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HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 STATE OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 AND 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD '^^^C 
 
 OF 
 
 The Sierras. 
 
 An Historical Story of the State's Marvelous Growth from Its Earliest Settlement 
 
 to the Present Time 
 
 BY 
 
 PROF. J. M. GUINN, A. M., 
 
 It 
 
 Author of A History of Los Angeles and Vicinity, History of Southern California, Secretary and Curator 
 
 of the Historical Society of Southern California, Member of the American 
 
 Historical Association, Washington, D. C. 
 
 ALSO 
 
 Containing Biographies of Well-Known Citizens of the Past and Present. 
 
 THE CHAPMAN PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 CHICAGO 
 1906 
 
Fit. 
 
 COPYKIGHT, lg02 
 BV 
 
 CHAPMAN PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 BY TRAMSFia^ 
 
 DEC 1 8 1909 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 HISTORICAL. 
 
 THERE are very few states in the Union that have a more varied and a more interesting 
 history than CaHfornia ; and there are few if any whose history is so vaguely and so 
 indefinitely known. This is largely due to the fact that its colonization was effected by 
 one race and its evolution as a state by another. 
 
 In the rapid development of the state by the conquering race, the trials and struggles of 
 the first colonists have been forgotten. No forefathers' day keeps their memory green, and no 
 observance celebrates the anniversary of their landing. To many of its people, the history of 
 California begins with the discovery of gold, and all behind that is regarded of little impor- 
 tance. Tile race characteristics of the two peoples who have dominated California differ 
 widely; and from this divergence arises the lack of sympathetic unison. Perhaps no better 
 expression for this difference can be given than is found in popular bywords of each. The 
 "poco tiempo" (by and by) of the Spaniard is significant of a people who are willing to wait 
 — who would rather defer till vianana — to-morrow — than hurry to-day. The "go ahead" of 
 the American is indicative of haste, of rush, of a strenuous struggle to overcome obstacles, 
 whatever they may be, in the present. 
 
 In narrating the story of California, I have endeavored to deal justly with the different 
 eras and episodes of its history; to state facts; to tell the truth without favoritism or preju- 
 dice ; to give credit where credit is due and blame where it is deserved. In the preparation of 
 this history I have tried to make it readable. I have avoided dull details and have omitted cum- 
 brous statistics. 
 
 The subject has been presented by topic, observing so far as possible the chronological 
 order of the events. In collecting material for this work, I have visited all the large libraries 
 of the state, have consulted state and county archives, and have scanned thousands of pages of 
 newspapers and magazines. Where extracts have been made, due credit has been given in the 
 body of the work. I have received valuable assi stance from librarians, from pioneers of the state, 
 from editors and others. To all who have assist ed me, I return my sincere thanks. 
 
 J. M. GUINN. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 WHEN we study the progress made in northeastern California, especially during the past 
 two decades of the nineteenth century and the opening years of the twentieth century, 
 we are led to the conclusion that the present gratifying condition is due to the enterprise 
 of public-spirited citizens. They have not only developed commercial possibilities and horti- 
 cultural resources, but they have also maintained a commendable interest in public affairs, and 
 have given to their commonwealth some of its ablest statesmen. The prosperity of the past has 
 been gratifying; and, with the building of the canal to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific, 
 with the increasing of railroad facilities, with the further development of local resources, there 
 is everv reason to believe that the twentieth century will witness the most marvelous growth this 
 region has ever made. 
 
 In the compilation of this work and the securing of necessary data, a number of writers 
 have been engaged for months. They have visited leading citizens and used every endeavor to 
 produce a work accurate and trustworthy in ever)' detail. Owing to the great care exercised, 
 and to the fact that every opportunity was given to those represented to secure accuracy in 
 their biographies, the publishers believe they are giving to their readers a volume containing few 
 errors of consequence. The biographies of a number of representative citizens will be missed 
 from the work. In some instances tliis was caused by their absence from home when our writers 
 called, and in some instances was caused by a failure on the part of the men themselves to 
 imderstand the scope of the work. The publishers, however, have done all within their power 
 to make this work a representative one. 
 
 The value of the data herein presented will grow with the passing years. Posterity will 
 preserve the volume with care, from the fact that it perpetuates biographical history that other- 
 wise would be wholly lost. In those now far-distant days will be realized, to a greater extent 
 than at the present time, the truth of Macaulav's statement, "The history of a country is best told 
 in the lives of its people." ' CHAPMAN PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 
 October, 1906. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Spanish Explorations and Discoveries 33 
 
 Romance and Reality — The Seven Cities of Cibola — The Myth of Quivera— El Dorado — 
 Sandoval's Isle of the Amazons — Mutineers Discover the Peninsula of Lower California 
 — Origin of the Name California — Cortes's Attempts at Colonization — Discovery of the 
 Rio Colorado — Coronado's Explorations — Ulloa's Voyage. 
 
 to* (5* «»• 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 Alta or Nueva California 37 
 
 Voyage of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo — Enters the Bay of San Diego in Alta California — 
 Discovers the Islands of San Salvador and Vitoria — The Bay of Smokes and Fires — The 
 Santa Barbara Islands — Reaches Cape Mendocino — His Death and Burial on the Island of 
 San Miguel — Ferrolo Continues the Voyage — Drake, the Sea King of Devon — His Hatred 
 of the Spaniard — Sails into the South Sea — Plunders the Spanish Settlements of the South 
 Pacific — Vain Search for the Straits of Anian — Refits His Ships in a California Harbor — 
 Takes Possession of the Country for the English Queen — Sails Across the Pacific Ocean 
 to Escape the Vengeance of the Spaniards — Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeno Attempts a 
 Survey of the California Coast — Loss of the San .^gustin — Sufferings of the Shipwrecked 
 Mariners — Sebastian Viscaino's Explorations — Makes No New Discoveries — Changes the 
 Names Given by Cabrillo to the Bays and Islands — Some Boom Literature — Failure of 
 His Colonization Schefne — His Death. 
 
 (5* !.?• to* 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 Colonization of Alta California 43 
 
 Jesuit Missions of Lower California — Father Kino or Kuhn's Explorations — Expulsion of 
 the Jesuits — Spain's Decadence — Her Northwestern Possessions Threatened by the Rus- 
 sians and English — The Franciscans to Christianize and Colonize .-Mta California — Galvez 
 Fits Out Two Expeditions — Their Safe Arrival at San Diego — First Mission Founded — 
 Portola's Explorations — Fails to Find Monterey Bay — Discovers the Bay of San Fran- 
 cisco — Return of the Explorers — Portola's Second Expedition — Founding of San Carlos 
 Mission and the Presidio of Monterey. 
 
 (5* i?* tS* 
 
 CHAPTER IV, 
 Aborigines of California 49 
 
 Inferiority of the California Indian — No Great Tribes — Indians of the San Gabriel Valley — 
 Hugo Reid's Description of Their Government — Religion and Customs — Indians of the 
 Santa Barbara Channel — Their God Chupu — Northern Indians — Indian Myths and Tra- 
 ditions. 
 
 10 
 
20 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Franciscan Missions of Alta California 56 
 
 Founding of San Diego de Alc?.Ia — San Caries Barromeo — San Antonio de Padua— San 
 Gabriel Arcangel — San Luis Obispo — San Francisco de Asis — San Juan Capistrano — Santa 
 Clara — San Buenaventura— Santa Barbara— La Purisima Concepcion— Santa Cruz— La 
 Soledad — San Jose — San Juan Bautista — San Miguel — San Fernando del Rey, San Luis 
 Rey, Santa Ynez — San Rafael^San Francisco Solano — Architecture — General Plan of the 
 ■ • ■ Missionary Establishinents — Houses of the Neophytes— Their Uncleanliness. 
 
 ^^ o^* ^^ 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Prf.sidios of California 66 
 
 Presidio in Colonization — Founding of San Diego — General Plan of the Presidio — Found- 
 ing of Monterey — Rejoicing over the Event — Hard Times at the Presidio — Bear Meat Diet 
 — Two Hundred Immigrants for the Presidio — Founding of the Presidio of San Francisco 
 — .Anza's Overland Route from Sonora — Quarrel with Rivera — Anza's Return to Sonora — 
 Founding of Santa Barbara — Disappointment of Father Serra — Quarrel of the Captain with 
 the Missionaries over Indian Laborers — Soldiers' Dreary Life at the Presidios. 
 
 t^f r^^ t^* 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 Pueblos 73 
 
 Pueblo Plan of Colonization— Necessity for ,A.gricultural Colonies — Governor Filipe de 
 Neve Selects Pueblo Sites — San Jose Founded — Named for the Patron Saint of California 
 • — Area of the Spanish Pueblo — Government Supplies to Colonists — Founding of the 
 Pueblo of Los Angeles — Names of the Founders — Probable Origin of the Name — Sub- 
 divisions of Pueblo Lands — Lands .Assigned to Colonists — Founding of Branciforte, the 
 last Spanish Pueblo. 
 
 c5* c^ ^5* 
 
 CHAPTER VHL 
 The Pa.ssixc, of Spain's DoMiN.vrioN 78 
 
 Spain's Exclusiveness — The First Foreign Ship in Monterey Bay — Vancouver's Visit — 
 Government Monopoly of the Fur Trade — .\nierican Smugglers — The Memorias — Russian 
 .Aggression^Famine at Sitka — Rezanoff's Visit — A Love Affair and Its Tragic Ending — 
 l^'ort Ross — Failure of the Russian Colony Scheme — The War of Mexican Independence — 
 Sola the Royalist Governor — California Loyalists — The Year of Earthquakes — Bouchard 
 the Privateer Burns Monterey — The Lima Tallow Ships — Hard Times — No Money and 
 Little Credit — The Friars Supreme. 
 
 Ji ..* Jt 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 From EiiriRE to Republic 82 
 
 Sola Calls for Troops — Cholas Sent Him — Success cf the Revolutionists — Plan of Iguala — 
 The Three Guarantee's — The Empires-Downfall of .Agustin L— Rise of the Republic — 
 Bitter Disappointments of Governor Sola and the Friars — Disloyalty of the Mission 
 l riar.s — Refuse to Take the Oath of .Mlcgiance — .^rguella. Governor — .Advent of Foreign- 
 ers — Coming of the Hide Droghers- — Indian Outbreak. 
 
CONTEXTS. 21 
 
 CHArTKR X. 
 
 P.«GE 
 
 First TyECADic ok Mexican Rule 87 
 
 Echeandia Governor— Make San Diego His Capital— Padres of the Four Southern Mis- 
 sions Take the Oalh ol Allegiance to the Republic — Friars of the Northern Missions 
 Contumacious — Arrest of Padre Sarria — Expulsion of the Spaniards — Clandestine De- 
 parture of Padres Ripoll and Altiniira — Exile of Padre Martinez — The Diputacion — 
 Queer Legislation— The Mexican Congress Attempts to Make California a Penal Colony — 
 Liberal Colonization Laws — Captain Jedediah S. Smith, the Pioneer of Overland Travel, 
 Arrives— Is Arrested— First White Man to Cross the Sierra Nevadas— Coming of the 
 Fur Trappers — The Pattie Party — Imprisoned by Echeandia— Death of the Elder Pattie— 
 John Ohio Pattie's Bluster— Peg Leg Smith — Ewing Young — The Solis Revolution — A 
 Bloodless Battle — Echcandia's Mission Secularization Decree — He Is Hated by the Friars 
 — Dios y Libertad — The Fitch Romance. 
 
 ^* «,?• i5* 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Revolutions — The Hij ar Colonists g^ 
 
 Victoria, Governor — His Unpopularity^Defeated by the Southern Revolutionists — .Abdi- 
 cates and is Shipped out of the Country — Pio Pico. Governor — Echeandia, Governor of 
 Abajenos (Lowers) — Zamarano of the Arribanos (Uppers) — Dual Governors and a No 
 Man's Land — War Clouds — Los Angeles the Political Storm Center — Figueroa Appointed 
 Gefe Politico — The Dual Governors Surrender — Figueroa the Right Man in the Place — 
 Hijar's Colonization Scheme — Padres, the Promoter — Hijar to be Gefe Politico — A Fa- 
 mous Ride — A Cobbler Heads a Revolution— Hijar and Padres Arrested and Deported — 
 Disastrous End of the Compania Cosmopolitana — Death of Figueroa. 
 
 fc?* tJ* (5* 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Decline and Fall of the Missions qfi 
 
 Sentirnent vs. History — The Friars' Right to the Mission Lands Only That of Occupa- 
 tion — Governor Borica's Opinion of the Mission System — Title to the Mission Domams — 
 Viceroy Bucarili's Instructions — Secularization — Decree of the Spanish Cortes in 1813 — 
 Mission Land Monopoly — No Land for Settlers — Secularization Plans. Decrees and Regla- 
 mentos — No Attempt to Educate the Neophytes — Destruction of Mission Property, 
 Ruthless Slaughter of Cattle — Emancipation in Theory and in Practice- — Depravity ot the 
 Neophytes — What Did Six Decades of Mission Rule Accomplish? — What Became of the 
 Mission Estates — The Passing of the Neophytes. 
 
 ^% t<?* ^^ 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Free and Sovereign St.\te of Alta California 10: 
 
 Castro, Gefe Politico — Nicolas Gutierrez. Comandante and Political Chief — Chico, "Gober- 
 nador Propritario" — Makes Himself Unpopular — His Hatred of Foreigners — .Makes 
 Trouble Wherever He Goes — Shipped Back to Mexico — Gutierrez .Again Political Chief — 
 Centralism His Nemesis — Revolt of Castro and Alvarado — Gutierrez Besieged — Surrenders 
 and Leaves the Country — Declaration of California's Independence — El Estado Libre y 
 Soberano de La .Alta California — Alvarado Declared Governor— The Ship of State 
 
22 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Launched— Encounters a Storm— The South Opposes California's Independence— Los An- 
 geles Made a City and the Capital of the Territory by the Mexican Congress— The Capital 
 ''hjestion the Cause of Opposition — War Between the North and South — Battle of San 
 Buenaventura— Los Angeles Captured— Peace in the Free State— Carlos Carrillo, Gov- 
 ernor of the South— War Again— Defeat of Carrillo at Las Flores— Peace— Alvarado 
 Appointed Governor by the Supreme Government — Release of Alvarado's Prisoners of 
 State— Exit the Free State. 
 
 »5* to* w* 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Decline and Fall of Mexican Domination lo8 
 
 Hijos del Pais in Power — The Capital Question — The Foreigners Becoming a Menace — 
 Graham AfYair — Micheltorena Appointed Governor — His Cholo Army — Commodore Jones 
 Captures Monterey — The Governor and the Commodore Meet at Los Angeles — Extrava- 
 gant Demands of Micheltorena — Revolt Against Micheltorena and His Army of Chicken 
 Thieves — Sutter and Graham Join Forces with Micheltorena — The Picos Unite with 
 Alvarado i-nd Castro — Battle of Cahuenga — Micheltorena and His Cholos Deported — Pico, 
 Governor — Castro Rebellious — The Old Feud Between the North and the South — Los 
 Angeles the Capital — Plots and Counter-Plots — Pico Made Governor by President Herrera 
 — Immigration from the United States. 
 
 ^% %^n 9^^ 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Municipal Government — Homes and Home Life of the Californians 114 
 
 The "Muy Ilustre Ayuntamiento," or Municipal Council — Its Unlimited Power. Queer Cus- 
 toms and Quaint Usages — Blue Laws — How Office Sought the Man and Caught Him — 
 Architecture of the Mission Age Not Aesthetic — Dress of the Better Class — Undress of 
 the Neophyte and the Peon — Fashions That Changed but Once in Fifty Years — Filial 
 Respect — Honor Thy Father and Mother — Economy in Government — When Men's Pleas- 
 ures and Vices Paid the Cost of Governing — No Fire Department — No Paid Police — No 
 Taxes. 
 
 t5* *^ to* 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Territorial Expansion by Conquest 1 19 
 
 The Mexican War — More Slave Territory Needed — Hostilities Begun in Texas — Trouble 
 Brewing in California — Fremont at Monterey — Fremont and Castro Quarrel — Fremont 
 and His Men Depart — Arrival of Lieutenant Gillespie — Follows Fremont — Fremont's Re- 
 turn — The Bear Flag Revolt — Seizure of Sonoma — A Short-Lived Republic — Commodore 
 Sloat Seizes California — Castro's Army Retreats Southward — Meets Pico's Advancing 
 Northward — Retreat to Los Angeles — Stockton and Fremont Invade the South — Pico and 
 Castro Vainly Attempt to Arouse the People — Pico's Humane Proclamation — Flight of 
 Pico and Castro — Stockton Captures Los .\ngeles — Issues a Proclamation — Some His- 
 torical Myths; — The First Newspaper Published in California. 
 
CONTENTS. 23 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 PACE 
 REVOLT OF THE CaLIFORNIANS I25 
 
 Stockton Returns to His Ship and Fremont Leaves for the North — Captain Gillespie, 
 Comandante, in the South — Attempts Reforms — Californians Rebei — The Americans Be- 
 sieged on Fort Hill — Juan Flaca's Famous Ride — Battle of Chino — Wilson's Company 
 Prisoners — Americans Agree to Evacute Los Angeles — Retreat to San Pedro — Cannon 
 Thrown into the Bay — Flores in Command of the Californians. 
 
 t^v I^V ^v 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Dffeat axd Retreat of Mervine's Men 129 
 
 Mervine, in Command of the Savannah, Arrives at San Pedro — Landing of the Troops— 
 Mervine and Gillespie Unite Their Forces — On to Los Angeles — DuvalTs Log Book — An 
 Authentic Account of the March, Battle and Retreat — Names of the Killed and Wounded — 
 Burial of the Dead on Dead Man's Island — Names of the Commanding Ofificers — Flores 
 the Last Gefe Politico and Comandante-General — Jealousy of the Hijos del Pais — Hard 
 Times in the Old Pueblo. 
 
 «■ (3* *$■ 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 FiXAU CONOL'EST OF CALIFORNIA j^^ 
 
 Affairs in the North — Fremont's Battalion — Battle of Natividad — Bloodless Battle of Santa 
 Clara — End of the War in the North — Stockton at San Pedro — Carrillo's Strategy — A Re- 
 markable Battle — Stockton Arrives at San Diego — Building of a Fort — Raid on the 
 Ranchos — The Flag Episode — General Kearny Arrives at Warner's Pass — Battle of San 
 Pasqual — Defeat of Kearny — Heavy Loss — Relief Sent Him from San Diego — Preparing 
 for the Capture of Los Angeles — The March — Battle of Paso de Bartolo — Battle of La 
 Mesa— Small Losses — American Names of These Battles Misnomers. 
 
 »5* K^ «5* 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Capture and Occupation of the Capital 141 
 
 Surrender of Los Angeles — March of the Victors — The Last Volley — A Chilly Recep- 
 tion — A Famous Scold — On the Plaza — Stockton's Headquarters — Emory's Fort — Fre- 
 mont's Battalion at San Fernando — The Flight of Flores — Negotiations with General Pico — 
 Treaty of Cahuenga — Its Importance — Fremont's Battalion Enters the City — Fremont. 
 Governor — Quarrel Between Kearny and Stockton — Ktarny Departs for San Diego and 
 Stockton's Men for San Pedro. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Transition and Transformation 144 
 
 Colonel Fremont in Command at Los Angeles — The Mormon Battalion — Its Arrival at 
 San Luis Rey, Sent to Los Angeles — General Kearny Governor at Monterey — Rival 
 Governors — Col. R. B. Mason, Inspector of the Troops in California — He Quarrels with 
 Fremont — Fremont Challenges Him — Colonel Cooke Made Commander of the Military 
 
24 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGS 
 
 District of the South — Fremont's Battah'on Mustered Out — Fremont Ordered to Report 
 to Kearny— Returns to the States with Kearny — Placed Under Arrest — Court-Martialed 
 ^Fouiid Guiky — Pardoned by the President — Rumors of a Mexican invasion — Building 
 of a Fort — Col. J. B. Stevenson Commands in the Southern District — A Fourth of July 
 Celebration — The Fort Dedicated and Named Fort Moore— The New York Volunteers- 
 Company F. Third U. S. Artillery, Arrives— The Mormon Battalion Mustered Out- 
 Commodore Shubrick and General Kearny Jointly Issue a Proclamation to the People- 
 Col. R. B. Mason, Military Governor of California — A Policy of Conciliation— Varela, 
 Agitator and Revolutionist, Makes Trouble — Overland Immigration Under Mexican Rule — 
 The First Train— Dr. Marsh's Meanness — The Fate of the Donner Party. 
 
 J* <5* t^* 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 Mexican L.^wvs and American Officials : 150 
 
 Richard A. Mason, Commander of the Military Forces and Civil Governor of California- 
 Civil and Military Laws^— The First Trial by Jury — Americanizing the People — Perverse 
 Electors and Contumacious Councilmen — Absolute Alcaldes — Nash at Sonoma and Bill 
 Blackburn at Santa Cruz — Queer Decisions — El Cation Pcrdidc of Santa Barbara — Ex- 
 Governor Pio Pico Returns — Treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo — Peace Proclaimed — The 
 News Reaches California — Country Acquired by the Treaty — The Volunteers Mustered 
 
 Out. 
 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Gold! Gold! Gold! I55 
 
 Traditions of Early Gold Discoveries in California — The First Authenticated Discovery — 
 Marshall's Discovery at Colomas — Disputed Dates and Conflicting Stories About the 
 Discovery — Sutter's Account — James VV. Marshall — His Story — The News Travels Slowly — 
 First Newspaper Report — The Rush Begins — San Francisco Deserted — The Star and the 
 Californian Suspend Publication — The News Spreads— Sonorian Migration — Oregonians 
 Come — The News Reaches the States — A Tea Caddy Full of Gold at the War Office, 
 Washington — Seeing Is Believing — Gold Hunters Come by Land and Sea — The Pacific 
 Mail Steamship Company — Magical Growth of San Francisco — The Dry Diggings — Some 
 Remarkable Yields — Forty Dollars for a Butcher Knife — Extent of the Gold Fields. 
 
 <5* t3* «5* 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 Making a St.\te 162 
 
 Bennett Riley, Governor — Unsatisfactory Form of Government — Semi-Civil and Semi-Mil- 
 itary — Congress Does Nothing — The Slave-Holding Faction Prevents Action — Growing 
 Dissatisfaction — Call for Convention — Constitution Making — The Great Seal- Election of 
 State Officers-^Peter H. Burnett, Governor — Inauguration of a State Government — The 
 "■ First Legislature — A Self-Constituted State — The Pro-Slavery Faction in Congress — Op- 
 
 pose the Admission of California — Defeat of the Obstructionists — California Admitted into 
 the Union — Great Rejoicing — A Magnificent Procession — California Full Grown at Birth — 
 The Capital Question — San Jose Loses the Capital — Vallejo Wins — Goes to Sacramento — 
 Comes to Benicia — Capital Question in the Courts — Sacramento Wins — Capitol Building 
 Begun in i860 — Completed in 1869. 
 
CONTEXTS. 25 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Argonauts. i6q 
 
 Wlio First Called Them .Argonaiils — How Tliey Came and From Where They Came— 
 Extent of the Gold Fields— Mining Appliances— Bateas, Gold Pans. Rockers, Long Toms, 
 Sluices— Useless Machines and Worthless Inventions — Some Famous Gold Rushes— Gold 
 Lake — Gold Bluffs — Kern River— F'razer River — Washoe — Ho for Idaho! — Social Level- 
 ing — Capacity for Physical Labor the Standard— Independency and Honesty of the Argo- 
 nauts. 
 
 t^» *2^ ^5* 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 S.\N Franci.'^co 175 
 
 The First House — A Famous Fourth of July Celebration — The Enterprise of Jacob P. Leese 
 — General Kearny's Decree for the Sale of Water Lots — .Alcalde Bartlett Changes the 
 Name of the Town from Verba Buena to San Francisco — Hostility of the Star to the 
 Change — Great Sale of Lots in the City of Francisca, now Benicia — Its Boom Bursts — 
 Population of San Francisco Septeinber 4, 1847 — Vocations of Its Inhabitants — Population 
 March. 1848 — Vioget's Survey— O'Earrell's Survey — Wharves— The First School House— 
 The Gold Discovery Depopulates the City — Reaction — Rapid Growth — Description of the 
 City in April, 1850 — Great Increase in Population — How the People Lived and Labored — 
 Enormous Rents— High Priced Real Estate— .Vwful Streets — Flour Sacks. Cooking Stove 
 and Tobacco Box Sidewalk — Ships for Houses — The Six Great Fires — The Boom of 1853 — 
 The Burst of 1855 — Harry Meigs— Steady Growth of the City. 
 
 Vr^ t^* W^ 
 
 CHAPTER XXVH. 
 Crime, Criminals and Vigilance Committees 182 
 
 But Little Crime in California Under Spanish and Mexican Rule — The First Vigilance 
 Committee of California — The United Defenders of Public Safety — Execution of Alispaz 
 and Maria del Rosario Villa — .Advent of the Criminal Element — Criminal Element in the 
 Ascendency — Incendiarism, Theft and Murder — The San Francisco Vigilance Committee 
 of 1851 — Hanging of Jenkins — .\ Case of Mistaken Identity — Burdue for Stuart — .Arrest, 
 Trial and Hanging of Stuart — Hanging of Whittaker and McKenzie — The Committee 
 .Adjourns but Does Not Disband — Its Work .'\pproved — Corrupt Officials — James King 
 bf William Attacks Political Corruption in the Bulletin — Richardson killed by Cora — 
 Scathing Editorials — Murders and Thefts — Attempts to Silence King — King Exposes 
 James P. Casey's State's Prison Record — Cowardly Assassination of King by Casey — 
 Organization of the Vigilance Committee of 1856 — Fatal Mistake of the Herald — Casey 
 and Cora in the Hands of the Cominittec — Death of King — Hanging of Casey and Cora — 
 Other Executions — Law and Order Party — Terry and His Chivalrous Friends — They Are 
 Glad to Subside — Black List and Deportations — The .Augean Stable Cleaned — The Com- 
 mittee's Grand Parade — Vigilance Committees in Los Angeles — Joaquin Murrieta and His 
 Banditti — Tiburcio Vasquez and His Gang. 
 
 V'' *^r^ t^r^ 
 
 CHAPTER XXVni. 
 
 FlLIKlSTERS A.ND FILIBUSTERING I93 
 
 The Origin of Filibustering in California — Raoussct-Boulbon's Futile Schemes — His Ex- 
 ecution — William Walker — His Career as a Doctor. Lawyer and Journalist — Recruits Fili- 
 busters — Lands at La Paz — His Infamous Conduct in Lower California — Failure of His 
 
26 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAG", 
 
 Scheme— A Farcical Trial — Lionized in San Francisco— His Operations in Nicaragua- 
 Battles— Decrees Slavery in Nicaragua— Driven Out of Nicaragua— Tries Again— Is Cap- 
 tured and Shot— Crabb and His Unfortunate Expedition— Massacre of the Misguided 
 Adventurers — Filibustering Ends When Secession Begins. 
 
 (5* t5* f^* 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 From Gold to Grain axd Fruits 199 
 
 Mexican Farming — But Little Fruit and Few Vegetables — Crude Farming Implements — 
 The Agricultural Capabilities of California Underestimated — Wheat the Staple in Central 
 California — Cattle in the South — Gold in the North — Big Profits in Grapes — Orange Culture 
 Begun in the South — Apples, Peaches, Pears and Plums — The Sheep Industry — The Famine 
 Years of 1863 and 1864 Bring Disaster to the Cattle Kings of the South — The Doom of 
 Their Dynasty — Improvement of Domestic Animals — Exit the Mustang — Agricultural Col- 
 onies. 
 
 tS^ <^* *i5* 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 Civil War — Loyaltv and Disloyalty 204 
 
 State Division and What Became of It — Broderick's Early Life — Arrival in California — 
 Enters the Political Arena — Gwin and Broderick — Duel Between Terry and Broderick — 
 Death of Broderick — Gwin-Latham Combination — Firing on Fort Sumter — State Loyal — 
 Treasonable Utterance — A Pacific Republic — Disloyalty Rampant in Southern California — 
 Union Sentiments Triumphant — Confederate Sympathizers Silenced. 
 
 «3* «3* <^ 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Trade, Travel and Transportation 21 1 
 
 Spanish Trade — Fixed Prices — No Cornering the Market— Mexico's Methods of Trade — 
 I The Hide Droghers — Trade — Ocean Commerce and Travel — Overland Routes — Overland 
 Stage Routes — Inland Commerce — The Pony Express — Stage Lines — Pack Trains — Camel 
 Caravans — The Telegraph and the Railroad — Express Companies. 
 
 t?* «5* ti5* 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 Railroads 218 
 
 Early Agitation of the Pacific Railroad Scheme — The Pacific Railroad in Politics — Northern 
 Routes and Southern Routes — First Railroad in California — Pacific Railroad Bills in Con- 
 gress — A Decade of Agitation and No Road — The Central and Union Pacific Railroads — 
 Act of i862^Subsidies — The Southern Pacific Railroad System — Its Incorporation and 
 Charter — Its Growth and Development — The Santa Fe System — Other Railroads. 
 
CONTENTS. 27 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Indian Question 22- 
 
 Treatment of *he Indians by Spain and Mexico — A Conquista— Unsanitary Condition of the 
 Mission Villages— The .Mission Neophyte and What Became of Him— Wanton Oi-.trages on 
 the Savages — Some So-Calied Indian Wars — Extermination of the Aborigines— Indian 
 Island Massacre— The Mountaineer Battahon— The Two Years' War— The Modoc War. 
 
 [(5* i!* ^5* 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Some Political History 229 
 
 Advent of the Chinese— Kindly Received at First— Given a Public Reception— The "China 
 Boys" Become Too Many— Agitation and Legislation Against Them— Dennis Kearney 
 and the Sand Lot Agitation— Kearney's Slogan, "The Chinese Must Go"— How Kearney 
 Went — The New Constitution— A Mixed Convention — Opposition to the Constitution — 
 The Constitution Adopted- Defeat of the Workingmen's Party— A New Treaty with 
 China— Governors of California, Spanish, Mexican and American. 
 
 *5* t.3* (5* 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 Education and Educ.\tional Institution 235 
 
 Public Schools in the Spanish Era — Schools of the Mexican Period — No Schools for the 
 Neophytes — Early .American Schools — First School House in San Francisco — The First 
 American Teacher — The First School Law — A Grand School System — University of the 
 Pacific — College of California — University of California — Stanford University — Normal 
 Schools. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 Cities of Calikorxi.v — Their Origin and Growth 242 
 
 The Spaniards and Mexicans Not Town Builders— Francisca. on the Straits of Cariiuincz, 
 the First American City — Its Brilliant Prospects and Dismal Failure — San Francisco — It, 
 Population and Expansion— Los Angeles, the Only City in Calilornia Before the Conquest 
 —Population and Development- Oakland, an American City— Population- Sacramento, 
 the Metropolis of the Mines— San Jose, the Garden City— Stockton, the Entrepot of the 
 Southern Mines — San Diego, the Oldest City— Fresno — Vallejo— Nevada Citv— Grass Val- 
 ley—Eureka — Marysville — Redding— Pasadena — Pomona— San Bernardino— Riverside. 
 
INDKX. 
 
 A 
 
 Agee, William £ 350 
 
 Alexander. Jules 325 
 
 Alexander, Samuel 629 
 
 Arms, William 373 
 
 Arnold, Alexander T 323 
 
 Austin, James T 445 
 
 B 
 
 Bacher, Antone 714 
 
 Bagin, Frederick E 744 
 
 Bailey, George B 666 
 
 Bailey, Justus R 537 
 
 Bangham, Eber G 357 
 
 Bangham, Frank H 380 
 
 Barham, Charles 443 
 
 Barham. Thomas L 402 
 
 Barham, Thomas M 459 
 
 Barry, John T 374 
 
 Barry, Norman J 440 
 
 Bass, John E 357 
 
 Bass, Richard D 633 
 
 Bass, Roland 776 
 
 Bass, Stephen S 748 
 
 Bates, Jared 768 
 
 Battelle, Thornton F 751 
 
 Batterson, George 581 
 
 Baty, David 638 
 
 Beatie, Daniel 573 
 
 Bennett, George W 764 
 
 Bergeret, Joseph A 620 
 
 Berry, David C 314 
 
 Bigelow, Orson 410 
 
 Bittner, Jacob 301 
 
 Boggs. Jackson R 474 
 
 Bonner, John H 269 
 
 Borrette, John S 420 
 
 Boucher, Thomas E 389 
 
 Boyle, John 332 
 
 Branham, James 289 
 
 Bringham, Marion C 619 
 
 Bringham, William C 616 
 
 Broadwell, Jacob W 628 
 
 Brock, Isaac N 698 
 
 Brockman, William 349 
 
 Brown, E. C. 403 
 
 Bunnell. T-ucius A 742 
 
 Burnham, William T 779 
 
 Bursham. William T 779 
 
 Burroughs, Harry D 530 
 
 Bush, Frederick E 500 
 
 c 
 
 Cady, Frank P 326 
 
 Cady, Stoel 641 
 
 Cahlan, John 352 
 
 Cain, William M 431 
 
 Campbell, Francis H 705 
 
 Carter, Josiah S., M. D 726 
 
 Chandler, Benjamin F 401 
 
 Chapman, Chester W 302 
 
 Christie Brothers 578 
 
 Church, Isaac S 655 
 
 Churchill, Jerome 755 
 
 Clark, Charles B 460 
 
 Clark, Richard B 375 
 
 Clark, William H 485 
 
 Clarken, Hon. Richard M 568 
 
 Clayburg, Andrew T 496 
 
 Clinch, William 738 
 
 Clough. Fred I\[ 691 
 
 Coates. Gaines L., M. D 270 
 
 Coates, Winston D., M. D 356 
 
 Collins, William S 282 
 
 Compton, Henry C 688 
 
 Conklin, Joseph G 413 
 
 Cooper. James A 515 
 
 Cornelison, Wiley 703 
 
 Cornell, John H 502 
 
 Cottingham. James W 713 
 
 Cottingham, William M 499 
 
 Counter, George 735 
 
 Cressler, William T 722 
 
 Crumbaugh. Peter C 569 
 
 D 
 
 Dakin, Clarence E 755 
 
 Dakin, Hiram H 361 
 
 Davis, Col. Walter S 293 
 
 Decious, Joseph W 657 
 
 DeForest. Alvin E 319 
 
 DeForest, Gilbert E 362 
 
 Denehy, Dennis S 743 
 
 Denten, James W 427 
 
 Dersch, Fred 693 
 
 Dewitt, Walter B 734 
 
 Dooley, Robert M 493 
 
 Dorsch, Henry G 587 
 
 Dotta, Lodovico 775 
 
 Dow, William 381 
 
 Dozier, Leonard F 690 
 
 Droege, Mrs. Margaret A 770 
 
 Dunn, John R 379 
 
 Dyson, Joseph 600 
 
 E 
 
 Ede, Abraham 451 
 
 Ede, Stephen R 592 
 
 Ede, Walter 542 
 
 Edwards, James E 606 
 
 Edwards. William J 265 
 
 Elledge, Adam D 509 
 
 Elledge, F. M. & N. B 762 
 
 Elledge, James H 320 
 
 Ellingson, John 466 
 
 Emerson, Charles E 776 
 
 Enhoming. Olof H 745 
 
 Enscoe, Joseph R 747 
 
 Estes, Clarence A 661 
 
 F 
 
 Fee, James 714 
 
 Finlayson, Donald R 609 
 
 Fletcher, Joseph H 769 
 
 Floumoy, H. C 771 
 
 Flournoy. Robert S 656 
 
 Forbes, Col. Edwin A 559 
 
 Forgay, Nathaniel B 513 
 
 Forkner, Jacob A 760 
 
 Fraser, Daniel 574 
 
 Frazier, Samuel L 556 
 
 Freeman, Joel E 547 
 
 Frisbie. Edward 561 
 
 Fuller, William H. H.. 651 
 
 G 
 
 Gallup, William R 572 
 
 Gerig, William 437 
 
 Gianella. Vincenzo 388 
 
 Gibson, Benjamin F 533 
 
 Gibson, William G 557 
 
 Giles, George E 691 
 
 Glide, Joseph H 393 
 
ii INDEX. 
 
 Gooch, Charles J 615 Johnston. David 330 McKenzie, John 723 
 
 Goodwin, Hon. John D 259 Johnston, Robert yjd McKinsey, Noble S '.'275 
 
 Gorham, John M 426 Johnstone, Thomas H 665 McKissick, John B ^^510 
 
 Goumaz, Philip J 541 Jones, Benjamin L 407 McKune, Hon. J. H 386 
 
 Grace, Rev. Thomas 559 Jones, David T 610 McLaughlin, Hon. C. E 295 
 
 Gray, Hon. John C 394 Jones, Isaac N 438 McMurphy, Hyman H 623 
 
 Gray, Samuel 387 Jordan. Ernest A 741 McQueen, Charles W 472 
 
 Green, Abbott M 717 Mackay, William M ! . /. ^ ^ ^386 
 
 Green, William 506 K Marcus, John W 746 
 
 Greeno, George W 629 Neddie. Arthur W 772 M^'"''"' Arthur F ! ■..■.' .'707 
 
 n^T\ u 'x. ^f K^ll'^y- Hon. Frank A 345 -^'^■■""' Edward A 307 
 
 C"'"' J°hn H 566 j^^„^y^ ^^^^^^ p ^^^ Mathews, William B 558 
 
 Kellogg, Elijah 458 ^'ayfield, Campbell S 296 
 
 Kellogg, Hon. William W 279 Mayfield, William H 727 
 
 Hail, Hon. Felix G 274 Kenyon, Lewis 586 Megown, James -j-jt, 
 
 Hall. Andrew 644 King. Fred 652 Meyer, Frederick 662 
 
 Hall, Fred D 502 Kistler, Capt. A. C 273 Miliar, James J 410 
 
 Hall, William H 415 Knoch, David 732 Miller. Andrew -j-jt, 
 
 Hall, Wright P 339 Knott, William 534 Mooney, Hugh 688 
 
 Hallsted, Asa D 716 Knudson, Lewis 614 M"'roney, Thomas J 551 
 
 Hamilton. Benjamin 634 Knuthson, Jacob 637 Murray. John R 425 
 
 Hamlen. Edmund H 308 Kruger. Frank 367 Myers. George F 434 
 
 Hansen, Frank A 460 Myers, Lewis .A 419 
 
 Hanvey, Charles B. H., M. D 699 L 
 
 Hardgrave, John 495 Lassen. Peter 780 N 
 
 Hartson, Charles 369 Lauer, Ematiuel 404 Nesemati, Henry 538 
 
 Hastmgs Isaac J 51S Lavery, William A., M. D 318 Neuhaus, Bernhard 730 
 
 Hawes, Wdham 694 Lawrence, Charles H 619 Newman. David D 588 
 
 Hawkms, D. Z. ^ 383 Leavitt. Benjamin H 465 Nichols, Albert S 486 
 
 Hawkms^ John H 363 Lee. Clark J 681 Nichols, Herbert 444 
 
 Heard, Peter K 684 Lewis, Hiram 287 Niles J Eugene w 
 
 Herrmg, George H 749 Lewis. William S 524 Nye Israel K 770 
 
 Hill. Darnel E 630 Lombardi. Pompeo J 744 
 
 Hines, Fred 317 Long, John T 757 --^ 
 
 Holmes, Abraham D 414 Longwill. Robert H 758 
 
 Holmes, John P 548 Lothrop, Sullivan 602 O'Brien, James 563 
 
 Horton, Lewis E 669 Lott, Hon. Charles F. 396 Odbert, William A 736 
 
 Hosselkus. Edwin D 555 Lowrey. George M 564 Odette. Charles, Sr 324 
 
 Hosselkus, John W 778 Ludwig. Wilhelm 573 Odette, Frank 370 
 
 Hostetter, Mrs. Kate 682 Olsen. Peter 739 
 
 Housman, Lord 596 y^ Otto, Anthony 478 
 
 Hovt. Robert C 557 
 
 Hiilsman, John F 452 McBeth, Horace P 311 p 
 
 Hunsinger. Augustus C 766 McChesney, Joseph. M. D 676 
 
 Hunt Daniel G 69S McClellan. Hiram E 601 Packwood. Warren D 548 
 
 Huntley, Alonzo B ..^'..-71% ^^IcClelland. William 329 Pasetta, William F 712 
 
 Hurley, Mrs. Mary E 407 McCluer, Thomas 750 Patterson, David B 454 
 
 Huskinson, Edward 720 McCoy, Alexander M 391 Pauly, Julius E 72S 
 
 McCoy, Leo L 390 Pearce, James H Soo 
 
 .J. McCutcheon, Hugh 729 Peck, Frank F 439 
 
 McDermott, James L 595 Peck, Joseph S 719 
 
 Jacks, Elias B 754 McElroy. John 759 Peck, William D SiP 
 
 Jacks, Richard M 709 McGill, Robert L 523 Peck, William O SIQ 
 
 Jellison, John E 742 Mclntyre, Duncan 680 Perkins, John R 364 
 
 Jensen, Jorgen 67s McKay. Frank B 731 Perry, Charles 767 
 
 Johnson. Burwell 605 McKea. John 696 Peter. Louis N 771 
 
 Johnson. Otis N 700 McKee. James A 385 Peter. William T 724 
 
 Johnson, William 712 McKenzie, Donald W 718 Peters, Claus 501 
 
INDEX. 
 
 in 
 
 Peterson, Hans 743 
 
 Phelps, Edwin E 706 
 
 Philbrook, Alonzo K 401 
 
 Porter, Charles E 396 
 
 Potter, John J 734 
 
 Pullen, Granville 577 
 
 R 
 
 Raker, David 552 
 
 Raker, William F 467 
 
 Ramelli, Emilio 355 
 
 Ramsay. Thomas H 697 
 
 Ramsey, Thomas A 346 
 
 Randrup, Jacob 748 
 
 Reed, Capt. E. G 571 
 
 Rees, ^^'illiam E 488 
 
 Reid, John E S7o 
 
 Rhodes, John M 306 
 
 Rice, George F. H 494 
 
 Richards. William M 662 
 
 Richmond, Hiram H 261 
 
 Rinehart, Adam E 756 
 
 Robertson, Duncan 728 
 
 Robinson, Henry H 363 
 
 Roop, Hon. Isaac N 33s 
 
 Roseberry, Hon. Thomas A 473 
 
 Rosecrans. Lum 658 
 
 Russell, David 613 
 
 S 
 
 Schieser, Joseph 753 
 
 Schneider. Bernard 71S 
 
 Schofield, Prof. Frank C 336 
 
 Scholl. William W 280 
 
 Schroeder. Mrs. Margaret A 520 
 
 Schroter, Grant A 685 
 
 Sharp, James P .'...368 
 
 Shepard, Irvin 443 
 
 Short, John M 708 
 
 Snyder, Henry 432 
 
 Sorenson, Hans 672 
 
 Spalding. John B 344 
 
 Spalding, Zetus N., M. D 343 
 
 Spann, Sarah E 687 
 
 Spencer, Hon. Ephraim V 528 
 
 Sperry, William A 422 
 
 Spooncr, John F 716 
 
 Stanley, Ran.som H 266 
 
 Stark, John W 627 
 
 Stevens, Warren C 567 
 
 Stewart, Isaac M 471 
 
 Stewart, Robert 762 
 
 Stiles, Lyman C 711 
 
 Stover, Reuben H 670 
 
 Stover, Thaddeus S 721 
 
 Strang, Jared 312 
 
 Sugru. Michael 647 
 
 Sweeney, J. D 384 
 
 Sweetset, Arthur 398 
 
 T 
 
 Talbott, Basil H 763 
 
 Taylor, Alfred H 416 
 
 Taylor, Stillman S 752 
 
 Thatcher, Ezekiel T 383 
 
 Theodore. John 733 
 
 Thibault, Louis 428 
 
 Thielbar, Henry 652 
 
 Thompson, George 533 
 
 Thompson, John W 288 
 
 Thompson, Richard 642 
 
 Thorne, William D 543 
 
 Titherington, Isaac A 760 
 
 Todd, Theodore C. 700 
 
 Tomb, George L 505 
 
 Toney, James P 544 
 
 Toomy, John S 591 
 
 Totton. John G 487 
 
 Tregaskis, Josiah W 468 
 
 Trimble, Alien 477 
 
 Trimble, James H 481 
 
 Trowbridge, Eli S S92 
 
 Troxel, William H 737 
 
 Tucker, John 623 
 
 Turner, George C 301 
 
 Tyler, Jeremiah 453 
 
 V 
 Van Liew, Charles C 696 
 
 Vilas, Marcellus B 686 
 
 Vogt, Peter H 779 
 
 Von Gerichtcn. G. P.. M. D 313 
 
 W 
 
 Walker, John M 585 
 
 Watson, Milton 582 
 
 Watson, William 704 
 
 Way, Arad 446 
 
 Wayman, Benjamin M 514 * 
 
 Webster, James W 482 
 
 Welsh, P. R 765 
 
 Wemple, Jay C 630 
 
 Wemple, John B 467 
 
 Wemple, Joseph C 527 
 
 Wemple, N. V 474 
 
 Wemple, Orlo E 482 
 
 Werner, John C 731 
 
 White, Asher B 723 
 
 Whitney. Alvin W 710 
 
 Wiencke, Hans H 725 
 
 Wilcox, Grant B 689 
 
 Wiicox, Sardis D 685 
 
 Wilcox. William S 692 
 
 Wilkerson, .Xndrcw J 679 
 
 Williams, Joseph B 340 
 
 Williamson. Mellen 705 
 
 Wilson, Ezra M 529 
 
 Wilson, L. S 775 
 
 Wilson, Thomas W 351 
 
 Winchester. Elliot 648 
 
 Winchester, Lorenzo E 683 
 
 Winslow, Asa C 516 
 
 Wood, Denis 766 
 
 Woodstock, Loyal 599 
 
 Woodward, George 643 
 
 Wright, Albert S 738 
 
 Wright, George W 421 
 
 Wylie, James 578 
 
 Y 
 
 Young, John C 754 
 
 Young, Plumas A 5,38 
 
 Young, Robert W 671 
 
, ^iAA/l^^^'^^ 
 
CALIFORNIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SPANISH EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES. 
 
 POR centuries there had been a vague tra- 
 dition of a land lying somewhere in the 
 seeming]}- limitless expanse of ocean 
 stretching westward from the shores of Europe. 
 The poetical fancy of the Greeks had located in 
 it the Garden of Hesperides, where grew the 
 Golden Apples. The myths and superstitions of 
 the middle ages had peopled it with gorgons 
 and demons and made it the abode of lost souls. 
 When Columbus proved the existence of a 
 new world beyond the Atlantic, his discovery 
 did not altogether dispel the mysteries and su- 
 perstitions that for ages had enshrouded the 
 fabled Atlantis, the lost continent of the Hesperi- 
 des. Romance and credulity had much to do 
 with hastening the exploration of the newly dis- 
 covered western world. Its interior might hold 
 wonderful possibilities for wealth, fame and con- 
 quest to the adventurers who should penetrate 
 its dark unknown. The dimly told traditions of 
 the natives were translated to fit the cupidity or 
 the credulity of adventurers, and sometimes 
 served to promote enterprises that produced re- 
 sults far different from those originally intended. 
 The fabled fountain of youth lured Ponce 
 de Leon over many a league in the wilds of 
 Florida; and although he found no spring spout- 
 ing forth the elixir of life, he explored a rich 
 and fertile country, in which the Spaniards 
 planted the first settlement ever made w'ithin the 
 territory now held by the United States. The 
 legend of El Dorado, the gilded man of the 
 golden lake, stimulated adventurers to brave the 
 horrors of the miasmatic forests of the Amazon 
 and the Orinoco; and the search for that gold- 
 
 covered hombre hastened, perhaps, by a hun- 
 dred years, the exploration of the tropical re- 
 gions of South America. Although the myth of 
 Quivira that sent Coronado wandering over des- 
 ert, mountain and plain, far into the interior of 
 Xorth America, and his quest for the seven cities 
 of Cibola, that a romancing monk^ Marcos de 
 Xiza, "led by the Holy Ghost," imagined he 
 saw in the wilds of Pimeria, brought neither 
 wealth nor pride of conquest to that adventur- 
 ous explorer, yet these myths were the indirect 
 cause of giving to the world an early knowledge 
 of the vast regions to the north of Mexico. 
 
 When Cortes' lieutenant, Gonzalo de Sando- 
 val, gave his superior officer an account of a 
 wonderful island ten days westward from the 
 Pacific coast of Mexico, inhabited by women 
 only, and exceedingly rich in pearls and gold, 
 although he no doubt derived his story from 
 Montalvo's romance, "The Sergias of Esplan- 
 dian," a popular novel of that day, yet Cortes 
 seems to have given credence to his subordi- 
 nate's tale, and kept in view the conquest of the 
 island. 
 
 To the energy, the enterprise and the genius 
 of Hernan Cortes is due the early exploration 
 of the northwest coast of North America. In 
 1522, eighty-five years before the English 
 planted their first colony in America, and nearly 
 a century before the landing of the Pilgrims on 
 Plymouth rock, Cortes had established a ship- 
 yard at Zacatula, the most northern port on the 
 Pacific coast of the country that he had just 
 conquered. Here he intended to build ships to 
 explore the upper coast of the South Sea Cas 
 
u 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Pacific Ocean was then called), but his good 
 fortune, that had hitherto given success to his 
 undertakings, seemed to liave deserted him, and 
 disaster followed disaster. His warehouse, 
 filled with material for shipbuilding, that with 
 great labor and expense had been packed on 
 muleback from Vera Cruz, took fire and all was 
 destroyed. It required years to accumulate an- 
 other supply. He finally, in 1527, succeeded in 
 launching four ships. Three of these were taken 
 possession of by the king's orders for service in 
 the East Indies. The fourth and the smallest 
 made a short voyage up the coast. The com- 
 mander, Maldonado, returned with glowing re- 
 ports of a rich country he had discovered. He 
 imagined he had seen evidence of the existence 
 of gold and silver, but he brought none with 
 him. 
 
 In 1528 Cortes was unjustly deprived of the 
 government of the country he had conquered. 
 His successor, Nuno de Guzman, president of 
 the royal audiencia, as the new form of gov- 
 ernment for New Spain (Mexico) was called, had 
 pursued him for years with the malignity of a 
 demon. Cortes returned to Spain to defend 
 fiimself against the rancorous and malignant 
 charges of his enemies. He was received at 
 court with a show of high honors, but which in 
 reality were hollow professions of friendship 
 and insincere expressions of esteem. He was 
 rewarded by the bestowal of an empty title. He 
 was empowered to conquer and colonize coun- 
 tries at his own expense, for which he was to 
 receive the twelfth part of the revenue. Cortes 
 returned to Mexico and in 1532 he had two ships 
 fitted out, which sailed from Acapulco, in June 
 of that year, up the coast of Jalisco. Portions 
 of the crews of each vessel mutinied. The mu- 
 tineers were put aboard of the vessel com- 
 manded by Mazuela and the other vessels, com- 
 manded by Hurtardo, continued the voyage as 
 far as the Yaqui country. Here, having landed 
 in search of provisions, the natives massacred 
 the commander and all the crew. The crew of 
 the other vessel shared the same fate lower 
 down the coast. The stranded vessel was after- 
 wards plundered and dismantled by Nuno de 
 Guzman, who was about as much of a savage as 
 the predatory and murderous natives. 
 
 In 1533 Cortes, undismayed by his disasters, 
 fitted out two more ships for the exploration 
 of the northern coast of Mexico. On board one 
 of these ships, commanded by Bercerra de Men- 
 doza, the crew, headed by the chief pilot, Jim- 
 inez, mutinied. Mendoza was killed and all 
 who would not join the mutineers were forced 
 to go ashore on the coast of Jalisco. The muti- 
 neers, to escape punishment by the authorities, 
 under the command of the pilot, Fortuno Jim- 
 inez, sailed westerly away from the coast of 
 the main land. After several days" sailing out 
 of sight of land, they discovered what they sup- 
 posed to be an island. They landed at a place 
 now known as La Paz, Lower California. Here 
 Jiminez and twenty of his confederates were 
 killed by the Indians, or their fellow mutineers, 
 it is uncertain which. The survivors of the ill- 
 fated expedition managed to navigate the vessel 
 back to Jalisco, where they reported the dis- 
 covery of an island rich in gold and pearls. This 
 fabrication doubtlessly saved their necks. There 
 is no record of their punishment for mutiny. 
 Cortes' other ship accomplished even less than 
 the one captured by the mutineers. Grixalvo, 
 the commander of this vessel, discovered a des- 
 olate island, forty leagues south of Cape San 
 Lucas, which he named Santo Tomas. But the 
 discovery that should immortalize Grixalvo, and 
 place him in the category with the romancing 
 Monk, de Niza and Sandoval of the Amazonian 
 isle, was the seeing of a merman. It swam about 
 about the ship for a long time, playing antics 
 like a monkey for the amusement of the sailors, 
 washing its face with its hands, combing its hair 
 with its fingers; at last, frightened by a sea 
 bird, it disappeared. 
 
 Cortes, having heard of Jiminez's discover)', 
 and possibly believing it to be Sandoval's isle 
 of the Amazons, rich with gold and pearls, set 
 about building more ships for exploration and 
 for the colonization of the island. He ordered 
 the building of three ships at Tehauntepec. The 
 royal audencia having failed to give him any 
 redress or protection against his enemy, Nuno 
 de Guzman, he determined to punish him him- 
 self. Collecting a considerable force of cava- 
 liers and soldiers, he marched to Chiametla. 
 There he found his vessel. La Concepcion, lying 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 33 
 
 on her beam ends, a wreck, and ])lundered of 
 everything of vakie. He failed to tind Guzman, 
 tliat worthy having taken a hasty departure be- 
 fore his arrival His shijxs having come up 
 from Tehauntepec, he embarked as many sol- 
 diers and settlers as his vessels would carry, and 
 sailed away for Jiminez's island. May 3, 1535, 
 he landed at the port where Jiminez and his fel- 
 low mutineers were killed, which he named 
 Santa Cruz. The colonists were landed on the 
 supposed island and the ships were sent back 
 to Chiametla for the remainder of the settlers. 
 His usual ill luck followed him. The vessels 
 became separated on the gulf in a storm and 
 the smaller of the three returned to Santa Cruz. 
 Embarking in it, Cortes set sail to find his miss- 
 ing ships. He found them at the port of Guaya- 
 bal, one loaded with provisions, the other dis- 
 mantled and run ashore. Its sailors had de- 
 serted and those of the other ship were about 
 to follow. Cortes stopped this, took command 
 of the vessels and had them repaired. When the 
 repairs were completed he set sail for his colony. 
 But misfortune followed him. His chief pilot 
 was killed by the falling of a spar when scarce 
 out of sight of land. Cortes took command of 
 the vessels himself. Then the ships encountered 
 a terrific storm that threatened their destruc- 
 tion. Finally they reached their destination, 
 Santa Cruz. There again misfortune awaited 
 him. The colonists could obtain no sustenance 
 from the barren soil of the desolate island. 
 Their provisions exhausted, some of them died 
 of starvation and the others killed themselves 
 by" over-eating when relief came. 
 
 Cortes, finding the interior of the supposed 
 island as desolate and forbidding as the coast, 
 and the native inhabitants degraded and brutal 
 savages, without houses or clothing, living on 
 vermin, insects and the scant products of the 
 sterile land, determined to abandon his coloniza- 
 tion scheme. Gathering together the wretched 
 survivors of his colony, he embarked them on 
 his ships and in the early part of 1537 landed 
 them in the port of Acapulco. 
 
 At some time between 1535 and 1537 the 
 name California was applied to the supposed 
 island, but whether applied by Cortes to en- 
 courage his disappointed colonists, or whether 
 
 given by them in derision, is an unsettled ques- 
 tion. The name itself is derived from a Spanish 
 romance, the "Sergas de Esplandian," written 
 by Ordonez de Montalvo and published in Se- 
 ville, Spain, about the year 1510. The passage 
 in which the name California occurs is as fol- 
 lows: "Know that on the right hand of the In- 
 dies there is an island called California, very near 
 the terrestrial paradise, which was peopled with 
 black women, without any men among them, 
 because they were accustomed to live after the 
 fashion of Amazons. They were of strong and 
 hardened bodies, of ardent courage and great 
 force. The island was the strongest in the 
 world from its steep rocks and great cliffs. 
 Their arms were all of gold and so were the 
 caparison of the wild beasts which they rode, 
 after having trained them, for in all the island 
 there is no other metal." The "steep rocks and 
 great cliffs" of Jiminez's island may have sug- 
 gested to Cortes or to his colonists some fan- 
 cied resemblance to the California of Montalvo's 
 romance, but there was no other similarity. 
 
 For years Cortes had been fitting out ex- 
 peditions by land and sea to explore the un- 
 known regions northward of that portion of 
 Mexico which he had conquered, but disaster 
 after disaster had wrecked his hopes and im- 
 poverished his purse. The last expedition sent 
 out by him was one commanded by Francisco 
 Ulloa, who, in 1539, with two ships, sailed up 
 the Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortes, on the 
 Sonora side, to its head. Thence he proceeded 
 down the inner coast of Lower California to 
 the cape at its southern extremity, which he 
 doubled, and then sailed up the outer coast to 
 Cabo del Engano, the "Cape of Deceit." Fail- 
 ing to make any progress against the head 
 winds, April 5, 1540, the two ships parted com- 
 pany in a storm. The smaller one, the Santa 
 Agueda, returned safely to Santiago. The 
 larger, La Trinidad, after vainly endeavoring to 
 continue the voyage, turned back. The fate of 
 L'lloa and of the vessel too, is uncertain. One 
 authority says he w^as assassinated after reach- 
 ing the coast of Jalisco by one of his soldiers, 
 who, for some trivial cause, stabbed him to 
 death; another account says that nothing is 
 known of his fate, nor is it certainly known 
 
36 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 whether his vessel ever returned. The only 
 thing accomplished by this voyage was to dem- 
 onstrate that Lower California was a peninsula. 
 Even this fact, although proved by Ulloa's voy- 
 age, was not fully admitted by geographers until 
 two centuries later. 
 
 In 1540 Cortes returned to Spain to obtain, if 
 possible, some recognition and recompense from 
 the king for his valuable services. His declin- 
 ing years had been filled with bitter disappoint- 
 ments. Shipwreck and mutiny at sea; disaster 
 and defeat to his forces on land; the treachery 
 of his subordinates and the jealousy of royal of- 
 ficials continually thwarted his plans and wasted 
 his substance. After expending nearly a million 
 dollars in explorations, conquests and attempts 
 at colonization, fretted and worried by the in- 
 difference and the ingratitude of a monarch for 
 whom he had sacrified so much, disappointed, 
 disheartened, impoverished, he died at an ob- 
 scure hamlet near Seville, Spain, in December, 
 
 1547- 
 
 The next exploration that had something to 
 do with the discovery of California was that of 
 Hernando de Alarcon. With two ships he sailed 
 from Acapulco, May g, 1540, up the Gulf of Cal- 
 ifornia. His object was to co-operate with the 
 expedition of Coronado. Coronado, with an 
 army of four hundred men, had marched from 
 Culiacan, April 22, 1540, to conquer the seven 
 cities of Cibola. In the early part of 1537 Al- 
 varo Nunez Cabaza de Vaca and three compan- 
 ions (the only survivors of six hundred men that 
 Panfilo de Narvaes, ten years before, had landed 
 in Florida for the conquest of that province) 
 after almost incredible sufferings and hardships 
 arrived in Culiacan on the Pacific coast. On 
 their long journey passing from one Indian tribe 
 to another they had seen many wondrous things 
 and had heard of many more. Among others 
 they had been told of seven great cities in a 
 country called Cibola that were rich in gold and 
 silver and precious stones. 
 
 A Franciscan friar, Marcos de Niza, having 
 heard their wonderful stories determined to find 
 the seven cities. Securing the service of 
 Estevanico, a negro slave, who was one of Ca- 
 beza de ^'aca's party, he set out in quest of the 
 cities. With a number of Indian porters and 
 
 Estevanico as a guide, he traveled northward 
 a hundred leagues when he came to a desert 
 that took four days to cross. Beyond this he 
 found natives who told him of people four days 
 further away who had gold in abundance. He 
 sent the negro to investigate and that individual 
 sent back word that Cibola was yet thirty days' 
 journey to the northward. Following the trail 
 of his guide, Niza travelled for two weeks cross- 
 ing several deserts. The stories of the magnifi- 
 cence of the seven cities increased with every 
 tribe of Indians through whose country he 
 passed. At length, when almost to the prom- 
 ised land, a messenger brought the sad tidings 
 that Estevanico had been put to death with all 
 of his companions but two by the inhabitants of 
 Cibola. To go forward meant death to the 
 monk and all his party, but before turning back 
 he climbed a high mountain and looked down 
 upon the seven cities with their high houses and 
 teeming populations thronging their streets. 
 Then he returned to Culiacan to tell his wonder- 
 ful stories. His tales fired the ambition and 
 stimulated the avarice of a horde of adventurers. 
 At the head of four hundred of these Coronado 
 penetrated the wilds of Pimeria (now Arizona). 
 He found seven Indian towns but no lofty 
 houses, no great cities, no gold or silver. Cibola 
 was a myth. Hearing of a country called Quivira 
 far to the north, richer than Cibola, with part of 
 his force he set out to find it. In his search he 
 penetrated inland as far as the plains of Kansas, 
 but Quivira proved to be as poor as Cibola, and 
 Coronado returned disgusted. The Friar de 
 Niza had evidently drawn on his imagination 
 which seemed to be quite rich in cities. 
 
 Alarcon reached the head of the Gulf of Cal- 
 ifornia. Seeing what he supposed to be an in- 
 let, but the water proving too shallow for his 
 ships to enter it, he manned tw-o boats and 
 found his supposed inlet to be the mouth of a 
 great river. He named it Buena Guia (Good 
 Guide) now the Colorado. He sailed up it some 
 distance and was probably the first white man to 
 set foot upon the soil of Upper California. He 
 heard of Coronado in the interior but was unable 
 to establish communication with him. He de- 
 scended the river in his boats, embarked on his 
 vessels and returned to Mexico. The Viceroy 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 37 
 
 jSIendoza, who had fitted out the expedition of 
 Alarcon, was bitterly disappointed on the re- 
 turn of that explorer. He had hoped to find the 
 ships loaded with the spoils of the seven cities. 
 
 The report gf the discovery of a great river did 
 not interest his sordid soul. Alarcon found him- 
 self a disgraced man. He retired to private life 
 and not long after died a broken hearted man. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ALTA OR NUEVA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 HILE Coronado was still wandering 
 
 lAI in the interior of the continent search- 
 ing for Quivira and its king, Tatar- 
 rax, who wore a long beard, adored a gol- 
 den cross and worshipped an image of the 
 queen of heaven, Pedro de Alvarado, one of 
 Cortes' former lieutenants, arrived from Guate- 
 mala, of W'hich country he was governor, with a 
 fleet of twelve ships. These were anchored in 
 the harbor of Xavidad. Mendoza, the viceroy, 
 had been intriguing with Alvarado against 
 Cortes; obtaining an interest in the fleet, he 
 and Alvarado began preparations for an ex- 
 tensive scheme of exploration and conquest. Be- 
 fore they had perfected their plans an insurrec- 
 tion broke out among the Indians of Jalisco, and 
 Pedro de Alvarado in attempting to quell it 
 was killed. jMendoza fell heir to the fleet. The 
 return of Coronado about this time dispelled the 
 popular beliefs in Cibola and Quivira and put 
 an end to further explorations of the inland re- 
 gions of the northwest. 
 
 It became necessary for Mendoza to find 
 something for his fleet to do. The Islas de 
 Poiniente, or Isles of the Setting Sun (now the 
 Philippines), had been discovered by Magellan. 
 To these Mendoza dispatched five ships of the 
 fleet under command of Lopez de \'illalobos to 
 establish trade with the natives. Two ships of 
 the fleet, the San Salvador and the \"itoria, were 
 placed under the command of Juan Rodriguez 
 Cabrillo, reputed to he a Portuguese by birth and 
 dispatched to explore the northwest coast of 
 the Pacific. Cabrillo sailed from Xavidad, June 
 27, 1542. Rounding the southern extremity of 
 the peninsula of Lower California, he sailed up 
 its outer coast, .\ugust 20 he reached Cabo del 
 Engano, the most northerly point of Ulloa's ex- 
 ploration. On the 28tli of September, 1542, he 
 
 entered a bay which he named San Miguel (now 
 San Diego), where he found "a land locked and 
 very good harbor." He remained in this harbor 
 until October 3. Continuing his voyage he sailed 
 along the coast eighteen leagues, discovering 
 two islands .about seven leagues from the main 
 land. These he named San Salvador and Vitoria 
 after his ships (now Santa Catalina and San 
 Clemente). On the 8th of October he crossed 
 the channel between the islands and main land 
 and anchored in a bay which he named Bahia 
 de los Fumos y Fuegos, the Bay of Smokes and 
 l'"ires (now known as the Bay of San Pedro). 
 Heavy clouds of smoke hung over the head- 
 lands of the coast; and inland, fierce fires were 
 raging. The Indians either through accident 
 or design had set fire to the long dry grass that 
 covered the plains at this season of the year. 
 
 After sailing six leagues further up the coast 
 he anchored in a large ensenada or bight, now 
 the Bay of Santa Monica. It is uncertain 
 whether he landed at either place. The next 
 day he sailed eight leagues to an Indian town 
 which he named the Pueblo de las Canoas (the 
 town of Canoes). This town was located on or 
 near the present site of San Buenaventura. 
 Sailing northwestward he passed through the 
 Santa Barbara Channel, discovering the islands 
 of Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel. 
 Continuing up the coast he passed a long nar- 
 row point of land extending into the sea, which 
 from its resemblance to a galley boat he named 
 Cabo de la Galera, the Cape of the Galley (now^ 
 called Point Concepcion). Baffled by head 
 winds, the explorers slowly beat their way up 
 the coast. On the 17th of November, they cast 
 anchor in a large bay which they named Bahij: 
 de los Pinos, the Bay of Pines (now the Bay 
 of Monterey). Finding it impossible to land on 
 
38 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 account of the heavy sea Cabrillo continued his 
 voyage northward. After reaching a point on 
 the coast in 40 degrees north latitude, accord- 
 ing to his reckoning, the increasing cold and 
 the storms becoming more frequent, he turned 
 back and ran down the coast to the island of 
 San Miguel, which he reached November 23. 
 Here he decided to winter. 
 
 While on the island in October, he had broken 
 his arm by a fall. Suffering from his broken 
 arm he had continued in command. Exposure 
 and unskilful surgery caused his death. He 
 died January 3, 1543, and was buried on the 
 island. His last resting place is supposed to 
 be on the shore of Cuyler's harbor, on the 
 island of San ]\Iiguel. No trace of his grave 
 has ever been found. His companions named 
 the island Juan Rodriguez, but he has been 
 robbed of even this slight tribute to his mem- 
 ory. It would be a slight token of regard if 
 the state would name the island Cabrillo. Saint 
 Miguel has been well remembered in California 
 and could spare an island. 
 
 Cabrillo on his death bed urged his successor 
 in command, the pilot Bartolome Ferrolo, to 
 continue the exploration. Ferrolo prosecuted 
 the voyage of discovery with a courage and dar- 
 ing equal to that of Cabrillo. About the middle 
 of February he left the harbor where he had 
 spent most of the winter and after having made 
 a short voyage in search of more islands he 
 sailed up the coast. February 28, he discovered 
 a cape which he named Mendocino in honor of 
 the viceroy, a name it still bears. Passing the 
 cape he encountered a fierce storm w-hich drove 
 him violently to the northeast, greatly endanger- 
 ing his ships. On March 1st, the fog partially 
 lifting, he discovered a cape which he named 
 Blanco, in the southern part of what is now the 
 state of Oregon. The weather continuing stormy 
 and the cold increasing as he sailed northward, 
 Ferrolo reluctantly turned back. Running" 
 down the coast he reached the island of San 
 Clemente. There in a storm the ships parted 
 company and Ferrolo, after a search, gave up 
 the Vitoria as lost. The ships, however, came 
 together at Cerros island and from there, in 
 sore distress for provisions, the explorers 
 reached Navidad April 18, 1543. On the discov- 
 
 eries made by Cabrillo and Ferrolo the Span- 
 iards claimed the territory on the Pacific coast 
 ui North America up to the forty-second degree 
 of north latitude, a claim that they maintained 
 for three hundred years. 
 
 The next navigator who visited California was 
 Francis Drake, an Englishman. He was not 
 seeking new lands, but a way to escape the 
 vengeance of the Spaniards. Francis Drake, 
 the "Sea King of Devon," was one of the brav- 
 est men that ever lived. Early in his maritime 
 life he had suffered from the cruelty and injus- 
 tice of the Spaniards. Throughout his subse- 
 quent career, which reads more like romance 
 than reality, he let no opportunity slip to pun- 
 ish his old-time enemies. It mattered little to 
 Drake whether his country was at peace or war 
 with Spain ; he considered a Spanish ship or a 
 Spanish town his legitimate prey. On one of 
 his predatory expeditions he captured a Spanish 
 town on the isthmus of Panama named El Nom- 
 bre de Dios, The Name of God. Its holy name 
 did not protect it from Drake's rapacity. While 
 on the isthmus he obtained information of the 
 Spanish settlements of the South Pacific and 
 from a high point of land saw the South sea, as 
 the Pacific ocean was then called. On his re- 
 turn to England he announced his intention of 
 fitting out a privateering expedition against the 
 Spaniards of the South Pacific. Although Spain 
 and England were at peace, he received encour- 
 agement from the nobility, even Queen Eliza- 
 beth herself secretly contributing a thousand 
 crown towards the venture. 
 
 Drake sailed out of Plymouth harbor, Eng- 
 land, December 13, 1577, in command of a fleet 
 of five small vessels, bound for the Pacific coast 
 of South America. Some of his vessels were 
 lost at sea and others turned back, until when 
 he emerged from the Straits of Magellan he had 
 but one left, the Pelican. He changed its name 
 to the Golden Hind. It was a ship of only one 
 hundred tons' burden. Sailing up the South 
 Pacific coast, he spread terror and devastation 
 among the Spanish settlements, robbing towns 
 and capturing ships until, in the quaint language 
 of a chronicler of the expedition, he "had loaded 
 his vessel with a fabulous amount of fine wares 
 of Asia, precious stones, church ornaments. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 39 
 
 gold plate and so mooch silver as did ballas the 
 Goulden Hinde." 
 
 From one treasure ship, the Caca Fuego, he 
 obtained thirteen chests of silver, eighty pounds 
 weight of gold, twenty-six tons of uncoined sil- 
 ver, two silver drinking vessels, precious stones 
 and a quantity of jewels; the total value of his 
 prize amounted to three hundred and sixty 
 thousand pesos (dollars). Having spoiled the 
 Spaniards of treasure amounting to "eight hun- 
 dred sixty-six thousand pesos of silver * * * 
 a hundred thousand pesos of gold * * * 
 and other things of great worth, he thought it 
 not good to return by the streight (Magellan) 
 * * * least the Spaniards should there waite 
 and attend for him in great numbers and 
 strength, whose hands, he being left but one 
 ship, he could not possibly escape." 
 
 Surfeited with spoils and his ship loaded with 
 plunder, it became necessary for him to find the 
 shortest and safest route home. To return by 
 the way he came was to invite certain destruc- 
 tion to his ship and death to all on board. At 
 an island ofT the coast of Nicaragua he over- 
 hauled and refitted his ship. He determined to 
 seek the Straits of Anian that were believed to 
 connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Strik- 
 ing boldly out on an unknown sea, he sailed 
 more than a thousand leagues northward. En- 
 countering contrary winds and the cold in- 
 creasing as he advanced, he gave up his search 
 for the mythical straits, and, turning, he ran 
 down the northwest coast of North America to 
 latitude 38°, where "hee found a harborrow for 
 his ship." He anchored in it June 17, 1579. 
 This "convenient and fit harborrow" is under 
 the lee of Point Reyes and is now known as 
 Sir Francis Drake's Bay. 
 
 Fletcher, the chronicler of Drake's voyage, in 
 his narrative, "The World Encompassed," says: 
 "The 3rd day following, viz., the 21st, our ship 
 having received a leake at sea was brought to 
 anchor neerer the shoare that her goods being 
 landed she might be repaired; but for that we 
 were to prevent any danger that might chance 
 against our safety our Generall first of all 
 landed his men with necessary provision to build 
 tents and make a fort for defense of ourselves 
 and gocds; and that we might under the shel- 
 
 ter of it with more safety (whatsoever should 
 befall) end our business." 
 
 The ship was drawn upon the beach, careened 
 on its side, caulked and refitted. While the 
 crew were repairing the ship the natives visited 
 them in great numbers. From some of their ac- 
 tions Drake inferred that they regarded himself 
 and his men as gods. To disabuse them of this 
 idea, Drake ordered his chaplain, Fletcher, to 
 perform divine service according to the English 
 Church Ritual and preach a sermon. The In- 
 dians were greatly delighted with the psalm 
 singing, but their opinion of Fletcher's sermon 
 is not known. 
 
 From certain ceremonial performance Drake 
 imagined that the Indians were offering him the 
 sovereignty of their land and themselves as sub- 
 jects of the English crown. Drake gladly ac- 
 cepted their proffered allegiance and formally 
 took possession of the country in the name of 
 the English sovereign, Queen Elizabeth. He 
 named it New Albion, "for two causes: the one 
 in respect of the white bankes and cliffes which 
 ly towardes the sea; and the other because it 
 might have some aflinitie with our own country 
 in name which sometimes was so called." 
 
 Having completed the repairs to his ship, 
 Drake made ready to depart, but before leav- 
 ing "Our Generall with his company made a 
 journey up into the land. The inland we found 
 to be farre different from the shoare ; a goodly 
 country and fruitful soyle, stored with many 
 blessings fit for the use of man; infinite was the 
 company of very large and fat deere which 
 there we saw by thousands as we supposed in a 
 heard."* They saw great numbers of small bur- 
 rowing animals, which they called conies, but 
 which were probably ground squirrels. Before 
 departing, Drake set up a monument to show 
 that he had taken possession of the country. To a 
 large post firmly set in the ground he nailed a 
 brass plate on which was engraved the name of 
 the English Queen, the date of his arrival and the 
 statement that the king and people of the coun- 
 try had voluntarily become vassals of the Eng- 
 lish crown; a new sixpence was fastened to the 
 plate to show the Queen's likeness. 
 
 *World Encompassed. 
 
40 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 After a stay of thirty-six days, Drake took 
 his departure, much to the regret of the Indians. 
 He stopped at the Farahones islands for a short 
 time to lay in a supply of seal meat; then he 
 sailed for England by the way of the Cape of 
 Good Hope. After encountering many perils, 
 he arrived safely at Plymouth, the port from 
 which he sailed nearly three years before, hav- 
 ing "encompassed" or circumnavigated the 
 globe. His exploits and the booty he brought 
 back made him the most famous naval hero of 
 his time. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth 
 and accorded extraordinary honors by the na- 
 tion. He believed himself to be the first dis- 
 coverer of the country he called New Albion. 
 "The Spaniards never had any dealings or so 
 much as set foote in this country; l"he utmost 
 of their discoveries reaching only to many de- 
 grees southward of this place.'"* The English 
 founded no claim on Drake's discoveries. The 
 land hunger that characterizes that nation now 
 had not then been developed. 
 
 Fifty years passed after Cabrillo's visit to Cal- 
 ifornia before another attempt was made by the 
 Spaniards to explore her coast. Through all 
 these years on their return voyage far out be- 
 yond the islands the iVIanila galleons, freighted 
 with the wealth of "Ormus and Ind," sailed 
 down the coast of Las Californias from Cape 
 Mendocino to Acapulco. Often storm-tossed 
 and always scourged with that dread malady of 
 the sea, the scurvy, there was no harbor of ref- 
 uge for them to put into because his most Cath- 
 olic Majesty, the King of Spain, had no money 
 to spend in exploring an unknown coast where 
 t'nere was no return to be expected except per- 
 haps the saving of a few sailors' lives. 
 
 In 1593, the question of a survey of the Cali- 
 fornia coast for- harbors to accommodate the in- 
 creasing Philippine trade was agitated and Don 
 Luis de Velasco, viceroy of New Spain, in a let- 
 ter dated at Mexico, April 8, 1593, thus writes to 
 his majesty: "In order to make the exploration 
 or demarcation of the harbors of this main as 
 far as the Philippine islands, as your majesty 
 orders, money is lacking, and if it be not taken 
 from the royal strong box it cannot be supplied. 
 
 *The World Encompassed. 
 
 as for some time past a great deal of money has 
 been owing to the royal treasury on account 
 of fines forfeited to it, legal cost and the like." 
 Don Luis fortunately discovers a way to save 
 the contents of the royal strong box and hastens 
 to acquaint his majesty with his plan. In a let- 
 ter written to the king from the City of Mexico, 
 April 6, 1594, he says: "I ordered the navigator 
 who at present sails in the flag ship, who is 
 named Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeno, and who 
 is a man of experience in his calling, one who 
 can be depended upon and who has means of 
 his own, although he is a Portuguese, there 
 being no Spaniards of his profession whose serv- 
 ices are available, that he should make the ex- 
 ploration and demarcation, and I offered, if he 
 would do this, to give him his remuneration in 
 the way of taking on board merchandise; and 
 I wrote to the governor (of the Philippines) 
 that he should allow him to put on board the 
 ship some tons of cloth that he might have the 
 benefit of the freight-money." The result of 
 Don Luis's economy and the outcome of at- 
 tempting to explore an unknown coast in a 
 heavily laden merchant ship are given in a para- 
 graph taken from a letter written by a royal offi- 
 cer from Acapulco, February i, 1596, to the 
 viceroy Conde de Monterey, the successor of 
 \'elasco: "On Wednesday, the 31st of January 
 of this year, there entered this harbor a vessel 
 of the kind called in the Philippines a viroco, 
 having on board Juan de Morgana, navigating 
 officer, four Spanish sailors, five Indians and a 
 negro, who brought tidings that the ship San 
 Agustin, of the exploring expedition, had been 
 lost on a coast where she struck and went to 
 pieces, and that a barefooted friar and another 
 person of those on board had been drowned and 
 that the seventy men or more who embarked in 
 this small vessel only these came in her, be- 
 cause the captain of said ship, Sebastian Rodri- 
 guez Cermeiio, and the others went ashore at 
 the port of Navidad, and, as they understand, 
 have already arrived in that city (Mexico). An 
 account of the voyage and of the loss of the 
 ship, together with the statement made under 
 oath by said navigating officer, Juan de Mor- 
 gana, accompany this. We visited officially the 
 vessel, finding no kind of merchandise on board, 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 41 
 
 and that the men were ahiiost naked. The ves- 
 sel being so small it seems miraculous that she 
 should have reached this country with so many 
 people on board." A viroco was a small vessel 
 without a deck, having one or two square sails, 
 and propelled by sweeps. Its hull was formed 
 from a single tree, hollowed out and having the 
 sides built up with planks. The San Agustin 
 was wrecked in what is now called Francis 
 Drake's Bay, about thirty miles north of San 
 Francisco. To make a voyage from there to 
 Acapulco in such a vessel, with seventy men on 
 board, and live to tell the tale, was an exploit 
 that exceeded the most hazardous undertakings 
 of the Argonauts of '49. 
 
 The viceroy, Conde de Monte Rey, in a let- 
 ter dated at Mexico, April 19, 1596, gives the 
 king tidings of the loss of the San Agustin. He 
 vv rites: "Touching the loss of the ship, San 
 Agustin, which was on its way from the islands 
 of the west (the Philippines) for the purpose of 
 making the exploration of the coast of the South 
 Sea, in accordance with your Majesty's orders 
 to Viceroy, Don Luis de Velasco, I wrote to 
 Your Majesty by the second packet (mailship) 
 what I send as duplicate with this." He then 
 goes on to tell how he had examined the offi- 
 cers in regard to the loss of the vessel and that 
 they tried to inculpate one another. The navi- 
 gating officer even in the viroco tried to ex- 
 plore the pnncipal bays which they crossed, but 
 on account of the hunger and illness they expe- 
 rienced he was compelled to hasten the voyage. 
 The viceroy concludes: "Thus I take it, as to 
 this exploration the intention of Your Majesty 
 has not been carried into efifect. It is the gen- 
 eral opinion that this enterprise should not be 
 attempted on the return voyage from the islands 
 and with a laden ship, but from this coast and 
 by constantly following along it." The above 
 account of the loss of the San Agustin is taken 
 from \^olume II, Publications of the Historical 
 Society of Southern California, and is the only 
 correct account published. In September, 1595, 
 just before the viceroy, Don Luis de Velasco, 
 was superseded by Conde de Monte Rev, he 
 entered into a contract with certain parties of 
 whom Sebastian \'iscaino, a ship captain, was 
 the principal, to make an expedition up the Gulf 
 
 of California "for the purpose of fishing for 
 pearls." There was also a provision in the con- 
 tract empowering \'iscaino to make explorations 
 and take possession of his discoveries for the 
 crown of Spain. The Conde de Monte Rey 
 seems, from a letter written to the King, to have 
 seriously doubted whether \'iscaino was the 
 right man for so important an expedition, but 
 finally allowed him to depart. In September, 
 1596, X'iscaino sailed up the gulf with a fieet of 
 three vessels, the flag ship San Francisco, the 
 .San Jose and a Lancha. The flag ship was dis- 
 abled and left at La Paz. With the other two 
 vessels he sailed up the gulf to latitude 29°. He 
 encountered severe storms. At some island he 
 had trouble with the Indians and killed several. 
 As the long boat was departing an Indian 
 wounded one of the rowers with an arrow. The 
 sailor dropped his oar, the boat careened and 
 upset, drowning twenty of the twenty-six sol- 
 diers and sailors in it. 
 
 X'iscaino returned without having procured 
 any pearls or made any important discoveries. 
 He proposed to continue his explorations of the 
 Californias, but on account of his misfortunes 
 his request was held in abeyance. He wrote a 
 letter to the king in 1597, setting forth what 
 supplies he required for the voyage. His in- 
 ventory of the items needed is interesting, but 
 altogether too long for insertion here. Among 
 the items were "$35,000 in money"; "eighty ar- 
 robas of powder": "twenty quintals of lead"; 
 "four pipes of wine for mass and sick friars"; 
 "vestments for the clergy and $2,000 to be in- 
 vested in trifles for the Indians for the purpose 
 of attracting them peaceably to receive the holy 
 gospel." Mscaino's request was not granted at 
 that time. The viceroy and the royal audiencia 
 at one time ordered his commission revoked. 
 Philip II died in 1598 and was succeeded by 
 Philip III. After five years' waiting, \'iscaino 
 was allowed to proceed with his explorations. 
 From Acapulco on the 5th of May, 1602, he 
 writes to the king that he is ready to sail with 
 his ships "for the discovery of harbors and bays 
 of the coast of the South Sea as far as Cape 
 Mendocino." "I report," he says, "merely that 
 the said \'iceroy (Conde de IMonterey) has en- 
 trusted to me the accomplishment of the same 
 
42 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in two ships, a lancha and a barcoluengo, 
 manned with sailors and soldiers and provi- 
 sioned for eleven months. To-day being Sun- 
 day, the 5th of May, I sail at five o'clock in the 
 names of God and his blessed mother and your 
 majesty." 
 
 Mscaino followed the same course marked 
 out by Cabrillo si.xty years before. November 
 10, 1602, he anchored in Cabrillo's Bay of San 
 Miguel. Whether the faulty reckoning of Ca- 
 brillo left him in doubt of the points named by 
 the first discoverer, or whether it was that he 
 might receive the credit of their discovery, Vis- 
 caino changed the names given by Cabrillo to 
 the islands, bays and headlands along the Cali- 
 fornia coast. Cabrillo's Bahia San Miguel be- 
 came the Bay of San Diego; San Salvador and 
 Vitoria were changed to Santa Catalina and 
 San Clemente, and Cabrillo's Bahia de los 
 Fumos y Fuegos appears on Viscaino's map as 
 the Ensenada de San Andres, but in a descrip- 
 tion of the voyage compiled by the cosmog- 
 rapher, Cabrero Bueno, it is named San Pedro. 
 It is not named for the Apostle St. Peter, but 
 for St. Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, whose day 
 in the Catholic calendar is November 26, the 
 day of the month \'iscaino anchored in the Bay 
 of San Pedro. 
 
 Sailing up the coast, Viscaino passed through 
 the Santa Barbara channel, which was so named 
 by Antonio de la Ascencion, a Carmelite friar, 
 who was chaplain of one of the ships. The ex- 
 pedition entered the channel December 4, which 
 is the day in the Catholic calendar dedicated to 
 Santa Barbara. He visited the mainland near 
 Point Concepcion where the Indian chief of a 
 populous rancheria ofifered each Spaniard who 
 would become a resident of his town ten wives. 
 This generous offer was rejected. December 
 15, 1602, he reached Point Pinos, so named by 
 Cabrillo, and cast anchor in the bay formed by 
 its projection. This bay he named Monterey, 
 in honor of the viceroy, Conde de Alonte Rey. 
 Many of his men were sick with the scurvy and 
 his provisions were becoming exhausted; so, 
 placing the sick and disabled on the San Tomas, 
 he sent them back to Acapulco; but few of them 
 ever reached their destination. On the 3d of 
 January, 1603, with two ships, he proceeded on 
 
 his search for Cape Mendocino, the northern 
 limit of his survey. The Manila galleons on 
 their return voyage from the Philippines sailed 
 up the Asiatic coast to the latitude of Japan, 
 when, taking advantage of the westerly winds 
 and the Japan current, they crossed the Pacific, 
 striking the North American coast in about the 
 latitude of Cape Mendocino, and from there 
 they ran down the coast of Las Californias and 
 across the gulf to Acapulco. After leaving 
 Point Reyes a storm separated his ships and 
 drove him as far north as Cape Blanco. The 
 smaller vessel, commanded by Martin de Agui- 
 lar, was driven north by the storm to latitude 
 43°, where he discovered what seemed to be 
 the mouth of a great river; attempting to enter 
 it, he was driven back by the swift current. 
 Aguilar, believing he had discovered the western 
 entrance of the Straits of Anian, sailed for 
 New Spain to report his discovery. He, his 
 chief pilot and most of his crew died of scurvy 
 before the vessel reached Navidad. Viscaino, 
 after sighting Cape Blanco, turned and sailed 
 down the coast of California, reaching Acapulco 
 March 21, 1603. 
 
 Viscaino, in a letter to the King of Spain, 
 dated at the City of Mexico, May 23, 1603, 
 grows enthusiastic over California climate and 
 productions. It is the earliest known specimen 
 of California boom literature. After depicting 
 the commodiousness of Monterey Bay as a port 
 of safety for the Philippine ships, he says: "This 
 port is sheltered from all winds, while on the im- 
 mediate shores there are pines, from which masts 
 of any desired size can be obtained, as well as 
 live oaks and white oaks, rosemary, the vine, the 
 rose of Alexandria, a great variety of game, such 
 as rabbits, hare, partridges and other sorts and 
 species found in Spain. This land has a genial 
 climate, its waters are good and it is fertile, 
 judging from the varied and luxuriant growth 
 of trees and plants; and it is thickly settled with 
 people whom I found to be of gentle disposition, 
 peaceable and docile. * * * Their food con- 
 sists of seeds which they have in great abun- 
 dance and variety, and of the flesh of game such 
 as deer, which are larger than cows, and bear, 
 and of neat cattle and bisons and many other 
 animals. The Indians are of good stature and 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 43 
 
 fair complexion, the women being somewhat 
 less in size than the men, and of pleasing counte- 
 nance. The clothing of the people of the coast 
 lands consists of the skins of the sea wolves 
 (otter) abounding there, which they tan and 
 dress better than is done in Castile; they pos- 
 sess also in great quantity flax like that of Cas- 
 tile, hemp and cotton, from which they make 
 fishing lines and nets for rabbits and hares. 
 They have vessels of pine wood, very well made, 
 in which they go to sea with fourteen paddle- 
 men of a side, with great dexterity in very 
 stormy weather. * * * They are well ac- 
 quainted with gold and silver and said that 
 these were found in the interior." 
 
 The object of Viscaino's boom literature of 
 three hundred years ago was the promotion of a 
 colony scheme for the founding of a settlement 
 on Monterey Bay. He visited Spain to obtain the 
 consent of the king and assistance in planting 
 a colony. After many delays, Philip III, in 
 1606, ordered the viceroy of New Spain to fit 
 out immediately an expedition to be com- 
 manded by Viscaino for the occupation and set- 
 tlement of the port of Monterey. Before the ex- 
 pedition could be gotten ready Viscaino died and 
 his colonization scheme died with him. Had he 
 lived to carry out his scheme, the settlement of 
 California would have antedated that of James- 
 town, Va., by one year. 
 
 CHAPTER 111. 
 
 COLONIZATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 ^ r\ HUNDRED and sixty years passed after 
 
 l\ the abandonment of \'iscaino's coloniza- 
 tion scheme before the Spanish crown 
 made another attempt to utilize its vast posses- 
 sions in Alta California. The Manila galleons 
 sailed down the coast year after year for more 
 than a century and a half, yet in all this long 
 space of time none of them so far as we know 
 ever entered a harbor or bay on the upper Cali- 
 fornia coast. Spain still held her vast colonial 
 possessions in America, but with a loosening 
 grasp. As the years went by she had fallen 
 from her high estate. Her power on sea and 
 land had weakened. Those brave old sea kings, 
 Drake, Hawkins and Frobisher, had destroyed 
 her invincible Armada and burned her ships in 
 her very harbors. The English and Dutch pri- 
 vateers had preyed upon her commerce on the 
 high seas and the buccaneers had robbed her 
 treasure ships and devastated her settlements on 
 the islands and the Spanish main, while the free- 
 booters of many nations had time and again 
 captured her galleons and ravished her colonies 
 on the Pacific coast. The energy and enterprise 
 that had been a marked characteristic of her 
 people in the days of Cortes and Pizarro were 
 ebbing away. The cruelty and religious intol- 
 
 erance of her kings, her nobles and her clergy, 
 had sapped the bravery of her people. The fear 
 of her Holy Inquisition palsied effort and sub- 
 stituted in her people cringing for courage. For 
 three centuries the rack and the thumb-screw 
 of her Holy Office had never been allowed to 
 rust from disuse nor its fires to burn out for 
 want of victims. In trying to kill heresy her 
 rulers were slowly but s-urcly killing Spain. 
 Proscriptive laws and the fear of the inquisition 
 had driven into exile the most enterprising and 
 the most intelligent classes of her people. Spain 
 was decaying with the dry rot of bigotry. Other 
 nations stood ready to take advantage of her 
 decadence. Her old-time enemy, England, which 
 had gained in power as Spain had lost, was ever 
 on the alert to take advantage of her weakness; 
 and another power, Russia, almost unknown 
 among the powers of Europe when Spain was 
 in her prime, was threatening her possessions in 
 Alta California. To hold this vast country it 
 must be colonized, but her restrictions on com- 
 merce and her proscriptive laws against foreign 
 immigrants had shut the door to her colonial 
 possessions against colonists from all other na- 
 tions. Her sparse settlements in Mexico could 
 spare no colonists. The indigenous inhabitants 
 
44 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of California must be converted to Christianity 
 and made into citizens. Poor material indeed 
 were these degraded savages, but Spain's needs 
 were pressing and missionary zeal was powerful. 
 Indeed, the pristine courage and daring of the 
 Spanish soldier seemed to have passed to her 
 missionary priest. 
 
 The Jesuits had begun missionary work in 
 1697 among the degraded inhabitants of Lower 
 California. With a perseverance that was highly 
 commendable and a bravery that was heroic, 
 under their devoted leaders, Salvatierra, Kino, 
 Ugarte, Piccolo and their successors, they 
 founded sixteen missions on the peninsula. 
 Father Kino (or Kuhn), a German Jesuit, be- 
 sides his missionary work, between 1694 and 
 1702, had made explorations around the head 
 of the Gulf of California and up the Rio Colo- 
 rado to the mouth of the Gila, which had clearly 
 demonstrated that Lower California was a pen- 
 insula and not an island. Although Ulloa had 
 sailed down the inner coast and up the outer 
 coast of Lower California and Domingo del 
 Castillo, a Spanish pilot, had made a correct 
 map showing it to be a peninsula, so strong was 
 the belief in the existence of the Straits of 
 Anian that one hundred and sixty years after 
 UUoa's voyage Las Californias were still be- 
 lieved to be islands and were sometimes called 
 Islas Carolinas, or the Islands of Charles, named 
 so for Charles II. of Spain. Father Kino had 
 formed the design of establishing a chain of mis- 
 sions from Sonora around the head of the gulf 
 and down the inner coast of Lower California to 
 Cape San Lucas. He did not live to complete 
 his ambitious project. The Jesuit missions of 
 Baja California never grew rich in flocks and 
 herds. The country was sterile and the few 
 small valleys of fertile land around the missions 
 gave the padres and the neophytes at best but a 
 frugal return for their labors. 
 
 For years there had been, in the Catholic 
 countries of Europe, a growing fear and dis- 
 trust of the Jesuits. Portugal had declared them 
 traitors to the government and had banished 
 them in 1759 from her dominions. France had 
 suppressed the order in her domains in 1764. 
 In 1767, King Carlos III., by a pragmatic sanc- 
 tion or decree, ordered their expulsion from 
 
 Spain and all her American colonies. So great 
 and powerful was the influence of the order that 
 the decree for their expulsion was kept secret 
 until the moment of its execution. Throughout 
 all parts of the kingdom, at a certain hour of 
 the night, a summons came to every college, 
 monastery or other establishment where mem- 
 bers of the order dwelt, to assemble by com- 
 mand of the king in the chapel or refectory 
 immediately. The decree of perpetual banish- 
 ment was then read to them. They were hastily 
 bundled into vehicles that were awaiting them 
 outside and hurried to the nearest seaport, 
 where they were shipped to Rome. During 
 their journey to the sea-coast they were not al- 
 lowed to communicate with their friends nor 
 permitted to speak to persons they met on the 
 way. By order of the king, any subject who 
 should undertake to vindicate the Jesuits in writ- 
 ing should be deemed guilty of treason and con- 
 demned to death. 
 
 The Lower California missions were too dis- 
 tant and too isolated to enforce the king's de- 
 cree with the same haste and secrecy that was 
 observed in Spain and Mexico. To Governor 
 Caspar de Portola was entrusted the enforce- 
 ment of their banishment. These missions were 
 transferred to the Franciscans, but it took time 
 to make the substitution. He proceeded with 
 great caution and care lest the Indians should 
 become rebellions and demoralized. It was not 
 until February, 1768, that all the Jesuit mis- 
 sionaries were assembled at La Paz; from there 
 they were sent to Mexico and on the 13th of 
 April, at Vera Cruz, they bade farewell to the 
 western continent. 
 
 At the head of the Franciscan contingent that 
 came to Bahia, Cal., to take charge of the aban- 
 doned missions, was Father Junipero Serra, a 
 man of indomitable will and great missionary 
 zeal. Miguel Jose Serra was born on the island of 
 Majorica in the year 1713. After completing his 
 studies in the Lullian LTniversity, at the age of 
 eighteen he became a monk and was admitted 
 into the order of Franciscans. On taking or- 
 ders he assumed the name of Junipero (Juniper). 
 Among the disciples of St. Francis was a very 
 zealous and devoted monk who bore the name 
 of Junipero. of whom St. Francis once said, 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 45 
 
 "Would to God, my brothers, that I had a whole 
 forest of such Junipers." Serra's favorite study 
 was the "Lives of the Saints," and no doubt the 
 study of the life of the original Junipero influ- 
 enced him to take that saint's name. Serra's 
 ambition was to become a missionary, but it was 
 not until he was nearly forty years of age that 
 his desire was gratified. In 1749 he came to 
 Mexico and January i, 1750, entered the College 
 of San Fernando. A few months later he was 
 given charge of an Indian mission in the Sierra 
 Gorda mountains, where, with his assistant and 
 lifelong friend. Father Palou, he remained nine 
 years. Under his instructions the Indians were 
 taught agriculture and the mission became a 
 model establishment of its kind. From this 
 mountain mission Serra returned to the city of 
 Mexico. He spent seven years in doing mis- 
 sionary work among the Spanish population of 
 the capital and surrounding country. His suc- 
 cess as a preacher and his great missionary zeal 
 led to his selection as president of the missions 
 of California, from which the Jesuits had been 
 removed. April 2, 1768, he arrived in the port of 
 Loreto with fifteen associates from the College 
 of San Fernando. These were sent to the dif- 
 ferent missions of the peninsula. These mis- 
 sions extended over a territory seven hundred 
 miles in length and it required several months 
 to locate all the missionaries. The scheme for 
 the occupation and colonization of Alta Cali- 
 fornia was to be jointly the work of church and 
 state. The representative of the state was Jose 
 de Galvez, visitador-general of New Spain, a 
 man of untiring energy, great executive ability, 
 sound business sense and, as such men are and 
 ought to be, somewhat arbitrary. Galvez 
 reached La Paz in July, 1768. He immediately 
 set about investigating the condition of the 
 peninsula missions and supplying their needs. 
 This done, he turned his attention to the north- 
 ern colonization. He established his headquar- 
 ters at Santa Ana near La Paz. Here he sum- 
 moned Father Junipero for consultation in 
 regard to the founding of missions in Alta Cali- 
 fornia. It was decided to proceed to the initial 
 points San Diego and Monterey by land and sea. 
 Three ships were to be dispatched carrying the 
 heavier articles, such as agricultural imple- 
 
 ments, church ornaments, and a supply of provi- 
 sions for the support of the soldiers and priest 
 after their arrival in California. The expedi- 
 tion by land was to take along cattle and 
 horses to stock the country. This expedition 
 was divided into two dc^tachments, the advance 
 one under tiie command of Rivera y Moncada, 
 who had been a long time in the country, and 
 the second division under Governor Caspar de 
 Portola, who was a newcomer. Captain Rivera 
 was sent northward to collect from the missions 
 ail the live stock and supplies that could be 
 spared and take them to Santa Maria, the most 
 northern mission of the peninsula. Stores of 
 all kinds were collected at La Paz. Father 
 Serra made a tour of the missions and secured 
 such church furniture, ornaments and vestments 
 as could be spared. 
 
 The first vessel fitted out for the expedition 
 by sea was the San Carlos, a ship of about 
 two hundred tons burden, leaky and badly con- 
 structed. She sailed from La Paz January 9, 
 1769, under the command of \''icente Vila. In 
 addition to the crew- there were twenty-five Cat- 
 aionian soldiers, commanded ' by Lieutenant 
 Fages, Pedro Prat, the surgeon, a Franciscan 
 friar, two blacksmiths, a baker, a cook and two 
 tortilla makers. Galvez in a small vessel accom- 
 panied the San Carlos to Cape San Lucas, where 
 he landed and set to w-ork to fit out the San 
 Antonio. On the 15th of February this vessel 
 sailed from San Jose del Cabo (San Jose of the 
 Cape), under the command of Juan Perez, an 
 expert pilot, who had been engaged in the Phil- 
 ippine trade. On this vessel went two Franciscan 
 friars, Juan Viscaino and Francisco Gomez. 
 Captain Rivera y Moncada, who was to pioneer 
 the way, had collected supplies and cattle at \'el- 
 icata on the northern frontier. From here, with 
 a small force of soldiers, a gang of neophytes 
 and three muleteers, and accompanied by Padre 
 Crespi, he began his march to San Diego on the 
 24th of March, 1769. 
 
 The second land expedition, commanded by 
 Governor Caspar de Portola in person, began 
 its march from Loreto, March 9, 1769. Father 
 Serra, who was to have accompanied it, was de- 
 tained at Loreto by a sore leg. He joined the 
 expedition at Santa Maria, May 5, where it had 
 
46 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 been waiting for him some time. It then pro- 
 ceeded to Rivera's camp at Velicata, sixty miles 
 further north, where Serra founded a mission, 
 naming it San Fernando. Campa Coy, a friar 
 who had accompanied the expedition thus far, 
 was left in charge. This mission was intended 
 as a frontier post in the travel between the pen- 
 insula missions and the Alta California settle- 
 ments. On the 15th of May Portola began his 
 northern march, following the trail of Rivera. 
 Galvez had named, by proclamation, St. Joseph 
 as the patron saint of the California expeditions. 
 Santa Maria was designated as the patroness of 
 conversions. 
 
 The San Antonia, the last vessel to sail, was 
 the first to arrive at San Diego. It anchored in 
 the bay April 11, 1769, after a prosperous voy- 
 age of twenty-four days. There she remained 
 at anchor, awaiting the arrival of the San Car- 
 los, the flag ship of the expedition, which had 
 sailed more than a month before her. On the 
 29th of April the San Carlos, after a disastrous 
 voyage of one hundred and ten days, drifted 
 into the Bay of San Diego, her crew prostrated 
 with the scurvy, not enough able-bodied men 
 being left to man a boat. Canvas tents were 
 pitched and the afflicted men taken ashore. 
 When the disease had run its course nearly all 
 of the crew of the San Carlos, half of the sol- 
 diers who had come on her, and nine of the 
 sailors of the San Antonio, were dead. 
 
 On the 14th of May Captain Rivera y Mon- 
 cada's detachment arrived. The expedition had 
 made the journey from Velicata in fifty-one 
 days. On the first of July the second division, 
 commanded by Portola, arrived. The journey 
 had been uneventful. The four divisions of the 
 grand expedition were now united, but its num- 
 bers had been greatly reduced. Out of two 
 hundred and nineteen who had set out by land 
 and sea only one hundred and twenty-six re- 
 mained; death from scurvy and the desertion of 
 llie neophytes had reduced the numbers nearly 
 one-half. The ravages of the scurvy had de- 
 stroved the crew of one of the vessels and 
 greatly crippled that of the other, so it was im- 
 possible to proceed by sea to Monterey, the 
 second objective point of the expedition. A 
 council of the officers was held and it was de- 
 
 cided to send the San .A.ntonia back to San Bias 
 for supplies and sailors to man the San Carlos. 
 The San Antonia sailed on the 9th of July and 
 after a voyage of twenty days reached her des- 
 tination; but short as the voyage was, half of 
 the crew died of the scurvy on the passage. In 
 early American navigation the scurvy was the 
 most dreaded scourge of the sea, more to be 
 feared than storm and shipwreck. These might 
 happen occasionally, but the scurvy always made 
 its appearance on long voyages, and sometimes 
 destroyed the whole ship's crew. Its appearance 
 and ravages were largely due to the neglect of 
 sanitary precautions and to the utter indifTer- 
 ence of those in authority to provide for the 
 comfort and health of the sailors. The interces- 
 sion of the saints, novenas, fasts and penance 
 were relied upon to protect and save the vessel 
 and her crew, while the simplest sanitary meas- 
 ures were utterly disregarded. A blind, unrea- 
 soning faith that was always seeking interposi- 
 tion from some power without to preserve and 
 ignoring the power within, was the bane and 
 curse of that age of superstition. 
 
 If the mandates of King Carlos III. and the 
 instructions of the visitador-general, Jose de 
 Galvez, vvere to be carried out, the expedition 
 for the settlement of the second point designated 
 (Monterey) must be made by land; accordingly 
 Governor Portola set about organizing his 
 forces for the overland journey. On the 14th 
 of July the expedition began its march. It con- 
 sisted of Governor Portola, Padres Crespi and 
 Gomez, Captain Rivera y Moncada, Lieutenant 
 Pedro Pages, Engineer Miguel Constanso, sol- 
 diers, muleteers and Indian servants, number- 
 ing in all sixty-two persons. 
 
 On the i6th of July, two days after the de- 
 parture of Governor Portola, Father Junipero, 
 assisted by Padres Viscaino and Parron, founded 
 the mission of San Diego. The site selected 
 was in what is now Old Town, near the tempo- 
 rary presidio, which had been hastily con- 
 structed before the departure of Governor Por- 
 tola. A hut of boughs had been constructed 
 and in this the ceremonies of founding were 
 held. The Indians, while interested in what was 
 going on. manifested no desire to be converted. 
 They were willing to receive gifts, particularly 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 47 
 
 of cloth, but would not taste the food of the 
 Spaniards, fearing that it contained poison and 
 attributing the many deaths among the soldiers 
 and sailors to the food. The Indians had a great 
 liking for pieces of cloth, and their desire to 
 obtain this led to an attack upon the people of 
 the mission. On the 14th of August, taking 
 advantage of the absence of Padre Parron and 
 two soldiers, they broke into the mission and 
 began robbing it and the beds of the sick. The 
 four soldiers, a carpenter and a blacksmith ral- 
 lied to the defense, and after several of their 
 numbers had fallen by the guns of the soldiers, 
 the Indians fled. A boy servant of the padres 
 was killed and Father Viscaino wounded in the 
 hand. After this the Indians were more cau- 
 tious. 
 
 We now return to the march of Portola's ex- 
 pedition. As the first exploration of the main 
 land of California was made by it, I give con- 
 siderable space to the incidents of the journey. 
 Crespi, Constanso and Pages kept journals of 
 the march. I quote from those of Constanso 
 and Crespi. Lieutenant Constanso thus de- 
 scribes the order of the march. "The setting- 
 forth was on the 14th day of June* of the cited 
 year of '69. The two divisions of the expedition 
 by land marched in one, the commander so ar- 
 ranging because the number of horse-herd and 
 packs was much, since of provisions and victuals 
 alone they carried one hundred packs, which he 
 estimated to be necessary to ration all the folk 
 during six months; thus providing against a 
 delay of the packets, altho' it was held to be 
 impossible that in this interval some one of 
 them should fail to arrive at Monterey. On 
 the marches the following order was observed: 
 At the head went the commandant with the offi- 
 cers, the six men of the Catalonia volunteers, 
 who added themselves at San Diego, and some 
 friendly Indians, with spades, mattocks, crow- 
 bars, axes and other nnplements of pioneers, to 
 chop and open a passage whenever necessary. 
 After them followed the pack-train, divided into 
 four bands with the muleteers and a competent 
 number of garrison soldiers for their escort with 
 each band. In the rear .-Tuard with the rest of 
 
 ♦Evidently an error: it should be July 14th. 
 
 the troops and friendly Indians came the cap- 
 tain, Don Fernando Rivera, convoying the 
 horse-herd and the mule herd for relays." 
 * * * 
 
 "It must be well considered that the marches 
 of these troops with such a train and with such 
 embarrassments thro' unknown lands and un- 
 used paths could not be long ones; leaving aside 
 the other causes which obliged them to halt 
 and camp early in the afternoon, that is to sav. 
 the necessity of exploring the land one day for 
 the next, so as to regulate them (the marches) 
 according to the distance of the watering-places 
 and to take in consequence the proper precau- 
 tions; setting forth again on special occasions 
 in the evening, after having given water to the 
 beasts in that same hour upon the sure infurma- 
 tion that in the following stretch there was no 
 water or that the watering place was low, or the 
 pasture scarce. The restings were measured by 
 the necessity, every four days, more or less, 
 according to the extraordinary fatigue occa- 
 sioned by the greater roughness of the road, 
 the toil of the pioneers, or the wandering off of 
 the beasts which were missing from the horse 
 herd and which it was necessary to seek by their 
 tracks. At other times, by the necessity of 
 humoring the sick, when there were any, and 
 with time there were many who yielded up their 
 strength to the continued fatigue, the excessive 
 heat and cruel cold. In the form and according 
 to the method related the Spaniards executed 
 their marches; traversing immense lands more 
 fertile and more pleasing in proportion as they 
 penetrated more to the north. All in general are 
 peopled with a multitude of Indians, who came 
 out to meet tliem and in some jiarts accompa- 
 nied them from one stage of the journey to the 
 next; a folk very docile and tractable chiefly 
 from San Diego onward." 
 
 Constanso's description of the Indians of 
 Santa Barbara will be found in the chapter on the 
 "Aborigines of California." "From the chan- 
 nel of Santa Barbara onward the lands are not 
 so populous nor the Indians so industrious, but 
 they are equally affable and tractable. The 
 •Spaniards pursued their voyage without opposi- 
 tion up to the Sierra of Santa Lucia, which thev 
 contrived to cross with much hardship. At the 
 
48 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 foot of said Sierra on the north side is to be 
 found the port of Monterey, according to an- 
 cient reports, between the Point of Pines and 
 that of Ano Nuevo (New Year). The Spaniards 
 caught sight of said points on the ist of October 
 of the year '69, and, believing they had arrived 
 at the end of their voyage, the commandant sent 
 the scouts forward to reconnoitre the Point of 
 Pines; in whose near vicinity lies said Port in 
 
 36 degrees and 40 minutes North Latitude. But 
 the scant tokens and equivocal ones which are 
 given of it by the Pilot Cabrera Bueno, the only 
 clue of this voyage, and the character of this 
 Port, which rather merits the name of Bay, 
 being spacious (in likeness to that of Cadiz), 
 not corresponding with ideas which it is natural 
 to form in reading the log of the aforemen- 
 tioned Cabrera Bueno, nor with the latitude of 
 
 37 degrees in which he located it, the scouts were 
 persuaded that the Port must be farther to the 
 north and they returned to the camp which our 
 people occupied with the report that what they 
 sought was not to be seen in those parts." 
 
 They decided that the Port was still further 
 north and resumed their march. Seventeen of 
 their number were sick with the scurvy, some of 
 whom, Constanso says, seemed to be in their 
 last extremity; these had to be carried in lit- 
 ters. To add to their miseries, the rains began 
 in the latter part of October, and with them 
 came an epidemic of diarrhea, "which spread to 
 all without exception; and it came to be feared 
 that this sickness which prostrated their powers 
 and left the persons spiritless, would finish with 
 the expedition altogether. But it turned out 
 quite to the contrary." Those afflicted with the 
 scurvy began to mend and in a short time they 
 wererestoredto health. Constanso thus describes 
 the discovery of the Bay of San Francisco: 
 "The last day of October the Expedition by land 
 came in sight of Punta de Los Reyes and the 
 Farallones of the Port of San Francisco, whose 
 landmarks, compared with those related by 
 the log of the Pilot Cabrera Bueno, v^-ere found 
 exact. Thereupon it became of evident knowl- 
 edge that the Port of Monterey had been left 
 behind; there being few who stuck to the 
 contrary opinion. Nevertheless the comman- 
 dant resolved to send to reconnoitre the 
 
 land as far as Point de los Reyes. The scouts 
 who were commissioned for this purpose found 
 themselves obstructed by immense estuaries, 
 which run extraordinarily far back into the land 
 and were obliged to make great detours to get 
 around the heads of these. * * * Having 
 arrived at the end of the first estuary and recon- 
 noitered the land that would have to be followed 
 to arrive at the Point de Los Reyes, interrupted 
 with new estuaries, scant pasturage and fire- 
 wood and having recognized, besides this, the 
 uncertainty of the news and the misapprehen- 
 sion the scouts had labored under, the com- 
 mandant, with the advice of his officers, resolved 
 upon a retreat to the Point of Pines in hopes of 
 linding the Port of Monterey and encountering 
 in it the Packet San Jose or the San Antonia, 
 whose succor already was necessary; since of 
 the provisions which had been taken in San 
 Diego no more remained than some few sacks of 
 flour of which a short ration was issued to each 
 individual daily." 
 
 "On the eleventh day of November was put 
 into execution the retreat in search of Mon- 
 terey. The Spaniards reached said port and 
 the Point of Pines on the 28th of Novem- 
 ber. They maintained themselves in this place 
 until the loth of December without any ves- 
 sel having appeared in this time. For which 
 reason and noting also a lack of victuals, and 
 that the sierra of Santa Lucia was covering 
 itself with snow, the commandant, Don Caspar 
 de Portola, saw himself obliged to decide to 
 continue the retreat unto San Diego, leaving 
 it until a better occasion to return to the enter- 
 prise. On this retreat the Spaniards experi- 
 enced some hardships and necessities, because 
 they entirely lacked provisions, and because the 
 long marches, which necessity obliged to make 
 to reach San Diego, gave no time for seeking 
 sustenance by the chase, nor did game abound 
 equally everywhere. At this juncture they killed 
 twelve mules of the pack-train on whose meat 
 the folk nourished themselves unto San Diego, 
 at which new establishment they arrived, all in 
 health, on the 24th of January, 1770." 
 
 The San Jose, the third ship fitted out by 
 A'isitador-General Galvez, and which Governor 
 Portola expected to find in the Bay of Monte- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 49 
 
 rey, sailed from San Jose del Cabo in May, 
 1770, with supplies and a double crew to sup- 
 ply the loss of sailors on the otlier vessels, but 
 nothing was ever heard of her afterwards. Pro- 
 visions were running low at San Diego, no shi[) 
 liad arrived, and Governor Portola had decided 
 to abandon the place and return to Loreto. 
 Father Junipero was averse to this and prayed 
 unceasingly for the intercession of Saint Joseph, 
 the patron of the expedition. A novena or nine 
 days' public prayer was instituted to terminate 
 with a grand ceremonial on March 19th, which 
 was the saint's own day. But on the 23rd of 
 March, when all were ready to depart, the 
 packet San Antonia arrived. She had sailed 
 from San Bias the 20th of December. She en- 
 countered a storm which drove her four hun- 
 dred leagues from the coast; then she made 
 land in 35 degrees north latitude. Turning her 
 prow southward, she ran down to Point Concep- 
 cion, where at an anchorage in the Santa Bar- 
 bara channel the captain, Perez, took on water 
 and learned from the Indians of the return of 
 Portola's expedition. The vessel then ran down 
 to San Diego, where its opportune arrival 
 prevented the abandonment of that settle- 
 ment. 
 
 With an abundant supply of provisions and a 
 vessel to carry the heavier articles needed in 
 forming a settlement at Monterey, Portola or- 
 ganized a second expedition. This time he took 
 with him only twenty soldiers and one officer. 
 Lieutenant Pedro Pages. Pie set out from San 
 Diego on the 17th of -A-pril and followed his trail 
 made the previous year. Father Serra and the 
 engineer, Constanso, sailed on the San Antonia, 
 which left the port of San Diego on the i6th of 
 April. The land expedition reached Monterey 
 on the 23d of May and the San Antonia on the 
 31st of the same month. On the 3d of June, 
 1770, the mission of San Carlos Borromeo de 
 Monterey was formally founded with solemn 
 church ceremonies, accompanied by the ringing 
 of bells, the crack of musketry and the roar of 
 cannon. Father Serra conducted the church 
 services. Governor Portola took possession of 
 the land in the name of King Carlos III. A 
 presidio or fort of palisades was built and a few 
 huts erected. Portola, having formed the nu- 
 cleus of a settlement, turned over the command 
 of the territory to Lieutenant Fages. On the 
 9th of July, 1770, he sailed on the San Antonia 
 for San Bias. He never returned to Alta Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ABORIGINES OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 WHETHER the primitive California In- 
 dian was the low and degraded being 
 that some modern writers represent 
 him to have been, admits of doubt. A mis- 
 sion training continued through three gen- 
 erations did not elevate him in morals at least. 
 When freed from mission restraint and brought 
 in contact with the white race he lapsed into a 
 condition more degraded and more debased than 
 that in which the missionaries found him. 
 Whether it was the inherent fault of the Indian 
 or the fault of his training is a question that is 
 useless to discuss now. If we are to believe the 
 accounts of the California Indian given by Vis- 
 caino and Constanso, who saw him before he 
 
 had come in contact with civilization he was not 
 inferior in intelligence to the nomad aborigines 
 of the country east of the Rocky mountains. 
 
 Sebastian Viscaino thus describes the In- 
 dians he found on the shores of Monterey Bay 
 three hundred years ago: 
 
 "The Indians are of good stature and fair 
 complexion, the women being somewhat less in 
 size than the men and of pleasing countenance. 
 The clothing of the people of the coast lands 
 consists of the skins of the sea-wolves (otter) 
 abounding there, which tliey tan and dress bet- 
 ter than is done in Castile; they possess also, 
 in great quantity, flax like that of Castile, hemp 
 and cotton, from which thev make fishing-lines 
 
50 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and nets for rabbits and hares. They have ves- 
 sels of pine wood very well made, in which they 
 go to sea with fourteen paddle men on a side 
 with great dexterity, even in stormy weather." 
 
 Indians who could construct boats of pine 
 boards that took twenty-eight paddle men to 
 row were certainly superior in maritime craft 
 to the birch bark canoe savages of the east. 
 We might accuse Viscaino, who was trying to 
 induce King Philip III. to found a colony on 
 Monterey Bay. of exaggeration in regard to 
 the Indian boats were not his statements con- 
 firmed by the engineer, Miguel Constanso, who 
 accompanied Portola's expedition one hundred 
 and sixty-seven years after Viscaino visited the 
 coast. Constanso, writing of the Indians of the 
 Santa Barbara Channel, says, "The dexterity 
 and skill of these Indians is surpassing in the 
 construction of their launches made of pine 
 planking. They are from eight to ten varas 
 (twenty-three to twenty-eight feet) in length, 
 including their rake and a vara and a half (four 
 feet three inches) beam. Into their fabric enters 
 no iron whatever, of the use of which they know 
 little. But they fasten the boards with firmness, 
 one to another, working their drills just so far 
 apart and at a distance of an inch from the edge, 
 the holes in the upper boards corresponding 
 with those in the lower, and through these holes 
 they pass strong lashings of deer sinews. They 
 pitch and calk the seams, and paint the whole 
 in sightly colors. They handle the boats with 
 equal cleverness, and three or four men go out 
 to sea to fish in them, though they have capacity 
 to carry eight or ten. They use long oars with 
 two blades and row with unspeakable lightness 
 and velocity. They know all the arts of fishing, 
 and fish abound along their coasts as has been 
 said of San Diego. They have communication 
 and commerce with the natives of the islands, 
 whence they get the beads of coral which are 
 current in place of money through these lands, 
 although they hold in more esteem the glass 
 beads which the Spaniards gave them, and of- 
 fered in exchange for these whatever they had 
 like trays, otter skins, baskets and wooden 
 plates. * * * 
 
 "They are likewise great hunters. To kill 
 deer and antelope they avail themselves of an 
 
 admirable ingenuity. They preserve the hide 
 of the head and part of the neck of some one 
 of these animals, sVinned with care and leaving 
 the horns attached to the same hide, which they 
 stuff with grass or straw to keep its shape. 
 They put this said shell like a cap upon the head 
 and go forth to the woods with this rare equip- 
 age. On sighting the deer or antelope they go 
 dragging themselves along the ground little by 
 little with the left hand. In the right they carry 
 the bow and four arrows. They lower and raise 
 the head, moving it to one side and the other, 
 and making other demonstrations so like these 
 animals that they attract them without difficulty 
 to the snare; and having them within a short 
 distance, they discharge their arrows at them 
 with certainty of hitting." 
 
 In the two chief occupations of the savage, 
 hunting and fishing, the Indians of the Santa 
 Barbara Channel seem to have been the equals 
 if not the superiors of their eastern brethren. 
 In the art of war they were inferior. Their 
 easy conquest by the Spaniards and their tame 
 subjection to mission rule no doubt had much 
 to do with giving them a reputation for infe- 
 riority. 
 
 The Indians of the interior valleys and those 
 of the coast belonged to the same general fam- 
 ily. There were no great tribal divisions like 
 those that existed among the Indians east of the 
 Rocky mountains. Each rancheria was to a 
 certain extent independent of all others, al- 
 though at times they were known to combine 
 for war or plunder. Although not warlike, they 
 sometimes resisted the whites in battle with 
 great bravery. Each village had its own terri- 
 tory in which to hunt and fish and its own sec- 
 tion in which to gather nuts, seeds and herbs. 
 While their mode of living was somewhat no- 
 madic they seem to have had a fixed location for 
 their rancherias. 
 
 The early Spanish settlers of California and 
 the mission padres have left but very meager 
 accounts of the manners, customs, traditions, 
 government and religion of the aborigines. The 
 padres were too intent upon driving out the old 
 religious beliefs of the Indian and instilling new 
 ones to care much what tlie aborigine had for- 
 merly believed or what traditions or myths he 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 51 
 
 had inherited from his ancestors. They ruth- 
 lessly destroyed his fetiches anil his altars 
 wherever they found them, regarding them as 
 inventions of the devil. 
 
 The best account that has come down to us 
 of the primitive life of the Southern California 
 aborigines is found in a series of letters written 
 by Hugo Reid and published in the Los An- 
 geles Star in 1851-52. Reid was an educated 
 Scotchman, who came to Los .\ngeles in 1834. 
 He married an Indian woman, Dona Victoria, a 
 neophyte of the San Gabriel mission. She was 
 the daughter of an Indian chief. It- is said that 
 Reid had been crossed in love by some high 
 toned Spanish senorita and married the Indian 
 woman because she had the same name as his 
 lost love. It is generally believed that Reid was 
 the putative father of Helen Hunt Jackson's 
 heroine, Ramona. 
 
 From these letters, now in the possession of 
 the Historical Society of Southern California, 
 I briefly collate some of the leading character- 
 istics of the Southern Indians: 
 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 "Before the Indians belonging to the greater 
 part of this country were known to the whites 
 they comprised, as it were, one great family 
 under distinct chiefs; they spoke nearly the same 
 language, with the exception of a few words, 
 and were more to be distinguished by a local 
 intonation of the voice than anything else. Be- 
 ing related by blood and marriage war was 
 never carried on between them. When war was 
 consequently waged against neighboring tribes 
 of no affinity it was a common cause." 
 
 "Tlie government of the people was invested 
 in the hands of their chiefs, each captain com- 
 manding his own lodge. The command was 
 hereditary in a family. If the right line of de- 
 scent ran out they elected one of the same kin 
 nearest in blood. Laws in general were made 
 as required, with some few standing ones. Rob- 
 bery was never known among them. Murder 
 was of rare occurrence and punished with death. 
 Incest was likewise punished with death, being 
 held in such abhorrence that marriages between 
 kinsfolk were not allowed. The manner of put- 
 ting to death was by shooting the delinquent 
 
 with arrows. If a quarrel ensued between two 
 parties the chief of the lodge took cognizance 
 in the case and decided according to the testi- 
 mony produced. But if a quarrel occurred 
 between parties of distinct lodges, each chief 
 heard the witnesses produced by his own people, 
 and then, associated with the chief of the oppo- 
 site side, they passed sentence. In case they 
 could not agree an impartial chief was called in, 
 who heard the statements made by both and he 
 alone decided. There was no appeal from his de- 
 cision. Whipping was never resorted to as a 
 punishment. All fines and sentences consisted in 
 delivering shells, money, food and skins." 
 
 RELIGION. 
 
 "They believed in one God, the Maker and 
 Creator of all things, whose name was and is 
 held so sacred among them as hardly ever to be 
 used, and when used only in a low voice. That 
 name is Qua-o-ar. When they have to use the 
 name of the supreme being on an ordinary oc- 
 casion they substitute in its stead the word 
 Y-yo-ha-rory-nain or the Giver of Life. They 
 have only one word to designate life and 
 soul." 
 
 "The world was at one time in a state of chaos, 
 until God gave it its present formation, fi.xing 
 it on the shoulders of seven giants, made ex- 
 pressly for this end. They have their names, 
 and when they move themselves an earthquake 
 i.> the consequence, .\nimals were then formed, 
 and lastly man and woman were formed, separ- 
 ately from earth and ordered to live together. 
 The man's name was Tobahar and the woman's 
 Probavit. God ascended to Heaven immediately 
 afterward, where he receives the souls of all who 
 die. They had no bad spirits connected with 
 their creed, and never heard of a 'devil' or a 
 'heir until the coming of the Spaniards. Tliey 
 believed in no resurrection whatever " 
 
 .MARRIAGE. 
 
 "Chiefs had one, two or three wives, as their 
 inclination dictated, the subjects only one. When 
 a person wished to marry and had selected a 
 suitable partner, he advertised the same to all 
 liis relatives, even to the nineteenth cousin. On 
 a day appointed the inale portion of the lodge 
 
52 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 brought in a collection of money beads. All the 
 relations having come in with their share, 
 they (the males) proceeded in a body to the resi- 
 dence of the bride, to whom timely notice had 
 been given. All of the bride's female relations 
 had been assembled and the money was equally 
 divided among them, the bride receiving noth- 
 ing, as it was a sort of purchase. After a few 
 days the bride's female relations returned the 
 compliment by taking to the bridegroom's 
 dwelling baskets of meal made of chia, which 
 was distributed among the male relatives. These 
 preliminaries over, a day was fixed for the cere- 
 mony, which consisted in decking out the bride 
 in innumerable strings of beads, paint, feathers 
 and skins. On being ready she was taken up 
 in the arms of one of her strongest male rela- 
 tives, who carried her, dancing, towards her 
 lover's habitation. All of her family, friends and 
 neighbors accompanied, dancing around, throw- 
 ing food and edible seeds at her feet at every 
 step. These were collected in a scramble by the 
 spectators as best they could. The relations 
 of the bridegroom met them half way. and. tak- 
 ing the bride, carried her themselves, joining in 
 the ceremonious walking dance. On arriving at 
 the bridegroom's (who was sitting within his 
 hut) she was inducted into her new residence by 
 being placed alongside of her husband, while 
 baskets of seeds were liberally emptied on their 
 heads to denote blessings and plenty. This was 
 likewise scrambled for by the spectators, who, 
 on gathering up all the bride's seed cake, de- 
 parted, leaving them to enjoy their honeymoon 
 according to usage. A grand dance was given 
 on the occasion, the warriors doing the danc- 
 ing, the young women doing the singing. The 
 wife never visited her relatives from that day 
 forth, although they were at liberty to visit her." 
 
 BURI.\LS. 
 
 "When a person died all the kin collected to 
 mourn his or her loss. Each one had his own 
 peculiar mode of crying or howling, as easily dis- 
 tinguished the one from the other as one song 
 is from another. After lamenting awhile a 
 mourning dirge was sung in a low whining tone, 
 accompanied bv a shrill whistle produced by 
 blowing into the tube of a deer's leg bone. 
 
 Dancing can hardly be said to have formed a 
 part of the rites, as it was merely a monotonous 
 action of the foot on the ground. This was con- 
 tinued alternately until the body showed signs 
 of decay, when it was wrapped in the covering 
 used in life. The hands were crossed upon the 
 breast and the body tied from head to foot. A 
 grave having been dug in their burial ground, 
 the body was deposited with seeds, etc., accord- 
 ing to the means of the family. If the deceased 
 were the head of the family or a favorite son, 
 the hut in which he lived was burned up, as 
 likewise were all his personal effects." 
 
 FEUDS THE SONG FIGHTS. 
 
 "Animosity between persons or families was 
 of long duration, particularly between those of 
 different tribes. These feuds descended from 
 father to son until it was impossible to tell of 
 how many generations. They were, however, 
 harmless in themselves, being merely a war of 
 songs, composed and sung against the conflict- 
 ing party, and they were all of the most obscene 
 and indecent language imaginable. There are 
 two families at this day (1851) whose feud com- 
 menced before the Spaniards were ever dreamed 
 of and they still continue singing and dancing 
 against each other. The one resides at the mis- 
 sion of San Gabriel and the other at San Juan 
 Capistrano; they both lived at San Bernardino 
 when the quarrel commenced. During the sing- 
 ing they continue stamping on the ground to 
 express the pleasure they would derive from 
 tramping on the graves of their foes. Eight days 
 was the duration of the song fight." 
 
 UTENSILS. 
 
 "From the bark of nettles was manufactured 
 thread for nets, fishing lines, etc. Needles, fish- 
 hooks, awls and many other articles were made 
 of either bone or shell; for cutting up meat a 
 knife of cane was invariably used. Mortars and 
 pestles were made of granite. Sharp stones and 
 perseverance were the only things used in their 
 manufacture, and so skillfully did they combine 
 the two that their work was always remarkably 
 uniform. Their pots to cook in were made of 
 soapstone of about an inch in thickness and 
 procured from the Indians of Santa Catalina. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 53 
 
 Their baskets, made out of a certain species df 
 rush, were used only for dry purposes, although 
 they were water proof. The vessels in use for 
 liquids were roughly made of rushes and jjlas- 
 tered outside and in with bitumen or pitch." 
 
 INDIANS OK THE S.VNTA BARBARA CHAX.NEL. 
 
 Miguel Constanso, the engineer who accom- 
 panied Portola's expedition in 1769, gives us the 
 best description of the Santa Barbara Indians 
 extant. 
 
 "The Indians in whom was recognized more 
 vivacity and industry are those that inhabit the 
 islands and the coast of the Santa Barbara 
 channel. They live in pueblos (villages) whose 
 houses arc of spherical form in the fashion of a 
 lialf orange covered with rushes. They are up 
 to twenty varas (fifty-five feet) in diameter. Each 
 house contains three or four families. The 
 hearth is in the middle and in the top of the 
 house they leave a vent or chimney to give exit 
 for the smoke. In nothing did these gentiles 
 give the lie to the affability and good treatment 
 which were experienced at their hands in other 
 times (1602) by the Spaniards who landed upon 
 those coasts with General Sebastian Vizcayno. 
 They are men and women of good figure and as- 
 pect, very much given to painting and staining 
 their faces and bodies with red ochre. 
 
 "They use great head dresses of feathers and 
 some panderellas (small darts) which they bind 
 up amid their hair with various trinkets and 
 beads of coral of various colors. The men go 
 entirely naked, but in time of cold they sport 
 some long capes of tanned skins of nutrias (ot- 
 ters) and some mantles made of the same skins 
 cut in long strips, which they twist in such a 
 manner that all the fur remains outside; then 
 they weave these strands one with another, 
 forming a weft, and give it the pattern referred 
 to. 
 
 "The women go with more decency, girt 
 about the waist with tanned skins of deer which 
 cover them in front and behind more than half 
 down the leg, and with a mantelet of nutria over 
 the body. There are some of them with good 
 features. These are the Indian women who 
 make the trays and vases of rushes, to which 
 they give a thousand different forms and grace- 
 
 ful patterns, according to the uses to which they 
 are destined, whether it be for eating, drinking, 
 guarding their seeds, or for other purposes; for 
 these peoples do not know the use of earthen 
 ware as those of San Diego use it. 
 
 "The men work handsome tra\s of wood, with 
 finer inlays of coral or of bone; and some vases 
 of nuich capacity, closing at the mouth, which 
 appear to be made with a lathe — and with this 
 machine they would not come out better hol- 
 lowed nor of more perfect form. They give the 
 whole a luster which appears the finished handi- 
 work of a skilled artisan. The large vessels 
 which hold water are of a very strong weave of 
 rushes jjitched within ; and they give them the 
 same form as our water jars. 
 
 "To eat the seeds which they use in place of 
 bread they toast them first in great trays, put- 
 ting among the seeds some pebbles or small 
 stones heated until red; then they move and 
 shake the tray so it may not burn ; and getting 
 the seed sufficiently toasted they grind it in mor- 
 tars or almireses of stone. Some of these mor- 
 tars were of extraordinary size, as well wrought 
 as if they had had for the purpose the best steel 
 tools. The constancy, attention to trifles, and 
 labor which they employ in finishing these pieces 
 are well worthy of admiration. The mortars are 
 so appreciated among themselves that for those 
 who, dying, leave behind such handiworks, they 
 are wont to place them over the s])ot where they 
 are buried, that the memory of their skill and 
 application may not be lost. 
 
 "They inter their dead. They have their cem- 
 eteries within the very pueblo. The funerals of 
 their captains they make with great pomp, and 
 set up over their bodies some rods or poles, ex- 
 tremely tall, from wdiich they hang a variety of 
 utensils and chattels which w-ere used by them. 
 They likewise put in the sarne place some great 
 planks of pine, with various paintings and fig- 
 ures in which without doubt they explain the 
 exploits and prowesses of the personage. 
 
 "Plurality of wives is not lawful among these 
 peoples. Only the captains have a right to 
 inarry two. In all their pueblos the attention 
 was taken by a species of men who lived like the 
 women, kept company with them, dressed in the 
 same garb, adorned themselves with beads, pen- 
 
54 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dants, necklaces and other womanish adorn- 
 ments, and enjoyed great consideration among 
 the people. The lack of an interpreter did not 
 permit us to find out what class of men they 
 were, or to what ministry they were destined, 
 though all suspect a defect in sex, or some 
 abuse among those gentiles. 
 
 "In their houses the married couples have 
 their separate beds on platforms elevated from 
 the ground. Their mattresses are some simple 
 petates (mats) of rushes and their pillows are 
 of the same petates rolled up at the head of the 
 bed. All these beds are hung about with like 
 mats, which serve for decency and protect from 
 the cold." 
 
 From the descriptions given by Viscaino and 
 Constanso of the coast Indians they do not ap- 
 pear to have been the degraded creatures that 
 some modern writers have pictured them. In 
 mechanical ingenuity they were superior to the 
 Indians of the Atlantic seaboard or those of the 
 Mississippi valley. Much of the credit that has 
 been given to the mission padres for the patient 
 training thev gave the Indians in mechanical 
 arts should be given to the Indian himself. He 
 was no mean mechanic when the padres took 
 him in hand. 
 
 Bancroft says "the Northern California In- 
 dians were in every way superior to the central 
 and southern tribes." The difference was more 
 in climate than in race. Those of Northern Cal- 
 ifornia living in an invigorating climate were 
 more active and more warlike than their 
 sluggish brethren of the south. They gained 
 their living by hunting larger game than 
 those of the south whose subsistence was derived 
 mostly from acorns, seed's, small game and fish. 
 Those of the interior valleys of the north were 
 of lighter complexion and had better forms and 
 features than their southern kinsmen. Thev 
 v.-ere divided into numerous small tribes or 
 clans, like those of central and Southern Cali- 
 fornia. The Spaniards never penetrated very 
 far into the Indian country of the north and 
 consequently knew little or nothing about the 
 habits and customs of the aborigines there. 
 After the discovery of gold the miners invaded 
 their country in search of the precious metal. 
 The Indians at first were not hostile, but ill 
 
 treatment soon made them so. When they re- 
 taliated on the whites a war of extermination 
 was waged against them. Like the mission In- 
 dians of the south they are almost extinct. 
 
 All of the coast Indians seem to have had 
 some idea of a supreme being. The name dif- 
 fered with the difYerent tribes. According to 
 Hugo Reid the god of the San Gabriel Indian 
 was named Quaoar. Father Boscana, who 
 wrote "A Historical Account of the Origin, 
 Customs and Traditions of the Indians" at the 
 missionary establishment of San Juan Capis- 
 trano, published in Alfred Robinson's "Life in 
 California," gives a lengthy account of the relig- 
 ion of those Indians before their conversion to 
 Christianity. Their god was Chinigchinich. Evi- 
 dently the three old men from whom Boscana 
 derived his information mi.xed some of the 
 religious teachings of the padres with their 
 own primitive beliefs, and made up for the father 
 a nondescript religion half heathen and half 
 Christian. Boscana was greatly pleased to find 
 so many allusions to .Scriptural truths, evidently 
 never suspecting that the Indians were imposing 
 upon him. 
 
 The religious belief of the Santa Barbara 
 Channel Indians appears to have been the most 
 rational of any of the beliefs held by the Cali- 
 fornia aborigines. Their god, Chupu, was the 
 deification of good; and Nunaxus, their Satan, 
 the personification of evil. Chupu the all-powerful 
 created Nunaxus, who rebelled against his cre- 
 ator and tried to overthrow him; but Chupu, the 
 almighty, punished him by creating man who, by 
 devouring the animal and vegetable products of 
 the earth, checked the physical growth of 
 Nunaxus, who had hoped by liberal feeding to 
 become like unto a mountain. Foiled in his am- 
 bition, Nunaxus ever afterwards sought to in- 
 jure mankind. To secure Chupu's protection, 
 ofiferings were made to him and dances were 
 instituted in his honor. Flutes and other in- 
 struments were played to attract his attention. 
 When Nunaxus brought calamity upon the In- 
 dians in the shape of dry years, which caused a 
 dearth of animal and vegetable products, or sent 
 sickness to afilict them, their old men interceded 
 with Chupu to protect them; and to exorcise 
 their Satan thev shot arrows and threw 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 55 
 
 stones in the direction in which he was sup- 
 posed to be. 
 
 Of the Indian myths and traditions Hugo 
 Reid says: "They were of incredible length 
 and contained more metamorphoses than Ovid 
 could have engendered in his brain had he lived 
 a thousand years." 
 
 The Cahuilla tribes who formerly inhabited 
 the mountain districts of the southeastern part 
 of the state had a tradition of their creation. Ac- 
 cording to this tradition the primeval Adam and 
 Eve were created by the Supreme Being in the 
 waters of a northern sea. They came up out 
 of the water upon the land, which they found to 
 be soft and miry. They traveled southward for 
 many moons in search of land suitable for their 
 residence and where they could obtain susten- 
 ance from the earth. This they found at last on 
 the mountain sides in Southern California. 
 
 Some of the Indian myths when divested of 
 their crudities and ideas clothed in fitting 
 language are as poetical as those of Greece or 
 Scandinavia. The following one which Hugo 
 Reid found among the San Gabriel Indians 
 bears a striking resemblance to the Grecian 
 myths of Orpheus and Eurydice but it is not at 
 all probable that the Indians ever heard the 
 Grecian fable. Ages ago, so runs this Indian 
 myth, a powerful people dwelt On the banks of 
 the Arroyo Seco and hunted over the hills and 
 plains of what are now our modern Pasadena 
 and the valley of San Fernando. They com- 
 mitted a grievous crime against the Great Spirit. 
 A pestilence destroyed them all save a boy and 
 girl who were saved by a foster mother pos- 
 sessed of supernatural powers. They grew to 
 manhood and womanhood and became husband 
 and wife. Their devotion to each other angered 
 the foster mother, who fancied herself neglected. 
 She plotted to destroy the wife. The young 
 woman, divining her fate, told her husband that 
 should he at any time feel a tear drop on his 
 shoulder, he might know that she was dead. 
 While he was away hunting the dread signal 
 came. He hastened back to destroy the hag who 
 had brought death to his wife, but the sorceress 
 had escaped. Disconsolate he threw himself on 
 the grave of his wife. For three days he neither 
 ate nor drank. On the third dav a whirlwind 
 
 arose from the grave and moved toward the 
 south. Perceiving in it the form of his wife, he 
 hastened on until he overtook it. Then a voice 
 came out of the cloud saying: "Whither I go, 
 thou canst not come. Thou art of earth but I 
 am dead to the world. Return, my husband, 
 return!" He plead piteously to be taken with 
 her. She consenting, he was wrapt in the cloud 
 with her and borne across the illimitable sea»that 
 separates the abode of the living from that of 
 the dead. When they reached the realms of 
 ghosts a spirit voice said: "Sister, thou comest 
 to us with an odor of earth; what dost thou 
 bring?" Then she confessed that she had 
 brought her living husband. "Take him away!" 
 said a voice stern and commanding. She plead 
 that he might remain and recounted his many 
 virtues. To test his virtues, the spirits gave hi:n 
 four labors. First to bring a feather from the 
 top of a pole so high that its summit was in- 
 visible. Xe.xt to split a hair of great length and 
 exceeding fineness; third to make on the ground 
 a map of the constellation of the lesser bear and 
 locate the north star and last to slay the celestial 
 deer that had the form of black beetles and were 
 exceedingly swift. With the aid of his wife he 
 accomplished all the tasks. 
 
 But no mortal was allowed to dwell in the 
 abodes of death. "Take thou thy wife and re- 
 turn with her to the earth," said the spirit. "Yet 
 remember, thou shalt not speak to her; thou 
 shall not touch her until three suns have passed. 
 A penalty aw^aits thy disobedience." He prom- 
 ised. They pass from the spirit land and travel 
 to the confines of matter. By dav she is invis- 
 ible but by the flickering light of his camp-fire 
 he sees the dim outline of her form. Three davs 
 pass. .As the sun sinks behind the western hills 
 he builds his camp-fire. She appears before 
 him in all the beauty of life. He stretches forth 
 iiis arms to embrace her. She is snatched from, 
 his grasp, .'\lthough invisible to him yet the 
 upper rim of the great orb of day hung above 
 the w-estern verge. He had broken his prom- 
 ise. Like Orpheus, disconsolate, he wandered 
 over the earth until, relenting, the spirits sent 
 their servant Death to liring him to Tecupar 
 (Heaven). 
 
 The following myth of the mountain Indians 
 
56 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the north bears a strong resemblance to the 
 Norse fable of Gyoll the River of Death and its 
 glittering bridge, over which the spirits of the 
 dead pass to Hel, the land of spirits. The In- 
 dian, however, had no idea of any kind of a 
 bridge except a foot log across a stream. The 
 myth in a crude form was narrated to me many 
 years ago by an old pioneer. 
 
 According to this myth when an Indian died 
 his spirit form was conducted by an unseen 
 guide over a mountain trail unknown and inac- 
 cessible to mortals, to the rapidly flowing river 
 which separated the abode of the living from 
 that of the dead. As the trail descended to the 
 river it branched to the right and left. The right 
 hand path led to a foot bridge made of the mas- 
 
 sive trunk of a rough barked pine which spanned 
 the Indian styx; the left led to a slender, fresh 
 peeled birch pole that hung high above the roar- 
 ing torrent. At the parting of the trail an in- 
 exorable fate forced the bad to the left, while 
 the spirit form of the good passed on to the 
 right and over the rough barked pine to the 
 happy hunting grounds, the Indian heaven. The 
 bad reaching the river's brink and gazing long- 
 ingly upon the delights beyond, essayed to cross 
 the slippery pole — a slip, a slide, a clutch at 
 empty space, and the ghostly spirit form was 
 hurled into the mad torrent below, and was 
 borne by the rushing waters into a vast lethean 
 lake where it sunk beneath the waves and was 
 blotted from existence forever. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FRANCISCAN MISSIONS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 San Diego de Alcala. 
 
 THE two objective points chosen by Vis- 
 itador General Galvez and President 
 Junipero Serra to begin the spiritual 
 conquest and civilization of the savages of Alta 
 California, were San Diego and Monterey. The 
 expeditions sent by land and sea were all united 
 at San Diego July i, 1769. Father Serra lost no 
 time in beginning the founding of missions. 
 On the i6th of July, 1769, he founded the mis- 
 sion of San Diego de Alcala. It was the first 
 link in the chain of missionary establishments 
 that eventually stretched northward from San 
 Diego to Solano, a distance of seven hundred 
 miles, a chain that was fifty-five years in forging. 
 The first site of the San Diego mission was at 
 a place called by the Indians "Cosoy." It was 
 located near the presidio established by Gov- 
 ernor Portola before he set out in search of 
 Monterey. The locality is now knov^-n as Old 
 Town. 
 
 Temporary buildings were erected here but 
 the location proved unsuitable and in August, 
 1774, the mission was removed about two 
 leagues up the San Diego river to a place called 
 by the natives "Nipaguay." Here a dwelling for 
 
 the padres, a store house, a smithy and a 
 wooden church 18x57 feet were erected. 
 
 The mission buildings at Cosoy were given 
 up to the presidio except two rooms, one for 
 the visiting priests and the other for a temporary 
 store room for mission supplies coming by sea. 
 The missionaries had been fairly successful in 
 the conversions of the natives and some prog- 
 ress had been made in teaching them to labor. 
 On the night of November 4, 1775. without any 
 previous warning, the gentiles or unconverted 
 Indians in great numbers attacked the mission. 
 (Jne of the friars. Fray Funster, escaped to the 
 soldiers' quarters; the other. Father Jaume, was 
 killed by the savages. The blacksmith also w-as 
 killed ; the carpenter succeeded in reaching the 
 soldiers. The Indians set fire to the buildings 
 which were nearly all of wood. The soldiers, the 
 priest and carpenter were driven into a small 
 adobe building that had been used as a kitchen. 
 Two of the soldiers were wounded. The cor- 
 poral, one soldier and the carpenter were all 
 that were left to hold at bay a thousand howl- 
 ing fiends. The corporal, who was a sharji 
 shooter, did deadly execution on the savages. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BTOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 57 
 
 Father Funster saved tlie defenders from being 
 blown to pieces by the explosion of a fifty pound 
 sack of gunpowder. lie spread his cloak over 
 the sack and sat on it, thus preventing the pow- 
 der from being ignited by the sparks of the 
 burning building. The fight lasted till daylight, 
 when the hostiles fled. The Christian Indians 
 who professed to have been coerced by the sav- 
 ages then appeared and made many protesta- 
 tions of sorrow at what had happened. The mili- 
 tary commander was not satisfied that they were 
 innocent but the padres believed them. New 
 buildings were erected at the same place, the 
 soldiers of the presidio for a time assisting the 
 Indians in their erection. 
 
 The mission was fairly prosperous. In 1800 
 the cattle numbered 6,960 and the agricultural 
 products amounted to 2,600 bushels. From 
 1769 to 1834 there were 6,638 persons baptized 
 and 4,428 buried. The largest number of cat- 
 tle possessed by the mission at one time was 
 9,245 head in 1822. The old building now stand- 
 ing on the mission site at the head of the valley 
 is the third church erected there. The first, 
 built of wood and roofed with tiles, was erected 
 in 1774; the second, built of adobe, was com- 
 pleted in 1780 (the walls of this were badly 
 cracked by an earthquake in 1803); the third was 
 begun in 1808 and dedicated November 12, 
 1813. The mission was secularized in 1834. 
 
 S.-VN C.XRLOS DE BORROMEO. 
 
 As narrated in a former chapter, Governor 
 Portola, who with a small force had set out from 
 San Diego to find Monterey Bay, reached that 
 port May 24, 1770. Father Serra, who came 
 up by sea on the San Antonia, arrived at the 
 same place May 31. All things being in readi- 
 ness the Presidio of Monterey and the mission 
 of San Carlos de Borromeo were founded on 
 the same day — June 3, 1770. The boom of ar- 
 tillery and the roar of musketry accompani- 
 ments to the service of the double founding 
 frightened the Indians away from the mission 
 and it was some time before the savages could 
 muster courage to return. In June, i77i- the 
 site of the mission was moved to the Carmelo 
 river. Tliis was done by Father Serra to re- 
 move the neophytes from the contaminating in- 
 
 fluence of the soldiers at the presidio. The erec- 
 tion of the stone church still standing was be- 
 gun in 1793. It was completed and dedicated 
 in 1797. The largest neophyte population at 
 San Carlos was reached in 1794, when it num- 
 bered nine hundred and seventy-one. Between 
 1800 and 1810 it declined to seven hundred and 
 forty-seven. In 1820 the population had de- 
 creased to three hundred and eighty-one and 
 at the end of the next decade it had fallen to 
 two hundred and nine. In 1834, when the de- 
 cree of secularization was put in force, there were 
 about one hundred and fifty neophytes at the 
 mission. At the rate of decrease under mission 
 rule, a few more years would have pro- 
 duced the same result that secularization did, 
 namely, the extinction of the mission Indian. 
 
 S.\N .\NT0.\I0 Die 1\\UU.\. 
 
 The third mission founded in California was 
 San Antonio de Padua. It was located about 
 twenty-five leagues from Monterey. Here, on 
 the 14th of June, 1771, in La Canada de los 
 Robles, the cafion of oaks beneath a shelter of 
 Ijranches, Father Serra performed the services 
 of founding. The Indians seem to have been 
 more tractable than those of San Diego or Mon- 
 terey. The first convert was baptized one 
 month after the establishment of the mission. 
 San Antonio attained the highest limit of its 
 neophyte population in 1805, when it had 
 twelve hundred and ninety-six souls within its 
 fold. In 183 1 there were six hundred and sixty- 
 one Indians at or near the mission. In 1834, the 
 date of secularization, there were five hundred 
 and sixty-seven. After its disestablishment the 
 property of the mission was quickly squandered 
 through inefficient administrators. The build- 
 ings are in ruins. 
 
 SAN GABRIEL ARCANGEL. 
 
 San Gabriel Arcangel was the fourth mission 
 founded in California. Father Junipero Serra, 
 as previously narrated, had gone north in 1770 
 and founded the mission of San Carlos Bor- 
 romeo on Monterey Bay and the following year 
 he established the mission of San .\ntonio de 
 Padua on the -Salinas river about twenty-five 
 leagues south of Monterey. 
 
58 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 On the 6th of August, 1771, a cavalcade of 
 soldiers and musketeers escorting Padres 
 Somero and Canibon set out from San Diego 
 over the trail made by Portola's expedition in 
 1769 (when it went north in search of Monterey 
 Bay) to found a new mission on the River Jesus 
 de los Temblores or to give it its full name, El 
 Rio del Dulcisimo Nombre de Jesus de los 
 Temblores, the river of the sweetest name of 
 Jesus of the Earthquakes. Not finding a suit- 
 able location on that river (now the Santa Ana) 
 they pushed on to the Rio San Miguel, also 
 known as the Rio de los Temblores. Here 
 they selected a site where wood and water were 
 abundant. A stockade of poles was built inclos- 
 ing a square within which a church was erected, 
 covered with boughs. 
 
 September 8, 1771, the mission was formally 
 founded and dedicated to the archangel Gabriel. 
 The Indians who at the coming of the Spaniards 
 were docile and friendly, a few days after the 
 founding of the mission suddenly attacked two 
 soldiers who were guarding the horses. One of 
 these soldiers had outraged the wife of the chief 
 who led the attack. The soldier who committed 
 the crime killed the chieftain with a musket ball 
 and the other Indians fled. The soldiers then 
 cut off the chief's head and fastened it to a pole 
 at the presidio gate. From all accounts the sol- 
 diers at this mission were more brutal and bar- 
 barous than the Indians and more in need of 
 missionaries to convert them than the Indians. 
 The progress of the mission was slow. At the 
 end of the second year only seventy-three chil- 
 dren and adults had been baptized. Father Serra 
 attributed the lack of conversions to the bad 
 conduct of the soldiers. 
 
 The first buildings at the mission Vieja were 
 all of wood. The church was 45x18 feet, built of 
 logs and covered with tule thatch. The church 
 and other wooden buildings used by the padres 
 stood within a square inclosed by pointed stakes. 
 In 1776, five years after its founding, the mis- 
 sion was moved from its first location to a new 
 site about a league distant from the old one. 
 The old site was subject to overflow by the 
 river. The adobe ruins pointed out to tourists 
 as the foundations of the old mission are the 
 debris of a building erected for a ranch house 
 
 about sixty years ago. The buildings at the 
 mission Vieja were all of wood and no trace of 
 them remains. A chapel was first built at the 
 new site. It was replaced by a church built of 
 adobes one hundred and eight feet long by 
 twenty-one feet wide. The present stone church, 
 begun about 1794, and completed about 1806, 
 is the fourth church erected. 
 
 The mission attained the acme of its impor- 
 tance in 1 817, when there were seventeen hun- 
 dred and one neophytes in the mission fold. 
 
 The largest grain crop raised at any mission 
 was that harvested at San Gabriel in 1821, which 
 amounted to 29,400 bushels. The number ol cat- 
 tle belonging to the mission in 1830 was 25,725. 
 During the whole period of the mission's exist- 
 ence, i. e., from 1771 to 1834, according to sta- 
 tistics compiled by Bancroft from mission rec- 
 ords, the total number of baptisms was 7,854, 
 of which 4,355 were Indian adults and 2,459 
 were Indian children and the remainder gente de 
 razon or people of reason. The deaths were 
 5,656, of which 2,916 were Indian adults and 
 2,363 Indian children. If all the Indian children 
 born were baptized it would seem (if the sta- 
 tistics are correct) that but very few ever grew 
 up to manhood and womanhood. In 1834, the 
 year of its secularization, its neophyte popula- 
 tion was 1,320. 
 
 The missionaries of San Gabriel established 
 a station at old San Bernardino about 1820. It 
 was not an asistencia like pala, but merely an 
 agricultural station or ranch headquarters. The 
 buildings were destroyed by the Indians in 1834. 
 
 SAX LUIS OBISPO DE TOLOSA. 
 
 On his journey southward in 1782, President 
 Serra and Padre Cavalier, with a small escort of 
 soldiers and a few Lower California Indians, on 
 September i, 1772, founded the mission of San 
 Luis Obispo de Tolosa (St. Louis, Bishop of 
 Tolouse). The site selected was on a creek 
 twenty-five leagues southerly from San An- 
 tonio. The soldiers and Indians were set at 
 work to erect buildings. Padre Cavalier was left 
 in charge of the mission. Father Serra continu- 
 ing his journey southward. This mission was 
 never a very important one. Its greatest popu- 
 lation was in 1803. when there were eight 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 59 
 
 luindred and fifty-two neophytes within its juris- 
 diction. From that time to 1834 their number 
 declined to two hundred and sixty-four. The 
 average death rate was 7.30 per cent of the pop- 
 ulation — a lower rate than at some of the more 
 populous missions. The adobe church built in 
 1793 is still in use, but has been so remodeled 
 that it bears but little resemblance to the church 
 of mission days. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS. 
 
 The expedition under command of Portola 
 in 1769 failed to find Monterey Bay but it passed 
 on and discovered the great bay of San Fran- 
 cisco. So far no attempt had been made to 
 plant a mission or presidio on its shores. Early 
 in 1775, Lieutenant Ayala was ordered to ex- 
 plore the bay with a view to forming a settle- 
 ment near it. Rivera had previously explored 
 the land bordering on the bay where the city 
 now stands. Captain Anza, the discoverer of the 
 overland route from Mexico to California via 
 the Colorado river, had recruited an expedition 
 of two hundred persons in Sonora for the pur- 
 pose of forming a settlement at San Francisco. 
 He set out in 1775 and reached Monterey March 
 10, 1776. A quarrel between him and Rivera, 
 who was in command at Monterey, defeated for 
 a time the purpose for which the settlers had 
 been brought, and Anza, disgusted with the 
 treatment he had received from Rivera, aban- 
 doned the enterprise. Anza had selected a site 
 for a presidio at San Francisco. After his de- 
 parture Rivera changed his policy of delay that 
 had frustrated all of Anza's plans and decided at 
 once to proceed to the establishment of a pre- 
 sidio. The presidio was formally founded Sep- 
 tember 17, 1776, at what is now known as Fort 
 Point. The ship San Carlos had brought a num- 
 ber of persons; these with the settlers who had 
 come up from Monterey made an assemblage of 
 more than one hundred and fifty persons. 
 
 After the founding of the presidio Lieutenant 
 Moraga in command of the military and Captain 
 Quiros of the San Carlos, set vigorously at work 
 to build a church for the mission. A wooden 
 building having been constructed on the 9th of 
 October, 1776, the mission was dedicated. 
 Father Palou conducting the service, assisted by 
 
 Fathers Cambon, Nocedal and Pcna. The site 
 selected for the mission was on the Laguna de 
 los Dolores. The lands at the mission were not 
 very productive. The mission, however, was 
 fairly prosperous. In 1820 it owned 11,240 cat- 
 tle and the total product of wheat was 114.480 
 bushels. In 1820 there were 1,252 neophytes 
 attached to it. The death rate was very heavy — 
 the average rate being 12.4 per cent of the pop- 
 ulation. In 1832 the population had do^creased 
 to two hundred and four and at the time of 
 secularization it had declined to one hundred 
 and fifty. A number of neophytes had been 
 taken to the new mission of San Francisco So- 
 lano. 
 
 SAN JUA.N CAl'ISTUAXO. 
 
 The revolt of the Indians at .San Diego de- 
 layed the founding of San Juan Capistrano a 
 year. October 30, 1775, the initiatory services 
 of the founding had been held when a messenger 
 came with the news of the uprising of the sav- 
 ages and the massacre of Father Jaume and 
 others. The bells which had been hung on a 
 tree were taken down and buried. The soldiers 
 and the padres hastened to San Diego. Novem- 
 ber I, 1776, Fathers Serra, Mugartegui and 
 Amurrio, with an escort of soldiers, arrived at 
 the site formerly selected. The bells were dug up 
 and hung on a tree, an enramada of boughs was 
 constructed and Father Serra said mass. The 
 first location of the mission was several miles 
 northeasterly from the present site at the foot 
 of the mountain. The abandoned site is still 
 known a la Mision Vieja (the Old Mission). 
 Just when the change of location was made is 
 not known. 
 
 The erection of a stone church was begun in 
 February, 1797, and completed in 1806. A 
 master builder had been brought from Mexico 
 and under his superintendence the neophytes 
 did the mechanical labor. It was the largest and 
 handsomest church in California and was the 
 pride of mission architecture. The year 1812 
 was known in California as el ano dc los tem- 
 ])lores — the year of earthquakes. For months 
 the seismic disturbance was almost continuous. 
 On Sunday, December 8, 1812, a severe shock 
 threw down the lofty church tower, which 
 crashed through the vaulted roof on the congre- 
 
GO 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 gatioi) below. The padre who was celebrating 
 mass escaped through the sacristy. Of the fifty 
 persons present only five or six escaped. The 
 church was never rebuilt. "There is not much 
 doubt," says Bancroft, "that the disaster was 
 due rather to faulty construction than to the 
 violence of the temblor." The edifice was of the 
 usual cruciform shape, about 90x180 feet on 
 the ground, with very thick walls and arched 
 dome-like roof all constructed of stones imbed- 
 ded in mortar or cement. The stones were not 
 hewn, but of irregular size and shape, a kind of 
 structure evidently requiring great skill to en- 
 sure solidity. The mission reached its maxi- 
 nnim in 1819; from that on till the date of its 
 secularization there was a rapid decline in the 
 numbers of its live stock and of its neophytes. 
 
 This was one of the missions in which Gov- 
 ernor Figueroa tried his experiment of forming 
 Indian pueblos of the neophytes. For a time 
 the experiment was a partial success, but even- 
 tually it went the way of all the other missions. 
 Its lands were granted to private individuals 
 and the neophytes scattered. Its picturesque 
 ruins are a great attraction to tourists. 
 
 SANTA CLAR.\. 
 
 The mission of Santa Clara was founded Jan- 
 uary 12, 1777. The site had been selected some 
 time before and two missionaries designated for 
 service at it, but the comandante of the terri- 
 tory, Rivera y Moncada, who was an exceed- 
 ingly obstinate person, had opposed the found- 
 ing on various pretexts, but posititve orders 
 coming from the viceroy Rivera did not longer 
 delay, so on the 6th of January, 1777, a detach- 
 ment of soldiers under Lieutenant Aloraga, ac- 
 companied by Father Pena, was sent from San 
 Francisco to the site selected which was about 
 sixteen leagues south of San Francisco. Here 
 under an enramada the services of dedication 
 were held. The Indians were not averse to re- 
 ceiving a new religion and at the close of the 
 year sixty-seven had been baptized. 
 
 The mission was quite prosperous and be- 
 came one of the most important in the territory. 
 It was located in the heart of a rich agricul- 
 tural district. The total product of wheat was 
 175,800 bushels. In 1828 the mission flocks and 
 
 herds numbered over 30,000 animals. The 
 
 neophyte population in 1827 was 1,464. The 
 
 death rate was high, averaging 12.63 per cent 
 
 of the population. The total number of bap- 
 tisms was 8,640; number of deaths 6,950. In 
 
 1834 the population had declined to 800. 
 Secularization was effected in 1837. 
 
 SAN BUENAVENTURA. 
 
 The founding of San Buenaventura had been 
 long delayed. It was to have been among the 
 first missions founded by Father Serra; it proved 
 to be his last. On the 26th of March, 1782, 
 Governor de Neve, accompanied by Father 
 Serra (who had come down afoot from San 
 Carlos), and Father Cambon, with a convoy of 
 soldiers and a number of neophytes, set out 
 from San Gabriel to found the mission. At the 
 first camping place Governor de Neve was re- 
 called to San Gabriel by a message from Col. 
 Pedro Fazes, informing him of the orders of the 
 council of war to proceed against the Yumas 
 who had the previous year destroyed the two 
 missions on the Colorado river and massacred 
 the missionaries. 
 
 On the 29th, the remainder of the company 
 reached a place on the coast named by Portola 
 in 1769, Asuncion de Nuestra Senora, which 
 had for some time been selected for a mission 
 site. Near it was a large Indian rancheria. On 
 Easter Sunday, Alarch 31st, the mission was for- 
 mally founded with the usual ceremonies and 
 dedicated to San Buenaventura (Giovanni de 
 Fidanza of Tuscany), a follower of St. Francis, 
 the founder of the Franciscans. 
 
 The progress of the mission was slow at first, 
 only two adults were baptized in 1782, the 
 year of its founding. The first buildings built 
 of wood were destroyed by fire. The church 
 still used for service, built of brick and adobe, 
 was completed and dedicated, September 9, 1809. 
 The earthquake of December 8, 181 2, damaged 
 the church to such an extent that the tower 
 and part of the facade had to be rebuilt. After 
 the earthquake the whole site of the mission 
 for a time seemed to be sinking. The inhabi- 
 tants, fearful of being engulfed by the sea, re- 
 moved to San Joaquin y Santa Ana, where they 
 remained several months. The mission at- 
 
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 61 
 
 taincd its greatest prosperity in 1816, when its 
 neophyte population numbered 1,330 and it 
 owned 23,400 cattle. 
 
 SANTA BARBARA. 
 
 Governor Felipe dc Neve founded the presidio 
 of Santa liarbara April 2\. 1782. Father Scrra 
 had hoped to found the mission at the same time, 
 but in ihis he was disappointed. His death in 
 1784 still further delayed the founding and it 
 was not until the latter part of 1786 that every- 
 thing was in readiness for the establishing of 
 the new mission. On the 22d of November 
 Father Lasuen, who had succeeded Father 
 Serra as president of the missions, arrived at 
 Santa Barbara, accompanied by two missiona- 
 ries recently from Mexico. He selected a site 
 about a mile distant from the presidio. The 
 place was called Taynagan (Rocky Hill) by the 
 Indians. There was a plentiful supply of stone 
 on the site for building and an abundance of 
 water for irrigation. 
 
 On the 15th of December, 1786, Father 
 Lasuen, in a hut of boughs, celebrated the first 
 mass ; but December 4, the day that the fiesta of 
 Santa Barbara is commemorated, is considered 
 the date of its founding. Part of the services 
 were held on that day. A chapel built of adobes 
 and roofed with thatch was erected in 1787. Sev- 
 eral other buildings of adobe were erected the 
 same year. In 1788, tile took the place of 
 thatch. In 1789, a second church, much larger 
 than the first, was built. A third church of adobe 
 was commenced in 1793 and finished in 1794. 
 A brick portico was added in 1795 and the walls 
 plastered. 
 
 The great earthquake of December, 1812, de- 
 molished the mission church and destroyed 
 nearly all the buildings. The years 1813 and 
 1814 were spent in removing the debris of the 
 ruined buildings and in preparing for the erec- 
 tion of new ones. The erection of the present 
 mission church was begun in 18 15. It was com- 
 pleted and dedicated September 10, 1820. 
 
 Father Caballeria, in his History of Santa 
 Barbara, gives the dimensions of the church as 
 follows: "Length (including walls), sixty varas; 
 width, fourteen varas; height, ten varas fa vara 
 is thirty-four inches)." The walls are of stone 
 
 and rest on a foundation of rock and cement. 
 They are six feet thick and are further strength- 
 ened by buttresses. Notwithstanding the build- 
 ing has withstood the storms of four score years, 
 it is still in an excellent state of preservation. 
 Its exterior has not been disfigured by attempts 
 at modernizing. 
 
 The highest neophyte population was reached 
 at Santa Barbara in 1803, when it numbered 
 1,792. The largest number of cattle was 5,200 in 
 1809. In 1834, the year of secularization, the 
 neophytes numbered 556, which was a decrease 
 of 155 from the number in 1830. At such a rate 
 of decrease it would not, even if mission rule 
 had continued, have taken more than a dozen 
 years to depopulate the mission. 
 
 I. A PUKISIMA CONCEPCION. 
 
 Two m!-.-ions, San Buenaventura and Santa 
 Barbara, had been founded on the Santa Bar- 
 bara channel in accordance with Neve's report of 
 1777, in which he recommended the founding of 
 three missions and a presidio in that district. 
 It was the intention of General La Croix to con- 
 duct these on a difTerent plan from that prevail- 
 ing in the older missions. The natives were not 
 to be gathered into a missionary establishment, 
 but were to remain in their rancherias, which 
 were to be converted into mission pueblos. The 
 Indians were to receive instruction in religion, 
 industrial arts and self-government while com- 
 paratively free from restraint. The plan which 
 no doubt originated with Governor de Neve, 
 was a good one theoretically, and possibly might 
 have been practically. The missionaries were 
 bitterly opposed to it. L^nfortunately it was 
 tried first in the Colorado river missions among 
 the fierce and treacherous Yumas. The mas- 
 sacre of the padres and soldiers of these mis- 
 sions was attributed to this innovation. 
 ■ In establishing the channel missions the mis- 
 sionaries opposed the inauguration of this plan 
 and by their persistence succeeded in setting it 
 aside: and the old system was adopted. La 
 Purisima Coficepcion, or the Immaculate Con- 
 ception of the Blessed \^irgin, the third of the 
 channel missions, was founded December 8, 
 1787. by Father Lasuen at a place called by the 
 natives Algsacupi. Its location is about twelve 
 
62 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 miles from the ocean on the Santa Ynez river. 
 Three years after its founding three hundred 
 converts had been baptized but not all of them 
 lived at the mission. The first cliurch was a 
 temporary structure. The second church, built 
 of adobe and roofed with tile, was completed in 
 1802. December 21, 1812, an earthquake de- 
 molished the church and. also about one hundred 
 adobe houses of the neophytes. A site across 
 the river and about four miles distant from the 
 former one, was selected for new buildings. A 
 temporary building for a church was erected 
 there. A new church, built of adobe and roofed 
 with tile, was completed and dedicated in 1818. 
 
 The Indians revolted in 1824 and damaged 
 the building. They took possession of it and a 
 battle lasting four hours was fought between one 
 hundred and thirty soldiers and four hundred 
 Indians. The neophytes cut loop holes in the 
 church and used two old rusty cannon and a 
 few guns they possessed; but, unused to fire 
 arms, they were routed with the loss of several 
 killed. During the revolt which lasted several 
 months four white men and fifteen or twenty In- 
 dians were killed. The hostiles, most of whom 
 fled to the Tulares, were finally subdued. The 
 leaders were punished with imprisonment and 
 the others returned to their missions. 
 
 This mission's population was largest in 1804, 
 when it numbered 1,520. In 1834 there were but 
 407 neophytes connected with it. It was secular- 
 ized in February, 1835. During mission rule 
 from 1787 to 1834, the total number of Indian 
 children baptized was 1,492; died 902, which was 
 a lower death rate than at most of the southern 
 missions. 
 
 SANTA CRUZ. 
 
 Santa Cruz, one of the smallest of the twenty- 
 one missions of California, was founded Septem- 
 ber 25, 1790. The mission was never very pros- 
 perous. In 1798 many of the neophytes de- 
 serted and the same year a flood covered the 
 planting fields and damaged the church. In 1812 
 the neophytes murdered the missionary in 
 charge. Padre Andres Ouintana. They claimed 
 that he had treated them with great cruelty. 
 Five of those implicated in the murder received 
 two hundred lashes each and were sentenced to 
 work in chains from two to ten years. Only 
 
 one survived the punishment. The maximum 
 of its population was reached in 1798, when 
 there were six hundred and forty-four Indians 
 in the mission fold. The total number bap- 
 tized from the date of its founding to 1834 was 
 2,466; the total number of deaths was 2,034. The 
 average death rate was 10.93 P^'' cent of the 
 population. At the time of its secularization in 
 1834 there were only two hundred and fifty In- 
 dians belonging to the mission. 
 
 LA SOLEDAD. 
 
 The mission of our Lady of Solitude was 
 founded September 29, 1791. The site selected 
 had borne the name Soledad (solitude) ever 
 since the first exploration of the country. The 
 location was thirty miles northeast of San Car- 
 los de Monterey. La Soledad, by which name 
 it was generally known, was unfortunate in its 
 early missionaries. One of them, Padre Gracia, 
 was supposed to be insane and the other. Padre 
 Rubi, was very immoral. Rubi was later on ex- 
 pelled from his college for licentiousness. At 
 the close of the century the mission had become 
 fairly prosperous, but in 1802 an epidemic broke 
 out and five or six deaths occurred daily. The 
 Indians in alarm fled from the mission. The 
 largest population of the mission was seven 
 hundred and twenty-five in 1805. At the time 
 of secularization its population had decreased to 
 three hundred. The total number of baptisms 
 during its existence was 2,222; number of deaths 
 1,803. 
 
 SAN JOSE. 
 
 St. Joseph had been designated by the visita- 
 dor General Galvez and Father Junipero Serra 
 as the patron saint of the mission colonization of 
 California. Thirteen missions had been founded 
 and yet none had been dedicated to San Jose. 
 Orders came from Mexico that one be estab- 
 lished and named for him. Accordingly a de- 
 tail of a corporal and five men, accompanied by 
 Father Lasuen, president of the missions, pro- 
 ceeded to the site selected, which was about 
 twelve miles northerly from the pueblo of San 
 Jose. There, on June 11, 1797, the mission was 
 founded. The mission was well located agricul- 
 turally and became one of the most prosperous 
 in California. In 1820 it had a population of 
 
o 
 w 
 
 Q 
 
 y, 
 
 D 
 
 o 
 
 >- 
 3 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 63 
 
 1,754, the highest of any mission except San 
 Luis Key. The total number of baptisms from 
 its founding to 1834 was 6,737; deaths 5,109. 
 Secularization was effected in 1836-37. The to- 
 tal valuation of the mission property, not in- 
 cluding lands or the church, was $155,000. 
 
 SAN JUAN BAUTISTA. 
 
 In May, 1797, Governor Borica ordered the 
 comandante at Monterey to detail a corporal 
 and five soldiers to proceed to a site that had 
 been previously chosen for a mission which was 
 about ten leagues northeast from Monterey. 
 Here the soldiers erected of wood a church, 
 priest's house, granary and guard house. June 
 24, 1797, President Lasuen, assisted by Fathers 
 Catala and Martiari, founded the mission of 
 San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist). At 
 the close of the year, eighty-five converts had 
 been baptized. The neighboring Indian tribes 
 were hostile and some of them had to be killed 
 before others learned to behave themselves. A 
 new church, measuring 60x160 feet, was com- 
 pleted and dedicated in 1812. San Juan was the 
 only mission whose population increased between 
 1820 and 1830. This was due to the fact that its 
 numbers were recruited from the eastern tribes, 
 its location being favorable for obtaining new 
 recruits from the gentiles. The largest popula- 
 tion it ever reached was 1,248 in 1823. In 1834 
 there were but 850 neophytes at the mission. 
 
 S.'VN MIGUEL. 
 
 Midway between the old missions of San An- 
 tonio and San Luis Obispo, on the 25th of July, 
 1797, was founded the mission of San Miguel 
 Arcangel. The two old missions contributed 
 horses, cattle and sheep to start the new one. 
 The mission had a propitious beginning; fifteen 
 children were baptized on the day the mission 
 was founded. At the close of the century the 
 number of converts reached three hundred and 
 eighty-five, of whom fifty-three had died. Tlie 
 mission population numbered 1,076 in 1814; 
 after that it steadily declined until, in 1834, there 
 were only 599 attached to the establishment. 
 Total number of baptisms was 2,588; deaths 
 2,038. The average death rate was 6.91 per 
 cent of the population, the lowest rate in any 
 
 of the missions. The mission was secularized 
 in 1836. 
 
 SAN FERNA.NDO RICY DE ESPAN.\. 
 
 In the closing years of the century explora- 
 tions were made for new mission sites in Cali- 
 fornia. These were to be located between mis- 
 sions already founded. Among those selected 
 at that time was the site of the mission San Fer- 
 nando on the Encino Ranclio, then occupied by 
 I'^ancisco Reyes. Reyes surrendered whatever 
 right he had to the land and the padres occupied 
 his house for a dwelling while new buildings 
 were in the course of erection. 
 
 September 8, 1797, with the usual ceremo- 
 nies, the mission was founded by President 
 Lasuen, assisted by Father Dumetz. .\ccording 
 to instructions from Mexico it was dedicated to 
 San Fernando Rey de Espana (Fernando III., 
 King of Spain, 1217-1251). At the end of the 
 year 1797, fifty-five converts had been gathered 
 into the mission fold and at the end of the cen- 
 tury three hundred and fifty-two had been bap- 
 tized. 
 
 The adobe church began before the close of 
 the century was completed and dedicated in De- 
 cember, 1806. It had a tiled roof. It was but 
 slightly injured by the great earthquakes of De- 
 cember, 1812, which were so destructive to the 
 mission buildings at San Juan Capistrano, Santa 
 Barbara, La Purisima and Santa Ynez. This 
 mission reached its greatest prosperity in 1819, 
 when its neophyte population numbered 1,080. 
 The largest number of cattle owned by it at one 
 time was 12,800 in 1819. 
 
 Its decline was not so rapid as that of some 
 of the other missions, but the death rate, espe- 
 cially among the children, was fully as high. Of 
 the 1,367 Indian children baptized there during 
 the existence of mission rule 965, or over seventy 
 per cent, died in childhood. It was not strange 
 that the fearful death rate both of children and 
 adults at the missions sometimes frightened 
 the neophytes into running away. 
 
 SAN LUIS Rr.V Die 1-KANCL\. 
 
 Several explorations had been made for a mis- 
 sion site between San Diego and San Juan 
 Capistrano. There was quite a large Indian 
 
04 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 population that had not been brought into the 
 folds of either mission. In October, 1797, a 
 new exploration of this territory was ordered 
 and a site was finally selected, although the ag- 
 ricultural advantages were regarded as not sat- 
 isfactory. 
 
 Governor Borica, February 28, 1798, issued 
 orders to the comandante at San Diego to 
 furnish a detail of soldiers to aid in erecting the 
 necessary buildings. June 13, 1798, President 
 Lasuen, the successor of President Serra, as- 
 sisted by Fathers Peyri and Santiago, with the 
 usual services, founded the new mission. It 
 was named San Luis Rey de Francia (St. Louis. 
 King of France). Its location was near a river 
 on which was bestowed the name of the mis- 
 sion. The mission flourished from its very be- 
 ginning. Its controlling power was Padre An- 
 tonio Peyri. He remained in charge of it from 
 its founding almost to its downfall, in all thirty- 
 three years. He was a man of great executive 
 abilities and under his administration it be- 
 came one of the largest and most prosperous 
 missions in California. It reached its maximum 
 in 1826, when its neophyte population numbered 
 2,869, tlie largest number at one time connected 
 with any mission in the territory. 
 
 The asistencia or auxiliary mission of San 
 Antonio was established at Pala, seven leagues 
 easterly from the parent mission. A chapel was 
 erected here and regular services held. One of 
 the padres connected with San Luis Rey was 
 in charge of this station. Father Peyri left Cal- 
 ifornia in 1831, with the exiled Governor Mc- 
 toria. He went to ^lexico and from there to 
 Spain and lastly to Rome, where he died. The 
 mission was converted into an Indian pueblo in 
 1834, but the pueblo was not a success. Most 
 of the neophytes drifted to Los Angeles and 
 San Gabriel. During the Mexican conquest 
 American troops were stationed there. It has 
 recently been partially repaired and is now used 
 for a Franciscan school under charge of Father 
 J. J. O'Keefe. 
 
 SANTA YNEZ. 
 
 Santa Ynez was the last mission founded in 
 Southern California. It was established Sep- 
 tember 17. 1804. Its location is about forty miles 
 
 northwesterly from Santa Barbara, on the east- 
 erly side of the Santa Ynez mountains and 
 eighteen miles southeasterly from La Purisima. 
 Father Tapis, president of the missions from 
 1803 to 1812, preached the sermon and was 
 assisted in the ceremonies by Fathers Cipies, 
 Calzada and Gutierrez. Carrillo, the comandante 
 at the presidio, was present, as were also a num- 
 ber of neophytes from Santa Barbara and La 
 Purisima. Some of these were transferred to 
 the new mission. 
 
 The earthquake of December, 1812, shook 
 down a portion of the church and destroyed a 
 number of the neophytes' houses. In 1815 the 
 erection of a new church was begun. It was built 
 of adobes, lined with brick, and was completed 
 and dedicated July 4, 1817. The Indian revolt of 
 1824, described in the sketch of La Purisima, 
 broke out first at this mission. The neophytes 
 took possession of the church. The mission 
 guard defended themselves and the padre. At 
 the approach of the troops from Santa Barbara 
 the Indians fled to La Purisima. 
 
 San Ynez attained its greatest population, 
 770, in 1816. In 1834 its population had de- 
 creased to 334. From its founding in 1804 to 
 1834, when the decrees of secularization were 
 put in force, 757 Indian children were baptized 
 and 519 died, leaving only 238, or about thirty 
 per cent of those baptized to grow up. 
 
 SAN RAFAEL. 
 
 San Rafael was the first mission established 
 north of the Bay of San Francisco. It was 
 founded December 14, 1817. At first it was an 
 asistencia or branch of San Francisco. An epi- 
 demic had broken out in the Mission Dolores 
 and a number of the Indians were transferred to 
 San Rafael to escape the plague. Later on it 
 attained to the dignity of a mission. In 1828 its 
 population was 1,140. After 1830 it began to 
 decline and at the time of its secularization in 
 1834 there were not more than 500 connected 
 with it. In the seventeen years of its existence 
 under mission rule there were 1,873 baptisms and 
 698 deaths. The average death rate was 6.09 
 per cent of the population. The mission was 
 secularized in 1834. All traces of the mission 
 building have disappeared. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 65 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO SOLANO. 
 
 The mission of San I'Vancisco de Asis had 
 fallen into a rapid decline. The epidemic that 
 had carried ofif a number of the neophytes and 
 had caused the transfer of a considerable num- 
 ber to San Rafael had greatly reduced its popu- 
 lation. Besides, the sterility of the soil in the 
 vicinity of the mission necessitated going a long- 
 distance for agricultural land and pasturage for 
 the herds and Hocks. On this account and also 
 for the reason that a number of new converts 
 might be obtained from the gentiles living in 
 the district north of the bay, Governor Arguello 
 and the mission authorities decided to establish 
 a mission in that region. Explorations were 
 made in June and July, 1823. On the 4th of 
 July a site was selected, a cross blessed and 
 raised, a volley of musketry fired and mass said 
 at a place named New San Francisco, but after- 
 wards designated as the Mission of San Fran- 
 cisco Solano. On the 25th of August work was 
 begun on the mission building and on the 4th of 
 April, 1824. a church, 24x105 feet, built of wood, 
 was dedicated. 
 
 It had been intended to remove the neophytes 
 from the old mission of San Francisco to the 
 new; but the padres of the old mission opposed 
 its depopulation and suppression. A com- 
 promise was effected by allowing all neophytes 
 of the old mission who so elected to go to the 
 new. Although well located, the Mission of 
 Solano was not prosperous. Its largest popula- 
 tion, 996, was reached in 1832. The total num- 
 ber of baptisms were 1,315; deaths, 651. The 
 average death rate was 7.8 per cent of the pop- 
 ulation. The mission was secularized in 1835, at 
 which time there were about 550 neophytes at- 
 tached to it. 
 
 The architecture of the missions was Moorish 
 — that is, if it belonged to any school. The 
 padres in most cases were the architects and mas- 
 ter builders. The main feature of the buildings 
 was massiveness. Built of adobe or rough stone, 
 their walls were of great thickness. Most of the 
 church buildings were narrow, their width being 
 out of proportion to their length. This was 
 necessitated by the difficulty of procuring joists 
 and rafters of sufficient length for wide build- 
 ings. The padres had no means or perhaps no 
 5 
 
 knowledge of trussing a roof, and the width 
 of the building had to be proportioned to the 
 length of the timbers procurable. Some of the 
 buildings were planned with an eye for the pic- 
 turesque, others for utility only. The sites se- 
 lected for the mission buildings in nearly every 
 case commanded a fine view of the surrounding 
 country. In their prime, their white walls loom- 
 ing up on the horizon could be seen at long 
 distance and acted as beacons to guide the trav- 
 eler to their hospitable shelter. 
 
 Col. J. J. Warner, who came to California in 
 1831, and saw the mission buildings before they 
 had fallen into decay, thus describes their gen- 
 eral plan: "As soon after the founding of a 
 mission as circumstances would permit, a large 
 pile of buildings in the form of a quadrangle, 
 composed in part of burnt brick, but chiefly of 
 sun-dried ones, was erected around a spaciou.s 
 court. A large and capacious church, which 
 usually occupied one of tl'.e outer corners of the 
 quadrangle, was a conspicuous part of the pile. 
 ]n this massive building, covered with red tile, 
 was the habitation of the friars, rooms for guests 
 and for the major domos and their families. In 
 other buildings of the quadrangle were hospital 
 wards, storehouses and granaries, rooms for 
 carding, spinning and weaving of woolen fab- 
 rics, shops for blacksmiths, joiners and carpen- 
 ters, saddlers, shoemakers and soap boilers, and 
 cellars for storing the product (wine and brandy) 
 of the vineyards. Near the habitation of the 
 friars another building of similar material was 
 placed and used as quarters for a small number 
 — about a corporal's guard — of soldiers under 
 command of a non-commissioned officer, to hold 
 the Indian neophytes in check as well as to pro- 
 tect the mission from the attacks of hostile In- 
 dians." The Indians, when the buildings of the 
 establishment were complete, lived in adobe 
 houses built in lines near the quadrangle. Some 
 of the buildings of the square were occupied by 
 the alcaldes or Indian bosses. When the In- 
 dians were gathered into the missions at first 
 tliey lived in brush shanties constructed in the 
 same manner as their forefathers had built them 
 for generations. In some of the missions these 
 huts were not replaced by adobe buildings for 
 a generation or more. \'ancouver. who visited 
 
66 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the Mission of San Francisco in 1792, sixteen 
 years after its founding, describes the Indian 
 village with its brush-built huts. He says: 
 "These miserable habitations, each of which was 
 allotted for the residence of a whole family, 
 were erected with some degree of uniformity 
 about three or four feet asunder in straight rows, 
 leaving lanes or passageways at right angles be- 
 tween them; but these were so abominably in- 
 fested with every kind of filth and nastiness as 
 to be rendered no less oiifensive than degrading 
 to the human species." 
 
 Of the houses at Santa Clara, Vancouver 
 says: "The habitations were not so regularly 
 disposed nor did it (the village) contain so many 
 as the village of San Francisco, yet the same 
 horrid state of uncleanliness and laziness seemed 
 to pervade the whole." Better houses were then 
 in the course of construction at Santa Clara. 
 "Each house would contain two rooms and a 
 garret with a garden in the rear." Vancouver 
 
 visited San Carlos de Monterey in 1792, twenty- 
 two years after its founding. He says: "Not- 
 withstanding these people are taught and em- 
 ployed from time to time in many of the occu- 
 pations most useful to civil society, they had not 
 made themselves any more comfortable habita- 
 tions than those of their forefathers; nor did 
 they seem in any respect to have benefited by 
 the instruction they had received." 
 
 Captain Beechey, of the English navy, who 
 visited San Francisco and the missions around 
 the bay in 1828, found the Indians at San Fran- 
 cisco still living in their filthy hovels and grind- 
 ing acorns for food. "San Jose (mission)," he 
 says, "on the other hand, was all neatness, clean- 
 liness and comfort." At San Carlos he found 
 that the filthy hovels described by Vancouver 
 iiad nearly all disappeared and the Indians were 
 comfortably housed. He adds: "Sickness in 
 general prevailed to an incredible extent in all 
 the missions." 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PRESIDIOS OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 San Diego. 
 
 THE presidio was an essential feature of 
 the Spanish colonization of America. It 
 was usually a fortified square of brick or 
 stone, inside of which were the barracks of the 
 soldiers, the officers' quarters, a church, store 
 houses for provisions and military supplies. The 
 gates at the entrance were closed at night, and 
 it was usually provisioned for a siege. In the 
 colonization of California there were four pre- 
 sidios established, namely: San Diego, Monte- 
 rey, San Francisco and Santa Barbara. Each 
 was the headquarters of a military district and 
 besides a body of troops kept at the presidio 
 it furnished guards for the missions in its re- 
 spective district and also for the pueblos if there 
 were any in the district. The first presidio was 
 founded at San Diego. As stated in a previous 
 chapter, the two ships of the expedition by sea 
 for the settlement of California arrived at the 
 port of San Diego in a deplorable condition 
 
 from scurvy. The San Antonia, after a voyage 
 of fifty-nine days, arrived on April 1 1 ; the San 
 Carlos, although she had sailed a month earlier, 
 did not arrive until April 29, consuming one 
 hundred and ten days in the voyage. Don 
 Miguel Constanso, the engineer who came on 
 this vessel, says in his report : "The scurvy had 
 infected all without exception ; in such sort that 
 on entering San Diego already two men had 
 died of the said sickness; most of the seamen, 
 and half of the troops, foimd themselves pros- 
 trate in their beds; only four mariners remained 
 on their feet, and attended, aided by the troops, 
 to trimming and furling the sails and other 
 working of the ship." "The San Antonia," says 
 Constanso, "had the half of its crew equally 
 affected by the scurvy, of which illness two men 
 had likewise died." This vessel, although it had 
 arrived at the port on the nth of April, had evi- 
 dentlv not landed anv of its sick. On the ist of 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 67 
 
 May, Don Pedro Pages, the commander of the 
 troops, Constanso and Estorace, tlie second cap- 
 tain of the San Carlos, with twenty-five soldiers, 
 set out to find a watering place where they could 
 fill their barrels with fresh water. "Following 
 the west shore of the port, after going a mat- 
 ter of three leagues, they arrived at the banks 
 of a river hemmed in with a fringe of willows 
 and cottonwoods. Its channel must have been 
 twenty varas wide and it discharges into an 
 estuary which at high tide could admit the 
 launch and made it convenient for accomplish- 
 ing the taking on of water." * * * "Hav- 
 ing reconnoitered the watering place, the Span- 
 iards betook themselves back on board the 
 vessels and as these were found to be very far 
 away from the estuary in which the river dis- 
 charges, their captains, Vicente Vila and Don 
 Juan Perez, resolved to approach it as closely 
 as they could in order to give less work to the 
 people handling the launches. These labors 
 were accomplished with satiety of hardship; for 
 from one day to the ne.xt the number of the sick 
 kept increasing, along with the dying of the 
 most aggravated cases and augmented the fa- 
 tigue of the few who remained on their 
 feet." 
 
 "Immediate to the beach on the side toward 
 the east a scanty enclosure was constructed 
 formed of a parapet of earth and fascines, which 
 was garnished with two cannons. They disem- 
 barked some sails and awnings from the packets 
 with which they made two tents capacious 
 enough for a hospital. At one side the two offi- 
 cers, the missionary fathers and the surgeon put 
 up their own tents; the sick were brought in 
 launches to this improvised presidio and hospi- 
 tal." "But these diligencies," says Constanso, 
 "were not enough to procure them health." 
 * * * "The cold made itself felt with rigor at 
 night in the barracks and the sun by day, alter- 
 nations which made the sick suffer cruelly, two 
 or three of them dying every day. And this 
 whole expedition, which had been composed of 
 more than ninety men, saw itself reduced to only 
 eight soldiers and as many mariners in a state to 
 attend to the safeguarding of the barks, the 
 working of the launches, custody of the camp 
 and service of the sick." 
 
 Rivera y Moncada, the commander of the 
 first detachment of the land expedition, arrived 
 at San Diego May 14. It was decided by the 
 officers to remove the camp to a point near the 
 river. This had not been done before on ac- 
 count of the small force able to work and the 
 lack of beasts of burden. Rivera's men were all 
 in good health and after a day's rest "all were 
 removed to a new camp, which was transferred 
 one league further north on the right side of 
 the river upon a hill of middling height." 
 
 Here a presidio was built, the remains of 
 which can still be seen. It was a parapet of 
 earth similar to that thrown up at the first camp, 
 which, according to Bancroft, was probably 
 within the limits of New Town and the last one 
 in Old Town or North San Diego. 
 
 While Portola's expedition was away searcb- 
 ing for the port of Monterey, the Indians made 
 an attack on the camp at San Diego, killed a 
 Spanish youth and wounded Padre Viscaino, the 
 blacksmith, and a Lower California neophyte. 
 The soldiers remaining at San Diego sur- 
 rounded the buildings with a stockade. Con- 
 stanso says, on the return of the Spaniards of 
 Portola's expedition; "They found in good con- 
 dition their humble buildings, surrounded with 
 a palisade of trunks of trees, capable of a good 
 defense in case of necessity." 
 
 "In 1782, the presidial force at San Diego, be- 
 sides the commissioned officers, consisted of five 
 corporals and forty-six soldiers. Six men were 
 constantly on duty at each of the three missions 
 of the district, San Diego, San Juan Capistrano 
 and San Gabriel ; while four served at the pueblo 
 of Los Angeles, thus leaving a sergeant, two 
 corporals and about twenty-five men to garrison 
 the fort, care for the horses and a small herd of 
 cattle, and to carry the mails, which latter duty 
 was the hardest connected with the presidio 
 service in time of peace. There were a carpenter 
 and blacksmith constantly employed, besides a 
 few servants, mostly natives. The population of 
 the district in 1790, not including Indians, was 
 220."* 
 
 Before the close of the century the wooden 
 palisades had been replaced by a thick adobe 
 
 ♦Bancroft's History of California, Vol. I. 
 
68 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 wall, but even then the fort was not a very for- 
 midable defense. Vancouver, the English navi- 
 gator, who visited it in 1793, describes it as 
 "irregularly built on very uneven ground, which 
 makes it liable to some inconveniences without 
 the obvious appearance of any object for select- 
 ing such a spot." It then mounted three small 
 brass cannon. 
 
 Gradually a town grew up around the pre- 
 sidio. Robinson, who visited San Diego in 
 1829, thus describes it: "On the lawn beneath 
 the hill on which the presidio is built stood 
 about thirty houses of rude appearance, mostly 
 occupied by retired veterans, not so well con- 
 structed in respect either to beauty or stability 
 as the houses at Monterey, with the exception of 
 that belonging to our Administrador, Don Juan 
 -Bandini, whose mansion, then in an unfinished 
 state, bid fair, when completed, to surpass any 
 other in the country." 
 
 Lender Spain there was attempt at least to 
 keep the presidio in repair, but under Mexican 
 domination it fell into decay. Dana describes it 
 as he saw it in 1836: "The first place we went 
 to was the old ruinous presidio, which stands on 
 rising ground near the village which it over- 
 looks. It is built in the form of an open square, 
 like all the other presidios, and was in a most 
 ruinous state, with the exception of one side, 
 in which the comandante lived with his family. 
 There were only two guns, one of which was 
 spiked and the other had no carriage. Twelve 
 half clothed and half starved looking fellows 
 composed the garrison; and they, it was said, 
 had not a musket apiece. The small settlement 
 lay directly below the fort composed of about 
 forty dark brown looking huts or houses and 
 three or four larger ones whitewashed, which 
 belonged to the gente de razon." 
 
 THE PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY. 
 
 In a previous chapter has been narrated the 
 story of Portola's expedition in search of Mon- 
 terey Bay, how the explorers, failing to recog- 
 nize it, passed on to the northward and discov- 
 ered the great Bay of San' Francisco. On their 
 return they set up a cross at what they supposed 
 was the Bay of Monterey: and at the foot of 
 the cross buried a letter giving information to 
 
 any ship that might come up the coast in search 
 of them that they had returned to San Diego. 
 They had continually been on the lookout for 
 the San Jose, which was to co-operate with 
 them, but that vessel had been lost at sea with 
 all on board. On their return to San Diego, in 
 January, 1770, preparations were made for a 
 return as soon as a vessel should arrive. It 
 was not until the i6th of April that the San An- 
 tonia, the only vessel available, was ready to 
 depart for the second objective point of settle- 
 ment. On the 17th of April, Governor Portola, 
 Lieutenant Pages, Father Crespi and nineteen 
 soldiers took up their line of march for Alonte- 
 rey. They followed the trail made in 1769 and 
 reached the point where they had set up the 
 cross April 24. They found it decorated with 
 feathers, bows and arrows and a string of fish. 
 Evidently the Indians regarded it as the white 
 man's fetich and tried to propitiate it by offer- 
 ings. 
 
 The San Antonia, bearing Father Serra, 
 Pedro Prat, the surgeon, and Miguel Constanso, 
 the civil engineer, and supplies for the mission 
 and presidio, arrived the last day of May. Por- 
 tola was still uncertain whether this was really 
 Monterey Bay. It was hard to discover in the 
 open roadstead stretching out before them Vis- 
 caino's land-locked harbor, sheltered from all 
 winds. After the arrival of the San Antonia the 
 ofificers of the land and sea expedition made a 
 reconnaissance of the bay and all concurred that 
 at last they had reached the destined port. They 
 located the oak under whose wide-spreading 
 branches Padre Ascension, Viscaino's chaplain, 
 had celebrated mass in 1602, and the springs of 
 fresh water near by. Preparations were begun 
 at once for the founding of mission and presidio. 
 A shelter of boughs was constructed, an altar 
 raised and the bells hung upon the branch of a 
 tree. Father Serra sang mass and as they had 
 no musical instrument, salvos of artillery and 
 volleys of musketry furnished an accompani- 
 ment to the service. After the religious services 
 the royal standard was raised and Governor 
 Portola took possession of the country in the 
 name of King Carlos III., King of Spain. The 
 ceremony closed with the pulling of grass and 
 the casting of stones around, significant of en- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 69 
 
 tire possession of the earth and its products. 
 After the service all feasted. 
 
 Two messengers were sent by Portola with 
 dispatches to the city of Mexico. A day's jour- 
 ney below San Diego they met Rivera and 
 twenty soldiers coming with a herd of cattle and 
 a flock of sheep to stock the mission pastures. 
 Rivera sent back five of his soldiers with Por- 
 tola's carriers. The messengers reached Todos 
 Santos near Cape San Lucas in forty-nine days 
 from Monterey. From there the couriers were 
 sent to San Bias by ship, arriving at the city of 
 Mexico August lo. There was great rejoicing 
 at the capital. Marquis Le Croix and X'isitador 
 Galvcz received congratulations in the King's 
 name for the extension of his domain. 
 
 Portola superintended the l^uilding of some 
 rude huts for the shelter of the soldiers, the 
 officers and the padres. Around the square 
 containing the huts a palisade of poles was con- 
 structed. July 9, Portola having turned over 
 the command of the troops to Lieutenant Pages, 
 embarked on the San Antonia for San Bias; 
 with him went the civil engineer, Constanso, 
 from whose report I have frequently quoted. 
 Neither of them ever returned to California. 
 
 The difficulty of reaching California by ship 
 on account of the head winds that blow down 
 the coast caused long delays in the arrival of 
 vessels with supplies. This brought about a 
 scarcity of provisions at the presidios and mis- 
 sions. 
 
 In 1772 the padres of San Gabriel were re- 
 duced to a milk diet and what little they could 
 obtain from the Indians At Monterey and San 
 .\ntonio the padres and the soldiers were obliged 
 to live on vegetables. In this emergency Lieu- 
 tenant Pages and a squad of soldiers went on a 
 bear hunt. They spent three months in the 
 summer of 1772 killing bears in the Canada de 
 los Osos (Bear Canon). The soldiers and mis- 
 sionaries had a plentiful supply of bear meat. 
 There were not enough cattle in the country to 
 admit of slaughtering any for food. The pre- 
 sidial walls which were substituted for the pal- 
 isades were built of adobes and stone. The 
 inclosure measured one hundred and ten yards 
 on each side. The buildings were roofed with 
 tiles. "On the north were the main entrance. 
 
 the guard house, and the warehouses; on the 
 west the houses of the governor comandante 
 and other officers, some fifteen apartments in 
 all; on the east nine houses for soldiers, and a 
 blacksmith shop; and on the south, besides 
 nine similar houses, was the presidio church, 
 opposite the main gateway."* 
 
 The military force at the presidio consisted of 
 cavalry, infantry and artillery, their numbers 
 varying from one hundred to one hundred and 
 twenty in all. These soldiers furnished guards 
 for the missions of San Carlos, San Antonio, 
 San Miguel, Soledad and San Luis Obispo. The 
 total population of gente de razon in the district 
 at the close of the century numbered four lum- 
 dren and ninety. The rancho "'del rey" or 
 rancho of the king was located where Salinas 
 City now stands. This rancho was managed by 
 the soldiers of presidio and was intended to 
 furnish the military with meat and a supply of 
 horses for the cavalry. At the presidio a num- 
 ber of invalided soldiers who had served out 
 their time were settled; these were allowed to 
 cultivate land and raise cattle on the unoccu- 
 pied lands of the public domain. A town grad- 
 ually grew up around the presidio square. 
 
 Vancouver, the English navigator, visited the 
 presidio of Monterey in 1792 and describes it as 
 it then appeared: "The buildings of the pre- 
 sidio form a parallelogram or long scjuare com- 
 prehending an area of about three hundred 
 yards long by two hundred and fifty wide, mak- 
 ing one entire enclosure. The external wall is 
 of the same magnitude and built with the same 
 materials, and except that the officers' apart- 
 ments are covered with red tile made in the 
 neighborhood, the whole presents the same 
 lonely, uninteresting appearance as that already 
 described at San Francisco. Like that estab- 
 lishment, the several buildings for the use of the 
 officers, soldiers, am! for the ]5rotection of stores 
 and provisions are erected along the walls nn 
 the inside of the inclosure, which admits of but 
 one entrance for carriages or persons on horse- 
 back; this, as at San Francisco, is on the side 
 of the square fronting the church which was 
 rebuilding with stone like that at San CaHos." 
 * * * 
 
 *Bancroft's History of California. Vol. I. 
 
70 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR-APHICAL RECORD. 
 
 "At each corner of the square is a small kind 
 of block house raised a little above the top of 
 the wall where swivels might be mounted for its 
 protection. On the outside, before the entrance 
 into the presidio, which fronts the shores of 
 the bay, are placed seven cannon, four nine and 
 three three-pounders, mounted. The guns are 
 planted on the open plain ground without 
 breastwork or other screen for those employed 
 in working them or the least protection from the 
 weather." 
 
 THE PRESIDIO OF SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 In a previous chapter I have given an account 
 of the discovery of San Francisco Bay by Por- 
 tola's expedition in 1769. The discovery of that 
 great bay seems to have been regarded as an 
 unimportant event by the governmental offi- 
 cials. While there was great rejoicing at the 
 city of Mexico over the founding of a mission 
 for the conversion of a few naked savages, the 
 discovery of the bay was scarcely noticed, ex- 
 cept to construe it into some kind of a miracle. 
 Father Serra assumed that St. Francis had con- 
 cealed Monterey from the explorers and led 
 them to the discovery of the bay in order that 
 he (St. Francis) might have a mission named 
 for him. Indeed, the only use to which the 
 discovery could be put, according to Serra's 
 ideas, was a site for a mission on its shores, dedi- 
 cated to the founder of the Franciscans. Several 
 explorations were made with this in view. In 
 1772, Lieutenant Fages, Father Crespi and six- 
 teen soldiers passed up the western side of the 
 bay and in 1774 Captain Rivera, Father Palou 
 and a squad of soldiers passed up the eastern 
 shore, returning by way of Alonte Diablo, 
 .■\mador valley and .\Iameda creek to the Santa 
 Clara valley. 
 
 In the latter part of the year 1774, viceroy 
 Bucureli ordered the founding of a mission and 
 presidio at San Francisco. Hitherto all explora- 
 tions of the bay had been made by land expedi- 
 tions. No one had ventured on its waters. In 
 1775 Lieutenant Juan de Ayala of the royal 
 navy was sent in the old pioneer mission ship, 
 the San Carlos, to make a survey of it. August 
 5, 1775, he passed through the Golden Gate. 
 He moored his ship at an island called by him 
 
 Nuestra Sehora de los Angeles, now Angel 
 Island. He spent forty days in making explora- 
 tions. His ship was the first vessel to sail upon 
 the great Bay of San Francisco. 
 
 In 1774, Captain Juan Bautista de Anza, com- 
 mander of the presidio of Tubac in Sonora, had 
 made an exploration of a route from Sonora via 
 the Colorado river, across the desert and 
 through the San Gorgonia pass to San Gabriel 
 mission. From Tubac to the Colorado river the 
 route had been traveled before but from the 
 Colorado westward the country was a terra in- 
 cognita. He was guided over this by a lower 
 California neophyte who had deserted from San 
 Gabriel mission and alone had reached the 
 rancherias on the Colorado. 
 
 After Anza's return to Sonora he was com- 
 missioned by the viceroy to recruit soldiers and 
 settlers for San Francisco. October 23, 1775, 
 Anza set out from Tubac with an expedition 
 numbering two hundred and thirty-five persons, 
 composed of soldiers and their families, colon- 
 ists, musketeers and vaqueros. They brought 
 with them large herds of horses, mules and cat- 
 tle. The journey was accomplished without loss 
 of life, but with a considerable amount of suf- 
 fering. January 4, 1776, the immigrants ar- 
 rived at San Gabriel mission, where they stopped 
 to rest, but were soon compelled to move on, 
 provisions at the mission becoming scarce. They 
 arrived at Monterey March 10. Here they went 
 into camp. Anza with an escort of soldiers pro- 
 ceeded to San Francisco to select a presidio 
 site. Having found a site he returned to ]\Ion- 
 terey. Rivera, the commander of the territory, 
 had manifested a spirit of jealousy toward Anza 
 and had endeavored to thwart him in his at- 
 tempts to found a settlement. Disgusted with 
 the action of the commander, Anza, leaving his 
 colonists to the number of two hundred at Mon- 
 terey took his departure from California. Anza 
 in his explorations for a presidio site had fixed 
 upon what is now Fort Point. 
 
 After his departure Rivera experienced a 
 change of heart and instead of trying to delay 
 the founding he did everything to hasten it. The 
 imperative orders of the viceroy received at 
 about this time brought about the change. He 
 ordered Lieutenant Moraga, to whom Anza had 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 71 
 
 turned over the command of his soldiers and 
 colonists, to proceed at once to San Francisco 
 with twenty soldiers to found the fort. The San 
 Carlos, which had just arrived at Alonterey, was 
 ordered to proceed to San Francisco to assist 
 in the founding. Moraga with his soldiers ar- 
 rived June 2y, and encamped on the Laguna 
 de los Dolores, whore the mission was a short 
 time afterwards founded. Moraga decided to 
 located the presidio at the site selected by Anza 
 but awaited the arrival of the San Carlos before 
 proceeding to build. August 18 the vessel ar- 
 rived. It had been driven down the coast to the 
 latitude of San Diego by contrary winds and 
 then up the coast to latitude 42 degrees. On the 
 arrival of the vessel work was begun at once on 
 the fort. A square of ninety-two varas (two 
 hundred and forty-seven feet) on each side was 
 inclosed with palisades. Barracks, officers' 
 quarters and a chapel were built inside the 
 square. September 17, 1776, was set apart for 
 the services of founding, that being the day of 
 the "Sores of our seraphic father St. Francis." 
 The royal standard was raised in front of the 
 square and the usual ceremony of pulling grass 
 and throwing stones was performed. Posses- 
 sion of the region round about was taken in the 
 name of Carlos III., King of Spain. Over one 
 hundred and fifty persons witnessed the cere- 
 mony. Vancouver, who visited the presidio in 
 November, 1792, describes it as a "square area 
 whose sides were about two hundred yards in 
 length, enclosed by a rnud wall and resembling 
 a pound for cattle. Above this wall the thatched 
 roofs of the low small houses just made their 
 appearance." The wall was "about fourteen feet 
 high and five feet in breadth and was first 
 formed by upright and horizontal rafters of 
 large timber, between which dried sods and 
 moistened earth were pressed as close and hard 
 as possible, after which the whole was cased with 
 the earth made into a sort of mud plaster which 
 gave it the appearance of durability." 
 
 In addition to the presidio there was another 
 fort at Fort Point named Castillo de San Joa- 
 quin. It was completed and blessed December 
 8, 1794. "It w'as of horseshoe shape, about one 
 hundred by one hundred and twenty feet." The 
 structure rested mainly on sand; the brick-faced 
 
 adobe walls crumbled at the shock whenever a 
 salute was fired; the guns were badly mounted 
 and for the most part worn out, only two of the 
 thirteen twenty-four-pounders being serviceable 
 or capable of sending a ball across the entrance 
 of the fort.* 
 
 PRESIDIO OF S.AXT.V BARBARA. 
 
 Cabrillo, in 1542, found a large Indian popula- 
 tion inhabiting the main land of the Santa Bar- 
 bara channel. Two hundred and twenty-seven 
 years later, when Portola made his exploration, 
 apparently there had been no decrease in the 
 number of inhabitants. No portion of the coast 
 offered a better field for missionary labor and 
 Father Scrra was anxious to enter it. In ac- 
 cordance with Governor Felipe de Neve's report 
 of 1777, it had been decided to found three mis- 
 sions and a presidio on the channel. \'ariou3 
 causes had delayed the founding and it was not 
 until April 17, 1782, that Governor de Neve 
 arrived at the point where he had decided to 
 locate the presidio of Santa Barbara. The 
 troops that were to man the fort reached San 
 Gabriel in the fall of 178 1. It was thought best 
 for them to remain there until the rainy sea- 
 son was over. March 26, 1782, the governor and 
 Father Serra, accompanied by the largest body 
 of troops that had ever before been collected in 
 California, set out to found the mission of San 
 Buenaventura and the presidio. The governor, 
 as has been stated in a former chapter, was re- 
 called to San Gabriel. The mission was founded 
 and the governor having rejoined the cavalcad? 
 a few weeks later proceeded to find a location 
 for the presidio. 
 
 "On reaching a point nine leagues from San 
 Buenaventura, the governor called a halt and in 
 company with Father Serra at once proceeded to 
 select a site for the presidio. The choice re- 
 sulted in the adoption of the square now 
 formed by city blocks 139, 140, 155 and 156. 
 and bounded in common by the following 
 streets: Figueroa, Caiion Perdido, Garden and 
 .-\nacapa. .A large community of Indians were 
 residing there but orders were given to leave 
 them undisturbed. The soldiers were at once 
 
 *Bancroft's "History of California," Vol. I. 
 
72 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 directed to hew timbers and gather brush to 
 erect temporary barracks which, when com- 
 pleted, were also used as a chapel. A large 
 wooden cross was made that it might be planted 
 in the center of the square and possession of 
 the country was taken in the name of the cross, 
 the emblem of Christianity. 
 
 April 21, 1782, the soldiers formed a square 
 and with edifying solemnity raised the cross and 
 secured it in the earth. Father Serra blessed 
 and consecrated the district and preached a ser- 
 mon. The royal standard of Spain was un- 
 furled."* 
 
 An inclosure, sixty varas square, was made of 
 palisades. The Indians were friendly, and 
 llirough their chief yanoalit, who controlled thir- 
 teen rancherias, details of them were secured 
 to assist the soldiers in the work of building. 
 The natives were paid in food and clothing for 
 their labor. 
 
 Irrigation works were constructed, consisting 
 of a large reservoir made of stone and cement, 
 with a zanja for conducting water to the pre- 
 sidio. The soldiers, who had families, cultivated 
 small gardens which aided in their support. 
 Lieutenant Ortega was in command of the pre- 
 sidio for two years after its founding. He was 
 succeeded by Lieutenant Felipe de Goycoechea. 
 After the founding of the mission in 1786, a 
 bitter feud broke out between the padres and 
 the comandante of the presidio. Goycoechea 
 claimed the right to employ the Indians in the 
 building of the presidio as he had done before 
 the coming of the friars. This they denied. 
 After an acrimonious controversy the dispute 
 was finally compromised by dividing the Indians 
 into two bands, a mission band and a presidio 
 band. 
 
 Gradually the palisades were replaced by an 
 adobe wall twelve feet high. It had a stone 
 fotmdation and was strongly built. The plaza or 
 inclosed square was three hundred and thirtv 
 feet on each side. On two sides of this inclos- 
 ure were ranged the family houses of the sol- 
 diers, averaging in size 15x25 feet. On one side 
 stood the officers' quarters and the church. On 
 
 *Father Cabelleria's History of Santa Barbara. 
 
 the remaining side were the main entrance four 
 varas wide, the store rooms, soldiers' quarters 
 and a guard room; and adjoining these outside 
 the walls were the corrals for cattle and horses. 
 A force of from fifty to sixty soldiers was kept 
 at the post. There were bastions at two of the 
 corners for cannon. 
 
 The presidio was completed about 1790, with 
 the e.xception of the chapel, which was not fin- 
 ished until 1797- Many of the soldiers when 
 they had served out their time desired to re- 
 main in the country. These were given permis- 
 sion to build houses outside the walls of the 
 presidio and in course of time a village grew up 
 around it. 
 
 At the close of the century the population of 
 the gente de razon of the district numbered 
 three hundred and seventy. The presidio when 
 completed was the best in California. Van- 
 couver, the English navigator, who visited it in 
 November, 1793, says of it: "The buildings ap- 
 peared to be regular and well constructed; the 
 walls clean and white and the roofs of the houses 
 were covered with a bright red tile. The pre- 
 sidio excels all the others in neatness, cleanli- 
 ness and other smaller though essential com- 
 forts; it is placed on an elevated part of the 
 plain and is raised some feet from the ground 
 by a basement story which adds much to its 
 pleasantness." 
 
 During the Spanish regime the settlement at 
 the presidio grew in the leisurely way that all 
 Spanish towns grew in California. There was 
 but little immigration from Mexico and about 
 the only source of increase was from invalid 
 soldiers aftd the children of the soldiers grow- 
 ing up to manhood and womanhood. It was a 
 dreary and monotonous existence that the sol- 
 diers led at the presidios. A few of them had 
 their families with them. These when the coun- 
 try became more settled had their own houses 
 adjoining the presidio and formed the nuclei 
 of the towns that grew up around the different 
 forts. There was but little fighting to do and 
 the soldiers' service consisted mainly of a round 
 of guard duty at the forts and missions. Oc- 
 casionally there were conquistas into the In- 
 dian country to secure new material for con- 
 verts from the gentiles. The soldiers were oc- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 73 
 
 casionally employed in liunliiig liindas or run- 
 aways from the missions. These when brought 
 l)ack were thoroughly flogged and coinpclled to 
 wear clogs attached to their legs. Once a month 
 the soldier couriers brought up from Loreta a 
 budget of mail made up of ofificial bandos and a 
 
 lew letters. These contained about all the news 
 that reached them from their old homes in 
 Mexico. I'.ut few of the soldiers returned to 
 Mexico when their term of enlistment expired, 
 in course of time these and their descendants 
 formed the bulk of California's population. 
 
 CHAPTER Vll, 
 
 PUEBLOS. 
 
 THE pueblo plan of colonization so com- 
 mon in Hispano-American coimtries did 
 not originate with the Spanish-Amer- 
 ican colonists. It was older even than Spain 
 herself. In early European colonization, the 
 pueblo plan, the common square in the center 
 of the town, the house lots grouped round it, 
 the arable fields and the common pasture lands 
 beyond, appears in the Aryan village, in the an- 
 cient German mark and in the old Roman 
 praesidium. The Puritans adopted this form in 
 their first settlements in New England. Around 
 the public square or common where stood the 
 meeting house and the town house, they laid off 
 their home lots and beyond these were their 
 cultivated fields and their common pasture lands. 
 This form of colonization was a combination of 
 communal interests and individual ownership. 
 Primarily, no doubt, it was adopted for protec- 
 tion against the hostile aborigines of the coun- 
 try, and secondly for social advantage. It re- 
 versed the order of our own western coloniza- 
 tion. The town came first, it was the initial 
 point from which the settlement radiated; while 
 with our western pioneers the town was an after- 
 thought, a center point for the convenience of 
 trade. 
 
 When it had been decided to send colonists 
 to colonize California the settlements naturally 
 took the pueblo form. The difficulty of obtain- 
 ing regular supplies for the presidios from Mex- 
 ico, added to the great expense of shipping such 
 a long distance, was the principal cause that in- 
 fluenced the government to establish pueblos de 
 gente de razon. The presidios received their 
 shinments of grain for breadstuff from San Bias 
 
 by sailing vessels. The arrival of these was un- 
 certain. Once when the vessels were uimsually 
 long in coming, the padres and the soldiers at 
 the presidios and missions were reduced to liv- 
 ing on milk, bear meat and what provisions they 
 could obtain from the Indians. When Felipe de 
 iVeve w-as made governor of Alta or Nueva 
 California in 1776 he was instructed by the vice- 
 roy to make observations on the agricultural 
 possibilities of the country and the feasibility of 
 founding pueblos where grain could be produced 
 to supply the military establishments. 
 
 On his journey from San Diego to San Fran- 
 cisco in 1777 he carefully e.'^amined the coun- 
 try; and as a result of his observations recom- 
 mended the founding of two pueblos; one on the 
 Rio de Porciuncula in the south, and the other 
 on the Rio de Guadalupe in the north. On the 
 29th of November, 1777, the Pueblo of San 
 Jose de Guadelupe was founded. The colonists 
 were nine of the presidio soldiers from San 
 Francisco and Monterey, who had some knowl- 
 edge of farming and five of Anza's pobladores 
 who had come with his expedition the previous 
 years to found the presidio of San Francisco, 
 making with their families sixty-one persons in 
 ail. The pueblo was named for the patron saint 
 of California, San Jose (St. Joseph), husband of 
 Santa Maria, Queen of the Angeles. 
 
 The site selected for the town was about a 
 mile and a quarter north of the center of the 
 present city. The first houses were built of pal- 
 isades and the interstices plastered with mud. 
 These huts were roofed with earth and the floor 
 was the hard beaten ground. Each head of a 
 family was given a suerte or sowing lot of two 
 
74 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 hundred varas square, a house lot, "ten dollars 
 a month and a soldier's rations." Each, also, 
 received a yoke of oxen, two cows, a mule, two 
 sheep and two goats, together with the neces- 
 sary implements and seed, all of which were to 
 be repaid in products of the soil delivered at the 
 royal warehouse. The first communal work 
 done by the pobladores (colonists) was to dam 
 the river, and construct a ditch to irrigate their 
 sowing fields. The dam was not a success and 
 the first sowing of grain was lost. The site se- 
 lected for the houses was low and subject to 
 overflow. 
 
 During wet winters the inhabitants were com- 
 pelled to take a circuitous route of three leagues 
 to attend church service at the mission of Santa 
 Clara. After enduring this state of affairs 
 through seven winters they petitioned the 
 governor for permission to remove the pu- 
 eblo further south on higher ground. The gov- 
 ernor did not have power to grant the request. 
 The petition was referred to the comandante- 
 general of the Intendencia in Mexico in 1785. 
 He seems to have studied over the matter two 
 years and having advised with the asesor-general 
 "finally issued a decree, June 21, 1787, to Gov- 
 ernor Fages, authorizing the settlers to remove 
 to the "adjacent loma (hill) selected by them as 
 more useful and advantageous without chang- 
 ing or altering, for this reason, the limits and 
 boundaries of the territory or district assigned 
 to said settlement and to the neighboring Mis- 
 sion of Santa Clara, as there is no just cause 
 why the latter should attempt to appropriate to 
 herself that land." 
 
 Having frequently suffered from floods, it 
 would naturally be supposed that the inhabi- 
 tants, permission being granted, moved right 
 away. They did nothing of the kind. Ten years 
 passed and they were still located on the old 
 marshy site, still discussing the advantages of 
 the new site on the other side of the river. 
 Whether the padres of the Mission of Santa 
 Clara opposed the moving does not appear in 
 the records, but from the last clause of the com- 
 andante-general's decree in which he says "there 
 is not just cause why the latter (the Mission of 
 Santa Clara) should attempt to appropriate to 
 herself the land," it would seem that the mission 
 
 padres were endeavoring to secure the new site 
 or at least prevent its occupancy. There was a 
 dispute between the padres and the pobladores 
 over the boundary line between the pueblo and 
 mission that outlived the century. After hav- 
 ing been referred to the titled officials, civil and 
 ecclesiastical, a boundary line was finally estab- 
 lished, July 24, 1801, that was satisfactory to 
 both. "According to the best evidence I have 
 discovered," says Hall in his History of San 
 Jose, "the removal of the pueblo took place in 
 1797," just twenty years after the founding. In 
 1798 the juzgado or town hall was built. It 
 was located on Market street near El Dorado 
 street. 
 
 The area of a pueblo was four square leagues 
 (Spanish) or about twenty-seven square miles. 
 This was sometimes granted in a square and 
 sometimes in a rectangular form. The pueblo 
 lands were divided into classes: Solares, house 
 lots; suertes (chance), sowing fields, so named 
 because they were distributed by lot ; propios, 
 municipal lands or lands the rent of which went 
 to defray municipal expenses; ejidas, vacant 
 suburbs or commons; dehesas, pasture where 
 the large herds of the pueblo grazed; realenges, 
 royal lands also used for raising revenue; these 
 were unappropriated lands. 
 
 From various causes the founding of the sec- 
 ond pueblo had been delayed. In the latter part 
 of 1779, active preparations were begun for car- 
 rying out the plan of founding a presidio and 
 three missions on the Santa Barbara Channel 
 and a pueblo on the Rio Porciuncula to be 
 named "Reyna de Los Angeles." The comand- 
 ante-general of the Four Interior Provinces of 
 the West (which embraced the Californias, So- 
 nora. New Mexico and Viscaya), Don Teodoro 
 de Croix or "El Cavallero de Croix," "The 
 Ivnight of the Cross," as he usually styled him- 
 self, gave instructions to Don Fernando de Ri- 
 vera y Moncada to recruit soldiers and settlers 
 for the proposed presidio and pueblo in Nueva 
 California. He, Rivera, crossed the gulf and be- 
 gan recruiting in Sonora and Sinaloa. His in- 
 structions were to secure twenty-four settlers. 
 who were heads of families. They must be ro- 
 l)ust and well behaved, so that they might set 
 a good example to the natives. Their families 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 75 
 
 must accompany them and unmarried female 
 relatives must be encouraged to go, with the 
 view to niarrxing them to bachelor sol- 
 diers. 
 
 According to the regulations drafted by Gov- 
 ernor Felipe de Neve, June i, 1779, for the gov- 
 ernment of the province of California and ap- 
 proved by the king, in a royal order of the 24th 
 of October, 1781, settlers in California from the 
 older provinces were each to be granted a house 
 lot and a tract of land for cultivation. Each 
 poblador in addition was to receive $116.50 a 
 year for the first two years, "the rations to be 
 understood as comprehended in this amount, 
 and in lieu of rations for the next three years 
 they will receive $60 yearly." 
 
 Section 3 of Title 14 of the Reglamento pro- 
 vided that "To each poblador and to the com- 
 munity of the pueblo there shall be given under 
 condition of repayment in horses and mules fit 
 to be given and received, and in the payment of 
 the other large and small cattle at the just prices, 
 which are to be fi.xed by tariff, and of the tools 
 and implements at cost, as it is ordained, two 
 mares, two cows, and one calf, two sheep and 
 two goats, all breeding animals, and one yoke of 
 oxen or steers, one plow point, one hoe, one 
 spade, one a.xe, one sickle, one wood knife, one 
 musket and one leather shield, two horses and 
 one cargo mule. To the community there shall 
 likewise be given the males corresponding to 
 the total number of cattle of different kinds dis- 
 tributed amongst all the inhabitants, one forge 
 and anvil, six crowbars, six iron spades or shov- 
 els and the necessary tools for carpenter and 
 cast work." For the government's assistance to 
 the pobladores in starting their colony the set- 
 tlers were required to sell to the presidios the 
 surplus products of their lands and herds at fair 
 prices, which were to be fixed by the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The terms offered to the settlers were cer- 
 tainly liberal, and by our own hardy pioneers, 
 who in the closing years of the last century were 
 making their way over the Alleghany mountains 
 into Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, they would 
 have been considered munificent; but to the in- 
 dolent and energyless mixed breeds of Sonora 
 and Sinaloa thev were no inducement. After 
 
 spending nearly nine months in recruiting, Ri- 
 vera was able to obtain only fourteen pobladores, 
 but little over half the number required, and two 
 of these deserted before reaching California. 
 The soldiers that Rivera had recruited for Cal- 
 ifornia, forty-two in number, with their families, 
 were ordered to proceed overland from Alamos, 
 in Sonora, by way of Tucson and the Colorado 
 river to San Gabriel Mission. These were com- 
 manded by Rivera in person. 
 
 Leaving Alamos in April, 1781, they arrived 
 in the latter part of June at the junction of the 
 Gila and Colorado rivers. After a short delay 
 to rest, the main company was sent on to San 
 Gabriel Mission. Rivera, with ten or twelve 
 soldiers, remained to recruit his live stock before 
 crossing the desert. Two missions had been es- 
 tablished on the California side of the Colorado 
 the previous year. Before the arrival of Rivera 
 the Indians had been behaving badly. Rivera's 
 large herd of cattle and horses destroyed the 
 niesquite trees and intruded upon the Indians' 
 melon patches. This, with their previous quar- 
 rel with the padres, provoked the savages to an 
 uprising. They, on July 17, attacked the two 
 missions, massacred the padres and the Spanish 
 settlers attached to the missions and killed Ri- 
 vera and his soldiers, forty-six persons in all. 
 The Indians burned the mission buildings. 
 These were never rebuilt nor was there any at- 
 tempt made to convert the Yumas. The hos- 
 tility of the Yumas practically closed the Colo- 
 rado route to California for many years. 
 
 The pobladores who had been recruited for 
 the founding of the new pueblo, with their fami- 
 lies and a military escort, all under the command 
 of Lieut. Jose Zuniga. crossed the gulf from 
 Guaymas to Loreto, in Lower California, and by 
 the i6th of May were ready for their long jour- 
 ney northward. In the meantime two of the re- 
 cruits had deserted and one was left behind at 
 Loreto. On the 18th of August the eleven who 
 had remained faithful to their contract, with 
 their families, arrived at San Gabriel. On ac- 
 count of smallpox among some of the children 
 the company was placed in (|uarantine about a 
 league from the mission. 
 
 On the 26th of August, 1781. from San Ga- 
 briel, Governor de Neve issued his instructions 
 
76 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for the founding of Los Angeles, which gave 
 some additional rules in regard to the distribu- 
 tion of lots not found in the royal reglamento 
 previously mentioned. 
 
 On the 4th of September, 1781, the colonists, 
 with a military escort headed by Governor Fe- 
 lip de Neve, took up their line of march from 
 the Mission San Gabriel to the site selected for 
 their pueblo on the Rio de Porciuncula. There, 
 with religious ceremonies, the Pueblo de Nues- 
 tra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles was for- 
 mally founded. A mass was said by a priest 
 from the Mission San Gabriel, assisted by the 
 choristers and musicians of that mission. There 
 were salvos of musketry and a procession with 
 a cross, candlestick, etc. At the head of the 
 procession the soldiers bore the standard of 
 Spain and the women followed bearing a ban- 
 ner with the image of our Lady the Queen of 
 the Angels. This procession made a circuit of 
 the plaza, the priest blessing it and the building 
 lots. At the close of the services Governor de 
 Neve made an address full of good advice to the 
 colonists. Then the governor, his military es- 
 cort and the priests returned to San Gabriel and 
 the colonists were left to work out their 
 destiny. 
 
 Few of the great cities of the land have had 
 such humble founders as Los Angeles. Of the 
 eleven pobladores who built their huts of poles 
 and tule thatch around the plaza vieja one hun- 
 dred and twenty-two years ago, not one could 
 read or write. Not one could boast of an un- 
 mi.xed ancestry. They were mongrels in race, 
 Caucasian, Indian and Negro mixed. Poor in 
 purse, poor in blood, poor in all the sterner qual- 
 ities of character that our own hardy pioneers 
 of the west possessed, they left no impress on 
 the city they founded; and the conquering race 
 that possesses the land that they colonized has 
 forgotten them. No street or landmark in the 
 city bears the name of any one of them. No 
 monument or tablet marks the spot where thev 
 planted the germ of their settlement. No Fore- 
 fathers' day preserves the memory of their serv- 
 ices and sacrifices. Their names, race and the 
 number of persons in each family have been 
 preserved in the archives of California. They 
 are as follows: 
 
 1. Jose de Lara, a Spaniard (or reputed to be 
 one, although it is doubtful whether he was of 
 pure blood) had an Indian wife and three chil- 
 dren. 
 
 2. Jose Antonio Navarro, a Mestizo, forty- 
 two years old; wife a mulattress; three children. 
 
 3. Basilio Rosas, an Indian, sixty-eight years 
 old, had a mulatto wife and two children. 
 
 4. Antonio Mesa, a negro, thirty-eight years 
 old; had a mulatto wife and two children. 
 
 5. Antonio Felix Villavicencio, a Spaniard, 
 thirty years old; had an Indian wife and one 
 child. 
 
 6. Jose Vanegas, an Indian, twenty-eight 
 years old; had an Indian wife and one child. 
 
 7. Alejandro Rosas, an Indian, nineteen years 
 old, and had an Indian wife. (In the records, 
 "wife, Coyote-Indian.") 
 
 8. Pablo Rodriguez, an Indian, twenty-five 
 years old; had an Indian wife and one child. 
 
 9. Manuel Camero, a mulatto, thirty years 
 old; had a mulatto wife. 
 
 10. Luis Quintero, a negro, fifty-five years 
 old, and had a mulatto wife and five children. 
 
 11. Jose Morena, a mulatto, twenty-two 
 years old, and had a mulatto wife. 
 
 Antonio Miranda, the twelfth person described 
 in the padron (list) as a Chino, fifty years old 
 and having one child, was left at Loreto when 
 the expedition marched northward. It would 
 have been impossible for him to have rejoined 
 the colonists before the founding. Presumably 
 his child remained with him, consequently there 
 were but forty-four instead of "forty-six persons 
 in all." Col. J. J. Warner, in his "Historical 
 Sketch of Los Angeles." originated the fiction 
 that one of the founders (Miranda, the Chino,) 
 was born in China. Chino, while it does mean a 
 Chinaman, is also applied in Spanish-American 
 countries to persons or animals having curly 
 hair. Miranda was probably of mixed Spanish 
 and Negro blood, and curly haired. There is 
 no record to show that ]\Iiranda ever came to 
 .Alta California. 
 
 When Jose de Galvez was fitting out the ex- 
 pedition for occupying San Diego and Monte- 
 rey, he issued a proclamation naming St. Jo- 
 seph as the patron saint of his California colon- 
 'zation scheme. Bearing this fact in mind, no 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 77 
 
 doubt, Governor de Neve, when lie founded San 
 Jose, named St. JosepK its patron saint. Hav- 
 ing named one of the two pueblos for San Jose 
 it naturally followed that the other should be 
 named for Santa Maria, the Queen of the An- 
 gels, wife of San Jose. 
 
 On the I St of August, 1769, Portola's expedi- 
 tion, on its journey northward in search of Mon- 
 terey Bay, had halted in the San Gabriel valley 
 near where the Mission Vieja was afterwards lo- 
 cated, to reconnoiter the country and "above 
 all," as Father Crespi observes, "for the purpose 
 of celebrating the jubilee of Our Lady of the 
 Angels of Porciuncula." Next day, August 2, 
 after traveling about three leagues (nine miles), 
 Father Crespi, in his diary, says: "We came to 
 a ratlier wide Canada having a great many Cot- 
 tonwood and alder trees. Through it ran a 
 beautiful river toward the north-northeast and 
 curving around the point of a cliff it takes a di- 
 rection to the south. Toward the north-north- 
 east we saw another river bed which nuist have 
 been a great overflow, but we found it dry. This 
 arm unites with the river and its great floods 
 during the rainy season are clearly demon- 
 strated by the many uprooted trees scattered 
 along the banks." (This dry river is the Arroyo 
 Seco.) "We stopped not very far from the river, 
 to which we gave the name of Porciuncula." 
 Porciuncula is the name of a hamlet in Italy 
 near which was located the little church of Our 
 Lady of the Angels, in which St. Francis of As- 
 sisi was praying when the jubilee was granted 
 him. Father Crespi, speaking of the plain 
 through which the river flows, says: "This is 
 the best locality of all those we have yet seen 
 for a mission, besides having all the resources 
 required for a large town." Padre Crespi was 
 evidently somewhat of a prophet. 
 
 The fact that this locality had for a number 
 of years borne the name of "Our Lady of the 
 .\ngels of Porciuncula" may have influenced 
 Governor de Neve to locate his pueblo here. 
 The full name of the town, El Pueblo de Nuestra 
 Sehora La Reyna de Los Angeles, was seldom 
 used. It was too long for everyday use. In the 
 earlier years of the town's history it seems to 
 have had a variety of names. It appears in the 
 records as El Pueblo de Nuestra Sefiora de Los 
 
 Angeles, as El Pueblo de La Reyna de Los An- 
 geles and as El Pueblo de Santa Maria dc Los 
 Angeles. Sometimes it was abbreviated to 
 Santa Maria, but it was most conunonly spoken 
 of as El Pueblo, the town. .\t what time the 
 name of Rio Porciuncula was changed to Rio 
 Los Angeles is uncertain. The change no doubt 
 was gradual. 
 
 The site selected for the pueblo of Los An- 
 geles was picturesque and romantic. From 
 where .\lameda street now is to the eastern 
 bank of the river the land was covered with a 
 dense growth of willows, cottonwoods and al- 
 ders; while here and there, rising above the 
 swampy copse, towered a giant aliso (sycamore 1. 
 Wild grapevines festooned the branches of the 
 trees and wild roses bloomed in profusion. Be- 
 hind the narrow shelf of mesa land where the 
 pueblo was located rose the brown hills, and in 
 the distance towered the lofty Sierra Madre 
 mountains. 
 
 The last pueblo founded in California under 
 Spanish domination was Villa de Branciforte, 
 located on the opposite side of the river from 
 the Mission of Santa Cruz. It was named after 
 the \'iceroy Branciforte. It was designed as a 
 coast defense and a place to colonize discharged 
 soldiers. The scheme was discussed for a con- 
 siderable time before anything was done. Gov- 
 ernor Borica recommended "that an adobe 
 house be built for each settler so that the prev- 
 alent state of things in San Jose and Los An- 
 geles, where the settlers still live in tule huts, be- 
 ing unable to build better dwellings without 
 neglecting their fields, may be prevented, the 
 houses to cost not over two hundred dollars."* 
 
 The first detachment of the colonists arrived 
 May 12, 1797, on the Concepcion in a destitute 
 condition. Lieutenant Moraga was sent to su- 
 perintend the construction of houses for the 
 colonists. He was instructed to build temporary 
 huts for himself and the guard, then to build 
 some larger buildings to accommodate fifteen or 
 twenty families each. These were to be tem- 
 porary. Only nine families came and they were 
 of a vagabond class that had a constitutional 
 antipathy to work. The settlers received the 
 
 ♦Bancroft's History of C.ilifornia. Vol. I. 
 
78 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 same amount of supplies and allowance of 
 money as the colonists of San Jose and Los 
 Angeles. Although the colonists were called 
 Spaniards and assumed to be of a superior race 
 to the first settlers of the other pueblos, they 
 made less progress and were more unruly than 
 the mixed and mongrel inhabitants of the older 
 pueblos. 
 
 Although at the close of the century three 
 decades had passed since the first settlement was 
 made in California, the colonists had made but 
 little progress. Three pueblos of gente de razon 
 had been founded and a few ranchos granted to 
 ex-soldiers. Exclusive of the soldiers, the white 
 population in the year 1800 did not exceed six 
 hundred. The people lived in the most primi- 
 tive manner. There was no commerce and no 
 manufacturing except a little at the missions. 
 Their houses were adobe huts roofed with tule 
 thatch. The floor was the beaten earth and the 
 
 scant furniture home-made. There was a scarcity 
 of cloth for clothing. Padre Salazar relates that 
 when he was at San Gabriel Mission in 1795 a 
 man who had a thousand horses and cattle in 
 proportion came there to beg cloth for a shirt, 
 for none could be had at the pueblo of Los An- 
 geles nor at the presidio of Santa Barbara. 
 
 Hermanagildo Sal, the comandante of San 
 Francisco, writing to a friend in 1799, says, "I 
 send you, by the wife of the pensioner Jose 
 Barbo, one piece of cotton goods and an ounce 
 of sewing silk. There are no combs and I have 
 no hope of receiving any for three years." Think 
 of waiting three years for a comb! 
 
 Eighteen missions had been founded at the 
 close of the century. Except at a few of the 
 older missions, the buildings were temporary 
 structures. The neophytes for the most part 
 were living in wigwams constructed like those 
 they had occupied in their wild state. 
 
 CHAPTER Vlll. 
 
 THE PASSING OF SPAIN'S DOMINATION. 
 
 THE Spaniards were not a commercial peo- 
 ple. Their great desire was to be let alone 
 in their American possessions. Phihp II. 
 once promulgated a decree pronouncing death 
 upon any foreigner who entered the Gulf of 
 Mexico. It was easy to promulgate a decree or 
 to pass restrictive laws against foreign trade, but 
 C|uite another thing to enforce them. 
 
 After the first settlement of California seven- 
 teen years passed before a foreign vessel entered 
 any of its ports. The first to arrive were the 
 two vessels of the French explorer, La Perouse, 
 who anchored in the harbor of Monterey, Sep- 
 tember 15, 1786. Being of the same faith, and 
 France having been an ally of Spain in former 
 limes, he was well received. During his brief 
 stay he made a study of the mission system and 
 his observations on it are plainly given. He 
 found a similarity in it to the slave plantations 
 of Santo Domingo. November 14, 1792, the 
 English navigator, Capt. George Vancouver, in 
 the ship Discovery, entered the Bay of San 
 
 Francisco. He was cordially received by the 
 comandante of the port, Hermanagildo Sal, and 
 the friars of the mission. On the 20th of the 
 month, with several of his officers, he visited the 
 Ivlission of Santa Clara, where he was kindly 
 treated. He also visited the Mission of San 
 Carlos de Monterey. He wrote an interesting 
 account of his visit and his observations on the 
 country. Vancouver was surprised at the back- 
 wardness of the country and the antiquated cus- 
 toms of the people. He says: "Instead of find- 
 ing a country tolerably well inhabited, and far 
 advanced in cultivation, if we except its natural 
 pastures, flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, 
 there is not an object to indicate the most re- 
 mote connection with any European or other 
 civilized nation." On a subsequent visit. Cap- 
 tain \'ancouver met a chilly reception from the 
 acting governor, Arrillaga. The Spaniards sus- 
 pected him of spying out the weakness of their 
 defenses. Through the English, the Spaniards 
 became acquainted with the impoTtance and 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 79 
 
 value of the fur trade. The bays and lagoons of 
 California abounded in sea otter. Their skins 
 were worth in China all the way from $30 to 
 $100 each. The trade was made a government 
 monopoly. The skins were to be collected from 
 the natives, soldiers and others by the mission- 
 aries, at prices ranging from $2.50 to $10 each, 
 and turned over to the government officials ap- 
 pointed to receive them. All trade by private 
 persons was prohibited. The government was 
 sole trader. But the government failed to make 
 the trade profitable. In the closing years of 
 the century the American smugglers began to 
 haunt the coast. The restrictions against trade 
 with foreigners were prescriptive and the penal- 
 ties for evasion severe, but men will trade under 
 the most adverse circumstances. Spain was a 
 long way ofT, and smuggling was not a very 
 venal sin in the eyes of layman or churchman. 
 Fast sailing vessels were fitted out in Boston 
 for illicit trade on the California coast. Watch- 
 ing their opportunities, these vessels slipped 
 into the bays and inlets along the coast. There 
 was a rapid exchange of Yankee notions for sea 
 otter skins, the most valued peltry of California, 
 and the vessels were out to sea before the rev- 
 enue officers could intercept them. If success- 
 ful in escaping capture, the profits of a smug- 
 gling voyage were enormous, ranging from 500 
 to 1,000 per cent above cost on the goods ex- 
 changed; but the risks were great. The smug- 
 gler had no protection; he was an outlaw. He 
 was the legitimate prey of the padres, the peo- 
 ple and the revenue officers. The Yankee smug- 
 gler usually came out ahead. His vessel was 
 heavily armed, and when speed or stratagem 
 failed he was ready to fight his way out of a 
 scrape. 
 
 Each year two ships were sent from San 
 Bias with the memorias — ^mission and presidio 
 supplies. These took back a small cargo of the 
 products of the territory, wheat being the prin- 
 cipal. This was all the legitimate commerce 
 allowed California. 
 
 The fear of Russian aggression had been one 
 of the causes that had forced Spain to attempt 
 the colonization of California. Bering, in 1741. 
 had discovered the strait that bears his name 
 and had taken possession, for the Russian gov- 
 
 ernment, of the northwestern coast of .\merica. 
 Four years later, the first permanent Russi.m 
 settlement, Sitka, had been made on one of the 
 coast islands. Rumors of the Russian explora- 
 tions and settlements had reached Madrid and 
 in 1774 Captain Perez, in the San Antonia, v.;a5 
 sent up the coast to find out what the Russians 
 were doing. 
 
 Had Russian America contained arable land 
 where grain and vegetables could have been 
 grown, it is probable that the Russians and 
 Spaniards in .\merica would not have come in 
 contact; for another nation, the United States 
 had taken possession of the intervening coun- 
 Iry, bordering the Columbia river. 
 
 The supplies of breadstuflfs for the Sitka col- 
 onists had to be sent overland across Siberia 
 or shipped around Cape Horn. Failure of sup- 
 jilies sometimes reduced the colonists to sore 
 straits. In 1806, famine and diseases incident 
 to starvation threatened the extinction of the 
 Russian colony. Count Rezanoff, a high officer 
 of the Russian government, had arrived at the 
 Sitka settlement in September, 1805. The des- 
 titution prevailing there induced him to visit 
 California with the hope of obtaining relief for 
 the starving colonists. In the ship Juno (pur- 
 chased from an American trader), with a scurvy 
 afflicted crew, he made a perilous voyage down 
 the stormy coast and on the 5th of April, 1806, 
 anchored safely in the Bay of San Francisco. 
 He had brought with him a cargo of goods for 
 exchange but the restrictive commercial regula- 
 tions of Spain prohibited trade with foreigners. 
 Although the friars and the people needed the 
 jroods the governor could not allow the ex- 
 change. Count RezanofT would be permitted to 
 purchase grain for cash, but the Russian's ex- 
 chequer was not plethoric and his ship was al- 
 ready loaded with goods. Love that laughs at 
 locksmiths eventually unlocked " the shackles 
 that hampered commerce. Rezanoff fell in love 
 with Dona Concepcion, the beautiful daughter 
 of Don Jose Arguello. the comandante of San 
 Francisco, and an old time friend of the gov- 
 ernor, Arrillaga. The attraction was mutual. 
 Through the influence of Dona Concepcion. the 
 friars and Arguello. the governor was induced 
 to sanction a plan by which cash was the sup- 
 
80 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 posed medium of exchange on both sides, but 
 grain on the one side and goods on the other 
 were the real currency. 
 
 The romance of Rezanofif and Dona Concep- 
 cion had a sad ending. On his journey through 
 Siberia to St. Petersburg to obtain the consent 
 of the emperor to his marriage he was killed 
 by a fall from his horse. It >vas several years 
 before the news of his death reached his af- 
 fianced bride. Faithful to his memory, she never 
 married, but dedicated her life to deeds of char- 
 ity. After RezanofY's visit the Russians came 
 frequently to California, partly to trade, but 
 more often to hunt otter. While on these fur 
 hunting expeditions they examined the coast 
 north of San Francisco with the design of plant- 
 ing an agricultural colony where they could 
 raise grain to supply the settlements in the far 
 north. In 1812 they founded a town and built 
 a fort on the coast north of Bodega Bay, which 
 they named Ross. The fort mounted ten guns. 
 They maintained a fort at Bodega Bay and also 
 a small settlement on Russian river. The Span- 
 iards protested against this aggression and 
 threatened to drive the Russians out of the ter- 
 ritory, but nothing came of their protests and 
 they were powerless to enforce their demands. 
 The Russian ships came to California for sup- 
 plies and were welcomed by the people and the 
 friars if not by the government officials. The 
 Russian colony at Ross was not a success. The 
 ignorant soldiers and the Aluets who formed 
 the bulk of its three or four hundred inhab- 
 itants, knew little or nothing about farming and 
 were too stupid to learn, .\fter the decline of 
 fur hunting the settlement became unprofitable. 
 In 1841 the buildings and the stock" were sold 
 by the Russian governor to Capt. John A. Sut- 
 ter for $30,000. The settlement was abandoned 
 and the fort and the town are in ruins. 
 
 On the 15th of September, 18 10, the patriot 
 priest, Miguel Hidalgo, struck the first blow 
 for Mexican independence. The revolution 
 which began in the province of Guanajuato was 
 at first regarded by the authorities as a mere 
 riot of ignorant Indians that would be speedily 
 suppressed. But the insurrection spread rap- 
 idly. Long years of oppression and cruelty had 
 instilled into the hearts of the people an undy- 
 
 ing hatred for their Spanish oppressors. Hidalgo 
 soon found himself at the head of a motley 
 army, poorly armed and undisciplined, but its 
 mmibers swept away opposition. Unfortunately 
 through over-confidence reverses came and in 
 March, 181 1, the patriots met an overwhelming 
 defeat at the bridge of Calderon. Hidalgo was 
 betrayed, captured and shot. Though sup- 
 pressed for a time, the cause of independence 
 was not lost. For eleven years a fratricidal war 
 was waged — cruel, bloody and devastating. Al- 
 lende, Mina. Moreles, Alama, Rayon and other 
 patriot leaders met death on the field of battle 
 or were captured and shot as rebels, but "Free- 
 dom's battle" becjueathed from bleeding sire to 
 son was won at last. 
 
 Of the political upheavals that shook Spain 
 in the first decades of the century only the faint- 
 est rumblings reached far distant California. 
 Notwithstanding the many changes of rulers 
 that political revolutions and Napoleonic wars 
 gave the mother country, the people of Califor- 
 nia remained loyal to the Spanish crown, al- 
 though at times they must have been in doubt 
 who wore the crown. 
 
 Arrillaga was governor of California when 
 the war of Mexican independence began. Al- 
 though born in Mexico he was of pure Spanish 
 parentage and was thoroughly in sympathy with 
 Spain in the contest. He did not live to see the 
 end of the war. Pie died in 1814 and was suc- 
 ceeded by Pablo Vicente de Sola. Sola was 
 Spanish born and was bitterly opposed to the 
 revolution, even going so far as to threaten 
 death to any one who should speak in favor of 
 it. He had received his appointment from 
 \'iceroy Calleja, the butcher of Guanajuato, the 
 crudest and most bloodthirsty of the vice regal 
 governors of new Spain. The friars were to a 
 man loyal to Spain. The success of the repub- 
 lic meant the downfall of their domination. 
 They hated republican ideas and regarded 
 their dissemination as a crime. They were the 
 ruling power in California. The governors 
 and the people were subservient to their 
 wishes. 
 
 The decade between 1810 and 1820 was 
 marked bv two important events, the year of the 
 earthquakes and the year of the insurgents. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 81 
 
 The year 1812 was the Ano de los Temblores. 
 The seismic disturbance that for forty years or 
 more had shaken California seemed to concen- 
 trate in power that year and expend its force 
 on the mission churches. The massive church 
 of San Juan Capistrano, tlie pride of mission 
 architecture, was thrown down and forty per- 
 sons killed. The walls of San Gabriel Mission 
 were cracked and some of the saints shaken out 
 of their niches. At San Buenaventura there 
 were three heavy shocks which injured the 
 church so that the tower and much of the facade 
 had to be rebuilt. The whole mission site 
 seemed to settle and the inhabitants, fearful 
 that they might be engulfed by the sea, moved 
 up the valley about two miles, where they re- 
 mained three months. At Santa Barbara both 
 church and the presidio were damaged and at 
 Santa Inez the church was shaken down. The 
 quakes continued for several months and the 
 people were so terrified that they abandoned 
 their houses and lived in the open air. 
 
 The other important epoch of the decade was 
 EI Alio de los Insurgentes, the year of the in- 
 surgents. In November, 1818, Bouchard, a 
 Frenchman in the service of Buenos Ayres and 
 provided with letters of marque by San Mar- 
 tain, the president of that republic, to prey upon 
 Spanish commerce, appeared in the port of 
 Monterey with two ships carrying sixty-six 
 guns and three hundred and fifty men. He at- 
 tacked Monterey and after an obstinate re- 
 sistance by the Californians, it was taken by the 
 insurgents and burned. Bouchard next pillaged 
 Ortega's rancho and burned the buildings. 
 Then sailing down the coast he scared the Santa 
 Barbarahos; then keeping on down he looked 
 into San Pedro, but finding nothing there to 
 tempt him he kept on to San Juan Capistrano. 
 There he landed, robbed the mission of a few 
 articles and drank the padres' wine. Then he 
 sailed away and disappeared. He left six of his 
 men in California, among them Joseph Chap- 
 man of Boston, the first American resident of 
 California. 
 
 In the early part of the last century there 
 was a limited commerce with Lima. That 
 
 being a Spanish dependency, trade with it was 
 not prohibited. Gilroy, who arrived in Califor- 
 nia in 1814, says, in his reminiscences:"" 
 
 "The only article of export then was tallow, 
 of which one cargo was sent annually to Callao 
 in a Spanish ship. This tallow sold for $1.50 
 per hundred weight in silver or $2.00 in trade 
 or goods. Hides, except those used for tallow 
 bags, were thrown away. Wheat, barley and 
 beans had no market. Nearly everything con- 
 sumed by the people was produced at home. 
 There was no foreign trade." 
 
 As the revolution in Mexico progressed 
 times grew harder in California. The mission 
 memorias ceased to come. No tallow ships from 
 Callao arrived. The soldiers' pay was years in 
 arrears and their uniforms in rags. What little 
 wealth there was in the country was in the 
 hands of the padres. They were supreme. "The 
 friars," says Gilroy, "had everything their own 
 way. The governor and the military were ex- 
 pected to do whatever the friars requested. The 
 missions contained all the wealth of the coun- 
 try." The friars supported the government and 
 supplied the troops with food from the products 
 of the neophytes' labor. The crude manufac- 
 turers of the missions supplied the people with 
 cloth for clothing and some other necessities. 
 The needs of the common people were easily 
 satisfied. They w'erc not used to luxuries nor 
 were they accustomed to what we would now 
 consider necessities. Gilroy, in the reminis- 
 cences heretofore referred to, states that at the 
 time of his arrival (1814) "There was not a saw- 
 mill, whip saw or spoked wheel in California. 
 Such lumber as was used was cut with an axe. 
 Chairs, tables and wood floors were not to be 
 found except in the governor's house. Plates 
 were rare unless that name could be applied to 
 the tiles used instead. Money was a rarity. 
 There were no stores and no merchandise to 
 sell. There w-as no employment for a laborer. 
 The neophytes did all the work and all the busi- 
 ness of the country was in the hands of the 
 friars." 
 
 *AIta California, June 25, 1865. 
 
82 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FROM EMPIRE TO REPUBLIC. 
 
 THE condition of affairs in California stead- 
 ily grew worse as the revolution in Mex- 
 ico progressed. Sola had made strenuous 
 ettorts to arouse the Spanish authorities of New 
 Spain to take some action towards benefiting the 
 territory. After the affair with the insurgent 
 Bouchard he had appealed to the viceroy for re- 
 inforcements. In answer to his urgent entreaties 
 a force of one hundred men was sent from Ma- 
 zatlan to garrison San Diego and an equal force 
 from San Bias for Monterey. They reached Cal- 
 ifornia in August, 1819, and Sola was greatly 
 rejoiced, but his joy was turned to deep disgust 
 when he discovered the true character of the re- 
 inforcement and arms sent him. The only equip- 
 ments of the soldiers were a few hundred old 
 worn-out • sabers that Sola declared were unfit 
 for sickles. He ordered them returned to the 
 comandante of San Bias, who had sent them. 
 The troops were a worse lot than the arms sent. 
 They had been taken out of the prisons or con- 
 scripted from the lowest class of the population 
 of the cities. They were thieves, drunkards and 
 vagabonds, who, as soon as landed, resorted to 
 robberies, brawls and assassinations. Sola wrote 
 to the viceroy that the outcasts called troops 
 sent him from the jails of Tepic and San Bias 
 by their vices caused continual disorders; their 
 evil example had debauched the minds of the 
 Indians and that the cost incurred in their col- 
 lection and transportation had been worse than 
 thrown away. He could not get rid of them, 
 so he had to control them as best he could. 
 Governor Sola labored faithfully to benefit the 
 country over which he had been placed and to 
 arouse the Spanish authorities in Mexico to do 
 something for the advancement of California; 
 but the government did nothing. Indeed it was 
 in no condition to do anything. The revolution 
 would not down. No sooner was one revolution- 
 ary leader suppressed and the rebellion ap- 
 parently crushed than there was an uprising in 
 
 some other part of the country under a new 
 leader. 
 
 Ten years of intermittent warfare had been 
 waged — one army of patriots after another had 
 been defeated and the leaders shot; the strug- 
 gle for independence was almost ended and the 
 royalists were congratulating themselves on the 
 triumph of the Spanish crown, when a sudden 
 change came and the vice regal government 
 that for three hundred years had swayed the 
 destinies of New Spain went down forever. 
 Agustin Iturbide, a colonel in the royal army, 
 who in February, 1821, had been sent with a 
 corps of five thousand men from the capital to 
 the Sierras near Acapulco to suppress Guerrero, 
 the last of the patriot chiefs, suddenly changed 
 his allegiance, raised the banner of the revolu- 
 tion and declared for the independence of Mex- 
 ico under the plan of Iguala, so named for the 
 town where it was first proclaimed. The central 
 ideas of the plan were "Union, civil and re- 
 ligious liberty." 
 
 There was a general uprising in all parts of 
 the country and men rallied to the support of the 
 Army of the Three Guarantees, religion, union, 
 independence. Guerrero joined forces with 
 Iturbide and September 21, 1821, at the head 
 of sixteen thousand men, amid the rejoicing of 
 the people, they entered the capital. The viceroy 
 was compelled to recognize the independence of 
 Mexico. A provisional government under a 
 regency was appointed at first, but a few months 
 later Iturbide was crowned emperor, taking the 
 title of his most serene majesty, Agustin I., by 
 divine providence and by the congress of the 
 nation, first constitutional emperor of Mexico. 
 
 Sola had heard rumors of the turn affairs 
 were taking in Mexico, but he had kept the re- 
 ports a secret and still hoped and prayed for 
 the success of the Spanish arms. At length a 
 vessel appeared in the harbor of Monterey float- 
 ing an unknown flag, and cast anchor beyond 
 
PIISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 83 
 
 the reach of the guns of the castillo. The sol- 
 diers were called to arms. A boat from the ship 
 put off for shore and landed an officer, who de- 
 clared himself the bearer of dispatches to Don 
 Pablo Vicente de Sola, tiie governor of the 
 province. "I demand," said he, "to be con- 
 ducted to his presence in the name of my sov- 
 ereign, the liberator of Mexico, General Agustin 
 de Iturbide." There was a murmur of applause 
 from the soldiers, greatly to the surprise of their 
 officers, who were all loyalists. Governor Sola 
 was bitterly disappointed. Only a few days be- 
 fore he had harangued the soldiers in the square 
 of the presidio and threatened "to shoot down 
 any one high or low without the formality of a 
 trial who dared to say a word in favor of the 
 traitor Iturbide." 
 
 For half a century the banner of Spain had 
 floated from the flag staff of the presidio of 
 Monterey. Sadly Sola ordered it lowered and 
 in its place was hoisted the imperial flag of the 
 Mexican Empire. A few months pass, Iturbide 
 is forced to abdicate the throne of empire and 
 is banished from Mexico. The imperial stand- 
 ard is supplanted by the tricolor of the republic. 
 Thus the Californians, in little more than one 
 year, have passed under three different forms 
 of government, that of a kingdom, an empire 
 and a republic, and Sola from the most 
 loyal of Spanish governors in the kingdom 
 of Spain has been transformed in a Mexican 
 republican. 
 
 The friars, if possible, were more bitterly dis- 
 appointed than the governor. They saw in the 
 success of the republic the doom of their estab- 
 lishments. Republican ideas were repulsive to 
 them. Liberty meant license to men to think 
 for themselves. The shackles of creed and the 
 fetters of priestcraft would be loosened by the 
 growth of liberal ideas. It was not strange, 
 viewing the question from their standpoint, that 
 they refused to take the oath of allegiance to 
 the republic. Nearly all of them were Spanish 
 born. Spain had aided them to plant their mis- 
 sions, had fostered their establishments and had 
 made them supreme in the territory. Their al- 
 legiance was due to the Spanish crown. They 
 would not transfer it to a republic and they did 
 not; to the last they were loyal to Spain in 
 
 heart, even if they did acquiesce in the ob- 
 servance of the rule of the republic. 
 
 Sola had long desired to be relieved of the 
 governorship. He was growing old and was in 
 poor health. The condition of the country wor- 
 ried him. lie had frequently asked to be re- 
 lieved and allowed to retire from military duty. 
 His requests were unheeded; the vice regal 
 government of New Spain had weightier mat- 
 ters to attend to than requests or the complaints 
 of the governor of a distant and unimportant 
 province. The inauguration of the empire 
 brought him the desired relief. 
 
 Under the empire .\lta California was allowed 
 a diputado or delegate in the imperial congress. 
 Sola was elected delegate and took his de- 
 parture for Mexico in the autumn of 1822. Luis 
 Antonio Arguello, president of the provincial 
 diputacion, an institution that had come into ex- 
 istence after the inauguration of the empire, be- 
 came governor by virtue of his position as 
 president. He was the first hijo del pais or na- 
 tive of the country to hold the office of gov- 
 ernor. He was born at San Francisco in 1784, 
 while his father, an ensign at the presidio, was 
 in command there. Plis opportunities for ob- 
 taining an education were extremely meager, 
 but he made the best use of what he had. He 
 entered the army at sixteen and was, at the time 
 he became temporary governor, comandante at 
 San Francisco. 
 
 The inauguration of a new form of govern- 
 ment had brought no relief to California. The 
 two Spanish ships that had annually brought 
 los memorias del rey (the remembrances of the 
 king) had long since ceased to come with their 
 supplies of money and goods for the soldiers. 
 The California ports were closed to foreign com- 
 merce. There was no sale for the products of 
 the country. So the missions had to throw open 
 their warehouses and relieve the necessities of 
 the government. 
 
 The change in the form of government had 
 made no change in the dislike of foreigners, 
 that was a characteristic of the Spaniard. Dur- 
 ing the Spanish era very few foreigners had 
 been allowed to remain in California. Run- 
 away sailors and shipwrecked mariners, notwith- 
 standing they might wish to remain in the coun- 
 
84 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 try and become Catholics, were shipped to 
 . Mexico and returned to their own country. 
 John Gilroy, whose real name was said to be 
 John Cameron, was the first permanent English 
 speaking resident of California. When a boy 
 of eighteen he was left by the captain of a Hud- 
 son Bay company's ship at Monterey in 1814. 
 He was sick with the scurvy and not expected 
 to live. Nursing and a vegetable diet brought 
 him out all right, but he could not get away. 
 He did not like the country and every day for 
 several years he went down to the beach and 
 scanned the ocean for a foreign sail. When one 
 did come he had gotten over his home-sickness, 
 had learned the language, fallen in love, turned 
 Catholic and married. 
 
 In 1822 William E. P. Hartnell, an English- 
 man, connected with a Lima business house, 
 visited California and entered into a contract 
 with Padre Payeras, the prefect of the missions, 
 for the purchase of hides and tallow. Hartnell 
 a few years later married a California lady and 
 became a permanent resident of the territory. 
 Other foreigners who came about the same time 
 as Hartnell and who became prominent in Cal- 
 ifornia were William A. Richardson, an Eng- 
 lishman; Capt. John R. Cooper of Boston and 
 William A. Gale, also of Boston. Gale had first 
 visited California in 18 10 as a fur trader. He 
 returned in 1822 on the ship Sachem, the pioneer 
 Boston hide drogher. The hide drogher was 
 in a certain sense the pioneer emigrant ship 
 of California. It brought to the coast a 
 number of Americans who became permanent 
 residents of the territory. California, on ac- 
 count of its long distance from the world's 
 marts of trade, had but few products for ex- 
 change that would bear the cost of shipment. 
 Its chief commodities for barter during the 
 Mexican era were hides and tallow. The vast 
 range of country adapted to cattle raising made 
 that its most profitable industry. Cattle in- 
 creased rapidly and required but little care or 
 attention from their owners. As the native Cal- 
 ifornians were averse to hard labor cattle rais- 
 ing became almost the sole industry of the 
 country. 
 
 After the inauguration of a republican form 
 of government in Mexico some of the most 
 
 burdensome restrictions on foreign commerce 
 were removed. The Mexican Congress of 1824 
 enacted a colonization law, which was quite 
 liberal. Under it foreigners could obtain land 
 from the public domain. The Roman CathoUc 
 religion was the state religion and a foreigner, 
 before he could become a permanent resident of 
 the country, acquire property or marry, was 
 required to be baptized and embrace the doc- 
 trines of that church. After the Mexican Con- 
 gress repealed the restrictive laws against for- 
 eign commerce a profitable trade grew up 
 between the New England ship owners and the 
 Californians. 
 
 Vessels called hide droghers were fitted out 
 in Boston with assorted cargoes suitable for the 
 California trade. Making the voyage by way of 
 Cape Horn they reached California. Stopping 
 at the various ports along the coast they ex- 
 changed their stocks of goods and Yankee 
 notions for hides and tallow. It took from two 
 to three years to make a voyage to California 
 and return to Boston, but the profits on the 
 goods sold and on the hides received in ex- 
 change were so large that these veiitures paid 
 handsomely. The arrival of a hide drogher 
 with its department store cargo was heralded 
 up and down the coast. It broke the monotony 
 of existence, gave the people something new 
 to talk about and stirred them up as nothing 
 else could do unless possibly a revolution. 
 
 "On the arrival of a new vessel from the 
 United States," says Robinson in his "Life in 
 California," "every man, woman, boy and girl 
 took a proportionate share of interest as to the 
 qualities of her cargo. If the first inquired for 
 rice, sugar or tobacco, the latter asked for prints, 
 silks and satins; and if the boy wanted a Wil- 
 son's jack knife, the girl hoped that there might 
 be some satin ribbons for her. Thus the whole 
 population hailed with eagerness an arrival. Even 
 the Indian in his unsophisticated style asked for 
 Panas Colorados and Abalaris — red handker- 
 chiefs and beads. 
 
 "After the arrival of our trading vessel (at San 
 Pedro) our friends came in the morning flock- 
 ing on board from all quarters; and soon a busy 
 scene commenced afloat and ashore. Boats 
 were passing to the beach, and men, women 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and children partaking in the general excite- 
 ment. On shore all was confusion, cattle and 
 carts laden with hides and tallow, gente de razon 
 and Indians busily employed in the delivery of 
 their produce and receiving in return its value 
 in goods. Groups of individuals seated around 
 little bonfires upon the ground, and horsemen 
 racing over the plains in every direction. Thus 
 the day passed, some arriving, some departing, 
 till long after sunset, the low white road, lead- 
 ing across the plains to the town (Los Angeles), 
 appeared a living panorama." 
 
 The commerce of California during the Mex- 
 ican era was principally carried on by the hide 
 droghers. The few stores at the pueblos and 
 presidios obtained their supplies from them 
 and retailed their goods to customers in the in- 
 tervals between the arrivals of the department 
 store droghers. 
 
 The year 1824 was marked by a serious out- 
 break among the Indians of several missions. 
 .Mthough in the older missionary establish- 
 ments many of the neophytes had spent half a 
 century under the Christianizing influence of 
 the padres and in these, too, a younger genera- 
 tion had grown from childhood to manhood 
 under mission tutelage, yet their Christian train- 
 ing had not eliminated all the aboriginal sav- 
 agery from their natures. The California Indians 
 were divided into numerous small tribes, each 
 speaking a difTerent dialect. They had never 
 learned, like the eastern Indians did, the ad- 
 vantages of uniting against a common enemy. 
 When these numerous small tribes were gath- 
 ered into the missions they were kept as far as 
 it was possible separate and it is said the padres 
 encouraged their feuds and tribal animosities to 
 prevent their uniting against the missionaries. 
 Their long residence in the missions had de- 
 stroyed their tribal distinctions and merged 
 them into one body. It had taught them, too, 
 the value of combination. 
 
 How long the Indians had been plotting no 
 one knew. The conspiracy began among the 
 neophytes of Santa Ynez and La Purisima. but 
 it spread to the missions of San Luis Obispo, 
 Santa Barbara, San Buenaventura, San Fer- 
 nando and San Gabriel. Their plan was to mas- 
 sacre the padres and the mission guard and 
 
 leaving obtained arms to kill all the genU 
 razon and thus free themselves from mission 
 thralldom and regain their old time freedom. 
 The plotting had been carried on with great 
 secrecy. Rumors had passed from mission to 
 mission arranging the details of the uprising 
 without the whites suspecting anything. Sunday, 
 February 22, 1824, was the day set for begin- 
 ning the slaughter. At the hour of celebrating 
 mass, when the soldiers and the padres were 
 within the church, the bloody work was to be- 
 gin. The plot might have succeeded had not 
 the Indians at Santa Ynez began their work 
 prematurely. One account (Ilittell's History of 
 California) says that on Saturday afternoon be- 
 fore the appointed Sunday they determined to 
 begin the work by the murder of Padre Fran- 
 cisco Xavier Una, who was sleeping in a cham- 
 ber next the mission church. He was w'arned 
 by a faithful page. Springing from his couch 
 and rushing to a window he saw the Indians ap- 
 proaching. Seizing a musket from several that 
 were in the room he shot the first Indian that 
 reached the threshold dead. He seized a sec- 
 ond musket and laid another Indian low. The 
 soldiers now rallied to his assistance and the 
 Indians were driven back; they set fire to the 
 mission church, but a small body of troops un- 
 der Sergeant Carrillo, sent from Santa Barbara 
 to reinforce the mission guard, coming up at 
 this time, the Indians fled to Purisima. The 
 fire was extinguished before the church was 
 consumed. At Purisima the Indians were more 
 successful. The mission was defended by Cor- 
 ]ioral Tapia and five soldiers. The Indians de- 
 manded that Tapia surrender, but the corporal 
 refused. The fight began and continued all 
 night. The Indians set fire to the building, but 
 all they could burn was the rafters. Tapia, by a 
 strategic movement, succeeded in collecting all 
 the soldiers and the women and children inside 
 the walls of one of the largest buildings from 
 which the roof had been burnt. From this the 
 Indians could not dislodge him. The fight was 
 kept up till morning, when one of the Indians, 
 who had been a mission alcade. made a prop- 
 osition to the corporal to surrender. Tapia re- 
 fused to consider it. but Father Bias Ordaz in- 
 terfered and insisted on a compromise, .\fter 
 
86 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 much contention Tapia found himself overruled. 
 The Indians agreed to spare the lives of all on 
 condition that the whites laid down their arms. 
 The soldiers laid down their arms and sur- 
 rendered two small cannon belonging to the 
 church. The soldiers, the women and the chil- 
 dren were then allowed to march to Santa Ynez. 
 While the fight was going on the Indians killed 
 ^ four white men, two of them, Dolores Sepulveda 
 and Ramon Satelo, were on their way to Los 
 Angeles and came to the mission not suspecting 
 any danger. .Seven Indians were killed in the 
 fight and a number wounded. 
 
 The Indians at Santa Barbara began hostilities 
 according to their prearranged plot. They made 
 an attack upon the mission. Captain de la 
 Guerra, who was in command at the presidio, 
 marched to the mission and a fight of several 
 hours ensued. The Indians sheltered them- 
 selves behind the pillars of the corridor and 
 fought with guns and arrows. After losing sev- 
 eral of their number they fled to the hills. Four 
 soldiers were wounded. The report of the up- 
 rising reached Monterey and measures were 
 taken at once to subdue the rebellious 
 neophytes. A force of one hundred men was 
 sent under Lieut. Jose Estrada to co-operate 
 with Captain de la Guerra against the rebels. 
 On the 1 6th of March the soldiers surroujided 
 the Indians who had taken ]iossession of the 
 mission church at Purisima and opened fire 
 upon them. The Indians replied with their cap- 
 lured cannon, muskets and arrows. Estrada's 
 artillery battered down the walls of the church. 
 The Indians, unused to arms, did little execu- 
 tion. Driven out of the wrecked building, they 
 attempted to make their escape by flight, but 
 were intercepted by the cavalry which had been 
 deployed for that purpose. Finding themselves 
 
 hennned in on all sides the neophytes sur- 
 rendered. They had lost sixteen killed and a 
 large number of wounded. Seven of the prison- 
 ers were shot for complicity in the murder of 
 Sepulveda and the three other travelers. The 
 four leaders in the revolt, Mariano Pacomio, 
 Benito and Bernabe, were sentenced to ten 
 years hard labor at the presidio and eight oth- 
 ers to lesser terms. There were four hundred 
 Indians engaged in the battle. 
 
 The Indians of the Santa Barbara missions 
 anil escapes from Santa Ynez and Purisima 
 made their way over the mountains to the 
 Tulares. A force of eighty men under com- 
 mand of a lieutenant was sent against these. 
 The troops had two engagements with the reb- 
 els, w'hom they found at Buenavista Lake and 
 San Emigdio. Finding his force insufficient to 
 subdue them the lieutenant retreated to Santa 
 Barbara. Another force of one hundred and 
 thirty men under Captain Portilla and Lieuten- 
 ant \'alle was sent after the rebels. Father 
 Ripoll had induced the governor to offer a gen- 
 eral pardon. The padre claimed that the In- 
 dians had not harmed the friars nor committed 
 sacrilege in the church and from his narrow 
 view these were about the only venal sins they 
 could commit. The troops found the fugitive 
 neophytes encamped at San Emigdio. They 
 now professed repentance for their misdeeds and 
 were willing to return to mission life if they 
 could escape punishment. Padres Ripoll and 
 .Sarria, who had accompanied the expedition, 
 entered into negotiations with the Indians; par- 
 don was promised them for their offenses. They 
 then surrendered and marched back with the 
 soldiers to their respective missions. Tliis was 
 the last atteiupt of the Indians to escape from 
 mission rule. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 87 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 FIRST DECADE OF MEXICAN RULE. 
 
 JOSE MARIA ECHEAXDIA, a lieutenant 
 colonel of the Mexican army, was ap- 
 pointed governor of the two Californias, 
 February i, 1825. With his staff officers and 
 a few soldiers he landed at Loreto June 
 22. After a delay of a few months at Lo- 
 reto he marched overland to San Diego, 
 where he arrived about the middle of October. 
 He summoned Arguello to meet him there, 
 which he did and turned over the government, 
 October 31, 1825. Echeandia established his 
 capital at San Diego, that town being about the 
 center of his jurisdiction. This did not suit the 
 people of Monterey, who become prejudiced 
 against the new governor. Shortly after his 
 inauguration he began an investigation of the 
 attitude of the mission friars towards the re- 
 public of Mexico. He called padres Sanches, 
 Zalvidea, Peyri and Martin, representatives of 
 the four southern missions, to San Diego and 
 demanded of them whether they would take the 
 oath of allegiance to the supreme government. 
 They expressed their willingness and were ac- 
 cordingly sworn to support the constitution of 
 1824. Many of the friars of the northern mis- 
 sions remained contumacious. Among the 
 most stubborn of these was Padre Mcente 
 Francisco de Sarria, former president of the 
 missions. He had resigned the presidency to 
 escape taking the oath of allegiance and still 
 continued his opposition. He was put under ar- 
 rest and an order issued for his expulsion by 
 the supreme government, but the execution of 
 the order was delayed for fear that if he were 
 banished others of the disloyal padres woiUd 
 abandon their missions and secretly leave the 
 country. The government was not ready yet to 
 take possession of the missions. The friars 
 could keep the neophytes in subjection and 
 make them work. The business of the country 
 was in the hands of the friars and any radical 
 change would have been disastrous. 
 
 The national government in 1827 iiad issued 
 a decree for the expulsion of Spaniards from 
 Mexican territory. There were certain classes 
 of those born in Spain who were exempt from 
 banishment, but the friars were not among the 
 exempts. The decree of expulsion reached Cal- 
 ifornia in 1828; but it was not enforced for the 
 reason that all of the mission padres except 
 three were Spaniards. To have sent these out 
 of the country would have demoralized the mis- 
 sions. The Spanish friars were expelled from 
 Mexico; but those in California, although some 
 of them had boldly proclaimed their willingness 
 to die for their king and their religion and de- 
 manded their passports to leave the country, 
 were allowed to remain in the country. Their 
 passports were not given them for reasons 
 above stated. Padres Rii)olI and Altimira made 
 their escape without passports. They secretly 
 took passage on an American brig lying at 
 Santa Barbara. Orders were issued to seize the 
 vessel should she put into any other harbor on 
 the coast, but the captain, who no doubt had 
 been liberally paid, took no chance of capture 
 and the padres eventually reached Spain in 
 safety. There was a suspicion that the two 
 friars had taken with them a large amount of 
 money from the mission funds, but nothing was 
 jiroved. It was certain that they carried away 
 something more than the bag and staff, the only 
 property allowed them by the rules of their 
 order. 
 
 The most bitter opponent of the new govern- 
 ment was Father Luis Antonio Martinez of San 
 Luis Obispo. Before tlie clandestine departure 
 of Ripoll and .\Uimira there were rumors that 
 he meditated a secret departure from the coun- 
 try. The mysterious shipment of $6,000 in gold 
 belonging to the mission on a vessel called the 
 Santa Apolonia gave credence to the report of 
 his intended flight. He had been given a pass- 
 port but still remained in the territory. His 
 
88 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 outspoken disloyalty and his well known suc- 
 cess in evading the revenue laws and smuggling 
 goods into the country had made him particu- 
 larly obnoxious to the authorities. Governor 
 Echeandia determined to make an example of 
 him. He was arrested in February, 1830, and 
 confined in a room at Santa Barbara. In his 
 trial before a council of war an attempt was 
 made to connect him with complicity in the Solis 
 revolution, but the evidence against him was 
 weak. By a vote of five to one it was decided 
 to send him out of the country. He was put 
 on board an English vessel bound for Callao and 
 there transferred to a vessel bound for Europe; 
 he finally arrived safely at Madrid. 
 
 Under the empire a diputacion or provincial 
 legislature had been established in California. 
 Arguello in 1825 had suppressed this while he 
 was governor. Echeandia, shortly after his ar- 
 rival, ordered an election for a new diputacion. 
 The diputacion made the general laws of the 
 territory. It consisted of seven members called 
 vocals. These were chosen by an electoral 
 junta, the members of which were elected by 
 the people. The diputacion chose a diputado or 
 delegate to the Mexican Congress. As it was a 
 long distance for some of the members to travel 
 to the territorial capital a suplente or substitute 
 was chosen for each member, so as to assure a 
 quorum. The diputacion called by Echeandia 
 met at Monterey, June 14, 1828. The sessions, 
 of which there were two each week, were held in 
 the governor's palacio. This diputacion passed 
 a rather peculiar revenue law. It taxed domestic 
 aguardiente (grape brandy) $5 a barrel and 
 wine half that amount in the jurisdictions of 
 Monterey and San Francisco; but in the juris- 
 dictions of Santa Barbara and San Diego the 
 rates were doubled, brandy was taxed $10 
 a barrel and wine $5. San Diego, Los An- 
 geles and Santa Barbara were wine producing 
 districts, while Monterey and San Francisco 
 were not. As there was a larger consumption of 
 the product in the wine producing districts than 
 in the others the lavi' was enacted for revenue 
 and not for prevention of drinking. 
 
 Another peculiar freak of legislation perpe- 
 trated by this diputacion was the attempt to 
 change the name of the territory. The supreme 
 
 government was memorialized to change the 
 name of Alta California to that of Montezuma 
 and also that of the Pueblo de Nuestra Sefiora 
 de los Angeles to that of Villa Victoria de la 
 Reyna de los Angeles and make it the capital 
 of the territory. A coat of arms was adopted 
 for the territory. It consisted of an oval with 
 the figure of an oak tree on one side, an olive 
 tree on the other and a plumed Indian in the 
 center with his bow and quiver, just in the 
 act of stepping across the mythical straits 
 of Anian. The memorial was sent to Mexico, 
 but the supreme government paid no attention 
 to it. 
 
 The political upheavals, revolutions and coun- 
 ter revolutions that followed the inauguration 
 of a republican form of government in Mexico 
 demoralized the people and produced a prolific 
 crop of criminals. The jails were always full 
 and it became a serious question what to do 
 with them. It was proposed to make California 
 a penal colony, similar to England's Botany 
 Bay. Orders were issued to send criminals to 
 California as a means of reforming their mor- 
 als. The Californians protested against the 
 sending of these undesirable immigrants, but in 
 vain. In February, 1830, the brig Maria Ester 
 brought eighty convicts from Acapuico to San 
 Diego. They were not allowed to land there 
 and were taken to Santa Barbara. What to 
 do with them was a serious question with the 
 Santa Barbara authorities. The jail would not 
 hold a tenth part of the shipment and to turn 
 them loose in the sparsely settled country was 
 dangerous to the peace of the community. Fin- 
 ally, about thirty or forty of the worst of the 
 bad lot were shipped over to the island of Santa 
 Cruz. They were given a supply of cattle, some 
 fishhooks and a few tools and turned loose on 
 the island to shift for themselves. They staid 
 on the island until they had slaughtered and 
 eaten the cattle, then they built a raft and 
 drifted back to Santa Barbara, where they 
 quartered themselves on the padres of the mis- 
 sion. Fifty more were sent from Mexico a few 
 months later. These shipments of prison exiles 
 were distributed around among the settlements. 
 Some served out their time and returned to their 
 native land, a few escaped over the border, 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sa 
 
 others remained in the territory after their time 
 was up and became fairly good citizens. 
 
 The colonization law passed by tlie Mexican 
 Congress August i8, 1824, was the first break 
 in the proscriptive regulations that had pre- 
 vailed in Spanish-American countries since their 
 settlement. Any foreigner of good character 
 who should locate in the country and become a 
 Roman Catholic could obtain a grant of public 
 land, not exceeding eleven leagues; but no for- 
 eigner was allowed to obtain a grant within 
 twenty leagues of the boundary of a foreign 
 country nor within ten leagues of the sea coast. 
 The law of April 14, 1828, allowed foreigners 
 to become naturalized citizens. The applicant 
 was required to have resided at least two years 
 in the country, to be or to become a Roman 
 Catholic, to renounce allegiance to his former 
 country and to swear to support the constitution 
 and laws of the Mexican republic. Quite a 
 number of foreigners who had been residing 
 a number of years in California took advantage 
 of this law and became Mexican citizens by nat- 
 uralization. The colonization law of Novem- 
 ber 18, 1828, prescribed a series of rules and 
 regulations for the making of grants of land. 
 Colonists were required to settle on and culti- 
 vate the land granted within a specified time or 
 forfeit their grants. Any one residing outside 
 of the republic could not retain possession of 
 his land. The minimum size of a grant as de- 
 fined by this law was two hundred varas square 
 of irrigable land, eight hundred varas scjuare 
 of arable land (depending on the seasons) and 
 twelve hundred varas square grazing land. The 
 size of a house lot was one hundred varas 
 square. 
 
 The Californians had grown accustomed to 
 foreigners coming to the country by sea, but 
 they were not prepared to have them come over- 
 land. The mountains and deserts that inter- 
 vened between the United States and California 
 were supposed to be an insurmountable barrier 
 to foreign immigration by land. It was no doubt 
 with feelings of dismay, mingled with anger, 
 that Governor Echeandia received the advance 
 guard of maldito estranjcros, who came across 
 the continent. Echeandia hated foreigners and 
 particularly Americans. The pioneer of over- 
 
 land travel from the United States to California 
 was Capt. Jedediah S. Smith. Smith was born 
 in Connecticut and when quite young came 
 with his father to Ohio and located in Ashtabula 
 county, where he grew to manhood amid the 
 rude surroundings of pioneer life in the west. 
 i!y some means he obtained a fairly good educa- 
 tion. VVe have no record of when he began the 
 life of a trapper. We first hear of him as an 
 employe of General Ashley in 1822. He had 
 command of a band of trappers on the waters of 
 the Snake river in 1824. Afterwards he became 
 a partner of Ashley under the firm name of 
 Ashley & Smith and subsequently one of the 
 members of the Rocky Mountain Inir Company. 
 The latter company had about 1825 established 
 a post and fort near Great Salt Lake. From 
 this, August 22, 1826, Captain Smith with a 
 band of fifteen hunters and trappers started on 
 his first expedition to California. His object 
 was to find some new coimtry that had not been 
 occupied by a fur company. Traveling in a south- 
 westerly direction he discovered a river which 
 he named Adams (after President John Quincy 
 Adams) now known as the Rio \irgin. This 
 stream he followed down to its junction with 
 the Colorado. Traveling down the latter river 
 he arrived at the Mojave villages, where he 
 rested fifteen days. Here he found two wander- 
 ing neophytes, who guided his party across the 
 desert to the San Gabriel mission, where he and 
 his men arrived safely early in December, 1826. 
 The arrival of a party of armed Americans 
 from across the mountains and deserts alarmed 
 the padres and couriers were hastily dispatched 
 to Governor Echeandia at San Diego. The 
 Americans were placed under arrest and com- 
 pelled to give up their arms. Smith was taken 
 to San Diego to give an account of himself. He 
 claimed that he had been compelled to enter 
 the territory on account of the loss of horses 
 and a scarcity of jjrovisions. He was finally re- 
 leased from prison upon the endorsement of 
 several American ship captains and supercar- 
 goes who were then at San Diego. He was al- 
 lowed to return to San Gabriel, where he pur- 
 chased horses and supplies. He moved his camp 
 to San Bernardino, where he remained until 
 February. The authorities had grown uneasy 
 
90 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 at his continued presence in the country and 
 orders were sent to arrest him, but before this 
 could be done he left for the Tulare country by 
 way of Cajon Pass. He trapped on the tribu- 
 taries of the San Joaquin. By the ist of ]May 
 he and his party had reached a fork of the Sac- 
 ramento (near where the town of Folsom now 
 stands). Here lie established a summer camp 
 and the river ever since has been known as the 
 American fork from that circumstance. 
 
 Here again the presence of the Americans 
 worried the Mexican authorities. Smith wrote 
 a conciliatory letter to Padre Duran, president 
 of the missions, informing him that he had 
 "made several efforts to pass over the moun- 
 tains, but the snow being so deep I could not 
 succeed in getting over. I returned to this 
 place, it being the only point to kill meat, to 
 wait a few weeks until the snow melts so that I 
 can go on." "On ]\lay 20, 1827," Smith writes, 
 "with two men, seven horses and two mules, I 
 started from the valley. In eight days we 
 crossed Mount Joseph, losing two horses and 
 one mule. After a march of twenty days east- 
 ward from Mount Joseph (the Sierra Nevadas) 
 I reached the southwesterly corner of the Great 
 Salt Lake. The country separating it from the 
 mountains is arid and without game. Often we 
 had no water for two days at a time. When 
 we reached Salt Lake we had left only one horse 
 and one mule, so exhausted that they could 
 hardly carry our slight baggage. We had been 
 forced to eat the horses that had succumbed." 
 
 Smith's route over the Sierras to Salt Lake 
 was substantially the same as that followed by the 
 overland emigration of later years. He discov- 
 ered the Humboldt, which he named the Mary 
 river, a name it bore until changed by Fremont 
 in 1845. He was the first white man to cross 
 the Sierra Nevadas. Smith left his party of 
 trappers except the two who accompanied him 
 in the Sacramento valley. He returned next 
 year with reinforcements and was ordered out 
 of the country by the governor. He traveled up 
 the coast towards Oregon. On the Umpqua 
 river he was attacked by the Indians. All his 
 party except himself and two others were mas- 
 sacred. He lost all of his horses and furs. He 
 reached Fort Vancouver, his clothing torn to 
 
 rags and almost starved to death. In 1831 he 
 started with a train of wagons to Santa Fe on a 
 trading expedition. While alone searching for 
 water near the Cimarron river he was set upon 
 by a party of Indians and killed. Thus perished 
 by the hands of cowardly savages in the wilds of 
 New Mexico a man who, through almost in- 
 credible dangers and sufferings, had explored 
 an unknown region as vast in extent as that 
 which gave fame and immortality to the African 
 explorer, Stanley; and who marked out trails 
 over mountains and across deserts that Fre- 
 mont following years afterwards won the title 
 of "Pathfinder of the Great West." Smith led 
 the advance guard of the fur trappers to Cali- 
 fornia. Notwithstanding the fact that they were 
 unwelcome visitors these adventurers continued 
 to come at intervals up to 1845. They trapped 
 on the tributaries of the San Joaquin, Sacramento 
 and the rivers in the northern part of the terri- 
 tory. A few of them remained in the country 
 and became permanent residents, but most of 
 them sooner or later met death by the savages. 
 
 Capt. Jedediah S. Smith marked out two of 
 the great immigrant trails by which the overland 
 travel, after the discovery of gold, entered Cal- 
 ifornia, one by way of the Humboldt river over 
 tlie Sierra Nevadas, the other southerly from 
 Salt Lake, L'tah Lake, the Rio Virgin, across 
 the Colorado desert, through the Cajon Pass to 
 Los Angeles. A third immigrant route was 
 blazed by the Pattie party. This route led from 
 Santa Fe, across New Mexico, down the Gila 
 to the Colorado and from thence across the 
 desert through the San Gorgonio Pass to Los 
 .\ngeles. 
 
 This party consisted of Sylvester Pattie, 
 James Ohio Pattie, his son, Nathaniel M. 
 Pryor, Richard Laughlin, Jesse Furguson, Isaac 
 Slover, William Pope and James Puter. The 
 Patties left Kentucky in 1824 and followed trap 
 ping in New Mexico and Arizona until 1827; 
 the elder Pattie for a time managing the cop- 
 per mines of Santa Rita. In May, 1827, Pattie 
 the elder, in command of a party of thirty trap- 
 pers and hunters, set out to trap the tributaries 
 of the Colorado. Losses by Indian hostilities, 
 by dissensions and desertions reduced the party 
 to eight persons. December ist, 1827, while 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.A.PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 91 
 
 these were encamped on the Colorado near the 
 mouth of the Gila, the Yuma Indians stole all 
 their horses. They constructed rafts and floated 
 down the Colorado, expecting to find Spanish 
 settlements on its banks, where they hoped to 
 procure horses to take them back to Santa Fe. 
 They floated down the river until they encoun- 
 tered the flood tide from the gulf. Finding it 
 impossible to go ahead on account of the tide 
 or back on account of the river current, they 
 landed, cached their furs and traps and with 
 two days' supply of beaver meat struck out 
 westerly across the desert. After traveling for 
 twenty-four days and suffering almost incredible 
 hardships they reached the old Mission of Santa 
 Catalina near the head of the Gulf of California. 
 Here they were detained until news of their ar- 
 rival could be sent to Governor Echeandia at 
 San Diego. A guard of sixteen soldiers was sent 
 for them and they were conducted to San Diego, 
 where they arrived February 27, 1828. Their 
 arms were taken from them and they were put 
 in prison. The elder Pattie died during their 
 imprisonment. In September all the party ex- 
 cept young Pattie, who was retained as a host- 
 age, were released and permitted to go after 
 their buried furs. They found their furs had been 
 ruined by the overflow of the river. Tw'o of the 
 party, Slover and Pope, made their way back 
 to Santa Fe; the others returned, bringing with 
 them their beaver traps. They w'ere again im- 
 prisoned by Governor Echeandia, but were fin- 
 ally released. 
 
 Three of the party, Nathaniel M. Pryor, 
 Richard Laughlin and Jesse Furguson, became 
 permanent residents of California. Young Pat- 
 tie returned to the United States by way of 
 Mexico. After his return, with the assistance 
 of the Rev. Timothy Flint, he wrote an account 
 of his adventures, which was published in Cin- 
 cinnati in 1833, under the title of "Pattie's Nar- 
 rative." Young Pattie was inclined to exaggera- 
 tion. In his narrative he claims that with vac- 
 cine matter brought by his father from the 
 Santa Rita mines he vaccinated twenty-two 
 thousand people in California. In Los .\ngeles 
 alone, he vaccinated twenty-five hundred, 
 which was more than double the population of 
 the town in 1828. He took a contract from the 
 
 president of the missions to vaccinate all the 
 neophytes in the territory. When his job was 
 finished the president offered him in pay five 
 hundred cattle and five hundred mules 
 with land to pasture his stock on condition 
 he would become a Roman Catholic and 
 a citizen of Mexico. Pattie scorned the of- 
 fer and roundly upbraided the padre for taking 
 advantage of him. Fie had previously given 
 Governor Eacheandia a tongue lashing and had 
 threatened to shoot him on sight. From his 
 narrative he seems to have put in most of his 
 time in California blustering and threatening to 
 shoot somebody. 
 
 Another famous trapper of this period was 
 "Peg Leg" Smith. His real name-was Thomas 
 L. Smith. It is said that in a fight with the 
 Indians his leg below the knee was shattered by 
 a bullet. He coolly amputated his leg at the 
 knee with no other instrument than his hunting 
 knife. He wore a wooden leg and from this 
 came his nickname. He first came to California 
 in 1829. He was ordered out of the country. 
 Fle and his party took their departure, but with 
 them went three or four hundred California 
 horses. He died in a San Francisco hospital in 
 1866. 
 
 Ewing Young, a famous captain of trappers, 
 made several visits to California from 1830 to 
 1837. In 1831 he led a party of thirty hunters 
 and trappers, among those of his party who 
 remained in California was Col. J. J. Warner, 
 who became prominent in the territory and 
 state. In 1837 Ewing Young with a party of 
 sixteen men came down from Oregon, w-here 
 he finally located, to purchase cattle for the new 
 settlements on the Willamette river. They 
 Ijought seven hundred cattle at $3 per head from 
 the government and drove them overland to 
 Oregon, reaching there after a toilsome journey 
 of four months with six hundred. Young died 
 in Oregon in 1841. 
 
 From the downfall of Spanish domination in 
 1822, to the close of that decade there had been 
 but few political disturbances in California. The 
 only one of any consequence was Solis' and 
 llcrrera's attempt to revolutionize the territory 
 and seize the government. Jose Maria Herrera 
 had come to California as a connnissioner of 
 
92 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the commissary department, but after a short 
 term of service had been removed from ofifice 
 for fraud. Joaquin SoHs was a convict who was 
 serving- a ten years sentence of banishment from 
 Mexico. The ex-of^icial and the exile with oth- 
 ers of damaged character combined to overturn 
 the government. 
 
 On the night of November 12, 1829, SoHs, 
 with a band of soldiers that he had induced to 
 join his standard, seized the principal govern- 
 ment officials at Monterey and put them in 
 prison. At Solis' solicitation Herrera drew up 
 a pronunciamento. It followed the usual line 
 of such documents. It began by deploring the 
 evils that had come upon the territory through 
 Echeandia's misgovernment and closed with 
 promises of reformation if the revolutionists 
 should obtain control of the government. To 
 obtain the sinews of war the rebels seized 
 $3,000 of the public funds. This was dis- 
 tributed among the soldiers and proved a great 
 attraction to the rebel cause. Solis with twen- 
 ty men went to San Francisco and the sol- 
 diers there joined his standard. Next he 
 marched against Santa Barbara with an army 
 of one hundred and fifty men. Echeandia on 
 hearing of the revolt had marched northward 
 with all the soldiers he could enlist. Tlie two 
 armies met at Santa Ynez. Solis opened fire on 
 the governor's army. The fire was returned. 
 Solis' men began to break away and soon the 
 army and its valiant leader were in rapid flight. 
 Pacheco's cavalry captured the leaders of the 
 revolt. Herrara. Solis and thirteen others were 
 shipped to Mexico under arrest to be tried for 
 their crimes. The Mexican authorities, always 
 lenient to California revolutionists, probably 
 from a fellow feeling, turned them all loose 
 and Herrera was sent back to fill his former 
 office. 
 
 Near the close of his term Governor 
 Echeandia formulated a plan for converting the 
 mission into pueblos. To ascertain the fitness 
 of the neophytes for citizenship he made an in- 
 vestigation to find out how many could read and 
 write. He found so very few that he ordered 
 schools opened at the missions. A pretense was 
 made of establishing schools, but very little was 
 accomplished. The padres were opposed to edu- 
 
 cating the natives for the same reason that the 
 southern slave-holders were opposed to educat- 
 ing the negro, namely, that an ignorant people 
 were more easily kept in subjection. Echeandia's 
 plan of secularization was quite elaborate and 
 dealt fairly with the neophytes. It received the 
 sanction of the diputacion when that body met 
 in July, 1830, but before anything could be done 
 towards enforcing it another governor was ap- 
 pointed. Echeandia was thoroughly hated by 
 the mission friars and their adherents. Robin- 
 son in his "Life in California" calls him a man 
 of vice and makes a number of damaging asser- 
 tions about his character and conduct, which 
 are not in accordance with the facts. It was dur- 
 ing Echeandia's term as governor that the motto 
 of Mexico, Dios y Libertad (God and Liberty), 
 ^vas adopted. It became immensely popular 
 and was used on all public documents and often 
 in private correspondence. 
 
 A romantic episode that has furnished a 
 theme for fiction writers occurred in the last 
 year of Echeandia's rule. It was the elopement 
 of Henry D. Fitch with Doiia Josefa, daughter 
 of Joaquin Carrillo of San Diego. Fitch was a 
 native of New Bedford, Mass. He came to Cal- 
 ifornia in 1826 as master of the Maria Ester. 
 He fell in love with Doiia Josefa. There were 
 legal obstructions to their marriage. Fitch was 
 a foreigner and a Protestant. The latter objec- 
 tion was easily removed by Fitch becoming a 
 Catholic. The Dominican friar who was to per- 
 form the marriage service, fearful that he might 
 incur the wrath of the authorities, civil and cler- 
 ical, refused to perform the ceremony, but sug- 
 gested that there were other countries where 
 the laws were less strict andofifered to go beyond 
 the limits of California and marry them. It is 
 said that at this point Dofia Josefa said: "Why 
 don't you carry me ofif, Don Enrique?" The 
 suggestion was quickly acted upon. The next 
 night the lady, mounted on a steed with her 
 cousin, Pio Pico, as an escort, was secretly 
 taken to a point on the bay shore where a boat 
 was waiting for her. The boat put off to the 
 \'ulture, where Captain Fitch received her on 
 board and the vessel sailed for Valparaiso, 
 where the couple were married. A year later 
 Captain Fitch returned to California with his 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 93 
 
 wife and infant son. At Monterey Fitch was 
 arrested on an order of Padre Sanchez of San 
 Gabriel and put in prison. His wife was also 
 placed under arrest at the house of Captain 
 Cooper. Fitch was taken to San Gabriel for trial, 
 "his oflfenses being most heinous." At her in- 
 tercession, Governor Echeandia released Mrs. 
 Fitch and allowed her to go to San Gabriel, 
 where her husband was imprisoned in one of the 
 rooms of the mission. This act of clemency 
 greatly enraged the friar and his fiscal, Pa- 
 lomares, and they seriously considered the ques- 
 tion of arresting the governor. The trial 
 dragged along for nearly a month. Many wit- 
 nesses were examined and many learned points 
 of clerical law discussed. Vicar Sanchez finally 
 gave his decision that the marriage at Val- 
 paraiso, though not legitimate, was not null and 
 void, but valid. The couple were condemned 
 
 to do penance by "presenting themselves in 
 church with lighted candles in their hands to 
 hear high mass for three feast days and recite 
 together for thirty days one-third of the rosary 
 of the holy virgin."* In addition to these joint 
 penances the vicar inflicted an additional pen- 
 alty on Fitch in these words: "Yet considering 
 the great scandal which Don Enrique has 
 caused in this province I condemn him to give 
 as penance and reparation a bell of at least fifty 
 pounds in weight for the church at Los An- 
 geles, which barely has a borrowed one." Fitch 
 and his wife no doubt performed the joint pen- 
 ance imposed upon them, but the church at Los 
 Angeles had to get along with its borrowed I?ell. 
 Don Enrique never gave it one of fifty pounds 
 or anv other weight. 
 
 ♦Bancroft's History of California, Vol. III-144. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 REVOLUTIONS— THE HIJAR COLONISTS. 
 
 M 
 
 A.XUEL VICTORIA was appointed 
 governor in March, 1830, but did not 
 reach California until the last month 
 of the year. Mctoria very soon became un- 
 popular. He undertook to overturn the civil 
 authority and substitute military rule. He 
 recommended the abolition of the ayunta- 
 mientos and refused to call together the ter- 
 ritorial diputacion. He e.xiled Don Abel 
 Stearns and Jose Antonio Carrillo; and at dif- 
 ferent times, on trumped-up charges, had half 
 a hundred of the leading citizens of Los An- 
 geles incarcerated in the pueblo jail. Alcalde 
 Vicente Sanchez was the petty despot of the 
 pueblo, who carried out the tyrannical decrees 
 of his master, Victoria. Among others who 
 were imprisoned in the cuartel was Jose Maria 
 Avila. Avila was proud, haughty and over- 
 bearing. He had incurred the hatred of both 
 Victoria and Sanchez. Sanchez, under orders 
 from Victoria, placed Avila in prison, and to 
 humiliate him put him in irons. Avila brooded 
 over the indignities inflicted upon him and 
 vowed to be revenged. 
 
 \'ictoria's persecutions became so unbearable 
 that I'io Pico, Juan I'.andini and Jose Antonio 
 Carrillo raised the standard of revolt at San 
 Diego and issued a pronunciamento, in which 
 they set forth the reasons why they felt them- 
 selves obliged to rise against the tyrant, Vic- 
 toria. Pablo de Portilla, comandante of the 
 presidio of San Diego, and his officers, with a 
 force of fifty soldiers, joined the revolutionists 
 and marched to Los .\ngeles. Sanchez's pris- 
 oners were released and he was chained up in 
 the pueblo jail. Here Portilla's force was re- 
 cruited to two hundred men. Avila and a num- 
 ber of the other released prisoners joined the 
 revolutionists, and all marched forth to meet 
 \'ictoria, who was moving southward with an 
 armed force to suppress the insurrection. The 
 two forces met on the plains of Cahuenga, west 
 of the pueblo, at a place known as the Lomitas 
 de la Canada de P.reita. The sight of his per- 
 secutor so infuriated Avila that alone he rushed 
 upon him to run him through with his lance. 
 Captain Pacheco, of Victoria's staff, parried the 
 lance thrust. Avila shot him dead with one of 
 
94 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his pistols and again attacked the governor and 
 succeeded in wounding him, when he himself 
 received a pistol ball that unhorsed him. After 
 a desperate struggle (in which he seized \ ic- 
 toria by the foot and dragged him from his 
 horse) he was shot by one of Victoria's soldiers. 
 Portilla's army fell back in a panic to Los An- 
 geles and \'ictoria's men carried the wounded 
 governor to the Mission San Gabriel, where 
 his wounds were dressed by Joseph Chapman, 
 who, to his many other accomplishments, added 
 that of amateur surgeon. Some citizens who 
 had taken no part in the fight brought the 
 bodies of Avila and Pacheco to the town. 
 "They were taken to the same house, the same 
 hands rendered them the last sad rites, and 
 they were laid side by side. Side by side knelt 
 their widows and mingled their tears, while 
 sympathizing countrymen chanted the solemn 
 prayers of the church for the repose of the 
 souls of these untimely dead. Side by side be- 
 neath the orange and the olive in the little 
 churchyard upon the plaza sleep the slayer and 
 the slain."* 
 
 Next day, \ictoria, supposing himself mor- 
 tally wounded, abdicated and turned over the 
 governorship of the territory to Echeandia. He 
 resigned the office December 9, 1831, having 
 been governor a little over ten months. When 
 \'ictoria was able to travel he was sent to San 
 Diego, from where he was deported to Mexico, 
 San Diego borrowing $125 from the ayunta- 
 miento of Los Angeles to pay the expense of 
 shipping him out of the country. Several years 
 afterwards the money had not been repaid, and 
 the town council began proceedings to recover 
 it, but there is no record in the archives to show 
 that it was ever paid. .\nd thus it was that 
 California got rid of a bad governor and Los 
 Angeles incurred a bad debt. 
 
 January 10, 1832, the territorial legislature 
 met at Los Angeles to choose a "gefe politico," 
 or governor, for the territory. Echeandia w.ts 
 invited to preside but replied from San Juan 
 Capistrano that he was busy getting \^ictoria 
 out of the country. The diputacion, after wait- 
 ing some time and receiving no satisfaction 
 
 *Stephen C. Foster. 
 
 from Echeandia whether he wanted the office 
 or not, declared Pio Pico, by virtue of his office 
 of senior vocal, "gefe politico." 
 
 No sooner had Pico been sworn into office 
 than Echeandia discovered that he wanted the 
 office and wanted it badly. He protested against 
 the action of the diputacion and intrigued 
 against Pico. Another revolution was threat- 
 ened. Los Angeles favored Echeandia, al- 
 though all the other towns in the territory had 
 accepted Pico. (Pico at that time was a resi- 
 dent of San Diego.) A mass meeting was called 
 on February 12, 1832, at Los Angeles, to dis- 
 cuss the question whether it should be Pico or 
 Echeandia. I give the report of the meeting in 
 the quaint language of the pueblo archives: 
 
 "The town, acting in accord with the Most 
 Illustrious Ayuntamiento, answered in a loud 
 voice, saying they would not admit Citizen Pio 
 Pico as 'gefe politico,' but desired that Lieut. - 
 Col. Citizen Jose Maria Echeandia be retained 
 in office until the supreme government appoint. 
 Then the president of the meeting, seeing the 
 determination of the people, asked the motive or 
 reason of refusing Citizen Pio Pico, who was 
 of unblemished character. To this the people 
 responded that while it was true that Citizen 
 Pio Pico was to some extent qualified, yet they 
 preferred Lieut. -Col. Citizen Jose M. Echean- 
 dia. The president of the meeting then asked 
 the people whether they had been bribed, or 
 was it merely insubordination that they op- 
 posed the resolution of the Most Excellent Di- 
 putacion? Whereupon the people answered 
 that they had not been bribed, nor were they 
 insubordinate, but that they opposed the pro- 
 posed 'gefe politico' because he had not been 
 named by the supreme government." 
 
 At a public meeting February 19 the matter 
 was again brought up. Again the people cried 
 out "they would not recognize or obey any 
 other gefe politico than Echeandia." The Most 
 Illustrious Ayuntamiento opposed Pio Pico for 
 two reasons: "First, because his name appeared 
 first on the plan to oust Gefe Politico Citizen 
 Manuel \'ictoria," and "Second, because he, 
 Pico, had not sufficient capacity to fulfil the 
 duties of the office." Then Jose Perez and Jose 
 Antonio Carrillo withdrew from the meeting. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 95 
 
 saying they would not recognize Echeandia as 
 "gefe politico." Pico, after holding the office 
 for twenty days, resigned for the sake of peace. 
 And this was the length of Pico's first term as 
 governor. 
 
 Echeandia, by obstinacy and intrigue, had ob- 
 tained the coveted office, "gefe politico," but he 
 did not long enjoy it in peace. News came 
 from )ilonterey that Capt. Agustin V. Zamo- 
 rano had declared himself governor and was 
 gathering a force to invade the south and en- 
 force his authority. Echeandia began at once 
 marshaling his forces to oppose him. Ybarra, 
 Zamarano's military chief, with a force of one 
 hundred men, by a forced march, reached Paso 
 de Bartolo, on the San Gabriel river, where, 
 fifteen years later, Stockton fought the Mexican 
 troops under Flores. Here Ybarra found Cap- 
 tain Borroso posted with a piece of artillery and 
 fourteen men. He did not dare to attack him. 
 Echeandia and Borroso gathered a force of a 
 thousand neophytes at Paso de Bartolo, where 
 they drilled them in military evolutions. Ybar- 
 ra's troops had fallen back to Santa Barbara, 
 where he was joined by Zamorano with rein- 
 forcements. Ybarra's force was largely made up 
 of ex-convicts and other undesirable characters, 
 who took what they needed, asking no questions 
 of the owners. The Angelenos, fearing those 
 marauders, gave their adhesion to Zamorano's 
 plan and recognized him as military chief of the 
 territory. Captain Borroso, Echeandia's faith- 
 ful adherent, disgusted with the fickleness of 
 the Angelenos, at the head of a thousand 
 mounted Indians, threatened to invade the re- 
 calcitrant pueblo, but at the intercession of the 
 frightened inhabitants this modern Coriolanus 
 turned aside and regaled his neophyte retainers 
 on the fat bullocks of the Mission San Gabriel, 
 much to the disgust of the padres. The neo- 
 phyte warriors were disbanded and sent to their 
 respective missions. 
 
 A peace was patched up betwen Zamorano 
 and Echeandia. Alta California was divided 
 into two territories. Echeandia was given juris- 
 diction over all south of San Gabriel and Zamo- 
 rano all north of San Fernando. This division 
 apparently loft a neutral district, or "no man's 
 land," between. Whether Los Angeles was in 
 
 this neutral territory the records do not show. 
 If it was, it is probable that neither of the gov- 
 ernors wanted the job of governing the rebel- 
 lious pueblo. 
 
