David Campbell's Accout of travels west in 1846
The following is a portion of the account of the Campbell family migration to and experiences in California, selected from David Campbell's articles in The Weekley Review (Porterville, CA) of July 14, 21, and 18, 1899 - (It is taken from the 1934 book by Ina H. Steiner entitled "Porterville Genealogies" Pages 304-310):
"By the time the companies that were trying to rush through had reached Ft. Laramie their stock gave out; but they found traders there; so they traded their oxen off for others; and before we got to Ft. Hall they were in the rear. We were out of the buffalo range when we struck the Rocky Mts.; but we found plenty of mountain sheep, or goats as some people called them ... They too went in bands ranging from 1000 to 3000 and inhabited the roughest places in the mountains, going with ease over places where a man could not walk. They had very large horns which seemed to be quite useful to them at times, and especially so when they jumped down from one cliff to another for they would always light on their heads. There were a great many wolves in the Rocky Mts ... They were very large and white and would come around our camp at night and bark. We had a great many large streams to cross; but fortunately the rivers were all very low that year ... and were all forded without getting anything in the wagons wet, and without having to prop up the wagon beds.
"We traveled up Sweet River for two days; the beaver dams were thick on the river and the mountains on each side were capped with snow. This brought us up to the Devil's Gate, where we laid over for one day to view the grand scenery. The river made a short turn here and came rushing down a narrow pass some 500 feet, with solid rock on both sides, the channel being about fifty feet wide. This brought us on the waters of the Pacific slope. Bear River was also a beautiful stream and was full of large mountain trout. When we reached the Steam Boat Spring, we laid over a day to fish and enjoy the grandeur which surrounded us. The water in this spring was boiling and threw up steam some twenty feet high and would cook a piece of meat in just a few minutes. It was close to the river bank; and the mountains came up close to the spring; the rocks for a mile around looked as if they had been thrown out of a burning pit. They looked like burned cinders. Some of the company thought that was surely the Devil's regions.
"When we arrived at Fort Hall we found about 500 Indians of the Flathead tribe who had come to trade. They had buffalo hides and deer skins and would pay any price for beads and tobacco. We bought some buffalo robes; and I bought a horse for five pounds of tobacco and a pound of beads. I afterwards sold this horse to the Government for $50. We found this tribe of Indians very friendly. After we left Fort Hall the mountain fever began to rage among the members of the party; and as there was not a doctor in any of the companies a great many people died. So, by the time we arrived at Goose Creek, where the Oregon road turned off, about fifty wagons concluded they would go to Oregon, as they had so many deaths in their families.
("The Donner party concluded they would take another road, which was called the Hastings Cut-off, by way of Ft. Bridger. This road proved to be a longer and a worse road. The two roads came together again at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mts. The Donner party were to put up a notice when they got there, but the company I was in got there two weeks before they did. For some reason they got to quarreling; and their captain killed a member of the company; and they gave him 12 hours in which to leave the party. William McCutcheon and a Mr. Eddy left the company with him, overtaking our party forty miles from Sutter's Fort. The remainder of the Donner party got to the foot of the mountain; but the storm came on and they could get no farther. The families of the three men named above were with the Donner party and were all saved. William McCutcheon and the Captain that was run off were members of the second party which went to their rescue in the spring. They made an attempt to go to them in the winter; but they could not get their Indian pilot to go through with them...)
"Our company had a good road most of the way, considering the fact that it was a mountain road and had never been worked. Those who came to California bore to the south and came into what is called the '1000Spring Valley', a level valley surrounded by mountains. There were large holes of water every few rods all over the valley, the water being as clear as crystal. They were from five to ten feet across; and the water was about one foot below the surface of the ground; and they never run over. The ground would shake them when a person walked over it. We could not see the bottom of them. I tried to touch bottom with a ten-foot pole, but couldn't do it. We had to guard our stock to keep them from getting into these holes. There were a few willows growing in this valley.
"Just after leaving Spring Valley we struck the head of the Humbolt River. Here we came in contact with hostile Indians, the first we encountered on the trip. We traveled down river for several days. There were thick willows and good grass all the way down; but the water was bad. We had only one rain on us during the whole trip across the plains. When we buried our dead we had to bury them in the corral and let the stock tramp everything down so the Indians would not find the place, for they would dig it up and get the cloth the body was wrapped in. Three of our men were killed by Indians. They used poisoned arrows; and when shot by one of them the poison would go all through one's system. The Indians would hide in the willows and shoot arrows in our stock. We had to corral our stock every night and guard them while they were feeding. When we got to the 'sink' of this river we found that we had a desert of 35 miles to cross without water or grass. We started in the evening and traveled all night reaching the Truckee river the next evening. This was a beautiful river; and there was plenty of grass for the stock. We traveled down the river for two days and crossed and recrossed it 25 times. We then left the river and bore to the west. This brought us into the mountains where we found we had very rough country to travel over. When we came to the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mts. it looked as though we could not get any farther; but as we had no time to lose we double-teamed and took one wagon at a time up to the summit. It was so rocky that we had to work our way around the rocks, and only got a short distance in two days. We had a rocky road to travel over after we got up the mountain; but it was not very steep until we got to Boca Creek, where we had to chain a tree to the wagons in order to get down the hill safely. This was the steepest hill we had on the whole trip. After we got down to the creek we had to stop and grade a road to get up the hill. There were two companies; and it took us three days to complete the grade. This brought us on to a dividing ridge which we followed down to the North Fork of the American River, a distance of fifty miles. By this time a good many of the company were out of flour; so they started myself and another man to Johnson's place to get flour. We got 100 pounds and started back to the company.
"The men that had left the Donner Party overtook us about 30 miles from Johnson's and told us what had happened ... and that they were fearful lest the party would never get through. Our company reached Johnson's place all right and in good spirits. We laid over there two days. While there we heard that the American fleet had landed and hoisted the American flag over the Capitol, and also in Los Angeles. From here we started for Sutter's Fort, a distance of fifty miles. There was no road; but it was level country...We laid over there several days, bringing the time up to the tenth of October, making a six months' journey from Independence, Mo. The first American child born in California was born the next day after we arrived at Sutter's Fort. They named the child John Sutter Whisman; he is now living in Oregon. Sutter had two flour mills running to supply the immigrants with flour. This flour was coarse and had not been bolted. The mills were built in a cheap style. They used two stones with a lever attached; and a squaw could turn the lever around. We got fine beef. They were only worth what the hide and tallow would bring. A large beef was valued at $5. After being here five days the immigrants divided up, some going to Napa County and others to Santa Clara County.
"Just before we separated, Lt. Blackburn came up from Monterey as a recruiting officer for Col. Fremont to enlist men to join his regiment going to Lower Calif., where the American flag had been pulled down and the Spanish flag hoisted instead. All of the men who could go enlisted; and their families were ordered to go to Santa Clara Mission, where they could be guarded and have houses to live in. Col. Fremont commissioned Capt. Arom to raise a company and guard the women and children."
On November first at San Jose, David Campbell joined a company of fifty men of Captain Buress who had secured 500 horses and saddles for Fremont. When these had gone as far south as the Salinas plains they fell into an ambush of Spaniards, who killed one of the six advance guards. Twenty men were detailed to run the horses to Gomez's corral two miles away. The rest attacked the Spaniards, discounting to shoot, then mounting to charge. The Spaniards were scattered; but Buress was killed by his horse' running away and taking him into the midst of the enemy who "speared" him. The Americans "held the ground". Both sides recovered and buried their dead: five Americans and eighteen Spaniards. David Campbell returned from Monterey to San Jose with Lieut. Blackburn, who was sent by Fremont with a cannon. On account of sickness in his family he remained at San Jose under Capt. Webber, and was in the Santa Clara battle in January, 1847. 250 Spaniards, who had hoisted their flag "were in rendezvous near what we call Half Moon Bay. They were commanded by Schanres who had been paroled. Captain Webber found where they had been encamped; and they only had sixty men in their company. He notified Lieut. Maddix who had a company of 50 rangers ... He also notified Capt. Mardson, who was captain of the marines at Urbano, which is now called Presidio. He came up with a cannon and 100 men on foot. Mardson ranked in office, so both the officers had to submit to his orders. By this time the Spaniards had moved camp to within three miles of the Santa Clara Mission where the women and children were living. They were guarded by Captain Arom. He could not leave his post; so he put up breast-works to keep them from getting to the houses and for his men to fight behind. The Spaniards were camped in full view of the Mission. The people at the Mission expected every hour to be attacked; but they were there three days when our soldiers came upon them. Capt. Webber came up on the north of them, and Lieut. Maddix on the south and got between them and the Mission. Mardson was behind them with his marines and cannon. The Spaniards advanced toward the Mission across a mud slough which was a half mile wide. When Mardson got into that they commenced firing at him; and he could not use the cannon on account of the mud; and as the Spaniards would not get within 300 yards of his men, they could not hit a man. Capt. Webber and Lieut. Maddix charged on them; but the Spaniards kept too far away; and they could not do them much damage. They killed three Spaniards and wounded several; one American was shot in the leg. The fight lasted three hours; and at night the Spaniards retreated to their camp. The next morning they sent in a flag of truce. Capt. Mardson was the highest in rank; so he had to treat with them. They parleyed for three days trying to come to terms. They had run all of the horses off which they had taken from the Americans and had hidden all of their good guns; then they were willing to come to terms; but they had to stack all of their arms and give up all of the horses they had taken. They were to drive everything in and let the Americans take their pick. They had over 50 head. The Americans gave was the first sawmill built in Santa Clara County. When we finished the mill we went back to the mines. The first of September we went to the place now called Placerville. The gold here was very coarse. The only tools we used in getting it out were a pick, spoon, butcher knife and pan. I stayed there three weeks and averaged $50 per day for that time.
"One of our party was taken sick with mountain fever; so I had to put him into a wagon and take him to San Jose. And when I got there I concluded to go to work in my sawmill, instead of going back to the mines. I commenced making lumber and sold it at $50 per thousand. I kept on raising the price; and in 1849 it went up to $300 per thousand at the mill; and everything else was high in proportion. Flour sold at $30 a barrel. In 1849 everything was booming at San Jose.
"There were only five houses in San Francisco in 1847: the custom's house, post-office, Leigdoff's store, and a tavern kept by Mr. Bennett. There was not a wharf in the place until the fall of 1847. Mr. Clark, a man who crossed the Plains with me, put up the first wharf, running it out from Clark's Point which was named for him. The first town lots were laid off in 1847. They made the streets only eighty feet wide; but in 1850 they found the streets were too narrow; so they moved the buildings back twenty feet on the main streets. One can hardly believe that there could be such a change made in fifty-two years. San Jose was an old Spanish town. In the fall of 1847 the Alcalde issued a proclamation calling all the citizens together who were living on the town land to survey off the town into lots and to release the remainder of the land that belonged to the town under the Spanish law. So they found there were forty families entitled to land. They surveyed it off in five acre tracts and gave each one a lease for ninety-nine years. This is called the San Jose Forty Thieves; but being done under the Spanish law the title is good. I helped to survey the town in 1847 ... At this time there was not an American living in San Jose except a few who had been there for twenty years and had Spanish families. The Alcalde was a shrewd Englishman and was appointed by the governor."
As to the first Protestant sermon in California, "in December 1846, there was a local Methodist preacher, who crossed the Plains with us, preached a funeral sermon aver the remains of the daughter of Capt. Arom who had died just before Christmas ... The minister's name was Heacock. The sermon was preached in old Santa Clara Mission."
(Note: Because of the details of life among the first Americans and in crossing the Plains, it has seemed best to omit practically nothing from Mr. Campbell's articles. To understand the route across the Plains, the places named might be put into the present states of their location: Independence was not far from Kansas City of today on the Missouri River at the western boundary of Missouri; farther northwest is the Platte River crossing the state of Nebraska; Ft. Laramie is in the eastern edge of Wyoming, about a third of the way from the southeast corner; continuing fairly westward across Wyoming up the Sweetwater River leads through the pass of the Rockies known as South Pass. (Ft. Bridger is farther south in the very southwest corner of Wyoming; it would seem that the main body of the immigrant train did not bend south to Ft. Bridger, but that the Donner Party left the others and passing through Ft. Bridger went on southwestward through Utah and then westward through Nevada to the Truckee River where Reno now is.) The main part of the train continued westward across the Bear River in southeastern Idaho to Ft. Hall where they first touch the Snake River, followed the Snake halfway across the southern edge of Idaho (the route they were following to this point was the Oregon Trail) but at the Goose Creek which flowed from the south they turned south into Nevada and on the Humboldt and Truckee followed approximately the present Lincoln Highway.)
William G. Campbell not only surveyed the streets of San Jose (Bancroft says the survey was in charge of William and Thomas Campbell) but also the streets of San Francisco in 1847 (his sons being of the party). There his wife Agnes Hancock Campbell died and was buried in an old burying ground over which Market Street was surveyed; her dust still rests under the street. David Campbell also surveyed Spanish grants in the San Joaquin Valley, according to Miss Owen's account. According to T. A. Cutting, author of the Historical Sketch of Campbell (the town in Santa Clara Valley) during the Mexican War trouble Benjamin Campbell was enlisted with the company guarding the Mission, and William and David were in the Salinas fight and the Santa Clara battle at which Sanchez was defeated (January 2, 1847); also "William Campbell, who early set up as a merchant in San Jose, manufactured a curious threshing machine for the ripened grain . . . .The idea of adobe houses did not appeal to the newcomers" - hence the sawmill. Benjamin Campbell piloted in 1852 to California (his third trip) the Lovells, the Ruckers, the Finleys, and the Robert Campbells.
History of Alameda County, California: including its geology, topography,
soil, and productions; together with a full and particular record of the Spanish
grants
The Bay of San Francisco - The Metropolis of the Pacific Coast and its
Suburban Cities. A History - Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company, 1892.
Vol. II, page 274
J. C. Campbell, a lawyer of San Francisco, was born in Indiana, October 31,
1852. His father John Alexander Campbell, a native of Scotland, was a
prominent pioneer minister in the Scotch Prebyterian Church of Indiana. He
married a Miss Claybaugh, a native of Ohio. Mr. Campbell was reared and
received his education in his native State, attending for a time the academy
at Logansport. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in June, 1873.
Three years later, in October, 1876, he came to the Pacific coast and engaged
in the practice of law at Stockton. Here his ability and devotion to the
interests of his profession was quickly recognized. He received the
nomination for District Attorney and was several times holding this important
office, six years. He remained in Stockton, one of the leading members of the
bar of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, until the fall of 1890, when he
was induced to come to San Francisco and became a member of the prominent law
firm of Reddy, Campbell and Metson.
Mr. Campbell is in his political views strongly Republican, and during the
late campaign, he took an active part in the election of Govenor Markham,
making a canvass of the State. Mr. Campbell is prominently identified with
the Masonic order.
History of the state of California and biographical record of coast
counties, California: An historical story of the state's marvelous
growth from its earliest settlement to the present time : also
containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present
DANIEL LEWIS MOODY. The livery business conducted by Daniel Lewis Moody in Santa Clara has proved a profitable enterprise both for its owner and the city in which it is located The business was established In its present location about thirty years ago, Mr. Moody also engaging then as now in the buying, selling and breaking of horses, his business sagacity and judgment, energy and ability, being the groundwork for the competence which he has built up in the passing years. Born in Jackson county, Mo., October 9, 1835, he was the son of John Moody, a native of Tennessee.
