
he  enjoyed  a  delightful  vacatii  n.  returning  to  his  old  home  in  the  south  of 
'France  and  also  traveling  through  Switzerland,  Italy  and  Belgium,  .\fter  his 
return  he  engaged  in  the  livery  business  at  No.  615  Humboldt  street,  and  has 
since  been  proprietor  of  the  Espitallier  stables.  His  marriage,  in  Los  Angeles, 
August  14,  1887,  united  him  with  Miss  .-Xppoloni  Eyraud,  a  native  of  Hautes- 
Alpes.  and  they  have  a  comfortable  home  on  Humboldt  street.  East  Bakers- 
field. Fraternally  he  holds  niembcrshi])  with  the  Druids.  In  politics  he  votes 
with  the  Democratic  party. 

JOHN  L.  SWETT.— >rr.  Swett  has  shown  his  deep  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  Bakersfield  by  contributing  of  his  means  and  time  toward  the  further- 
ing of  her  development.  He  is  the  son  of  Dr.  William  K.  Swett,  who  was  born 
March  7,  1852,  at  Newport,  N.  H.,  and  here  he  was  reared  and  educated.  In 
1873  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  A.  Davis,  and  together  they  came  to  Kern 
county  in  1875,  settling  at  Havilah,  where  Dr.  Swett  practiced  medicine. 
Although  his  career  in  this  region  was  very  brief  he  acconii)lished  much  good 
and  his  memory  was  much  revered  after  his  untimely  death,  at  the  early  age 
of  twenty-four  years.  Two  children  were  born  to  Dr.  Swett  and  his  wife, 
John  L.,  who  is  mentioned  below,  and  William  K.,  who  married  Edith  Fugitt, 
of  Bakersfield,  and  has  one  child,  Gertrude.  The  latter  now  lives  in  South 
Fork  valley. 

John  L.  Swett  was  born  in  San  I'rancisco,  .August  17,  1874.  and  was  but 
two  years  of  age  at  the  time  his  father  passed  away.  Upon  the  removal  of  his 
parents  to  Kern  county  he  was  brought  hither  and  here  he  has  since  made 
his  home.  He  is  at  present  the  proprietor  of  the  Monte  Carlo  saloon,  which 
is  located  on  Nineteenth  street,  Bakersfield.  He  married  Miss  Charlotte 
Reber,  of  Selma.  Cal.,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Dorothy  N. 
and  Langdon.  Their  home  is  at  No.  2210  Nineteenth  street.  Mr.  Swett 
never  loses  an  opportunity  to  co-operate  with  his  fellow-citizens  toward  bene- 
fiting his  city  and  county.  Although  not  holding  public  office  he  interests 
himself  with  all  civic  movements,  and  is  ready  to  give  every  aid  in  his  ]). >wer 
toward  the  public  welfare. 

The  mother  of  John  L.  Swett,  who  was,  before  her  marriage  to  William  K. 
Swett,  Elizabeth  .\.  Davis,  was  horn  at  Wenham,  Mass.,  where  her  first 
years  were  passed.  .\t  the  age  of  nine  she  came  with  her  parents  via  the 
isthmus  of  Panama  to  .San  Francisco,  landing  there  in  1863.  Her  father  settled 
at  Visalia,  and  there  she  was  reared  and  married  in  1873  to  Dr.  William  K. 
Swett.  coming  to  Kern  county  with  him  in  1875,  where  his  death  occurred  a 


1374  HISTORY    OF    KERN'    COUNTY 

short  time  later.  She  later  became  the  wife  of  N.  P.  Peterson,  and  resides  at 
Isabella,  Kern  county,  where  Mr.  Peterson  is  engaged  in  mining  and  stock- 
raising,  owning  a  ranch  there.  By  this  marriage  there  were  three  children : 
Neal  H. ;  Walter  C. ;  and  Addie  E.,  now  the  wife  of  Dick  Eugitt,  and  residing 
at  Isabella. 

A  proper  regard  for  the  pioneer  history  of  the  medical  profession  of 
Kern  county  imperatively  demands  a  further  mention  of  Dr.  William  K. 
Swett,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  born  to  his  profession, 
being  the  son  of  Dr.  John  Langdon  Swett,  of  Newport,  N.  H.  Dr.  W^illiam  K. 
Swett  received  his  earlier  education  at  the  New  London  academy  and  at  the 
Kimball  Union  academy  at  Meriden,  N.  H.  He  came  to  California  in  1870, 
settling  in  San  Francisco  at  first.  He  then  commenced  the  study  of  medicine, 
reading  under  the  preceptorship  of  Dr.  J.  P.  Whitney  at  the  latter's  office  in 
San  Francisco,  and  later  completed  the  medical  course  at  the  Poland  Medical 
College.    His  professional  career  at  Havilah  was  marked  by  signal  success. 

A.  V.  BENNETT. — Among  the  men  who  are  making  a  success  of  the 
dairy  business  in  Kern  county  is  A.  V.  Bennett,  a  native  of  Illinois,  born  at 
Adair.  McDonough  county,  February  6,  1880,  the  son  of  Jefferson  and  Sarah 
(Randolph)  Bennett,  natives  of  Indiana  and  Pennsylvania  respectively.  On 
his  mother's  side  the  Randolphs  are  traced  back  into  England,  records  of  the 
family  showing  the  family  extant  in  the  ninth  century.  Mr.  Randolph  is  a 
man  of  public  spirit  and  is  much  interested  and  helpful  in  the  development 
of  the  town  of  his  adoption. 

Mr.  Bennett  was  brought  up  on  his  father's  farm,  attending  the  public 
schools  in  the  district.  Having  accumulated  some  money  he  invested  it  about 
1904  in  some  land  at  Alspaugh,  Cal.,  which  he  still  owns.  He  did  not  come  to 
this  state  until  1906  and  in  1907  he  located  in  Wasco,  where  he  has  built  up  a 
growing  business.  As  soon  as  he  obtained  water  for  irrigating  his  seven  and 
one-half  acres  in  town  he  sowed  alfalfa  and  began  the  dairy  business,  serving 
bottled  milk  to  the  customers  at  Wasco  and  he  also  ships  a  supply  of  milk  to 
Lost  Hills.  This  necessarily  takes  a  great  deal  of  attention  and  his  time  is 
wholly  occupied. 

In  Adair,  111.,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Bennett,  with  Miss  Carrie 
Hoyle,  a  native  of  Fulton  county.  111.,  and  they  have  two  children.  Gene  and 
Gordon. 

WILLIAM  H.  ENGLE. — A  native  of  Kern  county,  Mr.  Engle  was  born 
near  Woody  and  within  three  miles  of  his  present  ranch,  November  10, 
1868.  His  father,  David  Engle.  was  born  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  when  a  youth 
crossed  the  plains  to  California  in  1849.  He  followed  mining  in  different  camps 
but  later  turned  his  attention  to  the  cattle  business  and  became  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Kern  county.  Locating  land  near  the  Five  Dog  ranch,  he 
became  a  successful  cattleman.  He  married  in  Kern  county  Miss  Elvira  Hig- 
gins,  a  native  of  Oregon,  and  both  died  in  this  county.  Of  their  ten  children, 
eight  of  whom  are  living,  William  is  the  second  oldest,  and  from  a  boy  he  was 
brought  up  in  the  cattle  business,  receiving  his  education  in  the  local  schools. 
While  working  for  his  father  Mr.  Engle  acquired  a  small  herd  of  his  own, 
running  them  on  the  open  range  with  his  father's  cattle.  He  homesteaded  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  three  miles  from  Granite  but  later  sold  it  and  pur- 
chased nine  hundred  and  thirteen  acres  in  one  body  at  the  head  of  Rabbit 
Gulch  about  four  miles  above  Granite  station,  where  he  now  engages  in  the 
cattle  business. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Engle  occurred  near  Woody,  uniting  him  with  Miss 
Lulu  Brown,  who  was  born  in  Illinois  but  reared  in  Kern  county,  and  to 
them  were  born  six  children  as  follows :  Lee,  Ella,  Gladys,  William,  David  and 
Harry.  Mr.  Engle  began  riding  after  cattle  when  eight  years  of  age  and  so  he 
is   well   and   favorablv   known   throughout   the   county   as   one   of  the   oldest 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COUNTY  1375 

anions:  tlie  stock-tjrowers.  l-\>r  ni;ui)-  scars  he  served  as  a  school  trustee. 
is  a  deputy  slieriff  and  has  served  one  term  as  constable.  With  his  wife  he  is  a 
member  of  tlie  Christian  church  at  Woody.    Politically  he  is  a  Democrat. 

EDWARD  WEIT.— Amouf^  the  upbuilders  of  Wasco  we  find  Edward 
Weit,  wiio  was  born  in  Koenijjsberg,  Prussia,  November  3,  1877.  His  child- 
hood, however,  was  spent  in  Rraunsweip:,  Germany,  where  he  was  educated 
in  the  local  schools,  after  which  he  was  employed  in  the  office  of  the  salt 
works  and  became  an  experienced  bookkeeper.  Accepting  a  position  with 
the  North  German  Lloyd  line  of  steamers  it  was  his  privilege  to  visit 
different  parts  of  the  old  world  touching  all  countries  but  Au.stralia.  In  1897 
he  came  to  New  York  City,  where  for  a  time  he  was  employed  in  hotels.  Later 
he  traveled  throughout  the  United  States,  visiting  nearly  every  city  of  import- 
ance, and  he  also  made  the  trip  to  Alaska. 

In  1905  Air.  Weit  came  to  Los  Angeles,  where  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Hedvig,  also  a  native  of  Germany.  For  a  time  he  was  proprietor  of  a  hotel 
and  restaurant,  and  later  had  a  grocery  store  in  Ocean  Park.  In  1910  they 
came  to  Bakersfield  and  in  November  of  the  same  year  located  in  Wasco  and 
took  charge  of  the  Wasco  hotel.  Later  he  also  had  a  restaurant.  Mr.  W'eit 
also  started  the  first  meat  luarket  in  Wasco.  Having  purcliased  twelve  and 
one-half  acres  in  the  town  site  he  sunk  a  deep  well,  installed  a  pumping 
plant  and  laid  the  first  ])ipes  for  furnishing  citizens  with  water  for  domestic  use. 
He  has  erected  a  tower  house  and  reservoir,  also  a  plunge.  20x40  feet,  covered 
by  a  large  building  which  is  also  equipped  with  tub  and  shower  baths.  Wasco 
plunge  has  l)ecome  a  very  popular  place.  After  comi)leting  the  waterworks 
and  jilunge  he  sold  his  other  interests  in  order  to  devote  all  of  his  time  to 
the  building  up  of  his  new  enterprise.  He  believes  in  modern  and  up-to-date 
ideas  and  luethods,  and  was  the  first  citizen  in  Wasco  to  use  an  electric  fan. 
He  installed  the  first  private  motor  and  also  was  the  first  to  use  electricity 
for  ci  oking.  Fraternally  Mr.  Weit  is  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the 
\\'orld  and  with  his  wife  is  a  member  of  the  Fraternal  Brotherhood. 

FRANCIS  M.  SNOW. — It  was  near  Springfield,  Greene  county,  Mo., 
that  l-'rancis  M.  Snow,  who  now  lives  near  Bakersfield,  was  born  September 
24,  1860.  He  was  the  son  of  ^^  illiam  S.  and  \'irginia  Edmonson,  who  were 
born  in  Tennessee  and  became  farmers  in  (jreene  county.  Mo.  In  18()8  they 
removed  to  Brownwood.  Tex.,  where  the  mother  died.  In  his  old  age  the  father 
removed  to  Roseburg,  Ore.,  where  he  pasesd  away.  Of  the  seven  children 
born  to  this  couple  two  are  living,  and  Francis  M.  is  the  third  in  order  of 
birth.  He  was  eight  years  old  when  he  removed  to  Texas  with  his  parents, 
and  thereafter  until  he  was  seventeen  he  attended  the  public  school  near  his 
home.  During  the  four  years  following  he  worked  for  his  father  on  the  latter's 
farm.  His  first  business  \enture  for  himself  was  as  a  buyer  and  seller  of  cattle 
in  association  with  the  Dublin  Oil  Mill  Company  of  Texas,  continuing  thus 
employed  until  1883,  when  he  moved  to  California,  and  in  Lake  county  engaged 
in  farming  and  stock-raising.  Locating  at  Santa  Rusa  in  1898.  he  was  fore- 
man of  a  lumber  yard  there  until  l'X37.  when  he  came  to  Kern  county, 
leasing  one  hundred  acres  two  miles  and  a  half  mirth  of  I'.akersfield  where 
he  raised  grain. 

In  1912  Mr.  Snow  bougjit  the  eighty  acres  six  miles  northwest  of  Bakers- 
field which  is  now  his  homestead,  a  tract  of  raw  land  which  he  has  ini])roved 
and  put  under  cultivation  and  developed  into  one  of  the  good  farms  in  this 
vicinity.  It  is  in  alfalfa  and  is  irrigated  from  the  Beardsley  canal.  As  a 
farmer  Mr.  Snow  has  brought  to  bear  upon  the  problems  presented  to  him  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  soils,  crops  and  climate,  which  constitute  a  compre- 
hensive view  of  all  conditions  of  production,  and  he  has  transacted  his  busi- 
ness with  his  fellow  citizens  on  a  high  plane  of  honor  that  marks  him  as  a 
man  to  be  trusted.     .\s  a  citizen  he  has  proven  himself  public-spirited  to  a 


1376  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

remarkable  degree,  giving  his  support  to  every  worthy  movement  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  community.  He  affiliates  fraternallywith  the  Odd  Fellows 
and  the  Fraternal  Brotherhood.  August  2,  1898,  he  was  married  in  Lake 
county  to  Miss  Flora  Hendricks,  who  was  born  in  that  county  March  3,  1875, 
and  they  have  two  sons,  Ellis  and  Roger. 

THOMAS  SAMUEL  KINGSTON.— At  one  time  owning  considerable 
stock  in  oil  companies,  which  he  has  sold,  Mr.  Kingston  has  invested  in  a 
ranch  of  forty  acres  in  the  old  River  district,  also  twenty  acres  at  Panama, 
Kern  county. 

The  only  son  and  the  second  child  in  a  family  of  three  children,  Thomas 
Samuel  Kingston  was  born  at  Massena,  St.  Lawrence  county,  N.  Y.,  in  1876, 
and  from  the  age  of  ten  years  has  lived  in  the  northwest  and  the  Pacific  coast 
country.  His  parents,  Gecrge  A.  and  Emma  (Benson)  Kingston,  were  natives 
of  St.  Lawrence  county,  N.  Y.,  where  the  former  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
law  at  Massena.  Eventually  removing  to  Nevada,  he  practiced  his  profession 
in  Elko  county  and  at  one  time  held  the  office  of  district  attorney.  After  the 
death  of  his  wife,  which  occurred  in  Nevada,  he  removed  to  Arizona  and  there 
spent  his  last  days.  As  a  cowboy  on  Dakota  cattle  ranches  Thomas  Samuel 
Kingston  earned  a  livelihood  at  an  age  when  many  are  in  school.  In  early 
life  he  gained  a  knowledge  of  every  phase  of  the  oil  industry.  For  a  time 
he  worked  with  a  water  well  contract  driller  for  the  Government  in  the  Chey- 
enne river  agency.  As  a  tool-dresser  and  driller  he  had  employment  in 
various  artesian  well  belts  of  the  Dakotas.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  Spanish- 
American  war  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Company  A,  First  South  Dakota 
Infantry,  which  was  ordered  to  San  Francisco  and  from  there  to  the  Philip- 
pines. 

He  served  eighteen  months  on  the  islands.  When  the  native  rebellion 
began  he  was  appointed  chief  engineer  on  the  gunboat  Florida  and  continued 
to  serve  as  chief  engineer  on  that  and  other  boats  for  more  than  one  year. 
After  he  had  been  mustered  out  by  special  order  No.  215  he  remained  as  a 
civilian  employe.  Upon  returning  to  the  United  States  after  his  resignation 
he  was  attracted  to  Bakersfield  by  reason  of  recent  oil  discoveries  in  the  Kern 
river  field.  Later  he  secured  employment  as  a  driller  in  the  Sunset  field  and 
drilled  the  discovery  well  at  the  town  of  Maricopa,  later  spending  three  years 
as  a  driller  on  the  Peerless  lease  in  the  Kern  river  field.  Recognized  as  an  oil 
operator  of  unusual  capability,  he  was  chosen  superintendent  of  the  Con- 
solidated Copper  Oil  Company  on  section  2  at  Maricopa  and  later  as  super- 
intendent did  the  first  development  work  on  the  Pioneer  Midway  at  Fellows, 
after  which  he  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Oil  Company 
at  Fellows  and  as  superintendent  of  the  Springfield  Oil  Company  at 
North  McKittrick,  and  he  has  been  foreman  with  the  Honolulu  since  1910. 
He  has  given  his  attention  very  closely  to  the  oil  business  and  has  taken  no 
part  whatever  in  politics,  in  which  indeed  he  is  decidedly  independent  in 
opinion.  By  his  marriage  in  Bakersfield  to  Miss  Clara  Medill,  who  was  born 
at  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.,  and  died  at  Fellows,  Cal.,  he  has  two  sons,  Benson 
and  Burns.  During  a  temporary  sojourn  in  New  York  state  he  was  made  a 
Mason  in  Massena  Lodge  No.  513.  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  took  the  chapter  degree 
in  St.  Lawrence  Chapter  No.  24,  R.  A.  M.,  at  Pottsdam,  N.  Y.,  while  more  re- 
centlv  he  has  been  identified  with  Bakersfield  Commandery  No.  39,  K.  T.,  and 
Al  Malaikah  Temple,  N.  M.  S.,  in  Los  Angeles. 

THOMAS  WATSON  ATKINSON.— For  the  past  sixteen  years  there 
has  been  associated  with  the  mining  interests  of  Kern  county  a  man  whose  ex- 
perience in  the  work  in  this  and  other  fields  covers  a  long  period. 

Born  in  Fremont  county,  Iowa,  September  23,  1872,  Mr.  Atkinson  was 
taken  to  Norton  county,  Kans.,  when  he  was  a  year  old,  and  there  he  grew 
to  manhood,  attending  the  common  schools  and  later  the  Normal,  which  he 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1377 

finished  when  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  then  went  to  Colorado  and  from  there 
to  various  places  until  1889,  when  he  came  to  California  and  became  interested 
in  mining.  In  1896  he  landed  in  Ventura  county,  where  he  was  employed 
for  a  time  and  later  he  came  tu  Kern  county,  and  with  his  father  went  to 
work  in  the  development  of  mines  here.  These  were  the  Sunshine,  the  Merced 
and  the  Hatchet,  and  at  present  he  is  the  sole  tnvner  of  the  Sunshine  mine 
and  stamp  mill.  His  other  interests  are  in  the  Hazlelon  Crude  Oil  Company  in 
the  Sunset  field,  where  he  also  has  other  oil  mterests. 

Mr.  Atkinson  finds  time  outside  of  his  business  to  take  part  in  social 
affairs,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  blue  lodge  of  Masons,  also  affiliating  with 
the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  His  wife,  who  was  Ola  Pyles,  was 
born  in  Texas,  and  they  make  their  home  in  Randsburg.  They  have  fuur  chil- 
dren, Farrel,  Gertrude,  Thomas  and  Elizabeth.  Though  occupied  with  the 
rearing  of  their  children,  they  find  time  to^ devote  themselves  to  their  large 
circle  of  friends  who  ever  find  a  hearty  welcome  in  their  hospitable  home. 

-BENJAMIN  MORRIS  ATKINSON.— Educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Vanwert  county,  Ohio,  B.  M.  Atkinson's  birth  occurred  September  18,  1840. 
When  fourteen  years  old  he  left  school  and  a  year  later  went  to  work  for  him- 
self, clearing  land  and  farming.  In  1858  he  moved  to  Kansas,  where  he  took 
up  a  claim,  the  following  year  going  to  Iowa  and  remaining  for  eighteen 
months.  The  spirit  of  travel  by  this  time  had  caught  him  and  he  started  for 
California,  but  he  did  not  go  further  than  Salt  Lake  City,  deciding  instead  to 
go  to  Montana.  He  remained  there  from  1863  to  the  fall  of  1867,  when  he 
returned  to  Iowa.  In  the  spring  of  1871  he  moved  to  Nebraska,  later  returning 
to  Kansas,  where  he  took  up  a  homestead  in  Norton  county.  Disposing  of 
this  he  in  1878  moved  to  Colorado,  stayed  there  until  the  fall  of  the  next 
year,  and  then  started  to  California  by  way  of  New  Mexico  with  teams.  Sick- 
ness, however,  compelled  them  to  remain  during  the  winter  in  New  Mexico, 
and  then  he  came  on  to  California,  settling  first  in  \^entura  county,  where 
he  engaged  in  farming. 

On  April  3,  1896,  Mr.  Atkinson  came  with  a  partner  and  two  burros  to 
Randsburg,  Kern  county,  with  the  intention  of  going  into  the  mining  business. 
They  prospered  for  a  few  months  in  what  is  now  the  Stringer  district. 
In  this  district  they  first  located  Poor  Man's  mine,  which  is  now  operating, 
and  on  June  30,  1896,  located  Sunshine  mine  which  they  developed  and 
which  is  now  in  a  good  state  of  production.  This  mine  has  a  stamp  mill  on  it, 
and  Mr.  .Atkinson  also  has  a  cyanide  plant  there.  He  at  present  hulds  four 
claims,  having  recently  bought  the  Bully  Boy  and  Rose  mines,  all  now  in 
operation.  J\Ir.  Atkinson's  future  seems  well  assured  as  he  has  been  most 
successful  in  the  choice  of  business  undertakings,  which  have  already  proved 
most  profitable. 

On  December  18,  1868,  the  marriage  of  Benjamin  M.  .\tkinson  and  Ala- 
linda  E.  Ferrel  took  place,  she  being  a  native  of  Lloyd  county,  Ind.,  born 
there  in  1849.  They  became  the  parents  of  nine  children,  as  follows:  Elmira 
Caroline,  Thomas  W.,  Mary  E.,  Jessie  C.  (died  in  New  Mexico),  Lindie  J., 
Ina  M.,  William  M.,  Edward  C.  and  Sylva  Lenora.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Atkinson 
have  been  tender,  loving  parents  and  have  reared  their  children  to  become  rep- 
resentative citizens  and  a  credit  to  the  name.  They  are  well-known  and 
highly  respected  by  all  who  have  acquaintance  with  the  family. 

FRANCISCO  APALATEA  was  born  in  1850  in  Tucson,  Ariz.,  the  birth- 
place also  of  his  father  Guadelupe,  who  brought  his  family  to  California  in  1864, 
so  that  from  a  lad  of  fourteen  Francisco  has  been  a  resident  of  this  state. 
The  year  1871  found  him  in  Visalia  and  in  1873  he  came  to  Kern  county, 
where  he  has  chiefly  been  engaged  in  mining,  mostly  on  Piute  mountain. 
He  has  opened  many  mines,  some  of  which  he  has  sold.  He  discovered  and 
developed  the  Bryan  mine,  which  he  afterwards  sold  for  five  thousand  dol- 


1378  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

lars.  Since  1902  he  has  resided  with  his  family  on  a  one  hundred  and  sixty-acre 
ranch,  three  miles  north  of  Kernville,  but  he  still  follows  mining  and  has 
several  good  claims.  Mr.  Apalatea  has  been  three  times  married,  his  first 
two  wives  being  deceased.  His  present  wife  was  before  her  marriage  Rosa 
Rice,  and  was  a  native  of  South  Fork.  Of  their  union  have  been  born  five 
children,  and  by  his  former  unions  there  are  eleven  children  living.  Mr. 
Apalatea  has  had  much  experience  in  mining  and  is  well  posted  concerning 
the  mineralogy  of  the  county.    Politically  he  is  a  Republican. 

PETER  BLAETTLER.— The  Blaettler  brothers.  Melchoir  and  Peter, 
of  the  Town  ranch  in  the  Weed  Patch  of  Kern  county,  have  been  closely  iden- 
tified with  the  dairy  interests  in  this  section.  The  younger,  Peter  Blaettler, 
was  born  in  Unterwalden,  Switzerland,  on  September  6,  1872,  and  his  life 
and  career  have  been  so  closely  interwoven  with  those  of  his  brother  Melchoir, 
who  was  also  born  in  Unterwaldtn,  in  1870,  that  their  histories  read  almost 
alike,  they  having  shared  both  hardship  and  success  in  all  undertakings. 

In  the  year  1881  the  brothers  came  to  America  and  made  their  way  to  the 
state  of  Missouri,  settling  at  St.  Louis,  where  for  several  years  they  were 
engaged  in  a  planing  mill.  After  seven  years  in  Missouri  they  decided  to 
make  their  way  west  and  accordingly  in  1888  they  came  to  Salinas,  Monterey 
county,  Cal.,  where  they  engaged  in  dairying.  For  nine  and  a  half  years  they 
ran  the  large  dairy  ranch  known  as  the  Cowell  ranch  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
fifty  acres.  Their  success  here  led  to  the  offer  of  the  management  of  the 
Mallerin  ranch  of  a  thousand  acres,  which  extensive  duties  kept  them  closely 
occupied  for  a  time  until  in  July,  1911,  when  they  came  to  the  Town  ranch, 
over  which  they  today  are  supervisors  and  managers.  In  1911  this  ranch  was 
subdivided  and  sold  off,  the  J.  H.  JNlenke  Dairy  Company  becoming  the  pur- 
chasers of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  that  being  the  particular  section  on 
which  the  buildings  stand. 

The  ranch  has  on  it  the  buildings  erected  by  Mr.  Town,  the  former  owner, 
and  the  general  up-to-date  appearance  and  the  hygienic  condition  of  its 
buildings  evidence  the  unequalled  management  and  the  care  taken  by  those 
who  are  handling  the  details.  One  hundred  and  fifty  cows  are  daily  milked 
here,  the  cream  is  separated  by  the  modern  method  and  sold  to  the  Peacock 
Creamery  at  Bakersfield.     The  Blaettler  brothers  are  Catholics. 

JEAN  L.  PHILIPP. — A  native  of  the  county  which  has  been  his  life- 
time home,  Jean  L.  Philipp  was  born  in  Bakersfield  on  July  27,  1891,  the  son 
of  Jean  Philipp  of  East  Bakersfield,  of  whom  a  sketch  appears  elsewhere  in 
this  volume.  In  the  city  of  his  birth  the  son  was  reared  and  educated,  com- 
pleting his  studies  by  a  course  in  the  high  school.  The  young  man's  first 
insight  into  business  affairs  was  received  while  filling  the  position  of  assistant 
bookkeeper  in  the  office  of  Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co.,  in  1909,  and  it  was  by  the 
knowledge  and  experience  there  gained  during  three  months  that  he  paved 
the  way  and  made  possible  the  larger  opportunities  that  came  to  him  in  the 
years  that  have  intervened. 

It  was  in  August,  1909,  that  a  store  was  opened  in  Taft  by  G.  P.  Louthain, 
district  manager  of  the  Fairbanks,  Morse  &  Co.,  the  equipment  consisting 
of  oil  well  supplies,  gas  engines  and  electrical  attachments  and  supplies. 
A  local  manager  was  found  in  Jean  L.  Philipp,  who  had  come  to  Taft  on 
November  1,  1909,  and  has  been  a  resident  here  ever  since.  Genial  and  enter- 
prising, Mr.  Philipp  is  well  fitted  for  the  position  of  local  manager  of  this 
well-known  enterprise,  and  has  built  up  a  patronage  which  is  a  credit  to 
himself  and  is  proving  a  stimulus  to  the  growing  town  of  Taft. 

FRED  CLEMENT.— Identified  with  the  oil  industry  for  considerably 
more  than  a  decade  Mr.  Clement  has  meanwhile  risen  from  the  humble 
capacity   of   a    day    laborer   to    the    position    of   production    foreman,    having 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1379 

charge  at  the  ]iresent  time  of  the  plant  owned  by  the  Colloma  Oil  Company, 
whose  output  averages  about  eleven  thousand  barrels  per  month. 

The  son  of  a  worthy  pioneer  couple  in  Illinois,  himself  a  native  of  Spring- 
field, that  state,  born  August  27 ,  1871,  Fred  Clement  was  third  in  order  of 
birth  among  five  children  and  was  given  such  educational  advantages  as  the 
means  of  his  parents  rendered  possible.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  became  self- 
supporting  and  ever  since  then  he  has  made  his  own  way  in  the  world  unaided. 
Different  occupations  engaged  his  attention  prior  to  his  first  association  with 
the  oil  industry.  Until  twenty  years  of  age  he  worked  in  a  box  factory. 
Upon  leaving  the  factory  he  went  to  Texas  and  secured  employment  on  a 
railroad  as  brakeman.  After  two  years  he  went  north  to  Iowa  and  found 
work  as  a  farm  laborer,  continuing  as  such  until  he  was  twenty-seven  years 
of  age.  Next  he  secured  employment  with  the  Cudahy  Packing  Company  in 
the  smoke-house  department  and  by  gradual  promotion  rose  to  be  a  general 
manager  with  the  company,  having  charge  of  the  departments  at  McAllister, 
Okla.,  also  at  Ci  Igate,  Fort  Smith  and  Arkansas  City. 

Upon  resigning  the  position  with  the  packing  house  Air.  Clement  came 
to  California  in  1900  and  made  a  brief  sojourn  at  Santa  Ana.  For  six 
months  he  worked  in  the  old  Los  Angeles  oil  fields  and  there  gained  his 
first  insight  into  the  oil  industry.  From  that  district  he  came  to  the  Kern 
river  field  and  engaged  with  the  Indeiiendent  Oil  Company  in  a  minor  capacity. 
Going  next  to  the  west  side  he  worked  for  three  years  in  that  field,  meanwhile 
being  successively  with  the  Globe,  Exploration,  Associated  and  .American  Oil 
Companies,  after  which  in  September  of  1912  he  returned  to  the  Kern  river 
field  and  became  foreman  with  the  Collc.ma  Oil  Company.  He  owns  forty  acres 
in  Tulare  county  and  the  family  home  in  Bakersfield  at  1715  Blanche  street, 
which  is  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Clement,  formerly  Miss  Lyda  Jamieson.  There 
is  an  only  child,  a  son  named  Warren.  While  spending  his  week-ends  at  home 
in  the  society  of  his  family  and  the  enjoyment  of  intercourse  with  friends,  Mr. 
Clement  necessarily  spends  the  larger  part  of  his  time  on  the  field  and  may 
usually  be  found  (  n  section  31,  township  28,  range  28,  where  the  Colloma  Oil 
Company  has  its  holdings  and  operates  its  \aluable  and  productive  wells. 

CHARLES  BOWMAN. — Varied  experiences  have  come  to  Mr.  Bowman 
during  his  lone;  assnciatiun  with  the  oil  industry.  Having  worked  in  many  of 
the  oil  regions  of  the  country  he  is  well  pasted  concerning  each,  realizes  their 
possibilities,  understands  their  drawbacks  and  has  faith  in  their  future, 
especially  in  the  future  of  the  Kern  river  fields,  where  now  he  is  stationed 
as  superintendent  of  the  Homer  Oil  Company,  a  position  he  fills  with  credit  to 
himself  and  satisfaction  to  the  employing  company. 

The  youngest  of  the  four  children  of  the  late  Henderson  Bowman,  a 
contractor  in  Ohio,  Charles  Bowman  was  born  in  Lima,  Allen  county,  that 
state,  August  31,  1880.  The  eldest  of  the  family,  Sylvia,  is  the  wife  of  Kirby 
White,  a  grain  dealer  at  Harrod,  Allen  county,  Ohio.  The  second  daughter, 
Ida,  married  W.  M.  Neely,  an  oil  operator,  and  the  older  son,  Homer,  formerly 
an  oil  contractor,  is  now  engaged  in  the  furniture  business.  The  youngest  of 
the  family,  Charles,  attended  the  public  schools  of  Allen  county  between  the 
ages  of  six  and  fourteen,  after  which,  in  July  of  1894,  he  began  to  work  for  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  as  a  pumper,  running  four  wells.  Later  he  spent 
eighteen  months  as  a  pumper  with  Pyle  and  Rolierts  and  nine  months  with 
W.  W.  Neely,  his  brother-in-law.  After  a  brief  experience  as  tool-dresser  he 
began  to  drill  at  the  age  of  nineteen  years  and  in  the  December  after  he  had 
reached  the  age  of  twenty  he  became  an  independent  operator  in  Allen  county, 
where  he  drilled  a  large  number  of  wells.  Fortune  smiled  on  him  for  a  time, 
but  later  he  met  with  reverses  and  sold  his  tools. 

Arriving  in  Los  Angeles  on  the  7th  of  Sei)tember,  1899,  Mr.  Bowman 
spent  six  weeks  or  more  in  the  city.   On  Thanksgiving  day  of  tlie  same  year  lie 


1380  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

visited  the  Kern  river  fields  for  the  first  time.  The  outlook  interested  him. 
Conditions  seemed  promising,  therefore  he  decided  to  remain  for  a  time.  As 
an  employe  of  W.  W.  Stephenson  he  completed  the  first  well  that  produced  on 
the  Black  Jack  lease.  When  that  task  had  been  brought  to  a  favorable  con- 
clusion he  returned  to  the  oil  fields  near  Lima,  Ohio,  but  in  October  of  1901 
left  that  locality  for  Poplar  Blufif,  Mo.,  where  he  engaged  with  the  Oil  Well 
Supply  Company  for  a  brief  period.  When  again  he  returned  to  the  Ohio 
fields  he  continued  there  until  1904,  when  he  tried  his  luck  in  the  Indiana 
oil  fields  and  later  in  Middle  Tennessee.  On  his  return  to  Lima,  Ohio,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Lola  E.  Miller,  of  Elkhart,  Ind.,  by  whom  he 
now  has  two  sons,  Robert  L.  and  Wilbur  D.  For  three  years  his  main  enter- 
prises were  limited  to  the  Lima  field,  although  various  interests  took  him 
elsewhere  for  brief  intervals.  For  two  years  he  was  employed  in  the  machine 
shops  of  the  locomotive  works  at  Lima,  Ohio,  and  from  July  12,  1907,  until  his 
return  to  California  in  1910  he  had  charge  of  the  property  of  the  Missouri  Min- 
ing Company  at  Chelsea,  Okla.,  coming  thence  to  the  Kern  river  fields  and 
re-entering  the  employ  of  Mr.  Stephenson,  February  26,  1912,  he  was  made 
field  foreman  of  the  Black  Jack  Oil  Company.  February  17,  1913,  he  assumed 
his  present  position  as  superintendent  of  the  Homer  lease.  The  home  of  his 
family  is  on  this  lease,  in  a  comfortable  cottage  owned  by  the  company.  Having 
been  somewhat  of  a  traveler  and  not  identified  with  civic  aflfairs  in  any 
place  of  residence,  he  has  not  mingled  in  politics,  but  is  a  member  of  the 
blue  lodge  of  Masons  at  Bakersfield.  He  is  not  a  member  of  any  denomination, 
although  interested  in  the  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  with 
which  his  wife  has  been  connected  for  some  years. 

JAMES  H.  MANSFIELD.— Securing  work  with  the  Kern  Trading  and 
Oil  Company  during  September  of  1908,  in  a  short  time  Mr.  Mansfield  had 
become  familiar  with  well-pulling,  tool-dressing  and  other  lines  of  labor.  The 
next  step  made  him  a  foreman  and  from  production  foreman  he  was  promoted 
to  be  well  foreman  in  1909  and  lease  foreman  in  1910,  the  last-named  post 
being  his  present  sphere  of  duty.  Prior  to  coming  to  Kern  county  his  expe- 
rience had  been  with  railroad  and  street-car  work,  but  he  has  proved  exception- 
ally quick  in  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  oil  industry  and  by 
capability  and  intelligence  has  made  good  with  the  company. 

Born  in  Macoupin  county.  111.,  in  1879,  and  educated  in  the  graded  schools 
of  Scottville,  that  county,  Mr.  Mansfield  secured  his  first  work  in  the  round- 
house of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  and  later  engaged  as  a  brake- 
man  on  the  same  road.  In  1902  he  went  with  the  Great  Northern  Railroad 
Company  in  Montana,  where  he  remained  for  a  considerable  period.  Upon 
resigning  from  the  employ  of  that  company  he  came  to  Southern  California  in 
1904  and  found  work  as  motorman  with  the  Los  Angeles  and  Redondo  Beach 
Street  Car  Company,  later  holding  similar  positions  at  Napa  and  Stockton 
successively  and  then  returning  to  Los  Angeles  to  resume  work  with  the  car 
company.  In  September  of  1908  he  began  to  work  with  the  Kern  Trading  and 
Oil  Company  on  section  3,  township  29,  range  28,  and  on  this  property  he 
has  since  had  his  home,  with  his  wife  and  child,  James  Wayne.  Mrs.  Mans- 
field was  formerly  Miss  Edna  Belle  Watson,  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  their 
marriage  was  solemnized  in  San  Bernardino.  Fraternally  he  is  a  Scottish  Rite 
Mason  thirty-second  degree. 

JAMES  LOGAN  BAKER.— Of  Texan  birth  and  southern  ancestry, 
James  Logan  Baker  was  born  August  30,  1880,  at  Stephenville,  the  county- 
seat  of  Erath  county,  in  the  north  central  part  of  the  Lone  Star  state.  His 
parents,  A.  J.  and  Theresa  Baker,  for  some  years  lived  upon  a  large  ranch  in 
Texas,  where  the  father  engaged  in  the  raising  of  cattle,  and  after  the  removal 
of  the  family  to  California  he  has  followed  the  same  line  of  work  in  Calaveras 
county.    Of  the  children  comprising  the  family  the  eldest,  Jennie,  became  the 


HISTORY    OF    KF.R\    COUNTY  1381 

wife  of  E.  Trimble,  a  sheep  ranchman  in  Coke  county,  Tex.,  and  died  there 
in  1S86,  leaving  an  only  child,  Jessie.  The  eldest  son,  Alexander,  who  en- 
gaged in  ranching  in  Texas,  died  in  that  state  in  1887,  leaving  a  wife,  May 
(Chambers)  Baker,  and  an  only  child,  Alexander,  Jr.  The  third  child  and  sec- 
ond son,  Andrew,  is  now  engaged  in  gold-mining  in  Calaveras  county,  Cal. 
The  youngest  member  of  the  family  circle,  James  Logan,  was  twenty  years 
of  age  when  the  family  came  to  California  and  settled  in  Calaveras  county, 
where  he  had  an  experience  of  two  years  in  placer  mining.  C)n  leaving  the 
mines  he  secured  employment  as  a  clerk  with  Pattee  Bros.,  proprietors  of  a 
general  store  at  Valley  Springs  in  the  home  county. 

Upon  leaving  the  store  Mr.  Baker  returned  to  Texas,  but  an  experience 
of  eighteen  months  as  proprietor  of  a  cattle  ranch  and  various  hardships 
associated  with  the  work  convinced  him  that  California  was  to  be  preferred  as 
a  place  of  residence.  Accordingly  in  1907  he  returned  to  the  Pacific  coast  coun- 
try and  sought  employment  in  the  Kern  river  fields,  where  he  has  since  been 
employed  with  the  Federated,  first  as  an  oiler,  later  as  roustabout,  tool  dresser 
and  extra  man,  advancing  so  rapidly  that  December  17  he  was  chosen  superin- 
tendent. By  attending  strictly  to  the  duties  of  the  position  and  using  intelli- 
gence and  wise  judgment  in  all  matters  he  is  making  a  success  of  the  work. 
In  the  field  his  reputation  is  that  of  an  expert  oil  man,  while  the  officials  of  the 
company  have  been  satisfied  with  his  constant  devotion  to  their  interests. 
While  still  living  in  Texas  and  at  the  age  of  only  nineteen  years  Mr.  Baker 
established  home  ties,  being  married  to  Mary  Fisher,  daughter  of  Jack  Fisher, 
of  Mullin,  Mills  county,  that  state.  They  are  the  parents  of  three  children, 
Earl,  Archie  and  Pearly. 

FREDRICK  EHLERS.— The  manager  of  the  Pioneer  meat  market  at 
McKittrick  has  a  wide  acquaintance  among  the  oil  men  in  this  portion  of  the 
field  as  well  as  a  high  standing  among  the  business  men  of  the  town,  with 
whose  interests  he  has  been  identified  intimately  since  his  arrival  in  October 
of  1909.  Having  previously  been  connected  with  the  Miller  &  Lux  corpora- 
tion, he  was  sent  to  this  place  in  their  interests  and  has  since  superintended 
the  market  which  the  firm  established  at  this  place.  Besides  attending  to 
every  detail  connected  with  the  business  he  has  contributed  to  the  material 
growth  of  McKittrick  and  was  elected  a  member  of  its  first  board  of  trustees 
on  the  incorporation  of  the  city  in  1911.  During  the  spring  of  1912  he  was 
re-elected  to  this  important  position  and  since  then  has  acted  as  chairman 
of  the  health  committee,  also  has  been  associated  with  other  movements  for 
the  welfare  of  the  town. 

A  native  son  of  this  state,  Mr.  Ehlers  was  born  in  Merced  county,  June 
16,  1880,  and  is  a  son  of  Fredrick  and  Annie  Ehlers,  being  third  in  order  of 
birth  among  five  children,  three  daughters  and  two  sons,  all  still  living.  The 
father,  after  having  engaged  for  years  as  a  foreman  in  the  employ  of  Miller 
&  Lux,  finally  bought  a  farm  in  Merced  county  and  devoted  the  balance  of 
his  life  to  agricultural  pursuits.  His  death  occurred  in  1895,  since  which 
time  the  widow  has  remained  at  the  old  homestead.  Reared  on  that  farm, 
Fredrick,  Jr.,  was  educated  in  country  schools  and  later  completed  a  com- 
mercial course  in  the  Chestnutwood  Business  College.  He  learned  the  trade 
of  a  butcher,  which  he  has  since  followed  first  at  Santa  Rita  and  then  at 
McKittrick,  in  which  latter  place  he  also  acts  as  agent  for  the  Fresno  Con- 
sumers' Ice  Compan)'.  In  San  Francisco  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Alabel  Conrow,  of  Dos  Palos,  Merced  county,  and  they  are  the  parents 
of  two  children,  Beatrice  and  Fredrick.  Before  leaving  Merced  county,  Mr. 
Ehlers  was  an  active  worker  in  the  Young  Men's  Institute,  and  he  also  has 
been  connected  prominentiv  with  the  local  work  of  the  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men. 

JOHN  NEILL. — Since  the  beginning  of  settlement  throughout  the  ^Vest 
there  has  been  a  constant  though  never  very  large  influx  of  settlers  from  the 


1382  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Canadian  provinces,  and  throughout  the  entire  period  Canadians  have  come 
to  the  front  in  the  United  States  in  all  the  fields  of  industry,  commerce  and 
finance.  This  has  been  especially  true  in  California  in  connection  with  agri- 
cultural interests.  An  example  very  much  to  the  point  is  John  Neill  of 
Bodfish,  Kern  county,  who  was  born  on  Prince  Edward  Island,  May  8,  1856. 
He  attended  public  school  there  until  he  was  fourteen  years  old,  worked  on 
the  home  farm  until  he  was  eighteen  and  during  the  succeeding  year  labored 
in  a  lumber  yard  at  New  Brunswick.  In  the  fall  of  1874  he  came  to  Califor- 
nia and  was  employed  for  a  short  time  in  Stanislaus  county.  In  January, 
1875,  he  settled  in  Kern  county  and  found  work  in  a  sawmill  in  Green  Horn 
mountains,  where  he  remained  twenty  years,  meanwhile  acquiring  property 
at  Waggy  Flat.  Eventually  he  located  in  Hot  Spring  valley,  where  he  owns 
and  operates  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  and  he  is  at  this  time  still  the 
owner  of  the  old  Waggy  ranch,  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres. 
On  his  ranch  in  Hot  Spring  valley  he  is  proprietor  of  the  Hot  Spring  House, 
appropriately  named  from  a  large  hot  spring  132°,  which  boils  out  of  the 
ground  with  such  strong  pressure  as  to  force  it  into  any  part  of  the  house. 
Hot  and  cold  baths,  sulphur,  magnesia,  iron  and  borax  baths  may  be  had 
in  this  hotel.  His  homestead  is  well  improved  with  a  good  residence  and  ample 
barns  and  other  out-buildings  and  supplied  with  implements  and  appliances  of 
every  kind  essential  to  diversified  farming. 

Politically  Mr.  Neill  is  a  staunch  Republican  and  he  has,  as  occasion 
has  oflfered,  been  active  in  political  work.  He  affiliates  with  the  Masons  at 
Bakersfield.  He  married  in  April,  1881,  J\Iiss  Annie  IMiller,  a  native  of  Nova 
Scotia,  who  came  to  California  in  1873.  They  have  two  daughters,  Millie 
Ida,  now  Mrs.  Fisher  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  Dora  Etta,  now  Mrs.  Selicz,  of 
Waggy  Flat. 

CHARLES  CROWELL  TAYLOR.— Born  in  Smithfield,  Somerset 
county.  Me.,  October  18,  1862,  C.  C.  Taylor  is  a  son  of  David  and  Susan 
(Wakefield)  Taylor,  natives  of  Fryeburg  and  Smithfield,  Me.,  respectively. 
His  father  was  a  farmer  at  Smithfield,  later  going  to  Aroostook  county,  where 
he  died  in  1887.  The  mother  passed  away  in  1874.  Of  their  four  children 
Charles  C,  was  the  eldest.  He  attended  public  school  near  the  family 
homestead  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  then  worked  for  his  father 
for  four  years.  He  then  engaged  in  teaching  school  for  three  years  in  Aroos- 
took county,  and  afterward  clerked  in  a  general  store  in  Easton,  and  then 
in  Houlton,  Me.,  for  some  two  years.  The  subsequent  year  he  taught  school 
and  it  was  then  that  he  concluded  to  come  to  California,  and  in  j\Iarch,  1887, 
he  arrived  in  Kernville,  Kern  county. 

The  first  employment  of  Mr.  Taylor  in  the  Kernville  neighborhood  was 
on  the  Sumner  ranch  for  Mr.  Brown  and  two  weeks  later  he  was  oflfered  a 
clerkship  in  the  store  of  A.  Brown,  which  was  incorporated  in  1901  as  the 
A.  Brown  Company,  and  since  then  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  firm  and 
its  secretary  and  general  manager.  These  positions  he  has  filled  to  the 
present  time,  having  labored  successfully  for  the  advancement  of  the  house, 
which  carries  a  stock  of  general  merchandise  approximating  $40,000,  owns 
a  sawmill  in  the  Green  Horn  range,  and  has  many  thousand  acres  of  land 
on  the  South  Fork,  with  twenty-five  hundred  acres  under  cultivation.  All 
of  this  is  under  irrigation,  having  four  canals  from  the  South  Fork,  and  a 
large  portion  is  producing  alfalfa.  They  are  extensively  engaged  in  raising 
cattle,  horses  and  hogs,  which  they  ship  to  the  Los  Angeles  markets.  An 
adjunct  to  its  store  is  the  local  postoffice.  Air.  Taylor  having  been  postmaster 
since  1906.  The  company  also  has  a  branch  store  at  Weldon,  on  the  South 
Fork,  where  its  farming  lands  are  located.  Here  Mr.  Brown  built  a  flour 
mill  of  fifteen  barrels  capacity,  which  the  company  now  owns  and  operates. 
Being  large  wheat  growers,  the  company  is  engaged  in  manufacturing 
flour  for  local  consumption  and  its  sawmill  furnishes  lumber  for  the  build- 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  1383 

ing-  and  improvements  in  the  valley.  These  varied  interests  occupy  all  ot 
Mr.  Taylor's  attention. 

Mr.  Taylor  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
having  joined  the  order  in  Easton,  Me.,  and  now  belongs  to  Kernville  Lodge 
No.  251.  in  which  he  is  past  noble  grand.  He  also  affiliates  with  the  Fra- 
ternal Brotherhood.  As  a  citizen  he  is  public-spirited,  useful  and  popular 
and  as  a  Republican  he  has  a  recognized  political  influence. 

In  Bakersfield,  on  June  7,  1894,  Mr.  Taylor  married  Miss  Edith  Vir- 
ginia Benne;t,  who  was  born  in  Virginia  City,  Nev.,  the  daughter  of  Rev. 
Jesse  L.  Bennett,  one  of  the  pioneer  Methodist  preachers  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  who  spent  his  last  days  in  Kernville,  where  Mrs.  Taylor  was  reared 
and  educated.  Afterward  he  engaged  in  educational  work,  teaching  in  the 
Bakersfield  schools  for  seven  years,  and  for  two  terms  he  served  as  a  member 
of  the  county  board  of  education  and  was  prominently  identified  with  the 
bringing  of  the  Kern  County  High  School  to  its  present  high  standard. 

STEPHEN  W.  MILLARD.— Living  retired  from  active  labors  on  his 
ranch  near  Bakersfield  is  Stephen  W.  Millard,  one  of  the  energetic  citizens 
of  Kern  county  who  has  contributed  much  to  the  development  and  mainte- 
nance of  his  adopted  commonwealth.  He  is  the  fourth  eldest  in  a  family  of 
eight  children  born  to  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Stallard)  Millard,  natives  of 
Somerset,  England.  Thomas  Millard  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  1843  and  settled 
at  Fort  Erie,  Ontario,  where  he  bought  and  exported  grain  until  1846,  when 
he  located  at  Black  Rock,  Erie  county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  died.  His  wife  also 
passed  away  in  that  state  and  but  four  of  their  children  now  survive.  Ste- 
phen W.  was  born  in  Shepton-^^lallet,  County  Somerset,  England,  on  No- 
vember 5,  1824.  He  was  privately  educated,  his  principal  teacher  having' 
been  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England.  He  was  nineteen  years  of  age 
when  he  came  across  the  Atlantic  with  his  parents,  having  spent  the  last 
two  years  in  England  working  in  a  banking  house.  Upon  reaching  America 
he  remained  with  his  father  in  the  grain  business,  raising  that  product  on 
three  thousand  acres  of  land,  until  the  year  1850,  when  he  started  for  Cali- 
fornia. He  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  Daniel  Sharp  around  Cape  Horn 
and  landed  in  San  Francisco  June  13.  1851,  the  trip  having  consumed  a  hun- 
dred and  sixty-three  days.  He  at  once  engaged  to  do  some  work  for  the 
Fathers  of  the  old  mission  at  San  Jose  and  cut  one  hund'red  acres  of  barley 
with  a  cradle  in  twenty-two  days,  built  eleven  miles  of  wire  fence  at  $200  a 
mile  and  superintended  the  planting  of  one  hundred  acres  of  potatoes.  In 
1852  he  began  farming  on  his  own  account  in  Santa  Cruz  and  Alameda 
counties,  and  for  a  time  raised  more  than  half  the  grain  grown  in  .Santa 
Cruz  county.  Later  he  purchased  a  thousand  acres  of  land  near  Pleasanton, 
which  he  devoted  to  grain  raising.  In  the  period  1884-86  he  was  superin- 
tendent of  the  Pleasant  Valley  mine  in  Eldorado  county,  eighty  miles  from 
Placerville,  then  returned  to  Alameda  county  and  continued  raising  grain 
until  1891,  when  he  bought  his  present  homestead.  This  consists  of  twenty 
acres,  located  two  miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  and  is  devoted  to  the  raising 
of  strawberries. 

Mr.  Millard's  marriage  occurred  in  Santa  Cruz  countv.  November  12, 
1861,  uniting  him  with  Rebecca  Lively,  a  native  of  Kentucky  and  daughter 
of  Dr.  Joseph  and  Henrietta  Lively,  the  latter  natives  of  Virginia,  who 
brought  their  family  to  California  across  the  plains  in  1849.  The  doctor  prac- 
ticed medicine  in  Santa  Cruz  county,  and  there  both  the  parents  passed 
awav.  Mr.  and  Airs.  Millard  are  the  parents  of  eight  children,  as  follows: 
William  S.,  of  Humboldt  county,  Cal. ;  George,  who  died  at  twenty-four  years 
of  age;  Joseph  H..  of  San  Francisco;  Benjamin,  of  San  Diego;  Emma.  Mrs. 
Keep  of  Berkeley;  Grace.  Mrs.  IMcCaron  of  Los  Angeles;  Edward  F..  of 
Bakersfield;  and  James,  of  Irvington,  Cal.  Mr.  Millard  is  now  living  retired 
on  his  ranch,  enjoymg  the  reward  of  his  long  and  useful  existence.     He  has 


1384  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

always  evinced  the  greatest  interest  and  faith  in  the  commonwealth  and  has 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  his  ever-optimistic  prophecy  for  the  future  of  the 
Pacific   coast   region   well   fulfilled. 

WILHELM  ADOLPH  WIRTH.— The  good  influence  of  German  blood 
in  the  upbuilding  of  our  American  institutions  has  long  been  recognized,  for 
the  German-American,  wherever  his  lot  may  be  cast,  stands  for  prosperity 
and  enlightenment.  He  is  ready  in  war  and  in  peace  to  defend  the  land  he 
loves  and  by  his  industry  and  prudence  is  a  potent  factor  in  the  advancement 
of  all  worthy  interests  as  well  as  of  the  general  prosperity  of  the  community. 
Wilhelm  Adolph  Wirth,  of  German  parentage,  was  born  at  WeIdon,on  the 
south  fork  of  the  Kern  river,  in  Kern  county,  December  19,  1878,  the  son  of 
Adam  Christian  Wirth,  whose  sketch  also  appears  in  this  work.  He  at- 
tended public  school  until  he  was  seventeen  years  old  and  worked  for  his 
father  until  he  was  twenty-one.  Then  he  began  on  his  own  account,  engag- 
ing in  farming  and  acquiring  real  estate.  In  1902  he  opened  a  liquor  store 
in  Kernville,  and  has  invested  in  property  in  Bakersfield. 

On  May  5,  1905,  Mr.  Wirth  married  Miss  Millie  Ross,  a  native  of  Kern- 
ville, Kern  county,  and  they  have  a  daughter  Louise.  Mr.  Wirth  is  Re- 
publican in  politics,  and  has  been  a  member  of  the  Republican  County  Central 
Committee.  For  five  years  he  was  deouty  sheriff  under  Henry  Borgawardt 
and  J.  W.  Kelly,  and  he  is  now  faithfully  filling  the  ofifice  of  deputy  constable. 
For  some  j'ears  he  was  school  trustee  at  Kernville.  Fraternally  he  afifiliates 
with  the  Eagles. 

GEORGE  W.  KING.— A  resident  of  Isabella,  Kern  county,  Cal.,  George 
W.  King  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Tenn.,  April  23,  1853.  He  attended  the 
.public  school  near  his  home  until  he  was  nineteen  years  old,  and  then  until 
he  was  twenty-one  assisted  his  father  in  the  latter's  business.  Meanwhile 
he  learned  telegraphy  and  during  the  ne.xt  two  years  he  was  employed  as  a 
telegraph  operator  at  Normandv.  He  gave  up  that  employment  to  become 
a  general  merchant  and  as  such  he  prospered  eight  years.  After  that  until 
1879  he  was  in  the  stock  and  lumber  business. 

In  the  vear  last  mentioned  Mr.  King  came  to  California  and  located  in 
Hanford,  Kings  county,  where  for  seven  years  he  worked  as  a  carpenter. 
Later  he  was  otherwise  employed  and  in  1894  he  settled  in  Kern  county, 
where  for  three  y.ears  he  devoted  himself  to  mining  He  was  one  of  the 
fathers  of  the  thriving  town  of  Isabella  and  was  for  eight  years  its  post- 
master, being  the  first  incumbent  of  that  office.  Fie  built  the  first  house  in 
Isabella,  also  the  first  store  buildings  and  put  in  the  first  stock  of  general 
merchandise.  He  is  now  the  proprietor  of  a  prosperous  general  store,  and 
also  owns  a  hundred  and  sixty-acre  tract  near  Fairmont,  in  Los  Angeles 
county.  He  owns  the  New  Century  and  Colwell  mines,  which  he  opened  up 
by  tunnels  and  cross-cuts,  thus  opening  a  big  ledge  of  twenty-three  feet  in  the 
New  Century,  where  he  built  a  five-stamp  quartz  mill.  The  Century  mine  is 
big  body  low-grade  ore,  while  the  Colwell  is  high-grade  free  milling  ore.  Mr. 
King  has  forty  acres  of  land  on  South  Fork  under  irrigation,  and  he  has 
acquired  ten  town  lots  and  a  residence. 

On  February  19,  1908.  Mr.  King  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Parker,  who 
was  born  in  Illinois  in  1867  and  was  brought  to  California  by  her  parents 
when  she  was  six  years  old.  One  child,  Elizabeth  J.,  has  been  born  to  their 
union.  The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  King,  which  took  place  in  Tennessee,  was 
to  Margaret  J.  Cully,  who  passed  away  there,  leaving  a  child,  Eustice  L.,  now 
superintendent  of  S.  W.  &  B.  Oil  Company,  at  Coalinga.  Mr.  King  has  been 
a  leader  in  many  things  of  public  importance  and  his  fellow  townsmen  have 
come  to  depend  on  him  as  a  man  of  public  spirit  who  will  not  fail  them  in  any 
emergency. 

CHARLES  HENRY  FRY.— The  energy  with  which  Mr.  Fry  prosecuted 
the  teaming  business   when   in   partnership   with   his   father   until   the   death 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COUXTY  1385 

uf  the  latter  brought  him  the  good  wishes  of  those  with  whom  he  had  busi- 
ness dealings  and  when  he  decided  to  remove  to  the  country  and  lake  up 
agricultural  operations  on  his  ranch  which  he  bought,  located  eleven  miles 
south  of  Bakerslield,  in  the  hope  that  his  children  might  be  benefited  by  his 
hard  work  and  self-denial  he  had  only  words  of  praise  and  encouragement 
from  all.  It  was  necessary  for  himself  and  wife  to  give  up  many  conveniences 
to  which  they  had  become  accustomed  in  Bakersiield.  The  work  on  the 
farm  was  difficult  and  trying,  but  they  are  a  persevering  young  couple 
and  are  cultivating  the  land  with  energy  and  perseverance. 

In  the  old  river  district  of  Kern  county  Mr.  Fry  was  born  I'^ebruary 
8,  1881,  being  a  son  of  Joseph  Benson  Fry,  a  pioneer  of  Bakerslield,  who 
came  to  California  from  Illinois  in  1877  and  died  May  26,  1911,  aged  fifty-six 
years.  His  wife,  who  also  was  of  Illinois  l^irth,  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Johanna  Evelyn  Banks.  Two  sons  and  three  daughters  survive,  namely: 
Arthur  D.,  a  bookkeeper  in  Bakersfield  ;  Mrs.  W.  W.  Ramage  and  Mrs.  F.  A. 
Nighbert,  both  of  Bakersfield;  Lola,  who  resides  with  her  mother  in  this 
city;  and  Charles  Henry,  who  received  his  education  in  Kern  county,  engaged 
in  the  team  contracting  business  with  his  father  and  also  for  two  years  main- 
tained a  grocery  store  in  Bakersfield,  whence  he  removed  to  the  farm.  In 
politics  he  votes  with  the  Republican  party,  while  fraternally  he  is  con- 
nected with  the  Foresters.  In  1901  he  married  Miss  Florence  Hix,  a  native 
of  Missouri.  They  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  Lloyd  O.,  Charles  B. 
and  Eunice  F. 

S.  C.  BIRCHARD. — .\  record  of  the  business  activities  of  Mr.  P.irchard 
is  to  a  large  extent  a  recital  of  the  history  of  Taft,  with  which  he  1ias  been 
identified  from  its  beginning  and  to  which  he  has  given  freely  of  time  and 
energies  and  intelligent  co-operation.  He  is  now  associated  wiih  (  fficial 
afTairs,  in  the  capacity  of  city  recorder.  Born  in  Cass  county,  Iowa.  March 
2,  1882,  and  reared  in  Davenport,  that  state,  Mr.  Birchard  received  a  high- 
school  education  and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  began  to  learn  the  butcher's 
trade  with  Robinson  Bros.,  of  Davenport.  From  that  time  to  the  present 
he  has  engaged  in  the  meat  business.  When  he  decided  to  leave  Davenport 
he  resigned  his  position  with  Robinson  Bros.,  proceeded  at  once  to  Cali- 
fornia and  landed  in  Bakersfield  during  December  of  1T03.  In  lh:s  city 
he  married  Miss  Carrie  L.  Sullivan,  of  Davenport,  Iowa,  in  March  of  1904, 
and  for  a  time  thereafter  continued  as  an  employe  in  the  Opera  market, 
after  which  he  embarked  in  business  at  Hanford.  .-Xt  the  time  o''  the  oil 
excitement  of  1909  he  drove  across  the  country  in  a  single  l^uggy.  landing 
at  the  Midway  field  in  February  and  taking  up  work  under  Mr  Rogers. 
During  June  of  1909  he  bought  out  his  employer.  On  the  1st  of  >"■  \em1)er 
he  began  to  build  the  Pioneer  market,  which  he  opened  about  Tlianks- 
giving  and  Cf  nducted  until  selling  out  to  Musick  &  Burnham  in  May  of 
1910.  From  that  time  he  .served  as  treasurer  of  the  Taft  Public  'Milities 
Company  until  the  stock  of  the  concern  was  sold  to  the  Consumer';  in  Feb- 
ruary of  1912.  In  the  spring  of  1911  he  was  appointed  city  recordnv  Since 
coming  to  this  city  he  has  affiliated  with  the  Improved  Order  of  K'cd  Men. 
Any  movement  for  the  local  upbuilding  receives  his  .stanch  sup])  r'.  ^^'ith 
cordial  enthusiasm  he  gives  of  time  and  means  and  influence  t(  iiromote 
such  enterprises  as  make  for  tlie  i)rosperit}-  uf  tlie  peiii)le  and  the  idvance- 
ment    of    the    city. 

JAMES  F.  BROWN. — Various  lines  of  business  activity  have  (  'grossed 
the  attention  of  Mr.  Brown  since  in  early  life  he  began  the  task  (  i  making 
his  own  way  in  the  world  and  at  this  writing  fills  an  importam  nosition 
as  drilling  foreman  on  the  M.  J.  &  M.  &  M.  Consolidated  Oil  Company's 
lease.  When  he  began  with  this  concern,  September  13.  1909,  it  was  as  a 
roustabout,  but  was   soon   made   lease   foreman,   from   which    he   v      ked    up 


1386  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

to  be  drilling  foreman  and  became  a  stockholder.  Since  he  arrived  in  the 
Sunset  field  and  entered  the  service  of  the  Monte  Cristo  he  has  nut  lost  a 
day  from  work,  but  persistently  carries  forward  the  duties  of  his  department. 

Although  the  Browns  are  of  an  old  American  family,  identified  with 
the  colonial  history  of  our  country,  Gustav,  father  of  James  F.,  is  a  native 
of  Germany,  born  during  the  temporary  sojourn  of  his  parents  in  that 
country.  When  one  year  old  he  was  brought  to  the  United  States,  the 
family  settling  in  Maryland.  For  eight  years  prior  to  the  Civil  war  he 
was  in  the  United  States  army  service  under  Major  Carlton  of  the  United 
States  Dragoons.  Much  of  the  time  he  was  stationed  on  the  frontier  and 
thus  saw  much  of  the  western  and  southern  country,  principally  New  Mex- 
ico, Arizona,  Texas  and  California.  While  stationed  at  Fort  Tejon  he  was 
wounded  in  an  Indian  skirmish.  Becoming  a  permanent  settler  of  Cali- 
fornia he  served  as  a  deputy  under  Sheriff  Adams  in  Santa  Clara  county  and 
later  engaged  in  farming  in  Santa  Cruz  county,  but  eventually  retired  from 
active  work  and  is  now  making  his  home  at  Hollister.  In  Los  Angeles  he 
married  Miss  Lydia  Morse,  a  native  of  Nebraska,  who  also  survives  at  the 
present  time.  They  became  the  parents  of  eight  children,  namely:  James  F., 
of  Kern  county;  Mrs.  Annie  Yeager,  wife  of  a  hotel  proprietor  at  Avalon, 
Catalina  island ;  Charles  E.,  deceased ;  Matilda,  who  married  George  Wright, 
a  farmer  of  San  Benito  county;  Alice,  who  married  Albert  Donovan,  a 
railroad  man  living  at  San  Jose ;  Cora,  wife  of  Albert  Bell,  an  insurance 
adjuster  in  New  York  City;  Robert  A.,  an  engineer  whose  home  is  in  the 
northern  part  of  California;  and  Minnie,  a  trained  nurse  in  San  Francisco. 

During  the  residence  of  the  family  at  Santa  Cruz,  this  state,  James  F. 
Brown  was  born  in  that  city  August  15,  1865.  In  boyhood  he  was  a  pupil 
in  the  local  schools.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  removed  from  Santa  Cruz 
to  Hollister  and  secured  employment  on  a  farm.  At  an  early  age  he  learned 
the  processes  incident  to  well-drilling  and  soon  after  attaining  his  majority 
he  became  the  owner  of  a  new  well-drilling  machine.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  devoted  his  entire  time  to  the  drilling  of  wells  in  Santa  Clara,  San 
Benito,  Santa  Cruz  and  Monterey  counties.  The  principal  objection  to  such 
emplo3mient  was  the  necessity  for  being  away  from  home  much  of  the  time, 
so  after  his  marriage  in  1899  he  settled  upon  a  farm  in  San  Benito  county. 
Meantime  while  still  living  at  Hollister  he  had  learned  the  trade  of  engineer 
and  also  has  become  familiar  with  bridge  construction,  following  both  occu- 
pations at  intervals  of  other  work.  From  1900  until  1908  he  operated  a  dairy 
near  Hollister  and  kept  a  herd  of  forty  milch  cows,  but  the  work  proved  too 
heavy  for  his  strength  and  he  turned  his  attention  to  different  lines  of  labor. 
Going  to  San  Francisco  he  engaged  as  shipping  clerk  for  Bemis  Brothers 
Bag  Company,  but  resigned  his  position  and  came  to  Kern  county  on  the 
4th  of  July,  ir09.  At  first  he  engaged  as  a  carpenter  on  the  Monte  Cristo 
lease  at  Maricopa,  but  in  little  more  than  a  year  he  began  an  association  with 
the  company  that  still  has  his  time  and  attention.  He  makes  his  home  on 
the  company  lease,  his  family  consisting  of  a  son,  Richard  F.,  born  in  1900, 
and  his  wife,  Mrs.  Itha  (Shore)  Brown,  daughter  of  Richard  Shore,  of 
Hollister. 

R.  M.  DODGE. — After  years  of  successful  identification  with  other  in- 
terests during  February  of  1912  Mr.  Dodge  established  his  home  on  a 
ranch  of  sixty  acres  which  he  had  purchased  ten  years  before  and  which 
lies  on  Union  avenue,  section  18,  nine  miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  He  expects 
to  make  a  specialty  of  barred  Plymouth  Rock  poultry  and  Mammoth  Bronze 
turkeys  and  with  this  end  in  view  he  has  secured  a  foundation  stock  that  in 
breeding,  pedigree  and  markings  has  no  superior  in  this  entire  valley.  In 
addition  to  this  property  he  has  also  owned  for  a  number  of  years  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  acres  of  redwood  and  tanbark  timber  in  Mendocino  county. 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COUNTY  1387 

About  ten  miles  west  of  Hagerstown,  .in  Washington  county,  Md.,  stood 
the  country  home  of  \\illiam  and  Sarah  E.  (Mason)  Dodge,  and  there 
occurred  the  birth  of  R.  M.  Dodge  November  18,  1852.  The  father,  a  native 
of  Georgetown,  D.  C,  was  a  son  of  Francis  Dodge,  for  years  a  very  influ- 
ential business  man  of  that  city,  while  the  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Rich- 
ard Mason,  a  prominent  resident  of  Alexandria,  Va.  It  was  natural  that 
Mr.  Dodge  should  develop  ambitious  longings  for  an  education  and  had  it 
not  been  for  the  disastrous  eft'ects  of  the  Civil  war  he  would  have  remained 
in  college  until  graduation ;  as  it  was,  he  had  fair  advantages  at  St.  John's 
College  in  Annapolis  and  the  Shenandoah  Valley  Academy  at  Winchester, 
Va.  \Vhen  twenty-five  years  of  age  he  came  as  far  west  as  Colorado,  where 
he  secured  employment  on  a  sheep  ranch  near  Colorado  Springs.  After  fuur 
years  in  the  same  location  he  removed  to  Trego  county,  Kan.,  where  he 
was  interested  in  the  sheep  business  for  three  years.  February  14,  1886, 
he  arrived  at  Auburn,  Placer  county,  Cal.,  and  from  there  proceeded  to 
Salinas,  Monterey  county,  where  for  three  years  he  acted  as  superintendent 
of  a  ranch. 

It  is  as  a  trainer  of  bird  dogs  that  Mr.  Dodge  has  acquired  a  wide  repu- 
tation throughout  the  west.  His  work  in  that  line  began  while  he  had  charge 
of  the  Harper  ranch  near  Suisun  City,  Solano  county.  After  three  years  on 
that  ranch  he  resigned  to  superintend  a  kennel  of  his  own  at  Kenwood. 
For  three  years  he  conducted  the  Kenwood  kennels  and  then  went  to  Ala- 
meda county,  where  for  one  year  he  had  charge  of  the  kennels  owned  by 
Mrs.  Hearst.  Meanwhile  he  had  formed  the  acquaintance  of  W.  S.  Tevis, 
whose  attention  he  had  attracted  through  his  manifest  success  in  the  train- 
ing of  dogs  and  when  he  left  the  Hearst  estate  it  was  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  charge  vi  the  Stockdale  kennels  on  the  Tevis  ranch.  Until  1912  he 
continued  in  the  same  position  and  when  he  finally  resigned  it  was  with  the 
object  of  retiring  from  the  business  and  engaging  in  general  farming. 
Since  that  time  he  has  occupied  and  superintended  his  own  country  prop- 
erty, where  he  and  his  family  have  established  a  comfortable  home.  Prior 
to  their  marriage  in  1892  Mrs.  Dodge  was  Miss  Elizabeth  S.  Stockton,  her 
father  having  been  a  leading  pioneer  physician,  while  her  brother  is  super- 
intendent of  schools  of  Kern  county.  There  are  three  children  in  the  Dodge 
family,  namely:  Marion  E.,  a  student  in  the  Los  Angeles  Normal  School; 
Mar)''  M.,  at  home;  and  R.  AI.,  Jr.,  a  bright  boy  of  seven  years,  now  attend- 
ing the  country  schools.  In  politics  Air.  Dodge  maintains  an  independent 
position,  voting  for  those  whom  he  considers  best  qualified  to  represent  the 
people.  As  early  as  1887  he  became  a  member  of  La  Salle  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
at  Salinas. 

JOHN  FLETCHER  MORRIS.— Living  on  Bakersfield  rural  free  de- 
livery route  No.  2,  Kern  county,  Mr.  Morris  has  a  past  of  which  he  may 
well  be  proud  and  a  future  brilliant  with  promise  of  personal  honor  and 
substantial  achievement.  Born  in  Montgomery  county,  Mo.,  April  15,  1857, 
he  had  limited  educational  advantages,  his  parents'  death  making  it  neces- 
sary for  him  at  an  early  age  to  assume  the  management  of  the  home  farm. 
He  devoted  himself  to  general  farming  in  his  native  state  till  1883.  then 
emigrated  to  New  Mexico,  where  he  found  employment  as  a  fireman  on  the 
Santa  Fe  railroad.  From  New  Mexico  he  came  to  California,  following  that 
occupation  on  the  Southern  Pacific  lines  between  Los  Angeles  and  liakersfield. 

In  1887  Mr.  Morris  pre-empted  a  homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  a  part  of  the  property  now  known  as  Tejon  ranch,  which  he  improved 
and  did  dry  farming  for  twenty-one  years.  The  time  he  could  spare  from 
his  land  he  devoted  to  teaming,  hauling  borax  from  the  mines.  He  saved 
his  money  and  from  time  to  time  purchased  additional  acreage,  including 
one    section    of   railroad    land,    owning   eventually    seventeen    hundred    acres 


1388  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

which  he  sold  to  the  proprietors  oi  the  Tejon  ranch  in  order  to  locate  on 
what  is  his  present  home  ranch  of  eighty  acres.  \A'hen  he  came  to  the 
place  in  1908.  only  about  half  of  it  was  under  cultivation.  He  has  put  in 
a  one-acre  orchard  and  made  other  improvements  and  is  now  raising  grain 
and  alfalfa  while  devoting  considerable  area  to  pasturage. 

As  a  citizen  Mr.  Morris  is  public-spirited  and  supports  every  measure 
which  in  his  judgment  promises  to  benefit  any  considerable  number  of  his  fel- 
low citizens.  He  is  an  Odd  Fellow  and  member  of  Woodmen  of  the  World. 
He  served  as  deputy  assessor  during  the  administration  of  Assessor  J.  M. 
Jameson. 

R.  C.  HUGHES.— The  best  gushers  in  Kern  county  for  the  year  1913 
were  struck  in  the  Maricopa  flats  in  the  Sunset  field,  with  the  sole  exception 
of  those  un  the  celebrated  AIcNee  lease  (section  36)  in  the  ]\Iidway  field 
operated  by  the  Standard  Oil  Company.  Of  all  the  west  side  territory  in 
the  year  named  few  claims  attracted  the  attention  bestowed  upon  the  Alari- 
copa  Northern  and  Midway  Northern  Oil  Companies,  whose  two  leases  each 
of  eighty  acres  form  a  very  valuable  property  and  adjoin  the  famous  Mari- 
copa Queen  on  the  north.  On  these  two  holdings  one  rotary  and  two 
standard  rigs  are  employed.  As  manager  of  a  standard  rig  Mr.  Hughes  is 
proving  a  competent  driller  and  exceptionally  capable  man  for  a  position  of 
responsibility. 

From  his  earliest  memories  Mr.  Hughes  has  been  familiar  with  the  oil 
industry.  His  father,  Samuel  Hughes,  a  blacksmith  at  Franklin,  Venango 
county,  Pa.,  owned  oil  land  five  miles  from  that  city  and  at  his  death  in 
1910  left  an  estate  of  considerable  value.  Born  at  the  family  homestead  in 
Franklin  September  28,  1871,  R.  C.  Hughes  was  one  of  fourteen  children 
that  attained  mature  years,  his  mother  having  been  Anna  (Campbell)  Hughes, 
who  died  three  months  after  the  demise  of  her  husband.  Of  the  large  fam- 
ily he  was  the  youngest  and  it  was  thought  advisable  to  train  him  to  his 
father's  trade.  Hence  he  spent  the  years  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  as  an  ap- 
prentice in  the  blacksmith  shop,  but  as  soon  as  his  time  had  expired  he  struck 
out  fur  the  oil  fields.  For  three  years  he  worked  for  the  Fisher  Oil  Com- 
pany in  Venango  county.  When  twenty-one  he  went  to  Freeport,  Ohio, 
and  secured  employment  as  a  tool-dresser.  At  the  expiration  of  two  years 
he  left  Ohio  for  Indiana  and  at  Greenfield  had  his  first  experience  in  drill- 
ing, being  employed  by  Al  Cole,  a  local  oil  man.  From  that  time  to  the 
present  he  has  engaged  steadily  in  the  drilling  department  of  the  oil  indus- 
try and  was  successively  employed  at  Greenfield,  Ind.,  Gibsonburg,  Ohio, 
Bay  City,  Mich,  (where  a  wild-cat  proposition  engaged  his  time),  and  Cluryon 
Cross,   Ontario,   Canada. 

Following  a  period  of  employment  as  a  driller  at  Peru,  Kan.,  in  1906 
Mr.  Hughes  came  to  California  and  for  a  year  engaged  in  drilling  at  McKit- 
trick.  During  1907  he  went  to  Alaska  to  drill  for  the  Alaska  Coal  Oil  and 
Development  Company  at  Ketella,  where  he  struck  oil.  Returning  to  the 
United  States  in  1908  he  became  a  driller  for  the  American  Oilfields,  Con- 
solidated, at  Fellows,  where  he  and  his  family  have  since  made  their  home, 
altheugh  since  May  of  1913  he  has  been  employed  as  a  driller  with  the 
Maricopa  Alidway  and  Northern  JXIidvvay  Oil  Companies  in  the  Sunset  field. 
While  living  at  Greenfield,  Ind.,  he  met  and  married  Miss  Susie  Banks. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  children.  The  son,  Albert,  is  employed  as 
a  tool-dresser  and  assistant  to  his  father.  Wilda  is  the  wife  of  William 
Wellman,  of  Fellows,  and  Ida  is  a  student  in  the  Fellows  schools. 

HENRY  J.  BRANDT.— Several  successive  generations  of  the  Brandt 
family  were  intimately  identified  with  important  enterprises  in  Denmark, 
one  of  the  must  influential  of  these  representatives  having  been  Christian  J. 
Brandt,  the  owner  of  large  tracts  of  land  and  also  a  ship-owner.     The  grain 


HISTORY    nV    Kl'.RX    COUNTY  1380 

raised  on  his  own  lands  as  well  as  that  purchased  from  otlier  farmers  he 
shipped  on  his  own  vessel  to  Germany  and  thus  l)uilt  up  a  larsje  trade  between 
the  two  countries.  Fine  mental  endowments  admirably  qualified  him  for 
commercial  affairs  of  magnitude.  Such  enterprises  he  ci  inducted  with  signal 
success.  Had  he  lived  in  a  different  country  at  a  more  modern  era  of  the 
world's  history  he  would  have  been  denominated  a  captain  of  industry  and 
a  progressive  promoter  of  great  interests.  As  it  was,  his  name  did  not 
penetrate  into  any  localities  remote  from  his  immediate  environment  and 
the  harbors  where  his  ships  cast  anchor.  Among  his  children  was  a  son, 
Christian  Jensen  Brandt,  who  in  youth  shipped  as  seaman  to  Africa,  left 
the  vessel  at  one  of  the  ports  in  that  country  and  for  seven  years  remained 
there,  engaged  in  \'arious  occupations  fur  the  earning  of  a  livelihood.  L'pon 
his  return  he  assisted  his  father  in  business  and  managed  a  farm  that  he 
owned,  later  acquiring  land  for  himself.  Both  he  and  his  wife,  who  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Anna  ]\I.  Peterson,  are  still  living  in  their  native  Denmark. 

The  family  of  Christian  Jensen  Brandt  comprises  seven  children  now  liv- 
ing and  of  these  the  third,  Henry  J.,  was  born  at  Aeroeskjobing,  Aero,  off  the 
coast  of  the  main  land  of  Denmark,  November  22,  1879.  From  that  rock-bound 
coast  the  young  man  came  to  the  new  world  in  1896,  prepared  for  earn- 
ing a  livelihood  through  an  expert  knowledge  of  horse-shoeing  and  the 
blacksmith's  trade,  to  which  he  had  been  apprenticed  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
years.  Crossing  the  continent  to  San  Francisco  he  proceeded  to  ^lendocino 
county  and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Gualala  Lumber  Company.  At  the 
expiration  of  two  years,  feeling  the  need  of  a  better  knowledge  of  the  F,ng- 
lish  language,  he  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  began  to  study  in  the  city 
schools.  A  year  later  he  went  to  Dinuba,  Tulare  county,  to  work  at  his 
trade  and  next  he  purchased  a  blacksmith's  shop  at  Malaga,  Fresno  county. 
During  1901  he  came  to  Kern  county,  where  for  two  years  he  engaged  in 
the  oil  industry  .and  also  owned  an  interest  in  the  Kern  County  iron  works 
at  Maricopa. 

The  business  headquarters  of  Air.  Brandt  have  been  at  Bakersfield  since 
1903,  at  which  time  he  opened  a  horse-shoeing  shop  at  No.  1414  Eighteenth 
street.  At  the  expiration  of  eighteen  months  he  bought  an  interest  in  the 
Panama  livery  stable  and  for  a  year  managed  that  as  well  as  his  shop,  but 
then  sold  the  stable  in  order  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  his  trade.  About  1906 
he  began  to  rent  out  his  teams.  Finding  a  steady  demand  for  teams,  he 
bought  other  horses  and  mules  from  time  to  time  until  finally,  instead  of 
having  only  one  team,  he  now  owns  one  hundred  and  eighty  head  of  work 
animals.  At  his  shop,  No.  210  Chester  avenue,  he  does  the  horse-.shoeing  for 
his  own  teams  as  well  as  for  the  public.  It  is  said  that  he  never  violated 
a  contract  nor  broke  his  word  when  once  given,  and  such  a  record  justly  gives 
him  a  high  place  in  the  citizen.ship  of  Bakersfield.  \\hile  he  has  for  several 
years  engaged  in  general  contracting,  he  has  lately  enlarged  his  Inisiness 
and  entered  into  it  on  a  broader  scale.  He  has  completed  a  sub-contract 
under  Mahoney  Bros,  for  the  pipe-line  and  station  work  between  Connor 
Station  and  Lobeck  for  the  General  Petroleum  Company,. which  line  trans- 
ports oil  from  the  Westside  oil  fields  to  San  Pedro.  This  line  covers  three 
miles  and  has  five  stations  from  the  valley  to  the  summit.  His  experience 
in  the  past  and  his  large  equipment  for  the  purpose  render  it  possilile  for  Mr. 
Brandt  to  execute  the"  heaviest  work  with  efficiency  and  dispatch,  and  he  is 
continually  branching  out  on  new  projects. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Brandt  took  place  in  this  city  in  T'O.?  and  united 
him  with  Miss  Pearl  C.  Maynard,  who  was  born  at  York,  111.,  and  by  whom 
he  has  three  children.  Louis  James.  Cordelia  Grace  and  Bernice.  Besides  his 
business  holdings  and  his  stock  in  the  Security  Trust  Company  of  Bakers- 
field (of  which  he  was  one  of  the  organizers)  he  is  the  owner  of  two  ranches. 


1390  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Three  and  one-half  miles  to  the  southwest  of  the  city  lies  his  well-improved 
farm  of  eighty-five  acres,  where  he  makes  his  home.  This  is  well-adapted  for 
vegetables  and  contains  soil  as  rich  as  may  be  found  in  the  entire  state.  The 
family  are  adherents  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Politically  Mr.  Brandt  votes 
with  the  Republican  party,  while  fraternally  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  Bakers- 
field  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  he  also  holds  membership  with  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 

MRS.  ALICE  A.  GRAIN. — The  possession  of  a  high  degree  of  business 
ability  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Crain  is  indicated  by  the  sagacious  judgment  which 
she  exercises  in  the  management  of  the  Decatur  hotel,  a  modern  apartment 
house  and  hotel  situated  at  No.  2027  Nineteenth  street,  Bakersfield.  Besides 
being  a  member  of  and  worker  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  she  is  also 
identified  with  the  Rebekahs,  and  on  several  occasions  she  has  represented  in 
the  grand  lodge  her  own  local  organization,  Kern  Lodge  No.  47,  in  which 
she  is  a  past  officer.    Politically  she  supports  Democratic  principles. 

Born  and  reared  near  Rochester,  Fulton  county,  Ind.,  Mrs.  Crain  is  a 
daughter  of  John  Hay  and  a  sister  of  George  Hay,  whose  sketch  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  volume.  The  advantages  of  a  high-school  education  were 
given  to  her  and  these  she  supplemented  by  reading  and  observation.  In 
young  womanhood  she  became  the  wife  of  George  W.  Batz,  a  native  of  Fulton 
county,  Ind.,  and  a  farmer  of  capability  and  fine  character.  When  very  young 
he  made  himself  useful  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil  and  care  of  the  stock.  Coming 
to  California  in  1892,  he  secured  land  near  Kernville  on  the  South  fork  and 
engaged  in  the  stock  industry  with  his  brother,  John  B.,  as  a  partner.  Three 
)'-ears  later,  disposing  of  his  interests  there,  he  removed  to  a  farm  near 
Bakersfield,  where  he  made  a  specialty  uf  horticulture.  His  death  occurred 
on  that  farm  in  1901  when  he  was  forty-one  years  of  age,  leaving  to  his 
bereaved  wife  the  care  of  their  two  children,  Orion  A.  and  Grace  Fay.  About 
three  years  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Batz  she  became  Mrs.  E."  R.  Crain.  Fra- 
ternally Mr.  Batz  had  been  connected  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows.  His  son,  Orion  A.,  after  graduating  from  the  Kern  county  high 
school,  for  five  years  continued  in  the  employ  of  the  Associated  Oil  Com- 
pany, but  more  recently  has  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business  in  San 
Francisco.  The  daughter,  Grace  Fay,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Cali- 
fornia, with  the  degree  of  B.S.,  is  now  the  wife  of  G.  B.  Guyles,  of  Tacoma. 

PAUL  R.  JONES. — A  responsible  position  efficiently  filled  by  a  young 
man  is  an  index  of  ability  and  the  fact  that  Paul  R.  Jones  is  discharging  the 
duties  of  foreman  in  the  Green  and  ^^'hittie^  division  of  the  Associated  Oil 
Company  furnishes  proof  concerning  his  standing  in  the  Kern  river  fields, 
where,  although  one  of  the  youngest  men  connected  with  the  oil  industry, 
he  ranks  also  as  one  of  the  most  energetic  and  intelligent.  While  his  identi- 
fication with  this  district  does  not  cover  a  long  period  of  activity,  it  being 
on  New  Year's  of  1910  when  he  arrived  here  in  search  of  employment,  the 
brief  interval  has  been  one  of  great  industry  and  intelligent  activity  and  his 
recognized  capability  has  brought  him  a  promotion  as  merited  as  it  is  gratify- 
ing. It  was  as  a  roustabout  that  he  began  to  work  in  the  drilling  department 
of  the  Associated  Oil  Company.  For  a  time  he  was  employed  on  the  Flecla 
lease  and  also  in  the  Green  and  Whittier  division.  After  he  had  worked  as 
tool-dresser  for  a  short  time  he  was  made  well  foreman  in  June  of  1911  and 
since  then  has  given  the  most  rigid  oversight  tcf  the  department  under  his 
foremanship. 

For  years  the  home  of  Paul  and  Clara  (Meade)  Jones  was  in  Cedar  Rapids, 
Boone  county,  Neb.,  and  at  that  place  their  fifth  child,  Paul  R.,  was  born 
November  9,  1887.  When  nine  years  of  age  he  accompanied  the  family  to 
California  and  settled  in  Fresno  county,  where  his  father  is  still  engaged  in 
viticulture.    The  mother  is  deceased.    There  are  six  children  in  the  family. 


HISTORY    OF    KICRX    COUNTY  1391 

those  besides  Paul  R.  being  as  follows:  Ross,  a  resident  of  Riverdale,  Cal., 
where  he  is  engaged  in  the  dairy  business;  J.  A.,  foreman  of  the  San  Joaquin 
divisiun  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  field ;  Roy,  of 
Fresno;  Jesse,  an  employe  in  the  Green  and  Whittier  division  of  the  Asso- 
ciated; and  Mary,  living  in  Fresno  county.  After  he  had  attended  high  school 
at  Fresno  for  two  years  Paul  R.  Jones  left  school  and  entered  the  employ  of 
the  Wells  Fargo  Company,  remaining  with  them  for  three  years  and  then 
resigning  in  order  to  locate  in  the  Kern  river  district.  In  1909  he  married 
Aliss  Sybil  Dupree,  of  Sacramento,  and  they  and  their  little  daughter,  Maxine, 
make  their  home  on  the  company  property  where  a  comfortable  cottage  is 
provided  for  them. 

L.  PEYTON. — To  mention  the  Tejon  Oil  Company  is  to  give  merited 
recognition  to  one  of  the  leading  organizations  engaged  in  the  oil  business  in 
the  Kern  river  field,  a  concern  whose  prosperous  history  dates  back  to  the 
start  in  1908  and  carries  up  to  the  present  time  with  unabated  profits. 
When  the  company  was  organized  the  stock  was  sold  to  residents  of  Bakers- 
field,  who  bought  at  $1  each  the  twenty  thousand  shares  of  stock  forming 
the  original  capital  of  $20,000.  The  remarkable  success  of  the  concern  may 
be  attributed  largely  to  the  supervision  of  L.  Peyton,  superintendent,  secre- 
tary and  manager,  in  whom  the  utmost  confidence  is  reposed  by  the  other  stock- 
holders, including  the  president,  H.  R.  Peacock,  and  the  vice-president,  C.  L. 
Taylor.  The  most  intelligent  consideration  is  given  to  every  department  of 
the  work.  While  his  education  in  the  University  of  California  and  his  special 
studies  in  political  science  have  perhaps  been  of  little  direct  benefit  to  him, 
the  indirect  advantage  is  apparent  in  his  quick  grasp  of  industrial  conditions, 
his  broad  comprehension  of  business  problems  and  his  practical  outlook  upon 
life. 

Not  a  little  of  the  patriotic  interest  exhibited  by  Mr.  Peyton  in  every 
phase  of  western  development  is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  has  spent  his  entire 
life  in  this  part  of  the  world.  Since  he  entered  the  oil  industry  during  1903 
he  has  risen  steadily  by  dint  of  industry,  perseverance  and  ability,  and  these 
qualities  enable  him  now  to  manage  the  properties  of  the  Tejon  Oil  Com- 
pany in  such  a  manner  that  the  stockholders  are  receiving  ten  per  cent  divi- 
dends each  month  on  their  investment.  While  of  course  this  is  primarily  the 
result  of  having  superior  producers  among  their  wells,  it  is  also  due  in  no 
small  measure  to  his  own  careful  oversight  in  expenditures.  The  holdings 
of  the  company  include  eighty  acres  lucated  on  section  28,  township  28,  range 
27,  where  there  are  eight  producing  wells  and  a  ninth  well  now  in  process 
of  drilling.  The  net  production  averages  sixty  barrels  daily  to  a  well.  A 
full  equipment  of  machinery  and  appliances  has  been  secured  for  the  lease,  a 
boiler  house  and  bunkhouse  have  been  built,  and  there  is  also  a  superintend- 
ent's residence  commodious  in  size  and  substantial  in  finish,  the  whole  form- 
ing a  property  of  recognized  value  and  adding  another  to  the  list  of  profitable 
leases  in  the  Kern  river  field. 

FRANCIS  M.  WATKINS.— An  excellent  type  of  the  able  and  efficient 
American  foreman  of  today  is  to  be  found  in  the  person  of  Francis  M.  Wat- 
kins,  foreman  of  the  Central  Point  division  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company, 
operating  on  section  4,  township  29,  range  28,  in  the  Kern  river  oil  fields. 

A  farm  in  Chautauqua  county,  Kan.,  was  the  earliest  home  of  Francis  M. 
Watkins  and  January  13,  1881,  the  date  of  his  birth.  Although  the  only 
child  in  the  immediate  family,  he  has  two  half-brothers  older  than  himself. 
From  an  early  age  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  help  on  the  home  farm  and  his 
attendance  at  school  was  therefore  desultory  through  no  fault  of  his  own. 
During  1897  his  father  died  on  the  Kansas  farm  and  shortly  afterward  he 
came  to  California  with  his  mother,  Sarah  Eugenia  Watkins,  settling  in 
Bakersfield,  where  he  endeavored  to  make  up  for  lack  of  early  advantages  by 


1392  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

attending  the  grammar  school.  After  two  years  they  moved  to  Chino  and 
there  he  attended  the  high  school  to  the  end  of  the  first  year.  During  his  six 
years  spent  at  Chino  he  was  connected  with  the  beet-sugar  industry.  Next 
he  went  to  Calaveras  county  and  worked  in  a  quartz  mine  at  Angel's 
camp,  also  in  the  Utica,  a  famous  mine  owned  by  Charles  Lane.  The  work 
was  exceedingly  trying  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  it  was  underground,  yet 
he  continued  in  the  quartz  and  gold  mines  for  five  years.  The  wages  being 
better  there  than  elsewhere  he  was  tempted  to  endanger  health  in  order  that 
he  might  have  some  earnings  to  save.  However,  in  1904  he  abandoned  such 
labor  and  returned  to  Bakersfield,  where  for  a  year  he  was  employed  as  a 
housemover.  During  October  of  1903  he  married  Miss  Edith  Adallah  Mc- 
Cain, whose  acquaintance  he  had  formed  while  living  in  Chino.  They  have  an 
only  child,  Francis  Stanley,  born  in  1907  in  Kern  county. 

Coming  to  the  Kern  river  oil  fields  during  May  of  1905  Mr.  Watkins 
began  to  work  with  a  pick  and  shovel  on  the  San  Joaquin  divisic^n  of  the 
Associated  Oil  Company.  His  aptitude  being  soon  proved  by  actual  work, 
he  was  given  a  job  as  well  puller.  In  addition  he  learned  the  work  of  a  tool- 
dresser.  Later  he  was  promoted  to  be  well  foreman  on  the  San  Joaquin  division, 
after  which  he  was  appointed  general  foreman  of  that  division.  April  1,  1908, 
he  was  tranfserred  to  the  Central  Point  division  under  the  title  of  foreman, 
but  with  the  work  of  superintendent,  as  by  the  systematization  of  the  Asso- 
ciated all  positions  formerly  known  by  the  title  of  superintendent  are  now 
called  foremen.  A  very  interesting  fact  in  regard  to  the  Central  Point  is  that, 
while  Mr.  Watkins  has  sixteen  men  under  his  supervision,  there  are  only 
three  single  men  residing  away  from  home,  now  employed  on  the  lease,  while 
ten  families  are  making  their  homes  here  at  the  present  time.  The  Central 
Point  is  composed  of  two  leaseholds,  for  besides  the  one  known  by  that  name, 
with  fifty  acres  and  thirty-four  producing  wells,  there  is  also  the  Red  Bank, 
composed  of  thirty  acres,  with  seventeen  producing  wells,  and  of  the  entire 
fifty-one  wells  all  but  four  are  operated  by  the  jack  pumping  system. 

H.  G.  POWELL. — One  of  the  most  striking  examples  of  that  class  of 
young  men  who  have  exhibited  such  capable  and  meritorious  characteristics 
in  the  Kern  River  fields  is  H.  G.  Powell,  the  present  foreman  of  the  San 
Joaquin  division  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company.  A  young  man  who  by  sheer 
force  of  will,  hard  work  and  high  ability  has  come  to  hold  this  responsible 
position,  he  has  already  evidenced  a  marked  adaptability  for  this  kind  of 
work,  and  the  fact  that  he  is  employed  by  one  of  the.  largest  and  most  pros- 
perous oil  companies  on  the  Pacific  coast  proves  his  capacitv  in  this  direction. 

Mr.  Pnwell  was  born  May  15,  1883,  in  Bluefield,  :\Ierce'r  county,  W.  Va., 
where  he  grew  to  manhood.  He  is  a  nephew  of  N.  C.  Carrington  the  exten- 
sive fruit-grower  of  Fresno,  whose  ranch  is  situated  sixteen  miles  south  and 
west  of  the  city  of  Fresno.  In  1903  Mr.  Powell  came  west  to  seek  a  field  for 
his  efforts,  and  for  six  years  he  was  engaged  on  fruit  farms.  In  April,  1909, 
he  came  to  the  Kern  River  field  where  he  became  employed  in  the  San  Joaquin 
division  of  the  Associated  Oil  Company,  in  June,  1911,  being  given  the  respon- 
sible position  of  well  foreman.  With  the  exception  of  six  months,  when  he 
engaged  with  the  Adeline  Oil  Company,  at  Maricopa,  Mr.  Powell  continued 
actively  connected  with  this  division,  making  rapid  advancement,  and  the 
development  of  this  new  industry  in  this  part  of  the  country  has  taken  all  of 
his  time  and  attention.  Mr.  Powell  is  unmarried.  His  future  is  bright  before 
him  and  his  exceptional  character,  fine  sense  of- honor  and  brilliant  mental  and 
physical  ability  are  the  best  assets  the  young  man  of  today  could  wish  for  to 
form  a  basis  of  his  life's  career. 

CHARLES  G.  BECK.— The  experience  of  Mr.  Beck  in  the  civil  service 
has  been  one  of  slow  but  steady  rise  and  in  November  of  1910  he  was  pro- 
moted to  be  superintendent  of  the  Kern  branch  of  the  Bakersfield  postoffice. 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COUNTY  1393 

To  him  belongs  the  distinction  t)t  being  the  first  carrier  of  rural  delisery  in 
Kern  county.  It  was  in  1905  tiiat  he  was  apjiointecl  to  the  rural  i^ostal  ser- 
vice, at  which  time  he  mapped  out  and  opened  route  No.  1,  and  it  still 
retains  practically  the  same  lines  as  established  by  him  at  that  time. 

A  resident  of  Kern  county  from  the  age  of  eleven  years,  Charles  G.  Beck 
was  born  at  Lebanon,  Boone  county,  Ind.,  ATarch  24,  1879,  being  a  son  of 
E.  F.  and  Alary  (Cook)  Beck,  natives  respectively  of  Kentucky  and  Indiana. 
Prior  to  the  Civil  war  the  father  had  gone  north  to  Indiana  and  there  he 
enlisted  in  Company  G,  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fifth  Indiana  Infantry,  with 
which  he  went  to  the  front  and  in  which  he  served  as  cor]ioral  imtil  the 
expiration  of  the  struggle.  .Although  he  took  part  in  many  engagements 
he  was  wounded  only  once,  that  being  in  the  battle  of  Lookout  Mountain, 
where  he  was  injured  in  the  knee.  After  he  had  been  honorably  discharged 
from  the  army  he  returned  to  Indiana,  settled  on  a  farm  in  Boone  county 
and  devoted  his  time  to  the  tilling  of  the  soil.  After  many  years  he  disposed 
of  his  interes;s  in  that  county,  came  to  California,  and  in  1890  settled  in  Kern 
county,  where  he  identified  himself  with  the  Rosedale  colony.  Taking  up  a 
raw  tract  of  land  west  of  Bakersfield,  he  devoted  time  and  attention  closely 
to  the  improvement  of  the  place.  Meanwhile  in  1897  he  was  bereaved  by  the 
death  of  his  wife,  but  he  continued  at  the  old  homestead  until  the  fall  of  1911, 
when  he  sold  the  property,  retired  from  farm  work  and  removed  to  Oakland. 

The  eldest  of  four  children,  Charles  G.  Beck  accompanied  the  other 
members  of  the  family  from  Indiana  to  California  and  arrived  in  Kern 
county  during  December  of  1890,  after  which  he  attended  the  public  schools 
and  then  the  Kern  county  high  school.  His  schooling  completed,  he  gave 
his  en:ire  time  to  the  work  of  the  home  farm,  until  1903,  when  he  entered 
the  government  service.  Aleanwhile  at  Visalia,  September  2,  1900,  he  had 
married  Miss  Dora  Tellyer,  who  was  born  in  Oregon  and  by  whom  he  has 
one  son,  Harold.  During  the  two  years  of  his  association  with  the  rural 
free  delivery  he  prepared  for  the  examination  for  civil  service,  passed  the 
.same  with  credit,  received  a  postoffice  appointment  and  in  February  of  1907 
became  a  clerk  in  the  Bakersfield  office.  For  a  time  he  served  as  general 
delivery  clerk,  but  later  he  was  promoted  to  be  registry  and  money-order 
clerk,  and  from  that  position  he  was  transferred  to  the  superintendency  of 
the  Kern  branch  of  the  Bakersfield  postoffice.  Every  department  of  his 
association  has  been  benefited  by  his  close  attention,  intelligent  devotion  to 
duty  and  painstaking  care  with  even  the  smallest  details.  Since  moving  to 
Bakersfield  he  has  bought  residence  property  at  No.  618  Alonterey  street  and 
here  he  and  his  family  have  a  comfortable  home. 

JEAN  B.  RAYMOND. — A  decided  preference  for  stock-raising  pursuits 
and  particularly  for  the  sheep  industry  doubtless  results  from  the  environ- 
ment of  Air.  Raymond's  early  life,  which  was  spent  near  the  foothills  of  the 
snow-clad  Alps  mountains  in  the  province  of  Hautes-.Alpes,  France.  The 
village  of  Orcierre,  where  he  was  born  October  4,  1867,  was  a  small  but  thrifty 
community  whose  prosperity  had  its  source  in  agriculture,  and  there  his 
father,  Jean,  engaged  in  stock-raising  until  his  death.  The  mother,  who  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Judith  Sarrzin,  was  likewise  a  native  of  Hautes-Alpes 
and  a  life-long  resident  of  that  part  of  France.  There  were  five  children  in 
the  family,  but  only  two  now  survive. 

The  eldest  of  the  family  and  the  onl\'  one  to  establish  a  lu)me  in  the 
United  States  was  Jean  B.,  who  at  the  time  of  attaining  his  majority  in  1888 
bade  farewell  to  the  associations  of  the  French  farm  and  came  to  California 
to  earn  a  livelihood.  The  village  of  Sumner  (now  East  Bakersfield)  was 
his  first  location  and  from  here  he  went  to  Delano  to  work  under  a  sheep- 
raiser.  After  two  years  in  that  locality  he  went  to  Fresno,  where  for  a 
year  he  was  employed  by  a  sheepman.  With  his  frugal  savings  he  bought 
a  bunch  of  sheep  and  started  out  for  himself.      For  se\en  years  he  made  his 


1394  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

headquarters  in  Fresno  and  meanwhile  ranged  his  sheep  in  that  county  and 
in  Tulare.  Upon  selling  that  flock  in  1897  he  came  to  Kern  county,  bought 
another  flock  of  sheep,  grazed  them  on  the  surrounding  ranges  and  estab- 
lished his  headquarters  at  East  Bakersfield  where  subsequently  he  erected 
a  residence  at  No.  518  Humboldt  street.  At  this  writing  he  owns  a  valuable 
flock  of  twenty-five  hundred  head  of  sheep,  besides  his  residence  and  other 
property  (mainly  business)  in  East  Bakersfield. 

Mr.  Raymond  has  given  stanch  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  and 
fraternally  he  belongs  to  the  Foresters.  His  marriage  in  East  Bakersfield, 
April  24,  1905,  united  him  with  Miss  Mary,  daughter  of  Auguste  and  Mary 
(Bicais)  Galvin,  and  they  have  two  children,  Bertha  and  Jean.  Born  and 
reared  in  Hautes-Alpes,  Mrs.  Raymond  was  third  in  order  of  birth  among  six 
children  and  passed  the  years  of  childhood  upon  a  farm  owned  by  her  father, 
who  in  addition  to  being  a  capable  farmer,  also  has  served  in  the  office  of  road 
supervisor  in  the  French  province,  where  he  still  makes  his  home. 

MRS.  BELLE  CARDER  ECKERT.— Significant  of  twentieth  century 
progress  in  the  west  is  the  prominence  accorded  women  in  agricultural,  com- 
mercial and  industrial  activities  and  their  successful  achievements  in  enter- 
prises of  large  importance.  Not  the  least  successful  or  capable  among  the 
women  of  the  great  San  Joaquin  valley,  where  a  goodly  number  of  ladies  are 
operating  farms,  is  ^Irs.  Eckert,  who  since  the  death  of  her  husband  has 
continued  to  cultivate  the  valuable  property  purchased  by  him  some  time 
prior  to  his  demise.  The  tract  of  sixty  acres  of  highly  improved  land  lies  in 
the  Buena  Vis.ta  district,  eleven  miles  southwest  of  iiakersfield.  By  means 
of  irrigation  from  the  Buena  \'ista  canal  alfalfa  is  raised  in  large  quantities, 
thus  furnishing  an  abundance  of  feed  for  the  dairy  herd  maintained  on  the 
farm. 

A  resident  of  Kern  county  since  1895,  Mrs.  Eckert  previously  had  made 
her  home  in  Texas,  Arkansas  and  Arizona  successively.  Her  father,  William 
J.  Carder,  a  native  of  Ohio,  was  the  son  of  a  blacksmith  and  learned  that  trade 
in  early  life,  later  also  taking  up  the  trade  of  a  carpenter.  During  1860  he 
removed  to  Missouri.  While  residing  in  that  state  he  enlisted  in  a  Missouri 
regiment  and  served  in  the  Civil  war  until  its  close.  Later  he  went  to 
Kansas  and  settled  in  Clay  county,  where  he  married  Miss  Rosana  Duncan, 
a  native  of  Kentucky.  After  a  brief  sojourn  in  Kansas,  also  in  Barry  county. 
Mo.,  he  settled  in  Dallas,  Tex.,  and  engaged  in  blacksmithing.  During  the 
residence  of  the  family  in  Dallas  a  daughter.  Belle,  was  born,  she  being  the 
third  among  six  children.  Later  the  family  went  to  Arkansas  and  there  Mr. 
Carder  died ;  his  widow  now  makes  her  home  with  Mrs.  Eckert.  The  latter 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Dallas,  Tex.,  and  Bluffton,  Ark.,  and 
in  1890,  in  Cook  county,  Tex.,  became  the  bride  of  William  Robert  Town- 
send,  a  native  of  that  state.  Near  Phoenix,  Ariz.,  the  young  couple  engaged 
in  farming  and  there  Mr.  Townsend  died  in  1893.  After  closing  out  his  af- 
fairs the  widow  left  Arizona  and  settled  in  Los  Angeles,  whence  in  1895  she 
came  to  Bakersfield.  In  this  city  she  married  John  Eckert,  a  native  of  In- 
diana, who  died  on  the  home  farm  in  1910,  leaving  to  Mrs.  Eckert  the  estate 
which  she  had  aided  him  in  securing.  By  her  first  marriage  she  has  two 
children,  Edward  and  Anna  Townsend,  and  the  former  is  now  aiding  her  m 
the  management  of  the  place.  The  family  attend  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  Mrs.  Eckert  is  a  generous  contributor  to  the  missionary  enter- 
prises of  that  denomination.  Her  political  sympathies  are  with  the  Repub- 
lican party. 

MARK  WILSON. — A  member  of  an  old  family  of  the  west  and  himself 
a  native  Californian,  Mr.  Wilson  was  born  in  Visalia  November  17,  1886, 
and  received  a  fair  education  in  the  schools  of  that  city.  On  the  completion 
of  the  grammar  course  he  studied  for  two  and  one-half  years  in  the  high 
school  of  Visalia,  but  left  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen  vears  in  order  to  earn 


HISTORY    OF    KERN^    COUNTY  1395 

his  own  livelihood.  By  chance  the  first  position  he  could  secure  was  with 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  as  an  assistant  in  the  warehouse  and 
baggage-room.  At  the  end  of  three  months  he  was  allowed  to  enter  the 
telegraph  office  of  the  same  road  for  the  purpose  of  learning  telegraphy.  The 
work  interested  him  deeply  and  he  took  hold  of  it  with  such  ardor  that  by  the 
time  three  mon:hs  had  passed  he  was  qualified  for  a  position. 

There  was  need  of  a  telegraph  operator  and  clerk  in  the  little  office  at 
Oil  City,  Kern  county,  a  new  station  started  for  the  convenience  of  the  oil 
operators.  Mr.  Wilson  was  assigned  to  the  place  and  at  the  age  of  only 
eigh:een  became  assistant  agent.  During  February  of  1908  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  East  Bakersfield  as  ticket  clerk,  from  which  he  was  promoted  to 
be  cashier  of  the  freight  house  in  the  same  city,  but  in  IXIarch  of  1909  he  was 
ordered  back  to  Oil  City,  where  the  work  had  increased  in  importance  as  the 
shipments  had  been  enlarged  in  volume.  When  but  twenty-one  years  of 
age  he  was  appointed  station  agent,  being  not  only  one  of  the  youngest  men 
to  occupy  such  a  position  in  the  state,  but  also  one  of  the  most  intelligent 
and  popular.  When  the  depot  was  moved  from  Oil  City  to  Waits,  during 
the  month  of  September,  1912,  he  came  to  take  charge  of  affairs  at  the  new 
post.  On  July  14,  1909,  he  was  united  in  marriage,  at  Mill  Valley,  Cal.,  with 
Miss  Emma  Louise  Jasper,  of  Bakersfield,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  one 
son,  J.  Ward  Wilson.  Since  coming  to  Kern  county,  Mr.  Wilson  has  allied 
himself  with  Bakersfield  Lodge,  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  has  maintained 
an  interest  in  the  general  activities  of  the  organization.  Broad-minded,  ac- 
commodating and  energetic,  he  has  the  friendship  of  the  oil  shippers  in  the 
Kern  river  field,  and  enjoys  the  distinction  of  shipping  more  oil  from  his 
station  as  an  initial  point  than  any  other  agent  in  California,  while  in  addition 
the  records  prove  that  since  he  became  station  agent  he  has  shipped  out 
more  oil  than  any  other  agent  in  the  entire  United  States. 

JOSEPH  V.  MORLEY.— Near  Land's  End,  in  the  county  of  Cornwall, 
England,  Joseph  V.  Morley,  now  a  well-known  citizen  of  Kern  county,  was 
born  August  1,  1854.  He  was  the  son  of  Joseph  and  IMary  (Bradford)  Mor- 
ley, the  former  a  land  agent  and  farmer.  His  boyhood  was  passed  in  public 
schools  and  when  he  was  si.xteen  years  old  he  had  spent  one  year  at  a  college. 
After  working  for  his  father  for  a  time  he  took  up  other  employment  and 
when  he  was  twenty  years  old  resumed  his  studies  in  surveying  for  two  years. 
I,ater  he  was  employed  by  his  father  until  in  1884,  when  he  came  to  the 
LTnited  States,  to  the  home  of  a  banker,  Mr.  Lanning,  who  was  a  friend  of 
his  father's,  residing  near  Leavenworth,  Kans.  For  a  short  time  he  was 
employed  on  farms  near  that  city,  but  in  January,  1885,  he  came  to  Kern 
county,  Cal.,  where  for  a  few  months  he  was  engaged  as  a  laborer.  In 
March  of  that  year,  however,  he  found  employment  with  Carr  &  Haggin, 
which  later  became  known  as  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  by  which 
firm  he  was  employed  twenty-one  years.  He  was  soon  advanced  to  a  fore- 
manship  which  he  held  fifteen  years.  In  1906  he  began  farming  and  dairying 
on  leased  land  and  moved  to  various  parts  of  the  county  in  the  prosecution 
of  this  business.  Beginning  with  two  cows,  he  now  owns  seventy-five  head 
of  stock.  In  1910  he  moved  to  his  present  ranch  of  fifty-four  acres,  then 
unimproved  and  situated  three  miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  This  is  all  now 
under  cultivation  to  alfalfa  and  grain  and  is  known  as  Morley's  dairy,  as  he 
is  a  wholesale  and  retail  milk  dealer. 

On  February  22,  1898,  Mr.  Morley  married  in  Bakersfield  Miss  Eva  G. 
Colton,  who  was  born  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  September  7.  1869,  daughter  of 
F.  H.  Colton,  who  is  represented  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Mrs.  Morley 
was  brought  to  California  by  her  parents  in  1875,  and  received  her  education 
in  the  public  schools  and  at  the  San  Jose  State  Normal.  For  ten  years  she 
taught  in  the  public  schools  of  Kern  county  two  years  and  a  half  of  this 
time  in  Bakersfield.     She  has  borne  her  husband  sons  named  Joseph,  Yivian, 


1396  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

George  and  William.  Mr.  Morlev  affiliates  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224, 
F.  cSr^A.  M.,  with  P.aker.sfield  Lodge  No.  208,  L  O.  O.  F.,  and  is  a  charter 
member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Foresters. 