 In January, 1833, Governor Figueroa arrived 
 in California. Echeandia and Zamorano each 
 surrendered his half of the divided territory to 
 the newly appointed governor, and California 
 was united and at peace. Figueroa proved to 
 be the right man for the times. He conciliated 
 the factions and brought order out of chaos. 
 The two most important events in Figueroa's 
 term of office were the arrival of the Hijar Col- 
 ony in California and the secularization of the 
 missions. These events were most potent fac- 
 tors in the evolution of the territory. 
 
 In 1833 the first California colonization 
 scheme was inaugurated in Mexico. At the 
 liead of this was Jose Maria Hijar, a Mexican 
 gentleman of wealth and influence. He was 
 assisted in its promulgation by Jose M. Padres, 
 an adventurer, who had been banished from 
 California by Governor Victoria. Padres, like 
 some of our modern real estate boomers, pic- 
 tured the country as an earthly paradise — an 
 improved and enlarged Garden of Eden. 
 Among other inducements held out to the colo- 
 nists, it is said, was the promise of a division 
 among them of the mission property and a dis- 
 tribution of the neophytes for servants. 
 
 Heatkjuarters were established at the city 
 of Mexico and two hundred and fifty colonists 
 enlisted. Each family received a bonus of 
 $10, and all were to receive free transporta- 
 tion to California and rations while on the jour- 
 ney. Each head of a family was promised a 
 farm from the public domain, live stock and 
 farming implements; these advances to be paid 
 for on the installment plan. The orignal plan was 
 to found a colony somewhere north of San 
 Francisco bay, but this was not carried out 
 Two vessels were dispatched with the colonists 
 — the Morelos and the Natalia. The latter was 
 compelled to put into San Diego on account of 
 sickness on board. She reached that port Sep- 
 tember I, 1834. A part of the colonists on 
 ftoard her were sent to San Pedro and from 
 there they were taken to Los Angeles and San 
 (iabriel. The Morelos reached Monterey Sep- 
 
S)G 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tember 25. Hijar had been appointed governor 
 of California by President Farias, but after the 
 saihng of the expedition, Santa Ana, who had 
 succeeded Farias, dispatched a courier over- 
 land with a countermanding order. By one of 
 the famous rides of history, Amador, the courier, 
 made the journey from the city of Mexico to 
 Monterey in forty days and delivered his mes- 
 sage to Governor Figueroa. When Hijar ar- 
 rived he found to his dismay that he was only 
 a private citizen of the territory instead of its 
 governor. The colonization scheme was aban- 
 doned and the immigrants distributed them- 
 selves throughout the territory. Generally they 
 were a good class of citizens, and many of them 
 became prominent in California afifairs. 
 
 That storm center of political disturbances, 
 Los Angeles, produced but one small revolution 
 during Figueroa's term as governor. A party 
 of fifty or sixty Sonorans, some of whom were 
 Hijar colonists who were living either in the 
 town or its immediate neighborhood, assembled 
 at Los Nietos on the night of March 7, 1835. 
 They formulated a pronunciamiento against 
 Don Jose T'lgueroa, in which they first vigor- 
 ously arraigned him for sins of omission and 
 conmiission and then laid down their plan of 
 government of the territory. Armed with this 
 formidable document and a few muskets and 
 lances, these patriots, headed by Juan Gallado, 
 a cobbler, and Felipe Castillo, a cigarmaker, in 
 the gray light of the morning, rode into the 
 pueblo, took possession of the town hall and 
 the big cannon and the ammunition that had 
 
 been stored there when the Indians of San Luis 
 Rey had threatened hostilities. The slumbering 
 inhabitants were aroused from their dreams of 
 peace by the drum beat of war. The terrified 
 citizens rallied to the juzgado, the ayuntamiento 
 met, the cobbler statesman, Gallado, presented 
 his plan; it was discussed and rejected. The 
 revolutionists, after holding possession of the 
 pueblo throughout the day, tired, hungry and 
 disappointed in not receiving their pay for sav- 
 ing the country, surrendered to the legal author- 
 ities the real leaders of the revolution and 
 disbanded. The leaders proved to be Torres, 
 a clerk, and Apalategui, a doctor, both supposed 
 to be emissaries of Hijar. They were imprisoned 
 at San Gabriel. When news of the revolt 
 reached Figueroa he had Hijar and Padres ar- 
 rested for complicity in the outbreak. Hijar, 
 with half a dozen of his adherents, was shipped 
 back to Mexico. And thus the man who the 
 year before had landed in California with a 
 commission as governor and authority to take 
 possession of all the property belonging to the 
 missions returned to his native land an exile. 
 His grand colonization scheme and his "Com- 
 pania Cosmopolitana" that was to revolutionize 
 California commerce were both disastrous fail- 
 ures. 
 
 Governor Jose Figueroa died at Monterey 
 on the 29th of September, 1835. He is generally 
 regarded as the best of the Mexican governors 
 sent to California. He was of Aztec extraction 
 and took a great deal of pride in his Indian 
 blood. 
 
 CHAPTER Xll. 
 
 THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE MISSIONS. 
 
 THE Franciscan Missions of Alta Califor- 
 nia have of late been a prolific theme 
 for a certain class of writers and espe- 
 cially have they dwelt upon the secularization 
 of these establishments. Their productions 
 have added little or nothing to our previous 
 knowledge of these institutions. Carried away 
 by sentiment these writers draw pictures of mis- 
 sion life that are unreal, that are purely imag- 
 
 inary, and aroused to indignation at the injus- 
 tice they fancy was done to their ideal institu- 
 tions they deal out denunciations against the 
 authorities that brought about secularization as 
 unjust as they are undeserved. Such expres- 
 sions as "the robber hand of secularization," and 
 "the brutal and thievish disestablishment of the 
 missions," emanate from writers who seem to 
 be ignorant of the purpose for which the mis- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 97 
 
 sioiis were founded, and who ignore, or wlio 
 do not know, the caitses which brought about 
 their secularization. 
 
 It is an historical fact know-n to all acquainted 
 with California history that these establishments 
 were not intended by the Crown of Spain to 
 become permanent institutions. The purpose 
 for which the Spanish government fostered and 
 protected them was to Christianize the Indians 
 afid make of them self-supporting citizens. Very 
 early in its history Governor Borica, Fages and 
 other intelligent Spanish officers in California 
 discovered the weakness of the mission system. 
 Governor Borica, writing in 1796, said: "Ac- 
 cording to the laws the natives are to be free 
 from tutelage at the end of ten years, the mis- 
 sions then becoming doctrinairs, but those of 
 New California, at the rate they are advancing, 
 will not reach the goal in ten centuries; the rea- 
 son God knows, and men, too, know something 
 about it." 
 
 The tenure by which the mission friars held 
 their lands is admirably set forth in William 
 Carey Jones' "Report on Land Titles in Cali- 
 fornia," made in 1850. He says, "It had been 
 supposed that the lands they (the missions) oc- 
 cupied were grants held as the property of the 
 church or of the misson establishments as cor- 
 porations. Such, however, was not the case; 
 all the missions in Upper California were estab- 
 lished under the direction and mainly at the 
 expense of the government, and the missionaries 
 there had never any other right than to the 
 occupation and use of the lands for the purpose 
 of the missions and at the pleasure of the gov- 
 ernment. This is shown by the history and 
 principles of their foundation, by the laws in 
 relation to them, by the constant practice of 
 the government toward them and, in fact, by the 
 rules of the Franciscan order, which forbid its 
 members to possess property." 
 
 With the downfall of Spanish domination in 
 Mexico came the beginning of the end of mis- 
 sionary rule in California. The majority of the 
 mission padres were Spanish born. In the war 
 of Mexican independence their sympathies were 
 with their mother country, Spain. After Mex- 
 ico attained her independence, some of them 
 refused to acknowledge allegiance to the repub- 
 
 7 
 
 lie. The Mexican authorities feared and dis- 
 trusted them. In this, in part, they found a pre- 
 text for the disestablishment of the missions and 
 the confiscation of the mission estates. There 
 was another cause or reason for secularization 
 more potent than the loyalty of the padres to 
 Spain. Few forms of land monopoly have ever 
 exceeded that in vogue under the mission system 
 of California. From San Diego to San I'ran- 
 cisco bay the twenty missions established under 
 Spanish rule monopolized the greater part of the 
 fertile land between the coast range and the sea. 
 The limits of one mission were said to cover 
 the intervening space to the limits of the next. 
 There was but little left for other settlers. A 
 settler could not obtain a grant of land if the 
 padres of the nearest mission objected. 
 
 The twenty-four ranches owned by the Mis- 
 sion San Gabriel contained about a million and 
 a half acres and extended from the sea to the 
 San Bernardino mountains. The greatest 
 neophyte population of San Gabriel was in 1817, 
 when it reached 1,701. Its yearly average for 
 the first three decades of the present century 
 did not exceed 1,500. It took a thousand acres 
 of fertile land under the mission system to sup- 
 port an Indian, even the smallest papoose of the 
 mission flock. It is not strange that the people 
 clamored for a subdivision of the mission estates; 
 and secularization became a public necessity. 
 The most enthusiastic admirer of the missions 
 to-day, had he lived in California seventy years 
 ago, would no doubt have been among the loud- 
 est in his wail against the mission system. 
 
 The abuse heaped upon the Mexican authori- 
 ties for their secularization of these institutions 
 is as unjust as it is unmerited. The act of the 
 Mexican Congress of August 17, 1833, w^as 
 not the initiative movement towards their dis- 
 establishment. Indeed in their foundation their 
 secularization, their subdivision into pueblos, 
 was provided for and the local authorities were 
 never w'ithout lawful authority over them. In 
 the verj- beginning of missionary work in Alta 
 California the process of secularizing the mis- 
 sion establishments was mapped out in the fol- 
 lowing "Instructions given by Viceroy Bucarili 
 August 17, 1773, to the comandante of the new 
 establishments of San Diego and Monterey. 
 
98 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Article 15, when it shall happen that a mission 
 is to be formed into a pueblo or village the 
 comandante will proceed to reduce it to the civil 
 and economical government, which, according 
 to the laws, is observed by other villages of this 
 kingdom; their giving it a name and declaring 
 for its patron the saint under whose memory 
 and protection the mission was founded." 
 
 The purpose for which the mission was 
 founded was to aid in the settlement of the 
 country, and to convert the natives to Christian- 
 ity. "These objects accomplished the mission- 
 ary's labor was considered fulfilled and the es- 
 tablishment subject to dissolution. This view 
 of their purpose and destiny fully appears in 
 the tenor of the decree of the Spanish Cortes 
 of September 13, 1813. It was passed in conse- 
 quence of a complaint by the Bishop of Guiana 
 of the evils that affected that province on ac- 
 count of the Indian settlements in charge of 
 missions not being delivered to the ecclesiastical 
 ordinary, although thirty, forty and fifty years 
 had passed since the reduction and conversion 
 of the Indians."* 
 
 The Cortes decreed 1st, that all the new 
 reduciones y doctrinairs (settlements of newly 
 converted Indians) not yet formed into parishes 
 of the province beyond the sea which were in 
 charge of missionary monks and had been ten 
 years subjected should be delivered immediately 
 to the respective ecclesiastical ordinaries (bish- 
 ops) without resort to any excuse or pretext 
 conformably to the laws and cedulas in that 
 respect. Section 2nd, provided that the secular 
 clergy should attend to the spiritual wants of 
 these curacies. Section 3rd, the missionary 
 monks relieved from the converted settlements 
 shall proceed to the conversion of other 
 heathen." 
 
 The decree of the Mexican Congress, passed 
 November 20, 1833, for the secularization of the 
 missions of Upper and Lower California, was 
 very similar in its provisions to the decree of the 
 Spanish Cortes of September, 1813. The Mex- 
 ican government simply followed tl^s example 
 of Spain and in the conversion oi tne missions 
 into pueblos was attempting to enforce a prin- 
 
 *\Viniani Carey Jones' Report. 
 
 ciple inherent in the foundation of the mission- 
 ary establishments. That secularization resulted 
 disastrously to the Indians was not the fault 
 of the Me.xican government so much as it was 
 the defect in the industrial and intellectual 
 training of the neophytes. E.xcept in the case 
 of those who were trained for choir services in 
 the churches there was no attempt made to 
 teach the Indians to read or write. The padres 
 generally entertained a poor opinion of the 
 neophytes' intellectual ability. The reglamento 
 governing the secularization of the missions, 
 published by Governor Echeandia in 1830, but 
 not enforced, and that formulated by the diputa- 
 cion under Governor Figueroa in 1834, approved 
 by the Me.xican Congress and finally enforced 
 in 1834-5-6, were humane measures. These reg- 
 ulations provided for the colonization of the 
 neophytes into pueblos or villages. A portion of 
 the personal property and a part of the lands 
 held by the missions were to be distributed 
 among the Indians as follows : 
 
 "Article 5 — To each head of a family and all 
 who are more than twenty years old, although 
 without families, will be given from the lands 
 of the mission, whether temporal (lands depend- 
 ent on the seasons) or watered, a lot of ground 
 not to contain more than four hundred varas 
 (yards) in length, and as many in breadth not 
 less than one hundred. Sufficient land for water- 
 ing the cattle will be given in common. The 
 outlets or roads shall be marked out by each vil- 
 lage, and at the proper time the corporation 
 lands shall be designated." This colonization 
 of the neophytes into pueblos would have 
 throw-n large bodies of the land held by the mis- 
 sions open to settlement by white settlers. The 
 personal property of missionary establishments 
 was to have been divided among their neophyte 
 retainers thus: "Article 6. Among the said in- 
 dividuals will be distributed, ratably and justly, 
 according to the discretion of the political chief, 
 the half of the movable property, taking as a 
 basis the last inventory which the missionaries 
 have presented of all descriptions of cattle. Arti- 
 cle 7. One-half or less of the implements and 
 seeds indispensable for agriculture shall be al- 
 lotted to them." 
 
 The political government of the Indian pu- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 99 
 
 eblos was to be organized in accordance with 
 existing laws of the territory governing other 
 towns. The neophyte could not sell, mortgage 
 or dispose of the land granted him; nor could 
 he sell his cattle. The regulations provided that 
 "Religious missionaries shall be relieved from 
 the administration of temporalities and shall 
 only exercise the duties of their ministry so far 
 as they relate to spiritual matters." The nunner- 
 ies or the houses where the Indian girls were 
 kept under the charge of a duena until they 
 were of marriageable age were to be abolished 
 and the children restored to their parents. Rule 
 7 provided that "What is called the 'priest- 
 hood' shall immediately cease, female children 
 whom they have in charge being handed over 
 to their fathers, explaining to them the care 
 they should take of them, and pointing out their 
 obligations as parents. The same shall be done 
 with the male children." 
 
 Commissioners were to be appointed to take 
 charge of the mission property and superintend 
 its subdivision among the neophytes. The con- 
 version of ten of the missionary establishments 
 into pueblos was to begin in August, 1835. That 
 of the others was to follow as soon as possible. 
 San Gabriel, San Fernando and San Juan Capis- 
 trano were among the ten that were to be 
 secularized first. For years secularization had 
 threatened the missions, but hitherto something 
 had occurred at the critical time to avert it. 
 The missionaries had used their influence 
 against it, had urged that the neophytes were 
 unfitted for self-support, had argued that the 
 emancipation of the natives from mission rule 
 would result in disaster to them. Through all 
 the agitation of the question in previous years 
 the padres had labored on in the preservation 
 and upbuilding of their establishments; but with 
 the issuing of the secularization decree by the 
 Mexican Congress, August 17, 1833, the or- 
 ganization of the Hijar Colony in Mexico and 
 the instructions of acting president Farias to 
 Hijar to occupy all the property of the missions 
 and subdivide it among the colonists on their 
 arrival in California, convinced the missionaries 
 that the blow could no longer be averted. The 
 revocation of Hijar's appointment as governor 
 and the controversy which followed between 
 
 him and Governor Figucroa and the diputacion 
 for a time delayed the enforcement of the de- 
 cree. 
 
 In the meantime, with the energy born of de- 
 spair, eager at any cost to outwit those who 
 sought to profit by their ruin, the mission fath- 
 ers hastened to destroy that which through 
 more than half a century thousands of human 
 beings had spent their lives to accumulate. The 
 wealth of the missions lay in their herds of cat- 
 tle. The only marketable products of these were 
 the hides and tallow. Heretofore a certain num- 
 ber of cattle had been slaughtered each week 
 to feed the neophytes and sometimes when the 
 ranges were in danger of becoming over- 
 stocked cattle were killed for their hides and 
 tallow, and the meat left to the coyotes and the 
 carrion crows. The mission fathers knew that 
 if they allowed the possession of their herds to 
 pass to other hands neither they nor the 
 neophytes would obtain any reward for years of 
 labor. The blow was liable to fall at any time. 
 Haste was required. The mission butchers could 
 not slaughter the animals fast enough. Con- 
 tracts were made with the rancheros to kill 
 on shares. The work of destruction began at 
 the missions. The country became a mighty 
 shambles. The matansas were no longer used. 
 An animal was lassoed on the plain, thrown, its 
 throat cut and while yet writhing in death agony, 
 its hide was stripped and pegged upon the 
 ground to dry. There were no vessels to con- 
 tain the tallow and this was run into pits in the 
 ground to be taken out when there was more 
 time to spare and less cattle to be killed. The 
 work of destruction went on as long as there 
 were cattle to kill. So great was the stench 
 from rotting carcasses of the cattle on the plains 
 that a pestilence was threatened. The ayunta- 
 miento of Los Angeles, November 15, 1833, 
 passed an ordinance compelling all persons 
 slaughtering cattle for the hides and tallow to 
 cremate the carcasses. Some of the rancheros 
 laid the foundations of their future wealth by ap- 
 propriating herds of young cattle from the mis- 
 sion ranges. 
 
 Hugo Reid, in the letters previously referred 
 to in this volume, says of this period at San 
 Gabriel, "These facts(the decree of secularization 
 
100 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and the distribution of the mission property) 
 being known to Padre Tomas (Estenaga), he, 
 in all probabilit}-, by order of his superior, com- 
 menced a work of destruction. The back build- 
 ings were unroofed and the timber converted 
 into fire wood. Cattle were killed on the halves 
 by people who took a lion's share. Utensils 
 were disposed of and goods and other articles 
 distributed in profusion among the neophytes. 
 The vineyards were ordered to be cut down, 
 which, however, the Indians refused to do." 
 After the mission was placed in charge of an 
 administrator, Padre Tomas remained as min- 
 ister of the church at a stipend of $1,500 per 
 annum, derived from the pious fund. 
 
 Hugo Reid says of him, "As a wrong im- 
 pression of his character may be produced from 
 the preceding remarks, in justice to his memory, 
 be it stated that he was a truly good man, a sin- 
 cere Christian and a despiser of hypocrisy. He 
 had a kind, unsophisticated heart, so that he be- 
 lieved every word told him. There has never 
 been a purer priest in California. Reduced in 
 circumstances, annoyed on many occasions by 
 the petulancy of administrators, he fulfilled his 
 duties according to his conscience, with be- 
 nevolence and good humor. The nuns, who, 
 when the secular movement came into opera- 
 tion, had been set free, were again gathered to- 
 gether under his supervision and maintained at 
 his expense, as were also a number of old men 
 and women." 
 
 The experiment of colonizing the Indians in 
 pueblos was a failure and they were gathered 
 back into the mission, or as many of them as 
 could be got back, and placed in charge of ad- 
 ministrators. "The Indians," says Reid, "were 
 made happy at this time in being permitted to 
 enjoy once more the luxury of a tule dwelling, 
 from which the greater part had been debarred 
 for so long; they could now breathe freely 
 again." (The close adobe buildings in which 
 they had been housed in mission days were no 
 doubt one of the causes of the great mortality 
 among them.) 
 
 "Administrator followed administrator until 
 the mission could support no more, when 
 the system was broken up." * * * "The 
 Indians during this period were continually run- 
 
 ning ofif. Scantily clothed and still more scant- 
 ily supplied with food, it was not to be wondered 
 at. Nearly all the Gabrielinos went north, while 
 those of San Diego, San Luis and San Juan 
 overrun this country, filling the Angeles and 
 surrounding ranches with more servants than 
 were required. Labor, in consequence, was 
 very cheap. The different missions, however, 
 had alcaldes continually on the move, hunting 
 them up and carr)ang them back, but to no pur- 
 pose; it was labor in vain." 
 
 "Even under the dominion of the church in 
 mission days," Reid says, "the neophytes were 
 addicted both to drinking and gaming, with 
 an inclination to steal;" but after their emanci- 
 pation they went from bad to worse. Those at- 
 tached to the ranchos and those located in the 
 town were virtually slaves. They had bosses 
 or owners and when they ran away were cap- 
 tured and returned to their master. The account 
 book for 1840 of the sindico of Los Angeles 
 contains this item, "For the delivery of two 
 Indians to their boss $I2." 
 
 In all the large towns there was an Indian 
 village known as the pueblito or little town. 
 These were the sink holes of crime and the 
 favorite resorts of dissolute characters, both 
 white and red. The Indian village at Los An- 
 geles between what is now Aliso and First street 
 became such an intolerable nuisance that on 
 petition of the citizens it was removed across 
 the river to tlv: "Spring of the Abilas," but its 
 removal did not improve its morals. \'iccnte 
 Guerrero, the sindico, discussing the Indian 
 question before the ayuntamiento said, "The In- 
 dians are so utterly depraved that no matter 
 where they may settle down their conduct would 
 be the same, since they look upon death even 
 with indifference, provided they can indulge in 
 their pleasures and vices." This was their con- 
 dition in less than a decade after they were freed 
 from mission control. 
 
 What did six decades of mission rule accom- 
 plish for the Indian? In all the older missions 
 between their founding and their secularization 
 three generations of adults had come under the 
 influence of mission life and training — first, the 
 adult converts made soon after the founding; 
 second, their children born at the missions, and 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 101 
 
 third, the children of these who liad grown to 
 manhood before the fall of the missions. How 
 great an improvement had the neophytes of the 
 third generation made over those of the first? 
 They had to a great e.xtent lost their original 
 language and had acquired a speaking knowl- 
 edge of Spanish. They had abandoned or 
 forgotten their primitive religious belief, but 
 their new religion exercised but little influence 
 on their lives. After their emancipation they 
 went from bad to worse. Some of the more 
 daring escaped to the mountains and joining 
 the wild tribes there became the leaders in 
 frequent predatory excursions on the horses and 
 cattle of the settlers in the valleys. They were 
 hunted down and shot like wild beasts. 
 
 What became of the mission estates? As the 
 cattle were killed off the dift'ercnt ranchos of 
 llic mission domains, settlers petitioned the 
 ayuntamiento for grants. If upon investigation 
 it was found that the land asked for was vacant 
 the petition was referred to the governor for his 
 approval. In this way the vast mission domains 
 passed into private hands. The country im- 
 proved more in wealth and population between 
 1836 and 1846 than in the previous fifty years. 
 Secularization was destruction to the mission 
 
 and death to the Indian, but it w-as beneficial 
 to the country at large. The decline of the mis- 
 sions and the passing of the neophyte had be- 
 gun long before the decrees of secularization 
 were enforced. Nearly all the missions passed 
 their zenith in population during the second 
 decade of the century. Even had the mission- 
 ary establishments not been secularized they 
 would eventually have been depopulated. At no 
 time during the mission rule were the number 
 of births equal to the number of deaths. When 
 recruits could no longer be obtained from the 
 Gentiles or wild Indians the decline became 
 more rapid. The mission annals show- that from 
 1769 to 1834, when secularization was enforced 
 — an interval of sixty-five years — 79,000 con- 
 verts were baptized and 62,000 deaths recorded. 
 The death rate among the neophytes was about 
 twice that of the negro in this country and 
 four times that of the white race. The extinc- 
 tion of the neophyte or mission Indian was 
 due to the enforcement of that inexorable law 
 or decree of nature, the Survival of the Fittest. 
 Where a stronger race comes in contact with 
 a weaker, there can be but one termination 
 of the contest — the extermination of the 
 weaker. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE FREE AND SOVEREIGN STATE OF ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 GO\'ERNOR FIGUEROA on his death- 
 bed turned over the civil command of 
 the territory to Jose Castro, who there- 
 in became "gefe politico ad interem." The 
 military command was given to Lieut.-Col. 
 Nicolas Gutierrez with the rank of comandante 
 general. The separation of the two commands 
 was in accordance with the national law of May 
 6, 1822. 
 
 Castro was a member of the diputacion, but 
 was not senior vocal or president. Jose An- 
 tonio Carrillo, who held that i)Osition, was 
 diputado or delegate to congress and was at 
 that time in the city of Mexico. It was he who 
 secured the decree from the Mexican Congress 
 Mav 23, 1835, making Los Angeles the caiiital 
 
 of California, and elevating it to the rank of a 
 city. The second vocal, Jose Antonio Estudillo, 
 was sick at his home in San Diego. Jose Cas- 
 tro ranked third. He was the only one of the 
 diputacion at the capital and at the previou.- 
 meeting of the diputacion he had acted as pre- 
 siding officer. Gutierrez, who w-as at San Ga- 
 briel w-hen appointed to the military command, 
 hastened to Monterey, but did not reach there 
 until after the death of Figueroa. Castro, on 
 assuming command, sent a notification of his 
 appointment to the civil authorities of the dif- 
 ferent jurisdictions. All responded favorably 
 except San Diego and Los .\ngeles. San Diego 
 claimed the office for Estudillo, second vocal, 
 and Los .Angeles declared against Castro be- 
 
102 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 cause he was only third vocal and demanded that 
 the diputacion should meet at the legal capital 
 (Los Angeles) of the territory. This was the 
 beginning of the capital war that lasted ten years 
 and increased in bitterness as it increased in 
 age. The diputacion met at Monterey. It de- 
 cided in favor of Castro and against removing 
 the capital to Los Angeles. 
 
 Castro executed the civil functions of gefe 
 politico four months and then, in accordance 
 with orders from the supreme government, he 
 turned over his part of the governorship to 
 Comandante General Gutierrez and again the 
 two commands were united i in one person. 
 Gutierrez filled the office of "gobernador in- 
 terno" from January 2, 1836, to the arrival of his 
 successor, Mariano Chico. Chico had been ap- 
 pointed governor by President Barragan, Decem- 
 ber 16, 1835, but did not arrive in California 
 until April, 1836. Thus California had four 
 governors within nine months. They changed 
 so rapidly there was not time to foment a rev- 
 olution. Chico began his administration by a 
 series of petty tyrannies. Just before his ar- 
 rival in California a vigilance committee at Los 
 Angeles shot to death Gervacio Alispaz and his 
 paramour, Maria del Rosaria Villa, for the mur- 
 der of the woman's husband, Domingo Feliz. 
 Alispaz was a countryman of Chico. Chico had 
 the leaders arrested and came down to Los 
 Angeles with the avowed purpose of executing 
 Prudon, Arzaga and Aranjo, the president, sec- 
 retary and military commander, respectively, of 
 the Defenders of Public Security, as the vigi- 
 lantes called themselves. He announced his 
 intention of arresting and punishing every man 
 who had taken part in the banishment of Gov- 
 ernor Victoria. He summoned Don Abel 
 Stearns to Monterey and threatened to have him 
 shot for some imaginary offense. He fulminated 
 a fierce pronunciamento against foreigners, that 
 incurred their wrath, and made himself so odious 
 that he was hated by all, native or foreigner. 
 He was a centralist and opposed to popular 
 rights. Exasperated beyond endurance by his 
 scandalous conduct and unseemly exhibitions of 
 temper the people of Monterey rose en masse 
 against him, and so terrified him that he took 
 passage on board a brig that was lying in the 
 
 harbor and sailed for Mexico with the threat 
 that he would return with an armed force to 
 punish the rebellious Californians. but he never 
 came back again. 
 
 With the enforced departure of Chico, the 
 civil command of the territory devolved upon 
 Nicolas Gutierrez, who still held the military 
 command. He was of Spanish birth and a cen- 
 tralist or anti-federalist in politics. Although a 
 mild mannered man he seemed to be impressed 
 with the idea that he must carry out the arbi- 
 trary measures of his predecessor. Centralism 
 was his nemesis. Like Chico, he was opposed 
 to popular rights and at one time gave orders 
 to disperse the diputacion by force. He was 
 not long in making himself unpopular by at- 
 tempting to enforce the centralist decrees of the 
 Mexican Congress. 
 
 He quarreled with Juan Bautista Alvarado, 
 the ablest of the native Californians. Alvarado 
 and Jose Castro raised the standard of revolt. 
 They gathered together a small army of ranch- 
 eros and an au.xiliary force of twenty-five Amer- 
 ican hunters and trappers under Graham, a 
 backwoodsman from Tennessee. By a strategic 
 movement they captured the castillo or fort 
 which commanded the presidio, where Gutierrez 
 and the Mexican army officials were stationed. 
 The patriots demanded the surrender of the 
 presidio and the arms. The governor refused. 
 The revolutionists had been able to find but 
 a single cannon ball in the castillo, but this was 
 sufficient to do the business. A well-directed 
 shot tore through the roof of the governor's 
 house, covering him and his stafT with the debris 
 of broken tiles; that and the desertion of most 
 of his soldiers to the patriots brought him to 
 terms. On the 5th of November, 1836, he sur- 
 rendered the presidio and resigned his authority 
 as governor. He and about seventy of his ad- 
 herents were sent aboard a vessel lying in the 
 harbor and shipped out of the country. 
 
 With the Mexican governor and his officers 
 out of the country, the next move of Castro and 
 Alvarado was to call a meeting of the diputa- 
 cion or territorial congress. A plan for the 
 independence of California was adopted. This, 
 w'hich was known afterwards as the Monterey 
 plan, consisted of six sections, the most im- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ion 
 
 portant of which were as follows: "First, Alta 
 California hereby declares itself independent 
 from Mexico until the Federal System of 1824 
 is restored. Second, the same California is 
 hereby declared a free and sovereign state; es- 
 tablishing a congress to enact the special laws 
 of the country and the other necessary supreme 
 powers. Third, the Roman Apostolic Catholic 
 religion shall prevail; no other creed shall be 
 allowed, but the government shall not molest 
 anyone on account of his private opinions." 
 The diputacion issued a declaration of independ- 
 ence that arraigned the mother country, Mexico, 
 and her officials very much in the style that our 
 own Declaration gives it to King George III. 
 and England. 
 
 Castro issued a pronunciamiento, ending with 
 Viva La Federacion! Viva La Libertad! Viva 
 el Estado Libre y Soberano de Alta California! 
 Thus amid vivas and proclamations, with the 
 beating of drums and the booming of cannon, 
 El Estado Libre de Alta California (The Free 
 State of Alta California) was launched on the 
 political sea. But it was rough sailing for the 
 little craft. Her ship of state struck a rock and 
 for a time shipwreck was threatened. 
 
 For years there had been a growing jealousy 
 between Northern and Southern California. 
 Los Angeles, as has been stated before, had by a 
 decree of the Mexican congress been made the 
 capital of the territory. Alonterey had per- 
 sistently refused to give up the governor and 
 the archives. In the movement to make Alta 
 California a free and independent state, the An- 
 gelenos recognized an attempt on the part of 
 the people of the north to deprive them of the 
 capital. Although as bitterly opposed to Mex- 
 ican governors, and as active in fomenting revo- 
 lutions against them as the people of Monterey, 
 the Angelenos chose to profess loyalty to the 
 mother country. They opposed the plan of 
 government adopted by the congress at Mon- 
 terey and promulgated a plan of their own, in 
 which they declared California was not free; 
 that the "Roman Catholic Apostolic religion 
 shall prevail in this jurisdiction, and any person 
 publicly professing any other shall be pros- 
 ecuted by law as heretofore." A mass meeting 
 was called to take measures "to prevent the 
 
 sjjreading of the Monterey revolution, so that 
 the progress of the nation may not be 
 paralyzed," and to appoint a person to take mil- 
 itary conmiand of the department. 
 
 San Diego and San Luis Rey took the part 
 of Los Angeles in the quarrel, Sonoma and San 
 Jose joined Monterey, while Santa Barbara, al- 
 ways conservative, was undecided, but finally 
 issued a plan of her own. Alvarado and Castro 
 determined to suppress the revolutionary An- 
 gelenos. They collected a force of one hun- 
 dred men, made up of natives, with Graham's 
 contingent of twenty-five American riflemen. 
 With this army they prepared to move against 
 the recalcitrant surenos. 
 
 The ayuntamiento of Los Angeles began 
 preparations to resist the invaders. An army of 
 two hundred and seventy men was enrolled, a 
 part of which was made up of neophytes. To se- 
 cure the sinews of war Jose Sepulveda, second al- 
 calde, was sent to the Alission San Fernando 
 to secure what money there w'as in the hands of 
 the major domo. He returned with two pack- 
 ages, which, when counted, were found to con- 
 tain $2,000. 
 
 Scouts patrolled the Santa Barbara road as 
 far as San Buenaventura to give warning of the 
 approach of the enemy, and pickets guarded the 
 Pass of Cahuenga and the Rodeo de Las Aguas 
 to prevent northern spies from entering and 
 southern traitors from getting out of the pueblo. 
 The southern army was stationed at San Fer- 
 nando under the command of Alferez (Lieut.) 
 Rocha. Alvarado and Castro, pushing down the 
 coast, reached Santa Barbara, where they were 
 kindly received and their force recruited to one 
 hundred and twenty men with two pieces of 
 artillery. Jose Sepulveda at San Fernando sent 
 to Los Angeles for the cannon at the town 
 house and $200 of the mission money to pay his 
 men. 1 
 
 On the i6th of January, 1837, Alvarado from 
 San Buenaventura dispatched a communication 
 to the ayuntamiento of Los Angeles and the 
 citizens, telling their vhat military resources 
 he had, which he would use against them if it 
 became necessary, but he was willing to confer 
 upon a plan of settlement. Sepulveda and An- 
 tonio M. Osio were appointed commissioners 
 
104 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.A.PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and sent to confer with the governor, armed 
 with several propositions, the substance of 
 which was tliat CaHfornia shall not be free and 
 the Catholic religion must prevail with the 
 privilege to prosecute any other religion, "ac- 
 cording to law as heretofore." The commission- 
 ers met Alvarado on "neutral ground," between 
 San Fernando and San Buenaventura. A long 
 discussion followed without either coming to the 
 point. Alvarado, by a coup d'etat, brought it 
 to an end. In the language of the commission- 
 ers' report to the ayuntamiento: "While we 
 were a certain distance from our own forces with 
 only four unarmed men and were on the point of 
 coming to an agreement with Juan B. Alvarado, 
 we saw the Monterey division advancing upon 
 us and we were forced to deliver up the instruc- 
 tions of this illustrious body through fear of 
 being attacked." They delivered up not only 
 the instructions, but the Mission San Fer- 
 nando. The southern army was compelled to 
 surrender it and fall back on the pueblo, Rocha 
 swearing worse than "our army in Flanders" 
 because he was not allowed to fight. The south- 
 ern soldiers had a wholesome dread of Gra- 
 ham's riflemen. These fellows, armed with long 
 Kentucky rifles, shot to kill, and a battle once 
 begun somebody would have died for his coun- 
 try and it woula not have been Alvarado's rifle- 
 men. 
 
 The day after the surrender of the mission, 
 January 21, 1837, the ayuntamiento held a ses- 
 sion and the members were as obdurate and 
 belligerent as ever. They resolved that it was 
 only in the interests of humanity that the mis- 
 sion had been surrendered and their army 
 forced to retire. "This ayuntamiento, consider- 
 ing the commissioners were forced to' comply, 
 annuls all action of the commissioners and does 
 not recognize this territory as a free and sov- 
 ereign state nor Juan B. Alvarado as its gov- 
 ernor, and declares itself in favor of the Supreme 
 Government of Mexico." A few days later Al- 
 varado entered the city without opposition, the 
 Angelenian soldiers retiring to San Gabriel and 
 from there scattering to their homes. 
 
 On the 26th of January an extraordinary 
 session of the most illustrious ayuntamiento was 
 held. Alvarado was present and made a lengthy 
 
 speech, in which he said, "The native sons were 
 subjected to ridicule by the Mexican mandarins 
 sent here, and knowing our rights we ought to 
 shake off the ominous yoke of bondage." Then 
 he produced and read the six articles of the 
 Monterey plan, the council also produced a plan 
 and a treaty of amity was effected. Alvarado 
 was recognized as governor pro tem. and peace 
 reigned. The belligerent surehos vied with each 
 other in expressing their admiration for the new 
 order of things. Pio Pico wished to ex- 
 press the pleasure it gave him to see a "hijo 
 del pais" in office. And Antonio Osio, 
 the most belligerent of the surehos, declared 
 "that sooner than again submit to a Mexican 
 dictator as governor, he would flee to the forest 
 and be devoured by wild beasts." The ayunta- 
 miento was asked to provide a building for the 
 government, "this being the capital of the state." 
 The hatchet apparently was buried. Peace 
 reigned in El Estado Libre. At the meeting of 
 tlie town council, on the 30th of January, Al- 
 varado made another speech, but it was neither 
 conciliatory nor complimentary. He arraigned 
 the "traitors who were working against the 
 peace of the country" and urged the members to 
 take measures "to liberate the city from the 
 hidden hands that will tangle them m their own 
 ruin." The pay of his troops who w'cre ordered 
 here for the welfare of California is due "and 
 it is an honorable and preferred debt, therefore 
 the ayuntamiento will deliver to the government 
 the San Fernando money," said he. With a 
 wry face, very much such as a boy wears when 
 he is told that he has been spanked for his own 
 good, the alcalde turned over the balance of 
 the mission money to Juan Bautista, and the 
 governor took his departure for IMonterey, 
 leaving, however. Col. Jose Castro with part of 
 his army stationed at Mission San Gabriel, os- 
 tensibly "to support the city's authority," but in 
 reality to keep a close watch on the city author- 
 ities. 
 
 Los Angeles was subjugated, peace reigned 
 and El Estado Libre de Alta California took her 
 place among the nations of the earth. But 
 peace's reign was brief. At the meeting of the 
 ayuntamiento May 27, 1838, Juan Bandini and 
 Santiago E. Arguello of San Diego, appeared 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 105 
 
 with a pronunciamiento and a plan, San 
 Diego's plan of government. Monterey, Santa 
 Barbara and Los Angeles had each formulated 
 a plan of government for the territory, and now 
 It was San Diego's turn. Agustin V. Zamorano, 
 who had been exiled with Governor Gutierrez, 
 had crossed the frontier and was made cqmand- 
 ante-general and territorial political chief ad 
 interim by the San Diego revolutionists. The 
 plan restored California to obedience to the 
 supreme government; all acts of the diputa- 
 cion and the Monterey plan were annulled and 
 the northern rebels were to be arraigned and 
 tried for their part in the revolution; and so on 
 through twenty articles. 
 
 On the plea of an Indian outbreak near San 
 Diego, in which the redmen, it was said, "were 
 to make an end of the white race," the big can- 
 non and a number of men were secured at Los 
 Angeles to assist in suppressing the Indians, 
 but in reality to reinforce the army of the San 
 Diego revolutionists. With a force of one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five men under Zamorano and 
 Portilla, "the army of the supreme government" 
 moved against Castro at Los Angeles. Castro 
 retreated to Santa Barbara and Portilla's army 
 took position at San Fernando. 
 
 The civil and military officials of Los Angeles 
 took the oath to support the Mexican consti- 
 tution of 1836 and, in their opinion, this 
 absolved them from all allegiance to Juan Bau- 
 tista and his Monterey plan. Alvarado hurried 
 reinforcements to Castro at Santa Barbara, and 
 Portilla called loudly for "men, arms and 
 horses," to march against the northern rebels. 
 But neither military chieftain advanced, and the 
 summer wore away without a battle. There 
 were rumors that Mexico was preparing to send 
 an army of one thousand men to subjugate the 
 rebellious Californians. In October came the 
 news that Jose Antonio Carrillo, the Machiavelli 
 of California politics, had persuaded President 
 Bustamente to appoint Carlos Carrillo, Jose's 
 brother, governor of Alta California. 
 
 Then consternation seized the arribehos (up- 
 pers) of the north and the abajefios (lowers) of 
 Los Angeles went wild with Joy. It was not 
 that they loved Carlos Carrillo, for he was a 
 Santa Barbara man and had opposed them in 
 
 the late unpleasantness, but they saw in his ap- 
 pointment an opportunity to get revenge on 
 Juan Bautista for the way he had humiliated 
 them. They sent congratulatory messages to 
 Carrillo and invited him to make Los Angeles 
 the seat of his government. Carrillo was flat- 
 tered by their attentions and consented. The 
 6th of December, 1837, was set for his inaugura- 
 tion, and great preparations were made for the 
 event. The big cannon was brought over from 
 San Gabriel to fire salutes and the city was 
 ordered illunlinated on the nights of the 6th, 
 /th and 8th of December. Cards of invitation 
 were issued and the people from the city and 
 country were invited to attend the inauguration 
 ceremonies, "dressed as decent as possible," so 
 read the invitations. 
 
 The widow Josefa Alvarado's house, the fin- 
 est in the city, was secured for the governor's 
 ])alacio (palace). The largest hall in the city 
 was secured for the services and decorated as 
 well as it was possible. The city treasury, being 
 in its usual state of collapse, a subscription for 
 defraying the expenses was opened and horses, 
 hides and tallow, the current coin of the pueblo, 
 were liberally contributed. 
 
 On the appointed day, "the most illustrious 
 ayuntamiento and the citizens of the neighbor- 
 hood (so the old archives read) met his excellency, 
 the governor, Don Carlos Carrillo, who made 
 I'.is appearance with a magnificent accompani- 
 ment." The secretary, Narciso Botello, "read in 
 a loud, clear and intelligible voice, the oath, and 
 the governor repeated it after him." At the 
 moment the oath was completed, the artillery 
 thundered forth a salute and the bells rang out 
 a merry peal. The governor made a speech, 
 when all adjourned to the church, where a mass 
 was said and a solemn Te Deum sung; after 
 which all repaired to the house of his excellency, 
 where the southern patriots drank his health in 
 bumpers of wine and shouted themselves hoarse 
 in vivas to the new government. An inaugura- 
 tion ball was held — the "beauty and the chivalry 
 of the south were gathered there." Outside the 
 tallow^ dips flared and flickered from the porticos 
 of the house, bonfires blazed in the streets and 
 cannon boomed salvos from the old plaza. Los 
 Angeles was the capital at last and had a gov- 
 
106 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ernor all to herself, for Santa Barbara refused 
 to recognize Carrillo, although he belonged 
 within its jurisdiction. 
 
 The Angelefios determined to subjugate the 
 Barbarehos. An army of two hundred men, 
 under Castenada, was sent to capture the city. 
 After a few futile demonstrations, Castenada's 
 forces fell back to San Buenaventura. 
 
 Then Alvarado determined to subjugate the 
 Angelenos. He and Castro, gathering together 
 an army of two hundred men, by forced marches 
 reached San Buenaventura, and by a strategic 
 movement captured all of Castenada's horses 
 and drove his army into the mission church. 
 For two days the battle raged and, "cannon to 
 the right of them," and "cannon in front of them 
 volleyed and thundered." One man was killed 
 on the northern side and the blood of several 
 mustangs watered the soil of their native land — • 
 died for their country. The southerners slipped 
 out of the church at night and fled up the val- 
 ley on foot. Castro's caballeros captured about 
 seventy prisoners. Pio Pico, with reinforce- 
 ments, met the remnant of Castenada's army at 
 the Santa Clara river, and together all fell back 
 to Los Angeles. Then there was wailing in the 
 old pueblo, where so lately there had been re- 
 joicing. Gov. Carlos Carrillo gathered to- 
 gether what men he could get to go with him 
 and retreated to San Diego. Alvarado's army 
 took possession of the southern capital and 
 some of the leading conspirators were sent as 
 prisoners to the Castillo at Sonoma. 
 
 Carrillo, at San Diego, received a small re- 
 inforcement from Mexico, under a Captain 
 Tobar. Tobar was made general and given 
 command of the southern army. Carrillo, hav- 
 ing recovered from his fright, sent an order to 
 the northern rebels to surrender wathin fifteen 
 days under penalty of being shot as traitors if 
 they refused. In the meantime Los Angeles 
 was held by the enemy. The second alcalde 
 (the first, Louis Aranas, was a prisoner) called 
 a meeting to devise some means "to have his 
 excellency, Don Carlos Carrillo, return to this 
 capital, as his presence is very much desired by 
 the citizens to protect their lives and property." 
 A committee was appointed to locate Don 
 Carlos. 
 
 Instead of surrendering, Castro and Alvarado, 
 with a force of two hundred men, advanced 
 against Carrillo. The two armies met at Campo 
 de Las Flores. General Tobar had fortified a 
 cattle corral with rawhides, carretas and Cot- 
 tonwood poles. A few shots from Alvarado's 
 artillery scattered Tobar's rawhide fortifications. 
 Carrillo surrendered. Tobar and a few of the 
 leaders escaped to Mexico. Alvarado ordered 
 the misguided Angelehian soldiers to go home 
 and behave themselves. He brought the captive 
 governor back with him and left him with his 
 (Carrillo's) wife at Santa Barbara, who became 
 surety for the deposed ruler. Not content with 
 his unfortunate attempts to rule, he again 
 claimed the governorship on the plea that he 
 had been appointed by the supreme government. 
 But the Angelefios had had enough of him. 
 Disgusted with his incompetency, Juan Gallardo, 
 at the session of May 14, 1838, presented a pe- 
 tition praying that this ayuntamiento do not rec- 
 ognize Carlos Carrillo as governor, and setting 
 forth the reasons why we, the petitioners, 
 "should declare ourselves subject to the north- 
 ern governor" and why they opposed Car- 
 rillo. 
 
 "First. In having compromised the people 
 from San Buenaventura south into a declara- 
 tion of war, the incalculable calamities of which 
 will never be forgotten, not even by the most 
 ignorant. 
 
 "Second. Not satisfied with the unfortunate 
 event of San Buenaventura, he repeated the 
 same at Campo de Las Flores, which, only 
 through a divine dispensation, California is not 
 to-day in mourning." Seventy citizens signed 
 the petition, but the city attorney, who had done 
 time in \'allejo's castillo, decided the petition il- 
 legal because it was written on common paper 
 when paper with the proper seal could be ob- 
 tained. 
 
 Next day Gallardo returned with his petition 
 on legal paper. Tlie ayuntamiento decided to 
 sound the "public alarm" and call the people to- 
 gether to give them "public speech." The pub- 
 lic alarm was sounded. The people assembled 
 at the city hall; speeches were made on both 
 sides; and when the vote was taken twenty-two 
 were in favor of the northern governor, five 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 107 
 
 in favor of whatever the ayiintamiento decides, 
 and Serbulo Vareles alone voted for Don Carlos 
 Carrillo. So the council decided to recognize 
 Don Juan Bautisla Alvarado as governor and 
 leave the supreme government to settle the con- 
 test between him and Carrillo. 
 
 Notwithstanding this apparent burying of the 
 hatchet, there were rumors of plots and in- 
 trigues in Los Angeles and San Diego against 
 Alvarado. At length, aggravated beyond en- 
 durance, the governor sent word to the sureiios 
 that if they did not behave themselves he would 
 shoot ten of the leading men of the south. As 
 he had about that number locked up in the 
 Castillo at Sonoma, his was no idle threat. One 
 by one Alvarado's prisoners of state were re- 
 leased from Vallejo's bastile at Sonoma and re- 
 turned to Los Angeles, sadder if not wiser men. 
 At the session of the ayuntamiento October 20, 
 1838, the president announced that Senior 
 Regidor Jose Palomares had returned from 
 Sonoma, where he had been compelled to go 
 by reason of "political differences," and that he 
 should be allowed his seat in the council. The 
 request was granted unanimously. 
 
 At the next meeting Narciso Botello, its for- 
 mer secretary, after five and a half months' im- 
 prisonment at Sonoma, put in an appearance and 
 claimed his office and his pay. Although others 
 had filled the office in the interim the illustrious 
 ayuntamiento, "ignoring for what ofTense he was 
 incarcerated, could not suspend his salary." 
 But his salary was suspended. The treasury 
 was empty. The last horse and the last hide had 
 been paid out to defray the expense of the in- 
 auguration festivities of Carlos, the Pretender, 
 and the civil war that followed. Indeed there 
 was a treasury deficit of whole caballadas of 
 horses, and bales of hides. Narciso's back pay 
 
 was a preferred claim that outlasted El Estado 
 Libre. 
 
 The sureiios of Los Angeles and San Diego, 
 finding that in Alvarado they had a man of cour- 
 age and determination to deal with, ceased from 
 troubling him and submitted to the inevitable. 
 At the meeting of the ayuntamiento, October 5, 
 1839, ^ notification was received, staling that the 
 supreme government of Mexico had appointed 
 Juan Bautista Alvarado governor of the depart- 
 ment. There was no grumbling or dissent. On 
 the contrary, the records say, "This illustrious 
 body acknowledges receipt of the communica- 
 tion and congratulated his excellency. It will 
 announce the same to the citizens to-morrow 
 (Sunday), will raise the national colors, salute 
 the same with the required number of volleys, 
 and will invite the people to illuminate their 
 houses for a better display in rejoicing at such 
 a happy appointment." With his appointment 
 by the supreme government the "free and sov- 
 ereign state of Alta California" became a dream 
 of the past — a dead nation. Indeed, months be- 
 fore Alvarado had abandoned his idea of found- 
 ing an independent state and had taken the oath 
 of allegiance to the constitution of 1836. The 
 loyal surenos received no thanks from the su- 
 preme government for all their professions of 
 loyalty, whilst the rebellious arribenos of the 
 north obtained all the rewards — the governor, 
 the capital and the offices. The supreme gov- 
 ernment gave the deposed governor, Carlos 
 Carrillo, a grant of the island of Santa Rosa, 
 in the Santa Barbara Channel, but whether it 
 was given him as a salve to his wounded dignity 
 or as an Elba or St. Helena, where, in the event 
 of his stirring up another revolution, he might- 
 be banished a la Napoleon, the records do no.t 
 inform us. 
 
108 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 DECLINE AND FALL OF MEXICAN DOMINATION. 
 
 WHILE the revolution begun by Al- 
 varado and Castro had not established 
 Cahfornia's independence, it had effect- 
 ually rid the territory of Mexican dictators. 
 A native son was governor of the depart- 
 ment of the Californians (by the constitu- 
 tion of 1836 Upper and Lower California had 
 been united into a department); another native 
 son was comandante of its military forces. The 
 membership of the departmental junta, which 
 had taken the place of the diputacion, was 
 largely made up of sons of the soil, and natives 
 filled the minor offices. In their zeal to rid 
 themselves of Mexican office-holders they had 
 invoked the assistance of another element that 
 was ultimately to be their undoing. 
 
 During the revolutionary era just passed the 
 foreign population had largely increased. Not 
 only had the foreigners come by sea, but they 
 had come by land. Capt. Jedediah S. Smith, a 
 New England-born trapper and hunter, was the 
 first man to enter California by the overland 
 route. A number of trappers and hunters came 
 in the early '30s from New Mexico by way of 
 the old Spanish trail. This immigration was 
 largely American, and was made up of a bold, 
 adventurous class of men, some of them not 
 the most desirable immigrants. Of this latter 
 class were some of Graham's followers. 
 
 By invoking Graham's aid to put him in 
 power, xMvarado had fastened upon his shoul- 
 ders an old jMan of the Sea. It was easy enough 
 to enlist the services of Graham's riflemen, but 
 altogether another matter to get rid of them. 
 Now that he was firmly established in power, 
 .Mvarado would, no doubt, have been glad to be 
 rid entirely of his recent allies, but Graham and 
 his adherents were not backward in giving him 
 to understand that he owed his position to them, 
 and they wert inclined to put themselves on an 
 equality with him. This did not comport with 
 his ideas of the dignitv of his office. To be 
 
 hailed by some rough buckskin-clad trapper 
 with "Ho! Bautista; come here, 1 want to speak 
 with you," was an affront to his pride that the 
 governor of the two Californias could not 
 quietly pass over, and, besides, like all of his 
 countrymen, he disliked foreigners. 
 
 There were rumors of another revolution, and 
 it was not difficult to persuade Alvarado that 
 the foreigners were plottingto revolutionize Cal- 
 ifornia. ^Mexico had recently lost Te.xas, and 
 the same class of "malditos extranjeros" (wicked 
 strangers) were invading California, and would 
 ultimately possess themselves of the country. Ac- 
 cordingly, secret orders were sent throughout 
 the department to arrest and imprison all for- 
 eigners. Over one hundred men of different 
 nationalities were arrested, principally Amer- 
 icans and English. Of these forty-seven were 
 shipped to San Bias, and from there marched 
 overland to Tepic, where they were imprisoned 
 for several months. Through the efforts of the 
 British consul, Barron, they were released. 
 Castro, who had accompanied the prisoners to 
 Mexico to prefer charges against them, was 
 placed under arrest and afterwards tried by 
 court-martial, but was acquitted. He had been 
 acting under orders from his superiors. After 
 an absence of over a year twenty of the exiles 
 landed at Monterey on their return from Mex- 
 ico. Robinson, who saw them land, says: 
 "They returned neatly dressed, armed with rifles 
 and swords, and looking in much better condi- 
 tion than when they were sent away, or probably 
 than they had ever looked in their lives before." 
 The Mexican government had been compelled 
 to pay them damages for their arrest and im- 
 prisonment and to return them to California. 
 Graham, the reputed leader of the foreigners, 
 was the owner of a distillery near Santa Cruz, 
 and had gathered a number of liard characters 
 around him. It would have been no loss had he 
 never returned. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 loy 
 
 The only other event of importance during 
 Alvarado's term as governor was the capture of 
 Monterey by Commodore Ap Catesby Jones, of 
 the United States navy. This event happened 
 after Alvarado's successor, MicheUorena, had 
 landed in California, but before the government 
 had been formally turned over to him. 
 
 The following extract from the diary of a 
 pioneer, who was an eye-witness of the affair, 
 gives a good description of the capture: 
 
 "Monterey, Oct. 19, 1842. — At 2 p. m. the 
 United States man-of-war United States, Com- 
 modore Ap Catesby Jones, came to anchor close 
 alongside and in-shore of all the ships in port. 
 About 3 p. m. Capt. Armstrong came ashore, 
 accompanied by an interpreter, and went direct 
 to the governor's house, where he had a private 
 conversation with him, which proved to be a 
 demand for the surrender of the entire coast of 
 California, upper and lower, to the United 
 States government. When he was about to go 
 on board he gave three or four copies of a 
 proclamation to the inhabitants of the two Cali- 
 fornias, assuring them of the protection of their 
 lives, persons and property. In his notice to the 
 governor (Alvarado) he gave him only until the 
 following morning at 9 a. m. to decide. If he 
 received no answer, then he would fire upon the 
 town." 
 
 "I remained on shore that night and went 
 down to the governor's with Mr. Larkin and 
 Mr. Eagle. The governor had had some idea 
 of running away and leaving Monterey to its 
 fate, but was told by Mr. Spence that he should 
 not go, and finally he resolved to await the re- 
 sult. At 12 at night some persons were sent 
 on board the United States who had been ap- 
 pointed by the governor to meet the commodore 
 and arrange the terms of the surrender. Next 
 morning at half-past ten o'clock about one hun- 
 dred sailors and fifty marines disembarked. The 
 sailors marched up from the shore and took pos- 
 session of the fort. The American colors were 
 hoisted. The United States fired a salute of thir- 
 teen guns ; it was returned by the fort, which fired 
 twenty-six guns. The marines in the meantime 
 had marched up to the government house. The 
 ofificers and soldiers of the California govern- 
 ment were discharged and their guns and other 
 
 arms taken possession of and carried to the fort. 
 The stars and stripes now wave over us. Long 
 may they wave here in California!" 
 
 "Oct. 21, 4 p. m. — Flags were again changed, 
 the vessels were released, and all was quiet again. 
 The commodore had received later news bv 
 some Mexican newspapers." 
 
 Commodore Jones had been stationed at Cal- 
 lao with a squadron of four vessels. An English 
 fleet was also there, and a French fleet was 
 cruising in the Pacific. P)Oth these were sup- 
 posed to have designs on California. Jones 
 learned that the English admiral had received 
 orders to sail ne.xt day. Surmising that his des- 
 tination might be California, he slipped out of 
 the harbor the niglit before and crowded all sail 
 to reach California before the English admiral. 
 The loss of Texas, and the constant influx of im- 
 migrants and adventurers from the United 
 States into California, had embittered the Mex- 
 ican government more and more against 
 foreigners. .Manuel MicheUorena, who had 
 served under Santa Anna in the Texas war, 
 was appointed January 19, 1842, comandante- 
 general inspector and gobernador propietario of 
 the Californias. 
 
 Santa Anna was president of the Mexican re- 
 public. His experience with Americans in 
 Te.xas during the Texan war of independence, 
 in 1836-37, had determined him to use every 
 effort to prevent California from sharing the fate 
 of Texas. 
 
 Micheltorena, the newly-appointed governor, 
 was instructed to take with him sufficient force 
 to check the ingress of Americans. He recruited 
 a force of three hundred and fifty men, prin- 
 cipally convicts enlisted from the prisons of 
 Mexico. His army of thieves and ragamuffins 
 landed at San Diego in August, 1842. 
 
 Robinson, who was at San Diego when one 
 of the vessels conveying Micheltorena's cholos 
 (convicts) landed, thus describes them: "Five 
 days afterward the brig Chato arrived with 
 ninety soldiers and their families. I saw them 
 land, and to me they presented a state of 
 wretchedness and misery unequaled. Not one 
 individual among them possessed a jacket or 
 pantaloons, but, naked, and like the savage In- 
 dians, they concealed their nudity with dirty, 
 
110 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 miserable blankets. The females were not much 
 better off, for the scantiness of their mean ap- 
 parel was too apparent for modest observers. 
 They appeared like convicts, and, indeed, the 
 greater portion of them had been charged with 
 crime, either of murder or theft." 
 
 Micheltorena drilled his Falstafifian army at 
 San Diego for several weeks and then began his 
 march northward; Los Angeles made great 
 preparations to receive the new governor. Seven 
 years had passed since she had been decreed the 
 capital of the territory, and in all these years 
 she had been denied her rights by Monterey. 
 A favorable impression on the new governor 
 might induce him to make the ciudad his capital. 
 The national fiesta of September i6 was post- 
 poned until the arrival of the governor. The 
 best house in the town was secured for him 
 and his staff. A grand ball was projected 
 and the city illuminated the night of his arrival. 
 A camp was established down by the river and 
 the cholos, who in the meantime had been given 
 white linen uniforms, were put through the drill 
 and the manual of arms. They were incorrigible 
 thieves, and stole for the very pleasure of steal- 
 ing. They robbed the hen roosts, the orchards, 
 the vineyards and the vegetable gardens of the 
 citizens. To the Angelenos the glory of their 
 city as the capital of the territory faded in the 
 presence of their empty chicken coops and 
 plundered orchards. They longed to speed the 
 departure of their now unwelcome guests. After 
 a stay of a month in the city Micheltorena and 
 his army took up their line of march northward. 
 He reached a point about twenty miles north 
 of San Fernando, when, on the night of the 
 24th of October, a messenger aroused him from 
 his slumbers with the news that the capital had 
 been captured by the Americans. Micheltorena 
 seized the occasion to make political capital for 
 himself with the home government. He spent 
 the remainder of the night in fulminating proc- 
 lamations against the invaders fiercer than the 
 thunderbolts of Jove, copies of which were dis- 
 patched post haste to Mexico. He even wished 
 himself a thunderbolt "that he might fly over 
 intervening space and annihilate the invaders." 
 Then, with his own courage and doubtless that 
 of his brave cholos aroused to the hicchest 
 
 pitch, instead of rushing on the invaders, he and 
 his army fled back to San Fernando, where, 
 afraid to advance or retreat, he halted until news 
 reached him that Commodore Jones had re- 
 stored Monterey to the Californians. Then his 
 valor reached the boiling point. He boldly 
 marched to Los Angeles, established his head- 
 quarters in the city and awaited the coming 
 of Commodore Jones and his officers from Mon- 
 terey. 
 
 On the 19th of January, 1843, Commodore 
 Jones and his staff came to Los Angeles to meet 
 the governor. At the famous conference in 
 the Palacio de Don Abel, Micheltorena pre- 
 sented his articles of convention. Among other 
 ridiculous demands were the following: "Ar- 
 ticle VL Thomas Ap C. Jones will deliver fif- 
 teen hundred complete infantry uniforms to re- 
 place those of nearly one-half of the Mexican 
 force, which have been ruined in the violent 
 march and the continued rains while they were 
 on their way to recover the port thus invaded." 
 "Article VH. Jones to pay $15,000 into the 
 national treasury for expenses incurred from the 
 general alarm; also a complete set of musical 
 instruments in place of those ruined on this 
 occasion."* Judging from Robinson's descrip- 
 tion of the dress of Micheltorena's cholos it is 
 doubtful whether there was an entire uniform 
 among them. 
 
 "The commodore's first impulse," writes a 
 member of his staff, "was to return the papers 
 without comment and to refuse further com- 
 munication with a man who could have the ef- 
 frontery to trump up such charges as those for 
 which indemnification was claimed." The com- 
 modore on reflection put aside his personal feel- 
 ings, and met the governor at the grand ball in 
 Sanchez hall, held in honor of the occasion. 
 The ball was a brilliant affair, "the dancing 
 ceased only with the rising of the sun ne.xt 
 morning." The commodore returned the articles 
 without his signature. The governor did not 
 again refer to his demands. Next morning, 
 January 21, 1843, Jones and his officers took 
 their departure from the city "amidst the beat- 
 ing of drums, the firing of cannon and the ring- 
 
 *Bancroft's History of California, Vol. IV. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ill 
 
 ing of bells, saluted by the general and his wife 
 from the door of their quarters. On the 31st 
 of December Micheltorena had taken the oath 
 of office in Sanchez' hall, which stood on the 
 east side of the plaza. Salutes were fired, the 
 bells were rung and the city was illuminated 
 for three evenings. For the second time a gov- 
 ernor had been inaugurated in Los Angeles. 
 
 Micheltorena and his cholo army remained in 
 Los Angeles about eight months. The An- 
 gelefios had all the capital they cared for. They 
 were perfectly willing to have the governor and 
 his army take up their residence in Monterey. 
 The cholos had devoured the country like an 
 army of chapulcs (locusts) and were willing to 
 move on. Monterey would no doubt have gladly 
 transferred what right she had to the capital 
 if at the same time she could have transferred 
 to her old rival, Los Angeles, ^licheltorena's 
 cholos. Their pilfering was largely enforced 
 by their necessities. They received little or no 
 pay, and they often had to steal or starve. The 
 leading native Californians still entertained their 
 old dislike to "Mexican dictators'' and the ret- 
 inue of three hundred chicken thieves accom- 
 panying the last dictator intensified their hatred. 
 
 Micheltorena, while not a model governor, 
 had many good qualities and was generally liked 
 by the better class of foreign residents. He 
 made an earnest effort to establish a system of 
 public education in the territory. Schools were 
 established in all the principal towns, and ter- 
 ritorial aid from the public funds to the amount 
 of $500 each was given them. The school at 
 Los Angeles had over one hundred pupils in 
 attendance. His worst fault was a disposition 
 to meddle in local afTairs. He was unreliable 
 and not careful to keep his agreements. He 
 might have succeeded in giving California a 
 stable government had it not been for the antip- 
 athy to his soldiers and the old feud between 
 the "hijos del pais" and the Mexican dictators. 
 These proved his undoing. The native sons 
 under Alvarado and Castro rose in rebellion. 
 In November, 1844, a revolution was inaugu- . 
 rated at Santa Clara. The governor marched 
 with an army of one hundred and fifty men 
 against the rebel forces, numbering about two 
 hundred. They met at a place called the La- 
 
 guna de iVlvires. A treaty was signed in which 
 Micheltorena agreed to ship his cholos back to 
 Mexico. 
 
 This treaty the governor deliberately broke. 
 He then intrigued with Capt. John .-K. Sutter of 
 New Helvetia and Isaac Graham to obtain as- 
 sistance to crush the rebels. January y, 1845, 
 Micheltorena and Sutter formed a junction of 
 their forces at Salinas — their united commands 
 numbering about five hundred men. They 
 marched against the rebels to crush them. But 
 the rebels did not wait to be crushed. Alvarado 
 and Castro, with about ninety men, started for 
 Los Angeles, and those left behind scattered 
 to their homes. Alvarado and his men reached 
 Los Angeles on the night of January 20, 1845. 
 The garrison stationed at the curate's house 
 was surprised and captured. One man was 
 killed and several wounded. Lieutenant Me- 
 dina, of Micheltorena's army, was the com- 
 mander of the pueblo troops. Alvarado's army 
 encamped on the plaza and he and Castro set 
 to work to revolutionize the old pueblo. The 
 leading Angelenos had no great love for Juan 
 Bautista, and did not readily fall into his 
 schemes. They had not forgotten their en- 
 forced detention in Vallejo's bastile during the 
 Civil war. An extraordinary session of the 
 ayuntamiento was called January 21. Alvarado 
 and Castro were present and made eloquent ap- 
 peals. The records say: "The ayuntamiento 
 listened, and after a short interval of silence and 
 meditation decided to notify the senior member 
 of the department assembly of Don Alvarado 
 and Castros' wishes." 
 
 They were more successful with the Pico 
 brothers. Pio Pico was senior vocal, and in 
 case Micheltorena was disposed he, by virtue of 
 his office, would become governor. Through 
 the influence of the Picos the revolution gained 
 ground. The most potent influence in spread- 
 ing the revolt was the fear of Micheltorena's 
 army of chicken thieves. Should the town be 
 captured by them it certainly would be looted. 
 The department assembly was called together. 
 .\ peace commission w-as sent to meet Michel- 
 torena, who w-as leisurely marching southward, 
 and intercede with him to give up his proposed 
 invasion of the south. ITc refused. Then the 
 
112 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 assembly pronounced him a traitor, deposed 
 him by vote and appointed Pio Pico governor. 
 Recruiting went on rapidly. Hundreds of sad- 
 dle horses were contributed, "old rusty guns 
 were repaired, hacked swords sharpened, rude 
 lances manufactured" and cartridges made for 
 the cannon. Some fifty foreigners of the south 
 joined Alvarado's army; not that they had 
 much interest in the revolution, but to protect 
 their property against the rapacious invaders — 
 the cholos — and Sutter's Indians,* who were as 
 much dreaded as the cholos. On the 19th of 
 February, Micheltorena reached the Encinos, 
 and the Angelenian army marched out through 
 Cahuenga Pass to meet him. On the 20th the 
 two armies met on the southern edge of the 
 San Fernando valley, about fifteen miles from 
 Los Angeles. Each army numbered about four 
 hundred men. Micheltorena had three pieces 
 of artillery and Castro tw'o. They opened on 
 each other at long range and seem to have 
 fought the battle throughout at very long range. 
 A mustang or a mule (authorities differ) was 
 killed. 
 
 Wilson, Workman and McKinley of Castro's 
 army decided to induce the Americans on the 
 other side, many of whom were their personal 
 friends, to abandon Micheltorena. Passing up 
 a ravine, they succeeded in attracting the atten- 
 tion of some of them by means of a white flag. 
 Gantt, Hensley and Eidwell joined them in the 
 ravine. The situation was discussed and the 
 Americans of Micheltorena's army agreed to' 
 desert him if Pico would protect them in their 
 land grants. Wilson, in his account of the bat- 
 tle, saysif "I knew, and so did Pico, that these 
 land questions were the point with those young 
 Americans. Before I started on my journey or 
 embassy, Pico was sent for; on his arrival 
 among us I, in a few words, explained to him 
 what the party had advanced. 'Gentlemen,' said 
 he, 'are any of you citizens of Mexico?' They 
 answered 'No.' 'Then your title deeds given 
 you by Micheltorena are not worth the paper 
 
 *Sutter had under liis camiiiand a company of In- 
 dians. He had drilled these in the use o£ firearms. 
 The employing of these savages by Micheltorena was 
 bitterly resented by the Californians. 
 
 tPub. Historical Society of Southern California, 
 Vol. III. 
 
 they are written on, and he knew it well when 
 he gave them to you; but if you will abandon 
 his cause I will give you my word of honor as 
 a gentleman, and Don Benito Wilson and Don 
 Juan Workman to carry out what I promise, 
 that [ will protect each one of you in the land 
 that you now hold, and when you become citi- 
 zens of ^lexico I will issue you the proper ti- 
 tles.' They said that was all they asked, and 
 promised not to fire a gun against us. They also 
 asked not to be required to fight on our side, 
 which was agreed to. 
 
 "Micheltorena discovered (how, I do notknow) 
 that his Americans had abandoned him. About 
 an hour afterwards he raised his camp and 
 flanked us by going further into the valley to- 
 wards San Fernando, then marching as though 
 he intended to come around the bend of the 
 river to the city. The Californians and we for- 
 eigners at once broke up our camp and came 
 back through the Cahuenga Pass, marched 
 through the gap into the Feliz ranch, on the 
 Los Angeles River, till we came into close 
 proximity to Micheltorena's camp. It was now 
 night, as it was dark when w^e broke up our 
 camp. Here we waited for daylight, and some 
 of our men commenced maneuvering for a fight 
 with the enemy. A few cannon shots were 
 fired, when a white flag was discovered flying 
 from Micheltorena's front. The whole matter 
 then went into the hands of negotiators ap- 
 pointed by both parties and the terms of sur- 
 render w'ere agreed upon, one of which was that 
 IMicheltorena and his obnoxious ofificers and 
 men were to march back up the river to the 
 Cahuenga Pass, "then down on the plain to the 
 west of Los Angeles, the most direct line to 
 San Pedro, and embark at that point on a vessel 
 then anchored there to carry them back to Mex- 
 ico." Sutter was taken prisoner, and his Indians, 
 after being corralled for a time, were sent back 
 to the Sacramento. 
 
 The roar of the battle of Cahuenga, or the 
 Alamo, as it is sometimes called, could be dis- 
 tinctly heard in Los Angeles, and the people 
 remaining in the city were greatly alarmed. 
 William Heath Davis, in his Sixty Years in Cal- 
 ifornia, thus describes the alarm in the town; 
 "Directly to the north of the town was a high 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 113 
 
 hill" (now known as Mt. Lookout). "As soon 
 as firing was heard all the people remaining in 
 the town, men, women and children, ran to the 
 top of this hill. As the wind was blowing from 
 the north, the firing was distinctly heard, five 
 leagues away, on the battle-field throughout the 
 day. All business places in town were closed. 
 The scene on the hill was a remarkable one, 
 women and children, with crosses in their hands, 
 kneeling and praying to the saints for the safety 
 of their fathers, brothers, sons, husbands, lovers, 
 cousins, that they might not be killed in the bat- 
 tle; indifferent to their personal appearance, 
 tears streaming from their eyes, and their hair 
 blown about by the wind, which had increased 
 to quite a breeze. Don Abel Stearns, myself and 
 others tried to calm and pacify them, assuring 
 them that there was probably no danger; some- 
 what against our convictions, it is true, judg- 
 ing from what we heard of the firing and from 
 our knowledge of jMicheltorena's disciplined 
 force, his battery, and the riflemen he had with 
 him. During the day the scene on the hill con- 
 tinued. The night that followed was a gloomy 
 one, caused by the lamentations of the women 
 and children." 
 
 Davis, who was supercargo on the Don 
 Qui.xote, the vessel on which Micheltorena and 
 his soldiers were shipped to Mexico, claims that 
 the general "had ordered his command not to 
 injure the Californians in the force opposed to 
 him, but to fire over their heads, as he had no 
 desire to kill them." 
 
 Another Mexican-born governor had been 
 deposed and deported, gone to join his fellows, 
 Victoria, Chico and Gutierrez. In accordance 
 with the treaty of Cahuenga and by virtue of 
 his rank as senior member of the departmental 
 assembly, Pio Pico became governor. The hijos 
 del pais were once more in the ascendency. 
 Jose Castro was made comandante-general. Al- 
 varado was given charge of the custom house at 
 Monterey, and Jose Antonio Carrillo was ap- 
 pointed commander of the military district of 
 the south. Los Angeles was made the capital, 
 although the archives and the treasury remained 
 in Monterey. The revolution apparently had 
 been a success. In the proceedings of the Los 
 Angeles ayuntamiento, March i, 1845, appears 
 
 8 
 
 this record: "The agreements entered into at 
 Cahuenga between Gen. Emanuel Michel- 
 torena and Lieut.-Col. Jose Castro were then 
 read, and as they contain a happy termination of 
 affairs in favor of the government, this Illustri- 
 ous Body listened with satisfaction and so an- 
 swered the communication." 
 
 The people joined with the ayuntamiento in 
 expressing their "satisfaction" that a "happy 
 termination" had been reached of the political 
 disturbances which had distracted the country. 
 But the end was not yet. Pico did his best to 
 conciliate the conflicting elements, but the old 
 sectional jealousies that had divided the people 
 of the territory would crop out. Jose Antonio 
 Carrillo, the Machiaveli of the south, hated Cas- 
 tro and Alvarado and was jealous of Pico's good 
 fortune, lie was the superior of any of them 
 in ability, but made himself unpopular by his 
 intrigues and his sarcastic speech. When Cas- 
 tro and Alvarado came south to raise the stand- 
 ard of revolt they tried to win him over. He 
 did assist them. He was willing enough to plot 
 against Micheltorena, but after the overthrow 
 of the Mexican he was equally ready to plot 
 against Pico and Castro. In the summer of 
 1845 'is ^^'^s implicated in a plot to depose Pico, 
 who, by the way, was his brother-in-law. Pico 
 placed him and two of his fellow conspirators, 
 Serbulo and Hilario Varela, under arrest. Car- 
 rillo and Ililario Varela were shipped to Mazat- 
 lan to be tried for their misdeed. Serbulo \'a- 
 rela made his escape from prison. The two 
 exiles returned early in 1846 unpunished and 
 ready for new plots. 
 
 Pico was appointed gobernador proprietario, 
 or constitutional governor of California. Sep- 
 tember 3, 1845, by President Herrcra. The su- 
 preme government of Mexico never seemed to 
 take offense or harbor resentment against the 
 Californians for deposing and sending home a 
 governor. As the officials of the supreme gov- 
 ernment usually obtained office bv revolution, 
 they no doubt had a fellow feeling for the revolt- 
 ing Californians. When Micheltorena returned 
 to Mexico he was coldly received and a com- 
 missioner was sent to Pico with dispatches vir- 
 tually approving all that had been done. 
 
 Castro, too, gave Pico a great deal of uneasi- 
 
114 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ness. He ignored the governor and managed 
 the mihtary affairs of the territory to suit him- 
 self. His headquarters were at Monterey and 
 doubtless he had the sympathy if not the en- 
 couragement of the people of the north in his 
 course. But the cause of the greatest uneasi- 
 ness was the increasing immigration from the 
 United States. A stream of emigrants from the 
 western states, increasing each year, poured 
 down the Sierra Nevadas and spread over the 
 rich valleys of California. The Californians rec- 
 ognized that through the advent of these ''for- 
 eign adventurers, "as they called them, the "man- 
 ifest destiny"of California was to be absorbed by 
 the United States. Alvarado had appealed to 
 Mexico for men and arms and had been an- 
 swered by the arrival of Micheltorena and his 
 cholos. Pico appealed and for a time the Cali- 
 fornians were cheered by the prospect of aid. 
 
 In the summer of 1845 '^ force of six hundred 
 veteran soldiers, under command of Colonel 
 Iniestra, reached Acapulco, where ships were ly- 
 ing to take them to California, but a revolution 
 broke out in Mexico and the troops destined for 
 the defense of California were used to overthrow 
 President Herrera and to seat Paredes. Cali- 
 fornia was left to work out her own destiny 
 unaided or drift with the tide — and she drifted. 
 In the early months of 1846 there was a rapid 
 succession of important events in her history, 
 each in passing bearing her near and nearer to 
 a manifest destiny — the downfall of Mexican 
 domination in California. These will be pre- 
 sented fully in the chapter on the Acquisition of 
 California by the United States. But before 
 taking up these we will turn aside to review life 
 in California in the olden time under Spanish 
 and Mexican rule. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT— HOMES AND HOME-LIFE OF 
 
 THE CALIFORNIANS. 
 
 UNDER Spain the government of Califor- 
 nia was semi-military and semi-clerical. 
 The governors were military officers and 
 had command of the troops in the territory, and 
 looked after affairs at the pueblos; the friars 
 were supreme at the missions. The municipal 
 government of the pueblos was vested in ayun- 
 tamientos. The decree of the Spanish Cortes 
 passed May 23, 1812, regulated the membership 
 of the ayuntamiento according to the popula- 
 tion of the town — "there shall be one alcalde 
 (mayor), two regidores (councilmen), and one 
 procurador-syndico (treasurer) in all towns 
 which do not have more than two hundred in- 
 habitants; one alcalde, four regidores and one 
 syndico in those the population of which ex- 
 ceeds two hundred, but does not exceed five 
 hundred." When the population of a town ex- 
 ceeded one thousand it was allowed two al- 
 caldes, eight regidores and two syndicos. Over 
 the members of the ayuntamiento in the early 
 years of Spanish rule was a quasi-military offi- 
 
 cer called a comisionado, a sort of petty dictator 
 or military despot, who, when occasion required 
 or inclination moved him, embodied within him- 
 self all three departments of government, judi- 
 ciary, legislative and executive. .A.fter ^Mexico 
 became a republic the office of comisionado was 
 abolished. The alcalde acted as president of 
 the ayuntamiento, as mayor and as judge of 
 the court of first instance. The second alcalde 
 took his place when that officer was ill or ab- 
 sent. The syndico was a general utility man. 
 He acted as city or town attorney, tax collector 
 and treasurer. The secretary was an important 
 officer; he kept the records, acted as clerk of 
 the alcalde's court and was the only municipal 
 officer who received pay, except the syndico, 
 who received a commission on his collections. 
 
 In 1837 the Mexican Congress passed a decree 
 abolishing ayuntamientos in capitals of depart- 
 ments having a population of less than four 
 thousand and in interior towns of less than 
 eight thousand. In 1839 Governor Alvarado 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.ArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 115 
 
 reported to the Dcpartniciital Assembly that no 
 town in CaHfornia had the requisite population. 
 The ayuntamientos all closed January i, 1840. 
 They were re-established in 1844. During their 
 abolition the towns were governed by prefects 
 and justices of the peace, and the special laws 
 or ordinances were enacted by the departmental 
 assembly. 
 
 The jurisdiction of the ayuntamiento often 
 extended over a large area of country beyond 
 the town limits. That of Los Angeles, after the 
 secularization of the missions, extended over a 
 country as large as the state of Massachusetts. 
 The authority of the ayuntamiento w'as as ex- 
 tensive as its jurisdiction. It granted town lots 
 and recommended to the governor grants of 
 land from the public domain. In addition to 
 passing ordinances its members sometimes 
 acted as executive ofificers to enforce them. It 
 exercised the powers of a board of health, a 
 board of education, a poHce commission and a 
 street department. During the civil war be- 
 tween Northern and Southern California, in 
 1837-38, the ayuntamiento of Los Angeles 
 raised and equipped an army and assumed the 
 right to govern the southern half of the terri- 
 tory. 
 
 The ayuntamiento was spoken of as Muy 
 Ilustre (Most Illustrious), in the same sense 
 that we speak of the honorable city council, but 
 it was a much more dignified body than a city 
 council. The members were required to attend 
 their public functions "attired in black apparel, 
 so as to add solemnity to the meetings." They 
 served without pay, but if a member was absent 
 from a meeting without a good excuse he was 
 liable to a fine. As there was no pay in the office 
 and its duties were numerous and onerous, there 
 was not a large crop of aspirants for council- 
 men in those days, and the office usually sought 
 the man. It might be added that when it caught 
 the right man it was loath to let go of him. 
 
 The misfortunes that beset Francisco Pantoja 
 aptly illustrate the difficulty of resigning in the 
 days when office sought the man, not man the 
 office. Pantoja was elected fourth regidor of 
 the ayuntamiento of Los Angeles in 1837. In 
 those days wild horses were very numerous. 
 When the pasture in the foothills was exhausted 
 
 they came down mto the valleys and ate up 
 the feed needed for the cattle. Un this account, 
 and because most of these wild horses were 
 worthless, the rancheros slaughtered them. A 
 corral was built with wings extending out on 
 the right and left from the main entrance. When 
 the corral was completed a day was set for a 
 wild horse drive. The bands were rounded up 
 and driven into the corral. The pick of the 
 caballados were lassoed and taken out to be 
 broken to the saddle and the refuse of the drive 
 killed. The Vejars had obtained permission 
 from the ayuntamiento to build a corral between 
 the Ceritos and the Salinas for the purpose of 
 corralling wild horses. Pantoja, being some- 
 thing of a sport, petitioned his fellow regidores 
 for a twenty days' leave of absence to join in 
 the wild horse chase. A wild horse chase was 
 wild sport and dangerous, too. Somebody was 
 sure to get hurt, and Pantoja in this one was 
 one of the unfortunates. When his twenty days' 
 leave of absence was up he did not return to 
 his duties of regidor, but instead sent his res- 
 ignation on plea of illness. His resignation was 
 not accepted and the president of the ayunta- 
 miento appointed a committee to investigate 
 his physical condition. There were no physi- 
 cians in Los Angeles in those days, so the com- 
 mittee took along Santiago McKinley, a canny 
 Scotch merchant, who was reputed to have some 
 knowledge of surgery. The committee and the 
 improvised surgeon held an ante-mortem in- 
 quest on what remained of Pantoja. The com- 
 mittee reported to the council that he was a 
 physical wreck; that he could not mount a 
 horse nor ride one when mounted. A native 
 Californian. w-ho had reached such a state of 
 physical dilapidation that he could not mount 
 a horse might w-ell be excused from official du- 
 ties. To excuse him might establish a danger- 
 ous precedent. The ayuntamiento heard the 
 report, pondered over it and then sent it and 
 the resignation to the governor. The governor 
 took them under advisement. In the meantime 
 a revolution broke out and before peace was re- 
 stored and the governor had time to j^ass upon 
 the case Pantoja's term had expired by limita- 
 tion. 
 
 That modern fad of reform legislation, the 
 
116 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 referendum, was in full force and efTect in Cali- 
 fornia three-quarters of a century ago. When 
 some question of great importance to the com- 
 munity was before the ayuntamiento and the 
 regidores were divided in opinion, the alarma 
 publica or public alarm was sounded by the 
 beating of the long roll on the drum and all the 
 citizens were summoned to the hall of sessions. 
 Any one hearing the alarm and not heed- 
 ing it was fined $3. When the citizens were con- 
 vened the president of the ayuntamiento, speak- 
 ing in a loud voice, stated the question and the 
 people were given "public speech." The ques- 
 tion was debated by all who wished to speak. 
 When all had had their say it was decided by a 
 show of hands. 
 
 The ayuntamientos regulated the social func- 
 tions of the pueblos as well as the civic. Ordi- 
 nance 5, ayuntamiento proceedings of Los 
 Angeles, reads: "All individuals serenading pro- 
 miscuously around the street of the city at night 
 without first having obtained permission from 
 the alcalde will be fined $1.50 for the first of- 
 fense, $3 for the second offense, and for the 
 third punished according to law." Ordinance 4, 
 adopted by the ayuntamiento of Los Angeles, 
 January 28, 1838, reads: "Every person not 
 having any apparent occupation in this city or 
 its jurisdiction is hereby ordered to look for 
 work within three days, counting from the day 
 this ordinance is published; if not complied 
 with, he will be fined $2 for the first offense, $4 
 for the second offense, and will be given com- 
 pulsory work for the third." From the reading 
 of the ordinance it would seem if the tramp 
 kept looking for work, but was careful not to 
 find it, there could be no offense and conse- 
 quently no fines or compulsory work. 
 
 Some of the enactments of the old regidores 
 would fade the azure out of the blue laws of 
 Connecticut in severity. In the plan of gov- 
 ernment adopted by the surefios in the rebellion 
 of 1837 appears this article: "Article 3. The 
 Roman Catholic Apostolic religion shall pre- 
 vail throughout this jurisdiction; and any per- 
 son professing publicly any other religion shall 
 be prosecuted." 
 
 Here is a blue law of Monterey, enacted 
 March 23, 1816: ".Ml persons must attend mass 
 
 and respond in a loud voice, and if any persons 
 should fail to do so without good cause they 
 will be put in the stocks for three hours." 
 
 The architecture of the Spanish and Mexican 
 eras of California was homely almost to ugliness. 
 There was no external ornamentation to the 
 dwellings and no internal conveniences. There 
 was but little attempt at variety and the houses 
 were mostly of one style, square walled, tile cov- 
 ered, or flat roofed with pitch, and usually but 
 one story high. Some of the mission churches 
 were massive, grand and ornamental, while 
 others were devoid of beauty and travesties on 
 the rules of architecture. Every man was his 
 own architect and master builder. He had no 
 choice of material, or, rather, with his ease- 
 loving disposition, he chose to use that which 
 was most convenient, and that was adobe clay, 
 made into sun-dried brick. The Indian was the 
 brickmaker, and he toiled for his taskmasters, 
 like the Hebrew of old for the Egyptian, making 
 bricks without straw and without pay. There 
 were no labor strikes in the building trades then. 
 The Indian was the builder, and he did not 
 know how to strike for higher wages, because 
 he received no wages, high or low. The adobe 
 bricks were moulded into form and set up to 
 dry. Through the long summer days they 
 baked in the hot sun, first on one side, then on 
 the other; and when dried through they were 
 laid in the wall with mud mortar. Then the 
 walls had to dry and dry perhaps through an- 
 other summer before the house was habitable. 
 Time was the essense of building contracts then. 
 
 There was but little wood used in house con- 
 struction then. It was only the aristocrats who 
 could indulge in the luxury of wooden floors. 
 Most of the houses had floors of the beaten 
 earth. Such floors were cheap and durable. 
 Gilroy says, when he came to Monterey in 1814, 
 only the governor's house had a wooden floor. 
 A door of rawhide shut out intruders and 
 wooden-barred windows admitted sunshine and 
 air. 
 
 The legendry of the hearthstone and the fire- 
 side which fills so large a place in the home life 
 and literature of the Anglo-Saxon had no part 
 in the domestic system of the old-time Califor- 
 nian. He had no hearthstone and no fireside. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ir 
 
 nor could that pleasing fiction of Santa Clans 
 coming down the chimney with toys on Christ- 
 mas eve that so delights the children of to-day 
 have been understood by the youthful Califor- 
 nian of long ago. There were no chimneys in 
 California. The only means of warming the 
 houses by artificial heat was a pan (or brasero) 
 of coals set on the floor. The people lived out 
 of doors in the open air and invigorating sun- 
 shine; and they were healthy and long-lived. 
 Their houses were places to sleep in or shelters 
 from rain. 
 
 The furniture was meager and mostly home- 
 made. A few benches or rawhide-bottomed 
 chairs to sit on; a rough table; a chest or two 
 to keep the family finery in; a few cheap prints 
 of saints on the walls — these formed the furnish- 
 ings and the decorations of the living rooms of 
 the common people. The bed was the pride and 
 the ambition of the housewife. Even in humble 
 dwellings, sometimes, a snowy counterpane and 
 lace-trimmed pillows decorated a couch whose 
 base was a dried bullock's hide stretched on a 
 rough frame of wood. A shrine dedicated to the 
 patron saint of the household was a very essen- 
 tial part of a well-regulated home. 
 
 Fashions in dress did not change with the sea- 
 sons. A man could wear his grandfather's hat 
 and his coat, too, and not be out of the fashion. 
 Robinson, writing of California in 1829, says: 
 "The people were still adhering to the costumes 
 of the past century." It was not until after 1834, 
 when the Hijar colonists brought the latest fash- 
 ions from the City of Mexico, that the style of 
 dress for men and women began to change. The 
 next change took place after the American con- 
 quest. Only two changes in half a century, a 
 garment had to be very durable to become un- 
 fashionable. 
 
 The few wealthy people in the territory 
 dressed well, even extravagantly. Robinson de- 
 scribes the dress of Tomas Yorba, a wealthy 
 ranchero of the Upper Santa Ana, as he saw 
 him in 1829: "Upon his head he wore a black 
 silk handkerchief, the four corners of which 
 hung down his neck behind. An embroidered 
 shirt; a cravat of white jaconet, tastefully tied; 
 a blue damask vest; short clothes of crimson 
 velvet; a bright green cloth jacket, with large 
 
 silver buttons, and shoes of embroidered deer- 
 skin composed his dress. I was afterwards in- 
 formed by Don Manuel (Dominguez) that on 
 some occasions, such as some particular feast 
 day or festival, his entire display often exceeded 
 in value a thousand dollars." 
 
 "The dress worn by the middle class of fe- 
 males is a chemise, with short embroidered 
 sleeves, richly trimmed with lace; a muslin pet- 
 ticoat, flounced with scarlet and secured at the 
 waist by a silk band of the same color; shoes of 
 velvet or blue satin; a cotton reboso or scarf; 
 pearl necklace and earrings; with hair falling in 
 broad plaits down the back."* After 1834 the 
 men generally adopted calzoneras instead of the 
 knee breeches or short clothes of the last cen- 
 tury. 
 
 "The calzoneras were pantaloons with the ex- 
 terior seam open throughout its length. On the 
 upper edge was a strip of cloth, red, blue or 
 black, in which were buttonholes. On the other 
 edge were eyelet holes for buttons. In some 
 cases the calzonera was sewn from hip to the 
 middle of the thigh ; in others, buttoned. From 
 the middle of the thigh downward the leg was 
 covered by the bota or leggins, used by every 
 one, whatever his dress." The short jacket, 
 with silver or bronze buttons, and the silken 
 sash that served as a connecting link between 
 the calzoneras and the jacket, and also supplied 
 the place of what the Californians did not wear, 
 suspenders, this constituted a picturesque cos- 
 tume, that continued in vogue until the con- 
 quest, and with many of the natives for years 
 after. "After 1834 the fashionable women of Cal- 
 ifornia exchanged their narrow for more flowing 
 • garments and abandoned the braided hair for 
 the coil and the large combs till then in use for 
 smaller combs. "f 
 
 For outer wraps the serapa for men and the 
 rebosa for women were universally worn. The 
 texture of these marked the social standing of 
 the wearer. It ranged from cheap cotton and 
 coarse serge to the costliest silk and the finest 
 French broadcloth. The costume of the neo- 
 phvte changed but once in centuries, and that 
 
 ♦Robinson, Life in California. 
 tBancroft's Pastoral California. 
 
118 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 was when he divested himself of his coat of 
 mud and smear of paint and put on the mission 
 shirt and breech clout. Shoes he did not wear 
 and in time his feet became as hard as the hoofs 
 of an animal. The dress of the mission women 
 consisted of a chemise and a skirt; the dress of 
 the children was a shirt and sometimes even this 
 was dispensed. 
 
 Filial obedience and respect for parental au- 
 thority were early impressed upon the minds of 
 the children. The commandment, "Honor thy 
 father and mother," was observed with an ori- 
 ental devotion. A child was never too old or too 
 large to be exempt from punishment. Stephen 
 C. Foster used to relate an amusing story of a 
 case of parental disciplining he once saw at Los 
 Angeles. An old lady, a grandmother, was be- 
 laboring, with a barrel stave, her son, a man 
 thirty years of age. The son had done some- 
 thing of which the mother did not approve. She 
 sent for him to come over to the maternal home 
 to receive his punishment. He came. She took 
 him out to the metaphorical woodshed, which, 
 in this case, was the portico of her house, where 
 she stood him up and proceeded to administer 
 corporal punishment. With the resounding 
 thwacks of the stave, she would exclaim, "I'll 
 teach you to behave yourself." "I'll mend your 
 manners, sir." "Now you'll be good, won't 
 you?" The big man took his punishment with- 
 out a thought of resisting or rebelling. In fact, 
 he seemed to enjoy it. It brought back feel- 
 ingly and forcibly a memory of 'nis boyhood 
 days. 
 
 In the earlier years of the republic, before 
 revolutionary ideas had perverted the usages of 
 the Californians, great respect was shown to- 
 those in authority, and the authorities were 
 strict in requiring deference from their constit- 
 uents. In the Los Angeles archives of 1828 are 
 the records of an impeachment trial of Don 
 Antonio Maria Lugo, held to depose him from 
 the office of judge of the plains. The principal 
 duty of such a judge was to decide cases of dis- 
 puted ownership of horses and cattle. Lugo 
 seems to have had an exalted idea of the dignity 
 of his office. Among the complaints presented 
 at the trial was one from young Pedro Sanchez, 
 in which he testified that Lugo had tried to ride 
 
 his horse over him in the street because he, 
 Sanchez, would not take ofif his hat to the juez 
 del campo and remain standing uncovered wh'le 
 the judge rode past. Another complainant at the 
 same trial related how at a rodeo Lugo ad- 
 judged a neighbor's boy guilty of contempt of 
 court because the boy gave him an impertinent 
 answer, and then he proceeded to give the boy 
 an unmerciful whipping. So heinous was the 
 offense in the estimation of the judge that the 
 complainant said, "had not Lugo fallen over a 
 chair he would have been beating the boy yet." 
 
 Under Mexican domination in California 
 there was no tax levied on land and improve- 
 ments. The municipal funds of the pueblos were 
 obtained from revenue on wine and brandy; 
 from the licenses of saloons and other business 
 houses; from the tariff on imports; from per- 
 mits to give balls or dances; from the fines of 
 transgressors, and from the tax on bull rings 
 and cock pits. Then men's pleasures and vices 
 paid the cost of governing. In the early '40s 
 the city of Los Angeles claimed a population of 
 two thousand, yet the municipal revenues rarely 
 exceeded $1,000 a year. With this small amount 
 the authorities ran a city government and kept 
 out of debt. It did not cost much to run a city 
 government then. There was no army of high- 
 salaried officials with a horde of political heelers 
 quartered on the municipality and fed from the 
 public crib at the expense of the taxpayer. Poli- 
 ticians may have been no more honest then 
 than now, but where there was nothing to steal 
 there was no stealing. The alcaldes and regi- 
 dores put no temptation in the way of the poli- 
 ticians, and thus they kept them reasonably 
 honest, or at least they kept them from plunder- 
 ing the taxpayers by the simple expedient of 
 having no taxpayers. 
 
 The functions of the various departments of 
 the municipal governments were economically 
 administered. Street cleaning and lighting were 
 performed at individual expense instead of pub- 
 lic. There was an ordinance in force in Los 
 Angeles and Santa Barbara and probably in 
 other mvmicipalities that required each owner of 
 a house every Saturday to sweep and clean in 
 front of his premises to the middle of the street. 
 His neighbor on th'' opposite side met him half 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RJtCORD. 
 
 119 
 
 way, and the street was swept without expense 
 to the pueblo. There was another ordinance 
 that required each owner ol a house of more 
 that two rooms on a main street to hang a 
 hghted lantern in front of his door from twilight 
 to eight o'clock in winter and to nine in sum- 
 mer. There were fines for neglect of these duties. 
 There was no fire department in the pueblos. 
 The adobe houses with their clay walls, earthen 
 floors, tiled roofs and rawhide doors were as 
 nearly fireproof as any human habitation could 
 be made. The cooking was done in detached 
 
 kitchens and in beehive-shaped ovens wiihoul 
 Hues. The houses were without chimneys, so 
 the danger from fire was reduced to a minimum. 
 A general conflagration was something un- 
 known in the old pueblo days of Californi;) 
 
 There was no paitl police department. Everv 
 able-bodied young man was subject to military 
 duty. A volunteer guard or patrol was kept on 
 duty at the cuartels or guard houses. The 
 guards policed the pueblos, but they were not 
 paid. Each young man had to take his turn at 
 guard duty. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION BY CONQUEST. 
 
 THE Mexican war marked the beginning 
 by the United States of territorial ex- 
 pansion by conquest. "It was," says 
 General Grant, "an instance of a republic fol- 
 lowing the bad example of European mon- 
 archies in not considering justice in their desire 
 to acquire additional territory." The "additional 
 territory" was needed for the creation of slave 
 states. The southern politicians of the extreme 
 pro-slavery school saw in the rapid settlement 
 of the northwestern states the downfall of their 
 domination and the doom of their beloved insti- 
 tution, slavery. Their peculiar institution could 
 not expand northward and on the south it had 
 reached the Mexican boundary. The only way 
 of acquiring new territory for the extension of 
 slavery on the south was to take it by force from 
 the weak Republic of Mexico. The annexation 
 of Texas brought with it a disputed boundary 
 line. The claim to a strip of country between 
 the Rio Nueces and the Rio Grande furnished a 
 convenient pretext to force Mexico to hostili- 
 ties. Texas as an independent state had never 
 exercised jurisdiction over the disputed terri- 
 tory. As a state of the Union after annexation 
 she could not rightfully lay claim to what she 
 never possessed, but the army of occupation 
 took possession of it as United States property, 
 and the war was on. In the end we acquired a 
 large slice of Mexican territory, but the irony 
 
 of fate decreed that not an acre of its soil should 
 be tilled by slave labor. 
 
 The causes that led to the acquisition of Cali- 
 fornia antedated the annexation of Texas and 
 the invasion of Mexico, .\fter the adoption of 
 liberal colonization laws by the Mexican gov- 
 ernment in 1824, there set in a steady drift 
 of Americans to California. At first they came 
 by sea, but after the opening of the overland 
 route in 1841 they came in great numbers by 
 land. It was a settled conviction m the minds 
 of these adventurous nomads that the manifest 
 destiny of California was to become a part of the 
 United States, and they were only too willing to 
 aid destiny when an opportunity offered. The 
 opportunity came and it found them ready for it. 
 
 Capt. John C. Fremont, an engineer and ex- 
 plorer in the services of the United States, ap- 
 peared at Monterey in January, 1846, and ap- 
 plied to General Castro, the military comandante. 
 for permission to buy supplies for his party of 
 sixty-two men who were encamped in the San 
 Joaquin valley, in what is now Kern county. 
 Permission was given him. There seems to 
 have been a tacit agreement between Castro and 
 Fremont that the exploring party should not 
 enter the settlements, but early in March the 
 whole force was encamped in the Salinas val- 
 ley. Castro regarded the marching of a bod'- 
 of armed men through the country as an act of 
 
120 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 hostility, and ordered them out of the country. 
 Instead of leaving, Fremont intrenched himself 
 on an eminence known as Gabilian Peak (about 
 thirty miles from Monterey), raised the stars 
 and stripes over his barricade, and defied Castro. 
 Castro maneuvered his troops on the plain 
 below, but did not attack Fremont. After two 
 days' waiting Fremont abandoned his position 
 and began his march northward. On May 9, 
 when near the Oregon line, he vi'as overtaken 
 by Lieutenant Gillespie, of the United States 
 navy, with a dispatch from the president. Gil- 
 lespie had left the United States in November, 
 1845, and, disguised, had crossed Mexico from 
 Vera Cruz to IMazatlan, and from there had 
 reached Alonterey. The exact nature of the 
 dispatches to Fremont is not known, but pre- 
 sumably they related to the impending war be- 
 tween Mexico and the LTnited States, and the 
 necessity for a prompt seizure of the country 
 to prevent it from falling into the hands of Eng- 
 land. Fremont returned to the Sacramento, 
 where he encamped. 
 
 On the 14th of June, 1846, a body of Amer- 
 ican settlers from the Napa and Sacramento 
 valleys, thirty-three in number, of which Ide, 
 Semple, Grigsby and Merritt seem to have been 
 the leaders, after a night's march, took posses- 
 sion of the old Castillo or fort at Sonoma, with 
 its rusty muskets and unused cannon, and made 
 Gen. M. G. Vallejo, Lieut.-Col. Prudon, Capt. 
 Salvador \'allejo and Jacob P. Leese, a brother- 
 in-law of the Vallcjos, prisoners. There seems 
 to have been no privates at the Castillo, all offi- 
 cers. Exactly what was the object of the Amer- 
 ican settlers in taking General Vallejo prisoner 
 is not evident. General Vallejo was one of the 
 few eminent Californians who favored the an- 
 nexation of California to the United States. He 
 is said to have made a speech favoring such a 
 movement in the junta at Monterey a few 
 months before. Castro regarded him with sus- 
 picion. The prisoners were sent under an 
 armed escort to Fremont's camp. William B. 
 Ide was elected captain of the revolutionists 
 who remained at Sonoma, to "hold the fort." 
 He issued a pronunciamiento in which he de- 
 clared California a free and independent gov- 
 ernment, under the name of the California Re- 
 
 public. A nation must have a flag of its own, 
 so one was improvised. It was made of a piece 
 of cotton cloth, or manta, a yard wide and five 
 feet long. Strips of red flannel torn from the 
 shirt of one of the men were stitched on the 
 bottom of the flag for stripes. With a blacking 
 brush, or, as another authority says, the end 
 of a chewed stick for a brush, and red paint, 
 William L. Todd painted the figure of a grizzly 
 bear passant on the field of the flag. The na- 
 tives called Todd's bear "cochino," a pig; it 
 resembled that animal more than a bear. A 
 five-pointed star in the left upper corner, 
 painted with the same coloring matter, and the 
 words "California republic" printed on it in ink, 
 completed the famous bear flag. 
 
 The California republic was ushered into ex- 
 istence June 14, 1846, attained the acme of its 
 power July 4, when Ide and his fellow patriots 
 burnt a quantity of powder in salutes, and fired 
 ofT oratorical pyrotechnics in honor of the new 
 republic. It utterly collapsed on the 9th of July, 
 after an existence of twenty-five days, when 
 news reached Sonoma that Commodore Sloat 
 had raised the stars and stripes at Monterey and 
 taken possession of California in the name of 
 the United States. Lieutenant Revere arrived 
 at Sonoma^ on the 9th and he it was who low- 
 ered the bear flag from the Mexican flagstaiT. 
 where it had floated through the brief existence 
 of the California republic, and raised in its place 
 the banner of the United States. 
 
 Commodore Sloat, who had anchored in 
 ^lonterey Bay July 2, 1846, was for a time un- 
 decided whether to take possession of the coun- 
 try. He had no official information that war 
 had been declared between the United States 
 and Mexico; but, acting on the supposition 
 that Captain Fremont had received definite in- 
 structions, on the 7th of July he raised the flag 
 and took possession of the custom-house and 
 government buildings at Monterey. Captain 
 Montgomery, on the 9th, raised it at San Fran- 
 cisco, and on the same day the bear flag gave 
 place to the stars and stripes at Sonoma. 
 
 General Castro was holding Santa Clara and 
 San Jose when he received Commodore Sloat's 
 proclamation informing him that the commo- 
 dore had taken possession of ilonterey. Cas- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 
 
 11' I 
 
 tro, after reading the proclamation, which was 
 written in Spanish, formed his men in hne, and 
 addressing them, said: "Monterey is taken by 
 the Americans. What can I do with a handful 
 of men against the United States? I am going 
 to Mexico. All of you w^ho wish to follow me. 
 'About face!' All that wish to remain can go to 
 their homes."* A very small part of his force 
 followed him. 
 
 Commodore Sloat was superseded by Com- 
 modore Stockton, who set about organizing an 
 expedition to subjugate the part of the territory 
 which still remained loyal to Alexico. Fre- 
 mont's exploring party, recruited to a battalion 
 of one hundred and twenty men, had marclied 
 to Monterey, and from there was sent by vessel 
 to San Diego to procure horses and prepare to 
 act as cavalry. 
 
 While these stirring events were transpiring 
 in the north, what was the condition in the 
 south where the capital, Los Angeles, and the 
 bulk of the population of the territory were 
 located? Pio Pico had entered upon the duties 
 of the governorship with a desire to bring peace 
 and harmony to the distracted country. He ap- 
 pointed Juan Bandini, one of the ablest states- 
 men of the south, his secretary. After Bandini 
 resigned he chose J. M. Covarrubias, and later 
 Jose M. Moreno filled the office. 
 
 The principal offices of the territory had been 
 divided equally between the politicians of the 
 north and the south. While Los Angeles be- 
 came the capital, and the departmental assembly 
 met there, the military headquarters, the ar- 
 chives and the treasury remained at Monterey. 
 But, notwithstanding this division of the spoils 
 of office, the old feud between the arribeiios 
 and the abajeiios would not down, and soon the 
 old-time quarrel was on with all its bitterness. 
 Castro, as military comandante, ignored the 
 governor, and Alvarado was regarded by the 
 surenos as an emissary of Castro's. The de- 
 partmental assembly met at Los Angeles, in 
 March, 1846. Pico presided, and in his opening 
 message set forth the unfortunate condition of 
 affairs in the department. Education was neg- 
 lected; justice was not administered; the mis- 
 
 *Hairs History of San Jose. 
 
 sions were so burdened by debt that but few 
 of them could be rented; the army was disor- 
 ganized and the treasury empty. 
 
 Not even the danger of war with the Amer- 
 icans could make the warring factions forget 
 their fratricidal strife. Castro's proclamation 
 against I'remont was construed by the surenos 
 into a scheme to inveigle the governor to the 
 north so that the comandante-general could de- 
 pose him and seize the office for himself. Cas- 
 tro's preparations to resist by force the en- 
 croachments of the Americans were believed 
 by Pico and the Angelenians to be fitting out 
 of an army to attack Los Angeles and over- 
 throw the government. 
 
 On the 16th of June, Pico left Los Angeles 
 for Monterey with a military force of a hundred 
 men. The object of the expedition was to op- 
 pose, and, if possible, to depose Castro. He 
 left the capital under the care of the ayunta- 
 miento. On the 20th of June .Mcaldc Gallardo 
 reported to the ayuntamiento that he had posi- 
 tive information "that Don Castro had left 
 Monterey and would arrive here in three days 
 with a military force for the purpose of captur- 
 ing this city." (Castro had left Monterey with 
 a force of seventy men, but he had gone north 
 to San Jose.) The sub-prefect, Don Abel 
 Stearns, was authorized to enlist troops to pre- 
 serve order. On the 23d of June three compa- 
 nies were organized, an artillery company under 
 Miguel Pryor, a company of riflemen under 
 Benito Wilson, and a cavalry company under 
 Gorge Palomares. Pico called for reinforce- 
 ments, but just as he was preparing to march 
 against IMonterey the news reached him ot the 
 capture of Sonoma by the Americans, and next 
 day, June 24th, the news reached Los Angeles 
 just as the council had decided on a plan of 
 defense against Castro, who was five hundred 
 miles away. Pico, on the impulse of the mo- 
 ment, issued a proclamation, in which he 
 arraigned the United States for perfidy and 
 treachery, and the gang of "North American 
 adventurers," who captured Sonoma "with the 
 blackest treason the spirit of evil can invent." 
 His arraignment of the "North .\merican na- 
 tion" was so severe that some of his American 
 friends in Los .Angeles took umbrage to his 
 
122 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pronunciamento. He afterwards tried to recall 
 it, but it was too late; it had been published. 
 
 Castro, finding the "foreign adventurers" too 
 numerous and too aggressive in the northern 
 part of the territory, determined, with what men 
 he could induce to go with him, to retreat to 
 the south; but before so doing he sent a medi- 
 ator to Pico to negotiate a treaty of peace and 
 amity between the factions. On the I2th of 
 July the two armies met at Santa Margarita, 
 near San Luis Obispo. Castro brought the 
 news that Commodore Sloat had hoisted the 
 United States flag at Monterey and taken pos- 
 session of the country for his government. The 
 meeting of the governor and the comandante- 
 general was not very cordial, but in the presence 
 of the impending danger to the territory they 
 concealed their mutual dislike and decided to 
 do their best to defend the country they both 
 loved. 
 
 Sorrow-fully they began their retreat to the 
 capital; but even threatened disaster to their 
 common country could not wholly unite the 
 north and the south. The respective armies, 
 Castro's numbering about one hundred and fifty 
 men, and Pico's one hundred and twenty, kept 
 about a day's march apart. They reached Los 
 Angeles, and preparations were begun to resist 
 the invasion of the Americans. Pico issued a 
 proclamation ordering all able-bodied men be- 
 tween fifteen and sixty years of age, native and 
 naturalized, to take up arms to defend the coun- 
 try; any able-bodied Mexican refusing was to 
 be treated as a traitor. There was no enthusi- 
 asm for the cause. The old factional jealousy 
 and distrust was as potent as ever. The militia 
 of the south would obey none but their own 
 officers; Castro's troops, who considered them- 
 selves regulars, ridiculed the raw recruits of 
 the sureiios, while the naturalized foreigners of 
 American extraction secretly sympathized with 
 their own people. 
 
 Pico, to counteract the malign influence of his 
 Santa Barbara proclamation and enlist the sym- 
 pathy and more ready adhesion of the foreign 
 element of Los Angeles, issued the following 
 circular: (This circular or proclamation has 
 never before found its way into print. I find 
 no allusion to it in Bancroft's or Hittell's His- 
 
 tories. A copy, probably the only one in exist- 
 ence, was donated some years since to the 
 Historical Society of Southern California.) 
 
 SEAL OF 
 
 Gobicmo del Dep. 
 de Calif ornias. 
 
 "Circular. — As owing to the unfortunate 
 condition of things that now prevails in this 
 department in consequence of the war into 
 which the United States has provoked the Mex- 
 ican nation, some ill feeling might spring up 
 between the citizens of the two countries, out of 
 which unfortunate occurrences might grow, and 
 as this government desires to remove every 
 cause of friction, it has seen fit, in the use of its 
 power, to issue the present circular. 
 
 "The Government of the department of Cali- 
 fornia declares in the most solenm manner that 
 all the citizens of the United States that have 
 come lawfully into its territory, relying upon 
 the honest administration of the laws and the 
 observance of the prevailing treaties, shall not 
 be molested in the least, and their lives and 
 property shall remain in perfect safety under the 
 protection of the Mexican laws and authorities 
 legally constituted. 
 
 "Therefore, in the name of the supreme gov- 
 ernment of the nation, and by virtue of the 
 authority vested upon me, I enjoin upon all the 
 inhabitants of California to observe towards the 
 citizens of the United States that have lawfully 
 come among us, the kindest and most cordial 
 conduct, and to abstain from all acts of violence 
 against their persons or property; provided they 
 remain neutral, as heretofore, and take no part 
 in the invasion effected by the armies of their 
 nation. 
 
 "The authorities of the various municipalities 
 and corporations will be held strictly responsi- 
 ble for the faithful fulfillment of this order, and 
 shall, as soon as possible, take the necessary 
 measures to bring it to the knowledge of the 
 people. God and Liberty. 
 
 "Pio Pico. 
 
 "Jose Matias Mareno, Secretary pro tent." 
 
 Angeles, July 27, 1846. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 123 
 
 When we consider the conditions existing in 
 CaUfornia at the time this circular was issued, 
 its sentiments reflect great credit on Pico for 
 his humanity and forbearance. A little over a 
 month before, a party of Americans seized 
 General Vallejo and several other prominent 
 Californians in their homes and incarcerated 
 them in prison at Sutter's Fort. Nor was this 
 outrage mitigated when the stars and stripes 
 were raised. The perpetrators of the outrage 
 were not punished. These native Californians 
 were kept in prison nearly two months without 
 any charge against them. Besides, Governor 
 Pico and the leading Californians very well 
 knew that the Americans whose lives and prop- 
 erty this proclamation was designed to protect 
 would not remain neutral when their country- 
 men invaded the territory. Pio Pico deserved 
 better treatment from the Americans than he 
 received. He was robbed of his landed posses- 
 sions by unscrupulous land sharks, and his char- 
 acter defamed by irresponsible historical scrib- 
 blers. 
 
 Pico made strenuous efforts to raise men and 
 means to resist the threatened invasion. He had 
 mortgaged the government house to de Cells 
 for $2,000, the mortgage to be paid "as soon as 
 order shall be established in the department." 
 This loan was really negotiated to fit out the 
 expedition against Castro, but a part of it was 
 expended after his return to Los Angeles in 
 procuring supplies while preparing to meet the 
 American army. The government had but little 
 credit. The moneyed men of the pueblo w'ere 
 averse to putting money into what was almost 
 sure to prove a lost cause. The bickerings and 
 jealousies between the factions neutralized to a 
 considerable degree the efforts of Pico and Cas- 
 tro to mobilize the army. 
 
 Castro established his camp on the mesa east 
 of the river. Here he and Andres Pico under- 
 took to drill the somewhat incongruous collec- 
 tion of hombres in military maneuvering. Their 
 entire force at no time exceeded three hundred 
 men. These were poorly armed and lacking in 
 discipline. 
 
 We left Stockton at Monterey preparing an 
 expedition against Castro at Los Angeles. On 
 taking command of the Pacific squadron, July 
 
 29, he issued a proclamation. It was as bom- 
 bastic as the pronunciamiento of a Mexican 
 governor. Bancroft says: "The paper was 
 made up of falsehood, of irrelevent issues and 
 bombastic ranting in about equal parts, the 
 tone being offensive and impolitic even in those 
 inconsiderable portions which were true and 
 legitimate." His only object in taking posses- 
 sion of the country was "to save from destruc- 
 tion the lives and property of the foreign resi- 
 dents and citizens of the territory who had in- 
 voked his protection." In view of Pico's humane 
 circular and the uniform kind treatment that the 
 Californians accorded the American residents, 
 there w'as very little need of Stockton's interfer- 
 ence on that score. Commodore Sloat did not 
 approve of Stockton's proclamation or of his 
 policy. 
 
 On the 6th of August. Stockton reached San 
 Pedro and landed three hundred and sixty 
 sailors and marines. These were drilled in mili- 
 tary movements on land and prepared for the 
 inarch to Los Angeles. 
 
 Castro sent two commissioners, Pablo de La 
 Guerra and Jose M. Flores, to Stockton, asking 
 for a conference and a cessation of hostilities 
 while negotiations were pending. They asked 
 that the United States forces remain at San 
 Pedro while the terms of the treaty were under 
 discussion. These requests Commodore Stock- 
 ton peremptorily refused, and the commissioners 
 returned to Los Angeles without stating the 
 terms on which they proposed to treat. 
 
 In several so-called histories, I find a very 
 dramatic account of this interview. On the ar- 
 rival of the commissioners they were marched 
 up to the mouth of an immense mortar, 
 shrouded in skins save its huge aperture. Their 
 terror and discomfiture were plainly discernible. 
 Stockton received them with a stern and forbid- 
 ding countenance, harshly demantling their mis- 
 sion, which they disclosed in great confusion. 
 They bore a letter from Castro proposing a 
 truce, each party to hold its own possessions 
 until a general pacification should be had. This 
 proposal Stockton rejected with contempt, and 
 dismissed the commissioners with the assurance 
 that only an immediate disbandment of his 
 forces and an unconditional surrender would 
 
124 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.'\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 shield Castro from the vengeance of an incensed 
 foe. The messengers remounted their horses 
 in dismay and fled back to Castro." The mortar 
 story, it is needless to say, is pure fabrication, 
 yet it runs through a number of so-called his- 
 tories of California. Castro, on the 9th of Au- 
 gust, held a council of war with his ofificers at 
 the Campo en La Mesa. He announced his in- 
 tention of leaving the country for the purpose of 
 reporting to the supreme government, and of 
 returning at some future day to punish the 
 usurpers. He wrote to Pico: "I can count only 
 one hundred men, badly armed, worse supplied 
 and discontented by reason of the miseries they 
 suffer; so that I have reason to fear that not 
 even these men will fight when the necessity 
 arises." And this is the force that some imag- 
 inative historians estimate at eight hundred to 
 one thousand men. 
 
 Pico and Castro left Los Angeles on the 
 night of August 10, for Mexico; Castro going 
 by the Colorado River route to Sonora, and 
 Pico, after being concealed for a time by his 
 brother-in-law, Juan Foster, at the Santa Mar- 
 garita and narrowly escaping capture by Fre- 
 mont's men, finally reached Lower California 
 and later on crossed the Gulf to Sonora. 
 
 Stockton began his march on Los Angeles 
 August II. He took with him a battery of four 
 guns. The guns were mounted on carretas, and 
 each gun drawn by four oxen. He had with 
 him a good brass band. 
 
 Major Fremont, who had been sent to San 
 Diego with his battalion of one hundred and 
 seventy men, had, after considerable skirmish- 
 ing among the ranchos, secured enough horses 
 to move, and on the 8th of August had begun 
 his march to join Stockton. He took with him 
 one hundred and twenty men, leaving about 
 fifty to garrison San Diego. 
 
 Stockton consumed three days on the march. 
 Fremont's troops joined him just south of the 
 city, and at 4 p. m. of the 13th the combined 
 force, numbering nearly five hundred men, en- 
 tered the town without opposition, "our entry," 
 says Major Fremont, "having more the effect 
 of a parade of home guards than of an enemy 
 taking possession of a conquered town." Stock- 
 ton reported finding at Castro's abandoned camp 
 
 ten pieces of artillery, four of them spiked. Fre- 
 mont says he (Castro) "had buried part of his 
 guns." Castro's troops that he had brought 
 down with him took their departure for their 
 northern homes soon after their general left, 
 breaking up into small squads as they advanced. 
 The southern troops that Pico had recruited dis- 
 persed to their homes before the arrival of the 
 Americans. Squads of Fremont's battalion were 
 sent out to scour the country and bring in any of 
 the Californian officers or leading men whom 
 they could find. These, when found, were 
 paroled. 
 
 Another of those historical myths, like the 
 mortar story previously mentioned, which is 
 palmed off on credulous readers as genuine his- 
 tory, runs as follows : "Stockton, while en route 
 from San Pedro to Los Angeles, was informed 
 by a courier from Castro "that if he marched 
 upon the town he would find it the grave of him- 
 self and men.' "Then," answered the commodore, 
 'tell the general to have the bells ready to toll 
 at eight o'clock, as I shall be there by that 
 time.' " As Castro left Los Angeles the day 
 before Stockton began his march from San 
 Pedro, and when the commodore entered the 
 city the Mexican general was probably two 
 hundred miles away, the bell tolling myth goes 
 to join its kindred myths in the category of his- 
 tory as it should not be written. 
 
 On the 17th of August, Stockton issued a sec- 
 ond proclamation, in which he signs himself 
 commander-in-chief and governor of the terri- 
 tory of California. It was milder in tone and 
 more dignified than the first. He informed the 
 people that their country now belonged to the 
 United .States. For the present it would be 
 governed by martial law. They were invited 
 to elect their local officers if those now in office 
 refused to serve. 
 
 Four days after the capture of Los Angeles, 
 The Warren, Captain Hull, commander, an- 
 chored at San Pedro. She brought official no- 
 tice of the declaration of war between the 
 United States and Mexico. Then for the first 
 time Stockton learned that there had been an 
 official declaration of war between the two 
 countries. United States officers had waged 
 war and had taken possession of California upon 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 125 
 
 the strength of a rumor that hostilities existed 
 between the countries. 
 
 The conquest, if conquest it can be called, was 
 accomplished without the loss of a life, if we 
 except the two Americans, Fowler and Cowie, 
 of the Bear Flag party, who were brutally mur- 
 dered by a band of Californians under Padillo, 
 and the equally brutal shooting of Beryessa and 
 the two de Haro boys by the Americans at San 
 Rafael. These three men were shot as spies, 
 but there was no proof that they were such, and 
 they were not tried. These murders occurred 
 before Commodore Sloat raised the stars and 
 stripes at Monterey. 
 
 On the 15th of August, 1846, just thirty-seven 
 days after the raising of the stars and stripes 
 at ^lonterey, the first newspaper ever published 
 in California made its appearance. It was pub- 
 lished at Monterey by Semple and Colton and 
 named The Californian. Rev. Walter Colton 
 was a chaplain in the LTnited States navy and 
 came to California on the Congress with Com- 
 modore Stockton. He was made alcalde of 
 Monterey and built, by the labor of the chain 
 
 gang and from contributions and fines, the 
 first schoolhouse in California, named foi him 
 Colton Hall. Colton thus describes the other 
 member of the firm, Dr. Robert Semple: "My 
 partner is an emigrant from Kentucky, who 
 stands six feet eight in his stockings. He is in 
 a buckskin dress, a foxskin cap; is true with his 
 rifle, ready with his pen and quick at the type 
 case." Semple came to California in 1845, with 
 the Hastings party, and was one of the leaders 
 in the Bear Flag revolution. The type and 
 press used were brought to California by Au- 
 gustin \\ Zamorano in 1834, and by him sold 
 to the territorial government, and had been 
 used for printing bandos and pronunciamentos. 
 The only paper the publishers of The Californian 
 could procure was that used in the manufacture 
 of cigarettes, wliich came in sheets a little 
 larger than foolscap. The font of type was 
 short of w's, so two v's were substituted for 
 that letter, and wiien these ran out two u's were 
 used. The paper was moved to San Francisco 
 in 1848 and later on consolidated with the Cali- 
 fornia Star. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 REVOLT OF THE CALIFORNIANS. 
 
 HOSTILITIES had ceased in all parts of 
 the territory. The leaders of the Cali- 
 fornians had escaped to Mexico, and 
 Stockton, regarding the conquest as completed, 
 set about organizing a government for the con- 
 quered territory. Fremont was to be appointed 
 military governor. Detachments from his bat- 
 talion were to be detailed to garrison different 
 towns, while Stockton, with what recruits he 
 could gather in California, and his sailors and 
 marines, was to undertake a naval expedition 
 against the west coast of Mexico, land his forces 
 at Mazatlan or Acapuico and march overland 
 to "shake hands with General Taylor at the 
 gates of Mexico." Captain Gillespie was made 
 military commandant of the southern depart- 
 ment, with headquarters at Los Angeles, and as- 
 signed a garrison of fifty men. Commodore 
 Stockton left Los Angeles for the north Sep- 
 
 tember 2. Fremont, with the remainder of his 
 battalion, took up his line of march for Monte- 
 rey a few days later. Gillespie's orders were to 
 place the city under martial law, but not to en- 
 force the more burdensome restrictions upon 
 quiet and well-disposed citizens. A conciliatory 
 policy in accordance with instructions of the 
 secretary of the navy was to be adopted and the 
 people were to be encouraged to "neutralit}-. 
 self-government and friendship." 
 
 Nearly all historians who have written upon 
 this subject lay the blame for the subsequent 
 uprising of the Californians and their revolt 
 against the rule of the military commandant, 
 Gillespie, to his petty tyrannies. Col. J. J. 
 Warner, in his Historical Sketch of Los An- 
 geles County, says: "Gillespie attempted by a 
 coercive system to effect a moral and social 
 change in the habits, diversions and pastimes of 
 
126 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the people and to reduce them to his standard 
 of propriety." Warner was not an impartial 
 judge. He had a grievance against Gillespie 
 which embittered him against the captain. Gil- 
 lespie may have been lacking in tact, and his 
 schooling in the navy under the tyrannical 
 regime of the quarterdeck of fifty years ago 
 was not the best training to fit him for govern- 
 ment, but it is hardly probable that in two 
 weeks' time he undertook to enforce a "coercive 
 system" looking toward an entire change in the 
 moral and social habits of the people. Los An- 
 geles under Mexican domination was a hotbed 
 of revolutions. It had a turbulent and restless 
 element among its inhabitants that was never 
 happier than when fomenting strife and con- 
 spiring to overthrow those in power. Of this 
 class Colton, writing in 1846, says: "They drift 
 about like Arabs. If the tide of fortune turns 
 against them they disband and scatter to the 
 four winds. They never become martyrs to any 
 cause. They are too numerous to be brought 
 to punishment by any of their governors, and 
 thus escape justice." There was a conservative 
 class in the territory, made up principally of 
 the large landed proprietors, both native and 
 foreign-born, but these exerted small influence 
 in controlling the turbulent. While Los An- 
 geles had a monopoly of this turbulent and rev- 
 olutionary element, other settlements in the 
 territory furnished their full quota of that class 
 of political knight errants whose chief pastime 
 was revolution, and whose capital consisted of 
 a gaily caparisoned steed, a riata, a lance, a 
 dagger and possibly a pair of horse pistols. 
 These were the fellows whose "habits, diver- 
 sions and pastimes" Gillespie undertook to re- 
 duce "to his standard of propriety." 
 
 That Commodore Stockton should have left 
 Gillespie so small a garrison to hold the city 
 and surrounding country in subjection shows 
 that either he was ignorant of the character of 
 the people, or that he placed too great reliance 
 in the completeness of their subjection. With 
 Castro's men in the city or dispersed among the 
 neighboring ranches, many of them still retain- 
 ing their arms, and all of them ready to rally 
 at a moment's notice to the call of their leaders; 
 w ith no reinforcements nearer than five hundred 
 
 miles to come to the aid of Gillespie in case of 
 an uprising, it was foolhardiness in Stockton to 
 entrust the holding of the most important place 
 in California to a mere handful of men, half 
 disciplined and poorly equipped, without forti- 
 fications for defense or supplies to hold out in 
 case of a siege. 
 
 Scarcely had Stockton and Fremont, with 
 their men, left the city before trouble began. 
 The turbulent element of the city fomented 
 strife and seized every occasion to annoy and 
 liarass the military commandant and his men. 
 While his "petty tyrannies," so called, which 
 were probably nothing more than the enforce- 
 ment of martial law, may have been somewhat 
 provocative, the real cause was more deep 
 seated. The Californians, without provocation 
 on their part and without really knowing the 
 cause why, found their country invaded, their 
 property taken from them and their government 
 in the hands of an alien race, foreign to them 
 in customs and religion. They would have been 
 a tame and spiritless people indeed, had they 
 neglected the opportunity that Stockton's blun- 
 dering gave them to regain their liberties. They 
 did not waste much time. Within two weeks 
 from the time Stockton sailed from San Pedro 
 hostilities had begun and the city was in a state 
 of siege. 
 
 Gillespie, writing in the Sacramento States- 
 man in 1858, thus describes the first attack: 
 "On the 22d of September, at three o'clock in 
 the morning, a party of sixty-five Californians 
 and Sonorenos made an attack upon my small 
 command quartered in the government house. 
 We were not wholly surprised, and with twenty- 
 one rifles we beat them back without loss to our- 
 selves, killing and wounding three of their num- 
 ber. When daylight came, Lieutenant Hensley, 
 with a few men, took several prisoners and 
 drove the Californians from the town. This 
 party was merely the nucleus of a revolution 
 commenced and known to Colonel Fremont be- 
 fore he left Los Angeles. In twenty-four hours, 
 six hundred well-mounted horsemen, armed 
 with escopetas (shotguns), lances and one fine 
 brass piece of light artillery, surrounded Los 
 Angeles and summoned me to surrender. There 
 were three old honey-combed iron guns (spiked) 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 127 
 
 ill the corral of my quarters, which we at once 
 cleared and mounted upon the axles of carts." 
 
 Serbulo Varela, a young man of some ability, 
 but of a turbulent and reckless character, had 
 been the leader at first, but as the uprising as- 
 sumed the character of a revolution, Castro's old 
 officers came to the front. Capt. Jose Maria 
 Flores was chosen comandante-general; Jose 
 Antonio Carrillo, major-general; and Andres 
 Pico, comandante de escuadron. The main 
 camp of the insurgents was located on the mesa, 
 east of the river, at a place called Paredon 
 Blanco (White Bluff). 
 
 On the 24th of September, from the camp 
 at White Bluff, was issued the famous Pronun- 
 ciamiento de Barelas y otros Californias contra 
 Los Americanos (The Proclamation of Barelas 
 and other Californians against the Americans). 
 1 1 was signed by Serbulo ^'arela (spelled Bare- 
 las), Leonardo Cota and over three hundred 
 others. Although this proclamation is gener- 
 ally credited to Flores, there is no evidence to 
 show that he had anything to do with framing 
 it. He promulgated it over his signature Octo- 
 ber I. It is probable that it was written by 
 Varela and Cota. It has been the custom of 
 American writers to sneer at this production as 
 florid and bombastic. In fiery invective and 
 fierce denunciation it is the equal of Patrick 
 Henry's famous "Give me liberty or give me 
 death!" Its recital of wrongs is brief, but to 
 the point. "And shall we be capable of permit- 
 ting ourselves to be subjugated and to accept in 
 silence the heavy chains of slavery? Shall we 
 lose the soil inherited from our fathers, which 
 cost them so much blood? Shall we leav^ our 
 families victims of the most barbarous servi- 
 tude? Shall we wait to see our wives outraged, 
 our innocent children beaten by American 
 whips, our property sacked, our temples pro- 
 faned, to drag out a life full of shame and dis- 
 grace? No! a thousand times no! Compatriots, 
 death rather than that! Who of you does not 
 feel his heart beat and his blood boil on con- 
 templating our situation? Who will be the 
 Mexican that will not be indignant and rise in 
 arms to destroy our oppressors? We believe 
 there will be not one so vile and cowardly!" 
 
 Gillespie had left the government house (lo- 
 
 cated on what is now the site of the St. Charles 
 Hotel) and taken a position on Fort Hill, where 
 he had erected a temporary barricade of sacks 
 filled with earth and had mounted his cannon 
 there. The Americans had been summoned to 
 surrender, but had refused. They were besieged 
 by the Californians. There was but little firing 
 between the combatants, an occasional sortie 
 and a volley of rifle balls by the Americans 
 when the Californians approached too near. 
 The Californians were well mounted, but poorly 
 armed, their weapons being principally muskets, 
 shotguns, pistols, lances and riatas; while the 
 Americans were armed with long-range rifles, 
 of which the Californians had a wholesome 
 dread. The fear of these arms and his cannon 
 doubtless saved Gillespie and his men from 
 capture. 
 
 On the 24th Gillespie dispatched a messenger 
 to find Stockton at Monterey, or at San Fran- 
 cisco if he had left Monterey, and apprise him 
 of the perilous situation of the Americans at 
 Los Angeles. Gillespie's dispatch bearer, John 
 Brown, better known by his California nick- 
 name, Juan Flaco or Lean John, made one of 
 the most wonderful rides in history. Gillespie 
 furnished Juan Flaco with a package of cigar- 
 etees, the paper of each bearing the inscription, 
 "Believe the bearer;" these were stampd with 
 Gillespie's seal. Brown started from Los Angeles 
 at 8 p. m., September 24, and claimed to have 
 reached Yerba Buena at 8 p. ra. of the 28th, 
 a ride of six hundred and thirty miles in four 
 days. This is incorrect. Colton, who was al- 
 calde of Monterey at that time, notes Brown's 
 arrival at that place on the evening of the 29th. 
 Colton, in his "Three Years in California," says 
 that Brown rode the whole distance (Los An- 
 geles to Monterey) of four hundred and sixty 
 miles in fifty-two hours, during which time he 
 had not slept. His intelligence was for Com- 
 modore Stockton and, in the nature of the case, 
 was not committed to paper, except a few words 
 rolled in a cigar fastened in his hair. But the 
 commodore had sailed for San Francisco and 
 it was necessary he should go one hundred and 
 forty miles further. He was quite exhausted 
 and was allowed to sleep three hours. Before 
 day he was up and away on his journey. Gil- 
 
128 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lespie, in a letter published in the Los Angeles 
 Star, May 28, 1858, describing Juan Flaco's ride 
 says: "Before sunrise of the 29th he was lying 
 in the bushes at San Francisco, in front of the 
 congress frigate, waiting for the early market 
 boat to come on shore, and he delivered my 
 dispatches to Commodore Stockton before 7 
 o'clock." 
 
 In trying to steal through the picket line of 
 the Mexicans at Los Angeles, he was discovered 
 and pursued by a squad of them. A hot race 
 ensued. Finding the enemy gaining on him he 
 forced his horse to leap a wide ravine. A shot 
 from one of his pursuers mortally wounded his 
 horse, which, after running a short distance, fell 
 dead. Flaco, carrying his spurs and riata, made 
 his way on foot in the darkness to Las Virgines, 
 a distance of twenty-seven miles. Here he se- 
 cured another mount and again set off on his 
 perilous journey. The trail over which Flaco 
 held his way was not like "the road from Win- 
 chester town, a good, broad highway leading 
 down," but instead a Camino de heradura, bridle 
 path, now winding up through rocky canons, 
 skirting along the edge of precipitous cliffs, then 
 zigzagging down chaparral covered mountains; 
 now over the sands of the sea beach and again 
 across long stretches of brow'n mesa, winding 
 through narrow valleys and out onto the rolling 
 hills — a trail as nature made it, unchanged by 
 the hand of man. Such was the highway over 
 which Flaco's steeds "stretched away with ut- 
 most speed." Harassed and pursued by the 
 enemy, facing death night and day, with scarcely 
 a stop or a stay to eat or sleep, Juan Flaco rode 
 six hundred miles. 
 
 "Of all the rides since the birth of time. 
 Told in story or sung in rhyme. 
 The fleetest ride that ever was sped," 
 
 was Juan Flaco's ride from Los Angeles to San 
 Francisco. Longfellow has immortalized the 
 "Ride of Paul Revere," Robert Browning tells 
 in stirring verse of the riders who brought the 
 good news from Ghent to Aix, and Buchanan 
 Read thrills us with the heroic measures of Sher- 
 idan's Ride. No poet has sung of Juan Flaco's 
 wonderful ride, fleeter, longer and more perilous 
 than anv of these. Flaco rode si.x hundred miles 
 
 through the enemy's country, to bring aid to a 
 besieged garrison, while Revere and J orris and 
 Sheridan were in the country of friends or pro- 
 tected by an army from enemies. 
 
 Gillespie's situation was growing more and 
 more desperate each day. B. D. Wilson, who 
 with a company of riflemen had been on an 
 expedition against the Indians, had been ordered 
 by Gillespie to join him. They reached the 
 Chino ranch, where a fight took place between 
 them and the Californians. Wilson's men being 
 out of ammunition were compelled to sur- 
 render. In the charge upon the adobe, where 
 Wilson and his men had taken refuge, Carlos 
 Eallestaros had been killed and several Cali- 
 fornians w'ounded. This and Gillespie's stubborn 
 resistance hadembittered the Californians against 
 him and his men. The Chino prisoners had been 
 saved from massacre after their surrender by 
 the firmness and bravery of Varela. If Gillespie 
 continued to hold the town his obstinacy might 
 bring down the vengeance of the Californians 
 not only upon him and his men, but upon many 
 of the American residents of the south, who had 
 favored their countrymen. 
 
 Finally Flores issued his ultimatum to the 
 Americans, surrender within twenty-four hours 
 or take the consequences of an onslaught by 
 the Californians, which might result in the mas- 
 sacre of the entire garrison. In the meantime 
 he kept his cavalry deployed on the hills, com- 
 pletely investing the Americans. Despairing of 
 assistance from Stockton, on the advice of Wil- 
 son, who had been permitted by Flores to inter- 
 cede with Gillespie, articles of capitulation were 
 drawn up and signed by Gillespie and the leaders 
 of the Californians. On the 30th of September 
 the Americans marched out of the city with all 
 the honors of war, drums beating, colors flying 
 and two pieces of artillery mounted on carts 
 drawn by oxen. They arrived at San Pedro 
 without molestation and four or five days later 
 embarked on the merchant ship Vandalia, which 
 remained at anchor in the bay. Gillespie in 
 his march was accompanied by a few of the 
 American residents and probably a dozen of the 
 Chino prisoners, who had been exchanged for 
 the same number of Californians, whom he 
 liad held under arrest most likely as hostages. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 12<) 
 
 Gillespie took two cannon with him when he 
 evacuated the city, leaving two spiked and broken 
 on Fort Hill. There seems to have been a pro- 
 viso in the articles of capitulation requiring him 
 
 to deliver the guns to Flores on reaching tlie 
 embarcadero. If there was such a stipulation Gil- 
 lespie violated it. He spiked the guns, broke off 
 the trunnions and rolled one of them into the bay. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE DEFEAT AND RETREAT OF MERVINE'S MEN. 
 
 THE revolt of the Californians at Los An- 
 geles was followed by similar uprisings 
 in the different centers of population 
 where American garrisons were stationed. Upon 
 the receipt of Gillespie's message Commodore 
 Stockton ordered Captain Mervine to proceed 
 at once to San Pedro to regain, if possible, the 
 lost territory. Juan Placo had delivered his 
 message to Stockton on September 30. Early 
 on the morning of October 1st, Captain Mer- 
 vine got under way for San Pedro. '"He went 
 ashore at Sausalito," says Gillespie, "on some 
 trivial e.xcuse, and a dense fog coming on he 
 was compelled to remain there until the 4th." 
 
 Of the notable events occurring during the 
 conquest of California there are few others of 
 which there are so contradictory accounts as 
 that known as the battle of Dominguez Ranch, 
 where Mervine was defeated and compelled to re- 
 treat to San Pedro. Historians dififer widely 
 in the number engaged and in the number killed. 
 The follow^ing account of iMervine's expedition 
 I take from a log book kept by Midshipman and 
 Acting-Lieut. Robert C. Duvall of the Savannah. 
 He commanded a company during the battle. 
 This book was donated to the Historical So- 
 ciety of Southern California by Dr. J. E. Cowles 
 of Los Angeles, a nephew of Lieutenant Duvall. 
 The account given by Lieutenant Duvall is one 
 of the fullest and most accurate in existence. 
 
 "At 9.30 a. m." (October i, 1846), says Lieu- 
 tenant Duvall, "we commenced working out of 
 the harbor of San Francisco on the ebb tide. 
 The ship anchored at Sausalito. where, on ac- 
 count of a dense fog, it remained until the 4th, 
 when it put to sea. On the 7th the ship entered 
 the harbor of San Pedro. At 6:30 p. m., as we 
 
 were standing in for anchorage, we made out 
 the American merchant ship ^'andalia, having 
 on her decks a body of men. On passing she 
 saluted with two guns, which was repeated with 
 three cheers, which we returned. * * * * 
 Brevet Capt. Archibald Gillespie came on board 
 and reported that he had evacuated the Pueblo 
 de Los Angeles on account of the overpowering 
 force of the enemy and had retired with his 
 men on board the \'andalia after having spiked 
 his guns, one of which he threw into the water. 
 He also reported that the whole of California 
 below the pueblo had risen in arms against our 
 authorities, headed by Flores, a Mexican cap- 
 tain on furlough in this country, who had but 
 a few days ago given his parole of honor not 
 to take up arms against the United States. We 
 made preparations to land a force to march to 
 the pueblo at daylight. 
 
 "October 8, at 6 a. m., all the boats left the 
 ship for the purpose of landing the forces, num- 
 bering in all two hundred and ninety-nine men, 
 including the volunteers under command of Cap- 
 tain Gillespie. At 6:30 all were landed without 
 opposition, the enemy in small detachments re- 
 treating toward the pueblo. From their move- 
 ments we apprehended that their w^hole force 
 was near. Captain Mervine sent on board ship 
 for a reinforcement of eighty men, under com- 
 mand of Lieut. R. B. Hitchcock. At 8 a. m. 
 the several companies, all under command of 
 Capt William Mervine, took up the line of 
 march for the purpose of retaking the pueblo. 
 The enemy retreated as our forces advanced. 
 (On landing, William A. Smith, first cabin boy, 
 was killed by the accidental discharge of a Colt's 
 pistol.) The reinforcements under the com- 
 
130 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mand of Lieut. R. B. Hitchcock returned on 
 board ship. For the first four miles our march 
 was through hills and ravines, which the enemy 
 might have taken advantage of, but preferred to 
 occupy as spectators only, until our approach. 
 A few shots from our flankers (who were the 
 volunteer riflemen) would start them ofT; they 
 returned the compliment before going. The 
 remainder of our march was performed over a 
 continuous plain overgrown with wild mustard, 
 rising in places to si.x or eight feet in height. 
 The ground was excessively dry, the clouds of 
 dust were suffocating and there was not a breath 
 of wind in motion. There was no water on our 
 line of march for ten or twelve miles and we 
 suffered greatly from thirst. 
 
 "At 2:30 p. m. we reached our camping 
 ground. The enemy appeared in considerable 
 numbers. Their numbers continued to increase 
 until sundown, when they formed on a hill near 
 us, gradually inclining towards our camp. They 
 were admirably formed for a cavalry charge. 
 We drew up our forces to meet them, but find- 
 ing they were disposed to remain stationary, 
 the marines, under command of Captain Mars- 
 ton, the Colt's riflemen, under command of 
 Lieut. I. B. Carter and myself, and the volun- 
 teers, under command of Capt. A. Gillespie, were 
 ordered to charge on them, which we did. They 
 stood their ground until our shots commenced 
 'telling' on them, when they took to flight in 
 every direction. They continued to annoy us by 
 firing into our camp through the night. About 2 
 a. m. they brought a piece of artillery and fired 
 into our camp, the shot striking the ground 
 near us. The marines, riflemen and volunteers 
 were sent in pursuit of the gun, but could see 
 or hear nothing of it. 
 
 "We left our camp the next morning at 6 
 o'clock. Our plan of march was in column by 
 platoon. We had not proceeded far before the 
 enemy appeared before us drawn up on each 
 side of the road, mounted on fine horses, each 
 man armed with a lance and carbine. They also 
 had a field piece (a four-pounder), to which were 
 hitched eight or ten horses, placed on the road 
 ahead of us. 
 
 "Captain Mervine, thinking it was the enemy's 
 intention to throw us into confusion by using 
 
 their gun on us loaded with round shot and 
 copper grape shot and then charge us with their 
 cavalry, ordered us to form a square — which was 
 the order of march throughout the battle. When 
 within about four hundred yards of them the 
 enemy opened on us with their artillery. We 
 made frequent charges, driving them before us, 
 and at one time causing them to leave some of 
 their cannon balls and cartridges; but owing to 
 the rapidity with which they could carry ofif 
 the gun, using their lassos on every part, en- 
 abled them to choose their own distance, en- 
 tirely out of all range of our muskets. Their 
 horsemen kept out of danger, apparently con- 
 tent to let the gun do the fighting. They kept 
 up a constant fire with their carbines, but these 
 did no harm. The enemy numbered between 
 one hundred and seventy-five and two hundred 
 strong. 
 
 "Finding it impossible to capture the gun, the 
 retreat was sounded. The captain consulted 
 with his officers on the best steps to be taken. 
 It was decided unanimously to return on board 
 ship. To continue the march would sacrifice 
 a number of lives to no purpose, for, admitting 
 we could have reached the pueblo, all com- 
 munications would be cut off with the ship, and 
 we would further be constantly annoyed by their 
 artillery without the least chance of capturing 
 it. It was reported that the enemy were be- 
 tween five and six hundred strong at the city 
 and it was thought he had more artillery. On 
 retreating they got the gun planted on a hill 
 ahead of us. 
 
 "The captain made us an address, saying to 
 the troops that it was his intention to march 
 straight ahead in the same orderly manner in 
 which we had advanced, and that sooner tlian 
 he would surrender to such an enemy, he would 
 sacrifice himself and every other man in his 
 command. The enemy fired into us four times 
 on the retreat, the fourth shot falling short, the 
 report of the gun indicating a small quantity of 
 powder, after^which they remained stationary 
 and manifested no further disposition to molest 
 us. We proceeded quietly on our march to the 
 landing, where we found a body of men under 
 command of Lieutenant Hitchcock with two 
 nine-pounder cannon gotten from the Vandalia 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 131 
 
 to render us assistance in case wc should need it. 
 
 "We presented truly a pitiable condition, 
 many being barely able to drag one foot after 
 the other from excessive fatigue, having gone 
 through the exertions and excitement in battle 
 and afterwards performing a march of eighteen 
 or twenty miles without rest. This is the first 
 battle I have ever been engaged in, and, having 
 taken particular notice of those around me, I 
 can assert that no men could have acted more 
 bravely. Even when their shipmates were fall- 
 ing by their sides, I saw but one impulse and 
 that was to push forward, and when retreat was 
 ordered I noticed a general reluctance to turn 
 their backs to the enemy. 
 
 "The following is a list of the killed and 
 wounded; Michael Hoey, ordinary seaman, 
 killed; David Johnson, ordinary seaman, killed; 
 William H. Berry, ordinary seaman, mortally 
 wounded; Charles Sommers, musician, mortally 
 wounded; John Tyre, seaman, severely 
 wounded; John Anderson, seaman, severely 
 wounded; recovery doubtful. The following- 
 named were slightly wounded: William Con- 
 land, marine; Hiram Rockvill, marine; H. Lin- 
 land, marine; James Smith, marine. 
 
 "On the following morning we buried the 
 bodies of William .\. Smith, Charles Sommers, 
 David Johnson and Michael Hoey on an island 
 in the harbor. 
 
 "At II a. m. the captain called a council of 
 commissioned officers regarding the proper 
 course to adopt in the present crisis, which de- 
 cided that no force should be landed, and that 
 the ship remain here until further orders from 
 the commodore, who is daily expected." 
 
 Entry in the log for Sunday, nth: "William 
 H. Berry, ordinary seaman, departed this life 
 from the effect of wounds received in battle. 
 Sent his body for interment to Dead Man's 
 Island, so named by us. IMustered the com- 
 mand at quarters, after which performed divine 
 service." 
 
 From this account it will be seen that the 
 number killed and died of wounds received in 
 battle was four; number wounded six, and one 
 accidentally killed before the battle. On October 
 22d, Henry Lewis died and was buried on the 
 island. Lewis' name does not appear in the list 
 
 of wounded. It is presumable that he died of 
 disease. Six of the crew of the Savannah were 
 buried on Dead Man's Island, four of whom 
 were killed in battle. Lieutenant IJ)uvall gives 
 the following list of the officers in the "Expedi- 
 tion on the march to retake Pueblo de Los An- 
 geles:" Capt. William Mervine, conunanding; 
 Capt. Ward Marston, commanding marines; 
 Brevet Capt. A. H. Gillespie, commanding vol- 
 unteers; Lieut. Henry W. Queen, adjutant; 
 Lieut. B. F. Pinckney, commanding first com- 
 pany; Lieut. W. Rinckindoff, commanding sec- 
 ond company; Lieut. I. B. Carter, Colt's rifle- 
 men; Midshipman R. D. Minor, acting lieuten- 
 ant second company; Midshipman S. P. Griffin, 
 acting lieutenant first company; Midshipman P. 
 G. Walmough, acting lieutenant second com- 
 pany; Midshipman R. C. Duvall, acting lieuten- 
 ant Colt's riflemen; Captain Clark and Captain 
 Goodsall, conunanding pikcmen; Lieutenant 
 H/ensley, first lieutenant volunteers; Lieutenant 
 Russeau, second lieutenant volunteers. 
 
 The piece of artillery that did such deadly 
 execution on the Americans was the famous Old 
 Woman's gun. It was a bronze four-pounder, or 
 pedrero (swivel-gun) that for a number of years 
 had stood on the plaza in front of the church, 
 and was used for firing salutes on feast days and 
 other occasions. When on the approach of 
 Stockton's and Fremont's forces Castro aban- 
 doned his artillery and fled, an old lady. Dona 
 Clara Cota de Reyes, declared that the gringos 
 should not have the church's gun; so, with the 
 assistance of her daughters, she buried it in a 
 cane patch near her residence, which stood on 
 the east side of Alameda street, near First. 
 When the Californians revolted against Gil- 
 lespie's rule the gun was unearthed and used 
 against him. The Historical Society of South- 
 ern California has in its possession a brass 
 grapeshot, one of a charge that was fired into 
 the face of Fort Hill at Gillespie's men when 
 they were posted on the hill. This gun was in 
 the exhibit of trophies at the New Orleans Ex- 
 position in 1885. The label on it read: "Trophy 
 53, No. 63, Class 7. Used by Mexico against 
 the United States at the battle of Dominguez" 
 Ranch, October 9, 1846; at San Gabriel and the 
 Mesa, January 8 and 9, 1847; used by the United 
 
132 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 States forces against Mexico at Mazatlan, No- 
 vember II, 1847; Urios (crew all killed or 
 wounded), Palos Prietos, December 13, 1847, 
 and Lower California, at San Jose, February 15, 
 1848." 
 
 Before the battle the old gun had been 
 mounted on forward axle of a Jersey wagon, 
 which a man by the name of Hunt had brought 
 across the plains the year before. It was lashed 
 to the axle by means of rawhide thongs, and 
 was drawn by riatas, as described by Lieutenant 
 Duvall. The range was obtained by raising or 
 lowering the pole of the wagon. Ignacio Aguilar 
 acted as gunner, and having neither lanyard or 
 pent-stock to fire it, he touched of? the gun with 
 the lighted end of a cigarette. Never before or 
 since, perhaps, was a battle won with such crude 
 artillery. Jose Antonio Carrillo was in com- 
 mand of the Californians. During the skirmish- 
 ing of the first day he had between eighty and 
 ninety men. During the night of the 8th Flores 
 joined him with a force of sixty men. Next 
 morning Flores returned to Los Angeles, taking 
 with him twenty men. Carrillo's force in the 
 battle numbered about one hundred and twenty 
 men. Had Mervine known that the Californians 
 had fired their last shot (their powder being ex- 
 hausted) he could have pushed on and captured 
 the pueblo. 
 
 The expulsion of Gillespie's garrison from 
 Los Angeles and the defeat of Mervine's force 
 raised the spirits of the Californians, and there 
 was great rejoicing at the pueblo. Detachments 
 of Flores' army were kept at Sepulveda's rancho, 
 the Palos Verdes, and at Temple's rancho of the 
 Cerritos, to watch the Savannah and report any 
 attempt at landing. The leaders of the revolt 
 were not so sanguine of success as the rank and 
 file. They were without means to procure arms 
 and supplies. There was a scarcity of ammuni- 
 tion, too. An inferior article of gunpowder was 
 manufactured in limited quantities at San 
 Gabriel. The only uniformity in weapons was 
 in lances. These were rough, home-made af- 
 fairs, the blade beaten out of a rasp or file, and 
 the shaft a willow pole about eight feet long. 
 These weapons were formidable in a charge 
 against infantry, but easily parried by a swords- 
 man in a cavalry charge. 
 
 After the defeat of Mervine, Flores set about 
 reorganizing the territorial government. He 
 called together the departmental assembly. It 
 met at the capital (Los Angeles) October 26th. 
 The members present, Figueroa, Botello, Guerra 
 and Olvera, were all from the south. The as- 
 sembly decided to fill the place of governor, 
 vacated by Pico, and that of comandante-gen- 
 eral, left vacant by the flight of Castro. 
 
 Jose Maria Flores, who was now recognized 
 as the leader of the revolt against American rule, 
 was chosen to fill both offices, and the two of- 
 fices, as had formerly been the custom, were 
 united in one person. He chose Narciso Bo- 
 tello for his secretary. Flores, who was Mex- 
 ican born, was an intelligent and patriotic officer. 
 He used every means in his power to prepare 
 his forces for the coming conflict with the 
 Americans, but with little success. The old 
 jealousy of the hijos del pais against the Mex- 
 ican would crop out, and it neutralized his 
 efforts. There were bickerings and complaints 
 in the ranks and among the officers. The na- 
 tives claimed that a Californian ought to be 
 chief in command. 
 
 The feeling of jealousy against Flores at 
 length culminated in open revolt. Flores had 
 decided to send the prisoners taken at the Chino 
 fight to Mexico. His object was twofold — first, 
 to enhance his own glory v\'ith the Mexican 
 government, and, secondly, by showing what 
 the Californians had already accomplished to 
 obtain aid in the coming conflict. As most of 
 these men w-ere married to California wives, 
 and by marriage related to many of the leading 
 California families of the south, there was at 
 once a family uproar and fierce denunciations 
 of Flores. But as the Chino prisoners were 
 foreigners, and had been taken while fighting 
 against the Mexican government, it was neces- 
 sary to disguise the hostility to Flores under 
 some other pretext. He was charged with the 
 design of running away to Sonora with the pub- 
 lic funds. On the night of December 3, Francisco 
 Rico, at the head of a party of Californians, took 
 possession of the cuartel, or guard house, and 
 arrested Flores. A special session of the as- 
 sembly was called to investigate the charges. 
 
 Flores expressed his willingness to give up 
 
HISTORICAL AXn PJOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 13:5 
 
 his purpose of sending the Chino prisoners to 
 Mexico, and the assembly found no foundation 
 to the charge of his design of running away 
 with the pubHc funds, nor did they find any 
 funds to run away with. Flores was liberated, 
 and Rico imprisoned in turn. 
 
 Flores was really the last Mexican governor 
 of California. Like Pico, he was elected by the 
 territorial legislature, but he was not confirmed 
 by the Mexican congress. Generals Scott and 
 Taylor were kccjiing President Santa Anna and 
 
 his congress on the move so rapidly they had no 
 time to spare for California affairs. 
 
 Flores was governor from October 26, 1846, 
 to January 8, 1847. 
 
 With a threatened invasion by the Americans 
 and a divided people within, it was hard times 
 in the old pueblo. The town had to supply 
 tile army with provisions. The few who pos- 
 sessed money hid it away and all business was 
 suspended except preparations to meet llu- 
 invaders. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE FINAL CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 COMMODORE STOCKTON, convinced 
 that the revolt of the Californians was 
 a serious affair, ordered Fremont's bat- 
 talion, which had been recruited to one hun- 
 dred and sixty men, to proceed to the south to 
 co-operate with him in quelling the rebellion. 
 The battalion sailed on the Sterling, but shortly 
 after putting to sea, meeting the \'andalia, Fre- 
 mont learned of Mervine's defeat and also that 
 no horses could be procured in the lower coun- 
 try; the vessel was put about and the battalion 
 landed at Monterey, October 28. It was decided 
 to recruit the battalion to a regiment and 
 mounting it to march down the coast. Recruit- 
 ing was actively begun among the newly ar- 
 rived immigrants. Horses and saddles were 
 procured by giving receipts on the government, 
 payable after the close of the war or by confisca- 
 tion if it brought returns quicker than receipts. 
 
 The report of the revolt in the south quickly 
 spread among the Californians in the north and 
 they made haste to resist their spoilers. Manuel 
 Castro was made comandante of the military 
 forces of the north, headquarters at San Luis 
 Obispo. Castro collected a force of about one 
 hundred men, well mounted but poorly armed. 
 His purpose was to carry on a sort of guerrilla 
 warfare, capturing men and horses from the 
 enemy whenever an opportunity offered. 
 
 Fremont, now raised to the rank of lieuten- 
 ant colonel in the regular army with head- 
 
 quarters at Monterey, was rapidly mobilizing his 
 motley collection of recruits into a formidable 
 force. Officers and men were scouring the 
 country for recruits, horses, accouterments and 
 supplies. Two of these recruiting squads en- 
 countered the enemy in considerable force and 
 an engagement known as the battle of Xatividad 
 ensued. Capt. Charles Ilurroughs with thirty- 
 four men and two hundred horses, recruited at 
 Sacramento, arrived at San Juan Bautista, No- 
 vember 15, on his way to .Monterey on the same 
 (lay Captain Thompson, with about the same 
 number of men recruited at San Jose, reached 
 San Juan. The Californians, with the design of 
 capturing the horses, made a night march from 
 their camp on the Salinas. At Gomez rancho 
 they took prisoner Thomas O. Larkin, the 
 American consul, who was on his way from 
 Monterey to San Francisco on official business. 
 On the morning of the i6th the Americans be- 
 gan their march for Monterey. At Gomez 
 rancho their advance learned of the presence of 
 the enemy and of the capture of Larkin. A 
 squad of six or eight scouts was sent out to find 
 the Californians. The scouts encountered a 
 detachment of Castro's force at Encinalitos 
 (Little Oaks) and a fight ensued. The main body 
 of the enemy came up and surrounded the grove 
 of oaks. The scouts, though greatly outnum- 
 bered, were well armed unth long range rifles and 
 held the enemy at bay. until Captains Burroughs 
 
134 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and Thompson brought up their companies. 
 Burroughs, who seems to have been the ranking 
 officer, hesitated to charge the CaHfornians, who 
 had the superior force, and besides he was fear- 
 ful of losing his horses and thus delaying Fre- 
 mont's movements. But, taunted with cowardice 
 and urged on by Thompson, a fire eater, who 
 was making loud protestations of his bravery, 
 Burroughs ordered a charge. The Americans, 
 badly mounted, were soon strung out in an ir- 
 regular line. The CaHfornians, who had made a 
 feint of retreating, turned and attacked with 
 vigor, Captain Burroughs and four or five others 
 were killed. The straggling line fell back on the 
 main body and the Californians, having ex- 
 pended their ammunition, retreated. The loss 
 in killed and wounded amounted to twelve or 
 fifteen on each side. 
 
 The only other engagement in the north was 
 the bloodless battle of Santa Clara. Fremont's 
 methods of procuring horses, cattle and other 
 supplies was to take them and give in payment 
 demands on the government, payable after the 
 close of the war. After his departure the same 
 method was continued by the officers of the 
 garrisons at San Francisco, San Jose and Mon- 
 terey. Indeed, it was their only method of pro- 
 curing supplies. The cjuartermasters were 
 without money and the government without 
 credit. On the 8th of December Lieutenant 
 Bartlett, also alcalde of Yerba Buena, with a 
 squad of five men started down the peninsula 
 toward San Jose to purchase supplies. Fran- 
 cisco Sanchez, a rancher, whose horse and cattle 
 corrals had been raided by former purchasers, 
 with a band of Californians waylaid and cap- 
 tured Bartlett and his men. Other California 
 rancheros who had lost their stock in similar 
 raids rallied to the support of Sanchez and soon 
 he found himself at the head of one hundred 
 men. The object of their organization was 
 rather to protect their property than to fight. The 
 news soon spread that the Californians had re- 
 volted and were preparing to massacre the 
 Americans. Captain Weber of San Jose had a 
 company of thirty-three men organized for de- 
 fense. There was also a company of twenty 
 men under command of Captain Aram stationed 
 at the ex-mission of Santa Clara. On the 29th 
 
 of December, Capt. Ward Marston with a de- 
 tachment of thirty-four men and a field piece in 
 charge of Master de Long and ten sailors was 
 sent to Santa Clara. The entire force collected 
 at the seat of war numbered one hundred and 
 one men. On January 2 the American force 
 encountered the Californians, one hundred 
 strong, on the plains of Santa Clara. Firing at 
 long range began and continued for an hour or 
 more. Sanchez sent in a flag of truce asking an 
 armistice preparatory to the settlement of diffi- 
 culties. Januarj' 3, Captain Aladdo.x arrived 
 from Monterey with fifty-nine mounted men, 
 and on the 7th Lieutenant Grayson came with 
 fifteen men. On the 8th a treaty of peace was 
 concluded, by which the enemy surrendered 
 Lieutenant Bartlett and all the other prisoners, 
 as well as their arms, including a small field 
 piece and were permitted to go to their homes. 
 Upon "reliable authority" four Californians were 
 reported killed, but their graves have never been 
 discovered nor did their living relatives, so far 
 as known, mourn their loss. 
 
 Stockton with his flagship, the Congress, ar- 
 rived at San Pedro on the 23d of October, 1846. 
 The Savannah was still lying at anchor in the 
 harbor. The commodore had now at San Pedro 
 a force of about eight hundred men; but, not- 
 withstanding the contemptuous opinion he held 
 of the Californian soldiers, he did not march 
 against the pueblo. Stockton in his report 
 says: "Elated by this transient success (Mer- 
 vine's defeat), which the enemy with his usual 
 want of veracity magnified into a great victory, 
 they collected in large bodies on all the adjacent 
 hills and would not permit a hoof except their 
 own horses to be within fifty miles of San 
 Pedro." But "in the face of their boasting in- 
 solence" Stockton landed and again hoisted "the 
 glorious stars and stripes in the presence of 
 their horse covered hills." "The enemy had 
 driven of? every animal, man and beast from 
 that section of the country; and it was not pos- 
 sible by any means in our power to carry pro- 
 visions for our march to the city." The city 
 was only thirty miles away and American sol- 
 diers have been known to carry rations in their 
 haversacks for a march of one hundred miles. 
 The "transient success" of the insolent enemv 
 
HISTORICAL AND B10GIL\PH1LAL RECORD. 
 
 135 
 
 had evidently made an impression on Stockton. 
 He estimated the California force in the vicinity 
 of the landing at eight hundred men, which was 
 just seven hundred too high. He determined 
 to approach Los Angeles by way of San Diego, 
 and on the last day of October he sailed for that 
 port. B. D. Wilson, Stephen C. Foster and 
 others attribute Stockton's abandonment of an 
 attack on Los Angeles from San Pedro to a 
 trick played on him by Jose Antonio Carrillo. 
 Carrillo was in command of the detachment 
 stationed at the Cerritos and the Palos Verdes. 
 Carrillo was an.xious to obtain an interview with 
 Stockton and if possible secure a cessation of 
 hostilities until the war then progressing in 
 Mexico should be decided, thus settling the 
 fate of California. B. D. Wilson, one of the 
 Chino prisoners, was sent with a Mexican ser- 
 geant to raise a white flag as the boats of the 
 Congress approached the landing and present 
 Carrillo's proposition for a truce. Carrillo, with 
 the intention of giving Stockton an exaggerated 
 idea of the number of his troops and thus ob- 
 taining more favorable terms in the proposed 
 treaty, collected droves of wild horses from the 
 plains; these his caballeros kept in motion, pass- 
 ing and repassing through a gap in the hills, 
 which was in plain view from Stockton's vessel. 
 Owing to the dust raised by the cavalcade it was 
 impossible to discover that most of the horses 
 were riderless. The troops were signalled to re- 
 turn to the vessel, and the commodore shortly 
 afterwards sailed to San Diego. Carrillo al- 
 ways regretted that he made too much demon- 
 stration. 
 
 As an illustration of the literary trash that 
 has been palmed ofif for California history, I 
 give an extract from Frost's Pictorial History 
 of California, a book written the year after 
 the close of the Mexican war by Prof. 
 John Frost, a noted compiler of histories, who 
 writes LL. D. after his name. It relates to 
 Stockton's exploits at San Pedro. "At the 
 Rancho Sepulveda (the Palos ^^erdes) a large 
 force of Californians were posted. Commodore 
 Stockton sent one hundred men forward to re- 
 ceive the fire of the enemy and then fall back 
 on the main body without returning it. The 
 main bodv of Stockton's armv was formed in a 
 
 triangle with the guns liid by the men. By the 
 retreat of the advance party the enemy w'ere 
 decoyed close to the main force, when the wings 
 (of the triangle) were extended and a deadly fire 
 from the artillery opened upon the astonished 
 Californians. More than one hundred were 
 killed, the same number wounded and one hun- 
 dred prisoners taken." The mathematical ac- 
 curacy of Stockton's artillerists was truly 
 astonishing. They killed a man for every one 
 wounded and took a prisoner for every man 
 they killed. As Florcs' army never amounted 
 to more than three lumdred, if we are to believe 
 I'rost, Stockton had all the enemy "present or 
 accounted for." This silly fabrication of Frost's 
 runs through a number of so-called histories of 
 California. Stockton was a brave man and a 
 very energetic commander, but he would boast 
 of his achievements, and his reports are unre- 
 liable. 
 
 As previously mentioned, Fremont after his 
 return to Alonterey proceeded to recruit a force 
 to move against Los Angeles by land from Mon- 
 terey. His recruits were principally obtained 
 from the recently arrived inmiigrants. Each man 
 was furnished with a horse and was to receive 
 $25 a month. A force of about four hundred 
 and fifty was obtained. Fremont left Monterey 
 November 17 and rendezvoused at San Juan 
 Bautista, wdiere he remained to the 29th of the 
 month organizing his battalion. On the 29th 
 of November he began his inarch southward to 
 co-operate w-ith Stockton against Flores. 
 
 After the expulsion of Gillespie and his men 
 from Los Angeles, detachments from Flores' 
 army were sent to Santa Barbara and San 
 Diego to recapture these places. At Santa Bar- 
 bara Fremont had left nine men of his battalion 
 under Lieut. Theodore Talbot to garrison the 
 town. A demand was made on the garrison to 
 surrender by Colonel Garfias of Flores" army. 
 Two hours were given the -Americans to decide. 
 Instead of surrendering they fell back into the 
 hills, where they remained three or four days, 
 hoi)ing that reinforcements might be sent them 
 from Monterey. Their only subsistence was the 
 flesh of an old gray marc of Daniel Hill's that 
 they captured, brought into camp and killed. 
 Thev secured one of Michcltorena's cholos that 
 
136 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 had remained in the country and was hving in 
 a canon among the hills for a guide. He fur- 
 nished them a horse to carry their blankets and 
 conducted them through the mountains to the 
 San Joaquin valley. Here the guide left them 
 with the Indians, he returning to Santa Barbara. 
 The Indians fed them on chia (wild flaxseed), 
 mush and acorn bread. They traveled down the 
 San Joaquin valley. On their journey they lived 
 on the flesh of wild horses, seventeen of which 
 they killed. After many hardships they reached 
 Monterey on the 8th of November, where they 
 joined Fremont's battalion. 
 
 Captain ]\Ierritt, of Fremont's battalion, had 
 been left at San Diego with forty men to hold 
 the town when the battalion marched north to 
 co-operate with Stockton against Los Angeles. 
 Immediately after Gillespie's retreat, Francisco 
 Rico was sent with fifty men to capture the 
 place. He was joined by recruits at San Diego. 
 Merritt being in no condition to stand a siege, 
 took refuge on board the American whale ship 
 Stonington, which was lying at anchor. After 
 remaining on board the Stonington ten days, 
 taking advantage of the laxity of discipline 
 among the Californians, he stole a march q^i 
 them, recapturing the town and one piece of 
 artillery. He sent Don Miguel de Pedrorena, 
 who was one of his allies, in a whale boat with 
 four sailors to San Pedro to obtain supplies 
 and assistance. Pedrorena arrived at San Pedro 
 on the 13th of October with IMerritt's dis- 
 patches. Captain Mervine chartered the whale 
 ship Magnolia, which was lying in the San 
 Pedro harbor, and dispatched Lieutenant Minor, 
 Midshipman Duvall and Morgan with thirty- 
 three sailors and fifteen of Gillespie's volun- 
 teers to reinforce ^Merritt. They reached San 
 Diego on the i6th. The combined forces of 
 Minor and Merritt, numbering about ninety 
 men, put in the greater part of the next two 
 weeks in dragging cannon from the old fort 
 and mounting them at their barracks, which 
 were located on the hill at the edge of the plain 
 on the west side of the town, convenient to 
 water. They succeeded in mounting six brass 
 nine-pounders and building two bastions of 
 adobes, taken from an old house. There was 
 constant skirmishing between the hostile parties, 
 
 but few fatalities. The Americans claimed to 
 have killed three of the enemy, and one Amer- 
 ican was ambushed and killed. 
 
 The Californians kept well out of range, but 
 prevented the Americans from obtaining sup- 
 plies. Their provisions were nearly exhausted, 
 and when reduced to almost the last extreme 
 they made a successful foraging expedition and 
 procured a supply of mutton. Midshipman Du- 
 vall thus describes the adventure: "We had 
 with us an Indian (chief of a numerous tribe) 
 who, from his knowledge of the country, we 
 thought could avoid the enemy; and getting 
 news of a number of sheep about thirty-five miles 
 to the south on the coast, we determined to send 
 him and his companion to drive them onto an 
 island which at low tide connected with the 
 mainland. In a few days a signal was made on 
 the island, and the boats of the whale ship 
 Stonington, stationed ofT the island, were sent 
 to it. Our good old Indian had managed, 
 through his cunning and by keeping concealed 
 in ravines, to drive onto the island about si.x hun- 
 dred sheep, but his companion had been caught 
 and killed by the enemy. I shall never forget 
 his famished appearance, but pride in his Indian 
 triumph could be seen playing in his dark eyes. 
 
 "For thirty or forty days we were constantly 
 expecting, from the movements of the enemy, 
 an attack, soldiers and officers sleeping on their 
 arms and ready for action. About the ist of 
 November, Commodore Stockton arrived, and, 
 after landing Captain Gillespie with his com- 
 pany and about forty-three marines, he suddenly 
 disappeared, leaving Lieutenant Minor governor 
 of the place and Captain Gillespie command- 
 ant."* 
 
 Foraging continued, the whale ship Ston- 
 ington, which had been impressed into the 
 government service, being used to take parties 
 down the coast, who made raids inland and 
 brought back with them catties and horses. 
 
 It was probably on one of these excursions 
 that the flag-making episode occurred, of which 
 there are more versions than Homer had birth- 
 places. The correct version of the story is as 
 follows: A party had been sent under com- 
 
 *Log Book of Acting Lieutenant Duvall. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1:57 
 
 tnand of Lieutenant Hensley to Juan Bandini's 
 rancho in Lower California to bring up bands 
 of cattle and horses. Bandini was an adherent 
 of the American cause. He and his family re- 
 turned with the cavalcade to San Diego. At 
 their last camping place before reaching the 
 town, Hensley, in a conversation with Bandini, 
 regretted they had no flag with them to display 
 on their entry into the town. Sefiora Bandini 
 volunteered to make one, which she did from 
 red, white and blue dresses of her children. 
 This flag, fastened to a staff, was carried at the 
 head of the cavalcade when it made its triumphal 
 entry into San Diego. The Mexican govern- 
 ment confiscated Bandini's ranchos in Lower 
 California on account of his friendship to the 
 Americans during the w^ar. 
 
 Skirmishing continued almost daily. Jose 
 Antonio Carrillo was now in command of the 
 Californians, their force numbering about one 
 hundred men. Commodore Stockton returned 
 and decided to fortify. Midshipman Duvall, in 
 the Log Book referred to in the previous chap- 
 ter, thus describes the fort: "The commodore 
 now commenced to fortify the hill which over- 
 looked the town by building a fort, constructed 
 by placing three hundred gallon casks full of 
 sand close together. The inclosure was twenty 
 by thirty yards. A bank of earth and small gravel 
 was thrown up in front as high as the top of 
 the casks and a ditch dug around on the outside. 
 Inside a ball-proof vault of ketch was built out 
 of plank and lined on the inside with adobes, on 
 top of which a swivel was mounted. The en- 
 trance was guarded by a strong gate, with a 
 drawbridge in front across the ditch or moat. 
 The whole fortification was completed and the 
 guns mounted on it in about three weeks. Our 
 men working on the fort were on short allow- 
 ance of beef and wheat, and for a time without 
 bread, tea, sugar or cofifee, many of them being 
 destitute of shoes, but there were few com- 
 plaints. 
 
 "About the ist of December, information hav- 
 ing been received that General Kearny was at 
 Warner's Pass, about eighty miles distant, with 
 one hundred dragoons- on his march to San 
 Diego, Commodore Stockton immediately sent 
 an escort of fifty men under command of Cap- 
 
 tain Gillespie, accompanied by Past Midshipmen 
 Beale and Duncan, having with them one piece 
 of artillery. They reached General Kearny with- 
 out molestation. On the march the combined 
 force was surprised by about ninety-three Cal- 
 ifornians at San Pasqual, under command of 
 Andres Pico, who had been sent to that part 
 of the country to drive of? all the cattle and 
 horses to prevent us from getting them. In 
 the battle that ensued General Kearny lost in 
 killed Captains Johnston and Moore and Lieu- 
 tenant Hammond, and fifteen dragoons. Seven- 
 teen dragoons were severely wounded. The 
 enemy captured one piece of artillery. General 
 Kearny and Captains Gillespie and Gibson were 
 severely wounded; also one of the engineer offi- 
 cers. Some of the dragoons have since died." 
 
 :fe * * 
 
 "After the engagement General Kearny took 
 position on a hill covered with large rocks. It 
 was well suited for defense. Lieutenant Godev 
 of Gillespie's volunteers, the night after the 
 Isattle, escaped through the enemy's line of sen- 
 tries and came in with a letter from Captain 
 Turner to the commodore. Whilst among the 
 rocks, Past Midshipman Beale and Kit Carson 
 managed, under cover of night, to pass out 
 through the enemy's ranks, and after three days' 
 and nights' hard marching through the moun- 
 tains without water, succeeded in getting safely 
 into San Diego, completely famished. Soon 
 after arriving Lieutenant P.eale fainted away, 
 and for some days entirely lost his reason." 
 
 On the night of Beale's arrival, December 9, 
 about 9 p. m., detachments of two hundred sail- 
 ors and marines from the Congress and Ports- 
 mouth, under the immediate command of Cap- 
 tain Zeilin, assisted by Lieutenants Gray, 
 Hunter, Renshaw, Parrish, Thompson and 
 Tilghman and Midshipmen Duvall and Morgan, 
 each man carrying a blanket, three pounds of 
 jerked beef and the same of hard-tack, began 
 their march to relieve General Kearny. They 
 marched all night and camped on a chaparral 
 covered mountain during the day. .Xt 4 p. m. 
 of the second night's march they reached 
 Kearny's camp, surprising him. Godey, who 
 had been sent ahead to inform Kearny that as- 
 sistance was coming, had been captured by the 
 
138 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 enemy. General Kearny had burnt and de- 
 stroyed all his baggage and camp equipage, sad- 
 dles, bridles, clothing, etc., preparatory to 
 forcing his way through the enemy's line. 
 Burdened with his wounded, it is doubtful 
 whether he could have escaped. Midshipman 
 Duvall says: "It would not be a hazard of 
 opinion to say he would have been overpowered 
 and compelled to surrender." The enemy dis- 
 appeared on the arrival of reinforcements. The 
 relief expedition, with Kearny's men, reached 
 San Diego after two days' march. 
 
 A brief explanation of the reason why Kearny 
 was at San Pasqual may be necessary. In June, 
 1846,, Gen. Stephen W. Kearny, commander of 
 the Army of the West, as his command was 
 designated, left Fort Leavenworth with a force 
 of regulars and volunteers to take possession of 
 New Mexico. The conquest of that territory 
 was accomplished without a battle. Under or- 
 ders from the war department, Kearny began his 
 march to California with a part of his force to 
 co-operate with the naval forces there. Octo- 
 ber 6, near Socorro, N. M., he met Kit Carson 
 with an escort of fifteen men en route from Los 
 Angeles to Washington, bearing dispatches 
 from Stockton, giving the report of the con- 
 quest of California. Kearny required Carson to 
 turn back and act as his guide. Carson was 
 very unwilling to do so, as he was within a few 
 days' journey of his home and family, from 
 whom he had been separated for nearly two 
 years. He had been guide for Fremont on his 
 exploring expedition. He, however, obeyed 
 Kearny's orders. 
 
 General Kearny sent back about three hun- 
 dred of his men, taking with him one hundred 
 and twenty. After a toilsome march by way 
 of the Pima villages, Tucson, the Gila and 
 across the Colorado desert, they reached the 
 Indian village of San Pasqual (about forty miles 
 from San Diego), where the battle was fought. 
 It was the bloodiest battle of the conquest; 
 Kearny's men, at daybreak, riding on broken 
 down mules and half broken horses, in an ir- 
 regular and disorderly line, charged the Califor- 
 nians. While the American line was stretched 
 out over the plain Capt. Andres Pico, who was 
 in command, wheeled his column and charged 
 
 the Americans. A fierce hand to hand fight en- 
 sued, the Californians using their lances and lar- 
 iats, the Americans clubbed guns and sabers. Of 
 Kearny's command eighteen men were killed and 
 nineteen wounded; three of the wounded died. 
 Only one, Capt. Abraham R. Johnston (a rela- 
 tive of the author's), was killed by a gunshot; 
 all the others were lanced. The mules to one 
 of the howitzers became unmanageable and ran 
 into the enemy's lines. The driver was killed 
 and the gun captured. One Californian was 
 captured and several slightly wounded; none 
 were killed. Less than half of Kearny's one 
 hundred and seventy men* took part in the 
 battle. His loss in killed and wounded was fifty 
 per cent of those engaged. Dr. John S. Grif- 
 fin, for many years a leading physician of Los 
 Angeles, was the surgeon of the command. 
 
 The foraging e.xpeditions in Lower Califor- 
 nia having been quite successful in bringing in 
 cattle, horses and mules. Commodore Stockton 
 hastened his preparation for marching against 
 Los Angeles. The enemy obtained information 
 of the projected movement and left for the 
 pueblo. 
 
 "The Cyane having arrived," says Duvall, 
 "our force was increased to about six hundred 
 men, most of whom, understanding the drill, 
 performed the evolutions like regular soldiers. 
 Everything being ready for our departure, the 
 commodore left Captain Montgomery and offi- 
 cers in command of the town, and on the 29th of 
 December took up his line of march for Los An- 
 geles. General Kearny was second in command 
 and having the inmiediate arrangement of the 
 forces, reserving for himself the prerogative 
 which his rank necessarily imposed upon him. 
 Owing to the weak state of our oxen we had 
 not crossed the dry bed of the river San Diego 
 before they began breaking down, and the carts, 
 which were thirty or forty in number, had to be 
 dragged by the men. The general urged on the 
 commodore that it was useless to commence 
 such a march as was before us with our present 
 means of transportation, but the commodore 
 insisted on performing at least one day's march 
 
 *General Kearny's original force of one liundred and 
 twenty had been increased by Gillespie's command, 
 numbering fifty men. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 139 
 
 even if we should have to return the next day. 
 We succeeded in reaching the valley of the 
 Soledad that night by dragging our carts. Next 
 day the commodore proposed to go six miles 
 farther, which we accomplished, and then con- 
 tinued six miles farther. Having obtained some 
 fresh oxen, by assisting the carts up hill we 
 made ten or twelve miles a day. At San Luis 
 Key we secured men, carts and oxen, and after 
 that our days' marches ranged from fifteen to 
 twenty-two miles a day. 
 
 "The third day out from San Luis Rey a white 
 flag was seen ahead, the bearer of which had a 
 communication from Flores, signing himself 
 'Commander-in-Chief and Governor of Califor- 
 nia,' asking for a conference for the purpose of 
 coming to terms, which would be alike 'honor- 
 able to both countries.' The commodore refused 
 to answer him in writing, saying to the bearer 
 of the truce that his answer was, 'he knew no 
 such person as Governor Flores; that he him- 
 self was the only governor in California; that 
 he knew a rebel by that name, a man who had 
 given his parole of honor not to take up arms 
 against the government of the United States, 
 who, if the people of California now in arms 
 against the forces of the United States would 
 deliver up, he (Stockton) would treat with them 
 on condition that they surrender their arms 
 and retire peaceably to their homes and he 
 would grant them, as citizens of the United 
 States, protection from further molestation.' 
 This the embassy refused to entertain, saying 
 'they would prefer to die with Flores than to 
 
 surrender on such terms.' " 
 * * * 
 
 "On the 8th of January, 1847, they met us on 
 the banks of the river San Gabriel with between 
 five and six hundred men mounted on good 
 horses and armed with lances and carbines, 
 having also four pieces of artillery planted on 
 the heights about three hundred and fifty yards 
 distant from the river. Owing to circumstances 
 which have occurred since the surrender of the 
 enemy, I prefer not mentioning the particulars 
 of this day's battle and also that of the day fol- 
 lowing, or of referring to individuals concerned 
 in the successful management of our forces." 
 (The circumstance to which Lieutenant Duvall 
 
 refers was undoubtedly the quarrel between 
 Stockton and Kearny after the capture of Los 
 Angeles.) "It is sufficient to say that on the 8th 
 of January we succeeded in crossing the river 
 and driving the enemy from the heights. Hav- 
 ing resisted all their charges, dismounted one 
 of their pieces and put them to flight in every 
 direction, we encamped on the ground they had 
 occupied during the fight. 
 
 "The next day the Californians met us on the 
 ])lains of the mesa. For a time the fighting was 
 carried on by both sides with artillery, but that 
 proving too hot for them they concentrated 
 their whole force in a line ahead of us and at a 
 given signal divided from the center and came 
 down on us like a tornado, charging us on all 
 sides at the same time; but they were effectually 
 defeated and fled in every direction in the ut- 
 most confusion. Many of their horses w-ere left 
 dead on the field. Their loss in the two battles, 
 as given by Andres Pico, second in command, 
 was eighty-three killed and wounded; our loss, 
 three killed (one accidentally), and fifteen or 
 twenty wounded, none dangerously. The enemy 
 abandoned two pieces of artillery in an Indian 
 village near by." 
 
 1 have given at considerable length Midship- 
 man Duvall's account of Stockton's march from 
 San Diego and of the tw^o battles fought, not 
 because it is the fullest account of those events, 
 but because it is original historical matter, never 
 having appeared in print before, and also be- 
 cause it is the observations of a participant 
 written at the time the events occurred. In it 
 the losses of the enemy are greatly exaggerated, 
 hut that was a fault of his superior officers as 
 well. Commodore Stockton, in his official re- 
 ports of the two battles, gives the enemy's loss 
 in killed and wounded "between seventy and 
 eighty." And General Kearny, in his report of 
 the battle of San Pasqual, claimed it as a vic- 
 tory, and states that the enemy left six dead on 
 the field. The actual loss of the Californians 
 ill the two battles (San Gabriel river and La 
 Mesa) was three killed and ten or twelve 
 wounded.* 
 
 *Thc killed were Ignacio Sepulvcda, Francisco 
 Rubio, and El Guaymeno, a Yaqui Indian. 
 
140 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 While the events recorded in this chapter 
 were transpiring at San Diego and its vicinity, 
 what was the state of affairs in the capital, Los 
 Angeles? After the exultation and rejoicing 
 over the expulsion of Gillespie's garrison, Mer- 
 vine's defeat and the victory over Kearny at 
 San Pasqual there came a reaction. Dissension 
 continued between the leaders. There was lack 
 of arms and laxity of discipline. The army was 
 but little better than a mob. Obedience to or- 
 ders of a superior was foreign to the nature of a 
 Californian. His wild, free life in the saddle 
 made him impatient of all restraint. Then the 
 impossibihty of successful resistance against 
 the Americans became more and more apparent 
 as the final conflict approached. Fremont's 
 army was moving down on the doomed city 
 from the north, and Stockton's was coming up 
 from the south. Either one of these, in num- 
 bers, exceeded the force that Flores could bring 
 into action; combined they would crush him 
 out of existence. The California troops were 
 greatly discouraged and it was with great diffi- 
 culty that the officers kept their men together. 
 There was another and more potent element of 
 disintegration. Many of the wealthier natives 
 and all the foreigners, regarding the contest as 
 hopeless, secretly favored the American cause, 
 and it was only through fear of loss of property 
 that they furnished Flores and his officers any 
 supplies for the army. 
 
 During the latter part of December and the 
 first days of January Flores' army was stationed 
 at the San Fernando Mission, on the lookout 
 for Fremont's battalion; but the more rapid 
 advance of Stockton's army compelled a change 
 of base. On the 6th and /th of January Flores 
 moved his army back secretly through the 
 
 Cahuenga Pass, and, passing to the southward 
 of the city, took position where La Jaboneria 
 (the soap factory) road crosses the San Gabriel 
 river. Here his men were stationed in the thick 
 willows to give Stockton a surprise. Stockton 
 received information of the trap set for him and 
 after leaving the Los Coyotes swung off to the 
 right until he struck the Upper Santa Ana road. 
 The Californians had barely time to effect a 
 change of base and get their cannon planted 
 when the Americans arrived at the crossing. 
 
 Stockton called the engagement there the bat- 
 tle of San Gabriel river; the Californians call it 
 the battle of Paso de Bartolo, which is the bet- 
 ter name. The place where the battle was fought 
 is on bluff just south of the Upper Santa Ana 
 road, near where the Southern California 
 railroad crosses the old San Gabriel river. (The 
 frjril or crossing was formerly known as Pico's 
 Crossing.) There was, at the time of the bat- 
 tle, but one San Gabriel river. The new river 
 channel was made in the great flood of 1868. 
 What Stockton, Emory, Duvall and other 
 American officers call the battle of the Plains 
 of the Mesa the Californians call the battle of 
 La Mesa, which is most decidedly a better name 
 than the "Plains of the Plain." It was fought at 
 a ravine, the Canada de Los Alisos, near the 
 southeastern corner of the Los Angeles city 
 boundary. In these battles the Californians had 
 four pieces of artillery, two iron nine-pounders, 
 the old woman's gun and the howitzer captured 
 from Kearny. Their powder was very poor. It 
 was made at San Gabriel. It was owing to this 
 that they did so little execution in the fight. 
 That the Californians escaped with so little 
 punishment was probably due to the wretched 
 marksmanship of Stockton's sailors and marines. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 141 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 CAPTURE AND OCCUPATION OF THE CAPITAL. 
 
 J\ FTER the battle of La Mesa, the Amer- 
 r Y icans, keeping to the south, crossed the 
 Los Angeles river at about the point 
 where the south boundary line of the city 
 crosses it and camped on the right bank. Here, 
 under a willow tree, those killed in battle were 
 buried. Lieutenant Emory, in his "Notes of a 
 Military Reconnoissance," says: "The town, 
 known to contain great quantities of wine and 
 aguardiente, was four miles distant (four miles 
 from the battlefield). From previous experience 
 of the difficulty of controlling men when enter- 
 ing towns, it was determined to cross the river 
 San Fernando (Los Angeles), halt there for 
 the night and enter the town in the morning, 
 with the whole day before us. 
 
 "After we had pitched our camp, the enemy 
 came down from the hills, and four hundred 
 horsemen with four pieces of artillery drew ofif 
 towards the town, in order and regularity, whilst 
 about sixty made a movement down the river on 
 our rear and left flank. This led us to suppose 
 they were not yet whipped, as we thought, and 
 that we should have a night attack. 
 
 "January lo (1847) — . Just as we had raised 
 our camp, a flag of truce, borne by Mr. Cells, a 
 Castilian; Mr. Workman, an Englishman, and 
 Alvarado, the owner of the rancho at the Alisos, 
 was brought into camp. They proposed, on 
 behalf of the Californians, to surrender their 
 dear City of the Angels provided we would re- 
 spect property and persons. This was agreed 
 to, but not altogether trusting to the honesty 
 of General Florcs, who had once broken his 
 parole, we moved into the town in the same 
 order we should have done if expecting an at- 
 tack. It was a wise precaution, for the streets 
 were full of desperate and drunken fellows, who 
 brandished their arms and saluted us with every 
 term of reproach. The crest, overlooking the 
 town, in rifle range, was covered with horsemen 
 engaged in the same hospitable manner. 
 
 "Our men marched steadily on, until crossing 
 the ravine leading into the public square (plaza), 
 when a fight took place amongst the Califor- 
 nians on the hill; one became disarmed and to 
 avoid death rolled down the hill towards us, 
 his adversary pursuing and lancing him in the 
 most cold-blooded manner. The man tumbling 
 down the hill was supposed to be one of our 
 vaqueros, and the cry of 'rescue him" was 
 raised. The crew of the Cyane, nearest the 
 scene, at once and without any orders, halted 
 and gave the man that was lancing him a volley; 
 strange to say, he did not fall. The general 
 gave the jack tars a cursing, not so much for 
 the firing without orders, as for their bad marks- 
 manship." 
 
 Shortly after the above episode, the Cali- 
 fornians did open fire from the hill on the 
 vaqueros in charge of the cattle. (These 
 vaqueros were Californians in the employ of the 
 Americans and were regarded by their country- 
 men as traitors.) A company of riflemen was 
 ordered to clear the hill. A single volley ef- 
 fected this, killing two of the enemy. This was 
 the last bloodshed in the war; and the second 
 conquest of California was completed as the first 
 had been by the capture of Los Angeles. Two 
 hundred men, with two pieces of artillery, were 
 stationed on the hill. 
 
 The Angelenos did not exactly welcome the 
 invaders with "bloody hands to inhospitable 
 graves," but they did their best to let them know 
 they were not wanted. The better class of the 
 native inhabitants closed their houses and took 
 refuge with foreign residents or went to the 
 ranchos of their friends in the countrv. The 
 fellows of the baser sort, who were in pos- 
 session of the city, exhausted their vocabularies 
 of abuse on the invading gringos. There was 
 one paisano w^ho excelled all his countrymen in 
 this species of warfare. It is a pity his name 
 has not been preserved in history with that of 
 
142 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 other famous scolds and kickers. He rode by 
 the side of the advancing column up Main street, 
 firing volleys of invective and denunciation at 
 the hated gringos. At certain points of his 
 tirade he worked himself to such a pitch of 
 indignation that language failed him; then he 
 would solemnly go through the motions of 
 "Make ready, take aim!" with an old shotgun 
 he carried, but when it came to the order "Fire!'' 
 discretion got the better of his valor; he low- 
 ered his gun and began again, firing invective 
 at the gringo soldiers; his mouth would go off 
 if his gun would not. 
 
 Commodore Stockton's headquarters were in 
 the Abila house, the second house on Olvera 
 street, north of the plaza. The building is still 
 standing, but has undergone many changes in 
 fifty years. A rather amusing account was re- 
 cently given me by an old pioneer of the manner 
 in which Commodore Stockton got possession 
 of the house. The widov^f Abila and her daugh- 
 ters, at the approach of the American army, had 
 abandoned their house and taken refuge with 
 Don Luis Vignes of the Aliso. Vignes was a 
 Frenchman and friendly to both sides. The 
 widow left a young Californian in charge of her 
 house (which was finely furnished), with strict 
 orders to keep it closed. Stockton had with him 
 a fine brass band, something new in California. 
 When the troops halted on the plaza, the band 
 began to play. The boyish guardian of the 
 Abila casa could not resist the temptation to 
 open the door and look out. The enchanting 
 music drew him to the plaza. Stockton and his 
 stafif, hunting for a place suitable for headquar- 
 ters, passing by, found the door invitingly open, 
 entered, and, finding the house deserted, took 
 possession. The recreant guardian returned to 
 find himself dispossessed and the house in pos- 
 session of the enemy. "And the band played on." 
 
 It is a fact not generally known that there 
 were two forts planned and partially built on 
 Fort Hill during the war for the conquest of 
 California. The first was planned by Lieut. Wil- 
 liam H. Emory, topographical engineer of Gen- 
 eral Kearny's staff, and work was begun on it 
 by Commodore Stockton's sailors and marines. 
 The second was planned by Lieut. J- W. David- 
 son, of the First L^nited States Dragoons, and 
 
 built by the Mormon battalion. The first was 
 not completed and not named. The second was 
 named Fort Moore. Their location seems to 
 have been identical. The first was designed to 
 hold one hundred men. The second was much 
 larger. Florefe' army was supposed to be in the 
 neighborhood of the city ready to make a dash 
 into it, so Stockton decided to fortify. 
 
 "On January nth," Lieutenant Emory writes, 
 "I was ordered to select a site and place a fort 
 capable of containing a hundred men. With 
 this in view a rapid reconnoissance of the town 
 was made and the plan of a fort sketched, so 
 placed as to enable a small garrison to com- 
 mand the town and the principal avenues to it, 
 the plan was approved." 
 
 "January 12. I laid off the work and before 
 night broke the first ground. The population 
 of the town and its dependencies is about three 
 thousand; that of the town itself about fifteen 
 hundred. * * * Here all the revolutions 
 have had their origin, and it is the point upon 
 which any Mexican force from Sonora would 
 be directed. It was therefore desirable to estab- 
 lish a fort which, in case of trouble, should en- 
 able a small garrison to hold out till aid might 
 come from San Diego, San Francisco or Mon- 
 terey, places which are destined I0 become cen- 
 ters of American settlements." 
 
 "January 13. It rained steadily all day and 
 nothing was done on the work. At night I 
 worked on the details of the fort." 
 
 "January 15. The details to work on the 
 fort were by companies. I sent to Captain 
 Tilghman, who commanded on the hill, to de- 
 tach one of the companies under his command 
 to commence the work. He furnished, on the 
 i6th, a company of artillery (seamen from the 
 Congress) for the day's work, which was per- 
 formed bravely, and gave me great hopes of 
 success." 
 
 On the i8th Lieutenant Emory took his de- 
 parture with General Kearny for San Diego. 
 From there he was sent with despatches, via 
 Panama, to the war department. In his book 
 he says: "Subsequent to my departure the en- 
 tire plan of the fort was changed, and I am not 
 the projector of the work finally adopted for 
 defense of that town." 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 143 
 
 As previously stated, Fremont's battalion 
 began its march down the coast on the 29th of 
 November, 1846. The winter rains set in with 
 great severity. The volunteers were scantily 
 provided with clothing and the horses were in 
 poor condition. Many of the horses died of 
 starvation and hard usage. The battalion en- 
 countered no opposition from the enemy on its 
 march and did no fighting. On the iith of 
 January, a few miles above San Fernando, Colo- 
 nel Fremont received a message from General 
 Kearny informing him of the defeat of the 
 enemy and the capture of Los Angeles. That 
 night the battalion encamped in the mission 
 buildings at San I'ernando. From the mission 
 that evening Jesus Pico, a cousin of Gen. An- 
 dres Pico, set out to find the Californian army 
 and open negotiations with its leaders. Jesus 
 Pico, better known as Tortoi, had been arrested 
 at his home near San Luis Obispo, tried by 
 court-niartial and sentenced to be shot for 
 breaking his parole. Fremont, moved by the 
 pleadings of Pico's wife and children, pardoned 
 him. He became a warm admirer and devoted 
 friend of Fremont's. 
 
 He found the advance guard of the Califor- 
 nians encamped at Verdugas. He was detained 
 here, and the leading officers of the army were 
 summoned to a council. Pico informed them 
 of Fremont's arrival and the number of his men. 
 With the combined forces of Fremont and 
 Stockton against them, their cause was hopeless. 
 He urged them to surrender to Fremont, as they 
 could obtain better terms from him than from 
 Stockton. 
 
 General Flores, who held a commission in the 
 Mexican army, and who had been appointed by 
 the territorial assembly governor and comand- 
 ante-general by virtue of his rank, appointed 
 Andres Pico general and gave him command 
 of the army. The same night he took his de- 
 parture for ]\Iexico, by way of San Gorgonio 
 Pass, accompanied by Colonel Garfias, Diego 
 Sepulveda, Manuel Castro, Segura, and about 
 thirty privates. General Pico, on assuming com- 
 mand, appointed Francisco Rico and Francisco 
 do La Guerra to go with Jesus Pico to confer 
 with Colonel Fremont. Fremont appointed as 
 commissioners to negotiate a treaty. Major P. 
 
 ]j. Reading, Major- William H. Russell and 
 Capt. Louis M'cLane. On the return of Guerra 
 and Rico to the Californian camp. Gen. Andres 
 I'ico appointed as commissioners, Jose Antonio 
 Carrillo, commander of the cavalry squadron, 
 and Agustin Olvera, diputado of the assembly, 
 and moved his army near the river at Cahuenga. 
 On the 13th I'rcmont moved his camp to the 
 Cahuenga. The commissioners met in the de- 
 serted ranch-house, and the treaty was drawn 
 up and signed. 
 
 The principal conditions of the treaty or ca- 
 pitulation of "Cahuenga," as it was termed, were 
 that the Californians, on delivering up their ar- 
 tillery and public arms, and promising not again 
 to take arms during the war, and conforming 
 to the laws and regulations of the United States, 
 shall be allowed peaceably to return to their 
 homes. They were to be allowed the same rights 
 and privileges as are allowed to citizens of the 
 United States, and were not to be compelled 
 to take an oath of allegiance until a treaty of 
 peace was signed between the TJnited States and 
 Mexico, and were given the privilege of leaving 
 the country if they wished to. An additional 
 section was added to the treaty on the i6th at 
 Los Angeles releasing the officers from their 
 paroles. Two cannon were surrendered, the 
 howitzer captured from General Kearny at San 
 Pasqual and the woman's gun that won the bat- 
 tle of Dominguez. On the 14th, Fremont's bat- 
 talion marched through the Cahuenga Pass to 
 Los Angeles in a pouring rainstorm, and en- 
 tered it four days after its surrender to Stock- 
 ton. The conquest of California, was com- 
 pleted. Stockton approved the treaty, although 
 it was not altogether satisfactory to him. On 
 the i6th he appointed Colonel Fremont gov- 
 ernor of the territory, and William H. Russell, 
 of the battalion, secretary of state. 
 
 This precipitated a quarrel between Stockton 
 and Kearny, which had been brewing for some 
 time. General Kearny claimed that under his 
 instructions from the government he should be 
 recognized as governor. As he had directly under 
 his command but the one company of dragoons 
 that he brought across the plain with him, he 
 was unable to enforce his authority. He left on 
 the i8th for San Diego, taking with him his 
 
14'4 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 officers and dragoons. On the 20th Commo- 
 dore Stockton, with his sailors and marines, 
 marched to San Pedro, where they all em- 
 barked on a man-of-war for San Diego to re- 
 
 join their ships. Shortly afterwards Commo- 
 dore Stockton was superseded in the command 
 of the Pacific squadron by Commodore Shu- 
 brick. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 TRANSITION AND TRANSFORMATION. 
 
 THE capitulation of Gen. Andres Pico at 
 Cahuenga put an end to the war in Cali- 
 fornia. The instructions' from the secre- 
 tary of war were to pursue a policy of concilia- 
 tion towards the Californians with the ultimate 
 design of transforming them into American citi- 
 zens. Colonel Fremont was left in command at 
 Los Angeles. He established his headquarters 
 on the second floor of the Bell block (corner of 
 Los Angeles and Aliso streets), then the best 
 building in the city. One company of his bat- 
 talion was retained in the city; the others, under 
 command of Captain Owens, were quartered at 
 the Mission San Gabriel. 
 
 The Jilormons had been driven out of Illinois 
 and Missouri. A sentiment of antagonism had 
 been engendered against them and they had 
 begun their migration to the far west, pre- 
 sumably to California. They were encamped on 
 the Missouri river at Kanesville, now Council 
 Bluffs, preparatory to crossing the plains, when 
 hostilities broke out between the United States 
 and Mexico, in April, 1846. A proposition was 
 made by President Polk to their leaders to raise 
 a battalion of five hundred men to serve as 
 United States volunteers for twelve months. 
 These volunteers, under command of regular 
 army officers, were to march to Santa Fe, or, 
 if necessary, to California, where, at the expira- 
 tion of their term of enlistment, they were to be 
 discharged and allowed to retain their arms. 
 Through the influence of Brigham Young and 
 other leaders, the battalion was recruited and 
 General Kearny, commanding the Army of the 
 West, detailed Capt. James Allen, of the First 
 United States Dragoons, to muster them into 
 the service and take command of the battalion. 
 On the i6th of July, at Council Blufifs, the bat- 
 
 talion was mustered into service and on the 14th 
 of August it began its long and weary march. 
 About eighty women and children, wives and 
 families of the officers and some of the enlisted 
 men, accompanied the battalion on its march. 
 Shortly after the beginning of the march, Allen, 
 who had been promoted to lieutenant-colonel, 
 fell sick and died. The battalion was placed 
 temporarily under the command of Lieut. A. J. 
 Smith, of the regular army. At Santa Fe 
 Lieut. -Col. Philip St. George Cooke took com- 
 mand under orders from General Kearny. The 
 battalion was detailed to open a wagon road by 
 the Gila route to California. About sixty of 
 the soldiers who had become unfit for duty and 
 all the women except five were sent back and 
 the remainder of the force, after a toilsome jour- 
 ney, reached San Luis Rey, Cal., January 29, 
 1847, where it remained until ordered to Los 
 .'\ngeles, which place it reached March 17. 
 
 Captain Owens, in command of Fremont's 
 battalion, had moved all the artillery, ten pieces, 
 from Los Angeles to San Gabriel, probably with 
 the design of preventing it falling into the hands 
 of Colonel Cooke, who was an adherent of 
 General Kearny. General Kearny, under addi- 
 tional instructions from the general government, 
 brought by Colonel Mason from the war depart- 
 ment, had established himself as governor at 
 Monterey. With a governor in the north and 
 one in the south, antagonistic to each other 
 California had fallen back to its normal condi- 
 tion under Mexican rule. Colonel Cooke. 
 shortly after his arrival in the territor}', thus de- 
 scribes the condition prevailing: "General 
 Kearny is supreme somewhere up the coast. 
 Colonel Fremont is supreme at Pueblo de Los 
 Angeles; Colonel Stockton is commander-in- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 145 
 
 chief at San Diego; Commodore Shubrick the 
 same at Monterey; and I at San Luis Rey; and 
 we are all supremely poor, the government hav- 
 ing no money and no credit, and we hold the 
 territory because Mexico is the poorest, of all." 
 
 Col. R. B. Mason was appointed inspector of 
 the troops in California and made an official 
 visit to Los Angeles. In a misunderstanding 
 about some official matters he used insulting 
 language to Colonel Fremont. Fremont 
 promptly challenged him to fight a duel. The 
 challenge was accepted; double-barreled shot- 
 guns were chosen as the weapons and the 
 Rancho Rosa del Castillo as the place of meet- 
 ing. Mason was summoned north and the duel 
 was postponed until his return. General Kearny, 
 hearing of the proposed affair of honor, put a 
 stop to further proceedings by the duelists. 
 
 Col. Philip St. George Cooke, of the Mormon 
 battalion, was made commander of the military 
 district of the south with headquarters at Los 
 Angeles. Fremont's battalion was mustered out 
 of service. The Mormon soldiers and the two 
 companies of United States Dragoons who 
 came with General Kearny were stationed at 
 Los Angeles to do guard duty and prevent any 
 uprising of the natives. 
 
 Colonel Fremont's appointment as governor 
 of California had never been recognized by 
 General Kearny. So when the general had 
 made himself supreme at Monterey he ordered 
 Fremont to report to him at the capital and 
 turn over the papers of his governorship. Fre- 
 mont did so and passed out of office. He was 
 nominally governor of the territory about two 
 months. His appointment was made by Com- 
 modore Stockton, but was never confirmed by 
 the president or secretary of war. His jurisdic- 
 tion did not extend beyond Los Angeles. He 
 left Los Angeles May 12 for Monterey. From 
 that place, in company with General Kearny, 
 on May 31, he took his departure for the states. 
 The relations between the two were strained. 
 While ostensibly traveling as one company, 
 each officer, with his stafT and escort, made sep- 
 arate camps. .\t Fort Leavenworth General 
 Kearny placed Fremont under arrest and pre- 
 ferred charges against him for disobedience of 
 orders. He was tried by court-martial at Wash- 
 10 
 
 ington and was ably defended by his father-in- 
 law, Colonel Benton, and his brother-in-law, 
 William Carey Jones. The court found him 
 guilty and fixed the penalty, dismissal from the 
 service. President Polk remitted the penalty 
 and ordered Colonel Fremont to resume his 
 sword and report for duty. He did so, but 
 shortly afterward resigned his commission and 
 left the army. 
 
 While Colonel Cooke was in command of 
 the southern district rumors reached Los .An- 
 geles that the Mexican general, Bustamente, 
 v.'ith a force of fifteen hundred men, was pre- 
 paring to reconquer California. "Positive infor- 
 mation," writes Colonel Cooke, under date of 
 April 20, 1847, "has been received that the 
 Mexican government has appropriated $600,000 
 towards fitting out this force." It was also re- 
 ported that cannon and military stores had been 
 landed at San Vicente, in Lower California. 
 Rumors of an approaching army came thick and 
 fast. The natives were supposed to be in league 
 with Bustamente and to be secretly preparing 
 for an uprising. Precautions were taken against 
 a surprise. A troop of cavalry was sent to 
 Warner's ranch to patrol the Sonora road as 
 far as the desert. The construction of a fort 
 on the hill fully commanding the town, which 
 had previously been determined upon, was 
 begun and a company of infantry posted on 
 the hill. 
 
 On the 23d of .'\pril, three months after work 
 had ceased on Emory's fort, the construction of 
 the second fort was begun and pushed vigor- 
 ously. Rumors continued to come of the ap- 
 proach of the enemy. May 3, Colonel Cooke 
 writes: "A report was received through the 
 most available sources of information that Gen- 
 eral Bustamente had crossed the Gulf of Cali- 
 fornia near its head, in boats of the pearl fishers, 
 and at last information was at a rancho on the 
 western road, seventy leagues below San 
 Diego." Colonel Stevenson's regiment of New 
 York volunteers had recently arrived in Cali- 
 fornia. Two companies of that regiment had 
 been sent to Los Angeles and two to San 
 Diego. The report that Colonel Cooke had re- 
 ceived reinforcement and that Los Angeles was 
 being fortified was supposed to have frightened 
 
146 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Bustamente into abandoning his invasion of 
 California. Bustamente's invading army was 
 largely the creation of somebody's fertile imag- 
 ination. The scare, however, had the effect of 
 hurrying up work on the fort. May 13, Colo- 
 nel Cooke resigned and Col. J. B. Stevenson 
 succeeded him in the command of the southern 
 military district. 
 
 Colonel Stevenson continued work on the 
 fort and on the ist of July work had progressed 
 so far that he decided to dedicate and name it 
 on the 4th. He issued an official order for the 
 celebration of the anniversary of the birthday of 
 American independence at this port, as he called 
 Los Angeles. "At sunrise a Federal salute will 
 be fired from the field work on the hill which 
 commands this town and for the first time from 
 this point the American standard will be dis- 
 played. At II o'clock all the troops of the 
 district, consisting of the Mormon battalion, the 
 two companies of dragoons and two companies 
 of the New York volunteers, were formed in a 
 hollow square at the fort. The Declaration of 
 Independence was read in English by Captain 
 Stuart Taylor and in Spanish by Stephen C. 
 Foster. The native Californians, seated on their 
 horses in rear of the soldiers, listened to Don 
 Esteban as he rolled out in sonorous Spanish the 
 Declaration's arraignment of King George HI., 
 and smiled. They had probably never heard of 
 King George or the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence, either, but they knew a pronunciamiento 
 when they heard it, and after a pronunciamiento 
 in their governmental system came a revolution, 
 therefore they smiled at the prospect of a gringo 
 revolution. "At the close of this ceremony 
 (reading of the Declaration) the field work will 
 be dedicated and appropriately named; and at 
 12 o'clock a national salute will be fired. The 
 field work at this post having been planned and 
 the work conducted entirely by Lieutenant Da- 
 vidson of the First Dragoons, he is requested 
 to hoist upon it for the first time on the morn- 
 ing of the 4th the American standard." * * * 
 The commander directs that from and after the 
 4th instant the fort shall bear the name of 
 Moore. Benjamin D. Moore, after whom the fort 
 was named, was captain of Company A, First 
 United States Dragoons. He was killed by a 
 
 lance thrust in the disastrous charge at the bat- 
 tle of San Pasqual. This fort was located on 
 what is now called Fort Hill, near the geograph- 
 ical center of Los Angeles. It was a breastwork 
 about four hundred feet long with bastions and 
 embrasures for cannon. The principal em- 
 brasure conuuanded the church and the plaza, 
 two places most likely to be the rallying points 
 in a rebellion. It was built more for the sup- 
 pression of a revolt than to resist an invasion. 
 It was in a commanding position; two hundred 
 men, about its capacity, could have defended it 
 against a thousand if the attack came from the 
 front; but as it was never completed, in an at- 
 tack from the rear it could easily have been cap- 
 tured with an equal force. 
 
 Col. Richard B. Mason succeeded General 
 Kearny as commander-in-chief of the troops 
 and military governor of California. Col. Philip 
 St. George Cooke resigned command of the 
 military district of the south May 13, joined 
 General Kearny at Monterey and went east 
 with him. As previously stated, Col. J. D. Ste- 
 venson, of the New York volunteers, succeeded 
 him. His regiment, the First New York, but 
 really the Seventh, had been recruited in the 
 eastern part of the state of New York in the 
 summer of 1846, for the double purpose of con- 
 quest and colonization. The United States gov- 
 ernment had no intention of giving up California 
 once it was conquered, and therefore this regi- 
 ment came to the coast well provided with pro- 
 visions and implements of husbandry. It came 
 to California via Cape Horn in three transports. 
 The first ship, the Perkins, arrived at San 
 Francisco, March 6, 1847; the second, the Drew, 
 March 19; and the third, the Loo Choo, March 
 26. Hostilities had ceased in California before 
 their arrival. Two companies, A and B, under 
 command of Lieutenant-Colonel Burton, were 
 sent to Lower California, where they saw hard 
 service and took part in several engagements. 
 The other companies of the regiment were sent 
 to different towns in Alta California to do gar- 
 rison duty. 
 
 Another military organization that reached 
 California after the conquest was Company F 
 of the Third United States Artillery. It landed 
 at Monterey January 28, 1847. It was com- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 147 
 
 manded by Capt. C. Q. Tlioiiipkins. With 
 it came Licuts. E. O. C. Ord, William T. Sher- 
 man and H. W. Halleck, all of whom became 
 prominent in California affairs and attained na- 
 tional reputation during the Civil war. The 
 Mormon battalion was mustered out in July, 
 1847. One company under command of Cap- 
 tain Hunt re-enlisted. The others made their 
 way to Utah, where they joined their brethren 
 who the year before had crossed the plains and 
 founded the City of Salt Lake. The Xew York 
 volunteers were discharged in August, 1848. 
 After the treaty of peace, in 1848, four compa- 
 nies of United States Dragoons, under com- 
 mand of Major L. P. Graham, marched from 
 Chihuahua, by way of Tucson, to California. 
 Major Graham was the last military commander 
 of the south. 
 
 Commodore W. Branford Shubrick succeeded 
 Commodore Stockton in command of the naval 
 forces of the north Pacific coast. Jointly with 
 General Kearny he issued a circular or proc- 
 lamation to the people of California, printed in 
 English and Spanish, setting forth "That the 
 president of the United States, desirous to give 
 and secure to the people of California a share 
 of the good government and happy civil organ- 
 ization enjoyed by the people of the United 
 States, and to protect them at the same time 
 from the attacks of foreign foes and from inter- 
 nal commotions, has invested the undersigned 
 with separate and distinct powers, civil and mil- 
 itary; a cordial co-operation in the exercise of 
 which, it is hoped and believed, will have the 
 happy results desired. 
 
 "To the commander-in-chief of the naval 
 forces the president has assigned the regula- 
 tion of the import trade, the conditions on which 
 vessels of all nations, our own as well as foreign, 
 may be admitted into the ports of the territory, 
 and the establishment of all port regulations. 
 To the commanding military officer the presi- 
 dent has assigned the direction of the operations 
 on land and has invested him with administra- 
 tive functions of government over the people 
 and territory occupied by the forces of the 
 United States. 
 
 "Done at Monterey, capital of California, this 
 1st day of March, A. D. 1847. W. Branford 
 
 Shubrick, commander-in-chief of the naval 
 forces. S. W. Kearny, Brig.-Gen. United States 
 Army, and Governor of California." 
 
 Under the administration of Col. Richard B. 
 ^lason, the successor of General Kearny as 
 military governor, the reconstruction, or, more 
 appropriately, the transformation period began. 
 The orders from the general goverimient were 
 to conciliate the people and to make no radical 
 changes in the form of government. The Mex- 
 ican laws were continued in force. Just what 
 these laws were, it was difificult to find out. No 
 code commissioner had codified the laws and it 
 sometimes happened that the judge made the 
 law to suit the case. Lender the old regime the al- 
 calde was often law-giver, judge, jury and exe- 
 cutioner, all in one. Occasionally there was fric- 
 tion between the military and civil powers, and 
 there were rumors of insurrections and inva- 
 sions, but nothing came of them. The Califor- 
 nians, with easy good nature so characteristic 
 of them, made the best of the situation. "A 
 thousand things," says Judge Hays, "combined 
 to smooth the asperities of war. Fremont had 
 been courteous and gay; ]\Iason was just and 
 firm. The natural good temper of the popula- 
 tion favored a speedy and perfect conciliation. 
 The American officers at once found themselves 
 happy in every circle. In suppers, balls, visiting 
 in town and country, the hours glided away with 
 pleasant reflections." 
 
 There were, however, a few individuals who 
 were not happy unless they could stir up dis- 
 sensions and cause trouble. One of the chief of 
 these was Serbulo \'arela, agitator and revolu- 
 tionist. Varela, for some ofifense not specified 
 in the records, had been committed to prison by 
 the second alcalde of Los Angeles. Colonel Ste- 
 venson turned him out of jail, and Varela gave 
 the judge a tongue lashing in refuse Castilian. 
 The judge's official dignity was hurt. He sent 
 a communication to the ayuntamiento saying: 
 "Owing to personal abuse which I received at 
 the hands of a private individual and from the 
 ]iresent military commander. I tender my resig- 
 nation." 
 
 The ayuntamiento sent a communication to 
 Colonel Stevenson asking why he had turned 
 \'arela out of jail and why he had insulted the 
 
148 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 judge. The colonel curtly replied that the mili- 
 tary would not act as jailers over persons guilty 
 of trifling offenses while the city had plenty of 
 persons to do guard duty at the jail. As to the 
 abuse of the judge, he was not aware that any 
 abuse had been given, and would take no further 
 notice of him unless he stated the nature of the 
 insult ofifered him. The council decided to no- 
 tify the governor of the outrage perpetrated by 
 the military commander, and the second alcalde 
 said since he could get no satisfaction for insults 
 to his authority from the military despot, he 
 would resign; but the council would not accept 
 his resignation, so he refused to act, and the city 
 had to worry along with one alcalde. 
 
 Although foreigners had been coming to Cali- 
 fornia ever since 1814, their numbers had not 
 increased very rapidly. Nearly all of these had 
 found their way there by sea. Those who had 
 become permanent residents had married native 
 Californian women and adopted the customs of 
 the country. Capt. Jedediah S. Smith, in 1827, 
 crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains from Cali- 
 fornia and by way of the Humboldt, or, as he 
 named it, the Mary River, had reached the Great 
 Salt Lake. From there through the South Pass 
 of the Rocky mountains the route had been 
 traveled for several years by the fur trappers. 
 This latter became the great emigrant route to 
 California a few years later. A southern route 
 by way of Santa Fe had been marked out and 
 the Pattee party had found their way to the 
 Colorado by the Gila route, but so far no emi- 
 grant trains had come from the States to Cali- 
 fornia with women and children. The first of 
 these mixed trains was organized in western 
 Missouri in May, 1841. The party consisted of 
 si.xty-nine persons, including men, women and 
 children. This party divided at Soda Springs, 
 half going to Oregon and the others keeping on 
 their way to California. They reached the San 
 Joaquin valley in November, 1841, after a toil- 
 some journey of six months. The first settle- 
 ment they found was Dr. Marsh's ranch in what 
 is now called Contra Costa county. Marsh gave 
 them a cordial reception at first, but afterwards 
 treated them meanly. 
 
 Fourteen of the party started for the Pueblo 
 de San Jose. At the ^lission of San Jose, 
 
 twelve miles from the Pueblo, they were all ar- 
 rested by order of General Vallejo. One of the 
 men was sent to Dr. ^larsh to have him come 
 forthwith and explain why an armed force of 
 liis countrymen were roaming around the coun- 
 try without passports. Marsh secured their re- 
 lease and passports for all the party. On his 
 return home he charged the men who had re- 
 mained at his ranch $5 each for a passport, al- 
 though the passports had cost him nothing. As 
 there was no money in the party, each had to 
 put up some equivalent from his scanty posses- 
 sions. Marsh had taken this course to reim- 
 burse himself for the meal he had given the 
 half-starved emigrants the first night of their 
 arrival at his ranch. 
 
 In marked contrast with the meanness of 
 Marsh was the Hberality of Captain Sutter. Sut- 
 ter had built a fort at the junction of the Amer- 
 ican river and the Sacramento in 1839 and had 
 obtained extensive land grants. His fort was 
 the frontier post for the overland emigration. 
 Gen. John Bidwell, who came with the first 
 emigrant train to California, in a description of 
 "Life in California Before the Gold Discovery," 
 says: "Nearly everybody who came to Califor- 
 nia then made it a point to reach Sutter's Fort. 
 Sutter was one of the most liberal and hospita- 
 ble of men. Everybody was welcome, one man 
 or a hundred, it was all the sflme." 
 
 Another emigrant train, known as the Work- 
 man-Rowland party, numbering forty-five per- 
 sons, came from Santa Fe by the Gila route to 
 Los Angeles. About twenty-five of this party 
 were persons who had arrived too late at West- 
 port, Mo., to join the northern emigrant party, 
 so they went with the annual caravan of St. 
 Louis traders to Santa Fe and from there, with 
 traders and trappers, continued their journey to 
 California. From 1841 to the American con- 
 quest immigrant trains came across the plains 
 every year. 
 
 One of the most noted of these, on account of 
 the tragic fate that befell it, was the Donner 
 party. The nucleus of this party, George and 
 Jacob Donner and James K. Reed, with their 
 families, started from Springfield, 111., in the 
 spring of 1846. By accretions and combinations, 
 when it reached Fort Bridger, July 25, it had 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ll'.t 
 
 increased to eighty-seven persons — thirty-six 
 men, twenty-one women and thirty children, 
 under the command of George Donner. A new 
 route called the Hastings Cut-Off, had just been 
 opened by Lansford W. Hastings. This route 
 passed to the south of Great Salt Lake and 
 struck the old Fort Hall emigrant road on the 
 Humboldt. It was claimed that the "cut-off" 
 shortened the distance three hundred miles. 
 The Donner party, by misrepresentations, were 
 induced to take this route. The cut-off proved 
 to be almost impassable. They started on the 
 cut-off the last day of July, and it was the end 
 of September when they struck the old emigrant 
 trail on the Humboldt. They had lost most of 
 their cattle and were nearly out of provisions. 
 From this on, unmerciful disaster followed them 
 fast and faster. In an altercation, Reed, one of 
 the best men of the party, killed Snyder. He 
 was banished from the train and compelled to 
 leave his wife and children behind. An old 
 Ilelgian named Hardcoop and Wolfinger, a 
 German, unable to keep up, were abandoned to 
 die on the road. Pike was accidentally shot by 
 Foster. The Indians stole a number of their 
 cattle, and one calamity after another delayed 
 them. In the latter part of October they had 
 reached the Truckee. Here they encountered a 
 heavy snow storm, which blocked all further 
 progress. They wasted their strength in trying 
 to ascend the mountains in the deep snow that 
 had fallen. Finally, finding this impossible, they 
 turned back and built cabins at a lake since 
 known as Donne'r Lake, and prepared to pass 
 the winter. Most of their oxen had strayed 
 away during the storm and perished. Those 
 still alive they killed and. preserved the meat. 
 A party of fifteen, ten men and five women, 
 
 known as the "Forlorn Hope," started, Decem- 
 ber i6, on snowshoes to cross the Sierras. They 
 had provisions for six days, but the journey 
 consumed thirty-two days. Eight of the ten 
 men perished, and among them the noble Stan- 
 ton, who had brought relief to the emigrants 
 from Sutter's Fort before the snows began to 
 fall. The five women survived. Upon the ar- 
 rival of the wretched survivors of the "Forlorn 
 Hope," the terrible sufferings of the snow-bound 
 immigrants were made known at Sutter's Fort, 
 and the first relief party was organized, and on 
 the 5th of February started for the lake. Seven 
 of the thirteen who started sticceeded in reach- 
 ing the lake. On the 19th they started back 
 with twenty-one of the immigrants, three of 
 whom died on the way. A second relief, under 
 Reed and McCutchen, was organized. Reed 
 had gone to Yerba Buena to seek assistance. A 
 public meeting was called and $1,500 subscribed. 
 The second relief started from Johnston's 
 Ranch, the nearest point to the mountains, on 
 the 23d of February and reached the camp on 
 March ist. They brought out seventeen. Two 
 others were organized and reached Donner 
 Lake, the last on the 17th of April. The only 
 survivor then was Keseburg, a German, who 
 was hated by all the company. There was a 
 strong suspicion that he had killed Mrs. Don- 
 ner, who had refused to leave her husband (who 
 was too weak to travel) with the previous relief. 
 There were threats of hanging him. Keseburg ' 
 had saved his life by eating the bodies of the 
 dead. Of the original party of eighty-seven, a 
 total of thirty-nine perished from starvation. 
 Most of the survivors were compelled to resort 
 to cannabalism. Tliey were not to blame if they 
 did. 
 
150 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.\PHlCAL RECORD. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 MEXICAN LAWS AND AMERICAN OFFICIALS. 
 
 •u 
 
 PON the departure of General Kearny, 
 May 31, 1847, Col. Richard B. Alason 
 became governor and commander-in- 
 chief of the United States forces in CaHfornia 
 by order of the president. Stockton, Kearny 
 and Fremont had taken their departure, the 
 dissensions that had existed since the conquest 
 of the territory among the conquerors ceased, 
 and peace reigned. 
 
 There were reports of Mexican invasions and 
 suspicions of secret plottings against gringo 
 rule, but the invaders came not and the plottings 
 never produced even the mildest form of a Alexi- 
 can revolution. Mexican laws were adminis- 
 tered for the most part by military officers. The 
 municipal authorities were encouraged to con- 
 tinue in power and perform their governmental 
 functions, but they were indifferent and some- 
 times rebelled. Under Mexican rule there was 
 no trial by jury. The alcalde acted as judge 
 and in criminal cases a council of war settled the 
 fate of the criminal. The Rev. Walter Colton, 
 while acting as alcalde of Monterey, in 1846-47, 
 impaneled the first jury ever summoned in Cali- 
 fornia. "The plaintiff and defendant," he writes, 
 "are among the principal citizens of the country. 
 The case was one involving property on the one 
 side and integrity of character on the other. Its 
 merits had been pretty widely discussed, and 
 had called forth an unusual interest. One-third 
 of the jury were Mexicans, one-third Califor- 
 nians and the other third Americans. This mix- 
 ture may have the better answered the ends of 
 justice, but I was apprehensive at one thue it 
 would embarrass the proceedings; for the plaint- 
 iff spoke in English, the defendant in French; 
 the jury, save the Americans, Spanish, and the 
 witnesses, all the languages known to California. 
 By the tact of ^Ir. Ilartnell, who acted as inter- 
 preter, and the absence of young lawyers, we 
 got along very well. 
 
 "The examination of witnesses lasted five or 
 six hours. I then gave the case to the jury, 
 stating the questions of fact upon which they 
 were to render their verdict. They retired for 
 an hour and then returned, when the foreman 
 handed in their verdict, which was clear and 
 explicit, though the case itself was rather com- 
 plicated. To this verdict both parties bowed 
 without a word of dissent. The inhabitants who 
 witnessed the trial said it was what they liked, 
 that there could be no bribery in it, that the 
 opinion of twelve honest men should set the 
 case forever at rest. And so it did, though 
 neither party completely triumphed in the issue. 
 One recovered his property, which had been 
 taken from him by mistake, the other his char- 
 acter, which had been slandered by design." 
 
 The process of Americanizing the people was 
 no easy undertaking. The population of the 
 countr}- and its laws were in a chaotic condition. 
 It was an arduous task that Colonel Mason and 
 the military commanders at the various pueblos 
 had to perform, that of evolving order out of 
 the chaos that had been brought about by the 
 change in nations. The native population 
 neither understood the language nor the cus- 
 toms of their new rules, and the newcomers 
 among the Americans had very little toleration 
 for the slow-going Mexican ways and methods 
 they found prevailing. To keep peace between 
 the factions required more tact than knowledge 
 of law, military or civil, in the commanders. 
 
 Los Angeles, under Mexican domination, had 
 been the storm center of revolutions, and here 
 under the new regime the most difficulty w-as 
 encountered in transforming the quondam rev- 
 olutionists into law-abiding and peaceful Amer- 
 ican citizens. The ayuntamiento was convened 
 in 1847, after the conquest, and continued in 
 power until the close of the year. When the 
 time came round for the election of a new avun- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 131 
 
 lamicnto there was trouble. Stephen C. Foster, 
 Colonel Stevenson's interpreter, submitted a 
 paper to the council stating that the govern- 
 ment had authorized him to get up a register of 
 voters. The ayuntamiento voted to return the 
 paper just as it was received. Then the colonel 
 made a demand of the council to assist Stephen 
 in compiling a register of voters. Regidor Cha- 
 vez took the floor and said such a register 
 should not be gotten up under the auspices of 
 the military, but, since the government had so 
 disposed, thereby outraging this honorable 
 body, no attention should be paid to said com- 
 munication. But the council decided that the 
 matter did not amount to much, so they granted 
 the request, much to the disgust of Chavez. 
 The election was held and a new ayuntamiento 
 elected. At the last meeting of the old council, 
 December 29, 1847, Colonel Stevenson ad- 
 dressed a note to it requesting that Stephen C. 
 Foster be recognized as first alcalde and judge 
 of the first instance. The council decided to 
 turn the whole business over to its successor, to 
 deal with as it sees fit. 
 
 Colonel Stevenson's request was made in ac- 
 cordance with the wish of Governor Mason 
 that a part of the civil offices be filled by Amer- 
 icans. The new ayuntamiento resented the in- 
 terference. How the matter terminated is best 
 told in Stephen C. Foster's own words: "Colo- 
 nel Stevenson was determined to have our in- 
 auguration done in style. So on tlie day ap- 
 pointed, January i, 1848, he, together with 
 myself and colleague, escorted by a guard of 
 soldiers, proceeded from the colonel's quarters 
 to the alcalde's office. There we found the re- 
 tiring ayuntamiento and the new one awaiting 
 our arrival. The oath of office was adminis- 
 tered by the retiring first alcalde. We knelt to 
 take the oath, when we found they had changed 
 their minds, and the alcalde told us that if two 
 of their number were to be kicked out they 
 would all go. So they all marched out and left 
 us in possession. Here was a dilemma, but 
 Colonel Stevenson was equal to the emergency. 
 He said he could give us a swear as well as tlie 
 alcalde. So w-e stood up and he administered 
 to us an oath to support the constitution of 
 the United States and administer justice in ac- 
 
 cordance with Mexican law. I then knew as 
 much about Mexican law as I did about Chinese, 
 and my colleague knew as much as I did. Guer- 
 rero gathered up the books tliat pertained to his 
 office and took them to his house, where he 
 established his office, and I took the archives 
 and records across the street to a house I had 
 rented, and there I was duly installed for the 
 next seventeen months, the first American al- 
 calde and carpet-bagger in Los Angeles." 
 
 Colonel Stevenson issued a call for the elec- 
 tion of a new ayuntamiento, but the people 
 stayed at home and no votes were cast. At the 
 close of the year the voters had gotten over 
 their pet and when a call was made a council 
 was elected, but only Californians (hijos del 
 pais) were returned. The ayuntamientos con- 
 tinued to be the governing power in the pueblos 
 until superseded by city and county govern- 
 ments in 1850. 
 
 The most difficult problem that General Kear- 
 ny in his short term had to confront and, un- 
 solved, he handed down to his successor. Colo- 
 nel Alason, was the authority and jurisdiction 
 of the alcaldes. Under the Mexican regime 
 these officers were supreme in the pueblo over 
 which they ruled. For the Spanish transgressor 
 fines of various degrees were the usual penalty; 
 for the mission neoph)tc, the lash, well laid on, 
 and labor in the chain gang. There was no 
 written code that defined the amount of pun- 
 ishment, the alcalde meted out justice and some- 
 times injustice, as suited his humor. Kearny 
 appointed John H. Nash alcalde of Sonoma. 
 Nash was a somewhat erratic individual, who 
 had taken part in the Bear Flag revolution. 
 When the offices of the prospective Pacific Re- 
 public were divided among the revolutionists, 
 he was to be the chief justice. After the col- 
 lapse of that short-lived republic, Nash was 
 elected alcalde. His rule was so arbitrarv and 
 his decisions so biased by favoritism or preju- 
 dice that the American settlers soon protested 
 and General Kearny removed him or tried to. 
 He appointed L. W. Boggs, a recently arrived 
 immigrant, to the office. Nash refused to sur- 
 render the books and papers of the office. Lieut. 
 W. T. Sherman was detailed by Colonel ^lason, 
 after his succession to the office of governor, to 
 
I 
 
 152 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 proceed to Sonoma and arrest Nash. Sherman 
 quietly arrested him at night and before the 
 belHcose alcalde's friends (for he had quite a fol- 
 lowing) were aware of what was going on, 
 marched him ofi to San Francisco. He was 
 put on board the Dale and sent to Monterey. 
 Finding that it was useless for him to resist the 
 authority of the United States, its army and 
 navy as well, Nash expressed his willingness to 
 submit to the inevitable, and surrendered his 
 office. He was released and ceased from troub- 
 ling. Another strenuous alcalde was William 
 Blackburn, of Santa Cruz. He came to the 
 country in 1845, ^nd before his elevation to the 
 honorable position of a judge of the first in- 
 stance he had been engaged in making shingles 
 in the redwoods. He had no knowledge of law 
 and but little acquaintance with books of any 
 kind. His decisions were always on the side of 
 justice, although some of the penalties imposed 
 were somewhat irregular. 
 
 In Alcalde Blackburn's docket for August 14, 
 1847, appears this entry: "Pedro Gomez was 
 tried for the murder of his wife, Barbara Gomez, 
 and found guilty. The sentence of the court is 
 that the prisoner be conducted back to prison, 
 there to remain until Monday, the i6th of Au- 
 gust, and then be taken out and shot." August 
 17, sentence carried into effect on the i6th ac- 
 cordingly. William Bl.\ckburn, Alcalde. 
 
 It does not appear in the records that Black- 
 burn was the executioner. He proceeded to 
 dispose of the two orphaned children of the 
 murderer. The older daughter he indentured to 
 Jacinto Castro "to raise until she is twenty-one 
 years of age, unless sooner married, said Ja- 
 cinto Castro, obligating himself to give her a 
 good education, three cows and calves at her 
 marriage or when of age." The younger daugh- 
 ter was disposed of on similar terms to A. Rod- 
 riguez. Colonel ]\Iason severely reprimanded 
 Blackburn, but the alcalde replied that there 
 was no use making a fuss over it; the man was 
 guilty, he had a fair trial before a jury and de- 
 served to die. Another case in his court illus- 
 trates the versatility of the judge. A Spanish 
 boy, out of revenge, sheared the mane and tail 
 of a neighbor's horse. The offense was proved. 
 
 but the judge was sorely perplexed when he 
 came to sentence the culprit. He could find no 
 law in his law books to fit the case. After pon- 
 dering over the question a while, he gave this 
 decision: "I find no law in any of the statutes 
 to fit this case, except in the law of Moses, 'An 
 eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' Let the 
 prisoner be taken out in front of this office and 
 there sheared close." The sentence was imme- 
 diately executed. 
 
 Another story is told of Blackburn, which 
 may or may not be true. A mission Indian who 
 had committed murder took the rigjjt of sanc- 
 tuary in the church, and the padre refused to 
 give him up. Blackburn wrote to the governor, 
 stating the case. The Indian, considering him- 
 self safe while with the padre, left the church 
 in company with the priest. Blackburn seized 
 him, tried him and hung him. He then reported 
 to the governor: "I received your order to sus- 
 pend the execution of the condemned man, but 
 I had hung him. When I see you I will ex- 
 plain the affair." 
 
 Some of the military commanders of the pre- 
 sidios and pueblos gave Governor Mason as 
 much trouble as the alcaldes. These, for the 
 most part, were officers of the volunteers who 
 had arrived after the conquest. They were un- 
 used to "war's alarms," and, being new to 
 the country and ignorant of the Spanish lan- 
 guage, they regarded the natives with suspicion. 
 They were on the lookout for plots and revolu- 
 tions. Sometimes they foiuid these incubating 
 and undertook to crush them, only to discover 
 that the affair was a hoax or a practical joke. 
 The Canon Perdido (lost canon) of Santa Bar- 
 bara episode is a good illustration of the 
 trouble one "finicky" man can make when en- 
 trusted with military power. 
 
 In the winter of 1847-48 the American bark 
 Elisabeth was wrecked on the Santa Barbara 
 coast. Among the flotsam of the wreck was a 
 brass cannon of uncertain calibre; it might have 
 been a six, a nine or a twelve pounder. What 
 the capacity of its bore matters not, for the gun 
 unloaded made more noise in Santa Barbara 
 than it ever did when it belched forth shot and 
 shell in battle. The gun, after its rescue from 
 a watery grave, lay for some time on the beach. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 153 
 
 devoid of carriage and useless, apparently, for 
 offense or defense. 
 
 One dark night a little squad of native Cali- 
 forniaiis stole down to the beach, loaded the 
 gun in an ox cart, hauled it to the estero and 
 hid it in the sands. What was their object in 
 taking the gun no one knows. Perhaps they 
 did not know themselves. It might come handy 
 m a revolution, or maybe they only intended to 
 play a practical joke on the gringos. Whatever 
 their object, the outcome of their prank must 
 have astonished them. There \^'as a company 
 (T") of Stevenson's New York volunteers sta- 
 tioned at Santa Barbara, under command of 
 Captain Lippett. Lippett was a fussy, nervous 
 individual who lost his head when anything un- 
 usual occurred. In the theft of the cannon he 
 thought he had discovered a California revolu- 
 tion in the formative stages, and he determined 
 to crush it in its infancy. He sent post haste a 
 courier to Governor Alason at Monterey, in- 
 forming him of the prospective uprising of the 
 natives and the possible destruction of the 
 troops at Santa Barbara by the terrible gun the 
 enemy had stolen. 
 
 Colonel Alason, relying on Captain Lippett's 
 report, determined to give the natives a lesson 
 that would teach them to let guns and revolu- 
 tions alone. He issued an order from headquar- 
 ters at Monterey, in which he said tlmt ample 
 time having been allowed for the return of the 
 gun, and the citizens having failed to produce 
 it, he ordered that the town be laid under a con- 
 tribution of $500, assessed in the following man- 
 ner: A capitation tax of $2 on all males over 
 twenty rears of age; the balance to be paid by 
 the heads of families and property-holders in the 
 proportion of the value of their respective real 
 and personal estate in the town of Santa Bar- 
 bara and vicinity. Col. J. D. Stevenson was ap- 
 pointed to direct the appraisement of the prop- 
 erty and the collection of the assessment. If 
 any failed to pay his capitation, enough of his 
 property was to be seized and sold to pay his 
 enforced contribution. 
 
 The promulgation of the order at Santa Bar- 
 bara raised a storm of indignation at the old 
 pueblo. Colonel Stevenson came up from Los 
 Angeles and had an interview with Don Pablo 
 
 de La Guerra, a leading citizen of Santa Bar- 
 bara. Don Pablo was wrathfully mdignant at 
 the insult put upon his people, but after talking 
 over the affair with Colonel Stevenson, he be- 
 came somewhat mollified. He invited Colonel 
 Stevenson to make Santa Barbara his headciuar- 
 ters and inquired about the brass band at the 
 lower pueblo. Stevenson took the hint and or- 
 dered up the band from Los Angeles. July 4th 
 had been fixed upon as the day for the payment 
 of the fines, doubtless with the idea of giving 
 the Californians a little celeljration that would 
 remind them hereafter of Liberty's natal day. 
 Colonel Stevenson contrived to have the band 
 reach Santa Barbara on the night of the 3d. 
 The band astonished Don Pablo and his family 
 with a serenade. The Don was so delighted 
 that he hugged the colonel in ihe most approved 
 style. The band serenaded all the Dons of note 
 in town and tooted until long after midnight, 
 tlien started in next morning and kept it up 
 till ten o'clock, the time set for each man to con- 
 tribute his "dos pesos" to the common fund, 
 liy that time every hombre on the list was so 
 filled with wine, music and patriotism that the 
 greater portion of the fine was handed over 
 without protest. The day closed with a grand 
 ball. The beauty and the chivalry of Santa Bar- 
 bara danced to the music of a gringo brass 
 band and the brass cannon for the nonce was 
 forgotten. 
 
 But the memory of the city's ransom rankled, 
 and although an American band played Spanish 
 airs, American injustice was still remembered. 
 When the city's survey was made in 1850 the 
 nomenclature of three streets, Caiion Perdido 
 (Lost Cannon street), Quinientos (Five Hun- 
 dred street) and Mason street kept the cannon 
 episode green in the memory of the Barbarenos. 
 When the pueblo, by legislative act, became a 
 ciudad, the municipal authorities selected this 
 device for a seal: In the center a cannon em- 
 l>lazoned, encircled with these words. Vale 
 Quinientos Pesos — Worth $500, or, more liber- 
 ally translated. Good-bye, $500, which, by the 
 way, as the sequel of the story^ will show, is the 
 better translation. This seal was used from the 
 incorporation of the city in 1850 to i860, when 
 another design was chosen. 
 
154 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 After peace was declared, Colonel Mason sent 
 the $500 to the prefect at Santa Barbara, with 
 instructions to use it in building a city jail; and 
 although there was pressing need for a jail, the 
 jail was not built. The prefect's needs were 
 pressing, too. Several years passed; then the 
 city council demanded that the prefect turn the 
 money into the city treasury. He replied that 
 the money was entrusted to him for a specific 
 jnirpose, and he would trust no city treasurer 
 with it. The fact was that long before he had 
 lost it in a game of monte. 
 • Ten years passed, and the episode of the lost 
 cannon was but a dimly remembered story of 
 the olden time. The old gun reposed peacefully 
 in its grave of sand and those who buried it 
 Iiad forgotten the place of its interment. One 
 stormy night in December, 1858, the estero 
 fcreek) cut a new channel to the ocean. In 
 the morning, as some Barbarenos were survey- 
 ing the changes caused by the flood, they saw 
 the muzzle of a large gun protruding from the 
 cut in the bank. They unearthed it, cleaned off 
 the sand and discovered that it was El Caiion 
 Perdido, the lost cannon. It was hauled up 
 .State street to Canon Perdido, where it was 
 mounted on an improvised carriage. But the 
 sight of it was a reminder of an impleasant in- 
 cident. The finders sold it to a merchant for 
 $80. He shipped it to San Francisco and sold 
 it at a handsome profit for old brass. 
 
 Governor Pio Pico returned from Mexico to 
 California, arriving at San Gabriel July 17, 1848. 
 Although the treaty of peace between the 
 L^nited States and Mexico had been signed and 
 proclaimed, the news had not reached Califor- 
 nia. Pico, from San Fernando, addressed let- 
 ters to Colonel Stevenson at Los Angeles and 
 Governor ]\Iason at ^Monterey, stating that as 
 Mexican governor of California he had come 
 back to the country with the object of carrying 
 .out the armistice which then existed between 
 the United States and Mexico. He further 
 stated that he had no desire to impede the es- 
 tablishment of peace between the two countries; 
 and that he wished to see the Mexicans and 
 Americans treat each other in a spirit of frater- 
 nity. Mason did not like Pico's assumption of 
 the title of Mexican governor of California, al- 
 
 though it is not probable that Pico intended to 
 assert any claim to his former position. Gov- 
 ernor ^lason sent a special courier to Los An- 
 geles with orders to Colonel Stevenson to 
 arrest the ex-governor, who was then at his 
 Santa Margarita rancho, and send him to Mon- 
 terey, but the news, of the ratification of the 
 treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo reached Los An- 
 geles before the arrest was made, and Pico was 
 spared this humiliation. 
 
 The treaty of peace between the United States 
 and Mexico was signed at Guadalupe Hidalgo, 
 a hamlet a few miles from the City of ]\Ie.xico, 
 February 2, 1848; ratifications were exchanged 
 at Oueretaro, May 30 following, and a procla- 
 mation that peace had been established between 
 the two countries was published July 4, 1848. 
 Lender this treaty the United States assumed the 
 payment of the claims of American citizens 
 against Me.xico, and paid, in addition, $15,000,- 
 000 to Me.xico for Texas, New ]\Ie.xico and 
 .\lta California. Out of what was the Mexican 
 territory of Alta California there has been 
 carved all of California, all of Nevada, Utah and 
 Arizona and part of Colorado and Wyoming. 
 The territory acquired by the treaty of Guada- 
 lupe Hidalgo was nearly equal to the aggre- 
 gated area of the thirteen original states at the 
 time of the Revolutionary war. 
 
 The news of the treaty of peace reached Cali- 
 fornia August 6, 1848. On the 7th Governor 
 Alason issued a proclamation announcing the 
 ratification of the treaty. He announced that 
 all residents of California, who wished to be- 
 come citizens of the United -States, were ab- 
 .solved from their allegiance to IMe.xico. Those 
 who desired to retain their Mexican citizenship 
 could do so, provided they signified such inten- 
 tion within one year from May 30, 1848. Those 
 who wished to go to Mexico were at liberty to 
 do so without passports. Six months before, 
 Governor Mason had issued a proclamation pro- 
 hibiting any citizen of Sonora from entering 
 California except on official business, and then 
 only under flag of truce. He also required all 
 Sonorans in the country to report themselves 
 either at Los Angeles or ^Monterey. 
 
 The war was over; and the treaty of peace 
 had made all who so elected, native or foreign 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 155 
 
 born, American citizens. Strict military rule 
 was relaxed and the people henceforth were to 
 be self-governing. American and Californian 
 were one people and were to enjoy the same 
 rights and to be subject to the same penalties. 
 The war ended, the troops were no longer 
 needed. Orders were issued to muster out the 
 volunteers. These all belonged to Stevenson's 
 New York regiment. The last company of the 
 Mormon battalion had been discharged in April. 
 
 The New York volunteers were scattered ail 
 along the coast from Sonoma to Cape St. Lucas, 
 doing garrison duty. They were collected at 
 different points and mustered out. Although 
 those stationed in Alta California had done 
 no fighting, they had performed arduous serv- 
 ice in keeping peace in the conquered territory. 
 Most of them remained in California after their 
 discharge and rendered a good account of them- 
 selves as citizens. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! 
 
 SEBASTLA.N VISCAINO, from the bay of 
 Monterey, writing to the King of Spain 
 three hundred years ago, says of the In- 
 dians of California: "They are well acquainted 
 with gold and silver, and said that these were 
 found in the interior." Viscaino was endeavor- 
 ing to make a good impression on the mind of 
 the king in regard to his discoveries, and the 
 remark about the existence of gold and silver 
 in California was thrown to e.xcite the cupidity 
 of his Catholic majesty. The traditions of the 
 existence of gold in California before any was 
 discovered are legion. Most of these have been 
 evolved since gold was actually found. Col. J. 
 J. Warner, a pioneer of 183 1, in his Historical 
 Sketch of Los Angeles County, briefly and very 
 eflectually disposes of these rumored discov- 
 eries. He says: "While statements respecting 
 the existence of gold in the earth of California 
 and its procurement therefrom have been made 
 and published as historical facts, carrying back 
 the date of the knowledge of the auriferous 
 character of this state as far as the time of the 
 visit of Sir Francis Drake to this coast, there is 
 no evidence to be found in the written or oral 
 history of the missions, the acts and correspond- 
 ence of the civil or military officers, or in the 
 unwritten and traditional history of Upper Cali- 
 fornia that the existence of gold, either with 
 ores or in its virgin state, was ever suspected 
 by any inhabitant of California previous to 1841, 
 and, furthermore, there is conclusive testimony 
 
 that the first known grain of native gold dust 
 was found upon or near the San Francisco ranch, 
 about forty-frve miles north-westerly from Los 
 Angeles City, in the month of June, 1841. This 
 discovery consisted of grain gold fields (known 
 as placer mines), and the auriferous fields dis- 
 covered in that year embraced the greater part 
 of the country drained by the Santa Clara river 
 from a point some fifteen or twenty miles from 
 its mouth to its source, and easterly beyond 
 ]\Iount San Bernardino." 
 
 The story of the discovery as told by Warner 
 and by Don Abel Stearns agrees in the main 
 facts, but differing materially in the date. Stearns 
 says gold was first discovered by Francisco 
 Lopez, a native of California, in the month of 
 March, 1842, at a place called San Francisquito, 
 about thirty-five miles northwest from this city 
 (Los Angeles). The circumstances of the dis- 
 covery by Lopez, as related by himself, are as 
 follows: "Lopez, with a companion, was out in 
 search of some stray horses, and about midday 
 they stopped under some trees and tied their 
 horses out to feed, they resting under the shade, 
 when Lopez, with his sheath-knife, dug up some 
 wild onions, and in the dirt discovered a piece 
 of gold, and, searching further, found some 
 more. He brought these to town, and showed 
 them to his friends, who at once declared there 
 must be a placer of gold. This news being cir- 
 culated, numbers of the citizens went to the 
 place, and commenced prospecting in the ifeigh- 
 
156 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 borhood, and found it to be a fact that there was 
 a placer of gold." 
 
 Colonel Warner says: "The news of this dis- 
 covery soon spread among the inhabitants from 
 Santa Barbara to Los Angeles, and in a few 
 weeks hundreds of people were engaged in 
 washing and winnowing the sands and earth of 
 these gold fields." 
 
 Warner visited the mines a few weeks after 
 their discovery. He says: "From' these mines 
 was obtained the first parcel of California gold 
 dust received at the United States mint in Phila- 
 delphia, and which was sent with Alfred Robin- 
 son, and went in a merchant ship around Cape 
 Horn." This shipment of gold was 18.34 ounces 
 before and 18.I ounces after melting; fineness, 
 .925; value, $344.75, or over $19 to the ounce, 
 a very superior quality of gold dust. It was 
 deposited in the mint July 8, 1843. 
 
 It may be regarded as a settled historical fact 
 that the first authenticated discovery of gold 
 in Alta California was made on the San Fran- 
 cisco rancho in the San Feliciano Canon, Los 
 Angeles county. This canon is about ten miles 
 northwest of Newhall station on the Southern 
 Pacific railroad, and about forty miles northwest 
 of Los Angeles. 
 
 The date of the discovery is in doubt. A peti- 
 tion to the governor (Alvarado) asking permis- 
 sion to work the placers, signed by Francisco 
 Lopez, Manuel Cota and Domingo Bermudez is 
 on file in the California archives. It recites: 
 "That as Divine Providence was pleased to give 
 us a placer of gold on the 9th of last March in 
 the locality of San Francisco rancho, that be- 
 longs to the late Don Antonio del Valle." This 
 petition fixes the day of the month the discovery 
 was made, but unfortunately omits all other 
 dates. Tlie evidence is about equally divided 
 between the years 1841 and 1842. 
 
 It is impossible to obtain definite information 
 in regard to the yield of the San Fernando 
 placers, as these mines are generally called. 
 William Fleath Davis, in his "Sixty Years in 
 California," states that from $80,000 to $100,000 
 was taken out for the first two years after their 
 discovery. He says that T^Iellus at one time 
 shipped $5,000 of dust on the ship Alert. Ban- 
 croft says: "That by December, 1843. two thou- 
 
 sand ounces of gold had been taken from the 
 San Fernando mines." Don Antonio Coronel 
 informed the author that he, with the assistance 
 of three Indian laborers, in 1842, took out $600 
 worth of dust in two months. De Mofras, in his 
 book, states that Carlos Baric, a Frenchman, in 
 1842, was obtaining an ounce a day of pure gold 
 from his placer. 
 
 These mines were worked continuously from 
 the time of their discovery until the .A.merican 
 conquest, principally by Sonorians. The dis- 
 covery of gold at Coloma, January 24, 1848, 
 drew away the miners, and no work was done 
 on these mines between 1848 and 1854. After 
 the latter dates work was restimed, and in 1855, 
 Francisco Garcia, working a gang of Indians, 
 is reported to have taken out $65,000 in one 
 season. The mines are not exhausted, but the 
 scarcity of water prevents working them profit- 
 ably. 
 
 It is rather a singular coincidence that the 
 exact dates of both the first and second authen- 
 ticated discoveries of gold in California are still 
 among the undecided questions of history. In 
 the first, we know the day but not the year; in 
 the second, we know the year but not the day 
 of the month on which Marshall picked up the 
 first nuggets in the mdlrace at Coloma. For a 
 number of years after the anniversary of Mar- 
 shall's discovery began to be observed the 19th 
 of January was celebrated. Of late years Jan- 
 uary 24 has been fixed upon as the correct date, 
 but the Associated Pioneers of the Territorial 
 Days of California, an association made up of 
 men who were in the territory at the time of 
 iNlarshall's discovery or came here before it 
 became a state, object to the change. For nearl\- 
 thirty years they have held their annual dinners 
 on January 18, "the anniversary of the discovery 
 of gold at Sutter's sawmill, Coloma, Cal." This 
 society has its headquarters in Xew York City. 
 In a circular recently issued, disapproving of 
 the change of date from the i8th to the 24th, the 
 trustees of that society say: "Upon the organi- 
 zation of this society, February 11, 1875, it was 
 decided to hold its annual dinners on the anni- 
 versary of the discovery of gold at Sutter's saw- 
 mill, Coloma, Cal. Through the Hon. Newton 
 Booth, of the L^nited States Senate, this infor- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 157 
 
 mation was sought, with the result of a commu- 
 nication from the secretary of the state of Cali- 
 fornia to the eft'ect 'that the archives of the 
 state of California recorded the date as of Jan- 
 uary i8, 1848. Some years ago this date was 
 changed by the society at San Francisco to that 
 of January 24, and that date has been adopted 
 by other similar societies located upon the 
 Pacific and Atlantic coasts. This society took 
 the matter under advisement, with the result 
 that the new evidence upon which it was pro- 
 posed to change the date was not deemed suffi- 
 cient to justify this society in ignoring its past 
 records, founded on the authority of the state 
 of California; therefore it has never accepted 
 the new date." 
 
 Marshall himself was uncertain about the 
 exact date. At various times he gave three 
 different dates — the i8th, 19th and 20th, but 
 never moved it along as far as the 24th. In the 
 past thirty years three different dates — the i8th, 
 19th and 24th of January — have been celebrated 
 as the anniversary of ^^larshall's gold dis- 
 covery. 
 
 The evidence upon which the date was changed 
 to the 24th is found in an entry in a diary kept 
 l)y H. \V. Cigler, a Mormon, who was working 
 for Marshall on the millrace at the time gold 
 was discovered. The entry reads: "January 24. 
 This day some kind of metal that looks like 
 goold was found in tlie tailrace." On this 
 authority about ten years ago the California 
 Pioneers adopted the 24th as the correct date 
 of Marshall's discovery. 
 
 While written records, especially if made at 
 the time of the occurrence of the event, are 
 more reliable than oral testimony given long 
 after, yet when we take into consideration the 
 conflicting stories of Sutter, Marshall, the Win- 
 ners and others who were immediately con- 
 cerned in some way with the discovery, we must 
 concede that the Territorial Pioneers have good 
 reasons to hesitate about makmg a change in 
 the date of their anniversary. In Dr. Trywhitt 
 Brook's "Four Months Among the Gold l*"ind- 
 ers," a book published in London in 18^9. and 
 long since out of print, we have Sutter's version 
 nf Marshall's discovery given only three months 
 after that discovery was made. Dr. Brooks 
 
 visited Sutter's Fort early in May, 1848, and 
 received from Sutter himself the story of the 
 find. Sutter stated that he was sitting in his 
 room at the fort, one afternoon, when Marshall, 
 whom he supposed to be at the mill, forty miles 
 up the American river, suddenly burst in upon 
 him. Marshall was so vyildly excited that Sutter, 
 suspecting that he was crazy, looked to see 
 whether his rifle was in reach. Marshall declared 
 that he had made a discovery that would give 
 them both millions and millions of dollars. Then 
 he drew his sack and poured out a handful of 
 nuggets on the table. Sutter, when he had 
 tested the metal and found that it was gold, 
 became almost as excited as Marshall. He 
 eagerly asked if the workmen at the mill knew 
 of the discovery. Marshall declared that he had 
 not spoken to a single person about it. They 
 both agreed to keep it secret. Next day Sutter 
 and Marshall arrived at the sawmill. The day 
 after their arrival, they prospected the bars of 
 the river and the channels of some of the dry 
 creeks and found gold in all. 
 
 "On our return to the mill," says Sutter, "we 
 vyere astonished by the work-people coming up 
 to us in a body and showing us some flakes of 
 gold similar to those we had ourselves procured. 
 Marshall tried to laugh the matter off with them, 
 and to persuade them that what they had found 
 was only some shining mineral of trifling value; 
 but one of the Indians, who had worked at a 
 sjold mine in the neighborhood of La Paz, 
 Lower California, cried out: 'Ora! Oral' (gold! 
 gold!), and the secret was out." 
 
 Captain Sutter continues: "I heard afterward 
 that one of them, a sly Kentuckian, had dogged 
 us about and. that, looking on the ground to see 
 if he could discover what wc were in search of, 
 he lighted on some of the flakes himself." 
 
 If this account is correct. Bigler's entry in 
 his diary was made on the day that the workmen 
 found gold, which was five or six days after 
 Marshall's first find, and consequently the 24th 
 is that much too late for the true date of the 
 discovery. The story of the discovery given in 
 the "Life and Adventures of James W. Mar- 
 shall," by George Frederick Parsons, differs 
 materially from Sutter's account. The date of 
 the discovery given in that book is January 19, 
 
158 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1848. On the morning of that day Marshall, 
 after shutting off the water, walked down the 
 tailrace to see what sand and gravel had been 
 removed during the night. (The water was 
 turned into the tailrace during the night to cut 
 it deeper.) While examining a mass of debris, 
 "his eye caught the glitter of something that lay 
 lodged in a crevice on a riffle of soft granite 
 some six inches under water." Picking up the 
 nugget and examining it, he became satisfied 
 that it must be one of three substances — mica, 
 sulphurets of copper, or gold. Its weight satis- 
 fied him that it was not rhica. Knowing that 
 gold was malleable, he placed the specimen on 
 a flat rock and struck it with another; it bent. 
 but did not crack or break. He was satisfied 
 that it was gold. He showed the nugget to his 
 men. In the course of a few days he had col- 
 lected several ounces of precious metal. "Some 
 four days after the discovery it became necessary 
 for him to go below, for Sutter had failed to 
 send a supply of provisions to the mill, and the 
 men were on short commons. While on his way 
 down he discovered gold in a ravine at a place 
 afterwards known as Mormon island. Arrived 
 at the fort, he interviewed Sutter in his private 
 ofiice and showed him about three ounces of 
 gold nuggets. Sutter did not believe it to be' 
 gold, but after weighing it in scales against $3.25 
 worth of silver, all the coin they could raise at 
 the fort, and testing it with nitric acid obtained 
 from the gun shop, Sutter became convinced and 
 returned to the mill with iNIarshall. So little did 
 the workmen at the mill value the discovery that 
 they continued to work for Sutter until the mill 
 was completed, j\Iarch 11, six weeks after the 
 nuggets were found in the tailrace. 
 
 The news of the discovery spread slowly. It was 
 two months in reaching San Francisco, although 
 the distance is not over one hundred and twenty- 
 five miles. The great rush to the mines from 
 San Francisco did not begin until the middle of 
 May, nearly four months after the discovery. On 
 the loth of May, Dr. Brooks, who was in San 
 Francisco, writes: ".\ number of people have ac- 
 tually started of? with shovels, mattocks and 
 pans to dig the gold themselves. It is not likelv, 
 however, that this will be allowed, for Captain 
 Folsom has already written to Colonel Mason 
 
 about taking possession of the mine on behalf of 
 the government, it being, he says, on public land." 
 
 As the people began to realize the richness 
 and extent of the discovery, the excitement in- 
 creased rapidly. May 17, Dr. Brooks writes: 
 "This place (San Francisco) is now in a perfect 
 furore of excitement; all the workpeople have 
 struck. Walking through the town to-day, I 
 observed that laborers were employed only upon 
 about half a dozen of the fifty new buildings 
 which were in course of being run up. The 
 majority of the mechanics at this place are mak- 
 ing preparations for moving off to the mines, 
 and several people of all classes — lawyers, store- 
 keepers, merchants, etc., are smitten with the 
 fever; in fact, there is a regular gold mania 
 springing up. I counted no less than eighteen 
 houses which were closed, the owners having 
 left. If Colonel Mason is moving a force to 
 the .\merican Fork, as is reported here, their 
 journey will be in vain." 
 
 Colonel Mason's soldiers moved without 
 orders — they nearly all deserted, and ran ofT to 
 the mines. 
 
 The first newspaper announcement of the 
 discovery appeared in The Calif ornian of March 
 15, 1848, nearly two months after the discovery. 
 But little attention was paid to it. In the issue 
 of April 19, another discovery is reported. The 
 item reads: "New gold mine. It is stated that 
 a new gold mine has been discovered on the 
 American Fork of the Sacramento, supposed to 
 be on the land of W. A. Leidesdorfif, of this 
 place. A specimen of the gold has been ex- 
 hibited, and is represented to be very pure." 
 On the 29th of May, The Califomiaii had sus- 
 pended publication. "Othello's occupation is 
 gone," wails the editor. "The majority of otir 
 subscribers and many of our advertising patrons 
 have closed their doors and places of business 
 and left town, and we have received one order 
 after another conveying the pleasant request that 
 the printer will please stop my paper or my ad, 
 as I am about leaving for Sacramento." 
 
 The editor of the other paper. The California 
 Star, made a pilgrimage to the mines in the lat- 
 ter part of April, but gave them no extended 
 write-up. "Great country, fine climate," he wrote 
 on his return. "Full flowing streams, mighty 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 159 
 
 timber, large crops, luxuriant clover, fragrant 
 llowers, gold and silver," were his comments on 
 what he saw. The policy of both papers seems 
 to have been to ignore as much as possible the 
 gold discovery. To give it publicity was for a 
 time, at least, to lose their occupation. 
 
 In The Star of May 20, 1848, its eccentric 
 editor, E. C. Kemble, under the caption "El 
 Dorado Anew," discourses in a dubious manner 
 upon the efTects of the discovery and the extent 
 of the gold fields: "A terrible visitant we have 
 had of late. A fever which has well-nigh de- 
 populated a town, a town hard pressing upon a 
 thousand souls, and but for the gracious inter- 
 position of the elements, perhaps not a goose 
 would have been spared to furnish a quill to pen 
 the melancholy fate of the remainder. It has 
 preyed upon defenseless old age, subdued the 
 elasticity of careless youth and attacked indis- 
 criminately sex and class, from town councilman 
 to tow-frocked cartman, from tailor to tippler, 
 of which, thank its pestilential powers, it has 
 beneficially drained (of tipplers, we mean) every 
 villainous pulperia in the place. 
 
 "And this is the gold fever, the only form of 
 that popular southerner, yellow jack, with which 
 we can be alarmingly threatened. The insatiate 
 maw of the monster, not appeased by the easy 
 conquest of the rough-fisted yeomanry of the 
 north, must needs ravage a healthy, prosperous 
 place beyond his dominion and turn the town 
 topsy-turvy in a twinkling. 
 
 "A fleet of launches left this place on Sunday 
 and Monday last bound up the Sacramento river, 
 close stowed with human beings, led by love of 
 filthy lucre to the perennial yielding gold mines 
 of the north. When any man can find two ounces 
 a day and two thousand men can find their 
 hands full, of work, was there ever anything so 
 superlatively silly! 
 
 "Honestly, though, we are inclined to believe 
 the reputed wealth of that section of country, 
 thirty miles in extent, all sham, a superb take-in 
 as was ever got up to guzzle the gullible. But 
 it is not improbable that this mine, or, properly, 
 placer of gold can be traced as far south as the 
 city of Los Angeles, where the precious metal 
 lias been found for a number of years in the bed 
 of a stream issuing from its mountains, said 
 
 to be a continuation of this gold chain which 
 courses southward from the base of the snowy 
 mountains. But our best information respecting 
 the metal and the quantity in which it is gath- 
 ered varies much from many reports current, yet 
 it is beyond a question that no richer mines of 
 gold have ever been discovered upon this con- 
 tinent. 
 
 "Should there be no paper forthcoming on 
 Saturday next, our readers may assure them- 
 selves it will not be the fault of us individually. 
 To make the matter public, already our devil has 
 rebelled, our pressman (poor fellow) last seen 
 was in search of a pickaxe, and we feel like Mr. 
 Hamlet, we shall never again look upon the 
 likes of him. Then, too, our compositors have, 
 in defiance, sworn terrible oaths against type- 
 sticking as vulgar and unfashionable. Hope has 
 not yet fled us, but really, in the phraseology 
 of the day, 'things is getting curious.' " 
 
 And things kept getting more and more curi- 
 ous. The rush mcreased. The next issue of 
 The Star (May 27) announces that the Sacra- 
 mento, a first-class craft, left here Thursday last 
 thronged with passengers for the gold mines, 
 a motley assemblage, composed of lawyers, mer- 
 chants, grocers, carpenters, cartmen and cooks, 
 all possessed with the desire of becoming rich. 
 The latest accounts from the gold country are 
 highly flattering. Over three hundred men are 
 engaged in washing gold, and numbers are con- 
 tinually arriving from every part of the country. 
 Then the editor closes with a wail; "Persons 
 recently arrived from the country speak of 
 ranches deserted and crops neglected and suf- 
 fered to waste. The unhappy consequence of 
 this state of afifairs is easily foreseen. One more 
 twinkle, and The Star disappeared in the gloom. 
 On June 14 appeared a single sheet, the size of 
 foolscap. The editor announced: "In fewer 
 words than are usually employed in the an- 
 nouncement of similar events, we appear before 
 the remnant of a reading community on this 
 occasion with the material or immaterial in- 
 formation that we have stopped the paper, that 
 its publication ceased with the last regular issue 
 (June 7). On the approach of autumn, we shall 
 again appear to announce The Star's redivus. 
 We have done. Let our parting word be hasto 
 
160 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 luego." {Star and Californian reappeared No- 
 vember 14, 1848. The Star had absorbed The 
 Californian. E. C. Kemble was its editor and 
 proprietor.) 
 
 Although there was no paper in existence on 
 the coast to spread the news from the gold 
 fields, it found its way out of California, and 
 the rush from abroad began. It did not acquire 
 great force in 1848, but in 1849 the immigration 
 to California exceeded all previous migrations 
 in the history of the race. 
 
 Among the first foreigners to rush to the 
 mines were the ]\Iexicans of Sonora. Many of 
 these had had some experience in placer mining 
 in their native country, and the report of rich 
 placers in California, where gold could be had 
 for the picking up, aroused them from their lazy 
 self-content and stimulated them to go in search 
 of it. Traveling in squads of from fifty to one 
 hundred, tliey came by the old Auza trail across 
 the Colorado desert, through the San Gorgonio 
 Pass, then up the coast and on to the mines. 
 They were a job lot of immigrants, poor in purse 
 and poor in brain. They were despised by the 
 native Californians and maltreated by the Amer- 
 icans. Their knowledge of mining came in play. 
 and the more provident among them soon man- 
 aged to pick up a few thousand dollars, and then 
 returned to their homes, plutocrats. The im- 
 provident gambled away their earnings and re- 
 mained in the country to add to its criminal ele- 
 ment. The Oregonians came in force, and all 
 the towns in California were almost depopulated 
 of their male population. V,\ the close of 1848, 
 there were ten thousand men at work in the 
 mines. 
 
 The first official report of the discovery was 
 sent to Washington by Thomas O. Larkin, June 
 I, and reached its destination about the middle 
 of September. Lieutenant P.eale, by way of 
 Mexico, brought dispatches dated a month later, 
 which arrived about the same time as Larkin's 
 report. These accounts were published in the 
 eastern papers, and the excitement began. 
 
 In the early part of December, Lieutenant 
 Loeser arrived at Washington with Governor 
 ^lason's report of his observations in the mines 
 made in August. But the most positive evidence 
 was a tea caddy of gold dust containing about 
 
 two hundred and thirty ounces that Governor 
 Mason had caused to be purchased in the mines 
 with money from the civil service fund. This the 
 lieutenant had brought with him. It was placed 
 on exhibition at the war office. Here was tan- 
 gible evidence of the existence of gold in Cali- 
 fornia, the doubters were silenced and the ex- 
 citement was on and the rush began. 
 
 By the 1st of January, 1849, vessels were fit- 
 ting out in every seaport on the Atlantic coast 
 and the Gulf of Mexico. Sixty sliips were an- 
 nounced to sail from New York in February and 
 seventy from Philadelphia and Boston. All kinds 
 of crafts were pressed into the service^ some to 
 go by way of Cape Horn, others to land their 
 passengers at Vera Cruz, Nicaragua and Pana- 
 ma, the voyagers to take their chances on the 
 Pacific side for a passage on some unknown 
 vessel. 
 
 With opening of spring, the overland travel 
 began. Forty thousand men gathered at differ- 
 ent points on the Missouri river, but principally 
 at St. Joseph and Independence. Horses, mules, 
 oxen and cows were used for the propelling 
 power of the various forms of vehicles that were 
 to convey the provisions and other impedimenta 
 of the army of gold seekers. By the 1st of May 
 the grass was grown enough on the plains to 
 furnish feed for the stock, and the vanguard of 
 the grand army of gold hunters started. For 
 two months, company after company left the 
 rendezvous and joined the procession until for 
 one thousand miles there was an almost un- 
 broken line of wagons and pack trains. The 
 first half of the journey was made with little 
 inconvenience, but on the last part there was 
 great suffering and loss of life. The cholera 
 broke out among them, and it is estimated that 
 five thousand died on the plains. The alkali 
 desert of the Humboldt was the place where the 
 immigrants suffered most. Exhausted by the 
 long journey and weakened by lack of food, 
 many succumbed under the hardship of the des- 
 ert journey and died. The crossing of the Sierras 
 was attended with great hardships. From the 
 loss of their horses and oxen, many were com- 
 pelled to cross the mountains on foot. Their 
 provisions exhausted, they would have perished 
 but for relief sent out from California. The 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 IGl 
 
 greatest sufferers were the woman and children, 
 who in considerable numbers made the perilous 
 journey. 
 
 The overland immigration of 1850 exceeded 
 that of 1849. According to record kept at Fort 
 Laramie, there passed that station during the 
 season thirty-nine thousand men, two thousand 
 five hundred women and six hundred children, 
 making a total of forty-two thousand one hun- 
 dred persons. These immigrants had with them 
 when passing Fort Laramie twenty-three thou- 
 sand horses, eight thousand mules, three thou- 
 sand six hundred oxen, seven thousand cows 
 and nine thousand wagons. 
 
 Besides those coming by the northern route, 
 that is by the South Pass and the Humboldt 
 river, at least ten thousand found their way to 
 the land of gold by the old Spanish trail, by the 
 Gila route and by Texas, Coahuila and Chihua- 
 hua into Arizona, and thence across the Colo- 
 rado desert to Los Angeles, and from there by 
 the coast route or the San Joaquin valley to the 
 mines. 
 
 The Pacific Mail Steamship Company had 
 been organized before the discovery of gold in 
 California. March 3, 1847, 3" act of Congress 
 was passed authorizing the secretary of the navy 
 to advertise for bids to carry the United States 
 mails by one line of steamers between New 
 York and Chagres, and by another line between 
 Panama and Astoria, Ore. On the Atlantic side 
 the contract called for five ships of one thousand 
 five hundred tons burden, on the Pacific side two 
 of one thousand tons each, and one of six hun- 
 dred tons. These were deemed sufficient for the 
 trade and travel between the Atlantic and Pacific 
 coasts of the United States. The Pacific Mail 
 Steamship Company was incorporated April 12, 
 1848, with a capital stock of $500,000. October 
 6, 1848, the California, the first steamer for the 
 Pacific, sailed from New York, and was followed 
 in the two succeeding months by the Oregon 
 and the Panama. T*he California sailed before 
 the news of the gold discovery had reached New 
 York, and she had taken no passengers. When 
 she arrived at Panama, January 30, 1849, she 
 encountered a rush of fifteen hundred gold hunt- 
 ers, clamorous for a passage. These had reached 
 Chagres on sailing vessels, and ascended the 
 u 
 
 Chagres river in bongos or dugouts to Gor- 
 gona, and from thence by land to Panama. The 
 California had accommodations for only one 
 hundred, but four hundred managed to find 
 some place to stow themselves away. The price 
 of tickets rose to a fabulous sum, as high as 
 $1,000 having been paid for a steerage passage. 
 The California entered the bay of San Francisco 
 February 28, 1849, ^"<i ^^'^^ greeted by the boom 
 of cannon and the cheers of thousands of people 
 lining the shores of the bay. The other two 
 steamers arrived on time, and the Pacific Mail 
 Steamship Company became the predominant 
 factor in California travel for twenty years, or up 
 to the completion of the first transcontinentr.l 
 railroad in 1869. The charges for fare on these 
 steamers in the early '50s were prohibitory to 
 men of small means. From New York to 
 Chagres in the saloon the fare was $150, in the 
 cabin $120. From Panama to San Francisco in 
 the saloon, $250; cabin, $200. Add to these the 
 expense of crossing the isthmus, and the argo- 
 naut was out a goodly sum when he reached the 
 land of the golden fleece, indeed, he was often 
 fleeced of his last dollar before he entered the 
 Golden Gate. 
 
 The first effect of the gold discovery on San 
 F'rancisco, as we have seen, was to depopulate 
 it, and of necessity suspend all building opera- 
 tions. In less than three months the reaction 
 began, and the city experienced one of the most 
 magical booms in history. Real estate doubled 
 in some instances in twenty-four hours. The 
 Calif ornian of September 3, 1848, says: "The 
 vacant lot on the corner of Montgomery and 
 Washington streets was offered the day previous 
 for $5,000 and next day sold readily for $10,000." 
 Lumber went up in value until it was sold at a 
 dollar per square foot. Wages kept pace with 
 the general advance. Sixteen dollars a day was 
 mechanic's wages, and the labor market was not 
 overstocked even at these high rates. With the 
 approach of winter, the gold seekers came flock- 
 ing back to the city to find shelter and to spend 
 their suddenly acquired wealth. The latter was 
 easily accomplished, but the former was more 
 difficult. Any kind of a shelter that would keep 
 out the rain was utilized for a dwelling. Rows 
 of tents that circled around the business por- 
 
162 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tion, shanties patched togetlier from pieces of 
 packing boxes and sheds thatched with brush 
 from the chaparral-covered hills constituted 
 the principal dwellings at that time of the future 
 metropolis of California. The yield of the mines 
 for 1848 has been estimated at ten million 
 dollars. This was the result of only a few 
 months' labor of not to exceed at any time ten 
 thousand men. The rush of miners did not 
 reach the mines until July, and mining opera- 
 tions were mainly suspended by the middle of 
 October. 
 
 New discoveries had followed in quick suc- 
 cession Marshall's find at Coloma until by the 
 close of 1848 gold placers had been located on 
 all the principal tributaries of the Sacramento 
 and San Joaquin rivers. Some of the richest 
 yields were obtained from what was known as 
 "Dry Diggins." These were dry ravines from 
 which pay dirt had to be packed to water for 
 washing or the gold separated by dry washing, 
 tossing the earth into the air until it was 
 blown away by the wind, the gold, on account 
 of its weight, remaining in the pan. 
 
 A correspondent of the Calif ornian, writing 
 August 15, 1848, from what he designates as 
 "Dry Diggins," gives this account of the rich- 
 ness of that gold field: "At the lower mines 
 (Mormon Island) the miners count the success 
 of the day in dollars; at the upper mines near 
 the mill (Coloma), in ounces, and here in 
 pounds. The only instrument used at first was 
 a butcher knife, and the demand for that ar- 
 ticle was so great that $40 has been refused 
 for one. 
 
 "The earth is taken out of the ravines which 
 make out of the mountains and is carried in 
 wagons or packed on horses from one to three 
 miles to water and washed. Four hundred dol- 
 lars is the average to the cart load. In one in- 
 stance five loads yielded $16,000. Instances are 
 known here where men have carried the earth 
 on their backs and collected from $800 to $1,500 
 a day." 
 
 The rapidity with which the country was ex- 
 plored by prospectors was truly remarkable. 
 The editor of the Californian, who had sus- 
 pended the publication of his paper on May 29 
 to visit the mines, returned and resumed it on 
 July 15 (1848). In an editorial in that issue he 
 gives his observations: "The country from the 
 Ajuba (Yuba) to the San Joaquin rivers, a dis- 
 tance of one hundred and twenty miles, and 
 from the base toward the summit of the moun- 
 tains as far as Snow Hill, about seventy miles, 
 has been explored, and gold found in every 
 part. There are probably three thousand men, 
 including Indians, engaged in collecting gold. 
 The amount collected by each man who works 
 ranges from $10 to $350 per day. The publisher 
 of this paper, while on a tour alone to the min- 
 ing district, collected, with the aid of a shovel, 
 pick and pan, from $44 to $128 a day, averag- 
 ing about $100. The largest piece of gold 
 known to be found weighed four pounds." 
 Among other remarkable yields the Californian 
 reports these: "One man dug $12,000 in six 
 days, and three others obtained thirty-six 
 pounds of pure metal in one day." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 MAKING A STATE. 
 
 COL. R. B. MASON, who had been 
 the military governor of California since 
 the departure of General Kearny in 
 May, 1847, had grown weary of his task. He 
 had been in the military service of his country 
 thirty years and wished to be relieved. His 
 request was granted, and on the 12th of April, 
 1849, Brevet Brigadier General Bennett Riley, 
 
 his successor, arrived at Monterey and the next 
 day entered upon his duties as civil governor. 
 Gen. Persifer F. Smith, who had been appointed 
 commander of the Pacific division of the United 
 States army, arrived at San Francisco Febru- 
 ary 26, 1849, and relieved Colonel Mason of 
 his military command. A brigade of troops 
 six hundred and fifty strong had been sent to 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 163 
 
 California for military service on the border 
 and to maintain order. Alost of these promptly 
 deserted as soon as an opportunity ofifered and 
 found their way to the mines. 
 
 Colonel Mason, who under the most trying 
 circumstances had faithfully served his govern- 
 ment and administered justice to the people of 
 California, took his departure May i, 1849. 
 The same year he died at St. Louis of cholera. 
 A year had passed since the treaty of peace 
 with Mexico had been signed, which made Cali- 
 fornia United States territory, but Congress 
 had done nothing toward giving it a govern- 
 ment. The anomalous condition existed of citi- 
 iiens of the United States, living in the United 
 States, being governed by Mexican laws admin- 
 istered by a mixed constituency of Mexican- 
 born and American-born ofificials. The pro- 
 slavery element in Congress was determined to 
 foist the curse of human slavery on a portion 
 of the territory acquired from Mexico, but the 
 discovery of gold and the consequent rush of 
 freemen to the territory had disarranged the 
 plans of the slave-holding faction in Congress, 
 and as a consequence all legislation was at a 
 standstill. 
 
 The people were becoming restive at the long 
 delay. The Americanized Mexican laws and 
 forms of government were unpopular and it 
 was humiliating to the conqueror to be gov- 
 erned by the laws of the people conquered. 
 The question of calling a convention to form a 
 provisional government was agitated by the 
 newspapers and met a hearty response from the 
 people. Meetings were held at San Jose, De- 
 cember II, 1848; at San Francisco, December 
 21, and at Sacramento, January 6, 1849, to 
 consider the question of establishing a pro- 
 visional government. It was recommended by 
 the San Jose meeting that a convention be held 
 at that place on the second Monday of January. 
 The San Francisco convention recommended 
 the 5th of March; this the Monterey committee 
 considered too early as it would take the dele- 
 gates from below fifteen days to reach the pu- 
 eblo of San Jose. There was no regular mail 
 and the roads in February (when the delegates 
 would have to start) were impassable. The 
 committee recommended May i as the earliest 
 
 date for the meeting to consider the question of 
 calling of a convention. Sonoma, without wait- 
 ing, took the initiative and elected ten delegates 
 to a provisional government convention. There 
 was no unanimity in regard to the time of meet- 
 ting or as to what could be done if the conven- 
 tion met. It was finally agreed to postpone the 
 time of meeting to the first Monday of August, 
 when, if Congress had done nothing towards 
 giving California some form of government bet- 
 ter than that existing, the convention should 
 meet and organize a provisional government. 
 
 The local government of San Francisco had 
 become so entangled and mixed up by various 
 councils that it was doubtful whether it had 
 any legal legislative body. When the term of 
 the first council, which had been authorized 
 by Colonel Mason in 1848, was about to ex- 
 pire an election was held December 27, to 
 choose their successors. Seven new council- 
 men were chosen. The old council declared 
 the election fraudulent and ordered a new one. 
 An election was held, notwithstanding the pro- 
 test of a number of the best citizens, and an- 
 other council chosen. So the city was blessed 
 or cursed with three separate and distinct coun- 
 cils. The old council voted itself out of ex- 
 istence and then there were but two, but that 
 was one too man}-. Then the people, disgusted 
 with the condition of affairs, called a public 
 meeting, at which it was decided to elect a 
 legislative assembly of fifteen members, who 
 should be empowered to make the necessary 
 laws for the government of the city. An election 
 was held on the 21st of February, 1849, and a 
 legislative assembly and justices elected. Then 
 Alcalde Levenworth refused to turn over the 
 city records to the Chief ^lagistrate-elect Nor- 
 ton. On the 22d of March the legislative as- 
 sembly abolished the ofiice of alcalde, but 
 Levenworth still held on to the records. He 
 was finally compelled by public opinion and a 
 writ of replevin to surrender the official records 
 to Judge Norton. The confusion constantly 
 arising from the attempt to carry on a govern- 
 ment that was semi-miHtary and semi-AIexican 
 induced Governor Riley to order an election to 
 be held August 1st, to elect delegates to a 
 convention to meet in Monterey September ist. 
 
164 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1849, to form a state constitution or territorial 
 organization to be ratified by the people and 
 submitted to Congress for its approval. Judges, 
 prefects and alcaldes were to be elected at the 
 same time in the principal municipal districts. 
 The constitutional convention was to consist of 
 thirty-seven delegates, apportioned as follows: 
 San Diego two, Los Angeles four, Santa Bar- 
 bara two, San Luis Obispo two, Monterey five, 
 San Jose five, San Francisco five, Sonoma four, 
 Sacramento four, and San Joaquin four. In- 
 stead of thirty-seven delegates as provided for 
 in the call, forty-eight were elected and seated. 
 
 The convention met September i, 1849, at 
 Monterey in Colton Hall. This was a stone 
 building erected by Alcalde Walter Colton for 
 a town hall and school house. The money to 
 build it was derived partly from fines and partly 
 from subscriptions, the prisoners doing the 
 greater part of the work. It was the most 
 commodious public building at that time in the 
 territory. 
 
 Of the forty-eight delegates elected twenty- 
 two were natives of the northern states; fifteen 
 of the slave states; four were of foreign birth, 
 and seven were native Californians. Several of 
 the latter neither spoke nor understood the 
 English language and William E. P. Hartnell 
 was appointed interpreter. Dr. Robert Semple 
 of Bear Flag fame was elected president, Will- 
 iam G. Marcy and J. Ross Browne reporters. 
 
 Early in the session the slavery question was 
 disposed of by the adoption of a section declar- 
 ing that neither slavery or involuntary servitude, 
 unless for the punishment of crimes, shall ever 
 be tolerated in this state. The question of fix- 
 ing the boundaries of the future state excited 
 the most discussion. The pro-slavery faction 
 was led by William IM. Gwin, who had a few 
 months before migrated from Tennessee to 
 California with the avowed purpose of repre- 
 senting the new state in the LTnited States sen- 
 ate. The scheme of Gwin and his southern as- 
 sociates was to make the Rocky mountains the 
 eastern boundary. This would create a state 
 with an era of about four hundred thousand 
 square miles. They reasoned that when the 
 admission of the state came before congress the 
 southern members would oppose the admission 
 
 of so large an area under a free state constitu- 
 tion and that ultimately a compromise might 
 be effected. California would be split in two 
 from east to west, the old dividing line, the 
 parallel of 36° 30', would be established and 
 Southern California come into the Union as a 
 slave state. There were at that time fifteen 
 free and fifteen slave states. If two states, one 
 free and one slave, could be made out of Calif or-' 
 nia, the equilibrium between the opposing fac- 
 tions would be maintained. The Rocky moun- 
 tain boundary was at one time during the ses- 
 sion adopted, but in the closing days of the 
 session the free state men discovered Gwin's 
 scheme and it was defeated. The present boun- 
 daries were established by a majority of two. 
 
 A committee had been appointed to receive 
 propositions and designs for a state seal. Only 
 one design was ofifered. It was presented by 
 Caleb Lyon of Lyondale, as he usually signed 
 his name, but was drawn by Major Robert S, 
 Garnett, an army officer. It contained a figure 
 of Minerva in the foreground, a grizzly bear 
 feeding on a bunch of grapes; a miner with an 
 uplifted pick; a gold rocker and pan; a view of 
 the Golden Gate with ships riding at anchor 
 in the Bay of San Francisco; the peaks of the 
 Sierra Nevadas in the distance; a sheaf of wheat; 
 thirty-one stars and above all the word 
 "Eureka" (I have found it), which might apply 
 either to the miner or the bear. The design 
 seems to have been an attempt to advertise the 
 resources of the state. General \'allejo wanted 
 the bear taken out of the design, or if allowed 
 to remain, that he be made fast by a lasso in the 
 hands of a vaquero. This amendment was re- 
 jected, as was also one submitted by O. AI. 
 Wozencraft to strike out the figures of the gold 
 digger and the bear and introduce instead bales 
 of merchandise and bags of gold. The original 
 design was adopted with the addition of the 
 words, "The Great Seal of the State of CaHfor- 
 nia." The convention voted to give Lyon $1,000 
 as full compensation for engraving the seal and 
 furnishing the press and all appendages. 
 
 Garnett, the designer of the seal, was a Vir- 
 ginian by birth. He graduated from West 
 Point in 1841, served through the Mexican war 
 and through several of the Indian wars on the 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 165 
 
 Pacific coast. At the breaking out of the re- 
 belHon in 1861 he joined tlie Confederates and 
 was made a brigadier general. He was killed 
 at the battle of Carrick"s Ford July 15, 1861. 
 
 The constitution was completed on the iith 
 of October and an election was called by Gov- 
 ernor Riley to be held on the 13th of November 
 to vote upon the adoption of the constitution 
 and to elect state ofEcers, a legislature and mem- 
 bers of congress. 
 
 At the election Peter H. Burnett, recently 
 from Oregon territory, who had been quite 
 active in urging the organization of a state gov- 
 ernment, was chosen governor; John McDou- 
 gall, lieutenant governor, and George W. 
 Wright and Edward Gilbert members of con- 
 gress. San Jose had been designated by the 
 constitutional convention the capital of the state 
 pro tem. 
 
 The people of San Jose had pledged them- 
 selves to provide a suitable building for the 
 meeting of the legislature in hopes that their 
 town might be made the permanent capital. 
 They were unable to complete the building de- 
 signed for a state capital in time for the meet- 
 ing. The uncomfortable quarters furnished 
 created a great deal of dissatisfaction. The leg- 
 islature consisted of si.xteen senators and thirty- 
 six assemblymen. There being no county or- 
 ganization, the members were elected by 
 districts. The representation was not equally 
 distributed; San Joaquin district had more sen- 
 ators than San Francisco. The senate and as- 
 sembly were organized on the 17th of Decem- 
 ber. E. K. Chamberlain of San Diego was 
 elected president pro tem. of the senate and 
 Thomas J. White of Sacramento speaker of the 
 assembly. The governor and lieutenant-gov- 
 ernor were sworn in on the 20th. The state 
 government being organized the legislature 
 proceeded to the election of United States sen- 
 ators. The candidates were T. Butler King, 
 John C. Fremont, William M. Gwin. Thomas 
 J. Henly, John W. Geary, Robert Semple and 
 H. W. Halleck. Fremont received twenty-nine 
 out of forty-six votes on the first ballot and was 
 declared elected. Of the aspirants, T. Butler 
 King and William M. Gwin represented the 
 ultra pro-slavery element. King was a cross- 
 
 roads politician from down in Georgia, who 
 had been sent to the coast as a confidential 
 agent of the government. The officers of the 
 army and navy were enjoined to "in all matters 
 aid and assist him in carrying out the views of 
 the government and be guided by his advice and 
 council in the conduct of all proper measures 
 within the scope of those instructions." He 
 made a tour of the mines, accompanied by Gen- 
 eral Smith and his stafT; Commodore Ap Catesby 
 Jones and staff and a cavalry escort under Lieu- 
 tenant Stoneman. He wore a black stovepipe 
 hat and a dress coat. He made himself the 
 laughing stock of the miners and by traveling 
 in the heat of the day contracted a fever that 
 very nearly terminated his existence. He had 
 been active so far as his influence went in trying 
 to bring California into the Union with the hope 
 of representing it in the senate. Gwin had 
 come a few months before from Mississippi with 
 the same object in view. Although the free 
 state men were in the majority in the legislature 
 they recognized the fact that to elect two sena- 
 tors opposed to the extension of slavery would 
 result in arraying the pro-slavery faction in con- 
 gress against the admission of the state into 
 the Union. Of the two representatives of the 
 south, Gwin was the least objectionable and on 
 the second ballot he was elected. On the 
 21 st Governor Burnett delivered his message. 
 It was a wordy document, but not marked by 
 any very brilliant ideas or valuable suggestions. 
 Burnett was a southerner from Missouri. He 
 was hobbled on the subject of the exclusion of 
 free negroes. The African, free to earn his own 
 living unrestrained by a master, was, in his 
 opinion, a menace to the perpetuity of the com- 
 monwealth. 
 
 On the 22d the legislature elected the remain- 
 ing state officers, viz.: Richard Roman, treas- 
 urer; John I. Houston, controller; E. J. C. 
 Kewen, attorney general; Charles J. Whiting, 
 surveyor-general; S. C. Hastings, chief jus- 
 tice; Henry Lyons and Nathaniel Bennett, as- 
 sociate justices. The legislature continued in 
 session until April 22, 1850. Although it was 
 nicknamed the "Legislature of a thousand 
 drinks," it did a vast amount of work and did 
 most of it well. It was not made up of hard 
 
106 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 drinkers. The majority of its members were 
 above tlie average legislator in intelligence, 
 temperance and patriotism. The members were 
 not there for pay or for political preferment. They 
 were there for the good of their adopted state and 
 labored conscientiously for its benefit. The op- 
 probrious nickname is said to have originated 
 thus: A roystering individual by the name of 
 Green had been elected to the senate from Sac- 
 ramento as a joke. He regarded the whole pro- 
 ceedings as a huge joke. He kept a supply of 
 liquors on hand at his quarters and when the 
 legislature adjourned he was in the habit of call- 
 ing: "Come, boys, let us take a thousand 
 drinks." 
 
 The state had set up housekeeping without a 
 cent on hand to defray e.xpenses. There was not 
 a quire of paper, a pen, nor an inkstand belong- 
 ing to the state and no money to buy supplies. 
 After wrestling with the financial problem some 
 time an act authorizing a loan of $200,000 for 
 current expenses was passed. Later on in the 
 session another act was passed authorizing the 
 bonding of the state for $300,000 with interest 
 at the rate of three per cent a month. The 
 legislature divided the state into twenty-seven 
 counties, created nine judicial districts, passed 
 laws for the collection of revenue, taxing all 
 real and personal property and imposing a poll 
 tax of $5 on all male inhabitants over twen- 
 ty-one and under fifty years of age. 
 
 California was a self-constituted state. It 
 had organized a state government and put it into 
 successful operation without the sanction of 
 congress. Officials, state, county and town, had 
 been elected and had sworn to support the con- 
 stitution of the state of California and yet there 
 was really no state of California. It had not 
 been admitted into the Union. It was only a 
 state de facto and it continued in that condition 
 nine months before it became a state de jure. 
 
 "^^"hei; the question of admitting California 
 ir(o the. l^nion came before congress it evoked 
 a bitter controversy. The senate was equally 
 divided, thirty senators from the slave states 
 and the same number from the free. There 
 were among the southern senators some broad 
 minded and patriotic men, willing to do what 
 was right, but they were handicapped by an 
 
 ultra pro-slavery faction, extremists, who 
 would willingly sacrifice the Union if by that 
 they could extend and perpetuate that sum of 
 all villainies, human slavery. This faction in 
 the long controversy resorted to every known 
 parliamentary device to prevent the admission of 
 California under a free state constitution. To 
 admit two senators from a free state would de- 
 stroy the balance of power. That gone, it could 
 never be regained by the south. Tlie north was 
 increasing in power and population, while the 
 south, under the blighting influence of slavery, 
 was retrograding. 
 
 Henry Clay, the man of compromises, under- 
 took to bridge over the difficulty by a set of 
 resolutions known as the Omnibus bill. These 
 were largely concessions to the slave holding 
 faction for the loss of the territory acquired by 
 the Mexican war. Among others was this, that 
 provision should be made by law for the restitu- 
 tion of fugitive slaves in any state or territory 
 of the Union. This afterward was embodied 
 into what was known as the fugitive slave law 
 and did more perhaps than any other cause to 
 destroy the south's beloved institution. 
 
 These resolutions were debated through 
 many months and were so amended and changed 
 that their author could scarcely recognize them. 
 Most of them were adopted in some form and 
 effected a temporary compromise. 
 
 On August 13th the bill for the admission 
 of California finally came to a vote. It passed 
 the senate, thirty-four ayes to eighteen noes. 
 Even then the opposition did not cease. Ten 
 of the southern pro-slavery extremists, led by 
 Jefferson Davis, joined in a protest against the 
 action of the majority, the language of which 
 was an insult to the senate and treason to the 
 government. In the house the bill passed by a 
 vote of one hundred and fifty ayes to fifty-six 
 ultra southern noes. It was approved and signed 
 by President Fillmore September 9, 1850. On 
 the nth of September the California senators 
 and congressmen presented themselves to be 
 sworn in. The slave holding faction in the sen- 
 ate, headed by Jefferson Davis, who had been 
 one of the most bitter opponents to the admis- 
 sion, objected. But their protest availed them 
 nothing. Their ascendency was gone. We 
 
HISTORfCAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 107 
 
 might sympathize with them had their fight 
 been made for a noble principle, but it was not. 
 From that day on until the attempt was made 
 in 1861 these men schemed to destroy the 
 Union. The admission of California as a free 
 state was the beginning of the slave holders' re- 
 bellion. 
 
 The news of the admission of California 
 reached San Francisco on the morning -of Oc- 
 tober 18, by the mail steamer Oregon, nearly six 
 weeks after congress had admitted it. Business 
 was at once suspended, the courts were ad- 
 journed and the people went wild with excite- 
 ment. Messengers, mounted on fleet steeds, 
 spread the news throughout the state. News- 
 papers from the states containing an account 
 of the proceedings of congress at the time of 
 admission sold for $5 each. It was decided to 
 hold a formal celebration of the event on the 
 29th and preparations were begun for a grand 
 demonstration. Neither labor nor money was 
 spared to make the procession a success. The 
 parade was cosmopolitan in the fullest meaning 
 of that word. There were people in it from 
 almost every nation under the sun. The Chi- 
 nese made quite an imposing spectacle in the 
 parade. Dressed in rich native costumes, each 
 carrying a gaudily painted fan, they marched 
 under command of their own marshals, Ah He 
 and Ah Sing. At their head proudly marched 
 a color bearer carrying a large blue silk ban- 
 ner, inscribed the "China boys." Following 
 them came a triumphal car, in which was seated 
 thirty bo}S in black trousers and white shirts, 
 representing the thirty states. In the center of 
 this group, seated on a raised platform, was a 
 young girl robed in white with gold and silver 
 gauze floating about her and supporting a 
 breast plate, upon which was inscribed "Cali- 
 fornia, the Union, it must and shall be pre- 
 served." The California pioneers carried a ban- 
 ner on wliich was represented a New Englander 
 in the act of stepping ashore and facing a na- 
 tive Californian with lasso and serape. In the 
 center the state seal and the inscription, "Far 
 west. Eureka 1846, California pioneers, or- 
 ganized August, 1850." Army and navy offi- 
 cers, soldiers, sailors and marines, veterans of 
 the Mexican war, municipal officers, the fire de- 
 
 partment, secret and benevolent societies and as- 
 sociations, with a company of mounted native 
 Californians bearing a banner with thirty-one 
 stars on a blue satin ground with the inscription 
 in gold letters, California, E Pluribus Unum, all 
 these various organizations and orders with 
 their marshals and aids mounted on gaily 
 caparisoned steeds and decked out with their 
 gold and silver trimmed scarfs, made an impos- 
 ing display that has seldom if ever been equaled 
 since in the metropolis of California. 
 
 At the plaza a flag of thirty-one stars was 
 raised to the mast head. An oration was de- 
 livered by Judge Nathaniel Bennett and Mrs. 
 Wills recited an original ode of her own compo- 
 sition. The rejoicing over, the people settled 
 down to business. Their unprecedented action 
 in organizing a state government and putting it 
 into operation without the sanction of congress 
 had been approved and legalized by that body. 
 
 Like the Goddess Minerva, represented on its 
 great seal, who sprung full grown from the 
 brain of Jupiter, California was born a fully ma- 
 tured state. She passed through no territorial 
 probation. No state had such a phenomenal 
 growth in its infancy. No state before or since 
 has met with such bitter opposition when it 
 sought admission into the family of states. 
 Never before was there such a medley of nation- 
 alities — Yankees, Mexicans, English, Germans. 
 French, Spaniards, Peruvians, Polynesians, 
 Mongolians — organized into a state and made 
 a part of the body politic nolens volens. 
 
 The constitutional convention of 1849 did not 
 definitely fix the state capital. San Jose was 
 designated as the place of meeting for the legis- 
 lature and the organization of the state govern- 
 ment. San Jose had offered to donate a square 
 of thirty-two acres, valued at $60,000, for cap- 
 itol grounds and provide a suitable building for 
 the legislature and state officers. The of?er was 
 accepted, but when the legislature met there 
 December 15, 1849, the building was unfinished 
 and for a time the meetings of the legislature 
 were held at a private residence. There was a 
 great deal of complaining and dissatisfaction. 
 The first capitol of the state was a two-story 
 adobe building 40x60, which had been intended 
 for a hotel. It was destroyed by fire April 29, 
 
168 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1853. The accommodations at San Jose were 
 so unsatisfactory that the legislature decided 
 to locate the capital at some other point. Prop- 
 ositions were received from Monterey, from 
 Reed of San Jose, from Stevenson & Parker of 
 New York of the Pacific and from Gen. M. G. 
 Vallejo. Vallejo's proposition was accepted. 
 He offered to donate one hundred and fifty-si.x 
 acres of land in a new town that he proposed 
 to lay out on the straits of Carquinez (now Val- 
 lejo) for a capital site and within two years to 
 give $370,000 in money for the erection of pub- 
 lic buildings. He asked that his proposition be 
 submitted to a vote of the people at the next 
 general election. His proposition was accepted 
 by the legislature. At the general election, Octo- 
 ber 7, 1850, Vallejo received seventy-four hun- 
 dred and seventy-seven votes; San Jose twelve 
 hundred and ninety-two, and Monterey three 
 hundred and ninety-nine. The second legisla- 
 ture convened at San Jose. General Vallejo ex- 
 erted himself to have the change made in accord- 
 ance with the previous proposition. The cit- 
 izens of San Jose made an efifort to retain the 
 capital, but a bill was passed making Vallejo 
 the permanent seat of government after the 
 close of the session, provided General Vallejo 
 should give bonds to carry out his proposals. 
 In June Governor McDougal caused the gov- 
 ernmental archives to be removed from San 
 Jose to Vallejo. 
 
 When the members of the third legislature 
 met at the new capital January 2, 1852, they 
 found a large unfurnished and partly unfinished 
 wooden building for their reception. Hotel ac- 
 commodations could not be obtained and there 
 was even a scarcity of food to feed the hungry 
 lawmakers. Sacramento offered- its new court 
 house and on the i6th of January the legislature 
 convened in that city. The great flood of 
 
 March, 1852, inundated the city and the law- 
 makers were forced to reach the halls of legis- 
 lation in boats and again there was dissatisfac- 
 tion. Then Benicia came to the front with an 
 offer of her new city hall, which was above 
 high water mark. General Vallejo had become 
 financially embarrassed and could not carry out 
 his contract with the state, so it was annulled. 
 The offer of Benicia was accepted and on May 
 18, 1853, that town was declared the permanent 
 capital. 
 
 In the legislature of 1854 the capital question 
 again became an issue. Offers were made by 
 several aspiring cities, but Sacramento won with 
 the proffer of her court house and a block of 
 land betwen I and J, Ninth and Tenth streets. 
 Then the question of the location of the capital 
 got into the courts. The supreme court de- 
 cided in favor of Sacramento. Before the legis- 
 lature met again the court house that had been 
 offered to the state burned down. A new and 
 more commodious one was erected and rented 
 to the state at $12,000 a year. Oakland made 
 an unsuccessful effort to obtain the capital. 
 Finally a bill was passed authorizing the erection 
 of a capitol building in Sacramento at a cost 
 not to exceed $500,000. Work was begun on 
 the foundation in October, i860. The great 
 flood of 1861-62 inundated the city and ruined 
 the foundations of the capitol. San Francisco 
 made a vigorous effort to get the capital re- 
 moved to that city, but was unsuccessful. Work 
 was resumed on the building, the plans were 
 changed, the edifice enlarged, and, finally, after 
 many delays, it was ready for occupancy in De- 
 cember, 1869. From the original limit of half a 
 million dollars its cost when completed had 
 reached a million and a half. The amount ex- 
 pended on the building and grounds to date 
 foots up $2,600,000. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 IGS 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE ARGONAUTS. 
 
 WHEN or by whom the name argonaut 
 was first applied to the early Cali- 
 fornia gold seekers I have not been 
 able to ascertain. The earliest allusion to the 
 similarity of Jason's voyage after the Golden 
 Fleece and the miners' rush to the gold fields of 
 California is found in a caricature published in 
 the London Punch in 1849. O" ''^e shore of 
 an island is a guide board bearing the inscrip- 
 tion "California;" near it is a miner digging gold 
 and presumably singing at his work. In a 
 boat near the shore is a fat individual, a typical 
 "Johnny Bull." He is struggling desperately 
 with two individuals who are holding him back 
 from leaping into the water, so fascinated is he 
 by the song of the miner. Under tiie drawing 
 are the words, "The Song of the Sirens." 
 
 If we include among the argonauts all who 
 traveled by land or voyaged by sea in search of 
 the golden fleece in the days of '49 we will have 
 a motley mixture. The tales of the fabulous rich- 
 ness of the gold fields of California spread rap- 
 idly throughout the civilized world and drew to 
 the territory all classes and conditions of men, 
 the bad as well as the good, the indolent as well 
 as the industrious, the vicious as well as the 
 virtuous. They came from Europe, from South 
 America and from Mexico. From Australia 
 and Tasmania came the ex-convict and the 
 ticket-of-leave man; from the isles of the sea 
 came the Polynesian, and from Asia the Hindoo 
 and the "Heathen Chinee." 
 
 The means of reaching the land of gold were 
 as varied as the character of the people who 
 came. Almost every form of vehicle was pressed 
 into service on land. One individual, if not more, 
 made the trip trundling his impedimenta in a 
 wheelbarrow. Others started out in carriages, 
 intent on making the journey in comfort and 
 ease, but finished on foot, weary, worn and 
 ragged. When the great rush came old sailing 
 vessels that had long been deemed unseaworthy 
 
 were fitted out for the voyage to California. It 
 must have been the providence that protects 
 fools which prevented these from going to the 
 bottom of the ocean. With the desperate 
 chances that the argonauts took on these old 
 tubs, it is singular that there were so few ship- 
 wrecks and so little loss of life. Some of these 
 were such slow sailers that it took them the 
 greater part of a year to round Cape Horn and 
 reach their destination. On one of these some 
 passengers, exasperated at its slowness, landed 
 near Cape St. Lucas and made the long journey 
 up the peninsula of Lower California and on to 
 San Francisco on foot, arriving there a month 
 before their vessel. Another party undertook to 
 make the voyage from Nicaragua in a whale 
 boat and actually did accomplish seven hundred 
 miles of it before they were picked up in the last 
 extremities by a sailing vessel. 
 
 The Sierra Nevada region, in which gold was 
 first found, comprised a strip about thirty miles 
 wide and two hundred miles long from north 
 to south in the basins of the Feather, Yuba, 
 Bear, American, Cosumne, Mokolumne, Stanis- 
 laus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers, between the 
 elevations of one thousand and five thousand 
 feet. In all these streams miners washed gold 
 in 1848. The placer mines on the Upper Sacra- 
 mento and in the Shasta region were discovered 
 and worked late in the fall of 1848. The Kla- 
 math mines were discovered later. 
 
 The southern mines, those on the San Joaquin, 
 Fresno, Kern and San Gabriel rivers, were lo- 
 cated between 1851 and 1855. Gold was found 
 in some of the ravines and creeks of San Diego 
 county. Practically the gold belt of California 
 extends from the Mexican line to Oregon, but 
 at some points it is rather thin. The first gold 
 digging was done with butcher knives, the gold 
 liunter scratching in the sand and crevices of 
 the rock to find nuggets. Next the gold pan 
 came into use and the nn'ners became experts 
 
170 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in twirling the pan in a pool of water, so as to 
 wash out the sand and gravel and leave the gold 
 dust in the pan. Isaac Humphreys, who had 
 mined gold in Georgia, was the first person to 
 use a rocker or gold cradle in California. Al- 
 though a very simple piece of machinery those 
 who reached the mines early found it quite an 
 expensive one. Dr. Brooks in his diary, under 
 date of June ii, 1848, writes; "On Tuesday we 
 set to work upon our cradle. We resolved upon 
 the construction of two and for this purpose 
 went down to the store in a body to see about 
 the boards. We found timber extravagantly 
 dear, being asked $40 a hundred feet. The next 
 question was as to whether we should hire a 
 carpenter. We were told there was one or two 
 in the diggings, who might be hired, though 
 at a very extravagant rate. Accordingly Brad- 
 ley and I proceeded to see one of these gentle- 
 men, and found him washing away with a hollow 
 log and a willow branch sieve. He offered to 
 help us at the rate of $35 a day, we finding pro- 
 visions and tools, and could not be brought to 
 charge less. We thought this by far too ex- 
 travagant and left him, determined to undertake 
 the work ourselves. After two days' work of 
 seven men they produced two rough cradles 
 and found that three men with a cradle or rocker 
 could wash out as much gold in a day as six 
 could with pans in the same time." 
 