In an early day John Moody removed from his native state, to Missouri, where he located in Jackson county, and engaged in farming and stock-raising. His latter years were spent among the scenes of California, to which state he was brought in 1859 by his son, Daniel L. He located in Mountainview, where he purchased and took up land, upon which he engaged in farming until his death in 1888. he became a member of Christian Church in this locality. Politically he adhered to the principles advocated in the platform of the Democratic party. His wife, formerly, Mary King, of Kentucky, also died here. They were the parents of five sons and five daughters, all of whom attained maturity, while
five are now living.
Daniel Lewis Moody was the youngest son and the sixth child in his father's family. He was reared to the age of fourteen years among the scenes of his birthplace, receiving a rather limited education through the medium of the common schools, in the vicinity of his home. In 1851, in the care of his uncle, Peter Haun; he, crossed the plains to California by means of ox teams. Upon his arrival in the west he located with his uncle in Santa Clara. where he remained for a short time, going then to live with his brother, George W. Moody, in the San Joaquin valley and engaged in taking care cattle during the years of 1852 and '53. In 1854 he returned to Santa Clara county, and for a time by farmers throughout the section, after which he rented land and engaged in farming independently. Four years later, in 1959 he returned to Missouri and brought his parents back to California, after which he rented land in Mountainview, and engaged in farming, for two or three years. In 1863 he went to Mexico and remained a short time, when he returned and farmed for another year, after which he engaged in trading, buying and breaking horses, following this with the establishment of the business with which he has since been connected.
In Santa Barbara, Cal., in 1874, Mr. Moody was married to Rosa Tillford, a native of Missouri, and whose death occurred in this city. Of the two children born of that union Lulu B is deceased and Elsie is at home. In Watsonville, Cal., Mr. Moody was united a second time, Eliza Spiegel, of California, becoming his wife. Mr. Moody is a member of the Church of Christ of Santa. Clara, in which he officiates as deacon and trustee, and is active in the promotion of religious thought and life in the community. Politically he casts his ballot with the Prohibition party.
History of Fresno County, California: with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present: illustrated
THOMAS F. MOODY. - A well-to-do pioneer California rancher, who is historically interesting as one of the earliest settlers in the Laguna Tract, and today well sustains the honorable and enviable traditions of one of tile best early families, is Thomas F. Moody, who resides three miles west of Hardwick. He was born near Santa Clara, in Santa Clara County, on May 31, 1855, the son of George W. Moody, who was a native of Jackson County, Mo., farmed there and was there married to Emily Lynn. Grandfather Daniel Moody was born in Virginia and there became a planter. He came to Kentucky, and from Kentucky to Missouri; and thence to California, ten years after George Moody arrived here. The Moodys came from England, settled in Virginia, and had a very creditable part in the Revolutionary War. The Lynns were likewise of English blood, although Mrs. Moody's mother was born in Indiana. The paternal grandmother, Hannah King, was an own cousin of Daniel Boone. Back in Missouri in the early days there was a trapper and he came all the way out from Missouri to Oregon for trapping, thence moving south into California in the early thirties, when George was still a boy. Returning to Missouri, he related stories about California, and the lad George's imagination was fired and he resolved to come to California. Luckily, he was able to see his dream come true, for he was one of the few whites, forty in all who came to California from Jackson County, Mo., in 1847, Grandfather James Lynn being one of them, and the captain of his company. This company came through Colorado, Utah, and Nevada, and on September 12, 1847, they halted at where Stockton now stands. George Moody brought with him to California his young wife and first-born, William, who was then only one year old, and having established himself in the Santa Clara Valley, he engaged principally in store-keeping, farming and stock-raising. He owned the Fremont Place in that valley near Mountain View, at one time the headquarters of General Fremont while he was stationed on the coast; but through failure of title he lost it, and he died a comparatively poor man, in 1910, aged eighty-four years. The mother died in Santa Clara County, aged thirty-six, leaving eight children: William A. is at Elko in Nevada; John J. is at Boulder Creek. Santa Cruz County, Cal.; Mary is now Mrs. McDonald of Hanford; George M., married, lived and died in Nevada and left three children; Thomas F subject of this sketch; Charles S. resides at Elko, Nev.; Ellen, the widow of Stephen Henley, also lives at Elko; and Emma is the wife of Major Miller of Elko.
Marrying a second time, George Moody chose for his wife Mrs. Ellen Deitzman, widow of Henry Deitzman of Santa Clara, and the mother at that time of five children - Lovey J., Nellie, John, Emma, and Frank; and by her Mr. Moody became the father of three more: Lee, who resides at Stockton; Daniel lives in Lompoc; and Lena, the wife of Henry Barker, of Santa Cruz County.
Thomas Franklin Moody's early life was passed in the Santa Clara Valley, where he grew up on his father's ranch and went to the public school until his mother's death, which occurred when he was fourteen years old. Then after his father's second marriage, he started out for himself. He went to live with an uncle for a year, and worked for his brother-in-law McDonald; and from that time on until he was twenty-one he hired out by the month for various farm-labor. Then he was married to Miss Lovey Jane Deitzman, his step-sister; but she died in 1906 and left seven children: Pearl lives at home; Ernest resides at Elyria, Ohio, where he is married and is the foreman in a rubber-heel manufactory; George Cleveland is a rancher in Kings County; Lela resides nearby in Armona, the wife of Kenneth Starr, a rancher; Le Roy married Edna A. Laidley, and is now in Belgium, a lieutenant in the United States marine aviation service; Lester is in the marine aviation service at Pekin, China; and Irene is at Berkeley, a junior in the University of California.
On Mr. Moody's second marriage, he was joined to Mrs. Daisy Mylar, widow of Fred Mylar of San Juan Bautista in San Benito County, by whom she had three children: Fred, Leslie and Elmer Mylar.
After his first marriage, Mr. Moody ranched for a couple of years in San Benito County; and when the extremely dry season of 1877 hindered operations, he went north into Napa County and worked around with his four horse team. Having returned to San Benito County, he moved in the Fall of 1878 to the San Joaquin Valley and settled near Lemoore, which was then in Tulare County, but now in Kings, and farmed for a year. Then he went to the south of Hanford, and farmed there two years; and next he came to the Liberty Settlement, about half way between Riverdale and Caruthers; and there he resided for ten years.
In 1899, Mt. Moody came to the Laguna de Tache Grant, where he rented for three years, after which he bought sixty acres from Names & Saunders. He has not only improved the place but added to it by purchase from time to time till it is now 200 acres in extent. He and his sons, George C. and Pearl, own a place of sixty acres in Kings County, south of the railway tracks near the county line between Fresno and Kings counties. He also owns a piece of land in the slough on Murphy Creek, consisting of twenty-eight acres, and owns a quarter interest in his wife's place of forty acres in Fresno County, near the Kings County line, where he now lives, three miles west of Hardwick. In 1909 he had an interest in city property at Coalinga, but he has disposed of his holdings there.
A Democrat in matters of national politics, Mr. Moody is non-partisan in his service as Trustee of the Laguna Grammar School and the Laton High School. He was also Road Supervisor for two years under John Clough, and he has done jury duty. He is one of three directors of the Riverdale Federal Land Association, and passes upon land values before loans are made. This is a plan by which any person owning real estate to the value of from $500 to $10,000 may borrow money to the latter sum, for from five to forty years, at six per cent interest.
An interesting bit of local history associating the Moody's with Santa Clara Avenue on which they reside, is furnished in the story of how that thoroughfare came to be named. When the Rural Free Delivery was established the Postal Department expressed the wish to have the avenue named; and Mr. Moody, as the oldest resident, selected Santa Clara because that was tile county in which both he and his wife were born.
Mr. and Mrs. Moody were for years identified with the United Brethren church, and Mr. Moody belongs to the Woodmen of the World.
A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Fresno, Tulare and Kern, California, The Lewis Pubishing Company, Chicago, Ill. (1892) Page 292
A. C. WILLIAMS, a tried and faithful servant in the government of Fresno County, us a native of the Golden State. He was born in Vacaville, Solano County, in 1857, his parents being among the pioneers who came to the state in 1852. Young Williams was educated in the common schools, with a finishing course, in 1873, at the California Baptist College, Vacaville.
Reared on a farm he engaged in agricultural pursuits for himself in 1874, in Fresno County, giving his attention to raising wheat, that being before the fruit industry started. A year later, however, he went to Colusa County, and was variously employed until 1879, when he returned to Fresno and received the appointment of Deputy County Clerk, under A. M. Clark. He continued that position until 1884, then being elected to fill the office. He has since been re-elected at each succeeding election down to the present time, 1890. When he first entered this office its work was very light; now it ranks fourth in importance in the State. He formerly performed all the work; now he employs four deputies.
Mr. Williams was married in Fresno in 1885, to Miss Mattie Thomas, and their household is brightened by one child, Clara, four years of age.
Mr. Williams is a Mason and a member of Fresno Lodge, Trigo Chapter and Fresno Commandery, Knights Templar.
Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Fresno, Tulare and Kern, California, The Lewis Pubishing Company, Chicago, Ill. (1892) - Page 493
ALBERT C. WILLIAMS was born in Sonoma County, California, October 15, 1858. He is the only son in a family of five children, and has always resided in his native State. When he was eight yars old his father moved to Solano County, and in 1874 to Los Angeles County. Mr. Williams has been engaged in fruit culture the most of his life. After he completed his studies at school, he worked on his father's fruit ranch, early in life gaining valuable information in regard to fruit culture that has been of much practical use to him.
In 1881 he engaged in fruit raising on his own account, and was very successful, remaining in Los Angeles County until 1887. In December of that year he moved to Fresno County and located on a ranch of eighty acres, two miles and a half northeast of Selma. Fifity-five acres of this he is devoting to the culture of the raisin grape. He made all of the improvements on this place, among which may be mentioned his residence, a very pretty house, with appointments and furnishings far surpassing those of the average country home. Aside from the property already referred to, Mr. Williams has landed interests near Santa Ana, Orange County, and in the town of Selma he holds stock in the Masonic Temple Association.
November 6, 1890, he was united in marriage with Caroline England, a most estimable lady, also a native of California, born in Calaveras County.
History of Orange County, California
By. Samuel Armor
Albert C. Williams - A financier and a vigorous promoter of everything calculated to steady the financial resources of both Tustin and Orange County, Albert C. Williams is a native son of California, born near Healdsburg, Sonoma County, October 15, 1858, the only son of Washington Williams, who was born in Missouri and came to California, across the plains, in 1853. Here he had married Elizabeth Martin, a native of Tennessee, and a member of a family well-known in Georgia, whence they originated. They came to California in 1856 by the overland route, in an ox-team train, and located in Sonoma County, and so they became pioneers of the Golden State. Mrs. Williams failed to enjoy the best of health in the North, and she and her husband came south to Tustin in 1874, arriving here on September 23, after twenty-two days of hardship, crossing the mountains with teams. Washington Williams died in 1911, and his devoted wife followed him three years later.
After completing this arduous journey with their supplies, Mr. Williams and his family located on twenty acres on what is now known as Williams Street - a thoroughfare bearing their name - and McFadden Street, in Tustin, and Albert C. Williams, in 1874 helped his father to erect the temporary dwelling that two years later was supplanted by a better home. The son also worked upon the farm, while he attended the grammar school at Tustin. His father acquired twenty-four acres at Delhi, which was also farmed to grain and stock. He was an agriculturalist and a horticulturalist, and he owned several threshing outfits. Associated with his father, A. C. Williams withstood the disastrous effects of several dry years, and by "sticking it out" reaped the benefits. In 1880 he took a trip north to Oregon, driving four horses hitched to a big covered wagon, going via Siskiyou and Jacksonville, returning to Cresent City, Cal., and there he remained for a winter, coming back to Tustin in May, 1881. When he was twenty-two years old he worked a vineyard at Villa Park, raising grapes, apricots and apples. He set the land later to walnuts, receiving as his share sixteen acres of the thirty-six acres. At the present time he owns nine acres - four and a half on each side of Williams Street - and his last crop of walnuts was nine tons. He markets through the Santa Anna Walnut Association, and is a member of the Santa Ana Valley Irrigation Company. In 1888 he went north to Fresno County, purchased eighty acres there, and set the same out as a vineyard. He also has financial interests in oil and mining stocks.
On November 6, 1889, Mr. Williams married Caoline Fatima England, a native of Claveras County, Cal., and three children have made still happier their union: Ralph E. married Miss Lorina Burd of Santa Ana, and they have one son, Howard E. When Ralph was sixteen years old he entered the Glenn Martin Auto Machine Shop, and later, when Martin began to make aeroplanes, he helped him with the first plane ever constructed in Santa Ana. Martin went east after a few years, and became famous. Then Ralph entered the employ of the William F. Lutz Company, and he also worked for the Santa Ana Commercial Company, and it was while there that he started his own shop, in 1915. A. C. and Ralph E. Williams, father and son, became interested in the manufacture of "Silver Beam" spotlights, and they enlarged their factory; soon, however, removing to Los Angeles, where they were afforded greater facilities. Ralph is now secretary and manager, and A. C. is vice-president, and the company is known as the Williams Manufacturing Company, and is incorporated under the laws of California. Ernest R., the second son in the order of birth is foreman of the machine shop in the Williams Manufacturing Company, and is an expert tool maker. He married Miss Marguerite Ruth Brown, of Princeton, N. J. He enlisted in the recent war, and served his country from January 1 to December 3, 1918. Albert G. is a graduate from the Tustin grammar school, class of 1920.
Mrs. Williams was active in Red Cross work during the World War, and the whole family generously supported the various loan drives. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are both members of the Faternal Aid union, in which Mr. Williams has gone through the various chairs. They also belong to the Methodist Church. Mr. Williams is a Democrat, but not an office seeker, and he believes in both trying to make the world better, and in enjoying the world as it is.
Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Fresno, Tulare and Kern, California, The Lewis Pubishing Company, Chicago, Ill. (1809) - Pages 580 - 581
WADE J. WILLIAMS, proprietor of the Union Market, Fresno, was born in Vacaville, Solano County, in 1863. His father, M. L. Williams, a farmer and extensive stock dealer, now resides in Fresno County. Wade J. received a public school education, and at the age of sixteen entered upon a business career. He purchased a little band of sheep, and, as his own shepherd, attended their wanderings from King's to San Joaquin river, and from the Sierras to the Coast Range. He followed this industry about nine years, with a flock numbering from 3,000 to 15,000 head. In 1888 he sold his sheep and engaged in butchering. He purchased the market and business of M. Madison, No. 1938 Mariposa street, and about twelve days later his market was totally destroyed by fire. Nothing daunted, he resumed business and has since carried it on successfully. Mr. Williams has some real estate interests here, owning eighty acres in vineyard, adjoining the Barton vineyard, and also having town property.
He is a Native Son of the Golden West, and is associated with Fresno Parlor, No. 25. Mr. Williams was married in Fresno in 1888, to Miss Alice McSweegan.