WILLIAM  G.  SILBER.— The  proprietor  of  a  barber  shop  on  Baker 
street,  Bakersfield,  William  G.  ^"ilber  is  one  of  that  city's  enterprising  citi- 
zens. He  is  a  member  of  an  old  and  respected  German  family,  his  branch 
coming  from  Saxony,  Germany.  Gottlieb  Silber,  grandfather  of  William  G., 
served  in  the  Austro-Prussian  war,  and  was  in  his  time  a  popular  business 
man  in  the  city  of  Leipsic,  Germany,  where  his  son,  Gustav  Emil,  was  born 
in  1854.  The  latter  also  became  a  soldier  in  his  native  country,  and  served 
three  years  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Sixth  Regiment  of  Infantry  in  that 
army.  He  was  married  in  Chemnitz,  Saxony,  in  1878  to  Laura  Helena 
Clausnitzer,  who  was  born  there.  Her  father,  August  Clausnitzer,  came  to 
Tulare  county,  Cal.,  in  1883,  and  there  he  died. 

In  1881  Gustav  Emil  Silber  brought  his  wife  to  America,  settling  in  Ve- 
rona, Pa.,  where  they  remained  until  1889,  at  that  time  coming  to  Delano, 
Kern  county,  Cal.  Here  he  followed  farming  and  died  in  1903,  his  wife  then 
removing  with  her  family  to  East  Bakersfield,  where  she  now  resides.  She 
is  a  Methodist,  and  is  an  active  member  of  the  Fraternal  Brotherhood.  Her 
children,  who  all  make  their  residence  in  East  Bakersfield,  are  as  follows: 
Elsie,  Mrs.  R.  G.  Libby :  William  G. ;  Clara  Johanna,  Mrs.  W.  R.  Lowe; 
Minnie,  Mrs.  F.  S.  Sparks;  Mattie,  Mrs.  George  Towers;  and  Eddie  R.,  a 
machinist  in  the  employ  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company. 

William  G.  Silber  was  but  a  lad  when  brought  by  his  parents  to  Delano, 
Cal.,  and  he  was  here  educated  in  the  public  schools.  Upon  reaching  man- 
hood he  followed  railroading  for  a  while  as  locomotive  fireman,  then  was 
engaged  in  the  furniture  business  in  East  Bakersfield  for  a  time,  but  finding 
it  expedient  to  sell  out  he  disposed  of  this  business  and  started  a  barber 
shop  on  Baker  street,  where  he  is  doing  a  profitable  business.  Mr.  Silber 
married  in  1909,Leola  M.  Weller,  who  was  born  in  Howell,  Mich.,  and  they 
have  two  children,  Naoma  and  Kenneth.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Fraternal 
Brotherhood,  also  the  P'.rotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen  and  Engineers. 

OSCAR  A.  HOLTHE. — Since  the  initial  period  of  development  in  the 
Kern  river  oil  fields  the  location  and  the  industry  have  exercised  a  particular 
attraction  upon  young  men  with  clearness  of  intellectual  vision  and  capacity  for 
work.  It  is  not  therefore  an  occasion  for  surprise  that  Mr.  Holthe.  with  his  su- 
perior qualifications  as  a  mechanic  and  his  liking  for  industrial  activities, 
should  have  sought  this  place  in  preference  to  devoting  himself  to  agriculture 
near  the  comfortable  home  of  his  parents.  As  he  had  no  previous  exoerience  in 
the  industry  he  began  at  the  bottom.  LTpon  coming  to  the  oil  fields  in  1909 
it  was  his  good  fortune  to  find  employment  with  the  Associated  Oil  Com- 
pany and  he  since  has  remained  with  the  same  concern,  having  worked  during 
the  first  years  as  a  roustabout  and  well-puller  and  later  was  made  well-foreman. 
On  the  22d  of  February,  1912,  he  was  transferred  to  the  Hecla  lease  and 
here  he  and  his  family  have  established  a  comfortable  home.  His  jurisdiction 
as  well-foreman  extends  through  the  entire  Missouri  division  of  the  Associated 
Oil  Company,  including  the  lease  upon  which  he  resides,  and  both  in  his  own 
company  and  among  workers  with  other  concerns  in  the  field  he  has  the  popu- 
larity and  the  respect  merited  by  his  business  ability  and  genial  temperament. 

Born  in  Minneapolis,  JNIinn.,  May  18,  1883,  Mr.  Holthe  was  brought  by 
his  parents,  Oscar  and  Ellen  Holthe,  to  California  at  the  age  of  nine  months. 
The  family  settled  in  Tehama  county  and  there  the  father,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
two  years,  stands  among  the  prosjierous  and  influential  men  of  his  community. 
Of  the  six  living  children  in  the  family  Oscar  A.,  the  eldest,  was  the  only  one 
to  seek  a  livelihood  in  the  oil  fields  and  he  turned  to  this  line  of  work  as 
offering  an  interesting  avenue  for  progress  in  mechanics.  Always  interested 
in  mechanical  work,  he  selected  such  occupative  employment  in  preference  to 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY'  1307 

agriculture,  although  he  was  reared  on  a  farm  and  possesses  a  substantial 
knowledge  of  grain-farming  and  stock-raising.  Prior  to  removing  from 
Tehama  county  he  there  married,  in  August  of  1905.  Miss  Mabel  Ham, 
daughter  of  Matthew  S.  Ham,  who  then  lived  in  Tehama,  but  is  now  a  resident 
of  San  Joaquin  county.  They  reside  in  a  cottage  on  the  Hecla  lease  with  their 
three  children,  Helen  Irene,  Ira  Ellsworth  and  Mildred  Elaine.  Mr.  llolthe 
is  a  member  of  the  ^^'oodmen  of  the  World  at  Bakersfield.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican. 

E.  S.  RHEA. — An  honorable  experience  in  the  railway  service  in  the 
northwest  preceded  the  identification  of  Mr.  Rhea  with  the  oil  industry  in 
the  Kern  river  fields,  where  for  some  years  he  has  been  retained  in  charge 
of  the  pumping  station  of  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company,  being  the 
older  (in  point  of  service)  of  the  two  pumpers  regularly  employed  at  the  plant. 
In  seeking  the  west  as  the  locality  of  future  labors,  he  came  from  Indiana, 
where  he  had  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  early  years  and  where  he  was 
born  in  Allen  county  near  the  city  of  Fort  Wayne,  October  8,  1884.  While 
much  of  his  school  life  was  passed  in  or  near  Fort  Wayne,  he  also  attended 
for  a  time  the  schools  of  Corydon,  Ky.,  and  in  the  spring  of  1901  was  grad- 
uated from  the  high  scht-ol  of  Auburn,  Ind.  During  the  summer  following 
graduation  he  left  Indiana  for  Washington  and  after  arriving  in  Seattle 
secured  employment  with  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  being 
sent  into  the  districts  where  construction  work  had  been  inaugurated.  For 
three  years  he  engaged  as  an  assistant  in  the  building  of  steel  bridges  for  the 
company.  The  work  was  extremely  hazardous  and  difificult,  but  he  jHoved 
careful,  capable  and  courageous,  and  his  services  were  so  satisfactory  to  the 
company  that,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  constructitm  work  he  was  made  a 
locomotive  fireman.  His  first  run  was  from  Tacoma  to  Portland.  Later  he 
was  put  on  the  line  from  Tacoma  to  Ellensburg  and  finally  was  transferred  to 
the  main  system  between  Tact  ma  and  Seattle. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  railroading  lacked  the  desiral)ility  of  work  in  a 
fixed  position.  Air.  Rhea  resigned  his  position,  although  he  was  in  line  for 
promotion  and  was  popular  with  those  in  charge  of  the  road.  After  leaving 
Washington  he  spent  four  months  in  the  Risdon  iron  works  at  San  Francisco 
and  in  January  of  1909  came  from  there  to  the  Kern  river  fields,  where  in 
March  following  he  was  selected  for  the  position  he  still  fills.  Before  leaving 
Washington  he  married  Miss  Mary  Pinneo,  of  Tacoma,  in  July  of  1907,  and 
since  coming  to  the  hcldings  of  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company  lie  and  his 
wife  have  made  their  home  in  a  cozy  cottage  in  Bakersfield. 

DAVID  SHEEDY.— Descended  from  an  honored  old  Irish  family,  Mr. 
Sheedy  was  born  in  Gilboa  township,  Benton  county,  Ind.,  and  grew  to 
manhood  upon  a  farm.  As  a  boy  he  alternated  his  time  between  work  in  the 
fields  during  the  summer  days  and  attendance  at  school  in  the  winter  months, 
and  while  it  was  not  possible  for  him  to  attend  school  throughout  the  full 
terms,  yet  he  acquired  a  broad  fund  of  information  and  could  converse  with 
ease  and  intelligence  upon  all  subjects  of  importance.  \\'hen  he  left  the  farm 
and  started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world  he  took  up  mercantile  pur- 
suits. After  a  time  he  acquired  the  ownership  of  a  general  store  at  Lochiel, 
Benton  county,  and  this  he  conducted  until  failing  health  forced  him  to  give 
up  a  sedentar}'  occupation  and  remove  from  the  rigorous  Indiana  climate.  He 
arrived  in  East  Bakersfield  (then  known  as  Kern)  in  ]\Iarch,  1902,  and  on  the 
4th  of  October,  of  the  same  year,  his  death  occurred.  There  remains  to  family 
and  friends  the  memory  of  his  upright  character  and  purposeful  ambitions  and 
the  uplifting  influence  of  his  kindly  deeds. 

At  Lochiel,  Ind..  in  December  of  1891,  occurred  the  marriage  of  David 
•Sheedy  and  Afiss  Nellie  Kaar.  One  child  blessed  the  union,  Helen,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Bakersfield  high  school  class  of  1913.     Mrs.  Sheedy 's  father.  John 


1398  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Kaar,  came  to  Kern  county  at  an  early  date  and  became  a  leading  business  man 
of  Kern,  erecting  a  building  on  Baker  street  and  starting  the  Citizen's  Laun- 
dry. The  business  is  still  owned  by  the  family  and  is  managed  by  one  of  his 
sons,  George  S.  (represented  elsewhere  in  this  volume).  To  this  concern 
Mrs.  Sheedy  has  devoted  all  of  her  time  in  the  capacity  of  bookkeeper  and  from 
the  first  she  was  one  of  its  stockholders.  Keen  business  ability  is  one  of  her 
chief  endowments  and  her  services  have  been  most  helpful  in  the  satisfactory 
prosecution  of  the  business.  Since  coming  to  Bakersfield  she  has  formed 
many  friends  among  the  best  people  and  is  particularly  well  known  in  East 
Bakersfield,  where  she  makes  her  home  and  where  she  is  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  Church.  While  her  leisure  hours  are  few  she  has  found  time 
to  aid  in  church  work,  contribute  to  missionary  enterprises  and  assist  in 
charitable  projects,  and  also  has  been  able  to  interest  herself  in  a  number  of 
fraternal  organizations.  For  some  years  she  has  been  connected  with  Bakers- 
field Chapter  No.  125,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  also  the  Pythian  Sisters  and 
Fraternal  Brotherhood  and  is  further  identified  with  the  Knights  and  Ladies 
of  Security  as  a  charter  member  and  as  vice-president  of  the  order  at  Bakers- 
field. 

E.  CARROLL  EMMONS.— The  fact  that  he  holds  a  position  of  great 
responsibility  and  trust,  although  one  of  the  youngest  men  in  the  employ  of 
the  Honolulu  Consolidated  Oil  Company,  indicates  that  Mr.  Emmuns  has  the 
confidence  of  the  officials  of  the  concern  and  that  he  has  made  a  record  for 
efficiency  in  his  own  special  line  of  work.  To  act  as  purchasing  agent  for  so 
large  a  corporation  is  no  slight  task ;  that  he  discharges  every  duty  with 
fidelity  is  evident  to  all  familiar  with  his  work  as  storekeeper  on  the  lease 
situated  on  section  10,  township  32,  range  24,  in  the  Midway  field,  where  he 
superintends  with  dispatch  and  system  the  buying  of  all  oil-well  supplies 
as  well  as  the  maintenance  of  the  commissary  department.  Practically  all  of 
his  life  has  been  passed  in  Kern  county  and  the  family  has  been  well  known 
here  for  many  years. 

When  only  fourteen  months  old  Mr.  Emmons  was  brought  to  Kern 
county  by  his  parents,  who  settled  in  Bakersfield.  He  was  born  at  Sisson, 
Siskiyou  county,  August  7,  1891,  and  in  boyhood  he  attended  the  Bakers- 
field grammar  school,  graduating  from  the  regular  course  of  study.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  became  interested  in  the  oil  industry,  to  which  he  since 
has  given  his  time  and  attention.  Upon  first  coming  with  the  Honolulu  Oil 
Company  in  December,  1910,  he  was  under  the  then  superintendent,  J.  A. 
Pollard,  as  a  warehouse  man  and  by  successive  promotions  has  risen  to  be 
storekeeper  and  purchasing  agent  for  the  great  corporation. 

E.  W.  BAILEY. — Although  the  greater  part  of  his  busy  and  useful  life 
has  been  passed  within  the  limits  of  California,  Mr.  Bailey  is  an  Ohioan  by 
birth  and  was  born  at  Wilmington,  Clinton  county,  August  26,  1882.  In 
early  life  he  came  west  with  his  parents,  J.  W.  and  Catherine  (Hiney)  Bailey, 
who  settled  at  Whittier  and  sent  him  to  the  public  schools  at  that  town. 
When  seventeen  he  secured  employment  in  the  Whittier  oil  field  and  within 
a  year  he  had  gained  considerable  experience  in  drilling,  in  which  department 
of  the  oil  business  he  has  since  gained  more  than  a  local  reputation.  After 
four  years  with  the  Murphy  Oil  Company  he  went  to  the  Coalinga  field  and 
for  a  year  engaged  as  a  driller  with  the  Union  Oil  Company.  Next  he  took 
the  contract  to  drill  a  well  for  George  Roberts  in  the  Coalinga  field. 

Coming  down  to  the  Midway  field  during  1909  Mr.  Bailey  took  charge  of 
the  development  work  for  the  May  Oil  Company,  with  which  he  engaged  as  su- 
perintendent for  one  year.  In  the  meantime  May's  No.  1  was  brought  in  as  a 
twenty  thousand  barrel  gusher.  Not  long  before  this  the  Santa  Fe  had  brought 
in  a  gusher  on  section  6  and  about  six  days  afterward  the  famous  Lakeview 
was  the  third  gusher  in  the  field.    The  presence  of  three  gushers  soon  became 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1399 

known  and  caused  a  great  excitement  throughout  oil  circles  in  the  entire 
country.  The  year  after  coming  to  the  Midway  field  and  while  still  engaged 
with  the  May's  lease,  Mr.  Bailey  married  Miss  Amy  Logan,  of  Santa  Maria; 
they  have  since  lived  in  the  Midway  field  and  now  have  one  son,  Earl  Logan. 
From  May's  Mr.  Bailey  went  to  the  Rock  Oil  Company  as  superintendent. 
Ten  months  later  he  accepted  an  advantageous  offer  from  the  Midway  Five 
and  in  another  ten  months  he  became  associated  as  superintendent  with  St. 
Helen's  Petroleum  Company,  Limited,  whose  stockholders  are  English  cap- 
italists, forming  practically  the  same  coterie  of  financiers  who  own  also  the 
Kern  River  Oilfields  of  California,  Limited.  The  holdings  of  the  corporation 
comprise  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  on  section  16,  township  32,  range  24, 
and  fi  rty  acres  on  section  32,  township  21,  range  24.  While  but  a  short  time 
has  ela;ised  since  the  concern  began  operations  in  its  present  location  already 
two  strings  of  tools  are  in  operation  and  a  third  is  being  started,  with  the 
most  favorable  prospects  for  successful  enterprises  under  the  systematic 
management  of  Mr.  Bailey  as  superintendent.  The  only  fraternal  organization 
with  which  he  has  connected  himself  is  the  Benevtlent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  his  membership  being  with  Camp  No.  439  at  Fresno. 

J.  A.  BENNETT.— The  superintendent  of  Section  25  Oil  Company,  who 
has  the  distinction  of  being  the  pioneer  driller  on  25  Hill  and  whose  experi- 
ences as  a  driller  have  made  him  familiar  with  oil  fields  in  different  parts  of 
the  world,  was  born  at  Petrolia,  Canada,  December  16,  1874,  and  from  earliest 
recollections  has  been  familiar  with  the  til  industry.  The  family  to  which  he 
belongs  boasts  a  lineage  extending  back  to  the  early  history  of  colonial 
America,  and  his  father,  John  H.  Bennett,  a  pioneer  in  the  Canadian  oil  fields 
at  Petrolia,  now  makes  his  home  in  Vancouver,  British  Columbia,  and  not- 
withstanding seventy-seven  useful  and  active  years  he  still  retains  his  robust 
constitution  and  mental  faculties.  He  married  Miss  Mary  Jane  Barnum, 
whose  father  was  a  cousin  of  the  noted  P.  T.  Barnum  and  whose  mother's 
mother,  Malissa  Clay,  was  an  own  cousin  of  the  famous  statesman,  Henry  Clay. 

In  a  family  of  nine  children  J.  A.  Bennett  was  third  and  he  spent  the 
first  twenty  years  of  life  in  his  native  town  of  Petrolia,  where  he  learned  the 
oil  business  in  all  of  its  departments.  During  1894  he  secured  a  positit.n  as 
driller  for  an  Amsterdam  syndicate  that  owned  large  concessions  on  the 
island  of  Sumatra  in  the  Malayan  Archipelago.  For  two  and  one-half  years 
he  engaged  in  drilling  on  Sumatra,  where  he  had  charge  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  acres  for  the  com])any.  The  eleven  wells  which  he  drilled 
averaged  from  five  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  feet.  The  oil  was  of  fifty-two 
degrees  gravity.  Production  varied  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  bar- 
rels. The  excessively  hot  and  humid  climate  of  Sumatra  brought  on  fever 
and  forced  him  to  resign  his  position.  Next  he  engaged  in  drilling  for  the 
Shell  Transport  and  Trading  Company  on  the  island  of  Borneo,  where  he 
remained  abiut  three  years  and  meanwhile  made  three  discovery  wells  run- 
ning from  eighteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  feet  in  depth,  with  an  asphalt 
base.  The  oil  was  of  eighteen  degrees  gravity.  After  three  years  on  Borneo 
he  returned  to  America  via  the  Pacific  ocean  to  San  Francisco.  During 
December  of  1899  he  arrived  at  Bakersfield  at  the  time  of  the  boom  incident 
to  the  discovery  of  oil  in  the  Kern  river  field.  About  the  middle  of  the  sum- 
mer of  1900,  while  working  un  the  Sunset  coast  No.  1  well,  on  25  Hill,  he  struck 
oil  at  a  depth  of  fifteen  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet,  and  this  was  the  first  oil 
well  brought  in  on  the  now  famous  section  25.  The  oil  was  of  fifteen  degrees 
gravity  and  production  averaged  about  one  hundred  barrels.  While  engaged 
in  drilling  for  oil  on  section  22,  32-23,  he  struck  water  at  a  depth  of  one  thou- 
sand feet.  As  the  price  of  water  was  high  and  the  quality  of  this  well  excellent 
for  boiler  purposes,  the  company  paid  off  the  driller,  deciding  that  water  was 
more  valuable  to  them  than  oil. 


1400  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Bennett  and  Dr.  Jean  Worthington  took  place  at 
Bakersfield  in  1902  and  afterward  they  went  to  British  Burmah,  where  for 
three  years  lie  had  charge  of  oil  production  and  development  for  a  large  cor- 
poration. Their  first  child  James  Gordon  Bennett,  was  be  rn  in  Upper  Bur- 
mah. The  younger  children,  Nota  B.  and  Jean,  were  born  after  the  return 
of  the  family  to  America.  Mrs.  Bennett  is  a  graduate  of  the  dental  depart- 
ment. University  of  California,  with  the  class  of  1898,  and  has  practiced  the 
dental  profession  with  success  in  her  home  city  of  Bakersfield.  After  a 
second  trip  around  the  world  Mr.  Bennett  settled  in  Cobalt,  Canada,  with  the 
hope  that  the  change  of  climate  would  rid  his  system  of  the  malaria  con- 
tracted in  the  tropics.  Coming  to  Bakersfield  in  l'>06,  he  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Associated  Oil  Company  on  the  San  Joaquin  division  and  upon  the 
promction  of  Superintendent  Bruce  he  was  chosen  to  fill  the  position  of 
drilling  superintendent  and  later,  on  the  promotion  of  L.  J.  King  to  the  Mc- 
Kittrick  division,  he  was  made  superintendent  of  production.  After  four 
years  with  the  Associated  he  engaged  in  drilling  for  the  Standard  and  in  1911 
began  to  drill  for  the  Tejon  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  field,  later  drilling 
for  the  Sunset  Security  a  well  four  tlu  usand  feet  deep.  Since  taking  charge  of 
the  Section  25  Oil  Company  in  February,  1913,  he  has  maintained  an  average 
production  of  fifty  thousand  barrels  per  month  and  has  superintended  the 
crew  of  forty  workmen  employed  by  this  large  corporation. 

JAMES  O.  McCaffrey. — in  the  capacity  of  chief  mechanical  engineer 
Mr.  McCaffrey  has  charge  of  the  boiler-house  and  statii  nary  engines  on  sec- 
tion 16  division  of  the  North  American  Oil  Consolidated,  and  his  experience  as 
a  skilled  machinist  enables  him  to  fill  with  success  a  most  responsible  and  trust- 
worthy position.  Belfast,  Ireland,  is  his  native  heme  and  July  8,  1873,  the 
date  of  his  birth.  He  is  a  son  of  Patrick  and  Catherine  (Bouges)  McCaffrey, 
who  were  born,  reared  and  married  in  Ireland,  and  during  middle  age  came  to 
America,  settling  in  South  Dakota,  where  now  they  own  and  live  upon  a  large 
cattle  ranch  in  Clark  county.  Their  family  comprises  six  living  children,  be- 
sides which  they  had  two  who  died  in  early  life.  The  eldest,  James  O.,  is  the 
only  member  cf  the  family  in  California.  Mary  married  P.  J.  Murphy,  who 
is  now  a  storekeeper  in  Melbourne,  Australia.  Hugh  and  Thomas  are  part- 
ners in  the  cattle-raising  business  in  Clark  county,  S.  Dak.  Francis  is  em- 
ployed as  a  steamship  inspector  by  Harlem  &  Woolf,  the  great  ship-building 
concern  that  produced  the  Titantic  and  other  marvels  of  ocean  speed.  The 
youngest  member  of  the  family.  Miss  Annie  McCaffrey,  is  living  with  her 
parents  in  South  Dakota. 

Upon  leaving  the  national  schools  in  Belfast  it  was  the  plan  of  James  O. 
McCaft'rey  to  become  an  apprentice  with  Harlem  &  Woolf,  but,  wishing  to 
see  something  of  the  world,  he  decided  to  come  to  America  instead.  During 
May  of  1890  he  arrived  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  where  lived  an  uncle,  Patrick  Cos- 
grove,  the  superintendent  of  the  steel  furnace  of  the  Carnegie  works  at  Brad- 
dock,  Allegheny  county.  During  his  brief  visit  he  was  cenvinced  of  the  advis- 
ability of  learning  a  trade,  and  for  this  purpose  returned  to  Ireland  and 
became  an  apprentice  at  the  trade  of  machinist  and  engineer.  That  deter- 
mination was  carried  out  and  he  spent  three  years  in  the  great  plant  of  Har- 
lem &  Woolf,  where  he  completed  his  time  and  acquired  a  reputation  for 
skilled  work.  Again  coming  to  America,  he  this  time  found  ready  work  as  an 
engineer  under  his  uncle  and  for  four  years  he  continued  in  Pennsylvania. 
Meanwhile  he  had  married  Miss  Bridget  D.  Lalley,  a  native  of  county  Gal- 
way,  Ireland,  and  the  young  couple  in  1903  sailed  for  Honolulu.  Upon  his 
arrival  there  he  was  given  charge  of  the  engine  room  on  the  Ewea  sugar 
plantation.  During  the  three  years  passed  on  the  Hawaiian  Islands  two 
children  were  born  to  them,  but  both  died  in  infancy.  Leaving  the  islands 
they  came  to  San  Francisco,  where  Mr.  McCaffrey  secured  employment  as 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1401 

foreman  in  the  steel  department  of  the  Merle  Ornamental  and  Bronze  Com- 
pany. Three  years  were  spent  in  the  city  and  in  the  meantime  he  and  his  wife 
endured  all  the  horrors  incident  to  the  famous  earthquake  and  fire.  While 
there  he  was  a  popular  worker  in  Division  7,  Ancient  Order  of  the  Hibernians, 
also  took  a  leading  part  in  the  Irish  National  Foresters.  About  1909  he  left 
San  Francisco  and  came  to  Taft,  where  on  the  second  day  he  secured  a 
position  as  engineer  on  the  section  16  division  of  the  North  American  Oil 
Consolidated  and  ever  since  then  he  has  devoted  himself  closely  to  the  duties 
incident  to  his  post  of  trust  and  res  )onsibility.  From  early  life  both  he  and 
his  wife  have  been  earnest  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  They  oc- 
cupy a  company  house  and  their  modest  but  cosy  home  abounds  with  good 
cheer  and  comfort. 

KEITH  B.  LE  GAR. — Rapid  rise  to  prominence  in  the  oil  industry  has 
characterized  the  occupative  activities  of  Keith  B.  LeGar,  who  as  foreman  on 
the  section  16  division  of  the  Ni  rth  American  Oil  Consolidated  feels  a  just 
pride  in  a  responsible  identification  with  one  of  the  leading  corporations  oper- 
ating in  the  Alidway  field.  But  few  years  have  passed  since  he  began  to  be 
familiar  with  the  oil  industry,  and  such  lias  been  his  mental  alertness  and 
the  quickness  of  his  intelligence  that  he  has  grasped  all  the  details  connected 
with  the  business  in  a  comparatively  brief  period.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1913, 
he  was  promoted  to  his  present  position  as  production  foreman,  in  which 
capacity  he  has  the  full  confidence  of  his  employers  and  of  the  twenty-four 
men  under  him.  The  average  monthly  production  on  the  division  is  about  forty 
thousand  barrels 

Mr.  LeGar  was  born  at  Buchanan,  Mich.,  April  2,  1889,  and  is  the  elder 
of  two  brothers,  the  younger  being  Kenneth  LeGar,  who  has  charge  of 
the  tools  on  the  Kerto  division  of  the  Kern  Trading  &  Oil  Company  near 
Maricopa.  The  father,  Edwin  LeGar,  who  was  a  farmer  in  Berrien  county, 
Mich.,  died  about  1895,  and  later  the  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Estella  Baker,  became  the  wife  i  f  James  Snodgrass.  At  this  writing  she  still 
makes  her  home  at  Buchanan,  Berrien  county.  The  boyhood  years  of  Keith 
LeGar  were  made  unhappy  by  the  inconsiderate  treatment  accorded  him  by 
his  step-father  and  when  he  was  sixteen  he  left  the  home  farm  in  Berrien 
county,  determined  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  Prior  to  their  mar- 
riage, which  was  solemnized  May  14,  1913,  Mrs.  LeGar  was  Miss  Blanche 
Carter. 

For  three  and  one-half  years  Mr.  LeGar  was  employed  in  Arizona  and 
much  of  that  time  was  spent  in  driving  stage  between  Prescott  and  Hooper. 
From  Arizona  he  came  to  California  in  1909  and  secured  employment  in  San 
Luis  Obispo  county,  where  he  ga'ned  his  first  ex'jerience  in  the  oil  industry. 
For  a  time  he  engaged  as  tool-dresser  with  the  San  Luis  Bay  Oil  Company. 
Ccming  over  to  the  Midway  field  in  1910,  he  worked  on  various  leases  until 
December  of  the  same  year,  when  he  was  given  a  roustabout's  position  on 
section  16  division  of  the  North  American.  In  a  short  time  he  was  made  gang- 
pusher,  after  which  he  was  promoted  to  be  foreman,  and  in  each  post  of  duty 
he  has  proved  to  be  trustworthy,  energetic  and  eminently  capable. 

FRANK  J.  MORA. — When  the  Castilian  ancestors  of  the  Mora  family 
first  crossed  the  ocean  from  Snain  to  America  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  and  settled  in  Mexico  they  were  led  by  a  gallant  Spaniard, 
the  head  of  the  ancient  house,  Raphael  de  la  Mora,  whose  last  days  were  spent 
amid  the  somewhat  crude  conditions  then  existing  in  the  new  world.  A 
grands,  n  of  the  Castilian  forefather.  Pedro,  passed  all  of  his  active  years  in 
carrying  on  a  stock  ranch  in  the  Rio  del  Ora  mountains  of  Mexico.  For 
convenience  the  farhily  name  was  shortened  to  the  present  form.  J'rank  J., 
son  of  Pedro,  was  born  at  the  ranch  home  near  Zamora,  Michoacan,  Mexico, 
in  1877.    At  the  age  of  eleven  years  in  1888  he  came  to  California  to  make  his 


1402  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

home  with  an  older  sister,  Mrs.  Nettie  Smith  in  Tulare,  and  to  have  the  ad 
vantages  of  the  public  schools  of  that  place.  For  eight  years  he  made  his 
headquarters  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Smith,  who  afterward  removed  to  Por- 
terville  and  is  now  living  in  the  latter  town.  Besides  attending  the  public 
schools  he  also  for  a  time  was  sent  to  a  private  institution  of  learning. 

The  skill  which  the  lad  displayed  in  the  handling  of  horses  led  J.  F. 
Batchelder  to  engage  him  for  such  work.  It  was  not  long  before  he  was  con- 
sidered to  be  an  expert  in  the  breaking  of  colts.  The  most  fiery  and  dangerous 
animal  speedily  was  brought  under  control  through  his  wise  management. 
His  ability  in  the  work  seemed  so  unusual  that  he  was  induced  to  start  a 
stable  in  which  he  boarded  colts,  keeping  them  under  his  personal  oversight 
until  they  were  thoroughly  broken  to  the  harness.  For  some  years  he  made 
a  specialty  of  training  horses  in  his  part  of  California  and  even  after  he  had 
spent  two'years  in  travel  thri  ugh  Mexico,  his  fondness  for  California  was  so 
deep  that  he  returned  to  the  state  to  establish  a  permanent  home.  Locating 
in  Porterville  he  established  a  stable  for  the  breaking  of  colts  and  continued 
in  the  business  at  that  place  until  November  of  1907,  when  he  came  to  Bakers- 
field.  Securing  a  position  as  manager  of  the  Exchange  stable  on  the  corner  of 
Eighteenth  and  I  streets,  he  CLUtinued  as  an  employe  for  two  years.  Mean- 
while he  decided  to  purchase  the  stable,  since  which  he  has  been  the  owner 
and  proprietor.  While  living  at  Porterville  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Savina  Viscaino,  a  native  of  the  state  of  Colima  near  the  Pacific  ocean 
in  Mexico,  but  from  early  life  a  resident  of  California.  Since  coming  to  this 
city  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mora  have  erected  a  house  at  No.  2416  N  street,  where 
they  now  have  a  comfortable  and  attractive  home. 

SAN  JOAQUIN  LIGHT  &  POWER  CORPORATION.— Suggestive  of 

its  name  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corporation,  which  serves  Bakers- 
field  and  adjacent  country,  has  mere  than  a  local  reputation  and  influence.  In 
truth  it  may  be  said  that  its  development  has  had  more  to  do  with  upbuilding 
the  Valley,  whose  name  it  bears,  than  any  other  single  organization.  The 
development  of  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corporation  has  been  unique 
in  that  it  is  serving  an  immense  and  sparsely  settled  territory  over  which 
many  miles  of  expensive  transmission  and  distributing  lines  have  had  to  be 
built  and  prospective  consumers  educated  to  the  use  of  electricity  for  agri- 
cultural purposes  before  any  returns  whatsoever  could  be  obtained  on  the 
investment.  That  the  ccmpany  is  succeeding  in  its  purpose  is  readily  apparent 
to  the  eye  of  the  traveler  who  will  ride  through  any  of  the  newly  settled  col- 
onies such  as  Wasco  and  McFarland  on  the  north  to  the  Weed  Patch  on  the 
south  of  Bakersfield.  Electricity  has  meant  water  development  in  Kern  county 
and  development  of  water  is  rapidly  opening  up  the  agricultural  holdings. 

The  history  of  the  present  company  dates  back  to  the  building  of  the 
original  San  Joaquin  No.  1  Power  Plant  seventeen  years  ago.  This  plant 
made  history  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  as  it  was  the  first  hydro-electric 
development  for  long  distance  transmission.  The  plant  had  a  capacity  of  1450 
kilowatts,  in  the  light  of  present  day  hydro-electric  development  a  small  one. 
and  served  the  towns  of  Fresno  and  Hanford.  In  1902  the  present  owners  took 
over  the  property  and  since  that  time  have  built  up  what  is  now  the  great 
system  of  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corporation.  Today  this  com- 
pany furnishes  light  and  power  throughout  ten  counties,  seven  of  which  are 
in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  and  three  on  the  ccast.  In  round  numbers  the 
company  is  serving  18,500  lighting  customers,  2000  power  customers,  6000 
gas  customers  and  7500  water  customers.  The  Bakersfield  Street  Railway 
system,  which  is  acknowledged  by  authorities  to  be  the  best  constructed  in 
the  West,  is  operated  by  this  company,  and  power  is  also  supplied  for  oil  well 
development  and  pumping  in  all  the  oil  fields  in  Kern  county  as  well  as  the 
famous  Coalinga  fields  in  Fresno  county.    In  all  these  operations  the  facil- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1403 

ities  are  the  best,  no  expense  having-  been  spared  in  fitting-  the  general  equip- 
n-ient  in  order  to  obtain  the  best  resnhs  and  liring  the  utmost  satisfaction  to 
the  territories  served. 

The  cfficers  of  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corporation  arc  as  fol- 
lows: William  G.  Kerckhofif  of  Los  Angeles,  president;  A.  C.  Oalch  of  Los 
Angeles,  vice-president ;  A.  G.  Wishon  of  Fresno,  general  manager. 

In  the  Bakersfield  district  employi-nent  is  furnished  to  275  persons,  while 
the  company  has  on  its  general  pay  roll  more  than  one  thousand  names. 

In  August  1910,  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Company  entered  Kern 
county  by  purchasing  the  properties  of  the  Power  Transit  and  Light  Com- 
pany, which  consisted  of  the  hydro-electric  plant  in  the  Kern  river  canyon; 
transmission  lines  to  Bakersfield  and  distribution  lines  in  Bakersfield  and 
some  territory  immediately  adjacent ;  the  Bakersfield  and  Kern  Electric  Rail- 
way System  and  Gas  Works.  The  power  plant  at  that  time  was  inadequate 
to  serve  the  interests  of  the  city  and  the  day  before  the  company  was  to  take 
charge  one  of  the  three  generators  burned  out  and  the  city  of  Bakersfield 
was  without  street  lights  until  a  temporary  steam  generator  of  750  kilowatts 
could  be  installed  for  relief.  This  was  the  initial  unit  in  the  big  steani  plant 
which  has  since  been  built,  the  coi-npany  at  the  same  time  ordering  a  2000 
capacity  stean-i  turbo  generator  set.  This  initial  develoinnent  was  almost 
twice  as  great  as  the  generating  capacity  of  the  old  generating  plant  which 
had  an  output  of  only  1440  kilowatts.  The  business  grew  so  rapidly  that  a 
short  time  later  a  5000  kilowatt  capacity  was  added  to  the  steam  plant.  Dur- 
ing the  year  1911  another  addition  of  7000  kilowatts  capacity  was  made.  This 
steam  plant  now  is  the  largest  in  the  interior  of  California  and  cost  practically 
$1,COO,000.    It  is  modern  in  every  respect. 

When  this  company  entered  Kern  county  they  found  customers  paying 
thirteen  and  one-half  cents  per  kilowatt  hour  for  service,  but  as  soon  as 
the  first  steam  plant  unit  was  installed  they  voluntarily  reduced  the  price  to 
twelve  cents  per  kilowatt  hour.  A  short  time  later,  when  the  new  transmis- 
sion line  built  frcm  Crane  Valley,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles,  were  completed,  the  rate  was  again  voluntarily  reduced  to  ten  cents 
per  kilowatt  hour  and  in  a  short  time  thereafter  when  business  throughout  the 
system  was  increasing,  the  rate  was  reduced  throughout  all  the  agricultural 
valley  in  the  territory  served  by  the  company  from  Merced  to  Bakersfield  to 
eight  cents  per  kilowatt  hour. 

In  August,  1910,  when  the  new  company  began  business,  they  found  them- 
selves serving  4195  customers  in  Kern  county  and  at  the  end  of  1913  this  num- 
ber had  been  increased  to  more  than  9100.  In  1910  they  were  supply- 
ing power  for  one  hundred  and  nine  motors  in  Kern  county,  while  at  the  end 
of  1913  more  than  1050  customers  had  been  installed  on  the  lines.  In  1910 
the  gas  consumers  were  supplied  with  manufactured  gas  which  was  being  jiaid 
for  at  the  rate  of  $1.47  per  1030  feet.  This  gas  contained  600  heat  units.  As 
soon  as  the  company  had  been  in  operation  it  introduced  natural  gas  into 
Bakersfield  for  which  the  average  charge  is  seventy-eight  cents  per  1000  feet, 
and  which  ccntains  more  than  1000  heat  units.  Great  improvements  likewise 
were  made  in  the  street  car  system.  In  1910  there  were  but  three  cars  on  the 
Nineteenth  street  single  track  line  on  a  fourteen  minute  headway.  This  sys- 
tem has  since  been  double  tracked,  four  cars  are  serving  the  travel  and  they 
are  running  under  a  seven  minute  headway.  The  cross-city  lines  then  were 
run  under  a  thirty  minute  headway,  but  they  since  have  been  double  tracked 
and  the  run  headway  has  been  cut  in  half.  In  re-building  the  system  the 
company  paved  that  part  of  the  street  taken  up  with  their  lines  and  to  date 
have  expended  more  than  $127,000  on  paving  alone.  The  rails  are  114  pound 
"Trilby"  made  for  standard  M.C.B.  wheels.  The  paving  between  rails  has 
eight  inches  of  ballast  with  four  inches  of  concrete  on  top  while  the  sides  of 


1404  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  rails  are  protected  with  turned  basalt  brick.  Six  cars  of  the  modern 
pay-as-you-enter  type  have  been  installed  and  no  expense  has  been  spared 
in  making  this  the  peer  in  service  and  equipment  of  any  interior  system  in  the 
West. 

The  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corporation  since  entering  Kern 
county  has  built  154  miles  of  high  voltage  transmission  line  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  citrus  belt  at  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  extending  south  to 
the  Kern  River  oil  fields,  thence  to  Bakersfield  and  west  and  north  through 
the  Sunset,  Midway,  McKittrick,  Bellridge,  and  Lost  Hills  oil  fields.  Five 
hundred  and  ninety-six  miles  of  distribution  line  have  been  built  to  furnish 
service  to  this  territory,  and  sub-stations  at  Bakersfield,  Famosa,  Midway, 
and  McKittrick,  together  with  meters,  service  lines,  and  other  equipment, 
amounting  in  all  to  an  outlay  cif  $803,000,  have  been  built  to  maintain  this 
service.  Not  including  the  original  purchase  price  of  the  old  Power  Transit 
and  Light  Company,  nor  the  large  amount  of  money  spent  on  services  and 
construction  work  since  entering  the  company,  the  San  Joaquin  Light  & 
Power  Corporation  has  invested  $2,200,003  in  equinment  and  improvements 
all  ne.  In  the  very  near  future  this  investment  will  be  largely  increased  as 
plans  have  been  made  for  the  complete  rebuilding  of  the  hydro-electric  plant 
in  the  Kern  River  Caiion.  The  lines  of  the  c^miany  now  serve  all  of  the  oil 
fields  and  agricultural  districts,  and  the  progressive  policy  of  the  company 
providing  power  wherever  there  is  prospect  of  development  has  been  pursued 
and  the  result  has  been  that  a  tremendous  good  has  been  done  in  building 
up  the  country.  The  history  of  Kern  county  has  been  that  agricultural  devel- 
opment has  followed  in  the  wake  of  these  power  lines. 

JAMES  THOMAS  GRAHAM.— As  a  partner  of  the  firm  of  Kaar  & 
■Graham,  proprietors  of  the  Studebaker  garage,  James  Thomas  Graham  ranks 
among  the  leading  business  men  of  Bakersfitld,  while  his  Masonic  affiliations 
have  brought  him  prominently  into  the  best  social  circles  of  the  city.  Born  in 
Crewe,  England,  August  6,  1874,  his  entire  life  has  been  characteristic  of  his 
race,  for  he  has  displayed  marked  traits  which  distinguish  him  as  the  son  of 
a  noble  race,  his  inherent  intelligence  being  brought  to  bear  in  his  daily  labors 
and  his  conscientious  and  never-failing  honesty  bringing  him  good  results 
in  the  business  world.  His  father  was  Charles  Thomas  Graham,  who  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  machinist  in  England  and  brought  his  family  to  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  in  1882,  following  that  trade  in  their  new  home.  He  now  makes  his 
home  in  Kentucky.  The  mother,  Louisa  (Blinkhorn)  Graham,  was  a  native 
of  London  and  passed  her  last  days  in  Cincinnati.  She  bore  her  husband 
three  children. 

The  excellent  public  schools  of  Cincinnati,  and  also  of  Covington,  Ky., 
afforded  to  James  Graham  his  elementary  education,  upon  ccmpletion  of 
which  at  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  apprenticed  as  a  machinist  in  the  shops  of 
the  Cincinnati  Southern  Railroad  in  Ludlow,  Ky.  After  serving  a  four  years' 
term  he  went  to  Lima,  Ohio,  to  enter  the  shops  of  the  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  & 
Dayton  Railroad  and  from  there  went  to  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  shops 
in  East  St.  Louis,  111.,  after  which  for  a  short  time  he  worked  for  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Railroad  at  La  Junta,  Colo.  In  all  of  these  shops  he 
worked  as  a  machinist,  always  adding  to  his  store  of  knowledge  of  the  work 
and  perfecting  himself  in  that  branch.  In  1899  he  came  to  Los  Angeles, 
where  he  was  employed  in  the  Santa  Fe  shops  for  a  year,  and  in  1900  he  lo- 
cated in  Bakersfield  as  a  machinist  in  the  Southern  Pacific  shops.  In  this 
capacity  he  labored  four  years,  and  subsequently  for  five  years  was  identified 
with  the  Bakersfield  Iron  Works,  at  the  end  of  this  time  resigning  to  become 
foreman  of  the  Owners  Garage ;  he  filled  this  position  until  the  garage  was 
burned  down.  His  interest  had  by  this  time  been  directed  closely  to  the 
building  and  caring  for  automobiles,  and  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Messrs. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1405 

Gardette  &  Miinsey,  starting  the  Kern  Valley  Garage  in  the  building  where 
now  is  located  his' own  garage.  In  1911  Charles  H.  Kaar  joined  the  com- 
pany, and  buying  (  ut  the  otheVs,  they  began  to  do  business  as  the  Studebaker 
uar'age,  the  firm  now  being  known  as  Kaar  &  Graham.  It  is  the  largest  garage 
in  Bakersfield,  occupying  a  building  132x115  in  dimensions,  and  they  have  the 
agency  for  the  Studebaker  cars.  Mr.  Graham  is  superintendent  of  the  garage 
and  machine  shop,  and  a  large  general  auto  supply  department  has  been 
added,  making  the  concern  complete  in  every  particular  and  ca])ablc  of  hand- 
ling any  make  of  car. 

Mr.  Graham  was  married  in  Bakersfield  to  Miss  Zora  Perkett,  wiio  was 
born  in  Jackson,  Amador  county,  and  they  have  a  daughter,  Martha.  Made  a 
Mason  in  Lima  Ledge  No.  205,  F.  &  A.  M.,  Mr.  Graham  was  raised  to  the 
Royal  Arch  degree  in  Lima  Chapter,  No.  49,  R.  A.  M.,  and  l&ter  was  made  a 
Knight  Templar  in  Bakersfield  Commandery  No.  39,  K.  T.,  of  which  he  is  now 
Eminent  Commander.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Al  Malaikah  Temple,  .X.  M.  S., 
of  Los  Angeles. 

FRANK  A.  MILLIFF. — A  well-informed  and  practical  oil  refiner  is  found 
in  Frank  A.  Milliff,  who  was  born  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  April  24,  1876.  His 
father,  John  Milliff,  was  one  of  the  early  refiners  of  oil,  having  engaged  in  the 
business  from  1865  until  he  retired  in  1900.  Mis  death  occurred  in  Findlay, 
Ohio,  in  1904.   Of  his  family  of  six  sons  all  are  in  the  oil  and  refining  business. 

/\fter  graduating  from  the  public  schools  of  Cleveland,  Mr.  Milliff'  entered 
St.  Ignatius  College  where  he  continued  his  studies  for  three  years.  In  lfc92 
he  entered  the  emjjloy  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  at  Parkersburg,  W.  Va., 
and  there  began  to  learn  the  refining  of  oil,  and  afterwards  in  the  same 
capacity  at  their  Cleveland  No.  2  Refinery.  Next  he  went  with  the  Canfield 
Od  Company  at  Findlay,  Ohio,  and  while  there  became  assistant  superintend- 
ent. After  four  years  with  the  company  he  resigned  to  come  to  California  in 
1904  for  the  Bulls  Head  Oil  Company  (now  the  American  Oriental  Oil  Com- 
pany) to  build  their  compounding  plant  at  Martinez.  This  was  the  first 
plant  to  make  a  success  of  the  cl  mpounding  of  all  kinds  of  grease  and  oil 
from  the  California  product.  The  manufactured  articles  took  the  gold  medal 
at  the  Lewis  and  Clark  exposition  in  Portland.  In  1505  Mr.  Milliff  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Union  Oil  Company  of  California  as  superintendent  of  construc- 
tion and  built  their  refinery  at  Oleum,  and  on  the  completion  of  the  plant  was 
made  su])erintendent  of  the  refinery.  In  1906  he  resigned  and  for  a  year  was 
engaged  in  business  for  himself  when  he  accepted  the  position  of  assistant 
superintendent  of  construction  for  the  Associated  Pipe  Line  Company.  When 
the  pipe  line  was  completed  to  Port  Costa  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  that 
station.  In  June,  1912,  he  came  to  Lust  Hills  as  superintendent  of  construc- 
tion of  the  refinery  for  the  Universal  Oil  Company  and  since  its  completion 
has  been  superintendent  of  the  refinery. 

In  Martinez,  Calif.,  occurred  Mr.  Milliff's  marriage  with  Miss  Rose  .A. 
Hurley,  a  native  daughter  of  that  place,  and  to  them  have  been  born  three 
children,  Francis,  William  and  Raymond.  His  zeal  and  ardor  for  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  was  shown  in  April,  1898,  when  he  volunteered  his  services  for  the 
Spanish-American  war,  enlisting  in  Battery  A,  First  Ohio  Light  Artillery. 
He  served  with  his  battery  until  they  were  mustered  out  and  was  honorably 
discharged  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  after  nine  months'  service.  He  is  a  charter 
member  of  General  Fitzhugh  Lee  Camp,  Society  of  the  Spanish-. \merican 
War  Veterans,  of  which  he  was  the  first  commander. 

E.  J.  BARKER. — Among  the  business  men  who  are  contributing  to  the 
upbuilding  of  Li  st  Hills  we  find  E.  J.  Barker,  the  proprietor  of  The  Toggery, 
a  business  handling  exclusive  men's  furnishings,  and  he  is  also  a  merchant 
tailor.  He  was  born  in  Jacksonville,  Ind.,  in  March,  1882,  and  was  raised  on 
the  farm  and  educated  in  the  local  public  schools.   When  fourteen  years  of  age 


1406  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

he  was  apprenticed  to  the  tailor's  trade  under  his  uncle.  Later  on,  however, 
he  discontinued  the  trade  to  follow  the  oil  business  and  became  a  driller  in 
Indiana,  afterwards  working  in  the  same  capacity  in  Ohio,  Pennsylvania, 
Texas  and  Kansas.  In  1899  he  made  his  first  trip  to  California,  where  he 
spent  nine  months  in  the  Los  Angeles  oil  field.  He  then  spent  some  time  in 
Mexico  and  Central  America,  returning  to  California  to  follow  the  oil  busi- 
ness in  Los  Angeles,  Taft  and  Coalinga  until  October,  1911,  when  he  located 
in  Lost  Hills  and  began  the  mercantile  trade.  He  established  The  Toggery 
and  is  doing  a  successful  and  satisfactory  business. 

On  August  10,  1910,  in  Los  Angeles,  Mr.  Barker  was  married  to  Miss 
Frances  Seigel,  a  native  of  New  York  City,  who  came  to  California  in  1907. 
Politically,  ^Ir.  Barker  is  a  straight-out  Democrat. 

MAHLON  PAYNE. — Whatever  measure  of  success  has  come  to  Mr. 
Payne  in  the  varied  activities  of  existence,  the  credit  for  such  achievements 
must  be  given  to  his  own  determined  efforts  unaided  by  any  of  the  extraneous 
circumstances  that  oftentimes  promote  prosperity.  Educational  advantages 
he  had  none.  Even  the  limited  opportunities  afforded  by  country  schools  of 
past  generations  were  almost  beyond  his  reach,  yet  he  has  succeeded,  not- 
withstanding the  discouraging  environment  of  his  youth.  From  the  age  of 
thirteen,  when  he  lost  his  father,  he  was  obliged  to  earn  his  own  livelihood  and 
thereafter  drifted  from  one  farm  to  another  as  he  worked  "for  board  and 
clothes."  Of  his  mother  he  has  no  recollection  whatever,  for  he  was  scarcely 
three  years  of  age  when  he  suffered  an  irreparable  bereavement  in  her  death. 

The  original  home  t.f  the  Payne  family  was  m  North  Carolina,  whence 
Barnabas  Payne  and  his  widowed  mother  removed  to  Indiana  in  1830  and 
settled  on  a  farm  near  North  Manchester,  Wabash  county.  After  the  youth 
had  attained  man's  estate  he  married  Miss  Huldah  Bond,  a  native  of  Ohio, 
but  from  early  childhood  a  resident  of  Wayne  county,  Ind.  The  young  couple 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Wabash  county  and  devoted  themselves  to  the  develop- 
ment of  land.  Six  cJiildren  were  born  of  their  union,  and  all  were  still  young 
when  the  mother  died  in  1855.  The  father  passed  away  in  1865  on  the  Wabash 
county  farm.  Their  first-born  son,  Elias,  a  farmer  by  occupation,  died  in 
Wabash  county  at  the  age  of  thirty-one  years,  leaving  a  wife  and  two  children. 
The  eldest  daughter,  Luzena,  is  the  widow  of  William  Brindle  and  lives  on  a 
farm  in  Blackford  county,  Ind.  The  second  son,  Albert,  died,  unmarried,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-seven.  Anna  married  Levi  Walters  and  lives  on  a  farm  in 
Wabash  county;  Jesse  is  living  retired  in  Los  Angeles. 

The  youngest  member  of  the  family  circle,  Mahlon  Payne,  was  born  in 
Wabash  county,  Ind.,  September  25,  1852,  and  endured  all  the  privations  inci- 
dent to  being  poor  and  an  orphan.  He  remembers  the  excitement  incident  to 
the  Civil  war,  which  began  when  he  was  less  than  ten  years  of  age.  With 
equal  clearness  he  also  recalls  the  prevalence  of  malaria  and  other  forms  of 
disease  common  in  a  new  country.  As  a  lad  of  thirteen  he  began  to  work  as 
a  farm  hand  and  thereafter  he  did  a  man's  work  for  a  boy's  wages  until  he 
married  and  went  to  Kansas.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  married  Miss 
Amanda  Garretson,  a  native  of  McLean  county.  111.,  and  a  daughter  of  Talbot 
and  Mary  Ann  (Dysart)  Garretson,  both  of  whom  were  born  in  Ohio,  .-\fter 
his  marriage  Mr.  Payne  removed  to  Kansas  and  bought  railroad  land  in  An- 
derson county,  where  he  and  his  young  wife  lived  in  a  cabin  that  cost  them 
$85.  Believing  the  prospects  in  that  locality  to  be  unfavorable,  he  removed  to 
Nebraska  and  bought  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  deeded  land  in  Seward 
county.  The  improvement  of  the  acreage  brought  him  a  fair  degree  of 
material  prosperity.  Stock-raising  and  grain-farming  engaged  his  attention. 
In  spite  of  having  much  sickness  in  the  family,  on  the  whole  he  prospered 
and  each  year  found  him  with  a  small  amount  added  to  his  growing  capital. 
After  some  years  on  the  farm  he  moved  into  the  city  of  York,  York  county, 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1407 

Neb.,  from  which  point  he  engased  in  shipping  live  stock  to  Omaha.  From 
York  he  and  his  wife  came  to  Cahfornia,  arriving  at  Bakersfield  July  22,  1907, 
and  shortly  afterward  settling  un  a  fruit  and  alfalfa  farm  of  ten  acres  on  Union 
avenue.  During  the  spring  of  1911  he  sold  the  ranch  and  came  to  Bakersfield, 
where  he  bought  seven  lots  and  began  building  operations.  Since  then  he  has 
expended  a  large  sum  in  the  erection  of  bungalows. 

Besides  his  own  home  at  No.  331  Eighteenth  street,  Mr.  Payne  has  built 
the  cottage  bungalows  at  Nos.  325,  401  and  403  Eighteenth  street,  in  the  Kruse 
tract.  It  was  he  who  erected  the  first  house  on  this  terrace.  In  1912  there 
were  only  two  houses  in  the  tract,  but  in  1913  there  are  twenty,  all  of  them 
modern,  substantial  and  up-to-date.  The  task  of  building  still  engages  the 
attention  of  Mr.  Payne  and  when  all  of  the  lots  are  improved  he  will  devote 
his  attention  to  the  care  of  the  cottages  and  property.  Honorable  in  every 
dealing,  forceful  in  temperament,  whole-souled  in  spirit  and  upright  in  act, 
he  forms  a  valuable  accession  to  that  class  of  citizens  so  necessary  to  the 
permanent  prosperity  of  Bakersfield.  Politically  he  always  has  been  inde- 
pendent. In  religion  he  and  his  wife  adhere  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
Church.  Their  family  has  numbered  five  children,  but  one  of  these,  Ernest  M., 
died  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven,  leaving  a  wife  and  daughter,  Mercedes.  The 
surviving  sons  and  daughter  are  as  follows:  Clarence  C,  an  optician  and 
watchmaker  at  Modesto,  Cal. ;  Elmer  A.,  a  farmer  in  Seward  county.  Neb. ; 
Orville  D.,  a  watch-maker,  engraver  and  optician  doing  business  at  Woodland, 
Cal.,  and  Irene  D.,  now  connected  as  bookkeeper  with  the  Pioneer  Mercantile 
Company  of  Bakersfield.  Remembering  with  regret  his  own  lack  of  early 
advantages,  it  has  been  the  aim  of  Mr.  Payne's  life  to  give  his  children  good 
educations  and  in  this  ambition  he  has  been  successful,  with  the  result  that 
the  sons  and  daughter  are  more  than  ordinarily  well-informed,  promising  and 
capable. 

CHARLES  HARDISTY.— During  one  of  the  religious  persecutions  that 
threw  their  somber  shadows  over  Scotland  in  the  middle  ages  the  Hardisty 
family  was  forced  to  seek  a  haven  of  refuge  in  Ireland  and  later  the  name 
was  transplanted  to  the  shores  of  England.  Upon  the  organization  of  the 
expedition  for  the  new  world  under  Capt.  John  Smith  and  other  hardy 
adventurers,  two  brothers,  James  and  Tommy  Hardisty,  joined  the  party  of 
emigrants  from  England  and  sailed  with  them  on  the  long  voyage  to  Vir- 
ginia, landing  April  26,  1607.  With  others  of  the  new-comers  they  founded 
Jamestown  on  the  13th  of  May.  Thenceforward  successive  generatiiins  lived 
and  labored  in  the  Old  Dominion  and  meantime  the  family  was  represented 
in  the  Indian  wars,  in  the  great  Revolutionary  struggle  and  other  early  con- 
tests for  supremacy  in  the  new  world.  One  branch  of  the  family  established 
itself  in  Pennsylvania  and  Samuel  Hardisty  was  born  in  l-'ayette  county, 
that  state.  During  the  Civil  war  he  and  his  four  brothers  fcmght  in  the  Union 
army  from  the  opening  of  the  great  struggle  until  peace  was  declared  four 
years  later.  Prominent  characteristics  of  the  family  are  longevity,  powerful 
physique,  robustness  of  constitution  and  acumen  of  intellect. 

When  oil  was  first  discovered  in  West  Virginia  one  of  the  pioneers  in  the 
Volcano  oil  fields  twenty  miles  from  Parkersburg  was  Samuel  Hardisty, 
already  known  as  an  expert  driller  and  competent  production  man.  After 
settling  in  West  Virginia  he  married  Miss  Julia  Leach,  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  Ritchie  county,  that  state,  and  who  traced  her  lineage  to  Scotch  an- 
cestors identified  with  the  colonial  history  of  Maryland  and  represented  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  Three  daughters  and  a  son,  Charles,  were  born  of  the 
union.  The  eldest  child,  Ella,  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Lowther,  connected  with 
the  production  department  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company  at  Tulsa,  Okla.  The 
third  child,  Carolina,  is  the  wife  of  Edward  Ross,  and  the  youngest.  Bertha, 


1408  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

married  Roy  Trobb.  Both  these  gentlemen  are  employed  in  the  producing 
department  of  the  South  Penn  Oil  Company,  near  Parkersburg,  W.  Va. 

During  the  residence  of  the  family  in  the  Volcano  oil  field  in  West  Vir- 
ginia the  birth  of  Charles  Ilardisty  took  place  March  7,  1864.  From  an  early 
age  he  was  obliged  to  be  self-supporting.  When  only  thirteen  he  began 
pumping  for  John  A.  Steele,  the  well-known  oil  man  of  Parkersburg.  From 
the  first  he  showed  not  only  willingness,  but  also  intelligence.  Soon  he  was 
trained  in  the  art  of  dressing  tools,  which  line  of  work  he  followed  for  some 
time.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  became  a  driller,  learning  the  trade  by 
practical  work  in  production.  Prior  to  taking  up  the  work  of  driller  he  had 
been  employed  under  his  father,  then  superintendent  of  a  West  Virginia  oil 
company,  and  later  he  started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  For  a 
time  he  worked  in  the  Beaumont  field  in  Texas  and  at  Jennings,  La.,  besides 
which  he  worked  for  an  English  syndicate  on  the  Dos  Bocos  lease,  containing 
the  world's  greatest  gusher,  with  a  record  surpassing  even  the  famous  Lake- 
view  gusher.  It  made  a  record  of  one  hundred  thousand  barrels  per  day. 
Unfortunately,  the  oil  caught  on  fire,  flames  arose  seventeen  hundred  feet 
in  height  and  the  whole  well  was  destroyed.  When  finally  the  fire  died  down, 
the  well  gushed  hot  water  at  a  temperature  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
degrees.  The  water  increased  in  its  flow  and  volume  until  it  made  twenty-five 
million  barrels  per  day,  with  a  crater  covering  thirty-five  acres.  The  well 
still  flows,  but  in  a  reduced  amount. 

Any  recital  of  the  business  connections  of  Mr.  Hardisty  must  include 
his  eight  years  of  work  in  the  ])roduction  department  of  the  South  Penn  Oil 
Company  in  West  Virginia,  where  he  made  an  excellent  record  for  efficiency 
and  trustworthiness.  It  must  also  include  five  years  of  successful  work  as  a 
driller  for  water  wells  for  the  Texas  Pacific  Railroad  between  Fort  Worth  and 
El  Paso.  After  six  months  in  Mexico  he  came  to  California  and  joined  in 
Kern  county  J.  A.  Pollard,  who  had  been  a  superintendent  for  the  Pierson 
Company  in  Mexico,  but  in  1910  was  acting  as  superintendent  of  the  Honolulu 
Consolidated  Oil  Company  on  section  10,  township  32,  range  24,  and  is  now 
employed  as  a  government  geok  gist  in  Oklahoma.  Mr.  Hardisty  had  worked 
under  Mr.  Pollard  in  Mexico  and  re-entered  his  service  in  California,  where  he 
since  has  acted  as  production  foreman  for  the  Honolulu,  one  of  the  most 
promising  concerns  in  the  oil  fields  of  Kern  county  and  already  credited  with 
several  of  the  best  gushers  in  the  Midway  field.  Besides  having  charge  of  oil 
production  in  this  township  he  manages  the  water  system  and  superintends 
the  pumping  of  the  water  from  Buena  Vista  lake,  also  has  charge  of  the  gas 
production,  the  latter  being  sold  to  the  Midway  Gas  Company  and  by  them 
piped  to  Los  Angeles.  While  employed  in  Texas  in  1889  Mr.  Hardisty  married 
Miss  Annie  Robbins,  who  died  in  West  Virginia  in  1907.  Mr.  Hardisty  is 
of  the  Baptist  faith,  and  politically  he  is  a  Republican  of  the  progressive 
type.  While  in  Louisiana  he  was  connected  with  the  Elks  at  jcuningi 
During  his  residence  in  West  Virginia  he  was  made  a  Mason  at  Pennsboro, 
Ritchie  county,  and  later  he  was  raised  to  the  Scottish  Rite  in  Oklahoma, 
joining  the  consistory  at  Guthrie,  that  state. 

CAPT.  PAUL  MORTENSON.— Off  the  coast  of  Denmark  where  the 
narrow  and  tumultuous  channel  of  the  Skager  Rack  meets  the  broader  current 
of  the  Cattegat  lies  the  small  island  of  Lesso.  where  Captain  Mortenson  was 
born  January  18,  1849,  the  son  of  a  merchant  doing  business  among  the  fisher- 
men and  farmers  who  inhabited  the  island.  Reared  within  sight  of  the  sea, 
accustomed  to  the  coming  and  going  of  ocean  vessels,  and  to  the  tales  of  old 
mariners  concerning  storms  and  wrecks  far  and  near,  it  was  natural  that  he 
should  have  been  drawn  toward  the  occupation  of  a  sailor.  With  the  courage 
inherited  from  a  long  line  if  ancestors  inured  to  seafaring  experiences,  he  left 
home  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years  and  shipped  to  sea  on  a  Danish  vessel  trad- 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  1409 

ing  in  European  ports.  As  he  learned  the  rudiments  essential  to  good  sea- 
manship he  also  had  the  privilege  of  seeing  much  of  Europe.  After  a  few 
years  he  sailed  from  Hamburg  on  the  barque  John  Brown  for  Nova  Scotia, 
but  encountered  such  serious  storms  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  ship  to  put 
back  to  Oueenstown  in  distress.  Shortly  afterward  he  sailed  on  an  English 
barque  called  the  Red  Cross  Knight,  which  rounded  Cape  Horn,  thence  sailed 
along  the  Pacific  coast  and  in  July  of  1869  entered  the  harbor  of  the  Gi.lden 
Gate. 

The  completion  of  the  first  trans-continental  railroad  was  bringing  to 
San  Francisco  an  era  of  great  prosperity  and  the  young  sailor  decided  to  re- 
main. Being  skilled  in  the  arts  of  the  seafaring  occupation,  he  experienced  no 
difficulty  in  securing  work.  For  a  time  he  was  mate  in  the  coasting  trade  with 
a  vessel  known  as  the  Mary  Tyler,  of  which  later  he  was  promoted  to  be 
captain.  Afterward  he  served  as  captain  on  different  schooners.  Eventually 
he  assumed  command  of  a  large,  full-rigged  vessel,  called  the  Snow  and  Bur- 
gess, of  which  he  continued  to  be  master  for  nine  years,  meantime  sailing  to 
Australia,  Siberia  and  other  foreign  ports.  At  the  time  of  the  Boer  war  he 
was  master  of  an  iron  ship,  known  as  the  Star  of  Russia,  which  made  a  number 
of  voyages  to  Africa.  From  that  country  he  sailed  to  Australia,  loaded  the 
vessel  with  coal  for  Hon(  lulu  and  then  returned  to  the  Pacific  coast  of  Amer- 
ica, anchoring  in  Puget  Sound  in  1901.  It  lacked  but  little  of  being  forty  years 
since  he  had  first  shipped  from  the  Danish  island,  a  mere  boy,  knowing  little 
of  the  dangers  he  was  to  face  during  the  long  period  of  his  life  as  sailor  and 
master  of  ships.  Although  he  had  encountered  many  severe  st(  rms  he  had 
never  lost  a  ship,  but  calm  and  collected  in  the  midst  of  danger,  he  had 
always  brought  his  men  and  the  vessel  through  in  safety  to  the  destined  ports. 
Now,  however,  he  had  begun  to  crave  a  more  settled  existence  than  a  captain 
could  enjoy,  so  he  resigned  from  the  command  of  the  ship,  came  to  Bakers- 
field  and  in  1902  erected  the  Mortenson  hotel  on  the  corner  of  I  and  Twenty- 
second  streets,  a  commodious  and  substantial  three-story  building,  in  which 
ever  since  he  has  conducted  an  hotel  enjoying  a  large  patronage  and  growing 
popularity.  For  four  and  one-half  years,  beginning  in  1906,  he  also  served  as 
a  member  of  the  police  force  of  Bakersfield.  As  early  as  1872  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men  in  San  Francisco  and  during  one 
of  his  soj(  urns  in  Australia  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  the  Melbourne  lodge, 
where  he  still  holds  membership.  In  San  Francisco  he  married  Miss  P>ridget 
T.  Fleming,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  came  to  San  Francisco  in  1873  and  by 
whom  he  became  the  father  of  six  children,  namely:  Mrs.  Mary  Lind,  of 
Bakersfield;  Margaret,  I'aul  and  Thomas,  also  of  this  city;  Nellie,  deceased; 
and  Henrietta,  at  home. 

OTTO  KRAMER.— The  Midway  Hardware  Company,  uf  which  Mr. 
Kramer  is  the  resident  manager,  is  one  of  the  recent  imptjrtant  accessions  to 
the  commercial  development  of  F"ellows  and  conducts  a  large  business  in  a 
fire-proof  building  erected  for  that  purpose  in  the  early  part  of  1912.  By 
means  of  a  partnership  formed  with  E.  H.  Holt,  a  non-resident,  Mr.  Kramer 
was  enabled  to  erect  a  building  especially  adapted  to  the  hardware  business 
and  has  since  established  a  growing  patronage  among  the  people  of  the  lo- 
cality. 

A  native  of  Kansas,  born  in  Jefl^'erson  county  August  12,  1882,  and  reared 
in  the  same  section  of  country,  Mr.  Kramer  spent  all  of  his  early  years  in  the 
Sunflower  state.  From  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  has  been  connected  with 
the  hardware  business,  which  he  learned  while  clerking  in  the  hardware  and 
agricultural  implement  department  of  the  general  mercantile  store  owned  by 
Root  Brothers  in  Ozawkie,  Jefferson  county.  Later  he  was  connected  with  the 
same  department  in  the  Griffith  general  mercantile  store  at  Ozawkie,  where  he 
remained  a  trusted  employe  until  he  was  induced  to  come  to  California  in  1910. 


1410  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

June  of  that  year  found  him  a  clerk  in  the  hardware  department  of  Heck 
Bros.,  dealers  in  general  merchandise  at  Fellows,  with  whom  he  continued  for 
two  years  and  then  resigned  in  order  to  engage  in  business  with  Mr.  Holt 
under  the  firm  title  of  the  Midway  Hardware  Company.  The  large  and  increas- 
ing trade  of  the  company  results  from  the  honorable  methods  employed  in  all 
transactions  and  the  fact  that  the  best  goods  only  are  kept  and  all  stock  is  sold 
at  a  price  as  low  as  consistent  with  a  reas(  nable  profit.  The  long  experience 
of  the  proprietor  in  the  hardware  line  qualifies  him  for  a  successful  connection 
with  the  business. 

JOSE  MIER. — An  ancient  Castilian  family  is  represented  by  Jose  Mier, 
an  enterprising  young  Spaniard  who  since  1892  has  been  identitied  with  the 
sheep  industry  of  California,  but  recently  disposing  of  a  large  flock  that  had 
been  built  uo  and  made  valuable  through  his  own  tireless  care  and  intelligent 
oversight.  The  Spanish  province  of  the  Asturias  is  his  native  place  and  he 
was  born  March  19,  1876,  in  the  village  of  Colosia  near  Santander,  a  famous 
ocean  port.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  started  across  the  ocean  for  America,  his 
objective  point  being  California,  whither  relatives  had  preceded  him.  Upon 
his  arrival  in  Kern  county  he  was  able  to  secure  empkyment  under  an  uncle, 
who  was  one  of  the  trusted  foremen  connected  with  the  great  corporation  of 
Miller  &  Lux. 

Finally  Mr.  Mier  felt  justified  in  starting  a  flock  of  his  own  and  with  a 
large  tract  in  Nevada  as  headquarters  he  kept  his  range  in  that  state  for  five 
years,  during  this  time  having  his  share  of  ups  and  downs.  His  experience, 
however,  was  sufficiently  profitable  to  cause  him  to  re-enter  the  business  after 
he  had  sold  his  original  flock  and  returned  to  Bakersfield.  With  his  second 
flock  he  maintained  ranges  in  the  plains  and  on  the  mountains,  but  eventually 
in  1912  he  sold  the  entire  bunch.  Since  then  he  has  acted  as  assistant  to  his 
uncle,  L'austino  Noriega,  proprietor  of  the  Noriega  hotel  at  No.  525  Sumner 
street,  East  Bakersfield,  and  with  this  uncle  he  has  also  purchased  an  alfalfa 
and  grain  ranch  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  situated  in  Kern  county.  In 
politics  he  votes  with  the  Republican  party.  On  the  corner  of  Pacific  and 
Kings  streets  he  owns  a  comfortable  residence,  brightened  by  the  presence 
of  his  four  children,  Clemence,  Faustino,  Martin  and  Alberto,  and  managed 
with  housewifely  skill  by  his  wife,  whom  he  married  in  East  Bakersfield  in 
1907  and  who  was  Miss  Celena  Etchevery,  born  at  Aldudes,  Basses-Pyrenees, 
France,  not  far  distant  from  the  scenes  familiar  to  his  own  boyhood.  The 
familv  hold  membership  with  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church. 

JOSEPH  G.  JONES. — The  first  representative  of  the  Jones  family  in 
America  was  Thomas  Jones,  a  Welshman  of  such  pronounced  loyalty  to  the 
land  of  his  adoption  that  he  volunteered  his  services  to  aid  the  Union  during 
the  Civil  war.  Assigned  to  a  Delaware  regiment  and  sent  to  the  front  with 
his  command,  he  stood  the  test  of  good  soldiery  in  camp,  on  the  long  marches 
and  during  the  fiercely  contested  battles.  It  was  while  bravely  fighting  on  the 
field  of  battle  that  he  received  the  wound  that  caused  his  death.  Sharing 
with  him  in  his  patriotic  devotion  to  country  were  his  three  sons,  all  of  whom 
volunteered  in  the  service  and  remained  at  the  front  until  honorably  dis- 
charged at  the  expiration  of  their  terms  of  service.  One  of  the  three,  George, 
was  born  at  Wilmington,  Del,  and  after  the  close  of  the  war  became  manager 
for  the  Dixon  Shoe  Company  at  Baltimore,  filling  the  position  until  his  death 
in  1873  at  the  age  of  thirty-four  years.  The  hardships  and  sufferings  of  war 
times  had  hastened  his  untimely  demise.  During  young  manhood  he  had 
married  Mary  E.  Kelty,  who  was  born  in  Baltimore  and  still  makefs  that  city 
her  home.  Of  their  five  children  three  are  living,  Joseph  G.  being  the  youngest 
and  the  only  one  to  locate  in  California.  Born  in  Baltimore,  September  27, 
1871,  he  received  his  education  in  the  schools  of  that  place. 

When    seventeen    Mr.    Jones    began   an    apprenticeship    to    the    trade    of 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1411 

plumber  under  James  McCrea,  with  whom  he  continued  for  three  years.  The 
next  two  years  were  spent  in  the  largest  plumbing  establishment  in  Balti- 
more, a  shop  owned  and  conducted  by  W' .  H.  Rothnck.  During  the  five 
years  of  service  he  had  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  every  detail  con- 
nected with  the  plumbing  business  and  was  well  qualified  for  independent 
work.  Leaving  Baltimore  he  traveled  through  New  York,  Maryland,  Dela- 
ware, Connecticut,  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  and  in  each  of  these  states  did 
important  work  as  a  journeyman.  Jobs  of  large  dimensions  were  entrusted  to 
his  care  and  faithfully  performed.  During  1902  he  came  to  California  and 
worked  at  his  trade  successively  in  Sacramento,  Stockton,  San  Francisco  and 
Oakland.  With  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  trade  in  its  every  detail,  he 
had  become  fitted  for  contract  work  many  years  before,  but  did  not  enter  into 
the  taking  uf  contracts  until  after  he  went  to  Mill  valley  and  San  Rafael, 
where  he  filled  contracts  for  the  plumbing  work  in  some  very  costly  resi- 
dences. Arriving  in  Bakersfield  during  January  of  1909  he  followed  the  trade 
as  a  journeyman  for  six  months  and  then  embarked  in  business  as  a  con- 
tractor, since  which  he  has  been  retained  on  many  jobs  of  importance.  At 
his  shop.  No.  1514  Eighteenth  street,  he  carries  in  stock  a  full  equipment  of 
plumbing  and  heating  supplies,  and  it  is  his  intention  to  enlarge  his  equip- 
ment from  year  to  year,  to  keep  pace  with  the  constant  growth  of  the  town. 
At  this  writing  he  holds  office  as  vice-president  of  the  Bakersfield  Master 
Plumbers'  Association,  in  the  work  of  which  he  is  deeply  and  actively  inter- 
ested.   In  national  principles  he  suppt  rts  Republican  men  and  measures. 

During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Baltimore  Mr.  Jones  married  ]\Iiss 
Rosalie  Hickman  of  that  city.  Her  father,  Emerson  Hickman,  a  native  of 
Baltimore  and  a  contracting  plasterer,  served  during  the  Civil  war  as  a  police 
officer  in  his  native  city  and  later  was  commissioned  a  sergeant  in  tlie  Union 
army.  On  one  occasion  during  the  war  he  was  wounded  in  the  shi  ulder,  but 
the  injury  did  not  prove  to  be  serious.  Until  his  death,  which  occurred  at 
sixty-three  years,  he  continued  to  make  Baltimore  his  home.  In  young  man- 
hood he  had  married  Catherine  Bryan,  a  native  of  York,  Pa.,  and  first  cousin 
of  William  Jennings  Bryan.  The  only  child  of  their  unii  n  was 
Rosalie,  Mrs.  Jc  nes,  to  whom  they  gave  the  best  educational  advantages  their 
means  rendered  possible.  Of  her  marriage  there  were  eleven  children,  one 
daughter,  Lillian,  dying  at  the  age  of  ten  months.  The  ten  now  living  are 
Ethel,  Iva,  Muriel,  Lavonia,  Gwendolyn,  Millwood,  Lanier,  Dorothy,  Audrey 
and'  Parker  Barrett,  all  still  at  home,  and  the  eldest  now  acting  as  bookkeeper 
for  her  father. 

OLIVER  QUALLS. — That  large  class  of  native  sons  achieving  note- 
worthy success  and  pushing  forward  in  meritorious  business  transactions 
has  a  capable  representative  in  Oliver  Quails,  who  since  coming  to  the  oil 
fields  has  filled  various  positions  from  roustabout  to  tool-dresser,  but  more 
recently  turned  his  attention  to  business  pursuits.  After  having  been  an 
employe  of  S.  J.  Dunlop  for  a  number  of  years  on  oil  leases  he  became  the 
latter's  partner  in  the  hay.  grain  and  storage  business,  opening  yards  on 
East  Main  street  in  Taft.  By  the  purchase  of  the  Dunlop  interests  he  became 
the  sole  proprietor  and  owner  July  1.  1913. 

Prior  to  his  identification  with  the  oil  fields  Mr.  Quails  made  his  home  in 
Fresno  county,  where  he  was  burn  January  4,  1879,  at  the  family  home  three 
miles  north  of  Sanger.  His  father,  William,  for  j-ears  engaged  in  general 
farming  in  Fresno  county,  but  of  recent  years  has  made  his  home  in  Wash- 
ington and  has  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  at  AVinlock,  Lewis  county. 
The  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Marinda  Hale,  was  born  in  Ohio 
and  is  now  deceased.  The  eldest  and  youngest  uf  the  three  sons,  Albert  and 
Oscar,  are  engaged  in  farming  in  Fresno  county.  The  second,  Oliver,  who  re- 
ceived a  common-school  education  in  Fresno  county  and  worked  at  agricul- 


1412  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

tural  pursuits  there,  was  interested  in  farming  for  himself  from  the  age  of 
twenty-three  until  twenty-nine.  When  he  closed  out  his  farming  interests 
he  brought  with  him  from  Fresno  to  Kern  county  six  head  of  work  horses  and 
with  these  he  engaged  in  freighting  in  the  Midway  field.  At  the  expiration  of 
three  months  he  sold  the  horses.  Then  began  a  period  of  employment  as 
teamster  with  the  Mount  Diablo  Oil  Company,  in  which  Mr.  Dunlop  was  a 
stockholder  and  director.  For  a  number  of  years  and  indeed  until  the  sale  of 
the  holdings  of  the  company  he  continued  with  that  concern,  but  later  he 
was  transferred  by  Mr.  Dunlop  to  a  lease  of  his  own,  where  he  worked  up 
from  roustabout  to  tool-dresser.  January  1,  1913,  he  embarked  in  the  hay, 
grain,  feed  and  storage  business  at  Taft  and  at  the  expiration  of  six  months 
became  the  sole  owner  of  the  store,  which  he  conducts  in  a  manner  satisfac- 
tory to  customers  and  bringing  to  himself  a  fair  profit.  Since  coming  to  this 
county  he  married  at  Hanford  Miss  Pearl  Hunter,  of  Taft.  In  politics 
he  is  a  Republican.  Prominently  connected  with  the  Odd  Fellows  at  Taft, 
he  has  been  a  promoter  of  the  erection  of  their  building  here,  a  substantial 
structure,  50x118  feet  in  dimensions,  two  stories  in  height,  a  credit  to  the  order 
and  a  source  of  pride  to  the  people. 

JOSE  M.  LUGO. — The  first  association  of  the  Lugo  family  with  Cali- 
fornia dates  back  as  far  as  the  era  of  the  establishment  of  the  old  Spanish 
missions  so  inseparably  connected  with  the  beginnings  of  modern  civilization. 
When  Los  Angeles  was  an  insignificant  hamlet  and  San  Francisco  still  un- 
known to  the  world  of  commerce  Antonio  M.  Lugo  owned  cattle  that  roamed 
over  the  vast  uninhabited  ranges  between  the  two  towns,  in  the  former  of 
which  he  made  his  lifelong  home,  interested  in  its  growth  and  well-known  to 
its  people.  Possessing  a  sturdy  physique  and  robust  constitution,  he  lived 
to  the  age  of  one  hundred  and  seven  years,  retaining  his  mental  and  physical 
faculties.  Among  his  children  was  a  son,  Jose  De  Carmel  Lugo,  a  native  of 
Los  Angeles,  whose  wife,  Maria  Antonia  Poyorena,  was  likewise  of  Californian 
birth.  After  the  death  of  that  wife  he  married  again,  being  married  three 
times  in  all.  For  years  he  made  his  home  on  a  large  cattle  ranch  near 
Riverside  and  engaged  in  the  stock  business,  owning  cattle  and  ranges  in  Los 
Angeles  and  San  Bernardino  counties.  Four  children  were  born  of  his  union 
with  Miss  Poyorena :  Carmel,  wife  of  F.  Talamantes,  a  member  of  the  detective 
force  of  Los  Angeles ;  Rita,  who  married  A.  Lopez  and  lives  in  Los  Angeles ; 
Jose  M.,  whose  name  introduces  this  article  and  whose  birth  occurred  in 
I860  in  Los  Angeles;  and  Agrippina,  wife  of  Edward  Haynes,  a  resident  of 
San  Diego. 

From  his  earliest  recollections  Jose  M.  Lugo  has  been  familiar  with  the 
cattle  business.  In  his  younger  years  he  handled  thousands  of  head  of  stock 
and  was  considered  unusually  skilled  in  such  work.  For  about  twenty-five 
years  he  was  employed  in  the  cattle  department  of  the  Kern  County  Land 
Company,  with  whose  officials  he  has  enjoyed  a  reputation  for  fidelity,  energy 
and  trustworthiness.  For  some  years  he  owned  a  ranch  of  forty  acres  south  of 
Bakersfield,  but  in  1912  he  sold  the  tract  and  embarked  in  the  grocery  business, 
since  which  time  he  has  conducted  a  general  store  on  the  corner  of  H  street 
and  Brundage  Lane  in  Bakersfield.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  During 
February  of  1911  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs.  Tillie  Blanco,  a  widow, 
whose  father,  Michael  Castro,  was  among  the  early  settlers  of  this  part  of 
California.  By  her  first  husband  she  became  the  mother  of  three  children 
now  living:  Carrie,  a  student  in  the  Sisters'  School  in  Los  Angeles;  Albert 
and  Blanche,  attending  the  Bakersfield  public  schools.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lugo  are 
the  parents  of  an  only  son,  Jose  J.  The  family  are  earnest  and  influential  mem- 
bers of  St.  Francis  Catholic  Church  of  Bakersfield. 

FRED  N.  CRIPPEN. — Noteworthv  prominence  as  a  pioneer  in  the 
Kern  river  field  and  a  record  for  fast  and  successful  drilling  on  25  Hill  have 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  1413 

been  achieved  by  the  superintendent  of  the  Tamaipais  Oil  Company,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  he  siill  is  a  young  man  with  the  possibility  of 
larger  results  to  his  credit  in  the  future.  An  extensive  experience  as  a 
driller  qualifies  him  for  continued  usefulness  in  that  important  department; 
of  the  oil  industry.  It  was  while  connected  with  the  Nevada-Midway  Oil 
Company,  in  whose  employ  he  drilled  five  wells,  that  he  established  the  best 
record  ever  made  on  the  hill,  which  was  that  of  drilling  eleven  hundred  and 
ninety-three  feet  in  eleven  days.  In  addition  he  has  drilled  many  wells 
for  other  concerns  and  since  being  appointed  superintendent  of  the  Tamai- 
pais Oil  Company,  September  1,  1911,  he  has  re-drilled  three  wells  which 
now  average  a  monthly  production  of  fifty-five  hundred  barrels  and  at  the 
same  time  he  has  succeeded  in  eliminating  a  very  disagreeable  feature  by 
shutting  ofi'  the  top  and  bottom  inflow  of  water.  Three  men  are  furnished 
employment  as  his  assistants  in  the  care  and  development  of  the  lea.^c  on 
section  23,  township  i2,  range  23,  and  in  the  capacity  of  superintendent  he 
has  proved  absolutely  dependable  as  well  as  efficient  and  energetic. 

A  native  son  of  the  west,  Fred  N.  Crippen  was  born  in  Humboldt 
county,  this  state,  March  2,  1879,  being  a  brother  of  S.  G.  Crippen,  carpenter 
foreman  on  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company's  lease  near  Alaricopa.  The 
parents,  S.  G.  and  Mary  A.  (Beckett)  Crippen,  are  now  residents  of  Lake- 
port,  Lake  county,  and  an  uncle,  Dr.  W.  W.  Beckett,  ranks  among  the  in- 
fluential physicians  of  Los  Angeles.  The  parental  family  consisted  of  ten 
children,  but  only  five  of  these  are  now  living,  and  in  order  of  birth  Fred  N. 
is  the  youngest  son  and  fourth  child.  The  family  lived  on  a  ranch  in  Hum- 
boldt county  and  he  was  taught  to  aid  in  the  care  of  the  stock  and  the  culti- 
vation of  the  land.  When  not  attending  the  public  schools  at  Petrolia  he 
was  occupied  on  the  ranch,  but  agriculture  did  not  prove  a  congenial  occu- 
pation, and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  found  work  in  the  Pecrolia  oil  field, 
first  as  a  roustabout,  and  later  as  a  tool  dresser. 

Lipon  coming  to  the  Kern  river  field  at  the  age  of  nineteen  Mr.  Crippen 
secured  employment  on  the  Provident  lease  under  Ed  Bush.  The  following 
year  (1899)  he  went  back  to  Humboldt  county  and  secured  work  with  the 
Mcintosh  Oil  Company,  continuing  there  two  years.  The  year  1901  found 
him  at  McKittrick,  where  he  was  employed  as  a  tool-dresser.  From  there 
he  came  to  the  Midway  field  and  secured  work  on  what  is  now  the  Santa 
Fe  lease.  After  eight  months  in  the  North  Midway  he  went  back  to  Mc- 
Kittrick and  engaged  in  drilling  for  H.  F.  Guthrie.  Even  in  the  hardest 
times  he  was  able  to  make  his  $7  per  day,  for  he  had  a  reputation  as  an 
expert  driller.  For  fourteen  months  he  had  charge  of  drilling  for  the  San 
Luis  Bay  Oil  Company  at  San  Luis  Obispo.  From  September,  1909,  lo 
March  15,  1910,  he  was  with  the  Standard  in  charge  of  section  30,  while  from 
March  21,  1910,  to  April,  1911,  he  was  connected  with  the  (General  Petroleum, 
(then  known  as  the  Esperanza).  With  his  wife,  who  was  formerl}^  Miss  Rose 
\\'elker,  of  Oklahoma,  he  makes  his  home  on  the  Tamaipais  lease  and  has 
many  friends  in  this  part  of  the  field.  Since  coming  here  he  has  become  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  Taft,  while  formerly  he  was  an  active 
member  of  the  Elks  at  San  Luis  Obispo.  Besides  being  the  owner  of  lots 
in  Bakersfield  and  at  Del  Monte  Heights  he  has  made  excellent  investments 
in  oil  lands  in  four  different  oil  fields  in  California,  and  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  at  no  distant  day  he  will  reap  from  these  financial  returns  as 
gratifying  as  they  are  merited. 

CHARLES  DALY. — Only  exceptional  native  ability  and  determination 
of  will  could  have  brought  Mr.  Daly,  while  still  at  the  threshold  of  maturity, 
to  unquestioned  prominence  among  the  ])lumbers  and  steam-fitters  of  Bakers- 
field,  where  he  has  a  workshop,  display  room  and  office  at  No.  1724  K  street. 
A  modern  stock  of  sanitary  appliances  is  to  be  found  at  his  place  of  business. 
Skilled  mechanics  are  engaged  to  assist  in  the  installation  of  plumbing  and 


1414  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

heating  equipment  and  in  gas-fitting.  The  personal  supervision  of  the  pro- 
prietor is  exercised  over  all  contracts,  a  practical  plumber  whose  experience 
is  far  greater  than  might  be  expected  of  one  so  young  in  years. 

A  son  of  M.  J.  Daly,  of  San  Francisco,  Charles  Daly  was  born  in  that 
city  December  15,  1887,  and  received  a  public-school  education.  While  yet 
in  his  teens  he  began  to  learn  the  plumbing  business  and  for  some  time 
worked  in  his  native  city,  but  in  1906  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  found 
employment  with  Gundlach  and  Ferguson,  also  did  plumbing  for"  the  Bakers- 
field  shops  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Company.  During  1909  he  embarked 
in  business  for  himself  as  an  independent  plumbing  contractor,  and  has 
since  had  many  residence  contracts,  as  well  as  public  buildings,  among  the 
latter  being  the  Kosel  hotel  of  three  stories,  the  Massena  hotel  of  three 
stories,  the  two-story  addition  to  the  Echo  building,  the  Morgan  building 
of  three  stories  and  the  old  Rcdlick  (now  the  Burges)  building  of  two  stories, 
besides  which  he  has  recently  completed  contracts  on  the  Schofield  building 
and  the  Bakersfield  Manual  Arts  school.  In  the  spring  of  1913  he  did  the 
plumbing  in  the  new  Mercy  Hospital  and  the  watering  of  the  parkway  on 
Truxtun  avenue  from  A  to  V  streets.  For  some  years  he  has  been  identi- 
fied with  the  Master  Plumbers'  Association  and  Builders'  Exchange.  July 
20,  1912,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Beulah  Egan,  of  Bakersfield, 
and  they  now  make  their  home  at  No.  721  Chester  avenue. 

GRANT  STUTSMAN. — From  the  inception  of  the  industry  the  drilling 
of  oil  wells  in  California  has  engaged  the  attention  of  Grant  Stutsman,  who 
now  is  ci  nnected  with  the  C.  C.  M.  Oil  Company  in  the  same  important 
capacity,  his  work  at  the  present  time  being  on  one  of  the  Santa  Fe  properties 
in  the  vicinity  of  Fellows.  When  he  undertook  the  drilling  of  oil  wells  on 
contract  at  Summerland  in  1897,  he  had  a  previous  large  experience  in  the 
drilling  of  water  wells  and  therefore  was  qualified  for  a  new  enterprise. 
Prior  to  his  arrival  in  that  field  the  wells  there  had  been  dug  and  his  was 
the  first  string  of  tools  and  the  first  rig  brought  into  Summerland,  where 
during  a  long  period  of  successful  activity  he  put  down  a  large  number  of 
wells  for  different  companies  and  sunk  four  that  were  extremely  profitable 
producers.  In  that  work  he  used  a  portable  rig  and  a  gasoline  engine.  With 
the  subsequent  changes  in  methc  ds  of  drilling  he  has  kept  in  close  touch.  When 
new  measures  have  been  proved  to  be  valuable  he  adopts  them,  so  that  as  a 
driller  he  is  thoroughly  modern  and  up-to-date. 

Born  in  Illinois  in  1868,  Grant  Stutsman  is  a  son  of  the  late  Henry  and 
Hattie  Stutsman,  the  latter  of  whom  died  in  Kansas.  The  former,  a  soldier 
in  an  Illinois  regiment  during  the  Civil  war,  later  lived  for  a  time  in  Illinois 
and  then  near  South  Bend,  Ind.,  where  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
About  1880  he  took  the  family  to  Kansas  and  settled  on  an  unimproved  farm 
near  Neodesha,  \^^iIson  county.  His  last  days  were  spent  in  California,  where 
he  died  at  Nordhofif,  Ventura  county.  Three  of  his  children  are  now  living, 
the  second  of  these  being  Grant,  who  was  twelve  at  the  time  of  the  removal 
of  the  family  to  the  Kansas  farm.  After  seven  years  devoted  to  helping  in  the 
tilling  of  the  soil,  he  left  Kansas  and  came  to  California,  where  he  spent  one 
year  at  Pasadena.  Next  he  took  up  farming  near  Watsonville  and  still  later  he 
found  employment  in  the  drilling  of  water  wells,  but  since  1897  he  has  given 
his  time  wholly  to  the  drilling  of  oil  wells. 

After  three  years  in  the  Summerland  field  the  opening  activities  in  the 
Kern  river  field  attracted  Mr.  Stutsman  to  Kern  county  in  1900,  after  which 
he  drilled  for  a  contractor  and  also  did  independent  drilling  as  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Stevens  &  Stutsman.  When  his  interests  in  the  business  were  sold 
he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Kern  Trading  &  Oil  Company  at  McKittrick 
and  for  three  years  continued  in  the  capacity  of  drilling  foreman  for  the  great 
concern.  From  Kern  county  he  returned  to  Santa  Barbara  county  and  after 
the  opening  of  the  Santa  Maria  field  he  spent  two  years  in  Cat  Canon  with  one 


HISTORY    OF    K1>:RN    COUNTY  1415 

tif  the  largest  companies  working;  in  that  (hstrict,  after  which  he  was  cmphnycd 
for  eighteen  months  as  a  driller  with  the  Dome  Oil  Company.  Returning  to 
Kern  county  in  November,  1911,  he  became  a  driller  at  Fellows  with  the 
C.  C.  M.  Oil  Company,  which  concern  has  since  had  the  benefit  of  his  long 
and  successful  experience  as  a  driller.  In  politics  he  has  voted  the  Repub- 
lican ticket  in  all  national  elections.  In  Santa  Paula  he  was  married  to  Aliss 
Elizabeth  Hern,  who  was  born  at  Watsonville,  Cal.,  the  daughter  (i  Rice  and 
Juliana  (Og.an)  Hern.  The  former  was  a  pioneer  of  1850  in  California,  and 
the  latter  a  Forty-niner,  having  come  across  the  plains  with  her  parents  in 
childhood. 

WILLIAM  E.  VAN  METER.— When  Mr.  Van  Meter  came  to  California 
in  1904  he  had  in  \ie\v  a  permanent  location  providing  that  the  country  suited 
him  and  that  a  suitable  position  could  be  secured.  Coming  to  East  Bakers- 
field  (then  known  as  Kern)  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  an  aunt,  Mrs.  A.  E. 
Shelley,  a  California  pioneer  and  a  woman  well-posted  concerning  the  re- 
sources and  opoortunities  of  the  state,  he  was  induced  to  remain  and  since 
then  has  been  variously  employed,  principally  being  engaged  in  the  fire  depart- 
ment in  different  capacities. 

In  the  southeastern  part  of  Nebraska  at  Table  Rock,  Pawnee  county, 
occurred  the  birth  of  William  E.  Van  Meter  on  Christmas  day  of  1879,  his 
]>arents  being  Davis  and  Lottie  A.  (Jones)  Van  Meter,  natives  respectively  of 
Iowa  and  Michigan.  The  family  were  pioneers  of  the  great  plains  of  the 
middle  west  and  suffered  the  hardships  and  privations  incident  to  the  devel- 
opment of  a  productive  farm  out  of  raw  'and.  Their  home  county  in  Nebraska 
was  quite  close  to  the  Kansas  border  and  after  a  time  they  crossed  into  the 
other  state,  where  they  traveled  west  to  Jewell  county  and  there  bi  ught  an 
undeveloped  tract  of  land  near  Formosa.  The  father  still  lives  on  the  same 
farm,  but  under  his  wise  supervision  it  has  been  greatly  imnroved  and  is  now 
the  source  of  a  fair  income  in  return  for  his  care  and  cultivation.  On  this 
homestead  in  1911  occurred  the  death  of  his  wife.  Of  their  three  children  the 
second  was  William  E.,  who  as  a  boy  rode  the  range  in  Jewell  county  and 
became  familiar  with  conditions  then  existing  in  the  northern  part  of  Kansas. 
For  a  time  he  clerked  in  Kansas  stores,  but  finally  gave  up  a  position  in  order 
to  come  to  the  Pacific  coast  and  he  has  since  lived  in  Kern  county.  For  four 
years  he  was  employed  in  the  boiler  shop  <  f  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad. 
About  1908  he  received  an  appointment  as  driver  of  the  hose  wagon  in  the 
Kern  fire  department  and  continued  in  the  same  capacity  after  the  consolida- 
tion of  the  two  cities.  Later  he  was  made  driver  of  the  engine  and  afterward 
lieutenant  of  Engine  Company  No.  2,  in  which  position  he  has  since  re- 
mained, having  charge  of  the  engine  house  and  engine.  Since  coming  to  the 
county  he  has  purchased  two  places  in  East  Bakersfield  and  has  thus  exhib- 
ited the  firm  faith  lie  cherishes  concerning  the  future  of  his  chosen  home 
town  and  community. 

A.  NEAL  JACOBS.— The  grandfather  of  our  subject.  Hon.  Isaac  \V. 
Jacobs,  was  an  early  and  honored  pioneer  of  California,  crossing  the  plains  in 
1854  and  becoming  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  active  citizens  of  Yolo 
"county.  He  was  a  lawyer  of  no  mean  ability  and  after  coming  to  California 
was  elected  in  1892  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  Yolo  county  lo  represent  his 
district  in  the  state  assembly.  A  scholar,  an  orator  and  an  up-to-date  business 
man,  he  was  much  esteemed  in  his  community,  and  his  death,  which  occurred 
February  10,  1905,  was  widely  mourned.  His  wife  was  l)efore  her  marriage 
Almira  E.  Martin,  and  among  their  twelve  children  was  John  M.,  who  became 
the  father  of  A.  Neal  Jacobs. 

John  M.  Jacobs  crossed  the  plains  with  his  father  in  1854  and  settled  in 
Yolo  county,  where  he  followed  farming  and  stock-raising  on  the  old  home 
farm   during-  his   entire   life.     He   married    Laura    Hanscom,   born   in   Chico. 


1416  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

daughter  of  Henry  Hanscom,  who  was  a  pioneer  of  Chico  and  a  member  of 
an  old  New  England  family.  Mr.  Jacobs  passed  away  in  1898  and  his  widow 
is  now  making  her  home  in  Alameda,  Cal.  The  second  oldest  of  the  children 
born  to  this  couple  was  A.  Neal,  whose  birth  occurred  April  13,  1884.  near 
Yolo.  Reared  on  the  home  farm,  he  attended  the  public  schools  of  WtodJand 
and  later  entered  and  completed  a  course  at  the  Pierce's  Business  College, 
Woodland,  after  graduation  entering  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  offices  at 
Sacramento  as  clerk.  He  was  thus  employed  for  about  ten  years  and  then 
became  salesman  in  San  Francisco,  until  August,  1911,  when  he  came  to 
Bakersfield  to  enter  the  employ  of  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Company 
as  bookkeeper,  later  becoming  timekeeper  and  paymaster.  He  is  now  dis- 
patcher for  the  company,  and  his  efficiency  in  the  execution  of  all  his  duties 
has  brought  him  a  degree  of  success  unusual  in  the  career  of  so  young  a  man. 
In  fraternal  circles  he  is  a  member  of  the  Lt  yal  Order  of  Moose. 

O.  P.  GOODE. — Having  spent  his  entire  life  in  California  and  his  mature 
years  in  Kern  county,  Mr.  Goode  is  familiar  with  the  resources  of  the  state, 
the  opportunities  offered  by  the  county  and  especially  with  the  growing 
importance  of  the  oil  industry,  for  although  not  an  oil  operator,  his  work  has 
kept  him  in  intimate  touch  with  the  developers  of  the  oil  fields  and  his 
knowledge  of  the  business  has  grown  accordingly.  A  native  of  Yolo  county, 
he  was  born  in  Woodland  July  18,  1870,  and  at  the  age  of  seven  years  accom- 
panied the  family  to  Santa  Barbara  county,  where  he  received  a  common- 
school  education  extending  through  the  grammar  grade.  Since  leaving  school 
he  has  earned  his  own  livelihood,  working  first  at  any  occupation  offered, 
but  later  devoting  much  of  his  time  to  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith.  Upon  his 
arrival  in  Kern  county  in  1891  he  secured  land,  bcught  cattle  and  embarked  in 
the  dairy  business,  but  did  not  find  the  undertaking  profitable.  Accordingly 
he  changed  his  line  of  work  and  sought  the  activities  of  the  new  and  growing 
oil  fields.  After  going  to  the  Sunset  district  in  1907  he  began  to  take  teaming 
contracts  and  ever  since  he  has  made  a  specialty  of  this  business,  in  which  he 
is  unusually  skilled  and  efficient. 

As  early  as  19C8  Mr.  Gotde  came  to  the  present  site  of  Fellows  and  estab- 
lished a  home  on  the  St.  Lawrence  lease,  but  when  the  town  was  started  in 
1910  he  removed  into  its  limits,  at  the  same  time  building  a  blacksmith  shop, 
which  ever  since  he  has  operated.  During  December  of  1903  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Phoebe  Harris,  a  native  of  Ventura  county,  and  they 
have  twin  boys,  Malcolm  and  Marvin,  born  in  June,  1910.  Upon  the  organiza- 
tion of  this  district,  in  July  of  1910,  Mr.  Gtode  received  the  appointment  of 
constable  from  the  board  of  supervisors.  In  other  ways  he  has  been  identified 
with  the  business  administration  and  material  development  of  the  town.  In 
addition  to  managing  his  blacksmith  shoo  and  his  teaming  business,  he  is 
engaged  in  the  sale  of  hay  and  grain,  wood  and  coal.  The  cnly  fraternal 
organization  to  which  he  has  allied  himself  is  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

From  the  very  first  endeavor  to  found  a  town  at  Fellows  Mr.  Goode  has 
had  faith  in  the  outcome  of  the  project.  Every  movement  calculated  to  further 
the  general  welfare  of  the  community  has  received  his  cordial  co-operation. 
All  of  his  enterprises  are  conducted  with  intelligence  and  efficiency.  In  the 
hauling  of  freight  he  has  proved  most  helpful  to  the  smaller  operators,  many 
of  whom,  without  his  prompt  delivery  of  the  same,  would  have  trouble  in 
the  transportation  of  goods  from  the  depot  to  the  fields.  Anywhere  on  the 
west  side  his  teams  may  be  seen,  busily  engaged  in  the  delivery  of  freight, 
while  he  himself  is  managing  the  entire  outfit,  as  well  as  his  store  and  shop, 
with  the  closest  attention  to  all  details  and  the  most  absolute  integrity  of 
principle. 

J.  J.  HERN. — With  one  of  the  expeditions  that  crossed  the  plains  during 
the  eventful  summer  of  1850  there  came  a  rugged  young  frontiersman.  Rice 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1417 

Hern,  who  was  born  in  Boone  county,  Mo.,  of  an  old  Kentucky  family. 
Nothing  of  especial  importance  marked  tlie  cemrse  of  that  tedious  journey  with 
wagons" and  oxen,  nor  did  his  subsequent  experience  in  mining  camps  savor  of 
romance  and  thrilling  adventure.  Returning  to  his  Missouri  home  via  Panama 
in  1852,  he  visited  among  friends  and  relatives,  and  during  1853  again  crossed 
the  plains,  this  time  with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  permanent  resident  of 
California.  From  that  time  he  identified  himself  with  ranching  in  this  state, 
where  at  dififerent  times  he  operated  farms  in  Santa  Clara,  San  Joaquin,  Santa 
Barbara  and  Stanislaus  counties,  and  where  he  is  now  living  retired  in  Ven- 
tura county.  A  few  years  after  his  second  trip  to  the  west  he  married  Juliana 
Ogan,  who  was  brought  across  the  plains  by  her  parents  in  1849  and  settled 
near  San  Jose,  where  her  marriage  was  solemnized.  Her  death  occurred  in 
Santa  Barbara  county. 

The  eldest  of  the  ten  children  of  this  pioneer  couple  was  J.  J.  Hern,  born 
in  San  Joaquin  county  near  Stockti  n,  March  21,  1862.  and  reared  on  a  farm, 
where  lie  became  familiar  with  stock-raising  and  all  the  details  of  tilling  the 
soil.  Leaving  home  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  earned  a  livelihood  by  honest 
perseverance  and  unflagging  industry.  In  1886  he  went  to  Montana  and  took 
up  a  claim  at  the  head  of  the  Big  Hole  river  in  Beaverhead  county,  Mont., 
where  later  with  two  partners  he  organized  the  California  Land  and  Cattle 
Company.  After  two  years  he  disposed  of  his  cattle  and  invested  in  sheep, 
running  a  ranch  near  Dubuque  in  the  eastern  portion  of  Montana.  During 
the  period  of  his  sojourn  in  Montana  he  married  at  Dillon,  that  state.  Miss 
Etta  \Vrat(  n,  a  native  of  Waverly,  111.  Five  children  comprise  their  family, 
namely:  Leslie  W.,  now  employed  in  Oakland,  Cal. ;  Bertha;  Carroll,  who  is 
connected  with  the  C.  C.  M.  Oil  Company;  Russell  and  Lenora. 

Returning  from  Montana  to  California  and  taking  up  ranch  jjursuits  in 
Ventura  county  near  Oxnard,  Mr.  Hern  snecialized  in  the  raising  of  grain 
and  beans.  In  1900  he  gave  up  farming  in  order  to  engage  in  the  oil  business. 
As  a  teamster  with  the  Modelo  Oil  Company  he  had  his  first  experiences  in 
the  business  at  Pirn  City,  Ventura  county.  Every  phase  of  the  industry  he 
learned  step  by  step  and  he  remained  with  the  same  company  successively  as 
tool-dresser  and  driller.  Coming  to  the  Kern  river  field  in  1902  he  was  engaged 
as  a  driller  with  Daulton  &  Fuller  for  eighteen  months.  Next  he  worked  for 
the  Salt  Lake  Oil  Company  as  a  driller  in  the  Los  Angeles  field,  from  which 
he  went  to  the  Fullerton  field  and  drilled  on  some  of  the  first  wells  sunk  at 
Olinda.  Returning  to  the  L(  s  Angeles  field,  he  put  down  an  oil  well  on  the 
Fillmore  place.  The  drilling  of  two  wells  kept  him  for  some  time  near 
Lomnoc  in  the  employ  of  the  Union  Oil  Company,  which  then  sent  him  to 
the  Santa  Maria  field  to  aid  in  the  drilling  of  wells.  For  two  years  following 
he  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the  Laguna  Oil  Company  at  Orcutt,  in  the 
SantaMaria  field,  after  which  he  held  a  similar  position  with  the  Palmer  Oil 
Company  in  Cat  Canon,  Santa  Alaria.  In  August  of  1909  he  came  to  the 
Midway  district,  where  he  engaged  as  drilling  foreman  with  the  C.  C.  l\f .  Oil 
Company,  which  in  October,  1912,  promoted  him  to  his  present  position  as  field 
supermtendent.  In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  fraternally  he  belongs  to  San 
Luis  Obispo  Ledge  No.  322,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  Fremont  Camp,  Woodmen  of  the 
World,  at  Los  Angeles. 

ROBERT  E.  BLACKER. — The  superintendent  of  the  stable  deiiartment 
of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  has  been  a  resident  of  California  from 
early  life  and  beginning  with  his  present  employers  in  a  very  humble  capacity 
he  has  worked  his  way  forward  to  responsibilities  of  importance,  in  every 
task  proving  trustworthy,  efficient  and  reliable.  On  one  cccasion  only  did  he 
permit  other  matters  to  interfere  with  the  regular  discharge  of  his  duties,  that 
exception  occurring  during  the  Spanish-American  war,  when  he  offered  his 
services  to  the  country  as  a  volunteer.     During  June  of  1893  he  was  mustered 


1418  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

into  Company  G,  Sixth  Regiment  of  California  Volunteer  Infantry,  with 
which  he  remained  on  military  duty  until  December  of  the  same  year,  when  he 
received  an  honorable  discharge. 

Patriotic  devotion  to  country  is  a  characteristic  of  the  Blacker  family. 
During  the  Civil  war  J.  N.  Blacker,  a  native  of  Indiana,  served  as  a  member 
of  the  Third  Cavalry  Regiment  from  that  state  and  two  of  his  brothers  al.so 
rendered  efficient  service  in  the  same  struggle.  A  farmer  by  occupation,  he 
made  his  home  in  Indiana  until  his  death  in  1891.  His  first  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Mary  Dunbar,  died  in  Indiana  and  afterward  he  married  Miss 
Jennie  Bliss,  by  whom  he  had  two  children.  Of  the  first  union  there  were 
born  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  the  youngest  of  the  six  being  Robert  E., 
who  was  born  near  Colfax,  Clinton  county,  Ind.,  August  8,  1876,  and  passed 
the  years  of  boyhood  on  the  home  farm  and  in  the  country  school.  Upon 
starting  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  he  came  to  California,  settled 
in  Bakersfield,  and  secured  employment  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Com- 
pany, whose  interests  he  since  has  made  his  own.  During  1898  he  was  pro- 
moted to  be  foreman  and  in  May  of  1902  he  became  superintendent  of  the 
stable,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  in  Bakersfield  as  well  as  one  of  the  best 
equipped. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Blacker  and  Miss  Gertrude  Marshall  Inboden,  a 
native  of  Missouri,  was  solemnized  in  Bakersfield  and  has  been  blessed  with 
two  children,  Robert  E.,  Jr.,  and  Mary  A.  The  family  residence  at  No.  2012 
Cedar  street  was  erected  by  Mr.  Blacker.  Although  Mr.  Blacker  takes  no- 
active  part  in  politics  he  keeps  posted  concerning  all  issues  of  national 
importance  and  gives  allegiance  to  progressive  projects  for  the  benefit  of 
community  and  commonwealth.  For  some  years  he  has  been  identified  with 
the  Benevolent  Order  of  Elks  and  in  addition  he  is  a  leading  worker  in  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  lodge  at  Bakersfield,  which  he  serves  as  past  eminent 
commander,  besides  being  connected  with  Uniform  Rank  No.  60  and  holding 
office  as  its  captain ;  he  is  president  of  the  board  of  directors  of  Castle  Asso- 
ciation No.  76. 

ALBERT  WALDO  ALBRECHT.— A  native  son  of  the  state,  A.  W. 
Albrecht  was  born  in  San  Francisco  May  26,  1883,  and  attended  school  in  that 
city  and  Fresno.  When  his  school  days  were  over  he  became  interested  in 
mining,  search  for  the  precicus  metal  taking  him  successively  into  Mexico, 
back  to  California,  then  to  Mexico  and  to  Washington,  in  all  of  which  local- 
ities he  was  engaged  in  development  work. 

A  change  of  empLyment  as  well  as  a  change  of  location  occurred  in 
1909,  when  Mr.  Albrecht  became  interested  in  the  oil  business  in  Coalinga, 
and  during  his  residence  there  had  charge  of  the  Good  Luck  Oil  Company, 
which  he  developed  from  one  well  to  a  plant  embracing  six  producing  wells. 
While  there  too  he  was  at  the  head  of  a  committee  appointed  to  secure  the 
right  of  way  for  the  Coalinga  and  Monterey  Railroad.  Coming  to  Taft  Janu- 
ary 1,  1912,  he  opened  a  real-estate  and  insurance  office.  That  he  is  a  man  of 
enterprise  and  push  is  demonstrated  in  the  fact  that  although  a  late  comer 
to  this  community  it  was  left  for  him  to  organize  the  board  of  trade  in  the 
town,  and  ever  since  its  organization  he  has  been  secretary  of  that  body. 
Another  enterprise  that  has  benefited  by  his  ability  and  has  added  to  the 
business  status  of  the  town  is  the  Superior  Vulcanizing  Works,  of  which  he 
is  part  owner. 

Mr.  Albrecht  is  a  member  of  the  Petroleum  Club  of  Taft,  a  social  organiza- 
tion of  which  he  was  one  of  the  founders.  His  fraternal  associations  include 
membership  in  the  Masons,  he  being  a  member  of  the  lodge  at  Fresno,  also 
Fresno  Chapter  No.  69,  R.  A.  M.,  Commandery  No.  29,  and  Islam  Temple, 
A.  A.  O.  N.  M.  S.,  at  San  Francisco. 

