Colusa & Glenn Counties,
California
1918
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PACIFIC ORD EIBE
From the time of settling in what is now Glenn County, in
1870, until his death, which occurred in February, 1917, Pacific Ord Fibe
was one of the most influential business men and citizens of the county.
Emphatically a man of work, he was never idle, but continued to be one of
the most enterprising and active men of Willows. No enterprise was projected
that failed to receive his substantial encouragement, and every plan for the
promotion of the public welfare had the benefit of his keen judgment and
wise cooperation. A man of broad and charitable views, he aided every
movement for the advancement of education, morality or the well- being of
the county. "No man was held in higher esteem by the people of this county,
and they showed their love for him by thrusting honor after honor upon him."
Thus spoke one of the leading county newspapers of Pacific Ord Elbe, at the
time of his death; and the sentiment unquestionably reflects the opinion of
thousands of his fellow citizens who, during his varied and useful career,
either knew him or knew about him.
Born at Pacific Springs, Utah, on June 29, 1854, the future pioneer first
saw the light when his parents, Matthew and Emily (Zumwalt) Elbe, were
crossing the plains to California. They were members of a large train of
emigrants drawn by ox teams, and when they reached Pacific Springs many of
their oxen so sickened and died from poisoning that this delayed the parties
at that point for a number of weeks. While there a baby son was born; and
his parents, wishing to commemorate the event, gave him the name Pacific
after the place of his birth.
When the Elbe family arrived in the Golden State, they settled for a time in
Solano County, near Silveyville, where their son, Pacific Ord, attended the
common schools. Afterwards he took a preparatory course in a business
college at Berkeley, and then worked at home until in 1870, when, with his
brother, J. C. Elbe, he took up his residence on what is today known as the
Eibe
ranch, two miles west of Willows, Glenn County, where he farmed to grain and
raised stock successfully. In due time his fellow
citizens found in Pacific Ord Eibe the qualities necessary in a public
officer, and he entered upon his public career as a deputy under Lon
Stewart, county assessor of Glenn County upon its organization. For eight
years Mr. Elbe served in that capacity, and then became a candidate for the
office of assessor and was elected by a handsome majority. At the end of his
first term he was reelected to the office through the will of the people,
serving to the end of his term with commendation from everybody.
Believing that it would be a good plan to let some one else have a chance at
the office, Mr. Elbe refused to be a candidate for
reelection and retired to business life for the following four years. In
partnership with I. J. Proulx, he carried on a very successful
and extensive real estate business. During this time, he was instrumental in
having the great Glenn estate subdivided, and in
having thirty thousand out of the fifty thousand acres sold. In 1905, the
community thought no better representative of Glenn
County could be selected for the Lewis and Clark Exposition at Portland, and
Mr. Elbe therefore went north on his official mission, returning to his home
after the duties of the position were ended.
In 1909 Mr. Elbe was induced to become a candidate for the office of county
supervisor from the First District in Glenn County; and he was elected by an
overwhelming majority. Four years later he was reelected ; and still again
the people, appreciating his honest and painstaking administration, invited
him, at the November election, 1916, to retain his portfolio. He worked for
and favored every project that would build up Glenn County. He induced many
to buy land and become settlers on the Glenn Tract,
when the land was cheap. Since that time the land has increased five, and
even six, times in value. He favored the building of good schoolhouses and
the maintaining of a high standard of education. He named the Ord district ;
gave to every church, no matter what its denomination ; was a man of broad
intelligence, keenly alive to every opportunity offered in the county; and
made and retained friends wherever he went. It was while he was an incumbent
in office that he passed away, following a long period of illness. His death
was commemorated by the unfurling at half-mast of many flags throughout the
city and county. Thus passed a man who held a clean record all through his
career, which he left as a heritage to his dependents.
The first marriage of Pacific Ord Elbe took place in 1880, in Solano County,
when he was united with Miss Maud Emma Abbott, and two children were born to
brighten the home circle: Ernest V. ; and Maud Emma, who died at the age of
five months. Ernest V. is living on the home place and assisting in its
management. Mrs. Elbe passed away on December 23, 1884 ; and on November
5, 1905, Mr. Elbe married Mrs. Belle (Quint) Barceloux, who survives him,
together with three of his brothers and a sister A. O. Eibe, of San
Francisco; J. C. Elbe, of Sacramento; T. T. Elbe, of Dixon ; and Mrs. M. J.
Parrish, of Napa. At the time of
her marriage to Mr. Eibe, Mrs.Eibe was the widow of Ernest J. Barceloiix, a
son of Peter Barceloux, a pioneer of Glenn County.
Three children were born of her first marriage: P. Elmer, Leo Vernon, and
Ernest J., who are with their mother on the home ranch. Of a very sociable
nature, Mr. Eibe was a member of Chico Lodge, No. 423, B. P. 0. Elks, and of
Monroe Lodge No. 289, 1. O. 0. F., at Willows, of which lie was a charter
member, and in which he passed through all the chairs. Shortly before his
death, he embraced the Catholic faith of his own free will.
After her husband's death Mrs. Eibe took up the burden of running the home
ranch, assisted by Mr. Eibe's son, Ernest V.; and here they raise fine
Egyptian corn, barley, hogs and cattle. On the place there are some two
thousand prune trees, five years
old, besides cherries, apples, peaches and apricots. The place was developed
by Mr. and Mrs. Eibe after they took up their residence there. Mrs. Eibe
ever proved her worth as a true helpmate to her husband in all his business
affairs. She made his home life happy, and in his home he was always to be
found after his business was concluded, his happiest hours being spent in
her society.
JOHN NELSON
Those men who have been far-sighted enough to engage in the dairy industry
in Colusa County are now reaping their returns, and realize that intensive
farming on a few acres will bring a larger percentage of profit, in
proportion to the expenses, than the cultivation of a large acreage. John
Nelson of Maxwell is one of these men; for immediately upon his arrival in
California, in 1904, he came to Maxwell, bought sixty acres of land, part of
the Moak ranch, and began making improvements by putting in alfalfa,
preparatory to starting a dairy. He further improved his place with a family
orchard of almonds, pears, figs, peaches, prunes and oranges; and he has
eight and one half acres in table and raisin grapes, from which he gathers
from four to six tons annually. Mr. Nelson sunk a well and installed a
pumping plant, run by electric motor, so that he has his own irrigation
system for his seventeen acres of fine- alfalfa, besides his orchard and
vineyard, and also has an ample supply of water for domestic purposes. A
dairy of fifteen cows yields a good income ; and he also raises Duroc-Jersey
hogs for the market.
John Nelson was born in Bylleberga, Skane, Sweden, March 18, 1866, and
attended the home schools until he was fifteen, when
he came to America with the family, and settled in Minnesota.
There the father bought an eighty-acre farm, which he improved, and on which
he raised wheat, oats and flax. He rented consider-
able land adjoining, and in connection with his other farming operations
also ran a dairy and raised cattle. When John Nelson was twenty-one he
bought the farm from his father, and continued operating it along the same
lines, raising the same products. He worked hard, farming on a large scale
for a number of years, and making a success of his labors. When he had
enough to make a start in California, wishing to avoid the rigorous winters
of Minnesota, he disposed of his interests and came to this state. What he
has accomplished here speaks for itself and is a splendid example for the
homeseeker to follow.
Mr. Nelson married Christina Pearson, also born in Sweden ; and they have
four children: Warner, Delphin, Emma, and Wesley. Wesley is a member of the
Odd Fellows in Maxwell. Mrs. Nelson died on March 23, 1905, at the age of
thirty-seven years.
Mr. Nelson is quiet and reserved. He is a hard worker, a public-spirited
citizen, and a hospitable neighbor, and has made many
friends since settling in California.
HON. JOHN BOGGS
The discovery of gold in California brought to the Coast many of the most
capable young men of the East, and gave to our commonwealth its first
impetus towards permanent prosperity. Of all those who came across the
plains, perhaps none
possessed greater energy or keener powers of discrimination than did John
Boggs. From whatever standpoint his character may be considered as farmer,
stock-raiser, landowner, state official, citizen, or friend it presents the
elements of true manhood, so that those within the sphere of his influence
counted it a rare privilege to be numbered among his friends.
Descended from a prominent Southern family, John Boggs was born at Potosi,
Mo., July 2, 1829, a son of Robert W. and Abigail (Carr) Boggs, natives of
Virginia and Kentucky respectively. At the completion of his common school
education in Howard County, he was sent to the college at Fayette. When he
was twenty, he joined a party of gold-seekers bound for the West. After
innumerable hardships the party arrived at Weber Creek, from which point Mr.
Boggs made his way to Sacramento, where he was engaged as a chainman in the
first survey of that city. He bought some land on Cache Creek, and began
trading for broken-down horses and mules used by emigrants in crossing the
plains. Almost without exception they were anxious to exchange their stock
for provisions and other necessities; and as a consequence he had, at the
end of a year, some four hundred head grazing on his ranch. Though they cost
him only a few dollars each, at the end of the year he sold them for two
hundred dollars per head.
In 1854 Mr. Boggs came to Colusa County and bought six thousand acres of the
Larkin grant, and later bought other tracts, which he held for a rise in
values. In 1868 he embarked in the sheep business. This proved profitable,
as there was a ready market for wool and mutton. A few miles from Princeton
stood his country home, one of the finest homesteads in the state at the
time. In recent years, the laud has been divided into small tracts and sold.
The public career of Mr. Boggs began in 1859, when he became a member of the
first county board of supervisors. In this capacity he served until 1866,
and by his intelligent labors aided in giving system to the management of
the affairs of the county.
One important improvement made during his period of service was the erection
of the courthouse. In 1866 be was elected to the state senate, and in 1870
he was reelected. In 1877 he was again returned to the upper house, as also
in 1883, and once more in 1898. He was a member of that body at the time of
his death. Senator Boggs was a stanch Democrat, and wielded a strong
influence in the party deliberations. He served as a member of various
conventions, county and state, and from 1871 until his death he was a member
of the Democratic State Central Committee. He made a losing fight against
county division. When the new maps came out, it was found that the county
line was placed so that the barn on the Boggs estate was in Glenn Count}'
and the balance in Colusa County; and it was only after assiduous effort
that the senator was able to have the line set beyond the end of his barn.
At the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, on January 30, 1899, Senator John
Boggs passed away. When the news of his passing flashed over the wires,
there was a universal feeling of sorrow in the state; and the press of the
state was unanimous in its verdict concerning the high quality of his
statesmanship.
In 1870 John Boggs was united in marriage with Miss Lou Shackleford, of
Georgia. Three children were born of this union : Frank, Frederick and
Alice. Senator Boggs was for years connected with the State Agricultural
Society as director and president. Until his death he was a member of the
board of trustees of Stanford University; and at one time he was a regent of
the University of California. From 1876 to 1880 he was a director of the
Napa State Asylum. In 1885 he was appointed penology commissioner, and about
the same time he held the office of state prison director. At one time he
was on the board of commissioners of Yosemite Valley. He was one of the
organizers of the Colusa County Bank, and served as a director till his
death. He took a prominent part in the organization of the Bank of Willows,
and was one of the directors ; and he was also a director in the Bank of
Hayward..
JOHN C. HAMILTON
A descendant of an old pioneer family of California, and a native of Orland,
Glenn County, John C. Hamilton is carrying on the development work started
by his father in this district in the early sixties. Born on the home ranch,
near Orland, March 10, 1874, he is a son of John C. and Cordelia (Springtun)
Hamilton. The father was a native of Missouri; and the mother was born in
Texas. Their living children are John C. ; James L., of Red Bluff ; and Mrs.
L. M. Walters, of Berkeley. The father crossed the plains to California by
ox team, in 1859. Going to the mines, he worked there for two years, after
which he came to Colusa County and worked on ranches for a time. His object,
however, was to own a ranch of his own; and accordingly he homesteaded one
hundred sixty acres of land five miles east of Orland, later adding to his
holdings until he owned three thousand acres. He became one of the large
grain-raisers of early days in the state, when California was the leading
state in the Union in the production of grain. In 1884, he settled in Red
Bluff, where his death occurred on December 5, 1907. He had retired from
active pursuits in the latter years of his life. Soon after her husband's
death, Mrs. Hamilton removed to Berkeley, where she now makes her home.