History of the State of California and Biographical Record of the San Joaquin Valley, By James Miller Guinn (1905), Pages 1420
THOMAS FRANKLIN MOODY. The son of a California pioneer, Mr. Moody was born in Santa Clara county, May 31, 1855. His father, G. W. Moody, was a native of Missouri and in 1847 he crossed the plains with ox teams to California. Locating in the beautiful Santa Clara valley he there engaged in farming and stock-raising for several years, but finally sold out and moved to San Benito county, where he lived until 1880 when he came to Fresno county. Ten years later he again made a change, this time going to Santa Barbara county. Here he made his home until 1902, when he sold his farm and returned to Fresno county where he has since made his home with his son Thomas. In young manhood he was united in marriage with Miss Emily Lynn, who was born in Illinois and died in Santa Clara county. By her union she became the mother of eight children, five boys and three girls.
After completing a common school education Thomas F. Moody engaged in agricultural pursuits. Coming to Fresno county in 1878 he located near Lemoore. Since then he has lived in Kings and Tulare county, but in 1901 he purchased his present fine ranch of one hundred and fifty acres which is located five miles' west of Laton. Here he is now carrying on a dairy business, having thirty head of milk cows.
In Napa county in 1877 was celebrated the union of Mr. Moody and Miss Lovey Jane Deitzman, also a native of Santa Clara county. To them have been born seven children, namely: Pearl E., Ernest L., Lela M., George C., Thomas LeRoy, Lester D., and Elmer I. All the children are at home. Mr. Moody is a stanch Democrat, but has never cared to enter the lists for public favor. He has made a success of his opportunities and is one of the most highly respected citizens in Fresno county. Both he and his wife are members of the United Brethren Church and take an active part in church work.
History of California and its Southern Coast Counties; James Miller Guinn; (1907) Page 1527
MRS. COLLISTO [COLISTA] WILLARD SCOTT, of the firm of C. W. Scott & Co., of
Ocean Park, Cal., is a native daughter of the state being a daughter of
Alexander Hamilton Willard, Jr., a pioneer of 1849, and Mary A. (Wakefield)
Willard, his wife. Alexander Hamilton Willard, Jr., was one of the sons of
Alexander Hamilton Willard, Sr., and his wife, Eleanor (McDonald) Willard, the
elder man being one of the Lewis and Clark men of 1804. (See history of that
expedition.) His name will be found on the roster and in the original records
of that expedition on file at the Smithsonian Institute, and in other
historical works. He was one of the nine picked men who left St. Louis with
Lewis and Clark, selected for his fine physique and known courage and
hardihood. After returning from the expedition he married Eleanor McDonald,
of Kentucky, and born of this union were five daughters and seven sons. He
was actively engaged in the Indian war of 1811 with Tecumseh and was selected
by General Clark to carry his dispatches from St. Louis to Prairie du Chien,
which he did with many hairbreadth escapes and much suffering. He, with four
of his sons (George, Austin, Royland and Hamilton, Jr.), fought in the Black
Hawk war. In 1852 he again crossed the plains, this time to California, with
other members of his own family, where he joined his son, Hamilton, Jr., and
other members of the same family who had emigrated to the Sacramento valley in
1849 and had acquired part of a large Spanish grant on Cache creek, near
Sacramento. He was born in New Hampshire in 1778 and died in 1868, and is
buried in Georgetown, near Sacramento, Cal. He had one brother by the name of
Joel Willard, who remained in New Hampshire; and two sisters who married men
by the name of Willard. He was a descendant of the two Harvard presidents,
Samuel and Joseph Willard, who were descended from Simon Willard, one of the
founders of Concord, Mass., in 1634, and whose ancestry has been traced for
eight hundred years on English soil. The late Frances Willard, the noted
temperance reformer, is a descendants of the same family.
Alexander Hamilton Willard, Jr., was born in Missouri in 1812, and died in
California in 1870. He married Mary A. Wakefield, a daughter of Judge John A.
Wakefield, and to them fourteen children were born, most of whom grew to
maturity in California. Judge John A. Wakefield was born in South Carolina in
1795, his mother being a member of the celebrated Barnwell family. When seven
years of age his parents removed to Kentucky, and he there attained manhood,
and during the war of 1812 served as a member of the battalion of mounted
rangers, and also served through the Black Hawk war, attaining the rank of
major. In later life he wrote a history of the Black Hawk war which has
always been standard. He came of Revolutionary stock, his father and several
uncles being members of Mariona's "Immortal Band." He was also a pioneer in
the states of Illinois, Minnesota and Kansas, having served several terms in
Illinois legislature, being a fellow member of Stephen A. Douglas, between
whom a warm friendship existed. Judge Wakefield entered the Legal profession
when a young man and acquired a noteworthy success in this line, being a
scholar as well as a good financier, having accumulated a large fortune in
lands and stock. He also wrote several books and from Judge Wakefield's
library in Galena, Ill., Abraham Lincoln received his first instruction toward
an education, and in the home of the judge found a trusted and valued friend.
Judge Wakefield married Eliza Thompson, with whom he lived a long life and
reared a large family. He was distinguished for his energy of character and
high sense of personal honor, and was one of the men who helped to make the
history of this county.
History of Mendocino and Lake Counties; Carpenter; (1914) Page 983
MRS. ALONZO E. NOEL, -- The circulation and general appearance of a newspaper
evidencing its general worth, it is with just pride that the owner,
proprietress and editor of the Lower Lake Bulletin, Mrs. A. E. Noel, manages
and furnishes to the citizens of her community this splendid paper now in its
thirty-eighth year and the oldest newspaper in the county. This was formerly
edited and owned by Alonzo E. Noel, her deceased husband, who is remembered by
the residents of Lake county as a very able lawyer, who served one term as
district attorney of the county. He was born in East Tennessee May 14, 1832,
and when a child came with his parents to Missouri, where for eighteen years,
in fact from 1836 to 1854, he passed his youth and received a general
education. Later he took up the study of law and in the year last named came
to California, where two years later he was admitted to the bar of the state.
He practiced his profession in different localities and in 1868 moved to
Lakeport where he became one of the prime movers in legal and civic matters,
in 1873 being elected district attorney for the county. He later, in October
1885, purchased the Lower Lake Bulletin and continued at the head of that
newspaper until his death, March 14, 1893. Among the important services
rendered his county Mr. Noel went as delegate with the late H. C. Boggs, of
Lakeport, from Lake county to serve on the committee which revised the
Constitution of California in 1878. Being a forceful speaker, of highly
intellectual mind and thoroughly versed on current topics of political
interest, his services were much valued, especially in relation to the
revision of the codes of civil and commercial procedure and the laws regarding
the judiciary. In this his splendid legal attainment peculiarly qualified
him. His death marked a great loss to his county and state, and had it not
been for the unusual ability of his wife the paper would have suffered
greatly. She nobly took up the work left by her husband and is today ably
filling his place as editor of the paper.
Mrs. Noel was before her marriage Miss Lavinia A. Yates. She was born about
twenty-eight miles from Leavenworth, Kans., and when nine years old was
brought by her parents, Ira G. and Joanna (Shepherd) Yates, across the plains
to Virginia City, where they arrived in the fall of 1864. With them came her
six brothers and sisters. In the following spring they went to Helena, Mont.,
remaining until the fall of 1866, when they crossed back over the plains to
Liberty, Mo., and remained for many years. Mrs. Noel here growing to
maturity. Her attendance at school included the public schools in Kansas,
private instruction in Montana and public schools in Liberty, Mo., where her
father followed the vocation of farmer. In the spring of 1870 the family came
to Lower Lake and the father for several years farmed rented land, later
becoming the owner of town property there. He passed away in 1899 at seventy-
eight years of age, the mother dying in 1896, aged seventy-four.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Noel took place January 10, 1871. By a previous
marriage to Miss Lizzie Willard of Woodland, Mr. Noel was the father of two
children, one of whom, Peter, met an accidental death, and the other Marietta
Noel, became Mrs. E. E. Miller, of Coronado, Cal. In June, 1894, Mrs. Noel
received the appointment of postmaster at Lower Lake in which she served until
July 1, 1898. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Noel of whom three are
now living, Frank W., Charles C. and Willie N. Frank W. resides in Lower Lake
where he is a clerk; he married Miss Minnie L. Manlove, daughter of the first
sheriff of Lake county. Charles C. is a clerk in Lower Lake; he married Maud
E. Evans, daughter Luke Evans, a surveyor of that city, and four children were
born to them: Ethel E., Ernest, Cecil E. and Dorris. Willie N. is the wife of
James W. Tremper, a farmer of the vicinity, and is the mother of James
Bernard, Dorris Bernice, Celia Inez and Robert Alonzo.
Mrs. Noel is a consistent Democrat in political sentiment, advocating what
she thinks is for the best interest of the country. Prohibition and a stand
for better conditions generally are her most important principles and she
evidences her wholesome broad mindedness in her editorials. She is a woman of
splendid character and sterling worth to her community.
Colusa County - Its History and Biographical Sketches of Pioneers; Rogers;
(1891) Page 458
JOHN G. OVERSHINER. Mr. Overshiner is a native of Galena, Illinois, born July
26, 1850. When little more than a year old he was brought by his mother to
Sacramento, where his father rejoined his family, having come to the coast
some time previously. In 1857 the family removed to Yolo County, where young
Overshiner lived in several localities for a short time, notably at
Cottonwood, Washington, and Woodland, attending the public schools till he was
fifteen years old, and Hesperian College for four years later. After finishing
his studies, he was actively employed as clerk in the San Diego post-office,
teaching in the public school at National City under a first-grade
certificate, and was also a member of the San Diego County Board of School
Examiners. From 1872 to 1878 he found employment in San Benito County and in
San Jose, Fresno and San Francisco as clerk or book-keeper, when he applied
himself to the printer's trade in San Jose. He afterwards worked on the
Democrat at Woodland, and was a partner in the establishment of the first
daily paper issued at Santa Cruz. This venture proving unsuccessful, he
worked for a time as compositor on the San Diego and Los Angeles papers, when,
in July, 1882, in conjunction with E. E. Vincent, he founded the Calico Print,
at Calico, San Bernardino County, and continued the publication of the paper
till the fall of 1887. He now struck San Diego again, this time with a job
office and an advertising sheet, but as it was now in the closing days of its
seductive "boom," his prospects vanished almost immediately after his arrival
there. He came again to the Sacramento Valley and began the publication of
the Maxwell Mercury, July 14, 1888, where he is now conducting this journal,
advocating with zeal and effectiveness the importance of irrigation and other
local interests.
An Illustrated History of Southern California; (1890) Page 345
GIDEON JACKSON OVERSHINER came to California in 1850, from Galena, Illinois,
arriving August 3, 1850. He was born at Fort London, Franklin County,
Pennsylvania, February 4, 1825, son of Philip Overshiner, who was born in
Virginia moved to Franklin and passed the greater portion of his life there.
Gideon Jackson was the ninth child in a family of eleven. The family
emigrated to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, in 1846.
Mr. Overshiner was married in Galena, Illinois, September 13, 1848, to Miss
Minerva Dunphey. In 1850 he came to California; he went to St. Louis first to
purchase supplies, then joined the train at St. Joseph, Missouri. There were
sixty-four members in the train and sixteen wagons. The hardships of the
journey were such that the horses gave out and wagons were left from time to
time along the trail, so that not one was left in which to cross the
mountains. The overflowing of the Humboldt river had made the trail of '49
impassable, and new roads had to be broken over wild, rough country. They
crossed the mountains by the Carson route, often making their own trail and
suffering much. Mrs. Overshiner left Galena in 1851, taking the steamer from
New York to Isthmus, which she crossed on mules, and taking the steamer McKim,
on the pacific side, for San Francisco. The ship proved to be unseaworthy and
put into San Diego at the town now called Roseville, where the passengers, 375
in number, were discharged; those having no money struck inland. Mrs.
Overshiner, after two weeks' delay, took the Seabird for San Francisco, where
she met her husband, who took her to Sacramento, where he was carrying on the
carriage business. At the end of the six years they moved to the western part
of Yolo County, to Cottonwood, where he bought land and began to raise grain
and stock.
In 1861 he was elected County Assessor, and moved to Washington, the county
seat, on the Sacramento river; that same year the county seat was moved to
Woodland, of which town Mr. Overshiner, in conjunction with other county
officials, were the first settlers, and gave the town the name. In 1863 his
term expired, and he took up his carriage business at Woodland, which he
followed until January 1870, when he moved to San Diego. He continued his
carriage trade there, but the town being quiet and business slow, he sold his
position after four years and moved to San Jose, continuing the same business,
but not permanently locating, as he had been so pleased with the climate of
San Diego that he intended eventually to return, which he did in 1885, and
resumed the old vocation.
In politics he has been an active Republican; he was one of the vice-
presidents of the last Whig meeting held in this State. He voted for the
constitution and admission of the Territory as a State, September 9, 1850.
During his experiences as a pioneer he has considerably advanced the
Republican form of government.
Mr. Overshiner has had ten children, eight of whom, five boys and three girls
are living.
History of Alameda County, Vol. II, Page 304
ER BERGES
Peter Berges, proprieter of the American-French Laundry,
in Alameda, has exemplified in his career the fact that success may be
attained through persistent and determined effort, backed by right
principles, and today he is numbered among the leading business men
of his community. Mr. Berges was born on the 5th of September, 1874,
in the Pyranees mountains of the Basque district, on the border between
France and Spain, and was there reared to the age of eighteen years.
After attending public school, he learned the trade of stone cutting, at
which he worked until 1892, when he came to the United States,
locating in San Francisco, California, where he was employed at his
trade for a short time and then went to work in a French hand laundry
at 829 Sutter St. He also worked in a French laundry in East Oakland,
and later owned a laundry there for two years. About thirty years ago
he came to Alameda and bought Mrs. Thompson's laundry on Encinal
St, to the operation of which he has given his attention to the present
time. When he assumed control of the place four persons were
employed, but the business has enjoyed a steady increase in volume
and now twelve persons are employed and the equipment of the plant
has been modernized in every respect, steam being largely utilized in
its operation. The laundry now occupies a splendid new building,
erected by Mr. Berges, which is well adapted to the purpose to which
it is devoted. Mr. Berges has prospered in his material affairs and is
also the owner of two other valuable properties in Alameda.
Mr. Berges was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Muton, of
San Francisco, and to them have been born two daughters, Louise,
who taught for six years in the public schools and is now the wife of
Edward Chaponot, and Lorine, who is a student in the University of
California, where she is preparing for teaching. Mr. Berges is a member
of the Foresters of America and the Lafayette Club of Oakland. He was
made an American citizen in 1912 and has been loyal in every respect
to his adopted country. He has in all his business affairs shown sound
judgment and keen foresight, recognizing the fact that only high-grade
service will retain the patronage of the public, and he has well merited
the prosperity which has crowned his efforts.
History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs, Page 567
LOUIS Z. HAUN - A native son of Arroyo Grande and prominently identified with the commercial interests of that town Louis Z. Haun comes from a well-known family in the county. He was born on June 18, 1893, the son of William A. and Ida A.(Forsting) Haun, both natives of the East, who came to the West, were here married and are now residents of Arroyo Grande. They have three children: Nancy, wife of Jesse Burns of San Luis Obispo, Mae and Louis Z. Mrs. Haun's parents were among the earliest settlers in Arroyo Grande valley. The family were prominent in all early day, and now all are deceased except Mrs. Haun.