PHIL  BLANKENSHIP. — One  of  the  most  enterprising  men   in  Kern 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1419 

county  is  Phil  Blankenship  of  Wasco,  telephone  proprietor  and  rancher,  who 
has  won  a  notable  success  in  life  and  whose  influence  in  the  community  lias 
ahvavs  laeen  for  the  general  uplift.  Air.  Blankenship  is  a  native  of  California, 
born  at  Visalia  June  11,  1858,  a  son  of  William  Moore  Blankenship,  who  was 
born  in  Richmond,  Va.,  about  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  and  died  at 
Visalia  in  1882.  From  the  Old  Dominion  the  elder  Blankenship  removed  to 
Iowa  and  there  engaged  in  farming  and  stock-raising.  In  1849  he  came  to 
California  and  settled  near  Stockton  and  S(  on  took  up  the  business  of  bring- 
ing cattle  from  the  east  to  the  mining  districts  of  the  gold  country.  In  the 
course  of  events  he  made  three  trips  back  to  Iowa  for  cattle  which  he  drove 
across  the  plains  to  California,  on  the  first  trip  going  around  the  Horn  and  by 
river  to  Iowa,  the  round  trip  consuming  from  two  to  three  years.  The  two 
other  trips  were  made  via  Panama,  and  on  the  last  trip  he  took  his  son  Phil 
with  him,  returning  in  1860.  He  owned  a  ranch  in  luwa  on  which  he  raised 
cattle.  In  1854  he  bought  land  at  Visalia,  but  did  not  locate  there  until  in  1858. 
As  a  rancher  and  cattleman  he  won  an  enviable  success. 

It  was  in  California  public  schoi  Is  that  Phil  Blankenship  attained  his 
education  which  was  finished  when  he  was  seventeen  years  uld.  Until  he  was 
twenty-three  he  lived  with  his  parents,  emnloyed  by  his  father.  He  devoted 
himself  entirely  to  ranch  work  until  in  1884,  when  he  went  to  Arizona  and 
engaged  in  stock-raising  on  the  San  Pedro  river  until  1887.  He  then  returned 
totalifi  rnia  and  located  in  Kern  county,  where  he  found  employment  with  the 
Kern  County  Land  Company  on  the  Belleview  and  Poso  ranches.  In  1895 
he  began  a  connection  with  the  Cox  ranch  which  continued  for  fifteen  years. 
In  1898  he  became  superintendent  of  the  ranch,  embracing  thirty-one  thou- 
sand acres,  and  served  in  that  canacity  until  it  was  sold  in  1908.  He  then 
engaged  in  the  cattle  business  on  his  own  account  and  at  this  time  he  owns  a 
fine  ranch  which  is  a  part  of  the  t  Id  Cox  ranch,  consisting  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  situated  five  miles  north  of  Wasco  on  Poso  creek.  \\'ith  J.  T. 
Maguire"  Mr.  Blankenship  built  the  telephone  system  on  the  West  Side,  taking 
in  Maricopa,  Taft,  Fellows  and  McKittrick,  thus  connecting,  by  telephone, 
all  the  West  Side  towns  and  having  their  main  office  in  Taft.  The  company 
is  incorporated  as  the  Kern  Mutual  Telephone  Company,  Mr.  Maguire  serv- 
ing as  president,  Mr.  Blankenship  as  vice  president,  and  Mrs.  Blankenship  as 
secretary.  After  the  Wasco  colony  was  started  Mr.  Blankenship  began  build- 
ing operations  there  and  has  since  resided  in  this  location  looking  after  his  va- 
ried interests,  enjoying  the  ample  income  from  his  ranch  and  telephone  invest- 
ments. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Blankenship  affiliates  with  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles 
and  he  wields  a  considerable  political  influence  always  in  the  interest  of  good 
government.  In  1^05  Miss  Anna  Steele  Murdock,  a  native  of  Baltimore,  Md., 
became  his  wife.  She  died  July  21,  1907.  Ilis  present  wife,  whi  m  he  married 
in  Fresno  July  1,  1909,  was  Miss  Jennie  G.  Borrell,  also  a  native  of  Balti- 
more, ]\ld. 

CHARLES  V.  MORRISON.— The  foreman  of  the  Southern  Pacific  round- 
house at  East  Bakersfield  is  a  member  of  an  eastern  family  that  has  been  identi- 
fied with  America  since  the  colonial  era  and  that  furnished  representatives  to 
aid  the  patriots  during  the  trying  period  of  the  Revolution.  One  of  its  lead- 
ing men  during  later  years  was  H(  n.  Fletcher  C.  Morrison,  a  native  of  Ohio 
and  for  years  engaged  as  United  States  Indian  commissioner  in  Ohio.  During 
the  time  of  his  service  as  commissioner  he  had  charge  of  the  removal  of  the 
Wyandotte  Indians  to  their  reservation  in  Iowa.  Much  other  important  work 
in  the  interests  of  the  Indians  was  placed  in  his  charge  by  the  government. 
John  S.,  sen  of  Fletcher  C,  proved  his  loyalty  to  the  Union  by  endeavoring 
twice  to  secure  the  acceptance  of  his  service  as  a  volunteer  in  the  army,  but 
each  time  he  was  rejected.   During  1869  he  took  his  wife  and  children  from  his 


1420  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

native  Ohio  to  the  newer  country  of  Minnesota,  where  he  took  up  land  near 
Eyota,  Olmstead  county.  After  eleven  years  in  Minnesota  he  went  to  Mar- 
shalltown,  Iowa,  in  1880,  and  there  remained  until  his  death.  Two  months 
after  his  demise  there  passed  into  eternal  rest  his  widow,  Malinda  (Burkhart) 
Morrison,  a  native  of  Bellefontaine,  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  William  Burkhart, 
born  in  Philadelphia  and  deceased  in  Ohio. 

There  were  five  children  in  the  family  of  John  S.  Morrison.  The  second, 
Charles  V.,  was  born  near  Mutual,  Champaign  county,  Ohio,  August  13,  1862, 
and  at  the  time  of  the  removal  to  Minnesota  was  a  boy  of  seven  years.  During 
1880  he  accompanied  the  family  to  Marshalltown,  Iowa.  Meanwhile  he  had 
l>ecome  prominent  locally  through  his  prowess  as  a  runner  and  his  skill  as  a 
swimmer  and  in  1879  he  swam  entirely  across  the  Mississippi  river.  At  Mar- 
shalltown he  served  as  a  member  of  the  volunteer  fire  department  about  five 
years,  being  first  foreman  and  later  chief  of  the  department.  Largely  to  his 
work  was  due  the  winning  of  the  prizes  in  the  Council  Blufifs  races  in  1889. 
For  seven  years  he  wi  rked  in  a  machine  shop  at  Marshalltown  and  mean- 
while he  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  trade  of  machinist,  which 
later  he  followed  for  two  years  in  the  Iowa  Central  machine  shops.  Next 
he  secured  a  position  as  division  foreman  on  the  Chicago  &.  Northwestern 
Railroad  and  ccntinued  in  that  place  for  seven  years,  first  at  Carroll  and 
later  at  Boone,  Iowa.  When  he  resigned  it  was  to  come  to  the  west.  Upon 
his  arrival  at  Bakersfield  in  January,  1887,  he  secured  work  as  a  machinist 
in  the  Southern  Pacific  shops.  At  the  expiration  of  seven  months  he  was 
promoted  to  be  roundhouse  foreman  and  since  then  has  devoted  his  entire 
time  to  the  filling  of  the  position.  The  climate  of  Bakersfield  has  proved 
healthful  and  congenial,  the  possibilities  of  the  place  awaken  his  enthusiastic 
interest  and  he  has  shown  his  faith  in  the  future  of  the  city  by  buying  lots  and 
building  three  houses  in  East  Bakersfield,  which  he  rents.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  volunteer  fire  department  in  Kern,  from  1900 
to  1904  he  served  as  a  trustee  of  the  village  and  in  both  these  positions  he 
did  valuable  work  for  the  town  in  the  protecting  of  the.  property  and  the 
rights  of  the  citizens.  Politically  he  is  a  Democrat.  After  coming  west  he 
was  made  a  Masc  n  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  he  is  also 
connected  with  the  Fraternal  Brotherhood.  His  marriage  was  solemnized  in 
Marshalltown,  Iowa,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Elsie  Hastings,  who  was  born 
and  reared  in  that  city.  They  are  the  parents  of  five  children,  Harry,  Floyd, 
Fannie,  Lillian  and  Birdie.  The  eldest  son  is  a  machinist  and  the  younger 
members  of  the  family  are  students  in  the  local  schools. 

DONALD  H.  FORSYTH.— With  the  exception  of  perhaps  six  years 
spent  in  Nevada  during  the  period  of  the  mining  excitement  at  Guldfield  and 
vicinity,  Mr.  Forsyth  has  been  a  lifelong  resident  of  California  and  much  of 
the  time  he  has  made  his  home  in  Kern  county,  although  he  was  born  in  San 
Luis  Obisno  in  1874.  Not  only  was  his  father  a  pioneer  of  that  part  of  the 
state,  but  in  addition  he  was  identified  with  the  early  upbuilding  of  Kern 
county  and  in  bcth  olaces  of  residence  he  won  and  retained  the  confidence  of 
other  pioneers.  At  the  time  of  the  removal  of  the  family  to  Kern  county  the 
son  was  a  mere  lad,  hence  his  education  was  obtained  principally  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  here  and  after  he  left  school  he  learned  the  laundry  business.  i\Iuch 
of  his  time  has  been  given  to  this  work,  and  at  this  writing,  as  for  some  years 
past,  he  is  in  the  employ  of  the  American  laundry,  a  local  industry  of  con- 
siderable prominence. 

In  Los  Angeles  occurred  the  marriage  of  Donald  H.  Forsyth  and  Mrs. 
Mary  (Cant)  Beatty,  a  native  of  Illinois.  Her  father,  Sylvester  Gant,  who 
died  at  her  home  some  years  ago,  was  born  and  reared  in  Chester,  111.,  and  in 
young  manhood  he  came  with  friends  to  California.  The  trip  was  made  in  a 
wagon  drawn  by  oxen.  The  plains  were  crossed  in  safety  and  he  then  traveled 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  1421 

throujTh  California,  working  at  any  occupation  that  was  offered.  A  brief  stay 
was  followed  by  a  return  to  Illinois,  where  he  married  and  established  a  home. 
Finally,  however,  he  sold  his  interests  there  and  brought  his  family  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  became  a  pioneer  of  Kern  ccunty  and  one  of  the  very  earliest 
settlers  on  Caliente  creek  in  the  Weed  Patch. 

Shortly  after  the  mines  at  Goldfield  had  begun  to  draw  pe(>i)k'  to  that 
section  of  Nevada,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Forsyth  removed  to  that  camp  and  he 
engaged  in  prospecting  and  mining,  also  conducted  a  laundry  business.  Six 
years  were  spent  in  Nevada,  whence  they  returned  to  California  and  settled  at 
Bakersfield.  Later  they  purchased  two  lots  on  the  corner  of  1  and  Twenty-first 
streets,  where  they  erected  the  St.  Elmo  hotel.  The  building  burned  to  the 
ground  in  August  of  1910  and  they  then  erected  a  substantial  structure  of  two 
stories,  now  known  as  the  Florence  hotel.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Forsyth  are 
Republicans.  Fraternally  j\Ir.  Forsyth  is  a  Mason  of  the  Royal  Arch  degree 
and  in  religion  he  is  in  sympathy  with  the  wl  rk  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  his  wife  is  an  active  member  of  that  organization.  ]\lrs.  Forsyth 
has  one  child  by  her  first  marriage,  Charles  W.  Beatty,  a  merchant  of  Mari- 
copa 

A.  B.  POLHEMUS. — Very  early  in  the  colonization  of  the  new  world 
the  Polhemus  family  became  identified  with  the  agricultural  upbuilding  of  the 
region  lying  along  the  Atlantic  seaboard.  Later  generations  turned  from  agri- 
culture to  the  industrial  trades,  but  in  whatever  occupation  followed  the  fam- 
ily was  known  for  integrity  of  purpose  and  energy  of  will.  It  was  Edward 
Polhemus,  a  native  of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  who  established  the  family  in  regions 
further  west.  As  early  as  1832  he  took  up  a  tract  of  raw  land  in  Washtenaw 
county,  Mich.,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  During  1860  he  took  up  land  in 
Greene  county.  Mo.,  but  with  the  outbreak  ^  f  the  war  he  found  the  location 
undesirable,  for  he  was  thoroughly  Union  in  his  sympathies,  while  the  neigh- 
borhood was  intensely  southern  in  sentiment.  Lack  of  harmony  led  him  to  re- 
move to  Illinois  in  lb'62  and  he  settled  on  a  farm  in  Champaign  county,  where 
for  seventeen  years  he  had  nn  re  or  less  success  in  agricultural  enterprises. 
During  1879  he  established  a  home  in  Pittsburg,  Kan.,  where  he  died  at  the 
age  of  ninety-two  years. 

In  the  family  of  this  western  i)ioneer  there  was  a  son,  Thomas  S.,  whose 
birth  occurred  at  Port  Byron,  N.  Y.,  and  whose  life  occupation  has  been  that 
of  a  painter.  Beginning  the  trade  in  the  John  Deere  plow  works  at  Moline, 
111.,  he  ci  ntinued  the  business  in  Danville,  111.,  for  more  than  forty  years  until 
his  final  retirement  from  active  labors.  During  young  manhood  he  had  mar- 
ried Augusta  M.  Hankey,  a  native  of  Wurtemberg,  Germany,  and  now  seventy- 
three  years  of  age.  At  the  age  of  eighty  he  is  hale  and  robust  and  among  the 
people  of  Bakersfield,  where  he  makes  his  home,  he  is  regarded  as  a  man  of 
excellent  information  and  fine  qualities  of  heart  and  mind.  By  his  marriage 
to  Miss  Hankey  there  was  an  only  child,  A.  B.,  whose  birth  occurred  at 
Sadorus,  Champaign  county.  111.,  July  27,  1863,  and  whose  education  was 
obtained  in  the  Danville  public  schools.  From  boyhood  he  was  familiar  with 
the  trade  of  painter.  From  eighteen  until  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  wi  rked 
in  Western  Michigan.  Upon  returning  to  Illinois  he  engaged  in  business  with 
his  father  at  Danville.  Ultimately  their  trade  took  them  to  other  parts  of 
Illinois  and  even  into  Wisconsin.  Many  of  their  contracts  were  for  public 
buildings  and  represented  a  large  outlay  of  uKmey  as  well  as  considerable 
time  for  the  work. 

Coming  to  California  in  1910  and  settling  in  Bakersfield,  Mr.  Polhemus 
has  business  headquarters  on  the  corner  of  I  and  Eighteenth  streets,  while 
for  a  residence  he  has  purchased  and  now  occupies  property  at  Nos.  214-216 
Eureka  street.  All  of  his  time  is  devoted  to  the  filling  of  painting  c.-ntracts  in 
Bakersfield  and  Kern  county  and  in  this  work  he  has  the  energetic  assistance 


1422  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

of  liis  three  eldest  sons,  who  have  becnme  his  business  associates.  In  addition 
to  these  sons,  Harry  L.,  Thomas  E.  and  Charles  Richard,  he  has  a  younger  son, 
Jake  H.,  now  a  student  in  the  Kern  county  high  schotl,  also  an  only  daughter, 
Helen  Augusta,  a  clerk  in  the  county  tax  collector's  office.  Mrs.  Polhemus 
is  a  native  of  Hagerstown,  Ind.,  and  prior  to  her  marriage  in  Danville,  111., 
bore  the  name  of  Alice  Leona  Fleming.  With  her  husband  she  holds  active 
membership  in  the  Court  of  Honor.  Politically  Mr.  Polhemus  has  been  stanchly 
Republican  in  his  sympathies  ever  since  attaining  his  majority  and  casting  his 
first  presidential  ballot. 

E.  J.  SCHNEIDER.— The  name  cf  Schneider  indicates  a  Teutonic  an- 
cestry. The  first  to  seek  a  home  in  the  new  world  was  Rev.  George  Schneider, 
a  man  of  college  education,  splendid  mental  attainments  and  high  moral  prin- 
ciples, an  ordained  minister  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  a  noble 
exptnent  by  theory  and  by  example  of  the  lofty  doctrines  of  his  denomination. 
A  member  of  a  family  of  high  standing  and  considerable  means,  he  was  given 
the  best  advantages  ofifered  by  the  educational  institutions  of  his  part  of  Ger- 
many and  at  the  age  of  twenty-seven  became  a  citizen  of  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  remained  until  his  death  in  1910  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  Meanwhile 
he  had  assisted  in  the  growth  and  advancement  of  denominational  enternrises 
and  had  given  liberally  of  time  and  means  for  the  upbuilding  of  Christianity 
in  the  Keystone  state,  preaching  resjularly  in  many  needy  fields,  but  refusing 
anv  compensation  for  such  work.  From  the  time  when  Colonel  Drake  drilled 
his  first  oil  well  near  Titusville  until  the  death  of  this  pioneer  preacher,  he 
earned  his  livelihood  in  the  oil  industry  and  this  naturally  necessitated  the 
rearing  of  his  children  at  oil  camps  or  in  towns  in  the  center  of  the  oil  fields. 
His' son.  E.  J.,  was  born  in  Oil  City,  Venango  county,  Pa.,  in  1862,  and  was 
carefully  trained  by  a  wise  father  and  a  devoted  mother,  the  latter  having 
been  Catherine  (Peters)  Schneider,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania.  As  scon  as  he 
had  completed  the  studies  of  the  grammar  school  he  began  to  earn  his  own 
livelihood  in  the  oil  industry,  in  which  he  passed  throua:h  the  various  depart- 
ments from  roustabout  to  positions  of  importance.  When  only  sixteen  he 
thoroughly  understood  drilling.  After  some  years  he  became  a  contractor  and 
later  was  promoted  to  be  a  superintendent  in  Pennsylvania  fields. 

Upon  coming  to  California  in  1901  Mr.  Schneider  engaged  in  drilling  for 
oil  at  Vacaville,  but  met  with  no  success.  As  early  as  1902  he  came  to  Mc- 
Kittrick  with  the  Silver  Bow  Oil  Company  of  Montana.  The  year  1906  found 
him  in  the  Salt  Lake  field  of  Southern  California  as  an  employe  of  the  Amal- 
gamated Oil  Company,  which  soon  promoted  him  to  be  a  foreman.  As  pro- 
duction superintendent  in  the  west  side  field  he  was  transferred  to  the  Asso- 
ciated Oil  Company  during  November,  1910,  making  his  headquarters  in  the 
Midway.  Since  November  of  1911  he  has  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the 
Lost  Hills  division,  where  he  has  been  very  active  in  increasing  production 
and  otherwise  promoting  the  interests  of  the  company.  During  the  period  of 
his  employment  in  the  Salt  Lake  field  he  erected  a  substantial  residence  in 
Hollywood,  which  he  still  owns.  He  was  married  at  Warren,  Pa.,  December 
15,  1887,  to  Miss  Myrtle  White,  a  native  of  Warren  county  and  a  daughter  of 
Alfred  and  Marcia  (Davis)  White,  the  former  a  lumber  manufacturer  of  that 
eastern  city.  They  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters :  Mrs.  Leah  H.  Middle- 
ton,  of  McKittrick;  and  Mrs.  Nina  K.  Hamm,  of  Hollywood.  The  family 
are  earnest  believers  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  denomination 
and  have  contributed  to  general  church  .benevolences.  Fraternally  Mr. 
Schneider  is  connected  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

JASPER  MYERS. — A  native  of  Indiana,  Jasper  Myers  was  born  in 
Anderson,  Madison  county,  December  25,  1838.  He  was  appointed  a  cadet  to 
West  Point  and  entered  the  academy  in  1858,  continuing  his  studies  until  1862 
and  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant  in  the  ordnance  department  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1423 

United  States  Navy,  serving  on  the  field  and  in  different  arsenals  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  He  continued  in  the  army  until  January,  1870,  when  he  resigned, 
at  which  time  he  was  holding  a  captain's  commission.  In  the  meantime  he 
had  studied  law  and  on  leaving  the  army  began  the  practice  of  his  profession 
in  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

In  the  fall  of  1872,  on  the  advice  of  a  physician,  Air.  Myers  abandoned 
the  law  and  came  to  Bakersfield  and  a  short  time  afterward  he  located  on  his 
present  ranch  and  immediately  engaged  in  husbandry,  which  he  has  contin- 
ued ever  since.  His  ranch  is  located  nine  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield  and 
is  devoted  to  alfalfa  and  dairying. 

Mr.  Myers  was  married  in  1883  to  Miss  Mattie  Gather,  also  a  native  of 
Anderson,  Ind.,  who  had  spent  several  years  in  educational  work.  They  are 
the  parents  of  three  children:  Edith,  Mrs.  Marek,  of  Bakersfield;  Robert,  of 
Paraguay,  South  America;  and  Ralph,  who  is  attending  Leland  Stanford,  Jr., 
University.  Mr.  Myers  is  a  member  of  Hurlburt  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  politically 
he  is  a  Progressive  Republican.  Being  interested  in  the  history  of  Kern 
county  he  is  a  member  of  the  Pioneer  Society. 

S.  G.  CRIPPEN.— Many  of  those  connected  with  the  oil  industry  in 
Galifornia  are  men  whose  bread  knowledge  of  the  business  has  been  gained 
in  the  east,  but  this  is  not  the  case  with  Mr.  Grippen,  who  is  a  native  son  of 
the  west  and  by  actual  experience  in  Galifornia  oil  fields  has  acquired  the 
most  complete  information  regarding  rig-building  and  other  lines  of  carpenter- 
ing peculiar  to  this  kind  of  work.  As  carpenter  foreman  fur  the  Kern  Trading 
and  Oil  Company,  he  has  erected  altogether  ninety-seven  buildings  in  the 
Sunset-Midway  fields  and  has  had  charge  of  the  erection  of  practically  all  of  the 
buildings  at  Fellows,  Oil  City  and  McKittrick. 

Mr.  Grippen  was  born  in  Humboldt  county.  Gal.,  August  3,  1874,  and  is  a 
son  of  Stephen  G.  and  Mary  (Beckett)  Grippen,  the  former  a  native  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  latter  bi  rn  in  Missouri.  The  father,  who  came  to  Galifornia  for 
the  first  time  during  the  summer  of  1852  and  made  the  tedious  trip  overland, 
engaged  for  a  time  in  mining,  but  later  settled  on  a  ranch  and  began  to  raise 
stock.  Although  he  returned  to  the  east  intending  to  settle  there,  he  found 
himself  dissatisfied  and  so  came  back  to  Galifornia  and  resumed  stock-raising. 
He  and  his  wife  are  still  living  at  Lakeport,  Lake  county.  Of  their  ten  children 
five  passed  away.  Reared  and  educated  in  Humboldt  county,  S.  G.  Grippen 
started  out  to  make  his  own  way  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  For  two  years  he 
worked  at  the  barber's  trade  at  Petrolia,  Humboldt  county.  Next  he  hired 
out  on  a  ranch  and  later  found  employment  in  the  lumber  woods.  His  first 
training  as  a  carpenter  was  received  under  a  rig-builder  and  contractor  and 
he  soon  became  quite  skilled  in  the  construction  of  oil  derricks.  Upon  starting 
out  in  the  occupation  for  himself  he  engaged  in  house  building  at  Ferndale 
and  later  became  an  independent  rig-builder.  For  four  years  he  fullowed  the 
trade  in  his  native  county,  after  which  he  went  to  San  Francisco  and  secured 
employment  in  building  the  woodwork  for  bridges  with  the  Thompson  Bridge 
Company,  No.  29  Mission  street.  For  a  time  he  worked  at  house  building 
in  the  city. 

Coming  to  McKittrick,  Kern  cuunty,  in  1902,  Mr.  Grippen  became  a  house 
builder  in  the  employ  of  the  Associated,  but  at  the  end  of  nine  months  he 
went  to  the  Santa  Maria  field  and  engaged  as  a  tool-dresser  on  the  Casmalia 
for  three  months.  Returning  to  Kern  county  and  securing  employment  at 
Oil  City  with  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company,  he  entered  upon  an  asso- 
ciation that  has  continued  to  the  present  time  and  that  has  been  mutually  sat- 
isfactory. Besides  erecting  the  houses  of  the  superintendents  and  many  other 
buildings  at  Kerto  he  has'had  charge  of  a  large  amount  of  building  at  'McKit- 
trick and  Fellows.  Having  entire  charge  of  the  construction  of  rigs,  he  has 
built  perhaps  one  hundred  derricks  in  the  Alidway  and  Sunset  fields  and  has 


1424  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

worked  from  Pentland  to  McKittrick.  Steadily  since  1904  he  has  remained 
with  the  same  company  and  for  six  years  worked  wholly  in  the  Kern  river 
field,  although  his  first  two  rigs  for  the  corporation  were  built  at  Coalinga. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Crippen  took  place  at  Elko,  Nev.,  and  united  him 
with  Miss  Berta  M.  Doe,  of  Humboldt  county.  They  are  the  parents  of  three 
children,  Frederick,  Evelyn  and  Gilbert.  While  living  in  Humboldt  county 
Mr.  Crippen  became  connected  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  Petrolia.  Since 
coming  to  Kern  county  he  has  put  in  membership  with  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World  at  Bakersfield  and  also  has  been  initiated  into  Masonry  in  Taft  Lodge 
No.  426,  F.  &  A.  M.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Kerto 
Club,  the  quarters  for  which  are  provided  by  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Com- 
pany. 

GEORGE  E.  TAYLOR. — It  is  interesting  to  write  of  a  native  son  who 
has,  through  all  circumstances,  conducted  himself  with  credit  and  honorably 
accomplished  success  in  his  business  and  the  securing  of  the  confidence  of 
his  customers,  meanwhile  establishing  warm  personal  friendships,  receiving 
frcm  every  one  the  utmost  faith  in  his  integrity  and  honesty  of  purpose.  Such 
a  man  is  George  E.  Taylor,  who  was  born  in  Ukiah,  Mendocino  county,  Cal., 
February  1,  1876.  His  father,  William,  was  born  in  Missouri,  while  his  grand- 
father, Alexander  Taylor,  was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  of  an  old  southern  family. 
He  removed  to  Missouri  and  in  18-19  joined  the  tide  of  migration  to  the  far 
west,  bringing  his  family  across  the  plains  with  ox-teams  and  locating  first  in 
Humboldt.  Later  they  made  their  home  in  Mendocino  county  and  afterward 
in  Monterey,  always  following  the  occupation  of  stock  business.  He  died  in 
Monterey  county. 

Like  his  father  William  Taylor  was  a  stockman ;  at  Ukiah  for  some  years 
he  followed  that  trade  and  then  moved  to  Fresno  county.  When  oil  was 
discovered  in  the  Coalinga  district  he  began  locating  oil  lands  and  followed  the 
oil  business  for  a  time.  While  on  a  visit  to  Bakersfield  he  passed  away  in 
May,  1912.  His  wife,  Annie  (Thompson)  Taylor,  was  born  in  Iowa,  the 
daughter  of  Theodore  Thompson,  who  was  a  native  of  Maryland.  The  latter 
brought  his  family  across  the  plains  in  the  early  '50s,  and  became  a  pioneer 
farmer.  He  nuw  makes  his  home  in  Bakersfield  aged  eighty-two  years.  Mrs. 
Taylor  passed  away  in  Huron,  Fresno  county,  in  1887. 

Of  the  five  children  born  to  his  parents  George  E.  Taylor  is  the  eldest. 
His  childhood  was  passed  mostly  in  Monterey  county,  where  he  assisted  his 
uncles  who  were  cattlemen.  From  a  young  boy  he  rode  the  range.  His  educa- 
tional training  was  obtained  in  the  local  schools  and  as  he  grew  he  imbibed 
a  spirit  of  progressiveness  and  a  courage  to  accomplish  successful  ends.  On 
February  1,  1896,  he  came  to  Kern  county,  his  first  employment  being  with 
Wellington  Canfield,  receiving  $20  per  month.  He  worked  steadily  for  some 
years  and  having  saved  some  of  his  hard-earned  money  he  purchased  sixty 
acres  of  land  in  the  Old  River  district,  which  he  improved,  raising  alfalfa. 
In  additii  n  he  engaged  in  the  dairy  business  and  continued  with  marked  suC' 
cess  until  he  sold  the  place  to  R.  L.  McCutchen,  and  in  February,  1904,  began  a 
mercantile  business  in  Bakersfield.  Starting  in  a  small  storeroom  on  Chester 
avenue,  he  conducted  the  business  under  the  firm  name  of  G.  E.  Taylor  &  Co. 
This  business  he  sold  in  1907  and  soon  afterward  started  the  present  store 
known  as  Taylor's  grocery,  at  No.  1423  Nineteenth  street,  of  which  he  is 
now  sole  proprietor  and  he  enjoys  a  large  trade  among  the  citizens  of  Bakers- 
field and  the  surrounding  country. 

Before  her  marriage  Mrs.  Taylor  was  Miss  Dollie  Rowlee,  a  native  of 
Marion,  Iowa,  who  came  to  California  when  a  child  with  her  parents.  Her 
father,  Charles  E.  Rowlee,  is  represented  elsewhere  in  this  publication.  Mrs. 
Taylor  is  a  graduate  of  the  San  Diego  State  Normal  class  of  1902,  and  has 
achieved  much  success  as  an  educator.    She  is  at  present  acceptably  serving 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1425 

as  principal  of  the  Standard  schools.  By  a  former  marriage  Mr.  Taylor  is 
the  father  of  two  daughters,  Alma  and  I*"ranccs.  A  woman  of  intellect  and 
accomplishments,  with  refined  and  artistic  tastes,  Mrs.  Taylor  is  much  beloved 
by  her  many  friends  and  with  her  husband  is  freely  hospitable  and  respected 
lor  their  generous  impulses. 

J.  C.  KNOKE. — No  other  occupation  aside  in  m  the  oil  industry  has 
ever  engaged  the  attention  of  Mr.  Knoke  and  therefore  his  rise  from  a  most 
humble  capacity  to  an  influential  position  has  been  steadfast.  At  this  writing 
he  fills  a  very  important  place  as  j)roduction  foreman  for  the  Kern  Trading 
and  Oil  Company  in  the  Midway-Sunset  fields.  The  duties  if  the  position  entail 
upon  him  the  management  of  the  company's  wells  (about  eighty-five  now 
producing)  situated  between  Pentland  and  the  North  Midway. 

Throughout  practically  all  of  his  life  Mr.  Knoke  has  lived  in  oil  regions. 
Born  at  Wheeling,  \V.  Va.,  November  1,  1877,  he  is  a  son  of  the  late  Clem 
Knoke,  at  <  ne  time  a  shoemaker  in  Wheeling,  but  later  the  owner  and  occu- 
pant of  a  farm  at  Sistersville,  in  the  same  state.  When  oil  was  struck  at  Sis- 
tersville  about  1890  Mr.  Knoke  was  a  lad  of  thirteen  years  and  was  a  pu^iil  in 
the  local  schools  of  the  village.  There  were  twelve  children  in  the  family  and 
ten  of  these  are  still  living,  so  that  the  small  estate  left  by  the  parents  at 
death  could  aid  the  sons  and  daughters  but  little.  After  he  had  graduated  from 
the  grammar  school  Mr.  Knoke  began  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world 
and  as  early  as  1894  he  worked  as  a  roustabout  in  the  Sistersville  field.  Later 
he  was  employed  in  other  fields  of  the  same  state.  From  1902  to  1904  he 
engaged  in  the  oil  industry  in  Colorado,  where  he  worked  up  from  toi.l-dresser 
to  driller. 

For  nine  months  he  engaged  with  the  Burlington  &  Missouri  Railway 
Company  and  drilled  three  discovery  wells  for  that  company  near  Shaddron, 
Neb.,  but  found  no  til.  Various  parts  of  New  Mexico  also  were  insiected 
with  a  view  to  finding  favorable  oil  prospects  and  at  Raton  he  drilled  a  dis- 
covery well  for  the  R:aton  Oil  Company,  but  the  results  were  unsatisfactory. 
During  the  year  1904  he  came  to  California  for  the  first  time.  Securing  work 
with  the  Union  Oil  Company  as  tO(  1-dresser,  he  was  soon  made  head  well- 
puller  and  before  the  fir.st  year  of  his  connection  with  the  company  had  ex- 
pired he  was  filling  the  position  of  superintendent  of  production.  For  six 
and  one-half  years  he  remained  in  the  employ  of  the  Union  Oil  C(  mpany  at 
Santa  Maria  and  then  resigned  to  make  a  tour  of  inspection  through  Cuba. 
In  the  five  months  spent  there  he  engaged  in  digging  discovery  wells  for  an 
English  syndicate,  but  no  oil  was  found.  Returning  to  California  for  the  pur- 
pose of  securing  more  supplies  and  sending  them  to  Cuba,  he  discharged  these 
duties  and  then,  instead  of  going  back  as  he  had  anticipated,  he  acceited  a 
position  as  manager  for  the  May's  Consolidated  Oil  Company,  owning  leases 
on  sections  28  and  30,  township  31.  range  23.  After  nine  months  with  that  cor- 
poration he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  present  p(  sition  in  May,  1912,  and 
since  has  devoted  his  energies  to  this  work,  meanwhile  making  his  home  at 
Maricopa  in  one  of  the  superintendents'  houses  on  the  Kern  Trading  and 
Oil  Companv's  lease.  One  daughter,  Helen  B.,  has  been  born  of  his  union 
with  Miss  Alamie  McKay,  daughter  of  E.  S.  AlcKay,  of  L(  mpnc,  Cal.,  but  a 
resident  of  Santa  Barbara  at  the  time  of  their  marriage.  While  making  his 
home  at  Santa  Maria  he  affiliated  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  during  a 
temporary  sojourn  at  San  Luis  Obispo  he  became  a  member  of  the  Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Kerto  Club,  which 
meets  in  a  building  provided  by  the  Kern  Trading  &  Oil  Company. 

C.  L.  DICKEY.— The  lease  foreman  on  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Com- 
pany's properties  has  been  familiar  with  the  (^il  industry  from  his 
earliest  recollections,  for  he  is  a  native  of  one  of  the  eastern  oil  regions 
and     has     given     all     his     mature     life     to     the     development     of     the     in- 


1426  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

dustry.  Born  at  Sistersville,  W.  Va.,  September  6,  1887,  he  is  a  son 
of  the  late  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Phillips)  Dickey,  the  former  con- 
nected with  production  activities  in  the  oil  fields  of  his  home  town. 
There  were  nine  children  in  the  family  and  of  these  C.  L.  was  sixth  in 
order  of  birth.  When  only  fifteen  years  of  age  he  was  obliged,  on  account  of 
the  death  of  his  father,  to  stop  school  and  take  up  the  serious  business  of 
earning  a  livelihood.  Not  only  was  he  self-supporting,  but  in  addition  he 
helped  to  care  for  his  mother  and  other  members  of  the  family,  so  that  he 
assumed  the  responsibilities  of  manhood  while  yet  a  youth.  When  he  began 
in  the  oil  fields  it  was  as  a  roustabout. 

Continuing  with  the  same  eastern  oil  company  for  some  years,  Mr. 
Dickey  resigned  his  place  in  the  spring  of  1907  and  then  sought  an  occupative 
opening  in  the  west.  Upon  his  removal  to  California  he  engaged  in  work  in  the 
Santa  Maria  field,  where  he  remained  until  September  of  1910.  Having  had 
thorough  training  as  tool-dresser  and  head  well-puller  in  West  Virginia,  he 
was  competent  to  fill  important  duties  at  Santa  Maria.  From  that  field  he 
removed  to  Fellows  and  was  envdoyed  as  gang-foreman  and  tool-dresser.  The 
next  step  in  advance  brought  him  to  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company's 
properties,  where  since  June  of  1912  he  has  served  as  lease  foreman,  his  juris- 
diction extending  to  the  properties  in  the  Sunset  field.  A  warm  friendship  with 
J.  C.  Knoke,  production  foreman  for  the  company,  which  dates  back  to  their 
early  residence  in  Sistersville,  W.  Va.,  was  instrumental  in  identifying  him 
with  this  company  and  his  own  reliability  and  energy  enable  him  to  fill  the 
positic  n  with  satisfaction  to  all  concerned. 

CHARLES  E.  GEDDES. — The  youngest  of  seven  sons  and  a  member 
of  a  family  of  thirteen  children,  of  whom  there  now  survive  five  sons  and  five 
daughters,  Charles  E.  Geddes  was  born  at  Sheffield,  Warren  county.  Pa.,  and 
grew  to  manhood  in  McKean  ct  unty,  same  state,  where  he  attended  the 
Bradford  schools.  Always  the  family  maintained  an  interest  in  the  oil  business 
and  two  elder  brothers  are  now  with  the  Associated  in  the  Coalinga  oil  field  in 
California,  G.  W.  being  a  machinist  and  J.  E.  production  foreman.  The  father 
has  made  the  lumber  business  his  principal  occupation  and  is  now  living 
retired,  being  at  present  in  Coalinga.  The  mother  was  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  came  of  a  Swiss  family.  After  two  years  in  the  high  school  Charles 
E.  Geddes  began  to  work  in  the  Bradford  oil  field  at  the  age  of  sixteen._  At  first 
he  engaged  as  a  pumper  and  later  as  a  ti  ol-dresser.  Going  to  Illinois  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  he  worked  in  the  Robinson  field  for  two  and  one-half  years 
and  from  that  section  of  the  country  he  came  to  California  in  October  of 
1907.  A  visit  of  eight  days  in  the  Kern  river  field  gave  him  his  first  practical 
knowledge  of  western  conditio  ns.  Two  months  were  then  spent  in  the 
Coalinga  field  as  an  employe  of  the  pipe-line  department  and  then  of  the  pro- 
duction department  of  the  Associated,  after  which  he  was  promoted  to  be 
gang-pusher  and  well-foreman.  On  being  chosen  superintendent  of  the  Espe- 
ranza  and  the  Sibyl  he  associated  himself  with  the  properties  that  later  were 
overtaken  by  the  General  Petrtleum,  whose  officers  retained  him  in  the 
capacity  of  superintendent  with  largely  increased  responsibilities.  This 
position,  as  foreman  of  all  the  properties  of  the  company  in  the  North 
Midway  field,  includes  the  following  divisions  now  owned  and  operated  by  the 
great  concern:  Oakburn,  Dabney,"Sahle,  Globe,  Logan,  Brunswick,  Section 
19,  Fellows,  Continental  and  Siisyl.  He  personally  visits  each  lease  daily, 
going  from  one  to  another  by  automobile,  and  directing  and  supervising  all  of 
the  work  with  an  alertness  and  nervous  energy  that  invariably  produces  re- 
sults. 

Since  coming  to  Kern  county  Mr.  Geddes  has  been  connected  with  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  at  Taft.  He  married  Miss  Leula  Hunter, 
of  Russell,  Warren  county.  Pa.,  the  daughter  of  one  of  the  well-known  and 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1427 

successful  oil  operators  of  the  east.  The  company's  residence  on  section  14, 
31-22,  is  their  home,  which  with  its  artistic  furnishings  and  air  of  happy 
domesticity  attracts  often  to  its  hospitality  the  many  friends  of  the  charming 
hostess. 

ARTHUR  EUGENE  HOAGLAND.— The  excitement  caused  by  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  in  California  imbued  William  Hoagland  with  a  desire  to  visit 
the  vast  unknown  west.  At  the  time  of  joining  a  party  of  Argonauts  lie  was 
still  a  mere  lad.  yet  he  was  able  to  do  a  man's  work  and  assumed  responsibil- 
ities equal  to  those  thrust  upon  men  many  j^ears  his  senior.  As  a  boy  he 
had  attended  the  schools  of  Springfield,  111.,  where  his  birth  had  occurred  about 
1835  and  where  his  parents  had  made  their  home  for  years.  The  trip  across 
the  plains  during  the  summer  of  1849  he  still  recalls  as  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting experiences  of  his  eventful  life  and  scarcely  less  interesting  was  the 
return  vtyage  by  water.  Settling  upon  a  farm  in  Missouri,  he  gave  himself  in- 
dustriously to  agricultural  pursuits  and  for  some  time  continued  to  live  and 
labor  in  that  state.  Meantime  he  served  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil 
war  and  remained  at  the  front  until  the  expiration  of  his  period  of  service. 
About  1884  he  became  a  pioneer  of  Kansas  and  took  up  a  claim  in  Rarber 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  farming  for  some  years.  When  he  made  his 
second  trip  to  the  Pacific  coast  in  1891  he  found  conditii  ns  in  the  west  far 
different  from  those  of  the  earlier  period.  Oregon,  to  which  state  he  removed 
from  Kansas,  was  becoming  known  for  riches  of  soil  and  growth  of  commerce. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  served  as  assessor  of  Klamath  county  and  made 
his  h(.  me  in  Klamath  Falls,  but  more  recently  he  has  removed  to  California, 
where  he  and  his  wife,  Cassie  (Fulton)  Hoagland,  now  are  living  in  Hutte 
county. 

The  family  of  William  Hoagland  comprised  eleven  children  and  eight  of 
these  are  still  living.  One  of  the  younger  members  of  the  family,  Arthur 
Eugene,  was  born  July  7,  1876,  during  the  residence  of  the  parents  near  Rolla, 
Pheljs  county.  Mo.,  where  he  remained  until  eight  years  of  age  and  then 
accompanied  the  other  members  of  the  family  to  Kansas.  Later  he  attended 
the  public  schools  of  Medicine  Lodge,  Barber  county.  At  the  age  of  fourteen 
he  began  to  be  self-supporting  and  from  that  time  he  has  made  his  way  unaided 
in  the  world.  The  Santa  Fe  Railroad  had  a  line  through  his  home  town  and 
offered  an  opportunity  for  an  honest  livelihood  through  day  labor.  At  first 
his  wages  were  very  small,  but  his  worth  found  appreciative  recognition  and 
at  seventeen  he  was  promoted  to  be  a  foreman.  Later  he  was  transferred  from 
Kansas  to  Illinois  as  a  construction  foreman,  after  which  he  was  similarly 
employed  in  Arizona.  During  1899  he  was  transferred  to  Bakersfield  and 
from  this  city  was  sent  north  on  construction  work.  The  year  1900  was 
spent  mainly  in  Hanford.  During  1901  he  returned  to  Bakersfield  and  this 
city  has  since  been  his  home.  For  three  years  he  continued  in  the  railroad 
business.  As  general  foreman  of  construction  he  had  charge  of  construction 
work  between  Bakersfield  and  Fresno. 

Resigning  in  1904  after  a  long  and  honorable  identification  with  railroad 
interests,  Mr.  Hoagland  turned  his  attention  to  other  lines  of  business.  For 
a  time  he  owned  a  cigar  store  and  for  two  and  one-half  years  he  acted  as 
local  manager  for  the  Wieland  brewery,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Hoagland  &  Ross,  wholesale  distributors  of  Rainier 
beer,  manufactured  by  the  Seattle  Brewing  and  Malting  Company.  The 
firm  has  an  agency  at  Mojave  and  a  cold  storage  plant  at  Bakersfield  and 
ships  the  bottled  beer  throughout  all  of  Kern  county.  In  politics  he  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat and  fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Royal  Arch  Lodge  and  also  has 
served  as  president  of  the  Eagles.  By  his  marriage  to  Miss  Maude  Rainer,  a 
resident  of  Bakersfield,  but  a  native  of  Kansas,  he  has  two  children,  Bruce 
and  Helen. 


1428  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

JOHN  HENRY  HARVEY.— The  power  of  determination  and  industry 
in  overcoming  obstacles  appears  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Harvey,  who,  although 
left  an  orphan  in  early  life  and  obliged  to  forego  educational  advantages,  has 
nevertheless  risen  to  a  position  of  influence  in  his  chosen  calling.  His 
mother  had  passed  away  when  he  was  so  small  that  even  the  most  indistinct 
memories  were  lacking  of  her  affection  and  devotion.  The  father,  Thomas, 
an  Irishman  by  birth,  was  most  intensely  loyal  to  the  country  of  his  adop- 
tion and  when  the  Civil  war  began  he  offered  his  services  to  the  Union. 
Enrolled  as  a  private  in  the  Sixteenth  Michigan  Infantry,  he  was  sent  to  the 
front  with  his  regiment,  took  part  in  a  number  of  large  engagements  and 
finally  los:  his  life  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  where  he  was  buried  in  an 
unknown  grave.  The  son,  who  was  born  on  Christmas  day  of  1856  near 
Port  Huron,  St.  Clair  county,  Mich.,  was  thus  left  alone  in  the  world. 
Though  far  too  young  to  be  self-supporting,  he  nevertheless  determined  to 
"paddle  his  own  canoe"  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  lacked  warm 
clothing  and  nourishing  food  he  kept  on  without  disheartenment  and  even 
was  able  to  attend  school  for  several  winters.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
began  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith.  After  completing  his 
trade  he  worked  as  a  blacksmith  during  the  winter  months  in  large  cities  in 
Michigan,  while  in  the  summer  months  he  sailed  on  the  lakes  as  wheelman 
or  quartermaster.  Life  on  the  lakes  interested  him  from  its  constant  variety 
and  its  healthful  nature,  but  when  he  established  domestic  ties  the  desire  to 
be  at  home  caused  him  to  give  up  his  position  as  a  sailor.  Meanwhile  having 
worked  as  a  blacksmi;h  in  the  lumber  woods  and  having  risen  to  be  foreman 
of  the  lumber  camps,  he  had  proved  his  skill  and  efficiency  in  the  occupation 
to  which  he  has  devoted  the  greater  part  of  his  mature  years. 

The  marriage  of  John  Henry  Harvey  and  Miss  Eusebia  A.  Richards,  a 
native  of  Cairo,  Mich.,  but  a  descendant  of  French  ancestry,  took  place  in 
her  home  town,  where  Mr.  Harvey  engaged  in  running  a  blacksmith's  shop. 
Later  he  was  similarly  employed  in  Cass  City  and  then  in  Imlay  City.  Dur- 
ing 1892  he  came  to  California  and  found  employment  at  his  trade  in  Bakers- 
field,  where  in  1895  he  started  a  shop  at  No.  1712  Chester  avenue.  From  a 
very  small  beginning  he  rose  to  the  management  of  a  large  business,  con- 
tinuing at  the  same  location  until  1908,  when  the  Elks!  Hall  was  erected  on 
that  site.  Since  then  he  has  had  his  manufacturing  establishment  at  No. 
230O  Chester  avenue,  the  large  increase  in  his  business  necessitating  an  ex- 
pansion, as  he  has  taken  up  the  manufacture  of  automobile  springs  and 
forgings  in  connection  with  blacksmithing  and  carriage-making.  Electric 
power  is  utilized  and  an  electric  motor  furnishes  the  current  for  the  four 
fires.  Tracks  and  cranes  have  been  installed  and  in  every  respect  the  shop 
has  been  well  equipped,  not  only  for  the  heavy  iron  work  and  repairing  of 
vehicles,  but  also  for  the  repairing  of  bodies,  frames  and  wheels  of  auto- 
mobiles. For  the  manufacture  of  automobile  and  heavy  truck  springs  he 
has  installed  a  spring  rolling  machine  run  by  a  seven  and  a  half  horsepower 
electric  motor,  also  a  gas  oven  for  the  quick  heating  and  tempering  of 
springs,  and  he  has  a  gas  furnace  for  tire-heating  and  setting. 

The  home  of  Mr.  Harvey,  erected  by  himself,  stands  at  the  corner  ot  C 
and  Palm  streets.  His  family  comprises  his  wife  and  three  children,  the 
eldest  of  whom,  LeRoy  Alonzo,  is  a  pianist,  devoting  all  his  time  to  music. 
The  second  son,  Lee  Richards,  is  head  of  the  grocery  firm  of  Harvey  & 
Webber,  in  Bakersfield.  The  youngest  child,  Ina  Aville,  is  a  high-school 
student.  In  national  politics  Mr.  Harvey  is  a  Republican.  While  still  living 
in  Michigan  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  the  blue  lodge  at  Romeo,  and  since 
coming  west  he  has  transferred  his  membership  to  Bakersfield  Lodge  No. 
224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  while  in  addition  he  is  identified  with  the  Woodmen  of  the 
World  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  and  has  been  an  officer 
in  the  local  lodge  of  the  latter  organization. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  142^ 

SARSHEL  VAUGHN  MATHEWS.— A  native  of  Wilmington,  Los  An- 
geles county,  Sarshel  Vaughn  Mathews  has  spent  his  entire  life  in  Southern 
Lalifornia,  where  he  has  seen  many  wonderful  improvements,  and  been 
among  those  who  have  benefited  greatly  by  the  development  which  has 
taken  place  in  this  part  of  the  country.  Earnest,  energetic  and  persevering 
he  has  worked  hard  to  reach  the  point  of  prosperity  he  now  enjoys. 

Theodore  Mathews,  father  of  Sarshel  V.,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
born  in  1827  in  Pittsburgh.  He  served  as  corporal  in  Company  B  of  a  New 
Jersey  regiment  during  the  ]\Iexican  war  and  in  the  early  '50s  came  west  in 
the  employ  of  the  government,  spending  some  time  in  Utah.  In  the  latter 
state  his  marriage  occurred,  shortly  after  his  arrival,  to  Harriet  Burton,  born 
in  England,  and  they  later  removed  to  Oregon,  remaining  there  for  a  number 
of  years,  after  which  they  came  to  California.  Wilmington,  Los  .Angeles 
county,  was  their  place  of  settlement,  Mr.  Mathews  holding  the  position  of 
wagonmas;er  under  the  government,  which  post  he  filled  for  a  long  time. 
He  finally  removed  to  Los  .\ngeles,  where  his  wife  died  in  1903,  and  he 
passed  away  in   1907. 

Sarshel  V.  INIathews  was  born  in  Wilmington,  Los  .Angeles  county, 
October  7,  1866,  and  was  a  small  lad  when  his  parents  removed  to  Los  Nietos, 
in  Los  Angeles  county,  seven  years  later  moving  into  Los  Angeles,  where 
he  attended  the  schools  and  made  his  home  for  many  years.  His  first  occu- 
pation was  on  a  stock  ranch,  but  in  1889  he  went  to  work  for  the  Union 
Lime  Company'  in  San  Bernardino  county,  remaining  there  about  three  years, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  he  entered  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  shops  in 
Los  Angeles.  In  1899  he  came  to  Tehachapi  in  the  capacitv  of  superintend- 
ent for  the  Union  Lime  Company  and  filled  that  position  for  two  years,  re- 
turning then  to  the  shops  in  Los  Angeles  until  1908.  Tehachapi  had  proved 
attractive  to  Mr.  Mathews,  and  after  his  return  he  opened  up  a  quarry  for 
the  city  aqueduct  and  settled  permanently.  .About  the  same  time  he  pur- 
chased thirty  acres  of  apple  land  and  began  improvements,  planting  apples 
and  pears.  The  ranch  is  located  one  and  a  half  miles  from  town  and  has  been 
equipped  with  a  pumping  plant,  with  a  capacity  of  thirty  inches  of  water, 
and  the  property  is  well  cared  for. 

Mr.  Mathews  was  married  in  1901  to  Mabel  Diamond,  a  native  of  Utah, 
and  to  this  union  two  children  were  born,  only  one  of  whom  is  living,  Gert- 
rude, who  is  attending  school  at  Tehachapi.  Airs.  Alathews  is  the  daugh.er 
of  James  and  Alary  Diamond,  both  deceased.  As  a  Repul)lican.  Air.  Mathews 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  politics  of  his  nati\e  state,  and  he  has  served 
as  roadmaster  at  different  periods. 

HOWARD  W.  CARLOCK.— East  Bakersfield,  formerlv  known  as 
Kern,  is  Afr.  Oarlock's  native  place,  and  he  was  born  June  26,  1875,  when 
the  now  flourishing  town  was  a  straggling  hamlet  called  Sumner.  Both  his 
father,  Francis  Marion,  and  his  grandfather  were  pioneers  of  California, 
having  crossed  the  plains  with  ox-teams  and  wagons  during  the  era  of  gold 
excitement  and  afterward  engaged  in  mining  in  the  Sierras. 

The  early  agricultural  settlement  of  Kern  county  found  Francis  M. 
Carlock  actively  engaged  in  cattle  ranching  on  Kern  Island.  For  years  he 
also  engaged  in  freighting  between  Delano  and  Bakersfield,  meanwhile  haul- 
ing the  first  lumber  into  the  latter  town  and  also  into  Sumner.  .After  he 
had  moved  from  Sumner  to  Bakersfield  he  engaged  in  merchandising  on  the 
present  site  of  the  Redlick  building,  on  Eighteenth  street  and  Chester  avenue, 
where  in  1889  he  suffered  a  heavy  loss  from  a  destructive  fire.  Later  he  pur- 
chased a  new  stock  of  goods  and  resumed  business.  .After  he  had  finally 
disposed  of  his  mercantile  enterprises  he  continued  in  the  dray  and  transfer 
business  until  1906,  when  he  retired  to  private  life.  His  wife,  formerly  Miss 
Alarv  Tucker,  came  across  the  plains  with  her  paren's  from  her  native 
locality  in  Pike  county.  Mo.,  and  endured  all  the  hardships  of  the  tedious 


1430  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

journey  made  with  ox-teams  and  wagons  in  company  with  a  large  expedition 
of  emigrants. 

Out  of  a  family  of  seven  children  there  are  only  three  now  living  and 
these  reside  in  Bakersfield,  namely:  Hattie,  H.  W.,  and  Mrs.  Iva  Hayes. 
The  only  son  received  his  early  education  in  the  Sumner  schools  and  con- 
tinued in  school  after  the  family  had  removed  to  Bakersfield,  when  he  was 
about  thirteen  years  of  age.  While  still  a  mere  lad  he  acquired  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  dray  business.  Many  years  ago  the  elder  Mr.  Carlock 
had  built  the  Overland  stables  and,  after  losing  heavily  twice  by  tire,  he 
had  finally  built  new  barns  on  Eighteen  :h  near  Chester.  About  1907  the 
Overland  barn  was  leased  by  the  son,  who  purchased  a  complete  outfit  of 
new  vehicles  and  horses  and  has  since  carried  on  a  large  business.  The 
building  is  large,  having  a  frontage  of  more  than  one  hundred  fee:,  with  a 
depth  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  besides  which  he  leases  a  building  across 
the  street.  The  livery  is  the  largest  in  Bakersfield,  and  more  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  head  of  horses  are  kept  in  the  barn.  Politically  he 
is  a  Republican  and  fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Wocdmen 
of  the  World.  In  Fresno  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Nettie 
McLennan,  who  was  born  in  Illinois,  but  has  been  a  resident  of  California 
from  early  life.     They  have  a  son  Harold,  aged  twenty-one  months. 

H.  ROY  SHEFFLER.— Throughout  practically  his  entire  life  Mr. 
Sheffler  has  been  familiar  witli  the  oil  industry  and  since  the  age  of  sixteen 
years  he  has  earned  his  livelihood  from  the  occupation.  An  early  training 
in  :he  business  came  to  him  under  the  personal  oversight  of  his  father,  Alex- 
ander, a  pioneer  oil  man  in  some  of  the  Pennsylvania  fields,  although  in 
addition  he  also  engaged  to  some  extent  in  general  farming.  The  home  of 
the  family  was  situated  in  Clarion  county.  Pa.,  and  there  the  birth  of  Roy 
Sheffler  occurred  January  10,  1880;  there  he  attended  the  public  schools 
until  he  had  completed  the  grammar  grade  and  there  he  took  his  place 
among  the  busy  workers  in  the  workadav  world.  When  sixteen  years  of 
age  he  secured  a  job  in  an  oil  field  four  miles  from  home.  At  that  time  his 
wages  were  only  $4  per  week,  but  later  he  received  a  gradual  advance  until 
he  was  getting  $1.50  per  day.  From  roustabout  and  errand  boy  he  worked 
up  to  be  a  tool  dresser,  in  which  capacity  he  proved  efficient  and  capable. 
After  having  worked  on  two  wells  in  the  home  field  he  went  to  West  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  remained  for  almost  eight  years,  meanwhile  finding  employ- 
ment successively  in  the  fields  at  Sistersville,  Mannington,  Wolf  Summit  and 
Parkersburg. 

Upon  returning  from  West  Virginia  to  Pennsylvania  and  securing  em- 
ployment at  Bradford,  Mr.  Sheffler  spent  two  years  as  a  tool-dresser  in  gas 
and  oil  wells  in  that  field.  A  similar  position  was  then  filled  for  six  years 
at  Little  Washington,  Pa.,  where  he  was  in  the  employ  of  a  noted  oil  oper- 
ator, who  also  owned  the  Monongahela  Gas  Company.  A  later  venture  led 
him  to  invest  in  a  water-well  rig,  after  which  he  engaged  in  drilling  water 
wells  and  testing  coal  fields,  but  at  the  expiration  of  eighteen  months  he 
went  back  to  oil  drilling  and  tool-dressing.  While  in  Westmoreland  county. 
Pa.,  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Clint  McCall,  for  whom  he  worked  about 
one  year.  Later  he  worked  for  Bob  George  and  George  Evans,  who  in  turn 
were  employed  by  Andrew  Carnegie.  In  1902,  while  still  making  Pennsyl- 
vania his  home  and  business  headquarters,  he  married  Miss  Annie  Mat- 
thews, daughter  of  George  Matthews,  of  Washington  county,  that  state, 
where  their  marriage  was  solemnized.  Accompanied  by  his  wife  he  came  to 
California  in  1910,  and  established  a  home  at  Maricopa.  Here  he  entered 
the  employ  of  E.  S.  Good  and  acted  as  chief  driller  on  the  twenty-acre  lease 
of  the  El  Dora  Oil  Company,  on  section  32,  township  12,  range  23,  where 
he  drilled  two  excellent  wells,  one  at  a  depth  of  twenty-three  hundred  and 
eight  feet  and  the  other  twenty-four  hundred  feet  deep.     On  August  1,  1913, 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1431 

he  gave  up  his  position  with  tlie  El  Dora,  and  is  now  drilling  for  the  Spreckels 
Oil  Company.  His  experience  as  a  driller  in  California  and  Pennsylvania 
has  given  him  a  technical  knowledge  of  every  detail  connected  with  the 
work,  and  in  addition  he  engaged  as  a  driller  for  a  short  time  in  Illinois  at 
Robinson.  Since  coming  west  he  has  saved  his  earnings  and  invested  in 
property,  being  now  the  owner  of  a  ranch  of  twenty  acres  north  of  Bakers- 
field  and  thus  substantially  identified  with  Kern  county  not  only  as  an  oil 
man,  liut  also  as  a  property  owner. 

JAMES  C.  GRANT.— The  foreman  of  the  machine  shop  of  the  Cali- 
fornia Oil  Well  Supply  Company  at  Taft  is  a  member  of  an  old  Pennsylvania 
family  and  traces  his  lineage  to  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  from  which  city  the 
forebears  of  Gen.  \J.  S.  Grant  also  immigrated  to  the  L'nited  States.  The 
old  homestead  in  Butler  county.  Pa.,  remained  in  the  ]50ssession  of  the 
family  through  several  genera ;ions.  There  his  father,  Alexander  B.  Grant, 
died  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years;  there  his  own  birth  occurred  December 
23,  1858,  and  there  too  his  only  son.  Fred  D.,  was  born.  Aside  from  the 
endearing  associations  of  youth,  the  farm  itself  has  had  a  unique  history, 
for  upon  it  were  developed  the  first  oil  and  gas  wells  in  that  locality,  and 
the  ;ract  of  one  hundred  and  eight  acres  for  years  presented  scenes  of  stirring 
industry.  Other  wells  later  were  developed  in  the  name  neighborhood  dur- 
ing the  '80s,  and  when  Mr.  Grant  made  a  trip  back  to  the  old  Pennsylvania 
home  twenty  years  after  the  era  of  the  first  excitement,  he  was  surprised  to  find 
these  same  pioneer  wells  s;ill  producing  gas  and  oil  in  paying  quantities. 

The  marriage  of  .Alexander  B.  Grant  united  him  with  Elizabeth  Ervin, 
who,  physically  and  mentally  alert  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  is  still  a  resi- 
dent of  Harmony,  Butler  county,  Pa.  The  family  consisted  of  six  children. 
One  of  these,  a  daughter,  died  at  Oil  City,  Pa.,  at  the  age  of  eight  years. 
The  five  survivors  are  as  follows:  James  C,  of  California;  Flora  M.,  who 
married  James  \\'elsh.  a  hardware  dealer  of  Harmony,  Pa.;  Samuel  D.,  a 
machinist  employed  in  Denver,  Colo.;  Etta  E.,  wife  of  John  Klofenstein,  of 
Harmony,  Pa. ;  and  John  A.,  a  machinist  now  employed  at  Miles  City,  Mont. 
Born  December  23,  18.^8,  James  C.  Grant  received  a  public-school  education 
at  Six  Points,  Butler  county,  and  as  early  as  1882  aided  on  the  building  of 
derricks  on  the  home  farm.  In  addition  to  being  one  of  the  crew  of  four 
men  who  dug  the  first  well,  he  personally  carried  one-fourth  interest  in  the 
enterprise.  Six  wells  were  drilled  on  his  father's  farm  and  in  addition  he 
worked  on  nine  other  wells  in  the  same  neighborhood. 

From  the  oil  fields  of  Butler  county  going  to  West  Virginia.  Mr.  Grant 
settled  at  Parkersburg  and  engaged  in  the  building  of  a  machine  shop  for  the 
Oil  Well  Supply  Company,  into  whose  service  he  had  entered  prior  to  re- 
moval from  Pennsylvania.  After  the  shop  at  Parkersburg  had  been  com- 
pleted and  the  machinery  installed,  Mr.  Grant  remained  for  one  year  for 
the  purpose  of  testing  out  the  plant  and  put;ing  it  in  first-class  running 
order.  Next  he  built  a  machine  shop  at  Weston,  Lewis  county,  W.  Va. 
After  the  plant  had  been  put  into  working  operation  with  the  necessary 
machinery  he  was  sent  by  the  company  to  Woodsfield,  Monroe  county,  Ohio, 
where  he  built,  equipped  and  started  a  machine  shop.  Upon  the  completion 
of  the  plant  he  was  ordered  to  St.  Mary's,  Pleasants  county,  W.  Va.,  where 
he  erected,  equipped  and  put  into  running  order  a  large  machine  sjiop, 
making  two  complete  plants  established  within  one  year.  A  shop  that 
previously  had  been  erected  at  Cairo.  Ritchie  county,  W.  Va.,  he  inventoried, 
purchased  and  put  into  working  operation,  after  which  for  a  time  he  super- 
intended all  of  the  five  shops.  He  became  a  powerful  factor  in  the  success  of 
the  company.  The  shops  that  he  built  were  conducted  with  profit  to  the 
concern  and  established  his  own  reputation  for  skill  as  a  machinist  and  su- 
perintendent. 

In   the    interests    of   the    William    Kavanaugh    Company,    of    Pittsburgh, 


1432  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

during  1904  Mr.  Grant  went  to  Kansas,  leased  a  tract  of  ground  at  Chanute 
from  the  San;a  Fe  Railroad  Company  and  erected  a  shop  for  oil-well  ma- 
chinery. When  the  plant  had  been  completed  he  remained  to  put  it  into 
successful  operation.  After  a  year  he  was  sent  to  Oklahoma  in  the  interests 
of  the  National  Drill  and  Manufacturing  Company,  manufacturers  of  drill- 
ing and  fishing  tools.  Arriving  ac  Tulsa,  he  rented  land  from  the  Frisco 
Railroad  Company,  erected  a  shop,  equipped  the  plant  and  put  it  in  running 
order.  Through  his  instrumentality  the  Oil  Well  Supply  Company  was 
induced  to  buy  the  plant,  and  it  has  proved  to  be  their  best-paying  shop. 
The  next  work  of  Mr.  Grant  was  done  in  New  Mexico,  where  he  spent  two 
years,  meanwhile  with  a  brother,  John  A.,  putting  in  three  portable  drilling 
machines  and  drilling  a  number  of  artesian  wells  in  the  Pecos  valley. 

The  company  transferred  Mr.  Grant  to  their  Los  Angeles  headquarters 
and  he  arrived  in  that  city  May  30,  1908,  af:er  which  he  was  employed  in  the 
stock-room  of  the  concern  until  transferred  to  Taft  July  22,  1909,  for  the 
purpose  of  building  the  machine  shop.  A  year  was  devoted  to  the  building 
of  the  store-house.  During  his  second  year  at  Taft  the  company  decided  to 
pu:  in  a  stock  of  fishing  tools,  with  him  in  charge.  Next  it  was  decided  to 
build  the  machine  shop  and  the  latter  has  been  in  operation  now  for  two 
years  (since  1911),  electricity  being  used  for  motive  power.  On  short 
notice  the  company  is  prepared  to  do  every  kind  of  work  in  the  oil  fields, 
including  the  building  of  derricks,  the  laying  of  pipe  lines,  the  building  of 
oil  tanks,  the  drilling,  shooting  or  cleaning  of  wells  and  ;he  handling  of  the 
product.  The  foreman  exercises  the  most  painstaking  oversight  in  every 
department  of  the  business.  Prompt,  dependable,  accurate  and  honest,  he 
has  built  up  a  large  patronage  for  the  company  of  which  he  is  an  old  and 
trusted  employe.  Since  coming  to  Taf:  he  has  erected  a  neat  residence  and 
here  he  and  his  wife,  formerly  Rebecca  Artman,  of  Westmoreland  county, 
Pa,  have  established  themselves  comfortably.  The  only  daughter.  Miss 
Nellie,  is  engaged  as  cashier  in  the  store  of  Heard  &  Painter.  The  only 
son,  Fred  D.,  makes  his  headquarters  at  Torrance,  Cal.,  where  he  has  charge 
of  the  fitting  department  of  :he  Union  Tool  Comoany.  The  family  are  iden- 
tified with  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  Mr.  Grant  has  been  one  of  the 
leaders  of  that  work  in  Taft.  where  he  has  served  the  church  as  chairman 
of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  in  addition  has  rendered  the  most  efficient 
service  as  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school. 

FRANCOIS  BERNARD.— The  proprietor  of  the  Tehachapi  hotel,  Frank 
Bernard,  has  been  associated  with  that  town  and  its  af^'airs  since  1907.  He 
was  born  in  Taurrontes,  county  of  Orcirrise,  Hautes-Alpes,  France,  Decem- 
ber 13,  1868,  and  there  he  attended  school  and  spent  his  youthful  days. 
With  his  studies  came  a  desire  to  read  and  a  yearning  to  see  the  country 
in  which  he  found  himself  most  interested,  and  in  1887  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  traveling  directly  to  Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  where  he  remained  for 
a  short  time.  Bakersfield,  Kern  county,  was  his  next  place  of  residence, 
and  after  staying  there  for  about  two  years  he  went  to  Invo  county  for  a 
year.  Then  he  removed  to  ]\Iontana,  where  as  a  ranch  hand  and  sheep 
herder  he  became  thorouehly  experienced.  The  next  year  he  went  to  Wyo- 
ming and  followed  ranching  and  sheep  raising  on  his  own  account  for  nine 
years,  finding  it  most  profiiable  as  an  industry.  A  longing  for  the  homeland 
took  him  back  to  France  and  there  in  1905  occurred  his  marriage  to  Marie 
Pellisson. 

Returning  to  the  LTnited  States  in  the  year  of  his  marriage,  Mr.  Bernard 
spent  about  one  year  in  Montana,  afterward  was  in  Delano  for  a  short  time, 
but  since  1907  has  been  a  resident  of  Tehachapi.  Buying  out  the  hotel  he  set 
to  work  to  make  many  improvements  and  build  up  a  sood  business,  and  his 
ambitious  efforts  have  not  been  expended  in  vain.  The  Tehachapi  hotel  is 
nicely  equipped  in  all  details  and  gives  general  satisfaction  to  all  its  visitors 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COUNTY  1433 

and  guests.  Mr.  Bernard  votes  the  Republican  ticket,  and  he  takes  a  deep 
in:erest  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  city's  benefit. 

The  parents  of  Vr.  r.ernard,  Francois  and  Rosalea  (Garnea)  Bernard, 
both  passed  away  in  France.  His  wife,  Marie  (Pcllisson)  Bernard  was  the 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Angelina  (Reymond)  Pellisson,  who  are  still  living 
in  France.  Two  children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  Bernard  and  his  wife,  viz.: 
Francois,  Jr.,  and  Edward. 

MARY  ELIZABETH  M.  STAPR— A  splendid  example  of  the  capable, 
energetic  business  woman  is  Mrs.  ]\Iary  Elizabeth  (Mitchell)  Stapp,  of  Ba- 
kerstield,  where  she  is  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business. 

Mrs.  Stapp  was  born  in  Bracken  county,  Ky.,  the  daughter  of  Isaac 
and  Mary  E.  (Henry)  Mitchell.  Mr.  Mitchell  was  born  in  Ohio,  and  worked 
as  merchanc  tailor  for  some  years,  but  on  account  of  poor  health  was  obliged 
to  give  this  up,  and  later  was  a  steward  on  the  Ohio  river.  Deciding  to  take 
up  farming  he  accordingly  settled  on  a  farm  in  Indiana,  near  Terre  Haute, 
going  from  there  to  Illiopolis,  111.,  where  he  remained  until  1884.  He  then 
brought  his  family  to  California,  arriving  in  Bakersfield  on  October  9  of 
that  year.  Here  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life,  becoming  largely  in- 
terested in  real  estate  here  and  in  East  Bakersfield.  His  death  occurred  in 
1901.  The  wife  of  Isaac  Mitchell,  who  was  born  in  Kentucky,  passed  away 
at  the  birth  of  her  daughter,  Mary  Elizabeth,  in  Bracken  county.  Mr. 
Mitchell  was  a  Mason  fraternally. 

Mrs.  Mary  Elizabeth  (Mitchell)  Stapp  was  the  only  child  of  her  parents' 
union.  She  was  brought  up  in  Kentucky  and  Illinois,  attending  the  schools 
of  the  locali;y,  and  came  with  her  father  to  California  in  1884.  She  has 
interested  herself  in  the  real  estate  business,  has  built  several  residences  m 
East  Bakersfield,  one  a  large  rooming  house,  and  she  owns  the  corner  of 
Kentucky  and  King  streets.  She  is  the  wife  of  W.  C.  Stapp,  a  native  of 
Grass  Valley,  Cal.,  who  is  a  steam-shovel  engineer. 

Mrs.  Stapp  is  a  splendid  type  of  womanhood,  and  though  she  fills  a 
man's  position  in  business  she  has  retained  all  the  finer  elements  which  rep- 
resent refinement  and  culture.  She  is  a  lover  of  art  and  from  young  woman- 
hood took  up  painting,  in  which  she  now  excells  and  she  makes  a  specialty 
of  painting  velvet  pillow  tops  and  painting  on  glass,  from  which  she  reaps 
both  pleasure  and  profit. 

GEORGE  W.  DERBY.— Although  by  no  means  belonging  to  the  .pioneer 
element  of  Kern  county,  Mr.  Derby  readily  is  accorded  a  position  among  die 
most  progressive  citizens  and  energetic  ranchers  in  this  favored  region. 
From  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Bakersfield,  some  time  during  February  of 
1899,  he  has  kept  in  touch  with  every  movement  for  the  upbuilding  of  the 
city  and  county,  has  kept  in  mind  the  uncontes;ed  fact  that  the  locality 
offers  unsurpassed  opportunities  for  business,  for  the  oil  industry  and  for 
agriculture,  has  maintained  an  exceptionally  clear  insight  into  business  meth- 
ods and  with  characteristic  nerve,  energy  and  ability  has  risked  much  in 
order  that  he  migh:  gain  much.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  at  three  separate 
times  and  from  three  diiiferent  parties  he  has  bousrht  two  hundred  and  eighty 
acres  situated  on  section  24,  township  31.  range  28,  which  tract  he  now  owns 
and  operates,  devoting  his  mental  abilities  and  physical  strength  to  the  trans- 
formation of  the  tract  into  a  productive,  remunerative  ranch. 

A  native  of  Lapeer  county,  Mich.,  born  July  29,  1867,  George  W.  Derby 
grew  to  manhood  in  Kansas  and  in  that  state  received  a  common-school  edu- 
cation. Upon  starting  out  in  the  world  for  himself  he  came  to  California 
in  1889  and  secured  employment  by  the  day  or  month  in  Tehama  county. 
In  a  short  time  he  removed  to  Santa  Clara  county,  where  he  spent  nine  years 
as  a  workman  in  and  around  San  Jose,  acting  as  agent  for  an  ice  company  in 
that  city.  From  San  Jose  he  came  to  Bakersfielel  for  ten  years  after  his  arrival 
in  California.     At  once  he  was  impressed  with  the  resources  of  the  region. 


1434  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

At  the  time  of  his  arrival  Bakersfield  was  a  village  of  shacks,  but  the  devel- 
opment of  the  oil  industry  caused  the  town  to  develop  a  boom  and  this  gave 
him  steady  employment  in  contracting  and  building  to  provide  quarters  for 
incoming  setders.  Meanwhile  he  often  visited  the  oil  fields  and  constantly 
studied  conditions  there.  As  a  result  he  invested  financially  in  the  west 
side  district.  He  still  owns  a  one-half  interest  in  one-half  section  of  deeded 
lands  now  leased  to  the  Standard  Oil  Company,  and  in  addition  he  has  in- 
vested in  other  properties  loca;ed  on  other  sections.  He  now  has  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  in  an  excellent  stand  of  alfalfa  hay,  while  during  the 
crop  year  of  1912  he  had  sixty  acres  in  corn,  the  whole  bringing  him  fair 
returns.  On  coming  to  the  Weed  Patch  he  found  his  greatest  need  to  be 
facilities  for  irrigation.  Accordingly  he  has  drilled  five  wells  one  hundred 
and  ninety  feet  deep,  from  which  great  s;reams  of  water  are  pumped  by 
means  of  two  Bessemer  engines.  One  of  these  has  twenty-five  horse-power 
and  the  other,  furnishes  forty  horse-power.  He  was  the  pioneer  rancher  to 
demonstrate  the  feasibility  of  irrigating  land  in  this  part  of  Kern  county  from 
wells  by  means  of  pumps. 

Mr.  Derby  and  his  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1895  and  who  was  formerly 
Miss  E.  Alice  Hunt,  of  San  Jose,  have  made  iheir  home  most  of  the  time  in 
Kern  county. 

R.  L.  BEWLEY.— Shortly  after  coming  to  Taft  in  1910,  Mr.  Bewley 
bought  out  the  interest  of  VV.  E.  Pennell  in  the  blacksmith  shop  of  Pennell 
and  Massa  and  later  he  purchased  the  interest  of  Lawrence  Massa,  thereby 
acquiring  the  complete  ownership  of  the  plan:.  During  1912,  his  quarters 
being  insufficient  for  the  demands  of  his  growing  trade,  he  rebuilt  on  Center 
street,  where  now  he  has  a  galvanized  building  50x118  feet  in  dimensions, 
ecjuipped  with  every  modern  convenience  for  blacksmithing  and  general 
repair  work.  Skill  as  a  mechanic  has  given  him  the  confidence  of  users  of 
automobiles,  who  find  him  thoroughly  trustworthy  in  the  care  and  super- 
vision of  cars.  To  aid  him  in  repair  work  he  keeps  on  hand  all  kinds  of 
automobile  forgings  and  springs.  Besides  furnishing  s;orage  and  gasoline 
for  cars  owned  by  others  he  has  the  Kern  county  agency  for  the  Vulcan  car. 
The  care  and  repair  and  sale  of  automobiles  do  not  represent  the  limit  of  his 
enterprise,  for  in  addition  he  maintains  three  forges  in  his  blacksmith  shop 
and  with  the  help  of  skilled  assistants  he  is  prepared  to  do  horse-shoeing 
expeditiously  and  skillfully. 

Of  Pennsylvanian  bir;h  and  parentage,  R.  L.  Bewley  was  born  in  Craw- 
ford county,  nine  miles  south  of  Corry,  on  January  30,  1880.  The  home 
town  was  Spartansburg  and  there  he  attended  the  public  schools.  During 
1899  he  apprenticed  himself  for  three  years  under  P.  M.  Nelson,  owner  of  a 
blacksmith  and  machine  shop  at  Oil  City,  Pa.  For  the  first  three  months 
he  received  no  remuneration.  During  the  next  twelve  mon;hs  he  was  paid 
S2.50  per  week.  Thereafter  he  received  a  slight  increase  in  pay  each  month 
until  at  the  end  of  his  apprenticeship  he  was  being  paid  $2  per  day.  On 
the  expiration  of  his  time  he  went  to  Tidioute,  Warren  county.  Pa.,  where 
he  worked  as  a  machinist.  From  that  place  he  went  to  other  parts  of  the 
state  as  a  journeyman.  One  winter  was  spent  at  Meadville  and  he  gained 
familiarity  with  heavy  machine  work  in  the  shops  of  the  Erie  Railroad  Com- 
pany there.  From  Pennsylvania  he  went  to  West  Virginia  to  work 
for  the  Ferguson  Construction  Company  near  Burnsville,  and  in  a  short  time 
he  rose  to  be  a  foreman,  serving  in  that  capacity  in  three  dififerent  camps  of 
that  company.  Encouraged  by  success  as  a  foreman,  he  decided  to  embark 
in  business  for  himself.  Returning  to  his  home  town  of  Spartansburg,  Pa., 
he  operated  a  blacksmith  and  repair  shop  until  he  entered  the  employ  of  the 
State  Hospital  Association  as  engineer  and  mechanic  in  their  shops. 

Upon  resigning  that  position  Mr.  Bewle}'  came  to  California  during 
March  of  1910,  and  from  Los  Angeles  proceeded  direct  to  Taft,  where  ever 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  14.1^ 

since  he  has  engaged  in  the  hhicksniith  and  repair  business.  In  this  town  he 
has  built  a  coaage  lor  his  family.  In  his  home  town  of  .Spartansburg,  I'a., 
in  l'^05,  he  married  Miss  Grace  AI.  Caral,  by  whom  he  has  two  children, 
Celess  A.  and  Robert  LeRoy. 

F.  S.  COOK.— The  business  interests  of  Taft  have  a  capable  representa- 
tive in  the  well-known  plumber,  F.  S.  Cook,  whose  office  and  workshop  are 
located  in  the  Mariposa  building  and  whose  long  experience  in  the  plumbnig 
business,  especially  as  connected  with  oil  fields,  qualifies  him  for  a  rising 
patronage  in  such  a  city  as  Taft.  Work  in  oil  districts  has  taken  him  intc 
differen:  parts  of  the  country.  His  childhood  years  were  passed  in  Catta- 
raugus county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was  born  March  12,  1886,  and  where  he  at- 
tended the  public  schools.  Ever  since  he  was  fifteen  he  has  been  self-sup- 
porting. Before  he  had  reached  man's  estate  he  was  an  expert  steam-fitter 
and  could  repair  gas  engines  with  a  skill  and  promptness  unexcelled  by  older 
hands.  Primarily  introduced  to  the  oil  industry  through  werk  as  a  rou.st- 
about  in  :he  fields  of  Monroe  county,  Ohio,  he  later  had  considerable  expe- 
rience in  well-known  districts  of  West  Virginia,  Oklahoma,  Indian  Territory 
and  Pennsylvania,  where  he  became  familiar  with  every  phase  of  the  work 
and  with  the  varying  possibilities  of  production  in  different  fields.  Mean- 
while he  specialized  in  plumbing  and  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
trade,  so  that  when  he  came  to  California  and  to  Bakersfield  in  lyoy  he 
experienced  no  difficulty  in  securing  employment  at  a  fair  compensation. 

The  Gundlach  Tank  Company,  for  which  Mr.  Cook  worked  as  a  journey- 
man in  Bakersfield,  sent  him  to  Taft  in  1911  to  take  charge  of  a  branch  busi- 
ness at  this  point.  Discerning  the  excellent  opening  for  a  plumbing  shop 
he  established  himself  in  business  in  February,  1913,  and  has  since  given  a 
number  of  plumbing  contracts  of  considerable  importance.  Exact  in  all 
work,  industrious  in  disposition,  careful  in  the  filling  of  contrac:s  and  ex- 
perienced as  to  the  best  methods  of  sanitation,  he  is  winning  recognition  as 
a  plumber  and  has  every  reason  to  be  gratified  with  the  progress  thus  far 
made   in   occiinative   advancement. 

ALEXANDER  CARVER.— The  cattle  industry  in  Kern  county  had  an 
able  representative  in  the  late  Alexander  Carver,  who  was  born  in  Calaveras 
county  in  18.^7,  the  son  of  Joel  and  L.  J.  Carver,  the  latter  also  represented  in 
this  work.  Coming  to  Kern  county  with  his  parents  in  1869,  he  here  attended 
the  public  schools  and  in  1876  graduated  from  Healds  Business  College  in 
San  Francisco.  From  a  boy  he  learned  the  stock  business,  riding  the  range 
and  after  the  death  of  his  father  he  ran  his  mother's  cattle  at  the  same  time 
starting  a  small  herd  (f  his  own  which  gradually  grew  to  such  proportions 
he  found  it  necessary  to  give  it  all  of  his  time.  He  then  purchased  the  nucleus 
of  his  ranch  about  fourteen  miles  east  of  Delano,  afterwards  adding  to  it  until 
it  contained  over  thirty-five  hundred  acres.  This  he  improved  with  fences, 
wells  and  buildings  and  here  he  raised  cattle,  grain  and  hay,  but  more  par- 
ticularlv  encaged  in  growing  cattle  of  the  Shorthorn  variety  until  his  death, 
June  27,  1912.' 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Carver  recurred  in  Visalia  January  5.  1893,  uniting 
him  with  Miss  Eugenie  E.  Woody,  who  was  born  at  Woody,  Kern  county, 
and  in  this  county  she  was  reared  and  educated.  She  is  the  eldest  daughter  of 
the  late  Dr.  Sparrell  Woody,  a  pioneer  and  one  of  Kern  county's  foremost  men. 
(See  biographies  of  S.  A.  and  E.  H.  Woody.)  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Carver  were 
born  six  children:  Inez  L.  and  Ira  J.,  both  graduates  of  the  Berkeley  High 
School;  Lorene  E.,  Marguerite  M.,  Carl  T.  and  Vernon  L. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Carver's  death  his  widow  sold  the  stock  and  leased  the 
ranch,  removing  with  her  family  to  Berkeley,  where  she  built  a  comfortable 
home  at  No.  1617  Spruce  street.  A  woman  of  high  ideals  and  religious  con- 
viction, she  is  a  devoted  member  of  the  Christian  Church. 

BENEDITTO  ARDIZZI.— The  late  Beneditto  Ardizzi,  or  as  he  was  more 


1436  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

familiarly  known,  "Ben"  Ardizzi,  was  born  in  Canton  Ticino,  Switzerland,  and 
was  there  educated  in  the  public  schools.  His  father  was  an  extensive  mer- 
chant in  Lagarno,  Switzerland,  and  Ben  became  familiar  with  the  mercantile 
business  in  boyhood.  Becoming  interested  in  California  he  came  here  at 
fourteen  years  of  age  and  from  San  Francisco  went  immediately  to  the  mines 
in  the  Sierras.  He  was  also  in  the  Frazier  river  country  when  the  excite- 
ment was  at  its  height.  On  his  return  to  California  he  settled  in  Bear  valley, 
Mariposa  county,  and  with  a  partner,  Victor  Amy,  engaged  in  the  hotel 
business  and  also  followed  mining.  Afterwards  they  carried  on  the  same 
business  in  Snelling  until  the  Southern  Pacific  was  built  to  Delano,  Kern 
county,  when  they  established  a  store  and  restaurant  there.  When  the  railroad 
was  continued  into  Sumner,  now  East  Bakersfield,  they  started  a  store  which 
afterwards  grew  to  such  large  proportions  that  today  it  is  one  of  the  most 
extensive  mercantile  establishments  in  the  county.  The  firm  was  Amy  & 
Ardizzi  until  the  death  of  the  former  in  1881,  when  Luis  Olcese  became  a 
partner  and  business  has  since  been  done  under  the  name  of  the  Ardizzi- 
Olcese  Co. 

In  1887  Air.  Ardizzi  married  Mrs.  A.  Park,  who  in  maidenhood  was  Son- 
tine  DePauli,  born  in  Bear  valley  the  daughter  of  a  California  pioneer  and  a 
sister  of  James  DePauli  also  born  there.  After  Mr.  DePauli  com  ileted  his 
studies  at  the  University  of  California  in  1888  he  came  to  Kern  ciunty  and 
became  associated  with  the  Ardizzi-Olcese  Co.,  of  which  from  1897  until  his 
death,  May  30,  19C8,  he  was  president  and  manager.  He  married  Leonora 
Gazzola,  by  whom  he  had  two  children,  Thelma  and  James.  Fraternally  he 
was  an  Elk  and  as  a  citizen  was  highly  esteemed.  For  some  years  he  served 
as  a  trustee  of  Kern  city  and  part  of  the  time  was  president  of  the  b  ard.  By 
her  first  marriage  Mrs.  Ardizzi  had  two  daughters,  Etta,  wife  of  Dr.  J.  M. 
Kane,  of  Oakland,  and  Millie,  Mrs.  A.  Rudgear  of  San  Francisco. 

Ben  Ardizzi  died  at  his  home  in  Sumner  July  31,  1895,  while  his  wife 
passed  away  in  Oakland  March  20,  1900.  Mr.  Ardizzi  was  a  member  of  Bakers- 
field  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  he  was  buried  with  Masonic  honors. 
Politically  he  was  a  Democrat. 

REV.  EDWARD  MORGAN.— St.  Paul's  Church  at  Bakersfield  owes  its 
organization,  and  in  fact  its  early  development,  to  Rev.  D.  O.  Kelley,  whose 
congregation  erected  a  small  frame  church  on  Seventeenth  street  before  1898, 
later  also  building  a  chapel  in  Rosedale.  It  was  in  the  latter  year  that  the  Rev. 
Edward  Morgan,  whose  name  heads  this  article,  became  rector  of  St.  Paul's, 
and  he  immediately  put  forth  efforts  to  acquire  more  land,  subsequently  build- 
ing the  present  church  on  the  corner  of  I  and  Seventeenth  streets  on  a  prop- 
erty about  double  the  size  of  the  former  site.  This  consisted  of  a  substantial 
brick  edifice  which  has  proved  a  credit  to  the  builders  and  a  source  of  satis- 
factirn  to  the  city.  The  old  frame  church  was  moved  to  Kern  city  and  placed 
on  land  donated  by  the  Pacific  Improvement  Company  and  named  St.  Bar- 
nabas Chapel.  The  Rev.  Edward  Morgan  also  procured  a  property  in  the 
Greenfield  district,  where  he  built  All  Saints'  Chapel. 

While  in  Bakersfield  Father  Morgan  purchased  property  on  Chester 
avenue,  and  when  the  growth  of  the  city  justified  he  built  the  Morgan  jjlock, 
a  two-story  brick  and  ccncrete  building,  consisting  of  stores  and  offices,  at  a 
cost  of  $36,500.  This  is  considered  a  valuable  addition  to  the  business  build- 
ings in  Bakersfield,  and  is  a  splendid  structure  throughout. 

The  Rev.  Edward  Morgan  belongs  to  a  family  many  of  whose  members 
have  won  merited  recognition  in  the  world,  bringing  honor  and  glory  to  the 
name.  Born  in  County  Cork.  Ireland,  he  was  the  son  of  Anthony  and  Eliz- 
abeth (Tymonds)  Morgan,  the  former  an  officer  in  the  British  army  who  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  Crimean  war  at  Alma,  Inkerman  and  Sebastopol 
to  such  a  degree  that  Queen  Victoria  conferred  upon  him  three  clasps  and  a 


HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY  1437 

medal,  and  he  also  received  a  medal  frum  the  Sultan  uf  Turkey.  A  brother 
of  the  Rev.  Edward  Morgan,  by  name  Lieut.  Col.  A.  Hickman  Morgan,  D.S.O., 
was  well  known  in  Her  Majesty's  Army.  The  Morgan  family  were  originally 
from  HerefLTdshire,  but  removed  from  there  to  Ireland  during  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth.  The  Tymonds  were  an  old  family  in  County  Duldin  but  of 
English  descent. 

Primarily  educated  by  private  tutors,  upon  coming  to  San  l'"rancisco  the 
Rev.  Edward  Morgan  studied  for  holy  orders  under  the  Rt.  Rev.  William 
F.  Nichols,  Bishop  of  Calif. -rnia,  later  was  a  student  at  the  General  Theological 
Seminary  in  New  York  City,  and  then  did  special  work  at  Columbia  College. 
Seventeen  years  ago  he  was  ordained  deacon  at  St.  Matthews  Church,  San 
Mateo,  and  one  year  later  was  ordained  priest  at  the  Cathedral  Mission  of  the 
Good  Samaritan,  at  Second  and  Folsom  streets.  There  he  worked  under  the 
Rev.  William  I.  Kiip,  grands  n  of  the  first  Bishop  of  California,  who  had 
passed  through  San  Jcaquin  valley  before  there  were  any  settlers  where  now 
stands  the  city  of  Bakersfield,  being  escorted  by  soldiers  for  protection  from 
the  Indians.  Soon  afterward  he  was  called  to  Bakersfield  as  rector  of  St. 
Paul's  parish,  and  there  he  remained  until  1903,  imparting  his  broad  influence 
for  good  throughout  the  community,  lending  his  aid  to  suiTering  humanity 
and  bringing  peace  and  comfort  wherever  he  went.  As  a  reward  for  his  efforts 
in  1505  he  became  Senior  Currr  at  St.  Agnes  Chapel,  Trinity  parish.  New 
York  City,  but  in  February,  1907,  he  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  took 
charge  of  St.  Luke's  parish,  which  under  his  gu'dance  has  since  erected  a 
beautiful  new  church  and  is  now  one  of  the  most  prospercius  and  well  known 
churches  in  the  city. 

THE  PETROLEUM  CLUB.— March  1,  1912.  a  number  of  oil  men  from 
the  Midway  field  were  discussing  matters  of  general  interest  pertaining  to  their 
work.  Certain  matters  they  desired  to  discuss  confidentially,  but  there  was  no 
convenient  place  for  a  meeting.  Someone  then  suggested  a  club  C(  mposed  of 
oil  men.  E.  D.  Gillette  was  asked  to  convene  the  oil  men  of  the  community 
and  March  4,  1912,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  office  of  the  Western  Water 
Company,  attended  by  the  following-named  gentlemen:  E.  D.  Gillette,  W.  A 
Fisher,  J.  W.  Squires,  William  McDufifie,  E.  H.  Edwards,  C.  S.  Crary  and  A. 
W.  Albrecht.  A  committee  on  constituti(  n  and  by-laws  was  ap  )ointed.  It  was 
decided  to  organize  a  club  and  the  name  Midway  Club  was  temporarily 
adopted,  the  same  being  afterward  changed  to  the  present  title.  By  resolution 
a  membership  fee  of  $?5  was  adopted,  with  a  monthly  fee  of  $5.  The  follow- 
ing officers  were  elected:  E.  D.  Gillette,  president;  William  McDuffie,  vice- 
president;  C.  S.  Crary,  treasurer;  and  A.  W.  Albrecht,  secretary.  The  second 
meeting  was  held  Alarch  12  in  Mr.  Albrecht's  <  ffice.  At  the  third  meeting, 
March  18,  the  question  of  location  was  discussed  and  it  developed  that  it  was 
impossible  to  secure  a  hall.  Some  then  presented  the  plan  of  erecting  a  build- 
ing of  their  own.  At  the  same  meeting  articles  of  incorporation  were  pre- 
sented and  the  certificate  of  incorporatii.n  bears  date  of  March  27,  1912.  The 
niembership  soon  grew  to  twenty-five  members.  The  by-laws  were  adopted 
March  23,  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors. 

A  s^ecial  committee  and  later  a  house  committee  considered  the  question 
of  building.  On  the  15th  of  April  this  c(  mmittee  recommended  the  purchase  of 
lots  13,  14,  15  and  16,  block  18,  townsite  of  Moron  (now  Taft),  from  the 
Southern  Pacific  Company,  together  with  the  purchase  of  lot  12,  same  block, 
from  Mr.  Savage.  The  recommendatii  n  passed  by  vote.  At  a  later  meeting 
plans  for  a  building  were  discussed  and  those  by  E.  D.  Ferrell,  architect,  were 
adopted.  The  north  end  of  the  building,  consisting  of  the  main  living  room, 
30x40,  with  hardwood  floors,  was  erected  in  1912  at  a  cost  of  $13,000.  The 
bungalow  style  makes  an  attractive  extericjr,  while  the  interior  appointments 


1438  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

are  those  of  a  modern,  first-class  club  and  already  $19,000  has  been  expended. 
At  the  present  time  the  membership  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five. 

Saturday,  May  10,  1913,  the  jMerchants'  Association  of  San  Francisco, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  strong,  visited  Taft  and  were  entertained  at  a 
banquet  by  the  club.  Opening  night,  September  7,  1912,  an  impromptu  pro- 
gram of  local  soeakers  and  a  banquet  made  a  delightful  function  for  the 
members  and  their  gentlemen  guests.  Ab( :ut  once  in  two  months  there  is  a 
ladies'  night.  Every  Tuesday  afternoon  the  Woman's  Improvement  Club  of 
Taft  holds  its  social  and  business  meetings  at  the  Club,  which  more  and  more 
is  becoming  a  social  center  for  the  city.  The  present  ofificers  are  as  follows: 
E.  D.  Gillette,  president;  E.  B.  Latham,  vice-president;  T.  O.  May,  treasurer; 
and  A.  W.  Albrecht,  secretary. 

The  latest  venture  of  the  Club  is  the  publication  of  the  Petroleum  Re- 
porter (independent),  the  first  number  of  which  appeared  July  8,  1913.  In 
putting  out  such  a  publication  the  members  did  so  with  the  hope  that  it 
might  accurately  reflect  conditions  as  they  really  exist  in  the  great  industry 
that  forms  the  very  life  of  Taft.  Public  measures  affecting  the  oil  fields  and 
oil  industries  receive  impartial  comment. 

Below  we  append  a  list  of  the  active  members  of  the  Petroleum  Club : 
A.  W.  Albrecht,  F.  E.  Beach,  A.  R.  M.  Blackball,  F.  R.  Campbell,  Walter  Can- 
field,  J.  B.  Carlock,  J.  B.  Carter,  W.  O.  Clay,  J.  P.  Cooney,  F.  E.  Davis,  S. 
Duschak,  Charles  del  Bondio,  E.  T.  Edwards,  W.  A.  Fischer,  W.  FoUansbee, 
W.  I.  Fitzmartin,  J.  J.  Gallman,  E.  D.  Gillette,  C.  E.  Good,  L.  P.  Guiberson, 
C.  H.  Holmes,  G.  S.  Hanning,  H.  M.  Haseltine,  J.  P.  Hickey,  W.  D.  Head, 
Charles  A.  Hahn,  George  Kammerer,  A.  M.  Keene,  M.  L.  Kleinsmith,  E.  C. 
Kellermeyer,  Dr.  C.  Lawton,  E.  B.  Latham,  F.  W.  Livingston,  lack  Lilburn, 
H.  H.  Maddren,  T.  O.  May,  E.  H.  Marsh.  F.  Marsh,  W.  O.  Maxwell,  T.  J. 
Mcachem,  R.  R.  Morris,  J.  M.  Murray,  S.  W.  Mimms,  H.  F.  Mi  shier,  William 
C.  McDuffie,  I.  F.  MciMahan.  F.  O.  Patterson,  G.  G.  Patten,  T.  C.  Perkins,  J.  L. 
Philinp,  T.  H."  Rainev.  E.  S.  Rose,  ].  F.  Ross,  F.  O.  Redd.  L.  W.  Sharp,  C.  L. 
Shirk,  Charles  St.  Louis,  W.  G.  Tklbot,  I.  W.  Tipton,  George  H.  Todd.  Wil- 
liam Walker,  Clarence  H.  Williams,  E.  H.  Williams,  R.  L.  Agee,  I.  W.  Alex- 
ander, W.  J.  Atwood,  C.  H.  Allison,  F.  Bellis,  George  H.  Bailev,  R.  A.  Broom- 
field,  E.  M.  Brown,  T.  F.  Bastain,  E.  H.  Conklin,  George  R.'Caldwell,  C.  B. 
Colby,  J.  O.  Clutter,  W.  Dumont,  B.  T.  Dyer,  J.  P.  Dooley,  H.  J.  Everitt,  E.  H. 
Edwards,  F.  P.  Findley,  S.  G.  Gassaway,  F.  H.  Hall,  Stone  Hastain,  J.  J.  Hern, 
C.  M.  Imerson,  J.  M.  Jameson,  W.  C.  Johnson,  Dave  Kinsey,  L.  P.  Keister. 
George  R.  Kerr,  Everitt  King,  E.  W.  King,  W.  M.  King,  W.  A.  Kobbe,  R. 
Laird,  G.  P.  Louthaine,  George  H.  Lowell,  H.  H.  McClintock,  P.  M.  Pike,  A. 
E.  Raine,  William  C.  Rae,  B.  L.  Stitzinger,  Mel  P.  Smith,  J.  W.  Squires,  R.  A. 
Sperry,  Walter  Snook,  H.  N.  Taylor.  H.  W.  Wadeson,  A.  Wark,  J.  J.  Wilt. 
C.  E.  Worden. 

JOHN  KOCH. — The  earliest  recollections  of  Mr.  Koch  are  of  a  home 
nestled  among  the  mountains  in  Canton  Graubunden,  Switzerland,  where  he 
was  born  January  25.  1863,  at  Zilles.  That  same  canton  was  the  birthplace 
and  childhood  heme  of  his  parents,  John  and  Mary  (Hunger)  Koch,  and  there 
too  they  were  married  and  continued  to  make  their  home. 

Of  the  two  children  comprising  the  parental  family  John  Koch  was  the 
younger,  and  early  in  life  was  made  familiar  with  the  duties  of  the  dairy,  for 
his  father  had  extensive  interests  along  this  line.  His  services  in  the  dairy, 
however,  were  not  allowed  to  interfere  with  his  education,  but  after  school 
days  were  over  he  returned  to  the  duties  of  the  home  farm  and  gave  his  services 
to  his  father  until  he  took  upon  himself  the  duties  of  life.  As  a  dairyman  in 
the  employ  of  others  he  worked  as  a  butter-maker  and  as  a  cheese-maker  from 
that  time  until  he  came  to  the  new  world  in  1890.  Coming  direct  to  Kern 
county,  Cal.,  he  saw  a  good  outlook  for  the  business  to  which  he  had  been 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1439 

trained.  He  was  fortunate  in  securing^  ready  employment,  btit  no  more  so 
than  was  Chris  Mattly,  with  whom  he  remained  as  butter  and  cheese  maker 
for  two  years.  He  then  engaged  in  business  for  himself.  Assnciatcd  with  two 
others  with  like  ambitions  and  with  a  good  understanding  of  the  business 
lie  rented  a  dairy  in  the  vicinit}^  of  Bakersfield  and  for  three  years  made  a 
specialty  of  butter-making.  After  selling  his  interest  in  the  enterprise  in  1896 
he  returned  to  the  old  family  home  in  Switzerland.  While  he  enjoyed  renew- 
ing the  associations  of  family  and  friends,  at  the  end  of  a  year  he  was  as 
anxious  to  return  to  California  as  he  had  been  to  leave  it.  Upon  his  return  to 
Bakersfield  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  as 
butter-maker,  on  the  Stockdale  ranch,  remaining  there  about  two  years,  ur  until 
his  marriage. 

In  the  Old  River  district,  Kern  county,  John  Koch  was  married  in  1898 
to  Miss  Alary  Weichelt.  who  was  born  in  Canton  Graubunden,  Switzerland,  the 
daughter  of' Gottlieb  Weichelt,  and  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Chris  Mattly.  In  1^99 
Mr.  Koch  purchased  sixty  acres  of  the  property  which  he  now  owns  nine 
miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield.  Here  in  a  modest  way  he  engaged  in  the  dairy 
business  independently,  extending  his  interests  as  conditions  permitted,  and 
ultimately  he  purchased  twenty  acres  adjoining  his  first  purchase  until  he  now 
has  eighty  acres  altogether,  under  the  Farmers  canal  and  devoted  to  alfalfa 
and  grain.  During  1901,  associated  with  Christian  Ruedy  and  Peter  Gilli,  Air. 
Koch  erected  a  creamery  which  he  and  his  associates  ran  for  abuut  eight 
years.  Since  then  Air.  Koch  has  given  his  attention  to  the  dairy  business,  and 
as  a  result  of  his  unremitting  efforts  has  built  up  one  of  the  largest  individual 
dairy  interests  in  the  vicinity  of  Bakersfield  if  not  in  Kern  county. 

Politically  Air.  Koch  is  a  Republican,  and  with  his  wife  he  is  a  communi- 
cant of  the  Lutheran  Church.  In  this  faith  they  are  rearing  their  three  chil- 
dren, John,  Nina  and  Gottleib. 

R.  N.  SIMPSON. — The  San  Francisco  Alidway  Oil  Company,  of  which 
Mr.  Simpson  acts  as  superintendent,  is  one  of  the  organizations  operating  in 
section  24,  31-23,  and  where  two  wells  produce  an  average  monthly  output 
of  two  thousand  barrels.  The  superintendent  of  this  property  is  a  native  of 
Pennsylvania  and  was  born  in  Alercer  county,  February  19,  1864,  being  one  of 
four  children  whose  father,  a  farmer  and  oil  speculator,  died  when  the  son  was 
only  eight  years  of  age.  The  mother  married  a  second  time  and  now,  again 
widowed,  she  makes  her  home  at  Long  Reach,  Cal.  Besides  Robert  N.,  there 
were  two  sons  and  one  daughter  in  the  family,  namely:  George  \V.,  who  was 
accidentally  killed  in  1909  while  drilling  on  the  Alascot  lease  near  Taft ;  Frank 
B.,  a  driller  now  working  on  the  San  Francisco  Midway  lease  near  Shale; 
and  Ada.  Airs.  John  Nonnemoker,  who  died  in  Ohio,  leaving  a  daughter,  Agnes. 

Reared  in  Venango  and  AIcKean  counties.  Pa.,  and  near  Windsor.  Ohio, 
Robert  N.  Simpson  has  earned  his  own  livelihood  since  he  was  a  lad  of  twelve. 
At  first  he  worked  on  an  Ohio  farm  for  his  board  and  clothes.  Later  he  was 
paid  a  small  wage.  During  a  part  of  his  youth  he  was  allowed  to  attend  school 
in  the  winter  months.  When  eighteen  years  of  age  in  1882  he  successfully 
passed  the  teachers"  examination  in  Ashtabula  county.  Ohio,  where  he  taught 
in  1883  and  1884.  Upon  discontinuing  work  as  a  teacher  he  went  to  New  York 
state  with  a  roofing  gang  and  later  learned  the  details  of  the  oil  industry  in 
the  fields  of  Simpson.  Pa.,  where  he  spent  considerable  time  as  a  pumper. 
A  well-known  oil  man  of  Pennsylvania,  George  McCloud,  was  his  emnlnyer 
in  the  Pennsylvania  oil  fields.  Returning  to  Ohio  in  1892,  he  engaged  as  a 
tool-dresser  at  Woodville  for  four  months.  During  eight  years  following  he 
held  a  very  important  and  responsible  position  with  S.  C.  Heacock,  an  exten- 
sive farmer  and  prominent  oil  operator  in  Wood  county,  Ohio. 

Coming  to  California  in   I'fOl,  Air.  Simpson  spent  five  months  at   Long 


1440  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Beach  and  meanwhile  studied  conditions  in  that  part  of  the  state.  On  his 
return  to  Ohio  he  resumed  work  in  the  oil  fields,  where  he  remained  for  two 
years.  When  he  again  came  to  California,  he  sought  the  Coalinga  field  and 
secured  employment  with  the  California  Limited  and  the  28  Oil  Companies, 
also  held  a  position  later  with  the  Premier  Oil  Company.  In  1910  he  came 
to  the  Midway  and  worked  as  a  driller  under  E.  S.  Brown.  November  8,  1912, 
he  was  made  superintendent  of  the  lease  owned  by  another  oil  company,  and 
he  now  has  charge  of  the  San  Francisco  Midway  lease  of  forty  acres.  During 
the  period  of  his  residence  in  Ohio  he  married  in  1894  Miss  Elvira  Hill,  of 
North  Baltimore,  that  state,  a  lady  of  housewifely  skill  and  gracious  hospital- 
ity. They  became  the  parents  of  five  children,  four  of  whom  are  living, 
namely:  Hugh,  a  pumper  on  the  San  Francisco  ]\Iidway  lease;  Gertrude  A., 
Clyde  R.  and  George  F.  The  second  son,  Lyle,  accidentally  shot  himself 
December  15,  1912,  while  duck  hunting  near  Long  Beach. 

LESREY  G.  HELM.— One  ^f  the  leading  business  men  of  Wasco,  Kern 
county,  L.  G.  Helm  is  the  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  L.  G.  Helm  &  Son, 
general  merchants,  whose  establishment  is  one  of  the  finest  of  its  kind  in  the 
vicinity.  L.  G.  Helm,  Sr.,  was  born  in  Saline  county.  Mo.,  January  30,  1834, 
and  for  many  years  carried  on  merchandising  in  the  east.  In  1882  he  moved 
to  Texas,  disposing  of  his  property  in  Missouri,  but  finally  returned  east 
and  engaged  in  business.  In  1892  he  came  to  California,  locating  at  Rosedale, 
Kern  county,  where  he  lived  until  he  settled  in  Wasco.  While  he  retains 
his  interest  in  the  store  with  his  son  and  is  interested  in  the  McKittrick  and 
Lost  Hills  oil  fields,  he  is  practically  retired  from  active  business. 

It  was  on  the  25th  of  April,  1886,  that  the  younger  Helm  was  born.  He 
came  to  Kern  county  with  his  parents  when  he  was  about  six  years  old,  and 
until  he  was  fourteen  attended  the  public  schools  at  Rosedale  and  Bakers- 
field.  Then  for  eight  years  he  was  a  salesman  in  Redlick's  department  store  at 
Bakersfield.  Late  in  1908  he  moved  to  McKittrick,  where  he  opened  a  general 
merchandise  store  which  he  conducted  with  success  about  six  months.  In  1909 
he  took  up  his  residence  at  \A'asco,  where  in  partnership  with  his  father  he 
established  the  mercantile  establishment  of  L.  G.  Helm  &  Son,  a  concern 
which  supplies  Wasco,  Lost  Hills  and  vicinity  with  merchandise  of  all  kinds. 
They  are  local  agents  for  the  Moline  Plow  Company's  implements  and  the 
Fish  and  Studebaker  wagons  and  their  trade  extends  widely  throughout  the 
country  surrounding  Wasco.  The  firm  erected  a  large  brick  building  50x60 
feet,  in  which  their  business  is  conducted.  The  son  owns  property  in  the 
Lost  Hills  oil  district  and  in  the  McKittrick  field.  In  1910  he  organized  the 
Louise  Oil  Company,  which  is  operating  in  the  Lest  Hills  district.  He  is 
now  a  director  in  the  Wasco  Hall  Association  and  he  affiliates  socially  with 
the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  He 
married,  November  14,  1906,  Miss  Etta  A.  Martin,  who  was  born  in  Arizona, 
and  they  have  one  child.  Fay  H.  Mr.  Helm  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  a 
director  of  the  Bank  of  Wasco. 

GEORGE  W.  McCAUSLAND.— The  revolution  which  during  1911  and 
1912  rendered  the  presence  of  American  business  men  in  Mexico  no  longer  safe 
proved  the  unfortunate  affair  which  influenced  George  W.  McCausland  to 
return  to  the  United  States,  thereby  temporarily  causing  a  cessation  of  his 
extensive  mining  operations  in  our  neighboring  country.  Howevci,  much  as 
he  regretted  the  deplorable  national  occurrences  that  forced  him  to  discontinue 
business  interests  in  Mexico,  he  has  had  no  reason  to  regret  the  decision  that 
has  made  him  a  resident  of  Kern  county  and  a  contributor  to  the  material 
development  of  Wasco,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits 
and  also  in  the  securing  of  an  adequate  water  system  for  the  town.  As  a  boy 
he  attended  the  common  schools  in  Michigan,  where  he  had  been  born  at 
Saginaw  July  21,  1884,  and  later  he  attended  the  Chicago  high  schools.     The 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1441 

bent  of  his  mind  turned  his  studies  toward  mining  and  he  qualified  for  scien- 
tific work  in  the  occupation  through  attendance  upon  a  college  of  mining  in 
Michigan,  where  he  had  the  best  advantages  the  country  afforded  for  special- 
izing in  his  chosen  calling. 

Upon  leaving  college  and  subsequently  engaging  for  one  year  with  the 
United  States  Gypsum  Company  in  Chicago,  Mr.  McCausland  resigned  a 
flattering  position  in  order  to  join  his  brothers  in  mining  ventures  in  Mexico. 
Upon  leaving  Chicago  and  the  north  he  proceeded  to  Santa  Barbara  in  the 
state  of  Chihuahua,  Mexico,  where  he  acquired  an  interest  in  a  valuable 
gold  mine.  With  his  brothers  he  managed  and  developed  the  property  and  his 
interest  in  the  company  is  m  w  very  valuable,  besides  which  he  owns  an  in- 
terest in  a  copper  mine  in  Chihuahua.  He  returned  to  the  United  States  in 
1911,  at  which  time,  after  a  visit  of  si.x  months  with  his  parents  in  Los  Angeles, 
he  came  to  Kern  county  and  formed  a  mercantile  partnership  with  G.  R. 
Stillson.  He  now  owns  and  conducts  a  general  store  at  Wasco.  He  installed 
the  water  system  which  supplies  the  village  with  water,  but  this  was  later  sold 
out.  He  has  built  a  comfortable  bungalow  tn  the  Main.  During  December  of 
1909  he  married  Miss  Czegenyi  B.  Howes,  who  was  born  in  Nashville,  Tenn., 
in  November  of  1891  and  received  superior  educational  advantages  in  the 
south. 

JOHN  W.  CANADAY.— Not  only  does  the  Canaday  family  enjoy  the 
distinction  of  being  numliered  among  the  pioneers  tf  California,  but  in  addi- 
tion it  is  of  colonial  and  Revcilutionary  lineage  and  different  generations  have 
aided  in  the  material  upbuilding  of  different  parts  of  the  country.  The  family 
history  shows  that  William  and  Polly  (Gier)  Canaday,  natives  of  Kentucky 
and  farmers  in  Madison  county,  left  their  eld  southern  commonwealth  for 
the  then  undeveloped  and  sparsely  settled  regions  of  Missouri,  where  in  1836 
they  became  pioneer  farmers  of  Linn  county.  With  them  in  the  removal  was  a 
son  of  four  years,  John  Turner,  whose  birth  had  occurred  in  Madison  county, 
Ky.,  March  7,  1836,  but  whose  recollectii  ns  include  only  the  most  meager 
memories  of  his  native  place.  Upon  attaining  his  majority  he  started  out  to 
earn  his  own  way  in  the  world.  For  a  few  years  he  engaged  in  teaming  and 
lumbering  at  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  and  in  that  period  he  heard  much  concerning 
the  great  west.  During  the  spring  of  1858  he  joined  an  expedition  comprising 
seventy-five  large  wagons  and  teams,  which  started  from  Independence,  Mo., 
for  the  long  journey  across  the  plains.  It  was  his  task  to  drive  nine  yoke  of 
cattle  for  their  owner  and  he  therefore  was  obliged  to  leave  the  main  caravan 
at  Salt  Lake  City,  from  which  point  he  proceeded  to  B<  x  Elder  with  the  stock. 
Having  delivered  the  drove  to  the  proper  parties,  he  then  took  charge  of  some 
horses  and  cattle  and  drove  them  through  to  Susan  Bluffs  on  the  Carson 
river  for  their  owner,  Mr.  Blankinship.  He  then  proceeded  i-n  foot  to  Piacer- 
ville,  where  he  landed  in  August  after  a  journey  of  four  months  and  eight  days. 