John C. Hamilton attended school in Orland, and afterwards moved with his
parents to Red Blutf , where he finished his school-ing and became assistant
in the post office, for three years, under Postmaster H. W. Brown. In the
fall of 1900 he returned to the
home' ranch in Orland, and has since made this his home, taking an active
part in the upbuiilding of the district, which has made
and is making such wonderful progress along agricultural lines.
Mr. Hamilton is bringing his property to a high state of development, being
decidedly a man of progress, with breadth of mind to grasp new ideas and
methods of cultivation. He farmed the greater part of three thousand acres,
on the old home place and land near by. His home ranch comprises two hundred
thirty acres which he cultivates to grain. ln 1917, he set out eighty acres
to almonds; and he purposes gradually to increase the acreage devoted to
this branch of horticulture. He has put the land under a private irrigation
plant, with cement pipes through the orchard, which lies east of the home
ranch proper ; and in other respects also he is using strictly modern
methods in his horticultural work. The holdings of the family in Glenn
County now comprise some eleven hundred acres.
Being a native son of Orland, Mr. Hamilton has watched its growth with a
keen interest. He has given his support and active cooperation to all
undertakings for the advancement and development of his town and county; and
personally he exerts that forceful influence found only in men who have
become known for integrity and ability. He was one of the men who financed
the Orland College; and he has always been a friend of education.
The marriage of Mr. Hamilton was celebrated in 1906, when he was united with
Haddassah Cleek, also a native of the valley,
born in Colusa County. Fraternally he is a Mason, a member of Orland Lodge,
No. 265, F. & A. M.; Chico Chapter, No. 42, R. A.
M.; and Chico Commandery, No. 12, K. T. With Mrs. Hamilton, he belongs to
Citrus Chapter, No. 208, 0. E. S., of Orland.
JOHN ANNAND
A native of Nova Scotia, John Annand was born on June 6, 1844, a son of
David and Margaret (Taylor) Annand, large farmers in that country. He spent
the first twenty-two years of his life near Halifax, where he received his
education and learned the trade of the blacksmith. He then came to the
States and spent two years in the mining districts of Nevada, after which,
in the late sixties, he came on to California and located at Butte City, now
in Glenn County. Here he found employment at his trade with Elijah
McDaniel, three miles south of that village, where, on June 5, 1871, he
married Izilla McDaniel, a daughter of his employer.
Soon Mr. Annand was able to buy land ; and his first purchase comprised five
hundred sixty acres five miles south of- Butte City.
Here he developed a good ranch, which he carried on until he was called by
death in 1908. His widow still owns the old home place, and is living in the
enjoyment of modern conveniences, surrounded by her family and friends.
Mr. Annand was a devout Christian and a prominent member of the Methodist
Church, South. As superintendent of the Sunday
school he exercised an elevating influence upon the young, in whose welfare
he took a deep interest. He was actively interested
in education, and served on the board of trustees of his school district. He
and his wife had four children: Mrs. George Kirkpat-rick, of Colusa ; Elmer
A., on the home place ; Emma, Mrs. Hugh M. Garnett, of Willows ; and Earl,
superintendent of the Hugh M. Garnett ranch near "Willows.
WILL SEMPLE GBEEN
(By the late John P. Irish)
The debt of California to her American pioneers grows in appreciation as
they pass away. In the first group, composed of those immortal in grateful
memory, a stalwart figure is Will S. Green. He was of pioneer lineage. His
ancestors were on the Virginia frontier. His parents settled in Kentucky
when the land had the virgin beauty that attracted Daniel Boone to its
conquest. There he was born, December 26, 1832. Financial reverses befell
his father while Will was a child. This deprived him of any education under
teachers, except a brief attendance at an " Old Field School"; and while a
boy he assumed the burden of self-support and the helping of others. It is
said of him that such was his energy that, though a boy, he commanded the
-wages of a man. While he worked he studied. To him may be applied the wise
characterization of the late President McKinley by John Hay: "He belonged to
a generation of boys who knew no want their own labor could not satisfy, and
who knew no superior and no inferior. ' ' Those were the qualities of a
pioneer generation.
Working and seeking knowledge, he felt the frontier impulse and, following
the call of his pioneer lineage, landed in California in 1849, before he was
seventeen. His mental and manual self- training and his steady industry had
prepared him to put hand and head into any honest work. He ran the first
steam ferry over the straits of Carquinez, took the second mail contract let
in the state, and carried all the mail for Napa and Sonoma Counties in his
pocket. In July, 1850, he left his mail route and ferry and
piloted the new steamer Colusa up the Sacramento River to the present town
of Colusa. He landed in Colusa on July 6, 1850, and there he was buried just
fifty-five years later. For five years more than a half century he was a
citizen of that town, of which he first saw the site from the pilot house of
the pioneer steamer. He left amongst his writings a description of that
voyage up the Sacramento that is a classic. There came to him then a clear
conception of the capacity of that valley to support a dense population
through agriculture. He caught a vision of a future wrought by man upon
those fertile plains that equaled the prophet's vision of the promised land,
full of corn and wine and oil, and flowing with milk and honey. While yet
camping on the bank of the river, he began preparing for his part in the
history to be. Already self- cultured to a degree of which many a college
graduate would be proud, he took up the study of civil engineering and fully
equipped himself for that profession. Perhaps no man in our company of
pioneer worthies had as little waste knowledge as he. Whatever he applied
himself to he thoroughly learned, and whatever he learned was useful to the
end of his long life. His service as captain of the Carquinez ferry boat,
Lucy Long, gave him the pilot's knowledge of the surface indications of
channel and shoal water that served him in steering the pioneer steamer
Colusa in waters strange to him and all her crew. His reading of the best
books in literature and science gave his style as a writer a grace,
directness and individuality, and a homely philosophy, such as Ben Franklin
had; and his knowledge of civil engineering made him the first, and to the
end the greatest, professional authority in the state on the problems of
irrigation and drainage.
A half century ago the physical characteristics of California were but
little known. Some of them are still the despair of the climatologists. But,
early in his experience in the Sacramento Valley, Mr. Green saw that to
reach their highest potency there
must be a drainage of the rich bottom lands, for protection against floods,
and irrigation of the rich plains for protection against the normal drought
of the dry season. He knew land, and he loved it. He was California's first
apostle of agriculture, and land was the text of all his epistles. As an
engineer, he surveyed the land. As a legislator, he drew the land code of
the state. As surveyor general of the United States, he protected the public
domain for the settlers who would till it. As treasurer of the state, be
conserved and economized the taxes paid by the owners of the land. As the
foremost editorial writer of the state, he considered the land as the first
material object of human interest. He developed the first plans for
irrigation and drainage of the Sacramento Valley; and though
high-salaried engineers have wrought upon the same problem, his plans stand
un impeached.
The foregoing is a mere circumference of his work. The vastness of the great
circle, and the infinite detail included, may be conceived when it is known
that he came to be the final authority upon more things of vital concern to
the state than any other man in California. In such a position he had to
antagonize the opinions of others. He often had to champion the many against
the
few. He had to rebuke waste and ignorance, thrift-lessness and intemperance.
But so great was his spirit, and so full of pity and
charity, that his very remarks made friends of those who received them, and
his antagonists were amongst his most ardent admirers. As his life drew to
its close, and the horizon no longer receded as he approached it, his
activities were greater than ever. In a high sense he incorporated his views
of the necessities of the Sacramento Valley in organizing the Sacramento
^"alley Development Association, of which he held the presidency until his
death. In that capacity was found his last public activity, in escorting the
Congressional committees on irrigation through the state. At the close of
the tour and the final meeting at the banquet at Red Bluff, he was
introduced by Judge Ellson as "the Patriarch of Irrigation in the Sacramento
Valley." He rose with the splendors of that valley of light before him, but
upon him was the somber tone of the Valley of Shadows. Speaking briefly he
said: "It is our business to develop the Sacramento Valley, and in behalf of
the Association I wish to say that we will do this. I have a valuable
history of irrigation work since I have been in the great valley, and the
value of that work is incalculable ; I recognize its full force when I hear
these people speak of the vastness of the preparation and the money they are
spending in preparing their plans for this work for the United States
government. I undertook to do it all individually, and to demonstrate what
could be done. Doing my own engineering and paying my own expenses, I
located the present Central Canal and prophesied this work, and now I find
that the United States will take years to go ahead, and feel how small have
been my efforts. But, gentlemen, my only hope, as I am on the decline of
life, is that some day I may stand on Pisgah and see a Promised Land for
God's people in this valley. Then I will be ready to die."
The fact was, that, in every essential, in outline and in detail, in its
hydrograph, agriculture, proper division of land holdings,
transportation and economics, he had worked out the whole problem to a
solution ; and those who follow will use his work or rediscover what was to
him an open book of principles. That was his last public utterance, and -the
contrasts of the occasion gave the full measure of his work. His footsteps
had plodded over the whole field, and then came the government, paying tens
of thousands only to follow him.
In his life he was singularly pure, as to speech, thought and practice. But
it was all without ostentation. He never abated his
view of principles to please friend or foe. Yet in discussion he seemed
rather an eager listener than a teacher, and by rare art
taught others by asking them to teach him. On his social side, he was
thoroughly lovable. As an editor he made his paper, The Colusa Sun, the
leading rural organ of the state. A collection of his editorial writings, in
essay form, would make a volume of permanent literature for the library. He was the last of the great group of
pioneers who sought to build a state not on the vanishing
mining industry, with its risk arid uncertainty, but upon the imperishable
land and the unbroken promise of seed time and harvest ; and of that group
he was the leader. He took his name and blood pure and untarnished as his
only heritage, and with a heart
as pure as his lips, transmitted them to his children.
Mr. Green was twice married. At his first marriage he was united with Miss
Josephine Davis, by whom he had five children, who survive their parents.
Some years after the death of their mother, he married Miss Sallie Morgan,
of Mississippi, a faithful helpmate and affectionate companion, who also
survives him.
MRS. SALLIE B. GREEN
One of the representative women of the Sacramento Valley, Mrs. Sallie B.
Green, owner and editor of The Colusa Sun, has been identified with Colusa
for many years. She was born in Clinton, Hinds County, Miss., a daughter of
Dr. Jacob Bedinger Morgan, owner of a plantation ten miles northwest of
Jackson. Her mother was Minerva (Fitz) Morgan, a daughter of Gideon Fitz, at
one time surveyor general of Mississippi, when it was a territory.
Grandfather Fitz was born in Monticello, Va., and learned surveying under
President Thomas Jefferson, then a surveyor, and later received his
appointment from him. He died in Washington, Miss., and was buried at
Jackson. Robert Williams, a great-grandfather on the maternal side, was
governor of Mississippi Territory. All of her forebears figured prominently
in the early history of Virginia and Mississippi. Thomas Jefferson,
President of the United States, was a warm friend of the Fitz family.
Dr. Morgan was born in Virginia and, when a child of five, was taken to
Kentucky by his parents. He was educated in the
schools of Kentucky and at the Medical College of Lexington, Ky., from which
he was graduated with the degree of M. D. He rode a horse all the way back
to Clinton, Miss., from Lexington, and, settling there, became the leading
physician of that section, the owner of a large plantation, and a man of
considerable means and influence. Eight children were born to Dr. Morgan and
his
wife: Mary, who married Hunter H. Sonthworth, and lived and died in
Mississippi; William Henry, a major, and later a colonel, of the 3rd
Mississippi Infantry during the Civil War, who died in Mississippi in 1905;
Fitz Robert, who was accidentally killed while hunting, at the age of
thirteen; Thomas, who died at the age of three ; Sallie B., Mrs. Green ;
Martha, who married W. G. Poindexter ; Lewis S., who was killed while in
the 3rd Mississippi Cavalry, at Collinsville, Tenn. ; and George, who died
in Mississippi.
Sallie B. Morgan was tutored by a governess, at home, and then attended a
private school for girls, after which she went to a convent at Nazareth,
Ky., and later was graduated from a young ladies' seminary at Nashville.
Returning then to her home in
Jackson, she there became a social favorite. She met Will S. Green, and in
Salt Lake City, in 1891, was united in marriage with
him, and since that time has resided in Colusa. . Mr. Green died on July 2,
1905. Mrs. Green never had any children of her own;
but she reared the two youngest of Mr. Green's children by his first
marriage, Rae, Mrs. Dr. J. J. Maloney of San Francisco, and
Donald R., now in the office of the state surveyor general at Sacramento,
who were fifteen and thirteen years old respectively at the time of her
marriage.