 A rocker or gold cradle had some resemblance 
 to a child's cradle with similar rockers and was 
 rocked by means of a perpendicular handle 
 fastened to the cradle box. The cradle box con- 
 sisted of a wooden trough about twenty inches 
 wide and forty inches long with sides four or 
 five inches high. The lower end was left open. 
 On the upper end sat the hopper, a box twenty 
 inches square with sides four inches high and 
 a bottom of sheet iron or zinc pierced with holes 
 one-half inch in diameter. Where zinc or iron 
 could not be obtained a sieve of willow rods 
 was used. Under the hopper was an apron of 
 canvas, which sloped down from the lower end 
 of the hopper to the upper end of the cradle 
 box. A wooden riffle bar an inch square was 
 nailed across the bottom of the cradle box about 
 its middle, and another at its lower end. Under 
 the cradle box were nailed rockers, and near 
 
 the middle an upright handle by which motion 
 was imparted. If water and pay dirt were con- 
 venient two men were sufficient to operate the 
 machine. Seated on a stooi or rock the operator 
 rocked with one hand, while with a long handled 
 dipper he dipped water from a pool and poured 
 it on the sand and gravel in the hopper. When 
 the sand and earth had been washed through 
 the holes in the sieve the rocks were emptied 
 and the hopper filled again from the buckets of 
 pay dirt supplied by the other partner. The gold 
 was caught on the canvas apron by the riffle 
 bars, while the thin mud and sand were washed 
 out of the machine by the water. 
 
 In the dry diggings a method of separating 
 the gold from the earth was resorted to prin- 
 cipally by Sonorans. The pay dirt was dug and 
 dried in the sun, then pulverized by pounding 
 into fine dust. With a batea or bowl-shaped 
 Indian basket filled with this dust, held in both 
 hands, the Mexican skillfully tossed the earth 
 in the air, allowing the wind to blow away the 
 dust and catching the heavier particles and the 
 gold in the basket, repeating the process until 
 there was little left but the gold. 
 
 The Long Tom was a single sluice with a 
 sieve and a box underneath at the end and rif- 
 fle bars to stop the gold. The pay dirt was shov- 
 eled in at the upper end and a rapid current of 
 water washed away the sand and earth, the gold 
 falling into the receptacle below. Ground sluic- 
 ing was resorted to where a current of water 
 from a ditch could be directed against a bank oi 
 earth or hill with a sloping bedrock. The stream 
 of water washing against the upper side of the 
 bank caved it down and carried the loose earth 
 through a string of sluices, depositing the gold 
 in the riffle bars in the bottom of the sluices. 
 
 In the creeks and gulches where there was 
 not much fall, sluice mining was commonly re- 
 sorted to. A string of sluice boxes was laid, 
 each fitting into the upper end of the one below, 
 and in the lower ones riffle bars were placed 
 to stop the gold. The sluice boxes were placed 
 on trestles four feet from the ground and given 
 an incline of five or six inches to the rod. The 
 gravel from the bedrock up as far as there was 
 any pay dirt was shoveled into the upper boxes 
 and a rapid current of water flowing through the 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 171 
 
 boxes carried away the gravel and rocks, the 
 gold remaining in the riHles. Quicksilver was 
 placed between the riftks to catch the fine gold. 
 The gold amalgamated with quicksilver was 
 cleaned out of the boxes at the end of the day's 
 work and separated from the quicksilver in a re- 
 tort. These were the principal methods of mining 
 used by the argonauts. The machinery and ap- 
 pliances were simple and inexpensive. Hy- 
 draulic mining came in later, when larger cap- 
 ital was required and the mines had fallen into 
 the hands of corporations. 
 
 When the news spread throughout the states 
 of the wonderful "finds" of gold in California, 
 llie crudest ideas prevailed in regard to how 
 tlie precious metal was to be extracted from 
 the earth. Gold mining was an almost un- 
 known industry in the United States. Only 
 in a few obscure districts of North Caro- 
 lina and Georgia had gold been found, and 
 but very few people outside of these dis- 
 tricts had ever visited the mines. Not one in 
 ten thousand of those who joined the rush 
 to California in 1849 ^^^ ^v^"" ^^^^ ^ grain of 
 virgin gold. The idea prevailed among the gold 
 seekers that the gold being found in grains it 
 could be winnowed from the sand and earth in 
 which it was found like wheat is separated from 
 chaff. Imbued with this idea Yankee ingenuity 
 set to work to invent labor-saving machines 
 that would accomplish the work quickly and 
 enrich the miner proportionally. The ships that 
 bore the argonauts from their native land car- 
 ried out a variety of these gold machines, all 
 guaranteed to wrest from the most secret re- 
 cesses the auriferous deposits in nature's 
 treasure vaults. These machines were of all 
 varieties and patterns. They were made of cop- 
 per, iron, zinc and brass. Some were operated 
 by means of a crank, others had two cranks, 
 while others were worked with a treadle. Some 
 required that the operator should stand, others 
 allowed the miner to sit in an arm chair and 
 work in comfort. 
 
 Haskins, in his "Argonauts of California," 
 describes one of these machines that was 
 brought around the Horn in the ship he came 
 on: "It was in the shape of a huge fanning 
 mill, with sieves properly arranged for sorting 
 
 the gold ready for bottling. All chunks too 
 large for the bottle would be consigned to the 
 pork barrel." (The question of bringing home 
 the gold in bottles or barrels had been seriously 
 discussed and decided in favor of barrels be- 
 cause these could be rolled and thus save cost 
 of transportation from the mines.) 
 
 "This immense machine which, during our 
 passage, e.xcited the envy and jealousy of all 
 who had not the means and opportunity of se- 
 curing a similar one required, of course, the 
 services of a hired man to turn the crank, whilst 
 the proprietor would be busily engaged in shov- 
 eling in pay dirt and pumping water; the greater 
 portion of the time, however, being required, 
 as was firmly believed, in corking the bottles 
 and fitting the heads in the barrels. This ma- 
 chine was owned by a Mr. Allen of Cambridge, 
 Mass., who had brought with him a colored 
 servant to manage and control the crank por- 
 tion of the invaluable institution. 
 
 "Upon landing we found lying on the sand 
 and half buried in the mud hundreds of similar 
 machines, bearing silent witness at once to the 
 value of our gold saving machines without the 
 necessity of a trial." 
 
 Nor was it the argonaut alone who came by 
 sea that brought these machines. Some^of 
 these wonderful inventions were hauled across 
 the plains in wagons, their owners often sacri- 
 ficing the necessities of life to save the prized 
 machine. And, when, after infinite toil and trou- 
 Ijle, they had landed their prize in the mines, 
 they were chagrined to find it the subject of jest 
 and ridicule by those who had some experience 
 in mining. 
 
 The gold rush came early in the history of 
 California placer mining. The story of a rich 
 strike would often depopulate a mining camp in 
 a few hours. Even a bare rumor of rich dig- 
 gings in some indefinite locality would send 
 scores of miners tramping off on a wild goose 
 chase into the mountains. Some of these 
 rushes originated through fake stories circu- 
 lated for sinister purpose; others were caused 
 liy exaggerated stories of real discoveries. 
 
 One of the most famous fakes of early days 
 was the Gold Lake rush of 1850. This wonder- 
 ful lake was supposed to be located about two 
 
172 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 hundred miles northeast of Marysvihe, on the 
 divide between the Feather and the Yuba rivers. 
 The Sacramento Transcript of June 19, 1850, 
 says: "We are informed by a gentleman from 
 Marysville that it is currently reported there that 
 the Indians upon this lake use gold for their 
 commonest purposes; that they have a ready 
 way of knocking out square blocks, which they 
 use for seats and couches upon which to place 
 their beds, which are simply bundles of wild 
 oats, which grow so profusely in all sections of 
 the state. According to report also they use for 
 fishhooks crooked pieces of gold and kill their 
 game with arrows made of the same material. 
 They are reported to be thunderstruck at the 
 movements of the whites and their eagerness 
 to collect and hoard the materials of the very 
 ground upon which they tread. 
 
 "A story is current that a man at Gold Lake 
 saw a large piece of gold floating on the lake 
 which he succeeded in getting ashore. So 
 clear are the waters that another man saw a 
 rock of gold on the bottom. After many ef- 
 forts he succeeded in lassoing the rock. Three 
 days afterward he was seen standing holding on 
 to his rope." 
 
 The Placer Times of Marysville reports that 
 the specimens brought into Marysville are of a 
 value from $1,500 down. Ten ounces is re- 
 ported as no unusual yield to the pan. The 
 first party of sixty which started out under 
 guidance of one who had returned successful 
 were assured that they would not get less than 
 $500 each per day. We were told that two hun- 
 dred had left town with a full supply of pro- 
 visions and four hundred mules. Mules and 
 horses have doubled in value. Many places of 
 business are closed. The diggings at the lake 
 are probably the best ever discovered." The 
 Times of June 19 says: "It is reported that up 
 to last Thursday two thousand persons had 
 taken up their journey. Many who were work- 
 ing good claims deserted them for the new dis- 
 covery. Mules and horses were about impos- 
 sible to obtain. Although the truth of the re- 
 port rests on the authority of but two or three 
 who have returned from Gold Lake, yet few 
 are found who doubt the marvelous revelations. 
 .\ party of Kanakas are said to have wintered 
 
 at Gold Lake, subsisting chiefly on the flesh of 
 their animals. They are said to have taken out 
 $75,000 the first week. When a conviction takes 
 such complete possession of a whole com- 
 munity, w'ho are fully conversant with all the 
 exaggerations that have had their day, it is 
 scarcely prudent to utter even a qualified dissent 
 from what is universally believed." 
 
 The denouement of the Gold Lake romance 
 may be found in the Transcript of July i, 1850. 
 "The Gold Lake excitement, so much talked of 
 and acted upon of late, has almost subsided. 
 A crazy man comes in for a share of the re- 
 sponsibility. Another report is that they have 
 found one of the pretended discoverers at 
 Marysville and are about to lynch him. In- 
 deed, we are told that a demonstration against 
 the town is feared by many. People who have 
 returned after traveling some one hundred and 
 fifty to two hundred miles say that they left vast 
 numbers of people roaming between the sources 
 of the Yuba and the Feather rivers." 
 
 Scarcely had the deluded argonauts returned 
 from a bootless search for the lake of gold when 
 another rumored discovery of gold fields of 
 fabulous richness sent them rushing off toward 
 the sea coast. Now it was Gold Bluff that lured 
 them away. On the northwest coast of Califor- 
 nia, near the mouth of the Klamath river, 
 precipitous bluffs four hundred feet high mark 
 the coast line of the ocean. A party of pros- 
 pectors in the fall of 1850, who had been up 
 in the Del Norte country, were making their 
 way down to the little trading and trapping sta- 
 tion of Trinidad to procure provisions. On 
 reaching the bluffs, thirty miles above Trinidad, 
 they were astonished to find stretching out be- 
 fore them a beach glittering with golden sands. 
 They could not stop to gather gold; they were 
 starving. So, scraping up a few handfuls of the 
 glittering sands, they hastened on. In due 
 time they reached San Francisco, where they 
 exhibited their sand, which proved to be nearly 
 half gold. The report of the wonderful find was 
 spread by the newspapers and the excitement 
 began. Companies were formed and claims lo- 
 cated at long range. One company of nine 
 locators sent an expert to examine their claims. 
 He, by a careful mathematical calculation, as- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 173 
 
 ccrtained that the claim would yield forty-tliree 
 million dollars to each partner. As there were 
 fifteen miles of gold beach, the amount of gold 
 in the sands was sufficient to demonetize the 
 precious metal. A laudable desire to benefit 
 the human race possessed some of the claim 
 owners. They formed joint stock companies with 
 shares at $ioo each. Gold Blufif mining stock 
 went off like the proverbial hot cakes and pros- 
 pectors went of! as rapidly. Within two days 
 after the expert's wonderful story was spread 
 abroad nine ships were fitted out for Gold Bluf?. 
 The first to arrive ofT the Bluff was the vessel 
 containing a party of the original discoverers. 
 In attempting to land in a boat, the boat was 
 upset in the breakers and five of the six occu- 
 pants were drowned, Bertram, the leader of the 
 party making the discovery, alone escaping. 
 The vessel put back to Trinidad and the gold 
 hunters made their way up the coast to the 
 Bluff. But alas for their golden dreams! 
 Where they had hoped to gather gold by the 
 ship load no gold was found. Old ocean had 
 gathered it back into his treasure vaults. 
 
 The bubble burst as suddenly as it had ex- 
 panded. And yet there was gold at Gold Bluff 
 and there is gold there yet. If the ocean could 
 be drained or coffer dammed for two hundred 
 miles along the gold coast of northern Califor- 
 nia and Oregon, all the wealth of Alaska would 
 be but the panning out of a prospect hole com- 
 pared to the richness that lies hidden in the 
 sands of Gold Beach. For years after the 
 bursting of the Gold BlufT bubble, when the 
 tide was low, the sands along Gold Beach were 
 mined with profit. 
 
 The Kern river excitement in the spring of 
 1855 surpassed everything that had preceded it. 
 Seven years of mining had skimmed the rich- 
 ness of the placers. The northern and central 
 gold fields of California had been thoroughly 
 prospected. The miners who had been accus- 
 tomed to the rich strikes of early years could 
 not content themselves with moderate returns. 
 They were on the qui vive for a rich strike and 
 ready for a rush upon the first report of one. 
 The first discoveries on the Kern river were 
 made in the summer of 1854, but no excitement 
 followed immediately. During the fall and win- 
 
 ter rumors were set aHoat of rich strikes on the 
 head waters of that stream. The stories grew 
 as they traveled. One that had a wide circula- 
 tion and was readily accepted ran about as fol- 
 lows : "A Mexican doctor had appeared in Mari- 
 posa loaded down with gold nuggets. He re- 
 ported that he and four companions had found 
 a region paved with gold. cThe very hills were^ 
 yellow with outcroppings. While gloating over 
 their wealth and loading it into sacks the Irt^ 
 dians attacked them and killed his four com- 
 panions. He escaped with one sack of gold. He 
 proposed to organize a company large enough 
 to exterminate the Indians and then bring out 
 the gold on pack mules." This as well as other 
 stories as improbable were spread broadcast 
 throughout the state. Many of the reports of 
 wonderful strikes were purposely magnified by 
 merchants and dealers in mining supplies who 
 were overstocked with unsalable goods; and 
 by transportation companies with whom busi- 
 ness was slack. Their purpose was accom- 
 plished and the rush w'as on. It began in Jan- 
 uary, 1855. Every steamer down the coast to 
 Los Angeles was loaded to the guards with 
 adventurers for the mines. The sleepy old 
 metropolis of the cow counties waked up to 
 find itself suddenly transformed into a bustling 
 mining camp. The Southern Calif ornian of Feb- 
 ruary 8, 1855, thus describes the situation: "The 
 road from our valley is literally thronged with 
 people on their way to the mines. Hundreds 
 of people have been leaving not only the city, 
 but every portion of the' "county. Every descrip- 
 tion of vehicle and animal has been brought 
 into requisition to take the exultant seekers 
 after wealth to the goal of their hopes. Im- 
 mense ten-mule wagons strung out one after 
 another; long trains of pack mules and men 
 mounted and on foot, with picks and shovels; 
 boarding-house keepers with their tents; mer- 
 chants with their stocks of miners' necessaries 
 and gamblers with their 'papers' are constantly 
 leaving for the Kern river mines. The wildest 
 stories are afloat. If the mines turn out $10 
 a day to the man everybody ought to be satis- 
 fied. The opening of these mines has been a 
 Godsend to all of us, as the business of the en- 
 tire country was on the point of taking to a 
 
174 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Irec. The great scarcity of money is seen in 
 tlie present exorbitant rates of interest which it 
 commands; 8, lo and even 15 per cent a month 
 is freely paid and the supply even at these rates 
 is too meager to meet the demands." As the 
 rush increased our editor grows more jubilant. 
 In his issue of March 7, he throws out these 
 headlines: "Stop the Press! Glorious News 
 from Kern River! Bring Out the Big Gun! 
 There are a thousand gulches rich with gold 
 and room for ten thousand miners. Miners 
 averaged $50 a day. One man with his own 
 hands took out $160 in a day. Five men in ten 
 days took out $4,500." 
 
 Another stream of miners and adventurers 
 was pouring into the mines by way of the San 
 Joaquin valley. From Stockton to the Kern 
 river, a distance of three hundred miles, the 
 road was crowded with men on foot, on stages, 
 on horseback and on every form of convey- 
 ance that would take them to the new El Do- 
 rado. In four months five or six thousand men 
 had found their way into the Kern river basin. 
 There was gold there, but not enough to go 
 around. A few struck it rich, the many struck 
 nothing but "hard luck" and the rush out began. 
 Those who had ridden into the valley footed it 
 out, and those who had footed it in on sole 
 leather footed it out on their natural soles. 
 
 After the wild frenzy of Kern river, the press 
 of the state congratulated the public with the 
 assurance that the era of wild rushes was past — 
 "what had been lost in money had been gained 
 in experience." As if prospectors ever profited 
 by experience! Scarcely had the victims of Kern 
 river resumed work in the old creeks and caiions 
 they had deserted to join in the rush when a 
 rumor came, faint at first, but gathering 
 strength at each repetition, that rich diggings 
 had been struck in the far north. This time 
 it is Frazer river. True, Frazer river is in the 
 British possessions, but what of that? There 
 are enough miners in California to seize the 
 country and hold it until the cream of the mines 
 has been skimmed. Rumors of the richness 
 of mines increased with every arrival of a 
 steamer from the north. Captains, pursers, 
 mates, cooks and waiters all confirmed the sto- 
 ries of rich strikes. Doubters asserted that the 
 
 dust and nuggets exhibited had made the trip 
 from San Francisco to Victoria and back. But 
 they were silenced by the assurance that the 
 transportation company was preparing to double 
 the number of its vessels on that route. Com- 
 modore Wright was too smart to run his steam- 
 ers on fake reports, and thus the very thing that 
 ^lould have caused suspicion was used to con- 
 firm the truth of the rumors. The doubters 
 doubted no more, but packed their outfits for 
 P>azer river. California was played out. Where 
 could an honest miner pan out $100 a day 
 in California now? He could do it every day 
 in Frazer; the papers said so. The first notice 
 of the mines was published in March, 1858. The 
 rush began the latter part of April and in four 
 months thirty thousand men, one-sixth of the 
 voting population of the state, had rushed to 
 the mines. 
 
 The effect of the craze was disastrous to busi- 
 ness in California. Farms were abandoned and 
 crops lost for want of hands to harvest them. 
 Rich claims in old diggings were sold for a trifle 
 of their value. Lots on Montgomery street that 
 a few years later were worth $1,500 a front foot 
 were sold for $100. Real estate in the interior 
 towns was sacrificed at 50 to 75 per cent less 
 than it was worth before the rush began. But 
 a halt was called in the mad rush. The returns 
 were not coming in satisfactorily. By the mid- 
 dle of July less than $100,000 in dust had 
 reached San Francisco, only about $3 for each 
 man who had gone to the diggings. There was 
 gold there and plenty of it, so those interested 
 in keeping up the excitement said: "The Frazer 
 river is high; wait till it subsides." But it did 
 not subside, and it has not subsided since. If 
 the Frazer did not subside the excitement did, 
 and that suddenly. Those who had money 
 enough or could borrow from their friends got 
 away at once. Those who had none hung 
 around Victoria and New Westminster until 
 they were shipped back at the government's ex- 
 ])ense. The Frazer river craze was the last of the 
 mad, unreasoning "gold rushes." The Washoe 
 excitement of '59 and the "Ho! for Idaho of 
 1863-64" had some of the characteristics of the 
 carlv gold rushes, but they soon settled down to 
 steady business and the yield from these fairly 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 17o 
 
 recompensed those who were frugal and indus- 
 trious. 
 
 Never before perhaps among civilized people 
 was there witnessed such a universal levehng 
 as occurred in the first years of the mining ex- 
 citement in Cahfornia. "As the labor required 
 was physical instead of mental, the usual supe- 
 riority of head workers over hand workers dis- 
 appeared entirely. Men who had been gov- 
 ernors and legislators and judges in the old 
 states worked by the side of outlaws and con- 
 victs; scholars and students by the side of men 
 who could not read or write; those who had 
 been masters by the side of those who had been 
 slaves; old social distinctions were obliterated; 
 everybody did business on his own account, and 
 not one man in ten was the employe and much 
 less the servant of another. Social distinctions 
 appeared to be entirely obliterated and no man 
 was considered inferior to another. The hard- 
 fisted, unshaven and patch-covered miner was 
 on terms of perfect ecjuality with the well- 
 dressed lawyer, surgeon or merchant; and in 
 general conferences, discussions and even con- 
 
 versations the most weather-beaten and strongly 
 marked face, or, in other words, the man who 
 had seen and experienced the most, notwith- 
 standing his wild and tattered attire, was lis- 
 tened to with more attention and respectful con- 
 sideration than the man of polished speech and 
 striking antithesis. One reason of this was that in 
 those days the roughest-looking man not infre- 
 Cjuently knew more than anybody else of what 
 was wanted to be known, and the raggedest man 
 not infrequently was the most influential and 
 sometimes the richest man in the locality."* 
 
 This independent spirit was characteristic of 
 the men of '48 and '49. Then nearly everybody 
 was honest and theft was almost unknown. 
 With the advent of the criminal element in 
 1850 and later there came a change. Before that 
 a pan of gold dust could be left in an open tent 
 unguarded, but with the coming of the Sydney 
 ducks from Australia and men of their class it 
 became necessary to guard property with sedu- 
 lous care. 
 
 * Hittell's History of California, Vol. III. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 IN 1835 Capt. William A. Richardson built 
 the first house on the Yerba Buena cove. 
 It was a shanty of rough board, which he 
 replaced a year later with an adobe building. 
 He was granted a lot in 1836 and his building 
 stood near what is now the corner of Dupont 
 and Clay streets. Richardson had settled at 
 Sausalito in 1822. He was an Englishman by 
 birth and was one of the first foreigners to settle 
 in California. 
 
 Jacob P. Leese, an American, in partnership 
 with Spear & Hinckley, obtained a lot in 1836 
 and built a house and store near that of Captain 
 Richardson. There is a tradition that Mr. Leese 
 began his store building on the first of July and 
 finished it at ten o'clock on the morning of 
 July 4, and for a house warming celebrated the 
 glorious Fourth in a style that astonished the 
 natives up and down the coast. The house was 
 sixty feet long and twenty-five broad, and, if 
 
 completed in three days, Mr. Leese certainly de- 
 serves the credit of having eclipsed some of 
 the remarkable feats in house building that were 
 performed after the great fires of San Francisco 
 in the early '50s. Mr. Leese and his neighbor. 
 Captain Richardson, invited all the high-toned 
 Spanish families for a hundred miles around to 
 the celebration. The Mexican and American 
 flags floated over the building and two six- 
 pounders fired salutes. At five o'clock the 
 guests sat down to a sumptuous dinner which 
 lasted, toasts and all, till 10 o'clock, and then 
 came dancing; and, as Mr. Leese remarks in his 
 diary : "Our Fourth ended on the evening of 
 the fifth." Mr. Leese was an energetic person. 
 He built a house in three days, gave a Fourth of 
 July celebration that lasted tv^'o days, and inside 
 of a week had a store opened and was doing a 
 thriving business with his late guests. He fell 
 in love with the same energy that he did busi- 
 
176 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ness. Among the guests at his 4th of July 
 celebration were the Vallejos, the nabobs of 
 Sonoma. Leese courted one of the girls and in 
 a few months after the celebration married her. 
 Their daughter, Rosalie Leese, was the first 
 child born in Yerba Buena. Such was the be- 
 ginning of San Francisco. 
 
 This settlement was on a crescent-shaped cove 
 lliat lay between Clark's Point and the Rincon. 
 The locality was known as Yerba Buena (good 
 herb), a species of mint to which the native Cal- 
 ifornians attributed many medicinal virtues. 
 The peninsula still bore the name that had been 
 applied to it when the mission and presidio 
 were founded, San Francisco. Yerba Buena 
 was a local appellation and applied only to the 
 little hamlet that had grown up on the cove. 
 This settlement, although under the Mexican 
 government, was not a Mexican town. The 
 foreign element, the American predominating, 
 had always been in the ascendency. At the time 
 of the conquest, among its two hundred inhab- 
 itants, were representatives of almost every civ- 
 ilized nation on the globe. It was a cosmopol- 
 itan town. In a very short time after the con- 
 quest it began to take on a new growth and was 
 recognized as the coming metropolis of Califor- 
 nia. The curving beach of the cove at one 
 point (Jackson street) crossed the present line 
 of Montgomery street. 
 
 Richardson and Leese had built their stores 
 and warehouses back from the beach because of 
 a Mexican law that prohibited the building of a 
 house on the beach where no custom house ex- 
 isted. All houses had to be built back a certain 
 number of varas from high-water mark. This 
 regulation was made to prevent smuggling. Be- 
 tween the shore line of the cove and anchorage 
 there was a long stretch of shallow water. This 
 made transportation of goods from ship to 
 shore very inconvenient and expensive. With 
 the advent of the Americans and the inaugura- 
 tion of a more progressive era it became neces- 
 sary for the convenient landing of ships and for 
 the discharging and receiving of their cargoes 
 that the beach front of the town should be im- 
 proved by building wharves and docks. The dif- 
 ficulty was to find the means to do this. The 
 general government of the LInited States could 
 
 not undertake it. The war with Mexico was 
 still in progress. The only available way was 
 to sell ofif beach lots to private parties, but who 
 was to give title was the question. Edwin Bry- 
 ant, February 22, 1847, l^ad succeeded Wash- 
 ington Bartlett as alcalde. Bryant was a pro- 
 gressive man, and, recognizing the necessity of 
 improvement in the shipping facilities of the 
 town, he urged General Kearny, the acting 
 governor, to relinquish, on the part of the gen- 
 eral government, its claim to the beach lands in 
 front of the town in favor of the municipality 
 under certain conditions. General Kearny 
 really had no authority to relinquish the claim 
 of the general government to the land, for the 
 simple reason that the general government had 
 not perfected a claim. The country was held 
 as conquered territory. Mexico had made no 
 concession of the land by treaty. It was not 
 certain that California would be ceded to the 
 United States. Under Mexican law the gov- 
 ernor of the territory, under certain conditions, 
 had the right to make grants, and General Kear- 
 ny, assuming the power given a Mexican gov- 
 ernor, issued the following decree: "I, Brig.- 
 Gen. S. W. Kearny, Governor of California, 
 by virtue of authority in me vested by the Pres- 
 ident of the United States of America, do hereby 
 grant, convey, and release unto the Town of San 
 Francisco, the people or corporate authorities 
 thereof, all the right, title and interest of the 
 Government of the United States and of the 
 Territory of California in and to the Beach and 
 Water Lots on the East front of said Town of 
 San Francisco included between the points 
 known as the Rincon and Fort Montgomery, 
 excepting such lots as may be selected for the 
 use of the United States Government by the 
 senior officers of the army and navy now there; 
 provided, the said ground hereby ceded shall 
 be divided into lots and sold by public auction to 
 the highest bidder, after three months' notice 
 previously given; the proceeds of said sale to 
 be for the benefit of the town of San Francisco. 
 Given at Monterey, capital of California, this 
 loth day of March, 1847, ^"d the seventy-first 
 year of the independence of the United States." 
 
 S. W. Kearny, 
 Brig.-Gen'l & Gov. of California. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 177 
 
 In pursuance of this decree, Alcalde Bryant 
 advertised in the Californian that the ground 
 described in the decree, known as Water Lots, 
 would be surveyed and divided into convenient 
 building lots and sold to the highest bidder on 
 the 29th of June (1847). He then proceeds in 
 the advertisement to boom the town. "The site 
 of the town of San Francisco is known by all 
 navigators and mercantile men acquainted with 
 the subject to be the most commanding com- 
 mercial position on the entire western coast of 
 the Pacific ocean, and the Town itself is no 
 doubt destined to become the commercial em- 
 porium of the western side of the North Ameri- 
 can continent."' The alcaldes' assertions must 
 have seemed rather extravagant to the dwellers 
 in the little burgh on the cove of Yerba Buena. 
 But Bryant was a far-seeing man and proved 
 himself in this instance to be a prophet. 
 
 It will be noticed that both General Kearny 
 and Alcalde Bryant call the town San Francisco. 
 Alcalde Bartlett, the predecessor in ofifice of 
 Alcalde Bryant, had changed its name just be- 
 fore he was recalled to his ship. He did not 
 like the name Yerba Buena, so he summarily 
 changed it. He issued a proclamation setting 
 forth that hereafter the town should be known 
 as San Francisco. Having proclaimed a change 
 of name, he proceeded to give his reasons: 
 Yerba Buena was a paltry cognomen for a cer- 
 tain kind of mint found on an island in the 
 bay; it was a merely local name, unknown be- 
 yond the district, while San Francisco had long 
 been familiar on the maps. "Therefore it is 
 hereby ordained, etc." Bartlett builded better 
 than he knew. It would have been a sad mis- 
 take for the city to have carried the "outlandish 
 name which Americans would mangle in pro- 
 nouncing," as the alcalde said. 
 
 The change was made in the latter part of 
 January, 1847, but it was some time before the 
 new name was generally adopted. 
 
 The California Star, Sam Brannan's paper, 
 which had begun to shine January 9, 1847, i" 
 its issue of ^larch 20, alluding to the change, 
 says: "We acquiesce in it, though we prefer 
 the old name. When the change was first at- 
 tempted we viewed it as a mere assumption of 
 authority, without law of precedent, and there- 
 12 
 
 fore we adhered to the old name — Yerba 
 Buena." 
 
 "It was asserted by the late alcalde, Washing- 
 ton Bartlett, that the place was called San 
 I'Vancisco in some old Spanish paper which he 
 professed to have in his possession; but how 
 could we believe a man even about that which 
 it is said 'there is nothing in it,' who had so 
 often evinced a total disregard for his own honor 
 and character and the honor of the country 
 which gave him birth and the rights of his fel- 
 low citizens in the district?" Evidently the edi- 
 tor had a grievance and was anxious to get even 
 with the alcalde. Bartlett demanded an inves- 
 tigation of some charges made against his ad- 
 ministration. He was cleared of all blame. He 
 deserves the thanks of all Californians in sum- 
 marily suppressing Yerba Buena and preventing 
 it from being fastened on the chief city of the 
 state. 
 
 There was at that time (on paper) a city of 
 Francisca. The city fathers of this budding me- 
 tropolis were T. O. Larkin and Robert Semple. 
 In a half-column advertisement in the Califor- 
 nian of April 20, 1847, and several subsequent 
 issues, headed "Great Sale of City Lots," they set 
 forth the many advantages and merits of 
 Francisca. The streets are eighty feet wide, the 
 alleys twenty feet wide, and the lots fifty yards 
 front and forty yards back. The whole city 
 comprises five square miles." 
 
 "Francisca is situated on the Straits of Car- 
 (|uinez, on the north side of the Bay of San 
 Francisco, about thirty miles from the mouth 
 of the bay and at the head of ship navigation. 
 In front of the city is a commodious bay, large 
 enough for two hundred ships to ride at anchor, 
 safe from any wind." * * * "The entire 
 trade of the great Sacramento and San Joaquin 
 valleys, a fertile country of great width and near 
 seven hundred miles long from north to south, 
 must of necessity pass through the narrow chan- 
 nel of Carquinez and the bay and country is 
 so situated that every person who passes from 
 one side of the bay to the other will find the 
 nearest and best way by Francisca." Francisca, 
 with its manifold natural advantages, ought to 
 have been a great city, the metropolis of Cali- 
 fornia, but the Fates were against it. Alcalde 
 
ITS 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Bartlett, probably without any design of doing 
 so, dealt it a fearful blow when he dubbed the 
 town of the good herb, San Francisco. Two 
 cities with names so nearly alike could not live 
 and thrive in the same state. Francisca became 
 Benicia. The population of San Francisco (or 
 Yerba Buena, as it was then called) at the time 
 that Captain Montgomery raised the stars and 
 stripes and took possession of it probably did 
 not exceed two hundred. Its change of masters 
 accelerated its growth. The Calif ornian of Sep- 
 tember 4, 1847 (fourteen months after it came 
 under the flag of the United States), gives the 
 following statistics of its population and prog- 
 ress: Total white male population, 247; female, 
 123; Indians, male, 26; female, 8; South Sea 
 Islanders, male, 39; female i; negroes, male, 
 9; female i; total population, 454. 
 
 Nearly every country on the globe had repre- 
 sentatives in its population, and the various vo- 
 cations by which men earn a living were 
 well represented. Minister, one; doctors, three; 
 lawyers, three; surveyors, two; agriculturists, 
 eleven; bakers, seven; blacksmiths, six; brew- 
 er, one; butchers, seven; cabinetmakers, two; 
 carpenters, twenty-six; cigarmaker, one; coop- 
 ers, three; clerks, thirteen; gardener, one; 
 grocers, five; gunsmiths, two; hotel-keepers, 
 three; laborers, twenty; masons, four; mer- 
 chants, eleven; miner, one; morocco case 
 maker, one; navigators (inland), six; navigator 
 (ocean), one; painter, one; printer, one; sol- 
 dier, one; shoemakers, four; silversmith, one; 
 tailors, four; tanners, two; watchmaker, one; 
 weaver, one. Previous to April i, 1847, accord- 
 ing to the Calif ornian, there had been erected in 
 the town seventy-nine buildings, classified as 
 follows: Shanties, twenty-two; frame buildings, 
 thirty-one; adobe buildings, twenty-six. Since 
 April I, seventy-eight buildings have been 
 erected, viz.: Shanties, twenty; frame buildings, 
 forty-seven; adobe buildings, eleven. "Within 
 five months last past," triumphantly adds the 
 editor of the Californian, "as many buildings 
 have been built as were erected in all the pre- 
 vious years of the town's existence." 
 
 The town continued to grow with wonderful 
 rapidity throughout the year 1847, considering 
 that peace had not yet been declared and the 
 
 destiny of California was uncertain. According 
 to a school census taken in March, 1848, by 
 the Board of Trustees, the population , was: 
 Males, five hundred and seventy-five; females, 
 one hundred and seventy-seven; and "children 
 of age to attend school," sixty, a total of eight 
 hundred and twelve. Building kept pace with 
 the increase of population until the "gold fever" 
 became epidemic. Dr. Brooks, writing in his 
 diary May 17, says: "Walking through the town 
 to-day, I observed that laborers were employed 
 only upon about half a dozen of the fifty new 
 buildings which were in the course of being 
 run up." 
 
 The first survey of lots in the town had been 
 made by a Frenchman named Vioget. No 
 names had been given to the streets. This sur- 
 vey was made before the conquest. In 1847, 
 Jasper O'Farrell surveyed and platted the dis- 
 trict extending about half a mile in the different 
 directions from the plaza. The streets were 
 named, and, with a very few changes, still retain 
 the names then given. In September the coun- 
 cil appointed a committee to report upon the 
 building of a wharf. It was decided to con- 
 struct two wharves, one from the foot of Clay 
 street and the other from the foot of Broadway. 
 Money was appropriated to build them and they 
 had been extended some distance seaward when 
 the rush to the mines suspended operations. 
 After considerable agitation by the two news- 
 papers and canvassing for funds, the first school- 
 house was built. It was completed December 
 4, 1847, tii^'t. for lack of funds, or, as the Star 
 savs, for lack of energy in the council, school 
 was not opened on the completion of the house. 
 In March the council appropriated $400 and 
 April I, 1848, Thomas Douglas, a graduate of 
 Yale College, took charge of the school. San 
 Francisco was rapidly developing into a pro- 
 gressive American city. Unlike the older towns 
 of California, it had but a small Mexican popu- 
 lation. Even had not gold been discovered, it 
 would have grown into a commercial city of con- 
 siderable size. 
 
 The first effect of the gold discovery and the 
 consequent rush to the mines was to bring 
 everything to a standstill. As Kenible. of the 
 Star, puts it, it was "as if a curse had arrested 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGILAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 17!) 
 
 our onward course of enterprise; everything 
 wears a desolate and sombre look; everywhere 
 all is dull, monotonous, dead." The return of 
 the inhabitants in a few months and the influx 
 of new arrivals gave the town a boom in the 
 fall of 184S. Building was only limited by the 
 lack of material, and every kind of a makeshift 
 was resorted to to provide shelter against win- 
 ter rains. From the many attempts at describ- 
 ing the town at this stage of its development. I 
 select this from "Sights in the Gold Regions," a 
 book long since out of print. Its author, T. T. 
 Johnson, arrived at San Francisco April i, 1849. 
 "Proceeding on our survey, we found the 
 streets, or, properly, the roads, laid out reg- 
 ularly, those parallel with the water being a 
 succession of terraces, and these ascending the 
 hills or along their sides being in some instances 
 cut down ten or twelve feet below the surface. 
 Except a portion of the streets fronting upon 
 the cove, they are all of hard-beaten, sandy clay, 
 as solid as if macadamized. About three hun- 
 dred houses, stores, shanties and sheds, with a 
 great many tents, composed the town at that 
 period. The houses were mostly built of rough 
 boards and unpainted ; brown cottons or calico 
 nailed against the beams and joists answered for 
 wall and ceiling of the better class of tenements. 
 With the exception of the brick warehouse of 
 Howard and Melius, the establishments of the 
 commercial houses of which we had heard so 
 much were inferior to the outhouses of the 
 country seats on the Hudson; and yet it would 
 puzzle the New York Exchange to produce 
 merchant princes of equal importance." * * * 
 "We strolled among the tents in the outskirts 
 of the town. Here was 'confusion worse con- 
 founded,' chiefly among Mexicans, Peruvians 
 and Chilians. Every kind, size, color and shape 
 of tent pitched helter-skelter and in the most 
 awkward manner were stowed full of everything 
 under the sun." 
 
 In the first six months of 1849 fifteen thou- 
 sand souls were added to the population of San 
 Francisco; in the latter half of that year about 
 four thousand arrived every month by sea alone. 
 At first the immigrants were from Mexico, 
 Chile, Peru and the South American ports gen- 
 erally; but early in the spring the Americans 
 
 began to arrive, coming by way of Panama and 
 Cape Horn, and later across the plains. Europe 
 sent its contingent by sea via Cape Horn ; and 
 Chma, Australia and the Hawaiian Islands 
 added to the city's population an undesirable 
 element. A large majority of those who came 
 by sea made their way to the mines, but many 
 soon returned to San Francisco, some to take 
 their departure for home, others to become resi- 
 dents. At the end of the year San Francisco 
 had a population of twenty-five thousand. The 
 following graphic description of life in San 
 Francisco in the fall of '49 and spring of '50 I take 
 from a paper, "Pioneer Days in San Francisco," 
 written by John Williamson Palmer, and pub- 
 lished in the Century Magazine (1890): "And 
 how did they all live? In frame houses of one 
 story, more commonly in board shanties and 
 canvas tents, pitched in the midst of sand or 
 mud and various rubbish and strange filth and 
 fleas; and they slept on rude cots or on soft 
 planks, under horse blankets, on tables, coun- 
 ters, floors, on trucks in the open air, in bunks 
 braced against the weather-boarding, forty of 
 them in one loft; and so they tossed and 
 scratched and swore and laughed and sang and 
 skylarked, those who were not tired or drunk 
 enough to sleep. And in the working hours 
 they bustled, and jostled, and tugged, and 
 sweated, and made money, always made money. 
 They labored and they lugged; they worked on 
 lighters, drove trucks, packed mules, rang bells, 
 carried messages, 'waited' in restaurants, 
 'marked' for billiard tables, served drinks in 
 bar rooms, 'faked' on the plaza, 'cried' at auc- 
 tions, toted lumber for houses, ran a game of 
 faro or roulette in the El Dorado or the Bella 
 Union, or manipulated three-card monte on 
 the head of a barrel in front of the Parker 
 House; they speculated, and, as a rule, gam- 
 bled. 
 
 "Clerks in stores and offices had munificent 
 salaries. Five dollars a day was about the small- 
 est stipend even in the custom house, and one 
 Baptist preacher was paid $10,000 a year. La- 
 borers received $1 an hour; a pick or a shovel 
 was worth $10; a tin pan or a wooden bowl 
 $5, and a butcher knife $30. .At one time car- 
 penters who were getting $12 a day struck 
 
180 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for $i6. Lumber rose to $500 per thou- 
 sand feet, and every brick in a house cost 
 a dollar one way or another. Wheat, flour 
 and salt pork sold at $40 a barrel; a small 
 loaf of bread was fifty cents and a hard-boiled 
 egg a dollar. You paid $3 to get into the cir- 
 cus and $55 for a private box at the theater. 
 I'orty dollars was the price for ordinary coarse 
 boots, and a pair that came above the knees 
 and would carry you gallantly through the quag- 
 mires brought a round hundred. When a shirt 
 became very dirty the wearer threw it away and 
 bought a new one. Washing cost $15 a dozen 
 in 1849. 
 
 "Rents were simply monstrous; $3,000 a 
 month in advance for a 'store' hurriedly built of 
 rough boards. Wright & Co. paid $75,000 for 
 the wretched little place on the corner of the 
 plaza that they called the Miners' Bank, and 
 $36,000 was asked for the use of the Old Adobe 
 as a custom-house. The Parker House paid 
 $120,000 a year in rents, nearly one-half of that 
 amount being collected from gamblers who held 
 the second floor; and the canvas tent next door 
 used as a gambling saloon, and called the El 
 Dorado, was good for $40,000 a year. From 
 10 to 15 per cent a month was paid in advance 
 for the use of money borrowed on substantial 
 security. The prices of real estate went up 
 among the stars; $8,000 for a fifty-vara lot that 
 liad been bought in 1849 for $20. A lot pur- 
 chased two years before for a barrel of aguar- 
 liiente sold for $18,000. Yet, for all that, every- 
 body made money. 
 
 "The aspect of the streets of San Francisco at 
 this time was such as one may imagine of an 
 unsightly waste of sand and mud churned by 
 the continual grinding of heavy wagons and 
 trucks and the tugging and floundering of 
 horses, mules and oxen; thoroughfares irregu- 
 lar and uneven, ungraded, unpaved, unplanked, 
 obstructed by lumber and goods, alternate 
 humps and holes, the actual dumping-places of 
 the town, handy receptacles for the general 
 sweepings and rubbish and indescribable offal 
 and filth, the refuse of an indiscriminate popu- 
 lation 'pigging' together in shanties and tents. 
 And these conditions extended beyond the 
 actual settlement into the chaparral and under- 
 
 brush that covered the sand hills on the north 
 and west. 
 
 "The flooding rains of winter transformed 
 what should have been thoroughfares into 
 treacherous quagmires set with holes and traps 
 fit to smother horse and man. Loads of brush- 
 wood and branches of trees cut from the hills 
 were thrown into these swamps ; but they served 
 no more than a temporary purpose and the in- 
 mates of tents and houses made such bridges 
 and crossings as they could with boards, boxes 
 and barrels. Men waded through the slough 
 and thought themselves lucky when they sank 
 no deeper than their waists." 
 
 It is said that two horses mired down in the 
 mud of Alontgomery street were left to die of 
 starvation, and that three drunken men were 
 suffocated between Washington and Jackson 
 streets. It was during the winter of '49 that the 
 famous sidewalk of flour sacks, cooking stoves 
 and tobacco boxes was built. It extended from 
 Simmons, Hutchinson & Co.'s store to Adams 
 Express office, a distance of about seventy-five 
 yards. The first portion was built of Chilean 
 flour in one hundred pound sacks, next came the 
 cooking stoves in a long row, and then followed 
 a double row of tobacco boxes of large size, 
 and a yawning gap of the walk was bridged by 
 a piano. Chile flour, cooking stoves, tobacco 
 and pianos were cheaper material for building 
 v.alks, owing to the excessive supply of these, 
 than lumber at $600 a thousand. 
 
 In the summer of '49 there were more than 
 three hundred sailing vessels lying in the harbor 
 of San Francisco, from which the sailors had 
 deserted to go to the mines. Some of these ves- 
 sels rotted where they were moored. Some 
 were hauled up in the sand or mud flats and 
 used for store houses, lodging houses and sa- 
 loons. As the water lots were filled in and built 
 upon, these ships sometimes formed part of 
 the line of buildings on the street. The brig 
 Euphemia was the first jail owned by the city; 
 the store ship Apollo was converted into a 
 lodging house and saloon, and the Niantic Hotel 
 at the corner of Sansome and Clay streets was 
 built on the hull of the ship Niantic. As the 
 wharves were extended out into the bay the 
 space between was filled in from the sand hills 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 181 
 
 and liuuses built along the wharves. In this 
 way the cove was gradually filled in. The high 
 price of lumber and the great scarcity of houses 
 brought about the importation from New York, 
 Boston, Philadelphia and London of houses 
 ready framed to set up. For a time im- 
 mense profits were made in this, but an e.x- 
 cessive shipment like that of the articles of 
 which the famous sidewalk was made brought 
 down the price below cost, and the business 
 ceased. 
 
 The first of the great fires that devastated San 
 Francisco occurred on Christmas eve, 1849. It 
 started in Denison's Exchange, a gambling 
 house on the east side of the plaza. It burned 
 the greater part of the block between Wash- 
 ington and Clay streets and Kearny and Mont- 
 gomery streets. The loss was estimated at a 
 million and a quarter dollars. The second great 
 fire occurred on May 4, 1850. It burned over 
 the three blocks between Montgomery and 
 Dupont streets, bounded by Jackson and Clay 
 streets, and the north and east sides of Ports-^ 
 mouth square. The loss was estimated at 
 $4,000,000. It started in the United States Ex- 
 change, a gambling den, at four o'clock in the 
 morning, and burned for seven hours. The fire 
 was believed to be of incendiary origin and sev- 
 eral suspicious characters were arrested, but 
 nothing could be proved against them. A num- 
 ber of the lookers-on refused to assist in arrest- 
 ing the progress of the flames unless paid for 
 their labor ; and $3 an hour was demanded and 
 paid to some who did. 
 
 On the 14th of June, 1850, a fire broke out in 
 the Sacramento House, on the east side of Kear- 
 ny street, between Clay and Sacramento. The 
 entire district from Kearny street between Clay 
 and California to the water front was burned 
 over, causing a loss of $3,000,000. Over three 
 hundred houses were destroyed. The fourth 
 great fire of the fateful year of 1850 occurred 
 September 17. It started on Jackson street and 
 destroyed the greater part of the blocks be- 
 tween Dupont and Montgomery streets from 
 Washington to Pacific streets. The loss in this 
 was not so great from the fact that the district 
 contained mostly one-story houses. It was esti- 
 mated at half a million dollars. December 14 
 
 of the same year a fire occurred on Sacramento 
 street below Montgomery. Although the dis- 
 trict burned over was not extensive, the loss 
 was heavy. The buildings were of corrugated 
 iron, supposed to be fireproof, and were filled 
 with valuable merchandise. The loss amounted 
 to $1,000,000. After each fire, building was re- 
 sumed almost before the embers of the fire that 
 consumed the former buildings were extin- 
 guished. After each fire better buildings were 
 constructed. A period of six months' exemp- 
 tion had encouraged the inhabitants of the fire- 
 afflicted city to believe that on account of the 
 better class of buildings constructed the danger 
 of great conflagrations was past, but the worst 
 was yet to come. At 11 p. m. May 3, 1851, a 
 fire, started by incendiaries, broke out on the 
 south side of the plaza. A strong northwest 
 wind swept across Kearny street in broad 
 sheets of flame, first southeastward, then, the 
 wind changing, the flames veered to the north 
 and east. All efforts to arrest them were use- 
 less; houses W'cre blown up and torn down in 
 attempts to cut ofif communication, but the en- 
 gines were driven back step by step, while some 
 of the brave firemen fell victims to the fire fiend. 
 The flames, rising aloft in whirling volumes, 
 swept away the frame houses and crumbled up 
 with intense heat the supposed fireproof struc- 
 tures. After ten hours, whenjhe fire abated for 
 want of material to burn, all that remained of 
 the city were the sparsely settled outskirts. All 
 of the business district between Pine and Pa- 
 cific streets, from Kearny to the Battery on 
 the water front, was in ruins. Over one thou- 
 sand houses had been burned. The loss of prop- 
 erty was estimated at $10,000,000. an amount 
 greater than the aggregate of all the preceding 
 fires. A number of lives were lost. During the 
 progress of the fire large quantities of goods 
 were stolen by bands of thieves. The sixth and 
 last of the great conflagrations that devastated 
 the city occurred on the 22d of June, 1851. The 
 fire started in a building on Powell street and 
 ravaged the district between Clay and Broadway, 
 from Powell to .Sansome. Four hundred and 
 fifty houses were burned, involving a loss of 
 $2,500,000. An improved fire department, 
 more stringent building regulations and a bet- 
 
182 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ter water supply combined to put an end to the 
 era of great fires. 
 
 After the great fires of 1851 had swept over 
 the city there was practically nothing left of 
 the old metropolis of the early gold rush. The 
 hastily constructed wooden shanties were gone; 
 the corrugated iron building imported from 
 New York and London, and warranted to be 
 fireproof, had proved to be worthless to with- 
 stand great heat; the historic buildings had dis- 
 appeared; the new city that, Phoenix-like, arose 
 from the ashes of the old was a very dififerent 
 city from its predecessor that had been wiped 
 from the earth by successive conflagrations. 
 Stone and brick buildings covered the former 
 site of wooden structures. The unsightly mud 
 flats between the wharves were filled in from the 
 sand hills and some of the streets paved. The 
 year 1853 was memorable for the rapid progress 
 of the city. Assessed property values increased 
 from $18,000,000 to $28,000,000. Real estate 
 values went soaring upward and the city was on 
 the high tide of prosperity; but a reaction came 
 in 1855. The rush to the mines had ceased, im- 
 migration had fallen ofT, and men had begun to 
 retrench and settle down to steady business 
 habits. Home productions had replaced im- 
 ports, and the people were abandoning mining 
 for farms. The transition from gold mining to 
 grain growing had begun. All these afifected 
 the city and real estate declined. Lots that sold 
 for $8,000 to $10,000 in 1853 could be bought 
 for half that amount in 1855. Out of one thou- 
 sand business houses, three hundred were va- 
 cant. Another influence that helped to bring 
 about a depression was the growing political 
 
 corruption and the increased taxation from pec- 
 ulations of dishonest officials. 
 
 The defalcations and forgeries of Harry 
 Meigs, which occurred in 1854, were a terrible 
 blow to the city. Meigs was one of its most 
 trusted citizens. He was regarded as the em- 
 bodiment of integrity, the stern, incorruptible 
 man, the watch-dog of the treasury. By his 
 upright conduct he had earned the sobriquet of 
 Honest Harry Meigs. Over-speculation and 
 reaction from the boom of 1853 embarrassed 
 him. He forged a large amount of city scrip 
 and hypothecated it to raise money. His forger- 
 ies were suspected, but before the truth was 
 known he made his escape on the barque 
 America to Costa Rica and from there he made 
 his way to Peru. His forgeries amounted to 
 $1,500,000, of which $1,000,000 was in comp- 
 troller's warrants, to which he forged the names 
 of Mayor Garrison and Controller Harris. The 
 vigilance committee of 1856 cleared the political 
 atmosphere by clearing the city, by means of 
 hemp and deportation, of a number of bad 
 characters. The city was just beginning to re- 
 gain its former prosperity when the Frazer river 
 excitement brought about a temporary depres- 
 sion. The wild rush carried away about one- 
 sixth of its population. These all came back 
 again, poorer and perhaps wiser; at least, their 
 necessities compelled them to go to work and 
 weaned them somewhat of their extravagant 
 habits and their disinclination to work except for 
 the large returns of earlier days. Since 1857 the 
 growth of the city has been steady, unmarked 
 by real estate booms; nor has it been retarded 
 by long periods of financial depression. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 CRIME, CRIMINALS AND 
 
 THERE was but little crime in California 
 among its white inhabitants during the 
 Spanish and Mexican eras of its history. 
 The conditions were not conducive to the de- 
 velopment of a criminal element. The inhabit- 
 ants were a pastoral people, pursuing an out- 
 door vocation, and there were no large towns 
 or cities where the viciouslv inclined could con- 
 
 VIGILANCE COMMITTEES. 
 
 gregate and find a place of refuge from justice. 
 "From 1819 to 1846, that is, during the entire 
 period of Mexican domination under the Repub- 
 lic," says Bancroft, "there were but six murders 
 among the whites in all California." There were 
 no lynchings, no mobs, unless some of the rev- 
 olutionary uprisings might be called such, and 
 but one vigilance committee. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRArHlCAL RECORD. 
 
 183 
 
 San Francisco is credited with the origin of 
 that form of popular tribunal known as the vigi- 
 lance committee. The name "vigilance com- 
 mittee" originated with the uprising, in 1851, of 
 the people of that city against the criminal ele- 
 ment; but, years before there was a city of San 
 Francisco, Los Angeles had originated a tri- 
 bunal of the people, had taken criminals from 
 the lawfully constituted authorities and had tried 
 and executed them. The causes which called 
 into existence the first vigilance committee in 
 California were similar to those that created the 
 later ones, namely, laxity in the administration 
 of the laws and distrust in the integrity of 
 those chosen to administer them. During the 
 "decade of revolutions," that is, between 1830 
 and 1840, the frequent change of rulers and the 
 struggles of the different factions for power en- 
 gendered in the masses a disregard, not only 
 for their rulers, but for law and order as well. 
 Criminals escaped punishment through the 
 law's delays. No court in California had power 
 to pass sentence of death on a civilian until its 
 findings had been approved by the superior tri- 
 bunal of Mexico. In the slow and tedious proc- 
 esses of the different courts, a criminal stood a 
 good show of dying of old age before his case 
 reached final adjudication. The first committee 
 of vigilance in California was organized at Los 
 Angeles, in the house of Juan Temple, April 7, 
 1836. It was called "Junta Defensora de La 
 Seguridad Publica," United Defenders of the 
 Public Security (or safety). Its motto, which ap- 
 pears in the heading of its "acta," and is there 
 credited as a quotation from Montesquieu's Ex- 
 position of the Laws, Book 26, Chapter 23, was, 
 "Salus populi suprema lex est" (The safety of 
 the people is the supreme law). There is a 
 marked similarity between the proceedings of 
 the Junta Defensora of 1836 and the San Fran- 
 cisco vigilance committee of 1856; it is not 
 probable, however, that any of the actors in the 
 latter committee participated in the former. 
 Although there is quite a full account of the 
 proceedings of the Junta Defensora in the Los 
 Angeles city archives, no historian heretofore 
 except Bancroft seems to have found it. 
 
 The circumstances which brought about the 
 organization of the Junta Defensora are as fol- 
 
 lows: The wife of Domingo Feliz (part owner 
 of the Los Feliz Rancho), who bore the poet- 
 ical name of Maria del Rosario Villa, became 
 infatuated with a handsome but disreputable 
 Sonoran vac|uero, Gervacio Alispaz by name. 
 She abandoned her husband and lived with Alis- 
 paz as his mistress at San Gabriel. Feliz sought 
 to reclaim his erring w^ife, but was met by in- 
 sults and abuse from her paramour, whom he 
 once wounded in a personal altercation. Feliz 
 finally invoked the aid of the authorities. The 
 woman was arrested and brought to town. A 
 reconciliation was effected between the husband 
 and wife. Two days later they left town for the 
 rancho, both riding one horse. On the way 
 they were met by Alispaz, and in a personal en- 
 counter F"eliz was stabbed to death by the wife's 
 paramour. The body was dragged into a ra- 
 vine and covered with brush and leaves. Next 
 day, March 29, the body was found and brought 
 to the city. The murderer and the woman were 
 arrested and imprisoned. The people were filled 
 with horror and indignation, and there were 
 tlireats of summary vengeance, but better coun- 
 sel prevailed. 
 
 On the 30th the funeral of Feliz took place, 
 I'lul, like that of James King of William, twenty 
 years later, was the occasion for the renewal of 
 the outcry for vengeance. The attitude of the 
 people became so threatening that on the 1st 
 of April an extraordinary session of the ayun- 
 tamiento was held. A call was made upon the 
 citizens to form an organization to preserve the 
 peace. A considerable number responded and 
 were formed into military patrols under the 
 command of Don Juan B. Leandry. The illus- 
 trious ayuntamiento resolved "that whomsoever 
 shall disturb the public tranquillity shall be pun- 
 ished according to law." The excitement ap- 
 parently died out, but it was only the calm that 
 precedes the storm. The beginning of the 
 Easter ceremonies was at hand, and it was 
 deemed a sacrilege to execute the assassins in 
 holy week, so all further attempts at punishment 
 were deferred until April 7, the Monday after 
 Easter, when at dawn, by previous understancl- 
 ing, a number of the better class of citizens met 
 at the house of Juan Temple, which stood on 
 the present site of the Downev Block. An or- 
 
i 
 
 184 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ganization was effected. Victor Prudon, a na- 
 tive of Breton, France, but a naturalized citizen 
 of California, was elected president; Manuel 
 Arzaga, a native of California, was elected sec- 
 retary, and Francisco Araujo, a retired arm)' 
 officer, was placed in command of the armed 
 force. Speeches were made by Prudon, and by 
 the military commandant and others, setting 
 ' forth the necessity of their organization and jus- 
 tifying their actions. It was unanimously de- 
 cided that both the man and the woman should 
 be shot; their guilt being evident, no trial was 
 deemed necessary. 
 
 An address to the authorities and the people 
 was formulated. A copy of this is preserved in 
 the city archives. It abounds in metaphors. 
 It is too long for insertion here. I make a few 
 extracts: "* * * Believing that immorality 
 has reached such an extreme that public secur- 
 ity is menaced and will be lost if the dike of a 
 solemn example is not opposed to the torrent 
 of atrocious perfidy, we demand of you that you 
 execute or deliver to us for immediate execution 
 the assassin, Gervacio Alispaz, and the unfaith- 
 ful Maria del Rosario Villa, his accomplice. 
 * * * Nature trembles at the sight of these 
 venomous reptiles and the soil turns barren in 
 its refusal to support their detestable existence. 
 Let the infernal pair perish! It is the will of the 
 people. We will not lay down otir arms until our 
 petition is granted and the murderers are exe- 
 cuted. The proof of their guilt is so clear that 
 justice needs no investigation. Public vengeance 
 demands an example and it must be given. The 
 blood of the Alvarez, of the Patinos, of the 
 Jenkins, is not vet cold — thev, too, being- the 
 unfortunate victims of the brutal passions of 
 their murderers. Their bloody ghosts shriek 
 for vengeance. Their terrible voices re-echo 
 from their graves. The afflicted widow, the for- 
 saken orphan, the aged father, the brother in 
 mourning, the inconsolable mother, the public 
 — all demand speedy punishment of the guilty. 
 We swear that outraged justice shall be avenged 
 to-day or we shall die in the attempt. The blood 
 of the murderers shall be shed to-day or ours 
 will be to the last drop. It will be published 
 throughout the world that judges in Los An- 
 geles tolerate murderers, but that there are 
 
 virtuous citizens who sacrifice their lives in 
 order to preserve those of their countrymen." 
 
 "A committee will deliver to the First Consti- 
 tutional Alcalde a copy of these resolutions, 
 that he may decide whatever he finds most con- 
 venient, and one hour's time will be given him 
 in which to do so. If in that time no answer has 
 been received, then the judge will be responsible 
 before God and man for what will follow. Death 
 to the murderers! 
 
 "God and liberty. Angeles, April 7, 1836." 
 
 Fifty-five signatures are attached to this doc- 
 ument; fourteen of these are those of natural- 
 ized foreigners and the remainder those of na- 
 tive Californians. The junta was made up of 
 the best citizens, native and foreign. An extraor- 
 dinary session of the ayuntamiento was called. 
 The members of the junta, fully armed, marched 
 to the city hall to await the decision of the 
 authorities. The petition was discussed in the 
 council, and, in the language of the archives: 
 "This Illustrious Body decided to call said 
 Breton Prudon to appear before it and to com- 
 pel him to retire with the armed citizens so that 
 this Illustrious Body may deliberate at liberty." 
 
 "This was done, but he declined to appear 
 before this body, as he and the armed citizens 
 were determined to obtain Gervacio Alispaz and 
 Maria del Rosario Villa. The ayuntamiento 
 decided that as it had not sufficient force to 
 compel the armed citizens to disband, they 
 being in large numbers and composed of the 
 best and most respectable men of the town, to 
 send an answer saying that the judges could 
 not accede to the demand of the armed citi- 
 zens." 
 
 The members of the Junta Defensora then 
 marched in a body to the jail and demanded the 
 keys of the guard. These were refused. The 
 keys were secured by force and Gervacio Alispaz 
 taken out and shot. The following demand was 
 then sent to the first alcalde, Manuel Requena: 
 
 "It is absolutely necessary that you deliver 
 to this junta the key of the apartment where 
 Maria del Rosario \^illa is kept. 
 "God and liberty. 
 
 "Victor Prudon, President. 
 "Manuel Arzaga, Secretary." 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 185 
 
 To this the alcalde rephed: "Maria del Rosa- 
 rio Villa is incarcerated at a private dwelling, 
 whose owner has the key, with instructions not 
 to deliver the same to any one. The prisoner is 
 left there at the disposition of the law only. 
 
 "God and liberty. 
 
 "M.VNUEL Requena, Alcalde." 
 
 The key was obtained. The wretched Maria 
 was taken to the place of execution on a car- 
 reta and shot. The bodies of the guilty pair 
 were brought back to the jail and the following 
 communication sent to the alcalde: 
 
 "Junta of the Defenders of Public Safety. 
 
 "To the ist Constitutional Alcalde: 
 "The dead bodies of Gervacio Alispaz and 
 Maria del Rosario \illa are at your disposal. 
 We also forward you the jail keys that you may 
 deliver them to whomsoever is on guard. In 
 case you are in need of men to serve as guards, 
 we are all at your disposal. 
 
 "God and liberty. Angeles, April 7, 1836. 
 "Victor Prudon, Pres. 
 "Manuel Arzaga, Sec." 
 
 A few days later the Junta Defensora de La 
 Seguridad Publica disbanded; and so ended the 
 only instance in the seventy-five years of Span- 
 ish and Mexican rule in California, of the people, 
 by popular tribunal, taking the administration of 
 justice out of the hands of the legally consti- 
 tuted authorities. 
 
 The tales of the fabulous richness of the gold 
 fields of California were quickly spread through- 
 out the world and drew to the territory all 
 classes and conditions of men, the bad as well 
 as the good, the vicious as well as the virtuous; 
 the indolent, the profligate and the criminal 
 came to prey upon the industrious. These con- 
 glomerate elements of society found the Land 
 of Gold practically without law, and the vicious 
 among them were not long in making it a land 
 without order. With that inherent trait, which 
 makes the Anglo-Saxon wherever he may be 
 an organizer, the American element of the gold 
 seekers soon adjusted a form of government to 
 suit the exigencies of the land and the people. 
 There may have been too much lynching, too 
 much vigilance committee in it and too little 
 
 respect for lawfully constituted authorities, but 
 it was effective and was suited to the social 
 conditions existing. 
 
 In 1851 the criminal element became so dom- 
 inant as to seriously threaten the existence of 
 the chief city, San Francisco. Terrible conflagra- 
 tions had swept over the city in May and June 
 of that year and destroyed the greater part of 
 the business portion. The fires were known to 
 be of incendiary origin. The bold and defiant 
 attitude of the vicious classes led to the or- 
 ganization by the better element, of that form 
 of popular tribunal called a committee of vigi- 
 lance. The law abiding element among the cit- 
 izens disregarding the legally constituted 
 authorities, who were either too weak or too 
 corrupt to control the law-defying, took the 
 power in their own hands, organized a vigilance 
 committee and tried and executed by hanging 
 four notorious criminals, namely: Jenkins, 
 Stuart, Whitaker and McKenzie. 
 
 During the proceedings of the vigilance com- 
 mittee a case of mistaken identity came near 
 costing an innocent man his life. About 8 
 o'clock in the evening of February 18, two men 
 entered the store of a ^Ir. Jansen on Mont- 
 gomery street and asked to see some blankets. 
 -As the merchant stooped to get the blankets 
 one of the men struck him with a sling shot and 
 both of them beat him into insensibility. They 
 then opened his desk and carried away all the 
 gold they could find, about $2,000. The police 
 arrested two men on suspicion of being the rob- 
 bers. One of the men was identified as James 
 Stuart, a noted criminal, who had murdered 
 Sheriff ]\Ioore at Auburn. He gave the name of 
 Thomas Burdue, but this was believed to be one 
 of Stuart's numerous aliases. The men were 
 identified by Mr. Jansen as his assailants. They 
 were put on trial. When the court adjourned 
 over to the next day a determined effort was 
 made by the crowd to seize the men and hang 
 them. They were finally taken out of the hands 
 of the officers and given a trial by a jury selected 
 bv a committee of citizens. The jury failed to 
 agree, three of the jury being convinced that 
 the men were not Jansen's assailants. Then the 
 mob made a rush to hang the jury, but were 
 kept back by a show of revolvers. The prison- 
 
186 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ers were turned over to the court. One of 
 them, Wildred, broke jail and escaped. Burdue 
 was tried, convicted and sentenced to fourteen 
 years' imprisonment. Before the sentence of 
 the court was executed he was taken to Marys- 
 ville and arraigned for the murder of Sheriff 
 Moore. A number of witnesses swore positively 
 that the man was Stuart; others swore even more 
 positively that he was not. A close examination 
 revealed that the prisoner bore every distin- 
 guishing mark on his person by which Stuart 
 could be identified. He was convicted and sen- 
 tenced to be hanged in thirty days. In the mean- 
 time the vigilance committee of 1856 was or- 
 ganized and the real Stuart accidentally fell into 
 the hands of the vigilantes at San Francisco. 
 He was arrested for a theft he had not com- 
 mitted and recognized by one of the committee's 
 guards that he had formerly employed in the 
 mines. By adroit questioning he was forced to 
 confess that he was the real Stuart, the murderer 
 of Sheriff Aloore and the assailant of Jansen. 
 His confederate in the robbery was Whitaker, 
 one of the four hanged by the committee. Bur- 
 due was finally released, after having twice 
 stood under the shadow of the gallows for the 
 crimes of his double. The confessions of Stuart 
 and Whitaker implicated a number of their pals. 
 Some of these were convicted and sent to prison 
 and others fled the country; about thirty were 
 banished. Nearly all of the criminals were ex- 
 convicts from Australia and Tasmania. 
 
 The vigorous measures adopted by the com- 
 mittee purified the city of the vicious class that 
 had preyed upon it. Several of the smaller 
 towns and some of the mining camps organized 
 vigilance committees and a number of the 
 knaves who had fled from San Francisco met a 
 deserved fate in other places. 
 
 In the early '50s the better elements of San 
 Francisco's population were so engrossed in 
 business that they had no time to spare to look 
 after its political affairs; and its government 
 gradually drifted into the hands of vicious and 
 corrupt men. Many of the city authorities had 
 obtained their offices by fraud and ballot stuf- 
 fing and "instead of protecting the communitv 
 against scoundrels they protected the scoundrels 
 against the community." James King of Will- 
 
 iam, an ex-banker and a man of great courage 
 and persistence, started a small paper called 
 the Daily Ez'cning Bulletin. He vigorously as- 
 sailed the criminal elements and the city and 
 county officials. His denunciations aroused pub- 
 lic sentiment. The murder of L'nited States 
 Marshal Richardson by a gambler named Cora 
 still further inflamed the public mind. It was 
 feared that by the connivance of some of the 
 corrupt county officials Cora would escape pun- 
 ishment. His trial resulted in a hung jury. 
 There was a suspicion that some of the jury- 
 men were bribed. King continued through the 
 Bulletin to hurl his most bitter invectives against 
 the corrupt officials. They determined to silence 
 him. He published the fact that James Casey, 
 a supervisor from the twelfth ward, was an ex- 
 convict of Sing Sing prison. Casey waylaid 
 King at the corner of Alontgomery and Wash- 
 ington streets and in a cowardly manner shot 
 him down. The shooting occurred on the 14th 
 of May, 1856. Casey immediately surrendered 
 himself to a deputy sheriff, Lafayete M. Byrne, 
 who was near. King was not killed, but an ex- 
 amination of the wound by the physicians de- 
 cided that there was no hopes of his recovery. 
 Casey was conducted to the city prison and as 
 a mob began to gather, for greater safety he 
 was taken to the county jail. A crowd pursued 
 him crying, "Hang him," "kill him." At the 
 jail the mob was stopped by an array of deputy 
 sheriffs, police officers and a number of Casey's 
 friends, all armed. The excitement spread 
 throughout the city. The old vigilance com- 
 mittee of 1 85 1, or rather a new organization out 
 of the remnant of the old, was formed. Five 
 thousand men were enrolled in a few days. 
 Arms were procured and headquarters estab- 
 lished on Sacramento street between Davis and 
 Front. The men were divided into companies. 
 William T. Coleman, chairman of the vigilance 
 committee of 1851, was made president or No. i, 
 and Isaac Bluxome, Jr., the secretary, was No. 
 ;^;^. Each man was known by number. Charles 
 Doane was elected chief marshal of the military 
 division. 
 
 The San Francisco Herald (edited by John 
 Nugent), then the leading paper of the city, came 
 out with a scathing editorial denouncing the 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 187 
 
 vigilance committee. The merchants at once 
 withdrew their advertising patronage. Next 
 morning the paper appeared reduced from forty 
 cohnnns to a single page, but still hostile to the 
 committee. It finally died for want of patron- 
 age. 
 
 On Sunday, ^Nlay i8, 1856, the military di- 
 vision was ready to storm the jail if necessary to 
 obtain possession of the prisoners, Casey and 
 Cora. The different companies, marching from 
 their headquarters by certain prescribed routes, 
 all reached the jail at the same time and com- 
 pletely invested it. They had with them two 
 pieces of artillery. One of these guns was 
 planted so as to command the door of the jail. 
 There were fifteen hundred vigilantes under 
 arms. A demand was made on Sheriff Scannell 
 for the prisoners, Cora and Casey. The prison 
 guard made no resistance, the prisoners were 
 surrendered and taken at once to the vigilantes' 
 headquarters. 
 
 On the 20th of May the murderers were put 
 on trial; while the trial was in progress the 
 death of King was announced. Both men were 
 convicted and sentenced to be hanged. King's 
 funeral, the largest and most imposing ever seen 
 in San Francisco, took place on the 23d. While 
 the funeral cortege was passing through the 
 streets Casey and Cora were hanged in front of 
 the windows of the vigilance headquarters. 
 About an hour before his execution Cora was 
 married to a notorious courtesan, Arabella 
 Ryan, but commonly called Belle Cora. A 
 Catholic priest, Father Accolti, performed the 
 ceremony. 
 
 Governor J. Xeely Johnson, who at first 
 seemed inclined not to interfere with the vig- 
 ilantes, afterwards acting under the advice of 
 David S. Terry, Vohiey E. Howard and others 
 of dominant pro-slavery faction, issued a proc- 
 lamation commanding the committee to disband, 
 to which no attention was paid. The governor 
 then appointed William T. Sherman major-gen- 
 eral. Sherman called for recruits to suppress 
 the uprising. Seventy-five or a hundred, mostly 
 gamblers, responded to his call. General Wool, 
 in command of the troops in the department of 
 the Pacific, refused to loan Governor Johnson 
 arms to equip his "law and order" recruits and 
 
 General Sherman resigned. Volney E. Howanl 
 was then appointed major-general. His princi- 
 l)al militar}' service consisted in proclaiming 
 what he would do to the "pork merchants" who 
 constituted the committee. He did nothing ex- 
 cept to bluster. A squad of the vigilance po- 
 lice attcm])ted to arrest a man named Alaloney. 
 Alaloney was at the time in the company of 
 David S. Terry (then chief justice of the state) 
 and several other members of the "law and or- 
 der" party. They resisted the police and in the 
 melee Terry stabbed the sergeant of the squad, 
 Sterling A. Hopkins, and then he and his as- 
 sociates made their escape to the armory of the 
 San Francisco Blues, one of their strongholds. 
 
 When the report of the stabbing reached 
 headquarters the great bell sounded the alarm 
 and the vigilantes in a very brief space of time 
 surrounded the armory building and had their 
 cannon planted to batter it down. Terry, Ma- 
 loney, and the others of their party in the build- 
 ing, considering discretion the better part of 
 valor, surrendered and were at once taken to 
 Fort Gunnybags,* the vigilantes' headquarters. 
 The arms of the "law and order" party at their 
 various rendezvous were surrendered to the vig- 
 ilantes and the companies disbanded. 
 
 Terry was closely confined in a cell at the 
 headquarters of the committee; Hopkins, after 
 lingering some time between life and death, 
 finally recovered. Terry was tried for assault 
 on Hopkins and upon several other persons, was 
 found guilty, but, after being held as a prisoner 
 for some time, was finally released. He at once 
 joined Johnson and Howard at Sacramento, 
 where he felt much safer than in San Francisco. 
 He gave the vigilantes no more trouble. 
 
 On the 29th of July, Hethrington and Brace 
 were hanged from a gallows erected on Davis 
 street, between Sacramento and Commercial. 
 Both of these men had committed murder. 
 These were thfe last e.xecutions by the commit- 
 tee. The committee transported from the state 
 thirty disreputable characters and a number de- 
 ported themselves. A few, and among them the 
 
 *The vigilantes built around the building which they 
 used for headquarters a breastwork made of gunny- 
 sacks filled with sand. Cannon were planted at the 
 corners of the redout. 
 
188 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 notorious Ned McGowan, managed to keep con- 
 cealed until the storm was over. x\ few of the 
 expatriated returned after the committee dis- 
 solved and brought suit for damages, but failed 
 to recover anything. The committee had paid 
 the fare of the exiles. It was only the high 
 toned rascals who were given a cabin passage 
 that brought the suits. The committee finished 
 its labors and dissolved with a grand parade on 
 the iSth of August (1856). It did a good work. 
 For several years after, San Francisco from be- 
 ing one of the worst, became one of the best 
 governed cities in the United States. The com- 
 mittee was made up of men from the northern 
 and western states. The so-called "law and 
 order" party was mostly composed of the pro- 
 slavery office-holding faction that ruled the state 
 at that time. 
 
 When the vigilance committees between 185 1 
 and 1856 drove disreputable characters from 
 San Francisco and the northern mines, many of 
 them drifted southward and found a lodgment 
 for a time in the southern cities and towns. Los 
 Angeles was not far from the Mexican line, and 
 any one who desired to escape from justice, 
 fleet mounted, could speedily put himself be- 
 yond the reach of his pursuers. All these 
 causes and influences combined to produce a 
 saturnalia of crime that disgraced that city in 
 the early '50s. 
 
 Gen. J. H. Bean, a prominent citizen of 
 Southern California, while returning to Los An- 
 geles from his place of business at San Gabriel 
 late one evening in November, 1852, was at- 
 tacked by two men, who had been lying in wait 
 for him. One seized the bridle of his horse and 
 jerked the animal back on his haunches; the 
 other seized the general and pulled him from the 
 saddle. Bean made a desperate resistance, but 
 was overpowered and stabbed to death. The 
 assassination of General Bean resulted in the 
 organization of a vigilance committee and an 
 efifort was made to rid the country of desper- 
 adoes. A number of arrests were made. Three 
 suspects were tried by the committee for various 
 crimes. One, Cipiano Sandoval, a poor cob- 
 bler of San Gabriel, was charged with complicity 
 in the murder of General Bean. He strenuously 
 maintained that he was innocent. He, with the 
 
 other two, were sentenced to be hanged. On 
 the following Sunday morning the doomed men 
 were conducted to the top of Fort Hill, where 
 the gallows stood. Sandoval made a brief 
 speech, again declaring his innocence. The 
 others awaited their doom in silence. The trap 
 fell and all were launched into eternity. Years 
 afterward one of the real murderers on his 
 deathbed revealed the truth and confessed his 
 part in the crime. The poor cobbler was inno- 
 cent. 
 
 In 1854 drunkenness, gambling, murder and 
 all forms of immorality and crime were ram- 
 pant in Los Angeles. The violent deaths, it is 
 said, averaged one for every day in the year. It 
 was a common question at the breakfast table, 
 "Well, how many were killed last night?" Little 
 or no attention was paid to the killing of an 
 Indian or a half breed; it was only when a gente 
 de razon was the victim that the community was 
 aroused to action. 
 
 The Kern river gold rush, in the winter of 
 1854-55, brought from the northern mines fresh 
 relays of gamblers and desperadoes and crime 
 increased. The Southern Califoniian of March 
 7, 1855, commenting on the general lawlessness 
 prevailing, says: "Last Sunday night was a 
 brisk night for killing. Four men were shot 
 and killed and several wounded in shooting af- 
 frays." 
 
 A worthless fellow by the name of David 
 Brown, who had, without provocation, killed a 
 companion named Clifford, was tried and sen- 
 tenced to be hanged with one Felipe Alvitre, a 
 Mexican, who had murdered an American 
 named Ellington, at El Monte. There was a 
 feeling among the people that Brown, through 
 quibbles of law, would escape the death penalty, 
 and there was talk of lynching. Stephen C. 
 Foster, the mayor, promised that if justice was 
 not legally meted out to Brown by the law, then 
 he would resign his office and head the lynching 
 party. January 10, 1855, an order was received 
 from Judge Murray, of the supreme court, stay- 
 ing the execution of Brown, but leaving Alvitre 
 to his fate. January 12 Alvitre was hanged by 
 the sheriff in the jail yard in the presence of an 
 innnense crowd. The gallows were taken down 
 and the guards dismissed. The crowd gathered 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 189 
 
 outside the jail yard. Speeches were made. 
 The mayor resigned his office and headed the 
 mob. The doors of the jail were broken down; 
 Brown was taken across Spring street to a 
 large gateway opening into a corral and hanged 
 from the crossbeam. Foster was re-elected by 
 an almost unanimous vote at a special election. 
 The city marshal, who had opposed the action 
 of the vigilantes, was compelled to resign. 
 
 During 1855 and 1856 lawlessness increased. 
 There was an organized band of about one hun- 
 dred Mexicans, who patroled the highways, 
 robbing and murdering. They threatened the 
 extermination of the Americans and there were 
 fears of a race war, for many who were not 
 members of the gang sympathized with them. 
 In 1856 a vigilance committee was organized 
 with Alyron Norton as president and H. N. 
 Alexander as secretary. A number of dis- 
 reputable characters were forced to leave town. 
 The banditti, under their leaders, Pancho Dan- 
 iel and Juan Flores, were plundering and com- 
 mitting outrages in the neighborhood of San 
 Juan Capistrano. 
 
 On the night of January 22, 1857, Sheriff 
 James R. Barton left Los Angeles with a posse, 
 consisting of William H. Little, Charles K. 
 Baker, Charles F. Daley, Alfred Hardy and 
 Frank Alexander with the intention of captur- 
 ing some of the robbers. At Sepulveda's ranch 
 ne.xt morning the sheriff's party was warned that 
 the robbers were some fifty strong, well armed 
 and mounted, and would probably attack them. 
 Twelve miles further the sherifif and his men en- 
 countered a detachment of the banditti. A 
 short, sharp engagement took place. Barton, 
 Baker, Little and Daley were killed. Hardy and 
 Alexander made their escape by the fleetness 
 of their horses. When the news reached Los 
 Angeles the excitement became intense. A 
 public meeting was held to devise plans to rid 
 the community not only of the roving gang of 
 murderers, but also of the criminal classes in 
 the city, who were known to be in sympathy 
 with the banditti. All suspicious houses were 
 searched and some fifty persons arrested. Sev- 
 eral companies were organized; the infantry to 
 guard the city and the mounted men to scour 
 the country. Companies were also formed at 
 
 San Bernardino and El Monte, while the mil- 
 itary authorities at Fort Tejon and San Diego 
 despatched soldiers to aid in the good work of 
 exterminating crime and criminals. 
 
 The robbers were pursued into the mountains 
 and nearly all captured. Gen. Andres Pico, 
 with a company of native Californians, was most 
 efficient in the pursuit. He captured Silvas and 
 Ardillero, two of the most noted of the gang, 
 and hanged them where they were cap- 
 tured. Fifty-two were lodged in the city jail. 
 Of these, eleven were hanged for various crimes 
 and the remainder set free. Juan Flores, one 
 of the leaders, was condemned by popular vote 
 and on February 14, 1857, was hanged near the 
 top of Fort Hill in the presence of nearly the 
 entire population of the town. He was only 
 twenty-one years of age. Pancho Daniel, an- 
 other of the leaders, was captured on the 19th 
 of January, 1858, near San Jose. He was found 
 by the sheriff, concealed in a haystack. After 
 his arrest he was part of the time in jail and part 
 of the time out on bail. He had been tried three 
 times, but through law quibbles had escaped 
 conviction. A change of venue to Santa Bar- 
 bara had been granted. The people determined 
 to take the law in their own hands. On the 
 morning of November 30, 1858, the body of 
 Pancho was hanging from a beam across the 
 gateway of the jail yard. Four of the banditti 
 were executed by the people of San Gabriel, 
 and Leonardo Lopez, under sentence of the 
 court, was hanged by the sheriff. The gang was 
 broken up and the moral atmosphere of Los 
 Angeles somewhat purified. 
 
 November 17, 1862, John Rains of Cuca- 
 monga ranch was murdered near Azusa. De- 
 cember 9, 1863, the sheriff was taking Manuel 
 Cerradel to San Quentin to serve a ten years' 
 sentence. When the sheriff went aboard the tug 
 boat Cricket at Wilmington, to proceed to the 
 Senator, quite a number of other persons took 
 passage. On the way down the harbor, the 
 prisoner was seized by the passengers, who 
 were vigilantes, and hanged to the rigging; after 
 hanging twenty minutes the body was taken 
 down, stones tied to the feet and it was thrown 
 overboard. Cerradel was implicated in the mur- 
 der of Rains. 
 
190 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAI RECORD. 
 
 In the fall of 1863 lawlessness had again be- 
 come rampant in Los Angeles; one of the chiefs 
 of the criminal class was a desperado by the 
 name of Boston Daimwood. He was suspected 
 of the murder of a miner on the desert 
 and was loud in his threats against the lives 
 of various citizens. He and four other well- 
 known criminals, Wood, Chase, Ybarra and 
 Olivas, all of whom were either murder- 
 ers or horse thieves, were lodged in jail. On 
 the 2ist of November two hundred armed 
 citizens battered down the doors of the jail, 
 took the five wretches out and hanged them to 
 the portico of the old court house on Spring 
 street, which stood on the present site of the 
 Phillips block. 
 
 On the 24th of October, 1871, occurred in 
 Los Angeles a most disgraceful affair, known 
 as the Chinese massacre. It grew out of one 
 of those interminable feuds between rival 
 tongs of highbinders, over a woman. Desul- 
 tory firing had been kept up between the rival 
 factions throughout the day. About 5:30 p. m. 
 Policeman Bilderrain visited the seat of war, an 
 old adobe house on the corner of Arcadia street 
 and "Nigger alley," known as the Coronel build- 
 ing. Poinding himself unable to quell the dis- 
 turbance he called for help. Robert Thompson, 
 an old resident of the city, was among the first 
 to reach the porch of the house in answer to the 
 police call for help. He received a mortal wound 
 from a bullet fired through the door of a Chi- 
 nese store. He died an hour later in Woll- 
 weber's drug store. The Chinese in the mean- 
 time barricaded the doors and windows of the 
 old adobe and prepared for battle. The news 
 of the fight and of the killing of Thompson 
 spread throughout the city and an immense 
 crowd gathered in the streets around the build- 
 ing with the intention of wreaking vengeance on 
 the Chinese. 
 
 The first attempt by the mob to dislodge the 
 Chinamen was by cutting holes through the flat 
 brea covered roof and firing pistol shots into the 
 interior of the building. One of the besieged 
 crawled out of the building and attempted to 
 escape, but was shot down before half wav 
 across Negro alley. .Another attempted to es- 
 cape into Los .\ngeles street : he was seized. 
 
 dragged lo the gate of Tomlinson's corral on 
 New High street, and hanged. 
 
 About 9 o'clock a part of the mob had suc- 
 ceeded in battering a hole in the eastern end of 
 the building; through this the rioters, with 
 demoniac bowlings, rushed in, firing pistols to 
 the right and left. Huddled in corners and hid- 
 den behind boxes they found eight terror- 
 stricken Chinamen, who begged piteously for 
 their lives. These were brutally dragged out 
 and turned over to the fiendish mob. One was 
 dragged to death by a rope around his neck; 
 three, more dead than alive from kicking and 
 beating, were hanged to a wagon on Los An- 
 geles street; and four were hanged to the gate- 
 way of Tomlinson's corral. Two of the victims 
 were mere boys. While the shootings and hang- 
 ings were going on thieves were looting the 
 other houses in the Chinese quarters. The 
 houses were broken into, trunks, boxes and 
 other receptacles rifled of their contents, and 
 any Chinamen found in the buildings were 
 dragged forth to slaughter. Among the vic- 
 tims was a doctor, Gene Tung, a quiet, inof- 
 fensive old man. He pleaded for his life in good 
 English, offering his captors all his money, 
 some $2,000 to $3,000. He was hanged, his 
 money stolen and one of his fingers cut off to 
 obtain a ring he wore. The amount of money 
 stolen by the mob from the Chinese quarters 
 was variously estimated at from $40,000 to 
 $50,000. 
 
 About 9:30 p. m. the law abiding citizens, 
 under the leadership of Henry Hazard, R. M. 
 Widney, H. C. Austin, Sheriff Burns and oth- 
 ers, had rallied in sufficient force to make an 
 attempt to quell the mob. Proceeding to China- 
 town they rescued several Chinamen from the 
 rioters. The mob finding armed opposition 
 quickly dispersed. 
 
 The results of the mob's murderous work 
 were ten men hanged on Los Angeles street, 
 some to wagons and some to awnings ; five 
 hanged at Tomlinson's corral and four shot to 
 death in Negro alley, nineteen in all. Of all the 
 Chinamen murdered, the only one known to be 
 implicated in the highbinder war was Ah Choy. 
 All the other leaders escaped to the country 
 before the attack was made by the mob. The 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 191 
 
 grand jury, after weeks of investigation, found 
 indictments against one hundred and fifty per- 
 sons alleged to have been actively engaged in 
 the massacre. The jury's report severely cen- 
 sured "the ofificers of this county, as well as of 
 this city, whose duty it is to preserve peace," 
 and declared that they "were deplorably ineffi- 
 cient in the performance of their duty during 
 the scenes of confusion and bloodshed which 
 disgraced our city, and has cast a reproach upon 
 the people of Los .-Vngeles county." Of all those 
 indicted but six were convicted. These were 
 sentenced to from four to six years in the state's 
 prison, but through some legal technicality they 
 were all released after serving a part of their 
 sentence. 
 
 The last execution in Los Angeles by a vig- 
 ilance committee was that of Michael Lachenias, 
 a French desperado, who had killed five or six 
 men. The ofTense for which he was hanged was 
 the murder of Jacob Bell, a little inoffensive 
 man, who owned a small farm near that of 
 Lachenias, south of the city. There had been 
 a slight difference between them in regard to 
 the use of water from a zanja. Lachenias, with- 
 out a word of warning, rode up to Bell, where 
 he was at work in his field, drew a revolver and 
 shot him dead. The murderer then rode into 
 town and boastingly informed the people of 
 what he had done and told them where they 
 would find Bell's body. He then surrendered 
 himself to the officers and was locked up in 
 jail. 
 
 Public indignation was aroused. A meeting 
 was held m Stearns' hall on Los Angeles street. 
 A vigilance committee was formed and the de- 
 tails of the execution planned. On the morning 
 of the 17th of December, 1870, a body of three 
 hundred armed men marched to the jail, took 
 Lachenias out and proceeded with him to Tom- 
 linson's corral on Temple and New High streets, 
 and hanged him. The crowd then quietly dis- 
 persed. 
 
 A strange metamorphosis took place in the 
 character of the lower classes of the native Cal- 
 ifornians after the conquest. (The better classes 
 were not changed in character by the changed 
 conditions of the country, but throughout were 
 true gentlemen and most worthy and honorable 
 
 citizens.) Before the conquest by the Ameri- 
 cans they were a peaceful and contented people. 
 There were no organized bands of outlaws 
 among them. After the discovery of gold the 
 evolution of a banditti began and they produced 
 some of the boldest robbers and most daring 
 highwaymen the world has seen. 
 
 The injustice of their conquerors had much to 
 do with producing this change. The Ameri- 
 cans not only took possession of their country 
 and its government, but in many cases they de- 
 spoiled them of their ancestral acres and their 
 personal property. Injustice rankles; and it is 
 not strange that the more lawless among the 
 native population sought revenge and retalia- 
 tion. They were often treated by the rougher 
 American element as aliens and intruders, who 
 had no right in the land of their birth. Such 
 treatment embittered them more than loss of 
 property. There were those, however, among 
 the natives, who, once entered upon a career 
 of crime, found robbery and murder congenial 
 occupations. The plea of injustice was no ex- 
 tenuation for their crimes. 
 
 Joaquin Murieta was the most noted of the 
 Mexican and Californian desperadoes of the 
 early "50s. He was born in Sonora of good fam- 
 ily and received some education. He came to 
 California with the Sonoran migration of 1849, 
 and secured a rich claim on the Stanislaus. He 
 was dispossessed of this by half a dozen Amer- 
 ican desperadoes, his wife abused and both 
 driven from the diggings. He next took up a 
 ranch on the Calaveras, but from this he was 
 driven by two Americans. He next tried min- 
 ing in the Murphy diggings, but was unsuccess- 
 ful. His next occupation was that of a monte 
 player. While riding into town on a horse bor- 
 rowed from his half-brother he was stopped by 
 an American, who claimed that the horse was 
 stolen from him. Joaquin protested that the 
 horse was a borrowed one from his half-brother 
 and offered to procure witnesses to prove it. 
 He was dragged from the saddle amid cries of 
 "hang the greaser." He was taken to the ranch 
 of his brother. The brother was hanged to the 
 limb of a tree, no other proof of his crime being 
 needed than the assertion of the .'\merican that 
 the horse was his. Joaquin was stripped, bound 
 
192 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to the same tree and flogged. The demon was 
 aroused within him, and no wonder, he vowed 
 revenge on the men who had murdered his 
 brother and beaten him. Faithfully he carried 
 out his vow of vengeance. Had he doomed 
 only these to slaughter it would have been but 
 little loss, but the implacable foe of every 
 American, he made the innocent sufifer with the 
 guilty. He was soon at the head of a band of 
 desperadoes, varying in numbers from twenty to 
 forty. For three years he and his band were the 
 terror of the state. From the northern mines 
 to the Mexican border they committed robberies 
 and murders. Claudio and some of his sub- 
 ordinates were killed, but the robber chief 
 seemed to bear a charmed life. Large rewards 
 were ofifered for him dead or alive and numerous 
 attempts were made to take him. Capt. Harry 
 Love at the head of a band of rangers August, 
 1853, came upon Joaquin and six of his gang 
 in a camp near the Tejon Pass. In the tight that 
 ensued Joaquin and Three Fingered Jack were 
 killed. With the loss of their leaders the or- 
 ganization was broken up. 
 
 The last organized band of robbers which 
 terrorized the southern part of the state was 
 that of Vasquez. Tiburcio Vasquez was born 
 in Monterey county, of Mexican parents, in 
 1837. Earlv in life he began a career of crime. 
 After committing a number of robberies and 
 thefts he was captured and sent to San Quentin 
 for horse stealing. He was discharged in 1863, 
 but continued his disreputable career. He 
 united with Procopio and Soto, two noted ban- 
 dits. Soto was killed by Sheriff ]\Iorse of Ala- 
 meda county in a desperate encounter. \^asquez 
 and his gang of outlaws committed robberies 
 throughout the southern part of the state, rang- 
 ing from Santa Clara and Alameda counties to 
 the Mexican line. Early in May, 1874, Sheriff 
 William Rowland of Los Angeles county, who 
 had repeatedly tried to capture Vasquez, but 
 whose plans had been foiled by the bandit's 
 
 spies, learned that the robber chief was mak- 
 ing his headquarters at the house of Greek 
 George, about ten miles due west of Los An- 
 geles, toward Santa Monica, in a canon of the 
 Cahnenga mountains. The morning of May 15 
 was set for the attack. To avert suspicion 
 Sheriff Rowland remained in the city. The at- 
 tacking force, eight in number, were under 
 command of Under-Sheriff Albert Johnson, the 
 other members of the force were Major H. M. 
 Mitchell, attorney-at-law; J. S. Bryant, city con- 
 stable; E. Harris, policeman; W. E. Rogers, 
 citizen; B. F. Hartley, chief of police; and D. 
 K. Smith, citizen, all of Los Angeles, and a Mr. 
 Beers, of San Francisco, special correspondent 
 of the San Francisco Chronicle. 
 
 At 4 a. m. on the morning of the 15th of May 
 the posse reached Major Mitchell's bee ranch 
 in a small cafion not far from Greek George's. 
 From this point the party reconnoitered the 
 bandit's hiding place and planned an attack. As 
 the deputy sheriff and his men were about to 
 move against the house a high box wagon drove 
 up the canon from the direction of Greek 
 George's place. In this were two natives; the 
 sheriff's party climbed into the high wagon box 
 and, lying down, compelled the driver to drive 
 up to the back of Greek George's house, 
 threatening him and his companion with death 
 on the least sign of treachery. Reaching the 
 house they surrounded it and burst in the door. 
 \'asquez, who had been eating his breakfast, at- 
 tempted to escape through a small window. 
 The party opened fire on him. Being wounded 
 and finding himself surrounded on all sides, he 
 surrendered. He was taken to the Los Angeles 
 jail. His injuries proved to be mere flesh 
 wounds. He received a great deal of maudlin 
 sympathy from silly women, who magnified him 
 into a hero. He was taken to San Jose, tried 
 for murder, found guilty and hanged, jMarch 10. 
 1875. I^'s band was thereupon broken up and 
 dispersed. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 193 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 FILIBUSTERS AND FILIBUSTERING. 
 
 THE rush of immigration to California in 
 the early '50s had brought to the state 
 a class of adventurers who were too 
 lazy or too proud to work. They were ready 
 to engage in almost any lawless undertaking 
 that promised plunder and adventure. The de- 
 feat of the pro-slavery politicians in their at- 
 tempts to fasten their "peculiar institution" upon 
 any part of the territory acquired from Mex- 
 ico had embittered them. The more un- 
 scrupulous among them began to look around 
 for new fields, over which slavery might be ex- 
 tended. As it could be made profitable only in 
 southern lands, Cuba, Mexico and Central 
 America became the arenas for enacting that 
 form of piracy called "filibustering." The object 
 of these forays, when organized by Americans, 
 was to seize upon territory as had been done 
 in Texas and erect it into an independent gov- 
 ernment that ultimately would be annexed to 
 the United States and become slave territory. 
 Although the armed invasion of countries with 
 which the United States was at peace was a di- 
 rect violation of its neutrality laws, yet the fed- 
 eral office-holders in the southern states and in 
 California, all of whom belonged to the pro- 
 slavery faction, not only made no attempt to 
 prevent these invasions, but secretly aided them 
 or at least sympathized with them to the extent 
 of allowing them to recruit men and depart 
 without molestation. There was a glamour of 
 romance about these expeditions that influenced 
 unthinking young men of no fixed principles 
 to join them; these were to be pitied. But the 
 leaders of them and their abettors were cold, 
 selfish, scheming politicians, willing, if need be, 
 to overthrow the government of the nation and 
 build on its ruins an oligarchy of slave holders. 
 The first to organize a filibuster expedition in 
 California was a Frenchman. Race prejudices 
 were strong in early mining days. The United 
 
 IS 
 
 States had recently been at war with Mexico. 
 The easy conquest of that country had bred a 
 contempt for its peoples. The Sonoran migra- 
 tion, that begun soon after the discovery of 
 gold in California, brought a very undesirable 
 class of immigrants to the state. Sailing vessels 
 had brought from the west coast of South 
 America another despised class of mongrel 
 Spanish. It exasperated the Americans to see 
 these people digging gold and carrying it out 
 of the country. This antagonism extended, more 
 or less, to all foreigners, but was strongest 
 against men of the Latin races. Many French- 
 men, through emigration schemes gotten up 
 in Paris, had been induced to come to Califor- 
 nia. Some of these were men of education and 
 good standing, but they fell under the ban of 
 prejudices and by petty persecutions were 
 driven out of the mines and forced to earn a 
 precarious living in the cities. There was a 
 great deal of dissatisfaction among the French- 
 men with existing conditions in California, and 
 they were ready to embark in any scheme that 
 promised greater rewards. .Vmong the French 
 population of San Francisco was a man of noble 
 family. Count Gaston Roaul de Raousset-Boul- 
 bon. He had lost his ancestral lands and was 
 in reduced circumstances. He was a man of 
 education and ability, but visionary. He con- 
 ceived the idea of establishing a I'rench colony 
 on the Sonora border and opening the mines 
 that had been abandoned on account of Apache 
 depredations. By colonizing the border he 
 hoped to put a stop to American encroachments. 
 He divulged his scheme to the French consul, 
 Dillon, at San Francisco, who entered heartily 
 into it. Raousset was sent to the City of Mex- 
 ico, where he obtained from President Arista 
 the desired concession of land and the promise 
 of financial assistance from a leading banking 
 house there on condition that he proceed at 
 
194 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 once to Sonora with an armed company of 
 Frenchmen. Returning to San Francisco he 
 quickly recruited from among the French resi- 
 dents two hundred and fifty men and with these 
 he sailed for Guaymas, where he arrived early 
 in June. 1852. He was well received at first, 
 but soon found himself regarded with suspicion. 
 He was required by the authorities to remain 
 at Guaymas. After a month's detention he was 
 allowed to proceed through Hermosilla to the 
 Arizona border. 
 
 When about one hundred miles from Arispe 
 he received an order from General Blanco, then 
 at Hermosilla. to report to him. While halting 
 at El Caric to consider his next move he re- 
 ceived a reinforcement of about eighty French 
 colonists, who had come to the country the year 
 before under command of Pindray. Pindray 
 had met his death in a mysterious manner. It 
 was supposed that he was poisoned. The colon- 
 ist had remained in the country. Raousset sent 
 one of his men, Gamier, to interview Blanco. 
 General Blanco gave his ultimatum — First, that 
 the Frenchmen should become naturalized citi- 
 zens of Mexico; or, secondly, they should wait 
 until letters of security could be procured from 
 the capital, when they might proceed to Arizona 
 and take possession of any mines they found; 
 or, lastly, they might put themselves under the 
 leadership of a Mexican officer and then proceed. 
 Raousset and his followers refused to accede to 
 any of these propositions. Blanco began col- 
 lecting men and munitions of war to oppose the 
 French. Raousset raised the flag of revolt and 
 invited the inhabitants to join him in gaining 
 the independence of Sonora. After drilling his 
 men a few weeks and preparing for hostilities 
 he began his march against Hermosilla, distant 
 one hundred and fifty miles. He met with no 
 opposition, the people along his route welcom- 
 ing the French. General Blanco had twelve 
 hundred men to defend the city. But instead of 
 preparing to resist the advancing army he sent 
 delegates to Raousset to offer him money to let 
 the city alone. Raousset sent back word that 
 at 8 o'clock he would begin the attack; and at 
 II would be master of the city. He was as good 
 as his word. The Frenchmen charged the Mex- 
 icans and although the opposing force num- 
 
 bered four to one of the assailants, Raousset's 
 men captured the town and drove Blanco's 
 troops out of it. The Mexican loss was two 
 hundred killed and wounded. The French loss 
 seventeen killed and twenty-three wounded 
 Raousset's men were mere adventurers and were 
 in the country without any definite purpose. 
 Could he have relied on them, he might have 
 captured all of Sonora. 
 
 He abandoned Hermosilla. Blanco, glad to 
 get rid of the filibusters on any terms, raised 
 $11,000 and chartered a vessel to carry them 
 back to San Francisco. A few elected to re- 
 main. Raousset went to Mazatlan and a few 
 months later he reached San Francisco, where 
 he was lionized as a hero. Upon an invitation 
 from Santa Ana, who had succeeded Arista as 
 president, he again visited the Mexican capital 
 in June, 1853. Santa Ana was profuse in prom- 
 ises. He wanted Raousset to recruit five hun- 
 dred Frenchmen to protect the Sonora frontier 
 against the Indians, promising ample remunera- 
 tion and good pay for their services. Raousset, 
 finding that Santa Ana's promises could not be 
 relied upon, and that the wiley schemer was 
 about to have him arrested, made his escape to 
 Acapulco, riding several horses to death to 
 reach there ahead of his pursuers. He embarked 
 immediately for San Francisco. 
 
 In the meantime another filibuster, William 
 Walker, with forty-one followers had landed at 
 La Paz November 3, 1853, and proclaimed a 
 new nation, the Republic of Lower California. 
 Santa Ana, frightened by this new invasion, be- 
 gan making overtures through the Mexican con- 
 sul, Luis del Valle, at San Francisco to secure 
 French recruits for military service on the Mex- 
 ican frontier. Del A^alle applied to the French 
 consul, Dillon, and Dillon applied to Raousset. 
 Raousset soon secured eight hundred recruits 
 and chartered the British ship Challenge to take 
 them to Guaymas. Then the pro-slavery federal 
 officials at San Francisco were aroused to ac- 
 tion. The neutrality laws were being violated. 
 It was not that they cared for the laws, but they 
 feared that this new filibustering scheme might 
 interfere with their pet. Walker, who had, in ad- 
 dition to the Republic of Lower California, 
 founded another nation, the Republic of Sonora, 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 I'Jo 
 
 in both of which he had decreed slavery. The 
 ship was seized, but after a short tlctention was 
 allowed to sail with three hundred French- 
 men. 
 
 Del Valle was vigorously prosecuted by the 
 federal authorities for violation of a section of 
 the neutrality laws, which forbade the enlistment 
 within the United States of soldiers to serve un- 
 der a foreign power. Dillon, the French con- 
 sul, was implicated and on his refusal to testify 
 in court he was arrested. He fell back on his 
 dignity and asserted that his nation had been in- 
 sulted through him and closed his consulate. 
 For a time there were fears of international 
 trouble. 
 
 Del Valle was found guilty of violating the 
 neutrality laws, but was never punished. The 
 pro-slavery pet, Walker, and his gang were 
 driven out of ^Mexico and the federal officials 
 had no more interest in enforcing neutrality 
 laws. Meanwhile Raousset, after great diffi- 
 culties, had joined the three hundred French- 
 men at Guaymas. A strip of northern Sonora 
 had been sold under what is known as the Gads- 
 den purchase to the United States. There was 
 no longer any opportunity to secure mines there 
 from Mexico, but Raousset thought he could 
 erect a barrier to any further encroachments of 
 the United States and eventually secure Mexico 
 for France. His first orders on reaching Guay- 
 mas to the commander of the French, Desmaris, 
 was to attack the Ale.xican troops and capture 
 the city. His order did not reach Desmaris. His 
 messenger was arrested and the Mexican au- 
 thorities begun collecting forces to oppose 
 Raousset. Having failed to receive reinforce- 
 ments, and his condition becoming unendurable, 
 he made an attack on the Mexican forces, twelve 
 hundred strong. After a brave assault he was 
 defeated. He surrendered to the French consul 
 on the assurance that his life and that of his 
 men would be spared. He was treacherously 
 surrendered by the French consul to the Mex- 
 ican general. He was tried by a court-martial, 
 found guilty and sentenced to be shot. On the 
 morning of August 12, 1854, he was executed. 
 His misguided followers were shipped back to 
 San Francisco. So ended the first California 
 filibuster. 
 
 The first American born filibuster who or- 
 ganized one of these piratical expeditions was 
 William Walker, a native of Tennessee. He 
 came to California with the rush of 1850. He 
 had started out in life to be a doctor, had studied 
 law and finally drifted into journalism. He be- 
 longed to the extreme pro-slavery faction. He 
 located in San Francisco and found employment 
 on the Herald. His bitter invective against the 
 courts for their laxity in punishing crime raised 
 the ire of Judge Levi Farsons, who fined Walker 
 $500 for contempt of court antl ordered him 
 imprisoned until the fine was paid. Walker re- 
 fused to pay the fine and went to jail. He at 
 once bounded into notoriety. He was a mar- 
 tyr to the freedom of the press. A public in- 
 dignation meeting was called. An immense 
 crowd of sympathizers called on Walker in jail. 
 A wTit of habeas corpus was sued out and he 
 was released from jail and discharged. In the 
 legislature of 1852 he tried to have Parson im- 
 peached, but failed. He next opened a law of- 
 fice in ^larysville. 
 
 The success of Raousset-Boulbon in his first 
 expedition to Sonora had aroused the ambition 
 of Walker to become the founder of a new gov- 
 ernment. His first efiforts were directed towards 
 procuring from Mexico a grant on the Sonora 
 border; this was to be colonized with Americans, 
 who would protect the Mexican frontier from 
 Apache incursion. This was a mere subterfuge 
 and the Mexican authorities were not deceived 
 by it — he got no grant. To forestall Raousset- 
 Boulbon, who was again in the field with his 
 revolutionary scheme, Walker opened a recruit- 
 ing office. Each man was to receive a square 
 league of land and plunder galore. The bait 
 took, meetings were held, scrip sold and re- 
 cruits flocked to Walker. The brig Arrow was 
 chartered to carry the liberators to their des- 
 tination. The pro-slavery officials, who held all 
 the offices, winked at this violation of the neu- 
 trality laws. There was but one man, General 
 Hitchcock, who dared to do his duty. He seized 
 the vessel; it was released, and Hitchcock re- 
 moved from command. Jefferson Davis was 
 secretary of war and Hitchcock was made to feel 
 his wrath for interfering w-ith one of Davis' pet 
 projects, the extension of slavery. Walker 
 
I 
 
 196 
 
 HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sailed in another vessel, the Caroline, taking 
 with him forty-one of his followers, well armed 
 with ritles and revolvers to develop the re- 
 sources of the country. 
 
 The vessel with Walker and his gang sneaked 
 into La Paz under cover of a Mexican flag. He 
 seized the unsuspecting governor and other offi- 
 cials and then proclaimed the Republic of Lower 
 California. He appointed from his following a 
 number of officials with high sounding titles. 
 He adopted the code of Louisiana as the law of 
 the land. This, as far as he was able, introduced 
 into the country human slavery, which indeed 
 was about the sole purpose of his filibuster- 
 ing schemes. Fearing that the ^Mexican gov- 
 ernment might send an expedition across the 
 gulf to stop his marauding, he slipped out of 
 the harbor and sailed up to Todas Santos, so as 
 to be near the United States in case the ^lexican 
 government should make it uncomfortable for 
 him. With this as headquarters he began prepa- 
 rations for an invasion of Sonora. His delectable 
 followers appropriated to their own use what- 
 ever they could find in the poverty-stricken 
 country. The news of the great victory at La 
 Paz reached San Francisco and created great 
 enthusiasm among Walker's sympathizers. His 
 vice-president, Watkins, enrolled three hundred 
 recruits and sent them to him, "greatly to the 
 relief of the criminal calendar." 
 
 Walker began to drill his recruits for the con- 
 quest of Sonora. These patriots, who had ral- 
 lied to the support of the new republic, under 
 the promise of rich churches to pillage and well- 
 stocked ranches to plunder, did not take kindly 
 to a diet of jerked beef and beans and hard drill- 
 ing under a torrid sun. Some rebelled and it 
 became necessary for Walker to use the lash 
 and even to shoot two of them for the good of 
 the cause. The natives rebelled when thev found 
 their cattle and frijoles disappearing and the so- 
 called battle of La Gualla was fought between 
 the natives and a detachment of Walker's forag- 
 ers, several of whom were killed. The news of 
 this battle reached San Francisco and was mag- 
 nified into a great victory. The new republic 
 had been baptized in the blood of its martyrs. 
 
 After three months spent in drilling, Walker 
 besran his march to Sonora with but one hun- 
 
 dred men, and a small herd of cattle for food. 
 Alost of the others had deserted. In his jour- 
 ney across the desert the Indians stole some of 
 his cattle and more of his men deserted. On 
 reaching the Colorado river about half of his 
 force abandoned the expedition and marched 
 to Fort Yuma, where Major Heintzelman re- 
 lieved their necessities. Walker with thirty-five 
 men had started back for Santa Tomas. They 
 brought up at Tia Juana, where they crossed 
 the American line, surrendered and gave their 
 paroles to ]\Iajor AIcKinstry of the United 
 States army. When Walker and his Falstaffian 
 army reached San Francisco they were lionized 
 as heroes. All they had done was to kill a few 
 inofifensive natives on the peninsula and steal 
 their cattle. Their valiant leader had proclaimed 
 two republics and decreed (on paper) that slav- 
 ery should prevail in them. He had had sev- 
 eral of his dupes whipped and two of them shot, 
 which w'as probably the most commendable 
 thing he had done. His proclamations were 
 ridiculous and his officers with their high sound- 
 ing titles had returned from their burlesque con- 
 quest with scarcely rags enough on them to 
 cover their nakedness. Yet, despite all this, 
 the attempt to enlarge the area of slave territory 
 covered him with glory and his rooms were the 
 resort of all the pro-slavery officials of Califor- 
 nia. 
 
 The federal officials made a show of prosecut- 
 ing the filibusters. Watkins, the vice-president 
 of the Republic of Lower California and So- 
 nora, was put on trial in the United States dis- 
 trict court. The evidence was so plain and the 
 proof so convincing that the judge was com- 
 pelled to convict against his will. This delightful 
 specimen of a pro-slavery justice expressed 
 from the bench his sympathy for ''those spirited 
 men who had gone forth to upbuild the broken 
 altars and rekindle the extinguished fires of lib- 
 erty in ^Mexico and Lower California." With 
 such men to enforce the laws, it was not strange 
 that vigilance committees were needed in Cal- 
 ifornia. Watkins and Emory, the so-called sec- 
 retary of state, were fined each $1,500. The 
 fines were never paid and no effort was ever 
 made to compel their payment. The secretary 
 of war and the secretary of the navy were put 
 
HISTORICAL AND RIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ml 
 
 on trial aiul acquiUed. This ended tlie shame- 
 ful farce. 
 
 Walker's next expedition was to Nicaragua in 
 1855. A revolution was in progress there. He 
 joined forces with the Democratic party or anti- 
 legitimists. He took but fifty-six men with 
 him. These were called the American phalanx. 
 His first engagement was an attack upon the 
 fortified town of Rivas. Although his men 
 fought bravely, they were defeated and two of 
 his best officers, Kewen and Crocker, killed. 
 His next fight was the battle of Virgin Bay, in 
 which, with fifty Americans and one hundred 
 and twenty natives, he defeated six hundred 
 legitimists. He received reinforcements from 
 California and reorganized his force. He 
 seized the Accessory Transit Company's lake 
 steamer La \'irgin against the protest of the 
 company, embarked his troops on board of it 
 and by an adroit movement captured the capi- 
 tal city, Granada. His exploits were heralded 
 abroad and recruits flocked to his support. The 
 legitimist had fired upon a steamer bringing pas- 
 sengers up the San Juan river and killed several. 
 Walker in retaliation ordered Mateo Mazorga, 
 the legitimist secretary of state, whom he had 
 taken prisoner at Granada, shot. Peace was de- 
 clared between the two parties and Patrico 
 Rivas made president. Rivas was president only 
 in name: Walker was the real head of the gov- 
 ernment and virtually dictator. 
 
 He was now at the zenith of his power. By a 
 series of arbitrary acts he confiscated the Ac- 
 cessory Transit Company's vessels and ■charter. 
 This company had become a power in California 
 travel and had secured the exclusive transit of 
 passengers by the Nicaragua route, then the 
 most popular route to California. 
 
 By this action he incurred the enmity of Van- 
 derbilt, who henceforth worked for his down- 
 fall. The confiscation of the transit company's 
 right destroyed confidence in the route, and 
 travel virtually ceased by it. This was a blow 
 to the prosperity of the country. To add to 
 Walker's misfortunes, the other Central Amer- 
 ican states combined to drive the hated foreign- 
 ers out of the country. He had gotten rid of 
 Rivas and had secured the presidency for him- 
 self. He had secured the repeal of the Nic- 
 
 aragua laws against slavery and thus paved the 
 way for the introduction of his revered institu- 
 tion. His army now amounted to about twelve 
 hundred men, mostly recruited from California 
 and the slave states. The cholera broke out 
 among his forces and in the armies of the allies 
 and numbers died. His cause was rapidly wan- 
 mg. Many of his dupes deserted. A series of 
 disasters arising from his blundering and in- 
 capacity, resulted in his overthrow. He and 
 sixteen of his officers were taken out of the 
 country on the United States sloop of war, St. 
 Mary's. The governor of Panama refused to 
 allow him to land in that city. He was sent 
 across the isthmus under guard to Aspinwall 
 and from there with his stafif took passage to 
 New Orleans. His misguided followers were 
 transported to Panama and found their way 
 back to the United States. 
 
 LTpon arriving at New Orleans he began re- 
 cruiting for a new expedition. One hundred and 
 fifty of his "emigrants" sailed from Mobile; the 
 pro-slavery federal officials allowing them to 
 depart. They were wrecked on Glover's reef, 
 about seventy miles from Balize. They were 
 rescued by a British vessel and returned to Mo- 
 bile. Walker, with one hundred and thirty-two 
 armed emigrants, landed at Punta Arenas, No- 
 vember 25, 1857, and hoisted his Nicaraguan 
 flag and called himself commander-in-chief of 
 the army of Nicaragua. He and his men began 
 a career of plunder; seized the fort of Cas- 
 tillo on the San Juan river; captured steam- 
 ers, killed several inhabitants and made 
 prisoners of others. Commander Paulding, 
 of the United States flagship Wabash, then 
 on that coast, regarded these acts as rapine 
 and murder, and Walker and his men as out- 
 laws and pirates. He broke up their camp, dis- 
 armed Walker and his emigrants and sent them 
 to the United States for trial. But instead of 
 Walker and his followers being tried for piracy 
 their pro-slavery abettors made heroes of them. 
 Walker's last effort to regain his lost prestige 
 in Nicaragua was made in i860. With two hun- 
 dred men, recruited in New Orleans, he landed 
 near Truxillo, in Honduras. His intention was 
 to make his way by land to Nicaragua. He very 
 soon found armed opposition. His new recruits 
 
198 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 were not inclined to sacrifice themselves to make 
 him dictator of some country that they had no 
 interest in. So they refused to stand up against 
 the heavy odds they encountered in every fight. 
 Finding his situation growing desperate, he was 
 induced to surrender himself to the captain of 
 the British man-of-war Icarus. The authorities 
 of Honduras made a demand on the captain for 
 Walker. That British officer promptly turned 
 the filibuster over to them. He was tried by 
 a court-martial, hastily convened, found guilty 
 of the ofifenses charged, and condemned to die. 
 September 25, i860, he was marched out and, 
 in accordance with his sentence, shot to death. 
 
 Walker's career is an anomaly in the history 
 of mankind. Devoid of all the characteristics of 
 a great leader, without a commanding presence, 
 puny in size, homely to the point of ugliness, 
 in disposition, cold, cruel, selfish, heartless, stol- 
 idly indifferent to the suffering of others, living 
 only to gratify the cravings of his inordinate 
 ambition — it is strange that such a man could 
 attract thousands to offer their lives for his 
 aggrandizement and sacrifice themselves for a 
 cause of which he was the exponent, a cause the 
 most ignoble, the extension of human slavery, 
 that for such a man and for such a cause thou- 
 sands did offer up their lives is a sad commen- 
 tary on the political morality of that time. It 
 is said that over ten thousand men joined 
 Walker in his filibustering schemes and that 
 fifty-seven hundred of these found graves in 
 Nicaragua. Of the number of natives killed in 
 battle or who died of disease, there is no record, 
 but it greatly exceeded Walkers losses. 
 
 While Walker was attaining some success in 
 Nicaragua, another California filibuster entered 
 the arena. This was Henry A. Crabb, a Stock- 
 ton lawyer. Like Walker, he was a native of 
 Tennessee, and, like him, tc^o, he was a rabid 
 pro-slavery advocate. He had served in the 
 assembly and one term in the state senate. It 
 is said he was the author of a bill to allow slave- 
 holders who brought their slaves into California 
 before its admission to take their human chattels 
 back into bondage. He was originally a Whig, 
 but had joined the Know-Nothing party and was 
 a candidate of that party for L^nited States sen- 
 ator in 1856; but his extreme southern princi- 
 
 ples prevented his election. He had married a 
 Spanish wife, who had numerous and influential 
 relatives in Sonora. It was claimed that Crabb 
 had received an invitation from some of these to 
 bring down an armed force of Americans to 
 overthrow the government and make himself 
 master of the country. Whether he did or did 
 not receive such an invitation, he did recruit a 
 body of men for some kind of service in Sonora. 
 With a force of one hundred men, well armed 
 with rifles and revolvers, he sailed, in January, 
 1857, on the steamer Sea Bird, from San Fran- 
 cisco to San Pedro and from there marched over- 
 land. As usual, no attempt was made by the 
 federal authorities to prevent him from invading 
 a neighboring country with an armed force. 
 
 He entered Sonora at Sonita, a small town 
 one hundred miles from Yuma. His men helped 
 themselves to what they could find. When ap- 
 proaching the town of Cavorca they were fired 
 upon by a force of men lying in ambush. The 
 fire was kept up from all quarters. They made a 
 rush and gained the shelter of the houses. In 
 the charge two of their men had been killed and 
 eighteen wounded. In the house they had taken 
 possession of they were exposed to shots from 
 a church. Crabb and fifteen of his men at- 
 tempted to blow open the doors of the church 
 with gunpowder, but in the attempt, which 
 failed, five of the men were killed, and seven, 
 including Crabb, wounded. After holding out 
 for five days they surrendered to the Mexicans, 
 Gabilondo, the Mexican commander, promising 
 to spare their lives. Next morning they were 
 marched out in squads of five to ten and shot. 
 Crabb was tied to a post and a hundred balls 
 fired into him; his head was cut off and placed 
 in a jar of mescal. The only one spared was a 
 boy of fifteen. Charles E. Evans. A party of 
 sixteen men whom Crabb had left at Sonita 
 was surprised and all massacred. The boy 
 Evans was the only one left to tell the fate of the 
 ill-starred expedition. This put an end to fili- 
 bustering expeditions into Sonora. 
 
 These armed forays on the neighboring coun- 
 tries to the south of the United States ceased 
 with the beginning of the war of secession. 
 They had all been made for the purpose of ac- 
 quiring slave territory. The leaders of them 
 
HISTORICAL AND P.IOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 
 
 199 
 
 were southern men and the rank and file were 
 mostly recruited from natives of the slave states. 
 Bancroft truthfully says of these filibustering- 
 expeditions : "They were foul robberies, covered 
 by the flimsiest of political and social pretenses, 
 o-ilclcd by false aphorisms and profane distortion 
 of sacred formulas. Liberty dragged in the mud 
 for purposes of theft and human enslavement; 
 the cause of humanity bandied in filthy mouths 
 to promote atrocious butcheries; peacehil. 
 
 blooming valleys given over to devastation and 
 ruin; happy families torn asunder, and widows 
 and orphans cast adrift to nurse affliction; and 
 finally, the peace of nations imperiled, and the 
 morality of right insulted. The thought of such 
 results should obliterate all romance, and turn 
 pride to shame. They remain an ineffaceable 
 stain upon the government of the most progres- 
 sive of nations, and veil in dismal irony the 
 dream of manifest destiny." 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 FROM GOLD TO GRAIN AND FRUITS. 
 
 UNDER the Spanish and Mexican jurisdic- 
 tions there was but little cultivation of 
 the soil in California. While the gardens 
 of some of the missions, and particularly those 
 of Santa Barbara and San Buenaventura, pre- 
 sented a most appetizing display of fruit and 
 vegetables, at the ranchos there were but mea- 
 ger products. Gilroy says that when he came 
 to the country, in 1814, potatoes were not cul- 
 tivated and it was a rare thing outside of the 
 mission gardens to find any onions or cabbages. 
 A few acres of wheat and a small patch of maize 
 or corn furnished bread, or, rather, tortillas for 
 a family. At the missions a thick soup made of 
 boiled wheat or maize and meat was the stand- 
 ard article of diet for the neophytes. This was 
 portioned out to them in the quantity of about 
 three pints to each person. LangsdorfT, who 
 witnessed the distribution of soup rations to the 
 Indians at Santa Clara, says: "It appeared in- 
 comprehensible how any one could three times a 
 day eat so large a portion of such nourishing 
 food." The neophytes evidently had healthy ap- 
 petites. Frijoles (beans) were the staple vege- 
 table dish in Spanish families. These were 
 served up at almost every meal. The bill of 
 fare for a native Californian family was very 
 simple. 
 
 A considerable amount of wheat was raised 
 at the more favorably located missions. It was 
 not raised for export, but to feed the neophytes. 
 
 The wheat fields had to be fenced in, or perhaps 
 it would be more in accordance with the facts 
 to say that the cattle had to be fenced out. As 
 timber was scarce, adobe brick did duty for 
 fencing as well as for house building. Some- 
 times the low adobe walls were made high and 
 safe by placing on top of them a row of the 
 skulls of Spanish cattle with the long, curving 
 horns attached to them pointing outward. These 
 were brought from the matanzas or slaughter 
 corrals where there were thousands of them 
 lying around. It was almost impossible for 
 man or beast to scale such a fence. 
 
 The agricultural implements of the early Cali- 
 fornians were few and simple. The Mexican 
 plow was a forked stick with an iron point fas- 
 tened to the fork or branch that penetrated the 
 ground. It turned no furrow, but merely 
 scratched the surface of the ground. After sow- 
 ing it was a race between the weeds and the 
 grain. It depended on the season which won. 
 If the season was cold and backward, so that 
 the seed did not sprout readily, tlie weeds got 
 the start and won out easily. And yet with such 
 primitive cultivation the yield was sometimes 
 astonishing. At the Mission San Diego the 
 crop of wheat one year produced one hundred 
 and ninety-five fold. As the agriculturist had 
 a large area from which to select his arable land, 
 only the richest soils were chosen. Before the 
 discovery of gold there was little or no market 
 
200 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 for grain, and each ranchero raised only enough 
 for his own use. For a time there was some 
 trade with the Russians in grain to supply their 
 settlements in Alaska, but this did not continue 
 long. 
 
 When some of the Americans who came in 
 the gold rush began to turn their attention to 
 agriculture they greatly underrated the produc- 
 tiveness of the country. To men raised where 
 the summer rains were needed to raise a crop 
 it seemed impossible to produce a crop in a 
 country that was rainless for six or eight months 
 of the year. All attempts at agriculture hitherto 
 had been along the rivers, and it was generally 
 believed that the plains back from the water 
 courses could never be used for any other pur- 
 pose than cattle raising. 
 
 The mining rush of '49 found California with- 
 out vegetables and fresh fruit. The distance 
 was too great for the slow transportation of 
 that day to ship these into the country. Those 
 who first turned their attention to market gar- 
 dening made fortunes. The story is told of an 
 old German named Schwartz who had a small 
 ranch a few miles below Sacramento. In 1848, 
 when everybody was rushing to the mines, he 
 remained on his farm, unmoved by the stories 
 of the wonderful finds of gold. Anticipating a 
 greater rush in 1849, he planted several acres 
 in watermelons. As they ripened he took them 
 up to the city and disposed of them at prices 
 ranging from $i to $5, according to size. He 
 realized that season from his melons alone 
 $30,000. The first field of cabbages was grown 
 by George H. Peck and a partner in 1850. From 
 defective seed or some other cause the cabbage 
 failed to come to a head. Supposing that the 
 defect was in the climate and not in the cabbage, 
 the honest rancher marketed his crop in San 
 Francisco, carrying a cabbage in each hand 
 along the streets until he found a customer. To 
 the query why there were no heads to them 
 the reply was, "That's the way cabbages grow 
 in California." He got rid of his crop at the 
 rate of Si apiece for each headless cabbage. 
 But all the vegetable growing experiments were 
 not a financial success. The high price of po- 
 tatoes in 1849 started a tuber-growing epidemic 
 in 1850. Hundreds of acres were planted to 
 
 "spuds" in the counties contiguous to San 
 Francisco, the agriculturists paying as high as 
 fifteen cents per pound for seed. The yield was 
 enormous and the market was soon overstocked. 
 The growers who could not dispose of their 
 potatoes stacked them up in huge piles in the 
 fields; and there they rotted, filling the country 
 around with their effluvia. The next year no- 
 body planted potatoes, and prices went up to 
 the figures of '49 and the spring of '50. 
 
 The size to which vegetables grew astonished 
 the amateur agriculturists. Beets, when allowed 
 to grow to maturity, resembled the trunks of 
 trees; onions looked like squash, while a patch 
 of pumpkins resembled a tented field; and corn 
 grew so tall that the stalks had to be felled to 
 get at the ears. Onions were a favorite vege- 
 table in the mining camps on account of their 
 anti-scorbutic properties as a preventive of 
 scurvy. The honest miner was not fastidious 
 about the aroma. They were a profitable crop, 
 too. One ranchero in the Napa valley was re- 
 ported to have cleared $8,000 off two acres of 
 onions. 
 
 With the decline of gold mining wheat be- 
 came the staple product of central California. 
 The nearness to shipping ports and the large 
 yields made wheat growing very profitable. In 
 the years immediately following the Civil war 
 the price ranged high and a fortune was some- 
 times made from the products of a single field. 
 It may be necessary to explain that the field 
 might contain anywhere from five hundred to 
 a thousand acres. The grain area was largely 
 extended by the discovery that land in the 
 upper mesas, which had been regarded as only 
 fit for pasture land, was good for cereals. The 
 land in the southern part of the state, which 
 was held in large grants, continued to be de- 
 voted to cattle raising for at least two decades 
 after the American conquest. After the dis- 
 covery of gold cattle raising became immenselv 
 profitable. Lender the Mexican regime a steer 
 was worth what his hide and tallow would bring 
 or about $2 or $3. The rush of immigration in 
 1849 ^^^^ ''^^ price of cattle up until a fat bul- 
 lock sold for from $30 to $35. The profit to a 
 ranchero who had a thousand or more marketa- 
 ble cattle was a fortune. A good, well-stocked 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 201 
 
 caillc ranch was more valuable than a gold 
 mine. 
 
 The enormous profits in cattle raising dazed 
 the Californians. Had they been thrifty and 
 economical, they might have grown rich. But 
 the sudden influx of wealth engendered extrava- 
 gant habits and when the price of cattle fell, as 
 it did in a few years, the spendthrift customs 
 were continued. When the cattle market was 
 dull it was easy to raise money by mortgaging 
 the ranch. With interest at the rate of 5 per 
 cent per month, compounded monthly, it did 
 not take long for land and cattle both to change 
 hands. It is related of the former owner of 
 the Santa Gertrudes rancho that he borrowed 
 $500 from a money lender, at 5 per cent a 
 month, to beat a poker game, but did not suc- 
 ceed. Then he borrowed more money to pay 
 the interest on the first and kept on doing so 
 until interest and principal amounted to $100,- 
 000; then the mortgage was foreclosed and 
 property to-day worth $1,000,000 was lost for 
 a paltry $500 staked on a poker game. 
 
 Gold mining continued to be the prevailing 
 industry of northern California. The gold pro- 
 duction reached its acme in 1853, when the 
 total yield was $65,000,000. From that time 
 there was a gradual decline in production and 
 in the number of men employed. Many had 
 given up the hopes of striking it rich and quit 
 the business for something more certain and 
 less illusive. The production of gold in 1852 
 was $60,000,000, yet the average yield to each 
 man of the one hundred thousand engaged in 
 it was only about $600, or a little over $2 per 
 day to the man, scarcely living wages as prices 
 were then. It has been claimed that the cost of 
 producing the gold, counting all expenditures, 
 was three times the value of that produced. 
 Even if it did, the development of the country 
 and impulse given to trade throughout the 
 world would more than counterbalance the loss. 
 
 At the time of the discovery of gold nearly all 
 of the fruit raised in California was produced at 
 Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. In Spanish and 
 Mexican days, Los Angeles had been the prin- 
 cipal wine-producing district of California. Al- 
 though wine, as well as other spirituous liquors, 
 were in demand, the vineyardists found it more 
 
 jsrofitablc to ship their grapes to San Francisco 
 than to manufacture them into wine. Grapes 
 retailed in the city of San Francisco at from 
 twelve and one-half to twenty-five cents a 
 pound. The vineyards were as profitable as 
 the cattle ranches. The mission Indians did the 
 labor in the vineyards and were paid in aguar- 
 diente on Saturday night. By Sunday morning 
 they w'ere all drunk; then they were gathered 
 up and put into a corral. On Monday morning 
 they were sold to pay the cost of their dissipa- 
 tion. It did not take many years to kill off the 
 Indians. The city has grown over the former 
 sites of the vineyards. 
 
 The first orange trees were planted at the 
 Mission San Gabriel about the year 181 5 and 
 a few at Los Angeles about the same time. But 
 little attention was given to the industry by the 
 Californians. The first extensive grove was 
 planted by William Wolfskill in 1840. The im- 
 pression then prevailed that oranges could be 
 grown only on the low lands near the river. 
 The idea of attempting to grow them on the 
 mesa lands was scouted at by the Californians 
 and the Americans. The success that attended 
 the Riverside experiment demonstrated that 
 they could be grown on the mesas, and that the 
 fruit produced was superior to that grown on 
 the river bottoms. This gave such an impetus 
 to the industry in the south that it has distanced 
 all others. The yearly shipment to the eastern 
 markets is twenty thousand car loads. The cit- 
 rus belt is extending every year. 
 
 The Californians paid but little attention to 
 the quality of the fruit they raised. The seed 
 fell in the ground and sprouted. If the twig 
 survived and grew to be a tree, they ate the fruit, 
 asking no question whether the quality might 
 be improved. The pears grown at the missions 
 and at some of the ranch houses were hard and 
 tasteless. It was said they never ripened. A 
 small black fig was cultivated in a few places, 
 but the quantity of fruit grown outside of the 
 mission gardens was very small. 
 
 The high price of all kinds of fruit in the early 
 '50S induced the importation of apple, peach, 
 pear, plum and prune trees. These thrived and 
 soon supplied the demand. Before the advent 
 of the railroads and the shipment east the quan- 
 
202 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tity of deciduous fruit produced had outgrown 
 the demand, and there was no profit in its pro- 
 duction. All this has been changed by eastern 
 shipment. 
 
 Sheep were brought to the country with the 
 first missionary expeditions. The Indian in his 
 primitive condition did not use clothing. A 
 coat of mud was his only garment and he was 
 not at all particular about the fit of that. After 
 his conversion the missionaries put clothing on 
 him, or, rather, on part of him. He was given a 
 shirt, which was a shirt of-Nessus, being made of 
 the coarse woolen cloth manufactured at the 
 mission. It was irritating to the skin and com- 
 pelled the poor wretches to keep up a continual 
 scratching; at least, that is what Hugo Reid 
 tells us. During the Civil war and for several 
 years after, the sheep industry was very profit- 
 able. The subdivision of the great ranchos and 
 the absorption of the land for grain growing and 
 fruit culture have contracted the sheep ranges 
 until there is but little left for pasture except the 
 foothills that are too rough for cultivation. 
 
 Up to 1863 the great Spanish grants that cov- 
 ered the southern part of the state had, with a 
 few exceptions, been held intact and cattle rais- 
 ing had continued to be the principal industry. 
 For several seasons previous to the famine years 
 of 1863 and 1864 there had been heavy rainfalls 
 and consequently abundant feed. With that 
 careless indifference that marked the business 
 management of the native Californian, the 
 ranges had become overstocked. When the 
 dry year of 1863 set in, the feed on ranches was 
 soon exhausted and the cattle starving. The 
 second famine year following, the cattle industry 
 was virtually wiped out of existence and the 
 cattle-owners ruined. In Santa Barbara, where 
 the cattle barons held almost imperial sway, 
 and, with their army of retainers, controlled the 
 political afifairs of the county, of the two hun- 
 dred thousand cattle listed on the assessment 
 roll of 1862, only five thousand were alive when 
 grass grew in 1865. On the Stearns' ranchos in 
 Los Angeles county, one hundred thousand 
 head of cattle and horses perished, and the 
 owner of a quarter million acres and a large 
 amount of city property could not raise money 
 enough to pay $1,000 taxes. 
 
 Many of the rancheros were in debt when the 
 hard times came, and others mortgaged their 
 land at usurious rates of interest to carry them 
 through the famine years. Their cattle dead, 
 they had no income to meet the interest on the 
 cancerous mortgage that was eating up their 
 patrimony. The result was that they were com- 
 pelled either to sell their land or the mortgage 
 was foreclosed and they lost it. This led to the 
 subdivision of the large grants into small hold- 
 ings, the new proprietors finding that there was 
 more profit in selling them off in small tracts 
 than in large ones. This brought in an intelli- 
 gent and progressive population, and in a few 
 years entirely revolutionized the agricultural 
 conditions of the south. Grain growing and 
 fruit raising became the prevailing industries. 
 The adobe ranch house with its matanzas and 
 its Golgotha of cattle skulls and bones gave 
 place to the tasty farm house with its flower 
 garden, lawn and orange grove. 
 
 The Californians paid but little attention to 
 improving the breed of their cattle. When the 
 only value in an animal was the hide and tallow, 
 it did not pay to improve the breed. The hide 
 of a long-horned, mouse-colored Spanish steer 
 would sell for as much as that of a high-bred 
 Durham or Holstein, and, besides, the first 
 could exist where the latter would starve to 
 death. After the conquest there was for some 
 time but little improvement. Cattle were brought 
 across the plains, but for the most part these 
 were the mongrel breeds of the western states 
 and were but little improvement on the Spanish 
 stock. It was not until the famine years vir- 
 tually exterminated the Spanish cattle that bet- 
 ter breeds were introduced. 
 
 As with cattle, so also it was with horses. 
 Little attention was given to improving the 
 breed. While there were a few fine race horses 
 and saddle horses in the country before its 
 American occupation, the prevailing equine was 
 the mustang. He was a vicious beast, nor was 
 it strange that his temper was bad. He had to 
 endure starvation and abuse that would have 
 killed a more aristocratic animal. He took care 
 of himself, subsisted on what he could pick up 
 and to the best of his ability resented ill treat- 
 ment. Horses during the Mexican regime were 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 203 
 
 used only for riding. Oxen were the draft ani- 
 mals. The mustang had one inherent trait that 
 did not endear him to an American, and that 
 was his propensity to "buck." With his nose 
 between his knees, his back arched and his legs 
 stiffened, by a series of short, quick jumps, he 
 could dismount an inexperienced rider with 
 neatness and dispatch. The Californian took 
 delight in urging the bronco to "buck" so that 
 he (the rider) might exhibit his skillful horse- 
 manship. The mustang had some commenda- 
 ble traits as well. He was sure-footed as a goat 
 and could climb the steep hillsides almost equal 
 to that animal. He had an easy gait under the 
 saddle and could measure off mile after mile 
 without a halt. His power of endurance was 
 wonderful. He could live ofif the country when 
 apparently there was nothing to subsist on ex- 
 cept the bare ground. He owed mankind a debt 
 of ingratitude which he always stood ready to 
 pay when an opportunity offered. The passing 
 of the mustang began with the advent of the 
 American farmer. 
 
 The founding of agricultural colonies began 
 in the '50s. One of the first, if not the first, was 
 the German colony of Anaheim, located thirty 
 miles south of Los Angeles. A company of 
 Germans organized in San Francisco in 1857 
 for the purpose of buying land for the cultiva- 
 tion of the wine grape and the manufacture of 
 wine. The organization was a stock company. 
 Eleven hundred acres were purchased in a 
 Spanish grant. This was subdivided into twenty 
 and forty acre tracts; an irrigating ditch 
 brought in from the Santa Ana river. A por- 
 tion of each subdivision was planted in vines 
 and these were cultivated by the company until 
 they came into bearing, when the tracts were 
 divided among the stockholders by lot, a cer- 
 tain valuation being fixed on each tract. The 
 man obtaining a choice lot paid into the fund 
 a certain amount and the one receiving an infe- 
 rior tract received a certain amount, so that each 
 received the same value in the distribution. The 
 colony proved quite a success, and for thirty 
 years .\naheim was one of the largest wine- 
 producing districts in the United States. In 
 1887 a mysterious disease destroyed all the vines 
 and the vinevardists turned their attention 
 
 to the cultivation of oranges and English 
 walnuts. 
 
 The Riverside colony, then in San Bernardino 
 county, now in Riverside county, was founded 
 in 1870. The projectors of the colony were 
 eastern gentlemen. At the head of the organiza- 
 tion was Judge J. W. North. They purchased 
 four thousand acres of the Roubidou.x or Jurupa 
 rancho and fourteen hundred and sixty acres of 
 government land froiu the California .Silk Cen- 
 ter Association. This association had been or- 
 ganized in 1869 for the purpose of founding a 
 colony to cultivate mulberry trees and manu- 
 facture silk. It had met with reverses, first in 
 the death of its president, Louis Prevost, a man 
 skilled in the silk business, next in the revoca- 
 tion by the legislature of the bounty for mul- 
 berry plantations, and lastly in the subsidence 
 of the sericulture craze. To encourage silk cul- 
 ture in California, the legislature, in 1866, passed 
 an act authorizing the payment 'of a bounty of 
 $250 for every plantation of five thousand mul- 
 berry trees two years old. This greatly stimu- 
 lated the planting of mulberry trees, if it did 
 not greatly increase the production of silk. In 
 1869 it was estimated that in the central and 
 southern portions of the state there were ten 
 millions of mulberry trees in various stages of 
 growth. Demands for the bounty poured in 
 upon the commissioners in such numbers that 
 the state treasury was threatened with bank- 
 ruptcy. The revocation of the bounty killed 
 the silk worms and the mulberry trees; and 
 those who had been attacked with the sericulture 
 craze quickly recovered. The Silk Center As- 
 sociation, having fallen into hard lines, offered 
 its lands for sale at advantageous terms, and in 
 September, 1870, they were purchased by the 
 Southern California Colony Association. Tlie 
 land was bought at $3.50 per acre. It was mesa 
 or table land that had never been cultivated. 
 It was considered by old-timers indifferent sheep 
 pasture, and Roubidoux, it is said, had it struck 
 from the tax roll because it was not worth tax- 
 ing. 
 
 The company had the land subdivided and 
 laid off a town which was first named Jurupa, 
 but afterwards the name was changed to River- 
 side. The river, the Santa Ana, did not flow 
 
204 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGR.A.PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 past the town, but tlie colonists hoped to make 
 a goodly portion of its waters do so. The lands 
 were put on sale at reasonable prices, a ditch 
 at a cost of $50,000 was constructed. Experi- 
 ments were made with oranges, raisin grapes 
 and deciduous fruits, but the colony finally set- 
 tled down to orange producing. In 1877 the 
 introduction of the Bahia or navel orange gave 
 an additional impetus to orange growing in the 
 colony, the fruit of that species being greatly 
 superior to any other. This fruit was propa- 
 gated by budding from two trees received from 
 Washington, D. C, by J. A. Tibbetts, of River- 
 side. 
 
 The Indiana colony, which later became Pasa- 
 dena, was founded in 1873 by some gentlemen 
 from Indiana. Its purpose was the growing of 
 citrus fruits and raisin grapes, but it has grown 
 into a city, and the orange groves, once the 
 pride of the colony, have given place to business 
 blocks and stately residences. 
 
 During the early '70s a number of agricul- 
 tural colonies were founded in Fresno county. 
 These were all fruit-growing and raisin-pro- 
 ducing enterprises. They proved successful and 
 Fresno has become the largest raisin-pro- 
 ducing district in the state. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 THE CIVIL WAR— LOYALTY AND DISLOYALTY. 
 
 TFIE admission of California into the Union 
 as a free state did not, in the opinion of 
 the ultra pro-slavery faction, preclude the 
 possibility of securing a part of its territory for 
 the "peculiar institution" of the south. The 
 question of state division which had come up 
 in the constitutional convention was again agi- 
 tated. The advocates of division hoped to cut 
 off from the southern part, territory enough for 
 a new state. The ostensible purpose of division 
 was kept concealed. The plea of unjust taxa- 
 tion w-as made prominent. The native Califor- 
 nians who under Mexican rule paid no taxes on 
 their land were given to understand that they 
 were bearing an undue proportion of the cost 
 of government, while the mining counties, pay- 
 ing less tax, had the greater representation. The 
 native Californians were opposed to slavery, an 
 open advocacy of the real purpose would defeat 
 the division scheme. 
 
 The leading men in the southern part of the 
 state were from the slave states. If the state 
 were divided, the influence of these men would 
 carry the new state into the Union with a con- 
 stitution authorizing slave-holding and thus the 
 south would gain two senators. The division 
 question came up in some form in nearly every 
 session of the legislature for a decade after Cali- 
 fornia became a state. 
 
 In the legislature of 1854-55, JefTerson Hunt, 
 of San Bernardino county, introduced a bill in 
 the assembly to create and establish, "out of 
 the territory embraced within the limits of the 
 state of California, a new state, to be called the 
 state of Columbia." The territory embraced 
 within the counties of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, 
 San Joaquin, Calaveras, Amador, Tuolumne, 
 Stanislaus, Mariposa, Tulare, Monterey, Santa 
 Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, San 
 liernardino and San Diego, with the islands on 
 the coast, were to constitute the new state. 
 "The people residing within the above mentioned 
 territory shall be and they are hereby author- 
 ized, so soon as the consent of the congress of 
 the United States shall be obtained thereto, to 
 proceed to organize a state government under 
 such rules as are prescribed by the constitution 
 of the United States." The bill met with oppo- 
 sition. It took in some of the mining counties 
 whose interests were not coincident with the 
 agricultural counties of the south. It died on 
 the files. 
 
 At a subsequent session, a bill was introduced 
 in the legislature to divide the state into three 
 parts, southern, central and northern, the cen- 
 tral state to retain the name of California. This 
 was referred to a committee and got no farther. 
 It was not satisfactory to the pro-slavery ele • 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 205 
 
 ment because tlie gain to tlie south would be 
 overbalanced by the gain to the north. 
 
 The success of border ruffianism, backed by 
 the Buchanan administration, in forcing the de- 
 testable Lecompton pro-slavery constitution on 
 the people of Kansas, encouraged the division- 
 ists to make another effort to divide the state. 
 While California was a free state it had through- 
 out its existence, up to 1857, when Broderick 
 was elected to the senate, been represented in 
 both houses either by slave-holders from the 
 south or by northern "dough faces" — men of 
 northern birth with southern principles. Most 
 of the state offices had been filled by southern 
 men who had come to the state to obtain office 
 or men who had been imported by their friends 
 or relatives to fill positions by appointment. 
 Indeed, so notorious had this importation of 
 office-holders become that California was often 
 referred to as the "Virginia poorhouse." 
 Scarcely a legislature had convened in which 
 there was not some legislation against free ne- 
 groes. A free colored man was as terrible to 
 the chivalrous legislators as an army with ban- 
 ners. 
 
 The legislature of 1859 was intensely pro- 
 slavery. The divisionists saw in it an oppor- 
 tunity to carry out their long-deferred scheme. 
 The so-called Pico law, an act granting the 
 consent of the legislature to the formation of a 
 different government for the southern counties 
 of this state, was introduced early in the ses- 
 sion, passed in both houses and approved by 
 the governor April 18, 1859. The boundaries 
 of the proposed state w£re as follows: "All of 
 that part or portion of the present territory of 
 this state lying all south of a line drawn east- 
 ward from the west boundary of the state along 
 the sixth standard parallel south of the IMount 
 Diablo meridian, east to the summit of the 
 coast range: thence southerly following said 
 summit to the seventh standard parallel: thence 
 due east on said standard, parallel to its inter- 
 section with the northwest boundary of Los 
 Angeles county; thence northeast along said 
 boundary to the eastern boundary of the state, 
 including the counties of San Luis Obispo, 
 Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Diego, San 
 Bernardino and a part of Buena Vista, shall be 
 
 segregated from the remaining portion of the 
 state for the purpose of the formation by con- 
 gress, with the concurrent action of said portion 
 (the consent for the segregation of which is 
 hereby granted), of a territorial or other gov- 
 ernment under the name of the "Territory of 
 Colorado," or such other name as may be 
 deemed meet and proper." 
 
 Section second provided for the submitting 
 the question of "For a Territory" or "Against 
 a Territory" to the people of the portion sought 
 to be segregated at the next general election; 
 "and in case two-thirds of the whole number of 
 voters voting thereon shall vote for a change of 
 government, the consent hereby given shall be 
 deemed consummated." In case the vote was 
 favorable the secretary of state was to send a 
 certified copy of the result of the election and 
 a copy of the act annexed to the president of 
 the United States and to the senators and rep- 
 resentatives of California in congress. At the 
 general election in September, 1859, the ques- 
 tion was submitted to a vote of the people of 
 the southern counties, with the following result: 
 
 For. Against. 
 
 Los Angeles county i ,407 441 
 
 San Bernardino 441 29 
 
 San Diego 207 24 
 
 San Luis Obispo 10 283 
 
 Santa Barbara 395 51 
 
 Tulare 17 ... 
 
 Total 2,477 828 
 
 The bill to create the county of Buena Vista 
 from the southern portion of Tulare failed to 
 pass the legislature, hence the name of that 
 county does not appear in the returns. The 
 result of the vote showed that considerably more 
 than two-thirds were in favor of a new state. 
 
 The results of this movement for division and 
 the act were sent to the president and to con- 
 gress, but nothing came of it. The pro-slavery 
 faction that with the assistance of the dough- 
 faces of the north had so long dominated con- 
 gress had lost its power. The southern senators 
 and congressmen were preparing for secession 
 and had weightier matters to think of than the 
 division of the state of California. Of late years, 
 a few feeble attempts have been made to stir up 
 
206 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the old question of state division and even to 
 resurrect tlie old "Pico law." 
 
 For more than a decade after its admission 
 into the Union, California was a Democratic 
 state and controlled by the pro-slavery wing of 
 that party. John C. Fremont and William H. 
 Gwin, its first senators, were southern born, 
 Fremont in South Carolina and Gwin in Mis- 
 sissippi. Politics had not entered into their 
 election, but the lines were soon drawn. Fre- 
 mont drew the short term and his services in 
 the senate were very brief. He confidently 
 expected a re-election, but in this he was 
 doomed to disappointment. The legislature of 
 1851, after balloting one hundred and forty-two 
 times, adjourned without electing, leaving Cali- 
 fornia with but one senator in the session of 
 1850-51. In the legislature of 1852 John B. 
 Wilier was elected. He was a northern man 
 with southern principles. His chief opponent 
 for the place was David Colbert Broderick, a 
 man destined to fill an important place in the 
 political history of California. He was an Irish- 
 man by birth, but had come to America in his 
 boyhood. He had learned the stone cutters' 
 trade with his father. His early associations 
 were with the rougher element of New York 
 City. Aspiring to a higher position than that 
 of a stone cutter he entered the political field 
 and soon arose to prominence. At the age of 
 26 he was nominated for Congress, but was de- 
 feated by a small majority through a split in the 
 party. In 1849 he came to California, where he 
 arrived sick and penniless. With F. D. Kohler, 
 an assayer, he engaged in coining gold. The 
 profit from buying gold dust at $14 an ounce 
 and making it into $5 and $10 pieces put him 
 in affluent circumstances. 
 
 His first entry into politics in California was 
 his election to fill a vacancy in the senate of the 
 first legislature. In 1851 he became president 
 of the senate. He studied law, history and liter- 
 ature and was admitted to the bar. He was ap- 
 pointed clerk of the supreme court and had as- 
 pirations for still higher positions. Although 
 Senator Gwin was a Democrat, he had managed 
 to control all the federal appointments of Fill- 
 more, the Whig president, and he had filled the 
 offices with pro-slavery Democrats. 
 
 No other free state in the Union had such 
 odious laws against negroes as had California. 
 The legislature of 1852 enacted a law "respect- 
 ing fugitives from labor and slaves brought to 
 this state prior to her admission to the Union." 
 "Under this law a colored man or woman could 
 be brought before a magistrate, claimed as a 
 slave, and the person so seized not being per- 
 mitted to testify, the judge had no alternative 
 but to issue a certificate to the claimant, which 
 certificate was conclusive of the right of the per- 
 son or persons in whose favor granted, and pre- 
 vented all molestation of such person or per- 
 sons, by any process issued by any court, judge, 
 justice or magistrate or other person whomso- 
 ever."* Any one who rendered assistance to a 
 fugitive was liable to a fine of $500 or imprison- 
 ment for two months. Slaves who had been 
 brought into California by their masters before 
 it became a state, but who were freed by the 
 adoption of a constitution prohibiting slavery, 
 were held to be fugitives and were liable to 
 arrest, although they had been free for several 
 years and some of them had accumulated con- 
 siderable property. By limitation the law should 
 have become inoperative in 1853, but the legis- 
 lature of that year re-enacted it, and the suc- 
 ceeding legislatures of 1854 and 1855 continued 
 it in force. The intention of the legislators 
 who enacted the law was to legalize the kid- 
 napping of free negroes, as well as the arrest of 
 fugitives. Broderick vigorously opposed the 
 prosecution of the colored people and by so 
 doing called down upon his head the wrath of 
 the pro-slavery chivalry. From that time on he 
 was an object of their hatred. While successive 
 legislatures were passing laws to punish black 
 men for daring to assert their freedom and their 
 right to the products of their honest toil, white 
 villains were rewarded with political preferment, 
 provided always that they belonged to the domi- 
 nant wing of the Democratic party. The Whig 
 party was but little better than the other, for the 
 same element ruled in both. The finances of 
 the state were in a deplorable condition and 
 continually growing worse. The people's money 
 was recklessly squandered. Incompetency was 
 
 ♦Bancroft's History of California, Vol. VI. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGR-\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 207 
 
 the rule in office and honesty the exception. 
 Ballot box stuffing had been reduced to a me- 
 chanical science, jury bribing was one of the 
 fine arts and suborning perjury was a recognized 
 profession. During one election in San Fran- 
 cisco it was estimated that $1,500,000 was spent 
 in one way or another to influence voters. Such 
 was the state of affairs just preceding the up- 
 rising of the people that evolved in San Fran- 
 cisco the vigilance committee of 1856. 
 
 At the state election in the fall of 1855 tl^c 
 Know Nothings carried the state. The native 
 American or Know Nothing party was a party 
 of few principles. Opposition to Catholics and 
 foreigners was about the only plank in its plat- 
 form. There was a strong opposition to for- 
 eign miners in the mining districts and the 
 pro-slavery faction saw in the increased foreign 
 immigration danger to the extension of their 
 beloved institution into new territory. The 
 most potent cause of the success of the new- 
 party in California was the hope that it might 
 bring reform to relieve the tax burdened people. 
 But in this they were disappointed. It was made 
 up from the same element that had so long mis- 
 governed the state. 
 
 The leaders of the party were either pro- 
 slavery men of the south or northern men with 
 southern principles. Of the latter class was J. 
 Neely Johnson, the governor-elect. In the leg- 
 islature of 1855 the contest between Gwin and 
 Broderick, which had been waged at the polls 
 the previous year, culminated after thirty-eight 
 ballots in no choice and Gvvin's place in the 
 senate became vacant at the expiration of his 
 term. In the legislature of 1856 the Know Noth- 
 ings had a majority in both houses. It was 
 supposed that they would elect a senator to 
 succeed Gwin. There were three aspirants: H. 
 A. Crabb, formerly a Whig; E. C. Marshall and 
 Henry S. Foote, formerly Democrats. All were 
 southerners and were in the new party for of- 
 fice. The Gwin and Broderick influence was 
 strong enough to prevent the Know Nothing 
 legislature from electing a senator and Califor- 
 nia was left with but one representative in the 
 upper house of Congress. 
 
 The Know Nothing party was short lived. At 
 the general election in 1856 the Democrats 
 
 swept the state. Broderick, by his ability in or- 
 ganizing and his superior leadership, had se- 
 cured a majority in the legislature and was in a 
 position to dictate terms to his opponents. Wel- 
 ler's senatorial term would soon expire and 
 Gwin's already two years vacant left two places 
 to be filled. Broderick, who had heretofore 
 been contending for Gwin's place, changed his 
 tactics and aspired to fill the long term. Ac- 
 cording to established custom, the filling of the 
 vacancy would come up first, but Broderick, by 
 superior finesse, succeeded in having the caucus 
 nominate the successor to Weller first. Ex- 
 Congressman Latham's friends were induced to 
 favor the arrangement on the expectation that 
 their candidate would be given the short term. 
 I5roderick was elected to the long term on the 
 first ballot, January 9, 1857, and his commission 
 was immediately made out and signed by the 
 governor. For years he had bent his energies 
 to securing the senatorship and at last he had 
 obtained the coveted honor. But he was not 
 satisfied yet. He aspired to control the federal 
 patronage of the state; in this way he could 
 reward his friends. He could dictate the elec- 
 tion of his colleague for the short term. Both 
 Gwin and Latham were willing to concede to 
 him that privilege for the sake of an election. 
 Latham tried to make a few reservations for 
 some of his friends to whom he had promised 
 places. Gwin offered to surrender it all with- 
 out reservation. He had had enough of it. 
 Gwin was elected and next day published an 
 address, announcing his obligation to Broderick 
 and renouncing any claim to the distribution of 
 the federal patronage. 
 
 Then a wail long and loud went up from the 
 chivalry, who for years had monopolized all the 
 offices. That they, southern gentlemen of aris- 
 tocratic antecedents, should be compelled to ask 
 favors of a mudsill of the north was too hu- 
 miliating to be borne. Latham, too, was indig- 
 nant and Broderick found that his triumph was 
 but a hollow mockery. But the worst was to 
 come. He who had done so much to unite the 
 warring Democracy and give the party a glo- 
 rious victory in California at the presidential 
 election of 1856 fully expected the approbation 
 of President Buchanan, but when he called on 
 
208 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 that old gentleman he was received coldly and 
 'Juring Buchanan's administration he was ig- 
 nored and Gwin's advice taken and followed in 
 making federal appointments. He returned to 
 California in April, 1857, to secure the nomina- 
 tion of his friends on the state ticket, but in 
 this he was disappointed. The Gwin ele- 
 ment was in the ascendency and John 
 B. Weller received the nomination for gov- 
 ernor. He was regarded as a martyr, having 
 been tricked out of a re-election to the sen- 
 ate b}' Broderick. There were other martyrs of 
 the Democracy, who received balm for their 
 wounds and sympathy for their sufferings at 
 that convention. In discussing a resolution de- 
 nouncing the vigilance committee, O'Meara in 
 his "History of Early Politics in California," 
 says: "Col. Joseph P. Hoge, tlie acknowledged 
 leader of the convention, stated that the com- 
 mittee had hanged four men, banished twenty- 
 eight and arrested two hundred and eighty ; and 
 that these were nearly all Democrats. 
 
 On Broderick's return to the senate in the 
 session of 1857-58, he cast his lot with Senator 
 Douglas and opposed the admission of Kansas 
 under the infamous Lecompton constitution. 
 This cut him loose from the administration 
 wing of the party. 
 
 In the state campaign of 1859 Broderick ral- 
 lied his followers under the Anti-Lecompton 
 standard and Gwin his in support of the Bu- 
 chanan administration. The party was hope- 
 lessly divided. Two Democratic tickets were 
 placed in the field. The Broderick ticket, with 
 John Currey as governor, and the Gwin, with 
 Milton Latham, the campaign was bitter. Brod- 
 erick took the stump and although not an orator 
 his denunciations of Gwin were scathing and 
 merciless and in his fearful earnestness he be- 
 came almost eloquent. Gwin in turn loosed 
 the vials of his wrath upon Broderick and 
 criminations and recriminations flew thick and 
 fast during the campaign. It was a campaign 
 of vituperation, but the first aggressor was 
 Gwin. 
 
 Judge Terry, in a speech before the Lecomp- 
 ton convention at Sacramento in June, 1859, 
 after flinging out sneers at the Republican party, 
 characterized Broderick's party as sailing "under 
 
 the flag of Douglas, but it is the banner of the 
 black Douglass, whose name is Frederick, not. 
 Stephen." This taunt was intended to arouse 
 the wrath of Broderick. He read Terry's speech 
 while seated at breakfast in the International 
 hotel at San Francisco. Broderick denounced 
 Terry's utterance in forcible language and 
 closed by saying: "I have hitherto spoken of 
 him as an honest man, as the only honest 
 man on the bench of a miserable, corrupt su- 
 preme court, but now I find I was mistaken. I 
 take it all back." A lawyer by the name of Per- 
 ley, a friend of Terry's, to whom the remark was 
 directed, to obtain a little reputation, challenged 
 Broderick. Broderick refused to consider Per- 
 ley's challenge on the ground that he was not 
 his (Broderick's) equal in standing and beside 
 that he had declared himself a few days before 
 a British subject. Perley did not stand very 
 high in the community. Terry had acted as a 
 second for him in a duel a few years before. 
 
 Broderick, in his reply to Perley, said. "1 
 have determined to take no notice of attacks 
 from any source during the canvass. If I were 
 to accept your challenge, there are probably 
 many other gentlemen who would seek similar 
 opportunities for hostile meetings for the pur- 
 pose of accomplishing a political object or to 
 obtain public notoriety. I cannot afford at the 
 present time to descend to a violation of the 
 Constitution and state laws to subserve either 
 their or your purposes." 
 
 Terry a few days after the close of the cam- 
 paign sent a letter to Broderick demanding a 
 retraction of the offensive remarks. Broderick, 
 well knowing that he would have to fight some 
 representative of the chivalry if not several of 
 them in succession, did not retract his remarks, 
 He had for several years, in expectation of such 
 a result in a contest with them, practiced 
 liimself in the use of fire arms until he had be- 
 come quite expert. 
 
 A challenge followed, a meeting was arranged 
 to take place in San Mateo county, ten miles 
 from San Francisco, on the 12th of September. 
 Chief of Police Burke appeared on the scene 
 and arrested the principals. They were released 
 by the court, no crime having been committed. 
 They met next morning at the same place: ex- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 20!) 
 
 Congressman McKibben and David D. Colton 
 were Broderick's seconds. Calhoun Benham 
 and Thomas Hayes were Terry's. The pistols 
 selected belonged to a friend of Terry's. Brod- 
 erick was ill, weak and nervons, and it was said 
 that his pistol was quicker on the trigger than 
 Terry's. When the word was given it was dis- 
 charged before it reached a level and the ball 
 struck the earth, nine feet from where he stood. 
 Terry fired, striking Broderick in the breast. 
 He sank to the earth mortally wounded and died 
 three days afterwards. Broderick dead was a 
 greater man than Broderick living. For years 
 he had waged a contest against the representa- 
 tives of the slave oligarchy in California and the 
 great mass of the people had looked on with 
 indifference, even urging on his pursuers to the 
 tragic end. Now that he was killed, the cry went 
 up for vengeance on his murderers. Terry was 
 arrested and admitted to bail in the sum of 
 $10,000. The trial was put off on some pretext 
 and some ten months later he obtained a change 
 of venue to ]\larin county on the plea that he 
 could not obtain a fair and impartial trial in San 
 Francisco. His case was afterwards dismissed 
 without trial by a pro-slavery judge named 
 Hardy. Although freed by the courts he was 
 found guilty and condemned by public opinion. 
 He went south and joined the Confederates at 
 the breaking out of the Civil war. He some 
 time after the close of the war returned to Cal- 
 ifornia. In 1880 he was a presidential elector 
 on the Democratic ticket. His colleagues on 
 the ticket were elected, but he was defeated. 
 He was killed at Lathrop by a deputy United 
 States marshal while attempting an assault on 
 United States Supreme Judge Field. 
 
 In the hue and cry that was raised on the 
 death of Broderick, the chivalry read the doom 
 of their ascendency. Gwin, as he was about to 
 take the steamer on his return to \Vashing;ton, 
 "had flaunted in his face a large canvas frame, 
 on which was painted a portrait of Broderick 
 and this: 'It is the will of the people that the 
 murderers of Broderick do not return again to 
 California;' and below were also these words 
 attributed to Mr. Broderick: 'They have killed 
 me because I was opposed to the extension of 
 slavery, and a corrupt administration.' " 
 
 14 
 
 Throughout his political career Broderick was 
 a consistent anti-slavery man and a friend of 
 the common people. Of all the politicians of the 
 ante-bellum period, that is, before the Civil war, 
 he stands to-day the highest in the estimation of 
 the people of California. Like Lincoln, he was 
 a self-made man. From a humble origin, 
 unaided, he had fought his way up to a lofty po- 
 sition. Had he been living during the war 
 against the perpetuity of human slavery, he 
 would have been a power in the senate or pos- 
 sibly a commander on the field of battle. As it 
 was, during that struggle in his adopted state, 
 his name Isecame a synonyn of patriotism and 
 love for the Union. 
 
 Milton S. Latham, who succeeded John B. 
 Weller as governor in i860, was, like his pred- 
 ecessor, a northern luan with southern prin- 
 ciples. Almost from the date of his arrival in 
 California he had been an office-holder. He was 
 a man of mediocre ability. He was a state di- 
 visionist and would have aided in that scheme 
 by advocating in the senate of the United States 
 (to which body he had been elected three days 
 after his inauguration) the segregation of the 
 southern counties and their formation into a 
 new state with the hopes of restoring the equi- 
 librium between the north and the south. But 
 the time had passed for such projects. The 
 lieutenant-governor, John G. Downey, suc- 
 ceeded Latham. Downey gained great popu- 
 larity by his veto of the "bulkhead bill." This 
 was a scheme of the San Francisco Dock and 
 Wharf Company to build a stone bulkhead 
 around the city water front in consideration of 
 having the exclusive privilege of collecting 
 wharfage and tolls for fifty years. Downey lost 
 much of his popularity, particularly with the 
 Union men, during the Civil war on account of 
 his sympathy with the Confederates. 
 
 At the state election in September, 1861, Le- 
 land Stanford was chosen governor. He was 
 the first Republican chosen to that office. He 
 received fifty-six thousand votes. Two years 
 before he had been a candidate for that office 
 and received only ten thousand votes, so rap- 
 idly had public sentiment changed. The news 
 of the firing upon Fort Sumter reached San 
 Francisco April 24, twelve days after its oc- 
 
210 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 currence. It came by pony express. The be- 
 ginning of hostilities between the north and the 
 south stirred up a strong Union sentiment. The 
 great Union mass meeting held in San Fran- 
 cisco May II, 1861, was the largest and most 
 enthusiastic .public demonstration ever held on 
 the Pacific coast. The lines were sharply drawn 
 between the friends of the government and its 
 enemies. Former political alliances were for- 
 gotten. Most of the Anti-Lecompton or Doug- 
 las Democrats arrayed themselves on the side 
 of the Union. The chivalry wing of the Dem- 
 ocratic party were either open or secret sym- 
 pathizers with the Confederates. Some of them 
 were bold and outspoken in their disloyalty. 
 The speech of Edmund Randolph at the Dem- 
 ocratic convention July 24, 1861, is a sample 
 of such utterances. * * * "To me it seems 
 a waste of time to talk. For God's sake, tell 
 me of battles fought and won. Tell me of 
 usurpers overthrown; that Missouri is again a 
 free state, no longer crushed under the armed 
 heel of a reckless and odious despot. Tell me 
 that the state of Maryland lives again; and, oh! 
 gentlemen, let us read, let us hear, at the first 
 moment, that not one hostile foot now treads 
 the soil of Virginia! (Applause and cheers.) 
 If this be rebellion, I am a rebel. Do you want 
 a traitor, then I am a traitor. For God's sake, 
 speed the ball; may the lead go quick to his 
 heart, and may our country be free from the 
 despot usurper that now claims the name 
 of the president of the United States."* (Cheers.) 
 Some of the chivalry Democrats, most of whom 
 had been holding office in California for years, 
 went south at the breaking out of the war to 
 fight in the armies of the Confederacy, and 
 among these was Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, 
 who had been superseded in the command of 
 the Pacific Department by Gen. Edwin V. Sum- 
 ner. Johnston, with a number of fellow sym- 
 pathizers, went south by the overland route and 
 was killed a year later, at the battle of Shiloh, 
 while in command of the Confederate army. 
 
 One form of disloyalty among the class 
 known as "copperheads" (northern men with 
 southern principles) was the advocacy of a Pa- 
 
 cific republic. Most prominent among these 
 was ex-Governor John B. Weller. The move- 
 ment was a thinly disguised method of aiding 
 the southern Confederacy. The flag of the 
 inchoate Pacific republic was raised in Stock- 
 ton January 16, 1861. It is thus described by 
 the Stockton Argus: "The flag is of silk of the 
 medium size of the national ensign and with 
 the exception of the Union (evidently a mis- 
 nomer in this case) which contains a lone star 
 upon a blue ground, is covered by a painting 
 representing a wild mountain scene, a huge 
 grizzly bear standing in the foreground and the 
 words 'Pacific Republic' near the upper border." 
 The flag raising was not a success. At first it 
 was intended to raise it in the city. But as it 
 became evident this would not be allowed, it was 
 raised to the mast head of a vessel in the slough. 
 It was not allowed to float there long. The hal- 
 yards were cut and a boy was sent up the mast 
 to pull it down. The owner of the flag was con- 
 vinced that it was not safe to trifle with the 
 loyal sentiment of the people. 
 
 At the gubernatorial election in September, 
 1863, Frederick F. Low, Republican, was 
 chosen over John G. Downey, Democrat, by a 
 majority of over twenty thousand. In some parts 
 of the state Confederate sympathizers were 
 largely in the majority. This was the case in 
 Los Angeles and in some places in the San 
 Joaquin valley. Several of the most outspoken 
 were arrested and sent to Fort Alcatraz, where 
 they soon became convinced of the error of 
 their ways and took the oath of allegiance. 
 When the news of the assassination of Lincoln 
 reached San Francisco, a mob destroyed the 
 newspaper plants of the Democratic Press, 
 edited by Beriah Brown ; the Occidental, edited 
 by Zach. Montgomery; the Netus Letter, edited 
 by F. Marriott, and the Monitor, a Catholic 
 paper, edited by Tliomas A. Brady. These were 
 virulent copperhead sheets that had heaped 
 abuse upon the martyred president. Had the 
 proprietors of these journals been found the 
 mob would, in the excitement that prevailed, 
 have treated them with violence. After this 
 demonstration Confederate sympathizers kept 
 silent. 
 
 *Tuthiirs History of California. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 211 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 TRADE, TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION. 
 
 THE beginning of the ocean commerce of 
 California was the two mission transport 
 ships that came every year to bring sup- 
 plies for the missions and presidios and take 
 back what few products there were to send. 
 The government fixed a price upon each and 
 every article of import and export. There was 
 no cornering the market, no bulls or bears in 
 the wheat pit, no rise or fall in prices except 
 when ordered by royal authority. An Arancel 
 de Precios (fixed rate of prices) was issued at 
 certain intervals, and all buying and selling was 
 governed accordingly. These arancels included 
 everything in the range of human needs — phys- 
 ical, spiritual or mental. According to a tariff 
 of prices promulgated by Governor Pages in 
 1788, which had been approved by the audencia 
 and had received the royal sanction, the price 
 of a Holy Christ in California was fixed at 
 $1.75, a wooden spoon six cents, a horse $9, a 
 deerskin twenty-five cents, red pepper eighteen 
 cents a pound, a dozen of quail twenty-five 
 cents, brandy seventy-five cents per pint, and 
 so on throughout the list. 
 
 In 1785 an attempt was made to open up 
 trade between California and China, the com- 
 modities for exchange being seal and otter 
 skins for quicksilver. The trade in peltries was 
 to be a government monopoly. The skins were 
 to be collected from the natives by the mission 
 friars, who were to sell them to a government 
 agent at prices ranging from $2.50 to $10 each. 
 The neophytes must give up to the friars all 
 the skins in their possession. All trade by citi- 
 zens or soldiers was prohibited and any one 
 attempting to deal in peltries otherwise than 
 the regularly ordained authorities was liable, if 
 found out, to have his goods confiscated. 
 Spain's attempt to engage in the fur trade was 
 not a success. The blighting monopoly of 
 church and state nipped it in the bud. It died 
 
 out, and the government bought quicksilver, 
 on which also it had a monof>oly, with coin in- 
 stead of otter skins. 
 
 After the government abandoned the fur trade 
 the American smugglers began to gather up 
 the peltries, and the California producer re- 
 ceived better prices for his furs than the mis- 
 sionaries paid. 
 
 The Yankee smuggler had no arancel of 
 prices fixed by royal edict. His price list va- 
 ried according to circumstances. As his trade 
 was illicit and his vessel and her cargo were in 
 danger of confiscation if he was caught, his scale 
 of prices ranged high. But he paid a higher 
 price for the peltries than the government, and 
 that was a consolation to the seller. The com- 
 merce with the Russian settlements of the 
 northwest in the early years of the century fur- 
 nished a limited market for the grain produced 
 at some of the missions, but the Russians 
 helped themselves to the otter and the seal of 
 California without saying "By your leave" and 
 they were not welcome visitors. 
 
 During the Mexican revolution, as has been 
 previously mentioned, trade sprang up between 
 Linaa and California in tallow, but it was of 
 short duration. During the Spanish era it can 
 hardly be said that California had any com- 
 merce. Foreign vessels were not allowed to 
 enter her ports except when in distress, and 
 their stay was limited to the shortest time pos- 
 sible required to make repairs and take on 
 supplies. 
 
 It was not until Mexico gained her inde- 
 pendence and removed the prescriptive regu- 
 lations with which Spain had hampered corn- 
 merce that the hide droghers opened up trade 
 between New England and California. This 
 trade, which began in 1822. grew to consider- 
 able proportions. The hide droghers were emi- 
 grant ships as well as mercantile vessels. By 
 
212 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 these came most of the Americans who settled 
 in California previous to 1840. The hide and 
 tallow trade, the most important item of com- 
 merce in the Mexican era, reached its maximum 
 in 1834, when the great mission herds were, by 
 order of the padres, slaughtered to prevent them 
 from falling into the hands of the government 
 commissioners. Thirty-two vessels came to the 
 coast that year, nearly all of which were en- 
 gaged in the hide and tallow trade. 
 
 During the year 1845, tfie last of Mexican 
 rule, sixty vessels visited the coast. These 
 were not all trading vessels; eight were men- 
 of-war, twelve were whalers and thirteen came 
 on miscellaneous business. The total amount 
 received at the custom house for revenue during 
 that year was $140,000. The majority of the 
 vessels trading on the California coast during 
 the Mexican era sailed under the stars and 
 stripes. Mexico was kinder to California than 
 Spain, and under her administration commer- 
 cial relations were established to a limited ex- 
 tent with foreign nations. Her commerce at 
 best was feeble and uncertain. The revenue laws 
 and their administration were frequently 
 changed, and the shipping merchant was never 
 sure what kind of a reception his cargo would 
 receive from the custom house officers. The 
 duties on imports from foreign countries were 
 exorbitant and there was always more or less 
 smuggling carried on. The people and the 
 padres, when they were a power, gladly wel- 
 comed the arrival of a trading vessel on the 
 coast and were not averse to buying goods that 
 had escaped the tarifif if they could do so with 
 safety. As there was no land tax, the revenue 
 on goods supported the expenses of the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Never in the world's history did any country 
 develop an ocean commerce so quickly as did 
 California after the discovery of gold. When 
 the news spread abroad, the first ships to 
 arrive came from Peru, Chile and the South 
 Sea islands. The earliest published notice of 
 the gold discovery appeared in the Baltimore 
 Sun, September 20, 1848, eight months after it 
 was made. At first the story was ridiculed, but 
 as confirmatory reports came thick and fast, 
 preparations began for a grand rush for the 
 
 gold mines. Vessels of all kinds, seaworthy 
 and unseaworthy, were overhauled and fitted 
 out for California. The American trade with 
 California had gone by way of Cape Horn or 
 the Straits of Magellan, and this was the route 
 that was taken by the pioneers. Then there 
 were short cuts by the way of the Isthmus of 
 Panama, across Mexico and by Nicaragua. The 
 lirst vessels left the Atlantic seaports in No- 
 vember, 1848. By the middle of the winter one 
 hundred vessels had sailed from Atlantic and 
 Gulf seaports, and by spring one hundred and 
 fifty more had taken their departure, all of them 
 loaded with human freight and with supplies of 
 every description. Five hundred and forty- 
 nine vessels arrived in San Francisco in nine 
 months, forty-five reaching that port in one day. 
 
 April 12, 1848, before the treaty of peace 
 with Mexico' had been proclaimed by the Presi- 
 dent, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was 
 incorporated with a capital of $500,000. Asto- 
 ria, Ore., was to have been the Pacific terminus 
 of the company's line, but it never got there. 
 The discovery of gold in California made San 
 Francisco the end of its route. The contract 
 with the government gave the company a sub- 
 sidy of $200,000 for maintaining three steamers 
 on the Pacific side between Panama and Asto- 
 ria. The first of these vessels, the California, 
 sailed from New York October 6, 1848, for San 
 Francisco and Astoria via Cape Horn. She 
 was followed in the two succeeding months by 
 the Oregon and the Panama. On the Atlantic 
 side the vessels of the line for several years 
 were the Ohio, Illinois and Georgia. The ves- 
 sels on the Atlantic side were fifteen hundred 
 tons burden, while those on the Pacific were a 
 thousand tons. Freight and passengers by the 
 Panama route were transported across the isth- 
 mus by boats up the Chagres river to Gorgona, 
 and then by mule-back to Panama. In 1855 the 
 Panama railroad was completed. This greatly 
 facilitated travel and transportation. The At- 
 lantic terminus of the road was Aspinwall, now 
 called Colon. 
 
 Another line of travel and commerce between 
 the states and California in early days was the 
 Nicaragua route. By that route passengers on 
 the Atlantic side landed at San Juan del Norte 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2i:i 
 
 or Greytovvn. From there they look a river 
 steamer and ascended the Rio San Juan to Lake 
 Nicaragua, then in a larger vessel they crossed 
 the lake to La Virgin. From there a distance 
 of about twelve miles was made on foot or on 
 mule-back to San Juan del Sur, where they re- 
 embarked on board the ocean steamer for San 
 Francisco. 
 
 The necessity for the speedy shipment of mer- 
 chandise to California before the days of trans- 
 continental railroads at a minimum cost evolved 
 the clipper ship. These vessels entered quite 
 early into the California trade and soon displaced 
 the short, clumsy vessels of a few hundred tons 
 burden that took from six to ten months to 
 make a voyage around the Horn. The clipper 
 ship Flying Cloud, which arrived at San Fran- 
 cisco in August, 185 1, made the voyage from 
 Xew York in eighty-nine days. These vessels 
 were built long and narrow and carried heavy 
 sail. Their capacity ranged from one to two 
 thousand tons burden. The overland railroads 
 took away a large amount of their business. 
 
 Capt. Jedediah S. Smith, as previously stated, 
 was the real pathfinder of the western moun- 
 tains and plains. He marked out the route 
 from Salt Lake by way of the Rio Virgin, the 
 Colorado and the Cajon Pass to Los Angeles 
 in 1826. This route was extensively traveled 
 by the belated immigrants of the early '50s. 
 Those reaching Salt Lake City too late in the 
 season to cross the Sierra Nevadas turned 
 southward and entered California by Smith's 
 trail. 
 
 The early immigration to California came by 
 way of Fort Hall. From there it turned south- 
 erly. At Fort Hall the Oregon and California 
 immigrants separated. The disasters that be- 
 fell the Donner party were brought upon them 
 by their taking the Hastings cut-off, which was 
 represented to them as saving two hundred and 
 fifty miles. It was shorter, but the time spent 
 in making a wagon road through a rough coun- 
 try delayed them until they were caught by the 
 snows in the mountains. Lassen's cut-oiT was 
 another route that brought disaster and delays 
 to many of the nnmigrants who were induced 
 to take it. The route up the Platte through the 
 
 South Pass of the Rocky mountains and down 
 the Humboldt received by far the larger amount 
 of travel. 
 
 The old Santa Fe trail from Independence to 
 Santa Fe, and from there by the old Spanish 
 trail around the north bank of the Colorado 
 across the Rio Virgin down the Mojave river 
 and through the Cajon Pass to Los Angeles, 
 was next in importance. Another route by 
 which much of the southern emigration came 
 was what was known as the Gila route. It 
 started at Fort Smith, Ark., thence via El Paso 
 and Tucson and down the Gila to Yuma, thence 
 across the desert through the San Gorgono 
 Pass to Los Angeles. In 1852 it was estimated 
 one thousand wagons came by this route. There 
 was another route still further south than this 
 which passed through the northern states ot 
 JMexico, but it was not popular on account of 
 the hostility of the Mexicans and the Apaches. 
 
 The first overland stage line was established 
 in 1857. The route extended from San Antonio 
 de Bexar, Tex., to San Diego, via El Paso, Mes- 
 sillo, Tucson and Colorado City (now Yuma). 
 The service was twice a month. The contract 
 was let to James E. Burch, the Postal Depart- 
 ment reserving "the right to curtail or discon- 
 tinue the service should any route subsequently 
 put under contract cover the w^hole or any por- 
 tion of the route." The San Diego Herald, 
 August 12, 1857, thus notes the departure of the 
 first mail by that route: "The pioneer mail 
 train from San Diego to San Antonio, Tex., 
 under the contract entered into by the govern- 
 ment with Mr. James Burch, left here on the 
 9th inst. (August 9, 1857) at an early hour in 
 the morning, and is now pushing its way for the 
 east at a rapid rate. The mail was of course 
 carried on pack animals, as will be the case 
 until wagons which arc being pushed across will 
 have been put on the line. * * * The first 
 mail from the other side has not yet arrived, 
 although somewhat overdue, and conjecture is 
 rife as to the cause of the delay." The eastern 
 mail arrived a few days later. 
 
 The service continued to improve, and the 
 fifth trip from the eastern terminus to San 
 Diego "was made in the extraordinary short 
 
214 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 time of twenty-six days and twelve hours," and 
 the San Diego Herald on this arrival, October 
 6, 1857, rushed out an extra "announcing the 
 very gratifying fact of the complete triumph of 
 the southern route notwithstanding the croak- 
 ings of many of the opponents of the adminis- 
 tration in this state." But the "triumph of the 
 southern route" was of short duration. In 
 September, 1858, the stages of the Butterfield 
 line began making their semi-weekly trips. 
 This route from its western terminus, San Fran- 
 cisco, came down the coast to Gilroy, thence 
 through Pacheco Pass to the San Joaquin val- 
 ley, up the valley and by way of Fort Tejon to 
 Los Angeles; from there eastward by Temecula 
 and Warner's to Yuma, thence following very 
 nearly what is now the route of the Southern 
 Pacific Railroad through Arizona and New Mex- 
 ico to El Paso, thence turning northward to 
 Fort Smith, Ark. There the route divided, one 
 branch going to St. Louis and the other to 
 Memphis. The mail route from San Antonio 
 to San Diego was discontinued. 
 
 The Butterfield stage line was one of the long- 
 est continuous lines ever organized. Its length 
 was two thousand eight hundred and eighty 
 miles. It began operation in September, 1858. 
 The first stage from the east reached Los 
 Angeles October 7 and San Francisco October 
 10. A mass-meeting was held at San Francisco 
 the evening of October 11 "for the purpose of 
 expressing the sense entertained by the people 
 of the city of the great benefits she is to re- 
 ceive from the establishment of the overland 
 mail." Col. J. B. Crocket acted as president 
 and Frank M. Pixley as secretary. The speaker 
 of the evening in his enthusiasm said: "In my 
 opinion one of the greatest blessings that could 
 befall California would be to discontinue at once 
 all communication by steamer between San 
 Francisco and New York. On yesterday we 
 received advices from New York, New Orleans 
 and St. Louis in less than twenty-four days via 
 El Paso. Next to the discovery of gold this is 
 the most important fact yet developed in the 
 historv of California." W. L. Ormsby, special 
 correspondent of the Nezv York Herald, the 
 first and only through passenger by the over- 
 
 land mail coming in three hours less than 
 twenty-four days, was introduced to the audi- 
 ence and was greeted with terrific applause. He 
 gave a description of the route and some inci- 
 dents of the journey. 
 
 The government gave the Butterfield com- 
 pany a subsidy of $600,000 a year for a service 
 of two mail coaches each way a week. In 1859 
 the postal revenue from this route was only 
 $27,000, leaving Uncle Sam more than half a 
 million dollars out of pocket. At the breaking 
 out of the Civil war the southern overland mail 
 route was discontinued and a contract was made 
 with Butterfield for a six-times-a-week mail by 
 the central route via Salt Lake City, with a 
 branch line to Denver. The eastern terminus 
 was at first St. Joseph, but on account of the 
 war it was changed to Omaha. The western 
 terminus was Placerville, Cal, time twenty 
 days for eight months, and twenty-three days 
 for the remaining four months. The contract 
 was for three years at an annual subsidy of 
 $1,000,000. The last overland stage contract 
 for carrying the mails was awarded to Wells, 
 Fargo & Co., October i, 1868, for $1,750,000 
 per annum, with deductions for carriage by rail- 
 way. The railway was rapidly reducing the dis- 
 tance of stage travel. 
 
 The only inland commerce during the Mexi- 
 can era was a few bands of mules sold to New 
 Mexican traders and driven overland to Santa 
 Fe by the old Spanish trail and one band of 
 cattle sold to the Oregon settlers in 1837 and 
 driven by the coast route to Oregon City. The 
 Californians had no desire to open up an inland 
 trade with their neighbors and the traders and 
 trappers who came overland were not welcome. 
 After the discovery of gold, freighting to the 
 mines became an important business. Supplies 
 " liad to be taken by pack trains and wagons. 
 Freight charges were excessively high at first. 
 In 1848, "it cost $5 to carry a hundred pounds 
 of goods from Sutter's Fort to the lower 
 mines, a distance of twenty miles, and $10 per 
 hundred weight for freight to the upper mines, 
 a distance of forty miles. Two horses can draw 
 one thousand five hundred pounds." In Decem- 
 ber, 1849, the roads were almost impassable 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lil.i 
 
 and teamsters were charging from $40 to $50 a 
 hundred pounds for hauhng freight from Sacra- 
 mento to Mormon Island. 
 
 In 1855 an inland trade was opened up be- 
 tween Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The 
 first shipment was made by Banning and Alex- 
 ander. The wagon train consisted of fifteen 
 ten-mule teams heavily freighted with merchan- 
 dise. The venture was a success financially. 
 The train left Los Angeles in May and returned 
 in September, consuming four months in the 
 journey. The trade increased and became quite 
 an important factor in the business of the south- 
 ern part of the state. In 1859 sixty wagons 
 were loaded for Salt Lake in the month of 
 January, and in March of the same year one 
 hundred and fifty loaded with goods were sent 
 to the Mormon capital. In 1865 and 1866 there 
 was a considerable shipment of goods from Los 
 Angeles to Idaho and ^Montana by wagon trains. 
 These trains went by way of Salt Lake. This 
 trade was carried on during the winter months 
 when the roads over the Sierras and the Rocky 
 mountains were blocked with snow. 
 
 Freighting by wagon train to Washoe formed 
 a very important part of the inland commerce 
 of California between 1859 and 1869. The im- 
 mense freight wagons called "prairie schooners" 
 carried almost as much as a freight car. The 
 old-time teamster, like the old-time stage driver, 
 was a unique character. Both have disappeared. 
 Their occupation is gone. We shall never look 
 on their like again. 
 
 The pony express rider came early in the his- 
 tory of California. Away back in 1775, when 
 the continental congress made Benjamin Frank- 
 lin postmaster-general of the United Colonies, 
 on the Pacific coast soldier couriers, fleet 
 mounted, were carrying their monthly budgets 
 of mail between Monterey in Alta California, 
 and Loreto, near the southern extremity of the 
 peninsula of Lower California, a distance of one 
 thousand five hundred miles. 
 
 In the winter of 1859-60 a Wall street lobby 
 was in Washington trying to get an appropria- 
 tion of $5,000,000 for carrying the mails one 
 year between New York and San Francisco. 
 William II. Russell, of the firm of Russell, Ma- 
 
 jors & Waddell, then engaged in running a 
 daily stage line between the Missouri river and 
 Salt Lake City, hearing of the lobby's efforts, 
 offered to bet $200,000 that he could put on a 
 mail line between San Francisco and St. Joseph 
 that could make the distance, one thousand nine 
 hundred and fifty miles, in ten days. The wager 
 was accepted. Russell and his business man- 
 ager, A. B. Miller, an old plains man, bought 
 the fleetest horses they could find in the west 
 and employed one hundred and twenty-five 
 riders selected with reference to their light 
 weight and courage. It was essential that the 
 horses should be loaded as lightly as possible. 
 The horses were stationed from ten to twenty 
 miles apart and each rider was required to ride 
 seventy-five miles. For change of horses and 
 mail bag two minutes were allowed, at each 
 station. One man took care of the two horses 
 kept there. Everything being arranged a start 
 was made from St. Joseph, April 3, i860. The 
 bet was to be decided on the race eastward. At 
 meridian on April 3, i860, a signal gun on a 
 steamer at Sacramento proclaimed the hour of 
 starting. At that signal Mr. Miller's private 
 saddle horse, Border Ruffian, with his rider 
 bounded away toward the foothills of the Sierra 
 Nevadas. The first twenty miles were covered 
 in forty-nine minutes. All went well till the 
 Platte river was reached. The river was swollen 
 by recent rain. Rider and horse plunged boldly 
 into it, but the horse mired in the quicksands 
 and was drowned. The rider carrying the mail 
 bag footed it ten miles to the next relay sta- 
 tion. When the courier arrived at the sixty- 
 mile station out from St. Joseph he was one 
 hour behind time. The last one had just three 
 hours and thirty minutes in which to make the 
 sixty miles and win the race. A heavy rain 
 was falling and the roads were slippery, but 
 with six horses to make the distance he won 
 with five minutes and a fraction to spare. And 
 thus was finished the longest race for the larg- 
 est stake ever run in America. 
 
 The pony express required to do its work 
 nearly five hundred horses, about one hundred 
 and ninety stations, two hundred station keepers 
 and over a hundred riders. Each rider usually 
 rode the horses on about seventv-five miles. 
 
216 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 but sometimes much greater distances were 
 made. Robert H. Haslam, Pony Bob, made on 
 one occasion a continuous ride of three hundred 
 and eighty miles and WilHam F. Cody, now fa- 
 mous as Buffalo Bill, in one continuous trip 
 rode three hundred and eighty-four miles, 
 stopping only for meals, and to change 
 horses. 
 
 The pony express was a semi-weekly service. 
 Fifteen pounds was the limit of the weight of 
 the waterproof mail bag and its contents. The 
 postage or charge was $5 on a letter of half an 
 ounce. The limit was two hundred letters, but 
 sometimes there were not more than twenty in 
 a bag. The line never paid. The shortest time 
 ever made by the pony express was seven days 
 and seventeen hours. This was in March, 1861, 
 when it carried President Lincoln's message. 
 At first telegraphic messages were received at 
 St. Joseph up to five o'clock p. m. of the day 
 of starting and sent to San Francisco on the 
 express, arriving at Placerville, which was then 
 the eastern terminus of the line. The pony ex- 
 press was suspended October 27, 1861, on the 
 completion of the telegraph. 
 
 The first stage line was established between 
 Sacramento and Mormon Island in September, 
 1849, fare $16 to $32, according to times. 
 Sacramento was the great distributing point for 
 the mines and was also the center from which 
 radiated numerous stage lines. In 1853 a dozen 
 lines were owned there and the total capital in- 
 vested in staging was estimated at $335,000. 
 There were lines running to Coloma, Nevada, 
 Placerville, Georgetown, Yankee Jim's, Jack- 
 son, Stockton, Shasta and Auburn. In 185 1 
 Stockton had seven daily stages. The first stage 
 line between San Francisco and San Jose was 
 established in April. 1850, fare $32. A number 
 of lines were consolidated. In i860 the Califor- 
 nia stage company controlled eight lines north- 
 ward, the longest extending seven hundred and 
 ten miles to Portland with sixty stations, thirty- 
 five drivers and five hundred horses, eleven 
 drivers and one hundred and fifty horses per- 
 taining to the rest. There were seven indepen- 
 dent lines covering four hundred and sixty-four 
 miles, chiefly east and south, the longest to Vir- 
 
 ginia City.* These lines disappeared with the 
 advent of the railroad. 
 
 The pack train was a characteristic feature of 
 early mining days. Many of the mountain 
 camps were inaccessible to wagons and the only 
 means of shipping in goods was by pack tram. 
 A pack train consisted of from ten to twenty 
 mules each, laden with from two hundred to 
 four hundred pounds. The load was fastened on 
 the animal by means of a pack saddle which 
 was held in its place by a cinch tightly laced 
 around the animal's body. The sure-footed 
 nuiles could climb steep grades and wind round 
 narrow trails on the side of steep mountains 
 without slipping or tumbling over the cliffs. 
 Mexicans were the most expert packers. 
 
 The scheme to utiHze camels and dromedaries 
 as beasts of burden on the arid plains of the 
 southwest was agitated in the early fifties. The 
 chief promoter if not the originator of the 
 project was Jefferson Davis, afterwards presi- 
 dent of the Southern Confederacy. During the 
 last days of the congress of 1851, Mr. Davis 
 offered an amendment to the army appropria- 
 tion bill appropriating $30,000 for the purchase 
 of thirty camels and twenty dromedaries. The 
 bill was defeated. When Davis was secretary 
 of war in 1854, congress appropriated $30,000 
 for the purchase and importation of camels and 
 in December of that year Major C. Wayne was 
 sent to Egypt and Arabia to buy seventy-five. 
 He secured the required number and shipped 
 them on the naval store ship Supply. They 
 were landed at Indianola, Tex., February 10, 
 1857. Three had died on the voyage. About 
 half of the herd were taken to Albuquerque, 
 where an expedition was fitted out under the 
 command of Lieutenant Beale for Fort Tejon, 
 Cal. ; the other half was employed in packing on 
 the plains of Texas and in the Gadsen Purchase, 
 as Southern Arizona was then called. 
 
 It very soon became evident that the camel 
 experiment would not be a success. The Amer- 
 ican teamster could not be converted into an 
 Arabian camel driver. From the very first meet- 
 ing there was a mutual antipathy between the 
 
 * Sacramento Union. January i, 1861. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 217 
 
 American mule whacker and the beast of the 
 l^rophet. The teamsters wlien transformed into 
 camel drivers deserted and the troopers refused 
 to have anything to do with the misshapen 
 beasts. So because there was no one to load 
 and navigate these ships of the desert their 
 voyages became less and less frequent, until 
 finally they ceased altogether; and these desert 
 ships were anchored at the different forts in 
 the southwest. After the breaking out of the 
 Civil war the camels at the forts in Texas and 
 New Mexico were turned loose to shift for 
 themselves. Those in Arizona and California 
 were condemned and sold by the government to 
 two Frenchmen who used them for packing, 
 first in Nevada and later in Arizona, but tiring 
 of the animals they turned them out on the 
 desert. Some of these camels or possibly their 
 descendants are still roaming over the arid 
 plains of southern Arizona and Sonora. 
 
 The first telegraph was completed September 
 II, 1853. It extended from the business quar- 
 ter of San Francisco to the Golden Gate and 
 was used for signalling vessels. The first long 
 line connected Marysville, Sacramento, Stock- 
 ton and San Jose. This was completed October 
 24, 1853. Another line about the same time 
 was built from San Francisco to Placerville by 
 way of Sacramento. A line was built southward 
 from San Jose along the Butterfield overland 
 mail route to Los Angeles in i860. The Over- 
 land Telegraph, begun in 1858, was completed 
 November 7, 1861. 
 
 The first express for the States was sent un- 
 der the auspices of the California Star (news- 
 paper). The Star of March i, 1848, contained 
 the announcement that "We are about to send 
 letters by express to the States at fifty cents 
 each, papers twelve and a half cents; to start 
 Ai)ril 15; any mail arriving after that time will 
 be returned to the writers. The Star refused 
 to send copies of its rival, The Calif ornian, in its 
 express. 
 
 The first local express was started by Charles 
 L. Cady in iVugust, 1847. It left San Francisco 
 every Monday and Fort Sacramento, its other 
 terminus, every Thursday. Letters twenty-five 
 cents. Its route was by way of Saucelito, Napa 
 and Petaluma to Sacramento. 
 
 Weld & Co.'s express was established in Oc- 
 tober, 1849. This express ran from San Fran- 
 cisco to Marysville, having its principal ofifices 
 in San Francisco, Benicia and Sacramento. It 
 was the first express of any consequence estab- 
 lished in California. Its name was changed to 
 Hawley & Co.'s express. The first trip was 
 made in the Mint, a sailing vessel, and took 
 sLx days. Afterward it was transferred to the 
 steamers Hartford and McKim. The company 
 paid these boats $800 per month for the use of 
 one state room ; later for the same accommoda- 
 tion it paid $1,500 per month. The Alta Cali- 
 fornia of January 7, 1850, says : ''There are so 
 riiany new express companies daily starting that 
 we can scarcely keep the run of them." 
 
 The following named were the principal com- 
 panies at that time: Hawley & Co., Angel, 
 Young & Co., Todd, Bryan, Stockton Express, 
 Henly, McKnight & Co., Brown, Knowlton & 
 Co. The business of these express companies 
 consisted largely in carrving letters to the 
 mines. The letters came through the postofifice 
 in San Francisco, but the parties to whom they 
 were addressed were in the mines. While the 
 miner would gladly give an ounce to hear from 
 home he could not make the trip to the Bay at 
 a loss of several hundred dollars in time and 
 money. The express companies obviated this 
 difSculty. The Alta of July 27, 1850, says: "We 
 scarcely know what we should do if it were not 
 for the various express lines established which 
 enable us to hold communication with the mines. 
 With the present defective mail communication 
 we should scarcely ever be able to hear from 
 the towns throughout California or from the 
 remote portions of the Placers north or south. 
 Hawley & Co., Todd & Bryan and Besford & 
 Co. are three lines holding communication with 
 different sections of the country. Adams & Co. 
 occupy the whole of a large building on Mont- 
 gomery street." 
 
 Adams & Co., established in 1850, soon be- 
 came the leading express company of the coast. 
 It absorbed a number of minor companies. It 
 established relays of the fastest horses to carry 
 the express to the mining towns. .A.s early as 
 1852 the company's lines had penetrated the re- 
 mote mining camps. Some of its riders per- 
 
218 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 formed feats in riding that exceeded the famous 
 pony express riders. Isaac W. Elwell made the 
 trip between Placerville and Sacramento in two 
 hours and fifty minutes, distance sixty-four 
 miles; Frank Ryan made seventy-five miles in 
 four hours and twenty minutes. On his favorite 
 horse, Colonel, he made twenty miles in fifty- 
 five minutes. Adams & Co. carried on a bank- 
 ing business and had branch banks in all the 
 leading mining towns. They also became a po- 
 
 litical power. In the great financial crash of 
 1855 they failed and in their failure ruined thou- 
 sands of their depositors. Wells, Fargo & Co. 
 express was organized in 185 1. It weathered 
 the financial storm that carried down Adams & 
 Co. It gained the confidence of the people of 
 the Pacific coast and has never betrayed it. Its 
 business has grown to immense proportions. It 
 is one of the leading express companies of the 
 world. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXli, 
 
 RAILROADS. 
 
 THE agitation of the Pacific railroad ques- 
 tion began only two years after the first 
 passenger railway was put in operation 
 in the United States. The originator of the 
 scheme to secure the commerce of Asia by a 
 transcontinental railway from the Atlantic to 
 the Pacific was Hartwell Carver, grandson of 
 the famous explorer, Jonathan Carver. He 
 published articles in the Neiv York Courier and 
 Inquirer in 1832 elaborating his idea, and 
 memorialized congress on the subject. The 
 western terminus was to be on the Columbia 
 river. His road was to be made of stone. There 
 were to be sleeping cars and dining cars at- 
 tached to each train. In 1836, John Plumbe. 
 then a resident of Dubuque, Iowa, advocated 
 the building of a railroad from Lake Michigan 
 to Oregon. At a public meeting held in Du- 
 buque, March 26, 1838, which Plumbe ad- 
 dressed, a memorial to congress was drafted 
 "praying for an appropriation to defray the ex- 
 pense of the survey and location of the first link 
 in the great Atlantic and Pacific railroad, name- 
 ly, from the lakes to the Mississippi." Their 
 application was favorably received and an ap- 
 propriation being made the same year, which 
 was expended under the direction of the secre- 
 tary of war, the report being of a very favorable 
 character.* 
 
 Plumbe received the indorsement of the Wis- 
 
 ♦Bancrofl's History of California, Vol. VII., p. 4g9. 
 
 consin legislature of 1839-40 and a memorial 
 was drafted to congress urging the continuance 
 of the work. Plumbe went to Washington to 
 urge his project. But the times were out of 
 joint for great undertakings. The financial 
 panic of 1837 had left the government revenues 
 in a demoralized condition. Plumbe's plan was 
 to issue stock to the amount of $100,000,000 
 divided in shares of $5 each. The government 
 was to appropriate alternate sections of the 
 I)ublic lands along the line of the road. Five 
 million dollars were to be called in for the first 
 installment. After this was expended in building, 
 the receipts from the sale of the lands was to 
 continue the building of the road. One hundred 
 miles were to be built each year and twenty 
 years was the time set for the completion of the 
 road. A bill granting the subsidy and authoriz- 
 ing the building of the road was introduced in 
 congress, but was defeated by the southern 
 members who feared that it would foster the 
 growth of free states. 
 
 The man best known in connection with the 
 early agitation of the Pacific railroad scheme 
 is Asa Whitney, of New York. For a time he 
 acted with Carver in promulgating the project, 
 but took up a plan of his own. Whitney wanted 
 a strip of land sixty miles wide along the whole 
 length of the road, which would have given 
 about one hundred million acres of the public 
 domain. Whitney's scheme called forth a great 
 deal of discussion. It was feared by some 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 219 
 
 timorous souls that such a monopoly would 
 endanger the government and by others that 
 it would bankrupt the public treasury. The agi- 
 tation was kept up for several years. The 
 acquisition of California and New Mexico threw 
 the project into politics. The question of de- 
 pleting the treasury or giving away the public 
 domain no longer worried the pro-slavery poli- 
 ticians in congress. The question that agitated 
 them now was how far south could the road 
 be deflected so that it would enhance the value 
 of the lands over which they hoped to spread 
 their pet institution — human slavery. 
 
 Another question that agitated the members 
 of congress was whether the road should be 
 built by the government — should be a national 
 road. The route which the road should take 
 was fought over year after year in congress. 
 The south would not permit the north to have 
 the road for fear that freemen would absorb the 
 public lands and build up free states. It was 
 the old dog-in-the-manger policy so character- 
 istic of the southern proslavery politicians. 
 
 The California newspapers early took up the 
 discussion and routes were thick as leaves in 
 Valambrosa. In the Star of May 13, 1848, Dr. 
 John Marsh outlines a route which was among 
 the best proposed: "From the highest point on 
 the Bay of San Francisco to which seagoing 
 vessels can ascend; thence up the valley of the 
 San Joaquin two hundred and fifty miles; 
 thence through a low pass (Walker's) to the 
 valley of the Colorado and thence through Ari- 
 zona and New Me.xico by the Santa Fe trail to 
 Independence, Mo." 
 
 Routes were surveyed and the reports of the 
 engineers laid before conrrress; memorials were 
 
 o o 
 
 received from the people of California praying 
 for a road; bills were introduced and discussed, 
 but the years passed and the Pacific railroad 
 was not begun. Slavery, that "sum of all vil- 
 lainies," was an obstruction more impassable 
 than the mountains and deserts that intervened 
 between the Alissouri and the Pacific. Southern 
 politicians, aided and abetted by Gwin of Cali- 
 fornia neutralized every attempt. 
 
 One of the first of several local railroad 
 projects that resulted in something more than 
 resolutions, public meetings and the election of 
 
 a board of directors that never directed any- 
 thing was the building of a railroad from San 
 I'Vancisco to San Jose. The agitation was be- 
 gun early in 1850 and by T'cbruary, 1851, $100,- 
 000 had been subscribed. September 6 of that 
 year a company was organized and the pro- 
 jected road given the high sounding title of the 
 Pacific & Atlantic railroad. Attempts were 
 made to secure subscriptions for its stock in 
 New York and in Europe, but without success. 
 Congress was appealed to, but gave no assist- 
 ance and all that there was to the road for ten 
 years was its name. In 1859 a new organization 
 was effected under the name of the San Fran- 
 cisco & San Jose railroad company. An at- 
 tempt was made to secure a subsidy of $900,- 
 000 from the three counties through which the 
 road was to pass, but this failed and the corpora- 
 tion dissolved. Another organization, the 
 fourth, was effected with a capital stock of 
 $2,000,000. The construction of the road was 
 begun in October, i860, and completed to San 
 Jose January 16, 1864. 
 
 The first railroad completed and put into suc- 
 cessful operation in California was the Sacra- 
 mento Valley road. It was originally intended 
 to extend the road from Sacramento through 
 Placer and Sutter counties to Mountain City, 
 in Yuba county, a distance of about forty miles. 
 It came to a final stop at a little over half that 
 distance. Like the San Jose road the question 
 of building was agitated several years before 
 anything was really done. In 1853 the company 
 was reorganized under the railroad act of that 
 year. Under the previous organization sub- 
 scriptions had been obtained. The Sacramento 
 Union of September 19, 1852, says: "The books 
 of the Sacramento Valley railroad company 
 were to have been opened in San Francisco 
 Wednesday. Upwards of $200,000 of the neces- 
 sary stock has been subscribed from here." 
 The Union of September 24 announces, "That 
 over $600,000 had already been subscribed at 
 San Francisco and Sacramento." Under the re- 
 organization a new board was elected November 
 12, 1853. C. L. Wilson was made president; 
 F. W. Page, treasurer, and W. H. Watson, sec- 
 retary. Theodore D. Judah, afterwards famous 
 in California railroad building, was employed as 
 
220 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 engineer and the construction of the road began 
 in February, 1855. It was completed to Fol- 
 som a, distance of twenty-two miles from Sacra- 
 mento and the formal opening of the road for 
 business took place February 22, 1856. Accord- 
 ing to the secretary's report for 1857 the earn- 
 ings of that year averaged $18,000 per month. 
 The total earnings for the year amounted to 
 $216,000; the expenses $84,000, leaving a profit 
 of $132,000. The cost of the road and its equip- 
 ment was estmiated at $700,000. From this 
 showing it would seem that California's first 
 railroad ought to have been a paying invest- 
 ment, but it was not. Money then was worth 
 5 per cent a month and the dividends from the 
 road about 18 per cent a year. The difference 
 between one and a half per cent and 5 per cent 
 a month brought the road to a standstill. 
 
 Ten 3ears had passed since California had 
 become a state and had its representatives in 
 congress. In all these years the question of a 
 railroad had come up in some form in that body, 
 yet the railroad seemingly was as far from a 
 consummation as it had been a decade before. 
 In 1859 the silver mines of the Washoe were 
 discovered and in the winter of 1859-60 the 
 great silver rush began. An almost continuous 
 stream of wagons, pack trains, horsemen and 
 footmen poured over the Sierra Nevadas into 
 Carson Valley and up the slopes of Mount 
 Davidson to \irginia City. The main line of 
 travel was by way of Placerville, through John- 
 son's Pass to Carson City. An expensive toll 
 road was built over the mountains and monster 
 freight wagons hauled great loads of merchan- 
 dise and mill machinery to the mines. "In 1863 
 the tolls on the new road amounted to $300,000 
 and the freight bills on mills and merchandise 
 summed up $13,000,000."* 
 
 The rush to Washoe gave a new impetus to 
 railroad projecting. A convention of the whole 
 coast had been held at San Francisco in Sep- 
 tember, 1859, but nothing came of it beyond 
 propositions and resolutions. Early in 1861, 
 Theodore P. Judah called a railroad meeting at 
 the St. Charles hotel in Sacramento. The feasi- 
 bility of a road over the mountains, the large 
 
 amount of business that would come to that 
 road from the Washoe mines and the necessity 
 of Sacramento moving at once to secure that 
 trade were pointed out. This road would be the 
 beginning of a transcontinental line and Sacra- 
 mento had the opportunity of becoming its 
 terminus. Judah urged upon some of the lead- 
 ing business men the project of organizing a 
 company to begin the building of a transconti- 
 nental road. The Washoe trade and travel 
 would be a very important item in the business 
 of the road. 
 
 On the 28th of June, 1861, the Central Pacific 
 Railroad company was organized under the 
 general incorporation law of the state. Leland 
 Stanford was chosen president, C. P. Hunting- 
 ton, vice-president, Mark Hopkins, treasurer, 
 James Bailey, secretary, and T. D. Judah, chief 
 engineer. The directors were those just named 
 and E. B. Crocker, John F.Morse, D. W. Strong 
 and Charles Marsh. The capital stock of the 
 company was $8,500,000 divided into eighty-five 
 thousand shares of $100 each. The shares taken 
 by individuals were few, Stanford, Huntington, 
 Hopkins, Judah and Charles Crocker subscrib- 
 ing for one hundred and fifty each; Glidden & 
 Williams, one hundred and twenty-five shares; 
 Charles A. Lombard and Orville D. Lombard, 
 three hundred and twenty shares; Samuel 
 Hooper, Benjamin J. Reed, Samuel P. Shaw, 
 fifty shares each; R. O. Ives, twenty-five shares; 
 Edwin B. Crocker, ten shares; Samuel Bran- 
 nan, two hundred shares; cash subscriptions of 
 which 10 per cent was required by law to be 
 paid down realizing but a few thousand dollars 
 with which to begin so important a work as a 
 railroad across the Sierra Nevada.* 
 
 The total amount subscribed was $158,000, 
 scarcely enough to build five miles of road on 
 the level plains if it had all been paid up. None 
 of the men in the enterprise was rich. Indeed, 
 as fortunes go now, none of them had more than 
 a competence. Charles Crocker, who was one 
 of the best off, in his sworn statement, placed 
 the value of his property at $25,000; C. P. 
 Huntington placed the value of his individual 
 possessions at $7,222, while Leland Stanford and 
 
 ♦Bancroft's History of California, Vol. VII.. p. 541. 
 
 ♦Bancroft's History of California, Vol. VII. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 221 
 
 his brother together owned property worth 
 $32,950. The incubus that so long had pre- 
 vented building a Pacific railroad was removed. 
 The war of secession had begun. The southern 
 senators and representatives were no longer in 
 congress to obstruct legislation. The thirty- 
 second and the thirty-fifth parallel roads south- 
 ern schemes, were out of the way or rather the 
 termini of these roads were inside the confeder- 
 ate lines. 
 
 A bill "to aid in the construction of a railroad 
 and telegraph line from the Missouri river to 
 the Pacific ocean and to secure to the govern- 
 ment the use of the same for postal, military and 
 other purposes passed both houses and became 
 a law July i, 1862. The bill provided for the 
 building of the road by two companies. The 
 Union Pacific (which was to be a union of 
 several roads already projected) was given the 
 construction of the road to the eastern boundary 
 of California, where it would connect with the 
 Central Pacific. Government bonds were to be 
 given to the companies to the amount of $16,000 
 per mile to the foot of the mountains and 
 $48,000 per mile through the mountains when 
 forty miles of road had been built and approved 
 by the government commissioners. In, addition 
 to the bonds the companies were to receive 
 "every alternate section of public land desig- 
 nated by odd numbers to the amount of five 
 alternate sections per mile on each side of the 
 railroad on the line thereof and within the limits 
 of ten miles on each side of the road not sold, 
 reserved or otherwise disposed of by the United 
 States." Mineral lands were exempted and any 
 lands unsold three years after the completion of 
 the entire road were subject to a preemption 
 like other public lands at a price not exceeding 
 $1.25 per acre, payable to the company. 
 
 The government bonds were a first mortgage 
 on the road. The ceremony of breaking ground 
 for the beginning of the enterprise took place at 
 Sacramento, February 22, 1863, Governor 
 Stanford throwing the first shovelful of earth, 
 and work was begun on the first eighteen miles 
 of the road which was let by contract to be 
 finished by August, 1863. The Central Pacific 
 company was in hard lines. Its means were not 
 sufficient to build forty miles which must be 
 
 completed before the subsidy could be received. 
 In October, 1863, Judah who had been instru- 
 mental in securing the first favorable legislation 
 set out a second time for Washington to ask 
 further assistance from congress. At New York 
 he was stricken with a fever and died there. To 
 him more than any other man is due the credit 
 of securing for the Pacific coast its first trans- 
 continental railroad. In July, 1864, an amended 
 act was passed increasing the land grant from 
 six thousand four hundred acres to twelve 
 thousand eight hundred per mile and reducing 
 the number of miles to be built annually from 
 fifty to twenty-five. The company was allowed 
 to bond its road to the same amount per mile 
 as the government subsidy. 
 
 The Western Pacific, which was virtually a 
 continuation of the Central Pacific, was organ- 
 ized in December, 1862, for the purpose of 
 building a railroad from Sacramento via Stock- 
 ton to San Jose. A branch of this line was 
 constructed from Niles to Oakland, which was 
 made the terminus of the Central Pacific. The 
 Union Pacific did not begin construction until 
 1865, while the Central Pacific had forty-four 
 miles constructed. In 1867 the Central Pacific 
 had reached the state line. It had met with 
 many obstacles in the shape of lawsuits and 
 unfavorable comments by the press. From the 
 state line it pushed out through Nevada and 
 on the 28th of April, 1869, the two companies 
 met with their completed roads at Promontory 
 Point in Utah, fifty-three miles west of Ogden. 
 The ceremony of joining the two roads took 
 place May 10. The last tie, a handsomely fin- 
 ished piece of California laurel, was laid and 
 Governor Stanford with a silver hammer drove 
 a golden spike. The two locomotives, one 
 from the east and one from the west, bumped 
 noses and the first transcontinental railroad 
 was completed. 
 
 The Southern Pacific Railroad company of 
 California was incorporated in December, 1865. 
 It was incorporated to build a railroad from 
 some point on the bay of San Francisco through 
 the counties of Santa Clara, Monterey, San 
 Luis Obispo, Tulare, Los Angeles to San 
 Diego and thence easterly through San Diego 
 to the eastern boundary of the state there to 
 
222 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 connect with a railroad from the Mississippi 
 ■ river. 
 
 "In July, 1866, congress granted to the At- 
 lantic and Pacific Railroad company to aid in 
 the construction of its road and telegraph line 
 from Springfield, Mo., by the most eligible route 
 to Albuquerque in New Mexico and thence by 
 the thirty-fifth parallel route to the Pacific, an 
 amount of land equal to that granted to the 
 Central Pacific. By this act the Southern Pa- 
 cific Railroad was authorized to connect with 
 the Atlantic and Pacific near the boundary line 
 of California, at such point as should be deemed 
 most suitable by the companies and should have 
 therefore the same amount of land per mile as 
 the Atlantic and Pacific."* 
 
 In 1867 the Southern Pacific company de- 
 cided to change its route and instead of build- 
 mg down through the coast counties to go east- 
 ward from Gilroy through Pacheco's pass into 
 the upper San Joaquin valley through Fresno, 
 Kern and San Bernardino to the Colorado river 
 near Fort Mojave. This contemplated change 
 left the lower coast counties out in the cold and 
 caused considerable dissatisfaction, and an at- 
 tempt was made to prevent it from getting a 
 land subsidy. Congress, however, authorized 
 the change, as did the California legislature of 
 1870, and the road secured the land. 
 
 The San Francisco and San Jose Railroad 
 came into possession of the Southern Pacific 
 company, San Francisco donating three thou- 
 sand shares of stock in that road on condition 
 that the Southern Pacific company, after it se- 
 cured the San Jose road, should extend it to 
 the southeastern boundary of the state. In 1869 
 a proposition was made to the supervisors of 
 San Francisco to donate $1,000,000 in bonds of 
 the city to the Southern Pacific company, on 
 condition that it build two hundred miles south 
 from Gilroy, the bonds to be delivered on the 
 completion and stocking of each section of fifty 
 miles of road. The bonds were voted by the 
 people of the city. The road was built to 
 Soledad, seventy miles from Gilroy, and then 
 stopped. The different branch roads in the San 
 Jose and Salinas valley were all consolidated 
 
 Bancroft. VII.. p. 594. 
 
 under the name of the Southern Pacific. The 
 Central Pacific and the Southern Pacific, al- 
 though apparently different organizations, were 
 really one company. 
 
 The Southern Pacific built southward from 
 Lathrop, a station on the Central Pacific's line, 
 a railroad up the valley by way of Tehachapi 
 Pass to Los Angeles. While this road was in 
 course of construction in 1872 a proposition was 
 made to the people of Los Angeles through the 
 county board of supervisors to vote a subsidy 
 equal to 5 per cent of the entire amount of the 
 taxable property of the county on condition that 
 the Southern Pacific build fifty miles of its main 
 line to Yuma in the county. Part of the subsidy 
 was to be paid in bonds of the Los Angeles & 
 San Pedro Railroad, amounting to $377,000 and 
 sixty acres of land for depot purposes. The 
 total amount of subsidy to be given was $610,- 
 000. The proposition was accepted by the 
 people, the railroad company in addition to its 
 original offer agreeing to build a branch road 
 twenty-seven miles long to Anaheim. This was 
 done to head off the Tom Scott road which 
 had made a proposition to build a branch road 
 from San Diego to Los Angeles to connect with 
 the Texas Pacific road which the year before 
 had been granted a right of way from Marshall, 
 Tex., to San Diego, and was preparing to build 
 its road. The Southern Pacific completed its 
 road to Los Angeles in September, 1876, and 
 reached the Colorado river on its way east in 
 April, 1877. It obtained the old franchise of the 
 Texas Pacific and continued its road eastward 
 to El Paso, Tex., where it made connections 
 with roads to New Orleans and other points 
 south and east, thus giving California its second 
 transcontinental railroad. This road was com- 
 pleted to El Paso in 1881. 
 
 The Atlantic & Pacific road with which the 
 Southern Pacific was to connect originally, 
 suffered from the financial crash of 1873 and 
 suspended operations for a time. Later it en- 
 tered into a combination with the Atchison, To- 
 peka & Santa Fe and St. Louis & San Francisco 
 railroad companies. This gave the Atchison 
 road a half interest in the charter of the Atlantic 
 & Pacific. The two companies built a main line 
 jointly from Albuquerque (where the Atchison 
 
HISTORICAL Ax\D BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 road ended) west to the Colorado river at the 
 Xeedles. Their intention was to continue the 
 road to Los Angeles and San Francisco. 
 
 The California Southern and the California 
 Southern Extension companies were organized 
 to extend the Atlantic & Pacific from Barstow 
 to San Diego. These companies consoliilated 
 and completed a road from San Diego to San 
 Bernardino September 13, 1883. The Southern 
 Pacific interfered. It attempted to prevent the 
 California Southern from crossing its tracks at 
 Colton by placing a heavy engine at the point 
 of crossing, but was compelled to move the en- 
 gine to save it from demolition. It built a branch 
 from Mojave station to connect with the At- 
 lantic & Pacific in which it had an interest. 
 This gave connection for the Atlantic & Pacific 
 over the Southern Pacific lines with both Los 
 Angeles and San Francisco. This was a serious 
 blow to the California Southern, but disasters 
 never come singly. The great flood of January, 
 1884, swept down through the Temecula Caiion 
 and carried about thirty miles of its track out 
 to sea. It was doubtful under the circumstances 
 whether it would pay to rebuild it. Finally the 
 Southern Pacific agreed to sell its extension 
 from Barstow to the Needles to the California 
 Southern, reserving its road from Barstow to 
 
 Mojave. Construction was begun at once on 
 the California Southern line from Barstow to 
 San Bernardino and in November, 1885, the 
 road was completed from Barstow to San 
 Diego. In October, 1886, the road passed un- 
 der control of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa 
 Fe. In the spring of 1887 the road was ex- 
 tended westerly from San Bernardino to meet 
 the San Gabriel valley road which had been 
 built eastward from Los Angeles through Pasa- 
 dena. The completed line reached Los Angeles 
 in May, 1887, thus giving California a third 
 transcontinental line. 
 
 After many delays the gap in the Southern 
 Pacific coast line was closed and the first trains 
 from the north and the south passed over its 
 entire length between Los Angeles and San 
 Francisco on the 31st of March, 1901, nearly 
 thirty years after the first section of the road 
 was built. 
 
 The Oregon & California and the Central 
 Pacific were consolidated in 1870. The two 
 ends of the road were united at Ashland, Ore., 
 in 1887. The entire line is now controlled by 
 the Southern Pacific, and, in connection with 
 the Northern Pacific and the Oregon Railway 
 & Navigation Road at Portland, forms a fourth 
 transcontinental line for California. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 THE INDIAN QUESTION. 
 
 IT IS quite the fashion now with a certain 
 school of writers, who take their history of 
 California from "Raniona" and their infor- 
 mation on the "Indian question" under the rule 
 of the mission padres from sources equally fic- 
 titious, to draw invidious comparisons between 
 the treatment of the Indian by Spain and Mex- 
 ico when mission rule was dominant in Cali- 
 fornia and his treatment by the United States 
 after the conquest. 
 
 That the Indian was brutally treated and un- 
 jnercifully slaughtered by the American miners 
 and rancheros in the early '50s none will deny; 
 that he had fared but little better under the rule 
 
 of Spain and Mexico is equally true. The tame 
 and submissive Indians of the sea coast with 
 whom the mission had to deal were a very 
 different people from the mountain tribes with 
 whom the Americans came in conflict. 
 
 W'e know but little of the conquistas or gentile 
 hunts that were occasionally sent out from the 
 mission to capture subjects for conversion. The 
 history of these was not recorded. From "The 
 narrative of a voyage to the Pacific and Berings 
 strait with the Polar expedition; performed in 
 his majesty's ship Blossom, under command of 
 Capt. F. W. Beechey, R. N.. in the years 
 1825-26-27-28, we have the story of one of these 
 
224 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 conquistas or convert raids. Captain Beechey 
 visited California in 1828. While in California 
 he studied the missions, or at least those he vis- 
 ited, and after his return to England published 
 his observations. His observations have great 
 value. He was a disinterested observer and 
 gave a' plain, straightforward, truthful account 
 of what he saw, without prejudice or partiality. 
 His narrative dispels much of the romance that 
 some modern writers throw around mission life. 
 This conquista set out from the Mission San 
 Jose. 
 
 "At a particular period of the year also, when 
 the Indians can be spared from agricultural con- 
 cerns of the establishment, many are permitted 
 to take the launch of the mission and make ex- 
 cursions to the Indian territory. All are anx- 
 ious to go on such occasions. Some to visit 
 friends, some to procure the manufactures of 
 their barbarian countrymen (which, by the by, 
 are often better than their own) and some with a 
 secret determination never to return. On these 
 occasions the padres desire them to induce as 
 many of their unconverted brethren as possible 
 to accompany them back to the mission; of 
 course, implying that this is to be done only by 
 persuasion; but the b.oat being furnished with a 
 cannon and musketry and in every respect 
 equipped for war, it too often happens that the 
 neophytes and the gente de razon, who super- 
 intend the direction of the boat, avail them- 
 selves of their superiority with the desire of in- 
 gratiating themselves with their master and re- 
 ceiving a reward. There are besides repeated 
 acts of aggression, which it is necessary to pun- 
 ish, all of which furnish proselytes. Women and 
 children are generally the first objects of cap- 
 ture, as their husbands and parents sometimes 
 voluntarih' follow them into captivity. These 
 misunderstandings and captivities keep up a per- 
 petual enmity amongst the tribes whose thirst 
 for revenge is insatiable." 
 
 We had an opportunity of witnessing the 
 tragical issue of one of these holyday excursions 
 of the neophytes of the Mission San Jose. The 
 launch was armed, as usual, and placed under 
 the superintendence of an alcalde of the mission, 
 who appears from one statement (for there are 
 several), converted the party of pleasure either 
 
 into an attack for procuring proselytes or ot 
 revenge upon a particular tribe for some ag- 
 gression in which they were concerned. They 
 proceeded up the Rio San Joachin until they 
 came to the territory of a particular tribe named 
 Consemenes, when they disembarked with the 
 gun and encamped for the night near the vil- 
 lage of Los Gentiles, intending to make an at- 
 tack upon them next morning, but before they 
 were prepared the gentiles, who had been ap- 
 prised of their intention and had collected a 
 large body of their friends, became the assail- 
 ants and pressed so hard upon the party that, 
 notwithstanding they dealt death in every direc- 
 tion with their cannon and musketry and were 
 inspired with confidence by the contempt in 
 which they held the valor and tactics of their un- 
 converted countrymen, they were overpowered 
 by numbers and obliged to seek their safety in 
 flight and to leave the gun in the woods. Some 
 regained the launch and were saved and others 
 found their way overland to the mission, but 
 thirty-four of the party never returned to tell 
 their tale. 
 
 "There were other accounts of the unfortu- 
 nate afifair, one of which accused the padre of 
 authorizing the attack. The padre was greatly 
 displeased at the result of the excursion, as the 
 loss of so many Indians to the mission was of 
 great consequence and the confidence with 
 which the victory would inspire the Indians was 
 equally alarming. 
 
 "He therefore joined with the converted In- 
 dians in a determination to chastise and strike 
 terror into the victorious tribe and in concert 
 with the governor planned an expedition against 
 them. The mission furnished money, arms, In- 
 dians and horses and the presidio troops, headed 
 by Alferez Sanches, a veteran, who had been 
 frequently engaged with the Indians and was 
 acquainted with that part of the country. The 
 expedition set out November 19, and we heard 
 nothing of it until the 27th, but two days after 
 the troops had taken to the field some immense 
 columns of smoke rising above the mountains 
 in the direction of the Cosemmes bespoke the 
 conflagration of the village of the persecuted 
 gentiles ; and on the day above mentioned the 
 veteran Sanches made a triumphant entry into 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 225 
 
 the Mission of San Jose, escorting forty miser- 
 able women and children. The gun which had 
 been lost in the first battle was retaken and 
 other trophies captured. 
 
 "This victory, so glorious according to the 
 ideas of the conquerors, was achieved with the 
 loss of only one man on the part of the Chris- 
 tians, who was mortally wounded by the burst- 
 ing of his own gun ; but on the part of the enemy 
 it was considerable, as Sanches the morning 
 after the battle counted forty-one men, women 
 and children dead. It is remarkable that none 
 of the prisoners was wounded and it is greatly 
 to be feared that the Christians, who could 
 scarcely be prevented from revenging the death 
 of their relatives upon those who were brought 
 to the mission, glutted their brutal passions on 
 all who fell into their hands. 
 
 "The prisoners they had captured were imme- 
 diately enrolled in the list of the mission, except 
 a nice little boy whose mother was shot while 
 running away with him in her arms, and he was 
 sent to the presidio and, as I heard, given to 
 the Alferez as a reward for his services. The 
 poor little orphan had received a slight wound in 
 his forehead ; he wept bitterly at first and refused 
 to eat, but in time became reconciled to his 
 fate. 
 
 "Those who were taken to the mission were 
 immediately converted and were daily taught by 
 the neophytes to repeat the Lord's prayer and 
 certain hymns in the Spanish language. I hap- 
 pened to visit the mission about this time and 
 saw these unfortunate beings under tuition. 
 They were clothed in blankets and arranged in 
 a row before a blind Indian, who understood 
 their dialect and was assisted by an alcalde to 
 keep order. Their tutor began by desiring them 
 to kneel, informing them that he was going to 
 teach them the names of the persons composing 
 the trinity and- they were to repeat in Spanish 
 what he dictated. The neophytes being ar- 
 ranged, the speaker began: 'Santisima Trini- 
 dad, Dios, Jesu Christo, Espiritu Santo,' paus- 
 ing between each name to listen if the simple 
 Indians, who had never before spoken a word 
 of Spanish, pronounced it correctly or anything 
 near the mark. After they had repeated these 
 names satisfactorily, their blind tutor, after a 
 
 15 
 
 pause, added 'Santos' and recapitulated the 
 names of a great many saints, which finished the 
 morning's lesson. 
 
 "They did not appear to me to pay much at- 
 tention to what was going forward and I ob- 
 served to the padre that I thought their teachers 
 had an arduous task, but he said they had never 
 found any difficulty; that the Indians were ac- 
 customed to change their own gods and that 
 their conversion was in a measure habitual to 
 them. 
 
 "The expenses of the late expedition fell heav- 
 ily upon the mission and I was glad to find the 
 padre thought it was paying very dear for so 
 few converts, as in all probability it will lessen 
 his desire to undertake another expedition and 
 the poor Indians will be spared the horrors of 
 being butchered by their own countrymen or 
 dragged from their homes into captivity." 
 
 This conquista and the results that followed 
 were very similar to some of the so-called In- 
 dian wars that took place after the American 
 occupation. The Indians were provoked to hos- 
 tilities by outrage and injustice. Then the 
 military came down on them and wiped them 
 out of existence. 
 
 The vmsanitary condition of the Indian vil- 
 lages at some of the missions was as fatal as an 
 Indian war. The Indian was naturally filthy, but 
 in his native state he had the whole country to 
 roam over. If his village became too filthy and 
 the vermin in it too aggressive, he purified it 
 by fire — burned up his wigwam. The adobe 
 houses that took the place of the brush hovel, 
 which made up the early mission villages, could 
 not be burned to purify them. No doubt the 
 heavy death rate at the missions was due largely 
 to the uncleanly habits of the neophytes. The 
 statistics given in the chapter on the Franciscan 
 missions show that in all the missionary estab- 
 lishments a steady decline, a gradual extinction 
 of the neophyte population, had been in prog- 
 ress for two to three decades before the mis- 
 sions were secularized. Had secularization been 
 delayed or had it not taken place in the course 
 of a few decades, at the rate the neophytes were 
 dying off the missions would have become de- 
 populated. The death rate was greater than the 
 birth rate in all of them and the mortality among 
 
22C 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the children was greater even than among the 
 adults. After secularization the neophytes 
 drifted to the cities and towns where they could 
 more readily gratify their passion for strong 
 drink. Their mission training and their Chris- 
 tianit)' had no restraining influence upon them. 
 Tlieir vicious habits, which were about the only 
 thing they had accjuired by their contact with 
 the whites, soon put an end to them. 
 
 During the Spanish and Mexican eras North- 
 ern California remained practically a terra in- 
 cognita. Two missions, San Rafael and San 
 Francisco Solano, and the castillo at Sonora, 
 had been established as a sort of protection to 
 the northern frontier. A few armed incursions 
 had been made into the country beyond these 
 to punish Indian horse and cattle thieves. Gen- 
 eral Vallejo, who was in command of the 
 troops on the frontera del norte, had always 
 endeavored to cultivate friendly relations with 
 the gentiles, but the padres disliked to have 
 these near the missions on account of their in- 
 fluence on the neophytes. Near the Mission 
 San Rafael, in 1833, occurred one of those In- 
 dian massacres not uncommon under Spanish 
 and Mexican rule. A body of gentiles from the 
 rancherias of Pulia, encouraged by Figueroa 
 and Vallejo, came to the Mission San Rafael 
 with a view to establishing friendly relations. 
 The padre put ofi the interview until next day. 
 During the night a theft was committed, which 
 was charged to the gentiles. Fifteen of them 
 were seized and sent as prisoners to San Fran- 
 cisco. Padre Mercado, fearing that their coun- 
 trymen might retaliate, sent out his major doma 
 Molina with thirty-seven armed neophytes, who 
 surprised the gentiles in their rancheria, killed 
 twenty-one, wounded many more and captured 
 twenty men, women and children. Vallejo was 
 indignant at the shameful violation of his prom- 
 ises of protection to the Indians. He released 
 the prisoners at San Francisco and the captives 
 at the mission and tried to pacify the wrathful 
 gentiles. Padre Mercado was suspended from 
 his ministry for a short time, but was afterward 
 freed and returned to San Rafael.* 
 
 There was a svstem of Indian slavery in ex- 
 
 Bancroft's History of California, Vol. III. 
 
 istence in California under the rule of Spain and 
 Mexico. Most of the wealthier Spanish and 
 Mexican families had Indian servants. In the 
 raids upon the gentiles the children taken by the 
 soldiers were sometimes sold or disposed of to 
 families for servants. Expeditions were gotten 
 up upon false pretexts, while the main purpose 
 was to steal Indian children and sell them to 
 families for servants. This practice was carried 
 on by the Americans, too, after the concjuest. 
 
 For a time after the discovery of gold the In- 
 dians and the miners got along amicably. The 
 first miners were mainly old Californians, used 
 to the Indians, but with the rush of '49 came 
 many rough characters who, by their injustice, 
 soon stirred up trouble. Sutter had employed a 
 large number of Indians on his ranches and in 
 various capacities. These were faithful and hon- 
 est. Some of them were employed at his mill 
 in Coloma and in the diggings. In the spring 
 of '49 a band of desperadoes known as the 
 Mountain Hounds murdered eight of these at 
 the mill. Marshall, in trying to defend them, 
 came near being lynched by the drunken brutes. 
 
 The injustice done the Indians soon brought 
 on a number of so-called Indian wars. These 
 were costly affairs to the state and in less than 
 two years had plunged the young common- 
 wealth into a debt of nearly $1,000,000. In a 
 copy of the Los Angeles Star for February 28, 
 1852, I find this enumeration of the wars and 
 the estimated cost of each: The Alorehead ex- 
 pedition, $120,000; General Bean's first expedi- 
 tion, $66,000; General Bean's second expedition, 
 $50,000; the Mariposa war, $230,000; the El 
 Dorado war, $300,000. The Morehead war orig- 
 inated out of an injustice done the Yuma In- 
 dians. These Indians, in the summer of 1849, 
 had obtained an old scow and established a ferry 
 across the Colorado river near the mouth of the 
 Gila, and were making quite a paying business 
 out of it by ferrying emigrants across the river. 
 A party of Americans, headed by a Dr. Lang- 
 don of Louisiana, and a desperado named Jack 
 Glanton, dispossessed the Indians of their boat, 
 and having obtained a liberal supply of whiskey 
 from San Diego set up in business for them- 
 selves. The Indians, watching their opportunity, 
 while the whites were asleep or stupefied with 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGI^PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 227 
 
 drink, fell upon and massacred the whole party, 
 twelve or fifteen in all, and secured some $15,000 
 or $20,000 in money. On receipt of the news, 
 Governor Burnett ordered Major-General Bean 
 of the state militia to march against the Yumas. 
 Ikan sent his quartermaster-general, Joseph C. 
 -Morehead. Morehead, on Bean's orders, pro- 
 vided necessaries for a three months' campaign 
 at most extravagant prices, paying for them in 
 drafts on the state treasury. Morehead started 
 out from Los Angeles with forty men, but by 
 the time he reached the Colorado river he had 
 recruited his force to one hundred and twenty- 
 five men. The liquid supplies taken along doubt- 
 less stimulated recruiting. They reached the 
 Colorado in the summer of 1850, camped there 
 and attacked their rations. After a month's 
 siege (of their rations) they were ordered back 
 and disbanded. The only loss was one man 
 wounded (accidentally). He was sent back to 
 Los Angeles for treatment. The doctor who 
 treated him charged the state $500. The man 
 who boarded him put in a bill of $120; and the 
 patriot who housed him wanted $45 for house 
 rent. Bean's first and second expeditions were 
 very similar in results to the Morehead cam- 
 paign. The El Dorado expedition or Rogers' 
 war, as it was sometimes called, was another of 
 Governor Burnett's fiascos. He ordered Will- 
 iam Rogers, sheriff of El Dorado county, to call 
 out two hundred men at the state's expense to 
 punish the Indians for killing some whites who 
 had, in all probability, been the aggressors and 
 the Indians had retaliated. It was well known 
 that there were men in that part of the country 
 who had wantonly killed Indians for the pleas- 
 ure of boasting of their exploits. 
 
 Nor were the whites always the aggressors. 
 There were bad Indians, savages, who killed 
 without provocation and stole whenever an op- 
 portunity offered. In their attempts at retalia- 
 tion the Indians slaughtered indiscriminately 
 and the innocent more often were their victims 
 than the guilty. On the side of the whites it 
 was a war of extermination waged in many in- 
 stances without regard to age or sex; on the 
 part of the Indian it was a war of retaliation 
 waged with as little distinction. 
 
 The extermination of the aborigines was fear- 
 
 fully rapid. Of over ten thousand Indians in 
 Yuba, Placer, Nevada and Sierra counties in 
 1849 not more than thirty-eight hundred re- 
 mained in 1854. Much of this decrease had been 
 brought about by dissipation and disease engen- 
 dered by contact with the whites. Reservations 
 were established in various parts of the state, 
 where Indians abounded, but the large salaries 
 paid to agents and the numerous opportunities 
 for peculation made these positions attractive 
 to politicians, who were both incompetent and 
 dishonest. The Indians, badly treated at the 
 reservations, deserted them whenever an oppor- 
 tunity offered. 
 
 A recital of the atrocities committed upon 
 each other in the northwestern part of the state 
 during a period of nearly twenty years would fill 
 a volume. The Indian with all his fiendishness 
 was often outmatched in cruelty by his pale 
 faced brother. The Indian Island massacre was 
 scarcely ever equaled in the annals of Indian 
 cruelties. Indian Island lies nearly opposite 
 the city of Eureka in Humboldt Bay. On this 
 island, fifty years ago, was a large rancheria 
 of inoffensive Indians, who lived chiefly by fish- 
 ing. They had not been implicated in any of 
 the wars or raids that had disturbed that part 
 of the country. They maintained many of their 
 old customs and had an annual gathering, at 
 which they performed various rites and cere- 
 monies, accompanied by dancing. A number of 
 the Indians from the mainland joined them at 
 these times. Near midnight of February 25, 
 i860, a number of boats filled with white men 
 sped silently out to the island. The whites 
 landed and quietly surrounded the Indians, who 
 were resting after their orgies, and began the 
 slaughter with axes, knives and clubs, splitting 
 skulls, knocking out brains and cutting the 
 throats of men, women and children. Of the 
 two hundred Indians on the island only four or 
 five men escaped by swimming to the mainland. 
 The same night a rancheria at the entrance of 
 Humboldt Bay and another at the mouth of Eel 
 river were attacked and about one hundred 
 Indians slaughtered. The fiends who commit- 
 ted these atrocities belonged to a secret or- 
 ganization. No rigid investigation was ever 
 made to find out who thev were. The sfrand 
 
228 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 jury mildly condemned the outrage and there 
 the matter ended. 
 
 The Indians kept up hostilities, rendering 
 travel and traffic unsafe on the borders of Hum- 
 boldt, Klamath and Trinity counties. Governor 
 Stanford in 1863 issued a proclamation for the 
 enlistment of six companies of volunteers from 
 the six northwestern counties of the state. 
 These recruits were organized into what was 
 known as the Mountaineer battalion with Lieut. - 
 Col. Stephen G. Whipple in command. A num- 
 ber of Indian tribes united and a desultory war- 
 fare began. The Indians were worsted in nearly 
 every engagement. Their power was broken 
 and in February, 1865, fragments of the different 
 tribes were gathered into the Hoopa Valley 
 reservation. The Mountaineer battalion in what 
 was known as the "Two Years' War" settled the 
 Indian question from Shasta to the sea for all 
 time. 
 
 The Modoc war was the last of the Indian 
 disturbances in the state. The Modocs inhab- 
 ited the country about Rhett Lake and Lost 
 river in the northeast part of the state, bordering 
 on C)regon. Their history begins with the mas- 
 sacre of an immigrant train of sixty-five per- 
 sons, men, women and children, on their way 
 from Oregon to California. Tliis brought upon 
 them a reprisal by the whites in which forty- 
 one out of forty-six Indians who had been in- 
 vited by Benjamin Wright to a pow wow after 
 they had laid aside their arms were set upon bv 
 Wright and his companions with revolvers and 
 all killed but five. In 1864 a treaty had been 
 made with the Modocs by which they were to 
 reside on the Klamath reservation. But tiring 
 of reservation life, under their leader. Captain 
 Jack, they returned to their old homes on Lost 
 river. A company of United States troops and 
 several volunteers who went along to see the 
 fun were sent to bring them back to the reser- 
 vation. They refused to go and a fight ensued 
 in which four of the volunteers and one of the 
 regulars were killed, and the troops retreated. 
 The Modocs after kilhng several settlers gath- 
 ered at the lava beds near Rhett Lake and 
 prepared for war. 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Wheaton with about four 
 hundred men attacked the Indians in the lava 
 
 beds January 17, 1873. Captain Jack had but 
 lifty-one men. When Wheaton retreated he had 
 lost thirty-five men killed and a number 
 wounded, but not an Indian had been hurt. A 
 few days after the battle a peace commission 
 was proposed at Washington. A. B. Meacham, 
 Jesse Applegate and Samuel Case were ap- 
 pointed. Elijah Steele of Yreka, who was on 
 friendly terms with the Indians, was sent for. 
 He visited the lava beds with the interpreter, 
 Fairchild, and had a big talk. He proposed to 
 them to surrender and they would be sent to 
 Angel Island near San Francisco, fed and cared 
 for and allowed to select any reservation they 
 wished. Steele, on his return to camp, reported 
 that the Indians accepted the terms, but Fair- 
 child said they had not and next day on his re- 
 turn Steele found out his mistake and barely 
 escaped with his life. Interviews continued 
 without obtaining anv definite results, some of 
 the cominission became disgusted and returned 
 home. General Canby, commanding the depart- 
 ment, had arrived and taken charge of affairs. 
 Commissioner Case resigned and Judge Ros- 
 borough was appointed in his place and the Rev. 
 E. Thomas, a doctor of divinity in the Metho- 
 dist church, was added to the commission. A 
 man by the name of Riddle and his wife Toby, 
 a Modoc, acted as go-betweens and negotiations 
 continued. 
 
 A pow wow was arranged at the council tent 
 at which all parties were to meet unarmed, but 
 Toby was secretly informed that it was the in- 
 tention of the Modocs to massacre the commis- 
 sioners as had been done to the Indian com- 
 missioners twenty years before by Benjamin 
 Wright and his gang. On April 10, while 
 Meacham and Dyer, the superintendent of the 
 Klamath reservation, who had joined the com- 
 missioners, were away from camp, the Rev. 
 Dr. Tliomas made an agreement with a dele- 
 gation from Captain Jack for the commission 
 and General Canby to meet the Indians at the 
 council tent. Meacham on his return opposed 
 the arrangement, fearing treachery. The doctor 
 insisted that God had done a wonderful work 
 in the IModoc camp, but ^leacham shocked the 
 pious doctor by saying "God had not been in 
 the Modoc camp this winter." 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2l>!) 
 
 Two of the Indian leaders, Boston Charley 
 and Bogus Charley, came to headquarters to 
 accompany the connnission. Riddle and his 
 wife, Toby, bitterly opposed the commissioners' 
 going, telling them they would be killed, and 
 Toby going so far as to seize Meacham's horse 
 to prevent him from going, telling him, "You get 
 kill." Canb} and the doctor insisted upon going, 
 despite all protests, the doctor saying, "Let us go 
 as we agreed and trust in God." Meacham and 
 Dyer secured derringers in their side pockets 
 before going. When the commissioners, the 
 interpreters, Riddle and his wife, reached the 
 council tent they found Captain Jack, Schonchin 
 John, Black Jim, Shancknasty Jim, Ellen's 
 Man and Hooker Jim sitting around a fire at 
 the council tent. Concealed behind some 
 rocks a short distance away were two young 
 Indians with a number of rifles. The two Char- 
 leys, Bogus and Boston, who had come with the 
 commissioners from headquarters, informed the 
 Indians that the commissioners were not armed. 
 The interview began. The Indians were very 
 insolent. Suddenly, at a given signal, the Indians 
 tittered a war whoop, and Captain Jack drew 
 a revolver from under his coat and shot Gen- 
 eral Canby. Boston Charley shot Dr. Thomas, 
 who fell, rose again, but was shot down 
 wlijle begging for his life. The young Indians 
 had brought up the rifles and a fusillade was 
 begun upon the others. All escaped without in- 
 jury e.xcept Meacham, who, after running some 
 distance, was felled by a bullet fired by Hooker 
 Jim, and left for dead. He was saved from being 
 scalped by the bravery of Toby. He recovered, 
 however, although badly disfigured. While this 
 
 was going on, Curly Haired Doctor and several 
 other Modocs, with a white flag, inveigled Lieu- 
 tenants Boyle and Sherwood beyond the lines. 
 .Seeing the Indians were armed, the officers 
 turned to flee, when Curly Haired Jack fired and 
 broke Lieutenant Sherwood's thigh. He died a 
 few days later. The troops were called to arms 
 when the firing began, but the Indians escaped 
 to the lava beds. After a few days' preparation, 
 Colonel Gillem, who was in command, began an 
 attack on the Indian stronghold. Their position 
 was shelled by mountain howitzers. In the 
 fighting, which lasted four days, sixteen soldiers 
 were killed and thirteen wounded. In a recon- 
 noissance under Captain Thomas a few days 
 later, a body of seventy troops and fourteenWarm 
 Spring Indians ran into an ambush of the In- 
 dians and thirteen soldiers, including Thomas, 
 were killed. Gen. Jefferson C. Davis was placed 
 in command. The Indians were forced out of the 
 lava beds, their water supply having been cut 
 off. They quarreled among themselves, broke 
 up into parties, were chased down and all cap- 
 tured. Captain Jack and Schonchin John, the 
 two leaders, were shackled together. General 
 Davis made preparations to hang these and six 
 or eight others, but orders from Washington 
 stopped him. The leading Indians were tried 
 by court-martial. Captain Jack, Schonchin 
 John, Black Jim and Boston Charley were hung, 
 two others were sentenced to imprisonment for 
 life. The other Modocs, men, women and chil- 
 dren, were sent to a fort in Nebraska and after- 
 wards transferred to the Ouaw Paw Agency in 
 Indian Territory. This ended the Modoc war 
 and virtually put an end to the Modoc Indians. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 SOME POLITICAL HISTORY. 
 
 THE first Chinese emigrants to California 
 arrived in the brig Eagle, from Hong 
 Kong, in the month of February, 1848. 
 They were two men and one woman. This was 
 before the discovery of gold was known abroad. 
 What brought these waifs from the Flowery 
 
 Kingdom to California does not appear in the 
 record. February i, 1849, there were fifty-four 
 Chinamen and one Chinawoman in the territory. 
 January i, 1850, seven hundred and eighty-nine 
 men and two women had arrived. January i, 
 1 85 1, four thousand and eighteen men and seven 
 
230 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 women; a year later their numbers had in- 
 creased to eight thousand one hundred and 
 twenty-one men and eight women; May 7, 1852, 
 eleven thousand seven hundred and eighty men 
 and sev>en women had found their way to the 
 land of gold. The Alta California, from which 
 I take these figures, estimated that between 
 seven and ten thousand more would arrive in 
 the state before January i, 1853. The editor 
 sagely remarks: "No one fears danger or mis- 
 fortune from their excessive numbers." There 
 was no opposition to their coming; on the con- 
 trary, they were welcomed and almost lionized. 
 The Alta of April 27, 1851, remarks: "An 
 American barque yesterday brought eighty 
 worshippers of the sun, moon and many stars. 
 These Celestials make excellent citizens and we 
 are pleased to notice their daily arrival in large 
 numbers." The Alta describes a Great Chinese 
 meeting on Portsmouth Square, which took 
 place in 185 1. It seems to have been held for 
 the purpose of welcoming the Chinese to Cali- 
 fornia and at the same time doing missionary 
 work and distributing religious tracts among 
 them. The report says: "A large assemblage 
 of citizens and several ladies collected on the 
 plaza to witness the ceremonies. Ah Hee assem- 
 bled his division and Ah Sing marched his into 
 Kearny street, where the two divisions united 
 and then marched to the square. Many carried 
 fans. There were several peculiar looking Chi- 
 namen among them. One, a very tall, old Celes- 
 tial with an extensive tail, excited universal at- 
 tention. He had a huge pair of spectacles upon 
 his nose, the glasses of which were about the 
 size of a telescope lens. He also had a singu- 
 larly colored fur mantle or cape upon his shoul- 
 ders and a long sort of robe. We presume he 
 must be a mandarin at least. 
 
 "Vice Consul F. A. Woodworth, His Honor, 
 Major J. W. Geary, Rev. Albert Williams, Rev. 
 A. Fitch and Rev. F. D. Hunt were present. 
 Ah Hee acted as interpreter. The Rev. Hunt 
 gave them some orthodox instruction in which 
 they were informed of the existence of a coun- 
 try where the China boys would never die; this 
 made them laugh quite heartily. Tracts, scrip- 
 tural documents, astronomical works, almanacs 
 and other useful religious and instructive docu- 
 
 ments printed in Chinese characters were dis- 
 tributed among them." 
 
 1 give the report of another meeting of "The 
 Chinese residents of San Francisco," taken 
 from the Alta of December 10, 1849. ^ quote 
 it to show how the Chinese were regarded when 
 they first came to California and how they were 
 flattered and complimented by the presence of 
 distinguished citizens at their meetings. Their 
 treatment a few years later, when they were 
 mobbed and beaten in the streets for no fault 
 of theirs except for coming to a Christian coun- 
 try, must have given them a very poor opinion 
 of the white man's consistency. "A public 
 meeting of the Chinese residents of the town 
 was held on the evening of Monday, November 
 19, at the Canton Restaurant on Jackson street. 
 The following preamble and resolutions were 
 presented and adopted: 
 
 " 'Whereas, It becomes necessary for us, 
 strangers as we are in a strange land, unac- 
 quainted with the language and customs of our 
 adopted country, to have some recognized coun- 
 selor and advisor to whom we may all appeal 
 with confidence for wholesome instruction, and, 
 
 " 'Whereas, We should be at a loss as to what 
 course of action might be necessary for us to 
 pursue therefore, 
 
 " 'Resolved, That a committee of four be _ap- 
 pointed to wait upon Selim E. Woodworth, Esq., 
 and request him in behalf of the Chinese resi- 
 dents of San Francisco to act in the capacity of 
 arbiter and advisor for them.' 
 
 "Mr. Woodworth was waited upon by Ah Hee, 
 Jon Ling, Ah Ting and Ah Toon and kindly 
 consented to act. The whole affair passed off 
 in the happiest manner. Many distinguished 
 guests were present, Hon. J. W. Geary, alcalde; 
 E. H. Harrison, ex-collector of the port, and 
 others." 
 
 At the celebration of the admission of Cali- 
 fornia into the LTnion the "China Boys" were a 
 prominent feature. One report says: "The 
 Celestials had a banner of crimson satin on 
 which were some Chinese characters and the in- 
 scription 'China Boys.' They numbered about 
 fifty and were arrayed in the richest stuff and 
 commanded by their chief. Ah Sing." 
 
 While the "China Bovs" were feted and flat- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 231 
 
 tered in San Francisco they were not so enthu- 
 siastically welcomed by the miners. The legis- 
 lature in 1850 passed a law fixing the rate of 
 license for a foreign miner at $Jo per month. 
 This was intendetl to drive out and keep out of 
 the mines all foreigners, but the rate was so 
 excessively high that it practically nullified the 
 enforcement of the law and it was repealed in 
 1 85 1. As the Chinese were only allowed peace- 
 able possession of mines that would not pay 
 white man's wages they did not make fortunes 
 in the diggings. If by chance the Asiatics 
 should happen to strike it rich in ground aban- 
 doned by white men there was a class among 
 the white miners who did not hesitate to rob the 
 Chinamen of their ground. 
 
 As a result of their persecution in the mines 
 the Chinese flocked to San Francisco and it was 
 not long until that city had more "China Boys" 
 than it needed in its business. The legislature 
 of 1855 enacted a law that masters, owners or 
 consignors of vessels bringing to California 
 persons incompetent to become citizens under 
 the laws of the state should pay a fine of $50 for 
 every such person landed. A suit was brought 
 to test the validity of the act; it was declared 
 unconstitutional. In 1858 the foreign miner's 
 tax was $10 per month and as most of the other 
 foreigners who had arrived in California in the 
 early '50s had by this time become citizens by 
 naturalization the foreigners upon whom the 
 tax bore most heavily were the Chinese who 
 could not become citizens. As a consequence 
 many of them were driven out of the mines and 
 this again decreased the revenue of the mining 
 counties, a large part of which was made up of 
 poll tax and license. 
 
 The classes most bitterly opposed to the Chi- 
 nese in the mines were the saloon-keepers, the 
 gamblers and their constituents. While the 
 Chinaman himself is a most inveterate gambler 
 and not averse to strong drink he did not divest 
 himself of his frugal earnings in the white man's 
 saloon or gambling den, and the gentry who 
 kept these institutions were the first, like Bill 
 Xye in Bret Hartc's poem, to raise the cry, 
 "We are ruined by Chinese cheap labor." 
 While the southern politicians who were the 
 rulers of the state before the Civil war were 
 
 opposed to the Chinese and legislated against 
 them, it was not done in the interest of the white 
 laborer, for at one time they had made an at- 
 tempt to introduce the coolie system, which was 
 to have been a substitute for their beloved in- 
 stitution — slavery. They could not endure the 
 presence of an inferior race not in bondage. The 
 most intolerant and the most bitter opponents 
 of the Chinese then and later when opposition 
 had intensified were certain servile classes of 
 Furopeans who in their native countries had al- 
 ways been kept in a state of servility to the aris- 
 tocracy, but when raised to the dignity of Amer- 
 ican citizens by naturalization proceeded to 
 celebrate their release from their former serf- 
 dom by persecuting the Chinese, whom they re- 
 garded as their inferiors. The outcry these peo- 
 ple made influenced politicians, who pandered to 
 them for the sake of their votes to make laws 
 and ordinances that were often burlesques on 
 legislation. 
 
 In 1870 the legislature enacted a law impos- 
 ing a penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more 
 than $5,000 or imprisonment upon any one 
 bringing to California any subject of China or 
 Japan without first presenting evidence of his 
 or her good character to the commissioner of 
 immigration. The supreme court decided the 
 law unconstitutional. Laws were passed pro- 
 hibiting the employment of Chinese on the pub- 
 lic works; prohibiting them from owning real 
 estate and from obtaining licenses for certain 
 kinds of business. The supervisors of San Fran- 
 cisco passed an ordinance requiring that the 
 hair of any male prisoner convicted of an of- 
 fense should be cut within one inch of his head. 
 This, of course, was aimed at Chinese convicts 
 and intended to deprive them of their queues 
 and degrade them in the estimation of their peo- 
 ple. It was known as the Pig Tail Ordinance; 
 the mayor vetoed it. Another piece of class 
 legislation by the San Francisco supervisors im- 
 posed a license of $15 a cpiarler on laundries 
 using no horses, while a laundry using a one- 
 horse wagon paid but $2 per quarter. The Chi- 
 nese at this time (1876) did not use horses in 
 their laundry business. The courts decided 
 against this ordinance. 
 
 Notwithstanding the laws and ordinances 
 
232 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 against them the Chinese continued to come 
 and they found employment of some kind to 
 keep them from starving. They were indus- 
 trious and economical; there were no Chinese 
 tramps. Although they filled a want in the 
 state, cheap and reliable labor, at the beginning 
 of its railroad and agricultural development, 
 they were not desirable citizens. Their habits 
 ^ and morals were bad. Their quarters in the 
 cities reeked with filth and immorality. They 
 maintained their Asiatic customs and despised 
 the "white devils" among whom they lived, 
 which, by the way, was not strange considering 
 the mobbing and maltreatment they received 
 from the other aliens. They made merchandise 
 of their women and carried on a revolting sys- 
 tem of female slavery. 
 
 The Burlingamc treaty guaranteed mutual 
 protection to the citizens of China and the 
 United States on each other's soil ; to freedom in 
 religious opinions; to the right to reside in 
 either country at will and other privileges ac- 
 corded to civilized nations. Under this treaty 
 the Chinese could not be kept out of California 
 and agitation was begun for the modification or 
 entire abrogation 'of the treaty. 
 
 For a number of years there had been a steady 
 decline in the price of labor. Various causes 
 had contributed to this. The productiveness of 
 the mines had decreased; railroad communica- 
 tion with the east had brought in a number of 
 W'orkmen and increased competition; the efforts 
 of thelabor unions to decrease the hours of labor 
 and still keep up the wages at the old standard 
 had resulted in closing up some of the manu- 
 facturing establishments, the proprietors finding 
 it impossible to compete with eastern factories. 
 All these and other causes brought about a de- 
 pression in business and brought on in 1877-78 
 a labor agitation that shook the foundations of 
 our social fabric. The hard times and decline in 
 wages was charged against the Chinese. No 
 doubt the presence of the Mongolians in Cali- 
 fornia had considerable to do with it and par- 
 ticularly in the lower grades of emplovment 
 but the depression was mainly caused from 
 over-production and the financial crisis of 1873, 
 which had afTected the whole L'^nited States. 
 Another cause local to California was the wild 
 
 mania for stock gambling that had prevailed in 
 California for a number of years. The bonanza 
 kings of the Washoe by getting up corners in 
 stocks running up fraudulent values and then 
 unloading on outside buyers had impoverished 
 thousands of people of small means and enriched 
 themselves without any return to their dupes. 
 
 Hard times always brings to the front a class 
 of noisy demagogues who with no remedy to 
 prescribe increase the discontent by vitupera- 
 tive abuse of everybody outside of their sym- 
 pathizers. The first of the famous sand lot mass 
 meetings of San Francisco was held July 23, 
 1877, on a vacant lot on the Market street 
 side of the city hall. Harangues were made and 
 resolutions passed denouncing capitalists, de- 
 claring against subsidies to steamship and rail- 
 road lines, declaring that the reduction of wages 
 was part of a conspiracy for the destruction of 
 the republic and that the military should not be 
 employed against strikers. An anti-coolie club 
 was formed and on that and the two succeeding 
 evenings a number of Chinese laundries were 
 destroyed. In a fight between the police (aided 
 by the committee of safety) and the rioters sev- 
 eral of the latter were killed. Threats were 
 made to destroy the railroad property and burn 
 the vessels of the Pacific Mail Steamship Com- 
 pany unless the Chinese in their employ were 
 immediately discharged. 
 
 Among the agitators that this ebullition of dis- 
 content threw to the front was an Irish dray- 
 man named Dennis Kearney. He was shrewd 
 f nough to see that some notoriety and political 
 capital could be made by the organization of a 
 Workingmen's party. 
 
 On the 5th of October a permanent organiza- 
 tion of the Workingmen's party of California was 
 effected. Dennis Kearney was chosen president, 
 J. G. Day, vice-president, and H. L. Knight, sec- 
 retary. The principles of the party were the con- 
 densed essence of selfishness. The working 
 classes were to be elevated at the expense of 
 every other. "We propose to elect none but com- 
 petent workingmen and their friends to any of- 
 fice whatever." "The rich have ruled us till thev 
 have ruined us." "The republic must and shall 
 be preserved, and only workingmen will do it." 
 "This party will exhaust all peaceable means of 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 23:". 
 
 attaining- its ends, but it will not be denied jus- 
 tice when it has the power to enforce it." "It 
 will encourage no riot or outrage, but it will 
 not volunteer to repress or put down or arrest, 
 or prosecute the hungry and impatient who 
 manifest their hatred of the Chinamen by a cru- 
 sade against John or those who employ him." 
 These and others as irrelevant and immaterial 
 were the principles of the Workingmen's party 
 that was to bring the millennium. The move- 
 ment spread rapidly, clubs were formed in every 
 ward in San Francisco and there were organiza- 
 tions in all the cities of the state. The original 
 leaders were all of foreign birth, but when tlie 
 movement became popular native born dema- 
 gogues, perceiving in it an opportunity to ob- 
 tain office, abandoned the old parties and joined 
 the new. 
 
 Kearney now devoted his whole time to agi- 
 tation, and the applause he received from his 
 followers pampered his inordinate conceit. His 
 language was highly incendiary. He advised 
 every workingman to own a musket and one 
 hundred rounds of ammunition and urged the 
 formation of military companies. He posed as 
 a reformer and even hoped for martyrdom. In 
 one of his harangues he said: "If I don't get 
 killed I will do more than any reformer in the 
 history of the world. I hope I will be assassi- 
 nated, for the success of the movement depends 
 on that." The incendiary rant of Kearney and 
 his fellows became alarming. It was a tame 
 meeting, at which no "thieving millionaire, 
 scoundrelly official or extortionate railroad mag- 
 nate" escaped lynching by the tongues of la- 
 borite reformers. The charitable people of the 
 city had raised by subscription $20,000 to al- 
 leviate the prevailing distress among the poor. 
 It was not comforting to a rich man to hear 
 himself doomed to "hemp! hemp! hemp!" 
 simply because by industry, economy and enter- 
 prise he had made a fortune. It became evident 
 that if Kearney and his associates were allowed 
 to talk of hanging men and burning the city 
 some of their dupes would put in practice the 
 teachings of their leaders. The supervisors, 
 urged on by the better class of citizens, passed 
 an ordinance called by the sand-lotters "Gibbs' 
 gag law." On the 29th of October, Kearney and 
 
 his fellow agitators, with a mob of two or three 
 thousand followers, held a meeting on Nob Hill, 
 where Stanford, Crocker, Hopkins and other 
 railroad magnates had built palatial residences. 
 He roundly denounced as thieves the nabobs of 
 Nob Hill and declared that they would soon feel 
 the power of the workingmen. When his party 
 was thoroughly organized they would march 
 through the city and compel the thieves to give 
 up their plunder; that he would lead them to the 
 city hall, clear out the pohce, hang the pros- 
 ecuting attorney, burn every book that had a 
 particle of law in it, and then enact new laws 
 for the workingmen. These and other utter- 
 ances equally inflammatory caused his arrest 
 while addressing a meeting on the borders of 
 the Barbary coast. Trouble was expected, l:)Ut 
 he quietly submitted and was taken to jail and a 
 few days later Day, Knight, C. C. O'Donnell and 
 Charles E. Pickett were arrested on charges of 
 inciting riot and taken to jail. A few days in 
 jail cooled them off and they began to "squeal." 
 They addressed a letter to the mayor, saying 
 their utterances had been incorrectly reported 
 by the press and that if released they were will- 
 ing to submit to any wise measure to allay the 
 excitement. They were turned loose after two 
 weeks' imprisonment and their release was cele- 
 brated on Thanksgiving Day, November 29, by 
 a ffrand demonstration of sand lotters — seven 
 thousand of whom paraded the streets. 
 
 It was not long before Kearney and his fel- 
 lows were back on the sand lots hurling out 
 threats of lynching, burning and blowing up. 
 On January 5 the grand jury presented indict- 
 ments against Kearney, Wellock, Knight, 
 O'Donnell and Pickett. They were all released 
 on the rulings of the judge of the criminal court 
 on the grounds that no actual riot had taken 
 place. 
 
 The first victory of the so-called Working- 
 men's party was the election of a state senator in 
 Alameda county to fill a vacancy caused by the 
 death of Senator Porter. An individual by the 
 name of John W. Bones was elected. On ac- 
 count of his being long and lean he was known 
 as Barebones and sometimes Praise God Bare- 
 bones. His onlv services in the senate were the 
 perpetration of some doggerel verses and a 
 
234 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 speech or two on Kearney's theme, "The Chi- 
 nese Must Go." At the election held June 19, 
 1878, to choose delegates to a constitutional 
 convention of the one hundred and fifty-two 
 delegates the Workingmen elected fifty-seven, 
 thirty-one of whom were from San Francisco. 
 The convention met at Sacramento, September 
 28, 1878, and continued to sit in all one hundred 
 and fifty-seven days. It was a mixed assem- 
 blag-e. Tliere were some of the ablest men in 
 the state in it, and there were some of the most 
 narrow minded and intolerant bigots there. The 
 Workingmen flocked by themselves, while the 
 non-partisans, the Republicans and Democrats, 
 for the most part, acted in unison. Opposition 
 to the Chinese, which was a fundamental prin- 
 ciple of the Workingmen's creed, was not con- 
 fined to them alone; some of the non-partisans 
 were as bitter in their hatred of the Mongolians 
 as the Kearncyites. Some of the crudities pro- 
 posed for insertion in the new constitution were 
 laughable for their absurdity. One sand lotter 
 proposed to amend the bill of rights, that all men 
 are by nature free and independent, to read, "All 
 men who are capable of becoming citizens of the 
 United States are by nature free and inde- 
 pendent." One non-partisan wanted to incor- 
 porate into the fundamental law of the state 
 Kearney's slogan, "The Chinese Must Go." 
 
 After months of discussion the convention 
 evolved a constitution that the ablest men in 
 that body repudiated, some of them going so far 
 as to take the stump against it. But at the elec- 
 tion it carried by a large majority. Kearney 
 continued his sand lot harangues. In the sum- 
 mer of 1879 he made a trip through the south- 
 ern counties of the state, delivering his diatribes 
 against the railroad magnates, the land mo- 
 nopolists and the Chinese. At the town of Santa 
 Ana, now the county seat of Orange county, in 
 his harangue he made a vituperative attack 
 upon the McFadden Brothers, who a year or 
 two before had built a steamer and run it in op- 
 position to the regular coast line steamers until 
 forced to sell it on account of losses incurred by 
 the competition. Kearney made a number of 
 false and libelous statements in regard to the 
 transaction. \\'hile he was waiting for the stage 
 to San Diego in front of the hotel he was con- 
 
 fronted by Rule, an employee of the McFad- 
 den's, with an imperious demand for the name of 
 Kearney's informant. Kearney turned white 
 with fear and blubbered out something about 
 not giving away his friends. Rule struck him 
 a blow that sent him reeling against the build- 
 ing. Gathering himself together he made a rush 
 into the hotel, drawing a pistol as he ran. Rule 
 pursued him through the dining room and out 
 across a vacant lot and into a drug store, where 
 he downed him and, holding him down with his 
 knee on his breast, demanded the name of his 
 informer. One of the slandered men pulled 
 Rule off the "martyr" and Kearney, with a face 
 resembling a beefsteak, took his departure to 
 San Diego. From that day on he ceased his 
 vituperative attacks on individuals. He had met 
 the only argument that could convince him of 
 the error of his ways. He lost caste with his 
 fellows. This braggadocio, who had boasted of 
 leading armies to conquer the enemies of the 
 Workingmen, with a pistol in his hand had 
 ignominiously fled from an unarmed man and 
 had taken a humiliating punishment without a 
 show of resistance. His following began to de- 
 sert him and Kearney went if the Chinese did 
 not. The Workingmen's party put up a state 
 ticket in 1879, but it was beaten at the polls and 
 Vifent to pieces. In 1880 James Angell of Mich- 
 igan, John F. Swift of California, and William 
 H. Trescott of South Carolina were appointed 
 commissioners to proceed to China for the pur- 
 pose of forming new treaties. An agreement 
 was reached with the Chinese authorities by 
 which laborers could be debarred for a certain 
 period from entering the United States. Those 
 in the country were all allowed the rights that 
 aliens of other countries had. The senate ratified 
 the treaty May 5th, 1881. 
 
 The following is a list of the governors of Cal- 
 ifornia, Spanish, Mexican and American, with 
 date of appointment or election: Spanish: 
 Caspar de Portola, 1767; Felipe Barri, 1771; 
 Felipe de Neve, 1774; Pedro Pages, 1790; Jose 
 Antonio Romeu, 1790; Jose Joaquin de Ar- 
 rillaga, 1792; Diego de Borica, 1794; Jose Joa- 
 quin de Arrillaga, 1800; Jose Arguello, 181 4: 
 Pablo Vicente de Sola, 181 5. Mexican gov- 
 ernors: Pablo Vicente de Sola, 1822; Luis 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 235 
 
 Arguello, 1823; Jose Maria Echeandia, 1825; 
 Manuel \ictoria, 1831; Pio Pico, 1832; Jose 
 Maria Echeandia, Agustin Zamorano, 1832; 
 Jose Figueroa, 1833; Jose Castro, 1835; Nicolas 
 Gutierrez, 1836; Mariano Cliico, 1836; Nicolas 
 Gutierrez, 1836; Juan B. Alvarado, 1836; Man- 
 uel Micheltorena, 1842; Pio Pico, 1845. Amer- 
 ican military governors: Commodore Robert 
 F. Stockton, 1846; Col. John C. Fremont, Jan- 
 uary, 1847; Gen. Stephen W. Kearny, March 
 I, 1847; Col. Richard B. Mason, May 31, 1847; 
 Gen. Bennet Riley, April 13, 1849. American 
 governors elected: Peter H. Burnett, 1849. 
 John McDougal, Lieutenant-governor, became 
 governor on resignation of P. H. Burnett in 
 January, 1851; John Bigler, 1851; John Bigler, 
 
 '^"^53; J- Necly Johnson, 1855; John B. Weller, 
 1857; M. S. Latham, 1859; John G. Downey, 
 lieutenant-governor, became governor in 1859 
 I)y election of Latham to United States senate; 
 Leland Stanford, 1861 ; Frederick F. Low, 1863; 
 Henry H. Haight, 1867; Newton Booth, 1871 ; 
 Romualdo Pacheco, lieutenant governor, be- 
 came governor Fei)ruary, 1875, on election of 
 Booth to the United States senate; William Ir- 
 win, 1875; George C. Perkins, 1879; George 
 Stoneman, 1882; Washington Bartlett, 1886; 
 Robert W. Waterman, lieutenant-governor, be- 
 came governor September 12, 1887, upon the 
 death of Governor Bartlett; H. H. Markham, 
 i8go: James H. Budd, 1894: Henrv T. Gage, 
 1898. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 THE Franciscans, unlike the Jesuits, were 
 not the patrons of education. The}' 
 bent all their energies towards pros- 
 elyting. Their object was to fit their converts 
 for the next world. An ignorant soul might 
 be as happy in paradise as the most learned. 
 Why educate the neophyte? He was converted, 
 baptized and when granted absolution had his 
 passport to heaven. There were no public 
 schools at the missions. A few of the brightest 
 of the neophytes, who were trained to sing in 
 the church choirs, were taught to read, but the 
 great mass of them, even those of the third gen- 
 eration, born and reared at the missions, were 
 as ignorant of book learning as were their great- 
 grandfathers, who ran naked among the oak 
 trees of the mesas and fed on acorns. 
 
 Nor was there much attention paid to edu- 
 cation among the gcnte de razon of the pre- 
 sidios and pueblos. But few of the common 
 people could read and write. Their ancestors 
 had made their way in the world without book 
 learning. Why should the child know more 
 than the parent? And trained to have great filial 
 regard for his parent, it was not often that 
 the progeny aspired to rise higher in the scale 
 
 of intelligence than his progenitor. Of the 
 eleven heads of families who founded Los An- 
 geles, not one could sign his name to the title 
 deed of his house lot. Nor were these an ex- 
 ceptionally ignorant collection of hombres. Out 
 of fifty men comprising the Monterey company 
 in 1785, but fourteen could write. In the com- 
 I'any stationed at San Francisco in 1794 not a 
 soldier among them could read or write; and 
 forty years later of one hundred men at Sonoma 
 not one could write his name. 
 
 The first community want the American pio- 
 neers supplied was the school house. Wher- 
 ever the immigrants from the New England 
 and the middle states planted a settlement, there, 
 at tlie same time, they planted a school house. 
 The first community want that the Spanish 
 pabladores (colonists) supplied was a church. 
 The school house was not wanted or if wanted it 
 v>as a long felt want that was rarely or never 
 satisfied. At the time of the acquisition of Cal- 
 ifornia by the Americans, seventy-seven years 
 from the date of its first settlement, there was 
 not a public school house owned by any pre- 
 sidio, pueblo or city in all its territory. 
 
 The first public school in California was 
 
236 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 opened in San Jose in December, 1794, seven- 
 teen years after the founding of tliat pueblo. 
 The pioneer teaclier of California was Alanuel 
 de Vargas, a retired sergeant of infantry. The 
 school was opened in the public granary. 
 Vargas, in 1795, was ofTered $250 to open a 
 school in San Diego. As this was higher wages 
 than he was receiving he accepted the offer. 
 Jose Manuel Toca, a gainnic or ship boy, ar- 
 rived on a Spanish transport in 1795 and the 
 same year was employed at Santa Barbara as 
 schoolmaster at a yearly salary of $125. Thus 
 the army and the navy pioneered education in 
 California. 
 
 Governor Borica, the founder of public 
 schools in California, resigned in 1800 and was 
 succeeded by Arrillaga. Governor Arrillaga, if 
 not opposed to, was at least indififerent to the 
 education of the common people. He took life 
 easy and the schools took long vacations; in- 
 deed, it was nearly all vacation during his term. 
 Governor Sola, the successor of Arrillaga, made 
 an effort to establish public schools, but the in- 
 difTerence of the people discouraged him. In 
 the lower pueblo, Los Angeles, the first school 
 was opened in 18 17, thirty-six years after the 
 foundingf of the town. The first teacher there 
 was Maximo Piiia, an invalid soldier. He re- 
 ceived $140 a year for his services as school- 
 master. If the records are correct, his was the 
 only school taught in Los Angeles during the 
 Spanish regime. One year of schooling to forty 
 years of vacation, there was no educational 
 cramming in those days. The schoolmasters of 
 the Spanish era were invalid soldiers, possessed 
 of that dangerous thing, a "little learning;" and 
 it was very little indeed. About all they could 
 teach was reading, writing and the doctrina 
 Christiana. They were brutal tyrants and their 
 school government a military despotism. They 
 did not spare the rod or the child, either. Tlie 
 rod was too mild an instrument of punishment. 
 Their implement of torture was a cat-o'-nine- 
 tails, made of hempen cords with iron points. 
 To fail in learning the doctrina Christiana was 
 an unpardonable sin. For this, for laughing 
 aloud, playing truant or other offenses no more 
 heinous, the guilty boy "was stretched face 
 downward uoon a bench with a handkerchief 
 
 thrust into his mouth as a gag and lashed with a 
 dozen or more blows until the blood ran down 
 his little lacerated back." If he could not im- 
 bibe the Christian doctrine in any other way, 
 it was injected into him with the points of the 
 lash. 
 
 Mexico did better for education in California 
 than Spain. The school terms were lengthened 
 and the vacation shortened proportionally. Gov- 
 ernor Echeandia, a man iiated by the friars, was 
 an enthusiastic friend of education. "He be- 
 lieved in the gratuitous and compulsory educa- 
 tion of rich and poor, Indians and gciitc dc 
 racon alike." He held that learning was the 
 corner-stone of a people's wealth and it was the 
 duty of the government to foster education. 
 When the friars heard of his views "they called 
 upon God to pardon the unfortunate ruler un- 
 able to comprehend how vastly superior a re- 
 ligious education was to one merely secular.* 
 Echeandia made a brave attempt to establish a 
 public school system in the territory. He de- 
 manded of the friars that they establish a school 
 at each mission for the neophytes; they prom- 
 ised, but, with the intention of evading, a show 
 was made of opening schools. Soon it was re- 
 ported that the funds were exhausted and the 
 schools had to close for want of means to sup- 
 port them. Nor was Echeandia more successful 
 with the people. He issued an order to the 
 commanding officers at the presidios to compel 
 parents to send their children to school. The 
 school at Monterey was opened, the alcalde act- 
 ing as schoolmaster. The school furniture con- 
 sisted of one table and the school books were 
 one arithmetic and four primers. The school 
 funds were as meager as the school furniture. 
 Echeandia, unable to contend against the enmity 
 of the friars, the indifference of the parents and 
 the lack of funds, reluctantly abandoned his 
 futile fight against ignorance. 
 
 One of the most active and earnest friends of 
 the public schools during the Mexican era was 
 the much abused Governor Micheltorena. He 
 made an earnest effort to establish a public 
 school system in California. Through his efforts 
 schools were established in all the principal 
 
 *Baiicro{t's California Pastoral. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 237 
 
 towns and a guarantee of $500 from the ter- 
 ritorial funds promised to each school. Michel- 
 torena promulgated what might be called the 
 first school law of California. It was a decree 
 issued May i, 1844, and consisted of ten articles, 
 which prescribed what should be taught in the 
 schools, school hours, school age of the pupils 
 and other regulations. Article 10 named the 
 most holy virgin of Guadalupe as patroness of 
 the schools. Her image was to be placed in 
 each school. But, like all his predecessors, 
 Micheltorena failed: the funds were soon ex- 
 hausted and the schools closed. 
 
 Even had the people been able to read there 
 would have been nothing for them to read but 
 religious books. The friars kept vigilant watch 
 that no interdicted books were brought into the 
 country. If any were found they were seized 
 and publicly burned. Castro, Alvarado and Val- 
 lejo were at one time excommunicated for read- 
 ing Rousseau's works, Telemachus and other 
 books on the prohibited list. Alvarado having 
 declined to pay Father Duran some money he 
 owed him because it was a sin to have anything 
 to do with an excommunicated person, and 
 therefore it would be a sin for the father to take 
 money from him, the padre annulled the sen- 
 tence, received the money and gave Alvarado 
 permission to read anything he wished. 
 
 During the war for the conquest of California 
 and for some time afterwards the schools were 
 all closed. The wild rush to the gold mines in 
 1848 carried away the male population. No one 
 would stay at home and teach school for the 
 paltry pay given a schoolmaster. The ayunta- 
 miento of Los Angeles in the winter of 1849-50 
 appointed a committee to establish a school. 
 After a three months' hunt the committee re- 
 ported "that an individual had just presented 
 himself who, although he did not speak English, 
 yet could he teach the children many useful 
 things; and besides the same person had man- 
 aged to get the refusal of Mrs. Pollerena's house 
 for school purpose." At the next meeting of the 
 ayuntamiento the committee reported that the 
 individual who had ofTered to teach had left for 
 the mines and neither a school house nor a 
 schoolmaster could be found. 
 
 In June, 1850, the ayuntamiento entered into 
 
 a contract with P>ancisco Bustamente, an ex- 
 soldier, "to teach to the children first, second 
 and third lessons and likewise to read script, to 
 write and count and so much as I may be com- 
 petent to teach them orthography and good 
 morals." Bustamente was to receive $60 per 
 month and $20 for house rent. This was the 
 first school opened in Los Angeles after the 
 conquest. 
 
 "The first American school in San Francisco 
 and, we believe, in California, was a merely pri- 
 vate enterprise. It was opened by a Mr. Mars- 
 ton from one of the Atlantic states in April, 
 1847, in a small shanty which stood on the block 
 between Broadway and Pacific streets, west of 
 Dupont street. There he collected some twenty 
 or thirty pupils, whom he continued to teach for 
 almost a whole year, his patrons paying for tui- 
 tion."* 
 
 In the fall of 1847 a school house was built 
 on the southwest corner of Portsmouth square, 
 fronting on Clay street. The money to build it 
 was raised by subscription. It was a very mod- 
 est structure — box shaped with a door and two 
 windows in the front and two windows in each 
 end. It served a variety of purposes besides that 
 of a school house. It was a pubHc hall for all 
 kinds of meetings. Churches held service in it. 
 The first public amusements were given in it. 
 At one time it was used for a court room. The 
 first meeting to form a state government was 
 held in it. It was finally degraded to a police 
 office and a station house. For some time after 
 it was built no school was kept in it for want of 
 funds. 
 
 On the 2ist of February, 1848, a town meet- 
 ing was called for the election of a board of 
 school trustees and Dr. F. Fourguard, Dr. J. 
 Townsend, C. L. Ross, J. Serrini and William 
 H. Davis were chosen. On the 3d of April fol- 
 lowing these trustees opened a school in the 
 school house under the charge of Thomas 
 Douglas, A. M., a graduate of Yale College and 
 an experienced teacher of high reputation. The 
 board pledged him a salary of $1,000 per an- 
 num and fixed a tarifif of tuition to aid towards 
 its payment; and the town council, afterwards, 
 
 Annals of San Francisco. 
 
238 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to make up any deficiency, appropriated to the 
 payment of the teacher of the pubUc school in 
 this place $200 at the expiration of twelve 
 months from the commencement of the school. 
 "Soon after this Mr. Marston discontinued his 
 private school and Mr. Douglas collected some 
 forty pupils."* 
 
 The school flourished for eight or ten weeks. 
 Gold had been discovered and rumors were 
 coming thick and fast of fortunes made in a day. 
 A thousand dollars a year looked large to Mr. 
 Douglas when the contract was made, but in the 
 light of recent events it looked rather small. 
 A man in the diggings might dig out $1,000 in a 
 week. So the schoolmaster laid down the 
 pedagogical birch, shouldered his pick and hied 
 himself away to the diggings. In the rush for 
 gold, education was forgotten. December 12, 
 
 1848. Charles W. H. Christian reopened the 
 school, charging tuition at the rate of $10. Evi- 
 dently he did not teach longer than it took him 
 to earn money to reach the mines. April 23, 
 
 1849, the Rev. Albert Williams, pastor of the 
 First Presbyterian church, obtained the use of 
 the school house and opened a private school, 
 charging tuition. He gave up school teaching 
 to attend to his ministerial duties. In the fall 
 of '49 John C. Pelton, a Massachusetts school- 
 master, arrived in San Francisco and December 
 26 opened a school with three pupils in the Bap- 
 tist church on Washington street. He fitted up 
 the church with writing tables and benches at 
 his own expense, depending on voluntary con- 
 tributions for his support. In the spring of 
 1850 he applied to the city council for relief and 
 for his services and that of his wife he received 
 $500 a month till the summer of 185 1, when he 
 closed his school. 
 
 •Col. T. J. Nevins, in June, 1850, obtained rent 
 free the use of a building near the present inter- 
 section of Mission and Second streets for school 
 purposes. He employed a Mr. Samuel New- 
 ton as teacher. The school was opened July 
 13. The school passed under the supervision 
 of several teachers. The attendance was small 
 at first and the school was supported by con- 
 tributions, but later the council voted an ap- 
 
 * Annals of San Francisco. 
 
 propriation. The school was closed in 1851. 
 Colonel Nevins, in January, 1851, secured a 
 fifty-vara lot at Spring Valley on the Presidio 
 road and built principally by subscription a 
 large school building, employed a teacher and 
 opened a free school, supported by contributions. 
 The building was afterwards leased to the city 
 to be used for a free school, the term of the 
 lease running ninety-nine years. This was the 
 first school building in which the city had an 
 ownership. Colonel Nevins prepared an ordi- 
 nance for the establishment, regulation and 
 support of free common schools in the city. 
 The ordinance was adopted by the city council 
 September 25, 185 1, and was the first ordinance 
 establishing free schools and providing for their 
 maintenance in San Francisco. 
 
 A bill to provide for a public school system 
 was introduced in the legislature of 1850, but 
 the committee on education reported that it 
 would be two or three years before any means 
 would become available from the liberal pro- 
 visions of the constitution; in the meantime 
 the persons who had children to educate could 
 do it out of their own pockets. So all action 
 was postponed and the people who had children 
 l)aid for their tuition or let them run without 
 schooling. 
 
 The first school law was passed in 1851. It 
 was drafted mainly by G. B. Lingley, John C. 
 Pelton and the superintendent of public instruc- 
 tion, J. G. Marvin. It was revised and amended 
 by the legislatures of 1852 and 1853. The state 
 school fund then was derived from the sale and 
 rental of five hundred thousand acres of state 
 land; the estates of deceased persons escheated 
 to the state; state poll tax and a state tax of 
 five cents on each $100 of assessed property. 
 Congress in 1853 granted to California the i6th 
 and 36th sections of the public lands for school 
 purposes. The total amount of this grant was 
 si.x million seven hundred and sixty-five thou- 
 sand five hundred and four acres, of which 
 forty-six thousand and eighty acres were to be 
 deducted for the founding of a state university 
 or college and six thousand four hundred acres 
 for public buildings. 
 
 The first apportionment of state funds was 
 made in 1854. The amount of state funds for 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 239 
 
 that year was $52,961. The county and mu- 
 nicipal school taxes amounted to $157,702. 
 These amounts were supplemented by rate bills 
 to the amount of $42,557. In 1856 the state 
 fund had increased to $69,961, while rate bills 
 had decreased to $28,619. That year there were 
 thirty thousand and thirty-nine children of 
 school age in the state, of these only about 
 fifteen thousand were enrolled in the schools. 
 
 In the earlier years, following the American 
 conquest, the schools were confined almost en- 
 tirely to the cities. The population in the coun- 
 try districts was too sparse to maintain a school. 
 The first school house in Sacramento was built 
 in 1849. It was located on I street. C. H. T. 
 Palmer opened school in it in August. It was 
 supported by rate bills and donations. He gath- 
 ered together about a dozen pupils. The school 
 was soon discontinued. Several other parties 
 in succession tried school keeping in Sacra- 
 mento, but did not make a success of it. It was 
 not until 185 1 that a permanent school was es- 
 tablished. A public school was taught in Mon- 
 terey in 1849 by Rev. Willey. The school was 
 kept in Colton Hall. The first public school 
 house in Los Angeles was built in 1854. Hugh 
 Overns taught the first free school there in 1850. 
 
 The amount paid for teachers' salaries in 1854 
 was $85,860; in 1900 it reached $4,850,804. The 
 total expenditures for school purposes in 1854 
 amounted to $275,606; in 1900 to $6,195,438. 
 The first high school in the state was established 
 in San Francisco in 1856. In 1900 there were 
 one hundred and twenty high scliools with an 
 attendance of twelve thousand one hundred and 
 seventy-nine students. Two million dollars were 
 invested in high school buildings, furniture and 
 grounds. Five lumdred teachers were employed 
 in these schools. 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 This institution was chartered in August, 
 185 1, as the California Wesleyan College, which 
 name was afterwards changed by act of the leg- 
 islature to that it now bears. The charter was 
 obtained under the general law of the state as 
 it then was, and on the basis of a subscription 
 of $27,500 and a donation of some ten acres of 
 land adjacent to the village of Santa Clara. A 
 
 school buikling was erected in which the pre- 
 paratory department was opened in May, 1852, 
 under the charge of Rev. E. Banister as prin- 
 cipal, aided by two assistant teachers, and be- 
 fore the end of the first session had over sixty 
 pupils. Near the close of the following year 
 another edifice was so far comjileted that the 
 male pupils were transferred to it, and the Fe- 
 male Collegiate Institute, with its special course 
 of study, was organized and continued in the 
 original building. In 1854 the classes of the 
 college proper were formed and the requisite 
 arrangement with respect to president, faculty, 
 and course of study made. In 1858 two young 
 men, constituting the first class, received the de- 
 gree of A. B., they being the first to receive 
 that honor from any college in California. In 
 1865 the board of trustees purchased the Stock- 
 ton rancho, a large body of land adjoining the 
 town of Santa Clara. This was subdivided into 
 lots and small tracts and sold at a profit. By 
 this means an endowment was secured and an 
 excellent site for new college building obtamed. 
 
 THE COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 The question of founding a college or uni- 
 versity in California had been discussed early in 
 1849, before the assembling of the constitutional 
 convention at San Jose. The originator of the 
 idea was the Rev. Samuel H. Willey, D. D., of 
 the Presbyterian church. At that time he was 
 stationed at Monterey. The first legislature 
 passed a bill providing for the granting of col- 
 lege charters. The bill required that application 
 should be made to the supreme court, which was 
 to determine whether the property possessed by 
 the proposed college was worth $20,000, and 
 whether in other respects a charter should be 
 granted. A body of land for a college site had 
 been offered by James Stokes and Kimball H. 
 Dimmick to be selected from a large tract they 
 owned on the Guadalupe river, near San Jose. 
 When application was made for a college char- 
 ter the supreme court refused to give a charter 
 to the applicants on the plea that the land 
 was unsurveycd and the title nol fully deter- 
 mined. 
 
 The Rev. Henry Durant, who had at one time 
 been a tutor in Yale College, came to California 
 
240 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in 1S53 to engage in teaching. At a meeting 
 of the presbytery of San Francisco and the Con- 
 gregational Association of California held in 
 Nevada City in May, 1853, which ]Mr. Durant 
 attended, it was decided to establish an acad- 
 emy at Oakland. There were but few houses 
 in Oakland then and the only communication 
 with San Francisco was by means of a little 
 steamer that crossed the bay two or three times 
 a day. A house was obtained at the corner of 
 Broadway and Fifth street and the academy 
 opened with three pupils. A site was selected 
 for the school, which, when the streets were 
 opened, proved to be four blocks, located be- 
 tween Twelfth and Fourteenth, Franklin and 
 Harrison streets. The site of Oakland at that 
 time was covered with live oaks and the sand 
 was knee deep. Added to other discourage- 
 ments, titles were in dispute and squatters were 
 seizing upon the vacant lots. A building was 
 begun for the school, the monev ran out and 
 the property was in danger of seizure on a me- 
 chanics' lien, but was rescued by the bravery 
 and resourcefulness of Dr. Durant. 
 
 In 1855 the College of California was char- 
 tered and a search begun for a permanent site. 
 A number were offered at various places in the 
 state. The trustees finally selected the Berkeley 
 site, a tract of one hundred and sixty acres on 
 Strawberry creek near Oakland, opposite the 
 Golden Gate. The college school in Oakland 
 was flourishing. A new building, Academy 
 Flail, was erected in 1858. A college faculty 
 was organized. The Rev. Henry Durant and 
 the Rev. IMartin Kellogg were chosen pro- 
 fessors and the first college class was organized 
 in June, i860. The college classes were taught 
 in the buildings of the college school, which 
 were usually called the College of California. 
 The college classes were small and the endow- 
 ment smaller. The faculty met with many dis- 
 couragements. It became evident that the in- 
 stitution could never become a prominent one 
 in the educational field with the limited means 
 of support it could command. In 1863 the idea 
 of a state university began to be agitated. A bill 
 was passed bv the state legislature in 1866, de- 
 voting to the support of a narrow polytechnical 
 school, the federal land f^rants to California for 
 
 the support of agricultural schools and a college 
 of mechanics. The trustees of the College of 
 California proposed in 1867 to transfer to the 
 state the college site at Berkeley, opposite the 
 Golden Gate, together with all the other assets 
 remaining after the debts were paid, on con- 
 dition that the state would build a University of 
 California on the site at Berkeley, which should 
 be a classical and technological college. 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF C.\LIF0RNI.\. 
 
 A bill for the establishing of a state university 
 was introduced in the legislature March 5, 1868, 
 by Hon. John W. Dwindle of Alameda county. 
 After some amendments it was finally passed, 
 March 21, and on the 27th of the same month a 
 bill was passed making an appropriation for the 
 support of the institution. 
 
 The board of regents of the university was 
 organized June 9, 1868, and the same day Gen. 
 George B. McClellan was elected president of 
 the university, but at that time being engaged in 
 building Stevens Battery at New York he de- 
 clined the honor. September 23, i86g, the 
 scholastic exercises of the university were be- 
 gun in the buildings of the College of Califor- 
 nia in Oakland and the first university class was 
 graduated in June, 1873. The new buildings of 
 the university at Berkeley were occupied in 
 September, 1873. Prof. John Le Conte was act- 
 ing president for the first year. Dr. Henry 
 Durant was chosen to fill that position and was 
 succeeded by D. C. Oilman in 1872. The corner- 
 stone of the Agricultural College, called the 
 South Hall, was laid in August, 1872, and that 
 of the North Hall in the spring of 1873. 
 
 The university, as now constituted, consists 
 of Colleges of Letters, Social Science, Agricul- 
 ture, Alechanics, Mining, Civil Engineering. 
 Chemistry and Commerce, located at Berkeley; 
 the Lick Astronomical Department at Mount 
 Hamilton: and the professional and affiliated 
 colleges in San Francisco, namely, the Hastings 
 College of Law, the Medical Department, the 
 Post-Graduate Medical Department, the Col- 
 lege of Dentistry and Pharmacy, the A^eterinary 
 Department and the Mark Hopkins Institute of 
 .A.rt. The total value of the property belonging 
 to the university at this time is about $5,000,000 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 241 
 
 and the endowment funds nearly $3,000,000. 
 The total income in 1900 was $475,254. 
 
 LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY. 
 
 "When the intention of Senator Stanford to 
 found a university in memory of his lamented 
 son was first announced, it was expected from 
 the broad and comprehensive views which he 
 was known to entertain upon the subject, that 
 his plans, when formed, would result in no ordi- 
 nary college endowment or educational scheme, 
 but when these plans were laid before the people 
 their magnitude was so far beyond the most ex- 
 travagant of public anticipation that all were as- 
 tonished at the magnificence of their aggregate, 
 the wide scope of their detail and the absolute 
 grandeur of their munificence. The brief his- 
 tory of California as an American state com- 
 prises much that is noble and great, but nothing 
 in that history will compare in grandeur with 
 this act of one of her leading citizens. The 
 records of history may be searched in vain for 
 a parallel to this gift of Senator Stanford to the 
 state of his adoption. * * * By this act 
 Senator Stanford will not only immortalize the 
 memory of his son, but will erect for himself a 
 monument more enduring than brass or marble, 
 for it will be enshrined in the hearts of succeed- 
 ing generations for all time to come."* 
 
 Senator Stanford, to protect the endowments 
 he proposed to make, prepared a bill, which was 
 passed by the legislature, approved by the gov- 
 ernor and became a law March 9, 1885. It is 
 entitled "An act to advance learning, the arts 
 and sciences and to promote the public welfare, 
 by providing for the conveyance, holding and 
 protection of property, and the creation of trusts 
 for the founding, endowment, erection and 
 maintenance within this state of universities, 
 colleges, schools, seminaries of learning, me- 
 chanical institutes, museums and galleries of 
 art." 
 
 Section 2 specifies how a grant for the above 
 purposes may be made: "Any person desiring 
 in his lifetime to promote the public welfare by 
 founding, endowing and having maintained 
 within this state a universitv. college, school. 
 
 ■ Monograph of Leland Stanford Junior University. 
 
 seminary of learning, mechanical institute, mu- 
 seum or gallery of art or any or all thereof, may, 
 to that end, and for such purpose, by grant in 
 writing, convey to a trustee, or any number of 
 trustees named in such grant (and their suc- 
 cessors), any property, real or personal, belong- 
 ing to such person, and situated or being within 
 this state; provided, that if any such person be 
 married and the property be community prop- 
 erty, then both husband and wife must join in 
 such grant." The act contains twelve sections. 
 After the passage of the act twenty-four trus- 
 tees were appointed. Among them were judges 
 of the supreme and superior courts, a United 
 States senator and business men in various 
 lines. 
 
 Among the lands deeded to the university by 
 Senator Stanford and his wife' were the Palo 
 Alto estate, containing seventy-two hundred 
 acres. This ranch had been devoted principally 
 to the breeding and rearing of thoroughbred 
 horses. On this the college buildings were to 
 be erected. The site selected was near the town 
 of Palo Alto, which is thirty-four miles south 
 from San Francisco on the railroad to San Jose, 
 in Santa Clara county. 
 
 Another property donated was the \^ina 
 rancho, situated at the junction of Deer creek 
 with the Sacramento river in Tehama county. 
 It consisted of fifty-five thousand acres, of 
 which tliirty-six thousand were planted to vines 
 and orchard and the remainder used for grain 
 growing and pasture. 
 
 The third rancho given to the support of the 
 university was the Gridley ranch, containing 
 about twenty-one thousand acres. This was sit- 
 uated in Butte county and included within its 
 limits some of the richest wheat growing lands 
 in the state. At the time it was donated its as- 
 sessed value was $1,000,000. The total amount 
 of land conveyed to the university by deed of 
 trust was eighty-three thousand two hundred 
 acres. 
 
 The name selected for the institution was Le- 
 land Stanford Junior University. The corner- 
 stone of the university was laid May 14, 1887, 
 bv Senator and Mrs. Leland Stanford. The site 
 of the college buildings is about one mile west 
 from Palo Alto. In his address to the trustees 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGFL\PHICAL RECORD. 
 
 November 14, 1885, Senator Stanford said: "We 
 do not expect to establish a university and fill 
 it with students at once. It must be the growth 
 of time and experience. Our idea is that in the 
 first instance we shall require the establishment 
 of colleges for both sexes; then of primary 
 schools, as they may be needed; and out of all 
 these will grow the great central institution for 
 more advanced study." The growth of the uni- 
 versity has been rapid. In a very few years after 
 its founding it took rank with the best institu- 
 tions of learning in the United States. 
 
 NORMAL SCHOOLS. 
 
 The legislature of 1862 passed a bill author- 
 izing the establishment of a state normal school 
 for the training of teachers at San Francisco or 
 at such other place as the legislature may here- 
 after direct. The school was established and 
 conducted for several years at San Francisco, 
 but was eventually moved to San Jose, where a 
 site had been donated. A building was erected 
 and the school became a flourishing institution. 
 The first building was destroyed by fire and the 
 present handsome and commodious building 
 erected on a new site. The first normal school 
 established in the state was a private one, con- 
 ducted by George W. Minns. It was started in 
 
 San Francisco in 1857, but was discontinued 
 after the organization of the state school in 1863, 
 Minns becoming principal. A normal school 
 was established by the legislature at Los An- 
 geles in 1881. It was at first a branch of the 
 state school at San Jose and was under control 
 of the same board of trustees and the same prin- 
 cipal. Later it was made an independent insti- 
 tution with a board and principal of its own. 
 
 Normal schools have been established at 
 Chico (1889), San Diego (1897) and San Fran- 
 cisco (1899). The total number of teachers em- 
 ployed in the five state normal schools in 1900 
 was one hundred and one, of whom thirty-seven 
 were men and sixty-four women. The whole 
 number of students in these at that time was 
 two thousand and thirty-nine, of whom two hun- 
 dred and fifty-six were men and one thousand 
 eight hundred and thirty-nine women. 
 
 The total receipts for the support of these 
 schools from all sources were for the year end- 
 ing June 30, 1900, $251,217; the total expendi- 
 tures for the same time were $206,001 ; the value 
 of the normal school property of the state is 
 about $700,000. The educational system and 
 facilities of California, university, college, nor- 
 mal school and public school, rank with the best 
 in the United States. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 CITIES OF CALIFORNIA— THEIR ORIGIN AND GROWTH. 
 
 ftLTHOUGH Spain and Mexico possessed 
 California for seventy-seven years after 
 the date of the first settlement made in 
 it, they founded but few towns and but one of 
 those founded had attained the dignity of a city 
 at the time of the American conquest. In a 
 previous chapter I have given sketches of the 
 founding of the four presidios and three pueblos 
 under Spanish rule. Twenty missions were es- 
 tablished under the rule of Spain and one under 
 the Mexican Republic. While the country in- 
 creased in population under the rule of Mex- 
 ico, the onlv new settlement that was formed 
 was the mission at Solano. 
 
 Pueblos grew up at the presidios and some of 
 the mission settlements developed into towns. 
 The principal towns that have grown up around 
 the mission sites are San Juan Capistrano, San 
 Gabriel, San Buenaventura, San Miguel, San 
 Luis Obispo, Santa Clara and San Rafael. 
 
 The creation of towns began after the Ameri- 
 cans got possession of the country. Before the 
 treaty of peace between the United States and 
 Mexico had been made, and while the war was 
 in progress, two enterprising Americans, Robert 
 Scmple and T. O. Larkin, had created on paper 
 an extensive city on the Straits of Carquinez. 
 The city of Francisca "comprises five miles," 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 243 
 
 so the proprietors of the embryo metropolis an- 
 nounced in the Californian of April 20, 1847, 
 and in subsequent numbers. According to the 
 theory of its promoters. Francisca had the 
 choice of sites and must become the metropolis 
 of the coast. "In front of the city," says their 
 advertisement, "is a commodious Bay, large 
 enough for two hundred ships to ride at anchor 
 safe from any wind. The country around the 
 city is the best agricultural portion of California 
 on both sides of the Bay; the straits being only 
 one mile wide, an easy crossing may always be 
 made. The entire trade of the great Sacra- 
 mento and San Joaquin Valleys (a fertile coun- 
 try of great width and nearly seven hundred 
 miles long from North to South) must of neces- 
 sity pass through the narrow channel of Car- 
 quinez and the Bay. and the country is so situ- 
 ated that every person who passes from one side 
 of the Bay to the other will find the nearest and 
 best way by Francisca." 
 
 In addition to its natural advantages the pro- 
 prietors offered other attractions and induce- 
 ments to settlers. They advertised that they 
 would give "seventy-five per cent of the net pro- 
 ceeds of the ferries and wharves for a school 
 fund and the embellishment of the city" ; "they 
 have also laid out several entire squares for 
 school purposes and several others for public 
 walks" (parks). Yet, notwithstanding all the 
 superior attractions and natural advantages of 
 Francisca, pyeople would migrate to and locate 
 at the wind-swept settlement on the Cove of 
 Yerba Buena. And the town of the "good 
 lierb"' took to itself the name of San Francisco 
 and perforce compelled the Franciscans to be- 
 come Benicians. Then came the discoverv of 
 gold and the consequent rush to the mines, and 
 although Francisca, or Benicia. was on the 
 route, or one of the routes, somehow San 
 Francisco managed to get all the profits out of 
 the trade and travel to the mines. 
 
 The rush to the land of gold expanded the 
 little settlement formed by Richardson and Leese 
 on the Cove of Yerba Buena into a great city 
 that in time included within its limits the mis- 
 sion and the presidio. The consolidation of the 
 city and county govejrnments gave a simpler 
 
 form of municipal rule and gave the city room 
 to expand without growing outside of its mu- 
 nicipal jurisdiction. The decennial Federal cen- 
 sus from 1850 to the close of the century indi- 
 cates the remarkable growth of San Francisco. 
 Its population in 1850 was 21,000; in i860, 56,- 
 802; in 1870, 149,473; in 1880, 234,000: in 1890, 
 298,997 ; in 1900, 342,742. 
 
 In Chapter XX\T, page 175 et seq. of this 
 volume, I have given the early history of San 
 Francisco, or Yerba Buena, as it was called at 
 first. I have there given an account of its 
 growth and progress from the little hamlet on 
 Yerba Buena cove until it became the metropolis 
 of the Pacific coast. In that chapter I have told 
 briefly the story of the "Six Great Fires" that, 
 between December, 1849, <i"'l July, 1851, devas- 
 tated the city. These wiped out of existence 
 every trace of the make-shift and nondescript 
 houses of the early gold period. After each fire 
 the burned district was rebuilt with hastily con- 
 structed houses, better than those destroyed, but 
 far from being substantial and fire-proof struc- 
 tures. The losses from these fires, although 
 great at the time, would be considered trivial 
 now. In the greatest of these — the fifth — start- 
 ing on the night of May 3, 1851, and raging for 
 ten hours, the property loss was estimated to be 
 between ten and twelve million dollars. There 
 were many lives lost. Over one thousand houses 
 were destroyed. The brick blocks and corru- 
 gated iron houses that by this time had replaced 
 the flimsy structures of the earlier period in the 
 business quarter of the city were supposed to be 
 fire-proof, but the great conflagration of May 
 3d and 4th, 1851. disapproved this claim. They 
 were consumed or melted down by the excessive 
 heat of that great fire. 
 
 It became evident to the business men and 
 property holders that a better class of buildings 
 must be constructed, more stringent building 
 regulations enforced, and a more abundant wa- 
 ter supply secured. All these in due time were 
 obtained, and the era of great fires apparently 
 ended. As it expanded beyond the business 
 quarter it became a city of wooden walls. But 
 few dwelling houses were built of brick or stone, 
 and south of Market street many of the business 
 
244 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 houses too were built of wood. Ninety per cent, 
 of all the buildings in the modern city were frame 
 structures. 
 
 After the great fires of the early '50s San Fran- 
 cisco seemed to have become practically immune 
 from destructive conflagrations. Other large 
 cities of its class had suffered from great fires. 
 Chicago, in 1871, had been swept out of existence 
 bv a fire that destroyed $170,000,000 of property. 
 Boston, in 1872, had been forced to give up to the 
 fire fiend $75,000,000 of its wealth ; and Balti- 
 more, in 1904, had sufifered a property loss of 
 $50,000,000. San Francisco for more than half a 
 century liad suffered but little loss from fires. 
 Those that had started were usually confineTl to 
 the building or the block in which they originat- 
 ed. The efficiency of its fire fighters, its fire- 
 proof business blocks, and the supposed inde- 
 structibility of the redwood walls of its dwelling 
 houses had engendered in its inhabitants a sense 
 of security against destructive fires. 
 
 The emblem on the seal of the city and county 
 of San Francisco — the Phoenix rising from the 
 flames in front of the Golden Gate — adopted in 
 1852, after the last of the "Six Great Fires," had 
 little significance to the inhabitants of the modern 
 city. The story of the Great Fires was ancient 
 history. Nil desperandum — motto of the in- 
 vincibles who rebuilt the old city six times — 
 had no particular meaning to their descendants 
 except as a reminder of the energy, enterprise 
 and unconquerable determination of the men of 
 the olden, golden days. History would not re- 
 peat itself. The day of great fires for San Fran- 
 cisco was past. This dream of the immunity of 
 their city from destructive conflagrations was to 
 receive a rude awakening. 
 
 THE GREAT EARTHQU.VKE AXD FIRE. 
 
 On the morning of April 18, lyofi, at thirteen 
 minutes past 5 o'clock, its four hundred thousand 
 inhabitants were aroused from their slumbers by 
 the terrifying shock of an earthquake. The* 
 temblor was not a new visitor to San Francisco. 
 Earthquake shocks had shaken it at intervals ever 
 since its founding, but these had done little dam- 
 age and had come to be regarded more as a bug- 
 bear to frighten new arrivals than anything to 
 
 be feared. The earthquake of October, 1868, was 
 the most severe of those in the past. Five lives 
 were lost in it by falling walls. The walls of 
 many buildings were cracked. But one of the 
 most dangerous elements of the last great tem- 
 blor did not exist then, that is the electric wire. 
 The live wire has become one of the most dread- 
 ed agents in great fires. 
 