An  experience  as  teamster  with  the  Diamond  Mills  Placer  Company  dur- 
ing the  autumn  and  as  miner  in  the  winter  proved  unremunerative.  so  he  tried 
his  luck  on  a  ranch  near  Yolo  and  afterward  engaged  in  teaming  and  ranching 
near  Stockton.  Later  he  took  up  land  near  Modesto,  Stanislaus  county,  whence 
about  1878  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  for  two  years  was  with  the  Kern 
County  Land  Comoany.  During  1880  he  homesteaded  eighty  acres  on  the 
Beardsley  canal  and  there  he  engaged  in  ranching  until  1893.  His  marriage 
took  place  in  Stanislaus  county  in  18fi8  and  united  him  with  Miss  Louise 
St.  Mary,  a  native  of  Illinois  and  a  daughter  of  Alexander  St.  Mary.  When 
only  two  years  of  age  she  was  brought  from  Illinois  to  California  by  way  of 
Panama.  In  girlhood  she  attended  school  in  San  Joaquin  .county.  Five  chil- 
dren were  born  of  her  marriage  :  James  M.,  Bakersfield  ;  George,  wdio  died 
at  fourteen  years ;  John  W.,  whose  name  introduces  this  article  and  whose 
birth   occurred  near  Modesto.   Stanislaus   county,   November  20,    1875 ;   Mrs. 


1442  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Barbara  W'ible,  of  Bakersfield  ;  and  Mrs.  Minnie  Sleichter,  a  resident  of  Fresno. 

Being  only  a  small  child  when  the  family  came  to  Kern  county,  John  W. 
Canaday  received  all  his  schooling  in  Bakersfield  and  later  he  followed  farm- 
ing in  this  county.  An  experience  of  four  years  as  a  driver  with  H.  H.  Fish 
was  followed  by  a  connection  for  five  years  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company  as  locomotive  fireman.  Next  he  was  a  conductor  with  the  street- 
car ctmpany  in  Bakersfield,  resigning  this  June  7,  1910,  to  become  collector 
for  the  water  department  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  At  Caliente, 
Kern  county,  June  26,  1901,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Dukes,  a  native  of 
Kernville,  Kern  county.  In  an  early  day  Charles  Henry  Dukes  came  from  his 
native  Kentucky  to  California  with  two  brothers.  For  a  long  period  he  was 
engaged  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Comoany  and  made  his  home  at 
Caliente,  where  his  death  cccurred  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  In  the  same 
town  in  1898  occurred  the  demise  of  his  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Sarah  E.  Bowen  and  was  born  in  Tulare  county,  this  state,  in  1860.  Their 
family  comprised  six  children,  the  eldest  of  whom  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  Canaday. 
The  others  named  are  as  follows:  Mrs.  Virginia  Rose,  of  Los  Angeles; 
Charles  A.  and  W.  G.,  of  Globe,  Ariz. ;  Sadie  and  Floyd,  who  are  living  in 
Bakersfield.  Mrs.  Canaday  was  educated  in  Caliente  and  Bakersfield  and  is  a 
woman  of  intelligence  and  refinement,  intensely  devoted  to  the  welfare  and 
progress  of  California  and  deeoly  interested  in  the  activities  of  Tejon  Parlor 
No.  336,  N.  D.  G.  W.,  of  which  she  is  past  president.  In  addition  she  is  asso- 
ciated with  the  Pythian  Sisters,  while  Air.  Canaday  has  been  a  leading  member 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  in  the  Kern  Lodge,  and  he  is  further  connected 
with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 
Politically  he  is  a  Democrat. 

M.  A.  LINDBERG.— The  proprietor  of  the  Arlington  hotel  and  cafe  at 
Bakersfield  is  of  Scandinavian  birth  and  lineage  and  was  born  at  Skaane, 
Sweden,  August  19,  1867,  being  the  son  of  a  farmer  who  also  followed  the 
occupation  of  a  brick-layer.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  was  taken  out 
of  school  in  order  to  begin  an  apprenticeship  to  the  brick-layer's  trade  and  for 
six  years  he  devoted  himself  to  the  work  in  his  native  land,  whence  in  1887 
he  came  to  the  United  States,  first  settling  at  Omaha,  Neb.  The  following 
year  he  went  on  to  the  central  part  of  Colorado  and  began  to  assist  in 
filling  contracts  for  ties  and  timber  for  the  Denver  &  South  Park  Railroad. 
On  the  completion  of  that  job  he  filled  similar  contracts  for  different  railroads 
in  Idaho,  Washington,  ]\Iontana  and  British  Columbia,  and  during  that  period 
he  was  married,  in  Virginia  City,  Nev.,  to  Miss  Hulda  Streckenbach,  who 
was  born  and  reared  in  that  place.  During  1892  he  came  to  California  as 
foreman  of  construction  work  on  the  Coast  line  and  three  years  later  he  came 
through  Kern  county  for  the  first  time.  Relinquishing  his  railroad  work,  he 
entered  into  the  restaurant  business  at  Lompoc  and  after  three  years  in  that 
town  he  came  to  Bakersfield  in  March,  1900,  shortly  afterward  buying  an  in- 
terest in  the  lease  of  the  Arlington  hotel.  For  a  time  the  inn  was  conducted 
under  the  name  of  the  T.  H.  Fogarty  Comnany,  but  later  Mr.  Lindberg 
acquired  control  of  the  entire  lease  and  since  then  has  managed  the  hotel  in 
his  own  name.  The  building  occupies  a  central  location  on  the  corner  of 
Chester  avenue  and  Nineteenth  street. 

Besides  acting  as  proprietor  of  the  hotel  Mr.  Lindberg  represents  the 
Pabst  Brewing  Company  of  Milwaukee  and  is  also  president  and  a  director  of 
the  S.  P.  Oil  Mining  Company,  which  onerates  producing  wells  in  the  Kern 
river  field.  During  June  of  1911  he  bought  the  Democrat  springs  and  the  O.  K. 
.  placer  claim  of  twenty  acres  on  the  Kern  river,  where  the  presence  of  one  of 
the  finest  white  sulphur  springs  in  the  state  makes  the  place  valuable  as  a 
health  resort.  A  hotel  and  cottages  have  been  erected,  a  large  plunge  and  mud 
baths  have  been  instituted,  attractive  facilities  for  boating  and  fishing  have 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1443 

been  provided  and  man}'  other  improvements  have  been  made,  including  an 
electric  light  and  storage  plant  and  g(  od  roads  by  stage  or  automobile  from 
Bakersfield,  the  distance  of  forty  miles  lieing  easily  made  in  three  hours.  He 
has  installed  an  automobile  stage  plying  between  the  Arlington  and  Democrat 
springs.  The  resort  is  run  both  winter  and  summer  and  has  already  estab- 
lished a  record  for  the  great  curative  properties  of  the  water,  particularly  for 
rheumatism.  Ever  since  he  began  to  vote  Mr.  Lindberg  has  sup;)i  rted  Demo- 
cratic principles.  The  Bakersfield  Board  of  Trade  has  his  name  enrolled 
among  its  members.  Fraternally  he  has  been  identified  prominently  with  the 
Imprc)ved  Order  of  Red  Men,  the  Royal  Arch,  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks  and  the  Eagles,  in  which  last-named  organization  for  seven  or  more 
years  he  has  served  with  fidelity  and  accuracy  in  the  office  of  treasurer. 

EDWARD  F.  NEWSOM.— The  lineage  (  f  the  Newsom  family  indicates 
long  identification  with  the  history  of  Virginia  and  at  Petersburg,  that  state, 
occurred  the  birth  of  David  Frank  Newsom,  a  pioneer  of  California.  Long 
before  the  Civil  war  (in  which  a  brother  bore  an  active  part)  he  had  left  the 
old  home  and  had  begun  to  earn  his  own  livelihood  as  an  empkye  of  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  in  whose  interests  he  conducted  sutler  stores  at 
Bellingham  bay,  on  Puget  sound  and  along  the  Eraser  river  in  British  Colum- 
bia. Upon  resigning  the  position  he  had  held  with  them  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia and  became  me  of  the  very  first  settlers  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county, 
where  he  married  Miss  Annie  Branch,  daughter  of  an  Englishman,  Ezba 
Branch.  Elected  the  first  clerk  of  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  he  filled  the  office 
for  many  years.  The  salary,  however,  was  scarcely  adequate  for  the  needs  of  a 
large  family  and  accordingly  he  followed  other  lines  of  work  to  increase  the 
annual  income.  One  of  his  early  occupatii  ns  was  that  of  schoolteacher.  In 
addition  he  served  for  years  as  county  judge.  Meanwhile,  having  been  greatly 
troubled  with  catarrh,  he  had  found  a  permanent  remedy  in  the  waters  of  a 
fine  medical  spring  owned  by  his  father-in-law  and  when  the  latter  presented 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  Newsom,  with  the  springs  and  adjacent  grounds  they  were 
named  the  Newsom  Arroyo  Grande  warm  springs.  A  resort  was  established 
two  and  one-half  miles  from  Arroyo  Grande  and  many  people  troubled  with 
rheumatism,  neuralgia  and  catarrh  found  reUef  from  the  diseases  through  the 
waters  of  the  springs.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Newsom.  in  KOI,  his  widow 
became  the  manager  of  the  springs  and  she  conducted  the  resort  until  her 
death  in  April,  1912.  The  land,  together  with  a  large  tract  adjacent  thereto, 
had  been  given  to  her  father,  Ezba  Branch,  a  pioneer  of  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  after  his  marriage  to  Dona  Manuella  Ortega,  a  native  daughter  of 
California  and  a  member  of  a  pioneer  S  lanish  family  well-known  along  the 
coast.  Through  the  prominence  and  high  standing  of  this  family  the  Mexican 
government  was  influenced  to  bestow  upon  ^^Ir.  Branch  the  Santa  Manuella 
grant  and  thereafter  he  had  charge  of  the  vast  tract,  which  he  devoted  to 
stock-raising  purposes. 

Six  sons  and  six  daughters  comprised  the  family  if  David  Frank  Newsom 
and  among  these  (all  still  living)  Edward  F.  was  next  to  the  eldest.  Born  at 
Arroyo  Grande,  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  December  16,  1865,  he  attended  the 
schools  of  the  locality  in  boyhood  and  at  the  same  time  acquired  a  knowledge 
of  the  fundamentals  of  agriculture.  A  decided  fondness  fi  r  the  care  of  horses 
decided  his  occupation  in  life  and  while  he  worked  with  the  Kern  County 
Land  Company  in  Bakersfield  from  1898  to  1904  and  with  the  Standard  Oil 
Company  from  1904  to  19C6  he  used  teams  in  all  of  this  work  and  thus  con- 
tinued to  study  the  care  and  management  of  horses.  After  he  had  completed 
a  job  of  excavating  for  reservoirs  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company  he  embarked 
in  the  livery  business  in  Bakersfield,  where  he  has  a  feed  and  sale  stable  on  the 
corner  of  M  and  Eighteenth  streets.  A  general  livery  business  is  conducted 
with  a  full  equipment  of  fine  horses  and  neat  vehicles.   Horses  are  bought,  sold 


1444  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  exchanged,  while  many  also  are  taken  as  boarders.  He  also  runs  the  stage 
hue  to  Glennville,  a  distance  of  forty-five  miles,  making  three  round  trips  a 
week.  While  he  displays  ability  in  every  line  of  the  business,  it  is  in  the 
breaking  of  horses  that  he  has  gained  his  widest  reputation.  He  has  built 
two  bungalows  on  Grove  and  Sonora  streets  in  one  of  which  he  makes  his 
home,  and  he  also  owns  real  estate  in  Los  Angeles  and  San  Diego.  Aside  from 
maintaining  a  constant  supervision  of  his  stables,  he  has  been  active  in  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Owls,  while  in  politics 
he  has  stanchly  supported  Democratic  principles.  He  is  a  widower  with  one 
son,  Alfred,  whose  mother,  Eveline  (Cochrane)  Newsom,  a  native  of  Paso 
Robles,  San  Luis  Obispo  county,  and  a  daughter  of  a  pioneer  physician  in  that 
portion  of  the  state,  died  after  the  family  had  established  their  home  in  Bakers- 
field. 

P.  J.  O'MEARA. — The  real-estate  and  insurance  interests  of  East  Bakers- 
field  find  able  representation  in  the  firm  of  Woody  and  O'Meara,  whose  ofiices 
are  located  in  the  Hotel  Metropole  and  who  are  now  owners  of  one-half 
interest  in  that  hotel.  In  addition  to  negotiating  sales  of  farms  and  town 
properties,  they  sell  oil  lands,  put  through  important  leases,  secure  options, 
make  first-mortgage  loans,  eft'ect  exchanges  tf  properties  and  indeed  discharge 
any  duty  or  carry  out  any  transaction  connected  with  their  chosen  occupation. 
Many  of  the  most  important  real-estate  and  promotion  deals  in  East  Bakers- 
field  have  been  made  under  their  supervision,  and  by  integrity,  honesty  and 
intelligence  they  have  won  the  confidence  of  all.  AK.ng  insurance  lines  they 
represent  such  well-known  companies  as  the  German-American  Insurance 
Company  of  New  York,  the  Fireman's  Fund  Insurance  Company  of  San  Fran- 
cisco and  the  Royal  Insurance  Company  of  Liverpool.  A  safety  deposit  de- 
partment has  been  added  to  their  office  equipment  and  there  are  fire  and 
burglar  proof  boxes  for  rent  to  customers. 

Born  at  Vancouver,  Wash.,  October  9,  1876,  P.  J.  O'Meara  was  fifth  in 
order  of  birth  among  ten  children,  eight  of  whom  are  still  living.  The  parents, 
Patrick  and  Johanna  (Long)  O'Meara,  died  respectively  in  1903  and  1904, 
the  former  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years.  He  had  come  to  California 
in  early  life  from  the  mines  of  Australia  and  New  Zealand  and  after  his 
arrival  in  1850  had  engaged  in  the  hotel  business  in  San  Francisco,  but  later 
became  a  pioneer  of  Washington  and  engaged  in  ranching  near  Vancouver. 
Returning  to  California  in  1885,  he  took  up  land  near  Keene,  Kern  county,  and 
engaged  in  stock-raising  and  farming.  From  time  to  time  he  added  to  his 
possessions  until  he  had  acquired  the  title  to  about  two  thousand  acres  of  land 
near  Keen-e.  To  his  labors  was  due  the  organization  of  a  school  district  and 
the  building  of  a  schoolhouse.  For  years  he  gave  faithful  service  as  school 
trustee.  For  some  years  he  was  employed  as  bridge  inspector  of  the  district 
along  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad. 

Coming  to  Kern  county  when  less  than  nine  years  of  age,  P.  J.  O'Meara 
passed  the  uneventful  years  of  boyhood  on  the  home  ranch  near  Keene  and 
attended  the  school  in  that  district.  After  leaving  school  he  aided  his  father 
on  the  home  ranch.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  became  a  fireman  of  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Railroad  and  continued  in  that  capacity  for  four  A^ears,  after  which 
he  returned  to  the  stock  industry  and  engaged  in  raising  cattle  on  a  ranch 
near  Breckenridge.  For  three  years  he  continued  raising  cattle  on  the  Kern 
river  and  then  disposed  of  his  stock,  investing  the  proceeds  in  a  stock  of 
general  merchandise  at  Caliente,  Kern  county.  While  carrying  on  the  store 
he  also  served  as  justice  of  the  peace.  During  1908  an  explosion  of  dynamite 
in  the  Southern  Pacific  warehouse  started  a  fire  that  almost  wiped  out  the 
village  and  he  was  one  of  the  heaviest  losers  by  the  catastrophe.  The  following 
year  he  formed  a  partnership  with  A.  J.  Woody  in  the  real-estate  business  at 
Kern,  where  also  they  with  J.  H.  Stevenson  own  the  Hotel  Metropole.     In 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  144r 

addition  to  other  holdings  Mr.  O'Meara  is  interested  in  oil  development  in  the 
west  side  fields,  serves  as  a  director  in  various  companies  and  is  part  owner  of 
a  quartz  mill  in  the  Amelia  district.  Fraternally  he  holds  membcrslii|)  with 
the  Eagles  and  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 

FREDERICK  ELI  HARE.— Rest  known  in  Delano  as  manager  of  the 
Union  Lumber  Company's  yard  stationed  there,  Frederick  Eli  Hare  is  classed 
among  the  reliable,  honest  and  trustworthy  citizens  of  the  county.  He  was  the 
elder  of  two  children  born  to  his  parents,  Elias  C.  and  Anna  (Woods)  Mare, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  Wooster,  Ohio,  and  came  to  California  when 
eighteen  years  old.  Tra\eling  by  way  of  Panama  he  reached  the  California 
ccast  in  the  '50s  and  followed  placer  mining  in  the  Sierra  Nevadas  for  many 
years.  Subsequently  he  successfully  conducted  a  mercantile  business  in  San 
Francisco,  relinquishing  this  interest  to  become  secretary  of  the  Masonic 
Board  of  Relief  in  that  city,  and  for  many  years  he  filled  that  responsible 
position  with  credit  and  ability.  Mr.  Hare  is  now  making  his  home  with  his 
son  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  in  Eldorado 
county,  was  a  native  cf  Illinois,  and  crossed  the  plains  with  her  parents  by 
means  of  ox-teams.  The  father  was  prominent  in  Masonic  circles,  has  been 
grand  lecturer  of  Grand  Lodge  of  California,  serving  for  four  years,  and 
attained  the  Knight  Templar  degree. 

Frederick  E.  Hare  was  born  September  11,  1854,  at  Rose  Springs,  Eldorado 
county,  on  Tennessee  Creek.  This  was  located  about  eight  miles  from  Ci  loma, 
where  gold  was  discovered  by  Marshall  in  1848.  Reared  in  the  city  of  San 
Francisco,  he  there  obtained  a  good  public  school  education  and  graduated 
from  Heald's  Business  College  in  1882.  Then  he  gained  experience  by  filling 
the  pcsition  of  bookkeeper  for  several  firms,  after  which  for  eight  years  he 
served  as  route  agent  for  the  San  Francisco  Chronicle.  The  succeeding  four 
years  he  passed  in  the  employ  of  T.  J.  Conroy's  insurance  agency.  Coming 
to  Bakersfield  in  1903  he  assumed  the  management  of  the  Coflfee  Club  but  the 
duties  proved  too  arduous  fcr  his  constitution  and  he  went  to  Nevada  county 
to  regain  his  health.  After  eighteen  months  spent  on  a  ranch  he  returned 
to  Bakersfield  and  entered  the  employ  of  the  Union  Lumber  Company  in 
the  capacity  of  bookkeeper.  In  1908,  upon  the  establishment  of  the  lumber 
yard  at  Delano,  he  was  made  manager  of  same  and  to.-k  full  charge  of  the 
building  up  of  the  branch,  in  which  he  has  met  with  signal  success.  Mr. 
Hare's  marriage  occurred  in  Nevada  county,  Cal.,  uniting  him  with  Amy 
Isbister,  a  native  of  that  county  and  daughter  of  John  Isbister,  who  was  a 
pioneer  miner  and  farmer  of  this  state.  Three  children  have  blessed  this 
union,  John,  James  and  I->ederick.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  San  Fran- 
cisco Lodge,  No.  212,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  politically  a  Republican. 

ROBERT  GUNDERSON.— To  leave  a  Norwegian  home  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  and  to  devote  the  next  decade  exclusively  to  mining  in  lonel}' 
regions  far  removed  from  educatic  nal  centers,  would  seem  to  oflfer  few  advan- 
tages to  a  young  man  for  the  acquisition  of  culture  and  a  comprehensive 
fund  cf  knowledge  in  history,  literature  and  the  arts,  yet  we  find  Mr.  Gunder- 
son  one  of  the  best-posted  men  in  his  part  of  Kern  county.  Both  he  and  his 
brother,  Daniel,  who  is  in  partnership  with  him  in  the  book  and  stationery 
business  at  Randsburg,  are  regarded  as  men  of  intelligence  and  much  general 
information  ;  furthermore,  they  have  a  high  standing  in  the  community  for 
their  honesty,  integrity  and  moral  worth.  Their  stock  of  books  has  been 
selected  with  more  than  ordinary  care  and  they  also  maintain  a  branch  of  the 
county  library  in  their  book-shop,  further  have  a  newspaper  agency  and 
deal  in  cigars' and  t(  bacco.  Since  they  bought  the  McCarthy  store  in  .April, 
1905,  they  have  conducted  their  book  and  stationery  business  at  Randsburg, 
besides  having  other  interests  in  this  portion  of  the  county. 

Near  Mandal,  Norway,   Robert  Gunderson   was  born   February   5,   1871, 


1446  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  son  of  a  well-to-do  farmer  who  gave  him  the  advantage  of  a  thorough 
education  in  the  common  branches  of  study.  Upon  coming  to  the  United 
States  in  1886  he  found  employment  in  Michigan  iron  mines  at  Ironwood, 
but  a  year  later  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  secured  employment  on  the  coal 
docks  at  West  Superior.  During  1888  he  migrated  to  Montana,  where  he  was 
employed  in  mines  and  the  smelter  at  Anaconda.  In  a  short  time  he  went  to 
Utah  and  found  work  in  mines  at  Park  City.  The  year  1890  found  him  at 
Pioche,  Nev.,  where  mining  pursuits  occupied  his  time  for  two  years.  The 
trip  from  that  locality  to  Vanderbilt,  San  Bernardino  county,  Cal.,  in  1892  was 
made  by  wagon.  Happening  to  be  in  Los  Angeles  in  1893  when  Mr.  Reed 
brought  a  $1,000  nugget  obtained  in  Reed  Gulch  in  the  Goler  district,  he 
decided  to  prospect  in  the  new  location.  Immediately  he  came  to  Kern  county 
and  took  up  work  in  the  vicinity  of  Goler,  where  he  located  the  Last  Chance, 
Norway  and  Rocket  mines,  and  where  he  met  with  considerable  success  in 
the  placer  mines.  Upon  the  starting  of  Randsburg  he  decided  to  locate  at 
this  point  and  October  of  1896  found  him  a  newcomer  in  the  district,  where 
ever  since  he  has  been  interested  in  quartz  mining.  He  discovered  and  kcated 
what  is  known  as  the  Minnesota  grouD  of  four  claims  situated  two  and  one- 
half  miles  southwest  of  Randsburg,  where  he  is  engaged  in  mining  and  ship- 
ping ore,  while  in  addition  since  1905  he  has  been  a  partner  in  the  book 
business.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Eagles.  His  brother 
and  partner,  Daniel,  completed  his  education  in  the  high  school  at  Ottawa, 
Minn.,  and  engaged  in  teaching  in  that  state  until  1903,  when  he  ji  ined  Robert 
in  Kern  county.  For  a  time  he  taught  in  the  Randsburg  school,  but  later  he 
has  engaged  in  the  book  business,  besides  acting  as  a  member  of  the  Kern 
county  board  of  education  for  two  terms.  In  the  community  the  brothers 
have  the  highest  reputation  for  progressive  tendencies,  personal  energy  and 
keen  mentality  and  they  have  been  important  factors  in  the  permanent  upbuild- 
ing of  Randsburg. 

FRED  C.  CLARK.— New  York  state  has  given  to  California  many  citi- 
zens who  have  contributed  to  its  growth  and  development  and  participated  in 
the  benefits  accruing  therefrom.  Born  in  De  Peyster,  St.  Lawrence  county, 
N.  Y.,  February  23,  1853,  Fred  C.  Clark  was  the  son  of  John  B.  and  Amelia  G. 
(Robertson)  Clark,  natives  of  New  Hampshire  and  ^Vales,,  respectively,  who 
farmed  in  the  state  of  New  York  until  their  deaths. 

At  the  public  school  near  his  boyhood  home  young  Clark  was  a  student 
until  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  living  meanwhile  with  his  parents  and 
assisting  with  the  work  on  the  home  farm.  About  that  time  his  father  sold 
his  property  and  the  family  moved  to  a  town  nearby,  where  the  young  man 
learned  the  trade  of  carriage-making.  Finding  that  a  place  in  a  carriage  shop 
was  not  always  open  to  him  he  became  a  carpenter  and  builder,  and  as  such 
was  constantly  employed  in  various  cities  in  New  York,  Illinois,  Missouri 
and  Kansas  until  he  came  to  the  Pacific  coast,  arriving  at  Los  Angeles  January 
3,  1890.  Here  he  was  employed  as  a  carpenter  until  February,  1891,  when  he 
came  to  Bakersfield  and  prospered  as  a  rancher  for  twenty-cue  years.  He 
purchased  a  ranch  of  twenty  acres  on  Kern  Island,  later  adding  ten  acres  more, 
the  land  being  unimproved  when  he  took  possession.  But  he  began  with 
alfalfa  and  grain  and  soon  improved  it  and  had  it  all  under  successful  cultiva- 
tion. In  1904  he  bought  forty  acr.es  about  a  mile  from  his  first  purchase,  and 
when  he  had  put  it  under  cultivation  to  some  extent  he  bought  an  adjoining 
sixty  acres,  making  a  hundred  and  thirty  acres  in  alfalfa  and  grain.  In  the 
same  year  he  also  carried  on  dairying  for  a  short  time.  In  1911  he  sold  his 
first  thirty  acres  and  now  owns  one  hundred  acres,  most  of  it  under  alfalfa 
and  grain,  the  remainder  devoted  to  pasturage,  and  he  keeps  a  limited  number 
of  cattle  and  hogs.  In  1911  he  removed  to  Bakersfield,  purchased  a  home  on 
Dracena  street,  and  is  to  a  degree  retired  from  active  life.    Mrs.  Clark  was 


HISTORY    ()!•     KI'.KX    lOUNTY  1447 

formerly  Miss  Annie  M.  Handley,  who  was  born  near  Attica,  Ind.,  February  16, 
1863,  and  she  has  two  children,  Fred  H.  and  lilenn  Li.  Mrs.  Clark  was  the 
daughter  of  William  and  Maria  (Pyle)  Handley,  natives  uf  Scotland  and  Ohio 
respectively,  who  were  farmers  in  Indiana.  I'^rom  there  they  moved  to  Kan- 
sas and  thence  in  1894  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  the  mother  died  in  1903. 
The  father  resides  with  Mrs.  Clark.  She  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  South.    In  politics  Mr.  Clark  is  a  Republican. 

ADOLPHUS  DOWD. — Varied  experiences  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try have  come  to  Mr.  Dowd  since  he  earned  his  first  money  as  a  messenger 
boy  in  Sherman,  Tex.,  and  since  he  devoted  his  evenings  after  school  to 
acquiring  an  expert  knowledge  of  telegraphy,  an  art  in  which  he  gained  re- 
markable proficiency  at  an  early  age.  For  years  he  had  a  reputa;ion  as  one 
of  the  swiftest  and  most  accurate  operators  in  the  service  and  although  no 
longer  following  the  occupation  his  hand  has  not  forgotten  its  skill  at  tiie 
key.  In  addition  to  expertness  in  telegraphy  he  had  completed  a  commercial 
course  and  thus  became  competent  in  stenography  and  bookkeeping,  so  that 
while  still  young  he  was  well  qualified  to  earn  a  livelihood.  The  course  of 
his  business  life  took  him  to  every  part  of  the  country  and  even  to  Panama, 
but  he  found  it  impossible  to  forge  ahead  financially;  indeed,  when  he  arrived 
at  Taf:  February  15,  1909,  he  had  but  $1.65  in  his  possession.  Today  he 
owns  his  own  garage,  owns  also  a  neat  cottage  in  Taft,  and  as  a  partner  in 
the  firm  of  Stebbins  &  Dowd  owns  an  interest  in  the  stock,  equipment  and 
supplies  of  the  Ford  automobile  agency  at  this  point. 

A  member  of  an  old  Southern  family,  Mr.  Dowd  was  born  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  August  25,  1880,  and  was  the  eldest  child  of  Gundulphus  and  Mary 
(Strickland)  Dowd.  The  mother  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-three  and  later 
the  father  married  again,  by  the  second  union  becoming  the  parent  of  one 
child,  Henry,  now  living  on  the  home  ranch  in  New  Mexico.  After  suc- 
cessive removals  through  the  SLUth,  from  Georgia  (where  he  was  born), 
to  Texas,  Mississippi  and  o;her  states,  the  elder  Dowd  eventually  established 
a  permanent  home  in  New  IMexico,  where  he  since  has  engaged  in  ranching 
and  cattle-raising.  His  second  and  third  sons,  Cephus  and  George  T.,  are 
living  in  Texas,  where  the  former  is  a  cattleman  and  the  latter  an  emplove 
of  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Company.  The  fourth  son.  Edward  S.,  works  for 
his  oldest  brother  in  the  garage  at  Taft,  while  tlie  fifth  son,  Harry  T.,  and 
the  son  by  the  second  marriage,  Henr3%  remain  with  their  father  on  the  New 
Mexico  ranch. 

\\'hen  nine  years  of  age  Adolphus  Dowd  accompanied  the  family  from 
Mississippi  to  Texas,  where  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  completed  the  literary 
course  in  the  Sherman  schools.  Meanwhile  he  had  gained  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  telegraphy  bv  night  studv  and  his  first  paid  position  as  operator  was 
at  Trinidad,  Colo.,  where  he  worked  for  two  vears  with  the  Colorado  South- 
ern Railroad  Company.  Later  he  had  positions  in  many  places  and  with 
different  companies.  Particularly  he  worked  for  the  Postal  and  Western 
Union  Companies,  and  the  Marconi  ^^'irelcss  Telegraph  Company  under 
Capt.  H.  J.  Hughes,  head  of  the  IMarconi  system.  In  New  York  Citv  he 
was  with  both  the  Postal  and  the  Western  Union.  In  Texas  he  worked  at 
Dallas  and  Galveston,  later  held  a  position  at  Denver.  Colo.,  and  as  early  as 
1904  went  to  Panama  under  a  three-year  contract  in  the  government  service, 
but  an  attack  of  malaria  and  conserment  ill-health  led  to  his  honorable  dis- 
charge from  the  service.  During  1905  he  arrived  in  San  Francisco,  where 
he  engaged  as  tele.graph  operator  for  the  San  Francisco  Examiner  and  the 
Associated  Press.  One  of  the  most  thrilling  experiences  occurred  at  the 
time  of  the  earthquake,  when  he  was  on  dutv  in  San  Francisco.  From  that 
city  he  went  to  Kansas,  where  he  was  emnloved  successively  at  Topeka, 
Dodge  City  and  Herington.  The  year  1907  found  him  with  the  ^Vestern 
Union  in  Los  Angeles.     Later  he  was  employed  for  a  year  at  New  Orleans, 


1448  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

La.,  and  next  went  to  Houston,  Tex.,  to  engage  with  the  Houston  Belt  & 
Terminal  line.  When  he  resigned  from  that  position  he  was  sent  to  San 
Francisco  by  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company  and  next  came  to  Kern 
county  early  in  1909.  After  a  few  months  as  Southern  Pacific  agent  at  Taft 
(with  office  in  the  Santa  Fe  depot,  which  at  that  time  consisted  of  a  box  car), 
June  12,  1909,  he  opened  the  independent  office  for  the  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph Company,  installed  the  equipmeuL  and  started  a  set  of  books.  From 
the  Western  Union  service  he  drifted  into  the  livery  automobile  busmess 
and  now,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Stebbins  &  Dowd,  has  the  agency  in 
Taft  and  the  west  side  for  the  Ford  automobiles,  Haynes  autos  and  Federal 
trucks,  buying  and  selling  automobiles  and  their  accessories,  also  doing  re- 
pair work  of  all  kinds. 

The  marriage  of  Air.  Dowd  took  place  at  Taft  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Ruth  Elder,  of  Indianapolis,  Ind.  They  are  identified  with  the  Baptist  de- 
nomination. Fraternally  Mr.  Dowd  ranks  as  one  of  the  leading  Py:hians  of 
California.  During  1903  he  first  identified  himself  with  the  order  in  Texas 
and  ever  since  that  time  he  has  maintained  an  interest  in  its  progress.  After 
coming  to  Taft  he  interested  others  in  the  movemen;;  and  as  a  result  organ- 
ized the  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge  at  this  point,  from  which  he  was  sent  as 
delegate  to  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pythias,  held  at  San  Diego,  May  19-23,  1913. 

E.  D.  BURGE. — The  name  of  Burge  has  been  connected  with  the  agri- 
cultural development  of  Califcrnia  and  particularly  with  the  farming  inter- 
ests of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  ever  since  the  era  of  mining  activity  began 
in  the  west,  for  it  was  during  the  year  1850  that  J.  C.  Burge,  a  West  Virginian 
by  birth,  made  the  tedious  voyage  via  Panama  to  San  Francisco  and  from  that 
city  proceeded  to  the  vicinity  of  Lodi.  After  he  had  been  in  the  west  about 
a  year  he  sent  for  his  wife  and  two  children.  The  former,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Sarah  E.  Hurlbut,  was  a  native  of  Virginia  and  came  from 
an  old  family  of  that  state.  A  large  expedition  in  charge  of  his  brother, 
Simeon  Burge,  crossed  the  plains  and  she  with  the  two  children  accompanied 
the  party.  Four  children  were  born  during  the  residence  of  the  family  near 
Lodi.    The  father  died  in  El  Paso,  Tex.,  and  the  mother  in  Bakersfield  in  1^08. 

Of  the  six  children  comprising  the  family  the  next  to  the  youngest,  E.  D., 
was  born  November  3,  1867,  and  received  common-school  advantages  in 
boyhood.  His  identification  with  Kern  county  dates  from  March  17,  I'Ol, 
when  he  came  to  the  Midway  oil  fields  in  the  employ  of  the  Midway  Oil 
Company  of  Oregon  as  their  foreman.  On  New  Year's  day  of  1902  he  took 
charge  of  the  property  as  superintendent,  in  which  capacity  he  continued 
until  his  resignation  in  August  of  1909.  After  leaving  that  concern  he  located 
in  Bakersfield  and  began  to  handle  oil  lands,  and  the  returns  from  valuable 
properties  in  his  possession  have  been  most  gratifying.  Meanwhile  he  has  been 
concerned  in  the  upbuilding  of  Bakersfield..  During  1910  he  built  the  Southern 
garage  on  Chester  avenue  and  Twenty-fifth  street,  a  structure  exhibiting  the 
mission  style  of  architecture. 

Having  purchased  property  at  Santa  Ana,  in  1911  Mr.  Burge  removed 
with  his  family  to  that  place,  where  now  he  owns  and  superintends  an  orange 
grove  of  twenty  acres  and  a  walnut  grove  of  twenty-one  acres,  the  whole 
forming  a  very  highly  improved  and  valuable  property,  and  is  known  as  one 
of  the  show  places  in  the  county.  Much  of  his  time  is  now  given  to  horti- 
culture, yet  he  has  not  neglected  his  Kern  county  properties  nor  lessened 
his  deep  interest  in  the  progress  of  this  section  of  the  state.  Since  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  National  Bank  of  Bakersfield  he  has  been  a  stockholder  and  director 
in  the  institution.  With  Mr.  Thomas  he  organized  the  Security  Development 
"Company,  of  which  he  since  has  officiated  as  president.  The  company  owns 
the  old  Fcx  and  Tamaloais  leases  in  the  North  Midway  and  on  25  Hill.  At 
this  writing  six  wells  are  in  operation,  while  others  are  in  process  of  drilling. 


HISTORY      OF      KERN    COUxNTY  1449 

The  onlv  fraternal  or^anizatinn  with  which  Air.  Burge  has  HlcntifKil  himself 
is  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  his  nienibcrship  being  with  l.'.akcrs- 
field  Lodge  No.  2(i6.  His  family  comprises  Mrs.  Uurge  and  their  six  chil- 
dren. The  former,  formerly  Miss  Millie  Mason,  was  born  in  Colorado  and 
became  his  wife  in  Missoula,  Mont.,  since  which  she  has  lived  in  California. 
Their  family  consists  of  four  daughters  and  two  sons,  namely;  luliia,  Alice, 
William,  Melvin,  Vivienne  and  Myrna. 

RICHARD  E.  WHITE.— A  native  of  New  Mexico.  Richard  E.  While 
v^-as  born  at  Georgetown,  August  24,  1884,  and  was  about  five  years  old  when, 
in  188y,  his  parents  removed  to  Bakerstield,  Kern  county,  where  he  was  des- 
tined to  become  a  citizen  of  prominence.  After  completing  his  course  in  the 
public  schools  of  Bakersfield,  Richard  White  was  appointed,  in  VJOZ,  a  mid- 
shipman at  the  United  States  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  Md.,  by  Con- 
gressman Daniels,  and  afterward  sanctioned  by  the  late  Senator  Smith.  Serv- 
ing there  for  three  years  he  accjuired  a  valuable  technical  education.  In 
1904  he  resigned  his  position  in  the  navy  and  returned  to  Bakersneld  where 
he  was  for  two  years  employed  as  a  civil  engineer  in  the  employ  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company.  Then  for  two  years  he  was  assistant 
city  engineer.  In  l^Uy  he  became  a  contractor  of  street  work  at  Bakersrieid 
and  operaied  in  that  capacity  successfully  until  1911,  when  he  engaged  in 
the  hardware  and  implement  trade  at  \V  asco.  By  industry,  conscientious 
dealing  and  untailing  alertness  he  has  succeeded  even  beyond  his  expecta- 
tions and  is  building  up  a  tine  business  which  extends  far  beyond  the  limits 
of  his  home  town. 

i-rattrnally  Mr.  White  affiliates  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P. 
O.  E.  September  17,  l'^U8,  he  married  Miss  Bessie  L.  Caldwell,  who  was 
born  at  Santa  Rosa,  Cal.,  February  19,  1885,  and  they  have  a  daughter, 
Julia  V. 

JOHN  J.  McCLIMANS.— While  the  oil  industry  m  the  United  States  is 
of  comparatively  modern  inception  and  development,  three  generations  of 
the  McClimans  have  been  identified  with  its  history  and  the  second  gener- 
ation has  a  most  capable  representative  in  the  superintendent  of  the  Oleg 
Crude  Oil  Company,  who  from  his  earliest  childhood  days  was  familiar  with 
the  business  and  has  made  it  a  means  of  livelihood  throughout  his  entire 
life.  Association  with  the  industry  is  continued  through  his  sons,  Augustus 
and  Lewis,  the  former  now  engaged  with  the  Alaska  Pioneers  and  the  latter 
employed  by  the  Oleg  Crude.  'I  he  grandfather,  W.  M.,  a  native  of  Penn-' 
sylvania,  became  connected  with  the  oil  business  from  its  inception  in 
his  native  commonwealth  and  he  remained  steadily  in  the  occupation  until  he 
was  accidentally  killed  by  a  runaway  horse.  Since  his  death  the  widow, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Jennie  Galvin,  has  continued  to  make  her  home 
in  Pennsylvania. 

In  Franklin,  Venango  county,  Pa.,  where  he  was  btjrn  July  9,  1870.  and 
where  he  attended  the  grammar  schools,  John  J.  McClmiaiis  accpiired  his 
first  knowledge  of  the  oil  industry.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  he  was 
employed  as  a  roustabout  around  oil  wells.  Bj^  the  time  he  was  tw'enty-two 
he  had  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  tool-dressing  and  four  years  later 
he  began  to  aid  in  the  drilling  of  wells.  .All  of  this  time  he  worked  mostly 
in  Venango  county.  Meanwhile  he  married  in  that  county  Miss  Amelia  S. 
Miller,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  F'ranklin,  and  by  whom  he  has  two  sons, 
themselves  already  interested  in  the  oil  industry.  During  1900  the  family 
came  to  California  and  Mr.  McClimans  secured  employment  with  the  Pacific. 
(now  the  Oleg)  Crude  Oil  Company,  whose  holdings  in  the  McKittrick  field 
he  aided  in  developing  through  his  skill  as  a  driller.  Recognition  of  his 
ability  came  in  his  promotion  in  1901  to  be  superintendent  of  the  McKittrick 
lease,  which  he  developed  so  that  it  now  contains  five  producing  wells.     From 


1450  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

^:r 

that  field  in  1909  he  came  to  the  Midway  and  opened  work  on  section  32,  31-23, 
where  he  since  has  developed  four  producing  wells.  Since  coming  to  this 
field  he  has  purchased  stock  in  the  company,  so  that  he  now  is  financially 
interested,  as  well  as  the  superintendent  of  the  Midway  lease.  With  a  reali- 
zation of  the  importance  of  good  schools,  he  gave  his  services  to  the  Oleg 
district  as  a  director  for  four  years  and  in  that  time  accomplished  much  for 
the  welfare  of  the  local  schools.  On  the  organization  of  Yokute  Tribe 
No.  152,  I.  O.  R.  M.,  at  McKittrick,  he  became  a  charter  member  and  remained 
an  active  worker  in  the  same  until  his  removal  from  McKittrick  to  the  Mid- 
way field. 

CHARLES  D.  SMITH.— The  citizenship  of  Mr.  Smith  in  California 
dates  from  1901,  while  his  identification  with  the  Associated  Oil  Company 
dates  from  October  20.  1903,  when  he  secured  employment  on  the  Green- 
Whittier  division  of  the  Kern  river  field.  Having  had  no  previous  ex  lerience, 
he  was  obliged  to  begin  at  the  bottom  and  gradually  work  his  way  forward 
to  a  position  cf  importance. 

The  youngest  in  a  family  of  four  children,  Charles  D.  Smith  was  born 
near  Warrentown,  Warren  county.  Mo.,  December  29,  1880,  being  a  son  of 
Amandus  and  Eliza  (Consage)  Smith,  also  natives  of  Warren  county,  but 
now  residents  of  Texas  county.  Mo.,  where  they  own  and  operate  a  farm. 
During  the  Civil  war  the  father  offered  his  services  to  the  Union  and  was 
assigned  to  Comoany  B,  Tenth  Missouri  Cavalry,  in  which  he  remained  until 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service.  The  old  homestead  was  the  environ- 
ment of  the  early  years  cf  Charles  D.  Smith  and  the  country  schools  gave 
him  a  fair  education.  From  the  age  of  nineteen  years  he  has  been  self-sup- 
porting, for  at  that  time  he  left  Missouri  for  Kansas  and  secured  employ- 
ment on  a  cattle  ranch.  Two  years  later,  in  1901*,  he  came  to  California,  and 
found  empkyment  in  ranching  in  Tulare  county,  whence  he  came  to  the  Kern 
river  field  and  began  with  the  Associated  Oil  Company  October  20,  1903.  Em- 
ployment as  roustabout  was  followed  by  that  with  a  well-pulling  gang..  Within 
three  and  one-half  months  he  had  been  made  foreman  of  the  gang  and  for 
eighteen  months  he  continued  in  that  capacity,  after  which  he  was  transferred 
to  the  McKittrick  division.  Two  years  later  he  became  tocl-dresser,  which  en- 
gaged his  attention  for  six  months,  and  then  he  was  put  to  the  task  of  drilling, 
and  four  months  later  he  was  made  foreman.  As  such  he  was  retained  in  the 
McKittrick  field  until  1910.  when  he  was  transferred  to  Fellows  and  ap-:)ointed 
general  foreman  cf  the  Midway  division,  in  charge  of  drilling  and  production. 
About  eight  years  after  he  had  removed  to  California  he  returned  to  visit 
the  old  Missouri  neighborhood  familiar  to  his  early  days  and  to  spend  a  few 
months  with  his  parents  in  Texas  county,  that  state.  During  that  visit  he 
married,  at  Licking,  Texas  county,  January  6,  1909,  Miss  Maggie  Denison, 
a  native  of  Licking,  educated  in  the  schools  of  the  town  and  an  active  worker 
among  the  young  people  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  that  point.  Her  parents, 
Z.  T.  and  Sarah  C.  (Jonathan)  Denison,  were  natives  of  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee respectively,  but  have  been  residents  of  Missouri  from  early  years.  In 
politics  Mr.  Smith  votes  with  the  Republican  party.  Fraternally  he  holds 
membership  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

FRED  L.  GRIBBLE. — Many  years  ago,  when  the  opportunities  afforded 
by  the  west  first  began  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  world,  John  W.  Gribble, 
a  Missourian  by  birth  and  a  young  man  of  energy  and  sterling  worth,  left 
the  home  of  his  youth  in  order  to  embrace  the  possibilities  of  the  mountain 
regions  lying  beyond  the  then  confines  of  civilization.  For  a  time  he  en- 
gaged in  ranching  not  far  from  Denver,  Colo.,  but  somewhat  later  he  removed 
to  Fremont  county  and  took  up  a  homestead,  on  a  part  of  which  now  stands 
the  thriving  city  of  Florence.  Upon  selling  cut  in  that  place  he  removed  to 
Dallas,  Colo.,  and  continued  agricultural  pursuits.     To  some  extent  he  had 


HISTORY    OF    KKRX    COUNTY  1431 

been  interested  in  minincr  thnni,u:liont  the  entire  period  of  his  residence  in 
Colorado  and  after  coming  to  California  in  18')1  he  continued  the  same  occu- 
pati(  n  in  Tuolumne  county,  but  more  recently  he  has  retired  from  active 
labors  and  now  makes  Bakersfield  his  home.  By  liis  union  with  Donna 
Arthur,  a  native  of  Missouri,  he  became  the  father  of  three  children,  the 
second  of  whom,  Fred  L.,  was  born  at  Florence,  Fremont  county,  Colo., 
December  9,  1876.  During  early  life  he  attended  the  common  sclio  Is  of 
Colurado  and  after  coming  to  California  in  1891  he  attended  the  .Santa 
Barbara  schools  for  a  few  months. 

Returning  to  Colorado  a  year  af;cr  leaving  that  state,  Mr.  Gril^ble 
secured  employment  on  a  cattle  ranch  in  Mesa  county  and  later  began  in  the 
stock  business  for  himself.  At  first  his  herd  was  very  small  and  only  the 
range  offered  by  government  land  enabled  him  to  make  a  start  in  the  indus- 
try but  he  met  with  fair  success  notwithstanding  his  lack  of  capital.  While 
occupying  various  ranges  he  always  made  his  headquarters  at  Grand  Junc- 
tion and  from  that  place  his  shipments  of  stock  were  made  to  the  various 
markets  of  the  country.  During  1896  he  came  for  the  second  time  to  Cali- 
fornia. This  time  he  engaged  in  mining  near  Tuttletown,  Tuolumne  county. 
From  there  he  went  to  Nevada  and  engaged  in  mining  with  more  or  less 
success.  His  experience  in  the  gold,  silver  and  copper  mines  has  taken  him 
into  all  of  the  western  states  and  has  given  him  an  accurate  comprehension 
of  the  industry,  together  with  a  fair  knowledge  of  milling  the  ore.  When 
a  young  boy  in  Colorado  he  had  learned  the  carpenter's  trade  and  after  he 
established  a  home  in  Bakersfield  in  1905  he  turned  his  attention  to  the  occu- 
pation, in  which  he  met  with  a  success  that  justified  him  five  years  later  in 
taking  up  wcrk  as  a  contractor  and  builder  on  his  own  account.  His  comfort- 
able home  at  No.  920  Truxtun  avenue  is  presided  over  with  capability  by 
Mrs.  Gribble  and  they  have  two  children.  Fred  and  Inez.  Mrs.  Gribble  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Grace  Martin  and  was  born  in  Tuolumne  county  near 
Tuttletown,  where  she  was  reared  and  married.  In  politics  Mr.  Gribble  is  a 
Democrat  and  by  his  party  in  July  of  1910  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
board  cf  trustees  of  Bakersfield.  At  the  expiration  of  his  first  term  he  was 
again  chosen  to  serve  as  a  trustee  and  is  now  chairman  of  the  building  com- 
mittee. Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Eagles  and  the  \\'ciodmen 
of  the  World. 

Al  BION  R.  BERGSTEN. — In  the  quiet  and  purposeful  devotion  to  duty 
which  has  always  been  a  marked  characteristic  of  Albion  R.  Bergsten  he 
strongly  resembles  his  father,  the  late  Andrew  Bergsten,  who  for  years  was 
an  employe  of  the  Rock  Island  Plow  Company.  The  mother,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Louise  Ericksen,  is  still  living  in  Ri  ck  Island,  111.  The  chief 
ambition  of  the  parents  was  to  rear  their  children  to  lives  of  honor  and  to  fit 
them  for  positions  of  usefulness. 

There  were  six  children  in  the  family  and  of  the  four  now  living  Albion 
R.,  the  youngest  of  the  four  and  the  only  one  to  settle  on  the  coast,  was  born 
at  Rock  Island,  III.,  March  1.  1883,  and  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  city.  At  the  age  cf  fifteen  he  became  an  apprentice  black- 
smith with  the  Rock  Island  Plow  Company  and  remained  with  that  con- 
cern not  only  until  he  had  completed  his  time,  but  later  as  a  journeyman,  being 
with  them  for  eleven  years  altogether,  and  finally  resigning  in  order  to  remove 
to  California.  Prior  to  his  remi  val  from  Illinois  he  had  married  Miss 
Bertha  Karr,  a  native  of  Rock  Island  county,  that  state,  and  by  this  union 
there  is  a  daughter,  Jessie  Lois.  February  2,  1910,  he  and  his  wife  arrived 
in  Bakersfield.  It  was  not  his  desire  to  resume  work  as  a  blacksmith,  so  he 
sought  employment  in  the  oil  fields  and  for  four  months  held  a  pcsition 
with  a  surveying  corps  on  Elk  Hills.  For  six  months  after  his  return  to 
Bakersfield  he  had  charge  of  the  H  street  plant  of  the  Sumner  water  works. 


1452  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

after  which  he  resigned  in  order  to  take  charge  of  the  management  of  the 
Brower  building,  then  just  completed,  and  he  has  continued  as  superintendent 
ever  since.  Since  ccming  to  Kern  county  he  has  been  identified  with  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  the  Mystic  Workers  of  the  World,  while 
both  he  and  his  wife  are  earnest  workers  in  the  Christian  Church  of 
Bakersfield. 

H.  A.  McMURTRY. — Force  of  character  and  determination  of  will  are 
evidenced  in  the  progress  of  Mr.  IMcMurtry.  Since  coming  from  Pennsyl- 
vania to  California  he  has  engaged  at  engineering  and  at  this  writing  fills  a 
most  responsible  position  as  chief  engineer  of  the  Producers'  Transporta- 
tion Company  at  Sunset  Station,  about  three  miles  north  of  Maricooa,  on 
section  34,  32-24.  Prior  to  1910  he  had  always  been  connected  with  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  and  since  then  he  has  been  with  the  Producers,  the 
greater  part  of  this  time  having  charge  of  the  engines  at  the  Sunset  Station. 

With  the  earliest  development  of  oil  in  Pennsylvania  the  McMurtry  fam- 
ily was  identified.  The  late  J.  A.  McMurtry  was  one  of  the  pioneer  oil  men 
of  the  Keystone  state  and  followed  the  development  of  the  industry  from 
Oil  City,  where  oil  was  first  discovered,  southward  and  westward  into  newer 
fields  as  each  in  turn  was  discovered  and  developed.  Thus  it  happened  that 
H.  A.,  son  of  J.  A.,  was  reared  in  diiiferent  oil  camps  in  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  born  in  St.  Joe,  Butler  county.  Pa.,  July  15,  1882,  and  attended  the 
public  schcols  of  Chicora,  in  the  same  county,  where  later  he  gained  his 
first  practical  experience  in  the  oil  business.  While  working  at  various  pump 
stations  for  the  Standard  Oil  Company  he  learned  telegraphy,  after  which 
the  Standard  appointed  him  as  telegraph  operator  at  Ewing  Station,  Wash- 
ington county.  Pa.,  where  he  remained  for  ten  years,  meanwhile  having 
heavy  responsibilities  in  connection  with  the  management  of  an  important 
main-line  station.  V\'hile  there  he  married  Mrs.  Emma  Childress,  widow  of 
T.  E.  Childress,  and  daughter  of  Jacob  Smith,  of  West  Monterey,  Clarion 
county.  Pa.  By  her  first  husband  she  had  one  child,  Esther  Childress.  Of 
her  second  marriage  there  is  a  daughter,  Frances.  The  family  reside  in  the 
company's  house  on  the  premises  and  the  daughters  are  students  in  the  Mari- 
copa school.  Since  taking  his  present  position  Mr.  McMurtry  has  had 
supervision  of  three  men  and  has  been  devoted  to  his  engineering  duties. 
The  Standard  and  Producers  are  the  only  companies  for  which  he  has  worked 
and  with  both  of  these  organizations  he  has  become  known  for  reliability, 
skill,  tact  and  intelligence. 

BURT  THOMAS.— When  Mr.  Thomas  first  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Standard  Oil  Company  he  was  assigned  to  the  production  department,  but 
later  was  transferred  to  the  teaming  or  transportation  department  and  is 
now  engaged  as  teamster  connected  with  the  pipe-line  department  at  the 
pumping  station  of  the  Central  Midway  division,  on  section  1.  32-23.  having 
charge  of  teaming  not  only  in  the  Central  Midway  but  also  the  Sagna  station. 
At  these  two  pumping  static ns  in  the  Midway  field  the  oil  is  pumped  through 
the  eight-inch  mains  of  the  company  and  sent  on  to  the  next  station,  thence 
pumped  to  the  nearest  station  on  its  way  to  Point  Richmond  at  the  bay. 

In  \\'abasha  county.  Alinn..  near  Lake  City.  Burt  Thomas  was  born 
Seotember  3.  1859,  being  the  only  son  of  Uriah  and  Eliza  (Lee)  Thomas, 
pioneers  cf  Minnesota,  where  the  father  is  still  making  his  home  in  Minne- 
apolis. The  mother,  a  native  of  Vermont,  is  now  deceased,  while  the  only 
daughter,  now  the  wife  of  George  W.  Davis,  is  a  resident  of  Chicago,  111. 
During  the  period  of  the  supremacy  of  steamboat  navigation  on  the  Missis- 
sippi river  Uriah  Thomas  engaged  as  a  mate  on  one  of  these  vessels  and  his 
connection  with  the  business  continued  until  the  decadence  of  navigation  on 
that  stream, -after  which  he  settled  on  a  farm  and  developed  a  tract  of  Min- 
nesota  land.     Burt  Thomas  was   reared  in   \^'abasha  county,  but   in   young 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1433 

manhood  removed  to  Minneapolis  and  secured  a  position  in  the  city  lire 
department.  For  fifteen  years  he  continued  with  that  work,  meanwhile 
sutlering  many  narrow  escapes.  He  came  nearly  heing-  killed  while  fifjhting 
the  great  fire  that  destroyed  the  Washhurn  No.  1  mill  in  Minneapolis  and 
that  was  caused  by  an  explosion  of  flour  dust.  In  another  fire  a  falling  wall 
injureil  him  and  he  was  reported  killed. 

Enlisting  in  the  Spanish-.American  war  .\pril  1,  18")8,  Mr.  Thomas  became 
a  private  in  Company  I,  Thirteenth  Minnesota  Infantry,  which  was  sent  to 
Camp  Ramsey  to  be  drilled  in  military  tactics.  June  19,  of  the  same  year, 
the  command  sailed  from  San  Francisco  for  the  Philippines.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  5th  of  July  the  ship  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Honolulu.  While 
on  the  Philippines  he  took  part  in  twenty-eight  engagements,  some  of  these 
being  among  the  most  important  battles  of  the  entire  war.  When  the  war 
came  to  an  end  he  was  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  received  an  hi.nor- 
able  discharge  in  October,  1899,  at  the  Presidio.  He  determined  to  remain  in 
San  Francisco  and  soon  secured  a  position  in  the  street  railway  service,  where 
he  continued  for  three  years,  resigning  at  the  time  of  the  strike.  Later  he  was 
employed  as  special  officer  at  the  Auditorium  and  in  other  places  and  also 
served  as  a  member  of  the  special  city  police  force  until  his  resignation  in 
1909,  after  which  he  spent  si.x  months  as  special  police  officer  at  the  Alaska- 
Yukon  Pacific  Expi  sition  in  Seattle.  Returning  to  California,  he  spent  about 
nine  months  as  game  warden  and  custodian  of  the  estate  of  .-X.  W.  Foster 
near  Tamalpais  and  since  leaving  that  position  he  has  been  an  employe  of 
the  Standard  Oil  Company  in  the  Midway  field.  By  his  first  marriage  he 
has  a  daughter,  Alice  Myrtle,  now  engaged  as  a  stenographer  with  the  Gould 
Elevator  Company  in  ^Minneapolis.  His  present  wife,  whom  he  married  in 
1896,  was  formerly  Miss  Alice  Carroll,  of  Minneapolis. 

R.  W.  McGILL. — From  earliest  recollections  up  to  the  present  time  Mr. 
McGill  has  been  acquainted  with  the  oil  industry.  As  a  boy  at  Petrclia,  Onta- 
rio, Canada,  where  he  was  born  December  11,  1875,  he  became  familiar  with 
the  stirring  excitement  incident  to  the  drilling  for  oil,  a  work  that  assumed 
especially  im])ortant  proportions  through  the  fact  that  oil  was  struck  on  land 
owned  by  the  McGill  family.  Thereupon  the  father,  being  offered  a  gratify- 
ing figure  fi  r  the  land,  sold  out  and  later  acquired  a  ranch  of  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  in  Manitoba  now  rented  to  tenants  and  devoted  to  the  rais- 
ing of  wheat.  Himself  interested  in  the  oil  business  from  an  early  age,  he  has 
made  a  specialty  of  the  building  of  oil  tanks,  but  is  familiar  with  every  depart- 
ment of  the  great  industry. 

The  fifth  among  six  children  who  attained  mature  years,  R.  W.  McGill 
remained  in  Canada  until  twenty-four  years  of  age.  Meanwhile,  when  only 
sixteen,  he  was  a  diligent  worker  in  the  oil  fields  and  when  only  twenty-two 
he  was  considered  one  of  the  most  careful  drillers  in  the  district.  Fc  r  two 
years  he  drilled  at  Dutton,  Ontario,  and  there  he  married  Miss  Annie  Sutton, 
by  whom  he  has  a  son,  George.  Leaving  Canada  in  December  of  1900,  he 
brought  his  family  to  Bakersfield,  Cal.  He  was  familiar  with  the  Midway 
field  before  Taft  had  a  place  on  the  map  and  before  Maricopa  had  even  a 
single  store.  The  importance  of  the  field  was  then  unsuspected.  Nor  were 
his  first  labors  in  the  field  fruitful  of  results.  In  the  interests  of  the  contract 
driller,  J.  E.  .Austin,  now  of  Bakersfield,  he  engaged  in  drilling  on  section 
31,  32-23,  a  wild-cat  proposition  that  brought  no  oil.  Going  then  to  the  Kern 
river  field,  he  worked  for  the  Grace.  \'ulcan  and  other  companies,  also  held 
positions  with  the  Cnion  Pacific  (now  the  Phoenix)  and  other  refineries,  and 
helped  to  build  the  National  and  Great  Western  (now  Prtiducers")  refineries. 

After  five  years  as  an  employe  of  refineries  in  the  Kern  river  field  Mr. 
McGill  purchased  a  one-half  interest  in  the  livery  stable  of  William  RatliflF, 
now  deceased,  but  at  the  expiration  of  three  months  he  sold   his  interest  in 


1454  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  livery  business  in  order  to  resume  identification  with  the  oil  industry. 
After  a  time  he  took  charge  of  the  Live  Stock  Oil  Company  and  when  it  was 
overtaken  by  the  Tannehill  Oil  Company  he  was  retained  by  the  new  organi- 
zation as  superintendent,  which  position  he  still  fills,  having  charge  of  the 
lease  on  section  34,  12-24.  On  the  lease  there  are  twelve  wells  and  the 
ten  of  these  now  active  produce  an  average  of  kur  thousand  barrels  per 
month.  A  driller  of  long  experience  and  exceptional  ability,  the  superin- 
tendent is  thoroughly  qualified  to  cope  with  every  difficulty  that  arises.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  at  Bakersfield. 

W.  CANFIELD.— As  drilling  foreman  on  the  Taft  division  of  the  Kern 
Trading  &  Oil  Company,  which  position  he  has  filled  since  May  of  1911,  Mr. 
Canfield  takes  just  pride  in  the  development  of  the  oil  industry  and  keeps 
posted  concerning  the  production  of  the  commodity  in  the  state's  most  noted 
fuel  oil  fields. 

About  the  year  1890  N.  O.  Canfield  brought  his  family  to  California  and 
settled  in  Los  Angeles,  where  he  engaged  in  cement  and  brick  contracting. 
The  business  depression  following  the  subsidence  of  the  boom  affected  him 
seriLUsly.  Many  owed  him  for  work  already  completed  and,  unable  to  col- 
lect these  large  sums,  he  could  not  continue  in  business.  Undaunted  by  this 
serious  trouble,  he  started  anew  and  in  due  time  regained  a  competency 
through  fortunate  investments  in  the  Kern  river  and  Los  Angeles  oil  fields. 
Surrounded  by  all  the  comforts  that  brighten  life's  declining  day,  he  is  now 
living  on  his  ranch  in  Tulare  county.  His  wife,  who  is  also  still  living,  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Ella  Brcanigham.  During  the  residence  of  the  family  in 
Minnesota  W.  Canfield  was  born  October  31,  1878.  Between  the  ages  of 
five  and  twelve  years  he  lived  with  his  parents  in  Moody  county,  S.  Dak. 
After  the  age  of  twelve  he  lived  in  Los  Angeles,  where  he  completed  his 
education  in  the  Commercial  High  (now  the  Polytechnic)  school.  After 
graduation  he  gave  his  time  wholly  to  the  oil  business,  in  which  he  had 
worked  previously  during  vacations.  Under  the  firm  name  of  Canfield  Bros., 
he  and  his  brother,  Frank,  entered  the  Kern  river  field  in  1899  and  put  down 
nineteen  wells  on  the  Knob  Hill  lease,  also  drilled  in  other  parts  of  the  same 
field.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Canfield  also  had  charge  of  the  old  Aztec  Oil  Company. 
Going  to  the  Midway  field  in  1905,  he  spent  a  year  as  driller  for  the  C.C.M. 
Oil  Company,  and  in  1505  transferred  his  headquarters  to  Coalinga.  where 
for  eighteen  months  he  took  charge  of  a  rotary  well-drilling  outfit  for  the 
Associated. 

Contract  drilling  of  artesian  water  wells  kent  Canfield  Bros,  in  Tulare 
county  for  a  time.  On  the  return  of  Mr.  Canfield  to  the  Kern  river  field  he 
drilled  a  number  of  wells  frr  the  Sapphire  Oil  Company,  but  no  oil  was  found. 
As  superintendent  of  the  Western  Mineral  Oil  Company  he  spent  a  year  on 
their  lease  west  of  Maricopa.  In  1910  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Kern 
Trading  &  Oil  Company  as  a  driller  and  the  following  year  he  was  promoted 
to  be  drilling  foreman  on  the  Taft  division.  With  his  wife,  who  was  form- 
erly Miss  Helen  Grodzek  of  Bakersfield,  he  lives  in  a  cottage  on  the  company's 
lease.  Besides  being  a  member  of  the  Petroleum  Club,  he  is  interested  in 
other  enterprises  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  city  and  especially  for  the  devel- 
opment of  the  great  oil  interests  on  which  the  life  of  the  city  itself  defends. 

W.  A.  ENGELKE.— The  Taft  Garage  Company,  of  which  W.  A. 
Engelke  is  manager,  was  acquired  from  Woods  Brothers  June  21,  1913,  by 
the  present  owners,  one  of  whom  is  the  manager  and  proprietor.  On  the 
corner  of  Fifth  and  jMain  streets  the  company  owns  a  galvanized  iron  building, 
50x118  feet  in  dimensions,  with  office,  waiting  room,  machine  shop  and  auto- 
mobile storage  room.  The  equipment  is  so  complete  that  automobilists  may 
be  accommodated  in  every  line  of  their  necessities.  Ample  facilities  have  been 
provided  for  the  storage  of  cars.     Supplies  are  kept  on  hand  and  repair  work 


HISTORY    OF    Kl'.RN    COUNTY  1455 

is  executed  promptly  by  a  corps  of  able  and  trustworthy  inacliinists  and  at- 
tendants, under  the  supcrvisii  n  of  the  proprietor,  himself  a  skilled  machinist 
and  unusually  capable  workman. 

Like  many  of  those  prominent  in  business  and  oil  circles  in  the  Midway 
field  Mr.  Engelke  is  a  young  man.  He  was  born  in  St.  Louis  county,  Mo., 
March  23,  1886.  and  is  the  only  son  among  five  children,  whose  parents, 
Frederick  and  Margaret  (Ennis)  Engelke,  still  reside  in  St.  Louis,  the  father 
having  been  engaged  in  business  there  for  many  years.  Having  received  fair 
advantages  in  the  public  schools,  W.  A.  Engelke  at  the  age  of  sixteen  began 
an  apprenticeship  of  three  years  to  the  trade  of  machinist  with  Yerkes  & 
Finan.  of  St.  Louis.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  became  an  employe  in  an  auto- 
mobile factory  owned  and  operated  by  the  St.  Louis  Power  Company.  In 
that  place  he  continued  until  his  removal  to  the  west,  with  the  exception  of 
eighteen  months  as  maintenance  man  for  Buxti  n  &  Skinner.  One  of  his 
duties  was  in  connection  with  the  printing  presses,  which  he  repaired  and 
kept  in  perfect  working  order. 

A  brief  experience  with  a  manufacturing  company  in  Los  Angeles  after 
his  arrival  in  that  city  in  1910  was  followed  by  the  employment  of  Mr. 
Engelke  with  the  Premier  Automobile  Company  as  machinist  in  their  garage. 
From  that  place  he  came  to  Maricopa  in  January,  1912,  and  secured  employ- 
ment two  miles  north  of  that  town,  as  machinist  at  the  Monarch  camp  of 
the  Union  Oil  Company.  While  working  on  the  celebrated  Lakeview  lease 
he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  F.  F.  Hill,  general  superintendent  of  develop- 
ment, and  George  Kammerer.  superintendent  of  development  in  the  Midway 
and  Maricopa  districts.  By  singular  goi  d  fortune  his  real  merits  attracted  the 
attention  of  these  two  widely  known  oil  operators.  Appreciating  his  skill 
as  a  machinist  and  his  character  as  a  man,  they  formed  a  partnership  with 
him  in  the  Taft  garage,  each  gentleman  buying  one-third  interest  in  the 
business,  which  has  since  been  under  the  management  of  Mr.  Engelke. 

FRED  C.  SHERWOOD.— During  August  of  1909  Mr.  Sherwood  and 
his  wife  established  their  home  in  the  place  they  still  occupy  and  about  the 
same  time  he  was  assigned  to  work  as  a  driller  on  section  6,  township  31, 
range  23.  Since  then  he  has  engaged  as  a  driller  or  as  driller  foreman  with 
the  C.C. I\I.  Oil  Company,  commonly  known  as  the  Santa  Fe. 

Twenty-two  miles  from  Erie,  in  Union  township,  Erie  county.  Pa.,  Fred 
C.  Sherwood  was  born  on  a  farm  June  1,  1873,  being  the  son  of  Bruce  .Sher- 
wcod,  who  for  years  has  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-rais'ng. 
Primarily  educated  in  public  schools,  he  later  attended  the  high  school  and 
Luce's  Business  College  at  LInion  City,  Pa.  Leaving  home  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  he  went  to  W'est  Virginia  and  found  employment  with  an  uncle 
in  the  oil  fields  of  Jake's  Run.  For  three  months  he  was  hired  as  a  teamster, 
after  which  he  was  taught  to  dress  tools.  Several  years  later  he  turned  from 
tool-dressing  to  drilling.  At  Fairmont,  W.  Va.,  November  29,  1898,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Celesta  H.  Barr,  of  Crossroads,  Monongalia  county,  W.  Va.,  and 
afterward  he  continued  to  work  in  the  oil  fields  as  a  driller,  remaining  in 
West  Virginia  until  1907.  For  eighteen  m>  nths  he  and  his  wife  li\ed  at  the 
old  Pennsylvania  homestead  and  from  there  in  December,  1908,  they  came 
to  California.  His  first  place  of  work  in  the  west  was  in  Cat  canon,  Santa 
Maria  oil  field,  where  he  engaged  in  drilling  for  the  Brooks  Oil  Company. 
On  leaving  that  field  he  came  to  the  Midway  August  1,  1909,  and  since  then 
he  has  been  with  the  Santa  Fe,  now  being  driller  foreman  in  charge  of  four 
strings  of  tools.  \\'ith  his  wife  he  holds  membership  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  at  Taft  and  their  oldest  child.  Hazel  Sherwood,  is  now  engaged 
as  church  organist.  Two  other  children  bless  the  household,  Harry  and 
Oren.  Fraternally  Mr.  Sherwood  is  connected  with  the  blue  lodge  of  Masonry 
and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 


1456  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

AXEL  LON STROM.— Born  at  Stockholm,  Sweden,  February  7,  1872, 
and  where  his  father,  for  years  engaged  in  business  as  a  manufacturer  of 
powder,  is  now  living  in  quiet  retirement,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years. 
Axel  Lonstrom  at  sixteen  years  of  age  started  out  to  see  something  ef  the 
world.  Having  lived  all  of  his  life  near  the  coast,  he  was  familiar  with  the 
great  ships  that  sailed  the  high  seas  and  it  was  on  one  of  these  that  he  started 
out,  and  until  nineteen  years  of  age  he  was  a  sailor  on  English  and  American 
sail  and  steamships.  One  of  his  first  voyages  tt  ok  him  to  the  principal  ports 
of  the  Mediterranean  sea.  Later  he  sailed  from  Marseilles,  France,  to  Rio 
Janeiro,  Brazil.  Later  voyages  took  him  to  New  York  City,  the  West  Indies, 
Trinidad  Island  and  London,  after  which  he  sailed  along  the  coast  of  Great 
Britain  and  thence  to  Barcelcna,  Spain.  On  again  crossing  the  ocean  he 
traversed  the  St.  Lawrence  river  to  Three  Rivers,  ninety  miles  above  Quebec, 
from  which  place  he  returned  to  London  on  the  vessel  Bucephalus.  An 
English  sailing-ship  brought  him  around  the  Horn  to  San  Francisco  and 
there  he  engaged  to  accompany  the  whaler  Sea  Breeze  in  a  whaling  expedi- 
tion to  the  Bering  sea  and  .Artie  ocean,  where  he  remained  fi  r  nine  months. 

At  the  close  of  the  whaling  cruise  Mr.  Lonstrom  proceeded  from  San 
Francisco  to  Los  Angeles  and  near  there  spent  seven  months  on  a  ranch. 
From  that  he  drifted  into  other  work.  The  meney  so  carefully  hoarded  was 
lost  during  an  unprofitable  period  as  owner  of  a  Long  Beach  meat  market. 
For  a  time  he  worked  at  ranching  and  breaking  colts.  With  a  number  of 
companions  he  sailed  from  San  Pedro  f t  r  Alaska  on  a  schooner  they  had 
bought  for  $6,000.  For  a  time  he  engaged  in  mining  at  Kotzebue  sound, 
and  indeed,  he  prospected  and  mined  throughout  almost  every  part  of  that 
great  and  unknown  country.  Many  of  his  experiences  were  thrilling  and 
some  even  dangerous,  nor  were  there  any  rich  discoveries  to  repay  him  for 
the  hardships  and  nrivations.  After  he  had  remained  in  the  far  north  con- 
tinuously from  1898  to  the  fall  of  1909  he  came  down  to  Seattle,  but  in  the 
spring  of  1910  he  returned  to  Nome.  Again  in  the  fall  of  1910  he  sailed  down 
to  Seattle,  only  to  return  to  Alaska  for  the  summer  of  1911,  but  when  in  the 
fall  of  that  year  he  again  departed  from  Nome,  it  was  with  the  intention  of 
remaining  in  the  United  States,  and  since  then  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
oil  industry  in  Kern  county,  working  on  various  leases  until  the  spring  of 
1912,  when  he  was  promoted  to  be  yard  foreman  of  the  Central  Midway 
division  for  the  General  Petroleum  Company.  Since  coming  to  Taft  he  has 
identified  himself  with  the  Loyal  Order  of  j\Ioose. 

T.  P.  KELEHER. — A  specialist  in  the  important  work  of  pipe  line  con- 
struction and  connection  is  "Tim"  Keleher,  who  holds  a  ver^'  responsible 
position  as  connection  foreman  of  the  pipe  line  department.  Standard  Oil 
Company,  on  section  1,  township  32,  range  23.  Arriving  at  Taft  Seotember 
1,  1910,  he  since  has  been  identified  with  the  development  of  the  Midway 
field,  and  on  the  1st  of  November  following  his  arrival  at  this  point  he  was 
tendered  the  position  he  since  has  filled. 

Mr.  Keleher  was  born  in  Toledo,  Ohio,  August  20,  1872,  and  is  third 
among  the  six  living  children  of  Uaniel  Keleher,  for  thirty-five  years  a  care- 
taker in  the  employ  of  the  Michigan  Central  Railroad  Company.  While  at- 
tending school  in  Toledo  he  gave  his  vacations  to  baseball  and  soon  acquired 
skill  in  the  game.  After  considerable  amateur  work  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Inter-State  League.  During  the  first  two  seasons  he  played  with  amateur 
nines  at  Toledo  and  smaller  towns  throughout  the  state.  During  the  third 
year,  while  playing  second  base  with  the  South  Bend  Nine,  he  was  injured 
in  the  arm  in  such  a  way  as  to  incapacitate  him  for  athletics.  Forced  to 
seek  another  occupation,  he  turned  to  the  oil  industry  and  secured  a  position 
with  the  East  Ohio  Gas  Company.  After  two  years  in  their  service  he  went 
to  the  West  ^'irginia  oil  fields,  thence  to  Kentucky,  working  in  gas  and  oil 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1457 

fields  for  five  years  in  those  states.  Next  he  spent  two  3ears  in  the  Ohio  oil 
fields  mainly  at  Lima  and  Findlay. 

Two  years  were  spent  by  Mr.  Kelcher  in  construction  work  on  the  oil 
line  extending  from  Jamestown.  Ind.,  to  Alartinsville,  111.,  after  which  he 
engaged  in  construction  work  on  the  first  large  gas  line  ont  of  Kansas  City. 
Froin  there  he  went  to  Oklahoma  and  for  a  year  worked  on  pipe  line  con- 
struction at  Tulsa.  Returning  to  former  headquarters  he  became  an  employe 
of  the  Ohio  Oil  Company  and  for  almost  six  years  had  charge  of  their  inter- 
ests at  Martinsville.  Upon  resigning  that  position  in  1910  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia and  since  has  been  connected  with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  at  Taft 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Church.  While  he  had  his  head(|uarters  in 
Illinois  he  was  married,  at  Marshall,  that  state,  to  Miss  Margaret  Kelm.  who 
was  born  and  reared  in  Illinois,  received  an  excellent  education  and  from 
childhcod  has  Ijeen  an  attendant  at  the  services  tf  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.     A  daughter.  Margaret  Mary,  blesses  their  union. 

CHARLES  S.  TAYLOR.— Among  the  men  who  have  taken  an  active 
part  in  prospecting  and  developing  the  mining  interests  of  Kern  and  San 
Bernaidino  counties  is  Charles  S.  Taylor,  superintendent  of  the  Atolia  Mining 
Company  at  Atolia.  Tennessee  is  the  native  state  of  Mr.  Taylor,  he  being 
born  at  Elizabethton.  Carter  county.  June  21.  1871.  His  father,  Jonathan 
Taylor,  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  and  during  the  Civil  war  served  in  Com- 
pany B.  Fourth  Tennessee  V'olunteer  Infantry.  In  1876  he  came  to  California, 
his  death  occurring  in  Fresno  county. 

Charles  S.  Tayli  r  lived  in  Tennessee  until  1884  when  he  came  to  Lemoore, 
Cal..  where  he  completed  the  public  school  course.  He  then  fi  llowed  farm- 
ing until  March.  1896.  when  he  came  to  Randsburg  and  after  eighteen  months 
with  the  Butte  Mining  Comoany  he  was  two  years  with  the  Y.  .A.  M.  &  M. 
Co..  after  which  he  began  prospecting  and  mining  on  his  own  account.  Just 
after  Churchill  discovered  the  tungsten  ore  in  1905  he  with  ethers  located 
several  tungsten  claims  at  what  is  now  Atolia.  and  also  bought  an  interest 
with  Mr.  Ray.  Together  they  began  to  open  the  Papoose  mine  which  is 
now  the  site  of  the  main  plant  of  the  Atolia  Mining  Company.  Mr.  Taylor 
was  fo-eman  of  operations  until  January.  1903.  when  the  Atolia  Mining  Com- 
pany of  San  Francisco  purchased  the  Churchill,  Ray,  Taylor  and  other  inter- 
ests and  continued  operations  and  development.  Mr.  Taylor  was  engaged  as 
foreman  and  was  afterward  made  Fuperintendent  of  the  mines.  The  com- 
pany have  sixtv-two  claims  and  the  mine  is  considered  the  largest  and  richest 
individual  tungsten  mine  in  the  world. 

In  1906  when  the  postofihce  was  U  cated  at  Atolia  he  was  appointed  post- 
master and  has  held  the  position  ever  since.  As  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  Atolia  school  district  he  was  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  trustees  and 
has  been  its  clerk  for  three  terms. 

In  Kingman,  Ariz.,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Taylor  with  Mrs.  Ger- 
trude (Nelson)  Schoonmaker.  a  native  of  Ohio,  and  they  have  two  cliildren, 
Charles  S..  Jr.,  and  Robert  Lawrence.  Fraternally  he  was  made  a  Mason  in 
Tehachapi  Lodge  No.  313.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  he  is  also  a  member  of  Los 
Angeles  Consistory  and  .Al  Malaikah  Temple,  N.  M.  S.  With  his  wife  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Order  of  Eastern  Star. 

ANDREW  J.  FOUST.— Whatever  of  success  has  crowned  the  efforts  of 
]Mr.  Foust  and  whatever  of  goi  d  he  has  accomplished  in  the  world  may  be 
attributed  to  the  possession  on  his  part  of  determination  of  will,  honesty  of 
purpose  and  integrity  of  character.  With  these  attributes  and  the  aid  of  his 
capable  wife  he  has  risen  to  a  place  of  independence. 

The  Foust  family  is  of  German  extractiiii.  As  early  as  1845,  when 
Iowa  presented  a  vast  stretch  of  uncultivated  acreage  and  Des  Moines  was 
merely  a  log  fort.  E.   M.   Foust,  who   was  born   in   Indiana  in   1832.  accom- 


1438  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

panied  other  members  of  the  family  to  the  state  and  settled  on  a  claim  about 
ten  miles  south  of  Des  Moines  in  Warren  county.  Ever  since  then  he  has 
lived  on  the  same  land.  Meanwhile  he  has  seen  the  state  developed  into  a 
great  commonwealth  and  the  improvement  of  his  own  property  has  kept 
pace  with  the  growth  of  the  state.  His  first  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name 
of  Sarah  Bishop,  was  born  in  Indiana  and  died  on  the  Iowa  farm  in  Decem- 
ber, 1854,  leaving  an  only  child,  Andrew  J.,  whose  birth  had  occurred  on 
that  same  homestead  January  2,  1854.  As  a  boy  this  son  worked  early  and 
late.  When  not  needed  on  the  farm  he  was  sent  to  the  neighboring  school. 
At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  began. to  work  for  farmers  in  the  community  and 
continued  as  a  hired  hand  until  he  established  a  home  of  his  own. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Foust  November  13,  1879,  united  him  with  Miss 
Elector  L.  Bishoi,  a  native  of  Somerset,  Iowa.  The  eldest  of  six  children, 
Mrs.  Foust  was  a  daughter  of  Levi  and  Caroline  (Ferrel)  Bishop,  natives 
respectively  cf  Indiana  and  Missouri.  At  the  age  of  nine  years  in  1845  Levi 
Bishop  accompanied  his  father.  Joshua  Bishop,  from  Indiana  to  Iowa,  and 
settled  not  far  from  the  capital  city  of  Des  Moines,  then  an  insigniikant 
village  of  logs,  fortified  to  afl:'ord  protection  from  the  Indians.  Throughout 
all  of  his  active  life  Mr.  Bishop  engaged  in  general  farming  in  Iowa.  At 
the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  he  entered  Company  H,  Thirty-fourth  Iowa 
Infantry,  in  which  he  continued  at  the  front  until  the  failure  of  his  health 
and  his  hcnorable  discharge.  After  returning  home  he  served  as  lieutenant 
of  a  company  of  Iowa  Home  Guard.  Eventually  he  removed  to  Fowler, 
Cal.,  where  he  remained  until  death  and  where  his  widow  still  makes  her  home. 

A  condition  of  health  so  serious  as  to  arouse  fears  for  the  life  of  Airs. 
Foust  led  her  husband  to  close  out  his  farming  interests  in  Iowa  and  remove 
to  California  in  February,  1888.  The  change  proved  beneficial  and  Mrs.  Foust 
was  soon  restored  to  health.  Nor  did  the  removal  prove  disastrous  from  a 
financial  point  of  view.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Foust  has  been  prospered 
in  the  west.  Immediately  after  his  arrival  in  Kern  county  he  homesteaded 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  the  Weed  Patch,  put  up  a  house,  sunk  a  well, 
established  his  home  there  and  at  the  expiration  of  five  years  proved  up  on  the 
claim.  Later  he  bought  eighty  acres  of  school  land  four  miles  from  the  home- 
stead. In  order  to  improve  the  new  property  he  removed  thither,  after  which 
time  he  made  a  special  feature  of  the  stock  business  until  June,  1913,  the 
date  of  his  removal  to  California  avenue.  In  politics  he  has  been  a  stanch 
Republican.  On  the  organization  of  the  Vineland  school  district  he  was 
made  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  trustees  and  upon  removing  to  the  farm 
of  eighty  acres  he  aided  in  organizing  the  Mountain  View  school  district,  of 
which  he  served  as  trustee  for  many  years.  In  religion  they  are  members 
of  the  Christian  Church.  Their  eldest  son,  E.  L.,  who  died  in  1908,  had 
been  engaged  as  a  steel  construction  engineer  and  had  designed  many  steel 
buildings  in  San  Francisco.  The  other  sons,  E.  B.  and  L.  E.,  are  respectively 
bcss  rig  builder  and  superintendent  of  construction  for  the  Associated  Oil 
Company  at  Fellows.  The  third  child  and  only  daughter,  Mrs.  Virna  Fill- 
more, is  a  resident  of  the  Weed  Patch,  where  her  husband,  H.  H.  Fillmore, 
is  engaged  in  farm  pursuits. 

GEORGE  W.  URIE. — George  W.  Urie  was  born  in  Chelsea,  Mass., 
August  15,  1864,  and  was  the  son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  (Orell)  Urie,  natives 
of  Paisley,  Scotland,  and  England,  respectively.  The  father  learned  the  dyer's 
trade  in  Paisley  and  on  coming  to  the  United  States  followed  the  trade  in 
the  woolen  mills  in  Massachusetts.  George  W^  was  brought  up  and  edu- 
cated in  Massachusetts.  When  eighteen  years  of  age  he  removed  with  the 
family  to  Appleton,  Wis.,  where  he  learned  the  dyer's  trade  under  his  father, 
but  five  years  later  was  obliged  to  give  it  up  on  account  of  his  health.  He 
then  began  the  study  of  telegraphy  in  Rockford,  III,  and  held  positions  with 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COUXTY  1459 

the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  in  dift'erent  parts  of  Illinois  and  Wisconsin 
until  1901  when  he  rem..ved  with  his  family  to  California.  Here  he  entered 
the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railread  as  operator  at  Red  Bluff  until 
19C2  when  he  held  the  same  position  at  Indio.  Then  he  was  assistant  agent 
at  Anaheim  for  one  year,  when  he  became  agent  and  operator  at  Glamis. 
This  was  at  the  front  during  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  Palos  Vcrdes 
valley  and  to  accommodate  the  settler  and  miners  he  tpened  a  restaurant  and 
also  a  hay  and  feed  business.  After  three  years  he  was  sent  as  agent  to 
Mecca,  where  he  remained  four  years.  Next  he  was  stationed  at  Cabazon 
until  April,  1913,  when  he  was  transferred  to  AIcFarland  as  agent.  With  his 
son,  Charles  L.,  he  is  engaged  in  the  coal  and  feed  business  in  Mcl^arland 
under  the  firm  of  G.  W.  Urie  &  Son. 

Mr.  Urie's  marriage  occurred  in  Appleton,  Wis.,  when  he  was  united  with 
Miss  Lulu  A.  Sackett,  a  native  of  that  place,  and  to  them  have  been  born 
four  children,  as  follows:  Hazel  G.,  John  L.,  Chester  L.  and  Donald  W.,  all 
under  the  parental  roof  with  the  exception  of  John  L.,  who  is  at  Venice, 
Cal.  Fraternally  Mr.  Crie  is  a  member  of  the  Fraternal  Brotherhood.  He 
is  a  devout  Methodist  and  is  an  active  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
the  McFarland  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

MISS  ELLA  B.  KINTON.— Among  the  residents  of  Rosamond  we  find 
Miss  Kinton,  who  was  a  picneer  homesteader  and  merchant,  having  located 
here  as  early  as  1890.  She  has  since  given  all  her  energy  to  the  develop- 
ment of  this  section  of  Kern  county.  Born  at  ]\Ians  Choice,  Bedford  county, 
Pa.,  she  is  the  daughter  of  Theodore  and  Maggie  E.  (Stuckey)  Kinton,  both 
descendants  if  old  Pennsylvania  families;  the  father  is  deceased,  but  the 
mother  is  still  living  at  the  old  home  in  Bedford  county. 

The  great-grandfather  of  Theodore  Kinton  was  Thomas  Kinton.  who 
served  as  an  officer  under  General  Washington  in  the  French  and  Indian 
war.  He  located  on  a  farm  at  the  foot  of  Willis  mountain  in  Bedford  county, 
the  same  place  that  Theodore  Kinton  afterwards  owned  and  where  Miss 
Kinton  was  reared.  A  high  peak  of  Willis  mountain  was  named  Kinton 
Knob  in  his  honor. 

In  July,  1890,  Miss  Kinton  came  to  California  and  immediately  (the 
same  mi_nth)  located  at  Rosamond.  About  a  year  later  she  located  a  home- 
stead of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  five  miles  west  of  Rusamond  on  the 
Willow  Springs  road,  the  present  site  of  the  Hamilton  mill.  She  made  the 
necessary  improvements,  sunk  two  wells  and  resided  on  it  fi  r  five  years,  when 
she  proved  up  on  it.  She  then  sold  twenty  acres  for  the  Hamilton  mill  site, 
retaining  one  hundred  and  f(  rty  acres.  In  18';  6  she  moved  back  to  Rosamond 
where  she  built  and  started  a  store  and  ever  since  has  continued  in  the 
mercantile  business.  Being  appointed  postmaster  of  Rosamond  under  the 
Cleveland  administration  she  served  from  1895  to  1909.  Having  a  retentive 
memory  she  is  well  posted  as  :o  the  history  and  growth  of  this  vicinity  and 
therefore  is  able  to  relate  incidents  that  are  intensely  interesting.  Reared  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  she  holds  to  that  faith,  while  in  her  political  convic- 
tions she  adheres  to  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party. 

J.  W.  HICKS.— Born  in  Randolph  county.  Mo.,  April  27,  1873,  J.  W. 
Hicks  is  a  son  of  the  late  J.  C.  and  Jeannette  (Crawford)  Flicks.  The  latter 
was  born  in  Missouri  and  died  in  California.  The  former,  who  followed  agri- 
cultural pursuits  in  Missouri,  came  across  the  plains  to  California  during 
the  summer  of  1854  and  tried  his  luck  in  the  mines  and  on  the  unimproved 
farm  lands  of  the  then  undeveloped  west.  It  was  not  until  1869  that  he 
returned  to  Missouri  and  resumed  general  farming  in  Randolph  county,  w'herc 
he  remained  for  a  long  period.  Accompanied  by  his  family  in  1889  he  came 
to  California  and  settled  in  Kern  county,  but  later  resided  in  Tulare  county. 
His  last  days  were  passed  in  Bakersfield.     Of  his  seven  children  all  but  two 


1460  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

are  still  living-,  the  eldest  being  J.  W.,  who  was  fifteen  at  the  time  of  coming 
to  Kern  county  for  the  first  time.  Here  and  in  Tulare  county  he  completed 
the  trade  of  a  carpenter.  About  19C0  he  was  one  of  the  original  locators  of 
Twenty-five  Hill  in  the  oil  fields,  but  relinquished  his  interest  before  the  value 
of  the  lease  was  known. 

Several  years  were  spent  by  Mr.  Hicks  in  carpentering  through  different 
localities  of  Northern  California,  Utah  and  Nevada,  and  during  that  period  he 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  Miss  Celia  J.  Henry,  who  was  born  in  Utah  and 
with  whom  he  was  united  in  marriage  at  Ogden,  that  state.  On  returning 
to  Kern  county  he  took  up  carpentering  on  the  west  side.  After  a  year 
as  a  carpenter  he  was  elected  marshal  of  Maricopa  and  devoted  much  of  his 
time  to  the  duties  of  that  position,  resigning  eventually  in  order  to  remove 
to  Bakersfield,  where  since  February  of  1912  he  and  his  wife,  with  their  four 
children,  Lynn,  Marvin,  Walter  and  Fred,  have  made  their  home.  He  is 
stanch  in  his  sympathy  with  the  socialist  movement  and  well  informed  con- 
cerning its  objects  and  principles.  Upon  his  removal  to  Bakersfield  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  Carpenters'  Local  No.  743,  and  February  14,  1913, 
he  was  chosen  business  agent  of  the  Kern  County  Building  Trades  Council, 
to  which  work  he  devotes  his  entire  time. 

MICHEL  ANSOLABEHERE. — A  native  of  France,  M.  Ansolabehere 
was  born  ^March  24,  1875,  in  Basses-Pyrenees.  He  attended  public  schools 
near  his  boyhood  home  for  a  short  time  and  worked  for  his  father  until  he 
came  to  the'  United  States.  He  arrived  in  Kern  county  January  8,  1893,  at 
the  end  of  a  direct  journey  over  seas  and  across  the  United  States.  Very 
soon  after  he  came  here  he  engaged  in  herding  sheep,  a  business  which  has 
commanded  his  attention  to  the  present  time.  He  planned  and  worked 
and  prospered  and  saved  his  money  until  in  January,  1910,  he  was  able  to 
buy  a  ranch  of  sixty  acres,  six  miles  from  Bakersfield,  which  is  all  under 
cultivation,  producing  good  crops  of  alfalfa,  oats  and  barley.  During  recent 
years  he  has  gradually  reduced  the  number  of  his  sheep  until  he  now  has 
comparatively  few.  As  a  stockman  and  farmer  he  has  succeeded,  due  largely 
to  his  industry  and  integrity. 

On  September  3,  1908,  Mr.  Ansolabehere  married  Miss  Frances  Labouc- 
here,  who  was  born  in  France  February  18,  1887,  and  they  have  a  daughter 
whom  they  have  named   Lucy. 

FRANK  HARROL  BALDWIN.— The  proprietor  of  the  Star  livery 
stable  in  Bakersfield  is  a  member  of  an  old  family  of  the  east  and  has  the  dis- 
tinction of  being  descended  in  the  collateral  line  from  D.  H.  Baldwin,  the 
inventor  and  original  manufacturer  of  the  celebrated  Baldwin  piano.  For 
several  generations  the  family  has  had  representatives  in  or  near  Cincinnati, 
where  occurred  the  birth  of  Caleb  S.  Baldwin  and  also  of  his  wife,  Margaret, 
daughter  of  Daniel  Allen  Campbell,  one  of  the  first  retail  milk  dealers  to 
engage  in  business  in  Cincinnati.  At  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  Caleb  S. 
Baldwin,  then  a  youth  of  eighteen,  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  and  was 
a  drummer  in  an  Ohio  regiment.  With  his  command  he  went  to  the  front 
and  took  part  in  many  engagements.  In  one  of  the  battles  with  the  Con- 
federate troc  ps  he  was  seriously  wounded,  but  in  time  fully  regained  his 
health.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Cincinnati  and  engaged  in 
the  retail  oil  business,  which  engrossed  his  attention  throughout  his  remaining 
years.  While  yet  in  the  midst  of  his  useful  activities  he  was  removed  by 
death,  leaving  an  only  child,  Frank  Harrol.  The  wife  and  mother  is  still 
living  and  makes  her  home  in  Cincinnati,  where  her  son  was  born  August 
27,  1878,  and  where  he  received  a  public  school  education.  In  1896  he  went 
to  Phoenix,  Ariz.,  and  learned  the  undertaking  and  embalming  business  under 
A.  J.  Bradley,  with  whom  he  continued  to  work  for  two  years.  In  the  spring 
of  1898  he  came  to  California  and  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  he  settled 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COUNTY  1461 

in  Bakersfield,  where  he  secured  enipUiyment  in  tiie  Lhiion  stables.  I'pon 
leaving;  that  place  he  entered  the  employ  of  Jacob  Neiderauer  as  undertaker 
and  embalmer,  but  in  a  short  time  he  resigned  the  position  to  embark  in 
the  livery  business  en  his  own  account. 

For  three  years  Mr.  Baldwin  operated  a  livery  stable  at  Oil  Center  and 
the  venture  proved  profitable  in  a  gratifying  decree.  After  disposing  of 
that  stable  he  returned  to  Hakersfield  and  started  the  Exchange  stable  on 
Eighteenth  and  I  streets.  Four  years  later  he  disposed  of  the  business  and 
thereupon  started  the  Star  stable  on  the  corner  of  Chester  avenue  and  Twenty- 
third  street.  During  190=)  he  erected  a  brick  building,  75.xl20  feet  in  dimen- 
sions and  two  stories  in  height,  with  elevator  running  between  the  two 
floors.  The  stable  stands  at  No.  232  Chester  avenue  and  is  said  to  be  the 
most  modern  fireproof  building  for  livery  purposes  in  the  entire  city.  White 
sandstone  brick  is  utilized  in  the  constructit  n  of  the  building  and  the  effect 
is  attractive  as  well  as  substantial.  In  addition  to  owning  the  building  and 
the  livery  business  Mr.  Baldwin  has  a  small  fruit  ranch  in  Kern  county 
and  real  estate  in  Bakersfield.  Politically  he  votes  with  the  Republican  party. 
At  Los  Angeles,  September  1,  1906,  he  married  Miss  Margaret  Voshell,  who 
was  born  at  Easton,  Aid.,  and  descends  from  French-Huguenot  ancestry 
identified  with  .America  during  the  colonial  period.  In  a  family  of  eight  chil- 
dren she  was  fifth  in  order  (  f  birth.  Her  father,  John  W.,  a  farmer  of  Mary- 
land, removed  with  his  family  to  Kansas  and  settled  in  McPherson  county, 
where  he  still  makes  his  home.  Some  time  before  leaving  the  east  he  had 
married  Miss  Sarah  Lewis,  a  native  of  Dover,  Del.,  and  a  member  of  an  old 
eastern  family.  Her  death  occurred  in  Kansas,  in  which  state  Mrs.  Baldwin 
was  reared,  receiving  excellent  advantages  in  the  Normal  L'niversity  at  Salina. 

CHARLES  HENRY  SHURBAN.— The  youngest  child  and  only  son 
among  three  children.  Charles  Henry  Shurban  was  born  at  Fryeburg,  Oxford 
cc  unty.  Me.,  March  25,  1863,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Mary  (Downs)  Shur- 
ban. natives  respectively  of  Vermont  and  Alaine.  Early  in  life  the  father 
migrated  from  Vermont  to  Maine  and  there  married  Miss  Downs,  after  which 
they  began  housekeeping  upon  a  farm  in  Oxford  county.  During  the  Civil 
war  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  a  Maine  regiment  of  infantrj'  and  was  sent 
to  the  front  with  his  command.  Twice  he  was  wounded  on  the  battle-field. 
Six  months  after  he  had  received  an  hi  norable  discharge  at  the  close  of  the 
war  he  died  from  the  effects  of  his  wounds.  The  only  son  was  then  .scarcely 
more  than  an  infant  and  upon  the  mother  was  thrown  the  heavy  respon.si- 
bility  of  caring  for  the  three  children;  nobly  she  labored  for  their  support 
and  welfare,  n  r  did  her  labors  cease  until  her  death,  which  occurred  in 
Maine.  Meanwhile  the  son  had  been  taken  into  the  home  of  Theodore  Pingree, 
a  brother  of  Hon.  Hazen  Pingree,  ex-governor  of  Michigan.  For  three  years 
he  did  such  work  in  the  Pingree  home  as  his  years  rendered  possible  and 
meanwhile  he  was  allowed  to  attend  school  regularly,  so  that  his  education 
was  not  wholly  neglected. 

Coming  to  California  in  1882  he  secured  employment  on  a  ranch  near 
IVfor'esto,  Stanis'aus  county;  later  he  was  emploved  near  Merced  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  Stockton.  During  1886  he  came  to  Bakersfield  and  secured  em- 
ployment with  Carr  &  Haggin  as  fr reman  of  the  ditch  gang.  In  a  short 
time  he  left  to  take  a  clerkship  in  a  store  on  Chester  avenue  and  Eighteenth 
street,  Bakersfield,  owned  at  that  time  by  Mr.  McKelvey.  In  the  same  room 
were  the  ofiices  of  the  Wells- Fargo  Express  Company  and  the  Western  Cnion 
Telegraph  Company.  When  the  Wells-Fargo  Express  Company  established 
their  office  at  Kern  in  1895  he  was  chosen  as  agent  and  continued  to  fill  the 
position  until  his  resignation  in  1908,  upon  taking  up  the  work  in  the  rural 
mail  service.  I^^eanwhile,  associated  with  John  Kaar.  he  had  erected  the 
First  Bank  of  Kern  building  on  the  corner  of  Baker  and  Humboldt  streets 


1462  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  had  aided  in  the  organization  of  the  First  Bank  of   Ivern,  in  which  he 
served  as  a  director  until  he  disposed  of  his  stock. 

At  Limington,  York  county,  Me.,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Charles  Henry 
Shurban  and  Miss  Sadie  V.  Foss,  who  was  born  at  Limington  and  is  a  grad^ 
uate  of  the  academy  in  that  city.  Prior  to  their  marriage  she  had  engaged 
in  educational  work.  The  family  of  which  she  is  a  member  ranks  among  the 
oldest  and  most  prominent  in  New  England  and  her  father,  John  R.  Foss, 
was  a  first  cousin  of  Hon.  Eugene  Foss,  governor  of  Massachusetts.  Some 
time  since  Mr.  Shurban  purchased  a  block  of  ground  and  on  one  of  the  cor- 
ners (Fremont  and  Gage  streets)  he  erected  the  residence,  where  he  and 
his  wife  are  comfortably  domiciled.  They  are  the  parents  of  two  children, 
Robert,  a  graduate  of  the  Kern  county  high  school  class  of  1913,  and  now 
a  clerk  in  the  post  office  at  Bakersfield ;  and  Callie,  who  is  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1914  in  the  same  high  school.  The  family  attend  the  Congregational 
Church.  After  his  arrival  in  Kern  county  in  1885  Mr.  Shurban  made  a  study 
of  its  conditions  and  possibilities  and  decided  to  remain,  a  resolve  which 
he  has  no  reason  to  regret,  for  he  has  become  well  known  to  business  men, 
prominent  in  the  Irdge  of  Odd  Fellows,  highly  regarded  among  personal 
friends  and  successful  in  his  chosen  line  of  work. 

FORREST  A.  CASSADY.— Although  the  earliest  memories  of  Mr.  Cas- 
sady  are  associated  with  California  and  Kern  county,  Iowa  is  his  native  com- 
monwealth and  he  was  born  in  Madison  county  November  19,  1SS6,  being 
one  of  the  three  sons  of  Joseph  and  Maggie  (Cunningham)  Cassady,  known 
and  honored  by  many  of  the  citizens  of  Kern  county.  The  family  had  no 
means  on  their  arrival  in  Bakersfield  and  it  required  the  most  tireless  industry 
on  the  part  of  the  father  to  provide  for  wife  and  children.  However,  he  had 
become  inured  to  hardships  and  privations  in  early  life  and  the  struggle  for 
existence  did  not  discourage  him.  Although  a  native  of  New  York  state, 
he  had  lived  in  Iowa  from  the  age  of  three  years  and  was  familiar  with  pioneer 
experiences  from  early  memories  in  the  vicinity  of  Winterset.  After  his 
marriage  to  Miss  Cunningham,  a  native  of  Iowa,  he  settled  upon  a  farm  in 
Madison  county  and  continued  there  until  1887,  when  he  brought  the  family 
to  Bakersfield  and  secured  work  with  Carr  &  Haggin.  In  a  shrrt  time  he 
entered  the  maintenance  of  way  department  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road Company.  Later  he  was  promoted  to  be  foreman  of  the  construction 
department,  in  which  responsible  position  he  remained  for  twenty-two  years. 
Meanwhile  his  wife  determined  to  prove  up  en  a  homestead.  Entering  a 
tree  claim  near  Lerdo,  she  proved  up  on  the  tract  and  eventually  acquired  a 
title  to  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  which  was  not  sold  until 
about  1907.  In  addition  he  had  bought  and  developed  eighty  acres  in  the 
Rio  Bravo  district,  but  this  too  has  been  sold  at  a  profit. 

The  Cassady  family  includes  three  sons  now  living,  of  whom  the  eldest, 
Frank,  is  employed  with  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company,  and  the  young- 
est, Walter,  remains  with  his  parents  in  East  Bakersfield.  The  second  son, 
Forrest  A„  received  his  education  in  the  grammar  and  high  schools  of  Kern 
county,  but  left  school  when  only  fourteen  years  of  age  and  took  up  the 
battle  of  self-support.  For  five  years  he  held  a  clerkship  in  the  freight  depart- 
ment of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Company.  Upon  resigning  that  posi- 
tion he  opened  the  City  market,  but  at  the  expiration  of  one  year  sold  the 
business.  During  the  ensuing  j-ear  he  was  emoloyed  as  foreman  in  the 
department  of  maintenance  of  way  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad,  but 
resigned  in  1908  and  then  started  the  People's  market  at  No.  814  Baker 
street.  East  Bakersfield.  On  July  1,  1913,  he  purchased  a  half  interest  in  the 
Metropole  market.  No.  810  Baker  street,  in  partnership  with  A.  W.  Rench, 
and  they  are  today  conducting  not  only  the  largest  market  of  the  kind  in 
East  Bakersfield.  but  one  of  the  largest  wholesale  and  retail  enterprises  of 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COUNTY  1463 

the  kind  in  Kern  ctmnty.  In  the  niana,u;ement  of  the  market  they  evince  a 
desire  to  please  their  customers  and  to  meet  their  diversified  needs  and  pref- 
erences. The  many  responsibilities  of  the  business  are  met  with  a  keen  in- 
telligence and  a  high  sense  of  honor.  Mr.  Cassady's  attention  has  been  given 
closely  to  business  and  he  is  independent  in  his  political  views.  He  belongs  to 
the  Knights  of  Columbus.  His  family  comprises  wife  and  two  daughters, 
Kathleen  and  Pauline,  his  wife  having  been,  prior  to  the  marriage  in  East 
Bakersfield,  Miss  May  Callag>-,  for  some  years  a  resident  of  this  city,  but  a 
native  of  Iowa  City,  Iowa,  and  reared  and  educated  in  Creston,  that  state. 

GEORGE  P.  THORNBURGH.— Since  bringing  his  family  to  the  west 
he  has  followed  agricultural  pursuits  and  at  present  makes  a  specialty  of 
raising  hay  and  of  the  dairy  industry,  which  are  very  satisfactory.  The  one 
hundred  and  si.xty  acres  knc  vvn  as  the  Fujon  ranch,  which  he  is  holding  under 
lease,  is  well  adapted  to  this  industry,  for  seventy  acres  are  in  hay  and 
th:rty-five  acres  in  an  excellent  pasture.  In  addition  he  is  devoting  con- 
siderable attention  to  the  raising  of  grapes  and  has  a  vineyard  of  thirty-three 
acres  on  the  farm. 

Of  southern  parentage  Mr.  Thornburgh  was  born  in  Leavenworth  county, 
Kan.,  May  25,  1859,  and  is  a  son  of  John  and  Rachel  (Preston)  Thi  rnburgh, 
the  f^  rmer  a  native  of  Tennessee,  the  latter  a  Kentuckian  by  birth.  .As  early 
as  1854  the  father  became  a  pioneer  of  Kansas,  where  he  hel  ied  to  lay  out 
the  city  of  Leavenworth  and  where  for  years  he  engaged  in  farm  pursuits. 
There  were  eight  children  in  the  familv,  but  aside  from  George  P.,  only  three 
are  now  living,  namely:  P.eniamin,  Eliza  Jane  and  John  ^^^,  all  of  whom 
remain  in  Kansas.  The  early  recollections  of  George  P.  Thornburgh  are 
associated  with  the  stirring  events  in  Kansas  that  marked  the  cl  sing  era 
of  the  Civil  war.  The  poverty  of  the  family  prevented  him  from  securing 
a  good  education,  but  through  observation  and  reading  he  has  become  a 
man  of  broad  information.  During  1886  he  married  Miss  Flora  Young,  a 
native  of  Atchison  ci  unty,  Kan.,  and  they  settled  upon  a  farm  in  Leavenworth 
county,  remaining  in  Kansas  until  1907,  when  they  came  to  California. 

Immed'ately  after  his  arrival  in  Kern  county  Mr.  Thornburgh  rented 
land  and  took  ud  ranching,  which  he  still  follows.  During  December  of  1911 
he  came  to  the  Fujon  ranch  which  he  is  holding  under  a  lease  of  three  years 
and  with  the  assistance  of  his  family  he  is  making  good  in  his  dairying  enter- 
prises. In  his  family  there  are  nine  children,  if  whom  five  have  left  the 
shelter  of  the  parental  roof  to  take  up  life  in  homes  of  their  own.  The  eldest, 
Grace  May,  is  the  wife  of  Ora  Collins,  a  hardware  merchant  of  De  Ridder, 
La.  Blanche  married  J.  W.  James  and  lives  on  a  farm  in  Kern  county.  Otto 
is  a  mail  clerk,  with  headquarters  at  Topeka,  Kan.  Lester  married  Miss 
Myrtle  Fowler  and  is  engaged  in  farming  in  Kern  county.  On  March  4,  1912, 
Elma  became  the  wife  of  W.  E.  Addington,  foreman  (  f  the  Mitchell  garage, 
Bakersfield.  The  four  remaining  children  are  still  with  their  parents  and  are 
as  follows:  Roy,  Edith,  Everett  and  Floyd.  In  his  anxiety  to  secure  educa- 
tional advantages  for  his  children  Mr.  Thornburgh  has  taken  a  warm  interest 
in  every  movement  to  promote  the  welfare  of  local  schocils.  Since  coming 
to  this  county  he  has  served  as  school  trustee,  having  been  re-electid  to  the 
office  in  the  spring  of  lf^l2.  Vineland  district,  of  which  he  acts  as  trustee, 
has  a  commodious  schorlhouse  and  boasts  one  of  the  best  schools  in  all  the 
region  south  of  Bakersfield.  Politically  he  has  voted  with  the  Democratic 
party  ever  since  he  attained  his  majority.  However,  there  is  no  trace  of 
partisanship  in  his  opinions,  but  instead  he  manifests  a  warm  devotion  to 
the  welfare  of  county,  commonwealth  and  nation  in  all  those  higher  interests 
that  make  for  the  ultimate  weal  of  the  people. 

J.  N.  CRAIG. — That  Kern  county  presents  exceptional  advantages  for 
agricultural  development   is  the   firm   belief  of  J.   N.   Craig.     When   first  he 


1464  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

acquired  unimproved  acreage  in  the  Weed  Patch  during  the  year  1909  he 
immediately  began  the  task  of  placing  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  his 
tract  oi  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  forming  the  west  one-half  of  sec- 
tion 13,  township  28,  range  31.  He  is  successfully  engaged  in  raising  alfalfa 
and  stock.  Since  acquiring  the  property  he  has  erected  a  commodious  resi- 
dence of  two  stories,  a  substantial  barn,  a  milkhouse  and  a  ranchhouse  con- 
taining a  dining-room  and  kitchen.  While  the  ranch  is  under  the  East  Side 
canal,  a  branch  of  the  Kern  Island  canal,  his  facilities  for  the  securing  of  an 
adequate  supply  of  water  are  further  enhanced  by  three  wells  and  two  pump- 
ing plants  for  the  watering  of  stock.  One  of  these  wells  is  four  hundred 
and  twenty  feet  deep  and  has  a  never-failing  supply  cf  artesian  water. 

Born  in  Florence,  Italy,  July  8,  1874,  Mr.  Craig  is  the  son  of  the  late 
Eugene  and  Mary  Craig,  natives  respectively  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  New- 
port, R.  I.,  the  former  a  sculptor  and  painter  of  prominence.  Educated  in 
private  classical  schools  in  Germany  and  France  Mr.  Craig  later  became  a 
student  in  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  in  Florence,  where  his  father  had  been 
an  honorary  professor.  As  a  student  in  the  department  of  architecture  he 
remained  in  the  academy  for  two  years.  Upon  coming  to  America  and  set- 
tling in  Los  Angeles  in  1899,  he  became  interested  in  the  development  of 
the  west  and  made  a  study  of  conditions  in  various  localities.  For  a  time  he 
operated  a  ranch  in  Lower  California.  In  1902  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Edith  Murray,  of  Los  Angeles,  and  they  afterward  spent  three 
years  in  European  travel,  returning  to  Los  Angeles  and  from  there  coming 
to  Kern  county.  In  his  devotion  to  the  progress  of  Kern  county  and  the 
agricultural  prosperity  of  the  Weed  Patch,  he  is  surpassed  by  none  of  the 
older  residents,  and  his  identification  with  the  locality  already  is  bearing  fruit 
in  an  improved  agricultural  outlook,  a  more  intense  interest  in  local  develop- 
ment and  a  deepened  faith  in  this  region  as  one  of  the  garden  spots  of  the 
west. 

RAY  OWEN. — Upon  the  establishment  of  a  postoffice  at  Shale  in  April 
of  1912  Mr.  Owen  received  the  appointment  as  postmaster  and  when  in  the 
same  year  the  Wells-Fargo  Express  Company  opened  an  office  at  this  point 
he  was  selected  to  serve  as  agent.  In  addiiion  to  filling  these  positions  he 
acts  as  manager  for  the  Holmes  Supply  Company  at  Shale.  Although  it 
was  only  in  April  of  1910  that  Mr.  Owen  came  to  the  oil  fields  of  Kern 
county,  thus  identifying  himself  with  an  industry  in  which  he  had  no 
previous  experience,  already  he  has  acquired  a  wide  general  knowledge  of 
the  business  and  a  considerable  acquaintance  among  the  oil  operators,  wich 
all  of  whom  he  is  popular. 