Mrs. Green is eligible to membership in the Daughters of the Revolution. She
is a Daughter of the Confederacy, and organized
and was president of the Confederate Monument Association, which after five
years succeeded in raising the funds for building
the monument that now stands in the old capitol yard at Jackson, Miss., to
commemorate the Confederate dead; and her name is inscribed in the vestibule
as president of the Association. She organized the Colusa Woman's
Improvement Club, and was active in the organization of similar clubs in
other cities in the valley, afterwards serving as president of the Federated
Woman's Clubs of the Sacramento Valley.
Having traveled considerably over the United States, and even into Alaska,
she had a desire to see some of the foreign countries; and on December 1,
1908, she started on a trip around the world, leaving San Francisco on the
steamship Mongolia. Crossing the Pacific, she visited Hawaii, Japan, China,
and the Philippines, and from there sailed on through the Suez Canal into
Egypt, and on to Italy, at a time when Mt. Vesuvius was active, and saw that
wonderful volcano in action. After visiting France
and England, she came on to New York, reaching home in December, 1909,
without having had an accident. She was more impressed than ever with the greatness, grandeur, and beauty of her native
land, having seen nothing in her whole trip to equal her
own beloved country. From various places en route she sent a series of
letters giving a description of her travels, and of places
visited, which appeared from time to time in The Colusa Sun, and which
received favorable comment.
Mrs. Green is to be found at her desk every day, guiding the destinies of
The Colusa Sun and wielding a strong influence for the public good. She is
active and progressive, and is looked upon as one of the upbuilders of
Colusa, where she is held in high
esteem. She is a member of the Methodist Church in Colusa.
ELIJAH McDANIEL
This Colusa County pioneer was born in Roane County, Tenn., July 4, 1820, a
son of Daniel McDaniel, captain of a company in the United States army, who
served under General Jackson during the war with the Creek Indians. After
the war. Captain McDaniel married Mary Ann Buchanan and settled in East
Tennessee, remaining there until 1834, when he moved with his family to
Illinois.
Elijah McDaniel remained with his father on the farm until his marriage in
January, 1842, when he was united with Sarah Ann Gore. The young people then
went to Wayne County, where they remained six years, operating a farm.
During this time two sons and two daughters were born to them. In 1848 he
moved into Schuyler County, the same state, where he rented land and farmed
until 1852. He was then seized with the "California fever" and began making
preparations for an early start the following spring. With five children,
his wife, and such effects as would likely be needed for the long trip
across the plains, he began the journey in an ox wagon, in 1853. Crossing
the Mississippi River at Warsaw, they made their way across Iowa through
storms of snow and sleet, and arrived at Council Bluffs in good spirits, on
the last day of March. Hearing that there was no grass on the plains, they
went into camp until it was grown sufficiently to furnish feed for their
stock. As their journey continued, they fell in with California-bound
travelers until their party numbered eighteen men. A captain was elected by
the party, George Garratt, one of their number, being chosen for this
important position. The weather continued bad as they passed up the Platte
River, the stock began to give out, and dissatisfaction was expressed with
the captain. At Pacific Springs, Mr. McDaniel and James Teal, with
their outfits, left the main train and struck out alone. Things went better
after that, and they finished the trip, although under very trying
conditions. On the fourth of August they crossed the summit of the Sierras
and entered the Golden State.
In Amerieau Valley Mr. McDaniel stopped for twenty days and worked with his
team, earning one hundred dollars. Here he fell in with Mayberry Davis,
Alexander Cooley and a man named Painter, who told him of the Sacramento
Valley and induced him to come here; and September 1, 1853, they arrived at
Painter's landing. He went to work on a threshing machine ; but not being
used to the climate, he contracted chills and fever and was unable to do any
further work that fall. Just above the landing Mr. Mc-
Daniel built a log house, and there, on October 1, 1853, a daughter, Izilla,
was born, the first white child born on the east side of the river. Mr.
Painter went back on every proposition he had made, and Mr. McDaniel was
forced to make other arrangements. He leased land from James McDougal, above
what is now Butte City, put in one hundred acres of wheat, and got a good
crop, but was obliged to sell his cattle, except a cow, in order to get
money to harvest it. As the price of grain was only one and one half cents
per pound and it was necessary to haul it to Marysville, thirty miles away,
to have sold it would have left him in debt; so he hauled it to the Buttes
and put it in a warehouse. The price of grain rose to three cents during the
winter. He then sold it, receiving enough to pay his debts and some fifty
dollars besides.
Having decided to take up a farm of his own, Mr. McDaniel selected a place
just above Butte City, where he put in fifty acres of wheat. He got a good
crop and received good prices, clearing one thousand dollars, which he
invested in cattle. He continued to
deal in cattle until 1862, when he disposed of part of his stock. In 1864 he
sold out the balance; and thereafter he devoted his attention to
grain-farming. In 1865 the crops were good throughout the state. Foreign
demand sprang uj? for the wheat raised in California, and every farmer began
to enlarge his boundaries, Mr. McDaniel along with the rest. He bought up
many squatters' claims, until he held a large acreage.
While Mr. McDaniel was living on the east side of the river, the territory
there was a part of Butte County. Mr. McDaniel had a petition circulated,
requesting that this section be incorporated in Colusa County. The petition
was granted, and the territory on
the east side was made a part of Colusa County. He served as county assessor
two years, and as justice of the peace for six
years. On September 8, 1889, Mrs. McDaniel passed away. On July 3, 1891, Mr.
McDaniel was married to Martha J. Anderson.
Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Church, South. In 1874 he
erected Marvin Chapel, in the cemetery, in which both himself and his first
wife are buried. He died at his home on January 9, 1898, at the age of
seventy-seven. He was the father of ten children, of whom seven grew up, as
follows : Henrietta, who married A. S. Furnell ; Mary Ann, who became the
wife of William Luman ; Izilla, Mrs. John Annand ; and Isaac L., P. L.,
Henry E., and L. J. McDaniel.
JOHN E. TIFFEE
An early seeker after the precious metal, for which men have sought since
the beginning of time, and one who remained in California after the first
great excitement had subsided, and turned his attention to other pursuits,
was the late John R. Tiffee. He was born in 1824, near Lexington, Ky. His
early life was spent in Missouri, whither his people had migrated when that
section was being developed. From that state he crossed the plains to
California with ox teams in 1849; and on his arrival he went at once to the
mines in Placer County, where he spent two years as a miner. His luck was
very uncertain, how-ever, and he decided to look up some land and occupy his
time with stock-raising and farming. He went to Sonoma County and found a
suitable location near Petaluma, and there engaged in ranching.
Seeing the need of a better grade of stock with which to build up a
profitable herd in this country, he returned East by way of
Panama and bought a band of thoroughbred roan shorthorn Durham cattle, and
drove them back across the plains in 1858. He
arrived in what is now Glenn County, then embraced within the boundaries of
Colusa County,- and settled on land west of what is
now the town of Willows. Mr. Tiffee was the first man to bring into this
county thoroughbred roan Durham stock. Having bought
out the squatters in that part of the county, he entered upon extensive
operations as a stock-raiser. In time he became a well-known breeder of the best blooded stock in the Sacramento Valley ; and
ranchers and stockmen came many miles to inspect his herds and to purchase.
From this small beginning the improvement of the stock in the valley was
very marked. He added to his holdings until he was owner of twenty-five
hundred acres of land, upon which he erected a handsome rural home, set out
a family orchard, and raised considerable grain. He later opened a general
merchandise store on his ranch, this being the only store within a radius of
twenty-five miles. He was honored with the office of justice of the peace,
and held the esteem of a widely settled community. He died in 1868, at the
age of forty-four years.
By his marriage in Sacramento, in 1850, with Mrs. Rebecca Terrill (Poage)
Rowe, a native of Kentucky, Mr. Tiffee had three
children, to each of whom he gave the best educational advantages possible.
They were: Annie Rebecca, the wife of H. F. Coffman, of Trinity County;
Theodora T., of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work; and John R.
Tiffee, Jr., who died at the age of twelve years.
ANDREW WILLIAMS
The late Andrew Williams was born in England in 1828, and when six months
old was brought with his family to the United States. At first they settled
in Indiana, and there he was reared with his two brothers, James and John.
In 1852, as one of the
members of an ox-team train, young Williams set out to cross the plains to
California ; and arriving here, he mined for a while in
Rough and Ready Camp, Yuba County. The next year, however, he returned to
Indiana to buy a herd of cattle. Having gatheredhis band, he drove them across the plains in 1854, selling them on his
arrival in California. He then went to Colusa County and
worked on the ranches near what is now Willows, being employed in particular
on the Murdock and the John R. Tiffee farms. In
1865, he again returned to Indiana ; and while there, a couple of years
later, he married Miss Margaret Given, of Ireland. With
his wife, he turned his face anew to California, there to remain. At first
he farmed the Logan ranch, which he bought and owned.
Later, he sold this to John Johansen, and took up a homestead on Stony
Creek, where he farmed for a number of years. In the
end he sold this farm also, and to the same purchaser, John Johansen.
When he came to Willows, Mr. Williams built a brick block on Walnut Street,
in which for many years he conducted a first-class
livery stable. This, too, he sold out, to permit his removal to the Stony
Creek district. Later, he took up his residence at Elk Creek, where he
managed a hotel, of which he was also proprietor. His death occurred on
September 22, 1911.
Among the children of Mr. Williams are Mrs. Susandrew Mayfield, of Richmond,
Cal. ; Dennis G. Williams, of Willows ; Mrs.
Mabel O'Brien, of Patton Apartments, Willows; William J. Williams, of
Willows; and Harry M. Williams, of Elk Creek. Mrs. O'Brien, the third child
in order of birth, is an active member and a Past Noble Grand of the
Rebekahs. She has one daughter, Mrs. Phelieta Scyoc, of Winslow, who is the
mother of a daughter and a son.
HUGH A. LOGAN
A pioneer farmer and stockman of the Sacramento Valley, especially of Colusa
and Glenn Counties, the late Hugh A. Logan held rank as one of the
successful and prosperous ranchers of Northern California. He located on a
ranch in the foothills in the vicinity of Norman, where he improved a fine
place and lived in comfort during the latter years of his life. He made a
specialty of raising sheep, and was one of the up-to-date men of the state
in that industry. He had modern equipment, pens, bath, and shearing
apparatus, as well as a circular bath for dipping the animals. He gave to
this enterprise the same careful consideration that would be necessary for
successful competition in the commercial world. He was one of the upbuilders
of this section, and was identified with the early history of Glenn County.
Mr. Logan was born in Montgomery County, Mo., September 6, 1830, a son of
Henry and Sallie (Quick) Logan. Henry Logan was a Kentuckian, a son of Hugh
Logan, who emigrated from Ireland to the United States and settled in
Kentucky, where he passed the remainder of his life as a farmer. He was a
soldier in the War of 1812, thus demonstrating his loyalty to the country of
his adoption. Henry Logan went to Missouri with Daniel Boone, locating in
Montgomery County, where he was engaged in farming and as a tanner until
1870. He then started for California on the transcontinental train, his
death occurring en route. Mrs. Sallie Quick Logan was likewise a native of
the Blue Grass" State. She died in Missouri, leaving a family of seven
children, of whom Hugh was the fifth in order of birth. He was able to get
but a limited education in the schools of that period ; moreover, he worked
on his father's farm from early boyhood. In March, 1854, when in his
twenty-fourth year, he started for California, crossing the plains with ox
teams. They left St. Joseph on April 1 and arrived at Deer Park six months
later. They were successful in bringing a bunch of cattle from his native
state through to the Coast. He later went to Sutter County and worked" with
his brother Anderson in the dairy business six miles south of Yuba City. He
remained in California until 1861, when he returned to Missouri; and the
following year he enlisted under General Price,
serving under him six months.
In 186.3 Hugh Logan married and came again to this state, making the trip
this time by way of Panama. In Colusa County he bought about a thousand
acres of land, which formed a part of the A. D. Logan ranch on Logan Creek;
for he was in partnership
at that time with his brother, A. D. Logan. They followed general farming
and the raising of cattle until 1868, when Hugh A. Logan took up the
property that remained his home for so many years. He also entered land,
owning at one time about sixteen thousand acres, part of which was in
Mendocino County. There were eight thousand acres in the home place near
Norman, three thousand in a mountain ranch, and two thousand near the home
place.