Louis attended public schools in the town until he was sixteen, then spent one year in high school and after that became a clerk in store here. He worked eighteen months for the railroad at the station in Arroyo Grande, then accepted a clerkship with S. Alexander and held the position for eighteen months.
With his savings he wished to enter upon a business career for himself; and, resigning his position he bought out the meat market known as Langenbeck & Ketchum, purchasing Mr. Ketchum's interest. Thereafter the firm was known as Langenbeck & Haun. As the business prospered, this company purchased the shop conducted by Morgan & Gilliam, moving their business to the new location, and now having the only shop in the town, and doing a good business because of the fine country surrounding them. Mr. Haun is in charge of the market, while his partner looks after the outside work and buys cattle.
He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the Portuguese lodge, U.P.E.C. He is a self-made man, and while young in years, has a bright future.
History of Sonoma County, California (1880). Page 651
Miller, Thomas B. Was born in Rhea County, Tennessee, December 31, 1826. At four years of age his parents moved to Galyesville, Alabama, where they remained until Thomas was between eight and nine years of age, when they removed to Benton county, Arkansas; here he lived until 1849, when he started for California with an ox team across the plains being some five months in making the journey. After stopping a few days in Sacramento he proceeded to the mines in Placer county, where he engaged in mining through the Winter of 1849-'50. In the Spring of 1850 he went to Gold Run, near Nevada, and there prosecuted mining for about two months; thence to Yuba, there he engaged during the Summer in mining in the bed of the river, and finding but very little gold, he proceeded to the south Yuba, and remained but a short time, when he went to Cache creek, in Yolo county, and engaged in farming, but on account of the dry season he left, and in the Fall of 1851 came to this valley and began farming about three miles south of Sebastopol, where he continued till the Winter of 1853, when he moved near to Tomales, in Marin county, where he prosecuted farming until 1855, when he moved to Russian river, four miles above the city of Headlsburg, and farmed until 1874, when he came to Santa Rosa and purchased property, which he still owns; residing in Santa Rosa until May, 1877, when he removed to his present farm, consisting of three hundred and twenty acres. Married April 17, 1853, Mary Ann King, a native of Jackson county, Missouri, born February 14, 1835. By which union they have ten children: James P., born May 18, 1854; Charlotte E., February 24, 1857; Thomas B., January 6, 1859; Louisa H., January 8, 1861; Mary A., December 19, 1862; Irena B., November 1, 1864; Josephine, November 14, 1866; Laura E., August 27, 1868; Henrietta, October 27, 1870 and Robert L., June 25, 1875.
History of Santa Clara County, California By Eugene Taylor Sawyer
TERESI, ANTONIO---It is interesting to note the success of one of Santa
Clara County's ambitious young men, Antonio Teresi, who has become a
successful orchardist and an enterprising realtor. A native of Sicily, he
was born at Palermo, August 12, 1896, but he has been a resident of
California since he was a child, so he has very little recollection of any
other home than the sunny skies of the Golden State. His parents were
Salvadore and Mary (La-Barba) Teresi, who came to the United States about
1902, settling at San Jose, and the father is now the owner of the Sorosis
Fruit Ranch at Saratoga.
The fifth in a family of nine children, all living, Antonia Teresi
was educated in the public schools of San Jose, and supplemented this with a
course at Heald's Business College, where he was graduated in 1914, and
following this he spent the next ten years in various lines of work,
principally as an orchardist. As soon as he had the means he bought an
orchard at Berryessa, which he sold in 1919 at a good profit, and
immediately purchased an orchard on Prospect Road, which he disposed of
successfully fourteen months later. His next purchase was a beautiful
ten-acre orchard on the Santa Clara-Los Gatos Road, where he and his wife
now make their home. Already he has made many improvements on the place,
particularly in beautifying the grounds, and his prospects are bright for
an increased yield and income from year to year from his orchard, which is
considered one of the prettiest in this section of the valley. For the
past three years Mr. Teresi has been engaged in the realty business in San
Jose with Paul L. Cavala, having offices on East Santa Clara Street and
handling all kinds of property.
At San Francisco, on July 1, 1920,Mr. Teresi was married to Miss
Katherine Elizabeth Semas, a native of Salinas, Cal., and the daughter of
Antonio and Agnes Semas. Her father passed away on April 6, 1907, and the
mother now makes her home on Williams Road, Santa Clara County. Mrs.
Teresi was educated in the public schools and in Notre Dame Business
College at Salinas. While numbered among the younger orchardists of the
district, Mr. Teresi is already counted among the successful
horticulturists, a recognition he well deserves. Politically he casts his
vote for the Republican party.
History of Santa Clara County, California By Eugene Taylor Sawyer
JOSEPH A. TERESI---one of the most valuable and highly productive orchards
in the Santa Clara Valley is that operated by Joseph A. Teresi, located on
Saratoga Avenue. Known as the Sorosis Fruit Company, besides the extensive
orchards a large packing plant is located on the ranch, which takes care of
the products of the orchards. Joseph A. was born in Sicily, February 23,
1899, the son of Salvatore and Marianna (La Barbera) Teresi, also natives
of Sicily. The family removed to the United States in 1903. His father
was engaged in the horticulture business in his native country, and he had
seven boys, who were all thoroughly taught the orchard business; three of
them are now at home.
Joseph A. was educated in the grammar and high schools of San Jose,
graduating from the latter in 1919, after which he was employed as
solicitor for the California Prune and Apricot Growers' Association for one
year; then he purchased a thirty-eight-acre orchard on the Uvas Road,
which he still owns. In July, 1921, with his father and Three brothers, he
purchased the Sorosis Farm, consisting of 220 acres, including the large
packing plant on the place. The place is in full-bearing orchards, 190
acres being in prunes and the balance in peaches. In connection they own
the Sorosis water rights from Quito or Campbell Creek. They have a large
dam where the creek enters the farm, which impounds sufficient water to
irrigate not only the Sorosis Farm, but also a large tract below the dam,
making a very valuable water right. The headquarters of the ranch is
improved with good buildings, large drying yard with a large evaporator and
a plant equipped with parking facilities.
The marriage of Joseph A. Teresi occurred in Los Gatos and united him
with Miss Clara Lencioni, born in San Jose. In politics Mr. Teresi is a
Republican and is a stalwart American citizen, proud of the prosperity and
progressiveness of Santa Clara County.
The following is a portion of the account of the Donner Party's blight. Many of the families lived at one time in the Porterville area of Tulare County. - (This account is taken from the 1934 book by Ina H. Steiner entitled "Porterville Genealogies" Pages 325-333):
The "History of the Donner Party: A Tragedy of the Sierra", by C.F. McGlashan, published in 1879 and running into the 4th printing in 1881 (of which is the copy of the book owned by Mrs. Robert Clarke), was to give an actual history instead of the first garbled account. It was based on interviews with survivors, letters, and articles published in newspapers, Patrick Breen's diary, James Reed's diary of the rescue trip, diaries of the other rescuers, and Mary Graves' account sent to the author. As Mary Graves Clarke was an early settler of this district, and David Campbell's account of his journey with the original train from which the Donner Party separated is given in this book, [see his account above] and Lansford W. Hastings, guide of the famous, and in the case of the Donner Party, fatal "Hastings Cutoff", was the brother of Warren Hastings (of Terra Bella) grandfather - it seemed best to include an account of the Donner tragedy, sketched from Mr. McGashan's book, especially as copies of the book are rare and inaccessible.
The party was organized in Springfield, Sangamon Co., Illinois, by George and Jacob Donner, brothers, and James F. Reed; the Graves family came from Marshall Co., Ill. and the Eddy family from Belleville, Ill. The Murphy family was from Tennessee, and the Breens from Keokuk, Iowa, and the McCutcheons from Jackson Co., Mo. The whole group was not assembled until after leaving Ft. Bridger. The first ones left Illinois early in April 1846, according to McGlashan, and Independence, Mo., at the beginning of May. These are the persons in the party:
George Donner, who was chosen Captain in July, his second wife, Tamsen, two children of his first wife and three of the second;
Jacob Donner, his wife, Elizabeth, and their five children (two being Mary & George) and two of hers by a first husband: Solomon & Wm. Hook;
James Frazier Reed, wife Margaret and four children, and mother-in-law, Mrs. Sarah Keyes, who died before the party had crossed Kansas; Baylis Williams and his half-sister Eliza, John Denton, Milton Elliott, James Smith, Walter Herron, and Noah James;
Franklin W. Graves, his Elizabeth, daughter Mrs. Jay Fosdick and her husband, seven other children, besides one Franklin, Jr. who died, & John Snyder, who was killed by Jas. Reed (said to be self-defense);
Peter Breen, his wife Margaret, and seven children, and Patrick Dolan;
William H. Eddy, his wife and two children;
Mrs. Lavina Murphy, a daughter, Mrs. Harriet Pike & her husband William M. Pike (killed accidentally by Wm. Foster) and two children; a daughter Mrs. Sarah A. C. Foster, her husband Wm. M. Foster and one child;
three children: Wm. G. Murphy, Marl Murphy, and Simon P. Murphy;
and two other children who perished;
William McCutcheon and wife and child;
Lewis Keseberg, wife, and two children, Mr. and Mrs. Wolfinger, Joseph Rhinehart, Augustus Spitzer, and Charles Burger - all Germans;
Samuel Shoemaker, Charles T. Stanton, Luke Halloran, Mr. Hardcoop, Antoine and John Baptiste.
Lewis & Salvador were 2 Indian vaqueros sent by Capt. Sutter as guides. (Those underlined are the names of the forty-eight survivors.)
At Ft. Bridger the Donner Party, being urged by Bridger and Vasquez and influenced to think it was a good and shorter way, took the Hastings Cutoff, which passed south of Salt Lake, whereas the usual road, the Oregon Trail, lay to the north. Lansford W. Hastings had gone already piloting a party. When they reached the beginning of Weber Canyon in the Wahsatch Mts. they found placed by the roadside a letter from Hastings warning all comers to avoid Weber Canyon and try to cross the Mts. by the hills. The party halted while Reed, Stanton and Pike went on horseback to overtake Hastings. Hastings said he could not leave his party to come back to guide them, but he did come back to the hills with Reed, whose horse was the only one able to go back, and show him the route somewhat. Then three weeks were consumed in getting over the mountain to Salt Lake, on what they had been told was a week's trip. Passing the Lake early in September they reached a desert that they had been told was 50 miles wide; it proved 75 miles wide; and their livestock began to perish for water. Reed went ahead to try to find water; his oxen and horses were unhitched to be driven on to water and return; but owing to trouble with one of the horses the 18 oxen got away & were never found. Over a week was spent in the search; then with one ox and a cow he had left and two loaned by two of the company they went forward with one wagon. It seemed wise to send someone on ahead to bring back provisions, as so much time had now passed. Wm. McCutcheon and C. T. Stanton volunteered and rode away on horseback to the west. George Donner had in July been chosen captain of the party; but several persons later mentioned the lack of harmony and co-operative effort at most crises. At the Humbolt River a quarrel and bad words arose between two of the men about doubling teams over a hill. Snyder, a popular fellow, got angry; and when James Reed rode up, as his was one of the teams, and said something intended to be conciliatory, Snyder hit him with his whip. In the end, after Mrs. Reed had rushed between & been hit, Reed killed Snyder. Although other punishment was threatened, what the company did was to expel Reed. Taking his saddle horse he rode on ahead and, on overtaking part of the company much in advance, he was joined by Walter Herron. Later Jas. Reed, having failed at his first attempting to bring a rescue party from Calif. succeeded in the effort of rescue; but Herron never attempted to return with aid. Along the Humbolt some livestock were lost because of bad water; and all able-bodied persons walked to spare their teams. The walking split open the feet of the old man Hardcoop who was traveling with Keseberg; and when he fell exhausted by the way the train went on and left him to die. As they reached the Truckee River Mr. Wolfinger, who was travelling behind with Keseberg did not come into camp at night. At Mrs. Wolfinger's insistence men went back and found her husband's wagon and his oxen unhitched and grazing but never found him. It was said that later J. Rhinehart on dying confessed he had something to do with killing him. The party reached the foot of the Sierras, where Reno now is, about the nineteenth of October, having met, before reaching there, C. T. Stanton, returning from Ft. Sutter with provisions and accompanied by the two Indians, Lewis and Salvador, for guides. In an accident, while Wm. Foster and Wm. Pike were cleaning their pistols, Pike was shot and died. Halloran had died of tuberculosis while they were at Salt Lake. Unfortunately the party delayed a few days before beginning the ascent of the Sierras. Five days later they found themselves in snow at Prosser Creek; for the next several days separate individual attempts were made to get the wagons from there and Donner Lake up over the summit; united action was lacking.
At last when November had arrived the party got together for concerted action, abandoned the wagons, packed their provisions and necessary supplies on the animals, and tried to get over the summit above the lake where now the Lincoln Highway passes over its steepest grade through the snowsheds of the Central Pacific Railway. Then it was over rocks, slippery and snow-covered on which the animals could get no foothold. They were obliged to return to the wagons. It is said that Stanton had insisted on taking the mules across and returning them to Capt. Sutter; and there was even then dissention by trying to induce the Indians to go on and guide them without regard to getting the mules over. At any rate there was a final agreement that the animals would be slaughtered for food; and the entire party would start on the morrow on foot. That night and for several days a very heavy snow fell. The mules got away and were never found; and the cattle perished in the snow but were ultimately consumed as food. Mrs. Breen perhaps more carefully than any other supervised the slaughtering and storing away of the meat from the animals they owned. Mrs. Reed and Mr. Eddy purchased from Mr. Graves and Mrs. Breen. There was a cabin near the foot of the lake (then known as Truckee Lake from the name of an Indian guide of the party who built the cabin) where Moses Schallenberger spent the winter of 1844-5. This the Breens moved into; and the Kesebergs built a shed against it. The Murphys built a cabin against a boulder with a perpendicular side, nearer the lake. The Graves and Reed families built a double cabin a half mile or so down by Donner Creek. The Donners were about six or seven miles farther down in Alder Creek Valley; but they depended on tents and sheds made of brush and boughs. Attempts to catch fish in the waters were failures; and only two or three times was any game found. There were eighty-one persons.