Mr.  Owen  is  a  native  of  Crawford  county,  Mich.,  born  November  9, 
1885.  His  education  was  that  afforded  by  the  public  schools  of  the  country. 
At  an  early  age  he  became  self-supporting.  As  clerk  with  mercantile  and 
other  houses  in  the  east  he  gained  his  first  practical  knowledge  of  business 
affairs.  For  a  time  he  was  employed  in  Bishop's  candy  and  cracker  factory. 
During  a  period  of  four  years  and  ten  months  he  remained  with  the  general 
mercantile  firm  of  T.  E.  Douglass  &  Co.,  meanwhile  receiving  a  merited 
increase  in  salary  as  his  knowledge  of  the  business  made  his  services  more 
valuable.  During  1909  he  left  Michigan  and  came  to  California,  making 
his  home  in  Los  Angeles  and  Covina  until  August  of  1911,  when  he  came 
to  the  oil  fields.  In  April  of  1912  he  received  the  appointment  as  postmaster 
at  Shale,  also  acts  as  agent  for  Wells-Fargo  Express  Company,  and  as 
manager  for  the  Holmes  Supply  Company  he  has  since  been  a  leading  busi- 
ness man  of  the  new  town  where  he  is  an  influential  factor  in  material 
development,  maintaining  the  keenest  interest  in  the  development  of  the 
surrounding  oil  territorv.  Since  coming  to  this  county  he  has  become  a 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  at  Taft. 

JAMES  ERNEST  ROBERTS.— A  native  of  Dallas,  Texas,  born  April 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1465 

16,  1879,  James  Ernest  Roberts  was  brought  to  the  county  by  his  parents  in 
1882.  His  father,  James  C.  Roberts,  is  an  old  settler  of  Kern  county  and  is 
represented  elsewhere  in  this  history.  Ernest  Roberts  atcended  the  public 
school  and  when  about  sixteen  entered  the  Kern  county  high  school,  and 
was  graduated  from  the  commercial  department.  At  seventeen  he  began 
his  connection  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  becoming  zanjcro  on 
the  Colloway  canal.  Then  he  became  foreman  of  the  K.ern  Island  ranch, 
and  later  was  cattle  foreman  at  the  Greenfield  ranch,  but  he  resigned  the 
latter  pcsition  to  accept  the  superintendency  of  the  Sol  Jcwett 
ranch,  which  he  held  a  year.  He  resigned  then  to  engage  in  the 
mercantile  business  in  Bakersfield,  but  in  1905  he  sold  his  business  to 
start  farming  on  eighty  acres  of  land,  a  mile  and  a  half  west  of  his  present 
home  place.  This  tract  he  rented  for  three  years,  at  the  end  of  that  time 
buying  his  present  place  of  forty  acres,  which  he  has  developed  into  one 
of  the  best  ranches  of  its  size  in  the  vicinity.  It  is  under  the  Beardsley 
canal  and  is  all  under  cuhivation,  being  devoted  to  alfalfa,  producing  from 
six  to  eight  tons  to  the  acre.  Each  year  he  rents  land  from  the  company 
on  which  he  raises  barley  and  corn,  and  he  has  been  very  successful ;  he  has 
raised  as  hich  an  average  as  a  ton  and  a  half  of  corn  to  the  acre  on  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres,  which  is  a  banner  crop  for  the  valley. 

In  Bakersfield,  August  31,  1902,  Mr.  Roberts  married  Mary  McCaffrey, 
who  was  born  in  Kern  county,  December  7,  1879,  the  daughter  of  John 
McCaffrey,  who  is  represented  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Roberts  have  two  sons,  Evvell  and  Cecil.  Mr.  Roberis  has  fraternal  affilia- 
tions with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  As  a  farmer  and  as  a  man  of  affairs 
he  brings  to  the  solution  of  his  difficulties  a  knowledge  of  details  which 
renders  him  successful  beyond  many  of  his  competitors. 

JOHN  HALLORAN. — The  Kern  County  Land  Company  had  no  more 
conscientious  or  trustworthy  employe  than  John  Halloran,  whose  term  of 
service  under  them  covered  abou:  twenty-three  years,  during  which  time 
he  proved  himself  a  most  valuable  worker.  He  has  spent  the  last  thirty 
years  of  his  life  in  Bakerslield,  whither  he  came  to  seek  his  fortune.  He  was 
born  in  County  Clare,  Ireland,  June  2A,  1864,  and  until  he  was  seventeen  re- 
mained at  home  with  his  parents.  Embarking  for  New  York  he  first  obtained 
work  in  Catskill,  Greene  county,  N.  Y.,  becoming  an  employe  of  Peter  Shell, 
for  whom  he  labored  for  five  years.  Being  a  great  reader  he  found  many 
articles  on  California  and  its  prosperous  conditions,  and  at  last  an  article  in  a 
Los  Angeles  newspaper  caused  him  to  make  his  decision  to  come  to  California, 
and  in  1884  came  to  Kern  county,  where  he  has  since  made  his  home.  In 
190S  he  purchased  sixty  acres  of  land.,  which  has  been  improved  and  is  now 
in  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

In  Kern  county,  in  1898,  ]\fr.  Halloran  was  married  to  Miss  Delilia 
McCaffery,  who  was  born  in  New  York  and  came  with  her  parents  to  Kern 
county  in  1876,  when  she  was  but  three  years  of  age.  Her  parents  settled  here 
and  made  it  their  home,  and  here  their  deaths  occurred.  Mrs.  Halloran  had 
eisfht  brothers  and  sisters,  all  but  two  of  whom  live  in  Kern  county,  among 
them,  Peter,  who  is  a  foreman  at  >^cKittrick  ranch  ;  James,  who  is  farming  in 
Kern  county ;  Thomas,  who  is  employed  by  the  Kern  River  Mills ;  and  a  sister, 
who  is  the  wife  of  Dan  ^Voodson,  a  farmer  of  Kern  county.  Mrs.  Halloran 
was  reared  in  Bakersfield,  where  she  at;ended  the  public  schools,  and  she  now 
presides  over  her  home  with  quiet  grace,  taking  the  greatest  interest  in  the 
education  of  her  children  and  the  systematic  conduct  of  her  household.  Three 
children  were  born  to  I^'^r.  and  ^Trs.  Halloran,  Curtis,  Lizzie  and  Francis,  all 
of  whom  reflect  credit  upon  their  excellent  training  and  the  refining  influence 
of  their  parents.  They  are  all  members  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  in  political 
sentiment  the  father  unites  with  the  Republican  party. 

FRANK  ORR.— A  native  sen,  Frank  Orr  was  born  in   1858,  in  Sacra- 


1466  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

mento,  where  his  parents,  Chambers  and  Martha  J.  Orr  made  their  home  for 
a  considerable  period.  The  mother  died  in  middle  age ;  the  father,  who  had 
crossed  the  plains  shortly  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the  west,  tried  his 
luck  in  the  mines  without  encouraging  success  and  then  turned  to  carpen- 
tering. As  a  contractor  and  builder  he  assisted  in  the  pioneer  development 
of  Sacramento  and  San  Francisco  and  even  came  as  far  to  the  south  as  Bakers- 
field,  where  he  had  the  contract  for  the  building  of  the  Masonic  Temple.  Up 
to  the  time  of  his  death  he  continued  in  the  building  business.  His  son, 
Frank,  who  was  next  to  the  youngest  among  four  children,  passed  his  early 
years  in  Sacramento,  where  he  attended  the  public  schools.  Early  in  life  he 
began  to  earn  a  livelihLod  for  himself  in  the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  Company.  At  first  he  was  given  the  humblest  duties,  finally  became 
an  engineer  running  out  from  Bakersfield.  where  he  ran  a  switch  engine 
in  the  yards.  During  that  period  of  labor  he  bought  a  lot  and  built  a  cottage 
in  Kern,  now  East  Bakersfield. 

Resigning  from  the  railroad  service  about  1899  after  a  long  period  of 
faithful  idenfification  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Company,  Mr.  Orr  spent 
some  time  as  a  prosiect(  r  and  miner  in  Inyo  county.  Although  he  gained 
no  wealth  from  his  expeditions,  he  found  the  work  exciting  and  interesting, 
and  he  still  retains  mining  interests,  but  since  1909  he  has  given  his  attention 
principally  to  the  proprietorship  of  the  Lone  Pine  house  at  Mojave,  which 
he  owns  and  manages.  His  wife,  who  assists  him  in  the  suoervision  of  the 
hotel,  was  in  maidenhood  Miss  Stella  Holmes,  a  native  cf  Bradford,  Pa.,  and 
the  daughter  of  Frank  and  Harriett  (Tellus)  Holmes,  natives  of  Bradford,  Pa. 
Her  father,  a  druggist,  removed  to  Toledo,  where  Mrs.  Orr  was  reared  and 
educated.  She  has  three  brothers,  one  a  general  manager  and  two  superintend- 
ents with  the  Central  Union  Telephone  Company  of  Columbus,  Ohio.  While 
he  has  not  been  a  partisan  in  political  sentiments  Mr.  Orr  stanchly  believes 
in  the  platform  and  principles  of  the  Republican  party.  Fraternally  he  holds 
membership  with  the  Loyal  Order  of  Moose. 

JOHN  CLICKARD. — Born  near  Peru,  Miami  county,  Ind.,  February  II, 
1855,  John  Clickard  was  the  son  of  George  and  Mary  A.  (Wallig)  Clickard, 
natives  of  Germany,  who  were  farmers  in  Washington  township,  Miami 
county,  Ind.,  where  John  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  also  learned  the  car- 
penter's trade.  Having  advanced  in  the  public  schools  until  he  obtained  a 
teacher's  certificate  he  taught  school  and  in  that  way  made  the  money  to 
complete  a  course  in  pedagogy  and  law  at  the  Northern  Indiana  Normal  at 
Valparaiso.  After  receiving  his  diploma  he  was  admitted  to  the  practice 
of  law  in  Peru,  Ind.  For  a  while  he  followed  his  profession,  but  a  spell  of 
sickness  came  on,  and  after  his  recovery  he  gave  uo  the  practice  of  law  and 
continued  teaching.  While  residing  in  Peru  he  served  two  terms  as  alder- 
man. 

In  1897  he  came  to  Tulare  county,  Cal,  and  for  a  time  engaged  at  the 
carpenter  trade  at  Sugar  Loaf  Mountain.  In  1900  he  came  to  Woody,  locating 
his  present  himestead  and  while  improving  it  he  worked  as  foreman  rig 
builder  in  the  Kern  River  and  McKittrick  oil  fields.  He  also  spent  considerable 
time  constructing  the  buildings  for  Joseph  Weringer  at  Weringdale  and  the 
Greenback  mine.  All  this  time  he  has  engaged  in  the  cattle  business,  leasing 
considerable  land  adjcining  his  homestead  for  that  purpose. 

Mr.  Clickard  was  married  in  Peru,  Ind.,  being  united  with  Miss  Sarah 
Pierce,  who  was  born  in  the  same  county,  and  they  have  four  children  as  fol- 
lows: Nellie,  Mrs.  Smith,  resides  near  Woody;  Frank,  Bessie  and  Ruth,  who 
reside  at  hi-me,  the  son  being  interested  with  Mr.  Clickard  in  stock-raising. 
Fraternally  the  father  was  made  a  Mason  in  Peru,  Ind.,  and  is  now  a  member 
of  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M.    Politically  he  is  independent,  pre- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1467 

ferring  to  cast  his  vote  for  the  men  of  his  choice  ratlier  than  be  bound  by 
party  ties. 

GABRIEL  CHAVEZ.— A  native  son  of  the  comnionwealth  is  Gabriel 
Chavez,  who  was  horn  at  New  .Ahnaden,  Santa  Clara  connty,  March  18,  1876. 
Be:no;  left  an  orphan  he  came  with  his  uncle  to  Kernville,  Kern  county,  in 
1882  and  from  that  time  he  began  making  his  own  way  as  best  he  could, 
working  for  his  board  and  going  to  school  until  he  reached  an  age  when  he 
could  be  empk)yed  at  mining,  and  later  on  he  worked  on  ranches.  In  1901  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Kern  River  C<  mpany  as  driver  with  the  engineer 
corps.  A  year  later  he  was  given  charge  of  the  stock  and  stables,  serving 
thus  until  he  was  made  foreman  of  the  Beatty  ranch  at  Kernville  for  the  com- 
pany, which  jjosition  he  has  held  ever  since.  The  ranch  is  now  owned  by  the 
Pacific  Light  and  Power  Cornoration.  In  connection  with  the  supervising 
of  the  ranch  he  also  looks  after  the  head  work  of  the  canal  and  displays  good 
judgment  in  the  dispatch  of  the  different  tasks  that  arise  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duties. 

In  March,  1911,  at  Kernville,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Cabriel  Chavez 
with  Miss  Alice  Tuttle,  a  native  of  New  York  state.  Fraternally  he  is  a 
member  of  Kernville  Li  dge  No.  2.^1.  I.  O.  O.  F.,  while  in  his  political  views 
he  is  an  ardent  Republican. 

MRS.  LIZZIE  McGUIRK  KERSEY.— The  present  postmaster  and  mer- 
chant at  Piute,  Lizzie  McGuirk  Kersey,  is  a  native  daughter,  born  on  Bear 
River.  Yuba  county,  Cal.  She  is  the  daughter  of  Andrew  McGuirk,  a  pioneer 
of  the  state,  who  was  born  in  Cc unty  Kildare,  Ireland,  and  came  to  California 
in  the  early  '50s,  being  engaged  in  mining  in  the  Sierra  Nevadas.  He  was 
married  in  Grass  Valley  to  Mary  Casey,  also  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  they, 
removed  in  1860  to  Visalia,  where  he  was  engaged  in  packing  to  the  mines 
at  Keyesville  and  also  to  Coso,  Inyo  county.  On  the  last  train  he  sent  to 
Coso  the  IVTexican  packer  was  killed  by  the  Indians  and  the  goods  stolen. 

In  1863  Mr.  McGuirk  located  at  Havilah,  where  he  followed  mining  and 
teaming  until  1870,  then  settling  on  a  homestead  in  Walkers  Basin,  where  he 
died  in  1875.  His  wife  survived  him  manv  years  and  died  in  Randsburcr  in 
1903.  Of  their  union  there  were  eight  children,  five  of  whom  are  living.  Mrs. 
Kersey  being  the  third  eldest.  She  received  her  education  in  the  public  schools 
of  Havilah  and  \\'alkers  Basin  and  at  St.  Vincents  Convent,  Santa  Barbara. 
Her  first  marriage  was  in  1876,  uniting  her  with  James  Scobie,  a  native  of 
County  Antrim,  Ireland,  who  was  one  of  the  early  pn  spectors  and  miners  in 
Kern  county,  being  located  at  what  is  now  Piute  as  earlv  as  1865.  Later  on 
he  was  one  of  the  discoverers  of  the  Panamint  mines.  He  died  in  Walkers 
Basin  in  1888,  leaving  one  son.  Tames  Scobie.  who  is  now  assisting  his  mother. 
Her  second  marriage  was  in  Bakersfield  to  \\^illiam  Shi'^sey.  wh(  m  she  after- 
wards divorced.  The  three  children  of  this  union,  Fdward.  Annie  F,.  and 
William  V.,  are  with  her  and  have  been  reared  with  care  and  each  of  them 
given  a  commercial  education  and  are  graduates  of  the  P.nkersfield  Business 
College.  The  mother  is  now  Mrs.  Kersey.  Ever  since  1876  she  has  encraged 
in  farming  and  cattle-raising  at  Piute,  where  she  owns  six  hundred  acres  in 
a  brdy,  her  brand  being  a  capital  N  and  a  cross.  She  is  also  engaged  in 
mining  and  mercantile  business  and  in  her  store  at  Piute  she  has  the  post 
ofifice,  for  she  has  been  the  prstmaster  for  the  past  eighteen  years.  In  con- 
nection with  her  store  she  owns  a  pack  train,  engaged  in  packing  goods 
and  material  to  the  different  mines  in  the  district.  For  many  years  she 
served  as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  most  of  the  time  as  clerk  of  the  board. 
Politically  she  is  a  Democrat  and  is  a  member  of  the  County  Central  Com- 
mittee. 

EDWARD  A.  DAVID.— From  his  earliest  recollections  he  has  been 
familiar  with  farming.    The  clearest  recollections  of  childhood  are  those  asso- 


1468  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

ciated  with  the  then  frontier  of  Missouri,  where  he  helped  to  till  the  soil  and 
harvest  the  crops,  doing  a  man's  part  in  the  field  while  lie  was  yet  a  mere  boy. 
The  family  was  poor  and  the  struggle  for  a  livelihood  keen.  Switzerland  was 
his  native  county  in  Indiana,  being  born  near  Allensville,  September  25,  1857. 
He  was  the  son  of  William  Atwell  and  Prudence  (Ray;  David.  In  1859, 
when  the  son  was  two  years  old,  the  parents  removed  to  Holt  county,  Mo., 
where  the  father  died  during  the  same  year.  The  death  of  the  mother  occurred 
in  Kirksville,  Mo.  While  his  mother  sent  him  to  the  county  schools  as  much 
as  possible,  he  was  so  greatly  needed  at  home  that  his  educational  advantages 
were  meager  and  his  present  broad  fund  of  information  results  from  habits  of 
careful  reading  rather  than  from  attendance  at  school.  When  he  was  fourteen 
years  of  age  his  mother  died  and  he  went  to  work  on  farms  in  Missouri,  con- 
tinuing this  until  he  came  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

Upon  arriving  in  California  March  19,  1887,  Mr.  David  was  without 
means  for  the  purchase  of  land,  but  it  was  possible  for  him  to  take  up  a  gov- 
ernment claim  and  he  therefore  located  one  hundred  acres  in  the  Rio  Bravo 
country.  For  eleven  years  he  lived  on  the  homestead,  meanwhile  filing  his 
claim,  proving  up  on  the  land  and  acquiring  a  clear  title  to  the  property. 
As  he  was  entirely  without  capital  for  the  working  of  the  land  he  engaged  with 
neighboring  farmers  and  the  wages  thus  earned  helped  him  with  the  develop- 
ment of  his  own  properly.  Then,  as  now,  it  was  no  easy  task  to  improve  a  farm 
when  without  funds  and  he  was  handicapped  constantly  by  this  lack,  but 
finally  he  emerged  from  the  most  discouraging  of  his  troubles  and  entered  upon 
a  greater  agricultural  independence.  With  his  removal  to  and  leasing  of 
forty  acres  twelve  miles  west  of  Bakersfield  in  the  Rosedale  colony  he  found 
conditions  more  favorable  and  in  1899  he  bought  the  nucleus  cf  the  tract  which 
now  forms  his  homestead.  This  he  added  to  at  different  times  until  he  now 
owns  one  hundred  acres  in  a  body  under  the  Colloway  canal.  This  he  checked 
and  leveled  and  sowed  to  alfalfa  and  it  is  now  well  improved  with  suitable 
buildings.  In  Taberville,  St.  Clair  CLunty,  Mo.,  September  23,  1877,  occurred 
the  marriage  of  Mr.  David  to  Miss  Catherine  A.  Baker,  who  was  born  in 
Clinton,  Henry  county,  iMo.,  the  daughter  of  Stephen  P.  and  Catherine  Baker, 
early  settlers  of  Missouri.  Of  their  union  have  been  born  eight  children: 
Katie,  Mrs.  Spurlin  of  this  vicinity;  Daniel,  who  assists  on  the  farm;  John,  of 
Los  Angeles ;  Vernie,  of  Panama,  this  county ;  Maude,  Mrs.  Krause,  of  Rose- 
dale ;  Artie,  at  home;  Eddie,  who  died  in  1912,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years; 
and  Lloyd,  also  at  home. 

Mr.  David  now  ranks  among  the  oldest  residents  of  this  part  of  the 
county.  He  has  always  been  interested  in  the  cause  of  education,  and  has 
served  on  the  board  of  trustees  in  the  Rio  Bravo  district,  and  assisted  in 
building  the  first  school  house. 

W.  O.  THOMAS.— The  general  foreman  of  the  Kern  River  Oilfields 
of  California,  Limited,  enjoys  the  distinctirn  of  being  the  oldest  man  in  years 
and  also  in  point  of  continuous  service  with  the  organization  whose  interests 
he  now  serves.  Coming  to  this  district  to  take  the  position  of  engineer,  at  the 
recommendation  of  his  personal  friend,  W.  S.  Boggs,  then  the  superintendent 
of  the  33  and  Imperial  Oil  Companies,  he  remained  in  the  employ  of  the 
successor  of  these  concerns  and  eventually  was  promoted  to  be  foreman,  in 
which  post  he  has  the  responsibility  for  the  proper  working  of  the  two  hun- 
dred and  thirtv-five  wells  m  section  33. 

Born  in  Wales  ]\Tav  12,  1860,  Mr.  Thomas  has  made  his  own  wav  in  the 
world  ever  since  he  was  ten  years  of  asfe.  At  that  earlv  ao-e  he  began  to 
learn  the  cement  business  under  his  father,  an  exoert  in  that  line.  When  only 
fifteen  years  of  age  he  had  nassed  through  the  chemical  denartment  of  the 
Portland  cement  manufacturing  business  owned  bv  White  Bros.,  and  situated 
on  the  Thames  in  the  outskirts  of  London.   His  ability  for  successful  work  in 


HISTORY    OF    KI'.RN    COUNTY  1469 

the  industry  seemed  an  inborn  talent.  Even  at  that  youthful  age  his  work  was 
recommended  for  its  permanence  and  satisfactory  conditio. n.  When  seventeen 
years  old  he  came  with  his  father  to  New  York.  The  White  Bri^.s.  rortland 
Cement  Compao}'  had  engaged  them  as  inspectors  and  instructors  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  menagerie  building  in  Central  park.  New  York  City.  The 
young  man  had  been  working  for  some  years  with  the  company  and  they 
recognized  his  dependable  character  and  efficiency  in  the  cement  l)usiness, 
while  the  father  had  a  wide  reputation  in  the  same  line. 

While  working  in  Central  park  W.  O.  Thomas  made  the  acquaintance  and 
wen  the  approval  of  ClifTord  Richardson,  chief  inspector  of  asphalt  and  cement 
at  Washington,  D.  C.  When  the  contract  in  the  park  had  been  completed  Mr. 
Richardson  introduced  him  to  some  of  the  Santa  Fe  officials  and  gave  such  a 
recommendation  for  his  work  that  the  railroad  ci  mpany  hired  him  to  assist 
in  their  cement  construction  work.  After  a  time  he  was  made  superintend- 
ent of  cement  construction  and  had  charge  of  the  building  of  bridges  and 
abutments  of  concrete.  During  this  period  of  work  he  put  in  the  foundation  for 
the  Union  passenger  depot  in  Kansas  City,  Kan.  Later  he  secured  a  position 
with  the  Western  Cement  Company  at  Salt  Lake,  Utah,  where  he  a  ntinued 
for  five  years  of  successful  work.  While  gaining  expertness  in  the  concrete 
business  he  had  not  limited  himself  to  that  specialty  but  in  addition  he 
had  become  an  expert  steam  engineer  and  it  was  in  the  latter  capacity  that 
he  remained  for  two  and  one-half  years  with  the  Portland  General  Electric 
Company  at  Portland.  Ore.,  next  going  to  the  Mountain  Copper  Connany  at 
Shasta  ci  unty,  Cal,  where  he  soent  six  years.  The  failure  of  his  health  induced 
him  to  give  up  a  congenial  business  connection  and  thereupon  he  came  to 
Bakersfield  in  1902.  securing  employment  immediately  after  his  arrival  through 
his  friendship  with  W.  S.  Boggs.  superintendent  of  the  33  and  Imperial  Oil 
Companies.  After  coming  to  this  county  he  married  Miss  Nora  Monahan 
and  they  have  established  a  comfortable  home  in  the  oil  district.  When  he 
came  here  as  an  engineer  there  were  cnly  twenty-one  wells  on  section  33  and 
he  has  been  identified  with  the  rapid  increase,  also  has  had  charge  of  the 
work  of  re-drilling  many  of  these  wells  and  putting  in  air  compressors. 

FRANK  H.  NEWTON.— An  appreciation  of  the  possibilities  offered  by 
Kern  county  induced  Mr.  Newton,  upon  arriving  in  California  from  Texas  to 
become  a  resident  of  this  section  of  the  state  and  here  since  1900  he  has  made 
his  home.  As  a  lad  and  young  man  in  Texas  he  became  familiar  with  ranch- 
ing as  conducted  in  the  Lone  Star  state,  but  being  entirely  without  means 
and  obliged  to  work  for  wages  in  the  employ  (  f  others  he  had  no  opportunity 
to  forge  ahead.  Nor  were  his  first  years  in  California  more  encouraging  than 
those  of  earlier  life,  but  a  few  years  ago  he  was  able  to  embark  in  independent 
agriculture  and  since  then  he  has  made  a  specialty  of  the  dair}^  industry. 

Ellis  county,  the  porti(  n  of  Texas  where  Mr.  Newton  was  born  April  27, 
1878,  lies  in  the  north  central  part  of  the  state,  not  far  from  the  important 
communities  rf  Fort  Worth  and  Dallas.  He  entered  the  employ  of  a  rancher 
when  he  left  the  public  schools  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years.  For  some  years 
he  continued  in  the  same  locality,  but  there  seemed  little  opening  there  for 
the  future  and  he  determined  to  try  his  luck  in  the  far  west.  Accordingly  he 
came  to  California  and  settled  in  Kern  county  in  190O.  The  first  nosition  held 
by  him  was  at  Oil  City  and  later  he  worked  for  the  Sterling  Oil  Company 
during  a  perit  d  of  five  years.  In  1909  he  leased  twenty  acres  in  the  Rosedale 
district  and  embarked  in  the  dairy  business  with  a  herd  of  twelve  milch  cows. 
Since  then  he  has  added  to  bis  drove  and  now  owns  thirty  head  of  fine 
cows,  which  he  kee-js  on  a  leasehold  of  sixty-six  acres.  The  milk  is  delivered 
in  Oil  City.  Besides  the  dair)-  business  iie  engages  in  raising  alfalfa,  for 
which  the  land  is  well  adapted.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World.    He  was  married  in  Ellis  countv.  Tex.,  to  Elizabeth 


1470  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Kizziar,  a  native  of  that  county  and  the  daughter  of  W.  L.  Kizziar,  now  of 
Bakersfield,  and  thev  have  five  children,  Lorena,  Let  B.,  Frankie,  Rav  and 
Allie. 

WILLIAM  EDWARD  HEASLEY.— Mr.  Heasley  ranks  as  a  pioneer 
in  tlie  oil  industry  for  he  l^as  been  identified  with  the  oil  business  almost 
one-half  century  and  has  witnessed  the  transformation  of  the  work  from 
crude  and  primitive  methods  to  the  most  up-to-date  equipments.  Manv  of  the 
oil  fields  of  tie  eastern  and  central  states  he  thoroughly  understands  in  all 
their  difficulties  and  possibilities.  Actual  experience  has  taught  him  that 
oil  development  forms  one  of  the  most  promising  industries  in  the  entire 
country  and  he  regards  California  as  in  the  forefront  from  the  standpoint  of 
its  great  fields  and  many  producing  wells. 

Not  only  has  Mr.  Heaslev  been  an  oil  operator  throughout  his  active  life, 
but  in  addition  his  father,  Elias,  followed  the  same  occupation,  while  the 
third  generation  in  the  same  business  is  represented  by  his  son.  The  father 
and  mother,  Elizabeth,  were  lifelong  residents  of  Pennsylvania,  and  he  was 
born  in  that  state,  at  Irwin,  Westmoreland  county,  December  12.  1854.  When 
thirteen  years  of  age  he  found  employment  in  the  oil  fields.  Learning  to  be  a 
tool-dresser  he  followed  such  work  at  St.  Petersburg,  Clarion  county.  Later 
he  engaged  in  drilling  at  Richburg,  Allegany  county,  N.  Y.  Another  oil 
field  in  which  he  worked  for  years  was  that  of  Montpelier.  Ind.,  where 
he  took  drilling  contracts  and  operated  two  strings.  Similar  work  kept  him 
in  the  Robinson  field  in  Illinois  for  some  time,  after  which  he  engaged  in  the 
same  work  at  Cuba,  Mo.  Upon  returning  to  the  east  he  engaged  in  drilling 
in  the  gas  fields  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  for  two  years.  When  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia he  entered  upon  relations  with  the  Kalisnel  Midway  Company  at 
Fellows,  where  he  engaged  as  a  driller  in  1911  and  August  1,  1912,  received 
merited  promotion  to  be  foreman  of  the  lease.  While  living  in  Pennsyl- 
vania he  was  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  lodge  at  Foster  Brook, 
McKean  county,  but  since  coming  to  this  state  he  has  had  little  leisure  for 
fraternal  interests. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Heasley  and  Miss  Lizzie  Gary,  a  native  of  Leon, 
Cattaraugus  county,  N.  Y.,  was  solemnized  at  Bradford,  Pa.,  and  has  been 
blessed  with  five  children.  The  eldest  son,  Morris  W.,  is  an  employe  of 
the  Kalispel  Midway  Oil  Company  at  Fellows.  The  second  son,  Harold 
remained  in  Indiana,  where  he  is  now  a  reporter  on  the  Montpelier  Herald. 
The  daughters  are  Mrs.  Ray  Dawson,  of  Montpelier,  Ind.;  Mrs.  Ina  Hickey,  of 
Dayton,  Tex.;  and  Mrs.  Anna  Risk,  of  Montpelier,  Ind.  The  family  stands 
high  for  those  qualities  that  give  influence  in  a  community  and  Mr.  Heasley 
himself  is  regarded  as  an  oil  man  whose  long  experience  has  given  him  a  most 
accurate  comprehension  of  the  industry. 

FRANKLIN  LEE  VAN  EPPS.— The  earliest  recollections  of  Mr.  Van 
Epps  are  associated  with  the  oil  fields  of  McKean  county,  Pa.,  where  he 
was  born  at  Bell's  Camp  May  15,  1881,  being  the  only  son  of  Lee  Lloyd 
and  Lizzie  (Mixer)  Van  Epps,  likewise  natives  of  the  Keystone  state.  The 
former,  after  having  engaged  in  the  oil  business  in  Pennsylvania,  went  to 
New  Mexico  and  started  a  trading  post  at  Socorro,  but  in  1881  he  was 
killed  during  an  Apache  uprising.  Orphaned  in  infancy,  Franklin  Lee  Van 
Epps  was  taken  into  the  home  of  his  maternal  grandfather  in  McKean 
county.  When  twelve  years  of  age  he  accompanied  the  Mixer  family  to  the 
vicinity  of  Pittsburg,  where  he  attended  high  school  until  graduation.  For 
two  years  he  lived  in  Chicago  with  his  maternal  grandfather  and  in  1898  he 
came  to  California,  where  he  soon  found  work  in  the  oil  industry.  As  a 
tool-dresser  he  engaged  with  the  contracting  firm  of  Dunn  &  Erwin.  In 
1899  he  learned  drilling  while  working  for  the  San  Buena  Ventura  Oil  Com- 
pany  in   \^entura   county.     Much   of  his   later  work  was   done   in   the  same 


HISTORY    OF    KER\    COITNTY  1471 

counly  and  eventually  he  was  jironioled  to  he  superintendent   in   that   fiehl. 

Contracts  that  took  him  to  other  points  gave  to  Mr.  Van  Epps  a  wide 
experience  in  the  oil  industry  as  conducted  throughout  the  west.  For  a 
time  he  remained  in  Arizona,  where  he  had  contracted  to  drill  a  well  near 
Winslovv.  Similar  work  took  him  into  Death  Valley  and  into  the  Devil's 
Den  country,  while  he  also  had  a  number  of  contracts  in  Ventura  county. 
During  the  last  five  years  of  his  identification  with  the  county  he  engaged 
as  superintendent  for  the  Dixie  National  Oil  Company  near  Fillmore.  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1912,  he  came  to  the  Midway,  where  at  first  he  gave  his  attention 
wholly  to  the  development  of  the  Maricopa  Union.  During  September  of 
1912  he  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Midway  Five  Oil  Company,  whose 
holdings  he  has  put  in  shape  for  profitable  work.  Still  more  recently  he  was 
chosen  superintendent  of  the  West  Virginia  Oil  Company  at  Maricopa,  so 
that  he  now  has  charge  of  three  important  companies  in  the  Midway  field. 
While  he  votes  the  Democratic  ticket  he  gives  little  attention  to  politics,  the 
demands  of  his  positions  as  superintendent  of  three  companies  being  so 
engrossing  as  to  preclude  any  outside  interests.  His  family  comprises  two 
children,  Isabelle  and  Lloyd,  and  their  mother,  whom  he  married  in  Santa 
Barbara  and  who  was  Miss  Isabelle  Rich,  a  native  of  Massachusetts. 

WILLIAM  FRANCIS  CLEGG.— Since  establishing  a  home  in  Kern 
county  in  l''ll  Mr.  Cleeg  has  been  identified  with  the  Bakersfield  Iron  works, 
being  first  a  machinist  in  the  I'akersfield  plant,  and  from  there  he  was  trans- 
ferred, June  14,  1913,  to  the  foremanshio  of  the  Fellows  shop.  The  eldest 
amongf  five  children  and  the  only  one  of  the  famil)-  to  establish  a  home  in 
the  United  States,  William  Francis  Clegg  was  born  at  Liverpool,  England, 
June  9,  1879,  and  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Ann  (Mulligan)  Clegg,  the  former  of 
whom  is  still  living.  At  the  age  of  three  years  he  entered  school  and  when  he 
left  St.  John's  at  the  age  of  eleven  he  had  entirely  completed  the  course  t)f 
study.  As  an  ofifice  boy  in  an  insurance  office  he  earned  his  livelihood  until 
he  was  fifteen,  when  he  became  an  apprentice  in  the  machine  shop  of  the 
Liverpool  Engineering  &  Condenser  Company  and  for  five  years  he  worke'd 
to  master  every  detail  of  the  machinist's  trade.  When  scarcely  twenty 
years  of  age  he  went  to  sea  as  marine  engineer  with  the  British  merchant 
marine,  having  obtained  a  license  as  chief  engineer.  During  the  eight  years 
of  his  service  as  marine  engineer  he  visited  almost  every  country  in  the 
world.  Altogether  he  made  about  twenty-six  voyages  to  the  Mediterranean 
sea.  Six  times  he  rounded  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  twice  he  sailed  through 
the  Suez  canal  and  twice  passed  the  Straits  of  Magellan  below  South  America. 
In  April,  1906,  Mr.  Clegg  gave  up  marine  engineering  and  established  a  home 
on  the  Pacific  coast,  following  his  trade  at  Portland,  Ore.,  for  three  months 
and  then  securing  em])loyment  in  San  Francisco  with  the  Peters  Gas  Engine 
Company.  After  a  time  he  became  a  machinist  with  W.  A.  Boole  &  Co., 
ship-builders  (now  Moore  &  Scott),  of  whose  shops  he  was  made  foreman, 
holding  the  position  until  he  resigned  to  engage  as  first  assistant  engineer 
on  a  steamship  engaged  in  the  ocean  trade.  In  the  course  of  eight  months 
with  this  ship  he  visited  Mexico  and  the  Orient.  Upon  resigning  the  position 
he  came  to  Bakersfield  in  1911  and  since  then  has  been  associated  with  the 
Bakersfield  iron  works.  His  family  consists  of  his  wife,  formerly  Miss  Alice 
Edith  Williams,  of  Liverpool,  England,  and  their  three  children,  Alice  Edith, 
Dorothy  Margaret  and  William  George. 

L.  R.  COOK. — A  native  of  Galesburg,  Knox  county.  111.,  born  April  4, 
1876,  L.  R.  Cook  was  the  son  of  James  P.  Cook,  who  lived  and  died  in  Gales- 
burg, having  been  the  proprietor  of  a  wall-paper  store  there  for  a  number  of 
years.  His  widow  survived  him  and  removed  to  Chicago,  where  she  is  now 
living.  The  son,  L.  R.  Cook,  remained  in  his  native  town  until  he  was  nine- 
teen, having  obtained  his  educational  training  there  in  the  public  schools.     His 


1472  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

first  business  venture  was  operating  a  dairy  there,  and  he  next  engaged  in  the 
livery  business  at  Ethley,  111.,  a  coal  mining  town,  where  he  built  up  a  brisk 
trade.  Upon  the  closing  down  of  the  mines  he  went  to  Knoxville,  111.,  where 
he  resumed  the  livery  business,  but  soon  sold  out  and  went  to  Chicago,  where 
he  followed  the  race  course  for  about  four  years.  At  this  time  he  accepted 
an  attractive  offer  from  M.  R.  Hoxie,  the  millionaire  cattleman  and  rancher, 
whose  ranch  was  situated  at  Taylor,  Williamson  county,  Tex.,  whither  Mr. 
Cook  went  to  serve  as  one  of  several  foremen  and  to  have  full  charge  of  the 
Hereford  cattle  department.  On  leaving  that  position  and  spending  a  short 
time  in  Oklahoma,  he  returned  to  Chicago  and  in  1902  came  to  Kern  county, 
Cal.  For  four  years  he  was  cashier  and  steward  at  the  Turf  restaurant  in 
Bakersfield  and  in  September,  1906,  he  established  Cook's  Cafe,  which  is  now 
catering  to  a  wide  patronage,  and  is  considered  one  of  the  most  up-to-date 
short-order  houses  in  the  city. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Cook  to  Mrs.  Maggie  Foster,  of  San  Francisco,  took 
place  November  23,  1906,  and  she  proved  a  helpmeet  of  no  mean  ability,  aiding 
her  husband  in  the  conduct  of  his  business  and  lending  that  delicate  touch 
which  tnly  a  woman  can  add  for  the  completion  of  an  excellent  table.  The 
place  of  business  was  moved  from  No.  2021  K  street  to  No.  2105  Chester 
avenue  (formerly  the  Russ  cafe)  May  23,  1913,  and  only  one  week  later,  on  the 
1st  of  June,  Mr.  Cook  was  bereaved  by  the  death  of  his  wife,  who  had  been 
cashier  at  the  cafe  and  the  most  trusted  business  associate  of  her  husband, 
as  well  as  a  devoted  wife  and  whole-Stuled  friend.  Kindliness  of  heart  and  a 
cheerful  disposition  endeared  her  to  every  acquaintance  and  her  passing  was 
deeply  mourned.  The  body  was  taken  to  San  Francisco  and  interred  in  the 
Cypress  Lawn  cemetery.  Fraternally  Mr.  Cook  is  still  connected  with  the 
Eagle  Aerie  No.  226  at  lola,  Kans.,  frcm  which  he  has  never  obtained  his  demit. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Democrat  and  while  never  seeking  or  holding  public  office 
he  has  united  with  other  public-spirited  citizens  to  promote  beneficial  move- 
ments in  Bakersfield. 

C.  Le  ROY  WHITE. — Exceptional  qualifications  for  the  peculiar  duties 
incident  to  auctioneering  led  Mr.  White  to  enter  this  line  of  salesmanship  and 
he  since  has  risen  to  the  very  front  rank  among  the  auctioneers  cf  the  San 
Joaquin  valley.  In  addition  to  such  work  he  carries  on  a  store  in  Bakersfield, 
where  the  name  cf  Roy  White  is  synonymous  with  energy,  fairness  and  an 
optimistic  personality  that  sees  the  cheerful  side  of  life.  Through  long  and 
honcrable  identification  with  the  business  growth  of  the  community  he  has 
won  the  confidence  of  its  residents,  who  regard  him  as  a  buyer  of  unerring 
sagacity  along  the  line  of  his  specialties.  With  customary  carefulness  he  has 
eliminated  from  his  store  everything  not  thoroughly  reliable,  so  that  he  is 
enabled  to  make  sure  that  promises  are  kept  and  the  details  of  every  transac- 
tion are  carried  to  the  limit  of  fulfillment. 

Although  still  a  young  man,  Mr.  White  has  been  associated  with  the 
business  history  of  Bakersfield  since  1889.  Born  at  Marshalltown,  Iowa, 
October  18,  1869,  he  is  a  son  of  Abraham  White,  who  lived  to  be  eighty-four 
years  of  age.  Longevity  is  noticeable  throughout  preceding  generations  of  the 
family,  whose  history  is  traced  back  to  the  very  earliest  attempts  at  coloniza- 
tion in  Kentucky.  They  have  been  typical  Americans,  devoted  to  their 
country  and  genuinely  helpful  in  pioneer  development.  During  the  year  1885 
the  family  removed  from  Iowa  to  California  and  settled  in  Los  Angeles  county, 
where  for  three  years  Roy  White  worked  in  a  furniture  and  carpet  establish- 
ment. Meanwhile  an  older  brother,  Richard  J.  White,  had  come  to  Bakers- 
field, where  he  is  now  president  of  the  Bakersfield  Hardware  Company.  An- 
other brother,  Ansil  J.,  also  a  resident  of  Kern  county,  is  employed  as  engineer 
for  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad.  Their  mother  is  still  living,  hale  and  mentally 
active,  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1473 

Arriving  in  Bakersfield  August  23,  1889,  Roy  White  at  once  began  to 
work  for  his  brother,  Richard  J.,  and  later  acquired  a  business  of  his  own, 
which  he  still  conducts,  in  addition  to  answering  many  calls  fur  his  services  as 
auctioneer  at  sales  throughout  various  parts  of  the  valley.  While  at  no  time  a 
partisan  in  political  connections,  he  stanchly  favors  Republican  principles  and 
always  votes  that  ticket  in  general  elections.  In  fraternal  relations  he  has  been 
for  years  a  popular  worker  and  leading  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  W'orkmen  and  Woodmen  of  the  \\'orld  at  Bakersfield.  By  his  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Dora  C.  Coughran,  a  native  of  JMaricopa  county,  this  state,  he 
is  the  father  of  three  children,  Irwin,  Thelma  and  Harold. 

WALKER  RANKIN.— It  is  interesting  to  chronicle  the  life  history  of 
the  pioneer,  the  man  who  in  his  prime  entered  the  wilderness  and  claimed 
the  virgin  soil  as  his  heritage  and  becoming  inured  to  privations  and  hardships 
accomplished  the  transformation  of  the  country  to  its  present  wonderful 
state  of  development.  Among  those  early  settlers  now  remaining  who  aided  in 
this  accomplishment  is  Walker  Rankin,  who  was  born  in  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  June 
2,  1842,  the  son  of  William  and  Ursula  (Keene)  Rankin,  born  in  Ireland  and 
Pennsylvania  respectively.  On  coming  to  the  United  States  from  his  native 
Ireland  the  father  became  foreman  in  an  iron  works  in  Pennsylvania  and  after- 
wards a  farmer  in  Westmoreland  county,  where  he  and  his  wife  spent  their 
last  days.  Of  their  family  of  eight  children  two  came  to  California,  namely: 
Walker  and  Aquilla.  The  latter  crossed  the  plains  in  1853  to  Los  Angeles  and 
was  afterwards  a  resident  of  Alameda  county  for  many  years,  but  spent  the 
last  year  of  his  life  with  his  brother  Walker. 

The  public  schools  of  Westmoreland  county  afforded  Walker  Rankin  his 
educational  advantages  until  a  youth  of  fourteen,  when  he  determined  to  come 
to  California.  Making  the  journey  by  way  of  Panama  he  landed  in  San  Fran- 
cisco early  in  January,  1856.  He  followed  mining  in  the  Sierra  Nevadas  for 
two  years  and  from  Butte  county  returned  to  San  Francisco  bay  where  he 
engaged  with  his  brother  in  the  dairy  business  on  Alameda  creek  in  Alameda 
county  fi  r  five  years.  Dissolving  the  partnership  and  dividing  the  stock,  he 
then  brought  his  flock  to  Mill  creek,  Tulare  county,  and  in  1867  he  brought  his 
stock  to  Walker's  Basin  and  purchased  a  farm  from  Dan  Walser.  At  once  he 
began  to  improve  the  ranch  and  raise  hay  and  cattle,  thus  laying  the  founda- 
tion of  his  present  large  holdings  in  lands  and  cattle.  His  brand  is  the 
quarter  circle  over  the  capital  U.  Later  he  bought  the  Wicks  ranch  and 
afterwards  the  Williams  ranch  of  eight  hundred  acres,  besides  many  sectii  ns 
of  range  land.  The  ranch  is  well  watered  from  \\'alker's  Basin  branch  and 
from  the  same  source  he  obtains  water  for  irrigating  and  raising  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  alfalfa.  He  also  owns  a  valuable  ranch  on  South 
Fork,  which  he  operated  until  lately  when  he  gave  its  supervisii  n  to  his  sons. 

Mr.  Rankin  did  not  assume  di  mestic  ties  until  1872.  when  he  married 
Miss  Lavenia  Lightner,  a  sister  of  Abia  Taylor  Lightntr,  in  whose  sketch  on 
another  page  appears  the  family  history. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rankin  have  six  children  living,  named  as  follows:  Charles 
W.,  a  stockman  near  Havilah ;  W^arren,  a  stockman  at  the  head  of  the  South 
Fork  Valley;  Edward,  who  is  farming  his  mother's  (the  old  Lig-htner)  i)lace 
in  Walkers  Basin;  Le  Roy,  a  stockman  near  Weldon ;  Jesse,  who  resides  in 
San  Francisco,  but  is  interested  in  the  stock  business  in  Kern  county  ;  and 
Walker,  Jr.,  also  a  stockman  on  the  South  Fork.  Mrs.  Rankin  is  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  Church.  Always  interested  in  the  cause  of  education,  Mr.  Rankin 
served  some  years  and  was  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  education  of  the 
Walkers  Basin  school  district.    Politically  he  is  a  Demc  crat. 

EDWIN  P.  LIEB.— Born  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  March  15.  1867.  E.  P.  Lieb  is 
of  German  extraction,  his  father,  Adam  Lieb,  having  been  a  native  of  \\'tirtem- 
berg,  Germany,  and  migrating  from  that  place  to  New  York  state.     In  the  fall 


1474  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

of  1867  he  brought  his  wife  and  little  son  by  way  of  Panama 
to  San  Francisco  and  immediately  went  to  Sierra  City,  where  he 
followed  mining.  Afterwards  he  located  on  a  farm  in  Sutter  county 
where  he  died.  The  first  nine  years  cf  Edwin  Lieb's  life  was 
spent  in  Sierra  City  and  then  he  lived  on  the  farm  in  Sutter  county, 
where  he  attended  the  schools  of  the  locality.  After  his  father's  death  he  went 
to  Santa  Barbara,  where  he  followed  farming  and  asphalt  mining.  In  1897  he 
came  to  Kern  county  and  engaged  in  mining  near  Bodfish,  being  successful  in 
locating  and  opening  several  small  mines  and  dispi  sing  of  them.  He  then 
engaged  in  raising  alfalfa  near  Bakersfield  until  1909,  when  he  entered  the 
employ  of  A.  Brown  &  Co..  as  foreman  of  their  farms  and  mill  on  the  .South 
Fork.  Since  then  he  has  devoted  all  of  his  time  and  best  efforts  towards 
advancing  the  company's  farm  holdings.  Well  and  favorably  known  and  an 
influential  man  in  his  community,  he  takes  an  active  interest  in  the  success 
of  the  Democratic  party  and  is  serving  as  a  member  of  the  county  central 
committee. 

HARRY  G.  MASSA.— Born  in  Cadiz,  Spain,  November  28,  1863,  since 
that  time  the  career  of  H.  G.  Massa  has  been  in  the  course  of  development 
in  many  parts  of  the  world,  his  parehts  having  removed  from  there  when  he 
was  about  three  and  a  half  years  old,  going  to  Kornstadt,  Germany.  Here  he 
was  reared  and  attended  school  until  he  became  old  enough  to  learn  the 
cabinet-maker's  trade,  which  he  thoroughly  mastered. 

With  his  brother  Gustav  H.,  Mr.  Massa  decided  to  come  to  the  new  world 
while  he  was  still  a  young  lad,  and  embarking  for  America  they  reached  New 
York  February  2,  1879,  anxious  to  obtain  work  and  acquire  a  fortune  as  so 
many  cf  their  friends  had  done  before  them.  From  this  time  his  life  work 
varied  from  one  line  of  business  to  another,  he  proving  himself  an  efficient, 
observing  employee.  Learning  the  barber  trade  in  New  York  City  he  worked 
there  until  1881.  For  two  years  following  he  worked  in  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  and 
then  returned  to  New  York.  In  1883  he  enhsted  in  Company  D,  Second 
Infantry,  his  term  expiring  in  1888,  and  he  procured  his  honorable  discharge 
at  Omaha,  Neb.,  on  January  30  of  that  year. 

In  May,  1888,  Mr.  Massa  settled  at  Sioux  Falls,  S.  D.,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed in  the  Cataract  barber  shop  until  1900,  then  coming  to  Bakersfield, 
where  he  has  made  his  permanent  residence,  having  valuable  property  holdings 
here  as  well  as  his  barber  interests.  He  has  been  thrifty  and  economical,  and 
has  saved  his  earnings,  so  that  he  has  been  enabled  to  invest  them  most 
judiciously.  In  1891  he  married  Ollie  Johnscn,  and  she  has  been  the  means 
of  aiding  her  husband  in  the  wise  management  of  his  affairs. 

Mr.  Massa's  military  training  has  served  him  well  in  many  instances, 
not  the  least  of  which  is  in  his  capacity  of  drillmaster  of  the  Bakersfield  local 
team  in  Aerie  93  Order  of  Eagles,  of  which  he  is  a  member.  Mr.  Massa  is  a 
Democrat.  From  June  3,  1912,  to  January  7,  1913,  he  was  president  of  the 
Labor  Council  of  Bakersfield. 

CHARLES  BRANCH  TIBBETTS.— Born  at  Alpha  Flill,  Nevada  county, 
Cal.,  January  29,  1859,  C.  B.  Tibbetts  is  a  sen  of  Roswell  G.  Tibbetti,  who 
came  from  the  state  of  Maine  as  second  mate  on  a  sailing  vessel  around  Cape 
Horn  to  San  Francisco  in  1850.  His  wife  was  named  Helen  Branch  and 
resides  in  Oakland,  while  he  died  in  Bakersfield.  Charles  Branch  was  the 
oldest  of  a  family  of  seven  children  and  received  his  education  in  the  schools 
of  Santa  Cruz  county.  In  1879  he  came  to  Kernville  and  for  two  years  was 
employed  by  the  Big  Blue  Mining  Company,  hauling  quartz  on  contract. 
He  hauled  twenty-four  tons  a  day  with  a  four-horse  team  and  averaged 
?10  per  day  above  expenses.  These  savings  he  invested  in  cattle  and  bought 
land  on  the  North  Fork,  establishing  his  ranch  headquarters  opposite  the  old 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RX    COUXTV  1475 

mill.  Ilis  brand  was  the  double  TT.  He  continued  in  the  cattle  business 
until  1897,  when  he  made  the  trip  to  Alaska,  packing  fifteen  hundred  pounds  of 
notions  over  the  Chilcoot  trail,  built  a  boat  and  conveyed  them  down  the 
Yukon  to  Dawson,  where  he  immediateU'  sold  them  at  a  good  profit  and 
returned  home  via  St.  Michaels.  On  his  return  he  had  a  contract  packing  goods 
into  the  mountains  for  the  Kern  River  Company,  then  contracted  to  furnish  the 
same  company  with  meat,  but  the  second  year  he  sold  his  business  and  located 
in  Bakersfield,  investing  in  real  estate  there  and  at  Sawtelle.  In  the  latter 
place  in  1504  he  built  the  first  brick  store,  which  he  still  owns,  besides  owning 
residence  property  there.  In  Sawtelle  he  had  the  mail  contract  and  ran  the 
buss  between  Sawtelle  and  the  Soldiers'  Home,  but  sold  when  the  car  line 
was  built.  In  Bakersfield  he  has  built  a  store  building  and  two  dwellings  on  F 
street  near  the  Santa  Fe  depot.  Of  late  he  is  spending  the  greater  part  of  the 
year  in  Kernville,  where  he  is  road  overseer  of  the  district. 

In  Kernville  June  7,  1893,  occurred  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Tibbetts  and 
Emma  L.  Klosa,  a  native  daughter  i  f  Ventura.  Her  father,  Louis  Klusa.  was 
an  early  settler  of  California  and  died  on  his  farm  near  Kernville,  while  her 
mother,  now  Mrs.  Anna  Lurch,  is  one  of  the  honored  old  settlers  of  Kern- 
ville. To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  B.  Tibbetts  were  born  three  children,  as  follows: 
Roswell,  a  graduate  of  the  Bakersfield  Business  College;  Harry,  who  was 
accidentally  dn  wned  in  the  Kern  river  in  July,  1913,  aged  seventeen  ;  and  Carla 
B.  Mr.  Tibbetts  has  always  manifested  an  active  interest  in  politics  and  is  a 
stanch  Republican. 

ELI  BLANC. — The  third  of  a  family  of  four  children,  whose  parents, 
Casimir  and  Theresa  Blanc,  are  deceased,  Eli  Blanc  was  born  November  11, 
1871,  at  La  Batineuve,  Ilautes-Alpes,  France,  and  spent  the  years  of  boyhood 
upon  a  farm  near  the  foothills  of  the  Alps  mountains,  where  he  grew  familiar 
with  the  care  of  sheep.  His  schooling,  although  somewhat  irregular,  was 
thorough  and  gave  him  an  excellent  education  in  the  French  language.  When 
about  eighteen  years  of  age  he  came  to  California  in  1889  and  found  employ- 
ment near  East  Bakersfield  (then  called  Sumner)  with  a  sheep-raiser  in  the 
Pos.i  creek  country,  where  he  remained  for  two  years  as  a  herder.  Mean- 
while he  had  started  a  small  bunch  of  sheep  as  an  individual  flock.  As  the 
number  increased  he  felt  justified  in  giving  to  the  flock  his  entire  time  and 
attenticn.  For  the  most  part  he  ranged  the  animals  along  Poso  creek  and 
in  the  hills  and  the  location  has  proved  so  satisfactory  that  he  still  retains  his 
flocks  in  that  country,  having  at  this  time  a  large  drove  of  merinos  as  fine 
of  fleece  as  may  be  found.  Meanwhile  he  has  bought  a  home  at  No.  831  Hum- 
boldt street,  East  Bakersfield,  also  has  acquired  other  property  at  this  place, 
and  he  is  further  an  active  member  c,f  the  Kern  County  Live  Stock  Association. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Blanc  and  Miss  Louise  Raymond  took  place  at  Ba- 
kersfield October  28,  1901.  and  has  been  blessed  with  six  children,  viz. :  Louise, 
Henry,  Elise,  Olga,  Eli  Jr.,  and  Armand.  A  resident  of  California  since  about 
the  year  18'*'8,  Mrs.  Blanc  is  of  French  birth  and  ancestry  and  was  born  at  Pont 
du  Fosse,  Hautes-Alpes,  being  a  daughter  of  Auguste  and  Rose  Raymond, 
members  of  the  farming  community  of  Hautes-Alpes  at  the  eastern  edge  of 
France.  Both  parents  are  now  deceased.  By  a  singular  coincidence  their  four 
surviving  children  all  live  in  East  Bakersfield.  from  which  pi  int  the  two  broth- 
ers of  Mrs.  Blanc,  Jean  and  Peter  Raymond,  superintend  their  large  sheep  in- 
terests. The  eldest  member  of  the  family,  Rose,  is  the  wife  of  Vincent  Ramljaud. 
Since  becoming  a  citizen  of  our  country  Mr.  Blanc  has  aflfiliated  with  the 
Republican  party  and  has  given  stanch  suppi  rt  to  its  principles.  In  religion 
he  and  his  family  are  actively  identified  with  St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Church. 

WILLIAM  H.  McCLURE.— Too  much  credit  cannot  be  given  to  the 
men  who  spend  their  lives  at  the  front  looking  after  the  construction  of  new 
enterprises.     Such  positions  are  fraught  with  danger  as  well  as  privation,  yet 


1476  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

to  their  promoters  the  country  owes  its  greatness.  Such  a  man  is  William  H. 
McClure,  who  was  born  in  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  in  1856,  but  removed  to  Marquette, 
Mich.,  when  a  mere  child  with  his  father,  James  McClure.  There  he  grew 
to  manhood  and  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools.  After  com- 
pleting his  education  he  began  working  as  a  miner  and  later  became  foreman 
in  the  Washington  mines.  About  1877  he  removed  to  Oshkosh,  Wis.,  and 
there  began  work  in  the  woods.  Two  months  later  he  was  placed  in  charge  of 
the  camp  for  Spaulding  &  Peck,  filling  the  position  of  foreman  for  a  period  of 
two  years.  Next  he  accepted  a  pcsition  as  foreman  on  construction  of  the 
Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Railroad  in  Minnesota,  a  year  being  spent  in 
taking  out  rock  cuts  and  driving  tunnels. 

On  the  completion  of  the  road  Mr.  McClure  became  a  contractor  on  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  in  Minnesota,  furnishing  ties  and  timbers  for 
eighteen  months.  About  1883  he  came  west  and  made  an  extended  trip  along 
the  Pacific  coast.  On  his  return  to  St.  Paul  he  entered  the  employ  of  Iveefe 
&  Duffy,  contractors  on  the  Great  Northern,  for  two  years  filling  the  position 
of  superintendent  of  construction  from  Pacific  Juncticn  west.  He  then  filled  a 
similar  position  with  W.  D.  Bailey,  railroad  contractor,  building  from  Duluth 
to  Tower,  Minn.  This  took  three  and  one-half  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  time  he  came  again  to  the  Pacific  ccast  in  1899  and  entered  the  employ 
of  the  Edison  Electric  Company  (now  the  Southern  California  Edison  Electric 
Company)  as  foreman  on  construction  of  the  Kern  River  No.  1  plant.  In 
1906  he  became  superintendent  in  charge  of  all  the  works  en  System  3  and  as 
such  began  the  work.  Since  then  he  has  surveyed  and  built  about  forty  miles 
of  road  and  has  done  the  preliminary  work  towards  bringing  the  North  Fork 
through  the  mountains  by  tunnel,  a  distance  of  fourteen  miles  to  the  power 
plant,  which  will  give  a  fall  of  nine  hundred  feet.  The  tunnel  has  already 
been  started  and  the  work  is  progressing  satisfactorily.  The  work  of  the  com- 
pany has  been  of  great  benefit  to  Kern  county,  as  it  has  opened  a  road 
along  the  north  fork  of  the  Kern  river  heretofore  accessible  only  by  trail,  but 
now  used  by  automobilists,  thus  penetrating  in  a  day's  journey  of  ease  the 
beauties  and  grandeur  of  the  high  Sierras  in  Kern  county. 

Personally  Mr.  McClure  is  well  and  favorably  known.  Not  only  in  Kern 
county,  but  throughout  the  entire  state  he  has  hosts  of  friends  and  well- 
wishers.    Fraternally  he  is  a  member  of  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E. 

FRANK  ANDERSON.— Twenty-five  miles  north  of  Des  Moines  in  the 
then  sparsely  settled  county  of  Polk  in  Iowa,  at  the  farm  home  of  Nelson 
Anderson  a  son,  Frank,  was  born  September  14,  1854.  The  father,  a  native  of 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  had  been  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Polk  county,  having 
located  a  raw  tract  of  land  on  the  barren  prairie  during  1838.  Aside  from  the 
tilling  of  the  soil  he  ran  a  blacksmith  shop  and  attended  to  repairing  the 
machinery  and  vehicles  of  the  husbandmen  of  the  community  in  those  primi- 
tive days.  In  such  an  environment  the  son  was  taught  the  trades  of  black- 
smith and  carriage-maker  and  he  remained  with  his  father  until  twenty-three 
years  of  age.  During  1885  he  made  his  way  to  Colorado,  where  he  followed 
mining.  In  1886  he  came  to  California  and  operated  a  combined  harvester  in 
Sonoma  county.  Coming  to  Kern  county  in  1887,  he  conducted  a  blacksmith 
shop  at  Lebec  and  also  engaged  in  prospecting  and  mining.  In  1904  he  made 
the  voyage  to  South  Africa,  where  he  welded  steel  in  Kimberly  until  he 
became  somewhat  familiar  with  the  different  forms  of  diamond  mining.  While 
operating  a  placer  diamond  mine  he  made  $?2,000  in  four  months.  On  the 
return  trip  to  California  he  spent  some  time  in  England.  His  next  trip  was  to 
the  Copper  river  in  Alaska,  from  which  country  he  returned  to  Kern  county. 
In  1911  he  settled  at  Wasco,  where  he  built  his  present  shop  and  embarked 
in  general  blacksmithing  and  repair  work,  in  which  he  is  very  skilled. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1477 

AUGUST  KLINGENBERG.— This  well-known  contractor  in  East  Ba- 
kersfield  was  born  in  Dansig,  Germany,  December  30,  1857,  the  son  of  Cor- 
nelius and  Charlotte  (Dravitz)  Klingenberg,  who  with  their  family  removed  to 
Southern  Russia.  From  that  country  in  1875  they  came  to  the  United  States 
and  settled  in  Marion  county,  Kans.,  later  going  to  Kirk,  Colo.,  and  eventually 
to  Minnesota,  where  the  father  died.  The  mother,  at  the  age  of  ninety-three, 
is  now  making  her  home  in  East  Bakersfield.  After  becoming  a  resident  of 
Kansas,  August  Klingenberg  t(  ok  up  farming  pursuits  in  Marion  county. 
That  occupation  engaged  his  attention  until  he  located  in  Henderson,  York 
county,  Neb.,  in  1886,  when  he  began  as  a  contractor  for  stonework  and  plas- 
tering. During  1893  he  removed  to  Mountain  Lake,  Minn.,  where  he  followed 
the  same  business  for  eleven  years.  Next  he  established  himself  in  business  at 
Lovcland,  Ci- lo.  The  year  1908  found  him  in  Bakersfield,  where  he  took  up 
contracting  and  building,  and  he  is  now  located  on  Humboldt  street.  East  Ba- 
kersfield, where  he  manufactures  cement  blocks  in  addition  to  following  his 
regular  line  of  work. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Klingenberg  took  place  in  Marion  county,  Kans., 
and  united  him  with  ]\Iiss  Anna  Schoenhofif,  also  a  native  of  Germany.  They  are 
the  parents  of  eight  children,  as  follows:  Nettie,  who  married  J.  E.  VViens, 
of  East  Bakersfield,  and  has  three  children;  Henry  A.,  of  Bakersfield.  who  is 
married  and  the  father  of  three  children;  Anna,  Mrs.  Henry  Wall,  of  Chey- 
enne, Wyo.,  who  has  three  children:  Cornelius,  of  Montana;  Peter,  of  East 
Bakersfield,  who  has  two  children;  August  C,  of  Denver,  Cclo.,  who  is  mar- 
ried and  has  one  child ;  Mary  and  Louise,  who  reside  at  home.  An  enterprising 
citizen,  i\Ir.  Klingenberg  is  willing  to  do  all  he  can  to  advance  the  interests 
of  the  community.  Religiously  he  is  a  member  of  the  Mennonite  Brethren 
Church. 

MISS  ANNA  CLAR. — The  leading  exclusive  ladies'  and  gents'  furnish- 
ing goods  establishment  in  East  Bakersfield  is  presided  over  by  Miss  Clar, 
who  received  her  education  in  Philadelphia  and  the  Lincoln  school,  San  Fran- 
cisco, also  in  the  schools  of  Selma,  Cal.,  under  Prof.  Walker,  after  which  she 
engaged  in  the  millinery  business  in  Visalia  and  then  opened  a  dressmaking 
parlor  in  Kern,  now  East  Bakersfield.  In  1910  she  started  the  present  store 
at  No.  727  Baker  street,  where  individually  she  has  built  up  a  large  business. 

Miss  Clar  is  the  daughter  of  Ludwig  S.  and  Anna  (Heidricli)  Clar,  na- 
tives of  Poland  and  Saxony,  Germany,  respectively.  In  1884  they  came  to 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  in  March,  1889,  to  San  Francisco,  Cal.  Following  the 
tailor's  trade  there  and  later  at  Visalia,  Hanford,  Lemoore,  and  Selma  until 
February,  1894,  Mr.  Clar  then  located  in  Kern  (now  East  Bakersfield)  where 
he  engaged  as  a  merchant  tailor  at  No.  816  Baker  street.  The  mother  of  Miss 
Clar  is  assisting  the  daughter  in  the  mercantile  business.  Anna  Clar  is  a 
member  of  Kern  Lodge  No.  58,  Fraternal  Brotherhood,  and  St.  Joseph's 
Catholic  Church. 

HARRY  Le  ROY  COLEMAN.— Recognized  as  c  ne  of  the  competent 
men  in  the  employ  of  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  company,  ]\lr.  Coleman  has  been 
stationed  on  the  Bakersfield  divisii  n  for  a  number  of  years  as  locomotive 
engineer.  During  his  employment  he  never  has  had  an  accident  or  even  any 
serious  delay.  In  the  Brotherhood  f.f  Locomotive  Engineers  he  has  been  a 
local  worker  and  a  generous  contributor  to  its  helpful  charities.  Although  he 
came  to  California  from  Colorado  and  had  lived  in  Denver  during  the  years 
of  youth,  Mr.  Coleman  is  a  native  cf  Kansas  and  was  born  at  Washington, 
Washington  county,  April  4,  1881,  being  the  eldest  among  four  children  form- 
ing the  family  of  George  F.  and  Albina  (Smith)  Coleman,  natives  respectively 
of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  The  father,  a  miller  by  occupation,  engaged  in  that  work 
for  some  years  in  Kansas  and  from  that  state  moved  to  Colorado  in   1891, 


1478  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

settling  in  Denver.  At  this  writing  he  and  his  wife  make  their  home  in  Los 
Angeles.  When  ten  years  of  age  Harry  LeRoy  Coleman  accom  :)anied  his 
parents  from  Kansas  to  Colorado  and  later  attended  the  Denver  public  schools, 
upon  leaving  school  he  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  machinist 
in  the  Burnham  shops  of  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  railroad.  On  the  expi- 
ration of  his  time  he  was  made  a  fireman  out  from  Pueblo  on  the  Atchison, 
Topeka  &  Santa  F"e  railroad  and  continued  in  the  same  place  until  1903,  when 
he  resigned  to  remove  to  California. 

After  six  months  as  a  fireman  on  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  out  from 
Los  Angeles,  followed  by  a  tour  of  inspection  through  Mexico  and  the  south- 
ern part  of  our  own  ccuntry,  Mr.  Coleman  resumed  work  with  the  Los  Angeles 
division,  but  in  May  of  19C4  he  began  as  fireman  out  from  Needles  on  the  Santa 
Fe  railroad.  Fidelity  to  every  duty  caused  him  to  be  promoted  to  the  position 
of  engineer  in  December,  1906,  and  ever  since  then  he  has  been  with  the  same 
company  in  the  same  capacity,  his  runs  having  been  out  from  Needles.  Bakers- 
field  and  Mcjave.  ^Vhile  living  in  Los  Angeles  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of 
Miss  Ethel  E.  Compton  and  they  were  married  in  1904  in  that  city.  For  a 
time  they  lived  at  Mojave,  but  now  they  reside  at  No.  711  K  street,  Bakersfield. 
Mrs.  Coleman  is  a  woman  of  education  and  an  earnest  member  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  Although  much  of  her  life  has  been  passed  in  this  state  she  is  a 
native  of  Oregon,  born  in  Jackson  county,  where  her  father,  William  J.,  was  a 
well-known  resident,  and  her  grandfather,  Juhn  Compton,  an  honored  and 
influential  pioneer. 

DANIEL  RICE  MILLER.— Both  through  his  father,  David  Miller,  who 
more  than  sixty  years  ago  conducted  a  cooper  shop  in  Harrison  county,  Ind., 
and  through  his  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  Ellen  Miller, 
the  gentleman  whose  name  intrt  duces  this  narrative  traces  his  genealogy  to 
Germany,  but  both  of  these  families  (unrelated,  although  bearing  the  same 
name)  have  been  represented  in  the  new  world  since  the  colonial  period.  The 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  Gen.  James  Miller,  a  patriot  of  national  renown  and 
intrepid  valor,  who  in  young  manhood  served  as  sheriff  if  Hardin  county.  Ky., 
a  region  known  chiefly  through  having  been  the  birthplace  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. At  the  opening  of  the  war  cf  1812  this  gallant  young  Iventuckian  offered 
his  services  to  his  country  and,  while  acting  as  a  lieutenant-colonel,  was  sent 
with  tri  ops  to  open  communication  with  the  base  of  supplies  at  Raisin 
river.  In  the  course  of  the  journey  he  was  attacked  by  an  ambuscade  at  Ma- 
guaga,  but  after  a  brave  fight  of  two  hours  he  and  his  men  routed  the  enemy, 
forcing  them  to  flee  to  their  boats.  In  that  brief  battle  the  Indians  lost  one  hun- 
dred and  the  English  about  fifty,  while  the  American  loss  was  very  small. 
Even  greater  honor  came  to  General  Miller  at  Lundy's  Lane  in  1814.  This 
engagement,  known  also  as  the  battle  of  Bridgewater  or  Niagara,  was  one  of 
the  hardest  ever  fought  considering  the  number  of  the  participants.  When  the 
crisis  of  the  battle  was  at  its  height  and  the  English  guns  seemed  impregnable, 
Colonel  Miller  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  peril 
to  themselves,  shot  down  every  man  at  the  guns,  rushed  forward  in  the  face 
of  sharp  fire  and  captured  the  guns.  This  turned  the  tide  of  victory  and  gave 
to  the  brave  leader  of  the  American  troops  a  renown  that  is  deathless. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  was  the  attraction  that  caused  the 
Miller  family  to  give  up  their  home  in  Indiana  and  remove  to  the  then  un- 
known regions  along  the  Pacific  coast.  Early  in  1850  they  joined  an  expedition 
that  journeyed  across  the  plains  with  ox-teams  and  wagons.  At  that  time 
there  were  five  children  in  the  family,  namely:  Sarah,  who  later  married 
William  Gregory  and  is  now  living  at  Reno,  Nev. ;  David  and  Nicholas,  both 
now  deceased  ;  Daniel  Rice,  who  was  born  in  Harrison  county,  Ind.,  August  3, 
1843,  and  was  less  than  seven  at  the  time  of  leaving  Indiana ;  and  John  W., 


HISTORY    OF    KRRX    COITNTY  1479 

now  a  resident  of  Najia  county,  this  state.  Two  children  were  born  after  the 
family  settled  in  Califurnia,  namely:  Isaac  L.,  the  present  county  clerk  of 
Kern  county,  Cal. ;  and  Gilla  Ann,  wife  of  (ieorge  F.  Mack,  who  for  many  years 
was  school  superintendent  of  Amador  county  and  at  the  present  time  is  cashier 
of  the  bank  at  lone,  where  he  now  resides. 

About  the  1st  of  September,  1850,  the  family  arrived  in  Fldorado  county. 
Besides  engaging  in  gold  mining  at  Coal  Springs,  that  county,  David  Miller 
carried  on  a  hotel.  The  boy,  who  was  only  seven  at  the  time  the  family  settled 
in  the  mining  district,  found  much  to  interest  him  in  the  life  of  the  camp 
and  did  not  then  realize  his  deprivation  in  a  lack  of  any  educational  advan- 
tages. When  his  father  took  up  a  government  homestead  in  1854  he  began  to 
assist  him  in  the  difficult  task  of  transforming  a  raw  tract  into  a  productive 
ranch.  From  an  early  age  he  has  earned  his  own  way  in  the  world  and 
at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  left  home  to  go  to  Nevada,  where  he  engaged  as 
clerk  in  a  hotel  at  Washoe,  City.  After  a  year  as  hotel  clerk  he  took  a  contract 
to  cut  saw-logs  in  the  woids  for  the  Virginia  mines.  Altogether  he  spent  three 
years  in  Nevada  and  then  returned  to  Coal  Springs,  where  he  engaged  in 
merchandising.  In  the  mean  time  his  father  died  and  he  bought  the  old  family 
home.  Conditions  had  changed  in  the  surrounding  country.  The  era  of  gold 
excitement  had  passed  and  with  it  went  the  period  of  high  prices.  In  the 
early  days  meals  were  $1  each,  pork  fifty  cents  per  pound,  pies  $1  each  and 
bread  $1  per  loaf,  other  things  being  in  proportion.  On  the  other  hand,  many 
of  the  miners  made  money  easily  and  were  willing  to  spend  without  stint.  He 
recalls  how,  when  employed  by  leading  miners,  he  took  out  of  the  placer  mines 
as  much  as  $1,000  per  day,  with  the  assistance  of  only  one  helper. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Miller  in  1873  united  him  with  Miss  Mary  Ellen  Gard- 
ner, who  was  born  in  Eldorado  county,  Cal.,  in  1856,  the  daughter  of  George 
and  Betsey  Gardner,  pioneers  of  1852  in  California,  where  her  father  for  years 
engaged  in  business  as  a  nurseryman.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  Miller  engaged 
in  general  farming,  improved  a  tract  of  raw  land,  then  sold  the  place  and  in 
1879  came  to  Kern  county.  On  the  present  site  of  the  Southern  hotel.  Bakers- 
field,  he  conducted  the  French  hotel,  then  the  leading  hostelry  in  the  county, 
and  which  under  the  supervision  of  himself  and  wife  retained  its  firm  hold  upon 
the  good-will  of  the  traveling  public.  After  a  year  at  the  French,  he  bought 
the  Central  hotel  at  Sumner  (later  known  as  Kern,  now  East  Bakersfield"). 
Where  that  inn  then  stood  now  stands  the  Metropole  h(  tel.  After  four 
years  as  proprietor  of  the  Central  he  leased  it  and  later  sold  out.  For  about 
si.x  years  he  lived  at  Tulare,  then  spent  two  years  at  Fresno  and  from  there 
returned  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  kept  a  lodging  house  until  the  building  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  His  next  step  was  to  buy  a  tract  of  ten  acres  south  of  Ba- 
kersfield and  here  he  has  since  made  his  home,  with  the  help  of  his  capable 
wife  improving  the  little  property  and  greath^  enhancing  its  attractions  as 
well  as  its  productiveness.  As  early  as  1884  he  located  twenty-two  hundred 
acres  of  oil  land  at  Sunset,  Kern  county,  but  since  then  he  has  not  been  inter- 
ested in  the  oil  industry  Mr  Miller  is  a  Mason.  His  parents  and  family  were 
Methodists.  At  the  present  time,  although  not  a  member  of  any  denomination, 
he  is  in  sympathy  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  to  which  his  wife  belongs  and 
with  her  he  has  contributed  to  its  maintenance.  While  he  has  never  aspired  to 
office,  he  has  been  a  stanch  Democrat  and  has  attended  the  greater  number  of 
the  state  conventions  of  the  party,  has  kept  posted  concerning  political  issues 
and  has  enjoyed  the  acquaintance  of  many  of  the  leading  politicians  of  the 
state. 

JOHN  FRANCIS  MAIO.— The  death  of  John  Francis  Maio,  which  oc- 
curred May  10,  1912,  in  Bakersfield,  from  the  eflfects  of  an  injury  received 
from  being  thrown  to  the  ground  while  leading  a  mule  to  water,  removed  from 


1480  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  vicinity  a  citizen  whose  broad  charities  and  gentle  influence  for  good 
were  deeply  felt  throughout  the  long  period  of  his  residence  here.  A  man 
of  strong  personality,  in  temperament  optimistic,  he  displayed  a  spirit  and 
influence  that  proved  a  factor  for  good  in  all  emergencies,  and  he  was  looked 
upon  by  all  who  knew  him  as  a  man  whose  kind  sympathies  and  helping 
hand  were  ever  at  their  disposal  at  the  time  of  need  and  adversity.  His 
genial  disposition  and  cordial,  courteous  mannerisms  drew  to  him  a  host  of 
friends  who  have  felt  deeply  the  great  loss  of  his  companionship  and  strong 
influence  for  good  among  them. 

Mr.  Maio  is  a  native  son  of  the  Golden  state,  having  been  born  in  San 
Francisco  November  4,  1854.  His  father,  Victor  A.  Maio,  was  born  in  France 
and  during  the  gold  excitement  in  1849  came  to  the  United  States,  making 
San  Francisco  his  point  of  destination.  He  finally  removed  to  Kern  county, 
where  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent.  The  son,  John  F.,  grew  to  young 
manh.  od  in  his  native  city,  receiving  thorough  training  in  the  public  schools 
there  and  then  entering  Christian  Brothers  College  in  Iowa,  from  which 
latter  institution  he  was  graduated.  Pharmacy  had  early  attracted  Mr.  Maio 
as  a  desirable  line  to  follow,  he  being  led  to  this  decision  by  his  experience  in 
a  drug  store  in  San  Francisco,  and  he  accordingly  entered  the  College  of 
Pharmacy  there  and  received  his  pharmaceutical  degree  upon  graduation.  In 
Virginia  City,  Nev.,  he  established  a  drug  store  and  in  its  successful  conduct 
continued  until  the  year  1880,  when  disposing  of  it  he  came  to  Bakersfield 
and  started  a  similar  store  on  Nineteenth  street,  on  the  present  site  of  the 
Gundlach  shoe  store,  and  here  he  remained  for  many  years,  administering 
faithfully  to  the  wants  of  his  many  patrons,  and  becoming  a  prominent  factor 
in  the  business  world  of  the  city. 

Shrewd  perception  and  observation  convinced  Mr.  Maio  of  the  advis- 
ability of  investing  in  real-estate  in  his  vicinity,  the  value  having  increased 
rapidly  and  the  future  appearing  even  brighter,  so  he  disp'  sed  of  his  drug 
interests  and  entered  the  real-estate  business.  Investing  also  in  farm  lands, 
he  finally  bought  a  ranch  of  twelve  hundred  and  sixty  acres  about  twenty- 
five  miles  from  Bakersfield  and  one  mile  above  Granite,  where  he  engaged  in 
farming  and  stock-raising,  his  product  being  chiefly  grain  and  stock.  Later 
he  had  the  mail  contract  between  Bakersfield  and  Glennville  and  fi^r  many 
years  ran  a  tri-weekly  stage  between  these  points.  Since  Mr.  Maio's  death  it 
has  been  rented,  his  wife  having  found  the  duties  of  its  conduct  too  arduous 
for  her  to  undertake. 

The  Fraternal  Brotherhood  claimed  Mr.  Maio  as  a  member.  In  political 
sentiment  a  stanch  Democrat,  he  had  ever  adhered  to  its  principles  and  served 
as  county  core  ner  and  public  administrator  with  satisfaction  to  all.  His  public 
services  were  not  alone  confined  to  the  duties  of  his  offices,  for  he  was  active 
in  all  public  movements  where  the  services  of  public-soirited  citizens  were 
needed.  In  San  Francisco  he  married  Rachel  A.  Edmonds,  whose  birth  took 
place  in  Eugene,  Ore.,  she  being  the  daughter  of  William  and  Adeline 
(Draper)  Edmonds,  and  a  sister  of  Reuben  A.  Edmonds,  a  sketch  of  wh-m 
is  found  elsewhere  in  this  history.  Mrs.  Maio  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Sonoma  county,  and  since  the  death  of  her  husband  makes  her 
home  in  Bakersfield.  She  has  two  children  :  Charles  F.,  of  San  Francisco;  and 
Fannie  L.,  Mrs.  Hirshfield,  of  Bakersfield.  In  her  many  acts  of  kindness, 
her  unostentatious  charities  and  her  loving  thoughtfulness  Mrs.  Maio  is  per- 
petuating the  custom  of  her  beloved  husband,  whose  philanthropic  character 
many  have  reason  to  mourn. 

RICHARD  D.  MONTGOMERY.— As  superintendent  of  the  South  Mid- 
way Oil  Company,  in  which  he  is  a  stockholder,  and  as  superintendent^  of 
the  Extension  Oil  Company,  R.  D.  Montgomery  has  an  intimate  association 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  1481 

with  two  of  the  important  concerns  in  the  Sunset  field  and  has  made  good  in 
the  comparatively  brief  period  of  his  identification  with  the  work  at  this 
point. 

A  native  son  of  California,  Mr.  Montgomery  was  born  in  Los  .Angeles 
December  31,  1888,  and  is  a  member  lI  a  wealthy  pioneer  family  of  Southern 
California.  The  immediate  family  comprises  himself  and  an  older  brother, 
Chester  A.,  also  a  younger  brother,  Monroe  D.,  these  two  being  in  partner- 
.ship  under  the  firm  title  of  Montgomery  Bros.,  jewelers,  Los  Angeles.  After 
years  of  successful  association  with  mercantile  enterprises  in  that  city  the 
father,  Gecrge  A.  Montgomery,  retired  from  business  pursuits  and  is  now 
living  retired  on  West  Twenty-first  street.  At  one  time  he  owned  large 
gold-mining  interests  in  Arizona  and  in  that  venture  he  met  with  more  than 
ordinary  success.  The  second  son  in  the  family,  Richard  D.,  was  educated 
primarily  in  the  public  schools  of  Los  Angeles  and  later  matriculated  in  the 
University  of  California  at  Berkeley,  where  he  took  the  complete  c  urse  in 
mining  engineering.  Upon  graduation  with  the  class  of  1911  he  received 
the  degree  of  B.S.  from  the  university.  Meanwhile  he  had  familiarized  him- 
self with  the  oil  industry  during  the  vacation  months.  When  about  sixteen 
years  of  age  he  had  commenced  to  work  as  a  helper  in  oil  fields,  being  for 
a  time  static  ned  at  Coalinga,  later  in  the  Los  Angeles  district  and  eventually 
in  the  Sunset  field.  With  characteristic  determination  he  has  learned  every 
detail  of  the  business  and  is  now  skilled  in  the  operation  of  both  rotary  and 
standard  drills,  as  well  as  in  the  other  work  essential  to  the  devehipment  of 
leases.  Since  leaving  the  university  he  has  been  identified  with  the  Sunset 
field  and  has  acquired  stock  in  the  South  Midway  Oil  Company,  of  which  he 
also  acts  as  superintendent.  The  company's  pro  lerty  consists  of  forty  acres 
with  two  wells  that  average  a  monthly  production  of  six  thousand  barrels. 
The  Extension,  of  which  he  is  also  superintendent,  operates  eighty  acres, 
on  which  there  is  now  only  one  well  started.  With  intelligent  supervision 
he  looks  after  the  affairs  of  bcth  companies  and  is  managing  the  business 
in  a  way  indicative  of  future  prosperity  both  for  himself  and  for  the  concerns 
which  he  represents. 

JAMES  M.  WHITE.— Not  rapidly  but  by  slow  degrees  Mr.  White  has 
worked  his  way  from  a  very  humble  position  in  the  oil  industry  to  one  of 
responsibility  and  influence.  F(  r  a  number  of  years  he  held  subordinate  posi- 
tions. Progress  was  slow  and  the  road  to  success  seemed  a  tedious  and 
almost  insurmountable  highway.  In  the  midst  of  discouraging  conditions 
he  allowed  nothing  to  come  between  him  and  duty.  Every  responsibility 
was  cheerfully  assumed  and  carefully  discharged.  In  time  he  became  a 
drilling  foreman,  from  which  he  worked  his  way  to  the  superintendency  of 
the  M.  J.  &  M.  &  M.  Consolidated  Oil  Company,  with  four  hundred  and 
forty  acres  lying  on  section  36,  township  12.  range  24.  Since  he  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  position,  March  1,  1913,  he  has  devoted  his  time  earnestly 
and  intelligently  to  the  supervision  of  the  company's  holdings  and  has  main- 
tained an  oversight  of  the  twenty-nine  employes.  At  the  present  time  the 
company  has  thirty-two  wells  on  their  large  tract.  Of  these  thirty  are  produc- 
ers and  three  are  flowing  wells.  The  average  monthly  production  is  about 
fifty-seven   thousand   and  five  hundred  barrels. 

The  White  family  is  of  eastern  ancestry.  "M.  L.  and  Lizzie  (Chapman) 
White,  who  for  years  lived  upon  a  farm,  finally  moved  into  the  city  of 
Washington,  Pa.,  where  the  former,  now  sixty-i  ne  years  of  age.  is  still 
conducting  a  grocery  business.  The  latter  also  is  living  and  is  now  fifty-nine. 
Of  their  two  children  the  daughter,  Mattie,  married  Harry  Piatt,  a  contractor 
and  builder  at  Washington.  The  son,  James  M.,  was  born  at  Washington, 
Pa.,  September  21,  1878.  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  began  to  work  out  as  a 
farm   hand,   receiving  $3.50  per  week   and   board.     Ever   since   then    he   has 


1482  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

been  self-supporting.  When  about  sixteen  years  old  he  entered  the  night 
school  of  the  Washington  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  where  he  continued  to  study  for  two 
years,  meanwhile  earning  his  livelihood  by  day  work  at  different  occupa- 
tions. By  attendance  at  the  night  school  he  was  able  to  make  up  for  lack 
of  earlier  advantages.  His  first  experience  in  oil  fields  was  secured  when 
he  was  sixteen.  It  became  possible  for  him  to  enter  the  employ  of  the 
Elwood  Oil  Company  at  the  outskirts  of  Washington.  Beginning  as  a 
roustabout  with  that  company,  he  soon  acquired  a  general  knowledge  of 
the  work.  Later  he  engaged  as  a  roustabout  with  the  William  Paul  &  Son 
Oil  Company  and  the  S.  K.  Werick  Oil  Company. 

The  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain  found  Mr.  White  eager  to  enlist 
in  the  volunteer  service.  At  the  age  of  nineteen,  May  9,  1898,  he  was  enrolled 
as  a  private  in  Company  D,  Eighteenth  Pennsylvania  Infantry.  He  was  mus- 
tered in  at  Camp  Hastings,  Pa.,  for  two  years  or  until  the  close  of  the  war. 
While  stationed  at  the  camp  he  was  drilled  in  military  tactics  and  was 
honorably  discharged  October  8,  1898,  by  reason  of  the  close  of  the  war. 
Returning  to  his  htme  county  he  worked  in  a  glass  factory  for  a  short  time. 
In  January  of  1899  he  went  to  the  oil  fields  on  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Rail- 
road at  Sutersville,  Pa.,  about  eight  miles  east  of  Pittsburg.  While  working 
there  in  the  interests  of  the  Carnegie  Gas  Company  he  learned  to  be  a  rig- 
builder.  As  a  rig-builder  for  the  South  Pennsylvania  (Standard)  Oil  Com- 
pany he  remained  for  a  short  time  at  Mannington,  W.  Va.,  but  soon  shifted 
from  such  work  to  drilling  and  tool-dressing,  in  which  he  acquired  speed  and 
proficiency.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  had  married  Miss  Nettie  Herschell, 
of  Washington,  Pa.,  and  in  December,  1904,  when  their  eldest  child  was 
only  nine  months  old,  they  came  to  California.  Since  their  removal  to  the 
west  two  other  children.  Hazel  and  Clarence,  have  been  born.  The  eldest 
child,  Harry  R.,  is  now  attending  the  Kern  county  schools. 

January  4,  1905,  Mr.  White  entered  the  employ  of  the  Union  Oil  Company 
as  a  tool-dresser  at  Rosemary  in  the  Salt  Lake  field.  In  September  of  the 
same  year  he  began  to  work  as  a  tool-dresser  for  the  Associated  Oil  Com- 
pany in  the  same  field.  Returning  to  Pennsylvania  in  May  of  1906,  he  spent 
the  summer  in  the  east  and  during  September  came  back  to  California,  where 
he  entered  the  employ  of  A.  F.  Gilmore.  For  three  years  and  seven  months 
he  continued  on  the  same  lease,  engaging  first  as  cleaner  and  then  as  driller. 
When  C.  W.  Stone,  who  had  been  Gilmore's  superintendent,  left  to  identify 
himself  with  the  activities  of  the  Sunset  field  at  Maricopa,  Mr.  White  came 
with  him.  When  Mr.  Stone  was  chosen  superintendent  for  the  Monte  Cristo, 
Mr.  White  was  made  drilling  foreman  on  the  same  lease.  In  that  capacity 
he  drilled  seven  new  wells  and  re-drilled  two  wells.  April  1,  1911,  he  was 
appointed  drilling  foreman  for  the  Ethel  D.  Oil  Company.  June  1,  of  the 
same  year,  he  was  promoted  to  be  superintendent.  July  1,  1912,  having 
resigned  the  position,  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania  to  visit  his  mother  and 
sister,  both  of  whom  were  ill.  Returning  to  Maricopa  in  August,  September 
1,  1912,  he  was  made  superintendent  of  the  Fulton  Fuel  &  Road  Oil  Company, 
but  resigned  the  position  in  February,  in  order  that  he  might  enter  upon 
the  duties  of  his  present  position  March  1,  following.  Many  responsibilities 
crowd  in  upon  him  as  superintendent.  The  task  ahead  of  him  is  no  sinecure. 
In  order  to  meet  emergencies  of  the  future  he  devotes  much  time  to  study 
of  subjects  bearing  upon  the  oil  industry.  In  fact,  much  of  his  leisure  time 
of  evenings  is  given  to  occupative  study,  but  in  addition  he  finds  leisure  to 
keep  posted  on  religious  movements  and  is  an  earnest  believer  in  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Since  coming  to  Maricopa  his 
wife  has  been  one  of  the  leading  workers  in  the  Congregational  Church  and 
has  done  effective  work  as  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday-school. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1483 

ARTHUR  MARION  KEENE.— The  first  daily  paper  in  Taft,  West 
Side  News,  was  started  by  Mr.  Keene,  February  1,  1912.  It  was  a  four- 
page,  seven-column  daily,  printed  in  the  press-rooms  of  the  Bakersfield 
Californian.  The  publication  appeared  regularly  until  December  9,  1912, 
when  it  was  taken  over  by  the  Alidvvay  Driller  and  printed  in  press-rooms  at 
Taft.  The  Daily  and  Weekly  Midway  Driller  are  the  only  papers  now  pub- 
lished in  Taft.  The  latter  was  established  in  1909  and  on  the  19th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1910.  absorbed  by  consolidation  the  old  Midway  Oil  Courier,  a  weekly 
that  had  been  in  existence  for  almost  tne  year.  The  Midway  Driller  Pub- 
lishing Company,  a  corporation  of  which  L.  W.  Sharp  is  the  president  and 
principal  stockholder,  owns  and  operates  the  weekly  and  daily  editions,  and 
the  latter  still  appears  in  the  form  of  a  four-page  sheet,  with  seven  columns 
to  the  page. 

As  repLirter  for  the  Midway  Driller  Mr.  Keene  keeps  in  close  touch  with 
the  life  of  the  locality.  In  addition  he  has  engaged  to  act  as  editor  of  the 
new  paper  published  by  the  Petroleum  Club,  of  which  organization  he  is 
a  charter  member.  Another  recent  journalistic  venture  was  the  starting, 
with  Charles  B.  Hartwick,  of  the  Fellows  Courier,  a  weekly  paper  with 
four  pages  of  seven  columns  each,  having  a  present  circulation  of  about  one 
thousand.  Besides  reporting  for  the  local  Taft  paper  and  editing  the  other 
papers  mentioned,  he  reports  the  west  side  oil  news  for  the  Bakersfield  Cali- 
fornian. the  Fresno  Republican,  the  California  Oil  World  and  other  well- 
known  publications  of  the  state,  his  services  as  reporter  not  being  limited  to 
Taft,  but  including  also  the  oil  development  at  Maricopa,  McKittrick,  Fellows 
and  other  points  in  this  field. 

Peoria,  111.,  is  the  native  city  of  Mr.  Keene,  and  August  28,  1883,  the 
date  of  his  birth.  He  is  the  elder  of  two  sons,  the  younger  of  whom,  Tom  H. 
Keene,  is  now  editor  of  the  Elkhart  (Ind.)  Truth.  The  parents,  Thomas  J. 
and  Minnie  B.  (Richmond)  Keene,  removed  to  Indiana  about  1884  and  settled 
at  Elkhart,  where  since  1886  Mr.  Keene  has  held  the  position  of  city  agent 
for  the  Standard  Oil  Ct^mpany.  At  the  age  of  seven  years  Arthur  M.  Keene 
became  a  newsboy  and  paper  carrier.  At  first  he  delivered  Elkhart  papers 
only,  but  soon  he  began  to  deliver  also  some  of  the  Chicago  dailies  and  by 
the  time  he  was  seventeen  he  represented  all  of  the  Chicago  papers  and  was 
delivering  an  average  of  four  thousand  papers  daily  to  customers  in  their 
homes  and  to  buyers  on  the  streets.  For  two  years  he  acted  as  representa- 
tive of  all  of  the  Hearst  publications  in  Indiana  and  Ohio.  During  December 
of  1909  Ire  came  to  the  Pacific  coast.  At  first  he  engaged  as  reporter  on  the 
Bakersfield  Morning  Echo.  Later  he  was  connected  with  the  Union  Labor 
Journal  of  Bakersfield,  and  the  Bakersfield  Californian.  Upon  resigning  those 
positions  he  came  to  Taft,  where  he  is  recognized  as  a  live  wire  in  journalism 
and  a  progressive  participant  in  local  afifairs.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias.  His  family  comprises  two  children,  Walter  and  Elizabeth,  and 
his  wife,  whom  he  married  in  Chicago  in  1903  and  who  was  Miss  Corinne 
Adams,  of  that  city. 

JEFFERSON  M.  GREER.— Acting  upon  the  advice  of  a  brother  who 
had  preceded  him  to  the  west,  Mr.  Greer  came  to  California  and  arrived  in 
Bakersfield  on  the  21st  of  November,  1900.  Through  much  of  the  sulise- 
quent  period  of  oil  development  he  has  been  identified  with  the  industry 
and  since  he  returned  to  the  county  in  1906  after  a  brief  experience  with 
agriculture  in  Oklahoma  he  has  engaged  continuously  in  the  service  of  the 
Monte  Cristo  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  and  Sunset  fields.  So  steadfast 
has  been  his  devotion  to  the  work  that  he  has  not  been  absent  from  the 
county  excepting  four  days  spent  in  the  oil  field  at  Coalinga.  Every  stage 
of  growth  and  development  in  the  local  industry  is  familiar  to  him.    Working 


1484  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

in  different  capacities,  he  has  gained  a  knowledge  of  details  invaluable  to  him 
in  his  present  service  as  foreman  of  the  Maricopa  division  of  the  Monte  Cristo. 

It  is  but  natural  that  Mr.  Greer  should  have  been  interested  in  the  oil 
industry  from  early  years,  for  he  is  a  native  of  a  well-known  oil  region  in 
Ohio  and  has  been  familiar  with  the  work  from  early  childhood  memories. 
Findlay,  Hancock  county,  is  the  native  place  in  Ohio  and  August  10,  1874, 
the  date  of  his  birth.  His  parents,  Samuel  Ford  and  Catherine  (Corbin) 
Greer,  are  now  living  retired  at  Goodwell,  Okla.,  and  the  former  owns  large 
prcjperty  interests  in  Texas  county.  There  are  seven  children  in  the  family, 
all  still  living,  as  follows:  William  D.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  automobile 
service  at  Maricopa;  Jefferson  M.,  of  Kern  county;  Elmer,  who  owns  and 
conducts  a  garage  at  Taft ;  Virgie,  wife  of  VV.  R.  Treece,  an  oil  man  residing 
in  Bakersfield  ;  Birdie,  wife  of  Edward  Corbin,  who  is  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  at  Findlay,  Ohio;  John,  empl.  yed  as  production  foreman  for  the 
Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company  at  Coalinga;  and  Nathan,  a  rancher  and 
stockman  operating  a  farm  in  Te.xas  county,  Okla. 

Until  nineteen  years  of  age  Jefferson  M.  Greer  lived  upon  the  home  farm 
in  Ohio  and  even  after  he  had  embarked  in  the  oil  business  he  frequently 
returned  to  farm  work,  thus  filling  in  the  dull  seasons  when  work  was  scarce 
at  the  oil  camps.  He  learned  the  business  in  every  detail.  Every  depart- 
ment of  activity  became  familiar  to  him  through  actual  experience.  In  the 
employ  of  tne  of  the  Findlay  contractors  he  learned  to  dress  tools  as  well 
as  other  lines  of  work  connected  with  the  business.  Between  farm  work 
and  tool-dressing  in  oil  fields  he  was  busy  throughout  the  entire  year  and 
thus  learned  the  habits  of  industry,  persistence  and  varied  activities  insep- 
arable from  progress.  Meanwhile  his  brother,  Elmer,  had  become  one  of  the 
pioneer  drillers  in  the  Kern  river  field  and  had  written  to  him  ursjing  that 
he  come  to  California,  which  counsel  induced  him  to  give  up  his  job  in 
Ohio  and  seek  empl  yment  in  the  west.  Immediately  after  he  arrived  in 
Bakersfield  he  was  engaged  as  a  tool-dresser  on  the  Monte  Cristo  in  the 
Kern  river  field,  under  the  then  superintendent,  Frank  Feathers.  For  four 
years  he  continued  on  the  same  lease,  meantime  being  promoted  to  be  a 
driller.  His  father  having  removed  to  Oklahoma  he  was  induced  to  take  up 
farming  activities  in  that  state  and  in  1904  bought  a  quarter  section  in 
Texas  county,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  However,  he  soon  became  dis- 
satisfied with  agricultural  pursuits  and  in  1906  returned  to  California,'  since 
which  time  he  has  rented  the  Oklahoma  farm  to  tenants.  Since  his  return 
to  Kern  county  he  has  remained  in  the  Monte  Cristo  service  and  since  Sep- 
tember 22,  191.?,.  has  served  as  foreman  of  the  Maricopa  division,  having 
charge  of  the  lease  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  situated  on  section  1, 
township  11,  range  24. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Greer  united  him  with  Miss  Carrie  Eatherton  of 
Findlay.  Ohio,  and  has  been  blessed  with  two  children,  Roy  and  Dessie.  For 
a  number  of  years  Mrs.  Greer  served  as  organist  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Findlay  and  was  influential  in  musical  circles  in  that  city,  where 
her  skill  as  a  musician  was  recognized  and  apTreciated.  In  religion  she  is  of 
the  Methodist  faith.     Mr.  Greer  stanchly  upholds  Democratic  principles. 

TROY  MARTIN  OWENS.— The  superintendent  of  the  Hale  McLeod 
Oil  Company  began  the  development  of  their  lease  near  Fellows  during  Sep- 
tember of  1909  and  has  been  identified  with  the  concern,  first  as  dril'er  and 
then  as  superintendent,  from  that  time  up  to  the  present,  when  eleven 
producing  wells  attest  to  the  energy  of  his  services  and  the  exceptional  value 
of  the  property.  When  he  was  promoted  to  be  superintendent  in  March, 
1911,  he  entered  upon  a  successful  identification  with  the  upbuilding  of  the 
company,  in  which  he  is  a  stockholder.    It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  pres- 


HISTORY    OF    KF.RN    COUNTY  1485 

ent  fine  condition  of  the  lease  is  due  largely  to  his  ability,  perseverance  and 
excellent  knowledge  of  the  oil  industry. 

Throughout  his  entire  life,  back  to  his  earliest  recollections,  Mr.  Owens 
has  been  familiar  with  the  oil  business,  for  he  was  born  and  reared  near 
Sistersville,  Tj'Ier  county,  VV.  Va.,  in  the  heart  of  a  well-known  oil  field.  Born 
August  17,  1881,  he  was  the  eldest  of  twelve  children  (all  still  living),  forming 
the  family  of  Hamilton  D.  and  Madeline  (Musgrove)  Owens,  who  for  years 
have  made  their  home  on  a  farm  in  the  vicinity  of  Sistersville.  After  he  had 
completed  the  studies  of  the  grammar  school  he  was  sent  to  the  McKim  high 
school  in  Tyler  ci  unty.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  began  to  earn  his  live- 
lihood as  a  roustabout  with  the  Carter  Oil  Company.  A  year  later  lie  left 
the  oil  field  to  ta  vC  up  school-teaching,  but  at  the  end  of  the  year  he  returned 
to  the  employ  of  the  Carter  Oil  Company,  with  which  he  engaged  as  a  tool- 
dresser  and  later  as  a  driller.  For  twu  years  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Jones  &  Owens,  contract  drillers,  working  in  West  Virginia.  February 
21,  1S09,  he  arrived  at  the  present  site  of  Taft,  Cal.,  where  he  was  employed 
by  the  Standard  Oil  Company  as  a  driller,  but  resigned  that  position  in  order 
to  identify  himself  with  the  Hale  McLeod  Oil  Company.  While  living  in 
West  Virginia  he  was  a  prominent  worker  in  the  Meadville  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
and  also  became  a  member  of  the  encampment  at  Sistersville.  In  Uakersfield 
occurred  his  union  with  Miss  Catherine  O'Brien,  a  native  of  Pennsylvania 
and  a  graduate  of  St.  Joseph's  Hospital  at  Philadelohia.  Later  she  took  a 
post-graduate  course  at  the  Pennsylvania  Orthopedic  Institute  at  Philadel- 
phia, completing  the  course  September  1,  1901.  One  child,  Mary  Virginia, 
blesses  their  union.  To  Mrs.  Owens  belongs  the  honor  of  having  su  )erin- 
tended  the  first  hospital  on  the  west  side  (the  American  Hospital  at  Taft), 
where  she  was  the  first  trained  nurse  and  where  she  became  well  known  for 
her  eilicicncy,  skill  and  success  in  her  chosen  work. 

JONATHAN  M.  BUSH.— The  genealogy  of  the  Bush  family  is  traced  to 
the  cavaliers  of  England  and  to  the  Virginian  aristocracy  of  America,  where 
the  name  was  established  at  a  period  antedating  the  Revolutionary  struggle. 
Following  the  westward  trend  of  migration,  the  family  crossed  the  mountains 
from  \'irginia  to  Kentuck}'  and  assisted  in  the  early  development  of  the  r>lue 
Grass  state,  where  they  maintained  a  warm  friendship  with  Daniel  Boone 
and  other  noted  pioneers.  John  Madison  Bush,  son  of  Mercer  Bush,  was  born 
in  Kentucky,  but  during  childhood,  years  before  the  Civil  war,  he  accom- 
panied other  members  of  the  family  to  Missouri,  establishing  a  h  me  at 
Liberty,  Clay  county,  then  a  town  of  considerable  importance.  At  Independ- 
ence, Mo.,  was  born  and  reared  Sarah  Ann  Watson,  daughter  of  Henry 
Watson,  a  Virginian,  descended  from  Dutch  and  English  progenitors,  and 
himself  a  pioneer  of  1849  in  Califtirnia,  having  landed  in  Placer  county  with 
his  family  after  a  tedious  trip  with  oxen  and  wagons  across  the  plains  and 
mountains.  April  12.  1850,  on  the  day  that  he  was  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  John  M.  Bush  left  Clay  county.  Mo.,  in  company  with  an  expedition 
bound  for  Placer  county.  Cal.,  under  the  captaincy  of  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine, 
later  senator  from  Maine.  In  the  autumn  of  1850  the  party  arrived  at  their 
destination  and  the  youthful  emigrant  from  Missouri  met  Miss  Watson,  whom 
he  married  at  Hangtown,  Placer  countj',  in  1852.  The  young  couple  set- 
tled on  a  ranch  and  Mr.  Bush,  from  his  original  employment  as  a  drover, 
began  gradually  to  acquire  a  flock  of  sheep  for  himself.  It  was  not  long  before 
he  became  widely  known  as  one  of  the  largest  sheepmen  of  San  Benito  county. 
A  large  circle  of  pioneer  acquaintances  testified  to  his  intelligence  and  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  his  chosen  occupation. 

Accompanied  by  his  son  Jonathan  M.,  and  others,  during  1869  John 
Madison  Bush  drove  a  bunch  of  fifteen  thousand  head  of  sheep  from  Mon- 


1486  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

terey  county  to  Los  Angeles  and  en  route  passed  through  what  is  now  Kern 
county.  Aside  from  signs  of  activity  at  the  Rancho  San  Emidio,  then  known 
as  the  Gody  ranch,  and  the  presence  of  Colonel  Baker  at  Bakersfield,  no 
permanent  settlements  had  been  effected  in  this  part  of  the  country.  The 
drovers  with  their  sheep  passed  through  Fort  Tejon  and  there  saw  the  ruins  of 
the  old  barracks.  A  tedious  but  uneventful  trip  was  ended  at  Santa  Ana, 
where  the  father  established  a  home,  having  sold  out  his  holdings  in  the  San 
Joaquin  valley  on  account  of  the  prevalence  of  malaria,  fever  and  ague. 
During  1869  he  planted  the  first  walnut  grove  along  the  Santa  Ana  river 
and  later  he  laid  out  the  town  site  of  Orange.  Sturdy  and  robust  up  to  the 
very  last,  he  died  at  the  old  homestead  on  the  Santa  Ana  river,  February  8, 
1913,  aged  almost  eighty-four  years.  His  wife,  who  survives  him,  is  now 
seventy-eight  years  of  age.  Of  their  sixteen  children  ten  are  now  living, 
namely:  Paulina  J.,  Elizabeth,  Jonathan  M..  Phoebe,  Jacob  Taylor,  Eliza, 
Sarah  A.,  Charles  T.,  Lillie  and  John  M.  The  first-named  daughter  is  the 
wife  of  R.  L.  Ralls  and  lives  at  Button  Willow,  Kern  county-  The  second 
daughter  is  the  widow  of  W.  H.  Borden  and  lives  at  San  Bernardino,  this 
state.  Phoebe,  the  widow  of  C.  N.  Burbank,  makes  her  he  me  in  Orange 
county.  Jacob  Taylor,  who  is  foreman  of  the  Perkins  rose  ranch  at  McFar- 
land,  moved  from  Orange  county  to  Kern  during  the  fall  of  1911.  Sarah  A., 
Mrs.  Edward  Howard,  is  living  at  Long  Beach.  Charles  T.  is  a  successful  oil 
operator  at  Marict  pa.  Lillie,  widow  of  E.  L.  Martin,  resides  in  the  Union 
avenue  settlement,  Kern  county,  and  John  M.,  the  youngest  of  the  family. 
continues  on  the  old  home  place  near  Santa  Ana. 

Born  in  San  Benito  county  April  8.  1861,  Jonathan  M.  Bush  had  very 
meager  advantages  during  boyhood.  The  large  fund  of  information  he  now 
possesses  is  the  result  of  observation  and  self-culture.  At  the  age  of  eight 
years  he  accompanied  his  father  to  Orange  county  and  helped  him  in  securing 
a  foothold  in  that  new  country.  From  there  in  1889  he  came  to  Kern  county 
and  settled  southwest  of  the  San  Emidio  ranch,  where  he  embarked  in  the 
stock  industry.  This  he  followed  successfully  for  nineteen  years.  When 
finally  he  sold  his  stock  he  came  to  Union  avenue  and  bought  eighty  acres  on 
section  17,  eleven  miles  scuth  of  Bakersfield.  In  1900  he  embarked  in  the 
meat  business  in  the  oil  fields  and  later  erected  at  Maricopa  the  West  Side 
market,  equipped  with  a  cold-storage  plant  and  with  other  modern  conven- 
iences. Through  his  own  energy  he  built  up  a  large  business  and  this  he 
conducted  for  twelve  years,  after  which  he  leased  the  plant  to  George  Fiester. 

Ever  since  coming  to  Kern  county  Mr.  Bush  has  been  more  or  less  inti- 
mately identified  with  public  affairs.  Not  the  least  of  his  responsibilities  was 
a  service  of  sixteen  years  as  justice  of  the  peace.  During  1908  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  board  .of  supervisors,  in  which  capacity  he  has  remained 
up  to  the  present  time,  having  been  elected  as  the  Democratic  nominee 
but  retained  by  the  insistent  demand  of  a  host  of  friends  of  all  parties.  For 
years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  blue  lodge  of  Masons  and  a  firm  champion 
of  the  philanthropic  principles  for  which  the  crder  stands.  While  living  in 
Orange  county  he  met  and  married  Miss  Sarah  A.  Thomas,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  and  Mary  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Thomas,  and  a  granddaughter  of  one 
of  the  noted  itinerant  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South. 
When  California  was  still  sparsely  settled  the  Rev.  Mr.  Miller  traveled  from 
])lace  to  place,  establishing  congregations,  ministering  to  churches,  offfciating 
at  weddings  and  funerals  and  occupying  a  high  place  in  the  affection  of  the 
people  of  his  broad  parish.  During  his  visits  at  Bakersfield  he  met  Colonel 
Baker  and  was  invited  to  visit  at  his  home  whenever  in  this  neighborhood,  so 
that  eventually  he  became  a  close  friend  of  the  pioneer  settler  of  this  city. 
The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bush  comprises  four  sons.    The  eldest,  Marion. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1487 

married  Josephine  Emerson  and  li\es  at  Pattiway,  a  small  postoffice  south  of 
Maricopa,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  stock  business;  the  second  son,  Howard, 
married  Miss  Sarah  Martin  and  makes  his  home  in  Maricopa.  The  two 
youngest  members  of  the  family,  Henry  and  Benjamin,  still  reside  with 
their  parents  on  the  farm  eleven  miles  south  of  Bakersfield.  Attesting  the 
popularity  if  Mr.  Bush  in  Kern  county  are  the  election  returns  of  1912,  when 
he  received  the  largest  vote  of  any  of  the  supervisors  elected. 

JAMES  A.  RANEY.— Much  of  the  west  has  been  made  familiar  to  Mr. 
Raney  through  travel  and  observation  since  he  left  the  old  Missouri  home- 
stead where  had  been  lived  the  uneventful  but  busy  years  of  boyhood.  The 
home  farm  was  located  in  ^^■right  county  in  the  vicinity  of  Hartville,  where 
he  was  born  November  18,  1875,  and  where  he  had  made  himself  very  useful 
in  such  work  as  his  strength  rendered  possible.  Although  a  capable  assist- 
ant on  the  homestead  and  skilled  in  many  departments  of  agriculture,  the 
occupation  did  not  appeal  to  him  as  a  means  of  livelihood  and  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one  he  started  out  to  earn  his  own  way  through  other  callings. 
Throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  time  since  he  left  the  old  home  he  has  been 
employed  in  various  oil  fields  in  California,  including  those  at  Coalinga  in 
Fresno  county,  Kern  river  and  Midway  in  Kern  county,  also  in  Santa  Clara 
and  Inyo  counties.  In  the  last-named  county  he  had  considerable  experience 
in  wild-catting  and  as  usual  in  such  instances  the  results  were  not  gratifying 
from  a  financial  standpoint. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  the  Kern  river  oil  fields  in  1900  Mr.  Raney  was 
employed  to  move  the  rig  for  the  first  well  on  the  Green  and  Whittier  lease 
and  his  first  steady  job  was  as  driver  of  a  two-horse  team.  Since  those  days 
be  has  seen  many  changes  in  the  district.  Many  of  the  early  concerns  have 
dropped  out.  Other  men  have  become  leaders  in  development  work  at  this 
point.  His  own  experiences  have  been  as  varied  as  the  changes  in  the  field 
itself,  for  he  has  worked  in  almost  every  capacity  and  with  a  number  of 
different  companies.  Not  only  has  he  filled  humble  positions  with  conscien- 
tious industry,  but  in  addition  he  has  had  a  number  of  positions  of  great 
trust  and  responsibility.  In  every  capacity  he  has  proved  an  indefatigable 
worker.  It  has  been  his  policy  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  his  work  without 
mingling  in  politics  except  to  cast  a  Democratic  vote  at  general  elections. 
While  at  Coalinga  oil  fields  he  became  a  member  of  the  Eagles  in  Coalinga. 

During  1912  Mr.  Raney  filled  the  very  responsible  position  of  field  fore- 
man or  manager  for  the  Rambler  and  Expansion  leases  of  the  Traders  Oil 
Company.  February  14,  1913,  he  was  transferred  to  the  Midway  division 
of  the  Traffic  Oil  Company,  where  he  has  since  been  engaged  as  driller.  It 
should  be  explained  that  the  Traders  Oil  Company  and  Trafiic  Oil  Company 
are  closely  allied,  and  that  the  two  companies  are  under  practically  one  man- 
agement. 