 The impressions produced by the shock and the 
 sights witnessed during the progress of the fire 
 are thus graphically described by James Hopper 
 in "Everybody's Maiia.zine^' for June (1906): 
 "Right away it was incredible — the violence of 
 the quake. It started with a directness, a savage 
 determination that left no doubt of its purpose. 
 It pounced upon the earth as some sideral bull- 
 dog, with a rattle of hungry eagerness. Tlie 
 earth was a rat, shaken in the grinding teeth, 
 shaken, shaken, shak^en with periods of slight 
 weariness followed by new bursts of vicious rage. 
 As far as I can remember my impressions were 
 as follows : First for a few seconds a feeling of 
 incredulity, capped immediately with one of final- 
 ity, of incredulity at the violence of the vibra- 
 tions. Tt's incredible, incredible," I think I said 
 aloud. Then the feeling of finality: 'It's the 
 end — St. Pierre, Samoa, Vesuvius, Formosa, San 
 Francisco — this is death.' Simultaneously with 
 that a picture of the city swaying beneath the 
 curl of a tidal wave foaming to the sky. Then in- 
 credulity again at the length of it, at the sullen 
 violence of it. Incredulity again at the mere 
 length of the thing, the fearful stubbornness of 
 it. Then curiosity — I must see it. 
 
 "I got up and walked to the window. I start- 
 ed to open it, but the pane obligingly fell out- 
 ward and I poked my head out, the floor like a 
 geyser beneath my feet. Then I heard the roar 
 of the bricks coming down in cataracts and the 
 groaning of twisted girders all over the city, and 
 at the same time I saw the moon, a calm crescent 
 in the green sky of dawn. Below it the skeleton 
 frame of an unfinished sky-scraper was swaying 
 from side to side with a swing as exaggerated 
 and absurd as that of a palm in a stage tempest. 
 
 "Just then the quake, with a sound as of a snarl, 
 rose to its climax of rage, and the back wall of 
 mv building for three stories above me fell. I 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 U5 
 
 saw the mass pass across my vision swift as a 
 shadow. It struck some little wooden houses in 
 the alley below. I saw them crash in like emptied 
 egg shells and the bricks pass throug'h the roof 
 as through tissue paper. 
 
 "The vibrations ceased and I Ijegan to dress. 
 Then I noted the ,<;reat silence. Tbroushout the 
 long quaking, in this great house full of people 
 I had not heard a cry, not a sound, not a sob, not 
 a whisper. And now, wlien the roar of crumbling 
 buildings was over and only a brick falling here 
 and there like the trickle of a spent rain, this 
 silence continued, and it was an awful thing. 
 But now in the alley some one began to groan. 
 It was a woman's groan, soft and low. 
 
 "I went down the stairs and into the streets, 
 and they were full of people, half-clad, dishev- 
 elled, but silent, absolutely silent, as if suddenly 
 they had become speechless idiots. I went into 
 the little alley at the back of the building, but it 
 was deserted and the crushed houses seemed 
 empty. I went down Post street toward the cen- 
 ter of town, and in the morning's garish light I 
 saw many men and women with gray faces, but 
 none spoke. All of them, they had a singular 
 hurt expression, not one of physical pain, but 
 rather one of injured sensibilities, as if some 
 trusted friend, say, had suddenly wronged them, 
 or as if some one had said something rude to 
 them." * * * * * * * * * * 
 
 He made his way to the Call building, where 
 he met the city editor, who said to him : "The 
 Brunswick hotel at Sixth and Folsom is down 
 with hundreds inside her. You cover that." 
 
 "Going up into the editorial rooms of the Call, 
 with water to my ankles, I seized a bunch of copy 
 paper and started up Third street. At Tehama 
 street I saw the beginning of the fire which was 
 to sweep all the district south of Market street. 
 It was swirling up the narrow way with a sound 
 that was almost a scream. Before it the humble 
 population of the district were fleeing, and in its 
 path, as far as I could see, frail shanties went 
 down like card houses. And this marks the true 
 character of the city's agony. Especially in the 
 populous districts south of Market street, but 
 also throughout the city, hundreds were pinned 
 down by the debris, some to a merciful death, 
 
 others to live hideous minutes. The flames swept 
 over them while the saved looked on impotently. 
 Over the tragedy the fire threw its flaming man- 
 tle of hypocrisy, and the full extent of the holo- 
 caust will never be known, will remain ever a 
 poignant mystery." 
 
 "The firemen there were beginning the tre- 
 mendous and hopeless fight which, without inter- 
 mission, they were to continue for three days. 
 Without water (the mains had been burst by the 
 quake) they were attacking the fire with axes, 
 with hooks, with sacks, with their hands, re- 
 treating sullenly before it only when its feverish 
 breath burned their clothing and their skins." 
 
 He secured an automobile at the hire of $50 a 
 day to cover the progress of the fire. 
 
 "We started first to cover the fire I had seen on 
 its westward course from Tliird street. From 
 that time I have only a vague kaleidoscopic vi- 
 sion of whirring at whistling speed through a 
 city of the damned. We tried to make the fallen 
 Brunswick hotel at Si.xth and Folsom streets. 
 We could not make it. The scarlet steeple chaser 
 beat us to it, and when we arrived the crushed 
 structure was only the base of one great flame 
 that rose to heaven with a single twist. B\' that 
 time we knew that the earthquake had been but 
 a prologue, and that the tragedy was to be writ- 
 ten in fire. We went westward to get the western 
 limit of the blaze." 
 
 "Already we had to make a huge circle to get 
 above it. The whole district south of Market 
 street was now a pitiful sight. By thousands the 
 multitudes were pattering along the wide streets 
 leading out, heads bowed, eyes dead, silent and 
 stupefied. We stopped in passing at the South- 
 ern Pacific hospital. Carts, trucks, express 
 wagons, vehicles of all kinds laden with wounded, 
 were blocking the gate. Upon the porch stood 
 two internes, and their white aprons were red- 
 spotted as those of butchers. There were one 
 hundred and twenty-five wounded inside and 
 fight dead. Among the wounded was Chief Sul- 
 livan of the fire department. .\ chimney of the 
 California hotel had crushed through his house 
 at the first shock of the earth(|uake, and he and 
 his wife had been taken out of the debris with 
 
246 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 incredible difficulty. He was to die two days 
 later, spared the bitter, hopeless effort which his 
 men were to know." 
 
 ^ 't: ^> =i= * 
 
 "At Thirteenth and Valencia streets a policeman 
 and a crowd of volunteers were trying to raise 
 the debris of a house where a man and women 
 were pinned. One block farther we came to a 
 place where the ground had sunk six feet. A 
 fissure ran along Fourteenth street for several 
 blocks and the car tracks had been jammed along 
 their length till they rose in angular projections 
 three or four feet high. As we were examining 
 the phenomenon in a narrow way called Treat 
 avaiue a quake occurred. It came upon the far- 
 end of endurance of the poor folk crowding the 
 alley. Women sank to their knees, drew their 
 shawls about their little ones, and broke out in 
 piercing lamentations, while men ran up and 
 down aimlessly, wringing their hands. An old 
 woman led by a crippled old man came wailing 
 down the steps of a porch, and she was blind. In 
 the center of the street they both fell and all the 
 poor encouragement we could give them could 
 not raise them. They had made up their minds 
 to die." 
 
 ^ ^: * * ^ 
 
 "On \'alencia street, between Eighteenth and 
 Nineteenth, the \'alencia hotel, a four-story 
 wooden lodging-house was down, its four stories 
 telescoped to the height of one, its upper rooms 
 ripped open with the cross section effect of a 
 doll-house. A squa"d of policemen and some fifty 
 vohmteers were working with rageful energy at 
 the tangle of walls and rafters. Eleven men were 
 known to have escaped, eight had been taken out 
 dead, and more than one hundred were still in 
 the ruins. The street here was sunk six feet, and 
 again, as I was to see it many times more, I saw 
 that strange angular rise of the tracks as if the 
 ground had been pinched between some gigantic 
 fingers.'' 
 
 "We went down toward the fire now. We 
 met it on Eighth street. From Third it had 
 come along in a swath four blocks wide. From 
 Market to Eolsom, from Second to Eighth, it 
 spread its heaving red sea, and with a roar it was 
 
 monster comber above a flotsam of fleeing hu- 
 manity. There were men, women and children. 
 Men, women and children — really that is about 
 all I remember of them, except that they were 
 miserable and crushed. Here and there are still 
 little snap-shots in my mind — a woman carrving 
 in a cage a green and red parrot, squawking 
 incessantly 'Hurry, hurry, hurry ;' a little 
 smudge-faced girl with long-lashed brown eves 
 holding in her arms a blind puppy; a man with 
 naked torso carrying upon his head a hideous 
 chromo; another with a mattress and a cracked 
 mirror. But by this time the cataclysm itself, its 
 manifestation, its ferocious splendor, hypnotized 
 the brain, and humans sank into insignificance as 
 ants caught in the slide of a mountain. One more 
 scene I remember. On Eighth street, between 
 Folsom and Howard, was an empty sand lot 
 right in the path of the conflagration. It was 
 full of refugees, and what struck me was their 
 immobility. They sat there upon trunks, upon 
 bundles of clothing. On each side, like the claws 
 of a crab, the fire was closing in upon them. They 
 sat there motionless, as if cast in bronze, as if 
 indeed they were wrought upon some frieze rep- 
 resenting the Misery of Humanity. The fire 
 roared, burning coals showered them, the heat 
 rose, their clothes smoked, and they still sat there, 
 upon their little boxes, their bundles of rags, their 
 goods, the pathetic little hoard which they had 
 been able to treasure in their arid lives, a fixed 
 determination in their staring eyes not to leave 
 again, not to move another step, to die there and 
 then, with the treasures for the saving of which 
 their bodies had no further strength." 
 
 The vibrations of the first earthquake shock 
 had scarcely ceased before the fire broke out in a 
 number of different localities. The first alarm 
 came from Qay and Drumm streets on the city 
 front. Others followed in rapid succession until 
 by the afternoon of the first day the fire had al- 
 most entirely circled the lower section of the city. 
 The firemen made a brave fight at various points 
 to stay its progress, but the water mains had been 
 broken and their engines were useless. Then the 
 only hope to arrest the march of the fire fiend was 
 dvnamite. The steadv boom, boom of that ex- 
 
 rushing on, its advance billow curling like aplosive as hour after hour passed and house after 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 247 
 
 house was blown up told of the losing fight that 
 was being waged against the destroying element. 
 
 The wooden houses south of lower Market 
 street, one of the sections first attacked by the fire 
 fiend, were quickly destroyed and the fire swept on 
 to the westward. By Wednesday night it had 
 swept up to and leaped across Market street. The 
 tall buildings of the Call. Chronicle and Examiner 
 at Third and Market streets succumbed and the 
 great business blocks of the neighborhood were 
 gutted by the flames, only their outer shells re- 
 mained. By Thursday morning the flames had 
 swept over Sansome and Montgomery to Kear- 
 ney and in places beyond. 
 
 Jack London, in "Collier's" of May 5th, gives 
 the follow-ing dramatic description of the scenes 
 in the heart of the business section : 
 
 "At nine o'clock Wednesday evening I walked 
 down through the very heart of the city. I 
 walked through miles and miles of magnificent 
 buildings and towering skyscrapers. Here was 
 no fire. All was in perfect order. The police 
 patrolled the streets. Every building had its 
 watchman at the door. And yet it was doomed, 
 all of it. There was no water. The dynamite 
 was giving out. And at right angles two diiifer- 
 ent conflagrations were sweeping down upon it. 
 
 "At one o'clock in the morning I walked down 
 through the same section. Everything still stood 
 intact. There was no fire. And yet there was a 
 change. A rain of ashes was falling. The 
 watchmen at the doors were gone. The police 
 had been withdrawn. There were no firemen, no 
 fire-engines, no men fighting with dynamite. 
 The district had been absolutely abandoned. I 
 stood at the corner of Kearney and Market, in 
 the very heart of San Francisco. Kearney street 
 was deserted. Half a dozen blocks away it was 
 burning on both sides. The street was a wall of 
 flame. And against this wall of flame, silhouetted 
 sharply, were two LTnited States cavalrymen sit- 
 ting their horses, calmly watching. That was 
 all. Not another person was in sight. In the 
 intact heart of the city two troopers sat their 
 horses and watched. 
 
 "Surrender was complete. There was no wa- 
 ter. The sewers had long since been pumped 
 dry. There was no dynamite. Another fire had 
 
 broken out further up-town, and now from three 
 sides conflagrations were sweeping down. The 
 fourth side had been burned earlier in the day. 
 In that direction stood' the tottering walls of the 
 Examiner building, the burned-out Call building, 
 the smouldering ruins of the Grand hotel, and the 
 gutted, devastated, dynamited Palace hotel. The 
 following will illustrate the sweep of the flames 
 and the inability of men to calculate their speed. 
 At eight o'clock Wednesday evening I passed 
 through Union Square. It was packed with 
 refugees. Thousands of them had gone to bed 
 on the grass. Government tents had been set up, 
 supfjer was being cooked, and the refugees were 
 lining up for free meals. 
 
 "At half-past one in the morning three sides of 
 Union Square were in flames. The fourth side, 
 where stood the great St. Francis hotel, was still 
 holding out. An hour later, ignited from top and 
 sides, the St. Francis was flaming heavenward. 
 Union Square, heaped high with mountains of 
 trunks, was deserted. Troops, refugees, and all 
 had deserted. 
 
 "Remarkable as it may seem, Wednesday 
 night, while the whole city crashed and roared 
 into ruin, was a quiet night. There w^ere no 
 crowds. . There was no shouting and yelling. 
 There was no hysteria, no disorder. I passed 
 Wednesday night in the path of the advancing 
 flames, and in all those terrible hours I saw not 
 one woman who wept, not one man who was ex- 
 cited, not one person who was in the slightest 
 degree panic-stricken. 
 
 "Before the flames, throughout the night, fled 
 tens of thousands of homeless ones. Some were 
 wrapped in blankets. Others carried bundles of 
 bedding and dear household treasures. Some- 
 times a whole family was harnessed to a carriage 
 or delivery wagon that was weighted down with 
 their possessions. Baby buggies, toy wagons 
 and go-carts were used as trucks, while every 
 other person was dragging a trunk. Yet every- 
 bo(l\- was gracious. The most perfect courtesy 
 obtained. Never, in all San Francisco's history, 
 were her people so kind and courteous as on this 
 night of terror." 
 
 "All night these tens of thousands fled before 
 
248 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the flames. Many of them, tlie poor people from 
 the labor ghetto, had fled all day as well. They 
 had left their homes burdened with possessions. 
 Now and again they lightened up, flinging out 
 upon the street clothing and treasures they had 
 dragged for miles. 
 
 "They held on longest to their trunks, and over 
 these trunks many a strong man broke his heart 
 that night. The hills of San Francisco are steep, 
 and up these hills, mile after mile, were the trunks 
 dragged. Everywhere were trunks, with across 
 them lying their exhausted owners, men and wo- 
 men. Before the march of the flames were flung 
 picket lines of soldiers. And a block at a time, as 
 the flames advanced, these pickets retreated. One 
 of their tasks was to keep the trunk-pullers mov- 
 ing. The exhausted creatures, stirred on by the 
 menace of bayonets, would arise and struggle up 
 the steep pavements, pausing from weakness 
 every five or ten feet. 
 
 "Often, after surmounting a heart-breaking 
 hill, they would find another wall of flame advanc- 
 ing upon them at right angles and be compelled 
 to change anew the line of their retreat. In 
 the end, completely played out, after toiling for 
 a dozen hours like giants, thousands of them were 
 compelled to abandon their trunks. 
 
 "It was in Union Square that I saw a man of- 
 fering $i,ooo for a team of horses. He was in 
 charge of a truck piled high with trunks from 
 some hotel. It had been hauled here into what 
 was considered safety, and the horses had been 
 taken out. The flames were on three sides of the 
 Square, and there were no horses." 
 
 "An hour later, from a distance, I saw the 
 truck-load of trunks burning merrily in the mid- 
 dle of the street." 
 
 j|c * tj: ' :(c :[: 
 
 All day Thursday the fight was waged, the 
 flames steadily advancing to the westward. It 
 was determined to make the last stand on Van 
 Ness avenue, the widest street in the city. It was 
 solidly lined with magnificent dwellings, the resi- 
 dences of many of the wealthy inhabitants. Here 
 the fire fighters rallied. Here all the remaining 
 resources for fighting the destroying element 
 were collected, dynamite, barrels of powder from 
 
 the government stores and a battery of marine 
 guns. The mansions lining the avenue for near- 
 ly a mile in length were raked with artillery or 
 blown up with dynamite and powder. Here and 
 there tlie flames leaped across the line of defense 
 and ignited buildings beyond. Two small 
 streams of water were secured from unbroken 
 pipes and the fires that broke out beyond the line 
 of defense were beaten out, principally- by the use 
 of wet blankets and rugs. By midnight of the 
 19th the fire was under control, and by Friday 
 morning the flames were conquered. A change 
 of wind during the night had aided the fire fight- 
 ers to check its westward march. As the wind 
 drove it back, it swept around the base of Tele- 
 graph Hill and destroyed all the poor tenement 
 houses near the base of that hill that it had spared 
 on its first advance, except a little oasis on the 
 upper slope that had been saved by a liberal use 
 of Italian wine. In the great fire of May 4, 1851, 
 De Witt & Harrison saved their warehouse, 
 which stood on the west side of Sansome street 
 between Pacific and Broadway, scarce a stone's 
 throw from Telegraph Hill, by knocking in the 
 heads of barrels of vinegar and covering the 
 building with blankets soaked in that liquid in 
 place of water, which could not be obtained. 
 Eightv thousand gallons were used, but the on- 
 ward march of the flames in that direction was 
 stopped. How many gallons of wine were sac- 
 rificed will never be known. 
 
 The earthquake shock had scarcely ceased be- 
 fore General Funston, in command of the niil- 
 itarv forces at the Presidio, called out the troops 
 and sent them down into the stricken city, to aid 
 in keeping order and fighting the fire. Mayor 
 Schmitz issued a proclamation placing the city 
 under martial law. Across the streets were 
 thrown cordons of soldiers, who forced the dazed 
 and half-crazed crowd to keep away from the 
 danger of the advancing fire and falling walls. 
 In addition to their other duties the military had 
 to undertake the repression of crime. Even amid 
 the scenes of suffering, desolation and death, 
 thieves looted stores and robbed the dead bodies, 
 and ghouls, half-drunk with liquor, committed 
 deeds of unspeakable horror. These when 
 caught received short shrift. Thev were shot 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 249 
 
 down without trial. Several regiments of the 
 National Guard, from different parts of the state, 
 were called out and they did efficient service in 
 San Francisco, Oakland and Alameda. The Pre- 
 sidio, Golden Gate Park and other ])arks w^ere 
 converted into refugee camps and rations issued. 
 Military organization was prompt and eiTective. 
 Four days after the fire there were military 
 butchers, blacksmiths, carpenters, chimnev inspec- 
 tors and sanitary inspectors. Strict military reg- 
 ulations were enforced in the various camps and 
 a constant watch was kept up to prevent the 
 breaking out of epidemic diseases. Train loads 
 of provisions and clothing were hurried from all 
 parts of the state and beyond for the immediate 
 relief of the sufferers. Contributions of money 
 flowed in from all over the country, until the to- 
 tal ran up into the millions. The railroads fur- 
 nished free transportation to all who had friends 
 in other cities of the state. The Red Cross Re- 
 lief Society, at the head of which is James D. 
 Phelan, ex-mayor of San Francisco, has taken 
 up the burden of caring for the destitute until 
 they can take care of themselves. 
 
 The actual number of lives lost by the earth- 
 quake will never be known : many who were 
 pinned down in the wrecked buildings would 
 have escaped wdth slight injuries had not the fire 
 followed so quickly after the earthquake shock. 
 The total number of deaths officially reported 
 up to the last of May is three hundred and thirty- 
 three. The property loss ranges from two hun- 
 dred to two hundred and fifty millions of dol- 
 lars. Insurance covers about one hundred and 
 twenty millions ; whether all of this will be paid 
 is yet to be decided. 
 
 The fire devastated two hundred and sixty-nine 
 blocks, covering an area of nearly three thousand 
 acres, or about five square miles. In this vast 
 fire-swept desert there were tlirce little oases 
 that the destroyer had left unscathed. In the 
 very heart of this desert stood the mint with its 
 accumulated treasure unharmed by fire or earth- 
 quake shock. Thirty-five years ago, when Gen. 
 ( ). H. La Grange was superintendent of the mint, 
 he had sunk an artesian well within the inclosure. 
 He received neither thanks nor encouragement 
 from the government for his work. When the 
 
 fire surge<l around it the employes and ten sol- 
 diers were housed within it : for seven hours they 
 fought against the onslaught of flames that 
 dashed against the building. The courageous 
 fighters, aided b\- the thick walls and the water 
 supply from the artesian well, won the victory 
 and the building with its treasure was saved. 
 Throughout the clays and nights that the fire 
 raged the tall tower of the Ferry building loomed 
 ui> through the smoke of the burning city, the 
 hands of the silent clock mutely pointing to 13 
 minutes past 5, the moment the temblor began 
 its work. 
 
 The post office, with but nominal damages, 
 survived the wreck and ruin of the city. The 
 palatial homes of the bonanza kings and rail- 
 road magnates, built on Nob Hill thirty years 
 ago, were wiped out of existence. Of Mark 
 Hopkins Art Institute with its treasures of art 
 only a chimney is left. Of the Stanford house, 
 the Crocker mansion, the Huntington palace and 
 the Flood residence only broken pillars, ruined 
 arches, heaps of bricks, shattered glass and piles 
 of ashes tell how complete a leveler of distinction 
 fire is. Chinatown, the plague spot of San Fran- 
 cisco and the old time bctc noir of Denis Kearney 
 and his followers, has been obliterated from the 
 map of the city. Not a vestige is left to mark 
 where it was, but is not. Kearney's slogan, ''The 
 Chinese must go," is again reiterated; and it is 
 questionable whether the almond-eyed followers 
 of Confucius will be allowed to relocate in their 
 former haunts. 
 
 OAKLAND, ALAMEDA AND BERKELEY. 
 
 The cities across the bay from San Francisco, 
 Oakland, Alameda and Berkeley, escaped with 
 but slight damage. A number of buildings were 
 wrecked and chimneys thrown down, but the fire 
 did not follow the shock and the aggregated loss 
 of property in all three did not exceed $5,000,000. 
 There were five lives lost in Oakland. These 
 cities became great camps of refuge for the 
 homeless of San Francisco. The hospitality of 
 their people was taxed to the utmost to take care 
 of the San Francisco sufferers, wdio fled from 
 their stricken city as soon as the means of exit 
 were available. 
 
250 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 STANFORD UNIVERSITY. 
 
 With a strange partiality the temblor spared 
 the buildings of the State Universit}' at Berkeley. 
 Located only a dozen miles from San Francisco, 
 scarcely a -brick was displaced from a chimney, 
 but it wrought ruin to many of the noble build- 
 ings of Stanford University, thirty-four miles dis- 
 tant from the metropolis. The Memorial 
 Qiurch, the unfinished library, the new gymna- 
 sium, part of the art museum, the Stanford resi- 
 dence at Palo Alto and the memorial arch were 
 badly wrecked. Some of them were hopelessly 
 ruined. Encina hall (the men's dormitory) was 
 injured by the fall of stone chimneys and one 
 student was killed. The loss in all will amount 
 to $3,000,000. 
 
 SAN JOSE. 
 
 The city of San Jose seemed to be in the line 
 of march chosen by the temblor. The business 
 center was wrecked, its court house destroyed 
 and many of its dwellings badly damaged. For- 
 tunately it escaped a visitation by fire. Nineteen 
 lives were lost and the property loss exceeds 
 $2,000,000. 
 
 SANTA ROSA. 
 
 The city of Santa Rosa, the capital of Sonoma 
 county, in proportion to its wealth and the num- 
 ber of its inhabitants, suffered more severely than 
 any other city in California. The business por- 
 tion of the city, which was closely grouped 
 around the Court House Square, was entirely de- 
 stroyed. As there were no suburban stores the 
 supply of provisions was cut off. The breaking 
 off of communication left the outside world ig- 
 norant of Santa Rosa's fate. For a time she was 
 left entirely to her own resources to aid her suf- 
 ferers. As in San Francisco, fire followed the 
 temblor, which increased greatly the loss of life 
 and property. The water mains were not brok- 
 en and within three hours the fire was practically 
 under control. 
 
 Among the buildings destroyed by earthquake 
 and fire were the court house, the new Masonic 
 temple, the public library, six hotels, a five-story 
 brewery, a shoe factory, a four-story flour mill, 
 two theaters, the Odd Fellows hall, and a num- 
 
 ber of office buildings, flats and apartment 
 houses. The number of dead reported was fifty- 
 six. The injured and missing numbered eighty- 
 seven. 
 
 The business houses in San Mateo, Belmont, 
 Palo Alto and Redwood City were nearly all 
 wrecked. JNIany of the stately mansions and rose- 
 embowered cottages that line the road between 
 San Francisco and San Jose on the western side 
 of the bay were thrown from their foundations 
 and chimneys falling on the roofs had cut their 
 way to the ground. 
 
 On the eastern side the towns of San Leandro 
 and Haywards that were badly damaged in the 
 earthquake of 1868 escaped this last temblor 
 unharmed. Santa Clara, Gilroy and Salinas suf- 
 fered in about the same proportion as San Jose. 
 
 At Monterey the Del Monte hotel was injured 
 by the falling of the chimneys through the roof. 
 Two persons, a bridal couple from Arizona, were 
 killed by the falling of a chimney. 
 
 Hollister, Napa and Santa Cruz suffered con- 
 siderable damage. The greatest loss of life at 
 any public institution occurred at the Agnews In- 
 sane Asylum. It contained ten hundred and 
 eighty-eight patients, besides physicians, nurses 
 and attendants ; of these, as nearly as can be as- 
 certained, one hundred and ten inmates and em- 
 ployes were killed. The buildings were entirely 
 destroyed. The inmates who escaped injury 
 were housed in tents and guards stationed around 
 the inclosure to keep them from running away. 
 Temporarv buildings are in the course of con- 
 struction. There was no loss of life or property 
 south of Monterey. The shock throughout the 
 southern part of the state was very slight. 
 
 LOS ANGELES. 
 
 The only settlement under Mexican domina- 
 tion that attained the dignity of a ciudad, or city, 
 was Los Angeles. Although proclaimed a city 
 by the Mexican Congress more than ten years 
 before the Americans took possession of the coun- 
 try, except in official documents it was usually 
 spoken of as el pueblo — the town. Its popula- 
 tion at the time of its conquest by the Americans 
 numbered about sixteen hundred. The first leg- 
 islature gave it a city charter, although fifteen 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 251 
 
 years before it had been raised to the dignity of 
 a city ; the lawmakers for some reason cut down 
 its area from four square leagues to four square 
 miles. This did not affect its right to its pueblo 
 lands. After the appointment of a land commis- 
 sion, in 1851, it laid claim to sixteen square 
 leagues, but failed to substantiate its claim. Its 
 pueblo area of four square leagues (Spanish) was 
 confirmed to it by the commission. Within the 
 past seven years, by annexation, its area has been 
 increased from the original four square leagues, 
 or about twenty-seven miles, to thirty-seven 
 square miles. Its increase in population during 
 the past twenty years has been the greatest of anv 
 of the large cities of the state. In 1880 it had 
 11,183 inhabitants; in 1890, 50,353; in 1900, 
 102,429. Its growth since 1900 has exceeded that 
 of any similar period in its history. Its estimat- 
 ed population January, 1903, is 125,000. 
 
 OAKL.\ND. 
 
 Oakland, the third city in population among 
 the cities of California, is the youngest of the 
 large cities. It is purely American by birth. 
 Its site during Spanish and Mexican rule was 
 uninhabited and was covered with oak trees and 
 chaparral. The territory which Oakland covers 
 was part of a five-league grant made to Luis 
 Maria Peralta, a Spanish soldier, who came to 
 the presidio of San Francisco in 1790. August 
 16, 1820, Governor Sola granted him the Rancho 
 San Antonio. His military service had extended 
 over a period of forty years. In 1842 he divided 
 the grant among his five sons, the portion em- 
 braced in Oakland falling to the allotment of 
 Vicente. 
 
 The first permanent settlers and the fatliers 
 of Oakland were Moore, Carpentier and Adams. 
 who squatted on the land in the summer of 1850. 
 The Peraltas made an attempt to evict them, 
 but failed. This trio of squatters obtained a 
 lease from Peralta, laid out a town and sold lots, 
 giving quit-claim deeds. They erected houses 
 and are considered the founders of the town. 
 Other squatters followed their example and pos- 
 sessed themselves of the Peraltas' land. This 
 involved the settlers in litigation, and it was 
 many years before titles were perfected. The 
 Peralta litigants finallv won. 
 
 May 4, 1852, the town of Oakland was incor- 
 porated. :\rarch 25, 1854, it was incorporated as 
 a city, and Plorace W. Carpentier was elected 
 the first mayor. The first ferry charter was 
 granted in 1853. Defective titles and the water- 
 front war between the city authorities and H. W. 
 Carpentier retarded its growth for a number 
 of years. In i860 its population was about 
 1,500. The completion of the overland railroad, 
 which made Oakland its western terminus, 
 greatly accelerated its growth. The water-front 
 war was continued; instead of Carpentier, the 
 city now had the Central Pacific Railroad Com- 
 pany to contend with. The controversy was 
 finally ended in 1882, and the city won. The 
 population of Oakland in 1890 was 48,682; in 
 1900, 66,960. According to a recent census 
 (November, 1902), it exceeds 88,000. 
 
 SACR.MMENTO. 
 
 Sutter built his fort near the junction of the 
 Sacramento and American rivers in 1839. It 
 was then the most northerly settlement in Cali- 
 fornia and became the trading post for the north- 
 ern frontier. It was the outpost to which the 
 tide of overland immigration flowed before and 
 after the discovery of gold. Sutter's settle- 
 ment was also known as New Helvetia. After 
 the discovery of gold at Coloma it was, during 
 1848, the principal supply depot for the mines. 
 Sutter had a store at the fort and did a thriving 
 business. Sam Brannan, in June, 1848, estab- 
 lished a store outside of the fort, in a long adobe 
 building. His sales amounted to over $100,000 
 a month. His profits were enormous. Gold 
 dust was a drug on the market and at one time 
 passed for $8 an ounce, less than half its value. 
 In September, 1848, Priest, Lee & Co. estab- 
 lished a business house at the fort and did an 
 immense business. The fort was not well lo- 
 cated for a connnercial center. It was too far 
 away from the river by which all the freight 
 from San Francisco was shipped. The land at 
 the embarcadero was subject to overflow and 
 was deemed unsuited for the site of a city. Sut- 
 terville was laid out on rising ground three miles 
 below. A survey of lots was extended from 
 the fort to the embarcadero and along the river 
 bank. This embryo town at the embarcadero 
 
252 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 took the name of Sacramento from the river. 
 Then began a rivalry between Sutterville and 
 Sacramento. The first house in Sacramento, 
 corner of Front and I streets, was erected in 
 January, 1849. The proprietors of Sutterville, 
 McDougall & Co., made an attempt to attract 
 trade and building to their town by giving away 
 lots, but Sutter beat them at that game, and 
 Sacramento surged ahead. Sam Rrannan and 
 Priest, Lee & Co. moved their stores into Sac- 
 ramento. The fort was deserted and Sutterville 
 ceased to contend for supremacy. In four 
 months lots had advanced from $50 to $1,000 
 and business lots to $3,000. A regular steam- 
 boat service on the river was inaugurated in 
 August, 1849, and sailing vessels that had come 
 around the Horn to avoid trans-shipment worked 
 their way up the river and landed their goods at 
 the embarcadero. The first number of the 
 Placer Times was issued April 28, 1849. The 
 steamboat rates of passage between San Fran- 
 cisco and Sacramento were: Cabin, $30; steer- 
 age, $20 ; freight, $2.50 per one hundred pounds. 
 By the winter of 1849 the population of the town 
 had reached five thousand and a year later it 
 had doubled. Lots in the business section were 
 held at $30,000 to $50,000 each. The great flood 
 of 1849-50, when four-fifths of the city was 
 under water, somewhat dampened the enthusi- 
 asm of the citizens, but did not check the growth 
 of the city. Sacramento became the trading 
 center of the mines. In 1855 its trade, princi- 
 pally with the mines, amounted to $6,000,000. 
 It was also the center of the stage lines, a dozen 
 of which led out from it. 
 
 It became the state capital in 1853, "I'ld al- 
 though disastrous floods drove the legislators 
 from tlie capital several times, they returned 
 when the waters subsided. The great flood of 
 1861-62 inundated the city and compelled an 
 immense outlay for levees and for raising the 
 grades of the streets. Sacramento was made the 
 terminus of the Central P'acific Railroad sys- 
 tem, and its immense workshops are located 
 there. Its growth for the past thirty years has 
 been slow but steady. Its population in 1890 
 was 26,386; in 1900, 29,282. 
 
 SAN JOSE. 
 
 The early history of San Jose has been given 
 
 in the chapter on Pueblos. After the American 
 conquest the place became an important busi- 
 ness center. It was the first state capital and 
 the removal of the capital for a time checked its 
 progress. In 1864 it was connected with San 
 Francisco by railroad. The completion of the 
 railroad killed off its former port, Alviso, which 
 had been laid out as a city in 1849. Nearly all 
 the trade and travel before the railroad was built 
 had gone by way of Alviso down the bay to 
 San I'ranciscO'. San Jose and its suburb, Santa 
 Clara, early became the educational centers of 
 California. The first American college founded 
 in the state was located at Santa Clara and the 
 first normal school building erected in the state 
 was built at San Jose. The population of San 
 Jose in 1880 was 12,570; in 1900, 21,500. 
 
 STOCKTON. 
 
 In T844 the Rancho Campo de los Franceses, 
 Camp of the French, or French Camp, on which 
 the city of Stockton is located, was granted to 
 William Gulnac by Governor Micheltorena. It 
 contained eleven leagues of 48,747 acres of land. 
 Capt. Charles M. Weber, the founder of Stock- 
 ton, was a partner of Gulnac, but not being a 
 Mexican citizen, he could not obtain a land 
 grant. After Gulnac obtained the grant he con- 
 veyed a half interest in it to Weber. Weber 
 shortly afterward purchased his partner's inter- 
 est and became sole owner of the grant. Some 
 attempts were made to stock it with cattle, but 
 Indian depredations prevented it. In 1847, after 
 the country had come into the possession of the 
 Americans, Weber removed from San Jose, 
 wdiich had been his place of residence since his 
 arrival in California in 1841, and located on his 
 ranch at French Camp. He erected some huts 
 for his vaqueros and fortified his corral against 
 Indians. In 1848 the site of the city was sur- 
 veyed and platted under the direction of Captain 
 Weber and Maj. R. P. Hammond. The rancho 
 was surveyed and sectionized and land ofifered 
 on most advantageous terms to settlers. Cap- 
 tain Weber was puzzled to find a fitting name 
 for his infant metropolis. He hesitated between 
 Tnleburgh and Castoria (Spanish for beaver). 
 Tules were plentiful and so were beaver, but 
 as the town grew both would disappear, so he 
 finallv selected Stockton, after Commodore 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 253 
 
 Stockton, who promised to be a godfather to 
 the town, but proved to be a very indifferent 
 step-father; he never did anything for it. The 
 discovery of gold in the region known as the 
 southern mines brought Stockton into promi- 
 nence and made it the metropoHs of the south- 
 ern mining district. Captain Weber led the party 
 that first discovered gold on the Mokelunine 
 river. The freight and travel to the mines on 
 the Mokelumne, Tuolumne and Stanislaus rivers 
 passed through Stockton, and its growth was 
 rapid. In October, 1849, the Alta California 
 reports lots in it selling from $2,500 to $6,000 
 each, according to situation. At that time it had 
 a population of about one thousand souls and a 
 floating population, that is, men coming and 
 going to the mines, of about as many more. The 
 houses were mostly cotton-lined shacks. Lum- 
 ber was $1 a foot and carpenters' wages $16 per 
 day. There was neither mechanics nor mate- 
 rial to build better structures. Every man was 
 his own architect and master builder. Cloth 
 was scarce and high and tacks at one time were 
 worth $5 a package ; even a cloth house was no 
 cheap affair, however flimsy and cheap it might 
 appear. On the morning of December 23, 1849, 
 the business portion of the town was swept out 
 of existence by fire. Rebuilding was begun al- 
 most before the embers of the departed city 
 were cold and a better city arose from the ashes 
 of the first. After the wild rush of mining days 
 was over, Stockton drifted into a center of agri- 
 cultural trade and it also became a manufactur- 
 ing city. Its growth has been steady, devoid of 
 booms or periods of inflation, followed bv col- 
 lapse. Its population in 1890 was 14,424; in 
 1900, 17,506. 
 
 SAN DIEGO. 
 
 In former chapters I have described the 
 founding of the presidio and mission of San 
 Diego. A pueblo of twenty-five or thirty houses 
 grew up around the presidio. This is what is 
 known as Old San Diego. In 1850 it was in- 
 corporated as a city. March 18, 1850, Alcalde 
 Sutherland granted to William Heath Davis and 
 five associates one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land a few miles south of Old Town, in con- 
 sideration that they build a wharf and create 
 a "new port." The town of New San Diego was 
 
 laid out, the wharf was built, several houses 
 erected, and government barracks constructed. 
 A newspaper was established and the Panama 
 steamers anchored at the wharf. San Diego 
 was riding high on liie wave of prosperity. But 
 the wave broke and left San Diego stranded on 
 the shore of adversity. In 1868, A. E. Horton 
 came to San Diego. He bought about nine 
 hundred acres of pueblo lands along the bay at 
 twenty-six cents an acre. He subdivided it, gave 
 away lots, built houses and a wharf and soon 
 infused life into the sleepy pueblo. In 1884 
 the Southern California Railroad was completed \ 
 into the city. In 1887 San Diego experienced a 
 wonderful real estate boom and its growth for 
 several years was marvelous. Then it came to 
 a standstill, but has again started on the high- 
 way to prosperity. Its population in 1890 was 
 16,159: in 1900, 17,700. 
 
 1-"KESN0 CITY. 
 
 Fresno City was founded by the Southern 
 Pacific Railroad in May, 1872. The road at that 
 time was in the course of construction. The 
 outlook for a populous town was not brilliant. 
 Stretching for miles away from the town site in 
 different directions was an arid-looking plain. 
 The land was fertile enough when well watered, 
 but the few settlers had no capital to construct 
 irrigating canals. 
 
 In 1875 began the agricultural colony era. 
 The land was divided into twenty-acre tracts. A 
 number of persons combined together and bv 
 their united capital and community labor con- 
 structed irrigating canals and brought the land 
 under cultivation. The principal product is 
 the raisin grape. Fresno City became the 
 county seat of Fresno county in 1874. It is now 
 the largest and most important city of the 
 Upper San Joacpiin Valley. Its population in 
 1890 was 10,818; in 1900, 12,470. 
 
 VALLE.TO. 
 
 Vallejo was founded for the state capit'd. It 
 was one of several towns which had that teiu- 
 Dorary honor in the early '50s, when the state 
 capitol was on wheels, or at least on the move. 
 The original name of the place was Eureka. 
 General Vallejo made a projiosition to the leg- 
 islature of 1850 to grant tlie state one hundred 
 
254 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and fifty-six acres of land and to donate and 
 pay to the state within two years after the ac- 
 ceptance of his proposition $370,000, to be used 
 in the erection of public buildings. The legisla- 
 ture accepted his proposition. The' location of 
 the state capital was submitted to a vote of the 
 people at the election on October 7, 1850, and 
 Vallejo received more votes than the aggre- 
 gated vote of all its competitors. Buildings 
 were begun, but never cojnpleted. The legisla- 
 ture met there twice, Init on account of insuffi- 
 cient accommodations sought other places 
 where they were better cared for. General Val- 
 lejo's proposition at his own request was can- 
 celled. In 1854 Mare Island, in front of Val- 
 lejo, was purchased by the general government 
 for a United States navy yard and naval depot. 
 The government works gave employment to 
 large numbers of men and involved the expendi- 
 ture of millions of dollars. The town began to 
 prosper and still continues to do so. Its popu- 
 lation in 1890 was 6,343 : in 1900, 7,965. 
 
 NEVADA CITY. 
 
 No mining town in California was so well and 
 so favorably known in the early '50s as Nevada 
 City. The first discovery of gold near it was 
 made in September, 1849; ^nd the first store 
 and cabin erected. Rumors of rich strikes 
 spread abroad and in the spring of 1850 the rush 
 of gold-seekers came. In 185 1 it was estimated 
 that within a circuit of seven miles there was a 
 population of 30.000. In 1856 the business sec- 
 tion was destroyed by fire. It was then the 
 third city in population in the state. It has had 
 its periods of expansion and contraction, but 
 still remains an important mining town. Its 
 population in 1880 was 4,022; in 1890, 2.524; 
 in 1900, 3,250. 
 
 GRASS VALLEY. 
 
 The first caliin in Grass Valley was erected in 
 1849. The discoveries of gold quartz raised 
 great expectations. A quartz mill was erected 
 in 1850. but this new form of mining not being 
 understood, quartz mining was not a success ; 
 but with improved machinery and better meth- 
 ods, it became the most important form of min- 
 ing. Grass Valley prospered and surpassed its 
 rival, Nevada City. Its population in 1900 was 
 4.719- 
 
 EUREKA. 
 
 In the two hundred years that Spain and Mex- 
 ico held possession of California its northwest 
 coast remained practically a terra incognita, but 
 it did not remain so long after the discovery of 
 gold. Gold was discovered on the head waters 
 of the Trinity river in 1849 ^^'^ parties of pros- 
 pectors during 1849 ^"d 1850 explored the 
 countr\- between the head waters of the Trinity 
 and Klamath rivers and the coast. Rich mines 
 were found and these discoveries led to the 
 founding of a number of towns on the coast 
 which aspired to be the entrepots for the sup- 
 plies to the mines. The most successful of these 
 proved to be Eureka, on Humboldt Bay. It 
 was the best located for commerce and soon 
 outstripped its rivals, Areata and Bucksport. 
 Humboldt county was formed in 1854, and Eu- 
 reka, in 1856, became the county seat and was 
 incorporated as a city. It is the largest ship- 
 ping point for lumber on the coast. It is also 
 the commercial center of a rich agricultural and 
 dairying district. Its population in 1880 was 
 2.639; in 1890, 4,858; in 1900, 7,327. 
 
 MARYSVILLE. 
 
 The site on which Marysville stands was first 
 known as New Mecklenburg and ■ was a trading 
 post of two houses. In October, 1848, M. C. 
 Nye purchased the rancho and opened a store 
 at New Mecklenburg. The place then became 
 known as Nye's rancho. In 1849 ^ town was 
 laid out and named Yubaville. The name was 
 changed to Mar^'sville in honor of the wife of 
 the proprietor of the town Covilland. His wife 
 was Mary Murphy, of the Donner party. Marys- 
 ville, being at the head of navigation of the 
 north fork of the Sacramento, became the en- 
 trepot for mining supplies to the miners in the 
 rich Yuba mines. After the decline of mining 
 it became an agricultural center for the upper 
 portion of the Sacramento. Its population in 
 1880 was 4,300; in 1890, 3,991; in 1900, 3.397. 
 
 REDDING. 
 
 The Placer Times of May 8, 1850, contains 
 this notice of Reading, now changed to Red- 
 ding: "Reading was laid ofif early in 1850 by 
 P. B. Reading at the headwaters of the Sacra- 
 mento within fortv-five miles of the Trinity 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 255 
 
 diggings. Reading is located in the heart of a 
 most extensive mining district, embracing as it 
 does, Cottonwood, Clear, Salt, Dry, Middle and 
 Olney creeks, it is in close proximity to the Pitt 
 and Trinity rivers. The pet steamer. Jack 
 Hayes, leaves tomorrow morning (May 9, 1850) 
 for Reading. It has been hitherto considered 
 impossible to navigate the Sacramento to this 
 height." The town grew rapidly at first, like 
 all mining towns, and like most of such towns 
 it was swept out of existence by fire. It was 
 devastated by fire in December, 1852, and again 
 in June, 1853. ^^^ original name, Reading, got 
 mixed with Fort Redding and it now appears on 
 all railroad maps and guides as Redding. Its 
 population in 1890 was 1. 821 : in 1900, 2,940. 
 
 PAS.'VDENA. 
 
 Pasadena is a child of the colony era of the 
 early '70s. Its original name was the Indiana 
 Colony. In 1873 a number of persons formed a 
 company for the purchasing of a large tract of 
 land and subdividing it among them. They in- 
 corporated under the title of the San Gabriel 
 Orange Grove Association and purchased four 
 thousand acres in the San Pasqual rancho, sit- 
 uated about nine miles east of Los Angeles city. 
 This was divided on the basis of one share of 
 stock being equivalent to fifteen acres. Each 
 stockholder received in proportion to his invest- 
 ment. Tlie colonists turned their attention to 
 the cultivation of vineyards and orange or- 
 chards. In 1875 the name was changed to Pasa- 
 dena, an Algonquin word meaning Crown of the 
 Valley. The colony had become quite noted for 
 its production of oranges. In 1887 the great 
 real estate boom struck it and the cross roads 
 village suddenly developed into a city. It has 
 become famous as a tourist winter resort. Its 
 population in 1890 was 4,882; in 1900, 9,117. 
 
 POMONA. 
 
 Pomona was founded by the Los Angeles Im- 
 migration and Land Co-Operative Association. 
 This company bought twenty-seven hundred 
 acres of the Rancho San Jose, lying along the 
 eastern border of Los Angeles county. The 
 town was laid ofif in the center of the tract. The 
 remainder of the tract was divided into forty- 
 
 acre lots. The town made a rapid growth at 
 first, but disaster overtook it. First the dry 
 season of 1876-77, and next a fire that swept 
 it almost out of existence. In 1880 its popula- 
 tion had dwindled to one hundred and eighty 
 persons. In about 1881 it began to revive and 
 it has made a steady growth ever since. It is 
 the commercial center of a large orange grow- 
 ing district. Its population in 1890 was 3,634; 
 in 1900, 5,526. 
 
 SAN BERNARDINO. 
 
 San liernnrdino was originally a Mormon col- 
 ony. In 1 85 1 one hundred and fiftv families 
 were sent from Salt Lake to found a colony or 
 a stake of Zion. The object of locating a colony 
 at this point was to keep open a line of coinmu- 
 nication with some seaport. San Bernardino was 
 near the old Spanish trail which led out through 
 the Cajon pass. Goods could be transported 
 to Salt Lake from San Pedro at all seasons of 
 the year, which could not be done to Salt Lake 
 over the central route westward or eastward 
 during the winter. The leaders of the Mormon 
 colony, Lyman and Rich, bought the San Ber- 
 nardino rancho from the Lugos. A portion of 
 the land was subdivided into small tracts and 
 sold to the settlers. The Mormons devoted 
 themselves to the cultivation of wheat, of which 
 they raised a large crop the first year and re- 
 ceived as high as $5 per bushel. The colony 
 prospered for a time, but in 1857 the settlers, 
 or all of them that would obey the call, were 
 called to Salt Lake by Brigham Young to take 
 part in the threatened war with the United 
 States. The faithful sold their lands for what- 
 ever they could get and departed. The gentiles 
 bought them and the character of the settlement 
 changed. The city of San Bernardino has an 
 extensive trade with the mining districts to the 
 east of it. Its population in 1890 was 4,012; in 
 1900, 6,150. 
 
 RIVERSIDE. 
 
 Riverside had its origin in the colonv era. It 
 began its existence as the Southern California 
 Colony Association. In 1870 an association, of 
 which Judge John W. North and Dr. James P. 
 Greves were leaders, purchased four thousand' 
 acres of the Roubidoux rancho and adjoining 
 
256 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lands, aggregating in all about nine thousand 
 acres. This was subdivided into small tracts 
 and sold to settlers at a low price. A town was 
 laid off and named Jurupa, but this being diffi- 
 cult of pronunciation its name was changed to 
 Riverside, which eventually became the name of 
 the settlement as well. An extensive irrigating 
 svstem was constructed and the cultivation of 
 citrus fruits became the leading industry. The 
 Bahia or Washington navel orange has made 
 Riverside famous in orange culture. It was 
 
 propagated by budding from two small trees 
 sent by the Department of Agriculture to a citi- 
 zen of Riverside. The city of Riverside in area 
 is one of the largest cities of the state. Its 
 boundaries include fifty-six square miles. Its 
 corporate lines take in most of the orange 
 groves of the settlement. By this means mu- 
 nicipal regulations against insect pests can be 
 better enforced. The population of Riverside in 
 1890 was 4.683 ; in 1900, 7,973. 
 
HON. JOHN DANIEL GOODWIN. 
 
 HON. JOHN DANIEL GOODWIN. No 
 definite information can be secured as lo the 
 exact date of the establishment of the Goodwin 
 family in America, but the genealogical records 
 show that they were identified with the colonial 
 history of the south and sent loyal youths to the 
 front to aid in securing independence for the 
 struggling colonies. One of these gallant young- 
 soldiers was seriously injured in the service, and, 
 in order to avoid being captured by the Tories, 
 he hid in a cave for six weeks until his wounds 
 had healed sufficiently for him to seek refuge 
 with his own army. In his old age he often told 
 to his descendants stirring talcs of his service 
 during the Revolution and his perils and hard- 
 ships during the most critical period of our na- 
 tional history. 
 
 Among the children of this Revolutionary hero 
 was a son, Daniel, born in South Carolina in 
 1768, and by occupation a ])lanter. .\bout 1831 
 he moved to Alabama and there became the 
 owner of a plantation with several slaves. At 
 the time of his death he was ninety-four years 
 of age. The next generation was represented bv 
 John, who was born in 1800 in Kershaw district. 
 South Carolina, and on the completion of an ex- 
 cellent education engaged in teaching school. 
 While still a young man he was elected to the 
 office of sherifl:', which he filled with characteristic 
 fearlessness and sagacity. However, the failure 
 of his health terminated his official and business 
 activities and forced him to seek a change of 
 climate in the hope of being benefited thereby. 
 Though lie went to Alabama, it was too late to 
 be of avail, and he died ere the journey was com- 
 ])leted. November 12, 1833. while he was still in 
 the prime of manhood. Undoubtedly had he 
 been spared to old age, he would have gained dis- 
 tinction and success, for he possessed intelligence 
 of a high order, energy and a capacity for affairs. 
 
 The marriage of John Goodwin united him 
 with Martha Nettles, who was born in Kershaw 
 district in South Carolina in 1802 and died in 
 .\labama in 1844, having s]3ent the years follow- 
 ing her husband's death in the home of her 
 father-in-law. She was a daughter of William 
 Nettles, who was born in Kershaw district, the 
 son of an Irish gentleman : during his active years 
 he followed mercantile pursuits in Camden, 
 where he died at the age of ninety-four. Having 
 been an officer in the War of 1812. he was hon- 
 ored with a military funeral, and the splendor of 
 the service made an indelible impression upon 
 the mind of his grandson. Judge Goodwin, who 
 was then a child of four years. In addition to 
 this veteran's service in the second war with Eng- 
 land, he had been a valiant soldier in the ranks 
 during the first great .struggle, and had endured 
 want, hardships and constant exposure such as 
 was incident to that memorable conflict. 
 
 In Camden, Kershaw district, South Carolina, 
 John Daniel Goodwin was born November 6. 
 1829. When a very small child lie was taken by 
 his mother to .Alabama and made his home with 
 his paternal grandfather on a plantation. Being 
 orphaned at an early age by his father's death, 
 he felt the necessity of earning his own liveli- 
 hood, and so secured work as a farm boy at the 
 age of twelve. After two years he went into a 
 store and remained there for fourteen months, 
 when he was taken ill. On regaining his health, 
 after an illness of several months, he took up 
 school work and was a student in local schools 
 for six months. At the age of seventeen he 
 began to teach in a country school and later at- 
 tended a preparatory school with the plan of en- 
 tering the Alabama State University, but was 
 compelled to relinquish his plans owing to lack 
 of funds. 
 
 When news came of the discovery of gold in 
 
 259 
 
260 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 California the young man was in a position to 
 follow the tide of emigration toward the Pacific 
 coast, and accordingly, in February of 1850, he 
 came from his old home in the south via the 
 Panama route, then up the Pacific to San Fran- 
 cisco, where he landed on the 6th of June. At 
 once he proceeded to the mines at Auburn, but 
 no great success rewarded his efforts at prospect- 
 ing there. During 1851 he began prospecting at 
 Nevada City. With a party of twenty men he 
 entered upon the building of a ditch of nine miles 
 between Newtown and Deer creek, and spent the 
 entire summer at the work, only to find that the 
 mines were worthless and his time and money 
 wasted. In the fall of 1851 he went to Brown's 
 valley in Yuba county and assisted in organizing 
 a minmg company, of which he was chosen secre- 
 tary. Lender his supervision a ditch was con- 
 structed to a mine and a general store also was 
 carried on, but he found no profits accruing from 
 his work, so sold out in 1855 and returned to 
 Alabama, where on the 22d of August he mar- 
 ried Miss Martha J. Cravens, a native of that 
 state. Accompanied by his young wife, he came 
 to California and began housekeeping in Brown's 
 valley, but in 1856 sold out there and moved to 
 Spanish Ranch, Plumas county, where he con- 
 ducted a general store. On his election as county 
 clerk in 1859 he disposed of his business at Span- 
 ish Ranch and moved to Quincy, where since he 
 has made his home. All his active life he had 
 been ambitious to study law, and now for the 
 first time the opportunity to do so presented it- 
 self. During his leisure hours in the county 
 clerk's office he carried on his law studies, and in 
 1863 was admitted to the bar, since which time 
 he has made the law his profession. In 1865 he 
 was elected to the State Assembly from the dis- 
 trict composed of Plumas and Lassen counties. 
 
 Under appointment from Governor Irwin, in 
 1876, Mr. Goodwin was tendered the position of 
 judge of the twenty-first judicial district, which 
 district then comprised Plumas, Lassen and Mo- 
 doc counties. At the expiration of the term of 
 eighteen months he was the Democratic nominee 
 for the same office, but was defeated and then 
 took up general professional work. May 12, 1905, 
 he received from Governor Pardee the appoint- 
 
 ment of superior judge of Plumas county, and 
 since then has had charge of the superior court. 
 Alike at the bar and on the bench he has proved 
 himself earnest, resourceful, capable and saga- 
 cious, a man of great dignity and culture, a 
 scholar notwithstanding lack of early advantages, 
 and a stanch friend to those whose friendship he 
 cherishes, yet equally firm in his opposition to 
 those whose deceits he has unveiled. 
 
 The wife of Judge Goodwin was a daughter of 
 Jesse P. Cravens, M. D., a native of Kentucky 
 and for years a physician of Alabama. When the 
 Civil war had devastated his plantation and 
 stripped him of the accumulations of a lifetime, 
 he came to California and for twelve years made 
 his home with his daughter, Mrs. Goodwin, but 
 eventually returned to Alabama ; there he passed 
 away at the age of eighty-three years. Six chil- 
 dren were born to the union of Judge and Mrs. 
 Goodwin, namely: Martha L., who resides in 
 Quincy with her parents : Ella, who died in in- 
 fancy ; Cora, who was eighteen at the time of her 
 death ; William Nettles, who is an influential at- 
 torney of San Francisco; Kittie M., deceased; 
 and Grace, wife of Hon. Ulysses S. Webb and a 
 resident of Sacramento. About 1878 Mr. Webb 
 became a resident of Plumas county, and in 1890 
 he was elected district attorney, which position 
 he resigned in order to accept the office of attor- 
 ney-general of the state. The influence of Judge 
 Goodwin is strong throughout the state and was 
 in large measure responsible for the selection of 
 his son-in-law to his present responsible post. 
 
 In fraternal relations Judge Goodwin was for- 
 merlv active in Masonry, having been initiated 
 into the order in 1854 in Yuba Lodge at Marys- 
 ville, from which he was demitted to Plumas 
 Lodge No. 60, F. & A. M., at Quincy, and still 
 holds membership in the latter organization. 
 Though at one time a Democrat in his views, 
 during the Spanish-American war he found him- 
 self opposed to the measures which his party 
 supported and in sympathy with the colonial 
 theory of the Republican party. For the office 
 of superior judge he was endorsed by both the 
 Republican and Democratic central committees, 
 and this unanimity of opinion is the tribute to 
 his high standing as a man and a jurist. In 1903 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 261 
 
 he assisted in the organization of the i'hinias 
 County Bank, in which now he is a stoekholder 
 and cHrector. Though his mining ventures proved 
 unprofitable he met with success in the law and 
 has a competency which his efforts justly merit. 
 When at leisure from official duties he enjoys the 
 pleasures of his beautiful home in Quincy, with 
 its two hundred acres extending back into the 
 mountains. Not only are the mountains a source 
 of scenic beauty, but they have proved of prac- 
 tical value, as they are the source of a spring of 
 excellent water, which the judge, by means of 
 underground pipes, conveys into Quincy and thus 
 supplies the town with water. In many other 
 ways he has aided the material development of 
 his home town and has fostered enterprises for 
 its permanent progress. On August 22, 1905, 
 the fiftieth anniversary of the marriage of Judge 
 and Airs. Goodwin was held at their home in 
 Quincy and was attended by a large concourse of 
 friends from Plumas countv. 
 
 HIRAM HOYT RICHMOND, now serv- 
 ing as postmaster of Auburn, Placer county, 
 was born in Lebanon, Madison county, N. Y., 
 Mav 8, 1843, the eighth in a family of ten chil- 
 dren that blessed the union of his parents, Tra- 
 jan and Lydia (Cazier) Richmond. The name 
 had long been established on American soil, the 
 first emigrant being an Englishman who lo- 
 cated in New England and reared a family to 
 the high principles characteristic of our citizen- 
 ship. Tlie great-grandfather of Hiram H. Rich- 
 mond served in the Revolutionary war from 
 Connecticut, whence the family had drifted from 
 Massachusetts, while his son David, who be- 
 came a farmer in \'ermont, participated in the 
 War of 1812. 
 
 Trajan Richmond was born in Poultney, Rut- 
 land county, \"t., and in young manhood became 
 a student in the \'ermont Medical College (of 
 Castleton), fron.i which institution he was later 
 graduated with the degree of M. D. He fol- 
 lowed the westward trend of civilization and lo- 
 cated in Madison county, N. Y., where he prac- 
 ticed his profession successfully until his retire- 
 
 ment, his death occurring in 1878. He was 
 prominent in various walks of life, being a Ma- 
 son of high degree and a citizen foremost in the 
 promotion of all movements which had for their 
 end the upbuilding of city, county or state 
 wherein he made his home. His wife, who also 
 died in New York, was the descendant of an old 
 riiid honored colonial family, an ancestor par- 
 ticipating in the Revolutionary war. The family 
 is of French-Huguenot stock, the Massacre of 
 St. Bartholomew driving them from their native 
 land, later members taking refuge in America, 
 in the state of New Jersey. Mrs. Richmond's 
 father, Mathias Cazier, a native of New Jersev, 
 graduated at Princeton College and in young 
 manhood became a Presbyterian minister, to 
 which calling he devoted the best years of his 
 life. His death occurred in Madison countv, 
 N. Y., in the year 1839. Of the ten children 
 born to Dr. and Mrs. Richmond Charles E. died 
 near Ft. Scott, Kans. ; Charlotte is the wife of 
 H. S. Magill, of Auburn, 111.; Rollin M. is lo- 
 cated in New York ; Joel C. was a soldier in the 
 One Plundred and Fourteenth Regiment New 
 York Infantry and died in New Orleans, im- 
 mediately following the first Port Hudson cam- 
 paign ; Cornelia is the wife of George Martin, a 
 Civil war veteran in an Illinois regiment, and 
 now residents of Harvard, Neb. ; Lewis L., a 
 resident of St. Louis, Mo., was a soldier in Com- 
 pany C, Twenty-sixth Regiment New York In- 
 fantry, and was wounded in the shoulder in 
 August, 1862, at the second battle of Manassas; 
 he died in 1886. Sarah E. is a resident of Mad- 
 ison county. N. Y. ; Hiram Hoyt is the subject 
 of this review ; Albert D. was also a member of 
 the One Hundred and Fourteenth Regiment 
 New York Infantry: and Edwin AI. is a resident 
 of New York. 
 
 Hiram Hoyt Richmond was reared on the 
 home farm, which his father operated in con- 
 nection with his practice of medicine, and re- 
 ceived a substantial education in the public 
 schools of Lebanon. He was only eighteen years 
 old when he responded to the call for volunteers 
 in behalf of the Union, being the first to enlist 
 in his town. He was enrolled in Company C 
 Twenty-sixth Regiment New York Infantry, 
 
262 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and was mustered in at Hamilton, N. Y., his 
 regiment soon engaging in active service. 
 While serving on picket duty in September, 
 1861, he and four others were captured by Wade 
 Hampton's cavalry, and for nine months were 
 held prisoners before being exchanged, spending 
 their time at Richmond', Salisbury and Tusca- 
 loosa. They were returned to their regiment 
 just before the battle of Antietam, in which they 
 participated, and a little later the battle of Fred- 
 ericksburg, in which Mr. Richmond was wound- 
 ed in the" left leg by a minie ball. After being 
 incapacitated for some time he was finally dis- 
 charged in March, 1863, when he returned home 
 and took up the studies which had been inter- 
 rupted by the call to arms. He entered Caze- 
 novia Seminary and two years later completed 
 the scientific course, and in May, 1865, went to 
 Denver, Colo., and secured a position on the 
 Rocky Mountain News. Returning to Illinois 
 in the same year he taught school in Sangamon 
 county, and in 1866 crossed the plains to Boze- 
 man, Mont., where he spent the ensuing winter. 
 He mined on Alder Gulch and in the vicinity of 
 Virginia City, while he also proved himself a 
 capable and reliable citizen of the western coun- 
 try by volunteering for service in putting down 
 the Blackfeet Indians in the Yellowstone coun- 
 try, serving as Lieutenant in tlie body of cav- 
 alry with which he was identified. Not wish- 
 ing to spend another winter in Montana, where 
 the chief source of diet was elk meat, and where 
 countless disadvantages added to the hardships 
 of the country, he came to California in the fall 
 of 1867, and in Placer county successfully passed 
 the teacher's examination and began teaching 
 school. For fourteen years he was thus occupied 
 and at the same time gradually assumed a place 
 of prominence among the representative citizens 
 of Placer county, his ability, fidelity to duty and 
 personal character winning universal confidence. 
 In 1880 he became census marshal and fulfilled 
 the duties devolving upon him. 
 
 In i886 Mr. Richmond purchased an interest 
 in the Placer .4ygus and edited the same for some 
 time, finally merging this paper with the Re- 
 publican, which was known thereafter as the 
 Placer County Republican. He continued his 
 
 position of editor until 1900, when, in August of 
 that year, he was appointed postmaster of 
 Auburn by President jMcKinley, at which time 
 he severed all business connections in order to 
 be able to devote his time and attention entirely 
 to his new duties. Re-appointed to the office in 
 December, 1904, by President Roosevelt, he has 
 since served efficiently in this capacity, carrying 
 with him into the performance of his duties the 
 same fidelity which had distinguished his ef- 
 forts in all business enterprises. 
 
 Mr. Richmond is located in Auburn, his home 
 being presided over by his wife, a woman of cult- 
 ure and refinement and a prominent figure in 
 the social life of the city. She was formerly 
 Miss Carrie M. Slade, a native of Genesee 
 county, N. Y. ; on the 29th day of April, 1879, 
 she became the wife of Mr. Richmond. In the 
 midst of his business cares Mr. Richmond has 
 still found time to ally himself with social and 
 fraternal organizations, being a prominent mem- 
 ber of the Monday Night Club, a local literary 
 organization, of which he was one of the organ- 
 izers, and belongs to the Odd Fellows and En- 
 campment of Auburn. In politics an ardent Re- 
 publican, he has always been active in his ef- 
 forts to advance the principles he endorses, serv- 
 ing for many years as a member of the county 
 central committee and chairman of the same for 
 some time. In memory of his "days and nights 
 on the battlefield" he assisted in the organization 
 of Belmont Post No. loi in 1886, and served as 
 commander. In 1896 he was elected delegate to 
 the National Encampment at St. Paul and en- 
 joyed at that time a reunion with many who had 
 served with him in the great civil struggle of 
 '61. Mr. Richmond is a member of the Pioneer 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he offici- 
 ates as president of the board of trustees. He 
 possesses more than ordinary literary talent and 
 has devoted as much time as possible to its culti- 
 vation, notwithstanding many engrossing business 
 interests, as early as 1885 publishing a book of 
 jxiems entitled "Montezuma," relating to the 
 life and origin of the early Aztecs. A work of 
 unusual merit, it secured immediate recognition 
 and placed him among the literary geniuses of 
 the west. At various times he has been called 
 
^V.^^LWt^X^V, 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 265 
 
 upon for the production of poems on special oc- 
 casions in the city of Sacramento and elsewhere 
 and has always fulfilled the high exiiectations of 
 those who know him. Personally he is such a 
 man as could win the friendship of all who came 
 within the range of association, for his qualities 
 are not a veneer, but are rather the eloquence 
 of a nobly inclined character ; in spite of many 
 years in the business world he still has implicit 
 faith in the integrity of human nature and is al- 
 ways looking for the best side, and not the worst, 
 in his fellow-men, and is therefore constantly 
 finding that which enlarges his own nature, 
 builds higher his wall of trust, and rounds out 
 and completes a splendid example of manliness 
 and manhood. 
 
 WILIJAM JAMES EDWARDS. Few 
 names in Plumas county are vested with more 
 honor than that of William James Edwards — 
 not for the high position he won in aflFairs of 
 state, nor for the vast wealth he accumulated, 
 nor for the glory of personal conquest, but for 
 the incomparable manhood that endeared him 
 to a whole cotmtryside that mourned his death as 
 a personal loss. Throughout his entire life he 
 had been a resident of Quincy, where his birth 
 occurred December i6, i860; his parents, of 
 English birth and breeding, located here in 1855, 
 and here passed the best years of their lives, 
 at its close being laid side by side in "God's 
 Acre" in the little city of their adoption. The 
 greater part of Mr. Edwards' educational train- 
 ing was received in the public schools of Quincy 
 and in young manhood he entered upon a busi- 
 ness career, which, to the day he laid down 
 alike the pleasures and responsibilities of life, 
 was a fair page untouched by the shadow of 
 personal greed or dishonor. As proprietor of 
 the PlumaS' House he came in contact with a 
 vast number of people and lost nothing through 
 his intimate association with them, but instead. 
 by his ever courteous, kindly and hospitable na- 
 ture, won friendships that outlasted dissolution 
 itself. He was generous to a fault, and though 
 there are many to tell of the constant outpour- 
 
 ing of the best in his life — money, sympathy, 
 courtesy and kindliness — yet he combined with 
 this characteristic a modesty and a depreciation 
 of his own merits that as often withheld from 
 the assisted one the name of the donor. Yet 
 with all his generosity and the absence of greed 
 or avarice, such was his business ability that he 
 could not fail to accunndate considerable prop- 
 erty, being, in fact, with scarcely an exception 
 the largest land-owner in Quincy, while he 
 also owned valuable ranch land in the vicinity, 
 and was as well extensively identified with min- 
 ing interests in Plumas and adjoining counties. 
 Just prior to his death, which occurred Septem- 
 ber 8, 1905, he had planned many valuable im- 
 provements upon his property, and was looking 
 forward to many years of usefulness in both the 
 upbuilding of his own interests and those of the 
 place of his nativity. Endowed with unfailing 
 patriotism and loyalty, his public spirit was man- 
 ifested upon all occasions, his influence and ma- 
 terial aid being given always toward the further- 
 ance of any plan for the upbuilding and develop- 
 ment of Quincy and Plumas county ; no move- 
 ment for the public welfare in the last twenty 
 years has lacked the stanch support of Mr. Ed- 
 wards and many would have been brought to 
 ignominious failure but for his timely aid. 
 
 .\s in his public life, so in his private. In 
 early manhood he was united in marriage with 
 the woman of his choice. Miss Delia R. Wilson, 
 and throughout the years of their union love 
 and sympathy and kindness held their hearts 
 and lives together. He was unfailing always in 
 the highest qualities of manhood — a genuine sym- 
 path\' and tenderness, a cheery patience in the 
 midst of all trials, and a faithfulness that sur- 
 vived to the end. Mrs. Edwards, who survives 
 her husband and since his death has taken up 
 the burdens and responsibilities of his large es- 
 tate, is a native of the state of New York, whence 
 she came to California with her parents in child- 
 hood. In the grammar schools of San Francisco 
 and the State Normal of San Jose, she received 
 her education, after which she engaged as an 
 educator in Quincy. An enthusiast in her work, 
 and of unusual capabilities through her broad 
 culture and excellent training, she rose rapidly 
 
266 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to a position of prominence among tlie educators 
 of the county, her withdrawal from tliis Hne 
 of work, through her marriage with Mr. Ed- 
 wards, being largely deplored. However, she 
 has kept in close touch with all lines of advance- 
 ment and has remained particularly active in the 
 teaching of dramatic art and physical culture. 
 Possessing admirable qualities enhanced by lib- 
 eral training, she has always been held in the 
 highest esteem for her frank, sweet womanhood, 
 and since her assumption of business duties in 
 the management of the large estates left to her 
 care and the conduct of the Plumas House (which 
 was founded by the Edwards family and for two 
 generations has been under their management), 
 she has demonstrated the executive ability and 
 unerring judgment with which nature also en- 
 dowed her. 
 
 Mr. Edwards was placed to his eternal rest 
 under the auspices of the Native Sons of the 
 Golden West, with which order he had been 
 identified for many years, having been a charter 
 member of Quincy Parlor No. 131 and one of its 
 most faithful and prominent upbuilders. He was 
 also a.ssociated as a member of Plumas Lodge 
 No. 88, I. O. O. F., which acted as escort. Many 
 were the beautiful floral offerings, bespeaking 
 the affection in which he was held ; and deep 
 and heartfelt were the tributes paid him by those 
 who had known him all his life in the words 
 spoken above his bier. It was much to have 
 lived as he did ; it was much to have passed away 
 with the universal commendation and love which 
 proved unquestioningly the worth of his life. 
 His influence is not ended ; the cheer and bright- 
 ness of his life, the courage and strength of 
 purpose still leave their impress upon those who 
 have known him. 
 
 RANSOM H. STANLEY. The town of 
 Cedarville, which lies in the northeastern part 
 of California near the state line of Nevada, num- 
 bers among its best-known and most influential 
 men the editor and publisher of the Surprise \'al- 
 ley Record, a weekly paper patronized by local 
 advertisers and by a growing list of subscribers. 
 
 The headquarters of the newspaper and its pro- 
 prietor is also the central office of the local tele- 
 phone system and the office of the local branch 
 of the California and Oregon Telegraph Com- 
 pany, which since 1898 has been under the super- 
 vision of the editor. When it is mentioned that 
 Mr. Stanley, in addition to being editor and pub- 
 lisher of a paper and manager of a telegraph 
 office, is also the owner of a ranch of one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres near Adin. and since 1902 
 vice-president and a stockholder in the Kistler 
 Brothers Company, it will be seen that he is one 
 of the town's principal business men and a leader 
 in local activities. 
 
 Born in Decatur county, Iowa, June 10, 1861, 
 Ransom H. Stanley was a child of about five 
 years when, in 1866, the family crossed the 
 plains with wagons and ox-teams, settling in 
 Placer county, where the father engaged in min- 
 ing about eighteen months. From there he w^t 
 to Petaluma and engaged in the slaughtering 
 business for San Francisco wholesale meat 
 houses. After perhaps ten years he removed to 
 Lake county, this state, and settled at the village 
 of Lower Lake, where he filled the offices of post- 
 master and justice of the peace. His wife died 
 in California when their son, R. H., was only 
 six years of age. The latter was educated in 
 grammar schools and the Napa high school, from 
 which he was graduated in 1880. Learning the 
 printer's trade he followed that occupation in 
 different parts of the state, and in i88g, with a 
 partner, conducted the Lassen Mail at Susan- 
 ville, but sold out a year later and removed to 
 Dav, Cal., where he conducted a paper, The Four 
 Conicrs. about eighteen months. In the spring 
 of 1892 he came to Cedarville and established the 
 first paper in the town and the only one pub- 
 lished in Surprise valley. His marriage took 
 place at .\din, Modoc county, March 8, 1891, and 
 united him with ]\Iiss Christine Anderson, a na- 
 tive of Wisconsin, and an earnest member of the 
 INIethodist Episcopal church. Two children, 
 Leon and Fay, bless their union. 
 
 The political affiliations of Mr. Stanley always 
 have been with the Democratic party, and during 
 the second term of President Cleveland he was 
 appointed postmaster of Cedarville, an office that 
 
2/77-^^-2^^7^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2fift 
 
 he filled for five years, until the national admin- 
 istration became Republican. Interested in Ma- 
 sonry, he is past and present master of Surprise 
 Valley Lodge Xo. 235, F. & A. M. ; memljer of 
 Acacia Chapter Xo. 64, R. A. M., at Adin; 
 patron of the Eastern Star Lodge at Cedarville, 
 with which his wife is identified as secretary; 
 member of the Ancient Order of United Work- 
 men and past master workman of his lodge ; and 
 past noble grand of Cedarville Lodge Xo. 249, 
 I. O. O. P.. at Cedarville, which he has repre- 
 sented at different times, as delegate to the grand 
 lodge. In the work of these fraternities, as in 
 all movements and organizations calculated to 
 promote the material, social .or commercial inter- 
 ests of the community, he is deeply interested, 
 and to them gives cordial co-operation and sym- 
 pathetic assistance. 
 
 JOHX HEATH BOXXER. When the mem- 
 orable battle of Hastings brought England under 
 Xorman-French influences the Bonner family, 
 which was of Xorman origin, became established 
 in the south of England, and its representatives 
 lived and flourished at Kent for many successive 
 generations. As early as 1642 the family was 
 traftsplanted to America, during which year Capt. 
 Thomas Bonner immigrated to the colony of Vir- 
 ginia and settled at Reams Station in Dinwiddie 
 county, the location of the famous battle of Pe- 
 tersburg during the Civil war. During the war 
 of the Revolution one of the name served as an 
 officer under George Washington. In recogni- 
 tion of his valor and fidelity he received, through 
 congress, a grant of five thousand acres of land 
 in what was known as the \'irginia Reserve of 
 southwestern Ohio, and thither he removed his 
 family during the year 1802, later founding a 
 town now known as Zenia. the county-seat of 
 Greene county. Another branch of the family 
 went from Virginia to Georgia and Texas. 
 
 On the homestead which formed a portion of 
 the grant his father had received from the gov- 
 ernment in recognition of his war services, Philip 
 Davis Bonner was born, and there he passed the 
 years of boyhood and youth, and later married 
 
 Miss Mary Heath, with whom he established a 
 home near the old farm. Both he and his wife 
 died while yet in early life. Their son, John 
 Heath Bonner, was bom near Xenia, Ohio, Jan- 
 uary 5, 1838, and was the eldest of four children. 
 The death of his parents fortunately did not de- 
 prive him of home influences and careful train- 
 ing, for at the age of nine years he and two 
 younger children went to live with their grand- 
 father, Chappel Heath, near Keosauqua, Van 
 Buren county, Iowa, where he was reared to 
 manhood's estate and received fair educational ad- 
 vantages. In 1861 he crossed the plains to Cali- 
 fornia with wagon and ox-teams and settled at 
 Red Bluff, where he was employed in a mercan- 
 tile business for six years. In the meantime he 
 had formed the acquaintance of W. T. Cressler, 
 with whom afterward he was identifie'd in busi- 
 ness. In 1867 the two men came to Surprise 
 valley and laid out what is now the town of 
 Cedarville, opening the first store in the place 
 and erecting the first building here. For four- 
 teen years they gave their attention exclusively 
 to merchandising, but in 1882 they also estab- 
 lished a bank in Cedarville and thenceforward 
 devoted time and thought to the making of loans 
 and transacting of a general banking business 
 for the accommodation of their customers. 
 
 While carrying forward his personal enter- 
 prises Mr. Bonner was not negligent of the in- 
 terests of the village he assisted in founding. 
 Any movement for the upbuilding of local enter- 
 prises received his stanch support. In the build- 
 ing of the first road over the mountains to Altu- 
 ras he was deeply interested, for he recognized 
 that it would open up to the valley intercourse 
 with the broad and fertile stock-raising regions 
 to the west. X"o project was planned for the 
 benefit of the people and the development of the 
 valley which failed of his enthusiastic support, 
 and his name will always be remembered in local 
 history as that of a man devoted to the welfare 
 of tlie community and largely instrumental in 
 securing its present degree of prosperity. For 
 about thirty years he was a member of the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity and many times he was honored 
 with the office of master of the Cedarville Lodge. 
 For many years he served as inspector of this 
 
270 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Masonic district, and during the period of his 
 service he installed the lodges at Alturas and 
 Fort Bidwell, Modoc county. At the time of 
 his death he was officiating as treasurer of his 
 home lodge. Twice married, he was first united 
 in 1870 with Miss Emeline Claflin, by whom he 
 had two children, Ernest C, now the district at- 
 torney of ]\Iodoc county, and Edna, now deceased. 
 In 188S he was united in marriage with Mrs. 
 Lizzie N. Lee, and of this union two children 
 were born, Mary Heath and Marjorie May. 
 
 A useful and honorable career came to a close 
 when death terminated Mr. Bonner's activities, 
 November 19, 1904. The body was interred in 
 the Cedarville cemetery near the scenes so fa- 
 miliar to him throughout many years of business 
 activity. When he passed away, there were many 
 to mourn his loss, for it was everywhere recog- 
 nized that the town had lost one of its leading 
 citizens and the valley a man who had contrib- 
 uted largely to its material development. Per- 
 sonally he possessed many attractive qualities of 
 heart and mind. Generous and charitable in dis- 
 position, he gave frequently, but quietly and un- 
 ostentatiously, so that few knew of his kindnesses 
 save the recipients themselves. There are many 
 of these who could testify concerning his good- 
 ness of heart in helping them in times of ad- 
 versity and misfortune. While he gained busi- 
 ness success, he was even more fortunate in gain- 
 ing the confidence of his fellowmen and a high 
 standing for integrity and honesty. Always cour- 
 teous in his intercourse with others, always help- 
 ful to the deserving poor, he furnished an illus- 
 tration of the highest type of citizenship. Any 
 sketch of his life, however complete it might be 
 concerning his commercial activities, could not 
 depict the noble traits of character that endeared 
 him to his fellowmen ; nor could it describe the 
 generosity of the heart that bled for others' woes ; 
 the silent charity extended to the worthy poor 
 and unfortunate ; the purity of mind essential to 
 the highest exemplification of Christian charac- 
 ter ; the influence exerted for justice and moral- 
 ity ; vet these were prominent traits of his per- 
 sonality, and without them his character would 
 have been incomplete. Xo man stood higher in 
 the community than he, and few ever received 
 
 greater confidences than were reposed in him; 
 nor were any of these confidences ever betrayed, 
 for he was ever faithful to every trust reposed in 
 him. His influence was predominant in shaping 
 the early conditions of Cedarville and paving the 
 way for a refining civilization, every upward step 
 being identified with his progressive mind and 
 enthusiastic energy, and to him may be given 
 credit for a large degree of the prosperity that 
 the community now enjoys. 
 
 GAINES LANE COATES, M. D. Identi- 
 fied with Sierraville and the Sierra valley 
 throughout the greater portion of his profession- 
 al life. Dr. Coates has established an enviable 
 reputation for medical skill and extended knowl- 
 edge of the science to which he has given years 
 of thought and study. Without the aid of cap- 
 ital or influence he gained a thorough educatioii 
 in his chosen art and has since devoted himself 
 assiduously to its practice, meanwhile winning 
 hosts of personal friends and a goodly number of 
 patients among those in need of medical skill. 
 The conscientious practice of his profession en- 
 grosses his attention. No night is too dark or 
 cold for him to ansvyer the call for help ; no fam- 
 ily too poor to be refused his skill in the hour- of 
 need ; no case too intricate to baffle his keen 
 powers of diagnosis. A young man, with years 
 of labor in the future, it may be predicted that 
 honors and prosperity await him in the further 
 prosecution of his life-calling. 
 
 The Coates family is of southern extraction. 
 Washington Fletcher Coates was born in Mis- 
 sissippi and during boyhood removed to Texas, 
 where he grew to manhood and embarked in the 
 cattle-growing business. Through all of his act- 
 ive life he has followed stock-raising and still 
 makes a specialty of that occupation, in which he 
 has met with deserved and notewortliy success. 
 In young manhood he married Elizabeth Saun- 
 ders, who was born in North Carolina, of colo- 
 nial southern lineage ; at the age of about sixteen 
 years she accompanied members of the Saunders 
 family to Texas and there died at thirty-four 
 years, when her son, Gaines Lane, was a child of 
 
'^-^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 273 
 
 four years. The latter was bom in Coryell 
 county, Tex., March 25, 1873, and after his 
 mother's death he was taken to the farm home 
 of his maternal grandmother, under whose kind- 
 ly care he grew toward nianhood and received a 
 fair education. After having spent one vear as a 
 student in the college at Gatesville, Tex., in 1892 
 he came to California and secured emplovment 
 on a ranch in the southern part of the state. In 
 1893 he matriculated in the California Medical 
 College, where he took the complete course of 
 lectures and was graduated May 20, 1896, with 
 an excellent standing for class work. 
 
 After having practiced for nine months at 
 Sherwood, Tex., and for a similar period at 
 Susanville, Cal., Dr. Coates came to the Sierra 
 valley in 1897 and since then has built up a 
 growing practice in Sierraville and vicinity. 
 February 17, 1897, he established domestic ties 
 through his marriage to Miss Lottie Marie Veck, 
 of San Angelo, Tex., daughter of William S. 
 Veck, a pioneer of that place. Three children 
 came to bless their union, the eldest of whom, 
 \T^ck, died at twelve months. The others are 
 Thelma and Gaines L., Jr., aged respectively five 
 and three years (1906.) Stanch in his allegiance 
 to the Democratic party, Dr. Coates is yet far 
 from being a politician and, indeed, has never 
 been active in partisan affairs and has held no 
 office save that of school trustee. Prominent in 
 Masonry, he has been honored with the office of 
 master of Sierra Valley Lodge No. 184, F. & A. 
 M., also has officiated as inspector of the eleventh 
 district. Mountain Vale Lodge No. 140, I. O. 
 O. F., and Crystal Encampment of Sierraville 
 number him among their active members, as do 
 also the Orders of the Eastern Star and the 
 Rebekahs. 
 
 CAPT. AMANDUS C. KISTLER. The 
 life which this article delineates, began in 
 Berks county. Pa., October 29, 1845, i" the 
 home of Samuel M. and Esther (Moser) Kist- 
 ler, who were members of old Pennsylvania 
 families, and spent their entire lives in that 
 state. Nothing occurred to individualize the 
 life of Captain Kistler until he had attained 
 
 man's estate, when the outbreak of the war 
 between the north and the south changed the 
 quiet tenor of his existence and caused him 
 eventually to become a permanent resident 
 of the great west. On the completion of his 
 education he had commenced to teach school, 
 and was succes.sfully carrying forward the 
 work of his second year as an instructor, 
 when he resigned his position in 1864. Im- 
 mediately afterward he became a private in 
 the Fourteenth Regiment, U. S. A., and in 
 August of 1865, received a promotion to the 
 fank of second lieutenant, which he held un- 
 til his promotion to the rank of captain, in 
 December, 1867, and the latter commission he 
 held at the time of his resignation from the 
 regular army, in December of 1870. Mean- 
 while, at the close of the Civil war, in 1865, he 
 was sent to the Pacific coast with the first 
 regular troops ordered to that part of the coun- 
 try after the Rebellion. On the western coast 
 he was successively stationed at Forts Van- 
 couver and Steilacoom, in Washington, and 
 Camps Watson and Warner in Oregon, his 
 resignation taking place during the time he 
 was stationed at the camp last named. 
 
 After his resignation from the regular army 
 Captain Kistler engaged in the cattle business 
 in Oregon, but in 1879 became a resident of 
 Cedarville, Cal., and has since engaged in 
 mercantile pursuits. Shortly after his arrival 
 in this town he bought a part of the stock of 
 Cressler & Bonner and a mercantile establish- 
 ment was started under the name of Kistler 
 Brothers & Co. In 1886 the business was con- 
 solidated with that of Cressler & Bonner, and 
 the title was changed by the admission of Mr. 
 Johnstone into partnership. In 1889 the name 
 was again changed, this time becoming Kist- 
 ler Brothers & Co., from which in 1895 '^ was 
 changed to A. C. & O. P. Kistler, and as such 
 continued until the firm of Kistler Brothers 
 Company was incorporated for $50,000, in 
 1902, under the state laws of California. In 
 addition to the Cedarville establishment they 
 have a store at Eagleville, and for two years 
 also carried on a similar enterprise at Lake 
 City. Their stock comprises a complete line of 
 
274 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 supplies for the house and the table, as well 
 as wearing apparel for men and women, cloth- 
 ing of all kinds, and, indeed, everything to be 
 found in a first-class general store. 
 
 In 1875 Captain Kistler was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Ella Drouillard, who died in 
 1892. Afterwards he married Miss Stella E. 
 Stephens, by whom he had three children, 
 namely : John Amandus, Samuel Stephens and 
 Aline Isabel. In religious connections Mrs. 
 Kistler holds membership with the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, while the Captain adheres 
 to the faith of the Lutheran denomination in" 
 which he was reared. Upon the organization 
 of the blue lodge of Masonry at Cedarville, in 
 1873, he became one of its charter members, 
 but a few years later was demitted. The Re- 
 publican party has received his support ever 
 since he became of age, but he has taken no 
 active part in politics, nor has he ever con- 
 sented to become a candidate for local posi- 
 tions of a political character. 
 
 HON. FELIX GRUNDY HAIL. A notable 
 acquisition to the educational and political inter- 
 ests of Rum.as county is Hon. Felix G. Hail, 
 widely known as the editor of the Plumas Na- 
 tional Bulletin, a paper which since the spring 
 of 1892 has presented the local and general news 
 to the residents of Quincy with fair and im- 
 partial handling. The paper is Republican in 
 its political sentiment, and it was on the ticket 
 of this party that Mr. Hail was elected assembly- 
 man from the sixth district in 1890. He served 
 with distinction in the session which convened 
 in 1891, making an excellent record as chairman 
 of the committee on mines and mining. 
 
 Born near Linn Creek, Camden county, Mo., 
 October 19, 1851, F. G. Hail descends from 
 southern antecedents, his grandfather, John Hail, 
 having been a native of Kentucky. His entire 
 life had been passed as a farmer in that state, 
 his death occurring when he was a compara- 
 tively voung man. While the grandparents were 
 living in Kentucky their son Fielding was born, 
 July 19, 1824, and he was nine years old when. 
 
 in 1833, he went to Missouri with his mother and 
 stepfather. Until 1858 he carried on farming in 
 the latter state, and then moved to Kansas, and 
 after serving in the Mexican war crossed the 
 plains to California with horse teams in 1863. 
 Going directly to Butte county, he was located 
 on a ranch near Qiico for a time, but subse- 
 quently carried on a hotel in Cana, that county, 
 and there he died June 11, 1883. Unlike his 
 son, his political sympathies were enlisted in be- 
 half of Democratic principles, which he upheld 
 both by his voice and vote. His wife, formerly 
 Martha Ann Watson, was also a native of Ken- 
 tucky, but while- she was still a small child her 
 parents removed first to Illinois and later to 
 Missouri. From the time of the removal of the 
 family to the west in 1863 until the close of her 
 life she continued to be a resident of California 
 and the state of Washington, dying at Walla 
 Walla in February, 1903, at the age of seventy- 
 six years. She was a firm adherent of the Chris- 
 tian church, and in that faith she trained her 
 family. 
 
 Of the eleven children that comprised the pa- 
 rental family Felix G. Hail was the eldest and 
 was seven years old at the time of the removal to 
 Kansas. His advent in the Golden state dates 
 from his twelfth year, and from that age until 
 he was nineteen he attended the public schools 
 in Butte county and worked on his father's 
 ranch. After leaving home he determined to pre- 
 pare himself for teaching, and with this idea in 
 mind he resumed his studies first in Pine Creek, 
 later in Qiico, and finally in Jonesville, all in 
 Butte county. His efforts were rewarded in 
 1872 by receiving a first-grade certificate, which 
 he at once made use of by accepting a position as 
 teacher in the district schools of Butte county. 
 Three years later he came to Plumas county as 
 principal of a school in Big Meadows, and until 
 1884 taught successively in the schools of Cres- 
 cent Mills, Taylorsville and Greenville, having 
 in the meantime, in 1877, been elected county 
 superintendent of schools. During the four years 
 and ten months in which he filled this position 
 he taught classes regularly, and his administra- 
 tion was marked by a distinct and healthy growth 
 toward a higher educational standard. 
 
l/ 
 
 'h^^^^ /y^.^5^^^:^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 2Yo 
 
 Upon relinquishing his pedagogical duties Mr. 
 Hail purchased the Greenville Bulletin in 1884 
 and as editor and proprietor of the paper in- 
 creased its circulation and continued its publica- 
 tion until the fall of 1891, when he transferred 
 the entire plant to Quincy. In the spring of 
 the following year he enlarged his plant and cir- 
 culation by the purchase of the National, his pub- 
 lication since that date being known as the 
 Plumas National Bulletin. The consolidation of 
 the two papers and the incorporation of the busi- 
 ness have been beneficial to owner and citizens 
 alike, increasing the capital of the former, which 
 redounds to the advantage of the latter in a larger 
 and more satisfactory news sheet. Mrs. Hail, 
 who is a highly gifted woman, is assistant editor 
 of the paper, and also renders efficient help in the 
 capacities of bookkeeper and proofreader. 
 
 May 26, 1B78, Mr. Hail was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Mary Alvie Leonard, who was 
 lx>rn in Peoria, 111., but who since 1865 has been 
 a resident of California. With her mother and 
 stepfather she came to the state by the Panama 
 route, and March 10, 1865, they located in Plu- 
 mas county near Quincy. Mrs. Hail is a daugh- 
 ter of Dr. Alva and Rebecca IMerritte (Smith) 
 Leonard, the former of whom was a native of 
 Pennsylvania. Going to the middle west during 
 young manhood he located at Peoria, 111., where 
 the birth of his daughter occurred, and where 
 he practiced his profession until his death, when 
 onl_\- thirty-three _\ears of age. His wife was a 
 descendant of southern ancestors and was born 
 in Kentucky. Her education, however, was ac- 
 quired principally in Illinois, and in that state 
 sl'ie afterward taught for a number of years. 
 At the time of the breaking out of the Civil war 
 her home was in Tennessee, but after hostilities 
 had begun she removed to Leavenworth, Kans., 
 where her second marriage was solemnized. At 
 the age of seventy-four years she is still hale and 
 hearty and at her home in Modoc county, this 
 state, sl;e is enjoying the beauties of Nature as 
 depicted in the flora for which the state is fam- 
 ous. .She has made a complete study of the 
 plant.i and flowers indigenous to this state, and 
 her reputation as a botanist has not only made 
 
 her name well known throughout California and 
 Oregon, but throughout Europe as well. 
 
 Four children blessed the marriage of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hail, of whom three are living, as follows; 
 Herbert Felix, who is his father's foreman and 
 right-hand man in the office of the National Bul- 
 letin; Stella Merrittc, the wife of J. M. Hanley, 
 who is assistant district attorney of San Fran- 
 cisco; and Martha Leora, who is now attending 
 Kings Conservatory of Music in San Jose. Leon- 
 ard Fielding, the eldest child, was accidentally 
 drowned at the age of twenty-one years, when 
 in the first flush of young manhood, and his loss 
 was deeply mourned by lx)tb family and friends. 
 ]\Ir. Hail is well known in fraternal circles, hold- 
 ing membership in Plumas Lodge No. 60, F. & 
 A. M., of which he is secretar\-, and Plumas 
 Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. F., of which he is past 
 grand; while his wife is identified with the W. C. 
 T. U. and with the Woman's Qub. It may not 
 be out of place to mention in this connection that 
 prior to her marriage Mrs. Hail had been a 
 student in the State Normal at San Jose for two 
 years, leaving before the completion of the term 
 to be married to Mr. Hail, in 1878. Twenty-five 
 years afterward, and after she had become a 
 grandmother, in 1903 she resumed her studies in 
 the Normal, completing the course in eighteen 
 months and graduating with honors. 
 
 NOBLE SAMUEL McKINSEY. The iden- 
 tification of the McKinsey family with the 
 development of the west began in those memor- 
 able days following the discovery of gold 
 in California, when A. J. McKinsey, a native 
 of Crawfordsville, Ind., of Scotch descent, and 
 a farmer by occupation, crossed the plains and 
 began to search for gold in the mines near 
 Downieville, Sierra county. In addition to his 
 mining ventures he carried on a store at Snake 
 Bar in partnership with William Young. Early 
 in the 6o's he was appointed postmaster at 
 Downieville, and for eighteen years he continued 
 to fill the position with efficiency, but finally gave 
 up active business cares and retired to Susan- 
 ville. Upon his death, which occurred at San 
 
276 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Luis Obispo, his remains were brought back to 
 Susanville for interment. During his early man- 
 hood he married in Indiana, where his wife died 
 before he started west. Two sons of that mar- 
 riage were soldiers in the Civil war, serving with 
 an Indiana regiment. After coming to California 
 he married Mrs. Rachel Frasch, who crossed the 
 plains from Wisconsin about 1850 and settled in 
 Sierra county, where her husband was drowned. 
 
 The only child of his father's second mar- 
 riage, N. S. AIcKinsey was born at Downieville, 
 Cal., May 8, 1855, and as a boy aided his father 
 in the postofifice. At sixteen years of age he en- 
 tered the office of the Mountain Messenger. 
 where he learned telegraphy as well as the print- 
 er's trade. When nineteen years of age he en- 
 tered the employ of the Western Union Telegraph 
 Company and for a year engaged in the con- 
 struction of lines through the Sacramento val- 
 ley, after which he spent twelve months in placer 
 mining at Goodyear Hill. However, little suc- 
 cess met his efforts in the mines, so he returned 
 to the construction of telegraph lines and later 
 was appointed operator at Sierra City, from there 
 going in a similar capacity to other points. In 
 1877 he became superintendent of construction 
 on the line extending from Taylorsville, Plumas 
 county, to Susanville, Lassen county, in which 
 latter city he opened the first telegraph office 
 June 24, 1877. After he had conducted the office 
 for two years it was abandoned by the owners 
 on account of the deep snows on the Sierras in- 
 terfering with winter work. 
 
 During 1879 Mr. McKinsey was clerk and 
 bookkeeper for L. N. Breed at Janesville, after 
 which he published the Lassen Adz'ocate at Su- 
 sanville and the Modoe Independent at Alturas, 
 conducting the same until 1889. Meanwhile, 
 with E. R. Dodge and W. H. Hall, he had be- 
 come interested in a telegraph and telephone sys- 
 tem. In connection with A. R. Bidwell a line 
 was completed to Clear creek August 9, 1888, 
 and this was used with the line from Greenville. 
 After Mr. Bidwell's interest had been purchased 
 a line from Greenville to Sierra City was bought 
 from the Western Union Telegraph Company, 
 and this furnished connection with Sacramento. 
 June I, 1889, a line was completed to Alturas via 
 
 Hayden Hill and Adin, and in September of the 
 same }ear the line was extended to Bieber. Sep- 
 tember I, 1894, the line was extended to Reno, 
 Nev., at which time connection with Sierra City 
 was severed and the transfer was made at Reno. 
 The line from Eureka to Sierra City was then 
 sold to the Phunas Eureka Mining Company, 
 while the wires were taken up between the 
 Plumas Eureka mine and Ouincy. By these 
 changes Ouincy, Crescent Mills, Greenville and 
 Taylorsville were placed on lines direct tO' Reno 
 via Susanville. The next step in advance was 
 the extension of the line from x\lturas via Cedar- 
 ville, Lake City, Fort Bidwell and New Pine 
 creek to Lakeview, Ore., where the work ended 
 August 25. 1898, and in 1904 a new line was 
 built direct between Susanville and Alturas, the 
 old line via Hayden Hill and Adin being sold to 
 George IT. Knight of Adin, by whom the Modoc 
 & Lassen Telegraph Company was incorporated. 
 In November, 1897, the company also extended 
 tlie line from Susanville to jMilford. 
 
 From the first the company has had a success- 
 ful business existence, which may be attributed 
 to the intelligence and application of the general 
 superintendent, N. S. McKinsey, acting in har- 
 mony with the officers, who are as follows : W. H. 
 Hall, president ; Jules Alexander, vice-president ; 
 and J. E. Pardee, secretary. The headquarters 
 are in Susanville, which city has been greatly 
 aided by the building of the line, as have also 
 all the other towns reached in California and 
 Oregon. Additional facilities are provided by 
 the Lake County Telegraph & Telephone Com- 
 pany, which owns one hundred miles of lines and 
 connects with the California line at Lakeview, 
 Ore. 
 
 The inventive ability which Mr. McKinsev 
 possesses has been of the greatest assistance to 
 him in his present business. One of his earlv 
 inventions was a telegraph and telephone line, 
 v,'hich was the first combination line in use in 
 the whole world and was his own appliance. 
 Another important invention, which he devised 
 with A. R. Nelson, is a selective lockout tele- 
 phone system, by means of which the subscriber 
 and not the central office controls the line. Af- 
 ter three years of labor devoted to perfecting the 
 
l£jt£^^.-. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 279 
 
 invention, in 1905 Mr. McKinsey bought out Mr. 
 Nelson and is now the sole proprietor of the 
 system.. 
 
 With the exception of nine years of service as 
 postmaster of Susanville, Mr. McKinsey has 
 given his entire attention to his duties as super- 
 intendent of the California & Oregon Telegraph 
 Comjianv, and the inventive work coimected 
 therewith. In politics he is a stanch Republican, 
 but not active in such work. Fraternally he was 
 made a Mason in Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & 
 A. M., and is further connected with Lassen 
 Giapter No. 47, R. A. M., and Lassen Com- 
 mandery No. 13, K. T. Both himself and his 
 wife are members of the Eastern Star, Hesperian 
 Giapter No. 112, of which he is past patron, and 
 she past matron. At one time she was grand 
 conductress of the Grand Court of Amaranth 
 No. I of the state. Mr. McKinsey's marriage 
 united him with Miss Louisa B. Slater, who was 
 born in Susanville and died in this city, leaving 
 a daughter, Helen L. McKinsey, now Mrs. J. 
 McGregor, of Susanville. After the death of his 
 first wife Mr. McKinsey married Atawa Streshly, 
 who was born in Susanville. After taking a 
 normal school course in Los Angeles she re- 
 turned to Susanville, where she has since resided. 
 One daughter, Irene, blesses this union. 
 
 The father of Mrs. McKinsey is Orlando 
 Streshly, who was born in 1831 in Fredericks- 
 burg, Va., and since 1901 has made his home at 
 Azusa, Cal. Originally from Wales, the family 
 was foimded in America by Sir Harry and John 
 Streshly, who were among the founders of James- 
 town, Va., in 1607. Sir Harry Streshly died at 
 Raleigh in 1620. Among the descendants of 
 John was Capt. John Streshly, a Revolutionary 
 officer and a Virginia farmer. James Madison 
 Streshly, a son of the captain, was born in Vir- 
 ginia, served in the war of 1812, and died in \'ir- 
 ginia an aged man. In early life he had mar- 
 ried Mary Fitzhugh, daughter of William Henry 
 Fitzhugh, of Belair, Va. Of their five sons and 
 two daughters Orlando was the eldest. Immedi- 
 ately after news came of the discovery of gold 
 in California he took passage at New York on 
 the Unicorn, which rounded Cape Horn and land- 
 ed at San Francisco October 4, 1849. After 
 
 spending the winter at Sacramento he began 
 prospecting and then hired as a packer, later 
 engaged in teaming and hauling for himself. 
 From 1853 to 1856 he carried on a store in 
 I'lumas county. December 8, 1856, he married 
 IMiss Margaret Todd, who was born in County 
 Antrim. Ireland, of Scotch descent, and came to 
 California in 1854, remaining in this state until 
 lier death, in 1897, in Los Angeles. The children 
 of their union were named as follows : Mary- A., 
 now the wife of George B. Long, of Horse Lake; 
 Helena, Mrs. David Hyer, of Susanville; Eliza. 
 Mrs. William Homer McArthur, of Azusa: Ata- 
 wa, wife of N. S. ^McKinsey; J. M., a rancher of 
 Willow creek; W. O., a merchant of Azusa; 
 R. C, who is employed in the money order de- 
 partment in Los Angeles postoffice ; Tucker, who 
 died at seventeen years ; F. D.. a merchant in 
 Azusa; George L., an architect in San Francisco; 
 and Harry H., who is employed in the Los An- 
 geles postoffice. 
 
 After engaging in the hotel business at Quincy, 
 Plumas county, in September, 1857, Mr. Streshly 
 went to Soda Bar and the same year settled in 
 Honey Lake valley, where he engaged in ranch- 
 ing until 1862, and then began teaming with oxen 
 from this valley to Humboldt. After 1867 he 
 resumed ranching on his old farm. For two 
 terms he was sheriff of Lassen county, and then 
 served as assessor for four years. Later he lived 
 in Fall river valley and from there in 1882 he 
 removed to Los Angeles county, where he en- 
 gaged in horticultural pursuits until 1901, when 
 he sold his ranch and retired to Azusa, his pres- 
 ent home. 
 
 HON. WILLIAM W. KELLOGG. The an- 
 nals of the ancient city of Farmington show 
 that Lieut. Joseph Kellogg acted as a trainer of 
 the old Connecticut militia as early as 1651, but 
 save the fact that he came from England noth- 
 ing is known concerning his life history. Gen- 
 erations of the same name lived and labored and 
 died, leaving behind them the records of hon- 
 orable lives spent within the narrow confines of 
 New England. Not less worthy of the ancestral 
 name was Langdon Kellogg, a man of large com- 
 
280 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 mcrcial enterprises and the owner of mills for the 
 manufacture of powder. In marriage he became 
 united with Wealthy Boise, likewise a member 
 of an old and honored family of that region. At 
 their home in South Lee, Berkshire county, 
 Mass., their son, William W., was born March 
 13, 1837, and there he was given excellent gram- 
 mar-school and academic advantages. Upon at- 
 taining his majority, in 1858, he set out in the 
 world for himself and came via Panama to Cali- 
 fornia, where he prospected in Trinity county. 
 
 A pioneer of Plumas county, Mr. Kellogg 
 came to this part of the state as early as the fall 
 of 1858 and located at Rich Bar. on the east 
 branch of the north fork of Feather river, where 
 he engaged in mining with very indifferent suc- 
 cess. After about three years he abandoned 
 work in the mines and devoted his attention to 
 his duties as constable and justice of the peace. 
 In 1861 he was elected county assessor on the 
 first Republican ticket nominated in the state, and 
 removed to Quincy to enter upon official duties. 
 At the expiration of two years he was elected 
 county clerk, auditor and recorder, and served 
 in that capacity for one term. While holding the 
 position of assessor he served also as deputy sher- 
 iff under E. H. Pierce, sheriff. For some six 
 years he was editor and proprietor of the Quincy 
 Union, a newspaper which he published in his 
 home town. During intervals of leisure, while 
 following various pursuits, he studied law, and 
 in 1871 was admitted to the bar, after which 
 he began professional work at Quincy, and now 
 ranks among the most brilliant criminal lawyers 
 in the state. 
 
 As the representative of Plumas and Lassen 
 counties in the state assembly during 1880 and 
 1881, Mr. Kellogg first became familiar with the 
 public affairs of the commonwealth and was rec- 
 ognized as a man of brilliant mind among his 
 fellow-legislators. At the expiration of his term 
 in 1883 he was elected to the state senate from 
 Butte, Plumas and Lassen counties, and there, 
 as in the lower house, he won recognition by rea- 
 son of his fine mental endowments. Though not 
 active in fraternal work, he is a member of the 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen, and takes a 
 warm interest in its welfare. Partisanship does 
 
 not appeal to his mind, yet he is a politician in 
 the best sense of that term, and as a Republican 
 has for years been a local leader of his party. In 
 common with the majority of early settlers of 
 Plumas county, he has been more or less con- 
 stantly interested in mining and still owns to a 
 love for prospecting, yet he cannot boast of any 
 great success in his labors as a gold-seeker. 
 Among men of his profession he has a reputation 
 as a fluent \yriter, able speaker and quick thinker, 
 a man with weaknesses and showing human frail- 
 tics, yet one of warm-hearted, lovable disposition. 
 By his first marriage he has a son and daughter. 
 The son. Clarence W. Kellogg, M. D.. is a prom- 
 inent physician at Bakersfield. this state : and the 
 daughter, Maude May, is the wife of Frank 
 Gayton, of San Francisco. 
 
 WILLIAM WALLACE SCROLL. Early 
 in the colonial history of Virginia the Scholl 
 family immigrated from Germany and settled 
 upon a plantation in that then rich and undevel- 
 oped region. Like all other eastern families, in 
 time the}^ became transplanted into the west, fol- 
 lowing the star of empire in its westward revolu- 
 tion. Dudley Scholl, who was born near Rich- 
 mond in 1803, established a branch of the fam- 
 ily in Kentucky, settling in Qark county, where 
 he married and followed the carpenter's trade. 
 While Illinois was still considered frontier ter- 
 ritory he removed to Winchester, then in Mor- 
 gan, but now in Scott county, where he secured 
 employment at his trade. In 1835 he removed to 
 Pike count}-. 111., where he was employed in 
 the construction of the courthouse at Pittsfield. 
 As early as 1840 be removed still further toward 
 the west and took up land in the southern part of 
 Buchanan county, Mo. St. Joseph, the county 
 seat, was then a trading post established by the 
 old frontiersman, Joe Rubidoux. About 1856, 
 shortly after Kansas was opened up to settlers, 
 he took up land in Atchison county, twelve miles 
 from the present city of Atchison, where he im- 
 proved a farm and remained until his death in 
 1862. During the existence of the Whig party 
 he favored its prmciples and after its disintegra- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 281 
 
 tion he gave his allegiance to the newly organized 
 Republican party. 
 
 While making his home iji Kentucky Dudley 
 Scholl married Kittie Ann Xorris, who was 
 born in X'irginia in 1804, of English descent, 
 and died at seventy years of age. Both were 
 earnest members of the Baptist Church. Of 
 their eight children, the following .survive: 
 Josephine L., wife of A. P. Barnes of Marysville, 
 Cal. ; William Wallace, of Susanville ; Mrs. 
 Martha E. Pfeiffer of Petaluma ; and Peter D., 
 who first came to California in 1863 and now 
 operates a farm in Honey Lake valley. Will- 
 iam Wallace Scholl was born in Winchester, 111., 
 February 26, 1830, and at five years of age ac- 
 companied his parents to Pike county, same state, 
 going from there in 1840 to the Platte Purchase 
 on the frontier. Of school advantages he prac- 
 tically had none, being able to attend school only 
 a few weeks out of each year. In the summer 
 he was obliged to work on the home farm, but 
 when the severe storms of winter rendered out- 
 door work impracticable he was sent to the sub- 
 scription school held in a log building not far 
 distant from the homestead. Frontier expe- 
 riences were his from boyhood, for his father 
 belonged to that type of pioneers who blazed 
 paths in unknown regions for others to follow 
 and who might have been called appropriatelv 
 " advance agents of civilization." Impressed 
 upon his memory are the scenes of 1847 i" Fort 
 ■ Leavenworth, where he secured employment at 
 the government post for Ben Holliday. A 
 greater contrast to the present day scarcely could 
 be imagined. Indians were almost the only in- 
 habitants, for few white men as yet had vent- 
 ured so far into the wilderness or upon the 
 plains. 
 
 The first trip made by Mr. Scholl to the re- 
 gions west of the Rocky mountains was in 1850, 
 when he accompanied his employer to Salt Lake 
 and there disposed of a herd of stock, return- 
 ing to Leavenworth immediately afterward. 
 When he had decided to remove to the far west 
 he outfitted with a brother-in-law, A. P. Barnes, 
 in 1853, and during April started overland with 
 four yoke of oxen and one yoke of cows. Tlie 
 
 trip was made via Soda Springs, Sublett's Cut- 
 Off, Humboldt and Truckee rivers, Beckwith 
 Pass and BidwelFs Bar on to Marysville, where 
 they landed September 3, without the loss of any 
 stock and without any serious adventures by the 
 way. After having tried his luck in the mines 
 on the Yuba Mr. Scholl secured work with the 
 owner of a toll road, after which he bought four 
 mules and began to team to the mines. From 
 1862 to 1864 he made his headquarters in Sac- 
 ramento and followed the present line of the 
 Central Pacific Railroad to Virginia City and 
 Reno, using three twelve-mule teams for the 
 hauling of heavy loads. Although under great 
 expense (the three teaitis costing about $70 per 
 day) he was successful and accumulated con- 
 siderable means. 
 
 The Big White Pine mining excitement started 
 in the fall of 1868 and in February of the fol- 
 lowing year Mr. Scholl hauled two loads to that 
 point. Upon starting he telegraphed to .\ustin 
 for ten thousand pounds of rolled barley at ten 
 cents a pound, a total of $1,000. In the course 
 of his trip new roads and heavy storms conspired 
 to increase his difiiculties and for some time his 
 team was mired in the mud. Delayed until his 
 feed was exhausted, he was forced to buy hay at 
 $50 a ton. On reaching Hamilton he had a small 
 amount of feed left. The barley he sold for nine- 
 teen cents a pound, while three bales of hay 
 brought $85. During that trip he was seriously 
 ill with pleurisy and for a time was unable to 
 sit up in his wagon, but gradually recovered. 
 Shortly after he had recovered from the eflfects 
 of his exhausting journey he made a trip Ijack 
 to the east. 
 
 When the railroad was built via Carson into 
 Virginia City in 1872 the freighting experiences 
 of Mr. Schol! came to an end. The business be- 
 ing no longer profitable he sold out and came to 
 Honey Lake valley with John Cahlan. Shortly 
 after his arrival he bought land on the Susan 
 river three and one-half miles below Susanville 
 and also purchased property at Horse lake, where 
 he engaged in raising stock, utilizing his valley 
 farm mainly for the raising of grain. After some 
 years of profitable identification with the cattle 
 
282 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 industry in 1884 he sold his Horse lake ranch 
 and in i8go he disposed of the valley ranch to 
 Mr. Cahlan. At this writing he owns a valuable 
 hay and dairy farm of eight hundred and forty 
 acres near Milford, also three hundred and twen- 
 ty acres of pasture land in Plumas county, in 
 addition to his homestead in the city of Susan- 
 ville, where he resides. The accumulation of 
 this property represents years of unwearied labor 
 in the midst of many hardships and constant ex- 
 posure to the elements, with journeys through 
 dust and mud and snow, with perils by mountains 
 and by streams, and with the many other ex- 
 periences that mark the progress of a teamster's 
 life in the mining regions. Perhaps at no time 
 did he endure greater hardship than during the 
 trip of 1869 previously mentioned, but that was 
 bv no means his only experience of the kind ; 
 on two occasions he was hemmed in by snow at 
 Cisco for an entire winter and he recalls that 
 then, as well as at other times, he sleighed over 
 the tops of drifts that were twenty-five feet high. 
 In spite of exposure he remained robust and 
 sturdy and to this day does not show the effects 
 of his lifetime of toil. Doubtless this is due to 
 his equable disposition, cheerful mind and a 
 habit of not allowing himself to be perturbed by 
 difficulties. In teaming to almost inaccessible 
 camps he hauled loads that would have been im- 
 possible to one less experienced. More than once 
 his fourteen mules hauled a load of forty-two 
 thousand pounds besides their feed, yet in spite 
 of these heavy loads and difficult trails his ac- 
 cidents were few and unimportant. Careful, 
 painstaking and methodical, he traveled through 
 the most difficult passes with ease and safety. 
 As may be imagined, the nature of his occupa- 
 tion was such as to preclude participation in 
 politics, yet he is an ardent supporter of Repub- 
 lican principles and is fond of discussing national 
 problems with men of thoughtful mood and keen 
 intelligence. During the year 1892 he became a 
 stockholder in the Bank of Lassen County and 
 three years later, when the bank was reorganized, 
 he was chosen vice-president and a member of 
 the board of directors, both of which positions 
 he has since held. 
 
 WILLIAM S. COLLINS. In tracing the 
 American genealogy of the Collins family it is 
 found that the first of the name in the United 
 States was Nathan, a native of Nova Scotia, 
 but from early manhood a resident of New 
 England, where his busy life came to an end at 
 the age of eighty-four years. Next in line of 
 descent was Philander Collins, who was born 
 and reared in Vermont, became a farmer in 
 that state, and there died at the age of sixty- 
 eight years, leaving behind him a record as an 
 industrious farmer and honorable man. During 
 early manhood he married Mary, daughter Oif 
 Reuben Ross, both natives of Vermont, where 
 at the age of sixty-two years she entered into 
 eternal rest. Among her children was William 
 S., a native of Rutland county, Vt., born May 
 II, 1834, and in youth the recipient of such ad- 
 vantages as the locality and day afforded. At 
 the age of fourteen years he left school and 
 began to learn the tinner's trade, at which he 
 served a brief apprenticeship, and later worked 
 by the piece for some years. Subsequent there- 
 to he held a clerkship in a Vermont store. 
 
 Removing to Illinois in 1856 Mr. Collins be- 
 came clerk in a store at Rockton, Winnebago 
 county, and from there in 1859 he came over- 
 land to California, defraying the expenses of the 
 trip through his work as a guard, driver and in 
 other capacities. After his arrival in California 
 he secured employment by the month as a laborer 
 on a ranch in the Mohawk valley, Plumas county, 
 and from there in 1862 removed tO' the Amer- 
 ican valley. A year later he went to Nelson 
 Point, Plumas county, where he carried on a 
 hotel for several years, and later clerked in a 
 store. During May of 1871 he came to Loyal- 
 ton, Sierra county, where he was variously em- 
 ployed. From 1876 until 1887 he clerked in a 
 store, and from 1887 until 1892 he carried on 
 a mercantile business, but this proved a disas- 
 trous venture and ended in the loss of the store. 
 
 The political affiliations of Mr. Collins are 
 with the Republican party. I-'or twelve years he 
 held office as notary public and at this writing 
 he officiates as city treasurer of Loyalton. In 
 1872 he was appointed postmaster and held the 
 office until the burning of the town in 1879, when 
 
^IIP^slK^ 
 
 ty^^t^^v^ ^^LL-y-jL^ 
 
 J^. 
 
 Cc^<^ 
 
.^-^^^^^x 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 287 
 
 he resigned the position. Again, in i8(j2, he was 
 appointed postmaster under President Cleveland 
 and ever since then he has continued in the 
 office, being reappointed by each of the various 
 presidents who have succeeded to the executive 
 leadership of the nation. In June of 1883 he 
 was united in marriage with iNTrs. Mary F. Price, 
 who was born in ( )hio and came to California 
 a few months prior to her marriage, settling in 
 Sierra countv, where she remained until her 
 death in 1898. Among the people of his home 
 town Mr. Collins is well known as a pioneer, and 
 to the older settlers throughout the entire county 
 his name is also familiar as that of a man long 
 identified with local affairs. 
 
 HIRAM LEWIS. In the annals of Sierra 
 county the name of Hiram Lewis, late of Loyal- 
 ton, will ever hold a place of honor and distinc- 
 tion. As one of the original settlers of this sec- 
 tion of the state he assisted materially in devel- 
 oping its agricultural and industrial interests, 
 and as opportunity occurred used his influence 
 to encourage the establishment of enterprises 
 • conducive to the public welfare, and to the edu- 
 cational and moral progress of town and county. 
 .\ native of Missouri, he was born, December 5, 
 1820, in Franklin county. His father. John S. 
 Lewis, a native, probably, of Kentucky, was de- 
 scended from an old and influential southern 
 family. He served in the Mormon war, subse- 
 quently settling as a pioneer farmer in Missouri, 
 where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 until his death, at the age of forty years. His 
 wife, whose maiden name was Jane Osborn, was 
 born, without doubt, in Kentucky, and died 
 while yet in early womanhood, in Missouri. 
 
 His parents removing when he was a boy to 
 Jackson county, AIo., Hiram Lewis was there 
 brought up, obtaining his early knowledge of 
 books in the district schools, and under his 
 father's tuition becoming well acquainted with 
 the various branches of agriculture while young. 
 Marrying in 1844, Mr. Lewis took up a pre- 
 emption claim in Cass county. Mo., near Pleas- 
 ant Hill, and was there engaged in farming for 
 
 six years. In 1850, having learned the trade of 
 a bricklayer, he sold his farm and removed to 
 Pleasant Hill village, where for four years he 
 followed blacksmithing and bricklaying. Pre- 
 vious to this time, in 1849, intending to come to 
 California with the gold hunters, he had pur- 
 chased a fourth interest in an outfit, but on ac- 
 count of sickness had abandoned the idea and sold 
 his interest in the outfit to another man. In 1854, 
 fitting up one wagon for his wife and two chil- 
 dren, and another for provisions, he came over- 
 land to this state in a train of sixteen wagons. 
 After journeying for six months they arrived in 
 the Santa Clara valley, where they spent a year. 
 Locating then about nine miles from Healds- 
 burg, Sonoma county, .Mr. Lewas took up gov- 
 ernment land, which later proved to be a part of 
 an old Spanish grant. This he afterwards dis- 
 posed of and purchased a ranch near Healds- 
 burg, where, during the few years that he lived, 
 he was one of the foremost citizens, assisting in 
 its development, and helping to organize the 
 first Baptist church established in that vicinity. 
 Selling out in 1861, Mr. Lewis resided for two 
 years in \'acaville, Solano county, from there 
 coming, in 1862, to the Sierra Valley. Pleased 
 with the bright prospects for the future, he pur- 
 chased a pre-emption right to land east of the 
 railway, where Loyalton now stands, and at 
 once began the improvement of a farm. Diligent 
 and persevering, he succeeded well, and in 
 course of time bought additional land, becoming 
 owner of a well-improved and well-cultivated 
 ranch, on wliich he resided until his death, April 
 22. 1902, at the venerable age of eighty-one vears 
 and four months. 
 
 January 18, 1844. in Jackson county. Mo., Mr. 
 Lewis married Sarah Farmer, who w^as born in 
 Meigs county. Tenn., May 26, 1829. Her father. 
 Rev. John Farmer, a native of Tennessee, was a 
 Baptist minister, and besides owning a sawmill 
 and grist mill, was also interested in iron works, 
 carrying on a large business for those davs. In 
 1836 he moved with his family to Alissouri. and 
 on the pioneer farm which he there established 
 his death occurred May 2, 1845. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Abigail Reed, was born 
 in Tennessee, and died, at the age of fifty-one 
 
2.'^ 8 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years, in Missouri, July 28, 1840. The mar- 
 riage of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis was blessed by the 
 birth of six children: Mary J., who married 
 Rev. C. W. Rees, died at the age of thirty-eight 
 years ; ]\Ialinda R., widow of Joel Langdon, lives 
 with her mother; Nancy S., wife of Isaac West- 
 on, lives on the home ranch ; William Spurgeon, 
 of whom a brief sketch appears elsewhere in this 
 volume, is one of Loyalton's prominent citizens ; 
 Horace Edwin has charge of the lands belonging 
 to the parental estate ; and Richard Hiram com- 
 pletes the list. Mrs. Lewis resides on the home 
 farm, which the sons manage for her, conduct- 
 ing it skilfully and profitably. She is an active 
 member of the Baptist church, which she joined 
 when very young, and with which Mr. Lewis 
 united in 1849, being afterwards one of its most 
 loval and consistent adherents. 
 
 JOHN W. THOJ^IPSON. Until March 11, 
 1905, the roll call of the courageous men who 
 came to California during pioneer days included 
 the name of John W. Thompson, who was one 
 of Plumas county's most prominen-t citizens, and 
 to whose influence, both direct and indirect, may 
 be traced many improvements and advantages 
 over pioneer days which the present residents 
 enjov. x\s one of die earliest ranchers in the 
 county he took the initiative in the matter of 
 improvements, improving on old methods of 
 farming and employing lalxir-saving machinery 
 wherever possible. At his death he left a valu- 
 able home and ranch, known as the Illinois ranch, 
 and lying about four miles east of Ouincy, in 
 the American valley. The ranch comprises about 
 twelve hundred acres, of which about five hun- 
 dred are under cultivation. 
 
 Born in Bethel, Clermont county, Ohio, July 
 I, 1829, John W. Thompson was a son of Mc- 
 Kendre and Mary (McLane) Thompson, both 
 of whom died when their son was only two years 
 of age. and thus he had no personal knowledge 
 of his parents. After the death of his parents 
 he was taken into the home of his uncle, Lee 
 Thompson, who was a merchant in Point Pleas- 
 ant, Ohio, making his home with this relative 
 
 until he reached his majority, in the meantime 
 acquiring a fair education in the public schools 
 in the vicinity of his uncle's home. As this 
 period in his life and the general exodus to 
 California on account of the recent discovery of 
 gold were coexisting conditions it seemed an 
 invaluable opportunity for a young man of pluck 
 and ambition to get a start in the west, and with 
 this idea in mind Mr. Thompson set out for 
 California. Coming by way of the Panama route 
 he reached San Francisco in March, 1850, and 
 in the fall made his way to Plumas county. 
 Wisely foreseeing that a more dependable in- 
 come was to be obtained in almost any avenue 
 than that of mining, he opened a store and board- 
 ing-house at Nelson Point, which he conducted 
 with very satisfactory results until 1858, when 
 he sold out. In the meantime he had purchased 
 the ranch in this county which his widow now 
 owns, and here he conducted a stock business for 
 a number of years. During this time Plumas 
 county was incorporated as a separate county 
 and Mr. Thompson was appointed one of the 
 commissioners to act in behalf of its organiza- 
 tion, and in 1854 he was rewarded for his ef- 
 forts by raising the flag over the newly organized 
 county. 
 
 In 1858 Mr. Thompson disposed of his stock 
 interests and went east on a visit, but returned 
 a few months later, and going to Sutter county, 
 again became interested in the stock business. 
 This proved a losing venture, however, for he 
 was overtaken by the floods of 1861-62 and lost 
 $30,000 in stock. In the year last mentioned, 
 1862, he again came to Plumas county and once 
 more settled on the home place, carrying on 
 stock-raising and ranching, making a specialty 
 of raising fine trotting horses, one of which he 
 sold for $4,500. At Taylorsville, this county, 
 he was also the owner of a saw and grist mill, 
 which he ran with success for many years, but 
 disposed of them a few years prior to his death. 
 Mr, Thompson's marriage occurred in Marys- 
 ville, September 4, 1862, and united him with 
 Mrs. Rhoda (Cunningham) Graham, who was 
 born in Fairfield county, Ohio. Her parents, 
 Francis and Rhoda (Post) Cunningham, were 
 both natives of Pennsvlvania, and both were born 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 289 
 
 in the same year, ijyg. The fatlier was reared 
 in the locaHty of his hirth, Washington county, 
 but (hiring his early manhood, in 1832, he re- 
 moved to Ohio, and subsequently became a con- 
 tractor on the Scioto canal. He also owned a 
 tiour mill in that vicinity, which he conducted 
 with success until selling out his interests in Ohio 
 in 1852 to come to California. For a time after 
 locating here he Vias interested in mining, Ijut 
 later engaged in milling in Marysville. carrying 
 on what was known as the old Cunningham mills 
 from 1853 until i8()r, during which vear the 
 entire plant was destroyed by floods. This dis- 
 aster was the means of hastening his death, which 
 occurred the following year, his wife having died 
 in 1861, in Marysville. Although JMr. Cunning- 
 ham came to California in 1852, his wife did 
 not join bini imtil December, 1856, at which 
 time she was accompanied by her daughter 
 Rhoda, then the widow of Mr. Cjraham. I5y her 
 marriage with William D. R. Graham, who died 
 in 1854, she became the mother of one son. who 
 was named for his father, William D. R., and who 
 is now a bookkeeper in Reno, Nev. Three chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, 
 namely: Carrie M., who is the wife of W. J. 
 Miller, a merchant in Quincy ; Rhoda A., who 
 is at home with her mother ; and John W., a min- 
 ing engineer, who graduated from the University 
 of Nevada and holds a position with the Silver 
 King Mining Company of Utah. 
 
 From whatever viewpoint one scans the life of 
 Mr. Thompson the universal verdict is success. 
 Starting in life with nothing, not even a parent's 
 blessing, he advanced step by step, surmounting 
 innumerable obstacles in the course of his long 
 and useful life. The valuable ranch which he 
 owned at his death is well improved with two 
 brick residences, good barns, and is surrounded 
 by beautiful lawns. Here his widow and daugh- 
 ter Rhoda make their home, and in the care and 
 management of the ranch are carrying out his 
 policy as nearly as possible. Politically Mr. 
 Thompson was a Democrat in his views, but was 
 at no time a seeker after office, and the only 
 public position which he could be induced to 
 accept was that of school trustee. He was a 
 member of the State Agricultural .Association, at- 
 
 tending the fairs and maintaining a warm in- 
 terest in them. He was one of the organizers 
 of the District F'air .A.ssociation and a director 
 during its existence. 
 
 JAMES BR.ANHAM. The as.sociation of 
 James Branham with the commercial interests 
 of Susanville, Lassen county, has extended over 
 a period of about thirty-three years, his location 
 in the county dating from 1873, when he came 
 to this section to take charge of mining properties 
 owned by his father. Upon his retirement from 
 that work he located permanently in Susanville. 
 where he took up the work of surveyor and civil 
 engineer. By purchase in i8g6 he became the 
 owner of the old Anthony electric plant, which 
 he proceeded to improve and fit u]i with all 
 modern equipments. Since locating here his 
 interests have been handled with ability and skill 
 and have brought to him satisfactory financfa! 
 returns and have as well proven potent in the 
 upbuilding of the business interests of the city. 
 
 Mr. Branham is the descendant of pioneer 
 ancestry, his paternal grandfather, a Virginian 
 by birth and breeding, having served with gal- 
 lantry and honor in the war of 1812, under Col. 
 R. M. Johnson, as a soldier from his adopted 
 state — Kentucky. There he spent the balance of 
 his life and reared his family, a son, Isaac I]ran- 
 ham, being the father of James Branham. The 
 elder man was born in Scott county, Ky., August 
 31, 1803, and. reared in the wilderness, became 
 in manhood an expert huntsman and trapper, 
 familiar with the rod and rifle, the love of which 
 never left him even in the evening of his days. 
 Inheriting his pioneer instinct, he located in 
 Callaway county. Mo., walking the entire dis- 
 tance from Kentucky anrl enduring the multi- 
 fold hardships and dangers which beset him, and 
 established a home in the then untried wilder- 
 ness of that state. He remained a resident of 
 Missouri for many years and met with success 
 as a farmer and stockman. Not through dis- 
 satisfaction with his location did Mr. Branham 
 seek another .section of the count rv. but after 
 hearing of the wonders to be found in the far- 
 
290 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 distant California (through tales of hunters and 
 trappers, principally of the Sublette family), he 
 decided to emigrate once more on account of the 
 climate, which he believed would restore to him 
 the vigor which had become impaired with the 
 ravages of hardships and the rigorous winters of 
 the JNIississippi valley. Accordingly, in the spring 
 of 1846. he joined an emigrating party, and 
 with his wife and four children, set out for the 
 Pacific coast. They were members of the ill- 
 fated Donner party and but for the judgment 
 and decision of character of Mr. Branham they 
 might have remained with the latter and suffered 
 the fate which befell many of their comrades. 
 After a journey of six months and eleven days 
 they came safely through to the Santa Clara 
 valley, where ^Ir. Branham immediately became 
 identified with the development and advance- 
 ment of this beautiful garden spot of earth. His 
 first public service was an enlistment under Lieu- 
 tenant Pinckney, of the United States sloop of 
 war Portsmouth, he being placed in charge of 
 the supplies to be issued to the wives and children 
 of the men who had gone to Los Angeles with 
 General Fremont. In February, 1847, Mr. Bran- 
 ham moved to San Jose and with Capt. Julian 
 Hanks constructed a sawmill and dam on the 
 Los Gatos creek, jnst above the present station 
 of Alma. This dam is now in use and forms the 
 head of supply for the San Jose Water Com- 
 pany's flume. Mr. Branham was afterward asso- 
 ciated with the milling interests of that section, 
 being one of three partners to establish the first 
 steam sawmill on the Pacific coast. In 1852 he 
 became the owner of six hundred and fifty acres 
 of land situated five miles south of San Jose, 
 and in 1856 he removed to that location and 
 made it his home until his death, which occurred 
 November 3, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Branham was one of the representative 
 men of the early days and to him is due in 
 large measure the prosperity and growth of San 
 Jose and the vicinity. He was eager to secure 
 the location of the state capitol in San Jose and 
 placed at the disposal of the senate a large two- 
 story adobe building owned by him, and in which 
 they held the early meeting of their first session 
 during that winter. He was a member of the 
 
 first town council of San Jose, and although a 
 Democrat in his political preference and stanch 
 in his endorsement of these principles, he never 
 cared for official recognition and held office only 
 at the earnest solicitation of his friends. From 
 1858 to i860 he served as supervisor and was 
 an important factor in establishing many valu- 
 able improvements. He was also one of the pio- 
 neer vineyardists of Santa Qara county and one 
 of the very first manufacturers of wine and dis- 
 tillers of brandy. On the 23rd of February, 
 1832, in Callaway county. Mr. Branham married 
 Amanda A. Bailey, born in Kentucky of old 
 Virginia ancestry, and the only daughter in a 
 family of seven children. Her death occurred 
 in May, 1890. She was a member of the Baptist 
 Church, and a woman of rare worth and ability, 
 honored by a large family of children and by 
 all who came to know her in her life as the wife 
 of a pioneer. She was the mother of the fol- 
 lowing children : James, of this review ; Francis 
 E., born in 1838: Margaret, born in Callaway 
 county, Mo., July 21, 1841 : and Benjamin F., 
 born in 1845. 
 
 Born April 2, 1835, James Branham was the 
 oldest child in the family of his parents and was 
 but eleven years of age when they left Independ- 
 ence, Mo., in April, 1846, en route for Cali- 
 fornia. The train consisted of a large number 
 of wagons, which finally broke up in sections, 
 there being about nine wagons in which the 
 Branhams traveled, under the command of Cap- 
 tain West. Their route lay along the Platte 
 river. Fort Bridger, Fort Hall, then through the 
 Thousand Springs valley and on down the Hum- 
 boldt. The Donner party traveled just ahead of 
 them, hiU they reached and entered the moun- 
 tains two weeks ahead of them, coming into 
 California by Truckee, and thence by Sutter's 
 Fort, and on to San Jose. In Stockton, San 
 Joaquin county, 'there was but one cabin of 
 shakes, where since has grown a city. James 
 Branham was reared to }oung manhood in San 
 Jose, attending the public schools until 1855, in 
 which vear the family located on the fami which 
 his father had purchased. He remained at home 
 until 1858. when he engaged with the late Eli 
 Rundell in a harness and saddle establishment in 
 
a,^c/-t^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 293 
 
 iiilrov, Santa Clara county, under tlie firm name 
 of Rundell & Branham. After one year they 
 dissolved partnership and until 1863 Mr. Bran- 
 ham worked in various localities throughout the 
 Santa Clara valley. In the last-named year he 
 went to Sonera, Mexico, and engaged in silver 
 mining as an engineer, his natural ability as a 
 mechanic bringing him more than average success 
 in this line. He remained in Mexico for five 
 years, when he returned to California and spent 
 the ensuing two years clerking at New Almaden 
 mine. About 1873 he came to Lassen county to 
 take charge of some mines on the Susan river 
 in which his father was interested, the locality 
 being known as Branham flat, but after some 
 time spent in this occupation the mines proved 
 to be worthless. In the meantime he had located 
 in Susanville, and since that time has made this 
 city his home. He began surveying and the work 
 of civil engineer and for one term served as 
 county surveyor. 1879 he was elected district 
 attorney for one term, at the time of the new con- 
 stitution, and served two years and ten months. 
 He continued the study of law and in 1886 was 
 admitted to the bar, but for the greater part has 
 only made use of his knowledge in his everyday 
 affairs, as he has never practiced his profession 
 for any length of time. After his purchase of 
 the electric light plant he began improvements 
 that have resulted in a first class plant, arc lights 
 being used in the city in a system of lighting 
 which reflects credit upon his ability. Diiring 
 the fall season he operates a steam engine if the 
 v/ater gets low. Mrf Branham is looked' upon in 
 the city of his adoption as a man of ability com- 
 bined with a broadness and decision of character 
 which has won for him a personal success, and 
 has also made him a citizen of practical worth. 
 He is universall}' esteemed and holds a high place 
 among the citizens of this section. 
 
 In Susanville Air. Branham was united in mar- 
 riage with Airs. .\nna J. (Dixon) Smith, a na- 
 tive of Canada, who came to California in 1871. 
 They have one daughter, Margaret Gertrude. 
 Fraternally Mr. Brai>liam was made a Mason in 
 Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & A. M., of which he 
 is past master, and also beltings to Lassen Chap- 
 ter No. 47, R. A. M., of which he is past high 
 
 priest; and Lassen Commandcry No. 13, of which 
 he is past eminent commander. He is also iden- 
 tified with the Ancient Order of L'nited Work- 
 men. Politically he is a stanch Democrat in na- 
 tional politics, although locally he gives his sup- 
 port to tlu' men whom he considers best (|uali- 
 fied for public duties. In 1902 he was elected 
 to the office of county surveyor, which position 
 he now holds and discharges the duty incumbent 
 upon him with his usual fidelit\- and energy. Mr. 
 Branham liespeaks the best in .\merican citizen- 
 ship and upholds by his life the principles of a 
 high integrity and an irreproachable manhood. 
 
 COL. WALTER S. DAVIS. A successful 
 mining man, Col. Walter S. Davis is numbered 
 among the representative citizens of Auburn, 
 Placer county, where he first located in the year 
 1879, and since that date has been known as a 
 man of energy and ability not only in the line of 
 personal efifort, but as a promoter of the best in- 
 terests of the section in which he has made his 
 home. He is a native of Massachusetts, his birth 
 having occurred in Milton, a suburb of Boston, 
 July 15, 1837. The paternal family had long 
 been established in the Bay state, the immigrating 
 ancestor, an Englishman, locating in Boston in 
 the year 1630 : succeeding generations continued 
 to make that state their home and various mem- 
 bers of the family became prominent in profes- 
 sional and business walks of life. John Davis, 
 a Revolutionary patriot (the grandfather of 
 Colonel Davis), was a native of Boston, where 
 he engaged in the manufacture of Brittania ware. 
 A son, William, born in the same city in 1793, 
 also proved a patriot by sen-ing in the war of 
 1812 as sergeant of heavy artillery, commanding 
 the second artillery at The Castle, now F"ort 
 Independence. From the age of eighteen vears 
 he engaged in the wool business, as early as 
 1837 purchasing this commodity in Chicago, then 
 Fort Dearborn, and bringing it east by way of 
 the Great Lakes. He continued in this occupa- 
 tion throughout his entire life, being as.sociated 
 for the greater part of the time with General 
 Whitney. He died at the age of seventy-five 
 
294 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 rears — leaving behind him a record of earnest 
 and conscientious living ; a Unitarian in his relig- 
 ious belief he supported the church liberally, but 
 was also liberal in all other charitable enter- 
 prises that were brought to his notice. Firm in 
 his views, regardless of their popularity, he 
 occupied a prominent place among the Abolition- 
 ists of New England, numbering among his 
 warmest friends such men as Garrison and Wen- 
 dell Phillips. His death removed from success- 
 ful business associations a practical citizen, 
 and from pleasant social relations a man high in 
 the esteem of those about him. By his marriage 
 with Miss Marion Abbott Whitelow his fortunes 
 were united with a famil}- of worth and promi- 
 nence of Scotland. Her father, Alexander H. 
 Whitelow. was bom in Scotland, and after his 
 location in this country engaged in the manufac- 
 ture of paper in Newton, Mass.. the old mill still 
 standing as a relic of the early days. His wife, 
 Mary Abbott in maidenhood, was a native of 
 the same country and a relative of Sir Walter 
 Scott, while General Abbott, of the United 
 States army, is of the same family. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Davis became the parents of eight children, 
 of whom three are now living, the sixth in order 
 of birth being Colonel Davis, 
 
 Reared in Milton, it was the privilege of 
 Walter Scott Davis to attend the best schools 
 that our country afifords, after completing the 
 course of Milton Academy becoming a student 
 of Chauncey Hall School, of Boston. Inherit- 
 ing the business talent which had distinguished 
 the career of both father and grandfather, at 
 eighteen years he entered the wool business and 
 in the six years that followed acquired both bene- 
 ficial experience and a success which argued well 
 for his continuance in the commercial world. 
 In the meantime he had become a member of an 
 independent corps of cadets, known as the Boston 
 Cadets, in which he was corporal. Upon the 
 breaking out of the Civil war the martial spirit 
 bequeathed to him by patriotic ancestors led him 
 to enlist in Company F, Twenty-second Regi- 
 ment, Massachusetts Infantry, becoming first 
 lieutenant a very short time after his enlistment. 
 He was sent at once to the front and became a 
 part of the magnificent Army of the Potomac, 
 
 participating in all that made up the hazardous 
 life of this vast concourse of patriots. He par- 
 ticipated in thirty-two official battles — the Seven 
 Day battles, Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg, the 
 second battle of Bull Run, and in fact all of the 
 prominent engagements of 1861, '62 and '63, 
 with the exception of Gettysburg. At Fred- 
 ericksburg two horses were shot under him, but 
 at other times he was less fortunate, as he re- 
 ceived several wounds, and was once overcome 
 by sunstroke. He rose steadily in the esteem of 
 his superior officers and was constantly promoted. 
 In 1861 he became aid-de-camp on the stafi^ of 
 General Martindale and later became adjutant 
 general of the first brigade, of the first division. 
 Fifth corps. Gen. Charles Griffin was later in 
 command and he also served as adjutant, while 
 on his staff being commissioned colonel by the 
 president. Mustered out oif service, he returned 
 to civil pursuits with the same energy and deter- 
 mination which had characterized his efforts as 
 a soldier of his country. The wool business 
 again occupied his attention until 1874, in which 
 year he sought the more salubrious climate of 
 California and in Los Angeles county, in the 
 vicinity of Anaheim, engaged in ranching for 
 the ensuing five years. Disposing of this interest 
 in 1879 at a satisfactory profit, he located in 
 Auburn, which city has ever since remained his 
 home. His business interests have been vested 
 in mines, the Davis gold mine comprising two 
 miles of the Middle Fork and being operated 
 under the name of the Davis Gold Mining Com- 
 pany. Their plant is modern in all of its appoint- 
 ments and is equipped with a gravel elevator 
 which his son has patented, there being two 
 falls each of five hundred feet, and the first 
 producing five hundred horse p>ower. The mine 
 is a fine producer and is bringing in a large in- 
 come to its owner. He is also interested in 
 other mining properties and is accounted one of 
 the most successful men engaged in this busi- 
 ness. 
 
 In ^Milton, in 1871, Colonel Davis was united 
 in marriage with Miss Eflen S. R. Larkin, a 
 native of Boston, and a graduate of Bolton 
 Priorv of New Rochelle, N. Y. She is a daugh- 
 ter of Charles Larkin and granddaughter of 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 295 
 
 Capt. Benjainin Rich, the former engaged in 
 South American trade (being supercargo at 
 eighteen years of age), and the hitter an exten- 
 sive sliiji owner. The colonel and his wife have 
 two sons and one daughter, namely : Charles 
 Larkin; Howard Walter; and Elizabeth M., wife 
 of Frederick Roumage, of Auburn. The sons 
 are engaged with their father in his mining en- 
 terprises and are young men of ability and en- 
 ergy and bid fair to win for themselves some- 
 thing of the same success which has distin- 
 guished their father's worthy career. Colonel 
 Davis has rounded out the years of a wxll-spent 
 iife by establishing in the evening of his days one 
 of the most beautiful homes in this portion of 
 California ; he owns one hundred and sixty 
 acres of fine land adjoining the city of Auburn, 
 known as "El Toyon," and here he has had 
 erected an attractive residence, complete in all 
 points of beauty and comfort, and eloquent of the 
 refinement and culture which distinguish its oc- 
 cupants. Much attention has been given to the 
 cultivation of the grounds (the training of the 
 most superb flowers that the climate Oif Califor- 
 nia affords, the rarest plants, beautiful shrubbery 
 and stately trees), which make them the most 
 beautiful in this section. It is an attractive home 
 both within and without, the spirit of hospitality 
 and kindliness, and the liberality of broad living 
 plainly evidenced in the life of the colonel and 
 his wife. Colonel Davis is a member of the 
 Loyal Legion and belongs to Post No. loi, 
 G. A. R., of Auburn. 
 
 Colonel Davis is a man of many parts. In- 
 heriting from a long line of ancestors those qual- 
 ities of citizenship which have induced his 
 patriotism, he has given the best of his life for 
 the cause of his countr\-. The effects of his 
 service as a soldier have been such as to mate- 
 rially injure his constitution, and today he lacks 
 the health which would add greatly to the pleas- 
 ure of his daily life. He meets this trial with 
 the same courage and fortitude which have been 
 noticeable features in all his undertakings, re- 
 maining cheerful in the face of years of suffering, 
 and genial even in the midst of pain. His spirit 
 of self effacemcnt is strongly marked upon his 
 face, and all who know him and honor him for his 
 
 manhcKxl, recognize that which has been given 
 him as a recompense. Although ageing as 
 nature inlendcd he should he retains a spirit 
 which is indicative of perpetual youth and gives 
 to him the greatest enjoyment that can come to 
 a man. Thoroughly alive to the events of the 
 day, he takes a keen interest in all questions 
 of contemporary interest and keeps abreast of 
 the times. He has traveled a great deal and ben- 
 efited by his many experiences, a fund of inter- 
 esting talk making him a peculiarly entertain- 
 ing companion. It is fitting if true that the 
 esteem in which he is so universally held adds 
 peace and happiness to the evening of his days, 
 for it is something to have so lived that the past 
 holds nothing of regret and the future nothing 
 of fear. 
 
 HON. CHARLES E. McLAUGHLIN. In 
 the office of associate justice of the court of ap- 
 peals of the third district of California, com- 
 posed of thirty-five counties. Judge McLaughlin 
 occupies a position of great responsibility, re- 
 quiring the constant exercise of logical reasoning 
 faculties, broad knowledge of the law and an 
 impartial spirit in making decisions. The w'ork 
 of this district is in the charge of three judges, 
 and the two other districts in the state also are 
 superintended by three judges, to whom all ap- 
 peals are taken from the lower courts. By pre- 
 vious experience as district attorney and judge 
 of the superior court. Judge McLaughlin be- 
 came admirably qualified for the duties devolv- 
 ing upon him when in 1905 he entered upon 
 the duties of his present position, under appoint- 
 ment from the Republican chief executive. Gov- 
 ernor Pardee, though himself a pronounced 
 Democrat in political views. 
 
 LaPorte, Plumas county, Cal., is the birth- 
 place of Judge McLaughlin, and February 2, 
 1861, the date of his birth. His father, John, 
 was born in the north of Ireland, and settled in 
 Boston, Mass., at the age of sixteen years. Af- 
 ter about ten years in that city he came to Cal- 
 ifornia via Panama in 1856. and until his death 
 at fifty-four years of age he continued to make 
 Plumas county his home. In earlv manlitxid he 
 
296 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 had married Mary McLaughlin, who was born 
 in Brooklyn, N. Y., and came to California in 
 1856, settling among the first pioneers of La- 
 Porte, where she died in 1870, at forty years of 
 age. 
 
 In a family of eight children Charles Emmett 
 McLaughlin was third in order of birth and he 
 was still quite young when death deprived him 
 of a mother's affectionate oversight. Two years 
 after her death, when he was only eleven, he 
 began to work in the mines, in order to lighten 
 the burden of the family's support for his 
 father. Lender these circumstances it was not 
 possible for him to attend school regidarly, but 
 he had an ambition to obtain an education and 
 did not permit obstacles to daunt him.. While 
 employed during the days he devoted his even- 
 ings to study and in this way not only obtained 
 a high-school education, but even took a thor- 
 ough course in law, which enabled him to se- 
 cure admission to the bar at Quincy, Plumas 
 county, in the spring of 1887. During the fall 
 of the preceding year he had been elected dis- 
 trict attorney and at once moved to Quincy, 
 where he still makes his home. At the expira- 
 tion of his term he was re-elected, being the only 
 Democrat who was elected to office in Plumas 
 county in 1888. As his party's candidate for 
 superior judge of Plumas county in 1890, he 
 came within fourteen votes of winning the elec- 
 tion, in the face of a strong Republican majority 
 in the comity. Again, in 1896, he became his 
 party's nominee for judge of the superior court 
 and this time received a majority of one hun- 
 dred and twenty votes, overcoming the usual 
 Republican majority of about two hundred. At 
 the expiration of his term in 1902 he was re- 
 elected to tlie office and served until April 15, 
 1905, when he resigned to accept the office he 
 now fills. 
 
 The marriage of Judge McLaughlin occurred 
 November 18, 1890, and united him with Miss 
 Evalina Benner, a native of Butte county, Cal., 
 but reared from early childhood at Prattville, 
 Plumas county. The two children of their union 
 are named Charles Porter and Eunice. In frater- 
 nal relations Judge McLaughlin is identified 
 with Quincy Parlor No. 13, N. S. G. W.. in the 
 
 work of which he maintains a warm interest. As 
 a leader of the Democratic party in Plumas 
 county he has become well known and has 
 achieved a popularity by no means limited to 
 the members of his party. However, though 
 ardent in his allegiance to party, politics is al- 
 ways placed in the background when the duties 
 of his office den;and thought and attention. At 
 the bar and on the bench he has won signal dis- 
 tinction and a prominence not merely local, but 
 extending into c>ther portions of the state. 
 
 CAMPBELL STONE MAYFIELD. From 
 the time of his settlement in Modoc county until 
 he died many years afterward Mr. Mayfield was 
 intimately associated with the development of the 
 agricidtural mterests of Surprise valley and is 
 remembered as one of its energetic pioneers and 
 progressive farmers. A native of Neosho, New- 
 ton county. Mo., born December 22, 1836, he 
 was a youth of sixteen years when in the spring 
 of 1853 he joined a party of gold-seekers bound 
 for the mountains of the far west. After an un- 
 eventful trip with wagons and oxen he landed at 
 the mines, where he unsuccessfully attempted to 
 discover gold in paying quantities. During the 
 year 1864 he came to Modoc county for the 
 first time, but after a brief sojourn he left, to 
 return, however, in 1866, at which time he pre- 
 empted one hundred and sixty acres one mile 
 south of the present site of Cedarville. The land 
 was in its primeval condition of sage brush, un- 
 attractive in appearance, unpromising in aspect, 
 but under his constant labors and effective man- 
 agement the soil was made to produce in paying 
 quantities the grains to which it is adapted. 
 Eventually he became one of the principal stock- 
 raisers and farmers of the valley, and his estate, 
 with its neat house and modern improvements, 
 ranked among the best for miles around. Due 
 credit belongs to him for the degree of success 
 he achieved. Orphaned in early childhood by 
 the death of his father, he was forced to make 
 his own way in the world at a time when more 
 fortunate boys were enjoying educational oppor- 
 tunities; yet, in spite of discouragements, lack 
 
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 <Q^^^O^^J^cZrz4J^ 
 
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 F\ 
 
 y 
 
 '^^/zrr't^^ 't^t<X'r^ cX 
 
 ^ 
 
 c^(yin^\XA^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 301 
 
 of schooling, ami other disadvantages under 
 which ho labored, he worked steadily forward 
 until he won recognition as a successful farmer 
 and broad-minded man. 
 
 The marriage of Campbell Stone Ma^tield and 
 Helen A. Wood was solemnized in Surprise val- 
 ley June 21, 1875. Mrs. Mayfield was a daugh- 
 ter of Rufus and Ruth Ann (Covcll) Wootl, and 
 came to Modoc county from the east with her 
 parents in 1874, at which time Mr. Wood pur- 
 chased one hundred and sixty acres located one 
 and one-half miles east of Cedarville. After 
 many years as an active farmer he sold the land 
 and moved into Cedarville, where he died at an 
 advanced age ; his widow remains a resident of 
 the town, and is now seventy-four years of age. 
 Six children were born to the union of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Mayfield, five of whom are living, namely : 
 Harr\-, who married Sallie Nugent, and occupies 
 the old homestead ; Eustace, who married Elsie 
 Benner and operates a ranch opposite the old 
 homestead ; Edith. who married Charles 
 Stephens, and resides in Cedarville ; Virgie. the 
 wife of James T. Dacy, living in Cedarville; and 
 Olive, who with her mother now makes her 
 home near Cedarville. The family are identified 
 with the Christian Church, to which ]\Ir. May- 
 field was a liberal contributor and in the work 
 of which he was deeply interested. Politically 
 he maintained a warm interest in public affairs 
 and voted the Democratic ticket. A close stu- 
 dent of current events, he was well posted upon 
 matters of local and national importance, and 
 possessed the broad knowledge and keen intelli- 
 gence that make a man a desirable citizen of any 
 locality. After years of active work as a farm- 
 er he died April 17, 1903, and a few days later 
 was laid to rest in the Cedarville cemetery, in 
 the midst of the coimtry familiar to him through 
 a long period of activity. 
 
 GEORGE CLARK TURNER. To the resi- 
 dents of Surprise valley the name of Mr. Tur- 
 ner is familiar as that of an energetic and 
 capable farmer and stock-raiser, one who 
 coming here in voung manhood has worked 
 
 his way forward to a position among the 
 l^rominent agriculturists of Modoc county, and 
 has won the respect of associates in every 
 walk of life. The son of a farmer, he was born 
 on a Wisconsin farm November i, 1855, and 
 his earliest recollections are connected with 
 country life. While the means of the family- 
 did not permit of his attendance at college, he 
 was given good common-school advantages 
 and is now a man of broad information upon 
 general subjects. Upon leaving the home of 
 his parents to undertake his own support and 
 to assume the responsibilities of manhood, he 
 came west to seek a home, arriving in Sacra- 
 mento in 1877, and engaging in the stock busi- 
 ness. The following year he went into Ore- 
 gon, and from there, in 1880, came to Modoc 
 county, and for ten years was em])loyed on 
 the ranch owned by Cox & Clark, meanwhile 
 gaining a knowledge of the soil of Surprise 
 valley and its possibilities, as well as saving of 
 his earnings a sum sufficient to assist him 
 when entering upon independent farming. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Turner took place 
 November 28, 1886, and united him with Miss 
 Sally C. Nugent, who was born in Illinois, and 
 in 1878 became a resident of Surprise valley. 
 Three children, Raymond, Georgia and 
 Robert, comprise their family. Mrs. Turner 
 is a niece of Jacob Bittner, who came to Sur- 
 prise valley in the spring of 1864 and pre- 
 empted a tract of raw land. From that be- 
 ginning he added to his holdings until he ac- 
 (|uired about nine hundred and sixty acres, all 
 of which he improved and rendered profita- 
 ble for agricultural purposes, or for meadow 
 and pasturage. Mr. Bittner, better known by 
 liis friends as "Uncle Jake," was a native of 
 Pennsylvania and crossed the plains in a very 
 early day, settling at Carson, Nev., where he 
 engaged in teaming and mining. From there 
 he came into California and began to raise 
 stock and farm ])roducts. In politics he 
 voted the Republican ticket, and fraternally 
 he was a charter member of the blue lodge of 
 Masonr}-. \\'hen fifty-one years of age he died 
 at Cedarville in i8gi, leaving to his niece, Mrs. 
 Turner (for he had never married, and left no 
 
302 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 direct descendants), the bulk of his property, 
 including the farm of nine hundred and sixty 
 acres, four miles south of Cedarville, where 
 she and Mr. Turner have made their home 
 since 1891. 
 
 In addition, Mr. Turner has other land, both 
 in the valley and mountains, his possessions 
 aggregating twenty-five hundred acres, of 
 which a considerable portion is under alfalfa. 
 Through a number of artesian wells on the 
 ranch, it is possible for him to bring certain 
 parts of the ranch under irrigation. His land 
 is in such condition that three crops of alfalfa 
 are raised yearly without irrigation. Hay 
 and grain are other products of the ranch, and 
 much of the land is utilized for the pasturage 
 of stock, of which he has horses, cattle, sheep 
 and hogs of fine breeds and in considerable 
 numbers. Besides his landed holdings he is 
 a stockholder and director of the bank at 
 Cedarville. Fraternally he belongs to the 
 Masonic blue lodge, and with his wife takes 
 an interest in the Eastern Star, with which 
 both are connected. Throughout all of his life 
 he has maintained an intelligent interest in 
 subjects pertaining to the welfare of town, 
 county, state and nation, and the principles 
 of the Republican party he supports when 
 voting for the national officers. 
 
 CHESTER WARREN CHAPMAN. D.D.S. 
 Prior to the Revolution members of the Chap- 
 man famil}' sought a home among the prim- 
 itive surroundings of the colonies, establishing 
 the name in Massachusetts, whence later rep- 
 resentatives removed to Washington county, N. 
 Y. In that location William Chapman engaged 
 as a manufacturer and succeeded in building up 
 for himself financial independence as well as a 
 position of esteem among the citizens of that 
 section. He married Rebecca Allen, thus allying 
 his interests with those of another old and dis- 
 tinguished family of New England. Her father, 
 William Allen, was a noted astronomer, whose 
 efforts in behalf of science placed him among 
 the ablest men of this class, and whose calculus 
 
 is still in general use. In their family was a 
 son, Allen, who was born in Washington county, 
 N. Y., in 1827, and in that location attained 
 the years of manhood. His first employment was 
 in his brother's shops at Amherst, Mass., where 
 he continued until his decision to take up the 
 profession of dentistry. He studied in Troy, 
 N. Y., under the instruction of Dr. Ross, and 
 upon the successful termination of his work as 
 student in 1843 h^ became a partner in the lat- 
 ter's office. For thirteen years the interests of 
 the two remained identical, when Dr. Chapman 
 disposed of his property in New York and sev- 
 ered his connections with that section of the 
 country by embarking on the ship, George Law 
 (later known as the Central America that went 
 down in 1858), bound for the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama, thence to California, then the Mecca of 
 the fortune-seeking world. 
 
 Dr. Chapman located in Nevada City, Nevada 
 county, Cal, and throughout the remainder of 
 his life was largely identified with the develop- 
 ment and upbuilding of this place. When he 
 made the trip to the state he brought with him 
 $10,000 worth of dental supplies, all of which 
 were destroyed by the big fire which occurred 
 three months after his arrival. Besides engag- 
 ing in the practice of his profession he also be- 
 came interested in hydraulic mining on the south 
 fork of the Yuba river, near Eureka, Nevada 
 county, and in quartz mining on his ranch, near 
 Nevada City, consisting of one hundred and six- 
 ty acres of land on Indian flat. In 1896 he 
 opened a mine on his ranch, erecting a five 
 stamp, electric mill, the first installed in Nevada 
 City. From his earliest location in the county 
 Dr. Oiapman took a strong and abiding interest 
 in the upbuilding of all movements tending 
 toward the development of the community, and 
 was particularly active along horticultural lines, 
 setting out an orchard of three thousand trees 
 and a large vineyard, the first in this vicinity ; 
 at one time he was also identified with the dairy 
 business as a partner of C. S. Abbott, of Salinas. 
 During all of this time he continued the practice 
 of dentistry, holding a place of leadership in his 
 profession. From 1875 to 1895 he was located 
 in Virginia City, Nev., after which he returned 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 303 
 
 to Nevada City, Cal., and retired to private 
 life, and July 7, 1897, passed away to an eternal 
 rest. 
 
 He was missed by all who had ever known 
 him, for he added to a forceful character the 
 qualities of an exceptional manhood, which won 
 for him a wide friendship wherever he had made 
 his home. No one ever asked him for help and 
 was denied ; he never knew that help was needed 
 that he did not spend both time and means freely 
 in his effort to alleviate distress. As an instance, 
 while on liis journe_\' to this coast he became 
 acquainted with Joseph Watson, a young man, 
 who told Dr. Chapman that he was compelled to 
 work to pay his way, whereupon the latter im- 
 mediately advanced the money from his own 
 resources, trusting in the honor and honesty of 
 a stranger. His liberality, of course, led him to 
 trust man}- who should have been turned away 
 without help, and in this way he was compelled 
 to pay $43,000 on $80,000 promissory notes, on 
 which he had been security. His friends advised 
 him to take advantage of the bankrupt law : his 
 reply and the course he pursued were in keeping 
 with his entire life: "I went into it with my 
 eyes open and I will pay every cent of it." In 
 his fraternal relations he was a prominent Ma- 
 son, having become a member of the organi- 
 zation in New York in the early '50s, and was 
 there raised to the degree of Royal Arch Mason, 
 and was one of the early members of Nevada 
 Commandery No. 6, K. T. Politically he was 
 a stanch adherent of the principles advocated in 
 the platform of the Republican party and was 
 always a leader in its councils, although person- 
 ally he never desired official recognition. 
 
 Dr. Chapman's marriage occurred in Nevada 
 City, March 24, 1861, and united him with Miss 
 Nellie E. Pooler, a native of Norridgewock, 
 Somerset county, Me., born May 9, 1847. Her 
 father. John Ruxton Pooler, was born on the 
 ocean off the coast of Nova Scotia, while 
 his parents were on a return trip from Scot- 
 land and England. He was reared in Maine, 
 in which state he engaged in farming un- 
 til 1852, when he came to California via 
 the Isthmus of Panama, engaging in mining 
 and later in horticulture in the vicinitv of 
 
 Nevada City, where his death occurred in 
 1881. He is survived by his wife, who at till- 
 age of ninety years still resides on the old 
 homestead a mile and a half from Nevada City. 
 In maidenhood she was Mathilda J. OVHara, a 
 native of Maine, and a daughter of John and 
 Mary J. (Patterson) O'Hara, representatives of 
 colonial families ; her maternal grandparents 
 were both killed prior to the Revolutionary war 
 in a siege by a filibustering Tiritish ship. Mrs. 
 Pooler followed her husband to California in 
 1855, making the journey via Nicaragua and 
 bringing with her her only daughter, Mrs. Chap- 
 man, who died April 7, 1906. The latter re- 
 ceived her education principally in California, 
 and after her marriage studied dentistry under 
 the instruction of her husband. In 1882 she 
 began practice in Nevada City, being the first 
 woman to engage in this work on the Pacific 
 coast. She made a success of her profession and 
 followed it until compelled to relinquish it on 
 account of ill health. She was an honorary mem- 
 ber of the Phi Alpha Upsilon, of San Francisco, 
 and a charter member of the Order of Eastern 
 Star. A woman of great literary ability, she 
 was not only a leading member of the Shakes- 
 pere Club, but wielded an uplifting influence in 
 many circles, and was a leader in society by 
 reason of the culture and refinement which dis- 
 tinguished her entire life. A Qiristian in the 
 truest sense of the word, though not a follower 
 of doctrines and creeds, she made liberality the 
 principle of her life, both in the giving of her 
 time and means, counting nothing lost that 
 meant the ujjlifting of a needy one. Not only 
 was her death a sad blow to her family and im- 
 mediate friends, but was felt as a public loss 
 to her home town, having been a continuous res- 
 ident of Nevada City since 1855. 
 
 Two children blessed the union of Dr. Chap- 
 man and his wife, namely, Sargent Allen and 
 Chester Warren. The former received his edu- 
 cation in the public schools of Nevada City, the 
 California Military Academy of Oakland and 
 Cooper Medical College of San Francisco and 
 studied dentistry with his father. He is now 
 engaged in the practice of dentistry in Virginia 
 City, Nev.. where he maintains a well-equipped 
 
304 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL .RECORD. 
 
 office in keeping- with the leading practitioners 
 in the state. 
 
 Chester Warren Chapman was born in Ne- 
 vada City, Cal, June i8, 1864, and received his 
 preliminary education in the public schools of 
 Nevada City and Virginia City. Later he at- 
 tended the California Military Academy of Oak- 
 land, from which institution he was graduated 
 May 19, 1882. A natural aptitude for the work, 
 as well as a principled thoroughness taught him 
 from childhood, induced him to excel in his 
 studies, while at the same time he took an active 
 part in the business affairs of tlie academy ; he 
 set the type and did the greater part of the dis- 
 tribution of the California Cadet, and was other- 
 wise identified with the aiifairs of the school. Re- 
 turning home after his graduation, he took 
 charge of his father's ranch near Nevada City, 
 which he conducted for six years, and at the 
 same time prosecuted the study of dentistry un- 
 der the instruction of his parents, remaining with 
 them until 1888, when he enrolled as a student 
 in the dental department of the University of Cal- 
 ifornia. Following the completion of his course 
 in the latter institution he went to Philadelphia, 
 Pa., and continued his studies in the Pennsylva- 
 nia Dental College and also the JefTerson Med- 
 ical College, graduating from the former insti- 
 tution February 27, 1891, and having all but 
 completed the last year at tlie latter. Because 
 of the constantly increasing practice which was 
 telling upon the time of his mother, he was then 
 compelled to return to Nevada City and engage 
 in the practice of dentistry, since which time he 
 has devoted himself to an active prosecution of 
 his work. He has met with the success which 
 has characterized the eiiforts of the entire Qiap- 
 man family in this line and has risen to a posi- 
 tion unsurpassed in this section of the state. 
 
 May 15, 1895, Dr. Chapman was united in 
 marriage with Miss Maggie Organ, a native of 
 Nevada City and a daughter of William J. Or- 
 gan, a successful contractor and a pioneer set- 
 tler of this place, and three children, Allen, 
 Sargent and Muller, have been born to them. 
 Dr. Chapman is identified with the upbuilding 
 movements of Nevada City, having served for 
 the past four years as president of the city board 
 
 of trustees and this year was re-elected for an 
 additional period of two years. He is also pre- 
 siding as chairman of the joint commission of 
 city and library trustees who are now erecting 
 the $10,000 Carnegie library building. Inter- 
 ested in governmental affairs he organized in 
 Nevada City Section 16 of the Navy League of 
 the United States, the first to be established in 
 the United States outside of range of cannon 
 balls from war vessels, and is now serving effi- 
 ciently as chairman of the same. He is a strong- 
 advocate of Republican principles and takes an 
 active part in all political affairs. For son-ie time 
 he has acted as chairman of the Republican 
 county central committee and has been an active 
 member of every county convention for the last 
 twenty years, as well as a frequent attendant 
 at state conventions. For four years he served 
 as foreman of Fireman Company No. i, is now 
 chief of the fire department, and to him is due 
 much of the credit for having brought the de- 
 partment to its present efficiency. He is pron-i- 
 inent in every public gathering that is inspired 
 by a patriotic purpose and is untiring in his 
 efforts to ally the younger generation with all 
 movements of public utility or useful design. In 
 the midst of his busy cares he has still found 
 time to ally himself with various social and frat- 
 ernal organizations, being especially prominent 
 in the Native Sons. He is a charter member of 
 Hydraulic Parlor No. 56, in which he is past 
 president, for the past seven years has been a 
 member of the Grand Parlor, and is chairman of 
 the Donner Monument Committee of the Grand 
 Parlor. Fraternally he is a Mason and is a 
 member of Nevada Lodge No. 13, F. & A. M., 
 in which he is past master ; he was raised to 
 the Royal Arch degree in Nevada Chapter No. 
 6, R. A. M., and the Knight Templar degree 
 in Nevada Commandery No. 6, K. T., while he 
 also belongs to Islam Temple, A. A. O'. N. M. 
 S., of San Francisco. 
 
 Personally Dr. Chapman is a man of many 
 parts. Inheriting to a goodly degree the qual- 
 ities which have been prominent in his life- 
 work, he has also added to them a development of 
 his strongest and most forceful characteristics. 
 Reared to a conscientious use of his native abil- 
 
'^^^ 
 
 ^-^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 305 
 
 ities he has carried the precepts of childhood in- 
 to the fultillmeiit of his more mature years, and 
 whatever the resuUs of his efforts in any line all 
 who know him recognize the manifest integrity 
 of his purpose. He is in the enjoyment of a 
 splendiil practice of his profession and occupies 
 a high place among professional men ; as a citi- 
 zen he ranks among those who may safely be 
 counted upon in time of need, always a patriot 
 before partisanship, and loyal to the best inter- 
 ests of comnumity, county and state ; as a friend 
 exercising the same faith and loyalty. During 
 the time of the great earthtpiake and fire at San 
 Francisco, although he had but recently buried 
 his mother, he went in his official capacity as 
 the representative of Nevada City and offered 
 the assistance of his home town to the stricken 
 people of the state's metropolis, and remained 
 at San Francisco for three weeks, assisting in 
 various capacities and looking out particularly 
 for the welfare of Nevada county unfortunates. 
 
 J. EUGENE NILES. In the annals of Mo- 
 doc county the name of J. Eugene Niles holds a 
 place of prominence. An active and influential 
 business man of Adin, he has been an important 
 factor in promoting the material interests of the 
 place, and by his liberality and enterprise is still 
 contributing to its growth and prosperity. He 
 is extensively engaged in the manufacture of 
 flour, is owner, with his son, of the only planing 
 mill in Big Valley, and as the representative of 
 various insurance companies, writes, doubtless, 
 more policies than any other agent in this part of 
 the county. A son of Anthony Niles, he was 
 lx)rn May 28, 1853, at Eagle. Clinton county, 
 Mich., where he lived until about seven years 
 old, then moved with his parents to Portland, 
 Ionia county, where he remained the following 
 eight years and received a part of his education 
 there. 
 
 A native of New York State, Anthony Niles 
 accompanied his parents to Michigan when 
 young, and soon after becoming of age was there 
 married to Kate E. Jenkins, who had also re- 
 moved to that state with her parents, going there 
 
 from New York, where she was born and edu- 
 cated. In 1868 he migrated with his family to 
 California, coming by wa\- of the Isthnuis of 
 T^anama, and settling in Siskiyou county, where 
 he and his good wife are still living. Since com- 
 ing to this state he has been engaged in mining 
 ])ursuits, in which he has met with satisfactory 
 success. 
 
 As a young man, J. Eugene Niles was for a 
 number of years employed in agricultural pur- 
 suits in Siskiyou county, living there until 1888. 
 Fonning in that year a copartnership with the 
 late Irvin Shepard, he purchased of J. Bouchard 
 and G. LaPoint the Adin Flour mills, which 
 were at that time equipped with the burr proc- 
 ess. Progressive and enterprising, the new firm 
 of Shepard & Niles converted the mill into an 
 entirely different kind of a plant, putting in roll- 
 ers, installing an electric light plant, and increas- 
 ing its capacity to forty-five barrels per day. As 
 a manufacturer of fine flour, Mr. Niles has es- 
 tablished a wide and favorable reputation, the 
 product of his mills, under the name of the Adin 
 Mills Extra Family Flour, being shipped not 
 only to the leading markets of California, but to 
 the principal cities and towns of Nevada, finding 
 a ready market wherever used. In 1900 Mr. 
 Niles bought from Groves & Knight a planing 
 mill, which he has entirely remodeled, installing 
 new machinery, and as head of the firm of J. E. 
 Niles & Son has established an extensive plan- 
 ing business, his mill being the only one of the 
 kind in the vicinity. In addition to being one of 
 the foremost manufacturers of Modoc county, 
 he also carries on a large and remunerative in- 
 surance business, being agent for the Queen's 
 Fire Insurance Company of New York, the Lon- 
 don and Lancashire Fire Insurance Company of 
 London, and the Citizens' Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany of Alissouri. He takes great interest in lo- 
 cal enterprises, and is a stockholder in and the 
 secretary and treasurer of the Big \*alley Co- 
 operative Association of Adin and president of 
 the Adin Investment Company, of which he w'as 
 one of the promoters. 
 
 At Ashland, Ore., in 1877, Mr. Niles married 
 Mary J. Helman. and they are the parents of 
 three children, namely :" Sylvester J., junior 
 
306 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 member of the firm of J. E. Niles & Son ; Mrs. 
 Edna M. Auble of Adin; and Myrtle D., living 
 at home. As a Republican Mr. Niles has taken 
 an active interest in party affairs, serving on the 
 county central committee, but has never been an 
 aspirant for office. Fraternally he belongs to 
 Lookout Lodge No. 211, A. O. U. W. ; to Adin 
 Lodge No. 273, I. Q. O. F., of which he is past 
 Noble Grand, and for a number of years has 
 been its treasurer, and is one of the charter mem- 
 bers of Court Adin No. 8531, A. O. F., of which 
 he was the first Sub-Chief and afterwards served 
 as Chief Ranger. With his wife he is a member 
 of Mystic Jewel Rebekah Lodge No. 82. Mrs. 
 Niles has passed through the chairs and repre- 
 sented the lodge in the Grand Lodge. Through 
 the Adin Improvement Association, of which 
 Mr. Niles was the instigator and is now serving 
 as president, he was the means of installing a 
 water system for fire protection in Adin. This 
 is supplied with a pump having a capacity of 
 six hundred gallons per minute, pumping direct 
 from the creek, and having over twelve hundred 
 feet of six-inch mains. Mr. Niles is a charter 
 member of Adin Fire Company No. i. 
 
 JOHN MILTON RHODES. The course of 
 a long and busy life has brought many changes 
 to Mr. Rhodes, not the least of which was his re- 
 moval from the east to the then new and unde- 
 veloped west, and his subsequent identification 
 with agriculture instead of the banking business. 
 Of eastern ancestry, he was born in the village of 
 Middlebury, Ohio, February 12, 1817, being a 
 son of Henry and Esther (Mason) Rhodes, na- 
 tives, respectively, of Rhode Island and Con- 
 necticut. His parents, who were married in 1815, 
 moved to the Western Reserve during the very 
 early period of its settlement and were among the 
 pioneers in the agricultural upbuilding of Ohio. 
 During the war of 181 2 the father served in the 
 commissary department of the United States 
 army, making his headquarters in the city of 
 Buffalo until the close of the war. When quite 
 advanced in vears, in 1858, he came to California 
 via New York Citv and the Isthmus of Panama 
 
 and settled in Yolo county, where he took charge 
 of a tract of sixteen hundred acres owned by his 
 son, John M., and on that place he remained un- 
 til his death. Both he and his wife lived to be 
 seventy-seven years of age and both were buried 
 in Capay valley, but their remains were later re- 
 moved to the Sacramento cemetery. The ances- 
 try of the mother was traced directly back to 
 Capt. John Mason, who immigrated to America 
 with the Pilgrim Fathers and had the honor of 
 effectually subduing the hostile Pequods as early 
 as 1637. 
 
 Owing to the limited means of the family and 
 the scarcity of educational advantages, it was not 
 possible for John Milion Rhodes to secure a good 
 education. At fourteen \ears of age he was 
 taken into a store at Massillon. Ohio, owned by 
 his uncle, Jesse Rhodes, with whom he continued 
 as a clerk until 1835. During the ensuing seven 
 years lie was employed as accountant with W. P. 
 Dixon & Co., a leading dry goods establishment 
 of New York City. Returning from there to 
 ( )hio. he engaged with his brother, James, in the 
 produce and mercantile business at Canal Ful- 
 ton. About four years later he moved to Mans- 
 field, Ohio, where he conducted a similar busi- 
 ness alone. On the organization of the Fanners' 
 Branch of the State Bank of Ohio, he was elect- 
 ed the first cashier, and continued in the same 
 capacity until 1850, when he resigned to enter 
 upon other activities. 
 
 A partnership that was formed with James 
 Spurdy and Stephen B. Sturges resulted in the 
 removal of Mr. Rhodes to California for the 
 purjxise of founding a bank in Sacramento, where 
 he succeeded in establishing upon a firm basis 
 one of the first financial institutions of the city, 
 conducted by the firm of Rhodes, Sturges & 
 Co., under the title of the Sacramento City 
 Bank. Immediately after coming to the west by 
 way of the isthnnis he entered upon the banking 
 business, in which he experienced many vicissi- 
 tudes, having been burned out twice and incur- 
 ring frequent losses through floods. Upon dis- 
 posing of his banking interests in 1857 he moved 
 to Yolo county, where previously he had pur- 
 chased a one-half interest in seven and one-half 
 leagues, known as Rancho Canada de Capay. In 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 307 
 
 1865 he returned with his family to Sacramento, 
 after which lie sokl portions of the ranch at dif- 
 ferent times inilil 1S91, when the entire tract was 
 disposed of. 
 
 The milling business was the next industry to 
 engage the attention of Mr. Rhodes, who about 
 1870 acquired a flour mill at Woodland and 
 later acquired another mill at Knight's Landing, 
 both of which he superintended for several years. 
 About 1883 he sold his milling properties and 
 came to Lassen county, where he bought the 
 Evans ranch of seventeen hundred and eighty- 
 eight acres partly under cultivation. Since com- 
 ing to this ranch he has sold a part of the land 
 and has given a considerable acreage to his chil- 
 dren, so that now he retains only two hundred 
 and eighty-two acres, of which eighty acres are 
 in timber land. Formerly he raised large quan- 
 tities of grain, but of recent years hay has been 
 bis princijjal product, and much of the crop is 
 fed to his stock, the remainder being sold in 
 the markets of the state. Since coming to the 
 ranch he has planted fruit trees of various kinds, 
 all of which are now in bearing and furnish an 
 abundance of fruit for the use of the family. 
 
 In Chillicothe, Ohio, October 12, 1846, Mr. 
 Rhodes married Miss Mary Jane Beall Christ- 
 mas, a native of Canton, that state. Her father, 
 William Hogg Qiristmas, was born January 4, 
 1799, in Georgetown, Virginia, and died in Can- 
 ton, Ohio, September 18, 1836. He married Har- 
 riett Beall, who was born in New Lisbon, Ohio, 
 November 27, 1803, and died in Mansfield, Ohio, 
 June 16, 1882. The ancestry in this country is 
 traced through Mrs. Rhodes' maternal grand- 
 father. Gen. Reasin Beall, of Wooster, Wayne 
 county, Ohio, to the original immigrant, who, as 
 early as 1636, bought the land on which now 
 stand the cities of Washington and George- 
 town. The record of her grandfather was 
 worthv of his honored name, for he won prom- 
 inence at the time of his service in command of 
 a regiment coincident with the service of Gen. 
 William Henry Harrison in northwestern Ohio. 
 In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes there 
 were originally nine children and six of these 
 are now living. During the existence of the 
 Whig party Mr. Rhodes gave his support to its 
 
 principles and later became an advocate of the 
 Republican party, to which he still adheres. Dur- 
 ing his residence in Woodland he was elected in 
 1878 as a delegate from his county to the con- 
 stitutional convention of the state ; also in the 
 same city held the office of iriember of the Ixiard 
 of trustees. During his residence in Sacramento 
 he was an active worker in the Independent Or- 
 der of Odd Fellows and treasurer of the local 
 lodge, but relinquished fraternal connection up- 
 on his removal from the citv. 
 
 EDWARD ALONZO MARTLV. Some time 
 during the '50s, when the tide of immigration 
 was bearing many thousands to the unknown 
 west, Frank H. Martin, a native of Pennsylvania 
 and a young man of fearlessness, daring and en- 
 ergy, crossed the plains to try life under new 
 conditions. Like the majority of the early com- 
 ers, he proceeded at once to the mines and sought 
 for the gold which directly or indirectly had 
 lured all of the pioneers to this Eldorado. No 
 special success met his efforts in the mines of 
 Shasta county and eventually he turned his at- 
 tention to agriculture, making his home in the 
 Palouse country in A\ ashington after a brief so- 
 journ in Oregon. After coming to the Pacific 
 coast he met and married Martha Armstrong, 
 who was born in Kentucky and died in Oregon. 
 In their family were three sons and three daugh- 
 ters, Edward Alonzo being the eldest of the six 
 and a native of Stillwater, Shasta county. Cal.. 
 born July 30, 1866. Possessed of self-reliant 
 character, he was well (|ualified to take upon him- 
 self the burden of self-support, whicli the lim- 
 ited means of the family rendered imperative. 
 When only eight years of age he began to herd 
 sheep and from that time forward he made his 
 own way. The necessity of self-support pre- 
 vented him from attending school for some years, 
 but after he was tliirteen he worked for his 
 board with the privilege of attending school dur- 
 ing certain months of the year. 
 
 Drifting to Susanville as early as 1879. Mr. 
 Martin secured a position with J. C. Blake, an 
 uncle, who at that time lived near the town. 
 
308 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 During the following: years he earned his liveli- 
 hood and also carried on his studies through the 
 common-school hranches. In 1882 he went to 
 Sutter count} , hut after six years he returned to 
 Lassen county, where for several years he was 
 employed with the Lassen Mail as a compositor. 
 Afterward, for about four years, he held the 
 position of under-sheriff to J. C. Qnurch. At the 
 expiration of his term he resumed the printing 
 business in the office of the Adi'ocatc and next 
 leased the Johnston house, later, however, be- 
 coming proprietor of the Emerson house bar, 
 which he has conducted since Mar'^h, 1901. In 
 addition he has a farm of one hundred and sixty 
 acres near Standish and carries on stock-raising 
 with Spaulding Brothers ; also has mining inter- 
 ests at Inskip, Butte county, at Antelope valley 
 in Lassen county and in the Wildhorse mine in 
 Cottonwood district, Nevada. His marriage 
 united him with Miss Lizzie McLeod, of Susan- 
 ville, a native of Nova Scotia, and a daughter of 
 Daniel IVlcLeod, member of an old Scotch familv 
 and a pioneer of Virginia. The only daughter of 
 this union is named Bernys. 
 
 On the reorganization of the city of Susan- 
 viile. in 1901, Mr. Martin was elected council- 
 man, and at the expiration of his term again was 
 chosen to serve in that capacity. Politically a 
 Democrat, he was at one time a member of the 
 county central committee. At the county con- 
 vention of his party in 1902 he was nominated 
 for sheriff, but the Democrats being in the mi- 
 nority he lost the office by twenty-five votes. In 
 fraternal relations he is connected with Silver 
 Star Lodge, I. O. O. F. : the Order of Rebekahs. 
 to which his wife also belongs ; Lassen Lodge 
 No. 149, F. & A. M., in which he was made a 
 Mason and of which he is junior warden; and 
 in addition holds membership with Lassen Parlor 
 No. 99, Native Sons of the Golden West, of 
 which he was at one time president. 
 
 EDMUND HIGGINS HAMLEN. A traveler 
 in the Sierra valley finds few spots more beau- 
 tiful than the Inroad tract which was formerly 
 owned bv Mr. Hamlen and situated two and one- 
 
 half miles west of Sierraville. It was on the 22A 
 of June, 1859, that Mr. Hamlen settled on this 
 place and bought a squatter's title to seven hun- 
 dred and twenty acres, of which one hundred 
 acres were timbered land and the balance well 
 adapted for meadow and pasture. The land lies 
 at the upper end of the valley and at the foot 
 of the mountains. Through the dooryard runs 
 a beautiful mountain brook that furnishes an 
 abundance of water for irrigation and renders 
 possible green, pasturage for the stock through- 
 out the entire year. Another noticeable feature 
 of the ranch is the fact that here may be seen 
 die headwaters of the North Fork of the Feather 
 river. While the spot is one on which Nature 
 has lavished great beauties, the land has the ad- 
 ditional advantage of being capable of producing 
 large returns for the rancher's labor, and Mr. 
 Hamlen made a specialty of the dairy industry, 
 keeping about fifty cows in his dairy and selling 
 the milk to the creamery. 
 
 The village of China, in the county of Kenne- 
 bec, Me., is Mr. Hamilen's native place, and 
 January 16, 1836, the date of his birth. The 
 genealogy of the family is traced back to the 
 year 1639 in the United States, at which time 
 James Hamlen, of England, landed at Barnstable, 
 Mass., and for many years afterward his de- 
 scendants were active in the development of New 
 England. Among the most distinguished mem- 
 bers of the family was Hannibal Hamlin, vice- 
 president of the United States during the presi- 
 dency of Abraham Lincoln. Calvin, father of 
 Edmund H., was bom and reared in Qiina, Me., 
 and l>ecame a farmer, but in December, 1849, 
 left home and friends and set sail from Boston 
 for California via the Horn. His ship, Martha 
 Cleves, landed in San Francisco harbor in June 
 of 1850, and at once he proceeded to the mines 
 at Bullard's Bar and Long Bar, where he worked 
 for four months with fair success. Returning 
 to San Francisco he took passage for the east. 
 The ship became short of provisions and an ox- 
 team and driver were secured to haul the bag- 
 gage, while the passengers walked two hundred 
 miles to Lake Nicaragua. Finally reaching 
 home in safety, he at once made preparations for 
 a second trip to the Pacific coast. April 25, 1851, 
 
cJ^c^A-^^^-^^-^"^^^^^^^^^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPIJICAL KKCORD. 
 
 311 
 
 he afjain started for California, this time by way 
 of Panama. Landing at San I'Vancisco in May, 
 he went from there to Biillard's bar, thence to 
 Poor Man's creek in Phimas coimty, next to the 
 mines near Downieville, where he saw the Span- 
 ish woman hung in 1852. As before, he met 
 with fair success in the mines. During the fall 
 of 1853 he returned via Panama to Maine and 
 settled on the farm where his boyhood years had 
 been passed. There he remained until his death, 
 which occurred at the age of eighty-four years 
 and eleven months. Politically he was a stanch 
 and active Deniocrat, while in religious views he 
 inclined toward the Baptist faith, in which de- 
 nomination he had been reared. His wife, who 
 was Phoebe Jordan, was a member of an old 
 family of Cumberland county, Me., and died on 
 the home farm in 1872, at the age of seventy-five 
 years. 
 
 Inspired by the success of his father in the 
 western mines, Edmund Higgins Hamlen early 
 decided to seek his fortune on the Pacific coast. 
 December 31, 1856, he set sail from New York 
 for the Isthmus of Panama, thence sailed up the 
 ocean and arrived at San Francisco on the 29th 
 of January, 1857. Next he traveled to Sacra- 
 mento by boat, and from there went to Sierra 
 county, where he first worked in the timber and 
 then engaged in mining and prospecting for six 
 months with fair success. June 22, 1859, '^^ 
 came to the ranch in Sierra valley which was 
 the scene of his labors for so many years, and 
 which he had owned for nearly a half century. 
 Taking up a squatter's title, he later engaged in 
 the cultivation of the land and the raising of 
 st0':k'. In 1875 he rented the ranch and removed 
 to Buffalo Meadows, Washoe county, Nev., 
 where he conducted a hotel stage station, also 
 owned a one-fourth interest in the toll road from 
 Reno to Fort Bidwell and Surprise valley, oper- 
 ating the same for six years. Returning to his 
 California ranch, three years later he sold his 
 Nevada interests and from then until selling the 
 ranch. November 21, 1905, concentrated his at- 
 tention upon ranching and dairying. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Hamlen took place Oc- 
 tober 9, 1865, and united him with Mrs. Hattie 
 Hasselton, who was born in New Hampshire and 
 3 
 
 came to California in 1863. They are the par- 
 ents of three children, namely: Edmund Henry, 
 who is engaged in dealing in cattle and horses 
 and makes his home in Sierra county; Calvin 
 Marshall, who was his father's assistant on the 
 home ranch ; and Rose Edna, who married 
 George Miller and lives at Sierraville. In poli- 
 tics Mr. Hamlen votes the Republican ticket, 
 while fraternally he holds membership with 
 Sierra Valley Lodge No. 184, I'. & .\. M., of 
 Sierraville. Thirty-seven years have passed 
 since he was made a Mason, and now only two 
 besides himself are living who were members at 
 the time of his first identification with the blue 
 lodge. Though his life has been one of great 
 activity, he is still alert, keen and capable, with 
 the vigor of a man much younger than he. and 
 possessing much of the strength that in younger 
 years rendered possible the most arduous tasks. 
 Throughout the region where he has made his 
 home since early days he lias a host of warm 
 personal friends, who have been attracted to liim 
 by his sterling traits of mind and heart. 
 
 HORACE P. McBETH. The county clerk 
 and auditor of Plumas county is one of the ris- 
 ing and influential native sons of California and 
 has always made his home in the county wdiere 
 he still resides, having been born in Butte val- 
 ley January 12, 1872. The family has been 
 prominently identified with the pioneer history 
 of this locality. His father, John McBeth, 
 known and honored as a resolute and adventur- 
 ous pioneer, was born in New York City in 1823 
 and passed the years of youth in that metropolis, 
 where he obtained a common school education 
 and earned his first wages by clerking in a gro- 
 cery. During the year 1849, memorable in the 
 history of California, he left his home city and 
 sailed for Galveston, Tex., whence he traveled 
 overland to San Francisco, .^fter a tedious but 
 comparatively uneventful trip he arrived on the 
 Pacific coast September 2 and during the winter 
 remained in San Francisco as clerk in a store. 
 As soon as the weather permitted work in the 
 mines he started for the mountains, leaving the 
 
312 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 city March 8, 1850, and going to Mormon Island 
 for a time. Following the trend of gold-seeking 
 along the lakes, he reached Plumas county in 
 September, and here, as before, prospected in the 
 mines. Eventually he became identified with 
 many enterprises of the county. In addition to 
 mining he owned a ranch, cut timber and manu- 
 factured lumber, and at Greenville carried on a 
 general store in partnership with J. D. Compton 
 from 1876 until 1883. Meanwhile he also held 
 the office of postmaster and was agent for the 
 Wells-Eargo Express company. 
 
 On giving up his business at Greenville in 
 1883 John McBeth returned to his ranch in 
 Butte valley and became interested in raising 
 stock. The years passed uneventfully until 1897, 
 when he moved to Big Meadow and took up 
 ranching as before. The following year the Re- 
 publicans in the county convention nominated 
 him for countv treasurer and he was duly elected 
 to the office, which he was filling at the time of 
 his death, April 6, 1899. All through his active 
 life he was influential in local affairs and a factor 
 in the material development of his county. From 
 1886 to 1890 he served as member of the county 
 board of supervisors. In 1894 he was a candi- 
 date for county clerk and auditor and came 
 within nineteen votes of being elected. As coun- 
 ty treasurer he was faithful, efficient and reli- 
 able, and filled the position with the utmost dili- 
 gence until an attack of pneumonia resulted in 
 his death. 
 
 The marriage of John McBeth united him 
 with Charlotte Emmons, who was born in New- 
 York in 1849 and was but a few months old 
 when her parents came via Panama to Califor- 
 nia. Her father, William Emmons, was a native 
 of New York City and a ship carpenter by trade. 
 After bringing his wife and two children to Cal- 
 ifornia in 1849 lis settled at Stockton, but soon 
 went to the mines on the north fork of the 
 Feather river in Plumas county and followed the 
 uncertain fortunes of a miner. After having met 
 with alternate successes and reverses, about 1864 
 he went to Vallejo, and afterward worked in the 
 navy yard until his death in 1902, at seventy- 
 five years. Mrs. Charlotte McBeth remained in 
 Plumas county and vicinity until 1902, when she 
 
 moved to San Francisco and since has made that 
 city her home. 
 
 Through all of his life Horace P. McBeth has 
 been familiar with the sights and scenes in Plu- 
 mas county. When thirteen he secured work in 
 a grocery in Greenville, this county, where he 
 remained in one store for a period of about eight 
 years, meanwhile gaining a thorough knowledge 
 of business methods as employed in a general 
 store. From Greenville he went to Prattville as 
 a clerk and also for a time worked in Butte val- 
 ley, but returned to Quincy in 1899 at the time 
 of his father's death and, under appointment by 
 the board of county supervisors, succeeded him 
 in the office of county treasurer, April 17, 1899, 
 remaining in that capacity until the expiration of 
 the term, December 31, 1902. Meanwhile he 
 had been elected auditor and county clerk on the 
 Republican ticket by a majority of more than 
 two hundred and is now engaged in his official 
 duties. On the 4th of July, 1904, he married 
 Mrs. Leo Stephenson, who was born in Reno, 
 Nev., and reared in Lassen county, Cal. In fra- 
 ternal relations he is associated with Greenville 
 Lodge No. 252, I. O. O. F., and is also a mem- 
 ber of Plumas Lodge No. 60, F. & A. M., of 
 Quincy. 
 
 JARED STRANG. At the foot of the 
 mountains, three miles west of Sierraville, lies 
 a finely-improved ranch through which flows the 
 headwaters of the South Fork of the Featlier 
 river. \\'hen ]\Ir. Strang came to the Sierra 
 valley in May of 1858 there were only four 
 women living in all this part of the country, and 
 only one man survives who lived here at the time 
 of his arrival. In the fall subsequent to his 
 arrival he built a shanty on the ranch which he 
 now owns. From that day to the present he has 
 been interested in ranching. At first he bought 
 and sold cattle, but eventually he turned his at- 
 tention exclusively to the dairy business, and in 
 1902 erected on his ranch a creamery which is 
 still in operation. The home place comprises 
 about four hundred and thirty acres of valley 
 land, in addition to which his sons own a timber 
 tract of two hundred and forty acres adjoining, 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 313 
 
 so that it is possible to secure an abumlaiico of 
 pasturage for the herd of milch cows. 
 
 On Prince Edward Island, off the coast of 
 New Brunswick, Jared Strang was born March 
 12, 1836, being a son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth 
 (Scirman) Strang, also natives of that island. 
 His maternal grandfather, who was of Scotch 
 extraction, was a Tory and for that reason left 
 the colonies to place himself under the protection 
 of the British flag. At the time of his death 
 he had attained the age of one hundred and nine 
 years. Tine paternal grandparents had removed 
 from New York to Prince Edward Jsland. and 
 when Jared was quite small the parents again 
 established the family in the States, settling in 
 Massachusetts three miles from Plymouth, where 
 the father engaged in farm pursuits.- In the 
 fall of 1857 he arrived in California and at 
 once proceeded to the nu'nes near Downieville. 
 In the spring of 1838 he came to the land west 
 of Sierraville and with his son, Jared, engaged 
 in stock-raising, farming and teaming. In 1868 
 the son purchased the father's interests and the 
 latter thereupon returned to Massachusetts, 
 where he died in 1884. at the age of eighty- 
 four years. In politics he was a Republican, 
 ■active in support of the party and such friends 
 as were candidates for official honors. 
 
 The boyhood years of Jared Strang were 
 passed without special event on the home farm, 
 his education being such as the neighboring 
 schools afforded. At the age of nineteen years 
 he started out to make his own way in the world. 
 For one year he was employed as a fishennan on 
 the banks and for a similar period fished in 
 Massachusetts bay. April 15, 1858, he set sail 
 from New York for the Isthmus of Panama and 
 from there proceeded up the Pacific ocean to 
 San Francisco, where the ship cast anchor after 
 a voyage of twenty-two days. From there he 
 went to Downieville, and in May arrived in the 
 Sierra valley, where he was employed in cutting 
 hay. later with his father hauled hay to \'irginia 
 City, also freighted to Downieville before any 
 road had been built for wagons to tliat camp. 
 In 1874 he abandoned teaming and turned his 
 pttention to the raising, buying and selling of 
 cattle. For vears he was accustomed to travel 
 
 through Oregon, W'ashinglon, California and 
 Nevada in his search for cattle. In the spring 
 of 1 89 1 he gave up dealing in stock and since 
 then he has devoted his entire time to ranch 
 pursuits and to the management of a dairy num- 
 bering upwards of seventy-five cows. In 1902 
 he erected a creamery and began t(j buy milk 
 from neighbors. Shortly afterward he turned 
 the creamery and ranch over to his youngest 
 sons, who now operate the land and the creamery 
 with fair success. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Strang took place 
 in November, 1864,, and united him with Miss 
 I'lleanor Mickey, who was born in Illinois and 
 in i8(')4 accomiianied her parents across the plains 
 to California. .\t her death she left three chil- 
 dren, namely : Ste])iien L., now living at Dutch 
 Flat. Cal. ; Jared W., who follows the teaming 
 business in Sierra '/ity : an<l Ida, wife of L. A. 
 Beardon, of Fruitvale, this state. The second 
 marriage of Mr. Strang united him with Mrs. 
 Lulu C. Robbins, who was born in Auburn, Me., 
 and by whom he has two sons, Arthur and El- 
 mer, now renting the home ranch. For a num- 
 ber of years Mr. Strang filled the office of school 
 trustee and his interest in educational matters 
 has been continuous and deep. Politically he 
 votes with the Republicans and in fraternal rela- 
 tions for thirty years or more has affiliated with 
 Sierra Valley Lodge No. 184. F. & A. M., in the 
 work of which he maintains a deep interest. 
 
 GEORGE P. VON GERICHTEN, M. D. A 
 man of culture and talent, devoted to his profes- 
 sion, George P. \'on Gerichten, M. D., well 
 deserves the reinitation which be enjoys of being 
 one of the most skilful and faithful physicians 
 of Las.sen county. Although be has been located 
 in Janesville but four and a half years, he has 
 already built up a fine practice, and by his geniil 
 manners and kindly courtesy has endeared him- 
 self to all classes of people. A son of Frederick 
 W. Von Gerichten. he was born February iq, 
 1875, in San Francisco, for several yenrs the 
 home of his parents. 
 
 Having received his preliminary education in 
 
314 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the ijriniarv schools of San Francisco, George 
 P. Von Gerichten was graduated from the Oak- 
 land public school with an honorable record for 
 good scholarship. Some time later he purchased 
 the Eagle drug store in Oakland, running it for 
 four vears, during which time he met with suc- 
 cess in its management. In the meantime he 
 read medicine, and in 1898 entered the Cali- 
 fornia Medical School at San Francisco, from 
 which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. 
 in 1 90 1. On November 26 of that year he 
 began the practice of his profession in Janes- 
 ville. where he is meeting with flattering results 
 in his chosen work, having gained an extensive 
 and remunerative patronage in the city and vicin- 
 itv, his rides oftentime extending seventy-five 
 miles. The doctor is an excellent man of busi- 
 ness, and the owner of some town property of 
 value. 
 
 In Oakland, Cal., in December, 1895, Dr. Von 
 Gerichten married Delia D. Robertson, who was 
 born in Battle Mountain, Nev., and they have 
 one child, a daughter named Ruth. In his polit- 
 ical affiliations the doctor is a sound Republican, 
 and since 1904 has ser^-ed as health officer and 
 assistant county physician. He belongs to the 
 State Eclectic Medical Society, to JanesVilk 
 Parlor, N. S. G. W. ; to Oakland Lodge, K. O. 
 T. M. ; and is a member of Janesville Lodge, 
 No. 232, F. & A. M. 
 
 DAVID COWEN BERRY. The tract of 
 land forming the ranch owned and occupied by 
 Mr. Berry is a source of just pride to its owner, 
 whose efforts have been instrumental in giving it 
 a position among the very finest ranches of the 
 Sierra valley. Comprising six hundred and 
 forty acres of land, it is a noteworthy fact that 
 every foot of the ground can be cultivated if so 
 desired. The location at the foot of the moun- 
 tains, three miles west of Sierraville, is attractive 
 and picturesque. An abundant supply of water 
 may be secured from the headwaters of the 
 South Fork of the Feather river, which also sup- 
 plies power for the operation of the creamery 
 and for other purposes, and enables him to main- 
 
 tain a cold storage plant for butter. Stock-rais- 
 ing and dairying form his principal industries. 
 On the ranch may be seen twenty head of horses, 
 perhaps three hundred head "of stock cattle and 
 about sixty head of milch cows. The butter 
 from the dairy is sent to the different mining 
 camps throughout this section of the country, 
 and its sale forms an important addition to the 
 family income. The ranch-house burned to the 
 ground in 1905 and immediately afterward a 
 beautiful residence was erected, a modern struct- 
 ure, with hot and cold water and elegant finish- 
 ings, and said to be as fine a house as the valley 
 can boast. 
 
 From Quebec, Canada, where he was born 
 May 14, 1861, David C. Berry was taken to Ver- 
 mont at the age of four years by his parents, 
 and there passed the years of youth on Governor 
 Peck's farm, of which his father was retained as 
 manager for tv^'enty-nine years. The Berry fam- 
 ily lived in the house with the governor, who 
 taught the bov at night and gave him the benefit 
 of his culture and broad education. At the time 
 of the governor's death he was nursed by the 
 Berry family. At that time David C. Berry was 
 a youth of seventeen years and he remained on 
 the farm for another year. In October of 1880 
 he arrived in California, proceeded direct to 
 Sierra county and secured employment on the 
 ranch he now owns. After working for four 
 years in the employ of another, he rented the 
 tract for one and one-half years and then bought 
 a section, incurring a heavy debt to acquire the 
 title of the property. The interest on the debt 
 amounted to $1,000 per annum and might have 
 proved discouraging to a man of less fortitude 
 than Mr. Berry, but he was young, hopeful and 
 energetic, and eventually he acquired a clear title. 
 Indeed, it was only seven years before he had 
 settled th.e indebtedness, his wise judgment as a 
 stock-raiser and dairyman having contributed to 
 this satisfactory result. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Berry took place June i, 
 1885. and united him with Miss Nellie Miller, 
 who was born in Australia, but removed to Cali- 
 fornia in girlhood. She is a sister of J. J. Miller, 
 in whose sketch the family history may be found. 
 The Berrv family consists of two children. The 
 
7 V^ /^ji^^-e^^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORt). 
 
 317 
 
 daughter, Agnes H., is a studcMit in Mills Col- 
 lege, and the son, Chester, attends local schools. 
 Although steadily refusing office for himself, Mr. 
 Berry always has been willing to aid friends who 
 were candidates for office, and he has been a 
 firm and constant supporter of Republican prin- 
 ciples. In fraternal relations he holds member- 
 ship with Sierraville Lodge No. 140, I. (). O. F., 
 also is identified with the Woodmen of America. 
 While now he has attained a success which ren- 
 ders continued labor unnecessary, he is a man 
 of such active temperament that idleness is irk- 
 some, so he retains the full management of his 
 ranch and works as constantly and arduously as 
 in the days when stern necessity demanded en- 
 forced labor. As a stock-raiser he is said to be 
 one of the most successful men in the valley. In 
 the raising of draft horses he has been markedly 
 successful, nor has his success been less notice- 
 able in the raising of Durham cattle, while in se- 
 lecting milch cows he has the knowledge gained 
 only by experience, and has proved the keenest 
 of judgment in retaining on the ranch only such 
 animals as may be made profitable to their owner. 
 
 FRED HIKES. The Bank of Lassen county, 
 with which Mr. Hines is closely associated as 
 president and a director, ranks as one of the sub- 
 stantial financial institutions of northeastern Cal- 
 ifornia. From its organization, October 29, 
 1892, until 1895, he held the office of vice-presi- 
 dent, in which capacitv he continues to the present 
 writing, meanwhile establishing the bank's 
 finances upon a solid basis and controlling its 
 investments with a keen and watchful eye. 
 With a capital stock of $50,000. fully paid, 
 the bank has been from tlie first in a position 
 to engage in the loan business, by which means 
 a gratifying surplus fund has accumulated, and 
 this fund has been increased by the sagacious 
 investment of the deposits of customers. Asso- 
 ciated with the president on the board of direct- 
 ors are the vice-president, W. \\'. SchoU, also 
 John Cahlan, James McDcrmott and C. B. Clark. 
 
 The Hines family is of German extraction and 
 was established in .\merica In- Ernest Hines. a 
 
 native of the vicinity of Bremen and during early 
 manhood a hardware merchant of that city. 
 After coming to the United States he made a 
 brief sojourn in Massachusetts, then worked at 
 i'ittsburg, Pa., and from there drifted westward 
 to Fort Dearborn, but was not sufficiently im- 
 pressed with the present site of Chicago to re- 
 main at that place. After going to Michigan he 
 followed the trade of mason and builder and 
 later tilled the soil of his farm near Clinton. 
 Lenawee county, that state, where his eldest son, 
 Fred, was born March 14, 1836. When past 
 seventy years of age he died at Manchester, near 
 his farm homestead, and his wife, Katherine, 
 also died in Michigan, she being eighty-four at 
 the time of her demise. Of their ten children 
 five are now living. Four sons participated in 
 the Civil war, namely : John, a member of the 
 Fourth Michigan Infantry, who was killed at 
 the capture of Jeflferson Davis ; Edward, also a 
 member of the Fourth Michigan, who was killed 
 at Little Rock ; and Henry and Edwin, who were 
 also members of a Michigan regiment; the latter 
 died in 1905 and the former now resides at 
 Chelsea, that state. 
 
 The meagre opportunities offered by the dis- 
 trict schools of Lenawee county gave Mr. Hines 
 little encouragement in the acquisition of knowl- 
 edge, but notwithstanding limited advantages he 
 has become a man of broad intelligence. As he 
 was growing toward manhood he heard much 
 concerning the discovery of gold mines in Cali- 
 fornia and eagerly embraced an opportunity to 
 come to the far we.st with Dr. Minor in April 
 of 1853, traveling with teams and stopping nights 
 at hotels as long as these were to be found, 
 after which camp was made at night. On the 
 present site of Omaha, where he camped, there 
 was then not a single house and the land was 
 still owned by the government. West from there 
 he traveled via Forts Laramie and Bridgcr. 
 thence to Salt Lake, on to the head of the Hum- 
 boldt river and via the Honey Lake route to old 
 Shasta, where then not a house was to be seen. 
 While in the Honey Lake valley an Indian shot 
 one of the four horses attached to the light 
 wagon, after which the travelers pursued their 
 wav with one horse in the lead. During this 
 
318 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 trip j\Ir. McClay was killed by Indians within 
 twelve miles of the present site of Susanville. 
 
 Arriving at Shasta, September 28, 1853. IMr. 
 Hines secured board at a wayside hotel in re- 
 turn for doing chores mornings and evenings. 
 During the daytime he looked for work, but find- 
 ing none, he was glad to accept an offer of $50 
 per month from the landlord. After six weeks 
 there he went into the mines at Buckeye, but his 
 experience of three vears at this occupation was 
 discouraging, and in the summer of 1856 he 
 came to the Honey Lake valley. After a short 
 stav he went to the Humboldt river, where he 
 bought broken-down cattle from emigrants, 
 bringing them to the Honey Lake valley and 
 turning the stock loose after branding them. 
 Returning to the mines at Buckeye he remained 
 there during the winter of 1856-57, and upon his 
 return in the spring found the cattle and horses 
 in splendid condition. Driving the cattle to 
 Ouinc}-, I'lumas county, he there traded them for 
 an outfit to make another expedition on the 
 plains, supplying himself with sugar, coffee, tea, 
 bacon and flour to exchange with emigrants. 
 Many of these he found in destitute circum- 
 stances, and he always gave them enough sup- 
 plies to take them to the next post. Subsequently 
 he located a claim on the Susan river three 
 miles below Susanville. During 1856, 1857 ■^^'^ 
 1S59 he was on the plains trading and buying 
 cattle, and in the winter of 1861-62, with L. N. 
 Breed as partner, established a trading post on 
 Smoke creek, called Smoke creek station, which 
 was later sold to the government. During the 
 winter of 1857-58, in Mr. Hines' log cabin, he 
 with others originated the idea of making a new 
 territory, as what is now known as Lassen county 
 was supposed to be a part of L^tah territory. 
 They drafted boundary lines and sent them to 
 Washington, D. C. The trouble which brought 
 on the Sage Bush war, in which Mr. Hines was 
 one of the active participants, changed the sup- 
 posed boundary and made Lassen county a part 
 of California. On his farm near Susanville Mr. 
 Hines engaged in the stock business and raised 
 hay and grain, cutting the hay with scythes and 
 cradles, and harvestinsj the grain with the old- 
 
 fashioned McCormick reaper after the primitive 
 flail had been abandoned. 
 
 After having accumulated five hundred aicres 
 of fine bottom land Mr. Hines lessened his hold- 
 ings by sales from time to time, and in 1902 dis- 
 posed of the old home, since which time he has 
 devoted his attention principally to the Bank of 
 Lassen Count}-, the Bank of Washoe County at 
 Keno, Nev. (in which he is financially inter- 
 ested), and the Pacific Jupiter Steel Company at 
 San Francisco, besides which he still has mining 
 interests. Though not a partisan, he is a stanch 
 Republican, and for years officiated as chairman 
 of the county central committee, while at this 
 writing he acts as state committeeman. In the 
 early days he served one term as county sheriff 
 and three terms as member of the county board 
 of supervisors. During the war he assisted in 
 organizing the first L^nion League Club in this 
 part of the country. After coming to Lassen 
 comity he married, in May of 1864, Mrs. Eveline 
 (.Strong) Allen, who was born in Sandusky, 
 Ohio, and died at Susanville. Subsequently he 
 was united in marriage at Pacific Grove with 
 Miss Emma Strong, who was born in Shasta 
 county, her father, Walter Strong, having .been 
 an early settler in this region. In Lassen Lodge 
 No. 149, F. & A. M., Mr. Hines was initiated 
 into Masonry, since which time he has become 
 associated with Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. M., 
 Lassen Commandery No. 13, K. T. (in which he 
 has officiated as commander several terms), and 
 Islam Temple, N. M. S., of San Francisco, while 
 his wife holds membership with the kindred 
 Order of the Eastern Star. To Mr. Hines be- 
 longs the distinction of being the only citizen 
 of Lassen county who resided here as early as 
 1856. Not only is he the oldest surviving settler, 
 but he is one of the most influential men of the 
 county, his thorough familiarity with its condi- 
 tions of soil and climate, his long association with 
 its people and his thorough knowledge of its 
 possibilities giving to him a prestige as unusual 
 as it is merited. 
 
 WILLIA^I A. LAVERY. M. D. Prominent 
 among the leading jihysicians and surgeons of 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 319 
 
 Siorra county is William A. I_^vcry, M. D., of 
 Sierra City. Cultured, talented, and with a 
 thorough knowledge of his chosen profession, he 
 has been very successful, and although he has 
 been in this county but a comparatively short 
 time, he has established an enviable reputation 
 for professional knowledge and skill, and has 
 acquired a position of note in business, social 
 and fraternal circles. A native of Ireland, he 
 was born, August 20, 1873, in I'elfast, where 
 he acquired his public school and academical edu- 
 cation. Subsequently entering Queen's College, 
 he was there graduated with the degree of M. D. 
 Immigrating to the Ihiited States in 1896, the 
 doctor immediately crossed the continent, coming 
 from New York to California. Locating in San 
 Francisco, he took a post-graduate course at the 
 California Medical College, after which he be- 
 gan the practice of medicine in that city. 
 
 Locating at Sierra City in January, 1900, Dr. 
 Lavery's ability and skill as a physician and sur- 
 geon soon became known in this vicinity, and he 
 has here built up an extensive and lucrative pat- 
 ronage among the best class of people. He is 
 much interested in mining and miners, being a 
 part owner of the Prospect mine, and being 
 surgeon for the Sierra Buttes, the Keystone and 
 the Mountain mines. He is also medical ex- 
 aminer for different insurance companies, includ- 
 ing the New York Life, the Mutual Life of New 
 York, the Connecticut Mutual, and the Work- 
 man's. Politically he is a stanch Republican ; 
 and fraternally be is a member of Harmony 
 Lodge No. 164, F. & A. M., and of Scepter 
 Lodge, No. 262, I. O. O. F., both of this place, 
 and of Sierra Qiapter, No. 21, R. A. M., of 
 Downieville. 
 
 ALVIN EUGENE De FOREST. Conspicu- 
 ous among the successful agriculturists that bring 
 to their calling good business methods and ex- 
 cellent judgment is Alvin Eugene De Forest, 
 who owns and occupies one of the best equipped 
 and regulated ranches in Lassen county, his farm 
 lying about two and one-half miles south of Su- 
 sanville. He was born in Johnson county, Iowa, 
 a son of Clinton De Forest, and is of French 
 
 Huguenot descent, the family name in France 
 having been De la Forest. After the revocation 
 of the edict of Nantes the emigrant ancestor 
 from whom Mr. De Forest is a lineal descendant 
 went first to Holland, from whence he came to 
 this country. 
 
 A son of Jacob P. De Forest, Clinton De For- 
 est was born October 14, 1821, in Troy, N. Y. 
 His grandfather, Peter De Forest, was a life- 
 long farmer in New York state, and a man ot 
 considerable prominence. Jacob P. De Forest, 
 born near Albany, X. Y., served as major of 
 a company during the war of 181 2. He was a 
 personal friend of President Martin \'an Buren, 
 and under his administration was sent to St. 
 Louis, Mo., as inspector of the post. He re- 
 mained there some time, engaged in the stove 
 and tinware business, but died in Iowa. He 
 married Eliza Eddy, a daughter of General Eddv, 
 of Revolutionary war fairie. who had command 
 of a division of the army at the battles of Sara- 
 toga and Yorktown. General Eddy passed away 
 at the remarkable age of one hundred and two 
 years. 
 
 Clinton De Forest went with his parents to 
 St. Louis, where he attended the pul)lic schools, 
 and also assisted his father in the store. Leav- 
 ing h6me in 1841. he went with the Indian trad- 
 ers. Bent & St. \'rain, across the plains to the 
 Rocky Mountain region, but in the fall of 1842 
 returned to St. Louis. In 1843 '^e crossed the 
 plains with (ien. John C. Fremont, going as far 
 as P'ort Hall, when, as one of twelve messengers, 
 he was sent back to St. Louis to carry reports 
 to the government. He subsequently went to 
 Pleasant Valley, Johnson county, Iowa, where he 
 improved a farm. In 1849 '^e came with ox- 
 teams to California, and the following vear re- 
 turned to Iowa by way of the Isthmus and New 
 Orleans. In 1863 he came with his family across 
 the plains to this state, locating in Honey Lake 
 valley. Taking up land, he was there engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits until his retirement from 
 active business, and siiK:e that time has been a 
 resident of Susanvillc. March 28, 1848, he mar- 
 ried Mary Ellen Hart, who was born in Pike- 
 town, Ohio. March i, 1831. Twelve children 
 blessed their union, namely : Mrs. Sarah Law- 
 
320 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 son, of Idaho ; Lorenzo, of Eagleville : Alvin E. ; 
 Daniel, of Tehama county; Gilbert E., residing 
 near Susanville ; Mrs. Harriet Benjamin, of Los 
 Angeles; Mrs. Mary Benjamin, who died in Su- 
 sanville ; Clinton, living near Janesville ; Walter, 
 of Idaho ; Florence, who died at the age of seven 
 years ; William, of Napa ; and Arthur, of Indian 
 Valley. 
 
 In the spring of 1863 Alvin Eugene De Forest 
 came with the famil>- to the Pacific coast, cross- 
 ing the plains with horse teams, and being three 
 months en route. Brought up on the home farm, 
 he attended the common schools of Susanville, 
 and from his earliest boyhood assisted in the 
 farm labors. At the age of fourteen years he 
 began working for wages for the neighboring 
 farmers during the haying and harvesting sea- 
 sons. In 1877 he bought a farm near Baxter 
 creek, and for six years carried it on successfully. 
 Selling out in 1883. he bought from Philip Gou- 
 maz two hundred acres of his present ranch, 
 lying near Susanville, and subsequently pur- 
 chased the one hundred and sixty acre ranch of 
 Mr. Bantley. This is all meadow and grain land, 
 and he has it well ditched, so that he can irrigate 
 any part of it at any time, taking the water from 
 Gold run. Pie is exceedingly prosperous in his 
 undertakings, raising large crops of alfalfa, tim- 
 othy and wheat, putting up as many as six hun- 
 dred bushels of wheat. At one time he also car- 
 ried on a substantial business as a cattle raiser 
 and dairyman. During the winter he feeds beef 
 cattle, fattening about one hundred and seventy 
 head every year, having large and convenient 
 feed vards. Plis ranch is one of the best in north- 
 ern California for stock, and is well supplied with 
 substantial barns and outbuildings, and a good 
 residence, the estate being a credit to its owner 
 and an ornament to the neighborhood. In the 
 fall of 1905 he took up one hundred and sixty 
 acres of timber land in Lassen county. 
 
 In 1877 Mr. De Forest married Florence Ed- 
 wards, who was born in \'ermont. the youngest 
 daughter of David Edwards, and a sister of Mrs. 
 Hurley, of Susanville, in whose sketch, which 
 appears elsewhere in this work, may be found 
 further parental history. Mr. and Mrs. De For- 
 est have two children, namely: Lorenzo Eu- 
 
 gene, engaged in the dairy business, and Grace 
 Lalola. Politically INIr. De Forest is a stanch 
 advocate of the principles of the Republican 
 partv, and for a number of years has been a 
 member of the county central committee. Fra- 
 ternally he belongs to Lassen Lodge No. 149, 
 F. & A. M. ; to Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. M. ; 
 and to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. 
 Both Mr. and ]\Irs. De F'orest are members of 
 the Order of the Eastern Star. 
 
 JAMES HENRY ELLEDGE. A short dis- 
 tance to the south of Standish lies one of the 
 fertile farms of the Honey Lake valley, a tract 
 owned and occupied by James Henry Elledge 
 and improved with one of the finest farm homes 
 in Lassen countv. a neat and substantial house 
 erected in 1904-05. On coming to this locality 
 in 1897 he took up one hundred and sixty acres 
 under the homestead laws. At that time the ap- 
 pearance of the land, covered with a dense 
 growth of sage brush, was uninviting; it re- 
 quired an optimistic temperament to predict for 
 it a condition of productiveness and profitable 
 cultivation. However, the owner proved to 
 have made a wise investment, for the tract is 
 now under cultivation, largely in alfalfa, the 
 successful production of which is rendered pos- 
 sible by the facilities for water furnished by the 
 Colonial Irrigation Company of the Honey Lake 
 valley. After acquiring the original quarter 
 section a tract of eighty acres was purchased, 
 and this also is under alfalfa. 
 
 Born in Missouri, November 20, 1861, James 
 Henrv Elledge is a son of .\dam D. Elledge, to 
 whose sketch upon another page the reatler is 
 referred for the family history. When the fam- 
 ilv came to California the subject of this nar- 
 rative was an infant of one year, hence his ear- 
 liest recollections are of the west. At first the 
 home was in Lassen count}-, but later removal 
 was made to Marysville, where he attended the 
 public schools for a short time. Eventually, 
 however, he returned with his parents to Lassen 
 countv and here has since resided. At an early 
 age he began to work for wages, following anv 
 
1 
 
 1 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 323 
 
 occupation wliich rendered possible an honest 
 livelihood, and August 14, 1889, he began to 
 work for Leavitt & Hutchinson, under whom he 
 rose to be manager and superintendent of their 
 interests, but since 1897 he has given his atten- 
 tion largely to the improvement of his ranch and 
 to the raising of horses, cattle and alfalfa. Like 
 all public-spirited citizens, he maintains an in- 
 telligent interest in affairs affecting the welfare 
 of county, state and nation. Politically he gives 
 his allegiance to the Republican party. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Elledge took place 
 in 1886 and united him with Miss Jennie Spen- 
 cer. At her death she left a son, Lute, who since 
 has been cared for by an aunt, Mrs. Charles 
 Spillers, of Ferndale, Humboldt county, this 
 state. In 1894 Mr. Elledge was united in mar- 
 riage with Grace, daughter of Benjamin Leavitt, 
 an honored pioneer of Lassen county, mention 
 of whom appears elsewhere in this volume. 
 Three children bless this union, Edith, Fannie 
 and George, all of whom are being carefully 
 trained by the parents iq the hope that they may 
 be fully prepared for such responsibilities as life 
 may bring to them. 
 
 ALEXANDER THRALL ARNOLD. Since 
 early manhood a resident of Lassen county, Mr. 
 Arnold has been associated intimately with the 
 growth and development of this portion of Cali- 
 fornia and holds an honored position among its 
 pioneers. The family which he represents has 
 long been associated with American agricultural 
 progress and his father, Nathan, for years was 
 a farmer in Delaware county, Ohio, having re- 
 moved thither from his native locality in New 
 York. Delaware county is his native place and 
 June 12. 1833, the date of his birth, he iK-ing the 
 youngest and the sole survivor of a family of 
 three sons and one daughter born to Nathan and 
 Elizabeth (Cutler) Arnold. His brothers. Cutler 
 and LeRoy (the latter a soldier in the Mexican 
 war) were California pioneers of 1849, and in 
 1857 came to Honey lake, where they remained 
 for many years. 
 
 When onlv fifteen vears of age Mr. Arnold 
 
 began to be self supporting, and whatever success 
 he has achieved may be attributed to his unaided 
 exertions dating from that period. His first 
 step toward independence was in the learning 
 of the tinner's trade at (Galena, Ohio, and at the 
 age of seventeen he went to Franklin county, 
 whence in 1853 lie started for New York. On 
 the ship Yankee Blade he sailed to Panama and 
 thence to San Francisco, from which city he 
 proceeded to Contra Costa county, joining his 
 two brothers there. After eighteen months in 
 that county he proceeded to the mines in what 
 IS now Plumas county and engaged in mining, 
 teaming and trading. During 1857 he came to 
 Honey lake and since then he has been a resident 
 of Lassen county, with the exception of a brief 
 period devoted to teaming and mining in the 
 Black Rock country. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Arnold was solemnized 
 in Susanville, December 27, 1864, and united 
 him with Miss Susan Engle Roop, in whose 
 honor Susanville and the Susan river were named. 
 Born in Ashland county, Ohio, Mrs Arnold was 
 the only daughter of Hon. Isaac Newton Roop, 
 whom she accompanied to California in 1862, 
 sailing from New York on the Qiampion and up 
 the Pacific on the Orosaba. Crossing the country 
 to Carson, she came from there to the village 
 which her father named in her honor. Born of 
 her marriage were eight children, namely : Susan 
 M., wife of T. D. Goodfellow. of Los .\ngeles ; 
 I. N., of Giico, this state; Dora, who married 
 H. L. Robinson, of Oakland : .Mexander T. and 
 Thomas, who died respectively at four and three 
 months; Carl V., living at Susanville; Mark 
 Eugene, who died at seventeen years ; and Med, 
 at home. In religious views Mrs. Arnold is of 
 tlie Presbxterian faith, while Mr. Arnold inclines 
 toward the doctrines of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church. Both are identified with the Order of 
 the Eastern Star, and he is further allied with 
 the Ancient Order of United Workmen and Las- 
 sen Lodge No. 149, F. & A. M., in which in 
 1863 he was initiated into Masonry. After the 
 death of his father-in-law. Governor Roop, he 
 succeeded to the management of the waterworks, 
 which he superintended for many years, and also 
 purchased the interests of the other water com- 
 
324 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 pany in the spring on Susan river. In addition 
 he conducted a dairy and raised considerable 
 alfalfa for feed, besides ha\ing thirty acres in 
 orchard and meadow, and thirty-five acres in 
 grazing land. His business interests were further 
 enlarged through ownership of a livery stable 
 in Susanville, but this he sold after five years. 
 For some time he has not been actively engaged 
 in business, but he still retains charge of his 
 affairs and investments, and in their management 
 finds sufficient to occupy his thought and atten- 
 tion. 
 
 CHARLES ODETTE, Sr. In its lineage 
 the Odette family is of French extraction and 
 from Continental Europe some of its represent- 
 atives emigrated to Canada several generations 
 gone by. Peter, father of Giarles Odette, having 
 been of Canadian birth and parentage. At dif- 
 ferent periods of his life Peter Odette followed 
 the occupations of lumberman, mechanic and 
 carpenter, his lumber interests causing him tem- 
 porarily to reside in Monroe county, Mich., but 
 eventually he returned to Canada and there died. 
 His wife, who bore the maiden name of Margaret 
 Malbuff, was like himself of Canadian birth and 
 French ancestrv. In their family were eleven 
 children, all of whom attained mature years, and 
 three of the sons established their homes in Cal- 
 ifornia, namely : Charles and Frank, who are 
 partners in business at Susanville; and Joseph, 
 who removed from this state to Nevada and now 
 resides at Reno. 
 
 The si.xth among the eleven children compris- 
 ing the family. Charles Odette was born in Can- 
 ada near the \'ermont line, October lo. 1840, 
 and as a boy lived in Canada and Michigan. 
 From his earliest recollections he has been self- 
 supporting. As a small boy he proved a valu- 
 able assistant to his father, whom he gave his 
 entire time, to the exclusion of any educational 
 advantages. Those who are familiar with his 
 broad fund of information learn with surprise 
 that he had no school advantages, but acquired 
 his education in the school of experience and by 
 habits of close observation and thoughtful read- 
 ing. When he was fourteen the family removed 
 
 to Michigan and there he worked in the lumber- 
 ing business and on a fami. After his return 
 to Canada he was similarly employed. His per- 
 manent residence in the United States dates from 
 1862, when he crossed the line into Vermont and 
 took up farm pursuits. The outlook in that oc- 
 cupation not being bright he went to Massa- 
 chusetts and learned the carpenter's trade, which 
 later he followed in that state and Connecticut, 
 and also in the west after 1875. the year of his 
 removal to California. After a short sojourn in 
 San Francisco he removed to Virginia City, Nev., 
 and secured work at his trade, and later for a 
 vear was engaged as a contractor and builder. 
 From Virginia City he went to Verdi, Nev., 
 where he followed the building business. 
 
 It was during 1877 that Mr. Odette came to 
 northeastern California, at which time he began 
 to work in the Indian valley, later followed his 
 trade at Ouincy, and then went back to the 
 Indian valley to resume the building business 
 there. Since the fall of 1884 he has made his 
 home at Susanville, where now he owns a com- 
 fortable residence and city property. Here, as 
 in the other places of his residence, he has en- 
 gaged in contracting and building. On account 
 of the several fires in the town, he has rebuilt a 
 number of structures twice and even three times. 
 From 1883 to 1887 he operated the Stockton saw- 
 mill, eight miles from Susanville. During 1891 
 he built the Odette saw and planing mill five 
 and one-half miles west of town and this he still 
 operates, having his brother Frank as a partner 
 in the enterprise for some years past. They own 
 seven hundred acres of timber land near the mill, 
 and from this they cut the timber which, by the 
 aid of an engine of thirty-five horse power is 
 manufactured into lumber and then hauled prin- 
 cipally to Honey lake by teams, although they 
 also have a lumber yard in Susanville. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Odette united him 
 with Miss Sophia Mitchell, who was born in 
 \'ermont of French descent and died in Plumas 
 county, Cal., leaving three children, viz. : 
 Charles, Jr., a carpenter living in Susanville : 
 Mrs. Nellie Hopkins, of San Francisco; and 
 Piertha, who died in Carson, Nev. The second 
 marriage of Mr. Odette was solemnized at Green- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 325 
 
 villc, Plumas county, on the 4th of July, 1883, 
 and united him with Mrs. Sarah Goodfellovv, by 
 whom he has two children, namely : Lyda, wife 
 of David Ward, of Susanville ; and Albert. Po- 
 litically Mr. Odette favors Republican principles 
 and in religion both he and his wife arc con- 
 nected with the Susanville Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, in which he officiates as a trustee. Mrs. 
 Odette was born in Salt Lake City, being a 
 daughter of Robert and Giarlotte ( Bowring) 
 Till, natives of England. During early life Mr. 
 Till taught school in England, but as early as 
 1850 he became a pioneer of Salt Lake City and 
 there he died. Later his widow was married to 
 Moses Bull, of Michigan, who died in Washing- 
 ton, and at this writing Mrs. Pull makes her 
 home in Redding. Cal. Of her first marriage 
 there were three children, namely : Mrs. Char- 
 lotte Thorn, who died in Washington; Sarah J.; 
 and John W.. who took his stepfather's name and 
 is now a mining expert at Redding. As a girl 
 Mrs. Odette attended the public schools of Butte 
 county, this state, and shortly after completing 
 her education she became the wife of William 
 Goodfellow, their marriage being solemnized in 
 Plumas county in 1872. Of Canadian birth and 
 parentage. Mr. Goodfellow came to the Pacific 
 coast in early life and became a quartz mill op- 
 erator. At the time of his death, which occurred 
 at Greenville, he was thirty-four years of age, 
 and he left besides his widow two sons, Thomas 
 D., now of Los Angeles, and William Arthur, 
 who makes Susanville his home. 
 
 JULES ALEXANDER. Those who possess 
 a thorough knowledge of the business enterprises 
 of Lassen county state that its leading commer- 
 cial establishment is the department store at Su- 
 sanville conducted by the finn of Alexander & 
 Knoch. Adequate facilities for the display and 
 sale of the stock are furnished by the fireproof 
 mercantile building, 35x122 feet in dimensions, 
 the accommodations of which are increased by a 
 gallery extending around the entire building. 
 Each department is complete in itself and ]jro- 
 vided with everything desired in the line of its 
 
 specialty. Dry goods of every kind and quality 
 from the cheapest prints to the elegant broad- 
 cloths fill one department ; another is given over 
 to clothing of the latest styles ; in another are 
 shoes of all styles, while still others are occupied 
 with hardware and groceries. Two warehouses 
 furnish accommodations for storage, while yards 
 are utilized for the exhibition of agricultural im- 
 plements of the most modern kinds. 
 
 The senior member of the firm is a Frenchman 
 by birth and descent, and is a son of Abraham 
 and Janet (Meyer) .-Mexander, natives of Alsace. 
 For some years his father engaged in trading in 
 Brazil, but in 1849 lie joined an expedition of 
 gold-seekers and came to California via Cape 
 Horn. Soon, however, he returned to France, 
 where he became a large land owner and ex- 
 tensive dealer in stock. After the death of his 
 wife, which occurred when she was fifty-three, 
 he crossed the ocean to the United States and 
 settled in New York city, where he died at sev- 
 enty-four years of age. Of his five children four 
 are still living. One of the sons, Joseph, is pro- 
 prietor of The Hub in San Francisco; another, 
 Abraham, carries on mercantile pursuits at Ba- 
 kersfield, this state. The youngest of the familv, 
 Jules, was born at Reishofifen, Alsace, August 6, 
 1859, and received an excellent education both 
 in German and French. After coming to San 
 Francisco in 1875 he attended night school and 
 thus perfected himself in the English language. 
 Since May of 1877 he has been a resident of 
 Susanville, where for a time he clerked under 
 Green & Asher, then was with Partridge & Hver, 
 and on the death of Mr. Partridge in 1881, he 
 lx>ught the business in partnership with Simon 
 Blum of Martinez. The firm of Blum & Alex- 
 ander continued in business for about four vears 
 with the junior member as manager, and then 
 Mr. Levy purchased Mr. Ulum's interest, and 
 still later the title was changed to A. &. J. Alex- 
 ander, continuing as such until the fire of Julv, 
 1893, destroyed the building and stock. On the 
 readjustment of the business and the purchasing 
 of a new stock, the firm of Alexander & Knoch 
 was organized and since then has built a new 
 store equipped with modern facilities. 
 
 The management of the large business does 
 
32G 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 not represent the limit of Mr. Alexander's ac- 
 tivities. For about fifteen years, until he sold 
 out in 1903, he owned a ranch on Horse lake and 
 engaged in raising stock for the markets. On 
 the organization of the California & Oregon Tele- 
 graph Company, of which he was a leading pro- 
 moter, he was elected vice-president and a di- 
 rector, which positions he still occupies. Under 
 the supervision of the company lines have been 
 built through Plumas, Lassen and Modoc coun- 
 ties, Cal. to Lakeview, Ore., and into Reno, Nev., 
 where connection is made with the Western 
 Union Telegraph Company. Another enterprise 
 in which he holds stock is the Susanville Cream- 
 ery Company, of which he is now president. Po- 
 litically a strong Republican, he has served his 
 party as a member of the county central commit- 
 tee and since 1902 has been a member of the Su- 
 sanville city council. Thoroughly loyal to his 
 adopted country and its institutions, he supports 
 all projects for the permanent advancement of 
 his coujity. state and nation, and by his patriotic 
 spirit furnishes another illustration of the high 
 quality of California's foreign-born citizens. Fra- 
 ternally he holds membership with the Benevo- 
 lent Protective Order of Elks at Reno, also with 
 Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & A. 1\L (in which he 
 was made a Mason in 1885), and Lassen Chapter 
 No. 47, R. A. M., at Susanville. By his mar- 
 riage, which was solemnized in 1888, he became 
 united with a young lady of Susanville. Miss Rae 
 Knoch, who was born and reared here, and is a 
 graduate of Mills College. The record of her 
 family appears in the sketch of her father, David 
 Knoch. upon another page of this volume. The 
 two children of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander are 
 named Janet and Edith. 
 
 FRANK PRINGLE CADY. The Lassen 
 Water, Light and Power Company, of which 
 Mr. Cady acts as president, and in which he is 
 the principal stockholder, occupies a noteworthy 
 position among the modern industries of north- 
 ern California. The connection of Mr. Cady 
 with the incorporated company dates from its 
 inception, and previous thereto he had been asso- 
 
 ciated with the development of the waterworks 
 which he purchased from H. L. " Cain early in 
 the vear 1899. The supply for Susanville comes 
 from the springs in the caiion on the side of a 
 hill near the Susan river and is more than ade- 
 c|uate for all the demands of the present or the 
 possibilities of the future. By means of steel 
 pipes the water is brought to the reservoir above 
 the city and from there is piped through the town 
 as needed, furnishing force sufficient to throw 
 an ample supply over any residence. Besides 
 being the prime factor in the waterworks sys- 
 tem, Mr. Cady was instrumental in building the 
 electric light plant, in the operation of which 
 both water power and steam may be utilized in 
 the ratio of seventy-horse power. 
 
 The citizen to whose energy the development 
 of the company is largely due ranks among the 
 native sons of California, and was born near 
 Ripon, San Joaquin county, on the Stanislaus 
 river, September 7, 1857, being a son of Stoel 
 Cady, in whose sketch the family history ap- 
 pears. As a boy he attended the country schools 
 and then studied in the Stockton schools, after 
 which he took the complete course and was grad- 
 uated from the .Stockton Business College. In 
 1877 he opened a general mercantile store at Sa- 
 lida, Stanislaus county, where also he acted as 
 ticket agent for the Southern Pacific Railroad 
 and agent for the Wells-Fargo Express Com- 
 pany. During the spring of 1880 he came to 
 Lassen county and bought a stock ranch in the 
 Big valley country north of Hayden Hill, where 
 he engaged in raising cattle for some years with 
 varying success. Removing to Susanville in Jan- 
 uary of 1889, he sold the ranch two years later, 
 and now owns a comfortable residence on Pine 
 street. While living in the San Joaquin valley 
 he was married, at Stockton in 1877, to Miss 
 Orilla Kime, who was born at Campo Seco, Cala- 
 veras county, this state, the daughter of a pio- 
 neer. The only child of their union, Leon Roy, 
 is now a student in a San Francisco school. 
 
 Always an ardent Republican, Mr. Cady has 
 been active in the local affairs of the party. Dur- 
 ing his service in the city council in 1904 he was 
 especially interested in securing water plugs for 
 fire protection. In 1888 his party nominated him 
 
lAMES I>. ISVKRS 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3-2'J 
 
 for the sheriff's office and he was elected by a 
 fair majority, assuming the duties of the office in 
 January, 1889, for a term of two years. In 1890 
 he was again chosen for the position, which he 
 occupied until January of 1893. The following 
 year he was elected county assessor, and served 
 in that capacity for a term of four years, retiring 
 in January, 1890, since which time he has given 
 his attention to the development of the water 
 and lislit supply for the city of Susanville. Since 
 coming to this city he has joined the local lodge 
 of Odd Fellows, in which he now acts as vice- 
 grand. At this writing he also fills the office 
 of president of Lassen Parlor No. 99, Native 
 Sons of the Golden West, and his fraternal rela- 
 tions are further extended through his member- 
 ship in the Order of Rebekahs, to which also his 
 wife belongs. 
 
 WILLIAM McCLELL.\ND. Noteworthy 
 among the pioneer settlers of Honey Lake 
 valley is William McClelland of Susanville, 
 who has resided in Lassen county for upwards 
 of forty years, during which time he has been 
 identified with its growth and development, 
 being especially interested in promoting its 
 agricultural industries. A son of the late Rev. 
 Isaiah McClelland, he was born March 27, 
 1835, in Crawford county. Pa., near Mead- 
 ville, where his grandfather was a pioneer 
 farmer. 
 
 After his ordination in the Methodist de- 
 nomination, Rev. Isaiah McClelland removed 
 to Illinois from Pennsylvania, his native state, 
 from there coming to California in 1872. He 
 spent his declining years in I'lumas county, 
 dying in Greenville, but being buried at Janes- 
 ville. He married Martha M. IJyers, who was 
 born in Crawford county. Pa., and died in Mil- 
 ford, Lassen county, Cal. She was a sister of 
 the late James Davis By-ers, for many years 
 one of the best known and most prominent 
 citizens of this section of the state. 
 
 A native of Penn.sylvania, James Davis By- 
 ers was born in Crawford count\^ February 8, 
 182^. and at the age of five years he was left 
 fatherless. Early dependent in a measure upon 
 
 his own resources, he left school at the age of 
 thirteen years, entering the store of John 
 McCaun, in Ilartstown, Pa. In 1842 he moved 
 with the family to Licking county, Ohio, liv- 
 ing first in Utica, and then in Newark, where 
 for eight years he was employed in the mer- 
 cantile establishment of John Taylor. He took 
 an active part in public affairs, and in the 
 spring of 1848 was elected constable, at the 
 same time being deputy sheriff of the county. 
 His health failing, he came to California not 
 very long afterwards, and at Rough and 
 Ready, Nevada county, opened a general store. 
 In the spring of 1851 Mr. Byers began min- 
 ing at Hopkins, Plumas county, subsequently 
 becoming one of the locators of the Washing- 
 ton quartz claim on Eureka mountain. Then 
 with his brother. Hunter I'yers, who came 
 with him to the coast, he ]>urchased land in 
 Colusa countv. and embarked in stock-raising, 
 the brother, who died in San Francisco in 
 1890, being manager of the ranch. In the 
 meantime Mr. Byers looked after the mining 
 interests of both, and for awhile was deputy 
 sheriff of Plumas countv. In 1854 he opened 
 the first butcher shop in Johnsville, and 
 in the fall of 1855 was elected sheriff of Plu- 
 mas county, and the following year was re- 
 elected to the same office. In 1858 he came 
 to Honey Lake vallev. bought a claim on Bax- 
 ter creek, and engaged in the stock business. 
 He lived for several years at Janesville, where 
 he was engaged in mercantile pursuits for a 
 while, although he was princi])ally interested 
 in stock-raising, having a large ranch of three 
 thousand acres near Honey Lake. In 1863, 
 while serving as deputy sheriff' under .Sheriff' 
 Pierce, Mr. Byers was sent to Lassen county 
 to collect the taxes, but the citizens, claiming 
 that they were in Nevada, refused to pay, 
 and the result was the Sage Brush war, in 
 which he, as an officer, took an active part. 
 He served one term in the state legislature, 
 and was largely instrumental in having passed 
 the bill to create Lassen county, and in 
 giving to it the name of the old pio- 
 neer of this part of the state. In May, 
 1864, he was elected the first sheriff of the 
 
330 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 new county ; in 1873 he was elected to the 
 general assembly; and from 1868 until 
 1871 was county supervisor. He was a 
 stanch Republican in politics, and was a 
 Master Mason. A man of excellent business 
 ability and judgment, he accumulated consid- 
 erable wealth, owning valuable property at 
 Janesville, Ouincy and Susanville, and a $10,- 
 000 farm in Licking county, Ohio. Mr. Byers 
 never married, but from 1864 until his death 
 made his home with Mr. and Mrs. McClelland. 
 He willed to Mrs. McClelland his stock ranch 
 of three thousand acres, on the Tule. and her 
 son-in-law, Mr. Fortney, the executor of the 
 will, superintends this farm. 
 
 The oldest of a family of ten children, nine 
 of whom grew to years of maturity, and of 
 whom five survive, William McClelland re- 
 ceived a common school education in Craw- 
 ford county, and when a boy learned the mill- 
 er's trade, working in his father's grist mill. 
 He subsequently served an apprenticeship at 
 the trade of a carriage maker, after which he 
 resumed milling, taking charge of the Davis 
 mill, in Mercer county. Pa. In 1863 he came 
 to California by the Nicaragua route, arriv- 
 ing in San Francisco, on the Moses Taylor, 
 in May of that year. The ensuing three 
 months he was employed as a miller in Co- 
 lusa county, and in September, 1864, located 
 in Susanville, the following winter running 
 a grist mill in ]\Iilford. He was subsequently 
 engaged in farming and dairying on the By- 
 ers farm for eighteen years, living there until 
 1882, when he bought sixty-five acres of land 
 adjoining Susanville on the south. Here he 
 engaged in horticultural pursuits, raising the 
 finest fruit produced in the county, and hav- 
 ing the largest and best improved orchard 
 of any in the vicinity. Mr. McClelland has 
 also been interested in stock-raising, after the 
 death of Mr. Byers living on the Tule ranch 
 until 1901, when he moved with his family 
 into Susanville. 
 
 August 12, 1858, in Mercer county. Pa., Mr. 
 McClelland married Sarah A. Merchant, who 
 was born near Mercer, a daughter of Jacob 
 Merchant. She is of French descent, her pa- 
 
 ternal grandfather having emigrated from 
 France to Pennsylvania when a boy of four- 
 teen years. Jacob Merchant, a life-long farm- 
 er, spent his seventy-nine years of earthly 
 existence in Mercer county. He was a Dem- 
 ocrat in politics, and a Methodist in his re- 
 ligious belief. He married ]\Iary Davis, who 
 was born in Mercer county. Pa., and died 
 in Nebraska, in the ninety-sixth 3'ear of her 
 age. She bore her husband eleven children, 
 four of whom are living. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
 Clelland are the parents of three children, 
 namely: Ella M., wife of J. A. Fortney, of 
 New Standish ; Ida, wife of J. D. Andrews, of 
 Reno, Nev. ; and James H., also on the old 
 Byers ranch. Politically Mr. McClelland is 
 a steadfast adherent of Democratic principles. 
 
 DAVID JOHNSTON. It might well be a 
 source of gratification to a man if, in looking 
 back over the years of a busv life, he recalls no 
 deed to cause remorse and regret and no inten- 
 tional act of wrong-doing toward his fellow-men. 
 As Mr. Johnston reflects concerning the activities 
 of a life now drawing toward its twilight, he can 
 face the past without sorrow and the future with- 
 out fear, for in all his actions he has been guided 
 by the highest principles of honor. While attain- 
 ing a fair degree of financial success he has 
 gained that which is more to be desired— the 
 respect and admiration of associates. Through- 
 out all of Lassen county he and his wife are 
 affectionately alluded to as "Uncle Dave" and 
 "Aunt Cal," and none speaks of them save with 
 words of praise. Since their retirement from 
 ranching they have made their home in Hall's 
 addition to Susanville. where thev have a cozv 
 and comfortable residence. 
 
 The Johnston family is of English extraction. 
 William, who was the son of Robert (a game- 
 keeper and weaver by occupation and a life-long 
 resident of England), was born in Northumber- 
 land in 1798, and during boyhood learned the 
 trade of a cotton spinner, which he followed, 
 after coming to the United States, at Kinder- 
 hook, Columbia county, N. Y. As early as 1842 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 331 
 
 he became a pioneer of Michigan, where he took 
 up a tract of unimproved farm land near Albion, 
 Calhoun county, and there six years later death 
 came to him ere yet his plans had been consum- 
 mated for the improvement of the farm. While 
 still a resident of England he had married Mary 
 Rogers, who was born in that country and died 
 in Michigan. Of their ten sons six attained 
 manhood, namely : Robert, who came to Cali- 
 fornia in 1851 and died at Susanville ; David, 
 now a resident of Susanville; John, who. enlisted 
 in the Nineteenth Michigan Infantry during the 
 Civi! war and served as assistant paymaster 6i 
 the army until he was drowned at Fort Fisher; 
 William, now living in Michigan ; George, who 
 died in Michigan ; and Henry, who was a soldier 
 in the Third United States Infantry and now re- 
 sides in Michigan. 
 
 A native of Carlisle, Northumberland, Eng- 
 land, born June 13, 1827, David Johnston was 
 only two years of age when the family settled in 
 Columbia county, N. Y., hence his earliest recol- 
 lections are associated with .'\merica. It was 
 not possible for him to attend school with any 
 regularity, for he was obliged to earn his own 
 livelihood froni early boyhood, being only seven 
 years old when he was made a bobbin boy in a 
 cotton factory. When he was fifteen the family 
 removed to Michigan and there he aided in the 
 clearing of a farm until his father's death in 
 1848. Two years later he crossed the plains 
 with a team of small jxinies and a light wagon. 
 Thirty days after leaving home he arrived at the 
 Missouri river and in seventy-six days landed at 
 Ringgold, Eldorado county. At Diamond Springs 
 he began to work in the mines and later worked 
 at Michigan Flat, from which place he went to 
 the south fork of the Yuba river and then re- 
 turned to Michigan Flat, where he met with a 
 fair degree of success in his mining ventures. In 
 1853 he returned via Panama to Michigan, where 
 he engaged in farming near .\lbion, Calhoun 
 county. 
 
 Two years after his return to his old home 
 ;tate ]\Ir. Johnston established domestic ties. 
 September 20, 1855, he was united in marriage 
 with Miss Caroline .Augusta Mear, who was born 
 aear Taunton, Somerset county, England, being 
 
 a daughter of John and Joan (Poole) Mear, also 
 natives of Somerset. In a family of four chil- 
 dren those besides Mrs. Johnston were as fol- 
 lows : Mary, wife of William Johnston, of Mich- 
 igan ; Anna, Mrs. Henry Johnston, of Michigan ; 
 and John M., who died in Colorado. For nine 
 years John Mear followed a seafaring existence, 
 being accepted at nineteen years of age on an 
 English man-of-war cruising in the Mediter- 
 ranean sea. While on board ship he learned the 
 trade of an armorer. On his return to England, 
 when disembarking at Portsmouth, King Will- 
 iam patted him on the head and presented him 
 with a Bible. On settling down as a landsman 
 he learned and followed the blacksmith's trade. 
 In 1842 lie came to the United States and settled 
 at Skaneateles, N. Y., where he engaged in 
 blacksmithing. From there he went to Albion, 
 Mich., to take up the same occupation, and he 
 remained in that place until his death at fifty- 
 two years. His wife had died prior to liis de- 
 parture from the east. 
 
 .•\fter having engaged in farming in Michigan 
 for some years, in 1863 Mr. Johnston came via 
 New^ York and Panama to California, making 
 the Atlantic voyage on the Ocean Queen and 
 then sailing up the Pacific on the Golden Age. 
 When he landed at Susanville. the home of his 
 brother Robert, he was almost penniless, his 
 means having been exliausted in paying the trav- 
 eling expenses of himself and wife. For a time 
 he worked on ranches, then engaged in teaming 
 with oxen to Nevada and dififerent parts of Cali- 
 fornia. Under the employ of Captain Pierce he 
 blazed out a road to Idaho. While on this jour- 
 ney, at Soldier's Meadows, two men quarreled 
 and one of them, Barnhard, killed the other. 
 Regan. The assailant was then hanged bv the 
 members of the party. Indians were trouble- 
 some, and it was necessary to have men on guard 
 every night. W'hile Mr. Johnston engaged in 
 hauling his wife helped by teaching school and 
 w-as the first woman teacher at Johnstonville, a 
 postoffice named for their family. With the sav- 
 ings of their united efforts in 1870 they bought 
 one hundred and sixty acres near Johnstonville, 
 and later purchased the Robert Johnston ranch, 
 which gives them the title to three hundred and 
 
832 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 twenty-seven acres in one body, situated on the 
 Susan river, just above the mill. Irrigation ren- 
 ders possible the raising of alfalfa, which is one 
 of the main crops of the ranch, although grain is 
 also raised in large quantities. While Mr. John- 
 ston still owns the property, since the spring of 
 1896 he has rented it to a tenant and has made 
 Susanville his home. 
 
 Reared in the Episcopalian faith, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Johnston have always remained in sympathy with 
 that religion, but with characteristic broadness 
 of spirit they have aided worthy movements fos- 
 tered by other denominations. Their family con- 
 sists of two daughters. The elder, Margaret, is 
 the widow of Charles W. Moore and resides in 
 Pacific Grove. The younger, Helen J., is the 
 wife of Gilbert E. DeForest, of Jolmstonville. 
 At the time of the World's Fair of 1893 Mr. 
 Johnston visted Chicago and then went on to 
 Alichigan, where he renewed the associations of 
 his younger years and enjoyed the companion- 
 ship of those who remained of his old-time 
 friends. Since the organization of the Repub- 
 lican party he has been an adherent of its policy 
 and has voted for its candidates and platfonn. 
 It has been his privilege to witness much of the 
 development of the west, and as he contrasts the 
 conditions of the twentieth century with those 
 noticeable when he first came to California and 
 voted for its admission as a state, he realizes the 
 wonderful progress wrought during the past 
 fiftv years or more and is proud of his connection 
 with the commonwealth as one of its pioneers. 
 
 JOHN BOYLE. Although a resident of Cal- 
 ifornia for a comparatively few years only, Mr. 
 Boyle held a position of respect and honor among 
 his neighbors and acquaintances in the Sierra 
 valley, and when death ended his labors there 
 were many to mourn his loss and offer tributes 
 of sympathy to his wife and children. Of 
 Canadian birth and parentage, he was born near 
 Montreal in Alarch of 1833 and as a boy attend- 
 ed local schools, afterward taking up the trades 
 of tanner and shoemaker. On leaving home to 
 take up the burden of self-support he went to 
 
 Illinois and secured employment in a tannery at 
 Rock Island, where he assisted in the tanning of 
 hides and the manufacture of shoes. In recogni- 
 tion of his efficiency he was promoted to be fore- 
 man of the shop and later operated a tannery of 
 his own, also a shoe store in connection with 
 the same. Meanwhile a brother, James Boyle, 
 had removed to California in an early day and 
 had taken up a tract of land from the govern- 
 ment, his claim being situated in Sierra county 
 three miles from the village of Sattley. The ill- 
 ness of this brother caused John Boyle to come to 
 California in 1876 and assume the management 
 of the ranch, which was bequeathed to him by 
 the original nwner at his death, unmarried, in 
 1876. From that time the inheritor of the es- 
 tate gave his undivided attention to its manage- 
 ment, devoting its acreage to stock-raising and 
 general farm products. .A.t his death, which oc- 
 curred December 3, 1881, he left the property to 
 his wife, who has since superintended the land 
 with the aid of her children. 
 
 While making his home in Illinois John Boyle 
 was united in marriage at Rock Island, in Octo- 
 ber, 1862, with Miss Catherine Touhey, who 
 was born in County Oare. Ireland, June 20, 
 1844, and at the age of nine years accompanied 
 her parents to the United States, settling in New 
 Jersey, but after three years removing to Rock 
 Island, 111. In 1877 ^''s- Boyle came to Cali- 
 fornia and joined her husband on the ranch in 
 Sierra county, where she still resides. The prop- 
 erty comprises three hundred and twenty acres 
 in the home ranch in the valley and six hundred 
 and forty acres of pasture land also in the val- 
 ley, the whole being adapted to stock-raising and 
 general ranching. A specialty is made of the 
 dairy business and a herd of milch cows is kept 
 numbering upwards of twenty-five cows. For 
 years the estate has been conducted in the same 
 family name and the title has never gone out of 
 the family since the tract was entered from the 
 government. In religious views the family have 
 always been earnest adherents of the Roman 
 Catholic church, while in matters political Mr. 
 Boyle gave hi's support to the Democratic party. 
 
 Nine children were born to the union of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Boyle, namely : Mary F., who mar- 
 
o£ja.^(^^ny^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 335 
 
 ried Levi Garfield and lives in the Sierra valley ; 
 James F., who has a position as foreman of a 
 large ranch in Nevada and also carries on a sheep 
 business ; John P., who manages the home place 
 in the interests of his mother ; Harriet AL, who 
 died at six years of age ; Elizaheth, who mar- 
 ried D. R. Jacks and lives in San Francisco: 
 Alargaret G., who died at three years of age; 
 Kate L., who, in 1899. became the wife of 
 James Giblin, a rancher in Plumas county; Jo- 
 sephine R., a teacher in Plumas county ; and 
 Cecilia B., who was married December 31, 1902, 
 to Benjamin Myers, a rancher of Plumas county, 
 and a son of George F. Myers, mentioned else- 
 where in this volume. 
 
 HON. ISAAC NEWTON ROOP. Indis- 
 solubly associated with the history of Susan- 
 ville and Lassen county is the name of Gov- 
 ernor Roop, who as a pioneer, statesman and 
 attornev, as well as in the responsible position 
 of first provisional governor of Nevada, wielded 
 an important and permanent influence upon 
 his contemporaries and powerfully affected the 
 development of subsequent years. Descended 
 from one of the colonial families of Maryland, 
 he was born in Carroll county, that state, March 
 13, 1822, and was a son of Joseph and .Susan 
 (Engle) Roop, whom in 1838 he accompanied 
 to Ashland county, Ohio. After years of pains- 
 taking industry in farming and stock-raising in 
 that section, his father in 1858 removed to Iowa 
 and settled in Keokuk county, where he died an 
 aged man. The lineage of the family is traced 
 to Germany. 
 
 When the family settled in Ohio Isaac New- 
 ton Roop was a youth of almost seventeen years, 
 and it was not long before he became self-sup- 
 porting, his first business connections being with 
 a grist and sawmill. While living in Ashland 
 county, December 24. 1840, he married Miss 
 Nancy Gardner, who was born in Allegheny 
 county. Pa., December 22, 1822, and, like him- 
 self, was of German ancestry. Her father. John 
 Gardner, immigrated from Germany to the Unit- 
 ed States and settled in Pennsylvania, but later 
 removed to Ohio, where he engaged in the car- 
 
 riage-manufacturing business. Eventually he 
 moved to Ottawa, Intl., and there passed his 
 closing years of life. Mrs. Nancy R(X)p dicil in 
 Ohio June 20, 1850. at the age of twenty-seven 
 years, leaving three children, namely : Susan, 
 Mrs. Arnold, of Susanville, Lassen county; John, 
 a physician of Oklahoma, w-ho during the Civil 
 war Vvas a member of the Seventh Iowa Infan- 
 try and served as an aide to General Grant; and 
 Isaiah, who enlisted in the Twenty-third Ohio 
 Infantry, was wounded at South Mountain, and 
 died of small pox while still in the service. 
 
 In September following the death of his wife 
 Mr. Roop started for California, traveling via 
 the Nicaragua route as a passenger on the ship 
 that brought news of the admission of California 
 to the Union. Going to Shasta county he joined 
 a brother, Josiah Roop, who conducted a general 
 store, and in this enterprise he became a part- 
 ner, as well as serving as postmaster at Shasta. 
 Misfortune, liowever, soon overtook him in the 
 burning of Shasta. A large hotel which he had 
 built and his store building as well, June 14, 
 1853, burned to the ground, entailing a loss of 
 $to,ooo, and leaving him penniless. The fire 
 occurred at 9 a. m., and after saving the post- 
 ofSce books left his own property in the building 
 to save the lives of the school children. Dis- 
 heartened by the turn of affairs he left the town 
 on horseback to find a more fortunate location, 
 and thus drifted into Lassen county. Reaching 
 a lake remarkable for the honey dew on the 
 grass and trees near by, he named it Honey Lake 
 and he was the first settler in the valley around 
 this body of water, locating here in the spring 
 of 1854. On what is now the site of Susanville 
 he erected a house and built a store for a trad- 
 ing post, later securing the establishment of a 
 postoffice, of which he acted as postmaster until 
 death. June 7, 1854, he platted one hundred and 
 sixty acres and laid out the town which he named 
 in honor of his only daughter, and fhe same year 
 built the first saw mill in Lassen county. Inter- 
 ested in horticulture, in 1863 he planted a small 
 orchard, water for which was secured by irriga- 
 tion. With his brother be dug the first ditch 
 here and started the original waterworks, their 
 beginning of course being upon a small scale. 
 
336 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 The activities already enumerated by no means 
 represented the limit of Governor Roop's encr- 
 f^ies. Admitted to the bar at Carson, he engaged 
 fn the practice of law, and at the time of his 
 death was filling the office of district attorney. 
 During the 6o's he served one term as a mem- 
 ber of the legislature of Nevada, for at that 
 time Honey Lake valley was claimed as a part 
 of Nevada. Another honor conferred upon him 
 was in his election as the first provisional gov- 
 ernor of Nevada. -Cvhich position he filled, as all 
 others to which he was called, with ability, in- 
 telligence and a high degree of statesmanship. 
 .A.11 through his life he was a pronounced Re- 
 publican, devoted to the welfare of his party and 
 enthusiastic in support of its principles. Fra- 
 ternally he was a Mason of the Royal .-\rch de- 
 gree, and in religion he was identified with the 
 Methodist Episcopal Chiuxh. Generous in dis- 
 position, he donated to Lassen county the site of 
 the court house and gave to Susanville the site 
 of its public .school and cemetery. Every i)ub- 
 lic enterprise received the encouragement of his 
 support and his financial assistance, and no man 
 was a larger factor than he in the development 
 of local projects. In the annals of Susanville 
 no name occupies a position of more permanent 
 honor than that of Governor Roop. 
 
 PROF. FRANK GRAIN SCHOFIELD. A 
 man of scholarly attainments, active, ambitious 
 and capable, Prof. Frank Grain Schofield, of Su- 
 sanville, is carrying on a inost successful work 
 as principal of the I-as.sen county high school, of 
 which he has had charge since its opening in 
 1903. He is eminently qualified for the impor- 
 tant work in which he is engaged, and among 
 the ])rominont educators of this section of the 
 state holds a noteworthy position. A son of 
 Jesse W. Schofield. he was born March 22, 1865, 
 in Lexington, Alo., being the second child in a 
 family of five children, all of whom are living. 
 
 Of Scotch and Welsh ancestry, Jesse W. Scho- 
 field was born in Pennsylvania, the son of a 
 farmer, who migrated to that state from old 
 Virginia. In early manhood he moved to Lex- 
 
 ington, ATo., where he established a planing mill 
 which he operated until his death. He was a 
 man of nnich force of character, well known in 
 public life and in fraternal circles, serving for 
 several years as judge of the county court, and 
 being a Allaster Mason. He married Andalusia 
 Z. Eddy, who was born in Chenango, N. Y., 
 and died in Missouri. She came of substantial 
 Revolutionarx' stock, and was directly descended 
 from one of the early Puritan families of New 
 England 
 
 llrought up in his native town, Frank G. Scho- 
 field obtained his preliminary education at a pri- 
 vate school, being prepared for college at an 
 early age. Going then to Colorado, he taught 
 school for awhile in Monument, and then spent 
 three years at the Denver University. Return- 
 ing east, he attended the imiversity at Rochester, 
 N. Y., for a year, and then entered the Uni- 
 versity of Ohio, at Athens, where be was gradu- 
 ated with the degree of A. V>. in 1895, and from 
 which he received the degree of A. M. in 1897. 
 Throughout his college career Mr. Schofield was a 
 close student and a hard worker, paying his own 
 way by teaching or by other labors. Returning 
 to his alma mater in 1896. he was there the in- 
 structor in English for a year. In iSij" he ac- 
 cepted a position in Dunkirk, Intl., and for five 
 years served as principal of the high school in 
 that place. Resigning in 1902, he came to Cali- 
 fornia, and the ensuing year was engaged in 
 post-graduate work at the Leland Stanford, Jr., 
 University. On the opening of the new Lassen 
 county high .school, at Susanville, in 1903, be 
 was elected principal, and has since filled this 
 responsilile position in a most creditable man- 
 ner. Under his efficient management rapid prog- 
 ress has been niade in all the departments, and 
 the attendance has largely increased, the num- 
 ln'r (if pupils registered the first year having 
 been but forty, while in the second year sixty 
 names appeared upon the roll. Since the comple- 
 tion of the new county high school building in 
 1905, this institution has enjoyed greater facili- 
 ties, and now in addition to the regular high 
 school course has a good commercial course of 
 study and a thorough course for teachers of all 
 grades. 
 
(^{B^Ji 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 339 
 
 June 9, 1898, in Dunkirk, Ind., F. C. Schofiek! 
 married Martha E. Nickerson, who was born in 
 Montgomery county, Ohio, a daughter of James 
 B. Nickerson, and granddaughter of Clark Nick- 
 erson. a pioneer fanner of Clinton county. Ohio. 
 She is of New England ancestry, being a de- 
 scendant of one William Nickerson, who emi- 
 grated from England to this country in 1637, 
 settling in Massachusetts. James B. Nickerson 
 was torn in Clinton county, Ohio, and having 
 received a fine education was for many years 
 engaged in teaching school, being well known 
 as an educator in Clinton and Montgomery 
 counties, Ohio, and in Jay county, Ind. He 
 served for four years in the Civil war, being cap- 
 tain of Company B, Fortieth Ohio Volunteer In- 
 fantry. He is an active Republican in politics, 
 a devoted member of the Grand Army of the 
 Republic, and belongs to the Baptist Church. Oc- 
 tober 25, 1865, Captain Nickerson married Mary 
 McEwen, who was Ijorn near Dayton, Ohio. Her 
 father, the late Robert G. McEwen, was born 
 near Hamburg, Pa., but moved from there to 
 IMontgomery county, Ohio, where he followed 
 farming for many years. He was a man of prom- 
 inence, and served in the state legislature. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Schofield have one child, Andalusia. 
 Mr. Schofield is a member of the State Teach- 
 ers' Association, and of the Sigma Alpha Ep- 
 silon, of Denver. He is a Republican in his 
 political affiliations, and both he and his wife 
 imited with the Baptist Church while living in 
 Dunkirk. Ind. 
 
 WRIGHT PATRICK HALL. While the 
 commonwealth of Massachusetts was yet in 
 the early period of its colonial history the Hall 
 family became established among its pioneers, 
 the first of the name in America having been 
 Richard Hall, who as early as 1673 became as- 
 sociated with the little town of Bradford, in the 
 eastern part of the state. Next in line of de- 
 scent was Joseph, whose son, Ebenezer, a native 
 of Bradford, established the family name in New 
 Hampshire and died at Concord. The follow- 
 ing generation was represented by Daniel Hall, 
 who was born in New Hampshire and there spent 
 
 his entire life, with the exception of the period of 
 his active service in the Revolutionary war. 
 Among the children of this Revolutionary sol- 
 dier was a son, Jeremiah, who was born in Con- 
 cord, N. H., and married Judith Rolfe, after 
 which he removed to Maine in company with two 
 other members of the Hall family, two members 
 of the Rolfe family, three members of the Ab- 
 bott family, and Jeremy Farnham, the little party 
 becoming very early settlers of Rumford, Ox- 
 ford county. After the establishment of the fam- 
 ily at Rumford a son was born, to whom was 
 given the name of Davis Hall, and whose birth 
 occurred July 12, 18 10. 
 
 After having learned the carpenter's trade 
 Davis Hall went to Watertown and there mar- 
 ried Mary Ann Patrick, who was born at Jaf- 
 frey, Cheshire county, N. H. On the paternal 
 side she traced her lineage to county Antrim. Ire- 
 land, whither the family had removed from Scot- 
 land. Early in American history they came to 
 Massachusetts and settled at Fitcliburg, but in 
 1809 became identified with the village of Jaf- 
 frey in New Hampshire. In 1840 Davis Hall 
 removed to Waltham, Mass., where for thirty 
 years he was employed in the Newton chemical 
 works. In that city his wife died March 20, 
 1880, at seventy years of age, and he then left 
 the east and joined his son in California, where 
 he died September 23, 1883, aged seventy-one 
 years and ten months. Among his five children 
 Wright Patrick was the eldest ; Davis, a pioneer 
 of California, held the office of county clerk of 
 Plumas county, and was also United States 
 deputy surveyor for many years, he died at 
 Ouincy in 1887 ; Samuel came to the west with 
 his eldest brother and now resides at Quincy ; 
 William came west in i860 and is a resident of 
 Lassen county; and Edwin died in Susanville. 
 
 At the family homestead in Rumford, Me., 
 Wright Patrick Hall was born April 26, 1834, 
 and from there he accompanied the family to 
 Waltham, Alass.. in 1840. After having ac- 
 quired a common-school education, at the age of 
 seventeen years he entered upon an apprentice- 
 ship to the hatter's trade, at which he served for 
 four ^•ears. Ci^on the expiration of his time he 
 embarked in business for himself in Waltham, 
 
340 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 where he conducted a hat store until 1857, the 
 date of his removal to the west. Having dis- 
 posed of his interests in Massachusetts, he took 
 passage on the ship, Moses Taylor, from New 
 York to Aspinwall, and after crossing the isthmus 
 boarded the old ship John L. Stevens for San 
 Francisco. After landing he proceeded immed- 
 iately to what is now Plumas county and en- 
 gaged in mining at Howland Flat. During De- 
 cember of 1858 he made a trip to Honey Lake 
 valley and in i860 returned to this locality as a 
 permanent resident, renting a dairy during the 
 first summer, but in the fall taking up land six 
 miles below Susanville, where he embarked in 
 the dairy business. At the time of the Virginia 
 City mining excitement he sold luitter in that 
 camp for seventy-five cents a pound. For a time 
 he was in partnership with John P>atcheld€r. but 
 this connection was ultimately dissolved. In 
 1862 he went to Truckee (now Reno) and took 
 toll on the lake ferry while the bridge was build- 
 ing, after which he took toll on the bridge for a 
 vear, and then spent two years in the saw-mill 
 business at Crystal Peak. From there he re- 
 turned to his ranch. 
 
 Adjoining Susanville on the east stands the 
 ranch of four hundred and eighty acres which 
 Mr. Hall purchased in 1873 and on which he 
 conducted general farm pursuits, at the same 
 time carrying on a dairy ranch of one thousand 
 acres at Eagle lake and in the Papoose valley. 
 The butter from the dairy found a ready market 
 in Virginia City at high prices. In 1885 he sold 
 the ranch and about the same time sold off lots 
 on Main street through his place. During 1895 
 he laid out and platted one hundred and sixty 
 acres, known as Hall's addition. Three hundred 
 and twenty acres of the land were sold in 1904, 
 since which time he has owned only the home- 
 stead of fourteen acres. An ardent Republican, 
 he has served as secretary of the county central 
 committee of his party for thirty-five years, for 
 nine years held office as county clerk of Lassen 
 county, filled the positions of road overseer and 
 school trustee, for five years acted as register of 
 the United States land office and for a similar 
 period served as receiver of the same office, be- 
 sides which from 1898 to 1902 he held the office 
 
 of county treasurer, and in 1902 he was again 
 elected county treasurer, which office he now 
 fills, together with that of county tax collector. 
 In all of his positions he has proved himself 
 efficient, reliable, trustworthy and intelligent. 
 Fraternally he is connected with Silver Star 
 Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Susanville, in which he is 
 past noble grand, and at one time he was active- 
 ly connected with the Encampment. Initiated 
 into Masonry in Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & A. 
 M., he is past master of that body, also holds con- 
 nection with Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. M., 
 Lassen Commandery No. 13, K. T., and the 
 Order of the Eastern Star, in which also his 
 wife is active. His marriage was solemnized in 
 Quincy, Cal., and united him with Miss Mary 
 Jane Stickney, who was born at Whitingham, 
 ^^'indham county, \t.. and by this union there 
 are four children, namely: Charles E., employed 
 as a drug clerk in San Francisco/, Mary Ellen, 
 wife of John Spaulding, of Susanville; Lewis 
 Davis, cashier of the Bank of Lassen county ; 
 and Frederick D., who carries on farm ])ursuits 
 near Standish. 
 
 JOSEPH B. WILLIAMS. Conspicuous among 
 the active and enterprising young business men 
 of Susanville is Joseph B. Williams, who as 
 proprietor of the only jewelry establishment in 
 the cit>' is closely associated with its mercantile 
 interests, holding an honored position among 
 the leading merchants of this part of Lassen 
 county. A son of the late Crayton A. Williams, 
 he was born December 23, 1872, in Summit, Pike 
 county. Miss. The family came to California in 
 1874, locating in San Francisco, and after a resi- 
 dence of about one year removed to Cloverdale, 
 Sonoma county, where the family has since re- 
 sided and where the father died in 1895. There 
 the children were brought up and educated. 
 
 Having obtained a good common school educa- 
 tion, Joseph B. Williams began work at the 
 jeweler's trade, serving an apprenticeship of 
 three years. Becoming proficient, he secured a 
 position with the firm of G. W. Ryde & Son, in 
 San Jose, where he remained thirteen years, his 
 long term of service with his employers bearing 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 343 
 
 evidence of his capability and fidelity. Embark- 
 ing in bu.sincs.s on bis own account in 1902, Mr. 
 Williams settled in Downieville, Sierra county, 
 where he ran a store for a year. Coming to 
 Lassen county in May. 1903. he opened a store in 
 the Emerson building, putting in a fine stock of 
 jewelry, thus establishing a trade which has since 
 rapidly increased, until he is now one of the most 
 prosperous business men of the place. Energetic 
 and progressive, Air. Williams has risen to his 
 present position among his fellow-men through 
 his own exertions, and is an excellent represent- 
 ative of the self-made men of our times. Pru- 
 dent and thrifty, he has acquired considerable 
 property, and owns some real estate in the city. 
 At Nevada City, Cal., in 1903, Mr. Williams 
 married Emma M. Kayser, and they have one 
 child, \'erne. Politically Mr. Williams is iden- 
 tified with the Republican party, and fraternally 
 he belongs to Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & A. 
 M., and to Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. M. 
 With his wife he is a member of the Eastern 
 Star Chapter and Court Amaranth No. i. Dur- 
 ing the summer of 1906 Mr. Williams erected 
 a building on Main street, 40x60 feet, constructed 
 of .stone taken from the (|uarries adjacent to the 
 city. 
 
 ZETUS NEWELL SPALDING, M. D. The 
 records appertaining to the early settlement of 
 America show that Edward Spalding crossed the 
 ocean from England with Sir George Yeardley 
 about 1619 and settled in Virginia, having fully 
 established himself in that colony by the year 
 1623. From the records of the Braintree colony 
 in Massachusetts it is learned that Edward Spald- 
 ing arrived there about 1634 and it is the sup- 
 position that he came north in one of the trading 
 vessels common to that day. From Braintree he 
 removed in 1653 to Qielmsford, which town he 
 assisted in founding, and afterward served for 
 many years as selectman, also filling other posi- 
 tions of local influence. The second generation 
 in America was represented by Andrew, who 
 was born November 19, 1652, and married Han- 
 nah Jefes. Another Andrew, grandson of Ed- 
 ward, w\as born at Chelmsford March 25, 1678, 
 
 and followed the occupation of a farmer, also, 
 like his father, was an earnest Cliristian and a 
 deacon in the church. In the next generation 
 was Andrew, born at Chelmsford December 8, 
 1701, and one of the founders of New Ipswich, 
 N. H. The head of the next generation also 
 bore the name of Andrew ; the latter was born 
 at Westford, Mass., served for three years in 
 the Revolutionary war, married Abigail Martin, 
 and became a man of prominence in New Ips- 
 wich, N. H., where the closing years of his life 
 were passed. 
 
 Tracing the genealogy down another genera- 
 tion we find that the head of the family was 
 Benjamin, who was born at New Ipswich, N. H., 
 March 24, 1762, and died at Craftsbury, Vt., May 
 II, 1838. His wife bore the maiden name of 
 Azubah Gates. At the time of the attack on 
 Lexington he hastened to the scene and after- 
 ward served throughout the Revolution under 
 Capt. Samuel Paine. During 1780 he raised a 
 company to assist in defending the western fron- 
 tier and about the same time he was made a cap- 
 tain under Col. Moses Nichols, with whom he 
 served in the defense of West Point. Simeon, 
 son of Capt. Benjamin Spalding, was born Feb- 
 ruary 26, 1791, and married Betsey Chamber- 
 lain, by whom he had, among other children, a 
 son, Z. N. Spalding, whose name introduces this 
 article and whose birth occurred at .\lbanv, Or- 
 leans county, Vt., August 13, 1819. While he 
 was yet a small child, in 1826, he accompanied 
 his parents to Peru, Huron county, Ohio, and 
 subset|uently made his home in North Norwich, 
 a town in the same county that now bears the 
 name of Havana. After having concluded the 
 studies of the grammar schools and Norwalk 
 Academy, in 1840 he began the study of medicine 
 under Dr. Hugh F. Prouty, of Monroevillc, 
 Huron county, Ohio, and later completed his 
 medical studies under Dr. IMoses C. Sanders, of 
 Maxville, Perry county, Ohio, one of the cen- 
 -sors of the Cleveland Medical College, where in 
 1846 he received his degree. 
 
 Upon establishing himself in practice Dr. 
 Spalding opened an office at Roxana. Eaton 
 county, Mich., where he remained for a number 
 of years. From there, April 6, 1852, he started 
 
344 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 across the plains with ox-teams, and after an 
 uneventful journey landed in Sierra county on 
 the 1 2th of August. After an experience as a 
 miner that brought him the hardships and the 
 rewards of such a life, he turned his attention to 
 other pursuits, and during the spring of 1855 
 began merchandising at St. Louis, Sierra county. 
 A fire that occurred in July of 1857 caused a total 
 loss and forced him to begin anew in the world. 
 At that time he came to Susanville wholly with- 
 out means, and here he embarked in the practice 
 of his profession. During the same year (1857) 
 he received an appointment as acting assistant 
 surgeon of the United States army on the Cali- 
 fornia coast and remained in that capacity among 
 the Indians until the close of the Civil war, after 
 which he resumed professional work in Lassen 
 county. For several terms he held office as 
 county superintendent of schools, also as county 
 coroner and public administrator, and filled the 
 position of county physician. After coming to 
 this part of the state he took up Masonic rela- 
 tions, becoming associated with Lassen Lodge 
 No. 149, F. & A. M. ; Lissen Oiapter No. 47, R. 
 A. M., and Lassen Comniandery No. 13. K. T. 
 When he died, May 17, 1898, he was mourned 
 bv the people of the county where for so long he 
 had made his home. His demise was regarded as 
 a loss to professional and business circles, to the 
 Masonic fraternity and to the general public. 
 
 The marriage of Dr. Spalding was solemnized 
 at St. Louis, Cal, August 11, 1857, and united 
 him with Mary Ann Brown, who was born in 
 Sussex, England, July 16, 1840. During her 
 childhood years, after the death of her father 
 in New York and after the marriage of her wid- 
 owed mother to C. P. Sheffield, she accompanied 
 the family to California, settling in the north- 
 eastern part of the state, where ]\Ir. Sheffield 
 engaged in the manufacture of lumber. At a 
 later date he removed to San Francisco and be- 
 came identified with the Pacific Saw Manufac- 
 turing Company, in which enterprise he accumu- 
 lated large means. In the family of Dr. and 
 Mrs. Spalding there were twelve children, and 
 five of these are now living, namely : Mrs. Ida 
 Ruggles, of Los Angeles ; John Bridger, of Su- 
 sanville : Wilbur Fiske, supervisor of Lassen 
 
 county and a farmer near Madeline ; Jennie and 
 Claire, who are residents of Susanville. 
 
 JOHN BRIDGER SPALDING. A repre- 
 sentative position among tlie business men of 
 Lassen county is held by John Bridger Spalding, 
 a life-long resident of this portion of California 
 and tlie son of Dr. Z. N. Spalding, numbered 
 among the influential and honored pioneers of 
 Susanville. It was in this city that the gentle- 
 man was born whose name introduces this ar- 
 ticle and who now wields a wide influence as a 
 capable and progressive citizen. Born October 
 II, 1864, he was given excellent educational ad- 
 vantages during his boyhood years and with an 
 ambition to acquire a broad and varied knowl- 
 edge he availed himself to the utmost of every 
 opportunity offered. When nineteen years of 
 age he entered into partnership with his father 
 in the drug business in Susanville, the two con- 
 tinuing together until the doctor's death. 
 
 The drug store of which Mr. Spalding is now 
 the proprietor is said to be the most commodious 
 and substantial store of its kind in Lassen county. 
 All modern conveniences may be found here for 
 the proper management of the business and a 
 thorough survey of the stock shows that a full 
 line of drugs is carried, in addition to the other 
 articles usually carried in such a business, includ- 
 ing stationery, rubber goods, toilet supplies, etc. 
 The store has been occupied since May, 1894, 
 superseding the occupancy of a building across 
 the street that was totally destroyed by fire in 
 1893. The comfortable residence built and occu- 
 pied by Mr. Spalding is presided over by his 
 wife, formerly Mary Ellen Hall, and a native 
 of Honey Lake valley, being a daughter of W. 
 P. Hall, treasurer of Lassen county. Their fam- 
 ily consists of four children, Leah Blanche, 
 Wright Leslie, Zella May and John Mervyn. 
 
 Ever since casting his first vote Mr. Spalding 
 has been an adherent of the Republican party 
 and a believer in its principles. Some years ago 
 he was made a Mason in Lassen Lodge No. 149, 
 F. & A. M. ; since then he has become affiliated 
 with Lassen Oiapter No. 47, R. A. M. ; Lassen 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX'ORD. 
 
 345 
 
 Commandery No. 13, K. T., in which he is gen- 
 eralissimo; and Islam Temple, N. M. S., of San 
 Francisco. By virtue of his birth in this state 
 he has become a memJDer of the Native Sons of 
 the Golden West, in the interests of which order 
 he has maintained considerable activity and has 
 served efficiently as president of Lassen Parlor 
 No. 99, in Susanville. The mantle worn by his 
 father has fallen upon him and he receives the 
 respect of his fellow-citizens in the same measure 
 extended to his father during the latter's lifetime. 
 Both as the proprietor of the drug store and as 
 agent for the Wells-Fargo Express Company, he 
 has become closely allied with the business de- 
 velopment of his home town, and has aided in 
 the promotion of its commercial activities. 
 
 JUDGE FRANK A. KELLEY. The Kelley 
 family, represented in Lassen county by Judge 
 I'rank A. Kelley, of Susanville, is of New Eng- 
 land ancestry, Vermont having been their home 
 for several generations. Frank Anson Kelley 
 was born in Danby, Rutland county, September 
 17, 1853, a son of George F. Kelley. who was a 
 native of Otter Creek, same county. The latter 
 was one of a large family of sons who were 
 reared on a farm, but in young manhood all fol- 
 lowed the marble business. One brother, T. A., 
 came to California and later sent back such glow- 
 ing reports that George F. Kelley decided to 
 follow him, in 1858 bringing his wife and two 
 children on the Champion to the Isthmus of 
 Panama, thence on the Piloses H. Taylor to San 
 Francisco. He located three miles south of 
 Santa Rosa, Sonoma county, on a four hundred 
 acre farm, a part of a Spanish grant : he refused 
 to buy the property and for years fought the 
 claim. He finally carried the matter to Wash- 
 ington, but this being at the time of the war 
 the president was unable to give the necessary 
 time and attention to the affair, and his death 
 later ])revented the fulfillment of his promise 
 made at that time to look up the claim. In 1866 
 he was forced from his location and with the 
 loss of all he had gained since coming to Cali- 
 fornia he was compelled once more to begin a 
 
 career. In the same year he came to Lassen 
 county and in Honey Lake valley bought a 
 ranch ten miles below Susanville ; he had contin- 
 ued to add to this property until at his death, 
 aged fifty-nine years, he owned two thousand 
 acres devoted to pasturage and the raising of 
 hay. He married Emily Button, also a native 
 of Vermont and a daughter of Anson Button, 
 a farmer, and the representative of an old New 
 England family. Her great-grandfather on the 
 paternal side served valiantly in the Revolu- 
 tionary war, in which he would have come to his 
 death had it not been for a little pocket Bible, 
 which received the impact of the bullet meant 
 for him. Airs. Kelley survives her husband and 
 now makes her home on the old ranch in Las- 
 sen county. Of the five sons born to them three 
 attained maturity, namely : Clarence G., an at- 
 torney, who died in Susanvile ; Frank Anson, of 
 this review ; and Edgar A., also an attorney, 
 having graduated from Hastings Law School, 
 but who, instead of practicing his jjrofession. en- 
 gages in farming and stock-raising on the old 
 homestead. 
 
 P'rank Anson Kelley was but five years old 
 when he was brought to California by his par- 
 ents, and thus practically his entire life has been 
 spent among western scenes and conditions. He 
 received his preliminar\- education in the public 
 schools of Sonoma county, after which, in his 
 new home in Lassen county, he attended the 
 Johnstonville school in Honey Lake valle\'. At 
 the age of seventeen years he went to Winne- 
 mucca, Nev., and became foreman on a cattle 
 ranch for his uncle, I. V. Button, with whom he 
 remained for three years. He owned several 
 patents and in this interest went to San Fran- 
 cisco, where he met an old schoolmate, A. O. 
 Colton, a son of F. D. Colton, a prominent at- 
 torney of that place : he there became interested 
 in the intricacies of the law and a little later 
 entered the offices of Colton, Wilson & Trout 
 with the intention of mastering the study. May 
 4, 1886. he was admitted to the practice of his 
 profession and for two years remained a resident 
 of San Francisco. The death of his father made 
 i( imperative for him to return to Lassen county 
 and look after the interests of the large estate ; 
 
346 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he engaged, however, in ranching only until his 
 election in 1889 to the office of district attorney. 
 He served one term in that capacity and in 1890 
 was nominated for judge of the superior court, 
 but was defeated in the election that followed by 
 Judge Mastin. In 1896 he was renominated by 
 the Republican party and was elected over three 
 opponents by eleven votes. He took the oath of 
 office in January, 1897, and served efficiently to 
 the close of his term, when he was renominated 
 and re-elected by a majority of one hundred and 
 sixty votes, being the only judge of the county 
 re-elected to a second term. 
 
 In San Francisco Judge Kelley was united in 
 marriage with Miss May Livingston, a native of 
 Oregon, and a daugliter of D. C. Livingston, an 
 early settler of the Pacific coast, and now a resi- 
 dent of Susanville. The judge and his wife have 
 had five children, of whom four are living: 
 George F. (a dentist of Truckee, Gal). Maud 
 M., Fred E. and Ruby B. Judge Kelley has al- 
 ways been a stanch adherent of the principles 
 advocated in the platform of the Republican 
 party, and has taken an active interest in their 
 promulgation. Fraternally he is a member of 
 Silver Star No. 128, I. O. O. F., of Susanville, 
 of which he is past grand. 
 
 THOMAS ABNER RAMSEY. Prominent 
 among the active and enterprising agriculturists 
 of Honey Lake valley is Thomas Abner Ramsey, 
 who displays pronounced skill and ability in his 
 agricultural work, his farm lying one mile south 
 of Susanville, being in an excellent state of cul- 
 tivation, while the improvements are substantial 
 and valuable. A native of Iowa, he was born 
 February 12, 1858, in Mt. Pleasant, Henry 
 county, a .son of J. T. Ramsey. His paternal 
 grandfather, Thomas Ramsey, born either in 
 Virginia or Kentucky, moved from the latter 
 state to Jeffersonville, Ind., where he bought and 
 operated a saw-mill for a number of years. On 
 retiring from active pursuits he settled in Mt. 
 Pleasant, Iowa, where he spent his last years. 
 Born in Kentucky, J. T. Ramsey moved with 
 the familv to Indiana, and later went to Mt. 
 
 Pleasant, Iowa, where he was a contractor and 
 builder, carrying on an extensive business, and 
 also owned a farm. In 1887 he came to Gali- 
 fornia, locating in Janesville, Lassen county, as 
 a contractor, and was there busily employed until 
 his death, which was caused by an accident in 
 1890. His first wife, whose maiden name was 
 Laura McMurphy, was born in Illinois, and died 
 in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, leaving two children, 
 namely : Mrs. Mattie Reed, of Petaluma, Gal. ; 
 and Thomas Abner, of this review. By his sec- 
 ond marriage he had six children, three sons and 
 three daughters, all of whom reside in Honey 
 Lake valley. 
 
 Spending his early life in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, 
 Thomas Abner Ramsey laid a substantial 
 foundation for his future education in the com- 
 mon schools, and subsequently continued his 
 studies at Howe's Academy. At the age of 
 eleven years he began working as a farm labor- 
 er in summer, in the winter seasons doing 
 chores for his board and going to school. Com- 
 ing to Janesville, Gal., in 1877, ^^c secured work 
 on a farm in this valley. Industrious, prudent 
 and thrifty, he accumulated quite a sum of money, 
 and in 1882 bought four hundred acres of tule 
 land on the lake shore, and for six years carried 
 on a substantial dairy business. Disposing of 
 that property in 1888, Mr. Ramsey, with his 
 father-in-law, J. T. Masten, bought the ranch 
 on which he now resides. It is situated about a 
 mile south of Susanville, and contains seven 
 hundred and thirty-six acres. He has made im- 
 provements of great value on the place, includ- 
 ing the erection of two residences and two sets 
 of farm buildings. A thoroughgoing farmer, he 
 carries on general farming after the most ap- 
 proved methods of modern times, irrigating his 
 land with water from the Susan river, his ditch 
 being one of the first ones out of the stream. 
 He raises alfalfa and hay, having about six hun- 
 dred tons a year of the latter, and has fifty-five 
 head of cattle in his dairy. He milks fifty cows, 
 separates the cream with a De Laval separator, 
 and delivers it to the Susanville creamery. He 
 is also somewhat interested in stock, feeding 
 cattle for the winter markets. He raises consid- 
 erable wheat, and with two of his neighbors 
 
. ^•y-y v 
 
 -C^^^CCh.-^^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 349 
 
 owns a steam tliresluT. with wliicli he uses either 
 a hinder or a header. 
 
 In Honey Lake valley Mr. Ramsey married 
 Minnie Masten, who was horn in Colusa count}-, 
 Cal., a daughter of J. T. Masten, who came to 
 this state in 1872, and is now a resident of Pa- 
 cific Grove. Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey are the par- 
 ents of four children, namely : Frank, Roy, Mas- 
 ten, and Aberta M.' In national politics Mr. 
 Ramsey is identified with the Republicans, but 
 in local affairs is independent, voting for tlie 
 best men and measures. He was made a Mason 
 in Janesville Lodge, and is now a member of 
 Lassen Lodge No. T49, F. & A. M. Both Mr. 
 and Mrs. Ramsey belong to the Order of the 
 Eastern Star and to Court Amaranth No. i. 
 
 WILLIAM BROCKMAN. An extensive 
 landholder and a well-to-do agriculturist, Will- 
 iam Brocknian is prosperously engaged in his in- 
 dependent occupation on one of the pleasantest 
 and most desirable homesteads in Lassen county. 
 His home farm is finely located about three miles 
 east of Susanville, and comprises over four hun- 
 dred acres of land under a high state of cultiva- 
 tion. On this he has made all the improvements, 
 which are many and valuable, invariably attract- 
 ing the attention of the passer-by, and indicating 
 to what good purpose the owner has employed 
 his time and means. A son of John Frederick 
 Brockman. he was born November 22, 1836, in 
 Germany, near Hamburg. His great-grandfather 
 on the paternal side was interested in the mer- 
 chant marine service, and on account of business 
 aflfairs moved from England to Germany. His 
 son, Christian Brockman, grandfather of Will- 
 iam Brockman, was a physician and surgeon, 
 anil located near Hamburg, Germany, where for 
 many years he was superintendent of a hospital. 
 
 Born near Hamburg, John Frederick Brock- 
 man was an extensive manufacturer until his 
 death, at the early age of thirty-six years, being 
 employed as a carriage and wagon maker in his 
 native city. He was a man of honest worth and 
 an active member of the Lutheran church. He 
 married Catherine Iluscn. wlio was born near 
 
 Hamburg, the descendant of an old family, and 
 died there in 1843. *^^''^ years prior to the death 
 of luT husi)and. .^he bore him, five children, 
 three of whom are living, William being the old- 
 est child and the only one on the Pacific coast. 
 
 Left an orphan at the age of nine years, Will- 
 iam firockman was brought up by his grand- 
 father. Dr. Brockman, who educated him at the 
 Hamburg Gymnasium. While a boy he served 
 as messenger on the staff of General Wrangel, of 
 the First Sleswick-Holstein Regiment, serving 
 during the Revolution on the courier staff, from 
 1848 until 185 1. At the age of seventeen he 
 began a three years' apprenticeship at the trades 
 of a blacksmith and carriage maker under his 
 uncle, Peter Brockman. Immigrating to Amer- 
 ica in 1856, he settled in Davenport, Iowa, where 
 he followed his trade in the carriage works for 
 three years. Starting then for the Pacific coast 
 by way of the Isthmus, he sailed from Panama 
 on the Orazaba, arriving in San Francisco in De- 
 cember, 1859. Going to the Butte county mines, 
 he worked at his trade about six months, and in 
 the spring of i860 built a shop on Honcut creek 
 .ind was there engaged in blacksmithing three 
 years. Goint;' from there to Plumas county, he 
 worked as a blacksmith and wagon maker one 
 year. In 1864 he located in Susanville. buying 
 a blacksmith shop that stood on the present site 
 of the Emerson house, and here had ample work 
 on account of the great amount of freighting 
 from Idaho and Nevada. 
 
 In the fall of 1866 Mr. Brockman purchased 
 his present home ranch, which was then in its 
 primitive condition, the only improvement on the 
 place being a rude shanty. He at once began 
 work, and in the time that has since elapsed has 
 made wonderful transformations in the place. 
 He has erected a convenient set of farm build- 
 ings ; has placed the land under irrigation : set 
 out the first orchard on the bottom ; and has now 
 one of the most valuable and productive grain 
 and stock farms in the county. He raises hay 
 and alfalfa, feeds many cattle, and makes a spe- 
 cialty of breeding and raising stock, keeping 
 Red Durham cattle and French Percheron 
 horses, the latter of which he imported. Besides 
 the home ranch, he also owns a thirtv-fivc hun- 
 
350 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 dred-acre stock ranch on Madeline plains, and a 
 tine farm of five hnndred acres near Milford. 
 both valuable estates. 
 
 Mr. Brockman was married in Susanville to 
 Mrs. Elizabeth (Collins) League, who was born 
 in Iowa, and died on the home farm, leaving two 
 sons, namely : Willis C, on the Madeline stock 
 ranch : and John Frederick, on the home ranch. 
 In Davenport, Iowa, Mr. Brockman married 
 Wilhelmina Reuman, a native of Sleswick-Hol- 
 stein, Germany, and of this union three children 
 have been born, namely : Carl S., on the Mil- 
 ford ranch ; and Lizzie M. and Edna M., at home- 
 In national politics Mr. Brockman is an ardent 
 Republican, but in local matters he votes with 
 the courage of his convictions, independent of 
 party restrictions. Fraternally he belongs to 
 Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & A. M., of which 
 he was master two terms ; to Lassen Chapter No. 
 47, R. A. M.. which be served as high priest 
 twelve years; of Lassen Commandery No. 13, 
 K. T., of which he was commander two terms ; 
 to the Order of the Eastern Star, to which Mrs. 
 Brockman also belongs, and of which he is past 
 worthy patron: to Silver Star Lodge No. 126, 
 I. O. O. F., of which he is past grand ; to the 
 Encampment, of which he is past chief patriarch ; 
 and was formerly a member of the Canton, and 
 both he and his wife belong to the Rebekahs. 
 In his religious views he is a Lutheran. 
 
 WILLIAM EMMET AGEE. Prominent 
 among the energetic and progressive business 
 men of Honey Lake valley is William Emmet 
 Agee, a keen, wide-awake representative of the 
 manufacturing interests of Lassen county, own- 
 ing and operating a lumber and shingle mill 
 near Janesville. Since taking possession of his 
 plant he has built up an extensive trade in 
 dressed lumber, shingles, and box material of 
 all kinds, his mill having a capacity of five thou- 
 sand feet in twelve hours, while his lumber yard 
 nearby is one of the largest in this part of the 
 county.- Mr. Agee was torn January 7, 1869, 
 in Lewis county. Mo., which was also the birth- 
 place of his father, Louis Philip Agee. He comes 
 
 of distinguished ancestry, tracing his lineage 
 back to the days when the Hugiienots flourished 
 in France. After the revocation of the edict of 
 Nantes by Louis XIV the emigrant ancestor 
 went from France to Holland, from there immi- 
 grating with his family in 1690 to America and 
 settling in Virginia. There Frederick Ayers 
 Agee, Mr. Agee"s grandfather, was born and 
 reared, his early home being in Buckingham 
 county. He subsequently removed to Missouri, 
 becoming a pioneer settler of that state, and one 
 of its leading agriculturists. 
 
 Succeeding to the occupation of his ancestors. 
 Louis PhilTp Agee -was- cHg^ed. iii agiicuituiai 
 pursuits in Lewis county. Mo., during his brief 
 life of thirty-three years. He married Mary 
 Agnes Gregorv. the daughter of John Gregory. 
 a farmer. She was born in Lewis county. Mo., 
 and died in Texas, when but twenty-eight years 
 old. Oi the four children born of their union, 
 all are living, William Emmet, the subject of 
 this sketch, being the oldest child. 
 
 Left an orphan when ten years of age, Will- 
 iam Emmet Agee has since been more or less 
 dependent upon his own resources, and a brief 
 resume of his life furnishes a forcible illustra- 
 tion of the splendid success that may be obtained 
 in the industrial world by a man of brain and 
 brawn. Securing work on a farm, he received 
 wages during the summer seasons, and in the 
 winter attended school, doing chores in the mean- 
 time for his board. At the age of seventeen 
 vears he entered La Belle Academy, which he 
 attended three winters, paying his own expenses 
 while at the institution. He subsequently con- 
 tinued his residence in Missouri, being employed 
 in farming and carpentering for a few years. 
 In 1892 he came to California in search of a 
 favorable opening, and first engaged in farming 
 in Solano county, afterwards working at the 
 carpenter's trade in San Francisco one summer. 
 Locating in Plumas county in 1895, he was em- 
 ployed m mining on Indian creek for four years. 
 Locating in Janesville in 1899. he rented from 
 J. E. Jellison his present mill, of which he ob- 
 tained possession by purchase in 1900. First 
 buying stumpage, he engaged in the manufacture 
 of lumber, shingles and box material, and after- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 351 
 
 wards bought eighty acres of standing timber, 
 which he is rapidly converting into dressed lum- 
 ber of all kinds. His plant is equijjped with a 
 twenty-tive-horse-power engine, run by water 
 power, the water being pipetl through a steel ])ipe 
 seven hundred feet in length, and coming from 
 a mountain stream which has a fall of two hun- 
 dred and sixty feet. In his labors Mr. Agee is 
 meeting with marked success, the amount of 
 shingles which he manufactures each vear ex- 
 ceeding that of any other mill in the county, 
 antl his productions being widel}' known in the 
 leading lumber markets of this region. Besides 
 his mill proiJerty, wdiich is located about two 
 and one-half miles southeast of Janesville, he 
 has a two-acre lot in town on which in 1902 he 
 erected a fine residence and substantial outbuild- 
 ings. 
 
 In Buntingville, Lassen county, in 1902, Mr. 
 Agee married Annie Belle Sharp, who was born 
 in this valley, a daughter of the late J. P. Sharp, 
 who located here in 1857, ''"d ^ sister of W. W. 
 Sharp, county auditor and recorder, of whom a 
 short sketch appears on another page of this 
 work. Mr. and Mrs. Agee have two children, 
 Orvis Freeland and Irene Marie. Politically 
 Mr. Agee is a Socialist, and fraternally he be- 
 longs to Janesville Lodge No. 223, I. O. O. F., 
 of which he is past grand ; and both he and his 
 wife are members of the Rebekahs. Mrs. Agee 
 is a woman of culture and refinement, and a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 THOMAS W. WJLSON. Travel through 
 various portions of the country has given to 
 Mr. Wilson an intimate acquaintance with the 
 possibilities of the United States and the varied 
 conditions of soil, climate and population. For 
 a considerable period he has been a resident 
 of Susanville, where, in addition to filling the 
 office of sheriff of Lassen county, he carries on 
 a lumber business. Five miles northwest of 
 town he has a sawmill, which he purchased in 
 1900, and this he has since remodeled and im- 
 proved with steam power, /endering possible a 
 capacity of twent}' thousand feet per day. The 
 location of the mill in the center of a timber 
 
 belt enables him to purchase fine qualities of tim- 
 ber at reasonable rates. In 1904 he erected in 
 Susanville a modern planing mill, where now he 
 planes the lumber. The business is one of the 
 nourishing mdustries of the county and has 
 brought to its proprietor a deserved prominence 
 and prosperity. 
 
 Canada is Mr. Wilson's native country, but his 
 ancestors came from the United States. His pa- 
 ternal grandfather was a native of Vermont, and 
 became a farmer of Franklin county, N. Y., 
 where he died at a very advanced age. The 
 father, Isaac P., was born and reared on a 
 farm in Franklin county, and during the 50's 
 was a member of a company that built mills, and 
 embarked in the manufacture of lumber in Can- 
 ada, where for thirty years lie continued in 
 the lumbering business. Later, upon his re- 
 moval to Minneapolis, he became a member of 
 the lumber firm of A. C. Wilson & Co., and con- 
 tinued in that city until his death at more than 
 eighty-six years, since then his widow, who was 
 Eliza Lyons of New York, has continued to make 
 her home at Royalton, Minn. Of their five chil- 
 dren four are living: Mrs. Robert Blackwood, 
 A. C, and George E., residents of Royalton, 
 Minn. ; while Thomas W., the eldest of the four, 
 is the only one to settle in California. Born near 
 Montreal, Canada, January 28, 1856, he received 
 his education in the schools of Canada and New 
 York. At the age of seventeen he went to Brush- 
 ton. Franklin county, N. Y., where he entered 
 the employ of an uncle in his sash and door 
 factory. Later he engaged in lumbering in New 
 York and Canada. 
 
 When the discovery of gold at Leadville took 
 thousands to that new gold camp of Colorado 
 Mr. Wilson in 1879 tried his fortune in that 
 place, but soon went on to Golden, the same 
 state, and later crossed into Wyoming, where 
 for a year or more he was employed by Rand, 
 Briggs & Steedman, one of the earliest of the 
 stock companies established in the west. Com- 
 ing to California in 1882 he made a tour of in- 
 spection through the state and then returned to 
 Minnesota for the winter. In the spring' of 1883 
 he came back to California and traveleathrough 
 the northern part, settling in Big valley and em- 
 
352 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 barking in tlu- stock business. On the Pitt river, 
 five miles from P.ieijer, in Lassen county, he 
 bought a stock ranch and engaged in raising cat- 
 tle and horses, but after his election as county 
 sheriff he disposed of the land and stock. On 
 the Republican ticket in 1898 he was first elected 
 to the sheritif's office and took the oath of office 
 in lanuarv. 1899, at which time he established 
 his home in Susanville. During his first term 
 as sheriff he also served as tax collector, but at 
 his request the board of county supen.'isors trans- 
 ferred that office and made it a part of the county 
 treasurer's office. In the discharge of his duties 
 as sherifl^, during both terms, he has proved him- 
 self painstaking, efficient and reliable, a diligent 
 defender of law and justice. By membership 
 in the Sheriff's Association of California he has 
 formed a wide acquaintance among the other 
 incumbents of this office in the state, and by 
 these he is known and respected as a man of 
 abilitv and intelligence. 
 
 By his first marriage Mr. Wilson became the 
 father 6f three children, Dorothy. Rena, and 
 George. His second marriage united him with 
 Miss Lucy Thompson, a native daughter of Las- 
 sen county, of which her father, George, was 
 a pioneer. Before leaving Canada Mr. Wilson 
 was made a Mason in Montreal and now belongs 
 to Adin Lodge No. 250, F. & A. M., also is 
 identified with Acacia Chapter No. 64, R. A. M., 
 at Adin; Lassen Commandery No. 13, K. T., 
 and Islam Temple, N. M. S., at San Francisco, 
 while also he belongs to the Order of the Eastern 
 Star, in which his wife is an officer. Both are 
 actively connected with the Order of Amaranths 
 No. I. Though not associated with any denomi- 
 nation ]\Ir. Wilson is in sympathy with their 
 work and contributes to the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, of which his wife is a member. Liberal 
 and enterprising, resourceful and reliable, he is 
 well qualified to attain success in business as 
 well as prestige in his official position. 
 
 JOHN CAHLAN. Prominent among the 
 intelligent, systematic and prosperous agricult- 
 urists of L.assen county is John Cahlan, a pio- 
 
 neer settler of Honey Lake valley, and owner of 
 one of the largest and most productive farms in 
 the vicinity of Susanville. A man of unques- 
 tioned integrity and honesty, liberal and chari- 
 table, he is recognized throughout the community 
 as a citizen of worth, and is held in high esteem 
 bv all w'.io know him. A son of J. H. Cahlan, 
 he was born April 16, 1840, on board a merchant 
 vessel, while his parents were crossing the At- 
 lantic ocean. His father settled at Rondout, N. 
 Y.. on arriving with his family in this country, 
 and there his mother died at an early age, leav- 
 ing three children, namely: M. T., John, and 
 B. C. The oldest and the youngest of these sons 
 enlisted during the Civil war, and have not since 
 been heard from. 
 
 When eight years of age John Cahlan went to 
 Ogle county. 111., to live with an uncle, and from 
 that time worked his own way through the world, 
 obtaining his education in the winter terms of 
 the district school near Lee Center, walking 
 through the snow to the old log school house of 
 pioneer times. In 1859 he joined an expedition 
 bound for Pike's Peak, starting with John Drum- 
 mond, Aldridge Worthington and W. H. Mc- 
 Burney. The party crossed the Missouri river 
 at Plattsmouth on March 18, and continued west- 
 ward to Fort Laramie, and thence to Fort Bridg- 
 er, where Mr. Cahlan and his friends changed 
 their minds, deciding to come on to the Pacific 
 coast instead. Coming into California by Honey 
 Lake valley, they continued their journey to 
 Marysville, arriving there in September. Mr. 
 Cahlan worked at mining for a month, but was 
 not at all satisfied. Going then to Sacramento, 
 he bought three yoke of oxen and a wagon from 
 Bert Ankeny, who told him to pay for them 
 whenever convenient. Thus equipped Mr. Cah- 
 lan began freighting to Virginia City,' paying 
 $750 for the first two loads of goods. Meeting 
 with encouraging success, he bought another 
 wagon and three more yoke of oxen, and en- 
 larged his operations, carrying on a most pros- 
 perous trade until the summer of 1863, when his 
 oxen were swept away by the floods of that sea- 
 son and he lost everything. Nothing daunted, he 
 immediately set to work to retrieve his losses, 
 and followed farming and freighting for others 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 355 
 
 until he was ac^aiii in funds, when he started 
 once more for himself. He purchased mules and 
 horses, keeping from ten to fourteen head, and 
 again engaged in freighting to Virginia City. 
 During the White Pine excitement he went there 
 as a freighter, remaining until the completion of 
 the railroad to that place. 
 
 Locating then in Reno, Nev., Mr. Cahlan was 
 there employed in freighting to \'irginia City 
 until the railroad was completed to that city, 
 when he disposed of his teams and outfit. In 
 1873 he settled in Honey Lake valley, and, in 
 company with W. W. Scholl, purchased the 
 farms of Mr. Montgomery and Mr. Bacon, and 
 at once began the improvement of this ranch, 
 which he still occupies. He also owned a cattle 
 ranch at Horse Lake, and raised considerable 
 stock. In 1877 he went to Reno. Nev., where 
 for four years he was president and manager of 
 the Farmers' store, remaining there until burned 
 out by the big fire. He then returned to his 
 farm near Susanville, and subsequently bought 
 out Mr. Scholl's interest in the ranch. Later he 
 bought adjoining land, and has now a magnifi- 
 cent farm of eleven hundred acres, which he is 
 managing with signal success, his estate, with its 
 fine residence and good farm buildings being a 
 credit to his energy and sagacious judgment. He 
 is an able financier, and is one of the stockhold- 
 ers and a director of the Bank of Lassen County. 
 
 Mr. Cahlan has been twice married. He mar- 
 ried first, in Reno, Nev., Lottie Farley, who was 
 born in Michigan, and died in 1876 on the home 
 farm, leaving one son, Albert W., who grad- 
 uated from the University of Nevada at Reno, 
 and is now a resident of that city. January 26, 
 1882, Mr. Cahlan married in Reno, Nev., Char- 
 lotte Warren, who was born in Liverpool, Eng- 
 land, a daughter of Edward Warren. Mr. War- 
 ren was born in Ireland, but afterwards lived in 
 England, where he was a land owner. In 1848 
 he immigrated to New York, from there going 
 to Sandusky, Ohio, where he was a bookkeeper 
 for several years. Removing to Lawrence, Kan., 
 in 1857, he was there during the border war and 
 Ouantrell's raid. He bought land on the Kaw 
 river, and began the improvement of a farm, re- 
 siding there until his death, at the age of fifty- 
 
 six vears, in 1858. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Ann Webster, was born in Ireland, 
 and died in Kansas at the advanced age of 
 eighty-eight years. Of the eight children born 
 of their union, seven are living, Mrs. Cahlan 
 being the youngest child. One son, Edward 
 Warren, served in tlie Civil war, enlisting in 
 Company E, Twelfth Kansas Volunteer Infan- 
 try. Mrs. Cahlan is a woman of much talent and 
 culture, and when young taught school in Law- 
 rence, Kans., for a few years. In 1877 she was 
 graduated from the University of Kansas, and 
 immediately came to Reno, where she taught 
 school four years. Mr. and Mrs. Cahlan have 
 two children, Lena and Geneva. Politically Mr. 
 Cahlan is a straightforward Republican, and a 
 member of the county central committee. Fra- 
 ternally he was made a Mason in Reno, and is 
 now a member and past master of Lassen Lodge 
 No. 149, F. & A. M. ; a member of Lassen Giap- 
 ter No. 47, R. A. M. ; of Lassen Commandery 
 No. 13, K. T., and of Islam Temple, N. M. S. 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Cahlan are members of Hes- 
 perian Lodge No. 122, O. E. S. (of which he is 
 past patron and she is past worthy matron), and 
 of Court Amaranth, No. i. 
 