Three or more times groups of different members of the party tried to cross the summit. Finally Mr. Graves made snowshoes from rawhide thongs on strips sawed from ox-bows, fourteen pairs. Seventeen persons offered to go over and down the mountains on the last "Forlorn Hope" for aid. Two turned back soon, as not being able to walk without snowshoes; and for the boy Lemuel Murphy some shoes were fashioned from the Arapahos that had been brought from Sutter's Fort. Mrs. Graves took care of Mrs. McCutcheon's baby; and Mrs. Murphy took care of the babies of her daughters Mrs. Pike and Mrs. Foster while they joined the ones who went. Patrick Dolan went and gave his meat, which was stored at the Breen cabin, to Mrs. Reed who then moved to that cabin. C. T. Stanton, Antoine and the two Indians were of the group; also Mr. Graves and his daughters Mrs. Fosdick (and her husband) and Mary Graves. Mary Graves is described (at nineteen years) as a "very beautiful girl of tall and slender build, and exceptionally graceful carriage, with features, in their regularity, of classic Grecian mold, eyes dark, bright and expressive, and a fine mouth and perfect set of teeth, added to a luxuriant growth of dark, rebelliously wavy hair." On the first day, probably December sixteenth, the group did not get out of sight of the cabins. Mary Graves said of the second day: "We had a very slavish day's travel, climbing the divide ... The scenery was too grand for me to pass without notice, the changes being so great; walking now on loose snow, and now stepping on a hard, slick rock a number of hundred of yards in length. Being a little in the rear of the party, I had a chance to observe the company ahead, trudging along with packs on their backs. It reminded me of some Norwegian fur company among the icebergs. My shoes were ox-bows split in two and rawhide strings woven in, something in form of the old-fashioned, split-bottomed chairs. Our clothes were of the bloomer costume, and generally were made of flannel." They made only 4 or 5 miles a day. Some were soon snow-blinded; one was C. T. Stanton, who had made the trip earlier to California and back with provisions for the party, in spite of the fact that he had no relatives among the immigrants. He at first begged them to lead him, but realizing it hindered them he did his best to get into camp long after the others who now found it impossible to keep together. On the morning of the fifth day, Mary Graves asked him if he were coming; he answered, "Yes"; but at night he did not come. One of the late rescue parties found that he never left the camp but sat there awaiting death. He was a journalist and a talented man; but not fitted to endure hardship, and became exhausted more quickly than the others. The 6 days' rations carried with them was exhausted; they debated going back; but the Indians said they would go on; and Mary Graves for one said she would accompany them. All decided to go on; but a terrible storm began; and the camp they then made, about Christmas day, became a "Camp of Death". Some of the men drew lots to see who should die that the others might have his flesh for food; the lot fell to Patrick Dolan; this was before they made this camp. Patrick a few days later was delirious with hunger and exhaustion. They lost their hatchet in the snow; and their fire melted its way through and dropped into a stream over which they found they had camped. On the second night Antoine and Mr. F. Graves died. The latter called his daughters to him and in his farewell urged them to lay aside human instincts and use his dead body to give them sustenance to go on with the rescue. Next Dolan died and two days later Lemuel Murphy. The survivors ate of these bodies, no one was eating kin, except that the Indians refused to eat, and when this food was gone, fearfully they fled ahead, on the 31st. The party left this camp on the 29th. Jay Fosdick died. When they overtook the Indians they had fallen in the snow, apparently dying. (Mr. McGlashan, throughout the whole story he recounts, attempts to give the distressing feelings and emotions of the immigrants; and at this point he justifies Wm. Foster in turning back after the group had passed the Indians and shooting them and taking off their flesh to use.) (It would seem that these terrible experiences were bringing out the best in some men and the worst in others, for William Foster was vehement in accusing J. Keseberg of murdering his mother-in-law when he found, on returning with the last rescue party, that Keseberg was the only survivor of four persons.)
Mary Graves gave a description of their journey: "Our only chance for campfire for the night was to hunt a dead tree of some description and set fire to it...We would strike fire by means of the flintlock gun which we had with us. This had to be carried by turns, as it was considered the only hope left in case we might find game which we could kill." (One deer was killed.) "We traveled over a ridge of mountains, and then descended a deep canyon where we could scarcely see the bottom. Down, down we would go, or rather slide .... and in many cases we were compelled to slide on shoes as sleds. On reaching the bottom we would plunge into the snow, so that it was difficult getting out, with the shoes tied to our feet, our packs lashed to our backs, and ourselves head and ears under the snow. But we managed to get out some way, and one-by-one reached the bottom of the canyon. When this was accomplished we had to ascend a hill as steep as the one we had descended. We would drive the toes of our shoes into the loose snow to make a sort of step, and one by one as if ascending stair-steps, we climbed up. It took us an entire day to reach the summit of the mountain. Each time we attained the summit of a mountain, we hoped we would be able to see something like a valley, but each time came disappointment, for far ahead was always another and higher mountain ... Our feet had been frozen and thawed so many times that they were bleeding and sore ... In the morning we would push our shoes on, bruising and numbing the feet so badly that they would ache with walking and the cold, until night would com again. OH me the pain! It seemed to make the pangs of hunger more excruciating." At last one day they saw a footprint and came to an Indian rancheria, to the amazement of the Indians, who quickly recovering from their fear gave them acorn bread and sent some of their rancheria to guide them to the settlements. In seven days they came in sight of the Sacramento Valley; but as the food had not given them strength, W. H. Eddy was the only one able to be helped by the Indians down to Johnson's Ranch, reached the last of January. A Tucker family (with relatives), who had been in the train from which the Donner Party had separated at Ft. Bridger, were there. Four men brought in the other six survivors who had left Donner 52 days before. In the meantime one man, a John Rhodes, went across the flooded Bear River to Sutter's Fort for provisions and aid for the party in the mountains; and the Tuckers killed some six cattle and dried or "jerked" the beef. Thirteen men, under the leadership of R. P. Tucker, and including W. H. Eddy, set out February 5, 1847 to the rescue. Five days out they had to send the horses and mules back, by Mr. Eddy, and left two men to guard some provisions to use on return; and five days later three men turned back.
This was really the second rescue attempt: on James Reed's arrival in California, he had secured help from Captain Sutter (30 horses, a mule, two Indians to drive the stock, flour and a quarter of beef) and accompanied by Wm. McCutcheon, who had been too ill to accompany C. T. Stanton on his expedition with provisions, went up into the soft deep snow where they left their animals and attempted to go further but in vain, because they knew nothing about snowshoes. All they could accomplish was rescue a Mr. and Mrs. Curtis who had lost their oxen and encamped at the head of Bear Valley. They cached their provisions under the Curtis wagon. When the Tucker party reached the cache they dug through the ten feet of snow covering it; but the bears had got to the provisions first. On February 19 the seven men reached the cabins, about which the snow had piled so high that each was in a pit or well with steps in the snow to descend to them. According to Patrick Breen's diary six persons had died before the "Forlorn Hope" party went out. From January 27 to February 22, eight more died. Some were buried in the ground floor of the cabins, some in the snow outside; apparently no human flesh had been eaten. Two entries from Patrick Breen's diary:
"Jan. 30. Fair and pleasant; wind west; thawing in the sun. John and Edward Breen went to the Graves' this morning. Mrs. ………. seized on Mrs. .... goods until they would be paid; they also took the hides which herself and family subsisted upon. She regained two pieces only, the balance they have taken. You may judge from this what our fare is in camp. There is nothing to be had by hunting, yet perhaps there soon will be." (Later it snowed.)
"Feb. 10. Beautiful morning; thawing in the sun; Milton Elliott died last night at Murphy's cabin, and Mrs. Reed went there this morning to see about his effects." (He had worked for Mr. Reed in his mill and furniture establishment, and helped them after Mr. Reed was driven out. Mrs. Reed and Virginia carried the body up out of the cabin and buried it in the snow.) "John Denton trying to borrow meat for Graves; had none to give; they had nothing but hides; all are entirely out of meat, but a little we have; our hides are nearly all eat up, but with God's help spring will soon smile upon us." The boiled rawhide was called the "pot of glue".
The rescue party started out with 23 persons from the cabins; among them were Mrs. Reed and her four children; but soon two of these had to be sent back, as they could not keep up by walking and could not be carried. John Rhodes carried little Naomi Pike because of the appeal of Mrs. Pike to him to bring out her children (the other had died). Two soon perished, a baby and John Denton. On arriving where provisions had been cached, it was found that wild animals had destroyed them. On February 27, they were met by James Reed, who after going to Monterey and appealing to Governor R. F. Stockton, and to Commodore Hull at San Francisco, had been given a party of some nine men and food. Food refreshed the party from the cabins, except young William Hook who secretly got at the food during the night and so overate that he soon died.
Patrick Breen's diary: Feb. 26 "Hungry times in camp; plenty of hides, but the folks will not eat them; we eat them with tolerably good appetite, thanks to the Almighty God." Then he speaks of some who say they will begin eating human flesh of the dead. "It is distressing", March I the Reed rescue party arrived and two days later started out with 17 persons from the cabins. Two nights later, their camp in an exposed spot, near the lower end of Summit Valley, was snowed in; this became "Starved Camp". But for Mrs. Breen who discovered him in time James Reed, working to get wood for the camp, would have frozen to death. Two of the rescue party had gone back to Donner Lake, and five had gone for food from the cache; Wm. McCutcheon and one other man had to manage now. Mrs. Graves and one of her children and a Donner child died. The rescuers left eleven of the party at Starved Camp and went down to Bear Valley taking with them the two Reed children and Solomon Hook. The snow at Starved Camp was many feet deep; the campfire, however, gradually melted down to bare ground; and one of the Breen boys made a ladder on a tree so that all could go down and be more comfortable. Mrs. Breen was the salvation of the group, making tea and giving the children; her husband finally resorted to eating the flesh of the dear (she thought) and perhaps gave it to the children. Meanwhile, Foster and Eddy, through articles in the California Star, at Yerba Buena, had secured means for another relief party which reached Bear Valley about the time the Reed party came in. (The difficulty in getting rescuers had been increased by the fact that Col. Fremont had gathered all available men to join his army of occupation for the United States Government.) Three of these men took all from Starved Camp down to Bear Valley, as J. Stark, one of them, insisted that all should be taken.
Four men, including Foster and Eddy, reached the cabins at Donner Lake the middle of March. At the Donners' camp only George Donner and his wife were alive; he was dying of an infection, and his wife would not leave him. In an earlier attempt at rescue the three small Donner children had been taken as far as the cabins by the lake and left with Mrs. Murphy who also had the care of her son and two other children (Foster and Eddy). The Foster child had just died; and the rescued children said afterwards that Mrs. Murphy accused Keseberg, who lived in the same cabin and had taken the child into his bed, of his death, but when Foster learned it, it was too late to ask Mrs. Murphy about it. The Eddy child had also died. Mrs. Murphy was sick, exhausted and could not walk. Mrs. Tamsen Donner, although she walked the six miles from their camp to see her children before they left, refused to leave. Keseberg was a lame man and could not walk. (Therefore only the children were taken.) Keseberg's statement secured by Mr. McGlashan while writing the book was that he had eaten human flesh of dead bodies, but that Mrs. Murphy had starved to death after the provisions her son-in-law left her were gone, and that Mrs. Tamsen Donner had died of the exposure in coming to them after her husband died, after he (Keseberg) promised to get money from the Donner camp to take to her children, that while he was getting it (amounting to $531) the last rescue party had arrived, broken open his trunks and taken valuables from them, and accused him of stealing the Donner money and of killing the two women. This was April 17; and the party was under a Capt. Fallon and had been promised half of whatever wealth in money and goods they found. Wm. Foster, Rhodes and Tucker (two former rescuers) were in the Party. The only legal trial prosecuted was Keseberg's for slander, in which he was vindicated; but the stigma followed him the rest of his life. June 22, 1847 General Kearney visited Donner Lake; Edward Bryant, author of "What I saw in California", is quoted as writing: "A halt was ordered for the purpose of collecting and interring the remains ... A more revolting and appalling spectacle I never witnessed-The body of George Donner was found at his camp about eight or ten miles distant wrapped in a sheet."
Tamsen Donner, who lost her life by remaining to give these last attentions to her husband, George Donner, was a talented woman. Mr. McGlashan includes at the beginning of his book two letters from her written in June 1846 to friends at home describing in detail the journey then proceeding in good fortune through Nebraska; she was botanizing and reading on the way. George Donner was said to have been wealthy and to have had over $10,000 in money with them; but their orphaned children got very little besides what Mrs. Donner had told Keseberg of; it was said nothing more could be found. The younger two children were finally cared for by a Swiss couple by the name of Brunner, and the eldest by the Reeds, until they went to school in Sacramento and lived with an older half-sister. Jacob Donner's daughter was adopted by "the Reeds; she and her brother were each given by the citizens a house-lot in San Francisco, but were not able to retain title to it in the land-jumping tricks of the day. The Reeds settled at San Jose; most of the Graves family near Calistoga; W. H. Eddy at Gilroy; the Breens at San Juan Baptista, San Benito County. Like the Donners, the Murphys were scattered; Mrs. Harriet Pike married M. C. Nye - Marysville was then called Nye's Ranch; the name Marysville was said to be in honor of Mary Murphy who carried C. Covillaud; the Fosters gave the name to Foster's Bar on the Yuba River. Truckee Lake was changed in name to Donner Lake; and a monument now marks the spot where the Donner Party's cabins were in the fatal winter on 1846.
The descendants of Mary Graves Clarke living in Porterville have a relic they call the "Donner money". Two of them each have four coins - Mexican dollars, French five-franc pieces, and half dollars of the U. S. One of the latter bears the date 1826; and a French coin is of 1812. Old and rare, their greatest value to the Clarkes is their history. The Graves family like the other families of the Donner Party were well-to-do. In the bottom of their wagon there were cleats which presumably held a table in place. In reality, under the cleats were auger holes filled with coins. As Mrs. Graves started with the rescue party she carried this money. At the first night's camp, one of the men jokingly said they would have to play euchre to see who would get Mrs. Graves' money. In the morning she tarried behind the rest to hide it under a rock. She died on the way; but her son, W. C. Graves, later came back and got the money.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, By Tom Gregory, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA (1911) p. 1075
THOMAS EDGAR BARLOW.
The records of the Barlow family show that it is of English origin, and the first member of whom we have any knowledge in this country is Warren Barlow, whose early years were associated with the colonial history of Connecticut. From that state he subsequently removed to Sullivan county, N. Y., and there his son Thomas Barlow was born June 25, 1809, his grandson, Solomon Q. Barlow, also being a native of the same county, born May 20, 1837. The latter was given such education as the times afforded, and in addition to attending the schools in the vicinity of his home, also attended Ellenville high school, from which he graduated. Subsequently he engaged in farming and lumbering on the homestead farm, continuing this until 1862, when he removed to Pompton, N. J., where he was agent for James Horner & Co. for two years. At the expiration of this time, in 1861, by way of the Isthmus of Panama, he came to California, locating in Two Rock valley, Sonoma county, and on April 21, 1864, be located upon the ranch which was the home of the family for the following eight years. In 1872 he purchased a ranch of, two hundred and twenty acres in the same valley, six-miles from Petaluma, and here he carried on stock-raising and horticulture until his death. In New York state, before coming to the west, he was married to Elizabeth J. Denman, who was born in that state, in Sullivan county, March 14, 1937, the daughter of William Denman, who died December 3, 1875. Six children comprised the family of Mr. and Mrs. Barlow, as follows: Eva R., Mrs. Thomas Mordecai, of Petaluma; William D., who died in infancy; Fannie D., Mrs. W. H. Darden, of Corning, Cal.; Anna D., who died in Petaluma; Thomas E., of this review; and Elizabeth L., Mrs. J. W. McNeil, of Honolulu, a teacher in Oahu College.