FELIX  GEIGER.— Life  has  not  meant  ease  and  luxury  U<  Mr.  Geiger, 
but  a  stern  battle  that  beginning  at  the  age  of  twelve  has  continued  through 
years  of  difficult  struggle  and  hardships,  until  eventually  he  has  seen  the 
recompense  of  his  privations  and  the  reward  of  his  self-sacrifices. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Geiger  were  natives  of  Switzerland  and  pioneers  of 
Black  Wolf  township,  Winnebago  county.  Wis.  Both  are  now  deceased 
Their  family  comprised  six  sons  and  three  daughters,  if  whom  Felix  is  the 
only  one  living  in  California.  Born  in  Oshkosh,  Wis.,  December  19,  1872,  he 
spent  his  early  childhood  years  upon  a  farm  and  at  the  age  of  twleve  years 
started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world,  his  first  work  being  in  a  cheese 
factory.  At  sixteen  he  became  a  fireman  in  the  plant  of  the  Oshkosh  Electric 
Light  and  Power  Company  at  Oshkosh,  Wis.,  where  later  he  was  made  oiler 
of  the  machinery  and  eventually  second  engineer.   Throughout  all  of  this  time 


1488  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

he  worked  twelve  hours  each  day  in  the  plant  and  during  this  time  took  a 
course  in  electrical  and  steam  engineering  in  a  correspondence  school.  Next 
he  secured  a  position  as  station  baggage  master  for  the  Chicago  &  North- 
western Railroad  Company  at  Oshkosh  and  in  a  short  time  was  transferred 
to  the  machine  shops  of  that  road  in  Oshkosh,  where  he  remained  several 
years.  During  1901  in  Oshkosh  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Pieper,  a  native  of 
that  city,  and  the  wedding  tour  of  the  young  couple  brought  them  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  they  have  since  made  their  home. 

An  experience  of  eight  months  with  the  Frazer  Borate  Mining  Company 
and  of  four  months  on  the  west  side  in  the  Kern  county  oil  fields  was  followed 
by  two  years  spent  in  drilling  on  the  prcperties  of  the  Los  Angeles  Traction 
Company  located  on  Pine  creek,  Ventura  county,  after  which  Mr.  Geiger 
settled  permanently  in  Kern  county  and  for  four  years  served  as  foreman  of 
the  Monte  Cristo  Oil  Company.  During  September  of  1911  he  became  super- 
intendent of  the  West  Shore  Oil  Company,  whose  properties  lie  en  section  32, 
townshi;)  28,  range  28,  Kern  river  fields.  This  company  has  the  same  corps 
of  officers  as  the  Monte  Cristo  and  employs  seventeen  men.  Of  their  twenty- 
nine  wells  on  the  West  Shore  all  but  eight  are  producers  and  these  eight  are 
now  being  re-drilled.  The  monthly  production  averages  nineteen  thousand 
barrels.  In  the  fall  of  1912  Mr.  Geiger  was  made  assistant  superintendent  of 
the  Monte  Cristo.  The  Monte  Cristo  properties  in  the  Kern  river  field  now 
not  only  include  the  original  Monte  Cristo  and  the  West  Shore,  but  also  the 
Oakland  Water  Company,  all  cf  which  comes  under  Mr.  Geiger's  jurisdiction 
as  general  foreman.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Geiger  are  at  present  residing  in  the  original 
Monte  Cristo.  Fraternally  Mr.  Geiger  holds  membership  in  the  Woodmen  of 
the  World. 

FRED  S.  HOLMES.— The  proprietor  of  the  Oil  City  livery  stable  on  the 
county  road  in  the  Kern  river  oil  fields  belongs  to  a  pioneer  family  cf  California 
and  is  a  native  son  of  the  state.  From  early  years  he  has  been  interested  in 
stock  and  particularly  in  horses.  On  the  old  home  ranch  he  gained  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  equine  flesh,  studied  the  best  methods  of  handling  horses, 
accusti  med  himself  to  treating  their  various  diseases  with  skill  and  efficiency 
and  learned  how  to  subdue  the  wild,  unbroken  colts  that  had  roamed,  un- 
molested, over  the  vast  ranges.  Having  thus  a  liking  for  animals  and  an 
understanding  of  the  horse,  it  was  but  natural  that  he  should  turn  from  the 
oil  industry  to  the  management  and  ownership  of  a  livery  business.  In  his 
work  he  has  formed  the  acquaintance  of  practically  every  man  in  the  oil 
field  and  am^ng  all  he  is  ponilar,  for  he  has  given  the  best  possible  service  to 
every  customer  and  has  regarded  their  comfort  rather  than  his  own  conven- 
ience. 

The  identification  of  the  Holmes  family  with  California  dates  from  1852, 
when  Albert  O.  Holmes,  a  native  of  Mansfield,  Ohio,  and  a  young  man  of 
twenty  years,  came  via  Panama  to  San  Francisco  and  proceeded  thence  to 
Placerville,  Eldorado  county.  As  a  gold-miner  he  had  little  or  no  success,  so 
in  1853  he  turned  to  the  grocery  business  and  conducted  a  store  at  Coon  Hol- 
low near  Eldorado.  For  a  time  he  met  with  success,  but  eventually  the  gold- 
camp  was  abandoned,  the  miners  left  and  this  brought  financial  reverses  to 
him.  He  too  was  forced  to  seek  a  new  business  and  another  location.  Before 
leaving  Ohio  he  had  learned  the  trade  of  stationary  engineer  and  this  proved 
helpful  to  him  in  an  emergency,  for  in  1863  he  found  employment  as  an 
engineer  at  the  hoist  of  the  Golden  Curry  near  Virginia  City,  Nev.  Being  a 
skilled  mechanic  and  an  expert  machinist,  he  filled  the  position  to  the  satis- 
faction of  all  concerned.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  and  had  lost  his  wife, 
while  the  two  sons  of  that  union,  Edward  C.  and  Albert  O.,  also  are  deceased. 

After  going  to   Nevada   Mr.   Holmes   formed   the   acquaintance   of   Miss 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1489 

Susan  Louisa  Smith,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  they  were  married  in  1866,  one 
year  after  her  arrival  in  Nevada.  The  family  of  which  she  was  a  member 
comprised  three  children,  but  she  was  the  only  t  ne  to  attain  maturity.  Her 
parents,  Edward  and  Louisa  (Cooledge)  Smith,  were  natives  of  Massachu- 
setts and  lifelong  residents  of  the  Old  Bay  state,  where  the  mother  died  when 
Mrs.  Holmes  was  only  four  years  of  age.  The  father,  a  carpenter  in  early  life 
and  later  a  dry-goods  merchant,  descended  from  a  colonial  family  of  Massa- 
chusetts whose  earliest  representatives  in  the  new  world  crossed  the  Atlantic 
long  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  Educated  in  the  schools 
of  Boston,  Mrs.  Holmes  came  to  San  Francisco  in  1865  when  she  was  twenty 
years  of  age.  In  the  same  year  she  was  induced  by  a  lady  friend  to  go  to 
Nevada  and  visit  relatives.  There  she  met  and  married  Mr.  Holmes,  with 
whom  in  1871  she  removed  to  Los  Angeles  and  thence  to  a  tract  of  unim- 
Ijroved  land  near  San  Bernardino.  Out  of  the  land  they  devel  ped  a  fine  fruit 
farm.  After  sixteen  years  on  the  farm  they  removed  to  the  San  Gabriel  forest 
reserve  on  Big  Rock  creek,  Los  Angeles  county,  where  he  estabbshed  a  large 
stock  ranch  and  acquired  a  herd  of  nine  hundred  head  of  cattle  and  three 
hundred  head  of  horses.  In  addition  a  specialty  was  made  of  growing  ap  iles 
in  the  San  Gabriel  mountains.  After  a  long  and  successful  career  as  farmer, 
rancher  and  horticulturist.  Mr.  Holmes  died  in  1901.  Later  Mrs.  Holmes 
removed  to  Los  Angeles,  where  now  she  makes  her  home  at  No.  419  South 
Grand  avenue. 

Seven  children,  all  still  living,  comprise  the  family,  namely  :  Annie  L., 
who- married  Jefferson  Caruthers,  a  farmer  at  El  Monte;  John  A.,  a  gold- 
miner,  now  engaged  as  superintendent  of  the  Standard  mine  at  Bodie.  Mcno 
county;  Martha  F.,  wife  of  A.  Maritall,  a  driller  of  oil  wells  at  Maricopa; 
Laura  A.,  the  widow  of  Frank  Patterson  and  a  res'dent  of  Los  Angeles; 
Maude  M.,  who  is  conducting  the  Davenport  (Iowa)  hotel ;  William  R..  em- 
ployed as  a  driller  cf  oil  wells  and  now  located  at  Electra,  Wichita  county, 
Tex.;  and  Fred  S.,  who  was  born  in  San  Bernardino  county.  Gal.,  December 
16,  1885,  and  at  the  age  of  five  years  accompanied  his  narents  to  the  ranch  in 
Los  Angeles  county.  There  he  spent  the  years  of  h^  yhood  in  learning  to  handle 
cattle  and  horses.  The  regular  public-school  advantages  were  given  to  him. 
After  he  had  graduated  frc  m  the  Los  Angeles  high  school  in  1902  he  came 
to  the  Kern  river  oil  field  and  secured  work  as  a  roustabout  on  the  Peerless. 
From  that  he  w(  rked  his  way  to  gang-pusher,  tool-dresser  and  well-driller 
successively.  Besides  being  with  the  Peerless  he  worked  with  the  Potomnc, 
Coloma  and  Emerald  Oil  Companies  and  in  the  San  Joaquin  division  if  the 
Associated.  For  three  years  he  engaged  as  a  driller  under  James  L.  Bruce, 
formerly  superintendent  of  the  Kern  division  of  the  Associated.  Sent  out  to 
the  Lost  Hills  in  1910,  he  there  drilled  various  wells,  notable  among  which  is 
the  Associated  No.  4,  a  well  of  three  hundred  barrels.  After  having  drilled 
for  a  year  in  the  Lost  Hills  as  an  employe  of  the  Associated,  he  decided  to 
invest  his  savings  in  a  livery  business  and  accordingly  in  1912  availed  himself 
of  an  opportunity  to  purchase  his  present  stable  on  the  county  road,  where 
he  since  has  engaged  in  business.  For  some  years  he  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Wordmen  of  the  World.  A  son,  Gordon  .Arthur,  the  only  survivor  of  two 
children,  has  been  born  of  his  union  with  Miss  Ellinor  Strong,  daughter  of 
Richard  B.  and  Frances  E.  (Martin)  Strong,  of  Belding,  Ionia  county,  Mich., 
where  she  was  born,  reared  and  educated  and  where,  prior  to  her  marriage  in 
1908,  she  had  made  her  home. 

ROLAND  R.  FISHELL. — In  his  important  position  as  production  fore- 
man on  section  26  division  of  the  North  American  Oil  Consolidated  Company, 
R.  R.  Fishell  has  brought  to  his  place  of  trust  not  only  energy,  but  also 
efficiency  in  method,  dispatch  in  results  and  tact  in  the  handling  df  workmen. 


1490  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

When  he  was  appointed  production  foreman  April  1,  1913,  he  succeeded  to  the 
care  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  comprising  section  26,  township  32,  range 
23.  An  average  output  is  secured  of  thirty-two  thousand  barrels  per  month 
from  thirty-two  producing  oil  wells. 

As  evidence  of  the  long  identification  of  the  family  with  the  oil  business, 
it  may  be  stated  that  Mr.  Fishell's  father,  Francis  Marion  Fishell,  now  an 
employe  on  the  section  26  division,  worked  in  the  Pennsylvania  oil  fields  in 
the  very  infancy  of  the  industry,  when  methods  of  work  were  primitive, 
equipment  scanty  and  wells  drilled  in  the  old-fashioned  manner.  In  those 
days  tools  had  to  be  taken  to  the  blacksmith's  shop  in  near-by  towns  when- 
ever they  were  to  be  sharpened  or  repaired.  Although  now  only  fifty-eight 
years  of  age,  he  has  witnessed  practically  the  entire  development  of  the  oil 
industry  of  the  country  and  in  his  yuunger  years  he  was  considered  one 
of  the  best  drillers  in  Clarion  county,  Pa.,  also  in  the  Bradford  field  in  McKean 
county,  where  he  took  contracts  for  drilling.  By  his  marriage  to  Samantha 
Robinson,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  about  1859,  he  has  a  daughter  and 
son,  the  former,  Zelma,  being  now  the  wife  of  Jacob  N.  Ripple,  superintendent 
of  the  Mascot  Oil  Company. 

Born  in  Clarion  county,  Pa.,  June  15,  1878,  Roland  R.  Fishell  passed 
the  years  of  boyhood  in  the  Bradford  oil  field  in  McKean  county, 
that  state,  and  from  boyhood  earned  his  own  way  in  the  world 
by  means  of  work  at  the  wells.  His  own  efforts  enabled  him  to  pay 
his  way  through  the  commercial  department  of  the  large  university  at  Val- 
paraiso, Ind.,  where  he  completed  a  business  course  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
years.  Meanwhile  the  family  had  left  Pennsylvania  for  Indiana  in  1892  and 
he  had  worked  in  the  oil  fields  of  Blackford  county.  When  twenty  years  of 
age  he  became  a  driller  and  about  the  same  time  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Minnie  K.  Wampler,  of  Montpelier,  Ind.,  the  two  keeping  house 
in  Indiana  until  1904  and  then  establishing  a  home  in  Illinois  t  il  fields.  From 
that  year  until  1909  Mr.  Fishell  was  employed  as  a  driller  at  Westfield,  Clark 
county.  Upon  leaving  Illinois  he  came  to  California  and  settled  in  the 
Midway  field  in  1909,  working  for  five  months  on  the  Mascot.  Since  then  he 
has  been  connected  with  section  26  division  of  the  North  American,  engaging 
first  as  a  driller  under  Superintendent  Kurtz  and  later  receiving  a  merited 
promotion  to  be  production  foreman.  With  his  wife  and  three  children, 
Frances  B.,  Beatrice  E.  and  Clair  N.,  he  has  a  comfortable  home  in  the  com- 
pany's residence  on  section  26.  Across  the  road  from  the  house  is  the  Hill 
school,  which  has  been  utilized  by  the  people  on  25  Hill  not  only  for  educa- 
tional purpi  ses,  but  also  for  religious  services,  musicals  and  as  a  social  center 
for  the  neighborhood.  Realizing  the  value  of  the  school  as  a  community 
headquarters,  he  has  taken  a  warm  and  unceasing  interest  in  its  supervision 
and  has  promoted  every  movement  undertaken  by  those  responsible  for  its 
beneficial  work.     Politically  he  votes  with  the  Republican  party. 

CHRISTIAN  ADAM  WIRTH.— From  every  life  may  be  gleaned  lessons 
of  great  value  and  the  life  of  the  late  Christian  Adam  Wirth  especially  illus- 
trates what  it  is  within  the  power  of  a  man  to  accomnlish,  notwithstanding 
the  handicap  of  poverty,  lack  of  education  and  ignorance  ci  ncerning  the  cus- 
toms of  the  country.  For  thirty-five  years  he  enjoyed  the  co-operation  and 
companionship  of  a  devoted  wife,  whose  presence  was  his  greatest  encour- 
agement in  every  enterprise  and  her  counsel  his  chief  guide  in  business  trans- 
actions, and  when  finally  in  1910  death  separated  them  it  formed  the  deepest 
sorrow  of  his  long  life. 

Born  in  Wittenberg,  Germany,  September  15,  1847,  Christian  A.  Wirth 
sailed  for  America  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years  and  landed  at  Castle 
Garden  in  May  of  1871.     From  New  York  City  he  traveled  west  as  far  as 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1491 

Zanesville,  Ohio,  and  thence  to  Cincinnati,  where  he  remained  for  four  years, 
meanwhile  holding  a  position  as  shipping  clerk  for  the  wholesale  commission 
house  of  S.  S.  Cooper.  Although  unfamiliar  with  the  English  language  and 
American  methods  of  work,  he  learned  easily  and  soon  commanded  fair  wages. 
It  was  during  this  period  of  his  life  that  he  met  Miss  Elizabeth  Klein,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, whom  he  married  in  1875  and  who  accompanied  him  in  that  year 
to  California.  From  San  Francisco  he  came  to  Kernville,  Kern  county. 
Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  this  county  he  bought  two  hundred  and  forty 
acres  of  raw  land  and  began  to  raise  stock  and  general  farm  products.  To 
the  original  purchase  he  soon  added  an  adjoining  tract  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres.  Later  he  bought  a  ranch  of  one  hundred  and  si.xty  acres. 
Eventually  he  sold  the  property  at  a  large  advance  over  the  original  cost. 
Meanwhile  he  had  invested  in  other  parts  of  the  county,  both  city  and  coun- 
try property,  and  until  his  death  he  lived  retired  in  Bakersfield,  where  he 
owned  the  corners  of  Eighteenth  and  L,  Eighteenth  and  M,  Fourteenth 
and  G,  and  much  other  unimproved  property.  The  increase  in  land  valuation 
made  him  wealthy  and  removed  from  him  all  necessity  for  further  work, 
aside  from  such  as  was  involved  in  the  care  of  his  tracts  and  the  oversight 
of  his  interests. 

The  family  of  Mr.  W'irih  comprised  one  daughter  and  three  sons,  all  of 
whom  are  well  established  in  life.  The  daughter,  Louise,  married  J.  C.  House, 
M.D.,  and  resides  at  Port  Townsend,  Jeflferson  county.  Wash.  The  eldest 
son,  Henry  A.,  is  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Onyx,  this  county,  where 
he  is  postmaster  and  merchant,  and  in  addition  he  owns  large  farming  inter- 
ests in  that  locality.  W^illiam  A.,  who  is  represented  elsewhere  in  this 
volume,  is  a  business  man  at  Kernville  and  Christ  is  a  tool-dresser  well 
known  in  the  S.unset  field.  During  his  residence  here  Mr.  Wirth  witnessed 
many  changes,  not  only  in  his  own  personal  affairs,  but  also  in  the  aspect 
of  the  country.  Then  there  were  few  farmers  and  the  land  was  almost  wholly 
unimproved.  The  raising  of  stock  helped  him  in  getting  a  start  and  at  times 
he  had  as  man}'  as  fifty  head  of  horses  on  his  ranch.  A  skilled  blacksmith, 
he  had  a  shop  on  his  ranch  and  did  his  own  repair  work  on  machinery,  besides 
taking  personal  charge  of  the  shoeing  of  his  horses.  Before  he  left  the 
ranch  he  had  seen  much  of  the  development  of  the  country,  whose  tillable 
acres  were  drawing  an  increasing  number  of  desirable  settlers  and  whose 
fertile  soil  made  an  excellent  return  to  those  bestowing  care  and  cultivation 
thereon.    The  death  of  Mr.  Wirth  occurred  October  25,  1912. 

L.  T.  BROWN. — The  proprietor  of  an  upholstering  business  and  in  the 
manufacture  of  awnings  and  tents,  Mr.  Brown's  goods  and  services  are  much 
in  demand. 

Born  in  Little  Rock.  Ark.,  on  February  11,  1885.  Mr.  Brown  was  the 
eldest  of  his  parents'  three  children.  His  father  and  mother,  who  were  respec- 
tively R.  A.  Brown  and  Cordelia  (Pollock)  Brown,  came  to  Bakersfield  in 
May,  1891,  and  were  very  well  known  here.  In  the  public  schools  of  Bakers- 
field,  Mr.  Brown  received  his  educational  training,  and  here  his  youth  and 
early  manhood  were  spent.  Upon  leaving  school  he  entered  the  employ 
of  Roy  White,  for  whom  he  worked  for  seven  years.  He  then  worked 
for  the  Hayden  Fur  Company  for  a  short  time,  later  being  in  the  employ  of 
P.  Niederaur  in  his  present  line  of  business.  Subsequently  he  entered  the 
business  of  his  predecessor  in  his  present  business,  \\' .  H.  Reeve,  of  Bakers- 
field,  from  whom  he  learned  all  the  details  of  the  business  and  its  conduct 
and  later  bought  out  the  establishment  from  him.  This  he  is  at  present 
conducting  on  his  own  account  with  marked  success,  it  being  located  at 
No.   2001    I   street. 

Mr.  Brown's  marriage  occurred  March  6.  1907,  to  Miss  Lola  Coughran. 
of  Merced  county,  Cal.,  daughter  of  J.    L.   Coughran.     One   child  has  been 


1492  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

born  to  them,  Wyvverne.  Fraternally  he  affiliates  with  the  Loyal  Order 
of  the  Moose,  and  held  office  in  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  460,  and  he  is  also 
a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 

ADLORE  SAVOIE. — As  vice-president  of  a  wholesale  house  oper- 
ated under  the  title  cf  the  Fred  Gunther  Company,  Mr.  Savoie  holds  an 
official  connection  with  a  well-known  Bakersfield  enterprise  and  in  addi- 
tion he  maintains  an  important  business  relation  with  the  concern  through 
being  the  manager  of  the  soda  water  department.  It  is  said  that  he  is  an 
expert  in  this  line  of  work,  understanding  fully  all  the  intricate  processes 
for  the  making  of  the  highest  grades  and  in  his  own  shop  manufacturing 
nineteen  different  flavors.  The  soda  water  factc-ry  of  the  company  stands 
in  the  northern  part  of  Bakersfield,  in  the  old  Buft'alo  brewing  building, 
on  the  Southern  Pacific  tracks,  near  the  plant  of  the  Union  Ice  Company. 
Every  mi  dern  equipment  has  been  introduced  to  make  the  shop  perfect  of 
its  kind  and  without  doubt,  from  the  standpoint  of  sanitation,  it  is  unex- 
celled by  any  similar  establishment  in  the  entire  state,  which  result  may 
be  attributed  to  the  capable  oversight  of  the  manager. 

The  Savoie  family  is  of  French  Canadian  ancestry  and  possesses  the 
thrift  of  the  one  race  with  the  resolute  soirit  characteristic  of  the  other 
nationality.  Ezra  and  ]\Iinnie  (Mercier)  Savoie,  natives  of  Canada,  born 
in  the  vicinity  of  Quebec,  crossed  into  the  States  and  settled  at  St.  Anne, 
Kankakee  county,  111.,  where  they  became  influential  residents.  Among 
their  six  children  the  next  to  the  youngest  and  the  only  one  to  settle  in 
California  was  Adlore,  whose  birth  occurred  at  St.  Anne,  111.,  June  IS, 
1873,  and  whose  somewhat  meager  education  was  obtained  in  local  schools. 
During  1887  he  left  home  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  Three  years 
later  he  secured  a  clerkship  in  the  grocery  establishment  of  H.  F.  Westfall, 
on  Archer  avenue,  Chicago,  where  he  remained  for  six  years.  The  wages, 
however,  were  small  and  he  ping  to  better  himself  by  a  change  he  went 
into  a  wholesale  paper  house  in  the  same  city.  After  a  year  he  resigned 
that  position  and  came  to  California  in  1879,  settling  in  Bakersfield.  For 
six  years  he  was  an  employe  of  the  C.  O.  D.  soda  works,  first  with  Mr. 
Mercier  and  later  with  Mr.  Condit,  and  during  this  period  he  acquired  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  soda  business.  Next  he  became  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Gunther  &  Savoie,  bottlers  and  manufacturers  of  soda  water, 
the  same  being  now  merged  into  the  Fred  Gunther  Company,  incorporated 
at  $15,000,  with  B.  H.  Sill  as  president,  Fred  Gunther  as  secretary,  treas- 
urer and  manager,  and  Mr.  Savoie  as  vice-president,  also  as  superintendent 
of  the  soda  plant  with  its  large  output  and  its  regular  corps  of  workmen. 
When  coming  to  Bakersfield  Mr.  Savoie  was  unmarried  and  in  this  city  in 
1899  he  was  united  with  Miss  Maud  Hawley,  of  Chicago.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Savoie  and  their  son,  Floyd,  reside  at  No.  2111  Nineteenth  street.  Fratern- 
ally Mr.  Savoie  holds  membership  with  the  Elks,  Eagles  and  Indenendent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  served  as  delegate  to  the  national  grand  lodge. 

E.  S.  WILLIAMS. — The  multiplicity  of  the  business  interests  repre- 
sented in  Taft  appears  little  less  than  remarkable  when  the  brief  life  of 
the  place  is  taken  into  consideration.  Not  the  least  conspicuous  of  these 
business  enterprises  may  be  mentioned  the  Midway  bottling  works  of  South 
Taft,  an  organization  formed  for  the  purpose  of  handling  the  Valley  brew 
of  El  Dorado  Brewing  Company  at  Stockton.  The  concern,  organized  under 
the  laws  of  the  state  of  California,  has  been  incorporated  by  its  president, 
F.  Bontadelli,  of  Tranquility,  Fresno  county,  and  its  secretary-treasurer, 
E.  S.  Rose,  manager  for  the  Jameson  tract  in  South  Taft.  Under  the  super- 
vision of  E.  S.  Williams  as  manager  a  wholesale  and  retail  business  has 
been  developed  that  extends  through  these  oil  fields  and  that  gives  every 
evidence  of  steady  increase  in  q.uantity  and  importance. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1493 

A  resident  of  California  since  December,  1909,  Mr.  Williams  is  well 
posted  concerning  the  west  and  has  the  firmest  faith  in  its  future  progress. 
The  family  of  which  he  is  a  member  has  been  identified  with  Missouri  for 
several  generations  and  he  himself  is  a  native  of  Cross  Timbers  in  Hickory 
count}',  that  state,  where  he  was  reared  and  educated.  Upon  leaving  school 
he  learned  the  business  of  an  undertaker.  At  the  same  time  he  accjuired  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  furniture  business.  These  two  occupations  he 
followed  at  Cross  Timbers  for  a  number  of  years  and  during  that  period 
of  business  identification  with  his  native  town  he  married  Miss  Anna  Sjiickert, 
by  whom  he  has  a  daughter,  Eunice.  Accompanied  by  his  family  he  came 
to  California  during  the  latter  part  of  1909  and  after  more  than  a  year  in 
Los  Angeles  removed  to  Taft  in  April  of  1911,  since  which  time  he  has  had 
charge  of  the  Midway  bottling  works  and  has  built  up  a  modest  but  suc- 
cessful business.  Ever  since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  voted  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket  in  all  elections.  During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Los 
Angeles  he  became  connected  with  the  Gulden  State  Camp  of  Woodmen, 
while  prior  to  his  removal  to  the  west  he  was  an  active  worker  in  a  Mis- 
souri lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  and  is  still  remembered  as  one  of  the  popular 
members  of  that  organization  at  Preston  in  Hickory  county. 

JOY  J.  RICHART.— Since  September  of  1910  the  development  of  the 
Cheney-Stimpson  Oil  Company  has  been  carried  on  under  Joy  J.  Richart 
as  superintendent,  to  whose  ability  and  careful  oversight  may  he  attributed' 
the  profitable  continuance  of  the  enterprise.  The  holdings  of  the  company 
include  twenty  acres  lying  on  section  23,  township  32,  range  23.  where 
drilling  was  started  February  7,  1910,  and  where  since  there  have  been  devel- 
oped six  producing  wells.  Four  of  these  wells,  Nos.  1,  2,  8  and  10,  had  been 
drilled  prior  to  the  association  of  Mr.  Richart  with  the  work  and  since  then 
he  has  superintended  the  drilling  of  Nos.  3  and  7.  Every  modern  equip- 
ment has  been  provided.  The  first-class  condition  of  the  lease  renders  pos- 
sible the  maximum  of  production  and  there  is  now  an  average  monthly  out- 
put of  ten  thousand  barrels  cf  oil  of  fourteen  degrees  gravity.  The  lease 
ranks  as  one  of  the  most  profitable  small  properties  in  the  field. 

From  his  earliest  recollections  Mr.  Richart  has  been  more  or  less  famil- 
iar with  the  oil  industry,  for  he  was  born  and  reared  in  Crawford  county, 
111.,  for  years  a  center  of  that  business.  His  parents.  Watts  and  Fannie 
(Connett)  Richart,  devoted  their  active  years  to  agriculture  in  that  county, 
where  the  father  died  about  1899,  and  where  the  mother  still  remains  at  the 
old  homestead.  Eight  children  comprised  the  family,  namely:  Eas.er,  wife 
of  C.  C.  Baker,  a  merchant  at  Alma,  111. ;  Kate,  who  married  F.  M.  Cullson, 
a  farmer  in  Lawrence  county,  111. ;  Charles  I.,  an  operator  with  the  Rig 
4  Railroad  Company,  now  stationed  at  Flatrock,  Crawford  county.  III.;  Anna, 
wife  of  J.  W.  Fantz,  a  driller  in  the  Flatrock  oil  field  in  Illinois;  Myrtle,  who 
is  with  her  mother;  Edith,  who  died  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years;  Joy  J., 
who  was  born  November  28,  1887,  and  is  the  only  member  of  the  family  to 
remove  from  Illinois;  and  Grace,  who  resides  with  her  mother  at  the  old 
homestead.  During  early  life  Joy  J.  Richart  attended  school,  worked  on 
the  home  farm  and  had  considerable  experience  as  clerk  in  a  store.  When 
nineteen  years  of  age  he  secured  employment  in  the  oil  field  near  Robinson, 
Crawford  county.  With  the  Hazelwood  Oil  Company  and  the  Ohio  Oil 
Company  he  had  a  valuable  experience  of  four  years.  Arriving  at  Rakers- 
field  December  13,  1*^09,  he  sought  employment  in  the  oil  fields.  For  three 
months  he  was  employed  as  a  gang-pusher  on  the  San  Joaquin  division  of 
the  Associated,  after  which  he  came  over  to  the  Midway,  sought  employ- 
ment on  25  Hill  and  adjoining  leases  and  in  less  than  three  days  secured 
a  position  as  production  foreman  with  the  Cheney-Stimnson  Oil  Company, 
whose  holdings  he  since  has  developed  with  profit  to  the  company. 


1494  HISTORY    OF    KERX    COUNTY 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Richart  took  place  in  Effingham  county,  111.,  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Mabel,  daughter  of  George  and  Caroline  (Fite)  Eagle- 
ton,  of  Crawford  county,  111.,  the  former  deceased,  the  mother  still  living. 
Mrs.  Richart  was  for  three  years  before  her  marriage  identified  with  the 
educational  profession  of  Crawford  county,  111.,  being  recognized  as  one  of 
the  best  teachers  enrolled.  In  the  Eagleton  family  there  were  ten  children 
and  si.x  of  these  attained  mature  years,  namely :  Viola,  who  married  John  D. 
Price,  a  farmer  of  Crawford  county.  111.,  and  died  leaving  one  child ;  Sadie, 
wife  of  F.  L.  Price,  agent  for  the  Prudential  Life  Insurance  Company  and  a 
resident  of  Robinson,  Crawford  county;  James  C,  a  rancher  in  Colorado; 
Ota  Earl,  who  is  engaged  in  the  meat  business  and  in  ranching  at  Sugar 
City,  Otero  county,  Colo.;  Mabel,  Mrs.  Richart;  and  George  H.,  who  is  em- 
ployed on  the  Cheney-Stimpson  lease  in  the  Midway  field.  Since  coming 
to  this  location  Mr.  Richart  has  been  identified  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  at  Taft.  With  characteristic  thrift  he  has  invested  his  sav- 
ings in  land  and  is  now  the  owner  of  forty  acres  in  Merced  county,  on  the 
state  highway,  convenient  to  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  and  to  the  San 
Joaquin  Light  and  Power  Corporation.  The  tract  is  now  under  cultiva- 
tion to  melons  and  sweet  potatoes,  and  is  irrigated  by  means  of  pumping 
plants  operated  by  electric  motors.  The  land  is  worth  $250  per  acre  and 
its  fine  improvements  and  high  state  of  cultivation  afford  convincing  evi- 
*dence  as  to  the  capable  oversight  of  the  owner. 

REV.  JOHN  H.  BOESE.— The  genealogy  of  the  Boese  family  is  traced 
to  Germany,  whence  the  paternal  s',randfather  migrated  to  Poland,  the  birth- 
place of  Henry  Boese,  who  became  a  farmer  in  Molotschnah  Colonic,  Rus- 
sia, and  there  Rev.  John  H.  Boese  was  born  September  25,  1844.  The  family 
continued  in  Russia  until  1879  and  then  immigrated  to  America,  settling  on 
a  farm  in  Marion  county,  Kan.,  where  Henry  Boese  died.  The  eldest  child 
in  the  family,  John  H.,  worked  hard  from  a  lad  to  assist  in  the  maintenance 
of  the  others.  Meanwhile  he  learned  the  German  language  in  the  local 
schools.  In  1867  he  married  Miss  Lizzie  VVarkentin,  who  died  in  1875. 
Afterward  he  was  united  with  Miss  Lizzie  Fast,  daughter  of  Rev.  Peter 
Fast,  a  preacher  and  educator  who  followed  these  professions  until  his  death. 

Upon  settling  in  Kansas  John  H.  Boese  purchased  eighty  acres  of  land 
and  engaged  in  raising  grain  until  1889,  when  he  removed  to  Granada, 
Colo.  There  he  pre-empted  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  which  he 
proved  up  on  and  then  sold.  His  next  location  was  Kirk,  Colo.,  where  he 
filed  on  a  homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  but  after  an  attempt 
he  found  the  land  too  dry  and  abandoned  the  claim.  After  a  year  at  La  Junta 
he  purchased  a  farm  near  Pueblo  and  engaged  in  farming  there  until  1910, 
when  he  came  to  California.  Soon  afterward  he  bought  forty  acres  under 
the  Beardsley  canal,  ten  miles  northwest  of  Bakersfield.  The  improvements 
are  of  a  permanent  character,  including  a  concrete  house,  substantial  out- 
buildings and  an  excellent  pumping  plant.     The  farm  is  devoted  to  alfalfa. 

By  his  first  marriage  Mr.  Boese  became  the  father  of  two  children  now 
living,  namely :  John,  a  farmer  near  his  father's  place ;  and  Mrs.  Nettie 
Freisen,  of  Bakersfield.  Of  the  second  marriage  there  are  eleven  children 
living,  namely:  Mrs.  Lizzie  Newman,  of  Colorado;  Henry,  of  Pueblo;  Sadie, 
Mrs.  Freisen,  of  Bakersfield ;  Peter,  of  Pueblo ;  Mrs.  Mary  Hannaman,  of 
Bakersfield;  Mrs.  Katie  Koepper,  of  Los  Angeles;  Abraham,  a  farmer  at 
Lerdo;  Mrs.  Anna  Hiebert,  also  of  Lerdo ;  Isaac  and  Susie,  of  Bakersfield; 
and  Jacob,  who  is  aiding  his  parents  on  the  farm.  Having  studied  the  Gos- 
pel for  many  years,  Mr.  Boese  while  in  Colorado  was  ordained  to  the  min- 
istry of  the  Mennonite  Brethren  Church  and  has  since  served  in  the  min- 
istry. As  the  unsalaried  preacher  in  the  Rosedale  Mennonite  Brethren  Church 
he  gratuitously  tenders  his  services  to  the  congregation  and,  while  depend- 


HISTORY    Ol'     Kl'.RN    COUNTY  1495 

ing  upon  his  farm  for  a  livclihoud,  Ireely  gives  of  his  time  to  the  upbuilding 
of  the  cause  of  rehgion  in  his  connnunity. 

J.  B.  JAMES. — A  native  of  Missouri,  iMr.  James  was  born  at  California, 
Moniteau  couniy,  April  20,  1869,  received  a  common-school  education  in  Mis- 
souri, came  from  that  state  to  California  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  and 
settled  in  the  vicinity  of  Santa  Barbara,  where  for  four  years  he  was  employed 
on  a  stock  and  grain  ranch  near  Lompoc.  At  the  expiration  of 
the  first  year  he  was  promoted  to  be  foreman  of  the  vast  tract, 
comprising  about  seventy-five  thousand  acres  and  covering  an  area 
about  thirty-five  miles  in  length.  The  supervision  of  the  stock  on 
the  immense  acreage  made  his  task  one  of  great  difiiculty,  but  he  discharged 
every  duty  with  intelligence  and  fidelity.  However,  he  did  not  feel  any 
desire  to  take  up  agriculture  as  a  life-work.  Instead,  he  had  indulged  a 
fondness  for  photography  from  youth  and  without  special  training  dis- 
played commendable  skill  as  an  amateur.  With  the  hope  that  his  success 
might  be  developed  by  professional  training,  he  gave  up  his  position  on 
the  ranch  and  went  to  San  Francisco  to  study  the  art.  In  that  city  he 
enjoyed  exceptional  advantages  for  learning  the  business  in  all  of  its 
branches.  For  two  years  he  was  in  the  studio  of  J-  W.  Baker,  a  prominent 
photographer  of  the  western  metropolis,  and  from  there  he  went  to  Martinez, 
Contra  Costa  county,  where  he  opened  a  studio  and  embarked  in  business 
for  himself.  Two  years  later  he  removed  from  there  to  Bakersfield  and 
began  in  the  business,  which  since  has  developed  into  the  finely-equipped, 
modern  and  artistic  studio  situated  at  No.  1923  I  street,  a  studio  known 
throughout  the  valley  for  the  high  character  of  its  photographic  output  and 
the  artistic  tastes  of  its  proprietor.  The  majority  of  the  photocrraphs  taken 
especially  for  the  engravings  in  this  work  were  made  at  this  studio. 

JOHN  W.  KELLY.— Shortly  after  the  execution  of  Robert  Emmet  in 
1803,  when  eniiL'ration  from  Ireland  was  at  its  flood  tide,  there  left  the  old 
home  in  one  if  the  beautiful  valleys  of  the  island  an  Irish  lad  sixteen  years 
of  age,  who  crossed  the  Atlantic  as  a  stowaway  and  settled  in  Virginia. 
During  the  war  of  1812  he  served  in  the  army  of  his  adopted  country  and 
bore  a  valiant  part  in  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  under  General  Jackson. 
Receiving  an  honorable  discharge  at  the  close  of  the  war,  he  returned  to 
Virginia  and  from  there  crossed  the  mountains  into  Kentucky,  but  later  ac- 
companied Daniel  Boone  to  the  wilds  of  Missouri.  "I'ncle"  Jack  Kelly,  as  he 
was  known  far  and  wide,  possessed  the  temperament  of  a  pioneer  and  the 
ready  skill  of  the  typical  frontiersman,  hence  he  was  well  qualified  for  the 
difficult  task  of  transforming  a  wilderness  into  an  abode  of  peace  and  plenty. 
He  had  married  Joanna  Stephens  and  thus  became  allied  with  one  of  tlie 
most  prominent  Alissouri  picneer  families  who  with  Daniel  Boone  founded 
the  village  of  Boor.ville  in  Cooper  county.  Later  some  difficult}^  arose  between 
Boone  and  Stephens  and  the  former,  giving  up  all  association  with  the  town 
named  in  his  honor,  crossed  the  Missouri  river  into  Howard  coutity,  where 
he  started  a  rival  town  called  Boonesboro.  Uncle  Jack  himself  remained 
at  Boonville  and  there  died  in  1874  when  eighty-eight  years  of  age. 

Among  the  children  of  the  Irish  emigrant  there  was  a  son,  Ewing.  who 
was  born  in  Missouri  and  during  1849  crossed  the  plains  to  the  mines  of 
California,  where  he  worked  for  three  years,  returning  to  Missouri  via 
Panama.  .After  his  return  he  took  up  general  farming,  established  a  home 
of  his  own  and  lived  a  quiet,  uneventful  existence.  His  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Celia  Cornelius  and  was  born  in  Missouri,  descended  from 
A^rginian  ancestors  on  both  the  paternal  and  maternal  sides,  fler  death 
occurred  in  Missouri.  Of  her  three  daughters  and  two  sons  all  are  still 
living  e.xcent  one  son.  During  1888  Ewing  Kelly  came  for  the  second  time  to 
California  and  this  time  joined  his  son  in  Glenn  county,  where  he  remained 


1496  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

until  his  death.  The  son,  John  W.,  is  the  last  male  representative  of  the 
family  in  the  United  States  of  his  generation.  Born  in  Cooper  county,  Mo., 
October  29,  1861,  he  received  his  education  in  the  school  of  experience.  To 
an  unusual  degree  he  may  be  called  a  self-made  man.  With  the  exception 
of  three  months  in  a  subscription  school  he  was  utterly  without  educational 
advantages,  having  to  make  his  own  living  frem  the  time  he  was  ten  years 
old  without  any  assistance,  yet  notwithstanding  this  handicap  he  has  achieved 
success  of  an  high  order.  When  he  came  to  California  in  1884  he  intended  to 
settle  in  Kern  county,  but  suffering  from  chills  and  fever  for  three  days  he 
made  a  hasty  change  to  Glenn  county.  On  the  Kendrick  ranch  at  Stony 
creek  he  found  his  first  employment  at  bucking  sacks  of  Sonora  wheat  aver- 
aging one  hundred  and  forty-five  pounds  (the  same  weight  as  himself),  receiv- 
ing therefor  $2  per  day.  This  remuneration  seemed  princely  as  compared 
with  wages  in  Missouri,  which  were  about  $12  per  month.  Following  this  he 
was  employed  on  various  ranches  until  November  7,  1887,  when  he  was 
married  at  Stony  creek  to  Miss  Ida  May  Perry.  She  was  a  native  of  that 
place,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  G.  Perry,  who  was  born  in  North  Carolina 
but  reared  in  Missouri,  where  he  remained  until  1865.  In  that  year  he  crossed 
the  plains  with  ox-teams  to  Napa,  Cal.,  where  he  married  Melissa  Bunch,  a 
native  of  Missouri  who  had  come  overland  in  the  same  train.  Mr.  Perry  was 
a  farmer  in  Glenn  county  until  1909,  since  which  time  he  has  resided  on  his 
ranch  near  Bakersfield.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  Kelly  took  up  a  homestead 
and  b'  ught  school  land  on  Stony  creek.  There  he  engaged  in  farming  and 
stock-raising  until  1893.  In  that  year  he  removed  to  Trinity  county  and 
engaged  in  nlacer  mining  until  October,  1895,  when  he  drove  overland  through 
the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys  to  Randsburg,  Kern  county,  where 
he  to  k  up  mining  and-  also  engaged  in  merchandising.  From  1896  to 
1900  he  served  as  constable  of  Randsburg.  During  the  two  ensuing  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  county  board  of  supervisors.  As  the  nominee  of 
the  Democratic  party  in  190?  he  was  elected  sheriff  and  resigned  as  super- 
visor to  take  the  oath  of  office  in  January  of  1903.  At  the  expiration  of 
his  term  he  was  re-elected,  holding  the  office  until  January  of  1911,  when 
he  retired,  not  having  been  a  candidate  for  re-election,  although  he  had  been 
continually  in  office  in  Kern  county  for  sixteen  years. 

In  Bakersfield,  where  he  has  made  his  heme  since  1903  and  where  he 
has  engaged  in  the  real-estate  business  since  1911,  Mr.  Kelly  has  a  large 
circle  of  warm  personal  friends  and  business  associates.  His  interests  have 
been  and  still  are  varied  and  important,  including  as  sub-division  acreage 
the  Verdina  ranch  two  miles  west  of  town,  also  stock  in  oil  companies  and 
the  handling  of  oil  lands.  Interested  in  Maricopa  from  its  beginning,  he 
still  owns  forty  acres  f  f  the  town-site,  which  leased  to  tenants  and  improved 
with  buildings  forms  an  important  part  of  the  growing  oil  town.  The  first 
to  embark  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  the  new  oil  town,  he  started  the  present 
stc  re  of  Coons,  Price  &  Co.,  Incorporated,  of  which  he  is  still  president  and 
which  has  built  uo  a  large  trade  on  the  west  side  and  keeps  five  delivery 
wagons  in  constant  use.  In  addition  he  is  engaged  in  the  raising  of  alfalfa. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kelly  have  one  child,  Elisie  Irene  Kelly.  The  Bakersfield 
Board  of  Trade  numbers  Mr.  Kelly  among  its  most  nrogressive  members 
and  his  aid  is  confidently  relied  upon  in  all  movements  for  the  local  advance- 
ment. Made  a  Mason  in  Tehachapi  Lodge  No.  313,  F.  &  A.  M.,  he  has  been 
Iryal  to  the  high  principles  of  the  order  and  in  addition  has  been  prominently 
identified  with'tbe  local  work  of  Bakersfidd  Lodee  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E. 

JEAN  POURROY. — Among  the  old  timers  in  the  French  colony  of 
East  Bakersfield  we  find  Jean  -Pourroy,  a  native  of  Hautes-Alpes,  France, 
born  Tune  24,  1847,  and  reared  on  the  farm  of  his  father,  Pierre  Pourroy, 
near  Gap,  where  he  obtained  the  advantages  of  the  common  schools  of  the 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1497 

localit)^  In  1872  he  came  to  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  where  he  followed  various 
occupations,  but  principally  that  of  brick-making  until  1878,  when  he  came 
to  Sumner  (now  East  Bakersfield). 

Being  familiar  with  the  sheep  business  in  France,  Mr.  Pourroy  entered 
the  employ  of  a  sheep  man  as  a  herder  and  by  industry  and  ectnuMiiy  in  a 
few  years  he  had  accumulated  sufficient  capital  to  purchase  a  tlock  of  sheep 
and  engage  in  business  for  himself.  During  the  winters  he  ranged  his  flocks 
on  the  plains  near  Delano  and  herded  them  in  the  mountains  during  the 
summers.  He  met  with  success  and  ten  years  later  he  purchased  a  farm 
of  forty  acres  under  the  Kern  Island  canal,  where  he  engaged  in  rancliing 
for  six  years.  Then  he  sold  the  place  and  now  lives  retired  at  his  home  on 
Humboldt  street,  East  Bakersfield,  enjoying  the  fruits  of  his  labors.  The 
lady  who  became  his  wife  and  assisted  him  in  gaining  their  competency 
was  in  maidenhood  Emily  Villard,  also  a  native  of  Hautes-Alpes,  France, 
and  is  a  sister  cf  Ambroise  Villard,  who  is  represented  in  this  work".  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pourroy  were  born  three  children,  as  follows:  Emil,  who  is  in 
the  employ  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad ;  Blanche  and  Louise.  Politic- 
ally he  espouses  the   principles  of  the    Republican   party. 

TRUMAN  WORTHY  HAMILTON.— The  young  men  have  aided 
materially  in  forwarding  enterprises  for  the  development  and  improvement 
of  Kern  county  during  the  last  decade  and  among  those  who  have  helped  to 
bring  about  its  present  wonderful  growth  we  find  Truman  Worthy  Hamil- 
ton. He  was  born  in  Lcs  Angeles,  Cal.,  March  17,  1883,  the  son  of  E.  M. 
Hamilton,  the  proprietor  of  Willow  Springs,  who  is  represented  elsewhere 
in  this  work.  Truman  W.  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Los  Ang- 
eles until  feurteen  years  of  age.  He  then  joined  his  father,  who  had  dis- 
covered the  Lido  mine  in  Antelope  valley,  and  continued  to  devote  his  time 
to  its  development  until  it  was  sold.  His  father  having  completed  the  Ham- 
ilton hotel  at  Rosamond,  a  large  modern  fireproof  building,  he  became  its 
proprietor  January  15,  1912,  and  on  March  14,  1912,  he  was  appointed  post- 
master at  Rosamond,  the  ofifice  being  in  the  hotel,  as  is  also  the  telephone 
office.  In  connection  with  the  above  he  is  also  a  dealer  in  hay  and  grain, 
gasoline  and  oils,  and  conducts  an  auto  livery. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Hamilton  was  celebrated  in  L(  s  Angeles,  uniting 
him  with  Miss  Erma  Gertrude  Marine,  a  native  of  San  Joaquin  county,  and 
they  have  a  daughter,  Harriett  Blanche.  He  is  greatly  interested  in  the 
cause  of  education,  being  the  clerk  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Rosamond 
school  district,  and  previously  he  held  a  similar  ]iosition  in  the  Willow 
Springs  district. 

JACOB  N.  RIPPLE.— Born  in  Huntingdon  county,  Pa.,  July  5,  1869, 
Jacob  X.  Ripple  is  a  son  of  the  late  Henry  Ripple,  who  for  years  operated 
the  large  tannery  of  R.  G.  Faust  &  Co.,  at  Mount  Union,  Pa.,  and  was  still 
filling  the  position  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1895,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine 
years.  The  mother,  now  seventy-two  years  of  age  (1913),  still  makes  her 
home  at  Mount  Union.  The  family  consisted  of  eight  children.  The  eldest 
son,  Frank,  who  succeeded  his  father  as  superintendent  of  the  tannery  at 
Mount  Union,  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-four  years  from  the  effects  of  an  acci- 
dental injury  and  is  survived  by  wife  and  five  children.  The  surviving  mem- 
bers of  the  family  are  as  follows:  Hannah,  wife  of  Alexander  Chilcoat.  a 
foundryman  at  Bradford,  Pa. ;  Wremick,  a  retail  grocer,  the  father  of  a  son 
and  a  daughter;  Jacob  N. ;  William  H.,  superintendent  of  an  oil  company  in 
the  Bradford  (Pa.)  field;  Thomas,  foreman  of  a  brick  yard  at  Mount  Union, 
Pa. ;  Jt  hn.  master  mechanic  in  the  extract  works  at  Mount  Union  ;  and  Laura, 
wife  of  James  Kimberlan.  who  is  engaged  in  the  brick  business  at  Mount 
Union. 

The  humble  circumstances  of  the  family  rendered  imperative  early  self- 


1498  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

support  on  the  part  of  the  children  and  thus  developed  traits  of  independence, 
industry  and  perseverance.  When  only  fourteen  years  of  age  Mr.  Ripple  was 
earning  his  own  livelihood  by  working  in  the  tannery  operated  by  his  father. 
At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  became  a  brakeman  on  the  middle  division  of  tlie 
Pennsylvania  Central  Railroad,  his  run  being  on  a  freight  train  between 
Altoona  and  Harrisburg.  Railroading  suited  him  as  an  occupation  and  in  all 
probability  he  would  have  continued  at  such  work  throughout  life  had  not  the 
failure  of  his  eyes  obliged  him  to  leave  a  business  where  unerring  vision  is 
absulutely  necessary.  For  a  time  he  worked  in  the  tannery  of  his  father 
and  later  held  positions  in  tanneries  at  Arona  and  Mapleton.  When  twenty 
years  of  age  he  secured  employment  with  the  Forest  Oil  Company  (subsidiary 
to  the  Standard),  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  been  identified  with 
the  oil  industry.  Successively  he  worked  in  the  Bradford  field  of  McKean 
county,  Pa.,  for  eight  months  with  McDtniald  &  Oakdale  at  Wild  wood,  Alle- 
gheny county,  Pa.,  then  at  Montpelier,  Ind.,  and  since  1908  in  California, 
where  for  eleven  months  he  engaged  as  production  foreman  with  the  Mascot, 
then  for  three  years  and  one  month  filled  a  similar  position  with  the  North 
American,  eventually  returning  tu  the  Mascot,  of  which  he  since  has  engaged 
as  superintendent.  While  in  Indiana  he  and  a  partner,  A.  T.  McDonald, 
owned  and  operated  five  oil  wells;  Mr.  Ripple  contracted  rheumatism,  which 
forced  him  to  go  to  the  hospital  in  the  efifort  to  get  relief,  but  he  finally  was 
obliged  to  make  a  change  of  climate  and  came  to  California.  Selling  his  interest 
in  the  lease  to  his  partner,  he  bruught  his  family  and  arrived  at  Los  Angeles 
April  15,  1908.  The  only  person  whom  he  knew  in  this  part  of  the  country 
was  Tim  Spellacy,  president  of  the  Mascot  lease,  who  gave  him  employment 
on  that  lease  May  15th  following,  which  began  his  extensive  association  with 
that  well-known  lease. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Ripple  took  place  at  Wildwood,  Pa.,  and  united  him 
with  Miss  Zelma  E.  Fishell,  by  whom  he  is  the  father  of  one  daughter,  Vio- 
let Lucile.  The  family  were  leaders  in  the  movement  resulting  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  congregation  now  worshipping  in  the  Hill  schoolhouse,  and  Mrs. 
Ripple,  co-operating  and  working  with  Mrs.  A.  W.  Perry,  now  deceased, 
organized  a  Sunday  school,  which  numbers  seventy-eight  pupils.  In  this  work 
she  has  been  enthusiastic  and  capable,  and  in  addition  has  been  a  leader  in  the 
Ladies'  Aid  Society.  As  a  trustee  Air.  Ripple  has  been  connected  with  the 
business  policy  of  the  church,  whose  influence  in  the  community  he  believes 
to  be  most  important.  While  living  in  Indiana  he  was  an  active  worker  in  the 
Modern  Woodmen  at  Keystone. 

R.  E.  RANOUS. — Determination  of  will  and  force  of  character  have 
enabled  Mr.  Ranous  to  surmount  obstacles  that  would  have  discouraged  a 
man  of  less  resolution.  From  early  life  destiny  led  him  in  devious  paths 
of  bereavement  and  adversity.  Never  to  him  did  Fortune  beckon  with  smil- 
ing face  and  outstretched  hand.  The  death  of  his  mother  when  he  was  three 
years  of  age  and  that  of  his  father  when  he  was  seven  left  him  dependent 
upon  the  charity  of  friends,  for  the  family  had  possessed  very  little  of  this 
world's  goods.  Four  boys  were  left  to  struggle  against  an  adverse  fate. 
One  of  these,  S.  V.,  blind  from  childhood,  was  sent  to  the  Institute  for  the 
Blind  at  Jacksonville,  111.,  and  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three.  An  older 
brother,  L.  P.,  formerly  a  farmer  of  Dakota,  went  to  Alberta  during  the 
opening  of  that  Canadian  province  and  is  now  engaged  in  grain-raising  near 
Calgary.  Another  brother,  D.  J.,  a  favorite  in  the  family  and  a  young  man 
of  rare  qualities  of  heart,  died  in  Los  Angeles  county  after  an  honorable 
service  in  the  Philippines  during  the  Spanish-.American  war.  R.  E.  was 
born  at  Prophetstown,  Whiteside  county,  111.,  October  2,  1879,  and  after  the 
death  of  his  parents  lived  with  friends  in  Chicago  for  a  year.  From  there 
he  was  taken  to  the  home  of  Frank  Burke,  a  farmer,  three  miles  from 
Waukegan,  III.     During  the  seven  years  on  that  farm  he  was  taught  to  aid 


HISTORY    OF    KKRN    COUNTY  149'J 

in  the  care  of  stock  and  tilling  of  the  soil.  Although  not  given  many  educa- 
tional advantages,  he  was  quick  to  learn  and  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  common  branches. 

The  necessity  of  self-support  took  Mr.  Ranous  out  into  the  world  at 
an  early  age.  During  1896  he  went  to  South  Dakota,  to  the  home  of  his 
older  brother,  and  for  some  time  he  worked  as  a  farm  hand  in  Grant  and 
Beadle  counties.  Huron,  twenty-six  miles  distant,  was  the  nearest  town 
of  any  importance.  At  that  time  wheat-growing  was  the  principal  occupa- 
tion and  the  need  of  harvest  hands  in  summer  was  so  great  that  excellent 
wages  were  paid  during  the  busy  season.  While  in  South  Dakota  he  en- 
listed for  service  in  the  Spanish-American  war.  Assigned  to  Company  K, 
First  South  Dakota  Infantry,  he  went  to  the  Philippines  with  his  regiment 
and  took  part  in  all  of  its  engagements  and  campaigns.  The  record  of  the 
First  South  Dakota  is  as  historic  and  praiseworthy  as  that  of  the  First 
Nebraska  and  its  members  may  well  point  with  pride  to  the  gallantry  of  the 
command  in  action,  to  its  skill  in  military  tactics  and  its  achievements  on  the 
battlefield.  At  the  close  of  the  war  the  men  were  ordered  back  to  San 
Francisco  and  there,  October  5,  1899,  received  an  honorable  discharge. 

Having  seen  something  of  California  during  his  service  in  the  army 
and  being  pleased  with  the  country,  Mr.  Ranous  returned  to  the  west  in 
1901  and  ent^aged  in  the  oil  industry.  For  a  time  he  was  a  tool-dresser  with 
Jewett  &  Blodgett  near  Maricopa  in  the  Sunset  field.  Next  he  engaged 
as  a  tool-dresser  on  the  Peerless  No.  2  at  Coalmga.  A  later  experience  in 
the  Kern  River  field  developed  his  talent  as  a  production  foreman.  During 
1904  he  left  the  Fulton  lease  in  order  that  he  might  enjoy  a  merited  vacation. 
December  1,  1905,  he  returned  t"  the  Kern  river  field,  where  he  was  etnplnyed 
under  William  N.  Forker.  Afterward  for  a  year  he  had  charge  of  the  Coal- 
inga  lease  of  the  S.  W.  and  B.  Oil  Company.  Upon  returning  to  the  Kern 
river  field  he  remained  with  William  N.  Forker  from  May,  1908,  to  January 
1.  H'no.  beine  em  iloyed  as  a  driller  on  the  leise  df  St.  Clair  &  Tastro.  Frnm 
that  district  he  came  to  the  present  site  of  Taft,  where  he  drilled  wells  No. 
1  and  2,  section  22,  township  32,  range  23,  and  wells  No.  3  and  4,  section  26, 
township  32,  range  23,  owned  by  the  Wilbert  Oil  Company.  Upon  the 
appointment  of  William  N.  Forker  as  water  commissioner  by  the  board  of 
supervisors  of  Kern  county,  l\Ir.  Ranous  succeeded  him  as  superintendent 
of  the  Wilbert  Oil  Company  and  has  filled  the  position  with  recognized 
efficiency.  Since  undertaking  the  supervision  of  the  properties  he  has  drilled 
wells  5,  6,  7  and  8,  and  now  has  eight  producing  wells  on  section  26,  where 
the  comnanv  has  forty  acres;  also  two  producing  wells  rm  secti'm  22.  where 
another  forty-acre  tract  is  being  developed.  On  the  former  lease  there  is  an 
average  monthly  production  of  fifteen  thousand  barrels.  The  company  was 
organized  by  H.  L.  Packard  and  is  owned  bv  Bakersfield  capitalists.  H.  A. 
Jastro  being  president  and  a  large  stockholder. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Ranous  and  Miss  Jessie  L.  Anson  was  solemnized 
in  Santa  Ana,  Cal.,  Mrs.  Ranous  having  removed  to  that  point  from  Ohio. 
The  only  child  of  their  union  died  in  June,  1913.  Numerous  fraternities  have 
had  the  benefit  of  the  co-operation  and  allegiance  of  Mr.  Ranous.  among 
these  being  the  Bakersfield  Camp,  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E.,  and  Taft  Lodge  No. 
426,  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  Bakersfield  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.  Prominent  in  the  work 
of  the  Odd  Fellows,  he  was  honored.  May  16,  1913,  with  the  appointment 
as  district  deputy  grand  master,  and  before  that  he  had  filled  numerous 
offices  in  the  local  lodge.  As  president  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  Hall  Associa- 
tion, he  has  been  a  leading  factor  in  the  erection  of  the  hall  at  Taft  costmg 
$28,000.  The  building  is  substantial,  constructed  with  a  concrete  basement 
and  two  upper  stories  of  brick,  with  a  front  of  pressed  brick  surface  and  plate 
glass  windows.  The  corner  stone  was  laid  June  21,  1913,  with  appropriate 
ceremonies.     The   Taft   Hardware   and    Furniture   Company   has   leased   the 


1500  HISTORY  OF  KERN  COUNTY 

first  floor  for  its  retail  establishment,  while  the  basement  has  been  fitted  up 
for  a  banquet  hall  and  kitchen,  and  the  second  floor  is  finished  in  offices  and 
lodge  rooms.  Every  appointment  is  up-to-date  and  the  building  is  a  credit 
not  only  to  the  Odd  Fellows,  but  to  the  town  itself. 

J.  W.  HEARD. — The  pioneer  merchant  at  Oil  Center  enjoys  the  friend- 
ship of  the  people  throughout  the  entire  oil  district,  for  by  long  association 
they  have  come  to  appreciate  his  sterling  integrity  of  character,  his  kindly 
spirit  and  warm-hearted  southern  temperament.  When  first  he  established 
his  present  store  and  erected  the  building  he  now  occupies,  he  put  therein  the 
first  stock  of  merchandise  in  the  new  town,  and  from  the  very  beginning 
he  has  enjoyed  a  large  trade.  He  is  also  the  senior  member  of  the  firm  of 
Heard  &  Painter,  owners  and  proprietors  of  the  largest  general  store  in 
Taft.  In  addition  he  has  made  other  investments,  so  that  he  has  been  pros- 
pered in  a  gratifying  degree. 

A  member  of  one  of  the  best  families  in  the  south  and  a  direct  descend- 
ant in  the  fifth  generation  from  John  Heard,  governor  of  Georgia  during 
Colonial  days,  J.  W.  Heard  was  born  in  Mississippi  in  1864.  The  history 
of  the  family  is  associated  with  the  south.  Iiut  principal!}'  with  the  siate  of 
Georgia,  to  which  colony  members  of  the  Heard  family  came  from  England 
in  one  of  the  expeditions  of  Walter  Raleigh.  In  1875  the  father,  who  had 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Vaiden,  Miss.,  tock  the  family  back  to 
Georgia,  where  he  lived  retired  until  his  death.  The  son  was  sent  to  the 
public  schools  and  Sharon  Business  College,  after  which  he  started  out  to 
make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  Arriving  in  California  in  1883,  a  stranger 
in  a  strange  locality,  he  settled  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  and  here  has  since 
made  his  home  and  business  headquarters.  For  a  time  he  worked  as  a 
clerk  in  stores,  being  successively  in  Fresno,  Reedly  and  Sanger,  and  finally 
coming  to  Oil  Center  at  the  opening  of  this  oil  district.  Since  then  he  has 
conducted  mercantile  pursuits  in  Oil  Center  and  Taft  and  has  made  many 
friends  throughout  Kern  county.  Reared  in  the  Democratic  faith,  he  ad- 
heres to  that  party  with  stanchness  and  devotion.  In  1898  he  married  Miss 
Emma  C.  Clark,  of  Redwood,  San  Mateo  county,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
an  only  son,  John  Wilkerson  Heard.  Mrs.  Heard  is  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  William  A.  Clark,  the  latter  of  whom  died  when  the  daughter  was 
only  two  years  of  age.  The  father,  an  attorney  by  profession,  now  lives 
retired  at  San  Diego.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Heard  was  Hon. 
Andrew  Teague,  a  pioneer  of  1847  in  California,  and  an  early  settler  of  San 
INTateo  county,  where  he  not  only  practiced  law,  but  also  served  as  district 
attorney  and  at  one  time  was  honored  with  the  office  of  judge  of  the  superior 
court. 

HON.  ELIAS  JAMES  EMMONS.— When  the  gold  excitement  in  Nic- 
aragua was  at  its  height  a  young  man  from  Missouri,  bearing  the  name  of 
William  David  Emmons,  sought  the  supposed  opportunities  of  that  southern 
district,  where  he  became  a  prosperous  merchant  in  Greytown.  Through  his 
marriage  to  Elizabeth  J.  Miller,  a  native  of  Texas,  two  children  were  born, 
namely:  Elias  James,  born  at  Greytown,  Nicaragua,  March  1,  1859;  and 
Henry  William,  who  settled  in  Bakersfield  and  engaged  in  the  oil  business 
in  this  locality.  The  withdrawal  of  the  A''anderbilt  transit  line  from  Nicaragua 
brought  stagnation  to  every  line  of  business  there  and  proved  the  financial 
ruin  of  Mr.  Emmons,  who,  forced  to  seek  a  home  elsewhere,  brought  his  wife 
and  children  to  California  and  here  died  in  1862  at  Vacaville,  Solano  county, 
when  thirty-two  years  of  age.  In  1864  the  widow  married  again  and  removed 
to  Antioch,  Contra  Costa  county,  where  her  two  sons  attended  the  grammar 
school  and  then  began  to  earn  their  own  way  in  the  world. 

As  a  clerk  in  a  law  office  of  San  Francisco  Elias  James  Emmons  gained 
his  first  insight  into  the  profession  which  he  later  entered.  During  1882  he 
was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar  of  California  and  opened  an  office  at 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1501 

Chico,  Butte  county,  where  he  practiced  until  January  of  1893,  the  date  of  his 
removal  to  Bakersfield.  For  a  time  he  had  as  a  partner  F.  M.  Graham,  later 
had  an  office  alone  and  in  1902  became  a  partner  of  Rovven  Irwin,  but  now  is 
the  senior  member  of  the  firm  of  Emmons  &  Hudson,  his  partner  being  Judge 
R.  J.  Hudson.  From  1893  to  1897  he  served  as  assistant  district  attorney  of 
Kern  county  and  in  the  latter  year  he  was  elected  to  represent  this  county  in 
the  assembly.  Governor  Budd  appointed  him  a  member  of  the  national  com- 
mission for  uniformity  of  legislation  and  he  served  as  such  from  1897  to  1901. 
From  1902  to  1906  he  was  state  senator  from  the  thirty-second  district,  com- 
prising Kings,  Tulare  and  Kern  counties.  Many  interests  have  received  his 
atten.ion  alont;-  the  line  of  his  profession  and  for  some  years  he  has  acted  as 
attorney  for  the  Bakersfield  Merchants'  Association  in  railroad  transportation 
matters.  Politically  he  has  been  a  Democrat  ever  since  he  attained  his  ma- 
jority. \\'hil.e  living  in  Chico  he  married  Miss  Margaret  J.  Wooden,  a  native 
of  Vallejo,  this  state,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Elias  Carroll 
and  Edith  June. 

PIERRE  MAYOU  was  born  January  15,  1860,  in  Oloron,  Basses- 
j^yrenees,  France,  and  was  reared  on  his  parents'  farm  and  educated  in  the 
public  school.  He  came  to  California  when  a  lad  of  fourteen  years,  land- 
ing in  San  Francisco'  in  June,  1874,  having  only  $25  in  his  possession,  but 
he  had  a  stout  heart  and  willing  hands,  so  went  immediately  to  work  in 
Redwood  city  and  continued  there  for  two  years.  He  then  made  his  way  to 
Los  Angeles,  where  he  was  employed  on  farms  and  with  a  sheep  man  until 
he  had  saved  sufficient  money  to  buy  a  small  flock  of  sheep.  Bringing  them 
to  Kern  county  in  1882,  he  ranged  them  on  mountain  and  plain,  his  head- 
quarters being  in  Kern  (now  East  Bakersfield).  He  met  with  success  and 
in  1887  he  sold  out  and  purchased  land  in  Cummings  valley,  upon  which  he 
began  grain-raising  and  farming,  and  ultimately  acquired  a  place  of  seven 
hundred  acres.  He  continued  there  for  fourteen  years,  when  a  series  of  dry 
years  proved  disastrous  and  he  lost  his  farm.  He  then  came  to  McKittrick 
about  1902  and  engaged  in  teaming  and  heavy  freighting  and  in  connec- 
tion with  farming  has  followed  it  ever  since.  He  is  leasing  the  Santa  Fe 
place  in  the  little  Santa  ]\Ionica  valley,  six  miles  west  of  McKittrick,  where 
he  is  raising  grain  hay.  He  has  lately  taken  as  a  partner  Peter  Brockman 
and  they  run  two  eight-mule  teams  for  freighting  in  the  oil  fields  and  on  the 
d.esert. 

Mr.  Mayou's  marriage  occurred  in  Tehachapi,  uniting  him  with  Theo- 
dora Ocane,  a  native  daughter  of  San  Francisco,  who  died  in  Tehacha'ii, 
as  did  their  two  children,  Mary  and  Peter.  Mr.  Mayou  has  always  believed 
in  and  voted  for  the  principles  of  the  Republican  party. 

PETER  J.  McFARLANE. — Among  the  young  men  who  have  come  from 
the  east  to  California  and  have  become  fascinated  with  the  opportunities 
offered  to  such  an  extent  as  to  enter  heartily  into  its  local  business  affairs, 
we  find  Peter  J.  McFarlane,  who  was  born  in  Peterboro  county,  Ontario, 
July  24,  1861,  the  son  of  D.  P.  and  Catherine  (Ferguson)  McFarlane,  who 
were  of  Scotch  descent  and  were  pioneers  in  Peterboro  county.  Of  their 
eleven  children,  ten  of  whom  are  living,  Peter  J.  was  the  oldest.  The  father 
died  in  1912  and  the  mother  two  years  before  him.  Being  the  eldest  of  a 
large  family  Mr.  McFarlane  very  early  had  responsibilities  thrust  upon  him 
and  he  was  earl)^  in  life  obliged  to  aid  in  the  farm  work,  his  education  being 
obtained  in  the  local  schools.  He  remained  home  helping  his  parents  until 
1884,  when  he  came  to  California  and  the  same  year  settled  in  Kern  county. 
After  being  employed  at  ranching  for  a  short  time  he  took  un  a  homestead 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  one  and  a  half  miles  from  Tehachapi.  This 
he  improved  and  lived  upon  until  he  proved  up  on  it,  afterwards  disposing 


1502  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

of  it.     He  became  interested  in  the  Oak   Creek   Lumljer  Company,  and   en- 
gaged extensively   in  the  manufacture  of  lumber  on  Oak  creek. 

During  the  gold  excitement  in  Nome,  Alaska,  Mr.  McFarlane  made  a 
trip  to  that  northern  camp,  but  returned  to  Tehachapi  in  about  eight  months. 
In  1905  he  was  appointed  under  the  Roosevelt  administration  as  postmas- 
ter of  Tehachapi  and  during  his  first  term  the  office  was  made  a  third-class 
office  and  he  was  duly  reappointed  to  the  office  by  President  Roosevelt 
Febrary  22,  1909.     He  has  ranch  interests  in  Walker's  Basin. 

Mr.  McFarlane's  marriage  occurred  in  Tehachapi  in  1888,  uniting  him 
with  Miss  Annie  Gates,  a  native  of  Missouri,  and  to  them  have  been  born 
two  children,  only  one  living,  a  daughter  named  Catherine.  Mr.  McFarlane 
was  made  a  Mason  in  Keene  Lodge,  at  Keene,  Ontario,  and  after  his  location 
in  the  Tehachapi  region  became  affiliated  with  Tehachapi  Lodge  No.  313, 
F.  &  A.  M.,  and  served  four  terms  as  master  and  at  present  is  its  secretary. 
He  is  also  treasurer  and  past  patron  of  Tehachapi  Chapter  No.  188,  O.  E.  S. 
He  has  always  been  interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  adopted  city,  always 
being  ready  to  use  his  means  and  time  toward  its  upbuilding.  He  is  well 
and  fav(  rably  known  in  the  county  and  has  many  warm  friends  who  admire 
him    for   his   integrity   and    sterling   worth. 

NATHANIEL  R.  WILKINSON.— A  native  of  Virginia,  Mr.  Wilkin- 
son was  born  in  Norfolk,  July  10,  1838,  and  died  at  Bakersfield,  Cal.,  in 
December,  1902.  He  attended  school  and  attained  manhood  at  Norfolk. 
While  still  young  he  went  to  sea  and  was  a  sailor  until  he  was  twenty-one 
years  old,  as  such  visiting  nearly  every  port  in  the  civilized  world.  Then 
he  became  a  landsman  and  was  profitably  employed  in  difYerent  ways  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  He  entered  the  Confederate  army,  yielding 
allegiance  to  Lee  and  generals  of  lesser  note,  and  participated  in  many  hard- 
fought  engagements.  At  Gettysburg  he  received  a  wound  on  ;he  left  side  of 
his  head  which  eventually  caused  his  death  by  paralysis.  After  the  war  he 
prospered  in  the  domain  of  peace,  and  in  1873  came  to  Bakersfield.  Becom- 
ing a  school  teacher  he  taught  two  terms  with  such  success  that  he  was 
very  popular  among  his  fellow  citizens,  who  repeatedly  elected  him  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  in  which  capacity  he  served  with  great  ability  and  fidelity 
for  many  years.  He  was  long  well  and  favorably  known  as  a  notary  public, 
conveyancer  and  expert  accountant  and  was  called  upon  from  time  to  time 
to  handle  property  and  settle  estates  until  his  business  became  large  and 
profitable.  Wholly  reliable  and  of  the  highest  integrity,  he  was  trusted  in 
every  way  by  everyone  who  knew  him.  Politically  he  was  active  as  a  Dem- 
ocrat, as  a  citizen  he  was  public-spiritedly  useful,  and  while  he  was  ready 
at  all  times  to  aid  any  church  to  the  extent  of  his  ability  he  was  an  out- 
spoken admirer  of  Col.   Robert  G.   Ingersoll. 

The  lady  who  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Wilkinson  was  Miss  Mary  An- 
drews and  their  marriage  was  celebrated  in  Bakersfield.  She  was  born  at 
Mokelumne  Hill,  Cal.,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Rebecca  Parker  (Williams) 
Andrews.  Her  father  was  born  near  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  and  was  gradu- 
ated from  the  Lhiiversity  of  Edinburgh  with  the  degree  of  C.E.  He  came  to 
California  in  1848,  around  Cape  Horn,  and  prospered  in  the  state  as  a  civil 
engineer  until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Camp  Seco.  Rebecca  Parker 
Williams  was  a  second  cousin  of  the  Rev.  Theodore  Parker,  the  great  Uni- 
tarian preacher,  and  a  school  mate  in  Boston  of  Charlotte  Cushman,  who 
became  one  of  the  greatest  actresses  of  her  time.  Ancestors  of  hers  named 
Williams  were  active  participants  in  the  work  of  the  "Boston  Tea  Party" 
and  served  the  cause  of  the  colonies  as  soldiers  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
Mrs.  Wilkinson  died  at  Bakersfield  January  1,  1891.  She  had  long  been  a 
devout  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church.     Irma  Jeannette  Wilkinson,  only 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1503 

daughter  of  Nathaniel  R.  and  Alary  (Andrews)  Wilkinson,  was  graduated 
from  the  Kern  county  high  school  and  the  Los  Angeles  normal  school  and 
is  a  successful  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of  Bakersfield. 

MYRON  W.  MORRIS.— Born  in  Fairfield,  Mich.,  December  5,  1839, 
Mr.  Morris  grew  up  on  the  home  farm  there,  attending  the  school  of  the 
locality.  He  attended  the  college  at  Hudson,  Mich.,  and  taught  school  for 
some  years  there,  in  1876  coming  west  and  locating  in  San  Francisco,  where 
he  began  to  work  at  the  carpenter  trade.  In  1877  he  came  to  Bakersfield 
to  follow  the  trade  of  carpenter  and  later  became  engaged  in  contracting 
and  building,  which  he  followed  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  at  one  time 
became  owner  of  a  ranch,  but  as  farming  was  not  tu  his  liking  he  later  sold 
the  property.  He  was  one  of  the  first  builders  in  Bakersfield,  and  lived  to 
see  it  grow  to  one  of  the  prosperous,  thriving  cities  of  the  state.  His  own 
residence  which  he  himself  built  is  located  on  Chester  Lane  near  the  cor- 
ner of  C  street,  and  is  a  handsome,  substantial  place.  Mr.  Morris  passed 
away  March  3,  1911,  greatly  mourned  by  all  who  knew  him. 

In  April,  1870,  at  Morenci,  Lenawee  county,  Mich.,  Mr.  Morris  was 
married  to  Bell  Austin,  who  was  born  near  Avon,  Livingston  county,  N.  Y., 
the  daughter  of  William  B.  and  Lucy  (Whaley)  Austin,  both  of  whom 
were  nati\-es  of  Livingston  county.  X.  Y.  Mr.  .\ustin  was  a  farmer  in  New 
York  and  there  his  death  occurred.  Mrs.  Morris'  grandfather,  James  Aus- 
tin, was  born  in  England,  and  upon  coming  to  the  United  States  settled  in 
Livingston  county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  ever  afterward  made  his  home.  Her 
mother's  death  occurred  there  also,  and  after  her  death  Mr.  Austin  married 
(second)  Elvira  Sage,  born  in  Wheatland,  N.  Y.,  who  died  in  Arkansas. 
Two  children  were  born  to  this  union,  one  of  whom  survives,  Mrs.  Eva 
Craig,  now  of  Bakersfield. 

Mrs.  Bell  A.  Morris  is  the  mother  of  one  child,  Charles  A.,  who  studied 
pharmacy  and  was  graduated  from  the  San  Francisco  Pharmaceutical  Col- 
lege, later  taking  up  the  study  of  medicine.  He  graduated  from  the  College 
if  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  San  Francisco  with  the  M.D.  degree  and  was 
later  connected  with  the  hospitals  and  practiced  his  profession  there.  Sub- 
sequently he  did  graduate  work  in  the  east  and  finally  went  to  Europe  to 
continue  his  studies,  upon  his  return  being  assistant  surgeon  at  the  Oelle- 
vue  Hospital  in  New  York  City.  He  was  duly  graduated  from  the  Belle- 
vue  Hospital  Medical  College  and  then  located  in  Bakersfield,  where  he  is 
engaged  in  practicing  medicine  and  surgery  with  gratifying  success.  The 
excellent  work  of  this  ycung  doctor  and  his  ability  and  unusual  fitness  for 
the  profession  he  has  chosen  evidence  the  fact  that  it  is  his  natural  life 
work. 

Before  his  death  Myron  Morris  was  a  stanch  Republican,  and  in  fra- 
ternal connection  was  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen. 
Mrs.  Morris  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star.  She  is  a  woman 
who  is  much  beloved,  and  her  kindly  influence  for  good  is  felt  by  all  who 
know  her. 

THOMAS  M.  SPACH.— .\  position  of  responsibility  with  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  at  Bakersfield  has  been  filled  by  Mr.  Spach  with 
such  fidelity  and  intelligence  as  to  win  the  commendation  of  superior  offi- 
cials and  to  prove  beyond  question  the  adaptability  of  the  man  to  the  task. 
The  gratifying  advancement  he  has  made  in  railroading  is  the  more  note- 
worthy by  reason  of  the  fact  that  in  youth  he  ftjllowed  another  occupa- 
tion and  thus  lacked  the  advantage  of  having  an  early  start  in  learning  the 
rudiments  of  railroading.  The  department  of  the  industry  to  which  he  has 
given  his  entire  time  and  attention  is  yard  work  and  there  he  speedily  rose 


1504  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

from  the  humblest  task  to  the  heavy  responsibilities  of  yardmaster,  in  which 
capacity  he  has  given  the  most  efficient  service  for  a  number  of  years. 

Born  at  Columbus  Grove,  Putnam  county,  Ohio,  September  23,  1869, 
Thomas  M.  Spach  is  a  son  of  the  .late  Leonard  L.  and  Catherine  (Swaley) 
Spiich,  natives  of  Ohio  and  lifelong  residents  of  that  state.  Shortly  after  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  war  Leonard  L.  Spach  volunteered  in  the  Union  service 
and  as  he  was  then  under  the  stipulated  age  for  regular  enlistment  he  was 
made  a  drummer  boy  in  Company  G,  Eighty-first  Ohio  Infantry,  with  which 
he  went  to  the  front  and  took  part  in  many  battles  of  importance.  For  a 
period  of  four  years  he  remained  in  the  army,  not  relinquishing  his  duties 
until  the  war  came  to  an  end  in  1865  and  he  then  returned  to  Ohio  to  take 
up  civic  pursuits.  Throughout  life  he  followed  the  trade  of  a  plasterer.  The 
interests  of  his  chcsen  occupation  led  him  to  remove  from  his  birthplace, 
in  Tuscarawas  county,  to  the  western  part  of  the  state,  where  for  a  consid- 
erable period  he  lived  in  Putnam  county.  The  hardships  and  exposures  in- 
cident to  army  life  injured  his  health  and  shortened  his  life,  which  came  to 
an  end  before  he  had  reached  old  age. 

The  only  member  of  the  parental  family  now  living  in  California  is 
Thomas  M.,  who  after  completing  high  school  studies  in  Ohio  came  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1887  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  For  two  years  he  served  an 
apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  a  coppersmith  in  San  Diego.  During  1889 
he  removed  to  Fresno  and  found  employment  at  his  trade,  remaining  for 
two  years  and  then  going  to  San  Francisco  to  continue  in  work  as  a  copper- 
smith. After  a  time  it  became  desirable  for  him  to  relinquish  his  occupation 
and  find  other  avenues  of  employment;  hence  he  returned  to  Chicago  and 
began  in  the  railroad  business,  his  first  position  being  that  of  a  switchman 
in  the  Erie  yards.  In  the  employ  of  that  railroad  company  he  held  different 
positions  in  Illinois  and  Indiana  and  worked  his  way  forward  to  be  yard- 
master  at  Huntington,  Ind..  but  resigned  the  position  in  1900  in  order  to 
return  to  California.  Coming  to  East  Bakersfield,  he  secured  work  as  a 
switchman  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railrrad  Company.  A  week  later  he 
was  made  switch  foreman.  After  three  months  he  was  promoted  to  be  night 
yardmaster  and  since  1907  he  has  served  as  general  yardmaster  of  the  Bak- 
ersfield yards  of  the  Southern  Pacific  road.  Giving  his  attention  closely  to 
the  many  details  connected  with  his  position,  he  has  found  little  leisure  for 
participation  in  public  affairs  and  takes  no  part  in  politics  aside  from  voting 
the  Republican  ticket  at  national  elections.  While  making  his  home  in  In- 
diana he  became  a  member  of  the  Maccabees  at  Huntington  and  took  a 
leading  part  in  lodge  work  as  long  as  he  remained  in  that  city.  Upon  com- 
ing to  Bakersfield  he  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  whom  he  had  married  in 
Kenton,  Ohio,  and  who  was  Miss  Fannie  Runkle,  a  native  of  Rawson,  Han- 
cock county,  that  state.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Lewis  and  Angeline  (Swo- 
yer)  Runkle,  natives  of  Ohio,  the  former  of  whom  passed  away  in  Rawson. 
Her  mother  is  now  living  in  Findlay,  aged  seventy-eight  years.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Spach  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Harold. 

HENRY  F.  BANKS.— Born  April  23,  1858,  in  Illinois,  Mr.  Banks  was 
brought  up  in  Kansas,  as  his  parents,  Willis  and  Eveline  (Thomas)  Banks, 
moved  to  Crawford  county,  that  state,  when  he  was  but  a  year  old.  He  re- 
mained at  school  there  until  he  was  fifteen  and  then  worked  on  farms 
up  to  the  time  he  came  west.  When  he  arrived  at  San  Francisco,  in  1878, 
he  was  twenty,  and  having  had  a  good  training  in  matters  concerning  the 
conduct  of  a  farm  he  procured  employment  in  Sonoma  county  at  general 
ranching  and  working  there  for  about  a  year  and  a  half,  then  coming  to 
Kern  county,  where  he  followed  farming  for  two  years.  He  then  went  to 
Auberry  valley,  Fresno  county,  having  become  familiar  enough  with  the 
enterprise    to    want    a    place    of    his    own,    and    he    and    his    brother    J.    A. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1505 

bought  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  that  valley.  Later  on  he  took 
up  a  homescead  of  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  engaged  in  stockraising, 
general  farming  and  the  cultivation  of  grain.  He  also  contracted  to  do 
teaming  and  hauling  for  a  short  time.  In  1900  he  decided  to  return  to  Kern 
county  and  accordingly  rented  eighty  acres  of  land  and  took  up  general 
farming  there,  in  1905  buying  the  place  of  twenty  acres  he  now  cultivares. 
For  this  land,  which  is  located  three  and  a  half  miles  southwest  of  Bakers- 
field,  he  paid  $100  per  acre,  and  it  is  now  valued  at  $500  an  acre.  This 
increase  in  the  value  of  his  property  is  due  to  the  improvements  which  he 
has  made,  and  the  careful,  conscientious  handling  of  the  details  of  con- 
ducing the  ranch. 

Mr.  Banks  married  in  Fresno,  December  22,  1884,  Lizzie  Bonner,  who 
was  born  in  Warren  county,  111..  April  14,  1861.  They  had  two  children, 
Ivory  P.,  a  farmer  near  Maricopa;  and  Ethel  B.,  who  was  Mrs.  R.  L. 
Green,  and  passed  away  in  February,  1911,  leaving  a  child,  Bernardine,  now 
with  her  grandparents.  With  his  wife  Mr.  Banks  is  a  member  of  the 
Christian  Church  in  Bakersfield.  In  fraternal  relations  he  unites  with  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World,  and  politically  he  is  a  Democrat. 

MRS.  MELVINA  JOHNSON.— .-Xbout  thirteen  miles  south  of  the  town 
of  Bakersfield,  on  section  nineteen,  is  situated  the  home  farm  of  Mrs.  Mel- 
vina  Johnson,  who  with  the  aid  of  her  two  sons,  John  A.  and  Ray  Johnson, 
is  conducting  the  place  on  such  prudent,  thorough  and  painstaking  lines  as 
to  procure  the  best  of  products.  To  a  woman  of  less  courage  the  hardships 
and  extreme  deprivations  to  be  endured  in  building  up  a  successful  course 
of  work  would  have  been  most  appalling,  but  Mrs.  Johnson  has  that  force 
of  character  and  strong  will  power  which  enabled  her  to  be  an  aid  to  her 
sons  in  improving  their  farm  and  in  the  cultivation  of  their  crops. 

The  wife  of  John  A.  Johnson,  she  became  the  mother  of  ten  children, 
all  of  whom  reflect  credit  upon  the  excellent  trainmg  which  she  has  given 
them,  and  though  her  duties  have  been  heavy  she  has  found  time  to  devote 
herself  to  them  regardless  of  her  own  comfort  and  giving  them  the  love 
and  care  which  only  a  mother  can  give.  She  is  the  daughter  of  R.  T. 
Baker,  pioneer  of  California  in  1857.  Her  mother,  Mary  A.  (Bailey)  Baker, 
had  come  to  California  in  1849  with  her  father,  Peter  Bailey.  Three  children 
were  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baker:  Melvina,  Mrs.  Johnson;  Frank  C, 
engaged  in  the  oil  business  in   Kern  county ;  and   Louisa,   deceased. 

I\lrs.  Johnson's  ten  children  are:  Laurel,  who  married  Joe  H.  Brown, 
a  farmer  of  Panama,  Kern  county;  Frank  and  Monte,  both  employed  in  the 
West  Side  Oil  Fields  as  well  drillers;  John  A.,  mentioned  below;  Lou,  the 
wife  of  W.  Bullock,  a  contractor  and  builder,  residing  in  McFarland,  Kern 
county;  Ray,  assisting  his  mother,  as  mentioned  below;  Ruth,  wife  of  H. 
Harmon,  in  West  Side  Oil  Fields;  Katie,  Gladys,  and  William.  Of  these 
John  A.  was  born  March  12,  1891,  in  Los  Angeles  county,  where  his  parents 
resided  for  some  time.  He  was  about  ten  years  of  age  when  his  parents 
removed  to  Kern  county,  and  he  has  proved  faithful  in  his  duty  to  his 
mother,  aiding  her  in  the  conduct  of  the  farm  and  being  most  solicitous  ot 
her  comfort.  With  his  brother  Ray,  who  was  also  born  in  Los  Angeles 
countv,  he  is  tenderly  caring  for  her  and  her  interests,  and  they  are  men 
who  hold  the  esteem  of  all  who  know  them  for  their  sterling  worth  and  ex- 
cellent character.  In  politics  they  are  both  Republicans.  Their  farm  con- 
sists of  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  fortv  of  which  they  own,  having  rented 
the  remaining  hundred  and  twenty  which  is  located  on  Kern  Island  Road. 
G.  F.  ADAMS.- — The  twentieth  century  forms  an  era  of  specialization 
and  in  no  avenue  of  progress  has  this  fact  been  more  apparent  than  in  the 
mechanical  arts.  There  has  been  an  opening  for  every  man  possessing 
ability  in  the  handling  of  machinery  and  in  general  mechanical  work,  hence 
it  has  not  been  difficult  for  a  young  man  with  the  marked  ability  exhibited 


1506  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

by  Mr.  Adams  to  secure  and  hold  positions  of  responsibility  and  trust  in 
his  chosen  sphere  of  industrial  activity.  At  this  writing,  as  for  some  years 
preceding,  he  is  connected  with  the  Sunset  Monarch  Oil  Company  at  Mari- 
copa and  worthily  fills  an  important  place  as  foreman  of  the  machine 
shops,  in  this  position  taking  in  all  work  pertaining  to  the  various  depart- 
ments of  the  oil  company's  large  business,  besides  also  doing  custom  work 
for  other  oil   concerns   in   the   field. 

Born  in  Youngstown,  Ohio,  February  12,  1876,  G.  F.  Adams  is  a  son 
of  Peter  Adams,  a  lifelong  resident  of  Mahoning  county,  Ohio,  and  a 
grandson  of  Hilgarde  Adams,  who  about  the  year  1832  left  his  native  land 
of  Germany  to  identify  his  fortunes  with  those  of  the  new  world.  It  was 
he  who  established  the  family  in  Ohio  and  he  followed  agricukural  pursuits, 
as  did  also  his  son,  Peter.  The  latter  was  the  father  of  ten  children,  all 
of  whom  attained  mature  years  and  nine  still  survive.  The  only  one  taken 
from  the  family,  Edward  Adams,  died  in  1912  after  a  prosperous  period  of 
identification  with  the  wheat-raising  industry  in  Saskatchewan,  Canada. 
Those  still  living  are  scattered  throughout  different  parts  of  the  United 
States.     Two  of  the  brothers  are  carpenters  in   L.os  Angeles. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  years  G.  F.  Adams  became  an  apprentice  to  the 
trade  of  machinist  in  Youngstown,  where  he  worked  for  four  and  one-half 
years  in  the  American  Tube  and  Iron  Works.  At  the  expiration  of  that 
time  he  became  a  machinist  with  the  Smith  Brewing  Company  and  con- 
tinued in  the  employ  of  that  organization  for  two  and  one-half  years.  Upon 
leaving  Ohio  he  went  to  South  Dakota  and  settled  at  Edgemont,  Fall  River 
county.  As  a  machinist  in  the  shops  of  the  Burlington  Railroad  Company 
he  remained  for  a  number  of  years  and  from  there  during  1902  he  came  to 
California.  In  this  state  his  first  position  was  in  the  Bakersfield  Iron  Works, 
where  he  remained  for  four  years.  Removing  to  Coalinga  in  1906,  he  en- 
gaged with  the  Bunting  Iron  Works  and  continued  in  various  capacities 
with  that  concern  for  two  years,  his  special  work,  however,  being  on  the 
pumps.  From  Coalinga  he  came  to  Maricopa  in  1908  and  secured  a  position 
with  the  Sunset  Monarch  Oil  Company,  in  whose  employ  he  remains  at 
the  present  time. 

FRED  ABELS.— One  of  the  capable  operators  in  the  West  Side  oil 
field  is  the  superintendent  of  the  La  Blanc  Oil  Company,  who  although 
young  in  years  has  been  earning  his  own  way  in  the  world  for  a  goodly 
number  of  years  and  has  gained  popularity  and  a  record  for  efficiency  in  the 
oil  business.  Combined  in  his  character  are  the  sturdy  attributes  of 
Teutonic  ancestors  and  the  energj'  so  essentiall}'  American.  These  qualities 
have  aided  him  in  his  efforts  to  make  good  in  the  Kern  county  fields,  where 
since  March  25,  1911,  he  has  been  retained  as  superintendent  with  the  Le 
Blanc  Oil  Company,  an  organization  operating  on  section  6,  11-23,  where 
two  wells  have  been  sunk  that  produce  an  average  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
barrels  per  day. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Abels  were  Martin  and  Emma  (Leursen)  Abels, 
natives  of  Germany,  but  residents  of  Illinois  from  early  life  until  about  1886, 
when  they  removed  to  the  Ozark  region  of  Missouri.  At  the  opening  of  the 
Civil  war  the  father  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Thirteenth  Illinois  Infaniry, 
accompanied  his  regiment  to  the  front  and  remained  for  four  years,  receiving 
an  honorable  discharge  at  the  expiration  of  the  war.  Later  he  was  ap- 
pointed successively  to  several  important  government  positions.  On  ac- 
count of  the  failure  of  his  health  he  removed  to  Missouri  and  settled  in 
Texas  county,  where  he  was  greatly  benefited  by  the  pure  air  of  the  Ozarks. 
While  still  living  in  Illinois  he  had  married  Miss  Leursen  and  all  of  their 
nine  children  were  born  in  that  state,  namely:  John,  now  a  farmer  in  Texas 
county,  Mo. ;  Henry,  who  holds  a  very  responsible  position  as  secretary  ot 
the  Franklin  Life  Insurance  Company  at  Springfield,  111.;  Martin,  a  printer 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1507 

employed  in  Oklahoma  City ;  Giis,  who  is  engaLCed  in  L^ciieral  farming  near 
New  Sharon,  Iowa;  Amelia,  who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years;  Herman, 
an  employe  of  the  Franklin  Life  Insurance  Company;  Emma,  who  married 
Walter  Jadwin,  who  is  engaged  in  educational  work  at  Houston,  Mo.,  and 
also  owns  farm  lands  in  the  same  locality;  Fred,  who  was  born  in  Spring- 
field, 111.,  June  12,  1882,  and  at  the  age  of  four  years  accompanied  the  family 
to  Missouri;  and  James,  who  is  connected  with  the  Franklin  Life  Insurance 
Company  as  an  employe. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  having  previously  completed  the  studies 
of  the  common  schools  in  the  Ozark  region,  Fred  Abels  began  to  earn  his 
own  livelihood.  After  working  for  twelve  months  in  Arkansas  he  spent  a 
number  of  years  in  Colorado  and  then  made  a  brief  sojourn  in  Oklahoma, 
whence  he  came  to  California,  arriving  in  Bakersfield  January  23,  1905. 
His  first  experience  in  the  oil  business  was  acquired  in  the  Kern  river  field 
and  for  a  time  he  worked  on  the  Peerless  under  the  superintendent,  Angus 
Crites.  The  next  year  found  him  at  Coalinga,  but  in  three  months  he  re- 
turned to  Kern  county  and  resumed  work  on  the  Peerless.  Coming  to  Mari- 
copa April  3,  1907,  he  secured  work  as  a  roustabout,  much  of  his  cime  being 
devoted  to  the  driving  of  a  team.  From  that  humble  position  he  worked  his 
way  up  until  he  engaged  successively  as  tool-dresser  and  driller,  and  then, 
March  25,  1911,  came  to  his  present  place  as  superintendent  of  the  Le  lilanc 
Oil  Company.  At  Bakersfield,  February  13,  1909,  he  married  Miss  Marie 
Mcintosh,  daughter  of  Daniel  and  Romana  ]\IcIntosh,  of  Ramona,  San 
Diego  county,  Cal.  Mrs.  Abels  is  a  woman  of  gracious  personality,  repre- 
senting on  her  mother's  side  an  old  and  honored  Spanish  family  of  Cali- 
fornia.    Their  union  has  been  blessed  by  a  daughter,  Barbara  Romana. 

J.  M.  WHYTE. — Large  executive  ability  and  unusual  powers  of  organi- 
zation have  marked  the  identification  of  Mr.  Whyte  with  the  Panama  Oil 
Company,  in  which  he  is  a  large  stockholder  and  of  whose  lease  in  the 
Sunset  field  he  acts  as  superintendent.  The  company's  lease  of  sixty  acres 
lies  on  section  30,  12-23,  and  contains  two  wells,  one  of  which,  drilled  by 
Mr.  Whyte  from  the  surface  down,  has  produced  continuously  excepting 
for  one  month,  when  extensive  repairs  had  to  be  made  by  reason  of  the 
collapsing  of  the  casing.  The  head  offices  of  the  company  are  in  the  H.  W. 
Hellman  building,  Los  Angeles,  and  its  officers  reside  in  that  city,  namely: 
J.  B.  Hedrick,  president;  C.  F.  Spelman,  vice-president;  J.  S.  Wallace,  sec- 
retary; and  A.  M.  Allison,  treasurer. 

Throughout  early  life  Mr.  ^^^^yte  was  familiar  with  gold  mining  and 
his  knowledge  of  that  industry  is  thorough  and  covers  many  fields.  Born 
in  Kansas  City.  Mo.,  March  22,  1880,  he  was  twenty-four  years  old  when  his 
father  died.  Prior  to  that  he  and  his  three  sisters  accompanied  their  parents 
to  Colorado,  settling  at  Silver  Clif¥,  where  the  elder  \\'hyte  engaged  in 
gold-mining  and  where  he  himself  became  familiar  with  such  work.  In 
the  intervals  of  attendance  at  school  he  found  employment  in  the  mines 
and  gained  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  work.  During  1903  he  went 
to  the  Goldfield  and  Tonopah  regions  in  Nevada,  where  he  bought  a  number 
of  gold  mines  and  for  a  time  prospered  in  the  work.  The  mines  were  sold 
to  excellent  advantage  and  the  money  re-invested  in  other  claims.  Unfor- 
tunately he  met  with  heavy  losses  during  the  panic  of  1907  and  while  he 
was  able  to  meet  his  obligations  it  left  him  without  money,  forcing  him 
to  begin  anew.  It  was  then  that  he  came  to  Kern  county  and  began 
to  work  as  a  roustabout  in  the  North  Midway  field.  In  a  short  time  he 
became  an  employe  of  the  LTnited  Oil  Company  and  by  swift  degrees  worked 
up  until  he  had  charge  of  the  production.  Aleanwhile  he  attracted  the 
attention  of  C.  F.  Whittier.  of  the  LTnited  Oil  Company,  who  interested 
himself  in  the  young  man's  advancement,  having  found  him  to  be  alert, 
wise,  energetic  and  capable.     During  1910  he  became  a  stockholder  in   the 


1508  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Panama  Oil  Company  and  since  then  he  has  acted  as  superintendent  of  the 
company's  lease,  having  charge  both  of  the  drilHng  and  the  production  of 
the  wells. 

It  is  anticipated  that  the  Panama  will  become  one  of  the  best  producers 
in  the  field  providing  the  strong  underflowing  current  of  water  can  be  shut 
off  effectually  by  means  of  cementing.  Eight  capable  men  are  employed 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Whyte,  who  gives  his  entire  time  to  the  work 
and  with  his  wife,  whom  he  married  in  August  of  1911  and  who  was  Miss 
Josephine  Omphalius,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  he  makes  his  home  on  the  lease 
in  the  Sunset  field.  While  still  living  in  Colorado  he  became  connected 
with  the  Elks  at  Creede,  but  since  coming  to  California  his  time  has  been 
given  so  closely  to  the  oil  industry  that  he  has  not  been  able  to  participate 
actively  in  fraternal  affairs. 

J.  J.  TEAGUE. — No  slight  responsibility  devolves  upon  Mr.  Teague  in 
his  position  as  foreman  of  the  refinery  of  the  Sunset  Monarch  Oil  Company 
at  Maricopa,  the  organization  with  which  he  has  been  associated  for  some 
years  ranking  among  the  largest  and  most  important  in  the  entire  field. 
Skilled  workmen  are  retained,  none  of  whom,  however,  are  more  capable  or 
conscientious  than  Mr.  Teague,  who  with  the  aid  of  the  twenty  men  work- 
ing under  him  manages  the  refinery  with  energy,  discretion  and  excellent 
judgment.  The  cooper  shops  of  the  company  are  also  under  his  immediate 
supervision.  When  running  on  heavy  oils  the  refinery  turns  out  fifty-five 
tons  of  asphalt  of  the  Monarch  brand.  The  output  is  less  when  running 
on  lit'ht  gravity  oil.  Aside  from  asphalt  there  are  two  other  leading 
products,  known  as  Monarch  red  engine  distillate  and  Monarch  pale  oil 
distillate,  both  of  which  are  shipped  out  in  tank  cars.  Every  equipment  has 
been  provided  for  the  making  of  gasoline  also,  although  the  enterprise  has 
not  yet  been  made  a  feature  of  the  business.  Eight  hundred  barrels  of 
crude  oil  are  used  each  day,  ample  facilities  for  the  same  being  provided 
by  a  storage  tank  with  a  capacity  of  twenty  thousand  barrels. 

Born  at  Winston-Salem,  Forsyth  county,  N.  C,  August  3,  1885,  J.  J. 
Teague  was  third  among  the  nine  children  comprising  the  family  of  Charles 
M.  and  Sarah  (Idol)  Teague,  natives  of  North  Carolina,  where  the  father 
has  followed  farming  as  a  life  occupation.  The  son  was  sent  to  the  public 
schools  when  his  help  was  not  needed  on  the  home  farm.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  he  came  to  California  and  secured  employment  with  the 
Cucamonga  winerv  in  San  Bernardino  county.  For  three  years  he  con- 
tinued as  an  employe  of  the  California  Wine  Association.  Next  he  came 
to  Kern  county  during"  1906  and  began  to  work  with  the  Sunset  Road  Oil 
Company  at  Hazelton  (Pioneer  postofifice),  where  he  remained  for  two  and 
one-half  years.  A  visit  to  his  old  home  in  North  Carolina  was  followed  by 
a  return  to  California  and  a  resumption  of  work  in  the  oil  fields.  After  two 
months  with  the  Standard  Oil  Company  at  Taft,  Kern  count}',  he  came  to 
Maricopa  and  secured  employment  as  stillman  with  the  Sunset  Monarch 
Oil  Company.  Later  he  was  made  yard  foreman  and  in  1909  he  was  pro- 
moted to  be  superintendent  of  the  refinery.  While  with  the  Sunset  Road 
Oil  Company  he  had  learned  the  distilling  of  oil  and  this  knowledge  proved 
of  the  greatest  benefit  to  him  in  later  activities-.  Shortly  after  New  Year's 
of  1912  he  returned  to  North  Carolina  and  there,  February  4,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  IMiss  l\Tagdaline  Glascoe,  a  daughter  of  D.  P.  Glascoe, 
prominently  known  among  the  farmers  of  Davidson  county,  that  state. 
The  young  couple  came  to  California  shortly  after  their  marriage  and  have 
since  established  themselves  in  a  comfortable  cottage  on  the  Monarch  lease, 
fhey  have  a  daughter,  Millicent. 

ALMANDO  BANDETTINI. — When  Mr.  Bandettini  started  in  business 
at  Asphalto,  now  McKittrick,  his  was  the  first  building  and  business:  the 
only  water  obtainable  was  hauled  in  from  Santa  Mona  spring,  seven  miles 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1509 

away,  and  cost  Mr.  Bandettini  $8  per  barrel.  Such  were  the  conditions  in 
those  early  days  when  Almando  was  mine  host  at  the  Old  Headquarters 
and  made  many  a  heart  glad  with  his  cheer  and  optimism  and  the  comforts 
of  life.  He  was  the  first  setder  and  business  man  in  McKittrick  and  became 
well  and  favorably  known  among  all  the  oil  men. 

Lucca,  Italy,  is  the  birthplace  of  Mr.  Bandettini  and  September  21,  1867, 
the  date  of  his  birth.  He  is  the  son  of  Pasquale  and  Angelina  (Ouilice) 
Bandettini,  who  were  farmers  there.  They  now  live  in  a  beautiful  house  in 
the  suburbs  of  Lucca,  a  place  purchased  for  them  by  Almando  on  his  visit 
there  in  1911.  at  a  cost  of  $6,000,  and  where  he  provides  them  with  the 
comforts  of  life.  They  are  now  eighty-nine  and  eighty-four  years  old,  re- 
spectively. 

Of  the  seven  children  born  to  them  the  subject  of  this  review  is  the 
third  oldest  and  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  in  Italy  and  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  there.  Having  heard  and  read  much  concerning  Cali- 
fornia he  became  possessed  of  a  keen  desire  to  come  to  the  Golden  West. 
Having  saved  enough  money  to  get  to  Chicago,  in  the  spring  of  1885  he 
started  for  that  city,  where  a  sister  was  living.  Securing  employment,  he 
laid  aside  his  wages  and  thus  made  his  way  to  Kansas  Ci'y  and  thence  to 
Nevada,  working  mostly  on  railroads.  In  September,  1885,  he  arrived  in 
Santa  Barbara,  where  for  four  months  he  was  employed  on  Santa  Cruz 
Island,  then  at  dififerent  points  on  the  coast,  ranching.  In  IS^'Z  he  came  to 
Kern  county  and  entered  the  emplov  of  Miller  &  Lux  at  the  Old  Headquar- 
ters, afterwards  at  Firebaugh.  In  1898  he  established  the  Old  Headquarters 
Hotel  at  Asphalto,  now  McKittrick,  and  when  the  oil  business  began  to 
develop  he  built  shacks  and  put  up  tents,  cared  for  the  people  and  furnished 
them  accommodations.  He  is  well  acquainted  with  the  oil  men  of  Kern 
county.  In  1902,  when  the  Southern  Pacific  started  selling  lots  at  their 
new  station  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below  his  first  hotel  he  purchased 
eight  lots  and  built  the  new  Headquarters  Hotel  and  liverv  and  feed  stable  and 
corral  and  continued  doing  a  very  successful  business  there  until  1910,  when 
he  sold  out. 

During  these  years  he  has  been  considerably  interested  in  oil  develop- 
ment. Amone  other  companies  he  and  H.  S.  Williams  sunk  a  well  on  section 
18,  in  the  McKittrick  field,  and  at  ten  hundred  and  thirty  feet  struck  oil,  sub- 
sequently putting  down  four  more  wells  and  producing  oil  until  thev  sold  it. 
Mr.  Bandettini  still  owns  about  two  hundred  acres  of  land  in  the  McKittrick 
field  and  sees  a  big  future  for  the  oil  business  in  California. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Bandettini  and  Marguerite  Arrighi  was  celebrated 
in  San  Francisco  April  20,  1903.  i\Irs.  Bandettini  was  born  in  Lucca.  Italy, 
and  came  with  her  parents  when  four  years  old  to  San  Francisco,  where  she 
received  her  education  in  Presentation  convent  school.  Thev  are  the  parents 
of  two  children.  Hazel  and  Edith.  In  1900  Mr.  Bandettini  made  his  first 
trip  to  the  old  home  in  Italy  and  in  1911  with  his  wife  and  children  he  made 
the  second  trip,  spending  about  seven  months,  and  during  this  time  purchased 
and  improved  the  comfortable  home  for  his  parents,  where  they  are  spending 
their  declining  years  in  comfort,  quiet  and  peace.  Politically  he  is  a  staunch 
and  ardent  Republican. 

EDGAR  E.  SHERWOOD.— One  of  the  best  known  breeders  of  fine 
horses  in  Kern  county  is  Edgar  E.  Sherwood,  of  McFarland.  Mr.  Sherwood 
was  born  in  Shelburn,  Sullivan  county,  Ind.,  May  3.  1869,  and  was  educated 
in  Indiana  public  schools  and  at  the  LTniversity  of  Indiana  at  Vincennes. 
Living  with  his  parents,  he  worked  nn  ranches  near  his  boyhood  home  until 
1897,  when  he  came  to  California  and  entered  the  emnloyment  of  A.  B.  Chap- 
man in  Los  Angeles  county.  For  six  months  he  had  charge  of  the  dairy,  tlim 
began  his  connection  with  the  orange  industry.  He  was  eventually  advanced 
to  the  position  of  superintendent  of  the  Chapman  place,  in  which  capacity  he 


1510  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

served  twelve  years,  having  complete  charge  of  the  ranch  as  well  as  packing 
and  shipping  of  oranges.  During  this  time  he  had  purchased  five  acres  of  land 
in  Pasadena.  During  these  years  he  filled  the  offices  of  deputy  sheriff  and 
deputy  constable.  Some  time  later  he  sold  his  property  in  Pasadena  and  in 
1907  bought  four  hundred  acres  at  McFarland,  Kern  county,  two  years  later 
locating  on  it.  This  land  was  the  old  Benson  place,  two  hundred  and  forty 
acres  of  which  were  then  under  cultivation,  and  his  purchase  included  water 
rights.  Since  purchasing  the  land  he  has  sunk  deep  wells  and  put  in  a  pump- 
ing plant  with  a  capacity  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  inches.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  alfalfa  occupied  his  attention  for  a  time,  then  he  became  interested  in 
the  breeding  of  Holstein  cattle,  Poland  China  hogs  and  German  Coach  horses. 
While  in  Southern  California  he  had  begun  raising  standard  horses  and  im- 
ported a  stallion,  "Lubins  Kanitz,"  already  a  prize  winner  in  Germany,  which 
has  since  won  important  awards  in  America,  notably  in  Kansas,  at  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  and  at  the  international  fair  held  at  Chicago.  He  breeds  par- 
ticularly draft  horses  and  is  a  member  of  the  McFarland  Horse  Breeders 
Company  who  own  "Helot,"  an  imported  Percheron  stallion,  Mr.  Sherwood 
serving  as  secretary  and  manager  of  the  company.  Some  horses  he  has 
raised  have  brought  as  much  as  $4,000  each,  among  them  the  noted  "Bessie 
Barnes,"  and  he  is  at  this  time  the  owner  of  some  of  the  finest  stock  in  Kern 
county,  among  them  "Cresindo  B,"  a  full  brother  to  "Capa  de  Ora"  whose 
record  is  1.59. 

Mr.  Sherwood  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  McFarland  Co-operative 
Creamery  Company,  in  which  he  is  a  stockholder  and  director,  and  he  has  from 
time  to  time  been  identified  with  other  important  interests.  As  a  citizen  he 
is  influential  in  public  affairs  and  he  is  ably  filling  the  offices  of  trustee  of 
schools  and  deputy  constable  at  McFarland. 

Mr.  Sherwood  was  married  near  Lawrenceville,  Lawrence  county.  111., 
March  31,  1889,  to  Miss  Florence  E.  Newell,  a  native  of  that  county,  where 
she  was  graduated  from  the  Lawrenceville  high  school.  They  have  three 
children:  Adley,  who  is  farming  the  old  place  at  McFarland;  Harvey  and 
Carrie,  still  at  home.  Fraternally  the  father  affiliates  with  the  Woodmen 
of  the  World  and  was  made  a  Mason  in  Delano  Lodge,  No.  309,  F.  &  A.  M. 
With  his  wife  he  is  a  member  of  the  Eastern  Star,  and  she  is  a  member  of  the 
Women  of  Woodcraft.  Mr.  Sherwood  was  one  of  the  organizers  and  is  a  direc- 
tor in  the  First  National  Bank  of  McFarland. 

PETER  DORAN.— Born  in  County  Down.  Ireland,  in  1857,  until  he 
was  fifteen  years  old  Peter  Doran  attended  the  public  schools  near  the  home 
of  his  childhood.  Well  grounded  in  the  principles  underlying  good  citizenship 
and  instructed  in  useful  labor,  he  was  fairly  well  fitted  to  undertake  the 
responsibilities  of  life  in  a  new  land,  and  when  he  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1882  he  located  in  the  vicinity  of  Delano,  Cal.  At  that  time  the  country 
was  new  and  undeveloped  and  there  was  not  a  house  within  ten  miles  of  the 
present  town.  After  following  general  farming  for  four  years,  in  1889  he 
bought  sheep  and  started  in  business  for  himself  as  a  sheep-raiser.  Later  he 
sold  his  stock  and  engaged  in  the  sale  of  lumber,  feed  and  fuel  at  Delano, 
which  was  by  that  time  a  thriving  village,  and  his  was  the  first  lumber  yard 
in  the  place.  Since  selling  the  business  to  the  proprietor  of  the  Union  Lumber 
yard  he  has  been  variously  engaged :  At  one  time  draying  and  teaming  com- 
manded his  energies;  he  was  interested  in  an  ice  plant;  he  owned  a  saloon 
and  soda  fountain ;  and  is  now  the  proprietor  of  the  Pioneer  feed  and  fuel 
yard,  which  is  located  on  the  site  formerly  occupied  by  his  lumber  yard.  At  one 
time  he  owned  the  land  upon  which  the  bank  of  Delano  is  now  located,  and  he 
is  regarded  as  one  of  the  largest  property  owners  in  his  home  town.  As  a 
citizen  he  has  been  public-spiritedly  helpful  to  every  promising  local  interest, 
energetically  doing  everything  possible  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  town.     In 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1511 

1891  and  in  1892  he  filled  the  office  of  constable,    hrateinally  he  affiliates  with 
the  Knights  of  Columbus. 