Mr. Logan started in the sheep business by the purchase of about five
hundred head at seven dollars per head; and he increased his bands until he
owned or handled a flock of about six thousand head. To add to his fortunes
he raised large numbers of cattle and planted a large acreage to wheat and
barley, having as high as four thousand acres planted to these cereals. He
erected a comfortable home in 1880, and suitable outbuildings to protect his
stock and implements. He witnessed many changes in the country, for when he
first located in the valley there was no Glenn County and the post office
was at Colusa. He lived to witness the rapid advancement along agricultural
lines, and the dividing up of the large areas into small and productive
farms.
About 1904 Hugh Logan incorporated all of his holdings as the H. A. Logan
Land and Stock Co., with himself as president, and his immediate family and
J. S. Logan as the other stockholders of the company.
Mr. Logan was twice married. His first wife was Jane Hudnell, a native of
Missouri, who died in California. Their only child, Samuel, died in infancy.
His second marriage united him with Miss Sallie Ann Logan, a cousin, and a
native of Missouri,
where the marriage was celebrated in 1866. She was a daughter of Alexander
and Elizabeth (Quick) Logan, pioneers of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Logan
had three children born to them: Anderson, Stephen, deceased, and Lee. The
latter married Miss Victor La Grande, a native daughter of Glenn County,
born into the family of Edward and Elizabeth (Portier) La Grande, natives of
Montreal, Canada, who became pioneers of Colusa County. Mr. and Mrs. Lee
Logan have three children: Lee Verden, Elsie Marie, and Hugh Edward.
Hugh Logan was a Mason, a member of Colusa Lodge. He was a member of
Antelope Valley Grange, serving as Master five terms. He was a stanch
advocate of the principles of Democracy, and served as a supervisor from his
district in Glenn County one term. At the time of his death he was counted
one of the best-known of the pioneers of Glenn County. He died in November,
1906, mourned by a large concourse of friends from far and near. After his
death, the large farming and stock-raising operations of the company were
continued under the following officers: Mrs. Hugh A. Logan, president; Lee
Logan, vice-president; Mrs. Lee Logan, secretary, and J. S. Logan,
treasurer. The same persons also made up the directorate. Mrs. Logan died on
July 8, 1917, and was buried beside her husband in the family plot, in the
cemetery at Colusa.
CLEATON GRIMES
Born in Mason County, Ky., May 24, 1815, Cleaton Grimes was the oldest of
five children in the family of Henry and Nancy (Bane) Grimes, and the last
to pass over the great divide. He was descended from Irish ancestors, and
was reared and educated in his native state, attending the subscription
schools and Maysville Academy, where General Grant is said to have acquired
the rudiments of his education. Young Grimes learned the trade of the tanner
and currier, working at that calling in Aberdeen, Ohio, where his father had
bought a tannery. He later worked at Georgetown for Jesse L. Grant, father
of General Grant. At Concord, Ky., Mr. Grimes ran a tannery of his own,
which he later traded for a store at Vanceburg, in the same state. While
living there, he married Martha Stevenson, who died in Kentucky, as did
three of their children.
In 1849 Mr. Grimes sold out his interests in Kentucky and set out for
California. He traveled by boat to St. Joseph, Mo., where he was fortunate
in the purchase of an outfit from a man from Ohio, who was traveling with an
emigrant company, but had grown impatient and wished to return home. In this
way Mr. Grimes was able to accompany the party to California. His outfit
consisted of a mule team and a wagon, into which was loaded the necessary
supplies. After an uneventful journey, the party arrived at their
destination over the Fremont trail. Mr. Grimes went to Dry Creek, and there
began mining in association with a mining company; but later they moved to
Oregon Canyon above Georgetown. In the spring of the following year they
located on the north branch of American River; and he also was interested in
the first claim taken up on the Middle Fork of that river. As it was late in
the season, how-ever, they did not remain to develop this claim. Mr. Grimes
and Captain Daniels went to Sacramento, bought a barge, and engaged in
transporting timber to Marysville. This boat was operated by three hands,
and was pulled and poled to Marysville, proving a good investment. In
1851-1852 they loaded their boat with general merchandise and went as far up
the Sacramento River as Stony Creek. Here Mr. Grimes secured a team and
hauled the goods to Shasta, where they were sold, the boat dropping back to
Sacramento. In March, 1852, he went to Grand Island, Colusa County, and
engaged in cutting hay with a scythe. This was hauled to Colusa and sold for
fifty dollars a ton. That same year he took up a thousand acres of what he
supposed was government land, but which later proved to be a grant. After
several years of litigation, he purchased the thousand
acres. He stocked his ranch, established Grimes Ferry, and opened a wood
yard at Grimes Landing. With these interests,
Mr. Grimes rose to a position of importance in the county. He began with
five head of sheep, and in time had some four thou-sand head, which he sold.
At the same time he carried on grain farming, the rich lands along the river
yielding bountiful harvests. In 1852 he established his home here, building
a two-room house. Deeply interested in the place, where he had laid the
foundation for a town, Mr. Grimes gave his best efforts towards inducing
settlers to locate here. He was interested in the Grange
movement, whose promoters established a store and warehouse on land he
donated ; and he also started the first livery stable in
the town. Up to the time when he was nearing his ninetieth milestone, he was
active in the management of his interests. He sold off all of his property
but a quarter section, which he retained as a home. In the early days of his
settlement in the state, his table was supplied with fresh meat brought down
by his rifle ; for elk, deer, bears and other wild animals then abounded.
In Sacramento, on September 28, 1869, Mr. Grimes was united in marriage with
Mrs. Ann E. (Tait) Rollins, born near Richmond, Va., a daughter of Alexander
Tait, who crossed the plains to California in 1865. During this trip his
wife, Elizabeth Lockhart Tait, died. The first marriage of' Ann E. Tait
united her with Alfred Rollins, by whom she had four children. Mr. Grimes
was a member of the first board of supervisors of Colusa County, and gave
valuable aid in the deliberations of that body. Politically, he was a
Democrat. He was enterprising and influential, and lived to a ripe old age,
passing away on January 19, 1913.
J. E. McDANIEL
The only son of Levi Jefferson McDaniel, J. E. McDaniel was born on his
father's ranch, October 25, 1884. He attended the
grammar school at Butte City, and finished his education at the high school
at Willows. After the death of his father, he took
charge of the home ranch and continued in its management until 1909, when
the place was sold to the Carson colony, and was divided into small tracts.
Mr. McDaniel thereupon became associated with H. B. Tnrman and J. C.
Mitchell, in the cattle business and together they bought the Patrick
O'Brien place of nine thousand acres, west of Willows. They incorporated the
Turman- Mitchell Land & Title Co., which owns the land and cattle. Mr.
McDaniel was made secretary and manager of the company, with
a third interest in its holdings. This is the largest cattle company in
Glenn County, and one of the largest in Northern California.
It handles over five thousand cattle each year. The corporation also owns a
cattle ranch at Lakeview, Lake County, Ore., which
disposes of six thousand cattle annually. The ranch comprises seventeen
thousand acres of deeded land in an open range country, devoted to the
raising of cattle.
At Willows, in 1908, J. E. McDaniel married Miss Edith M. Hannah, a native
daughter of Glenn County, whose father, James
Hannah, one of the earliest settlers of the county, once kept a popular
hotel at Willows. Two children, Gregg and Lemona, have
blessed their union. Mr. McDaniel was made a Mason in Laurel Lodge, No. 245,
F. & A. M., at Willows, and with his wife is a
member of the Eastern Star. He is also a member of the Independent Order of
Foresters; and nowhere are he and his charming wife more welcome than in the
councils and at the festivities of these organizations.
MILTON FRENCH
It is always a pleasure to the historian to commemorate the life of a
self-made man like Milton French. In this man's veins flowed the blood of a
race of pioneers, and with it he inherited the adventurous spirit and sound
principles that go to make up the
successful life in a new country. He was born in Callaway County, Mo.,
January 23, 1833, the youngest child in a family of four sons and two
daughters born in the home of John French, a native of Tennessee. John
French lived through the pioneer days of Tennessee and trained his family in
the simple, straightforward ways of those times, when conditions were such
that sham and pretense found no following. His wife was a Miss Clark, born
in Kentucky, the daughter of another pioneer family, for the Clarks
dated back to the days of Daniel Boone and were among the early
history-makers.
When Milton French was a year old, his mother died. Afterwards his father
married again ; and of that union three children were born, of whom Hugh
French, of Hollister, Cal., is the only survivor. Eight years after the
death of his first wife, John French passed away; and then came the breaking
up of the family. Here is a lesson for the boys of today who hang on to
"dad" and never think they have had a square deal unless he has put them
through college and set them up in business. Milton French,
a boy twelve years old, homeless, without father or mother, but already
feeling the desire for honorable success which later won
for him a place among the wealthy and honored men of the state, hired out to
a man for thirty dollars a year and his board. Two
dollars and a half a month, young men, to do the hardest kind of work and
plenty of it. Probably three months of schooling in the
winter was all the boy got; but, to be sure, he was getting an education
every day he lived, for Milton French was one of those who got their diploma
from the "College of Hard Knocks."
In 1850, at the age of seventeen, he was crossing the plains, bound for the
mines of California. With him were two brothers,
Marion Bryman and John. They mined at Forbestown, and later went to the
mines on Trinity Eiver, meeting with a moderate de-
gree of success. Beef sold as high as a dollar per pound in the mines. Only
the long-horned, rangy Spanish cattle were to be
had; and most of these were driven from the ranges south of Monterey County
to the market at the mines in Northern California.
Young French saw a big opportunity in the luxuriant pastures of the
foothills, if they were stocked with the right kind of animals ; so in 1856
he returned to Missouri by way of Panama, and the following year, 1857,
found him driving a band of cattle across the
plains to the Sacramento Valley in California. In January, 1858, after a
short stay on the Sacramento River, while his cattle recuperated from their long drive, he took up a government claim of one hundred
sixty acres in the foothills of Colusa County, as then
organized, but now included within the boundaries of Glenn County. All about
was open range; and he gradually increased his holdings until he was the
owner of ten thousand acres of land in various parts of the county. He
farmed thousands of acres to
wheat in the level valleys, and on the uplands pastured his herds of cattle,
together with droves of fine horses and mules, which he raised, and of which
he made a specialty. He became one of the leading grain and stock men in the
Sacramento Valley, and wealth flowed into the hands of the man who, as a lad
of twelve, had worked for his board and thirty dollars a year. He erected a
fine home in Willows, and took a leading part in many enterprises, in which
he invested large sums of money. He was the owner of a large warehouse in
Germantown, and was vice-president of the Bank of Willows, president of the
Willows Water Works, and a director in and president of the Willows
Warehouse Association.
Mr. French took an active part in the formation of Glenn County when it was
decided to divide Colusa County, and when the northern half, containing the
great Glenn ranch, became Glenn County. The writer remembers driving across
the Glenn ranch, in
1885, and riding for hours beside the great piles of wheat, sacked and
awaiting shipment.
Mr. French never forgot his own hard times when he struggled for a start,
and he gladly assisted more than one young man yes, and some old ones
too — on the road to success, helping them to help themselves. He liked to
make money, not for its in- trinsic value, but for what it would enable him
to do for those he loved, and for the furtherance of every worthy object. He
was
especially interested in all projects for the upbuilding of the county and
state. He was just in his dealings, and rejoiced in the
prosperity of others; and when, on November 10, 1916, at his ranch near
Willows, Milton French passed to his "home in the
Beyond," a man "full of years and of good report," the whole county mourned
a good man gone. He was a man who never took
an unfair advantage of any person, and never stooped to do anything that
might be construed as dishonest; and while he aided
many unfortunates, he rarely let his benefactions become known even to his
family. No man has had more true friends than had
Milton French, to mourn his loss.
His wife, who survives him, is carrying on the good work in which he was so
interested. In maidenhood Mrs. French was Miss
Elizabeth F. Williams, a native of Missouri and a daughter of Nathaniel P.
and Sarah Jane (Rice) "Williams. Her parents were
Kentuckians, who came to California in 1855, by way of the Isthmus of
Panama, with their two daughters, now Mrs. Milton
French and Mrs. James Boyd, Sr., then aged two and a half years and six
months respectively. Upon their arrival in this state they stopped for a
time in Solano County, near Dixon. Later they moved to Yolo County, and
thence back to Solano County, where Mr. Williams died at his home near
Dixon, in 1898. His widow survived him and made her home with her daughter,
Mrs. French, until 1910, when she also answered the final call. There were
four more children born in this family after they settled in California; and
of the six the following, are living: Mrs. Milton French, Mrs. James Boyd,
Sr., Mrs. Barbara McCune Lillard, and Nathanial P. Williams.