Next to the youngest in the parental family, Thomas E. Barlow was born in Two Rock valley. Sonoma county, February 2, 1867. He attended the public schools of this locality and graduated from Petaluma high school in 1884. The death of the father in the meantime had left the care of the ranch to the mother, and in 1885 Thomas E. assumed the responsibilities, continuing farming and horticulture there for about seven years. In 1892 he purchased the nucleus of the ranch which was his home throughout the remainder of his life, which consisted of thirty-five acres of land in Green valley, which he set out to fruit. For a time after purchasing, this property he continued his residence on the home ranch, in conjunction with its management also, dealing in farm products and fruits. Later he removed to his own ranch and thereafter gave his attention to its cultivation, adding to his original purchase as he was able, until he lad one hundred and sixty-four acres of fine land, all in fruit with the exception of thirty-five acres. He was one of the pioneer fruit raisers of this locality, and at one time produced more blackberries than any individual on the coast, having ninety acres in this fruit, which was readily disposed of in San Francisco and also in northern markets. He was instrumental in getting boys from the Boys and Girls Aid Society in San Francisco to pick berries during vacations, which gave them a pleasant outing in the country as well as an opportunity to earn money. With the idea of making a pleasant camping place for his young helpers Mr. Barlow set out a eucalyptus grove, and the camp is now a well-established institution. The boys are still employed here each summer, being in charge of a superintendent and matron, and they and their helpers take away at the end of each season between $4,000 and $5,000. After the death of Mr. Barlow in 1904 Mrs. Barlow continued his policy in conducting the ranch and her thorough capability for discharging the duties which the death of her husband imposed upon her has been amply demonstrated. The camp has been suitably equipped with every convenience, and in 1911 a large drier, with all modern improvements, was installed upon the ranch, its capacity being seven hundred tons of green fruit annually. Commodious warehouses and packing houses as well as a fine residence have also been built on the ranch. Besides the raising of berries a specialty is made of raising apples, Gravensteins, Baldwins and Wagners predominating. Eight hands are employed throughout the year on the ranch, but during the busy season two hundred hands are given employment. Mr. Barlow gave the right of way for the Petaluma and Santa Rosa electric road across his ranch and Barlow station was so named in his honor. He was active in, the organization of, the Green Valley Congregational Church, which he assisted in building, and was also a trustee of the organization. Politically he was a Republican. In Santa Rosa, February 18, 1891, Mr. Barlow was united in marriage with Miss Laura Ellen Miller, who was born near Healdsburg, the daughter of Thomas B. Miller. He was born in Rhea county, Tenn., December 31, 1826 the son of James P. and Charlotte (Bell) Miller, the former born in Virginia, and the latter in Tennessee. In 1830 the family removed to Alabama and in 1835 to Arkansas, five years later locating in Newton county Mo., and in 1842 in Benton county, Ark. In 1846 James P. Miller enlisted in the Twelfth Regular United States Infantry, and served as first lieutenant in the Mexican war In 1849 he accompanied his sons, Thomas B. and Gideon T., overland to California, and at Millerstown, near Auburn, they opened a store, and subsequently were similarly engaged in Washington on the Yuba river, until 1850, when the, father returned east. After coming to California Thomas B. Miller engaged in mining in Placer county until 1850, when he went to, Nevada City, Cal., where he made a strike and was very successful afterwards in mining on the Yuba river. In the fall of 1851 he came to Sonoma county, farming in various localities until 1855, when he took up his residence on one hundred and sixty acres of land near Healdsburg, upon which he remained until 1874, when he sold the property and purchased three hundred and twenty acres five miles west of Santa Rosa. Here he engaged in fruit and hop raising, besides which he raised fine horses and cattle. His marriage, April 17, 1853, united him with Mary Ann King, a daughter of James and Elizabeth (Horn) King, both of whom were natives of Virginia and came to California from Missouri in 1850. In the family of Thomas B. Miller and his wife were the following children: James P., a hop-raiser near Healdsburg; Charlotte E., Mrs. E. H. Parnell, of a Green Valley; Thomas, B., a hop-grower of Santa Rosa; Louisa H., Mrs. S. W. Purrington, of Mount Olivet; Mary Alice, Mrs. Alexander Ragle, of Eldorado county, Cal.; Irene A., Mrs. S. E. Ballard, of San Jose; Josephine, Mrs. Spencer Grogan, of Santa Rosa; Laura Ellen, Mrs. Barlow; Henrietta, Mrs. F. B. Chenoweth, of San Francisco; and Robert L., who died in Santa Rosa. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Barlow, as follows: Mary Elizabeth, who is a graduate of Mills Seminary; Anna Maude; Warren Leland; Laura Louise; Thomas Denman; and Wilbur James, all at home.
In the passing of Thomas E. Barlow Sonoma county lost one of its most enterprising citizens, one whose enthusiasm and determined efforts did much to advance the agricultural standard of the county and state. He was an enthusiastic advocate of good roads and Worked indefatigably for the cause, believing that good highways are among the prime essentials to agricultural progress. A charter member of the Sebastopol Berry Growers Association, Mrs. Barlow is no less enterprising than her worthy husband In order to get the Berry Growers Association established on a firm footing she built a large warehouse at Sebastopol on the steam road, and from this has developed the large and flourishing organization which it is today.
HISTORY OF SONOMA COUNTY, By Tom Gregory, Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA (1911) p. 584
SOLOMON Q. BARLOW.
Generations of the Barlow family had lived useful lives ill their native England before the name was transplanted to the soil of the new world, and the first member of the family of whom we have any record, is Warren Barlow, the grandfather of Solomon Q. Barlow. From Connecticut Warren Barlow went to New York state and settled in Sullivan county, where his three sons and three daughters were born. The fifth child in this family was Thomas Barlow, born June 25, 1809, and who died April 22, 1882, his entire life having been passed in Sullivan county. His companion and helpmate in life, Rachel Quimby was also a native and lifetime resident of Sullivan county, her death occurring there April 16, 1883, almost a year to a day, following the death of her husband. In the family of his worthy couple were four sons and four daughters, one of whom was Solomon Q. Barlow. He was born May 20, 1837, and was given such education as the times and place afforded, finishing his schooling in Ellenville high school, where he was fortunate to have as tutor Prof. S. A. Law, who was then the efficient principal of the school.
During his boyhood Mr. Barlow had been a competent assistant to his father in his farming and lumbering interests, and after his graduation from high school he purchased the homestead farm and sawmill, his father thereafter removing to Napanoch, N. J. Solomon Barlow continued the business which he thus assumed until 1862, when he removed to Pompton, N. J., where for two years he was agent for James Horner & Co., during the erection of their steel and file works. It was upon resigning his position with this firm that he came to California by the Isthmus route. Corning direct to Sonoma county, he made settlement in Two Rock valley, and on April 21, 1864, located on the ranch which was the home of the family for the following eight years. It was then, in 1872, that he purchased and located upon the ranch of two hundred and twenty acres in the same valley, six miles west of Petaluma, which was his home until his death. Here he followed dairying, general farming, horticulture and poultry raising, and at his death, August 20, 1895, left a valuable property to his widow and children.
The marriage of Solomon Q. Barlow was solemnized February 8, 1860, and united him with Elizabeth J. Denman, who was born in Sullivan county, N. Y., March 14, 1937, the daughter of William Denman, and who died December 3, 1874. Five children were. born of this marriage, as follows: Thomas E., deceased; Anna D., also deceased; Mrs. W. H. Darden, of Corning, Cal.; Mrs. J. W. McNeal, of Honolulu; and Mrs. Eva Mordecai, of Petaluma. The second marriage of Mr. Barlow occurred in Point Arena, Mendocino county, October 9, 1879, uniting him with Louise E. Brandon, who was born in Iowa City, Iowa, the daughter of John and Sarah (Robbins) Brandon, natives respectively of Carlisle, Pa., and New Carlisle, Clark county, Ohio. Mr. Brandon became a pioneer settler in Iowa City, where he was living at the time of the discovery of gold in California. He crossed the plains with ox-teams and followed mining until 1854, when he returned east, settling in Dayton, Ohio, where he was a merchant until his death. Mrs. Barlow was reared in Dayton, Ohio, and attended the public schools of that city. She came to California in the spring of 1877 and up to the time of her marriage was a resident of Point Arena. After the death of her husband she assumed charge of the ranch and ran it until 190_, since which time she has leased it and made her home in Berkeley. Mrs. Barlow has one daughter. Grace, who is a graduate of the University of California, class of 1905, and now the wife of R. J. Brower, of Belmont. Mrs. Barlow is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley and is an active worker, in its varied charities.
HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY - Pages 809-810
Biographies written by Wallace M. Morgan
Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA - 1914
JOHN E. CALDWELL -- By birth and ancestry he is a southerner and his
early childhood days were passed in his native commonwealth of Mississippi,
where his father, the late W. A. F. Caldwell, M. D., had a high standing as
a physician and surgeon. During the Civil War he went to the front as a
surgeon and endured all the hardships and privations 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 Arkansas, 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 sole exception of three years
spent in Arizona.
Having been joined by a brother, James Robert, in 1909 Mr. Caldwell
embarked in the cattle business upon a somewhat larger scale than
heretofore, 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 watered and therefore offer exceptional
advantages to cattle-raisers. Besides 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 honored for ability, intelligence and
energy. Particularly is he prominent and popular in the vicinity of
Granite, where he makes his home and has his headquarters. Liberal and
enterprising, he favors all movements for the upbuilding of Kern County. He
is a member of the Eagles.
HISTORY OF KERN COUNTY - Pages 809-810
Biographies written by Wallace M. Morgan
Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA - 1914
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 outlook upon life, kind heart and
energetic temperament are as well known as his name itself. At the time of
first coming 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 the
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 War. 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 old homestead
there. Of the ten children in the family all but four are still living,
James Robert being the fourth in order of birth. After coming to California
he attended 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 purchase 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, joining 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 rainfall 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 sell 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.
HISTORY OF YUBA AND SUTTER COUNTIES; Page 1031
JOHN BURNS - Born in New York city on Washington's birthday, in 1836, this sturdy pioneer, the late John Burns, who breathed his last in 1919, was left an orphan at seven years of age. When he grew up, he learned the trade of cooper; and in the early days in New York he was known for his dependable work.
In 1859, John Burns came out to California, traveling by way of Panama; and on April 5 of that year he arrived in San Francisco. He did not stay long there, however, but pushed on into Calaveras County, where he tried his luck at mining; and then he ran a ferry at Verona, in Sutter County. He also successfully conducted a dairy and stock farm; and becoming recognized as a man of affairs, he was elected supervisor of Sutter County in 1892, from the fourth district, and was reelected five times, serving twenty-four years in that official capacity. He was school trustee for twenty-five years.
On August 23, 1963, Mr. Burns married Miss Eliza G. Abdill, of New Jersey, a noble woman, whose influence for good was wide and permanent. She breathed her last on May 15, 1889. She was a devoted wife, and mother of eight children, as follows: Isaac Le Roy; Winfield David, deceased August 3, 1904; Addie E., now the wife of Charles Peaslee; Mary also deceased; Alice Florence, now Mrs. Arthur H. White, whose life story is given in some detail elsewhere in this
historical work; and Edwin, William Ellis, and Grace, the wife of C. A. Harding, who passed on in 1921. Mr. Burns was a member of Pleasant Grove Lodge, No. 269, I.O.O.F.
History of Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey & San Luis Obispo Cos. - 1903
Page 454
Though one of the most venerable of the old-time settlers of Pajaro township, Monterey county, Christopher Mann is the embodiment of hearty strength, and goes about his business as orchardist with the enthusiasm we are wont to associate with much younger years. A native of the vicinity of Crawfordsville, Montgomery county, Ind., he was born May 10, 1827, and spent his youth and early manhood on farms in the Hoosier state and in Missouri. According to the precedent established by his father, another Christopher, he is destined for many years of usefulness for the older Christopher lived to be one hundred and twelve years of age, was twice married and reared twenty-two children.
At the outbreak of the Mexican war Mr. Mann was performing his duties on the paternal farm in Missouri, and into his otherwise uneventful youth came the opportunity of serving his country with valor and courage. At Independence, Mo. He enlisted in Company A, First regiment Volunteers, and as a private participated in two battles in Sacramento county, and experienced many of the dangers and vicissitudes of western Indian warfare. For three days he was obliged to live on atmosphere, owing to the absence of food in the Navajo country, but this trial was more than counteracted by the exultation arising from being the first man to jump the breastworks at Chowah. At the close of the war in 1847 he was duly discharged at New Orleans, and upon returning to Independence, Mo., engaged in farming on a forty acre farm presented to him by his father. The same year he married Eliza Haun, a native of Independence, MO., and who at the present time is seventy years of age. Mrs. Mann, like her husband, is hale and hearty, and is the mother of one daughter, Frances, now the wife of Thomas Robinson. She has also been a mother to Jefferson L. Mann, a nephew, whom she adopted when he was only three days old, and who is now county supervisor of Monterey county, and engaged in farming with his uncle Christopher.
In the spring of 1850, Mr. Mann started overland from Missouri with ox-teams, and upon arriving in California settled in Santa Clara, where he bought a house and lot, and engaged in teaming and the lumber business. He soon afterward jumped a claim at Mountain View, Santa Clara county, and after farming and teaming for several years sold his claim and brought one hundred and fifty head of cattle to Green valley, Santa Cruz county. Here he squatted on a large cattle range, and later bought one hundred and sixty acres in the vicinity, upon which he lived and prospered until a dry winter killed of many cattle, and brought about large losses in general. This doleful experience convinced him of the utter futility of longer speculating with the conditions in Santa Cruz county and he therefore came to Pajaro valley in 1869 and bought one hundred acres of land at $50 per acre. This property has been well improved, and the second year of owning it Mr. Mann set out an acre of tees, and later put out one thousand prune trees. These were afterward dug up, and he sold fifty acres of land to his brother. He at the present time has thirty-eight of his forty acres under apples, most of which are bearing, and incidentally he engages in general farming and stock-raising. Mr. Mann is a Democrat in political affiliation, but has never desired or accepted official recognition. With his wife he is a member of the Christian church.
Biographical Record of the Sacramento Valley - 1906
Page 660
PETER McAUSLAN. Although past the eighty-first year of an active life,
which has been full of varied interests and experiences, Peter McAuslan, a
retired rancher of Sutter county, Cal., is a remarkably well-preserved man,
still active in body and mind. He was born near Glasgow, Scotland, January
30, 1824, spending his boyhood at home. At the age of fourteen he entered
the print works and eventually became a pattern drawer, being employed in
the works until he was thirty years of age.
Although brought up in the Presbyterian faith Mr. McAuslan had, while in
Scotland, become converted to the Mormon belief. In 1854, being desirous of
joining the people of that faith in Utah, he came to the United States on
the John M. Wood, a sailing vessel from Liverpool to New Orleans, and then
made the journey across the plains to Salt Lake City, where he resided at
the time of the Mountain Meadow Massacre. Upon learning from good authority
that the Mormons and not the Indians were responsible for that terrible
crime, his faith in the church, which had never been strong enough to cause
him to comply with its full rites, was so shaken that he determined to leave
Salt Lake City at the first opportunity. This he found in 1859, when a
detachment of United States soldiers went to Salt Lake City and he left with
them and came to Sutter county, Cal. For a time he engaged in cutting corn,
but being troubled with ague he went to Yuba county and remained until the
following March, when he returned to Sutter county and bought a squatter's
right to a claim near his present home and began hauling wood to Marysville,
soon afterward locating a claim near Yuba City. After residing in this
vicinity for two or three years he sold out his holdings, and on account of
ill health went south in search of a climate which would suit him better.