PHILIP  M.  DAVIS. — \Vhen  scarcely  old  enough  to  understand  the  work 
done  in  the  machine  .shop  of  his  father,  he  enjoyed  no  greater  pleasure  than 
that  of  watching  the  men  at  work.  To  him  the  repairing  of  broken  machinery, 
the  putting  together  of  different  parts,  seemed  a  far  more  interesting  process 
than  that  of  attempting  to  memorize  dry  facts  in  the  text-books  of  the  schools. 
His  father,  Philip  Davis,  carried  on  a  machine  shop  in  Fo.xburg,  Pa.,  and 
taught  the  lad  to  develop  his  natural  ability,  so  that  at  the  expiration  of  an  ap- 
prenticeship he  had  a  thorough  comprehension  of  the  trade  of  mechanic. 
Throughout  early  life  he  made  his  home  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was  born 
at  Parker's  Landing,  Armstrong  county,  June  24,  1874,  and  where  he  received 
a  grammar-school  education.  The  quiet  round  of  attendance  at  school  and 
work  in  the  shop  filled  the  days  of  youth. 

Upon  leaving  the  east  Mr.  Davis  first  went  to  Arizona  and  spent  two 
years  at  Winslow  as  a  mechanic  in  the  Santa  Fe  shops.  From  that  place  he  re- 
moved to  Tucson,  in  the  same  state,  where  he  remained  for  seven  years  as  a 
mechanic  in  the  Southern  Pacific  machine  shops.  During  1907  he  came  to 
California  for  the  purpose  of  entering  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad  shops  at 
Bakersfield  and  there  he  continued  for  several  years.  Meanwhile  he  had 
studied  the  field  and  had  become  convinced  that  Taft  offered  an  excellent 
opening  for  a  machine  shop.  Accordingly  he  formed  a  partnership  with  an 
acquaintance  under  the  firm  name  of  Davis  &  Elliott  and  in  191 1  built  a 
machine  shop  in  South  Taft.  During  May  of  1912  he  bought  out  the  interest 
of  his  partner,  since  which  time  he  has  been  the  sole  owner  and  with  the 
assistance  of  three  skilled  mechanics  carries  on  his  business  in  a  shop  well 
equipped  with  modern  machinery.  In  the  oil  fields  he  is  known  as  a  skilled 
mechanic,  accurate  in  workmanship,  prompt  in  the  filling  of  orders  and  de- 
pendable for  efficiency  in  every  contract.  Before  leaving  Pennsylvania  he 
was  made  a  Mason  in  a  blue  lodge  in  Pittsburg  and  later  he  was  raised  to  the 
chapter  and  Knights  Templar  degrees  in  Arizona,  where  also  he  became  identi- 
fied with  the  Shriners  of  Phoenix.  When  he  came  to  California  he  was  accom- 
panied bv  Mrs.  Davis,  formerly  Miss  Angie  Hutchinson,  of  Kane,  Pa.,  and 
they  have  established  a  comfortable  home  in  Taft,  where  they  have  a  large 
circle  of  warm  personal  friends. 

JOSEPH  W.  OVERALL.— Prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war  his 
sympathies  had  been  aroused  in  behalf  of  the  slaves,  this  feeling  on  his  part 
being  an  inherited  opinion  from  his  mother,  Louisana  (DuvalJ)  Overall,  a 
descendant  of  French  ancestry  and  of  Revolutionary  stock.  On  the  other 
hand  the  father,  George  Washington  Overall,  was  a  slaveholder  and  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  stand  taken  by  the  southern  states,  although  he  adhered  to 
the  policy  favored  by  Henry  Clay  that  Kentucky  should  establish  gradual 
emancipation,  that  California  should  be  admitted  without  stipulations  con- 
cerning slavery  and  that  territorial  governments  should  not  be  restricted  by 
any  obligations  in  that  regard.  The  Overall  family  came  from  England  during 
the  colonial  era  and  settled  in  \'irginia,  where  they  migrated  across  the  moun- 
tains into  Kentucky  and  became  contemporaries  of  Daniel  Boone  in  the 
original  upbuilding  of  the  Blue  Grass  state. 

There  were  six  children  in  the  family  of  George  Washington  and  Louis- 
ana  (Duvall)  Overall,  namely:  James  B..  who  served  in  the  Union  army  imder 
Colonel  Pennybaker  as  a  member  of  the  Twenty-.seventh  Kentucky  Infantry; 
Joseph  W. ;  Gabriel  P..  now  living  in  Phoenix,  Ariz. ;  Annie,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  years  ;  Melinda  E.,  who  married  Frank  C.  Parepoint,  of  Hardin 
county.  Ky. ;  and  Susan  C,  Mrs.  Columbus  Clark,  who  settled  near  Canton, 
Mo.  After  the  mother  of  these  children  had  passed  away,  the  father  was 
again  married  and  by  the  second  union  he  became  the  parent  of  three  chil- 


1512  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

dren.  Born  near  Bardstown,  Nelsun  county.  Ky.,  March  20,  1844,  Joseph  W. 
Overall  passed  the  years  of  boyhood  in  his  native  locality  and  had  very 
meager  educational  opportunities.  In  February  of  1863,  when  a  little  less 
than  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  enlisted  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  Company  I  of  the 
Eleventh  Kentucky  Cavalry  for  three  years  or  during  the  war.  His  command 
was  known  at  Wclford's  cavalry  and  he  served  successively  under  Colonels 
Reiley,  Graham,  Holman  and  Major  Boyle.  Following  the  siege  of  Knox- 
ville,  in  which  he  served  under  Gen.  A.  E.  Burnside,  he  was  placed  under 
George  H.  Stoneman  in  the  celebrated  Stoneman's  cavalry  under  General 
Sherman  and  took  part  in  the  famous  march  through  Georgia  to  Atlanta  as  a 
member  of  the  First  Brigade,  First  Division,  Twenty-third  Army  Corps,  com- 
manded by  General  Scofield.  While  the  army  was  stationed  near  Kingston, 
Ga.,  in  1864  Mr.  Overall  was  commissioned  sergeant-major  and  served  as 
such  during  the  return  from  Atlanta  to  Louisville.  From  the  latter  city  a 
start  was  made  for  West  Virginia,  where  an  assault  was  begun  upon  the 
Kings  salt  works,  but  the  Union  men,  repulsed  with  severe  loss,  retreated  to 
Louisville  via  Lexingtcn.  Later  under  Stoneman  another  attack  was  made 
on  the  salt  works  and  this  raid  proved  successful,  for  the  plant  was  captured 
and  destroyed  by  the  Union  forces.  Following  the  later  return  to  Louisville 
the  young  soldier  was  confined  to  a  hospital  through  illness  and  after  he  had 
recovered  and  rejoined  the  regiment  he  aided  in  a  raid  thr>_ugh  North  Caro- 
lina and  Tennessee  during  April  and  May  of  1865.  His  last  service  consisted 
in  the  auditing  of  ot¥icers'  accounts  and  in  October,  1865,  he  received  an  hon- 
orable discharge  at  Louisville. 

The  war  ended,  Sergeant-Major  Overall  took  up  any  work  that  offered 
an  honest  livelihood  and  for  sume  time  he  was  employed  at  the  trade  of  a 
carpenter.  From  Kentucky  he  went  to  Kansas  during  the  spring  of  1868  and 
settled  in  Leavenworth,  where  he  worked  as  a  carpenter.  Afterward  he  took 
up  a  government  soldiers'  homestead  in  Harvey  county,  Kans.,  and  this  he 
proved  up  on  during  1873,  after  which  he  continued  to  cultivate  the  land  and 
make  it  his  home  until  the  fall  of  1889.  Selling  out  at  that  time  he  went  to 
Seattle,  Wash.,  and  from  there  in  February,  1890,  came  to  California,  arriving 
in  Bakersfield  on  the  30th  of  May.  Since  establishing  a  home  in  this  section  he 
has  made  many  friends.  He  has  never  married  and  at  this  writing  is  keeping 
"bachelor's  hall"  on  his  farm  of  ten  acres  on  Union  avenue  near  Bakersfield, 
where  he  raises  alfalfa  and  poultry.  Since  casting  his  first  vote  for  Abraham 
Lincoln  he  has  never  failed  to  support  the  candidates  of  the  Republican  party 
and  is  stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  party  principles.  Fraternally  a  master  Ma- 
son, he  belongs  to  the  Veteran  Masonic  Association.  For  years  he  has  been 
identi  ed  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  and  is  now  a  member  of  Hurl- 
burt  Pest  at  Bakersfield. 

MARCUS  B.  THOMAS  became  a  resident  of  California  in  1890,  when  he 
located  at  Traver,  Tulare  county.  Unfortunately,  on  account  of  the  condition 
of  the  soil,  the  agricultural  and  dairy  industries  did  not  thrive  and  he  removed 
to  Sanger,  where  for  two  years  he  was  employed  in  a  warehouse.  Then  for 
fourteen  years  he  was  in  the  Sanger  box  factory,  his  wtrk  being  principally 
around  the  engine,  thus  acquiring  the  knowledge  of  stationarj'  engineering. 
He  then  located  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  followed  the  trade  in  which  he 
had  become  proficient,  and  while  thus  engaged  he  also  became  interested  in 
and  was  proprietor  of  a  hotel  en  Folsom  street.  At  the  time  of  the  earth- 
quake and  fire  he  was  burned  out,  which  caused  the  loss  of  all  he  had.  He 
then  entered  ihe  employ  of  the  Santa  Fe  railroad  as  engineer  of  the  pumping 
plant  at  San  Pablo,  afterwards  holding  the  same  position  at  Richmond, 
Angiola  and  Ellensworth.  In  1906  he  came  to  Wasco  for  the  company  and 
since  then  has  had  charge  of  this  pumping  plant. 

Mr.  Thomas  was  born  in  Fostoria,  Ohio,  November  5,  1850,  and  when  two 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1513 

years  of  age  removed  with  his  parents  to  Hudson,  La  Port  county,  Ind.,  where 
he  was  reared  on  the  farm  and  received  his  education  in  the  local  schools. 
After  he  reached  his  majority  he  engaged  in  farming  his  father's  place  until 
1890,  when  he  came  to  California,  which  has  since  been  the  field  of  his 
endeavors.  He  was  married  in  Indiana  to  Miss  Ella  Barnes,  whose  death 
occurred  in  Sanger.  Of  their  union  were  born  two  children  :  Nellie,  Mrs.  Dyer, 
of  Soledad  and  Berna  O..  foreman  of  Madera's  box  factory  in  l'"resno.  Fra- 
ternally Mr.  Thomas  affiliates  with  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  while  in  national 
politics  he  is  a  Republican. 

LEROY  ALFRED  DENNEN.— Born  in  Pottawatomie  county,  Kans., 
January  14,  1883,  a  son  of  C.  L.  and  Mary  (Davis)  Dennen,  when  he  was  quite 
young  Leroy  Alfred  Dennen  of  Bakersficid  was  brought  to  Kern  c>  unty  by 
his  parents.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Bakersfield,  graduating 
from  the  Kern  county  high  school  in  1904,  and  worked  for  his  father  until 
he  was  twenty-three  years  old.  On  March  4,  1903,  he  married  Arta  May  Web- 
ster, who  was  born  August  19,  1888,  in  Henry  county,  Mo.,  and  who  has 
biTne  him  a  son,  Kenneth.  He  is  the  owner  of  seventy  acres  of  alfalfa  and 
grain  land  and  is  giving  successful  attention  to  general  farming. 

In  Oxford  county,  Me.,  C.  L.  Dennen  was  born  March  7,  1857.  In  that 
same  year  his  parents  settled  in  Brown  county,  Kans.,  and  when  he  was  four- 
teen years  old.  in  1871,  they  moved  to  P  ttawatomie  county,  that  state.  In 
1876  he  married  Miss  Mary  Davis,  of  the  same  county,  a  daughter  of  pioneers 
who  came  from  L  wa.  George  B.  Davis,  her  father,  died  about  thirty  years 
ago  and  her  mother,  who  was  Miss  Catherine  Taylor,  lives  at  Santa  Ana, 
Cal.  After  his  marriage  Mr.  Dennen  rented  a  farm  three  years  and  then 
became  the  owner  of  one  which  he  oyierated  until  1886.  when  he  came  to  Cali- 
fornia with  his  wife  and  five  children,  with  a  capital  of  only  $400,  arriving  in 
Bakersfield  in  December.  He  homesteaded  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of 
land  and  with  B.  F.  Stoner  as  a  partner  engaged  in  the  livery  business  at 
Bakersfield  for  s.  me  time.  In  due  time  he  proved  up  on  his  land  and  he  owns 
one-half  of  it  at  this  time.  He  rented  land  and  afterwards  bought  acreage  from 
the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  His  first  purchase  was  twenty  acres  at  ,?1200 
on  which  he  was  able  to  make  a  payment  of  only  $10.  He  now  owns  two 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  one  tract  and  eighty  in  another  and  a  fine  residence 
at  No.  1227  G  street,  Bakersfield,  where  he  is  now  living  retired  from  active  life, 
his  ranch  being  in  the  hands  of  his  son-in-law,  F.  W.  Silver. 

The  following  are  the  eight  children  of  C.  L.  and  Mary  (Davis)  Dennen  : 
Josephine  is  the  wife  of  James  Hosking,  living  in  Union  avenue,  Bakersfield; 
Charles  Richard,  a  bookkeeper  for  A.  F.  Stoner,  Bakersfield,  married  Libhie 
Hansen,  frcm  Placer  county;  George  Berry  married  Etta  Webster  of  Bakers- 
field: I  eroy  .Alfred  is  mentioned  above:  Millie  L.  is  the  wife  of  V.  W.  Silver; 
Lewis  W.  was  graduated  from  the  Kern  County  High  School  in  1910  and  is 
bookkeeper  for  the  Union  Oil  Company — he  married  Lucile  Sanders;  Mary 
Myrtle  is  a  graduate  of  the  Kern  County  High  School  class  of  1912;  Vernon  V. 
is  at  home.  L.  W.  Dennen.  father  .  f  C.  L.  Dennen,  enlisted  in  the  First  Regi- 
ment, Kansas  Infantry,  and  served  three  years  and  a  half  in  the  Union  army. 
Clara  B.  Andrews,  who  became  his  wife,  was  born  in  Oxford  county.  Me.,  a 
daughter  of  ("ant.  lohn  .\ndrews. 

PHARES  HARRY  SHANNON.— The  history  of  tlie  Shannon  family  in 
America  goes  back  to  early  Canadian  culimization.  Pharcs  H.  Shamii  n,  Sr., 
a  Canadian  bv  birth  and  parentage,  became  a  pioneer  of  Michi'jan  and  worked 
as  a  pattern-maker  in  Detroit  up  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  war.  Throughout  the 
entire  period  of  that  struggle  he  served  as  a  member  of  a  Michigan  regiment 
of  engineers  and  after  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  he  moved  fr(  m  Detroit 
to  Grand  Rapids,  where  he  followed  his  trade.  Later  he  and  his  wife,  who 
was  Frances  Godfrev.  a  native  of  Flint,  Mich.,  established  a  home  at  Ovid, 


1514  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Clinton  county,  Mich.,  and  there  a  son,  Phares  Harry,  was  born  September  26, 
1879.  The  opening  up  of  vast  timber  tracts  further  north  in  Michigan 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  father,  who  decided  to  take  up  a  homestead. 
With  that  purpose  in  view  he  went  to  Kalkaska  county  and  secured  a  timber 
claim,  which  he  cleared  of  trees  and  stumps  and  placed  under  cultivation. 
There  his  death  occurred  in  1910,  when  he  was  seventy-five  years  of  age  and 
there  his  widow  is  still  making  her  home.  The  farm  is  now  owned  by  their 
two  youngest  sons,  William  and  Lewis.  The  eldest  son,  Charles,  is  living  at 
Lynchburg,  Va.,  and  the  second  son,  Fred,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty  years. 

The  rigorous  climate  and  the  hardships  of  pioneering  in  Michigan  did  not 
appeal  to  Phares  H.  Shannon  and  after  spending  two  years  at  Rexton,  in  the 
northern  peninsula  (from  1902),  where  he  was  in  the  employ  of  a  large  con- 
tracting firm,  he  came  to  California.  Arriving  in  Visalia,  in  May  of  1904,  in 
the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  since  July  of  1907  he 
has  been  an  employe  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company  on  Kern  island.  The 
following  year  he  was  promoted  to  be  foreman  of  the  ranch,  a  position  he  has 
since  filled.  Politically  he  votes  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  fraternally  he  holds 
membership  with  Kern  Lodge  No.  202,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the 
encampment  and  the  local  lodge  of  Rebekahs. 

W.  S.  SEYMOUR,  contractor  and  builder,  with  main  ofifice  at  Taft, 
is  well  known  throughout  Kern  county.  Althi  ugh  engaged  in  business  here 
for  only  a  bjief  period,  Mr.  Seymour  has  established  a  reputation  for  trust- 
worthy work;  to  his  credit  also  there  is  along  record  for  successful  work  in 
many  parts  of  the  country,  where  he  had  practical  experience  in  the  erection 
of  large  schoolhouses,  substantial  government  buildings,  court-houses  and 
other  structures. 

An  early  thorough  experience  in  carpentering  came  to  Mr.  Seymour  un- 
der the  wise  training  of  his  father,  whose  skill  is  in  evidence  in  a  large  num- 
ber of  houses  and  bridges  at  Great  Barrington,  Mass.  That  city  was  the  native 
place  and  early  home  of  W.  S.  Seymour,  whose  birth  occurred  May  25,  1861, 
and  whose  education  was  gained  largely  in  the  great  school  of  experience  and 
hard  work.  As  soon  as  old  enough  to  use  tools  he  was  taught  the  prin- 
ciples of  carpentering.  After  he  had  worked  in  many  buildings  in  his  native 
commonwealth,  in  1887  he  left  home  to  follow  his  trade  in  other  states.  From 
that  time  until  he  came  to  Bakersfield  in  January,  1909,  he  visited  many  states, 
worked  in  almost  every  part  of  the  country,  and  became  a  thorough  master  of 
his  trade  through  holding  important  positions  in  the  construction  of  large 
public  buildings.  For  three  years  after  his  arrival  in  Bakersfield  he  engaged 
as  construction  foreman  with  C.  B.  Brown.  During  1910-11  he  had  charge  of 
the  construction  of  the  substantial  Conley  grammar-school  building  at  Taft, 
a  structure  erected  at  a  cost  of  $50,000  and  containing  every  equipment  known 
to  the  educational  world  of  the  present  day.  The  school  building  at  Fellows 
was  also  erected  under  his  personal  supervision.  The  Brundage  school  has 
been  erected  by  him  and  in  addition  he  had  the  contract  for  the  erection  of  a 
grammar-school  building  in  Taft,  a  brick  structure,  completed  at  a  cost  of 
$25,000  and  opened  for  the  fall  term  of  school  in  1913.  Among  the  other  build- 
ings to  the  credit  of  Mr.  Seymour  may  be  mentioned  the  Murphy  apart- 
ments on  Nineteenth  street,  Bakersfield.  Others  might  be  listed,  but  these  are 
sufficient  to  indicate  the  importance  of  his  contracts  and  his  ability  as  a 
builder.  Outside  of  building  circles,  as  Avithin,  he  has  a  host  of  warm  personal 
friends,  for  he  is  genial  in  temperament,  energetic  in  action  and  kindly  in 
disposition.    Fraternally  he  belongs  to  the  Loyal  Order  of  Moose. 

JOHN  WILTON.' — The  steadfast,  reliable  temperament  that  forms  one 
of  the  principal  characteristics  of  John  Wilton  has  been  evidenced  in  his  long 
identification  with  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  of  which  he  has  been  a 
trusted  employe  for  many  years  and  in  whose  interests  he  has  labored  with 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1515 

the  same  conscientious  devotion  and  unwearied  fidelity  lie  would  have  given 
to  his  own  afifairs.  His  Anglo-Saxon  ancestry  is  apparent  in  his  dignity  of 
manner,  breadth  of  character  and  the  care  with  which  he  discharges  all 
duties  connected  with  the  position  of  time-keeper  of  the  Kern  Island  Irrigation 
Canal  Company.  Since  coming  to  Kern  county  he  has  bought  property  and 
built  a  residence  at  No.  2024  Twentieth  street,  where  with  his  family  he  has 
a  comfortable  home  convenient  in  appointments  and  modern  in  equipment. 

The  \\'ilt(  n  family  comes  from  the  south  of  England.  John  C.  and  Ann 
fHoskin)  Wilton  were  natives  respectively  of  the  shires  of  Cornwall  and 
Devon  and  for  many  years  have  made  their  home  upon  a  farm  at  Buck- 
fastleigh,  where  the  former,  although  seventy  years  of  age,  is  still  active  in 
the  management  of  his  interests.  There  were  six  children  in  the  family  and 
the  eldest,  John,  the  only  one  of  the  six  to  come  to  America,  was  born  near 
Plymouth,  Devonshire,  England,  January  17,  1864.  After  he  had  completed  his 
schooling  he  worked  as  a  farmer  and  became  a  foreman  in  agriculture,  con- 
tinuing as  such  until  he  came  to  America.  Meanwhile  he  had  married  in 
Cornwall,  his  wife  being  Miss  Mary  Iloskings,  a  native  of  St.  Unv,  Lelant, 
Cornwall.  One  of  her  brothers,  James  Hoskings,  had  come  to  California  and 
was  living  in  Kern  county,  and  this  fact  induced  the  young  couple  to  try  their 
fortune  in  the  new  world.  March  13,  1890,  they  sailed  from  Liverpool  on  the 
Atruria,  which  cast  anchor  in  New  York  at  the  end  of  a  pleasant  voyage. 

Crossing  the  continent  they  proceeded  to  Bakersfield  and  settled  perma- 
nently in  Kern  county,  where  for  seven  years  Mr.  Wilton  worked  on  the  farm 
owned  by  his  brother-in-law  on  Union  avenue.  At  the  expiration  of  the  seven 
years  he  became  a  zanjero  on  the  system  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company, 
continuing  as  such  for  twelve  years,  when  he  was  promoted,  in  March  of  1908. 
to  be  time-keeper  of  the  Kern  island  canal.  The  details  of  irrigation  are 
familiar  to  him  and  he  thoroughly  understands  all  of  the  work  connected  with 
his  department.  W'hile  giving  his  time  and  attention  closely  to  the  duties  of 
the  position,  he  does  not  neglect  his  duty  as  a  citizen,  but  aims  to  kee-i  pi  sted 
concerning  all  movements  for  the  welfare  of  city  and  county.  In  politics  he 
votes  with  the  Democratic  party.  His  membership  was  formerly  in  the 
Church  of  England  and  after  coming  to  the  United  States  he  and  his  wife 
identified  themselves  with  the  Eniscopal  Church.  Their  family  consisted  of 
three  children,  two  now  living,  John  Henry  and  Frederick  George.  The  only 
daughter,  Blanche  H.,  died  when  five  months  old.  Mr.  Wilton  holds  member- 
ship with  Bakersfield  Ledge  No.  202,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  the  Independent  Order  of 
Foresters. 

GERARD  C.  La  MARSNA.— The  name  of  La  Marsna  indicates  French 
extraction  and  we  find  that  the  family  for  generations  lived  in  France  and 
became  established  in  Canada  during  the  period  of  immigration  from  their 
country  to  the  new  provinces  of  America.  James  Jeffrey  La  Marsna.  who  was 
of  Canadian  birth,  grew  to  manhood  in  ]\Iichigan  and  at  the  opening  nf  the 
Civil  war  oflfered  his  services  to  the  LTnion,  was  accepted  and  sent  to  the  front, 
where  he  served  as  aide-de-camp  to  his  general.  During  a  fierce  fight  in  the 
Cumberland  mountains  he  was  wounded  by  a  shot  from  the  enemy  and  lost  his 
left  leg,  which  greatly  incapacitated  him  in  his  subsequent  efTorts  to  earn  a 
livelihood.  Finally  the  government  appointed  him  as  a  deposition  agent  in  the 
pension  department.  About  1888  he  came  to  California  and  settled  on  a 
ranch  in  Tulare  county,  where  he  engaged  in  the  raising  of  grain  and  stock 
with  more  or  less  success.  His  death  occurred  on  the  ranch  in  1907.  Surviving 
him  is  his  widow,  who  was  Maria  Clough,  a  native  of  Massachusetts  and  now 
a  resident  of  Tulare. 

The  ])arental  family  comprised  eleven  children,  but  only  four  of  these 
attained  maturity  and  these  four  still  survive.  The  youngest  son  in  the  family, 
Gerard  Chastleline   La   Marsna.   was  born   at  Onaga,    Pottawatomie   countv. 


1516  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Kan.,  October  14,  1880,  and  was  two  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  the  removal 
of  the  family  to  Washington,  D.  C.  In  1885  another  removal  was  made,  the 
family  going  to  Irunton,  Lawrence  county,  Ohio,  whence  they  came  to  Cali- 
fornia three  years  later.  On  the  31st  of  January,  1888,  they  arrived  at  Tulare 
and  shortly  afterward  settled  on  a  ranch  near  Woodville  in  the  same  county. 
The  eight-year  old  boy  saw  much  to  interest  him  in  the  west  and  soon  became 
familiar  with  conditions  as  they  then  existed  in  Tulare  county,  where  he 
received  a  public-school  education.  He  can  scarcely  recall  when  he  first  began 
to  heli)  his  father.  From  an  early  age  he  was  taught  to  be  self-reliant  and 
helpful.  Much  of  his  work  was  the  driving  of  a  mule-team,  but  he  aided  in  other 
ways  on  the  home  ranch  and  on  other  farms. 

At  the  age  i  f  about  nineteen  years  Mr.  La  Marsna  began  at  the  bottom  in 
the  employ  of  the  Mount  Whitney  Power  Company,  his  first  work  being  in  the 
construction  department.  For  almost  ten  years  he  continued  with  the  same 
company  and  at  the  time  of  his  resignation  he  was  serving  as  district  superin- 
tendent of  the  Exeter  division.  During  July  of  1900  he  came  to  Bakersfield  as  an 
electrician,  tu  enter  the  employ  of  the  Power  Transit  and  Light  Company,  now 
absorbed  by  the  San  Joaquin  Light  and  Power  Corporation,  and  with  these  two 
concerns  he  has  continued  up  to  the  present  time,  having  since  February  10, 
1910,  filled  the  position  of  city  foreman  of  construction  and  has  given  his  time 
closely  to  his  duties.  He  holds  membership  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 
At  Porterville,  this  state,  January  8,  1905,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Nellie  A.  Gibson,  by  whom  he  has  two  children,  Fred  Gibson  and  Anna  Pauline. 
Mrs.  La  Marsna  was  born  in  Lamar,  Barton  county.  Mo.,  and  is  a  daughter  of 
Benjamin  Workman  and  Sarah  (Billings)  Gibson,  fur  many  years  farmers  of 
Missouri,  but  eventually  residents  of  California  where  Mr.  Gibson  died  at 
Porterville  and  where  his  widow  continues  to  make  her  home. 

A.  B.  ECHOLS. — Following  the  trend  of  migration  toward  the  west, 
A.  P.  Echols,  a  native  of  Georgia,  established  himself  in  Texas  and  earned  a 
liveliheod  as  a  carpenter,  but  before  he  had  been  able  to  lay  aside  any  consid- 
erable sum  for  the  support  of  his  family  he  was  taken  from  their  midst  by 
death,  leaving  the  little  children  without  means  for  their  education  and  up- 
bringing. Of  the  three  children  the  second,  A.  B.,  was  born  in  Corsicana,  Tex., 
March  7,  1887,  and  was  only  five  years  of  age  at  the  passing  of  his  father  in 
1892.  The  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Caroline  Pettigrew  and  who 
was  a  native  of  Missouri,  took  the  family  to  Oklahoma  in  1904  and  is  now 
making  her  home  with  one  of  her  daughters  at  Tulsa. 

Between  the  years  of  seventeen  and  twenty-one  A.  B.  Echols  served  an 
apprenticeship  to  the  machinist's  trade  with  the  American  Well  and  Pros- 
pecting Company  in  Oklahoma.  At  the  beginning  he  was  paid  $1  per  day.  The 
wages  were  gradually  increased  until  finally  he  received  $3.75  per  day.  After 
leaving  the  employ  of  the  Oklahoma  concern  he  came  to  California  in  1*^08  and 
settled  at  Coalinga,  where  he  engaged  with  the  Bunting  iron  works.  There, 
as  in  his  former  position,  he  soon  proved  the  value  of  his  work.  Leaving 
Coalinga  for  Taft  in  1912,  he  has  since  been  connected  with  the  General 
Petroleum  Company  and  now  fills  the  responsible  position  of  foreman  of  the 
machine  shon.  His  comfortable  home  in  Taft  is  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Echols, 
who  prior  to  their  marrias:e  at  Fort  Smith,  Ark.,  was  Miss  Hilda  Barry. 
During  the  period  of  his  residence  at  Coalinga  he  was  made  a  Mason  in  the 
blue  lodge  at  that  point  and  in  addition  he  identified  himself  with  the  Scottish 
Rite  Consistory  at  Fresno. 

GEORGE  DAVIS.— Many  of  California's  most  skilled  drillers  and  most 
successful  superintendents  come  from  Pennsylvania  and  that  is  likewise  the 
native  commonwealth  of  the  young  and  energetic  foreman  of  the  Reward  Oil 
Company,  operating  a  lease  on  section  26,  31-22.  Bradford  is  his  old  home 
town  and  July  26,  1882,  the  date  of  his  birth.    As  a  boy  he  became  familiar  with 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1517 

the  enormous  development  of  the  Bradford  oil  fields.  He  witnessed  the  excite- 
ment incident  to  the  striking  of  new  wells  and  felt  a  personal  pride  in  the  con- 
stant increase  in  production  which  was  the  record  made  by  that  district  in 
the  period  of  its  nascent  growth.  Sharing  the  general  interest  concerning  the 
business,  he  also  shared  its  toil,  privations  and  hardshi]3S,  and  learned  every 
phase  of  its  occupative  duties.  When  he  came  from  Pennsylvania  to  Cali- 
fornia in  1904  he  sought  the  Kern  river  field,  then  one  of  the  greatest  fields  in 
the  entire  country.  For  five  years  he  worked  on  various  leases  and  in  various 
capacities.  With  the  early  development  of  the  Midway  he  came  to  Moron,  now 
known  as  Taft.  For  six  months  he  worked  as  a  driller  on  the  Mascot  lease 
and  then  went  into  the  service  of  the  Operators  Oil  Company  at  McKittrick. 

To  take  up  the  work  of  driller  Mr.  Davis  came  to  the  North  Midway  in 
1910  and  the  following  year  he  was  made  foreman  of  the  Reward,  formerly 
the  Result  Oil  Company,  which  now  has  connection  with  the  Reward  at  Mc- 
Kittrick. Drilling  was  first  started  on  the  lease  in  April,  1910,  so  that  he  has 
been  connected  with  the  work  from  the  very  t  utset,  and  it  is  a  source  of 
pride  to  him  that  there  has  been  a  constant  and  profitable  development  and 
that  there  are  now  two  productive  wells,  flowing  one  hundred  and  seventy 
barrels  every  twenty-four  hours  and  producing  oil  of  19.4  gravity.  As  foreman 
Mr.  Davis  is  expeditious,  energetic  and  justly  popular.  Fraternally  he  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Aerie  of  Fagles  at  Bakersfield.  His  marriage  in  Los  Angeles 
united  him  with  Miss  Emma  Lufkon,  of  Los  Angeles,  and  they  now  have  a 
comfortable  home  on  section  2'i,  on  the  company's  lease. 

RICHARD  A.  JOHNSON.— In  the  Sunset  and  Midway  fields  there  are 
few  operators  more  ponilar  or  nv  re  experienced  than  the  pionetr  driller, 
"Dick"  Johnson,  superintendent  of  the  Security  Development  Company,  oper- 
ating thirty-five  acres  on  section  15,  31-22.  Strangers  are  always  imi)ressed  by 
the  stature  of  Mr.  Johnson,  who  measures  six  feet  and  three  inches  in  height, 
and  whose  massive  frame  and  stalwart  physique  are  supplemented  by  mental 
attributes  equalh'  unusual.  Other  members  of  his  family  exhibit  the  same 
splendid  physique  and  almost  gigantic  stature.  An  older  brother,  Albert  H., 
who  is  engaged  in  the  cattle  business  and  makes  his  home  a  Iron  I'oint, 
Nev.,  whose  remarkable  height  of  seven  feet  makes  him  a  man  of  commanding 
presence.  The  youngest  brother,  Charles  L.,  who  is  now  connected  as  driller 
with  the  San  Francisco  Midway  Oil  Company  in  the  Midway  field,  weighs 
three  hundred  pounds  and  is  six  feet  and  six  inches  in  height. 

The  parental  family  comprised  six  children.  The  eldest  of  these,  Samuel 
A.  Johnsc  n,  is  a  well-known  and  wealthy  oil  onerator  residing  in  Bakersfield. 
The  second,  Albert  H..  has  been  alluded  to  above.  The  third,  Mary,  is  the  wife 
of  C.  P.  Dorn,  of  Hollister.  The  fourth,  Richard  A.,  was  born  in  Santa  Cruz 
county,  Cal.,  November  4,  1871.  grew  to  manhood  in  Monterey  county,  and  was 
the  first  of  the  family  to  embark  in  the  oil  business.  The  fifth.  Ella,  married 
Dr.  E.  K.  Peters,  of  Fresno,  and  the  youngest,  Charles  L.,  is  in  the  Midway 
field,  as  previously  mentioned.  The  father.  Alden  S.  Johnson,  a  pioneer  of 
1849,  crossed  the  plains  with  wagon  and  ox-teams,  and  settled  eventually  at 
Grass  Vallev,  where  he  married  Mrs.  E.  H.  \\'hi:ing.  whose  maiden  name 
was  Miss  Clara  Swain.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Dr.  H.  P.  Swain,  a  prominent 
pioneer  dentist  at  that  place.  Her  death  occurred  abc  ut  twenty-five  years  ago, 
while  that  of  Mr.  Johnson  occurred  in  1906.  Throughout  the  greater  part  of 
their  married  life  they  had  lived  on  a  ranch.  In  addition  to  the  members  of 
the  family  named  there  is  a  half-brother.  F.  H.  Whiting,  now  engaged  in 
farming  at  Turlock.  Stanislaus  county. 

Since  1893.  when  he  entered  the  oil  business  at  Coalinga.  Mr.  Johnson 
has  continued  steadily  in  the  same  occuoation  and  has  risen  from  roustabout  to 
superintendent.  \\'hile  with  the  Petroleum  Center  Oil  Company  he  learned 
to  be  a  tool-dresser.     After  remaining  with  the  company  for  six  months  he 


1518  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

entered  the  employ  of  Hendrickson  &  Snyder,  oil-well  drilling  contractors,  with 
whom  he  continued  for  two  years,  meanwhile  learning  to  be  a  driller.  From 
Coalinga  he  drifted  to  Bakersfield  and  the  Kern  river  field.  About  1899  he 
came  to  the  Sunset  field  to  work  as  a  driller.  At  that  time  there  were  only 
three  strings  of  tools  running  in  all  this  great  oil  district.  A  later  experience 
as  a  driller  touk  him  to  the  oil  fields  at  Evanston,  \Yyo.,  where  he  was  em- 
ployed for  one  year.  On  his  return  to  California  he  worked  successively  in 
the  Sunset  and  Coalinga  fields. 

With  a  desire  to  see  something  of  Mexico  Mr.  Johnson  entered  into  a  con- 
tract to  drill  in  the  state  of  Tabasco  for  the  English  firm  of  S.  Pierson  &  Son, 
and  during  the  year  in  that  connection  he  prospered  financially  but  lost  his 
health  on  account  of  climatic  and  unsanitary  conditions,  so  returned  to  Cali- 
fornia, where  he  soon  regained  his  customary  strength.  In  the  North 
Midway  field  he  became  an  employe  of  the  Fox  Oil  Company, 
which  owned  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  oil  land.  Subsequently 
forty  acres  of  the  quarter  section  were  sold  to  the  M.  &  M.  Oil  Company, 
and  eighty-five  acres  were  leased  to  two  other  concerns  in  equal  parts,  so 
that  the  triginal  owners  had  but  thirty-five  acres  left  and  this  is  now  being 
operated  under  the  title  of  the  Security  Development  Company,  with  Mr. 
Johnson  as  superintendent.  There  are  four  wells  on  the  lease  and  the  aver- 
age production  runs  from  five  thousand  to  six  thousand  barrels  per  month. 
Fraternally  Mr.  Johnson  holds  membership  with  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  and  with  Bakersfield  Aerie  oi  Eagles  No.  93.  With  his  wife, 
whom  he  married  in  1910  and  who  was  Miss  Lynda  Ward,  of  Missouri,  he 
makes  his  home  on  the  company's  property  on  section  15.  Of  recent  years  he 
has  acquired  some  interests  in  oil  lands  in  the  Lost  Hills,  while  in  addition  he 
owns  citv  real  estate  at  Oakland. 

VERNE  L.  ADAMS.— The  Globe  division  of  the  General  Petroleum  is 
operated  under  the  efficient  supervision  of  Mr.  Adams,  who  while  one  of  the 
youngest  is  also  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  dependable  superintendents  in 
the  Midway  field.  Eighty  acres,  located  on  section  15,  township  31,  range  22. 
comprise  the  hi  Idings  of  the  said  Globe  Division  whose  twenty-four  producing 
wells  average  seventy-five  thousand  barrels  per  month. 

That  the  Globe  division  is  bringing  such  excellent  returns  may  be  attrib- 
uted largely  to  the  resourcefulness  and  energy  of  the  superintendent,  Verne 
L.  Adams,  who  is  a  member  of  an  old  and  honored  family  of  the  United  States. 
While  some  of  the  colonial  families  have  become  extinct  or  have  not  kept  up 
the  intellectual  standard  set  by  their  ancestors,  such  is  not  the  case  with  the 
Adams  family,  which  not  only  maintains  the  intellectuality  of  forebears,  but 
singularly  preserves  and  presents  the  rotund,  ruddy,  high-browed,  full-eyed, 
vigorous  and  virile  organisms  which  characterized  John  and  John  Quincy 
Adams  in  the  earlier  chapters  of  American  history.  Unmistakably  an  Adams, 
with  all  the  physical  and  mental  attributes  of  that  family,  Mr.  Adams  gives 
little  indication  of  Swiss  ancestry,  although  his  mother,  who  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Sophia  Lughinbuhl,  was  born  in  Switzerland  and  comes  of  an  old 
family  of  that  mountain  republic.  His  father,  Ira  Adams,  made  his  home  in 
Ohio  for  s;  me  time  and  Verne  L.  was  born  at  West  Salem,  that  state,  October 
9,  1886.  Not  long  afterward  the  family  removed  to  Oregon  and  settled  in 
Portland,  where  the  father  died  about  1892,  leaving  Verne,  a  child  of  six 
years,  besides  two  older  children,  Blanche  and  Jay.  The  mother  thereupon 
took  the  children  back  to  Lima,  Ohio,  where  she  went  through  the  most 
arduous  struggle  in  an  efifort  to  rear  and  educate  them.  The  daughter  mar- 
ried at  seventeen  and  died  a  year  later.  The  older  son  came  to  California 
and  is  now  engaged  in  the  furniture  business  in  Sacramento,  while  the 
mother,  also  coming  to  the  west,  is  now  living  with  her  son,  Verne  L.,  in  the 
Midway  field. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1519 

Few  have  encountered  greater  hardships  in  their  struggle  to  earn  a  live- 
lihood than  has  Verne  L.  Adams,  who  became  self-supporting  at  an  age 
when  the  majority  of  boys  have  ample  leisure  for  play  and  recreation.  At  the 
age  of  twelve  he  became  a  newsboy.  It  was  his  custom  to  arise  at  four  every 
morning  and  to  carry  papers  throughout  the  town,  stopping  only  when  it  was 
time  to  go  to  school.  This  work  he  kept  up  until  he  was  fifteen,  at  which 
time  he  found  employment  in  a  grocery.  His  own  efforts  aided  in  the 
support  of  his  mother  and  enabled  him  to  pay  his  expenses  for  six  months  in 
the  Lima  (Ohio)  Business  College.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  began  to  work 
in  the  Lima  oil  field.  For  several  months  he  was  employed  as  a  pumper  for 
Sam  Ridenour,  the  well-known  contractor  at  Lima,  and  from  that  work  he  was 
promoted  to  be  a  tool-dresser.  During  1905  he  came  to  California  with  his 
mother  and  settled  at  Sacramento,  where  he  engaged  in  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railroad  shops  and  in  that  position  became  an  experienced  machinist.  January 
of  1909  found  him  in  the  Midway  field,  where  he  secured  employment  as  a 
pumper  on  the  Sibyl,  later  was  made  gang-pusher,  next  became  production 
foreman  and  is  now  superintendent,  his  steady  rise  indicating  efficiency, 
trustworthiness  and  sagacious  judgment.  At  dift'erent  times  he  has  purchased 
real  estate  in  Sacramento  and  Fresno,  for  with  natural  thrift  and  foresight 
he  believes  in  investing  in  California  lands.  Since  coming  to  Taft  he  has  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  While  his  mother 
is  a  Christian  Scientist,  he  is  in  sympathy  with  all  denominations  and  with 
generous  and  broad-minded  liberality  he  contributes  to  movements  for  the 
uplifting  of  humanity. 

CHARLES  WHITAKER.— Not  a  few  men  who  have  won  success  in 
California  have  benefited  by  valuable  experience  in  the  United  States  i\rmy, 
where  discipline  and  observation  go  hand  in  hand  in  the  moulding  of  character 
and  in  the  broadening  of  the  view.  Charles  Whitaker,  a  former  cavalryman, 
whose  residence  is  on  Baker  street.  East  Bakersfield,  is  a  native  of  Wise 
county,  Va.,  and  was  born  May  20,  1863.  When  he  was  six  or  seven  years  old 
he  was  taken  by  his  parents  to  Pike  county,  Ky.,  where  he  was  reared  to  a 
knowledge  of  farm  work  and  educated  in  public  schools  and  in  a  special  sub- 
scription school.  He  remained  there  until  after  he  was  eighteen.  In  1882 
he  crossed  over  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  was  enlisted  for  service  in  the  United 
States  Army.  He  was  assigned  to  the  Second  United  States  cavalry,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  M,  and  came  out  to  Montana  that  same  year.  His  service  con- 
tinued during  five  years,  during  which  time  he  was  stationed  successively  at 
F^ort  Custer,  Fort  Assiniboine,  Fort  Klamath  and  Fort  Bidwell.  He  looks 
back  upon  the  experience  of  those  years  with  much  interest  and  a  pardonable 
pride.  He  won  special  distinction  in  being  made  a  trumpeter  and  was  hon- 
orably discharged  in  1887.  After  a  visit  to  Kentucky  and  Virginia,  he  went 
to  Denver,  Colo.,  where  for  about  a  year  he  was  employed  at  farming  and  at 
railroading.  In  November,  1888,  he  went  to  Washington  and  homesteaded 
land  on  the  Toutle  river,  which  he  began  to  improve  and  on  which  he  lived 
about  three  years  and  a  half.  After  that  he  kept  a  hotel  for  a  while  at  Castle 
Rock,  Wash.,  and  from  there  he  moved  to  the  Klamath  river  country,  Oregon, 
and  not  long  afterward  he  became  a  citizen  of  Portland.  In  1893  he  came  to 
California  and  located  at  Bakersfield.  He  had  not  prospered  so  well  but  that 
he  needed  capital  if  he  were  to  engage  in  business.  In  1893-94  he  worked  for 
wages  and  in  1894  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Henry  Wood  in  the  livery 
business  at  Kern.  Within  a  year  he  bnuLjht  his  partner's  interest  and  he  has 
since  managed  the  enterprise  with  satisfactory  success.  His  barn  covers  a 
ground  space  of  90x130  feet,  has  a  fine  corral,  and  his  stock  and  rigs  are  as 
good  as  are  sent  out  from  any  stable  in  the  vicinity.  His  business  is  the 
oldest  of  its  class  at  East  Bakersfield.     Near  Buttonwillow  is  a  fine  tract  of 


1520  •        HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  which  Mr.  Whitaker  is  interested  and  on 
which  a  modern  pumping  plant  is  being  installed  for  ranch  service  and  irriga- 
tion of  alfalfa  land.  His  attractive  residence  on  Baker  street.  East  Bakersfield. 
was  designed  by  him  and  erected  under  his  supervision,  and  he  also  owns  the 
Yorke,  an  apartment  house  on  Baker  street,  thus  giving  him  a  frontage  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty-four  feet. 

Politically  Mr.  Whitaker  is  a  Democrat.  Socially  he  affiliates  with  the 
Fraternal  Brotherhood  and  with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks. 
He  filled  for  one  term  the  ofifice  of  trustee  for  the  town  of  Kern  and  was  a 
member  of  the  board  when  Kern  was  consolidated  with  Bakersfield.  The  lady 
who  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Whitaker  was  Miss  Druzella  Gier,  a  native  of 
Bonham  county,  S.  Dak.  They  have  five  children,  Charles  Elizabeth,  Ellen, 
Mildred  Mav  and  Beatrice  Thelma. 

RAYMOND  I.  WALTERS.— An  identification  with  the  industrial  activ- 
ities of  Bakersfield  begun  in  1908  and  ci  ntinued  up  to  the  present  time,  has 
given  to  Mr.  Walters  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  business  men  of  the 
city  as  well  as  broad  information  concerning  resources  and  commercial  pos- 
sibilities. As  a  plumber  he  is  considered  unusually  skilled  and  capable  and 
since  establishing  himself  in  the  business  he  has  been  awarded  many  contracts 
of  importance.  In  a  building  erected  under  his  personal  smervision  and 
situated  at  No.  1900  Nineteenth  street  he  started  a  plumbing  shop,  but 
afterward  he  sold  the  property  and  remt  ved  to  his  present  location  at  No.  1039 
H  street,  where  with  J.  T.  Smith  as  a  partner  and  under  the  firm  name  of 
Walters  &  Smith,  he  does  a  general  business  in  plumbing  lines.  Not  only 
has  he  had  contracts  for  putting  in  of  water  pipes  and  other  departments  of  a 
plumber's  work,  but  in  addition  he  has  taken  contracts  for  heating  and  is  con- 
sidered an  expert  authority  both  in  heating  and  in  plumbing. 

The  \\'alters  family  descends  from  old  eastern  ancestry.  E.  W.  Walters, 
a  native  (  f  Ohio,  removed  to  Illinois  in  company  with  his  parents  and  settled 
in  Hancock  county,  where  he  engaged  in  farming.  During  the  Civil  war  he 
served  for  more  than  three  years  as  a  volunteer  in  the  One  Hundred  and 
Fifty-seventh  Illinois  Infantry  and  in  one  of  the  engagements  he  received  a 
severe  wound.  Some  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  married  IMiss  Mary 
E.  Scott,  a  native  of  Wheeling,  W.  Va.,  and  from  early  life  a  resident  of 
Illinois.  Five  children,  all  still  living,  were  born  of  their  union,  the  youngest 
being  Raymond  I.,  whose  birth  occurred  July  30,  1884,  on  the  home  farm 
near  the  small  village  of  Burnside  in  Hancock  county.  In  1886  the  family 
removed  to  Creston,  Iowa,  and  two  years  later  they  came  to  California, 
where  the  father  entered  a  homestead  in  the  San  Emidio  district.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  raw  land  into  a  productive  farm  occupied  his  closest  attention 
for  a  considerable  period,  but  eventually  he  sold  the  tract,  removed  to  Bakers- 
field, purchased  property  in  this  city  and  is  now  living  retired. 

After  he  had  finished  the  grammar  grade  and  had  entered  the  Kern 
county  hieh  school,  Raymond  I.  Walters  beean  to  devote  his  entire  vacation 
time  to  the  plumber's  trade.  As  early  as  1898  he  first  became  a  workman  in 
the  trade  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  was  competent  for  independent  work. 
Upon  graduating  from  the  high  school  in  1903  he  gave  his  entire  time  to  the 
business,  working  in  the  emnloy  of  others.  In  1904  he  went  to  Santa  Cruz 
and  found  employment  at  the  trade.  Later  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  in  the 
Bay  cities,  but  returned  to  Bakersfield  in  1908,  since  which  time  he  has  engaged 
in  business  for  himself.  As  a  member  of  the  Builders'  Exchange  and  the 
Master  Plumbers'  Association,  of  which  latter  he  acts  as  treasurer,  he  is 
identified  with  two  of  the  leading  trade  organizations  in  the  city,  while  in 
addition  he  has  fraternal  relations  with  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  224,  F.  &  A.  M., 
in  which  he  was  made  a  Mason.  The  residence  which  he  erected  at  No.  1920 
Seventh  street,  Bakersfield.  and  which  is  a  neat  and  attractive  dwelling,   is 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1521 

presided  over  with  kindly  hospitality  by  his  wife,  whom  he  married  in  San 
Jose  and  who  was  formerly  ]\Iiss  Grace  M.  Smith,  their  union  having  been 
blessed  by  a  si  n,  James  W.  To  Mrs.  Walters  belongs  the  distinction  of  being  a 
native  daughter  of  the  state,  for  she  claims  Watsonville  as  her  native  city, 
and  her  parents  were  pioneers  of  that  part  of  the  state. 

ARTHUR  R.  WARREN.— The  foreman  of  the  Sumner  wareh.use  of  the 
Kern  County  Land  Company  at  East  Bakersficld  is  a  member  of  an  English 
family  whose  first  representative  in  America,  David  Warren,  came  from  the 
vicinity  of  Dover  and  settletl  in  Wisconsin  during  young  manhood.  The 
state  remained  largely  in  the  primeval  condition  of  nature  at  the  time  of  his 
arrival  and  the  most  strenuous  exertit  n  was  necessary  to  clear  and  cultivate 
the  land.  Searching  for  a  suitable  location  he  traveled  northwest  from  Madison 
and  chose  Juneau  county  as  the  place  of  his  future  activities.  For  many  years 
and  indeed  until  his  death  he  devoted  himself  to  agricultural  pursuits  in  that 
section  of  the  state  and  there  he  married  Luella  Wiseman,  who  like  himself 
had  been  born  in  the  vicinity  of  Dover,  England,  and  she  tt  o  spent  her  last 
days  in  Wisconsin.  Nine  children  were  born  of  their  union.  Five  of  these  are 
still  living  and  the  third  in  order  of  birth,  Arthur  R.,  was  born  at  the  old 
homestead  near  Mauston,  Juneau  county.  Wis.,  May  4,  1868,  also  was  edu- 
cated in  the  schools  of  Juneau  county,  where  he  continued  tn  live  imtil  he 
started  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world.  Meanwhile  his  older  brothers 
had  gone  to  Minnesota  and  had  settled  near  Granite  Falls,  Yellow  Medicine 
county,  where  he  joined  them  in  1885,  securing  work  on  farms  in  that  section. 
After  a  time  he  returned  to  Wisci  nsin  and  began  to  work  as  a  carpenter  in 
the  bridge  and  building  department  of  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad. 
The  varying  locations  and  demands  of  his  occupative  duties  took  him  to  the 
northern  and  northwestern  states  from  Iowa  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

A  first  trip  to  the  extreme  west  of  our  country  took  Mr.  Warren  to 
Seattle  in  1898  and  convinced  him  of  the  greatness  of  this  vast  western  empire. 
During  1900  he  made  his  first  trio  to  San  Francisco.  Business  took  him  back 
to  Nevada,  where  he  was  employed  for  two  years,  and  then,  in  July  of  1902, 
he  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  ever  since  he  has  been  connected  with  the  Kern 
Coimty  Land  Company.  Two  months  were  spent  in  the  Bakersfield  ware- 
house as  a  day  laborer.  In  September  of  1902  he  was  promoted  to  be  foreman 
of  that  department,  continuing  as  such  until  May  of  1906  and  then  being 
transferred  to  his  present  position  as  foreman  of  the  Sumner  warehouse  at 
East  Bakersfield.  The  interests  of  the  company  have  been  promoted  by  his 
faithful  and  intelligent  service  and  he  stands  high  in  the  estimation  of  the 
officials,  who  have  found  him  to  be  energetic,  tactful,  efficient  and  reliable. 
IMean while  he  has  become  deeply  interested  in  the  pn  gress  of  Bakersfield  and 
is  loyal  in  every  way  to  the  local  welfare.  His  political  affiliations  are  with 
the  Republican  party. 

JOSEPH  P.  COONEY.— The  development  of  the  oil  fields  not  only  de- 
mands the  presence  of  onerators  and  skilled  workmen,  but  in  addition  invites 
the  establishment  of  agencies  for  supplies  absolutely  essential  to  such  work. 
Representative  of  the  latter  line  of  enterprise  is  the  Taft  branch  of  Woods 
&  Huddart  of  San  Francisco.  Pacific  coast  agents  for  the  South  Chester  casing 
and  tubing  and  line  pipe  manufactured  by  the  South  Chester  Tube  Company, 
of  Chester,  Pa.  As  manager  of  the  local  branch,  maintaining  an  office  with 
the  Western  Pipe  and  Steel  Company  of  this  city.  Mr.  Cooney  has  developed 
a  growing  business  among  the  oil  superintendents  of  the  various  leases  in  the 
Sunset,  Midway,  Fellows  and  McKittrick  fields. 

From  early  recollections  Mr.  Cooney  has  been  familiar  with  the  oil 
industry.  His  father.  W.  P.  Cooney,  now  living  retired  at  Sistersville,  V.  Va., 
for  years  was  well  known  in  eastern  oil  fields,  took  a  leading  part  as  operator 


1522  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  contractor  during  the  period  of  the  Bradford  boom,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  engaged  as  a  lease  foreman  in  the  Woodsfield  district  of  Monroe  county. 
Ohio.  By  his  marriage  to  Isabel  Flannigan  (who  is  still  living,  but  now  an 
invalid)  he  had  a  family  of  five  children:  Joseph  P.,  of  Taft ;  Ralph  P.,  of 
Santa  Maria,  now  the  district  manager  for  the  California  National  Supply 
Company;  Helena  and  Marcella,  both  living  with  their  parents  at  Sistersville, 
where  the  latter  is  employed  as  a  teacher  in  :he  schools  ;  and  Cletus.  a  graduate 
of  St.  Vincent's  College  at  Beatty,  Westmoreland  county,  Pa.  The  oldest 
son,  Joseph  P.,  was  born  at  Eldred,  McKean  county,  Pa.,  January  9,  1885,  and 
was  ten  years  of  age  when  the  family  left  the  Pennsylvania  farm  and  removed 
to  oil  fields  in  Ohio,  where  the  next  five  years  were  passed.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  he  accompanied  the  family  to  West  Virginia  and  settled  at  Alvy,  Tyler 
county.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three  years,  having  saved  up  the  sum  neces- 
sary for  such  a  step,  he  matriculated  in  Mountain  State  Business  College  at 
Parkersburg,  W.  Va.,  where  he  completed  the  commercial  and  telegraphic 
courses. 

Immediately  after  graduation  from  college  Mr.  Cooney  came  to  Cali- 
fornia, arriving  in  the  Santa  Maria  field  March  9,  1908.  The  first  work  he 
secured  was  as  a  roustabout  under  Superintendent  J.  C.  Knoke,  of  the  Union 
Oil  Company.  A  merited  promotion  transferred  him  to  the  supply  department 
of  the  same  company,  under  Stone  Hastain.  For  a  time  he  was  employed  as  a 
clerk  in  the  store-room  of  the  Union  Oil  Company,  after  which  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  pipe-line  department  under  Superintendent  H.  G.  Burrows,  of  the 
Union  Oil  Company,  at  Santa  Maria.  As  an  assistant  to  Mr.  Burrows  he  aided 
in  the  building  of  the  line  from  Cat  Cafion  to  Orcutt.  Upon  resigning  the 
position  with  the  large  corporation  at  Santa  Maria  he  came  over  to  Taft  in 
1911,  to  act  as  bookkeeper  for  Stone  Hastain,  the  then  manager  of  the  Taft 
branch  of  Woods  &  Huddart.  Upon  the  resignation  of  the  manager,  November 
1,  1912,  for  the  purpose  of  removing  to  Los  Angeles  and  engagmg  in  business 
for  himself,  Mr.  Cooney  was  promoted  from  bookkeeper  to  manager,  since 
which  time  he  has  efficiently  engaged  as  local  representative  and  agent  for  the 
South  Chester  tubing  and  casing.  Since  becoming  a  resident  of  this  city  he 
has  identified  himself  with  the  Petroleum  Club.  While  making  Santa  Maria 
his  headquarters  he  became  a  member  of  San  Luis  Obispo  Camo  No.  322.  B.  P. 
O.  E.,  and  the  Knights  of  Columbus  No.  1375,  at  Arroyo  Grande. 

CHARLES  TOMAIER.— Not  lacking  occupative  training  in  his  native 
land  of  Bohemia,  Charles  Tomaier  learned  to  be  a  practical  and  experienced 
butcher  under  his  father,  who  taught  him  every  detail  of  that  business.  Nor 
had  he  lacked  an  education  in  his  native  tongue,  for  he  had  been  graduated 
from  a  gymnasium  in  1886  and  had  been  reared  in  habits  of  frugality  and  self- 
reliant  industry.  His  father,  Joseph,  died  in  1911  in  Bohemia,  where  the 
mother,  Barbara,  still  makes  her  home.  All  of  the  five  children  are  still  living, 
Charles  being  next  to  the  ycungest  among  the  five,  and  he  was  born  May  6, 
1864,  at  the  old  family  homestead  in  Klenec,  Bohemia,  where  he  passed  the 
uneventful  years  of  childhood  and  youth.  Often  as  he  assisted  his  father  in 
the  meat  market  he  heard  people  tell  stories  about  the  new  world  and  its 
opportunities  and  early  in  life  he  determined  to  cross  the  ocean  as  soon  as 
he  could  start  out  for  himself  in  the  world.  It  was  during  1886  that  the  hoped- 
for  opportunity  came  to  him  and  he  was  enabled  to  take  passage  on  an  ocean 
steamer  which  brought  him  to  New  York.  Thence  he  went  west  as  far  as 
Chicago  and  secured  work  in  a  large  packing  house. 

The  years  spent  in  Chicago  were  filled  with  the  most  arduous  labor  and 
constant  hardships  associated  with  the  struggle  to  earn  a  livelihood,  but  it 
was  not  until  1900  that  he  gave  up  work  with  the  large  beef  companies.  At 
that  time  he  came  to  California  and  settled  in  Mojave,  where  he  has  since 


HISTORY   OF    KERN    COUNTY  1523 

remained,  meanwhile  erecting  two  cottages  and  the  ^Fojave  lodging  house. 
During  the  first  year  in  this  place  he  engaged  in  mining.  Next  he  was  em- 
ployed in  the  freight  and  round-house  of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company. 
Upcn  resigning  that  position  he  secured  the  agency  for  the  RIaier  Brewing 
Company  of  Los  Angeles,  which  he  still  holds,  besides  which,  since  November 
1,  1912,  he  has  been  agent  for  the  W'ieland  I'.rewing  Company.  In  addition  he 
has  established  and  now  conducts  the  Alojave  soda  wi.rks,  where  he  is 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  soda  and  mineral  waters  for  sale  in  the  town 
and  surrounding  country.  Since  coming  to  Mojave  he  has  been  a  local 
worker  for  the  Democratic  party  and  has  identified  himself  fraternally  with 
the  Bakersfield  Lodge  of  Moose.  While  living  in  Chicago  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Stradel,  a  native  of  Bohemia.  Four  children  comprise 
their  family,  namely:    Louis,  Mary,  Charles  and  Blanche. 

WILLIAM  W.  FRAZIER.— Born  October  7,  1844,  near  Abbeville,  S.  C, 
one  of  the  nn  st  historic  places  in  the  south,  Mr.  Frazier  comes  of  old  Maryland 
families,  of  Scottish  ancestry.  A  thorough  training  in  the  public  schools  was 
supplemented  by  one  year's  study  in  the  Columbia  Military  Academy,  and 
then  for  two  years  he  was  at  the  Citadel  Military  Academy  at  Charleston, 
remaining  there  until  the  arrival  of  Sherman's  army  caused  the  academy  to  be 
discontinued.  Then  he  was  called  out  to  assist  in  the  war,  and  after  seeing 
active  service  in  Major  White's  battalion  of  cadets,  he  was  paroled  in  Barnes- 
ville,  Ga.,  at  the  close  of  the  war.  In  1866  he  went  to  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  here 
he  began  his  long  career  as  a  teacher,  remaining  one  year  in  the  Louisville 
reform  schools  as  instructor,  and  in  1867  removed  to  Omaha,  Neb.,  where 
he  was  employed  in  a  lumber  yard  until  1868.  He  was  later  employed  with 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  for  a  year  on  bridge  construction  from  Cheyenne 
west,  and  he  remained  with  them  until  after  the  golden  spike  was  driven. 
In  1869  he  came  to  California  and  opened  his  first  school  in  Stockton,  where 
he  taught  for  about  a  year,  then  resuming  services  on  the  railroad  on  the 
Shasta  route  in  1873.  Next  he  worked  in  San  Francisco  as  instructor  in  the 
City  Industrial  School  until  187.S,  on  March  18th  of  that  year  coming  to  Kern 
county  to  teach  school  at  South  Fork  for  a  term.  In  1876  he  opened  the  Buena 
Vista  District  school  and  the  following  year  had  charge  (if  the  San  Emidio 
school.  In  1878  he  taught  in  Tehachapi.  Two  years  later  he  instructed  pupils 
in  the  school  of  Woody  district  and  in  1882  in  White  River.  The  terms 
1883-84  he  taught  in  Cummings  valley.  After  his  marriage  he  discontinued 
teaching  to  engage  in  farming,  his  interests  becoming  so  great  that  he  was 
obliged  to  relinquish  his  school  work  and  give  his  entire  attention  to  his  ranch. 

In  partnership  with  Mr.  Myers  in  the  year  1878  Mr.  Frazier  had  embarked 
in  the  enterprise  of  general  farming  and  stock-raising,  Mr.  Myers  having 
charge  of  the  ranch  until  Mr.  Frazier  relinquished  teaching.  The  land  had  been 
improved  somewhat  during  this  time  and  when  they  dissolved  partnership  they 
divided  the  land,  Mr.  Frazier's  property  covering  about  two  hundred  and  forty 
acres.  He  has  added  to  this  until  he  now  owns  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres, 
situated  nine  miles  southwest  of  P.akersfield  and  known  as  the  "Golden  Rod" 
ranch  because  of  the  profuse  growth  of  those  flowers  on  the  place.  The  ranch 
is  utilized  for  general  farming  and  stock-raising.  All  of  his  land  is  under  the 
Buena  Vista  canal  and  is  suitable  for  alfalfa  growing,  which  he  raises  to  a 
great  extent.  His  cattle  are  the  short  hnrn  Durham  variety,  his  horses  are 
English  shire,  and  he  is  raising  Poland  China  hogs  extensively. 

On  June  28,  1883,  Mr.  Frazier  was  married  in  Sacramento  to  Frances  J. 
Gardner,"  a  native  of  White  River,  Me.,  born  March  6,  1838.  She  was  inter- 
ested in  educational  work  in  Massachusetts  and  came  to  California  in  1872. 
He  has  given  service  to  his  community  in  the  holding  of  the  office  of  clerk  of 
Buena  Vista   School   District  for  the  past  thirteen   years,  his   experience  in 


1524  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

teaching  having  made  him  a  valued  member  of  the  board.  He  is  one  of  the 
original  directors  of  the  Security  Trust  Company  of  Bakersfield,  and  also 
director  of  the  Peoples  Mutual  Building  &  Loan  Association.  Fraternally 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Bakersville  Lodge 
No.  202.  Mr.  Frazier's  life  has  covered  many  walks  of  life,  in  all  of  which  he 
has  borne  a  most  useful  part,  in  war,  in  educational  life,  in  the  agricultural  and 
financial  field  of  this  vicinity  and  as  a  capable  and  prosperous  ranchman,  and 
not  the  least  as  an  honorable  and  upright  citizen,  whose  interest  is  ever  for  the 
benefit  of  his  adopted  state. 

CYRILLE  GIRAUD.— Since  the  year  1884  Cyrille  Giraud  has  been 
identified  more  or  less  with  the  business  activities  in  Kern  county.  He  was 
born  in  1865  in  France,  where  his  parents  both  passed  away.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  he  arrived  in  America,  coming  west  to  El  Paso,  Tex.,  whence  after  a 
short  time  he  traveled  to  Los  Angeles  and  then  to  Bakersfield,  in  1884,  and 
he  remained  in  the  latter  place  until  1892,  during  which  time  he  engaged 
in  mining  and  also  farmed  to  some  extent.  Later  for  six  years  he  was  in 
San  Luis  Obispo.  ;hen  securing  a  position  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Rail- 
road at  Tehachapi.  For  four  years  he  was  occupied  in  the  shops  of  that 
company  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  purchased  the  hotel  and  saloon  which 
he  is  now  conducting. 

On  April  5,  1902.  Mr.  Giraud  was  married  to  Jennie  Movnier,  a  native 
of  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  and  to  them  were  born  children  as  follows:  Cyrille 
I.,  Eugene,  JTartha  and  Harry.  Mr.  Giraud  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
in  fraternal  circles  is  an  active  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  of 
Bakersfield. 

MRS.  MARGARET  M.  BROOM.— Widowed  more  than  fifteen  years 
ago,  ^Trs.  Margaret  ]\L  Broom  found  it  incumbent  upon  her  to  look  after  her 
own  interests,  and  so  well  has  she  done  this  that  she  now  finds  herself  com- 
fortably fixed  and  well  able  to  manage  her  afifairs.  She  is  the  only  living 
child  of  her  parents,  James  >L  and  Susanna  (Chance)  Rochelle.  both  of  whom 
were  l)orn  in  Tennessee.  The  father  followed  farming  in  Kentucky  for  a 
while,  and  then  removed  to  Montgcmery  county,  Tenn.,  going  from  there 
into  St.  Clair,  111.,  n^ar  Mascoutah.  where  he  farmed  for  a  short  period.  He 
then  removed  to  Johnson  county,  Kans.,  where  in  1881  his  death  occurred. 

At  the  age  of  ten  years  I\'frs.  Broom  removed  with  her  father  to  Illinois, 
settling  in  St.  Clair  county,  where  she  attended  public  school.  She  married 
in  Illinois  Commodore  Perry  Broom,  a  native  of  Illinois,  who  was  engaged 
in  farming.  Thev  also  removed  to  Johnson  county,  Kans.,  and  Mrs.  Broom 
still  owns  a  tract  of  ei^htv  acres  near  Olathe.  Kans.  l^Tr.  Broom  had  been  to 
California  in  1851  and  had  remained  until  1854,  when  he  returned  to  Illinois. 
Howe\-er.  he  had  a  great  desire  to  return  to  the  west,  and  accordingly,  in 
1892,  thev  arrived  in  California,  and  settled  in  Bakersfield,  where  Vr.  Broom's 
death  occurred  in  1^95  l^Trs.  Broom  then  bought  a  one-acre  tract  at  the 
corner  of  Second  and  Chester  avenues,  where  she  built  a  residence  and  be- 
came engaged  in  horticulture  and  the  poultry  business.  This  has  proved  to 
be  a  sensible  undertaking,  as  she  has  since  been  ab'e  to  build  two  residences 
close  at  hand  which  she  rents.  Six  children  survived  the  death  of  '^W.  Broom. 
Susie  E.,  Mrs.  Howe,  is  a  resident  of  Fast  Bakersfield;  Frances,  Mrs.  Neidi.g, 
is  also  a  resident  of  East  Bakersfield;  Edward  E.,  and  Charles  E.  are  resi- 
den:s  of  Bakersfield;  Alice  E.  resides  in  San  Francisco;  and  Jesse  C.  in 
Seattle. 

Mrs.  Broom  is  an  active  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  of 
which  she  is  a  'iberal  supporter.  Her  political  interests  are  with  the  Repub- 
lican party.  She  is  one  of  those  refined  women  whose  influence  for  good  is 
felt  by  all  with  whom  she  associates,  and  she  has  been  a  most  devoted  and 
worthv   mother. 

JOHN  NICOLL. — One  of  the  honored  pioneers  of  Kern  county  is  John 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1525 

Nicoll,  of  W'eldon,  who  was  the  fourth  man  to  settle  on  tlie  Sovilh  Fork  of 
the  Kern  river.  Of  English  and  Scotcli  parentage  he  was  born  near  I'erth, 
on  the  river  Thames,  in  Upper  Canada,  July  9,  1827,  and  attended  public 
school  there  until  he  was  thirteen  years  old,  when  he  was  brought  by  his 
parents  to  a  new  home  in  the  United  States.  The  family  settled  in  Hancock 
county,  111.,  and  there  he  began  life  for  himself  and  prospered.  In  18.t1  he 
started  with  ox-teams  across  the  plains  to  California,  wintered  in  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  then  came  on,  arriving  in  California  in  March,  1852.  He  located 
first  in  Calaveras  county  and  mined  until  1857,  in  February  of  that  year 
settling  within  the  present  boundaries  of  Kern  county.  His  capital  in  cash 
at  that  time  consisted  of  only  $1.75,  but  a  strong  heart  and  splendid  physical 
strength  were  the  elements  which  contributed  toward  his  success.  He  fol- 
lowed mining  until  he  took  up  a  government  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  a  part  of  his  present  ranch,  where  he  has  lived  since  1863. 

During  the  first  three  years  of  his  residence  here  Mr.  Nicoll  subsisted  on 
provisions  packed  across  the  Moiave  desert  except  for  such  game  as  he  was 
enabled  to  kill  in  the  vicinity  of  his  home.  He  put  his  land  under  cultiva- 
tion, after  he  had  cleared  it  of  sage  brush,  improving  it,  and  purchased  other 
land  until  he  now  owns  four  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  all  under  irrigation, 
one  hundred  acres  of  which  is  in  alfalfa.  :he  rest  being  given  over  to  grazing. 
He  gives  much  attention  to  stock-raising,  being  the  owner  of  two  hundred 
head  of  cattle.  His  homestead  is  well  improved  with  good  buildings  and 
with  every  appliance  for  successful  operation.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  Weldon  district  for  six  terms,  and  was  clerk  of  the 
board  for  several  years.  The  same  spirit  of  leadership  which  made  him  a 
pioneer  has  kept  him  at  the  forefront  in  all  movements  for  the  general  good. 

GEORGE  W.  LOVEJOY.— Born  near  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  March  18,  1840, 
George  W.  Lovejoy  is  a  son  of  Josiah  B.  and  Mercy  (Stickney)  l.ovcjoy,  the 
former  born  near  .Andover,  Mass.,  and  the  latter  born  at  Cape  Cod,  of  Puri- 
tan lineage.  There  were  six  children  who  attained  mature  vears  and  George 
W.  was  next  to  the  youngest  of  these.  When  three  years  of  age  he  was 
orphaned  by  the  death  of  his  father,  who  had  been  a  clothing  merchant  in 
Boston  and  later  had  lived  in  New  York  state.  The  mother  went  back  to 
Massachusetts  after  the  death  of  her  husband  and  her  son  was  sen:  to  Phil- 
lips Academy  at  Andover  as  soon  as  he  had  completed  common-school  stud- 
ies. At  the  age  of  eighteen  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  a  machinist 
in  Ballard  Vale,  Essex  county,  and  later  he  completed  his  time  in  Boston. 
In  1861  he  enlis  ed  in  the  First  ATassachusetts  Infantry,  and  after  the  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run  he  was  detached  from  the  regiment  and  sent  to  Portsmouth 
Grove,  R.  I.,  where  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  steam  works.  He  re- 
ceived his  honorable  discharge  after  a  service  of  three  years.  Later  he  was 
employed  bv  the  Corliss  Engine  Company  of  Providence,  then  worked  in  the 
Hope  marine  engine  works  at  the  same  place  and  afterward  held  a  position 
as  engineer  on  a  steamboat  until  1868,  when  he  came  via  Panama  to  San 
Francisco.  The  first  year  in  the  west  was  spent  in  a  sawmill  in  Mariposa 
countv,  after  which  he  was  engaged  in  erecting  locomotives  for  the  Southern 
Pacific  Companv  at  Sacramento.  A  year  later  he  entered  the  emplov  of  the 
Risdon  iron  works  of  San  Francisco  and  in  the  interests  of  that  concern  mane 
a  number  of  trips  to  Mexico,  while  later  he  traveled  in  \Vashingtoii  and 
Oregon  erecting  pumps  for  the  Worthincton  Pump  Company. 

Upon  coming  to  the  Tehachapi  region  in  1884.  Mr.  Lovejoy  erected  the 
first  mill  that  milled  ore  at  the  Yellow  ."'ster  mine  in  Randsburcf.  :^'urh  of 
his  time  has  been  given  to  the  development  of  his  homestead.  .After  he 
had  acquired  the  title  to  the  land  he  planted  apple  and  near  trees  and  began 
to  specialize  in  fruit,  and  was  successful  and  inaug-urated  the  industry  in  the 
countv.  The  ranch  originally  embraced  a  quarter  section,  but  eightv  acres 
have  been  sold,  and  the  remaining  tract  of  eighty  is  rented  to  a  tenant,  Mr. 


1526  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Lovejoy  himself  making  his  home  in  Tehachapi,  where  he  owns  a  house  and 
other  property.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican.  On  the  organization  of 
Garfield  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  in  San  Francisco  he  became  a  charter  mem- 
ber. Since  coming  to  his  present  location  he  has  been  identified  with  Te- 
hachapi  Lodge  No.  313,  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  in  addition  he  has  affiliated  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias.  He  was  married  in  San  Francisco  to  Miss  Isabella 
Robertson,  a  native  of  Hamilton,  Canada.  They  are  the  parents  of  five 
children :  William  R.,  a  Southern  Pacific  conductor,  residing  in  Los  An- 
geles;  Arthur,  of  San  Francisco;  George  W.,  Jr.,  employed  on  the  Santa  Fe 
Railroad  with  headquarters  at  Winslow,  Ariz. ;  Mrs.  Adeline  Fletcher,  of 
Los  Angeles;  and  ]\Irs.  Muriel  Wright,  who  died  in  Arizona,  her  husband 
having  been  employed  at  Clifton,  that  state. 

LAWRENCE  HENDERSON.— Far  to  the  north  of  Great  Britain,  on 
Shetland  islands,  was  the  childhood  home  of  Lawrence  Henderson  and  there 
his  parents,  Thomas  and  Ann  (Murray)  Henderson,  lived  upon  a  farm.  There 
were  eleven  children  of  this  union  and  the  father  had  four  children  by  a 
previous  marriage.  The  youngest  of  the  children,  Lawrence,  whose  birth 
occurred  in  1871,  became  an  active  helper  on  the  home  farm  at  an  age  when 
most  boys  are  in  school  or  at  play  and  he  continued  to  do  his  share  until  he 
too  left  the  old  home  to  do  battle  fur  himself  in  the  great  world  beyond  their 
island  home.  The  parents  continued  at  the  old  homestead,  where  the  father 
died  at  seventy-five  and  the  mother  when  eighty-four  years  of  age. 

A  visit  back  to  the  old  island  home  on  the  part  of  one  of  the  older  sons, 
C.  M.  Henderson,  of  California,  inspired  in  the  mind  of  Lawrence  Henderson 
a  desire  to  come  to  the  far  west.  Although  then  only  fifteen  years  of  age  he  had 
been  doing  a  man's  work  and  was  able  to  support  himself,  so  his  parents  gave 
their  consent  to  his  departure.  The  interesting  trip  came  to  an  end  in  Men- 
docino county,  where  the  youth  readily  found  employment  in  the  lumber 
woods  and  logging  camps.  After  a  time  he  went  to  Oakland  and  engaged  as 
a  gripman  on  the  cable-car  system  of  San  Francisco,  later  working  for  the 
Piedmont  Consolidated  Cable  Company  as  a  driver  for  eighteen  months 
altogether.  Upon  his  return  to  Mendocino  county  he  resumed  work  as  a 
lumberman.  From  that  locality  he  went  to  Oathill,  Napa  county,  where  for 
three  years  he  worked  in  the  employ  of  the  Napa  Consolidated  Quicksilver 
Mining  Company. 

In  1900  Mr.  Henderson  closed  out  his  interests  in  Napa  county  and  during 
the  month  of  June  arrived  in  the  Kern  river  fields,  where  he  still  resides, 
although  his  residence  in  this  district  has  not  been  continuous.  For  a 
time  he  was  employed  as  a  tool-dresser  for  the  Century  Oil  Company  and 
later  he  worked  as  a  driller  for  the  same  organization,  but  no  oil  was  found. 
Thereupon  he  secured  work  with  the  Illinois  Crude  Oil  Company  as  a 
driller  under  his  former  superintendent  in  the  Century,  who  had  bought  an 
interest  in  the  newer  concern.  At  first  all  went  well,  but  at  the  expiration 
of  two  years  prices  dropped  and  the  Illinois  suspended  operations.  Mean- 
while Mr.  Henderson  had  married  Miss  Daisy  Ellen  Ingle,  of  Middletown, 
Lake  county,  and  to  that  locality  he  removed,  buying  a  tract  of  land  and 
during  the  seven  years  of  his  residence  in  that  county  he  developed  and  im- 
proved a  farm  of  four  hundred  acres.  With  his  wife  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Baptist  Church  in  Middletown,  while  in  the  same  town  he  held  membershio 
with  Friendship  Lodge  No.  ISO,  I.  O.  O.  F. 

Upon  leaving  Lake  county  Mr.  Henderson  spent  a  year  in  Coalinga. 
Fresno  county,  and  while  there  was  retained  to  come  to  the  Kern  river  oil 
fields,  where  he  had  worked  with  efficiency  some  years  before.  The  property 
of  which  he  acts  as  superintendent  consists  of  the  Wrenn  lease  and  that  part 
of  the  Traffic  Oil  Company's  holdings  composed  of  the  old  Alcedes  and  the 
Kane,  Robinson  and  Wrenn  holdings  on  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  south- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1527 

east  quarter  of  section  30,  township  _'<S,  ran^e  28.  The  property  of  which  Mr. 
Henderson  now  has  charge  comprises  thirty  acres,  upon  which  there  are 
fifteen  producing  wells,  with  a  net  monthly  production  of  about  eight  thou- 
sand barrels.  Steady  employment  is  furnished  to  seven  men.  With  iiis  wife 
and  three  sons,  Andrew  Wallace,  Spurgeon  Raymond  and  Lawrence  Bar- 
clay, Mr.  Henderson  resides  in  a  comfortable  home  on  the  Wrenn  property. 

'  EARL  HILLMAN.— Born  in  Madison  county,  N.  Y.,  February  20,  1873. 
Earl  Hillman  at  an  early  age  moved  with  his  parents  to  Hebron,  111.,  where 
he  received  his  educational  training  in  the  public  schools.  He  had  always 
taken  a  deep  interest  in  the  west,  and  it  was  his  intention  that  if  ever  the 
opportunity  presented  itself  he  would  make  it  his  home.  Accordingly,  in 
1902,  upon  finding  it  possible  to  come  to  the  coast  he  made  his  way  to 
Randsburg.  Kern  county,  and  this  has  since  been  his  place  of  residence. 
Upon  first  coming  to  this  county  he  worked  in  the  Yellow  Aster  mine  for  a 
short  period,  after  which  for  a  year  or  so  he  worked  at  various  places  until 
in  1904  he  bought  out  the  business  of  A.  Gibney  and  has  continued  business 
in  the  town  ever  since.  Besides  this  he  is  interested  in  mining.  He  also  has 
investments  in  property  in  Los  Angeles  and  Richmond,  which  have  proved 
very  profitable. 

Mr.  Hillman  is  a  member  of  the  Fraternal  Order  of  Eagles.  He  is  inde- 
pendent in  his  political  views,  voting  for  the  man  best  suited  to  the  office, 
and  in  his  interest  in  all  civic  affairs  he  has  aided  materially  in  many  of  the 
town  improvements. 

J.  A.  DURNAL. — F'rom  a  very  early  period  in  the  history  of  the  Amer- 
ican occupancy  of  the  Tehachapi  region  the  Durnal  family  has  been  identified 
with  local  affairs.  The  first  representative  of  the  name  to  settle  in  this  dis- 
trict was  the  late  John  A.  Durnal,  a  native  of  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  but  a  resi- 
dent of  California  from  the  age  of  nineteen  years.  Immediately  after  his  ar- 
rival in  the  state  he  secured  employment  at  El  Monte  as  a  corn-husker  at 
seventy-five  cents  a  day.  From  that  place  he  came  to  Kern  county  in  1871 
and  worked  for  wages  at  Old  Tehachapi,  but  soon  took  up  farmmg  for  him- 
self and  in  a  short  time  became  engaged  in  the  sheep  industry.  The  drought 
of  1877  ruined  him  financially.  Forced  to  begin  anew,  he  bought  a  small  herd 
of  cattle  and  turned  his  attention  to  that  industry,  having  his  ranch  and 
headquarters  in  Bear  valley,  where  with  Harvey  Spencer  under  the  firm 
name  of  Durnal  &  Spencer  he  conducted  operations  on  a  large  scale  with 
alternate  successes  and  discouragements.  When  finally  he  sold  the  cattle 
he  continued  in  business  in  Tehachapi  and  later  engaged  in  business  at 
Bakersfield,  where  he  died  March  27.  1909. 

After  coming  to  Kern  county  John  j\.  Durnal  met  and  married  Miss 
Lucinda  Wiggins,  who  was  born  in  Red  River  count}-,  Tex.,  and  during 
infancy  was  brought  to  California  by  her  parents.  Since  the  demise  of  her 
husband  she  has  made  her  home  with  her  older  daughter  in  Los  .\ngeles. 
Her  father.  Judge  W^illiam  Wiggins,  brought  his  family  across  the  plains  by 
the  southern  route  about  1855,  making  the  tedious  trip  with  ox-teams  and 
wagon.  At  first  he  settled  in  El  ]Monte,  but  soon  he  went  to  Kern  county, 
where  he  served  as  the  first  justice  of  the  i^eace  in  the  Tehachapi  district. 
To  him  belonged  the  distinction  of  having  been  the  second  white  man  to 
locate  in  the  Tehachapi  mountain  region,  Mr.  Brite  having  been  the  first. 
After  years  of  intimate  identification  with  this  locality  he  removed  to  Bakers- 
field  and  there  spent  his  last  days. 

The  family  of  the  late  John  A.  Durnal  consists  of  seven  living  children, 
namely:  Renza,  a  foreman  painter  in  Los  .Angeles;  Cora,  wife  of  C.  A. 
Williams,  of  Los  Angeles;  John  A.,  Jr.,  familiarly  known  as  Jack;  James  E.. 
of  Tehachapi ;  Myrtle,  who  married  M.  S.  Delanty  and  lives  at  Phoenix : 
Perry,  of  the  Palos  Verde  valley;  and   Kenneth,  living  in  Tehachapi.     The 


1528  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

first  eleven  years  in  the  life  of  J.  A.  Durnal  were  passed  at  Old  Tehachapi, 
where  his  birth  had  occurred  July  12,  1883,  and  where  he  received  his  pri- 
mary education.  As  the  school  advantages  of  the  district  were  very  meager 
in  those  days  he  was  taken  with  the  other  children  to  Los  Angeles  in  1894  and 
there  completed  the  studies  of  the  grammar  schools,  after  which  he  was  sent 
to  the  University  of  Southern  California.  Upon  leaving  school  he  embarked 
in  the  tea  and  coffee  business  as  proprietor  of  the  Oriental  Tea  and  Coffee 
store  on  West  Jefferson  street,  Lcis  Angeles.  Not  finding  the  occupation 
congenial  or  profitable  he  left  for  Arizona  and  engaged  in  mining  near  Bisbee. 
The  ill  health  of  his  father  necessitated  his  return  to  Tehachapi  and  later  the 
two  opened  and  conducted  a  billiard  parlor  at  Monolith.  After  the  death  of 
the  father  the  business  was  sold  and  since  then  Mr.  Durnal  has  made  his 
home  in  Tehachaoi.  For  some  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Democratic 
League  of  Kern  county.  His  marriage  took  place  in  San  Bernardino  and  united 
him  with  Miss  Jean  A.  Gates,  a  native  of  Tehachapi  and  a  daughter  of  L.  F. 
Gates,  who  died  during  the  term  of  his  service  as  a  supervisor  of  Kern  county. 

SIMON  DUSCHAK.— The  Moron  boiler  shop,  owned  and  operated  by 
Messrs.  Duschak  and  Hurst,  has  risen  to  rank  among  the  pros;5erous  and 
profitable  enterprises  of  the  oil  fields  and  is  favorably  known  by  every  lease 
superintendent  on  the  west  side. 

Simon  Duschak  was  born  in  Chicago,  111.,  January  27,  1879,  and  is  a  son  of 
Paul  and  Henrietta  (Fisher)  Duschak,  piLueers  of  Chicago  and  still  residents 
of  that  city,  where  through  all  of  his  active  life  the  father  engaged  in  black- 
smithing.  The  family  consisted  of  seven  children,  namely:  Lena,  Frances, 
Lizzie,  Simon,  John,  Katie  and  May.  When  only  eleven  years  of  age  Simon 
began  to  work  in  the  Illinois  Central  shops  at  Burnside,  and  from  the  age  of 
seventeen  until  he  was  twenty-two  served  as  an  apprentice  to  the  boiler- 
maker's  trade. 

Upon  C(  ming  to  California  in  1901  Mr.  Duschak  secured  employment 
successively  at  Stockton,  Point  Richmond,  San  Bernardino  and  Los  Angeles. 
In  the  last-named  city  he  was  first  with  the  Baker  iron  works  and  then  with 
the  Southern  Pacific.  The  railroad  company  sent  him  up  to  Sacramento, 
but  there  he  resigned  and  went  to  Salt  Lake  City,  engaging  in  the  boiler 
shops  of  the  Denver  &  Rio  Grande  Railroad  Ctmpany.  The  same  company 
engaged  his  services  in  their  Denver  shops.  Returning  to  Sacramento,  he  re- 
engaged with  the  Southern  Pacific,  which  company  also  employed  him  as  a 
boiler-maker  in  San  Luis  Obispo.  Next  he  was  with  the  Union  Oil  Com- 
pany as  boiler-maker  at  Orcutt,  from  which  point  he  came  to  Taft  (then 
Mon  n)  as  early  as  1909,  prior  to  the  great  fire.  At  once  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  Mr.  Hurst  and  secured  a  ground  lease  for  ten  years  from  the 
Jameson  tract  in  South  Taft,  where  they  built  a  boiler  shop  and  a  double  cot- 
tage large  enough  to  accommodate  two  families.  Since  embarking  in  busi- 
ness they  have  built  up  a  large  trade  extending  from  Pentland  to  ]\IcKittrick 
and  obliging  them  to  keep  steadily  employed  a  fcrce  of  seven  skilled  workmen. 
Two  automobiles  also  are  kept  in  constant  use  as  well  as  a  horse  and  buggy. 
While  living  in  Los  Angeles  ^\r.  Duschak  married  INIiss  Frances  Valpey,  of 
that  citv.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Petroleum  Club.  Before  leaving  Chicago  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  after  coming  to  the  west  he 
identified  himself  with  the  Eagles  in  Sacramento. 

WILLIS  EDWARD  HURST.— Since  the  proprietors  of  the  Moron  boiler 
shop.  Messrs.  Duschak  and  Hurst,  came  to  Taft  in  January  of  1909  and 
embarked  in  business,  they  have  built  up  a  plant  remarkable  for  efficiency 
of  service  and  perfection  of  product. 

Willis  Edward  Hurst  was  born  in  Lancaster  county.  Neb.,  July  20,  1877, 
a  son  of  I.  N.  Hurst,  who  for  thirty-five  years  was  employed  as  a  locomotive 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1529 

engineer.  When  less  than  fifteen  W.  E.  Hurst  began  an  apprenticeship  of 
five  years  in  the  boiler  ships  of  the  lUirlington  &  Missouri  Railroad  at 
Wymore,  Gage  count}-.  Neb.  After  the  completion  of  his  time  he  engaged  as 
a  boiler-maker  with  the  Colorado  Fuel  &  Iron  Company  at  Pueblo,  Colo.,  and 
later  with  the  Union  Pacific  Coal  Company  at  Rock  Springs,  Sweetwater 
county,  Wyt.!.  IMeanwhile.  when  only  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  had  married 
at  Wymore.  Neb.,  Aliss  Edith  Smith,  daughter  of  Abram  B.  Smith,  of  I'lue 
Springs,  Gage  county.  Neb.  They  have  one  son,  Edwin  h'orrest  Hurst,  now 
a  student  in  local  schools. 

Coming  to  California  in  1901  and  securing  employment  with  the  Santa 
Fe  Railroad  Company  in  San  Bernardino,  Mr.  Hurst  there  formed  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Mr.  Duschak,  and  a  friendship  was  begun  that  brought  into  business 
relations  two  men  of  unquestioned  skill  in  their  trade  and  of  the  highest 
reputation  for  industry  and  integrity.  For  a  time  Mr.  Hurst  worked  with  the 
Southern  Pacific  Railroad  Comjiany  in  Sacramento,  for  five  years  was  with 
the  same  road  at  San  Luis  Obispo,  Los  Angeles.  Sacramento  and  Bakersfield, 
and  from  the  last  cit}'  he  went  to  Orcutt  as  an  employe  of  the  Union  Oil 
Company.  Following  the  outbreak  of  the  oil  excitement  at  Moron  (now  Taft) 
he  came  to  the  new  town  and  firmed  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Duschak. 
Since  coming  to  this  place  he  has  identified  himself  with  the  Petroleum  Club. 
In  Santa  Maria  he  joined  the  blue  lodge  of  Masons  and  while  in  San  Luis 
Obispo  he  became  an  acti\e  member  of  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks. 

JAMES  T.  LAPSLEY.— The  manager  of  the  Harvey  house  at  Mojave. 
Kern  county,  is  James  T.  Lapsley,  a  native  of  Harrodsburg,  Mercer  c>  unty, 
Ky.,  born  December  15,  1879,  a  son  of  Dr.  John  B.  Lapsley.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Lapsley.  who  are  also  of  Kentucky  birth,  are  highly  respected,  making  their 
home  in  that  state.  The  son  was  educated  priinarily  in  the  public  schools 
near  his  father's  home  and  he  helped  his  parents  on  the  farm.  He  was  duly 
graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.B.  from  Centre  College,  at  Danville  Ky.,  with 
the  class  of  1899.  and  was  a  teacher  in  AIcAfee  Academy  fi  r  about  two  years. 
In  September,  1901.  he  came  to  California,  locating  for  a  time  at  Ventura. 
On  December  22.  1901,  he  began  a  connection  with  the  Fred  Harvev  Com- 
pany, proprietors  of  eating  houses  along  the  Santa  Fe  and  other  railway  lines. 
From  Ventura  he  went  to  Barstow,  where  he  remained  about  four  months. 
In  the  spring  c  f  1902  he  made  his  advent  into  Mojave,  where  he  filled  a 
responsible  position  as  cashier  until  he  was  transferred  to  Los  Angeles,  still 
in  the  employ  of  the  Harvey  Company.  Later  he  served  the  company  at 
different  important  stations  in  Arizona,  New  Mexico  and  California  and  in 
1907  was  returned  to  jMojave  as  manager  of  the  Depot  Hotel,  a  positii  n  which 
he  now  occupies. 

In  Louisville.  Ky..  November  4.  1912.  ^\r.  Lapsley  married  Miss  Mildred 
R.  Bailey,  alsn  a  native  of  Mercer  county,  that  state.  She  graduated  from 
Beaumont  (Ky.)  College  with  the  degree  of  A.B..  and  also  graduated  from 
the  State  Normal  school  at  Richmond.  Ky. 

R.  R.  HUNT. — One  of  the  well-informed  insurance  men  of  Kern  county 
is  R.  R.  Hunt,  who  until  the  fall  ■  f  1912  was  associated  with  E.  P.  Hoisington 
in  the  real-estate  business  at  Bakersfield.  Since  September  12,  1912,  he  has 
been  a  resident  of  Taft.  and  since  January  1,  1913.  he  has  devoted  his  attention 
to  the  insurance  business,  being  a  special  agent  in  Taft.  where  ho  has  l)uilt 
up  a  good  business. 

The  business  career  of  Mr.  Hunt  in  Kern  county  has  covered  a  neriod  of 
twelve  years,  he  ha\ing  come  hither  in  1900.  He  was  born  March  17.  1S81,  in 
Plattsburg.  Clinton  county,  Mo.,  where  his  childhood  was  spent  and  h-'s  edu- 
cational training  rbtained.     L^pon  arriving  in  Kern  countv  he  obtained  work 


1530  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

as  tool-dresser  in  the  oil  fields  of  the  Kern  River  Oil  Company,  remaining  for 
eight  or  ten  years,  during  which  time  he  was  promoted  in  his  work  as  his 
abilities  became  appreciated.  For  one  year  he  was  employed  at  Taft,  in  the 
Midway  field,  and  for  fourteen  months  he  had  charge  of  the  development  work 
for  the  Associated  Oil  Company.  Subsequently  he  was  engaged  in  the  real- 
estate  business  at  Bakersfield,  remaining  there  until  he  came  back  to  Taft  in 
the  fall  of  1912. 

Mr.  Hunt  is  independent  in  politics,  voting  for  the  man  best  suited  for  the 
office,  and  his  interest  is  ever  in  the  welfare  of  his  adopted  county  and  state. 
In  1910  he  married  Miss  Bessie  Aston,  and  they  have  one  child,  Thomas  A. 

ELIOTT  MITCHELL  ASHE.— Born  in  Orange  county,  N.  C,  April  17, 
1858,  Eliott  M.  Ashe  attended  a  private  school  there  until  he  was  ten  years 
old,  and  then  was  brought  to  Stanislaus  county,  Cal.,  by  his  parents.  Later 
the  family  moved  to  Merced  county,  where  they  lived  until  Mr.  Ashe  was 
seventeen  years  old,  when  they  took  up  their  residence  in  Kern  county.  He 
worked  for  his  father  until  he  was  twenty-two  years  old,  and  at  that  time 
bought  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  which  is  now  under  a  good  state 
of  cultivation  and  is  devoted  to  general  crops.  For  twelve  years  he  was 
associated  with  his  brother  in  the  dairy  business  and  since  then  he  has  been 
successful  as  a  stock-raiser  and  general  farmer. 

On  December  19,  1883,  Mr.  Ashe  married  Christina  J.  Rutledge,  a  native 
of  Tuolumne  county,  born  March  4,  1859,  and  she  has  borne  him  seven  chil- 
dren who  are  here  mentioned  in  the  order  of  their  nativity:  Eliza  M.,  Mrs. 
Fred  Coutts,  of  San  Diego:  Richard  E.,  a  farmer  in  Panama;  Mary  R.,  teach- 
ing in  this  county;  Henry  E.,  deceased;  James  S.,  attending  the  Kern  county 
high  school ;  Anna  L.,  and  George  Tilghman,  both  at  home. 

It  was  in  the  Old  River  district  of  Kern  county  that  Mr.  Ashe  began  his 
independent  career  as  a  farmer,  and  he  has  been  a  witness  of  the  development 
of  the  entire  county.  As  a  farmer  he  has  succeeded  by  hard  work  and  careful 
attention  to  business,  and  as  a  citizen  he  has  invariably  come  to  the  aid  of  all 
movements  for  the  advancement  of  the  community. 

CHARLES  H.  WYNN.— In  1896  Charles  H.  Wynn  came  to  Randsburg 
and  here  he  has  made  his  home  almost  continuously  since,  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  law,  and  with  his  sons,  Harmon  and  Wilbur,  he  is  also  interested 
in  mining.  A  native  of  New  York  state,  Charles  H.  Wynn  was  born  in 
Genesee  county,  April  23,  1848.  Left  an  orphan  when  a  child,  he  was  taken 
to  Danville,  111.,  to  make  his  home  with  relatives,  and  there  he  attended  school. 
On  April  1,  1862,  when  he  was  less  than  fourteen  years  old,  he  enlisted  in 
the  Union  army,  becoming  a  private  in  Company  I,  Thirty-fifth  Illinois  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  and  in  the  battle  of  Stone  River  he  was  severely  wounded. 
At  the  same  time  he  was  also  taken  prisoner,  but  was  afterward  recaptured  and 
returned  to  his  regiment,  thereafter  taking  part  in  several  other  battles  and  at 
the  expiration  of  his  term  he  received  his  honorable  discharge. 

Upon  returning  home  from  the  war,  Mr.  Wynn  settled  at  Dixon,  111., 
where  he  attended  school,  and  then  entered  the  State  University  at  Ann  Arbor, 
Mich.,  where  he  took  his  law  course.  In  1870  he  began  the  practice  of  law, 
following  this  up  to  the  time  he  came  to  Randsburg,  Cal.,  in  August,  1896. 
Upon  arriving  he  first  established  a  stage  line  between  Mojave  and  Rands- 
burg, which  was  first-class  in  every  detail.  As  above  stated  he  is  interested  in 
mining  with  his  sons,  owning  the  Baltic  stamp  mill  and  cyanide  plant.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  that  the  first  tungsten  discovered  in  California  was  taken  from 
the  Baltic  mine,  and  this  was  the  first  shipment  of  tungsten  ore  from  the  state. 

JOE  D.  KERSEY.— When  he  came  to  Moron  in  1908  the  present  town 
of  Taft  was  non-existent,  so  that  he  has  been  a  witness  of  the  development 
of  the  place  from  the  very  beginning.    In  partnership  with  Pat  O'Brien  and 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1531 

B.  H.  Sill  of  Bakersfield  he  now  owns  several  thousand  acres  nf  oil  land  in 
the  Midway,  and  in  Lost  Hills  and  Elk  Hills.  Reinjj  located  in  the  heart 
of  the  region  where  the  great  gassers  and  gushers  have  been  discovered, 
this  land  bids  fair  to  become  most  valuable  and  to  bring  fortunes  to  its  owners. 
^^'hile  he  has  been  living  in  Kern  county  since  1892,  Mr.  Kersey  spent 
his  early  life  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  where  he  was  born  in  1875  and  where  he 
received  a  fair  educatiun.  His  father,  Edward  P.  Kersey,  was  born  in  Ireland 
and  when  a  young  man  sought  the  opportunities  afforded  by  Chicago.  Start- 
ing in  as  a  carpenter,  he  soon  began  to  take  building  contracts.  For  many 
years  he  maintained  an  office  on  the  corner  of  LaSalle  and  Monroe  streets, 
where  now  stands  the  Woman's  Temple.  After  the  great  fire  of  October  9. 
1871,  his  activities  were  doubled  and  he  engaged  a  corps  of  skilled  carpenters 
to  assist  him  in  filling  contracts.  There  still  stand  in  Chicago  buildings  of 
lumber,  stone,  steel  and  concrete,  that  attest  to  his  craftsmanship  and  indus- 
try. In  many  respects  his  personal  history  is  a  record  of  the  early  material 
growth  of  Chicago  and  to  the  last  he  remained  a  devoted  citizen  of  his 
adopted  town,  although  his  death  occurred  at  Sacramento  during  a  visit  he  had 
made  to  California  in  the  hope  of  regaining  health.  In  Chicago  in  1910 
occurred  the  death  of  his  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  D  nnelly. 
A  native  of  Ireland,  she  came  to  the  United  States  in  girlhood.  There  are 
five  other  children  in  the  family  and  the  most  of  these  are  now  married  and 
engaged  in  business  in  the  city  where  they  were  reared.  The  one  son,  how- 
ever, was  not  content  to  remain  there  and  in  1890  he  made  his  way  to  Pueblo, 
Colo.,  where  he  engaged  in  the  fish  and  oyster  business.  The  year  1892  found 
him  in  the  gold  mines  of  the  Mojave  desert  and  since  then  he  has  been  a 
resident  of  Kern  county.  Through  saving  his  money  and  making  judicious 
investments  in  Los  Angeles  and  Kern  county  real  estate,  and  through  the 
purchase  of  oil  lands,  he  has  become  well-to-do,  but  in  his  growing  fortunes  he 
is  the  same  genial,  public-spirited  and  open-hearted  man  as  in  the  days  of 
poverty  and  toil. 

CLARENCE  C.  CUMMINGS.— Cummings  valley,  which  is  situated  in 
Kern  county,  derived  its  name  from  George  Cummings,  and  his  sons  are  now 
worthily  upholding  that  name  and  the  honored  position  held  by  their  father  in 
this  community. 

George  Cummings  was  an  Austrian  by  birth,  and  came  from  his  native 
country  in  1849,  anund  the  Horn,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of 
California,  who  after  many  hard  experiences  finally  became  the  owner  of 
extensive  properties.  He  engaged  in  mining  for  some  time,  subsequently 
engaging  in  stock-raising  and  general  farming,  and  became  the  owner  of  a 
ranch  of  five  thousand  acres.  His  wife.  Sacramento  Lopez,  was  born  in  Los 
Angeles  county  in  1860,  and  now  makes  her  home  on  South  Bonnie  Brae  street 
in  that  city. 

Clarence  C.  Cummings  was  born  in  Los  Angeles,  .-\ugust  18,  1882,  and 
there  received  his  schooling.  His  parents  had  removed  to  that  city  to  give 
their  children  the  best  educational  facilities  possible.  With  his  brothers 
he  took  charge  tf  the  father's  ranch  which  they  are  now  operating,  besides 
which  they  have  purcliased  other  land  and  now  have  six  sections,  mostly 
grazing  land,  about  five  hundred  acres,  however,  being  under  cultivation, 
and  their  success  in  the  business  of  stock-raising  has  been  most  gratifying. 

Mr.  Cummings  is  a  young  man  of  ability.  He  is  unmarried,  and  devotes 
most  of  his  time  and  attention  to  his  business  interests.  Capable,  energetic 
and  persevering,  he  has  mastered  the  details  of  this  line  of  work  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  is  looked  upon  as  an  authority,  and  with  his  brothers  holds  a 
prominent  place  among  the  stock-raisers  of  the  community. 

EDWARD  G.  CUMMINGS.— L'pnn  first  cnmin-  t'n  the   United   States, 


1532  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

George  Cummings  made  his  way  westward  and  settled  in  San  Francisco,  Cal. 
For  about  six  years  he  engaged  in  mining,  after  which  he  took  up  farming, 
going  to  San  Joaquin  county,  where  for  fifteen  years  he  was  a  general  farmer 
and  stock-raiser.  In  1870  he  moved  to  Los  Angeles  and  entered  the  butcher 
business,  following  this  up  to  the  time  he  came  to  the  valley  that  now  l^ears 
his  name.  By  this  time  Mr.  Cummings  had  learned  that  with  proper  water 
facilities  the  soil  in  this  part  ci  the  country  would, yield  good  results,  and 
accordingly  he  investigated  the  territory.  Finding  a  mountain  stream  he 
decided  to  locate  in  the  valley  and  took  up  a  government  homestead  claim. 
He  had  about  three  hundred  and  twenty  head  of  cattle  and  his  stock-raising 
enterprise  was  on  a  profitable  basis.  He  relinquished  his  business  to  his  sons 
and  lived  retired  until  his  death  in  1903. 

The  family  had  returned  to  Los  Angeles  in  1878,  George  Cummings, 
however,  holding  his  ranch  in  Kern  county,  where  Edward  Cummings,  his 
son,  was  born.  The  latter  received  his  education  in  the  public  and  high  schools 
of  Los  Angeles,  attending  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  He 
then  went  to  work  for  his  father,  taking  charge  of  the  place  and  relieving  him 
of  many  arduous  duties.  At  present  the  family  operate  the  old  home  and 
together  own  five  sections  of  land,  upon  which  they  follow  stock-raising  on  a 
large  scale,  and  altogether  have  about  five  hundred  head  of  cattle,  three  hun- 
dred head  of  hugs  and  a  number  of  well  bred  horses  on  the  property.  They 
have  five  hundred  acres  under  cultivation,  sixty  acres  in  alfalfa,  and  there  are 
about  eight  acres  of  apple,  pear,  peach  and  apricot  trees.  The  owners  have 
made  extensive  improvements  on  the  ranch  in  the  way  of  develi  ping  water 
facilities  and  in  other  ways  have  added  to  the  general  value  of  the  place. 
Interested  with  him  in  this  ranch  are  his  sister  and  five  brothers. 

E.  W.  RANDOLPH  is  superintendent  of  the  Boston  Tacilic  Oil  Com- 
pany, which  owns  valuable  property  in  the  Midway  and  Sunset  fields,  having 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  section  32,  31-24  in  the  jNIidway  field  and  forty 
acres  on  section  34,  12-24  in  the  Sunset  with  four  producing  wells,  averaging 
twenty-five  hundred  barrels  monthly.  On  the  first-named  lease  there  is  now 
one  flowing  well  with  an  output  of  one  thousand  barrels  per  day ;  in  addition 
another  well  is  now  being  drilled. 

Born  in  Allen  county,  Kan.,  December  3,  1880,  and  reared  on  a  farm,  he 
left  the  homestead  in  southeastern  Kansas  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  and 
afterward  wt  rked  in  many  oil  fields  of  his  native  commonwealth  besides  those 
of  Oklahoma.  His  first  experiences  in  drilling  were  gained  at  Wayside,  Mont- 
gomery county,  Kan.,  and  in  Oklahoma  he  was  employed  at  Tulsa,  Cleveland 
and  other  fields.  Coming  from  Oklahoma  to  California  in  1908  and  stopping  at 
Maricopa,  Mr.  Randolph  secured  a  position  as  driller  on  the  Muscatine  in 
the  Sunset  field.  Later,  while  drilling  for  the  Standard,  he  brought  in  No.  1 
on  section  26,  the  first  gas  well  in  the  ]\Iidway  field.  After  a  year  with  the 
Standard  he  became  connected  with  other  concerns  and  finally  was  employed 
as  a  driller  with  the  Boston  Pacific  Oil  Company.  After  the  first  month  he 
was  promoted  to  be  superintendent  and  now,  with  his  wife,  formerly  Miss 
Alabel  Untegrove,  a  native  of  Kansas,  he  makes  his  home  on  the  company's 
lease  in  the  Midway  field.   He  is  a  master  Mason. 

GEORGE  JORGENSEN.— From  the  age  of  sixteen  years  Mr.  Jorgensen 
has  made  California  his  home,  coming  thither  from  the  province  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein.  The  Jorgensen  family  represented  some  of  the  very  best  Danish 
element  of  the  northern  part  of  the  province,  where  Jacob  and  Annie  (Schmidt) 
Jorgensen  lived  upon  a  farm  at  Kettingholz.  Some  time  since  the  father 
passed  away,  but  the  mother  still  survives,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three,  and 
v^fhen  her  son,  George,  visited  her  in  1911  at  her  home  in  Arteberg,  Germany, 
he  found  her  well  preserved  and  keenly  interested  in  all  the  activities  of  life. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1533 

There  were  six  children  in  the  family  whu  attained  years  of  maturity,  namely: 
Peter,  Christ.  Jacob,  George,  Cecelia  and  Andrew.  George  was  born  on  the 
home  farm  at  Kettingholz  April  6,  1881.  The  eldest,  Peter,  owns  and  operates 
a  soda  fountain  at  Oakdale,  Cal.  Christ  is  engaged  in  farming  in  Stanislaus 
county,  this  state.  Jacob  owns  large  tracts  in  Merced  county.  Cecelia  remains 
in  Germany,  making  her  home  at  Hamburg,  and  Andrew  is  working  on  the 
Lake  ranch  as  an  emj)lo_ve  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company. 

After  having  fitted  himself  for  life's  responsibilities  by  acquiring  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  German  and  Danish  languages,  George  Jorgensen 
came  to  the  United  States  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  starting  from  IJremcn 
December  12,  1897.  and  landing  in  New  York  January  1,  1898.  Coming 
directly  across  the  continent  to  San  Francisco  he  proceeded  from  that  city  to 
Merced  county,  where  he  found  ranch  work  in  the  employ  of  Miller  &  Lux. 
During  the  several  years  of  his  continuance  in  the  same  position  he  studied 
the  English  language,  which  he  now  reads  and  writes  and  speaks  as  well. 
Upon  leaving  Merced  county  he  worked  on  farms  in  Stanislaus  county.  Dur- 
ing 1910  he  left  California  for  the  purpi  se  of  visiting  friends  in  the  old  home 
land.  May  26,  1911,  he  left  Germany  where  he  had  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  Miss  A'ary  Floeg,  who  had  promised  to  share  his  fortunes  in  the  new  world. 
The  young  couple  were  married  in  Fresno  in  September  of  1911  and  began 
housekeeping  on  a  ranch  of  sixty  acres  in  the  Weed  Patch,  where  he  has 
built  a  neat  house  and  large  barn  and  divided  his  land  by  cross  fences.  The 
ranch  is  owned  by  his  brother,  Jacob,  who  has  leased  the  property  to  him 
with  the  privilege  of  buying  and  meanwhile  he  is  making  improvements  of 
permanent  value  to  the  ranch.  In  his  soecialty  of  alfalfa-raisins:,  he  has  made 
an  encouraging  start.  In  l^\3  Mr.  Jorgensen  helped  to  organize  the  Farmers 
Co-operative  Creamery  in  Kern  county.  In  the  fall  of  1912  he  built  a  cro:  d 
barn  62x64  in  dimensions,  with  a  capacity  of  a  himdred  tons  of  hav.  and  there 
is  room  for  forty-two  cows  and  four  horses.  In  the  last  two  years  Mr.  Jorgen- 
sen has  made  improvements  ami  unting  to  $4,500.  With  the  energy  charac- 
teristic of  him  he  is  collecting  a  herd  c  f  fine  Jersey  milch  cows. 

JAMES  RUSSELL  CRAWFORD.— The  identification  of  Mr.  Crawford 
with  Bakersfield  covers  a  period  comparatively  brief,  yet  of  sufficient  duration 
to  give  him  an  adequate  comprehension  of  the  possibilities  of  the  city  from  a 
commercial  standpoint,  and  since  he  opened  a  garage  at  No.  1812  M  street  ho 
has  built  up  a  large  repair  business,  also  has  kept  in  stock  a  coni'ilete  line  of 
automobile  supplies  and  has  held  the  agency  for  the  Maxwell  car.  In  con- 
nection with  the  repair  shop  he  has  established  and  maintained  a  blacksmith 
and  machine  shop,  which  gives  him  the  necessary  equipment  for  repair  work 
of  all  kinds,  besides  enabling  him  to  do  satisfactory  work  in  caring  for  and 
repairing  automobiles. 