Mrs. French was reared and educated in California. On May 14, 1871, she
became the wife of Milton French; and since that date she has been a
resident of Glenn County. Three children were born to brighten the already
happy home of Mr. and Mrs. French. Curry Milton, the only son, is a
landowner in his own right, and is manager of the great ranches and
interests left by his father. He married Miss Lulu Louise Jacoby. Rita is
the wife of Judge Frank Moody, of Willows. Natalie is the widow of Robert E.
L. Eagle, and makes her home with her mother. Mrs. French is an active
member of the Baptist Church, which Mr. French also
attended, and to which he was a liberal contributor, as be was like-wise to
all other denominations, as well as to every worthy object that was brought
to his attention.
WILLIAM HENRY WILLIAMS
Few men were more widely known or more highly honored than this California
pioneer of 1850, who was the founder of the town in Colusa County that bears
his name. W. H. Williams came to this section in 1853, and, possessing a
keen foresight, made extensive investments in land when it was held at only
a nominal price. He also began in the sheep business, which in time grew
to large proportions, and which was admirably adapted to bring prosperity to
its followers during the early period of California
history. Laying the foundation of his fortune by industry and intelligent
application, he enjoyed an increasing success and
accumulated sufficient means to enable him to retire, and to give him a
recognized standing among the successful and wealthy
men of the Sacramento Valley.
Especial interest attaches to the life history of one so successful and so
prominent in the annals of his county. Genealogy
shows that the progenitor of the family in America was Robert Williams of
Wales, who established his home on a plantation in
Maryland. A son and namesake of the original immigrant, born and reared in
Maryland, learned the trade of the shoemaker, and
in 1828, together with his family, and with his household goods packed in a
wagon, crossed the Alleghany mountains into Ohio and settled in Pickaway
County. Ten and one half years later he took his family to Illinois and
settled in Vermont, Fulton County,
where he died in 1853. He was married twice, and chose for his second wife
Margaret McCallister. She was born in Maryland,
and died in Ohio on February 2, 1848. Of their four sons and five daughters,
W. H. Williams was the seventh in order of birth, and
the only one to settle in California ; and he was the last of the family.
William H. Williams was born in Cumberland, Md., April 7, 1828. He was taken
to Ohio when a babe in arms, and when eleven accompanied the family to
Illinois, where he attended the village school at Vermont. The schoolhouse
was built of logs, with
benches of slabs and floor of puncheon; and the pens were made of quills.
However, notwithstanding these handicaps and the
irregular attendance necessitated on account of his being needed to help
till the farm, Mr. "Williams acquired a good education.
With a hopeful spirit, he endeavored, by self-culture, to make the most of
his environments; and he became in time a well- informed man. He learned the
shoemaker's trade with a brother during the winter months, and cared for the
stock and raised corn
in summer. When the news came of the discovery of gold in California, he
dissolved his partnership with his brother and started out alone to make his
way amid untried conditions. He left the old Illinois home on March 18,
1850, and with three companions started West in a wagon drawn by four yoke
of oxen. They crossed the Mississippi River at Quincy, and the Missouri at
St. Joseph; followed the overland trail by way of Forts Kearney and Laramie;
and proceeding up the Sweetwater and down the Humboldt River, went thence by
the Carson route into California, arriving at Placerville on August 1, after
being on the road just ninety-six days. During their trip they made it a
rule to rest Sundays. When their oxen gave out they left them and, having
cooked enough provisions to carry them over the mountains, started to walk
with their blankets and supplies, getting across in six days.
Mr. Williams spent four months in mining, and only made seventy dollars; so
he abandoned the work and went to Sacramento. Here he was engaged as a cook
in a hotel at seventy-five dollars a month, and later became a clerk in a
shoe store at one hundred dollars a month. His next move took him into
Solano County, where, near Suisun, he was employed for a time in mowing hay
with a scythe. He then hired out as a teamster, and later bought a team and
engaged in freighting on his own account, clearing two hundred eight dollars
per month. In the fall of 1853 he sold the team, and, going to Sacramento,
opened a boarding house, which he conducted for six months, until the town
was burned and drowned out. He next took up land in Spring Valley, and
raised stock and farmed for one year, after which he began farming on the
plains near the present site of the town of Williams. When the land came
into the market, in 1858, he bought a small place at one dollar and
twenty-five cents per acre, and to this he added from time to time until his
possessions assumed large proportions. He bought fine blooded sheep from the
East and made a specialty of raising bucks, being a pioneer in that
industry.
When the railroad was prospected for the valley, Mr. Williams gave the right
of way through his land and au interest in two
hundred acres, which induced the company to establish a station at Central.
When the town was laid out, it was named Williams
in his honor; and ever since it has been an important shipping- point. In
1874 Mr. Williams built a substantial brick building;
in 1876 he erected the Williams Hotel; and in 1880 he put up a warehouse one
hundred twenty-one by two hundred feet in dimen-
sions, so constructed that teams can drive through the building and unload,
as well as from the west side. In the latter part of
the seventies, with others, at a cost of fifty-six thousand dollars, he
built the steamer Enterprise, and a barge, to run from Colusa
to San Francisco. He owned two livery stables in the town, and nine thousand
acres of land near by, and was interested in the
steam flouring mill until it was destroyed by fire. The Williams Foundry
also received his attention and support ; and with others
he built the Odd Fellows Hall. He was one of the charter members of the Odd
Fellows Lodge.
During the administration of President Lincoln, Mr. Williams was appointed
postmaster of the old office at Central; and the office continued to be in
his house until the railroad was built. After the organization of the
Republican party, he was a stanch supporter of its men and measures, and
frequently was a delegate to state and county conventions. Though not a
member of any church, all the churches received his financial support.
Of the first marriage of Mr. Williams three children were born, as follows:
Mrs. Harriett May Moody; Lulu, wife of S. H. Callen; and Ella, Mrs. H. W.
Manorr all of this locality. His second marriage united him with Mary E.
McEvoy, a native of Dublin, Ireland, and daughter of Thomas and Anna
(Horace) McEvoy. She came to California in 1877, and in 1880 was married to
Mr. Williams. Her deepest bereavement until her devoted husband passed away
on May 15, 1909, was the death of four of her children: Iris Cecelia and
Inez Vashti (twins), Carmelita Lucile, and William H., Jr. Two are still
living: Belle, Mrs. Stanley Moore, of Oakland; and Maruguerita, Mrs. R. L.
Welch, of Colusa.
Personally, Mr. Williams was a large, stalwart, handsome gentleman of
genial, companionable disposition, with a jovial temperament that enabled
him to see the bright side even of life's shadows, and that won him the
friendship of acquaintances. When he died, the whole county mourned. In the
annals of Colusa County, his name is worthy of perpetuation, for the
emulation of the future generations who shall live and labor here.
JEFFERSON DAVIS CRANE
How a town, of sturdy, thriving burghers honored itself in electing as mayor
its pioneer blacksmith, is shown in the story of
Willows and its choice of Jefferson Davis Crane as presiding officer and
chief executive. Jefferson D. Crane was born in Sonoma County, September 7,
1861. His father, who crossed the plains to California in 1849 in one of the
conventional ox-team trains, was James E. Crane, a native of Kentucky; while
his mother, whose maiden name was Lucy M. Beaver, was a native of Ohio and
came to California in 1851. On his arrival in this state, James E. Crane
went to the mines for a time. Later he farmed near Santa Rosa, and
afterwards near Salinas, in Monterey County. In 1870 he came to Los Angeles
County, in what is now known as Orange County. There he died, aged
seventy-six years.
Brought to Los Angeles County in his boyhood, Jefferson D. Crane attended
the public schools there, and then went to Bakersfield, where he learned the
trade of the blacksmith. He blew the bellows and swung the hammers like the
ablest of those at the forge ; and by 1880 he was ready to set up his shop
in Bakersfield, where he continued as a smith for four years. He then
moved to San Luis Ohispo County, and for a year worked as a blacksmith
there. In 1885 he arrived at Willows. Here be became
associated with the Willows Foundry, with which he continued for some time.
In 1895, he opened up a blacksmith's shop of his
own, and this he conducted for three years. At the end of that time he took
into partnership C. S. Schmidt, whereupon the firm
became known as Crane &; Schmidt. Ever since, Mr. Crane has had a hand in
the manufacture of nearly all the iron and steel
work done in Willows.
In 1887, Jefferson Davis Crane was married to Miss Kate Somers, a native of
Placer County, and the daughter of Charles
R. Somers, a pioneer who came to California from Vermont, by way of the
Isthmus, in 1854. Mr. Somers farmed on two ranches
in Placer County, and in 1871 removed to Willows, where he bought a hundred
sixty acres of land, on a part of which the
southerly end of Willows now stands. While he farmed, he also conducted a
draying business. For thirty-five years he hauled
freight for Hochheimer & Co., in Willows. He died in 1908. His wife's maiden
name was Mary E. Cameron. She was a native of
Illinois, who crossed the plains in 1854 with an uncle. She saw Willows grow
from a wilderness to a prosperous community, with
a population of twenty-four hundred ; and she can remember when the antelope
and wild cattle roamed over the plains. Mrs. Crane died in June, 1916,
mourned by a large circle of friends, with whom she was a social favorite.
She is survived by a daughter. Pearl C, Mrs. Terry McCaffrey, of McCloud,
Cal., who is the mother of one daughter, Tyrel.
Mr. Crane's public-spiritedness is finely displayed in his record of
twenty-one years as clerk of the Willows school board, from which office he
resigned in 1917; and in his service as town trustee, to which he was
elected in 1910. For four years he filled
the latter office; and from 1912 to 1914 he was chairman of the town board,
and thus performed the duties of acting mayor.
During this period the City Hall was built, sewers were laid, and the fire
department was improved by the accession of a modern
motor fire engine, the first combination pump and chemical engine on the
coast. Mr. Crane is a member of the Odd Fellows, a
Woodman of the World, an Elk, and a charter member of the Rebekahs.
JAMES BOYD
A man who has risen from a subordinate position to that of an influential
landowner, and who is actively identified with the agricultural interests of
the county, is James Boyd, a native of County Down, born near Belfast,
Ireland, February 28, 1849. His
father was also named James, and was born at the same place. Here, also,
Hugh Boyd, the grandfather, was a well-to-do farmer, a descendant of Scotch
ancestors who fled from Scotland to the North of Ireland at the time of the
persecution of the Covenanters. James Boyd, Sr., was also a farmer by occupation. He married Eliza
Patton, of Scotch descent, a daughter of John Patton.
She died at the age of forty-nine, in 1857, leaving eleven children, of whom
James, Jr., was the fourth youngest. The father reared
his family and lived to the age of eighty-four.
James Boyd, of this review, was educated in the common schools of his native
county and early learned the methods of farming as it was carried on there.
He had heard good reports from California, and had made up his mind that he
would prospect the country for himself; and accordingly he crossed the ocean
to New York when he was nineteen, in 1868. He came on to Cali-fornia by way
of Panama, arriving in San Francisco on board the steamship Sacramento in
May of that year. He traveled on to
Yolo County, and then to Colusa, where he worked in a livery stable for a
month. He then came on to what is now Glenn County, and found employment on
the Patrick O'Brien ranch for four years. Having made a little money, Mr.
Boyd was willing to take a chance, and with a friend bought a flock of sheep
in 1873, and drove them to Nevada, where he was engaged in the sheep
business for one year, when he sold out and returned to Willows. He leased
the Murdock ranch of nearly five thousand acres, and for nine years raised
grain. Next he rented eight thousand acres of the Glide ranch, and continued
the grain business for another similar period, becoming in time one of the
largest grain raisers in this part of the Sacramento Valley.
Having made considerable money, and also saved some, Mr. Boyd began to look
about for land. He found and purchased a quarter section, to which he added
four hundred eighty acres, and then twelve hundred acres ; and still later
he bought an entire section. He now owns some twenty-eight hundred acres
three miles west from Willows. He erected a fine home and the usual barns
and out buildings, and now has one of the best ranches in Glenn
County. On this place he has lived since 1899. Besides the home ranch he
owns twelve hundred acres on the Sacramento River, near Butte City, the
latter being rented, while the home ranch is devoted to grain-raising and is
operated by Mr. Boyd and his two sons, who raise some fourteen hundred acres
of grain on the place each year, using the latest models of machinery and
implements.