Returning, however, to Sutter county he purchased a squatter's claim to his
present home, one hundred and sixty acres of land lying eight miles
northwest of Yuba city. When he purchased the land it was unimproved, open
and half covered with brush, but he now has a good farm with a small orchard
and vineyard, which has been his home for many years and upon which he has
reared a large family. He still resides on the home place with a son, to
whom it is leased.
Mr. McAuslan was married in Liverpool by a Mormon elder to Agnes
McAuslin, a native of Scotland, who was born May 3, 1829, and whose death
occurred in 1900. The children living are Jane Johnson, of Honcut; William
L., on the home ranch; Tina Wilbur, of West Butte; and Margaret, of San
Francisco. Mr. McAuslan is strongly Socialistic in his political views, a
well-read man and a thinker, who, while he has not joined any other church
since losing faith in the Mormon Church, is still a believer in and an
earnest student of the Scriptures, and is a very interesting
conversationalist, keeping up in his advanced years the intellectual
activity that marked his young manhood. He is a man of good standing in his
community, which he has served as school trustee for several years.
The History of Yuba & Sutter Counties, by Peter J. Delay
Call # (Alcove) 979.435 h6d, page 593
PLEASANT WILLIAM ROWE - Identified with the public life of Sutter County
for the past twenty-six years as public administrator and coroner, Mr.
Rowe has witnessed many changes wrought in this section of the State
during the years and has had a part in the growth and progress made here
in so comparatively short a time. A native of Fremont County, Iowa, he
was born on January 14, 1848, near Sidney, about six miles from the
Missouri line. His father was David P. Rowe, born near Muncie, Ind.,
June 25, 1825; and there he married Almedia Holloway, who was born on
the Western Reserve in Ohio, August 18, 1822. They moved to Fremont
County, Iowa, about 1846, where the father followed his trade as
millwright and carpenter until his death on March 23, 1869. His widow
came to California, where she spend her last days, passing away on
September 26, 1907. Grandfathers William Rowe and Pleasant Holloway
were both farmers.
Our subject was the oldest of the nine children born to Mr. and Mrs. D.
P. Rowe. He was named Pleasant William after his grandfathers; and he
is well named, being a man of pleasing personality. In his youth he
learned the rudiments of agriculture, for the early worked on farms for
wages, his schooling being limited to short periods off and on during
winters. He left home for California on August 1871, boarding an
emigrant train, and arrived in Sacramento on August 13 of that year,
locating in Yuba City on September 15, 1871, since which date he has
made his home there, fifty-two years of continuous residence. His first
work was for wages on ranches in Sutter County. For many years he has
owned his ranch of three and one-half acres, now set to an orchard of
Tuscan cling peaches, which last year (122) produced twenty tons of
fruit, and example of the intensive fruit culture for which the State,
and particularly this portion of it, is noted.
Mr. Rowe is now serving his seventh consecutive term as public
administrator and coroner, in which office he has given faithful and
valuable service to the county. The security and growth of any
community depend in a large measure upon the quality of its business and
public institutions, the character of the men who control them, and the
nature of the policies under which they are managed; and in this
respect Sutter County has been most fortunate in retaining in office men
fully qualified to give fair and wise administration of their duties to
the community at large. Mr. Rowe is also an underwriter of fire
insurance, representing the American Alliance.
Mr. Rowe was married in Sacramento, on August 21, 1886, to Miss Anna E.
Galvin, who was born near York Springs, Pa., and of who he was bereaved
in July 115. Fraternally, Mr. Rowe is a Mason of long standing having
joined the order on May 3, 1884. He is a member of Enterprise Lodge,
No. 70, F. & A. M., Yuba City, and also a member of Marysville Pyramid,
No. 23, A. E. O. Sciots.
History of the Sacramento Valley, California
WALTER LEWIS REES
Walter L. Rees, the present county coroner and public administrator of Sierra county, is half owner of the great Lewis ranch at Loyalton, of which his brother Jesse also owns half. He has lived in this section of the country for many years, is widely known and is uniformly respected, Born in Dayton, Nevada, on the 13th of November, 1861, he is a son of Cyrus W. and Mary A. (Lewis) Rees. The winter of 1861-62 was an unusually severe one and the mother, who was visiting in Dayton, was detained there by the severity of the weather until after the birth of her son Walter L. Cyrus W. Rees was born in Indiana, and was educated at Kalamazoo, Michigan. He studied theology, became a regularly ordained minister of the Baptist Church and was the pioneer preacher at Loyalton, California, where he organized the Baptist Church, also organizing all of the Baptist Churches in northern California which were in existence in his day. He and his wife were married at Healdsburg during the Civil war and were among the first settlers in Loyalton. This town took its name from the fact that, while many of the towns of California were marked by considerable secession sentiment during the Civil war, this place was loyal to the core, hence the name which it has since borne. Eventually Rev. Rees sold his place in Loyalton to his father-in-law, Hiram Lewis, and moved to Eugene, Oregon, where he organized a Baptist Church. After serving as its pastor for four or five years, he was called to the pastorate of the Baptist Church at The Dalles, Oregon, where he preached for six or seven years, and while there he lost his wife, who died at the comparatively early age of thirty-eight years. Following that pastorate, Rev. Rees was called to the church at Portland, where he remained two or three years, and then took charge of the Baptist Church at Rossland, Washington, where he continued his ministry to the time of his death, which occurred suddenly while he was occupying the pulpit. He was seventy years of age at the time. To Rev. and Mrs. Rees were born eight children, as follows: Walter L., of this review; Edward, a locomotive engineer, who was accidentally killed at The Dalles, was married and left two children; W. E., who was formerly engaged in the sawmill business, is now retired and lives at Oroville, California; Minnie, the wife of William F. Langdon, who is in the employ of the Clover Valley Lumber Company; Etta is the wife of William Bybee, a former employee of the Southern Pacific Railroad; Sadie G., the wife of Gay Bybee, is the owner of the Kozy Korner confectionery at Loyalton; Jesse who is half owner of the Lewis ranch married Miss Alice Wing and to them were born two children, one of whom is living Dr. Rees, of Portola: and Dr. F. G., who is a dentist in Sacramento county. Jesse Rees is a very capable man, well qualified in every respect for the important work he is doing. He possesses marked inventive talent and can make or devise almost anything needed on the ranch He has recently built a hay loader, which loads the hay on the wagon the hay cocks in the field. It is a very ingenious and useful contrivance. His wife Mrs. Alice Rees, is the owner of undertaking establishments at Loyalton, Portola and Las Vegas, was formerly coroner and public administrator Of Sierra county, and is now a candidate for the same offices in Plumas county. She is a very capable woman and has been successful in business. Both the Rees and Lewis families are of Welsh origin. The first church built at Loyalton by the Rev. Rees as a Baptist house of worship was destroyed by fire. The second edifice contains memorial windows, commemorating Rev. Rees and his wife, both of whom were close to the hearts of the people of this community in its pioneer days. This is now known as the Community Church and is still doing effective work. Loyalton has always been known for the high type of its citizenship and its moral standards, and there is no question but that the fine work and the splendid example set by Rev. Rees had much to do with planting the seeds Of righteousness which have in later years borne abundant fruit.
Walter L. Rees has long been identified with the management of the, Lewis ranch as half owner and is very highly regarded as a man of good judgment and honorable principles. He has very capably discharged his duties as coroner and public administrator. About fifteen years ago he was united in marriage to Mrs. Edith (Horton) Lewis who was horn at Virginia CAN, Nevada, and was the widow of W. S. Lewis Mr. and Mrs. Rees have an adopted daughter, Hazel, who resides in Sacramento, where she is a trained nurse in the County and City Hospital. Mr. Rees is a strong republican in his political views and during all the years of his residence in this valley has consistently stood for those things, which have been calculated to promote the welfare of the community along either material or civic lines. He is one of the best known men here and no resident of this section is held in higher regard than is he.
History of the Sacramento Valley, California
KENNETH L. REES, D. D. S.
Dr. Kenneth L. Rees, of Portola, has earned a deserved reputation as a capable and skilled dentist, conscientious in his work and respected by all who have employed his services. Born in Loyalton, California, oil the 25th of March, 1903, he is a son of Jesse S. and Alice A. (Wing) Rees, and a scion of old California families. His father, who was born at Eugene, Oregon, is now a farmer at Loyalton. About 1905 he moved to Tonopah, Nevada, after which he lived successively at Goldfield, Nevada, in Mexico, in Los Angeles, Rosedale and Oil Center, California. At the last named place he conducted a general mercantile establishment from 1911 to 1915, when he became interested in the livestock business, buying young cattle in Arizona, which he shipped to the ranges in Modoc county, California. In 1918 he returned to the Sierra valley, where he has remained to the present time. Mrs. Rees was born in Augusta, Maine, whence she was brought by her parents to California when twelve years of age. Her father was a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted in the First Regiment Maine Volunteer Cavalry, with which command he served until the close of the war he became a member of the Grand Army of the Republic after coming to California. In early life he learned the trade of cabinetmaking and later that of harnessmaking. Eventually, however, he turned his attention to farming. He died in Surprise valley, Modoc county, at the age of eighty-four years. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Martin, is a mortician in Loyalton and Portola. She was born in Augusta, Maine, and received special training as a nurse in the Los Angeles County Hospital. While there she was called upon to lay out patients who had died in the hospital, this being a part of her regular course in nursing. She thus acquired the rudimentary principles of preparing a body for burial. She accompanied her family on removals to various parts Of California and in each place she rendered expert and appreciated service in her line. When they moved to Loyalton, she was elected coroner of Sierra county, and at that time also established an undertaking business, in which she was highly successful.
She served as coroner at Loyalton nine years, and in 1925 she came to Portola and opened another undertaking establishment. To Mr. and Mrs. Rees were born two sons: Donald, who pursued the regular course in the medical school of the University of California, completing his work in 1921, but died from the effects of in operation before he had received his degree; and Kenneth L.
Kenneth L. Reed attended the public schools in the various places in which the family lived and tied ell entered the University of Nevada, in which he pursued a special collegiate course. After the death of his brother he decided upon a dental career, and entered the dental school of the University of California, from which he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1929. He immediately came to Portola and engaged in the practice of his profession, in which he has met with gratifying success. He has in attractive and well-equipped office, is careful and painstaking in his work and his patrons are his best advertisers.
On March 25, 1928, at Reno, Nevada, Dr. Rees was united in marriage to Miss Mary Myers of Bellewood, Pennsylvania, and they are the parents of a son, Donald Ray, four months old. The Doctor is a man of sterling worth in all the attributes of upright citizenship and manhood. He is a member and secretary of the Lions Club, belongs to the Masonic Lodge at Loyalton, the Eastern Star at Portola, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He also holds membership in the National Masonic Dental Fraternity. He belongs to the Alumni Association of the University of California and maintains a liver interest in his alma mater. While in college he took an active part in athletics and while at the University of Nevada was a member of the varsity football team. He is still interested in athletic sports and other outdoor recreations, but his profession is his first interest.
History of Fresno County - 1919 Page 974 Vol. I
Willis D. Weaver -- A pioneer of Fresno County, and also a pioneer in the
line of business he still follows, that of fruit buying in the San Joaquin
Valley. Willis D. Weaver is the representative of that business in this
section of the state, and is now the highest salaried fruit buyer in the
valley, as well as one of the best known and most successful. A native son
of California, he was born in Redwood City, March 23, 1868, a son of Jacob
Weaver, a native of Pennsylvania and Nancy (Squires) Weaver, a native of
Missouri. The father crossed the plains to CA by ox team in the days of
Forty-nine, and ran a store and sawmill near Redwood City. He later
engaged in coal mining in Sonoma County, near Mark West Springs, then
returned to Redwood City, and in 1880 located in Fresno, his family joining
him the following year. Here he bought three blocks on the edge of Fresno,
and farmed on a small scale, later buying forty acres of land near Calwa,
where he set out a vineyard. He retired, in Fresno, in later life, and
died there, at the age of 78. To this pioneer couple were born nine
children, viz.:--John F., now of Richmond, CA; Simon J, of Selma; James B.,
of San Luis Obispo; Mrs. Mary McDonald now deceased; Mrs. Emma Austin,
deceased wife of J. R. Austin, of Fresno; Jacob, died early in life; Nanie,
deceased wife of W. C. Guard, of Fresno; Willis D., of this review; and
Walter Elmore, deceased.
Willis D. Weaver was educated in the Fresno schools, and then entered the
employ of his brother, John F., who ran a hardware store in Fresno. In 1893
he began his career in the fruit packing business, and has since that date
been engaged in this line. He first entered the employ of the Cutting
Fruit Packing Company, and remained with them until 1898, when he went with
the Golden West Fruit Packing Co. In 1899 he went with the Fresno Home
Packing Company as fruit buyer; then was with the J. K. Armsby Company in
that capacity, and now is with the California Packing Corporation, his
territory extending from Bakersfield to Merced.
In the midst of his business activities, Mr. Weaver has found time to
interest himself in public affairs, and served as member of the Republican
Central Committee from 1896 to 1902. He was also one of the three members
of the Horticultural Committee of Fresno for two years, from 1900 to 1902,
his experience and knowledge in that branch of the county's development
making him an important factor in this work throughout the valley, and he
stands ready at all times to give of his time and knowledge in promoting
the resources of Fresno County.
The marriage of Mr. Weaver, on August 6, 1893, united him with Miss May
Osborn, a native of Tennessee, and three children have been born to
them:--Landis O., was a student at Stanford University at the time of his
enlistment for service in the World War, January 3, 1918. He was sent to
the Ordnance School at the University of California, at Berkeley, and after
graduating from there was ordered to the special school at Benicia
Barracks, and when he had graduated was sent to Tours, France, where he was
assistant to the chief ordnance officer, in charge of the telegraph desk;
Helen Estelle, is a student in the University of California at Berkeley;
and Ester Leah, is attending Stanford University.
Fraternally Mr. Weaver is a member of Fresno Lodge No. 439, B. P. O. Elks,
and of the Odd Fellows. It is to such men as Willis D. Weaver that Fresno
County owes her phenomenal progress and development, men who have worked
loyally and constantly for the advancement of their home county.
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF COAST COUNTIES, CALIFORNIA.
By PROF. J. M. GUINN, A. M.,
Published by: The Chapman Publishing Co. Chicago 1904 1500 pgs.
CHARLES R. FARMER
page 989
Charles R. Farmer is one of the substantial and leading business citizens of Santa Rosa, who, through his earnest efforts, has won success, and is now the owner of several ranches as well as a pleasant home in Santa Rosa. He was born in Santa Rosa, at the corner of D and Fourth streets, June 1, 1862, a son of Elijah T. Farmer, familiarly knows as "Lige," who was born in Knox county, Tenn., August 1, 1832. When he was five years old his parents removed to Cass county, Mo., where they remained until the spring of 1857, when they started with ox teams for California. They made the journey in six months, and came direct to Santa Rosa township, Sonoma county, where they remained until their death.