 EMILIO RAMELLI. The substantial and 
 well-to-do agriculturists of Plumas county have 
 no more worthy rejiresentative than Emilio 
 Ramelli, who is successfully engaged in his in- 
 dependent calling in Vinton. Since becoming 
 a land owner in the Sierra valley, twenty-seven 
 years ago, he has Ialx)red unceasingly, and his 
 untiring efforts and continued industry, com- 
 bined with skill and practical judgment, have 
 been well rewarded, his fine, large estate, with 
 its improvements, being a credit to his energy 
 and sagacity. Born in Switzerland, April 3. 
 1856, he was there reared and educated, growing 
 to a sturdy manhood. 
 
 While yet a young man; Mr. Ramelli immi- 
 grated to the United States, landing in New 
 York City on March 20, 1879. Coming imme- 
 diately to Plumas county, he settled in the 
 Sierra valley, and during the five following vears 
 
356 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 worked on a ranch, in the meantime becoming 
 familiar with the various branches of agricult- 
 ure as carried on in his adopted country. Pur- 
 chasing then one thousand acres which are now 
 included in his present farm, paying a part only 
 of the amount due, he began work on his own 
 account. Meeting with excellent results as a 
 farmer and dairyman, he paid ofif his entire 
 indebtedness in a few years, and subsequently 
 purchased seven hundred more acres of land, 
 givmg him a large estate. He has now eight 
 hundred and sixty acres of good grazing land, 
 and nearly as many in his home place, which 
 is worth from $15 to $40 an acre. On his 
 ranch, which is well improved, and is supplied 
 with artesian wells, he is carrying on general 
 farming and dairying with satisfactory profits, 
 keeping from forty to fifty cows of a good grade. 
 March 6, 1886, Mr. Ramelli married Adeline 
 Guscetti, who was born in Switzerland, June 
 18, 1864, and came to America when a young 
 lady, arriving in California January 6, 1885. 
 Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ramelli, namely: Mary O., born May 16, 1887; 
 Addie, born May ii, 1888; Rudolph, born 
 January 26, 1890; three who died in infancy; 
 Jesse E., who was born September 9, 1902, and 
 died January 29, 1905 : and Jessie Emma, born 
 May 9, 1906. Mr. Ramelli has been a member 
 of the Knights of Honor since 1892. 
 
 WINSTON DECATUR COATES, A. B.. 
 M. D. The family represented by this physi- 
 cian and surgeon traces its lineage to the aris- 
 tocracv of the south of ante-bellum da\'s and 
 like others similarly situated sufl^ered reverses 
 in connection with the Civil war, although, by 
 reason of the residence of the parents of the 
 doctor in the remote frontier regions of Texas, 
 they were less seriously injured than others of 
 the name nearer to the heart of the struggle. 
 His father, William Duvall Coates, was born in 
 Louisiana and grew to manhood on a farm in 
 Mississippi, where he met and married Eliza W. 
 Powell, a native of Mississippi and a member 
 of an old southern family. Removing to Texas 
 
 in 1856, during the early days of that country as 
 a commonwealth of the United States, he settled 
 upon a ranch and engaged in the raising of stock. 
 Indians were numerous and often hostile and 
 more than once he joined a company of volun- 
 teers recruited for the purpose of subduing the 
 savages on the frontier. His wife died at forty- 
 nine years and he lived to be sixty-six, his 
 last years being spent on the ranch where he had 
 long engaged in stock-raising and general agri- 
 cultural pursuits. 
 
 On the ranch near Gatesville, Tex., Winston 
 Decatur Coates was born March 7, 1858. As 
 a bov he had such advantages as the common 
 schools afforded, but these were meager. Grow- 
 ing toward manhood he was filled with an ambi- 
 tion to gain a first-class education and be able 
 to take his place as a man among men. ^Vith 
 this object in view his earnings were saved 
 toward the payment of educational expenses. At 
 the age of nineteen years he entered the South- 
 western University at Georgetown, Tex., where 
 he remained for a year in the preparatory de- 
 partment and then spent three and one-half years 
 in the work of the classical department, from 
 which he was graduated with the degree of A. B. 
 Supplementary thereto he took a course in a 
 business college and later taught in the same in- 
 stitution, after which he filled a position as book- 
 keeper in El Paso. 
 
 Coming to California in 1887 the young inan 
 took up the study of medicine under Dr. W. F. 
 Perr\-, of Perris, Riverside county, where he 
 remained for two years as a private student of 
 this successful physician. Next he matriculated 
 in the California Medical College of San Fran- 
 cisco, from which he was graduated in i8g6 with 
 the degree of M. D. On taking up professional 
 work he opened an office at Junction City, Trin- 
 ity county, Cal., but fifteen months later he re- 
 moved to Ventura. Two years afterward he 
 removed to Oxnard, where he conducted med- 
 ical practice until October, 1901. Since the lat- 
 ter month and year he has been a resident of 
 Loyalton, Sierra county, where he has built up 
 an important practice and has gained a reputa- 
 tion for skill in diagnosis and accuracy in treat- 
 ment. During the greater part of his residence 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 357 
 
 in Loyalton lie has officiated as healtli officer, but 
 with that exception he has not accepted official 
 positions, his identification with politics being 
 limited to the casting of a Democratic vote at 
 local and general elections. In fraternal rela- 
 tions he holds membership with Loyalton Lodge 
 Ko. 359, F. & A. M., and White Pine Lodge 
 No. 45, I. O. O. F., also of Loyalton. Both 
 of these organizations have benefited by his 
 active participation in their activities, and other 
 movements of a local nature have received his 
 sympathy and encouragement. His first wife 
 bore the maiden name of Zula E. Alexander and 
 from this union a daughter, Annie lomo, was 
 torn. Later he was united with Maude Feverly, 
 who was born in Kansas and received a fair 
 education in the grammar schools. Tliree chil- 
 dren were born of their union, but one died in 
 infancy, those now living being Cecil Marie and 
 Winston Lloyd. Among the people of Loyalton 
 and the surrounding country Dr. Coates has a 
 high standing by reason of his superior attain- 
 ments, broad medical knowledge, wise judgment 
 as a physician and surgeon, and progressive spirit 
 as a citizen. 
 
 JOHN EDWARD BASS. Distinguished as 
 a native born son of California, and the rep- 
 resentative of an honored pioneer family of Las- 
 sen county, John Edward Bass, superintendent 
 of the County Hospital at Susanville, is especial- 
 ly worthy of mention in this volume. A son of 
 the late Richard D. Bass, he was born June i, 
 1859, i" Honey Lake valley, where he was reared 
 and educated. .\ Kentuckian by birth and breed- 
 ing, Richard D. Bass removed in early manhood 
 to Washington county, Mo., where he took up 
 land, and was for a few years employed in tilling 
 the soil. He served in the Mexican war, be- 
 longing to a Missouri regiment. In 1852, fol- 
 lowing the tide of emigration westward, he came 
 with ox-teams across the plains to Plumas 
 county, Cal., where he was engaged in mining 
 for five years. Locating in Honey Lake valley 
 in 1857, he settled in Elysian valley, near Janes- 
 ville, and from a tract of wild land improved a 
 ranch, on which he resided until his death, No- 
 
 vember II, IQ04, in the eighty-third year of his 
 age. He married Mary J. Carlyon, who was born 
 in England, immigrated with her parents to Mis- 
 souri when eleven years of age, and is now liv- 
 ing on the home farm. In her sketch, which may 
 be found on another page of this work, further 
 parental and ancestral historv is given. 
 
 The third in order of birth of the five sur- 
 vivors of a family of eight children, John Ed- 
 ward Bass was reared on the parental homestead, 
 receiving his education in the Janesville schools. 
 At the age of twenty-one years he engaged in 
 business on his own account, becoming a cattle 
 raiser and dealer. Removing to Las Cruces, N. 
 Me.x., in 1887, he was engaged in farming near 
 there for six years. In 1893 he returned to 
 California, and for three seasons worked in the 
 Plumas county mines. In April, 1900, he was 
 appointed superintendent of the County Hospi- 
 tal at Susanville, and has since performed the 
 duties of his responsible position most ably, and 
 to the satisfaction of all concerned. 
 
 Mr. Bass has been twice married, and by his 
 first union has two children, Grace and Cecil. 
 For his second wife he married Edna Slackford. 
 who was born in Lassen county, a daughter of 
 E. T. Slackford, who immigrated to this coun- 
 try from England and settled as a farmer in Las- 
 sen county, where he resided until his death. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bass have one child, Irma Bass. 
 Politically Mr. Bass is a Democrat, and frater- 
 nally he is a member of Janesville Lodge No. 
 232, F. & A. M. 
 
 EBER GASTON BANGHAAT. The Bang- 
 ham family was founded in America by a Quaker 
 from England who settled in New Jersey prior 
 to the outbreak of the Revolutionary war and 
 became an enthusiastic defender of the principles 
 of independence and liberty. Of his large wealth 
 he gave lavishly to the colonial cause : indeed, 
 so munificent were his donations of nionex' that 
 his fortune was stmk in the service of his adopted 
 couiUry and at the close of the war be was 
 obliged to begin anew in the world. Though bv 
 trade a tanner and currier, after he moved to 
 
358 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 New York, John Bangham, son of the original 
 immigrant, hecame a farmer and cleared a tract 
 of land near Somerset, Niagara county. As 
 early as 1837 he removed with ox-teams to Michi- 
 gan and settled on the Monroe road, twelve miles 
 east of Aim Arbor, in Washtenaw county, where 
 he not only conducted a farm, but a tannery as 
 well. From there he went to Calhoun county, 
 Mich., and bought land on Rice creek, eight 
 miles northeast of Marshall, where he remained 
 until his death at sixty-four years of age. In 
 religious views he was an adherent of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal church, and during the exciting 
 period that culminated in the Civil war he be- 
 came known as a pronounced Abolitionist. By 
 his marriage to Anna Kellogg, who was born in 
 Massachusetts and died in Michigan at eighty- 
 four years, he had four sons and three daughters 
 who attained mature years, and of these two 
 sons are now living, Eber Gaston being the eld- 
 est child of this union. At the opening of the 
 Civil war two of the latter's brothers, Hiram 
 and George K., also a half-brother, John Bang- 
 ham, and another half-brother, Capt. Ephraim 
 Marble (a veteran of the Mexican war), en- 
 listed in the Ninth Michigan infantry, and Cap- 
 tain Marble served at the head of a company in 
 this regiment. 
 
 Born near Somerset, Niagara county, N. Y., 
 January 16, 1834, Eber Gaston Bangham was a 
 resident of Michigan from the age of three years 
 until he was seventeen, when, in 1851, he started 
 for California via Independence, AIo. Secur- 
 ing employment with Dr. J. P. Long, who had a 
 herd of sheep destined for Barker valley in Cali- 
 fornia, he drove his own horse across the plains 
 and aided in caring for the flock, which was the 
 first brought into Sacramento. It was during 
 April that they left the valley of the Missouri, 
 from which point they proceeded to Salt Lake, 
 thence down the Humboldt and on to Sacramento, 
 where a large crowd gathered to see their sheep. 
 During the trip they had lost one-half of their 
 herd of sixteen hundred head. After having 
 herded the animals for thirty days, Mr. Bang- 
 ham wc;it to the mines of Michigan Bar, where 
 he bought an interest in a mine. In January, 
 1852, he took passage on a boat at San Francisco 
 
 and sailed to Panama, where he crossed the 
 isthmus on foot, suffered an attack of the Pana- 
 ma fever and was carried on board the boat at 
 Aspinwall, where he remained ill during the en- 
 tire voyage to New York. On his return to 
 ]\Iichigan he took up land adjoining the old 
 homestead, but in 1858 sold out there and drove 
 to Richland, Wis., where he spent one winter, 
 and then started for California with a wagon 
 and four mules. Following much the same 
 route as before, he landed at Honey Lake in 
 July of 1859. On a side trip he discovered 
 Granite Springs and there established a trading 
 post with emigrants ; the wells which he dug 
 furnished the purest water and were well pat- 
 ronized. In 1862 he divided his interests with 
 his partners and afterward farmed alone four 
 miles down the Susan river, where he had irri- 
 gation for his crops and stock. 
 
 Selling his ranch in 1868, Mr. Bangham re- 
 turned to Michigan to visit old friends. The 
 following year he crossed on the Central Pacific 
 Railroad, arriving at Ogden on the first passen- 
 ger coach that landed in that city. On his return 
 to Lassen county he bought one hundred and 
 sixty acres from William Dow four and one- 
 half miles from Susanville, which he irrigated 
 from the Susan river and Lassen creek. One 
 acre of his ranch he donated to the Johnston- 
 ville school district for the erection of a school 
 house. In 1901 he rented the property to a son 
 and spent eight months in Washington, after 
 which he erected a residence in Susanville and 
 now lives retired in this city. At Honey Lake, 
 September 10, 1861, he married Miss Louise 
 Borrette, who was born in Philadelphia. The 
 Borrette family was founded in America b}- her 
 grandfather, John, who was bom, reared and 
 married in England, and for some years fol- 
 lowed the tailor's trade on Long Island, but 
 eventually returned to London and there died. 
 Her father, Henry S. Borrette, was born on Long 
 Island and graduated in medicine in the east. 
 May 26, 1859, he left St. Louis with ox-teams 
 and after a journey of six months and three 
 days arrived at Honey Lake valley November 
 19th; being snowbound here, he remained 
 through tlie winter and then permanently lo- 
 
^ 
 
 X 
 
 ^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 361 
 
 cated in this place, practicing; his profession and 
 also devoting considerable attention to music as 
 a teacher of brass instruments. The first band 
 at Susanville was organized under his super- 
 vision, and he also gained note as a composer. 
 Though now past ninety years of age, he is well 
 preserved physicially and mentally ; and still 
 makes Susanville his home. Many years ago he 
 married Elizabeth WagstafF, who was born in 
 England and died in Philadelphia ; her father, 
 ^^'illiam Wagstaff, crossed the ocean to America 
 and settled in Philadelphia, where he followed 
 the profession of a musician. One of the 
 daughters of William Wagstafif was Mrs. W. G. 
 Jones, who for sixty-seven years has been an 
 actress. 
 
 In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Bangham there 
 are five children, namely : Nettie, who married 
 John S. Borrette and resides at Honey Lake on 
 the ranch formerly owned by Fred Hines : Frank 
 H., who is postmaster and a merchant of Susan- 
 ville ; Adeline O., a teacher at Riverside, Cal. ; 
 Fred Sandusky, who has charge of the old home- 
 stead ; and Ross E., w'ho manages the Susan- 
 ville creamery. Always a stanch Republican, 
 Mr. Bangham has been active in local work of 
 his party. When the county was organized he 
 was elected supervisor and served for one term, 
 meanwhile assisting to establish the county affairs 
 upon a substantial basis. As county coroner and 
 public administrator he served until he refused 
 to hold the positions longer. For \'ears he 
 officiated as justice of the peace. During his 
 service as road commissioner of Lassen county 
 for two years he was obliged to superintend five 
 miles of roadway until the law was repealed and 
 the amount thus reduced. Interested in educa- 
 tional aflfairs, he served ably as school trustee 
 for years and meanwhile donated the ground for 
 a schoolhouse and also secured ^uflScient funds 
 by subscription for the erection of a building. 
 In addition, he assisted in building the Susan- 
 ville schoolhouse. Fraternally a Mason, he has 
 the distinction of being the oldest member of 
 Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & A. M., and is fur- 
 ther identified with Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. 
 A. M., in which he is past high priest; and Las- 
 sen Commandery No. 13, K. T., in which he is 
 
 past eminent commander. The first Union League 
 organized in the northern part of the state re- 
 ceived his warm support and encouragement, 
 and he was present on the occasion of its formal 
 establishment in the meeting held in an old log 
 house above Susanville. Under commission by 
 the governor of the state, he served as second 
 and later as first lieutenant of the Honey Lake 
 Rangers, and was one of the leading officers of 
 that popular organization. 
 
 HIRAM HENRY DAKIN. An identifica- 
 tion of more than forty years with the agricult- 
 v.ral and commercial develo])ment of northeast- 
 ern California has given to Mr. Dakin a thor- 
 ough knowledge of the possibilities of this re- 
 gion as well as a deep-rooted belief in its future 
 importance. Now retired from active connec- 
 tion with business affairs and living (|uietlv at 
 his home in Janesville, he still maintains an in- 
 terest in aft'airs of general importance and still 
 superintemls his properties, including an alfalfa 
 farm of one hundred and si.xty acres in Janes- 
 ville. where he has a fine apple orchard of twentv 
 acres and a small dairy. 
 
 Twenty-two miles northeast of Lansing, Mich., 
 in the county of Ingham. Hiram Henry Dakin 
 was born July 18, 1843, being the youngest son 
 in a family of seven sons and five daughters, all 
 of whom attained mature years and three are 
 now living. His parents, Judson and Polly (Pad- 
 dock) Dakin, were natives of Pennsylvania, and 
 became pioneers of Michigan, where the father 
 clearefl a farm from the woods of beech and 
 maple. After a long period as a farmer there, 
 in the fall of 1862 he landed in California in 
 company with his youngest son. Four vears 
 later he wait back to Michigan and there died 
 in 1868, at sixty-two years of age. His wife 
 also died on the old Michigan homestead. As 
 early as 1859 two of the sons, Judson and John, 
 crossed the plains to California and tried their 
 luck as frontiersmen, with results suflRciently 
 gratifying to cause them to write home glowing 
 accounts of the prospects offered by the great 
 undeveloped west. By this means the father 
 and the youngest son, II. II., were induced to 
 
362 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 come to California in 1862, crossing the plains 
 with horse-teams and journeying via Salt Lake 
 City, Humboldt river and Honey lake to Mil- 
 ford, where the older sons then made their head- 
 quarters. Without any delay H. H. Dakin se- 
 cured work on a ranch and for almost three 
 years he remained in the employ of others. With 
 the money thus accumulated he invested in a 
 ranch of three hundred and twenty acres, where 
 he engaged in raising grain, hay and stock. From 
 Buntingville, the location of his ranch, in 1879 
 he removed to Milford and purchased the mill 
 which his brother had built in 1859 for the 
 grinding of grist. 
 
 After having acted as proprietor of the mill 
 until 1882, Mr. Dakin then came to Janesville 
 and built a new gristmill equipped with modern 
 improvements and operated by steam. This he 
 operated for four years and then sold, turning 
 his attention to the management of the Janes- 
 ville hotel, which he purchased and enlarged, op- 
 erating the same in addition to a livery business. 
 Eventually, in 1903, he rented the hotel and re- 
 tired from business. Politically he has been a 
 leader in local ranks of the Democratic party 
 and has served efficiently as a member of the 
 county central committee, also from 1879 until 
 1897 filled the office of postmaster at Janesville, 
 and for four years held the position of supervisor 
 of the second district of Lassen county. As 
 school trustee of his district he aided local edu- 
 cational work for years. After coming to Las- 
 sen county he was married near Milford to ]\riss 
 Emma Parker, a native of Massachusetts. Their 
 children are as follows: Walter, who is engaged 
 in the stock business in Nevada ; Elmer, a grocer 
 at Palo Alto, Cal. : Clarence, who is a rancher 
 by occupation; Mrs. Ollie Holman, of Reno, 
 Xev. : Mrs. Ivy Caubble, of Sparks, Nev. ; and 
 Audrey, at home. Since coming to Janesville 
 Air. Dakin has been associated with Janesville 
 Lodge No. 223, I. O. O. F., in which he has 
 officiated as postmaster five terms, and also af- 
 filiates with the Susanville Encampment. In ad- 
 dition he holds membership with the Ancient 
 Order of United Workmen and with his wife 
 takes an active part in the local lodge of the 
 Rebekahs. 
 
 GILBERT EDWARD De FOREST. Well 
 deserving of mention in this volume is Gilbert 
 F.. De Forest, a practical and progressive agri- 
 culturist of Lassen county, living about three and ■ 
 one-half miles east of Susanville. Thoroughly 
 understanding the various branches of the voca- 
 tion which he is following, he has met with un- 
 disputed success in liis undertakings, and is 
 carrying on farming and stock-raising with both 
 profit and pleasure. A native of Iowa, he was 
 born May 27, 1857, in Johnson county, a son of 
 Clinton and Mary Ellen (Hart) De Forest, and 
 comes of French Huguenot stock, the emigrant 
 ancestor having come to America from France 
 by way of Holland. Further ancestral and par- 
 ental history may be found on another page of 
 this work, in connection with the sketch of Alvin 
 E. De Forest. 
 
 In 1863, when a lad of six years, Gilbert E. 
 De Forest came from Iowa to California with 
 the family, being six months in crossing the 
 plains. Brought up on a farm in Honey Lake 
 valley, he obtained his early education in the 
 common schools. Beginning the battle of life 
 for himself at the age of fifteen years, he worked 
 on neighboring ranches for several seasons. 
 Having by prudence and economy saved enough 
 money to start for himself, he rented the old 
 Maxwell place, at Johnstonville, and ran it for 
 three years, after which he rented the old Moore 
 farm, which he managed foi" nine consecutive 
 years. In 1893 he purchased his present farm, 
 the old David Johnston ranch, and has since 
 been prosperously engaged in farming and stock- 
 raising, making a specialty of raising Short-horn 
 cattle and draft horses. This farm, located three 
 and one-half miles east of Susanville, on the Su- 
 san river, is all subject to irrigation, and on its 
 one hundred and thirty acres he raises excellent 
 crops of alfalfa and timothy. He also rents 
 from David Johnston, his father-in-law, the old 
 Robert Johnson place of two hundred acres, a 
 large hay ranch, and in partnership with Frank 
 Johnston he owns a ranch of sixteen himdred 
 acres in Ash valley, at the head of Ash creek, 
 sixty miles north of here. This ranch is well 
 watered, and has a good range, on which the 
 owners keep seven hundred head of cittle. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 363 
 
 On the ranch where he now Hves, January ii, 
 1882, Mr. De h'orcst married Helen Joanna John- 
 ston, who was born in Calhoun county, Mich., a 
 daughter of David Johnston, whose sketch ap- 
 pears elsewhere in this lKx>k. Four children have 
 blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. De Forest, 
 namely: Charles (engaged in farming with his 
 father), Katie May, Gilberta and Margaret. 
 Politically Mr. De Forest is a steadfast adherent 
 of the Republican party, and for twelve years 
 served as school trustee. Fraternally he is a 
 member of Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & A. M. ; 
 of Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. M. ; of Lassen 
 Commandery No. 13, K. T. ; and both he and 
 Mrs. De Forest belong to the Order of the East- 
 ern Star. 
 
 JOHN HENRY HAWKINS. Perhaps no 
 milling industry throughout the northeastern 
 part of California receives a larger share of 
 the public patronage than does the Cedarville 
 roller mill, and certainly no similar enterprise is 
 more worthy of an enviable reputation. Since the 
 property was purchased by Mr. Hawkins in 
 1884, it has been improved by the introduction 
 of modern machinery, including the change from 
 the old-fashioned burr process to the more mod- 
 ern roller mill system, an improvement that cost 
 the present owner $8,000. In addition, since 
 acquiring the plant, he has made other changes 
 necessitating the expenditure of a large sum of 
 money, so that the present mill presents few 
 points of resemblance to the original structure 
 built in 1 87 1. Steam is the motive power which 
 gives the mill a capacity of fifty barrels every 
 twenty-four hours. The owner not only does 
 a general grinding of feed, but also makes a 
 specialty of manufacturing a flour known as 
 Ladies' Delight, made from selected Surprise 
 valley wheat and of such superior quality as to 
 give complete satisfaction to its patrons. 
 
 Of old Virginian birth and ancestry, John Hen- 
 ry Hawkins was born in Shenandoah county June 
 28, 1854, being a son of Rhesa and Eliza 
 Hawkins, who died respectively in 1865 and the 
 latter part of 1864. Being orphaned while still 
 very young, it was not possible for Mr. Hawkins 
 
 to secure good educational advantages, though 
 he attended the common schools for some years. 
 .\t the age of seventeen he began to learn the 
 trade of a miller, and ac(|uired a thorough knowl- 
 edge of its many details while still a mere lad. 
 From May 2, 1876, until February, 1877, he 
 worked at his trade and in farming in Kansas, 
 but at the latter date he came west to Reno, 
 Nev., where he secured employment as a laborer. 
 In June of 1878 he arrived in Surprise valley 
 across the state line from Nevada and here he 
 was employed at herding sheep for eleven 
 months, after which he worked for wages in the 
 flour mill at Cedarville, continuing as an cm- 
 ]3loye until the year 1884, when he purchased the 
 mill. November 30, 1882, he n^arried Maude 
 \'iola Drouillard, who is of French descent, and 
 they have four children, Harry Sylvester, Jean 
 Mary, James and John Henry, Jr. The family 
 occupy a comfortable home in Cedarville which 
 Mr. Hawkins erected a number of years ago and 
 which is furnished in a neat and quiet style in- 
 dicative of the refined taste of its owners. Politi- 
 cally Mr. Hawkins has always given his support 
 to the Dejnorratic party and has maintained an 
 intelligent interest in matters affecting the wel- 
 fare of the people of his town and county. 
 Though not identified with any denomination, he 
 contributes to the Methodist Episcopal Qiurch, 
 with which his wife is actively associated, and 
 is also a contributor to other organizations for 
 the upbuilding of the race and the aid of the 
 unfortunate. 
 
 HENRY HARRISON ROBINSON. Long 
 and intimate association with the agricultural 
 development of Sierra county has given to Mr. 
 Robinson an honored jjosition among its ranch- 
 ers and stock-raisers. The ranch of which he 
 is proprietor comprises three hundred and ten 
 acres in the Sierra valley and lies two and one- 
 half miles southeast of Loyalton. In addition to 
 the improvements to be seen on all of the valley 
 ranches, he has an orchard containing about 
 eight hundred bearing trees of the best varieties 
 of apples, and it is said by those qualified to 
 judge that the entire valley can boast of no or- 
 
364 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chard more desirable than his. Years have come 
 and gone since he settled upon the ranch that 
 remains his home to the present day. Many 
 changes have been wrought in the appearance 
 of the valley. Barren tracts have been made 
 productive and the desert has been made to blos- 
 som as the rose. In all of this task of culti- 
 vation his has been a master mind. His ener- 
 gies have been devoted to the work of improve- 
 ment and he has been repaid in the increased 
 values of lands and the increased desirability of 
 the property for ranching purposes. 
 
 The Robinsons are an old family of \'ermont. 
 O. F. Robinson, who' was born and reared in that 
 state, married Aliss Paulina Robinson, also a 
 descendant of a pioneer family of \'ermont. and 
 for many years after their marriage they con- 
 tinued to reside on a farm in the locality fa- 
 miliar to their childhood years. Eventually, how- 
 ever, they removed further west. When seventy- 
 six years of age the wife passed away in Illi- 
 nois. Later the husband went to Iowa and 
 there died at ninety-two years of age. Their 
 son, Henry Harrison, was born in Franklin 
 county, Vt., February 27, 1840, and as a boy 
 received such advantages as were offered by 
 neighboring schools. In 1854 he accompanied 
 his parents to Wisconsin. One year later he 
 started out to earn his own livelihood, going to 
 Illinois, where he secured employment as a team- 
 ster at Rockford. In addition he worked on 
 a farm by the month. April 3, 1863, he married 
 Miss Marion Parker, a native of New York. 
 The following year, accompanied by his wife, he 
 drove across the plains with his own horses and 
 wagon. For a brief period they remained at 
 Sierraville, but in the spring of 1865 he pre- 
 empted one hundred and sixty acres of govern- 
 ment land. Later his possessions were enlarged 
 by the purchase of one hundred and sixty acres 
 of railroad land. To the improvement of the 
 land he gave his attention, but in addition he en- 
 gaged in teaming from Truckee to the Plumas 
 Eureka mine at Johnstown, Cal., continuing, 
 however, to make his hoiue on the farm. About 
 i8go he abandoned work as a teamster and since 
 then has devoted his attention exclusively to 
 ranch pursuits. In all of his work he has had 
 
 the counsel and co-operation of his wife, a wo- 
 man of attractive qualities of heart and mind. 
 Their only daughter, Louise, was given a fair 
 education and is now the wife of W. E. Reese, 
 head bookkeeper of the Roberts Lumber Com- 
 pany, with headquarters and residence at Loy- 
 alton. 
 
 Ever since casting his first presidential ballot 
 for Abraham Lincoln Mr. Robinson has been a 
 stanch supporter of Republican candidates and 
 principles and has kept himself posted concern- 
 ing measures for the benefit of his party. Al- 
 ways interested in educational affairs, he has 
 proved his interest by accepting the office of 
 school trustee and discharging its duties with 
 enthusiasm and fidelity. Before leaving the Mis- 
 sissippi valley region he became identified with 
 Masonry, being made a Mason of the blue lodge 
 in Illinois during April of 1864, and after com- 
 ing to Sierra county he assisted in the estab- 
 lishment of the blue lodge at Loyalton. With his 
 family he holds membership in the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, to which he gives as his means 
 permit and in which he officiates as a steward. 
 Among the people of the county where for many 
 years he has made his home he enjoys a repu- 
 tation for honor, resourcefulness as a rancher, 
 trustworthiness as a friend and progressiveness 
 as a citizen. 
 
 JOHN RAY PERKINS. Prominent among 
 the industrious and well-to-do agriculturists of 
 Honey Lake valley, Lassen county, is John Ray 
 Perkins, an extensive stock-raiser and farmer, 
 and an important factor in the development of 
 the mining resources of northern California. A 
 native of Indiana, he was born May 2. 1838, in 
 Terre Haute, Vigo county, a son of William T. 
 Perkins. 
 
 William T. Perkins was born in East Ten- 
 nessee, but when a lad of eight years moved 
 with his parents to Indiana. He became a farm- 
 er by occupation, and was there engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits during his early manhood. In 
 1848 he migrated with his family to Burlington, 
 Iowa, where he continued as a tiller of the soil 
 imtil his demise. He married Elizabeth Ray, 
 
(M^^noyi't^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 367 
 
 who was bom in \'igo county, Ind., and died on 
 the home farm in Iowa soon after removin.q; there. 
 Five cliildren were born of their union, and two 
 are hving', Jolin Ray, the youngest of the sur- 
 vivors, being tlie only one in California. One of 
 the sons, F. K. Perkins, served in the Civil war, 
 belonging to an Iowa regiment. 
 
 A boy of ten years when his parents removed 
 to Iowa, John Ray Perkins attended the Bur- 
 lington schools, remaining at home until i860. 
 In that year he came across the plains to the 
 Pacific coast, journeying with ox-teams and 
 horses in a train commanded by A. J. Evans, 
 who employed him •to drive the loose cattle, of- 
 fering him his board and $5 a month. On arriv- 
 ing, however, Mr. Evans had no money to spare, 
 so Mr. Perkins received his board only, as re- 
 muneration for his services for five months and 
 seven days. Passing through Honey Lake val- 
 ley to Indian valley, Rumas county, Mr. Per- 
 kins located in the latter place, and the follow- 
 ing vear worked as a farm laborer. He then be- 
 gan packing to the mines, traveling from Marys- 
 ville through to Virginia City, and along the 
 Humboldt. Coming again to Honey Lake val- 
 ley in 1864, he bought the claim on which he 
 now lives, and at once began the improvement of 
 a ranch. He met with excellent success, and 
 subsequentlv purchased adjoining land, and has 
 now a valuable farm of seven hundred and four 
 acres lying on Gold Run creek. It is admirably 
 located, having a fine stream of water running 
 through it, and many natural springs, rendering 
 it especially fine for stock raising, the larger part 
 of it having a range on each side. He raises 
 large quantities of hay and grain, and is an ex- 
 tensive cattle raiser and dealer. His land is rich 
 in mineral ores, there being several good quartz 
 leads on the place, the gold quartz producing a 
 low grade of ore, worth from $4 to $8 a ton. 
 He has also a ledge five feet wide, and owns a 
 ten-stam]) mill, but this he does not work all of 
 the time. 
 
 October 21, 1868, in Susanville, Cal., Mr. Per- 
 kins married Mary S. Burroughs, who was born 
 in Cincinnati. Ohio, and came across the plains 
 to this state in 1862 with her father, the late 
 Frank P. Burroughs, whose death occurred in 
 
 Fresno, Cal. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Perkins eleven children have been born, namely : 
 Mrs. \'ida M. Hunsinger, of Honey Lake val- 
 ley; Mrs. Hilda Allison, of Ohio; Mrs. Belle 
 Ray, of Crockett. Cal.; Mrs. Alinnie Monday, of 
 Oakland; Mrs. Delphine Dobbins, of Susanville; 
 Lee, engaged in farming in Honey Lake valley ; 
 Mrs. Dai.sy Spencer, of Santa Rosa; Jules, at 
 home; Otis, who died in 1904, aged sixteen 
 years; Gladys, and John. Politically .Mr. Per- 
 kins is a straightforward Republican, and for 
 one term served as supervisor. Fraternally he 
 belongs to Silver Star Lodge No. 135, I. O. O. 
 F., of Susanville; to the Encampment; and with 
 his wife is identified with the Rebekahs. 
 
 FRANK KRUGER. But a short distance 
 from Greenville lies the property where for years 
 Mr. Kruger has engaged in ranch pursuits and 
 where he has met with a gratifying share of 
 prosperity. For the sum of $8,000 he purchased 
 two hundred and fifty acres near town, besides 
 which he took a quarter section of land adjoin- 
 ing the main tract. From time to time he added 
 to his holdings until at this writing he owns 
 about five hundred acres in the home ranch. 
 Subsequent to the original purchase he bought 
 a tract of one hundred and sixty acres not far 
 from the otiier place, so that he now has the 
 title to a large acreage in the same locality. 
 Three hundred acres of the tract are under fence 
 and in the valley, while the balance is in timber. 
 One of the interesting features of the ranch is 
 the presence of a warm spring of mineral water 
 on the land. 
 
 Born in Prussia, Germany, November 7, 1837, 
 Frank Kruger grew to manhood in his native 
 country and under the supervision of his father, 
 who was a miller, he gained a practical knowl- 
 edge of the milling business. Upon leaving 
 home he came to the United States and landed 
 at New York November 25, 1854, after which 
 he proceeded direct to Chicago, thence to St. 
 Louis, and secured employment on a farm at 
 $7 per month, later engaging in cutting railroad 
 tics for eight months. Meanwhile he became 
 
368 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 familiar with tlie English language, so that he 
 was better qualified to earn a livelihood in his 
 new home. After a time he became ill and dur- 
 ing one whole summer he was sick in St. Louis, 
 unable to work. As soon as he had regained 
 his strength he took a job of chopping wood 
 at $1 per cord, at which he continued for five 
 months. Next he was employed on a diving 
 boat at St. Louis for two years, receiving $25 
 per month. Later he worked as a carpenter at 
 Castle Rock, Mo., but in a few months he be- 
 came ill with typhoid fever and it was long ere 
 he was again able to work. 
 
 During the excitement caused by the discovery 
 of gold at Pike's Peak Mr. Kruger and two 
 comrades, with six yoke of oxen, drove from St. 
 Louis to the mountains in about si.x weeks ; 
 leaving their cattle they walked to the mining 
 camps in about seven days, but they were not 
 successful in the mines. When their property 
 was divided Mr. Kruger received the wagon and 
 two yoke of oxen, also a cow. With these he 
 started on toward the Pacific coast. Misfortune 
 befell him and the -other members of the expedi- 
 tion. At the sink of the Humboldt all of the 
 cattle died but two yoke and at Carson the 
 balance were lost, so only a cow and wagon 
 were left. These were sold and Mr. Kruger 
 paid his passage through to Virginia City, where 
 he landed almost penniless. During the winter 
 he hired out to work in a tunnel at Gold Canon, 
 for which he was paid $60 per month. In the 
 spring he prospected and mined, then worked 
 by the day to earn the amount needed for pay- 
 ing the assessments on his claims. More than 
 once he faced hardship and misfortune and 
 finally, in 1865, he sold his claims for $150 and 
 started out anew. 
 
 Coming to Plumas county Mr. Kruger en- 
 gaged in mining for himself on Grizzly creek 
 about eighteen months, but met with little or 
 no success. Next at Coppertown he failed to 
 find any paying claims and in the futile search 
 for gold exhausted his small savings. With $5 
 that he borrowed he came to Indian valley, where 
 he worked for $60 per month during the winter, 
 and in the spring bought an interest in a mine 
 on Wolf creek, where he was more successful 
 
 than before. However, the burning up of the 
 flume eventually caused the abandonment of the 
 claim, and he then worked for a year in the 
 Green mountain mines. On the change of 
 ownership in the property he became foreman 
 of the mine, besides which for seven and one- 
 half years he kept the company's boarding house. 
 When he took charge of the mine there was 
 only a five-stamp mill running, and this he in- 
 creased to forty stamps. He was also super- 
 intendent of the Cherokee mine for eight months. 
 On leaving the mines he bought the ranch near 
 Greenville, which he still owns and superiiv- 
 tends. 
 
 While working in the mines Mr. Kruger mar- 
 ried Miss Margaret Kelley, who died in 1896, 
 leaving two children, Matilda and Frank E. 
 The daughter, a prominent educator, is now 
 superintendent of schools of Plumas county and 
 a teacher in the Greenville schools. As early as 
 1867 Mr. Kruger was made a Mason and now 
 holds membership in Sincerity Lodge No. 132, 
 F. & A. M.; Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. 
 M., and Lassen Commandery No. 13, K. T., 
 the first named in Greenville, and the two higher 
 branches of the order in Susanville. 
 
 JAMES PORTER SHARP. The Sharp fam- 
 ily is of old and honored southern lineage, for 
 years agriculturists of Tennessee, and the father 
 of our subject, William Sharp, was at the time 
 of his death the owner of a large and valuable 
 plantation in Bedford county, that state. James 
 Porter Sharp was born in Bedford county, Tenn., 
 April 24, 1829, and during his boyhood years 
 attended the district schools of that county. At 
 the age of twenty years he went to Arkansas, 
 where he was engaged in blacksmithing for four 
 vears, and in the spring of 1853 he joined a 
 party who were coming overland to California. 
 After spending the first winter in Marysville he 
 went to Plumas county, there following mining 
 until 1857, when he came to Honey Lake valley, 
 and in partnership with Lewis Stark purchased 
 the ranch of Marion Lawrence, which is now 
 known as the Broadwell place near Janesville. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 300 
 
 In 1859 tlicv traded this property for cattle, all 
 of which perished during- the hard winter of 
 i859-T)0. In the sjiring of 1S60 Mr. Sharp went 
 to Virginia City and worked in the mines for 
 six months, later teaming from this valley to 
 Virginia City and the Humholdt mines. In 1864 
 he again took up farming and stock-raising, set- 
 tling on a tract of land in what is known as the 
 tules, where he stayed until the spring of 1876, 
 when he sold this property to George Fry and 
 purchased the Thompson property near Bunting- 
 villc, where he remained until his death, June 
 II. 1900. Though never active in politics, he 
 always gave his stanch support to Democratic 
 principles, and in fraternal relations he was a 
 Mason of the Royal Arch degree. 
 
 The marriage of l\Ir. Sharp, April 15. 1866, 
 united him with Miss Lurana Walker, who was 
 born in Randolph county, Ind., March 28, 1840, 
 and during her childhood removed to Iowa with 
 her father, William Walker, who settled upon a 
 raw tract of land in Henry county, which he con- 
 verted into a valuable property and which is 
 still owned by her brother, Thomas B. Walker. 
 After completing her education she commenced 
 to teach school in Iowa and from there in 1865 
 crossed the plains to California, where she taught 
 one of the first terms of school in Lassen county, 
 and has since that time made Honey Lake valley 
 her home. In her family there are seven chil- 
 dren, of whom we mention the following: Annie 
 R., born February 17, 1867, became the wife of 
 William E. Agee, of Janesville, on February 12, 
 1902, and has since resided in that place, where 
 Mr. Agee conducts a sawmill and general lum- 
 ber business. Hattie M., born March 17, 1869. 
 is now a resident of Susanville, Lassen county. 
 William W., horn May 28, 1871, was engaged in 
 farming and stock-raising until 1902, when he 
 was elected auditor and recorder of Lassen 
 county on the Republican ticket and has since 
 made his home in Susanville and devoted his 
 time to the duties of that office. John T., born 
 August I. 1873, was on October 18, 1896, mar- 
 ried to Miss Helen I. Ewing, of Los .\ngeles. 
 For several years he conducted a blacksmith 
 shop in Buntingr^'ille, this county, and in 1901 
 purchased the property known as the Leith 
 ranch, near that place, and has since then been 
 
 engaged in farming and stock-raising. Mary 
 Cordelia, Ixjrn February 15, 1876, is now a resi- 
 dent of Susanville. Ivy Mabel, Ixirn Deceml>er 
 21. 1878, on August 27, 1903, was married to 
 Chester B. Toombs, who is employed in the gen- 
 eral merchandise store of Brown & Wemple at 
 Spoonville, this county. .Mbert Fenton, bom 
 July 25, 1881, on June 14, 1905, was married 
 tfi Miss Olive Irene Hess, of Pennsylvania, and 
 is now a resident of San Francisco. 
 
 CHARLES HARTSON. Perhaps no ex- 
 ample could be found in lessen county more 
 significant of the opportunities oflfercd by this 
 portion of the state than that furnished by the 
 life of Charles Hartson, who in a comparatively 
 brief period has transformed an unattractive 
 stretch of sage-hru.sh land into a valuable ranch. 
 Starting with one hundred and sixty acres near 
 Dewitt about 1890, he has increased his holdings 
 and im])roved his lands. A\'hen he came here 
 the sage brush gave little indication of any pos- 
 sibilities possessed by the soil, and he was the 
 first in all this region to attempt the transforma- 
 tion of such land. In 1901 a corporation known 
 as Hartson & Sons was formed under the laws 
 of the state of Califomia, with himself as presi- 
 dent, and capitalized at $100,000. The firm own 
 and control about fifteen hundred acres, of which 
 eight hundred acres are in alfalfa, and one of 
 their specialties is the sale of alfalfa seed, which 
 their land produces in noticeable quantity and 
 purity. Usually they have from five hundred to 
 six hundred head of cattle and also operate a 
 dairy of forty cows, the milk from which is sold 
 to a neighboring creamery. Such hay as is not 
 needed for their own stock finds ready sale at 
 fair prices. 
 
 The agriculturist whose labors have rendered 
 possible the building up of this homestead was 
 born in \'emiont January 30, 1844. and is a son 
 of F. and Sarah Hartson, lifelong residents of 
 Vermont. The death of his father when he was 
 five years of age and of his mother eight vcars 
 later left him an orphan at thirteen, after which 
 he became practically self-supporting, and earned 
 a livelihood by work on a farm. In 1862 he 
 
370 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 left New England and sought the Pacific coast 
 region, settling in the Sacramento valley at 
 Nicolaus, where he remained fourteen months. 
 In the fall of 1863 he went to Idaho, where he 
 engaged in mining and trading for five years. 
 From there he removed to Oregon and settled in 
 Josephine county, where he acted as proprietor 
 of a toll station and also kept a country hotel 
 for nine years. On leaving that locality he 
 bought a stock ranch in the eastern part of the 
 same state in Lake county and for some three 
 years engaged in raising stock there. 
 
 From Lake county Mr. Hartson crossed the 
 state line into California and settled in Lassen 
 county, which since has been his home and the 
 scene of his successful activities. After having 
 carried on a hotel at Buntingville for three years, 
 he sold out there and bought land on the Spoon- 
 ville and Hot Springs stage route, about four 
 miles east of Spoonvillc, where now the c(im- 
 pany of which he is president owns large hold- 
 ings. While living in Idaho he met and mar- 
 ried Miss Jane Malatt, by whom he has seven 
 children. The eldest, George Henry, who is sec- 
 retary of the corporation, was born in Benton 
 county. Ore., October 10, 1868, and is a young 
 man of energy, a thrifty farmer, and fraternally 
 identified with the Independent Order' of Odd 
 Fellows at Janesville. January 7, 1903, he mar- 
 ried Miss Carrie Love and they now have two 
 children, Lawrence and Reah May. The eldest 
 daughter in the family is Eva, wife of George 
 Cain, of Standish. The second son, Frank Ed- 
 ward, who is vice-president of the company, was 
 born in Josephine county. Ore., April 5, 1872, 
 and was united in marriage, November 18, 1897, 
 with Miss Laura Smithers, by whom he has two 
 children, Elmer and Myrle. The second 
 daughter, Elsie, married Clarence Dakin and lives 
 near her father's ranch. The third son, William, 
 was born in California August 30, 1875, and De- 
 cember 18, 1905, married Miss Rosa Benjamin, 
 daughter of the late William M. and Mary 
 (DeForest) Benjamin; fraternally he is associ- 
 ated with the Janesville Parlor, N. S. G. W. The 
 youngest daughters are Kittie, Mrs. John 
 Holmes, living east of Standish, and Hattie, Airs. 
 John T. Theodore, residing near the Hartson 
 
 ranch. The father and all of the sons are stanch 
 Republicans and the former has held local school 
 offices, while in fraternal relations he holds mem- 
 bership with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows at Janesville. The entire family have la- 
 bored harmoniously and unitedly to develop their 
 ranch and their combined efforts have been pro- 
 ductive of gratifying results, as is attested by 
 the irrigated lands, the four substantial resi- 
 dences on the ranch and the neat improvements. 
 At the present writing they are engaged in build- 
 ing a private reservoir, in which they own a 
 one-half interest and by means of which the en- 
 tire tract will be under irrisration. 
 
 I 
 
 FRANK ODETTE. Although of Canadian 
 birth and parentage. Mr. Odette is a typical and 
 loyal citizen of the United States and no one sur- 
 passes him in devotion to the principles for which 
 our government stands. W'ith the exception of 
 the first ten years of life he has made his home 
 in the States, being for some years in New Eng- 
 land, where he acquired a thorough knowledge 
 of the carpenter's trade and also gained his first 
 experience in contracting. From the east in 1874 
 he came to the Pacific coast, and since 1876 has 
 made his home in the northeastern part of Cali- 
 fornia. For more than twenty years he has en- 
 gaged in the lumber and building business at 
 .Susanville. and since 1893. with his brother 
 ClTarles. has conducted a saw and planing mill 
 situated five and one-half miles from the town. 
 
 Reference to the Odette family appears else- 
 where in this volume, m the sketch of Charles 
 Odette, a brother of the gentleman whose name 
 introduces this article, and a partner with him 
 in business. On the home farm near St. Johns, 
 Ontario, Frank Odette was born January 13, 
 1844, and there he acquired his primary educa- 
 tion. At ten years of age he went to Vermont 
 and later had limited advantages in the country 
 schools of Franklin comity. Going next to Mas- 
 sachusetts he served an apprenticeship to the 
 carpenter's trade, and upon the expiration of his 
 time went to Springfield, Mass., where he found 
 employment in the building business. Still later 
 
Jfe^^ 
 
 ■c<,t-i-<^ J^f-T"^^-^^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 373 
 
 he engaged in contracting at Waterbun-, Conn., 
 and from there in 1874 crossed the continent to 
 Cah'fornia, arriving at San Francisco in July and 
 inimecHately securing work at his trade. The 
 year 1876 fount! him a resident of Pkunas county, 
 where he took up the Iniilding business at Green- 
 ville. 
 
 It was during 1884 that Mr. Odette came to 
 Susanville to take up contracting and building 
 and since then he has been interested in the erec- 
 tion of a number of buildings, some of which, 
 owing to the disastrous fires, he has rebuilt mcjre 
 than once. With his brother, Charles, in 1893 
 he organized the firm of Odette Brothers, and 
 the two now operate a saw, planing and shingle 
 mill, with a steam plant and modern equipment, 
 and near the mill they own a tract of timber land 
 from which, they secure the lumber for their 
 work. For the convenience of customers they 
 have their office and lumber yard in town. 
 
 While living in the east Mr. Odette married 
 Miss Sue Scott, who was born near Montreal 
 and died in San Francisco in 1876, leaving two 
 children, Georgie and Pearl. After coming to 
 Susanville he was again married, choosing as 
 his wife Mrs. Mary Yhob, a native of Bohemia, 
 but a resident of California from girlhood. In 
 his political opinions he favors Republican prin- 
 ciples, and the men and measures of that part\- 
 receive his stanch support in all elections. 
 
 WILLIAM ARMS. The first of the Arms 
 famdy to immigrate to America. William Arms 
 (i), came from the Isle of Jersev and settled in 
 Deerfield. Mass. His son William (2). who was 
 born in 1692, married Rebecca Nash, and died 
 m 1774. Born of the latter union in 1724 was 
 Wdliam (3), who married Elizabeth Beldin- 
 and died in 1794. To them was born a son Wilf- 
 lam (4) in 1769, in his later years becoming a 
 lawyer of note; his marriage united him with 
 Mary Snow, and he passed from the scenes of 
 earth in 18 13. Born of this latter marriage was 
 another William (5), who became the father of 
 W.lham Arms of this review. He was born in 
 Massachusetts in May, 1794. wiien he was 
 
 twenty years of age, in 1814, the father moved 
 across the line into Canada East, ther.e spending 
 the remainder of his life, which came to a close 
 in February, 1853. By trade he was a l^lack- 
 smith and foundryman. 
 
 Born of the union of William (5) and Miran- 
 da (Havens) Arms was William Arms of this 
 sketch, who was the si.xth in direct line to bear 
 the name. His birth occurred on the parental 
 homestead at Stanstead Plains, Canada East, 
 August 17, 1834, and in that locality he spent his 
 boyhood )-ears. Supplementing a common- 
 school education he attended Kimball Institute 
 in New Hampshire, but by the time he had 
 reached his nineteenth year his thoughts had 
 taken a commercial turn and we find him learn- 
 ing the moulder's trade in his father's foundry. 
 The interest in the mines of California was still 
 attracting thousands of ambitious young men to 
 this state, and among those who came hither by 
 the Panama route in the spring of 1855 was Will- 
 iam Amis. In the fall of tlie same vear he 
 became interested in the mines of Wolf creek, in 
 Nevada county, where he prospected and mined 
 with varying degrees of success for several 
 years. Believing that he saw an opportunity to 
 secure a more dependable income than his min- 
 ing eflforts were producing, in 1858 he estab- 
 lished a newspaper route, which consisted of de- 
 hvering newspapers and letters at the mining 
 camps and towns along the north Yuba river and 
 tributary forks. During the year that he fol- 
 lowed this business he made considerable money ; 
 this with the proceeds of the sale of his route 
 enabled him to purchase a third interest in the 
 clothing store of George Stacey at Downieville. 
 Subsequent!)- a branch store was established at 
 Sierraville, whither Mr. Arms finally removed 
 having disposed of his interest in Downieville! 
 At first the town was a mere trading post, but 
 when it became worthy of a name it was suo-. 
 gested that Armsville would be a proper name 
 for the town and a compliment to its foremost 
 business man. Mr. Arms' modesty, however 
 forbade this publicity, but instead he su<r<.ested" 
 the, name Sierraville as fitting and appropriate 
 hence its present name. His faith in the future 
 of the town was demonstrated hx tlie purchase 
 
374: 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of large tracts of land, among which was a 
 squatter's right to tlie land on which the town 
 now stands. This was afterward surveyed and 
 laid out for the town site. It was about this 
 time that he took Joseph Enscoe in as partner 
 in the business, theirs being the only store of any 
 kind in the Sierra valley. As the growth of the 
 town warranted, Mr. Arms established a hotel, 
 blacksmith shop, public hall, etc., all of which in- 
 novations were the first to appear in the valley, 
 and he himself was the first postmaster and ex- 
 press agent in the valley. He also owned several 
 ranches, from which he shipped hay and lum- 
 ber to the Nevada boom towns, and here also he 
 raised the first grain in the Sierra valley, thresh- 
 ing it in the first machine for the purpose which 
 had ever been seen in this part of the country, 
 and selling the commodity in \'irginia Git)-. 
 The threshing machine just referred to was 
 brought into the valley by Mr. Amis and his 
 partner. As may be judged from the foregoing 
 his trade was extensive throughout the sur- 
 rounding country and mountain regions, which 
 was a fitting recompense for his unceasing ef- 
 forts in behalf of the locality. It was in 1867 
 that he took up his present ranch not far from 
 Beckwith, for about seven years dividing his 
 time between the two places, but in 1874 he set- 
 tled permanently on his present ranch. Sunny 
 Farm, for such is the name by which his ranch 
 is known, contains nine hundred and twenty 
 acres, besides which he owns considerable out- 
 side range. 
 
 On the 28th of May, 1874, Mr. Arms married 
 Miss Mary P. Street, a native of Indiana and 
 a daughter of Isaac Street, a man of fine mental 
 endowments and a prominent anti-slavery agita- 
 tor. Her paternal grandfather, Aaron Street, 
 of Salem, N. J., was the founder of the towns of 
 Salem, Ohio, Salem, Ind., and Salem, Iowa. 
 The Street family is of old Quaker descent and 
 members of it have distinguished themselves in 
 literary lines. Mrs. Arms is a woman with many 
 accomplishments and possesses literary talent of 
 a high order. She has contributed many maga- 
 zine and newspaper articles along agricultural 
 lines, but her principal interests are centered in 
 assisting in the management of the home ranch. 
 
 She has also written some poetry of worth. 
 Thtcc cliildren blessed the marriage of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Arms, two daughters and a son. The eld- 
 er daughter, Miranda Ray, is a graduate of the 
 University of Nevada, and at present is eixgaged 
 in teaching ; Mary Emeline is also a graduate of 
 tlie University of Nevada ; and the son, William, 
 is a freshman in the same school, in the mechan- 
 ical engineering department. 
 
 Politically Mr. Arms is a Republican, but has 
 never accepted office of any kind. When the 
 Grange was in a flourishing condition he was 
 one of its most prominent members. During his 
 residence in Downieville he joined the Masonic 
 order, and is now a member of Hope Lodge No. 
 234, F. & A. M., at Beckwith. In his religious 
 affiliations he is identified with the Congrega- 
 tional Church at Beckwith, in which he is serv- 
 ing as deacon. No resident of the Sierra valley 
 has been more deeply interested in its welfare 
 than Mr. Arms, who has here experienced re- 
 verses that would have discouraged one with 
 less courage and determination. Now in the 
 evening of life he can look back upon the course 
 which he has followed with no regrets, and all 
 that he has accumulated has been the result of 
 honest endeavor, and not at the expense of his 
 fellow-men. 
 
 JOHN THOMAS BARRY. As a successful 
 agriculturist and stockman, John Thomas Barry 
 is located in the vicinity of Standish, Lassen 
 county, and is carrying on an enterprise impor- 
 tant in the development of the resources of this 
 section. Mr. Barry is the son of an old pioneer, 
 John X. Barry, who but recently has passed 
 from the active life of Lassen county. He was 
 the representative of an old southern family, his 
 grandfather. John K. Barry, a native of North 
 Carolina, following agricultural pursuits in the 
 locality chosen as a home by the immigrating 
 ancestor durmg the colonial period of our his- 
 tory. Upon the close of the Revolutionary war, 
 in which he participated, he again engaged in 
 farming in his native state, where he spent the 
 remainder of his life. His son, John K. Barry. 
 Tr., became a pioneer of Missouri, where he fol- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 375 
 
 lowed the occupation of farmer and wlieelwrif^ht. 
 John X. ljarr\- inherited the courage as well as 
 the pioneer spirit of his ancestors, and after at- 
 taining manhood in his native locality. St. 
 Charles county. Mo., he enlisted for service in 
 the Mexican war. He was never called into 
 action, however, as the war ended shortly after- 
 ward. Attracted to California by the glowing 
 reports of 1849, he crossed the plains in that 
 year and followed the life of a miner for a time. 
 Drifting back to his old home at a little later 
 period, he there married Mary V. Garrett and 
 established a home in Missouri, where he en- 
 gaged in farming for several years. Deciding 
 to locate permanently in California he once more 
 crossed the plains, bringing with him his wife 
 and four children, and settling on a wild tract 
 of land in Honey Lake valley. Later he was in 
 Shasta county for a time, and upon his return 
 to Lassen county, in the vicinity of Janesville 
 purchased a ranch which is still known as the 
 old Barry homestead. Here the remainder of 
 his life was spent, his death occurring in 1904, 
 at the age of eighty-two years, his wife having 
 passed away the previous year, aged seventy- 
 five years. They were the parents of the fol- 
 lowing children : Eliza, wife of E. E. Rinehart, 
 of Oakland ; Nancy B., wife of William Bailey ; 
 Lucy C, wife of Frank Kingsbury ; Norman 
 Jackson, an attorney-at-law of Susanville ; and 
 John Thomas, of this review. 
 
 The youngest in the family of his parents. 
 John Thomas Barry was born in the vicinity of 
 Millville. Shasta county, Cal., February 3. 1864. 
 The first eight years of his life were passed in 
 his native locality, after which he accompanied 
 his parents to Lake county. Ore., and in 1874 
 came to Lassen county, which has ever since re- 
 mained the place of his residence. He grew to 
 young manhood on the paternal farm, receiving 
 a ]5reliminary education in the public schools. 
 Trained to the practical duties of a farmer's son 
 he followed this pursuit with his father niuil 
 1901, in which year the latter retired from act- 
 ive life. Since that time he has engaged alone 
 in stock-raising, purchasing in 1903 the Morton 
 ranch, located one mile east of Standish. where 
 he is now located. He gives his time exclusively 
 
 to high grade stock, raising fine roadsters and 
 thoroughbred cattle, the brand for the former a 
 capital B, and for the latter the number 60. He 
 has been very successful in his work since en- 
 gaging independently and is accounted one of 
 the rising stockmen of this section. 
 
 Personally Mr. Barry is held in high esteem 
 lor the qualities of his manhood, both in private 
 life and his citizenship. In politics a Democrat, 
 he seeks to advance the principles he endorses 
 and is active in the councils of his party, having 
 served as a member of the County Democratic 
 Central Committee. 
 
 RICHARD BIDDLE CLARK. Engaged in 
 the prosecution of a calling upon wdiich the 
 wealth and prosperity of our nation is largely 
 dependent, Richard Biddle Clark is numbered 
 among the leading citizens of Adin. As an agri- 
 culturist he has met with success, his ranch be- 
 ing one of the best in line of appointments of 
 any in the neighborhood. His residence, which 
 he remodeled, is commodious, his barns are sub- 
 stantial, and all the other improvements give 
 visible evidence of the thrift and energy of an 
 energetic and progressive owner. A native of 
 Indiana, he was born, October 7. 1854, in De- 
 catur county, but was brought up and educated 
 in the subscription schools of Knox county. Mo., 
 his parents removing to Missouri when he was 
 less than two years old. 
 
 Beginning life for himself when about twenty 
 years of age. Air. Clark worked as a wage- 
 earner in Reno, Nev., for awhile. Ambitious to 
 broaden his scope of action, he made up his 
 mind to locate in California, and on May 10, 
 1878, became a resident of Adin, and has never 
 since for a moment regretted his choice of a 
 permanent location. After working a few sea- 
 sons for wages in this vicinity, he engaged in 
 general farming and stock-raising, in his under- 
 takings being very fortunate. In 1901 he in- 
 vested his money in land, buying the C. J. Mc- 
 Coy ranch, on which he has since lived and pros- 
 pered. Having made many repairs and im- 
 provements on the estate, he is now extensively 
 
376 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 engaged in general farming, raising grain, hay 
 and some alfalfa, also conducts a dairy. He was 
 formerly a stockholder in the Adin Creamery, 
 which he leased and managed for two years, and 
 is now one of the stockholders of the Big Val- 
 ley Co-operative Association of Adin. 
 
 In 1885, in Adin, Mr. Clark married Wilhel- 
 mina Blaske, a native of California, and they 
 have two children, William Earl and James 
 Albert. Mrs. Clark is a most estimable woman, 
 and a consistent member of the Congregational 
 Church. Although not active in politics, Mr. 
 Clark is a thorough believer in the principles of 
 the Republican party, which he invariably sup- 
 ports by voice and vote. He is very active in 
 the Masonic fraternity, being a member of 
 Adin Lodge No. 250, F. & A. M. ; of Adin 
 Chapter No. 64, R. A. M., of which he is past 
 high priest; of Lassen Commandery No. 13, 
 K. T., of Susanville ; a charter member and past 
 chief ranger of Court Adin No. 8531, A. O. F., 
 and also a charter member of the Adin Fire Com- 
 pany No. I. Both Mr. and Mrs. Clark belong 
 to Adin Oiapter, O. E. S., of which Mrs. Clark 
 is past worthy matron. In all matters that 
 have for their object the upbuilding of the coun- 
 try Mr. Clark may always be found ready to 
 give his support. He has a genial, hospitable 
 nature, and both himself and wife are surround- 
 ed by many friends and well-wishers. 
 
 ROBERT JOHNSTON. Although a number 
 of vears have passed since the death of Robert 
 Johnston, familiarly known to the countryside as 
 " Uncle Bob," he still holds a place in the 
 memory of those whose lives were parallel to his 
 — the old pioneers of a century gone. He was a 
 native of England, born February 23, 1827, his 
 parents (extended mention of whom is made in 
 the sketch of David Johnston in another part of 
 this volume) removing to America when he was 
 but three years of age. In Columbia county, 
 N. Y., his home remained for fourteen years, 
 when he accompanied his parents to Michigan. 
 In 185 1 he decided to follow the westward 
 trend of emigration and accordingly became a 
 
 member of a party of nine who brought the first 
 band of sheep across the plains ; their journey 
 was necessarily fraught with danger and hard- 
 ship and required constant care and watchfulness 
 to guard against surprises from the Indians. In 
 September of the same year, however, they ar- 
 rived in Sacramento without serious loss. 
 
 Mr. Johnston remained in California until 1852, 
 when he returned to Michigan and made that 
 state his home for the ensuing seven years, in 
 the meantime marrying Miss Nancy Bangham 
 in that state. Once more deciding to locate in 
 California he again crossed the plains in 1859, 
 bringing his wife with him, her half-brother, 
 Eber G. Bangham (mentioned elsewhere in this 
 volume), of Calhoun county, Mich., also being 
 a member of the party. In July, 1859, they ar- 
 rived in safety at Honey lake, Lassen county, 
 and shortly afterward in the vicinity of Janes- 
 ville, Mr. Johnston began the improvement of 
 a farm. He also teamed for a time into Nevada, 
 and on one of these trips was attacked by the 
 Indians, his oxen being killed and he himself 
 being left for dead. He recovered, however, and 
 reached his home in safety. This was but one of 
 many narrow escapes which were his as a 
 pioneer in a new country. In Susanville he built 
 the original Johnston house, which was twice 
 burned and twice rebuilt ; he was known through- 
 out this section as a genial host, popular among 
 all classes for his kindly nature, his broad hos- 
 pitality, and the sterling qualities of his char- 
 acter. Fraternally he was a Mason of Knight 
 Templar degree, and a member of the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Politically he 
 was a stanch adherent of the principles advocated 
 in the platform of the Republican party. His 
 death, which occurred March 25, 1898, removed 
 from the community a citizen of worth and es- 
 teem, whose position of high respect had been 
 won by the display of the best attributes of man- 
 hood. 
 
 Mr. Johnston's first wife died in Susanville, 
 leaving a family of three children : Eva, wife 
 of A. L. Tunison, of Buena Park, Orange county, 
 Cal. ; Isabelle, wife of Dennis Wood, of Susan- 
 ville ; and Frank, of Standish. His second union 
 occurred March 16, 1883, in Marseilles, 111., Mrs. 
 
5^ 
 
 OS 
 
HISTORICAL y\ND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 379 
 
 Marian (Kimball) Ciodartl becoming his wife. 
 She is a native of Newburyport, Mass., and a 
 daughter of John Kimball, a captain on the high 
 seas, and the descendant of Mayflower ancestr\-. 
 He moved to Marseilles, 111., where his death 
 eventually occurred. His wife, formerly Miss 
 Mary Coffee, a native of Massachusetts, died in 
 her twenty-fourth year. Their daughter Marian, 
 was reared in the home of W. H. Pelts, a 
 manufacturer of corn shellers and threshers in 
 Marseilles ; in young womanhood she married 
 Alonzo Ira Godard. whase death occurred in 
 Illinois. She became the mother of two children 
 by this marriage : Phillip, who died in Califor- 
 nia ; and Kittie, wife of Thomas Long, proprietor 
 of the Johnston house, and a son of T. N. Long, 
 one of the early settlers of Honey Lake valley. 
 
 JOHN R. DUNN, one of the prominent and 
 successful ranchers of Lassen county, Cal, is a 
 pioneer of the early days of the state, following 
 the westward trend of civilization as his father 
 did before him. He was born in Calloway 
 county, Ky., February 23, 1835, a son of James 
 Dunn, whose father, John, brought his family 
 to the Blue Grass state from the familiar scenes 
 of youth and young manhood in North Carolina. 
 He engaged in farming throughout his entire 
 life and brought his sons up to follow this voca- 
 tion. James Dunn remained a resident of Ken- 
 tuck}- until 1839, when he located in Greene 
 county. Mo., and there took up land and engaged 
 in general farming and stock-raising for many 
 years. The very gateway through which the 
 middle west poured her emigrants for the Mecca 
 of the Pacific coast, Missouri's residents early 
 felt the call which induced theni to give up home 
 and friends and betake themselves upon their 
 perilous journey across the plains, and Mr. 
 Dunn was no exception. With his son, John R. 
 Dunn, who had grown to young manhood in 
 Missouri, there engaged in farming and in 1854 
 married and settled upon a farm, he joined 
 forces, and with their ox-teams spliced together, 
 with families and all worldly possessions, they 
 left the Missouri river May 15. They made the 
 
 journey via l""ort Laramie, and although it was 
 (luring iiie troublous times of the Indian raids 
 they were mercifully spared any serious attack, 
 ill the Sacramento valley, where they arrived 
 during the middle of September of the same year, 
 the elder Mr. Dunn engaged in farming in the 
 vicinity of Oroville and Chico, Butte county ; in 
 1864 he removed to Honey Lake valley and 
 locating five miles south of Janesville, engaged 
 in a like occupation until his retirement from 
 the active cares of life, when he made his home 
 with his son until his death. His wife, formerly 
 Harriett Robins, was born in Tennessee and died 
 in California, leaving a family of two sons, only 
 one of whom, however, is now living. 
 
 John R. Dtmn located in the Sacramento val- 
 ley near Oroville, where he purchased land and 
 entered upon a farming enterprise. In 1864 he 
 sold out this property and came at once to Lassen 
 County, in Honey Lake valley jnirchasing one 
 hundred and sixty acres of land, where he en- 
 gaged in general farming for eight years : dis- 
 posing of this in 1872 he purchased his present 
 pro])ert\-, consisting originally of one hundred 
 and sixty acres located a mile and a quarter 
 south of Spoonville. He has since added to his 
 property, and has continued to devote his time 
 and attention to its cidtivation and improvement, 
 raising hay and grain principally, while he also 
 has a dairy of fifteen to twenty cows. He also 
 owns a ranch of one hundred and fifty-six acres 
 near the home place and three hundred and 
 twenty acres in Last Chance valley, Plumas 
 county. He has made a success of his farming 
 enterprise, and has accumulated considerable 
 property, while at the same time he has won the 
 esteem and confidence of those a1x)ut him be- 
 cause of the splendid qualities of his manhood, 
 demonstrated in whatever location he has been. 
 
 In Henry county, Tenn., in 1854, Mr. Dunn 
 was united in marriage with Miss Sarah Eliza- 
 beth Smith, a native of that location, where she 
 was lx)rn October 12, 1835. Her father. James 
 \\'. Smith, a native of East Tennessee, moved 
 from that state to Greene county. Mo., where he 
 engaged as a carpenter and farmer until his 
 death. His wife, formerly Esther Gold, was 
 born in Tennessee and died in Calloway county. 
 
380 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ky. Mr. and Mrs. Dunn became the parents of 
 the following children: Elizabeth Jane, de- 
 ceased ; Thursa Elizabeth, wife of J. J. Johnson, 
 a farmer of this vicinity; Araminta, wife of J. 
 E. Jellison, of Bunting^alle, Gal. ; Mary Lee, wife 
 of S. L. Frazier, of Pacific Grove, Cal. ; Robert 
 L, of Spoonville; and Hettie Eleanor, wife of 
 J. W. Bond, also in this vicinity. Fraternally 
 Mr. Dunn is associated with the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows, being a member of Janes- 
 ville Lodge No. 223, and politically adheres to 
 the principles advocated in the platform of the 
 Democratic party. He supports the Baptist 
 church and its charities. He is a liberal and pub- 
 lic-spirited citizen and as such merits the high 
 regard in which he is held. 
 
 FRANK HENRY BANGHAM. Occupy- 
 ing a position of prominence among the pub- 
 lic-spirited and popular citizens of Susanville 
 is Frank Henry Bangham, who is now serving 
 as postmaster of the city. He is a man of 
 extreme earnestness of purpose, greatly inter- 
 ested in public affairs, and by his integrity 
 and uprightness of character has gained for 
 himself the reputation of one who deserves 
 the confidence and trust of his fellow-men. 
 A native of Lassen county, he was born July 
 21, 1867, near Susanville, a son of Eber G. 
 Bangham, a sketch of whose life may be found 
 on another page of this work. 
 
 Having acquired a substantial education in 
 the public schools, Frank Henry Bangham 
 started in business for himself in 1892, buying 
 out the business of Stewart Lomax and con- 
 tinuing it up to the present time. The same 
 year he was made deputy postmaster under 
 N. S. McKinsey, and afterwards held the same 
 office under D. C. Hyer. March 2, 1901, he 
 was appointed postmaster by President Mc- 
 Kinley, and on March i, 1905, was re- 
 appointed by Theodore Roosevelt. A man of 
 good business ability and judgment, he has 
 accumulated considerable property, and is the 
 owner of a fine farm lying near Standis'.i. It 
 contains eighty acres, and is irrigated by water 
 
 from the Lake Leavitt ditch. He superin- 
 tends the work of the farm himself, devoting 
 it to the raising of alfalfa, and has harvested 
 some very large crops, the yield in one sea- 
 son having been as high as twenty-seven thou- 
 sand pounds from sixty acres of the land. He 
 also owns an interest in an alfalfa huller for 
 threshing the grain. 
 
 In San Francisco, Cal., December 17, 1893, 
 Mr. Bangham married E. Lillian True, who 
 was born in Long Valley, Lassen county, a 
 daughter of Thaxter True, a California pioneer. 
 A native of Maine. Thaxter True was born 
 and reared in Cumberland county. In 1849 
 he came via Cape Horn to San Francisco, hop- 
 ing in the California mining regions to find 
 gold. He subsequently spent seven years in 
 Sacramento, being employed in mercantile 
 pursuits. Removing to Virginia City in 1863, 
 he opened a blacksmith and carriage shop, 
 and for seven years followed the trade which 
 he had learned in his New England home. 
 In 1870 he located in Milford, Lassen county, 
 where he carried on blacksmithing for many 
 years. From there he moved to Cedarville, 
 Modoc county, v>?here he was engaged in farm- 
 ing until 1903. Retiring then from active pur- 
 suits, he resided in Susanville until his death, 
 June 6, 1904, at the advanced age of eighty 
 years. April 8, 1857, in Sacramento, Cal., Mr. 
 True married Matilda Ann Thompson, who 
 was born in Buffalo, N. Y., a daughter of 
 Artemus Thompson, the latter a native of Bos- 
 ton, Mass., and an attorney by profession. 
 He went south, invested money in a line of 
 steamers, and was there engaged in transport- 
 ing cotton down the Tombigbee river from 
 Mobile, Ala., until his death, at a very early 
 age. His widow, whose maiden name was 
 Josephine Elsie McDonald, was born in the 
 Island of Guernsey. After the death of her 
 husband she came with her daughter Matilda 
 Ann to California, in 1855, sailing on the 
 George Lane to Aspinwall, and from Panama 
 coming on the steamer Golden Gate to San 
 Francisco. She died in Reno, Nev., in 1871, 
 and her only child, Mrs. True, is now living 
 in Hall's Addition to Susanville. Of the union 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 381 
 
 of Mr. and Mrs. True five children were I:)orn, 
 namely: Frank W., of Idaho; Mrs. Marion 
 Edwards, of Susanville ; Mrs. Genevieve Hap- 
 pood, of Likely, Cal. ; E. Lillian, now Mrs. 
 Bangham ; and Josephine E., wife of Fred- 
 erick Bangham, living near Susanville. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bangham have one child, Ca- 
 milla Josephine Bangham. Mrs. B&ngham, 
 who was graduated from Heald's Business 
 College, is a most pleasant, accomplished 
 woman, and as deputy postmaster assists her 
 husband in the post ofifice. Politically Mr. 
 Bangham is a stanch Republican, and fra- 
 ternally he is a member of Lassen Lodge No. 
 149, F. & A. M. ; of Lassen Chapter No. 47, 
 R. A. M. ; of Lassen Commandery No. 13, 
 K. T. ; and of Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., 
 of San Francisco. 
 
 WILLIAM DOW. Very early in the coloni- 
 zation of America the Dow family came from 
 Holland and established the name in New Jer- 
 sey, where John Dow, Sr., was born and where 
 he passed his active life in following the weav- 
 er's trade. Among his children was a son and 
 namesake, who was born at Somerville, Somerset 
 county, that state, and at an early age served an 
 apprenticeship to the shoemaker's trade. Re- 
 moving to Seneca county, N. Y., in 1832, he 
 spent a few years in that region, but during 1837 
 became one of the earliest settlers of Eaton 
 county, Mich., where he entered land fifteen miles 
 northwest of Charlotte. During the existence 
 of the Whig party he advocated its principles and 
 later became a stanch Republican. Prominent in 
 local affairs, he served for forty-three years as 
 a member of the board of supervisors and no 
 measure was projected for the benefit of the 
 county that failed of his fostering support. His 
 marriage united him with Rachel Beekman, who 
 was Ixjrn in New Jersey and died in Michigan. 
 The family of which she was a member traced 
 its lineage to Holland, whence three brothers 
 came to America, one settling in New York 
 City, another in Dutchess county, N. Y., while 
 
 the third went to sea and all knowledge of his 
 fate was lost to his kindred. Belonging to the 
 same family were the men after whom was named 
 Beekman street in New York City. The father 
 of Mrs. Rachel Dow was Henry Beekman, who 
 was born in New Jersey and served in the war 
 of the Revolution, after which he followed the 
 weaver's trade and the occupation of fanning. 
 Late in life he went to Michigan and identified 
 himself with the pioneer tillers of the soil in that 
 state. 
 
 There were six children in the family of John 
 Dow, Jr., namely : William, whose name intro- 
 duces this article and whose home long has been 
 in California; Mrs. Katie Spaulding. of Eagle 
 Lake, this state; Henry, who died while serving 
 in the Sixth Michigan Infantry ; John, who was 
 a pioneer of 1858 in California, but returned to 
 Michigan and there died ; ^Nlrs. Susan Loomis, of 
 Michigan ; and Peter, who served in the Second 
 Michigan Cavalry until his death at Corinth. 
 The eldest of the family, William, was born at 
 Somerville, N. J., May 26, 1827, and was a child 
 of five years when the family removed to Seneca 
 county, N. Y. In the country schools of that re- 
 gion he gained his fundamental knowledge of 
 the three R's. One of the most vivid recollec- 
 tions of his childhood is connected with the re- 
 moval to Michigan, which occurred when he was 
 ten years of age. The family traveled with 
 wagon and oxen to Buffalo, where they took 
 passage on a boat and after debarking at Detroit 
 pursued their way with teams across country to 
 Eaton county. In the midst of a dense grove of 
 beech and maple they built a log cabin and cut a 
 road ten miles into the woods, where the boy was 
 of considerable help in clearing the land and pre- 
 paring it for cultivation. His earlv vears were 
 filled with privation and toil, but he was not 
 deprived of advantages, for he had the privilege 
 of attending the Vermontville Academy during 
 several terms. 
 
 Starting out for himself at twenty-one vears 
 of age, William Dow took u]) land near his 
 father's homestead and began the arduous task 
 of clearing the tract preparatory to cultivation. 
 In 1852 he disposed of his interests tliere and 
 

 382 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 with nineteen others started for CaHfornia on 
 the 6th of April, making the trip with six wagons 
 drawn by two and four-horse teams. Passing 
 through Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, they crossed 
 the Missouri river at the old Mormon winter 
 quarters, and on the 15th of ^lay took up the 
 difficult journey across the plains, traveling via 
 Salt Lake, the Humboldt and Truckee rivers, 
 across the head of Long valley and over the 
 Sierras to the mines, where they arrived on the 
 gth of August after a journey covering four 
 months and three days. 
 
 After the outfit Jiad been sold at Whiskey Dig- 
 gings, Mr. Dow began prospecting and mining 
 on Feather river. Nelson creek, and at St. Louis 
 and LaPorte, but in 1857 he abandoned that 
 work and took up new land in the Hone}' Lake 
 valley. His first location seven miles below Su- 
 sanville did not prove to his liking and he traded 
 the claim for a cow and calf, after which he 
 selected a new location near the Mound on the 
 Susan river, four miles below Susanville, and 
 there began to raise grain and stock. Selling 
 out the next year, he bought six hundred and 
 forty acres near Honey Lake, but sold that prop- 
 erty in two years and established a stock ranch 
 near Eagle Lake, making this his home for fif- 
 teen years. During the fall of 1887 he came to 
 Susanville and bought the residence which he 
 still owns and occupies. As early as 1858 he 
 returned to his old home via Panama, and in the 
 spring of 1859 again left Michigan for Califor- 
 nia by way of the plains, traveling with horse- 
 teams to Honey Lake. On both occasions that 
 he crossed the plains he was at Echo Canon on 
 the 4th of July and while there in 1859 he killed 
 the largest mountain sheep the party had ever 
 seen, at three hundred yards on the run. Hunt- 
 ing has always possessed a fascination for him 
 and many fine specimens of western game have 
 fallen beneath his unerring aim, while in fishing 
 also he has gained a reputation for skill and suc- 
 cess. Not a little of his success as a hunter has 
 been due to his expertness in mountain climbing 
 and his ability to endure long tramps in search 
 of game. To this day few can surpass him in 
 walking, and without apparent fatigue he keeps 
 
 up the rapid and steady pace of his younger 
 vears. Many times he has had narrow escapes 
 and more than once he has been severely injured 
 by horses, but each time his wonderful constitu- 
 tion has enabled him to recover. To an unusual 
 degree he has retained his faculties, and even 
 now, at his advanced age, it is not necessary for 
 him to use glasses in reading by day. 
 
 Returning to Eaton county, Mich., Mr. Dow 
 there married, July 14. 1887, Mrs. Juliet 
 ( Sprague) Dunton, a native of Calhoun county, 
 that state, and the fifth in a family of five girls 
 and four bovs, of whom three girls and one boy 
 survive. One of her brothers, Levi Carr 
 Sprague, was killed during the Civil war while 
 serving in the .Sixth Michigan Infantry. Her 
 father, Carr Sprague, removed from his native 
 New York to L.eroy, Calhoun county, Mich., and 
 later went to \'ermontville, Eaton county, where 
 he improved a farm and died at eighty-four 
 years. Her mother, who bore the maiden name 
 of Cornelia Cole, was born in New York, a 
 daughter of Aaron Cole, born on Long Island ; at 
 an advanced age she died on the Michigan 
 homestead. Mrs. Dow received her education 
 in the \'ermontville .\cademy and shortly after 
 leaving school she became the wife of Oscar 
 Dunton. a native of Franklin county Vt., and a 
 farmer of .Michigan from youth until his death. 
 Four daughters were born of their union, name- 
 ly : ;\Irs. Ida Lake, of Barry county, Mich.; 
 Mrs. Lura Mitchell, who died in Eaton county, 
 that state ; M^rtie, who died at the age of nine- 
 teen years ; and Mrs. Etta Nathan, of Susan- 
 ville. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dow are faithful 
 members of the Susanville Methodist Episcopal 
 church, in which he officiates as steward and 
 trustee. Politically he has voted the Republican 
 ticket ever since the organization of the party. 
 During the existence of the Union League of 
 this county he was one of its leading members. 
 In the early days he did much to aid in ridding 
 this region of desperadoes and attracting to its 
 opportunities a desirable class of settlers. Few, 
 indeed, have been more intimately associated 
 with its development than he, and in the list of 
 honored pioneers his name occupies an honored 
 position. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 383 
 
 EZEKIEL THOMAS THATCHER. Note- 
 worthy among the respected pioneers of Shasta 
 county is Ezekiel Thomas Thatcher, a man of abil- 
 ity, sound judgment and upright moral principles. 
 He is the son of Alark and Hannah T. (Thomas) 
 Thatcher, both natives of Mrginia, where the 
 former engaged in agricultural pursuits. During 
 a visit to California in 1873, the death of Mrs. 
 Thatcher occurred, at the age of seventy-two 
 years. Her husband thereafter returned to Iowa, 
 where he continued to make his home until his 
 death. During the residence of the Thatcher 
 family in Virginia the birth of Ezekiel Thomas 
 Thatcher occurred, October 6, 1825. When he 
 was two years and seven months old his parents 
 removed to Ohio and in the spring of 1839 to 
 Iowa, where he received his education and was 
 reared to useful manhood. In 1850 he left the 
 home farm and determined to try his fortunes in 
 the remote west, starting across the plains with 
 ox-teams to California. His first location upon 
 his arrival in this state was at Hangtown, now 
 Placerville, where he remained for a short time. 
 During the summer of 185 1 he went to the Sal- 
 mon river, but after engaging in mining there 
 for a time removed to Shasta county and engaged 
 in the coal and wood business, also hewed out the 
 lumber that was used in building the town of 
 Shasta. February i, 1853, '^^ took up land on 
 Bear creek, Shasta county, and carried on gen- 
 eral farming until April, 1879, when he purchased 
 his present property, which he devotes to the 
 raising of stock. 
 
 The marriage of JNIr. Thatcher, in February, 
 
 1858, united him with Catherine Harrington, of 
 
 Ohio, and of their union eleven children were 
 
 born, namely : George, residing in Shasta county ; 
 
 Alexander, in the sawmill business ; William H. 
 
 H., who died at the age of thirty-two, leaving 
 
 a wife and four children ; Mark C, who resides 
 
 near his father, engaged in the manufacture of 
 
 lumber with his brother; Samantha, who became 
 
 the wife of John Hamilton, and died at the age 
 
 of twenty-eight years ; Rebecca, the wife of H. 
 
 W. Knapp, living with her father, and the mother 
 
 of one child : Thomas, who died at the age of 
 
 four years ; Ella May, the wife of W. Flowers, 
 
 of this county ; Leonora, who died at the age of 
 6 
 
 tivo years; Arthur, who with his one child re- 
 sides on the home farm; and John W., also at 
 home. Mr. Thatcher has resided on his farm 
 for many years and has been a witness of the 
 growth and development of his community. He 
 hauled the first load of lumber that was carried 
 from Shingletown to the Doc Baker place on 
 Bear creek, and since that time has been inter- 
 ested in the lumber business of this district, al- 
 though he does not manufacture it. During his 
 early days in this vicinity he took an active part 
 in subduing the Indians, who menaced the lives 
 of the pioneer settlers; During these encounters 
 he had many close calls, but he never killed or 
 shot at an Indian, alwa\s being able to arbitrate 
 with them. It is worthy of note that the old 
 Thatcher homestead in Virginia was purchased 
 from Lord Fairfax before the Revolutionary 
 war, and is now owned by a cousin of our sub- 
 ject. In 1903, seventy-four years and seven 
 months after he had left the old homestead, Mr. 
 Thatcher returned on a visit to his old home, and 
 was in the room in which his birth occurred. 
 Fraternally Mr. Thatcher is a Mason, and was 
 the first man initiated into that organization in 
 Millville, becoming identified with the lodge in 
 1868. Politically he is a stanch Democrat and 
 has served as school trustee of his district. 
 
 D. Z. HAWKINS. As manager of the Aloha 
 Fruit Company at Anderson Mr. Hawkins is sus- 
 taining the reputation for business ability and 
 judgment, energ}- and unusual talent won bv him 
 in the earlier part of his career in Shasta countv. 
 Since his identification with the company, its busi- 
 ness and reputation have expanded many fold, 
 their brand of fruit being well known throughout 
 the eastern states as well as in French and German 
 markets. The plant is one of the largest of the 
 kind in this section of the state, the packing house 
 covering space 44x120 feet, and being equipped 
 with all the necessary appliances for the rapid 
 and at the same time careful handling of the large 
 amount of produce which is here prepared for 
 the market. 
 
 From the time Mr. Hawkins was twenty-eight 
 
384 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years of age he lias made his home in the Golden 
 state, although his birtli, boyhood and early man- 
 hood are associated with the south. Born in 
 Tennessee, July 4. 1844, he is a son of Joshua 
 and Jane (Redding) Hawkins, the parents both 
 natives of North Carolina, although their later 
 years were spent in Tennessee. Under the care- 
 ful training of his parents D. Z. Hawkins re- 
 ceived a good education during boyhood and 
 when the time came for him to provide for his 
 own support he naturally took up the calling 
 which his father had followed before him. By 
 1872 he had become thoroughly acquainted with 
 the southern method of farming, but was not 
 satisfied to remain permanently in the south, 
 where his chances for advancement seemed lim- 
 ited as compared with the opportunities which 
 the west offered. Leaving family and friends, 
 in 1872 he set out with California as his destina- 
 tion, and upon reaching the state first located in 
 Santa Clara county. With a desire to see more 
 of the country before settling down permanently 
 he next went to Sonoma county, later to Napa 
 county, but finally returned to Santa Rosa, So- 
 noma county. It was not until 1891, however, 
 that he became a resident of Shasta county. Dur- 
 ing that year he purchased an interest in five 
 hundred and twenty-five acres of land, and as 
 manager of the company he planted that year one 
 hundred acres of the orchard which he now 
 owns. It comprises two hundred and twenty 
 acres, devoted exclusively to the raising of 
 prunes, pears, peaches and almonds, all of which 
 he has planted himself. 
 
 The marriage ceremony which united the des- 
 tinies of D. Z. Hawkins and Julia Anderson 
 was celebrated December 23, 1864, Mrs. Hawk- 
 ins also being a native of Tennessee. Of the 
 five children who blessed their union we men- 
 tion the following: Nellie E., the eldest, be- 
 came the wife of W. D. Voorhies ; John T. is a 
 resident of San Francisco, while George E. lives 
 in Santa Cruz county; Iva is the wife of G. E. 
 Edwards, a druggist in Anderson ; and Pearl E. 
 is at home with her parents. Fraternally Mr. 
 Hawkins is a Mason, holding membership in 
 Mount Shasta Lodge No. 281, of Anderson; 
 Redding Chapter No. 9 ; Red Bluff Commandery 
 
 No. 17, the Shrine of San Francisco, and with 
 his wife is a member of the Eastern Star chap- 
 ter, of which Mrs. Hawkins is a past matron. 
 Mr. Hawkins is a consistent member of the 
 Baptist church, and as one of the trustees of the 
 organization has rendered thoughtful and effi- 
 cient service for many years. 
 
 J. D. SWEENEY. Having the sagacity to 
 plan, the wisdom to organize, and the requisite 
 energy and zeal to carry forward the work in 
 which he is engaged, J. D. Sweeney is meeting 
 with well-merited success as supervising prin- 
 cipal of the Red Bluff city schools. A man of 
 scholarly attainments, he has made a special 
 study of history, and is considered an authority 
 on all questions connected with that branch of 
 learning. A son of Patrick Sweeney, he was 
 born May 21, 1868, in Swedesboro, Gloucester 
 county, N. J. 
 
 A native of County Mayo, Ireland, Mr. Swee- 
 ney, Sr., immigrated to the United States, set- 
 tling in New Jersey. Crossing the isthmus in 
 1869, he located first in San Joaquin county, near 
 Linden, but some years later removed with his 
 family to Solano county, buying land near Vaca- 
 ville, where he has since been prosperously en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits. He was married 
 after coming to America, his wife also being a 
 native of County Mayo, Ireland. She died in 
 Solano county, Cal. in 1887. Six children were 
 born of their union, namely: J. D., the subject 
 of this .review; Frank T., principal of the schools 
 of Redding. Cal. : James D., living on the home 
 ranch ; George E., an accountant in San Fran- 
 cisco; and Mary and Nora, at home. 
 
 Only one year old wlien he came with his par- 
 ents to California, J. D. Sweeney received his 
 rudimentan,' education in the district schools of 
 San Joaquin and Solano counties, after which 
 he entered upon the full course of study in the 
 California Normal College at Vacaville, complet- 
 ing the work in 1887. Later he took special 
 work in the University of California, further pre- 
 paring himself for a professional career, and in 
 1888 taught history in the Red Bluff Academ)'. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 385 
 
 Accepting- the principalsliip of the Tehama pub- 
 lic schcwls in 1889, he lield the position for thir- 
 teen consecutive years, serving with great ef- 
 ficiency and acceptance to all concerned. Re- 
 signing in 1902, he assumed charge of the Red 
 Bluff city schools. In these schools, which oc- 
 cupy two large buildings, there are five hundred 
 and fifty pupils and twelve teachers, the enroll- 
 ment increasing each year, and the standard of 
 each grade being raised. 
 
 In Red Bluff Mr. Sweeney married Hattie 
 Carlson, who was born in Sweden, and reared 
 and educated in this city. They have a very 
 pleasant and attractive home on Lincoln street. 
 Occupying a place of prominence in educational 
 and literan' circles, Mr. Sweeney belongs to the 
 Schoolmasters' Club of California; to the State 
 Teachers' Association ; to the Northern Califor- 
 nia Teachers' Association, of which he is retiring 
 president (1905), and of which he has been treas- 
 urer for the past five years ; and to the American 
 Historical Association, of Washington, D. C. 
 Fraternally he is a member of the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows, which he joined in Red 
 Bluff. He is an active member of the First Pres- 
 byterian Church, in which he is an elder, and has 
 also been the superintendent of the Sunday 
 school. 
 
 JAMES ANDERSON McKEE, M. D. Since 
 1899 James Anderson McKee has been a resident 
 of Sacramento, where he has built up an exten- 
 sive practice in his profession of medicine and 
 surgery. He is a native of Pennsylvania, born 
 June 6, 1854, a son of Robert and Susan (Rob- 
 erts) McKee, his parents having located on a 
 farm near Meadville, Crawford county. His 
 boyhood years were passed in this section, re- 
 ceiving practical training along agricultural lines, 
 while at the same time he attended the district 
 school in pursuit of an education. In 1875 he 
 came to California and began reading medicine 
 with Dr. C. S. Bradford, of Elk Grove, with 
 whom he remained about three years. He took 
 a course of lectures in the California Medical 
 College, from which institution he was graduated 
 in 1880, and shortly afterward located in San 
 
 Francisco, where he began the practice of his 
 profession ; a year later he removed to Colusa 
 county, where he built up a lucrative practice 
 during the three years of his residence there. 
 He then located in Elk Grove where he remained 
 fifteen years. In the meantime, in 1886, he grad- 
 uated from Rush Medical College, of Chicago, 
 and in 1897 spent .some months in Philadelphia 
 and New York City engaged in hospital work. 
 He came to Sacramento in 1899 and has con- 
 tinued in the practice of his profession, his of- 
 fice, consisting of reception room and private 
 office, modem in all appointments, being located 
 in the Elks Building on J street. He has won 
 recognition in his work as physician and surgeon 
 and holds a high place among the professional 
 men of the city, being a recognized authority in 
 the Sacramento Medical Society, of which he is 
 a member, also belonging to the State Medical 
 Society and American Medical Association. In 
 political lines Dr. McKee has also acquired prom- 
 inence, and as a candidate on the Republican 
 ticket has been elected to various offices. In 
 T904 he was nominated by this party as candidate 
 for state senate and was elected from the Seventh 
 senatorial district by a majority of twenty-six 
 himdred votes. While in the senate he intro- 
 duced thirty-three bills of his own, many of 
 which became laws. During this time he also 
 served on several important committees, among 
 them the committee on public buildings and 
 grounds, of which body he was chairman ; agri- 
 cultural and dairy committee ; reclamation of 
 drainage, swamp and overflow lands ; education ; 
 hospitals and asylums ; library ; prison and re- 
 formatory, and public health and quarantine. 
 
 Through his efforts to re-establish the new 
 State Fair he secured the appropriation for that 
 purpose and an appropriation of $352,000 for re- 
 modeling and improving the state capitol building 
 He has secured the greatest amount of appro- 
 priations for Sacramento county ever known in 
 the history of the state and in witness thereof 
 the board of trustees of Sacramento City passed 
 resolutions expressing their appreciation of the 
 senator. 
 
 January 3, 1884, Dr. McKee was united in 
 marriage with Barbara Nau, a native of Iowa, 
 
386 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and they are now the parents of three children : 
 Charles B., a medical student; John R., in the 
 high school ; and James Elmer, at home. In 
 fraternal relations Dr. McKee is a Mason, being 
 a member of Elk Grove Lodge, F. & A. M. ; 
 Sacramento Chapter, No. 3, R. A. M. ; Sacra- 
 mento Commandery, No. 2, K. T. ; and Islam 
 Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of San Francisco. 
 He is also identified with tlie Benevolent Pro- 
 tective Order of Elks and the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows, being a member of the Encamp- 
 ment of the latter. He is active in medical 
 circles and is past president of the Sacramento 
 Society for Medical Improvement, and is identi- 
 fied as a member with state, county and national 
 associations. 
 
 HON. J. H. McKUNE. Remembered as one 
 of the oldest and most eminent members of the 
 bar of Sacramento county, Hon. J. H. McKune, 
 who died March 23, 1905, is named among the 
 representative citizens of this section of the state 
 of California. He was a native of New York 
 state, his birth having occurred in Sullivan county 
 March 23, 18 19. Becoming a resident of Penn- 
 sylvania, he read law in the office of Bently & 
 Richards at Montrose, Susquehanna county, from 
 1839 to 1844, at the close of that period being 
 admitted to the bar at that place. He remained 
 a citizen of Montrose for the ensuing four years, 
 engaged in the practice of his profession, when 
 he removed to Illinois and resumed practice in 
 Lee Center, Lee county. 
 
 The following year he came overland to Cali- 
 fornia, on the 7th of May leaving Independence, 
 Mo., and on the ist of September crossing the 
 .Sierra Nevada mountains at a point near where 
 the present railroad crosses. Like the great ma- 
 jority of those who sought the state at that time, 
 his first employment was in gold mining at Ne- 
 vada City, in which occupation he remained for 
 a short time. He hunted deer in the fall of 
 1849, ^"d in January of the following year came 
 to Sacramento, where he resided until his death, 
 with the exception of two years spent in San 
 Francisco. At the election April 5, 1850, he was 
 chosen county attorney and held the office for 
 
 two years. Following this he was appointed law 
 agent for the United States land commission, 
 which office he held for a like period, being the 
 only agent appointed in California. At the gen- 
 eral election of 1856 he was elected on the Demo- 
 cratic ticket to the legislature, and during the 
 session of 1857 he took a prominent part, acting 
 as chairman of the committee appointed to con- 
 duct the impeachment of State Treasurer Bates. 
 At the regular election of 1858 he was elected 
 district judge of the sixth judicial district, a can- 
 didate of the Douglas Democrats, and five years 
 later was elected to the same office on the Re- 
 publican ticket. He held the office until the 31st 
 of December. 1869. In company with John C. 
 Burch and Creed Haymond, he was appointed 
 by Governor Booth as code commissioner to com- 
 pile the statutes that were ratified by the legis- 
 lature in 1871-72. It is said that Judge McKune 
 was connected with more celebrated law suits 
 than any other attorney in Sacramento county ; 
 while he also compiled all of the ordinances 
 of the city of Sacramento (except a few touch- 
 ing franchises) into one ordinance numbered 17, 
 and that number is still preserved among the or- 
 dinances of the city. 
 
 February 26, 1855, Judge McKune was united 
 in marriage with Mary G. Bennett, of San Fran- 
 cisco, and they became the parents of two chil- 
 dren : Florence A. and Charles Ralph, the latter 
 of whom died in June, 1889, at the age of thirty- 
 one years. Fraternally he was a Mason and an 
 Odd Fellow, and took a great interest in the 
 Grange from its organization. He was always 
 an indefatigable worker, and only retired from 
 practice two years prior to his death. He was 
 a member of the Society of California Pioneers 
 and of the Sacramento Society. 
 
 WILLIAM MACLEOD MACKAY. In 
 William Macleod Mackay Chico has an educa- 
 tor of many years' experience and high profes- 
 sional ideals. Coming here in 1902 to found 
 the present high school upon the recommendation 
 of President Wheeler of the University of Cali- 
 fornia, his efforts have met with a high degree 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 387 
 
 of appreciation on the part of tlie citizens of the 
 town, and have resulted in the voting of bonds 
 to the amount of $35,000 for the erection of a 
 high school building of modern construction, 
 which was completed in 1905 and is recognized 
 as one of the most handsome and best equipped 
 in the state. It is the intention of Mr. Mackay 
 to maintain the same standard of excellence 
 which has characterized his work elsewhere in 
 the west, and to place the school system of Chico 
 upon a par with that of the old and educationally 
 prominent communities in the east, and although 
 this school is but three years old it has been 
 recognized and placed on the accredited list by 
 the University of California. 
 
 The records of the Mackays are traced back 
 over five hundred years, the name flourishing in 
 Sutherlandshire, where the clan was very large 
 and influential. A member of the same served 
 as a general in the army of William, Prince of 
 Orange. The first American representative of 
 this family was Mr. Mackay 's father, John Mac- 
 kay, who, with his wife, formerly Minnie Mac- 
 leod, also of an old and distinguished family of 
 Sutherlandshire, Scotland, settled on Prince Ed- 
 ward Island in 1840. They were the parents of 
 six sons and six daughters, of whom William 
 Macleod, the third child, was born at New Lon- 
 don, Prince Edward Island, December 14, 1863. 
 The oldest son, Alexander, is engaged in the 
 boot and shoe business at Hollister, Cal. ; George 
 is a rancher in Whitman county, Wash. ; Jack is 
 the partner of his brother in Hollister; and Jar- 
 vis is a bookkeeper for a grain firm in Colfax, 
 Wash. John Mackay farmed his entire active 
 life, and died at an advanced age, being survived 
 by his wife, who lives with her son in Chico, and 
 is seventy years of age. 
 
 Professor Mackay was educated primarily in 
 the public schools of Prince Edward Island, and 
 in 1884 graduated from the Prince of Wales 
 College with the degree of A. B., and since com- 
 ing to California has taken advanced work at 
 the University of California and one year's work 
 at Hastings Law School. Following his gradua- 
 tion from the Prince of Wales College for three 
 years he was principal of the high school of New 
 London, on the Island, and in 1887 he spent a 
 
 year of leisure in Hollister, Cal. Two years later 
 he became associated with F. O. Mower in the 
 management of a private school at Oak Mound, 
 Napa county, and in 1895 established the high 
 school at Eureka, where he became its principal 
 and continued in the position for two years. 
 Failing health compelling a change, he removed 
 to Auburn and organized the high school of that 
 town, serving as its principal for the ensuing 
 five years. Three years after its organization it 
 was placed upon the accredited list by the Uni- 
 versity of California. Resigning from his work 
 in Auburn he came to Qiico and has since made 
 this city his home, giving his best efforts toward 
 the advancement of educational interests as well 
 as proving himself a factor in the development 
 of public affairs. 
 
 In Fresno Mr. Mackay married Daisy P. 
 Eaton, who was born in Concord, N. H., and 
 they are now the parents of three children : 
 Eaton, Dorothy and Priscilla. Mr. Mackay is a 
 Republican in politics. He is a member of the 
 State Teachers' Association ; member and vice- 
 president of the High School Teachers' Associa- 
 tion ; and member of the School Masters' Club, 
 of San Francisco. He is one of the best known 
 and most successful educators of this section of 
 the state, and is personally popular with both 
 pupils and trustees. 
 
 SAMUEL GRAY, a successful rancher of 
 Butte county, may justly be proud of his an- 
 cestry, descending from a family that has been 
 prominent in the communities in which the name 
 has flourished since the days of the Revolution- 
 ary war, his grandfather, William Gray, who 
 was a native of Virginia, having been an officer 
 in that historic struggle. This ancestor was also 
 a successful farmer in his native state, where he 
 died. Mr. Gray's father, William Gray, was also 
 a native of Virginia, having been born in Rock- 
 bridge county. In early manhood he left his 
 native state, going to Ohio, thence removing to 
 Indiana and still later settling in Coles county, 
 111. In each of these states he was a successful 
 farmer. In 1872 he came to California and spent 
 
388 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the remaining years of his life with his son, in 
 whose home his death occurred at the advanced 
 age of eighty-two years. His wife, formerly 
 Marguerite Coon, a native of Virginia, died in 
 Coles county, leaving a family of four children, 
 three sons and one daughter, of whom Samuel 
 Gray was the second in order of birth. 
 
 Born in Ross county, Ohio, August 3, 1836, 
 Samuel Gray received a limited education in the 
 common schools of Illinois and engaged in farm- 
 ing in that state until 1864. In that year he 
 crossed the plains to California, taking up one 
 hundred and sixty acres of land near Chico, 
 where he made his home for nine years. He 
 then purchased his present place of two hundred 
 and thirtv-six acres, two miles west of Dayton, 
 where he has been very successful in the raising 
 of wheat and barley. 
 
 Mr. Gray has been twice married, his first wife 
 being Marguerite McMorris, a native of Illinois, 
 who died after their removal to California. Of 
 this union three children were born, namely : 
 John W., of Dayton : Ella, the wife of Emuel 
 DeBock ; and Franklin, who is deceased. In 
 1901 Mr. Gray married Mrs. S. E. Soper, a na- 
 tive of Indiana ; she is a member of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Gray is a member 
 of the Christian Church. Politically he is a Re- 
 publican, having cast his first vote for Abraham 
 Lincoln, with whom he was well acquainted. 
 Mr. Gray's boyhood was spent within three 
 miles of Lincoln's mill, and as a boy he often 
 played at Lincoln's house. 
 
 VINCENZO GIANELLA. The Gianella 
 family was established in California by the father 
 of the present generation, Lorenzo Gianella, who 
 was a native of Switzerland. He was a glazier 
 by trade and followed that employment in his 
 native country until 1855, when he decided to 
 immigrate to America, and accordingly located 
 in Pennsylvania for a time. A few months 
 later he came to California and for a short time 
 worked in the mines at Georgetown, Amador 
 county. He then came to Yuba county and in 
 the vicinitv of Marvsville followed farming: and 
 
 dairying for several years. He was very for- 
 tunate in his ventures, and when, in 1871, he 
 removed to Sonoma county he was comfortably 
 provided for. He engaged in farming and 
 stock-raising in that location for several years, 
 when he retired from active life, making his home 
 in Santa Rosa, where his death occurred at the 
 age of sixty-eight years. His success was the 
 result of his own unaided effort, his only capital 
 being a persevering energy and industry, accom- 
 panied by an ability which placed him among 
 the foremost men of his section of the valley. 
 His wife, formerly Giocanda Galippi, was also a 
 native of Switzerland. She came to California 
 in 1858 with her family, passing the twilight of 
 her life in Santa Rosa and living to the age of 
 seventy-two years. Both herself and husband 
 were members of the Roman Catholic Church. 
 They were the parents of four children, namely : 
 Vincenzo, of this review ; Augustino, in partner- 
 ship with his brother ; Rosine, the wife of Pascal 
 Tremblay, of Sonoma county; and Teresa, now 
 the wife of Pascal Bisordi, also of Sonoma 
 county. 
 
 Born in Switzerland July 14, 1850, Vincenzo 
 Gianella was eight years of age when he accom- 
 panied his mother to California. He remained 
 at home until 1871, in which year he and his 
 brother rented the home place, the family re- 
 moving to Sonoma county, and together the two 
 engaged in farming. In 1878 they purchased the 
 \\'alker ranch of ten hundred and fifty acres on 
 the Honcut creek, where had been located a stage 
 station in an early day. In addition to this 
 property they also rented land and engaged ex- 
 tensively in the raising of stock. In 1902 they 
 purchased about four thousand acres of land 
 lying along the Sacramento river near Nord post- 
 office, Butte county, which they have since oper- 
 ated in their work of general farming and stock- 
 raising. They have been very successful in their 
 undertakings and are classed among the repre- 
 sentative ranchers of this section. 
 
 February 4, 1873, Mr, Gianella was united in 
 marriage with Mary Hagan, a native of So- 
 noma county, Cal,, born June 11, 1858. Her 
 father, Henry Hagan, was a native of Ireland, 
 from which country he immigrated to Montreal, 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 389 
 
 Catiada, wlien a young man of nineteen years. 
 Subsequently he went to St. Louis, Mo., and 
 wliile following his trade of carpenter and 
 builder there heard much of the advantages held 
 out for young men in the west. Coming by way 
 of Panama, he reached San Francisco in 1853 
 and at once found work at the carpenter's trade. 
 Later he bought a ranch near Santa Rosa, So- 
 noma county, where he followed farming until a 
 few years previous to his death, when he retired 
 and made his home in the city of Santa Rosa. 
 He attained the age of eighty-seven years, while 
 liis wife (formerly Mary Burgess, a native of 
 St. Louis, Mo., and who accompanied him to 
 California in 1853) died in Sonoma county at 
 the age of seventy-three years. They were mem- 
 bers of the Roman Catholic Church. One of 
 eight children, their daughter Mary was reared 
 in Sonoma county, where she made her home 
 until after her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Gia- 
 nella are the parents of the following children : 
 Thomas Anthonv, who rents and manages the 
 home place ; Mary Frances, a sister in Notre 
 Dame Convent, San Jose ; Joseph Lorenzo, who 
 conducts the ranch at Nord ; Monica Louise, who 
 is training to be a nurse in the Sisters' hos- 
 pital in Sacramento ; Katherine Rose, at home ; 
 Vincent Paul, also on the ranch at Nord ; Leo 
 James and Henry, students in St. Mary's College, 
 Oakland, Cal. ; and William August, at home. 
 Mr. Gianella is a Democrat politically as far as 
 national issues are concerned, but locally he is 
 liberal. 
 
 THOMAS ENGLISH BOUCHER. Con- 
 spicuous among the early pioneer residents of 
 Butte county is Thomas English Boucher, of 
 Chico, a veteran agriculturist, who by his en- 
 ergy, keen foresight and wise management has 
 accumulated a competency, and is now living 
 retired from active pursuits. A son of Elisha 
 Boucher, he was born in Campbell county, Tenn., 
 October 15, 1826. 
 
 Born and brought up in Virginia, Elisha 
 Boucher migrated from his native state to Ten- 
 nessee when young, and was there for a number 
 of years employed as a farmer and cattle driver. 
 
 In 1827 he again started westward, following the 
 march of emigration to Missouri. Settling in 
 Ray county, he took up land, and was there en- 
 gaged in tilling the soil for about ten years ; he 
 then removed to Grand River, Livingston county, 
 and cleared a farm from the timber, making his 
 home there until his death. His wife, whose 
 maiden name was Sarah English, was born in 
 \'irgniia, and died in Missouri. She bore him 
 fourteen children, six sons and eight daughters, 
 Thomas English being the ninth child in order 
 of birth. 
 
 Reared on the parental homestead in Missouri, 
 Thomas E. Boucher received a limited educa- 
 tion in the subscription schools and under his 
 father's instructions early became familiar with 
 the various branches of agriculture as carried 
 on in those days. Joining a party of nine gold 
 seekers in 1849, he came with an ox-team train 
 across the plains to California, and for three 
 or more years spent his time in searching for the 
 precious metal, being first located in the Morris 
 Ravine, on Feather river. Sickness was com- 
 mon in the new country, and he had a severe at- 
 tack of smallpox in the meantime. Coming to 
 the present site of Chico in 1853, '""^ worked as 
 a laborer for some time, then purchased a squat- 
 ter's right, thinking that tilling the soil might 
 prove more profitable than digging with pick and 
 shovel. He subsequently bought land from the 
 Hensley grant, but not getting a clear title had 
 to re-purchase the tract from the government. 
 Tliis two hundred acres, lying on Butte creek, 
 he sold in 1858, and with the money received 
 bought his present property, adjoining Chico 
 on the east. He at once began the improvement 
 of the one hundred and sixty acres it contained, 
 and for thiity years was successfully engaged 
 in general ranching, making a specialty of raising 
 hogs. The land being most advantageously lo- 
 cated, he began selling it off for town lots in 
 1890, laying out Boucher's second addition to 
 Chico, and has thus disposed of all but thirty 
 acres, receiving excellent prices for his estate. 
 In 1886 he bought a large ranch at Fall River, 
 Shasta county, and for a fex/ years carried on an 
 extensive business as a cattle raiser and dealer. 
 
390 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 but this property he disposed of in 1898. In 
 1899 he returned to Chico, where he has since 
 lived retired from active business cares. Dur- 
 ing his early California life Mr. Boucher had 
 varied experiences, and although many of them 
 were rough and hard, he enjoyed the excitement 
 and freedom, liking the open air, the mining, 
 and nature's wilds. Nothing daunted him, not 
 even the mountains, which he walked over, 
 sleeping out of doors at night, and wading or 
 swimming the streams. 
 
 September 25, 1856, in Colusa county, Mr. 
 Boucher married Mandana Partin, who was born 
 in Schuyler county. Mo., a daughter of Thomas 
 Partin. Mr. Partin was born in Virginia, re- 
 moved to a farm in Schuyler county, Mo., when 
 a young man, living there until 1852. In that 
 year he came with ox-teams to California, ar- 
 riving in Sacramento on October 8. Going 
 thence to Colusa, Mr. Partin bought land near 
 by, and engaged in general ranching. Selling 
 out, he removed to Mendocino county in i857' 
 settling in Ukiah, where he ran a hotel until his 
 death, in 1873. His wife, whose maiden name 
 was Matilda Hargis, was born in Virginia, and 
 died in Missouri. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Boucher five children were born, namely : Frank 
 J., of Chico; Mrs. Cora Shannon, of Glenn 
 county; Mrs. Kate Jenken, of Qiico; Joseph, of 
 Chico, and Warren, deceased. Politically Mr. 
 Boucher was formerly identified with the Demo- 
 cratic party, but he is now independent, voting 
 with the courage of his convictions. 
 
 • LEO LEWIS McCOY, A. B. In the old 
 homestead built by his grandfather in Qark 
 county, Mo., Leo Lewis McCoy was born Au- 
 gust I, 1850, and the earliest recollections of 
 his busy life cluster around that well-remem- 
 bered spot. Being the son of a man who had a 
 profound faith in the advantages of an educa- 
 tion, he was given every opportunity for the ac- 
 quisition of knowledge and during the Civil war, 
 when schools were abandoned, a private tutor 
 was employed for the McCoy children. Later 
 he was a pupil in Pleasant Hill Academy, 
 
 founded by h's father and George K. Biggs, 
 and still later he took the classical course in 
 LaGrange College, from which he was gradu- 
 ated in 1872 with the degree of A. B. Imme- 
 diately afterward he was induced by his father 
 to seek a location in the west and with his 
 brother, Galen C, came to California, where he 
 traveled for five months in search of a desired 
 location. By the time he had selected a loca- 
 tion at Red Bluff his funds had become de- 
 pleted to $135, but he had an abundance of 
 energy, hope and courage, and was willing to 
 accept the burden of debt in getting a start. 
 From T. N. Plowell he bought a half-interest in 
 a band of sheep, which then sold at a high fig- 
 ure. In September, 1873, h^ established his 
 present ranch m Tehama county by buying out 
 a squatter for $600. Later he bought sixteen 
 thousand acres of railroad land and fifteen hun- 
 dred acres of state land, in addition to enter- 
 ing government land and buying out various set- 
 tlers, so that he now owns about twenty-five 
 thousand acres in one ranch. The land, which 
 is used for a winter range, is well watered by 
 mountain streams, Antelope creek on the south 
 and Paine's creek on the north. During the 
 summer months the sheep are kept in Lassen 
 count}', where he has extensive holdings with 
 fine water privileges. 
 
 Men who are thoroughly posted concerning 
 the sheep industry claim that Mr. McCoy has 
 no superior in the entire state, both as to 
 knowledge of the business and as to perfection 
 in plans of conducting the same. With an aver- 
 age of from twelve thousand to fifteen thousand 
 head of sheep and from four thousand to five 
 thousand lambs per year, the industry neces- 
 sarily is conducted upon an extensive scale. 
 About fifty to sixty thousand pounds of wool are 
 secured in the semi-annual shearings, his sales 
 of wool and also of sheep being as large as those 
 of any sheepman in the whole state. In the 
 building of suitable quarters for the flocks he 
 was a pioneer. His sheep-shearing sheds con- 
 tain twenty-five thousand feet of lumber, togeth- 
 er with a large amount of galvanized iron. The 
 springs on the ranch have been dug out and 
 cemented with proper outlets, and the dipping 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 391 
 
 vat and drainingf floors are also constructed of 
 cement. In 1904 lie installed a steam-heating 
 plant for dipping sheep. Indeed, the entire equip- 
 ment is modern and first-class, tmsurpassed by 
 any sheep camp in the world. .As might be e.x- 
 ])ccted of one who is an authority on sheep, he 
 has taken a prominent part in securing needed 
 legislation to protect the interests of the sheep- 
 men in California and has spent many months 
 in Sacramento in order to gain some recogni- 
 tion for the sheep-raisers from the legislators. 
 With him the business has been made a science, 
 and he has studied it as closely as he studied 
 his classics during his collegiate years, the re- 
 sult being that he has won financial success and 
 the highest standing as an authority in the in- 
 dustry. 
 
 Notwithstanding the demands which his large 
 interests make upon his time and thought, Mr. 
 McCoy has never been negligent of his duties 
 as a citizen, but has been liberal, public-spirited 
 and progressive, a leader in all forward move- 
 ments for the benefit of Red Bluff and northern 
 California. Not a church in his home city has 
 been without his financial assistance at some 
 time of need and he has been especially gener- 
 ous toward the Presbyterian Church, of which 
 his wife is a member and among whose trustees 
 he has served long and well. A number of boys 
 and girls have been aided by him in gaining an 
 education and are indebted to him for securing 
 a start in the world. All enterprises of un- 
 doubted merit have received his stanch support 
 and aid, but particularly such as tend toward 
 the permanent development and progress of his 
 adopted country. In political views he has ad- 
 vocated Democratic principles since attaining his 
 majority and has supported the same with his 
 ballot, yet has never displayed a radical spirit in 
 partisan affairs. Fraternally a Mason, he has 
 membership in Vesper Lodge No. 84, F. & A. 
 M., Red Bluff Chapter No. 40, R. A. M., Red 
 Bluff Commandery No. 17, K. T., and Shasta 
 Council No. 6, R. & S. M., also Islam Temple, 
 A. A. O. N. M. S., of San Francisco. He served 
 as captain aid de camp on General Montgomery's 
 staff. Fifth Brigade, National Guard of Califor- 
 nia. 
 
 The family of Mr. McCoy consists of his wife 
 and two children, Leo A., who is now about 
 twenty years of age, and is taking a great inter- 
 est in the sheep business of his father, and Alice. 
 Mrs. McCoy was Miss Emma Bofinger, a native 
 of Red Bluff and a daughter of the prominent 
 pioneer, W. F. Bofinger. The McCoy resi- 
 dence, erected in 1902, is one of the most beau- 
 tiful and substantial in northern California, dis- 
 playing the finest workmanship and the most 
 modern equipment, with hardwood floors, art 
 glass windows, and plumbing and heating ap- 
 paratu.= of the best grades, the total cost of the 
 house being $12,000 or more. Over this home, 
 which reflects her artistic ta.stcs and culture, Mrs. 
 McCoy presides with a quiet dignity and hospi- 
 tality that adds to her prestige as a leader of 
 society. Those who are privileged to be enter- 
 tained here remember it as a high honor, for 
 the cordial welcome of the hostess is supple- 
 mented by the courteous friendliness of the host, 
 whose wide knowledge, classical learning and 
 genial manner combine to make his companion- 
 ship a pleasure never to be forgotten. 
 
 ALEXANDER McKEAN AIcCOY. The 
 climatic and professional considerations which 
 were important factors in inducing Mr. McCoy 
 to remove from Missouri to California have been 
 equally potent in making him an enthusiastic 
 supporter of the possibilities of this state. On 
 coming west he resigned a college position of 
 growing importance in order to identify himself 
 with educational interests in the northern part 
 of California, but subscc|uently he became a prac- 
 titioner at the bar and now ranks among the 
 most resourceful and capable professional men 
 in his district, having during the period of his 
 law practice in Red Bluft' been identified with 
 nearly all of the important cases tried in the 
 county. To mention his name among the broad- 
 minded and well-informed professional men of 
 the district is to call forth generous tributes con- 
 cerning his character, wide knowledge and at- 
 tainments. 
 
392 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 A descendant of sturdy Scotch antecedents, A. 
 M. McCoy is a son of Joseph McCoy, formerly 
 a resident of Red Bluff. The father was born in 
 St. Louis, Mo., March 24, 1823, his busy and use- 
 ful life closing at Red Bluff, January i, 1900. 
 The third among seven children comprising the 
 parental family, Alexander McKean McCoy was 
 born on a farm near Waterloo, then the county 
 seat of Clark county, Mo., June 9, 1852, and un- 
 der the careful training of his parents, Joseph and 
 Jane (McKean) McCoy, was prepared for the 
 responsibilities of life. After having prepared 
 for college in Pleasant Hill Academy, in 1869 
 he became a student in LaGrange College, where 
 he practically completed the entire course during 
 the following three years. In 1874 he was grad- 
 uated from Christian University of Canton, Mo.. 
 one of the pioneer educational institutions 
 founded by the Christian Church in the Missis- 
 sippi vallley. The degree of A. B. was conferred 
 upon him at graduation and later his alma mater 
 also bestowed upon him the Master's degree. 
 The year after receiving his diploma he engaged 
 in post-graduate work at the university, where 
 at the same time he taught some of the English 
 classes. In 1875 ''"^ ^^'^^ elected professor of 
 English literature and history in the university 
 and held the chair one year, when he resigned 
 in order to remove to the west. 
 
 Very shortly after his arrival in Red Bluff in 
 August, 1876, Mr. ]\IcCoy entered upon the 
 principalship of the public schools of the city 
 and remained in that position until 1878, when 
 on account of his health he resigned to seek out- 
 door life. For some years thereafter he spent 
 his winters on a sheep ranch eight miles west 
 of Red Bluft' and during the summers ranged his 
 flocks in the Sierras. In the spring of 1885 he 
 sold his stock interests to a brother, Galen C. 
 McCoy, and returned to Red Bluff, where the 
 following year he entered upon the practice of 
 law. In 1884 he had taken up law studies under 
 Jackson Hatch, now of San Jose, and since then 
 he has acquired a profound and broad knowl- 
 edge of the law which places him among the 
 foremost men of the profession in the state. 
 Through careful selection he has become the 
 possessor of a fine law library, containing the 
 
 works of the leading authorities of the past and 
 present. In the fall of 1886, shortly after his 
 admission to the bar, he was elected district at- 
 torney on the Democratic ticket, and in 1888 and 
 1890 was re-elected by increased majorities, 
 serving from January, 1887, to January, 1893, 
 and retiring from the office with an enviable rec- 
 ord for efficiency *k1 thorough work. Since his 
 retirement from official duties he has established 
 a large civil practice in Tehama and Shasta 
 counties, and in addition, is a member of the 
 law firm of McCoy & Gans, citv attorneys of 
 Red Bluff. 
 
 After coming to the west ]\!lr. McCoy met 
 Miss Hattie Muth, who became his wife in Red 
 Bluff in 1884. The comfortable home which 
 they have established is brightened by the pres- 
 ence of their three children : Ida May, attend- 
 ing the State University, now in her second year ; 
 Joseph Muth, in the graduating class of 1906, 
 in the Red Bluff high school ; and Florence Rose, 
 a first-year student in the high school. Mrs. 
 McCoy is a native of Detroit, INIich., and a grad- 
 uate of the San Francisco high school. She also 
 attended the California State Normal at San 
 Jose, and for ten years prior to her marriage 
 was engaged in educational work. Fraternally 
 Mr. McCoy was made a Mason in Vesper Lodge 
 No. 84, F. & A. M., of Red Bluff, and is further 
 identified with Red Bluff Lodge No. 76, I. O. 
 O. F., in which he is a past grand. Through 
 his connection with the Board of Trade of Red 
 Bluff he has been a contributor to the commer- 
 cial development of the city and his name is in- 
 separably associated with various projects for 
 the growth of the place. Upon the organization 
 of the first county board of education, estab- 
 lished under the constitution of 1879, he was 
 chosen a member of the body, where he remained 
 for several years and contributed most helpfully 
 to the interests of the schools. Educational mat- 
 ters are of no less interest to him now than 
 when he engaged actively in teaching. There 
 are few more stanch than he in allegiance to 
 schools. Realizing that the future of our com- 
 monwealth and the prosperity of our nation de- 
 pend upon an educated citizenship, he has given 
 freely of his influence and time to promote the 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 3W.3 
 
 educational institutions within the circle of his 
 activities. For several years he acted as a mem- 
 ber of the board of trustees of Pierce Christian 
 College at College City. 
 
 At an early period in his life Mr. McCoy be- 
 came identified with the Christian Church and 
 his warm devotion to its welfare remains un- 
 abated. Though it was not his privilege to take 
 a theological course in college and Destiny 
 seemed to call him to tlie bar rather than the 
 pulpit, yet his thorough knowledge of the Scrip- 
 tures, fine command of language and ability as 
 a speaker have brought his services into fre- 
 quent request as a preacher, and such requests 
 are never refused if circumstances permit of 
 their acceptance. To the members of the Chris- 
 tian Church throughout the state, and especially 
 to those who are prominent in the work, his 
 name is a household word, his position as chair- 
 man of the state convention for about ten years 
 having made him a leader among the adherents 
 of this faith. With few exceptions he has made 
 annual visits to Santa Cruz during the sessions 
 of the state convention of the church, and there 
 he has aided in shaping the policy adopted by the 
 members to promote home and foreign mission- 
 ary work. On the organization of the Berkeley 
 Bible Seminary he became one of its incorpo- 
 rators and officiated for a number of years in the 
 capacity of trustee. As previously intimated, he 
 is connected with the Democratic party. Since 
 1884 he has been one of the most prominent men 
 of his county in the affairs of that party, serving 
 for some years as chairman of its county central 
 committee and during its campaigns tendering 
 his services as a speaker in the interests of its 
 candidates and principles. 
 
 JOSEPH HENRY GLIDE. The career of 
 Joseph Henry Glide, one of the most prominent 
 of the early pioneers, is an example of the worth 
 of energy, pluck and perseverance as indispens- 
 able accessories to native talent, for without these 
 attributes he could never have succeeded in 
 building up for himself the financial success 
 which is now his. For iiearh- half a centurv he 
 
 has been known in the Sacramento valley, where 
 he has cstabli.<licd an extensive stock business, 
 buying and selling sheep and cattle and carry- 
 ing on a lucrative custom throughout the entire 
 state as well as in other sections of the United 
 States. Since 1871 Mr. Glide has been a resi- 
 dent of Sacramento, where he is known as a citi- 
 zen of worth and ability and one who can al- 
 ways be counted upon to further any movement 
 for the advancement of the city's best interests. 
 
 Born in 1835, Mr. Glide is a native of Somer- 
 setshire, England, where he spent his boyhood 
 on the paternal farm and received his education 
 in a private school. Upon the death of his 
 father, which occurred while he was still a lad 
 in years, he bought stock for his brothers, 
 Charles and John. His youthful experience in 
 this work laid the foundation for the knowledge 
 which afterward brought such lucrative returns 
 to him as a resident of the Sacramento valley. 
 In young manhood Mr. Glide decided to emi- 
 grate to America and accordingly took passage 
 on the Manchester, from which vessel he landed 
 in Philadelphia, Pa. From there he went to 
 Qiicago, where he became acquainted with par- 
 ties who were preparing to come to California. 
 The company consisted of forty-two families 
 and made the trip across the plains in six 
 months. Arriving in California Mr. Glide 
 found employment buying stock for John 
 Davis, of Grass Valley, a farmer and butcher, 
 who was handling sheep, hogs and cattle in his 
 business. For one year Mr. Glide remained in 
 that association, and the following year, having 
 accumulated some means, he began business for 
 himself along the same lines. He was very 
 successful and gradually drifted from this work 
 into that of stock-raising, buying up cattle, pas- 
 turing and butchering them, and supplying many 
 mining districts with meat. As the demand for 
 his business increased he enlarged his capacity, 
 purchasing land by the section and devoting it to 
 grain and pasture. At the same time he in- 
 creased his cattle range, bringing into the coun- 
 try thoroughbred Short Horns (the sires being 
 imported from England), a part of which he 
 disposed of to neighboring stockmen for breed- 
 ing jjurposes. He also began the breeding of 
 
394 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 sheep, the native being fovnid to be of a very in- 
 ferior quahty. He therefore prepared for a bet- 
 ter business in this hne by tlie importation of the 
 noted French Merino, for which he paid $300 per 
 head. This is a large sheep, furnishing good 
 mutton and a considerable yield of wool, which 
 is well adapted for use in American fabrics, the 
 animal being first introduced into America by 
 John D. Patterson, of New York, about forty- 
 four years ago, and proving in its transportation 
 to California soil a hardy animal and good 
 erazer. There is a demand for these Ram- 
 
 o 
 
 bouillet sheep, as the>- are considered the finest 
 of their kind in the world, and Mr. Glide has 
 sold them to parties all over the United States, 
 South America, Africa and Australia. He has 
 also a large number of Short Horn cattle. His 
 cattle ranches now number twenty thousand 
 acres of land, the greater part of which is in 
 Yolo county, and all under the management of 
 his two sons, Henry and Thornton Glide. In 
 1871 Mr. Glide located in the city of Sacra- 
 mento, where he now owns a beautiful residence, 
 which is justly classed among the finest in this 
 section. He has taken a keen and practical in- 
 terest in the development and upbuilding of the 
 city. 
 
 In 1 87 1 Mr. Glide was united in marriage with 
 Lizzie Snider, a native of Louisiana, and a 
 daughter of Dr. T, A. Snider, who came to 
 Sacramento in 1868 and was for many years one 
 of the leading physicians in that place. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Glide became the parents of the fol- 
 lowing children: Henry, Lizzie, Mary (Mrs. 
 Qiarles Goethe), Thornton and Eula. Mr. 
 Glide is entitled to the position which he holds 
 among the citizens of Sacramento, being held 
 in the highest esteem by a large circle of friends 
 and acquaintances for the sterling qualities which 
 have enabled him to make his success in life. 
 
 JUDGE JOHN CARLETON GRAY. Among 
 the professional men of Butte county who have 
 attained distinction beyond the borders of their 
 home locality is Judge John Carleton Gray, 
 known alike in the legal fraternity and the leg- 
 
 islative assembly of the state. Born in Dresden, 
 Lincoln county. Me., February 2, 1837, he is the 
 descendant of an old New England family, both 
 paternal and maternal ancestors having emigrated 
 from England to America prior to the Revolu- 
 tionary war, in which historic struggle both fam- 
 ilies were represented. Both father and mother, 
 the Hon. John L. and Lydia (Carleton) Gray, 
 were natives of Maine, as were also the parents 
 of each. The mother died in 1874, when sixty- 
 seven years old, the father surviving until 1897, 
 dying then at the age of ninety years. They were 
 the parents of nine children, of whom the judge 
 is the only remaining son, two dying young and 
 the third at forty-two, after a sea-faring life of 
 twenty-five years, having become master of a 
 ship when onl}- twenty years old. This son, in 
 1877. as Captain Gray, was presented with a sil- 
 ver service by the citizens of Honolulu for carry- 
 ing to them the official notice of the adoption of 
 the reciprocity treaty between the United States 
 and Sandwich Islands. 
 
 When only three years of age John C. Gray 
 was taken by his parents to Qiina, Me., where 
 he was reared to young manhood on the paternal 
 farm, attending the common schools during the 
 winter months, and assisting through the sum- 
 mer in the home duties. He remained at home 
 until he was eighteen years old : purchasing then 
 the remainder of his minority he became a teach- 
 er in the schools of the state, in this manner earn- 
 ing money to enable him to complete his educa- 
 tion. In 1859 he entered Colby University (then 
 known as Waterville) , where he remained two 
 years, after which he received instruction in the 
 law ofifice of Hon. A. Libbey, of Augusta, Ale., 
 until he was admitted to practice in the highest 
 court of the state, June 16, 1863. The day fol- 
 lowing he started for California, upon his arrival 
 in the state securing employment as night clerk 
 in the What Cheer Hotel of Sacramento, where 
 he remained for a year and a half. Coming to 
 Butte county Januarv i, 1865, he has since been 
 actively identified with its best interests, and to 
 its general upbuilding and material advancement 
 he has given the strength of an earnest and force- 
 ful manhood. He began his career here as a 
 teacher in the public schools, for five of the seven 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 395 
 
 years so occupied being principal of the Oroville 
 grammar schools. He was eminently successful 
 in the work and only put it aside to take up 
 that for which he had equipped himself in his 
 eastern home, in June, 1872, opening an office in 
 Oro^'ille for the practice of his profession. A 
 vear's practice served to demonstrate his ability 
 and to bring him prominently before the public. 
 He was then (in 1873) elected on the Republican 
 ticket to the state assembly, serving one term, 
 during which time he was chairman of the com- 
 mittee on public lands, and a member of the ju- 
 diciary, election and apportionment committees, 
 the judiciary committee being presided over by 
 Judge Williams of Eldorado county, and num- 
 bering among its members many men of note. 
 Through the meeting of the code commission a 
 splendid legal training was given to the lawyers 
 of the assembly, the practical benefits visible in 
 the later results. Upon returning to Oroville the 
 judge resumed his law practice, and at the same 
 time became editor and part owner of the Oro- 
 ville Mercury, his management of the latter 
 bringing it to rank with the first papers of the 
 county. In 1878 his constantly increasing prac- 
 tice demanded his entire attention and he was 
 therefore compelled to dispose of his interest in 
 the paper. In the past years he has been largely 
 engaged in procuring government titles to agri- 
 cultural and mineral lands, many of the argu- 
 ments used by him before the commissioner of 
 the general land office, and also before the Sec- 
 retary of the Interior, being among the best re- 
 ceived by those officers, and have been used by 
 others in later considered cases. 
 
 .Always a prominent and popular man in pub- 
 lic affairs he was the Republican nominee in 
 1885 for district attorney, and after a warm con- 
 test was elected for a term of two years. He 
 was re-elected and served a second term, but re- 
 fused a third. During his term of office a band 
 of seven noted criminals was broken up, all of 
 whom were convicted and sentenced to terms of 
 imprisonment from one to sixty years. In 1890 
 he received the nomination for superior judge, a 
 position held then by Judge P. O. Hundley, and 
 was elected against a very popular man by a large 
 
 majority. He was re-elected in 1896 by the larg- 
 est majority ever given to a candidate in Butte 
 county and was again re-elected in 1902. His 
 entire rule on the bench has been dominated by 
 a fairness and honesty of purpose which have won 
 for him the esteem and respect of all who have 
 come to know him, officially or otherwise. Sus- 
 taining a deep interest in the schools of the county 
 he has held the position of deputy superintend- 
 ent for a period of six years, and has been a 
 member of the board of examiners for seven 
 years, besides which he has been connected sev- 
 eral years with the board of trustees. 
 
 In fraternal orders Judge Gray has also taken 
 an active interest ever since his college days, 
 liaving been a member during that time of the 
 Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He is a Mason 
 of the Knights Templar degree, having been a 
 ])residing officer in each of the several divisions, 
 and is also a member of the Odd Fellows and 
 Encampment. Socially he is a member of the 
 Union League Club of San Francisco. 
 
 Not the least among the interests of Judge 
 Grai have been those of an agricultural nature. 
 In r886 he turned his attention to fruit-raising, 
 beiiin; the first one to make that venture in olives 
 and ''igs in Butte county, in fact in northern Cali- 
 fornia, and during the past twenty years has de- 
 veloi'ed a magnificent ranch now known as the 
 Mount Ida Olive Grove. This ranch is located 
 in r'utte county, six miles east of Oroville, and 
 contains five hundred and twenty acres of fine 
 land, all in one body. Of this land one hundred 
 and eighty acres are devoted to the cultivation 
 of Iruit, a peach orchard of three thousand 
 trees, fifty acres of White Adriatic figs, and an 
 olive grove containing one hundred acres. This 
 last-named crop is sent from the ranch in the 
 form of pickled fruit and olive oil, as the place 
 is equipped with an olive-oil mill, the best in Cali- 
 fornia, and all machinery necessary for the manu- 
 facture of the oil. Adjoining the mill building is 
 the pickling works for making olive pickles, con- 
 sisting of ninety feet of building and a full set 
 of troughs, boiler and everything necessary in 
 the business. The ranch is also noted for the 
 mineral springs, the waters of which have been 
 so highly apjireciated by many prominent citi- 
 
396 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 zens of Oroville, where they have been sold since 
 1890. 
 
 On the 6th of October, 1869, Judge Gray was 
 united in marriage with Miss Belle R. Clark, 
 who had been one of his pupils and for a time a 
 teacher in the school where he was principal. 
 They became the parents of three children, name- 
 ly: Helen, who died in infancy; Carleton. a 
 lawyer who lives in Oroville; and Ida B., who 
 became the wife of Dr. J. W. Wilson of Oro- 
 ville. Mrs. Gray died November 14, 1897, in 
 San Francisco, where she had gone to attend 
 the wedding of her son. The lady who became 
 the second wife of Judge Gray on July 3, 1902, 
 was formerly Katherine (Jacoby) Hecker, w.idow 
 of Fred Hecker. a prosperous merchant of Oro- 
 ville. They had two children born to them. 
 Fred W. attending Santa Clara College, and 
 Alice, attending the Sacred Heart Convent at 
 Oakland. For nine years after the death of her 
 hu.sband Mrs. Hecker successfully carried on the 
 boot and shoe business that Mr. Hecker had 
 established and built up. She is acknowledged as 
 a woman of unusual business ability, having 
 maintained her home, and carried on a business 
 that required almost her entire attention. 
 
 CHARLES EDWARD PORTER. A pros- 
 perous and enterprising land owner and specu- 
 lator is Charles Edward Porter, whose farm is 
 situated ten miles south of Oroville, near Central 
 House, and consists of two hundred and fifty 
 acres of rich land devoted to stock and the rais- 
 ing of grain. ISIr. Porter makes a specialty of 
 raising draft horses, although he also raises some 
 mules and speculates in stock, grain and hay ; 
 also in lumber, shakes and posts. He is a natu- 
 ral born trader and takes as much delight in it 
 as did David Harum. Of English ancestry, and 
 the fourth in a family of four sons and one 
 daughter, Charles E. Porter was born in Trem- 
 pealeau county. Wis., May 21, 1851. His father 
 left England for America in 1840, first locating 
 in Ohio, and later, in 1848, removing to Trem- 
 pealeau county. Wis., where he engaged in farm- 
 ing until his death, which occurred in 1855. His 
 
 mother, formerly Ann Ford, was also a native of 
 England and she, too, died in Wisconsin. 
 Charles E. Porter received his early education in 
 the common schools of Wisconsin and upon the 
 attainment of his majority removed to Madison 
 City, Iowa, where he followed agricultural pur- 
 suits. Later he located in Michigan and worked 
 in the sawmills until 1876, when he came to Cali- 
 fornia, and at Truckee, Nevada county, engaged 
 in logging contracting for two years. Following 
 this, in 1878, he engaged in the stock and grain 
 business in Placer county until the spring of 
 1880, when he leased land in Butte county and 
 pastured about a hundred head of cattle. Eight 
 vears later he purchased his present home, which 
 is a source of prosperity to its owner. 
 
 Mr. Porter takes a great interest in the affair^ 
 of his comnnmity and is very active in all mat- 
 ters pertaining to its advancement. In 1904 he 
 was elected supervisor of the first district for a 
 term of four years, for the last twelve years has 
 been school director, and has also officiated as 
 clerk of the board of trustees. Politically he is 
 an active Republican and during campaigns al- 
 ways serves on various committees. Fraternally 
 he is a member of the Independent Order of 
 Odd Fellows and of the Knights of Pythias of 
 Oroville. 
 
 During his young manhood Mr. Porter mar- 
 ried Mamie Buckley, who was born in Butte 
 county, Cal. Her father, George Buckley, was 
 a native of Maine, but located in Butte county 
 at an early day and followed farming here until 
 his death. Mr. and Mrs. Porter are the parents 
 of three children : Lillie, Charles Edward, Jr., 
 and Whitney Ford. 
 
 JUDGE CHARLES FAYETTE LOTT. As 
 a representative of the men whose lives have 
 become a part in the foundation of the western 
 statehood. Judge Charles Faj'ette Lott occupies 
 an honored position. A resident of Oroville, 
 Butte county, he has long been connected with 
 public afTairs in this vicinity and from the 
 strength of an earnest and forceful manhood has 
 given liberally to the material upbuilding of the 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 397 
 
 count r_\-. tliroiij^li tlic pioneer days proving his 
 abilit}- in the efTort and loyalty to the cause 
 which induced him to cast in his lot with the 
 pioneer element. Born July i, 1824, a native 
 of Pemberton, N. J., he comes of English ances- 
 try, his grandfather, Peter Lott. having emi- 
 grated from England to America before the 
 Revolution, and settling on the New Jersey 
 shore, near New York, at what is now the town 
 of Cranbury, then called Maidenhead. A loyal 
 patriot in the cause' of his adopted country, he 
 served as captain of a regiment of light horse 
 cavalry during the Revolutionary war. His son, 
 Giarlcs F. Lott, the father of the judge, was 
 then only a child but he remembered the battle 
 of Princeton as well as that of Trenton. In 
 manhood this son became a prominent physician 
 and was medical director and assistant adjutant 
 general in the war of 181 2. Through his un- 
 ion with Edith N. Lamb, a native of New Jersey, 
 he had eight children, only one of whom sur- 
 vives. 
 
 When only five years old Qiarles F. Lott was 
 left motherless, at which time his father re- 
 moved to Quincy, 111., there remaining until the 
 spring of 1836, when he located in St. Louis, 
 Mo. The son received instruction from Elihu H. 
 Shepherd in the latter city, attending for a time 
 St. Charles College, in St. Charles county, 
 whither his father later removed, and eventually 
 completing his education at the St. Louis Uni- 
 versity, from which institution he was graduated 
 in 1846. Returning to Quincy, he studied law 
 in the office of Williams & Johnson, and was ad- 
 mitted to practice in the supreme court of the 
 state June 5, 1848. About this time his brother, 
 Peter Lott, also a lawyer, went to the Mexican 
 war as captain, and Qiarles F. had charge of his 
 business during his absence. This brother suc- 
 ceeded Stephen A. Douglas on the judicial bench 
 in that district. Becoming interested in the op- 
 portunities presented by the opening up of the 
 west through the discovery of gold. Mr. Lott 
 crossed the plains in 1849, leaving in March and 
 arriving in the Sacramento valley six months 
 later. Like the great majority of those who 
 sought the west at that time he engaged in min- 
 ing for a time, eyery effort being put forth to 
 
 attain success. He also early assumed an im- 
 portant position in public affairs, as soon as the 
 state began to take steps for organization being 
 consulted and largely depended upon to select 
 the first officers. .'\t various times he served as 
 district attorncv, clerk of the court, etc., in the 
 absence of the regular officials, at the same 
 time establishing himself in a legal practice. In 
 183 1 ho was elected to the state senate, but de- 
 clined a rc-nomination, having served efficiently 
 in the third and fourth sessions of the legisla- 
 ture, being nominated by the first Democratic 
 convention held in Butte county. On returning 
 to a practice of his profession he became asso- 
 ciated with Judge Warren T. Sexton, being lo- 
 cated first at Hamilton, then at Bidwell's Bar, 
 and later at Oroville, following the county seat. 
 During his association with Judge Sexton they 
 erected the first fire-proof office in the town. 
 Always occupying a prominent position in politi- 
 cal affairs in his section of the state. Judge Lott 
 was elected chairman of the Democratic countv 
 central committee, a position maintained with 
 great credit to himself throughout the Civil war. 
 for he was a stanch supporter of the Union. 
 In 1869 he was elected judge of the second ju- 
 dicial district, composed of the counties of Butte, 
 Tehama. Plumas and Lassen, and served with 
 distinction for six years. Since that period he 
 has given his time and attention to his constantly 
 increasing practice, as well as being interested 
 in mining lands in Butte and Plumas counties. 
 
 In 1856 Judge Lott was united in marriage 
 with .Susan F. Hyer, a daughter of Alexander 
 Hyer, a wholesale glassware and china mer- 
 chant, and a grand-daughter of Col. William 
 Hyer. a Revolutionary patriot. To the judge 
 and his wife were born three children, two of 
 whom, Charles F. and Cornelia, survive. Mrs. 
 Lott passed away in September, 1902. In addi- 
 tion to his legal duties the judge owns a large 
 ranch of several thousand acres, located on Butte 
 creek, given over to the cultivation of grains. 
 He has also been much interested in the horti- 
 culturaj development of this section, being one 
 of the organizers and the first president of the 
 Oroville Citrus Association, which planted the 
 first orange grove in this portion of the state. 
 
398 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Fraternally lie is associated with the Masonic 
 order, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Oiapter 
 and Conimandery, in each of which he has filled 
 the highest position, once having been Grand 
 Commander of the state, by virtue of which he 
 holds membership in the Grand Encampment of 
 Knights Templar of the United States. He is 
 Past Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter 
 of jMasons of California. An admirer of the 
 character and the principles advocated by Doug- 
 las the judge has been a Democrat all his life, 
 and though active for the advancement of his 
 party's best interests he has never allowed poli- 
 tics to interfere with his best endeavors for the 
 general welfare of the community. No man 
 has been more unselfishly devoted in his .efforts 
 to promote all movements calculated to advance 
 the general welfare; no man stands higher in 
 the esteem and respect of his fellow townsmen, 
 nor more justly merits the position accorded 
 him. As one of the last of the men whose 
 names are written high in the annals of (!■ 
 state he stands as a link between the days of 
 hardship, privation and trial, and the present 
 prosperity, his life a part of the past which made 
 to-day's greatness. He is a life member of the 
 Society of California Pioneers. 
 
 ARTHUR SWEETSER. Prominent among 
 the successful native sons of California and act- 
 ively identified with the agricultural interests 
 of Butte county, is Arthur Sweetser, whose up- 
 right character and stern integrity have won 
 for him the highest esteem and good fellowship 
 of all his friends and acquaintances. He was 
 born at Oregon House, Cal, September 13, 1859, 
 a son of Joseph and Adelia (Coombs) Sweetser, 
 natives of Maine, who came to California in 
 1852 by way of the Isthmus of Panama. Upon 
 his arrival in this state Mr. Sweetser located 
 at Oregon House and erected the Enterprise 
 mills, one of the first mills in Yuba county. 
 There he sold lumber for $80 per thousand feet 
 and enjoyed a large amount of patronage. La- 
 ter he built the Monitor mill on the La Porte 
 road, conducting both until 1863, when he sold 
 his interests and purchased a squatter's claim to 
 
 the present ranch, known as the Sweetser ranch. 
 -VIr. .Sweetser also superintended the hauling of 
 supplies into the mines. He was of a practical 
 and commercial temperament and found his 
 greatest pleasure in promoting the successes of 
 industries in which he was engaged. His politi- 
 cal views brouglit him into affiliation with the 
 Republican party and he supported its men and 
 measures by his ballot. His death occurred on 
 the home farm in 1873, Mrs. Sweetser surviv- 
 ing her husband until 1902. 'Two children were 
 born to them : Louisa, wife of W. A. Coats of 
 Butte county ; and Arthur, of this review. 
 
 The youngest child and only son, Arthur 
 .Sweetser received his preliminary education in 
 the common schools of Butte county, later tak- 
 ing a year's course at McClure's Military Acad- 
 emy of Oakland. At the completion of his stud- 
 ies he engaged in the newspaper business for 
 eighteen months, taking entire charge of six 
 routes. He then decided to follow agricultural 
 pursuits, and accordingly returned home and as- 
 sumed the management of his father's farm. 
 At the present time he owns six hundred acres 
 of splendid land, on which he raises wheat, bar- 
 ley and oats. His crops are heavy and of fine 
 quality. For over twenty years he operated a 
 threshing machine between Marysville and Pence 
 ranch, Butte county. Interspersed with his farm 
 duties Mr. Sweetser finds time to officiate as 
 road overseer, discharging his duties with fidel- 
 ity. 
 
 During young manhood Mr. Sweetser married 
 Lydia Wisner. who w^as born at Bangor, Cal., 
 and one son. Albert, was born to them ; he died 
 at the age of seventeen years. Mrs. Lydia 
 Sweetser died in 1885, and several years later 
 Mr. Sweetser married Ella E. Bevens, a native 
 of Illinois, but who has made California her 
 home for a number of years. Politically Mr. 
 Sweetser adheres to the principles advocated 
 in the platform of the Republican party and 
 takes an active interest in all measures proposed 
 for the advancement of its cause. He is a mem- 
 ber of the countv central committee, and has of- 
 ficiated as a delegate to state and county con- 
 ventions. Fraternally he is a member of the 
 Kni"hts of Pvthias of Oroville. 
 
^' ^^^/2J^:.a^ £.^^^^9^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 401 
 
 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CHANDLER. 
 Conspicuous among the energetic and prosperous 
 agriculturists of Plumas county is Benjamin F. 
 Chandler, who has a thorough knowledge of the 
 vocation which he follows, and is carrying on 
 general ranching, dairying and stock-raising with 
 both profit and pleasure. His home farm is ad- 
 vantageously located in the American valley. 
 about four miles from Ouincy, and is one of the 
 finest in its appointments and improvements of 
 anv in the vicinity. He was born in Wyoming 
 countv, N. v., June i8. 1840, of New England 
 ancestry. His father, Nathan Chandler, who was 
 born and reared in Maine, settled in New York 
 state when \oung, and was a resident of Wyo- 
 ming county until his death, at the age of fift}- 
 five vears. He was a man of prominence, serv- 
 ing one term as sheriff of the county, and being 
 influential in political affairs, belonging to the 
 Whig party until the formation of the Republican 
 party, with which he was subsequently identified. 
 
 At the age of ten years, Benjamin F. Chandler, 
 familiarly known as "Frank" Chandler, began 
 life on his own account, and the honorable posi- 
 tion that he now maintains in industrial and finan- 
 cial circles is a speaking testimony of the suc- 
 cess with which he has met in his active career. 
 On first leaving home he went to Burlington, 
 Iowa, where he lived for two years with an uncle, 
 whom he assisted in farming. Going from there 
 to Monroe, Green county, Wis., he worked with 
 another uncle at the trade of wagon and car- 
 riage maker for four years. He subsequently 
 rented a farm for a time, and then turned his at- 
 tention to an entirely new occupation, buying a 
 stage route, and himself running a stage from 
 Madison to Monroe, a distance of forty-six miles, 
 his stage being the only means of transportation 
 across a section of country now netted with rail- 
 ways. For a year after giving up the stage busi- 
 ness Mr. Chandler conducted a saloon in Madi- 
 son. Wis., and then went north into the pineries, 
 where he engaged in logging and lumbering, 
 rafting the timber down the Mississippi river to 
 Cairo, 111., receiving good wages for his work. 
 
 After being thus engaged for one season, in 
 1859 he returned to Burlington, Iowa, where for 
 six years he had the management of his uncle's 
 7 
 
 farm, and was successfully engaged in raising 
 stock thereon. Marrying then, Mr. Chandler 
 rented a farm near Creston, Iowa, where he con- 
 tinued his operations successfully for about eight 
 years. 
 
 Disposing of his land in that locality in 1873, 
 Mr. Chandler came with his family to Plumas 
 county. Cal.. and here Ixiught what is now known 
 as his home ranch. It lies in the American val- 
 ley, four miles from Ouincy. and contains four 
 hundred and thirty-one acres of choice land, on 
 which he has made substantial improvements, 
 having erected a good brick house, large barns, 
 etc. In addition to general farming and stock- 
 raising, he carries on dairying to some extent, 
 and in the various branches of his industry has 
 been exceedingly prosperous. In 1901 he pur- 
 chased three hundred and sixty-five acres of land 
 in the valley adjoining Quincy, and has here im- 
 proved a valuable hay and grain ranch. He has 
 also other property interests, among which is the 
 fine residence which he erected in Quincv and 
 which he now occupies. 
 
 April 8, 1865, in Burlington. Iowa. Mr. Chan- 
 dler married Mary Sprague, who was born in 
 Iowa, and died on the home farm near Quincy, 
 •Cal., December 31, 1882. Of the union of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Chandler three children were born, 
 namely: George, who died in 1881, aged sixteen 
 years and six months: Kate, wife of George Sti- 
 vers, a well-known farmer of Plumas county ; 
 and Nellie, living at home. In politics he is a 
 Democrat, and an active party worker. He has 
 been an advocate of good schools and served as 
 director for some time. He was a director of the 
 Eleventh District Agricultural Association. 
 
 ALONZO KELLY PHILBROOK. The ear- 
 liest recollections of this progressive business 
 man of Susanvillc are associated with California, 
 where in early childhood he became associated 
 with the frontier environment of Butte countv 
 and later grew to manhood in the then small 
 town of San Jose, then took ii]) the task of earn- 
 ing a livelihood at the saddler's trade in .San 
 Francisco and eventuallv, bv reason of failinc 
 
402 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 health, in igoo removed to Lassen county, his 
 present headquarters and home. During the 
 early period of the settlement of this state his 
 father, Charles R. Kelly, a native of New York 
 state, caine west with the hope of finding a for- 
 tune in the gold mines, hut ere yet prosperity 
 had rewarded his efforts he was killed in the 
 mines. .A. few years later his widow, who bore 
 the maiden name of Maggie West and was born 
 in Boston, Mass., became the wife of George 
 Greeno, now of Long valley. The only child of 
 her first marriage was adopted in infancy by 
 Alonzo King Philbrook, the proprietor of the 
 Inskip hotel in Butte county, and he has always 
 been known by the name of his foster parents. 
 When the boy was si.x years of age Mr. Phil- 
 brook removed from Butte county to the city of 
 San lose, where he purchased stock and engaged 
 in the cattle industr\-. 
 
 After having completed his education in the 
 public schools of San Jose Alonzo K. Philbrook, 
 at the age of twenty years, began an apprentice- 
 ship to the saddler's trade in San Jose and later 
 went to San Francisco, where he completed his 
 trade with Main & Winchester. During the en- 
 suing twenty-two vears he followed his trade in 
 San Francisco, where, although he did not accu- 
 n-iulate wealth, he acquired an enviable reputa- 
 tion for skilled workmanship and laid by a neat 
 sum for future investment. The failure of his 
 health forced him to seek another climate and 
 occupation, and in 1900 he came to Susanville, 
 where he built the residence he now occupies. 
 As a member of the firm of Oakes & Philbrook 
 he started in the furniture and undertaking busi- 
 ness : in .A.ugust of igoi he purchased his part- 
 ner's interest, after which he conducted the busi- 
 ness alone imtil disposing of it to George L. 
 Tomb, November, 1905. 
 
 Mr. Philbrook acts as deputy county coroner 
 of Lassen county under E. V. Perry, of Standish. 
 Politically he has always been a stanch believer 
 in Republican principles. While living in San 
 Francisco he inarried, in 1891. Miss Susan Mar- 
 tin, a native of Santa Cruz, this state, and a 
 daughter of Julius Martin, who was a pioneer 
 of 184.'? in California and died at Gilroy. In 
 fraternal relations Mr. Philbrook still holds mem- 
 
 bership with Golden Gate Lodge No. 204, I. O. 
 O. F., in San Francisco, of which he is past 
 grand, and with his wife he has also been identi- 
 fied with the Order of Rebekahs. After coming 
 to Susanville he was made a Mason in Lassen 
 Lodge No. 149. F. &. A. M., in the work of 
 which he maintains a warm interest. Another 
 organization to v.'hich he gives allegiance is the 
 Native Sons of the Golden West, his membership 
 being in the Lassen Parlor. In April, 1906, he 
 was elected as trustee of the city for a term of 
 two vears. 
 
 THOIMAS LEMUEL BARHAINI. Among 
 the more successful farmers and stock-raisers of 
 Lassen county Thomas Lemuel Barham, of John- 
 stonville, holds an assured position. An upright, 
 honest man. he is recognized as a citizen of 
 worth, and is held in high esteem throughout 
 the comnumity. A native of Missouri; he was 
 born December 28, 1856, in Greenfield, Dade 
 county, a son of Charles and Martha (Courtney) 
 Barham, in \\hose sketch, which may be found 
 on another page of this volume, further ancestral 
 and parental history is given. 
 
 The oldest of a family of ten children, eight of 
 whom are living, Thomas Lemuel Barham was 
 very young when he came with his parents to 
 California. Brought up on the home rancli, he 
 acquired his early education in the district 
 schools. At the age of twenty-one years he 
 began the battle of life for himself, first follow- 
 ing farming and teaming, and then for three 
 years being employed as a clerk in Greenville, 
 Plumas county. By steady application to work 
 and the good habit he had of saving his earn- 
 ings, he accumtilated some money in the time, 
 and this he judiciously invested in land, buving 
 two thousand acres in Plats vallev. On this 
 ranch, which was largely meadow land, he raised 
 excellent crops of hay, and was extensivelv en- 
 gaged in raising cattle and horses, his brand 
 being a quarter circle J. Selling that farm in 
 1897, he came to Johnstonville and bought his 
 present large farm of three hundred and seventy- 
 five acres, it being the old Winchester estate, 
 King five miles east of Susanville. Here he is 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 403 
 
 actively employed in general farming and stock- 
 raising, his ranch being well watered by the Bug- 
 gytown irrigating ditch. He also carries on a 
 small dairy, and in the various branches of agri- 
 culture is meeting with well-merited success, the 
 greater part of his land being under cultivation, 
 and the improvements on his jjlacc being of a 
 good and substantial character. 
 
 In Reno, Xev., February 19, 1901, Mr. Bar- 
 ham married Mrs. Frances (McMurphy) Hem- 
 ler, who was born in Iowa, a daughter of H. 
 Harper and Dolly (Bailey) McMurphy, of whom 
 a brief sketch is given elsewhere in this work. 
 Mrs. Barham has four children, namely: Cherry 
 Clinton, engaged in farming in this valley ; 
 Laura .May, Charles Harper and Dolly Ruth. 
 Though not an aspirant for office, Mr. Barham 
 takes an intelligent interest in political matters, 
 and is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party. 
 He is now serving as school trustee of the John- 
 stonville district, and is a member and a director 
 of the Colonial Irrigation Company, which con- 
 trols the main water system of the .Susan river. 
 Fraternally he belongs to Lassen Lodge No. 149, 
 I'. & .\. M. : to Plumas Chapter No. 58, R. A. 
 M.; and to Janesville Lodge, I. O. O. F., while 
 Mrs. Barham is a member of Janesville Chapter, 
 O. E. S. 
 
 E. C. BROWN. The son of a southern 
 planter, and of Scotch-Irish descent, E. C. Brown 
 was born near Bayou Sara, in Louisiana, and his 
 father, Asa C. Brown, was also a native of that 
 state, having been born near Baton Rouge, and 
 spent the greater portion of his life in his native 
 state. He was a soldier of the Civil war, and 
 while fighting at the head of his regiment, of 
 which he was captain, he was killed at the battle 
 of Shiloh. His mother, formerly Ann Shouler, 
 was a native of Baton Rouge, born of German 
 parentage, and died when her son, E. C, was 
 only two years old. His paternal grandfather 
 was an extensive sugar planter in Louisiana. 
 
 E. C. Brown is the youngest and only one liv- 
 ing of a family of ten children, and was born on 
 May 15, 1833. Being left an orphan at an earl\' 
 age, he had to make his own way in the world. 
 
 He was only eight years of age when his father 
 was killed, and the war rendering property in the 
 southern states of little value, he was thrown 
 upon his own resources for a livelihood and edu- 
 cation. In 1874 he went to Baker county, Ore., 
 where he remained one year working on a ranch, 
 during this time saviiig sufficient money to en- 
 able him to attend a private school at Salem, 
 Ore., for a year. His brother, R. H. Brown, an 
 attorney-at-law, had come to California in 1861. 
 After prospecting in mines quite extensively, the 
 latter located in San Mateo county, where he 
 operated the White House ranch, formerly the 
 Willow Side ranch, for a time, and later died at 
 Pescadero. 
 
 Becoming interested in the west through his 
 brother, in 1876 E. C. Brown also came to this 
 state. In San Francisco he entered the Pacific 
 Business College, from which he graduated, then 
 went to Nevada, where he engaged in mining, 
 which he followed eight years, afterwards going 
 to Tuscarora, Nev., where he followed his trade 
 for a few years. Leaving Nevada, he traveled 
 to Old Mexico, remaining there but a short time, 
 when he went to Tombstone, Ariz., where he 
 lived about eight months. Going from there to 
 Birmingham, Ala., he later went to Butte City, 
 Mont., and finally returned to California and 
 located on a farm of peat land covered with 
 tules in Honey Lake valley, Lassen county. This 
 farm he transformed by ditching and general im- 
 provements into a fine meadow farm, upon which 
 he raises excellent hay. He owns some twenty- 
 three hundred acres of land, about sixteen or 
 seventeen hundred being devoted to hay, and in 
 connection with the operation of his land, he at 
 one time raised standard bred horses and cattle, 
 his Almont Patchen coach horse and other stock 
 taking the premium at the state fair. His brand 
 for cows was the number 16, and that for liorses 
 the inverted figure 2. He formerly ran a dairy 
 in which he had from forty to fifty cows, but 
 sold it in 1905, and purchased the store in Spoon- 
 ville. of which he is now the proprietor. Here he 
 conducts a general merchandise lousiness, in con- 
 nection with which he deals in agricultural im- 
 plements. In addition to this enterprise he runs 
 a flourishing creamery, during 1905 making fif- 
 
404 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 teen thousand pounds of butter per month. His 
 business interests are not confined to Spoonville, 
 for he conducts a branch house in Johnsville, 
 Pkmias county. 
 
 In Honey Lake valley Mr. Brown was mar- 
 ried to Miss Lettie Theodore, a sister of John T. 
 Theodore, a full account of whose career will be 
 found elsewhere in this volume. Seven children 
 have been born of this union, whose names are 
 as follows: Asa, Albert, Annie, Ella, Alfred, 
 Theodore and Rensselaer, all of whom are at 
 home with their parents. Mr. Brown is an ex- 
 member of the county central committee, and is 
 a stanch supporter of the Democratic platform. 
 He is a self-made and self-educated man, and 
 has worked his way from a small child with no 
 means, to financial affluence, and an influential 
 position in his county. He is liberal minded and 
 enterprising, taking an active interest in any 
 movement pertaining to the welfare of his com- 
 numitv. He owns a handsome residence at Reno, 
 Nev., where his family are now staying, but Mr. 
 Brown spends the greater portion of his time 
 looking: after his interests in California. 
 
 EMANUEL LAUER. Not only may the 
 distinction of having established the first store in 
 .A.lturas be conferred upon Mr. Lauer, but it 
 may also be said of him that he has built up a 
 mercantile business surpassed by none through- 
 out ]\Iodoc county and this section of California. 
 The firm o-f E. Lauer & Sons, of which he is 
 president, and which has a capitalization of 
 $200,000, owns a brick building 40x160 feet in 
 dimensions, stocked with a varied assortment of 
 merchandise. In the rear of the store is the 
 banking apartment, equipped with substantial 
 fixtures and provided with all the facilities for 
 the management of a general banking business. 
 A private telephone system connects the store 
 with the residences of the members of the finn, 
 also with their ranch of about twelve hundred 
 acres situated three miles from the village. Not 
 onlv have the partners been successful in their 
 store and bank, but also in their ranching inter- 
 ests, and they now conduct one of the most valu- 
 
 able ranches in the county, the tract being under 
 irrigation by means of a system costing $10,000. 
 The excellent water facilities render possible the 
 raising of alfalfa, to which four hundred acres 
 are devoted, and the owners alsO' engage ex- 
 tensively in raising grain and cattle. 
 
 The province of Bavaria, Germanv, is the 
 native place of Emanuel Lauer, and May 24, 
 1 83 1, the date of his birth, .\fter having com- 
 pleted his studies in the German schools he be- 
 gan to earn his own livelihood. In 1848 he 
 crossed the ocean and after an uneventful voy- 
 age of thirty days landed in New York on the 
 4th of July. For some years he remained in the 
 east, working by the day or month. In 1854 
 he came to California via the Isthnnis of Pan- 
 ama, and after spending six weeks in San Fran- 
 cisco he proceeded tO' Siskiyou county, where he 
 engaged in mining a short time. Next he bought 
 a small stock of goods and began merchandis- 
 ing, his principal trade being in miners" supplies. 
 In 1872 he sold out in Siskiyou count v and 
 came to Alturas, Modoc county, which then con- 
 tained but one house and that a mere shanty. 
 Here he started a store in a rude and hastily- 
 erected shanty. Soon he erected a large two^ 
 story stone structure and from there, in 1903, 
 he moved to his new building on the opposite 
 corner. In 1879 he erected a large flouring mill 
 of the burr process, but later a modern roller 
 equipment was introduced, and since 1890 the 
 father and sons have been partners in the man- 
 agement of the store and mill, while in addition 
 since 1904 they have conducted a private bank 
 for the accommodation of their customers. Keen, 
 capable and resourceful, they easily occupy a 
 position among the most enterprising men of 
 Modoc county, where their success has brought 
 them merited prominence and recognition. The 
 five sons, Benjamin, Isaac, Max, Arthur and 
 Julius, have inherited a large share of their 
 father's business ability and exceptional energy, 
 and by working unitedly for their mutual wel- 
 fare they have achieved a striking success. 
 
 In i860 Emanuel Lauer married Miss Fannie 
 Kuhn, a native of Germany. In addition to their 
 five sons they have two daughters. Sarah is 
 the wife of J. T. Laird and lives in Alturas, 
 
f3 -^ iy- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 407 
 
 while Rose M., Mrs. Max Cohn, makes her home 
 in San Francisco. The father and sons are 
 stanch Repubhcans in their political views and 
 aim to keep intelligently posted concerning move- 
 ments for the political and general good of their 
 town and comity. For some years Mr. Lauer 
 officiated as president of the town board and is 
 still a member of the same, besides which he 
 served as a member of the county board of su- 
 pervisors for a number of years. On the organi- 
 zation of the lodge of Odd Fellows at Alturas 
 he became one of its charter members and ever 
 since he has filled the office of treasurer. No 
 resident of Alturas has been more devoted to 
 its progress than he, and his aid has been de- 
 pended upon in every instance where measures 
 were instituted for the local welfare. A num- 
 ber of the mo.st substantial residences in Alturas 
 owe their presence in the town to his ambitious 
 energy; many local measures owe their existence 
 to his resourcefulness and mental acumen, and 
 indeed, when mention is made of the progressive 
 men of Alturas, the mind instantly reverts to the 
 name of Emanuel Lauer. 
 
 BENJAMIN L. JONES. Born in Schuylkill 
 county, Pa., May 22. 1854, B. L. Jones, who re- 
 sides at Ouincy, Plinnas county, is a well known 
 property owner and mining man of this count)', 
 and is the son of Noah and Ann (Thomas) 
 Jones, who came from Pennsylvania to Califor- 
 nia in 1854. Noah Jones came to the United 
 States when a young man and settled for a 
 time in Pennsylvania, where he engaged in 
 working in the coal mines for six years, then 
 brought his family via Cape Horn to Califor- 
 nia and located on Sutter creek, Sutter county. 
 Here he followed gold mining for two years 
 with fair success, then went to Sierra county 
 and spent a year prospecting and working in 
 mines at and near Monte Christo, afterward re- 
 moving to Eureka, where his death occurred two 
 years later, at the age of thirty-two years. In 
 politics he was a Republican. His widow, who 
 came to this countrv with him from Wales. 
 
 makes her home in Utah with a married daugh- 
 ter. She is now sixty-nine years of age. 
 
 Of the six children born to his parents, Ben- 
 jamin L. Jones is the eldest. His mother be- 
 ing left widowed with a family of small chil- 
 dren and limited means, Mr. Jones, who was 
 only nine years of age when his father died, had 
 to work to assist in the support of the fam- 
 ily. He remained with his mother performing 
 this filial duty until 1882. In the meantime, in 
 1 87 1 he purchased a ranch in Sierra valley, 
 Plumas county, near Beckwith, and followed 
 farming for six years. DisiKising of this farm 
 he engaged in mining at Johnsville, where he 
 discovered and operated the Sunnyside mine for 
 nine years. This mine proved very profitable 
 and when it closed down, Mr. Jones opened up 
 other prospects in that district with greater or 
 less success. In October, 1904, he came to 
 Quincy and purchased his present property, con- 
 sisting of three acres adjoining the town. When 
 he purchased it there was but one house upon 
 it, but he has since erected two more comfort- 
 able residences upon the property and rents two 
 of them, the location making them very desir- 
 able homes, lying as they do at the foot of the 
 mountain overlooking the American valley. 
 
 January i, 1889, Mr. Jones was married to 
 Miss Anna Hunt, who is a native of Iowa, where 
 she was reared and educated, but came to Cali- 
 fornia in 1887. For four years Mr. Jones was 
 ])ostmaster at Johnsville, and was also employed 
 !)>• Wells, Fargo & Co. as their agent. He is 
 a practical and successful mining man, having 
 won success by his individual efforts, persever- 
 ance and energy. In his political views he is a 
 stanch Republican. Enterprising and progres- 
 sive, he takes an active interest in all that per- 
 tains to the welfare of his vicinitv. 
 
 MRS. MARY E. HURLEY. During the 
 years in which she has engaged in educational 
 work Mrs. Hurley has esta1)lished an enviable 
 reputation for thoroughness of discipline and 
 skill in imparting knowledge to those under her 
 charge. Primary work has been her specialty, 
 
•iOS 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and for years the little ones in Susanville have 
 gained their first ideas of school under her 
 beneficent rule and sheltered by her protecting 
 love. Those who were her first pupils are now 
 out in the active world of society, business and 
 manifold responsibilities, but they have not 
 ceased to remember with pleasure her kindly over- 
 sight during their initiation into the work of the 
 schoolroom. Indeed, her association with the 
 schools of Susanville has been of the highest 
 value to the educational progress of the city. 
 
 Mrs. Hurlev is of eastern birth and ancestry 
 and was born in Worcester county, Mass., be- 
 ing a daughter of David A. and Fannie (Stick- 
 ney) Edwards, natives respectively of Massa- 
 chusetts and Vermont. The maternal grand- 
 father. Martin Stickney, was a native of Ver- 
 mont and a farmer by occupation. Very early 
 in the colonization of America three brothers 
 bearing the name of Edwards crossed the ocean 
 from England. One of these, a bachelor, bought 
 from the Indians almost all of Manhattan Island 
 and there made his home for some time, but 
 eventually he leased the property for one hun- 
 dred years. Later generations of the family 
 were unable to regain the property at the ex- 
 piration of the lease. For a considerable period 
 David A. Edwards engaged in the manufacture 
 of scythe snaths at Athens, Windham county, 
 Vt., and later engaged in farming in New Jer- 
 sey, where his wife died at forty-six years of 
 age. Thus left with three younger children, he 
 joined his two children in California and died 
 at .Susanville when almost eighty-four years of 
 age. Both he and his wife were faithful mem- 
 bers of the Baptist Church. 
 
 In the Edwards family there were four daugh- 
 ters and three sons, and of these the following 
 survive : Mrs. Cetara C. Leavitt, living near 
 Susanville; Mrs. Mary E. Hurley; Mrs. Etta 
 Ward, of Oakland ; Herbert, of Susanville ; and 
 Mrs. Florence DeForest, whose home is near 
 this city. Primarily educated in the public 
 schools of Vermont, Miss Mary E. Edwards 
 later attended school No. i6 in Brooklyn and 
 then prepared for teaching in the Brooklyn 
 Normal School. In 1864 she took passage on 
 the Costa Rica to the Isthmus of Panama and 
 
 from there sailed up the Pacific on the Golden 
 Age to San Francisco. After landing she at 
 once proceeded to Nevada and joined a sister, 
 Mrs. Leavitt, near Verdi. There she was mar- 
 ried, March 6, 1865, to George N. Bennett, who 
 was born in Maine, came west in an early day 
 and for years was a partner of Mr. Leavitt. In 
 the fall of 1866 Mr. and Mrs. Bennett moved to 
 Honey Lake valley and bought land seven miles 
 below Susanville, where they built a house and 
 made various improvements. In 1875, hoping a 
 change of climate would benefit ]\Ir. Bennett, 
 they removed to San Francisco, but he was not 
 helped by removal from the mountains and died 
 in 1876. Shortly afterward his widow returned 
 to Susanville, where March 16, 1880, she be- 
 came the wife of Dr. George Hurley, who was 
 born in Ohio, was graduated from the Keokuk 
 Medical College at Keokuk, Iowa, with the de- 
 gree of M. D., and came to California in 1876, 
 following professional work at Elmira and Vaca- 
 ville. From the latter town in 1877 he came to 
 Susanville, where he engaged in practice until 
 his death, August 6, 1880. Thus bereaved and 
 widowed, Mrs. Hurley found a field of activity 
 in educational work, and during the fall of 1880 
 became connected with the Susanville schools as 
 an assistant in the grammar department and a 
 substitute teacher. The following term she was 
 chosen to teach the primary department, where 
 she remained three years. 
 
 An important and remunerative position with 
 the schools of Junction City, Kans., was offered 
 Mrs. Hurley and promptly accepted, but after 
 she had spent ten days in that place she found it 
 would be necessary for her to return to the west 
 on account of her son's health, and she there- 
 fore resigned. After a year as teacher in Reno, 
 Nev., she spent a year in Los Angeles, and then 
 carried on a millinery store at Susanville for a 
 year. In 1887 she resumed her connection with 
 the Susanville schools, where she has since been 
 in charge of the primary department. When at 
 leisure from school duties, she enjoys the com- 
 fort of her neat home on Roop and Cottage 
 streets and also mingles in the social and religious 
 life of the community. Her children now are in 
 other parts, the son, Herbert W. Bennett, being 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 409 
 
 in Sacramento, while the daughter, fomicrl}- 
 Matie A. liennett, is the wife of A. L. Smith 
 and resides in Carson City, Nev. However, her 
 life is not a lonely existence, for she has the 
 affection of the pupils under her supervision, the 
 companionship of relatives living in this locality, 
 and the interests of the Order of the Eastern 
 Star, with which she has heen associated for 
 years, as well as her work in the Susanville 
 Methodist Episcopal Church, where she has of- 
 ficiated with intelligence and success as president 
 of the Ladies' Foreign Missionary Society and 
 the Ladies Aid SGcict\-. 
 
 LUTHER WELLINGTON BUNNELL. It 
 has been the privilege of Mr. Bunnell to witness 
 the development of the west during the more 
 than one-half century of his identification with 
 its history. When he was a young man, with no 
 other capital save energy, a robust constitution 
 and willing hands, he came, in April, 1852, from 
 his eastern home to seek a livelihood amid the 
 newer possibilities of the trans-Rocky regions, 
 and five years after his arrival in the state he 
 settled upon the tract of land in Butte valley. 
 Ever since 1869, the year of his location at this 
 place, he has engaged in general farm ])ursuits 
 on the ranch, which lies on the north fork of 
 Feather river, one mile east from Prattville, Plu- 
 mas county. During this long period he has 
 experienced misfortunes and enjoyed successes, 
 but the one has not dismayed him nor the other 
 unduly elated his spirit. Perhaps his heaviest 
 misfortune was that which befell him June 10, 
 1899, when his house and barns were burned to 
 the ground, together with all his household ef- 
 fects. Shortly afterward he erected a large 
 ■ hotel. The Bunnell, where now he entertains 
 travelers whom business matters or .social ameni- 
 ties bring to this section of the state. An attack 
 of rheumatism in the summer of 1904 injured 
 his health to such an extent that since then his 
 wife has managed the hotel, attended to the needs 
 of passing travelers and superintended the land, 
 all of which work she discharges with prudence, 
 assisted bv her daughter. 
 
 The Bunnell family was early established in 
 New England, but history does not give the ex- 
 act date of their arrival in America nor the exact 
 place of their first settlement. Caleb Bunnell, 
 father of Luther W., was a native of New Eng- 
 land, and there married Clarissa Dodge, who was 
 born and reared in Vermont. Some time after 
 their marriage they established a home in the 
 then frontier regions of New York, settling first 
 on a farm in Oneida county, but later removing 
 to Otsego county, where his death occurred at 
 Richfield Springs. His wife also remained in 
 that state until her death. Among their children 
 was Luther W., who was born in New Hamp- 
 shire September 21, 1830, and grew to manhood 
 on a New York farm, having but meager educa- 
 tional advantages. When he became twenty-one 
 years of age he left the old home and started out 
 in the world to seek a livelihood. Being at- 
 tracted to the west by reason of the discovery of 
 gold in California, he turned his steps toward 
 the Pacific coast and in 1852 gained his first ex- 
 perience of mining, an occupation in which he 
 met with moderate success. Subsequently he 
 came to Butte valley, Plumas county, and bought 
 a ranch, where he embarked in the raising of 
 stock. From there, in 1869, he removed to the 
 unimproved tract of land which he has since con- 
 verted into the well known "Bunnell" summer 
 resort. Its fine location and splendid comforts 
 attract many people each year. 
 
 On establishing domestic ties Mr. Bunnell 
 chose for a life companion Mrs. Julia (Hess) 
 Lee. a native of Herkimer county, N. Y., born 
 .■\pril 25, 1839. After having received a fair 
 education in Herkimer county schools Miss Hess 
 became the wife of James Lee, a native of Oneida 
 county, N. Y.. and two children came to bless 
 their union. The son, Charles Lee, is engaged in 
 ranching in Shasta county, this state, and the 
 daughter, Aliss Alattie. resides with her mother. 
 In the spring of 1852, Mr. Lee came to Califor- 
 nia via the Panama route and undertook the work 
 of mining in the Butte valley, where in 1854 he 
 was joined by Mrs. Lee. For a short time Mr. 
 Lee was in partnership with Mr. Bunnell, but in 
 1861 he removed to the Big Meadows near Pratt- 
 ville. where he remained until death. Later his 
 
ilO 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 widow was united in marriage with Mr. Bunnell. 
 In addition to the two children of her first mar- 
 riage she has reared two other children, five and 
 four years respectively, giving them a mother's 
 afifectionate oversight and kindly care. Among 
 the people of this locality where she has lived for 
 so many years she has warm friends, who admire 
 her sterling and kindly traits as wife, mother and 
 neighbor. In this friendly feeling Mr. Bunnell 
 also shares, having won the confidence and re- 
 gard of the people among whom he has spent 
 such a large part of his life, and who honored 
 him by electing him to the ofifice of member of 
 the county board of supervisors, a position that 
 he held for four years and filled with character- 
 istic public spirit and business acumen. 
 
 ORSON BIGELOW. Conspicuous among 
 the men who were largely instrumental in de- 
 veloping the rich mineral resources of northern 
 California was the late Orson Bigelow, of Sierra 
 Citv, who came here as soon as the stories relat- 
 ing to the wonderful golden treasures buried in 
 its soil were well confirmed, and here spent his 
 remaining vears. With the other pioneer emi- 
 grants, he labored with pick and shovel, and 
 whenever a day's labor was rewarded with a sat- 
 isfactory amount of the shining particles the 
 search was more eagerly pursued. As he accu- 
 mulated monev he invested it wisely, becoming 
 a part owner of the Bigelow mine, which yielded 
 him a comfortable income each year. A native 
 of New York, he was born November 19. 1816. 
 at Crown Point, Essex county, and was there 
 brought up on a farm, and educated in the dis- 
 trict school. 
 
 Becoming familiar with agricultural pursuits 
 while living beneath the parental roof-tree, Orson 
 Bigelow engaged in farming for himself soon 
 after his marriage, locating in his native town. 
 In April, 1851, his enthusiastic ardor being 
 awakened by the startling stories told of the 
 discovery of gold on the Pacific coast, he fol- 
 lowed the vast stream of emigration surging 
 westward, and located first in Yuba county, at 
 French Coral, Ore House District. Beginning 
 
 his mining operations in that vicinity he was 
 quite successful, and remained there and in 
 Monte Christo until about 1858, in the mean- 
 time obtaining title to a paying claim. Subse- 
 quently taking up his residence in Sierra City 
 he resided here untd his death, being actively in- 
 terested in the Bigelow mine, which was rich 
 with golden ore. This mine he operated until 
 1902, when he leased it, and from that time until 
 his death, which occurred July 4, 1894, he lived 
 retired from active business, passing his closing 
 years in peace and plenty. 
 
 October 19, 1848, Mr. Bigelow married Ar- 
 menia C. Webster, who was born January 24, 
 1826, in Hinesburg, \'t., and at the age of fifteen 
 years moved with her parents to Crown Point, 
 N. Y., where she was subsequently married. 
 Coming bv way of the Isthmus of Panama to 
 California in 1856, she joined her husband, who 
 was living on his claim, and according to the 
 custom of that time was given a pan of dirt from 
 his mine, and had the good fortune to take from 
 it $38.50. In 1858 the family removed to Sierra 
 Citv, and here established a home. Since the 
 death of her husband Mrs. Bigelow has sold 
 her interest in the Bigelow mine for the snug 
 sum of $10,000. She is a woman of culture and 
 refinement, giving evidence in her speech and 
 manner of her excellent New England training, 
 and, although never very robust, bears easily 
 her burden of four score years, retaining her 
 phvsical and mental faculties to a marked de- 
 gree. The onl_\- child born of the union of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bigelow was a son, John Alton, who 
 died at the early age of fifteen years and twenty- 
 nine days. Politically Mr. Bigelow was a Demo- 
 crat, and for many years was a member of the 
 .Sierra City school board. Fraternally he joined 
 the Odd Fellows when voung. 
 
 J.\MES J. MILLAR. The commercial and 
 financial interests of the Sierra valley have a 
 resourceful representative in James J. Millar, 
 whose name is indissolubly associated with the 
 growth and prosperity of Loyalton, Sierra 
 countv. antl whose interests are as varied as his 
 

 a 
 
 ii 
 
 J 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 413 
 
 abilities. Upon coming to hi.s present home 
 town in 1900 he entered on the duties of agent 
 for the Wells-Fargo Express Company and man- 
 ager of the Sierra \'alley Telegrapli Company, 
 which positions he fills at the present time. In 
 addition he organized and now acts as manager 
 of the Overland Meat Company, whose substan- 
 tial building he erected in partnership with II. 
 G. and J. L. Humphrey, the other stockholders 
 in the company. Besides his other interests he 
 has been cashier and manager of the Sierra \'al- 
 ley Bank of Loyalton ever since November i, 
 1904, the date of the establishment of that ])opu- 
 lar institution. 
 
 Although the earliest recollections of Mr. Mil- 
 lar are connected with the valley where he now 
 lives, his native place is far removed from the 
 scenes now familiar to .him. for Australia is his 
 birthplace. The family traces its 'lineage to 
 Scotland, and his father was a native of Canada, 
 but in early nianbod removed to Australia and 
 embarked in the lumber business. There he met 
 and married Agnes Harvey, who was born in 
 England and went to Australia in girlhood. In 
 1869 James and Agnes Millar came to California 
 from Australia and settled in Sierra countv, 
 buying a ranch four miles from Sierraville, 
 where he became a very extensive stock-raiser 
 and made considerable money furnishing beef 
 for mining camps. In 1903 he retired from ag- 
 ricultural pursuits and removed to Reno, Nev., 
 where, at the age of seventy-one, be is now liv- 
 ing, in the enjoyment of a competency accumu- 
 lated by years of arduous labor. His wife, who 
 is now sixty-eight, survives to share the com- 
 forts accumulated by. their united efforts. 
 
 .A^t the time of coming to California James J. 
 Millar, who was bom May 8, 1866, had but 
 reached his third year, hence he may be termed 
 a Californian in all but birth. His education 
 was secured in the public schools of the Sierra 
 valley and his agricultural training was received 
 on the home ranch. However, his tastes did 
 not lie in the direction of agriculture, and at the 
 age of twenty-four years he entered upon a busi- 
 ness career, becoming identified with the mer- 
 cantile interests in Sierraville, where he remained 
 until the date of his removal to Loyalton. In 
 
 political views he supports the Democratic partv 
 and takes a warm interest in its activities. 
 Elected to represent his township in the countv 
 board of supervisors, he served with efiiciency 
 from 1898 until 1902, and in other positions of 
 trust he has proved himself capable of advancing 
 the best interests of the people. Upon the or- 
 ganization of Loyalton Lodge No. 359. F. & 
 A. M., be became one of its charter members 
 and has since been interested in the philan- 
 thropies of the order. By his marriage to Miss 
 Lillie Olsen, a native of Sierra county, he has 
 two sons, Niles O., and Norman E. No citizen 
 of Loyalton is more deeply interested in its wel- 
 fare than Mr. .Millar, and none has contributed 
 more generously of time and means to move- 
 ments for the promotion of its commercial, finan- 
 cial, educational and philanthropic affairs. 
 
 JOSEPH G. CONKLIN. Prominent among 
 the progressive and successful agriculturists of 
 Modoc county is Joseph G. Conklin, who owns 
 and occupies one of the best improved and most 
 valuable farming estates to be found in Round 
 Valley. He has been an interested witness of 
 the many changes that have taken place in this 
 vicinity during the past twenty years, and has 
 contributed his full share toward the building up 
 of the section of the state which he determined 
 to make his permanent home. A son of Gamaliel 
 and Elizabeth (Ellsworth) Conklin, he was born 
 November 10, 1835, in Yates county, N. Y., 
 about five miles from Dundee. 
 
 Learning the trade of a carpenter in his native 
 state, Mr. Conklin migrated to Indiana in 1852, 
 locating as a carpenter at South Bend, where he 
 worked for a time on the court house then in 
 process of erection, subsequently being em- 
 ployed in the Studebaker Carriage Manufactory. 
 Going to Missouri in 1857, he followed his trade 
 in Bates county for four years, and from 1861 
 until 1862 was similarly employed in Iowa. 
 Crossing the plains in the latter year, he located 
 in Grand Ronde Valley, Ore., where he worked 
 as a carpenter, ranchman and teamster for four 
 years, after which he worked at his trade in two 
 
414 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of the leading cities of Oregon — Salem and Al- 
 bany. His health failing, he came to the Sac- 
 ramento valley, Gal., in 1870, locating near Wil- 
 lows, where he was engaged in carpentering for 
 five years. Going then to Tehama county, he 
 took up a tract of land lying about ten miles 
 west of Corning, and for ten years was em- 
 ployed in tilling the soil. Disposing of that 
 property he settled at Round Valley, Modoc 
 county, where he has since been extensively and 
 profitably employed in agricultural pursuits. 
 Purchasing five hundred acres of land that was 
 practically in its original condition, he has added 
 many and varied improvements, and as a raiser 
 of hay, grain and stock has acquired wealth and 
 distinction, his success as a general farmer being 
 recognized throughout this part of the country. 
 He also raises fruit of different kinds, including 
 apples, peaches, plums, pears and cherries, hav- 
 ing set out his large orchard himself. For 
 thirty years he also ran a threshing machine, 
 and after coming to Modoc county purchased 
 a sawmill, which he operated for a time, and then 
 gave to two of his sons. 
 
 In 1859, in Missouri, 'Sir. ConkUn married 
 Mary Jane Wells, a native of Iowa, and of their 
 union nine children have been born. G. D. is 
 living at home ; Charles \V., residing in Men- 
 docino county, married I^ura Hill, by whom he 
 has four children, Carrie, Xellie, Emma and 
 May ; E. E., renting a part of his father's ranch, 
 married Eliza Griffith, and they have three chil- 
 dren, John, Bessie and .Albert : William E., run- 
 ning a sawmill in Modoc county, married Lucin- 
 da Harris, by whom he has two children, Zora 
 and Rowena ; Emma, wife of William Rachford, 
 of Alturas, has two children, Arphabus and Dur- 
 rell; Minnie, wife of Samuel Griffith, residing 
 near Adin, has two children, Virgil and Qarence 
 Roy; Mittie, a twin sister of Minnie, lives at 
 Fallriver M'Ms, Gal., the wife of Harry Frasier ; 
 Ella, wife of Charles Ramsay, of Lassen county, 
 has two children, Fannie and Arthur; and 
 Robert, owning the sawmill in Modoc county in 
 partnership with his brother William, married 
 Rowena Harris. In his political affiliations Mr. 
 Conklin is a stanch Democrat. Fraternally he 
 is a member of Jefferson Lodge, F. & A. M., of 
 
 Jefiferson City, Ore., and of Red Bluff Chapter, 
 R. A. M. He fs a charter member of the Co- 
 operative Association of Big Valley. 
 
 ABRAHAM DILLON HOLMES. Dis- 
 tinguished not only as a representative of one of 
 the honored pioneer families of northern Cali- 
 fornia, but as a man of sterling integrity and 
 worth, the late Abraham Dillon Holmes is espe- 
 cially deserving of mention in a volume of 
 this character. Succeeding to the occupation of 
 his ancestors for several generations, he was 
 prosperously employed in agricultural pursuits 
 during his active career, becoming one of the 
 leading ranchers of Big Meadows. A son of 
 Isaac Holmes, he was born October 24, 1850, 
 in Indiana, and died December 8, 1901, on the 
 home farm at Big Meadows, Plumas county. 
 Isaac Holmes, with his wife, Elizabeth, came 
 across the plains with their family in 1858, lo- 
 cating first in Indian valley, and subsequently, 
 after trying different places, made a per;nanent 
 settlement at Big Meadows, where they spent 
 their remaining years on the ranch which they 
 had improved from its original wildness. 
 
 One of a family of eleven children, of whom 
 two sons and two daughters are still living, 
 Abraham Dillon Holmes came to California 
 when a lad of eight years, and in his early life 
 endured all the hardships and privations inci- 
 dental to pioneering. After the family settled 
 at Big Meadows, Plumas county, he did his full 
 share toward reclaiming a farm from the virgin 
 soil, and after his marriage took charge of the 
 home ranch of three hundred and twenty acres. 
 Skillful, energetic and progressive in his meth- 
 ods, he met with signal success as a general 
 farmer and stock raiser, and resided there until 
 his death. He brought a large proportion of 
 the land to a high state of cultivation, and as 
 time passed and his means justified, added other 
 improvements of value. In his political views 
 Mr. Holmes was a loyal Republican, and fra- 
 ternally he was a member of the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows. Classed by his fellow- 
 citizens as one of the public-spirited and enter- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 415 
 
 prising men of the township, he merited and re- 
 ceived the confidence and esteem of the com- 
 munity, and liis death was a cause of deep re- 
 gret. 
 
 October 13, 1871, near Oiester, Big Meadows, 
 Mr. Hohnes married M. Birdie Noble, who was 
 born in Kenosha, Wi.s., a daughter of Aaron 
 Noble. Jr., and granddaughter of Aaron Noble, 
 .Sr., a pioneer settler of \Visconsin. When a 
 small boy Aaron Noble, Jr., was stolen bv the 
 Indians, who kept him eight years, after which 
 he was rescued. Choosing farming for an oc- 
 cupation, he followed it in early life and later 
 engaged in mercantile pursuits in Kenosha, Wis. 
 Following the trail of the gold seekers, he came 
 across the plains in 1840, bringing with him his 
 oldest son. Reman Noble, who afterwards, as 
 captain of a company, served in the Indian wars 
 on both the Pacific coast and in Arizona. Re- 
 turning to Wisconsin after mining for several 
 months, he discovered the pass in the Rocky 
 mountains which in his honor was named Noble's 
 Pass. In 1852 he again crossed the plains, this 
 time bringing others of his children, who settled 
 in Yreka, he being captain of the train. Going 
 back to Wisconsin he married again, and after a 
 few years went to Missouri from, there with his 
 family. He made a third trip across the plains to 
 the Pacific coast in 1859, this time also as cap- 
 tain, and on his arrival settled with his wife and 
 children near Magalia. Butte county, where he 
 owned and operated a sawmill until his death, 
 in 1864. 
 
 Mr. Noble married Sarah Wookey, who was 
 born in Somersetshire, England, which was also 
 the birthplace of her father, George Wookey. 
 Immigrating with his family to the United States 
 in 1850, he settled on land near Kenosha, Wis., 
 nnd was there employed as a tiller of the soil 
 during the remainder of his life. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was ISIaria Bryant, was born 
 in England, and died, aged eighty-five years, in 
 Wisconsin. She belonged to a family noted for 
 their longevity, her father, James Culliford 
 Bryant, having lived to the remarkable age of 
 one hundred and nine years, while his wife, 
 Maria, died at the age of eighty-six years. Of 
 the union of George and Maria (Bryant) 
 
 \\'ookey. ten children were born, six sons and 
 four daughters, Mrs. Noble being the only resi- 
 dent of the Pacific coast. She was born January 
 24, 1 82 1, and now makes her home with her chil- 
 dren. 
 
 She is a strong Episcopalian in her religious 
 belief, and though upwards of eighty-five vears 
 of age is bright and active, her mental faculties 
 being seemingly unimpaired. She bore her hus- 
 ban<l four children, namely: Elizabeth, wife of 
 Burwell Johnson, of I'.ig :\Ieadows; M. Birdie, 
 widow of .Abraham D. Holmes, the subject of 
 this review; Mrs. Adella Burgess, of Shasta 
 county; and William George, who died at Red 
 Blufif, Gal., aged seventeen years. 
 
 Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Holmes six 
 children were born, namely: Leon, of Susan- 
 ville: Mary Edith, who died in infancy; Will- 
 iam, an electrician in Shasta county: Burwell, of 
 Susanville, Cal. ; Percy, attending the Susanville 
 high school ; and Lute. Soon after the death of 
 her husband Mrs. Holmes disposed of the farm 
 on which she had spent her married life, and also 
 the Blunt ranch, which she owned, and has since 
 resided in Susanville. She has invested a part 
 of her money in local property, having purchased 
 a livery stable in this city. She is a member of 
 the Qiristiaji church, and belongs to the Susan- 
 ville Lodge of the Daughters of Rebekah. 
 
 WlLLl.VM HENRY HALL. The active and 
 enterprising business men of Lassen county have 
 no more worthy representative than William H. 
 Hall, of Johnstonville. A successful miller, 
 farmer and stockman, he is prominently identi- 
 fied with the manufacturing, agricultural and 
 industrial interests of the community in which 
 he resides, and as one of the promoters and a 
 director of the California and Oregon Telegraph 
 Company has been an important factor in ad- 
 vancing the welfare of this section of the state. 
 A native of New England, he was born April 
 29. 1843, in Peru, Oxford county. Me., a son 
 of Davis Hall, and a brother of W. P. Hall, of 
 Susanville. in whose sketch, which appears else- 
 where in this work, a more extended account of 
 his i)arents and ancestors may be found. 
 
416 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 When a babe of six months WiUiam Henry 
 Hall was taken by his parents to Massachusetts, 
 and in the town of Waltham he was reared and 
 educated. After leaving school he learned the 
 plumber's trade, which he followed for eighteen 
 months. Desirous then of trying his luck in a 
 newer country, he started for the Pacific coast 
 by way of the Isthmus, sailing on the vessel 
 Northern Light to Aspinwall, and on the old 
 California from Panama to San Francisco, ar- 
 riving there March 12, 1861. He helped build 
 the first ditch in Johnstonville. afterwards mined 
 for a short time in Sierra county, and on re- 
 turning to lohnstouville embarked in the butcher 
 business. In 1864 he went to Humboldt City, 
 and for a year was engaged in mining and pros- 
 pecting in the Humboldt Canon. Returning 
 again to Johnstonville, he ran a fruit wagon over 
 the mountains from Chico to Honey lake, work- 
 ing up a profitable business. During the Wliite 
 j^ine excitement of 1869. with characteristic en- 
 terprise, he took a load of barley there, using 
 seven yoke of oxen in transporting it. and re- 
 mained there until the fall of that year. In 1872 
 he began working as a miller for his brother, 
 S. R. Hall, with whom, the same year, he pur- 
 chased the Lassen Flouring Mills at Johnston- 
 ville, which he assisted in running. In 1875 his 
 brother sold his interest in the plant to Mr. 
 Snyder, and Mr. Hall became senior member of 
 the milling firm of Hall & Snyder. This mill, 
 which was a burr mill, was the second mill built 
 in the vallev. and is the oldest now in this lo- 
 cality. It has been remodeled at different times, 
 and is now equipped with a full roller process 
 and produces a first grade patent flour. The 
 mill has ample water power and a capacity of 
 fift\- [barrels daily. 
 
 Mr. Hall also owns a farm of seven hundred 
 and twenty acres at the foot of Diamond moun- 
 tain, and raises hay. grain and stock, making a 
 specialty of breeding and raising French Per- 
 cheron horses. He is the president and a director 
 of the California and Oregon Telegraph Com- 
 pany, which he assisted in organizing, and is tele- 
 graph operator at the station in his residence. 
 This line passes through Plumas, Lassen and 
 Modoc counties, Cal., Washoe county, Nev., and 
 
 Lake county. Ore., and is of inestimable value to 
 the residents of this part of the Union. 
 
 At Johnstonville, Mr. Hall married Mary J. 
 Sififord, who was born in Stoddard county. Mo. 
 Her father, Henry Sififord, a native of Missouri, 
 crossed the plains with ox-teams in 1859, locat- 
 ing first in Nevada county, but coming in i8fi8 
 to Johnstonville, where he was engaged in farm- 
 ing until his death. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Martha Black, was born in Kentucky, 
 and now resides in Susanville. She bore him 
 eight children, five sons and three daughters, 
 Mrs. Hall being the fourth child in order of 
 birth. Mr. and Mrs. Hall have two children : 
 Jesse A., running the ranch ; and William H., 
 Jr., attending the high school. Politically Mr. 
 Hall is a true blue Republican, and for several 
 years was one of the school trustees, serving at 
 the time the new schoolhouse at Johnstonville 
 was erected. Mrs. Hall is a most estimable 
 woman, highly respected by all, and is a consist- 
 ent niemlier of the Baptist church. 
 
 ALFRED HENRY TAYLOR. The position 
 of receiver of the United States land office of 
 the Susanville district, first conferred upon Mr. 
 Taylor under the administration of President 
 McKinley, is still held by him under reappoint- 
 ment by President Roosevelt. Appointed the 
 first time in July of 1897, he removed immedi- 
 ately to Susanville, and in September began the 
 duties of the office, which he still discharges, 
 under a second appointment bearing date of 
 .April, 1902. The district consists of Modoc, 
 Lassen, parts of Plumas and Sierra, and a small 
 portion of Shasta and Tehama counties, the 
 whole comprising a large section of the north- 
 eastern part of California. 
 
 The family represented by Mr. Taylor is of 
 English origin. His father, Henry, was a native 
 of Norwich, England, and by trade a locksmith 
 and bellhanger. Just before the beginning of the 
 Civil war he removed his family from New York 
 City to Nyack, N. Y., where they remained dur- 
 ing the period of his service in the engineering 
 department of the navy. After a year of service 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 419 
 
 he was disabled to such an extent that he was 
 confined to his bed in the hospital for nine 
 months, and then was sent home a wreck of his 
 former self. Nor did he ever afterward rc<;ain 
 his health. In 1871 he removed to Kansas and 
 settled in Phillips county, where in 1877 he died 
 after years of suffering- from the effects of iiis 
 service during the war. 
 
 When a young man Henr_\' Taylor married 
 Mary Ann Jones, a native of London, England. 
 The family is of Welsh extraction and her 
 father, John Jones, was born in Wales. From 
 there he went to London, where he followed the 
 locksmith's trade. Eventually he crossed the 
 ocean to New York, and there remained until 
 his death. Some years after the death of Henry 
 Ta}lor his widow came to California, and her 
 death occurred in Modoc county when she was 
 sixty-four _\ears of age. In her family there are 
 six sons and daughters now living, namely : 
 Theodore, a minister in the Methodist Episcopal 
 denomination, now pastor of the church at New 
 Almaden, Cal. ; Alfred Henry, of Susanville ; 
 Mrs. Mary Holton, of Surprise valley ; John, a 
 rancher whose headquarters are at Eagleville, 
 Surprise valley; Mrs. Alice Perkins, of Wads- 
 worth, Nev. : and Mrs. Irene Poole, also of Ne- 
 vada. The members of the family are earnest 
 Oiristian workers and faithful members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. Their activitv in 
 church v.'ork is suggested by the fact that, at one 
 time, in addition to the ministerial services of 
 the eldest son, the other two sons and one daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Holton, were engaged in capable serv- 
 ice as Sunday-school superintendents. 
 
 During the residence of the family in New 
 York City .'\lfred Henry Taylor was born Sep- 
 tember 29, 1854. During boyhood he was a pupil 
 in the grammar school of Nyack. At the age of 
 sixteen years he went to Iowa and from there a 
 year later went to Phillips county, Kans., settling- 
 on land taken up by his father. In 1876 he came 
 still further west and settled in California, where 
 since he has made his home. .At first he engaged 
 in the dairy business in the Surprise valley, 
 Modoc county, but later he turned his attention 
 to the manufacture of butter kegs, meat tanks, 
 butter boxes, etc., in which he used staves braced 
 
 by galvanized iron hoops. When he received 
 the appointment as receiver of the I'nited States 
 land office he gave up the manufacturing busi- 
 ness and removed to Lassen county, where he 
 purchased one hundred and seventy acres in the 
 suburbs of Susanville. On this property he has 
 built a residence, planted a family orchard, placed 
 a considerable acreage under alfalfa and made 
 other improvements of exceptional value. 
 
 \Miile living in Modoc county Mr. Taylor mar- 
 ried Miss Fannie H. Traver, a native of Ver- 
 mont. Born of their union are three sons, Ralph, 
 Fred and George, the two latter being twins. 
 The family are identified with the Methodist 
 Episcopal church, which Mr. Taylor joined in 
 New York during boyhood and in which he has 
 officiated as a local preacher since 1880. During 
 the period of his residence in Surprise vallev he 
 assisted in founding the church there, and for 
 twenty-four years officiated as suix-rintendent of 
 its Sunday-school. Since moving to Susanville 
 he has filled the same office in this Sunday-school, 
 besides holding- the position of church trustee. 
 In politics he has been a stanch Republican ever 
 since ca.sting his first ballot. 
 
 LEWIS ALBERT MYERS. A successful 
 and enterprising famier of Lassen county is 
 Lewis A. Myers, who resides a quarter of a mile 
 from Clinton. He is a son of Lewis and Mar- 
 garet (Spangler) Myers, the former dying wdien 
 his son was only one year old. and the mother 
 two years later. The youngest of eight sons 
 born to his parents, Lewis A. Myers is a native 
 of Madi,son county, Iowa, bom October 30, i860. 
 .\t an early age he began to work out on farms, 
 and the only education that he received in the 
 schoolroom was meager and unsatisfactory. .\t 
 the age of seven years he was bound out to a 
 farmer, with w^hom he remained seven years. In 
 December, 1884, he came to California and lo- 
 cated near Susanville, Lassen county, where he 
 engaged in farming on one hundred and sixty 
 acres of land. Tliis was wild, unimproved land, 
 which he dispo.sed of one year afterward, and 
 going to Amedee, there entered mercantile life. 
 
420 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Diiring his residence there he became postmaster 
 of the village, but subsequently gave this up, and 
 after selling his mercantile interests removed to 
 Clinton in 1902. Renting the Lindberg ranch of 
 one hundred and sixty acres he engaged in alf- 
 alfa and stock raising. His brand for cattle is 
 the double quarter circle bar. In addition to his 
 farming interests he is engaged in the co-opera- 
 tive real estate business, and is meeting with de- 
 served success in his combined labors. 
 
 In Susanville, October 2. 1888, Mr. Myers was 
 united in marriage with Miss Evie Baldwin, who 
 was born in Yolo county, the daughter of Jere- 
 miah Baldwin, a native Kentuckian, who later 
 settled in Missouri, and in 1863 crossed the 
 plains by means of o.x-teams to the Sacramento 
 vallev. There he ejigaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits for a time, then went to Honey Lake valley 
 and improved a farm near Johnstonville, where 
 he died in 1889. His wife, formerly Verlinda 
 Tnissell, a native of Missouri, survives him and 
 resides with her children. Mr. and Mrs. Myers 
 are the parents of four children: Charles Oran. 
 Claude Albert, Fred William and Orville Henr\-. 
 Mrs. Mvers is a member of the Baptist church. 
 In politics Mr. Myers is a stanch Republican, 
 and at one time served as clerk of the board of 
 Riverside school district. Left an orphan at the 
 tender age of three years, and thrown upon the 
 world to make his own way, Mr. Myers became 
 a self-made man in the truest acceptation of the 
 term, having worked his way up, step by step, 
 to his present standing in the state. 
 
 JOHN SKEDGE BORRETTE. Industrious 
 and thrifty, and a man of sound judginent and 
 excellent business qualifications, John Skedge 
 Borrette holds high rank among the successful 
 agriculturists of Susanville and vicinity. He is 
 public-spirited, taking great interest in local 
 progress and improvements, and gives his hearty 
 support to all enterprises calculated to benefit 
 the public. A native of Baltimore, Md., he 
 was born November 28, 1852, a son of Valentine 
 John Borrette. His paternal grandfather, John 
 Borrette, was born in Suffolk, England. In 
 
 early manhood he emigrated to the United States, 
 settling in Philadelphia, Pa., where he followed 
 merchant tailoring until his death. He was a 
 man of much religious fervor and a member of 
 the Methodist church. He married Mary Skedge, 
 who was born in England, of Welsh ancestry, 
 and died in Philadelphia. Of their family of 
 two sons and four daughters, two children sur- 
 vive. 
 
 Valentine John Borrette was born and reared 
 in Philadelphia, his birth occurring in February, 
 1824. .\fter learning the machinist's trade he 
 went to Illinois, and for a short time was em- 
 ployed in agricultural work at McLeansboro. 
 Returning to Philadelphia, he embarked in the 
 theatrical business with his brother-in-law, 
 Jose])h C. Foster, for a time having charge of 
 the Chestnut Street Theater. He was similarly 
 employed afterwards in different cities, having 
 management of the Pittsburg Theater, Pittsburg, 
 Pa. ; of the Front Street Theater, Baltimore : of 
 Foster's Theater, which he and his partner built 
 in Cleveland, Ohio ; of the Academy of Music 
 in that city ; and of a theater in Rochester, N. 
 Y. From that city he went back to Pittsburg, 
 and after a brief stay went to Keokuk, Iowa, as 
 a theatrical manager, and from there to St. 
 L.ouis, Mo., in the same capacity. Soon after- 
 ward, in 1859, '1^ started with a stock company 
 for California, arriving November 20 in Honey 
 Lake valley, where the party was snowbound. 
 They were offered a big engagement in San 
 Francisco, but as their horses died they were 
 compelled to spend the hard winter in the valley. 
 Mr. Borrette turned his attention to lumbering 
 and logging, and then to farming and mining. 
 He spent twelve years in this manner, in the 
 meantime striking some rich mines. For the 
 benefit of his wife's health he then went to Pa- 
 louse, Wa.sh., where he bought land, and for 
 nineteen years was successfully engaged in 
 stock-raising and dealing. In 1903 he returned 
 to Honey Lake valley, and is now a resident of 
 Susanville. He married Amelia Bridges, who 
 was born in Brighton, England, and died in 
 Washington. Of their union four children were 
 born, namely : John Skedge, the subject of this 
 sketch ; Harry R., of Napa, Cal., Melville, who 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 421 
 
 (lied in Washington; and Amelia, wife of Davis 
 Cheney, of Washinjjton. 
 
 Cominij with his parents by ox-team train to 
 California when but seven years old, John 
 Skedge Borrette was brought up in Honey Lake 
 vallev, where his parents decided to locate after 
 being snowbound for the winter, and attended 
 the Susanville schools. He assisted as soon as 
 old enough in improving the ranch which his 
 father purcliased, obtaining a good knowledge of 
 the various branches of farming w'hen young, 
 and also worked at the carpenter's trade. In 1870 
 he went with his parents to Elko county, Nev., 
 and there followed mining and prospecting for 
 a time. At Pennsylvania Hill he discovered 
 eighteen ledges rich in ore, hut had not sufificient 
 monev to develop the mines, the ore having to 
 be hauled to Reno, so he sold out his interest, 
 having first, however, organized a company to 
 put up a mill. Returning to Susanville, he spent 
 two vears here, and in 1883 went to Whitman 
 count\-. Wash., settling near Colfax, where he 
 became owner of six hundred acres of land, and 
 engaged in grain and stock raising. In 1903 he 
 returned to Honey Lake valley, and here bought 
 the old Fred Hines farm, lying three miles east 
 of Susanville, and has since managed it with 
 great success. It contains four hundred acres 
 of land, over one-half of it being meadow, and 
 well adapted for the raising of alfalfa and 
 timothy. He also carries on a substantial busi- 
 ness in feeding stock, and is interested in the 
 Susanville creamery, of which he is one of the 
 directors and the manager. 
 
 WHnile in Washington Mr. Borrette organized 
 the first Farmers' Telephone Company, put up 
 the first pole line in that state for the use of 
 farmers, and served as president and manager 
 of the compan}' for ten years, making it a suc- 
 cess, and greatly benefiting the agricultural com- 
 munity. He al.so organized the Johnstonville 
 Telephone Company, and was its first president, 
 serving until his resignation. 
 
 In Susanville, Cal., Mr. Borrette married Net- 
 tie Bangbam, who was born in Honey Lake val- 
 ley, a (laughter of Eber G. Bangham, of whom 
 a sketch may be found on another page of this 
 volume. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bor- 
 
 rette has been blessed by the birth of three chil- 
 dren, namely : Bessie, who died in Susanville, 
 in 1903, at the age of sixteen years; Corinth, and 
 Amelia A. Politically Mr. Borrette is actively 
 identified with the Republican party. Frater- 
 nally he belongs to Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & 
 A. M., and Ixith he and Mrs. Borrette are mem- 
 bers of the Order of the Eastern Star. 
 
 GEORGE W. WRIGHT. Successfully en- 
 gaged in the prosecution of the independent call- 
 ing upon which our great nation so largely de- 
 pends is George W. Wright, a capable and skill- 
 ful agriculturist of Clinton, and a substantial and 
 respected citizen. His ranch is advantageously 
 located one-half mile south of the village, and 
 is well appointed and well kept, everything alx)ut 
 the premises indicating the thrift, industry and 
 keen judgment of its owner. A son of the late 
 David Wright, he was lx)rn December 29, 1843, 
 in Willshire, \'an \\'ert county, Ohio. On the 
 paternal side he is of Irish descent, and comes of 
 patriotic stock, his grandfather, Cyrus Wright, 
 having been born in Ireland, and after his emi- 
 gration to the United States having served in the 
 Revolutionary war, subsequently becoming a pio- 
 neer settler of Ohio. 
 
 Born in Ohio, David Wright was there brought 
 up on a farm. In 1844, before Wisconsin was 
 admitted to statehood, he moved to its first terri- 
 torial capital, Belmont, Lafayette county, and 
 was there engaged in the hotel business until 
 burned out. Going then to Nebraska, he settled 
 in Hamilton count}-, where he carried on general 
 farming until his death. lie married Mary 
 Purdy, who was born in ( )hio, of Scotch ances- 
 tors, and died in Honey Lake valley, at the home 
 of her son, George W. She bore her husband 
 four children, two of whom grew to years of 
 maturity, namely : George W., the subject of 
 this sketch ; and Mrs. Catherine Hooks, of Jack- 
 sonville, Ore. 
 
 Less than a year old when his jiarents removed 
 to Wisconsin, George W. Wright was brought 
 up in Belmont, receiving limited educational ad- 
 vantages. In the spring of 1858, at the age of 
 
422 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fourteen vears, he began to make his own way 
 in the world, until 1865 farming on rented land. 
 During the Civil war he offered his services to 
 liis country, enlisting in a Wisconsin regiment, 
 but on account of a defect in his left eye he was 
 not accepted. In 1865 he made a trip through 
 the western states and territories, visiting Ne- 
 braska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Illinois. Re- 
 turning to Wisconsin, he remained there until 
 1867, when he went to New York City to con- 
 sult an oculist, who advised him to seek a warmer 
 climate. Taking his advice, Mr. Wright came 
 bv wav of the Isthmus to the Pacific coast, land- 
 ing at San Francisco. Going thence to Dayton, 
 Nev., he was for two years there employed in 
 getting out wood for the quartz mills. Return- 
 ing to this state in Februar\', 1869, he worked 
 in the Sacramento brickyards until the following 
 November, winen he went to Stokes canon, Mon- 
 terey county, and spent the winter. 
 
 Locating in what is now Glenn county in July, 
 1870, Mr. Wright pre-empted one hundred and 
 sixty acres of land near St. John and began the 
 improvement of a ranch, which he has since 
 owned, it being now rented. In 1883 he located 
 in Tehama county, buying out a homestead claim 
 and subsequently purchasing adjoining land, and 
 on his fine ranch of four hundred acres resumed 
 his agricultural operations. Disposing of his 
 Tehama county property he moved to Honey 
 Lake valley in 1888 and bought his present farm 
 of six hundred acres, which has since been im- 
 proved bv the erection of fences and comfortable 
 and convenient farm buildings. Four hundred 
 and sixty acres are under cultivation to hay and 
 grain, and he makes a specialty of raising cattle 
 and horses, his brand being W T, with which 
 the cattle are branded on the right hip and the 
 horses on the right shoulder. He also pays some 
 attention to dairying, keeping forty or more head 
 of a good grade of coavs. 
 
 February 15, 1872, near St. John, Glenn 
 county, Mr. Wright married Mrs. Frances 
 (Springston) Senter, who was born in Lafay- 
 ette county, Wis., a daughter of James Springs- 
 ton. A native of Missouri, Mr. Springston 
 moved from there to Wisconsin, later going to 
 Montgomery county, Texas, where he worked 
 
 as a blacksmith until his death. He married 
 Elizabeth Goodrich, who was born in New York 
 and died in Texas. The oldest of a family con- 
 sisting of five girls, Frances Springston was 
 brought up in Montgomery county, Texas, and 
 there married for her first husband Giarles 
 David Senter. He died there in the prime of 
 manhood, leaving her with two children, namely : 
 Giarles, a farmer living near Standish ; and 
 James, who died on the home farm in September, 
 1903. In 1869 Mrs. Senter came with her sons 
 to Colusa county, to that part now included in 
 Glenn county, and made her home with an aunt, 
 Mrs. Martin Reager, until her marriage to Mr. 
 Wright. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Wright 
 five children have been born, namely : Mrs. Ollie 
 E. Cooper, living near here ; Mrs. Ada L. Hart, 
 of Susanville ; John H. ; Martin E. ; and Mary 
 E. A man of intelligence and public spirit, Mr. 
 Wright has evinced much interest in advancing 
 the educational interests of the different places 
 in which he has lived, and helped build the first 
 schoolhouse in his district in Glenn county, serv- 
 ing as school trustee while there, and subse- 
 quently serving in the same capacity in both 
 Tehama and Lassen counties. He is a Socialist 
 in his political views, and both he and his wife 
 are members of the Baptist church. 
 
 WILLIAM A. S PERRY. Numbered among 
 the well-known and respected citizens of Beck- 
 with, Plumas county, is William A. Sperry, who 
 as an industrious farmer and miner has acquired 
 some wealth, and is now living retired from the 
 active cares of business, although he is still iden- 
 tified with the industrial activities of the place. 
 A son of Abel Sperry, he was born September 
 9, 1837, in New York state. 
 
 A native of the Empire state, Abel Sperry 
 spent his earlier life there, being engaged prin- 
 cipally in tilling the soil. In 1840, hoping to 
 better his financial condition, he removed with 
 his family to Wisconsin, which was then a ter- 
 ritory. Taking up government land, he cleared 
 a farm from the wilderness, and there spent the 
 remainder of his life, dying at the age of sixty- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 425 
 
 five years. Politically he was a Whig in his 
 younger days, hut after the formation of the 
 Repuhlican party was one of its stanchest ad- 
 herents. His wife, whose maiden name was 
 Eliza Ueckwith, was horn in New York state, 
 and died in 185Q in Wisconsin. 
 
 But a small child when liis parents removed 
 to Wisconsin, William A. Sperry was there 
 reared, acquiring such education as was afforded 
 h}- the pioneer subscription schools of that terri- 
 tory. At the age of fourteen years, fired by a 
 youthful ambition to conquer all obstacles, he 
 bought his time, and began the battle of life on 
 his own account. After working as a farm hand 
 for a while he sought new fields of labor, and 
 for a number of seasons spent his winters in the 
 Wisconsin pineries, in the summer rafting lum- 
 ber down the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers 
 to St. Louis. Mo. In the spring of 1863, he 
 came by way of Panama to California. Locating 
 in Sierra county, he was engaged in mining and 
 prospecting at Pine Grove and Howland Mat 
 camps for about eight years, being fairly suc- 
 cessful in these operations. In addition, he also 
 furnished lumber for mines, but this undertaking 
 proved unfortunate, the companies failing, and 
 were unable to pav him for his timber. 
 
 Disposing of his interests in that county in the 
 fall of 1869, Mr. Sperry came to Plumas county, 
 and here took up government land in the Sierra 
 valley, about seven miles south of Beckwith. Im- 
 proving the property, he engaged in ranching 
 and stock-raising for many years, having a good 
 farm of four hundred acres, from which he 
 reaped a fair income. He was also identified 
 with different mining companies, at one time 
 owning fifteen Inmdred shares in the Franklin 
 Consolidated mines of Plumas and Sierra coun- 
 ties. In 1893 he rented his ranch and built a 
 residence in Beckwith, where he has since lived. 
 He has continued in business, however, for one 
 year running the hotel, subsefjuently working at 
 the car]ientcr's trade, then managing a small liv- 
 ery stable, and for the past two years being en- 
 gaged in the undertaking business. 
 
 July 16, 1869, Mr. Sperry married .\nna Mc- 
 Farland, who was born in Canada, and came to 
 Califnrnia in 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Sperry arc 
 8 
 
 the parents of three children, namely : Nettie M., 
 wife of S. B. Parish, of Beckwith; Nellie M., 
 wife of George Gates, a farmer near Beckwith; 
 and Lillie, wife of J. Duane, of Beckwith. Po- 
 litically Mr. Sperry is a stanch Republican, and 
 cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lin- 
 coln, He takes great interest in local matters, 
 and for a number of vears served as constable. 
 Fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows at Sierraville. 
 
 JOHN R. MURRAY. The mercantile inter- 
 ests of Greenville have a capable representative 
 in Mr. Murray, who has been a resident of the 
 place for more than a quarter of a century, and 
 meanwhile has risen from a clerkship to the man- 
 agement of a large and flourishing business of 
 his own. To an unusual degree he possesses en- 
 ergy and perseverance, and these qualities have 
 enabUd him, although he arrived in the town 
 with only $7.50, to attain independence and a 
 position of influence among the moneyed men of 
 Plumas county. In his store are to be found a 
 general line of groceries, dru,gs, china, hardware, 
 dry-goods, shoes and clothing, the whole form- 
 ing a general store of recognized value as a trad- 
 insi' place for everything needed in the home. 
 
 Descended from paternal and maternal ances- 
 tors who came from the highlands of Scotland, 
 John R. Murray was born in Nova Scotia March 
 4, 1 85 1, and as a boy alternated attendance at 
 school with work on the home farm. The family 
 were poor and the struggle to secure a livelihood 
 was arduous, so that he was obliged to begin for 
 himself when only fourteen years of age. Start- 
 ing out as a clerk in a general store, he remained 
 in the same place for ten years, and meanwhile 
 acquired a thorough knowledge of everything 
 pertaining to merchandising. At the age of 
 twenty-four \ears he came from his native land 
 to the more genial climate of California, and 
 since has made his home in the west. .After hav- 
 ing clerked in -San Francisco for two years, in 
 1877 he came to Plumas county and secured a 
 position as clerk in a general store at Greenville, 
 where he remained for three vears. .At the ex- 
 
426 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 piratioii of that time he bought the soda water 
 factory and operated the plant for a number of 
 years, but in 1887 sold out and turned his atten- 
 tion to mercantile pursuits. By the purchase of 
 a bankrupt stock of goods at a low figure, he 
 secured a start in business and since then has es- 
 tablished an important trade among the people 
 of his town and the surrounding country. Be- 
 sides the ownership of the store he has mining 
 interests and other investments of a somewhat 
 local nature. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Murray was solemnized 
 August 18, 1880, and united him with Miss Laura 
 C. Blood, daughter of John N. Blood. Although 
 born in Marysville, Mrs. Murray has spent prac- 
 tically her entire life within the limits of Plumas 
 county, of which her parents were influential pio- 
 neers. The four children born of her marriage 
 are Harold, Lucile. Kenneth and John R.. Jr.. 
 all of whom remain at home and have been given 
 excellent advantages in the local schools. The 
 family are contributors to religious movements 
 and take a warm interest in social affairs. Polit- 
 ically Mr. Murray is an active Republican, and 
 through recognition of his party work was chosen 
 postmaster, an office which he has filled for fif- 
 teen or more years. In fraternal relations he 
 holds membership with Sincerity Lodge No. 132, 
 F. & .\. M., at Greenville; also Lassen Qnapter 
 Xo. 47, R. A. j\I., and Lassen Commandery No. 
 13, K. T., both of Susanville ; further belongs to 
 Islam Temple, N. M. S., of San Francisco, in 
 which he holds a life membership, and with his 
 wife maintains a warm interest in the work of 
 the Eastern Star. 
 
 On April 18, 1906, Mr. Murray experienced 
 the earthquake in San Francisco, and upon his 
 arrival home started the relief fund in Indian 
 valley for the benefit of the sufferers, which was 
 responded to by the people most generously. 
 
 JOHN M. GORHAM. A man of enterprise 
 and ability, John M. Gorham is actively identified 
 with the business affairs of Sierra City, being 
 proprietor of one of its leading undertaking 
 establishments. A resident of the citv for more 
 
 than thirty-five years, he has ever taken great 
 interest in its industrial and financial growth, 
 and has gladly aided all schemes for advancing 
 its welfare. A son of George L. Gorhajn, he 
 was born, October 27, 1835, in Indianapolis, 
 Ind., of substantial Welsh stock, his paternal 
 grandfather having been born in Wales. 
 
 A native of Kentucky, George L. Gorham 
 settled in Indianapolis, Ind., when a young man, 
 and was thereafter a resident of that city, being 
 actively employed as a brick mason until his 
 death, at the age of sixty-three years. During 
 the Civil war he served as a guard, rendering- 
 good service to his countrymen. He married 
 Nancy Todd, who spent her entire life iii Indiana, 
 dying at the age of forty-three years, in 1849. 
 
 Leaving school when fifteen years old, John 
 ]\I. Gorham served an apprenticeship of three 
 years at the blacksmith's trade, at which he sub- 
 sequently worked in his native city, first as a 
 journe}-man, and then on his own account. Com- 
 ing bv way of the Isthmus of Panama to Cali- 
 fornia in i860, he located first at Grass Valley, 
 where he followed mining and blacksmithing 
 for nine years. Coming to Sierra City about 
 1870, he worked at his trade for about a year 
 and a half, when he opened a blacksmith's shop, 
 operating this until 1903. when he turned it over 
 to his adopted son, D. W. Derwater, and has 
 since confined his attention entirely to undertak- 
 ing, which he had previously started, and in 
 which he is meeting with good success. Mr. 
 Gorham has always been more or less interested 
 in mining and prospecting since locating in Cali- 
 fornia, but has been only moderately successful 
 in his ventures. He has acquired considerable 
 property, however, and is the owner of four 
 residences in this city, three of which he rents. 
 Although so long a resident of the Pacific coast 
 he has always been mindful of his early home 
 and friends, which he has visited on four different 
 occasions. 
 
 In Indianapolis, Ind., at the age of twenty-one 
 \ears, Mr. Gorham married Amanda Tout, who 
 was born in that city, and died in California in 
 1878. He subsequently married for his second 
 wife May Gorham, who was also a native of Indi- 
 ana. She lived but a few years after their mar- 
 
fl 
 
 r (JOwy^ivyt 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 427 
 
 riage, dying- in December. 1888. I\Ir. and Airs. 
 Gorham had no children of their own, but they 
 adopted a .son, D. W. Derwater, who is now 
 oijerating the blacksmith shop established by Mr. 
 Gorham. Politically Mr. Gorham is an active 
 and influential Republican, and has served three 
 terms of four years each as sujjervisor, having 
 first been appointed to fill a vacancy, after which 
 he was elected to the position, at the end of that 
 term being re-elected, and ser\'ing then from 
 January, 1902, until January i, igo6. During 
 four years of the twelve which he served he was 
 chairman of the board. He takes great interest 
 in educational matters, and for a number of 
 years has been school trustee. Fraternally he 
 is a member of Lodge No. 260, I. O. O. F., and 
 of Lodge No. 25, A. O. U. W., both of Sierra 
 City. 
 
 JAMES W. DENTEN. Ranking high among 
 the industrious and well-to-do agriculturists of 
 the Mohawk valley is James W. Denten, whose 
 fine ranch, lying about a mile from the village of 
 Mohawk, compares favorably in its improvements 
 and appointments with any in the locality. He is 
 a general farmer, dairyman and stock-raiser, and 
 also keeps a hotel, but has no bar in his house. A 
 son of the late James C. Denten, he was born 
 October 5, 183 1, in Fountain county, Ind., where 
 he grew to man's estate. 
 
 Born and brought up in Kenriicky, James C. 
 Denten left his native state when a young man, 
 going first to Ohio, where he later enlisted as a 
 soldier in the war of 18 12, for his services there- 
 in receiving a land warrant for one hundred and 
 sixty acres of land. He subsequently settled in 
 Indiana, where he became the owner of a latge 
 tract of wild land, from which he cleared a good 
 farm, which he managed successfully until his 
 death, at the comparatively early age of fifty- 
 four years. His wife, whose maiden name was 
 Malinda Graham, was born in Ohio, and died, in 
 1866, in Indiana, aged seventy years. 
 
 Brought up on the home farm, James W. Den- 
 ten obtained his early education in the pioneer 
 schools of his dav. and under his father's instruc- 
 
 tions became familiar with the various branches 
 of agriculture. On coming of age he started for 
 himself, going first to Irofjuois county, 111., 
 where he worked as a farm hand, and became 
 owner of some stock. Proceeding thence to Iowa, 
 he took up land in Page county, and from it 
 cleared and improved a farm, which he managed 
 until 1862, when he rented it, and entered the 
 service of his country. Enlisting August 23, 
 1862. in Company F, Twenty-third Iowa Vol- 
 unteer Infantry, he spent the first winter in the 
 Ozark mountains, looking after Marmaduke and 
 his followers. Going then to Yicksburg, he sub- 
 sequently took an active part in engagements at 
 Champion Hills and Black River Bridge, and at 
 the siege of Vicksburg. He was afterwards lo- 
 cated in Jackson, Miss., then in New Orleans, 
 from there going to Texas, where he assisted in 
 taking Fort Esperanza. In the spring of 1864 
 his regiment was sent up the Red river with Cjcn- 
 eral Banks, and thence down the Mississippi river 
 to Mobile, Ala., where he was stationed until the 
 close of the war. Being then ordered with his 
 comrades to Texas, he was nnistered out of serv- 
 ice at Harrisburg, that state, July 26, 1865, hav- 
 ing served for three years, and although m sev- 
 eral engagements escaping without injury. 
 
 Returning then to Iowa, where he left his wife 
 and two babies when he enlisted, Mr. Denten re- 
 sided there a short time, and then moved to 
 .Vtchison county. Mo., where he bought land, and 
 was engaged in general farming' for a number of 
 years. Selling out his possessions in the spring 
 of 1876 he came to the Pacific coast, and after 
 visiting Oregon and different places in California 
 arrived in the Mohawk valley in October of that 
 year. Pleased with the prospects, he rented land 
 for a year, and then bought from the govern- 
 ment a portion of the land now included in his 
 home ranch, and has since resided here. In his 
 farming operations he has been very successful, 
 and from time to tiine has bought other land, 
 having now five hundred and forty acres in his 
 home ranch, two hundred acres being meadow 
 and valley land, and the remainder timber land. 
 He also owns and manages another ranch of one 
 hundred and sixty acres of timber. He raises 
 stock of a high grade, keeps an excellent dairy, 
 
428 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and as a general rancher is meeting- with fine re- 
 sults. 
 
 January 3. 1858, in Page county, Iowa, Mr. 
 Denten married Mary J. Groves, who was born 
 in Ohio, and died October 27, 1877, just after 
 settling in Plumas county. Eight children, were 
 born of their union, one of whom died in in- 
 fancy, and seven are living, namely : William 
 Jackson, of Boise City. Idaho, engaged in min- 
 ing; John G., engaged in teaming at Mountain 
 Home, Idaho : Joseph H., a miner and prospector, 
 living in Baker City, Ore.; Willard F., of Wash- 
 ington ; \'iola A., at home ; Cora E., wife of Will- 
 iam Weseman, of Idaho ; and Lillian, wife of 
 Edward Burk, a ranchman in the Mohawk val- 
 ley. Politically Mr. Denten is a Republican, and 
 for eight years served as supervisor. 
 
 LOUIS THIBAULT. Distinguished not only 
 for his honorable record in the Civil war, but 
 as one of the leading agriculturists of Lassen 
 county, and as a man of integrity and sound busi- 
 ness principles, Louis Thibault, of Susanville, 
 is especially worthy of representation in this 
 volume. A son of the late Belloni Thibault, he 
 was born in Quebec, Canada, June 6, 1847. His 
 grandfather, Prosper Thibault, a life-long 
 farmer in Quebec, came of French Huguenot 
 stock. He became the immigrant ancestor of the 
 Thibault family in America, like the Breton 
 family, having been forced to leave France on 
 account of political persecutions. A native of 
 Quebec. Belloni Thibault followed the CK:cupa- 
 tion to which he was reared, being engaged in till- 
 ing the soil until his death, in July, igoi. He 
 married Mary Jacques, who was born in Quebec, 
 and died in her native city in 1899. Of the 
 twelve children that blessed their union, all sur- 
 vive, Louis being the first-born. 
 
 Obtaining the rudiments of an education in 
 the district school, Louis Thibault left home when 
 eleven years old and from that time has been 
 self-supporting. He started from Quebec on 
 board the steamer Merritt, which was bound for 
 Cuba with a load of horses and provisions. The 
 steamer was wrecked off the coast of Nova 
 
 Scotia and put into Halifax for repairs, and be- 
 ing too badly damaged to proceed on the trip the 
 crew was paid ofif. Young Louis Thibault 
 walked from there to St. John, New Brunswick, 
 from there going as a stowaway to Eastport, 
 Me., and continuing westward to Portland, Me., 
 where he worked as a farm hand for a time. 
 Returning to Quebec, he stayed there a brief 
 time, and then proceeded to Buffalo, N. Y., 
 wdiere he served an apprenticeship at the ma- 
 chinist's trade. In 1861 he went to East Trov, 
 N. Y., and in the fall of diat year offered his 
 services to his adopted country. Enlisting in 
 Company D, Eleventh New York Regulars, Mr. 
 Thibault was first located on Governor's Island, 
 and subsequently, under General ]\IcClellan, took 
 part in several important engagements, including 
 the battle of Nashville, Tenn., Vicksburg, and 
 Richmond, Va. At the latter city, his term of 
 enlistment having expired, he veteraned, and 
 campaigned through Virginia and North Caro- 
 lina, serving until the close of the war, when he 
 was honorably discharged. After a short visit 
 at his Canadian home he returned to the United 
 States, and at once enlisted in the Fourteenth 
 New York Regiment, U. S. A., for service against 
 the Indians, and came by way of Panama to 
 California. On arriving in San Francisco the 
 regiment was split up and Mr. Thibault was as- 
 signed to Company A, Ninth United States In- 
 fantry, and served under General Crook at Fort 
 Bidwell, where he assisted in building the first 
 camp. He took part in the Piute Indian war. 
 and afterwards, in 1868, was mustered out of 
 service at Fort Bidwell. 
 
 Locating immediately in Horse Lake valley, 
 Mr. Thibault purchased land, and for a number 
 of years was engaged in general ranching and 
 stock-raising. Disposing of that ranch in 1886, 
 he moved to eastern Oregon, entered land in 
 Grant county, on Silvies river, and improved a 
 valuable ranch of six hundred and forty acres, 
 wdiich he still owns. He labored with character- 
 istic energy, erected a fine residence and good 
 farm buildings, and engaged extensively in stock- 
 raising and dairying, for which the farm was 
 well adapted, having fine bottom lands for rais- 
 ing hay, and being well watered by springs of 
 
'(2^^>^^^ 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 431 
 
 clear, ice-cold water. Me kej)! a dairy of forty 
 cows, making a specialty of manufacturing but- 
 ter of a superior grade. Two years after the 
 death of his father-in-law. Sampson Williams, 
 in OctolK-r. 1901, Mr. Thihault came to Susan- 
 ville and bought tlie Williams estate, which ad- 
 joins the town on the west. Here he has two 
 Innidred acres (if fertile land, irrigated by water 
 from the Susan river, and is continuing his farm- 
 ing operations with satisfactory results. 
 
 Mr. Thihault has been twice married, first, in 
 Susanville, to Etta Shumway, who was born in 
 Minnesota, and died in Oakland, Cal., leaving 
 one child, Winfield Scott ; for a second wife he 
 married, in Susanville, Nellie Williams, who was 
 horn in Mar.shall county, Iowa. Her father, the 
 late Sampson Williains, was horn in Charles- 
 ton, S. C, a son of Victor Levan Williams. He 
 migrated westward when young, locating first in 
 Indiana, then in Johnson county, Iowa, and later 
 in Marshall county. In 1861 he came across the 
 plains with his famil\' to Lassen county, and lo- 
 cated near Susanville on the Williams ranch, 
 which he bought in 1868, residing here until his 
 death, in 1899, at the age of seventy-five years. 
 His wife, whose maiden name was Malinda J. 
 Wood, was born in Harding county, Ky., and 
 now resides in Susanville. She has three chil- 
 dren living, Mrs. Thihault being the second in 
 order of birth. Mr. and Airs. Thibault have one 
 child, Blanche, the wife of Bert Troxell, of 
 .Susanville. Mr. and Mrs. Troxell have one son, 
 Louis F. Politically Mr. Thibault is an uncom- 
 promising Republican, and while living in ('.rant 
 county, Ore., served as school trustee, and for 
 awhile was postmaster at Madeline, Lassen coun- 
 ty. .'\t the age of twent}'^four years he was 
 made a Mason, and is now a member of Lassen 
 Lodge No. 149, F. & .A^. M. ; and of Lassen 
 Oiapter No. 47, R. A. M. Both he and his 
 wife belong to Hesperian Lodge No. Ii2, O. F. 
 S. ; and to Amaranth Lodge, Honey Lake Court 
 No. I, of which Mrs. Thibault is treasurer. 
 
 WILLIAM .MILTON CAIN. At an early 
 period in the settlement of Ainerica the family 
 represented b}' this pioneer of Lassen county he- 
 
 came established in the colony of Virginia and 
 later generations moved still further south. 
 George C, son of Robert, was born and reared 
 in South Carolina, but became an early settler 
 of Missouri, where he improved a farm in Wash- 
 ington county. During 1859, accompanied by his 
 wife and children, he made the overland journey 
 to California via the Humboldt river and Beck- 
 with Pass. After a year in the Santa Gara val- 
 ley he removed to San Joaquin county and took 
 up farm pursuits, remaining there until his death 
 in 1868, at fifty-five years of age. I '.e fore leav- 
 ing Missouri he had nut and married Abigail 
 Cole, who was born in Kentucky and at seven 
 years of age accompanied her parents to Mis- 
 souri, where her father, Aquilla Cole, became a 
 pioneer farmer of Washington county. .After 
 the death of her husband she continued to reside 
 in California and now makes Pacific Grove her 
 home, enjoying fair health for one of such great 
 age (ninety-five years). Of her family of eleven 
 children four are now living, William .Milton be- 
 ing the eldest of the number. Horn on the 
 homestead in Washington county. Mo.. Decem- 
 ber 20. 1835, he early began to assist in the clear- 
 ing of the land and when he could be spared from 
 home he was allowed to attend a subscription 
 school, conducted in a log building, equipped 
 with slab benches and the other |)rimitive fur- 
 niture of those days. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Cain was solemnized in 
 .St. Francois county. Mo., January 3, 1858, and 
 united him with Miss Margaret Mitchell, a na- 
 tive of Wa.shington county, that state, and a 
 daughter of Alfred and Iris (Pinson) Mitchell. 
 Her father, who was a Kentuckian by birth, 
 moved to Missouri during the early ])eriod of 
 that state's settlement and remained a farmer 
 there until his death. In that county he met 
 and married a daughter of Aaron Pinson, a 
 Kenttickian who ranked among the very earliest 
 settlers of Washington county; Mrs. Iris Mit- 
 chell was born and reared in that county and re- 
 mained a resident of Missouri until death. Of 
 her five children three survive. Mrs. Cain was 
 fourth in order of birth and is the only one in 
 California. Born of her marriage are seven 
 children, namelv : George, who lives in Reno, 
 
432 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Nev., and owns a farm near Standish ; Frank, 
 residing at Susanville ; Mrs. MoUie JNIeylert, of 
 Susanville ; Charles, who conducts a meat busi- 
 ness in Reno; Fred, a rancher by occupation and 
 a resident of Susanville ; Lillian, who died at 
 sixteen years; and William, who is engaged in 
 farming in this valley. 
 
 It was on the loth of May, 1859, when Mr. 
 Cain started for California with wagons and 
 oxen, bringing with him a herd of cattle, and 
 traveling via .St. Joseph, up the Platte river, turn- 
 ing off at Soda Springs, following the Humboldt 
 route and on to Honey lake, where he arrived on 
 the nth of October after a safe and uneventful 
 trip. The winter that followed was the most 
 severe he has ever seen in this region and many 
 of his cattle were lost before spring reached the 
 valley; During the summer he farmed land and 
 in October took a bunch of stock to the Sac- 
 ramento river in Tehama count}', but in the 
 spring of 1861 returned to Susanville via the 
 Hat creek route. Soon thereafter he rented a 
 tract of land near Janesville, in the southern part 
 of Lassen county, and there gave his attention 
 to agricultural pursuits. During 1867 he pur- 
 chased a farm of four hundred and twenty acres 
 one and one-quarter miles north of Janesville, 
 where he conducted a dairy of sixty cows and 
 raised hay for feed. In those days the milk 
 was put in pans and the cream skimmed by 
 hand ; each day from fifty to sixty pounds of 
 butter were churned, and the product was sold 
 in A'irginia City at about fifty cents per pound. 
 Durham cows were used exclusively, and it was 
 said that he had the finest herd of dairy cattle in 
 Lassen comity. After having conducted a profit- 
 able industry for years he left the farm and in 
 1 88 1 moved to Susanville, in order that his chil- 
 dren might enjoy desired educational advantages. 
 There he conducted a livery business for a year 
 and then bought one hundred acres adjoining 
 town on the south. Fifteen acres of the land 
 were in an orchard, while the balance he cleared 
 and devoted to the raising of grain and hay, his 
 specialty being alfalfa. Eventually the property 
 was sold to a son and he now lives retired from 
 active cares, and, in the possession of a compe- 
 
 tency sufficient for his needs, is passing the twi- 
 light of his busy existence in Susanville. 
 
 HENRY SNYDER. As one of the proprie- 
 tors of the Lassen Flour Mills, being junior 
 member of the firm of Hall & Snyder, Henry 
 Snyder is carrying on a thriving manufacturing 
 business, his plant being the oldest and best known 
 of any in the county. He is a map of genuine 
 worth, and during his long residence in John- 
 stonville has won the confidence and esteem of 
 his fellow-townsmen in a marked degree, and is 
 eminently deserving of the high regard and es- 
 teem in which he is held. A son of Jacob Snyder, 
 lie was born June 20, 1834, in Wooster, Wayne 
 county, Ohio. His grandfather, Nicholas 
 Snyder, was born and reared in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Bom in 1801, in Chambersburg, Pa., Jacob 
 Snyder grew to manhood on his father's farm, 
 there becoming familiar with agricultural pur- 
 suits. He subsequently removed to Wooster, 
 Ohio, where he followed shoemaking for a few 
 years. Taking advantage of cheap lands far- 
 ther west, he went to Indiana, settling in Elk- 
 hart county, where he was employed in general 
 farming until his death, at the age of fifty-three 
 years. He married Fannie Layhman, who was 
 born in Pennsylvania, and died, at the age of 
 sixty-four years, in Indiana. Of the thirteen 
 children born of their union, twelve grew to years 
 of maturity, and five are living, Henry, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, being the seventh child in 
 order of birth, and the only one in California. 
 One son, Jeremiah, served in the Civil war, be- 
 longing to the Twenty-ninth Indiana Volunteer 
 Infantry. 
 
 At the age of eight _\ears Henry Snyder ac- 
 companied his parents to Indiana, and as soon as 
 old enough helped his father to clear a farm 
 from the dense wilderness in which the family 
 settled, the land being situated on the St. Joseph 
 river. He received such educational advantages 
 as were offered by the common schools of that 
 day, and at the age of twenty years began learn- 
 ing the miller's trade in the Elkhart Mills, work- 
 ing as an apprentice for eighteen months. In 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 433 
 
 1855 lio went to Decorah, Iowa, and from there 
 to Freeport, where he completed his trade. Join- 
 ing a party bound for Pike"s Peak in 1859. he 
 .started with an ox-team train across the plains, 
 but meeting many returning from tlie Peak tlie 
 httle band became discouraged and decided to 
 change their plans and come to California instead. 
 Going up the Platte river, they took advantage 
 of Sublet's cut-ofif, and came along Bear river 
 to Tuolumne county. Stopping while on the 
 way at Mrginia City, Air. Snyder drove the first 
 wagon into that city, which was then but a mass 
 of boulders. There was great excitement there 
 at the time on account of the finding of some 
 rich ore, and he was offered tw'o hundred feet of 
 Comstock ledge for his three yoke of oxen. Not 
 realizing the value of the rocky ground he re- 
 fused the offer and proceeded with his partv to 
 Tuolumne county, where he remained until the 
 fall of i860. Returning east then by way of 
 Panama, he carried on milling in Iowa for five 
 }ears. In 1865 he again crossed the plains with 
 ox-teams, locating in Butte county near Qiero- 
 kee Flat, and was there employed in lumbering 
 and milling for three years, working in the mills 
 belonging to Senator Perkins. 
 
 In 1 87 1, after spending a winter in mining pur- 
 suits in Plumas county, Mr. Snyder came to 
 Lassen county, and for two years was an em- 
 ploye in the Lassen Flour Mills in Johnstonville. 
 In 1873 he purchased a half interest in the plant, 
 and has since carried on a flourishing business in 
 partnership with Mr. Hall. The mill is four 
 stories in height, and under the management of 
 its present proprietors has been entirely re- 
 modeled, having been changed from a burr mill 
 to a full roller process plant, which is operated 
 by water power and is equipped with the most 
 approved machinery. 
 
 In Winneshiek county, Iowa, Mr. Snyder 
 married Alary E. Heckert, who was born in Mis- 
 souri, and died in 1865, while crossing the plains, 
 her bod\- being buried at the California crossing 
 of the Platte river. She bore her husband four 
 children, namely : William, of Goldfield, Colo- 
 rado ; Mrs. Fannie M. Heffner, a widow, living 
 in Butte county ; Libbie Alice, who died at the 
 age of twent\-four years : and Platte, a twin of 
 
 Libbie .Mice, wIid died on the plains when an 
 infant. 
 
 September 17, 1879, near Johnstonville, Mr. 
 Snyder married Mrs. Mattie (Powers) McColm, 
 who was born in Warren county, III., a daughter 
 of John Milton Powers. She comes of substan- 
 tial Irish ancestry, her paternal grandfather, 
 John M. Powers, having been born in Dublin, 
 Ireland. He immigrated to America when young, 
 settling first in Ohio, from there removing to 
 Illinois and settling on a farm near Galesburg, 
 where he was an extensive agriculturist and a 
 large landholder. He served as a soldier in the 
 Black Hawk war. John Milton Powers was 
 born in Ohio, but moved with the fann'ly to Illi- 
 nois, and commenced life for himself as a farm- 
 er near Galesburg. In i86i he came across 
 the plains with liis wife and eight children, lo- 
 cating in Plumas county, near (ireenville. In 
 1864 he went to the Sierra valley, thence to Co- 
 lusa county, where he resided several vears, al- 
 though his last days were spent with Mr. and 
 Airs. Snyder in Johnstonville. Mr. Powers mar- 
 rieil Martha Jane Riley, a daughter of Jolin . 
 Riley. She was born in Illinois, and died in 
 Greenville, Plumas county, in 1863. She was the 
 mother of eight children, one of whom, Colby 
 Powers, .served in the Civil war. an<l died from 
 wounds received while in the army. In 1861 
 Mattie Powers came with the family to Cali- 
 fornia, and on October 8, 1865, in Greenville, 
 married ^^'illiam Bascom McColm, who was 
 lx)rn in Ohio, went to Pike's Peak in 1859, from 
 there coming to California. He was engaged 
 in mercantile pursuits, being an expert bookkeep- 
 er and accountant. He died October 9, 1876, 
 being burned in the Plattville hotel. Two chil- 
 dren were born of their union, one of whom is 
 living, James D., engaged in mining at Bull 
 Frog, Nev. Politically Mr. Snyder is a loyal 
 Democrat, and served one term as supervisor, 
 being chairman of the board. Fraternally he is 
 a member cif Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & A. M. ; 
 of Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. AT.; and of 
 Lassen Con.mandery No, 13, K. T. Airs. Sny- 
 der is a woman of culture and talent, possess- 
 ing great artistic abilit\-. She belongs to the 
 
434 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Order of the Eastern Star, being a charter mem- 
 ber of the Janesville Lodge, and is a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 GEORGE F. MYERS. As the name would 
 indicate the Myers family is of German origin, 
 and the first representative in the United States 
 was the grandfatlier. John Alyers, who settled in 
 the land of the free when a young man. In 
 his native land he followed gardening, but in 
 New York state, where he lived for many years, 
 he carried on farming exclusively. During his 
 latter years he removed to Illinois, in which state 
 his children had taken up their homes, and there 
 his earth life came to a close when he was sixty 
 years of age. The father, John J. Myers, was 
 born on the homestead farm in New York state, 
 and in performing his share of the duties per- 
 taining thereto he liecanie an all-around agricult- 
 urist, well fitted to take responsibilities in his own 
 behalf at an early age. In 1836, when Illinois 
 was still considered a part of the frontier, he 
 went to the new country and took up govern- 
 ment land near Naperville. Settling down to the 
 life with which he was most familiar, he carried 
 on farming there the remainder of his life, pass- 
 ing away at the age of ninety-four years. His 
 marriage united him with Lorilla Stolp, who was 
 also clescended from German ancestors, although 
 both herself and her father were natives of New 
 York state. Mrs. Stolp was born in New Hamp- 
 shire. Mrs. Myers located in the middle west the 
 same year in which her husband located in Illi- 
 nois, 1836, and her death occurred on the home- 
 stead in the latter state. 
 
 Born in DuPage county. 111., January 15, 1837, 
 George F. Myers passed his boyhood years up- 
 on the farm and was given a substantial common- 
 school education. The desire to seek a home in 
 new lands seemed to be inherent in the blood 
 of the family and George P., in 1858, when 
 twenty-one years of age, left home and friends 
 and came to California. By way of Panama he 
 finally reached the state, and at Howland Flat, 
 Sierra countv, he engaged in mining for six 
 
 years. From there he went to the Plumas 
 Eureka mine, where for four years he worked 
 for wages. Mining finally became less alluring 
 and in the spring of 1869 he settled on govern- 
 ment land six miles southeast of Beckwith, and 
 not far from Kettle, which latter town is his post- 
 office and market place. Here besides forty 
 acres of timberland he has eight hundred acres 
 of excellent land, all in the valley and improved 
 with good buildings, barns, etc. For over thirty- 
 seven years he had made his home on this prop- 
 erty, and in the meantime has become known as 
 one of the extensive ranchers, stock-raisers and 
 dairymen in the valley. 
 
 The lady whom Mr. Myers chose as his wife 
 was I>elia M. Sharkey, a native of Ireland, who 
 came to America in 1866, when nineteen years 
 of age. She came to Plimias county, Cal.. in 
 1869, and here it was that on April 10, 1871, 
 she became the wife of Mr. Myers. Eight chil- 
 dren blessed their marriage, but of the number 
 two are deceased. Named in order of birth the 
 children are as follows : Benjamin F., a rancher 
 living in the district ; Katherine M., a teacher at 
 Johnsville : George J., a stock-raiser; Elizabeth, 
 who has been attending commercial school but is 
 now at home ; Annie \'., a teacher in this dis- 
 trict : Francis P., living at home ; and Winnieford 
 and Marv, both of whom died in carlv childhood. 
 
 AUGUSTUS CASSIUS HUNSINGER, sen- 
 ior member of the firm of Hunsinger & Wood, 
 was born at Burnt Prairie, White county. 111., 
 November 13, 1856, a son of Benjamin F. Hun- 
 singer, a farmer. Early in the '60s Benjamin 
 F. Hunsinger crossed the plains with ox-teams, 
 accompanied by his wife and three children, and 
 after journeying for six months arrived at In- 
 dian A'alley. Cal., where he was engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits for many seasons. In 1889 
 he came to Susanville, and here resided until his 
 death, in 1899. His wife, whose maiden name 
 was Electra Gillison, was born in White coun- 
 ty, 111., and now resides at Fort Jones, Cal. Of 
 the six children born of their union four are 
 
•J 
 
 
 ^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND 1510GRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 43' 
 
 living, Augustus Cassius being the third child in 
 order of birth. Beginning life for himself when 
 of age, Mr. Hunsinger engaged in teaming, for 
 ten years driving for Nevells, of Plumas Eureka 
 Mine. Locating in Susanville in 1885, he em- 
 barked in the butchering business, his market 
 being on the same street upon which his present 
 place of business is located. Twice has he been 
 burned out, but each time he has rebuilt, and has 
 added up-to-date improvements. The firm of 
 Hunsinger & Wood has one of the neatest and 
 most completely fitted markets in the city, with a 
 good refrigerator, and all the requisites for sup- 
 plying their patrons with the best possible serv- 
 ice. The ice-house, with a capacitiy of forty 
 tons, is in the rear of the market, and nearbv is 
 the large packing house and electric-power es- 
 tablishment, while the slaughter house is a mile 
 and a half out of the city. This firm carries on 
 an extensive pork packing business, and has the 
 well-deserved reputation of producing and cur- 
 ing the finest hams and bacon in the coimty. 
 
 At Plumas Eureka Mine, in 1883, Mr. Hun- 
 singer married Fannie Woodward, who was born 
 in the Mohawk valley, Plumas county, a daughter 
 of George Woodward, now residing in Johns- 
 ville, Cal. Mr. and Mrs. Hunsinger are the 
 parents of six children, namely : Jessie P., of 
 Oakland, Cal. ; Lola, Martha, Willa, Leland and 
 Alice. Politically Mr. Hunsinger is a Democrat, 
 and for the past fifteen years has been a member 
 of the board of school trustees, serving in igoo, 
 when the new brick public school building was 
 erected. Fraternally he is a member of Lassen 
 Lodge No. 149, F. and A. M., of Lassen Chap- 
 ter, R. A. M., and of the Rebekahs, and is past 
 grand of the Odd Fellows lodge, of which he is 
 a member. Mrs. Hunsinger is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church and one of its 
 active workers. 
 
 WILLL\M GERIG. Among the self-made 
 men of Lassen county, no name stood higher in 
 the estimation of the people than that of the late 
 William Gerig. who began his career in life at 
 the foot of the ladder of success, without other 
 
 resources than his own indomitable will and 
 sturdy industry. From this humble position he 
 worked his wa)- steadily upward, becoming rec- 
 ognized as one of the representative agricultur- 
 ists of northern California, owning and occupy- 
 ing a finely cultivated and well improved ranch 
 in Big valley. A native of Europe, he was 
 born in 1847, '" Switzerland, where he received 
 his elementary education. 
 
 At the age of twelve years, William Gerig be- 
 gan to be self-supporting. Going to France, he 
 spent a year in that country, and just as he was 
 entering his "teens" emigrated to the United 
 States, locating in St. Louis, .Mo. In 1861 he 
 came by way of the Isthmus of Panama to Cali- 
 fornia, and for more than ten years worked on a 
 dairy farm, acquiring a thorough knowledge of 
 its management. Going to Lassen county in 
 1872, he pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres 
 of land lying west of Bieber, improved it, and 
 for six years carried on general farming and 
 dairying. Disposing of that property in 1878, he 
 purchased six hundred acres of wild land in 
 Big valley, and b\- dint of persevering labor and 
 good management im])roved a fine dairy ranch, 
 on which he resided until his death, February 
 II, 1898. He met with excellent success as a 
 farmer and dairyman, accumulating a handsome 
 property, and as a man of sterling worth and 
 upright character was respected throughout the 
 community. 
 
 December 9, 1872, Mr. Gerig married Sarah 
 E. Carmichael, who was born in Iowa, a daugh- 
 ter of Moses A. Carmichael. Mr. Carmichael 
 was born and reared in Pennsylvania, and as a 
 young man went to Iowa, sub.sequently becom- 
 ing a pioneer of Madison county. In 1870 he 
 came across the plains with his family to Califor- 
 nia, settling in Solano county at first, but three 
 months later Vemoving to liig valley. For two 
 years he was there employed in ranching, after 
 which he operated a sawmill for a quarter of a 
 century, giving up his business about four years 
 prior to his death. He married Martha .A. Gard- 
 ner, who was born in Ohio, their marriage be- 
 ing solemnized in Iowa. 
 
 Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gerig eleven 
 children were born : William, born November 
 
488 
 
 HLSTORlC.vL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 12, 1873, now living near the home farm, mar- 
 ried Grace Criss, and diey have one child, Mil- 
 dred; Lena, born November 4, 1875, first mar- 
 ried Charles Lyons, by whom she had one child, 
 Rupert, and later married Daniel Fox, of Big 
 Valley, by whom she also has one child, Daniel ; 
 Nancy, born February 28, 1878, married Abra- 
 ham Rowley, of the state of Washington, and 
 thev have three children, Pearl, Abraham and 
 an infant: Millie, born January 7, 1880, is the 
 wife of Frederick Waters of southern Califor- 
 nia; Charles, born October 5, 1881, lives in the 
 state of Washington ; Henry is deceased ; Emma 
 was born March 9, 1886; Eatha is deceased; 
 Birdie was born August 13, 1891 ; Peter, April 
 18, 1893; and Keturah, October 14, 1895. Mrs. 
 Gerig is an accomplished business woman, and 
 since the death of her husband has managed the 
 home ranch of three hundred and twenty acres 
 most skilfully and ably. Politically Mr. Gerig 
 was a stanch supporter of the principles of the 
 Republican party, and fraternally he was a mem- 
 ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
 belonging to both the lodge and the encamp- 
 ment at Bieber. . 
 
 ISAAC NEWTON JONES. Occupying a 
 prominent position among the more intelligent, 
 enterprising and active citizens of Lassen county 
 is Isaac Newton Jones, of Susanville. Possess- 
 ing sound judgment and good executive ability, 
 he has been an important factor in advancing the 
 agricultural and industrial prosperity of town 
 and county, and is now rendering good service as 
 supervisor of his district. A native of Ohio, he 
 was born in Harrison county, near Cadiz, Oc- 
 tober 16, 1838, a son of James P. Jones. His 
 paternal grandfather, Isaac Jones, born and 
 reared in Wales, immigrated to the United 
 States, and settled first in Pennsylvania, from 
 there going to Ohio and locating as a pioneer 
 farmer near Cadiz. 
 
 Born in Pennsylvania, James P. Jones re- 
 moved with his parents to Harrison county, 
 Ohio, and there learned the cooper's trade, which 
 he first followed in Harrison county. He after- 
 
 wards had a cooper's shop in Zanesville, Ohio, 
 for a time, but sold out and returned to Cadiz. 
 In 1842 he made a trip to Iowa, and for two 
 years was a resident of Lee county. Returning 
 to Ohio, he remained there two years, but in 
 1844 again turned his footsteps westward, tak- 
 ing his famil)' to Iowa, where he improved a 
 farm. In 1852 he crossed the plains to Oregon, 
 and for a while was employed in mining at 
 Jacksonville. Not very successful, he came to 
 California, locating as a miner in Yreka. He 
 subsequently lived in Red Bluft' for a short time, 
 and then located in Honey Lake valley, where he 
 resided until 1867. Returning east in that year, 
 he remained in Henry county, Iowa, until his 
 death, in 1903, at the venerable age of eighty- 
 nine years. He was an honest, upright man, 
 and an active member of the Methodist Church. 
 He married Luc\- Hefling, who was born in Ohio, 
 and died in Iowa in 1848. Her father, John 
 Hefling, was born in Scotland, immigrated to 
 this country, locating in Pennsylvania, and then 
 in Ohio, where he was engaged in agricultural 
 pursuits the remainder of his life. He was a 
 man of deep religious convictions, and a meml>er 
 of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 The oldest of a family of four children, two 
 of whom are living, Isaac Newton Jones was 
 but six years of age when the family migrated 
 to Iowa, where he was reared and educated, at- 
 tending the district school and Mount Pleasant 
 Academy. After the death of his mother, when 
 he was ten years old, he went to live on a farm 
 with his grandfather and an uncle on the pater- 
 nal side. At the age of sixteen years, being en- 
 ergetic, ambitious and industrious, he started 
 in life for himself, renting land and carrying on 
 general farming for four years. In 1859 he 
 started with a mule-team train for Pike's Peak, 
 going as far as Denver, when he decided to con- 
 tinue westward to the coast. Following the old 
 emigrant trail to Salt Lake City, he came by 
 the Carson route to California, being ninety days 
 journeying from the Missouri river to Yreka. 
 After a few months in that place he spent two 
 years as a ranchman near Red Bluft", and then, 
 in 1862, went by way of Honey Lake valley to 
 Humboldt, Nev., where he remained two years. 
 
HlSIOUICAl. AX!J iiiOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 439 
 
 being engagjcd for six months of that time in 
 mercantile pursuits and eighteen months in the 
 hotel business. Coming to Susan villc in 1864 
 he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of 
 land lying one and one-half miles east of the 
 town, and the following two years was engaged 
 in grain raising. Going then to the Tules, he 
 inirchased what is known as the CJibson place, 
 and embarked in the stock business, for four 
 years raising cattle and shce]). Selling out, he 
 si)ent a year in Susanville. He then bought land 
 at Willow Creek, purchased a large band of 
 sheep, and for seven years made this a specialty, 
 but his venture was not successful. Returning 
 to Susanville he purchased forty acres and en- 
 gaged in horticultural pursuits, having a good- 
 bearing orchard of five acres just nordi of the 
 city. He has since sold off a part of this land, 
 but has eighteen acres left, which he is managing 
 most profitably. 
 
 March 4, 1888, in Susanville, Mr. Jones mar- 
 ried Elvira (Tally) Sturgiss, who was born in 
 Quincy, 111. Her father, David Tally, moved 
 from old Virginia, his native state, to Adams 
 county. 111., where he owned and operated a 
 mill until his death. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Elizabeth Neal, was born in the east, 
 and died in Jackson county. Ore. She bore her 
 husband two children, namely : William, of 
 Gridley, Cal. ; and Elvira, now Mrs. Jones. In 
 1862 Elvira Tally came by way of Panama to 
 San Francisco, from there going to Jackson 
 county, Ore. In November, 1887, she located in 
 Susanville, and the following March was united 
 in marriage with Air. Jones. By a former mar- 
 riage Mrs. Jones, has two children, namely: 
 Frederick Sturgiss, a stockman, living near Jack- 
 sonville, Ore.; and William Sturgiss, residing 
 near Albany, Ore. Politically Mr. Jones is an 
 earnest supporter of the principles of the Repub- 
 lican party, and is active in local affairs. In 
 May, 1904, he was appointed by Governor Pardee 
 supervisor of District Xo. i to till a vacancy, 
 and in the fall of that year was nominated to 
 that office on the Republican ticket, and elected 
 by a handsome majority. He has also served for 
 the past si.K years as horticultural commissioner 
 for Lassen countv. Fraternallv he has been a 
 
 member of Silver Star Lodge No. 135, I. O. O. 
 F., for more than thirty-five years, and both he 
 and his wife belong to the Rclx;kahs, of which 
 Mrs. Jones is past grand. She is a most estim- 
 able woman, and an active member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 FRANK FERDINAND PECK. Noteworthy 
 among the active and enterprising citizens of 
 1 'lumas county is Frank Ferdinand Peck, who as 
 manager of the I 'lumas Commercial Company 
 holds an assured position among the influential 
 business men of Beckvvith. He is a native of 
 northern California, his birth having occurred 
 November 22, 1865, at Hovvland Flat, Sierra 
 county. His father, the late William De Bell 
 Peck, was born and reared in Kentucky, but be- 
 came a pioneer settler of California, where he 
 spent his last years, dying while in the prime of 
 life. Further mention of the family may be 
 found elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 His parents moving to the Sierra valley, five 
 nnies west of Loyalton, in 1870, Frank F. Peck 
 was there reared and educated, attending first the 
 public schools and subsequently a business col- 
 lege in San Francisco, after which he took a 
 course in civil engineering in the Scranton, Pa.. 
 International Correspondence School. Complet- 
 ing his studies in 1889, he was employed for two 
 or three years as clerk and bookkeeper, subse- 
 quently being agent for a railway company. Lo- 
 catmg in Beck with in 1899, he established him- 
 self as a merchant, opening a store, which he 
 managed successfully for four years. In 1903 he 
 had the business incorporated under its present 
 name, some of the leading ranchmen becoming 
 interested in it, capitalizing it at $50,000, with 
 himself and brother as the princi])al stock- 
 holders, and of the Plumas Commercial Com- 
 pany Mr. Peck has since been the manager. 
 a position for which he is well qualified. 
 I le has also other interests, being one of 
 the shareholders of the Sierra Mercantile 
 Ctjmpanv of Loyalton. of which his brother, W. 
 O. Peck, is manager. Mr. Peck, with character- 
 istic enterprise, is one of the projectors of a 
 proposed electric railway extending from Beck- 
 
440 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 wiih to Sierraville, and is working hard to get 
 the right of way, which has not yet Ijcen granted. 
 November 7, 1894, Mr. Peck married Eva AI. 
 Millar, who was born in the Sierra valley, Sierra 
 county. Politically he is an uncompromising 
 Democrat, and from 1895 until after the election 
 of William McKinley as president was registrar 
 of the land office at Susanville, leaving the po- 
 sition with a clean record when his successor was 
 appointed. Fraternally he is a member of Hope 
 Lodge No. 234, F. & A. M., of Beckwith, which 
 he served as master for three years. 
 
 NORMAN JACKSON BARRY. Back in 
 the early days of American history the represent- 
 atives of the Barry family showed themselves to 
 be men of courage, patriotic spirit and high prin- 
 ciples of honor, and the examples they left for 
 their posterity have been emulated by each gen- 
 eration in its turn. During the Revolutj,onary 
 war John K. Barry left his plow and took up 
 arms in defense of his native land, becoming 
 one of those ardent, self-sacrificing patriots to 
 whose devotion the independence of the United 
 States may be attributed. A native of North 
 Carolina, he made that colony his lifelong home 
 and there also his son and namesake was born 
 and reared, but the latter established the family 
 fortunes in another part of the country when he 
 removed to Missouri and took up farm pursuits 
 with the wheelwright's trade. Barry county. 
 Mo., is named after this family. 
 
 Among the children of John K. Barry, Jr., 
 was a son, John N., who was born in St. Charles 
 county. Mo., and grew to manhood upon a farm 
 in that then frontier region. At the time of the 
 war with Mexico he enlisted in a Missouri reg- 
 iment, but before called into action the war 
 ended and no further soldiers were needed. Dur- 
 ing 1849 he crossed the plains to California, where 
 for a few years he tried his luck in the mines 
 of Placer county. In journeying back to his 
 old home he traveled through Old Mexico to 
 \'era Cruz and thence across the gulf and north 
 to Missouri. Not long after his return home he 
 married Mary V. Garrett, who was born in Bowl- 
 
 ing Green, Ky., and removed to Missouri with 
 her father, James Garrett, a Kentuckian and a 
 member of an old and honored family. 
 
 After having followed farm pursuits in Mis- 
 souri for some years John N. Barry crossed the 
 plains to California with ox-teams, and accom- 
 panied by his wife and four children. On reach- 
 ing Honey Lake valley he settled on a tract of 
 wild land, but later removed to Shasta county, 
 and after six years there he returned to Honey 
 lake. Settling near Janesville he bought a ranch 
 that still is known as the old Barry place. On 
 this homestead his wife died in 1903, aged sev- 
 enty-five years, and he passed away in August 
 of the following year, at the age of eighty-two. 
 All of his children still survive, namely : Eliza, 
 Mrs. E. E. Rhinehart, of Oakland; Mrs. Nancy 
 B. Bailey and Mrs. Lucy C. Kingsbury, both of 
 Susanville ; Norman Jackson, attorney-at-law of 
 Susanville : and John Thomas, a farmer at 
 Standish. The next to the youngest of the fam- 
 ily was Norman J., a native of Callaway county. 
 Mo., boin June 21, 1861. His earliest recollec- 
 tions are associated with California, whither the 
 family removed during the summer of 1862. It 
 was the ambition of his parents to give their 
 children good educations and after he had com- 
 pleted the studies of the district schools he was 
 sent in 1881 to Santa Rosa, where he matricu- 
 lated in the Pacific Methodist College, and con- 
 tinued in the classical course until 1884. On 
 his return to Lassen county he began to teach 
 school and later was made principal of the Susan- 
 ville public school. 
 
 While carrying on educational work Mr. Barry 
 devoted his leisure hours and vacation seasons 
 to the study of law and in 1892 was admitted 
 to the bar. During the same year he was elected 
 district attorney for a term of two years and at 
 the expiration of the time he was re-elected for 
 four years, continuing in the office until January, 
 1899. During his incumbency of the position he 
 had one important murder case, in addition to 
 numerous cases of cattle stealing, and other cases 
 under both the civil and criminal law. On the 
 expiration of his second term he took up the 
 private practice of law, in which he has met with 
 a success worthy of his ability and ambitions. 
 
IRVIX SHEI'AKD 
 
HISTORICAL AND LJIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 443 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Barry united him with 
 Miss Marietta Hardin, who was Ijorn and reared 
 at I'etahima, Cal., and is a niece of Col. J. A. 
 Hardin, known as the cattle king of Nevada. 
 Her fatlier, Andrew H. Hardin, was a Ken- 
 tuckian by liirth and a member of an old family 
 of that state. During an early day of Califor- 
 nia's settlement he came west and now makes 
 his home at Lakeville, Sonoma countv. Mr. and 
 ^Irs. Barry are the parents of tliree children, 
 Ethel, Mardis and Hardin. Stanch in his al- 
 legiance to the policy of the Democratic party, 
 Mr. Barry takes a warm interest in local politics 
 and served efificienth- as chairman of the countv 
 central committee. In fraternal relations he is 
 associated with the Independent ( )rder of Odd 
 Eellows, his membership being with Silver .Star 
 Lodge No. 135, in which he is past grand. In 
 addition he holds office as district deputv grand 
 moderator, and is further actively connected with 
 the Order of Rebekahs, to which also his wife 
 belongs. 
 
 TRVIN SHEPARD. There is a peculiar in- 
 terest attached to the history of the pioneers of 
 any part of our great Union, and more particu- 
 larly is that true of that part of it with which wc 
 are connected. Those who came into California 
 in the early period of its settlement were for the 
 most part brave, sturdy fellows, full of vim and 
 enterprise. Among this number was the late Tr- 
 vin Shepard of Adin, who for many years car- 
 ried on a prosperous business in this section of 
 the state, being extensively employed in the man- 
 ufacture of flour. A man of honest integrity, 
 upright in his dealings with others, he achieved 
 success by unremitting toil, directed by sound 
 business principles, and throughout the commu- 
 nity in which he resided was held in high regard. 
 Mr. Shepard was born November 4, 1826, in By- 
 ron, Genesee county, N. Y., and died at his home, 
 in .Adin, Cal, March 29, 1899, leaving besides his 
 immediate family a host of friends and ac- 
 quaintances to mourn his loss. 
 
 \Mien Irvin .Shepard was a small child his 
 parents removed first to ( )hio, then a frontier 
 state, and subsequentl}- went to Wisconsin, 
 
 where he completed his school life and likewise 
 learned the miller's trade. Crossing the plains to 
 California in 1857. he lived in various places in 
 the state, working generally at his trade, and 
 seeing much of the rough side of pioneer life. 
 For nine years, in partnership witli H. I. Wells, 
 his brother-in-law. he operated a ranch in the 
 Big Shasta valley, also carrying on a dairy busi- 
 ness. Prior to this, from 1863 to 1870, iie fol- 
 lowed his trade in .Ashland, Ore. In 1879, in 
 company with other men of enterprise and pluck, 
 he established a flour mill at Little Shasta, where 
 he remained nine years. Selling out in 1888, Mr. 
 Shepard came to Adin. and in partncrshij) with 
 J. E. Niles bought a mill, and was here engaged 
 in the manufacture of flour until his death, car- 
 rying on an exceedingly profitable business as 
 head of the well-known firm of Shepard & Nilcs. 
 In 1870 in Ashland, Ore., Mr. Shepard mar- 
 ried Almeda L. Helman, who was born in 1850 
 near Wooster, Ohio, and was brought by her 
 parents, A. D. and Martha J. Helman, to the Pa- 
 cific coast by way of the Isthmus of Panama in 
 1854. They settled in Ashland, Ore., where her 
 father still resides, her mother dying in 1881. Of 
 the three children that blessed the union of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Shepard, the eldest, Edwin, born in 
 1873, passed to the higher life in 1877: the two 
 living are Martha Ann and Raymond, the latter 
 at home. The daughter is the wife of Charles 
 D. Auble, of Big Valley. Cal., and is the mother 
 of two children. Thelma and (jwendolyn. Since 
 the death of her husband Mrs. Shepard, who still 
 retains an interest in the flour mill, has erected a 
 beautiful residence in Adin. .She is an accom- 
 plished business woman, capable and well in- 
 formed, and is held in high esteem by her friends 
 and neighbors. I'olitically Mr. .Shepard was 
 identified with the Republican party, but was 
 never an aspirant for office. 
 
 CHARLES BARHAM. The history of the 
 P.arham family in America antedates tlie Revo- 
 lutionary war. in which struggle an ancestor of 
 Qiarles Barham, of Standish, Lassen c<HUity. 
 Cal., served his country. Charles Barham was 
 
444 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 born in Kentucky, June 13, 1836, but was taken 
 in childhood to Missouri, where he was reared, 
 obtaining an education in the public schools, 
 and where, in 1856, his marriage to Martha Ann 
 Courtney was solemnized. She is a native of 
 the south, and the daughter of Jeremiah and Re- 
 becca Courtney. In 1857 Mr. Barham brought 
 his family across the plains to California, the 
 journey hither requiring five months. Reaching 
 this state he located at Forest City, where he 
 engaged in mining and farming for a time, then 
 removed to Hansonville, in Yuba county, and 
 for two years thereafter followed peddling. In 
 1864 he went to Honey Lake valley and home- 
 steaded one hundred and sixty acres of land at 
 the head of the valley, unimproved, sage-brush 
 land, and here he entered upon the cultivation 
 and improvement of his property, erecting a 
 comfortable home, barns and outbuildings, and 
 engaged in the raising of grain. Later he set- 
 tled upon another new tract of land which he 
 improved and operated until 189 1. Nine chil- 
 dren were born to him and his wife, viz. : 
 Thomas L., of Johnstonville : Sarah R., who 
 married John Lowe, and later died near Bunt- 
 ingville; Irene Katherine, the wife of Bristo 
 Rice, residing near Clinton ; Mary Belle, the 
 wife of George Davy, residing near Clinton ; 
 Robert Lee, a farmer near Standish : Lewis 
 Jeremiah, a farmer in the vicinity of Clinton ; 
 James Preston, living near Spoonville ; Augusta 
 Clyde: and Qiarlcs Courtney, living in Standish. 
 Mr. Barham has thirty-si.x grandchildren and 
 seven great-grandchildren living. He is fra- 
 ternally connected with the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows, and is also identified with the 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen, and in poli- 
 tics is a stanch supporter of the Democratic plat- 
 form. His wife died April 11, 1877, and of late 
 years he has resided with his children, spending 
 the evening of his life quietly surrounded by chil- 
 dren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. 
 His father, Lewis Barham, was born in Virginia 
 and later crossed the Cumberland Gap into the 
 Blue Grass state, where he resided for some 
 years, then went to Missouri, where he died when 
 in his forty-fourth year. The grandfather was 
 descended from a prominent old English fam- 
 
 ily, and upon coming to this country still re- 
 tained his coat-of-arms. He settled in Virginia 
 and was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His 
 death occurred at the advanced age of one hun- ' 
 dred and nine years. 
 
 Robert Lee Barham was reared in Honey Lake 
 valley on the farm owned by his father, and re- 
 ceived his education in the common schools of 
 that section. He remained at home until attain- 
 ing his majority, and shortly afterward he rented 
 a farm and entered into the work to which he 
 had early been trained. He engaged in both 
 general farming and extensive stock-raising; in 
 1900 he purchased his present farm one mile 
 south of Standish, formerly owned by the Irri- 
 gating Company, and this he improved, putting 
 in alfalfa, and also erecting a beautiful home. 
 He engages in hay and stock-raising, his brand 
 for cattle being the step H brand. In Indian 
 valley Mr. Barham was united in marriage with 
 Miss Mabel Peter, a native of the state, and a 
 daughter of Thomas Peter, and they have one 
 daughter. Claudine. Mrs. Barham belongs to 
 the Salvation Army and is a conscientious worker 
 for the good of humanity. Mr. Barham has been 
 successful in his business ventures and is held 
 high in the esteem of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 HERBERT O. NICHOLS. In an early 
 period of the colonization of New England the 
 Nichols family became established among its 
 pioneer farmers and several successive genera- 
 tions lived and labored in Maine, winning honor- 
 able recognition by exemplary lives and persever- 
 ing industry. From William Nichols, Sr., the 
 line descends to William, Jr., who was oi-phaned 
 in childhood and grew to manhood under the 
 care of an aunt. While still quite young he 
 served as a soldier in the Civil war. With the 
 exception of a short period spent in New Orleans 
 (where he learned the trade of a ship carpenter) 
 he remained a lifelong resident of New England 
 and followed farm pursuits, dying in that state 
 at the age of seventy-two years. During early 
 life he had married Susan Young, who was born 
 in Maine, remained a resident of that state 
 
HISTORICAL AND P-IOGRAPHIC AL RECORD. 
 
 +45 
 
 throughout life and there died at about seventy- 
 four years. Her father, Moses Young-, who was 
 bom in Maine and served in the war of 1812, 
 lived to be ninety-seven years, and her mother 
 attained the age of eighty-nine. 
 
 On the home fann thirty miles from Augusta, 
 in Franklin county, Me., Herbert O. Nichols was 
 born Alay 22, 1853, and there he passed tlie un- 
 eventful years of boyhood and early youth. On 
 leaving home to take up the burden of self-sup- 
 port he came direct to California, and arrived at 
 Sierraville, April 24, 1873, when about twenty 
 years of age. For eighteen months he was em- 
 ployed in a sawmill and afterward took contracts 
 for making hay, moving buildings and doing 
 other work of a general nature. In 1879 he 
 bought a ranch two miles from Sierraville and 
 took cattle to winter, but was obliged to accept 
 sixty head in lieu of their feed. After two 
 years he sold the ranch and removed to rented 
 land, but later bought his present homestead of 
 three hundred and twenty acres, also a tract of 
 three hundred and eighty acres one mile away 
 at the upper end of the valley. In addition to 
 superintending these tracts he engaged in team- 
 ing and conducted a meat business. During i8g8 
 he bought a sawmill three and one-half miles 
 from Sierraville and this he now operates in ad- 
 dition to the management of his ranches and his 
 dairy. In the hauling of shingles, lumber, etc., 
 he uses four eight-horse teams, while in his 
 various enterprises he furnishes employment to 
 as many as thirty men during busy seasons. For 
 several years he bought hides and cattle dirough- 
 out northern California. Many different enter- 
 prises have engaged his attention at different 
 times. In all o^them he has displayed energy, 
 business acumen and ability of a high order. 
 The fact that he came here poor and now ranks 
 among the prosperous men of Sierra county 
 proves him to be a man of excellent ability, for 
 such success would have been impossible to 
 mediocrity. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Nichols took place June 
 20, 1880, and united him with Enuna Davis, a 
 native of Nevada county, Cal. Seven children 
 were born of their union, all of whom are at home 
 except the eldest daughter. They are named as 
 
 follows : W'illiani Llewellyn, Edwin B., Madeline 
 (Mrs. Amos Maxwell), Grace. Ger^rge, Helen 
 and Gaines. Ever since attaining his majority 
 Mr. Nichols has voted the Republican ticket. In 
 recognition of his fitness for public service he 
 was chosen supervisor in 1894 and for four years 
 he filled that position, meanwhile acting as chair- 
 man of the board. At the solicitation of friends 
 in i8g8 he consented to become a candidate for 
 county sheriff. There were five candidates in the 
 field, but he held a majority of the delegates 
 during the opening session of the convention, 
 though eventually he was defeated by political 
 enemies. Since about 1891 he has filled the office 
 of road overseer. Although not a member of 
 any denomination he is interested in religious 
 activities and contributes to church work. In 
 fraternal relations he is identified with Sierraville 
 Lodge No. 184, F. & A. M.. also Mountain \'ale 
 Lodge No. 140, I. O. O. F., in Sierraville. 
 
 JAMES THO.MAS AUSTIN. Pleasantly 
 located in Goose Lake valley, not far from Davis 
 Creek, James T. .A.ustin has here been engaged 
 in farming and stock-raising for nearly a quar- 
 ter of a century, and in his free and independent 
 occupation has met with marked success. Tak- 
 ing up the land when but a very small proportion 
 of the soil was broken, he has brought his ranch 
 to a good state of cultivation, and in the raising 
 of stock and hay has acquired a good reputa- 
 tion. His home and its surroundings are credit- 
 able to his industry and enterprise, everything 
 being kept in good repair, and at all points indi- 
 cating the supervision of an intelligent and able 
 man. He was born, December 9. 1837. in Jack- 
 son county. Mo., where he lived until Ixxoming 
 of age. 
 
 Following the tide of emigration to Kansas in 
 1858, Mr. Austin remained there until the fall 
 of i860, when he returned to Missouri. .Again 
 taking up his residence in Kansas in 1863, he 
 offered his services as a soldier in the Civil war, 
 taking an active part in the memorable raid 
 against General Price. He had many thrilling 
 experiences, and at times was in great peril 
 
•i-i6 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 while escorting people through the lines from 
 Missouri into Kansas. In 1864. sailing from 
 New York harbor, he came b\' way of the Isth- 
 mus to California, and for a number of years 
 was employed in mining and prospecting in Plu- 
 mas county. Locating in Modoc county in 1883 
 he bought and pre-empted three hundred and 
 twenty acres of land in Goose Lake valley, and 
 on this estate has since resided. One-third of 
 the land, mayhap, had been previously broken 
 up, but he has practically put the entire tract 
 under improvement, much of it now being hay 
 land and meadow. He makes a specialty of 
 raising cattle and horses of a good breed, and 
 in his agricultural operations shows wisdom and 
 judgment. He pays attention to the growing 
 of fruit to some extent, having set out an or- 
 chard, which is quite productive, and having also 
 planted the trees near the house, thus greatly 
 enhancing the value and beauty of the home 
 estate. 
 
 Mr. Austin was married first, in 1858, to Miss 
 Graham, who bore him two children, neither 
 of whom is living. His second marriage was 
 to Mrs. Leonard, and of their union two chil- 
 dren were born, namely : Mrs. Cornelia Jo- 
 sephine Bruce, of Chico ; and James Oliver, who 
 died at the age of twenty-one years. Politically 
 Mr. Austin is a stanch Republican, taking an 
 intelligent interest in public aflfairs, and for seven 
 years has served as justice of the peace. Wliile 
 living in Plumas county he was connected with 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for a 
 number of years, but is not now identified with 
 any secret organization. 
 
 ARAD WAY. Although many \ears have 
 passed since death removed Mr. Way from 
 among his acquaintances in Lassen county, he 
 is remembered with affection by family, chil- 
 dren and friends, and holds a position as one 
 of the honored pioneers of F.ig valley. Born 
 in New York May 21. 1830, he was nine- 
 teen \ ears of age when b.e removed as far west 
 as Illinois, settling in Jo Daviess county, where 
 for years he worked as a tiller of the 
 
 soil. About the year 1872 he came to Califor- 
 nia, where he purchased land in Sutter county 
 and there developed a farm. In June of 1878 
 he came to Lassen county and bought one hun- 
 dred and fifty acres of wild land situated one 
 and one-half miles east of Bieber. The sur- 
 rounding country remained in the primeval con- 
 dition of nature. Scarcely a fence had been built 
 and scarcely any attempt at improvement made. 
 On his own land there was a small house, a bam 
 and a garden, but no fences had been built and 
 the land was wholly wild. It required many 
 years of patient labor on the part of the family 
 before the place was transfonned into a state of 
 cultivation. After he had lived on the farm for 
 a number of years he pre-empted one hundred 
 and sixty acres to the south of the home place, 
 but he died before he had secured the title, and 
 afterward his wife secured the property under 
 the homestead laws. This also has been brought 
 under cultivation. While living in Illinois he 
 had been made a Mason and had been active in 
 lodge work. In religious views he was of the 
 LTniversalist faith. Politically he favored Re- 
 publican principles and at the time of his death 
 he was filling the office of justice of the peace, 
 to which he had been elected on the regular party 
 ticket. 
 
 During the period of his residence in Illinois, 
 and while operating a farm in Jo Daviess county, 
 Arad Way was united in marriage, November 2, 
 1854, with Miss Amanda M. Byrum,, who was 
 born in 1836. She was of eastern parentage, her 
 father having come from Alassachusetts and her 
 mother from Connecticut. Eleven children were 
 born of their union and all were given good edu- 
 cational advantages, several of them having en- 
 gaged in teaching during early life. The eldest, 
 Ethel Julia, married Elisha Dowell and lives at 
 Santa Cruz, Cal. Hiram B. and Philo Fairchild 
 are both deceased. Amy Eliza is the wife of 
 Andrew Babcock. of Bieber. Hannah Sophia 
 married Henry C. Cook and lives at Bieber. Will- 
 iam A., who was sixth in order of birth, remains 
 with his mother and has charge of the home 
 ranch, for which responsibilities he is well 
 adapted by native energy and careful judgment. 
 Nellie T. married Albert Loomis and lives in the 
 
^A t^ 
 
 <. 
 
(yvyiA- 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 451 
 
 vicinity of Bieber. Mertie Adell and Bertie Isa- 
 bel were twins. The former, in early girlhood, 
 became the wife of Henry Bunselmeier, but soon 
 died, and afterward the twin sister was united in 
 marriage with Mr. Bunselmeier. Inez M. is 
 the wife of Albert Putney and lives at Susan ville. 
 The youngest of the family, Arad, is engaged in 
 teaching school at Janesville, Lassen county. 
 
 Since the death of Mr. Way, which occurred 
 January 17, 1881, his widow has managed the 
 property, assisted by her son, and she has cared 
 for the children until they have left the shelter 
 of her roof to establish homes of their own. As 
 one of the early settlers of Lassen county, she 
 has witnessed its gradual development and has 
 won an honored place in the esteem of the people 
 among whom she has lived for many years. The 
 present improved condition of the homestead is 
 due to her supervision, backed by the careful 
 management of her son. Thirty acres have been 
 sown to alfalfa, while the remainder of the prop- 
 erty is in grain, wild hay and pasture, forming 
 a ranch well adapted for the raising of cattle and 
 the conducting of a dairy, which two industries 
 are their present specialties. 
 
 ABRAHAM EDE was born in Sussex, Eng- 
 land, January 12, 1833, and was ten years of age 
 when his parents came to the United States and 
 settled on a farm in Waukesha county. Wis. There 
 he lived until the spring of 1852, when, in 'com- 
 pany with an older brother, William Ede, he 
 came to California. Two years before this date 
 his brother had made the trip to California and 
 returned home very well satisfied with his ven- 
 ture, thus his second trip was made with good 
 knowledge of conditions in California and of the 
 country through which they were to travel. 
 Crossing the plains in a spring wagon, they 
 finally reached California. Taking up mining 
 claims at Howland Elat, Sierra county, they met 
 with success and cleaned up quite a sum from 
 their mining operations. 
 
 In 1854 Abraham Ede returned to his home in 
 the east, making the return trip via Panama 
 route. He purchased a farm in Waukesha county, 
 9 
 
 married Miss Mary Jane Easton, of Giicago, and 
 apparently .settled down to the life of the eastern 
 farmer, but the west kept calling to him, and 
 in 1859 lie sold his farm, and with his wife and 
 two children started for California, their outfit 
 consisting of three wagons and ox-teams. The 
 tide of emigration was steadily increasing and 
 advancing westward, and as they journeyed they 
 were joined by other families making the over- 
 land route, some of whom would certainly have 
 perished but for the timely assistance Mr. Ede 
 was able to render them. Mrs. Ede, with the 
 spirit that characterizes the true pioneer wife, 
 was a valuable assistant to her husband on the 
 journey, and not only endured the hardships 
 without complaint, but in addition to the work 
 which naturally fell to her lot, .she often drove 
 an ox team for her husband during the day. 
 ( )wing to the fact that the train was well armed 
 and protected they were not molested to any 
 extent by the Indians. 
 
 Arriving in California they settled on the land 
 which has ever since been the family home. Mrs. 
 Ede and her sister-in-law were the first white 
 women on the north side of the valley. During 
 his lifetime Mr. Ede followed ranching, raising 
 cattle and horses, and in the early days was en- 
 gaged in the dairy business for several 3'ears ; 
 the ranch consists of about two thousand five 
 hundred acres of land in the Sierra valley, three 
 and one-half miles east of Beck with, and here 
 Mr. Ede died July 18. 1900, when sixty-eight 
 years of age. 
 
 Mrs. Ede was born July 25, 1840, a daughter 
 of James Easton, a native of Scotland, who came 
 to the United States in young manhood and went 
 to work as shipping clerk with a wholesale hard- 
 ware firm of Cleveland, Ohio. Later he removed 
 to Chicago and still later to Iowa, where he died 
 aged seventy-two years. Mrs. Ede's mother was 
 Margaret Buckhart, a native of Pennsylvania, of 
 German descent : she died in Washington, at the 
 age of seventy-two years. 
 
 Mrs. Ede was eight years old when her father 
 moved to Chicago, where she lived until her mar- 
 riage to Mr. Ede, July 9, 1856, when she was 
 sixteen years of age. Their family consisted of 
 twelve children. The eldest son, Walter IT.. 
 
452 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lives in Idaho ; William Alfred was murdered 
 while protecting his home from a robber who, 
 at the same time, attempted to kill his wife ; 
 Sarah Jane died at the age of three months ; 
 Mary Emma, widow of John Connor, lives in 
 San Francisco ; Edward James is a resident of 
 San Jose, Cal. : Abraham Lincoln died at the age 
 of twenty-one ; Eugene Spencer resides in Ore- 
 gon ; Oscar died in infancy : Stephen R. is a 
 rancher of the valle\-. Ida is the wife of Edward 
 E. Anderson : Albert Arthur lives at home and 
 looks after the ranch. The youngest child died 
 in infancy. 
 
 Mr. Ede was a good farmer, coming to the 
 valley with practically no means, and by good 
 management accumulating a valuable property ; 
 though he met with reverses he overcame all ob- 
 stacles and left his descendants a competency. 
 
 JOHN ERITZ HULSMAN. Under a large 
 old pine tree on the old Lassen ranch in Lassen 
 countv, Cal., stands the monument erected to the 
 memory of Peter Lassen, and marks the spot 
 where he camped so many }-ears ago when he • 
 entered Honev' Lake valley and became a pioneer 
 settler. This ranch is now owned by J. F. Huls- 
 man, a proiiiinent and successful farmer and 
 dairvman of Lassen county. His father, Henry 
 Hulsman, was of French descent, but was born 
 in Germany, near Bilefeldt, and died when John 
 F. was a small boy. He was a glazier and 
 painter by trade, and had served in the King's 
 Guard. Flis mother, formerly Hannah Aben- 
 brick. was also born in Germany and died there. 
 Of the nine children included in the parental 
 family, six grew to manhood and womanhood, 
 but onlv one of them is now living. Edward 
 served in a Missouri regiment during the Civil 
 war. was taken prisoner and confined in Libby 
 prison in \'irginia, and died some time after the 
 war. 
 
 John Fritz Hulsman was born February i8, 
 1837, "^ ^^'^'^ village of Schildesche. Gennany, 
 and received his education in the schools of his 
 native town. In 1853 ^^^ came to America on the 
 sailing vessel Johannes, taking seventy-one days 
 
 to make the voyage to New Orleans, from which 
 city he went up the Mississippi river to St. Louis, 
 Mo., spending his time until i860 in Missouri 
 and Louisiana. In April of that year he started 
 from Fulton, Callaway county. ^lo., with ox- 
 teams for California, going by way of Lander's 
 Cut-off to the Humboldt, and arrived in Honey 
 Lake valley on August 24, i860. For a time 
 after reaching this state he made rails on Dia- 
 mond Mountain, and the following winter he se- 
 cured employment on the old Lassen ranch, 
 where he remained three years before buying an 
 interest in the ranch, after which the business of 
 the farm was carried on under the name of Ly- 
 barger-Tetheringlon-Hulsman for four years. 
 Mr. Hulsman then bought out the interest of Mr. 
 Lybarger, and a few years later bought the in- 
 terest of Mr. Tetherington, since which time he 
 has continued operating the ranch alone. It is 
 the oldest in Honey Lake valley, having been 
 settled and improved by the pioneer, Mr. Lassen, 
 to whom the monument under the old pine tree 
 was erected, and which still stands on the place 
 where he camped the first night he spent in the 
 vallev. Mr. Hulsman has beautified and other- 
 wise improved the place until it is now one of 
 the show places of Honey Lake valley, contain- 
 ing fine orchards of different varieties of fruit, 
 beautiful gardens, shrubbery, etc. There are fif- 
 teen hundred acres in the ranch, three hundred 
 of which are under cultivation, and portions of 
 it make excellent range for stock, upon which 
 Mr. Hulsman has herds of Durham cattle, his 
 Iirand being HN. He also owns a dairy, the 
 butter and cheese from wdiich aflford a snug in- 
 come. With his sons he is also interested in 
 mining in Moonlight district in F'lumas county. 
 
 In St. Louis, j\Io., February 5, 1870, Mr. Huls- 
 man was married to Miss Hannah \'ogt, who is 
 a native of Germany, having been born near 
 Bilefeldt. and is the daughter of Casper Vogt, 
 a farmer, who died when Mrs. Hulsman was a 
 small child. Her mother, Eliza Banner, was also 
 born in Germany and died there when a com- 
 parativel}- young woman, leaving five children, 
 three of whom are living, Mrs. Hulsman being 
 the second child. Mr. and Mrs. Hulsman have 
 eight children livmg. as follows: William Grant, 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4->3 
 
 who is mining in Plumas county ; Herman 
 Henry, at liomc ; Louisa J., who is engaged in 
 teaching in Lassen county ; John Fritz, Jr. ; Han- 
 nah F., who is a graduate of the Reno Business 
 Institute; Jessie B., who is a teacher: Evelyn C, 
 also a teacher: and Ivan. Two children are de- 
 ceased, Ida, who died aged twenty-two, and 
 Henry, aged two years. Prior to 1900 Mr. Huls- 
 nian was a Republican, hut at that time his po- 
 litical views underwent a change and since then 
 he has been a Democrat. He is distinguished 
 among those who know him by a cordial and 
 kindly nature and by a warm-hearted loyaltv to 
 his friends, a man of unblemished character, and 
 liberal in his views. 
 
 JEREMIAH TYLER. During the long pe- 
 riod of his residence in California, extending 
 from 1859 until his death in 1890, .Mr. Tyler 
 was a continuous resident of Lassen county, 
 where he developed a fine ranch from the wil- 
 derness and improved a homestead still in the 
 possession of the family. The only attempt at 
 improvement made prior to his advent was the 
 putting up of a log cabin. The fertile soil still 
 remained unturned and its possibilities unknown. 
 It remained for him to demonstrate its adapta- 
 bilitv for the raising of stock and general crops, 
 and the success with which he met was ample 
 proof of the wisdom of his foresight. Since his 
 death the heirs have continued the work of im- 
 provement, have erected substantial farm houses 
 and good barns, and have brought the majority 
 of the two hundred and eighty acres under cul- 
 tivation, making the land well adapted to the 
 dairy industrv and the stock business. 
 
 Born in Pennsylvania, Jeremiah Tyler was 
 three years of age when his jjarents moved to 
 Ohio and settled in Cleveland, where he at- 
 tended the common schools and later learned the 
 trade of brick and stone mason. Upon starting 
 out for himself he went to Iowa City, Iowa, 
 where he found employment at his trade, remain- 
 ing in that place until 1859, the year of his long 
 journey across the plains to California. Imme- 
 diateK after his arrival in Lassen countv he se- 
 
 cured a position with Mr. Gark, but a few months 
 later bought a claim from Mr. Kingsbury and 
 settled down to the arduous task of placing an 
 unimproved half-section under cultivation in or- 
 der to secure profits therefrom. Later he had 
 the ready and capable assistance of his sons as 
 they were growing toward manhood and became 
 able to take their share in the responsibilities of 
 the homestead, and their co-operation aided him 
 in making the land a profitable investment. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Tyler occurred l"cbruary 
 14, 1864. and united him with Mr.s. Samantha 
 (Parker) Fletcher, who was born in Massachu- 
 setts, and at fifteen years of age left the cast in 
 companv with her parents, Abel and Sarah (Dar- 
 ling) Parker. After one year in Rockford, 111., 
 they removed to Iowa, and in 1862 crossed the 
 plains to California, settling in Honey Lake val- 
 le\- and pre-empting a quarter section of bare 
 land. Somewhat later they sold their original 
 homestead and lx)ught one hundred and sixty 
 acres near Buntingville, where Mr. Parker died 
 at seventy-three years and his wife when eighty- 
 seven. Both were interred in the Milford ceme- 
 tery. The first marriage of Miss Parker united 
 her with John Fletcher, who died in 1863, and 
 three months afterward she started for the Pa- 
 cific coast with her two children, traveling via 
 New York and the Isthmus. After a brief so- 
 journ near Oroville she came to Lassen county. 
 The children of her first marriage were Adelbcrt. 
 now deceased : and Lafayette, residing at Pres- 
 cott, Ariz. 
 
 Ten children comprised the family of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Tyler, and all of these lived to mature 
 years. The eldest. Sherman Grant, died at the age 
 of twenty years, while attending a business col- 
 lege m San Francisco. Two died in Lassen 
 county, where also occurred the death of a daugh- 
 ter. Louisa, Mrs. George R. Wales, who left one 
 son, Lloyd. Those now living are as follows : 
 Thomas Sheridan, at home : Stanton T., who 
 married May Parker and has two children, Les- 
 ter and Lydia: Laura Edith, Mrs. Henry Pet- 
 tineli, of Reno, Xev., who has two children, 
 Thomas Louis Tyler and \'irginia ; Sumner Cus- 
 ter, a resident of Reno : Stanley Edison, who re- 
 sides on the home farm and by his marriage to 
 
454 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mary French has two children, Charles and 
 Cecil; and Ethel, the youngest of the family. 
 For many years Mrs. Tyler has been identified 
 with the Methodist Episcopal church and a con- 
 tributor to religious movements, which also re- 
 ceived the support of Mr. Tyler during his life- 
 time. Though not a partisan, he was stanch in 
 his allegiance to the Republican party and never 
 failed to support its men and measures. While 
 living- in Iowa he became identified with the In- 
 dependent Order of Odd Fellows, but he did not 
 continue an active worker in the order after re- 
 moving west. When sixty-two years of age his 
 life work came to an end and he was buried in a 
 private cemetery on the home place, mourned by 
 the many to whom his manly, sterling traits had 
 endeared him. 
 
 DA\TD B. PATTERSON. The story of Mr. 
 Patterson's experience may be taken as a fair 
 example of the "strenuous life" during the early 
 '50s in California. Fortune's smiles and frowns 
 were apparently bestowed indiscriminately, 
 though in very many cases there were oftener 
 frowns than smiles. If anything, Mr. Patterson 
 saw rather less of misfortune that fell to the 
 share of the average man. Some might term 
 his good fortune pure good luck, but those who 
 know him best say that his success was entirely 
 due to the man himself, and that the determining 
 factors are to be found in his energy and fore- 
 sight : in seeing an opportunity and knowing the 
 exact moment to take advantage of it for his 
 profit. 
 
 ]\Ir. Patterson was born March 26, 1826, at 
 Hammond, St. Lawrence county, N. Y. His 
 father, Edward Patterson, was also a na- 
 tive of New York and served as a private soldier 
 in the War of 1812, and in his early life followed 
 the occupation of lumberman. About 1856-7 he 
 moved west to Wisconsin and lived with a daugh- 
 ter until his death, at about seventy-eight years 
 of age. His wife, whose maiden name was Cath- 
 erme Buck, was a native of New York, but her 
 parents were of New England birth. She died 
 at about sixty-seven years of age. 
 
 Mr. Patterson's earliest years were passed by 
 
 the beautiful St. Lawrence river. As his father 
 owned and operated saw-mills, his first work was 
 helping his fadier about the mills, and when he 
 was old enough he rafted lumber on the river. 
 They were engaged in getting out timber, which 
 they marketed in Quebec, Canada. When he was 
 twenty-one years old die went to Jefiferson coun- 
 ty, Wis., and for three years had charge of a 
 gang of fifty or sixty men driving logs on Rock 
 river. Returning Argonauts brought to the east 
 their tales of California and of the wonderful 
 fortunes to be made in that far-off land. As a 
 consequence, Mr. Patterson caught the gold 
 fever, and in 1852 he joined a party of emigrants 
 who were about to make the overland route with 
 ox-teams. He furnished one ox-team, and also 
 paid some money for the privilege of going with 
 them. In addition to this he had to take his turn 
 standing guard and do' his share of the work in 
 connection with the wagon train. When they ar- 
 rived at the Yuba river he sold his outfit and went 
 to Downieville. where he bought a mining claim, 
 paying $5,000 for it. Then he took four men 
 into partnership, and in a few days they had 
 taken out enough gold to pay for the claim and 
 $1,000 more for each man. In the spring of '53 
 he built a circular saw- mill on the Yuba river 
 near St. Joe Bar, and after running it for one 
 season, rented it for $600 a month, and later sold 
 it. Having been of some service to Sheriff Ford 
 when a desperado was on the point of killing him, 
 the sheriff appointed him deputy sheriff of Sierra 
 county. He was also collector of taxes, and held 
 both offices as long as he wanted them. Then he 
 bought a pack-train and packed freight into the 
 mines with mules from Marysville all through 
 the mountains, making a good deal of money in 
 this business. When he sold out his pack-train 
 in 1857 he owned three hundred and fifty mules, 
 one of which he would not sell on account of its 
 faithful service, and hired her taken care of 
 while he returned east. In 1858 he disposed of 
 all his property and went east by the way of 
 Panama, staying there about a year, then came 
 back to California, making the return trip also 
 by the Panama route. After his return he en- 
 gaged in the cattle business, and owned butcher 
 shops west of the mountains. Soon afterwards 
 
c^^ o-i^^^J- cA^^iy^-e^P-^'y 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 457 
 
 he formed a partnership with Hon. T. L. Fox, 
 he himself attending to buying and driving the 
 stock, while Mr. Fox took charge of the other 
 part of the business. In the Frazer river ex- 
 citement they lost about $70,000 by reason of the 
 miners leaving the country without paying up 
 their debts, and soon afterwards tlicy dissolved 
 partnership. 
 
 In 1859 Air. Patterson located on the ranch 
 where he now makes his home. For many years 
 he carried on an extensive business buying, sell- 
 ing and raising stock. The magnitude of his 
 operations can be imagined from the fact that 
 he has bought as many as one hundred thousand 
 head of cattle at one time, but when he got so he 
 could not ride he gave up the business, and since 
 then he has engaged in the raising of fine horses, 
 principally draft stock. He has retired from 
 active business life and for the past ten years has 
 rented his ranch, which consists of six hundred 
 and forty acres of land in the Sierra valley. 
 
 Mr. Patterson's first wife was Miss Jane New- 
 ell, a native of New Orleans, their marriage oc- 
 curring at Goodyear's Bar, Cal. She died at 
 the age of twenty-seven years. His second wife 
 was Miss Anna Parker, a native of St. Law- 
 rence county, N. Y., who has lived in California 
 since i860. Their family consists of three chil- 
 dren : Jane R., wife of P. D. Rainc, of Loyal- 
 ton ; Cora, wife of Z. W. Keys, also of this place ; 
 and May, wife of Max Dory, living on Mr. Pat- 
 terson's ranch near Loyal ton. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Patterson is a member of 
 Sierraville Lodge No. 281, F. & A. M., having 
 joined the order many years ago. In the twilight 
 days of his life Mr. Patterson is able to look back 
 over the years with much satisfaction, feeling 
 that he has accomplished many things. He can 
 rightfully be termed a successful business man. 
 
 MRS. M. A. GREENO. Many experiences, 
 some pleasant and others sad, have fallen to the 
 lot of Mrs. Greeno, into whose life manifold 
 changes have come and numerous vicissitudes 
 have been braved with womanly fortitude and 
 patience. Now in the afternoon of her existence 
 
 she is living in quiet contentment on the ranch 
 near Doyle's Station, Long valley, where she 
 and her sons jointly own more than nineteen 
 hundred acres and conduct ranch pursuits upon 
 an extensive scale. Of Eastern parentage and 
 ancestry, she was born in Boston, Mass., in 1840, 
 being a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Ann 
 (Collins) Wallace, both natives of Boston, the 
 former of French extraction, the latter of Scotch 
 lineage. When the daughter was yet a small 
 child, she lost her father by death, and subse- 
 quently her mother came to California, settled 
 in Butte county, married again, and passed her 
 remaining years in the west. 
 
 At the age of fifteen years Miss Wallace be- 
 came the wife of Moses L. Oakes, a sea captain 
 who lived only a few years after their marriage. 
 The young widow was left with the care and 
 support of two small children. The son, Tliomas 
 Francis Oakes, came to California and resides 
 at Richmond. The daughter, Jane Minerva 
 Oakes, married Francis Qiapman and resides 
 in Carson, Nev. Of her union there were the 
 following children : Eva, wife of U. S. Mackey 
 of Carson and mother of one daughter, Dorothy ; 
 Margaret, who married James Richardson of 
 Carson and has two children ; Edna, who died at 
 nineteen years ; Earle, who lives at Angels Camp 
 in California; and John. 
 
 When only eighteen years of age, in 1858, 
 Mrs. Oakes brought her two children by the 
 Isthmus of Panama to California, where she 
 remained two years in San Francisco, later made 
 her home in Columbia, this state, and then re- 
 turned to San Francisco. While in that city she 
 became the wife of Peter Kelley and moved to 
 Butte county, where she remained a number of 
 years. Mr. Kelley proved to be unworthy of hei- 
 trust and she sought legal separation from him. 
 meanwhile leaving her son of that marriage with 
 a family bearing the name of Philbrook. In the 
 course of time the family became so attached to 
 the child that they moved away to unknown 
 parts in order that his mother could not regain 
 possession of him. Consequently it was many 
 years before she ascertained his whereabouts ; 
 he now resides in Susanville and is known by the 
 name of Alonzo Kelle\- Pbilhrnnk. 
 