In 1889, Mr. Boyd married Miss Clara M. Williams, of Dixon, Cal., a daughter
of Nathanial P. and Sarah Jane (Rice) Williams.
She was but three months old when her parents came to California by way of
Panama. She is a niece of the late Hon. Henry E. McCune, prominent in public
life in the state and for many years a resident of Solano County. Two
children have been born of this
marriage: James Boyd, Jr., who married Genevieve Nash and is the father of
one son, James Boyd, third; and Carleton Williams
Boyd, who married Miss Bruce Morgan, of Red Bluff , and is the father of a
son, Carleton Wilcox. Both sons have had a college education, and are well
equipped for life's responsibilities.
Mr. Boyd is prominent in financial affairs as a director of the Bank of
Willows, and as a stockholder in the First National Bank of Willows, the
Bank of Colusa, the Bank of Princeton, and the Willows Warehouse
Association. He served as supervisor of his
district one term, being elected on the Democratic ticket. In fraternal
circles he is a Mason, a member of Laurel Lodge No. 245,
F. & A. M. ; the Colusa Chapter and Commandery; and Islam Temple, A. A. 0.
N. M. S., of San Francisco.
Mr. Boyd is a man of commanding appearance, six feet, six and one quarter
inches in height, a giant in stature; and in the early days there were few
men that surpassed him in strength and activity. With all his vitality,
energy and ambition, it is no wonder that he was able to win success and
accomplish the results that have characterized his career. He landed in this
state with only
about one hundred dollars ; but it did not take him long to see the
opportunities offered by this fertile country. Capitalizing his natural inheritance of thrift and foresight from his Scotch ancestry, he began
investing in lands when they were cheap ; and being benefited by the rise in
values, he has been enabled to live in comfort in his latter years. Both he
and his wife have endeared them- selves to their friends, who are legion.
They are public-spirited, and are willing at all times to -assist- those
less fortunate than themselves.
HARRISON DARROUGH DeGAA
Born and educated in the Old World, Harrison D. DeGaa came to America, as a
young man, well equipped to take advantage of the opportunities which the
New World afforded, to forge rapidly ahead in business, and to render
valuable service in the building up and developing of the communities in
which he has lived. Harrison DeGaa was born in Paris, France, May 6, 1843.
His parents were Joseph J. and Katherin (Wimmer) DeGaa, the former of French
birth, and the latter a member of a prominent German family of the city of
Karlsruhe. They were married in 1838, and in the following year came to
America, settling in Ohio.
In 1848, the year of the German Rebellion, they returned to Germany on a
visit, and Mr. DeGaa took part in the Rebellion. He
became an officer, holding a commission as Colonel, and in company with Carl
Schurz, General Siegel and others, had to flee the country. Later he was
arrested by the German government and tried for treason ; but in the
meantime he had become an American citizen, and through the intervention of
the home government gained his freedom.
Harrison D. DeGaa began his education in the schools of France, attending
there until the age of twelve, when he was sent to Baden-Baden, Germany. At
the age of sixteen he entered the University of Heidelberg, from which he
graduated in 1864. He at once left for America, where his parents had been
residing during his attendance at school.
After spending two years in the East and South, Mr. DeGaa came to
California, making the journey by way of the Isthmus. He at first engaged in
mining, but soon left that occupation and took up the printer's trade, some
knowledge of which he had obtained at school. He has since followed this
business in its various branches, until at the present time he is the editor
and proprietor of the Glenn Transcript, published at Willows, Cal., and
established in 1902.
At North San Juan, Nevada County, Mr. DeGaa was united in marriage, on
November 24. 1889, with Miss Anna G. Smith, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Thomas Golden Smith. Their four children are Joseph Darrough, Victor Golden,
Hallet, and a married daughter, Mrs. W. J. Canfield.
Ever since coming to California Mr. DeGaa has been prominently identified
with its growth.. For the past quarter of a century he has held office ;as
president or secretary of chambers of commerce and kindred associations. He
was the second president of the Glenn Club, and later became its fourth
president. He is today its only honorary member. He is the president of the
E. Clampus Vitusa an organization of boosters, with a membership of over
four hundred. He has always been active in the Republican Party, and has
been influential in its councils. In religion he is an Episcopalian.
MRS. MARY NEWMAN
A resident of California since 1870, and a woman of more than ordinary
business ability, Mrs. Mary Newman has contributed in no small degree to the
upbuilding of the town of Willows. Mrs. Newman was born at Hull, Wright
County, in the Province of Quebec, Canada. Her father, John Cook, was born
in London, England, and came to Canada when a young man, where he married
Georgianna Rule, who was born in Prince Edward Island. They became
successful farmers at Hull, about seven miles from Ottawa, and resided there
until their death. Of their eight children, five are living, Mrs. Newman
being the eldest and the only
one in California. Her childhood was spent on the home farmland in the
pursuit of her studies in the subscription or private schools. About fifty
years ago she was married at Aylmer, Canada, to John McCallum, who was born
at Guleburn, Ontario, the
son of Duncan and Ellen (Sloane) McCallum, natives of Scotland and the North
of Ireland respectively. His parents migrated to
Canada and were farmers at Guleburn. John McCallum followed farming, but
later sold his outfit and engaged in the hotel business at North Wakefield.
About 1870, Mr. and Mrs. McCallum came to California. After their arrival in
this state, Mr. McCallum followed mining at Smartsville, Yuba County, until
his death a few years later, which resulted from an attack of brain fever.
Mrs. McCallum, left with a family- of children, proved equal to the
emergency, and immediately set about to make a living for the family, and
rear and educate her children. She engaged in the hotel business at
Smartsville, in which she met with success. While thus engaged, she was
again married, to John Mee, a native of the North of Ireland, who followed
mining at Smartsville. In 1882, the family moved to Willows, then but a
small burg. Here she leased a large residence and ran it as a boarding house
for five years. It was about one year after locating here that Mr. Mee
passed away. At the end of five years, Mrs. Mee purchased a residence on
Shasta Street; but after residing there from August until the following
June, she again decided to engage in the hotel business and leased a hotel
building on Tehama Street, which she named the Palace Hotel. Here she
conducted a successful business, giving such good service that the hotel
became very popular.
In February, 1894, Mrs. Mee was united in marriage with Charles Newman. Mr.
Newman was born in Germany, and came to California when sixteen years of
age. He learned the merchant's business, and became owner of a store at
Eocklin, Cal. Later he sold out and came to Willows, where he was one of the
pioneer merchants, and where he served as postmaster for several years. Mr.
Newman built the Palace Hotel, the Newinan Building, and other buildings in
Willows. After selling out his store here,
he lived retired till his death, which occurred in December, 1913.
Fraternally, Mr. Newman was a Mason. Previously to Mr. New-man's death, the"
old Palace Hotel had been sold to Mrs. Newman's son, John 0. McCallum, who
enlarged the hotel, of which he is still proprietor.
By her first marriage, to Mr. McCallum, Mrs. Newman had eight children:
William J., deceased; Ellen, Mrs. Henning, of Willows; John Arthur, deceased
in infancy; Georgianna, deceased; Christene, Mrs. W. D. Davis, of San
Francisco; Duncan C, court stenographer at Oroville; John O., proprietor of
the Palace Hotel ; and George, who resides with his mother. By her marriage
to Mr. Mee, she had one child, Frances, the wife of F. W. Sydell, D. D. S.,
of Chico. Mrs. Newman devotes her time to looking after her varied
interests. She owns the Newman block, and other valuable business and
residence property in Willows, as well as her residence at 158
Twenty-seventh Street, in San Francisco. In 1915 she built the Tenney and
Schmidt Garage, on the corner of Tehama and Wood Streets, the finest and
largest garage in Willows. Mrs. Newman was reared in the Presbyterian
Church, and still adheres to that faith. In national politics, she is a
Republican.
GEORGE WASHINGTON SNOWDEN
One of the most extensive grain farmers in Glenn County, a man of such
established and recognized business ability, honesty
and integrity that his advice was widely sought and generally followed, and
whose spoken word was considered as good as his
bond, was George W. Snowden, a native of Scott County, 111., where he was
born near Naples, February 17, 1856. His father
was John P. Snowden, a Virginian, who emigrated to the Middle West in early
days, and became a successful farmer in Illinois. In 1867, he moved still
further west into Missouri, and there engaged in farming amid the fertile
acres in Henry County. Still later
he returned to Illinois and located in Macoupin County ; and there, in the
fall of 1902, he died. George's mother had been Miss Sarah A. Mills, a
native of Scott County ; and she became the mother of eleven children, seven
of whom were girls.
The second oldest of the four sons, George received a good education at the
district schools in his native county, and early began to farm with his
father in Henry County, Mo. In 1877, he came to California and located near
Durham, Butte County, where
he went to work on a farm. His vigorous constitution and his aptness in
taking hold of the work, easily secured for him other and more remunerative
employment near Gridley. In 1879, he worked for a time on the Glenn ranch,
and then went to Eureka, Nev., where he followed mining. When he returned to
California, he was appointed foreman of one of the Glenn ranches.
With modest but steadily accumulating means acquired during the seven years
in which he held this position, he began farming in 1889, and for eight
years rented the Logan ranch of four thousand acres, which he planted to
wheat and barley. In 1897, he bought the Killebrew ranch of nine hundred
sixty acres, located six and a half miles southwest of Willows, to which he
later added three hundred twenty acres adjoining; and there continued
farming, also renting a full section near by.
With a brother, James W., he now began to extend these operations, renting
five thousand acres of the Boggs ranch near Princeton, and later assumed
added responsibility by renting eight thousand acres of the Glenn ranch
northeast of Willows. Thus Snowden Bros., for the time being, became the
largest grain-growers in the valley, and were among the most successful. In
their farming operations they used about fifteen to eighteen eight-mule
teams for putting in the crops, and it took three combined
harvesters to gather and thresh the grain. Five or six big teams were kept
busy for months hauling the grain to the landing on the Sacramento Biver and
to Logandale on the Southern Pacific for shipment. Much of the success of
George W. Snowden was due,
no doubt, to his tireless energy and perseverance. No task seemed too large
for him to surmount it. The success of his operations may be ascribed, also,
to his use of modern and up-to-date methods, through which he applied every
talent that he possessed to the task of each day and the solution of each
new problem. Included in his home ranch he owned two sections of land which
he improved with a good residence and other buildings, setting out orchards,
and avenues of eucalyptus trees, which last were also set around the ranch
buildings. He was a lover of nature, and found especial pleasure in
beautifying his place ; and he stood for permanent improvement.
On September 19, 1889, in Sacramento, Mr. Snowden was married to Miss
Elizabeth M. Woolf, a native of Clinton, Henry County, Mo., and a daughter
of James and Margaret E. (Patrick) Woolf, natives respectively of Kentucky
and Missouri. The father
served in the Confederate army during the Civil War, afterwards engaging in
farming until his death at the age of fifty years. At
a later date the widow, with her children, removed to Glenn County, where
the daughter, Elizabeth, lived until her marriage to
Mr. Snowden. Two sons, Raymond and Herbert, were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Snowden. They were educated in the high school
in Willows and the Oakland Polytechnic. Raymond married Freda Lohse, and
Herbert was united in marriage with Norma Lohse. They became partners in
large farming operations on the home place, and on thirty-six hundred acres
of the old Logan ranch. Both are members of the Masonic fraternity,
belonging to Laurel Lodge, No. 245, F. & A. M., in Willows. The third child,
Lorene Margaret, who also attended the Glenn County High School, finished
her education in the San Jose Normal and the
University of California, making a specialty of music, after which she
taught music and art in the Willows school, resigning to become the wife of Carl M. Lohse, of San Francisco.
At Willows, on May 28, 1907, Mr. Snowden passed away, lamented by a very
large circle of friends. He was a member of Laurel Lodge, No. 245, F. & A.
M., of Willows; Colusa Chapter, No. 60, R. A. M. ; Colusa Commandery, No.
24, K. T. ; the Eastern Star Chapter ; and Chico Lodge, No. 423, B. P. 0.
Elks. He was a lifelong Republican, a prominent leader in his district, and
will
be missed from the councils of the party. After his death the partnership
with his brother James W. was dissolved. The members of his immediate family
own the estate and have since continued the farming operations he had begun.