Near  the  line  of  the  Old  Dominion,  at  Wardensville,  Hardy  county,  W. 
Va..  James  Russell  Crawford  was  born  October  9th,  1882.  The  family  of 
which  he  was  a  member  originally  comprised  twelve  children  and  eight  of  the 
number  are  still  living.  The  parents,  Capt.  Levi  and  Mary  Ann  (Bowers) 
Crawford,  were  natives  of  West  Virginia  and  the  latter  died  in  Iowa  during 
the  year  1912.  The  former,  who  was  a  lifelong  farmer,  gained  his  title  through 
efficient  service  as  the  head  of  a  company  that  remained  at  the  front  in  the 
Union  army  throughout  the  entire  period  of  the  Civil  war.  When  peace  had 
been  declared  he  received  an  honorable  discharge  and  returned  to  West  Vir- 
ginia to  resume  farm  pursuits.  Some  time  afterward  he  married  Miss  Bowers 
and  established  a  home  of  his  own,  continuing  in  \\'est  Virginia  until  1889, 
when  he  removed  to  Iowa  and  bought  a  farm  near  Montezuma.  Nnw  at  the 
age  of  eighty-three  years  (1913)  he  is  living  retired  in  Iowa.  When  the  family 
settled  in  the  central  west  James  Russell  Crawford  was  a  boy  of  seven  years, 


1534  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

hence  his  education  was  obtained  largely  in  Iowa  and  his  youth  was  passed 
on  an  Iowa  farm.  Agriculture,  however,  did  not  interest  him  as  did  work 
with  machinery.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of 
blacksmith  at  Brooklyn,  Iowa,  where  he  remained  until  the  completion  of  his 
time  and  later  he  worked  at  different  places,  first  in  Iowa,  then  in  Washington. 
The  year  1909  found  him  in  California,  where  for  a  year  he  engaged  as  black- 
smith with  the  Monte  Cristo  Oil  Company  in  the  Kern  river  field.  Since  then 
he  has  been  interested  in  business  for  himself  at  Bakersfield,  where  he  has  a 
comfortable  home,  presided  over  by  Mrs.  Crawford,  whom  he  married  in 
San  Diego,  and  who  was  Miss  Minnie  Hartman,  a  native  of  Iowa.  In  national 
politics  he  votes  with  the  Republican  party.  With  his  wife  he  has  been  identi- 
fied with  the  United  Presbyterian  Church. 

WILLIAM  LEWIS  HENDERSON.— As  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the 
Bakersfield  sheet  metal  works  Mr.  Henderson  is  identified  with  an  important 
local  industry  and  is  given  a  business  standing  which  reflects  the  highest 
credit  upon  his  own  energy  and  resi  lution  of  purpose.  The  attainment  of 
success  in  life,  while  one  of  his  earliest  ambitions,  did  not  seem  possible  of 
fruition,  for  he  was  orphaned  by  the  death  of  his  father  when  he  himself  was 
but  a  child  and  afterward  poverty  prevented  him  from  securing  a  finished 
education,  yet  with  firmness  and  industry  he  has  persevered  until  now  the  fu- 
ture looks  most  promising  and  hopeful.  Chicago  is  his  native  city  and  he  was 
born  February  7,  1875,  but  from  the  age  of  seven  years  he  has  lived  in  Cali- 
fornia. His  parents,  Charles  H.  and  Mary  (Burkhart)  Henderson,  were 
natives  respectively  of  New  York  state  and  Pottsville,  Pa.,  and  the  former 
was  an  electrician  by  occupation.  When  the  father  died  in  1882  the  mother 
brought  her  four  small  children,  of  whom  William  L.  was  the  eldest,  to  Cali- 
fornia, establishing  a  home  in  San  Francisco,  where  the  then  small  lad  worked 
of  mornings  and  evenings  in  order  to  aid  in  securing  the  scanty  livelihood 
of  the  family.  After  he  had  completed  the  grammar  grade  he  left  school  and 
found  employment  in  a  factory  where  were  manufactured  articles  of  brass, 
steel  and  German  silver.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was  apprenticed  to  the 
trade  of  sheet-metal  worker  in  the  Union  iron  works  tf  San  I^rancisco,  where 
he  worked  successively  in  the  engine,  hull  and  ventilation  departments. 

Coming  to  Bakersfield  for  the  first  time  during  1897  Mr.  Henderson  found 
work  as  a  journeyman  with  C.  H.  Quincy  and  when  the  latter  sold  out  to  the 
Western  Burner  and  Fuel  Company  he  continued  for  one  year  in  charge  of 
their  sheet-metal  department.  The  business  was  then  sold  to  the  Bakersfield 
Plumbing  Company  and  he  returned  to  San  Francisco,  where  he  continued 
to  work  at  his  trade.  For  a  time  he  made  a  specialty  of  cornice  work.  After 
the  fire  of  April,  1906,  he  embarked  in  business  for  himself,  continuing  until  the 
fall  of  1908,  when  he  returned  to  Bakersfield.  For  a  time  he  followed  his 
trade  with  R.  H.  Ferguson,  later  being  promoted  to  the  management  of  the 
sheet-metal  department,  which  in  J\Iarch  of  1912  he  purchased  with  James  I. 
Waldon  as  a  partner.  The  Bakersfield  sheet-metal  works  (for  by  this  name 
the  business  is  now  known)  is  located  at  No.  1807  L  street  and  contains  a 
complete  equipment  for  the  manufacture  of  everything  in  the  sheet-metal  line. 
The  proprietors  are  men  of  energy  and  deserve  the  growing  trade  which  is 
theirs.  In  addition  to  maintaining  a  close  supervision  of  the  business  Mr. 
Henderson  takes  a  warm  interest  in  movements  for  the  upbuilding  of  the 
city,  in  national  politics  supports  Democratic  policies  and  fraternally  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World.  His  first  wife,  who  was  Miss  Lida  H!. 
Moon,  a  native  of  Bakersfield,  died  shortly  after  their  marriage ;  later,  at 
Oxnard,  this  state,  he  was  united  with  Miss  Julia  M.  Hancock,  a  native  of 
Canada,  and  by  this  union  there  are  four  children,  Selena,  Bessie,  George  and 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1535 

Birdie.     They  are  comfortably  located  on  Arlington  street  where   Mr.  Hen- 
derson has  built  a  residence  on  a  tract  of  ten  lots  which  he  owns. 

A.  L.  MOSS.- — Several  successive  generations  of  the  Moss  family  have 
been  identified  with  the  agricultural  development  of  the  new  world  and  par- 
ticularly with  the  South.  The  family  records  show  that  the  great-grand- 
mother, who  was  a  native  of  Germany,  became  a  resident  of  America  prior 
to  the  Revolutionary  war  and  there  is  autliority  for  the  accuracy  of  the  state- 
ment that  she  lived  to  be  one  hundred  and  twelve  years  of  age.  From  the 
Atlantic  seaboard  the  family  began  to  drift  toward  the  west.  Both  William 
Moss  and  his  son,  A.  L.,  were  burn  in  the  state  of  Tennessee  near  Jackson  and 
the  former  married  Jnlia  .Ann  Stephens,  who  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  but 
passed  the  years  of  girlhood  in  Tennessee.  One  year  after  the  birth  of  their 
son,  A.  L.,  which  occurred  March  30,  1857,  the  parents  moved  across  the  Mis- 
sissippi river  and  settled  in  Missouri,  a  center  of  strife  during  the  Civil  war. 
Although  the  boy  was  only  four  years  of  age  when  the  war  opened  he  remem- 
bers some  of  the  stirring  incidents  and  recalls  an  unimportant  but  sanguinary 
contest  that  took  place  at  Hartville,  Mo.,  between  the  opposing  generals, 
Warner  and  Marmaduke.  The  long  civil  strife  impoverished  the  family  and 
defeated  his  aspirations  fi  r  obtaining  a  good  education,  but  observation  taught 
him  much  and  enlarged  his  fund  of  useful  information  and  from  an  early  age 
he  has  been  self-supporting.  Throughi  ut  life  he  has  made  a  specialty  of  farm- 
ing and  gardening.  While  still  living  in  Missouri  he  lost  his  first  wife,  who 
passed  away  July  10,  1899,  leaving  two  sons,  William  and  John,  both  now  resi- 
dents of  Georgia. 

Coming  tci  California  about  the  year  1900  Mr.  Moss  immediately  settled  in 
Kern  county.  During  the  first  year  he  engaged  in  a  fruit  and  grocery  business. 
Later  he  followed  other  occupations  for  brief  intervals,  but  here,  as  in  Mis- 
souri, he  has  given  his  attention  principally  to  market  gardening  and  general 
farming.  His  second  marriage  took  place  in  this  county  and  united  him  with 
Mrs.  Addie  Thurlow,  the  wedding  being  solemnized  in  the  year  ff'OS,  since 
which  time  they  have  resided  at  the  home  farm  situated  two  and  one-half  miles 
southeast  of  Bakersfield  and  comprising  forty  acres  of  very  valuable  land. 
Fruit  of  the  choicest  varieties  is  raised  in  large  quantities,  including  peaches, 
plums,  apples,  pears,  blackberries  and  strawberries.  He  makes  a  S[)ecialty 
of  raising  "Irish"  potatoes  for  the  early  markets,  as  well  as  sweet  potatoes, 
while  in  the  summer  and  autumn  melons  and  cantaloupes  are  rai.sed  and  sold 
by  the  wholesale.  Industrious  in  disposition,  energetic  in  temperament,  fond 
of  the  work  in  which  he  specializes,  he  has  shown  ability  in  the  management 
of  the  farm  and  is  securing  excellent  returns  from  its  cultivation.  In  this  task 
he  has  the  sensible,  practical  co-operation  of  his  wife,  whose  long  residence 
in  the  west  has  familiarized  her  with  local  conditions  and  given  her  an  expe- 
rience most  helpful  to  present  activities.  Born  near  Perry,  N.  Y.,  she  was  a 
daughter  of  the  late  James  Rood,  of  York  state,  and  during  young  womanhood 
became  the  wife  of  Charles  Thurlow,  a  carpenter,  whom  she  accompanied  to 
California  in  1888  and  who  passed  away  in  March,  1899,  leaving  two  daughters, 
Madge  and  Gladys.  The  older  daughter  is  now  the  wife  of  Guy  Rodgers,  who 
is  employed  as  a  stationary  engineer  at  San  Francisco,  (iladys  married  W.  L. 
Formway,  who  is  employed  by  the  San  Joaquin  Light  &  Power  Corporation. 
The  family  attend  the  Baptist  Church  in  Bakersfield.  He  holds  strictly  to 
Democratic  principles  and  never  fails  to  support  the  candidates  of  that  party 
in  national  elections.  Mr.  Afoss  bought  thirty-five  acres  in  the  vicinity  of 
Edison  in  April,  1913,  with  the  intention  of  engaging  in  the  market-gardening 
business  on  a  larger  scale,  making  a  specialty  of  early  table  vegetables. 

VINCENT  MON,— The  early  home  of  Vincent  Mon  was  in  Basses 
Pvrenees.  France,  where  he  was  born  December  12,  1838,  and  where  he  spent 


1536  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

the  first  seventeen  years  of  his  life.  The  family  to  which  he  belongs  has  been 
identified  with  Southern  France  from  a  remote  period  and  his  parents,  Louis 
Henry  and  Jane  (Larratone)  Mon,  were  lifelong  residents  of  Basses  Pyrenees, 
where  the  father  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  and  the  mother  a  year  later 
when  past  eighty.  There  were  six  children  in  the  family  and  all  are  still  liv- 
ing, the  eldest,  a  half-brother,  Gart,  remaining  in  France,  while  an  own  brother, 
Jean,  is  living  in  Buenos  Ayres,  South  America.  Marie  is  a  nun  in  a  convent 
in  France.  Theresa,  wife  of  Jean  Crapuchets,  remains  on  the  old  homestead 
in  Basses  Pyrenees.  Mrs.  Genevieve  Mesplou,  a  widow  still  living  in  France, 
has  two  daughters,  namely:  Anna,  wife  of  Ira  Gerardet,  a  clerk  in  a  store  in 
East  Bakersfield ;  and  Jane,  who  resides  with  Mrs.  Gerardet  when  she  is  in 
Bakersfield.  but  whose  permanent  home  is  San  Francisco. 

While  attending  the  common  schools  in  his  native  land  Vincent  Mon 
heard  much  concerning  America  and  as  scon  as  he  completed  the  studies  of 
the  grammar  schools  he  crossed  the  ocean,  Los  Angeles  being  his  objective 
point.  Shortly  after  he  arrived  in  that  city  he  chanced  to  meet  Henry  Zim- 
merman, who  bought  and  fed  sheep  for  the  San  Francisco  markets.  Securing 
employment  with  him  as  a  drover  he  continued  in  the  same  place  for  three 
years  and  then  engaged  in  a  similar  capacity  with  other  sheepmen,  making 
Bakersfield  his  headquarters.  Carefully  hoarding  his  wages,  he  was  able  to 
embark  in  business  for  himself  in  1891  and  began  with  four  thousand  head  of 
sheep.  It  was  necessary  to  carry  a  heavy  debt  on  the  flock  and  when  the 
financial  panic  of  1894  came  it  found  him  unprepared  for  such  an  emergency, 
the  result  being  a  total  loss.  Forced  to  start  anew,  he  began  to  dip  sheep  at 
Poso  Bridge  Station  in  1895  and  ever  since  he  has  given  his  attention  largely  to 
such  work,  but  in  addition  he  owns  a  herd  of  seventy-five  cattle  and  a  flock 
of  one  hundred  of  Angora  goats.  He  operates  his  farm  of  forty  acres  at 
Poso,  Kern  county,  and  since  1912  has  made  his  home  on  five  acres  of  land, 
which  he  bought  in  that  year,  on  Terrance  Way,  in  the  suburbs  of  Bakers- 
field. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Mon  took  place  in  1887  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Catharine  Cazaux,  who  came  from  the  same  province  in  France  as  himself 
and  who  is  a  woman  of  thrift,  energy  and  untiring  industry,  a  devoted  wife  and 
wise  mother.  Ten  children  were  born  of  their  unicn  and  nine  are  still  living, 
namely:  Julia,  Henry,  Eugene,  Marie,  Irene,  Vincent,  Jr.,  Emaline,  George 
and  Catharine.  All  are  yet  at  home  and  the  youngest  of  the  number  are  puoils 
in  the  common  schools.  Charles  Vincent,  second  child  born  in  the  family,  died 
in  infancy.  The  family  hold  membership  with  the  Catholic  Church  and  are 
devoted  to  its  doctrines.  Since  he  became  a  citizen  of  our  country  he  has  been 
a  Republican. 

DANIEL  B.  WOODSON.— To  the  class  of  self-educated,  self-reliant 
citizens  who  form  so  vital  a  part  of  the  population  of  Kern  county  belongs 
Daniel  B.  Woodson,  owner  of  a  well-improved  ranch  lying  four  and  one-half 
miles  south  of  Kern.  His  life  has  not  been  filled  with  the  sunshine  of  ease  nor 
made  glad  by  an  inheritance  of  wealth  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  stern  necessity 
of  self-support  deprived  him  of  educational  advantages  and  prevented  him 
from  enjoying  the  recreations  that  render  pleasant  the  memories  of  youth. 

From  Missouri,  where  he  was  born  in  Boone  county  November  9,  1879, 
Daniel  B.  Woodson  came  to  California  and  settled  at  Bakersfield  at  the  age 
of  eleven  years.  The  poverty  of  the  family  prevented  him  from  securing  a 
thorough  education  and  from  the  age  of  fifteen  he  has  been  self-supporting. 
For  three  years  he  drove  a  team  for  the  Kern  County  Land  Company.  Nine 
months  were  passed  as  a  helper  in  the  Southern  Pacific  shops  at  Bakersfield 
and  for  eighteen  months  he  was  employed  in  the  Bakersfield  iron  works. 
When  he  left  the  last-named  plant  he  secured  a  position  with  the  Standard  Oil 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1537 

Company  in  Bakersfield.  After  he  had  been  with  the  company  about  seven 
years  he  resigned  from  his  position  as  foreman  and  stationary  engineer,  in 
which  capacity  he  had  been  employed  along  the  Point  Richmond  line,  mean- 
while living  at  various  places  along  the  route  of  his  work. 

With  his  savings  of  years  Air.  Woodson  purchased  fifty  acres  lying  four 
and  one-half  miles  south  of  Kern  and  here  he  has  since  remained.  Besides 
operating  the  hi  me  place  he  rents  an  adjacent  tract  of  fifteen  acres  and  also 
manages  fifteen  acres  belonging  to  his  wife,  so  that  altogether  he  farms 
eighty  acres  in  one  body.  His  whole  attention  is  concentrated  upon  the  care 
of  the  farm.  Aside  from  voting  the  Democratic  ticket  at  all  elections  he  takes 
no  part  whatever  in  politics.  Since  he  came  to  the  farm.  January  1,  1911,  he 
has  made  a  number  of  needed  impn  vements  and  has  endeavored  successfully 
to  increase  the  productiveness  of  the  soil,  thereby  also  increasing  the  returns 
from  its  cultivation.  In  all  of  his  work  he  has  enjoyed  the  helpful  co-oiieration 
of  Mrs.  Woe  dson,  whom  he  married  in  1900  and  who  was  Mrs.  Mamie  Keough, 
the  widow  of  Daniel  Keough  and  a  daughter  of  Peter  McCafYery,  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  Kern  county.    They  have  ime  child,  Florence. 

MORDECAI  FILLMORE  PEARSON.— Born  near  Doylestown,  Bucks 
county.  Pa.,  on  Christmas  Day,  1835,  M.  F.  Pearson  is  the  son  cf  Mordecai 
and  Ruth  A.  (Linburg)  Pearson,  both  natives  of  Bucks  county,  of  old  Penn- 
sylvania families  and  of  English  ancestry,  descending  from  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  that  migrated  from  England  during  the  early  settlement  of 
Philadelphia  by  William  Penn.  Mordecai  Pearson  was  a  farmer  near  Doyles- 
town and  there  both  parents  passed  away,  their  family  consisting  of  eleven 
children.  Nine  of  these  grew  to  maturity,  of  whom  Mordecai  Fillmore  is  the 
fourth.  He  attended  public  school  near  the  home  of  his  youth  until  he  was 
eighteen  and  during  the  next  three  years  worked  for  his  father.  Having 
attained  his  majority,  he  made  his  independent  entry  into  the  business  world 
as  a  clerk  in  a  store  at  Doylestown.  but  later  turned  his  attention  to  farming 
the  home  place.  In  1884  he  came  to  California  and  was  employed  for  two 
years  in  Los  Angeles.  From  that  city  he  went  to  Cortland,  Sacramento 
county,  where  he  successfully  operated  a  dairy  until  1890,  at  which  time  he 
purchased  forty  acres  of  land  in  the  Rosedale  district,  Kern  county,  and  began 
general  farming  and  horticulture,  setting  out  a  vineyard  and  orchard.  Later 
on  he  sold  his  property  and  took  up  a  homestead  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  in  the  Weed  Patch,  where  he  sunk  a  well,  built  a  house,  and  made  other 
improvements,  and  proved  up  on  it.  This  he  still  owns.  He  lived  on  this 
place  until  1907,  when  he  came  to  the  original  part  of  his  present  property.  He 
bought  twenty  acres  each  year  frr  five  years  until  he  had  one  hundred  acres 
which  he  gradually  improved,  devoting  it  to  general  farming  and  dairying. 
It  is  all  under  irrigation  from  the  Stine  canal. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Pearson  took  an  interest  in  gold  mining,  with  special 
reference  to  operations  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state,  and  he  is  one  of  the 
promoters  of  the  business  of  the  Gold  Mountain  Hydraulic  and  Dredging 
Company,  operating  on  Willow  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Feather  river  in 
Plumas  county.  He  has  during  recent  years  been  interested  in  the  development 
of  an  apiary  on  his  ranch. 

The  lady  who  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Pearson  was  Miss  I^lla  .\.  Ott, 
who  was  also  born  near  Doylestown,  Bucks  ci.unty,  Pa..  July  7.  lS6.=i,  their 
marriage  taking  place  in  Doylestown,  in  1S82.  She  comes  uf  an  old  Penn- 
sylvania family  of  German  descent.  Two  daughters  were  born  to  them  :  Anna 
M..  who  makes  her  home  with  her  parents:  and  Ruth  E.,  who  is  Mrs.  Cornish 
of  Lf  s  Angeles.     Politically  Mr.  Pearson  is  a  Republican. 

PAUL  R.  FECHTNER.— Upon  his  arrival  in  this  city  during  the  spring 
of  1910  he  opened  a  machine  and  repair  shop  on  the  corner  i)f  Chester  avenue 


1538  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  Twentieth  street,  but  in  August  of  the  following  year  he  removed  to  the 
new  Berges  building,  Nos.  1817-1821  I  street,  where  now  he  has  ample 
quarters  for  every  department  of  his  business.  A  gunmaker  by  trade  he  has 
made  a  specialty  of  guns  and  ammunition.  Besides  carrying  a  full  line  of 
sporting  goods  and  doing  repair  work  he  acts  as  agent  for  the  Appeal,  Iver 
Johnson,  Crown,  Savage,  Miami  and  Racycle  bicycles.  He  has  fitted  up  the 
large  basement  for  a  modern  machine  shop  with  electric  power. 

At  Pyritz,  Pomerania,  in  the  north  of  Germany,  Paul  R.  Fechtner  was 
born  February  22,  1867,  being  a  son  of  Martin  and  Ernestine  (Schroeder) 
Fechtner,  the  latter  deceased  in  1900,  the  former  January  20,  1913.  Prior  to  the 
father's  retirement  he  engaged  in  the  shoe  business.  There  were  twelve  chil- 
dren in  the  family  and  all  but  two  attained  mature  years,  while  eight  sur- 
vive at  this  writing.  The  sixth  in  order  of  birth  was  Paul  R.,  who  attended 
the  public  schools  from  six  until  fourteen  and  then  began  an  apprenticeship 
of  three  years  to  the  trade  of  locksmith  and  gun-maker.  At  the  expiration  of 
his  time  he  worked  for  wages.  Later  he  served  for  two  and  one-half  years 
in  the  First  Rhenish  Heavy  Artillery,  Eighth  Army  Corps,  of  th  •;  German 
artillery,  in  which  he  was  chosen  gunmaster.  Upon  the  expiration  of  his 
period  of  service  he  received  an  honorable  discharge  and  returned  to  his  trade, 
which  he  followed  for  a  year  in  Germany  and  a  year  in  Copenhagen,  Den- 
mark. The  year  1893  found  him  working  at  his  trade  in  Chicago  during  the 
World's  Fair.  From  that  city  he  made  three  different  trips  through  the  United 
States,  traveling  from  coast  to  coast  and  from  the  gulf  to  the  British  posses- 
sions. The  expenses  of  these  trips  were  paid  through  working  at  his  trade. 
Finally  he  settled  in  Seattle,  Wash.,  and  opened  a  machine  shop,  where  he 
made  a  specialty  of  electro-plating.  After  two  years  he  sold  the  business  and 
for  a  year  worked  as  a  machinist  in  the  navy  yard  at  Bremerton,  Wash.,  going 
back  from  there  to  Seattle  and  erecting  two  residences,  one  of  which  he  still 
owns.  The  next  change  of  location  brought  him  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  is 
now  conducting  an  important  business.  While  living  in  Chicago  he  married 
Miss  Wilhelmina  Ulrich,  a  native  of  Springfield,  111.,  and  by  the  union  there 
are  three  children,  Leona,  Wilhelmina  and  Erna.  The  family  are  identified 
with  St.  John's  German  Lutheran  Church.  In  politics  he  votes  with  the 
Republican  party.  Besides  being  a  member  of  the  Eagles  at  Bakersfield,  he 
was  made  a  Mason  in  .Alpha  Kern  Ledge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  in  this  city,  and  has 
been  a  prominent  worker  in  its  philanthropic  efforts. 

MICHAEL  ARGY. — The  chief  engineer  of  the  court  house,  who  has 
filled  the  pi  sition  since  December  30,  1912,  is  of  American  birth  and  Irish 
descent.  Born  in  Warren,  N.  H.,  in  1855,  he  was  only  one  year  old  when  his 
parents,  Alexander  and  Kate  Arg)^  removed  to  Chelsea,  Mass.  After  he  had 
completed  the  studies  of  the  public  schools  he  became  an  apprentice  to  the 
trade  of  machinist  and  when  only  nineteen  was  chosen  stationary  engineer 
for  the  Chelsea  Gas  and  Light  Company.  After  he  had  engaged  with  that 
concern  for  six  years  he  was  for  eight  seasons  chief  engineer  for  the  Point 
Pines  Company  at  Revere  Beach,  Mass.,  during  the  winters  being  with  various 
manufacturing  companies,  and  one  winter  serving  as  chief  engineer  of  the 
Magnolia  Hotel,  in  Magnolia,  Fla.  Coming  to  California  in  1890  he  secured 
employment  Avith  the  Yisalia  electric  light  plant  and  gas  works,  where  he 
remained  for  six  months.  A  sojourn  cf  six  weeks  in  San  Francisco  was  fol- 
lowed by  his  arrival  in  Bakersfield  in  1891  and  since  then  he  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  this  city.  At  first  he  was  employed  as  engineer  with  the  Bakersfield 
Gas  and  Electric  Light  Company  and  its  successor,  at  the  same  time  having 
charge  of  the  engines  in  the  fire  department,  but  about  the  middle  of  1898 
he  resigned  in  order  to  become  engineer  of  Steamer  No.  1,  Bakersfield  fire 
department,  and  for  fourteen  and  one-half  years  filled  that  position.  After 
having  charge  of  the  engines  for  nineteen  years  he  finally  resigned   for  the 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1539 

purpose  of  accepting  the  position  of  cliief  engineer  at  the  new  court  house. 
For  some  years  he  has  been  connected  with  the  Xational  .\ss(icia.ii)n  ot  Sta- 
tionary Engineers  No.  1,  at  San  Francisco. 

While  Hving  in  Massachusetts  he  married  Miss  Margaret  McKearn,  of 
Boston,  and  they  now  reside  at  No.  2029  Q  street.  When  a  young  man,  at 
Revere  Beach,  he  became  an  experienced  oarsman  and  won  many  races;  he 
was  one  of  a  team  of  four  that  won  the  four-oared  race  at  Plympton,  Mass., 
in  1872,  and  for  ten  years  he  followed  that  sport,  winning  many  prizes  and 
establishing  an  enviable  record  for  his  skill.  Mr.  Argy  is  greatly  interested 
in  the  breeding  of  standard  horses  and  he  has  owned  and  still  owns  several 
valuable  horses.  He  owned  Logonette,  with  record  of  2.11  "4,  and  Flora  D., 
with  record  of  2.28^/2,  Birdie  Monroe,  2.28,  and  also  McGregor,  Logonette,  Jr., 
King  Edward,  King  Solomon,  Queenie  and  Flora  D.,  Jr.,  constituting  a  fine 
string  of  valuable  standard  horses,  are  all  the  property  of  Mr.  Argy.  He  sup- 
ports the  Democratic  party  and  is  a  member  of  Bakersfield  Aerie  No.  93,  Order 
of  Eagles. 

JULES  GIRARD.— Among  the  many  men  who  came  from  the  south  of 
France  to  seek  their  fortune  in  the  land  of  the  Golden  West  and  whose  am- 
bition to  succeed  has  been  crowned  with  success  we  find  Jules  Girard,  who 
came  to  Kern  county,  Cal.,  in  1890,  locating  in  Delano  when  the  country  was 
all  open  plains  and  range.  He  was  born  at  Gap,  Hautes-Alpes,  France,  the  son 
of  Francois  and  Delphine  (Julian)  Girard,  both  natives  of  that  place  where 
they  were  successful  farmers  and  are  now  deceased.  Of  their  union  there 
were  born  eight  boys  and  one  girl,  only  three  of  whom  are  now  living,  Philip, 
Joseph  and  Jules,  all  of  Delano.  Jules  was  born  February  26,  1872,  and  grew 
up  on  the  home  farm,  attending  the  public  schools  of  his  native  place.  When 
eighteen  years  of  age,  in  1890,  he  came  to  California,  making  his  way  imme- 
diatelv  to  Delano,  where  he  was  employed  in  the  sheep  business  by  his  broth- 
ers who  had  preceded  him.  In  1892  he  bought  a  flock  of  sheep  and  engaged  in 
sheep-raising  on  his  own  account,  ranging  them  on  the  plains  and  in  the 
mountains.  His  herd  increased  and  he  met  with  merited  success,  his  flock 
at  times  numbering  as  many  as  six  thousand  head.  During  this  time  he 
located  a  h(  mestead  fourteen  miles  east  of  Delano,  which  he  still  owns. 

Mr.  Girard  was  married  in  San  Francisco  to  Miss  Theresa  IMotte,  also 
a  native  of  Gap,  and  they  have  been  blessed  with  five  children,  as  follows: 
Leon,  Louise,  lules,  Hilda'  and  Victoria.  Believing  in  protection  he  is  a  stanch 
Republican.  S"ince  his  marriage  he  has  erected  a  comfortable  home  in  Delano 
where  he  resides  with  his  family. 

GEORGE  E.  BURKETT.— Mr.  Burkett  was  born  in  Marion,  Grant 
county,  Ind.,  August  13,  1862,  son  of  Daniel  and  Henrietta  (Owens)  Burkett, 
born  respectively  in  Pennsylvania  and  Indiana.  The  parents  were  farmers  in 
Grant  county  for  some  years,  and  in  1870  removed  to  Holton,  Jackson  county, 
Kans.,  where  they  homesteaded  one  hundred  and  si.xty  acres.  Until  1897  they 
resided  there  and  then  located  at  Dodge  City,  where  the  father  and  his  sons 
became  large  land  owners  and  successful  stockmen.  He  is  now  in  his  eighty- 
eighth  year,  hale  and  hearty,  and  able  to  fully  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  earlier 
labors.  On  his  paternal  side  George  E.  is  of  German  extraction,  while  on 
the  maternal  side  his  descent  is  Scotch  and  Welsh.  Eight  children  were  born 
to  Daniel  Burkett  and  his  wife,  all  of  them  now  living  and  proving  a  credit  to 
their  early  training. 

George  E.  Burkett  was  the  sixth  in  order  of  birth  in  his  parents'  family. 
His  early  life  and  youth  were  passed  in  Kansas  on  the  home  farm,  and  he 
attended  the  local  public  schools.  When  he  was  fourteen  he  went  to  Kan- 
sas City,  Mo.,  where  he  spent  two  years  at  the  Armour  packing  plant  learning 
the  butchering  business.     At  the  end  of  this  time  he  entered  Campbell  Uni- 


1540  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

versity  at  Holton  and  in  1883  completed  his  course  and  was  graduated.  With 
his  brother,  R.  C.  Burkett  (now  of  Santa  Ana,  Cal.),  he  then  made  a  trip 
through  Iowa,  the  Dakotas,  Indiana  and  tther  states,  finally  returning  to  Kan- 
sas, where  from  1884  to  1886  he  engaged  in  the  stock  business.  On  July  4  of 
the  last  named  year  he  came  to  California  and  made  his  way  to  San  Diego, 
where  he  became  superintendent  of  the  San  Diego  Bituminous  Paving  Com- 
pany and  two  years  later  went  to  Fresno  to  take  the  position  of  fruit  buyer 
for  the  Johnson-Locke  Mercantile  Company  of  San  Francisco.  Two  years 
later  he  went  to  Lcs  Angeles  in  the  employ  of  the  Cudahy  Packing  Company 
and  for  five  years  served  as  foreman  in  the  killing  room,  at  the  end  of  this 
time  accepting  the  superintendency  of  the  Maier  Packing  Company's  house, 
which  he  carried  on  for  six  years.  The  year  1905  brought  Mr.  Burkett  to 
Bakersfield  where  he  entered  the  Kern  County  Land  Company's  service  as 
superintendent  of  their  packing  department  at  Bellevue  Ranch,  and  here  he 
has  remained. 

In  San  Diego  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Burkett  and  Miss 
Olive  Harlan,  the  ceremony  taking  place  in  November,  1888.  Mrs.  Burkett  was 
a  native  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  and  graduated  from  Drake  University,  in  which 
institution  she  taught  elocution  for  two  years.  Seven  children  were  born  to 
this  couple :  Nina,  who  is  the  wife  of  J.  M.  Wallace,  of  Los  Angeles ;  Lloyd, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  twelve  years  ;  Clarence,  who  died  at  seven  years ;  Flor- 
ence, who  is  attending  the  Kern  County  high  school ;  and  Everett,  Frances  and 
Marshall,  at  home.  Mr.  Burkett  is  a  member  of  the  Woodmen  of  the  World, 
and  pclitically  unites  with  the  Democratic  party.  With  his  wife  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Christian  Church  of  Bakersfield.  Mr.  Burkett  is  now  serving  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  school  trustees  of  Buena  Vista  district.  With  his 
wife,  who  is  a  refined  woman  of  quiet  tastes,  he  shares  in  the  friendship  of 
many  of  Bakersfield's  people  and  they  are  much  respected  and  esteemed. 

DICK  SHACKELFORD.— Few  of  those  who  crossed  the  plains  during 
the  memorable  year  of  1849  remain  to  recount  to  rising  generations  their  ex- 
periences in  a  journey  so  entirely  diflferent  from  anything  possible  to  the 
twentieth  century.  Although  at  the  time  he  made  the  eventful  trip  Dick 
Shackelford  was  a  boy  of  enly  seven  he  recalls  vividly  the  dangers  of  the 
desert,  the  fear  of  savage  Indians  and  of  wild  beasts  and  the  perils,  seen  and 
unseen,  connected  with  that  large  expedition  traveling  with  wagons  and  ox- 
teams.  The  southern  rcute  was  followed  from  Texas  through  New  Mexico 
and  Arizona  and  into  California  at  Fort  Yuma,  from  which  the  family  pro- 
ceeded to  San  Gabriel  ]\lission  to  spend  the  winter  of  1849-50.  The  father, 
Montgomery  Bell  Shackelford,  a  Kentuckian  by  birth,  had  been  a  scout  on  the 
frontier  and  a  member  of  the  Texas  rangers.  Natural  courage  and  frontier 
experiences  qualified  him  for  the  safe  encompassing  of  his  plans  and  for  a 
later  identification  with  ranching  in  the  west.  Taking  up  a  homestead  in 
Pleasant  valley  on  the  Merced  river  in  1850,  he  began  a  brief  connection 
with  that  locality.  Shortly  he  removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Snelling  on  the 
Merced  river  and  there  began  to  raise  stock.  However,  the  location  did  not 
prove  satisfactory  and  he  soon  removed  to  Santa  Cruz  county  and  engaged 
in  farming  near  Soquel,  whence  in  1855  he  went  to  El  Monte.  There  he  died 
during  the  same  year.  Many  years  afterward  at  Tehachapi  occurred  the  death 
of  his  wife,  Mahala  (Thompson)  Shackelford,  a  native  of  Tennessee. 

The  family  of  the  California  pioneer  consisted  of  seven  children,  but  only 
four  lived  to  maturity  and  but  two  of  these  survive  at  the  present  writing. 
The  next  to  the  eldest  cf  the  number,  Dick,  was  born  in  Grayson  county,  Tex. 
September  22,  1P42,  and  was  sent  to  subscription  and  public  schools  for  a 
short  time  in  boyhood,  but  the  death  of  his  father  forced  him  to  become  self- 
supporting  before  his  education  had  been  completed.  One  of  his  first  tasks  was 
that  of  teaming  between  San  Bernardino  and  Los  Angeles.    During  1862  he 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1541 

went  to  the  Fraser  river  and  had  charge  of  a  i^ack  train  to  the  mines,  but  the 
work  did  not  prove  profitable.  In  the  spring  of  1863  he  went  via  Portland, 
Ore.,  to  Merced,  Cal.,  near  which  place  he  engaged  in  farming.  .\s  early  as 
1856  he  had  passed  through  Tehachapi,  but  it  was  not  until  .\pril  of  1864  that 
he  became  a  resident  of  the  valley  and  a  pioneer  of  the  cattle  industry  at  that 
point.  For  a  long  time  he  was  c  ne  of  the  leading  stockmen  of  the  locality. 
Every  pioneer  was  familiar  with  his  brand,  a  7  and  an  L  with  a  capital  S  inter- 
woven, but  he  later  disposed  of  this  and  established  the  liead  of  a  cow  for  his 
brand.  Both  brands  were  original  with  him.  During  1884  he  took  up  a  claim 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  Brites  valley.  Later  he  bought  adjacent  land, 
so  that  he  had  the  title  to  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres.  There  he  made 
the  headquarters  of  his  cattle  and  ranch  interests.  He  retired  fnm  the  ranch 
and  came  to  P.akersfield,  where  since  1901  he  has  made  his  home. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Shackelford  took  place  in  Tejon  canyon  December  5, 
1869,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Mary  Frances  Smith,  who  was  born  near 
Belknap,  Young  county,  Tex.,  and  is  a  lady  of  estimable  character  and  a 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South.  Twelve  children  were 
born  of  the  unirn,  viz.:  Charles,  a  cattleman  of  Jerome,  Ariz.,  who  died 
January  2.  1912;  ]\Tarcus,  a  Santa  Fe  engineer  with  headquarters  at  Prescott, 
Ariz.:  Jesse,  an  orange  grower  near  Lindsay,  Cal.:  deorge.  who  d'ed  at 
Tehachani ;  Rowzee,  an  engineer  on  the  Santa  Fe  and  a  resident  of  Bakers- 
field ;  Ivy,  Mrs.  Freeman,  of  Fanfnrd ;  Eva,  who  died  at  P.akersfield; 
]\Trs.  Ida  Wilkes,  of  Bakersfield :  Grover.  who  is  a  brakeman.  emploved 
bv  the  Santa  Fe  Railroad  Connany  at  Bakersfield:  Ray,  who  died  at  Te- 
hachapi ;  .Aubrev,  now  employed  as  a  fireman  on  the  Santa  Fe  and  living  at 
Bakersfield  ;  and  Ruth,  who  remains  with  her  parents  at  the  familv  residence. 
During  young  manhood  Mr.  Shackelford  was  made  a  Mason  at  Fl  Mnnte  and 
past  master  of  Tehachani  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.  With  his  w'fe  he  brloncrs  to 
the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star  and  is  past  patron  of  Tehachapi  chapter.  In 
politics  he  alwavs  has  sunoorted  Democratic  principles. 

JOHN  McCaffrey.— One  of  three  brothers  who  were  pioneers  in  the 
state  of  California,  John  McCafifrey  was  born  in  County  Fermanagh  in  IVTarch,  ■ 
1848.  He  was  reared  and  educated  near  his  birth-ilace  and  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1869.  Locating  in  New  York,  he  was  employed  on  the  <'ld  horsecar 
street  railways,  on  Third.  Sixth  and  Seventh  avenues  until  1878.  when  he 
migrated  to  California.  His  brothers,  James  and  Peter,  also  came  cTrly  to 
the  state,  and  the  latter  died  near  Bakersfield.  James  served  in  the  United 
States  army  in  Indian  wars  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  and  later  located  in 
Kern  county.  He  was  a  farmer  and  stockman  on  McCaflFrey  slouHi.  hut  in 
time  he  sold  his  property  there  and  passed  away  in  Kings  countv.  When  the 
subject  of  this  notice  came  to  the  state  and  to  the  coimty  he  was  for  some 
years  in  the  employ  of  the  Kern  Countv  Land  C'-mpany.  He  then  boneht  a 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  which  he  improved  and  irrisrated  from 
the  Kern  Island  canal.  He  has  lived  at  Kern,  now  East  Bakersfield.  since  1902 
and  has  made  quite  a  success  of  the  building  and  rentine  of  houses. 

In  national  politics  Mr.  McCafifrey  has  alwavs  been  Republican.  .As  a  citi- 
zen he  is  public-spiritedly  helpful  to  all  worthy  local  interests.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Catholic  church.  He  married,  in  New  York  City.  IV^iss  Delia  Owens,  of 
Irish  birth,  who  has  borne  him  five  children:  Margaret  E.,  now  Airs.  Black; 
Peter  D.,  who  died  in  June.  1911:  John  .\.:  Minnie  E..  Mrs.  Roberts,  and 
^^■illiam  H..  all  residents  of  Bakersfield. 

WILLIAM  W.  GUNN.— Born  at  Saint  Kitts.  \\'est  Indies,  .n  Derem- 
ber  26.  1848,  W.  W .  Gunn  was  the  third  eldest  of  a  family  of  se^en  children 
born  to  James  Edward  and  Mathilda  (Pencheonl  Gunn,  the  father  beinsr  a 
native  of  Scotland.  He  was  the  manager  of  a  plantation  on  Sa'nt  K't^s.  where 
he  and  his  wife  both  passed  away;  Mrs.  Gunn  was  a  native  of  that  island  and 


1542  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

of  English  parentage.  William  W.  Gunn  attended  the  public  schools  near 
his  birthplace  until  he  was  fourteen  years  old,  then  coming  alone  to  Canada, 
where  he  lived  two  years.  Then  crossing  the  line  into  the  United  States  he 
went  south  into  Pithole  City,  Pa.,  where  he  made  his  home  until  in  1868.  He 
then  came  to  California  via  Panama  and  located  in  Fresno  county,  where  he 
worked  as  a  laborer  until  in  1874.  Moving  to  Kern  county  and  settling  in  the 
ferry  Slough  he  took  up  a  homestead  of  eighty  acres,  being  among  the  first 
to  locate  in  that  vicinity,  and  here  he  engaged  in  farming  and  teaming.  In 
1879  he  moved  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  devoted  himself  entirely  to  teaming 
and  later  he  was  thus  employed  in  Fresno  and  San  Diego  counties.  In  1890  he 
bought  sixty  acres  of  land  of  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  which  had 
been  devoted  to  the  production  of  hops  and  cotton,  but  which  he  changed  to 
grain  and  alfalfa  land.  He  has  since  bought  twenty  acres  more  and  has  a  fine 
homestead  of  eighty  acres  eight  miles  south  of  Bakersfield  under  the  Farmers 
canal. 

Mr.  Gunn  once  held  the  office  of  school  trustee.  In  1898  he  was  elected 
justice  of  the  peace  for  the  Panama  district  and  was  re-elected  to  that  office 
in  1902  and  1906,  serving  twelve  vears  continuously. 

JOSEPH  ALBERT  COCHRAN.— A  native  of  Santa  Clara  county.  Cal., 
born  January  15,  1859,  who  first  saw  Kern  county  in  1865  and  has  lived  within 
its  borders  since  1885,  J.  A.  Cochran  attended  public  schools  in  his  native  county 
until  he  was  fifteen  years  old  and  afterwards  worked  on  his  father's  ranches 
until  he  was  twenty-two.  He  spent  twelve  years  in  hunting  game  for  the 
market  and  was  employed  from  time  to  time  at  farming  and  otherwise.  Com- 
ing to  Kern  county  in  1885  he  gave  his  attention  to  farming  and  each  season 
followed  threshing  on  the  coast.  In  1887  he  took  up  a  homestead  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  back  of  San  Emidio,  to  which  he  added  a  timber  claim  and 
on  which  he  lived  and  farmed  twelve  years.  From  there  he  came  to  his  pres- 
ent home  ranch  of  eighty  acres,  most  of  which  is  under  cultivation  to  alfalfa. 
He  has  gi\'en  his  attention  to  hog-raising  and  has  one  hundred  stands  of  bees. 
Fraternally  he  affiliates  with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  and  the  Women 
of  Woodcraft  in  Bakersfield.  He  was  first  married  to  Martha  C.  Powell,  who 
was  born  in  Texas  and  died  in  Kern  county,  leaving  four  children,  Arthur, 
Hugh  (now  deceased),  Esther  and  Kathleen.  His  second  marriage  was  to  Anna 
M.  Replogle,  a  native  of  Iowa,  and  they  have  two  children  living,  Albert  and 
Leslie.  As  a  citizen  he  has  the  best  interests  of  the  community  at  heart  and 
there  is  no  movement  which  in  his  opinion  promises  to  benefit  any  considerable 
number  of  his  fellow  citizens  to  which  he  does  not  respond  promptly. 

THOMAS  S.  FULTZ.— Born  in  Claiborne  county,  Tenn.,  September  7, 
1874,  he  lived  there  until  he  was  six  years  old  when  his  parents,  John  and 
Martha  (Taylor)  Fultz,  removed  to  Kentucky.  Here  he  was  a  student  in  the 
schools  until  1885,  when  they  again  moved,  this  time  to  Illinois,  where  he  was 
sent  to  school  until  he  reached  the  age  of  sixteen.  In  1890  he  came  west  and 
arrived  in  California.  First  settling  in  Santa  Ana,  Orange  county,  he  worked 
as  a  clerk  for  a  time  and  in  April,  1893,  came  to  Kern  county.  His  ambition  was 
to  work  on  his  own  account,  but  he  worked  for  other  people  for  about  a  year 
before  he  started  for  himself.  Leasing  land  on  Stine  road,  a  tract  of  ninety- 
five  acres  in  all,  he  engaged  in  general  farming  for  six  years  and  also  followed 
dairying  on  a  small  scale.  In  the  fall  of  1903  he  came  to  the  farm  where  he 
now  resides.  Purchasing  forty  acres  four  miles  southwest  of  Bakersfield,  of 
which  ten  acres  were  under  cultivation,  he  labored  diligently  on  this  land, 
and  it  is  now  all  under  cultivation  to  grain  and  alfalfa.  He  has  also  an  orchard 
of  various  fruits  on  the  place,  and  aside  from  farming  he  is  engaged  as  a  stock- 
raiser,  owning  a  number  of  fine-bred  horses  and  cattle. 

Mr.  Fultz  was  married  January  17,  1900,  to  Ivy  Amburn,  who  was  born 
September  23,  1879,  in  the  state  of  Kansas,  and  they  have  one  child,   Leta 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1543 

Shirley.  He  has  fraternal  cciniuctioiis  with  the  Wdndnien  of  the  World  and 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  is  a  man  whose  interests  are  for  the 
public  welfare. 

FRANK  H.  CORSETT.— r.orn  November  4,  1855,  in  Cattaraugus  county, 
N.  Y..  he  was  there  reared  to  manhood,  his  [larents  giving  him  the  benefit  of 
an  excellent  school  training,  as  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he  completed  his 
public  school  course  and  was  sent  to  Ten  Brooks  Academy,  in  Franklinville, 
N.  Y.,  studying  there  for  two  years.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  he  re- 
turned to  his  father's  place  and  worked  for  the  latter  until  he  reached  his 
majority  when  he  started  out  for  himself.  Upon  coming  to  California,  in 
1877,  he  settled  in  Gilroy,  Santa  Clara  county,  where  he  secured  employment, 
but  the  spirit  of  travel  was  strong  within  him,  and  he  left  there  to  travel 
from  one  state  to  another,  working  at  whatever  presented  itself  to  him. 
Finally,  however,  he  returned  to  California,  and  in  1884  came  to  Kern  county 
and  secured  a  position  with  the  Kern  County  Uand  Company,  for  whom  he 
worked  for  two  3'ears. 

Experience  and  observation  had  by  this  time  taught  Mr.  Corsett  that 
the  most  profitable  business  life  was  that  of  being  one's  own  employer,  and 
he  accordingly  decided  to  gain  something  tangible  by  his  own  efforts.  He 
rented  a  place  of  a  hundred  and  sixt}'  acres,  which  was  unimproved,  and 
started  in  the  raising  of  stock  and  also  some  general  farming.  He  was  obliged 
to  rent  this  place  for  eight  years,  when  he  found  himself  able  to  buy  his  pres- 
ent place  of  eighty  acres  at  Old  River,  and  thus  reaped  the  fruits  of  his  labor, 
for  which  he  had  been  striving.  He  has  cleared  this  tract  and  has  it  under 
cultivation  of  crops  which  are  most  profitable,  ])rincipally  alfalfa  and  grain. 
He  engaged  in  dairying  for  a  short  time,  but  gave  it  up  to  de\ote  his  time  to 
his  other  affairs.  In  1893  he  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  left  by  the 
death  of  T.  J.  Bottoms  who  was  supervisor  and  in  1904  was  elected  supervisor 
of  the  Fourth  district  on  the  Republican  ticket,  his  term  extending  over  four 
years,  and  he  gave  entire  satisfaction  in  the  execution  of  the  duties  of  that 
office.     In   fraternal  connection  he  is  a  member  of  the   Knights  of  Pythias. 

The  marriage  of  Frank  H.  Corsett  and  Josephine  St.  Mary  occurred  in 
October,  1891.  Her  birth  occurred  in  1856  in  Stanislaus  ccunty,  Cal.,  where 
her  early  life  was  spent.  She  passed  away  in  1899.  leaving  three  children.  Con 
F.,  Howard  and  Beryl,  the  latter  attending  the  Kern  County  high  school. 
Always  interested  in  the  cause  of  education,  Mr.  Corsett  has  served  for  fifteen 
years  as  clerk  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Old  River  district. 

S.  G.  TRYON. — In  Crawford  county.  Pa.,  near  the  city  of  Titusville,  Mr. 
Tryon  was  born  August  26,  1873,  being  the  son  of  a  farmer  of  that  county.  An 
ordinary  public-school  education  was  given  to  him  at  the  age  of  twenty  years 
and  he  secured  eniployment  as  a  roustabout  in  the  Pennsylvania  oil  fields  in 
Butler  county,  where  he  remained  for  two  years,  meanwhile  learning  many 
of  the  details  connected  with  the  industry.  For  a  time  he  engaged  with  a 
drilling  gang.  When  twenty-two  years  old  he  went  to  the  ( )hio  oil  fields  in 
Wood  county  and  became  a  practical  driller  in  the  employ  of  a  company  at 
Prairie  Depot.  The  years  of  his  work  in  Ohio  gave  him  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  business,  so  that  he  was  qualified  for  future  responsibilities.  Coming 
to  California  in  1899,  he  proceeded  to  the  Kern  river  field  and  secured  employ- 
ment on  the  Monte  Cristo  lease,  where  he  drilled  a  large  number  of  wells. 
Five  years  of  steady  work  in  that  connection  gave  him  a  reputation  for  skill 
and  also  proved  financially  profitable  for  himself.  After  two  years  at  Coalinga 
he  was  called  back  to  the  Monte  Cristo  holdings  in  the  Kern  river  field. 

The  identification  of  Mr.  Tryon  with  the  Sunset  field  began  in  October 
of  1908,  when  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the  Monte  Cristo  proper- 
ties.   He  came  to  his  present  lease  in  1910,  since  which  time  he  has  satisfac- 


1544  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

torily  served  as  superintendent  of  the  Maricopa  36  and  the  M.  and  T.  Oil  Com- 
panies. In  the  latter  organization  he  is  a  stockholder  and  serves  as  a  director, 
while  in  addition  he  owns  stock  in  the  Maricopa  36.  On  coming  to  these  fields 
he  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  whom  he  had  married  at  Titusville,  Pa.,  and 
who  was  formerly  Miss  Ethel  L.  Benn.  Their  union  has  been  blessed  with 
two  daughters,  Beatrice  and  Kathryn. 

JAMES  A.  SPENCER.— Prior  to  coming  to  California  and  taking  up  his 
duties  as  telegraph  operator  for  the  Kern  Trading  and  Oil  Company  at  Kerto 
station,  in  .April,  1912,  Mr.  Spencer  filled  responsible  positions  in  telegraphy 
in  various  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  He  is  a  native  of  New 
York  state  and  was  born  in  Syracuse  March  29,  1884,  being  a  son  of  the  late 
N.  H.  and  Frances  (Fowler)  Spencer.  The  father,  who  died  in  1906,  had 
engaged  for  years  in  buying  stock  for  the  Chicago  markets  and  particularly 
for  the  Cudahy  Company.  The  demands  of  the  business  toi,  k  him  through 
all  of  the  Pacific  northwest,  although  his  operations  were  largely  in  Montana. 
As  a  judge  of  stock  he  had  few  superiors.  In  his  estimates  of  their  values  he 
seldom  erred.  His  wife,  who  was  born  in  Missouri  and  now  makes  her  home 
in  San  Ji  se,  Cal.,  is  a  daughter  of  Welcome  Fowler,  a  pioneer  of  California 
during  the  gold-mining  era  and  once  the  proprietor  of  the  old  Palmyra  hotel 
at  Orange  City.  Having  a  firm  faith  in  the  future  of  the  state,  he  speculated 
in  lands  in  various  localities  and  thus  acquired  large  tracts. 

There  were  three  sons  and  one  daughter  in  the  family  of  N.  H.  Spencer, 
namely:  Clinton  Edgar,  who  built  the  Bakersfield  street-car  system  and  is 
now  chief  engineer  for  the  Stockton  Street  Railway  Companv :  Lulu,  wife 
of  William  Cole,  a  broker  in  New  York  City ;  James  A. ;  and  LeRoy,  an  auto- 
mobile painter  emnloyed  in  Buffalo.  The  second  son  lived  in  Syracuse  until 
he  was  thirteen  and  then  went  to  New  York  City,  where  he  was  graduated 
from  the  Bri  nx  high  school  with  the  class  of  1901.  From  the  high  school  he 
came  to  the  University  of  California  at  Berkeley  and  there  took  a  course  in 
electrical  engineering,  but  at  the  end  of  the  second  year  he  left  the  university 
and  entered  the  wholesale  house  of  the  Brown  Hardware  Company.  After 
si.x  months  in  that  place  he  went  back  to  New  York  City  and  embarked  in 
the  stock  brokerage  business,  at  the  same  time  specializing  in  teleeraohy.  For 
srme  years  he  engaged  as  operator  on  the  Stock  Exchange  in  differpnt  cities, 
this  being  a  line  of  work  calling  for  unusual  expertness  in  teleeranhv.  For 
brief  periods  he  was  stationed  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Jacksonville,  Fla.,  Tampa,  Fla., 
Miami.  Fla.,  New  Orleans,  La.,  and  Dallas,  Tex.  and  thence  was  sent  to 
Havana,  Cuba,  where  he  was  employed  by  Moss  &  Co.,  a  firm  later  absorbed 
by  B.  F.  Sheffield,  of  New  York.  While  engaged  in  the  brokerage  business 
at  Denver,  San  Francisco,  Los  Angeles  and  Portland,  he  was  connected  with 
the  firm  cf  L(  gan  and  Bryan,  and  also  he  was  with  Fred  Dorr  of  San  Fran- 
cisco for  a  time.  Meanwhile  he  had  been  connected  with  the  Associated  Press 
and  the  Canadian  Press  and  in  the  latter  service  he  had  made  brief  sojourns  in 
Winnipeg.  Canada,  Toronto,  Calgary,  Regina,  London,  Montreal  and  Ouebec. 

PETER  CATTANI.— Upon  coming  to  America  Mr.  Cattani  did  not 
find  the  many  obstructions  toward  making  his  fortune  as  hard  as  would  some 
who  had  not  experienced  his  early  toilsome  life.  Born  in  Piedmont,  Italy, 
on  December  8,  1869,  he  spent  the  first  nineteen  j'ears  of  his  life  there,  his 
father  being  a  sawyer  and  lumber  hewer  in  that  locality.  At  the  tender  age 
of  six  and  a  half  years  he  worked  on  a  farm,  at  seven  years  being:  a  goat  herder 
in  the  Alps,  and  later  he  herded  cows  and  worked  in  the  woods.  He  would 
work  for  an  entire  year  for  the  small  sum  of  $4  and  his  board,  but  as  he  grew 
older  his  wages  increased.  Small  wonder  then  that  the  lad  looked  forward 
with  fond  anticipation  to  the  time  when  he  could  come  to  the  new  country 
and  procure  more  promising  results  from  his  hard  labors.  Sailing  from  Havre 
to  New  York  he  made  San  Francisco  his  point  of  destination,  arriving  there 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1545 

in  November,  1889,  and  from  there  he  went  to  Pescadero,  San  Mateo  county, 
where  he  procured  work  on  a  large  dairy  farm.  For  seven  years  he  worked 
for  wages,  but  at  the  time  of  his  marriage  ni  1896  he  rented  a  dairy  and  em- 
barked in  the  business  for  himself  and  for  the  next  eleven  years  ran  a  dairy 
ranch  and  cheese  factory.  He  then  removed  to  Merced  county,  where  he 
bought  fifty  acres  of  alfalfa  land  at  Walter,  which  has  been  steadily  increasing 
in  value  until  it  is  now  wcrth  mure  than  $300  an  acre.  On  his  dairy  farm  he 
has  over  a  hundred  cows.  In  1911  he  united  his  interests  with  Mr.  Rodoni, 
and  built  and  established  the  now  justly  celebrated  Vineland  creamery.  Mr. 
Cattani  has  cle\o.ed  his  entire  time  and  attention  to  this  extensive  business, 
which  is  still  operated  under  the  name  of  the  Vineland  Cheese  Factory, 
(although  Mr.  Cattani  has  recently  bought  out  Mr.  Rodoni.)  In  November, 
1911,  Messrs.  Cattani  and  Rodoni  purchased  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land, 
adding  to  it  an  adjoining  two  hundred  acres,  and  here  the  cows  which  supply 
the  dairy  are  grazed  and  cared  for.  The  barn  is  modern  and  equipped  with  all 
conveniences,  and  under  the  able  management  of  the  proprietor  the  cheese 
business  has  developed  until  it  now  is  one  of  the  most  flourishing  firms  of  its 
kind  in  the  county.  Since  relinquishing  his  interest  in  the  creamery  Mr. 
Rodoni  has  made  his  home  on  a  small  ranch  north  of  Bakersfield. 

Mr.  Cattani  married  in  1896  Miss  Henrietta  Guerra,  who  was  born  at 
Half  Moon  iiay,  San  Mateo  ccunty,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  five  children, 
James,  Kathenne,  William,  Arnold  and  Madeline.  Mrs.  Cattani  has  proved  a 
helpmeet  to  her  husband  and  a  devoted  and  loving  mother.  They  are  popular 
and  well  known  in  their  community,  and  Mr.  Cattani  holds  a  high  place  in 
the  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

FRANCIS  GUY  COLTON.— The  late  F.  H.  Colton,  an  honored  pioneer 
of  Kern  county  and  the  father  of  Francis  Guy  Colton,  was  bL  rn  in  Ashtabula 
county,  Ohio,  received  an  education  both  in  the  classics  and  the  law,  and  for 
a  time  had  charge  of  the  public  schools  (_f  St.  Paul  Minn.  After  he  had  been 
admitted  to  the  bar  he  practiced  law  for  a  time  in  Kentucky  and  won  consid- 
erable prominence  in  his  profession,  but  with  the  growing  interest  attached 
to  the  colonization  of  Kansas  he  was  induced  to  take  up  land  in  that  state. 
While  living  near  Minneapolis,  Ottawa  county,  there  was  born,  March  1, 
1871,  a  son,  Francis  Guy,  to  his  union  with  Lydia  Ann  Tucker.  .About 
four  years  later,  in  July  of  1875,  he  came  to  California,  the  change  being 
made  with  the  hope  of  physically  aiding  him  as  he  was  sufTering  with 
asthma.  The  day  after  his  arrival  in  Bakersfield  he  secured  employment 
with  the  Livermcre  Company  and  he  continued  with  the  organization 
through  its  subsequent  ownership  by  Messrs.  Carr  and  Haggin,  also  when 
finally  it  was  absorbed  by  the  Kern  County  Land  Company,  and  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  Bakersfield  June  9,  1892,  he  was  filling  the 
position  of  superintendent  of  canals  for  that  concern.  Meanwhile  many 
responsibilities  had  been  turned  over  to  him.  P'aithfully  and  intelligently 
he  had  superintended  construction  work  in  Kern  county  that  had  involved 
the  expenditure  of  millions  of  dollars.  Nor  was  his  activity  limited  to 
his  association  with  the  land  company,  but  in  addition  he  had  maintained  a 
constant  interest  in  educational  matters.  His  own  early  identification  with 
the  profession  of  teaching  gave  him  a  critical  insight  into  the  needs  of  the 
educational  system  of  our  country.  Through  a  service  for  years  as  a  school 
trustee  and  a  member  of  the  county  board  he  endeavored  to  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  the  schools  of  the  ccuniy  and  to  introduce  improvements  in  the 
matter  and  manner  of  instruction.  The  passing  of  a  man  so  advanced  in 
thought  and  so  patriotic  in  citizenship  was  a  distinct  loss  to  the  city.  Mr. 
Colton  was  twice  married,  his  first  marriage,  which  occurred  in  1866  in 
Kansas,  uniting  him  with  Miss   Lydia  Ann  Tucker,  by  whom  he  had  seven 


1546  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

children.  Six  of  these  grew  to  maturity :  Evelyn  G.  is  now  Mrs.  Joseph 
Morley ;  her  husband  is  a  farmer  and  dairyman  on  the  Kern  Island  road, 
Kern  county.  Francis  Guy  is  second  in  order  of  birth.  Charles  Maxwell 
is  in  the  educational  department  of  the  government  at  Manila,  P.  I.;  he 
married  Mrs.  Lena  Skillern  of  San  Francisco.  Ward  Tucker  grew  up  and 
married  in  Bakersfield  Miss  Hattie  Ripley  of  Caliente,  and  by  her  had  one 
child,  John  H.;  he  was  killed  by  being  smothered  in  the  San  Fernando 
tunnel.  Lydia  Ann  is  now  the  wife  of  Alfred  Clark,  an  accountant  in 
the  First  National  Bank,  situated  at  the  corner  of  C  and  Sunset  street, 
Bakersfield.  Albert  Sanborn,  twin  of  Lydia  Ann,  is  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  California,  and  is  principal  of  a  high  school  in  Siskiyou  county. 
The  mother  of  these  died  in  1878  at  the  birth  of  the  twins,  at  Bakersfield, 
Mr.  Colton  was  married  (second)  to  Mrs.  Miriam  L.  Shottenkirk,  widow 
of  Daniel  Shottenkirk  and  the  daughter  of  Caleb  and  Elizabeth  (Newton) 
Isbister,  both  natives  of  Scotland.  Ten  children  were  born  to  the  mar- 
riage of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Isbister,  Mrs.  Colton  being  the  youngest  child,  born 
at  Alleghany  City,  Pa.  She  bore  her  first  husband  five  children,  two 
of  whom  survive,  Florence  and  Jessie.  Florence  is  the  wife  of  Walter 
Abbey,  of  Wasco,  while  Jessie  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  D.  V.  Bower,  a  dentist 
in  Chicago. 

From  the  age  of  four  years  Francis  Guy  Colton  has  lived  in  Bakers- 
field. Attending  the  public  schools  until  he  had  completed  the  regular 
course  of  study,  he  then  took  up  the  task  of  earning  a  livelihood  and  after 
a  time  became  the  proprietor  of  a  feed  and  fuel  business,  which  seemed 
about  to  bring  him  permanent  prosperity  when  the  catastrophe  of  a  de- 
structive conflagration  forced  him  to  begin  again  absolutely  without  means. 
However,  since  beginning  in  the  transfer  business  he  has  again  established 
himself  upon  a  stable  foundation  and  there  is  every  prospect  for  increasing 
success  in  the  future.  August  26,  1896,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Isbister, 
a  native  of  Nevada  county,  Cal.,  and  by  this  union  there  are  three  children, 
Francis  John,  Phoebe  Louise  and  Richard  Guy.  The  family  hold  mem- 
bership with  the  First  Congregational  Church  of  Bakersfield,  in  which  Mr. 
Colton  officiates  as  a  deacon  and  member  of  the  board  of  trustees.  Fratern- 
ally he  is  connected  with  the  .'Xncient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World. 

THOMAS  EDWIN  OWENS.— The  memorable  era  of  gold  discovery 
in  California  had  not  only  its  tales  of  triumph  and  success  but  also  its  hun- 
dreds of  unwritten  tragedies  and  one  of  the  latter  occurred  in  the  Owens 
family,  for  the  father,  David  Owens,  a  Welshman  by  birth,  a  blacksmith 
by  trade  and  during  young  manhood  a  farmer  near  Hillsboro,  Jefferson  county, 
Mo.,  was  one  of  the  courageous  men  who  bade  farewell  to  wife  and  friends 
and  started  across  the  plains  during  1849.  With  ox-teams  and  wagons 
the  expedition  wended  its  way  along  the  tedious  route.  Finally  the  placer 
mines  were  reached  and  the  young  Argonaut  at  once  began  to  mine  for 
gold.  His  letters  to  his  wife  were  full  of  hope  and  cheer.  Finally  he  wrote 
that  he  had  struck  two  rich  claims  and  now  his  only  desire  was  to  return  to 
those  he  loved,  bringing  with  him  his  little  store  of  wealth.  Never  again 
was  he  heard  from  and  no  word  ever  came  as  to  his  fate,  but  unquestion- 
ably he  was  murdered  for  his  gold,  a  tragedy  by  no  means  uncommon  in 
that  lawless  period  of  history. 

Back  in  the  Missouri  home  there  remained  the  widow  who  was  form- 
erly Mrs.  Louisa  (Williams)  Chandler,  and  the  only  child  of  the  marriage. 
Thomas  Edwin  Owens,  whose  birth  occurred  at  Hillsboro,  Mo.,  June  17, 
1849.  The  latter  attended  subscription  schools  in  boyhood  and  when  not 
in  schools  he  worked  on  farms  for  fifty  cents  per  day.  During  the  winter 
months  he  helped   farmers  to  feed  their  stock.     From   his   earliest  recollec- 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1547 

tions  lie  was  interested  in  California.  Often  he  would  read  his  father's  last  let- 
ter and  always  it  would  arouse  his  desire  to  go  west,  so  after  he  had  worked 
for  a  few  years  in  the  Sandy  load  mines  and  also  had  saved  a  little  money 
through  buying  and  selling  horses,  in  1873  he  had  saved  an  amount  suffi- 
cient to  pay  his  expenses  to  the  coast.  One  of  his  earliest  labors  in  the  state 
was  to  attempt  to  find  some  trace  of  his  father's  fate,  hut  the  search  was 
unavailing  and  finally  was  relinquished  as  hopeless.  After  he  had  traveled 
via  the  Southern  Pacific  road  to  Rakersfield  and  by  stage  to  Caliente.  Kern 
county,  he  found  employment  in  the  latter  place  as  a  freight  handler.  Later 
he  engaged  in  mining  and  teaming  at  Havilah,  where  he  married  Miss  Laura 
Reid,  a  native  of  \'isalia,  this  state.  For  some  years  he  and  his  wife  have 
owned  and  c  ccupied  a  substantial  residence  on  the  corner  of  L  and  Twenty-, 
fourth  streets,  Bakersfield.  Of  their  six  children  four  sons  are  now  living, 
namely:  Charles,  an  electrician;  F"rederick.  deputy  sheriff  of  Kern  county; 
Dean,  a  machinist,  and  Arthur,  a  printer.  Mrs.  Owens  is  a  daughter  of  Col. 
John  C.  Reid,  a  native  of  Virginia,  who  crossed  the  plains  to  California  and 
became  a  pioneer  merchant  and  stockman,  who  was  known  as  (ne  of  the 
cattle  kings  of  what  is  now  Tulare,  Kern,  Kings  and  Inyo  counties,  the  other 
men  sharing  with  him  in  this  title  being  Messrs.  Dunlap  and  Stanford.  He 
was  county  treasurer  and  tax  collector  of  Tulare  county  before  Kern  county 
was  organized.  He  served  in  the  Mexican  war  as  colonel  and  died  in  Rak- 
ersfield at  the  age  of  eighty.  His  wife,  who  was  Mary  Glenn,  a  native  of 
Tennessee,  died  in  Tulare  county. 

Upon  coming  to  the  vicinity  of  Bakersfield  in  1876  Mr.  Owens  pur- 
chased a  ranch  adjoining  Stockdale  and  later  bought  property  in  the  city 
which  he  still  owns.  For  thirty-three  years  he  has  engaged  in  the  liquor 
business.  One  of  the  early  fires  burned  him  out  and  he  had  to  build  again. 
Ever  since  coming  to  the  west  he  has  been  interested  in  farming  and  in 
mining,  now  owns  interests  in  the  Amelia  district  and  was  among  the  first 
to  strike  oil  in  the  Devil's  Den  country,  where  he  aided  in  the  organization 
of  the  Pluto  Oil  Company,  the  pioneer  developer  of  oil  in  that  region.  The 
Democratic  partv  has  received  his  stanch  support  ever  since  he  cast  his  first 
presidential  ballot,  and  at  one  time  he  was  nominated  for  sheriff  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket,  but  was  defeated  by  only  forty-three  votes.  Fraternally  he 
has  held  membershi-i  and  was  a  charter  member  of  the  Eagles.  The  devel- 
opment of  Bakersfield  finds  in  him  a  champion.  His  interests  are  one  with 
those  of  the  community.  When  his  services  are  needed  in  the  aid  of  any 
project  they  have  been  offered  prt  mptly  and  it  was  in  such  manner  that  he 
consented  to  serve  as  deputy  sheriff  under  "Bill"  Bowers,  a  position  that  he 
filled  efficiently  for  six  years  at  a  time  when  it  was  felt  that  he  could  thus 
aid  the  enforcement  of  the  law  in  his  county. 

SAMUEL  S'WEITZER. — The  proprietor  of  the  Sweitzer  hotel  in  Fast 
Bakersfield  belongs  to  a  family  that  has  been  represented  in  America  since 
a  peril  d  antedating  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  Both  the  i)aternal  and  the 
maternal  ancestors  came  to  this  country  from  Switzerland  and  the  paternal 
grandfather,  a  Pennsylvanian  by  birth,  lived  to  be  ninety-nine  years  of  age, 
finally  passing  away  in  the  midst  of  the  scenes  in  Clarion  county  that  had 
been  familiar  to  his  earliest  recollections.  Agriculture  was  the  occupation 
followed  by  a  majority  of  the  male  members  of  the  family,  although  sev- 
eral engaged  in  the  oil  business  in  the  Keystone  state,  and  as  a  boy  Samuel 
Sweitzer.  whose  birth  occurred  in  Clarion  county.  Pa.,  gained  a  thorough 
insight  into  the  oil  industry  while  living  and  laboring  at  Oil  City.  Venango 
county.  The  immediate  famih'  circle  to  which  he  belonged  included  six 
brothers  and  two  sisters,  but  all  of  these  have  passed  to  the  beyond  with 
the  exception  of  himself  and  the  two  sisters.  Mary  Emma  and  Luelln  Matilda. 


1548  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

all  residents  of  Bakersfield,  the  former  sister  being  married  to  Joseph  Everett 
and  the  latter,  unmarried,  is  a  trained  nurse. 

The  first  marriage  of  Samuel  Sweitzer  took  place  in  Pennsylvania  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Frances  Wood,  while  his  second  marriage  was  solemn- 
ized at  Ventura,  Cal,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Emma  Pierson,  a  native  of 
Sweden.  Of  his  first  marriage  there  are  four  sons,  Jesse  Edwards,  Adelbert 
Wood,  Harry  and  Ralph.  The  first  and  third  sons  are  living  in  Los  Angeles 
and  the  second  makes  his  home  in  Seattle,  Wash.  Coming  to  Califurnia 
during  1893,  Mr.  Sweitzer  first  settled  in  Los  Angeles  and  engaged  in  busi- 
ness as  a  plumber.  From  the  first  he  has  been  optimistic  concerning  the 
west  and  has  entertained  a  profound  faith  in  its  future  growth  and  pros- 
perity. During  1899  he  removed  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  since  has  bought 
one-half  interest  in  the  Majestic  at  No.  1927  Chester  avenue.  In  additii-n  he 
owns  the  Sweitzer  hotel,  the  largest  lodging  hotel  in  East  Bakersfield,  and 
his  possessions  are  further  enlarged  by  the  ownership  of  a  ranch  of  forty 
acres  situated  on  the  Rosedale  road,  where  he  resides. 

One  of  the  chief  pleasures  Mr.  Sweitzer  has  found  in  life  has  been  in 
hunting  expeditions  and  in  travel.  Fond  of  sport  of  all  kinds,  he  is  popular 
among  sportsmen  and  has  a  host  of  warm  friends  among  the  men  who,  in 
days  past,  have  been  his  comrades  in  his  hunting  trios.  His  travels  have 
taken  him  as  far  as  the  countries  of  northern  Europe  and  there  hangs  on  the 
walls  of  the  Majestic  the  mounted  head  of  a  large  moose.  The  heads  of 
other  animals,  commemorating  other  hunting  expeditions,  are  also  to  be 
found  in  the  same  place  and  are  preserved  by  him  with  zealous  care.  In 
politics  he  has  been  stanchly  Democratic  from  yrung  manhood.  Fraternally 
he  has  been  actively  associated  with  the  Owls  and  Eagles.  Frequently  he  has 
been  chosen  a  delegate  to  their  conventions  and  is  past  president  of  the  Eagles 
in  Bakersfield. 

JOSEPH  ESPITALLIER.— Althnuc^h  he  left  France  at  a  very  early  age 
and  since  then  has  been  identified  with  Kern  county.  Mr.  Esp'tallier  has  not 
forgotten  the  sunny  climate  or  the  picturesque  scenery  of  that  far-distant 
land.  There  lived  and  died  his  narents,  Francois  and  Antoinette  fDucere) 
Esoitallier.  humble  tillers  of  the  soil  at  Ancil  near  Gap,  denartment  of  Hautes- 
Aloes,  and  there  too  he  was  born  March  19,  1877,  being  the  third  among 
seven  children,  all  but  two  of  whom  are  still  living.  The  fam'ly  were  poor, 
the  struggle  for  a  livelihood  was  keen,  and  hence  he  had  meas:er  chances 
to  acquire  an  education,  for  he  hns  been  self-supporting  from  early  years. 
Coming  to  America  during  19C0  and  proceeding  direct  to  California,  he  found 
employment  with  a  sheep-raiser  in  Kern  county.  Although  the  language  was 
strange  ^o  his  ears  and  the  customs  of  the  peon'e  different  from  those  of  his 
native  land,  he  was  adaptable  and  eager  to  learn,  therefore  soon  Droved 
himself  a  caoable  assistant  in  the  sheep  business.  Durin9r  l'"04  he  bousfht 
a  small  flock  rf  sheep  and  embnrked  in  the  business  for  himself,  afterward 
ranging  the  drove  in  Kern  and  Invo  counties  along  the  mountains  and  in 
the  valleys.  The  venture  proved  fairlv  successful  and  he  beafan  to  prosper 
financiallv,  but  a  desire  to  have  an  established  home  and  to  escane  the  hard- 
ships incident  to  following  the  ransre  led  him  to  dispose  rf  bis  flock  in  1910. 
when  he  boueht  and  named  Hotel  des  Alnes  at  No.  7''3  Humboldt  street. 
East  Bakersfield.    Mr.  Espitall-er  is  still  eneasred  in  the  sheep  business. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Espitallier  took  place  in  East  Bakersfield  October 
9.  1909,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Leah  Grimeaud,  a  native  of  Hautes-Alpes. 
France,  and  a  lady  of  skill  in  the  domestic  arts,  hospitality  in  the  heme  and 
efficiency  as  an  assistant  in  the  hotel,  which  under  their  able  management 
has  been  enlarged  and  remodeled  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  increasine  busi- 
ness. In  fraternal  relations  Mr.  Espitallier  is  connected  with  the  Druids  and 
Loval  Order  of  Moose. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1549 

JEAN  EYRAUD.— The  sect  nd  eldest  of  his  parents'  children,  Mr. 
Eyraud  was  burn  May  12,  1863,  at  LaMotte,  in  the  province  of  Uauphine, 
France,  son  of  Jean  and  Appolone  (Meyer)  Eyraud,  the  former  of  whom  was 
a  shoemaker  and  farmer  there  all  his  life.  He  spent  his  early  years  at  home 
with  his  parents,  attending-  the  public  schools  and  aiding  his  father  on  his 
farm.  But  he  had  heard  reports  from  acquaintances  who  had  gone  to  America 
that  California  was  a  good  field  and  he  concluded  to  come  hither.  In  1880 
he  secured  a  passport,  which  was  signed  by  his  parents  and  the  mayor,  and 
set  out.  On  November  13,  1880,  Air.  Eyraud  landed  at  New  York,  whence 
he  came  on  an  immigrant  train  to  California,  arriving  at  San  Francisco  No- 
vember 30.  He  then  made  the  trip  to  Bakersfield,  consuming  four  days  in 
the  trip.  Mr.  Eyraud's  energy  and  willingness  to  work  was  made  evident  in 
the  fact  that  on  the  day  of  his  arrival  here  he  procured  employment  with 
John  Jamison,  roadmaster  of  county  roads  between  Sumner  and  Bakersfield, 
to  chop  the  sage  brush,  and  he  aided  in  building  the  first  road  in  the  county, 
for  which  lie  received  a  salary  of  $.3.00  per  day.  He  was  obliged  to  sleep 
outdoors  on  the  ground  and  pay  $2.00  a  day  for  his  meals.  A  short  time 
later  he  entered  the  employ  of  a  slieepman  for  a  year,  and  then  obtaining  on 
credit  a  lot  of  sheep  valued  at  $4,030,  he  engaged  in  the  sheep  business  on  his 
own  account. 

In  1883  occurred  an  e'lisode  in  Mr.  Eyraud"s  life  which  he  has  never  for- 
gotten. Colonel  Morrow  had  come  to  the  t  wn  of  Lone  Pine  from  Chicago 
to  inspect  Mt.  Whitney  and  other  high  peaks,  and  he  engaged  Mr.  Eyraud 
as  guide  on  his  expedition,  paying  him  $500  for  ten  days'  service,  and  it  was 
on  Mt.  Whitney  that  Mr.  Eyraud  drank  his  first  champagne  in  the  United 
States.  Returning  to  his  sheep  business  he  continued  to  make  that  his  occu- 
pation until  1887,  when  he  went  to  Los  Angeles  and  was  married,  c  n  .\pril 
19,  1887,  to  Miss  Constance  Alarin,  who  was  also  born  in  Dauphine,  France. 
Mr.  Eyraud  traveled  over  Southern  California  looking  for  a  good  place  to 
locate,  but  noticing  so  many  nickels  and  pennies  in  use  he  became  disgusted 
and  returned  to  Sumner  where  he  bought  the  lot  where  he  has  his  saloon 
and  restaurniit.  Tliis  place  was  nothing  more  tlian  a  sliack.  liut  Iv  immedi- 
ately started  to  remodel  and  rebuild  it.  It  is  located  opposite  the  depot,  on 
Sumner  street.     His  residence  is  at  No.  503  Humboldt  street. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eyraud  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Henry  and  Inhn. 
Mr.  Evraud  is  a  charter  member  of  the  Druids,  which  he  ioined  in  ]'^'^3.  also 
a  charter  member  of  the  Order  of  Eagles,  and  the  Foresters  of  .\mcrica.  He 
is  Democratic  in  political  sentiment. 

JEAN  PHILIPP.— Coming  to  .America  and  to  Kern  county  during  1883. 
Mr.  Ph'lipp,  who  was  born  .August  18,  186(3,  at  Can,  Hautes-.Mpes,  France,  a 
son,  and  youngest  of  four  children,  of  Fermin  Philipp,  a  farmer,  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  a  sheepman  and  for  three  years  worked  as  a  herder  in  the  surrounding 
ranges.  In  18%  he  b  ught  a  small  band  of  ewes  and  these  he  rantred  near 
Delano.  The  flock  increased  in  numbers  and  he  was  prospered  in  the  work, 
but  sold  the  band  in  1889,  since  which  time  he  lias  engaged  in  the  hotel 
business  in  East  Bakersfield.  At  the  time  of  settling  here  the  town  was 
called  Sumner  and  later  the  name  was  changed  to  Kern,  but  finallv  the  present 
title  was  adopted  upon  annexation  with  Bakersfield.  Durins:  1889  he  erected 
the  Universal  hotel  on  Humboldt  street  near  Baker.  In  1808  the  building 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  after  which  he  built  the  present  structure,  .\mong 
traveling  men  he  is  very  popular  as  "mine  host."  Courtesy  and  affability 
win  fcr  him  the  good  will  of  those  who  make  his  hotel  their  headquarters. 
His  popularity  further  extends  to  the  members  of  the  Eagles  and  Druids,  in 
both  of  which  organizations  he  is  a  member.  Politically  he  votes  with  the 
Republican  party.  His  first  marriage  took  place  in  Bakersfield  in  1890  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Mary  Eyraud,  who  was  born  in  Hautes-.\]pes,  France, 


1550  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

and  died  in  Kern  county,  leaving  three  children,  namely :  Jean,  Jr.,  Marcellu 
and  Auguste.  Some  time  after  her  demise  he  was  united  with  Miss  Mary 
Louise  Bellocq,  who  was  born  in  Basses  Pyrenees,  France,  and  by  whom  he 
has_  one  daughter,  Jeannette.  Liberal  in  spirit,  enterprising  in  temperament 
and  generous  in  disposition,  he  forms  a  valuable  addition  to  the  French-Amer- 
ican element  so  closely  identified  with  the  development  of  Kern  county. 

PERFECTO  CORONADO  CASTRO.— Born  three  miles  south  of  Bak- 
ersfield,  Kern  county,  on  April  18,  1870,  he  was  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Con- 
cepcion  (Coronado)  Castro,  pioneers  of  that  county.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  school  at  Bakersfield  until  he  was  sixteen  years  old,  and  he  was 
scarcely  seventeen  when  he  took  up  the  battle  of  life  as  an  employe  of  Mil- 
ler &  Lux.  In  time  he  was  entrusted  with  the  management  of  the  firm's 
sheep-shearing  department.  Later  he  worked  for  a  year  for  the  Kern  County 
Land  Company.  For  several  years,  in  the  sheep-shearing  season,  he  went 
north  to  various  places  and  worked  at  his  trade,  empKying  himself  between 
times  to  the  best  possible  advantage  and  acquiring  a  little  capital  with  which 
he  eventually  bought  a  saloon  in  Bakersfield.  This  he  conducted  until  1911, 
when  he  moved  to  Lost  Hills,  where  he  opened  an  establishment  of  the  same 
kind  which,  however,  he  soon  disposed  of.  He  then  started  the  stage  line 
between  Wasco  and  Lost  Hills,  continuing  until  that  was  sold,  and  he  is 
now  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Jewett  &  Castro,  of  Wasco.  Mr.  Castro  was  also 
for  many  years  interested  in  the  cattle  business  on  Mount  Breckenridge.  As 
a  citizen  he  is  public-spiritedly  interested  in  every  movement  which  in  his 
opinion  promises  to  benefit  any  considerable  number  of  his  fellow  citizens. 
He  married  .\nnie  Rameriz,  a  native  of  Los  Angeles.  Fraternally  Mr.  Castro 
is  a  member  of  the  Owls  and  Moose. 

PETER  KOSEL.— The  proprietor  of  the  Occidental  Hotel  and  of  the 
Hotel  Kosel,  was  born  in  Vienna,  Austria,  served  in  the  Austrian  army  and 
in  1894  came  to  Bakersfield,  where  he  has  become  a  successful  man  of  afifairs. 
Mr.  Kosel's  business  training  in  his  native  land  was  in  merchandising  and 
there  he  was  given  a  thorough  education.  Coming  to  Bakersfield  for  some 
years  he  ran  the  old  German  Hotel.  In  1898  he  became  the  proprietor  of  the 
Occidental  Hotel,  at  No.  1201  Nineteenth  street.  This  popular  hostelry,  which 
Mr.  Kosel  personally  conducts  on  the  European  plan,  is  provided  with  all 
conveniences  for  the  ct  mfort  of  its  guests.  It  contains  thirty-two  rooms,  is 
comfortably  furnished,  electric  lighted,  clean  and  orderly.  In  1910  he  built 
the  Kosel  Hotel  at  Nineteenth  and  N  streets,  which  is  one  of  the  most  modern 
buildings  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  devoted  to  hotel  purposes.  He  is  the 
owner  of  much  real  estate  in  Bakersfield,  including  seven  fine  residences  for 
rental,  all  of  which  are  cl  se  in  and  easily  accessible  from  the  business  district. 
The  Kosel  Block,  which  includes  the  hotel  of  the  same  name,  is  a  three- 
story  and  basement  building,  66x90  feet.  While  Mr.  Kosel  gives  his  personal 
attention  to  the  management  of  the  Occidental  Hotel,  he  leases  the  Hotel 
Kosel.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  in  the  Royal  Arch,  Eagles  and 
Herman  Sons.  He  is  liberal,  charitable  and  enterprising  and  has  always  dem- 
onstrated public  spirit  as  a  citizen. 

GEORGE  W.  SEDWELL.— Descended  from  an  old  Anglo-Saxon  and 
Welsh  family,  Mr.  Sedwell  was  born  in  the  city  of  London,  England,  January 
12,  1851,  and  is  a  son  of  the  late  Joseph  and  Emily  (Shepherd)  SedwelL  The 
public  schools  of  London  aiiforded  him  fair  advantages  and  his  vacations 
were  given  over  to  work  under  his  father,  a  skilled  builder.  Having  gained 
an  excellent  knowledge  of  carpentering,  he  determined  to  make  his  own  way 
in  the  world.  The  western  hemisphere  was  his  objective  location,  but  he 
lacked  the  funds  for  the  long  voyage.  Nothing  daunted  by  the  condition  of 
his  pocketbook,  he  secured  employment  on  a  ship  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
landed  in  New  York  Citv.  readv  to  earn  his  livelihood  at  his  chsoen  trade. 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1551 

Drifting  west  as  far  as  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio,  he  worked  at  carpentering  there 
for  four  years.  Later  he  worked  his  way  toward  the  west.  During  1876  he 
landed  in  San  Francisco,  where  immediately  he  found  employment  as  a 
builder. 

The  identification  of  J\[r.  Sedwell  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad 
Company  dates  from  the  sprint;-  of  1879,  when  he  was  assigned  to  the  bridge 
and  building  department,  with  headquarters  at  Tulare.  From  the  first  his 
skill  was  unquestioned  and  his  efficiency  recognized.  After  eighteen  months 
at  Tulare  he  became  a  traveling;  carpenter.  The  resignation  of  Walter  Yelland 
as  tunnel  foreman  on  the  hill  in  1882  was  followed  by  the  appointment  of  Mr 
Sedwell  to  the  position,  which  he  has  since  filled  with  unvarying  devotion, 
besides  being  foreman  of  bridges  and  building  on  the  San  Joaquin  division. 
Sedwell  spur  at  tunnel  12  was  named  for  him.  Formerly  he  owned  thousands 
of  acres  of  range  land  which  he  had  bought  while  visiting  difTerent  localities, 
but  the  larger  part  of  this  he  has  sold.  After  coming  to  Kern  county  he  was 
married  at  Tehachapi  to  Miss  Christine  Agnes  Elliott,  who  was  born  in  Nevada 
and  died  in  Los  Angeles.  Later  he  was  united  with  Mrs.  Mary  Quinn.  a 
native  of  Nevada,  and  to  this  union  a  son  was  born,  Joseph  Vincent,  who  with 
the  mother  now  lives  in  Los  Angeles.  Prior  to  1906  the  family  residence  was 
at  San  Fernando  but  since  then  Mr.  Sedwell  has  spent  his  time  principally  on 
the  road  and  when  at  leisure  has  remained  with  his  family  in  Los  Angeles. 
In  politics  he  is  a  Republican  and  fraternally  is  a  Mason,  belonging  to  Te- 
hachapi Lodge  No.  313,  F.  &  A.  M. 

LUTHER  A.  BATES.— The  westward  tide  of  migration  which  has  char- 
acterized the  agricultural  development  of  the  new  world  finds  illustration  in 
the  history  of  the  Bates  family.  Established  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
ocean  in  the  early  period  of  national  colonization,  by  successive  removals  the 
family  became  transplanted  to  the  western  coast  and  now  has  a  goodly  number 
of  representatives  in  California,  not  the  least  prominent  of  its  members  l)eing 
Luther  A.  Bates,  well  known  of  late  years  as  a  contractor  and  builder  in 
Kern  and  Santa  Clara  counties.  Before  railroads  had  been  built  to  facilitate 
travel  and  render  easy  frontier  development  C.  B.  Bates,  a  native  of  New 
York,  became  a  pioneer  of  Michigan  and  from  there  he  drove  through  Wis- 
consin to  Alinnesota  with  a  "prairie  schooner"  drawn  by  oxen.  At  the  time 
the  great  northwest  was  undeveloped  and  savages  still  lingered  within  its 
borders,  so  that  he  encountered  many  perils  and  hardships  in  his  agri- 
cultural labors.  At  one  time  he  enlisted  and  marched  against  the  Sioux 
Indians  when  their  depredations  had  become  intolerable.  For  years 
he  cultivated  land  near  Mankato.  Prior  to  the  building  of  the  railroad  he  was 
obliged  to  s])end  three  days  in  hauling  his  grain  to  the  market.  When  finally 
he  was  able  to  sell  the  property  at  a  financial  advantage  he  brought  the  family 
to  California  in  1884  and  settled  in  Santa  Clara  county,  where  his  last  years 
were  pleasantly  passed  in  horticultural  pursuits.  During  young  manhood 
he  had  married  Calista  Ackerman.  who  was  bom  in  New  York  and  died  in 
California.  In  girlhood  she  had  accompanied  her  father,  Capt.  Mark  Acker- 
man,  a  New  Yorker  by  birth,  to  Minnesota,  where  he  had  for  years  engaged 
in  the  lake  service  as  captain  of  a  vessel  and  upon  finally  retiring  had  settled 
near  Mankato  on  a  farm. 

There  were  five  sons  and  two  daughters  in  the  family  of  C.  P..  Bates  and 
all  of  these  are  living  with  the  exception  of  one  son.  The  youngest  of  the 
family,  Luther  A.,  was  born  near  Mankato,  Minn.,  July  14.  1877.  and  was 
about  seven  years  of  age  when  remnval  was  made  to  Santa  Clara  county.  Cal., 
where  he  received  his  education  in  the  grammar  and  high  schools.  .\t  the  age 
of  eighteen  he  began  to  serve  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  carpenter  under 
his  brothers,  C.  A.  and  A.  C,  practical  and  skilled  workmen  in  San  Jose. 
Upon  the  conclusion  of  his  time  he  entered  the  carpentering  department  of  the 


1552  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

Southern  Pacific  Railroad  and  for  two  years  worked  between  San  Luis 
Obispo  and  San  Francisco.  Next  he  returned  to  San  Jose  to  become  foreman 
for  the  contractor,  C.  O.  Field,  with  whom  he  continued  for  five  years,  and 
then  resigned  in  order  to  engage  in  the  building  business  for  himself.  From 
1906  until  1909  he  erected  a  large  number  of  buildings  in  San  Jose.  Removing 
to  Bakersfield  in  March  of  1909,  he  erected  a  residence  and  maintained  an  office 
at  No.  2303  Chester  avenue.  Much  of  his  work  was  in  East  Bakersfield  and 
includes  the  Brown  block  as  well  as  the  residences  of  Jack  Stevenson,  L.  E. 
Nelson,  A.  Stramler,  Messrs.  Kemp,  Monon  and  Strobles,  and  the  Hayes  and 
Murray  buildings,  besides  which  he  has  had  the  contract  for  the  residences 
of  Mrs.  Ida  M.  Dixon,  James  Trail  and  others  in  Bakersfield.  When  the 
Builders'  Exchange  was  established  he  became  a  charter  member  and  was 
elected  upon  the  first  board  of  directors.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with 
the  Woodmen  of  the  World,  the  Loyal  Order  of  Moose,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows  and  the  Fraternal  Aid.  Though  not  himself  identified  with  any 
denomination,  he  is  in  sympathy  with  practical  religious  work  and  contributes 
to  the  Methcdist  Episcopal  Church,  of  which  his  wife  is  a  member.  While 
living  in  San  Jose  he  married  Miss  Annie  Sutherland,  by  whom  he  has  two 
children,  James  and  Frances,  and  who  is  herself  a  native  daughter  of  the  state, 
member  of  an  honored  pioneer  family.  As  early  as  1852  her  father,  James 
Sutherland,  crossed  the  plains  to  California  and  settled  in  the  San  Joaquin 
valley,  where  he  was  an  influential  pioneer.  Her  birth  occurred  during  the 
residence  of  the  family  in  Santa  Clara  county  and  her  education  was  secured  in 
the  public  schools  of  that  section  of  the  state. 

CHARLES  E.  DAGGETT.— Mr.  Daggett  is  the  great-great-grandson  of 
a  soldier  who  fought  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  is  of  English  descent, 
other  members  of  the  Daggett  family  having  also  served  in  that  war.  His 
grandfather  came  from  Vermont  and  settled  in  Carroll  county,  Ind.,  at  an 
early  day,  and  here  his  father,  Edward  J.  Daggett,  who  was  born  in  Antwerp, 
Ohio,  followed  farming.  Several  brothers  of  Ed  Daggett  crossed  the  plains  in 
1849,  but  he  himself  continued  on  the  home  place,  his  death  occurring  when 
Charles  E.  was  but  seven  years  of  age.  The  mother,  Sarah  Barnes,  born  in 
1835,  in  Carroll  county,  Ind.,  passed  away  in  1909.  She  was  the  mother  of 
three  children,  cf  whom  Charles  E.  was  the  youngest. 

Mr.  Daggett  was  born  July  30,  1866,  in  Locknort,  Carroll  county,  Ind., 
and  was  brought  up  on  the  farm  in  Indiana,  attending  the  public  schools  in 
his  locality,  and  the  high  school  in  Idaville.  At  the  completion  of  his  course 
he  began  his  railroad  career  which  covered  many  years  of  labor,  his  first 
positii  n  being  at  the  transportation  department  at  Vandalia,  and  from  there 
went  to  Middleburg,  Ky.,  on  the  railroad  construction  work  there.  He  then 
took  up  contracting  and  later  worked  on  the  construction  of  the  railroad  in 
Indian  Territory,  going  from  there  to  Chicago  to  be  in  the  transportation  de- 
partment during  the  Worlds  Fair.  He  remained  in  Chicago  until  1894,  when 
he  began  work  on  the  construction  of  the  Wisconsin  and  Michigan  roads  as 
foreman  of  construction,  leaving  that  work  to  take  up  work  in  the  mines  at 
Cripple  Creek,  Colo.  From  there  he  went  to  Grand  Forks,  N.  D.,  to  work  as 
foreman  on  the  Great  Northern  road  construction,  soon  becoming  road- 
master,  which  position  he  held  until  1901,  when  he  took  the  position  of  road- 
master  of  the  Seaboard  Air  Line  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.  He  then  became  foreman 
on  the  building  of  the  railroad  between  Atlanta,  Ga.,  and  Birmingham,  Ala., 
and  then  superintended  the  building  of  the  Southern  &  Western  roads  through 
the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  of  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  but  was  finally 
prevailed  upon  to  return  to  the  Seaboard  road  as  roadmaster  at  Raleigh,  N.  C. 
After  holding  this  office  for  some  time  he  resigned  in  May.  1909,  and  came  west 
spending  several  months  in  Seattle,  Wash.,  and  in  January,  1910,  located  in 


HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY  1553 

Bakersfield,  wliere  in  I'"ehriiary  df  that  year  he  opened  up  a  roal-estate  business 
in  East  Bakersfield,  handling  both  city  and  country  property. 

Mr.  Daggett  was  married  in  Minneapolis  to  Clara  E.  Mageau,  who  was 
born  there.  They  are  the  parents  of  one  child,  Lloyd.  Mr.  Daggett  joined  the 
Masonic  order  in  Raleigh,  N.  C,  and  became  a  member  of  Hiram  Lodge  No. 
40,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  still  retaining  his  membership,  and  also  belongs  to  Raleigh 
Chap.er  No.  10,  R.  A.  M.  He  is  also  affiliated  with  the  Renevolent  Order  of 
Elks  in  the  Crookston   (Minn.)   Lodge  No.  342. 

H.  J.  DOVER. — A  native  sen,  H.  J.  Dover  was  born  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county,  April  30,  1875,  and  at  the  age  i  f  thirteen  he  was  brought  by  his  parents 
to  Kern  county,  where  they  settled  in  Bakersfield,  the  father  following  the 
stock  business.  They  now  make  their  home  in  Santa  Cruz.  Bakersfield  was 
the  home  of  H.  J.  Dover  until  he  reached  the  age  of  twenty,  when  he  went 
to  Randsburg  and  prospected  for  gold,  found  some  rich  ore  and  staked  a 
claim  on  Panamint  range.  He  ne.xt  went  to  Nevada  and  was  in  the  Funeral 
range  prospecting  for  copper  and  gold,  and  he  next  worked  for  about  a  year 
in  a  cop  ler  mine  in  San  Bernardino  county,  meeting  with  varying  success. 
Altogether  he  spent  five  years  in  the  mining  business  and  then  in  1935  came 
to  the  Midway  Oil  Fields  where  he  was  one  of  the  original  locators  of  the 
famous  section  25;  later  he  sold  out  this  interest.  At  present,  with  several 
others,  he  is  interested  in  several  sections  at  Elk  Hills  which  they  have 
leased  out  to  the  Associated  Oil  Company,  and  Mr.  Dover  is  largely  interested 
in  other  oil  lands  in  the  district.  With  Mr.  Wilson  he  has  invested  largely  in 
the  Elk  Horn  Valley  Oil  Lands,  which  is  unimproved  territory  but  has  given 
good  indications  of  being  productive.  In  1911  he  built  a  residence  in  Taft, 
but  recently  removed  to  Wasco  where  he  and  his  estimable  wife,  Lena  E. 
CAustin)  Dover,  make  their  home.  Mrs.  Dover  was  before  her  marriage  a  resi- 
dent of  Texas.  They  have  one  child  living,  Elsie  In  fraternal  affiliation  Mr. 
Dover  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  Eagles. 

GEORGE  J.  RICHARD.— A  native  of  Allendale,  Canada,  Mr.  Richard 
was  born  January  15,  1S64,  being  a  son  of  Hugh  Richard,  who  was  reared  in 
New  York  state  and  from  the  age  of  twenty-five  until  his  death  engaged  in 
the  saw-mill  business  in  Ontario.  When  ten  years  of  age  George  J.  Richard 
began  to  earn  his  own  livelihood.  .\t  first  he  remained  on  a  farm  working 
for  his  board  and  clothes.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  became  an  employe  on 
a  government  surveying  corps  in  Manitoba,  whence  he  went  to  Michigan 
and  worked  in  the  lumber  woods  in  1881.  In  a  short  time  he  had  learned  the 
lumber  business  in  its  every  department.  Returning  to  Ontario  in  1883,  he 
resumed  work  on  a  farm.  During  December.  1884,  he  went  to  Pennsylvania  and 
at  Bradford  started  to  work  in  the  oil  fields  in  January,  1885.  It  was  at  Brad- 
ford that  he  became  skilled  in  rig-building.  After  three  and  one-half  years 
there,  a  portion  of  the  time  with  small  contractors  and  the  balance  with  the 
Standard  Oil  Company,  August  17,  1888,  he  began  to  work  as  head  rig-builder 
at  Taylorstown,  Pa.,  where  he  continued  until  May,  1890,  when  he  was  sent 
by  said  company  to  Oakdale  to  build  rigs  in  the  McDonald  field,  Allegheny 
county.  Pa.,  meanwhile  becoming  skilled  in  every  phase  of  the  work. 

When  finally  resigning  an  excellent  position  in  Pennsylvania  which  he 
had  held  for  some  years,  Mr.  Richard  came  to  California,  landing  at  Whittier 
September  25,  1900.  The  day  after  he  arrived  at  Whittier  he  began  to  work 
as  rig-builder  with  the  Murphy  Oil  Company,  continuing  with  the  concern 
until  October  1,  1905.  As  head  rig-builder  for  the  Mexican  Petroleum  Com- 
pany he  had  charge  of  much  important  work  at  Ebano,  Mexico,  but  on  account 
of  the  failure  of  his  health  due  to  the  hot  climate  he  returned  to  Los  .Angeles 
in  May,  1906.  After  a  brief  period  with  his  f(jrmer  employers,  the  Murphy 
Oil  Company,  he  came  to  the  Midway  field  August  20,  1907,  and  has  since 
had  charge  of  the  building  department  for  the  Santa  Fe.     In  removing  to  Kern 


1554  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

county  he  brought  his  family,  consisting  of  wife  and  two  sons.  Mrs.  Richard 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Mary  E.  Cherrie  and  was  born  near  Oil  City,  Pa., 
but  their  union  was  solemnized  in  Buflfalo,  N.  Y.  Their  older  son,  Joseph 
Burton  Richard,  is  now  employed  in  Salt  Lake  City,  while  the  younger  son. 
Hugh  Clifton,  is  engaged  with  Mays  Consolidated  Oil  Company  in  Kern 
county.     In  politics  Mr.  Richard  votes  with  the  Republican  party. 

MAX  GUNDLACH,  JR.— Born  in  San  Francisco,  January  6,  1867,  Max 
Gundlach.  Jr.,  was  a  son  of  Max  Gundlach,  a  native  of  Germany.  The  latter 
came  to  California  more  than  sixty  years  ago  and  for  many  years  was  pro- 
prietor of  the  Gundlach  Shoe  Company,  a  prominent  mercantile  enterprise 
of  Bakersfield.  His  death  occurred  February  8,  1913.  The  son  was  educated 
in  public  schools  in  San  Francisco  and  in  Alameda.  From  the  time  he  was 
seventeen  until  he  was  twenty  he  worked  for  Charles  F.  Fisher,  of  Alameda. 
Later  he  worked  at  his  trade  with  different  employers  until  he  established 
himself  in  the  plumbing  business  on  Santa  Clara  avenue,  Alameda,  where  he 
prospered  five  years.  In  1900  he  began  business  in  Bakersfield  on  Twentieth 
street,  and  from  there  he  eventually  removed  to  his  present  site  at  No.  2014 
Chester  avenue,  a  modern  shop,  fully  equipped.  Specimens  of  his  handicraft 
are  to  be  found  in  the  Hopkins  &  Willis  buildings,  the  St.  Regis  Hotel,  the 
Barlow  residence,  the  Hill  residence  and  many  other  fine  homes  in  Bakersfield 
and  vicinity.  An  important  department  of  his  enterprise  is  the  manufacture 
of  galvanized  iron,  water  and  oil  tanks  of  any  capacity  up  to  two  thousand 
barrels.  These  are  manufactured  under  the  name  of  the  Gundlach  Tank  Com- 
pany of  which  he  is  proprietor.  Besides  his  extensive  local  business  he  main- 
tains branches  at  Maricopa  and  Taft,  with  shops  in  bo;h  towns  and  a  store 
and  manufacturing  plant  in  Taft.  His  residence  is  at  No.  2103  C  street. 

When  he  was  only  eighteen  years  old  Mr.  Gundlach  joined  Thompson 
Hose  Company,  of  the  Alameda  Fire  Department,  and  was  later  made  its 
foreman.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Bakersfield  Fire  Department  in  1901 
and  served  two  years  and  a  half.  In  1907  he  was  appointed  chief  of  the  depart- 
ment, which  position  he  filled  four  years,  and  numerous  important  improve- 
ments looking  to  the  efficiency  of  the  department  were  made  under  his  adminis- 
tration. He  is  a  past-exalted  ruler  of  Bakersfield  Lodge  No.  266,  B.  P.  O.  E  ; 
past-nresident  of  Alameda  Parlor  No.  47,  N.  S.  G.  W.,  and  affiliates  with  Aerie 
No.  93.  F.  O.  E.,  and  with  Lodge  No.  76,  K.  P.  of  Bakersfield.  He  married  at 
Alameda  Miss  Gussie  Wulzen,  a  native  of  that  city,  and  they  have  one  daugh- 
ter, Hazel. 

J.  A.  JONES.— Born  in  Boone  county,  Neb.,  February  9,  1881,  J.  A.  Jones 
is  a  son  of  Paul  and  Clara  (Meade)  Jones.  The  latter  died  when  her  son,  J.  A., 
was  twelve  years  old,  leaving  beside  him  four  sons  and  two  daughters.  By  a 
subsequent  marriage  the  father  had  another  daughter.  The  home  of  the 
family  for  years  was  upon  a  stock  ranch  in  the  central  part  of  Nebraska.  The 
surrounding  country  was  SDarsely  settled  and  largely  undeveloped.  The  broad 
prairies  afforded  excellent  range  for  stock,  hence  the  father  made  a  specialty 
of  the  cattle  industry,  although  to  some  extent  he  also  raised  general  farm 
crops.  Eventually  he  disposed  of  his  lands  in  Nebraska  and  came  to  California 
in  1898,  settling  in  Fresno  county,  where  he  began  to  make  a  study  of  viticul- 
ture. Since  then  he  has  become  known  in  his  community  as  a  very  successful 
vineyardist  and  his  tract  of  forty  acres  in  vines  and  orchard  affords  him  a  neat 
income  in  return  for  his  care  and  cultivation. 

After  having  assisted  his  father  on  the  Nebraska  ranch  and  the  Fresno 
county  vineyard,  J.  A.  Jones  started  out  to  earn  his  own  livelihood,  having 
no  preparation  for  work  except  a  robust  constitution,  a  pair  of  willing  hands 
and  an  intelligent  ability  in  carrying  out  orders.  There  being  no  available 
opening  in  business,  he  started  out  as  a  farm  hand.  For  one  year  he  worked 
on  a  stock  ranch  in  Tulare  county  owned  by  E.  K.  Zumwalt.    During  the  next 


HISTORY   OF    KERN   COUNTY  1555 

year  he  clerked  in  a  grocery  and  hardware  store  in  Fresno.  As  a  roustabout 
in  the  employ  of  M.  H.  Whitter  he  came  to  the  Kern  river  fields  to  hold  down 
a  claim,  but  returned  to  the  store  in  Fresno  for  another  year.  In  l')02  he 
again  came  to  Kern  county,  where  he  has  since  remained,  with  the  exception 
of  eighteen  months  at  Coalinga,  Fresno  county.  Entering  the  employ  of  the 
Associated  Oil  Company  in  1902  as  a  roustabout,  he  has  since  passed  through 
every  department  of  the  work  up  to  that  of  principal  foreman  in  the  field.  On 
September  5,  1907,  Mr.  Jones  was  united  in  marriage  with  Marie,  daughter  of 
William  F.  Funderburk,  of  Merced  county.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership 
with  the  Woodmen  of  the  World  in  Bakersfield. 

WALTER  C.  TAYLOR.— The  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  found  thousands 
of  the  sons  of  the  north  ready  to  enlist  in  the  service  of  the  Union  and  among 
these  was  a  young  man  fn.m  Indiana,  J.  G.  Taylor,  who  being  accepted  as  a 
private  in  the  Federal  ranks  went  to  the  front  with  his  regiment  and  bore 
arms  until  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  enlistment.  Thereafter  he  earned  a 
livelihood  for  his  wife,  Mary,  and  their  family  through  his  labor  as  a  farmer, 
supplemented  by  his  ability  as  a  schoolteacher.  During  the  '80s  he  took  the 
family  to  Texas  and  engaged  in  farming.  Later  he  established  a  home  in 
Te.xarkana,  on  the  line  of  Texas  and  Arkansas.  Eventually  he  and  his  wife 
removed  to  Shreveport,  La.,  where  they  still  make  their  home.  Of  their  nine 
children  six  are  now  living,  the  next  to  the  youngest  being  Walter  C,  who 
was  born  in  Indiana  February  1,  1877,  and  received  his  education  in  public 
schools  in  Texas  and  Arkansas.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  became  self-support- 
ing. As  a  clerk  in  a  Texarkana  store  he  gained  his  first  experience  in  business. 
Later  he  spent  a  year  in  El  Paso.  Coming  to  California  and  to  Bakersfield  in 
1899,  he  secured  a  position  in  a  grocery,  but  in  a  short  time  resigned  in  order 
to  become  a  teamster  with  the  White  Star  (later  the  Bakersfield)  laundry. 
With  the  exception  of  three  years,  during  which  he  engaged  as  a  driver  for  the 
San  Luis  Obispo  laundry,  he  remained  with  the  laundry  in  Bakersfield  until 
1912,  and  in  April  of  that  year  started  the  cafeteria  which  he  operates  with 
success  in  the  Moronet  hotel  building. 

The  management  of  the  cafeteria  does  not  represent  the  limit  of  tlie  busi- 
ness activities  of  Mr.  Taylor,  for  he  is  interested  in  the  Dreamland  rink  which 
he  established  in  September,  1912.  with  L.  W.  Baker  as  a  partner.  The 
structure  which  they  erected  on  the  corner  of  Nineteenth  and  R  streets  is 
59x101  feet  in  dimensions  and  has  a  maple  floor  ideally  adapted  to  the  purpose 
for  which  it  has  been  utilized.  The  business  is  managed  with  tact,  skill  and 
precision.  The  highest  moral  environment  gives  satisfaction  to  the  most 
critical  patrons,  who  finding  that  profanity  and  rowdyism  are  not  allowed 
feel  an  increased  confidence  in  the  ability  and  high  principles  of  the  proprietors, 
and  certainly  a  large  degree  of  credit  belongs  to  Mr.  Taylor  for  his  jiersistence 
in  maintaining  the  high  standard  of  the  place.  A  few  years  after  coming  to 
Bakersfield  he  established  a  home  of  his  own,  his  marriage  uniting  him  with 
Miss  Minnie  Snvder,  who  was  born  in  .Arizona  and  bv  whom  he  has  a  daughter, 
Helen. 

R.  R.  MORRIS. — Born  at  Alexandria.  Madison  county,  Ind.,  December 
3,  1888.  R.  R.  Morris  is  the  only  child  of  I'Vank  R.  and  May  Virginia  (Zim- 
merman) Morris,  the  latter  still  a  resident  of  .-Xlexandria,  where  the  father, 
who  was  serving  as  city  treasurer,  died  in  1900.  Educated  in  the  local  grammar 
and  high  schools,  Mr.  Morris  was  employed  in  Alexandria  for  two  years  after 
the  completion  of  the  high-school  course,  but  in  1909  left  Indiana  for  Cali- 
fornia. October  of  that  year  found  him  in  the  Midway  field,  where  he  secured 
employment  in  the  store  of  the  J.  F.  Lucey  Company,  and  for  a  time  also 
worked  in  the  pipe  yard,  but  since  January  1,  1913,  he  has  served  as  district 
manager  of  the  corporation  for  the  West  Side  oil  fields,  being  also  manager 
of  their  main  store  and  warehouse  in  Taft,  also  superintendent  of  the  branches 


1556  HISTORY    OF    KERN    COUNTY 

dt  Maricopa,  Shale  and  McKittrick.  His  family  consists  of  a  daughter,  Mau- 
rine,  and  his  wife,  formerly  Miss  Mazie  Perry,  of  Indiana.  Both  are  earnest 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Taft  and  Mr.  Morris  holds  the 
office  of  church  treasurer.  In  politics  he  favors  Republican  principles.  Since 
coming  to  Taft  he  has  identified  himself  with  the  Petroleum  Club. 

The  success  of  the  J.  F.  Lucey  Ccmpany  is  a  source  of  pride  and  gratifica- 
tion to  Mr.  Morris.  Besides  the  stores  and  warehouses  under  the  direct 
management  of  Mr.  Morris  as  district  manager,  the  company  owns  stores  at 
Bakersfield  and  Coalinga  and  the  main  office,  manufactory  and  warehouses 
are  located  in  Los  Angeles.  Representatives  have  been  stationed  in  South 
America,  stores  have  been  opened  in  Roumania  and  the  Russian  oil  fields, 
at  Tampico,  Mexico,  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  New  York  City  and  London.  A 
recent  acquisition  was  the  purchase  of  a  factory  at  Chattanooga,  Tenn., 
known  as  the  Southern  well  works,  whose  enormous  business  included 
stores  in  all  the  principal  oil  fields  of  Texas,  Oklahoma  and  Louisiana. 


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