458 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOC^RAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 After having made her home with her mother 
 for several years Mrs. Kelley became the wife of 
 Charles B. Clark, with whom she moved to Sii- 
 sanville and took charge of the old Stewart ho- 
 tel. When Mr. Clark died she still remained at 
 the hotel and for some years continued its man- 
 agement. Three children were born of that 
 union, namely : Charles B., who is represented 
 on another page of this volume; Harriet, de- 
 ceased ; and Mary Louisa, Mrs. Dewitt, de- 
 ceased, who' left one son, Charles. In Lassen 
 county Mrs. Clark was married to George W. 
 Greeno, an honored pioneer and prominent 
 stockman of Long valley, who was born in Vir- 
 ginia, educated in England, and as a boy shipped 
 before the mast. Early in the '50s he landed in 
 California, where at first he tried his luck in the 
 mines of Plumas count}-, but subsequently aban- 
 doned mining for agricultural pursuits, and for 
 many years engaged in stock raising in Long 
 valley. At the time of his death he owned more 
 than one thousand acres in his home ranch, and 
 here his widow now resides, aiding her sons in 
 the care of their large property and enjoying a 
 degree of comfort and ease justly earned by 
 years of industry. During his early years in 
 California Mr. Greeno had many experiences 
 with the Indians and more than once was in peril 
 of his life, but with the characteristic courage of 
 a true frontiersman he allowed no danger to 
 daunt his spirit. Throughout all this section of 
 country he was known and honored and when 
 he died, September 17, 1902, expressions of re- 
 gret and sympathy were heard on every hand 
 and a large concourse of friends gathered to ren- 
 der him the last tribute of honor when he was 
 laid to rest at Willow ranch. Of his three chil- 
 .dren, two (twins) died early in life, and the sole 
 survivor is the son, George W., an honored citi- 
 zen of Lassen county and a valued assistant to 
 his mother in the management of the property. 
 
 ELIJAH KELLOGG. Among the pioneers 
 of- Big valley, and the prominent and extensive 
 farmers of this locality, there is perhaps none 
 who is looked upon with more respect than Eli- 
 
 jah Kellogg, vi'ho bears a high rank in the com- 
 munity in which he resides as a reliable and sub- 
 stantial citizen. From a very modest beginning, 
 with little means, and subsequent embarrass- 
 ments of all kinds, he has made his way steadily 
 upward, and is now reaping the reward of his 
 early toils and difficulties, being surrounded by 
 all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life. 
 A Canadian by birth, he was born, January 25, 
 1844, i'l Ri'escotl, Ontario, but while yet a child 
 in his mother's arms was taken to Winnebago 
 county, 111., where he was reared and educated. 
 Neither of his parents, who were pioneer settlers 
 of boith Illinois and Iowa, are now living. 
 
 At the age of eighteen years, in Rockford, 111., 
 Elijah Kellogg enlisted in the Seventy-fourth 
 Illinois Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned 
 to the Fourth Corps of the Army of the Cum- 
 berland, and subsequently participated in many 
 of the leading engagements of the Civil war. 
 After serving bravely for three years he was 
 jionorably discharged with the rank of sergeant, 
 and was mustered out of service at Qiicago. 
 Returning to the parental roof, he resided in 
 ^^'innebago county until 1863, and then accom- 
 panied his parents to Franklin county, Iowa. 
 There he assisted in clearing and impro'ving a 
 farm, and there his parents hath died. Leaving 
 his Iowa home in 1871, Mr. Kellogg spent a few 
 months in Wyoming, and in January, 1872, came 
 to California, and for fourteen months lived in 
 the Santa Clara valley. Learning the trade of 
 a sheep shearer while there, he subsequently fol- 
 lowed it fur a number of years, l>eing employed 
 at different places along the coast. Having pre- 
 viously acquired a soldier's claim to the ranch 
 which he now owns and occupies, he settled upon 
 it in 1876, and for seventeen years resided upon 
 it, in the meantime being- engaged to some ex- 
 tent in mining and sheep shearing. He bought 
 two different tracts of adjoining land, each con- 
 taining one hundred and sixty acres, and was 
 just well started as a farmer when he lost title 
 to all of his landed possessions, and was forced 
 to leave the county nearly penniless. 
 
 Going to southern California, Mr. Kellogg 
 then located about ten miles south of Los An- 
 geles, and having purchased fifteen acres of land 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 4;V.t 
 
 was tlicre cmijloycd in raisin^' walnuts for Iwclvf 
 years. ^Meeting- witli cxcollcnt success in that 
 industry, lie sold his land at an advantatjoous 
 price, returned to Big valley, and in addition to 
 buying hack his original claim ])urchased two 
 adjoining ranches, having now one of the finest 
 and best-improved farming estates to be found 
 in northern California. The estate greatly de- 
 preciated while he was away, and since his return 
 he has made improvements of value, and is car- 
 rying on general ranching nn an extensive scale, 
 raising cattle, horses, mules, grain and hay, and 
 at the present time is putting in alfalfa on a part 
 of the ranch. 
 
 In Big valley, in 1885, Mr. Kellogg married 
 Carrie Coats, who was born in Missouri, and 
 when a girl came with her jiarents, Amos and 
 Elizabeth (Dolan) Coats, to California, locating 
 in Big valley in 1878. Here Mr. Coats pre- 
 eni]5ted and homesteaded three hundred and 
 twenty acres of land, on which he and his wife 
 spent the remainder of their lives. Fraternally 
 Mr. Kellogg is a Mason, and politically he is 
 identified with the Democratic party. Both him- 
 self and wife are members of the Giristian 
 church. 
 
 THOMAS M. BARHAM. In the develop- 
 ment and advancement of its agricultural and in- 
 dustrial resources Lassen county has been ex- 
 ceptionally fortunate, its early settlers having 
 been men of great intelligence, sound judgment 
 and sterling worth. Prominent among the ener- 
 getic and enterprising men who assisted in trans- 
 forming the wild, sage-covered land into a good 
 farming region was the late Thomas M. Bar- 
 bam, who was known throughout Honey Lake 
 vallev as a successful agriculturist, an esteemed 
 citizen, a kind neighbor and a loving husband 
 and father. A native of Missouri, he was born 
 in (ireene county, February 8, 1840, and died in 
 Lassen county, on his home farm, November 2, 
 i8i)4. his death being a great loss to the com- 
 munitv in wliicb he had so long resided. 
 
 Left fatherless at the age of nine years, 
 Thomas M. Barham was brought up and edu- 
 cated in his native state. In 1859 he came with 
 
 his mother to California, ami for six years re- 
 sided in 'S'uba county. Locating in Honey Lake 
 valley ni 1865, he formed a partnershi]) with 
 John R. Dunn, buying a ranch, which they man- 
 aged together for a year, when the property was 
 divided. Mr. Barham becoming owner of tlie 
 farm now occupied by the liarham brothers. On 
 this estate he made improvements of great value, 
 fencing the land and erecting a large bam and a 
 fine residence. .Subsec|uently selling out to .-\. J. 
 Spoon, Mr. Barham bought the ranch on which 
 Mr. Spoon and C. I". Hicks now reside, and at 
 once began making needed improvements. Ik- 
 was a hard working, persevering man. one who 
 observed and thought for himself, possessing 
 shrewd common sense, and his labors were 
 crowned with success. He placed a large part 
 of the three hundred and twenty acres included 
 in his ranch under cultivation, and was there 
 prosperously employed in general farming until 
 his death, as related above. 
 
 May 9, 1878, in Missouri, near the home of his 
 early days, Mr. Barham married Columbia O. 
 Lay, who was born in Greene county. Mo., a 
 daughter of William and Mildred (Tatum) Lay. 
 Her father was a native of Indiana, and her 
 mother of Kentucky, and both died in Missouri. 
 To the union of Mr. and Mrs. I'.arham six chil- 
 dren were born: Williani 1)., born in Lassen 
 county, Cal.. March 11. 1879, married Mamie 
 Riddle, by whom he has one child. Leona I". : 
 James Franklin, born in Missouri, March 11. 
 1881, died Augu.st 3, 1885 ; Effie M., born July 
 2, 1883. died July 30, 1885: Emma L.. born Oc- 
 tober 8. 1885. lives at home ; Thomas O., born 
 October 4, 1887. is also at home: and Sarah C, 
 born March 3. 1890, died March 17. 1891. .After 
 the death of her husband Mrs. Barham sold the 
 ranch on which they were living, and bought the 
 one on which she now resides, near Bunting- 
 ville. It is a smaller tract, containing one hun- 
 dred and fortv acres, and this she manages her- 
 self, being assisted by her children. She raises 
 large quantities of hay, and is carrying on a re- 
 munerative business in dairying, an industry for 
 which her ranch is well adapted. She is a woman 
 of much force of character, possessing good busi- 
 ness abilit\ and tact, and is very successful in her 
 
460 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 agricultural work. Politically Mr. Barham was 
 a Democrat, and fraternally belonged to Janes- 
 ville Lodge, No. 223, I. O. O. F. He was a 
 member of the Missionary Baptist church, to 
 which Mrs. Barham also belongs. 
 
 FRANK A. HANSEN. Conspicuous among 
 wide-awake and prosperous agriculturists of 
 Honey Lake valley is Frank A. Hansen, who is 
 busily employed in farming, stock-raising and 
 dairying in Lassen county, near Spoonvillc. 
 Active and energetic, with a clear head for busi- 
 ness, he is a prominent factor in promoting the 
 industrial interests of this section of northern 
 California. A son of Nicholas Hansen, he was 
 born April 26, 1868, in San Mateo county, of 
 substantial German ancestry on both sides of the 
 house. 
 
 A native of Berlin, Germany, Nicholas Han- 
 sen came, when a boy, to the United States, set- 
 tling in Michigan. At the age of eighteen years 
 he entered the employ of the government as a 
 scout, and in that capacity crossed the plains to 
 California several times, making his first trip in 
 1859. On taking up his residence in this state 
 he was at first engaged in teaming, but subse- 
 quently turned his attention to agricultural and 
 horticultural pursuits, and is now living near 
 Redwood City, where he is an extensive fruit 
 grower. He still keeps as one of his cherished 
 possessions the old flintlock musket, made in 
 1825, that he used when scouting. He married, 
 in Alichigan. Mary Rohlwing, who was also born 
 in Berlin, Germany, but is now deceased and is 
 buried in Redwood Citv. 
 
 Having acquired a good knowledge of the com- 
 mon branches of study in the inililic schools, 
 Frank A. Hansen remained at home until after 
 attaining his majority, assisting his father in 
 tilling the soil. In 1893, in partnership with his 
 brother, H. T. Hansen, he came to Lassen county, 
 and bought the two-hundred-and-forty-acre ranch 
 which he now occupies, it being known as the 
 old Charles Barham estate, and likewise pur- 
 chased a homestead claim of one hundred and 
 sixty acres. The Messrs. Hansen are carrying 
 
 on the ranches together, and in their labors are 
 meeting with much success. They have thirty 
 acres of alfalfa, the remainder of their ranch 
 being wild meadow, hay land and grazing land. 
 They devote their attention principally to the 
 raising of cattle, and in connection with this 
 branch of agriculture have a fine dairy. The im- 
 provements on their property are of the best, 
 their buildings being of modern construction, and 
 the equipments all that are needed on an up-to- 
 date farm. 
 
 June 18, 1905, Mr. Hansen married Mrs. Alice 
 (Mulroney) Bass, who was born and educated 
 in Honey Lake valley, being a daughter of 
 Thomas J. Mulroney, of whom a brief sketch 
 may be found on another page of this volume. 
 Alice Mulroney married first, November 30, 1893, 
 Richard Bass, a son of I\Irs. Mary Bass. He 
 died in July, igoo, leaving two children, Joseph 
 Ray Bass and Elmer Francis Bass. Religiously, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hansen belong to the Catholic 
 church at Susanville. Politically, Mr. Hansen is 
 a stanch Republican, and fraternally he is a 
 charter member and the president of Honey Lake 
 Parlor No. 198, N. S. G. W., of JanesviUe. 
 
 CHARLES B. CLARK. Numbered among 
 the wide-awake and self-reliant men who are 
 ably conducting the agricultural interests of Las- 
 sen county is Charles B. Clark, one of the pro- 
 prietors of Willow ranch, in Long Valley. His 
 untiring efforts and continued industry, combined 
 with skill and practical judgment in carrying on 
 his labors, have met with a well-merited reward, 
 his success being unquestioned. A native Cali- 
 fornian, he was born in Inskip, Butte county, 
 April 24, 1863. His father, Charles B. Clark, 
 Sr., died while yet in the prime of manhood, and 
 his mother, of whom a short sketch may be found 
 on another page of this volume, subsequently 
 married George W. Greeno. Sr. 
 
 When nine years of age, Charles B. Clark came 
 with his mother and step-father, Mr. Greeno, to 
 Long Valley, which has since been his home. In 
 the district schools he acquired his preliminary 
 education, afterwards attending Heald's Business 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ic>r> 
 
 College in San Francisco for ten months. Find- 
 ing farming an occupation congenial to his 
 tastes as well as profitable, Mr. Clark turned his 
 attention to agricultural pursuits, and now, in 
 partnership with his mother, Mrs. Greeno, and 
 his half-brother, George W. Greeno, he owns 
 and occupies Willow ranch. This farm of nine- 
 teen hundred acres, and more, is one of the finest 
 in its improvements and appointments of any in 
 this section of the county, being a credit to the 
 sagacity and excellent management of its own- 
 ers. 
 
 In April, 1899, Mr. Clark married Emma Mc- 
 Dermott, and at once established himself in his 
 present substantial residence, on Willow ranch, 
 near Doyle station. Four children have blessed 
 the union of Mr. and Mrs. Clark, namely : Mary 
 Estella, born December 30, 1899; Catherine, born 
 August 22, 1902; Charles Lawrence, bom Feb- 
 ruary 20, 1904; and Edward Lyman, born Feb- 
 ruary 14, 1905. Politically Mr. Clark votes the 
 straight Republican ticket, and fraternally he is 
 a member of Janesville Lodge No. 232, F. & A. 
 M., and of .Susanville Chapter, No. 47, R. A. M. 
 
 BENJAMIN HANSON LEAVITT. Prob- 
 ably no one in northern California is more de- 
 serving of credit for what has been accomplished 
 in the line of irrigation than is P.enjamin H. 
 Leavitt. Soon after settling on his ranch in 
 Lassen county he dug ditches and canals to 
 bring water to his property, and in so doing was 
 the first to resort to irrigation in order to raise 
 better and larger crops. Succeeding so well in 
 this modest attempt he later dug the canal of 
 the Susan River Canal system, and in 1889 con- 
 structed the reservoir, using Alkali lake, which 
 he enlarged, the reservoir when completed cover- 
 ing over two thousand acres of land. Above 
 Susanville he constructed two other reservoirs, 
 covering thirty-six hundred acres, all in good 
 condition. He personally surveyed the land for 
 this enterprise, superintended the building of the 
 dam. and gained a prior and preferred right 
 on this system. Subsequently, with seven oth- 
 ers, he promoted the plan of the Willow Creek 
 
 Irrigation Company of Lassen county, and in 
 1903 was delegate to the Irrigation Congress 
 at Ogden, Utah, afterwards making a trip to 
 Washington in order to get the government to 
 take up the scheme of irrigation. Failing in this, 
 however, upon his return he established the com- 
 pany of which he is now the vice-president. For 
 years he has worked and planned to put Honey 
 Lake valley under irrigation and is now the 
 leading spirit in a movement which is endeavor- 
 mg to tap Eagle lake and bring the water down 
 through Willow Creek valley to the Susan river, 
 and thus irrigate the broad expanse of Honey 
 Lake valley, which will be the means of bring- 
 ing another five hundred thousand acres or more 
 under irrigation, and of bringing thousands of 
 settlers to the valley. 
 
 A descendant of New England antecedents, 
 P.enjamin H. Leavitt is a son of Nathan Leavitt, 
 a native of Maine, where he became a well- 
 known lunibcrnian and farmer. Near Clinton, 
 Kennebec county, he operated a sawmill for a 
 number of years, using water as the motive 
 power. In whatever line of business he engaged 
 he was very successful and was a distinct ad- 
 vantage to the community in which he made his 
 home. His marriage united him with Elizabeth 
 Hanson, a native of St. .Andrews, New Bruns- 
 wick, and the daughter of William Hanson. 
 Originally Mr. Hanson made his home in New 
 Hampshire, removing from, there to St. An- 
 drews, still later going to Maine, where he passed 
 a\\a\- at the remarkable age of one hundred and 
 five years. Throughout his life he had followed 
 the sea, and had experienced all the vicissitudes 
 incident to such a life, at one time being the only 
 one saved from a vessel which was shipwrecked. 
 The Flanson family was also of New England 
 origin, and for years its members had been accus- 
 tomed to life on and near the sea. Mr. Hanson's 
 death occurred in St. Anthony's Falls, Minn., 
 and his wife also died in that state at the age 
 of eighty-nine years. Of the fourteen children 
 born to Nathan Leavitt and his wife ten reached 
 years of maturity and eight are still living. One 
 son. his father's namesake, fought in the Civil 
 war and is now postmaster in Texas. 
 
 Benjamin H. Leavitt was born in Kennebec 
 
iG6 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county, Me., November 14, 1835, and was reared 
 m Clinton until he was thirteen years of age. It 
 was at this age that he shipped as a sailor from 
 Bangor, Me., in the coast trade, and subsequently 
 he worked on the Penobscot river as a log driver. 
 Having been accustomed to the sea all his life 
 he could ride a log with ease, and was an expert 
 swimmer, a man of powerful build and of mag- 
 nificent physique. When only sixteen years of 
 age he could shoulder an anchor weighing five 
 hundred and twenty-five pounds. Not only was 
 he well known in Maine, Pennsylvania, Massa- 
 chusetts and Canada as an expert log driver, but 
 he had gained a similar reputation in his work 
 on the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers. His 
 identification with California dates from the year 
 1856, he having set sail from New York city 
 in September of that year. Coming by way of 
 the isthmus, he debarked from the John L. 
 Stephens at San Francisco, and soon afterward 
 engaged in mining. His first experience in this 
 line was at Timbuctoo, from there going to 
 Dutch Flat, and still later mining on the Yuba 
 river. At Oregon Hill, on the latter river, he 
 afterwards ran a sawmill. Purchasing the mill 
 in 1861, he moved it to Truckee, in Dog valley, 
 setting it up there as a steam sawmill. As the 
 pioneer lumber manufacturer on the Truckee 
 river he cleared over $20,000 in three years. Sell- 
 ing these interests to parties on credit he lost all, 
 and in 1864 came to Honey Lake valley, at the 
 same time purchasing a ranch in the valley. In- 
 stead of settling on this, however, at that time 
 he ran a sawmill at Janesville in partnership with 
 J. D. Byers, for two years, at the end of that 
 time taking up his home on the ranch previously 
 purchased. At this time all that he had left of 
 his accumulations at Truckee was a $1,500 debt, 
 upon which he was paying three per cent interest. 
 Not disheartened by this state of his' finances, 
 however, he pre-empted one hundred and sixty 
 acres of land, homesteaded one hundred and 
 sixty acres adjoining, and here engaged in farm- 
 ing and stock-raising. The merchants of Susan- 
 ville were at this time in the habit of furnishing 
 settlers with supplies on credit for a year, but 
 when Mr. Leavitt applied for supplies under the 
 same conditions he was refused, but before lie 
 
 left he secured credit at one of the stores. By 
 clearing and improving his land he soon had it 
 in hay and grain, later adding the raising of cat- 
 tle. . By persistent efforts he finally paid off all 
 of the indebtedness on his property, to which he 
 later added from time to time, until at this 
 writing he owns over fourteen hundred acres. 
 It is needless to say that his ranch is under 
 excellent irrigation, which greatly facilitates the 
 raising of hay and grain, which are his chief com- 
 modities, although he is also well known as a 
 stock-raiser, his brand being BL on the right 
 hip. 
 
 On the Truckee in Nevada, Mr. Leavitt was 
 married to Miss Celera Edwards, who is a native 
 of Vermont and a sister of Mrs. Hurley, of 
 Susanville. Eight children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Leavitt, of whom we make the following 
 mention : Lola May became the wife of Charles 
 Bropliy. and at her death in Honey Lake valley 
 left four children ; Emma is the wife of Frank- 
 Johnston, and resides near Standish ; Lizzie is 
 the wife of Victor Perry of Standish ; Grace 
 also lives in that town and is the wife of James 
 Elledge ; Fanny is the wife of Vinton Gunter ; 
 James and George are both on the home farm ; 
 and Benjamin died at the age of four vears. 
 Politically Mr. Leavitt is a true-blue Republican, 
 and fraternally he is a member of Lassen Lodge 
 No. 149, F. & A. M., and Lassen Chapter No. 47, 
 R. A. M. Both Mr. and Mrs. Leavitt are hale, 
 hearty and active, and are the proud grand- 
 parents of twenty -one children. 
 
 JOHN ELLINGSON. Many of Lassen coun- 
 ty's able and enterprising agriculturists have 
 come here from foreign shores, bringing from 
 their native land those habits of industry and 
 thrift that are sure forerunners of success in 
 whatsoever occupation they may embark. Prom- 
 inent among these residents of Honey Lake val- 
 ley is John Ellingson, of Milford, whose success 
 as a general farmer has been brought about by 
 persistent energy, well-directed toil and good 
 busmess ability on his part. A son of John and 
 Ann (Thompson) Ellingson, he was born Jan- 
 
HISTORIC\L AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 40 
 
 nary 25, 1876, in Norway. His parents enii- 
 <jratc(l to America in 1891. and the ensuing three 
 years hved in .-Xstoria, Ore., hut since that time 
 liave resided in Lassen county, Cal., making their 
 home with their son John. The father owns a 
 homestead claim of one hundred and sixty acres 
 adjoining tliat of his son's. 
 
 Brought up in Norway, John l-dHngson at- 
 tended school until fifteen years of age, acquir- 
 ing a practical knowledge of the common 
 hranclies of study. Coming with his parents to 
 tlie L'nited States, he worked a numher of years 
 for w'ages, by dint of economy saving some 
 money. In 1898 he located on his present ranch, 
 taking up a homestead claim of one hundred and 
 si.xty acres six miles east of Milford, and in the 
 seven years that have since elapsed he has made 
 improvements of a noteworthy character, having 
 built a good house and substantial barns and out- 
 buililings. He has worked earnestly and wisely, 
 clearing much of his land, and has put in forty 
 acres of alfalfa, a fine crop to raise in this sec- 
 tion. He pays considerable attention to dairy- 
 ing, and in addition to raising hay and alfalfa, 
 feeds cattle, making money each season in all of 
 his ventures. He is also starting an orchard, and 
 in due course of time he expects to have enough 
 fruit of different kinds for home use and some 
 to market. In politics he is a zealous Repub- 
 lican, working for the best interests of his party. 
 
 JOHN B. WEMPLE. Closely identified with 
 the agricultural and industrial interests of Las- 
 sen county is John B. \\'emple, of .Milford, who 
 was born July 31, 1864, on the old homestead, 
 where he still lives, being a son of Joseph Craw- 
 ford and Eliza J. (Christe) Wemple, earl}- set- 
 tlers of this section of Lassen county. As a boy 
 he assisted his father in clearing the wild land, 
 and with gratification and pride has watched its 
 gradual development into a productive farm, 
 yielding bountiful harvests each season. In this 
 transformation he was an important factor, and 
 as the original ranch has been enlarged by the 
 purchase of other land he has continued to assist 
 his father and brothers in the management of 
 
 the large estate. Possessing a wide knowledge 
 of the various branches of agriculture, he has 
 been successful in his undertakings, and iiolds 
 a good position among the enterprising and pros- 
 perous farmers of Honey Lake valley. In ad- 
 dition to general farming he is also interested to 
 some extent in teaming, carrying on a substantial 
 business in that line of industry. 
 
 March 29, 1883, -^Ir. Wcmpie married Abigail 
 Winslow, and they are the parents of six chil- 
 dren, namely: Ina (wife of James Ferris, of 
 .Sparks, Nev. ), Edmund, I^wrence, Gladys, 
 Earle and Myrtle. Mrs. Wcmpie is a most es- 
 timable wonian. and a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. Inheriting the political faith 
 in which he was reared. Mr. Wemple is a stead- 
 fast Democrat, and fraternally he belongs to 
 Honey Lake Parlor No. 198. N. S. G. W., of 
 Janesville. 
 
 WILLIAM FREDERICK RAKER. Con- 
 spicuous among the pioneer agriculturists of 
 Honey Lake valley was the late William Fred- 
 erick Raker, who during his long residence in 
 Lassen county performed his full share in de- 
 veloping and advancing its resources, industrial, 
 agricultural and financial. He was a practical, 
 energetic man, reared to habits of diligence and 
 thrift, and bound to succeed in whatever he un- 
 dertook. He was born November 15, 1822. in 
 Wurtemberg, Germany, and wdien a small child 
 came with his parents to the Cnited States, set- 
 tling in Pennsylvania, where he was brought up. 
 
 In early manhood Mr. Raker turned his face 
 westward, and for a few years lived in Illinois. 
 In 1853, lured by the thrilling tales concerning 
 the wealth to be acc|uired in the gold regions of 
 California, he came across the plains to Plumas 
 county, and for four years was employed in min- 
 ing in the Indian valley. Coming to Lassen 
 county in 1857, he decided to locate in Long val- 
 ley, and laid claim to a ranch on which he put 
 up a small cabin. Subsequently, while he was 
 gone for a load of timlx'r with which to make 
 further improvements. Jacob McKissick took 
 possession of the cabin and land and held it. 
 Then forming a partnership with Mr. Goose, 
 
468 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Mr. Raker pre-empted one hundred and sixty 
 acres of land in Honey Lake valley, near Mil- 
 ford, and this ranch, when the partnership was 
 dissolved, fell to his share of the property. With 
 characteristic enterprise Mr. Raker labored as a 
 general farmer, and as he accumulated money he 
 wisely invested in real estate, in course of time 
 having four hundred and fifty acres in his farm, 
 which he rendered one of the most attractive and 
 desirable in the community, his improva-nents 
 being of the very best. He embarked to a con- 
 siderable extent in stock-raising, for many years 
 making a specialty of breeding fine horses. Here 
 he lived, honored and respected by all, until his 
 death, in August, 1897. 
 
 Mr. Raker was twice married, his first mar- 
 riage being with Mrs. Mary Decious. On April 
 II, 1891, some time after the death of his first 
 wife, Mr. Raker married Mrs. Joanna (O'Leary) 
 Lindsey, a native of Vermont. Politically Mr. 
 Raker was a steadfast supporter of the principles 
 of the Republican party, and took a warm inter- 
 est in local afTairs. 
 
 JOSIAH WILLIAM TREGASKIS. In trac- 
 ing the genealogy of this pioneer rancher of 
 Plumas county we find that the family is of 
 English stock, many generations identified with 
 the history of Cornwall, whence Capt. John 
 Tregaskis, a native of that shire, crossed the 
 ocean to the United States as early as 1825. 
 Prior to his removal from his native land he had 
 followed mining pursuits in the Cornwall mines, 
 but after his settlement in New York City he 
 became a contractor and under contract con- 
 structed the Croton reservoir for the purpose 
 of supplying the city with water. After a few 
 years he followed the tide of emigration toward 
 the undeveloped west and established his family 
 at Mineral Point, Iowa county. Wis., where he 
 became the owner of large tracts of land, erected 
 substantial store buildings and houses, owned a 
 smelter, and in other ways was closely associated 
 with the development of the locality. 
 
 Prior to the departure of the family from 
 Cornwall a son, Thomas, had been born in Sep- 
 
 tember of 181 3, and he was a lad of eleven when 
 he crossed the ocean to the country afterward 
 to be his home. At twenty years of age he ac- 
 companied the family to Wisconsin and later 
 accompanied El Bernard, one of the first ex- 
 plorers of the Lake Superior region. When 
 gold was discovered in California he became one 
 of the thousands of fortune-seekers who in 1849 
 sought the unknown possibilities of the western 
 coast. The voyage to California was made on 
 a sailing vessel and passed without special in- 
 cident. Going at once to the mines he bought 
 a pack train and engaged in hauling supplies to 
 Downieville. During the spring of 1852 he 
 moved to Port Wine, where he kept a hotel as 
 well as prosecuted his mining interests. From 
 there in 1854 he came to LaPorte, Plumas county, 
 where for a few years he engaged in the meat 
 business and then conducted a livery stable for 
 a long period. Eventually business reverses 
 caused him to dispose of his interests in LaPorte 
 in 1876. During the last ten years of his life 
 he remained in the home of his son, Josiah 
 William, with whom he stayed until he passed 
 away at eighty-four years. Through all of his 
 life he had been a Democrat, but never consented 
 to hold official positions. 
 
 The marriage of Thomas Tregaskis united him 
 with Margaret Niel, who was born in London, 
 England, the daughter of an expert accountant, 
 and was quite a }ouiig girl when she came to 
 the United Stales. While the family were living 
 at LaPorte, Cal., she passed from earth at the 
 age of fifty-five years. Of her union there were 
 born three children who attained mature years, 
 one of these being Josiah William, whose birth 
 occurred at Mineral Point, Iowa county, Wis., 
 November 27, 1847, and who was scarcely five 
 years of age when brought by his mother to the 
 west. The early years of his childhood were 
 associated with Port Wine and LaPorte and he 
 remained with his parents until seventeen years 
 of age, when he went to a mining camp in Idaho. 
 Returning in a few months he spent the winter 
 at home, but in the spring of 1865 went back 
 to Idaho, where he engaged in mining and pros- 
 pecting with fair success. In the fall of 1866 
 he returned to LaPorte and in January, 1867, 
 
 II 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 471 
 
 took a trip to ATexico and worked there for 
 wages in a mine, returning to LaPorte in June 
 of 1868. For some time afterward lie hauled 
 freight in the summer months and mined during 
 the winters. In Octoher, 1879, '^s removed to 
 Oroville and engaged in the forwarding business 
 as a commission agent. The following year he 
 came to .\nierican valley, Plumas countv, and 
 bought two hundred and forty acres one and 
 one-half miles from Ouincy, where he engaged 
 in farming. In addition, for several years he 
 hauled freight to mining camps, but eventually 
 gave his entire attention to the management of 
 his land and the raising of stock. 
 
 After having operated the ranch until 1903 
 Mr. Tregaskis rented the land and moved to 
 Quincy, where he bought a homestead of two 
 acres and now resides here. Adjoining the town 
 he has two hundred and twenty-three acres 
 principally of mountain land, the value of which 
 is enhanced by the presence of unfailing springs 
 of jnire water. From this source he has secured 
 the water supply for the city water works, which 
 he now owns ; in addition he owns a business 
 house and private dwelling in Ouincy, and has 
 stock in the Plumas County Bank, which he 
 assisted in founding and of which he is a director. 
 Politically he votes the Republican ticket. In 
 February, 1878, he married Miss Lillian V. 
 Goodwin, who was born in Fairfield, Me., and 
 came to California three years prior to their 
 marriage. 
 
 ISAAC MAYES STEWART. A prominent 
 and influential citizen of Lassen county, Isaac 
 Mayes Stewart, now serving as postmaster at 
 Clinton, has been an important factor in the up- 
 building of this part of Honey Lake valley, and 
 in the development and advancement of its agri- 
 cultural, industrial and financial prosperity has 
 contributed his full share. A Pennsylvanian by 
 birth, he was born May 17, 1838, in West Alex- 
 ander, Washington county, which was likewise 
 the birthplace of his father, the late Thomas 
 Stewart. His paternal grandfather, James Stew- 
 art, a pioneer settler of Washington county. Pa., 
 was born in .A.ntrim. Ireland, where his father 
 
 spent his last years, moving there from Scotland 
 when a young man. 
 
 .After learning the blacksmith's trade. Thomas 
 Stewart followed it for awhile in his native 
 town, living there until 1849, when he migrated 
 to Ellisville, Fulton county. 111. In 1855 he 
 moved still farther westward, locating as a black- 
 smith in Winterset, Iowa. He afterwards re- 
 moved with his family to Kansas, and there spent 
 his remaining days. He married Jane Gilmorc. 
 wiio was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of 
 Samuel Gilmore, a farmer, who was born of 
 Scotch ancestors in the north of Ireland. .She, 
 too. died in Kansas. Of their family of four- 
 teen children, eight are living. Four sons served 
 ill the Civil war, all belonging to an Iowa regi- 
 ment, namely : Samuel, now living in KansTs : 
 William, who was lieutenant of his company, and 
 died in Kansas ; John, who died while in the 
 army ; and Thomas, who died from wounds re- 
 ceived while scouting. 
 
 Only eleven years old when he accompanied 
 his parents to Illinois, Isaac Mayes Stewart com- 
 pleted his early education in the pioneer log 
 schoolhouse of Ellisville. Going to Iowa in 1855 
 he assisted his father in clearing and improving 
 a farm near Winterset. and was subsequently en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1861 he came 
 with mule-teams across the plains, having rather 
 an e.xciting trip. One night, when near the Snake 
 river, the compain- with which he was journey- 
 ing was attacked by Indians, but the savages 
 were driven away by the brave little band, which 
 suft'ered no serious loss in the encounter. Tak- 
 ing the Honey Lake route, the party arrived in 
 California in July, 1861, after a trip of three 
 months. Locating first in Marysville, Mr. Stew- 
 art was employed in agricultural pursuits in that 
 vicinity for more than a >ear. Returning to this 
 vallev ill the fall of 1862, he followed his inde- 
 pendent cKCupation in Susanville until the ensu- 
 ing fall, when he returned to Alarysville. where 
 he continued as a tiller of the soil for three 
 years. 
 
 In 1866, after his marriage. Mr. Stewart pur- 
 chased land oil the Susan river, six miles east of 
 Susanville, and having cleared and improved a 
 food ranch engaged in grain and hay raising. 
 
472 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Selling at an advantage, he afterwards bought 
 what is now known as the Lanigar place, which 
 he improved and sold, making money in the 
 transaction. He th.en purchased what is now the 
 Wright estate, and having made improvements 
 of much value disposed of that also. In the 
 meantime he bought his present ranch of one 
 hundred and eighty acres, situated eight miles 
 east of Susanville, and having cleared the land 
 began its improvement. He erected substantial 
 buildings, including a residence and commodious 
 barns, and placed the land under irrigation from 
 the Susan river, now having one of the most 
 valuable and productive alfalfa farms in the 
 valley. Until selling it in 1905 he also owned 
 a meadow farm of two hundred and thirty acres, 
 h'ing three miles below bis home farm, and dur- 
 ing the fifteen years that he managed it carried 
 on dairving, keeping from thirty to forty cows. 
 .\pril 7, 1866, in Marysville, Mr. Stewart mar- 
 ried Sophia Moore, who was born in Walworth 
 count}-. Wis., near Delavan, a daughter of 
 Charles Moore. Born and reared near Albany, 
 N. Y., Mr. Moore chose farming as his life oc- 
 cupation, and settled first as a farmer in Wis- 
 consin. In 1861 he came with his familv across 
 the plains with horse-teams, his son-in-law, John 
 Neale, being captain of the train. After mining 
 in the Butte mountains, in Yuba county, for two 
 vears he moved to Marysville, where he engaged 
 in horticultural pursuits. Coming to Honey 
 Lake valley in 1866, he bought a ranch lying five 
 miles from Susanville, and was there employed 
 in farming until his retirement from active busi- 
 ness, and now, a venerable man of ninety years, 
 he lives with Mr. and Mrs. Stewart. He mar- 
 ried Mrs. Elizabeth Haslane, who was born in 
 Xew York, and died in Honey Lake valley in 
 1870. By her first marriage Mrs. Moore had 
 three children, one of whom is living, and by 
 her union with Mr. Moore she had two children, 
 Mrs. Stewart being the only survivor of this 
 marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are the par- 
 ents of five children, namely : Walter, engaged 
 in farming with his father; Jennie, wife of 
 Thomas Doyle, of Milford : Estella, wife of Will- 
 iam Streschley ; Mark, farming near Clinton : 
 and Laura, at home. Politicallv Mr. Stewart is 
 
 an earnest Republican, sustaining the principles 
 of his party by voice and vote. For more than 
 twenty years he has served as school trustee, 
 during the time assisting in building school- 
 houses in three different districts. In June, 
 1897, he was made postmaster at Clinton, and 
 Mrs. Stewart is, deputy postmaster. Fraternally 
 Mr. Stewart belongs to Silver Star Lodge No. 
 135, I. O. O. F., but is not now active in the 
 work of the organization. Religiously he is a 
 member of the Methodist Church at Susanville. 
 
 CHARLES WESLEY McQUEEN. As a 
 man of sterling integrity and worth, and a fine 
 representative of the self-made men of Lassen 
 county, Charles Wesley McQueen is well de- 
 serving of honorable mention in a work of this 
 character. .\n able and thriving agriculturist, 
 he is prosperouslv engaged in his independent 
 calling on one of the pleasantest and most de- 
 sirable homesteads in the Honey Lake valley, his 
 ranch being ten miles southeast of Milford. A 
 native of Indiana, he was born September 2, 
 i860, in Fountain county, of substantial Scotch 
 ancestry. His parents, John and Louisa { Hand- 
 ley) McQueen, were born and reared in Scot- 
 land, living there until after the birth of all of 
 their children excepting the two youngest, a 
 daughter and Charles W., of whom we write. 
 Emigrating with their family to Indiana, they 
 became early settlers of Fountain county, where 
 they resided until after the death of the father. 
 The mother survived him many years, dying in 
 1905 in Kansas. 
 
 During the larger part of his early life Charles 
 Wesley McQueen made his home with his oldest 
 sister, receiving a limited education in the dis- 
 trict school. At the age of twenty-three years, 
 inspired by the glowing descriptions that he 
 heard of the Golden state, he migrated to Cali- 
 fornia, and for three years thereafter was a resi- 
 dent of San Francisco. Coming then to Lassen 
 county, he located on his present ranch,' home- 
 steading one hundred and sixty acres of it, and 
 taking up an adjoining tract equally as large. 
 The land was then in its primitive wildness, cov- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFrORD. 
 
 473 
 
 ered principally by sage brush. Dependent en- 
 tirely upon his own resources, he set to work in 
 earnest to clear the land, and in course of time 
 his toilsome efforts were well rewarded. He has 
 a large share of his ranch fenced and irrigated, 
 and has erected a commodious barn and sub- 
 stantial farm buildings, which, with their neat 
 and tasteful surroundings, invariably attract the 
 attention of the passer-by. Here Mr. McQueen 
 is steadily adding to the improvements already 
 made, and is carrying on a good business as a 
 general farmer, having one hundred and fifty 
 acres of alfalfa on his place, and being engaged 
 in dairving and stock-raising, in all of these agri- 
 cultural branches meeting with signal success. 
 
 In October, 1893, '" Oregon, Mr. McQueen 
 married Enis Traut, who was born in Nebraska, 
 and into their household six children have been 
 born, namely: James Clyde, Lloyd Royer, 
 Joshua Baker, Charles Raymond, Elsie May and 
 Lawrence. Politically Mr. McQueen is an uncom- 
 promising Democrat, sustaining the principles of 
 his party by voice and vote. 
 
 HON. THOMAS A. ROSEBERRY. Prior 
 to the outbreak of the Revolution Matthew Rose- 
 berry left Germany, his native country, and 
 crossed the ocean to Pennsylvania, settling in 
 the then sparsely populated region of Greene 
 county, and commencing to clear a farm from the 
 primeval wilderness. When the war began he 
 left his plow and shouldered his rifle, with which 
 he went to the front and served during the his- 
 toric and bloody struggle that ensued. During 
 one of the engagements with the eneniv he was 
 wounded in the forehead. At the close of the 
 war he returned to his frontier home and took 
 up the task of earning a livelihood from its 
 uncultivated acres. IMathias, a son of this sol- 
 dier and immigrant, was born in Pennsylvania, 
 where for years he was an extensive farmer and 
 stockman. 
 
 Next in line of descent was Thomas H. Rose- 
 berry, a native of Greene county. Pa., who about 
 1844 removed to Missouri and tcwk up a tract of 
 raw land in Clark county. .Although he was about 
 
 sixty years of age when the Civil war began in 
 1861, he was inspired by the example of his Rev- 
 olutionary -ancestor to offer his services to his 
 country. Through his efforts a company was 
 raised of which he was made captain and which 
 became Company G of the Twenty-first Missouri 
 Infantry. However, the exposure incident to 
 long marches and the hardships of army life 
 were too great for one of his age, and he was 
 obliged to resign his commission on account of 
 ill health. After being mustered out in October 
 of 1862 he resumed the affairs of private life 
 in Clark county, where he served four years as 
 county judge. Eventually he removed to Ver- 
 non county. Mo., and there his death occurred 
 at eighty-five years of age. His wife, who also 
 lived to be eighty-five, was Mary Hill, a native 
 of Wheeling, W. Va., and a daughter of Thomas 
 Hill, who enlisted from \'irginia in the second 
 war with England. 
 
 In the family of Thomas H. Roseberry there 
 were seven children who attained mature years. 
 Three of the sons were in the army, Mathias. 
 who enlisted in Company G, Twenty-first Mis- 
 souri Infantry, June 13, 1861, was killed in the 
 charge on Fort Blakely in 1865. Reese Heaton, 
 a member of the same company and regiment, 
 remained in service from 1S62 until the clo.se 
 of the war, and is now residing in Lucerne, 
 Kans. Thomas .A., who was born in Clark coun- 
 ty. Mo., July 17. 1847, ^^''is the third of the 
 sons to partici])ate in the struggle between north 
 and south. June 13, iSru. he enlisted as drum- 
 nitr bo\ in the company of which his father 
 was captain. Previous to his enlistment he had 
 ])laved for the boys from the time of recruiting. 
 .A.fter the battle of Corinth he was honorably 
 discharged by the colonel of the regiment. Oc- 
 tober 15. 1862, on account of physical disability. 
 After his return home he attended high school 
 one term and then took charge of the home farm 
 for some years. 
 
 Coming to California in December of 1870. 
 Mr. Roseberry proceeded direct to Knights Land- 
 ing, where he joined a brother, Barney, a pioneer 
 of 1849. 3"f' "^^v ^ resident of Woodland. This 
 brother was not only a farmer, but a merchant 
 also, and in his store Tlmnias .A. found employ- 
 
474 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ment as clerk. Another brother, James, had 
 crossed the plains in 1862, and is now living in 
 Napa county. During the year 1873 Mr. Rose- 
 berry removed to Big Valley, in Modoc county, 
 and secured employment in a store at Adin, 
 owned by Campbell & ^Velton, and later was in 
 the employ of a Mr. Beecher. In 1876, with 
 George H. Knight, he bought out the general 
 merchandise store of E. Lower & Co., at Adin, 
 and this was conducted under the title of Rose- 
 berry & Knight, the title in 1885 being changed 
 to Knight & Harvey. It was during the last- 
 mentioned year that Mr. Roseberry was elected 
 assemblyman from Modoc and Lassen counties. 
 From merchandising he finally turned his atten- 
 tion to stock-raising, which he conducted on a 
 farm of four hundred and eighty acres in Big 
 valley, and after 1888, when he sold his inter- 
 est in the store to Mr. Knight, he had no further 
 mercantile interests. Under the administration 
 of President Harrison, in August of 1892, he was 
 appointed register of the L'nited States land office 
 for the Susanville district, including the coun- 
 ties of Modoc and Lassen and portions of Plumas 
 and Sierra. During the administration of Presi- 
 dent Cleveland a change was made in the regis- 
 tership on account of politics, but immediately 
 after the election of President) McKinley he was 
 returned to the position. He was reappointed 
 shortly before the death of Mr. ]\IcKinley, and 
 was later reappointed by President Roosevelt, 
 in April, 1906. Several terms he has served as 
 a delegate to the state convention and in other 
 ways he has promoted the local and general wel- 
 fare of his party. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Roseberry took place 
 at Oroville, this state, and united him with Miss 
 Viola May Lowry, who was born in Scott val- 
 ley, Siskiyou county, her father, John H. Lowry, 
 having been one of the earliest settlers of that 
 vallev. Mr. and Mrs. Roseberry are the parents 
 of four children, namely : Daisy, who is' the wife 
 of George N. McDow, of Susanville ; George 
 Knight, a student in Heald's Business College, 
 where his father took a commercial course about 
 thirty years ago; Thomas A., Jr., who is taking 
 a course in mining engineering; and Mary 
 Aileen, at home. After coming to California 
 
 Mr. Roseberry was made a Mason in Adin Lodge 
 No. 250, of which he was master, and now he is 
 identified with Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & 
 A. M., at Susanville. While at Adin he rose to the 
 Royal Arch degree in Acacia Chapter No. 64, 
 and is now high priest of Lassen Chapter No. 
 47, R. A. M. ; besides being captain-general in 
 Lassen Commandery No. 13, K. T., and with his 
 wife is a member of the Order of the Eastern 
 Star. With other veterans of the Civil war he 
 takes pleasure in the reunions of the Grand Army 
 of the Republic and for some years he has been 
 an active worker in the camp at Susanville, of 
 which he is past commander. 
 
 N. V. WEMPLE. Among the younger gen- 
 eration of Lassen county's prosperous and pro- 
 gressive agriculturists is N. V. Wemple, of Mil- 
 ford, a native-born Californian, being the son of 
 Joseph Crawford Wemple, one of those sturdy 
 ])ioneers that daimtlessly pushed his way into an 
 uncultivated country, and by diligence and per- 
 sistent toil improved a fine homestead, and in 
 the development of his adopted town and county 
 performed his full share. Mr. Wemple was born 
 in Milford, Cal., May 7, 1871, received his ele- 
 mentary education in its public schools, and with 
 the exception of a year spent at the State Nor- 
 mal School in San Jose has spent his entire life 
 in Honey Lake valley. 
 
 In August, 1892, Mr. Wemple married Pearl 
 ]\r. Bronson, a daughter of Hosea Bronson, and 
 thev are the parents of four children, namely : 
 Orville E., Guy B., Frederick and Lysle. Po- 
 litically Mr. Wemple affiliates with the Demo- 
 crats, and fraternally he is a member of Honey 
 Lake Parlor No. 198, N. S. G. W., of Janesville, 
 and of Janesville Lodge No. 232, F. & A. M. 
 Mrs. Wemple is a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. 
 
 JACKSON ROBERT BOGGS. A prominent 
 citizen and old pioneer settler of California who 
 has had a varied and exciting career, is J. R. 
 Boggs, who resides at Janesville, Lassen county. 
 
ALLEN TRIMBLE 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 477 
 
 He is the son of James R. Boggs, who was a 
 native of Old \'irginia, and who, in early days, 
 established his family home in Van Buren county, 
 Iowa. In 1840 he and a brother engaged in 
 flat-boating down the Mississippi, taking salt 
 .to New Orleans. Three years later he went to 
 Monroe county, Iowa, and took up land near 
 Alhia. where he built a cabin and engaged in 
 fanning until his death, in 1848. His wife, for- 
 merly Jerusha Lamosters, was a native \'ir- 
 ginian and she also died in Iowa. Nine of the 
 children born to them reached years of maturity, 
 and seven of them are still living. Two of the 
 sons, Abner S. and Addison, fought in an Iowa 
 regiment during the Civil war. 
 
 Jackson Robert Boggs was born at Farming- 
 ton, \'an Buren county, Iowa, July 24, 1843, 
 and was reared on a farm, receiving his edu- 
 cation in the public schools of that countv. When 
 fifteen years of age he began life for himself 
 by hiring out on a farm and two years after- 
 wards started further west. Driving an ox team 
 to Salt Lake City, he traveled over mountain 
 and plain to California, and after his arrival in 
 Placer county, September 15, i860, secured em- 
 ployment on a ranch and in a hotel for a year. 
 Later he went to Sacramento, where he became 
 apprenticed to Wise & Jones, blacksmiths, and 
 remained with them until he reached his ma- 
 jority. In 1863 he volunteered in the First Regi- 
 ment of California Cavalry, and was sent to 
 New Mexico via Los Angeles, Fort Yuma and 
 Tucson ; was in one campaign through to the 
 Canadian river, now Oklahoma, his regiment 
 fighting in several Indian battles, one of which 
 came near being disastrous to the soldiers, and 
 they were saved from being massacred by the 
 two mountain howitzers they bad with them. 
 Kit Carson was colonel in command of the ex- 
 pedition in November, 1865, and returning to 
 New Mexico he established Fort Selden. 
 
 In 1866 Mr. Boggs was mustered out of serv- 
 ice and paid off at El Paso, Texas, after which 
 he came in a government train to Fort Union, 
 then by freight train to Topeka. Kan., and from 
 there he went back to Iowa, wdiere he remained 
 until January, 1867, then returned to California 
 via the Isthmus of Panama. Four years later 
 10 
 
 he cainc to Lassen county, where he worked 
 at his trade and at farming for two years, at 
 the end of which time lie purchased a farm in 
 the Honey Lake valley. After operating this 
 until 1875, he returned to Sacramento for four 
 >ears, going from there to Inyo county, where 
 he remained for nearly a year, eventually re- 
 turning to Lassen county in .\pril, 1882, and 
 establishing the blacksmitii and carriage busi- 
 ness at Jancsville which he has since carried on, 
 erecting his own shop. 
 
 In Susanville, October zj, 1894, Mr. Boggs 
 was married to Mrs. Mary E. (Spencer) Samp- 
 son. ;Mr. Boggs had one child by his former 
 marriage, a daughter, who married A. R. Nel- 
 son of Philadelphia. Mr. Boggs has been school 
 trustee for a number of years, and in politics 
 is a stanch Republican. He is fraternally identi- 
 fied with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, 
 and belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic. 
 
 ALLEN TRIMBLE. As an honored pioneer 
 of Plumas county, and an important factor in de- 
 veloping its agricultural resources and advancing 
 its welfare the late Allen Trimble is specially de- 
 serving of mention in this biographical volume. 
 He was a hale and hearty man at nearly four 
 score years of age, and though practically re- 
 tired from active pursuits managed for his son 
 the old homestead farm which he took up from 
 the government many years ago, and on which 
 he has since resided. Tliis ranch, lying three 
 and one-half miles east of Beckwith, is wxll cul- 
 tivated and well improved, and is considered one 
 of the most valuable in the neighborhood. A son 
 of Joseph Trimble, he was born January i, 1828, 
 in Jackson county. Ark., where he spent his 
 earlier vears. Born and reared in Kentucky, 
 Joseph Trimble went to .Arkansas as a surveyor 
 when a voinig man, and at the time of his death, 
 at the age of sixty-eight years, was engaged in 
 sectionizing the countr^•. His wife, whose maid- 
 en name was Rebecca Wideman, spent her en- 
 tire life of forty-five years in .\rkansas, dying in 
 Jackson count}-. 
 
478 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 At the age of ten years Allen Trimble was 
 left an orphan, the death of his father occurring 
 in 1838, four years after that of his mother. For 
 a number of years after that Allen lived with a 
 cousin in Independence, Ark., and was there edu- 
 cated. In the spring of 1846 he went tO' Texas 
 to enlist as a soldier in the contest with Mexico, 
 but on account of his youth was rejected. Re- 
 turning to his home, he remained a year or more, 
 and then went again to Texas on the same er- 
 rand, and this time enlisted for service in the 
 Mexican war, but peace was so soon declared 
 that he was never called into active service. In 
 the fall of 1849, fii'sd with enthusiasm by the 
 wonderful tales concerning California's golden 
 treasures, he started for the Pacific coast, travel- 
 ing as far as El Paso, Tex., with General Worth. 
 There, joining Col. Jack Hayes, he worked his 
 passage across the plains, driving first a mule- 
 team and then a pack-horse to Los Angeles, and 
 crossing the Colorado river on December 25, 
 1849. From Los Angeles he went to San Fran- 
 cisco by water, arriving March 3, 1850, and 
 camping in the brush of what is now Montgom- 
 ery street. Going then to the present site of Ne- 
 vada City, he was engaged in mining and pros- 
 pecting with fair success for more than a year. 
 Settling on land in Yuba county in 1851, on the 
 banks of the Bear river, he carried on general 
 farming in that section for twenty years. Sell- 
 ing out in 187 1, he migrated to Plumas county, 
 taking up government land in the Sierra valley, 
 and by means of industry, energy' and wise man- 
 agement improved the homestead where he lived 
 so niany years. He met with noteworthy suc- 
 cess as a general farmer and stock-raiser, im- 
 proving a valuable estate, and on retiring from 
 active pursuits, turned it over to his sons. 
 
 Mr. Trimble married first Nettie Morrison, a 
 native of Arkansas. She died when forty years 
 of age, leaving three children, namely : Charles 
 E., engaged in mining in this county : Mary 
 Caroline Derbyshire, of Loyalton : and Hattie 
 Bringham, deceased. Mr. Trimble married for 
 his second wife Elizabeth Ready, who was born 
 in IMissouri, and came across the plains to Cali- 
 fornia in 1857. By this union were born four 
 children, namely : Flora Lee, widow of the late 
 
 Charles Johnson, of Reno, Nev. ; Jane, wife of 
 Oscar Peterson, of Reno, Nev. ; James Henry, a 
 ranchman and stock-raiser, of Surprise valley, 
 Modoc county ; and Robert, of Reno, Nev. Po- 
 litically Mr. Trimble was a Democrat, but never 
 sought office. Fraternally he was a member of 
 Hope Lodge No. 234, F. & A. M., of Beckwith. 
 He died in Reno, Nev., March 17, 1906, and was 
 buried with Masonic honors in Beckwith, 
 mourned by his family and a host of friends. His 
 widow, who survives him, makes her home with 
 her daughter in Reno. 
 
 ANTHONY OTTO. The family represented 
 by this California pioneer of 1855 originated in 
 Austria, where his grandfather, Mathias, was 
 born and reared, and where he passed through 
 the rigid military discipline of that empire. As 
 a soldier in the army he went into Germany and 
 was induced to establish his home in the prov- 
 ince of Hessen-Nassau, where he passed the re- 
 maining years of a busy life. In that province 
 occurred the birth of Jacob, father of Anthony, 
 and there he passed his entire active existence in 
 the blacksmith's trade, eventually dying at the 
 home place when eighty-two years of age. Dur- 
 ing early manhocKl he had been united with Eliz- 
 abeth Strite, a descendant of an ancient family 
 of Germany and herself a native of that country, 
 where she died in 1898, aged eighty-four years. 
 Seven children were born of their union, and at 
 this writing three daughters and two sons sur- 
 vive, all in Germany, with the exception of An- 
 thony, the second of the family and a native of 
 Hessen-Nassau, born August 3, 1828. As soon 
 as he was large enough to be of assistance, his 
 father took him into the blacksmith shop and 
 taught him the trade with the utmost thorough- 
 ness, thus giving him the best of preparations 
 for a lifetime of usefulness. 
 
 On leaving the old home to seek a livelihood 
 out in the world of toil and effort, Anthony Otto 
 followe,! the general drift of emigration to Amer- 
 ica and crossefl the ocean in a sailing vessel in 
 1849. landing in New York, where, without any 
 delay, he secured employment at his trade. For 
 
C'^-J'-Z.i^t? 
 
 Cl2>^5---z-->-j</,?^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 481 
 
 a time he was employed in the safe works of 
 Silas E. Herrinof. where, and in other large ma- 
 chine plants, he acquired a skilled knowledge of 
 every detail of blacksmithing. machine work and 
 engineering. The knowledge thus acquired has 
 been of the utmost assistance to him in all of his 
 subsequent business activities. After some years 
 in New York he determined to settle on the Pa- 
 cific coast, whose possibilities were at that time 
 a general theme of conversation in the east. Dur- 
 ing 1855 he came via Panama to San Francisco 
 and from there proceeded to Eldorado county, 
 where he engaged in prospecting and mining for 
 si.x years without, however, scoring any very 
 gratifying degree of success. 
 
 After returning to San Francisco and spending 
 three months at his trade in that city, Mr. Otto 
 landed in ^'irginia City, Xev.. on the 1st of July, 
 i860, and there secured work in the hanging of 
 iron shutters, which proved so remunerative that 
 it was possible for him to clear as much as $80 
 per day. Xext he bought a blacksmith's shop 
 and continued the business, besides his private 
 trade having all the work for the Wells- Fargo 
 Stage Company. In 1865 he came to Lassen 
 county and bought a shop at Janesville, where 
 he built up a large trade extending many miles 
 in every direction. Some of his customers came 
 from Susanville and it was upon their solicita- 
 tion that he was induced to remove to this city 
 in 1868, opening a shop and building up a large 
 trade. Three times he lost his shop through 
 fire, but each time he rebuilt a larger shop than 
 before. Meanwhile he also conducted a cattle 
 ranch for a time, but eventually disposed of the 
 property. A stroke of paralysis in igoo left him 
 somewhat enfeebled in health and he therefore 
 sold his shop and retired from business, since 
 which time he has passed his time quietly at his 
 comfortable home in Susanville, in the possession 
 of sufficient means to provide all the comforts of 
 existence for his declining years. 
 
 Two years after com.ing to .America Mr. Otto 
 married in New York City Miss Magdalene 
 Meyer, who was born in Alsace-Lorraine, Ger- 
 many. Of the union there are five children, 
 namely : .\lbert, now residing in Stockton ; Mrs. 
 Emma LaSalle, of Marvsville : Mrs. Elizabeth 
 
 Hamilton, of Honey Lake valley; Frederick, a 
 blacksmith in Susanville ; and Charles, of Sacra- 
 mento. During 1898 Mr. Otto enjoyed a pleas- 
 ant trip back to Germany, where he visited his 
 mother and those of his old friends who still re- 
 mained in the land of his youth. The ties that 
 bind him to the old Iwme and the scenes of his 
 youth are strong, but stronger are those binding 
 him to the country of his adoption and the scenes 
 familiar to his mature years. He is a thorough 
 patriot and a typical .American. In politics he 
 supports the Republican party. After coming to 
 the west he was made a Mason in Janesville 
 Lodge, but now belongs to Lassen Lodge No. 
 149, F. & .\. M.. also is a member of Lassen 
 Chapter Xo. 47, R. A. M., and Lassen Com- 
 mandery Xo. 13. K. T., and is a thorough be- 
 liever in the noble principles of Masonry. 
 
 JAMES HEXRY TRIMBLE. A man of ex- 
 cellent ability and undoubted enterprise. James 
 Henry Trimble occupies a noteworthy position 
 among the extensive and prosperous agricultur- 
 ists of Cedarville. .\ son of .Allen and Eliza- 
 beth Trimble, he was born, June 20, 1865, at 
 P>ear River, near Wheatland, Cal., and in this 
 sunny land which gave him birth he has spent his 
 life for the most part. 
 
 Having completed the course oi study in the 
 public schools, Joseph Henn.- Trimble attended 
 the San Jose Xormal School for a while, after 
 which he entered Heald's Business College, 
 where he was graduated in 1884. The following 
 two years he was employed as a bookkeeper in 
 San Francisco, and then spent one summer as 
 time keeper at a logging camp on Puget Sound. 
 Returning to California, he worked as a farm 
 hand for a time in the Sierra valley, Plumas 
 county, and then bought a ranch, which he oper- 
 ated until 1903. Coming then to Modoc county 
 he purchased the Ehardt ranch, consisting . of 
 four hundred and forty acres, and has since es- 
 tablished a flourishing agricultural business. He 
 makes a specialty of stock, grain and hay, having 
 about forty-five acres devoted to alfalfa. 
 
 In Mohawk \"allev, Plumas county, Cal., Mr. 
 
482 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Trimble married Elizabeth Jackson, who was 
 born in that place, a daughter of Andrew Jack- 
 son, an early pioneer of Plumas county, and into 
 their household five children have been born, 
 namely : Elizabeth Esther, May, Marie, Harriet 
 and James Edward. Politically Mr. Trimble is 
 a stanch Democrat. Fraternally he is a member 
 of Surprise Valley Lodge No. 235, F. & A. M., 
 and religiously he belongs to the Congregational 
 Church at Sierra Valley. 
 
 JAMES W. WEBSTER. Until recently Mr. 
 Webster owned and occupied a well-kept ranch 
 on the Middle Fork of Feather river, where he 
 was profitably engaged in his chosen vocation, 
 and ably maintained a good position among the 
 prosperous and successful agriculturists of this 
 part of Plumas county, his home of six hundred 
 and forty acres being located about seven miles 
 west of Beckwith. As a general rancher, he 
 raised stock and carried on dairying until, in 
 1906, he sold his ranch to the W. P. Railroad. 
 In local alifairs he is quite prominent being now 
 supervisor of the first district. A son of James 
 Webster, he was born January 2, 1849, i" Rush- 
 ford, Winnebago county. Wis., of substantial 
 New England ancestry. 
 
 A native of Massachusetts, and the descendant 
 of an old colonial family, James Webster was 
 reared and educated in his native state. Start- 
 ing in life for himself, he went westward when 
 young, setthng permanently as a farmer in 
 Winnebago county, Wis., where he is still living, 
 being now nearly ninety years of age. In his 
 earlier years he was affiliated with the Repub- 
 lican party, but is now a stanch Democrat in 
 politics. He married Betsey Cary, who was born 
 in Ohio, and died, at the age of fifty-nine years, 
 in Wisconsin. 
 
 Remainmg at home until attaining his major- 
 ity, James W. Webster worked on the farm dur- 
 ing the summer seasons, while in the winter time 
 he engaged in logging. Starting life for himself 
 in 1 87 1, he came to California, locating in Plumas 
 county, and for five years thereafter worked for 
 the Eureka Mining Company getting out timber. 
 
 The ensuing two years he spent in the mining 
 town of Jamison, Plumas county, as a butcher. 
 Not liking the occupation very well he returned 
 to the employ of the Eureka Mining Company, 
 with which he was associated from the summer 
 of 1878 until the spring of 1881, when he began 
 driving a team for the saw-mill company. In 
 1882 he bought a ranch of three hundred and 
 twenty acres, forty of which was cleared, the 
 remainder being hill and timber land. In ad- 
 dition to managing his farm he also engaged in 
 teaming, and later bought one hundred and sixty 
 acres of adjoining land. In 1899 he gave up 
 teaming, and the following year spent nine 
 months in Alaska prospecting and mining, but 
 with very unsatisfactory results. Returning to 
 Plumas county, he rented land adjoining his own 
 ranch and continued his agricultural labors there 
 for three or more years. In 1904 he purchased 
 the ranch on the Middle Fork of Feather river 
 previously mentioned. This comprised a section 
 of land, of which five hundred acres were in 
 meadow and pasture, devoted to a dairy of thirty 
 cows and to stock-raising, in both of which 
 branches he was very successful. 
 
 Politically Mr. Webster is a stanch adherent 
 of the Republican party, and is an able and 
 valued worker in the interests of the community 
 in which he resides. Fraternally he is a member 
 of Hope Lodge, No. 234, F. & A. M., of Beck- 
 with, which he joined in 1878, and likewise be- 
 longs to the Order of the Eastern Star. 
 
 ORLO EDMUND WEMPLE. Of the many 
 successful and progressive agriculturists of Las- 
 sen county Orlo Ednunid Wemple, a wide-awake 
 young man, in the prime of a vigorous manhood, 
 is a worthy representative, his life record thus 
 far being creditable to himself, and also to his 
 good parents, wlio reared him in the paths of in- 
 dustry and integrity, instilling into his youthful 
 mind those lessons of truth, honesty and justice 
 by which he is guided. A son of Joseph Craw- 
 ford and Eliza J. (Giriste) Wemple, he was 
 born in Milford, Lassen county, February 21, 
 1877. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 485 
 
 After completing his studies in the district 
 school, Orlo Edmund Wemple assisted in the 
 labors of the farm, under his father's instruction 
 accjuiring- a valuable and practical knowledge of 
 the various branches of agriculture. Continuing 
 in the occupation with which he Ijecame so fa- 
 miliar in his youth, he is still engaged in general 
 farming and stock-raising, in company with his 
 father and brothers carrying on a large ranch of 
 fourteen hundred acres. 
 
 September 12. 1899, ^Ir. Wemple married 
 Erma Holland, a native of California, her birth 
 having occurred in the Sacramento valley. Po- 
 litically Mr. Wemple is a stanch supporter of the 
 principles of the Democratic party and has ever 
 evinced a warm interest in local progress and im- 
 provements. Fraternally he is a member of 
 Honey Lake Parlor No. 198, N. S. G. W., of 
 Janesville. 
 
 WILLL-\M HENRY CL.\RK. There are 
 few among the residents of Lassen county who 
 have been identified with its history for a longer 
 period than that covered by Mr. Clark's asso- 
 ciation with this region. As early as 1853, when 
 he crossed the plains by way of the Platte river 
 and down the Humboldt, he saw for the first 
 time the locality since familiar to him, and for 
 almost one-half century he has held the same 
 place of residence, still owning three hundred 
 acres which forms a part of the original sec- 
 tion pre-empted by his father. The raising of 
 stock, grain and hay occupies his time and at- 
 tention, in addition to the running of a dairy, 
 and he has been more than ordinarily fortunate 
 in his undertakings as a farmer, stock-raiser and 
 dairyman. The substantial house which he built 
 in 1894, and which he now occupies, is one of the 
 attractive homes of Honey Lake valley, and is 
 the third house built on the same homestead. Be- 
 sides his home place he owns one-half section of 
 timber and grazing land in Plumas county. 
 
 Newburgh on the Hudson, the well known old 
 city in Orange county, N. Y., is Mr. Qark's 
 birthplace, and the date of his birth is October 
 10, 1836. His father, Nicholas, was born at 
 Petersham, Worcester county, Mass., August 10, 
 
 1816, and in youth learned the shoemaker's 
 trade, but later followed the sea, and in tlie 
 course of his voyages visited San Francisco in 
 1843 for the first time. Again in 1846 he came 
 to California as a marine in tlie navy, and dur- 
 ing the same year aided in the attempted rescue 
 of the unfortunate Donner part_\ . After an lion- 
 orable service in the Mexican war, in recogni- 
 tion of which lie afterwards received a pension 
 until his death, he followed the shoemaker's 
 trade in the city of Mexico, but finally returned 
 to New York and from tliere went to Wisconsin, 
 still working at his trade. Crossing the plains 
 in 1853 he landed in Plumas county near Quincy, 
 and from there came to Lassen county, in 1857 
 locating the claim where his son, William Henry, 
 now resides, and where he spent the remaining 
 years of his life. Owing to ill health he went 
 to San Francisco to secure needed medical treat- 
 ment, but the change of climate and medical 
 skill proved of no avail, and he died June 11, 
 1892. The remains were brought to Lassen 
 county and interred at Janesville, under the aus- 
 pices of the janesville Lodge No. 232, F. & A. 
 M., of which he was an active member. Travel 
 in many regions had made him a man of broad 
 knowledge and cosmopolitan impulses. When 
 only thirteen years of age he ran away from 
 home, and for a long period served in the navy, 
 in which he traveled over almost the entire 
 world, visiting all ports of prominence. His first 
 wife, Mary, died when their son, William 
 Henry, was a child of two and one-half years, 
 and later he married Jane Hamilton, by whom he 
 had a child that died at six years of age. Sub- 
 sequently, on May 7, 1870, he married Lucy 
 Gates, who died June 18, 1903. Politically he 
 favored Republican principles and always voted 
 for the men pledged to supixjrt the regular party 
 platform. 
 
 After having made his home in New York 
 until 1849, Mr. Qark during that year accompa- 
 nied his father and step-mother to Wisconsin, 
 and in 1853 came with them to California, after- 
 ward remaining with his father on the Lassen 
 county homestead, which he inherited, and now 
 owns. In 1864 he married Miss Lena Lyons, 
 bv whom he had one child. Anna, now deceased. 
 
4se 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In 1876 he was again married, his wife being" 
 Mrs. Martha Gallagus, by whom he had two 
 children, Edward and Lucy. After the death of 
 Mrs. Martha Clark, he married Sarah Coyne in 
 1886, and nine children were born of their union, 
 namely : William, deceased ; Ottie, James, Es- 
 ther, Timothy, Hiram, Anita, Chester and Ira. 
 The family attend the Roman Catholic Church, 
 of which Mrs. Clark is a faithful member. In 
 politics Mr. Clark believes in Republican prin- 
 ciples, while fraternally he holds membership 
 with Janesville Lodge No. 232, F. & A. M. 
 During his long residence in this locality he has 
 witnessed many and remarkable changes. When 
 he first came to this part of the state, few evi- 
 dences of future civilization and prosperity ex- 
 isted. Evil-doers were in abundance. Des- 
 peradoes rendered perilous the lives of the true- 
 hearted pioneers. In the subduing of this tur- 
 bulent element he did his share, and no one de- 
 serves more credit than does he for the trans- 
 formation of Lassen county from a frontier re- 
 gion filled with law-breakers to the abode of a 
 peaceful, contented and prosperous citizenship. 
 
 ALBERT S. NICHOLS. Because of the 
 glowing reports sent back from the Pacific coast 
 state Albert S. Nichols came to California in 
 1866 and has never had cause to regret the step, 
 from a youth barren of all promise of a future 
 success save energy and determination having 
 risen to a position of affluence and prominence 
 among the citizens of this northern section. Of 
 clean-cut. decisive style, his ambition has been 
 equal to his talents and in spite of adversities, the 
 trials and hardships incident to pioneer life in 
 the early day, he has advanced steadily toward 
 the position he now occupies, and nO' man is 
 more justly entitled to the high regard in which 
 he is universally held. 
 
 Of Revolutionary stock on both sides of the 
 house, Mr. Nichols was born in Hubbardston. 
 Worcester county, Mass., November 15. 1843, hi^" 
 father, Moses Nichols, being a native of the same 
 kxaticn and the descendant of ancestors who set- 
 tled with the Plymouth colony. The elder man 
 
 engaged as a farmer throughout his entire life, 
 whicli was passed in the Bay state, as was also 
 that of hip wife, formerly Lucy Thompson, a 
 native of Princeton, Mass. She is now eighty- 
 eight years of age, and resides at Hubbardston, 
 Alass. 
 
 Albert S. was one of three children, two sons 
 and one daugliter, and was the second in order of 
 birth. After completing the common school 
 course in the vicinity of his home he engaged in 
 farming with his father and also drove a team, 
 freighting for him until 1866. In that year he 
 carried out his long cherished plan of immigrat- 
 ing to California, making the journey via the 
 Isthmus .of Panama and arriving in San Fran- 
 cisco April I of that year. He immediately went 
 to Howland flats and engaged in mining and 
 teaming, remaining in that location until April 
 I, 1869, when, with a partner, he went 
 overland by mule-team to Nevada, as a 
 result of the White Pine gold excite- 
 ment, and there engaged in prospecting 
 and teaming, the latter always being a lucra- 
 tive occupation in those days. In December of 
 the same year he came back to California via 
 Reno, Wadsworth and Austin, in so doing pass- 
 ing through the Sierra valley. In the spring of 
 the following year he located in Sierraville. in the 
 vicinity of which he has ever since remained. 
 His first enterprise in this section was the estab- 
 lishment of a fast freight line between Sierra- 
 ville and Truckee, which he operated in partner- 
 ship with L. Dolly. At the same time he estab- 
 lished a general merchandise store in this city. 
 After one year he purchased his partner's inter- 
 est, shortl}' after which he took in another part- 
 ner, George Wood, the two remaining together 
 for the period of three years, when he again be- 
 came sole owner of the enterprise. Until 1882 
 he continued his dual operations of merchandis- 
 ing and freighting, but in that year his store 
 was destroyed by fire, and the two-story brick 
 building which he had erected, the first in the 
 valley, was also destroyed. Having no insur- 
 ance on the property whatever, his loss amounted 
 over $25,000, and he therefore decided not to in- 
 vest in this enterprise again. 
 
 In the spring of 1883 Mr. Nichols purchased 
 
\i 
 
 HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 487 
 
 tlie Pioneer raneh adjoining Sierravillc, consist- 
 ing' at that time of four hundred acres, and be- 
 gan raising stock, aUhongh he engaged in various 
 other occupations during the years that followed. 
 He conducted a stage line from Truckee to Sier- 
 ravillc and .Sierra City, and one from Sierra- 
 villc to Chat Station, also running a freight line 
 over the same route, besides owning a meat mar- 
 ket at Sierraville, still retaining his interest in 
 the latter. The greater ])art of his time, how- 
 ever, has been given to the development and im- 
 provement of his rancli property, to which he 
 has continued to add from time to time, until 
 at this writing fourteen hundred acres are in- 
 cluded in the Pioneer stock farm, besides which 
 he has a range of three thousand acres in Ante- 
 lope valley, where he pastures about six hundred 
 head of cattle. He is also engaged in the im- 
 portation of thoroughbred cattle and hogs, and 
 raises both thoroughbred Herefords and Dur- 
 hams. He claims the honor of being the first 
 one to bring the celebrated Hereford white-faced 
 cattle into the Sierra valley, and also the first 
 Poland-China hogs from Iowa. He is also a 
 large dealer and feeder of beef steers, and dur- 
 ing the winter of 1905-1906 fed and shipped to 
 the Sacramento and San Francisco markets over 
 six hundred head of fine steers. 
 
 Mr. Nichols also introduced many modern 
 methods in business, and under the name of the 
 Sierraville & Truckee Telephone Company, was 
 instrumental, in 1877, in putting in the first tele- 
 phone line in this section, connecting the two 
 towns mentioned, a distance of twenty-eight 
 miles. In 1887 he built the first steam creamery 
 in this section of northern California, his inter- 
 ests at that time being largely centered in a dairy 
 business of one hundred and fifty cows. He is 
 a stanch Republican in politics and although act- 
 ive in his efliorts to advance the principles he 
 endorses, has never cared personally for official 
 recognition because of his many and engrossing 
 business interests. He is a patriotic citizen and 
 is liberal in his support of all movements cal- 
 culated to advance the general welfare of the 
 community, giving of both time and money. 
 
 In Reno. Nev., in 1873. Mr. Nichols was 
 united in marriage with Miss Christina llub- 
 
 bartl, a native of Corinna, Me., and of the five 
 children Ixjrii of this union, II. L. is interested in 
 the Humphrey Supply Company of Reno, Nev.; 
 May E. is deceased ; Grace L. is an educator in 
 Sierraville; Dell L. is the wife of A. N. John- 
 son of Randolph, Cal. ; and Edna T. is a book- 
 keeper with her brother in Reno, Nev. Mrs. 
 Nichols is a member of the Congregational 
 church of Sierraville, both herself and husband 
 being liberal supporters of all its charities. Fra- 
 ternally Mr. Nichols is a member of Sierravillc 
 1-odge No. 184. F. & A. M. ; Truckee Chapter 
 No. 39, R. A. M. : and Nevada City Command- 
 ery No. 6, K. T., and is prominent in the organ- 
 ization. 
 
 JOHN G. TOTTON. Ambitious, energetic 
 and far-seeing, John G. Totton, of Clairville, 
 has been actively identified with the industrial 
 progress of Plumas county for many years. 
 Laboring earnestly and diligently, he has ac- 
 quired valuable property, and may well be classed 
 with those honored citizens of the state who 
 have in truth carved out their own fortunes 
 bv active use of their brains and hands. A 
 native of the dominion of Canada, he was born, 
 .\ugust 20, 1852, in Nova Scotia. His father, 
 Amos Totton, who was of Scotch descent, spent 
 his entire life of thirty-four years in Nova Scotia, 
 being engaged in farming and lumbering. His 
 wife, who survived him, d_\ing at the age of 
 forty-five years, was born in Nova Scotia, of 
 Irish descent, her father having been a native 
 of the north of Ireland. 
 
 liut three years of age when his father died, 
 John G. Totton was doubly bereft when but 
 eleven years old by the death of liis mother, 
 r.eing left practically with no one to depend 
 upon for his support, he began life for himself 
 by working on a farm throughout seed time and 
 harvest, until eighteen years old attending school 
 during the winter terms. Immigrating then to 
 New England, he went to Waltham, Mass., where 
 he w-as emjjloyed as a street car driver for five 
 vears. With the money that he thus earned, 
 he came, in 1877, to the Pacific coast, and for 
 a little more than a year worked in the woods. 
 
488 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 first in Milford. Lassen county, and then in 
 Sierra county. Coining then to Phunas county, 
 he located in what is now Clairville, and was 
 here engaged in ranching and Uunbering for two 
 or three years. Purchasing then, in company 
 with Solomon Otis, a small mill, he engaged in 
 the manufacture of lumber on a modest scale. 
 Four or five years later these gentlemen closed 
 down the mill, and Mr. Totton again worked 
 for wages. In 1893 the mill was re-opened, 
 with an increased capacity, and Messrs. Totton 
 and Otis operated it for seven years, carrying 
 on a small business. In 1900, John Creighton 
 being admitted to the firm, they built a mill 
 with a capacity of thirty thousand feet a day, 
 and continued under the name of J. G. Totton 
 & Co. for five years. In 1905 this company dis- 
 posed of their mill and their timber lands, sell- 
 ing out everything, Mr. Totton closing out the 
 entire business in the fall of that year. He has 
 been very successful in his dealings, accumulat- 
 ing property, and on the three town lots that he 
 owns in Reno, Xev., he has built two residences 
 to rent. He is also interested in gold mining 
 near Goldfield, being interested in the Little 
 George mine and other mining properties m 
 Nevada. 
 
 Politically Mr. Totton is a sound Republican 
 in national affairs, but in home matters is in- 
 dependent, voting for the best men and measures. 
 Fraternally he united with Hope Lodge No. 234, 
 F. & A. M., of Beckwith in 1889, and has since 
 been a loyal member of that organization. 
 
 WILLIAM E. REES is the son of Rev. Cyrus 
 W. Rees, a name well known in the annals of 
 the Baptist church of northern California and 
 Nevada, for it is the name of one of the fore- 
 most in the vanguard of Christian workers in 
 this section of the country. He was a man so 
 thoroughly devoted to the cause that he gave no 
 thought to his own comfort, convenience or re- 
 ward when the voice called him to carry on the 
 Master's work. His life is a record of the itin- 
 erancy of a minister of the gospel in the early 
 days. A native of Indiana, born in 1827, he 
 
 graduated from the theological department of 
 the Baptist college of Kalamazoo, Mich. His 
 ambition was to devote his life to missionary 
 work, for which he was peculiarly fitted. He 
 had applied for appointment as missionary and 
 had been accepted by the boatd, but owing to 
 lack of fundi they were not able to carry out 
 their plans and Mr. Rees entered the ministry. 
 In i860 he was in charge of a church at Peta- 
 luma, Cal., and the following year was in Ne- 
 vada, preaching the first Baptist sermons ever 
 heard in Virginia City, Carson, Dayton, Silver 
 City and Fort Churchill. In 1862 he came to 
 Loyalton, acting in the capacity of semi-mission- 
 ary and doing pastoral work for the Sacramento 
 and Eastern Association. In 1865 he was at 
 Eugene City, Ore., in charge of a church. In 
 1869 he went to the Dalles, Ore., as pastor of a 
 church and preached there three years, during 
 which time he had the misfortune to lose his 
 wife. Later he went to Forest Grove, Ore., 
 there serving as pastor of a church foT two or 
 three years, when he went to Ellensburg and 
 Roslyn, Wash., and during his pastorate at the 
 latter place he died June 17, 7888, at the age of 
 sixty-one years. He is said to have organized 
 more churches than any other one man on the 
 Pacific coast. He was naturally a student, and 
 was a frequent contributor to church periodicals, 
 charts, etc. He organized the Baptist church at 
 Loyalton. 
 
 The wife of Cyrus \Y. Rees was Mary Abigail 
 Lewis, daughter of Hiram Lewis, who came of 
 a family well known in this section of country. 
 She was Ixjrn in Cass county. Mo., November 
 21, 1844, and was nine years old when her par- 
 ents located near Healdsburg, Sonoma county, 
 Cal. When she was eleven years of age she 
 united with the Baptist church. She was edu- 
 cated at Healdsburg Academy and was an ex- 
 ceptionally bright and promising' student, win- 
 ning medals, a scholarship and a Webster's Dic- 
 tionary in the several school contests in which 
 she took part. She is remembered as a fine 
 singer, having a well-cultivated voice. She was 
 married to Mr. Rees November 21, i860, and 
 died November i, 1882, at the Dalles, Ore. She 
 was an exemplary woman, an active Christian 
 
KOIJKKI M. IxiUi.EV 
 
MRS. BARBARA G. UOOLEV 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RKCORD. 
 
 4!t3 
 
 worker, and a devoted mother to her ci^hl chil- 
 dren, five sons and three danghters. 
 
 William E. Rees, the third son in the family, 
 was born at the Lewis ranch in Lovalton, Sep- 
 tember 24, 1867, and lived there nntil he was 
 eight years of age. He attended the public 
 schools at Dalles, Ore., and between the age of 
 sixteen and eighteen attended the McMinnville 
 Baptist College at McMinnville, Ore. When his 
 older brothers went into business for themselves 
 he went with them to near H(q)pncr, Ore., and 
 after remaining tliere for a short time, returned 
 to the family at Forest Grove. His mother had 
 died and his father was away from home much 
 of the time and he did what he could to keep the 
 family together, working during his vacations at 
 anything he could find to do. He was nineteen 
 years old when he returned to Loyalton and went 
 to work on his grandfather Lewis' ranch, con- 
 tinuing in his assistance in supporting and caring 
 for his sisters until they all had homes of their 
 own. His older sister, Mrs. Marchbanks, losing 
 her husband, he brought her and her two chil- 
 dren from Oregon and made a home for them at 
 Lewis Mill until she married again, to W. E. 
 Langdon, of Loyalton. In 1888 he took a band 
 of horses for the Lewises to Oregon to handle 
 on shares. After about eight months he returned 
 to Loyalton and went to work teaming and farm- 
 ing until the winter of 1889-90, when he attended 
 business college in San Francisco. After finish- 
 ing his course he returned to Loyalton and 
 worked at teaming in the Loyalton Lumber Com- 
 pany's mill for two or three years, then went to 
 Verdi to look after the company's interests, re- 
 maining there seven years. After that he man- 
 aged the store for the Loyalton Lumber Co. at 
 Lewis mills. During this time, in company with 
 his brother, Jesse S., and H. B. Neville, the Loy- 
 altanian was started. Mr. Rees took the field 
 work, securing advertisements and subscriptions, 
 and helped run the paper until 1903, when he and 
 his brother sold out their interest in it. With 
 Lewis Brothers he then engaged in the real es- 
 tate business, buying acreage, subdividing and 
 platting additions to the town of Loyalton, and 
 nearly all the lots in the residence part of the 
 town were sold bv them. During the two years 
 
 he acted as manager of the business he was also 
 collector for the Loxalton Water Company, and 
 in 1904 became train ilispatcher for the Boca & 
 Loyalton Railroad. 
 
 Xovember 27. 1896, while living at Verdi, Mr. 
 Rees married Miss Xina Louise Robinson, 
 daughter of Henry H. Robinson, of Loyalton, 
 whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work. 
 They have a family of two daughters: Gladys 
 Marion and \era Louise. Mr. and Mrs. Rees 
 are members of the F)a])tisl church, Mr. Rees 
 uniting with that body when he was nineteen 
 years old. Both are actively engaged in church 
 work, organizing the Baptist church at \'erdi, 
 and later being instrumental in building the 
 church at that place, besides organizing the 
 Christian Endeavor Society, etc. Mr. Rees has 
 been superintendent of the Sunday school here 
 since its organization, and is a sub-deacon and 
 treasurer of the church. In politics he is inde- 
 pendent. He is one of the founders of the Sierra 
 X'alley Bank in Loyalton and has been associated 
 with Lewis Brothers in business more or less for 
 several years. Mr. Rees has seen life from sev- 
 eral different points of view, has risen to his 
 present position in life through his own energy 
 and industry. Whatever advantage he has 
 gained he has well earned. 
 
 ROBERT M. DOOLEY. Worthy of es- 
 pecial mention in this volume is Robert M. Doo- 
 ley of Long \'alley. a veteran agriculturist, and a 
 fine representative of the pioneer settlers of Las- 
 sen county. Pre-empting a tract of wild land 
 near Doyle station forty or more years ago, he 
 latored untiringly, and after years of incessant 
 toil and skill has redeemed from its primitive 
 wildness a valuable and productive ranch, on 
 which he is spending the declining years- of his 
 life in plenty, peace and comfort. .-X \'irginian 
 by liirth. he was born in Frederick county, No- 
 vember 20. 1832, of French ancestry, his great- 
 grandfather having emigrated from France to 
 the United States in colonial times. His father, 
 Micajah Dooley, married Elenora Elmore, who 
 survived him. He served as a i)rivate in tlie war 
 
494 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of 1812, after which he returned to his \irginia 
 home, and resided there until his death, in 1838. 
 
 Left fatherless at the age of six years, Robert 
 M. Dooley Hved with his mother until twenty 
 years old. Starting westward in 1852, he pro- 
 ceeded to Ohio, from there continuing his jour- 
 ney to Iowa. Subsequently crossing the plains 
 with ox-teams he settled in Albany, Ore., where 
 he resided a year. Coming then to California 
 he was employed in mining pursuits for about 
 three years, meeting with some success in his 
 undertakings. On the uprising of the Indians 
 he enlisted in Company C, California Troops, 
 and for ninety days served as a private in the 
 Modoc war. Subsequently returning by way of 
 the Isthmus and New York City to his old 
 home in Iowa he engaged in farming and brick 
 making in Henry county, continuing there until 
 1864. Coming again to California in that year 
 he located in Long Valley, one mile west of 
 Doyle, near what is now called Doyle Station. 
 Pre-empting one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land, he at once began its improvement, and has 
 since beeit profitably employed in general farm- 
 ing and stock raising on his well-kept and well- 
 cultivated ranch. 
 
 December 21, 1859, in Henry county, Iowa, 
 Mr. Dooley married Barbara Gardner, who was 
 born in Hamburg, Ontario, May i, 1840, a 
 daughter of Christ and Anna (Ross) Gardner. 
 Her parents were both natives of Hesse, Ger- 
 many, emigrating froiu the Fatherland when 
 young and settling in Canada, where they mar- 
 ried, afterwards settling on a farm. Mrs. Gard- 
 ner died when Barbara was a child of eight 
 years, and five years later this little girl went to 
 Iowa, and from that time until her marriage re- 
 sided in Henry county. She died on the home 
 place February 20, 1906, at the age of sixty-five 
 years, nine months and nineteen days. Of the 
 union of Mr. and Mrs. Dooley five children were 
 born, namely : Mary E., George W., Ida, Eva 
 and Jacob M. Mary E. Dooley, the first born, 
 married for her first husband Silas M. Roberts, 
 who died, leaving her with four children, name- 
 ly : Margaret E., Charles M., Morris E., and Ag- 
 nes D. Her second marriage was with Edward 
 Hilden of Milford, and they have one child, Les- 
 
 lie \'. Ida, the twin sister of Eva, died at the 
 age of six months. Eva is the wife of W. E. 
 Minard of Sparks, Nev. George W., the second 
 born, and Jacob M., the youngest child, are 
 farming in partnership, having purchased in 
 1900 a ranch of four hundred and eighty acres, 
 lying one and one-half miles north of Constantia, 
 where they are carrying on a large and lucrative 
 business as stock raisers and general farmers. 
 Politically Mr. Dooley was formerly a Whig, 
 and is now a strong Democrat. Religiously he is 
 a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Church, as was his wife also during her lifetime. 
 
 GEORGE FREELAND HUSTON RICE. 
 Especially deserving of mention in this volume 
 is George F. H. Rice, a pioneer settler of Round 
 \'alley, and one of its most highly esteemed and 
 respected citizens. He arrived in this section 
 when a large proportion of the soil of Modoc 
 county was in its primeval condition, and while 
 the rude dwellings of the first settlers were widely 
 scattered. The little hamlet of Round Valley 
 gladly welcomed within its precincts every man 
 who was blessed with ambition and brains, under 
 which category Mr. Rice was at once placed, 
 and in which he proved himself equal to the de- 
 mands made upon him. Beginning as a farmer 
 on a modest scale, he has labored judiciously, 
 and is now one of the extensive landholders of 
 the valley. A son of Charles and Sarah (Lett) 
 Rice, he was born, January 23, 1834, in Camp- 
 bell county, Tenn., and at the age of two years 
 was taken to Missouri, where his mother died. 
 His father subsequently moved to Oregon, where 
 he spent the remainder of his life. 
 
 Brought up on a farm in Missouri, George F. 
 H. Rice there obtained his early education in the 
 district schools. In 1850 he crossed the plains 
 with his father, locating in Oregon, where he 
 remained for nineteen vears. Coming to Cali- 
 fornia in 1869, he settled in Modoc county, tak- 
 ing up his residence at Round Valley on July 4. 
 He pre-empted and homesteaded three hundred 
 and twenty acres of wild land, and in its improve- 
 ment met with satisfactory results. He has since 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RKCORD. 
 
 495 
 
 made wise investments in land, his ranch now 
 containing fourteen hundred acres, and in point 
 of improvements and appliances being one of the 
 best in the valley. He has carried on general 
 farming most successfully, raising large annual 
 crops of hay, grain and the products common to 
 this locality, and has taken an especial interest in 
 stock-raising. He has accumulated much wealth 
 as a rancher, and is now living somewhat re- 
 tired from active pursuits, enjoying a well-earned 
 leisure from the activities of life. 
 
 July 4, 1855, in Oregon, Mr. Rice married 
 Martha Ann Breeden, who was born in Iowa, 
 and came across the plains with her parents in 
 1854. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Rice si.x 
 children were born, four of whom are living, 
 namely : Qiarles W., Thomas Jefiferson, Mary 
 B. and Martha Jane. Charles W. Rice, the old- 
 est child, born in Linn county, Ore., April 24, 
 1856, came with his parents to Modoc county, 
 and is now prosperously engaged in farming at 
 Round \'alley, having a valuable ranch of five 
 hundred acres. He married, in February, 1886, 
 Emma Derr, a native of Oregon, and they have 
 six children living, Christopher, Francis, Ru- 
 dolph, Frank, Mahlon and Ross. He is a Demo- 
 crat in politics, a member of the Masonic order, 
 and both he and his wife are members of the 
 Order of the Eastern Star. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson Rice, born in Linn county. 
 Ore., January 24, i860, is one of the leading 
 agriculturists of Round \'alley, having a fine 
 ranch containing five hundred and twenty acres 
 of land. He married, in July, 1889, Berriller 
 McCluer, who was born in Illinois, and when 
 but six months old was brought across the plains 
 to California by her parents. She has borne her 
 husband eight children, namely : William, 
 George, Lilly, May, Rosa, Frederick, Clarence 
 and Mar}-. He. like his older brother, is a 
 Mason, belonging to .Adin Lodge No. 250, F. & 
 A. M. 
 
 Mary B. Rice married Frederick Cutzman. ot 
 Modoc county, and they are the parents of one 
 child, Clara. Martha Jane Rice married, No- 
 vember 17, 1895, William Nelson Smith, who 
 was born June 10, 1869, in Texas, a son of Jesse 
 and Marv Elizabeth (Roberts) Smith. Coming 
 
 to California in i8«;o, Mr. Smith resided for three 
 years at Red lilufT, and in 1893 settled at Round 
 \ alley, where he has since been successfully em- 
 ployed in farming and stock-raising. Four chil- 
 dren were born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Smith, namely: Mary Juniata; Finetta Belle, de- 
 ceased; Sadie Frances, deceased; and Alice Ro- 
 berta. Politically Mr. Rice is a stanch Democrat. 
 He is a man of influence, and a sttjckhoider in 
 the I5ig \alley Co-operative Association. 
 
 JOHN HARDGRAVE. Closely associated 
 with the early history of Plumas county is the 
 name of the late John Hardgrave, one of its hon- 
 ored pioneers and enterprising ranchmen. Of 
 Canadian birth and parentage, he was born near 
 Port Hope April 30, i8i5,_and passed the years 
 of youth in the schoolroom and on the farm. 
 After leaving school at the age of fourteen years 
 he secured work as clerk in a store and continued 
 in the same position until he was twenty-one, 
 when he crossed into the States and spent a few 
 months at Buffalo, N. Y. Next he went to 
 Michigan and secured work as a mason at Ann 
 Arbor, from which cit\ he removed soon to 
 Plymouth, Wayne county, same state. Buying a 
 right to build cisterns in four counties, he took 
 up W'Ork in this special line. After his marriage 
 he became proprietor of a hotel at Plymouth. 
 Three years later he removed to Jackson, Mich., 
 where he engaged in the hotel business about 
 twelve years. 
 
 Life in Michigan was not entirely satisfactory 
 and prospects were not encouraging, so Mr. 
 Hardgrave decided to seek a home in the newer 
 west. In the spring of 1852 he traveled by rail- 
 road to Chicago and there took up the journey 
 overland toward the west as a member of an ex- 
 pedition numbering seventy wagons, three of 
 which he owned, together with horse teams and 
 mules. When the party arrived at Council Bluffs, 
 Iowa, there were alx)ut one Inindred men in the 
 train, and the large Ixxly moved slowly forward 
 under the leadership of Captain Blood, an old 
 mountaineer, who prevented them from encoun- 
 tering any trouble with the Indians. While in 
 
496 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Little Grass valley twelve horses owned by Mr. 
 Hardgrave died in one night. As all were val- 
 uable, the loss was a heavy one for him, and he 
 had but four horses and one mule left for his 
 three wagons. Others of the party came to his re- 
 lief and enabled him to get his supplies in safety to 
 Marysville, where in October, 1852, they camped 
 on the present site of the courthouse. After one 
 month of camp life he removed to a ranch of one 
 hundred and sixty acres twelve miles north of 
 Marysville, where he carried on ranching and 
 kept a road house for twelve years. Meanwhile 
 he had purchased a claim, but afterward found 
 that a part of the land was still owned by the 
 government, and he therefore was obliged to 
 pay for it twice. The ranch was improved under 
 his painstaking labor and a house of two stories 
 was built, forming an unusually substantial res- 
 idence for those days. Expenses were high and 
 provisions brought fancy prices, butter being $1 
 per pound, and other products in proportion. 
 
 Renting the ranch near Marysville in 1864 Mr. 
 Hardgrave came to Plumas county and bought 
 the hotel at Taylorsville, to which he built an ad- 
 dition and made various improvements. After 
 having conducted a hotel business there for two 
 years he sold his ranch in Yuba county and 
 bought eight hundred acres in Indian valley, the 
 larger part of which is quite valuable and well 
 adapted for the raising of general farm products. 
 In politics he voted with the Democrats. At no 
 time would he consent to hold public office, and 
 though he was elected supervisor in Yuba county 
 he refused to qualify. However, he always aid- 
 ed such of his friends as were candidates for 
 office and was a stanch party man. In religion 
 he was of the Congregational faith and a con- 
 tributor to that church. At seventy-seven years 
 of age, April 7, 1892, he quietly passed from the 
 scenes of time, mourned by family and friends to 
 whom his manly qualities and high principles had 
 endeared him. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Hardgrave occurred 
 April II, 1840, and united him with Miss Diana 
 Tiles, who was born in Wayne county, N. Y., and 
 in girlhood accompanied relatives to Wayne coun- 
 ty, Mich., where she was reared and married. 
 With her husband and three small children she 
 
 crossed the plains in 1852 and then assisted in 
 the management of a hotel until her husband's 
 death, after which she aided her son in the same 
 business. In 1896 she disposed of her interest in 
 the hotel to her son and moved to Salinas, Mon- 
 terey county, but a year later returned to Plumas 
 county and bought a residence at Quincy, where 
 she and her youngest child, Sarah Ann, now 
 make their home. Her oldest child, who also 
 bore the name of Sarah Ann, died at the age of 
 two years and three months; the second child, 
 Cornelia, died March 17, 1901 ; and the third, 
 William, who was manager of the Taylorsville 
 hotel as well as a ranch, died January 8, 1902, 
 since which time his widow and sons have con- 
 tinued his interests. Though Mrs. Hardgrave is 
 now eighty-three years of age she retains her 
 physical and mental faculties and is remarkably 
 active for one so advanced in years. Blessed with 
 excellent eyesight, she can read the papers with 
 ease and can even do difficult needle work and 
 fancy work requiring a trained and accurate 
 vision. In her age she is tenderly cared for by 
 her only surviving child, with whom she lives in 
 comfort, in the enjoyment of all that adds to the 
 happiness of existence. 
 
 ANDREW T. CLAYBURG. Standing high 
 among the capable and systematic farmers, 
 stockmen and dairymen of Lassen county who 
 have met with undisputed success as agricultur- 
 ists is Andrew Clayburg, living near Milford, 
 where he is actively employed in general farm- 
 ing. Taking possession of his land while it was 
 yet in its primitive condition, he courageously be- 
 gan its improvement, and by the exercise of his 
 native industry atid his able business capacity he 
 has rendered it one of the most productive es- 
 tates in the neighborhood, having much of the 
 land fenced and under cultivation, with other im- 
 provements of an excellent character. He was 
 born September 21, 1866, in Norway, where his 
 parents, Torger and Karen (Michaelson) Clay- 
 burg, have always lived. 
 
 Having obtained a common school education 
 in the schools of Norwav, Andrew T. Clavburg 
 
"^^ /^ g^zl^^/^. 
 
 '^^Xj 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 499 
 
 began the struggle of life when but sixteen years 
 of age. Immigrating to America, the poor man's 
 paradise, in 1882, he worked for a year in Fill- 
 more county. Minn. From 1883 until 1892, he 
 was similarly employed in Astoria, Ore. Prudent 
 in his expenditures, and wise in his savings, Mr. 
 Claybnrg accumulated some money and in look- 
 ing for a place in which to locate permanently 
 came to Lassen county. Settling in Honey Lake 
 valley, not far from Milford, he filed upon his 
 present place, taking up a homestead claim of one 
 hundred and sixty acres, which he now owns and 
 occupies. By dint of judicious labor he has 
 cleared a large part of it from the native sage 
 brush with which it was covered ; has fenced near- 
 ]\- all of it : put up a good house and barns ; and 
 has sixty acres of alfalfa now growing. He raises 
 considerable hay. and is profitably engaged in 
 dairying and stock-raising, meeting with most 
 satisfactory succes., '-if undertakings. 
 
 In Astoria, Ore.. Mr. Qayburg married Mary 
 Ellingson. who was born in Norway, and came 
 with her parents. John and Ann (Thompson) El- 
 lingson, to America in 1880. locating first in Fill- 
 more county, Minn., and five years later remov- 
 ing to Astoria. She is a sister of John Ellingson, 
 Jr., of whom a sketch may be found elsewhere in 
 this volume. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Clay- 
 burg one child has been born, Thomas, whose 
 birth occurred in Astoria. Politically Mr. Clay- 
 burg is a stanch adherent of the Republican party. 
 
 WILLIAM MARION COTTINGHAM. 
 There is no finer farm within the limits of Indian 
 valley than the dairy and stock ranch lying four 
 miles from Taylorsville and owned by William 
 M. Cottingham, who ranks among the progress- 
 ive and prominent ranchers of Plumas county. 
 The nucleus of the present property was pur- 
 chased by him in 1870, when he bought a quarter 
 section, and to this he has added from time to 
 time, until now the ranch embraces two hundred 
 and fifty acres of fertile valley land, bearing the 
 best mnprovements the owner's labor and means 
 can provide. The residence, erected under his 
 personal oversight, aflfords comfortable and 
 
 ample accommodations for the family, while his 
 three large and substantial barns give adequate 
 facilities for the storage of grain and shelter of 
 stock and machinery. Dairying is one of his spe- 
 cialties and his herd of forty cows brings him a 
 handsome profit each year in return for his in- 
 telligent care, with the assistance of his practical 
 dairyman. In addition to his home place he 
 at one time owned a half interest in a sawmill 
 and four hundred acres of timber land near 
 (ireenville. 
 
 Coles county, Hi., is .Mr. Cottingham 's native 
 place, and December 30. 1844, the date of his 
 hirth. In the sketch of his brother, James W., 
 on another page, will be found the family record.' 
 \\\Kn tile parents crossed the plains in 1864 Will- 
 iam M. was a young man of twenty, sturdy, 
 self-reliant and helpful, and he being the eldest 
 child was looked to by his father as the principal 
 assistant in the family's support. After settling 
 in the Indian valley he and his father bought one 
 hundred and sixty acres and undertook the im- 
 provement of the property, but the father had 
 long been a sufferer from inflammatory rheuma- 
 tism and the son therefore felt the responsibility 
 resting upon his young shoulders. In fact, from 
 the age of fourteen he had been the mainstay of 
 the home, and after his younger brother and sis- 
 ters married he still remained with his parents, 
 caring for them until they died. It was not until 
 1885 that he established domestic ties of his own. 
 at which time he married Miss Mary M. Tliomp- 
 son. daughter of Richard Thompson. Mrs. Cot- 
 tingham was born on the plains in Wyoming 
 when her parents were e^i route to California 
 and she grew to womanhood in Indian valley, 
 which has been her lifelong home. In the w<irk 
 of building up their home place she has been of 
 the greatest aid to her husband and her counsel 
 and encouragement have stimulated him in his 
 painstaking labors on the ranc,h. I5y precept and 
 example both encourage the work of temperance 
 and. while he usually votes the Democratic ticket. 
 yet in local matters he gives his influence for the 
 Prohibition cause and is known as a consistent 
 temperance worker. Twice the Democrats have 
 placed him in nomination for office, once as as- 
 sessor and another time as supervisor, but the 
 
500 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 county is strongly Republican, and he suffered 
 defeat with others on the ticket. Whatever of 
 financial success has come to him may be attrib- 
 uted to energetic application and unwearied in- 
 dustry, supplemented by the sympathetic help of 
 a capable wife. 
 
 JAMES H. PEARCE. At the upper end of 
 the Sierra valley lie the Campbell Hot Springs, 
 which since 1887 have been owned and operated 
 by James H. Pearce an(J which are attracting 
 each season an increasing number of people from 
 a distance desirous of enjoying the beneficial 
 effects of the waters. The location leaves nothing 
 to be desired as to picturesqueness. Immediately 
 beyond the valley lie the sheltering mountains 
 covered with their great forests of pine. Springs 
 having their source in the hills flow through the 
 valley land and not only beautify and render 
 fertile the soil through which they pass, but also 
 furnish water possessing curative properties in 
 the treatment of certain diseases. At the time 
 of its purchase by the present owner the ranch 
 comprised three hundred and twenty acres, but 
 he has added to the property until now it consists 
 of seven hundred and twenty acres, of which three 
 hundred and seventy-five acres are in the valley 
 and the remainder in timber. Under his super- 
 vision various improvements have been made, so 
 that the Springs now rank, not only among the 
 oldest, but also among the best health and sum- 
 mer resorts in northern California, the hot springs 
 being the especial attraction from a health stand- 
 point. Bathhouses have been built and two large 
 buildings with three cottages capable of accom- 
 ■ modating eighty guests. IModern conveniences 
 are to be found here. The Springs are of easy 
 access to travelers, being only one and one-quar- 
 ter miles from Sierraville. The land produces 
 an abundance of vegetables for the summer 
 guests, while the herd of dairy cows provide 
 plenty of milk, so that the table is amply supplied 
 with healthful foods, and under the management 
 of the landlord the hotel is operated satisfactorily 
 to the guests, whose comforts are enhanced by 
 his wise super\dsion. 
 
 Of Californian birth and English lineage. 
 
 James H. Pearce was born at Brownsville, Yuba 
 county, November 22, 1856, being a son of James 
 Pearce, .Sr., who crossed the ocean from England 
 in 1849 ^"cl by way of the Nicaragua route soon 
 afterward landed in California, where he followed 
 the blacksmith's trade and also owned and 
 operated a mine at Brownsville. Removing to 
 the Grass Valley in 1857, he engaged in mining 
 there until his death at forty-four years. After 
 having attended the schools of Grass Valley for 
 a brief period, at the age of fourteen years James 
 H. Pearce began to learn the machinist's trade 
 and five years later he went to San Francisco 
 for the purpose of working at his chosen occu- 
 pation. Three years later he removed to Amador 
 county and secured work in a shop. Later he 
 came to Sierra City and for five and one-half 
 years he was emnloyed in this part of the state 
 at his trade. Retiring from that occupation in 
 1887, he purchased the Campbell Hot Springs 
 and ranch, to the improvement of which he has 
 devoted his attention with a gratifying degree 
 of success. His long experience in building up 
 the resort has given him a broad knowledge of 
 the needs of the traveling public and he possesses 
 the information requisite to the satisfactory super- 
 vision of his health and summer resort, whose 
 increasing popularity is bringing each summer 
 a large number of people from other parts of the 
 state, attracted hither by the springs and also 
 b_\' the delightful climate and picturesque scenery. 
 
 FREDERICK E. BUSH. Notwithstanding 
 the fact that the Surprise Valley Bank is among 
 the most recent of the banking institutions es- 
 t.ablished in northern California, it already has 
 gained prestige as one of the most substantial 
 and deserving of the patronage of the people. 
 Organized as a result of the intelligent and en- 
 ergetic efforts of Mr. Bush, it was o]>ened for 
 business in March of 1905, with a capital stock 
 of $25,000, and since then has been conducted 
 ably by a corps of officers, including Mr. Bush 
 as cashier. The bank makes a specialty of loans 
 and discounts, all of which are negotiated with 
 keen judgment and protected by the best of 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 )01 
 
 personal or real-estate securities, so that the in- 
 terests of the stockholders arc conserved, while 
 at the same time those seeking accommodations 
 of such a nature find the hank ever readv to meet 
 their temporary needs. During 1906 the Iiank 
 intends huilding a modern hrick huilding, cost- 
 ing ahout $S,ooo and equipped with modern ap- 
 pliances for the conduct of their growing husi- 
 ness. 
 
 Tlie cashier of the bank is a native of Johnson 
 county, Iowa, born June 26, 1876, being a son of 
 Amos and May (Pratt) Bush. Primarily edu- 
 cated in the grammar schools of Iowa, he was a 
 youth of seventeen years when, in 1893, he ac- 
 companied his mother (now a resident of Berke- 
 ley, Cal.) to the western coast. After a summer 
 spent in Surprise valley, Modoc county, he went 
 to Goose Lake valley and secured work on a farm 
 by the month, remaining in the same locality for 
 five years. At the expiration of that time he 
 came to Alturas and secured employment as a 
 clerk, and later as bookkeeper in the Co-operative 
 store, where he continued to hold a responsible 
 position until he resigned to assist in the organi- 
 zation of the Surprise Valley Bank, a state insti- 
 tution, with which he is now identified as stock- 
 holder and officer. 
 
 In 1905 Mr. Bush established a home of his 
 own, his wife being Miss Bessie Fitzgerald, a 
 popular young lady of Alturas. .-Xn intelligent 
 student of public questions, he believes in Re- 
 publican principles and gives his stanch alle- 
 giance to that party. In matters of a fraternal 
 nature he has no especial connection except with 
 the Knights of Pythias, in which he has been an 
 active worker with the Alturas Lodge. 
 
 CLAUS PETERS. Conspicuous among the 
 energetic and enterprising pioneers of Surprise 
 valley who came here to engage in farming and 
 stock-raising, none met with more assured suc- 
 cess than the late Claus Peters. Taking up a 
 tract of land covered for the most part with 
 sage brush and willows, he immediately began 
 its improvement, and by dint of energy and dili- 
 gence brought the land to a good state of cultiva- 
 
 tion, erected a substantial set of farm buildings, 
 rendering his estate productive and valuable. 
 With the assistance of his wife, he set out nearly 
 all of the trees in the beautiful grove near his 
 residence, and in their rapid growth took great 
 pride and pleasure. Thrown upon his resources 
 when young, he acquired success through his 
 own efforts, easily earning the honored title of a 
 self-made man. He was born February 13. 1856, 
 in Holstein, Germany, the land of sturdy habits, 
 and died December 14, 1904, on his home farm, 
 near Cedarville. 
 
 Acquiring an excellent education in his native 
 country, Claus Peters immigrated to the United 
 States when a young man, locating in Iowa, 
 where he worked at the carpenter's trade to .some 
 extent, but was more extensively engaged in 
 farming and teaming. Thinking to improve his 
 financial condition, he came to California, cross- 
 ing the plains with W. T. Cressler, with whom 
 he formed a copartnership, and was for a time 
 engaged in farming and stock-raising in Tehama 
 in the Sacramento valley. Alx)ut 1877 he located 
 permanently in Surprise valley. Buying three 
 hundred and twenty acres of land that was prac- 
 tically in its primitive condition, he began the 
 pioneer labor of clearing and improving a ranch. 
 He afterwards sold eighty acres of his jjurchase, 
 but the remainder of it he devoted to the raising 
 of stock, grain and ha\-, in course of time be- 
 coming numbered among the most prosperous 
 and respected agriculturists of this .section of 
 Modoc county. L'ntil about a year ago his farm, 
 lying one and one-half miles southeast of the 
 village of Cedarville. was owned by his widow 
 and son. who managed it with exceptionally good 
 financial results until Septcml>er. 1905. when 
 they sold it and moved to Cedarville. here erect- 
 ing the home they now occupy. Politically Mr. 
 Peters was a steadfast supjjorter of the principles 
 of the Republican party, and took an active in- 
 terest in the welfare of town and county, espe- 
 cially contributing his share towards advancing 
 the cause of education. 
 
 September 3. 1882, Mr. Peters married Mrs. 
 Elizabeth W'yiie. A daughter of Oliver and 
 Mary (Hobbs) Stephenson, she was lx)rn in On- 
 tario, Canada, but was brought up and educated 
 
502 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in Vermont. When through school she moved 
 with her parents to Iowa, settHng in Story 
 county, where both her father and mother died. 
 Slie there became the wife of F. D. Wylie, who 
 (Hed, leaving her with four children, namely : 
 Minnie, wife of John Metzker, of Cedarville ; 
 Nellie, wife of Clarence Phillips, of Cedarville; 
 Mary, now Mrs. Parker, resides in Plumas 
 county ; and Lura, wife of William Kirk, of Sher- 
 wood, Cal. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Peters 
 one child was born, Harold C, who had charge 
 of the home ranch and its mangement until it 
 was sold. 
 
 JOHN HEIRO COTINELL. A substantial 
 and prosperous agriculturist, and a respected 
 citizen of Susanville, John Heiro Cornell has 
 been an miportant factor in developing and ad- 
 vancing the farming and stock-raising interests 
 of northern California, his abilities in this direc- 
 tion being recognized and appreciated. He has 
 the distinction of being a native of the state, his 
 birth having occurred November 28. 1858, near 
 Knights Landing, Yolo county, on the farm of 
 his father, the late H. K. Cornell. 
 
 Born in Cleveland, Ohio, H. K. Cornell learned 
 the trade of a ship carpenter, and followed it 
 when young. In 1850 he joined tlie gold hunters, 
 coming with ox-teams across the plains to the 
 Pacific coast. After mining for a short time, he 
 settled in Yolo county, becoming a pioneer, and 
 for a number of years was there employed in 
 stock-raising and grain farming. Coming to 
 Susanville in 1863, he purchased the farm now 
 owned and occupied by his son John Heiro, and 
 continued his agricultural labors. He also owned 
 what is now Halltown, and had title to various 
 other' ranches, making a business of trading 
 ranches. Disposing of all his land in this lo- 
 cality in 1876, he removed with his stock to 
 Modoc county, where he resided for some 'time. 
 Subsequently returning to Susanville, he spent 
 his remaining days here, 'dying at the age of 
 seventy-five years. His wife, w^hose maiden 
 name was Harriet Masten, was born in Indiana, 
 and died in Susanville, aged sixty-five years. 
 
 The oldest of a family of five children, John 
 
 Heiro Cornell ^vas brought up in Susanville, 
 acquiring his early knowledge of books in the 
 jnibl'ic schools. From boyhood he assisted his 
 father in the farm work, and went with him to 
 Modoc county, where he helped care for the 
 stock. On coming of age, he started in business 
 on his own account, buying a ranch on Tule 
 Lake, Modoc county, and embarking in stock- 
 raising. He had a good range, and made a 
 specialty of raising draft horses. In company 
 with his father he drove his horses to the Sacra- 
 mento valley to sell, and built up a profitable 
 Inisiness, his brand being H. C. (with a straight 
 line above), while his father's was H. C. In 
 1902 Mr. Cornell sold his ranch, horses and cat- 
 tle, and returned to Susanville. Buying the old 
 home farm on which he was reared, he has 
 thirty acres of rich farming land adjoining town, 
 anil keeps a small dairy, which yields him a 
 good income. He is also proprietor of Cornell's 
 ranch, in Modoc county, where he has a large 
 corral and feed barns. While living in Modoc 
 county, Mr. Cornell and his father established 
 the Cornell postofiice, and he served as post- 
 master for fifteen years after it was opened. 
 
 In Lassen county, near Susanville, Mr. Cor- 
 nell married Ida Winchester, who was born in 
 this valle}-, a daughter of L. E. Winchester, and 
 a granddaughter of Elliot \\'inchester, a pioneer 
 settler of this place. Of the union of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cornel! the following children have been 
 born : George Heiro, \'era Isabelle, John Wes- 
 ley and Ida Marie. 
 
 FRED DUBOISE HALL. A prominent 
 young native son of California who lives three- 
 quarters of a mile south of .Standish, Lassen 
 county, is Fred Duboise Hall, the son of Wright 
 P. Hall. September 6, 1871, he w^as born in 
 Lassen county, where he was reared, receiving 
 his education irl the public schools of Susanville, 
 and remaining with his parents until he was six- 
 teen years old. Branching out from the old home 
 in 1887, he homesteaded one hundred and sixty 
 acres of sage brush land with no improvements 
 upon it except a worthless little cabin. Clearing 
 
ut^-^/ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 505 
 
 up one Inindred and forty acres of this, lie put 
 nearly all of it in alfalfa, and placed it under the 
 Colonial Irrigation Company for irrigation. Not 
 caring to raise stock on a very large scale, Mr. 
 Hall sells the greater portion of the hay he raises 
 at a good profit. At the time he took up this 
 land he was working as a teamster. 
 
 October 29, 1902, Mr. Hall was married to 
 Miss Lena Long, daughter of T. X. Long, and 
 a native daughter of California, having been 
 lx)rn at Susanville, Lassen county. Fraternally 
 Mr. Hall is identified with the Ancient Order of 
 Ignited Workmen of Susanville, at which place 
 he is also a member of the Native Sons, and in 
 politics he is a stanch supporter of the Republican 
 platform. He has erected a handsome residence, 
 good barns, fences, etc., upon his farm, and it is 
 now one of the most valuable pieces of real estate 
 in the county. He has been successful in his 
 business undertakings, and is energetic and in- 
 dustrious in his habits. 
 
 GEORGE LINCOLN TOMB. The county 
 clerk of Lassen county is a member of an old and 
 honored family of the Hudson river region and 
 is himself a native of Newburgh, N. Y., on that 
 historic river, around which cluster the earliest 
 memories of his childhood. The family traces its 
 ancestry to England, but became established in 
 the east during the colonial period of our coun- 
 try's history, and James Tomb spent much of his 
 life in northern New York, but died in New- 
 burgh. Charles S. G., who was a son of James, 
 was born in the northern part of the state and 
 as a youth learned the trades of harness-maker 
 and saddler, which he followed all through his 
 active years, conducting for some time an estab- 
 lishment on Water street in the city of New- 
 burgh. Though not inclined toward public life 
 or desirous of political prominence, he was al- 
 ways ardent in his allegiance to the Republican 
 party. Fraternally he was a Master Mason and 
 in religious belief was identified with the Dutch 
 Reformed Church. At the time of his death he 
 was fifty-two vears of age. During young man- 
 hood he established domestic ties through his 
 II 
 
 marriage to Miss Harriet Odell, a native of 
 Westchester county. N. Y., and a sister of Hon. 
 Benjamin B. Odell. Sr.. a leading citizen and 
 former mavor of Newburgh. .\ distinguished 
 representative of the family is her nephew. Ben- 
 jamin B.. Odell. Jr.. ex-Governor of New York, 
 and a leading man of public affairs in the east. 
 
 In a family of three children George Lincoln 
 Tomb was the only one to attain mature years. 
 Born February 21. iSr>8. he was orphaned in 
 infancy by the death of his mother, and shortly 
 afterward was taken into the home of an aunt, 
 Mrs. Jane Odell Smiley, in New York City, 
 where he gained the rudiments of his education 
 in the public schools. At twelve years of age 
 he returned to Newburgh and entered the public 
 schools of that city. When he was seventeen he 
 lost his father by death and then started out to 
 earn his own way in the world, returning to 
 New York City, where he secured a clerkship. 
 From there in 1889 he came to California and 
 worked as a clerk in a San Francisco store, but 
 in the fall of 1890 he came to Susanville, which 
 since has been his home and headquarters. For 
 a time he was employed in the Odette Brothers 
 mills in a clerical capacity. 
 
 Always stanch in his allegiance to the Re- 
 publican party, Mr. Tomb has been prominent in 
 ihe local work of the party. In 1898 he was 
 placed in nomination by the party for the office 
 of county clerk and at the election received a 
 majority of three hundred and fifteen votes. On 
 the 1st of January, 1899, he took the oath of 
 office and entered upon his duties. At the ex- 
 piration of his term he was elected for a second 
 time, receiving a majority of three hundred and 
 sixty-five and entering upon the second term 
 January i, 1903, to serve until January, 1007. 
 Conscientious, faithful and painstaking, he has 
 won commendation as a county official and his 
 service has proved satisfactory to citizens ir- 
 respective of party. In November, 1905, he 
 Ixjught the A. K. Philbrook furniture and under- 
 taking business which he has since carried on 
 successfully. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Tomb occurred at Susan- 
 ville and united him with Miss Maude Long, a 
 native of this city and a daughter of one of its 
 
506 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 early settlers, John T. Long. Of this union 
 there are two daughters, Nadene and Gladys. In 
 fraternal relations Mr. Tomb holds membership 
 with Silver Star Lodge No. 135, I. O. O. F., 
 in which he is past grand and also holds the 
 office of secretary. Prominent in local Masonry, 
 he is the present master of Lassen Lodge No. 
 149, F. & A. M., of Susanville, is further iden- 
 tified with Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. M., 
 and with his wife belongs to the Order of the 
 Eastern Star. 
 
 WILLIAM GREEN. The family repre- 
 sented by this stock-raiser and farmer of Modoc 
 county comes of southern blood. His father, 
 William Alfred, was born and reared in Ken- 
 tucky, but early in life went north to Wisconsin 
 and secured employment in the lead mines of 
 that state. At tlie opening of the Mexican war 
 he and those of his brothers wlio were old enough, 
 enlisted to light against Alcxico's claims and pro- 
 ceeded to the center of the conflict. At the ex- 
 piration of his term of service he again enlisted, 
 after which he remained at the front until the 
 close of the struggle. In recognition of his 
 faithful services, his bravery on many a hotly- 
 contested field, and his wounds in battle, the gov- 
 ernment tendered him a pension throughout the 
 later years of his life. 
 
 While living in Wisconsin ^^'illiam .\lfred 
 (ireen met and niarried .\manda Melvina Dick- 
 inson, who was born in Pennsylvania. The year 
 following his marriage he joined a party of 
 gold-seekers bound for the new mines of the far 
 west, and, leaving his wife with relatives in 
 \'\'isconsin, he crossed the plains to California. 
 Two months after he left home his first child, 
 William, was born April 24, 1850. Six years 
 later the mother and son went to Missouri, from 
 which state in the spring of 1857 they started 
 overland for California. In company with mem- 
 bers of the illustrious and ill-fated Mountain 
 Meadow party they traveled as far as the Forks, 
 when the others proceeded to Salt Lake, while 
 they traveled north and crossed the Humboldt 
 desert in Nevada, thence came into California and 
 
 joined ^Ir. Green in Calaveras county. For six 
 months the family resided in Eldorado county at 
 what was popularly known as "Nigger Hill." 
 Afterward they engaged in the hotel business in 
 Amador coimty for a number of years. 
 
 Coming to Surprise valley, Modoc county, in 
 1871 William Alfred Green took up one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres five miles south of Cedar- 
 ville, but he gave his attention to mining rather 
 than to agricultural pursuits, and while mining 
 in Plumas county, this state, in 1888 he was killed 
 by a snowslide. His body, being covered by the 
 snow, could not be found until the spring of 1889. 
 At the time of his death he was seventy-nine, and 
 his wife died June 10, 1901, at the age of seventy- 
 three. In their family were the following chil- 
 dren : William, the subject of this article ; James, 
 deceased ; Ida, Mrs. John Dyke, who' lives near 
 Cedarville ; Cordelia, who married William 
 Haynes and lives at Seattle, Wash. ; Edward and 
 Frank, who make their home with their brother 
 on the ranch in Surprise valley. 
 
 Being very young when he came to California, 
 \\'illiam Green received his education principally 
 in this state. .\t an early age he began to assist 
 his father in the mines and acquired a thorough 
 knowledge of every detail connected with the oc- 
 cupation. In the spring of 1871 he came to Sur- 
 prise valley and took up one hundred and si.xt}' 
 acres situated five miles south of Cedarville. At 
 this writing he owns the one hundred and sixty 
 acres originally owned by his father, and alto- 
 gether he has five hundred and eighty acres of 
 excellent farm and stock land. His specialties 
 are the raising of alfalfa and stock, with both 
 of which he has been markedly successful. Po- 
 litically he votes with the Democratic party. At 
 one time he was a leading member of Cedar- 
 ville Lodge, I. (). O. F., in which he officiated 
 as noble grand, district deputy and delegate to 
 the grand lodge, but about 1893 he withdrew 
 from the organization. Since then he has not 
 been identified with any fraternity. His atten- 
 tion is given closely to the management of his 
 ranch, the raising of stock and work of a kin- 
 dred nature : yet he does not fail in the dis- 
 charge of every duty incumbent upon him as 
 a public-spirited and progressive citizen. 
 
^^^^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 509 
 
 Edward, brotlicr of William Green, was horn 
 in Eldorado county, Gal., September 26, 1867. 
 After completing the studies of the public schools 
 he paid his own way while attendinir a business 
 collejje at Seattle, Wash. After leaving- the col- 
 legia he was for two years shipping clerk and in- 
 side salesman for a wholesale confectionery tirm 
 and for some years he held a position as solicitor 
 for a grocerx- firm. In 1896 he returned to Sur- 
 prise valley and since then has made his home 
 with his elder brother. During one winter he 
 ke]^ books for Kistler Bros., at Lake City. While 
 he is not a trained mechanic, he has a natural 
 ability along that line, and his services as a me- 
 chanic iiave proved helpful on the ranch. Like 
 his brother, he is stanchly Democratic in his 
 political views, but has no desire for office and 
 does not i)articipate in partisan matters. Alarch 
 7, 1903, he was initiated into Cedarville Lodge 
 No. 249, I. O. O. F., and with tjie exception of 
 the night of his initiation be has always held an 
 office in the lodge, being at this time past noble 
 grand. In the work of the lodge he is deeplx 
 interested and its success and usefulness may be 
 attributed in no small degree to his enthusiastic 
 leadership. In religious views the brothers favor 
 the doctrines of the Christian church and are 
 leading members of that organization at Cedar- 
 ville. contributing to its maintenance and sup- 
 porting its missionary and other activities, while 
 at the same time they are generous in their 
 support of all other movements for the uplift- 
 ing of the race and the moral, social and religious 
 development of their comnumitv. 
 
 ADAM DOUGLAS ELLEDGE. Among the 
 pioneer settlers of Honey Lake valley no one 
 is more worthy of representation in a work of 
 this character than the late .A.dam Douglas 
 Elledge, who was actively associated with the 
 industrial, agricultural and business interests of 
 this section of the state for many years. .\ 
 man of sterling integrity and honesty, uprigjit 
 and just in all of his dealings, he was held in 
 high esteem by all who knew him, and his death 
 was a distinct loss to the comnumitv as well 
 
 as to his immediate family. A native of Indiana, 
 he was born March 9, 1827, and died on his 
 home farm, near Susanville, November 24, 
 1894. His father, P.oone Elledge, was born and 
 brought up in North Carolina, but when a young 
 man removed first to Kentucky and then to In- 
 diana, where he followed the trade of a stone 
 mason and builder. Removing from there to 
 Illinois, he spent his last years in Griggsville, 
 Pike countA-. He married Rebecca P.ell, who 
 was born in \irginia and died in Illinois. They 
 became the parents of ten children, nine of whom 
 were boys, and of these but one survives, namely : 
 James Elledge, who at the age of eighty-two 
 years is now residing in Gait, Mo. 
 
 .At the age of nine years Adam Douglas El- 
 ledge went v.ith his parents to Griggsville. III., 
 where he attended the district school, and under 
 the wise instruction of his father obtained a 
 practical knowledge of farming. Soon after 
 attaining his majority he was united in marriage. 
 and the ensuing fourteen years was employed 
 in tilling the soil, having a good farm seven 
 miles from Griggsville. In 1863, deciding to 
 follow the march of civilization westward, he 
 came with ox-tcams to the Pacific coast, leaving 
 Illinois on April 23, 1863, crossing the Missis- 
 sippi river at Quincy, and the Missouri at Coun- 
 cil Bluffs. Continuing along the old overland 
 trail, he entered California by the Honey Lake 
 route, arriving in Susanville on September 28. 
 1863. Here he worked as a carpenter and 
 builder for five years, erecting many of the 
 earlier dwelling-houses and buildings of this 
 vicinity, fn 1868 he removed with his family 
 to Marvsville, where for eight years he followed 
 carpentering and farming. Returning to Lassen 
 county in 1876, he was engaged in carpentering 
 at Tohnstonville for a time, and the same year 
 bought the home farm on which bis widow and 
 son now live, and was here engaged in agricult- 
 ural and mechanical pursuits until his death, as 
 above stated. 
 
 February 22. 1849. in Grip-gsville. Pike county, 
 111.. Mr. Elledsre married Rebecca Hodges, who 
 was born March 10. 1828. in Winchester, Scott 
 county. III., a daughter of .Amos Hodges. Jr. 
 She comes of patriotic ancestry, her grand- 
 
510 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 father, Amos Hodges, Sr., who was born in 
 North Carohna and settled as a pioneer farmer 
 in Kentucky, having served when young in the 
 Revolutionary war. A native of Green county, 
 Ky., Amos Hodges, Jr., was reared to agri- 
 cultural pursuits, and in early manhood bought 
 and improved a farm in Winchester, 111. He 
 subsequently removed to Gait, Mo., where he 
 spent the remainder of his life, passing away 
 at the age of three score and ten years. He was 
 a man of deep religious convictions, and a de- 
 voted member of the Baptist Church. He mar- 
 ried Mary Scott, a native of North Carolina, 
 which was likewise the birthplace of her father, 
 Benjamin Scott, who served through the Revolu- 
 tionary war, afterwards settling permanently in 
 Kentucky. She died in Grundy county. Mo. 
 She bore her husband eight children, of whom 
 Mrs. EUedge and Elizabeth Shinn, of Gait, Mo., 
 are the only survivors. Three of her sons, Will- 
 iam, John and James, all now deceased, served 
 in the Civil war. 
 
 Since the death of her husband Mrs. Elledge 
 has continued to reside on the home farm, devot- 
 ing its seventy-six acres to the raising of grain 
 and alfalfa. Of the tmion of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Elledge eight cliildren were born, namely : 
 Francis M., a carpenter residing in Standish : 
 Charles W., managing the home farm; John R., 
 whose farm adjoins the home ranch ; Millard, 
 engaged in lumbering in ^Mendocino county ; 
 James H., employed in farming near Standish ; 
 Jennie, wife of Charles Spillers, of Ferndale, 
 Humboldt county: David, a farmer residing in 
 Standish : and Newton, of Standish. Politically 
 Mr. Elledge was a loyal supporter of the prin- 
 ciples of the Republican partv ; fraternally he 
 was a member of the Independent Order of 
 Odd Fellows ; and religiously he belonged to the 
 Christian Church, of which Mrs, Elledge is also 
 a faithful member. 
 
 JOHN B. McKISSICK. Among the re- 
 spected and highly esteemed citizens of Secret 
 valley John B. ]\IcKissick holds an assured posi- 
 tion, his industry, uprightness and neighborly 
 
 dealing having gained for him the confidence and 
 good will of the whole community. A pioneer 
 of Lassen county, coming here a barefoot boy 
 of fourteen years, and the son of a pioneer, he 
 has been an able assistant in developing and ad- 
 vancing the agricultural interests of this part of 
 the state, and now, although practically retired 
 from active pursuits, is an important factor in 
 promoting the welfare of town and county. A 
 son of Daniel McKissick, he was born October 7, 
 1846, in Fremont county, Iowa, where he spent 
 his earlier years. 
 
 Accompanied by his wife and children, Danie) 
 McKissick came across the plains with ox-teams 
 to California in i860, having a long and tedious 
 journey. Locating in Long valley he bought 
 land near Constantia, becoming owner of a ranch 
 of one thousand acres. Fencing his claim and 
 improving it to some e.xtent, he lived there nine 
 years and then sold out. Moving to Nevada with 
 his family he was a resident of that state seven 
 years. Not satisfied, however, he returned to 
 Long valley, for a number of years making his 
 home with his brother. Locating then in Secret 
 valley, he and his son, John B., the subject of this 
 sketch, became owner of ten hundred and fifty- 
 seven acres of land, from which they improved a 
 fine farm, which they devoted mainly to the rais- 
 ing of cattle and horses. Here he spent his re- 
 maining years, dying, at the age of seventy-seven 
 years, in 1895. His wife, whose maiden name 
 was Melissa Fowler, survived him, passing away 
 in 1896, at the age of seventy-four years. 
 
 On coming with his parents to Long valley in 
 i860, John B. McKissick continued his studies 
 in the district schools for awhile, in the winter 
 seasons attending school in Marysville. In the 
 meantime he assisted his father in the pioneer la- 
 bor of clearing and improving the land, work- 
 ing with an energy that betokened success. 
 When he was twenty-one years old, having 
 proved himself so capable an assistant, his father 
 divided the home estate with him if he would 
 remain at home. Accepting this magnanimous 
 offer, Mr. McKissick resided with his parents as 
 long as they lived, during the latter years of 
 their lives having sole management of the farm, 
 and being one of the largest and most successful 
 
^/^ y^ ^6^<^^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 513 
 
 stock raisers and dealers of Secret valley. A 
 year or two after the death of his parents, and 
 that of his wife, Mr. McKissick sold his farm to 
 his uncle. Jacob McKissick, and has since made 
 his home with his sister, Mrs. M. M. Tipton, 
 wife of J. J. Tipton. Since the completion of 
 the railroad, seven years ago, Mr. McKissick 
 has carried the mail from the station to the post 
 ofifice at Secret, a distance of five and one-fourth 
 miles. While actively engaged in stock busi- 
 ness he, with his Uncle Jacol>, made frequent 
 trips with cattle to Hot Springs, and in so do- 
 ing broke the first wagon road from Mud Flats 
 to Tipton, and across to Madeline jjlains, this 
 road subsequently being used as the stage route 
 between those places. His father had the dis- 
 tinction of bringing the first wagon into this sec- 
 tion, buying it in the fall of 1865. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. McKissick married Jennie L. 
 Swain, a native of Texas, and they became the 
 parents of three children, namely : John D., Han- 
 nah May and Wilbur R. Mrs. McKissick died 
 in 1898, her body being laid to rest in the private 
 cemetery of the McKissick family. Inheriting 
 the political faith of his father, Mr. McKissick 
 is a loyal supporter of the principles promul- 
 gated by the Democratic party. 
 
 NATHANIEL BAILEY FORGAY. The 
 family represented by this well-known rancher 
 of the Indian valley is of southern extraction and 
 Scotch origin, his paternal grandfather, Sanniel, 
 having crossed the ocean from Scotland to the 
 south, later offering his services to his adopted 
 country during the turbulent period of the J^evo- 
 lutionary war, and then returning from the war 
 to take up the life of a planter. James, son of 
 the original immigrant, was born and reared in 
 Kentucky, and during early life went to Missis- 
 sippi, where he married Elizabeth Brown, a na- 
 tive of Kentucky and descended from an old 
 southern family. For some time he followed the 
 carpenter's trade and took contracts for putting 
 up houses and stores. Farm work, too, engaged 
 his attention to some extent. While he lived in 
 Scott count\-, .-Xrk.. the hostilities began that re- 
 
 sulted in the Civil war. From the first he op- 
 posed the system of slavery and refused to buy 
 or even hire a slave. Enmities were aroused by 
 reason of his frank expression of opinions, and 
 during 1863, in order to escape death at the hands 
 of southern .sympathizers, he was taken to Texas 
 secreted in a wagon. Afterward he remained in 
 Texas and there died in December, iSOj. aged 
 about eighty years. His wife also died in that 
 state in May of 1867. 
 
 During the residence of the family in .Middle- 
 ton, Clarke county. Miss., .\aihaniel Bailey For- 
 gay was born November 7, 1835. and there he 
 passed the years of boyhcKxl. In January of 
 1850 he began to work as a dishwasher on a 
 Mississippi river steamer, which position he held 
 for eighteen months. From that time he herded 
 cattle until 1854, when he was hired to drive 
 cattle across the plains, and in this w-ay came to 
 California, where he has since made his home. 
 After mining for one w'inter with a brother in 
 American valley, in February of 1855 he came to 
 Indian valley, Plumas county, where his first 
 occupation was that of rail maker and wocxl- 
 chopper. .\fter two months he began to mine at 
 Rich Gulch on the east branch of the Feather 
 river, and continued there until September, 1863, 
 when he sold his claim at a fair profit to Asa 
 and Joe Hallsted. The next enterprise that en- 
 gaged bis attention was the teaming business, 
 and meanwhile he leased to others the land he 
 had purchased in Indian valley, but in January, 
 1865, he gave up teaming and settled on his farm. 
 .After having operated the land a short time, in 
 November, 1867. he sold the property and re- 
 moved to Big ]\Ieadows, Plumas county, where 
 he bought a large tract in partnership with an- 
 other rancher. However, in about twelve moinhs 
 be sold his interest and returned to Indian val- 
 ley near Greenville, where he bought one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres of valley land, b'rom time 
 to time he has added to his original purchase 
 until now he has one-half section of valley land 
 an<l two hundred and eighty acres of timber, all 
 in one body. On this place he has engaged in 
 raising cattle, horses, sheep and hogs, and the 
 crops raised on the land are used to feed his stock 
 instead of being sold in tiie markets. I'-ormerly 
 
514 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he made a specialty of the dairy business and 
 conducted a large dairy on his ranch, but since 
 1893 he has had fewer interests in this industry. 
 The improvements on the ranch show his pains- 
 taking care and industry. Four commodious 
 barns furnish ample space for the storage of 
 grain and ha> and the shelter of stock. An ex- 
 cellent system of fencing has been adopted, a 
 neat house erected for the family, and all the 
 comforts of a modern ranch have been secured 
 through the owner's energy. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Forgay, April 25, 1865, 
 united him with Miss L\icretia Johnston, who 
 was born in Pennsylvania, but removed to Iowa 
 at ten years of age, and accompanied her family 
 overland to California in 1864, arriving at Ta)- 
 lorsville, Plumas county, after a journey of six 
 months and two weeks. The children comprising 
 her family are as follows : Elizabeth, wife of 
 A. M. McKenzie, of Greenville ; Paradine, who 
 is the widow of L. M. Kaiser and lives with her 
 parents ; James A., on- the home ranch ; Arnold, 
 who is a business man of Los Angeles ; Alma and 
 Leota, at home. Politically Mr. Forgay votes 
 the Republican ticket, and fraternally he is iden- 
 tified with Indian A^alley Lodge No. 136, I. O. 
 O. F., at Taylorsville, and takes a warm interest 
 in all the activities of the fraternitv. 
 
 BENJAMIN M. WAYMAN. A thorough 
 and skilful farmer, and proprietor of the Alturas 
 and Bieber stage line, Benjamin M. Wayman 
 is a good representative of the agricultural and 
 stock-raising interests of Adin, and is actively 
 identified with its transportation service. He 
 is endowed with excellent business capacity, pos- 
 sesses keen judgment, and in his undertakings 
 is meeting with uniform success. He was born, 
 February 11, 1854, in Gentry county. Mo., the 
 son of Williamson Wayman, who served on the 
 Southern side as private in a Missouri regiment 
 during the Civil war. and died from disease con- 
 tracted in the army before the close of the con- 
 flict. 
 
 In 1866 Benjamin M. Wayman, then a lad 
 of twelve vears, came with his widowed mother 
 
 to California, journeying by way of the Isthmus 
 of Panama and located in Mendocino county. 
 Four years later he began the struggle of life 
 for himself. In 1875 he located in Lassen county, 
 and after working there for wages one year 
 removed to Ash valley. Taking up a homestead 
 claim of one hundred and sixty acres, he placed 
 the land under cultivation to some extent, al- 
 though for the last ten years that he resided 
 there he made a specialty of the stock business. 
 Selling his ranch in 1895 he removed into the 
 village of Adin, where he purchased a livery 
 stable, which he managed successfully for six 
 years. In July, 1898, he purchased the Alturas 
 and Bieber stage, and for twenty-six months 
 ran it dailw since then making a trip every other 
 dav between the two cities, a distance of sixty- 
 five miles. In January, 1903, Mr. Wayman dis- 
 posed of his livery Inisiness, and turned his at- 
 tentiou to the care of the land which he had in 
 the meantime acquired, having bought five hun- 
 dred and thirty acres of range land in Round 
 \'allev. He has since acquired title to other 
 land, with his son and his son-in-law owning a 
 ranch containing nine hundred and forty-six 
 acres, eight miles west of Adin, a large part of 
 which is now impioved, three hundred acres be- 
 ing devoted to the raising of hay, while much 
 of the remainder can be cultivated. He is car- 
 rying on general farming, but makes a specialty 
 of stock raising and dairying, a branch of in- 
 dustry with which he is familiar, and in which 
 he is exceedingly prosperous. Since buying his 
 residence property in Adin, he has remodeled the 
 house, greatly improved th.e grounds, having 
 now an attractive and valuable home estate. 
 
 In Lassen county, in 1881, Mr. Wayman mar- 
 ried Amelia A. Harvey, who was born in San 
 Joaquin county, Cal, and into their household 
 four children were born, namely : Williamson, 
 deceased ; Daisy Ethel, wife of J. L. Davis, part 
 owner of the home ranch ; Marion Dennis, as- 
 sociated with his father ; and Maude Irene, liv- 
 ing at home. Politicallx' ]\Ir. Wayman is a stead- 
 fast adherent to the Democratic party, and has 
 served as school trustee and as a member of the 
 county central committee. Fraternally he is a 
 member of Court Adin No. 8531, A. O. F., and 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 il; 
 
 of Adin Lodge No. 273, I. O. O. F., which he 
 has served at dififerent times as nohle grand, and 
 with his wife is a member of the Rebekahs. 
 Mrs. Wayman lias been a representative of the 
 Grand Lodge of Rebekahs. Mr. Wayman is a 
 charter member and one of the organizers of the 
 Big \'ailey Co-operative Association of Adin, is 
 also interested in the Providence and in the 
 Lookout Telephone Companies. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Adin Improvement Association which 
 was the means of installing the water system and 
 otherwise imjjroving the town. Mr. Wayman 
 has alwa\s ijeen liljeral in his support of all 
 measures that have had for their uliject the 
 building up of his county. 
 
 ISAAC JAMES HASTINGS. Among the 
 enterprising and successful agriculturists of Mo- 
 doc county who assisted in developing its agri- 
 cultural resources, the late Isaac James Hast- 
 ings, of Adin, held an honorable position. Dur- 
 ing his residence in this vicinity he became a 
 large landholder, and by dint of diligent toil 
 and good management improved a homestead 
 which is worthy of more than passing notice in 
 recording the growth and advancement of north- 
 ern California. Liberal-minded, public-spirited 
 and intelligent, he attained a noteworthy position 
 among those useful citizens, who, while carving 
 out their own fortunes, contributed as they had 
 opfKDrtunity to the well being of the peojjle 
 around them. He was born, December 15, 1853, 
 in Maryland, and died on his home farm, Janu- 
 ary g, 1904, his body being laid to rest in the 
 Adin cemetery. 
 
 Leaving home wdien about fifteen years old, 
 Isaac J. Hastings went first to St. Louis, Mo., 
 and soon after, in 1868, crossed the plains to 
 California. For th.irteen years he worked for 
 wages, after which he was engaged in farming 
 on his own account for a number of years in 
 Redding, Cal. being employed as a stock-raiser. 
 Coming to P.ig \'alley, March 5, 1888, he bought 
 one hundred and sixty acres of wild land, and in 
 its management met with such success that he 
 subsequently |)urchased another tract containing 
 
 an equal amount of land, and at a still later 
 time he bought six hundred and forty acres of 
 additional land, making his homestead one of the 
 largest in this section of the state. Continuing 
 in his chosen calling, he was fortunate in his 
 ventures, acquiring a valuable ijrojjerty, and until 
 his death was prosperously employed in general 
 agriculture, raising hay. grain and stock. 
 
 October 17, 1886, in Redding, Cal., Mr. Hast- 
 ings married Lucy May Thompson, who was 
 born, September 21 j, 1865. in i'.utte county, Cal. 
 Her parents, John Rufus and Jane 1". (Oxindine) 
 Thompson, left Arkansas, their native state, in 
 1849, crossing the plains to California and set- 
 tling near Stockton. I-ater they moved to Butte 
 county, but since the death of his wife Mr. 
 Thompson has made his home in Arbuckle. 
 Seven children blessed the union of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hastings, five of whom are living, namely : 
 Emerson James, born Seistember 3, 1888: Zelma, 
 born October 8, 1891 ; Clay \'., born July 23, 
 1893 ; Lula B., born January 23, 1901 ; and Isaac 
 James, born May 9. 1903. Mrs. Hastings is a 
 woman of much ability and intelligence, and 
 since the deatli of her husband has carried on 
 the home ranch very successfully. Politically 
 Mr. Hastings was identified with the Republican 
 party, and fraternally he was a member of Adin 
 Lodge, I. O. O. F. 
 
 JAMES AXTHOXY COOPER. A success- 
 ful farmer and dairyman of Lassen county, Cal.. 
 is J. A. Cooper, a native of Steuben county, 
 N. Y., who resides near Standish. He is the 
 son of Benjamin and Oaymencia ( I'.lanchard) 
 Cooper, both of whom died in Michigan, to 
 which state they had removed from New York. 
 Formerly a railroad engineer and bridge tender, 
 during the Civil war, in 1864, Benjamin Cooper 
 enlisted in Comjjany F, Fiftieth New York En- 
 gineers. W'hen the war closed lie took his fam- 
 ily to Michigan and located f(ir a time near 
 Flint, then removed to near liath, where he 
 followed the carpenter's trade, and from there 
 went to Grand Ra]>ids, where he remained for 
 some years, both himself and his wife dying at 
 
516 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the latter place. For a number of years before 
 he died Mr. Cooper drew a pension. 
 
 James Anthony Cooper was born in New York 
 state January i, 1863, and was reared and edu- 
 cated partly in New York and partly in Michi- 
 gan. After leaving school he worked in lumber 
 camps until March, 1886, when he came to Cali- 
 fornia, locating first in the Sacramento valley, 
 but the following fall he went to Susanville, Las- 
 sen county, where he remained two years in the 
 employ of B. H. Leavitt. At the end of the 
 two years he rented the Leavitt farm, operating 
 it for two years, then homesteaded one hundred 
 and sixty acres of unimproved land, which he 
 cleared and upon which he erected a comfortable 
 house, good barns, fences, etc. He put in forty 
 acres of alfalfa, and is continually increasing the 
 acreage in this comnaodity, besides raising grain 
 and operating a small dairy, sending his milk- 
 to the creamery, and feeding cattle. 
 
 October 14, 1891, Mr. Cooper was married to 
 Olive Wright, a native daughter of this state, 
 having been born in the Sacramento valley. Nine 
 children have come to bless this union, viz., Roy 
 Irving, aged fourteen ; Eugene Wright, Marion, 
 Ralph, Rollo, Vera, all deceased ; Eunice ; Rilla 
 Grace, and an infant. Mrs. Cooper is a mem- 
 ber cf the Baptist church, and is a most es- 
 timable woman. In politics Mr. Cooper is a 
 Democrat, and fraternally has been identified 
 with the Ancient Order of United Workmen of 
 Jane:^ville. He is a stockholder in the Lasse" 
 County Irrigation Company, and is a successful, 
 self-made man, taking an active interest in the 
 irrigf.tion scheme of Lassen county, and having 
 over fifty acres of his own land under irriga- 
 tion. 
 
 ASA CUSHMAN WINSLOW. Wlien the 
 Mayflower landed at Plymouth, Mass., in 1620, 
 she numbered among her passengers three broth- 
 ers of the Winslow family, which family is repre- 
 sented in California by Asa Cushman Winslow, 
 who resides at Standish, in the southern part of 
 Lassen county. These brothers were prominent 
 in the early settlement of the New England 
 states. A. C. Winslow's father, Warren Wins- 
 
 low, was a native of Vermont, where he spent his 
 life as a farmer and speculator. The mother, 
 formerly Arosina Wood, daughter of Cushman 
 Wood, also a Vermont farmer, was born in the 
 Green Mountain state, but spent her latter days 
 in California and died in Lassen county. There 
 were ten children born to them, of whom nine 
 reached years of maturity, as follows : Charles 
 W. ; j\Ionon ; George B. McC. ; Gertrude, who 
 married Hiram McClellan of St-mdish ; Asa C. ; 
 Belle, the widow of Mr. Shafifer of Rutland, Vt. ; 
 Abbie, wife of John Wemple, of Milford ; Fred, 
 who died at seven years of age; Curtis, residing 
 near Spoonville ; and Lizzie, the widow of a Mr. 
 Hendricks and a resident of Hot Springs. 
 
 Asa C. Winslow was born October t."] , 1864, 
 and brought up on the Vermont farm. His 
 father dying when he was only seven years old 
 he began working for himself at an earlv age, ob- 
 taining what education he could in the public 
 schools. In 1878 he determined to come to the 
 west coast and try his fortune, making the jour- 
 ney by the water route. Going to Milford, Cal., 
 he was employed for one year on a farm near 
 that town for a Mr. McFadden, for whom he 
 broke horses, then entered the employ of a Mr. 
 Doyle, a cattleman, remaining with him three 
 years. From there he went to Janesville and 
 engaged in the milling business for about a year, 
 then was with a Mr. Long for a time. In 1887 
 he became foreman of the Horse Lake ranch 
 and devoted his time to the cattle business. He 
 made three trips east to Omaha with cattle and 
 horses, and out of four hundred horses lost only 
 one, and out of a thousand head of cattle lost 
 one cow. 
 
 In the spring of 1903 Mr. Winslow resigned 
 from his position as foreman for Mr. Long and 
 purchased one hundred and ten acres of land 
 adjacent to Standish, where he engaged in rais- 
 ing, buying and selling cattle and horses and 
 putting a portion of his farm in alfalfa. He also 
 purchased a corner lot in the center of Standish, 
 upon which he erected a residence, which he 
 rents. Mr. Winslow is a self-made man, having 
 started out in life for himself when a mere lad 
 with no means, and has won financial success by 
 l;is individual labor and perseverance. In poll- 
 
WILLIAM D. I'ECK 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 olO 
 
 tics he is a stanch supporter of tlio Repubhcan 
 platform, and is hehl in high esteem by his fel- 
 low-citizens. He and his brothers are worthy 
 sons of their hardy New England ancestors, and 
 are all physically large men, standing six feet and 
 over in height. 
 
 A\'ILLIAM O. PECK. The manager of the 
 Sierra Mercantile Company holds a prominent 
 position among the business men of Loyalton, 
 where for years he has been an important factor 
 in the development of commercial enterprises 
 and the general upbuilding of the town. Having 
 resided in this vicinity practically all of his life, 
 he is familiar with its resources, acquainted with 
 its possibilities and devoted to its interests, a 
 citizen of the type so valuable in the progress of 
 a small city. While his work has been mainly 
 along the line of commercial afifairs, he also has 
 maintained a close connection with educational 
 matters and for some years held a position as an 
 instructor in the Loyalton schools, where he 
 aided in advancing the standard of education 
 and introducing modern methods of pedagogy. 
 
 On a ranch five miles west of Loyalton Wdl- 
 iam O. Peck was born December 8, 1863, being 
 a son of William D. and Margaret A. Peck, and 
 a brother of Frank F. Peck, well known among 
 the progressive men of Sierra county. During 
 his early life he was orphaned by the death of 
 his father and afterward made his home with his 
 mother, Mrs. Margaret A. Schroeder, who now. 
 widowed a second time, resides on the old home- 
 stead in the suburbs of Loyalton. In her 
 sketch tin another page of this volume the family 
 history will be found. After having completed 
 the studies of the local schools William O. Peck 
 was sent tu the California State Normal School 
 at San Jose, where he took the complete course 
 of normal instruction, being graduated in 1886 
 with an excellent record for satisfactory work 
 in the classroom. F'or two years afterward he 
 was interested in mining at Gold lake with the 
 Lewis brothers, with whom, together with his 
 brother. Frank !•". Peck, in 1888 he organized the 
 Loyalton Lumber Company. For two years he 
 
 continued to be actively connected with the man- 
 agement of the business, but at the expiration of 
 that time the plant was sold to the Roberts Lum- 
 ber Company, by wjiom it since has been oper- 
 ated. 
 
 Stanch in his allegiance to the Democratic 
 party, Mr. Peck has been a leading factor in its 
 local councils. On the regular party ticket he 
 was elected county assessor in 1890 and served 
 for four years to the satisfaction of the people 
 of the county. In 1894 he was his party's can- 
 didate for the assembly, but suffered defeat with 
 the remainder of tlic ticket. .\t this writing he 
 holds a position as deputy county clerk and in 
 addition he has rendered efficient service as school 
 trustee. In 1895 'le began to teach in the Loyal- 
 ton schools and remained in the same position for 
 five years, resigning in 1900 in order to become 
 timber cruiser for the Roberts Lumber Company. 
 The following year, in partnership with Lewis 
 Brothers and Capt. J. II. Roberts, he organized 
 the Sierra Mercantile Company, which under his 
 management has risen to be one of the most im- 
 portant commercial enterprises of the town and 
 county. While giving his attention closely to 
 business affairs, he has found leisure to main- 
 tain an active part in Masonic matters. On the 
 organization of the Loxalton Lodge No. 359, F. 
 & A. M., he became one of its charter members, 
 and later he was also a charter member and a 
 prominent factor in the founding of Loyalton 
 Parlor No. 226. N. S. G. W. In this county 
 he was married. June 10, 1895. to Miss Marie 
 -Mcroux. who was l^irn and reared at Downic- 
 ville, and their union was blessed with three 
 children, l-'ranklin .Adolph. William Otway and 
 Lucv Erma. 
 
 WILLIA.M D. 1T-:CK. A native of the south, 
 born and reared in Kentucky, William D. Peck 
 came to California the year following the dis- 
 covery of gold, going direct to Sacramento, then 
 little more than a mining camp, destitute of per- 
 manent improvements, and with a cosmopolitan 
 population as yet unassimilated with their en- 
 vironment. It was under these conditions that 
 he established himself in the drav business in 
 
520 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the future capital of the state. Giving this up 
 some time later he finally became interested in 
 mining, working in the mines at Forest City 
 until settling down to agricultural pursuits. 
 Coming to the Sierra valley in 1870, he took up a 
 tract of government land and engaged in stock- 
 raising and general ranch pursuits throughout 
 the remainder of his life. 
 
 Mr. Peck formed domestic ties in 1863 by his 
 marriage with Miss Margaret Ann Badenoch, a 
 Canadian by birth, born in Stanstead county, 
 Quebec, April 14, 1833. Two children blessed 
 their marriage, William O. and Frank F.. both 
 of whom are well known in business circles in 
 this part of the state. .A. number of years after 
 the death of Mr. Peck his widow became the 
 wife of Salvatus Schroeder, who though born in 
 Prussia was from his earliest _\ears a resident of 
 the L'nited States. As one of the early pioneers 
 of the Sierra valley he built one of the first frame 
 houses in the locality. .A.t the time of his death 
 he left to his widow a quarter section of land 
 adjoining Loyalton. Sierra county, a part of 
 which has since been sold to the town and sub- 
 divided into lots. Mrs. Schroeder still owns 
 the remainder of the property, which since the 
 death of her husband has been rented to tenants, 
 although she still superintends its management. 
 
 MRS. MARGARET ANN SCHROEDER. 
 Adjacent to the village of Loyalton, Sierra 
 county, lies the ranch of one hundred and forty 
 acres which for a long period has been the home 
 of Mrs. Schroeder, a well-known pioneer woman 
 of the Sierra valley. Ever since coming to the 
 Pacific coast country she has made her home in 
 this valley and consequently is thoroughly fa- 
 miliar with its gradual development as well as 
 with the possibilities of its soil and the oppor- 
 tunities afforded by its commercial interests. Not- 
 withstanding a very busy life, filled with all the 
 cares incident to existence remote from the con- 
 veniences of civilization, she is now well-pre- 
 served, able to read and sew without the aid of 
 glasses, and in her energetic body and active 
 mind shows few traces of former privations and 
 
 sacrifices. It has been her privilege to survive 
 to advanced years and to witness the improve- 
 ments made by the opening years of the twen- 
 tieth century in the community to whose inter- 
 ests she is keen!}' devoted. 
 
 The daughter of Scotch parents. Miss Mar- 
 garet Ann Badenoch was born April 14, 1833, 
 in Stanstead county, province of Quebec, Can- 
 ada, just across tlie line from the United States. 
 Nothing of importance occurred to mark her 
 early life until she came to California in i860 
 via the Panama route, and to this day the recol- 
 lections of that long and tedious voyage remain 
 vividly impressed upon her mind. Immediately 
 after landing at San Francisco she proceeded to 
 a ranch in the Sierra valley, where in 1863 she 
 became the wife of William D. Peck, a native 
 of Kentucky, and a California pioneer of 1850. 
 For a time after coming to the west Mr. Peck 
 conducted a dray business in Sacramento, later 
 worked in the mines at Forest City and in 
 1870 came to the Sierra valley, where he took 
 up a tract of government land and engaged in 
 stock-raising and general ranch pursuits until 
 his death. Of that union two sons were born, 
 namely : William ( ). and Frank F., both of 
 whom are mentioned elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 Some years after the death of Mr. Peck his 
 widow was united in marriage with Salvatus, 
 Schroeder, a native of Prussia, but from early 
 life a resident of the United States. While still 
 a young man he settled among the pioneers of 
 the Sierra valic}-, where he built one of the first 
 frame houses in the entire valley and took up 
 a tract of government land in Sierra county. 
 \\ bile general ranching engaged his attention, 
 he made a specialty of the dairy business and 
 met with considerable success in his chosen oc- 
 cupation. At the time of his death he left to 
 his widow the quarter section which he had en- 
 tered from the government. Twenty acres of 
 the property she sold to the town of Loyalton 
 to be platted into town lots, but the remainder 
 she still owns, renting the land to tenants since 
 the death of her husband, although she still 
 maintains a general supervision of the estate, 
 keeps the buildings in repair, makes improve- 
 ments as desired and is proving herself to be as 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 523 
 
 vigorous in tTie aftemoou of life as in the years 
 when youtii crowncil her days with busy act- 
 ivities. 
 
 ROBERT LESLIE McGILL. Into a hfe pro- 
 tracted beyond the usual period allotted to man- 
 kind there have come varied experiences on land 
 and sea, the memory of which makes interesting 
 the advancing years of Mr. AIcGill and invests 
 his personality with the romance of a past gen- 
 eration. Notwithstanding an unusually active ca- 
 reer and exposure to hardships and the inclem- 
 encies of weather on sea and shore, he has 
 reached the age of eighty-seven in the full pos- 
 session of his faculties and shows a physical ac- 
 tivity surpassed by few men twenty years his jun- 
 ior. Among the people of Plumas county, with 
 whose mining interests he has been associated for 
 many years, he has a host of friends who seek 
 his counsel and appreciate his companionship as 
 that of a pioneer successful beyond the ordinary 
 experience of men. 
 
 A native of Glasgow, Scotland, born April ig, 
 1818, Robert Leslie McGill was the son of an 
 engineer who moved the family to Greenock. 
 Scotland, when the son was only an infant. 
 When eleven years of age he ran away from 
 home and took up a seafaring existence in the 
 humblest position offered on a sea-going craft, 
 in which manner he made several voyages to Que- 
 bec. In a few years be bound himself as an 
 apprentice to the work of a sailor, but the bard- 
 ships were so many and the treatment so cruel, 
 that he eventually ran away at Quebec. 
 .Anxious to get out of reach of his master, be 
 accepted a place with a lake captain who wanted 
 a cook, but when it was discovered that lie had 
 no experience in the culinary art, the captain 
 gave him a flogging for the deceit employed in 
 gaining a place. However, he stayed with the 
 ship that season, and then shipped with another 
 vessel, where be worked his way up to be a sailor. 
 While shipping before the mast he came around 
 the Horn i,n 1849 ^nd cast anchor in the (iolden 
 Gate on the last day of the year. The first work 
 which he did was to carry a trunk for a man to 
 
 the Plaza, for which he received two five dollar 
 gold jaicces. Later he engaged in wheeling sand, 
 for whicli he was paid one ounce of gold per day. 
 After a week he rented an old scow in the bay 
 and engaged in stevedoring ; although he paid his 
 employes $2 per hour and gave $30 a dav in 
 rent, be cleared all the way from $50 to $200 per 
 day in the business. 
 
 (iiving up the scow after a month Mr. McGill 
 went to Bidwell's Bar. where in a month be made 
 $1,000 on another man's claim, and then with a 
 partner bought a claim on American Bar, in 
 which forty-two parties held an interest. An- 
 other interest was given to a physician in return 
 for bis location among them for medical care 
 during sickness. However, forty-three proved 
 too many and the result was a failure, so the 
 claim was aliandoncd. Thereupon Mr. McCiill 
 came to Plumas county and worked at bis claim 
 on the east branch of the b'eatber river, at Rich 
 liar, where be took out considerable gold, but 
 an attempt to dam the river made bis enterprise 
 unprofitable. An experience during 1858 in the 
 mines of the Eraser river proved disastrous and 
 after eighteen months be returned to Rich Bar, 
 Plumas county, where he intended to take 
 charge of his one-half interest in a saw-mill : 
 but this enterprise had been sold out while he 
 was away and be resumed mining, developing a 
 mining claim at Twelve-Mile Bar, Plumas coun- 
 ty. During 1861 be went to Round valley at 
 the time of the building of the first quartz mill 
 and secured employment in the mill, after which 
 be, with five others, took up and developed the 
 Lone Star mine near Greenville. After a stamp- 
 mill bad been erected and the work was well un- 
 der way, dissensions arose among the owners and 
 the mine was abandoned. While Mr. McGill still 
 owns this claim, no work has been attempted in 
 the mine for some years. Eor twelve years he 
 held mining interests with George Standard, and 
 after the death of Mr. Standard his son, Frank, 
 continued the work', taking his father's place in 
 llic partnership. The McClellan mine, which 
 they owned and operated, they had tunneled for 
 almost four hundred feet, and is still in successful 
 operation. In HKH .Mr. McGill sold his interest 
 in the AlcCiill and Standard mine for $23,000, 
 
524: 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 since which time he has to some extent reUn- 
 quished his mining enterprises. 
 
 In the suburbs of Greenville lies the ranch of 
 one hundred and sixty acres which Mr. ^McGill 
 homesteaded in an early day and all of which is 
 mountain land with the exception of forty acres 
 at the edge of town, where he makes his home. 
 In politics he votes the Democratic ticket, but 
 his interest in public afifairs is from the stand- 
 point of a citizen, not an office-seeker. During 
 a visit to Canada, in 1872, he became associated 
 with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and 
 now holds membership with the lodge at Green- 
 ville. As early as 1858 he was made a Mason at 
 Elizabethtown, Plumas county, and now holds 
 membership with Sincerity Lodge No. 133, F. & 
 A. M., at Greenville ; Lassen Qiapter, R. A. M. ; 
 Lassen Commandery No. 13, K. T., both at Su- 
 sanville. 
 
 WILLIAM SPURGEON LEWIS. The 
 name Lewis stands well up towards the head 
 of the list of names of men whose energy and 
 enterprise have contributed so much in develop- 
 ing the natural resources of this section of Cali- 
 fornia. If the man that made two blades of 
 grass grow where only one blade of grass before 
 grew was a benefactor to all mankind, how much 
 more so are the men who open up new indus- 
 tries which give remunerative employment tc 
 scores of their fellow-men. The railroad and 
 sawmill interests in and around Loyaltoii are due 
 in no small degree to the keen foresight and 
 business ability of the Lewis brothers, the exer- 
 cise of which qualities has placed them among 
 the captains of industry in this part of the com- 
 monwealth of California. Aside from their in- 
 terest in the railroad and the Roberts Lumber 
 Company, the Lewis brothers own three thou- 
 sand acres of farming land in the Sierra valley 
 and Loyalton, the Hotel Sierra, and other valu- 
 able properties, and are at present much inter- 
 ested in promoting an irrigation enterprise of 
 magnitude whereby large quantities of water 
 may be stored in reservoirs and about sixty thou- 
 sand acres of land in this valley brought under 
 irrigation. If this can be brought about it will 
 
 inaugurate an era of unparalleled prosperity in 
 the valley and benefit the whole community. 
 
 There are now a great many native sons of the 
 Golden West, but William Spurgeon Lewis be- 
 came one when they were not as numerous in 
 any respect as they are at present. He is one 
 of the pioneer sons of the state, for he was born 
 at Vacaville, Solano county, February 17, 1859, 
 a son of Hiram and Sarah Lewis, whose life 
 sketch appears elsewhere in this work. He is 
 better known as "Spurge" Lewis, and the de- 
 nominational faith of his parents may be deter- 
 mined from the name they gave him, for none 
 but good, straight, out-and-out Baptists woidd 
 have thought of naming a boy in honor of the 
 distinguished Baptist divine of that name. Mr. 
 Lewis was six years old when his parents moved 
 to this section of the country, his boyhood days 
 being passed on a farm, a most excellent place 
 for a boy to get a right kind of start in life. He 
 attended the public schools, and later one term 
 at the University of Oregon at Eugene City. In 
 1887, in company with his brothers, R. H. and 
 H. E. Lewis, and W. O. and F. F. Peck, he 
 built the lumber and saw-mills ten miles south 
 of Lovalton, known as Lewis' mills. One year 
 later Lewis Brothers bought out the Peck in- 
 terests and continued the business by themselves, 
 subsequently interesting Captain Roberts, a 
 prominent Sacramento capitalist, to engage in a 
 partnership with them for the purpose of enlarg- 
 ing their plant and the general scope of their 
 business, and branching out into new fields of 
 industry. Mr. Lewis furnished the ideas and 
 Mr. Roberts furnished the money to carry them 
 out. They then built a fine new mill, one of the 
 largest in this section of the country, and for 
 four years operated steam wagons in hauling 
 their lumber. In 1900 they built a line of rail- 
 road from Boca to their mills, extending it in 
 1901 to Loyalton and then on to Beckwith. They 
 have now fifty-six miles of railroad in operation ; 
 also large mills and factories. Spurge Lewis 
 is general manager of the Boca & Loyalton Rail- 
 road. 
 
 May 29. 1882, Mr. Lewis married Miss Edith 
 Ilorton, a native of Virginia City, Nev., and a 
 daughter of L. E. Horton, whose sketch appears 
 
^Q 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 elscwlierc in this volume. Having no children 
 of their own Mr. and Mrs. Lewis took a little 
 girl of four years to rear and educate. Gertrude 
 Lewis, as she is known, is now twelve years old. 
 In ])nlitics Mr. Lewis is a Democrat, and al- 
 though he takes an active interest in political 
 matters, has never held office, and so far has 
 refused to accept one. He is not a member of 
 any church organization, but the church of his 
 father, as well as the other Cliristian organiza- 
 tions, receive his cordial support in every way. 
 The Baptist church at Loyalton was built as a 
 memorial church to his father, whose life was 
 devoted to the church cause and work. Mr. 
 Lewis has pronounced views on the temperance 
 ([uestion, being a relentless foe to the saloon, 
 which he believes to be a destructive element and 
 a demoralizing influence to any comnumity. By 
 using his utmost endeavors Loyalton is an anti- 
 saloon town. By right of birth Mr. Lewis is a 
 member of the Native Sous of the Golden West, 
 being a charter member of Loyalton Parlor No. 
 226, and is also a member of Loyalton Lodge No. 
 22, K. P. He represents the business interests 
 of a large community and it is almost needless to 
 say that he is a capable, energetic, enterprising 
 business man. 
 
 JOSEPH CRAWFORD WEMPLE. Con- 
 spicuous among the pioneer settlers of Lassen 
 county is Joseph Crawford Wemple. a veteran 
 agriculturist, who has been actively identified 
 with the prosperity and progress of northern 
 California for nearly half a century. He is one 
 of the most intelligent and thriving farmers of 
 this county, a man of strict integrity and high 
 moral character, and is numbered among its 
 most respected and valued citizens. A native of 
 New York, he was born in Schenectady, Decem- 
 Ijer 20, 1830, a son of John N. and Nancy 
 (Crawford) Wemple, both natives of the Em- 
 pire state, the birth of the father occurring in 
 1808, and that of the mother in 1810. John N. 
 Wemple served in the State Militia when a 
 voung man and died while in the prime of life in 
 his native state. His wife survived him, after 
 his death removing to Michigan, wliere she 
 
 spent the remainder of her life. The Wemple 
 family are of .Mohawk-Dutch descent, the emi- 
 grant ancestor having come from Holland to this 
 country in colonial days, settling in the Molwwk 
 X'alley, and the Crawford family are of Irish an- 
 cestry, the founder of the branch from which 
 Mr. Wemple descended having emigrated from 
 Ireland to the United States. 
 
 The second child in a family of six childriu. 
 Joseph Crawford Wemple received his early ed- 
 ucation in the public schools of Schenectady. At 
 the age of sixteen years, after the death of his 
 father, he went to Michigan, locating in Ingham 
 county, where he worked for wages for a time 
 and also taught school one term. Early in 1859 
 he started for Pike's Peak with a party, but 
 while on the way met so many returning from 
 there, tired and discouraged, he changed his 
 plans and came by the North Platte route to Cal- 
 ifornia, arriving in Lassen county on August 14, 
 1859. Securing a position in a saw mill near 
 Janesville, he worked there a short time, and 
 then began carpentering, at which he had 
 worked some in Michigan, helping to put a 
 frame over the mill and to build a cabin for the 
 men. The same fall, in partnership with Jud- 
 son Dakin, he located near Milford, and erected 
 the house and barn now standing on the McDer- 
 mott farm. During the summer of i860 he was 
 employed in various occupations, and the same 
 year volunteered for military duty, taking part 
 in the skirmish at Pyramid Lake when General 
 Ormsby was killed. In the spring of 1861, with 
 his partner, he built a grist mill in Milford, the 
 first one in Lassen county, and as long as he was 
 able he managed it, operating it successfully. 
 
 His health giving out, Mr. Wemple disposed 
 of his interest in the mill and turnerl his atten- 
 tion to agriculture. Locating on his present 
 ranch, he first bought a claim of two hundred 
 acres, which he subsequently pre-empted, the 
 original purchase being situated between Mil- 
 ford and the lake. As a general farmer and 
 stock raiser he has met with unquestioned suc- 
 cess, and from time to time has bought adjoining 
 land, and now, with his sons, owns about four- 
 teen hundred acres of land, on which he has 
 made improvements of great value. About four 
 
528 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 hundred acres of his land, used for grazing pur- 
 poses, lies over the mountains, in Phimas county. 
 In 1864 he built his dwelling house, and since 
 that time he has erected a large barn and com- 
 modious outbuildings, his ranch being in point of 
 improvements and appointments one of the best 
 in Honey Lake valley. 
 
 March 28, 1855, ^Ir. Wemple married Eliza J. 
 Christie, an aunt of the Christie brothers of 
 Janesville. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Wem- 
 ple eight children have been born, two of whom 
 died in infancy, and six are living, namely : Eliz- 
 abeth J., born in Michigan, April 23, 1856, and 
 now the wife of Thomas T. Harris of Elko, 
 Nev. : John B., of Milford: X. V., of Milford; 
 J. C, a farmer, residing just north of Milford; 
 Frank O., junior member of the firm of Brown 
 & Wemple, Spoonville : and Orlo Edmund of 
 Milford. Of late years Mr. Wemple has leased 
 his farm to his sons, although he controls it yet. 
 He is a stanch supporter of the principles of the 
 Democratic party, and has served his fellow-citi- 
 zens in many positions of responsibility' and 
 trust. In September. 1869, he was elected coun- 
 ty assessor, and served for six consecutive years ; 
 and for ten successive years was one of the su- 
 pervisors of Lassen county, serving at the time 
 the county hospital was built. Mr. Wemple has 
 been somewhat handicapped during his entire 
 active life, having accidentally had the four 
 fingers of his right hand cut off when he was 
 eighteen months old, while holding a stick for 
 his lirother to whittle, and while crossing the 
 plains being hit in the right eye, receiving a blow 
 that impaired the sight. 
 
 HON. EPHRAIM VAN BUREN SPEN- 
 CER. No name is more intimately associated 
 with the history of Lassen county than that of 
 Judge Spencer and none is more worthy of per- 
 petuation in the annals of this portion of Cali- 
 fornia. Honored wherever known, the recipient 
 of the respect of acquaintances, the admiration 
 of friends and the awe of evil-doers, he was 
 especially qualified to discharge the duties of an 
 official in a dav when law and order had not 
 
 yet risen out of the chaotic condition incident to 
 a frontier environment. Absolute fearlessness 
 guided him in his efforts to supplant peril by 
 peace ; force of character and determination of 
 will made his citizenship an incentive and in- 
 spiration to the people ; a lofty sense of duty to 
 liis fellowmen and his commonwealth impelled 
 all of his acts ; and to round out the harmonious 
 elements blending in his character there was 
 added a love of home, family and friends, habits 
 above reproach, geniality of disposition and dig- 
 nity of manner. 
 
 The life which this narrative delineates began 
 at Whitestown, N. Y., January 28. 1836. and 
 closed at .Susanville. Cal.. October 3. 1904. The 
 family is of ancient and honorable lineage, of 
 English ancestry on his father's side and Hol- 
 land-Dutch on that of his mother. Through 
 his father. Luther Spencer, he was a direct lineal 
 descendant of John Jay. the first chief justice of 
 the L'nited States, while his mother, who' bore 
 the maiden name of Mary \"an Buren, was a 
 cousin of Martin \'an Buren, and had the honor 
 of being invited by her cousin, then a widower, 
 to preside at the White House during the four 
 years of his service as president. As early as 
 1843 '^'''^ Spencer family became pioneers of 
 Michigan, settling near Battle Creek, where the 
 father, aided by his sons, engaged at the car- 
 penter's trade. At the age of twenty-three years 
 Ephraim \'an Buren Spencer started for Cali- 
 fornia, accompanied by his brother, Luther, and 
 after his arrival in Honey Lake valley he se- 
 cured and operated a sawmill on the banks of 
 the Susan river. It was while filling the posi- 
 tion of sawyer in this mill that he was injured 
 in the right shoulder so severely as to force him 
 to abandon work at a trade. Instead of being 
 a misfortune, as it seemed at first, this accident 
 proved in reality the foundation of his subse- 
 quent success, for thereby his attention was 
 turned toward the profession of the law. 
 
 During the early '60s Lassen county was in- 
 fested with a gang of desperadoes who' held the 
 better element in constant terror and who there- 
 fore continued stealing horses and robbing people 
 without molestation. During his service as the 
 first district attorney of Lassen county Judge 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 520 
 
 Spencer determined to drive the gang- from the 
 valley and this he succeeded in doing, although 
 they sent him word that, if he proceeded with 
 his charges against them, they would shoot him 
 in cold blood. Against the a])peals of friends, 
 he pushed the prosecution against the despera- 
 does, and appeared at the call of court, boldlv 
 facing the gang, wiiom he so cowed by his bit- 
 ter invective and fearlessness that thev sneaked 
 from the room one by one, and from that time 
 the county was never troubled with them again. 
 In addition to the term of service as district 
 attorney, made memorable in local history 
 through his defeat of the desperadoes, he served 
 in the same office two other terms, those of 187: 
 and 1873, and then, as before, he was distin- 
 guished by faithful service and intelligent ap- 
 plication of the principles of ihc law. Though 
 not an educated man, from the standjioint of 
 the university curriculum, he possessed a knowl- 
 edge more varied and deep than that which 
 many a college graduate can boast, and especially 
 in his chosen profession was his knowledge ac- 
 curate and broad. Men able to judge state that 
 he had few equals in northern California as a 
 criminal lawyer. Through his logical reason- 
 ing, plain and sensible interpretation of the law, 
 eloquence and powerful command of language, 
 he wielded an acknowledged influence over 
 juries, by whose members he was recognized as 
 an impartial and brilliant exponent of jurispru- 
 dence. From the time of his admission to the 
 bar until his death about forty years later, no 
 case of any importance was tried in his county 
 m which he had no part. To his clients he was 
 a bulwark of strength and they reposed the ut- 
 most faith in his knowledge and fidelity. 
 
 The ability displayed by Judge Spencer in 
 the responsible position of district attorney 
 proved him to be the possessor of qualities ad- 
 mirably adapting him for the public service, and 
 the people testified to their appreciation of his 
 abilitx in their selection of him as their repre- 
 sentative in the state assembly, where he served 
 during the session of 1895. As a legislator he 
 gave his support to all measures for the benefit 
 of the people of his district, as well as those 
 more public undertakings in which the entire 
 
 state was interested. The hill for woman's 
 suffrage was passed through the lower house 
 largely as the result of his zealous support. 
 \\'hen he espoused a cause he did so with fervor 
 and enthusiasm and so popular was he in the 
 house that he became known there as "Lassen 
 County's Grand Old Man." When death re- 
 moved him from the sphere of his activities he 
 was mourned throughout the length and breadth 
 of the county whose interests he had served so 
 long and faithfully. Survived by his wife (for- 
 merly Miss L. 1'. M<3ntgomery), whom he had 
 married in 1867, and by two daughters, Mrs. 
 J. E. Baker, of Alturas, and Mrs. H. D. Bur- 
 roughs of Susanville ; by two brothers, Edgar 
 Spencer, of Bremerton, Wash., and Chester 
 Spencer, of Los .•\ngeles, also by one sister, Mrs. 
 C. McDiarmid, of Bremerton, Wash., he was 
 mourned not only by them, but also by the large 
 circle of friends wliom he had won by his 
 sterling traits of manhood and recognized ability. 
 
 EZR.A. M. WILSON. Noteworthy among the 
 more active and progressive residents of .Adin, 
 Modoc county, is Ezra M. Wilson, whose influ- 
 ence in local affairs is recognized and appreciated 
 by his fellow-citizens. He has done much to 
 promote the prosperity of the town, being prom- 
 inently connected with its leading industries, and 
 in business circles and in private life is held in 
 high regard. A native of Illinois, he was born 
 November 30, 1866, in Putnam county, a son of 
 Samuel A. and Frances H. (Williams) \\'ilson. 
 His parents came to California in 1871. locating 
 first at Emigrant Gap, Placer county, where his 
 father was engaged in timbering for five years. 
 On account of better educational and business 
 advantages they subsequently located in .Adin. 
 where they are now living. 
 
 But four years of age when he came with his 
 family to Placer county. E. M. Wilson received 
 his preliminar}- education in the public schools 
 of .\din. .\t the age of sixteen years, in the 
 office of the Adin Argus, in whicli his father 
 had a half interest, he began learning the printer's 
 trade. At the end of a vear and a half he liought 
 
530 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 out the office, and for fourteen years, from 1883 
 to 1897, conducted the paper 011 a paying basis, 
 increasing its circulation to a considerable ex- 
 tent. During the time he served for four years 
 as deputy postmaster, and for an equal length 
 of time as postmaster. Selling out his paper in 
 1897, he lived free from business cares for about 
 a year, and in 1899 incorporated the Big Valley 
 Co-operative Association, of which he was sec- 
 retary and manager for about six years. Retir- 
 ing from mercantile pursuits, he later became 
 ■associated with .the lumber interests of Modoc 
 county, and as a representative of New York and 
 Michigan capitalists distributed throughout this 
 section of the country $160,000 in buying up tim- 
 ber claims, thus raising their financial value, and 
 thereby greatly assisting the inhabitants. Dur- 
 ing this time he has also carried on his two hun- 
 dred and eighty-acre ranch, which adjoins the 
 village on the s(Mith, and has platted a few of the 
 lots, on which buildings are now being erected. 
 He is likewise serving as president of the Adin 
 Electric Light and Power Company, which has 
 the credit of possessing the second best water 
 power in northern California. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Wilson married May E. Lee, and 
 they have one child, Edith. Politicallv Mr. Wil- 
 son affiliates with the Republican party. Fra- 
 ternally he is a member and past noble grand of 
 Adin Lodge No. 273, I. O. Q. p., and both he 
 and his wife belong to the Rebekahs. He is 
 prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to both 
 the Adin lodge and the Adin chapter, and is also 
 a member of Court Adin No. 8531, A. O. P., 
 having passed the chairs of the order. 
 
 HARRY DePOREST BURROUGHS. Many 
 xears have come and gone since the founder 
 of the Burroughs family in America crossed the 
 ocean from England and became associated with 
 the pioneer element of the undeveloped regions 
 of the new world. Several generations remained 
 residents of Long Island, and Joseph, Sr., and 
 his son and namesake were natives of Queens 
 coimty on that island, but the former transferred 
 the headquarters of the family to a farm some 
 
 distance up the Hudson river, and Julian, a son 
 of Joseph, Jr., was born and reared in Colum- 
 bia county a short distance from the historic 
 Hudson. Por more than twenty years Julian 
 Burroughs held a position as principal keeper of 
 the New York state penitentiary it Sing Sing. 
 Upon resigning from that responsible office, in 
 the fall of 1883 he came to California and em- 
 barked in the mercantile business at Qiico. 
 After his retirement from business enterprises 
 he served some eight years as city recorder 
 of Chico and was still acting in that capacity at 
 the time of his death, which occurred in igoo, 
 at seventy-eight years of age. In his marriage 
 he became allied with the Prench-Huguenot fam- 
 ily of DePorest, who were kindred of the Scher- 
 merhorns and other colonial families of aristo- 
 cratic lineage. His wife, Mary, who was a 
 daughter of Jacob DePorest, a native of Schen- 
 ectady, N. Y., was likewise born in that vicinity 
 and passed the years of girlhood on a farm 
 there. Accompanying her husband to Chico, 
 Cal.. she remained in that town until her death 
 in 1891. Throughout all of her active life she 
 was identified with the Dutch Reformed Church. 
 In a family ol seven children, of whom two 
 sons and three daughters survive, Harrv De- 
 Porest Burroughs was the youngest in order of 
 birth, and was born at Sing Sing, N. Y., Novem- 
 ber 14, 1866. Educated in the grammar and 
 high schools of New York, he was qualified to 
 enter upon the active duties of business life 
 when in 1883 he accompanied other members 
 of the family to Chico, Cal., where he learned 
 the trade of watchmaker. Prom boyhood his 
 inclinations had been toward the profession of 
 law and in 1895 the way opened for him to 
 gratify that desire. September of 1897 found 
 him in Susanville, a student of law in the office 
 of his father-in-law, the late E. V. Spencer. 
 Two years later he was admitted to the bar and 
 began professional practice with Judge Spencer, 
 with whom he remained until the death of the 
 Judge. October 3, 1904. Meanwhile he had be- 
 come active in the local affairs of the Republican 
 partv, on which ticket in 1902 he was elected 
 district attorney by a majority of three hundred. 
 ]n January of 1903 he entered upon the duties 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 533 
 
 of the position for a term of four years and now 
 gives his attention to official work, in which he 
 has shown marked' capabilit}- and a profound 
 knowledge of the law. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Burroughs was sol- 
 emnized at Susanville .\pril i-j, 1893, and united 
 him with Miss Glad.\s Spencer, who was born 
 and reared in this city and is the younger of 
 the two daughters of Judge E. V. Spencer. 
 After having graduated from Qiico Normal in 
 1891, she took up the study of law under her 
 father and afterward continued the same while 
 her husband was studying, the two being admit- 
 ted to the bar ;luring the same vear. 
 
 BENJAMIN FRANK LIN GIBSON. 
 Among the more enterprising and progressive 
 farmers and stock raisers of northern California 
 is Benjamin Franklin Gibson, living four miles 
 west of Hot Springs, in Lassen county. Since 
 locating here he has toiled with the resolute and 
 ambitious spirit of a vigorous manhood, and 
 along the pathway of success has journeyed 
 swiftly and surely, so that now, in the prime of 
 life, he occupies an assured position among the 
 thrifty and respected agriculturists of this sec- 
 tion of the state. He was born October 2, 1865, 
 in Coshocton county, Ohio, which was also the 
 birthplace of his parents, William and Jennie 
 (McCune) Gibson. 
 
 William Gibson spent the earlier years of his 
 life in Ohio, being engaged in farming. Subse- 
 quently removing with his family to Iowa, he 
 continued his free and independent occupation 
 there until after the death of his wife. Coming 
 then, in 1890, to California, he located in On- 
 tario, east of Los Angeles, and there resided un- 
 til his death, in 1900. 
 
 Being taken by his parents to Guthrie county, 
 Iowa, when young, Benjamin Franklin Gibson 
 was there reared and educated. A natural me- 
 chanic, handy with tools of all kinds, he learned 
 the trade of carpenter, which he followed a num- 
 ber of years. Coming to the Pacific coast in 
 1887, he settled first as a carpenter in Los An- 
 geles, but afterward worked at his trade in Reno, 
 
 Nev., for a time. Deciding, after his marriage, to 
 turn his attention to agriculture, he came with his 
 bride to Lassen county in pursuit of a favorable 
 location. Renting a ranch containing si.x hundred 
 and forty acres in Honey Lake Valley, he at once 
 embarked in his chosen occupation, investing the 
 few hundred dollars that lie brought with him in 
 a judicious manner. In addition to the land that 
 he leased he bought eleven hundred acres of 
 timber land lying north of Susanville, purchased" 
 a half interest in the Purser ranch of eleven hun- 
 dred and sixty acres, situated about two miles 
 west of Hot Springs; four hundred acres near 
 Standish, and has proved up on three hundred 
 and twenty acres of desert land, making in all 
 over two thousand acres, Two hundred acres 
 of the Purser ranch he devotes to the raising of 
 alfalfa, a profitable crop at all times. He makes 
 a specialty of stock-raising, carrying on an ex- 
 tensive business in this line of industry, his 
 brand, which he originated, being a diamond 
 with a tail to it. In addition he also runs a pub- 
 lic feed station, and is well patronized. Realiz- 
 ing the great need of irrigation in this vicinity, 
 he has identified himself with beneficial projects, 
 and is one of the promoters of the Lassen Wil- 
 low Water Company, which proposes, by tap- 
 ping Eagle Lake, to furnish water to irrigate 
 one hundred and fifty thousand acres of the land 
 in this valley. He owns a fifth interest in the 
 company, of which he is the treasurer, and is 
 very influential in extending irrigation through- 
 out the county, thus reclaiming much waste land, 
 rendering it fit for cultivation and enhancing its 
 value a hundred fold. 
 
 In 1895, in Reno, Nev., Mr. Gibson married 
 Clara Ritch, the eldest daughter of Andrew 
 Ritch, and into their pleasant household six chil- 
 dren have been born, namely: Jay; Erma; 
 Frankie and Fern, twins ; Gara : and Jessie. 
 Politically Mr. Gibson is a straightforward Re- 
 puljlican. but has never been an aspirant for offi- 
 cial honors. 
 
 GEORGE THOMPSON, an early settler of 
 Lassen county. Cal., was born March 7. 1838. at 
 Ogdensburg, N. V. He was educated in his 
 
a34 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 native town for the profession of teaching, which 
 occupation he engaged in immediatel_v after his 
 school days were over. The work proved to be 
 too confining, however, and liis health failing 
 him his physician ordered a change of climate 
 and an outdoor life and he came to California in 
 1869 and engaged in farming and stock raising. 
 He settled in Lassen county in 1870 and met 
 with very great business success, having ac- 
 quired a holding of twelve hundred acres of 
 land before his death. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Thompson was married to Miss 
 Alary Jane Curry, a native of Ogdensburg, N. 
 Y., and to this union were born three children : 
 Harriet J. ; Samuel James ; and Lucy, who is 
 now the wife of T. W. Wilson. Politically Mr. 
 Thompson affiliated with the Republican part}', 
 but he had no desire for official position and 
 was content to do his duty as an intelligent citi- 
 zen at the ballot box. His death November 15, 
 1886, removed from the community one of its 
 most esteemed and highly respected leading men. 
 
 WILLIAM KNOTT. It is said that only ex- 
 perience can broaden life and give it color and 
 character. If this be true then Mr. Knott is 
 well qualified to judge of its value, for his ex- 
 periences have been somewhat varied. William 
 Knott was born in Lincolnshire. England, July 
 ^3. 1833- When he was four years of age his 
 parents emigrated to the United States and set- 
 tled on a farm on Long Island, N. Y. Wlien he 
 was fourteen years of age he decided to seek his 
 fortune away from the hearthstone that had 
 nourished his infancy, and without adieu to his 
 ]>arents left home and went to Middletown, 
 Conn., where he found work, earning from $2 
 to $4 per month for about two years, a very 
 himible beginning. At the end of this time he 
 went to New York City and was employed as 
 night watchman in a hotel for about one year 
 and a half. In 1852 he came Iiy way of Panama 
 to California, stopping in San Francisco, where 
 he assisted in setting up the first billiard tables 
 brought to that city. There he found many 
 good opportunities for investment, and in part- 
 
 nership with another young man purchased the 
 lot on which the Grand hotel now stands, in the 
 very heart of the business center of the city. 
 Unfortunately, however, the title to the property 
 was defective and in consequence the invest- 
 ment did not prove as profitable as was antic- 
 ipated. 
 
 After staying in San bVancisco about a year 
 l\Ir. Knott went north to Sweetlands, Nevada 
 county, and engaged in prospecting and min- 
 ing there, later going to Foster's Bar on the 
 Yuba river. He was able to clean up quite a 
 sum from his mining operations the first vear, 
 but in the year following he lost it all. At the 
 end of four years he had again succeeded in 
 saving up an amount of money, which he loaned. 
 In 1857 he bought a dairy ranch with twenty- 
 two cows near Oregon Hill and sold the milk at 
 [irices ranging from seventy-five cents to one 
 dollar per gallon. He continued in that busi- 
 ness until 1859, when he lost all but one of his 
 cows from murrain. Later he bought a ranch 
 and range on the Honcut, in Yuba county, and 
 raised stock for several years. Still later, dur- 
 ing 1859 and "60, he ran a meat market. Sell- 
 ing his ranch in 1862 he moved up to the head 
 of Nelson creek, in Plumas county, and ran a 
 butcher shop for five years, after which he 
 bought the Eureka ranch in Mohawk valley. 
 He could get only a squatter's title to the prop- 
 erty at that time, but when it came on the 
 market he pre-empted one hundred and sixty 
 acres. In the meantime he conducted a large 
 wholesale meat business, furnishing meat for the 
 Eureka mine, and also owned an interest in the 
 mine. His meat contracts covered a period of 
 ten years. 
 
 Mr. Knott was largely instrumental in pro- 
 curing the first government mail contract and 
 establishing the first postoffice in the valley, 
 the office being known as Mohawk. He was the 
 first postmaster and held the office eighteen 
 years in succession. When he sold the Eureka 
 ranch he bought the ranch he now owns, hotel, 
 hall, etc. The ranch consists of three hundred 
 and sixty acres, most of it in the Mohawk val- 
 ley. For the next eighteen or twenty years he 
 was a busy man, and in addition to looking after 
 
^ 
 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his rancli, raised, bought and sold stock and 
 operated a sawmill until he sold the property. 
 
 In 1857 '^l''- R'lott married Miss Paulina Sut- 
 ton, a native of Indiana, who crossed the plains 
 with her parents in 1852 and settled in Yuba 
 coimty. She was an invalid for several years 
 prior to her death, Xoveniher 21, 1902. Mr. 
 Knott has leased most of his property for several 
 years past and in 11J03 he moved to the coast, 
 now making- his home in Novato, Marin count\-. 
 
 JUSTUS RICH BAILEY. Since coming 
 west during the year 1864 IMr. Bailey has had 
 varied and important interests in northern Cali- 
 fornia, but is now living retired from business 
 activities and at his homestead one mile east of 
 Buntingville he and his wife have a pleasant 
 summer home, while during the winter months 
 they go to the coast. When he came to this lo- 
 cality Indians had not yet dispersed before the 
 rising tide of civilization. The surroundings 
 were those of the frontier. Little attempt had 
 been made to place the land under cultivation 
 and its possibilities were unrealized by the few 
 inhabitants. With the subsequent development 
 he was closely associated and at one time owned 
 considerable property, but of late years he has 
 disposed of his entire landed holdings, retaining 
 only a life lease in the homestead. Once since 
 coming to the coast he has revisited the cast and 
 during that time he observed closel\' the differ- 
 ences between the two sections of country, but 
 came back to California emphatic in his opinion 
 that the Honey Lake valley was his choice for a 
 home. 
 
 The Bailey family is of old Eastern stock. Mr. 
 Bailey is a native of New York, born in St. 
 Lawrence county. December 16, 1829, being a 
 son of Moody and Fannie Bailey, natives of 
 Vermont. Though almost wholly without edu- 
 cational advantages, never having attended 
 school for more than thirty da\s at any one time, 
 he has acquired through experience and observa- 
 tion a broad knowledge of the world. On start- 
 ing out to earn his own way in the world he left 
 Ogdensburg, N. Y., September 9, 1848. and 
 
 went to Lewiston. Among his most vivid rec- 
 ollections of that journey is of riding around Ni- 
 agara Falls in a car drawn by one horse. Going 
 from there by railroad to Buffalo, he there took 
 passage on a lake steamer for Qiicago. The 
 present metropolis was then a hamlet, with few 
 houses and little inducement to offer prospective 
 settlers, .\fter one niglit there he started south- 
 ward and went to Sangamon county, where he 
 worked for wages on a farm west of Springfield. 
 During 1856 he removed to Henry county, Iowa, 
 having first disposed of his Illinois lands. With 
 the profits of his Illinois sales he bought land in 
 Iowa and there remained until 1864. when he 
 sold out and crossed the plains to California by 
 way of the North Platte river. After a journey 
 of six months he arrived in Janesville, Lassen 
 county. 
 
 In a few days Mr. Bailey ])roceeded to Cliico, 
 where he arrived with a sick wife and $10 in 
 greenbacks (then worth but fifty cents on the 
 dollar.) After remaining for a year on a rented 
 farm, in 1865 he returned to Lassen county and 
 took up one hundred and sixty acres north of 
 Janesville, in addition to which he homesteaded 
 another quarter section. The care and cultiva- 
 tion of these tracts occupied his time until about 
 1871, when he sold out and purchased the hotel 
 in Janesville, where for nine years he engaged in 
 the hotel business. Eventually he traded the ho- 
 tel for a ranch of three hundred and forty acres, 
 where he engaged in feeding stock during the re- 
 maining years of his active life as a farmer, but 
 finally about 1899 disposed of the property in or- 
 der to retire from agricultural responsibilities. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Bailey in 1852 united 
 him with Miss Mary McMurphy, who was born 
 lune 30, 1832, in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., 
 but removed to Illinois in girlhood. Born of their 
 union are four children, namely : Ira Eugene, 
 living near I'.untingville ; George, who is en- 
 gaged in farming five miles east of Spoonville ; 
 Walter Leroy. who now owns the old homestead 
 and resides with his parents ; and Lola J., who 
 married Orin Dewitt and lives near Monterey, 
 this state. The interest which Mr. Bailey always 
 has maintained in educational affairs led him to 
 accept the office of school trustee, in which he 
 
538 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 rendered acceptable service for a long period of 
 years. Politically he votes the Democratic tick- 
 et. In fraternal relations he is connected with 
 Lake Lodge, A. O. U. W., at Janesville, in which 
 he officiates as past master, besides having been 
 selected as delegate to the grand lodge. In relig- 
 ious faith both he and his wife are of the Uni- 
 versalist belief. In the locality where for so 
 many years they have lived they have a host of 
 warm personal friends to whom their happiness 
 and prosperity is a source of gratification. 
 
 HENRY NESEMAN. Prominent among the 
 pioneer farmers of the ]\Iohawk valley was the 
 late Henry Neseman, who took up a tract of 
 wild, uncultivated land, and during the thirty 
 years that he was subsequently engaged in agri- 
 cidtural pursuits cleared and improved a valuable 
 ranch, which is now owned and occupied by his 
 widow, Airs. Barbara Neseman. Honest, indus- 
 trious and thrifty, he won success through his 
 own efiforts, becoming an excellent representative 
 of the self-made men of Plumas county, and one 
 of the most respected and esteemed citizens of the 
 community in which he so long resided. He was 
 born May 14, 1827, in Hanover, Gemiany, and 
 died on the home ranch, June 16, 1898, his death 
 being deeply regretted by all. 
 
 After completing his early education, Henry 
 Neseman served an apprenticeship at the baker's 
 trade in the Eatherland, remaining there until of 
 age. Coming to the L^nited States in 1848, he 
 followed his trade in this country for five years, 
 first in Cincinnati, Ohio, and then in Milwaukee, 
 Wis. Becoming head of a household then, 
 he purchased land in Waukesha county, Wis., 
 and for another five years lived in that state, 
 being engaged in agricultural pursuits, and 
 meeting w'ith fairly gcKid results as a general 
 farmer. Selling out in 1863, he came by the way 
 of Panama to California, bringing his family, 
 and settling in Quincy, Plumas county, where 
 for three years he was employed in the brewing 
 business. Looking about for a place in which to 
 make a permanent location, he purchased a squat- 
 ter's right in the Mohawk valley, and this he 
 
 afterwards homesteaded and pre-empted, becom- 
 ing owner of a portion of the land now included 
 in the home ranch. As he accumulated money, he 
 bought adjacent land, and in course of time had 
 a valuable ranch of four hundred acres of good 
 grazing land, mostly in the valley. As a general 
 ranchman and dairyman he met with signal suc- 
 cess, and in his mining pursuits he was also for- 
 tunate, obtaining a competency for himself and 
 family. 
 
 October 28, 1853, in Wisconsin, Mr. Neseman 
 married Barbara Hahn, who w-as born in Hesse- 
 Darmstadt, Germany, January 16, 1831, and came 
 with her parents to W'isconsin in i8^8. Six 
 children were born of the union of Air. and 
 Mrs. Neseman, namely : Annie, wife of Jacob 
 Stephan, engaged in the livery business at Quin- 
 cy. this county ; Henry, who was born February 
 26, 1856, and died in 1890; Bertha, wife of John 
 B. Sutton, of Reno, Nev. ; Frederick John, pro- 
 prietor of a hotel at Loyalton ; Nellie, who died 
 at the age of three years ; and Hattie, wife of 
 Frederick H. Barton, who manages the home 
 ranch for Airs. Neseman. Politically Air. Nese- 
 man was a Republican in his views, but never 
 sought office. Both Air. and Airs. Neseman were 
 reared in the Lutheran faith. 
 
 PLUMAS A. YOUNG. As an able official 
 of his native county, Plumas A. Young is up- 
 holding the best interests of this section. He is 
 a native son of California, his birth having oc- 
 curred in Taylorsville, Plumas county, on the 
 13th of November, 1864; his father, William G. 
 Young, was a native of Canada, but in early 
 manhood located in the United States, and in 
 1850 crossed the plains to California, intent upon 
 trying his fortunes among the promising if 
 pioneer conditions of the Pacific coast state. In 
 addition to ranching pursuits he established a 
 general store at Taylorsville, in which, after 
 completing the course of the common schools, 
 his son, Plumas A., engaged as an assistant. 
 After the death of his father his mother sold the 
 store to an uncle, J. C. Young, and in 1899 he 
 joined his brother, G. W. Young, who was then 
 
fkj2„}iA.nia4 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 .HI 
 
 located in Burns, Harney count)', Ore., and en- 
 gaged in stock-raising and general ranching. He 
 remained in that association for alxjut four years, 
 when he returned to California, and in Indian 
 valley was once more identified with mercantile 
 pursuits, working with his uncle in the store at 
 Taylorsville. A Republican in his political con- 
 victions, he early assumed a prominent place 
 among those who sought to advance the best 
 IX)litical measures of the county, and although 
 strong on national issues, he was always too 
 loyal to give his unqualified support to a local 
 ticket. Hence, he came to be trusted b\- his fel- 
 low citizens who had the county's welfare most 
 at heart. In 1898 he was nominated for county 
 clerk against H. C. Flournoy, and although pre- 
 vented by sickness in his family from making a 
 canvass, he was defeated by only thirty-six votes. 
 September 6, 1905, he was appointed county as- 
 sessor of Plumas county, and since his assump- 
 tion of his duties has ably demonstrated his abil- 
 ity as a public official. Undoubtedly he has a 
 future in the political honors of the countv. 
 
 In Taylorsville, in March, 1896, he was united 
 in marriage with Miss Lillie M. Chapman, a na- 
 tive of Missouri, who came with her parents to 
 California when a child. They are the parents 
 of one son, Arthur. In his fraternal relations 
 Mr. Young is a member of Hope Lodge No. 234, 
 F. & A. M., of Beckwith, Cal., and is a charter 
 member of Plumas Parlor No. 228, N. S. G. W., 
 of Tavlorsville. 
 
 PHILIP J. GOUMAZ. The family repre- 
 sented by this retired rancher of Lassen county is 
 of Swiss origin and possesses the sturdy perse- 
 verance characteristic of the race. The first of 
 the name to cross the ocean were his parents, 
 Peter and Luzetta ( Lambert ) Goumaz, who, ac- 
 companied by their children, started from the old 
 world to seek a home and livelihood in the west- 
 ern hemisphere. During 1851 they landed in 
 New York and after eighteen months in that 
 state they proceeded west to Illinois, where in 
 1853 the father died in Fayette county on a farm. 
 Eleven years later his wife passed away. Of 
 
 their nine children who attained maturity five 
 are now living. Two of the sons, Xavier and 
 Joseph, served in an Illinois regiment during the 
 Civil war. Three members of the family sought 
 homes in the far west, namely: Philip J., of 
 Susanville; Isadore, who crossed the plains in 
 1859, but later returned to Kansas and there 
 died ; and Anna, who is the wife of L. C. Stiles, 
 represented elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 The next to the youngest among the children 
 was Philip J., who was born in Pierne, Canton 
 Fribourg, Switzerland, October 9, 1843, and ac- 
 companied the family to America in 1851, later 
 settling in Illinois, where he attended district 
 schools for a brief period. During 1863 he left 
 his old home and started for California via the 
 Nicaragua route, being a passenger on the ship 
 Aloses Taylor to San Francisco, from which 
 jx)int he proceeded to Indian valle\-. During the 
 next two years he worked as a farm hand in the 
 summer and attended school in the winter. Com- 
 ing to Lassen county in 1865 he rented land on 
 Gold Run Flat, three miles below Susanville and 
 the following year bought the tract of two hun- 
 dred acres, where he engaged in raising cattle 
 and hay. Selling that property in 1884, he re- 
 moved a distance of forty-five miles to Grass- 
 hopper valley, where he owned eight hundred 
 acres with fine springs and excellent range. At 
 one time he had six hundred head of cattle and 
 one hundred and fifty head of horses and mules, 
 being one of the largest stockmen in the entire 
 county. During 1900 he removed to his com- 
 fortable home in Susanville, and five years later 
 he disposed of his ranch and stock. 
 
 For many years after coming to California Mr. 
 Goumaz remained unmarried, but on the 28th of 
 June, 1880, he established domestic ties through 
 his marriage to Miss Susie Talbot, who was 
 born in 1858 on board ship A. H. Stevens off 
 Peru. South America. Two children came to 
 bless their union, but Lina alone survives, the 
 son. Philip S.. having Ix^en taken from the home 
 by death when he was a bright and promising 
 boy of twelve years. Mrs. Goumaz was one of 
 four children now living, the others being as 
 follows: Mary S.. wife of Granville Pullen. of 
 Janesville, Cal. : Stanwood E.. of Vallejo : and 
 
542 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Eben B., who makes his home at East Oakland. 
 The Talbot ancestry is traced to Lord Talbot of 
 England. The founder of the family in Amer- 
 ica was captain of a sailing vessel, and in the in- 
 terests of his work was led to remove from 
 England to Maine. Capt. Enoch Talbot, a son 
 of the original immigrant, was lx)rn in Maine 
 and early became familiar with the life of a 
 sailor. As captain of his own ship he sailed to 
 many parts of the world (once visiting his rela- 
 tive Lord Talbot), returning to his shipyard at 
 Freeport, Me., for repairs and reloading. When 
 advanced in years he died in Maine. Among his 
 children was a son, Capt. E. S. Talbot, a native 
 of Freeport, Me., and a sailor from boyhood, 
 eventually becoming captain of a merchant-ma- 
 rine vessel that rounded the Horn and the Cape 
 of Good Hope several times and once suffered 
 shipwreck off the last-named cape. After his 
 marriage to Sophia Bacon he made his head- 
 quarters in his wife's native town, Alexandria, 
 A'a., and ran the steamer City Point from Wash- 
 ington to City Point with mail and express. Later 
 he had charge of a passenger steamer and event- 
 ually returned to the deep sea. 
 
 Cpon retiring from the life of a sailor Capt. 
 E. S. Talbot in 1875 brought his family to Cali- 
 fornia and bought land near Johnsville, where he 
 began general ranch pursuits. Soon he was 
 elected county judge and continued in that ca- 
 pacity until the office was discontinued. Later 
 he was retained as deputy sheriff. In 1885 he 
 removed to San Francisco and became captain of 
 the tugboat Anashay, after which for ten years 
 he was government inspector of steamships. 
 The latter position he filled until his deadi, which 
 occurred July 21, 1896, at the age of sixty-one 
 years. Though the nature of his occupation was 
 such as to preclude participation in public affairs, 
 he was always stanch in his allegiance to the 
 Democratic party. In religious faith he was con- 
 nected with the Baptist Church, and fraternally 
 was a Mason of the Knight Templar degree. 
 His wife, like himself, was of sea-faring ances- 
 try. Her father, Capt. Eben Bacon, a native of 
 Maine, for many years was a captain on the 
 deep sea and eventually died at Alexandria ; in 
 earlv manhood he had been united with Susan, 
 
 daughter of Capt. Henry and Sarah (Field) 
 Bayne, natives respectively of Virginia and Eng- 
 land, the former for years a captain on the At- 
 lantic ocean. Since the death of her husband 
 Mrs. Talbot has made her home in East Oakland, 
 where her younger son also resides and where 
 her daughter, Mrs. Goumaz, has a host of friends 
 and is still a member of the Baptist Church of 
 that city. 
 
 Ardent in his allegiance to the Republican 
 party, Mr. Goumaz at this writing holds a posi- 
 tion as member of the county Republican central 
 committee and maintains a deep interest in mat- 
 ters pertaining to tlie local progress of the party. 
 For two terms of four years each he held the 
 office of supervisor, in which capacity he was in- 
 strumental in promoting projects for the develop- 
 ment of the county. In fraternal relations he 
 has been connected with the Masons since 1867, 
 when he was made a Mason in Lassen Lodge 
 No. 149, F. & A. M. Since that time he has ex- 
 tended his affiliations by becoming a member of 
 Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. M., in which he is 
 past high priest, also Lassen Commandery No. 
 13, K. T., and in addition with his wife he holds 
 membership in the Order of the Eastern Star 
 at Susanville, 
 
 WALTER EDE. In the early days of the 
 American colonization of California, ere yet the 
 broad lands of the Sierra valley had attracted 
 settlers, there came to Plumas county as a per- 
 manent settler and progressive rancher the late 
 Walter Ede, an Englishman by birth and parent- 
 age, but by education and citizenship an Ameri- 
 can of the energetic, resourceful type commonly 
 found in new countries. Descended from an old 
 family of Great Britain and himself a native of 
 Sussex, born July 29, 1835. he was only eight 
 years of age when the family sought a home 
 amid the greater opportunities offered by the 
 United States. Among the recollections of his 
 childhood which lingered with him through 
 manhood and into old age was that of the long 
 voyage in a sailing vessel across the Atlantic 
 ocean in 1843 and of the subsequent trip via ca- 
 
HISTORICAL Ax\D BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 543 
 
 nal, lake and wagon into Wisconsin, whore lie 
 passed the years of youth. 
 
 While still <|uite young Mr. Ede was attracted 
 to the Pacific Coast by reason of the discovery of 
 gold in the mountains of California, and he 
 made the long journey across the plains, endur- 
 ing all the hardships and privations incident to 
 such a trip in the days before the building of 
 railroads. Shortly after his arrival in Califor- 
 nia he came to the Sierra valley in Plumas coun- 
 ty and in 1863 took up land, where he engaged 
 in raising stock and general farm products. As 
 the years passed by new settlers were attracted 
 to this part of the state, farms were laid out, 
 stock began to be more abundant, and the little 
 vallev took on an appearance of prosperity. 
 Through wise investments in land that increased 
 in value and through the judicious management 
 of his crops and stock, he accumulated an estate 
 valued at $45,000, all representative of his ardu- 
 ous labors after coming west. His death, which 
 occurred April 8, 1901, was mourned by the peo- 
 ple of Plumas county, who looked upon him as 
 one of their most influential citizens and saga- 
 cious stock raisers. Surviving him are his widow 
 (formerly C. Amanda Dean, a native of Ohio, 
 whom he married in 1870) and seven children, 
 as follows : Cora May, the wife of Beal Sellman, 
 of Reno, Nev. : Leonard G., a well-educated 
 young man who is now engaged in teaching 
 school at Vinton, near the old home ranch : 
 Charles W., of \'inton ; Irene, a teacher in Reno, 
 Nev.; Allan S.. a teacher in Wadsworth, Nev.; 
 Ada, at home with her mother ; and Alfred L., 
 a midshipman at Annapolis. 
 
 WILLIAM DAMS THORXE. Travelers 
 whose business interests bring them into the 
 Sierra valley find at I^yalton all the comforts 
 of a home in the Keys Hotel, of which Mr. 
 Thorne is the popular and efficient landlord. 
 Since assuming the management of this place 
 Mr. Thorne has gained a wiile circle of friends 
 among the traveling public and at the same time, 
 by refusing to permit a bar to be conducted in 
 connection with the hotel, he has proved him- 
 
 self more desirous of establishing a first-class 
 reputation for the place than of accumulating 
 quick profits from its management. Included 
 in his possessions are a number of town lots 
 in Loyalton and property at other [ilaces, all of 
 which represents his unaided exertions, for he 
 had no assistance is securing a start in the busi- 
 ness world. 
 
 In Prince Edward county. Ontario. Canada 
 West. Mr. Thorne was born October 18, 1847. 
 being the son of parents born in the same county 
 as himself. On the paternal side lie traces his 
 lineage to Scotland, while ibrougli his mother 
 he is of English extraction. As a boy he alter- 
 nated work on the home farm with attendance 
 upon the common schools, and meanwhile learned 
 lessons of self-reliance that have been of inesti- 
 mable value to him in maturer years. M the age 
 of twenty-one years he left home to make his 
 own way in the world and came to California 
 via the Panama route, settling at San Jose. In 
 a short time he secured work as a ranch hand 
 in that locality. During the fall of 1869 he came 
 to Gibson vdle, Sierra county, and began to work 
 in the mines, also engaged in contracting timber 
 and lumber for the mines. For a long period 
 he continued in the same locality, but in 1893 
 he removed to Giallenge Mill, ^'uba county, 
 where he took up work at contracting and log- 
 ging. In i8g6 he went to Honcut, Butte county, 
 this state, and for some years was busil\- occupied 
 in teaming from Marysville to Gibsonville, La 
 Porte and other places, using in the work two 
 teams of ten and twelve horses each. Selling 
 out his teaming equipment in 1901, he came to 
 Loyalton, wdiere for one season he followed 
 teaming for the Roberts Lumber Company and 
 since has been interested in the hotel business. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Thorne was solemnized 
 October 18, 1876, and united him with Miss 
 Sarah O'Rake. who was born in Ireland, but 
 immigrated to California in 1868 with her par- 
 ents, settling at LaPorte and remaining there 
 until subsequent to lier union with Mr. Thorne. 
 They have three children, of whom the daughter, 
 Lucetta. is a popular teacher in the Loyalton 
 schools. The older son, Robert William, resides 
 at Lovalton and is employed as fireman on a 
 
1 
 
 54-t 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 locomotive, while the younger son, George Owen, 
 is employed as clerk in a store in Los Angeles. 
 Matters relating to national issues receive earn- 
 est attention on the part of Mr. Thome, who has 
 been a lifelong believer in Republican principles 
 and a consistent supporter of the party ticket. 
 Fraternally a Mason, he was initiated into the 
 blue lodge at Colusa in 1872, and after coming 
 to Loyalton became identified with Lodge No. 
 139, F. & A. M., in the founding of which he 
 was prominently interested. Three years after 
 he was made a Mason he was raised to the 
 chapter degree at LaPorte, Plumas county, with 
 which he remains connected to the present time. 
 
 JAMES P. TONEY. Among the pioneer ag- 
 riculturists of Modoc county who are noted for 
 the eminent success they achieved while indus- 
 triously employed in their free and independent 
 calling is James P. Toney. a well-known and 
 highly esteemed resident of Lake City, now liv- 
 ing retired from active pursuits. When he took 
 possession of his farm, lying east of the city, 
 thirty-five years ago, the land was in its primeval 
 wildness, but by the exercise of energy and in- 
 telligence he brought it to a good state of cul- 
 tivation, making it one of the most valuable and 
 productive ranches of Surprise valley. He has 
 the distinction of beuig one of the oldest pioneers 
 of the Pacific coast, having lived continuously in 
 Oregon or California since 1847, and is also an 
 excellent representative of the self-made men of 
 our times, by perseverance and industry accumu- 
 lating a handsome competency. A son of the late 
 James Toney, he was born November 18, 1833, 
 in Callaway county. Mo. He is of French de- 
 scent, his great grandfather, William Toney, 
 having emigrated from France to the United 
 States in 1773, locating in Franklin county, Va. 
 He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, 
 as did his son, Edmund Toney, the next in line 
 of descent. 
 
 Born and reared in Franklin county, \'a., until 
 he was sixteen years old, James Toney then went 
 to Ohio, where he married Martha Thornton, a 
 native of South Carolina. Following the march 
 
 of civilization westward, he located in Missouri 
 at an early period of its history, and from the 
 dense forest cleared a homestead. In the spring 
 of 1847 lis crossed the plains with his family, 
 and for a number of years resided in the Willa- 
 mette valley. Ore., subsequently, however, com- 
 ing to Modoc county, where he lived with his 
 son James until called to the higher life, his death 
 occurring in i8gi, at the venerable age of ninety- 
 two years. His wife died in 1863, in Oregon. 
 
 James P. Toney was born in Missouri and 
 lived in that state until fourteen years old, when 
 he went with the family to Oregon, becoming a 
 pioneer of Yamhill county in the Willamette val- 
 ley. Coming from there to Mod(3c county in 
 1871, he bought one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land in Surprise valley, east of Lake City, on 
 which there were no improvements, the land 
 being completely covered with sage brush. La- 
 boring with untiring diligence, he succeeded in 
 placing a large part of it under cultivation, mak- 
 ing his ranch one of the best in point of its im- 
 provements and appointments of any in the val- 
 ley. Succeeding well from a financial stand- 
 point, he bought other tracts of land, and now, 
 with his sons, owns six hundred and forty acres 
 of rich farming land, devoted to the raising of 
 alfalfa, grain, etc. In 1905 Mr. Toney retired 
 from active business, and is now enjoying all the 
 comforts of life in his pleasant home at Lake 
 Cit\-. He is patriotic and public spirited, and 
 while living in Oregon, in 1855 and 1856, served 
 in the Piute Indian wars. In politics he is an 
 independent Democrat, and in religion is a mem- 
 ber of the Christian church. 
 
 In Oregon, January 21, 1858, Mr. Toney mar- 
 ried Sarah Elizabeth Metzker, who was born in 
 Iowa, and died in 1903 on the home farm, in 
 Surprise valley. Ten children were born of their 
 union, five of whom have passed to the higher 
 life, namely,: Jonathan Benjamin, Christopher 
 and Eleanor died in childhood ; Mervin died at 
 the age of twenty-one years ; and Mary Alice. 
 who married Charles Seyferth, died in early wom- 
 anhood, leaving four children, James, Lawrence, 
 Mabel and Lester, the youngest of whom lives 
 with Mr. Toney. Of the five children living we 
 mention the following : George Washington, en- 
 
JOEL E. FREEMAN 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 547 
 
 gaged ill farming in Surprise valley, married 
 Mary Jane Cole, by wliom he has six children, 
 Minnie, William, Harry, Mervin, Winnie and 
 Susie; Martha Belle married L. Paschal and had 
 one daughter, Edna : after the death of Mr. 
 Paschal she became the wife of John C. Cannon, 
 of Surprise valley, by whom she has three chil- 
 dren, Mervin, Roxie and Lemuel ; John Lemuel, 
 also of Surprise valley, married Mary Elizabeth 
 Hall, by whom he has two children, Ruth and 
 Elmer; and Laura, now keeping house for her 
 father, married first Robert Toncy, who died, 
 leaving her with two children, Effie Blanche and 
 Crban Arthur ; she later married George C. Can- 
 non. Mr. Toney has always been interested in 
 the maintenance of good schools and served as a 
 director a number of vears. 
 
 JOEL E. FREEMAN. There are few men 
 now living within the Sierra Valley whose arri- 
 val in this portion of California antedated that 
 of Mr. Freeman, an honored pioneer and pros- 
 perous rancher residing eight miles west of Loy- 
 alton. At the time of his settlement on his pres- 
 ent ranch, in the spring of i860, the land had 
 not been surveyed and no atteinpt had been made 
 to bring it under cultivation or make needed im- 
 provements. From time to time he has added 
 to his original purchase until his landed posses- 
 sions now aggregate twenty-five hundred acres, 
 perhaps one-half of which is in meadow and in 
 grain, while the balance is utilized for the pas- 
 turage of the horses and cattle. Usually he has 
 on the ranch about two hundred head of cattle, 
 for which number he has an abundance of pas- 
 turage. In addition he has a team of ten horses 
 and another of eight horses, these being used in 
 the hauling of freight between Loyalton and 
 Sierra City. 
 
 Born in East Tennessee, January 9, 1836. Joel 
 E. Freeman is a son of William M. and Sarah 
 (Qiurchman) Freeman, also natives of East 
 Tennessee, and members of old Southern fami- 
 lies. His father, while still young in years, 
 proved himself an efficient soldier at the time of 
 the war with the Cherokee Indians. Reared on 
 
 a farm in Tennessee, he remained in his native 
 locality until 1848, when ,he removed to Iowa 
 and settled upon a tract of government land in 
 Jeflferson couirty. The following year, when 
 news came of the discovery of gold in California, 
 he came across the plains with ox-teams and set- 
 tled on the Russian river near Healdsburg in So- 
 noma county, where he began the life of a ranch- 
 er in the midst of primitive conditions. About 
 1855 he returned to Iowa and engaged in the 
 mercantile business in Jeflferson county, but in 
 1859 he disposed of his interests there and, ac- 
 companied by his family, came to the Pacific 
 coast country as a permanent settler, making the 
 journey with oxen and wagons. Coming to the 
 Sierra valley, in the spring of i860 he took up 
 government land and began the task of improv- 
 ing a farm. After some years he disposed of the 
 property and returned to Sonoma county, where 
 he died at an advanced age. His wife had died 
 in Iowa at the age of about sixty years. 
 
 \\'hen twelve years old Joel E. Freeman ac- 
 companied his parents from Tennessee to Iowa 
 and when twenty-three he became a resident of 
 California, settling in the Sierra Valley at that 
 early day. The year of his removal across the 
 plains was also the year of his marriage, which 
 was solemnized prior to his departure from Iowa 
 and united him with Miss \'irginia Cooksy, a 
 native of Indiana. Six children were born of 
 their union, namely : Willis, who is engaged in 
 ranching near the old homestead ; William, a 
 rancher near Smartville, Yuba county, this state ; 
 John, who assists his father in the management 
 of the large home ranch ; Sarah, who is married 
 and resides in San Francisco; Thomas Edward, 
 now living at Reno, Nev. ; and Qiarles, who is 
 still with his parents. In political views Mr. 
 Freeman has always been a believer in Demo- 
 cratic principles. However, no trace of partisan- 
 ship has ever appeared in his actions ; on the con- 
 trary he is liberal in his opinions and concedes 
 to others the same freedom of thought which he 
 demands for himself. At no time in his long 
 and busy life has he had the leisure to take an 
 active part in politics, nor have his tastes inclined 
 in that direction, for he is pre-eminently a man 
 of domestic tastes, more content with the quiet 
 
548 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 round of daily duties than with the excitement 
 incident to business or political affairs, yet ever 
 willing tO' discharge each duty belonging to a cit- 
 izen of public spirit and patriotic impulses. 
 
 JOHN PRENTICE HOLMES. Among the 
 successful ranchers of Lassen county is J. P. 
 Holmes, who resides two miles east of Standish. 
 His father, Nathaniel Holmes, was a native of 
 Massachusetts, and a member of a prominent 
 old New England family. During the early '50s 
 he came via Panama to California, where he en- 
 gaged in mining for a time, and during the 
 gold excitement at A'irginia City erected a hotel 
 at Washoe City, Washoe county, Nev.. running 
 it for many years. Disposing of the hotel he 
 went to Franktown, four miles from Washoe 
 City, where he purchased another hotel, then 
 rented the Sandy Bowers ranch, and operated 
 both for two years, at the same time running a 
 hotel omnibus from Carson to Virginia City. 
 After disposing of his property in Nevada he 
 returned to California, and going to Honey Lake 
 valley, entered government land, taking up three 
 hundred and twenty acres of sage brush land, 
 which he improved and put under cultivation, 
 and spent the remainder of his life there, dying 
 in 1895. H^ ^^'^s a member of the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows, and in politics supported 
 the Repulilican platform. His wife, formerly 
 Martha Irene Prentice, is a native of Connecti- 
 cut, and is the daughter of John Prentice, one of 
 the pioneer settlers of this state. She resides 
 at Pacific Grove, Cal., and is the mother of eight 
 children, viz., Edward, who resides at Oakland; 
 Nathaniel, living at Sacramento ; Lizzie Ross, 
 of San Francisco ; Jessie, who married Walter 
 DeWitt, and resides at DeWitt, Lassen county ; 
 John, Harr}- and George, all three of whom are 
 farming on the home ranch ; and Mabel, who re- 
 sides at Pacific Grove. 
 
 John Prentice Holmes was born September 
 18, 1868, in Washoe county, Nev., where he was 
 reared on a farm, receiving his education in the 
 public schools, and helping with the farm work. 
 Attaining his majority he became a partner with 
 
 his father in the farming operations, as did his 
 brothers, Harry and George, and when their 
 father died, they became the owners of the land 
 and stock. The brothers have put the whole of 
 the three hundred and twenty acres under cul- 
 tivation, and are extensive stock raisers. Their 
 cattle brand is A-|-A, and that for horses is an 
 N within a circle. 
 
 Near Standish, in Honey Lake valley, Mr. 
 Holmes was married to Catherine Hartson, who 
 is a native of California, having been born in 
 the valley, and is the daughter of Charles Hart- 
 son, a pioneer settler of this county. Three chil- 
 dren have come to bless this union, whose names 
 are as follows: Roland, ISernard and Berle. In 
 politics Mr. Holmes supports the Republican 
 platform with stanch fidelity, and his political 
 friends demonstrated their appreciation of his 
 abilities by sending him to the county conven- 
 tions, and making him school trustee. His genial 
 and kindly disposition have won for him many 
 warm friends. 
 
 WARREN D. PACKWOOD. The village of 
 Bieber in the northwestern part of Lassen county 
 has been the home of Mr. Packwood for a long 
 period of years, and various of its leading com- 
 mercial enterprises have been promoted by his 
 enthusiastic co-operation and keen judgment. 
 Now in the prime of life, he faces a future of 
 steady progress and gratifying success, should 
 unexpected misfortune not intervene. Of east- 
 ern parentage, he was born in Des Moines 
 county, Iowa, July 24, 1869, and from his native 
 coimty came to California with his parents in 
 1880, settling in Sonoma county, where he com- 
 pleted the studies of the common schools and also 
 took a course of study m the Healdsburg Com- 
 mercial College, of which he is a graduate. 
 
 On coming to Bieber in 1890 Mr. Packwood 
 secured employment as a clerk in a store owned 
 l)y I. Packwood, with whom he remained for a 
 number of years. In i8g8 he became associated 
 with his father in the mercantile business, but 
 after a year the partnership was dissolved and 
 the store sold. Tlie next enterprise to which he 
 devoted his attention was that of stock-raising, 
 
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 s 
 
 X 
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 PS 
 
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HISTORICAL AND CIOGRAI'HICAL RECORD. 
 
 651 
 
 in wliicli lie formed a partnership with his father 
 and secured a tract of one thousand acres of 
 grazing land l\iiig; immeciiately south of the vil- 
 lage. A portion of the land is in timber, but 
 the principal acreage is suitable for the purpose 
 of pasturage. Besides conducting fiis stock-rais- 
 ing interests upon a large scale, Mr. Packwood 
 acts as manager of the Big Valley Co-operative 
 Store at Bieber, which was opened in August of 
 1905 and with which smci_- then he has been iden- 
 tified. 
 
 During 1890 ]\Ir. Packwood was united in 
 marriage with Miss Clara Hopper, by whom he 
 has three children, Myrle, Ruth and James. In 
 religious views Mr. and Airs. Packwood are in 
 sympathy with the doctrines of the Methodist 
 Episcopal Qiurch Soiith, of which botli are mem- 
 bers. Both are also connected with Esther Chap- 
 ter No. 74, Eastern Star, at Adin, of which Mrs. 
 Packwood is worthy matron. Politically a stanch 
 believer in Democratic principles, Mr. Packwood 
 takes a warm interest in local affairs and for 
 years has been a local leader in party affairs. 
 During the second term of President Cleveland 
 he was tendered the appointment as postmaster 
 at Bieber and held the office until the national 
 administration became Republican. Several 
 times he has been chosen a delegate to the county 
 conventions of his party and in addition he has 
 officiated as a member of the county central com- 
 mittee. Twice he was chosen to represent his 
 party and count}- in the Democratic state con- 
 vention, but both times business duties prevented 
 him from attending the convention. In 1900 he 
 was chosen a member of the county Ixjard of 
 supervisors, the duties of wdiich position he as- 
 sumed in January of the following year. .At the 
 expiration of his term in 1904 he was re-elected 
 to the office, which he is now filling with the 
 same energy and devotion to the county's welfare 
 that he displayed in the former term. In Ma- 
 sonry he has been both interested and influential. 
 Adin Lodge No. 250, F. & A. M.. at .Adin, has 
 honored him with the office of worshipful master, 
 and he has passed the cliairs in Acacia Cliapter 
 No. 64, R. A. M., at Adin, besides which he is 
 a member of Lassen Commandery No. 13, K. T., 
 at Susanville. The Independent Order of Odd 
 
 Fellows has also been the recipient of his intel- 
 ligent advocacy and local leadership. Identified 
 with Big Valley Lodge No. 286, at Bieber, he 
 ranks as past noble grand of the lodge, and in 
 addition has been honored with the office of chief 
 patriarch of the encampment at the same place. 
 
 THOMAS J. MULRONEY. Prominent 
 among the early settlers of Lassen county is 
 Thomas J. Mulroney, who is closely identified 
 with the agricultural interests of this part of Cal- 
 ifornia. He located here nearly half a century 
 ago, at a time when the brave pioneers were 
 obliged to avail themselves of every possible ad- 
 vantage in order to make both ends meet, pro- 
 vide themselves and families with the neces- 
 saries of life, and proceed with the improve- 
 ments on their new homesteads. Energetic and 
 persevering. Mr. Mulroney labored courageous- 
 1\, and his efforts met with well-deserved re- 
 ward, the tide of prosperity so flowing in his di- 
 rection that in a comparatively few years he had 
 a large number of acres of his ranch in a good 
 yielding condition, and had erected new barns 
 and outbuildings, while the rude log cabin had 
 been replaced by his present substantial dwelling 
 house. Like many of our most respected and 
 thrifty citizens, he is of foreign birth, having 
 been born in Kilkenny county, Ireland, August 
 20, 1838. 
 
 At the age of eight years Thomas J. Mulroney 
 came with his parents to America, and until 
 nineteen years of age remained at home. In 1857, 
 desirous of trying his fortunes in the gold re- 
 gions of this state, he sailed from New York 
 City for San Francisco, coming by way of the 
 Isthmus of Panama. Coing to Plumas county, 
 he was engaged in mining for a brief time, but 
 not meeting with the success that he had antici- 
 l^ated he came to Lassen county, locating near 
 Susanville. where he bought a claim of one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres. He subsequently pur- 
 chased adjoining land, and for five years was 
 employed in general farming. Selling out to his 
 brother in 1862. he took possession of his present 
 farm, pre-emjiting one hundred and sixty acres, 
 
552 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and taking up a homestead claim equally as 
 large. All of this was wild land, the only im- 
 provement on the ranch being a small log cabin. 
 He has since bought fifty-five acres of land, and 
 has one of the best-kept and most productive 
 ranches in this locality. By diligent toil he has 
 added excellent improvements, having all of his 
 land fenced, one hundred and fifty acres broken 
 up and much of it under cultivation, devoting it 
 to the raising of grain. He also raises and feeds 
 stock, making a specialty of this branch of agri- 
 culture, and like all wise and practical farmers 
 has his land under irrigation. 
 
 April 6, 1866, near Susanville, Mr. JMulroney 
 married Sarah Thompson, who was born in 
 Monroe county, N. Y., June 9, 1849, a daughter 
 of Richard and Margaret Thompson, both na- 
 tives of Ireland. Richard Thompson emigrated 
 to the United States when a young man, and 
 was married in New York. Some years after- 
 wards, leaving his family in the east, he came to 
 California, and settled as a miner in Plumas 
 county. Making some money, he invested it in 
 land, and having purchased a ranch near Susan- 
 ville sent for his wife and children, his daughter 
 Sarah then being a girl of fourteen years, and 
 was subsequently here engaged in farming and 
 stock raising until his death. Both he and his 
 wife are buried in Susanville. Of the union of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mulroney six children were born, 
 namely: William, who died at the age of three 
 years ; Ellen Gertrude, wife of Robert Dunn ; 
 Alice, wife of Frank A. Hansen, of whom a 
 brief sketch may be found elsewhere in this vol- 
 ume ; Thomas of Spoonville ; Mary Agnes, living 
 at home ; and Richard Edward, living at home. 
 Mrs. Mulroney passed away February 13, 1906. 
 Politically Mr. Mulroney is a stanch Democrat, 
 and for several years has served as school trus- 
 tee. Religiously he and his family are members 
 of St. ]\Iarv's Catholic Church at Susanville. 
 
 DA\TD RAKER. A well-known agricultur- 
 ist of Honey Lake valley, David Raker is num- 
 bered among the sturdy, energetic and prosper- 
 ous farmers of Lassen county who thoroughly 
 
 understand the vocation which thev follow, and 
 are enabled to carry it on with pleasure and profit. 
 He was born April 10, 1859, in Knox county, 
 111., of thrifty German ancestry, being a son 
 of the late Christian Frederick Raker, a native of 
 Germany. 
 
 Born and educated in Wurtemberg, Gemiany, 
 Christian Frederick Raker emigrated to this 
 country when young, and for many years resided 
 in Illinois. In 1871, accompanied by his eldest 
 son, George, he came to Lassen county, and here 
 pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land. 
 In 1873 he went back to his old home, leaving his 
 son on the land which he had taken up, and in the 
 fall of that same year returned to Honey Lake 
 valley, bringing with him his wife and the 
 younger children. Being taken ill soon after his 
 return, he was unable to prove up on his claim, 
 and in June, 1874, he died, and his body was 
 buried in ^lilford. His wife, whose maiden name 
 was Alary Ellen Rambo, was born in Cumber- 
 land, Pa., and now, an active woman of seventy 
 \ears, is living with her youngest daughter, in 
 Orange county, Cal. She bore her husband 
 seven children, namely : George, who accompa- 
 nied his father on his first trip across the plains ; 
 Lucy, wife of J. A. Gilman, of Susanville ; David, 
 the subject of this sketch; Charlotte, wife of 
 Julian Johnson, of Sacramento; John E., of Al- 
 turas, county judge of Modoc county; Clarence, 
 also of Alturas ; and Hattie A., wife of Frederick 
 Spencer, of Orange county. 
 
 While living in Knox county. 111., David 
 Raker received his preliminary education, and 
 after coming to Lassen county continued his 
 studies for awhile in the common schools of Mil- 
 ford. Soon after the death of his father he be- 
 came self-supporting, for a number of years 
 working for wages. In the meantime, in com- 
 pany with his brother George, he bought the one 
 hundred and sixty acres of land now known as 
 the Crawford place, which was then partly im- 
 proved, and with the wages earned paid for his 
 share. These brothers subsequently purchased 
 the Joe Nettle's ranch of one hundred and fifty 
 acres, which Air. Raker took for his share when 
 he and his brother dissolved partnership and di- 
 vided the property. He has continually added to 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 555 
 
 the iinjiroveinents previously besun, and lias al- 
 ready i)ut in tliirty acres of alfalfa. He raises 
 considerable grain, and has an excellent dairy, in 
 the management of which he receives a good in- 
 come. 
 
 December 17. 1885. Mr. Raker married Caro- 
 line E. Batman, who was liorii in Marin countw 
 Cal.. June 13. 1863. a daughter of J. W. Uatman, 
 now residing in Colusa, Cal. .\ native of Mis- 
 souri. Mr. Batman lived in his native state until 
 1853, when he crossed the plains to Oregon, 
 crossing the summit of the Rocky mountains on 
 the twenty-first anniversary of his birth. In the 
 spring of 1854 he came to California, and for a 
 number of years was engaged in mining in Placer 
 county. While there he married Claraette Allen, 
 a native of Maine, who came to California by 
 way of the Isthmus, leaving New York City in 
 December, i860, and arriving in San Francisco 
 early in 1861. Seven children have blessed the 
 marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Raker, namely : Chris- 
 tian W., Grace E., William, George C, Royce 
 A.. Pearl E. and D. Drew. Politically Mr. Raker 
 is a true-hlj.ie Republican. Fraternally he is a 
 member and past noble grand of Janesville Lodge 
 No. 223, I. O. O. F., which he represented at the 
 Grand Lodge in San Francisco in 1898. Both Mr. 
 and Mrs. Raker are members of Janesville Lodge 
 No. 190, Daughters of Rebekah, of which Mrs. 
 Raker is past noble grand and past district dep- 
 utv. 
 
 EDWIN DOUGLAS HOSSELKUS. In the 
 list of prominent pioneers of Plumas county be- 
 longs the name of the late Edwin D. Hosselkus, 
 an influential merchant, rancher and dairyman of 
 the Genesee valley, who for years before his 
 death held a leading position among the agricult- 
 urists of this section and as a monument to his 
 industry left to his family a well-improved, val- 
 uable ranch accumulated through his arduous la- 
 bors. Born in New York, he was a small child 
 when he went to Illinois in company with his 
 parents, Nicholas and Lucretia (Bryan) Hossel- 
 kus, natives of New York and pioneer residents 
 of Ellisville. Fulton county. 111., where the father 
 transformed a tract of raw land into a valuable 
 
 farm. Removing to California in 1864 he settled 
 at TaylorsvilJe and there passed from earth at 
 eighty years of age, his wife dying in the same 
 place when seventy-four. In politics he was a 
 pronounced Democrat, but not a partisan nor 
 active in public affairs. The lineage of his family 
 was traced back to the colonial days of New 
 York, when the founders of the name in this 
 country immigrated from Holland ; his wife also 
 was a member of an old family, but her ancestors 
 were of the Puritan stock. 
 
 A frontier farm in Illinois formed the environ- 
 ment familiar to Edwin D. Hosselkus in boy- 
 hood. Cpon starting out to earn his own way 
 he secured work as clerk in a local store, but the 
 prospects seemed discouraging and his eyes were 
 turned toward the greater opportunities offered 
 by the west. In 1852 he worked his way across 
 the plains and secured employment on a ranch 
 immediately after his arrival in California, but 
 a year later came to Elizabcthtown, Plumas 
 county, where he engaged in the mercantile busi- 
 ness for a few years. The next enterprise in 
 which he became interested was mining in the 
 Indian -valley, after which he carried on a store 
 at Susanville and next conducted a mercantile 
 business at Taylorsville. Meanwhile his profits 
 were invested in land, and during 1865 he left 
 the store and settled on a ranch near Genesee in 
 the valley of the same name. With an entinisiasm 
 natural to him he began the development of the 
 land and soon the results of his energy were ap- 
 parent in the added improvements made on the 
 ranch. In a few years he opened a small store 
 near his house. Next he was instrumental in 
 securing the establishment of the postoffice of 
 (lenesee and was appointed the first postmaster, 
 a i^osition that he continued to hold until his 
 death. From time to time he added to his hold- 
 ings until he had acquired about thirteen hundred 
 acres, of which about eight hundred acres were 
 in Genesee valley. Farming was the basis of all 
 of his operations, but dairying was his specialty, 
 and for several years there were about ninetv 
 milch cows on the farm. About six months be- 
 fore his death he was obliged to give up the 
 management of the property and suffered from 
 that time with increasing severity from heart 
 
556 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 trouble, which eventually caused his death, May 
 30, 1892, when he was sixty-three years of age. 
 During the Civil war Mr. Hosselkus became 
 a stanch supporter of the policy adopted by Abra- 
 ham Lincoln and ever afterward he supported 
 the Republican party. For twelve years he served 
 as a member of the board of supervisors of Plu- 
 mas county, but with that exception declined to 
 become a candidate for public offices. In 1859 he 
 married Miss Mary A. Tate, a native of County 
 Armagh, Ireland, but a resident of California 
 from the age of sixteen years, and still living on 
 the home ranch in the enjoyment of' excellent 
 health. Four children were born of their mar- 
 riage, namely : Frank Bryan, who has been post- 
 master at Genesee since the death of his father: 
 Allie T., wife of C. F. Barker, of Reno, Xev. : 
 Marv L., who married W. E. Murray, a miner 
 now living in Nova Scotia ; and John, of Plumas 
 countv. Prior to his death Mr. Hosselkus di- 
 vided his property among his wife and children, 
 giving the ranch to the two sons, the daughter 
 Mary, and the wife, and leaving a bequest for 
 Mrs. Barker. In 1904 a company was incor- 
 porated for the management of the ranch, which 
 has been in charge of the older son since the 
 father's death. Lender his intelligent supervision 
 the ranch is maintained in a high state of culti- 
 vation, a dairy of thirty cows is operated, and in 
 addition there are about two hundred head of 
 Durham cattle pastured on the ranch, the whole 
 forming an important addition to the agricultural 
 industries of the vallev. 
 
 SAMUEL LEONIDAS FRAZIER. In the 
 developn-icnt and advancement of the agricultural 
 and horticultural interests of Lassen count)- Sam- 
 uel Leonidas Frazier. of Janesville, has been 
 an important factor. A man of intelligence. 
 ability and practical judgment, he has met with 
 success in his chosen calling, and by careful at- 
 tention to the interests of others and to those 
 things which are of benefit to the general public 
 has shown himself a public-spirited and highly 
 useful member of tlie communit)- in which he 
 resides. He was born March 22, 1844, in Ten- 
 
 nessee, where the first three years of his life 
 were spent. His father, F. I. Frazier, was born 
 and reared in Henry county, Tenn., removing 
 from there to Greene county. Mo., in 1847, there 
 following farming and stock-raising until his 
 death, when seventy-two years of age. For one 
 term he represented Greene county in the state 
 legislature, and for two terms served in the state 
 senate, representing the senatorial district com- 
 posed of Greene, Stone and Taney counties. 
 
 Moving with his parents to JNIissouri in 1847, 
 Samuel Leonidas Frazier grew to manhood on 
 the home farm, receiving a limited education in 
 the district school. In 1862 he enlisted in Com- 
 pany A, Third Missouri Cavalry, and for two 
 years served as a private under Capt. A. Dan 
 Brown, doing duty west of the Mississippi river 
 all of the time. He took part in many engage- 
 ments, among others being the battle of Helena. 
 At the close of the war he turned his attention 
 to agricultural pursuits, and was engaged in 
 farming and stock-raising in Missouri for a num- 
 ber of years. Coming to California in 1882, he 
 located in Lassen county, buying three hundred 
 and thirty acres of land bordering on Honey 
 lake. A systematic, thoroughgoing farmer, he 
 at once began its improvement, put in sixty acres 
 of alfalfa, and for fifteen years was prosperously 
 enjployed in dairying and stock-raising. Selling 
 then at an advantage, he purchased his present 
 farm, adjoining Janesville on the east. It con- 
 tains two hundred and forty acres of valuable 
 land, a part of which he devotes to the cultivation 
 of alfalfa and fruit, having a good orchard and 
 good grain and ha}- land. He raises apples, 
 peaches, pears and prunes in abundance, selling 
 them at the home market, and receiving top prices 
 for all of his fruit. He has one hundred and 
 sixty acres of his ranch fenced, and in addition 
 to feeding cattle keeps a small dairy. Since 
 coming here he has added greatly to the value of 
 his estate, not only by his labors, but by the im- 
 provements which he has made, rendering his 
 estate one of the most attractive in the neighbor- 
 hood. 
 
 Mr. Frazier has been twice married. He mar- 
 ried first Isabella Lay. who died in early woman- 
 hood, leaving six children, namely : Jane H., 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 557 
 
 wlio married Charles Hass, of Elysian valley, and 
 has fdur children. Qara, Howard. Warren and 
 Qvde; Julian E.. at home; Samuel .\., at home; 
 Mattie Hell, at home ; Ona. who became the 
 wife of G. P. Johnson, a school teacher, and ha.> 
 one chilli. Pester; and Rollo Raymond, at home. 
 Mr. I-"razier married for his second wife Mary 
 L. Dunn, a daughter of John R. Dunn, and of 
 their union four children have been born, namely: 
 Hazel \'esta, Alvin Chester, George Ruel and 
 Virgil Ruby. Politically Mr. Frazier is a loyal 
 advocate of the principles of the Democratic 
 party, and for a number of years has served as 
 school trustee. Both he and his wife are mem- 
 bers of the Baptist church, with which he united 
 thirtv vears ago. 
 
 ROBERT C. HOYT. Prominent among the 
 pioneer settlers of Big Valley, Lassen county, 
 is Robert C. Hoyt, who located here in 1872, and 
 since that time has been industriously employed 
 as a tiller of the soil. Coming here when the 
 countr\' roundabout was in its original wildness, 
 he had a few years of rough experience, endur- 
 ing all of the hardships and privations of frontier 
 life, after a long struggle overcoming all ol> 
 stacles. Hardy, self-reliant, endowed with an 
 almost unlimited stock of American push and 
 energy, he toiled perseveringly, and in the years 
 that have since elapsed he has improved a large 
 and valuable ranch, on which he is now living 
 in peace and plenty. The second winter that Mr. 
 Hoyt lived here food was hard to obtain, and 
 for one whole week he lived on boiled wheat, 
 without salt. The fall of snow that season was 
 unprecedented, being estimated at twenty-two 
 feet, and he had the misfortune to lose all of his 
 stock. On the first day of April, 1874, there was 
 between three and four, feet of snow on the 
 ground, and the suffering was intense. The In- 
 dians, however, gave the few jjeople here no 
 trouble, being friendly rather than otherwise. 
 Mr. Hoyt was bom, October 18. 1852, in Lick- 
 ing county. Ohio, but was brought up in Polk 
 county. Iowa, whither his parents settled in 1856. 
 
 Migratir.g to California in 1870, Mr. Hoyt 
 
 was engaged in sheep-raising in Yrcka for two 
 years. In 1872 he located at Big \allcy, buying 
 a tract of raw land, and to this tract he has 
 since made valuable additions, being now tlie 
 owner of twelve hundred acres, about four hun- 
 dred acres of which is devoted to the raising of 
 hay. grain and alfalfa, the remainder being used 
 for grazing purposes. Mr. Hoyt is one of the 
 foremost stock-raisers of this section of the state, 
 raising good blooded horses, mules, cattle, sheep 
 and chickens, as a breeder of fine stock being 
 exceptionally fortunate. He is a man of influ- 
 ence in these parts and in the establishment of 
 beneficial enterprises lends his aid and encourage- 
 ment. He is one of the stockholders of the Big 
 Valley Co-operative Association, of which he was 
 one of the organizers, and is also a shareholder 
 in the local telephone company. He is a strong 
 Republican in his political aspirations, but has 
 never been an aspirant for official honors. 
 
 In 1879 'Mr. Hoyt married Sylvia A. Herr, 
 of Yreka, who was Ixirn in California, of Ger- 
 man ancestry, her father having been a native of 
 Germany. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt 
 has been blessed by the birth of eight children, 
 si.x of whom are living, namely : Robert Perry, 
 of Goldfield, Nev. ; .Anna, the wife of Benjamin 
 McClure, of Hayden Hill, Lassen county; For- 
 est, a resident of Hayden Hill : Effie, Frank and 
 Irene, at home. 
 
 WILLIAM GEORGE GIBSON. A man of 
 superior business tact and ability, honest and 
 just in all of his dealings, William George Gib- 
 son is intimately associated with the industrial 
 and mercantile interests of Plumas county, and 
 as head of the firm of Gibson & .Sj^encer, lumber 
 manufacturers, and also of the mercantile firm 
 of Gibson, Mathews & Young, of P.eckwith, is 
 one of the leading citizens of this section of the 
 state. A native of Canada, he was lx>rn in Hunt- 
 ingdon district, Quebec. May 18, 185.^, and was 
 there brought up on a farm. 
 
 .\fter completing his studies in the common 
 schools, William G. Gibson .served an apprentice- 
 ship of three years at the blacksmith's trade, and 
 
558 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 then continued at work one year where he had 
 served liis apprenticeship, later for eighteen 
 months conducting a shop of his own in his native 
 town. In April, 1876, he came to California, 
 locating in Sierra valley, and for a short time 
 working at his trade in Sierraville. The follow- 
 ing winter he worked in the timber on the Carson 
 river, and the next fall settled in Beckwith, 
 where for ten years he operated a blacksmith's 
 shop. His health failing, he then engaged in the 
 cattle business in Lassen county, remaining there 
 until 1898, when he disposed of all of his stock, 
 and returned to Beckwith. In company with 
 Frank F. Peck, Mr. Gibson was here engaged 
 in mercantile pursuits for two years, when the 
 partnership was dissolved and the business of 
 which he is now the senior member was organ- 
 ized by Messrs. Gibson, Mathews and Young, 
 and until 1905 he devoted his entire time and 
 attention to the management of the store, the 
 company building up an extensive and lucrative 
 business. In January, 1905, Mr. Gibson became 
 head of the firm of Gibson & Spencer, which 
 erected the saw-mill near Beckwith, and for one 
 season divided his time between the store and 
 mill, at which time he sold out the milling busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Gibson is a member of Hope 
 Lodge No. 234, F. & A. M., of Beckwith, and 
 now (1906) is one of five of the oldest members. 
 Politically he is a stanch Republican, and is 
 postmaster of Beckwith, having been appointed 
 bv President jMcKinley, the postoffice being in 
 his store. 
 
 WILLIAM B. MATHEWS. Prominent 
 among the well known and highly respected cit- 
 izens of Plumas county is William B. Mathews, 
 who is serving as postmaster at Johnsville, and 
 is also agent for the Wells-Fargo Express Com- 
 pany at that place. Of Welsh descent on the pa- 
 ternal side, he was born, April 10, 1857, i" 
 Pomeroy, Meigs county, Ohio, a son of the late 
 David Mathews. 
 
 Born and reared in Wales, David Mathews 
 was there employed in mining for a number of 
 
 years. In 1854, shortly after attaining his ma- 
 jority, he immigrated to the United States, and 
 in the ensuing years visited many of the central 
 states, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wis- 
 consin and Missouri. Not finding a desirable 
 place in which to locate permanently, he came 
 to California in 1862, and for about eight years 
 worked for wages in the mining region of How- 
 land Flat, Sierra county. Saving some money he 
 then filed on government land in the Sierra val- 
 ley, Plumas county, and having improved a 
 ranch was there actively engaged in general 
 farming until his death, March 8, 1902, at the 
 age of three score and ten years. He married 
 Mary Bowen, a native of Meigs county, Ohio, 
 and she is still living, being now a resident of 
 Beckwith. 
 
 Coming with his parents to California when 
 a boy of five years, William B. Mathews re- 
 mained at home until twenty-one )-ears old, when 
 he began working on a ranch, earning enough 
 money to pay his way through the Pacific Busi- 
 ness College in San Francisco. The following two 
 years he was employed in the mines at Howland 
 Flat, after which he was clerk in a store in 
 Johnsville for a number of years. Giving up his 
 position he operated a ranch and carried on a 
 hotel at Alohawk for three years, being quite 
 successful in his undertakings. Returning to 
 Johnsville, he was appointed postmaster in July, 
 1899, by President McKinley, and has since 
 served ably and satisfactorily to all concerned. 
 At the same time he was made agent of the 
 Wells-Fargo Express Company, and since 1888 
 he has also been notary public. 
 
 August 13, 1886, Mr. Mathews married Flor- 
 ence E. Woodward, who was born in Plumas 
 county, a daughter of George Woodward, of 
 whom a brief sketch appears elsewhere in this 
 volume. Seven children have blessed the union 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Mathews, of whom two died in 
 infancy, and five are living, namely : Qiester D., 
 Nelson G., Arthur J., Llewellyn and Alice. Po- 
 litically Mr. Mathews is a stanch supporter of 
 the principles of the Republican party, and fra- 
 ternallv he is a member of Mohawk Lodge No. 
 292, I. O. O. F., of Johnsville, and of Ouincy 
 Lodge No. 127, A. O. U. W., of Quincy. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 00! 
 
 REV. THOMAS GRACE. The Right 
 Reverend Thomas Grace, bishop of the dio- 
 cese of Sacramento, Cathedral of the Most 
 Holy Sacrament, is one of the most prominent 
 figures in the Roman Catliolir Church, whose 
 interests he has zealously upheld throughout his 
 entire career as a churchman, covering a period 
 of almost a half century. A son of James 
 Grace, who was of Norman extraction and a de- 
 scendant of the famous Raymond Le Gros, of 
 the twelfth century, he is a native of county 
 Wexford, Ireland, born in 1841, and in the local- 
 ity of his birth he was reared to young manhood. 
 A preliminary education was received through 
 the medium of the private schools in the vicinity 
 of his home, after which he was given instruc- 
 tion at St. Peter's, Wexford, by Bishop Furlong. 
 Later he became a student at All Hallows Col- 
 lege, Dublin, and in that city was ordained to 
 the priesthood in the year 1867. In September 
 of the same year he came to California and in 
 this state first had charge of the parish at Red 
 Bluff, Tehama coimty, being the first pastor of 
 that church. During this pastorate he built the 
 Convent of Mercy and through his endeavors 
 materially increased the congregation. He made 
 many friends who regretted his removal to Grass 
 Valley in 1870, his pastorate there continuing 
 until 1874, when he was transferred to Marys- 
 ville, Yuba county. In July, 1881, he came to 
 the city of Sacramento and here assumed charge 
 as pastor of St. Rose's Church, which position he 
 filled acceptably until he became bishop in 1896. 
 He stands exceptionally high among the digni- 
 taries of his church, and is as well accorded a 
 high place as a citizen, his best efforts and most 
 unselfish endeavors having been given to ad- 
 vance the general welfare of the city where he 
 has made his home for nearly a quarter of a 
 century. 
 
 In 1890 Rev. Father Grace took a trip to 
 Europe, visiting among other places the scenes 
 of his early childhood. In 1905 he made his 
 official visit to Rome, at the same time visiting 
 almost all the European countries. In 1900 Mrs. 
 Jane Stanford deeded the former Stanford man- 
 sion in Sacramento to Rev. Father Grace. This 
 was dedicated in 1904 as the Stanford Lathrop 
 13 
 
 Home for Friendless Children, now in charge 
 of the Sisters of Mercy. Under his auspices 
 the Mater Miser Icordiae Hospital was built in 
 1898, and this also is in charge of the Sisters 
 of Mercy. As the result of the efforts of 
 Father Grace the Christian Brothers College 
 has recently been enlarged by the addition of a 
 west wing. Not the least worthy of notice of 
 the many enterprises with which he has had 
 to do is St. Stephen's Giurch, at the corner of 
 Third and P streets, in the erection of which he 
 matcriallv assisted. 
 
 COL. EDWIN A. FORBES. The genealogy 
 
 of Edwin A. Forbes of Marysville reverts to the 
 Scottish Highlands. For many generations the 
 male ancestors were soldiers in the Highland regi- 
 ments of the British army, chiefly the Gordon 
 Highlanders. As an adjutant of this regiment 
 the grandfather, John Forbes, bore a part in 
 numerous engagements, among them the memor- 
 able battle of Waterloo. After a service of twen- 
 ty-one years in the same regiment he resigned 
 his commission and immigrated to Canada, where 
 he served as an adjutant of the East Canadian 
 militia during the Fenian outbreak. At the time 
 of his death he had passed his ninetieth year. 
 From him his descendants inherited mental en- 
 dowment of no common order, and several of his 
 sons were university graduates and successful 
 professional men. 
 
 The father of Colonel Forbes was Alexander 
 R. Forbes, who was born in Scotland and grew 
 to manhood in Canada, coming from that coun- 
 try to the Pacific coast at an early age. For 
 some time he followed the blacksmith's trade in 
 addition to trying his luck at various inining 
 camps. For a time he worked in Sierra county, 
 Cal.. but in 1867 settled upon a farm, the Ore- 
 gon House valley, Yuba county, where he added 
 stock-raising to the growing of grain. From the 
 time of his arrival in California in 185 1 until 
 bis death in 1897 he was warmly interested in 
 the growth and progress of the state, in which 
 he bore his part as a public-spirited citizen and 
 progressive farmer. After coming west he mar- 
 ried Catherine Kraker, who was born in Ger- 
 
5G0 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 many and came to America at twelve years of 
 age. Their son, Edwin A., was born at Brandy 
 City, Sierra county, Cal, July 20, i860, and was 
 seven years of age when the family settled on 
 a farm. While still a mere lad he began to as- 
 sist in the cultivation of the farm and the work 
 of the blacksmith's shop. A favorite pastime of 
 those years was riding over the ranges after 
 stock, through which work he developed a fine 
 phvsicjue and robust constitution. Meanwhile his 
 education was not neglected. During such months 
 of the vear as schools were in session he was in 
 attendance and thus acquired a fund of knowl- 
 edge sufificient to win for him a first-grade teach- 
 er's certificate at the age of eighteen years, his 
 standing being second in a class of twenty-four 
 applicants. For three years he taught school in 
 Yuba county. The savings thus secured were 
 utilized in defraying his expenses in the law de- 
 partment of the State University. During the 
 ensuing three years he taught school in vaca- 
 tions from the university, or, when a school could 
 not be secured, he worked in the harvest fields, 
 also for a time clerked in a law office in San 
 Francisco. By means of the money thus earned 
 he was enabled to complete his law course. In 
 May of 1884 he was graduated from the Hast- 
 ings Law College. 
 
 A month after graduation iNIr. Forbes opened 
 a law office at Marysville, and in 1885 formed a 
 partnership with ^^'allace Dinsmore, which, under 
 the firm name of Forbes & Dinsmore, was con- 
 tinued for twenty years. During July after his 
 arrival ]\Ir. Forbes was nominated for district 
 attorney of Yuba county, and in November won 
 the election, after which he contintied to fill the 
 position efficiently until 1892, a period of four 
 terms. As a practitioner his work has been va- 
 ried, including corporation, probate and criminal 
 practice. Scarcely- any criminal cases have been 
 tried in northern California for yeats in which 
 he has not been interested. In his defense of 
 Brady, Green, Campbell (tried for the murder 
 of a mining superintendent at Oroville), Schmidt 
 (for the murder of Mrs. Gardmeyer in Sutttr 
 county) and Buchanan (accused of the murder 
 of Billv Miles) he saved each from the death 
 penalty, his defense of Buchanan being on the 
 
 ground that he was insane. Besides their private 
 practice, he and his partner were attorneys for 
 the Rideout Bank, Bay Counties Fower Com- 
 pany, Marysville & Yuba City Street Railway, 
 etc., entailing upon them numerous responsibil- 
 ities. Owing to the increase of V.is personal busi- 
 ness afifairs Colonel Forbes aud Mr. Dinsmore 
 dissolved their co-partnership January i, 1905. 
 
 Mr. Forbes then retired from general practice, 
 still continuing his private and corporation prac- 
 tice in the afifairs in which he is interested. He 
 is the owner of a stock ranch of five thousand 
 acres in Yuba county, the principal owner of the 
 Marysville & Yuba City Street Railroad, a large 
 ownei of dredging lands on the Yuba river, presi- 
 dent of the New Era Gravel Mining Company, 
 formerly vice-president of the Sacramento Val- 
 ley Development Association, ex-president of the 
 Marysville Chamber of Commerce, and president 
 of a number of private corporations. Through 
 his efforts the Brown's Valley irrigation district 
 was formed and the waters of the Yuba river 
 brought over the dry foothills of Yuba county. 
 He negotiated the sale of the Brown's valley 
 mines. Another important enterprise was the 
 interesting of capital in the development of the 
 Yuba river power resources, resulting in the or- 
 ganization of the Bay Counties Power Company, 
 owners of the most remarkable electric plant in 
 the entire state. In January, 1905, he became 
 sole owner of the Marysville Appeal, a daily Re- 
 publican paper founded in the early '50s, and 
 one of the oldest papers in northern California. 
 
 The marriage of Colonel Forbes was solemn- 
 ized in Sierra county and united him with Miss 
 Jennie Yore, who was born there and is a grad- 
 uate of Notre Dame College at San Jose. Of 
 their union two children were born. Hazel J. and 
 Floyd. Mrs. Forbes is a daughter of Peter Yore, 
 a pioneer of 1849, who built the Sleighville hotel, 
 also built and owned the Sierra turnpike extend- 
 ing from Camptonville to Downieville. In his 
 community he continued to be a man of influence 
 and prominence until his death, which occurred 
 in 1887 in Sierra county. 
 
 Any narrative of the life of Colonel Forbes 
 would be incomplete without mention of his mil- 
 itary career. As early as 1879 he joined Com- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 561 
 
 pany E, First Artillery, Fourth Brigfade, Cali- 
 fornia National Guard. Upon its reorganization 
 in T882 he joined Company C, Eighth Regiment, 
 which was called out in the railroad strike of 
 July, 1894. From Governor Markham, Septem- 
 ber 17, 1894, he received a commission raising 
 him to the rank of captain. When the regiment 
 was merged into the Second Regiment. Governor 
 Rudd commissioned him captain of Company D. 
 Fehruary 3, 1896, he was chosen lieutenant-col- 
 onel of the Second California National Guard, 
 and with his regiment enlisted in the Spanish- 
 American war, July 12. 1898. about the same 
 time receiving a commission as major of the 
 Eighth California Infantry, United States Volun- 
 teers, the commission dating from July 8, 1898. 
 At Camp Barrett he was commander of the third 
 battalion and after commanding at Benicia was 
 transferred to the first battalion, assigned to Van- 
 couver barracks. For three months he was in 
 command at that large post and the troops there 
 stationed were from Oregon and Washington, to- 
 gether with detachments of regulars from Al- 
 aska. In December, 1898, he was detailed to the 
 command of Angel Island, where he had two 
 companies of the Eighth Regiment and one bat- 
 tery of heavy artillery in the signal corps. There 
 he continued in command until mustered out of 
 the service January 28, 1899. While at Van- 
 couver he served on many important government 
 details, including the board of survey; and with 
 the examining boards was called upon to drill 
 the battalions when the regular army officers 
 were being examined for promotion from lieu- 
 tenant to captain. Since the expiration of the 
 war he has continued as lieutenant-colonel of the 
 Eighth Regiment of National Guard. 
 
 In the Guard Colonel Forbes has a reputa- 
 tion as a crack shot. As captain of the Marys- 
 ville company, in 1895, he broke the world's rec- 
 ord for target shooting with fifty men. In sharp- 
 shooting with rifle and revolver he has frequent- 
 ly won the championship. Political matters have 
 engaged his attention and such has been his prom- 
 inence in the Republican party that in 1900 he 
 was chosen chairman of the state convention at 
 Sacramento. Under his appointment was formed 
 the executive committee of the Republican party 
 
 which successfully managed the campaign of that 
 year. In 1900 he was a candidate for congress 
 from the second district of California, but was 
 defeated by one vote in the Santa Cruz conven- 
 tion. Fraternally he was made a Mason in Cor- 
 inthian Lodge No. 9, F. & A. M.; is affiliated 
 with Washington Chapter No. 13, R. A. M., 
 and Marysville Comniandery No. 7, K. T. The 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Benevolent 
 Protective Order of Elks, Foresters of America 
 and Woodmen of the World number him among 
 their members, and he is further connected with 
 the Marysville Parlor, N. S. G. W., of which 
 he has officiated as president and which for years 
 he has represented as delegate to the Grand Par- 
 lor. 
 
 Not only in professional circles, but among the 
 general public, it is conceded that Colonel Forbes, 
 as the Nestor of the bar of Marysville. sustains 
 the credit of the profession with dignity and 
 honor. Few men possess equal gifts and few 
 attain a ripeness of intellect so rounded and so 
 profound. The gifts which Nature bestowed up- 
 on him have been cultivated with diligence. Cul- 
 ture and education have supplemented natural 
 endowments. Lofty aspirations have been pur- 
 sued with the fervor of genius and have brought 
 honors and successes professional, political, mili- 
 tary and social. Only a man of broad mind 
 could successfully pursue the varied interests 
 which engage the colonel's attention, but with 
 characteristic versatility he throws himself into 
 each one with enthusiasm, bringing into its man- 
 agement the weight of his sagacious judgment 
 and extended experience. In his success his fel- 
 low-citizens have taken a just pride, recognizing 
 the fact that the residence in Marysville of such 
 men contributes to the prestige of the city. 
 
 EDWARD FRISBIE. Among the promi- 
 nent men of California and especially of the Sac- 
 ramento valley, is Edward Frisbie, now living 
 retired in Oakland. He is a son of Eleazer 
 Blackman and Cynthia (Cornell) Frisbie, both 
 natives of New York state. Tliey owned a farm 
 in the suburbs of Albanv, now included in the 
 
562 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 limits of that city. The father died in 1830, and 
 the mother in 1894, at tlie age of seventy-eight 
 years. They had four sons and one daughter. 
 Of tliese. Gen. John Blackman Frisbie came to 
 California with General Stevenson's regiment in 
 1847, arriving in March of that year, and served 
 in the Mexican war in California, ranking as 
 lieutenant. At the close of the war, in 1848, he 
 located in Solano countv and became associated 
 with General Vallejo in business, and later pur- 
 chased the Vallejo grant; he was the principal 
 in laying out the city of Vallejo, also very active 
 in projecting public improvements of Vallejo and 
 Benicia, both cities being laid out on his land. 
 He was the prime mover in the building of the 
 California Pacific Railroad from Marysville to 
 Sacramento and Vallejo and later other branch 
 roads. He secured the location of the Mare Is- 
 land Navy Yard ; seeing the advisability of lo- 
 cating a navy yard, and the desirable land, he 
 purchased the island from Victor Castro and 
 with others interested the government in estab- 
 lishing this yard on the Pacific coast. In 1877 
 he was appointed representative from Washing- 
 ton to Mexico during the trouble with that coun- 
 try, which negotiations resulted in the choice of 
 General Diaz for president and established the 
 friendly relations that have since existed. He 
 became largely interested in mining and met with 
 good success in that business, as well as becom- 
 ing a large land owner and cattleman ; liking the 
 country so well, he removed his family to Buena 
 Vista, a suburb of the City of Mexico, where he 
 is living practically retired. He married Fanny, 
 a daughter of General Vallejo. 
 
 Dr. Levi C. Frisbie graduated from the Med- 
 ical College at Albany, came to California in 
 1850, practiced medicine, and in time became one 
 of the prominent physicians of the Sacramento 
 valley. He married Adella Vallejo, also a daugh- 
 ter of the general. Cynthia, who died in Syra- 
 cuse, N. Y., was the widow of Patrick Lynch. 
 Edward Frisbie of this review was the fourth in 
 order of birth, and Eleazer, who died in Redding 
 in 1888, came to California with General Steven- 
 son, served as private in the Mexican war, and 
 later became a large rancher in the Sacramento 
 vallev, where he lived after the close of the war. 
 
 Edward Frisbie, bom in Albany, N. Y., No- 
 vember 18, 1826, was educated in the public 
 schools and Albany Academy. At the age of 
 fourteen years (his step-father having met with 
 reverses) he was thrown upon his own resources, 
 to carve out his own future and fortune. His 
 two oldest brothers wanted him to enter college, 
 Init he wanted to be a farmer and secured a place 
 with a Robert Harper, who had been befriended 
 by his father and been partly reared by him ; 
 there he remained a few years, then engaged in 
 farming on his own account near Albany. Four 
 years later he located near Syracuse and em- 
 barked in the dairy business. December 7, 1855, 
 he left New York City for Aspinwall, crossed the 
 Isthmus, then took passage on the John L. Ste- 
 vens for San Francisco. Arriving January i, 
 1856, he proceeded direct to Vallejo, soon after 
 renting a tract of land and beginning as a Cali- 
 fornia rancher. That same year he bought three 
 hundred and forty acres, which he added to as 
 success came to him. In 1877 he went to Shasta 
 county and from J. B. Haggin purchased the 
 Redding grant on Cottonwood creek and Sac- 
 ramento river, consisting of twenty thousand 
 acres, there embarking in the stock business on 
 a large scale. He also bought the town sites 
 laid out on the grant, continued the sale of lots 
 in Anderson and Redding, later made additions 
 to both, cut up his land and sold off as he could 
 find purchasers, and still is largely interested in 
 residence and business properties in Redding and 
 Anderson, besides other land in Shasta county. 
 He erected the building in Redding for the Bank 
 of Northern California, in which he is interested 
 and the president. i\lr. Frisbie has refused all 
 public offices, though a stanch supporter of Re- 
 publican principles, and of all public movements 
 for good government, schools, churches and the 
 advancement of the resources of the valley. . 
 Since 1898 he has spent his summers in Oak- 
 land, and in July of 1905 located permanently 
 on the corner of Nineteenth avenue and Twenty- 
 second street. East Oakland, where he has a 
 comfortable and commodious residence. 
 
 In Albany county, N. Y., Mr. Frisbie was 
 united in marriage, April 16, 1846, with Phoebe 
 Anna Klinck, who was born in New York, a 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 56^ 
 
 daughter of George Klinck, a farmer there; he 
 died while on a visit to California at the home 
 of Mr. Frisbie. Mrs. Frisbie died in 1886, while 
 under treatment in San Francisco. Their eleven 
 children are as follows : C)-nthia Julia, widow 
 of Ezra King, and a resident of Tien-Tsin, China ; 
 Phoebe Anna, deceased, who married E. L. 
 Bailey, casliier in the Bank of Northern Califor- 
 nia at Redding; Alary J., wife of Alvin Dozier, 
 of Anderson ; Caroline Elizabeth, wife of Carl 
 Bornecke. of Oakland ; Levi C, a stockman, who 
 died in San Francisco ; George Charles, of An- 
 derson, a stockman ; Edward G., M. D., gradu- 
 ate of Cooper Medical College, and now prac- 
 ticing in San Francisco ; Nathaniel B., an attor- 
 ney of San Francisco; Adella Louise, widow of 
 the late George W'alden, residing at Claremont, 
 Cal. ; Jennie K., wife of Arthur Barnes of Saticoy, 
 Ventura county, Cal. ; and Henry B., of Rialto, 
 San Bernardino county, Cal., a horticulturist. 
 
 Mr. Frisbie's second marriage united him with 
 Miss Laura A. Walden, and occurred in Red- 
 ding in 1887. She is a native of Napa, Cal., and 
 a daughter of Jerome Bonepart Walden, a na- 
 tive of New York. He came across the plains to 
 California in 1850, served as government in- 
 spector of weights and measures in San Fran- 
 cisco, then went to Sacramento and engaged in 
 business ; thence to Napa. For twenty-five years 
 he was engaged in detective work, then went to 
 Shasta county and retired on account of ill health, 
 dying in Alameda, December 18, 1905, aged sev- 
 enty-six years. His father was John Eccleston 
 ^^'alden, also a native of New York state, and 
 there he died. The wife of J. B. Walden, Myra 
 A. Harrington, was born in St. Johns, N. Y., 
 and died in Saticoy, Cal., in 1891. The four 
 children are: George R., deceased; Jerome B., 
 engaged in the insurance business in San Fran- 
 cisco and residing in Alameda; Laura A., Mrs. 
 Frisbie; and Mabel, the wife of R. M. Steele, 
 Sunday editor of the San Francisco Clironicle. 
 Mrs. Frisbie is a graduate of Napa College and 
 was engaged in educational work for several 
 years. She is a member of the Eighth Avenue 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. and Mrs. Fris- 
 bie have two children, Edwina Fay and J. Ber- 
 nard. 
 
 No greater tribute can be paid a man than that 
 connng unsolicited from his friends, and it has 
 been said of Mr. Frisbie by those who know him 
 best that he is a man of unimpeachable integrity, 
 a devoted friend of education, that no appeal for 
 assistance in behalf of a worthy cause ever failed 
 of his support and co-operation ; that his deeds 
 of kindness are performed in as unostentatious 
 a manner as possible, and to such men as he 
 posterity will always look with feelings of pride 
 and satisfaction, and they are entitled to a per- 
 manent place in the historical literature of this 
 state. 
 
 JAMES O'BRIEN. An honorable place 
 among the representative citizens of the Sacra- 
 mento valley is accorded James O'Brien, who has 
 been identified with the mining interests of Cali- 
 fornia for more than a half century. When he 
 came to the state in 1853 like the great ma- 
 jority of the emigrants of that time he brought 
 nothing to presage the successful career which 
 was to be his, but with the courage of youth, the 
 optimistic nature inherited from his Irish fore- 
 fathers, and the ability to grasp and make use 
 of the multifold opportunities presented, he has 
 overcome all obstacles and compelled fruitful re- 
 turns for his efforts. Age has not robbed him 
 of the energy which has distinguished his life, 
 and although seventy-three years old he still re- 
 tains his activity and interest in business affairs 
 about him, and is still accounted the leading min- 
 ing man and rancher of Yuba county, where he 
 has spent the greater part of his life in the west.' 
 
 A native of County Cork. Ireland. Mr. O'Brien 
 was born May 2, 1832, and when fourteen years 
 of age was brought to the United States by 
 his parents. They settled in Westfield, Mass., 
 and in that locality he worked out for a farmer 
 about five years. Resolving to take a part in 
 the stirring scenes being enacted in California, 
 he left Alassachusetts in May, 1853. and came to 
 the Pacific coast by the Nicaragua route, arriv- 
 ing in San Francisco on the 3d of July of the 
 same year. He made the trip thence to Marys- 
 ville by steamer, after which he went to Bar- 
 ton's bar, on the Yuba river, in Yuba county. 
 Following he spent the summer in the mines and 
 
56i 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the winter seasons in prospecting. For four 
 vears he remained so occupied and in the mean- 
 time had become interested in the irrigation proj- 
 ect of tliis section, and had built the Oroville 
 ditch by contract. In 1858 he built the Boyer 
 ditch, a distance of twenty-five miles, extending 
 from Deer creek to Smartville, and the follow- 
 ing year built the Excelsior ditch, from the South 
 Yuba to Smartville, a distance of about thirty- 
 four miles. In the fall of 1859 he contracted 
 and built the Knights Landing road to Putah 
 creek, extending across Yolo county, and in this 
 way was largely identified with the development 
 of this section of the state. In the fall of the 
 next year he came to Smartville, Yuba county, 
 and bought mining property, and shortly after- 
 ward was associated with Prof. William Ash- 
 burner, Messrs. Walker, Baker and Hage, of San 
 Francisco, in the building of the Packtolas tun- 
 nel, at a cost of $80,000, Of the ten shares Mr. 
 O'Brien was the owner of five, and was accord- 
 ingly made superintendent of the mine, which 
 interests he operated successfully for some years, 
 when they consolidated with the Blue Gravel and 
 Excelsior mines. With the added responsibili- 
 ties he continued in the position for about four 
 years, when the property was sold to eastern 
 capitalists. About that time (1882) there was 
 considerable litigation over mining operations, 
 and the hydraulic process was stopped, thereby 
 causing Mr. O'Brien considerable loss. With- 
 draw-ing to a large extent from mining opera- 
 lions, he turned his attention to farming. Pur- 
 chasing a tract of ninety-two hundred acres on 
 the Yuba river, in Yuba county, he began ranch- 
 ing and stock-raising. He was very success- 
 ful in his work and also fortunate in his choice 
 of land, as later he sold four hundred and forty- 
 two acres to Mr. Hammond for $200 per acre, 
 and twelve hundred acres to Mr. Cranston for 
 $300 and $350 per acre, the latter being just 
 across the river from the other. Mr. Ham- 
 mond has put in two large dredgers, taking out 
 $3,000 per day, and on that location the town 
 of Hammond sprang up in a couple of years. 
 Mr. O'Brien has also bonded four thousand 
 acres to a Mr. Hanford, while he rents the re- 
 mainder of his property for cash on a ten-year 
 
 lease. He still owns over seven thousand acres 
 of land, principally devoted to grazing and the 
 raising of grain. 
 
 Mr. O'Brien is now interested in the promo- 
 tion of an enterprise which promises much to- 
 ward the added development of Yuba county 
 when carried to a successful issue. This is the 
 Nevada and Marysville Water and Power 
 Company, which expects to dam the river at 
 the Narrows, near Smartville, and there to use 
 the water for power, irrigation of the land north 
 of Yuba river, and afterward dredge the river 
 bed, which is rich in gold. This is a great un- 
 dertaking, especially in consideration of the age 
 of Mr. O'Brien, but he confidently expects to 
 carry it through and when completed will stand 
 as one of the best investments in the state. 
 
 In October, i860, Mr. O'Brien was united in 
 marriage with Mary Corby, a native of Ireland, 
 whom he had met before emigrating to the west, 
 and who made the trip to California to become 
 his wife. She died October 10, 1898, leaving the 
 following children : Mary, wife of J. P. Pierce, 
 of Santa Clara, Cal. ; Kittie, wife of Dr. Hol- 
 brook, of San Jose, Cal. ; Josie, Helen and Agnes, 
 at home ; Isabelle, who took the veil in the con- 
 vent at Oakland ; James, a mining man and the 
 owner of Bimker Hill mine, in Plumas county; 
 and William, an assistant to his father in the 
 management of his property. A Democrat in his 
 political convictions, Mr. O'Brien has never cared 
 personally for the emoluments of public office on 
 account of his engrossing business interests. 
 With his family he is a communicant of the 
 Roman Catholic Church, and takes a strong inter- 
 est in its advancement. Through his efiforts the 
 fine church of this denomination was located and 
 built in this locality in an early day, and toward 
 its support since no one man has been more lib- 
 eral. He is an enterprising and substantial citi- 
 zen and is justly entitled to the position of esteem 
 and respect accorded him. 
 
 GEORGE MALAY LOWREY. The trav- 
 eler in the mountain district of Tehama county 
 west of the Sacramento river views with appre- 
 ciable pleasure the Lowrey homestead, wdiich 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 5(15 
 
 occupies a picturesque location on Elder creek 
 in llic foothills of the Coast range. By reason 
 of being the stage station for the tri-weeklv 
 coach from Red Bluff, the ranch welcomes more 
 visitors than other places in the mountain com- 
 munit}-, and it is safe to say that none ever stops 
 here without receiving a cordial, cheery and 
 genial word of greeting that makes of the 
 stranger a warm and appreciative friend. In- 
 deed far and wide Mr. Lowrey is known as a 
 companionable, warm-hearted and kindly man, 
 whose success is richly merited by the exercise 
 of sagacity and high principles of honor. 
 
 A native of Ohio, Mr. Lowrey was born in 
 Montgomery county, October 26, 1826, being 
 the fifth among eight children (four sons and 
 four daughters) comprising the family of James 
 and Nancy (Stoker) Lowrey, natives respective- 
 ly of Kentucky and Virginia. His father, who 
 settled in Ohio during young manhood, followed 
 the occupations of miller and distiller, and died 
 about 1834; the mother likewise died in Ohio. 
 After having received a common-school educa- 
 tion George M. Lowrey at the age of seventeen 
 years started out in the world for himself and 
 for a time was employed at the Mount Savage 
 iron works in Maryland, later following the car- 
 pentering trade irr'that state for three years. 
 Upon his return' to Ohio he continued at his 
 trade and also took contracts for building. 
 
 During the rnemorable year of 1849 Mr. Low- 
 rey crossecV'the plains with mule teams and after 
 an uneventful journey of four months landed 
 at Sacramento on the 15th of August. Very 
 shortly afterward he went to the American river 
 mines five miles above Coloma, but soon pro- 
 ceeded to Dry Diggings. In the spring of 1850 
 he built a house between Nevada City and Sac- 
 ramento and carried on a hotel for the accommo- 
 dation of emigrants, giving to his place the name 
 of Indian Springs. At the expiration of two 
 years he gave up the hotel business and went 
 to Sacramento, where he followed the teaming 
 business. During the fall of 1863 he returned 
 to Ohio via the Nicaragua route and the follow- 
 ing year again crossed the plains, this time bring- 
 ine with him a band of horses. For some years 
 
 he engaged in hauling freight from Sacramento 
 to the mines. Going to San Francisco in the 
 fall of 1857, with a partner he bouglit cattle at 
 Point Reyes ranch and drove them to Monte- 
 zuma hills, Solano county, where he remained 
 in the cattle industry for eight years. Mean- 
 while he also became interested in raising sheep, 
 but sold out in 1870, and with a partner bought 
 ten hundred and forty acres at the present post- 
 office of Lowrey. To his original purchase he 
 added from time to time until he and his partner 
 owned four thousand acres, all utilized for the 
 care and pasturage of sheep. In 1874, in order 
 to purchase his partner's interest, he entailed a 
 heavy indebtedness ; about that time prices of 
 sheep lowered greatly. By taking his flock to 
 Colorado and selling there he saved himself from 
 bankruptcy and came out with a small profit. 
 Having disposed of these seven thousand head, 
 he bought additional flocks and continued in the 
 sheep business on his ranch. Eventually, through 
 a trade, he disposed of twenty-eight hundred and 
 twenty-five acres of his ranch and two thousand 
 head of sheep. Since that time he has handled 
 cattle and hogs, having at this time one hundred 
 and fifty head of cattle and from fifty to one hun- 
 dred head of hogs. A large part of the land is 
 in pasturage, but he has twenty-two acres in al- 
 falfa, which furnishes feed of the best quality 
 for his stock. 
 
 In the early days Mr. Lowrey's home was the 
 distributing point for the mail in all this section 
 of country, and when the postoffice was estab- 
 lished at his house about 1890 he was made post- 
 master, which ofiice he still holds. Not only did 
 he aid in organizing the Lowrey school district, 
 but ever since then he has at frequent intervals 
 held the office of director of the same and aided 
 in the building and supporting the Union Church. 
 In politics he is stanchly Republican and has 
 served as a member of the county central com- 
 mittee of his party. Not a movement has been 
 started for the benefit of this community which 
 has failed of his encouraging assistance and help- 
 ful s\mpathy, and in many ways he has proved 
 himself a "father" to the neighlx)rhoo<l that so 
 long has continued to be his home. 
 
)66 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 In Calvary Presbyterian Onurch of San Fran- 
 cisco, August 29, 1865, occurred the marriage 
 of George M. Lowrey and Sarah Morrow Fos- 
 ter, Rev. Dr. Wadsworth officiating at the cere- 
 mony. Mrs. Lowrey was born near Belfast, Ire- 
 land, March 21, 1836, being the daughter of 
 James Foster, a farmer, cattleman and drover, 
 and a man of the highest standing in that sec- 
 tion of Ireland, where his entire life was passed. 
 The family is among the oldest of the Emerald 
 Isle and an intense loyalty to their country has 
 characterized every generation since the fore- 
 fathers accompanied William III to the battle- 
 field and fought for Ireland. Among the people 
 of Tehama county Mrs. Lowrey shares the high 
 esteem and enviable reputation of her husband, 
 the two numbering a host of friends among all 
 who appreciate culture, the highest courtesy and 
 an unfailing hospitality. In their family are 
 four daughters and three sons, namely: Nellie, 
 wife of J. J. Worthington, of Tehama ; Lizzie, 
 Mrs. A. Peake, of Corning; Rosa, who married 
 G. B. Champlin, of Vina; Katie, who has charge 
 of the postoflice at Tehama ; George, who is en- 
 gaged as head machinist in the soda works at 
 Owens Lake, Inyo county ; Benjamin and James, 
 who yet remain at home with their parents. 
 
 JOHN HUDSON GUILL. Prominent 
 among the most skillful and progressive farmers 
 of Butte county is John Hudson Guill, who has 
 made a thorough study of the business which 
 he is so successfully pursuing, and is an acknowl- 
 edged authority on all questions connected with 
 agriculture and horticulture. His highly im- 
 proved homestead and farm, located in Chico, 
 is a well-appointed and well-kept estate, his stock 
 and machinery being the most desirable, while 
 everything about the premises is indicative of the 
 thrift, industry and keen judgment of the owner. 
 A son of Elijah N. Guill, he was born September 
 27, 1831, in Virginia, coming from Scotch an- 
 cestry, his paternal grandfather having emi- 
 grated from Scotland to Virginia in colonial 
 days. 
 
 Elijah N. Guill was born in old Virginia, and 
 
 as a young man was there employed as a tobacco 
 planter and grower. In 1837 he moved with his 
 family to Missouri, locating in Livingston coun- 
 ty as a farmer and stock raiser. Coming to 
 California in i860, he settled in Butte, near the 
 home of his son, and there resided until his 
 death, in 1864, aged fifty-eight years. He mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Baldwin, who spent her life in 
 Virginia. Her father. Pleasant Baldwin, also 
 a native of Virginia, served in the war of 1812. 
 She bore her husband six children, John Hud- 
 son, with whom this sketch is chiefly concerned, 
 being the eldest child and only son. 
 
 When but six years of age his father removed 
 to Missouri, and there John Hudson Guill re- 
 ceived his first knowledge of books in the dis- 
 trict school. A diligent scholar, with a natural 
 aptitude for learning, he made rapid progress in 
 his studies, and, although he was taken from 
 school when but fourteen years of age, he kept 
 and conned his text books until his marriage, 
 and is yet a close student. In 1849, with eight 
 young men, he came across the plains to Cali- 
 fornia, leaving Missouri with two wagons on 
 May 5, and arriving here on September 27. 
 Cholera was then raging, but Mr. Guill, having a 
 fine constitution and the care of a skillful physi- 
 cian, recovered from the attack which prostrated 
 him. With his companions he engaged in min- 
 ing at Morris Ravine, where, just above the pres- 
 ent site of Oroville, gold of all kinds glistened, 
 from minute particles to small nuggets, but not 
 in sufficient quantities to pay. The little band 
 subsequently traveled through the northern part 
 of the state, drifting from place to place in 
 search of richer fields, spending all of their earn- 
 ings. At the end of three years Mr. Guill left 
 the mines, having in his possession a horse and 
 saddle and $300 in gold. Locating on his pres- 
 ent homestead on October 5, 1852, he purchased 
 a grant of one hundred and sixty acres of land, 
 lying on what was then called Tim creek, but 
 which he renamed Little Chico creek ; subse- 
 quently he had to buy the place over. He at 
 cince began improvements on his purchase, and 
 from that time until the present fortune has 
 smiled upon his every move. The small house 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 .-.(•,7 
 
 wliicli was liis first liabitation has been replaced 
 by a more modern and conveniently arranged 
 structure, and to his original purchase he has 
 added one hundred and seventy acres more of 
 rich and productive land. For many years he 
 devoted himself to the raising of grain especially, 
 but, in his home ranch, now containing two hun- 
 dred and seventy-six acres, he raises alfalfa prin- 
 cipally. 
 
 Mr. Guill also owns five hundred and seventy 
 acres of hay land in Modoc county. In i860 he 
 introduced into this section of the county the 
 first thoroughbred Durham stock, and subse- 
 quently received a diploma for sweepstakes on 
 the best Durham cattle. He raises fine Berk- 
 shire hogs and Brown Leghorn poultry, on both 
 of which he has taken first premiums at county 
 and state fairs. He has likewise been engaged 
 in dairying to some extent, having in 1880 started 
 the Locust Grove dairy, stocking it with sixty 
 cows, and running milk wagons to town, an in- 
 dustry which proved profitable and satisfactory. 
 
 March 18, i860, Mr. Guill married Mary 
 Jane Bryan, who was born in Missouri, a daugh- 
 ter of John Bryan, a native of Tennessee. Of 
 the nine children born of the union of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Guill. the following attained maturity : 
 Lee Bryan, running an extensive florist's busi- 
 ness on the home place ; Leona, Mrs. S. E. Pot- 
 ter, residing in Chico; Mrs. Jessie Ames, de- 
 ceased ; Ross E. ; Jay Baldwin, residing in Stock- 
 ton ; and Walter B. and John Hudson, Jr., the 
 last two named running the dairy. Mr. Guill 
 is a Republican in politics, and belongs to the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church South. 
 
 WARREN CHARLES STEVENS. Note- 
 worthy among the brave and courageous pio- 
 neers of Butte county was Warren Charles Stev- 
 ens, late of Chico, who for many years was a 
 prominent member of the agricultural commun- 
 ity, and one of its largest landholders. An up- 
 right, honest man, of sterling worth, he was 
 widely known throughout this section of the 
 state, and was everywhere respected. During 
 his long residence here he witnessed wonderful 
 
 changes in the face of the country, and in the 
 grand transformation took an active part, spend- 
 ing many of the best years of his useful life 
 ;n redeeming from its original wildness a por- 
 tion of the rich farming lands of this vicinity. 
 A son of Alfred Stevens, he was born, June 23, 
 1835, in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Born and reared in the Keystone state, Alfred 
 Stevens resided there until after his marriage, 
 being employed in agricultural pursuits. Subse- 
 quently migrating with his family to Illinois, he 
 located on a farm in McHenry county, and for 
 a number of years continued in his previous oc- 
 cupation. Going to Chicago to visit relatives 
 and friends, he was taken ill, and died in that 
 city. His wife, whose maiden name was Esther 
 Kellogg, was born in one of the eastern states, 
 and died in Wisconsin. Nine children, seven 
 sons and two daughters, were born of their un- 
 ion, Warren Charles being the second child in 
 order of birth. 
 
 Having obtained his elementary education in 
 the common schools, Warren Charles Stevens 
 completed his studies at a college in Chicago, 
 111., after which he taught school several terms. 
 He subsequently worked for awhile at the cabi- 
 net maker's trade in Illinois, but before finishing 
 his apprenticeship gave it up, and in 1866 came 
 across the plains to California, the Eldorado of 
 ambitious young men. Going directly to Forbes- 
 town, he began life as a miner, but pushing the 
 wheel-barrow so blistered and hurt his hands 
 that he was forced to resign his position. Lo- 
 cating then near Butte City he entered the em- 
 ploy of a Mr. Boggs as sheep shearer, but soon 
 afterward engaged in business for himself as a 
 drover and cattle buyer. He disposed of his 
 cattle in the mining regions, and was very success- 
 ful in his undertaking, often clearing $1,000 per 
 month. In 1868 he invested his accumulations 
 in land, buying his home property of six hundred 
 and forty acres, lying five miles south of Qiico, 
 on the Dayton road. By dint of perseverance, 
 thrift and excellent management and judgment, 
 he met with marked success in his undertakings, 
 from time to time purchasing more land, until 
 in his homestead alone he had twelve hundred 
 
568 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and sixty acres. He also bought land in differ- 
 ent localities, becoming owner of a timber claim 
 of one hundred and sixty acres on Doe Mill 
 ridge, of a tract equally as large lying twelve 
 miles northeast of Chico, and of seven hundred 
 and twenty acres of grazing land near Burns, 
 Ore., where he formerly was engaged with his 
 brother in the raising of horses. Mr. Stevens 
 was a practical and skilful agriculturist, and as 
 one of the representative citizens of Butte county 
 his death, which occurred March 3, 1905, was a 
 cause of general regret. 
 
 September 18, 1872, in Butte county. Gal, Mr. 
 Stevens married Mary G. McEnespy, who was 
 born in Bedford county, Pa., a daughter of Rich- 
 ard and Anna Eliza (Creutzberg) McEnespy. 
 Richard McEnespy was born on the Atlantic 
 ocean, while his parents were en route from Ire- 
 land to the United States. He was reared and 
 educated in Pennsylvania, living there until 1854, 
 when he came by way of Cape Horn to Cali- 
 fornia. Going to Forbestown, he worked for 
 awhile in the mines, then took up land near 
 Chico, and embarked in farming and stock rais- 
 ing. Becoming well established, he sent for his 
 family in 1867, and they soon joined him, com- 
 ing bv way of the Isthmus. Five children were 
 born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, 
 namely: a son that died in infancy; Richard, of 
 Chico; Esther, deceased; Edith, engaged in 
 teaching at Nord ; and Warren, living at home. 
 Mrs. Stevens, a woman of culture and ability, 
 is administrator of the large estate left by her 
 husband, and will make her home on the farm, 
 ahhough she will rent the land. Politically Mr. 
 Stevens supported the principles of the Republi- 
 can party, and fraternally he was prominent in 
 Masonic circles, belonging to Qiico Lodge No. 
 Ill, F. & A. M.; to Cliico Chapter, R. A. M.; to 
 Chico Commandery, K. T. ; and to the Chico 
 Chapter, O. E. S., of which Mrs. Stevens is a 
 member. 
 
 HON. RICHARD M. CLARKEN. As jus- 
 tice of the peace of Sacramento township, Sac- 
 ramento countv, Hon. Richard M. Clarken is sus- 
 taining the reputation for ability and judgment. 
 
 energy and thorough qualification for holding 
 public office won by him in the earlier part of 
 his career in the county. Upon the death of Jay 
 R. Brown in 1904 he was appointed to fill the of- 
 fice of justice of the peace thus left vacant. 
 
 Of southern birth and parentage, Richard M. 
 Clarken was born in the city of Charleston, S. 
 C, August 18, 1839, and is a son of John and 
 Agnes Clarken. Although born in South Caro- 
 lina he was reared and educated in Kentucky, be- 
 ing enrolled among the pupils in the Jesuit col- 
 lege in Bardstown, Nelson county, that state. 
 The day on which he left Kentucky for Califor- 
 nia, November 6, i860, was also memorable in 
 history as the day on which Abraham Lincoln 
 was first elected president. On reaching the 
 state he joined his parents at Folsom City, Sac- 
 ramento county, where his father was filling the 
 position of postmaster. He had received his ap- 
 pointment at the hands of President Pierce, and 
 was continued in office under President Buchan- 
 an. He was a justice of the peace and a large 
 property owner in the county. During his 
 father's incumbency as postmaster Richard M. 
 Clarken found many an opportunity to assist in 
 the various duties connected with the office, and 
 it is to this point in his career that he dates his 
 first work of a public character. Upon reaching 
 this state he was well prepared for teaching, 
 though he took up newspaper work in Sacra- 
 mento a short time and later taught in San Jose 
 in a preparatory school conducted by the Jesuits. 
 In 1867-68 he was elected by the assembly en- 
 grossing clerk of the seventeenth session of that 
 body. Later he went to Napa county and taught 
 in the public schools of Yountville one year, after 
 which he returned to Sacramento county and 
 taught in the public schools for four years. He 
 then removed to San Francisco and for two ses- 
 sions taught in the grammar department of St. 
 Ignatius College. His election to the assembly 
 followed in 1875, and during the session of 1875-6 
 he figured prominently on several important 
 committees. In the meantime he had studied 
 law, and upon retiring from state duties he re- 
 turned to San Francisco for the practice of his 
 profession, continuing there until 1879. While 
 in that city he was a candidate for delegate to the 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 569 
 
 constitutional convention which met in Sacra- 
 mento in 1879, hut with the rest of his party he 
 was defeated, the candidates on the working- 
 men's ticket receivin^^ the majority of votes. 
 
 Taking up his permanent residence in Sacra- 
 mento in 1880, Judge Clarken entered actively 
 into the practice of law in partnership with Judge 
 John W. Armstrong, an association which was 
 both remunerative and congenial, but owing to 
 the election of the latter as judge of the superior 
 court a dissolution of partnership was made nec- 
 essary. Subsequently Judge Clarken was asso- 
 ciated with R. T. Devlin, now United States dis- 
 trict attorney, but the latter being appointed by 
 Governor Stoneman as state's prison director, 
 their partnership was necessarily dissolved. He 
 then formed a partnership with H. C. Ross for 
 the practice of his profession. He has served as 
 a member of the Democratic county central com- 
 mittee, as well as the city central committee. In 
 various sections he has canvassed the state in the 
 interest of his party, both for national and state 
 campaigns, and is generally sent by his party as 
 delegate to all state conventions. He has been 
 mentioned prominently on two or more occa- 
 sions for Congress, but refused to allow his name 
 to go before the conventions. Once he received 
 the nomination for judge of the superior court, 
 but was defeated ; twice for district attorney, but 
 defeated by a small majority in both cases. Since 
 September 14, 1904, he has filled the office of 
 justice of the peace to the entire satisfaction of 
 all concerned, his office being located at No. 608 
 I street. Judge Clarken is identified with two 
 fraternal orders, Knights of Columbus and 
 Young ATen's Institute. Personally he is a man 
 of earnest, positive nature, of absolute fearless- 
 ness in matters of right and wrong, and of noble 
 characteristics, all of which attributes bind him 
 to his manv friends. 
 
 PETER C. CRUMBAUGH. Identified with 
 the development of California ever since the 
 eventful year of 1849, Mr. Crumbaugh has been 
 a resident of Red Bluff for forty-five years and 
 more, and during this long period has won and 
 retained the friendship of a large circle of ac- 
 
 quaintances, among whom he is honored as a re- 
 sourceful pioneer and progressive citizen. Tlie 
 family which he represents is of southern lineage 
 and was established in America at anv early day. 
 His father, John, was a native of Maryland, and 
 in childhood accompanied his parents to Ohio, 
 settling in Shelby county, where he passed the 
 years of youth. There in his early manhood he 
 met and married Elizabeth Maderis, who was 
 horn in North Carolina. Tlie children born of 
 their marriage were named as follows : Solo- 
 mon, Willmoth, Peter C, Mary, John, William, 
 Daniel, Martin, Thomas. Sarah. Jane and Sam- 
 uel, all of whom arc deceased with the exception 
 of the third son. The parents died when quite 
 aged, the father passing away at the Ohio home- 
 stead in 1885, after eighty-five useful years, and 
 the mother dying at the same place in 1870. To 
 their descendants they left the heritage of hon- 
 ored lives and kindly deeds. 
 
 The Ohio home where Peter C. Crumbaugh 
 was born, November 5, 1828, is still familiar to 
 him by the memories of boyhood and youth. In 
 neighboring schools he studies the three R's, 
 but in common with many of that day, the school 
 of experience has been of greater value to him 
 than the log cabin of those days, and the broad 
 information of the present has been acquired 
 principally by observation and self-culture. 
 When news reached his neighborhood concern- 
 ing the discovery of gold in the west he de- 
 termined to seek his fortune across the moun- 
 tains, but money was very scarce, and when he 
 landed at Peoria, 111., he spent the winter in such 
 work as could be obtained, hoping thereby to 
 earn the needed money for the journey. In the 
 spring he entered into an agreement with a com- 
 pany by which they were to pay his expenses 
 and receive in return one-half of his first year's 
 salary. Under these conditions he crossed the 
 plains and after his arrival at Hangtown, Au- 
 gust 26, 1850, tried his luck in the mines. Next 
 he bought fifteen nniles at Sacramento and start- 
 ed for Gold Gulch, but on reaching Trinidad 
 Bay he changed his plans and started out inde- 
 pendentlv. Proceeding to Salmon river he es- 
 tablished and conducted a trading post. As 
 
570 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 early as i860 he came to Red Bluff, where he 
 has since been interested in agriculture, with a 
 specialty of stock-raising. 
 
 Not long after coming to his present location 
 Mr. Crumbaugh established domestic ties. His 
 marriage, September 3, 1861, united him with 
 Miss Nellie Warden, who was born in Massa- 
 chusetts July 26, 1841, being a daughter of M. 
 Warden, an easterner by birth and descent. In 
 the Warden family there were, besides herself, 
 the following children : Emily, who married 
 R. S. Collins, of Willows, this state; Jerusha A., 
 who married James Phillips, and died in Red 
 Blufif in 1902 ; Windsor D., whose home is in 
 the vicinity of Red Bluff; Martha, the widow of 
 J. Lawrence and a resident of Los Angeles ; and 
 George, whose home is in Red Bluff. While Mr. 
 and Mrs. Crumbaugh have no children of their 
 own, they have given a home to Emma A. Rambo 
 since her earliest infancy and have cared for her 
 with the deepest parental devotion. In fraternal 
 relations Mr. Crumbaugh holds membership with 
 the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Red 
 Bluff', while in religious matters, though not per- 
 sonallv identified with any denomination, he has 
 contributed to the maintenance of the iMethodist 
 Episcopal Church, in which his wife and adopt- 
 ed daughter are earnest workers. As a citizen 
 he gives his co-operation to movements for the 
 upbuilding of his home city and county, believ- 
 ing them to offer superior inducements to pro- 
 gressive settlers and proving by his long resi- 
 dence his devotion to their interests. Year by 
 year the muster roll of the Forty-niners de- 
 creases as one by one they start upon that long 
 journey from which none returns ; and when his 
 name shall have been added to the number of the 
 departed pioneers his memory will remain sacred 
 to those who honor the founders of our great 
 commonwealth. 
 
 JOHN EDWIN REID. A residence in Cali- 
 fornia covering more than twenty years has 
 brought to Mr. Reid an intimate knowledge of 
 the soil, climate and possibilities of the northern 
 half of the state, particularly of Yolo and Te- 
 hama counties, where successively he has made 
 
 his home since coming from Illinois. It was 
 during the year 1897 that he arrived in Tehama 
 county as a permanent settler and purchased, in 
 conjunction with a brother, W. T., a tract of six 
 thousand acres lying near Kirkwood. Since that 
 time he has been managing superintendent of the 
 property, his brother being absorbed in the du- 
 ties of proprietor of the Belmont school in San 
 Mateo county, of which institution he was the 
 founder. While the large ranch is available for 
 cereal-raising and usually from twelve hundred 
 to fifteen hundred acres are sown to wheat and 
 barley each year, the industry in which the own- 
 ers engage most extensively and through which 
 they are best known is the manufacture of cheese 
 and the sale of dairy products. Excellent facili- 
 ties are afforded for the pasturage and care of 
 stock, including the dairy herd of one hundred 
 and forty cows. Tlie output of cheese, which 
 averages three hundred and forty pounds per 
 day, is shipped to the coast markets, where its 
 recognized superiority brings a ready sale. 
 
 In tracing the history of the Reid family we 
 find that George W. Reid, a Kentuckian by birth, 
 removed to Illinois at an early period and settled 
 among the pioneers of Morgan county, where he 
 died in 1848. Throughout all of his active life 
 he engaged in tilling the soil. While yet a 
 young man he married Martha Williams, a native 
 of Lexington, Ky., who is still living and in the 
 enjoyment of good health. Of their four chil- 
 dren (all of whom were sons), John Edwin was 
 second in order of birth, and was born on the 
 Morgan county homestead January 14, 1845. 
 The death of his father deprived him of the wise 
 oversight of that parent and threw him upon his 
 own resources at an early age. However, his 
 educational facilities were not neglected, for he 
 was enabled to supplement attendance at com- 
 mon schools by a course of study in the Illinois 
 College at Jacksonville. On the completion of 
 his studies he remained in Morgan county, being 
 engaged in farming and for a time also operating 
 as a manufacturer of brick in Jacksonville. 
 
 On closing out his interests in Illinois and re- 
 moving to California in 1883, Mr. Reid estab- 
 lished his home in Yolo county, where he acquired 
 a fruit ranch of one hundred and sixty acres. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 571 
 
 Diirincf tlie eleven years of his residence on that 
 place he greatly enhanced its value through his 
 systematic improvements and at the same time he 
 gained a large circle of friends in his neighbor- 
 hood and at Winters, his postoffice and market 
 town. During 1896 he went to San Francisco 
 and the following year came to Tehama county, 
 where he has since made his home on the large 
 place near Kirkwood, and with indefatigable en- 
 ergy has superintended its responsible duties. So 
 closely has his attention been given to the super- 
 vision of the property that he has had little leis- 
 ure for association with matters of public mo- 
 ment or movements for the benefit of the people, 
 vet his co-operation may always be relied upon 
 to advance worthy measures, and as school trus- 
 tee he rendered efficient service in the educational 
 interests of Tehama county. Though a believer 
 in Republican principles he is not a partisan and 
 has no further interest in politics beyond that of 
 the public-spirited citizen. Before leaving Illi- 
 nois he married I^Iiss Hannah Moody, who was 
 born in Massachusetts, but as a girl lived in 
 Jacksonville, 111., where her education was 
 secured in local schools. Of their union four 
 children were born, namely: Roy E., who is 
 now a student in the University of California ; 
 George S., at home; Frederick M., a student in 
 Belmont school of which his uncle is the pro- 
 prietor ; and Irene, who remains with her par- 
 ents. 
 
 CAPT. ELBRIDGE GERRY REED. A 
 Scotch emigrant established the Reed family in 
 the New England states, where members of the 
 name have become prominent in public affairs. 
 From Massachusetts the family became located 
 in Maine, where William Reed was born and 
 married Hannah Hutchings, a native of that 
 state. Of this union were born nine children, 
 of whom only one is now living so far as known. 
 William Reed followed the sea and was owner 
 and captain of the ship, the William Reed, while 
 he also had an interest in several other vessels. 
 He was a man of strong principles, a Methodist 
 in religion, and up to the time of the Civil war 
 a Democrat in politics. After that historic strug- 
 
 gle he was an advocate of the principles of the 
 Republican party. A son of this family, El- 
 bridge Ci. Reed was born in the territory of 
 Maine, January 11, 1819, and as a child was 
 taken to Maine, where, until attaining the ape of 
 fourteen years, he attended the public schools 
 in pursuit of an education. He then entered 
 upon a sea-faring life, going before the mast on 
 his father's ship, and so rapid was his progress 
 that a year later he was made mate. He con- 
 tinued to attend school during the winters for 
 a short time, .^t the age of eighteen years he 
 had command of the schooner Diamond, and fol- 
 lowing was at various times in charge of dif- 
 ferent vessels. At twentv-three he was com- 
 mander of the brig Lamertine, in the West India 
 trade. He was captain of the schooner Odd Fel- 
 low, a packet from Augusta, Me., to Boston, 
 and also commanded the brig Arab, from Gard- 
 ner, Me., used in the coal trade. 
 
 In the year of the gold excitement in Califor- 
 nia Captain Reed came to San Francisco on the 
 Rob Roy, after which, in company witli others, 
 he built the steamer Kennebec, to ply on the 
 Sacramento river between Sacramento and 
 Marysville. During this time William Reed, a 
 brother of the captain's, was in command while 
 Captain Reed acted as mate. They were very 
 successful in this enterprise and accumulated 
 considerable means, after which the vessel was 
 sold. Captain Reed then became mate on the 
 San Joaquin for Capt. \\'illiam Moore, with 
 whom he remained for a short time, when he 
 purchased the United States hotel in Sacramento 
 and conducted it successfully for two years. Dis- 
 posing of this interest, in the spring of 1852 lie 
 came to Red Bluff, building the first frame house 
 in the town. Here he established a hotel which 
 became famous throughout this section of the 
 country, every hunter and miner finding at one 
 time or another comfort and hospitality with the 
 captain. The early merchants of Red Bluff also 
 made their home in his hostelry, while every 
 traveler enjoyed the comforts dispensed there. 
 It is a well remembered fact that the comforts 
 of Captain Reed's home were dispensed as lav- 
 ishly to the penniless traveler fes the one who 
 could pay his way, for this old pioneer gave lib- 
 
572 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 erall_v of tlie means which blessed his efforts, 
 lending a helping hand to all in need, and send- 
 ing many a fellow-being on his way happier and 
 better for the help that had been given him. In 
 1870 Captain Reed built a comfortable and sub- 
 stantial brick house on his ranch, which at that 
 time consisted of two hundred acres. He has 
 since sold a part of the same for $100 per acre, 
 retaining one hundred and twenty acres in the 
 home place, which has since been devoted to 
 general farming. 
 