Mrs. Snowden makes her home in Willows, enjoying the companionship of her
children and many friends, and places the fullest confidence in the ability
of her sons to manage the large affairs left by her husband. She is
prominent in club life in Willows, and in the Eastern Star, and in social
circles is one of the highly respected and honored leaders.
THE MANZANITA AND CHEREY MINES
Twenty-six miles west of Williams, on Sulphur Creek, are located the old
Mauzanita and Cherry Mines. Practically the entire gold output for Colusa
County has come from these two mines. The Manzanita was located early in
1865 and has been worked intermittently since that time, both for gold and
for quick-silver. This mine, according to the Geological Survey, has the
rare distinction of being the only quicksilver mine in the world with a
sufficient quantity of gold to work the ore for that metal.
These two mines, which were formerly one immense body of slate and sand
shale, have been separated by the cutting action of
Sulphur Creek. These slate beds, with their strata standing almost
perpendicular, rise several hundred feet above Sulphur Creek.
Both the gold and the quicksilver occur in the seams of the shale. The
mineralization is no doubt due to the hot springs of this
section, and is evidently very recent. In fact this process of depositing
mineral is now going on, and can be watched from week
to week. Prospect tunnels driven into this slate bed soon have their walls
coated over with mineral salts.
Both the Cherry and the Manzanita were worked for gold in the early days,
and produced something over $104,000 of which there is a record, and
probably considerably more of which there is no record. The ore from the
Cherry was first milled in an old Mexican arrastra which was driven by water
power from the waters of Sulphur Creek. According to local records, Mr.
Cherry, from whom the mine took its name, recovered in this crude way
something over thirty thousand dollars. Amalgamating the gold with
quicksilver was the only process for recovering the gold at that time; and
owing to an excess of free sulphur in the ore, making the water strongly
acid, both the gold and the quicksilver were coated over. This prevented
amalgamation, so that only a small percentage of the gold was recovered.
From time to time various other processes were tried ; but these met with no
better
success than Cherry's.
The Manzanita was later opened up and operated for a number of years by Mr.
J. R. Northey. He did considerable prospecting and developing of the ore
bodies, and also conducted some very thorough and expensive tests for the
recovery of the gold by
various processes, but was never rewarded with any great measure of success
in the recovery of. gold. He was successful with his quicksilver mining,
however, and produced something over two thousand flasks, or approximately
150,000 pounds, of the pure
metal.
In the fall of 1916, Chas. L. Austin, a young mining engineer, undertook to
solve the metallurgical problems of these mines. After careful sampling and
laboratory work, he set up a small mill on the Cherry mine for testing
purposes. After several months of careful study, he worked out a combination
process of cyanide and amalgamation which was highly successful in the
recovery of the gold. In the spring of the year following he organized a
stock company among the ranchers and stock-men of Glenn County. About the
first of June active operations on a large scale were begun with the
construction of a one- hundred-fifty-ton mill. Owing to excessive cost of
cyanide, due to the war, it was decided to try some new amalgamating
machinery and avoid cyanide until costs became normal again. This plant was
completed, but had run only ten hours when it was completely destroyed by
fire. Unfortunately it did not run long enough to try out the process. The
plant was promptly rebuilt, however, and was given a thorough test. While
the various mineral salts, which had formerly given so much trouble, were
disposed of, it was found that the gold was so finely divided that it was
carried off in suspension in the water and lost ; so the plan was given up,
and work was suspended until the price of cyanide should make its use
practicable.
Among those interested were Z. E. Simpson, John Scribner, Col. A. Hochheimer,
H. B. Turman, L. F. Turman, Ben Tiirman,
T. W. Harlan, and A. L. McLamore, all of Glenn County.
MATTHIAS OSSENBRIIGGEN
A successful rancher, and a man of affairs of the Sacramento Valley,
Matthias Ossenbriiggen was born near Hamburg, Germany, on July 8, 1864. He
is a son of Matthias and Annie (Rove) Ossenbriiggen, who were prosperous
farmers in his native country. Young Matthias was reared to farming in his
native place, where he helped with the work on the home farm; and there also
he received his education. He had an older brother, Peter, who had migrated
to California in 1870 and was engaged in ranching on Grand Island, Colusa
County. The letters he wrote back to the home land mentioned the
opportunities that here awaited young men of brawn and energy, and Matthias
was inspired to come to the Pacific Coast to cast in his lot with the
wonderful West so vividly described by his brother. In May, 1882, he arrived
in California ; and on the 28th of that month he was at Grand Island.
Necessity demanded that he at once get to work, and he therefore found
employment for a time on ranches in that section. Afterwards he was employed
in Sutter County for nine months, and then came back to Grand Island, where
for five years he was in the employ of W. F. Howell. After this he assisted
his brother Peter, working on his ranch for another year.
Mr. Ossenbriiggen had now resided in the state about seven years ; and in
the meantime he had saved enough of his earnings to enable him to go into
business for himself. Accordingly, in 1889, with Adolph Fendt, he leased
from Fred Monson his ranch of four hundred eighty acres, for five years, and
bought a ranching outfit, paying down twenty-two hundred fifty dollars, and
his partner fifteen hundred dollars, on the purchase price of sixty-five
hundred dollars. They gave their notes for the balance. The
partners put in their crop, and then went to work for others with their
teams. Mr. Ossenbriiggen remembers making eight hundred
dollars ; so that in spite of a flood that caused a total failure of their
crop, their work paid their expenses and the interest on deferred payments.
They stuck to their original plan, and were finally successful, in the third
year adding to their leasehold another tract of four hundred eighty acres, which they farmed for three years.
At the end of six years, they dissolved their partnership, dividing their equipment, stock and profits.
In the fall of 1895, Mr. Ossenbriiggen went to Glenn County, and south of
Butte City bought four hundred forty acres of land, going in debt for much
of it. With the same tenacity of purpose displayed in his earlier
operations, he kept at work with his teams when he was not working for
himself on his own place. He had a lot of timber on his place, and this he
hired cut, and sold it. All in all, he made a success of his work, and in
four years paid for his land and got out of debt. In 1905 he bought another
ranch of three hundred forty acres, north of Butte City, and this he rented
while he operated his own place. In 1908, wishing to obtain better school
advantages for his children, he rented both of his places and moved to
Chico, where he purchased a comfortable residence on Sixth and Laburnum
Streets, Chico Vecino, where he has since made his home.
Mr. Ossenbriiggen was married at Grand Island to Miss Amanda Fendt, who was
born in Holstein. Four children have blessed this union; George, who is
farming the home place; Annie J., who graduated from the Chico State Normal
and taught school until her marriage to L. F. Cecil, with whom she now lives
in Sutter County ; Dora M., who became Mrs. Crenshaw, and lives in Colusa;
and Harry H., who lives at home. In 1892 Mr. Ossenbriiggen became a citizen
of the United States; and ever since he has been a stanch adherent of the
policies of the Republican Party. He has served as a delegate to county
conventions, has done jury duty, and in every way has shown his appreciation
of the treatment accorded him in this country. He is a firm believer in the
principle of constitutional rights for every citizen. Mr. Ossenbriigg'en was
made a Mason in Emanuel Lodge, No. 318, F. & A. M., at Biggs. He was reared
in the Lutheran Church, and with his wife attends the church in Chico. By
hard work, good management, and perseverance he has accumulated enough to
enable him to live retired from hard work and enjoy life with his wife at
their home in Chico, where they have made many friends. When they moved from
their old home in Glenn County, they left many friends, who felt their
moving as a personal loss, but whom they still visit from time to time.
WILLIAM HARVEY OTTERSON
An enterprising, efficient and prosperous rancher, William Harvey Otterson
is also a public-spirited citizen who looks beyond the confines of his own
interests and is ready to do anything possible for the public good and the
advancement of the state. Mr. Otterson is a native of Santa Clara County,
born at Mayfield, November 22, 1867, a son of James and Alice (Short)
Otterson. James Otterson was born in Canada, but came originally from a
pioneer family of New York State, who crossed the Isthmus of
Panama on their way to California in 1852. Grandfather James Otterson
crossed the plains in 1849, from Canada where he was
engaged in the lumber business ; and after his arrival in California, he
settled in Santa Clara County and conducted a hotel at Mayfield. He died in
this state at the age of eighty-two j^ears. The mother of W. H. Otterson,
Alice Short, came with her father's
family to California in 1852, settling in Santa Clara County, where she was
married to Mr. Otterson. During the Civil War, Capt.
William Short, with James Otterson, father of our subject, organized a
company at Mayfield. They were not sent to the front, however, but saw
service in California until the close of the war. Captain Short was a
Mexican War veteran. When he found that the company were not going to the
front, he resigned and went East, where he secured a commission in the
regular army. He served valiantly until the close of the war, and then went
to Idaho, where he passed his last days at the home of Mr. Otterson. James
Otterson, Jr., was a blacksmith by trade. He is living in Riverside, retired
from all activities, and is enjoying his declining days.
William Harvey Otterson was but four years old when his parents moved to
Oregon and settled in the vicinity of Eugene. From there they went to the
Palouse country in Idaho. Mr. Otterson 's education was received in the
public schools of Oregon and Idaho. He led more or less of a roving life,
living in various places in Idaho for twenty years. Near what is now the
site of Gooding, in that state, he owned a ranch of one hundred sixty acres,
which he planted to alfalfa. He rode the range in that country, and from
there went to Arizona, where he engaged in freighting, and was exposed more
or less to the dangers of frontier life in the early days. When he arrived
in Kingman, with a wife and six children, he had but thirty-five dollars to
his name; but he soon found employment. He began freighting from the Needles
to the German-American camp, and in connection with this enterprise ran a
stage line to Gold Roads. The Salt Lake Railroad was then just beginning the
extension of its lines through that section of Nevada ; and with a partner,
J. P. Parker, now of Los Angeles, Mr. Otterson was engaged for about two and
one half years in
construction work for the railroad company, with a gang of from fifty to one
hundred men and seventy-five to one hundred twenty
head of stock. He next began freighting from Las Vegas to Bullfrog, and then
from Nipton to Searchlight, for about a year, after
which he located in Cima and freighted to the Standard mines, hauling copper
ore from there and other camps. We next find him
at Tacopa, on the edge of Death Valley, teaming to the railroad with silver
and lead ore. When the work opened up on the construction of the Roosevelt Dam in Arizona, he went to Colton and shipped his
outfit to Mesa, and began work on that most important piece of construction,
becoming a teamster for the government. One difficult contract undertaken by
Mr. Otterson, and which he successfully carried out, was the hauling of two
boilers, of fifty-two thousand pounds each, from Casa Grande to the Jack
Rabbit Mines. This he did with thirty-six head of stock, and wagons built
especially for the work. This was one of the largest contracts of its kind
executed. The next contract he undertook was hauling for concrete
construction on the El Paso and Southeastern Railroad. In all of his large
undertakings, Mr. Otterson seldom had an accident. He was careful to
avoid unnecessary exposure to danger for his men and stock, and carried out
his contracts to the best of his ability, gaining the commendation of those
by whom he was employed.
After his many years of experience in freighting and other hard work in the
mining country, Mr. Otterson decided he would settle clown to a quiet life
and enjoy the society of his family. He saw in the Sunset Magazine an
advertisement of the opening up of the lauds in Glenn County, and in 1911
came to look the ground over. When he found a satisfactory location, be made
a purchase of eighty acres; and in 1912 he brought his family to their new
place of abode. He planted every tree and shrub seen on the place, built
fences and outbuildings, and erected a comfortable home. He built a silo of
a hundred twenty tons capacity, one of the best in this section of the
county. A considerable acreage is now seeded to alfalfa. The ranch maintains
a fine dairy of about forty cows, three quarters Holstein, with a registered
Holstein bull at the head of the herd. Mr. Otterson raised some fine
Berkshire hogs, and had some rare turkeys on his place. In August, 1917, he
disposed of this property and moved to Mark West Springs, Sonoma County.
In 1888, William Harvey Otterson was united in marriage with Miss Edith L.
Vader, a native of Illinois, of Holland descent. She is a talented lady, and
for some years was a school-teacher in the state of her birth. Of this union
seven children have been born: Wilbert, residing in the Bayless district,
who is married and has two children; George, in Arizona; Olive; Drucilla,
who married Ralph Montz, of Fresno, and has one child; and Jack, Leland, and
Edith Lenore. Mr. Otterson is a Progressive Republican, and takes an active
interest in public affairs. He is a member of Damon Lodge, No. 19, K. of P.,
in Mesa, Ariz., and belongs to the social organization of that order, the D.