Elijah T. Farmer became the owner of a ranch near Windsor, Sonoma county, where he successfully carried on sheep-raising. In 1859 he purchased an interest in the general merchandising business conducted by Dr. John Henley in Santa Rosa, eventually purchasing the business and conducting it alone until 1873. In 1865 he was elected county treasurer for a term of four years, and in 1867 was appointed the first treasurer of the recently incorporated town of Santa Rosa. In 1870 he donated ten acres of land in town to the Pacific Methodist College, and in August of the same year took a prominent part in founding the Santa Rosa Bank, being chosen its first president, and holding that office until his death, which occurred October 20, 1885. He was one of the principal owners in the water works, gas works, woolen mills, etc.;
in fact, he was connected with almost every enterprise in Santa Rosa, and his efforts toward the development and upbuilding of the city were crowned with success. A man of upright character, he was noted for his integrity and honesty, as well as his keen discernment in business matters, and was in the truest sense of the word a self-made man. His wife, who survived him, was formerly Rebecca, daughter of William E. Cocke. She was a native of Jackson county, Mo., and died in Santa Rosa.
HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY CALIFORNIA
HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY CALIFORNIA
HISTORY OF SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY
"There were 250 wagons in rendezvous at Independence, Missouri, ready to start for California on April 1, 1846. In order to guard against Indian raids we organized into companies of 25 to 50 wagons, each company electing its own captain. We then elected Col. William Russell of Kentucky as commander. We left Independence April 2. Each captain had to furnish four men from his company to stand guard at night ... We concluded it would be best for each company to be independent and keep as near together as possible. Each wagon had from two to three yoke of oxen. In a short time the most of the companies divided up - some of the men wanted to rush through.... The party which hurried soon found that their cattle could not stand it, for by the time they had reached the Platte their cattle were tenderfooted and gave out. The company I was in made it a rule that if they could find a suitable place to camp they would always lay over one day in every week in order to rest up and do their washing. We aimed to travel 12 miles each day stopping when a good camping place was found. There were a great many buffaloes on the Plains at that time. We would hardly ever be out of sight of a band of from 100 to 1000 of the magnificent animals...There were four of us who had nothing else to do but hunt, viz. Green Patterson, John Foster, David Wray and myself . . .The way we managed to get them was to station three men out to one side and not let the buffalo see them - this was easy to do as the country was rolling- and then one would go around and start them in the direction of the men laying in wait; and as they passed the men would select a fine one and shoot him. If the animal was only wounded he would turn and make for the smoke of the gun; all we had to do was to jump to one side and put in another shot . . .-There would be from 5 to 10 killed each day ... and antelope . . . The buffalo is very clumsy and runs like a cow... When one starts to run you can't turn him but have to get out of the way. We had to be on our guard to keep them from stampeding our stock.
By J. P. Munro-Fraser; Myron. W. Wood, Publisher (1883);page 873
HIRAM DAVIS:
The subject of this sketch, whose portrait appears in this work, was born
in Genesee County, New York, March 2, 1830. At the age of nine years he
was taken by his parents to Michigan, and in the following year
accompanied his uncle, Samuel Holmes, to Hancock County, Illinois, where he
received his schooling and resided until 1847. In that year he emigrated
with a company of Mormons to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and thence to Missouri,
finally , in the spring of 1848, going to Salt Lake City, where he dwelt
until 1849. Late in the fall of that year he started for California, and
on arrival commenced mining in Mariposa County, which he continued until
1850, when he came to Alameda County, and in 1854 purchased a farm near
Alvarado, on which he resided until 1865, when he went to the Eastern
States, but after a visit of eight months, returned and settled on Dry
Creek, where he lived until the year 1870, at which time he moved to his
present ranch. Mr. Davis owns one hundred and forty-three acres of land,
and is engaged in general farming. He married in Michigan in 1856, Miss
Martha Fairfield, a native of that State, and has nine surviving children,
viz.: Martha A., born April 6, 1858; William Lee, born January 6, 1861;
Mary L., born October 8, 1862; Sarah J., born June 18, 1864; Clara L., born
November 7, 1871; Harriet R., born March 6, 1876; Edward R., born July
8,1868; Joseph m., born July 18, 1872; Frederick H., born December 15,
1879.
By James Miller Guinn
The Chapman Publishing Co. (1904)
Page 666
By Paul E. Vandor
Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA (1919)
Page 772
Historic Record Company
Los Angeles, California (1921)
Page 666
Historic Record Co., Los Angeles, CA - 1923 Page 1625
Historic Record Co., Los Angeles, CA - 1923 Page 1480
By Mj. Jesse Walton Wooldridge
The Pioneer Historical Publishing Co., Chicago (1931)
Page 167
By Mj. Jesse Walton Wooldridge
The Pioneer Historical Publishing Co., Chicago (1931)
Page 142
BY GEORGE H. TINKHAM 1923
JOHN D. GRUWELL
Pages 681-2
For more than twenty-five years John D. Gruwell resided on his ranch
Property four miles east of Farmington, were he became one of the best and most
representative agriculturists in the county, and on his ranch of 720 acres,
which was his home and center of operations from 1871 to 1900, he enjoyed a
degree of prosperity which ranked him among the most enterprising men of
his class in San Joaquin County. He was born in Quincy, Ill., June 9, 1830, a
son of Robert and Millicent (Daves) Gruwell. The parents, natives of Ohio,
moved to Indiana in an early day, and thence to Illinois in 1828; and there
Robert Gruwell became the owner of 160 acres of land, and remained a
Resident there until 1833, when he moved to Lee County, Iowa. On May 3, 1849, with
his wife and eleven children, he started for California. All these children
were born in Illinois and Iowa; the eldest child died in 1852 at the sink
of the Humbolt River, while crossing the plains. With them across the plains
a brother, Jacob Gruwell, came with his family.
At Salt Lake City some Mormon acquaintances told them that it was
Impossible to go through to California by the northern route, as the grass was all
Burnt off. They wintered at Fort Utah, a distance of sixty miles from Salt Lake
City, found work, and there met a man named Page, whom their father had
brought from Iowa, and this man, in company with a cousin, went to the
council house and there heard the Mormons talk of murdering Jacob and
Robert Gruwell, charging that they had been parties to the expulsion of the
Mormons from Nauvoo, Ill., and other localities in Iowa. The young man returned to
camp and reported the danger, so the Gruwell brothers started for
California at once, by a circuitous route, leaving their families, who secured a
Mexican guide and in three days started on the southern route for this state, their
train being the first that ever passed over General John C. Freemont's
southern trail. After many hardships, privations and also loss of cattle,
who had become too poor and weak to bear the yoke. It was seen that the
women and children would all perish from hunger, so John D. Gruwell and his
older brother, in company with four others, left the train at a distance of
300 miles for the nearest settlement, the Cucamonga ranch. They had been
informed by their Mexican guide that the distance was only sixty miles, and
they took with them only four days' rations; when their provisions gave out
they lost all hope. They toiled on, however, four days and three nights
longer, without a drop of water or a morsel of food to eat except prickly
pears. At Los Vegas Springs they found a poor colt which had been left by
General Fremont's pack train and this they were not long in butchering and
devouring. The next meal was a coyote, on the Mojave desert, and after
that only a few acorns until they reached the settlement. They returned to
their party with six mules packed with provisions and twelve head of beef cattle,
and arriving at the train in time to save their lives. They reached the
Cucamonga ranch, September 23, 1849. Robert Gruwell and his brother after
eluding their enemies, who were unaware that they had received any notice
of the secret plot, came on by the way of Marysville, Sacramento, Stockton,
Los Angeles, and met their families 150 miles out from the settlement, and they
completed the journey safely together. The father and family remained at
Cucamonga ranch until spring and then moved up into El Dorado County, near
Coloma, and engaged in mining there until late in 1851. The parents and
their younger children then removed into Santa Clara County, where the
father had bought land. In June, 1852, with his eldest son, Noah N., he went East
via Panama, where Noah N. was ill seventeen days with the fever, from the
effects of which he never entirely recovered. As soon as he was able to
travel he completed the journey, assisting his father in buying some
cattle.
He married Sirena Cox, and the next spring started for California with a
Herd of cattle. He arrived at the sink of the Humbolt, but relapsed and
Suddenly died. In 1857 Robert Gruwell sold out and moved to Lake County, buying
Land and entering into agricultural pursuits and stock raising. In 1861 he
Moved back to Santa Clara County, where in the same year the mother died, aged
fifty-four years. In 1883 he died aged seventy-six years.
John D. Gruwell went to work on his own account in 1849, mining. In 1851
He made his first purchase of land, adjoining Santa Clara, and consisting of
thirty acres. Selling this, he bought, in partnership with his brother,
Labin H., 160 acres three miles further south, which they farmed until
1857.
Then selling out, they moved to Lake County, taking up Government land and
following stock raising and farming there until 1869. In 1869 John D.
Gruwell moved in to San Joaquin County and conducted a hotel at Peters,
during the construction of the Copperopolis and Milton railroad. In 1871
he bought a squatter's right to 160 acres of land, which he preempted, and on
which he resided until about 1900, four miles east of Farmington; later he
increased the extent of his land to 720 acres. Soon after settling on this
ranch be commenced raising wheat; at that time it was the most easterly
point of the wheat-growing section of the valley. He erected a good two story
residence, with all necessary out-buildings and here he reared his family.
On June 19, 1854, in Santa Clara, Mr. Gruwell was married to Miss Evelyn
Fine, born in Fayette County, Mo., May 22, 1836, and they were the parents
Of six children, two of whom are now living, Robert C. and Oscar. Mrs.
Gruwell passed away in June, 1906, Mr. Gruwell surviving until August, 1911, aged
eighty-one.
BY GEORGE H. TINKHAM
ROBERT C. GRUWELL
page 693-694
A native son of California, whose father and grandfather crossed the plains
with ox teams in 1849 and became prominent grain ranchers east of
Farmington, is Robert C. Gruwell. The family is one of the best known and highly
esteemed in Central California, and has been intimately associated with the
extensive farming interests of the state for over half a century. Mr.
Gruwell's father was John D. Gruwell, well known in San Joaquin County as a
man of character and ability. He came to California from his native state
of Illinois in 1849 and engaged in mining on his own account; in 1851 he made
his first purchase of land in Santa Clara County and later moved to Upper
Lake, Lake County, Cal., and in 1869 moved to the east side of San Joaquin
County, settling east of Farmington. The mother of Robert C. Gruwell was
Evelyn (Fine) Gruwell, born in Missouri in 1836; her parents well-to-do
farmers who died early in life during a yellow fever epidemic. John Fine
cared for the little orphan girl, gave her a good home and she accompanied
him and his wife to California in 1853. Mr. And Mrs. Gruwell were the
parents of six children, of whom only two survive, Oscar, a merchant
residing in Oakland and Robert C. of this sketch. Mrs. Gruwell passed way in June,
1906, at the family home in Oakland, followed by her husband in August,
1911, at the age of eighty-one.
Robert C. Gruwell was born near Upper Lake, Lake County, Cal., July 19,
1862. The family at that time resided on a Government homestead, where the
father engaged in farming and stockraising until 1869, when the family removed to
San Joaquin County. Robert C. attended the Everett and Home Union schools
and early learned the details of farming through assisting his father with
his grain and stockraising enterprises.
In 1891 Mr. Gruwell was married to Miss Birdie Drais, a daughter of Edward
M. Drais, deceased pioneer and capitalist of the Farmington district of San
Joaquin County. Mrs. Gruwell was born at the family home, known as Rock
Creek ranch, on June 20, 1865, and received her education in the Home Union
and Cottage schools. In 1897 Mr. And Mrs. Gruwell moved to their present
home place twelve miles east of Stockton on the Copperopolis Road and here
they reared their three sons: John Edward, Robert M., and Lyle M. Mr.
Gruwell owns 540 acres of fine grain land in two ranches, 420 acres on
Little John Creek, and 120 acres in the home ranch two miles west of Peters. Of
recent years Mr. Gruwell has been assisted by his sons, each one having a
share in the Gruwell ranch. Mr. Gruwell serves as the president of the
board of trustees of the Everett school and has been a big factor in securing the
fine new building which was completed in 1921, replacing the one built in
1865. Mr. Gruwell is a Democrat in politics and his sons are members of
the N. S. G. W. at Stockton. He is an advocate of good roads and the family is
one of prominence in this community where they have a wide circle of
friends and acquaintances.
BY GEORGE H. TINKHAM
JOHN DUNCAN McKELLAR
pages 968 -971
(picture of J. D. McKellar )
Over a quarter of a century has passed since John Duncan McKellar came to
California and he has watched its development through all these years,
Noting with interest the changes that have been wrought as its natural resources
have been developed. His labors have largely been put forth along
agricultural lines until about three years ago when he retired to his home
in Stockton, 1126 South California Street. He is a Canadian by birth, having
been born at St. Thomas, Ontario, October 20, 1853, the son of John and
Mary (Thompson) Duncan, natives of Glasgow, Scotland, who immigrated to Ontario,
Canada, and were farmers near St. Thomas. The mother died when John D. was
A little child. The father afterwards removed to Saginaw, Mich., where he
followed farming until he died. Of this union two children were born, Mary
who resides in Detroit and John D., our subject. He came to Michigan in
1861, remaining a short time, then went back to Ontario where he attended
school, In 1871 he came to Saginaw, Mich., and was employed at lumbering,
getting out logs and driving them down the Titbowasse, Old Gray, Salt and
Tobasco rivers. Young, agile and strong, he could ride the logs with ease
and swim like a duck and became an expert in the art of snubbing the rafts
of logs. He was employed in this line for a period of eight years; then he
followed sawmilling near Mason, Mich., and during the threshing season he
was in that line of work. Desiring to see the West, in 1881 he came out to
Wood River, Idaho, where for three years he engaged in sawmilling.
In 1884 he arrived in Stockton and worked on Roberts Island for A. S.
Blossom and Ira Saunders, and while there passed through the trying times of the
floods when the levees gave way and flooded the entire island; he recalls
the time when Chinamen used wheelbarrows to repair the breaks in the levees.
By hard work and economy Mr. McKellar saved some money and finally began to
Farm for himself and at different times farmed from 400 to 1,700 acres of grain.
He farmed the Woods brothers' land, the John Wilkinson ranch, land on the
middle division of Roberts Island; also the Keagle place, now the Westgate
property, farming the latter place of 960 acres for eight years. One year
he used five Holt harvesters and harvested 60,000 sacks of grain. One season
his crop of 1,644 sacks of grain sold for forty-four cents a cental, and he
lost a year's hard work. During later years he raised large quantities of
pink, Lady Washington and Cranberry varieties of beans, which proved of
great profit. He owned a farm on the island where he resided until wishing to
retire. He sold his place and located in Stockton in October, 1918,
purchasing his present comfortable home on South California Street.
Mrs. McKellar was in maidenhood Sarah Cook and was born in Jasper County,
Mo., her marriage ceremony occuring in Stockton, October 17, 1899. She
Was the daughter of Frank and Elizabeth (Abbott) Cook, natives of Kentucky and
Tennessee, respectively. They were farmers in Jasper County, Mo., where
They spent the remainder of their lives. This worthy couple had six children,
three of whom are living. Mrs. McKellar, who is the third oldest, came to
San Joaquin County in 1880. A woman of a pleasing personality and much
business acumen, she has been a real helpmate to her husband. By a former
marriage Mrs. McKellar has a daughter, Mrs. Sallie Holman of Oakland. Mr.
McKellar is a strong Republican and he is greatly esteemed and respected
For the part he has taken in the development of this section.