 In 1843 Captain Reed married Susan Randall, 
 a native of Augusta, Me., and a daughter of 
 Capt. Samuel Randall. Born of this union were 
 six children, of whom the following are living: 
 Ellen M., wife of A. W. Bishop, of Oakland, 
 Cal. ; Alvira B.. wife of Charles Adams, of Sac- 
 ramento ; and Annie, wife of William Cahoon, 
 cashier of the Tehama Bank, at Red Bluff. Mrs. 
 Reed died in 1879, ^"^^ ^^ter Captain Reed mar- 
 ried ]\Irs. Emily A. Eastman, widow of Harvey 
 Eastman. She was born in Northern Vermont 
 and crossed the plains in 1864. Captain Reed 
 is located on his ranch adjoining Red Bluff on 
 Reed's creek, and although advanced in years is 
 still hale and hearty, a'ld enjoys recounting the 
 events of his long and eventful life. He holds 
 a high place in the esteem of all who know him, 
 who appreciate him for the qualities of citizen- 
 ship displayed for over half a century. 
 
 WILLIAM R. GALLUP. A farmer and 
 rancher of Sacramento, Cal., William Randall 
 Gallup, a son of Nehemiah Mason Gallup, was 
 born in Stonington, Conn., May 19, 1828. The 
 latter was also a native of Connecticut, his birtli 
 having occurred in New London, February 12, 
 1785. Nehemiah Mason Gallup grew to man- 
 hood in Connecticut, and there married, on April 
 26, 1812, Huldah Wheeler, a native of Stoning- 
 ton. She died November 6, 1834, while he lived 
 to January 21, 1871. Mr. Gallup's grandfather, 
 Nehemiah Gallup, born June 19, 1751, was of 
 the sixth generation of the family, and, as a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary war, received a 
 pension of $8 per month. He married Eliza- 
 beth Brown, January 28, 1783. The first Ameri- 
 
 can emigrant of the family, John Gallup, the 
 son of another John Gallup, was a native of 
 England. He came to Boston, in 1630, from 
 Dorsetshire, where he was born. 
 
 The primary education of William R. Gallup 
 was received in the district school in the vicinity 
 of his home, after which he attended a select 
 school taught by Prof. John Avery. Following 
 this he taught school for five terms, after which, 
 on the 3rd of April, 1853, he started for Cali- 
 fornia by way of Panama. Arriving safely in 
 this state May 7, he came direct to Sacramento, 
 and was employed for a time by Josiah Gallup 
 as a teamster, hauling to the various mining dis- 
 tricts, and later engaged in teaming for himself. 
 From 1858 to 1863 he was engaged in forward- 
 ing freight, supplying miners in the outlying 
 districts, and furnishing die teamsters with hay 
 and grain. About this time he became inter- 
 ested in the raising of sheep. 
 
 In 1863 he returned to Connecticut, and was 
 married May 3, 1864, after which, with his wife, 
 he returned to this state. His sheep business 
 became more extensive in the passing years, and 
 as his means increased he invested in land, prin- 
 cipally in Yolo county, becoming the owner of 
 over five thousand acres, having disposed of part 
 of his original ranch of seventeen hundred and 
 sixty acres. Although he raises some cattle and 
 hogs, the greater part of his attention is given 
 to the sheep industry, his band now numbering 
 about three thousand head. His annual wool 
 clip amounts to many thousands of pounds and 
 brings him large financial returns. A part of 
 his extensive ranch is adapted to agricultural 
 purposes and is used as such. 
 
 May 3, 1864, Mr. Gallup was united in mar- 
 riage with Eliza A. Morgan, a daughter of John 
 and Mary Morgan, of Ledyard, Conn., in which 
 place she was born August 14, 1842. They be- 
 came the parents of two daughters, Ida May 
 and Effa Morgan, the wife of Joseph D. Lord, 
 of Sacramento, Cal. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gallup 
 are members of the First Baptist Church, Mr. 
 Gallup having officiated for a number of years 
 as deacon. Their home is located at 1521 I 
 street. In all matters pertaining to the general 
 upbuilding of the Sacramento valley Mr. Gallup 
 
isTo:-:rjAL /.nd biographical record. 
 
 573 
 
 has been a liberal supporter. In politics he lias 
 .supported the Republican i)arty in national is- 
 sues, in local matters supporting men he con- 
 sidered best qualified for the office, regardless 
 of party lines. He was never an aspirant for 
 official honors himself. Mrs. Gallup is a mem- 
 ber of the W. C. T. U.. and is one of the direct- 
 ors of the Sacramento Foundlings Home. 
 Since writing the foregoing Mr. (lallup passed 
 away. January 8, 1906. 
 
 WILHELM LUDWIG. Remembered among 
 the property owners and respected citizens of 
 Shasta county is W'ilhelm Ludwig, who was born 
 in Germany October 31, 1829. His early educa- 
 tion was received in that country and at the age 
 of eighteen years he left his native land and 
 came to the United States, locating at Wheeling, 
 Pa., where he became engaged in the construc- 
 tion of bridges. Later he removed to Belleville, 
 111., and followed the cabinet maker's trade until 
 the spring of 1853, when he started overland to 
 California, with ox-teams, the journey extend- 
 ing from April 15 to October 2, 1853. Until 
 the next spring he followed the carpenter's trade 
 in Shasta, receiving $7 per day, then removed to 
 Middletown, thence to Cottonwood, Shasta coun- 
 ty. In the spring of 1^55 he purchased the toll 
 bridge in that locality, which was unfortunately 
 swept away the following year by high water. 
 During his residence there he erected a hotel 
 and purchased a great deal of land from the rail- 
 road, in 1865 also purchasing two hundred and 
 fifty-five acres of land from Major Reading, 
 which is now know as the Ludwig Fruit Com- 
 pany's property. At the time of his death, which 
 occurred in 1876, at the age of forty-eight years, 
 Mr. Ludwig owned eight hundred and forty 
 acres of good land, a portion in Shasta county, 
 and the remainder in Tehama county. Frater- 
 nally he was a member of the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows of Red Blufif, and was also a 
 member of the Presbyterian Qiurch. 
 
 In St. Louis, Mo., April 16, 1853, Mr. Lud- 
 wig married Wilhelmina Becker, who was born 
 in Germany December 29, 1833, the daughter 
 of Frederick and Louisa Becker. Some years after 
 
 the death of his wife, in 1870, Mr. Becker left his 
 native land and took up his abode in the United 
 States. His death occurred in Cottonwood, Cal., 
 m 1879. -Mrs. Ludwig accompanied her father 
 to this country, and well remembers incidents 
 connected with the journey. After reaching the 
 continent a part of the trip was made by canal 
 boat, the journey from Baltimore to Pittsburg 
 occupying ten days. Eight years after the death 
 of her husband I\Irs. Ludwig made a trip to Ger- 
 many, also visiting in Missouri, where she first 
 located upon coming to the United States. After 
 her return, in November, 1884, she again took 
 up her abode in Cottonwood, remaining there 
 until 1899, when she located in Anderson, where 
 she still resides. She had resided in Cottonwood 
 forty-three years. Four children were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig, namely: Mary, the wife 
 of C. A. Campbell, of Red BlufT; Addie, the 
 wife of William Weaver, of Anderson; Luella, 
 the wife of Charles Hughes, of Red Bluff; and 
 Julia, the wife of A. Weaver, who resides at 
 Anderson. 
 
 DANIEL BEATIE. At the ripe age of 
 eighty-two years Daniel Beatie is living re- 
 tired upon his farm, five miles east of Ander- 
 son, Shasta county, the management of which 
 is under the care of his second eldest son, John, 
 who has always made his home with his father. 
 Daniel Beatie was born at Argyle, Washington . 
 county, N. Y., April 30, 1823, a son of John and 
 Hannah (Lytle) Beatie, both natives of the 
 Empire state, where they also died. After re- 
 ceiving a common school education in New 
 York state Daniel Beatie began to learn the 
 tanner's trade, which he followed as a business 
 until i860. Thus far thirteen years of his life 
 had been spent in Vermont, but in March, 
 1861, he went to Illinois, where he took up the 
 calling which his father had followed, and for 
 twenty years he tilled the soil in Illinois. 
 Again prompted by his limitations to seek 
 broader fields Mr. Beatie came to California 
 in 1881, and the property upon which he tlien 
 located has been his home ever since. 
 
 In Vermont, in 1843, ^f""- Beatie married Au- 
 
574 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 rora Priscilla Baldwin, who was born in Dor- 
 set, that state, January 8, 1826, and six children 
 were the result of their marriage. John, who 
 was born December 19, 1861, in Hampshire. 
 Kane county, 111., resides with his father and 
 manages the home farm. By his marriage 
 with Alice Hawes, a daughter of William 
 Hawes, he has a family of twelve children, as 
 follows : William H., Daniel W., Helen, 
 Blanche, Harry, Jennie, John, Charles, Albert, 
 Emma, Ralph and Florence. Besides John, the 
 parental family included the following chil- 
 dren : Norwell Thomas ; Mary Jane, Ann 
 Eliza and Annie, the three last named passing 
 away many years ago ; and Charles, who still 
 makes his home in Illinois. 
 
 January 3, 1902, Mr. Beatie was called upon 
 to mourn the loss of his wife, who was for 
 nearly sixty years his faithful helpmate and 
 close companion. At the time of her death she 
 was in her seventy-sixth year. Eormerly Mr. 
 Beatie was prominently identified with the In- 
 dependent Order of Odd Fellows, but on ac- 
 count of advancing years he has withdrawn 
 from active participation in the work of that 
 body. His political sympathy is in favor of 
 Republican principles and candidates. 
 
 DANIEL ERASER. One of the most in- 
 fluential and highly respected citizens of Yuba 
 county is Daniel Eraser, who resides at Wheat- 
 land, retired from the activities which for years 
 have engaged his attention. July 19, 1828, he 
 was born at Glasgow, Nova Scotia, there spend- 
 ing his boyhood. When sixteen years of age 
 he became apprenticed to a tanner, remaining 
 with him four years, after which he went to 
 Boston, Mass., and followed his trade for about 
 six months. Going to New York City from 
 there, he subsequently went to New Jersey, in 
 the meantime learning more and more of his 
 trade until he was an expert in his line. Be- 
 coming impressed with the stories of the dis- 
 covery of gold in California, he determined to 
 come to this state. From Panama he walked 
 across the Isthmus, then took ship for the Golden 
 state, arriving in San Francisco May 2, 1852. 
 
 Going to where Grass Valley now stands, he 
 secured employment in a quartz mill there. He 
 saved his money until he had laid by $5,000, 
 which he loaned to a man who never returned it. 
 
 Seven months after going to Grass Valley, 
 Mr. Eraser came down to the vicinity of what 
 is now Wheatland, bringing with him about $200 
 and located on the Johnson grant, thinking it 
 government land, but in 1856 he secured a title 
 to one hundred and sixty acres of the land by 
 paying $20 per acre for it. Here he began 
 ■ farming and stock-raising, when this section was 
 an unimproved and sparsely settled country. 
 Later he added to his landed possessions from 
 time to time, until he owned eleven hundred 
 and seventy-three acres at the time he sold out 
 in 1904. Besides raising cattle, horses and hogs 
 and managing his large tract of land he also 
 dealt largely in sheep, which he fattened for the 
 market. When the railroad was built through 
 this section the land near it was a vast wheat 
 field, and when the subject was raised as to what 
 to call the town to be built on the railroad Mr. 
 Eraser suggested Wheatland, and Wheatland it 
 has remained. When Mr. Eraser was a lad he 
 rode on the first railway engine that was built. 
 In 1867 he took a pleasure trip east, traveling 
 through that portion of the east in which he 
 formerly lived and worked at his trade. 
 
 Mr. Eraser was one of the founders of the 
 Farmers' Bank of Wheatland, of which he was 
 director for many years. He owes his financial 
 independence to his individual efforts and deter- 
 mination, and is a self-made man in the truest 
 acceptation of the term. Twice married, he 
 never had any family of his own, but his 
 benevolent spirit prompted him to rear, educate 
 and start in life, several children, who, but for 
 him, might have had a hard struggle to gain a 
 competency. He is the oldest living member of 
 Sutter Lodge No. 100, I. O. O. F., who joined 
 when he did, and is also identified with the 
 Masonic order. He cast a vote for Buchanan, 
 but afterward said if the great spirit of the 
 Universe would forgive he would never do it 
 again. Later he became a stanch Republican, 
 though his tastes never inclined him to desire or 
 to accept public office. 
 
 II 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 GRANN'ILLE PULLEN. Ever since an an- 
 cestor of the Pullen family settled in Wintlirop, 
 Me., in 1769, many generations of the family 
 have been born in that state. The paternal grand- 
 father of our subject, Jonathan Pullen, a native 
 of Winthrop and a farmer by occupation, lived 
 to reach his seventy-fifth year, dying in .\nson. 
 that state. His wife, formerly Sylvia Bonner, 
 lived to be ninety-five years of age, while her 
 father and mother lived to be ninety-six and 
 eightv-t1n-ee _\ears, respectively. A son of Jon- 
 athan and Sylvia Pullen, William Pullen was 
 horn, at .Anson, spending his life there, and dying 
 at the age of seventy-eight years and six months. 
 He married Sarah J. Bennett, also born at An- 
 son, the daughter of Stephen Bennett, a black- 
 smith of that state. Granville Pullen now has 
 tongs and shovels which Mr. Bennett made in 
 his shop after he was seventy-seven years of age. 
 He died at the age of ninety-six years, and his 
 daughter at the age of eighty-three. 
 
 Granville Pullen was also born at Anson, Me.. 
 October 23. 1838, and is one of eleven children, 
 ten of whom grew up. and seven of whom are 
 living, four sons and three daughters. His 
 brother Harrison was killed at the battle of Get- 
 tvsburg, and- another brother, Omar, also served 
 in that struggle with the Tenth Maine Regiment, 
 and died m 1885. Receiving his education in 
 the common schools and in the academy at .^.n- 
 son Mr. Pullen remained at home with his par- 
 ents until 1859, when he boarded the steamer 
 Baltic at New York City for Aspinwall on the 
 long journey to the Pacific coast. At Aspinwall 
 he shipped on the John L. Stephen for San 
 Erancisco. landing in that city in October of the 
 same \ear. Going to Tuolumne county, he 
 worked in the mines until the spring of i860, 
 when he went to San Juan, where he obtained 
 employment with the firm of Flint. Bixby & 
 Co., working on their ranch for six years. Re- 
 turning east via the Isthmus of Panama at the 
 end of this time he engaged in the flour mill 
 business in Anson until 1869. During that year 
 he started west again, and three months after 
 the driving of the golden spike at the comple- 
 tion of the Central Pacific railroad he came over 
 H 
 
 that road on his way to California. Returning 
 to San Juan, he again entered tlie employ of 
 Flint, Bixby & Co. As the following winter was 
 a dry one he was sent with a large drove of sheep 
 from Los Angeles to Niles in order to place the 
 sheep where they could have plenty of grass and 
 water. In 1870 he went to Honey Lake valley, 
 in Lassen county, and purchased three hundred 
 and twenty acres of land on Susan river, eight 
 miles below Susan\ille, where he engaged in 
 raising grain, hay and cattle, continuing in this 
 Ijusincss seven years or more, then sold out and 
 went to San Francisco, where he engaged in 
 teaming for Pope & Talbot. Remaining with 
 this firm some ten years, he then went to Fruit- 
 vale. Alameda county, where he remained five 
 years, thence .going to Cloverdale, Sonoma 
 county, where he purchased a stock ranch and 
 orchard, consisting of twenty-six hundred acres 
 of fine land. In 1900 he sold this property and 
 took another trip east, but returned to California 
 the following spring and located on a ranch he 
 had formerly owned in Honey Lake valley, there 
 engaging in farming, stock-raising and dairying. 
 He has an excellent dairy of thirty cows, and 
 uses a separator. 
 
 In Susanville Mr. Pullen married Mary S. 
 Talbot, who was born in Maine, and is the 
 daughter of Judge ICnoch Stanwood Tallwt, of 
 Freeport, Me At one time he served as county 
 judge of Lassen county. Only one child has 
 been born to Mr. and Mrs. Pullen, Granville Tal- 
 bot. Fraternally Mr. Pullen is identified with 
 the Masonic order, and v^'as a charter member of 
 Golden Gate Commandery No. 16, K. T., of 
 San Francisco, also of Commandery No. 13, K. 
 T.. of Susanville, and is now a member of Lodge 
 No. 232, F. & -A. M.. at Janesville, and both he 
 and bis wife belong to the Eastern Star Chapter 
 and the Honey Lake Court of the Amaranths. 
 Mr. Pullen was ajipointed delegate to the grand 
 lodge of the latter order, held in San Francisco, 
 March 13 and 14. 1906. and while there was 
 elected associate grand royal patron. Mrs. Pul- 
 len is a member of the Baptist church of Susan- 
 ville. In politics Mr. Pullen supports the Re- 
 publican platform. 
 
578 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CHRISTIE BROTHERS. Two young native 
 sons of the state of California who have made 
 a success of merchandising are the Christie 
 Ijrothers, John Burton and James I., who arc 
 proprietors of a general merchandise store in 
 Janesville and own seven hundred acres of land 
 adjoining the town. The pioneer of the family 
 was James Oiristie. their father, who was born 
 in New York state, whence he was taken by his 
 parents to Jackson county, Mich., where his 
 father followed farming until his death. James 
 Christie attained manhood in his adopted state, 
 where he remained until 1863, when he came to 
 California by means of ox-teams. Upon his ar- 
 rival he located in Surprise valley, Alodoc count\ , 
 and engaged in farming and stock-raising, hav- 
 ing taken up and improved a ranch near Eagle- 
 ville. He remained in that location until 1876, 
 when he returned to Michigan and farmed in 
 Jackson county for the ensuing two years. De- 
 ciding to locate permanently in the west, he dis- 
 posed of his interests in Michigan and returned 
 to California in 1878, and in ■\Iilford, Honey 
 Lake valley, bought a small orchard and here 
 spent the remainder of his days, his death oc- 
 curring in 1885, at the age of forty-nine years. 
 He had lived a Christian life and was a con- 
 sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. He was survived b\' his wife, formerly 
 Elizabeth Jane Deceous, who was born in Ohio, 
 a daughter of John Deceous. Her father brought 
 the family as far west as Anamosa, Iowa, where 
 they remained until 1862, when they crossed the 
 plains to California, settling in Honey Lake val- 
 ley, where her father died. Mrs. Qiristie sur- 
 vives her husband and makes her home with 
 her eldest son, John Burton Christie, two other 
 children surviving, Mary, the wife of J. E. Doyle, 
 of Janesville, and James I. 
 
 John Burton Christie was born in Eagleville, 
 Modoc countv, March 31, 1868, and after receiv- 
 ing a preliminary education in the public schools 
 attended Heald's Business College of San Fran- 
 cisco, from which institution he was graduated 
 in 1889. Following this he secured a position in 
 a store in Milford as clerk and in the spring of 
 1890 was appointed postmaster. Resigning the 
 office to attend the Midwinter Fair at San Fran- 
 
 cisco, he was reappointed upon his return, and 
 purchasing the Phillips store in Alilford, op- 
 erated the same in connection. Julv 16, 1903, he 
 suf¥ered a loss of his interests by fire. Following 
 this disaster he clerked for Emerson for a time 
 and the following year purchased the Aleylert 
 interest in a store and ranch in Janesville, where 
 he has since resided. He was married in San 
 Francisco to Alberta Gainesworth, a native of 
 the state of Iowa, and they have one daughter, 
 Erma. Mr. Christie is identified fraternally with 
 Honey Lake Parlor No. 198, Native Sons of the 
 (jolden West, of which he is secretary, and po- 
 litically is a true blue Republican. 
 
 The younger of the brothers, James I. Christie, 
 was born in Modoc comity, Octoljer 26, 1872. 
 He married Grace Dill in Honey Lake valley, 
 and they have two children. Fay and Merle. For 
 some time prior to 1904, when he went into part- 
 nership with his brother in the ranch and stock 
 business, Mr. Oiristie was engaged in the mer- 
 cantile business with Spoon Brothers, the stvle 
 of the firm name being Spoon Bros. & Oiristie. 
 of Spoonville, where Mr. Christie was also post- 
 master. He disposed of his interests in 1904 
 in order to join his brother at Janesville, and 
 tliev now have large landed interests, consisting 
 of seven hundred acres (half of which is in mead- 
 ow ) , upon which they conduct an extensive stock 
 and dairy business. Fraternally Mr. Christie is 
 a member of Janesville Lodge No. 232, F. & 
 A. M., of which he is master, and is also past 
 president of the Janesville Parlor, Native Sons 
 of the Golden West. Both brothers are en- 
 ergetic yet quiet in their manner, warm in their 
 friendships, considerate of the comfort of others, 
 and furnishing by their lives an instance of the 
 cle\'ating power of honorable citizenship. 
 
 JAMES WYLIE. It is indicative of the 
 varied talents of Mr. Wylie that he has engaged 
 in widely dififerent occupations with uniform suc- 
 cess. For years a skilled blacksmith working at 
 his forge with patient industry, he is still the 
 owner of a shop at Cedarville, but employs help 
 for the practical operation of the plant, while 
 
^.^ii^^Si^S-^^'s^^'^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 581 
 
 he devotes himself with intelligence and energy 
 to the practice of law and to the management of 
 his real estate business. As a }onng man he had 
 few educational advantages and from an early 
 age he followed the blacksmith's trade, but al- 
 ways he was ambitious to gain a higher educa- 
 tion, and, during his leisure hours in the shop, 
 he was accustomed to study history, law and 
 the classics. The time that many might have 
 wasted he utilized for the broadening of his field 
 of knowledge, and the result was that eventually 
 he gained an education more complete than man\- 
 a college or law school graduate possesses. 
 
 In the province of Ontario, Canada, where he 
 was born February 17, ^849. James Wylie learned 
 the blacksmith's trade in early life and at the 
 age of twenty years went to New York, where 
 he worked at his trade for twelve months in Belle- 
 ville, Jefi'erson county. Returning from there to 
 Canada, he opened and carried on a shop of his 
 own, but after three 3ears sold out and again 
 moved to the States, this time settling in Michi- 
 gan, where for three years he was proprietor of 
 a shop at Vernon. On selling out that shop he 
 came west as far as Nevada, settling at Reno, 
 where he conducted a blacksmith's business for 
 a little less than two years. On selling his in- 
 terests in Reno he came to California. On the 
 20th of September, 1878, he arrived at Cedar- 
 ville, JModoc county. Here for a year he rented 
 a shop, but at the expiration of that time he built 
 the brick building which he still utilizes for the 
 blacksmith's business. 
 
 Prominent in the local affairs of the Demo- 
 cratic party, Mr. Wylie long has been a leader in 
 this locality. For three years he held office as 
 land receiver at .Susanville, and for fourteen years 
 filled the position of county supervisor of Modoc 
 county. These positions he filled with credit to 
 himself and to the satisfaction of those most in- 
 terested. In 1 901 he was admitted to practice 
 law at the bar of California and since then has 
 given a large share of his time and thought to 
 professional work. 
 
 While living in Nevada Mr. Wylie established 
 a home of his own. September 7, 1877, at Reno, 
 he was united in marriage with Miss Martha 
 ]\Ic\'ev. a native of Minnesota. Thev are the 
 
 parents of four children, namely : Andrew Kes- 
 ner, who at this writing holds a position as dep- 
 uty auditor and recorder of Modoc county ; Nora 
 Jane, who married Solomon Street of Cedarville : 
 Edna Estella and Thomas James. In fraternal 
 relations Mr. Wylie is identified with the Masonic 
 blue lodge at Cedarville, of which he is past mas- 
 ter, is a member of the Eastern Star, and is past 
 district deputy grand master of Cedarville Lodge 
 of Odd Fellows for this district. Movements 
 for the benefit of the community receive his 
 stanch support, and he maintains an especial in- 
 terest in enterprises bearing upon irrigation, 
 which he believes to be the most important factor 
 in the development of the west. When the irri- 
 gation congress convened at Portland, Ore., in 
 1905, he attended as one of the five delegates 
 from Modoc county, and participated in the pro- 
 ceedings of that memorable gathering. Nor has 
 his interest been less manifest in other projects 
 for the public good. Indeed, he may be counted 
 upon to assist in all worthy and progressive move- 
 ments calculated to promote the progress of his 
 town and countv. 
 
 GEORGE BATTERSON. Worthy of men- 
 tion among the native-born sons of California is 
 (Jeorge Batterson, a skilful and successful ag- 
 riculturist, who is activelv engaged in the prose- 
 cution of his independent calling in Honey Lake 
 valley, his ranch lying about nine miles south- 
 east of Milford. He was born November 10, 
 1866, in Milford, Lassen county, a son of the 
 late Giarles Batterson. 
 
 A native of Pennsylvania, Charles Batterson 
 was born and reared in Susquehanna county. 
 After learning the blacksmith's trade he followed 
 it for a few years in his native state, and then 
 migrated westward to Iowa, where he lived for a 
 time. Coming from there to California, he 
 opened a smithy in Milford, and here worked at 
 his trade until his death, which was accidental, 
 being caused by a kick from a mule. His wife, 
 whose maiden name was Elizabeth Washburn, 
 was born in Susquehanna county. Pa., and there 
 brought up. She survived him. and married for 
 
582 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 her second husband J. E. Fitch, of Milford, 
 Gal. 
 
 Having completed his early education in the 
 district schools of Milford, George Batterson be- 
 gan life as a wage-earner at the age of sixteen 
 years, working principally as a farm hand. In 
 i8g8 he went to Nevada, where he rented land, 
 which he carried on successfully for three or 
 more years, making some money in the opera- 
 tion. Returning to Lassen county, he pur- 
 chased his present ranch of one thousand acres 
 in 1902, and has since been engaged in general 
 farming. His land is all tillable, and although 
 not at present irrigated is well fitted for raising 
 grain and hay. In addition to raising crops, he 
 is employed to some extent in dairying, keeping 
 about twenty-five cows, which are of a good 
 breed, being three-fourths Durham. 
 
 In December, 1896, Mr. Batterson married 
 Anna Downing, who was born in California, a 
 daughter of S. U. Downing. Politically Mr. 
 Batterson is a staunch adherent of the Republi- 
 can party, and though not an aspirant for offi- 
 cial favors, takes an intelligent interest in local 
 and national affairs. 
 
 MILTON WATSON. Coming to Big Val- 
 ley at an early period of its settlement, Mil- 
 ton Watson is numbered among those brave and 
 hardy pioneers whose shrewd foresight and un- 
 bounded energy opened the way for the develop- 
 ment of northern California, and it has been his 
 privilege as well as pleasure to watch its grow- 
 ing prosperity from the start. He takes an es- 
 pecial interest in everything connected with its 
 agricultural resources, and as an intelligent and 
 able farmer and stock-raiser is meeting with good 
 success. A son of the late James C. Watson, he 
 was born, December 4, 1852, in Pike county. 111. 
 A native of Ohio, James C. Watson became an 
 early settler of Illinois, living first in Pike county, 
 then in Montgomery county, from there moving 
 with his family to Chetopa, Kan. He married 
 Serena Thomas, who was also born and reared 
 in Ohio, their marriage being celebrated in Illi- 
 nois. 
 
 Accompanying his parents to Montgomery 
 county. 111., when a child, Milton Watson was 
 there reared and educated. At the age of eight- 
 een he began life for himself as a wage-worker, 
 but subsequently went with the family to Kansas, 
 where he remained a few years. Returning, how- 
 ever, to Illinois, he continued work as a laborer 
 until 1875, when he came to California, locating 
 at San Jose, where he secured work on a dairy 
 farm. Five months later he went to Portland, 
 Ore., and after spending the winter and spring 
 in that part of the country returned tO' this state, 
 and for five months was employed on a farm 
 near Butte City. In the fall of 1876 he made 
 his advent into Lassen county, locating at Big 
 Valley, near Bieber. He pre-empted one hundred 
 and sixty acres of land, which he afterwards 
 homesteaded, and put upon it some improve- 
 mepts, although he lived there only long enough 
 to comply with the homestead laws. During the 
 time he was engaged in riding after cattle for 
 four years, when he sold out his property, and 
 for three years ran a stock ranch for himself. 
 Renting then the Kellogg ranch, he operated it 
 for a number of years, carrying on a remuner- 
 ative Iiusiness as a stock-raiser. About 1896 he 
 bought his present estate of four hundred and 
 eiglity acres, then known as the Steele ranch. 
 Each year he handles a number of horses and cat- 
 tle, and is to some extent engaged in raising 
 grain an<l hay, having one hundred and thirty 
 acres of his farm under cultivation. 
 
 In 1879, in Big \'a!ley, Mr. Watson married 
 Ella I. Bassett, who was born in Nevada, a 
 daughter of the late Isaac W. Bassett. A native 
 of Indiana, Mr. Bassett moved to Illinois when 
 \-oung, and was there engaged in tilling the soil 
 for many years, first in Hancock county, and 
 then in Adams county. Moving to Nevada in 
 1863, he lived for a }'ear on the Truckee Mead- 
 ows, near Reno. Coming with his family across 
 the mountains to California in 1864, he located 
 first in Solano county, where for seven years he 
 continued in his independent calling. Locating 
 in Colusa county, near Colusa, in 1871, he re- 
 sided there six years. Deciding then to make a 
 change,, he settled in Lassen county, about one 
 and one-half miles northeast of Bieber, where he 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 5S5 
 
 bought three htiiidicd and twenty acres of land, 
 on which the Hot Springs were located. Im- 
 proving a good ranch, he lived there until his 
 death, in June, 1905. Mr. Bassett married first, 
 in Illinois, Sarah B. Armsbee, who died in Co- 
 lusa county. She bore him eight children, 
 namely : Clara, wife of Dewitt Brownell, and a 
 resident of Oregon; Ella I., wife of Mr. Wat- 
 son; Mrs. Minnie Kenned}-, of Washington; a 
 child that died in infancy; Edith, wife of M. 
 Mott, of W'oodland, Cal. ; Bernard, living near 
 Bieber; Eugene, a resident of Elmira, Cal.; and 
 Mark, of Woodland. Cal. Mr. Bassett married 
 for his second wife Miss Martha Stainbrook; 
 she resides on the ranch near Bieber. He was 
 a farmer during his entire life, and was a Demo- 
 crat in politics. 
 
 Into the pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs. Wat- 
 son ten children have been born, namely: Isaac, 
 who lives near the home ranch and who married 
 Ruth Dunbar, by whom he has tw'o children, 
 Laura and Grace ; Charles, living near home ; a 
 child that died in infancy; Rachel, a teacher in 
 Lassen county; Jay; Handy; Sarah; Julia; Mar- 
 garet; and John. Politically Mr. Watson has 
 always been a stanch advocate 6f the principles 
 promulgated by the Republican party, but has 
 never cared to hold otifice. He is a director and 
 one of the charter members of the Co-operative 
 -Association of Big \'alley, and was also the or- 
 ganizer of the Hayden Hill & Willow Creek 
 Telephone Compan_\'. 
 
 JOHN MONTGOMERY W^-\LKER. An 
 active representative of the pioneer element of 
 Big \'alley, Lassen county, John Alontgomery 
 Walker has been engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 during his entire life, and in the prosecution of 
 his independent calling finds his greatest pleas- 
 ure. When he came to the valley the settlers 
 were few and far between, an occasional cabin 
 being the only places of residence. Vast changes 
 have since taken place in the face of the country 
 roundabout. The present flourishing condition of 
 this part of the county, with its well-improved 
 ranches, many comfortable dwellings and suli- 
 
 stantial school buildings, is a monument to the 
 persevering labors of the brave men who, like 
 Mr. Walker, endured the trials of a pioneer life 
 that they might develop the resources of this re- 
 gion, and make for themselves and their families 
 a pleasant home in this seemingly unfruitful re- 
 gion. A son of William Bailey Walker, he was 
 Ixjrn in September, 1842, in McDonough county, 
 111., where he lived until eleven years of age. 
 
 A native of Virginia, William B. Walker be- 
 came a farmer from choice, and for a number of 
 years w-as employed as a tiller of the soil in Illi- 
 nois. He subsequently came with his family 
 across the plains to Siskiyou county, Cal., locat- 
 ing in Scott Valley, where he spent the remain- 
 der of his life. He married Margaret Elizabeth 
 Head, who was born in Kentucky eighty-three 
 years ago ; came with the family to the Pacific 
 Coast, and is still living, a bright and active wo- 
 man, bearing with ease her burden of years. 
 
 The second child in a family of twelve chil- 
 dren, John M. Walker accompanied the family 
 to DeKalb county. Mo., in 1853, and there com- 
 pleted his early education in the district schools. 
 Leaving 2klissouri on May 14, 1863, he crossed 
 the plains to California, after a tedious journey 
 of nearly four months arriving at Honey Lake 
 valley, which was then but sparsely settled, the 
 following September. Continuing the journey to 
 Siskivou county, he spent a number of years in 
 Scott \'alley, being eni])loyed in agricultural 
 pursuits. Coming to Big Valley in 1872, he first 
 pre-emjiied one hundred and sixty acres of land, 
 after which he bought a claim, and also home- 
 steaded one, acquiring title to five hundred and 
 sixty acres of land w-hich was in its original 
 wildness. Beginning work immediately, he la- 
 bored with a determined will, and by means of 
 industry, resolution and perseverance succeeded 
 in placing a large part of it under cultivation. He 
 has now about sixty acres of natural meadow 
 land, sixty acres of land devoted to the growing 
 of grain, and is now turning his attention to the 
 raising of alfalfa. He i.^^ an extensive stock man, 
 raising large nuiubers of cattle and horses, to 
 this adding in the last few years a goodly num- 
 ber of mules, in the breeding of which he is 
 meeting with success. .As a general farmer and 
 
586 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 stock raiser and dealer he has been prosperous, 
 acquiring a place of prominence among the lead- 
 ing ranchmen of the county. 
 
 Mr. Walker has been twice married. He mar- 
 ried first L. Marie Godfrey, by whom he had 
 four children, namely: Herbert, deceased ; Anna, 
 wife of P. J. Smelcer of Adin ; a child that died 
 in infancy; and Joseph F., of AUuras. Mr. 
 Walker's second marriage united him with Alice 
 Stone, who bore him seven children, four of 
 whom are living, namely : George, of Adin ; Ma- 
 bel, wife of Dr. Charles M. Tinsman, of Adin ; 
 Nella, living at home ; and Floyd, at home. Mrs. 
 Alice Walker died in early womanhood, and 
 since her death the home has been presided over 
 by Miss Nella Walker, a bright, capable young 
 lady, well versed in domestic arts. Politically 
 Mr. Walker is a true Republican, but has never 
 cared to hold public office. Fraternally he is a 
 member and past Noble Grand of Adin Lodge 
 No. 272, I. O. O. F. He is a charter member of 
 the Big Valley Co-operative Association, which 
 he served as a director for several years, and is 
 also a stockholder in the Providence Telephone 
 Company. 
 
 LEWIS KENYON. Perhaps the most vivid 
 of the recollections clustering around the child- 
 hood of Mr. Kenyon are those associated with 
 the removal of the family from Missouri, where 
 he was born September 20, 1846. It was in the 
 spring- of-1852 that his parents, Charles and Hes- 
 ter Kenvon, left their old home with wagon and 
 ox-team and started across the plains for the far 
 west, in the hope of bettering their fortunes in 
 the new and unknown country beyond the moun- 
 tains and the desert. After a tedious journey of 
 six months they landed on Canyon creek, in what 
 is now Nevada, and in the spring moved to Old 
 Ragtown, but in the same year they proceeded 
 to California, settling near Georgetown, Eldo- 
 rado countv, where the father engaged in min- 
 ing. After twelve years at that place the family 
 returned to iMissouri with wagon and horse-team, 
 and for three months they visited amid the scenes 
 of their youth, after which they settled eighty 
 miles east of St. Louis, in Illinois. In the spring 
 
 of the following year they proceeded to Arkansas 
 and rented a farm, but after one season they 
 again crossed the plains with ox-teams, this time 
 traveling via Denver and Salt Lake. After six 
 months they landed in Eldorado county, where 
 they remained two years, and then removed to 
 Shasta county, settling on land near ]\Iillville. 
 On that ranch the parents spent practically the 
 remaining years of their lives. Both are now 
 deceased. 
 
 When about twenty years of age Lewis Ken- 
 yon left the parental roof and started out in the 
 world to earn his own livelihood. About 1868 
 he began to engage in mining in Shasta county 
 and from there in 1871 he came to Big valley, 
 Lassen county, arriving in August of that year, 
 and shortly afterward pre-empting one hundred 
 and sixty acres of government land. Later he 
 homesteaded another claim, and now owns a 
 tract of three hundred and twenty acres, all of 
 which is as fine land as the valley can boast. 
 The improvements on the property were made 
 under his personal supervision, and to him be- 
 longs the credit of having transformed a wild 
 stretch of unproductive land into a fertile ranch. 
 While raising grain to some extent, he makes a 
 specialty of the stock business and utilizes much 
 of his farm for pasture or for hay. 
 
 The marriage of Lewis Kenyon took place 
 May 21, 1876, and united him with Miss Mary 
 Ann Lindt, who was born in Missouri, being a 
 daughter of Samuel and Eliza Jane (Johnson) 
 Lindt. When only one year old she was or- 
 phaned by the death of her father. Later her 
 mother became the wife of Nathan Payne, and 
 with him crossed the plains, settling in Nevada, 
 where the family spent five years in Austin. 
 From there they came to California and for five 
 years resided in Stockton. While there Mr. 
 Payne died. At this writing Mrs. Payne makes 
 her home in Shasta county, and though now 
 sixty-seven years of age she is hearty and robust, 
 retaining full possession of her physical and men- 
 tal faculties. Fourteen children comprised the 
 family of ^Ir. and Mrs. Kenyon. and nine of 
 these arc still living. The eldest, Alice Jane, 
 married Godfrey Walker, of Lassen county, and 
 they have four children living, namely : William 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 587 
 
 Waldcn, Marion Frances, James Augustus and 
 Lillie Josephine. Tlie eiglit other sons and 
 daughters remain with their parents, namely: 
 WilHani Lewis, Albert, Arthur, Cliarlcs Francis, 
 Martha Florence, Orvie, Daisy May and Walter. 
 In politics Mr. Kenyon maintains an independ- 
 ence of views, voting for the men whom he con- 
 siders best qualified for official resix>nsibilities, 
 irrespective of their partisan affiliations. The 
 only office which he has consented to hold, that 
 of school trustee, he has filled a number of times, 
 giving satisfaction to the patrons of the school 
 by his close attention to its management and his 
 careful oversight of its interests. 
 
 HENRY G. DORSCH. The commercial en- 
 terprise of which Mr. Dorsch is the sole pro- 
 prietor ranks among the most important in 
 Quincy. Plumas county, and is the only one 
 which is devoted to hardware exclusively. With 
 the progressiveness of the up-to-date merchant 
 he keeps on hand a complete stock of light and 
 heavy hardware, and is able to supply any de- 
 mand in his line, whether it arises in the home 
 or on the farm. In addition to his store in 
 Quincy he owns a small interest in the Ophir 
 Hardware Company in Oroville, where for eight 
 years he followed the tinsmith's trade jjrior to 
 locating in this city. 
 
 A native of Indiana, Henry G. Dorsch was 
 born in Logansport June 29, 1852, and is a son of 
 Andrew and Katherine (Eberline) Dorsch, 
 both natives of Germany. I'orn in 1827, the 
 father grew to young manhood in his native 
 land, and before he had arrived at mature years 
 had mastered the mason's trade. In 1848, 
 when he had reached his majority, he came to 
 the United States and at once located in Logans- 
 port, Ind., where he found ample opportunity 
 to prosecute another calling of which he had 
 considerable knowledge, contracting and build- 
 ing. To such an extent had he been prospered 
 in his undertakings that in 1880 he was enabled 
 to retire from active life and for twenty-five 
 years lived on the efforts and accumulations of 
 former years. He passed away in Logansport 
 
 ni January, 1905, when in his scventy-nintli 
 year. Mrs. Katherine Dorsch came to the United 
 States in 1850, and is still living, at the age of 
 seventy-six years. The organization of the first 
 Lutheran church in Ljgansport was due to the 
 eflforts of Mr. and Mrs. Dorsch, to the sup- 
 port of which Mr. Dorsch contributed through- 
 out the remainder of his life, and of which or- 
 ganization Mrs. Dorsch is still a member. Of 
 the four sons and two daughters born of their 
 union Henry G. was the second child in order of 
 birth. 
 
 The boyhood years of llenr\- G. Dorsch were 
 spent in the vicinity of his birthplace, Logans- 
 port. Ind., where he attended public school until 
 he was eighteen years old. Selecting the tin- 
 smith's trade as the most agreeable to his taste, 
 he then began a three-years apprenticeship, and 
 at its completion took up work at his trade in 
 Oroville, Cal., with the Ophir Hardware Com- 
 pany, as has been previously mentioned. Upon 
 severing his connection with this company he 
 became superintendent of the gas works in that 
 town, a position which he held for two years, or 
 until coming to Quincy in 18S3. That year wit- 
 nessed the establishment of his present business, 
 which has grown steadily from year to year, 
 until it is now classed among the thriving and 
 up-to-date enterprises which form the backbone 
 of Quincy. 
 
 In 1880. Mr. Dorsch was united in marriage 
 with Miss Abbie Nason, who was born in Maine, 
 and who came to California while still a young 
 child. Four children have been born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Dorsch, named in order of birth as 
 follows : Ida, who, as the wife of Miles Pren- 
 dergast, makes her home in New York City ; 
 Katherine, who is the wife of Murry Ines, and 
 resides in San Francisco; Jennie, Mrs. Charles 
 Harlowe, Jr.. Berkeley, Cal.; and Winnifred, at 
 home. Appreciating the advantages to be de- 
 rived from a good education, Mr. Dorsch spared 
 no pains in the education of his daughters, the 
 three eldest having attended the Chico Normal, 
 while the youngest was a student in the Alameda 
 high school, graduating from the four-year course. 
 Mr. Dorsch's political views are in accord with 
 the principles of the Republican party, and fra- 
 
58S 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ternally he affiliates with the Odd Fellows, 
 holding membership in both the lodge and 
 encampment in Oroville. In movements looking 
 toward the development of interests in his home 
 community he has proved to be enterprising and 
 liberal, enthusiastically co-operating with ])ub- 
 lic-spirited projects and progressive plans orig- 
 inated for the benefit of the town and countv. 
 
 DAVID DERR NEWMAN. To the men 
 who in the early days of California's develop- 
 ment contributed their share toward laying the 
 foundation of the present condition of progress 
 the present generation owes a debt of gratitude, 
 and among these pioneers mention belongs to 
 "Dave" Newman, of Sierraville, who was well 
 known to all the early settlers of the Sierra val- 
 ley. As a prospector he traveled through the 
 mountains of northern California, visiting all O'f 
 the noted mines and gleaning at times not a little 
 of the earth's hidden gold. In the early davs 
 more than once he lent a helping hand in the 
 capture of horse thieves and desperadoes ; his 
 help was always ready where law and order were 
 to be presen'ed and where justice must be meted 
 out to evildoers, and his work in this direction 
 aided in the establishment of an era of peace 
 and law throughout the commonwealth. 
 
 The Newman family was founded in America 
 by Abraham Newman, a native of Holland, who 
 settled in New York state in early days, and dur- 
 ing the Revolutionary war enlisted in the colonial 
 army as a drummer boy, serving until he was 
 wounded in the battle of Germantown. Spared 
 to great age, he lacked but one day of having 
 rounded out a full century when death terminated 
 his career. Among his children was a son who 
 bore the same name as himself and who spent 
 his entire life in his native county of Mont- 
 gomery in Pennsylvania, working as a hotel pro^ 
 prictor and owner of a stage line. At the time 
 of his death he was eighty-twO' years of age. 
 In early manhood he had married Rebecca Derr, 
 who was born in Montgomery county. Pa., being 
 a daughter of Henry Derr, of Holland birth 
 and ancestry. Her death occurred when she was 
 seventy-nine years of age. 
 
 At the home of Abraham and Rebecca (Derr) 
 Newman in Montgomery county, Pa., their son, 
 David Derr, was born May 29, 1833. As a boy 
 he attended common schools and later was a 
 student in the College Hill College of Mont- 
 gomery county. When eighteen years of age he 
 began to clerk in a store at Norristown and re- 
 mained there about eighteen months, after which 
 he remained at home for a short time. In 1853 
 he left home and set sail for California, follow- 
 ing the ocean route to the Istlimus of Panama, 
 thence walking, across the land and taking a ship 
 up the Pacific ocean. When he landed at San 
 Francisco, June 19, 1853, he found it a city of 
 tents, with only a few buildings erected as per- 
 manent structures. It had been his intention to 
 engage as stage-driver, but the mud was dee[) 
 and the work looked uninviting, so he changed 
 his plans and proceeded by steamer to Marys- 
 ville, thence via stage to Downieville, Sierra 
 county, where he engaged in prospecting and 
 mining. In 1855 he started a dairy business and 
 meat market at Forest City, but in the spring of 
 1858 disposed of his property there and came to 
 the Sierra valley, bringing with him a number 
 of milch cows and settling six miles north oi 
 Sierraville. Dairying became his special indus- 
 try on that ranch, but he also carried other stock. 
 From Alarysville he hauled some oat seed and 
 in this way raised the first crop of oats in the 
 valley. After 1880 he ceased to devote his en- 
 ergies to dairying, but became interested espe- 
 cially in the raising of fine trotting horses. 
 Among his best animals was Robert L., with a 
 record of 12:30^/4 in a five-mile race, which re- 
 mains to this day unexcelled. This splendid 
 racer was bred and raised on his ranch, and 
 other fine animals came from his place. At one 
 time he owned the celebrated "Pat," with a rec- 
 ord of I 144, I 44 14 and i :44-54. on the Oakland 
 tracks in an early day, these being the three fast- 
 est heats in the state at that time. Misfortune, 
 however, came to him in the horse business, and 
 after losing one stallion that cost him $2,200 
 and another worth $1,200, he became discour- 
 aged and disposed of his remaining animals. He 
 then engaged in the liver}- business at Sierra- 
 ville, also owned a one-half interest in a meat 
 
 i 
 
/ ^ Jc^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOCRAPIIICAT. RECORD. 
 
 591 
 
 market, besides owninsj one hundred and twenty 
 acres lying- in the valley near his home town. 
 Here it was that his earth life came to a close 
 December 19, 1905. 
 
 The first marriajje of Mr. Xewman took place 
 June 27, 1857, and united him with Miss Roxia 
 Anne Lockhart, of Pennsylvania, who came to 
 California about 1855 and died in 1883, at the 
 age of forty-three years. Six children were born 
 of their union, namely : I'^mma, who is now 
 Mrs. Harry Mondor. of Loyalton ; .\ibert, who 
 is engaged in the logging business at Qairville, 
 Plumas county ; William David, a contractor and 
 builder, living at Sierraville ; Charles Frederick, 
 of Reno, Nev. ; Bradford N., who has been en- 
 gaged as a teacher in the Polytechnical College 
 at Oakland and the San Francisco College, and 
 later held a position as cashier of the San Fran- 
 cisco Electric Light Company ; and Ferdinand, 
 a rancher in the Sierra valley. After the death 
 of his first wife Mr. Newman was united in mar- 
 riage with Margaret A. Fletcher, who was bom 
 in Maine and came to California at the age of 
 six years. Two daughters bless their union, Min- 
 nie Yuba and Lena May, both at home. For- 
 merly a Republican, when the silver question 
 began to lie agitated during the presidential cam- 
 paign of 1896, Mr. Newman changed his al- 
 legiance to the Democratic party on account of 
 its currency platform. From 1903 until his 
 death he held office as justice of the peace, and 
 in addition served many years as a director. of 
 the State Agricultural .Society. During the early 
 days he was initiated into the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows. Having a ready command of 
 language and a wide range of information, he 
 wrote fre(|uently for local papers, and also en- 
 gaged in religious discussions that have inter- 
 ested thousands of people throughout this state 
 and Nevada. 
 
 JOHN S. TOOMY. Before the government 
 surveys had been made of the lands in the Sierra 
 valley Mr. Toom_\- became one of the early set- 
 tlers of this part of California, the fall of 1862 
 being the date of his location upon the ranch 
 which be vet owns and occupies. Two years 
 
 later, when the surveys were made, he pur- 
 chased the land from the government and en- 
 tered upon its permanent improvement, since 
 which time he has engagctl in raising cattle, 
 hauling freight, and for a few years also con- 
 ducted a dairy. The ranch lies one and one- 
 fourth miles from Sattley, Sierra county, and 
 consists of three hundred and sixty acres of 
 patented land, the ranch-house and feed yards 
 being located in the pine timber, while the mead- 
 ows and tillable land lie in the valley. 
 
 Prior to the independence of the colonies the 
 Toomy family became established in America 
 and the founder of the American branch, who 
 was a native of Ireland, served throughout the 
 Revolutionary war, while his son, a native of 
 Pennsylvania, rendered faithful service in the 
 war of 1812. Next in line of descent was Elijah, 
 who was born and reared in York county, Pa., 
 and followed the occupation of a farmer, to- 
 gether with the butcher's trade. With the ex- 
 ception of two years .spent in California with his 
 son he remained a resident of Pennsylvania un- 
 til his death, which occurred at the age of eighty- 
 six years. His wife, who lived to be eighty-two, 
 bore the maiden name of Sarah Schriver, and 
 was born in York county. Pa., descended from 
 an old (ierman family. .Among their children 
 was a son, John S.. who was born in York 
 county. Pa., .April 4, 1836, and who passed tlie 
 years of boyhood on the home farm. Leaving 
 home at eighteen years of age, he went to York 
 and learned the carpenter's trade. On attaining 
 his majority he removed to Illinois, and for two 
 years v^orked at his trade in ^lacon county. 
 
 Leaving the Mississippi valley in 1859 with 
 ox-team and wagon, Mr. Toomy started across 
 the plains, ])roceeding via St. Joseph, Mo., and 
 the Platte river. Indians were hostile, and it 
 was necessary to have guards every night in or- 
 der to protect the little company from depreda- 
 tions ; on the Humboldt an engagement was 
 fought with the savages, but no one was killed. 
 After a journey of four months and eighteen 
 days the expedition arrived in California, and 
 Mr. Toomy came at once to the Sierra valley, 
 where he spent the winter. In the spring of 
 i860 he went to Marysville. from which point 
 
592 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he freighted to the mountains for two years. 
 In the fall of 1862 he returned to the Sierra val- 
 ley, selected a location in Sierra county, and 
 when the land was surveyed, in 1864, secured 
 the patent from the government, since which 
 time he has followed agricultural pursuits. 
 Since attaining his majority he has always sup- 
 ported the Republican party. Since becoming a 
 member of Sierra Valley Lodge No. 184, F. & 
 A. M., about 1870, he has maintained a constant 
 interest in its working, and has contributed to its 
 charities. 
 
 It was not until man)- years after he came to 
 California that Mr. Toomy established domestic 
 ties. At Downieville, October 15, 1876, he was 
 united with Miss Fannie A. Jamison, who was 
 born at York, Pa., October 6, 1850, of Pennsyl- 
 vania parentage and German ancestry. Reared 
 in York county, she came to California in 1874 
 and settled at Wadsworth, but immediately after 
 her marriage removed to the ranch owned by 
 her husband. Two children bless their union. 
 The daughter, Virginia Olive, married Fleming 
 McQain, and resides in Nevada, while the son, 
 Charles William, assists in operating the home 
 ranch, and also engages in teaming. 
 
 STEPHEN ROBERT EDE. An enterpris- 
 ing, practical and skilful agriculturist, Stephen 
 Robert Ede is the proprietor of the fine farming 
 estate pleasantly located about four miles east 
 of Beck with, Plumas county. The descendant 
 of an honored pioneer family of this section, he 
 is in truth to the manner born, his birth having 
 occurred October 22, 1872, on the parental home- 
 stead, a part of which is now included in his own 
 farm. He is a son of Abraham Ede, in whose 
 sketch, on another page of this volume, a more 
 extended account of his parents and ancestors 
 may be found. 
 
 Growing to manhood on the home ranch, 
 Stephen Robert Ede attended first the public 
 schools, subsequently completing his education 
 in the San Francisco Business College. Re- 
 turing home, he assisted in the management of 
 the home farm in partnership with the remaining 
 
 heirs of his father until 1904. Purchasing and 
 homesteading four hundred and eighty acres of 
 adjoining land, he carried on general farming 
 with substantial results until disposing of his 
 holdings. May 7, igo6. He had much of his 
 land in cultivation, his ranch being a credit to 
 his industry and wise management. 
 
 December 3, 1904, ^Ir. Ede married Clara 
 Belle Dedmon, who was born in Missouri, the 
 daughter of Joseph A. Dedmon, a ranchman in 
 the Sierra valley. Mrs. Ede died April 9, 1906. 
 In national politics Mr. Ede is a stanch Repub- 
 lican, but in local afifairs he votes with the cour- 
 age of his convictions, regardless of party re- 
 strictions. Fraternally he is a member of Hope 
 Lodge No. 234, F. & A. M., of Beckwith. 
 
 ELI S. TROWBRIDGE. Prominent among 
 the leading merchants of Modoc county is Eli 
 S. Trowbridge, who is actively associated with 
 the highest and best interests of Lookout, and 
 holds a commanding position in the ranks of its 
 most solid and substantial business men. He is 
 a man of integrity and worth, and in both busi- 
 ness circles and in private life is honored and 
 esteemed for his upright character. A native of 
 New York, he was born August 10, 1854, in Jef- 
 ferson county, where he received a good common 
 school education. 
 
 After working for some time at the carpenter's 
 trade, Mr. Trowbridge began the battle of life 
 for himself, leaving home at the age of eighteen 
 years. He subsequently followed his trade in 
 various western states, in the meantime seeing 
 many parts of the country. Not content to settle 
 permanently in any place which he had seen, he 
 came to the Pacific coast in search of a favorable 
 location, and during two summers was manager 
 of the Silver Lake hotel, in lone valley, Amador 
 county. Going from there to Plymouth, in the 
 same county, he worked at his trade for a while, 
 and then went to Sacramento, where he carried 
 on a good business as a carpenter for two years. 
 Coming from that city to Lookout, Modoc county, 
 he purchased the store and stock of Brownell 
 Brothers in 1884, and has since conducted an ex- 
 
oc. ^r^ '^^-^/^^^-.v^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAT, RECORD. 
 
 69." 
 
 icnsivc and rciiuinerativc business as a general 
 merchant, liavint;- estalilislied a large mercantile 
 trade in tliis vicinity. .V wide-awake, brainy 
 man, he has accumulated considerable wealth, a 
 part of which he has wisely invested in land, 
 owning several ranches in Big Valley, from their 
 rental receiving a good annual income. 
 
 Mr. Trowbridge married .Sarah ii. Levcnton, 
 a native of California, and they have one child. 
 Orrin A. Trowbridge, who is prosperously en- 
 gaged in mercantile pursuits at Bandon, Coos 
 county, Ore. Politically I\Ir. Trowbridge is a 
 sound Democrat, and for a number of years after 
 settling in Lookout served as postmaster. He is 
 a member and past noble grand of Adin Lodge 
 No. 273, I. O. O. F., of Adin, Cal., and a mem- 
 ber of Lookout Lodge No. 211, A. O. U. W., of 
 which he is past master workman. He is prom- 
 inent in public affairs, and is a member of the 
 Democratic countv central committee. 
 
 JAMES L. ]\IcDERMOTT. At the base of 
 the large range of mountains and surrounded by 
 the broad and fertile acres of Honey Lake val- 
 ley, stands the homestead of James L. McDer- 
 mott, one and one-half miles distant from Mil- 
 ford, Lassen county. A grove of poplar trees 
 adds to th.e attractions of the ranch and an or- 
 chard with all kinds of fruit enhances its value 
 as well as its desirability. On the ranch mav 
 be seen herds of cattle and horses marked with 
 the hat brand, which is original with the owner 
 of tiic stock and constitutes a brand well-known 
 through all this region. Embraced in the ranch 
 are twelve hundred acres, all under a substantial 
 system of fencing, and utilized for crops, pas- 
 ture and meadow. Each season about three 
 hundred tons of hay are cut, some of which 
 furnishes feed for the stock, while the remain- 
 der is sold in the markets. A mountain stream 
 that runs through the ranch provides irrigation 
 for two hundred acres and adds to the value 
 of the propcrt)-, which is further enhanced by 
 desirable improvements made by the present 
 owner. 
 
 The McDermott familv w^as established In 
 
 America by the grandfather of this ranchman. 
 I'orn, reared and married in Ireland, he came 
 to America accompanied by his family, which 
 included a son, James, and settled in Ohio, but 
 later removed to Missouri, where he died in Clark 
 county at the great age of one hundred and 
 seven years. James was born in Ireland, reared 
 m Ohio and Missouri, and in Clark county mar- 
 ried Ann Doyle, a native of Ohio. From that 
 time until their death they remained on a farm 
 in Clark county. Among their children was 
 James L., now of Lassen county, who was born 
 in Clark county. Mo., June 11. 1841, and re- 
 ceived a common school education, after which 
 he became interested in farm pursuits. In 1859 
 he left home with ox-teams and followed the 
 Platte river route across the plains, arriving in 
 Eldorado county, Cal., in August, after a journey 
 of only four months. For a year he followed 
 teaming in the Sacramento valley and from there 
 went to Washoe, Nev., where for three years he 
 teamed, during the last year using three teams 
 of four yoke to each team. 
 
 On coming from Nevada into Lassen county 
 Mr. McDermott became interested in raising 
 grain, hay and stock, and for twenty-two years 
 made his home in Long valley near Doyle's Sta- 
 tion, where he took up three, hundred and twenty 
 acres of wild land and converted it into a hay 
 and stock ranch, improved with house, barns and 
 fences. Lpon selling that property he moved to 
 the larger ranch which he now owns and op- 
 erates. In Lassen county in 1865 he married 
 Miss Catherine Gardner, who was born in On- 
 tario. Canada, and accompanied her family to 
 Iowa at six years of age. thence removing to 
 California a short time prior to her marriage. 
 Of their union six children were born, of whom 
 five are living, namely : Emma, who married 
 Charles Clark and lives on Willow ranch in 
 Lassen county : Edward, residing with his par- 
 ents ; William, wOio is married and engages in 
 farming in this county ; Maude, Mrs. William 
 Ihunson, who resides at the old homestead : and 
 May, ]\Irs. Lyman Stiles, of Constantia. Cal. 
 
 At the time of the organization of the Lassen 
 County Bank at Susanville, Mr. McDermott be- 
 came one of the stockholders and at this writ- 
 
596 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing officiates in the capacity of director. Since 
 casting his first ballot for Abraham Lincoln he 
 has been a steadfast supporter of Republican 
 principles, but at no time has he consented to 
 occupy positions of a political nature. In fra- 
 ternal relations he is a Alason, connected with 
 Janesville Lodge No. 232, F. & A. M., and his 
 wife is identified with the Eastern Star at Janes- 
 ville, both occupying a high position in the local 
 work of the fraternity as well as in the social 
 affairs of their neighborhood. 
 
 LORD HOUSMAN. One of the oldest res- 
 idents of Nevada City is Lord Housman, for 
 many years an esteemed and worthy citizen of 
 this community, where he first located during 
 the gold excitement of 1849. He is a native of 
 Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Le- 
 high county, June 13, 1829, the youngest in a 
 family of se\'en children, four of whom are now 
 living, he being the only one in California. His 
 parents, Jacob, a native of England, and Eliz- 
 abeth (Ripple) Housman, a native of Germany, 
 lx)th died in Pennsylvania when their son was 
 only seven years of age. Orphaned in child- 
 hood he was thus thrown u])on his own resources 
 at an early age, and when thirteen years old be- 
 came tow bov on the Lehigh canal. After two 
 years he was given employment in the hotel 
 owned by his uncle, Isaac Ripple, and until 1848 
 he remained in his employ; just about that time 
 the discovery of gold in California turned all 
 eyes toward that remote country, and with oth- 
 ers Mr. Housman, then a youth of nineteen 
 years, caught the spirit of adventure and for- 
 tune seeking. 
 
 With nothing to interfere with his desire to 
 go west, Mr. Housman left Philadelphia in the 
 fall of the year and immediately took passage on 
 the sailer Allogoman bound for San Erancisco 
 via the Horn. The voyage continued for two 
 hundred and thirteen days, but finally ended on 
 the 14th of November, 1849, in the beautiful bay 
 of San Francisco, whence its passengers thronged 
 to the various mining localities of the state. Mr. 
 Housman went to Auburn first and there en- 
 
 gaged in mining, in the spring of the following 
 year finding his way to Nevada City, where his 
 home has ever since remained. Mining has 
 proved the greatest attraction for him in the pass- 
 ing years, engaging with the rocker, in 185 1 
 with the sluice boxes, and in 1858 devoting his 
 time and attention to quartz mining, and contin- 
 uing so occupied for many years. In 1888 he 
 purchased the old Sneath and Clay mine, which 
 he sold four years later at considerable profit, 
 and which is now known as the Phoenix. He 
 has taken a strong interest in the development of 
 Nevada City and has proven a potent factor in 
 its upbuilding. He was one of the organizers 
 of the Citizens" Bank and for over twenty-four 
 years has served on the directorate, while at the 
 present writing he acts as vice-president. 
 
 The residence of Mr. Housman is located at 
 Gold Flat, about one mile south of Nevada City, 
 and has been in this location for the past thirty- 
 four years. He was first married in Nevada 
 Cit}' in 1857 fo Miss Isadora Snow, a native of 
 Missouri, who crossed the plains to California 
 in an early day. She became the mother of 
 two sons, Frank and Charles, both of whom are 
 deceased, while her death occurred here in 1862. 
 In 1874 he was united in marriage with Mrs. 
 Lizzie (Albert) Dailey, who was born in 
 Dauphin county. Pa. Her father, Daniel Albert, 
 engaged as a farmer in Pennsylvania and later 
 removed to Illinois and located in Putnam coun- 
 ty, where his death eventually occurred. His 
 wife, formerly Catherine Boyer, was also born 
 in Pennsylvania and died in Illinois. They be- 
 came the parents of ten children, seven of whom 
 are now living, Mrs. Housman being the second 
 in order of birth and the only one in California. 
 From the age of four years she was reared in 
 Illinois, in which state she married Joseph Dailey, 
 also of Pennsylvania. In 1873 they started to 
 California and at Mt. Pleasant, lo-^^a, at the 
 home of his mother, Mr. Dailey was taken seri- 
 ously ill and died in a few days. His widow 
 continued her journey westward and located in 
 Nevada City. By her first marriage she had 
 four children, two of whom are living: Daniel A., 
 proprietor of the New York Racket Store of 
 this city, and Captain of Company C, Second 
 

 1 
 
 ^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 599 
 
 Infantry N. G. C. : and William E.. of San Fran- 
 cisco. By her second marriage she has one 
 daughter. Myrtle Edna, wife of E. Wilson Sim- 
 mons, of San Francisco. She is a member of 
 the Congregational Chinch, while her husband 
 belonged to the Baptist Church. She was former- 
 ly connected with the AXOman's Relief Corps, as 
 her family was largely represented in the war of 
 the Rebellion, seven brothers-in-law and one 
 brother participating in the conflict, and but one 
 of the number coming to his death. Air. Hous- 
 man is a stanch Republican in his political con- 
 victions, but is above all a loyal citizen and help- 
 ful in the maintenance of good government. 
 
 LOYAL WOODSTOCK. During the prog- 
 ress of the Revolutionary war William Wood- 
 stock shipped from his native England on a mer- 
 chant marine, but during the voyage the vessel 
 was captured and he was made a prisoner. At the 
 time of exchange he remained in hiding and then 
 settled down to farm pursuits in Connecticut. 
 where his son, Willard, was born and reared. 
 The latter became a pioneer farmer of Ohio and 
 later gave up agriculture in order to follow the 
 trade of a tobacconist in Springfield, that state. 
 Upon identifying himself with the then unde- 
 veloped state of Illinois he took up a tract of 
 land in Hancock county, and from there re- 
 moved to Wisconsin, where he made bis home at 
 Johnstown, Rock county. At the age of about 
 seventy-nine years he died in Jancsvillc, that 
 county. His wife, who died in the same city, 
 bore the maiden name of Samantha Hasbrook, 
 and was born in A'ermont, being a daughter of 
 Daniel Hasbrook, member of an old family of 
 Xew England. 
 
 Among twelve children comprising the family 
 of Willard and Samantha Woodstock there are 
 four now living, Loyal being the eldest of the 
 number and the only one in California. One of 
 his brothers, Daniel, was a soldier in the Civil 
 war. Loyal Woodstock was bom in Benson, \'t., 
 April 28, 1823, and was only a babe in arms 
 when the family moved to Springfield. Ohio. 
 When he was about fourteen tbev went to Han- 
 
 cock county. III., later returned to Ohio, from 
 there going hack to Illinois the next year. Still 
 later they went to Rock county, Wis., where he 
 was a pupil in a subscription school held in a 
 log building destitute of conveniences. For 
 many years he engaged in driving stage fro^n 
 Oregon, 111., successively to Dixon, Rockford and 
 Freeport. but in 1859 he gave up that occupation 
 in order to remove to the far west. During April 
 he left home with oxen and horses and followed 
 the usual route acro.ss the plains. After a tedious 
 journey of more than si.K months he arrived in 
 Honey Lake valle\ and rented the Nixon and 
 Linigir ranch six miles south of Susanville. In 
 the spring of i860 he put in a crop of grain. 
 When the harvest came on he cradled the wheat, 
 oats and barley, then threshed the grain by the 
 aid of horses and flails. At a later date he pur- 
 chased a reaper, and threshing machines also 
 came into general use, so that the work of caring 
 for the grain was greatly lightened. In 1861 
 he bought a squatter's right to one hundred and 
 sixty acres one mile south of Susanville. where 
 he raised alfalfa by irrigation, being a pioneer 
 in introducing that produce. For his first seed 
 he paid fifteen cents per pound, securing enough 
 to sow three acres. The venture proved success- 
 ful and graduallx- he placed eighty acres under 
 alfalfa. Besides raising hay he made a specialtv 
 of the stock business and found that industry a 
 source of a neat income. In February of 1904 
 he sold the ranch and settled at his present home- 
 stead, in Hall's addition to Susanville. Polit- 
 ically he has always been a stanch Republican 
 since the organization of the party, but takes 
 little part in politics and has never accepted any 
 office except that of county road overseer, which 
 he filled for one term. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Woodstock occurred at 
 Susanville, March 22, 1874, and united him with 
 Mrs. Elizabeth (Mc Williams) McKissick. a na- 
 tive of Delaware, Ohio. The Mc\\'illiams family 
 is of Scotch-Irish extraction. Andrew McWill- 
 iams was born in New York and became a 
 farmer in Ohio, but at an early age removed to 
 Alamakee county, Iowa, where he died on a 
 farm at thirty-nine years of age. \\'hile living 
 in the east he married Sarah .'\nn Carpenter. 
 
600 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 who was born in New York, of English and 
 Welsh ancesrry, and accompanied her father, 
 Gilbert Carpenter, to Ohio, later removing with 
 her husband to Iowa, where her death occurred. 
 Of their twelve children one son and five daugh- 
 ters are now living. Four of the sons served in 
 the Civil war, namely: James, who died in Cali- 
 fornia : Isaiah-, now living in Iowa ; Washington, 
 deceased; and Reuben, who was wounded in 
 service and later died in California. Mrs. Wood- 
 stock was seventh among the twelve children. 
 As a girl she was a pupil in a subscription school 
 m Iowa, and shortly after leaving school she 
 became the wife of Fay Madison, a lumberman 
 who died in Dakota. Three children were born 
 of that union, as follows : Addie. wife of W. W. 
 Williams, of Fallon, Nev. : Frederick M., a resi- 
 dent of Standish, Lassen county, Cal. ; and Mary 
 A., who died in Nevada. During the year 1870 
 Mrs. Madison came to the west with her mother 
 and settled at Susanville, where she married John 
 AlcKissick. One child was born to that union, 
 a son, Augustus, now a farmer near Quincy, Cal. 
 The family of Mr. and Mrs. Woodstock consists 
 of six children, named as follows : George, now 
 engaged in farming near Standish ; Willard, 
 whose home is in Standish; Sarah, who married 
 Stephen Carman and resides in Churchill county. 
 Nev.; Emily, who married John Wright and 
 lives at Clinton, Cal. ; Frank, living in Quincy, 
 Plumas count\ : and Gertrude, who remains with 
 h.er parents in the home at Susanville. 
 
 JOSEPH DYSON. To people interested in 
 thoroughbred stock throughout the state of Cal- 
 ifornia and the neighboring state of Nevada 
 Joseph Dyson of Plumas county is known as a 
 breeder of fine stock, a true sportsman and an 
 all-around jolly good fellow. His love for 
 horses has been a part of his life, and to own 
 good horses has been his ambition throughout 
 life. To see the sleek, smooth-bodied, clean- 
 limbed, handsome creatures in action is the most 
 beautiful sight his imagination can conceive. 
 The love of a good man for a good horse en- 
 nobles both the man and the animal. Mr. Dyson's 
 
 admiration for horses is a characteristic of 
 the race from which he sprung. An English- 
 man is a sportsman and has the keenest sort of 
 an appreciation for healthful sports and games of 
 all kinds. His father, also named Joseph Dyson, 
 was a native of England, a commissioned officer 
 in the British army. After his marriage he re- 
 signed his commission in the army and came to 
 Canada with a position in the provincial commis- 
 sary department. He made his home in Toronto 
 until he died, at about seventy years of age. His 
 wife, who was also a native of England, died 
 at about sixty-five years of age, surviving her 
 husband onl}- one year. 
 
 Joseph Dyson was born in Toronto, Canada, 
 October 12, 1843. He lived at home with his 
 parents until he was twelve years of age. when 
 he came to California with a married sister and 
 made his home with her on a ranch on the Sac- 
 ramento river in Yolo county. After a couple of 
 years he went to work as a vaquero, and as he 
 was light of weight and very fond of horses was 
 soon riding as jockey on race courses. In 
 1862-3 h^ had saved up $1,500 and bought a 
 four-horse team ; with this he carried on freight- 
 ing from the Sacramento river to \'irginia City 
 and neighboring f)oints until 1864, when he 
 located land in Plumas county, going into part- 
 nership with Rcsen Bell, who also took up a 
 piece of land. They teamed and ranched to- 
 gether for about ten years, after which they 
 divided up their property, Mr. Dyson coming to 
 the ranch upon which he has made his home. He 
 has been engaged principally in raising thorough- 
 bred horses — all good ones, and winners in long- 
 distance races. Among them are Snuff Box, 
 Lige Clark, Ottawa, Collonwood and Joe D. 
 His horses are well known on the race courses 
 of northern California, and he has bred some of 
 the best running horses in the state. He has 
 disposed of most of his stock, but still owns Joe 
 D., a stable horse, a very speedy animal, but he 
 unfortunately received an injury a couple of 
 years ago which incapacitated him for the track. 
 
 A sketch of Mr. Dyson would be incomplete 
 if it did not include special mention of his daugh- 
 ter. Miss Mattie Dyson. She has won peculiar 
 distinction as a lady jockey, and is probably the 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 
 
 601 
 
 best lady rider in the United States. She has 
 ridden as jockey for her father and won for him 
 many a closely contested race on some of the 
 largest and best race tracks in California and 
 Nevada. On such occasions she wears the dress 
 of an ordinary bov jockey. 
 
 Mr. Dyson married Miss Mattie Branson, a 
 native of Penns\ Ivania, but a resident of Plumas 
 county. Cal., since she was five years of a,ge. 
 They have a family of five children : Xellie. the 
 oldest, is the wife of Alvera Ball, a rancher of 
 Sierra county ; Joliet Isadore is the wife of Will- 
 iam Wiltse, a rancher of Plumas county; Ber- 
 nice is the wife of Morice Foreman of Reno, 
 Nev. ; and Mattie and Joseph Leroy are living at 
 home with their parents. 
 
 The home place of Mr. Dyson consists of 
 about six hundred and forty acres of land, be- 
 sides which he has another ranch of three hun- 
 dred and twenty acres, and his daughter Mattie 
 owns a one hundred and sixty acre ranch half 
 a mile from the home place. He has at present 
 about fifty or sixty head of horses and is mak- 
 ing a business of raising both draft and thor- 
 oughbred stock, and also has some cattle. He 
 has about three hundred and fifty acres of land 
 under cultivation to grain, the remainder being 
 pasture land. Mr. Dyson's long residence in the 
 county has made him well known in the neigh- 
 borhood and he is deservedly popular. 
 
 HIRAM EUPHRASTUS McCLELLAN. To 
 an tmusual degree the reverses and hardships 
 common to those who in an earlier period at- 
 tempted to develop the resources of northern Cal- 
 ifornia have fallen to the lot of Mr. McClellan ; 
 yet, in spite of losses from causes beyond his 
 control, he has attained a gratifying proportion 
 of success and now ranks among the progressive 
 farmers of Lassen county. When he came to the 
 locality where he still resides he took up a desert 
 claim of one inmdrcd and sixty acres. The land 
 was in its primeval condition and displayed to 
 the observer onlv an undesirable sage brush cov- 
 ering the entire tract. The first work was the 
 grubbing of the brush. When he had cleared a 
 
 space he built a small house and then proceeded 
 with the work of clearing the farm acre after 
 acre. When ready for cultivation he put the land 
 in grain, but later made a specialty of alfalfa, 
 having one hundred and twenty acres of this 
 product irrigated by a ditch from Lake Leavitt. 
 Cattle-raising was his main occupation while liv- 
 ing on that farm, and his brand, C. H., became 
 one of the best known for miles around. Barns 
 were built to accommodate his stock and crops, 
 while a neat residence in time gave testimony 
 to his increasing jirospcrity. In the spring of 
 1905 he rented this farm and Iwught an adjoin- 
 ing tract of one hundred and sixty acres, known 
 as the H. M. Wood farm, situated one mile south 
 of Standish. Since removing to the present 
 property and homestead he has given his atten- 
 tion to its improvement and has one hundred and 
 five acres under alfalfa. One of his projected 
 improvements is the securing of water, for which 
 he has tunneled more than two hundred feet in 
 the hill Ijack of his residence. c-"nd the finding of 
 which will add greatly to the value of the land. 
 
 Of eastern birth and parentage, Mr. McClellan 
 was lx)rn in Brookville, Jefferson county, Pa- 
 February 2. 1848, and is a son of Rev. I. C. 
 McClellan .and a brother of W. M. McClellan, 
 in whose sketch the family history appears. His 
 father being a preacher in the Methodist Episco- 
 pal denomination, he experienced the changes 
 of location necessitated thereby and as a boy 
 became familiar with N'enango. Crawford, Mer- 
 cer, Armstrong and Butler counties, in Pennsyl- 
 vania. When fourteen years of age he was 
 taken from school and apprenticed in a country 
 mill in Venango county, afterward going with 
 the same employer to Mercer county. In 1868 
 he went to Illinois and completed the trade of 
 miller at IMacomb, after which in 1870 he took 
 charge of a mill at Bardolph, McDonough 
 county. The year 1873 founil him crossing the 
 continent to California, where he settled in Las- 
 sen count}' and secured employment as a station- 
 ary engineer at Milford. In the fall of 1874 he 
 went to Colusa county and worked on a farm 
 owned by his uncle. Hunt Byers, returning to 
 Lassen county in the spring of 1875 and entering 
 into the meat business, later taking charge of the 
 
602 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 old Stewart house. During the summer of 1876 
 he visited the Centennial at Philadelphia and 
 enjoyed a short sojourn with old friends in the 
 east, returning to California in the fall and pre- 
 empting one hundred and sixty acres with a 
 brother, Charles P., who joined him in his stock 
 operations. From 1879 to 1882 he engaged in 
 the milling business at Milford, after which with 
 H. II. Dakin and an uncle, J. D. Byers, he built 
 a mill at Janesville, where he remained as head 
 miller until he disposed of his interest in the fall 
 of 1885. The following year found him in Indian 
 valley as proprietor of the Greenville hotel, but 
 in 1891 he returned to Honey Lake valley and 
 in 1893 became proprietor of the McMillen house 
 at Susanville, where he remained until the fire 
 of 1895 inflicted upon him a total loss. After 
 that catastrophe he started out anew and rented 
 the Belfast farm, going from there two years 
 later to the farm he still owns and until re- 
 cently occupied, since which time he has made 
 farming and stock-raising his specialties and has 
 shown energy and capability in the management 
 of his affairs. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. McClellan, at Mayfield, 
 Santa Clara county, July 10, 1881, united him 
 with Miss Gertrude B. Winslow, a native of 
 Woodstock, Windsor county, Vt., and a descend- 
 ant of one of three brothers who crossed the 
 ocean in the Mayflower in 1620 to Massachusetts. 
 Her father, Warren, was born in Windsor county, 
 where he engaged in farm pursuits and also 
 bought and sold lands. Her mother, Arosina, 
 daughter of Cushman Wood, was bom in 
 Quechee, Windsor county, Vt, daughter of a 
 farmer, and died in Lassen county, Cal., whither 
 she had come to make her home with her daugh- 
 ter. The Winslow family consisted of five sons 
 and five daughters, eight of whom are living and 
 seven in California. All of the sons are men of 
 splendid physical proportions, in stature averag- 
 ing over six feet, with a stalwart physique that 
 comes to them from a long line of sturdy an- 
 cestors. Mrs. McClellan, who was fourth in the 
 family circle, came to California in 1878, and re- 
 mained in Santa Clara county until the occasion 
 of her marriage, since which she has resided in 
 the northern part of the state. Of her union 
 
 there are two children, Fred Hiram, aged twenty- 
 two, and Lucile Gertrude, aged three. Politically 
 Mr. McClellan votes with the Democratic party, 
 takes an active interest in local politics and at one 
 time served on the county central committee. 
 As school trustee he has been of assistance in 
 promoting the welfare of the public schools. Dur- 
 ing his residence in Janesville he became con- 
 nected with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows in 1880 and while there served two tenns 
 as noble grand. With his wife he takes a warm 
 interest in the Order of Rebekahs at Susanville 
 and Mrs. McClellan was honored with the office 
 of noble grand. Both have many friends in Las- 
 sen county where for so many years they have 
 made their home. 
 
 SULLIVAN LOTHROP. As one of those 
 brave pioneers that followed the march of civ- 
 ilization westward, becoming one of the early 
 settlers of Plumas county, prominent in its agri- 
 cultural development and as a man of sterling in- 
 tegrity and worth, we take pleasure in giving to 
 our readers a brief biographical sketch of the 
 late Sullivan Lothrop. For upwards of thirty 
 years he was engaged in farming in the Sierra 
 valley, his ranch being located about nine miles 
 southeast of Beckwith. Although past the prime 
 of life when he came to California, he labored 
 with the persistency and energy characteristic 
 of the man, and through his skill, good manage- 
 ment and excellent business Judgment, im- 
 proved a valuable ranch, which is now owned 
 and occupied l)y his widow, Mrs. Caroline M. 
 Lothrop, and their youngest son, Lynn Lothrop. 
 He was of good old New England stock and was 
 born October 4, 1824, in the Green Mountain 
 state, which has given to the Union so many 
 citizens of prominence and influence. 
 
 l\Ioving with the family to Canada when he 
 was a small lad, Sullivan Lothrop was there 
 brought up on a farm, and when a young man 
 engaged in the stock business, buying cattle for 
 his brother-in-law. In 1851 he moved to Cleve- 
 land, Ohio, where he kept a grocery for about 
 three years. Going from there to Whitewater, 
 
^ _^;^y>-t.'ir,y^H^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 605 
 
 Wis., he established himself as a farmer, and for 
 a number of years was successfully employed in 
 tilling the soil. Again starting westward in 1869, 
 he came directly to Plumas county, settling on a 
 part of the land now included in the home ranch. 
 He took up government land, homesteading and 
 pre-empting claims, as did his sons in the years 
 that followed. Continuing in his chosen occupa- 
 tion, he toiled with diligence, and as a general 
 farmer and stock raiser carried on a substantial 
 business, accumulating a conipetencv. and Ije- 
 coming owner in course of time of a finely im- 
 proved ranch containing eight hundred acres of 
 land. Here he lived, iionorcd and respected by 
 all in the community until his death. .-Xngnst 11, 
 1903, in his seventy-ninth year. 
 
 In 1851 Mr. Lothrop married Caroline M. 
 P>arnett, who was born in Compton, Lower Can- 
 ada, September 12. 1820. She was reared and 
 educated in her native town, but subsequently 
 sjient a few years in Massachusetts, working in 
 the factories of Lowell and Lancaster. Into the 
 liome of Mr. and Mrs. Lothrop three children 
 were born, namely : Lee N., who was born in 
 Ohio and died in October, 1902 ; Kidd, residing 
 in Ellensburg, Wash. ; and Lynn, who is in part- 
 nership with his mother, managing the home 
 ranch. Although her hair is whitened by the 
 frosts of time, Mrs. Lothrop is bright and active, 
 liotb physically and mentally, and is enjoying 
 her eighty-five years of life, working, reading 
 and writing as readily as many a woman twenty 
 years younger. Politically .Mr. Lothrop was 
 identified with the Republican party, but was 
 never an aspirant for public office. 
 
 BURWELL JOT 1 XSOX. Forty years of con- 
 tinuous identification with one locality and the 
 same homestead have given Mr. Johnson a place 
 among the pioneers of Plumas county, where he 
 has lived in Big Meadows since the spring of 
 i860, and during that long period lie has con- 
 tributed to the permanent development of this 
 l>art of the count)-. Immediately after coming 
 here he bought two hundred and forty acres of 
 vallev land, whose sole improvement consisted of 
 IS 
 
 a small iiuuse. Since then he has placed the land 
 under cultivation, has erected needed farm build- 
 ings and made other changes in line with modern 
 agriculture. A small building which he erected 
 on the land in 1880 has since been utilized as a 
 grocery store, and in addition he keeps a small 
 hotel. No one accomplished more than he in 
 securing the establishment of a jxistoffice at Ches- 
 ter, and when the government opened the new 
 .station he was appointed postmaster, a position 
 that he still fills, the office being in his store. 
 
 The history of the Johnson family is traced 
 back to colonial Virginia. Burwell, Sr., was the 
 son of a Virginian and was liimself a native of 
 Wheeling, where he learned the brick-mason's 
 trade. During youth he migrated to Missouri 
 prior to 1 81 8 and there followed his trade, also 
 owned a farm and six slaves. There he remained 
 until his death at about sixty-four years, .\fter 
 going to Missouri he married Elizabeth Brown, 
 a native of Ste. Genevieve county, Mo., and a 
 lifelong resident of that section, dying there when 
 about forty-five. Her father, James, was a Ken- 
 tuckian by birth, but made Missouri his home 
 from an early day and followed the occupation of 
 a ])lanter. Though of southern birth and train- 
 ing, he disliked the institution of slavery and re- 
 fused to own a slave. Cnder General Washing- 
 ton he served in the Revolutionary war and years 
 afterward (for he lived to the great age of ninety- 
 three) he was wont to recount for his descend- 
 ants tales of the prowess of that illustrious gen- 
 eral and acts of heroism connected with that 
 blood}- struggle. 
 
 On the home farm in Ste. Genevieve county. 
 Mo., Burwell Johnson, Jr., was born October 22. 
 1831, and there he remained until attaining his 
 majority. During March of 1852 he came across 
 the plains with a party of emigrants, in whose 
 outfit and four yoke of oxen he owned one-fourth 
 interest. Passing along the Carson route lie 
 landed at Ilangtown, where he secured work by 
 the day in the mines. During the winter he pros- 
 ])ccted and mined at Diamond Springs, but illness 
 necessitated considerable extra expense and his 
 net profits were small. In the spring of 1853 he 
 came up to Poor Man's creek, Plumas county, 
 and bought a claim, which he worked with fair 
 
606 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 success for two years. Unfortunately, the gold 
 thus secured was lost in prospecting. On remov- 
 ing to Twelve-Mile Bar. Plumas county, he 
 bought a claim and mined for two years with 
 some success. His next location was at Indian 
 Bar, this county, where he was paid fair wages 
 one fall and winter, but then abandoned mining 
 and took up business pursuits. Somewhat later 
 he bought one-half interest in the Hamilton ranch 
 of five hundred acres, and with John T. Hamilton 
 as a partner he engaged in stock-raising and 
 dairying from January, i860, to January, 1865, 
 when he disposed of his interest in the property. 
 After a few months in Oregon he returned to 
 Plumas count^• in the fall of 1865 and bought the 
 ranch which he now owns at Chester. In politics 
 he always votes with the Democrats, while tra- 
 ternally he is connected with Greenville Lodge 
 No. 252. I. O. O. F. August 17, 1870, he mar- 
 ried Miss Sarah E. Noble, who was born in Wis- 
 consin, but came to California at an early age. 
 They became the parents of four children, 
 namely : May, deceased ; Jessie, wife of L. N. 
 Peters, district attorney, whose sketch appears on 
 another page; Gladys and Burwell J., both of 
 whom are on the home ranch. 
 
 JAMES EDWIN EDWARDS. The late 
 James Edwin Edwards, known all through Plu- 
 mas county as "Uncle Jim,'" was born at Card- 
 ington near Bridge, North Shropshire, England, 
 October 31, 1831, and at wenty years of age 
 crossed the ocean to the United States, settling 
 in Cleveland, Ohio, where for a short time he 
 clerked in a grocery store and meat market. 
 Coming to California in October, 1854. he en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of English mustard 
 near San Jose and planted the first yellow Dur- 
 ham mustard in the state. During the year 1855 
 he became a pioneer of Plumas county, where 
 for one season he had charge of the New Eng- 
 land ranch. Next he followed mining at Nelson 
 creek and Poplar Bar, on the middle fork of the 
 Feather river, where he built a house, store and 
 butcher shop. Later he purchased a building 
 site at Ouincy and erected the Plumas house, 
 
 which with its grounds occupies two acres. The 
 hotel was from the first said to be one of the 
 most complete in northern California. In the 
 house there were upwards of seventy-five rooms, 
 single and en suite. The lawn was made beau- 
 tiful with plants and flowers, while in the gar- 
 den were raised all the vegetables used on the 
 hotel table. 
 
 One of the features of the Plumas house is a 
 special room containing several cabinets in 
 which are arranged in classified order over two 
 thousand specimens and subjects of the two 
 great realms of nature, animal and mineral. The 
 collection of minerals represents all parts of the 
 globe, many of the contributions being made by 
 friends of j\Ir. Edwards. The value of the col- 
 lections cannot be estimated, for they represent 
 years of careful selection as well as an accurate 
 knowledge of the subjects. Fraternally Mr. Ed- 
 wards was connected with Plumas Lodge No. 
 60, F. & A. M., at Quincy : Lassen Conmiand- 
 ery, K. T., at Susanville ; and Plumas Lodge No. 
 80, I. O. O. F., in Ouincy. Liberal to the point 
 of self-sacrifice, he was ever ready to assist 
 worthy enterprises. His charities were many 
 but were unostentatiously bestowed. No poor 
 and destitute wanderer ever appealed in vain to 
 him for shelter and food, and after his death his 
 widow and son showed the same kindly spirit 
 toward those in need. 
 
 In the carrying on of his work James Edwin 
 Edwards had the constant co-operation and sym- 
 pathetic encouragement of a faithful and efficient 
 wife. Mrs. Jane Edwards was born in Notting- 
 hamshire, England, November 23, 1828, and 
 came to the United States in girlhood. She be- 
 came the wife of Mr. Edwards in Geveland, 
 Ohio, November 25, 1852, and three years later 
 settled in American valley, Plumas county, Cal., 
 afterward making her home in Ouincy until 
 shortly before her death. After the demise of 
 her husband she took his place in superintend- 
 ing the hotel, but finally health failed and a 
 change of climate was advised. For this reason 
 she went to Butte county, but the benefit derived 
 from the change was only temporary. Her 
 death occurred at Deadwood, November 16, 
 1890, at the age of sixty-one years, eleven 
 
£). M^ tS 
 
 <Hn^i. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 609 
 
 months and twenty-three days. The hody was 
 !)roiight back to Qiiincy and the funeral was 
 held at the Plumas house in the presence of one 
 of the largest gatherings of people ever assem- 
 bled in Quincy, representing every section of 
 I'kimas county. After the casket had been low- 
 ered to its place in Quincy cemetery. Hon. W. 
 VV. Kellogg, himself a pioneer and for years a 
 friend of the family, delivered an address which 
 was an eloquent tribute to her gentle and lov- 
 alile disposition. In the course of his address 
 he said : "This was her home, her home adopted 
 by choice ; a home, as she has ofttimes declared 
 after lu-r return from visiting in other parts oi 
 this and other states, that she would not be will- 
 ing to exchange for any other place she ever 
 saw. She loved Quincy and the people, and as 
 she loved, so she was loved in return. Kind and 
 sympathetic, she was always anxious and willing 
 to aid and assist those in trouble and adverfltv. 
 Many, many hours has she sat bv the bedsi'le of 
 the sick in our village. Many, verv man\', are 
 lying in their narrow homes in this consecrated 
 ground, who, could they arise and speak, would 
 utter the words, Tilessings be with vou, Mrs. 
 Edwards.' Her acts of charity and her assist- 
 ance to the needy were of almost daily occur- 
 rence and many among the living well know 
 from experience, of her kind and charitable ac- 
 tions, rendered without ostentatious display, but 
 nevertheless real and heartfelt. They will miss 
 her. Intt they will not, they cannot forget her. 
 Her deeds and words of sympathy have ofttimes 
 served to comfort the afflicted, to soothe the suf- 
 fering, to give new life and hope to the de- 
 pressed and despondent. She was ever a wel- 
 come visitor to the home where sorrow and sad- 
 ness had entered. 
 
 "She has gone — gone, never to return. We 
 will miss her, miss her sadly, but partings and 
 farewells cast their shadows all along the path- 
 way of life ; they all serve to remind us there is a 
 future, a sunn\-, cloudless land that is fairer than 
 day: a place where farewell tears are never shed, 
 where adieus are never spoken, where the eye 
 never speaks tlie gentle gocKlbye : where heart- 
 aches and lieart-burnings of sadness and sorrow 
 are unknown, and where all of the ties on earth 
 
 riven shall be united once again. We know, we 
 cannot fail to realize on occasions like this, that 
 we are born for a higher destiny than that of 
 earth : that there is, there must be a realm where 
 the rainbow never fades, where the stars will 
 spread out like the islands that slumber on the 
 bosom of the ocean, and where the beautiful, 
 which begins here and passes before us like the 
 shadows, will stay in our ])resence forever." 
 
 DUXALU R. M.\LAVS(J.\. .\mong Plu- 
 mas county's substantial farmers who came here 
 at an early day and have since seen the country 
 grow and develop into its present fruitful state, 
 themselves taking a share in the work of reclama- 
 tion, special mention should he made of D. R. 
 l-'inlayson. Since 1866 he has resided upon his 
 present ranch, admirably located in the Amer- 
 ican valley, and comprising two hundred and 
 sixty-six acres. With the exception of about six 
 acres, which is timberland. the tract is given over 
 entirely to the raising of timothy, of which he 
 harvests about five hundred tons a year. He also 
 carries on a dairy of forty cows, for which pur- 
 ]30se he rents an adjoining ranch, and in the work 
 of which he has the assistance and co-operation 
 of his son John. The latter is interested to a 
 considerable extent in the raising of fine trotting 
 horses and cattle. .Mthough both father and son 
 are mutuall\ interested in the various depart- 
 ments of agriculture conducted upon the ranch, 
 the greater part of the manual labor has now 
 fallen upon the younger shoulders, owing to the 
 advancing years of Mr. Finlayson. who is now 
 Hearing the seventy-sixth anniversarv of his 
 birth. 
 
 r>orn December 9. 1830. in Xova Scotia. Don- 
 ald R. Finlayson is a son of John and .-Kmelia 
 (Robertson) Finlayson, both of whom lived to 
 achanced ages. due. no doubt, to the simple living 
 followed by a long line of Scotch ancestors. The 
 maternal grandparents were lx)rn in Scotland, 
 but finally located in Xova Scotia, where their 
 daughter Amelia was born and spent her entire 
 life, passing away when about eighty-three years 
 of age. L'ntil grown to voung manhood John" 
 
610 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Plnlayson remained in his native surroundings 
 in Scotland, but when about twenty years of age 
 lie came to America, locating in Nova Scotia. 
 During his earlier life he was a merchant, but 
 later became interested in farming, a calling 
 which he followed the remainder of his life, 
 which was brought to a close in Nova Scotia 
 when he was in his ninety-sixth year. Until 
 about sixteen years of age Donald R. Finlayson 
 remained on the home farm with his parents, 
 having obtained a good education in the public 
 schools in the meantime. About 1846 he began 
 a three years" apprenticeship at the miller's trade, 
 which he mastered in the prescribed time, and 
 thereafter followed it for nine years. It was 
 about this time in his career that he became in- 
 terested in the bright prospects, in the west, held 
 out to enterprising and ambitious young men. 
 and on May 4, 1856, he boarded the steamer 
 Illinois in New York harbor, bound for Cali- 
 fornia by w'ay of the Panama route. In less than 
 a month, June i, he debarked at San Francisco, 
 and at once started for the mines of Campton- 
 ville, Yuba county. For about two months he 
 worked at mining by the day, later going to Sac- 
 ramento county, where he was engaged in chop- 
 ping wood for about eight months. His first 
 identification with Plumas county dates from the 
 year 1857, ^t which time he settled at Spanish 
 Ranch and again became interested in mining, 
 an undertaking which netted him fair returns for 
 about twelve years. During two j'ears of this 
 time he mined at Rich Gulch also. After dis- 
 posing of his mining interests Mr. Finlayson 
 came down the river by boat to his present ranch, 
 which lies two miles east of Quincy, in the Amer- 
 ican valley, and is admirably located for the pur- 
 poses to which it is devoted, and is considered 
 one of the most productive, and therefore one of 
 the most valuable, ranches in the county. 
 
 February 26, 1872, D. R. Finlayson was united 
 in marriage with Mrs. Jane (Murrish) Richards, 
 the widow of William K. Richards, an account 
 of whose life will be found in the sketch of his 
 son, William M. Richards, which is given else- 
 where in this volume. Mrs. Finlayson is a na- 
 tive of Cornwall, England, and was born January 
 19, 1831. When she was still a young child she 
 
 was deprived of the love and care of both parents, 
 and when about eleven years of age, in 1842, 
 came to the United States with her elder brother 
 and sisters. They settled at Mineral Point, Wis., 
 and it was there that her marriage with Mr. 
 Richards occurred. In 1855 she came to Califor- 
 nia by the Panama route, her husband having 
 preceded her to the state, and in 1856 came to 
 this county. By her marriage with Mr. Rich- 
 ards she became the mother of four children, as 
 follows : Sarah, the widow of Robert Smith, 
 and a resident of Reno, Nev. ; Frank, who met 
 his death in the mines at the age of thirty-six ; 
 Evaline, the wife of William D. R. Graham, of 
 Reno, Nev. ; and William M., recorder of Plu- 
 mas county. To Mr. and Mrs. Finlayson two 
 children have been born, John, who is now man- 
 aging the home ranch for his father, and Donald 
 R., Jr., who has graduated from the LTniversity 
 of Nevada as a mining engineer, a calling for 
 which he has a special aptitude, and without 
 doubt he has a bright future before him in the 
 business world. While Mr. Finlayson has de- 
 voted himself assiduously to whatever line of 
 endeavor he has undertaken since locating in Plu- 
 mas county, he has at the same time been alive 
 to interests for the common good and has done 
 his part towards the advancement of the county's 
 welfare. For one term, from 1886 to 1890, he 
 served as county supervisor, being elected to the 
 office on the Republican ticket. He belongs to 
 but one fraternal order, the Independent Order 
 of Odd Fellows, holding membership in Plumas 
 Lodge No. 88 of Quincy. Mr. and Mrs. Finlay- 
 son bear the distinction of being the only couple 
 now living in this section who were here when 
 they came to their present location. 
 
 DAMD THOMAS JONES. Closely identi- 
 fied with the agricultural and industrial prosper- 
 ity of Plumas county is David Thomas Jones, 
 an extensive landholder, a successful ranchman 
 and stock raiser and proprietor of the Willow 
 Glen hotel, which is located two and one-fourth 
 miles west of Beckwith. A native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, he was born in Schuylkill county, August 
 
nAVIl) RUSSELL 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fil3 
 
 15, 1857, a son of the late Noah Jones, and a 
 brother of Benjamin L. Jones, in whose sketch, 
 which appears elsewhere in this work, ma\ be 
 found a brief biography of his parents. 
 
 When but a year old David Thomas Jones was 
 brought by his parents to Sierra couiUy. Ca!., 
 where the earlier years of his life were spent. 
 I Icing left fatherless when scarcely si.x years old, 
 he remained with his widowed mother until 
 about fourteen years of age, acquiring a practi- 
 cal common school education. Then, in Julv, 
 1870, with his brother, Benjamin L. Jones, he 
 came to Plumas county, locating in the valley 
 near Bcckwith, and here bought a small squat- 
 ter's claim for $125. When the government sur- 
 veyed the land, both brothers being then of age, 
 they located here, and their mother lived with 
 them. For twenty years the brothers carried 
 on general farming in partnership, as they ac- 
 cumulated money investing it in adjoining land, 
 and were also interested in mining to a consid- 
 erable extent. Subsequently Mr. Jones bought 
 his brother's interest in the ranch, paying $4.cx» 
 for it, and has since been successfully engaged in 
 stock raising and mining, having nine hundred 
 and sixty acres in his ranch, which lies partly on 
 Grizzly creek. He was one of the founders of 
 the Sunnyside mine, in which he is one of the 
 heaviest shareholders, his stock being valued at 
 $5,000. He is a man of great energy and enter- 
 prise, and a self-made man in the truest sense of 
 the word. 
 
 Mr. Jones married Almeda A. Burnliam, who 
 was born in Canada, and came to California in 
 the spring of 1888. Of this union three children 
 have been born, namely : Nellie, William D. and 
 Harry. Politically Mr. Jones supports the prin- 
 ciples of the Republican party in national affairs, 
 hut in local matters is independent, voting with 
 the courage of his convictions, regardless of par- 
 ty restrictions. 
 
 DAMD RUSSELL. The identification of 
 Mr. Russell with the agricultural development 
 of the Sierra valley covers a period of many 
 years, and dates back to 1869. the year of his ar- 
 rival in the locality where he now makes his 
 
 home. During the greater portion of the time 
 elapsing between that year and the present, he 
 has given his attention to stock-raising and gen- 
 eral ranch pursuits near Loyalton, but for a com- 
 paratively brief period he was a resident of Ne- 
 vada, and conducted ranching in the vicinity of 
 Reno. Upon selling his Reno ranch in 1883, he 
 located upon the ranch of three hundred and 
 twenty acres near Loyalton, where now he makes 
 his home, and in addition he has become the 
 Dwner of one iumdred and sixty acres of timber 
 land situated two miles south of Loyalton. His 
 possessions represent his unaided exertions, for 
 he had no means with which to embark in the 
 active duties of life, nor has he had the encour- 
 aging co-operation of a wife, for he has never 
 formed domestic ties. With no other help than 
 that of his own willing hands, energetic dispo- 
 sition and resourceful mind, he has gained a 
 position among the prominent land-owners of 
 his country. 
 
 A native of county Antrim, Ireland, David 
 Russell was born May 12, 1832, and there he re- 
 ce'ived meager educational advantages, and be- 
 gan the task of earning his livelihood. April 11, 
 1849, 1^*^ landed in New York City, and on the 
 same day proceeded to Groveland, Livingston 
 county, N. Y., where for seven years he worked 
 on farms, having but two employers during all of 
 the time. In the fall of 1856 he proceeded to 
 Illinois and settled in Boone county, where he 
 worked as a farm laborer. In 1859 he started 
 for California as a member of a party of twelve 
 emigrants. When the little company had 
 reached the Missouri river they became scatter- 
 ed. Buying two horses and a wagon, Mr. Rus- 
 sell crossed the plains with two companions. On 
 his arrival at Reno, Nev., he secured work at 
 hauling hay, but in a short time removed to Ne- 
 vada county, Cal., near Boca, where he rented a 
 house and some land and engaged in cutting hay 
 for sale to teamsters. For years the s|x>t where 
 he lived was known as Russell's valley to the 
 people of Eastern California. 
 
 After having made his home in that valley 
 from 1 86 1 to 1869. Mr. Russell removed to 
 Sierra county and bought a tract of land, also 
 pre-empted a claim in the vicinity of Loyalton. 
 
6U 
 
 HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 For seven years he conducted a ranch here with 
 a partner, but at the expiration of that time he 
 sold his interest to the partner and removed to 
 Nevada, where he bought a tract of one liundred 
 and sixty acres of railroad land two miles below 
 Reno, and for six years remained on that prop- 
 erty engaged in agricultural pursuits. ]\Iean- 
 while he had acquired the title to the half sec- 
 tion he now occupies, and hither he removed in 
 1883 upon selling his Reno estate. Ever since 
 coming here he has engaged in stock-raising and 
 farming, and has met with fair success in the 
 management of his property. His tastes do not 
 incline toward public affairs, and, aside from 
 voting the Republican ticket he has taken no 
 part whatever in local politics, yet he has ever 
 been ready to discharge such duties as are in- 
 cumbent upon him as a public-spirited citizen, 
 devoted to the welfare of his adopted country. 
 
 LEWIS KNUDSON. Among the upbuilders 
 of Willow Creek, Cal., prominent mention be- 
 longs to Lewis Knudson, who is today recog- 
 nized as one of the leading citizens of this sec- 
 tion of the state. He is the descendant of an old 
 Norwegian family, his father, Tollof Medgaar- 
 den, being the owner of the place of that name. 
 The family immigrated to America and the fath- 
 er's last days were spent in Iowa. The mother, 
 Turi Medgaarden, died during the voyage to 
 the United States. They were the parents of 
 two sons, of whom Tollof was accidentally killed 
 in Iowa, and Lewis is the subject of this re- 
 view. 
 
 Born June 3, 1829, in Hallingdol, Norway, 
 Lewis Knudson spent the years of his boyhood 
 in his native place, receiving a preliminary edu- 
 cation in the pubfic schools. In 1849 1^^ came 
 alone to America and in i860 his parents and 
 brother followed to America. Settling in Monroe, 
 Wis., he took up a new life among the more 
 abundant opportunities of the western w'orld. 
 Learning the shoemaker's trade he followed this 
 until 1853, when he outfitted with horse and 
 mule teams and set out upon that perilous under- 
 taking to reach the Pacific coast overland. He 
 
 crossed the Mississippi river at Dubuque and 
 the ^Missouri at Council Bluft's; thence via Salt 
 Lake and the Humboldt river, along the Carson 
 route to Hangtown, arriving at his destination 
 after five months of continuous travel. The trip 
 was attended with all the perils and hardships 
 incident to the times, and the little party felt 
 themselves fortunate to reach their journey's end 
 in safety. 
 
 Mr. Knudson (who, on taking out naturaliza- 
 tion papers had taken this name rather than that 
 of Medgaarden, which was much more difficult 
 to spell and pronounce) engaged in placer min- 
 ing in Placer and Amador counties and during 
 the three years thus spent acquired considerable 
 means. Returning east in 1857 by way of the 
 Isthmus of Panama, he was there married to 
 Miss Emma Bancroft, on the 21st of February, 
 1858, and later he engaged in business in Mon- 
 roe as a boot and shoe merchant. He was suc- 
 cessful in his enterprise, but so strong was his 
 desire to locate permanently in California that he 
 sold out in 1863 and once more made the trip 
 overland to the Pacific coast. The second jour- 
 ney was made by way of Honey Lake valley. Lo- 
 cating in Susanville, Lassen county, he removed 
 in the spring of 1864 to the ranch in Willow 
 Creek valley, where he has ever since been lo- 
 cated. He was the first settler in the valley and is 
 honored today as the pioneer citizen of this sec- 
 tion. His first improvements were necessarily 
 primitive, consisting only of a log house and 
 barn and the most limited conveniences for car- 
 rying on his ranch pursuits. In 1866 he made a 
 trip back to Wisconsin again via the Isthmus of 
 Panama and a year later brought his wife to Cal- 
 ifornia across the plains. He again located upon 
 his ranch and continued the improvements which 
 he had begun, engaging extensively in the rais- 
 ing of cattle and horses and the management of 
 a dairy, this last named enterprise bringing him 
 large financial returns, as butter brought from 
 fifty to seventy-five cents per pound. L^pon his 
 trip east in 1866 he took a ton of butter to Vir- 
 ginia City, Nev., and received in payment $1,000. 
 From time to time he added to his property by 
 purchase until he now owns one thousand acres, 
 all beinsr rich bottom land, devoted to grain and 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 C15 
 
 hay. lie ilevotcd considcrahk- time lo ihc raising 
 of cattle, large herds hearing his hrancl (a cap- 
 ital H and L connected ) until 1903, when he re- 
 tired from active life and turned the extensive 
 farming interests over to his daughter and her 
 husband. 
 
 On the Jijtii of .\ugust, 1902. occurred tlie 
 death of Mr. Knudson's wife, who was then six- 
 ty-three years old. She was a native of Weth- 
 ersfield, Wyoming county, N. Y.. and a daugh- 
 ter of Harvey Uancrofi. an early settler of Wis- 
 consin. She was a woman of rare worth of char- 
 acter — a faithful wife, mother and friend, in her 
 religious views affiliating with the Christian 
 church. She became the mother of three chil- 
 dren, namely: Lewis Harvey, who was accident- 
 ally killed h.\' the falling of a windmill. May 5, 
 1903, at the age of twenty-eight years; .Mary 
 Edna, wife of James M. Streshly, who operates 
 the farm ; and Albert Cleveland, who died No- 
 vember 20. 1897, at the age of seventeen years. 
 Mr. Knudson has two grandchildren, Lutie and 
 Todd, the children of Mr. and Mrs. Streshly. 
 
 Mr. Knudson lias always taken a prominent 
 part in local affairs and given his influence and 
 strongest efforts toward the advancement of the 
 general welfare. As a Republican in politics he 
 has always been strong on national issues and 
 has sought to promote the principles he endorses. 
 He has frequently served as delegate to state 
 conventions and has also acted as a member of 
 the county Republican central committee. For 
 four years he served as supervisor of the fifth 
 district, and for many years was postmaster of 
 Merrillville, receiving his appointment during 
 (Grant's administration, .\bove all party affilia- 
 tions, however. Mr. Knudson has proven himself 
 a loyal and jiatriotic citizen of his adopted coun- 
 try, his name always associated with tiie most 
 ])rominent movements for the advancement of 
 the general welfare. He has been a stanch 
 friend of educatimi in his district, serving as 
 school trustee for many years, and was an im- 
 portant factor in the organization of the Willow 
 Creek district, where he assisted materially in 
 the erection of the first building, a jirimitive lug 
 house, and later in the frame building which re- 
 placed it. In the construction of the mountain 
 
 road between Susanville and Willow Creek he 
 was also active, and was as well identified with 
 many other important movements in the devel- 
 opment of the country. Fraternally Mr. Knud- 
 son is identified with the Masonic organization, 
 being a member of Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. 
 & A. M., and socially is regarded as one of 
 the honored citizens of the coniniunitv. 
 
 CHARLES JAMES COOO^, SR. Among 
 tbe pioneer settlers of California no one is more 
 worthy of notice in a work of this kind than 
 Cliarles J. Gooch, Sr.. one of the most extensive 
 land owners of Modoc county, iiis large sheep 
 and cattle ranch lying just southwest of the vil- 
 lage of Lookout. Coming to this country with 
 scarce a dollar in his pockets, not having even 
 money enough to purchase a much needed blank- 
 et, he bought one in partnership with a voung 
 man ecpially destitute, aiul when he and his com- 
 panion separated they cut the blanket in two, 
 each one taking one-half of it. Mr. Gooch's half 
 nuist have ])roved a mascot, for from that time 
 prosperity smiled upon his every venture, and he 
 has since arisen from a state of penury to one of 
 w-ealth and distinction. He comes of honored 
 New England ancestry, his birth occurring March 
 30, 1836, in Concord, Mass. .At the age of three 
 years he was taken to Boston, where he received 
 an excellent common-school education. 
 
 Leaving Boston when eighteen years old, Mr. 
 Gooch came by w'ay of the Isthmus to California, 
 landing in San Francisco April 13, 1854. Going 
 from there to Hangtown, he followed placer min- 
 ing in that vicinity for a time, and while thus en- 
 gaged had many wild experiences. Passing 
 down tht main street one morning he was horri- 
 fied to see three men hanging from the hotel 
 porch, on the back of each man Iieing boldly in- 
 scribed the word "thief." Returning to Mas.sa- 
 chusetts in i8C)i, he remained there a year, and 
 in 1862 again came to the Pacific coast, this time 
 c-ossing the plains. Locating in Salinas county, 
 he was there engaged in sheep raising for three 
 vears, when, taking his shee]) to Tehama county, 
 he bought a ranch near Red Bluff, and there fol- 
 
616 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 lowed his chosen calling for ten years. For sev- 
 eral years after that he was successfully engaged 
 in the brokerage Inisiness and mining at Red 
 Bluff. Locating in Modoc county in 1S85, he 
 bought land near Lookout, stocked it with sheep 
 and cattle, in the raising of which he met with 
 very satisfactory results. At different times, as 
 favorable opportunity • occurred, he has bought 
 additional land, now having a clear title to fort\ - 
 three hundred and tvv'enty acres, his estate being 
 one of the largest and most valuable in northern 
 California. He has a finely improved ranch, con- 
 taining about twenty-five miles of fencing, and 
 he owns all of the outside water within a radius 
 of twenty-four miles. Besides the propertv in 
 Alodoc county he also owns thirty-five hundred 
 acres of land in Tehama countv south of Red 
 Bluff. 
 
 Mr. Gooch is very successful as a shee]3 and 
 cattle raiser, making a specialty of breeding and 
 raising Merino, Shropshire and Lincoln sheep, 
 the best breeds to be found in the United States. 
 He is very enterprising, owning the controlling 
 interest in the dam at Lookout, also in the irriga- 
 tion ditches, and is a third owner of the Bieber 
 and Lookout Telephone Line. As a stockman 
 and general farmer he is capable and progressive, 
 on his stock ranch raising not onlv enough hav 
 for his cattle and sheep, but each season selling 
 many tons. 
 
 Mr. Gooch married .-Mmira Brown, and thev 
 are the parents of two children, namelv: Charles 
 J. Gooch, Jr., a sheep breeder and raiser at Red 
 Bluff; and Ida E. Gooch, who married Andrew 
 H. Mclnnes, of Red Bluff. Politically Mr. 
 Gooch is identified with the Republican party. 
 
 WILLIAM CROMWELL BRINGHAM. 
 Born in Lafayette, Ind., April 15, 1826, William 
 Cromwell Bringham was a son of Jesse Bring- 
 ham, whO' was of German and French descent 
 and a settler in 1818 of Indiana, where he en- 
 gaged as a blacksmith and farmer until his death. 
 He received his education in the subscription 
 schools of Indiana and in earl}- manhood learned 
 the trade of millwright, having followed farm- 
 
 mg up to that time, the two interests remaining 
 his life-work. In 1840 he went to Bonaparte, , 
 Iowa, and it was in that location he learned his f I 
 trade, after having attended school for a brief 
 time. 
 
 In 1849, '11 Boiiaparte, Mr. Bringham married 
 Katherine Mitchler, one of his schoolmates, 
 whose birth occurred in Iowa, October 29, 1825. 
 They made their home in Iowa until 1854, when 
 Mr. Bringham outfitted with ox-teams and 
 crossed the plams to California. Opportunities 
 for a livelihood were abundant in this state at 
 that time, as now, and those who did not care to 
 try their fortunes in the mines found occupation 
 in trades and business, JMr. Bringham finding 
 employment in erecting mills in various parts of 
 the cotmtry, especially in Plumas county. He 
 finally returned to Iowa via the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama, and in 1856 once more made the trip to 
 California, this time accompanied by his fam- 
 ily : on account of the Indian troubles about this 
 time they stopped for a time at Nebraska City, 
 where Mr. Bringham engaged at the trade of 
 carpenter. Upon the resumption of their journey 
 they spent four months in travel to Plumas coun- 
 ty, where they arrived August 19. During the 
 winter of 1859-60 and the following summer he 
 worked in the mines of Eureka, and in 1861, 
 nioving to the vicinity of Vinton, pre-empted the 
 land now owned by E. Ramelli. With B. F. 
 Bobo' he engaged in farming this property until 
 1865, when he purchased the ranch owned by P. 
 Parish, whose residence occupied the present site 
 of the Beckwith hotel. He engaged in general 
 farming and dairying for two years, when he 
 purchased a blacksmith shop at Summit and for 
 the ensuing two years operated this in connection 
 with a wagon shop, while his wife and son man- 
 aged the ranch interests. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Bringham built the Beckwitli 
 hotel, which he conducted for six years, when he 
 sold out to his son and passed the remainder of 
 his life on his ranch, engaged in general farm- 
 ing and in the prosecution of his trade up to 
 within ten years of his death, when he retired 
 from active labors. His death occurred March 
 25, 1906, removing from the community one of 
 the foremost men in the upbuilding and develop- 
 
V^>^vV^3Jiv.i.^orv«>rvivju. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPIIirAT. RECORD. 
 
 619 
 
 merit of this section of I'lunias county. His life 
 was indelibly associated with the growtli of 
 Beckwith, the west half o( which he laid nut. 
 while he also deeded the land now occupied bv 
 the Masonic hall, he being- a charter member of 
 Hope Lodge No. 234. V. & A. M. He was a 
 Democrat in his political' convictions and, al- 
 though a stanch worker in tlic interests of his 
 party, never cared for official recognition. For 
 fourteen years he served as postmaster of Beck- 
 with and in this time was prominent in the pro- 
 motion of various enterprises for the general 
 welfare of the community, assisting materiallv in 
 the building of the schoolhouse in the Beckwith 
 district, a mile and a quarter east of the town, 
 putting in his time and asking no remuneration 
 and also donating considerable money to the 
 work. He was held in Mie highest esteem and 
 consideration Ijy all who knew him, appreciated 
 for the sturdy qualities of citizenship which dis- 
 tinguished his entire career. He lost his wife 
 May 21, 1902, her death occurring in the old 
 home. They were the parents of six children, of 
 whom two died in infancy, the others being Leu- 
 titia. who was born and died in Iowa ; Marion 
 C, born in Nebraska City, October 22, 1857; 
 Man,' Ann, wife of James L. Ross, of Beckwith : 
 and Ellen, who was drowned in Beckwith at the 
 age of two years and three months. 
 
 Marion Castor Bringham was a child of two 
 years when he was brought by his ])arenls to 
 California, and here in Plumas county he passed 
 from childhood's years to manhood's estate. His 
 educational training was received in the common 
 schools of the county, after which he assisted his 
 father in the management of the home farm, be- 
 ing particularly active in the dairy line. For 
 some years he was occupied in driving teams to 
 the mines, which proved a very profitable under- 
 taking. July 4, 1877, 'le married Hattie Ellen 
 Trimble, who was born in Wheatland, Yuba 
 county, Cal., October 14, 1859, and they became 
 the ])arents of the following children : Mabel, 
 wife of Thomas Cram, of Beckwith: Grace, who 
 died in childhood ; Katherine, wife of Earl 
 Brig^fs, of Sheridan, Cal. : Williani A., a clerk in 
 Beckwith : and Robert Amedee, the first white 
 child Ix)rn in Amedee, Lassen county. The death 
 
 of Mrs. I'.ringhani occurred in Reno, October 20, 
 1893. Mr. Bringham was married again, .\iigust 
 7. 1895, to Miss Rosa W'eigand. who was Ix^rn 
 in Gibsonville, Cal., and died December 26. 1895. 
 On the 27th of November, 1902, he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Vivian C. (irose, a native of 
 San Luis Obispo, Cal., and they have one son, 
 Jesse Grose Bringham. Mr. Bringham has taken 
 an active part in the public affairs of I'lumas 
 county and is always to be found where duty 
 calls. For eight yeju's he serA-cd as deputy sher- 
 iff under J. Bransford, and was al.s<i in the as- 
 sessor's department for one year. He is well 
 known in Beckwith, where he conducted the 
 hotel built by his father up to 1894, and was also 
 interested in other business ventures. Frater- 
 nally he is a Mason, being a member of Hope 
 Lodge No. 234. F. & A. M., in which he served 
 as master for three years. Both himself and wife 
 are members of the Eastern Star Chapter, in 
 which she is an oflRcer. 
 
 CHARLES H. LAWRENCE. Perhaps no 
 name is more closely associated with the business 
 history and material development of Greenville 
 than that of Charles H. Lawrence, who, as miller, 
 hotel proprietor, liveryman and merchant has 
 been inseparably connected with the conunercial 
 growth of the town and has contributed of means 
 and time to the promotion of any enterprise pro- 
 jected for the permanent progress of the localitv. 
 In the annals of Plumas county his name is 
 worthy of perpetuation. The energy which he 
 possesses enables him to endure reverses witii 
 fortitude, and his dauntless courage was never 
 more in evidence than when, in i8<j5, he lost his 
 right arm above the elbow, through an accident 
 at his sawmill. Though at the time he was sixty- 
 two years of age, he refused to allow the misfor- 
 tune to terminate his business activities, but 
 learned to drive horses with his left hand, and 
 even trained that hand to the difficult task of 
 letter-writing and the other uses to which the 
 right hand had been put during all of his life. 
 
 The county of Susquehanna, in Pennsylvania, 
 is the nativr bninc of >rr. Lawrence, and Sep- 
 
(520 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOC7RAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tember 21, 1832, the date of his birth. His father, 
 WiUiam, was born in Providence, R. I., and at 
 an early age went to" Pennsylvania, where he en- 
 gaged in farming and also worked on the Erie 
 canal. .A.s early as 1837 he became a pioneer of 
 Wisconsin, settling in Rock county, where he 
 made farming his occupation through the re- 
 mainder of his active years. In that county he 
 passed away at about eighty years of age. Wlien 
 the family moved to Wisconsin Charles H. Law- 
 rence was a child of five years, hence his early 
 recollections are of the frontier. When twenty- 
 one years of age he began to break prairie land 
 with oxen, and this difficult work he continued 
 for a year or more, after which he became inter- 
 ested in buying hides and furs in Iowa and Min- 
 nesota, and selling the same in the city markets. 
 
 On crossing the plains in 1859 with his four- 
 mule team, Mr. Lawrence arrived in the Indian 
 valley. Plumas county, in September and at once 
 rented a tract of land, where he engaged in gen- 
 eral ranch pursuits, making a specialty of hogs. 
 After eighteen months he went to Round valley 
 and built a sawmill, which he operated some three 
 years or more. Meanwhile he also started what 
 is now known as the Round valley reservoir. On 
 selling out all of his interests in the valley he 
 moved to Greenville and erected a flour mill, also 
 started the first foundry and the first tinshop in 
 the town. The foundry he conducted in partner- 
 ship with Mr. Latlu-op. who acted as manager. 
 For years he owned a number of sawmills in 
 Plumas county, also owned at one time a sawmill 
 and sash and door factory at Susanville, Lassen 
 county. At this writing he owns and operates a 
 sawmill three miles from Greenville, and owns 
 another on Big Meadow. Init the latter he does 
 not operate. As early as 1870 he built the hotel 
 at Greenville, which he subsequently enlarged 
 and then conckicted for a short time, but eventu- 
 ally sold to another party. For a year he con- 
 ducted a hotel in Ouincy. During 1876 he ac- 
 quired 1)) purchase the Hann ranch in .\merican 
 valley, but later disposed of the property. The 
 Greenville flour mill, erected at a cost of $8,000, 
 is now his property, but is operated only a part 
 of the year. Among the first structures in Green- 
 ville was the livery barn which he erected and 
 
 almost continuously since then he has engaged 
 in the livery business, besides which at this writ- 
 ing he owns the harness shop in Greenville and 
 also owns about one thousand acres of timber 
 and farming land in this vicinity. 
 
 After coming to Plumas county Mr. Lawrence 
 remained a bachelor for a considerable period, 
 but September 14, 1876, he established domestic 
 ties in his marriage to Miss Linda Johnston, who 
 was born in Ohio and came about 1871 to Cali- 
 fornia. They are the parents of nine children, 
 namely : Linda, who married Frank Standart of 
 Greenville ; Laura, a teacher ; William and Jack, 
 who are engaged in business at Beckwith, Plu- 
 mas county ; Dan, at home ; Ollie, now in San 
 Francisco ; Frank, who is employed as a clerk at 
 Prattville : Charles and George Marion, at home. 
 Though never willing to accept office, Mr. Law- 
 rence takes a warm interest in local politics and 
 supports the candidates of the Republican party. 
 
 JOSEPH A. BERGERET. Among the 
 prosperous and enterprising agriculturists of the 
 Sierra valley, Joseph A. Bergeret holds a note- 
 worthy position. He is actively employed in 
 farming, dairying and stock-raising,' skilfully 
 devoting his energies to the management of his 
 well-kept ranch, and in his independent occupa- 
 tion is meeting with eminent success. He was 
 born January 8, 1858, in France, and there 
 reared on a farm, and educated in the common 
 schools. 
 
 Soon after his marriage Mr. Bergeret came 
 with his bride to the United States, disembark- 
 ing in New York on June 15, 1884. Crossing 
 the continent to Plumas county, he began work- 
 ing by the month at farming, being thus em- 
 ployed for six years. Bliying then his present 
 home farm, he has since labored unceasingly to 
 add to the improvements previously inaugurated, 
 and has now a large part of his four hundred 
 and eighty acres of land in a productive condi- 
 tion. In addition to general ranching he raises 
 considerable stock, • which he finds profitable, 
 and keeps a good dairy of about forty cows. 
 
 November 6, 1883, in France, Mr. Bergeret 
 
II. H. MrMURrilY 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 «->3 
 
 married Leone Selticr, who was born in that 
 countr)-, and was there reared and educated. She 
 died on the home farm, near Vinton, August 26, 
 1897, leaving two cliililrcn, I.ucien and Leah, 
 both of whom are hving at home. In pohtics 
 Mr. Bergeret is a loyal Republican, and takes 
 much interest in local and national affairs. Fra- 
 ternally he is a member of Hope Lodge No. 234, 
 F. & A. M., at Beckwith. 
 
 HYMAN HARPER McMURPHV. The eld- 
 est of a family of two sons and four daughters, 
 the late Hyman Harper McMurphy, of Janes- 
 ville, was born July 24, 1828. in New York state. 
 His father, Ahncr MclMurpby was a native of 
 \'erniont, hut finalh- settled in New York state, 
 where he was married, going from there to San- 
 gamon county. 111. In the fall of 1852 he went 
 as far west as Iowa, living for a time in Keokuk, 
 and later at Mt. Pleasant, Henry county. In 
 1864 he came overland with teams across moun- 
 tain and plain to California and settled at Janes- 
 ville, where he died. His wife, formerlv Eunice 
 Hastings, was a native of Connecticut, and she. 
 too, died at Janesville. 
 
 In Illinois, June 3, 1853. Hyman H. McMur- 
 phy was married to Dolly Ann Bailey, who was 
 born in New York, December 2, 1836. and is the 
 daughter of Moody Bailey, a native of Xewbur\-, 
 \ t., great-grandfather Bailey settling in that 
 state at the time lie came to this country from 
 England. Moody Bailey was an aide-de-camp 
 to Col. Moody Beedle in the war of 18 F2. In 
 1849 he removed to Sangamon county. 111., where 
 he followed agricultural pursuits until his death, 
 aged seventy-four years. His wife, in maiden- 
 hood Frances Burroughs, was also a native of 
 Vermont and the daughter of David Burroughs. 
 She died in Illinois when seventy-five years of 
 age. Her first marriage was to Calvin Day, and 
 of this uniun three flaughters were born, none 
 of whom are living. C )f the second marriage 
 four chil(h-en were horn, all of whom are living, 
 and of wliiim Mrs. McMurphy is the third. Her 
 brother, lake, resides at Buntingville : Joseph, at 
 
 Redding; and .Mrs. Duncan, at Jordan \-allcy, 
 ( )re. 
 
 After receiving a public school education in 
 Illinois Mr. McMurphy moved to Henry counlv. 
 Iowa, in 1852. buying new land, which be cleared 
 and fmproved. In 1864, disposing of his eight 
 hundred-acre farm, lie <Irovc ox-teams overland 
 to this state, tiie journey requiring five months 
 and two weeks. W.th his wife and four chil- 
 dren he settled in Honey Lake valley, there pur- 
 chasing land, upon wliich he successfully en- 
 gaged in farming and stock-raising. The cattle 
 l>nind I XL. and the horse brand M were u.sed 
 "u his ranch. The ranch consists of four hun- 
 dred and forty-seven acres, the greater portion 
 of which is in meadow and grain, and a part of 
 which is iinw devoted to dairying purposes. 
 
 let! childrin were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
 Murphy. viz.: Harry Fulton, who resides at 
 Janesville; I'rances E.. wife of Thomas Barham. 
 of Johnstonville; Laura P., who married John 
 I'isher and lives near Milford; MoJIie G., who 
 married T. McPherson, of Seattle, Wash; X'iola, 
 who died here; Mattie E., who married James 
 Wood, of Standish, George Bailey, who is at Del 
 Monte; Lola Belle, wife of Joseph Spiller, of 
 berndale; Jennie Pearl, who died at tiie old 
 liiMiie when a little past twenty years of age; 
 and ina Luella. who is at home; she is a member 
 of the Rebekahs and the Order of the Eastern 
 Star. Mr. McMurphy died Februarv 23, 1894. 
 and in bis death his community lost one of its 
 must highly esteemed and honored citizens. 
 After his deatli .Mrs. .McMurphy continued to 
 reside on the home farm until 1902. when she 
 removed to Janesville, where she owns a com- 
 fortable home and where she and her daughter 
 Ina reside. 
 
 JOHN TICKER. One noting the thrifty 
 appearance of the ranch which Mr. Tucker owns 
 and occupies, and which is delightfully located 
 in a quiet and secluded spot among the moun- 
 tains, would assert without hesitation that he 
 must have followed farming his entire life, but 
 on the contrary it is a latter-day accomplishment. 
 
624 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 His ranch is located near what is locally known 
 as Tuckerville, a hamlet which lies about ten 
 miles west of Ouincy, Plumas county, and his 
 postoffice is Meadow Valley. Clear and Siher 
 creeks both contribute to supply the land with 
 water, which is one of the most important factors 
 in the successful raising of fruit and vegetables, 
 of which ^h-. Tucker now makes a specialty. 
 
 May 14, 1831, Mr. Tucker was born in Lubec 
 tbwnship, Washington county, Me., a son of 
 Davenport Tucker, a native of Kennebunk. Me. 
 Removing from the place of his birth the father 
 went to Eastport, Washington county, that state, 
 where he was fairly successful as a miller and 
 shipper, and in addition to his private business 
 also held a government position, being a custom 
 house officer. He was a member of a military 
 company at Portland during the war of 1812. In 
 his political affiliations he was a Democrat. His 
 death occurred at Lubec, when he had attained 
 the venerable age of eighty-five years. The witc 
 of Davenport Tucker, in maidenhood Susan 
 Taylor, was also a native of Eastport, Me., where 
 she spent her entire life, passing away when in 
 her eighty-fourth year. Her father left his na- 
 tive land, England, when a young man and set- 
 tled in the United States. 
 
 As one of a family of nine children John 
 Tucker contributed his share toward the sup- 
 port of the family by assisting his father in 
 the store and mill. When he was nineteen years 
 old he went to Collis, Me., to learn the cabinet- 
 maker's trade of his brother, but before his ap- 
 prenticeship was completed the gold fever over- 
 came him and the year 1851 found him on his 
 way to California. After a six-month trip 
 around the Horn he landed in San Francisco 
 in July of the following year and at once made 
 his way to the mines at Foster's bar, on the 
 Yuba river, where until November he prospected 
 with a fair degree of success. He was next 
 interested in mining in Oak Valley, same coun- 
 ty, until the spring of 1853, when he went to 
 Forest, Sierra county, and mined for two sum- 
 mers, the winters being spent at Galena Hill, 
 Yuba county. During this time he had made 
 his home at Galena Hill, but in 1856 he sold his 
 possessions there and came to Plumas county. 
 
 In July of that year he began mining on 
 Shores Hill, near Quincy, having bought an in- 
 terest in a claim, but in 1858 he left it to try 
 his luck on Fraser river, which at that time 
 was attracting so much attention. He met with 
 no success in this venture, however, and after 
 his return to Plumas county sold his Shores 
 Hill claim and in 1839 began prospecting and 
 mining on Rich Gulch, in this county. A few 
 months later he bought an interest in a claim 
 on Rock creek, but it proved to be unproduc- 
 tive, and two years later he purchased the Scad 
 Point diggings, which he operated until selling 
 out in 1866. Thereafter he bought a claim on 
 Indian Hill, near Rich bar, but after mining 
 there until 1870 he was obliged to pronounce it 
 a failure. It was in the year just mentioned 
 that he first became identified with his present 
 property, which he had located as a mine, and 
 as he owned the water privilege mined with 
 considerable success for tliree years. Although 
 still making his home here he followed mining 
 on Grub Flat for about twenty years, but dur- 
 ing this time he had taken up one hundred and 
 sixtv acres of government land and established 
 the ranch upon which he now makes his home. 
 He erected a pleasant and commodious house, 
 and cleared and improved a part of the land, 
 upon which he is raising hay, vegetables and 
 fruit. Several years ago he gave up his min- 
 ing interests entirely and now devotes his en- 
 tire attention to the management of his ranch. 
 October 3, 1869, Mr. Tucker was united in 
 marriage with Miss Mary L. Robinson, who 
 was born in Ohio and came to California when 
 a young girl. Her brother, Eugene Robinson, 
 was a policeman in San Francisco at the time 
 of his death. Mrs. Tucker died November 9, 
 1891, having become the mother of six chil- 
 dren. Mary Alice became the wife of Henry 
 A. Hallsted, and they reside in Silver Creek, 
 Plumas county ; Susan A. is the wife of Harry 
 G. Mori, and they are also residents of this 
 county; John A. is interested with his father in 
 the care and management of the home ranch; 
 William F. was a soldier in the Spanish-Ameri- 
 can war and died of typhoid fever while in the 
 Philippines, when only twenty-one years of 
 
^. /tj/^. 
 
HISTORICAL AXn BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 627 
 
 age; Ricliaid \). is an electrical engineer in 
 San Francisco: and Olive Blanche, who is now 
 sixteen years of age, is still at home with lier 
 father. Although Mr. Tucker was reared a 
 Democrat, at the linic of the Civil war he 
 changed his views and has ever since given his 
 allegiance to the Republican party. The fact 
 that he has always refused to hold public office 
 is no indication that he is lacking in interest in 
 matters that aflfect the general welfare, but is 
 due rather to his retiring disposition, preferring 
 the (|uiet of home life to a public career. 
 
 JOHN WILLIAM STARK. Lying in the 
 Indian valley not far from Taylorsville, Plumas 
 county, is the stock and dairy ranch owned and 
 operated by John William Stark, one of Cali- 
 fornia's pioneers and a resident of the state 
 from ])oyhood. Of the entire tract of two Inm- 
 dred and ninety acres there are one hundred and 
 thirt\- acres in the valley on which grain and 
 hay are raised, while the balance of the prop- 
 erty furnishes pasturage for the horses, cattle 
 and the twenty-five Durham cows comprising the 
 dairy herd. Since coming to this place he has 
 set out a family orchard and made many other 
 improvements, among the most important being 
 the building of a small reservoir froin which 
 seventeen hundred feet of pipes carry the water 
 to the orchard, garden, dairy and other parts 
 of the ranch. 
 
 The Stark family is of southern extraction. 
 Lewis Stark, who was born and reared in Ten- 
 nessee, there married Nancy Lawrence, a native 
 of the same state. Though a carpenter and shoe- 
 maker by trade, after moving to the then unde- 
 veloped state of Missouri he turned his atten- 
 tion to transforming a tract of raw land into a 
 profit.ible farm, making a specialty of the stock 
 business. During 1852 he fitted out for the trip 
 across the plains with oxen and, accompanied by 
 his family, started on the long journey, which 
 was made sad b\ the death of the wife and 
 mother on the plains. After his arrival in Cal- 
 ifornia he settled in American valley two miles 
 from the present site of Quincy and there en- 
 
 gaged in mining. During bis explorations 
 through the country he discovered a mine whidi 
 proved to be very rich and in its development he 
 made a stnall fortune, some of which he in- 
 vested in mines, and the balance in lands and 
 a hotel. For a long period he served as justice 
 of the peace. 
 
 .\fter his removal to Honey Lake vallcv in 
 the fall of 1859 Lewis .Stark engaeed in raisintr 
 grain and stock until about i8('>7. when he moved 
 to Santa Barbara county and purchased a tract 
 of ranch land. Nine years later he sold out 
 and returned to northern California, where he 
 made his home with his .son. John William, 
 until he died at eighty-two years of age. A 
 man of high principles and exemplary character, 
 he was an active worker in the Baptist Church 
 and endeavored in his actions to live up to the 
 hiudi standard of Christian living which he made 
 his ideal. In politics he was reared in the Demo- 
 cratic faith and always upheld its principles. 
 When his wife was suddenh- taken from him 
 bv cholera durine their westward journev he was 
 left with six rhildren, none yet grown. The 
 family remained together for a time, but one 
 by one the daughters left to enter homes of their 
 own, while the two sons also in Ave time en- 
 tered upon life's activities as ranchers. The 
 children are as follows: Elvira, wife of William 
 Kinsey, of Otiincv : Charles Thomas, a rancher 
 at Deer Lodge. Mont. : Qiaritv. Mrs. Peter M. 
 Day, deceased: Celia E.. widow of W. A. 
 Blakeslec. and a resident of Quincv : John Will- 
 iam, of Plumas countv : and Mollie. Mrs. Jo- 
 se|)li Braflen. a widow living at Quincv. 
 
 Born in Callawav coimty. Mo.. Julv 10. 1841, 
 John William Stark was eleven years of age 
 when the family crossed the plains and when he 
 lost his mother bv death. AHor four vears in 
 the new home be secured employment in a print- 
 ing office at Ouincy. where he remained for 
 two and one-half \'ears. Next he was engaeed 
 with a packing trnin in hauling from Marvsvillc 
 and Oroville to different nn'ning camps, in which 
 occimation he continued for others or alone alxnit 
 fifteen years. For two years he had charge of 
 a iiack train from Tavlorsville. Plmnas countv, 
 to Walla Walla. Wash., and l^matilla. Ore., also 
 
028 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 to Boise Basin in Idaho. Returning to Plumas 
 county in 1865 he spent the winter here and in 
 the spring took a train to Silver City, spending 
 two months in the trip. In the fall of 1866 he 
 married Miss Mary E. Cottingham and began 
 housekeeping on a farm in the Indian valley, 
 but after one year he entered the employ of 
 the gentleman who then owned his present ranch, 
 in the lower end of the valley. After a year or 
 more he bought a ranch in the same localit>- 
 and for five years operated the place, but then 
 sold and purchased his present homestead. His 
 wife was born in Coles county. Ill, and crossed 
 the plains to Plumas county with her parents in 
 1864, since which time she has been a resident 
 of the same vicinity. The record of her family 
 appears in the sketch of her brother, James W. 
 Cottingham, elsewhere in this volume. Of her 
 marriage there are four sons, namely : William 
 T. and James L., who are ranchers in this neigh- 
 borhood ; John Warren : and Guy Leroy, wdio is 
 living on a ranch near the home place. In 
 national affairs Mr. Stark favors Democratic 
 principles, but takes no part in politics, and only 
 once became a candidate for office ; at that time 
 he was his party's nominee for supervisor, but 
 the district and county being strongly Republi- 
 can he sufifered defeat with the remainder of 
 the Democratic ticket. Physically he is well- 
 preserved and although his life has been one of 
 strenuous activity, hard work has left few traces 
 on his stalwart frame and robust constitution. 
 
 JACOB WILLIA^I BROADWELL. Own- 
 ing and operating one of the best ranches in the 
 vicinity of Janesville, J. W. Broadwell is a very 
 successful farmer and dairyman residing two 
 miles west of this village. His father, William 
 King Broadwell, was born in Illinois, in which 
 state he passed his life, dying when his son Jacob 
 W. was only two years of age. By trade he was 
 a tanner, and carried on a very lucrative busi- 
 ness. He was married to Cynthia McMurphy, a 
 native of New York State, and the daughter of 
 Abner McMurphy, who was also a native of the 
 Empire state. Removing to Illinois, Mr. McMur- 
 
 phy resided in that state until 1864, when he 
 came across the plains to California and settled 
 in Elysian valley. There he owned and oper- 
 ated a farm, in addition to which he bought and 
 sold stock, continuing in this business until his 
 death in 1873, when eighty-two vears of age. 
 
 Jacob William Broadwell was born near 
 Springfield, Sangamon county. 111., October 13, 
 1848, and was the second of a family of two sons 
 and one daughter, all of whom have died ex- 
 cept himeslf. When he was three years of age 
 his family removed to Iowa, where he received 
 his early education and worked on a farm in 
 Henry county for about thirteen years. When 
 about sixteen years of age he cariie across the 
 plains with ox, horse and mule teams to Cali- 
 fornia, consuming nearly six months in the jour- 
 ney from Iowa to this state. Throughout this 
 journey west he drove an ox team every other 
 day, and upon reaching California with his 
 mother and grandfather, settled in the Honey 
 Lake valley, and for a time enjoyed the tran- 
 quility so welcome after the long and dangerous 
 journey across mountain and plain, made the 
 more dangerous on account of the prowling bands 
 of Indians, w-ho gave them some trouble on their 
 trip. 
 
 When only a young man of about nineteen 
 years, Mr. Broadwell engaged in stock raising 
 for himself, starting with only a few cows, and 
 later he and his brother Isaac entered land in 
 Honey Lake valley, and operated it as a stock 
 farm for a few years, then sold out. Isaac died 
 and Mr. Broadwell continued in the cattle busi- 
 ness alone for a time, then located upon his pres- 
 ent ranch, which he purchased from Mike DU- 
 lon. This ranch consisted originally of thref- 
 hundred and twenty acres, but later one hundred 
 and twenty acres more were added to it. This 
 land lies on Baxter creek, from which irrigation 
 water is obtained for the ranch, upon which al- 
 falfa and grain are produced, and aside from his 
 farming, Mr. Broadwell runs a dairy in which 
 he has some tw-enty-three cows of Durham and 
 Jersey breed, and in wdiich he uses the modern 
 dairy appliances. He was married near Janes- 
 ville to Julia Coombs, who was born in Indiana, 
 and who was the daughter of Fielding Coombs. 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 i>-2'.t 
 
 Slu' tlic-d in Lassen counlx' at the home ranch, 
 leaving one ehild. Leda. Air. Broadwell's sec- 
 ond marriage was with Kate L. Rnnvoii, who 
 was a native of IncHana. He is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcojial C'lnnch at Janesville, of 
 which he is steward and trustee, and in poHtics 
 he supports the Democratic platform. 
 
 S.AMUEL ALEXANDER. A descendant of 
 a ])rominent old Kentucky family, but a native 
 of this state, having been born in the .\ntelope 
 valley. Samuel .Alexander is a successful ranch- 
 er and stiTck raiser of Lassen county. His pater- 
 nal grandfather was a native of the Blue Grass 
 state, later removing to Missouri, where his 
 death occurred. The grandmother, formerly 
 .Sarah Goodwin, died at the old home in Ken- 
 tucky. His father, Samuel Goodwin .\lexander, 
 w-as born in Trigg county, Ky., May 29, 1832, 
 the youngest of a large family of children. 
 Reared and educated in Kentucky until fifteen 
 years of age, he then accompanied his father to 
 Missouri, where he remained until 1859, that 
 year marking his advent into this state. Locat- 
 ing in Butte county he engaged in placer mining. 
 March 23, 1864, he was imited in marriage with 
 Catherine -Stone, wdio was born in Rockville, 
 Ind., in 1841, the youngest of five children. Her 
 parents, William and Sarah J. (Henry) Stone, 
 were farmers near Rockville ; they died in 1843 
 and 1845 respectively. Left an orphan at an ear- 
 ly age, she made her home with various families 
 for about five years, when she began working for 
 her board and clothes, and when fourteen years 
 of age received wages. Her school advantages 
 were limited to about three months in the dis- 
 trict school, when she was eighteen years old. 
 In 1862 she accompanied her uncle, Lewis Stone, 
 across the plains to California, traveling by 
 means of ox teams, five months and ten days be- 
 ing consumed in the journey. In 1865, the year 
 following her marriage, her health became so 
 impaired that the family physician advised a sea 
 voyage, and acting upon his advice, Mr. Alexan- 
 der took her to Valparaiso, South America. 
 The trip proved of much benefit to her health, 
 
 and returning to California they locate.i at Xapa. 
 After si)cn(ling two years there, they removed to 
 Antelope valle\ . in F.assen county, where Mr. 
 Alexander purchased a ranch, improved it by 
 erecting a house upon it and engaged in farming 
 and stock raising. There are nearly five hundred 
 acres in this farm, about three hundred of which 
 consist of bottom land, which is very fertile. Mr. 
 •Alexander died October 10, 1904. 
 
 Samuel .Alexander was born November 9, 
 1875, and was brought up on the home farm, re- 
 ceiving his education in the public schools of Su- 
 sanville. From a l)o\ he showed a taste for 
 farming and stock raising, and in 1895 took 
 charge of the place and operated it until 1900, 
 when he became his father's i)artner in both farm 
 and stock, and two years later purchased one 
 hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining the 
 home place. He raises grain, hay, cattle and 
 horses. His brother, Frank O., resides at Stand- 
 ish; a sister, Mrs. Van Etten, died in Grass 
 \'aney: Ida married Lee Green of Red Bluff; 
 Dolphus resides at Susanville; and Sarah mar- 
 ried Fred Burnett, and resides at Modesto. 
 
 In 1899 ^Ir. Alexander was married in .An- 
 telope valley to Miss Emma Murphy, who was 
 born in Buffalo, Nev., and is the daughter of F, 
 B. Mur])hy, an extensive farmer and stock man 
 of Paradise valley. She died in 1901, leaving 
 one child, Florence. In politics Mr. .Alexander 
 is a stanch Democrat, though his tastes have 
 never inclined him to desire public office. He is 
 enterprising and energetic, and takes an active 
 interest in any movement tending to advance tlie 
 welfare and upbuilding of his communitv. 
 
 GEORGE W. GREENO. Distinguished as a 
 native-born son of Lassen county, and as the de- 
 scendant of a pioneer of Honey Lake vallev, 
 George W. Greeno is especially worthy of repre- 
 sentation in this volume. Reared to agricultural 
 pursuits, he has been an important factor in the 
 development of this part of the county, and in the 
 advancement of its welfare, and is well known 
 throughout this section as one of the enterpris- 
 ing proprietors of Willow Ranch, in Long val- 
 
630 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 le)-. A son of George W. Greeno, Sr., he was 
 born September 23, 1872, in Long Valley, which 
 has always been his home. 
 
 Selecting for his life work the free and inde- 
 pendent occupation to which he was reared, Mr. 
 Greeno, with his mother and stepbrother, Charles 
 B. Clark, is successfully engaged in general farm- 
 ing, stock-raising and dairying, carrying on an 
 extensive business, each year adding to the wealth 
 which he has already accumulated. He has as- 
 sisted in adding many of the improvements on 
 the home place, and has erected for himself and 
 family a fine residence. Having spent his entire 
 life in Long Valley Mr. Greeno has watched 
 with great pride its gradual evolution from a 
 sage-covered desert to a superb agricultural re- 
 gion, whose well cultivated and well stocked 
 farms indicate its general prosperity, and bear 
 visible evidence of the industry, intelligence and 
 wisdom of its inhabitants. 
 
 August 30, 1899, Mr. Greeno married Cath- 
 erine Robb, who was born in Maine, but was 
 reared and educated in Reno, Nev., where her 
 parents located when she was a child. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Greeno have one child, Frances Maxine, 
 born April 24, 1901. Politically Mr. Greeno is 
 a Democrat, and fraternally he is a member of 
 Janesville Parlor No. 198, 'n. S. G. \\'. Mrs. 
 Greeno is a member of the Catholic church, which 
 she joined in Reno, Nev. 
 
 JAY C. WEMPLE. Noteworthy among 
 those industrious, energetic and prosperous 
 voung agriculturists of Lassen county who have 
 spent their entire lives w'thin its limits, being to 
 the manner born and bred, is Jay C. Wemple, a 
 son of Joseph Crawford and Eliza J. (Christie) 
 Wemple, pioneers of this part of the state. Fur- 
 ther parental and ancestral history may be found 
 in a sketch of his father, on another page of this 
 volume. 
 
 A native of Milford. J. C. Wemple was born 
 on the home farm, March 31. 1873, and in com- 
 mon with his brothers and sister was educated, 
 principally, in the district school. As soon as 
 old enough to be of use he began working on 
 the ranch, and has since been actively engaged 
 
 in agricultural labor. In his chosen vocation he 
 has been exceedingly successful, his practical 
 and systematic methods, excellent judgment, and 
 skill in his operations gaining for him satisfac- 
 tory results. His farm, lying northeast of Mil- 
 ford, is under a fine state of cultivation, bearing 
 visible evidence of the skill and wisdom with 
 which it is managed. 
 
 Febniary 17, 1894, Mr. Wemple married Eliz- 
 abeth Decious, a daughter of Irvin Decious. of 
 Modoc county, and into their pleasant home five 
 children have been born, namely : Claudfe, Olga, 
 Hazel, Irvin, and Margel. In politics Mr. Wem- 
 ple is a sound Democrat, uniformly casting his 
 vote in support of the principles of that party, 
 and is a member of Honey Lake Parlor No. 198, 
 N. S. G. W., of Janesville, Cal. Mrs. Wemple 
 is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 DANIEL E. HILL. Conspicuous among the 
 early pioneers of California was the late Daniel 
 E. Hill, who cast his lot with the original set- 
 tlers of Modoc county, taking up land that was 
 in its primeval wildness, and by steady, sturdy 
 toil improving a good homestead, which is no- 
 ticealile on account of the air of thrift and com- 
 fort surrounding it, and the many visible evi- 
 dences of its owner's enterprise, good judginent 
 and skill. A native of Ohio, he was born, July 
 2, 1845, in Morgan county, and died at his home, 
 near Cedarville, Modoc county, Cal, November 
 8, 1904. 
 
 Accompanving his parents to Iowa when a 
 small lad. Daniel E. Hill was there reared to 
 man's estate, obtaining a practical education in 
 the district schools. In 1872 he came to Cali- 
 fornia on a prospecting tour, coming direct to 
 the Surprise valley. He subsequently rented his 
 father-in-law's ranch, which he operated for a 
 year or two, and then went to Oregon, where he 
 was engaged in stock-raising for five or six 
 vears. Returning then to Modoc county, Mr. 
 Hill pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land, which is opposite the present site of the 
 Washington school building, and there began his 
 career once more as a general farmer. He sub- 
 
RICIIAKI) D. BASS 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fi33 
 
 sequeiitly owned other land, and as an agricult- 
 urist met with Gfood success, becoming owner of 
 a valuable ranch, in the management of which he 
 was exceedingly prosperous. 
 
 At Lake City, Cal., in 1877. Mr. Hill married 
 Susan T. Dodson, a daughter of William and 
 F.meline (Hash) Dodson. Ten children were 
 born of their union, nine of whom survive. Berta 
 May married Wylie Jones, of Modoc county, and 
 they have four children, Norman, Florence, Er- 
 nestine aild Preston ; Frederick C. is a resident 
 of Nevada; Daniel Elmer, of Surprise valley, 
 married Beulah York ; Edmund, engaged in 
 teaching, lives at home ; Raymond has charge 
 of the home ranch ; while Hattie, Marion, Ever- 
 ett and Myrtle are still at home. Politicallv Mr. 
 Hill was a loyal Republican, but would nevei 
 accept office. Fraternally he was an active mem- 
 ber, and past noble grand, of Cedarville Lodge, 
 I. O. O. F., under whose auspices he was buried, 
 the lodge having charge of the funeral services, 
 which were most impressive. 
 
 RICHARD D. BASS. The third child in a 
 family of twelve, eleven of whonii reached years 
 of maturity, Richard D. Bass was born in Green 
 county, Ky., May 30, 182 1. His father, Thomas 
 Bass, was also a native of the Blue Grass state, 
 and during the greater part of his life was an 
 agriculturist. When his son R. D. was a lad of 
 one year he removed with his family to Wash- 
 ington county, Mo. Reared upon the Mis.souri 
 farm, Richard D. Bass olitained his education 
 in school houses that were built of logs, the 
 benches made of slabs, and the floors of punch- 
 eon. The writing desk was a slab around the 
 wall, and while doing their writing exercises the 
 children sat with their backs to the room and 
 their faces to the wall. Upon reaching man- 
 hood's estate he followed in his father's footsteps 
 and became an agriculturist, purchasing one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres in Washington county. The 
 troubles growing out of the annexation of Texas 
 to the United States in 1845 hegan to be a men- 
 ace to the peace of the community, and Mr. Bass 
 was one of the participants in the struggle which 
 followed. In the spring of 1847 he enlisted in 
 16 
 
 the Missouri \olunteer Mounted Infantry, be- 
 coming a member of Company D, Third Regular 
 Army, serving under General I'rice from that 
 time until the declaration of peace. He was 
 honorably discharged from the service at Jef- 
 ferson Barracks, Mo., in 1848, after which he 
 returned to his Missouri home. It was not long 
 after this that the discovery of gold in Cali- 
 fornia made this state the center of attraction 
 from all quarters of the Union, and in 1853 .Mr. 
 Bass was among those who made the weari- 
 some journey across the plains. Leaving .Mis- 
 souri March 21, he came by wa.\- of Beck with 
 pass and four months and twelve days later ar- 
 rived in Plumas county. Not unlike the ma- 
 jority who came here at this time he turned his 
 attention to mining, following this until 1837. 
 when he came to Elysian valley. Lassen county, 
 and purchased a squatter's right to land upon 
 which he carried on farming and stock-raising. 
 His cattle brand was a heart on the right side. 
 So successful was he in his eflForts that he became 
 known as one of the largest cattle dealers in the 
 valley. As his needs demanded and his means 
 pennitted he increased his property holdings in 
 the valley until his ranch comprised four hun- 
 dred and eighty acres, besides which he ownetl 
 a ranch of three hundred and five acres near 
 Janesville. and a large stock range in Last 
 Chance valley, in Plumas countv. 
 
 May 13, 1851, Mr. Bass was united in mar- 
 riage with Mary .\nn Carlyon. who was born in 
 Cornwall, England, near Land's End. Her 
 father, Philip Carlyon, also a native of Cornwall, 
 followed mining for a livelihood. He came to the 
 United States in 1839, becoming a pioneer set- 
 tler of Washington county. Mo., where he died. 
 His wife, fonnerly Mary Ralph, was also a na- 
 tive of Cornwall, the daughter of William Ralph, 
 a fanner of that country. Of the two children 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Carlyon Mrs. Bass was the 
 eldest. She was reared on the homestead in ^^is- 
 souri and attended the common schools near bv. 
 The following children were bom to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Bass: Julia, who married George Bovd, 
 and died in Janesville: Stei)hen, who is located 
 on the Janesville ranch: John Edward, residing 
 in Susanville; William B. and Richard L., both 
 
634: 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of whom are deceased ; Minnie and Charles R., 
 both at home; and Roland, who hves at Janes- 
 ville.' Mr. Bass was made a Mason at Janes- 
 ville, and pohtically he was a supporter of Dem- 
 ocratic principles. At his death, November ii, 
 1904, he left a widow and five children to mourn 
 his loss, all of whom hold his memory in tender 
 reverence. Since his death the family have con- 
 tinued to reside on the old homestead, the sons 
 managing the various ranches and the business 
 connected therewith. Mrs. Bass is an estimable 
 woman and stands high in the community which 
 has been her home for so many years. 
 
 BENJAMIN HAMILTON. A capable and 
 progressive farmer, and one of the best known 
 men of Honey Lake valley, is well deserving of 
 special mention in this volume, being honored not 
 only for his own sterling qualities of heart and 
 mind, but for the distinguished ancestry from 
 which he traces his descent. He was born Sep- 
 tember 22, 1833, in Oneida county, N. Y., a son 
 of Elijah Hamilton, and a grand-nephew of 
 Alexander Hamilton, the noted statesman and 
 orator, who was killed by Aaron Burr in a duel. 
 He comes of patriotic New England stock, his 
 grandfather. Gen. John Hamilton, having served 
 under Washington in the Revolutionary war, 
 being an officer in the army. A handsome chain, 
 and a pin, in the shape of an eagle's claw, which 
 the general wore, are now in the possession of 
 Mr. Hamilton's wife. 
 
 A son of Gen. John and Electa Hamilton, Eli- 
 jah Hamilton was born and reared in Connecti- 
 cut, and was subsequently engaged in the lum- 
 ber business in New York state. In 1842 he re- 
 moved with his family to Wisconsin, locating 
 first at ^Mineral Point, and then on the Wisconsin 
 river, where both he and his wife, whose maiden 
 name was Eliza Worden, spent the remainder of 
 their lives. 
 
 On leaving school, Benjamin Hamilton began 
 working as a lumberman with his father, re- 
 maining at home until nineteen years old. He 
 was an ambitious young man, full of push and 
 energy, and determined in his efforts to succeed 
 
 in the battle of life. Following in the footsteps 
 of his father, who left his New England home m 
 search of a fortune, he joined the tide of emigra- 
 tion surging westward in 1852, and came over- 
 land to the Pacific coast. The first two weeks 
 after his arrival he remained in Sacramento, and 
 then, in company with his uncle, Alexander 
 Hamilton, he purchased a placer mine on the 
 present site of Placerville. Three or four months 
 later he sold out his interest and went tO' Wicken- 
 burg, Ariz., where he followed teaming for nine 
 and one-half months, buying for $9,000 three 
 ten-mule teams. Returning to California, Mr. 
 Hamilton continued business as a teamster for 
 fourteen years, for four years being in Los An- 
 geles, and the last ten years in Oakland. Com- 
 ing to Susanville in 1878, he opened a barber's 
 shop in the village, and was also interested in 
 mining to some extent. Having accumulated 
 money in his undertakings, in 1892 he bought a 
 homestead claim to the eighty acres of land on 
 which he now lives. The land was then covered 
 with sage brush, and there was only one house in 
 sight. He at once began its improvement, and 
 has continually increased its value, having built 
 fences and erected a house and a small barn. He 
 has thirty-five acres in alfalfa, and all under ir- 
 rigation, rendering the land fertile and pro- 
 ductive. 
 
 February 28, 1880, Mr. Hamilton married 
 Elizabeth Otto, who was born in New York City 
 in 1852, a daughter of Anthony Otto. A native 
 of Stuttgart, Germany, Anthony Otto lived there 
 until seventeen years old. Immigrating then to 
 America he located in New York City, where he 
 subsequently married Madeline Myers, who was 
 born in Paris, and came to this country when 
 eigiiteen \ears of age. In 1856 Mr. Otto came 
 b>' way of Panama to California, and for awhile 
 worked in the placer mines. Going then to \'ir- 
 ginia City, he opened a blacksmith's shop, which 
 he operated a number of years. In 1859 he was 
 there joined by his wife and three children, who 
 came by way of the Isthmus, and were passen- 
 gers on the steamer Golden City when she made 
 her first trip from Panama to San Francisco. In 
 1865 he and his family located in Janesville, 
 where he ran a smithv for a number of seasons. 
 
lACUIJ KXLTHSON 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 C37 
 
 He suhsetiuciitly removed to Susanville, where 
 lie carried on a substantial business as a black- 
 smith until about 1900, when he retired from 
 active pursuits. He and his wife are still living 
 in that city, hale and hearty, he being seventy- 
 seven years old, and she three years j'ounger. 
 Of tlie union of i\Ir. and Mrs. Hamilton three 
 children have been born, namely: Ivliza (wife 
 of David Elledge, of Lassen county, and the 
 mother of one child, Albert Douglas), John and 
 \'iola V. Politically Mr. Hamilton is a firm ad- 
 herent of the Democratic party. Fraternally he 
 is a charter member and past grand master work- 
 man of Susanville Lodge, A. O. U. W. 
 
 JACOB KNUTHSON. In the <|uiet per- 
 formance of such duties as fall to the lot of a 
 dairyman and agriculturist, Mr. Knuthson 
 passed many of the active years of his life and 
 eventually, having accumulated a competency 
 sufficient for his declining years, and having 
 reached an age that rendered advisable the dis- 
 continuance of arduous ranching labors, he sold 
 his dairy and other interests to a son, then re- 
 tired from agricultural work and came to Sier- 
 raville, where he and his w^ife own and occupy 
 a comfortable residence. The infirmities of ad- 
 vancing years prevent him from taking any part 
 in public afifairs, yet he remains deejily inter- 
 ested in the welfare of his adopted country, and 
 especially in the development of the beautiful 
 valley of the Sierra. 
 
 On a farm in Holstein, Germany, where he 
 was born, September 9, 1827. Jacob Knuthson 
 passed the uneventful years of youth, meanwhile 
 receiving such advantages as the neighboring 
 schools aflforded. At the age of fifteen \ears 
 he began to serve an apprenticeship to the trade home for the western mountains. Afterward two 
 
 cided to come to the United States, and soon 
 took leave of friends and relatives and .set sail 
 for the new world, landing in New York City 
 during May of 1851. Soon afterward he became 
 proprietor of a store on the corner of Twentieth 
 street and Eighth avenue, where he engaged 
 in the selling of groceries until 1859, and 
 then disposed of the business, having deter- 
 mined to seek a home in the far and then un- 
 known west. 
 
 Accompanied by his wife and two children 
 Mr. Knuthson came via Panama to San Fran- 
 cisco, and thence to Downieville. where he ar- 
 rived during the latter part of the year 1859. 
 For a time he engaged in river mining, but later 
 became interested in hydraulic mining twelve 
 miles from Downieville, meeting with a fair de- 
 gree of success. On selling out his mining in- 
 terests in 1874 he purchased a ranch of one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres twelve miles west of Sier- 
 raville. also took up a homestead and a pre- 
 emption claim, and later purchased large tracts 
 from neighboring ranchers, until eventually he 
 became the owner of twelve hundred acres in 
 one body. Ujion this large estate he engaged in 
 general ranching, and also kept a dairy of about 
 forty cows. After many successful years as a 
 ranchman he disposed of his interests to his son 
 and came to Sierraville, where he lives retired 
 from business responsibilities. 
 
 While living in New York City .Mr. Knuthson 
 established a home of his own. choosing as his 
 wife Miss Legenia flyers, who was born in Ba- 
 varia, Germany, December 25, 1832, and 
 crossed the ocean to the United States in voung 
 womanhood, landing at Xew York harbor in 
 October of 1852. Their marriage was solem- 
 nized January 20, 1853. and they were the 
 parents of two children when they left their city 
 
 of printer and dyer, and at the expiration of his 
 term of four years he took up the work of a 
 journeyman, traveling for three years in the in- 
 terests of the trade. On his return home he 
 was drafted in the militia, and for two years 
 served in the German army, meanwhile par- 
 ticipating in one battle. After having received 
 an honorable discharge from the army he de- 
 
 other children were born to them, and all of the 
 four are now living. John Henry, who was born 
 March 17, 1856, is now engaged in mining, with 
 headquarters at Reno, \ev. Margaret, who 
 was born September i. 1857. married .\mbrose 
 Hazleton, and died November 10. 1887. George 
 Washington, who was born .April 5, i860, is en- 
 gaged in ranching in Sierra county, having pur- 
 
i 
 
 638 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 chased his father's interests on the latter's retire- 
 ment from ranch work. Henrietta, who was 
 born October 9, 1870, is the wife of Frank 
 Church, and resides at Susanville, this state. 
 The family are identified with the Congrega- 
 tional Church, in the work of which' Mr. and 
 Mrs. Knuthson maintain a deep interest. 
 Since becoming a citizen of the United States he 
 has never held office nor participated in public 
 affairs, but has voted the Republican ticket at 
 all elections, and has maintained a quiet in- 
 terest in politics. When any movement is pro- 
 jected calculated to benefit his town and county 
 he has always been one of the first to support the 
 plan and promote its success. 
 
 DAVID BATY. Identified with the history 
 of Modoc county from a very early day, Mr. 
 Baty has experienced all the hardships and pri- 
 vations incident to life upon the frontier, and 
 during a very long period of residence in the 
 same locality has become familiar with the soil, 
 climate and possibilities of this section of the 
 country. Years ago, when white settlers were 
 few and Indians hostile, he frequently offered 
 his services as a private citizen and a volunteer 
 to assist in quelling the savages, whose depre- 
 dations brought heavy losses upon the ranchers. 
 Several times he lost his stock through the In- 
 dians and in other ways he was made to suffer 
 inconvenience and heavy financial loss through 
 the hostility of the red men, yet in spite of this 
 trouble and many other adverse circumstances 
 he has accumulated a valuable property. 
 
 The son of John L. and Mary (Moore) Baty, 
 natives of Ohio, David Baty was born in Brown 
 county, that state, February 4, 1843. While he 
 was yet a very small child he was taken to Illi- 
 nois by his parents, who settled in Effingham 
 county, and there he grew to manhood. Dur- 
 ing the summer months he aided his father on 
 the home farm, while in the winter he was per- 
 mitted to attend the neighboring school. In the 
 spring of 1864 he went to New York City, where 
 he took passage on a vessel bound for the Isth- 
 mus of Panama. From there he came up the 
 
 Pacific ocean to San Francisco and then traveled 
 across the country to Modoc county, arriving in 
 Surprise valley during the fall of 1864. South- 
 west of where he now resides and near the mili- 
 tary post of Fort Bidwell he pre-empted a tract 
 of one hundred and sixty acres from the gov- 
 ernment. On this place he made his home for 
 a number of years, but later brought one hundred 
 and twenty acres, known as the Ross ranch. 
 The new tract was partly under fence, and later 
 he made further improvements, erecting a house 
 and barns, building fences, and making other 
 improvements that add to the value of the ranch. 
 At this writing he has thirty acres in alfalfa and 
 the balance in timothy and wild hay. In the 
 early days he raised grain extensively, but of 
 recent years he has devoted his attention to the 
 stock business exclusively. In addition to his 
 home place he has filed a claim to a tract of tim- 
 ber land. The property which he owns repre- 
 sents his unaided exertions and possesses an in- 
 creasing value. 
 
 After a number of years as a bachelor on his 
 ranch, in 1873 Mr. Baty returned to Illinois and 
 in Effingham county married Miss Sarah Strief, 
 whose father, John B. Strief, now makes his 
 home near Lake City, Modoc county. Eight 
 children were born of their union, six of whom 
 are living, namely : Mary, who married Charles 
 Peterson, now of Oregon, and has four children, 
 Edna, Nettie, David Peter and Powell ; Nettie, 
 who first married Harry H. Peterson, by whom 
 she had two children (Hazel being now the only 
 one living) , and after obtaining a legal separation 
 from him married Robert Tarance, of Reno, Nev. ; 
 Albert L., who married Eunice Reeds, has three 
 children, Roy Raymond, ]\Iarie and Ruth, and 
 resides on a farm adjoining his father's home- 
 stead : Samuel, who married Grace Chapman, 
 and lives near Alturas ; Carrie, who married Lu- 
 man Foskett, they with their two children, Jennie 
 and Florence, making their home in Warner 
 valley ; and David, Jr., who remains with his 
 father. Mrs. Sarah Baty died in 1896, and was 
 buried in the Bidwell cemetery. A few years 
 afterward Mr. Baty was united in marriage with 
 Mrs. Mary (Walls) Reeds, who was born, 
 reared and educated in Illinois, being a daughter 
 
^ Lth^ C-^^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 041 
 
 of Thomas and Sarah (Brown) Walls, natives of 
 Ohio, who died in Illinois. In her young girl- 
 hood Miss Walls became the wife of Thomas 
 Reeds, now deceased. Four children were born 
 of the union, but all of the sons, John, Frank 
 and Roy, have passed away. The only daughter, 
 Eunice, is now the wife of Albert L. llatv, and 
 lives near her mother's home. The family are 
 consistent members of the Qiristian Church and 
 contribute to religious and charitable movements. 
 Politically Mr. Baty has always voted the Re- 
 publican ticket and has taken a warm interest in 
 local affairs. For one term of four years he was 
 a member of the board of supervisors of Modoc 
 county and during that time he was foremost in 
 favoring plans for the development of the 
 county. 
 
 STOEL CADY. While America was still in the 
 colonial period of its development the Cady family 
 became established in New England, and when the 
 war of the Revolution began Reuben Cady shoul- 
 dered his old flintlock rifle and marched against 
 the enemy. Long after he had been gathered to his 
 fathers the rifle was preserved by descendants 
 with commendable pride and eventually it was 
 brought to California, but during a 4th of July 
 celebration in 1851 it was destroyed, much to 
 the regret of its owners. After the close of 
 the Revolutionary struggle Reuben Cady re- 
 moved to New York and settled upon a raw tract 
 of land, where he remained until his death, mean- 
 while engaged in agricultural pursuits. The ne.xt 
 generation was represented by his_ son, Horace, 
 a native of Connecticut, and in early manhood 
 a farmer of Otsego county, New York, but after 
 1840 a resident of Illinois, where he bought raw 
 land and improved a farm near Camden, Schuy- 
 ler county. On that homestead he continued to 
 reside until 1850, the year of his death. In his 
 marriage he was united with Eunice Cady, who 
 was born in Connecticut, the daughter of a Revo- 
 lutionary soldier, and died in Illinois. Of their 
 six sons and four daughters there now survive 
 two daughters and one son. Two of the sons, 
 Hezekiah and Reuben, crossed the plains to Cal- 
 ifornia in 1850. During the same year Hezekiah 
 
 died near Stockton and later Reuben returned to 
 Illinois, where his death occurred. 
 
 Among the ten children Stoel Cady was fourth 
 m order of birth, and was born in Otsego county, 
 N. Y.. April 18. 1824. From his birthplace in 
 1840 he accompanied the family to Illinois bv 
 wagon through Canada, passing through Qii- 
 cago when it was a hamlet of but three or four 
 houses. .-Xt twenty years of age he bought his 
 time from his father for $60 and entered the em- 
 ploy of William Dexter, with whom he remained 
 until 1849. I" the spring of that year he started 
 for California with ox-teams. The old family 
 physician predicted that he would not live to 
 reach the west, as symptoms of tuberculosis 
 were pronounced and his cough troublesome. 
 However, he gained steadily in the outdoor life 
 and since reaching California has had no illness 
 more serious than fever and ague. 
 
 Following the Humboldt and Carson route, 
 Stoel Cady arrived at Placerville six months to 
 a day from the time he started on the journey. 
 (iood luck at first rewarded his efforts. In three 
 days at the North h'ork of the American river he 
 took out $1800 in gold dust, and this he deposited 
 in the bank over night, but three toys claimed it 
 and the bank turned it over to them. With $600 
 he still had in his possession he bought stock 
 in a company planning to build a dam across the 
 river, but the enteriirise fell through and he went 
 to Sacramento without money. In that city he 
 took a contract to work as cook under Hinman & 
 Lovcll in the building of the levee, for which 
 he was paid $16 per day, and later he received 
 $300 per month as cook for the construction men. 
 Though cholera took its victims from among the 
 workmen he refused to leave his place, but re- 
 mained until the levee was completed. His next 
 work was the caring for Mr. Hinman's stock 
 during the winter of 1850-51, and these he drove 
 to the .Stanislaus river, and in 185 1 put in a crop 
 in what is now Stanislaus county, paying $75 for 
 a single plow and ten cents a pound for seed 
 barley. The crop from his forty acres of barley 
 he hauled to Sonora, where he sold it at ten cents 
 or more per pound. During the fall of 185 1 he 
 paid $400 for a claim in San Joaquin county, two 
 miles above the present site of Ripon. where he 
 
642 
 
 HISTORICM. AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 improved a farm. Returning east via Panama 
 in 185.5 'ic bought a herd of cattle in Illinois and 
 drove them across the plains. It was during this 
 journey he met Miss Nancy J. Pringle, whom he 
 married August i. 1854, in San Joaquin county. 
 After establishing a home upon his farm he 
 gave his attention to the care of the land, which 
 he placed under grain and alfalfa, also devoting 
 considerable attention to the stock business. 
 Eventually he sold the property to his son-in-law, 
 A. J. Nourse, since which time he has resided 
 with his son, Frank Pringle, in Susanville, and 
 is now retired from life's activities. His wife, 
 who was a native of Springfield, 111., was a 
 daughter of William Pringle, and traced her an- 
 cestry to Scotland. Orphaned in girlhood, she 
 came across the plains with a family of acquaint- 
 ances bearing the name of Johnson. Through all 
 her active life she was a devoted member of the 
 Qiristian Church and in that faith she passed 
 from earth in March, 1897. Her death occurred 
 in Stockton, and her remains were laid to rest 
 in Ripon, Cal. Surviving her are three children, 
 and one son, Frederick Reuben, died in 1893 near 
 McDermitt, Nev. Those now living are Isabelle 
 Eunice, wife of J. A. Plummer, of Stockton; 
 Frank Pringle, of Susanville ; and Etta May, who 
 is married and resides at Ripon, this state. 
 
 RICHARD THOMPSON. In alternating 
 successes and reverses the experiences of Rich- 
 ard Thompson in California were many and mem- 
 orable, beginning with his arrival in the state in 
 the spring of 1850, and continuing until his death 
 in 1902. The country where his mature years 
 were spent was far removed from the scenes 
 familiar to his youth, for he was of Canadian 
 birth and parentage, born in Quebec November 
 24, 1824, and reared and educated in the same 
 environment. Under his father, who was both 
 farmer and blacksmith, he learned the rudi- 
 ments of agriculture, and gained a thorough prac- 
 tical knowledge of blacksmithing. Later he 
 clerked in a store for a few years. When news 
 came of the discovery of gold in California he 
 at once arranged his plans for an immediate de- 
 
 parture for the gold-fields of the remote Pacific 
 coast country. Going to New York he took 
 passage on a ship bound for San Francisco. The 
 voyage dragged monotonously but uneventfully 
 until the Straits of Magellan were reached. 
 There a storm wrecked the vessel on the rocks, 
 but the crew were able to get the ship to the 
 shore, and there the vessel was abandoned and 
 the voyage begun anew on another ship. Land- 
 ing in San Francisco in the spring of 1850, Mr. 
 Thompson secured work at the blacksmith's 
 trade, but was not satisfied to remain perma- 
 nently in the city. 
 
 In those days all of the emigrants were anx- 
 ious to try their fortunes in the mines, and Mr. 
 Thompson followed the general rush to the 
 mines, coming to Plumas county in March of 
 1 85 1, and beginning to mine at Rich Bar. Des- 
 tiny, however, had no rich stores of the shining 
 metal in reservation for him ; industry and pa- 
 tience brought no returns, and when his funds 
 were exhausted he began to mine for wages. In 
 a short time he went to Spanish Ranch and 
 opened a blacksmith's shop, forming a partner- 
 ship soon with H. W. Kellogg in blacksmith- 
 ing, and later in the mercantile and hotel busi- 
 ness. The partners bought the Spanish ranch 
 of four hundred acres, and also conducted the 
 hotel, store and blacksmith's shop in partner- 
 ship for more than forty years, building up a 
 business that extended for miles in every direc- 
 tion. Large profits rewarded their industry and 
 sagacity, but unfortunately much of the money 
 thus earned was invested in mines that promised 
 well, but failed to realize expectations. 
 
 During all his active life, after becoming a 
 citizen of the United States, Mr. Thompson sup- 
 ported Republican principles. Under the ad- 
 ministration of President Lincoln he was af)- 
 pointed postmaster at Spanish Ranch, and this 
 position he filled efficiently until 1891, when he 
 retired from the office. Meanwhile, for a great 
 many years he also served as agent at Spanish 
 Ranch for the Wells-Fargo Express Company. 
 His younger son, William H., is now in the em- 
 ploy of the Wells-Fargo Express Company, be- 
 ing their agent at Santa Barbara, this state ; the 
 older son, Charles R., is engaged in mining in 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 643 
 
 Plumas county. When about twenty-one years 
 of age he was initiated into the Independent Or- 
 der of Odd Fellows at Quebec, and afterward 
 joined Plumas Lodge No. 88, at Quincy. While 
 he accumulated a fortune during his long and 
 honorable business career, he was so liberal to 
 all in need, so quick to respond to every appeal 
 for aid, and so generous in his benefactions that 
 he greatly reduced his holdings, and in addition, 
 as before stated, he suffered some severe losses 
 in the mines. However, he retained an amount 
 sufficient to surround his declining years with the 
 comforts of life and to leave his widow a com- 
 petence for her support. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Thompson occurred 
 in i860, and united him with Sarah Jane Russell ; 
 she died nine years later, leaving two sons. Two 
 years afterwards Alicia Keough became his wife ; 
 she passed away in 1884. Mrs. Elizabeth 
 (Brooks) Hyde, who was born in London, Eng- 
 land, April 6, 1836, became his wife in Septem- 
 ber, 1885. During girlhood she went to Aus- 
 tralia, where January 9, 1853, she married 
 Charles W. Hyde, a native of Berkshire, Eng- 
 land, and a merchant by occupation. From Aus- 
 tralia Mr. Hyde went to Chili, and in 1855 to New 
 York, where Mrs. Hyde joined him the following 
 year. From there they proceeded to Iowa City, 
 which was then the capital of Iowa and the ter- 
 minus of the railroad. After farming in that local- 
 ity for a short time Mr. Hyde removed to Kansas 
 and pre-empted a claim in .\llen county. A 
 year later, in 1859, during the Pike's Peak ex- 
 citement, he and his wife left Kansas for the cen- 
 ter of mining activity, but a few days in the 
 mountains convinced them of the undcsirability 
 of remaining longer, so they pursued their jour- 
 ney overland to the Pacific coast country. The 
 winter of 1859-60 was spent in Indian valley, 
 Plumas county, Cal., and in March they removed 
 to Rich Gulch, where Mr. Hyde embarked in 
 mining. In 1862 they and their two children 
 went to \'ictoria, British Columbia, but soon 
 returned to California and settled at Ilowland 
 Flat. .V year later they came to Twelve-Mile 
 Bar in Plumas county, where Mr. Hyde held 
 mining interests and won a fair degree of suc- 
 cess. In Meadow Valley his death occurred in 
 
 July, 1883, when he was fifty-si.x years of age. 
 Of his five children three arc now living. Hattie, 
 the eldest daughter, is the wife of S. C. Brown, 
 of Meadow Valley. Amelia M. married Will- 
 iam Johnston and lives in Verdi, Nev. Minerva 
 is the wife of George E. Mattoon, of Honcut, 
 iiutte county. For many years Mr. Hyde was 
 identified with Plumas Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. 
 F., at Quincy, in which he retained membership 
 until his death. After he died his widow re- 
 mained in Plumas county, and there was united 
 in marriage with Mr. Thompson; since his death 
 she has lived quietiv at her cottage in Quincy, 
 surrounded by the friends of many years and 
 blessed b\- the affection of her descendants. 
 
 GEORGE WCXJDWARD. There are a 
 great many California pioneers scattered 
 throughout the state, but a "forty-niner" has a 
 special claim to distinction above all others. 
 They are a class by themselves. Those were his- 
 toric days in California when the discovery of 
 gold brought an inrush of gold-seekers, so fren- 
 zied with the all pervading spirit of excitement 
 that they were oblivious to hardships and dan- 
 gers ; and with it all there seems to have been 
 established a bond of kinship between the men of 
 that time that the passing years have not obliter- 
 ated. 
 
 George Woodward, California pioneer of '49, 
 is a native of Wilmington. Del., and the son of 
 another George Woodward, the latter a native 
 of Pennsylvania. In early days he followed the 
 trade of miller, but later on in life became a 
 farmer. In 1833 he removed with his family to 
 Champaign county, Ohio, not far from Urbana. 
 and there lived until his death, which occurred 
 when he was sixty-six years of age. In a family 
 of ten children George Woodward was the 
 youngest and had one brother, Ephraim. who 
 lived to the ripe age of ninety-one years. The 
 family traces its descent from colonial days, the 
 first Woodward to settle in .America coming 
 with the colony that William Penn founded in 
 what was afterwards named in his honor Penn- 
 svlvania. 
 
644 
 
 HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 George Woodward, Jr., was born July 14- 
 1821, and was twelve years old when his father 
 moved to Ohio. When he was seventeen he 
 went to Columbus, Ohio, and served an appren- 
 ticeship of four years at the carpenter's trade, 
 following that occupation for a number of years 
 in different parts of the country. 
 
 As one of a party of thirty-six Mr. Wood- 
 ward started for California from St. Joseph, 
 Mo., on the i6th of May, 1849, reaching Las- 
 sen's ranch October 6. He owned an interest in 
 the outfit, which consisted of six wagons drawn 
 by oxen, and at Lang's Bar, near where Oro- 
 ville now stands, the party divided. Mr. Wood- 
 ward went to Sacramento, working at his trade 
 there during the following winter. In the spring 
 of 1850 he went to Volcano, Amador county, 
 and in that vicinity carried on mining and pros- 
 pecting for one year. Subsequently going to 
 Boone's Bar, near Forbestown, Butte county, he 
 with others was instrumental in putting in a race 
 dam to change the course of the south fork of 
 Feather river. Notwithstanding their efforts the 
 undertaking was not altogether the success that 
 had been anticipated. In the fall of the same 
 year, 185 1, Mr. Woodward went to Nelson 
 creek, where he remained until the heavy rains 
 made further work there impossible. He was a 
 member of the party that located the Mammoth 
 claim, adjoining the Eureka ledge. It was a 
 good mine, but they did not understand quartz 
 inining and could not make it pay. Mr. Wood- 
 ward worked there during the summer and the 
 next season put up and ran a quartz mill on 
 Jamison creek. In the spring of 1853 he went to 
 work for wages, building a three-mile flume on 
 Nelson creek, and when that was completed 
 built another flume near Spanish Ranch. The 
 next season he built a small sawmill at Mohawk, 
 which he operated for several years following. 
 Then he went to the Eureka mine, where he 
 helped build a forty stamp mill, and other im- 
 provements they were making at the mine at that 
 time. After they started up he designed and 
 built the Mohawk sixty stamp quartz mill at 
 Johnsville, also designing and building the Yuba 
 mills, the Young America, and rebuilt a twenty 
 stamp mill. After having charge of the com- 
 
 pany's mills until 1888, he resigned his position 
 at the Eureka and went to work at the Young 
 America, where he was in charge one year. At 
 the end of this time he discontinued mining en- 
 tirely and came to live at Johnsville, where he 
 has since made his home. 
 
 October 25, 1857, ^Ir. Woodward married 
 Mrs. Martha Portman, a native of England, who 
 came to the United States when quite a young 
 girl. She died April 6, 1893, having become the 
 mother of seven children : Florence, wife of 
 William B. Mathews, postmaster and express 
 agent at Johnsville ; Alice, wife of F. T. Meffley, 
 a policeman in Reno, Nev. ; Frank, who resides 
 in this county; Fannie (better known as Birdie), 
 Mrs. A. C. Hunsinger of Susanville, Cal. ; John 
 J., at Reno, Nev.; Edgar W., a mining man of 
 this county ; and Arthur, clerk in a sawmill. 
 
 Mr. \\'oodward is now eighty-four years of 
 age. Though in rather feeble health he retains 
 his mental faculties unimpaired. He has seen 
 the wonderful growth of California as a state 
 since the days of the crude life of rough mining 
 camps to the proud position she has taken in the 
 sisterhood of states. His home, his family, and 
 his life interests have been here, and he can look 
 back through the years with a feeling of gratifi- 
 cation in the thought that he was one among the 
 band of pioneers of the Golden state. 
 
 ANDREW HALL, familiarly called "Doc" 
 by his more intimate friends, was born in Som- 
 erset county. Me., November 12, 1850. Spend- 
 ing his boyhood on the home farm in Maine, his 
 opportunities for obtaining an education were 
 limited. When but sixteen years of age the de- 
 sire to cast in his lot with the remote west was so 
 great that he sailed for San Francisco via the 
 Isthmus of Panama. After his arrival he went 
 at once to the mining region in the vicinity of 
 La Porte, Plumas county, and for eight years 
 followed mining, meeting with only fair success. 
 At the end of that time he located in Quincy and 
 embarked in the liquor business until 1890. Dis- 
 posing of this business he started the Plumas 
 Independent (a Republican newspaper) in 1892 
 
MICHAEL .SL(.;KU 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 047 
 
 and has since continued interested in the enter- 
 prise with his son Arthur, who now manages the 
 paper, Mr. Hall giving his time to the perform- 
 ance of his duties of sheritT, to which office he 
 was elected in 1898, after a hitterly contested 
 fight. Giving his undivided attention to the 
 faithful performance of his duties he was re- 
 elected in igo2 by a large majority. 
 
 July I, 1875, Mr. Hall was united in marriage 
 with Nellie Porter, who was born, reared and 
 educated in Ohio. Two children blessed this 
 union, George Porter, who died at the age of 
 twenty-nine years, and Arthur A., manager and 
 partner in the Plumas Indi'pcndeiii. After his 
 election to office Mr. Hall could devote but little 
 time to the newspaper business and he took his 
 son into partnership, retaining a half interest 
 himself. He is also interested in several mines 
 in Plumas county, some of which are valuable 
 property and hold out promises of a very encour- 
 aging nature. 
 
 In all matters that have come up for the bet- 
 terment of the county and the advancement of 
 the interests of its citizens Mr. Hall has always 
 been found a liberal supporter and advocate. In 
 the performance of the duties devolving upon 
 him in office he has always been impartial and 
 has had the interest of his constituents before 
 him. Starting in life for himself at an early age, 
 he has by perseverance and industry worked his 
 way to his present position in the community, 
 and wherever known "Doc'' Hall is a favorite. 
 
 MICHAEL SUGRU is one of the pioneer 
 settlers of Lassen county whose efforts in the 
 early days of the state have been prolific of sat- 
 isfactory financial returns. He is a native of 
 County Kerry, Ireland, lx>rn August 15, 1829. 
 Being left an orphan Ijy the death of his father 
 in infancy, his earliest recollections are of efTorts 
 toward self-support, as he grew into boyhood 
 and young manhootl working on farms and driv- 
 ing teams for traders. Later he was able to own 
 a team and look after these interests for himself. 
 After the death of his mother in 1844 he came 
 to the United States, landing in New York 
 
 er 
 a hotel, 
 
 Cit)-, where after two days he journeyed to Hol- 
 yoke, Mass., there securing employment on a 
 farm. Three years later, in 1847, he located 
 m the middle west, in Green Bay, Wis., engaging 
 with various lumber firms for some years. Three 
 years of this period he spent in the employ of 
 one firm as watchman of the sawmill and man- 
 ager of the stables. In 1850 he made the trip 
 to Louisiana on the Mississippi river, and in 
 Baton Rouge worked on the levee, and lat 
 drove a grocery wagon and worked in 
 being compelled to stay there on account of tiie 
 yellow fever. From that ix)int he enlisted in the 
 Lnited States army for a five years' service, and 
 ni St. Louis, Mo., was honorably discharged 
 in December, 1863, at the arsenal, wiicre his com- 
 pany had been placed after the breaking out of 
 the Civil war. He remained in St. Louis for a 
 time following his discharge from the armv, 
 and engaged in the grocery and liquor business 
 on the corner of Seventh street and Choteau ave- 
 nue. He was successful in accumulating con- 
 siderable means, but finally decided to elispose 
 of his business interests there and seek a new 
 home in the more remote west. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Sugru came to California and in 
 the fall of the same year located on the property 
 where he now makes his home, a ranch of one 
 hundred and fifty-five acres, six miles east of 
 Susanville on the Janesville road. Since that 
 lime he has taken up two claims which have in- 
 creased his property to four hundred acres, upon 
 which he engaged in general fanning and stock- 
 raising, and the raising of garden vegetables. 
 Since 1900, on account of impaired health, he has 
 turned over the management of his property to 
 his son, James Sugru, and has permanently re- 
 tired from the activities which have for io many 
 years engrossed his attention, spending the even- 
 ing of his days in that honorable retirement 
 which follows well-directed ami successful 
 efforts. 
 
 In St. Louis, Mo., Mr. Sugru was twice mar- 
 ried, his second wife being Bridget ^[oony, a 
 nati\T of Ireland, and born of this union were 
 three children, two sons and one daughter, of 
 whom only one son. James, survives. He was 
 born on the home ranch near Susanville on 
 
64S 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Christmas day of 1880, and there grew into man- 
 hood of fine physique and corresponding quali- 
 ties of heart and mind. He received his educa- 
 tion in tlie common school in the vicinity of his 
 home, and at the same time was thoroughly 
 trained in the practical duties of a farmer's son. 
 Upon the retirement of his father from active 
 cares he assumed the management of the prop- 
 erty. 
 
 ELLIOT WINCHESTER. America was in 
 the colonial period of its development when the 
 Winchester family came from England to the 
 bleak coast of Massachusetts, and subsequent 
 generations lived and labored in the old Bay 
 state. John Winchester and his son, Anson (the 
 latter born December 3, 1790), were natives of 
 Worcester county, where the latter acquired in 
 youth a knowledge of the trade of mason and 
 builder, and after removing to Michigan fol- 
 lowed his trade in Detroit. E'elieving that the far 
 west afforded greater opportunities than the cen- 
 tral states, he left Michigan for the Pacific coast 
 via Panama in 1856, and for eight years ensuing 
 he remained in Oregon, but in 1864 joined his 
 son Elliot in Honey Lake valley, where his death 
 occurred at eighty-six years of age. Eor years 
 he had been identified with the Congregational- 
 ists, but after he came to Susanville, there being 
 no church of his choice here, he allied himself 
 with the Methodist Episcopal denomination. 
 After the organization of the Republican party 
 he always voted that ticket. Before leaving the 
 east he married Miss Harriet Carpenter, whose 
 father, Jason Carpenter, was a native of Worces- 
 ter county, Mass., and a farmer in that local- 
 ity for many years. The family, like the Win- 
 chesters, was of English extraction. Mrs. 
 Anson Winchester was born in Worcester 
 county, Mass., in 1791, and died in 1840 after 
 the family had removed to Michigan. 
 
 Among seven children, all of whom attained 
 mature years, Elliot Winchester was fourth in or- 
 der of birth and is now the sole survivor. His 
 eldest brother, Thomas Winchester, settled in 
 Empire City, Ore., in 1858, and remained there 
 until his death in 1874. Another brother, Lewis, 
 
 crossed the plains to California in 1849 ^nd dur- 
 ing the same year was accidentally drowned iii 
 Feather river. Elliot Winchester was bom at 
 Hardwick, Worcester county, Alass., March 22, 
 1821, and at the age of thirteen years accompa- 
 nied the family by wagon to Albany, N. Y., 
 thence by the Erie canal across the state to Buf- 
 falo, and from there by the great lakes to De- 
 troit, where he gained his first ideas of life on 
 the then frontier. His early education was ac- 
 quired in the district school, to which he contin- 
 ued to add by reading and observation. At 
 twenty years of age he secured a tract of one 
 hundred and twenty acres in the dense timber, 
 where he experienced the difficult task of clear- 
 ing and preparing the land for cultivation. While 
 there he manufactured staves and tons of potash, 
 that were shipped toi England. 
 
 On leaving Michigan in 1859 Elliot Winches- 
 ter traveled via Panama to Oregon and settled 
 at Empire City, Coos county. Until 1864 he en- 
 gaged in mining in Oregon, but at that time he 
 crossed into California and bought a tract of 
 raw land on the Susan river four miles below Su- 
 sanville, where he improved a valuable stock 
 and grain farm of two hundred acres. For many 
 years he devoted his attention closely to agri- 
 cultural pursuits and thus accumidated a compe- 
 tency sufficient to provide his declining vears 
 with the comforts of existence. On disposing of 
 the land in 1890 he came into Susanville, where 
 he now has a comfortable and attractive home. 
 His first marriage took place January 14, 1841, 
 in Oakland county, Mich., where he was united 
 with Miss Marietta Sperry, a native of Vermont. 
 At her death, which occurred in Michigan in 
 1846, she left two children, namely : Lorenzo^ E., 
 a famier near Susanville ; and Ellen, wife of Eber 
 Yost, of Wyandotte, Mich., who died in April, 
 1870. The second marriage of Mr. Winchester 
 was also solemnized in Michigan in 1850, this 
 union being with Miss Charlotte McConnell, who 
 was bom in New York state and died in Michi- 
 gan in 1856; no children survive of that union. 
 The present wife of Mr. Winchester was Miss 
 Ressie Harper, whO' was bom in Boston, Mass., 
 in 1853, and was a daughter of Samuel and 
 Phoebe (Weston) Harper, also natives of Bos- 
 
.Q/t<^i^^^^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND niOCRAl'IlICAL RECORD. 
 
 651 
 
 ton. In early manhood i\lr. Harper reinoved to 
 Pittsburg, Pa., where he engaged in the manu- 
 facture of cut glass. Both he and his wife died 
 in Pittsburg, his demise occurring at the age of 
 sixty-nine years. Of his eleven children only 
 four are now living. One of the sons, William 
 Harper, was a soldier in a Penn.sylvania regi- 
 ment during the Civil war. Mrs. Elliot Win- 
 chester was next to the youngest of the children 
 who attained mature years and remained in the 
 east until her marriage, which took place in 
 Franklin, Pa., October 2i, 1895. 
 
 Since the organization of the Republican parts- 
 Mr. Winchester has supported its principles by 
 his ballot at all elections. At fourteen years of 
 age he became a member of the Congregational 
 church in Michigan, and during his residence in 
 that state he continued an active worker in that 
 denomination. On coming to Lassen countv and 
 finding no church of his own faith, he identified 
 himself with the Methodist Episcopal church of 
 Susanville in the fall of 1864 and ever since has 
 been prominent in its management and devoted 
 to its welfare. For years he held office as super- 
 intendent of the Sunday-school, in addition to 
 which he has been a faithful worker as a class- 
 leader. At the time of the building of the former 
 house of worship many years ago he was chosen 
 a member of the building committee, and when 
 the new church was to be built he was again hon- 
 ored by being appointed on this resfK>nsible com- 
 mittee. Among the people in whose midst he has 
 lived for so many years he has a position of ac- 
 knowledged confidence and respect, and is con- 
 ceded to be one of the most honorable and jjub- 
 lic-spiritcd citizens in his city and county. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON FULLER. 
 The history of the Fuller family in America 
 (represented in this state by W. H. H. Fuller, of 
 Standish, Lassen county) dates back to the land- 
 ing of the Mayflower at Plymouth, Mass., in 
 1620, since which time members of the family 
 have made good records in the Revolutionary 
 war, war of 1812 and Civil war, as well as in 
 
 some of tlie Indian wars. Mr. Fuller's father, 
 Joseph Fuller, was a native of New York state, 
 and there spent the greater portion of his life as 
 a building contractor. He was killed in a rail- 
 road accident at Deep Creek, near Uufialo, in 
 the fall of i8<)2. His wife, formerly Adeline 
 Duval, was born in Erie county, N. Y. Her 
 family also made a good war record in this coun- 
 try, her great-grandfather, Timothy Duval, serv- 
 ing in the war of 1812. When he died he lacked 
 only three months of being one hundred years 
 old. The great-grandmother also lived to a very 
 old age, dying at the age of ninety years. 
 
 William H. H. Fuller was born at Pontiac, 
 Erie county, N. Y., December 16, 1833, and is 
 the only one living of a family of six children. 
 He was reared in his native county, remaining 
 at home until he was nineteen years of age, his 
 mother having died when he was seven years old. 
 His educational advantages were very limited, 
 owing to the fact that it was necessary for him 
 to assist in the .support of the family, and when 
 only a boy he learned the carpenter's trade of his 
 father. Later he apprenticed himself to a black- 
 smith and wagon-maker. In 1852 he went to 
 Indiana, locating at LaPorte, where he followed 
 the blacksmith's trade for five years, at the end 
 of which time he went to Aurora, 111., then to 
 Twin Grove, Wis., following his trade for a time 
 in both places. Returning to Illinois, he enlisted 
 in Company H, Sixteenth Illinois Cavalry, serv- 
 ing under Sherman in the Georgia campaign, 
 and participating in the battles of Spring Hill, 
 Franklin and Nashville, was wounded at Pump- 
 kin \ine Creek, also received several slight 
 wounds, but never left his regiment. After a 
 service of two years and nine months he was 
 honorably discharged, in .August, 1865. 
 
 Before entering the service Mr. Fuller was 
 married in Tennessee to Margaret Wood, a na- 
 tive of that state. Upon his discharge from the 
 army he went thither for his wife, returning 
 with her to LaPorte, Ind., where he remained 
 until 1867. Going to Omaha he entered the 
 emplov of the Missouri River Transfer Company 
 as blacksmith. Mrs. Margaret Fuller died, leav- 
 ing a daughter, Addle, and some time afterward 
 
652 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 he was married in LaPorte, Ind., to Abigail A. 
 Gitcliell, a native of Canada. 
 
 Coming to California in 1869, Mr. Fuller lo- 
 cated at what is now Lodi, in San Joaquin 
 county, engaging in the blacksmith trade until 
 going to Monterey county a short time after- 
 ward, there serving as deputy sheriff under Mr. 
 Smith for two years. Leaving Monterey he 
 homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of land 
 and engaged in farming on Stony Creek (in 
 what is now Glenn county) for eight years, at 
 which time a disastrous flood destroyed all the 
 results of his eight years' labor. Selling out he 
 went to Modoc county, where he operated a 
 ranch for three years, finally establishing the 
 family home in Honey Lake valley, where he 
 engaged at the blacksmith's trade until he re- 
 ceived an injury to his right hand which ren- 
 dered it necessary for him to abandon that kind 
 of work. Nineteen years ago he paid $150 for 
 fifteen acres of sage brush land, improved it, 
 and put eleven acres of it in alfalfa. Subse- 
 quently he established an apiary, and now owns 
 over one hundred and fifty stands of bees; they 
 produce two tons of honey annually, all alfalfa 
 honey, which is said to be the finest in the world. 
 His bees are about three-fourths Golden fire 
 stripe Italian. 
 
 Though Mr. Fuller's educational advantages 
 were limited in his youth he studied after his 
 marriage, and in this manner acquired a good, 
 practical education. He was instrumental in se- 
 curing the first postoffice at this place, naming 
 it Detury and serving as postmaster three and a 
 half years, when he resigned. The postoffice 
 was then removed to Standish. When Mr. 
 Fuller located at his present ranch there were 
 only five houses in sight of his place ; therefore 
 he has witnessed many changes and watched the 
 country around him develop. In the Grand Army 
 post at Susanville he served three years as officer 
 of the day and one year as commander; then as 
 adjutant until the post was abandoned. In poli- 
 tics he is a stanch supporter of the Republican 
 platform, and on the ticket of that party was 
 elected justice of the peace in 1902, since which 
 time he has efficiently discharged the duties of 
 the office. 
 
 HENRY THIELBAR. Noticeable among 
 the many fine ranches of the Mohawk valley, 
 Plumas county, is that of the King estate, the 
 property of Mrs. Rebecca King, widow of Fred 
 King, and Henry Thielbar. The ranch is under 
 the management of Mr. Thielbar, a cousin of 
 Mrs. King, and the prosperous condition of the 
 business testifies to his capability and proves him 
 to be an enterprising and thrifty manager. 
 
 Henry Thielbar was born in Hanover, Ger- 
 many, April 24, 1834. Immigrating to the Unit- 
 ed States in 1859, he came direct to California 
 and went to work for Mr. King on his ranch, re- 
 maining in his employ nine years. At the end 
 of diat time he went to Marysville, bought a 
 mule team and engaged in freighting for four 
 years. When Mr. King died in i8;«3, leaving a 
 widow and family of small children, the respon- 
 sibility of managing the business was too great 
 for Mrs. King to undertake and she sold a half in- 
 terest in the ranch to Mr. Thielbar. They have 
 added to the property until now they have eight 
 hundred acres of land and are keeping up a 
 dairy of fifty cows. Aside from his interest in 
 the King ranch Mr. Thielbar is the owner of a 
 one hundred and sixty acre ranch in the vicinity. 
 Mr. Thielbar has never married. 
 
 FRED KING, deceased, was born in Prussia, 
 September 26, 1825, and came to California in 
 the early days of the state. Prior to that time he 
 had followed the occupation of seaman on sailing 
 vessels. He engaged in mining at Timbuctoo, 
 Yuba county, and was very successful in his 
 mining operations. Taking the money he had 
 cleared there he went into a partnership with Joe 
 Grove and Jim Harris in the purchase of the 
 Sulphur Springs ranch, which consisted of about 
 eight hundred acres of land. After a time he 
 purchased the interest of his partners in the 
 property and became sole owner of it. Besides 
 ranching he engaged in running pack trains over 
 the mountains until he sold out this ranch and 
 went to live in Marysville, where he engaged in 
 a wholesale and retail business which he was 
 carrving on at the time of death, September 3, 
 
0. 
 
 d.^i^U 
 
 e 
 
 ■fVli^^lL 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 655 
 
 1870. Air. King- was a successful business mar. 
 and left a good estate to his widow and children. 
 He was a Democrat in politics, but never held 
 office of any kind. Fraternally he was a member 
 of the Marysville Lodge of Free Masons. Re- 
 ligiously die family are all Lutherans. 
 
 Mrs. King prior to her marriage to ^Mr. King 
 was Mrs. Rebecca (Neseman) Dietrick, and was 
 born in Hanover, Germany, September 12, 1825. 
 She came to the United States and settled at Gib- 
 sonville, Gal., and in the same year was bereaved 
 by the death of her first husband, Mr. Dietrick, 
 who was lost in the mountains and perished dur- 
 ing a severe snow storm. Her marriage to Mr. 
 King occurred in September, 1858. After his 
 death she left Marysville and with her family 
 of small children came to the ranch upon which 
 she has since made her home. Her eldest son, 
 Henry Dietrick King, is engaged in the confec- 
 tioner's business at Marysville; Fred Mathews 
 is a manufacturer of butter tubs and lives at 
 home; Nellie died at the age of sixteen years 
 and seven months ; Ida, wife of John Creigh- 
 ton, is at home with her mother ; Qiarles D. 
 owns a ranch adjoining the home place. 
 
 ISAAC SATTLEY CHURCH. Very early 
 in the colonization of America the Church 
 family became established in New England, and 
 one of its members, Isaac, held a commission as 
 captain during the Revolutionary war. A grand- 
 son of this Revolutionary officer bore the name 
 of Ezra Bliss Qiurch, and was born at Ferris- 
 burg, Addison county, Vt., where he grew to 
 manhood, married and engaged in general farm- 
 ing. Accompanied by his wife, in i860 he came 
 to California and took up one hundred and sixty 
 acres at w-hat was then known as Church's Cor- 
 ners (now Sattley). On this place he engaged 
 in ranching until the infirmities of age prevented 
 a continuance at agricultural labors. Here he 
 died at the age of eighty-six. In politics he 
 voted the Republican ticket after the organiza- 
 tion of the party. His wife, who bore the 
 maiden name of Harriet Sattley, was born in 
 Vermont and died in California at the age of 
 
 eighty-five years. Wiien the postoffice was es- 
 tablished at her home place, in 1890, the office 
 was given her family name, Sattley, and her son, 
 Ezra, officiated as the first postmaster. 
 
 While the family were living on a farm near 
 Ferrisburg, Addison county, Vt., Isaac Sattley 
 Church was born October 25, 1829, and in the 
 common schools and in an academy of the home 
 locality he received his education. At tiie time 
 of the discovery of gold in California he gave 
 up his school work and made preparations to 
 start to the coast. During the spring of 1850 
 he left home and proceeded via Panama, accom- 
 panied by several of his schoolmates. Of all 
 the gold-seekers on board the ship lie was the 
 Noungest, but none was more ambitious or eager 
 for work than he. Landing at San F"rancisco 
 May 20, 1850, he proceeded to the mines at 
 Horseshoe Bend, where he remained about two 
 months without meeting with any success. A 
 month was then spent at Nelson's Point, Plumas 
 county, where he was successful in finding gold. 
 During September he and his four partners went 
 to the Forks, later given the name of Downie- 
 ville, in honor of Major Downey. After having 
 prospected and mined there until the fall of 1851, 
 the condition of his health led him to abandon 
 mining, and in 1852 he operated a dairy at 
 Downieville. In the fall he sold the dairy and 
 afterward hauled with a mule pack-train from 
 Marysville to the mining camps. With the 
 funds thus accumulated in 1859 he returned east 
 and brought his parents back with him to the 
 Sierra valley, and in i860 lx)uglit a squatter's 
 title to his present ranch. On the surveying of 
 the land he bought the same from the govern- 
 ment, and then engaged in raising stock, con- 
 ducting a dairy and carrying on general farm 
 pursuits. For years he carried on agricultural 
 pursuits with fair success, but eventually, after 
 a severe illness in 1901, he rented the land, re- 
 serving the residence and pasture for per.sonal 
 uses. 
 
 The first marriage of Mr. Qnircli took place 
 February 15, i860, and united him with Miss 
 Sarah Gear, who was born at \'ergenncs, .Addi- 
 son county, \'t., came to California as a bride, 
 and remained in the Sierra vallev until her 
 
656 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 death. January 2-j, 1882. Six children were 
 born of their union, namely : Francis Sattley, 
 who is engaged in the cattle business and gen- 
 eral ranching in the Long valley, California ; 
 Charles Gear, who has a ranch near Loyalton, 
 Sierra county ; Mary P., wife of William Nair, a 
 rancher of Sierra county ; Charlotte A., who re- 
 sides with her father; Albert Bliss, whO' is en- 
 gaged in the lumbering business in California ; 
 and Roxie L., who married Charles McElroy, a 
 stockman of the Sierra valley. After the death 
 of his first wife Mr. Qiurch was united with 
 Mrs. Rachel (Street) Hale, who was born in 
 Ohio. In political opinions he has adhered to 
 the Republican principles ever since the organ- 
 ization of the party, but has never sought prom- 
 inence in politics nor has he desired the leader- 
 ship in local affairs. Interested from the be- 
 ginning of his residence in Sierra county in mat- 
 ters pertaining to education, he aided in build- 
 ing the schoolhouse near his ranch and gave 
 to the district the name of Alpine, which is 
 especially appropriate by reason of the predom- 
 inance of pine in the timber of this region. 
 
 ROBERT S. FLOURNOY. During the ear- 
 ly portion of the seventeenth century two brothers 
 came from France and identified themselves 
 with the colonial history of America. From one 
 of these descended in direct line Roland Flour- 
 noy, who was born near Lexington, Ky., the son 
 of a planter, who was probably of Virginian 
 birth and who eventually moved to Missouri and 
 died there at eighty-five years of age. Originally 
 a farmer, Roland Flournoy temporarily aban- 
 doned that occupation early in life in order to 
 enter the drug business in Lexington, but after 
 he removed to Missouri about 1828 he resumed 
 agricultural pursuits. In time he became the 
 owner of a large stock ranch near Kansas City. 
 The first house ever erected in Independence 
 was built by himself, and he was closely identi- 
 fied with the early history of that section of coun- 
 try. When the trouble arose with the Mormons 
 and they were expelled from Illinois he went to 
 Nauvoo as a soldier to aid in the protection of 
 
 the people and their property. As early as 1852 
 he traveled overland to California and journeyed 
 from this section up into Oregon, where he en- 
 gaged in farming. During the fall of 1858 he 
 returned to Plumas county and afterward made 
 his home with his son, Robert S., beneath whose 
 roof he passed away in 1863 at sixty-three years 
 of age. During early manhood he had married 
 Miss Margaret Simpson, who was born in Ken- 
 tucky and in 1829 moved to Missouri, later go-r 
 ing back to Kentucky, where she died in 1859, ''^ 
 the age of forty-nine years. 
 
 While the family were living at Independence, 
 Mo., Robert S. Flournoy was born June 26, 1830, 
 and in the private schools of that locality he 
 gained a fair primary education, later for two 
 years studying in the academy at Chapel Hill, 
 Mo. At sixteen years of age he secured employ- 
 ment as clerk in a store. When news came of 
 the discovery of gold in California in 1849 he at 
 once started for the new country, leaving Mis- 
 souri in September and sailing down the Mis- 
 sissippi river to New Orleans, where he took a 
 steamer for Panama, and from there sailed up 
 the Pacific to San Francisco. The voyage from 
 Panama consumed ninety days, and it was not 
 until April of 1850 that the ship cast anchor in 
 the Golden Gate. 
 
 Immediately after landing Mr. Flournoy pro- 
 ceeded to the mines on the Yuba river in Yuba 
 county, but soon left that place for Bidwell's 
 Bar, where he made considerable money, but 
 found the cost of living so high that actual net 
 profit was small. From 1854 until 1858 he was 
 located at Elizabethtown, near Quincy, Plumas 
 county. In the latter year he discontinued work 
 in the mines and rented a ranch in the Indian 
 valley, where a year later he acquired property 
 bv purchase. Selling out in 1864, he moved to 
 Taylorsville, bought a pack train and began to 
 haul freight to Silver City, Idaho, at which work 
 he was engaged during the spring of 1866, but 
 in June relinquished freighting and bought a 
 ranch of four hundred and fifty-four acres, of 
 which two hundred acres lie at the head of Gen- 
 esee valley, Plumas county, while the balance is 
 in timber and mountains. During 1885-86, aft- 
 er years of profitable work on his ranch, he re- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fio7 
 
 turned to the cast and spent a considerable pe- 
 riod visiting in Missouri and Kentucky. On his 
 return to CaHfornia in the fall of 1886 he began 
 to speculate in lots at San Diego, but suffered 
 heavy losses, as did all holders of property there 
 (luring the boom days. In February, 1891, he 
 returned to Plumas county and since has made 
 his home with his children, being now at the old 
 ranch with his daughter, Mrs. Cooke. 
 
 In politics Mr. Floumoy is a stanch Democrat. 
 In November of 1855 he married Miss Angcline 
 X'arner, who was born in Indiana, reared in Illi- 
 nois, and came to California in 1854, remaining 
 in this state from that time until her death in 
 1883. Seven children were born of their union, 
 namely : Margaret, who died at twent}--live 
 years of age ; Harley C, cashier of the Plumas 
 County Bank; Timey L., wife of J. E. Cooke, 
 who has charge of the old Flournoy ranch ; Rob- 
 ert W., in the employ of the government and 
 now residing in Plumas county ; and Lucy, Fan- 
 nie and John, the three last-mentioned dying at 
 Taylorsville in early childhood. 
 
 JOSEPH W. DECIOUS. Identified closely 
 with the agricultural development of Honey 
 Lake valley is the name of Mr. Decious, who 
 since 1875 has owned and occupied a ranch of 
 two hundred and thirteen acres lying in the 
 vicinity of Milford. WTien he purchased the 
 propertv only a very small acreage had been 
 placed under cultivation and the onl\- building on 
 the farm was one of logs. Under his super- 
 vision a neat house has been erected, barns have 
 been built and fences put up, so that the lanil 
 has been transformed from a barren waste into 
 a desirable homestead. In the raising of produce 
 he makes a specialty of grain and hay and has a 
 few acres in alfalfa, all of which yield bountiful 
 crops in return for the care bestowed upon the 
 land. Visitors to the ranch notice with interest, 
 on the shore of Honey lake, the only steamer 
 that ever sailed upon its waters, a small craft 
 built in 1895, capacity thirty thousand pounds, 
 which has been used principally for the bringing 
 of freight to the residents of the vallev. 
 
 Champaign county, Oiiio, is the native place 
 of :\rr. Decious, and Septeml)cr 6. 1847, the date 
 of his birth. His father, John, was born in Vir- 
 ginia and at an early age became proprietor of a 
 cabinet and furniture shop at Urbana. Ohio, 
 where he built up a growing trade. About 1854 
 he took his family to Iowa and settled in Jones 
 county. From there in 1863 he crossed the 
 plains to California with teams, being a member 
 of an expedition that at one point of the route 
 numbered forty wagons in the train. Settling at 
 Susanville he secured employment as a carpenter. 
 One of his earliest contracts, which he took with 
 another carpenter, was for the erection of a 
 porch around the old Stewart hotel. In 1865 he 
 purchased a tract known now as the Winchell 
 ranch, directly west of the Lakeview schoolhouse, 
 and comprising one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land, then wholly unimproved. Before he had 
 been able to improve the property and while he 
 was yet following his trade with the hope of se- 
 curing the funds necessar\- for the development 
 of the property, his death occurred in 1867. The 
 Masonic lodge at Susanville, of which he had 
 been worthy master and a leading member, con- 
 ducted his funeral services at Susanville with the 
 appropriate and beautiful ceremony of the order. 
 
 Before leaving the east John Decious married 
 Mary Stevens, who was born in Qiampaign 
 county, Ohio, and who after his demise became 
 the wife of William Raker. Of her first mar- 
 riage there were eleven children, of whom the 
 following attained maturity : Amos, who re- 
 mained in Io\va and still resides in that state: 
 Martha, widow of Milton Steinbcrger, and liv- 
 ing near Reno, Nev. ; Julia. Mrs. William Craw- 
 ford, of Oregon: Jane, who is the widow of 
 James Christy and resides at Jaiwsvillc; Joseph 
 W., of Lassen county : Ir\'in. who lives in Lassen 
 county: and ATary, Mrs. SiflFord, deceased. 
 WHicn the family moved from Ohio to Iowa, Jo- 
 seph W. Decious was a boy of seven years, lience 
 bis primary education was obtained principally 
 in Jones coimty. Being needed at home, it was 
 impossible for him to complete a grammar-school 
 education, but by observation and reading he has 
 atoned for the disadvantages under which he la- 
 bored in youth. At the age of sixteen he accom- 
 
658 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 panied his parents to California, where he began 
 to work for wages and later rented a ranch until 
 he was in a position to acquire the title to land 
 of his own. Stock-raising and dairying have 
 been his principal interests in life and through 
 them he has gained a competence as gratifying 
 as it is deserved. 
 
 December 9, 1868, occurred the marriage of 
 Mr. Decious to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Philip Wales, and a native of Illinois, but a 
 resident of California from the age of six years. 
 Of their union six children were born. The 
 eldest, Alice, married Michael Phillips, and at her 
 death left a son, Qiarles, who now makes his 
 home with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. De- 
 cious : her other child, Ilda, is deceased. The 
 second daughter, Maude, married Eldon Ride- 
 nour, and has four children, Jessie, Ivan, Ge- 
 neva and Irene. The third child, George, is de- 
 ceased. The fourth, Cora, Mrs. Richard Stubbs, 
 makes her home with her parents, as does also 
 her daughter. Beryl. The two remaining mem- 
 bers of the family are Joseph and Elizabeth ; the 
 son is a lineman for the Northern Electric Com- 
 pany, and the daughter is a telephone operator. 
 
 Though deprived of educational advantages 
 himself, Mr. Decious has always been a friend of 
 the public-school systeni, has served efficiently as 
 a school trustee, and has labored to secure for his 
 children the school advantages which he lacked. 
 In politics he favors Democratic principles. His 
 fraternal relations are numerous and important, 
 and include membership in Janesville Lodge, F. 
 & A. M. ; Honey Lake Lodge No. 223, I. O. O. 
 F., in which he is past noble grand, and which 
 in 1889 he represented in the grand lodge at San 
 Francisco; the Order of the Eastern Star at 
 Janesville, in which his wife is past matron and 
 an influential worker; and Court No. i, at Susan- 
 ville, which was the first to be organized in Cal- 
 ifornia and numbered himself and wjfe as charter 
 members, the original location of die court be- 
 ing at Janesville, whence it was removed to Su- 
 sanville. 
 
 Since writing the above , Mr. Decious has 
 rented his ranch and now makes his home in 
 Cbico, Butte county, where his sons-in-law, 
 Richard Stubbs and Eldon Ridenour, are em- 
 
 ployed. Well pleased with the climate and gen- 
 eral surroundings they have made investments in 
 valuable property there. 
 
 LUM ROSECRANS was born at Randolph, 
 W. Va., October 19, 1835, the son of parents 
 who were both natives of Virginia, of German 
 descent. When he was nine years old he suf- 
 fered the greatest misfortune that can befall a 
 lad of that age. His mother died, and as her 
 death deprived him of a home he was bound out 
 to a man in Ohio to serve an apprenticeship at 
 the cooper's trade. Life at the best would be 
 hard enough for a boy of that tender age left 
 homeless, but in this case additional hardship 
 fell to his lot. The man he worked for was un- 
 kind and even cruel, and at the end of a year, 
 goaded to desperation, he ran away, going to 
 Parkersville, where he boarded a steamboat 
 bound for Cincinnati. Securing work on the 
 steamer as second cook he worked at this for 
 about a year, then became first cook, holding this 
 position six years, after which for four years he 
 was watchman on a steamer running on the Mis- 
 sissippi river and up the Yazoo river from 
 Vicksburg to Yazoo. 
 
 In the spring of 1853 Mr. Rosecrans decided 
 to come to California. Finding a party about to 
 make the overland journey, he made arrange- 
 ments with them to drive a four-yoke ox-team in 
 payment for his passage. When he arrived in 
 California he went to Point Defiance, North 
 Yuba river, where he mined for three or four 
 years, meeting with fair success. Later he 
 mined at Brandy City and ran a tunnel at Indian 
 Hill, but was not very successful at either of 
 those places, so went to work for wages in 
 Brandy City, earning about $4 a day for two 
 years. Following this he carried on mining on 
 .South Yuba for himself for a time. For two 
 seasons following he drove a four-mule team 
 hauling lumber from the sawmills to the mines, 
 where it was used in making sluice boxes. Then 
 he drove a twelve-mule team freighting for a 
 season from Sacramento and Marysville to Vir- 
 ginia City, Gold Hill and other mining camps, 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 661 
 
 altogether working twelve or fourteen years for 
 wages ranging from $90 to $145 per month. IJe- 
 coming somewhat tired of that manner of living 
 he turned his attention to quieter pursuits, took 
 up some land in Lassen county and began rais- 
 mg cattle, continuing in the business about three 
 vears or until a hard winter came on and de- 
 stroyed most of his stock. The next spring he 
 sold off what he had left and came to the Sierra 
 valley, where he bought a ranch and took up a 
 homestead claim of six hundred and forty acres 
 of land in one piece. After ranching there for 
 several years he sold the place and for the next 
 six years rented a place near Sierraville. In 1888 
 he bought his present home ranch of three hun- 
 dred and forty acres three miles south of Loyal- 
 ton. 
 
 Tune 29. 1883, i\Ir. Rosecrans married Miss 
 Cclia Kelley, who is a native of Canada, her pa- 
 rents being natives of County Donegal, Ireland. 
 .Mrs. Rosecrans came to California in 1876 and 
 lived at Mrginia City and Reno until her mar- 
 riage. She is a member of the Catholic church. 
 
 In politics Mr. Rosecrans is a stanch Demo 
 crat. He has never held a public office and 
 never had any desire to do so. He is a member 
 of the ]\Iasonic fraternity, holding membershi]) 
 in Reno Lodge. He is a type of the California 
 miner of the early days. In spite of the numer- 
 ous hardships and vicissitudes that have sur- 
 rounded his life he is a hale and hearty man 
 and continues well able to attend to the affairs of 
 his ranch. 
 
 CLARENCE A. ESTES. Upon the organ- 
 ization of the First National Bank of Alturas in 
 1901 Mr. Estes became the owner of a large 
 number of shares and assisted in the jjcrfection 
 of the new institution under the banking laws of 
 the government, since which time he has held 
 the office of president. The bank was estab- 
 lished with a capital stock of $40,000 and enjoys 
 the distinction of being the only national bank m 
 Modoc county. A conservative business is con- 
 ducted in loans and discounts and the officers of 
 the bank, by the exercise of wise judgment and 
 keen discrimination, have gained the confidence 
 17 
 
 of depositors and the general public, who have 
 found the concern a valuable addition to the 
 financial interests of the town and county. 
 
 Throughout his life Mr. Estes has been proud 
 of the fact that he is a native son of California, 
 for he is intensely loyal to the state and devoted 
 to its progress along every line of advancement. 
 He was born in Tehama county, July 28, 1862, 
 and is a son of Lance and Mary ( l.arlow) Estes, 
 who removed to Modoc county in 1873, settling 
 on an unimproved tract of land ten miles south 
 of Alturas. Remote from the advantages of city 
 life, the boy grew to manhood, meanwhile learn- 
 ing habits of self-reliance, energy and persever- 
 ance. When only eighteen years of age he made 
 an independent st^t by ])urchasing a tract of 
 eighty acres, and to rhig he added from time to 
 time until he acquired a wild-hay ranch of sev- 
 enteen hundred and twenty acres. L'nder his su- 
 pervision the land was fenced, buildings were 
 erected and a portion of the soil was brought un- 
 der cultivation. Selling the ranch in 1899, he 
 purchased an improved ranch of four thousand 
 acres six miles south of iMturas, and there made 
 his headquarters for two years. At the expira- 
 tion of that time he made an advantageous sale 
 and then came into .Alturas, wiiere he has since 
 made his home, alx)ut 1898 purchasing the sub- 
 stantial residence he now occupies. Meanwhile 
 he has acquired a ranch of one hundred and six- 
 ty acres, a large portion of which is in alfalfa, 
 also a ranch of one hundred and twenty acres 
 wholly in alfalfa. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Estes in 1886 united him 
 with Josie, daughter of William Dale of Alturas, 
 and a native of California, where she received an 
 excellent education. They are the parents of four 
 children, Effie, Rena, Hallie and Douglas. 
 Ever since becoming of age Mr. Estes has given 
 his tellot to the Republican party, both in local 
 and in general elections, but his identification 
 with politics extends no farther than the casting 
 of his ballot, for he has never been a candidate 
 for office and has never cared to take upon him- 
 self the responsibilities of public positions, pre- 
 ferring to devote his attention exclusively to the 
 management of his lands and the supervision of 
 the bank. 
 
662 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 FREDERICK MEYER. When mention is 
 made of the substantial farmers of Lassen county 
 the name of Frederick Meyer must not be omit- 
 ted. Coming to this part of the state without 
 means, a stranger in a strange conummity, he 
 was quick to learn the conditions of soil and cli- 
 mate and eager to seize each opportuiiit\- that 
 came within his grasp. At the time of his ar- 
 rival settlers were few. As far as the eye conld 
 discern, for miles in every direction, scarcely a 
 house appeared upon the landscape. The land 
 faded into the distant horizon, unbroken by any 
 indications of man's handiwork. During the 
 years that have come and gone he has witnessed 
 the gradual development of the region, the tak- 
 ing up of land, the building of ranch-houses, and 
 the cultivation of the soil, and none was more 
 interested than he in the steady growth of the 
 country. 
 
 Born in Hanover, Germany, April 2, 1844, 
 Frederick Meyer received a fair education in the 
 German schools, and in 1867 came to America, 
 where he has since resided in California. For 
 ten years he had sailed the high seas before the 
 mast, rising meanwdiile to be second mate. After 
 giving up the occupation of a sailor he spent two 
 years in San Francisco and then, in 1871, came 
 to Lassen county, where, until the spring of igo6, 
 he owned three hundred and twenty acres aboiit 
 one and three-fourths miles southeast of Bieber. 
 When he came here the land was wild and un- 
 improved, but he transformed it into one of the 
 finest farms of the region. A neat farm house 
 and several large barns formed a valuable im- 
 provement to the ranch. For years he inade a 
 specialty of stock-raising, and as he had an abun- 
 dance of meadow and pasture land it made pos- 
 sible the keeping of a large number of stock 
 cattle and dairy cows, and the cattle and dairy 
 business were his specialties. However, he later 
 put in about seventy acres of alfalfa. Besides 
 his home place of one-half section he owned 
 three himdred and twenty acres, which originally 
 was wild land, biit under his patient labor was 
 brought under improvement and all fenced ; be- 
 sides this he owned forty acres of timber land. 
 All of his holdings in Lassen county he sold in 
 the spring of 1906. 
 
 Since becoming a citizen of the United States 
 Mr. Meyer has voted the Republican ticket, but 
 at no time has he desired office or solicited par- 
 tisan responsibilities. Fraternally he has become 
 a leading member of Big Valley Lodge No. 286, 
 I. O. O. F., at Bieber, in which he is past nol)le 
 grand. In addition he maintains an active con- 
 nection with the encampment, in which he ranks 
 as a past chief patriarch, and also he holds mem- 
 bership with the Lodge of Rebekahs in Bieber. 
 Whatever of success he has gained, whatever of 
 prominence he has reached, and whatever of con- 
 fidence he has won in the esteem of his fellow- 
 men, may be attributed to his own industrious, 
 forceful, persevering and honorable character, 
 and his present high standing as an agriculturist 
 and as a citizen is due wholly to his unaided ex- 
 ertions and patient efforts. 
 
 WILLIAM M. RICHARDS. One of the 
 most worthy and highly esteemed residents of 
 Quincy is William M. Richards, who is now 
 serving his third term as recorder of Plumas 
 county. A man of strong personality, enterpris- 
 ing and persevering, he has won success in his 
 active career by sheer persistency of purpose. 
 A son of the late William K. Richards, he was 
 bom July 22, 1861, at Rich Gulch, Plumas coun- 
 ty, and is therefore entitled to membership in 
 the Native Sons of the Golden West. 
 
 Born in Cornwall, England, William K. Rich- 
 ards came to the United States with his mother 
 in 1842 and made settlement at Mineral Point, 
 Wis., where he engaged in mining and teaming 
 for the following eight years. The news of the 
 finding of gold in the west had made him discon- 
 tented with the comparatively narrow life he was 
 leading in Wisconsin and March, 1850, wit- 
 nessed his departure for the coast with a com- 
 panion, they having purchased a horse-team and 
 outfit. Going to Nevada county, Cal., Mr. Rich- 
 ads carried on mining at Grass Valley and Nel- 
 son Point until 1853, when he changed his occu- 
 pation, having purchased a ranch near Marys- 
 ville, Yuba county. Three years later, in the 
 spring of 1856, he disposed of his ranch and once 
 more took up mining, having interests at Span- 
 
'yi^-i^a,- 
 
HISTORICAL AXU KlUGRAPillCAL RFXORD. 
 
 (5«5 
 
 ish Ranch and Rich (uilch, Pkimas county. In 
 connection with this he also operated a ranch 
 which in the meantime he had purchased near 
 Quincy, in the American valley, hut in 1864, on 
 account of an injury which he had received in 
 his mine he was obliged to relinquish active 
 work of all kinds. The accident terminated 
 more seriously than was anticipated and ren- 
 dered him a cripple the remainder of his life. 
 His death occurred about six years later, Decem- 
 ber 5, 1870, at which time he was forty-four 
 years and eleven months of age. Starting life in 
 the west with little save an abundance of hope 
 and detemiination to win success in the few 
 short years which remained to him, he accom- 
 plished what many would have required twice as 
 long to do, and at his death was fairly well-to- 
 do. The wife who had shared his joys and sor- 
 rows was in maidenhood Jane Murrish and is 
 now the wife of Donald R. Finlayson, a sketch of 
 whose life will be found on another page of this 
 work. 
 
 When the family removed to .\merican valley 
 William M. Richards was a young lad, and at 
 the time of his father's death he was nine years 
 old. Until he was twenty years of age he made 
 his home on the old homestead, two miles east 
 of Quincy, and then began life on his own ac- 
 count, carrying on mining and working in a saw- 
 mill. His election to the office of county re- 
 corder in the fall of 1894 necessitated the relin- 
 quishment of personal interests almost entirely, 
 and aside from some mining claims which he 
 owns, his entire time and attention are given to 
 the duties of office. So well pleased were his 
 constituents with his services that at the close 
 of liis first term he was the candidate for re- 
 election and succeeded himself in office the sec- 
 ond term. A similar experience followed in 
 1902, and he is now filling his third term and 
 twelfth year of consecutive service. 
 
 In March, 1895. Mr. Richards was united in 
 marriage with Miss Anna Clinch, who, like her 
 husband, was born in this county, and they have 
 one son, Lloyd. Politically Mr. Richards is a 
 stanch Republican, guarding the interests of his 
 chosen party with a jealous eye. He belongs to 
 but one social organization, the Native Sons of 
 
 the Colden West, his mcniijcrship being in Quin- 
 cy Parlor No. 131. I^ibcral and public spirited, 
 he has many friends in a community which has 
 watched his progress during his active life and 
 has found him invariably courteous, honorable 
 and steadfast. 
 
 THOMAS H. JOHNSTONE. There are 
 few names more prominently associated with the 
 commercial development of Mod<JC county than 
 that of Mr. Johnstone, who is at the head of 
 various important enterprises in the county and 
 especially has been interested in movements for 
 the commercial growth of Cedarville, his home 
 town. The general store of which he is the man- 
 ager and principal owner and which forms one 
 of the largest concerns of its kind in Surprise 
 valley, was incorporated in .April, 1905. under 
 the laws of California, with a cajjital stock of 
 $40,000, business being conducted under the 
 name of the T. H. Johnstone Company. In 
 March of 1905 Mr. Johnstone l)ecame tlie presi- 
 dent of the newdy organized Surprise \'alley 
 State Bank, capitalized at $25,000, and this re- 
 sponsible position he now fills, in addition to 
 conducting his im[x>rtant mercantile entcr|)risc 
 and acting as notary public and agent for a num- 
 ber of fire insurance companies. .Knother im- 
 portant undertaking which owes its origin to 
 himself and other men equally ])nblic-spirited is 
 the Surprise \'alley Electric Light and Power 
 Company, which was ' organized for the pur- 
 pose of furnishing light and power to the peo- 
 ple of the valley, and was incorporated in May. 
 1905, with a capital stock of $25,000. Not only 
 by the investment of money in shares of stock 
 has Mr. Johnstone aided the develo])ment of 
 this company, but he has been esi)eciall\ helpful 
 through his services as treasurer and vice-pres- 
 ident, which positions he has filled since the or- 
 ganization of the company. 
 
 Of Canadian birth, Mr. Johnstone was born 
 in Ontario February 7, 1850. and grew to man- 
 hood upon the home farm. .After the death of 
 his father he conducted the fann for one year in 
 the interests of his mother an<l then went to the 
 resfions east of TTudson ba\ . where he was cm- 
 
666 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ployed in the lumber business. During the 
 Fenian raid in Canada, in 1870, he enlisted as 
 a private in the Ottawa Artillery, and later was 
 promoted to be sergeant, serving as such until 
 the troubles were ended. In recognition of his 
 bravery and gallant services Queen Victoria 
 some vears later presented him with a medal, 
 which he now cherishes as one of his most val- 
 ued possessions. 
 
 On coming to the States, in 1876, Mr. John- 
 stone became interested in mining near Virginia 
 City, Nev., but soon removed to California, and 
 for one year was employed in herding sheep in 
 Modoc county. Next he rented a farm in what 
 is known as the Cottonwood district of Sur- 
 prise valley. On coming to Cedarville he 
 secured a position as bookkeeper with M. D. 
 Haynes & Co., and two years later, on the dis- 
 solution of that firm, he was chosen business 
 manager for Cressler & Bonner in the same 
 town. Remaining with that firm for three years. 
 when a consolidation was efifected of their inter- 
 ests with Kistler Brothers, he was admitted as a 
 member of the firm of Kistler, Johnstone & Co. 
 Three years later, when that partnership was dis- 
 solved, he bought out a small store owned "By L. 
 Waldenberg & Co. With this as a nucleus he has 
 built up a large trade that extends in every direc- 
 tion from Cedarville throughout the surrounding 
 country, and he also, since May of 1904, has op- 
 erated a similar store at Eagleville. His at- 
 tractive home in Cedarville is presided over by 
 the lady whom he married June 26, 1878. and 
 who was Miss Anna M. Mills, a native of 
 Canada; they are the parents of two daughters, 
 Cassie M. and Jennie D. The family are iden- 
 tified with the Episcopal denomination, and are 
 contributors to religious and philanthropic move- 
 ments. Active in local politics as a leader of the 
 Republican party in Cedarville and vicinity, Mr. 
 Johnstone, though declining official honors for 
 himself, has given his staunch support to friends 
 during their candidacy for official positions, and 
 has been a contributor to the upbuilding of the 
 party in the county. Fraternally he is a member 
 and past master of Surprise Valley Lodge No. 
 235, F. & A. M., having been made a Mason in 
 Canada in 1875. 
 
 GEORGE BENTON BAILEY. One of the 
 many worthy citizens and capable and indus- 
 trious agriculturists of Honey Lake valley is 
 George Benton Bailey, of Lassen county, who is 
 actively engaged in general farming and dairy- 
 ing, exercising great skill and good judgment in 
 this pursuit. A native of Iowa, he was born at 
 Mount Pleasant, Henn,' comity, September 10, 
 1863, a son of J. R. Bailey, in whose sketch, 
 which appears elsewhere in this work, further 
 parental history may be found. 
 
 Brought across the plains to California by his 
 parents when an infant, six months of age, 
 George Benton Bailey has since, with the excep- 
 tion of one year spait with his parents in the 
 Sacramento valley, made his home in this coun- 
 ty. At the age of thirteen he commenced to work 
 for wages whenever the opportunity came, and 
 also continued to attend school a part of the 
 lime until he was twenty years of age. During 
 the winter of 1884- 1885 he attended the Stock- 
 ton Business College to complete his education. 
 After returning home again he worked for wages 
 for six years. 
 
 Marrying in 1890, Mr. Bailey subsequently, in 
 company with his brother Walter, rented the 
 home ranch for a year, and the following three 
 years had charge of the farm known as the Bar- 
 ry ranch near Janesville. Removing then to 
 Buntingville, he rented his brother Ira's ranch 
 for two years, and the ensuing year worked for 
 wages, his family residing with his father-in-law, 
 Mr. Theodore. In 1898. in partnership with his 
 brother Walter, Mr. Bailey purchased the four 
 hundred and forty acre ranch which he now oc- 
 cupies, and also bought a third interest in one 
 hundred and sixty acres of timber land lying 
 near Janesville. At the end of a year he bought 
 out his brother's share of the home ranch and has 
 since continued the improvements already in- 
 augurated. By assiduous work he has added 
 mwch to the value of his estate, one innovation 
 being the erection of a commodious residence in 
 1903. As a general fanner he shows superior 
 talent, raising cattle and horses, besides keeping 
 a small dairy and cutting from five to six hun- 
 dred tons of hay annually. In April, 1905, he 
 bought a one-third interest in a cattle ranch in 
 
"^^^ cly^ <^ C/'^^^ "^^^^ 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 669 
 
 Grasshopper valley, consisting of eight hundred 
 acres of land. 
 
 November 26, 1890, Mr. Bailey married Annie 
 Kate Theodore, a daughter of John Theodore, of 
 whom a sketch may be found elsewhere in this 
 volume. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bailey 
 four children have been born, as follows: Wil'- 
 liam Theoclore, born September i, 1891 ; Crvstal 
 Estella, December 22, 1893; Orlo George, Feb- 
 ruary 26, 1896; and Lola Annie, March i, 1901 ; 
 the child last mentioned died July 22, 1905. Be- 
 coming self-supporting at an early age, all that 
 -Mr. Bailey has accomplished and accumulated 
 has been the result of his own unaided efforts. 
 Politically he is a stanch Democrat. 
 
 LEWIS EDWIN HORTON. Prominent 
 among the pioneer settlers of this state is Lewis 
 Edwin Horton, who was for many years an in- 
 fluential factor in developing and maintaining the 
 industrial and financial prosperity of northern 
 California. An enterprising, keen-sighted, pro- 
 gressive business man, he was successful in his 
 many ventures, and is now living retired from 
 active pursuits at Loyalton, Sierra county, en- 
 joying to the utmost the fruits of his earlier years 
 of labor. Although long past the allotted three 
 score and ten years of man's life, he retains to a 
 remarkable degree his pristine physical and men- 
 tal vigor, and in the community in which he lives 
 is held in high respect, his integrity and sterling 
 worth being everywhere recognized. A son of 
 Tuttle Horton, he was born, September 8, 1829, 
 in Southold, Suffolk county. Long Island, N. Y., 
 of English ancestry, being a lineal descendant of 
 one Barnabas Horton, an eccentric character, who 
 emigrated from England to New York at an early 
 date, settling on Long Island in 1680. 
 
 Benjamin Horton, Mr. Horton's grandfather, 
 spent his entire life of ninety-two years on Long 
 Island, being employed during his active years as 
 a shoemaker. A native of Southold, L. I., Tut- 
 tle Horton was a life-long resident of that place. 
 As a young man he worked for many years as a 
 ship carpenter, but subsequently became a land- 
 holder, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 
 until his death, at the age of si.xty-five years. He 
 married Clarissa Rodgers, who was born in 1799 
 and spent her entire life in and near Southold] 
 passing away at the age of three score and ten 
 years. 
 
 Brought up on the farm, and educated in the 
 district schools and Franklinville Academy. 
 Lewis Edwin Horton remained at home until 
 seventeen years old. He then embarked in sea- 
 faring pursuits, at the end of two years shipping 
 before the mast as a seaman, and making his 
 first voyage to Glasgow and other European 
 ports as one of the crew on the bark Pilgrim. 
 Giving up the sea, Mr. Horton sailed from New 
 York as a passenger in November, 1849, and 
 came by way of Panama to California, arriving 
 m San Francisco during the latter part of Decem- 
 ber, 1849. Tlie ensuing three or four months he 
 was employed in lightering goods from ship to 
 shore. Becoming a victim to the gold fever at 
 this time he sold his lighter, and for alx)ut a year 
 was engaged in mining, first in Coloma, then in 
 Georgetown, and later in Downieville. Not 
 meeting with the anticipated results in his oper- 
 ations he located with a partner at Scotts Bar, 
 where he established a store and' bought a pack 
 train, and conducted a fair mercantile business 
 for awhile. Selling out his possessions in 1853, 
 he returned to New York by water, and in part- 
 nership with three other enterprising men, visit- 
 ed Illinois and Iowa, and in these two states 
 lx)ught eighty-seven horses, which he drove 
 across the plains in 1854, and soon after his ar- 
 rival sold in San Francisco at a reasonable profit. 
 Locating then in Yolo county, Mr. Horton was 
 for a few years engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
 having a ranch on Putali creek. Selling his land 
 in 1859, he again went cast by the Panama route, 
 an<l having purchased forty or fifty fine horses 
 came across the plains with them, arriving in San 
 I'rancisco in 1861, and there disposed of all of 
 them at a good price. Subsequently, with a part- 
 ner, he attended a government sale of mules in 
 Los .Angeles, and readily found a market for all 
 that he bought there in San Francisco. Going 
 then to X'irginia City he carried on an extensive 
 business for eight years, owning and managing a 
 lumber yard, a butcher's shop, a grocery, and 
 
670 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 keeping teams employed in hauling quartz, hav- 
 ing about forty horses at work. In 1870 he sold 
 out his entire business at an advantage, and came 
 to the Sierra valley, locating in the Summit dis- 
 trict, where he purchased the old Steiner ranch of 
 si.x hundred and forty acres. In the manage- 
 ment of his farm he met with signal success from 
 the start, and. subse(|uently purchased other land, 
 becoming the owner of two thousand acres, which 
 he operated successfully for "many years, carry- 
 ing on stock-raising and dairying on a large scale. 
 Having accumulated a competency, and feeling 
 himself justly entitled to a few years of leisure 
 and rest, he sold his large farm in 1903, and is 
 now living retired, as above stated, in Loyalton. 
 
 September 14, 1857, Mr. Horton married 
 Christiana Hallock, who was born, July 17, 1830, 
 in New York City, on the maternal side being a 
 }iIayfIower descendant, and of Revolutionary 
 stock, her mother's father. Captain Paine, hav- 
 itig served as an officer in the Revolution. Five 
 children were born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Horton, namely: Charles Edwin and Arthur 
 Hallock, proprietors of the Horton saw-mills and 
 box factory at Loyalton ; Edith, wife of William 
 Spurgeon Lewis; Eugene Lincoln, who died at 
 the age of one and one-half years, and Lewis 
 Herbert, who died when nineteen years of age. 
 Politically Mr. Horton is a liberal Democrat, but 
 has persistently refused all public office. Relig- 
 iously iMrs. Horton is a member of the Congre- 
 gational Church. 
 
 REUBEN H. STOVER. Few men identi- 
 fied with the history of Plumas county were 
 more widely known and none was more highly, 
 honored than the late Reuben H. Stover, who for 
 years was one of the most extensive and influen- 
 tial stock raisers and dairymen of the Big 
 Meadows. The family of which he was a mem- 
 ber originated in Germany, and his parents, Ja- 
 cob H. and Rebecca (Hess) Stover, natives of 
 Pennsylvania, traced their lineage to old fami- 
 lies of the Fatherland. As early as 1839, during 
 the frontier period of Iowa's history, Jacob H. 
 Stover took his wife and children to the present 
 
 site of Iowa City, where he engaged in farming 
 for two years and then engaged in buying and 
 selling lands, assisted in the founding of Iowa 
 City, erected a grist and sawmill, put up a store 
 and built the largest house in town. Prominent 
 in local affairs, he served as county supervisor 
 continuously during the period of his residence 
 in Iowa. While he was living in Pennsylvania 
 his son, Reuben H., was born in Center county, 
 ( )ctobcr 8, 1834, and there also the younger son, 
 Thaddeus S., was born October 31, 1836. In 
 the spring of 1850 the father and two sons made 
 the overland journey to California with horses 
 and mules, and after a month in Sacramento 
 went to Bidwell's Bar, but soon went back to 
 Sacramento and thence to Marysville, where the 
 sons cared for their father during a long and 
 severe illness. In the spring of 1851 they settled 
 on a ranch one mile below Marysville, where the 
 failure of the first year's crops was followed by 
 better fortune the second year. In 1833 the fath- 
 er returned to the east via Panama, leaving the 
 sons in California. Ultimately he established his 
 home in LaCrosse, Wis., where he died at sixty- 
 four years and his wife when sixty-eight. 
 
 The sons became business partners and con- 
 ducted growing and profitable enterprises in the 
 buving. selling and raising of cattle on their 
 ranch in Plumas county, on the west side of the 
 north fork of the Feather river. Eventually the 
 property was divided, and Reuben H. became the 
 sole ow^ner of six hundred acres in his home 
 ranch, where he kept a dairy herd of from thirty 
 to seventy cows. August 29, 1862, he married 
 Miss Mary Ann Rose, who was born July 9, 
 1846, eight miles from Milwaukee, Wis. Her 
 father, William L, was a native of New York 
 state, born November 21, 1824, and in youth ac- 
 companied members of the family to Wisconsin. 
 While he was the son of a cooper and learned 
 that trade, he gave his preference to agriculture 
 and was also master of other occupations. Leav- 
 ing Wisconsin in 1851, he came via Panama to 
 California and worked on a ranch for a brief 
 jieriod, then engaged in mining at Mormon's Isl- 
 and. For several years he kept a trading post 
 and hotel at different mining camps, later operat- 
 ed a hotel in Sacramento for two years, and then 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 G71 
 
 purchased a small tract of land in Sacramento 
 county, twenty tlucc miles east of the Capital 
 City. Somewhat later he took up ranch land in 
 Butte county, also followed ranching in Modoc 
 county temporarily, and April 25. 1877, passed 
 away in Butte county. In politics he voted with 
 the Republicans, but was not an active party 
 man. 
 
 The mother of Mrs. Stover bore the maiden 
 name of Margaret Inness and was born in Scot- 
 land November 20, 1827; immigrating to the 
 United States in girlhood, she was married in 
 Wisconsin October 3, 1845, and in 1852 came to 
 California via the Panama route, riding a nude 
 across the isthmus, while her two children were 
 carried on the backs of natives. Surviving her 
 husband for about seventeen years, she died in 
 Butte county, November 29, 1894. Of their six 
 children all but two lived to mature years. 
 Among the four was Mrs. Stover, who was six 
 years of age at the time of coming to California, 
 and who afterward remained with her parents 
 until she became the wife of Mr. Stover. Since 
 then she has made her home on the Stover ranch 
 in Big Meadows, Plumas county. Nine chil- 
 dren were born of her marriage, namely : George 
 R., a vineyardist and stock dealer living at Col- 
 lege City, Colusa county ; Clara E., wife of Jo- 
 seph Tremain, editor of the Lassen Mail, of Su- 
 sanville ; Anna L., who married George Redhead 
 and lives in Des Moines, Iowa ; Laura B., Mrs. 
 W. B. Smith, a widow residing with her mother; 
 Giarles F.. the present owner of the home ranch ; 
 Mertin I., a rancher and stock raiser on Payne's 
 creek, Tehama county ; Eva L., who married 
 Lawrence Urban, a carpenter of Sacramento ; 
 Ada L., who died at thirteen years ; and Ethel 
 Maude, who resides with her mother. 
 
 In politics Mr. Stover favored the free trade 
 principles of the Democratic party. The extent 
 of the liquor traffic caused him to become in later 
 life a Prohibitionist and strong temperance 
 worker. After an illness of ten months he died 
 October 10, 1897, mourned by his family and the 
 large circle of friends to whom his manly traits 
 had endeared him. The people far and near 
 knew and honored "Rube" and felt the loss of a 
 ]5ersonal friend in his demise. The estate was 
 
 willed to the widow and included seven hundred 
 acres, forming a valuable ranch, and a dairy herd 
 of from thirty to seventy cows. For a few 
 years the land was managed by the son, Qiarlcs 
 ]•., in his mother's interests, but in 1903 it was 
 sold to him and since then she has remained with 
 him on the old homestead. 
 
 ROBERT WILLIAM YOUXG. Plumas 
 county has in RolK-rt William Young one of its 
 most enterprising citizens, whose best efforts 
 have always been given toward the upbuilding 
 and development of this section. His years have 
 carried him even now past the Bibical allot- 
 ment, for he was bom seventy-five years ago, the 
 (late of his birth being March 17. 1831. hut he 
 is still hale and hearty, retaining not only an in- 
 terest in public affairs, but i)articipating actively 
 in them. Mr. Young is a native of Canada, his 
 father, George Young, having located in Glen- 
 garry county as an emigrant from his native 
 country. Scotland, when a young man. and there 
 engaged in farming until his death. His wife, 
 formerly Nancy Murray, was a native of Can- 
 ada, who died in the same country. 
 
 Of the six children Ijorn to his parents, four 
 sons and two daughters, Robert William Young 
 was next to the oldest, and as such early learned 
 the necessity of self-reliance and industry. He 
 received his education through the medium of 
 the public schools of Canada, and at the same 
 time assisted his father on the home farm ; later 
 he worked for an uncle, wlio was also a fanner 
 in that section. I'pon attaining his majority he 
 left home, and coming to the United States, re- 
 mained from May to September in New York. 
 Attracted to the Pacific coast by tlic glowing tales 
 of its wealth and oi)portunities, in September of 
 that vear (1852) he took passage on a steamer 
 lx>und for California, via the Isthmus of Pana- 
 ma. Following his arrival he located in Orovitle, 
 P.utte county, where he secured employment as 
 second cook in a boarding house, remaining in 
 that occupation until April, 1853, when he went 
 to Gib-sonville, Sierra county, and engaged in 
 mining and prospecting. Not meeting with the 
 
(372 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 desired success, he located on Poorman's creek 
 in April of the following- year and engaged in 
 placer mining, here meeting with results which 
 justified a continuance in the work for a period 
 of three years. At the expiration of that time 
 he located in Indian Valley and engaged in the 
 building business in partnership with his brother, 
 W. G. Young, and was so occupied until No- 
 vember, 1859, when he returned to his old home 
 in Canada, remaining there seven years. 
 
 Desiring' to locate once more in the western 
 states, Mr. Young came to California in 1866, 
 and after a month spent in San Francisco- went 
 by steamer to Portland, Ore., thence by river 
 boat to Walla Walla, Wash., and from there 
 overland to the Coeur d'Alene mines, and in the 
 same season journeyed to Blackfoot City, Mont., 
 where he mined for si.x weeks, then established a 
 butchering business on Carpenter Bar, adjoining 
 Blackfoot City. He was successful in his work 
 for two winters, when he again visited his old 
 home. In the spring of 1869 he went to Texas 
 and for two years drove cattle from that state 
 to Denver, and to Baxter Springs, Kans. The 
 Indians were very hostile at that time, and he 
 had many thrilling experiences and narrow 
 escapes during his residence in the southwest. In 
 1870 he again made the trip to California, but 
 this time by train, and in Indian Valley worked 
 in his brother's store ; a year later he went to 
 Greenville and, in partnership, built a sawmill, 
 which was afterward removed to Dutch Hill, 
 where Mr. Young sold his interest to his part- 
 ner. Building, butchering and farming occu- 
 pied Mr. Young's time until 1876, when he came 
 to Crescent Mills, Plumas county, where he 
 operated a store and the post and express offices 
 for one summer for Bransford & Mclntyre, and 
 at the same time became interested in a quartz 
 mine, known as the Premium mine, located be- 
 tween Crescent Mills and Taylorsville ; he built a 
 five-stamp quartz mill and operated the same for 
 three years, but it is not now in active work, al- 
 though he still owns the property, having it un- 
 der bond at the present writing. He has prac- 
 tically retired from the active cares of life, al- 
 though he maintains a keen interest in afifairs 
 about him and can be counted upon to further 
 
 any plan for the advancement oi the community. 
 In Canada, Mr. Young married Margaret Mc- 
 Rae, a native of that country, and born of this 
 union were three children, namely : Annie and 
 Walter E., deceased; and Forrest R., who re- 
 sides in Beckwith, Cal. In his political prefer- 
 ence Mr. Young is a stanch Democrat, and al- 
 though the county is largely Republican, was 
 elected supervisor of the Seventh district of 
 Plumas county, in 1892. He has served as school 
 director many terms, and in 1905 was a candidate 
 for the office of county treasurer. He is a popu- 
 lar citizen of the community in which he has so 
 long resided, and is held in the highest esteem 
 for his many qualities of character. 
 
 HANS SORENSON. A successful farmer 
 of Lassen county, living one mile south of Stand- 
 ish, is Hans Sorenson, a native of Denmark, 
 born June 14, 1868, a son of Soren Olson, a na- 
 tive and life resident of Denmark. Hans Soren- 
 son was reared and educated in his native coun- 
 try and came to the United States in 1886. He 
 remained for two years in New York and Con- 
 necticut, working for wages at any employment 
 which he couid obtain, and in 1888 came to Cali- 
 fornia. Going to Alameda county he worked 
 for wages there for some time, doing teaming at 
 odd jobs for three years. In the fall of 1901 he 
 came to Lassen county and located in Honey 
 Lake valley, purchasing and homesteading three 
 hundred and twenty acres of land about one mile 
 north of Spoonville, where he engaged in farm- 
 ing until 1904. Renting two hundred acres of 
 the Hiram McClellan ranch, all alfalfa land, he 
 moved upon it, and now operates both places. 
 His own land was all sage brush land, which he 
 cleared, putting in grain and alfalfa (thirty-five 
 acres of the latter), and has one hundred and 
 seventy acres under irrigation. He has placed 
 the improvements upon this land, and feeds cat- 
 tle on that portion used for grazing purposes. 
 He has devoted the greater portion of his life 
 to farming, and has been very successful. 
 
 Politically Mr. Sorenson is a stanch Repub- 
 lican, and fraternally is a member of the Inde- 
 
-^--T-Z-^ 
 
HISTORICVL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 875 
 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows at San Leandro 
 No. 231, Alameda county. He is energetic and 
 enterprising as a citizen, interested in all move- 
 ments tending to the welfare of his vicinity, and 
 devoted to his life work in agricultural pur- 
 suits. 
 
 JORGEN JENSEN. Prominent among the 
 early settlers of Honey Lake valley was the late 
 Jorgen Jensen, who located in Susanville more 
 than forty years ago, and from that time until his 
 death was numbered with the most valued and 
 esteemed citizens of the community. He was a 
 man of sterling integrity, well known as an in- 
 dustrious and thrifty farmer, a kind and accom- 
 modating neighbor, and a loving husband and 
 father. A native of Germany, he was born Jan- 
 uary 28, 1836, in Sleswick-Holstein, and died 
 November 2, 1900, on the home farm where he 
 had so long resided, his death being a cause of 
 general regret. 
 
 At the age of nineteen years Jorgen Jensen 
 came with his parents to iVmerica, and settled 
 near Davenport, Iowa, his father. Christian Jen- 
 sen, buying a farm there. After completing his 
 education in the district schools he learned the 
 blacksmith's trade, which he followed for a tunc. 
 Drifting westward, he spent a short time in dif- 
 ferent states, finally coming to California. Lo- 
 cating in Butte coimty, he worked at his trade 
 until 1863, when he removed to Taylorsville, 
 Plumas county. Forming a partnership with 
 William I'.rockman in 1864, he came to Honey 
 Lake valle}-, where the firm embarked in busi- 
 ness at Susanville, opening a blacksmith's shop. 
 Soon afterward Mr. Jensen purchased a tract of 
 wild land, from which he improved the ranch 
 now occu])ied by his widow and children, lie 
 labored with untiring diligence, erecting a fine 
 residence and substantial barn and outbuildings, 
 rendering his estate one of the liest in its ap- 
 pfiintments of any in the neighborhood. .Xccu- 
 mulating money, he invested in adjoining land, 
 buying the Dobyns and Haley farms, at the time 
 of his death owning four hundred acres. As an 
 agriculturist he was exceedingly prosperous, for- 
 
 tune smiling on his every effort. He was liberal 
 in his views, a stanch Republican in politics, a 
 Lutheran in religion, and was a charter member 
 of Silver Star Lodge, J. O. O. F. 
 
 October 14, 1877, at Horse Lake, Lassen 
 county, Mr. Jensen married Effie Ann Cramer, 
 who was born in 1843 '" Uavaria, Germany, 
 which was likewise the birthplace of her fatlier, 
 Cliarles Cramer. Her paternal grandfather was 
 a man of prominence in the business circles of 
 Bavaria, havmg been a large landholder and a 
 capitalist. .\ well-educated man, being a college 
 graduate, Charles Cramer left the Fatherland to 
 seek his fortune on American soil, emigrating 
 to Ohio in 1846. Settling in Stark county, he 
 bought a farm nine miles south of Canton, and 
 was there engaged in agricultural pursuits and 
 in buying and selling land until his death, at the 
 advanced age of eighty-six years. He was a man 
 of upright moral principles, and a consistent 
 member of the Cnited Brethren church. He 
 married Catherine L'rshel, who was born in Ger- 
 many, of wealthy parents, and died in Ohio, at 
 the age of forty-two years. Of the thirteen chil- 
 dren born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Cramer, 
 eight grew to years of maturity, and seven sur- 
 vive. F'ive came to California, namely: Charles, 
 of Chico; Daniel, who served in an Ohio regi- 
 ment during the Civil war, and now lives in 
 Surprise valley; Mrs. Phoebe Riddle, of Honey 
 Lake valley; Mrs. Effie Ann Jensen; and Mrs. 
 Margaret Longnecker, who died in KJ04, at 
 Johnstonville. 
 
 .Mrs. Jensen was educated in the public schools 
 of Ohio, and in 1876 came to Honey Lake val- 
 ley, where she resided with her brother Cliarles 
 until her marriage. She is a woman of superior 
 business ability, and since the death of her hus- 
 band has managed the estate with excellent suc- 
 cess, continuing the improvements already begini. 
 The farm contains over four hundred pcres, and 
 is situated two miles east of Susanville, on the 
 Susan river, from wliich it receives water for 
 irrigation. She raises alfalfa, timothy and wheat, 
 reaping good crops of each every year. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Jensen became the parents of two children ; 
 .\lbert Ross, born in 1879, assists his mother in 
 
676 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the care of tlie farm ; he married Georgiana E. 
 Bunnell, December 20, 1905. Delia Katherine 
 was born in 18(82. 1^1 rs. Jensen is a member of 
 the Methodist church. 
 
 JOSEPH McCHESNEY, M. D. The ances- 
 try of the ]\IcChesney family can be traced back 
 to the great-great-grandfather of Dr. McChes- 
 ney of this review, Hugh, who was born in 1741, 
 of Norman-Scotch ancestors. His marriage 
 united him with Joannah Plum, who was born 
 in England in 1747. In Rensselaer county, N. 
 Y., their son Samuel was born in 1770. He 
 married Jane Morrison, who was born in 1773, 
 of Scotch and German antecedents. The grand- 
 father, Joseph S., was also a native of New York 
 state, born in 1795, and there he spent his entire 
 life as farmer and hotel man, dying when about 
 seventy-eight years old. His wife, Hannah, was 
 born in 1793, of Scotch and German ancestors. 
 Of the union of Joseph S. and Hannah McChes- 
 ney, James was born in Troy, N. Y., in 1823. He 
 received his primary education in his native city, 
 later attending and graduating from Castleton 
 (Vt.) Medical College in 1849. He at once 
 opened an office for the practice of his profession 
 in Troy, continuing there for two years, when, 
 in 1851, he came to California and engaged in 
 practice and also carried on a drug business at 
 Columbia. During the thirteen years spent in 
 that location he met with splendid success. In 
 the meantime he made numerous trips east, 
 bringing back cargoes of provisions and other 
 supplies. He was on the Golden Gate when she 
 was burned off the coast of Mexico in 1865, and 
 had with him a quantity of gold which he was 
 taking back east, but managed to save himself 
 and his money. After remaining in Mexico for 
 a time he finally completed the journey to Troy, 
 N. Y. During 1859-60 he attended a medical 
 college in New York City, after which he re- 
 turned to Troy, where he engaged in the practice 
 of his profession. During this time at Troy he 
 speculated quite extensively, and lost over $20,- 
 000 in all on the Board of Trade. He was over 
 seventy years of age at this time, but he recov- 
 
 ered his fortune and is now retired from active 
 life, with a competency for his old age. He is now 
 eighty-three years of age, and very active, writes 
 an excellent hand, and reads without glasses. 
 His wife, formerly Elizabeth Rose, was born in 
 1825 in New York state, where she was reared 
 and educated, coming to California in 1855 via 
 Nicaragua. Of the one hundred and seventeen 
 people in the party, one hundred died of cholera, 
 but she with her small son escaped. She died at 
 the age of seventy-seven years, her death occur- 
 ring on Novembr 21, 1903. 
 
 Joseph McQiesney was born at Columbia, Tu- 
 olumne county, Cal., April 21, 1858, and is the 
 second of three children, the eldest of whom is 
 Daniel R., in the hardware business at Toledo, 
 Ohio. The joungest child, Emma, is a maiden 
 lady of excellent qualities of both mind and 
 heart, and is noted for her gentle goodness and 
 charitable acts ; she is general superintendent of 
 the Troy Orphan Asylum. When his parents re- 
 turned to the latter city in 1859 Joseph accom- 
 panied them, remaining there until attaining 
 school age, when he became a pupil in the com- 
 mon schools. Subsequently he attended Hamil- 
 ton College at Clinton, graduating therefrom 
 with die degree of Bachelor of Arts. After this 
 he attended the College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons in New York City, having at an early age 
 displayed a taste for the profession which his 
 father had so honorably adorned ; after studying 
 with his father he attended Hamilton College, 
 from whish he received his degree. After gradu- 
 ating from the College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons in 1 88 1, he was for a time in St. Francis 
 and Charity Hospitals, then became physician 
 and surgeon for the Santa Fe Railroad in New 
 Mexico. In 1884 he came to California, locating 
 for a time at Yreka, where he practiced until 
 1886, and two years later located at Quincy, 
 where he built up a large practice. He has re- 
 cently sold his practice here, to the regret of the 
 community, and is going east to spend a year 
 in the Hopkins University of Baltimore, Md., 
 and in the medical colleges and hospitals. He is 
 fraternally identified with the Masonic order at 
 Quincy, and is past master of Plumas Lodge 
 No. 60. 
 
ANDREW J. WILKERSON 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 r.Tit 
 
 ANDREW JACKSON WILKERSON. 
 Honored and influential among the old settlers 
 of northeastern California is the gentleman whose 
 name introduces this article and who still owns 
 varied ranch and stock interests, A native of 
 Middle Tennessee, he was bom fifty miles from 
 Nashville on the 4th of July, 1832, and was one 
 of fourteen children. Early in life he accom- 
 panied his mother to Alabama and from there, 
 at the age of thirteen years, went to Arkansas, 
 where he made his home with a sister in Renton 
 county. In 1859 he hired out to a Mr. Hale 
 whose oxen he drove across the plains, arriving 
 at Marysville after an uneventful trip of six 
 months. Later, buying teams of his own, ho 
 engaged in hauling freight between Marysville 
 and Austin, clearing $1000 in a single trip. With 
 the means thus earned he bought for $1800 the 
 Willow ranch in Long valley, where he remained 
 a number of years. From there he went to Ells- 
 worth, Nev., and engaged in buying cattle, 
 also conducted a meat market. Meanwhile he 
 acquired the ranch in Lodi valley which he still 
 owns and on which the Jacks springs are located. 
 From Ellsworth he removed to a ranch on the 
 Reese river, where he acquired vast interests in 
 cattle and horses. Eventually he sold his brand, 
 "A. J." for $4,700^ but reserved enough stock to 
 enable him to start again. Since then he has 
 used for his brand an inverted A and this brand 
 on a horse is an accepted guarantee of its c|uality, 
 for he has made a specialty of the finest breeds. 
 While he has disposed of his cattle and the 
 Reese river ranch he still owns the Ellsworth 
 ranch, where his horses are now kept and where 
 he spends a considerable part of each year. When 
 the duties of his occupation permit of leisure, he 
 retires to Susanville and visits with his daughters 
 in their comfortable home. The nature of his 
 occupation has been such as to preclude partici- 
 pation in public affairs and fraternal and social 
 activities, hence he has taken no part in politics 
 and has not identified himself with any order 
 except that of Masonry. 
 
 After settling in Ellsworth Mr. Wilkerson met 
 and married Hannah J. McKissick, who was 
 born in northern Missouri and died at Ellsworth 
 in September, 1877. at twenty-eight years of age. 
 
 The family is of southern lineage. John Mc- 
 Kissick was a native of North Carolina and 
 established the family in Kentucky, whence he 
 removed to a tract of raw land in the Platte 
 Purchase in Missouri. Daniel, a son of John, 
 was the first white male child born in the I'latte 
 Purchase and he grew to manhootl in tliat then 
 frontier, where he married Melissa Fowler, 
 daughter of an officer in the war of 181 2. For 
 a time he engaged in operating a sawmill in the 
 southwestern part of Iowa on a small island that 
 to this day bears the name of McKissick Island. 
 A man of considerable genius and mechanical 
 ability, he was well qualified for the milling 
 business and, indeed, for all work requiring ex- 
 pertness with tools and machinery. As a sur- 
 veyor and civil engineer he displayed consider- 
 able talent and did much skilled work. During 
 1 861 he brought his family across the plains to 
 Long valley, where his brother, Jacob, had settled 
 many years before. After a time he removed 
 to Ellsworth and took up the teaming business. 
 In 1875 he returned to California and after a 
 year in Honey Lake valley he settled in Secret 
 valley, Lassen county, where he improved a 
 ranch and carried on a large stock business. 
 Secret valley was not discovered until years after 
 Honey Lake valley had been settled and its 
 whereabouts were accidentally revealed to Mr. 
 Ball as he traveled through that part of the coun- 
 try by way of the caiion bearing his name. 
 
 On the ranch of nine hundred acres twenty- 
 eight miles northeast of Susanville Daniel Mc- 
 Kissick made his home from 1876 until his death. 
 June 26, 1895, at seventy-five years of age, and 
 amid the scenes familiar to him through all those 
 years he was laid to his last rest. It was not 
 long before his wife joined him in. death, her 
 demise occurring December 26, 1896. Both were 
 earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 Oiurch and possessed the high principles of 
 honor, broad spirit of charity and strict integrity 
 that ever characterize the true Giristian. In 
 politics he voted with the Democratic party. His 
 brother, Jacob, previously mentioned as having 
 preceded him to the west, became a wealthy 
 stockman, a large land owner and a prominent 
 
k 
 
 080 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Knight Templar Mason, and passed his last days 
 in Nevada, dying at Reno. 
 
 In the family of Mr. Wilkerson there were 
 four children, namely : Andrew J., who was a 
 little less than seven years of age when he died 
 at the family home in Secret valley; Henry J., 
 who engages in ranching near Fallon, Nev. ; 
 Etta May and Hannah Jane, who were reared 
 in the home of their grandfather, Daniel Mc- 
 Kissick, and attended the district schools of 
 Secret valley. During April of 1902 they re- 
 moved to .Susanville, where they own a com- 
 modious residence in Hall's addition to the city. 
 Among the people of the town they are promi- 
 nent and popular, being faithful members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church and generous con- 
 tributors to worthy causes. Miss Etta is an 
 active worker in the Order of the Eastern Star 
 and is also known as a skilled horsewoman, while 
 Miss Hannah, who completed her studies in 
 Reno, is now teaching school at Willow creek. 
 
 DUNCAN jMcINTYRE. There are few of 
 the interests associated with the material develop- 
 ment of Plumas county that have lacked the co- 
 operation and practical assistance of Mr. Mcln- 
 tyre, who, while aiding in the permanent growtli 
 of the country, has also established his own for- 
 tunes upon a firm basis so that he now ranks 
 among the moneyed men of this region. When 
 he came to California in the fall of 1869 he set- 
 tled at Greenville and since then his history has 
 been that of the town, for he has prospered alike 
 as merchant, manufacturer, hotel proprietor and 
 miner. Though to a degree retired from com- 
 mercial activities, he still owns a store, and almost 
 all of the stock in the Round Valley Consolidated 
 Mining Company, having one hundred and forty 
 thousand out of the one hundred and fifty thou- 
 sand shares in his own name, and owning four 
 excellent locations with quartz mine prospects on 
 the same. 
 
 As their name indicates, the Mclntyre family 
 is of Scotch origin. Duncan Mclntyre, Sr., was 
 born in the highlands of Scotland, and at ah 
 early age came to America, settling near the St. 
 
 Lawrence river in Canada, where he remained 
 until his death at eighty-four years. His son, 
 Duncan, Jr., was born in the county of Glen- 
 gary, province of Ontario, April 18, 1848, and 
 remained at the old homestead until he was 
 twenty years of age, when he started out to 
 make his own way in the world. Going first to 
 Minnesota, he worked in the harvest fields near 
 Patterson, and then was employed in a brick- 
 yard, but after six months returned to Ontario. 
 In the fall of 1869 he left Canada permanently 
 and settled in California, where for six years he 
 was employed by the day in the timber and 
 quartz mills near Greenville. Next for eight 
 years he conducted a soda manufacturing busi- 
 ness, from which he netted fair returns. On 
 selling the plant he turned his attention in 1S84 
 to die general mercantile business, in which he 
 met with a growing and gratifying success, and 
 which he has conducted up to the present time. 
 In 1889 he bought the large building used for a 
 hotel, and this he conducted in addition to manag- 
 ing the store. After five years he sold the hotel, 
 but four years later he was obliged to take the 
 property back, and subsequently he continued as 
 proprietor of the hotel until 1904, when he sold 
 the property to his son-in-law, George Wiegand, 
 the present proprietor. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Mclntyre occurred in 
 Alay, 1873, and united him with Miss Elizabeth 
 Skinner, who was born in Scotland April 23, 
 1848, and in childhood accompanied relatives to 
 the province of Quebec, Canada, settling near 
 Montreal, and from there in the fall of 1869 
 came to California. Nine children were born 
 of their union, but three died in infancy or child- 
 hood. The others are named as follows : Lewis 
 Philip, who is associated with his fatlier in busi- 
 ness; Maude, wife of George Wiegand, of 
 Greenville ; Donald James, who is engaged in 
 mining in this section ; John Angus, who is now 
 learning the machinist's trade in Canada ; Wal- 
 lace Bruce, who resides with his parents at Green- 
 ville ; and Duncan William, who died at twenty- 
 one years of age. In politics Mr. Mclntyre 
 votes with the Republican party. There are few 
 residents of Plumas county to wdiom has been 
 granted as large a degree of success as that 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 CM 
 
 which has rewarded the efforts of Mr. Mcln- 
 t_\re, who occupies a place among the wcaltliy 
 business men of northern California. The pos- 
 sessor of executive ability, keen judgment, dis- 
 criminating foresight and tireless energy, he 
 was enabled to secure a foothold in the busi- 
 ness world through the exercise of these quali- 
 ties, and after a substantial start had been secured 
 the upward progress was rapid and steady. Un- 
 aided he has risen to influence and prominence. 
 When he came west he was a stranger in a 
 strange land, unfamiliar with the customs of the 
 ])eople and ignorant of the possibilities of west- 
 ern soil or her mines or agricultural wealth ; yet, 
 hampered as he was, he nevertheless gained a 
 (inick and steady hold upon commercial enter- 
 prises, and has gained a prestige as a man of 
 unusual capabilities as well as high principles. 
 
 CLARK J. LEE. To a large number of the 
 men who have found business opportunities 
 awaiting them in Plumas county and in turn 
 have endeavored to promote the commercial 
 welfare of this portion of California, mention 
 belongs to Clark J. Lee, president of the Plumas 
 County Bank and projirietor of the leading gen- 
 eral merchandise store in Ouincy. As are a 
 great many of her best business men, Mr. Lee 
 is a native Californian. and was born near Dob- 
 bins, Yuba county, July 7, 1861, a son of Cory- 
 don and Elizabeth (Rodgers) Lee. 
 
 In 1852, when CaHfornia was still in the in- 
 fancy of its history as a commonwealth, Cory- 
 don Lee left his native surroundings in Michi- 
 gan, came to California by way of Panama and 
 located in Plumas coimty in what is now La 
 Porte. Before coming to the west he had read 
 law and upon locating in La Porte began the 
 practice of his profession, in addition to which 
 he carried on mining with considerable success 
 for several >ears. With the money which he 
 had thus accumulated he established himself in 
 the cattle business at Marysville, but the ven- 
 ture proved disastrous, losing all of the money 
 which he had invested in the enterprise. Undis- 
 nuned h\ this stroke of ill-luck, however, in 
 
 1806 he located in Quincy and establisheil the 
 general store of which his son is now the pro- 
 prietor, carrying it on successfully the remain- 
 der of his life. Three years prior to his death, 
 wliich occurred in March, 1889, at t'l*-' age of 
 sixty-nine years, he met with an accident which 
 unquestionably hastened his death. .As a Demo- 
 crat he was a conscientious voter, but never an 
 office seeker. .Mthough he had met with the 
 usual ups and downs that come to all pioneers, 
 he was successful in the main, and so thoroughly 
 had he adopted western life and customs that he 
 was known as a typical Californian. His wife, 
 formerly Elizabeth Rodgers, was also a native 
 of Michigan, and in that state their marriage was 
 celebrated. Coming to California in 1855, Mrs. 
 Lee spent the remainder of her life in this 
 state, dying in 1870, when only forty-one years 
 of age. Besides Clark J. she left two children. 
 Thomas C, a liveryman in Oroville, and .\lta 
 Elizabeth, the wife of James W. Larison, a resi- 
 dent of Quincy. 
 
 When Gark J. Lee was a lad of five years his 
 parents took up their residence in Quincy, and 
 as soon as he was old enough began his studies 
 in the public schools. After his school days 
 were over he clerked in his father's store until 
 he became of age, wdien he was given a one- 
 fourth interest in the business, .^fter the fath- 
 er's death he purchased the interest of the other 
 heirs and has since conducted the business 
 alone, owning and managing one of the leading 
 general merchandise establishments in Quincy. 
 When the advisability of establishing a bank in 
 Quincy was recognized he was one of the first 
 to give his approval to the innovation, and wlien 
 the Plumas County Bank was established in 
 1903, with a capital stock of $25,000. he was 
 cho.sen president of the institution. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Lee, which was sol- 
 emnized Eebruary 22. 1886, united him with 
 Miss Elizabeth Miller, who was born in Gibson- 
 ville. Sierra county, this state, and two children 
 have been born to thciu, Mildred and Corydon, 
 aged nine and tw^o years respectively, .^s was 
 his father before him, Mr. Lee is a Democrat in 
 his political belief, and like him. too. lie has 
 never had any desire to fill public positions. 
 
682 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 By virtue of his birth in this state he is entitled 
 to membership in the Native Sons of the Golden 
 West and is identified with Plumas Parlor No. 
 131, while fraternally he is a member of Plumas 
 Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. F., also of Quincy. It 
 may be said of Mr. Lee that he has thoroughl\- 
 understood and appreciated the advantages by 
 which he was surrounded and turned them to 
 the best possible account, in consequence of 
 which he has become one of the prominent and 
 financially substantial men of Plumas county. 
 
 MRS. KATE HOSTETTER. The years in 
 their flight have brought many changes to the 
 western country since Mrs. Hostetter, a child of 
 eleven years, crossed the plains and for the first 
 time viewed the prospects of the then frontier. 
 Reared and educated in the west, she is devoted 
 to its development and intensely interested in its 
 progress, particularly as related to matters agri- 
 cultural. Practically all of her married life has 
 been passed upon ranches and she now owns a 
 well improved farm in Honey Lake valley, Las- 
 sen county, which, at the time the land was taken 
 up by Mr. Hostetter, presented a drearj' aspect 
 of sagebrush, destitute of even the slightest at- 
 tempt at improvement. The one hundred and 
 sixty acres of the original farm now bear ex- 
 cellent improvements, and a later purchase of 
 forty acres across the creek also has been brought 
 under cultivation, the entire estate being de- 
 voted to alfalfa, dairying and general farm prod- 
 ucts. 
 
 A native of Montgomery county, Ind., Mrs. 
 Hostetter was a daughter of William R. and 
 Sarah (Stover) Harrison, and a granddaughter 
 of George and- Anna (Rader) Stover, members 
 of old \'irginia families. Her mother was boni 
 in Mrginia and at an early age removed to In- 
 diana, where she met and married William R. 
 Harrison. The latter was born April 29, 1813. 
 in North Carolina, and was a third cousin of 
 President William Henr\' Harrison and a man of 
 education and ability. For some years thev lived 
 in Iowa and he followed the profession of law, 
 but in 1849 he became one of the early miners of 
 
 California, attracted across the plains by reports 
 concerning fortunes to be made in the mines of 
 the coast. IDuring the spring of 1858 he returned 
 east for his famil>- and immediately brought 
 them to California. As he crossed the plains 
 with them he met an old Sioux Indian chief and, 
 being a Mason, gave him the sign, which he 
 afterward believed saved the party, for the In- 
 dian told him to remam in camp on that spot for 
 one day. At the expiration of the time the chief 
 returned and told them that they could continue 
 in safety. It then developed that he had gone 
 ahead and given notice to a band of Indians not 
 to molest the party. 
 
 A prominent lawyer and leading Republican of 
 the early days in the west, William R. Harrison 
 served as the first judge of the counties of Shas- 
 ta and Tehama, and as the second of Lassen 
 county, and at one time was district attorney of 
 Tehama county, and also of Lassen county. 
 Meanwhile he held numerous interests in mines 
 in this state and Nevada, but gave his attention 
 principally to the work of a lawyer and an office- 
 holder. On the organization of the first Ma- 
 sonic Lodge in Shasta county he became a char- 
 ter member and served as its master, later in- 
 stalled the lodge at Susanville and various other 
 places, and also rose to the degree of Knight 
 Templar. His death occurred at Susanville, Las- 
 sen county, April 24, 1870; his widow still sur- 
 vives and, at the age of ninety years, is active 
 and remarkably well preserved. 
 
 The first marriage of Miss Kate Harrison took 
 place in Humboldt county, Nev., November 12, 
 1863, and united her with Thomas Benton John- 
 ston, who was born in Missouri, crossed tlie 
 plains in the early '50s and afterward sojourned 
 in various parts of California and Nevada. The 
 day after their marriage they started for Cali- 
 fornia and settled later at Red Bluff, from which 
 place, in 1871, removal was made to Susanville. 
 Four children were bom of the marriage, three 
 of whom survive, namely ; Sallie, who married 
 Allen J. Long and lives in Plumas county ; Sam- 
 uel Thomas, who married ]\Iiss Ida Bronson and 
 lives in Plumas county ; and Zebnoe, who re- 
 mains with his mother. January i. 1874, Mrs. 
 Johnston became the wife of Francis Marion 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 fis3 
 
 Hostetter, whci was Ijorn in Missouri, crossed the 
 ])lains in 1862 and settled in Lassen county, tak- 
 ing up land now owned by Mrs. C. O. Barham. 
 The tract was wholly unimproved, but under his 
 super\'ision was transfonned from the primeval 
 condition of nature into a valuable estate, w-ith 
 orchard, farm house and cultivated fields. On 
 selling that property he bought the tract now 
 owned by his widow. In addition to improving 
 his land he owned and operated a sawmill. In 
 early manhood, while living in Iowa, he had mar- 
 ried Julia Bradley. Five children were born of 
 the union, who are now living, namely; Mary, 
 who married Edward Tregastia and lives in Ne- 
 vada ; Jane, Mrs. James Haley, of California ; 
 John, in Montana ; Anna, in Sierraville, Cal. ; 
 and Ulysses, in Montana. Of his second mar- 
 riage five children were born, three of whom 
 are living, namely : Bert, who remains with his 
 mother and assists in the cultivation of the home 
 place ; Leila, Mrs. H. Fitch, of Hot Springs ; and 
 Lenus, living with his mother on the home ranch. 
 The husband and father passed away February 
 II, 1897, and was buried in the Janesville ceme- 
 tery. In politics he voted with the Republican 
 party from the time of its organization until the 
 date of his death, and, though not active in l(X~al 
 affairs, he maintained an intelligent interest in 
 all movements for the benefit of the community. 
 Since his demise, his son, Bert, and step-son, 
 Zebnoe Johnston, have cultivated the home place, 
 and in addition own and operate three hundred 
 and twenty acres near Hot Springs, both mean- 
 while remaining with their mother on the Honey 
 Lake valley ranch. Both are stanch Republicans 
 in fKjlitical views ; both also are identified with 
 Honey Lake Parlor No. 198, N. S. G. W., at 
 Janesville, and Mr. Johnston has officiated as 
 president of that organization. 
 
 LORENZO ELLIOTT WINCHESTER. 
 The substantial and well-to-do agriculturists of 
 Lassen county have no better representative than 
 Lorenzo Elliott Winchester, who owns and occu- 
 pies a highlv improved and well-appointed farm, 
 lying one and one-half miles east of Susanville. 
 
 A man of enterprise and keen foresigiit, he pos- 
 sesses a good understanding of the best ways of 
 so conducting his business as to secure tlie most 
 satisfactory returns, and in his chosen calling is 
 meeting with excellent success. A native of 
 Michigan, he was 1x)rn July 24. 18^4. in Wayne 
 county, about thirty miles from Detroit, a son of 
 Elliott Winchester, of whom a brief sketch may 
 be found elsewhere in this volume. 
 
 Brought up on the home farm. Lorenzo Elliott 
 Winchester attended the district school when a 
 boy, and at the age of ten years began to be self- 
 supporting, working for his board and clothes, 
 and going to school winters. In June, 1861. in- 
 spired by patriotic ardor, he enlisted in Company 
 B, Forty-fourth Ohio \'oIunteer Infantry, and 
 being mustered into the service at Parkersburg 
 served in Virginia for two years under Rose- 
 crans. In 1863 he was mustered out. and hon- 
 orably discharged on account of physical disa- 
 bility. Returning to his native state he bought 
 land in Wayne county and embarked in farming. 
 Selling out in 1871, he came to California, locat- 
 ing in Honey I^ike valley. In 1872 he bought 
 his present ranch of three hundred and sixty 
 acres, lying on the Susan river, a mile and a 
 half from Susanville. His ranch is irrigated by 
 ditches, receiving water from the river, and is 
 all meadow land, being called Meadow ranch. 
 In the care of his estate he exercises great skill 
 and good judgment, and is ver>- profitably en- 
 gaged in the cattle business and hay raising, 
 some seasons harvesting seven hundred tons. 
 He also raises thoroughbred cattle, making a 
 specialty of Shorthorns and Durhams. Besides 
 his home property he formerly owned a ranch 
 in Madeline and one in Modoc county, both of 
 which he sold at an advantage. In addition to 
 the interests already mentioned he deals in agri- 
 cultural implements, representing the Mihvaukee 
 farm machinery, and the Melrose wagons and 
 carriages, having a good trade in each. He is 
 also engaged to some extent in the dairy busi- 
 ness, keeping a fine grade of cows. 
 
 Mr. Winchester married for his first wife, in 
 \\'ayne county, Mich., Georgiana Carpenter, 
 who was born in that county and died in 1876 
 in Lassen countv. Cal. She left two children, 
 
68i 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 namely : George Edward, a blacksmith in Su- 
 sanville ; and Ida, wife of John Cornell of Su- 
 sanville. In Susanville Mr. Winchester married 
 Sarah Pickard, who was born in Honey Lake 
 valley, a daughter of Thomas Pickard, who set- 
 tled here as a pioneer, and is now a resident of 
 British Columbia. Mr. and Mrs. Winchester are 
 the parents of six children, namely : Charles Ed- 
 ward, Maude, Richard, Robert, Thomas and 
 Franklin. In politics Mr. Winchester is inde- 
 pendent, voting with the courage of his convic- 
 tions, regardless of party restrictions. He was 
 a member of Benton Post No. 163, G. A. R., un- 
 til its charter lapsed, and served for a time as its 
 commander. Mrs. Wincliester is a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church and an active 
 worker in the denomination. 
 
 PETER KENTON HEARD. From boyhood 
 a resident of California and now engaged in 
 farming in Surprise valley, Modoc county, Mr. 
 Heard is a native of Texas and was born Febru- 
 ary II, 1873, to Kenyon and Mary (Pate) 
 Heard. When he was ten years of age he ac- 
 companied his parents from Texas via the 
 southern overland route to California and set- 
 tled with them, after a trip of six months, on a 
 ranch near Lake City, where his mother still 
 makes her home, and where his father died in 
 1893 at the age of sixty-five years. At the age 
 of twenty years he started out to earn his own 
 livelihood and for nearly two years rented, to- 
 gether with his oldest brother, the old homestead, 
 but for the fcjllowing four years he rented land 
 in Plumas county, this state. On his return tn 
 Modoc county he bought the Gilcher ranch of 
 three hundred and twenty acres near Eagleville, 
 and here he since has engaged in agricultural 
 pursuits. Of his land about fifty acres are in 
 alfalfa, while the balance is in meadow, grain 
 land and pasture. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Heard took place in the 
 spring of 1893 and united him with ]\Iiss Maude 
 Miller, who was born in Plumas county, re- 
 ceived a fair education, and for some terms 
 prior to her marriage engaged in teaching 
 school. Her father, Andrew Miller, was a na- 
 
 tive of Bavaria, Germany, but left there at the 
 age of nine years and with his parents settled in 
 Maryland, the family home being in Harford 
 county for three years. From there he accom- 
 panied the family to Illinois and settled in Pike 
 county. Crossing the plains in 1849, lie en- 
 gaged in farming in the Sacramento valley. A 
 \ear later he went to Hangtown, where he re- 
 mained until the spring of 1851, and then for 
 twelve years engaged in the mercantile business 
 at Longville. In 1863 he removed to Susan- 
 ville, Lassen county, and with a partner. Rufus 
 Kingsley, erected the first fire-proof store in the 
 village, a building now owned by Alexander & 
 Knoch. In addition he operated the old Stew- 
 art hotel. In April of 1871 he was appointed 
 receiver of the United States land office at Su- 
 sanville, holding that office for twelve years. 
 As early as 1859 he had purchased a tract of 
 land near Longville, Plumas county, and, after 
 years of business activity, he retired to his land- 
 ed estate, where he died December 5, 1903. At 
 the time of his death he was seventy-seven 
 years of age, his birth having occurred June 8, 
 1826. Fraternally he was identified with the 
 lodge, chapter and commandery of Masonry at 
 Susanville. August 25, 1862, he was united in 
 marriage with Miss Lydia Abbott Russell, who 
 was born in Maine August 20, 1838. They be- 
 came the parents of the following children : 
 Maude, Mrs. Heard; Russell Keith, who was 
 born April 12. 1865; Frank Leon, born August 
 3, 1866, and now residing at Longville, Cal. ; 
 Mabel L., who was born February 11, 1868, and 
 now owns and conducts a mercantile husiness at 
 Longville ; Perley, who was born January 6, 
 1870, and is now living in San Francisco: and 
 Mark, who was born December 30, 1873, ^''^1 
 makes Longville his home. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Heard were lx)rn three children : Hazel was 
 born February 8, 1894; Perry, July 12, 1895; 
 and Lois, born May 28, 1905, died April 25, 
 1906. The family are identified with the Con- 
 gregational church and Mrs. Heard is also iden- 
 tified with the Order of Eastern Star at Al- 
 turas. In politics Mr. Heard votes with the 
 Democratic party and gives his support to its 
 men and measures. 
 
IIlSTOKiCA!. AXl) lUOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 685 
 
 GRANT A. SCHROTER. A successful mer- 
 chant of Shasta, Shasta county, is Grant A. 
 Schroter, the son of Gunther Frederick Carl and 
 Pauline Schroter, both natives of Prussia. The 
 father was a harness maker by trade, following it 
 until 1850, when he emigrated to America, mak- 
 ing his home in Chicago, 111., for two years. In 
 1852 he came to California, driving an ox team 
 across the plains, and upon arriving in the state, 
 located at Marysville, where he engaged in har- 
 ness making for a year, at which time his shop 
 was burned. Going from Marysville to Sacra- 
 mento, he worked at his trade until the spring 
 of 1855, then came to Shasta and opened a har- 
 ness shop. At the end of three years he sent 
 back to Germany for his sweetheart, and they 
 were married here in 1858. 
 
 Fourteen years later Mr. Schroter opened a 
 harness shop in Redding, and also the Charter 
 Oak hotel at Shasta, which he operated until 
 1888, then rented it and moved to Redding, 
 where he was again burned out. In 1894 he sold 
 out his place at Redding and returned to Shasta, 
 there living a retired life until his death, which 
 occurred March 15, 1905, at the age of seventy- 
 five years, nine months and seven days. He 
 was a member of Western Star Lx>dge, No. 2, F. 
 & A. M. Mrs. Schroter died January 9, 1884, 
 leaving nine children. Oscar Alvin, born June 
 12, i860, died August 9, 1880; Arthur E., who 
 was born November 26, 1861, is engaged in mu. 
 ing at the Little Nellie mine in Shasta county, 
 Otto Paul, who was born November 13, 1863, 
 is now residing in San Mateo, in the employ of 
 the Spring Valley Water Company; Gunther 
 Frederick, born March 23, 1864, is now running 
 his father's general merchandise store; Fritz 
 Carl, born December 5, 1865. is engaged in min- 
 ing; Emilie W. F., who was born April 15, 1867, 
 is the wife of J. S. Strode, who is owner and 
 manager of the Oro Grand mine; W. A. makes 
 his home in Redding ; Augusta A. is the wife of 
 G. C. Stroder, of Trinity county ; and Grant A. 
 completes the family. 
 
 Grant A. Schroter was born January 14, 1869, 
 
 and was educated in the common schools of 
 
 Shasta county, making his home with his parents 
 
 until his seventeenth year. After learning the 
 
 18 
 
 blacksmith's trade he followed it for four years, 
 at tlie end of which time he went to Igo and 
 opened a shop for himself. At the end of one 
 year he sold out and went to Mott, working there 
 at his trade for a few months, then came to 
 Shasta and bought a half interest in the black- 
 smith business of Sam Isaacs. Selling this at the 
 end of one year, he engaged in mining for three 
 years, then went to Trinity county and operated 
 a mill for his brother-in-law, Mr. Strode, for 
 three seasons, then came back to Shasta and 
 again engaged in mining, which he continued 
 until 1898, when he purchased the general mer- 
 chandise store which he now owns and manages. 
 May 18, 1897, he was married to .\gatlia Schaf- 
 ter, who was born in Germany, and one child has 
 come to bless this union, Nellie Malvina, who is 
 five years of age. Mr. Schroter is supervisor of 
 district No. i of Shasta county, which position 
 he has filled for three years, and is vice president 
 of the Sacramento Valley Development Associa- 
 tion, and a member of the executive committee of 
 same. Fraternally he is identified with the Ma- 
 sons, belonging to the same lodge of which his 
 father was a member, of which lue was master 
 in 1903. He supports the Republican party, as 
 did his father also. 
 
 SARDIS D. WILCOX. Owing to conditions 
 of soil and climate a portion of Tehama county 
 is peculiarly adapted to the slieep industry, fur- 
 nishing the pasturage on which this breed of 
 stock flourish with especial vigor. While still 
 a mere youth Mr. Wilcox became cognizant of 
 the advantages offered to sheep-raisers in this 
 locality and, grasping the opportunity, he thus in 
 earlv manhood laid the foundation of his present 
 gratifying success and his standing among the 
 leading sheep-raisers of the county. The saga- 
 cious judgment which led him into this industry 
 has enabled him to surmount obstacles and over- 
 come hardships, and, while lie has had some re- 
 verses, to a large degree his career has bc.'n one 
 of success and prosperity. 
 
 The record of the Wilcox family will be found 
 elsewhere in this volume, in the sketch of G. B. 
 
686 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Wilcox, who is a brother of Sardis D. Wilcox, 
 their father being Abel M., well known among 
 the pioneers of the early '60s in Tulare county. 
 Born in Stillwater, Minn., February 16, 1851, 
 Sardis D. Wilcox was a child of nine years when 
 he accompanied his parents across the plains and 
 at the expiration of a long and tedious but un- 
 eventful journey settled four miles east of 
 Portersville, Tulare county. From there, after 
 a little less than five years, he came to Red Bluff 
 at the age of fourteen years, in July of 1865. At 
 an early age he began to be self-supporting and 
 when eighteen years old he turned his attention 
 to the occupation of sheep-shearing. Carefully 
 hoarding his earnings, he was able to lay aside 
 $1,000 by the time he had attained the age of 
 twenty-one years. With this as an encouraging 
 start he embarked in the cattle business, but in 
 1882 turned his attention to the raising of sheep, 
 which has been his principal occupation through- 
 out life. The first land which he secured was 
 taken up from the government and has been 
 added to from time to time, until now he has 
 twenty thousand acres in Tehama, Shasta, Modoc 
 and Lassen counties, a part of which is tillable 
 land, although the larger part is for pasturage 
 only. On his home ranch, situated four miles 
 north of Red Bluff, he now has about eleven 
 thousand head of sheep, and in their care em- 
 ploys a large number of hands during the busy 
 seasons. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Wilcox occurred in Wat- 
 kins, N. Y., July 15, 1895, and united him with 
 Miss Cora May Close, who was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania and died in California January 20, 1897, 
 at the age of thirty years. The only child of 
 their union is a daughter, Imogene, who is now 
 a student in the Red Bluff schools. Among the 
 people in his part of Tehama county Mr. Wilcox 
 is known as an enterprising ranchman and capa- 
 ble stock-raiser, one who works systematically 
 and with method, keen to see an opportunity to 
 increase his successes and prompt in decision 
 and action. To one so devoted to personal affairs 
 as he, the activity of a politician presents no fas- 
 cinations and public life makes no appeals of im- 
 pelhng influence. Nor do fraternal matters en- 
 gross his attention to the detriment of home 
 
 duties, for he has no identification with such 
 other than his membership in Lodge No. 76, I. 
 O. O. F., at Red Bluff. Though displaying 
 neither fraternal nor political activity, he is a 
 man of friendly disposition, warm-hearted and 
 genial, ever ready to aid worthy men and worthy 
 movements, and thus gives to his community a 
 citizenship of the highest order. 
 
 MARCELLUS B. VILAS. Since 1865 M. 
 B. Vilas has been identified with the business 
 men of Shasta county as the owner of a large 
 sawmill situated two and a half miles east of 
 Shingletown. Through his native thrift and 
 close attention to business he is now enjoying a 
 large patronage in the county in which he has 
 made his home for some years. He is the son of 
 Joseph and Mary Vilas, natives of Vermont and 
 New Hampshire respectively. The father lived 
 to reach his seventy-seventh year, but his mother 
 died in 1840, when her son, M. B., was only six 
 years of age. 
 
 Born in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., March 
 23, 1834, Marcellus B. Vilas received his educa- 
 tion in the public schools of his community, inter- 
 spersed with light duties on the home farm. At 
 the age of seventeen years he embarked in the 
 stock business, buying horses and shipping them 
 to the western states. He continued in that occu- 
 pation for three years, after which he engaged in 
 lumbering in Wisconsin, remaining there for four 
 years. At this time the discovery of gold at 
 Pikes Peak was causing considerable emigration, 
 and in 1859 ^^i"- Vilas determined to join the 
 tide of gold seekers, starting across the plains 
 with ox-teams. Upon reaching Ft. Laramie he 
 determined to try his fortunes in California in- 
 stead, and arrived in this state in September, 
 1859. Locating in Shasta county, he engaged in 
 mining for six years, meeting with well deserved 
 success. After a short time spent in Nevada he 
 returned to this state in 1865 and purchased the 
 property, whereon he made his home for thirty- 
 four years. In December, 1905, he removed to 
 Modesto, where he has one hundred and twelve 
 acres in alfalfa. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 687 
 
 In 1864 Mr. Vilas married Emma Williamson, 
 and of the union were born four children, 
 namely: Edward P., living at Anderson; Helen, 
 the wife of Mark Thatcher, a mill man of Shasta 
 county; Lillie, the wife of Samuel Sorenson, of 
 Reynolds Mill; and Walter M., in business with 
 his father. In 1876, twelve years after their mar- 
 riage, the death of Mrs. Vilas occurred, at the 
 age of twenty-nine years. Three years later Mr. 
 Vilas married Sarah McMulIen, a native of Ire- 
 land, and they are the parents of seven children ; 
 Perry E., in business with his father; Clay, at 
 home ; Bertha M., residing in San Francisco ; 
 Gertrude, the wife of Leo D. Weinnand. of San 
 Francisco, and Homer, Herbert and Ralph, the 
 three latter at home. 
 
 Fraternally Mr. Vilas is a Mason, belonging 
 to the lodge at Millville. His political views 
 bring him into afifiliation with the Republican 
 party, whose men and measures he supports by 
 his ballot. 
 
 SARAH ELIZABETH SPANN. One of 
 the capable and successful business women of 
 Anderson, Shasta county, Mrs. Sarah E. Si)ann 
 resides on her property one mile and a half east 
 of Anderson, which consists of fifty acres de- 
 voted to peaches and prunes. She was born in 
 Adams county, 111., December 22, 1836, the 
 daughter of John T. and Mary (Haney) Free- 
 man, natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania re- 
 spectively. After their marriage in Ohio they 
 located first in Adams county, 111., thence re- 
 moved to Iowa, and later to Missouri, where they 
 remained until the spring of 1853. Desiring to 
 locate in the more remote west Mr. and Mrs. 
 Freeman drove ox-teams to California and up>on 
 their arrival in this state, after six months en 
 route, settled near Balls Ferry, Shasta county, 
 where the mill now stands. In this section he 
 engaged in farming and stock-raising until 1856, 
 then removed to Thomas creek, Tehama count}', 
 and again engaged in ranching and sheep rais- 
 ing to quite an extent until his death, which oc- 
 curred in August, 1871, at the age of sixty-seven 
 years. His wife died in May, 1869, also at the 
 age of sixty-seven years. 
 
 In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Freeman were 
 three daughters and two sons. Sarah Elizabeth 
 being the only one Jiving. Her early education 
 was received in the common schools of Missouri, 
 and while still young she came to California with 
 her parents. She resided with her parents on the 
 home farm until her marriage to John Wilson, 
 which occurred in August. 1855. He was a na- 
 tive of Tennessee, but his eariy boyhood was 
 spent in Missouri. In 1850 he crossed the plains 
 to Oregon and the following year came to Cali- 
 fornia, purchasing the property now managed bv 
 Mrs. Spann. Mr. Wilson bought the land from 
 Major Redding and devoted the same to farming 
 until his death, which occurred December 9, 1863. 
 at the age of thirty-six years. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wilson were the parents of four children, name- 
 ly: James C. Mar>' Alice, George A. and Ella 
 A., all deceased with the exception of James C, 
 who resides with his mother. 
 
 August 26, 1866, Mrs. Wilson married John 
 Wesley Spann, who was born in Tennessee, but 
 was reared to manhood in Missouri, where he 
 was editor of a newspaper at Independence. In 
 1850 he came to California by boat and soon after 
 his arrival became assessor of Placer county. He 
 also engaged in niining and erected a quartz mill 
 in that county. About this time he took a trip 
 east and upon his second arrival in California, 
 in 1859, located at Sacramento, where the death 
 of his first wife occurred. In 1865 he removed 
 to Shasta county and participated in the mining 
 enterprises at Texas Springs until his second 
 marriage, after which he followed agricultural 
 pursuits until his death, also officiating as justice 
 of the peace of Anderson for sixteen years. 
 
 Mr. Spann was an active member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal Church South, and took an inter- 
 est in all matters pertaining to its welfare. His 
 death occurred March 19. i88fi. at the age of 
 sixty-three years. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Spann were four children : Elizabeth E. is the 
 wife of Eugene Shanahan of this vicinity; Anna 
 Jessie, deceased, was the wife of Henry B. Fris- 
 bie. by whom she had two children. Edward Wes- 
 ley and Cyril Osmond, deceased ; Qiarles H., 
 who was born January 14, 1871, has lived on the 
 home farm all his life with the exception of eight 
 
688 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 years spent in San Francisco ; he was married 
 February 3, 1902, to Emma Aldersley, of the lat- 
 ter city, and they are the parents of two children, 
 Margaret E. and John A. ; and John Richard 
 Spann was married in September, 1899, to Elsie 
 Fallon and resides in the home vicinity ; they 
 have two children. Norma Lulu and Robert Al- 
 mon. Mrs. Spann is very active in the manage- 
 ment of her property, which shows in its im- 
 provements careful attention and well-directed 
 efforts. 
 
 HENRY C. COMPTON. One of the old- 
 time ranchers and cattle men who made a place 
 for himself in the history of Butte county was 
 Henry C. Compton. His father, Runyon Comp- 
 ton, was a native of England, a farmer by occu- 
 parion, who immigrated to Windsor, Canada, 
 and from there came to the United States, locat- 
 ing near Detroit, Mich., where his death oc- 
 curred. His wife was formerly Eliza Ketchum, 
 a native of Canada, her death also occurring in 
 Michigan. Of this union fourteen children were 
 born, seven sons and seven daughters, the sec- 
 ond child being Henry C. Compton. His birth 
 occurred in Windsor, Canada, and his boyhood 
 was spent in Michigan, where he divided his 
 time between attending public school and work- 
 ing on his father's farm. In early manhood he 
 came to California, making the trip by way of 
 the Isthmus of Panama, and for a time worked 
 in the mines around Placerville and Hangtown, 
 making some money, but not liking mining he 
 came to Butte county. Locating near Oiico he 
 took up land, but this proved to be a Mexican 
 grant and he therefore lost it. He then rented 
 land from the grant and engaged in farming and 
 stock-raising, besides raising grain. He later re- 
 moved to the Pitt river, and after remaining 
 there for a short time returned tO' Butte county 
 and purchased the homestead of one hundred 
 and ninety-two acres lying two miles south of 
 Qiico. upon which he engaged in general farm- 
 ing. Later he purchased a farm in Colusa coun- 
 ty, consisting of nineteen hundred and twenty- 
 five acres, which he devoted to the cultivation 
 of grain and the raising of stock, and there his 
 death occurred. 
 
 In Marysville, Cal., November 30, 1859, Mr. 
 Compton was married to Mary Murdock, who 
 was born near Belfast, County Down, Ireland. 
 Six children were born of this union, namely: 
 Adam M. ; Lizzie Ann, wife of E. Packer, of 
 Colusa county ; Henry C, Jr., who lives near the 
 homestead ; Ira Lorenzo, who makes his home 
 on the Colusa county ranch ; Mary Ellen, wife 
 of John Deter, who resides on the home place ; 
 and Jane, deceased. Mrs. Compton was a daugh- 
 ter of Gawn and Ann (Cain) Murdock. natives 
 of County Down, Ireland, where the father car- 
 ried on farming, and where his death occurred. 
 After her husband's death Mrs. Murdock came 
 to the United States, reaching New Orleans in 
 1850, thence going up the river to Ohio. In 
 1853 she came to California, starting from Ar- 
 kansas and making the trip across the plains 
 with ox-teams. Seven months and five days were 
 consumed in making the trip and as they met 
 heavy storms of rain and snow it was a trying 
 ordeal. Mrs. Murdock had twelve children with 
 her, including her own and her step-children. 
 She first located on a ranch near Yuba City, but 
 the latter years of her life were spent in the home 
 of her daughter, Mrs. Compton, where her death 
 occurred. 
 
 Since the death of her husband Mrs. Compton, 
 with the help of her sons, has successfully man- 
 aged the estate, including the fine home place 
 of one hundred and ninety-two acres near Chico 
 (where she lives, in company with her daughter, 
 Mrs. John Deter) and the Colusa county ranch 
 of nineteen hundred and twenty-five acres, which 
 is devoted to stock-raising and the cultivation of 
 grain. Mrs. Compton is a very able woman, of 
 bright intellect and charming conversation. 
 
 HUGH MOONEY. Born in 1825, in County 
 Down, Ireland, where both of his parents spent 
 their entire lives, Hugh Mooney worked on his 
 father's farm until about twenty years of age. 
 His education was very limited, owing to the 
 lack of advantages in his native county, and in 
 1846, when about twenty years of age, he came 
 to America and located in Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 689 
 
 Having learned the blacksmith's trade from his 
 father he followed that calling until the winter 
 of 1847, when he went to Pittsburg, that state, 
 and was similarly occupied for two years. Sub- 
 sequently he went to Cincinnati, but soon left 
 there for Wisconsin, where he worked in the 
 lead mines and at his trade for about a year. 
 Going from there to Galena, 111., he remained 
 until 1 85 1. During that year he went to St. 
 Louis and to St. Joseph, Mo., again working at 
 his trade, and it was while in St. Joseph that 
 the opportunity to come west came to him. His 
 passage cost him $100, $50 of which had to be 
 paid down, and the remainder one month after 
 arriving in Sacramento, Cal. He arrived August 
 20, 1852, and the following day he obtained em- 
 ployment at blacksmithing at $6 per day and 
 board. Everything was very high during those 
 days, the cost of shoeing a horse being $6, and 
 general blacksmith work was charged for in pro- 
 portion. 
 
 Having saved his money, Mr. Mooncy gave up 
 his position in Sacramento and went to Poor 
 Man's creek with $250, but at the end of three 
 months returned to Sacramento without a cent, 
 bare-footed and half starved. He went to work 
 for a few days, then proceeded to Marysville 
 with $2.50, with which he purchased a pair of 
 shoes and obtained work at his trade, but after 
 two months at Marysville, returned to his old 
 position at Sacramento, where he remained until 
 1854. In that year he went to Red Bluff and 
 set up a blacksmith shop. Two years later he 
 made a trip to Ireland, but at the end of six 
 months returned to California; the condition of 
 things in Red Bluff not meeting his expectations 
 he decided to come to Tehama, where he again 
 worked at his trade, and in 1857 purchased a 
 shop in which he followed his trade until 1862. 
 In that year he purchased two hundred acres of 
 land adjoining Tehama and engaged in farming. 
 As he was able he added to this ranch until he 
 now has three hundred and ninety acres in his 
 home place. He also owns twenty-two hundred 
 acres in another ranch, and two hundred acres 
 near Corning, Cal. In the raising of hay, grain, 
 hogs and cattle he has been very successful. He 
 has demonstrated what energy and perseverance 
 
 can accomplish, especially when coupled with 
 Irish pluck and determination. 
 
 Mr. Mooney was married in Oroville, Cal.; 
 to .Mary Conrad, who is also a native of Ireland, 
 and five children have been born to them, twc 
 sons and three daughters, viz.: Barnard Hugh, 
 who lives in Sacramento ; Clara Ellen, who mar- 
 ried A. T. Ellis, of Tehama county ; and Mary 
 Ann, Margaret Jane and John Joseph, who live 
 at home, the latter working with his father. Mr. 
 Moone)- is a Democrat, and was supervisor for 
 eight years, also school trustee for a great many 
 terms. He is an active and enterprising man, 
 and is a member of the Roman Catholic Church. 
 
 GRANT BUTLER WILCOX. Among the 
 more prominent and substantial business men of 
 Red Bluff is G. B. Wilcox, a large landholder, 
 and one of the most extensive sheep raisers and 
 dealers of northern California. Far-sighted, sa- 
 gacious and enterprising, he has achieved note- 
 worthy success in his undertakings. A native 
 Californian, he was born November 20, 1863, in 
 Tulare county, where his father, Abel Wilcox, 
 was then carrying on a sheep ranch. 
 