0. K. K.
PETER R. GARNETT
The abiding influence and optimism of Peter R. Garnett, and his wonderful
power of perception, stimulated by visions of the value and possibilities of
Sacramento Valley lands in the future, have never been more apparent than at
the present day. The keenness of mental vision which enabled him to foresee
the possibilities of production, and the wise provisions for the welfare and
moral uplift of the community which he advocated during his career in Colusa
and Glenn Counties, are seen the better in the light of present-day
development. His advocacy of improvements in irrigation, his loyal support
of temperance and Christianity, and his honest, straightforward business
methods, have born their natural fruit; and results have shown this man's
breadth of out-look, and vindicated his prophecy of expansion, placing him
in the forefront of the upbuilders of his generation in the community where
he lived so long and became so well and favorably known.
The late Peter E. Garnett belonged to an old and prominent Southern family,
being descended from 'Virginian forebears. He was born in Ealls County, Mo.,
February 14, 1841, and died in Glenn County, Cal., March 21, 1911. During
the seventy years of his life, he accomplished much good, and meanwhile
accumulated a competency which was left to his descendants, along with hislegacy of an untarnished name. His father, James Richard Garnett, was born
in Virginia, as was also the grandfather. James R. Garnett was a farmer and
miller by occupation. He removed to Meade County, Ky., where he founded a
town called Garnettsville in his honor ; and there he built a flour mill,
which he ran in connection with his farm. In 1820 he settled in Pike County,
Mo.
Here he engaged in farming, and also had a flour mill at Hannibal, until his
death. His wife, Elizabeth (Parker) Garnett, was also
a native of Virginia. Her demise occurred in Missouri in 1875, at the age of
seventy-three. Of the ten children born to this pioneer couple, J. St. Clair
and Mrs. Katie Garnett Davis were the only ones, besides Peter R., that
migrated to California.
Reared on the home farm until the age of seventeen, Peter E. Garnett
assisted diligently with the farm, work, meanwhile attending the
subscription schools, and then left home to seek better educational
advantages, in time matriculating at McGee College, College Mound, Mo. Here
he continued his studies until the breaking out of the Civil War, when, at
the age of twenty, he left college and enlisted for service in the Second
Missouri Regiment, under General Price's command. He performed his duty
faith- fully, and was several times wounded in battle. At Grenada, Miss., he
was promoted and commissioned lieutenant, in recognition of meritorious
services. After this his brigade was captured at Mobile Bay, at which time
Lieutenant Garnett and his command were sent to Jackson, Miss., where they
were paroled.
After the war, Mr. Garnett taught school near Vicksburg, meantime studying
law, as he intended to follow the legal profession. He was duly admitted to
the bar ; but the confinement necessary to the practice of his profession
proved injurious to his health, and he therefore decided to give up the law
and seek out-of-door work. His brother, J. St. Clair Garnett, had come to
California in 1853, and was located on a farm near Dixon, Solano County; so
he determined to come to the Golden West. Making the journey via Panama, he
joined his brother at Dixon, on June 15, 1868. His operations in ranching
continued in that vicinity until 1873, when he settled on a farm three miles
southeast of Willows. Here he enlarged his operations, and was very
successful in raising wheat, barley, and stock. Having confidence in the
producing quality of the soil, he purchased land from time to time, until he
became the possessor of thousands of acres, and was one of the largest
owners of land in the Sacramento Valley. Foreseeing the great future in
store for the rich lands of Glenn County through the building of canals to
the the Sacramento River, Mr. Garnett exerted his powerful influence in
behalf of the cause of irrigation, and never tired of emphasizing the
increase in land values, and the vast extension of the state's resources,
that must follow upon the wise conservation, and the liberal development and
distribution, of the waters from the Sacramento River and its tributaries.
He was a director in the Central Irrigation Company; and in recognition of
his services and sincerity in the cause of irrigation. Governor Pardee
appointed him a member of the International Irrigation Congress that met in^
Portland, Ore., in 1905.
Mr. Garnett was always a Democrat ; and while not a radical, he was always
progressive in his political views. Before county division, he was elected
and served three years as a member of the board of supervisors of Colusa
County, and proved a worthy representative of his district. After county
division, he was elected a member of the board of supervisors of Glenn
County, in 1894, and was reelected in 1898 ; andl he took an active and
conscientious part in so guiding the destinies of the new county that it is
found today in the front rank, in financial standing, among the counties of
the state. The cause of education found in him a stanch friend and
supporter. He served for many years as a school trustee, and was the prime
mover in the organization and erection of the Willows High School, serving
as a member and president of the board. Always favoring religious movements,
Mr. Garnett contributed to all denominations in his locality, and aided in
erecting their church buildings. For years he was a member and the
superintendent of the Sunday school of the Baptist Church. Fraternally, he
was a Mason, being a member of Laurel Lodge No. 245, F." & A. M., at
Willows.
At Dixon, on October 21, 1873, Peter R. Garnett was united in marriage with
Ruth A. McCune, a daughter of the Honorable Henry E. McCune, ex-state
senator and prominent landowner and financier of Dixon. Mrs. Garnett is a
native daughter of Dixon;
she is represented more fully in a separate sketch on another page of this
work. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Garnett had three children.
Inez, a graduate of California College, at Oakland, is the wife of C. E.
Freed; they are extensive farmers, and are also in charge
of the home ranch at Willows. Reba, who died in Oakland at the home of Mrs.
Garnett, December 19, 1916, was the wife of Robert Black. She left one son,
Garnett Black, who makes his home with Mrs. Garnett in Oakland. Hugh M.
Garnett, the only son, is a prominent stockman at Willows, of whom further
mention is made elsewhere in this work.
Every movement for reform found in Peter E. Garnett a stanch assistant and
supporter, and especially the temperance cause, in which he took an active
interest, working conscientiously to bring about the "Dry Campaign" in the
county. He was a fluent writer, and contributed liberally to the press,
particularly the Willows Journal and the Colusa Sun. An advanced thinker and
student of history, he was well posted in the annals of our country. Prior
to his death he was compiling a book on the "Causes of the Civil "War." This
work, however, was never finished.
EDITH A. McCUNE GARNETT
To the pioneer women of California, no less than to the pioneer men, are due
the honor and respect of the generations that have followed ; for without
their loving sympathy, and support, without their faithful devotion and
toil, there had been no civilization carved in the wilderness and no homes
built in lonely places where wild beasts prowled by day and night. They have
borne their full share in the making of a great commonwealth; and their
names are held in loving remembrance in the hearts of the children of the
Golden West, and will continue so to be through all generations to come.
A prominent place among the women who have left their impress on the
development of Glenn County must be accorded to Mrs. Edith A. McCune
Garnett, wife of the late Peter E. Garnett, one of the foremost men of the
Sacramento Valley, and one whose
services to the county were of exceptional importance. In all the activities
of his active career, Mr. Garnett was ably assisted by his able wife.
Although her name did not appear on the public roster, she aided her
husband, as only a faithful wife can, in the performance of his public
duties.
Before her marriage, Mrs. Garnett was Miss Ruth A.
Mc-Cune, a daughter of Hon. Henry E. McCune. Mr. McCune was
born in Pike County, Mo., June 10, 1825, and received a good education in
his native state. He was a veteran of the Mexican War, having served
eighteen months with the mounted volunteers ; and at the close of his
service he was honorably discharged. Gifted by nature with a spirit of
adventure, he had a desire to see the Pacific Coast; so in 1854, with E. K.
Biggs, he drove one hundred head of cattle across the plains to Solano
County, Cal. On his arrival, he seemed to visualize the great future of the
Sacramento Valley. He preempted one hundred sixty acres of land, and thus
began his career as a pioneer of the Far West — a step which resulted in
his becoming one of the largest farmers and stockmen of his day in Solano
County. As he prospered, he invested further in lands, until he owned
extensive areas in the Sacramento Valley. He was very successful in raising
grain and stock, from which pursuit the greater part of his large fortune
was made.
Henry E. McCune became prominent in politics. His political career began in
1873, when he became a candidate for senator from Solano and Yolo Counties.
Although a Democrat, he was elected on the People's ticket. He served two
terms, taking an active part in the various deliberations of the legislative
body of his state. He was greatly interested in the cause of education. For
twenty years he was president of the board of education, and for thirty
years he served as a trustee of California College ; and for a time he was
president of Dixon College. An active member of the Baptist Church, he was
instrumental in the building of the church of that denomination at
Silveyville. Fraternally, he was a Mason.
Senator McCune was married to Miss Barbara S. Rice, a native of Kentucky,
who proved an amiable and lovable helpmate. Of this union eight children
were born, of whom six grew to maturity, as follows: Mollie, Mrs. James Hill,
who died in Dixon; Ruth A., of whom we write; Rebecea, Mrs. Henry Silver,
who resides in Oakland; Joseph H., deceased; Jessie St. Clair, Mrs. Rice
of Oakland ; and Sarah, deceased, who was the wife of the late Dr. Gardner,
chief surgeon of the Southern Pacific Railroad in San Francisco.
Ruth A. McCune Garnett is a native daughter, born at Dixon, where she
received her early education amid the refining influences of a cultured
home. Her parents were people of education and refinement ; and the
environment surrounding her early years is today reflected in her charming
personality. Her education was completed at Mrs. Perry's Seminary, in
Sacramento, where she
was a classmate of Dr. Theodora T. Purkitt of Willows, as well as of others
who have become prominent socially and as women of affairs, among them Mrs.
Gus Hart of San Francisco and Mrs. Ella Flournoy Hershey of Woodland. After
her education was completed, Miss McCune was married to Peter B. Garnett,
the ceremony taking place at her father's home on October 21, 1873.
Mr. Garnett was a prominent farmer and stockman, and one of the builders of
Colusa and Glenn Counties. His biography is presented on another page of this volume. Mrs. Garnett presided over her
household with grace and tact, and was ever watchful of
her husband's interests, meanwhile showering upon him her words of
encouragement and affection, and bringing to bear, in many unobtrusive ways,
an inspiring home influence that had much to do with his success and
popularity. Since Mr. Garnett 's death, Mrs. Garnett has been looking after
the large interests left her by her husband, as well as her heritage from
her father. Senator McCune. In this task she is assisted by her loving and
devoted daughter, Mrs. Inez Garnett Freed, a splendid woman, of charming
personality, and by her son, Hugh M. Garnett, a prominent business man and
stockman. Through their assistance the mother is relieved from all
unnecessary care and worry. The home place is a very valuable ranch, located
two miles southeast of Willows. This property is devoted to the raising of
grain and stock. Mrs. Garnett built a beautiful and comfortable residence at
5515 McMillan Street, in one of the most attractive residential sections of
Oakland ; and here she resides with her grandson, Garnett Black.
Having traveled considerably in different states besides those of the
Pacific Coast section, Mrs. Garnett had always cherished a
desire to visit Europe. In the spring of 1911 she realized her ambition,
when, accompanied by her daughter, Mrs. Inez Garnett
Freed, and her grandson, Garnett Black, she made a tour of Germany, Austria,
Italy, Switzerland, France, and the British Isles,
visiting the places of interest in the various countries. They returned to
Boston on the Laconia, after which they visited the more
important cities of the East, among them New York, Washington (and Mt.
Vernon), Philadelphia, and Buffalo (with a trip to Niagara Falls). They made
a tour of the Southern states also, via New Orleans and through Texas, to
their home in the land of
sunshine and flowers.
Mrs. Garnett is a woman of culture and refinement, gifted with an amiable
disposition and a winsome personality, and endowed with much native business
ability. Her late husband gave her no small degree of credit for laying the
foundation of their fortune. She is a very charitable woman, always .ready
to aid those who have been less fortunate than herself ; but all her deeds
of kindness, and all her acts of benevolence, are accomplished in a
quiet and unostentatious manner.
History Of Colusa and
Glenn Counties, California
History by: Charles Davis McCormish and Mrs. Rebecca T. Lambert
Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California, 1918
Transcribed by: Martha A Crosley Graham, Pages: 255-322
Files may be copied for personal genealogical &
historical use.
Please Credit: Glenn
County portion of the CAGenWeb
Page Updated: 27 November 2021