 Born and reared in New York, Abel Wilcox 
 subsequently removed to Minnesota, and was 
 there engaged in general farming and stock rais- 
 ing for some time. In i860 he came across the 
 plains to this state, making the long journey by 
 the southern route, and stopping over in Texas 
 for a year or two. Locating on a ranch in Tu- 
 lare county, he embarked in the sheep business 
 for a short time, going from there to Corvallis, 
 Ore., where he remained a year. Preferring 
 California's climate and soil, he removed to Te- 
 hama county, buying a farm, but before making 
 many improvements on liis property he died, his 
 death occurring in 1866. He married Betsey 
 Sanders, who was born in New York, and now 
 resides in Red Bluff. She bore her husband six 
 children, of whom but two survive, namely: 
 Sardis D., a sheep raiser, of Tehama county, 
 and G. B. 
 
 Left fatherless when tliree years old. G. B. 
 Wilcox was brought up on the Tehama county 
 
G90 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 farm which his father purchased just before his 
 death, and was educated in the Red Bluff schools, 
 remaining at home until attaining his majority. 
 Forming a partnership then with his brother, 
 Jerry A. Wilcox, under the firm name of Wilcox 
 Brothers, he embarked in the sheep business, 
 commencing on a modest scale by purchasing a 
 small ranch about four miles north of Red Bluff. 
 Stocking this ranch with fifteen hundred head 
 of sheep, he rented land on Blossom ranch for 
 a winter range, his summer range being in Mo- 
 doc county, and by persevering effort built up an 
 extensive business, the partnership continuing 
 until his brother's death, in 1898. Still retain- 
 ing possession of the original ranch, Mr. Wilcox 
 has since enlarged his operations, and now owns 
 eight thousand acres of land on Elder creek, ten 
 miles south of Red Bluff', and also has six thou- 
 sand acres north of the town. He devotes nearly 
 all of his land to the raising of sheep, keeping 
 about ten thousand head, and also buys and ships 
 quite extensively. He also has ranges in Modoc 
 county. Gal., and in Lake county, Ore. In 1903 
 he purchased his present residence in Red Bluff, 
 on the corner of Main and Willow streets. 
 
 Mr. Wilcox married, in Red Bluff, Mrs. Louise 
 (Robinson) Morgan, who was born in Missouri, 
 Politically he is a strong adherent of the Repub- 
 lican party, and fraternally he belongs to the 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mrs. Wil- 
 cox is a member of the Christian Church. 
 
 LEONARD FRANKLIN DOZIER, M. D. 
 A gratifying medical and surgical practice and 
 an honored place as man and citizen in the com- 
 munity of Anderson, Shasta county, Cal., has 
 come to Dr. Leonard F. Dozier since his resi- 
 dence in this locality. He was bom on his fath- 
 er's plantation, on the Great Pedee river in Will- 
 iamsburg county, S. C, September 13, 1836. 
 After receiving his preliminary education at 
 home through the medium of private tutors he 
 entered the South Carolina Military Academy; 
 from which he graduated in 1856, then entered 
 the Oglethorpe Medical College at Savannah, 
 Ga. Upon the completion of his course in 1859 
 
 he engaged in the practice of medicine for a 
 year, in the meantime occupying the chair of 
 materia medica in the college. Later he re- 
 moved to Burke county, Ga., where he continued 
 his profession until May, 1862, then entered the 
 Confederate service as a private soldier. After 
 serving in that capacity for six months he was 
 raised to the rank of adjutant in the Twenty- 
 first South Carolina Infantry, C. S. A. He held 
 this rank until after the siege of Morris Island, 
 Charlestown Harbor, which was at first garri- 
 soned exclusively by his own regiment. While 
 resisting the assault of the enemy he received a 
 severe wound in the chest which developed into 
 pneumonia, confining him in the fort at Battery 
 Wagner for sixty days. His health was so im- 
 paired by this illness that he was appointed army 
 surgeon, with orders to report to General Long- 
 street at Knoxville, Tenn., under whom he 
 served faithfully from 1864 until the surrender 
 of General Lee at Appomattox April 9, 1865. 
 
 After his discharge from the service Dr. Do- 
 zier made a short visit to his old home, and later 
 went to the county seat of Williamsburg county, 
 S. C, where he practiced his profession until 
 starting for California, arriving in the state in 
 March, 1868. Locating in Rio Vista, on the 
 Sacramento river, he soon established a lucrative 
 practice, in connection with which he owned and 
 successfully managed a well-equipped drug store. 
 In April, 1875, after seven years of merited 
 prosperity, he removed to Napa, and soon after 
 his arrival was appointed first assistant physician 
 of the State Insane Asylum. After serving in 
 that capacity until October i, 1901, he was ap- 
 pointed superintendent of the institution. On 
 October i of the following year he resigned his 
 position and removed to his ranch one mile and 
 a half northeast of Anderson, which is devoted 
 to the raising of fruit, his crops being heavy and 
 excellent in quality. 
 
 Fraternally Dr. Dozier is a Mason, and for a 
 number of years he was identified with the Cali- 
 fornia State Medical Society.. He has been 
 twice married, his first marriage occurring in 
 May, 1859, and uniting him with Agnes B. Bona, 
 of New Orleans. Of the five children born of 
 the union only two survive : Dr. W. E. Dozier, 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 691 
 
 a resident physician of the De Lamar mines, 
 and Thomas B. Dozier, a prominent attorney of 
 Shasta county. Mrs. Agnes B. Dozier died soon 
 after coming to CaHfornia and in the year 1874 
 the doctor married Mary Dudley, a native of 
 South Carolina. They became the parents of 
 three children, only one of whom survives, name- 
 ly : John Dudley Dozier, who married Myrtle E. 
 Fuller, a native of Iowa. They reside on the 
 home farm and are the parents of one child, 
 William Fuller Dozier. 
 
 GEORGE ERNEST GILES. Two and one- 
 half miles south of Balls Ferry, in one of the 
 most productive and desirable portions of Shas- 
 ta county, lies the fann occupied by Mr. Giles, 
 his father having purchased the tract in 1887. 
 Although he carries on general farming to a cer- 
 tain extent, his principal eiTort is in the line of 
 stock-raising, that branch of agriculture appeal- 
 ing to him as the most congenial and remunera- 
 tive. A son of the late James Kenon Giles, he 
 was born in Tehama county September 9, 1864. 
 
 A native of Massachusetts, the late James K. 
 Giles arrived in California in September, 1850, 
 after a tiresome journey by mule-team, having 
 left his home in Decatur, 111., on April i. Not 
 unlike the majority of those who came to the 
 west at that time his first thought was to reach 
 the mines, and accordingly he went to Hang- 
 town. His success as a miner there was evi- 
 dently not satisfactory, for shortly afterward he 
 went to Cache creek, Yolo county, still in the pur- 
 suit of gold. Despairing of gaining more than 
 a mediocre living in this pursuit he finally en- 
 tered upon a ranching career which was the be- 
 ginning of his success in the west. From Yolo 
 county he removed to Tehama county in i860, 
 carrying on an extensive stock business there 
 until his removal to Princeton, where until 1877 
 he was interested in a flouring mill. From 
 Princeton he removed to Germantown, now in 
 Glenn county, and in 1879 came to Shasta coun- 
 ty, locating between Anderson and Cottonwood 
 on a farm that he improved and upon which he 
 made his home until 1887, in which year, as has 
 
 been previously stated, he purchased the farm 
 on which his son now resides. This ranch was 
 cleared from a brush patch, and of the three 
 hundred and twenty acres all are under cultiva- 
 tion except twenty acres. James K. Giles was 
 born January 9, 1824, near Shelburne Falls, 
 Mass., and died February 12, 1905. Mrs. Giles, 
 who before her marriage was Miss Rosena Jones, 
 was born in Wisconsin. She came to California 
 in 1851 and was married in 1853. She is still 
 living and makes her home with her son George, 
 now being in her seventy-first year. 
 
 The parental family comprised eleven children, 
 as follows: Edward, deceased; Ella, the wife 
 of Robert W. Kennedy, of Santa Qara county ; 
 John W., of Redding; Ada, deceased; May F., 
 wife of Emil Fritz, of San Jose; George Ernest; 
 Myra E., a teacher in one of the public schools 
 of Shasta county ; Chauncey A., of Battle Creek ; 
 Avery, deceased ; Clara L., wife of E. H. Wil- 
 cox, of Shasta county; and Rosa A., who is still 
 at home with her mother. The early education 
 which G. Ernest Giles received in Tehama 
 county was followed by more advanced learning 
 in the public schools of Anderson, whither the 
 family came in 1879. After his graduation he 
 taught school for two years, but on account of the 
 confining nature of this employment his health 
 became impaired and he was obliged to give it 
 up for something that would furnish him exer- 
 cise in the open air. Ranching appealed to him 
 as both remunerative and health-giving, and he 
 has followed it ever since. Politically Mr. Giles 
 is a Republican, as was his father before him, 
 and the only fraternal organization to which 
 he has allied himself is the Ancient Order of 
 Foresters, belonging to Court Cottonwood, in 
 the town of that name. 
 
 FRED M. CLOUGH. Tlie Pacific coast man- 
 ager of the Diamond Match Company's interests 
 at Chico assumed his present responsibility in 
 1902, bringing to the industrial development of 
 this beautiful town and fertile surrounding coun- 
 try a wealth of business sagacity and judgment 
 which it had taken years to acquire. He had 
 
692 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 learned valuable lessons from association with 
 a number of eastern concerns, all more or less 
 conservative in their nature and enlightening in 
 their reliable and straightforward methods. Mr. 
 Clough has lived for one year more than half a 
 centur}-, having been born in West Mount Ver- 
 non, Kennebec county, Me., December 30, 1853, 
 and with the exception of fifteen years of that 
 time has supported himself. His father, Wil- 
 ioughbv, and his grandfather. Chase, were born 
 and lived on farms in Maine, his mother, for- 
 merl}- Betsey Adams Lyford, being a native of 
 the same northern state. F. M. Clough was the 
 youngest son in a family comprising four sons 
 and three daughters, and was educated in the 
 common schools of Maine, at Eaton preparatory 
 school and Wesleyan Seminary. His grand- 
 father. Chase Clough, was a soldier in the war 
 of 1812. 
 
 At the age of fifteen years F. M. Clough began 
 to work in a grocery store in Kents Hill, Me., 
 and in 1870 removed to Middletown, Conn., 
 where he worked for a sewing machine concern 
 for a couple of years. In 1872 he was engaged 
 as machinist with the Northampton Emery Wheel 
 & Machine Company, Leeds. Mass. Later he was 
 employed as foreman in the Mill River Ivory But- 
 ton Company, located at Leeds, Mass., until May, 
 1874, when the factory was destroyed by the Mill 
 River flood. In 1874 he was employed by the 
 Smith & Wesson Revolver Works, Springfield, 
 Mass. In 1875 he was employed as tool maker 
 by Newell Brothers of Springfield, and in 1877 
 began a five-years' association with the Ameri- 
 can Braid & Ivory Button Company of West 
 Cheshire, Conn. For the same length of time 
 he was superintendent of a large lumbering con- 
 cern in Maine. In 1886 he removed to Penn- 
 sylvania and engaged in the lumber business in 
 Lumber City for five years, in 1891 associating 
 himself with the Lebanon Match Company of 
 Lebanon, Pa. He then became identified with 
 the Diamond Match Company at St. Louis, in the 
 capacity of traveling machine inspector, and in 
 1893 was stationed at Chicago as assistant in 
 charge of the German affairs at the World's 
 Fair. During 1894-95 he again traveled for the 
 Diamond Match Company, and in 1896 bought 
 
 out the Pacific Match Company at Tacoma, 
 Wash., turning over its interests to the Diamond 
 Match Company within a year's time. In 1896 
 he became manager of the lumber interests of 
 the company at Athol, Mass., and in September, 
 1902, assumed his present responsibility as Pa- 
 cific coast manager for the company's interests, 
 with headquarters at Qiico. He is also general 
 manager of the company's railroad, which is 
 thirty-two miles in length. In addition to in- 
 terests mentioned Mr. Clough has identified him- 
 self with various enterprises which tend to the 
 upbuilding of the town and county, among them 
 being the Chico Investment Company, organized 
 by him in 1903, and of which he is treasurer. 
 He is also president of the Stirling City Bank, 
 incorporated in December, 1903. 
 
 Mr. Clough established a home in Springfield, 
 Mass., marrying Annie B. Bonney, a native of 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., and a daughter of William Bon- 
 ney, born in Birmingham, England, and a clergy- 
 man in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Five 
 children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Clough, 
 as follows : Florence, Emily, Nellie, Frank and 
 Irvin. An eminently social and genial nature 
 renders Air. Clough's advent in Chico of addi- 
 tional importance. He is a keen appreciator of 
 fraternal organizations, and is a member of the 
 Blue Lodge, F. & A. M.; Chapter, Commandery 
 and Shrine of Islam. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican, and socially he is a member of the Union 
 League Club. 
 
 WILLIAM S. WILCOX. In the interval be- 
 tween his arrival in California and his death 
 forty years later Mr. Wilcox acquired a large 
 landed property by energy and foresight, and at 
 the same time by the exercise of the highest 
 principles of honor and uprightness he made for 
 himself a lasting place in the regard of acquaint- 
 ances and associates. As a pioneer spared to 
 witness the achievement of his hopes, it was his 
 privilege to gain personal success in a large de- 
 gree and also to witness the gradual upbuilding 
 of his home county of Shasta, the introduction 
 of railroads, the establishment of homes, the ma- 
 terial development of towns, and the transforma- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 o;»3 
 
 tion of raw and unattractive land into valuable 
 ranches from whose care gratifying profits came 
 to reward the efiforts of the owners. 
 
 The first twenty years of the life of William 
 S. Wilcox were passed somewhat uneventfully 
 on a farm in Illinois. His parents, Lemuel and 
 Theresa Wilcox, were natives of that state and 
 remained there until death. On the farm near 
 Staunton, where he was born March 21, 1832, 
 he early learned lessons of industry and self-re- 
 liance that helped him in later years of efTort 
 and application. In the years of his youth 
 schools were few and their opportunities meager 
 as compared with similar institutions of the pres- 
 ent century, but such advantages as were offered 
 he grasped eagerly and acquired a fair knowl- 
 edge of the common branches. When news came 
 of the discovery of gold in California it was his 
 instant resolve to seek his fortune in the great 
 and far-distant west, but not until 1852 did he 
 start on the long journey, which he made over- 
 land with ox-teams. Like many of the early 
 comers to the state, it w^as his hope to find a for- 
 tune in the mines, but soon he became convinced 
 of the futility of such hopes, and for that reason 
 turned his attention to agriculture as offering a 
 more certain means of livelihood. 
 
 On coming to Shasta county Mr. Wilcox 
 worked at first on the ranch of Major Redding 
 and later came across the river to take charge 
 of Major Sheldon's ranch of four hundred acres, 
 which he bought a few years later. By subse- 
 quent purchases he became the owner of one 
 thousand acres, the greater portion of which 
 comprised fertile farming land. On this prop- 
 erty, situated two miles south of Balls Ferry, he 
 passed the remaining years of his busy, useful 
 and successful life, and here his life came to a 
 close, January 5, 1892, when he was about sixty 
 years of age. In his death the community was 
 deprived of one of its most progressive agricul- 
 turists, the Odd Fellows' lodge at Red Bluff lost 
 one of its early members, and the Presbyterian 
 Church in Balls Ferry lost one of its most gen- 
 erous contributors. Upon his family the bereave- 
 ment fell with especial force, for he had been 
 a thoughtful husband and an affectionate father. 
 His wife, with whom he was united December 
 
 3, 1868, bore the maiden name of Mary Ncel 
 and was born in Pennsylvania in 1841, coming 
 from the east to California in 1859 by steamer. 
 Her parents, Henry and Rhoda (Hiller) Neel, 
 were natives of Greene county, Pa., and the 
 former died in that state in 1854; the widowed 
 motiier eventually came to the Pacific coast and 
 remained here until her death in September of 
 1868. In the family of Mrs. Wilcox there is a 
 daughter and a son, Maggie E. and Elbert H. 
 The daughter became the wife of Daniel L. Co- 
 ver and they reside at the old home with her 
 mother, as docs also the son. who is interested 
 in the stock business with his mother. 
 
 FRED DERSCH. For half a century the 
 Dersch family have been prominent in the his- 
 tory of Shasta county, Cal., and the above- 
 named member of this worthy family is no ex- 
 ception, being one of the substantial citizens of 
 the community, where he is held in high esteem 
 by a large circle of acquaintances. A native of 
 Shasta county, Cal., he was born March 7. 1856, 
 a son of George and Mary (Kinmelmeyer) 
 Dersch, both natives of Germany. The father, 
 born in 1833, immigrated to America at the age 
 of twenty-one years and located for a time at 
 Whiskeytown, Shasta county, Cal., where he 
 engaged in mining. It was during his residence 
 in that locality that he left California temporar- 
 ily for a trip to Michigan. After his marriage, 
 which was solemnized in that state, he returned 
 with his bride to California. He continued to 
 make his home in Whiskeytown until the fall of 
 1861, then locating upon the property now in the 
 hands of his son, which he devoted to the raising 
 of stock. During this period the lives of the 
 settlers were in constant peril from attacks by 
 the Indians. On the 5th of August, 1866, Mrs. 
 Dersch was shot by an Indian while standing in 
 front of her door, and with our subject, who was 
 then only nine years of age, was hidden by her 
 brother-in-law, Fred Dersch, in a large pile of 
 brush, where they remained until help came. The 
 injuries which Mrs. Dersch received were so 
 .-crious that medical aid could not restore her 
 
\ 
 
 694 
 
 HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 and her death occurred the following day, at the 
 age of thirt3--three years. Mr. Dersch continued 
 to make his home in that locaHty until 1883, when 
 he removed to Redding. While there he married 
 Bridget Hughes, whose death occurred in 1904. 
 Mr. Dersch engaged in business in the neighbor- 
 hood of Redding until his death, in January, 
 1894, at the age of sixty-six years. 
 
 Fred Dersch had the advantages of the com- 
 mon schools of Shasta county, but he has learned 
 more from the great teacher, experience, to whose 
 counsel he has ever been a willing listener. At 
 the age of twenty years he made a trip to Ger- 
 many, remaining one year. Upon his return 
 to this state he made his home with his uncle, 
 Fred Dersch, who had a half interest in the 
 home place; he came to California in 1849, and 
 while engaged in mining was in an explosion 
 which resulted in the loss of his sight. In com- 
 pany with his uncle our subject engaged in the 
 sheep business, taking a large band to Idaho, 
 where they remained»for five years. In 1888 he 
 again made a trip to the old country and upon his 
 return the following year located upon the prop- 
 erty where he has since made his home. This 
 consists of four thousand acres of range land 
 and about one hundred acres of fine farm land 
 which is well improved and highly cultivated. 
 The year after he assumed management of the 
 property the death of his uncle occurred at the 
 age of sixty-five years. 
 
 While on his second visit to Germany Mr. 
 Dersch married, August 13, 1888, Marie Eliza- 
 beth Dersch, also a native of Germany, and they 
 are the parents of two children. Mary and Sophia, 
 besides which they have adopted two others, 
 Mamie Clark and Fred Schuller Dersch. The 
 family are members of the Dutch Reformed 
 Church. Mr. Dersch is a member of the Ma- 
 sonic lodge at Millville. 
 
 WILLIAM HAWES. In following the pur- 
 suit of agriculture a large number of the pro- 
 gressive citizens of Shasta county have accumu- 
 lated wealth ; others, while not gaining fortunes, 
 have become well-to-do, and among the latter 
 class we mention the name of William Hawes, 
 
 the owner and occupant of a farm of fifteen hun- 
 dred acres five miles east of Anderson. The i • 
 nucleus of his present large holdings was pur- | | 
 chased in 1863 and comprised one hundred and 
 sixty acres, to which he has added from time to 
 time as his means would allow, until today he is 
 known as one of the large land owners of this 
 part of the county. 
 
 William Hawes was born in New York state 
 May 8, 1836, a son of Michael and Martha 
 Hawes. The father, who was born in one of 
 the Rhine provinces in Germany, came to the 
 L^nited States in the early '30s, settling in Bal- 
 timore, Md., where he gained a good livelihood 
 by following the blacksmith's trade. Not long 
 after his arrival in this country Mr. Hawes was 
 united in marriage with Martha Hoffman, a na- 
 tive of Pennsylvania, where their marriage oc- 
 curred. She died in 1840, when her son was 
 only five years old. The father died in 1878, 
 when in his sixty-eighth year. William Hawes' 
 earliest recollections carry him back to his birth- 
 place in New York state, where he attended pub- 
 lic school and assisted his father in his black- 
 smith shop and upon the fann. When twenty- 
 four years old he felt competent to start in life 
 on his own account. Wisely discerning that the 
 west held larger opportunities for a youth of 
 ambition and energy than the more conservative 
 east he made arrangements to come to the Pa- 
 cific coast. On the sailing vessel Clipper he em- 
 barked from New York City September 6, 1858, 
 and after a voyage of six months via Cape Horn 
 reached San Francisco, Cal., March 6, 1859. For 
 one year he was employed in a lumber camp at 
 Cottonwood, and later was interested in mines 
 at Oregon Gulch. It was in 1862 that he first 
 became identified with Anderson, Shasta county. 
 For a time he was in the employ of Mr. Ander- 
 son, who owned a hotel here, but finally Mr. 
 Hawes rented the hotel from his employer and 
 ran it alone for one year. Having tried various 
 means of gaining a livelihood he returned at 
 last to the one with which he was most familiar, 
 and upon the farm which he then purchased, in 
 1863, he is still making his home, content both 
 with his location and selection as a life calling. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 C95 
 
 The first marriage of William Hawes occurred 
 April 26, 1862, and united him with Rebecca 
 Foster, who came to the coast with her parents 
 in 1861. Five children were born of this mar- 
 riage, as follows: John, an orchardist in So- 
 noma county; Henry, also a resident of that 
 county; Alice, who is the wife of John Beatie 
 and resides near the old homestead ; Granville, 
 in the oil business in Stockton ; and Daniel, of 
 Fresno county. Mrs. Rebecca Hawes died in 
 May, 187s, at the age of thirty-eight years. In 
 April, 1876, Mr. Hawes married Henrietta 
 Young, a native of Germany, and the onlv child 
 of this marriage, Jacob, is still at home with his 
 parents. The only fraternal order with which 
 Mr. Hawes is connected is the Independent Or- 
 der of Odd Fellows, his membership being in 
 Millville Lodge No. 240. For twenty-five years 
 he has served on the school board as trustee, his 
 long retention in office indicating his ability and 
 popularity. Politically he is a Republican. 
 
 DANIEL G. HUNT. A man of sterling 
 worth and integrity, who through his own efforts 
 has won his present high position in the agricul- 
 tural community of Shasta county, Daniel G. 
 Hunt, of Millville, is a fine representative of the 
 self-made men who have come to California 
 from the middle west and made their homes 
 in this well-favored spot. Coming to the Pacific 
 coast a poor boy of nineteen years Mr. Hunt 
 has gradually worked his way up to a position 
 of influence, and is known as one of the largest 
 stockmen in Shasta county, his ranch, which in- 
 cludes between six and seven thousand acres, 
 lying in close proximity to Millville and about 
 twelve miles northeast of Anderson. Although 
 formerly a very energetic business man, Mr. 
 Hunt is now living retired in Millville, where 
 he has a comfortable and commodious residence. 
 
 Daniel G. Hunt was born in Missouri August 
 26, 1831, a son of Nathan and Isabel (Wright) 
 Hunt. Nathan Hunt was a man of some- note 
 in Kentucky, and it was in his honor that the 
 city of Huntsville was so named. From Ken- 
 tucky, where he was born and reared, and where 
 
 he carried on farming, he removed to Missouri, 
 his death occurring in that state in 1847. His 
 wife survived him for several years, dying in 
 California in 1855. Reared and educated in Mis- 
 souri until reaching nineteen years of age, Dan- 
 iel G. Hunt then started for the west with ox- 
 teams, reaching Hangtown August 31, 1850. An 
 experience of one year in the mining camps there 
 was sufficient proof to Mr. Hunt that his abilities 
 could be exerted with more telling results in 
 another direction, and the business he then 
 adopted he continued to follow to the last of his 
 working days. Until the spring of i860 he car- 
 ried on a large cattle ranch, in this county, but 
 in that year took a trip to his old home in Mis- 
 souri, going by water. The next year, however, 
 he returned by crossing the plains, under much 
 more favorable circumstances than he had made 
 the same journey several years previously. He 
 at once located upon his present ranch, which he 
 had purchased prior to his trip to Missouri, and 
 to which he has since added until he now owns 
 between six and seven thousand acres. 
 
 During the early days when the Tin-Tin and 
 Pitt River Indians were committing depredations 
 and murdering many of the white settlers of this 
 section, Mr. Hunt and others helped to subdue 
 them. He was a participant in the battle of Cow 
 Creek Bridge and took part in many of the 
 skirmishes. Of the men who lived here alone 
 for a time Mr. Hunt was the only one that was 
 not murdered by the Indians. In the fall of 
 1853 news was brought by an Indian boy that 
 the Indians were going to kill him and his broth- 
 ers; he gave the alarm to all his neighbors and 
 eleven in all came to his cabin, where the In- 
 dians, seventy-five in number, were surprised 
 and routed, leaving nine dead and six wounded. 
 
 December 24, 1865. Mr. Hunt was united in 
 marriage with Sarah Martha Ilcryford, a na- 
 tive of Missouri, whose parents came to Cali- 
 fornia in 1857. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt became the 
 parents of six children, as follows : William 
 H., a resident of this county; John M., who re- 
 sides on the old home ranch near Millville; Dora 
 Alice, the wife of Harold Girdner, of Anderson ; 
 Lottie J., of Redding; and Clemons Reid and 
 
696 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Sadie, both of whom reside in Millville with 
 their father. As a citizen Mr. Hunt takes a deep 
 interest in the welfare of his community and for 
 over forty years has been a member of the school 
 board, although he has refused other positions 
 which he is in every way qualified to fill. 
 
 CHARLES CECIL Van LIEW. Among the 
 able educators of this state mention is due C. C. 
 Van Liew, president of the Northern California 
 Normal school at Chico, Cal. He was born Febru- 
 ary 15, 1862, in Aurora, III, the eldest of four 
 children born to Frederick H. and Mary (Ho- 
 bart) Van Liew, both natives of New York state. 
 The paternal family is of Dutch ancestry, and 
 Daniel Van Liew, the grandfather, was born in 
 New Jersey. His son, Frederick H., selected the 
 medical profession as his life work, and practiced 
 it in Aurora and Hinsdale, 111., for many years, 
 passing away in the latter place in 1889, aged 
 sixty-five years. His widow survives him, mak- 
 ing that suburb of Chicago her home. They 
 had two sons and two daughters. 
 
 The common-school education of C. C. Van 
 Liew was supplemented by a complete course in 
 the high school of Aurora, from which he was 
 graduated in 188 1. He subsequently studied 
 medicine under his father, but that career did not 
 appeal to him very strongly. However, he went 
 abroad in 1889 and pursued his studies at Jena 
 and Leipsic, Germany, for three years, receiving 
 the degree of Ph. D. During this time he trans- 
 lated from the German a physiological psychology 
 by Ziehen, also the "Outlines of Pedagogy" by 
 Rein. After the return of Professor Van Liew 
 to the United States he took up normal work 
 and found his first field of labor at St. Cloud, 
 Minn. Some time later he became identified with 
 the State Normal school at Normal, 111., in its 
 chair of psychology. In 1897 he was called to 
 take charge of the department of education and 
 supervision of training in the State Normal at 
 Los Angeles, Cal. Two years later he accepted 
 his present position. Since he assumed his re- 
 sponsible duties a marked improvement is appar- 
 ent in all departments, the school being one of the 
 
 best disciplined in the state and the educational 
 work is under the supervision of a corps of 
 trained instructors. Those graduated from this 
 institution take high rank in the business world 
 for their efficiency, reflecting great credit on the 
 institution. 
 
 Professor Van Liew has prepared a history on 
 the "Normal Schools of California" and the "Cali- 
 fornia System of Training Elementary Teach- 
 ers." He is also joint author of "Phonics and 
 Reading." He has been a regular contributor 
 to educational journals, especially the Western 
 Journal of Education of San Francisco. The 
 State Board of Education find in him a valued 
 member, as well as the Northern California 
 Teachers' Association, the California State 
 Teachers' Association and the National Educa- 
 tional Association. He also holds a membership 
 with the Schoolmasters' Club of the state. 
 
 In 1887, at Wheaton, 111., occurred the mar- 
 riage of C. C. Van Liew and Miss Ida J. Traber, 
 a native of Ohio. Two children have been born 
 to them, Rachel M. and Samuel C. Although a 
 Republican in politics. Professor Van Liew does 
 not take an active part in the workings of the 
 party. He is a vocalist of ability, having a rich 
 baritone voice, and from 1885 to 1889 sang in 
 various church choirs in Qiicago. It has been the 
 aim of Professor Van Liew to elevate the edu- 
 cational status of the students and schools of the 
 state, and he has always been active in all move- 
 ments toward that end. 
 
 JOHN I\IcKEA. The president of the Espe- 
 ranza Lumber & Timber Company, one of the 
 leading lumber manufacturing organizations of 
 northern California, is a member of a southern 
 family, descended from Scotch progenitors, and 
 represents the fourth generation in America. His 
 paternal grandfather was a native of North 
 Carolina, but spent a large part of his active life 
 in South Carolina, and there occurred the birth 
 of the father, Curtis I. McKea. The latter, after 
 having engaged in the mercantile business in Mo- 
 bile, Ala., for some years, went to Brazil in 1862 
 and on his return a year later settled in New 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAriTTr \L RFXORD. 
 
 697 
 
 Orleans, going- from there to Shreveport, La., 
 where he died. By his marriage to Miss Cassy 
 Johnson, who was born in South Carolina of an 
 old X'irginia family, he had eight children. 
 Among these John, the next to the youngest, is 
 the only one on the Pacific coast. In Mobile, 
 Ala., he was born May i6, 1859, and there and 
 in New Orleans and Shreveport he passed the 
 ilays of childhood. and youth, meanwhile receiv- 
 ing a public school education. 
 
 On starting out for himself in 1881 Mr. Mc- 
 Kea came to California and secured employment 
 in lumbering at Lyonsville, Tehama county, later 
 going to Sisson, Siskiyou county. About 1884, 
 in connection with Messrs. Vance and Parson, 
 he embarked in the lumber business under a co- 
 partnership and built a mill at Warmcastle on the 
 McCloud river in Siskiyou county. A substan- 
 tial plant was built up, with a capacity of forty 
 thousand feet per day. Later the Esperanza 
 Lumber & Timber Company was incorporated 
 with Mr. McKea as president, the other partners 
 being R. C. and Hugh B. Jones of San Francisco. 
 In 1901 a modern mill was erected on Elk creek, 
 a branch of the McCloud river. The plant has 
 been fitted out with every improvement of the 
 present day, and with steam as the motive power 
 eighty thousand feet of timber can be turned out 
 in one day. In the vicinity of the mill the com- 
 pany owns tracts of sugar and yellow pine, 
 which furnishes them an abundance of timber to 
 be manufactured into lumber. At the time they 
 began milling Mr. George was the only person 
 engaged in the business and his subsequent fail- 
 ure leaves them the oldest concern of the kind 
 in Siskiyou county. The mill is operated during 
 the summer months, and while operating it Mr. 
 McKea resides in Siskiyou county, returning to 
 Red Blufl' for the winter. He was married in 
 this city to Miss Hattie E. Huff, a native of 
 Michigan, but a resident of Red Bluff since 
 childhood. They are the parents of eight chil- 
 dren. The family attend the Presbyterian 
 Church and Mrs. McKea is actively connected 
 with the work of that denomination. 
 
 .Ml through active life the inclinations of Mr. 
 .McKea have led him into commercial rather than 
 political activities. Of a practical and commercial 
 
 temperament, he finds his greatest pleasures in 
 promoting the success of the industry with wliich 
 he is connected. Yet no duty pirtaining to citi- 
 zenship has been neglected. His political views 
 bring him into affiliation with the Republican 
 party and he supports its men and measures by 
 his ballot. Movements for the benefit of Red 
 Bluff receive his sympalliy and support, and he 
 is a thorough believer in the future prosperity 
 and importance of the city where he has made his 
 winter home. A disciple of Masonry, his connec- 
 tion with the fraternity began in Sisson Lodge 
 No. 310, F. & A. M. Later he became associated 
 with Cyrus Chapter No. 15, R. A. M., at Yreka, 
 Red Bluff Commandery No. 17, K. T., all the 
 bodies of Scottish Rite Masonry, and is a mem- 
 ber of the Consistory No. i, of San Francisco and 
 Islam Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles 
 Mystic Shrine, of San Francisco. 
 
 THOMAS H. RAMSAY. A prominent and 
 progressive native son, residing in the Sacra- 
 mento valley, and who is descended from the 
 Scotch peerage, is T. II. Ramsay, whose grand- 
 father, William, was born in Scotland, but came 
 to America and settled in Pennsylvania, where 
 he engaged in farming. An only son, he mar- 
 ried Polly O'Neil, going with her to Missouri, 
 where he died. The father, Charles Ramsay, 
 was born in Pennsylvania, March 8. 1820, and 
 after his father's death in Missouri he followed 
 farming and stock-raising on the Missouri farm 
 until 1849. I" *^'i^' y^^"" '^"^ came to Cilifornia 
 over the plains with an ox-team, and in addition 
 to working in the noines, also engaged in farming 
 and stock raising in Solano county, where he pur- 
 chased a large tract of land. After a busy and 
 useful life he died in 1879, having been very suc- 
 cessful in his undertakings. Politically he was a 
 Democrat, but never cared for public office. He 
 was one of the founders and a leading member 
 of the Episcopal Church at Cordelia, Solano 
 county. His first marriage united him with 
 Donallcy Jane James, who was bom in Qay 
 county, Mo., and died in California. Tliey had 
 eight children, six sons and two daughters. Octo- 
 
698 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ber 2, 1867, he was married to Elizabeth Wyer, 
 who was born in Ireland, and died in San Fran- 
 cisco in 1888. Three children were bom of this 
 union. 
 
 Thomas H. Ramsay was born in Cordelia, So- 
 lano county, March 2, 1869, and is the eldest 
 child of his father's second marriage. He was 
 educated in the common schools at Cordelia, and 
 in the comniercial schools of Oakland and San 
 Francisco. After the death of his father he en- 
 gaged in agricultural work for his mother, but 
 at the age of twenty-one years went to San 
 Mateo coimty and engaged in ranching, taking 
 charge of the ranch of E. D. Jones of San Fran- 
 cisco. At the end of eight years he became gen- 
 eral manager of the Stanford University estate 
 at Vina, Cal., consisting of eight thousand acres 
 — vineyard, stock farm and orchard. He was 
 manager of this estate for three years, resigning 
 to accept the management of the Cone estate at 
 Red Bluff, Tehama county, consisting of one 
 hundred and twenty-five thousand acres, ten 
 thousand of which is farm land and four hundred 
 acres in orchard, in which are raised large quan- 
 tities of pears, prunes, peaches, etc. UfKDn this 
 ranch there are from forty to fifty thousand head 
 of Merino sheep, about three thousand head of 
 cattle and five hundred horses and mules, all un- 
 der the management of Mr. Ramsay, who is also 
 president and manager of the Cone & Ward Co., 
 Incorporated, and director and manager of the 
 Cone Ranch Company. On account of his ex- 
 tensive knowledge of horticulture ]\Ir. Ramsay 
 was selected to represent this nation as juror of 
 awards in horticulture at the Paris Exposition, 
 but after his selection was prevented from act- 
 ing on account of business, so resigned. Mr. 
 Ramsay is an independent Democrat, and frater- 
 nally is connected with the Masons. He is a 
 prominent man in the Sacramento valley, and is 
 very active in all movements pertaining to the 
 welfare of the state. 
 
 ISAAC NORTON BROCK. One of the 
 most prominent citizens of Sutter county is I. 
 N. Brock, who is a successful rancher and stock- 
 man living three and a half miles southwest of 
 
 Wheatland. His father, Smith Brock, was a 
 native of the state of New York, where as black- 
 smith and carpenter he spent his entire life, 
 dying of cholera when in the prime of life. His 
 grandfather, Jonathan Brock, was also a native 
 of New York state, where he was a farmer and 
 stockman, and died at the advanced age of 
 eighty years. His mother, formerly Abigail 
 Norton, was also a native of that state, her 
 parents having located in New York when she 
 was a girl of four years. She also lived to an 
 advanced age, dying when eighty-two years old. 
 
 Isaac Norton Brock was born at Troy, N. Y., 
 December 9, 1835, and was reared on his father's 
 farm until twelve years old. At that age he 
 went to work at $6 per month, and from that time 
 on has made his own way in the world. In 
 1854 he went to Wisconsin, locating for a time 
 in Rock county, but determining to come fur- 
 ther west, started for Pike's Peak in 1859. After 
 getting as far as Fort Kearney, Neb., he re- 
 turned to Wisconsin and worked through the 
 summer, and in the fall again started on the 
 western journey. Leaving New York December 
 3, 1859, he came via Panama to California, land- 
 ing in San Francisco in January, i860. Going at 
 once to Nevada City, he there interested himself 
 in mining and also worked in a sawmill until the 
 following spring, when he came to the present 
 site of Wheatland and began working in the 
 harvest fields. The following fall he came to this 
 section and erected a cabin on a ranch which he 
 still owns, squatting there until the land was 
 put on the market, when he purchased it from 
 the raili;oad and government. He engaged in 
 raising sheep in addition to general farming, 
 gradually increasing his herd of sheep and adding 
 to his land, until he now owns about three 
 thousand acres, having sold about eighteen 
 hundred and sixty acres a few years ago. 
 
 January 5, 1871, Mr. Brock was married to 
 Jeannette Parker, who was born at Janesville, 
 Wis., where she spent her childhood and was 
 educated. Ten children were born of this mar- 
 riage, viz. : Martha Ellen, who' married D. I. 
 Waltz, a prominent citizen of Merced county; 
 Alice L., who married Robert F. Dunn, a rancher 
 near Wheatland ; Minnie, who died at twenty 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 
 
 6!tH 
 
 years of age; Blanche E., who is the wife of 
 J. T. Denton, a merchant of Maxwell, Colusa 
 county; Jennie F.. at home; Joseph N., who re- 
 sides at Sacramento; Horace J., Frank, Isaac N., 
 Jr., and McKinley Parker, all of whom are at 
 home. In politics Mr. Brock is a Republican. 
 His party friends proposed his name for sheriff 
 and as representative to the legislature, but he 
 refused to accept the nomination. He was 
 supervisor in 1878, and served in that capacity 
 for four years. He was one of the organizers 
 of the Farmers' Bank of Wheatland. At one 
 time he was identified with the Independent 
 Order of Odd Fellows. 
 
 CHARLES B. H. HANVEY, M. D. The 
 ancestry of the Hanvey family is traced to Scot- 
 land, whence some of its members crossed to Ire- 
 land during the era of the religious persecution. 
 The first of the name in America was Daniel, a 
 native of Downpatrick, County Down, near the 
 shores of Dundrum bay, in Ireland. William 
 Henry Hanvey, M. D., a son of the original im- 
 migrant, was born and reared in Ontario. The 
 possessor of superior mental talents, genial man- 
 ner and superb control of will, he was well qual- 
 ified for the profession which he selected, that 
 of medicine and surgery, in which he gained his 
 training in Toronto University and at Buffalo, 
 N. Y. After a long period of practice in On- 
 tario, about 1870 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, 
 where he engaged in practice until his death at 
 fifty-six years. From his father, who was a civil 
 engineer and land surveyor, he inherited mental 
 endowments of no ordinary degree, and these 
 (lualities in turn were inherited by the next gen- 
 eration. While living in Canada he met and 
 married Jane Eliza Hewitt, a native of Rich- 
 mond Hill, Ontario, and a daughter of Oiarles 
 B. Hewitt, who was born in Newhaven, Oswego 
 county, N. Y., became a contractor and secured 
 the contract for building a part of the Grand 
 Tnink Railroad. After many years in Ontario 
 and Ohio Mrs. Hanvey eventually removed to 
 California and now, at seventy-two years, is 
 making her home in Plumas county with her son. 
 
 During the residence of his parents in Ontario, 
 
 Canada, Charles B. H. Hanvey was born. July 
 26, 1856, and was named in honor of his mater- 
 nal grandfather, .\fter having completed the 
 studies of the grammar and liigh schools, he was 
 sent to the Montreal University and there took 
 the regular course, graduating in 188.^, with the 
 degree of M. D. Shortly afterward he went to 
 British Columbia in the capacity of assistant sur- 
 geon in the employ of the Canadian Pacific Rail- 
 road, remaining there for two years and then 
 joining his father in practice at Cleveland. Dliio. 
 Shortly after the death of his father he removed 
 to Chicago and opened an office. During the six 
 years of his residence in that city he not only 
 conducted a private practice, but also acted as 
 chief assistant in Cook County Hospital for the 
 Insane. 
 
 On leaving Chicago Dr. Hanvey became as- 
 sistant surgeon in the employe of the Mexican 
 Central Railroad Company at Tampico. Mexico, 
 where he remained for two years. The climate, 
 however, was unhealthful to such an extent as 
 to render a change necessary, and he thereupon 
 sought the more genial country of Califoniia. In 
 search of the bracing mountain air he came to 
 Plumas county and settled at dreenville. where 
 he remained in practice about nine years. Mean- 
 while he aimed to keep abreast with all the dis- 
 coveries in therapeutics, it Iwing his ambition to 
 utilize in his practice all the most mwlern meth- 
 ods of diagnosis and treatment. To further 
 broaden his professional knowledge he relin- 
 quished his ])ractice temporarily and spent two 
 years in the medical colleges and hospitals of 
 San Francisco, Chicago and New York, where 
 he completed a post-graduate course. On re- 
 suming active practice he came to Plumas coun- 
 ty and bought Dr. McQiesncy's practice at 
 Quincy, where he now makes his home. He 
 still retains mcmbershi]i in the Association of 
 Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and is in- 
 terested in all movements pertaining to the pro- 
 fession, whether in his native country or his 
 adopted land. Since becoming a citizen of the 
 United States he has supported the principles of 
 the Republican party. WHiilc living at Greenville 
 he was initiated into Masonry and is now a 
 member-at-large of tlie blue lodge. 
 
700 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ti 
 
 While living in British Columbia in 1884 Dr. 
 Hanvey married Miss Jean Qiarles, a native of 
 Victoria, British Columbia, where she was 
 reared and educated. Descended from an ancient 
 Scotch family, she is a daughter of Thomas J. 
 Charles, who was born in Scotland, but emi- 
 grated to Canada, and became a member of the 
 old Hudson Bay Company. The doctor and his 
 wife have three children, Marguerite Giristine 
 Charles, William Henry and Douglas, all of 
 whom are students in local schools. 
 
 THEODORE CHARLES TODD. A na- 
 tive of Chautauqua county, N. Y., T. C. Todd 
 is a prominent farmer of Lassen county, near 
 Standish. His father, Ora B. Todd, was born 
 in Herkimer county, N. Y., removing from 
 there to Qiautauqua county, where he lived un- 
 til 1884. He then brought his family to Cali- 
 fornia and settled in \'entura county, where he 
 followed ranching until his death. He died in 
 Riverside county, and his wife, formerly Lor- 
 inda Woolcott. a native of Qiautauqua county, 
 died in \'entura county. 
 
 Theodore Giarles Todd was born September 
 10, 1845, and of the seven children born to his 
 parents, he is the sixth in order of birth. He 
 received a good common school education in 
 New York state, and remained at home witli* 
 his parents on the farm during the time they 
 resided in New York, then came with them to 
 this state in 1884. Upon arriving in California 
 he purchased a farm of seventy acres which he 
 operated for two years, then sold it and went 
 to San Diego county, where he purchased an- 
 other farm of one hundred and sixty acres of 
 unimproved land. .Vfter retaining possession of 
 this for a year he disposed of it and went to San 
 Jacinto, where he owned valuable town prop- 
 ertv. Remaining there four years, retired from 
 the activities of business life, he then went to 
 Los Angeles, where he resided nine years en- 
 gaged in manufacturing water pipe, after which 
 he lived for a time at various places in the 
 state before finally establishing his home in 
 Lassen county upon his present property. For 
 about two vears he carried on farming in \'en- 
 
 tura county, being similarly engaged in Colo- 
 rado Desert, Riverside county, for four years, 
 then he and his son took up a desert claim of 
 three hundred and twenty acres which they 
 operated until 1904, thence coming to Lassen 
 county. Mr. Todd owns three hundred and 
 sixty acres of valuable land here which he in- 
 herited from a sister and brother-in-law, and 
 upon which lie raises hay and grain, besides run- 
 ning a dairy, sending his milk to the creamery. 
 
 In New York state Air. Todd was married to 
 Alice Jones and five children were born to them, 
 viz. : Fred O., who resides in Riverside coun- 
 ty ; Minnie, who married Oilman Daggett and 
 resides in Riverside county; Myra, the wife of 
 Merle Thompson of New York, and a resident 
 of Los Angeles, Cal. ; Delphine, who married 
 Frank H. Colby of Los Angeles ; and C. Theo- 
 dore Todd, who is at home. In politics Mr. 
 Todd is a stanch supjxjrter of the Republican 
 platform. He has devoted his whole life to agri- 
 cultural pursuits, in which he has been success- 
 ful. 
 
 Otis N. Johnson, who married Mr. Todd's 
 sister, became a pioneer settler of this state, 
 coming here from his native state. New York, in 
 1859, traveling overland across the plains by 
 means of ox teams. After reaching this state 
 he engaged for a time in buying and selling 
 stock, afterward purchasing a ranch near Susan- 
 ville, Lassen county, where he lived for a num- 
 hcT of years. Selling this ranch he continued 
 to reside in Lassen county where, with the ex- 
 ception of about three years while in Los Ange- 
 les, he has lived ever since coming to California. 
 The last eighteen years of his life were spent 
 on the ranch which Mr. Todd now owns and 
 resides upon. He was an early settler of 
 Honev Lake valley, his cabin being one of the 
 first in the valley. He had many thrilling ex- 
 periences with the Indians during the early 
 days, and lived to see great changes in the 
 county, as well as in the state. He died Sep- 
 tember 20, 1905, and was buried at Susanville: 
 his wife, formerly Sally M. Todd, surviving 
 him three months and ten days. Mr. Johnson 
 was a Republican in politics, and was a success- 
 ful business man. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 703 
 
 WILEY CORNELISOX. The Cornclison 
 family is of Holland- Dutch extraction, and for 
 many years has been represented this side of the 
 Atlantic. The first member of whom we have 
 any authentic knowledge was the great-grand- 
 father of our subject, who removed from Old 
 \irginia to Kentucky during the Revoluticmary 
 war, and in the latter state the grandfather, Jesse 
 Cornclison, was born. That state was also the 
 i)irthplace of the father, John Cornclison, who 
 later went to Tennessee, following farming there 
 until 1833. Going to Arkansas that year, he 
 remained there two years and then settled in 
 Barry county, ]\lo., there continuing agricult- 
 ural pursuits. In 1850 he and his son Wiley 
 crossed the plains to California with horse teams. 
 Leaving Missouri April 10, 1850. thev arrived 
 in Placerville August 23, and engaged in min- 
 ing in Placer and Plumas counties and vicinitv 
 until the death of the father, which occurred in 
 Honey Lake valley in 1875, when he was sixty- 
 five years of age. The wife of John Cornclison, 
 formerly Elizabeth King, was a daughter of 
 Jesse King, a native of Tennessee, who in 1857 
 settled in Barry count}'. Mo. Mrs. Cornclison 
 died in Missouri, leaving nine children, only 
 two of whom are living. 
 
 \\'ilcy Cornclison was born in Franklin coun- 
 t\-. Tenn., December 11, 1831, the eldest of his 
 parents' family. Removing to Missouri with his 
 ])arents in 1838, he was reared and received a 
 common-school education in the latter state. He 
 was eighteen years of age when he came to 
 California, and for "a time after reaching this 
 state he engaged in mining in Mormon Island, 
 on .American river, and Meadow \'alley, Plumas 
 county, in 1853 Roing to Old Elizabethtown. In 
 March, 1857. he came to Lassen cotmty and 
 look up a farm one and a quarter miles below 
 Susanville, making bis home however in town. 
 At the time he located in the county Ploney 
 Lake valley contained onlv thirteen men and two 
 women, he himself making the fourteenth man 
 in the settlement. 
 
 To Mr. Cornclison belongs the credit of cut- 
 ting and hauling the first saw log in Lassen 
 county, and he cut the first lumber with whip- 
 saw in Honey Lake valley.' With others he 
 19 
 
 buUt a saw mill, an.f continued in the sawmill 
 business some tlirce months. In 1858 he cstal>- 
 lished a trading station on the Humboldt river 
 twenty miles above Lassen Meadows, trading 
 lor cattle and horses, which he brought to Honey 
 Lake valley and placed on his farm. During the 
 next ten years he moved about from place to 
 place, and for a time carried on a merchandise 
 business in Susanville, under the firm name of 
 Blanchard & Cornclison. In the fall of i860 he 
 went to the old Thompson ranch, near Honey 
 lake. Later he engaged in farming on a ranch 
 below Buntingville, which he still owns. This 
 place he improved, making a stock farm of it, 
 and subsequently rented it. in i8C>3 he opened 
 a blacksmith's shop in Janesville which he ran 
 some eighteen months, then sold out. In 1873 
 he purchased the old Adams sawmill on Baxter 
 creek, and some time later located on his present 
 place two and a quarter miles from Janesville, 
 at the foot of Thompson's Peak, where he de- 
 veloped water power sufficient to operate a mill. 
 The water flows from a mountain stream, the 
 ]jower being produced by flumes, tank and reser- 
 voir. The tank is two feet high, six feet wide 
 and three hundred and four feet long, this be- 
 ing used for back water to supply the pipe. 
 The water is conveyed in a pipe eight hundred 
 and twenty-five feet to the water wheel, and has 
 a fall of two hundred and forty feet. The three 
 foot wheel is on one end of a saw shaft, with 
 saw on the other, this being Mr. Corneli.son's 
 own invention. He has run this plant twenty- 
 one years, and is undoubtedly the first man on 
 this coast to run a mill in this way. The capac- 
 ity of the mill is ten to twelve thousand feet 
 per day. The lumber is sold direct from the 
 yards at the mill, of which Mr. Cornclison is 
 manager. Aside from the sawmill business he 
 owns a farm of two hundred and ninety acres 
 near Buntingville. upon which he raises stock 
 and has four hundred and eighty acres of timber 
 land. 
 
 In 1863 Mr. Cornclison was married at Janes- 
 ville to Frances E. Barnes, who is a native of 
 Illinois, but came with her [larents to this state 
 in i860, crossing the plains with ox teams. Six 
 children have been born to them, as follows : 
 
704 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 George, who is a rancher on the Susan river ; 
 Fred, who is with his father in the sawmih busi- 
 ness ; Edith Jarbo, a widow of Saratoga; Frank, 
 deceased ; Minnie, who married Elfonzo Foot 
 and resides at Janesville ; and Clara Frances, 
 who resides at home. Fraternally Mr. Corneli- 
 son is connected with the Ancient Order of 
 United Workmen, and in politics is a stanch 
 supporter of the Democratic platform. 
 
 WILLIAM WATSON. A man of scholarly 
 attainments and a close student of the best sci- 
 entific journals of the day, William Watson is 
 well fitted for his chosen profession, and takes 
 high rank as a civil mining engineer. He is 
 also county surveyor and United States deputy 
 mineral surveyor, with offices in Ouincy, Plum- 
 as county, where he is well and favorably 
 known, having been a resident of the county 
 since 1877. 
 
 An Englishman by birth, William Watson 
 was born in Brighton August 13, 1852, and was 
 reared in his native land until he had passed 
 his majority. During his boyhood he attended 
 the common schools near his home and sup- 
 plemented this training by a course at Brigh- 
 ton College. The theoretical knowledge which 
 he had thus far obtained was put to a practi- 
 cal test upon leaving college, when for six 
 years he followed a commercial life, two years 
 of this time being on the floor of the stock 
 exchange. When about twenty-three years of 
 age he determined to carry out a long cherished 
 idea of making his home in the new world and 
 March 22, 1875, he debarked in New York 
 City. It was in the west, however, that his 
 chief interest was centered, and just nine days 
 after landing in the eastern metropolis he landed 
 in San Francisco. After remaining in that city 
 in quest of a suitable position for about five 
 months he finally went to the mines of Tuolumne 
 county, but after two years of prospecting had 
 little or nothing to show for the time and labor 
 expended. From there he went to Gold Hill, 
 Nev., remaining in the mines there until the 
 spring of 1877, when he located at Qierokee 
 
 Flat, Butte county, also interested in mining. 
 It was in August of that year that he came to 
 Plumas county and for four years he carried 
 on mining at Spanish Ranch with considerable 
 success. ■ 
 
 Mr. Watson dates his most permanent sue- B * 
 cess, however, from the year 1881, at which 
 time he entered the employ of James E. Mills 
 in the capacity of bookkeeper and assistant sur- 
 veyor, positions which formed the lowest rung 
 in the ladder of success which he ascended rap- 
 idly from that time on. To such an extent had 
 he applied himself to master surveying that in 
 1885 Mr. Mills made him chief assistant. His 
 collegiate education had made him the master 
 of four languages, Latin, Greek, French and 
 German, accomplishments which he was enabled 
 to put to practical use during the twenty-one 
 years in which he was in Mr. Mills' employ in 
 topographical and geological surveys. During 
 this time he had acquired a thorough knowl- 
 edge of the profession and was at liberty to ac- 
 cept and carry out work on his own behalf at 
 odd times. During all of this time he had con- 
 tinued his interest in mining, becoming an ex- 
 pert in examining mining properties, and at the 
 time of Mr. Mills' death in 1902 was in British • 
 Columbia engaged in work of this character. 
 Since 1903 he has been engaged in hydraulic 
 work on his own account, as well as working 
 for others, and for the past three years has been 
 engineer in the Western Power Company. He 
 also finds time for considerable general work 
 in the line of surveying, which is confined to 
 Plumas and Butte counties. 
 
 March i, 1887, William Watson was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary F. Kanady, who 
 was born in Sacramento county, Cal, and of 
 the five children born to them the eldest, Har- 
 old, died in infancy. Ernest and Arthur are 
 now students in Santa Clara College, and Edith 
 and Herbert are still at home with their par- 
 ents. Being in perfect sympathy and accord 
 with the principles of the Republican party Mr. 
 Watson upholds his chosen party both by his 
 voice and vote, and at the hands of his party 
 friends was in 1902 elected school trustee, re- 
 ceiving a large majority. In his church affilia- 
 
HISTORlCAl, AND BIOGRAIM IICAI. RKCORD. 
 
 705 
 
 tion Ik- is identified with the Episcopal denomi- 
 nation, while his wife is an adherent of the 
 Roman CathoHc chnrch. Mr. Watson has hewn 
 a creditable career out of the waiting possibili- 
 ties in the far west and is deserving of the uni- 
 versal esteem of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 FRANCIS H. CAMPBELL. Actively iden- 
 tified with the farming interests of Plumas coun- 
 ty is Francis H. Campbell, whose ranch is sit- 
 uated five miles south of Beckwith. As a gen- 
 eral farmer and stock-raiser he is meeting with 
 well-merited success, his homestead with its im- 
 provements bearing visible evidence of his in- 
 dustry and judicious management. A son of 
 James M. Campbell, he was born June 23, 1838, 
 in Cuba, Allegany county, N. Y., of Scotch de- 
 scent on the paternal side, the emigrant ancestor 
 of the Campbell family having emigrated from 
 Scotland to New England, settling in New 
 Hampshire. He is also of Revolutionary stock, 
 his grandfather, Robert Campbell, a native of 
 Qierry Valley, N. Y., having served as a sol- 
 dier in the Revolution. 
 
 James M. Campbell was born, lived and died in 
 New York state, attaining the age of seventy-five 
 years. Choosing the occupation to which he was 
 reared, he was engaged in tilling the soil through- 
 out liis active career. He married Mary Morey, 
 who was born in New York, of French ancestry, 
 and the daughter of a woolen manufacturer. She 
 too lived to be seventy-five years old. 
 
 Until becoming of age Francis H. Campbell 
 remained at home, helping his father on the farm 
 and obtaining a practical common school educa- 
 tion in his native town. Beginning life then as a 
 wage-earner, he worked 1>y the month for two 
 years, and with the thrift characterizing his an- 
 cestors saved a large part of his earnings. Start- 
 ing westward then in search of better opportu- 
 nities, he migrated first to Illinois, where for a 
 year he worked on a farm, and likewise taught 
 penmanship. Coming from there to California 
 in 1861, he found employment in the mines, first 
 in Nevada City, and then at I lowland Mat. Lo- 
 cating in this valley in the spring of 1863, he 
 
 worked on a rancii for several months. No- 
 vemlx?r 7. 1864, he enlisted in Company K. Sev- 
 enth California Volunteer Infantry, the regi- 
 ment that built Fort Dowell , .Arizona. He 
 served for eighteen months, the regiment Ix;- 
 ing engaged in fighting Indians and raiders, and 
 after the close of the war. on March 29. 1866, 
 was mustered out of service. 
 
 Returning to the valley. Mr. Campbell again 
 began working by the month, for three years or 
 more operating a sawmill in this vicinity. In 
 1870, with a view to settling permanently in life, 
 he located on his present home farm, in 1871 fil- 
 ing a homestead claim, and to this original i)ur 
 chase he has since added, now owning a rancli 
 of three hundred and sixty acres, and also a 
 forty-acre timber tract. 
 
 On March 5, 1872. Mr. Campbell married 
 Harriett Calista Hale, who was born in Gardiner, 
 Me., September 26. 1851, and came to this state 
 in 1870. Six children have been born of the 
 union of Mr. and Mrs. Camplx^II, namely: James 
 H.. station agent at Beckwith with the Boca & 
 Loyalton Railroad, and also engaged in farming; 
 George H., attending the Conservatory of Music 
 in Boston. Mass. ; Charles F., a student in the 
 State University at Berkeley, Cal. ; Calista T., 
 deceased: Tene S., attending the Riverside high 
 school; and Frederick M.. at home. Politically 
 Mr. Campbell is a straightforward Republican, 
 supporting the principles of that party by voice 
 and vote. He takes an intelligent interest in 
 local affairs, and in 1889 was elected supervi.sor 
 of the Beckwith district, a position which he 
 filled so acceptably that he was subsef|uently 
 elected to the same office for a second term. 
 Fraternally he is a member of Hope Lcnlge No. 
 234, F. & A. M., of Beckwith. The Kettle post- 
 office is located in his house, ami Mrs. Cani|)l)ell 
 is the postmaster. 
 
 MELLEN WILLIAMSON. A pioneer res- 
 ident of California, and a veteran agriculturist 
 of Plumas county, Mellen W'illiamson. of Big 
 Meadows, is eminently worthy of honorable 
 representation in a work of this character. .-M- 
 though eighty years have passed ■^incc lu' inadi- 
 
706 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 his advent into this world of ours, he bears the 
 burden of time with ease and dignity, being hale 
 and hearty, as active as a man twenty years 
 younger, and reads and writes without the aid 
 of glasses. Of good old New England ances- 
 try, he was born, February 20, 1825, in Somer- 
 set county, Me., and was there brought up on 
 a farm, remaining at home until twenty-seven 
 years of age. 
 
 In 1852, on January 5, Mr. Williamson, lured 
 by the wonderful stories told concerning the 
 discovery of gold in California, started for this 
 eldorado of the west, coming by the Panama 
 route to Yuba county, where he followed min- 
 ing for a year. The ensuing fifteen years he 
 was similarly employed in Butte and Plumas 
 counties, but not meeting with the desired suc- 
 cess in obtaining the golden metal he changed 
 his occupation, and for a number of years 
 worked for different ranchers. He subsequent- 
 ly pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land in the valley, and in 1886 filed on one 
 hundred and sixty acres of land in Big Mead- 
 ows. Having proved up, he is now the owner 
 of three hundred and twenty acres of valuable 
 land, which he manages with excellent success. 
 Pie has never married, but for the past seven- 
 teen years has made his home with the family 
 of Peter Olsen, of whom a brief biographical 
 sketch may be found on another page of this 
 work. In his earlier agricultural career Mr. 
 Williamson worked for five years for Mr. Ol- 
 sen, and until the death of the latter the two 
 managed their land together, carrying on gen- 
 eral farming with satisfactory results, and each 
 contributing his full share toward the develop- 
 ment and growth of the countv. 
 
 EDWIN E. PHELPS. Variously interested 
 in commercial and agricultural pursuits in Plu- 
 mas county, Mr. Phelps is known to the travel- 
 ing public as proprietor of the Meadow Valley 
 hotel, and in addition at this writing holds the 
 office of postmaster and superintends important 
 ranching interests in the heart of the valley. A 
 member of a pioneer family of California, he 
 
 has made his home in this state from the age of 
 eleven years and represents the progressive citi- 
 zenship that has been the most important factor 
 in the development of the west. His father, 
 James C. Phelps, was born and reared in New 
 Haven, Conn., and there learned and followed 
 the trade of shoemaker, besides for some time 
 finding employment as a cigar manufacturer in 
 his native city. Leaving his family in the east, 
 in 1858 he sought a home for them in California. 
 Eor two years he made his headquarters in Jack- 
 son, Amador county, and worked in the Oneida 
 quartz»mine, after which he spent a similar peri- 
 od in the mines at Aurum City, Eldorado county. 
 Returning to Amador county, he discovered and 
 partly developed what came to be known as the 
 Bay State mine. This he operated for a period 
 of six years and then sold at a fair profit. It was 
 then that he identified himself with Plumas 
 county through the purchase of a home in 
 Meadow valley and the opening of a shoemaking 
 shop, which he conducted in addition to devoting 
 some attention to mining. For some eight years 
 he held office as justice of the peace and in poli- 
 tics took an active part with the Democratic par- 
 ty. Prior to leaving the east he was made a 
 Mason in Utica, N. Y., and later transferred his 
 membership to the blue lodge at his California 
 home town. At the age of seventy-nine years 
 and three months he passed away in November, 
 1902, having been active until a very few days 
 before his death. 
 
 The marriage of James C. Phelps united him 
 with Miss Lovina Meeker, who was born in Con- 
 necticut and passed the years of youth at Wal- 
 lingford, that state. When her husband came 
 to the west she remained awaiting his decision as 
 to the removal of the family, and when he report- 
 ed prospects to be encouraging she brought her 
 sons via Panama in i860 to California, where 
 she afterward made her home. In character gen- 
 tle, in disposition mild and amiable, she exempli- 
 fied the doctrines of religion in her life, and was a 
 faithful member of the Episcopal church. Wlien 
 seventy-nine years of age she was found dead in 
 her bed one morning in April, 1903, death having 
 come quietly and without pain in the sleep of the 
 night. Surviving her are three sons, of whom 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRArillCAL RECORD. 
 
 707 
 
 the eldest and youngest, John Cj. and James C, 
 Jr., are living in San iM-anciseo, while the second, 
 Edwin E., continues to make his home in Plumas 
 county. The last-named was born in New Ha- 
 ven, Conn., March i, 1849, ^"^1 at an early age 
 began to work in mines, continuing as a miner 
 and prospector until 1878, when he turned his at- 
 tention to ranching and the keeping of a hotel. 
 Fraternally he is connected with Plumas Lodge 
 No. 88, L O. O. F., at Ouinc\-, and in politics he 
 is a strong Republican. 
 
 In his marriage Edwin E. Phelps became 
 united with Miss Mary L. Hughes, who was 
 born at Soda Bar, Plumas county. The two 
 daughters of their union are Verbenia M., Mrs. 
 Arthur A. Hall of Quincy, and Mary Elizabeth, 
 a school girl of nine years. Mrs. Phelps was 
 born August 18, 1859, ''"'^1 's a daughter of 
 Thomas and Elizabeth (Pary) Hughes, the lat- 
 ter of whom made her home with Mrs. Phelps 
 until her death, May 3, 1906. A native of 
 Wales, born May 13, 1830, Thomas Hughes 
 learned the gardener's trade in boyhood. At the 
 age of seventeen years he came to the United 
 States and settled first at East Dennis, Mass., on 
 the shores of Cape Cod. During 1854 he came 
 lo the Pacific coast. At first he was employed at 
 gardening in what is now the heart of San 
 Francisco. In 1855 he came to Plumas county 
 and first mined at Dutch Bar, hut in 1857 re- 
 moved to Soda Bar, on the east branch of Feath- 
 er river, where he opened a store and public 
 house, remaining in that place until 1868. Dur- 
 ing the fall of 1869 he purchased from M. D. 
 Smith the Meadow \'alley hotel and ranch of 
 three hundred and twenty acres, and afterward 
 carried on the hotel, acted as postmaster of 
 Meadow Valley, engaged in ranching and for 
 many years made a specialty of the dairy busi- 
 ness. In fraternal affairs he was connected with 
 Plumas Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. F., at Quincy. 
 Up to the time of his death, which occurred in 
 1890, he was actively interested in the various 
 affairs which had engaged his attention in the 
 preceding years. The ranch which Mr. Hughes 
 occupied and owned was inherited by his widow 
 and their daughter, Mrs. Phelps, and is now the 
 home of the Phelps family, there being five hun- 
 
 dred acres in the estate, of which three hundred 
 acres comprise fertile and valuable valley land, 
 while the remainder of the properly is in timber. 
 Among the people of Plumas county Mr. and 
 Airs. Phelps occupy an honored position and are 
 esteemed for the qualities of mind and heart 
 which have brought them into rank with the 
 most progressive people of their community. 
 
 ARTHUR F. MARTIN. The family repre- 
 sented by this progressive stock-raiser and dairy- 
 man of the Big Meadow valley in Plumas county 
 is of pioneer California stock, his father, Jona- 
 than F., having sought the possibilities of the 
 west as early as 1852, and afterward acquired 
 diversified interests which he retained until 
 death. Of eastern descent, Jonathan F. Martin 
 was horn in Vermont March 4, 181 2, and grew 
 to manhood upon a farm. Upon starting out 
 for himself he first gave his attention to agricult- 
 ure, but later became interested in a foundry. 
 When he came to California, via the Isthmus of 
 Panama, in 1852 he immediately went to the min- 
 ing regions. For a time he acted as superintend- 
 ent of the Banner mine, and he also became in- 
 terested in a coal mine near Oroville, where he 
 mined the first coal discovered in the state, but 
 the work proved expensive and unprofitable. 
 -About i860 he returned via Panama to Vennont 
 for his family, and after coming back to the coast 
 he engaged in mining at Thompson's Flat, Butte 
 county, where June 6, 1861, occurred the birth 
 of his son whose name introduces this article. 
 
 While at various times he met with good fort- 
 une in the mines, the losses sustained by Jona- 
 than F. Martin were so heavy that when he 
 abandoned the occupation in 1864 he had sunk 
 about $20,000 in disastrous mining ventures. 
 With a hope of meeting with greater success in 
 agriculture he removed to the vicinity of Dayton 
 and settled upon a ranch. From there about 
 1873 he removed to the Big Meadows, in Plumas 
 county, where he filed a claim to the tract now 
 owned by his heirs. In addition to the one hun- 
 dred and sixty acres for which he filed his claim, 
 he bought a half section of range land and con- 
 
708 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 siderable swamp land, giving him in his ranch an 
 aggregate of eight hundred and twenty acres. 
 To this he added from time to time until his total 
 possessions aggregated thirteen hundred acres, 
 utilized for the pasturage of stock and the rais- 
 ing of farm products. In the attaining of this 
 large landed estate he had the active co-operation 
 of his sons and the counsel and sympathy of his 
 wife. 
 
 • Through all the period intervening between the 
 organization of the Republican party and his 
 death, Jonathan F. Martin was a supporter of 
 the party and a stanch friend of its platform. 
 The only fraternal body in which he held mem- 
 bership was the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows, his connection being with the lodge at 
 Dayton. Sturdy and strong almost to the very 
 last, he passed away after a brief illness, March 
 i6, 1886, aged seventy-four years. His wife, 
 who bore the maiden name of Sophronia A. 
 Coolidge, was a native of Vermont and has 
 made her home in California since i860. The 
 busv vears of a long and industrious life have 
 enfeebled her frame and weakened her body, but 
 her mind is unimpaired by the cares of four 
 score and four years. Of a cheerful religious 
 spirit, her last days are bright with the hope of 
 immortality ; both herself and husband were act- 
 ive members of the Christian Church, and from 
 youth lived consistent, honorable lives. Of their 
 nine children only three arc living, namely : 
 Oscar, of Oiico, this state, who inherited three 
 hundred and sixty acres of the estate, and now 
 makes a specialty of hauling freight from his 
 home town; Orland J., who inherited the prop- 
 erty on Butte creek and engages in ranching on 
 that place; and Arthur F., who inherited the cat- 
 tle, comprising seventy-five head. 
 
 The home place of eight hundred and forty 
 acres was bequeathed to the mother, for whom 
 the youngest son manages the land, in addition 
 having charge of an adjoining tract of seven 
 hundred and twenty acres of valley land, re- 
 cently purchased by him. The larger part of 
 the tract is utilized for a stock range, there be- 
 ing usually from one hundred to two hundred 
 head of cattle on the range belonging to Mr. 
 Martin, besides outside stock which are pastured 
 
 there. At times he has as many as fifty milch 
 cows in his dairy, and the making of butter is 
 one of his specialties. As early as 1888 he pur- 
 chased the first cream separator in the valley 
 and for some years bought milk from neighbors, 
 but since separators have come into general use 
 he handles his own product only. In other ways 
 he has shown himself to be progressive, quick 
 to adopt new methods, ambitious to attain an 
 honorable competency and far-seeing in judg- 
 ment. Like his father he believes in the prin- 
 ciples for which the Republican party stands. 
 
 JOHN MATHEW SHORT. Both through 
 his intimate association with the Republican par- 
 ty in Plumas county and through his efficient 
 service m the office of county tax and license 
 collector, Mr. Short has become well known to 
 the residents of this part of the state. His nom- 
 ination for office occurred in the fall of 1898, his 
 election following in due course, and January i, 
 1899, he entered upon the duties of the office. 
 The office of tax and license collector had not 
 existed prior to the year 1899, but was created 
 that year by the board of county supervisors, 
 and thus Mr. Short has the distinction of being 
 the first incumbent. So satisfactorily had he 
 filled the position during his first term that at its 
 close he was re-elected in 1902. 
 
 Mr. Short is a native of California, and was 
 born in Placerville on the last day of the year 
 1864. His father, William Short, was bom in 
 St. Lawrence county, N. Y., making his home 
 there on a farm until the breaking out of the 
 Civil war. Coming to California in 1861, he first 
 identified himself with Oroville, Butte county, 
 going from there to the mines on Feather river 
 in Plumas and Sierra counties. Subsequently 
 he worked for wages in the mines at Crescent 
 Mills, Plumas county, besides which he also fol- 
 lowed farming there and at Greenville, carrying 
 on this double occupation the remainder of his 
 life. His death occurred September 16, 1902, at 
 which time he was in his seventy-second year. 
 Politically he was a believer in Republican prin- 
 ciples. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 709 
 
 The liovliood years of John M. Short were 
 spent in Plumas county, as he was only five or 
 six months old when the family removed to In- 
 dian valley. Until he was alx)ut twenty years of 
 age he remained at home and worked on his 
 father's farm, but after reaching that age started 
 out on his own responsibility and for about six 
 years worked by the month on neighboring 
 ranches. By this time he had saved sufficient 
 means to enable him to purchase a half interest 
 in a meat market at Greenville, which he oper- 
 ated from the spring of 1894 until the fall of 
 1898, when he sold his interest to his partner. 
 The business had proven a very successful un- 
 dertaking and Mr. Short relinquished his inter- 
 est in it from necessity rather than choice, his 
 nomination and election to his present office 
 bringing about the change in his plans. 
 
 Mr. Short was united in marriage December 
 II, 1901, to Miss Bertha Stahley, also a native of 
 this county, and they have two children, Thelma 
 and Harold J. As a business man, citizen and 
 public official Mr. Short has won a host of 
 friends and is highly esteemed by all who know 
 him. 
 
 RICHARD M. JACKS. Of the throngs who 
 endured the hardships of the long journey over 
 the mountains and plains in order to reach the 
 gold mines of the then unknown west, by far the 
 largest number have passed into the silence of 
 eternity and have made the last journey that hu- 
 manity is called upon to take. Upon crossing 
 the continent during the memorable year of 1850 
 Mr. Jacks endured untold hardships in the ef- 
 fort to reach the land of whose wealth rumor 
 had whispered alluring tales, but he never re- 
 gretted the decision which led him to forsake the 
 home of his boyhood for the opportunities of the 
 undeveloped coast country, and in his old age he 
 found himself surrounded by comforts earned by 
 his industry and frugality, and sufficient to give 
 to his advancing years the contentment which 
 comes from a life well spent and the friendship 
 of the best class of citizens. 
 
 In Howard county. Mo., Mr. Jacks was born 
 September 22, 1832, and there he passed the 
 
 years of youth upon the large plantation owned 
 by his father and operated by the family slaves. 
 While he was yet in the springtime of life and 
 awaiting a favorable opening to establish him- 
 self in life, news came of the discovery of gold 
 in California, and thus his future was decided 
 for him. In 1850 he started from his old home 
 with a company of emigrants and traveled with- 
 out incident to the Missouri river, but there mis- 
 fortune awaited them in the loss of their oxen. 
 Having no way of proceeding with their sup- 
 plies, they hired a man to haul their wagons 
 across the plains, while they walked the entire 
 distance to California, and on the 5th of Sep- 
 tember landed at Placerville, footsore and weary. 
 
 After having mined in various localities, Mr. 
 Jacks came to Plumas county and in April, 1851, 
 mined at Poorman's, while the summer he spent 
 at Canon creek. For three years he mined at dif- 
 ferent places in Plumas county, and in 1854 he 
 settled at Quincy. During the same year he 
 built at Meadow X'alley the sawmill which he 
 operated for a number of years. With other 
 parties he e.xcavated for the Plumas ditch, which 
 proved at first very profitable, bringing them 
 $115,000 the first year, but later they lost all of 
 their original profits. In 1863 he prospected at 
 Reese river, hut the results were so discouraging 
 that he was glad to return to Plumas county. In 
 i8f)4 he bought and pre-empted a homestead of 
 three hundred an<l twent)- acres, besides which 
 he became the owner of the Meadow valley wa- 
 ter ditch, which furnishes four thousand inches of 
 living water for the entire year and thus gives 
 an ample supply for the irrigation of the valley 
 land. At one time Senator Perkins, who was a 
 warm personal friend, was interested with him 
 in this property. .\ man of inventive ability, he 
 devised a number of improvements for mines 
 and mills, but these he never realized upon, their 
 profits being taken by other parties. 
 
 In Wyandotte county, Kan., January 11. 1871. 
 Mr. lacks married Miss Florence Fremont Piell, 
 who was I)orn in Platte county. Mo., March 17. 
 1854, and received a fair education in her home 
 neighborhood. Immediately after their mar- 
 riage Mr. and Mrs. Jacks came to California and 
 settled on the ranch which still is the home of 
 
710 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 the latter. Eight children were born of their 
 union, namely : Donathan Richard, a law grad- 
 uate, who has the honor of being the first collect- 
 or of port at Port Harford, San Luis Obispo, and 
 who held a position as inspector in the custom 
 house at San Francisco; Mary E., wife of 
 Charles Thompson, who owns the Elizabeth 
 mine at Rich Gulch, Plumas county ; Solon P., 
 who is engaged in ranching in Big Meadows ; 
 Elias T. (known as Lyle), who is clerk in the 
 court of Judge Sewall of San Francisco; Flor- 
 ence J., who is a dressmaker in San Francisco ; 
 Andrew, who remains with his mother in Plu- 
 mas county ; Ruth Perkins, a successful teacher 
 in the Plumas county schools ; and Agnes, who 
 resides on the home ranch. The family circle was 
 broken by the death of the father, which oc- 
 curred January 24, 1899, while he was visiting 
 in Wyandotte county, Kan. The loss fell heav- 
 ily upon his wife, who had labored by his side 
 for many years and had contributed largely to 
 his success. In his home life he had been kindly 
 and thoughtful, fond of reading, an interesting 
 conversationalist, and enjoying the society of 
 people of culture and refinement. Though he 
 never held office, he was stanch in his allegiance 
 to the Democratic party through all of his life, 
 and fraternally he was active in Plumas Lodge 
 No. 60, F. & A. \[., and in his life exemplified 
 the noble principles of Masonry. 
 
 ALVIN W. WHITNEY. The genealogy of 
 the Whitney family is traced back to the early 
 days of the settlement of New England, the 
 first of the name in the new world being John, 
 who was born at Westminster, England, July 
 20, 1592, and crossed the ocean to Watertown. 
 Mass., as early as 1635, identifying himself with" 
 the new colony, among whose members he after- 
 ward wielded considerable influence. Belong- 
 ing to the same family was the late William C. 
 Whitney, at one time secretary of the navy. 
 Several generations lived and died in Maine, and 
 in that state Ephraim Whitney spent the greater 
 part of his life, following the occupation of a 
 farmer, but at an advanced age he came to Cal- 
 
 ifornia and resided at Santa Cruz until his death 
 at eighty years. During the existence of the 
 Whig party he upheld its tenets and later be- 
 came a stanch Republican. 
 
 Among the children of Ephraim Whitney was 
 Alvin W., born at East Corinth, Me., May 27, 
 1838, and during boyhood a student in the acad- 
 emy of his native town. At eighteen years of 
 age he went to Bangor, Me., where he secured 
 a clerkship in a wholesale dry-goods establish- 
 ment. Two years later, in 1858, he came to 
 California via the Panama route and for about 
 four years engaged in the mercantile business 
 at Knight's F"erry, after 1859 his work being 
 largely in the buying of merchandise which he 
 hauled to the mines and there sold. Returning 
 to San Francisco in 1865, he acted as salesman 
 for a time and then for sixteen years was a 
 broker on the Board of Trade, where he both 
 made and lost fortunes in the speculations in- 
 cident to those times. The next enterprise in 
 which he became interested was the purchase 
 of the Golden Chariot mine in San Diego coun- 
 ty, where approximately $500,000 in gold was 
 taken out in only two years. 
 
 On the closing out of the mine Mr. Whitney 
 went to New York City and assisted in organ- 
 izing the New York Mining Board, with which 
 he remained for a year or more, he being chosen 
 chairman of the stock list committee. Soon 
 afterward he went to Colorado as manager of 
 the Champion Mining Company's works in Gil- 
 pin county, where he continued in charge for 
 two years. At the expiration of that time the 
 mines were sold to a syndicate of English cap- 
 italists for $100,000. With a change in own- 
 ership of the mine Mr. Whitney resigned his 
 position and went to Qiicago, where he bought 
 a meinbership in the Chicago Board of Trade 
 and continued for a short time. Soon, how- 
 ever, he went to the republic of Honduras in 
 South America as manager of an old mine that 
 had been abandoned three hundred years before. 
 To him was given the difficult task of bringing 
 the mine into working condition after a lapse 
 of so many years, and he succeeded to a de- 
 gree bevond expectations. \'Vhen the develop- 
 ing of the mine was taken up, he resigned and 
 
A 
 
 s 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ni 
 
 returned to the United States, where his next 
 undertaking was tlie opening of coal mines in 
 Michigan. Later he was chosen manager of 
 the Belmont property in Nevada. On coming to 
 California he took charge of liie Crescent mill 
 and mine propert}- at Crescent Mills, where he 
 sunk a shaft four hundred feet deep in an ex- 
 tension from the old shaft of only eighty feet. 
 About 1890 he purchased one thousand acres 
 of ranch land, of which seven hundred and 
 three acres are in the Indian valley, and the 
 balance is mainly in timber. Upon this large 
 tract he has conducted stock-raising, and at this 
 writing has thirty-five driving and draft horses, 
 as well as some fine specimens of Uerkshire 
 hogs and Durham cattle. 
 
 For many years Mr. ^\'hitney has been a 
 widower, his wife, Mary Louise McDonald, 
 whom he married in 1867, and who was born, 
 reared and educated in Kentucky, having died 
 in 1870; the only child of their union died in 
 infancy. Though a stanch Republican and al- 
 ways interested in political matters, Mr. Whit- 
 ney has never cared to accept office, but always 
 has been prompt to aid such of his friends as 
 were candidates for public positions. During 
 his eventful life he has traveled widely, made 
 many friends, been connected with various un- 
 dertakings that represented immense amounts 
 of money, and has had his share of successes 
 and reverses in mining and speculating on die 
 Board of Trade, but now, after all these ardu- 
 ous experiences, he is living quietly at Crescer.t 
 Mills, into which locality his interests have 
 gradually been centered. 
 
 LYMAN COLLINS STILES. In common 
 with the majority of the early settlers of Cali- 
 fornia Mr. Stiles endured hartlships, surmounted 
 obstacles and battled with discouragements ; yet 
 in the niitlst of adverse conditions he remained 
 undaunted by reverses, even when, as during 
 the severe winter of 1873-74, he lost almost his 
 entire herd of stock and was forced to begin 
 anew in the world. The competency which the 
 family now enjo_\s is the fruit of his arduous 
 
 labors protracted through a long period of busy 
 years. To a gratifying degree success rewarded 
 his exertions and he surrounded his family with 
 the comforts of life, their home being one of the 
 comfortable and suljstantial residences of Su.san- 
 ville. 
 
 A pioneer of 1854 in California, .Mr. Stiles was 
 a native of Illinois and of New England and 
 Scotch parentage. His father, Aaron, who was 
 born and reared in X'ermont, where he practiced 
 medicine, became a pioneer of Illinois in 1826, 
 improving a farm in Calhoun county, where he 
 later followed his profession. Before any large 
 measure of success had crowned his efforts he 
 was called from this world, his death occurring 
 September 20, 1836, just four years after the 
 demise of his wife, Nancy (Collins) Stiles. Of 
 their union three sons were born, Lyman Collins 
 being the younger of the two now living. His 
 older brother. Oscar, accompanied him to Cali- 
 fornia, but fifteen years afterward he returned 
 to Iowa, where he now lives retired from active 
 business cares. Lyman C, Stiles was born in 
 Calhoun county, 111., August 25, 1832, and was 
 orphaned at an age too young to bring him any 
 sense of realization of his loss. During boy- 
 hood years he was under the supervision of a 
 half-brother, Henry G. Stiles, whom he aided 
 in the lumber business. It was not possible for 
 him to attend school regularly, but when he could 
 be spared from home he was sent to a neighbor- 
 ing school, held in a log house with seats of 
 slabs and floor of puncheon. The course of in- 
 struction was as primitive as the building itself, 
 yet the knowledge acquired under these sur- 
 roundings by the ambitious student was often 
 thorough and broad. 
 
 .A.fter having spent a part of two years in 
 Grant county, Wis., during the spring of 1854 
 Mr. Stiles went to New York City and there 
 took passage on the ship Northern Light, which 
 took him to Greytown. Following the Nicara- 
 gua route he crossed to the Pacific ocean and 
 there sailed on the Cortez for San Francisco, 
 where he landed on the 4th of March. For a 
 time he tried his luck at Rabbit creek in the 
 mines of Morristown, Plumas county, and dur- 
 ing 1856 visited Indian valley for the first time. 
 
712 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Until 1859 he continued to spend the winter 
 months at Morristown, after which he settled on 
 a farm in Indian valley and save his attention to 
 buying, selling and raising cattle. With his herd 
 in 1864 he came to Honey Lake valley, where he 
 bought a claim and remained for five years. For 
 a long period afterward he devoted his attention 
 to driving cattle from southern Oregon to Lassen 
 county and upon his retirement from that occu- 
 pation he came to Susanville. where he estab- 
 lished his home. Prior to his death, December 
 15, 1905, he disposed of his property in Big Val- 
 ley. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Stiles occurred in 
 Quincy, Plumas county, March 10, 1864. and 
 united him with Miss Anna M. Goumaz, who 
 was born in Switzerland, and at ten years of age 
 came to the United States, settling in \'andalia, 
 Fayette county. 111. In 1863 she came to Cali- 
 fornia, where she has since resided. Born of 
 their union were five children, as follows : Alice, 
 who is the wife of Oakley Glass, of Texas ; 
 Laura, wife of Hillman Willard, who is engaged 
 in the sheep business in Tehama county, Cal. ; 
 Stella, a graduate of the Chico Normal and a 
 teacher in Oakland, this state ; Marietta, who also 
 is a graduate of Chico Normal and is now the 
 wife of A. J. Hall, of Long Valley, Lassen 
 county; and Lyman G., who is a merchant at 
 Constantia, Cal. Politically Mr. Stiles supported 
 the measures of the Republican party. After 
 coming to this locality he was made a Mason in 
 Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & A. M., of which he 
 served as treasurer for many years. In addition 
 he held membership in Lassen Chapter No. 47, 
 R. A. M., Lassen Commandery No. 13, K. T., 
 and with his wife affiliated with the Order of the 
 Eastern Star. 
 
 WILLIAM F. PASETTA. Among the high- 
 ly respected residents of Johnsville, Plumas 
 covmty, is William F. Pasetta, proprietor of a 
 hotel that if, favorably known and well patron- 
 ized by the traveling public. Immigrating to 
 this country from a foreign land, he arrived here 
 poor in pocket, but with a courageous heart and 
 willing hands, and by close application, untiring 
 
 energy and diligent use of his faculties and op- 
 portunities, he li;is steadily climbed the ladder 
 of success, and is proving himself a most useful 
 and worthy citizen of his adopted town. An 
 Austrian by birth, he was born July 19, 1859, in 
 Dalmatia, v^diere he grew to man's estate. 
 
 In 1880 Mr. Pasetta left the scenes of child- 
 hood, coming lo America in search of fortune. 
 Locating in Johnsville, Cal., he turned his atten- 
 tion to mining jjursv.its, and in the following ten 
 years met with a fair amount of success. Estab- 
 lishing himself tlien as the keeper of a public 
 house, he has since been actively employed in 
 the hotel business. Like other men. he has met 
 with reverses, having been burned out once, thus 
 losing much of his property. Nothing daunted, 
 however, he rebuilt his present hostelry, which 
 he has since managed to the satisfaction of his 
 numerous patrons, proving himself a genial and 
 popular host. He is also interested in placer 
 mining, owning a part of the Morning Star 
 mine on Nelson creek and the Bluenose mine. 
 
 Politically Mr. Pasetta is actively identified 
 with the Democratic party, and has served as 
 delegate to county and state conventions. Fra- 
 ternally he is a member of Mohawk Lodge No. 
 292, I. O. O. F., and of Slavonia Lodge, both of 
 johnsville. 
 
 WILLIAM JOHNSON. Numbered among 
 the capable, intelligent and progressive business 
 men of Plumas county is William Johnson, who 
 owns and occupies a valuable ranch in Indian 
 valley, not far from Taylorsville. Beginning life 
 for himself when young, he developed in a re- 
 markable degree the energy and push that have 
 been such important factors in winning for him 
 success in his active career, and giving him high 
 rank among the self-made men of our times. 
 
 A native of England, Mr. Johnson was born 
 in Yorkshire, August 14, 1866. He spent his 
 earlier years on the home farm, obtaining a lim- 
 ited education in the common schools. When 
 about twelve years old, his father meeting with 
 financial reverses, he was practically thrown 
 upon his own resources, and since that time has 
 not only been self-supporting, but has gladly 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGKAI'l I iCAI. RFX-ORD. 
 
 713 
 
 given material aid to his parents. Immigrating 
 to America a year or two before attaining his 
 majority, he spent two years in Toronto, Can- 
 ada, working on a farm. Coming from there to 
 Marysville, Cal., he worked for wages for about 
 three years, and then established himself in the 
 wood business, which he managed successfully 
 for twelve years, the latter part of the time also 
 being engaged in farming on a ranch which he 
 had leased. Selling out his wood business in 
 1901, he located in Plumas county, buying his 
 present fami, known as the old '"Blood" ranch. 
 It contains five hundred and thirty-seven and 
 one-half acres of land, four hundred and sixty 
 acres being in the valley. The remainder is tim- 
 ber land, and part of it is very valuable, contain- 
 ing a good spring and a charming building spot. 
 June 16, 1901, Mr. Johnson married Dora 
 Johnson. She is a native of Plumas county, hav- 
 ing been born in American valley, a daughter of 
 William Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are 
 the parents of three children, namely : Helen, 
 Lee Gilbert and Marie. In national politics Mr. 
 Johnson is a straightforward Republican, but in 
 local afTairs he is independent, voting for the 
 best men and measures. 
 
 JAMES W. COTTINGHAM. In his high 
 standing as a public official and his public spirit 
 as a citizen the late J. W. Cottingham demon- 
 strated the possession of qualities that bring to a 
 man the confidence of associates and the prestige 
 of success. At the hands of his Democratic 
 friends, by whom he was universally known as 
 "Jim," he received the nomination as county as- 
 sessor in 1894 and in January of the following 
 year took his official seat, the election at that 
 time giving him a majority of ninety-one votes, 
 while the Republican majority in the county 
 was one hundred and sixty-one. At his re-elec- 
 tions to the office which followed in 1898 and 
 1902 his luajorities were one hundred and 
 eighty-five and two hundred and ninety-two, re- 
 spectively, while those of the opposing party 
 were one hundred and sixteen and one lumdred 
 and seventv-two in the order named. 
 
 A native of Illinois, Mr. Cottingham was born 
 in Coles county, May 5, 1859, ^ ^o" °^ James and 
 Eliza (Bellj Cottingham, natives of Indiana and 
 North Carolina respectively. During young 
 manhood James Cottingham removed from the 
 Hoosier state and settled on a farm in Illinois, 
 making it his home until 1864. Selling out his 
 holdings and outfitting for the journey during 
 the year just mentioned, with his family, he 
 made the overland trip to California with a 
 horse-team, coming direct to Plumas county. 
 Upon the land which he then settled in Indian 
 valley he spent the remainder of his life, dying 
 at the age of seventy-five years. Politically he 
 favored Democratic principles, although at no 
 time was he active in party affairs. During her 
 girlhood Mrs. Cottingham located in Illinois, 
 and it was there that her marriage and the birth 
 of her children occurred. Upon the ranch in In- 
 dian valley, to which she came with her husband, 
 she died at the age of seventy-two years, having 
 become the mother of nine children, six of whom 
 are now living, and of whom five are residents 
 of Plumas county. In order of birth the children 
 comprising the parental family are as follows : 
 Levi, who died at the age of fifteen years : Will- 
 iam M., a farmer in Indian valley ; Abigail, who 
 died at the age of fifty-five ; Mary, the wife of 
 John Stark, a farmer in this vicinity ; Laura 
 Anna, the wife of W. Price Anderson of Shasta 
 county, Cal. ; Ella, wife of J. C. Young, a mer- 
 chant of Taylorsville, Plumas county ; Julia, the 
 widow of William Hardgrave and a resident of 
 Taylorsville ; James W. ; and Sadie, the wife of 
 J. S. Church, who is a blacksmith in Taylors- 
 ville. 
 
 James W. Cottingham was a small child when 
 his parents brought the family to California, and 
 until he was twenty-two years old he shared in 
 the duties that fall to the lot of farmers' sons. 
 He then started farming on his own account, 
 renting a ranch in the vicinity of the old home 
 for ten years, after which he purchased the ranch 
 now occupied by his family, which consists of 
 two hundred and forty acres in Indian valley. 
 From the time of purchase until shortly before 
 his death Mr. Cottingham had charge of its cul- 
 tivation, but two years ago, on account of ill 
 
71i 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 health, he leased it to a tenant. He died August 
 27, 1905, at the home of his brother, William M. 
 May 7, 1885, he was married to Miss Alice Bar- 
 ker, who was born in Plumas county, and three 
 children were born to them : Leslie, Frank and 
 Mabel, all of whom are at home with their moth- 
 er. Mr. Cottingham was a member of but one fra- 
 ternal order, the Ancient Order of United Work- 
 men. He was well known for his uprightness, 
 sincerity and unselfishness, and for an optimistic 
 nature which saw the best side of life, the world 
 and his friends 
 
 ANTONE BACHER. In the development 
 of the agricultural and industrial resources of the 
 Pacific coast states, California, especially, is 
 deeply indebted to its citizens of foreign birth and 
 breeding, men who have brought to this newer 
 country those habits of industry, economy and 
 thrift that stand for success in any calling. 
 Prominent for many years among these good 
 citizens was the late Antone Bacher, who locat- 
 ed in Plumas county nearly forty-five years ago, 
 and from that time until his death was actively 
 identified with its farming interests, owning and 
 occupying a valuable ranch in Indian Valley. 
 
 A native of Germany, Antone Bacher was 
 born January 6, 1832, in Baden, where he was 
 reared and educated. Learning the baker's trade 
 when young, he followed it for a time in the 
 Fatherland. Marrying in 1853, he crossed the 
 ocean with his bride, coming to the United States 
 and locating in Susquehanna county. Pa., where 
 he worked by the day for three years. Going to 
 Iowa as a pioneer in 1856, he bought a small 
 tract of timber, and having cleared a part of it 
 engaged in farming for himself on a small scale, 
 at the same time working for wages as oppor- 
 tunity presented itself. Four or five years later 
 he traded his ranch for a cow, and in the spring 
 of 1861, with two yoke of oxen and a yoke of 
 cows, came across the plains to California, bring- 
 ing with him his wife and their three children. 
 Arriving in Plumas county in September, 1861, 
 he located in Indian Valley, and for two years 
 thereafter carried on farming on rented land. 
 In the latter part of 1863 he bought eighty acres 
 
 of land included in the home estate, and success- 
 fully continued his agricultural labors. From 
 time to time he invested in other land, increasing 
 the acreage of his home ranch until it contained 
 two hundred and eighty acres of valley land, and 
 one hundred and sixty acres of hill and timber 
 land. He also bought valley land near Taylorsville, 
 becoming owner of a fine grain and dairy ranch 
 of three hundred and twenty-one acres there, and 
 likewise obtaining title to five hundred and sixty 
 acres of summer grazing land in Clover valley. 
 In his operations Mr. Bacher exercised rare 
 good judgment, and until his death, which oc- 
 curred March 5, 1894, was numbered among the 
 most prosperous and progressive farmers of the 
 county, and held an assured position among its 
 most respected and esteemed citizens. 
 
 In 1853, in Wittenberg, Germany, Mr. Bacher 
 married Elizabeth Wishing, who was born and 
 reared in that place, her birth occurring January 
 8, 1829. Of their union seven children were 
 born, namely : Frank Joseph, engaged in mer- 
 cantile pursuits at Crescent Mills, this county ; 
 Andrew Walter, engaged in the livery business 
 at Quincy, Cal. ; Sarah Jane, of Crescent Mills, 
 widow of the late Dr. G. S. Carter ; Albert, who 
 was born in 1859, and died in 1901 ; Frank Rob- 
 ert, a resident of California : Levi Theodore, 
 living with his mother ; and George H., a car- 
 penter and builder in Quincy, Cal. In his political 
 affiliations Mr. Bacher was a stanch Republican, 
 but has never sought office. Much of his success 
 was due to the able assistance of his wife, who 
 since his death has managed the affairs of the 
 homestead with judgment and discretion. In 
 1906 she and her son rented their ranch and 
 moved to Crescent Mills, where they are now 
 making their home. 
 
 JAMES FEE. Few of the men now i)romi- 
 nent in the agricultural development of Modoc 
 county have been identified with its history for 
 a longer period than has Mr. Fee, who is a 
 pioneer of 1867. During the spring of that 
 year he came to Surprise valley and bought a 
 claim near Fort Bidwell, also pre-empted a claim 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 715 
 
 adjacent thereto. As the years passed he added 
 to his possessions from time to time until now 
 he is the owner of about sixteen hundred acres 
 of land, all in Surprise valle}-. The land was 
 totally destitute of improvements at the time of 
 its purchase, and everything in the nature of an 
 improvement now noticeable on the property is 
 tlie result of his unaided enert^y and untiring 
 labors. A portion of the tract is under alfalfa, 
 but the larger part is in hay and meadow, stock- 
 raising being the owner's specialty. 
 
 Near Belfast, Ireland, in the county of Antrim, 
 James Fee was born July 23, 1837, and there he 
 received a fair education in the national schools. 
 At the age of sixteen years he crossed the ocean 
 to New York City and from there traveled to 
 Van Buren county, Iowa, but soon removed to 
 Pennsylvania, where he was employed as a 
 laborer for one and one-half years. Returning 
 from Pennsylvania to Iowa, from there in the 
 spring of 1863 he went to New York City and 
 took passage for the Isthmus of Panama, thence 
 journeyed up the Pacific to San Francisco. For 
 several weeks he remained near Petaluma with 
 friends, and then proceeded to Nevada, where 
 he engaged in teaming in and near Virginia City. 
 In the spring of 1867 he left Nevada and came to 
 the Surprise valley, where in the early days he 
 had many experiences with hostile Indians. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Fee took place in Iowa 
 in 1861 and united him with ]\Iartha Combes, a 
 native of that state. When he came to Cali- 
 fornia she remained in Iowa, but in 1864 crossed 
 the plains to join her husband, bringing with 
 her their infant son of nine months. The trip 
 was severe and trying. For eighteen nights and 
 days she remained in stage coaches, hastening 
 over plains, across streams and over mountains 
 where the rough and rugged roads proved almost 
 too much for the strength of the eleven passen- 
 gers. At one time the stage turned over and 
 Mrs. Fee was struck on the head with such force 
 that she was stunned, although not otherwise 
 injured. One morning they passed a camp 
 where the tents were still standing, but the people 
 lay dead on the ground, having been killed by 
 Indians during the night. Mrs. Fee w'as born 
 in Jefferson count}-, Iowa, whither had come in 
 
 an earl)- day her parents, Samuel and Delilah 
 (Wiley) Combes, natives of Kentucky. After 
 the death of her father, which occurred in Jeffer- 
 son county, her mother came west and settled in 
 Oregon, where she died at the age of ninety 
 years, nine months and nine days. Six children 
 were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Fee, 
 but two died in infancy and Frank was killed 
 by a horse in early life. Anna married L. S. 
 Billups and now makes her home near_Fort Bid- 
 well, her family consisting of two daughters, 
 Alma and Cecile. The younger daughter, Agie, 
 married R. L. Mason, of Fort Bidwell, Cal., and 
 they have two children. Fay and Neva. Ernest, 
 the only surviving son, married Grace Herron, 
 by whom he has a son, James Laurence, and 
 they now reside on the home ranch with his pa- 
 rents. In politics Mr. Fee has always voted the 
 Republican ticket ever since he became of age, 
 but he takes no part whatever in politics aside 
 from voting the ticket of his party, and at no 
 time has he been prevailed upon to accept a nom- 
 ination for office. 
 
 BERNARD SCHNEIDER. Born Septem- 
 ber 26, 1859, in Meadow valley, Plumas county, 
 Bernard Schneider, is a successful druggist of 
 Ouincy. He is the son of Bernard Schneider, 
 Sr., who was born in Germany, where he was 
 reared and learned the butcher's trade. Prior to 
 the Mexican war he came to the United States 
 and when our struggle began with Mexico he 
 enlisted as a private and served through the war. 
 In 1849, when the gold excitement was at its 
 height, he crossed the iilains with oxen to Cali- 
 fornia and located in Plumas county, where he 
 engaged in prospecting and mining for several 
 years, meeting with fair success. With his ac- 
 cumulated earnings he purchased a ranch in 
 Meadow valley, where he followed farming until 
 his death, when he was about sixty-five years of 
 age. His wife was also a native of Germany, 
 where she was reared, and married, her death 
 occurring in Plumas county. 
 
 Bernard Schneider received his education in 
 the public schools of his native county and when 
 
716 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 seventeen years of age came to Quincy and se- 
 cured employment as clerk in a general mer- 
 chandise store, remaining so engaged until 1885, 
 when he and Edward Huskinson purchased the 
 drug store which Mr. Schneider now owns. Aft- 
 er four or five years he bought his partner's in- 
 terest and has since carried on the business alone. 
 Besides his store building he owns a comforta- 
 ble residence in the town. In 1901 he built the 
 electric light plant in Quincy, and operated it un- 
 til it was sold to the present owners. 
 
 In September, 1896, Mr. Schneider was mar- 
 ried to Miss Abbie Huskinson, a native of Eng- 
 land, who came with her mother to America 
 when fifteen years of age. Fraternally Mr. 
 Schneider is a member of the Ancient Order of 
 United Workmen and in politics supports the 
 Republican platform, though his tastes and qui- 
 et disposition never inclined him to desire pub- 
 lic office. He is a self-made and successful busi- 
 ness man, having started with no means at his 
 disposal, and by his industry and perseverance 
 has won for himself and family financial suc- 
 cess. Thqugh quiet in disposition, he is warm 
 and loyal in his friendships, and is respected and 
 esteemed by all who know him. 
 
 ASA D. HALLSTED. To Asa D. Hallsted 
 belongs the distinction of being one of the oldest 
 miners in Plumas county, his identification with 
 the county dating as far back as the year 1855. 
 In the interim he has experienced the ups and 
 downs which with few exceptions make up the 
 history of every miner's life, but in the main 
 he has been successful and has acquired consid- 
 erable property. The Hallsted quartz mine of 
 which he is the owner lies about nine miles north 
 from Spanish Ranch, on Rich gulch. 
 
 Mr. Hallsted is a native of Ohio, and was 
 born in Brown county, April 17, 1831, the son of 
 a farmer and miller. He assisted his father in 
 the saw and grist mill and also shared the duties 
 of the farm, until he reached an age when he 
 was at liberty to select a business more in ac- 
 cordance with his tastes and liking. The reports 
 from the gold fields in California fired his ambi- 
 
 tion to try his luck in the mines, and according- 
 ly he and his brother Joseph left New York City 
 November 13, 1854, making the trip to the west 
 by way of the Nicaragua route. In December 
 they debarked in San Francisco, and after five 
 days of sight seeing in that metropolis they went 
 to Butte county and spent the remainder of the 
 winter on the south fork of the Feather river. 
 The spring of 1855 found the brothers in Plumas 
 county, where they soon resumed mining opera- 
 tions on the east branch of the north fork of 
 Feather river. During the same year, 1855, they 
 were joined by another brother, Alanson Allison, 
 and since that time the three have been mutually 
 associated in various mines and prospects, the 
 brother last mentioned also owning and manag- 
 ing the hotel at Spanish Ranch. Both of the 
 other brothers. Asa D. and Joseph, are bachelors 
 and give their time almost exclusively to the op- 
 eration of their mine. Although they have made 
 considerable money since coming to the west 
 they have given of their means with a lavish 
 hand and consequently have not accumulated the 
 wealth that might otherwise have been theirs. 
 
 A Republican in his political views, Asa D, 
 Hallsted was elected on that ticket to the office 
 of assessor of Plumas county, serving two terms, 
 from 1863 to 1867, and if the wishes of his con- 
 stituents had been carried out he would have 
 been retained in office. His refusal to again be- 
 come a candidate for re-election, however, made 
 it necessary to select another candidate for the 
 office. Fraternally he is a charter member of 
 Plumas Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. F., of Quincy, 
 the lodge having bee'n organized about 1866. He 
 was initiated into the order when a young man 
 of twenty-one years and while still a resident of 
 Ohio, and upon coming to the west took an act- 
 ive part in organizing Plumas Lodge, of which 
 he is now the onh' living charter member. 
 
 JOHN FRANKLIN SPOONER. An enter- 
 prising, practical and successful business man of 
 Quincy, John F. Spooner, the jiresent treasurer 
 of Plumas county, is a typical representative of 
 the self-made men of our time. He has labored 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ri7 
 
 hard from his carHcst days, and, notwilhstand- 
 iiig reverses and losses that would discourage 
 one of less pluck and grit, he has steadily pushed 
 his way toward the front, by sheer persistency 
 and earnestness of purpose winning a large 
 measure of success. The Spooner faiuily is of 
 English origin and in 1632 became established in 
 New England, where the family has since flour- 
 ished and is still well known. 
 
 In Fort Fairfield, Aroostook county. Me., 
 John V. Spooner was born September 16, 1858, 
 a son of John Parsons Spooner, also a native of 
 Maine. The father was not blessed with robust 
 health and several }ears prior to his death when 
 only forty-two years of age, had been an invalid. 
 By trade he was a mechanic, and before the fail- 
 ure of his health engaged in the manufacture of 
 spinning wheels. John F. Spooner remained at 
 home until his father's death, when, at twelve 
 years of age, he was obliged to assist in the 
 maintenance of the family. For about six years 
 he worked as a farm hand near his home, but 
 when he reached his eighteenth year he went to 
 Massachusetts, where for two or three years he 
 clerked in a grocery store. Going to Minnesota 
 at the end of this time he was induced to learn 
 the shirt cutter's trade and in about ten months 
 had mastered it completely and was qualified to 
 accept a position. Coming to California at this 
 time, in the fall of 1885 he worked as a shirt- 
 cutter in that city until coming to Plumas coun- 
 ty in 1889. Locating near Quincy, he engaged ni 
 mining for a short time, later clerked in the 
 Plumas house in Quincy for two years, subse- 
 quently clerking in a grocery store for several 
 years. Upon his election to the office of county 
 treasurer in 1903 he resigned his position in the 
 store to devote his entire attention to the duties 
 of his office, which he is filling to the entire sat- 
 isfaction of his fellow-citizens. His tenn will 
 expire in 1907. 
 
 Mr. Spooner's marriage united him with Miss 
 Ida Barker, who was born in Iowa and came to 
 Plumas county, Cal., with her parents when a 
 child of only three years. By their marriage 
 Mr. and Mrs. Spooner have become the parents 
 of two children, John Franklin, Jr., and Martha 
 M. Mr. Spooner has served as a member of the 
 
 school board for the last two years and some time 
 prior to this had served on the same board for a 
 term of three years. Politically he is an earnest 
 supporter of the principles of the Republican 
 party. Fraternally he is identified with Plumas 
 Lodge No. 60, F. & A. M., and with Plumas 
 Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. F., and is now deputy 
 grand master of this district. No. 41. He is a 
 self-made man in the best sense of the term and 
 may well be proud of the success which has at- 
 tended his efforts since making his home in the 
 Golden state. 
 
 ABBOTT M. GREEN. Among the well- 
 known and highly esteemed residents of Lookout, 
 Modoc county, Abbott M. Green holds a note- 
 worthy position. A man of ability, talent and 
 much force of character, he has acquired a place 
 of considerable influence in social and business 
 circles, and as junior member of the firm of Pot- 
 ter & Green deals in real estate, and does much 
 of the surveying and civil engineering required in 
 this part of the state. A son of Abbott Green, 
 he was born, December 29. 1864, in Meigs countv, 
 Ohio, where his paternal grandfather, William 
 Green, was an early pioneer. 
 
 Abbott Green spent the larger part of his life 
 in Ohio, being esteemed and respected as a man 
 and a citizen. Patriotic and iniblic spirited, he 
 offered his services to his country on the breaking 
 out of the Civil war, enlisting as a private in the 
 Eighteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which 
 he was connected until his death, at Camp Qnase, 
 Columbus, CTliio. He married Julia Crowell. a 
 daughter of Benjamin Crowell, a soldier in the 
 War of 1812. She survived him. and is now 
 living in Kansas. 
 
 At the age of sixteen years, .\bbott M. Green 
 went with his mother to Kansas, where he com- 
 pleted his education, entering the college at ]\Ian- 
 hattan in 1882, taking a scientific course, and 
 being graduated in 1886. He subsequently taught 
 school a year, and then came to southern Cali- 
 fornia, where he began life as a civil engineer. 
 Locating at Big \'alley, Lassen county, in 1888, 
 he continued there as a general surveyor until 
 1903. while thus employed obtaining a thorough 
 
718 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 knowledge of the topography of the county. 
 Forming then a copartnership with John J. Pot- 
 ter, Mr. Green settled at Lookout, where as a 
 member of the firm of Potter & Green he is carry- 
 ing on a substantial business as a civil engineer 
 and a real estate dealer. A man of industry, pro- 
 gressive and capable, he has achieved success in 
 his chosen occupation, and has acquired title to 
 property of value, having a homestead claim of 
 one hundred and sixty acres at Big Valley, Las- 
 sen county, and owning the fine residence in 
 which he lives. 
 
 In Big Valley, Cal., Mr. Green married Rachel 
 Crowley, and they are the parents of three chil- 
 dren, namely : Max, Julia and Fred. Politically 
 Mr. Green is an earnest adherent of the Repub- 
 lican party, and fraternally he belongs to Look- 
 out Lodge No. 211, A. O. U. W. 
 
 DONALD WILLIAM McKENZIE. One 
 of the important industries of Plumas county is 
 tlije Greenville soda and bottling works, which 
 under the keen oversight of the proprietor, Mr. 
 McKenzie, furnishes soda water to the people 
 of Greenville, Quincy, Taylorsville and Crescent 
 Mills, Plumas county, and Susanville, Lassen 
 county, the whole forming a business extensive 
 in output and far-reaching in trade. The pro- 
 prietor of the plant is a son of parents who came 
 to America from the highlands of Scotland and 
 settled in Ontario, Canada, where he was born 
 January lo, 1848. On the home farm he early 
 learned lessons of usefulness a?id industry. 
 When only fourteen years of age he became self- 
 supporting through his work as a farm hand and 
 in the woods, remaining in Canada until 1870, 
 when he crossed into the States and worked in the 
 Wisconsin woods. For two years or more he 
 was employed principally in rafting logs, after 
 which he took up the same business in Canada. 
 
 On coming from Canada to California in 1875, 
 Mr. McKenzie settled in Mendocino county and 
 secured work in the timber camp in the red- 
 woods, where he remained during one summer. 
 From there he came to Greenville, where he 
 worked as a teamster around the mines. Dur- 
 
 ing 1880 he went to Montana and for one sum- 
 mer worked in a sash and door factory, after 
 which he enjoyed a visit of three months with 
 old Canadian associates. On his return to Green- 
 ville in the spring of 1881 he engaged in teaming 
 with an outfit of horses and wagons which he 
 had purchased, and for a considerable period he 
 followed freighting profitably, but in October of 
 1887 he sold the team and bought the plant 
 which he has since continuously operated. Be- 
 sides acquiring the ownership of the factory, 
 he owns a home in Greenville, his property rep- 
 resenting the results of his work in California, 
 for he had no capital when he came to the west. 
 In addition to the plant first mentioned, Mr. 
 McKenzie also runs a general merchandise 
 store in Greenville. 
 
 Loyal to his adopted country and stanch in 
 allegiance to the Republican party, Mr. McKen- 
 zie is a progressive citizen and a man of large 
 public spirit. In i8gi he married Miss Alice 
 Forbes, who was born in Ontario, Canada, and 
 came to California about two years before her 
 marriage. Their comfortable home is bright- 
 ened by the presence of three daughters. Anna, 
 Lillie and Viola, who are receiving the best ad- 
 vantages the schools of Greenville can ofifer. 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie are active members 
 of the Eastern Star, and his Alasonic connec- 
 tions likewise include membership in Sincerity 
 Lodge No. 136, F. & A. M., at Greenville; Las- 
 sen Chapter No. 47, R. A. M., and Lassen Com- 
 mandery No. 13, K. T., both of Susanville. 
 
 ALONZO B. HUNTLEY. Prominent among 
 the pioneer settlers of the Sierra valley was the 
 late Alonzo B. Huntley, who took up land about 
 ten miles southeast of Beckwith nearly forty 
 years ago, and from that time until his death 
 was an active factor in developing and advanc- 
 ing the agricultural prosperity of this region. 
 During his long residence here he witnessed 
 wonderful changes in the country, taking great 
 pride and pleasure in the grand transformation 
 wrought by the sturdy and persistent labor of the 
 people. By dint of toil and perseverance he im- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BlOCiUAPlIICAL RECORD. 
 
 ri!) 
 
 proved a valuable ranch, which he managed in 
 a systematic and methodical manner, reaping 
 good returns for his arduous work. .\ native of 
 New York, he was born, Novemlier 20. 1X3,5, ''i 
 Plainfield, Otsego county. 
 
 When he was a small boy Alonzo B. Huntley 
 removed with his parents to West Winfield, 
 Herkimer county, N. Y., where he was brought 
 up on a farm, receiving his education in the pub- 
 lic schools and the village seminary. On attain- 
 ing his majority, in 1854, he went to Whitewater, 
 Wis., where he remained several years, teaching 
 school on Sugar creek during the long winter 
 terms, and farming in the summer seasons. In 
 1861 he went to Pike's Peak, and the summer 
 following he spent in Colorado. Returning to 
 Wisconsin, he staid there until the spring of 
 1862, when he came with his own four-horse 
 team to California, locating at ( jrand Island, Co- 
 lusa county. In the fall he went back to his old 
 home, taking the Panama route, and in the 
 spring of 1863 again came overland to the Pa- 
 cific coast, driving a four-horse team. Locating 
 on Grand Island he remained one year and then 
 operated a sawmill for the same length of time. 
 Subsequently he located at Sierraville, purchas- 
 ing a ranch, which he operated for a while. Dis- 
 posing of that in 1867 he came to Plumas coun- 
 ty, and homesteaded and pre-empted three hun- 
 dred and twenty acres of land, from which he 
 improved the ranch on which he subsequently re- 
 sided. He was a man of great enterprise and 
 excellent judgment, keen to take advantage of 
 all favorable opportunities for advancing his 
 finances. For two or three years he made an- 
 nual trips to Oregon, where he purchased cattle, 
 which he brought back to his range, fattened 
 and sold for beef, deriving good profit in his un- 
 dertakings. He subsequently devoted himself to 
 general ranching and dairying, keeping some- 
 times as many as thirty-five cows, but in the later 
 years of life he discontinued this industry, con- 
 fining himself entirely to general farming until 
 his death, which occurred at his home, Septem- 
 ber 4, 1905. 
 
 November 3, i860, ^Ir. Huntley married Julia 
 Ferris, who was born in Yates county, N. Y., 
 April 8, 1836, but was reared in Wisconsin, 
 20 
 
 where her parents settled when she was si.x 
 years of age. She joined her husband in Califor- 
 nia in 1869, and has since made her home on the 
 ranch that she now owns and occupies. Two 
 children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Huntley, 
 namely : Camilla, wife of R. C. Mercer, who car- 
 ries on the home ranch for }klrs. Huntley; and 
 Herbert H., of Loyalton, Sierra county. Polit- 
 ically Mr. Huntley was a stanch adherent of the 
 Republican party, and was active in the man- 
 agement of local affairs, for one term serving as 
 supervisor. 
 
 JOSEPH S. PECK. Removed from tlie 
 strife and stress of the business world, quietly 
 pursuing the work of a farmer and stock raiser, 
 Mr. Peck has passed the active years of life and 
 has entered into an old age blessed by content- 
 ment, health and a competency sufficient to meet 
 his needs. During all the long years since 1857 
 he has made his home on a ranch near Green- 
 ville in the Indian valley and has devoted him- 
 self to the improvement of the property in the 
 raising of crops and stock and the building of 
 substantial farm structures. Every year since 
 1857 he has operated a threshing machine and in 
 that long period has worn out and replaced sev- 
 eral separators, his present one being of the most 
 modern mechanism and capacity. 
 
 Concerning his ancestry Mr. Peck has no de- 
 tailed information, for his father. Warren, who 
 was a native of New York state, died in Ohio 
 during the infancy of the son ; hence the latter 
 had no opportunity of learning the family his- 
 tory-. He was born in Lorain county, Ohio, Julv 
 7, 1832, and was taken in infancy to Missouri by 
 his mother, who first settled in Jackson county 
 and later moved to Caldwell count\-, but soon re- 
 moved to the vicinity of Quincy, 111., and later 
 went forty miles north to the neighborhood of 
 Carthage, Hancock county. 111. From there in 
 1847 li's mother moved to L'tah. but he later 
 went to DeKalb county and worked on farms 
 there until 1853, when he hired out to drive six 
 yoke of oxen across the plains to Salt Lake. Aft- 
 er spending one winter in Utah he came through 
 to California in the spring of 1854 and settled 
 
•li) 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in riumas county, where he was employed by 
 the month as a ranch hand. For three years he 
 worked for others and meanwhile saved his 
 earnings with the utmost frugality. At the ex- 
 piration of that time, in 1857, he bought eighty 
 acres in Indian valley and took up the work of 
 independent farming. Subsequent thereto he 
 bought one hundred and ten acres of timber 
 adjoining and in addition he bought a quarter 
 section in the neighborhood, which afterward 
 he deeded to one of his sons. 
 
 During the early period of his residence in 
 Plumas county Mr. Peck served as a school trus- 
 tee and accomplished much toward raising the 
 standard of the free schools. Stanchly devoted 
 to Republican principles, he has, however, taken 
 no active part in politics and has never been a 
 candidate for political offices, preferring to con- 
 centrate his attention upon his private agricult- 
 ural affairs. On New Year's day of 1863 he 
 was united in marriage with Miss Mahala Ann 
 Hickerson, who was born in Illinois and during 
 the fall of 1859 arrived in California with her 
 parents, settling in the locality where since she 
 lias made her home. Of their union eleven chil- 
 dren were born, but four of the number have 
 passed away. Those now living are named as 
 follows: Lawrence Grant, N. S., Elmer Mon- 
 roe, Joseph Benjamin, Forrest W., Eden Myrtle 
 (wife of William Schieser) and George W. 
 
 EDWARD HUSKINSON. The interests 
 with which Mr. Huskinson is identified are of a 
 varied nature and indicate his adaptability to dif- 
 ferent enterprises and the resourcefulness of his 
 mind. As vice president of the Plumas County 
 Bank at Ouincy he is closely connected with the 
 financial interests of Plumas county ; while his 
 prominence and influence in the Republican 
 party have been recognized in his nomination 
 and election as one of the county supervisors. In 
 addition he owns considerable property and 
 mining interests. 
 
 Bom in Bingham, England, February 16, 
 1859, Edward Huskinson was a lad of fourteen 
 vears when he came to America to make his 
 
 home with his aunt, Mrs. Jane Edwards, who 
 was then residing in Quincy, Plumas county, 
 Cal. To the education which he acquired in the 
 public schools of this city he later added by a 
 course in Heald's Business College, San Fran- 
 cisco, and at the age of twenty his school and col- 
 lege days were over, which in other words meant 
 that his business life had begun. Entering the 
 employ of his aunt, who was the proprietor of a 
 hotel in Quincy, he kept the books for about five 
 years, or until 1884, in which year he and Bar- 
 ney Schneider became associated in the owner- 
 ship of a drug store here. The business proved 
 a profitable undertaking and the partnership re- 
 lations were congenial and all that could be de- 
 sired, but after five years of association Mr. 
 Huskinson disposed of his interest to his partner 
 in order to obtain the means with which to take 
 his mother back to her native land, .\fter spend- 
 ing about a year in England among scenes with 
 which he was familiar in his early childhood, he 
 returned to Quincy, thoroughly satisfied with the 
 United States as a field for ambitious and enter- 
 prising young men, and particularly satisfied 
 with this portion of it as a place of residence. 
 
 In 1890 Mr. Huskinson was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Jennie Yeates, who was born in 
 Plumas county, a daughter of "Uncle Jimmy" 
 Yeates, who became well known in this locality 
 through his services as county sherifif and as one 
 of the early pioneers of the county. His eartli 
 life came to a close in 1895, at which time he 
 was mourned by a large circle of friends and 
 acquaintances who had become attached to him 
 during his long and useful life. The marriage 
 of Mr. and IMrs. Huskinson has been blessed by 
 the birth of two children, Edwin Barratt and 
 Gladys Reed, both of whom are at home. Ever 
 since his voting days began Mr. Huskinson has 
 favored the plans and principles of the Repub- 
 lican party, but at no time in his career has he 
 been desirous of holding public office, hence his 
 election as supervisor in the fall of 1904 was 
 entirelv against his wishes. His real estate hold- 
 ings in Ouincy include one of the principal busi- 
 ness blocks in town, containing five stores, and 
 he also has mining interests of considerable 
 value. He was one of the enterprising citizens 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 721 
 
 who agitated the organization of a- bank in this 
 locahty and when the Plumas County llank was 
 an assured fact he was one of the stockhoklers 
 and the first vice president, hraternally he is 
 affiHated with but one organization, hokhng 
 membership in Plumas Lodge No. 88, I. O. O. F. 
 
 THADDEUS STEVENS STOVER. To 
 the people of Plumas county the name of T. S. 
 Stover is familiar as tliat of a man progressive 
 in undertakings and capable in agriculture. The 
 ranch which he owns and occupies comprises 
 four hundred and twenty acres on the north fork 
 of the Feather river, a part of which was ac- 
 quired by purchase, and the balance under the 
 homestead laws. In addition to managing his 
 own estate he leases thousands of acres adjoin- 
 ing, including Indian lands and the Gould estate, 
 and this large tract furnishes range for his stock, 
 which consists of about fifteen horses, thirty 
 milch cows and from one hundred and sixty-five 
 to two hundred head of cattle and calves. At 
 one time he had a dairy of fifty cows, but this 
 number has been reduced largely, although he 
 still makes a specialty of the dairy business. l>y 
 means of a separator he secures an abundance of 
 warm milk for the calves, while the cream thus 
 separated is churned into butter by the aid of a 
 steam engine. Indeed, the entire equi])ment is 
 modern and calculated to reduce the labor of pro- 
 duction to the minimum. 
 
 In Center county. Pa., ^Ir. Stover was born 
 October 31, 1836. being a son of Jacob H. and 
 Rebecca (Hess) Stover, also natives of the Key- 
 stone state. The maternal grandfather, George 
 Hess, was a native of Pennsylvania and traced 
 his ancestry to an ancient family of Germany. 
 The paternal grandfather was likewise of Ger- 
 man extraction and probably also was a native 
 of Pennsylvania. During 1839 Jacob H. Stover 
 took his family to Iowa, where he bought a large 
 tract of land at an Indian trading post and en- 
 gaged in farming for two \ears. At the ex- 
 piration of that time he leased his lands and 
 entered upon a business career. In Iowa City, 
 of which he was one of the founders, he de- 
 
 voted his time to buying and selling property, 
 ■ erected a grist and saw mill and a store, also 
 built the largest residence in the place. Dur- 
 ing the entire period of his residence there he 
 served as county supervisor. 
 
 Coming to California overland in 1850 with 
 his two sons, Thaddcns S. and Reuben, and trav- 
 eling with horses and mules, Jacob H. Stover 
 safely reached Sacramento and a month later 
 went to Bidwell's Bar, but meeting with little 
 luck he returned to Sacramento. The failure of 
 his health led him to remove to Marysville, 
 where he was ill all winter, his sons caring for 
 him with the greatest devotion. At that time 
 milk was $1 a quart and all the other necessities 
 for an invalid were equally expensive. After 
 growing stronger in the spring of 1851 he took 
 up a ranch one mile below Marysville. The 
 crops of the first year were an entire failure, but 
 the second year he was more fortunate and sold 
 at a profit. In 1853 he returned east via Panama 
 to Iowa City, then came back to the coast and 
 disposed of his property, after which he settled 
 in La Crosse, Wis., where, after several years 
 of sickness, he died at sixty-four years, and 
 his w-ife also died in that city when alwut sixty- 
 eight. 
 
 As a boy in Iowa Thaddeus S. Stover was a 
 pupil in private schools. When he was thirteen 
 he came to California with his father and his 
 brother, Reuben (represented elsewhere in this 
 volume). When the father returned east he and 
 his brother went to Placer county and engaged 
 in prospecting and mining. During 1856 he vis- 
 ited the old home in the east and his parents in 
 Wisconsin, returning in October of the same 
 year and resuming work as a miner in Placer 
 county. During the summer of 1858 he and his 
 brother mined on Feather river. .Vbout that time 
 they received a small amount of money from 
 an uncle, and with this the\- bought a drove of 
 cattle, came to the Big ^leadows, and secured 
 land on the west side of the north fork of Feath- 
 er river. Few settlers had ])rcccded them to this 
 spot, and they w'ere thus advantageously situated 
 for the cattle business. A portion of the proper- 
 t\' then secured is now owned b\' the widow of 
 Reuben. On the marriage of T. S., October 25, 
 
72'2 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 1869, it was deemed best to divide the property, 
 so they apportioned the stock between them and • 
 then T. S. disposed of his interest in the land to 
 Reuben, and removed east of the same river, 
 where he now resides. In pohtics he is known 
 to be a stanch Democrat, interested in party af- 
 fairs, but not a candidate for office. His wife, 
 formerly Ada Milroy Cooper, was born in Ohio, 
 of Scotch-English ancestry, and during 1862 
 came to California, where since she has made 
 her home. Their family consists of the follow- 
 ing sons and daughters: Erank Thaddeus, who 
 died at twenty years of age: Nellie Louise, re- 
 siding on the ranch with her parents ; Josephine 
 M., who married R. A. Costar, a merchant at 
 Prattville, Plumas county: Rebecca Belle, wife 
 of Claude Cooper of Chico; Callie E., a teacher 
 in the Plumas county schools ; Henry Jacob, who 
 carries on a blacksmith's shop at Prattville, Plu- 
 mas county ; and Corinne, who remains on the 
 ranch with her parents. 
 
 WILLIAM T. CRESSLER was born April 
 23, 1836, in Cumberland county. Pa., a son of 
 Joseph G. and Sophia (Clippinger) Cressler, 
 both of whom spent their entire lives in that 
 state. He is one of the few men now living in 
 the Surprise valley. Modoc county, who have 
 remained residents of this section of California 
 and watched its growth and development from 
 its primitive condition, and he himself has done 
 more than any one else to bring about its agri- 
 cultural prosperity. He was educated in the 
 public schools and the academy of his native 
 place. In the fall of 1855 he went to Iowa, 
 where he taught school and farmed for two 
 years, then clerked in a law office and prepared 
 for practice for three years, being admitted to 
 the bar in Iowa in 1859. In the spring of i860 
 he came to California as an incurable consump- 
 tive, walking the entire distance, as he was unable 
 to stand the jolting and dust of the wagon ; he ar- 
 rived in Red Bluff after a journey of five months, 
 lacking exactly four days. After his arrival he 
 taught school in Tehama county and teamed for 
 a time ; in 1 865 he was elected county superin- 
 
 tendent of schools and served until 1867, in 
 which year he came to the Surprise valley, in 
 what was then Siskiyou county, with the late 
 J. H. Bonner. They engaged in the mercantile 
 business in Cedarville and remained partners in 
 business until the death of the latter. After 
 fourteen years' successful management of their 
 business, building it up from a very small be- 
 ginning, they embarked in a private banking- 
 business, and the firm of Cressler & Bonner be- 
 came well known all over northern California. 
 In H)03 Mr. Cressler had a very severe illness 
 and for several months was incapacitated for 
 business, immediately after which Mr. Bonner 
 succeeded to the management of their bank, and 
 Mr. Cressler engaged in loaning money and in 
 the cattle business. Having a firm belief in the 
 future prosperity of the valley, he has assisted in 
 developing the ranches by loaning money for 
 that purpose, ^^'hile increasing his own fortune 
 he has done nnich to assist others along the 
 pathway of success by his advice and financial 
 aid. He has become a large landholder in the 
 north, owning over four thousand acres in Ne- 
 vada, where for five years he has been building 
 reservoirs, now having that land under good ir- 
 rigation and devoted to the stock business ex- 
 clusively ; over four thousand acres in Oregon, 
 also, in good condition : and two thousand acres 
 in Surprise valley, which is accounted the best 
 in appointments and development of any in the 
 north of the state. He is known far and wide as 
 a successful stock raiser and dealer, and an ideal 
 farmer. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Cressler was elected to the state 
 legislature from Siskiyou county, and on the is- 
 sue that Modoc county be created from Siski- 
 you, which was done during that session. He 
 has been a friend of irrigation, knowing that 
 in securing an ample water suppiv the develop- 
 ment of the country was assured. In 1905 he 
 was a delegate to the National Irrigation Con- 
 gress held in Portland, Ore., and took a promi- 
 nent part in the workings of that bodv, making 
 speeches that attracted wide notice. 
 
 January 3, 1865, he was inn'ted in marriage 
 with Miss Ann Augusta Alvord, who was born 
 in Iowa and came to California in i860, when 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 72a 
 
 but a child. They have two children, Samuel 
 O. Cressler, cashier of the First National Bank 
 in Lakevievv, Ore., and also cashier of the sav- 
 ings bank there, and Nellie iMae, wife of B. 15. 
 Robinson, of Berkeley, an attorney of San Fran- 
 cisco. Airs. Robinson is a member of the I'iano 
 Club of Oakland and Berkeley, and is an accom- 
 plished musician, having completed her musical 
 education in Berlin. Mr. Cressler is a liberal 
 contributor lo the Methodist Episcopal church 
 
 of his business connections, as many other or- 
 ganizations profit by his superior judgment and 
 careful reasoning. 
 
 Mr. White was born in Pittsford, Rutland 
 count}-, \t., on the last day of the year 1848. 
 His boyhood was spent in his parents' home in 
 the Green Mountain state, in the subscription 
 schools of which state he also received his ear- 
 liest knowledge of books. When seventeen 
 \ears of age he entered the Episcopal Insti- 
 
 and its societies, and assisted very materially in , tute at Burlington, remaining a student there 
 
 building the edifice in Cedarville. He is a 
 member of Surprise Valley Lodge No. 235, F'. 
 & A. M., and also of the Eastern Star Chap- 
 
 ter. 
 
 William T. Cressler is a broad minded man, 
 liberal in every movement that has for its end 
 the development of the country, a firm believer 
 
 for two years, when he returned to the home- 
 stead and assisted his parents until 1870. From 
 that time forward his life has been associated 
 with the west. Locating in Marysville, Yuba 
 county, he worked at the butcher business for 
 eighteen months, after which he established and 
 operated a meat market for alx)ut eight years. 
 
 m the future of Surprise valley, a man of strong Going to Sonora, Tuolumne countN-. in 1880, he 
 character, and one who extends a helping hand began speculating in mines and laJids. and such 
 to many who are less fortunate than himself, was his success that he continued in business 
 and thoroughly devoted to his family and there for about twelve years, or until associat- 
 *'''^'^^^- iiig himself with James O'Brien in the purchase 
 
 of the Quincy Mining and Water Company. 
 
 March 5, 1901, Asher B. White was united 
 in marriage with Miss Mary E. Hallsted, who 
 was born in California, a daughter of one of 
 the pioneer miners of Plumas county, Alanson 
 Allison Hallsted. of whom more may be learned 
 by referring to the sketch of his brother, Asa 
 D. Hallsted. given elsewhere in this volume. 
 Politically Mr. White is a faithful adherent of 
 Republican principles, and at all times exerts 
 his influence in favor of his chosen partv, al- 
 though he has never been willing to accept office 
 at the hands of his party friends. Thoroughly 
 devoted to the interests of this part of California 
 he is one of those public-spirited citizens whose 
 coming fr«m the east has meant so much to the 
 development and growth of the state. 
 
 ASHER BURDITT WHITE. Numbered 
 among the successful and prominent business 
 men of Plumas county A. B. White occupies a 
 responsible position as superintendent of the 
 Quincy Mining and Water Company, whose 
 headquarters are located at Spanish Ranch. The 
 company was originally known as the old Plum- 
 as Company, but when in 1893 A. B. White and 
 James O'Brien purchased it they reorganized 
 the company and changed its name to the Quincy 
 Mining and Water Compan}-. Up to the year 
 1904 the company expended about $150,000 in 
 developing claims and improving the water sys- 
 tem in ditches and reservoirs. In that year the 
 partners sold the business, although Mr. White 
 is now superintendent of the company, having 
 had full charge of its aiYairs ever since. He 
 is also financially interested in the Bunker Hill 
 mine, a part of which is located in Plumas coun- 
 ty and a part in Sierra county. While it may 
 be true that the two lines of business just men- 
 tioned occupy tlie greater part of Mr. White's 
 attention, they by no means represent the limit 
 
 JOHN McKENZIE. Conspicuous among 
 the enterprising, practical and ])rogressive agri- 
 culturists of Plumas county is John McKenzie. 
 whose fine homestead in the Mohawk valley 
 compares favorably in its appointments and 
 
724 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 equipments with any in the locaHty. That he has 
 a thorough understanding of his business and 
 exercises good judgment and skill in its manage- 
 ment is plainly shown by the neat and thrifty ap- 
 pearance of his property. Like many other of 
 California's prosperous citizens, he was born on 
 foreign soil, his birth having occurred in New 
 Brunswick, Canada, June 2, 1852. 
 
 Brought up on a farm and acquiring his early 
 education in the district schools, John McKen- 
 zie became well versed in the science of agricul- 
 ture while working with his father, and remained 
 beneath the parental roof tree until twenty-two 
 years old. In 1875, ambitious to try the hazard 
 of new fortunes, he came to California, and for 
 five years thereafter worked in a sawmill in 
 Sierra county, being in the employ of the same 
 company during that time. After his marriage 
 in 1880 he obtained title to a part of his present 
 home ranch, homesteading two hundred and for- 
 ty acres in that year. Embarking in general 
 farming, stock raising and dairying, he met with 
 eminent success in his undertakings, and has 
 since added by purchase to his original ranch, 
 having now nine hundred acres in all. Three 
 hundred acres of fertile land comprise his farm, 
 which he operates with profit. In company with 
 a friend he ran a small sawmill for a few years, 
 but in 1904 bought his partner's interest in the 
 plant. Moving the mill onto his own ranch, IMr. 
 McKenzie has since operated it with his son 
 Alex, and has carried on a good business, cutting 
 from twenty thousand feet to twenty-five thou- 
 sand feet a day when working. 
 
 In June. 1880, Air. McKenzie married Elva 
 Colby, who was born in New York state, but 
 came with her parents to this state when a young 
 girl, and was here brought up and educated. Of 
 the union of Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie nine chil- 
 dren have been born, namely: Alex B. (associ- 
 ated in business with his father). Alma, Leslie, 
 John, Louisa, Lee, Ralph, Abbie and Charles. 
 Politically l\Ir. McKenzie supports the princi- 
 ples of the Republican party at the polls, hut he 
 has never sought official honors. Fraternally he 
 is a member of Mohawk Lodge No. 292, I. ( ). 
 O. F., of Johnsville, and also belongs to the An- 
 cient Order of United Workmen. 
 
 WILLIAM THOMAS PETER. Prominent 
 among the able and skillful agriculturists of Plu- 
 mas county is William Thomas Peter of Indian 
 valley, who has been actively employed in his 
 present independent occupation for upwards of 
 thirty years, and in the prosecution of his calling 
 has met with well deserved success. A son of 
 John Nelson Peter, he was born June 26, 1837, 
 in Sangamon county, 111., and was there reared 
 and educated. His grandfather, Zachariah Pe- 
 ter, a native of old Virginia, was of German an- 
 cestry, and came from one of the influential fam- 
 ilies of the south. He lived for a while in Ken- 
 tucky, from there going to Illinois, and becoming 
 a pioneer of Sangamon county, where he had 
 the distinction of serving as the first justice of 
 the peace. He lived to a good old age, passing 
 away at the age of ninety-two years. 
 
 Born in Kentucky, John Nelson Peter went 
 with his parents to Sangamon county when but 
 a boy, and there spent many years, being en- 
 gaged in agricultural pursuits the greater part of 
 the time. He removed to Kansas in the early 
 '80s and from there went to Oklahoma, where 
 he died. He was a Whig in politics, and as a 
 patriotic and loyal citizen served in the Black- 
 hawk war. He married Emily Wardrup, who . 
 was born in Kentucky, the birthplace of her 
 father, and died in Illinois, at the age of sixty 
 years. She was of Revolutionary stock, her 
 grandfather having served as a soldier in the 
 great struggle for independence. 
 
 Brought up on the home farm, William Thom- 
 as Peter attended the district school as a boy, re- 
 maining beneath the parental roof until seven- 
 teen years old, when he began working at the 
 carpenter's trade, which he followed in his na- 
 tive state for five years. In 1859 he came to the 
 Pacific coast, taking the overland route, and pay- 
 ing his passage in a mule-team train. Locating 
 in Plumas county, he here followed his trade and 
 worked in the mines for several years, in the 
 meantime, in 1868, purchasing one hundred and 
 twenty-six acres of unsurve}ed land, a tract that 
 is now included in his home ranch. In 1870 he 
 went to Santa Barbara, where he was employed 
 in carpentering for two years. Taking posses- 
 sion of his land in 1872, he at once began its im- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 725 
 
 provement. Prosperous in his undertakings, lie 
 made wise investments of the money which he ac- 
 cumulated, buying more land from time to time, 
 now having a ranch of six hundred and fifty 
 acres. Four hundcd acres of this estate is in the 
 valley, the remainder being timber land or min- 
 ing property, tlie later being pretty well devel- 
 oped and yielding considerable <iuartz when 
 worked. 
 
 September 20, 1870, Mr. Peter married .Sarah 
 Isabelle Evans, who was born in Fayette county, 
 111., coming from there to California in 1864. 
 She died April 30, 1902, leaving seven children, 
 namely : Louis Nelson, district attorney of Plu- 
 mas county ; Claude, a well-known horseman 
 and butcher of this county; Mabel, wife of Rob- 
 ert L. Barham of Lassen county ; Myrtle, wife 
 of W. J. Reynolds, of Lassen county ; and Rus- 
 sell, Forrest W. and Arthur, at home. Political- 
 ly Mr. Peter was formerly affiliated with the Re- 
 publican party, but since the first nomination of 
 Cleveland as President he has been actively iden- 
 tified with the Democrats, but has persistently re- 
 fused all official honors. 
 
 HANS HENRY WIENCKE. Corn in the 
 province of Holstein, Germany, March 14, 1849, 
 Hans Henry Wiencke was reared and educated 
 in his native country, and there learned the 
 blacksmith's trade. Upon attaining his major- 
 ity he came to the United States via New York 
 City, whence he started at once for California. 
 Locating for a time in Sierra county, following 
 his trade and working for miners for wages, 
 he was then in Sutter county for a time, and 
 afterwards he worked at his trade in several dif- 
 ferent counties until 1878. In that year he went 
 to Johnstonville, Lassen county, erected a black- 
 smith shop and worked at the trade there for 
 two vears. Disposing of his property at John- 
 stonville, he pre-empted one hundred and sixty 
 acres of land south of Lake Leavitt, and after 
 remaining there a year, went back to Johnston- 
 ville and purchased his old shop and again en- 
 gaged in blacksmithing for another two years, 
 at the end of which time he again sold out and 
 
 went to Janesville. Going to Plumas county, 
 he engaged in mining near Greenville for six 
 munths, then went to Prattville, in the same 
 county, and after erecting a shop, took up his 
 old trade, in which he continued for seven years, 
 except during the first winter, when he suffered 
 a loss of his home by fire and removed tempo- 
 rarily from the town. Selling his property here, 
 he went to Susanville and there purchased a 
 blacksmith shop which he operated for five 
 years, then sold this and moved to his present 
 home three miles southeast of Standish. Here 
 he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of 
 land which he has improved, and upon which he 
 erected a comfortable home, barns, etc. He 
 raises hay, and is engaged in the cattle business, 
 much of his farm Ijeing excellent grazing land. 
 
 December 5, 1875, Mr, Wiencke was married 
 to Aliss Cariie Ranker, a native of Butte coun- 
 ty, this state, and a daughter of Mrs. .\ppolonia 
 Ranker, one of the oldest citizens living in 
 Honey Lake valley. She was born November 
 I, 1823. in the province of Kur-Hessen and 
 came to America with friends in a sail boat 
 when she was seventeen years of age. They 
 were lost at sea, but after si.x weeks landed at 
 New York City. She was married at Louis- 
 ville, Ky,, and afterwards came to California via 
 the Isthmus of Panama and located in Butte 
 count}-. 
 
 Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wiencke, viz. : Helen, who died at an early age ; 
 Harry Otto, who lives near Janesville, and was 
 born July 3, 1878; Viola Maude, who was born 
 .\ugust 20, 1880, and who married George Die- 
 ter ; Carl Norman, born June 22, 1887; Iva Jen- 
 esee, born December 14, 1892; Leah Janeta, 
 born May 6, 1894; and Esther, born March 23, 
 1902. Mr. Wiencke and family are members 
 of the Baptist church, and in politics he is a 
 stanch supporter of the Republican platform. 
 
 JULIUS E. PAULY. Distinguished as a na- 
 tive-born citizen of California, and as the repre- 
 sentative of an honored pioneer family of the 
 state, Julius E, Pauly of Mohawk is well deserv- 
 
72t; 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ing of special notice in a work of this character. 
 A wide-awake, energetic man, practical and pro- 
 gressive, he is one of the leading merchants of 
 the Mohawk valley, and stands high among the 
 active and substantial business men. A son of 
 the late Nicholas O. Pauly, he was born, Decem- 
 ber 5, 1874, in Browns valley, Yuba county, Cal., 
 of German ancestry on both sides of the house. 
 
 Born, reared and educated in Germany, Nich-_ 
 olas O. Pauly immigrated to the United States 
 when a young man, and after spending a short 
 time in the east went to Missouri, where he re- 
 sided a few years. Subsequently coming to Cal- 
 ifornia, he worked for a while in the mines, and 
 then became mail carrier and express messenger, 
 traveling through the mountains from Marys- 
 ville to the mines, and receiving twenty-five cents 
 for delivering either a letter or a paper. He aft- 
 erwards engaged in sheep raising, being located 
 in Yuba county winters, and in Plumas county 
 during the summer seasons. Desirous then of 
 settling permanently in some congenial occupa- 
 tion, he opened a store at Nelson Point, Plumas 
 county, about 1878, and was there successfully 
 engaged in mercantile pursuits until his death. 
 September 15, 1903, when seventy-four years of 
 age. He was a Democrat in his political views 
 and a member of Plumas Lodge Xo. 88, I. O. O. 
 F., of Quincy, Cal. He married Katherine 
 Toms, who was born in Germany, and is now 
 living at Nelson Point, Cal., being fifty-five years 
 old. ' 
 
 But an infant when his parents moved to Nel- 
 son Point, Julius E. Pauly was there brought up, 
 receiving his elementary education in the public 
 schools. He subsequently assisted in his father's 
 store, driving a team a part of the time, and then 
 completed his studies by taking a course at the 
 San Jose Business College. On attaining his 
 majority he obtained a position in a store in 
 Mohawk, and after remaining there as clerk for 
 three or four years, purchased the establishment, 
 with his father's aid, and has since been most 
 prosperously engaged in a general mercantile 
 business. 
 
 Politically Mr. Pauly is a loyal Democrat, and 
 in igo2 was elected supervisor of the Fifth dis- 
 trict on the Democratic ticket, receiving a major- 
 
 ity of thirty-three votes in a district which is a 
 Republican stronghold, his election showing his 
 popularity with both parties, especially as he was 
 made chairman of the board of supervisors, 
 which had three Republican members. Frater- 
 nally Mr. Pauly is a member of Plumas Lodge 
 No. 88, I. O. O. F., of Quincy, and belongs to 
 Quincy Parlor No. 31, N. S. G. W. 
 
 JOSIAH STARR CARTER, M. D. While 
 the Pacific coast region was still attracting 
 thousands of gold-seekers to its bovmdless do- 
 mains and while Plumas county was known only 
 to a few experienced prospectors, Dr. Carter 
 cast in his fortunes with the unknown possi- 
 bilities of the county; and, while the mines and 
 prospects that first attracted him hither brought 
 small returns to his patient labor, in other 
 occupations he achieved a signal degree of suc- 
 cess, so that at the time of his demise he was 
 rated among the financially prosperous men of 
 his locality. Of southern family, the son of 
 a physician, he was Ixim in Ohio county, W. 
 \'a., March 31, 1836, and as a boy attended 
 school at Tuscumbia, Ala., and Lexington, Ky. 
 The death of his father in 1841 left him an 
 orphan in childhood and deprived him of the 
 affectionate oversight he otherwise would have 
 enjoyed. Perhaps his youth was rendered more 
 unsettled thereby ; certain it is that changes 
 came to him from year to year while he was 
 yet too small to benefit from them. In 1846 he 
 accompanied relatives to Missouri and in 1854 
 he crossed the plains with some blooded horses 
 as a member of a party in whose outfit he owned 
 one-fourth interest. 
 
 The close of a dreary but uneventful journey 
 was marked by arrival at Downieville about the 
 1st of October. Two months were spent in that 
 mining camp, after which the young prospector 
 went to Alarysville and from there in a few 
 months to Butte county. As early as 1855 ^^ 
 first visited Plumas county. For one summer he 
 worked without success on the north fork of the 
 h'eathcr river. While hunting deer in the fall 
 of 1856 he made the first discovery of gold on 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 727 
 
 Mosquito creek. During the following .\ugust 
 Ik- returned to Missouri, Init after a few months 
 among old friends he came back to California 
 and .settled near Inskip, lUilte county. After 
 having mined in various localities he came to 
 I'lumas county as a permanent resident in the 
 fall of 1862 and established his home at Cres- 
 cent Mills, where the remaining years of his 
 life were busily and happily passed. At first he 
 had various mining interests and devoted con- 
 siderable attention to prospecting, during which 
 ])eriod, in 1865, he and five others located the 
 I'lumas mine. 
 
 From the time of settling at Crescent Mills 
 Dr. Carter engaged in the practice of medicine. 
 Xot only his regular patients and the families to 
 whom he was physician received his skillful 
 professional care, but in addition the poor, des- 
 titute of the means necessary for medical atten- 
 tion, were the recipients of his kindly and 
 gratuitous assistance, and many a one had rea- 
 son to be grateful to him for help quietly given 
 in days of need. Early in the '70s he engaged 
 in the mercantile business in Crescent Mills, 
 and afterward carried on the store in addition 
 to attending to his practice and superintending 
 his mine interests. Since his death the store 
 has been conducted by his family. All enter- 
 prises for the benefit of his county received his 
 sympathetic and helpful co-operation, and he 
 was public-spirited to an extent seldom sur- 
 passed. Elected supervisor in 1870, he served 
 for six years and during most of that time acted 
 as chairman of the board. While serving in 
 that responsible position, he aided vairious 
 important measures, none more important than 
 the building of the road between Indian and 
 American valleys. \'ery early in the period of 
 his residence in Plumas county he became asso- 
 ciated with Indian \'alley Lodge No. 136. I. O. 
 (J. P., and afterward retained an active interest 
 in the fraternity. 
 
 Surviving Dr. Carter are his wife and two 
 children. Mrs. Carter was bom in Iowa and at 
 an earl\- age crossed the plains with her father, 
 .\ntone Bacher, whose sketch is presented in 
 this volume. The family settled in the Indian 
 valley and has since been represented among 
 
 the residents of this part of the county. Sarah 
 Jane IJaciier was reared in the valley and here 
 became the wife of Dr. Carter, January 27, 
 1881, afterward luaking her home in Crescent 
 Mills, where she is well known and universally 
 honored. To her children she has given excep- 
 tional advantages. The daughter, :\laude, is an 
 accomplished musician and a graduate of Lick 
 School in San Francisco; while the son is a 
 graduate of Heald's Business College and 
 possesses a thorough commercial education. 
 
 WILLIAM HARRY MAYFIELD is a well- 
 known resident of Johnsville, I'lumas county. 
 His father, James B. Mayfield, was a native of 
 Kentucky, but was reared in Missouri, going 
 there with his parents when he was ten years of 
 age. He followed the occupation of farming 
 and stock raising, in which he made and lost a 
 fortune. As a private during the Civil war he 
 served faithfuU} and received an honorable dis- 
 charge from the .service, dying in Missouri at 
 the age of sixty-eight years. He married Miss 
 Martha Jane Davis, a native of Missouri. She 
 died in 1872, at forty-four years of age. The 
 family were members of the Baptist church and 
 well respected members of the community in 
 which they made their home. 
 
 W. H. Mayfield was born in Laclede county. 
 Mo., February 27, 1858, passing his boyhood 
 years on the farm. There were no public 
 schools in the locality where he lived (owing to 
 the disturbed conditions following the warj but 
 he was taught the rudiments of education in 
 subscription schools, afterwards going on with 
 his studies by himself. He fully appreciated the 
 value of an education by rea.son of his struggles 
 to obtain one, and later he assisted both a broth- 
 er and sister younger than himself to obtain 
 their education. When he was seventeen years 
 of age he began farming for himself, renting a 
 jxirtion of his father's farm, and remained at 
 home with his parents until his twenty-third 
 year. Coming to California in 1880 he went to 
 work on a ranch near Chico and remained there 
 five years, when he came to Johnsville and for 
 
728 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 a time was engaged as a teamster. Subsequent- 
 ly he worked in the mines around Eureka for 
 four years. It was in May, 1894, that he opened 
 the meat market which he now conducts, and in 
 addition to its management he has mining inter- 
 ests in the locaHty, owning a half interest in St. 
 Joseph mine, on Squirrel creek, about five miles 
 from Johnsville, and operating a four-stamp 
 mill. 
 
 October 17, 1888, Mr. Mayfield married Miss 
 Emma Penman, a native of the Golden state, 
 having been born in Plumas county. They have 
 a family of four children : Maude, Blanche, Len 
 and Chester, all living at home. In national pol- 
 itics Mr. Mayheld is a Democrat, but when it is 
 a matter of local issues he is not bound to any 
 party, using his own judgment as to the better 
 man for the office, without respect to party affil- 
 iations. He was appointed deputy tax collector 
 and served several years in that capacity in this 
 section of the county. He is a member of AIo- 
 hawk Lodge No. 292, I. O. O. F., of Johnsville, 
 and a member of Ouincy Lodge No. 127, A. O. 
 U. W., of Quincy. 
 
 DUNCAN ROBERTSON. The activities 
 which for years engaged the attention of Duncan 
 Robertson have been gradually relinquished and 
 he has now entered upon that honorable retire- 
 ment which follows well directed and successful 
 efforts. In his home city of Ouincy he occupies 
 the position to wliich his industry and high prin- 
 ciples of honor entitle him. It is in this locality 
 that he laid the foundation of his financial inde- 
 pendence, here the greater portion of the years 
 of his active manhood was passed, and here in 
 the evening of his days he enjoys the fruits of 
 his labors of years gone by, retired from active 
 cares, yet maintaining a deep and constant in- 
 terest in all enterprises for the benefit of his com- 
 munity. The parents of Mr. Robertson were na- 
 tives of the Scotch Highlands, but after their 
 marriage removed to Nova Scotia, where they 
 both died, his father when ninety years of age 
 and his mother when about eighty-five years. 
 After settling in Nova Scotia the father followed 
 
 agricultural pursuits the remainder of his life. 
 He was a member of the Presbyterian church, 
 practicing the principles of his religious belief in 
 his daily living. 
 
 Duncan Robertson was born in Cumberland 
 county, Nova Scotia, October 28, 1833, spending 
 his boyhood at home on the farm, and there at- 
 tending the common schools. Subsequently he 
 went to Bath, Me., where he worked at ship- 
 building for four years, having learned the trade 
 (luring an apprenticeship to a carpenter. In 1854 
 he went to Norfolk, Va., where he was employed 
 in the navy yard, and the following winter went 
 to Portsmouth, where he remained until the next 
 spring. In 1855 he returned to Maine and again 
 engaged in shipbuilding until December of that 
 year, when he started from New York City on 
 the steamer George Law for California, via the 
 Panama route. Landing in San Francisco Jan- 
 uary I, 1856, he came to the American valley, 
 Plumas county, and engaged in mining and 
 prospecting for a year, afterwards working at 
 the carpenter's trade, in which he continued un- 
 til retiring from active business. 
 
 He erected the Plumas house, the court house 
 and the majority of the houses in the town of 
 Quincy during his fifteen years in the contract- 
 ing business, which he relinquished upon pur- 
 chasing the ranch one mile east of Ouincy. in 
 American valley. This consisted of two hun- 
 dred and twenty-two acres, all valley land, and 
 worth about $10,000. This he improved and op- 
 erated until 1863, when he rented it and went to 
 Humboldt county, Nev., during the gold excite- 
 ment there, remaining two years. Returning to 
 Ouincy he operated his ranch until 1903. when 
 he sold it and came to the home which he had 
 built several years before and where he has since 
 remained. 
 
 September 8, 1867, Mr. Robertson was marr 
 ried to Miss Katherine F. Yeates, who was born 
 in Indiana in 1849, and when a small child was 
 brought to this state. The following children 
 have been born of this marriage : Alice, who 
 married Harry O. Thornton of San Francisco; 
 Donald, a carpenter in Quincy ; Susie, wife of 
 lohn Hosselkus. a prominent rancher of the 
 Genesee valley; Arthur, in San Jose; .'\rchie, re- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 r2it 
 
 siding here; and Frank, who is at home. PoHt- 
 ically a Democrat, Mr. Robertson's abihties won 
 puWic recognition, when, in 1890, he was elected 
 supervisor of this county, serving efficiently in 
 that capacity for four years. Though he has 
 passed the allotted three score and ten years, he 
 is still active and energetic, and has been suc- 
 cessful in his combined labors, having won for 
 himself and his family a competency by his indi- 
 vidual efforts. 
 
 HUGH McCUTCHEON. Although start- 
 ing out under circumstances particularly dis- 
 couraging and having his own way to make in 
 the world, j\lr. McCutcheon has achieved a de- 
 gree of success that is gratifying. The nucleus 
 of his present estate consisted of three hundred 
 acres destitute of improvements, and from that 
 beginning he has acquired valuable ranching 
 property. The home ranch consists of three 
 hundred acres in Indian valley, with one hun- 
 dred acres of timber land ; on the grain and hay 
 land he raises profitable crops and has made 
 important improvements, including a comfort- 
 able residence and substantial farm buildings. 
 Seventeen miles north of his home place he 
 owns the Lone Rock ranch of seven hundred 
 acres well adapted for the pasturage of stock ; 
 on that ranch he has about fifty cows and oper- 
 ates a dairy by the aid of hired help. When it 
 is known that he started with an indebtedness of 
 $4,000, on which he was obliged to pay one and 
 one-half per cent interest per month, his present 
 prosperity is evidence of the possession of ex- 
 ceptional ability as a ranchman and manager, 
 for in addition to his landed estates he owns a 
 store building and warehouse in Crescent Mills 
 and also loans money to others on farm lands. 
 
 Descended from Scotch ancestry, Mr. Mc- 
 Cutcheon was born in Count}- Down, Ire- 
 land, March 14. 184J, and remained on a farm 
 in his native counl\ until he was about twenty- 
 two years of age. During 1864 he crossed the 
 ocean to Canada, where he took up farm pur- 
 suits and also became owner of a stage line. 
 Upon selling out in Canada in 1869 he came 
 to California and worked in the building of the 
 
 snow sheds for the railroad company, later go- 
 ing to a ranch in Vuba county and then em- 
 barking in the wood business at Marysville. 
 During one summer he worked in a silver mine 
 at Golconda, Nev., after which he came to the 
 old Crescent mine and remained employed 
 there until the mine was shut down. For one 
 season he worked in the New York mine near 
 Greenville and was employed as a teamster, 
 next spending eight months in the Union mine 
 near Greenville. Later he went to a mine at 
 Genesee, where he was employed first as a la- 
 borer, next as foreman, and eventually as man- 
 ager, having charge of a crew of eight or ten 
 men. After three years the mine passed into 
 the hands of other owners and he then resigned 
 and turned his attention to the ranch business, 
 securing the nucleus of his present property in 
 Indian valley. 
 
 Stanchly Republican in his views, Mr. Mc- 
 Cutcheon is not a politician nor specially inter- 
 ested in public affairs, but he gives his influence 
 to all movements for the benefit of his commu- 
 nity and the material development of the county. 
 For two terms of four years each he served as 
 supervisor, but at the expiration of his second 
 ferm, January i, 1905, he declined further serv- 
 ice in the position. In 1873 he became a mem- 
 ber of Sincerity Lodge No. 132, F. & A. M., 
 at Taylorsville, with which he is still connected. 
 His marriage occurred October 10, 1874, and 
 united him with Miss Christina Mack, who was 
 born near Toronto, Canada, March 12, 1845, be- 
 ing a daughter of Howland and Sarah (Moore) 
 Mack, natives respectively of Canada and 
 County Armagh, Ireland. Her mother came to 
 America in girlhood and settled in Canada, 
 where she died at forty-eight years. Through 
 all of her active life she was a member of the 
 Church of England. Howland Mack, who died 
 in Canada at fifty-four years, was a son of Phil- 
 ip and Christina (Kelly) Mack, natives respect- 
 ivei\- of German)- and France, the former of 
 whom was given a grant for war service. Mrs. 
 McCutcheon remained beneath the paternal roof 
 until her marriage, which was solemnized in 
 Reno, Nev., in consummation of an engage- 
 ment entered into prior to Mr. McCutcheon's re- 
 
730 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 moval to the west. They are the parents of four 
 children, namely : John Henry, operating a 
 sawmill near Greenville ; Sarah Elizabeth, who 
 has a life certificate as a teacher in Plumas coun- 
 ty and is now a member of the county board of 
 education ; \\'illiam Hugh and Philip Casey, 
 who aid their father in the cultivation of the 
 home ranch. 
 
 BERNHARD NEUHAUS. Living retired 
 from active pursuits in his pleasant home at Su- 
 sanville is Bernhard Neuhaus, a fine representa- 
 tive of the early pioneers of this section of our 
 beautiful country, and a true type of the energetic, 
 hardy and enterprising men who have wisely as- 
 sisted in the development and advancement of this 
 fertile and productive agricultural region. Dur- 
 ing his earlier vears of life in this new countr\- 
 he labored bravely and cheerfully with the other 
 early settlers, and with them will leave foot- 
 prints which the coming generations shall follow 
 with far less exertion, and with an exceeding 
 number of the comforts and luxuries of this 
 world. Like many other of our most prosperous 
 and thrifty farmers, he is of foreign birth, hav- 
 ing been born October 4, 1833, in Bochaldt, West- 
 phalia, Prussia. His father, Henry Neuhaus, born 
 in the same place, was a farmer by occupation, 
 and had an honorable war record, serving in the 
 army eight years, and taking part, under Blucher, 
 in the Battle of Waterloo. His mother, whose 
 maiden name was Mary Roberts, was born in Hol- 
 land. She bore her husband six sons, of whom 
 Bernhard, the subject of this sketch, is the sole 
 survivor. 
 
 Living on the home farm until nineteen years 
 of age, Bernhard Neuhaus obtained a practical 
 common school education, and a familiar knowl- 
 edge of the various branches of agriculture. In 
 1852 he came on the sailing vessel Necker to the 
 United States, and at once located in Monroe 
 county, N. Y., near Rochester, where he worked 
 a few years as a farm hand. Sailing from New 
 York City in 1858, he went to Melbourne, Aus- 
 tralia, and for two years was engaged in min- 
 ing in the gold fields of Ballarat and vicinity. 
 Not particularly pleased with his success in this 
 
 line, he came to California on a sailing vessel, 
 arriving in San Francisco in x\ugust, i860. 
 Renting land in Yolo county, he was engaged in 
 farming there for four years, when, on account 
 of an attack of fever, he left that locality, and in 
 the fall of 1864 went to Honey Lake valley. In 
 1865 he located a homestead at Willow Creek, 
 pre-empted it, and at the upper end of the creek 
 improved a good farm from the tract of wild 
 land, and for many years carried on a substantial 
 business as a raiser of cattle, horses and hogs. 
 There he subsequently married Mrs. Murrer, 
 and he and his wife together have title to three 
 valuable ranches, aggregating over eight hun- 
 dred acres of land, all under irrigation, watered 
 by Willow Creek. The land is rich and fertile, 
 well adapted for raising alfalfa, timothy and 
 grain, and for stock raising. Mr. Neuhaus al- 
 ways ran a dairy when on the farm, manufac- 
 turing and shipping butter. Renting the farms 
 in January, 1902, Mr. and Airs. Neuhaus located 
 in Susanville, where he has a nice residence. 
 
 April 20, 1879, at Willow Creek, Mr. Neuhaus 
 married Mrs. Frances (Flyrler) Murrer, who 
 was born in Beckenried, canton of Unterwalden, 
 Switzerland, where her parents, Lorenz and 
 Frances (Muirrat) Flyrlcr, spent their entire 
 lives. Her father was a successful agriculturist, 
 owning three farms, and was prominent in pub- 
 lic affairs, serving as justice for many years. In 
 1858 Frances Flyrler, the only survivor of the 
 two children of the parental household, married, 
 in Switzerland, Jacob Murrer. Mr. Murrer im- 
 migrated to California in 1851 and engaged in 
 mining pursuits, being quite successful. In 1857 
 he went back to Switzerland, married the follow- 
 ing year, and in i860 returned by way of Pana- 
 ma to California. Continuing in mining opera- 
 tions, he was first located in Siskiyou countv, 
 then in the Sierra valley, and later in Indian val- 
 ley. Coming to Willow Creek in 1873. he re- 
 sided here until his death in 1875. He was a 
 man of much enterprise, and in 1870 embarked 
 in the hotel business, his house being located on 
 the Bieber road, about twenty miles from Susan- 
 ville. Of the union of Mr. and Airs. Murrer six 
 children were born, namely : Pauline, who died at 
 the age of twenty-six. years, in Switzerland; Ja- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 731 
 
 cob, of Willow Creek ; Edward, of the same 
 place; Mrs. Emma Eldridge, of Fall River; Mrs. 
 Mary Talbot, of Willow Creek ; and Rozella, wife 
 of Frederick Bagin, of Susanville. Three chil- 
 dren blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Neuhaus, 
 only one of whom, William, of Susanville, grew 
 to years of maturity. In national politics Mr. 
 Neuhaus invariably supports the principles of 
 the Democratic party. He takes great interest 
 in local matters, and for a number of years ren- 
 dered good service as school trustee. Religiously 
 he is a Catholic. 
 
 FRANK B. McKAY. Occupying an as- 
 sured p>osition among the prosperous agricult- 
 urists of Honey Lake valley is Frank B. Mc- 
 Kay, who is recognized as one of the intelli- 
 gent and thorough-going farmers of Lassen 
 county, owning a comfortable homestead of 
 one hundred and sixty acres near Standish. 
 Here he has lived for about fifteen years dur- 
 ing which time he has labored patiently and 
 persistently to clear his land, and while thus 
 laboring for his own interests has faithfully 
 performed his part in promoting the growth and 
 prosperity of the young settlement of this local- 
 ity. A son of Wyatt and Eliza J. (Montgom- 
 ery) McKay, he was bom January g, 1854. in 
 Brookfield, Trumbull county, Ohio, where he 
 was reared and educated. 
 
 Reared to agricultural pursuits, Frank B. Mc- 
 Kay worked on the home farm until nineteen 
 years of age, when, on the death of his father, 
 with his twin brother, Francis M. McKay, he 
 took charge of the parental estate. Having 
 been interested in the raising of Merino sheep 
 for some time he, with others, organized the 
 Mahoning Valley Merino Sheep Breeders' As- 
 sociation, which he afterwards served as secre- 
 tary for a number of years. Leaving Ohio on 
 December 25, 1889, he came west to Washing- 
 ton county. Ore., where he worked for wages for 
 eighteen months. Coming from there to Cali- 
 fornia, he spent one summer at Niles, Alameda 
 county, and tlicn went to Merced county. 
 Durintr the same winter, about Christmas time. 
 
 1 89 1, he located in Lassen county, taking up a 
 homestead claim to the ranch on which he now 
 lives. The land was then in its primitive con- 
 dition, covered thick with sage brush, and with 
 no road within a mile and a half. Building a 
 small cabin, he at once began the labor of re- 
 deeming a farm, and the present appear- 
 ance of his well-kept ranch plainly intimates 
 that his efforts have been richly rewarded. He 
 has one hundred and thirty-five acres in alfalfa, 
 has set out an orchard of small fruits, and in 
 1901 erected a conveniently arranged and taste- 
 ful residence. In addition to general farming 
 he raises some stock, and will eventually enlarge 
 his operations in this liranch of agriculture, and 
 will likewise pay more attention to fruit grow- 
 ing. 
 
 In Ohio, Mr. McKay married Mary Gill- 
 mer, who was born and brought up in Newton, 
 Tninil)ull county. Ohio. (Jf their union three 
 children have been born, namely : Thad, engaged 
 in mining in Sierra county : and Jessie Rea and 
 Margaret, both at home. Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
 Kay are Congregationalists, Mrs. McKay be- 
 longing to the Congregational Church at Pacific 
 Grove, while his name is still on the list of the 
 members of the church at Niles, Cal. 
 
 JOHN C. WERNER. One of the thriving 
 industries carried on in Quincy is the brewery 
 of which Mr. Werner is the proprietor, and which 
 is known as the Bock Horn brewery. When 
 he came to the village in 1896 he purchased the 
 brewery formerly owned by \\'illiam Chlattcr, 
 and since then has met with a fair degree of suc- 
 cess in its maintenance. The earliest recollections 
 in the life of Mr. Werner take him back in mem- 
 ory to Wittenberg, Germany, where he was born. 
 May 27, 1863, and in the vicinity of that city 
 spent the first eighteen years of his life upon his 
 father's farm. As he could see no brilliant pros- 
 pects in view in his native land he detemiined to 
 see what the new world had to offer in the way 
 of advancement to an ambitious young man. .\c- 
 cordingly, in March, 1881, when a lad of eigh- 
 teen vears, he left his native land and landed in 
 
(6 
 
 ?.9, 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 New York City in due time. From that metrop- 
 olis he went at once to West Elizabeth, Alle- 
 gheny county, Pa., where an uncle owned and 
 operated a large brewery. To this relative Air. 
 Werner is indebted for his knowledge of the 
 business, for he not only gave him a thorough 
 insight into its various departments, but retamed 
 him in his employ for thirteen years. 
 
 At the end of this time Mr. \\'erner felt him- 
 self qualified to undertake business on his own 
 account, and forthwith came to California. Min- 
 ing, however, engaged his attention for about a 
 year after locating in the state, but it was not 
 sufficiently remunerative to justify him in follow- 
 ing it permanently, so he very naturally sought 
 a line of work with which he was more familiar, 
 and which would insure more dependable re- 
 turns for labor expended. It was at this time 
 that he identified himself with Quincy by the 
 purchase of the brewery, as previously stated. 
 
 Mr. Werner takes a commendable interest m 
 the welfare of his adopted country, and in his 
 political opinions favors the principles of the Re- 
 publican party. His name is enrolled among the 
 members of several fraternal orders, namely : the 
 Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Knights of 
 Pvthias and Foresters of America. 
 
 DAVID KNOCK. Noteworthy among the 
 more prominent and public-spirited citizens of 
 Susanville is the venerable David Knoch. who 
 has been a resident of the place for upwards of 
 forty years, and is well known throughout the 
 town and county for his many interests. A man 
 of excellent business ability, he has acquired 
 considerable wealth, and is now living practical- 
 ly retired from active pursuits, the care of his 
 property requiring the most of his time and at- 
 tention. Mr. Knoch was born March 14. 1824. 
 in Rosenburg, Ober-Silesia, Germany, where his 
 parents, Isaac and Adelia Knoch, spent their en- 
 tire lives. The father died when a comparative- 
 ly young man. leaving two children, but one of 
 whom survives. 
 
 Having acquired a good common school edu- 
 cation in the public schools of Rosenburg, David 
 
 Knoch was bound out to a tailor at the age of 
 fifteen, and after serving an apprenticeship of 
 three }'ears worked at his trade in his native 
 land for some time. Desirous then of taking ad- 
 \'antage of the cipportuntites offered young men 
 of industry and thrift on the American continent, 
 lie embarked on a sailing vessel, and after a 
 wearisome \oyage of sixty-five days landed in 
 New York City in March, 1853. Three months lat- 
 er he started for California by way of Aspinwall 
 and July 4, 1853. arrived in San Francisco, 
 coming from Panama on the Yankee Blade. 
 The ensuing three years he was employed in 
 prospecting and mining, first at Oroville, Butte 
 county, and afterward in the Onion valley, 
 Plumas county. Not very successful in his oper- 
 ations, he changed his occupation, and for a 
 number of years was engaged in pack peddling 
 to the mines of Plumas, Sierra, Shasta, Nevada 
 and Placer counties, his purchasing point being 
 Marys ville. 
 
 Locating in Susanville, Lassen county, in Ma\', 
 1865, Mr. Knoch opened a store of general mer- 
 chandise and for more than a score of vears 
 carried on a large and remunerative business. He 
 then sold out to John Partridge, and has since 
 lived retired, his private interests demanding his 
 entire time. He makes a specialty of loaning 
 money, and is a large property bolder, owning 
 the Knoch and Masonic blocks, both fire-proof 
 stone buildings, the former being 35x122 feet, 
 while the latter is the largest block in the city. 
 Near his residence he has a good orchard, and 
 likewise owns two other residences and other 
 valuable pieces of property. He is a man of ex- 
 cellent judgment, and while improving his own 
 finances has done his full share towards the up- 
 ijuilding of his adopted city, his services in this 
 respect being recognized and appreciated by his 
 fellow-men. 
 
 In March, 1852, in Kempen, German \-, Mr. 
 Knoch married Fannie Altman, a daughter of 
 Hensel and Jennie (Felses) Altman, life-long 
 residents of that place. They were the parents 
 of nine children, three of whom grew to vears 
 of maturity, and two of these are still living. 
 In March, 1902, Mr. and Mrs. Knoch celebrated 
 the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage, rel- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 733 
 
 atives and friends to the number of two hundred 
 and fifty assisting in the festivities of the occa- 
 sion. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Knoch five 
 children were born, and of these three have 
 passed to the better world. An infant, the first 
 born, died in Oroville; Soloinon and Jennie 
 died from scarlet fever in Susanville. their 
 deaths occurring the same day. Those living 
 are: Isaac, a merchant of Susanville, who mar- 
 ried Blanche Hineman, of San Francisco, and 
 Mrs. Rachel Alexander, also of Susanville. 
 Politically Mr. Knoch is a Democrat. He was 
 made a Mason in Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. & 
 A. M., in 1867, and is still a member; he also 
 belongs to Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. M.. 
 to Lassen Commandery No. 13, K. T., to Silver 
 Star Lodge No. 135, I. O. Q, F., and to the En- 
 campment. Both himself and his wife are 
 members of Hesperian Lodge No. 112, O. E. S., 
 the Order of Amaranths No. i, and the Re- 
 bekahs. 
 
 JOHN THEODORE. The thrift and indus- 
 try inherited from a long line of Welsh ancestry, 
 supplemented by the possession of American en- 
 terprise, enabled Mr. Theodore to rise to inde- 
 pendence and to become a man of influence 
 among Lassen county agriculturists. On com- 
 ing to this locality, in the spring of 187 1, he se- 
 cured a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in 
 Honey Lake valley, about seven miles east of 
 Spoonville, and on this place he passed the re- 
 maining years of his busy life, engaged in the" 
 raising of hay and stock and conducting also 
 a small dairy business. From time to time he 
 added to his original purchase until he became 
 the owner of a ranch of six hundred and fifty 
 acres, which is now owned by his heirs and ably 
 superintended by his son. 
 
 The early years in the life of John Theodore 
 were passed in Wales, where he was born July 
 8, 1833. By reason of his environment he was 
 unable to gain more than a public school educa- 
 tion, yet he gained a broad fund of information 
 through observation and habits of reading. 
 Seeking a larger field of employment, he came 
 to the United States at twenty-two years of age, 
 
 and for six years afterward worked in the whole- 
 sale carpet store of W. T. Lewis & Co., in New 
 York City. Meanwhile he heard much concern- 
 ing the development of the west and his ambi- 
 tious spirit was fired with a desire to seek a live- 
 lihood in a newer region where possibilities might 
 be greater than in the city. Accordingly he took 
 passage on a ship for the Isthmus of Panama and 
 from there sailed up to San Francisco, where he 
 landed in June of 1862, and without delay se- 
 cured employment in the town of Stockton. Af- 
 ter two years there he went to Virginia City, 
 Nev., and worked in the mines, where he met 
 with some success during the next six years. 
 From there he came to the farm in Lassen coun- 
 ty, where afterward he led the quiet life of a 
 rancher. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Theodore occurred 
 March 24, 1869, and united him with Miss Annie 
 Thomas, then residing at Gold Hill, Nev., but 
 a native of Utica, N. Y., whence she came in 
 1868 to California by the isthmus route. To their 
 union the following children were born : Lettie 
 E., who was born at Gold Hill January 12, 1870, 
 and became the wife of E. C. Brown, residing in 
 Reno, Nev. ; Annie K., who was born January 
 16, 1872, and married G. B. Bailey, of Honey 
 Lake valley ; John T., who was born November 
 23, 1876, and now superintends the old home- 
 stead, making his home there with his mother 
 and his wife, formerly Hattie Ethel Hartson. 
 whom he married December 25, 1899, anch by 
 whom he has a son, Judson Leroy, born Decem- 
 ber 2, 1900; and Bessie, the youngest of the 
 family, who was born September 24. 1881. and is 
 now the wife of Frank O. Wemijle, of Spoon- 
 ville. All of the children except the eldest were 
 born on the Lassen county homestead and all 
 were given the best advantages which the means 
 of the family permitted, Mr. Theodore being a 
 stanch friend of the public-school system and for 
 years a member of the board of school trustees 
 of his district. 
 
 After becoming a citizen of the United States 
 Mr. Theodore supported the principles of the 
 Republican party, but never took any part in lo- 
 cal politics. During the year 1904 he and his 
 wife left home for an extended trip through the 
 
734 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 east b)- way of the World's Fair at St. Louis. 
 After a tour of the Exposition they proceeded to 
 the birth-place of Mrs. Theodore, Utica, N. Y., 
 and during their visit in that city Mr. Theodore 
 accidentally fell downstairs, sustaining injuries 
 that resulted in concussion of the brain and 
 caused his death January 2, 1905. The body was 
 brought back to California by the bereaved wife 
 and was buried at Janesville under the auspices 
 of the Masonic Order, with which he had been 
 identified. 
 
 WALTER B. DEWITT. .\n experience of 
 many years with the climate and soil of Lassen 
 county has given to Mr. Dewitt a familiar knowl- 
 edge of these subjects and made him an author- 
 ity in matters pertaining to the products of the 
 region. The farm which he now occupies is 
 situated on the Spoonville and Hot Springs stage 
 line, about four miles west of the last-named 
 place, in Lassen county. On this homestead, Jul\ 
 I, 1903, through his earnest and energetic ef- 
 forts, a postoffice was established named in his 
 honor, and he was chosen the first postmaster, 
 a position which he still occupies, with his wife 
 as assistant. Through wise judgment and untir- 
 ing energy he has acquired considerable property. 
 Included in his possessions is a one-fourth in- 
 terest in the home ranch of six hundred and 
 forty acres, where he has thirty acres in alfalfa 
 and a large acreage of wild hay, also raises and 
 feeds stock cattle and conducts a dairy of twenty- 
 five cows, selling the milk to the creamery. Ad- 
 joining his home farm on the west lie three hun- 
 dred and fifty acres, where he made his home for 
 thirteen years and which he still owns ; also he 
 owns one-third interest in a stock range in Grass- 
 hopper valley embracing some eight hundred 
 acres. 
 
 In Lassen county, where his entire life has 
 been passed, Mr. Dewitt was born October 22, 
 1863, his parents being Franklin and Mary Louisa 
 (Wiggins) Dewitt, natives respectively of 
 Indiana and Maine. For some years his father 
 engaged in farming in Iowa, where he mar- 
 ried and whence he came to California 
 earlv in the '60s, settling in Honey Lake 
 
 valley near Janesville. In the fall of 1863 
 they moved to the ranch now occupied by their 
 son, Walter. At that time the land was unim- 
 proved and of little value. After working for a 
 year in the employ of the owner of the ranch 
 Franklin Dewitt left and went to QtIco. Cal., 
 wh.ere he worked in the sawmills. His death oc- 
 curred in that town in 1 87 1 and he was buried in 
 the cemetery there. His wife afterward married 
 George Fry, and, now widowed a second time, 
 makes her home in San Jose, this state. 
 
 The famil}- of Franklin Dewitt consisted of five 
 children, of whom four survive, as follows : Ar- 
 thur Franklin, who is employed by G. W. Mapes 
 in Lassen county ; Mrs. Carrie E. Whitten, living 
 near Janesville, this county ; Walter B., also of 
 Lassen coimty ; and George A., living at Mon- 
 terey. The ne.xt to the youngest of the sons, 
 Walter B. received his education in the school 
 near his present home, with the exception of two 
 winter terms at Buntingville and Janesville. 
 ^^'hen his father moved to Chico he remained 
 with the owner of the ranch and has since made 
 this place his home, with the exception of thir- 
 teen years on the adjoining ranch. Dtiring 1886 
 he was united in marriage with Miss Jessie N. 
 Holmes, an account of whose family is given in 
 the sketch of John P. Holmes. They became the 
 parents of four children, namely : Walter Frank- 
 lin, deceased ; William Henry, Grover Cleveland 
 and Ruby Irene. Fraternally Mr. Dewitt is iden- 
 tified with Janesville Lodge No. 232, F. & A. M., 
 the Knights of the Maccabees, and with the 
 Janesville Parlor N. S. G. W. In politics he has 
 cast his ballot for the men and measures of the 
 Democratic party ever since attaining his ma 
 jority. 
 
 JOHN J. POTTER. A capable and enter- 
 prising business man, energetic and progres- 
 sive, John J. Potter, of Lookout, has been a 
 potent factor in advancing the prosperity of this 
 part of Modoc county, and is the senior partner 
 in the well-known firm of Potter & Green, who 
 deal in real estate, and do much of the civil 
 engineering of this vicinity. A son of Richard 
 R. Potter, he was born, October 9, 1867, in Kal- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 735 
 
 amazoo county. Mich., wlicrc he spent his child- 
 hood days. 
 
 Richard R. Potter married Mary Clement, 
 and subsequently, in the fall of 1876, came with 
 his family to California, locating- first in 
 Truckee, Nevada county. From there he re- 
 moved to Colusa county, and is now liv- 
 ing near Red Bluff, Tehama county, where he 
 is extensively employed in raising sheep. 
 
 Having obtained a practical common school 
 education, John J. Potter remained at home 
 until attaining his majority. Starting then in 
 life on his own account, he worked at first in 
 the timber, and was afterwards for a number of 
 years a contracting logger, carrying on a good 
 business. Locating at Big \'alley in 1895, he 
 took up eighty acres of land, and in its improve- 
 ment was very successful, carrying on general 
 farming and stock raising with satisfactory re- 
 sults. Forming a partnership with A. M. Crcen 
 in 1901, Mr. Potter, under the firm name of 
 Potter & Green, has built up a substantial real 
 estate business, and the firm has done the great- 
 er part of the civil engineering and survey- 
 ing in this section of the state. 
 
 In 1893 Mr, Potter married Minnie Adams, 
 a native of California, and they are the parents 
 of seven children, namely : Gertrude, Alarie, 
 Amv, Bessie. Richard, \'elt and Lowell. Polit- 
 ically Mr. Potter is a stanch supporter of the 
 principles of the Republican party, and frater- 
 nally he is a member and past workman of 
 Lookout Lodge No. 211, A. O. U. W., and of 
 Eagle Cliflf Lodge No, 163, K, of P„ of Duns- 
 muir, Cal, 
 
 GEORGE COUNTER, a California pioneer, 
 has known the ups and downs of fortune, and in 
 spite of all he has passed through can still look 
 on life with complacency. Whatever he has ac- 
 complished in his life has been through his own 
 unaided efforts, combined with a determination 
 to succeed. To make fortunes and lose them 
 seems to be the fate of some men, and this is 
 true of many who came to California in the early 
 days. The opportunities for gain were great 
 and money was hazarded with a feeling of as- 
 21 
 
 surance that if it was lost in one venture it 
 could easily be regained in another. 
 
 Mr. Counter's parents were natives of Canada, 
 of French extraction, his jiaternal grandfather 
 being a colonel in the French Revolution. I'or 
 political reasons he found it advisable to seek a 
 land where life was more secure and less excit- 
 ing, and thus it hap])ened that he liK-atecl in Can- 
 ada. George Counter was born in Canada East, 
 October 12, 1836, and when he was four years 
 old his parents moved to Caledonia county, V't., 
 where his early boyhood was passed. Opix>rtu- 
 nities for education were limited, and such as 
 there were he was denied, never attending school 
 a day in his life. Tlie strenuous life began for 
 him at the tender age of eleven years, when he 
 went to work for $3 a month, working steadily 
 for eight months, and losing only two days' time 
 during that period, and spending of his earnings 
 the sum of fifty cents. From that time on the 
 boy was self-suppyorting. Sometimes he worked 
 for the neighbors and sometimes he worked at 
 home, but he always worked at something. In 
 1850, when he was fourteen years old. he left 
 home and went to Lyme, N. H., where for a year 
 he worked as an errand bo}-. Later he went to 
 White River Junction, \'t., and was employed 
 as an errand boy two years in the office of a 
 large iron manufacturing company, and after- 
 wards served part time as apprentice in their 
 machine shops. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Counter started for California, 
 traveling via the Nicaragua route, and reaching 
 San Francisco November of the same year. From 
 San Francisco he went to Marysville and se- 
 cured a job setting up an engine, and after it 
 was ready to run was engaged as engineer for a 
 time. From Marysville he went to Forbestown. 
 Butte county, two months later going to Grass 
 Valley, where he worked at his trade until the 
 Frazer River excitement started him in that di- 
 rection. Meeting with no success at the mines 
 he went the same year to Sonora. Tuolumne 
 county, as engineer in charge of machinery, and 
 remained there two years. From there he went 
 to Grass Valley, and in i860 to the Com.stock 
 mine, Virginia City, Nev,, where he set up and 
 ran an engine. Forming a partnership with H. 
 
736 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 H. Conklin he engaged in the water business, 
 and in 1862 they controlled the drinking water 
 supply of Virginia City. In the same year he 
 bought out his partner's interest in the business 
 and continued alone until May. 1864, when he 
 sold out, making about $40,000 in the deal. In 
 June, 1865, he returned east, and with the in- 
 tention of remaining there purchased a farm, but 
 after a stay of nine months in the east he came 
 back to Virginia City and engaged in speculating 
 in mining stocks. This business proved unprofit- 
 able, and was the means of his returning to his 
 trade. Securing a position as chief engineer of 
 the Silver Hill mine, he continued there a num- 
 ber of years. Subsequently he constructed the 
 Sucker Mining Company's works, and was em- 
 ployed at the Alta and Governor Stevenson mine 
 as chief engineer until 1889. During all these 
 vears he had been successful and had succeeded 
 in accumulating quite a fortune, but a turn of 
 the tide again found him stranded, and it was 
 then that he came to Loyalton and went to work 
 for the Roberts Lumber Company. For seven- 
 teen years he was- chief engineer in their mill, 
 having entire charge of the machinery, and also 
 set up the machinery in the big band mill. 
 
 In the meantime, with a view to the future, 
 Mr. Counter had built for himself the building 
 where, in partnership with his son, Charles R. 
 Counter, he carries on his present enterprise, the 
 store being opened for business August 15, 1902. 
 In Tune, 1904, he resigned his position with the 
 lumber company and since that date has given 
 his time exclusively to his own business. 
 
 July 15, 1865, Mr. Counter married Miss Ella 
 Sanderson, a native of Vermont, who died in 
 California. Of their two children, Ella, the eld- 
 est, died at two years of age ; Charles R., who 
 was born November 18, 1867, lives in Loyalton, 
 and besides having charge of the store, owns a 
 half interest in the business. Mr. Counter was 
 made a Mason in Vermont in 1867, later trans- 
 ferring his membership to Amity Lodge No. 54, 
 of Silver City, Nev. In politics he is a Repub- 
 lican, and though he has never had any ambition 
 to bold office, is always ready to help his friends 
 who are candidates for office. His knowledge 
 of the French language and wide acquaintance 
 
 among mining men have been of great benefit to 
 more than one aspiring politician. While Mr. 
 Counter has practically retired from active busi- 
 ness life, he continues his interest in the affairs 
 of the world and keeps abreast of the times in 
 which we live. 
 
 WILLIAM A. ODBERT. Holding a posi- 
 tion of prominence among the younger business 
 men of Lake City, Modoc county, is William A. 
 Odbert, who, as head of the Odbert-Berry-Wat- 
 (<ins Company, is carrying on a substantial and 
 lucrative mercantile trade. Wide-awake, far- 
 sighted and progressive, he is meeting with well- 
 merited success in his venture, and has alread\' 
 won for himself and his partners the good will 
 and confidence of the community. A son of the 
 late Richard Odbert, he was born February 19, 
 1871, in the province of C)ntario, Canada. 
 
 Born and reared in Ireland, Richard Odbert 
 emigrated from his native country to Canada 
 when a young man, and' was there a resident 
 for manv vears. In 1873 he came with his fam- 
 ily to California, locating in Goose Lake valley, 
 where he engaged in agricultural pursuits. Tak- 
 ing up a government claim, he bought adjoining 
 land, increasing the size of his ranch to four 
 hundred acres, and was there subsequently en- 
 gaged in farming and stock raising until his 
 death, in 1902. He married, in Canada, Mary 
 Sparrow, who was also born in Ireland, and 
 when young emigrated with her brother to Can- 
 ada. Five children were born of their union, 
 namely : Eleanor, wife of Dr. W. W. Shartel, a 
 leading dentist of Lake City, Sarah, wife of 
 William Toney : William A., the special subject 
 of this sketch ; Mary M., wife of John Dawson, 
 of Goose Lake valley : and Anna, wife of Oscar 
 Hotchkiss, of Lake City. After the death of 
 her husband. Mrs. Odbert moved to Lake City, 
 where she has since resided. 
 
 Coming with his parents to California when an 
 infant, William A. Odbert was here reared and 
 educated, remaining at home until 1894. He then 
 engaged in farming on his own account, living 
 on a rented farm in Goose I,ake valle}- for a 
 \ear. He then lx>ught a ranch in the vallev, be- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 737 
 
 coining owner of twn lunidrcd and forty-five 
 acres of unimproved land 1> ing two miles north 
 of Lake City, and was there engaged in raising 
 hay and stock for nearly ten years. Disposing of 
 that property in 1904, he rented land lying east 
 of the city, and for awhile continued his agri- 
 cultural operations. On August 8, 1905, he made 
 a complete change of occupation, embarking in 
 mercantile business as head of the Odbert-Rerry- 
 Watkins Company, which has already established 
 a trade that gives rich promise of a brilliant suc- 
 cess in the future. Politically Mr. Odbert is 
 active in the ranks of the Republican party. He 
 is now serving as postmaster of Lake City, the 
 postofifice being located in his store. 
 
 In 1894 Mr. Odbert married Mary Nott, a na- 
 tive of Nevada, and they are the parents of four 
 children, namely : a daughter named Jimmie ; a 
 son named William : and twins named Warren 
 and Leonore. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY TROXEL. Numbered 
 among the citizens of high repute and good 
 standing in Lassen county is William Henry 
 Troxel, who is well and widely known as a prac- 
 tical and successful farmer of Eagle Lake. His 
 ranch, which is one of the largest in the vicin- 
 ity, is highly improved, and has a substantial res- 
 idence and convenient farm buildings, every- 
 thing about the premises indicating the care and 
 supervision of an excellent manager, and a 
 thoroughgoing and enterprising agriculturist. 
 A son of Josiah Troxel, he was born in Coles 
 county, 111., September 9, 1850. 
 
 A native of Ohio, Josiah Troxel was there 
 reared and educated. In early manhood he fol- 
 lowed the march of civilization westward to Coles 
 county. 111., where he bought land and improved 
 a farm. In 1864 he decided to again try his 
 chances in a new country, and came with his 
 family across the plains to California, traveling 
 by way of Salt Lake, and being six months on 
 the route. Coming via Honey Lake to Pjutte 
 county, he located near Qiico, on Little Butte 
 creek, and was there engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits until his death. His wife, whose maiden 
 name was Eva M. Coon, was born in Ohio, and 
 
 died in California. Their family of five sons and 
 four daughters are all living. William Henry, 
 with whom this sketch is chiefly concerned. l>e- 
 ing the oldest child. 
 
 When a lad of thirteen years William Henry 
 Troxel came with his parents to the Pacific coast, 
 and the following eight years he remained at 
 home, assisting his father in the pioneer labor of 
 clearing and improving a homestead in I'.utte 
 county. On attaining his majority, he began 
 farming on his own account, buying one hundred 
 and sixty acres of land just south of Chico, where 
 he carried on general farming and stock raising 
 for several seasons. Coming to Eagle I^ke in 
 1885, he purchased the Davis ranch, and resumed 
 his former independent occupation. In his oper- 
 ations he has met with unquestioned success, and 
 is now owner of eight hundred and thirtv-three 
 acres of land, with a lake frontage of four miles, 
 his farm being twenty-six miles from Susan- 
 ville. the county-seat. In addition to raising ex- 
 tensive crops of hay and grain, he makes a spe- 
 cialty of raising cattle and horses, his brand be- 
 ing an MD intertwined. 
 
 On January i. 1872, in Dayton. Butte countv. 
 Mr. Troxel married Rosanna Hensley, who was 
 born in Yuba county, a daughter of Tobias A. 
 Hensley. Her grandfather. Henry Henslev. was 
 born in Pennsylvania, but spent the larger part 
 of his life in Ohio. Tobias A. Hensley was born 
 and reared in Ohio, and there learned the black- 
 smith's trade. In 1849 ^e came to California as 
 a -soldier, his business being to protect the emi- 
 grants of that time. Settling here permanently, 
 he followed his trade first at the Humbug mines, 
 later in Gridley, and then in Dayton, Butte coun- 
 ty. He is now retired from active pursuits, and 
 is living at Washougal, Clarke county. Wash. 
 He married Mary Kilpatrick. who was born in 
 Galena. 111., and came across the i)lains with her 
 father to Yuba county in pioneer days. Thev are 
 the parents of five children, Mrs. Troxel being 
 the oldest. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Troxel 
 three children have been born, namely: Charles 
 Oliver, of Butte county, with the Sierra Lumber 
 Company; Clarence Bertram, of Susanville; and 
 Jesse William, on the home ranch. Fraternally 
 Mr. Troxel is a member of Chico Lodge, I. O. 
 
T6S 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 O. F. ; of Qiico Encampment; and both he and 
 his wife belong to the Rebekahs. Mrs. Troxel is 
 a woman of much force of character, and a con- 
 sistent member of the Christian Church. 
 
 ALBERT SMEDLEY WRIGHT. The sec- 
 ond of a family of eight sons and one daughter, 
 Albert Smedley Wright was born March 4. 1838, 
 in Edgar county. 111., where he was reared and 
 received his early education. His father, Lemuel 
 Wright, was a farmer in Illinois, but subsequent- 
 ly removed to Minnesota and located near 
 Rochester, where he resumed agricultural pur- 
 suits until i860, when he decided to come to 
 California. Taking the usual route over moun- 
 tain and plain that was followed at that time b}- 
 travelers to the western portion of our country, 
 he settled at Red Bluff, which he made his home 
 until his death. His mother, Hamiah Wright, is 
 still living and resides at Bellingham. ^^^ash. 
 
 Until i860 A. S. Wright lived on a farm near 
 Rochester, Minn., and in addition to its cultiva- 
 tion also worked at the plasterers' and carpen- 
 ters' trade. In that year he accompanied his 
 family when they came to California. They first 
 intended to go to Pike's Peak, and started on the 
 journey thither with horse teams on ]March 15. 
 Stopping to rest at Council Bluffs. Iowa, they 
 there determined to come on to this state. Ar- 
 riving in California. Mr. Wright went to Honey 
 Lake valley on August 6, i860, spending six 
 weeks on the ranch of a i\Ir. Lake. Going from 
 there to Long valley, he engaged in farming for 
 a time, then erected the Junction house, of which 
 he became proprietor, and afterwards went on 
 a ranch. After selling this ranch in 1865 he 
 came to Susanville, where he engaged in con- 
 tracting and building for twelve years, then pur- 
 chased his present place, the old Lake ranch, 
 from a Mr. Fuller, and a year later located upon 
 this ranch of one hvmdred and sixty acres and 
 engaged in farming and stock-raising. 
 
 May 6, 1859, Mr. Wright was married to 
 Cordelia A. Andreus, near Marion, Minn., a 
 native of Wisconsin, having been born near 
 Janesville, Rock county. She is the daughter of 
 
 Daniel Andreus, who was born in Genesee coun- 
 ty, N. Y., but went to Wisconsin when a young 
 man and settled in Rock county, where he im- 
 proved and operated a farm. In 1854 he dis- 
 posed of his proj>erty in Wisconsin and removed 
 to Minnesota, locating near Rochester, where he 
 engaged in farming until his death, in March, 
 1873. Her mother, formerly Lucy Ann Cum- 
 mings, was born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., 
 and was the daughter of Thayer Cummings, a 
 native of New York, who, in later years, settled 
 in Minnesota, where his death occurred. At the 
 age of ninety years Mrs. Wright's mother is 
 living at Garfield, Minn., where she is a member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Ten chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. .\ndreus, four 
 sons and six daughters. Of the two sons and 
 five daughters who survive Mrs. Wright is the 
 fourth and the only one in California. Three of 
 her brothers, Truman, Isaac and Ira, served in 
 the Civil war. Mr. Wright was accidentally 
 killed in a runaway at Susanville. October 22, 
 1883, ^nd since his death Mrs. Wright has con- 
 tinued on the farm, upon which she built a new 
 residence. Subsequently, in 1903, she sold it to 
 her son-in-law, Clinton DeForest. Mrs. Wright 
 is the mother of six children, three of whom are 
 living, viz. : Madelena A., who is the wife of A. 
 J. Eades of Big Valley, this state, and has five 
 children: Melanda, who is the wife of N. P. 
 Hanson of Fall River Mills, and has one child; 
 and Frances, who is the wife of Clinton D. De- 
 Forest and lives on the old home place, and has 
 three children. Mr. Wright was fraternally con- 
 nected with the Ancient Order of United Work- 
 men, and in politics was a Republican. He was 
 a public-spirited man, and took an active interest 
 in whatever pertained to the welfare of his com- 
 munity. 
 
 WILLIAM CLINCH. Born in Cornwall, 
 England, May 13, 1823, William Clinch was 
 there reared and educated. Setting out for the 
 United States in 1852 by way of Cape Horn, he 
 was shipwrecked off the coast of Chili, and thus 
 it happened that he was engaged in mining there 
 for two years. Upon reaching California in 1854 
 
HISTORICAl. AND P.IOnRAPTTTCAI. RECORD. 
 
 739 
 
 he went at once to Nelson's Point on the Feather 
 river, and engaged in prospecting and mining. 
 From there he went to Gibsonville, and after- 
 wards to Richmond Hill and other places, finally 
 establishing the family home on a ranch of two 
 hundred and sixty acres, which, in partnership 
 with his brother John, he purchased, one mile 
 east of Quincy, Plumas county, and where he 
 spent the remainder of his life. In 1877 the ranch 
 was divided, William Clinch's share being one 
 hundred and twenty-one acres of valley land, 
 which he cleared and improved and upon which 
 he engaged in stock-raising and dairying. 
 
 April 7, 1849, ^^^- Clinch married Miss Ann 
 Tank, a native of Cornwall, England, who was 
 born October 8, 1822, and who was reared and 
 educated in her native country. Two children 
 were born of this marriage. John, now manager 
 of the home place, served an apprenticeship at 
 cabinet making four years and six months in 
 England, and after coming to this country 
 worked in the mines of California until 1876. 
 Since that time he has been on the home ranch ; 
 Anna Vivian Clinch became the wife of Gus 
 Berg, who is now deceased, and she lives in 
 Quincy. Mr. Clinch was a very strong man, 
 weighing from one hundred and ninety to two 
 hundred pounds, and until within two weeks of 
 his death was active and hearty. He lived a 
 Christian life. In politics he was a strong Re- 
 publican, and was elected roadmaster in his dis- 
 trict, performing the duties of that office effi- 
 ciently during his term of office from 1883 to 
 1884. Since his death the widow and her son 
 have made their home on the ranch, lately rent- 
 ing it for $300 per year. Mrs. Clinch is now in 
 her eighty-fourth year of age, but retains all her 
 faculties. 
 
 PETER OLSEN. The name Olsen indicates 
 the Scandinavian origin of the family. Peter 
 Olsen was born in Norway November 8, 1824, 
 and as a boy became familiar with the occu- 
 pations of farming and fishing, much of his 
 early life being spent as a sailor in the sea- 
 going fishing crafts for which his coun- 
 try is famous. When eighteen years of age, in 
 
 1842, he came to the United States and settled 
 in Minnesota, where he worked by the day at 
 any honorable employment he could obtain. Dur- 
 ing the troubles with the Indians in the north- 
 west he enlisted in the regular army in 1846, 
 and served about eighteen months, after which 
 he resumed the tilling of the soil. With the 
 money he frugally hoarded he paid his ex- 
 penses back to Norway and brought back to 
 the new world his brothers and sisters, all of 
 whom settled in the northwest. 
 
 After having inade the long journey across the 
 plains in 1S52 with wagons and oxen. Air. Olsen 
 to«k up land near Oroville, Butte county, and for 
 a time pursued the even tenor of a rancher's 
 occupation. Inuring the Eraser river excitement 
 he followed the throngs of miners to the new 
 camps, but met with no success and soon re- 
 turned to the ranch. By degrees stock-raising 
 became his specially. It was his custom to keep 
 his stock in Paitle county during the winters, 
 while every summer he drove the herd up to 
 Plumas county, where he camped until autumn. 
 In 1859 he drove his stock to Big Meadow val- 
 ley, where he filed a claim on heather river, but 
 did not clear the land. Until his death, which 
 occurred on Qiristmas day of 1892, he continued 
 10 raise and sell stock and held a place among 
 the hard-working ranchers of Plumas county. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Olsen occurred Septem- 
 ber 6, 1870, and united him with Mrs. Melissa 
 ( Kocher ) Bailey, who was born in Muskingum 
 county, Ohio. December 2, 1838. When she was 
 two years of age the family moved to Pennsyl- 
 vania, and from there in 1859 migrated west to 
 Minnesota, thence in 1859 crossing the plains to 
 California with her first husband, Jeremiah F. 
 Bailey, a native of Pennsylvania, but reared in 
 Wisconsin. After landing in the coast country 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bailey took up land on Big Mead- 
 ows, in Plumas county, and there he died De- 
 cember 5, 1867, leaving his widow with several 
 children to support and maintain. In the fall of 
 1868 Mrs. Bailey bought the claim and improve- 
 ments on one hundred and sixty acres, forming 
 the nucleus of her present property. To this she 
 added from time to time until she now owns 
 three hundred and eightv acres. Of the four 
 
740 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 children born to her first marriage two are now 
 living, namely : Horace Bailey of Chico and 
 Frank Bailey, whose home is in Red Blnff, this 
 state. There were born to her second marriage 
 three sons, namely : George Olsen, who manages 
 her ranch ; Nelson and Edgar, who still remain 
 at home and assist in the work of the home place. 
 
 GEORGE FOX KELLEY. Prominent among 
 the most energetic, capable and progressive 
 pioneer settlers of Lassen county was the late 
 George Fox Kelley, who did as much, if not 
 more, than any other one man in the developing 
 and building up of this part of northern Califor- 
 nia. By practical experience he proved to the 
 unbelieving that the wild lands of Honey Lake 
 valley could be reclaimed, and that the vast tracts 
 of sage brush could be converted into a good 
 agricultural region, abounding in well-cultivated 
 and well-stocked farms that should bespeak the 
 general prosperity of the people hereabout. A 
 native of \'ermont, he was born February 28, 
 1826, in Rutland, and among the rugged hills of 
 his native state he grew to a sturdy manhood. 
 
 While living in Rutland, George F. Kelley was 
 for several years of his early life associated with 
 the firm of Kelley Brothers as a salesman. This 
 firm carried on an extensive business in getting 
 out marble from the quarries and sawing it in 
 their mills. In 1859 Mr. Kelley severed his 
 connection with the firm, and with his family 
 came by way of the Isdimus to California. Set- 
 tling first in Oakland, he lived there a year, and 
 then located in Sonoma county, about three miles 
 from Santa Rosa, where he took up six hundred 
 acres of land and began its improvement. Sub- 
 sequently this land proved to be a part of an old 
 Spanish grant, and for two years he fought it 
 in the courts and was the leader of the settlers 
 there, even making a trip to Washington, D. C, 
 in order to establish his rights, but without 
 avail, owing to the assassination of President 
 Lincoln, After remaining in that county six 
 years he came to Lassen county, and here pre- 
 empted one hundred and sixty acres of land, took 
 up a homestead claim of one hundred and sixty 
 
 acres, and reclaimed five hundred acres of swamp 
 land. In reclaiming this waste land he dug two 
 canals, one thirty feet wide, and two miles long, 
 and the other ten feet wide, and a mile in length. 
 Over two hundred and forty acres he placed un- 
 der cultivation^ and for a number of years 
 raised large crops of grain. He also carried on 
 an e.xtensive cattle business, feeding them for 
 market, and was thus engaged until his death. 
 
 Mr. Kelley married, in Rutland, Vt., Emily 
 Button, who was torn in that city June 14, 1831, 
 and is now living on the home farm, in Lassen 
 county. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Kelley 
 five children were born, two of whom died in in- 
 fancy. Three grew to years of maturity, namely : 
 Clarence G., Frank A. and Edgar A. 
 
 Clarence G. Kelley was born in Vermont, but 
 was educated in California, attending first the 
 common schools, and afterward the high school 
 in Petaluma. While in Petaluma he read law 
 with William B. Haskell, an attorney of promi- 
 nence, with whom, after his admission to the bar, 
 he practiced law. Coming from there to 
 Lassen county, he was engaged in the prac- 
 tice of his profession in Susanville for a number 
 of years, being one of the leading attorneys of 
 the place until his death, which occurred in 1890. 
 He was a popular citizen, much esteemed, and a 
 member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows. His wife, whose maiden name was Kate 
 Gilman, survives him, and is now a resident of 
 Los Angeles. Frank A., the second son, is a 
 lawyer of prominence, and until his election as 
 county judge of Lassen county was senior mem- 
 ber of the law firm of Kelley & Kelley. 
 
 Edgar A. Kelley, the youngest son, was born 
 in Lassen county, Cal., October i, i86g. After 
 leaving the district schools he completed the 
 course of study in the Petaluma high school, re- 
 ceiving his diploma in 1890. He subsequently 
 entered the Hastings College of Law, from which 
 he was graduated in 1893. The following year 
 he practiced law with A. P. Van Duzer, and then 
 located in Lassen county, becoming a partner of 
 his brother, Frank A. Kelley, the firm name be- 
 ing Kelley & Kelley. When the brother was 
 elected judge the partnership was dissolved, and 
 Edgar A. Kelley turned his attention to agri- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ii\ 
 
 culture and stock-raising, this business engag- 
 ing Iiis attention for some time. For the past 
 three years he has dealt in farm machinery of all 
 kinds, introducing into this section modern ma- 
 chinery and advanced methods for caring for 
 farm productions, in this line of work meeting 
 with great success. He is an extensive land- 
 holder, owning four hundred acres, which he 
 keeps well stocked. He lives with his mother, 
 and in addition to caring for his own farm man- 
 ages her ranch of three hundred acres, devoting 
 it to the raising of hay, grain and fine cattle. 
 Like his father and brothers, he is a stanch Re- 
 publican in politics and fraternally he is a mem- 
 ber of the Independent Order of Odd . Fellows. 
 The father united with both the Odd Fellows 
 and the Masons while living in Vermont, and 
 after coming to Lassen county he was identified 
 with the Susanville lodges of both organiza- 
 tions. 
 
 ERNEST ALBERT JORDAN. Prominently 
 identified with the industrial interests of Lassen 
 county is Ernest zMbert Jordan, a well-known 
 and prosperous agriculturist, ^ living near Con- 
 stantia, he having been a resident of Long Val- 
 ley since 1905. He was born September 30, 
 1858, in Canada, while his mother was there on a 
 visit. His parents, William and Jane (Taylor) 
 Jordan, were natives of Quebec, and were both 
 of substantial English ancestry. After their 
 marriage they removed to the United States, lo- 
 cating permanently in Maine. 
 
 Receiving but meager educational advantages 
 in his Maine home, Ernest Albert Jordan began 
 the battle of life on his own account when a lad of 
 fifteen years, first driving a four-ox-team in a 
 lumber camp. He subsequently worked for 
 wages in different New England states, remain- 
 ing near the Atlantic coast until 1880. In that 
 year he migrated westward, settling in the terri- 
 tory of Washington. Taking up his residence in 
 Seattle^ which was then a small hamlet, with one 
 saw-mill, a boarding house and a few rude dwell- 
 ing houses, he remained there eighteen months, 
 driving eight-yoke of oxen in a lumber camp. 
 Becomin": afflicted with rheumatism he came to 
 
 California in search of a more favorable cli- 
 mate, and located at Honey Lake valley, in Las- 
 sen county. He subsequently worked as a wage- 
 earner for thirteen years, spending nine years of 
 the time in Reno. Nev. In 1892 he embarked in 
 business on his own account, erecting a mill on 
 the mountain south of IMilford and niamifactur- 
 ing lumber. His first plant was. unfortunately, 
 burned. i)ut he replaced it by a mill with a ca- 
 ])acity of thirty thousand feet of lumber daily, 
 and carried on his work for seven years. Selling 
 at an advantage, he ]nirchased a small place in 
 the village of Milford, where he was success- 
 fully engaged in buying and selling stock for 
 some time. In l'"ebruary, 1905, he purchased 
 from H. A. Butters his present ranch of five 
 hundred and twenty acres. Three hundred and 
 twenty acres of it are in timber, the remainder 
 being good farm land. Here he raises excellent 
 crops of hay and grain, and carries on an ex- 
 tensive business in feeding and raising cattle. 
 The ranch is irrigated by water from a mountain 
 stream, to obtain which he tunneled under the 
 mountain back of his house for two hundred feet. 
 This ranch was originally owned by Albert Ross, 
 who erected the present residence at a cost of 
 $14,000. Mr. Butters built an addition to the 
 house, and added other improvements to the 
 estate, rendering it one of the finest in the val- 
 ley. Mr. Jordan has a good orchard, in which 
 he raises fruit for his own use. He is a suc- 
 cessful business man, and is enjoying life to the 
 utmost. Two years ago he made a trip east, 
 visiting friends and relatives, and since his re- 
 turn from New England is more than ever con- 
 teuteil with his California home. 
 
 Mr. Jordan married first, in 1888, Letta How- 
 ard, who died a few years later. He was sub- 
 sequently married, in Susanville, to Mrs. M. E. 
 (Doyle) Bass, a daughter of James Doyle. By 
 her first husband, Edward Bass, Mrs. Jordan has 
 two children, Grace Bass and Cecil Bass. Of the 
 union of Mr. and Mrs. Jordan two children have 
 been born. Marian and Margaret. Politicallv 
 -Mr. Jordan is a straightforward Republican, de- 
 voted to the best interests of his party. Frater- 
 nally he is a member of Janesville Lodge No. 223, 
 1. 6. O. F. 
 
742 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 JOHN EDWIN JELLISON. Born and 
 reared on a Maine farm where timber is so 
 abundant, it was but a natural consequence that 
 John Edwin JelHson should be a saw-mill and 
 lumber man. His father was also a lumberman, 
 and a native of Maine, being; a member of the 
 board of selectmen of his town ; his mother. 
 Clara Stratton. was a member of an old New 
 England family, formerly of Massachusetts. 
 Both died in Maine at an advanced age. leaving 
 two children, Mr. Jellison's brother, Sylvanus, 
 still making his home on the old farm in Maine. 
 
 John E. Jellison was born June i8, 1852, and 
 brought up on the home farm in Franklin county. 
 Me., where he received a common school educa- 
 tion. While still a mere boy he worked in lum- 
 ber camps driving ox-teams and logging. Later 
 he learned the shoemaker's trade, as well as that 
 of the carpenter and builder. When a young 
 man of twenty-four years he concluded to try his 
 fortune in California, locating in Honey Lake 
 valley, where he worked at the carpenter's trade 
 for a time, but as he preferred work in the line 
 of machinery and milling, in 1890 he built a 
 shingle mill about a quarter of a mile from his 
 present place and operated this about two years. 
 He then purchased one hundred and si.xty acres 
 of timber land in Plumas county, six miles from 
 Janesville, in '"Last Chance," and two years later 
 sold it. Subsequently he built a new steam saw- 
 mill at the head of Elysian valley, where he en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of lumber, continumg 
 here for a number of years, when, in 1898, he 
 moved the mill to his present place two and a 
 half miles southwest of Janesville, where he 
 makes shingles and does a general saw and plan- 
 ing mill business. The largest mill in Lassen 
 county, it is operated by an eighty horse-power 
 steam engine and double circular saws, and has 
 a capacity of thirty thousand feet every ten hours. 
 
 Mr. Jellison was married near Janesville to 
 Araminta Dunn, who was born in Lassen county, 
 the daughter of John R. Dunn, a farmer near 
 Janesville, who came across the plains to this 
 state in the '50s, and is now living near Spoon- 
 ville, engaged in the dairy and stock business. 
 Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jellison, viz. : Edwin Arlaigh, who married 
 
 Georgia Ramsay, and resides at Buntingville ; 
 Lottie, who married William H. Grass, of Mil- 
 ford ; Cecil C. and Gordon G., who are inter- 
 ested in business with their father ; Clara, the 
 wife of Theo French ; and Pansy, Leo D. and 
 Auburn M., all at home. Mr. Jellison is a man 
 of sterling worth, and his abilities have won for 
 him public recognition, and his unblemished char- 
 acter and integrity hold him secure in public and 
 private life. He has been elected justice of the 
 peace several times, and served as school trustee 
 for many years. Fraternally he is identified with 
 tlie Masonic order at Janesville, and both he and 
 his wife belong to the Eastern Star. In politics 
 he is a stanch Democrat. 
 
 LUCIUS A. BUNNELL. The popular pro- 
 prietor of the Prattville hotel at Prattville, 
 Plumas county, Cal., is Lucius A. Bunnell, a 
 native of New York state, born in Oneida coun- 
 ty, March 29, 1870. Left an orphan at an early 
 age, he came to California when seven years old 
 to live with his uncle, Luther W. Bunnell, a full 
 account of whose career will be found elsewhere 
 in this volume, and here he was reared and edu- 
 cated. After attending the public school for sev- 
 eral years he went to Chico, where he attended 
 the State Normal for several terms. Leav- 
 ing school, in partnership with R. A. Costar, he 
 went into the mercantile business, the style of the 
 firm name being Costar & Bunnell, an associa- 
 tion which continued for four years, when the 
 latter disposed of his interest in the business. 
 Going to San Francisco, he there engaged in the 
 wholesale milk and produce business until his 
 health becoming impaired, he was compelled to 
 give it up and leave San Francisco. Going on 
 a tour for the benefit of his health, he traveled 
 through British Columbia and the eastern states 
 nearly a year, and upon regaining his health 
 returned to Plumas county and opened a meat 
 market and cattle business, which he operated 
 about a year. At the end of this time he pur- 
 chased and improved the hotel, selling it two 
 months later, but which he has since continued 
 to operate with great success. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPTTICAL RECORD. 
 
 V43 
 
 July 27, 1901, Mr. Piiinncll married Miss Jose- 
 phine Flint, a native (laui;liter of California, hav- 
 ing been born at Chico, and one child, a son, has 
 been born to them, James Wellington. Frater- 
 nally Mr. Bunnell is identified with the Masons, 
 belonging to the Free and Accepted Masons of 
 Greenville, and in politics is a supporter of the 
 Republican platform. He was owner of the 
 stage line from Seneca to Greenville, this countv. 
 for a time, but sold it to good advantage, and is 
 now proprietor of a valuable alfalfa ranch in the 
 Sacramento valley, in Butte county. This is a por- 
 tion of the Gen. John Bidwell estate, fifty acres 
 of it producing from ten to twelve tons of hay to 
 the acre. Mr. Bunnell trades quite extensively 
 in cattle, and has made money in this line of 
 business, in fact has been successful in his com- 
 bined labors, and is a representative citizen of his 
 county. 
 
 DENNIS S. DENEHY. Among the rep- 
 resentative men of Modoc county, whose place 
 of birth was in the British Isles, and who, with 
 the industry and thrift characteristic of the people 
 of their native land, are rapidly progressing 
 toward that condition of financial wealth and 
 prosperity so coveted by all, is Dennis S. Denehy, 
 a well-known and successful general merchant 
 of Cedarville. A native of Ireland, he was born, 
 June 26, 1857, in che city of Cork, hut he was 
 brought up and educated in England. 
 
 In 1880 Mr. Denehy came to America, rich in 
 ambition, but poor in pocket, and for a while 
 remained in the east, working in New York City 
 and other places. Migrating to California in 
 1885, he was for ten or more years employed as 
 a wage earner in Surprise valley, and by means 
 of prudence and good management saved some 
 money. Embarking then in mercantile pursuits, 
 he formed a partnership with James Williams, 
 of Bidwell, Cal, with whom he built up an ex- 
 tensive and lucrative business, the firm name be- 
 ing D. S. Denehy & Co. Under this same firm 
 name the business was incorporated in May, 1905, 
 with a capital of $25,000. D. S. Denehy & Co. 
 have erected a fine brick store at Cedarville, and 
 have it stocked with a complete line of dry goods. 
 
 groceries, general merchandise of all kinds, and 
 in addition handle farm machinery and imple- 
 ments, carrying, in fact, almost everything de- 
 manded by the trade. In igor Mr. Denehy mar- 
 ried Esther Street, and they have one child. 
 Dorothy Denehy. Politically he is a stanch Dem- 
 ocrat. 
 
 HANS PETERSON was born in Vordeng- 
 borg, Denmark, October 5, i860, son of Peter 
 died in Denmark, the former at seventy-two 
 years, and the latter at forty-four. Reared on 
 a farm in his native country Hans Peterson 
 received his education in the common schools 
 there. In 1880, when he was twenty years of 
 age, he went to Sweden, taking with him his 
 young wife, who was formerly Matta Olson, a 
 native of that country, and the daughter of 
 Ole Anderson, a Swedish farmer. Arriving in 
 Sweden he engaged in farming, and during the 
 three years thus engaged, saved enough money 
 to pay for his transportation to America. March 
 of 1883 setting sail, he arrived in California the 
 following May, very short of funds, but soon 
 obtained employment, working in a dairy until 
 June. He then went to Honey Lake valley, where 
 he obtained employment in a sawmill, working 
 for Peter Wogt for five months. Subsequently 
 he was in the employ of William Brockman. 
 
 The following fall, his wife having joined 
 him, Mr. Peterson made his home at Janesville, 
 but continued working at the sawmill until the 
 spring of 1884, when he purchased a lot and 
 erected a home upon it. Four years later he 
 bought the old Dr. Mazella place and homesteaded 
 one hundred and sixty acres of land upon which 
 there was little or no improvement, and clearing 
 this from sage brush he placed it under cultiva- 
 tion. As soon as he had put about one-half 
 of his land under cultivation he engaged in the 
 stock and dairy business, having about twenty 
 cows in his dairy, his brand being HP. In 
 1902 he purchased the old Sloss place which 
 was considerably run down, but he has rebuilt 
 it, erected new barns, etc., placed the land under 
 fence, and now it is one of the best places in 
 the vicinity. He owns three hundred and 
 
744 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 seventy-eight acres in all, two hundred being 
 under cultivation, fifty acres in alfalfa, and the 
 remainder in grain and hay. 
 
 November i, 1880, before going from Den- 
 mark to Sweden, j\Ir. Peterson was married to 
 Matta Olson, and four children have come to 
 bless this union, as follows: Mary (who married 
 C. B. Rossi, of Spoonville), Frank Oscar, James 
 Theo and Thyra, the three last named at home 
 with their parents. Mr. Peterson has a sister, 
 Hannah, who makes her home with him, and a 
 brother, Lydig, a teacher in Denmark. All of 
 the family are members of the Lutheran Oiurch. 
 Mr. Peterson belongs to the Fraternal Brother- 
 hood and also to Lodge No. 223, I. O. O. F., 
 at Janesville. In politics he is a Democrat, and 
 is a member of the board of school trustees at 
 Janesville. He is successful in his business and 
 genial and hospitable in disposition, a worthy 
 citizen of the locality in which he laid the 
 foundation of his financial independence. 
 
 FREDERICK EUGENE BAGIN. Ener- 
 getic, capable and enterprising, Frederick Eu- 
 gene Bagin, proprietor of the Honey Lake meat 
 market, is numbered among the successful busi- 
 ness men of .Susanville, and as a man of sterling 
 integrity is held in high esteem. A son of the 
 late Patrick Bagin, he was born in Johnstonville, 
 Cal., January 14, 1871, of Irish ancestry. 
 
 A native of Ireland, Patrick Bagin left the 
 Emerald Isle when a boy, coming across the 
 ocean to this countr}-. Leaving the east in the 
 early '50s he came across the plains by ox-team 
 train to California, and for a few years there- 
 after was employed in freighting. Locating in 
 Honey Lake valley in 1858, he purchased land, 
 and improved what is now known as the Cahlan 
 ranch. He subsequently sold that property, and 
 afterwards bought other wild land and improved 
 two different ranches, continuing in agricultural 
 pursuits until his death, which occurred on his 
 home farm, about one mile east of Johnstonville. 
 In Lassen county he married Lydia Power, who 
 was born in the east, came with her father to 
 California, and is now a resident of \'entura 
 
 county. She bore her husband four children, 
 Frederick Eugene, the subject of this sketch, 
 being the second in order of birth. 
 
 Receiving his early education in the public 
 schools, Frederick E. Bagin remained on the 
 parental homestead until eighteen years of age, 
 becoming familiar with farm work, and from 
 his boyhood days dealing in horses and cattle. 
 In 1895 he opened a meat market in Susanville 
 and operated it successfully until 1900, when he 
 was burned out. Two years later, locating on 
 Main street, he opened the Honc}- Lake meat 
 market, which he is managing most satisfactorily 
 in every respect. He has it well equipped, hav- 
 ing refrigerators, ice-houses and all the needed 
 furnishings for carrying on his extensive trade. 
 He has likewise other interests of value, owning 
 the Hot Springs stage line, which extends from 
 Susanville to Hot Springs, a distance of twenty- 
 five miles, making the round trip each day, the 
 time required being ten hours. 
 
 In Reno, Nev., Mr. Bagin married Rosella 
 Jackson, who was born at Willow Creek, Cal. 
 Politically Mr. Bagin is a loyal adherent of the 
 Democratic party, and, although he has never 
 mixed prominently with public affairs, takes 
 genuine interest in local matters. 
 
 POMPEO JOHN LOMBARDI. On com- 
 ing to Sierra county in 1889 Mr. Lombardi had 
 very little capital with which to engage in inde- 
 pendent enterprises, but he had a thorough 
 knowledge of dairving and an abundance of 
 energ}', and these two qualifications proved in- 
 valuable in aiding him to place his affairs upon 
 a substantial basis. Through his unaided exer- 
 tions he has acquired the ownership of seven- 
 teen hundred and sixty-five acres divided into 
 two ranches with two sets of buildings, the en- 
 tire tract lying in one body two miles west of 
 Loyalton. About six hundred acres are devoted 
 to the raising of grain and hay, while the bal- 
 ance furnishes an abundance of pasturage for 
 his stock, comprising one hundred and fifty head 
 of stock cattle and upwards of sixty cows. The 
 dairv industry has been his specialty, the milk 
 
HISTORICAL AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 745 
 
 being sold in the xillacjc of i^ovalton. Tliroui;h 
 painstaking' care lie has built up a milk business 
 that has proved profitable, although recpiiring on 
 his part the utmost care, untiring energy and 
 constant oversight. 
 
 Switzerland is Mr. Lombardi"s native coun- 
 try and June 13, 1861, the date of his birth. 
 The care-free days of boyhood he passed in the 
 Swiss mountains, where his father conducted a 
 dairy in the summer, and during the winter re- 
 ceived pay from the government for aiding tour- 
 ists who were caught in the severe storms of the 
 mountains. Elarly in life he gained a thorough 
 knowledge of dairying as conducted in his na- 
 tive land and proved a valuable assistant on the 
 home place, but he was not satisfied to remain 
 in the midst of the discouraging outlook ofifered 
 there, so decided to seek a home in the United 
 States. After landing in New York City, March 
 I, 1884, he proceeded direct to San Francisco, 
 where for two years he was employed in a dairy 
 and for a similar period drove a milk wagon. 
 Following this came a few months in the employ 
 of the California Wire Works Company at North 
 Beach and a year as cheese-maker on ranches 
 in Santa Cruz and Alameda counties, whence in 
 1889 he came to^ Sierra county. For a few 
 months he worked as a laborer and then secured 
 the title to three hundred and sixty acres fomi- 
 ing a part of his present homestead. As he 
 had little means, it was necessary to incur a 
 heavy indebtedness, and for years he struggled 
 with the burden of debt, but eventually secured 
 a clear title to the property and then began to 
 enlarge his holdings. From the first he has 
 been interested in dairying and from a herd of 
 ten cows has built up a dairy of almost sixty 
 head of the finest breeds. 
 
 Since becoming a citizen of the United States 
 Mr. Lombardi has \oted the Republican ticket 
 and has maintained a constant interest in public 
 affairs, but has at no time sought office, pre- 
 ferring to concentrate his attention upon the 
 management of his ranch interests. During tlie 
 year of his arrival in California Miss .\ngelina 
 Romilli, a native of Switzerland, also settled in 
 this state and became a resident of the Sierra 
 valley, and January 12, 1886, they were united 
 
 in marriage at her home. Four children bless 
 their union, all still at home. They are named 
 as follows : Caesar P., Attilio A., Louis and 
 Mary C. The family have a high standing 
 among the people of the valley and are respected 
 for the attributes that form the highest tyjje of 
 citizenship. 
 
 OLOF HERMAN ENHORNING. Con- 
 spicuously identified with the industrial interests 
 of Lassen county is Olof Herman Enhorning of 
 Susanville, one of the proprietors of the Diamond 
 Mountain Lumber Company, and a well-known 
 contractor and builder. Industrious and thrifty, 
 he has started out in life with bright prospects 
 for a prosperous future, his energy, ability and 
 sound judgment bidding fair to place him ere 
 long among the prominent business men of this 
 part of the state. A son of Hendrick Enhorning, 
 he was born December 19, 1865, near Orebro, 
 Sweden. .\ native of the same town, Hendrick 
 Enhorning spent his entire life there, being suc- 
 cessfully employed in agricultural pursuits. He 
 was a man of upright principles, and a member 
 of the Lutheran Church. He was twice married, 
 his first wife passing away in early womanhood, 
 leaving one child, a daughter. His second wife 
 was Marie Louise Udden, who was born in 
 Cumbla, a daughter of Rev. Air. Udden, pastor 
 of the Lutheran Church of that place. She sur- 
 vived her husband, and is now living in Upsala, 
 Sweden. Her six children, three sons and three 
 daughters, are all living, Olof Hennan, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, being the eldest child, and 
 the only one in the United States. 
 
 Spending his earlier years in Sodermannland, 
 Olof Herman Enhorning attended the common 
 schools when a boy, completing his education at 
 the high school in Strengniis. Going then to 
 Stockholm, he worked for two seasons as a 
 plasterer and bricklayer, and was afterwards em- 
 ployed as a clerk in that city. Immigrating to 
 California in 1885, Mr. Enhorning spent three 
 or four years in Plumas county, following min- 
 ing or carpentering. In 1889 he locatetl at Su- 
 sanville, and for four years was employed at the 
 carpenter's trade. Succeeding well, he embarked 
 
746 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 in business on his own account as a contractor 
 and builder in 1893, and also engaged in manu- 
 facturing lumber, becoming head of the firm of 
 Enhorning, Odette & Harrison, now known as 
 the Diamond ^Mountain Lumber Company. This 
 company has erected a steam sawmill on Gold 
 Run, seven miles south of Susanville, and is ex- 
 tensively and profitably engaged in manufactur- 
 ing lumber and shingles, the cajiacity of the plant 
 being fifteen thousand feet of lumber per day. 
 The firm also carry on a substantial building 
 business, being well and favorably known 
 throughout this section, and have the contract 
 for erecting the new high-school building at 
 Susanville, where Mr. Enhorning has already 
 built a fine residence for himself and family. 
 
 In Lassen county, near Susanville, Mr. En- 
 horning married Sophia Harrison, a native of 
 this place, being a daughter of George and 
 Sophia Harrison. Her father was one of the 
 pioneer settlers of Susanville, and is now en- 
 gaged in bee raising near Janesville, where he 
 has obtained distinction as a successful apiarist. 
 Mrs. Enhorning died in 1900, leaving one child, 
 Winnie Marie. Politically Mr. Enhorning en- 
 dorses the principles of the Republican party 
 and fraternally he belongs to Lassen Lodge No. 
 149, F. & A. M. In his religious belief he is 
 a Lutheran. 
 
 JOHN WAYNE MARCUS. On account of 
 his natural business capacities and his integrity 
 of character, John Wayne Marcus is numbered 
 among the representative men of Modoc county, 
 where he has filled town and county offices, and 
 is now giving satisfactory service as postmaster 
 of Lookout. For a quarter of a century he was 
 intimately associated with the agricultural inter- 
 ests of Big Valley, contributing actively towards 
 its advancement. He holds a place of distinction 
 not only as a representative and trustworthy citi- 
 zen, but as one having to his credit an unblem- 
 ished war record. A native of Missouri, he was 
 born, March 24, 1838, in Wayne county. Sub- 
 sequently his parents removed to the south cen- 
 tral part of the state, where he was reared and 
 educated until fifteen years of age, then removed 
 
 to Newton county, growing to man's estate on 
 the parental homestead. 
 
 April I, 1859, bidding good-bye tO' home and 
 friends, John W. Marcus started westward in 
 quest of fortune. Crossing the plains, he ar- 
 rived at Honey Lake valley, Lassen county, July 
 27, 1859, having been nearly four months en 
 route. Going to Plumas county, he was engaged 
 in mining until the spring of 1863, when he 
 went to Nevada, where he was engaged in min- 
 ing and stock speculating for nearly eighteen 
 months. In September, 1864, volunteering his 
 services to his country, he enlisted in Company 
 E, First Nevada Cavalry, as a private, for a term 
 of three years, or until the close of the war. His 
 company was ordered east, but the Indians be- 
 coming troublesome the order was counter- 
 manded, and he and his companions were de- 
 tailed to take charge of aff^airs in that part of 
 the west in which the Indians were making them- 
 selves so feared. For bravely performing his 
 duties as a soldier, he was promoted to the rank 
 of corporal, in which he served until receiving 
 his honorable discharge, in October, 1865. 
 
 Returning then to Virginia City, Nev., Mr. 
 Alarcus worked for a while as a miner, and at 
 the trade of a carpenter, which he had previously 
 learned. In September, 1867, he located at Wood- 
 land, Yolo county, Cal., where he followed his 
 trade successfully for six years. Coming to Big 
 \'ailey in 1873, '""s settled one and one-half milas 
 south of the village of Lookout, in Modoc county, 
 bu\ing one hundred and sixty acres of land 
 which was practically in its primitive wildness. 
 With true pioneer pluck and energy, he began 
 its improvement, placing a large part of it under 
 cultivation, and was there prosperously employed 
 in general farming for nearly twenty-five years. 
 He was one of the first householders of that sec- 
 tion, locating there when the vallev was but 
 sparsely populated, and none of the land was 
 fenced. He was one of the first to erect a sub- 
 stantial set of farm buildings in the community, 
 and during his residence there was one of the 
 leading men, and took a prominent part in public 
 affairs, serving as justice of the peace twelve 
 years, as constable six years, and as deputy sher- 
 iflf of Modoc county many terms. In 1897 he 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 747 
 
 moved to Lookout, erected a fine residence, and 
 has since served as postmaster, having previously 
 sold his ranch at an advantasjeous price. 
 
 At Woodland, Cal., in 1870, Mr. Marcus mar- 
 ried Mar}- Louise Derby, who was born in Oii- 
 cago. 111., in 1853, and when but six weeks old 
 was brought across the plains to California by 
 her parents. Of the children born of the union 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Marcus, five are living: James 
 Edwin, of Lookout, married Olive Cousins, by 
 whom he has one child, Claude Edwin ; Katie 
 Irene, wife of Grayson D. Myers, of Adin, has 
 three children, Clarence, Reta Irene and Wayne; 
 Claude Albert is ne.xt in order of birth ; Florence 
 Edith, wife of Stephen Fulcher, living in Look- 
 out, has one child, Catherine ; and Eula May is 
 the wife of Clarence Steiger, of Bieber. Politi- 
 cally Mr. Marcus is an active supporter of the 
 principles of the Republican party, and belongs 
 to the Modoc County Republican Central Com- 
 mittee. Before the discontinuation of the Adin 
 Post, G. A. R., he was one of its most faithful 
 members, and now draws a pension from the gov- 
 ernment for his services in the Civil war. Fra- 
 ternally he is a member of Lookout Lodge No. 
 211, A. O. U. W., in which he has passed all 
 the chairs. 
 
 JOSEPH R. ENSCOE. The name of Enscoe 
 is a familiar one to all old residents of this 
 section of the country, for some member of the 
 family has represented the name since the early 
 days of Sierra county. Joseph R. Enscoe is a 
 native of this county, born at Downieville, .\u- 
 gust 8, 1862, and in this vicinity has spent his 
 entire life. His father, Joseph Enscoe, was the 
 first merchant in the valley, and in connection 
 with William Arms was at the head of nearly all 
 of the early improvements and industries estab- 
 lished in the Sierra valley. A native of Birming- 
 ham, England, and an engraver by trade, he was 
 a young man when he came to the United States 
 and went to work at his trade in New York. 
 In 1858 he came to California, making the jour- 
 ney by way of Panama, and settling at Downie- 
 ville, engaged in mining for a time, then opened 
 a store in Ladies Canyon, later conducting one 
 
 in Downieville. In the spring of 1863 he be- 
 came manager of the store at Sierraville owned 
 by William Arms, and later, in partnership with 
 Mr. Arms, engaged in various enterprises 
 throughout the surrounding country, dealing in 
 merchandise, lumber and ranch projDerty, carry- 
 ing on a successful business for a number of 
 years. In 1867 Mr. Enscoe sold his interest in 
 the store and bought a ranch consisting of one 
 hundred and sixty acres three miles west of 
 Loyalton, where he had a good range and en- 
 gaged in stock-raising imtil 1872, when he sold 
 the ranch and engaged in a general merchandise 
 business in Loyalton, continuing this until his 
 death. He was an active Republican in politics 
 and held several local offices. In fraternal rela- 
 tions he was one of tlie charter members of 
 Sierra Valley Lodge, I. O. O. F. His wife 
 was a Miss Lenora Thompson, a native 
 of Cape Town, Africa, who made several trips 
 to California in the early days before she settled 
 here and was married to Mr. Enscoe in 1861. 
 She died August 15, 1888. 
 
 Of a family of eight children Joseph R. Ens- 
 coe is the only surviving member. He passed his 
 boyhood years at home, attended the public 
 schools until 1878, and then spent one year at the 
 California Military Academy at ( )akland, com- 
 pleting his education with one term at Heald"s 
 Business College in .San Francisco. lie then 
 went to work at the agricultural works at IJenicia, 
 Cal., and served an apprenticeship of three years 
 at the machinist trade. Returning home, he 
 went to work in his father's store, and in 1885 
 became manager of his father's store at Beck- 
 with, which he afterwards bought, continuing 
 the business for himself until 1898, when it was 
 destroyed by fire and he lost everything but the 
 insurance. When his father died he was ap- 
 pointed administrator of the estate and he carried 
 on the business until the estate was settled and 
 the store sold to its present owners, the Sierra- 
 ville Mercantile Company. Besides this he owned 
 and conducted the Loyalton Hotel, and in 1901 
 opened a drug store. In 1902 he sold the hotel 
 and disposed of the drug business February 20, 
 IQ06. In 1903 he built a two story brick build- 
 ing 54x30 feet, occupying the lower floor as a 
 
m 
 
 748 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 drug store and renting tlie upper floor for offices. 
 As early as 1887 he had become interested in the 
 undertaking business anil is now giving it his 
 time exclusively. 
 
 December 20, 1885, Mr. Enscoe married Miss 
 Jennie Parish, a native of California, born at 
 Beckwith. They have a family of three chil- 
 dren : Leonora May, Robert E. and Lucy, all at 
 home. Mr. Enscoe is a Republican in politics. 
 He is, however, inclined to be liberal in matters, 
 of local politics, voting for the man he considers 
 best fitted for the office without reference to 
 political tendencies. He has been mayor of Loy- 
 alton since 1902, having been appointed to fill 
 a vacancy. He is a member of Loyalton Lodge 
 No. 359, F. & A. M., a charter member of Gran- 
 ite Chapter, R. A. M., a member of Loyalton 
 Lodge No. 22, K. P., Loyalton Parlor No. 22G, 
 N. S. G. W., a charter member of Eastern Star 
 Lodge No. 224, and also belongs to the Modern 
 Woodmen. 
 
 STEPHEN SHORE BASS. Among the suc- 
 cessful farmers and stockmen of Lassen county 
 is Stephen S. Bass, who resides two and one-half 
 miles west of Janesville. His father, Richard 
 Bass, was a native of Kentucky, but was reared 
 in Missouri, to which state his parents removed 
 when he was a small child, and in 1853 came to 
 California via the Beckwith Pass route, consum- 
 ing over four months in the journey from Mis- 
 souri. He finally located in Elysian valley, in 
 Lassen county, where he became a successful 
 rancher and cattleman and a large land owner. 
 During the Me.xican war he served in the 
 mounted infantry a few months. He died No- 
 vember II, 1904. His wife, fonnerly Mary 
 Ann Carlyon, was a native of Cornwall, Eng- 
 land, and is the daughter of Pliilip Carlyon, also 
 a native of Cornwall, but who came to America 
 and settled as a pioneer in Washington county. 
 Mo. 
 
 Stephen Shore Bass was born January 9, 1857, 
 and was brought up on the home farm in Ely- 
 sian valley, obtaining his education in the public 
 schools of Janesville, Johnstonville and Susan- 
 ville. He remained at home until twenty-three 
 
 years of age, then started out for himself in the 
 stock business on a ranch of his father's, three 
 miles west of Janesville, upon which he has since 
 resided, and upon which he has made the im- 
 provements, erecting a residence, barns, etc. 
 There are three hundred and five acres in this 
 ranch, nearly all of which is under cultivation, 
 and upon which he raises hay and grain prin- 
 cipally. He also owns a ranch in Lost Chance 
 valley, in Plumas county, twenty miles away 
 from his home place, and he and his brother, 
 Rowland, own twelve hundred and eighty acres 
 of meadow land upon which they keep their cat- 
 tle five months of each year. Mr. Bass owns a 
 fine herd of cattle of the Durham breed, and in 
 his dairy he has thirty cows. His brand is GO 
 on the left hip. 
 
 Mr. Bass was married in Janesville to Kate 
 Haley, who was born at Johnstonville, and is 
 the daughter of Nelson Haley, an early settler 
 of the county. Eight children have been born 
 to them, viz., Ernest, Floyd, Mattie, Richard, 
 Grover, Ralph, William and Jay, all of whom 
 are at home. Mr. Bass was school trustee in his 
 county for nineteen years, from 1886 until 1905; 
 and was elected supervisor of the second district 
 by two majority in a strong Republican district, 
 though he himself is a stanch Democrat. He en- 
 tered the office in 1899, and in 1902 was re- 
 nominated and elected on the Democratic ticket 
 by thirty-three majority, to serve until 1907. 
 In 1904 he was chairman of the board of direct- 
 ors. His abilities have won for him public rec- 
 ognition, and his integrity has held him secure 
 in both public and private life. Fraternally he 
 is identified with the Masonic order, belonging 
 to Lodge No. 232, F. & A. M., at Janesville. 
 Mr. Bass is a public-spirited man, taking an act- 
 ive interest in any movement pertaining to the 
 welfare and upbuilding of his community. 
 
 JACOB RANDRUP. Born in Shelland, N. 
 Y., Jacob Randrup is the son of German par- 
 ents. His father. Christian Randrup, was born 
 in Mecklenburg, Germany, but in later years re- 
 moved to Denmark, where he engaged in the 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 74'J 
 
 dairy and coopering business. He married Wil- 
 helmina Wolf, a native of Kiel, Germany, and 
 eleven children were born to them, nine of whom 
 grew to manhood and womanhood, but before 
 the family came to. the United States the wife 
 died in Denmark. Upon coming to America the 
 family settled in the state of New York, and 
 some time afterwards the father took passage on 
 a sailing vessel for San Francisco, in which city 
 all trace of him disappeared, and his fate has 
 never been learned. 
 
 Jacob Randrup was born June 27, 1847, ''"cl '^ 
 the only one of the family of eleven children liv- 
 ing. He was reared on a farm in Denmark and 
 there learned dairying and coopering, which he 
 followed for a time. May 10, 1883, he came to 
 California and located in Janesville, where he 
 worked for a time on a farm, then erected a 
 cooper shop in the village and worked at his 
 trade, manufacturing butter tubs, at which he 
 was very successful. In April of 1893 he was 
 burned out, but instead of being discouraged by 
 this piece of ill fortune, he at once homesteaded 
 one hundred and twenty acres of sage brush 
 land, erected a house upon it, cleared ninety 
 acres, which he put in alfalfa and grain and 
 engaged in farming and dairying. Later he pur- 
 chased four hundred and twenty acres of land 
 adjoining, now owning five hundred and forty 
 acres in all. One hundred and fifty acres of the 
 latter purchase were under cultivation and this 
 he put in alfalfa. He has a fine residence and 
 outbuildings .upon his farm, thirty-five cows in 
 the large dairy, principally the Short-horn and 
 Durham breed of cows, and uses a separator. 
 His brand is JR for cattle, and for horses the 
 figure 2 on right shoulder with a straight bar 
 on top. 
 
 In Susanville Mr. Randrup was married to 
 Lienor Jensen, who is a native of Sweden, and 
 six children have been born to them, whose 
 names are as follows : George, Qiarles, Minnie, 
 Emma. Esther and Helen. In politics Mr. Rand- 
 rup is a Democrat, supporting that platform 
 with stanch fidelity; for three years he was a 
 member of the board of school trustees, and is 
 a member of the Lutheran Oiurch. He has rea- 
 son to be proud of what he has accomplished in 
 
 the way of making a fruitful farm out of sage 
 brush fields, and of the perfection to which he 
 has brought his dairying business. 
 
 (;E0RGE henry herring, a success- 
 ful rancher and dairyman residing near Taylors- 
 ville, Plumas county, is George Henry Herring, 
 a native of Tennessee and the son of Bryant and 
 Percy (.Millard) Herring, both of whom were 
 born in North Carolina. His father was reared 
 and educated in his native state, but when a 
 young man went to Tennessee, where he worked 
 at the tanner's trade and manufactured lumber 
 by hand, using a whipsaw. .About 1843 he re- 
 moved to Yell county, Ark., where he purchased 
 a claim and followed farming and stock raising 
 until his death, which occurred when he was six- 
 ty-five years of age. He was the son of an old 
 southern planter, also a native of North Caro- 
 lina, who died when seventy years of age. Fif- 
 teen children were bom to Mr. and Mrs. Her- 
 ring, one of whom was sheriff during the Civil 
 war. 
 
 The tliird in order of birth in the parental fam- 
 ily, George Henrj' Herring was born June 13, 
 1833, and was reared and educated in his native 
 state, remaining at home with his parents on the 
 farm until twenty-four years of age. In 1859 he 
 drove an ox team overland to California, work- 
 ing his way, and upon reaching this state, came 
 to Indian valley, where he secured employment 
 on a ranch, working by the month. W'ith his ac- 
 cumulated earnings he purchased a small ranch 
 consisting of eighty acres, and after operating 
 this about three years sold it and purchased his 
 present farm of two hundred and forty-six 
 acres. Two hundred and twenty acres are in the 
 valley, while the remainder is in timber and hill 
 land. Here he has since engaged in farming and 
 dairying, having about twenty-five cows in the 
 dairy. 
 
 January 8, 1873. Mr. Herring was married to 
 Miss Silva Johnson, who was born in Davis 
 county, Iowa, where she remained until her mar- 
 riage, after which .she came to California. Seven 
 children have come to bless this union, viz., 
 
750 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Stella, the wife of Robert Keswick, living at 
 Taylorsville ; Ada, who married D. J. Robert- 
 son of Quincy, Cal. ; and Charles, Marcus, Earl, 
 Dell and Grover, all at home. In politics Mr. 
 Herring has the same views as his father had 
 befor^ him, and is a stanch supporter of the 
 Democratic platform, though his quiet disposi- 
 tion and domestic habits never inclined him to 
 desire public office. Both Mr. Herring and his 
 wife are consistent members of the Methodist 
 church, of which Mr. Herring was trustee for 
 several years. A self-made man, having started 
 out in life with no means at his disposal, he has 
 won a competency for himself and family, and 
 though he has been the victim of ill health for 
 the past few years, attends strictly to business. 
 having a valuable farm and a profitable dairy 
 business. 
 
 THOMAS McCLUER. A worthy and hon- 
 ored representative of the early pioneers of Mo- 
 doc county, Thomas McCluer is a true type of 
 the energetic, hardy and courageous men who 
 actively assisted in the development of Round 
 Valley, where thirty-five or more years ago he 
 took up a tract of wild land, on which he has 
 since resided, respected and esteemed by all. He 
 came here when there were very few dwellings 
 in this region, being the seventh householder, 
 locating in this valley ere the red man and the 
 wild animals had fled before the advancing steps 
 of civilization. In the rapid development of the 
 community in which he settled, Mr. McCluer 
 took an important part, and while contributing 
 to the welfare of his adopted state has been en- 
 abled to accumulate a comfortable fortune for 
 himself. A son of Staley Durham McQuer, he 
 was born, August 12, 1828, in Wabash county, 
 111., where he was reared and educated. 
 
 A native of Marjdand, Staley Durham Mc- 
 Cluer spent the days of his early manhood in 
 Kentucky, being engaged in agricultural pur- 
 suits. He was venturesome and daring, and as 
 a soldier under Gen. Anthony Wayne fought the 
 Indians. He lived to the venerable age of eighty- 
 si.x years, dying in 1861. He married, in Ken- 
 tucky, Elizabeth Arnold, who was born in that 
 
 state, near Boone Fort, and they soon afterward 
 settled in Illinois, his bride being the first white 
 woman to cross the Wabash into Wabash county. 
 She preceded him to the better world, passing 
 away in 1856, at the age of seventy years. 
 
 Following the independent occupation in which 
 he was reared, Thomas McCluer was engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits in his native county imtil 
 1865, when, on February 2"/, he started across 
 the plains with his famil}', arriving at the foot 
 hills, in the Willamette valley, Linn county. Ore., 
 on October 8. Three years later he came to 
 Modoc county, Cal., on September 4, 1869, locat- 
 ing in Round Valley, which had at that time 
 very few inhabitants. Taking up a homestead 
 claim of one hundred and sixtv acres, he began 
 clearing it, and in the course of time rendered 
 it one of the most productive ranches in this part 
 of the state, its improvements being many and 
 valuable. He carried on general farming dur- 
 ing his active life, raising grain and stock, in 
 his undertakings meeting with well-merited suc- 
 cess. 
 
 In 1853 Mr. McCluer married Elizabeth Kel- 
 ler, who was born August 10, 1835. in Knox 
 county, Ind., a daughter of Charles and Christina 
 (Decker) Kelley. Thirteen children were born 
 of the union of Mr. and Mrs. McQuer, seven of 
 whom are living, namely : Staley D., Charles 
 Wesley, Amanda M., Thomas Jefferson, William 
 Oliver, Minerva and Martha. Staley D., resid- 
 ing near the home ranch, married Samantha Mc- 
 Cluer, and thev have three cliildren, Lula, Ar- 
 nold and Monroe. Charles W. lives at home. 
 Amanda married Barney Pack, of Chico. 
 Thomas J. is a resident of the Sacramento val- 
 ley. William O. is at home. Minerva is the 
 wife of Claude Williams, of Round Valley, and 
 they have five children : Maude, Vetelene, Claude, 
 Leora and Ruby. Mr. Williams was born April 
 21, 1857, in Livingston county, Mo., a son of 
 Charles G. and Martha (Guill) Williams, both 
 of whom were natives of Virginia, early settlers 
 of Missouri, and came in i860 to Butte county, 
 Cal., where they passed their remaining years. 
 In 1885 Mr. Williams located on Madeline 
 Plains, Lassen county, where he pre-empted, 
 homesteaded and timber-claimed land amounting 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 751 
 
 to l\u\-c huiulrcd and sixty acres, vvliicli Ik- im- 
 proved, and subsequently sold. In 189s lie re- 
 moved to Shasta county, and after staying there 
 seven years, in 1902 came to Round \allev, where 
 he rents land, and is now prosperously employed 
 in fanning and stock-raisin.g. Martha McQuer, 
 the youngest living child of Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
 Cluer, married Thomas J. Nelson, of Round \ al- 
 ley, and they have seven children, Ira, I'earl, 
 Luke, Irene, Kelley, Mattie and Walter. Polit- 
 ically Mr. McQuer has uniformly supported the 
 principles of the Democratic party, and while liv- 
 ing in Illinois served as justice of the peace and 
 constable, and in 1874 was county supervisor of 
 .Modoc countv. 
 
 THORNTON FLEMMING BATTELLE. 
 All men take a just pride in being descended 
 from a line of worthy ancestors, though the in- 
 dividual may be neither better nor worse for it. 
 But it is true, that in living up to the traditions 
 of a family each member feels a certain respon- 
 sibilit}- to maintain and to keep the record as 
 clean as possible, and if by any chance he can 
 add luster to an honorable name, it is an added 
 personal gratification to be able to do so. The 
 founder of the Battelle family in .America emi- 
 grated from England and settled in Massachu- 
 setts in the colonial days. His son, El^enezer 
 Battelle, was born in New England, and became 
 one of the first settlers of Newport, Ohio. He 
 was a farmer, a fairly prosperous man for the 
 day and generation in which he lived. His wife 
 was a Miss Greene, a relative of the distinguished 
 General Greene, of Revolutionary fame. If 
 length of days vouch for a life well lived, this 
 worthy couple was blessed with righteousness. 
 They lived long past the allotted three-score- 
 years and ten of man's span of life and were 
 very near to the century mark when they peace- 
 fully passed away. 
 
 Thomas S. Battelle. son of Ebenezer Battelle, 
 was born at Newport, Ohio, and lived on a farm 
 until he was of age. when he engaged in mer- 
 cantile business at Clarksburg. W. Ya. In 1840 
 he removed to Muscatine, Iowa, and kept a hotel 
 there for nine years. When he sold his hotel 
 22 
 
 business he purchased and operated a steamer 
 on the Mississippi river, making trips between 
 St. I^uis, Mo., and Rock Island, 111., following 
 that occupation three years, or until 1852, when 
 the steamer sank. In the same year he out- 
 fitted with an ox-team, and with his family 
 crossed the plains to California. They first lo- 
 cated at Marysville, remaining there about one 
 year, and in 1854 moved into the Sierra valley 
 antl settled near where the village of Sierraville 
 now stands. A few other families came and 
 settled there during the summer months, but the 
 l'>attelle family was the onl\- one to remain the 
 .\ear through. They lived on this ranch eight 
 years, raising stock, hay, dairying and, as there 
 werejio wagon roads, engaged in packing freight 
 on mules. Thomas S. Battelle was an active and 
 enthusiastic member of the Republican party 
 from its beginning, prior to which time he was 
 a Whig, having taken a deep interest in political 
 matters all of his life. Before coming to Cali- 
 fornia he was county treasurer of Muscatine 
 county, Iowa, and was a member of the Califor- 
 nia state legislature one term, during the winter 
 of 1864-65. In 1880 he removed to Los An- 
 geles, and four years later, in 1884, he died, at 
 the age of eighty-four years. His wife, whose 
 maiden name was Grace Flemining, was a na- 
 tive of Uniontovvn, Pa. She was a member of 
 a prominent southern family, the daughter of 
 Rev. Thornton Flemming, a Methwlist Episco- 
 pal clergyman and a native of West Virginia, 
 who died in Pennsylvania at about seventy years 
 of age. Mrs. Battelle died of cholera at Musca- 
 tine, Iowa, aged thirty-eight years. She became 
 the mother of eight children, three of them still 
 living : Mary, widow of P.. F. Lemmon. of Car- 
 son City. Nev. ; George L., of Sacramento, Cal. ; 
 and Thomton P., of Loyalton. 
 
 Thornton Flemming Battelle was born at 
 Uniontown, Pa., November 26, 1834. His earlv 
 toyhood home was at Muscatine, Iowa, where he 
 attended a private school and assisted his father 
 in his business until he was eighteen years of 
 age. He has experienced the hardships of pio- 
 neer life, for he was a well grown up vouth 
 when his father crossed the plains to California, 
 and can remember the early davs of the Golden 
 
752 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 State and the excitements of life in a new min- 
 ing country. And yet in the midst of it all his 
 life has been placid and uneventful. He lived 
 on the ranch with his father until 1872, when 
 he engaged as a clerk in the general store of 
 Joseph Enscoe, near Loyalton, the only store 
 anywhere in the vicinity at that time. He was 
 a valuable and trusted employe for twenty-five 
 years, and when Mr. Enscoe died he continued 
 in the employ of his son, who carried on the 
 business until 1901, when he sold out. Mr. Bat- 
 telle then secured a position with the Roberts 
 Lumber Company as timekeeper and has re- 
 mained in their employ since that date. 
 
 May I, 1866, Mr. Battelle married Miss Corol- 
 lyn Parker, a native of St. Lawrence co»nty, 
 N. Y., who came to California in 1864 and lived 
 at Sierraville until her marriage. They have a 
 family of two children : Grace F., wife of Prof. 
 W. O. Pierce, of Susanville, Cal. ; and Thomas 
 Albert, known as "Bert," a sawyer in the Rob- 
 erts mill. Mr. Battelle is a Republican in poli- 
 tics. In the early days he was elected a justice 
 of the peace and served one temi. He is now 
 town clerk, having held the office since Loyalton 
 was incorporated in 1901. His long residence in 
 the community has made him well known, and 
 the fact that wherever he is known he is re- 
 spected, speaks for his character as a man and a 
 citizen. 
 
 STILLMAN SAMUEL TAYLOR. For 
 nearly thirty-five years Stillman S. Taylor car- 
 ried on mining operations along Spanish creek, 
 not far from Spanish Ranch, but in 1901 dis- 
 posed of his interests and has since lived re- 
 tired. During the course of his long and active 
 life his business aiifairs have taken him into a 
 number of the eastern states, and even to Eng- 
 land and Australia, but nowhere has he experi- 
 enced the freedom and joy of living that have 
 come to him since taking up his home in Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 Mr. Taylor was born in Milford, N. H., Au- 
 gust 7, 1832, but when three years old his par- 
 ents left the Granite state and settled in New 
 York. They made their home in that state for 
 
 three years, but in the meantime the father died 
 and the mother took the children to Massa- 
 chusetts to the home of her parents. Until six- 
 teen years old Mr. Taylor worked on his grand- 
 father's farm and attended school alternately, 
 but at tliat age became an apprentice to the 
 machinist's trade at Lawrence, Mass. Three 
 years later he was qualified to work at the 
 trade, and in the spring of 1852 he went to 
 Hartford, Conn., and accepted a position with 
 Col. Samuel Colt, manufacturer of the world- 
 famed Colt revolver. In the fall of that year 
 Colonel Colt fitted up a company of sixteen of 
 his most promising employes and sent them to 
 London, England, with tools and machinery for 
 the purpose of starting a revolver factory there. 
 Mr. Taylor was fortunate in being chosen as 
 one of the company and remained in London 
 two years and one month, during which time he 
 was employed in making revolvers for the Brit- 
 ish government for use in the Crimean war. 
 All of the hands in the factory were piece work- 
 ers, that is, were paid according to the amount 
 of work accomplished instead of receiving a 
 stated salary per week or month, and during the 
 time Mr. Taylor was in tlie company's employ 
 he averaged $5.40 per day. 
 
 During the year 1854 Mr. Taylor was at- 
 tracted to Australia by the finding of gold there 
 and for eight years followed mining with vari- 
 ous degrees of success. In 1862 he became in- 
 terested in affairs in the United States on ac- 
 count of the Cariboo excitement, but he ar- 
 rived too late in the season to accomplish any- 
 thing so spent the winter in ^Martinez, Contra 
 Costa county. In the spring of 1863 he be- 
 came interested in the copper and quicksilver 
 mines of Mount Diablo, and such was his suc- 
 cess that he was warranted in remaining there 
 until 1868. From that year until the present 
 time his interests have been centered in Plum- 
 as county. Upon locating in the county lie be- 
 gan mining near Spanish Ranch, on Spanish 
 creek, where he owned several mines and pros- 
 pects, which netted him an income above that 
 of the average miner. In 1901 he sold out his 
 interests in both mines and prospects to W. P. 
 Hammon and has since lived retired. Mr. Tay- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 753 
 
 lor has never married and makes his home in 
 Spanish Ranch. 
 
 Politically Mr. Taylor is a Republican, and 
 on the ticket of his chosen party was a candi- 
 date for county assessor in 1894, receiving the 
 nomination over seven other candidates, a fact 
 which speaks well for his popularit\- among 
 those who have known him long and intimate- 
 ly. At the time of the Coluniliian Exposition, 
 which was held in Chicago, III, in 1893, Mr. 
 Taylor had charge of a mineral exhibit there 
 for six months. The material for the exhibit 
 had been collected entirely by Mr. Taylor anil 
 consisted of ores mined in IMumas county on)}', 
 for which he was awarded the bronze medal. 
 I-'rom there he took the display to the Mid- 
 Winter Fair which was held in .San Francisco 
 in 1894, and there also he received medals for 
 superiority of minerals displayed, besides receiv- 
 ing a medal for a private collection of gold spec- 
 imens. .\lthough Mr. Taylor is now well ad- 
 vanced in years he is still quite active and 
 keeps in touch with events and happenings in 
 the world in general, and especially with such 
 as affect his home localitv. 
 
 JOSEPH SCHIESER. The elements enter- 
 ing into the population of California are some- 
 what cosmopolitan! The thrift of the Scot, the 
 sanguine disposition of the Irish, the forceful- 
 ness of the English and the persevering industry 
 of the German have united to form the typical 
 Californian. ever loyal to the land of his adop- 
 tion and contributing to its material development 
 1)y the e.xercise of his natural endowments. 
 Among the Germans who have settled in the 
 northern part of the state mention belongs to Jo- 
 se]>h Schieser, who for years has been identified 
 with the stock and farm interests of Plumas 
 county and makes his home in the Indian valley 
 near the postoffice of Greenville, owning here 
 one of the fine farms for which the valley is 
 noted. 
 
 Rom in Bavaria. Germany, .\ugust 10, 1830, 
 Mr. .Schieser grew to manhood on a Bavarian 
 farm. Upon leaving home to make a livelihood 
 
 for himself he sought the United States as offer- 
 ing greater inducements than his native country, 
 and in 1848 landed at Columbus, Ohio, where he 
 learned and followed the trade of a blacksmith. 
 Starting for the Pacific coast, May i, 1855, he 
 came via the Panama route, and after leaving the 
 ship at San Francisco came direct to Plumas 
 county. For six months he worked in the mines 
 at Twelve-Mile Bar, after which he prospected 
 for himself, and in 1873 sold his claims in that 
 vicinity for $4,000. With the money thus se- 
 cured he came to the Indian valley and bought 
 one hundred and ninety-five acres containing 
 only few improvements. Since the original pur- 
 chase he has added fifty acres of valley land and 
 eighty acres of timber, the whole forming a fine 
 ranch adapted for the stock and dairy business, 
 which he successfully conducts. Since becoming 
 a citizen of the United States he has voted the 
 Democratic ticket, but has never been active in 
 politics. 
 
 After having saved enough to justify him in 
 establishing a home of his own, in July of 1862 
 Mr. Schieser took a vacation and returned to 
 Ohio, where on New Year's of 1863 he married 
 Miss Mary Lauber, a native of Switzerland, born 
 August 24. 1843, '^"t a resident of Columbus, 
 Ohio, from early childhood. The wedding trip of 
 the couple was a journey to California, where 
 they began housekeeping in Plumas county. A 
 number of years later they removed to the In- 
 dian valley ranch, and here Mrs. Schieser 
 passed away October 26, 1891. firm in the faith 
 of the Roman Catholic church. Nine children 
 had been born of their union, but two of these 
 died at an early age. and Joseph Theodore was 
 only ten when taken by death, while Ivy Maude 
 died May 11. 1905. at the age of twenty-one 
 years. The five now living are nametl as fol- 
 lows: Josephine, wife of .Asa E. Hunt, a ranch- 
 er near the home place: Frederick W. (known 
 as Will) and Mary Amelia, who have rented the 
 Schieser homestead for three \ears : Clara, who 
 is an invalid and remains with her father ; and 
 .A.ntoine Joseph, owner of adjacent property. 
 The family are commimicants of the Roman 
 Catholic church, to which Mr. Schieser has al- 
 ways been a faithful adherent. 
 
754 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 JOHN C. YOUNG. A leading citizen of 
 Taylors ville, Plumas county, Gal., a merchant, 
 rancher and hotel man, is John C. Young, a na- 
 tive of Canada, born June 3, 1840. His father, 
 George Young, was born in Scotland, but re- 
 moved to Canada, where he engaged in farming 
 and where he spent the remainder of his life, dy- 
 ing when sixty years of age. His wife, formerly 
 Nancy Murray, was also a native of Scotland, 
 and when a small child came to Canada, where 
 her death occurred at the advanced age of 
 eighty-five years. Both husband and wife were 
 consistent members of the Presbyterian church. 
 
 Until about eighteen years of age Mr. Young 
 spent his life on the home farm in Canada, 
 where he received his education in the common 
 schools. Afterwards he taught several terms in 
 the public schools, then for two years served as 
 clerk in a general merchandise store. Upon leav- 
 ing this store, in partnership with his brother, he 
 went into the mercantile business, remaining 
 thus associated until 1863, at which time he came 
 to California and engaged in mining in Indian 
 valley two and a half years. In i86fi he left In- 
 dian valley and mined in the mountains until the 
 fall of that year, when he went to .Silver City. 
 Idaho, remaining for three years. During the 
 White Pine excitement he went there and 
 worked in the mines until 1874, then returned to 
 Indian valley and engaged in the mercantile bus- 
 iness at Taylorsville, where for twent}-five years 
 he has served as postmaster. The home ranch 
 comprises about four hundred acres of land near 
 here, three hundred and seventy-five of which 
 lies in the valley, the remainder being timber 
 land. In 1898 he added dairying and the stock 
 business to his interests, having a dairy of about 
 forty cows, and making a specialty of raising 
 Durham cattle. He also purchased and remod- 
 eled the hotel which he conducts. 
 
 October 29. 1879, Mr. Young was married to 
 Miss Ella Cottingham. a native of Coles county, 
 111., who came to California with her family in 
 1864, and for whose family history the reader 
 is referred to sketch of her brother, J. W. Cot- 
 tingham, which appears elsewhere in this vol- 
 ume. Mr. and Mrs. Young are the parents of 
 three children, viz. : ^Marion, who is at home ; 
 
 Claude, who is a civil engineer associated with 
 William Watson, surveyor of Plumas county ; 
 and Stanley, who is also at home. In politics Mr. 
 Young is a stanch Republican, and served as a 
 supervisor from 1888 until 1892, proving an effi- 
 cient officer, his integrity holding him secure in 
 both public and private life, and his abilities win- 
 ning for him public recognition. He is success- 
 ful in his combined labors, and was one of the or- 
 ganizers and stockholders of the Taylorsville 
 Creamery. He is a leading citizen of this sec- 
 tion of the country, distinguished among the 
 man}- who know him by a cordial and kindly na- 
 ture, which makes him popular among his 
 friends. 
 
 ELIAS B. JACKS. Prominent among the 
 early settlers and mining men of California was 
 Elias B. Jacks, called by his intimate friends 
 Lisle. He was born in Howard county. Mo., Oc- 
 tober 25, 1833, but spent the greater portion of 
 his boyhood on a farm in Platte county, that 
 state, receiving his primary education in the 
 common schools. Stories of the discovery of 
 gold in California and the news of the fabulous 
 sums taken from the rich mines in this state had 
 fired the ambition of the young man for three or 
 four years prior to attaining his majority, and in 
 the spring of 1854 he determined to seek his for- 
 tune in the golden west. Coming via the Pan- 
 ama route he located in Plumas county, where 
 he followed mining, later purchasing the Badger 
 Hill mines, which he operated for a great many 
 vears. These mines are about three miles from 
 where the town of Ouincy now stands and are 
 worth several thousand dollars. 
 
 December 8, 1870, Mr. Jacks was married to 
 Miss Minnie Buxton, who is a native of Maine, 
 where she was reared and educated. In 1868 she 
 came to California, and two years later her mar- 
 riage took place. Two children were born to 
 them, as follows : Arthur, who is a mining man 
 in this state ; and Garnet N., who is the wife of 
 James E. Nail, a rancher in this county. Mr. 
 Jacks' health becoming impaired, he leased his 
 mining property to his son, Arthur, for several 
 years. For nine years or more prior to his 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 755 
 
 death, which occurred March 17, 1903, .Mr. 
 Jacks was in very poor liealth, and could attend 
 to business but Httle of the time. He was a 
 stanch supporter of the Democratic ticket, and 
 was for several years on the board of school 
 trustees. Since the death of her husband Mrs. 
 Jacks has bonded the mining propertv and ex- 
 pects to sell it at a good profit. Its estimated 
 value at present is $6,000, and aside from this 
 Mr. Jacks left to his widow twelve acres of ex- 
 cellent land in Meadow valley, where Mrs. Jacks 
 now resides. 
 
 JEROME CHURCHILL. The business ac- 
 tivity of Siskiyou county, Cal., has felt the mas- 
 ter hand of Jerome Churchill, who has been 
 prominent in public affairs of this section since 
 June, 1852, and who has ably demonstrated his 
 ability as a leader in the development and up- 
 building of a western statehood. He is a native 
 of Essex county, N. Y., and was born I'-ebruarA- 
 II, 1826. His parents, Jesse and Martha ( Mc- 
 Cauley) Churchill, were also natives of the same 
 locality in New York state, where the father en- 
 gaged for many years as a farmer. He eventually 
 removed to Chicago, where he and his wife both 
 died. Jerome Churchill received his education 
 in the schools of his native state, where he re- 
 mained until 1839. ^ resident of the paternal 
 home. Locating in Chicago in the last named 
 year, he engaged in teaming for ten years, when, 
 in famous '49, lie crossed the plains by team to 
 California. Upon his arrival he located in Sacra- 
 mento, where he remained until the following 
 spring, after which he engaged in mining for 
 three or four months. In June, 1852, he came to 
 Siskiyou county, and in Yreka established a pack- 
 train whose route lay between this city and Red- 
 ding, Shasta county, and also included Sacra- 
 mento and PortlancJ, Ore. He continued success- 
 fully in this work for the period of ten years, 
 when, with his accumulated earnings, he estab- 
 lished a general mercantile enterprise in Yreka. 
 
 Mr. Guirchill is one of the oldest settlers of 
 this city, as at that time there were but few 
 people throughout the entire county, to whose 
 upbuilding he gave liberal efifort, personally as 
 
 well as along financial lines. For many years he 
 loaned money to the early settlers seeking to 
 establish homes in this then sparsely settled re- 
 gion, and subsequently established the Siskiyou 
 County Bank, of which he has served as presi- 
 dent ever since its organization. He was also 
 active in the building of the Yreka Railroad, and 
 has also acted as president since its organization. 
 He has manifested his faith in the permanency 
 of the growth of this section by investing his 
 means in real estate, now owning two large 
 ranches and several smaller ones, all located in 
 the Butte creek valley, and operated by himself 
 and sons. Mr. anirchill also served as president 
 of the Siskiyou Light & Power Company, and 
 for many years acted as town trustee. He has 
 not only been successful along personal lines in 
 the accumulation of means, but has as well won 
 the esteem and confidence of fellow citizens 
 throughout the entire section, holding a high 
 jilace among its representative men. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Churchill was united in marriage 
 with Julia Patterson, a native of Illinois, their 
 marriage occurring in Chicago. They are the 
 parents of two sons, Jerome, Jr., who married 
 and is now living on the largest of his father's 
 ranches in Butte creek valley ; and Jesse, who is 
 interested in the Yreka Light & Power Corn- 
 pan}. Mrs. Churchill is a member of the Epis- 
 copal church. In his political convictions Mr. 
 Cliurchill is an adherent of the principles advo- 
 cated in the platform of the Republican partv. 
 Included in the city property owned by Mr. 
 Qiurchill is a handsome residence, where he and 
 his wife make their home. 
 
 CLARENCE EUGENE DAKIN. An en- 
 terprising, practical and progressive agriculturist 
 of Lassen county, Clarence Eugene Dakin is 
 busily engaged in the prosecution of his chosen 
 calling upon his highly inijiroved ranch, which 
 is most favorably located in Honey Lake valley. 
 near the village of Dewitt. He is recognized as 
 a man of good financial and executive ability, 
 and in the respect and consideration of his fel- 
 low-citizens occupies an honorable position. He 
 
756 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 is a native of Lassen county, having been born 
 near Janesville, April lo, 1868, a son of H. H. 
 Dakin. 
 
 Until about twenty years of age Clarence E. 
 Dakin remained at home, receiving his early edu- 
 cation in the district schools, while during his 
 vacations he assisted his father. Before attain- 
 ing his majority he began learning the miller's 
 trade, and for six years was employed in the mill 
 at Janesville. In 1894, his health becoming im- 
 paired, he decided to try outdoor life, which has 
 proved very beneficial to him, and with the ex- 
 ception of one year, when he returned to the 
 Janesville mill as head miller, he has since been 
 actively engaged in farming. He first purchased 
 one hundred and sixty acres of his home ranch, 
 erected' a fine house and substantial barns and 
 outbuildings, and began the improvement of his 
 estate. He has since bought another tract of 
 land containing one hundred and sixty acres, and 
 in the management of his farm has been success- 
 ful. He has all of his land under irrigation, one 
 hundred acres of it being devoted to alfalfa, and 
 is carrying on a thriving business as a stockman 
 and dairyman, his dairy containing twenty cows. 
 In the management of his place he takes genuine 
 pleasure, laboring wisely and well, his farm, with 
 the excellent improvements that he has placed 
 upon it, invariably eliciting words of praise from 
 his neighbors and friends. 
 
 March 20, 1892, Mr. Dakin married Elsie 
 Hartson, a daughter of Charles Hartson, and 
 they have one child. Sarah Leota, born August 
 II, 1901. Politically Mr. Dakin is a Democrat, and 
 fraternally he belongs to Janesville Lodge, I. O. 
 O. F., and to Honey Lake Parlor, N. S. G. W., 
 of Janesville. In the latter organization he is 
 quite prominent, having served as its president, 
 and in 1892 having attended the Grand Lodge 
 of Native Sons at Santa Cruz. Both Mr. and 
 Mrs. Dakin are members of the Janesville Lodge 
 of Rebekahs. 
 
 ADAM E. RINEHART. Nordieast of Ce- 
 darville, lying about one and one-half miles dis- 
 tant from the town, may be seen the improved 
 hay, grain and stock ranch of about three hundred 
 
 acres which Mr. Rinehart owns and occupies and 
 which is said to be one of the best ranches in 
 Surprise valle\-. The owner of the farm is a Vir- 
 ginian by birth and ancestry and was born Jan- 
 uary 9, 1848, being a son of David and Elizabeth 
 (Erleywine) Rinehart, also natives of the Old 
 Dominion. When he was still a small child he 
 was taken to Ohio, the family settling upon a 
 farm in Ross county, where the mother subse- 
 quently died: the father still survives and con- 
 tinues to make Ohio his home. 
 
 From the age of twelve years Adam E. Rine- 
 hart has been self-supporting. In 1866 he en- 
 listed in the Second Heavy Artillery of United 
 States Regulars and during the same year he 
 was ordered west, coming via New York City, 
 the Isthmus of Panama and San Francisco, and 
 thence to Alaska, where their ship was wrecked 
 off the rockbound coast in a storm. Wliile still 
 in Alaska he was honorably discharged in 1869. 
 During two years of his service he was stationed 
 in the quartermaster's department and had 
 charge of the teamsters. After resigning he re- 
 turned to San Francisco and three months later 
 proceeded to Yreka, Siskiyou county, where he 
 not only farmed, but also engaged in hauling 
 freight. On coming to the Surprise valley for 
 the first time in 1875 he rented a tract of land 
 and engaged in general ranching, but after five 
 years removed to Nevada, where he engaged in 
 the stock business for twelve years. On his 
 return to the Surprise valley in 1899 h^ P"''" 
 chased the ranch near Cedarville, where he has 
 since engaged in raising stock, grain and hay. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Rinehart took place in 
 Siskiyou county April 26, 1874, and united him 
 with Miss Margaret Best, who was born in Wis- 
 consin and was educated in that state and Cali- 
 fornia. Her parents, John C. and Annetta (Lar- 
 son) Best, were natives, respectively, of Ohio 
 and Norway, and lived for some years upon a 
 Wisconsin farm, but in 1863 crossed the plains 
 as members of a train comprising some sixty 
 wagons. On their arrival in the west they first 
 settled near Carson, Nev., but a few years later 
 moved to Stanislaus county, Cal., and settled on 
 a farm near Modesto, where for years Mr. Best 
 engaged in farming with a fair degree of sue- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 751 
 
 cess. Some years ago he retired from agricult- 
 ural cares and now he makes his home in Seat- 
 tle, Wash., and is ([uitc robust for a man of 
 eighty-seven years. His wife is also living and 
 has attained seventy-five years. The family of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Rinehart comjirised six children, 
 of whom the fifth died in infancw Those now 
 living are named as follows : William, who mar- 
 ried Miss Maude White and lives in Xevada : 
 Harry, who married Eva Larson, has two chil- 
 dren (Victor and Dorothy) and resides on a 
 farm adjoining that owned by his father ; Effie, 
 who is with her parents ; Grace, who married E. 
 J. Beebe, has one son (Vancile) and lives near 
 Cedarville ; and Marion, the youngest .son of 
 the family, and still remaining on the home 
 ranch. Aside from voting the Republican 
 ticket Mr. Rinehart takes no part whatever in 
 politics, while in fraternal matters he holds 
 membership with the Cedarville lodge of Odd 
 Fellows and has the office of past noble grand 
 in the organization. 
 
 JOHN THOMAS LONG. In the early days 
 of California's history as a state and while min- 
 ing was still the principal occupation of the peo- 
 ple, William B. Long crossed the plains with a 
 party of pioneers. Previous to that memorable 
 trip there had been little of adventure or excite- 
 ment in his life. By birth a Kentuckian and 
 descended from an old southern family, he had 
 married in .Arkansas and remained there until 
 led to cast in his fortunes with the newer west. 
 After he had established himself he sent for his 
 family and they joined him in 1856. Meanwhile 
 he had tried his luck in the mines of Plumas and 
 Butte counties and had ventured into the stock 
 business in Humbug valley, where in 1857 he 
 bought a tract of land for the pasturage of his 
 herds. With Gen. Allen Wood as a partner he 
 built a hotel and rebuilt the structure after it had 
 been destroyed by fire. Gradually a settlement 
 was built up around the hotel, and the place took 
 the name of Longville, a tribute to his citizenship. 
 On his removal to Honey Lake valley in 1862 
 he rented a log cabin and turned it into a hotel, 
 
 but in 1863 he removed to Mountain Meadows. 
 During 1865 he bought a squatter's claim just 
 northwest of Susanville and there improved a 
 stock ranch where he still makes his home. 
 
 The marriage of William B. Long united him 
 with Miss Mary E. Wood, a native of Kentucky 
 and a daughter of Gen. Allen Wood, who served 
 in the Mexican war at the head of a regiment. 
 When General Wood crossed the plains in 1856 
 he brought with him his daughter, Mrs. William 
 l'>. Long, and her son, John Thomas. After an 
 uneventful journey of six months they arrived in 
 northern California. The following year the 
 general joined his son-in-law in securing prop- 
 erty in Humbug valley, and ten years later dis- 
 posed of the land and removed to Susanville, 
 where he died at seventy-six years. During his 
 residence in this city he served several years as 
 receiver of the United States land office. In the 
 family of \\ illiam B. and Mary E. Long there 
 were si.x children, namely : John Thomas, one 
 of the most successful stockmen in Lassen 
 county : George B., who has charge of the Horse 
 Lake ranch ; Allen J., living at Beckwith, Plumas 
 county ; .\rthur, who died at seven years ; Edith, 
 who married George Raker and lives near Mil- 
 ford ; and Margaret, who married John Phillips 
 and makes her home in Arkansas. 
 
 The eldest of the si.x children, John Thomas, 
 was born near Eureka Springs, Ark., June 15, 
 1853, and was nine years of age when the fam- 
 ily settled on the ranch in the outskirts of Su- 
 sanville. During the absence of his father in 
 Idaho from 1866 to 1868, he had charge of thg 
 home ranch; and again from 1869 to 1870, when 
 his father drove with horses to Arkansas. In 
 1 87 1 he accompanied his father to Texas with a 
 herd of cattle, and in 1873 returned to California, 
 his father remaining in Te.xas for some years 
 afterward to carry on his stock interests. Mean- 
 while, under his supervision, with the aid of his 
 mother, the property was made more valuable, 
 larger herds brought increased revenues, and for 
 fourteen years he engaged in the sheep business, 
 meanwhile experiencing the successes and re- 
 verses incident to such work. When eventually 
 the sheep were sold, he rented the ranch he now 
 owns at Horse Lake, and there put his small herd 
 
758 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 of cattle, turning them loose with the brand ot 
 a double bar on the left thigh. Isaac Hall of San 
 Francisco became his partner and furnished suf- 
 ficient capital to enable them to increase their 
 holdings materially, so that a large business was 
 built up in the buying and shipping of cattle. 
 Later they bought the Horse lake ranch ot 
 twenty-one hundred and sixty acres and two 
 ranches at Standish of three hundred and twenty 
 acres. On the death of Mr. Hall in 1900 Mr. 
 Long purchased his interest in lands and stock 
 and has since continued the business alone. By 
 the purchase of adjacent property he has in- 
 creased his Horse Lake ranch to thirty-eight hun- 
 dred and sixty acres, watered by springs and 
 lake. In addition he has about two thousand 
 acres of meadow land, from which he cuts hay 
 or in other seasons uses for grazing purposes. 
 At the time of the purchase of the Standish 
 property sixty acres were in alfalfa, while the 
 remainder was sage brush, but under his ener- 
 getic supervision the brush has been cleared and 
 two hundred and sixty acres are in alfalfa with 
 adequate irrigation facilities. The old home 
 ranch one-half mile northwest of Susanville is 
 now owned by him and made his headquarters, 
 the same embracing four hundred and twenty 
 acres of meadow land and range. 
 
 The necessity of linding a suitable place for 
 the disposal of his stock led Mr. Long in igoi 
 to embark in the wholesale butcher business with 
 A. Knierr of San Francisco, whose interest he 
 bought later and now conducts the business 
 alone. On the various ranches about twenty- 
 five hundred head of cattle are kept and from 
 four hundred to five hundred head of horses, 
 his specialty being English Shire draft horses, 
 which he breaks on the ranches. During the 
 busy seasons as many as thirty men are em- 
 ployed in the care of the stock and the harvest- 
 ing of the crops. All of these responsibilities 
 give him little leisure for participation in out- 
 side matters, yet w-e find him a progressive citi- 
 zen, a generous contributor to all movements of 
 undoubted value to his coiTimunity, and a dis- 
 tinct addition to the citizenship of Lassen county. 
 In national politics he votes with the Demo- 
 crats, but in local elections he gives less atten- 
 
 tion to political allegiance than to the merits 
 of the candidates in question. When the Farm- 
 ers & Merchants Bank of Reno was organized 
 he was financially interested in the enterprise, 
 and has since remained a stockholder. At this 
 writing he is a member of the Butchers' Board 
 of Trade in San Francisco. 
 
 In Susanville Mr. Long married Miss Maggie 
 E. Owens, who was born in Missouri. Her 
 father, James Owens, a pioneer of California, 
 engaged in mining in Siskiyou county, this state, 
 and later became interested in the stock indus- 
 try in Klamath county. Ore., where he died. In 
 the family of Mr. and Mrs. Long there were 
 seven children, namely : Maude, who married 
 Creorge L. Tomb, county clerk of Lassen county 
 and a resident of Susanville ; James O. ; Fannie, 
 who died at twenty-five years of age; William, 
 Carl, \'erna and Mary, who reside with their 
 parents and grandparents on the home ranch. 
 Among the people of northeastern California Mr. 
 Long has a reputation as an expert judge of 
 cattle. The utmost confidence is reposed in his 
 opinions as to the merits of a herd of stock, and 
 events usually prove his estimates to be correct. 
 Xo brand is more familiar to the people of Las- 
 sen county than Bar D, which is to be found on 
 all of his cattle on the various ranches, and no 
 stockman has been more successful in building up 
 a large and fine herd than Mr. Long, whose wise 
 judgment and thorough knowledge of the busi- 
 ness have brought him financial gain as well as 
 the utmost confidence of all dealers in stock. 
 
 ROBERT HAMILTON LONGWILL. Mo- 
 doc county is especially fortunate in having been 
 settled up by. men of intelligence and enterprise, 
 who evidently came here to stay, and from the 
 first were identified with the interests and prog- 
 ress of this part of the state. Particularly is this 
 true of Robert H. Longwill, who has been a resi- 
 dent of Goose Lake valley since 1879, and is now 
 one of its most respected citizens and thrifty 
 agriculturists. Beginning life at the age of six- 
 teen \ears, without other endowments than strong 
 hands, willing heart and an active brain, he may 
 
HISTOWCAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 759 
 
 properly be numbered among the self-made men 
 of California, who, by the exercise of their na- 
 tive resolution and industry, have attained an 
 honorable position among their fellow-men. He 
 was born, January 17, 1855, in Wells county, 
 Ind., where he obtained a limited common-school 
 education. Going to Macon county. 111., at the 
 age of sixteen years, he worked as a farm lalxjrer 
 until 1879, when he came to Goose Lake valle\-, 
 JModoc county, which has since been his home. 
 
 After settling near Davis Creek, Mr. Long- 
 will worked for wages until 1894. acquiring in 
 the meantime a thorough knowledge of agri- 
 culture as carried on in California, especially in 
 the northern part. Embarking in farming on his 
 own account in 1894. he leased the farm that he 
 now owns and occupies for a term of five years, 
 and also rented the Ross ranch, both of which he 
 bought in 1900. He has now in his farm three 
 hundred and twenty-five acres of land, a part of 
 which is under irrigation, being watered by 
 springs that are on the ranch. He raises cattle, 
 hay and grain, and has a small orchard, which 
 now produces some fruit, although it was run 
 down when he took possession of it. 
 
 In 1894 Mr. Longwil! married Ella Taylor, a 
 native of Nevada, and they are the parents of 
 three children, namely : Adelbert, Mary Eleanor 
 and Percy Gilbert. Politically Mr. Longwill is 
 a straight-forward Republican, but has never 
 been induced to accept any public office excepting 
 that of school trustee. 
 
 JOHN McELROY. A man of varied ex- 
 perience in life, energetic, intelligent and enter- 
 prising, John McElroy is now engaged in ranch- 
 ing at Grub Flat, near Meadow \'alley, Plumas 
 county. .Although misfortune has sometimes fol- 
 lowed him he has pursued the even tenor of his 
 way unfalteringly, by courageous perseverance 
 conquering all obstacles, and is now enjoying to 
 the utmost the reward gained by his years of 
 faithful and intelligent toil. \\'herever he has 
 lived he has been prominent in public affairs and 
 has rendered noteworthy service to his fellow- 
 citizens. 
 
 lioni in Mansfield, Richland countv, Ohio, 
 October 24, 1829, John McElroy is a son of Abra- 
 ham McElroy, who in early manhood had learned 
 the tanner's trade, which he first followed in his 
 native state, Pennsylvania. While still young he 
 went to ChiUicothe, Ohio, and there he also car- 
 ried on his trade for a time, later going to Mans- 
 field, same state, where he operated a tannery 
 until well advanced in years, passing away when 
 m his seventy-first year. His wife, formerly 
 Elizabeth Piper, was born in Ohio, and she too 
 died when well along in years. John McElroy 
 remained at home with his parents until sixteen 
 years of age, and during these years he not only 
 secured a good education in the public schools, 
 but also fitted himself for the business world by 
 learning the tanner's trade of his father, who 
 was an expert in his line. When he was sixteen 
 years old he was orphaned b\- the death of his 
 father, a circumstance which made it necessary 
 for him to strike out in the world in his own be- 
 half, but as he was armed with a good trade the 
 world did not seem as cheerless to him as it might 
 have under other circumstances. After fol- 
 lowing his trade in various places throughout 
 Ohio for a number of years, in 1852 he joined a 
 party of forty men who had planned to niake the 
 trip to California with ox-teams. Tlieir journey 
 was exceptionally free from accidents and trouble 
 with the Indians, and in due time they arrived in 
 Placerville. The next day Mr. McElroy went to 
 Auburn, also in Placer county, where his first 
 winter in the state was spent in mining. Subse- 
 quently he came to what is now Plumas county, 
 and for two years was engaged in mining at Rich 
 Bar, leaving there to go to the mines at the Fraser 
 river, which were said to be fabulously rich in 
 gold ore. Such did not prove to he the case so 
 far as Mr. McElroy was concerned, and he soon 
 afterward returned to Plumas county. His all- 
 around fitness as a public officer had in the mean- 
 time been recognized by his fellow-citizens, and 
 about this time he was appointed deputy sheriff, 
 a position which he filled successfully for eight 
 years, one of his duties being the collection of 
 taxes. Upon coming to Meadow Valley he took 
 up his present homestead, improving the same as 
 his time would permit, but die most of his atten- 
 
760 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 tion was given to the management of the meat 
 market which he had estabhshed upon locating 
 here. For several years he carried on a very 
 remunerative business in preparing and delivering 
 packed meats to the different mining camps in 
 this vicinity, but finally gave this up in order to 
 devote his time and attention to his ranch. While 
 he carries on general farming to some extent, he 
 makes a specialty of raising hay, having about 
 twenty acres in the valley especially adapted to 
 raising this commodit\-. 
 
 In 1865 Miss Elizabeth Miller, a native of Ger- 
 many, became the wife of Mr. !\IcElroy, and five 
 children blessed their union, as follows: Liz- 
 zie, who with her husband, Ed Hard, lives in 
 Meadow Valley ; Frank, who is foreman of the 
 Plumas Mining and Water Company, of this 
 county ; Mattie, who died at the age of twenty- 
 one years ; and Philip and William, both of whom 
 are at home with their parents. Besides filling 
 the office of deputy sheriff Mr. McElroy also 
 served as school trustee for a great many years. 
 In national elections he invariably votes for Dem- 
 ocratic candidates, but in local matters he gives 
 his ballot to the man whose qualifications are 
 best suited to the position in question, irrespective 
 of party name. 
 
 ISAAC ALONZO TITHERINGTON. 
 Among the young men of promise in Lassen 
 county is Isaac Alonzo Titherington, who began 
 life for himself poor in pocket, but rich in energy 
 and ambition, and with sturdy industry and 
 judicious toil has already made good progress 
 along the pathway of success. Choosing for his 
 life work that independent and honorable occu- 
 pation upon which the wealth and prosperity of 
 our great nation so largely depends, he obtained 
 a practical knowledge of agriculture while work- 
 ing for others, and is now farming on his own 
 account, renting land for the purpose. He is a 
 native-born citizen of Lassen county, having been 
 bom in Honey Lake valley, November 11, 1881, 
 a son of Albert A. and Janette (Dean) Tither- 
 ington. 
 
 Brought up in Lassen county, Isaac Alonzo 
 
 Titherington attended the public schools as a 
 boy, remaining at home until twenty years old. 
 Starting then for himself, he worked as a farm 
 hand for several years, every season saving some 
 of his earnings. Having accumulated means 
 enough to warrant him in so doing, he started 
 in business for himself. Locating near Standish, 
 he rented the ranch on which he is living, and in 
 its management is meeting with most satisfactory 
 success. He has sixty-five of its eighty acres in 
 alfalfa, and runs a small dairy, which he finds 
 profitable. 
 
 May 5. 1902, Mr. Titherington married Jo- 
 sephine Rector, who was born in Mendocino 
 county, Cal., a daughter of Charles and Frankie 
 Rector. Although Mr. Titherington takes no 
 active part in politics, he is interested in local and 
 general affairs, and sustains the principles of the 
 Republican party. 
 
 JACOB ALLEN FORKNER. On becoming 
 established in America the Forkner family were 
 for a time residents of North Carolina, but Sam- 
 uel Forkner, a man of pioneer spirit, removed 
 from that state to Virginia and then settled 
 among the earliest farmers of Grundy county. 
 Mo., whence in 1849 1''^ rnade a trip across the 
 plains to the then remote and unknown west. 
 On his return to Missouri he remained a short 
 time only. In 1853 he again endured the vicis- 
 situdes of a long journey to California and 
 searched for gold in the mines, but the result 
 being unsatisfactory, soon he turned his atten- 
 tion to the stock industry. When an aged man, 
 remote from the scenes of his boyhood on a far- 
 distant southern plantation, he died at Paradise, 
 Butte county, and thus passed from earth a man 
 of genuine pioneer ardor, to whom the wilder- 
 ness and the frontier had no terrors, but charmed 
 him by their unknown possibilities. 
 
 Among the children of Samuel Forkner was 
 a son, Alexander B., who was born in North 
 Carolina, grew to manhood in \^irginia, removed 
 to Missouri, and there married Amanda J. Mc- 
 Granahan, a \'irginian by birth. Three children 
 were born of their union, of whom two survive. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7(51 
 
 Jacob A., of Lassen county, and Albert, of Los 
 Angeles. The wife and mother died at the old 
 homestead in Butte county when thirty-two years 
 of age. The father, after crossing the plains 
 with ox-teams in 1853, took up unimproved land 
 on Dry creek in Butte county and there improved 
 a homestead of three hundred and twenty acres, 
 where he engaged in stock-raising. On that place 
 his death occurred about 1867, when he was 
 forty-seven years of age. Fraternally he was a 
 Master Mason. In local affairs he held a prom- 
 u;ent place, served efficiently as justice of the 
 peace and supervisor, and was a contributor of 
 time, influence and means to all movements for 
 the development of his county. 
 
 An uncle of die subject of this narrative is 
 numbered among the pioneers of Lassen county, 
 where he now lives near Buntingville. George 
 B. McGranahan was born in Tazewell county, 
 V'a., June 26, 1828, and at eighteen years of age 
 became a pioneer farmer of Missouri. During 
 1850 he came west as far as Nevada City, where 
 he engaged in mining for two years and then 
 went back east via San Francisco, Isthmus of 
 Panama, New Orleans and the Mississippi river. 
 The following year he again came west with ox- 
 teams, this time settling near Oroville, Cal., and 
 from there in 1864 he went to Grant county. Ore., 
 but in eight montlis he returned to California. 
 After a sojourn of some years in Butte county, 
 in 1871 he came to Honey Lake valley, purchased 
 one hundred head of cattle, and later sold these 
 and bought sheep, which industry he followed for 
 ten years, meanwhile making Milford his head- 
 quarters. After selling his sheep he carried on 
 a hotel at Buntingville for a year as a renter and 
 tlien started a similar business of his own. Ten 
 years later he sold out and moved to his present 
 homestead of eight}' acres. By his marriage he 
 had six children, but onl_\' three survive, Cynthia 
 Margaret, Henry and James; and he also has a 
 step-daughter, who is married and living at 
 Janesville. In politics he votes with the Demo- 
 cratic party, and fraternally has been connected 
 with the Independent Urder of Odd Fellows at 
 Janesville for tliirty years. 
 
 On the family homestead in Butte county, Cal., 
 Jacob Allen Forkner was born December 29, 
 
 1853- The death of his father when he was still 
 a mere Ix)y (fourteen years of agej left him an 
 orphan and hnuit^hi ni>..n him the necessity of 
 earning his livelihofid. Though deprived of 
 many pleasures through his homeless condition, 
 yet he had the recompense of acquiring traits of 
 independence and self-reliance that have been of 
 inestimable value to him in his life work. For a 
 time he tried to remain at the old farm, but the 
 debris ruined the land and he abandoned further 
 effort at its cultivation. In 1875 he came to 
 Honey Lake valley and secured employment at 
 Milford in lumbering. During the season of 
 1876 he was employed as a rough rider in the 
 California troop that formed a part of the Wild 
 West show exhibited at the Centennial. 
 
 On his return to Honey Lake valley Mr. Fork- 
 ner entered the employ of J. D. Byers as vaquero 
 and the following year was placed in charge of 
 the stock and vaqueros, remaining there until 
 1880, when he embarked in the livery business 
 at Greenville. In the spring of 1882 he became 
 superintendent of the Byers ranch and later was 
 made manager, which position he still retains, 
 besides which, by the provision of the will, he 
 acted as executor and administrator of the Byers 
 estate. The ranch comprises three different 
 farms, the headquarters being three miles east of 
 Standish, where the estate has three thousand 
 acres of grazing and hay land, from which about 
 eighteen hundred tons of hay are cut each year. 
 Tlie range at Eagle lake is utilized for the stock 
 in summer, and there are also in the estate three 
 ranches at Janesville aggregating eight hundred 
 acres. During the busy season employment is 
 furnished to about thirty hands. Horses are 
 raised on these farms, and cattle of the Durham 
 and Hereford breeds, the brands being J.I.M., 
 M.C., and D.L. Under the able supervision of 
 the manager the stock are kept a continuous 
 source of profit and fair returns are received 
 from the landed interests of the estate. 
 
 Near Janesville, Lassen county. December 7, 
 1881, Mr. Forkner married Miss Ella McQel- 
 land, a native of Pennsylvania and the eldest 
 daughter of William M. and Sarah A. (Mer- 
 chant) McClelland, of Susanville. The only 
 child of their union is a daughter, Gussie T., who 
 
762 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 is a graduate of the Atkinson Business College 
 at Reno, Nev., class of 1905. The family attend 
 the Methodist Episcopal church and are warmly 
 interested in religious affairs, as well as in all 
 other movements of a beneficial nature. Politi- 
 cally Mr. Forkner has always given the Demo- 
 cratic party his influence and vote, while in mat- 
 ters fraternal he associates with Janesville 
 Lodge No. 135, A. O. U. W., and Lassen Parlor 
 No. 99, N. S. G. W., at Susanville. 
 
 ROBERT STEWART. As the name would 
 indicate, the Stewart family is of Scotch origin, 
 and the branch to which Robert Stewart belongs 
 became identified with America when his father, 
 also Robert Stewart, settled in Canada during 
 his young manhood. By trade he was a cabinet- 
 maker, and with this useful trade at his com- 
 mand he had no difliculty in finding employment 
 upon landing in the new world, following it as 
 his life calling. He was a man of deep con- 
 victions, and was an active worker in the Pres- 
 byterian church, and often filled the pulpit in 
 tlmt denomination. At his death, which oc- 
 curred in 1869, he was comparatively a young 
 man, passing away at the age of fifty-six years. 
 His wife, who in her maidenhood was known as 
 Jane Owens, was also born in Scotland, settling 
 in Canada during her girlhood. Her marriage 
 to Mr. Stewart occurred in Canada, and that re- 
 mained the family home until after his death, 
 when, in 1870, the widow came to California, 
 where two of her sons by a former marriage, 
 with a Mr. McFadden, were residing. Her 
 earth life came to a close at Chico, Cal., in 1877. 
 She too was a firm believer in Presbyterian doc- 
 trines, and held membership in the church of 
 that denomination. 
 
 Robert Stewart was born in Aurora, Ontario, 
 Canada, May 5, 1864, and was therefore only 
 five years of age when orphaned by the death 
 of his father. As his mother brought him to 
 California soon afterward he has little or no 
 recollection of his Canadian home, his life from 
 that time on being associated almost entirely 
 with the west. For about two and a half years 
 
 he attended school in Hydesville, Humboldt 
 county, going from there to San Francisco, 
 where he also studied for two years. In 1881 
 he went to Chico, where during the summer 
 months he worked at whatever he could find to 
 do that would not only pay his current expenses, 
 but also contribute to a fund which he was ac- 
 cumulating to defray his expenses during the 
 winter term of school. After four seasons of 
 working and attending school he was a student 
 in the LIniversity of California for one year, and 
 thereafter took a two-year course in the New 
 York College of Dental Surger}-. After his 
 graduation in 1886 he returned to California and 
 for about eleven years carried on a very success- 
 ful practice in Colusa, later going to Oiico, and 
 from there coming to Quincy in 1898. Since 
 establishing his office here he has met with en- 
 couragement and success in his profession far 
 beyond his most sanguine expectations and easily 
 takes rank among the first dentists in this part of 
 the state. Politically Dr. Stewart is a Repub- 
 lican, and fraternally holds membership in Plu- 
 mas Lodge No. 60, F. & A. M. : and Plumas 
 Lodge No. 131, I. O. O. P., both of Quincy. 
 
 FRANCIS MARION AND NEWTON B. 
 ELLEDGE. Two prominent citizens of Lassen 
 county, Cal., are the Elledge brothers, sons of 
 Adam D. Elledge, a full account of whose career 
 will be found elsewhere in this volume. Tlie 
 elder of the brothers, Francis Marion, was born 
 in Pike county. 111., January 15, 1850, and has 
 made his home with his parents all his life, never 
 having married. After coming to California he 
 learned the carpenter's trade in Lassen county, 
 and since then has devoted his time and attention 
 to his trade and to sheep-shearing. Though he 
 came to this state with his parents he came to 
 Lassen county before tliey did, arriving here in 
 1863. Mr. Elledge is of a quiet, though ener- 
 getic disposition, and in politics is a stanch sup- 
 porter of the Republican party. 
 
 Xewton B. Elledge is a native son of this state, 
 having been born in Yuba county. May 22. 1872, 
 and when six years of age was brought by his 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPTTTr AT, RECORD. 
 
 703 
 
 parents to Lassen county, where he has since re- 
 sided and where he received his education, with 
 the exception of one year, during which he at- 
 tended the San Francisco Business College, 
 learning shorthand and bookkeeping. Until 1895 
 he remained at home with his parents, but in the 
 meantime worked for wages, and operated his 
 mother's farm one year, afterwards renting dif- 
 ferent ranches for a number of years. In 1901- 
 02 he drove from Susanville, I_^ssen countv, to 
 Hot Springs, and the following year, in Decem- 
 ber, he came to die ranch which he now^ operates, 
 and which he has leased for three years. This 
 ranch consists of one hundred and sixty acres of 
 good land, upon which he raises alfalfa and oper- 
 ates a dairy, in which he has twenty cows, send- 
 ing his milk to the creamery. 
 
 March 15, 1896, N. B. Elledge was married 
 to Miss Edna Laniger, who is a native daughter 
 of this state, having been born in Modoc county, 
 the daughter of Adam Freeman Laniger, who 
 lives near Clinton Post, Lassen county. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Elledge are the parents of three children, 
 viz., Elmer Douglas, Frederick David and Cor- 
 nelia. Mrs. Elledge is a consistent member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church, and a devoted 
 wife and mother. In politics Mr. Elledge has 
 similar views to those of his brother, and votes 
 the Republican ticket. He is fraternally identi- 
 fied with the Native Sons of the Golden West at 
 Susanville, and his tastes incline him to outdoor 
 country life and agricultural pursuits, to which 
 he has devoted his whole life. 
 
 BASIL HOMER TALBOTT. A successful 
 farmer and stock-raiser of Willow Creek valley, 
 Lassen county, is B. H. Tallxitt. who resides 
 near Susanville. He is the son of Kinsey Tal- 
 bott, a native of Iowa, who came to this state 
 the year following the discovery of gold in 
 California, traveling across plain and mountain 
 with .slow ox-teams. He located in the Sac- 
 ramento valley, where he remained until about 
 1857, when he came to Susanville and followed 
 his trade of millwright until his death, in 1864. 
 His wife, formerly Elizabeth Haines, was born 
 
 in Iowa, and survived her husband sixteen vears. 
 Three children were bom to them. onl\ one of 
 whom, B. H., is now living. 
 
 Basil Homer Talbott is a native son of this 
 state, having been born in Susanville June 26, 
 1863, and here he was reared and received what 
 education he could obtain in the public schools 
 before he was ten years of age. He was onlv 
 one year old when his father died, and die 
 tinancial circumstances of the famil\- rendered 
 it neces.sary for him to make his own livelihood 
 as soon as he was large enough to do so. When 
 but ten years of age he was employed as driver 
 of a team, hauling wood from the mountains, 
 and later was in a livery stable in Greenville, 
 six years. Thereafter he followed logging for 
 two years, then returned to Susanville, where 
 he was employed on a cattle ranch for some 
 time, and afterwards engaged in the blacksmith 
 business in .\medee, Lassen county, for a couple 
 of years. Returning to Susanville once more, 
 in January, 1893, he became proprietor of the 
 Johnston house, which was burned out the fol- 
 lowing July. This misfortune left him in debt 
 $2,600, but instead of being discouraged, he at 
 once looked around for an opening, and almost 
 iinmediately obtained employment on the Shank- 
 lin ranch. A year later he returned to Susan- 
 ville and rented the Johnston house and the 
 old Cottage hotel, in the management of which 
 he was very successful. Later disposing of 
 these interests, he engaged in mining in Lights 
 Caiion. Plumas county, being associated with 
 J. M. Fulton, Charles Taylor and Perry Stout. 
 Through mismanagement, however, the venture 
 was not a success and the partnership was dis- 
 solved. Going to Smoke Creek. Neb.. Mr. Tal- 
 bott became manager of the Flanagan & Dunn 
 ranches, a portion of the time having as many 
 as five ranches under his control. Returning 
 to Willow Creek in 1902 he engaged in farm- 
 ing and stock raising, operating the Benjamin 
 Neuhaus ranch of eight hundred acres. Aside 
 from this ranch he also rents and operates the 
 .^an Francisco ranch of five thousand eight hun- 
 dred acres, and engages very extensively in the 
 cattle business, the combined ranches averaging 
 alx)ut ten hundred head a vear. He has about a 
 
76-t 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 thousand acres in meadow, and the remainder 
 in grain and liay, and operates the Wayside Inn 
 to entertain the pubhc. 
 
 In Susanville, Mr. Talliott was married to 
 Mary Mtirrer, a native daughter of Cahfornia, 
 the daughter of Mrs. Frances (Murrer) Neu- 
 haus. Four children have been born to them, 
 whose names are as follows : Hattie, Alfred, 
 Guy and Carmelita, all at home. Fraternally 
 Mr. Talbott belongs to Lassen Lodge No. 149. 
 F. & A. M., Silver Star Lodge. I. O. O. F., 
 Lassen Parlor No. 99, N. S. G. W., and both he 
 and his wife belong to the Rebekahs. In politics 
 Mr. Talbott is a stanch Republican and is clerk 
 of the board of school trustees of the Willow 
 Creek district. He is distinguished among the 
 many who know him by a cordial and kindly 
 nature and bv a warm-hearted loyalty to his 
 'friends, and though he has had reverses, his in- 
 domitable courage and spirit brought him tri- 
 umphantly through it all, and he is to-day one of 
 the wealthv citizens of the countv. 
 
 GEORGE W. BENNETT. Many stirring 
 scenes have come under the personal supervision 
 of George W. Bennett in the early days of the 
 west, his life as a pioneer beginning in childhood 
 and continuing up to the full and complete devel- 
 opment of California's best resources. He is a 
 native of Quincy, 111., born February 22. 1847, 
 being the second in a family of four children 
 born to his parents. His father, Moses Robert 
 Bennett, was a brick manufacturer in Quincy, in 
 which city his death occurred when his son was 
 but four years old. His widow (in maidenhood 
 Abigail Jones, a native of Missouri) married A. 
 M. Hollingshead. who in 1852 brought his fam- 
 ilv as far west as Salt Lake City, where he en- 
 gaged in farming and also acted as Indian agent 
 for the government. He became prominent in 
 public afTairs in that section and was active with 
 Gen. Joseph Johnston in ferreting out the mur- 
 ders perpetrated by the Mormons. The latter 
 v.'ere verv bitter against Mr. Hollingshead and 
 but for the protection of the Indians (whose en- 
 tire confidence and afifection he had won because 
 
 of the universal kindness with which he treated 
 them) he might have perished at their hands. As 
 it was the Indians declared if the Mormons 
 harmed Shindad (the name they had given the 
 government agent) they would never cease fight- 
 ing them. In 1859. when Mr. Hollingshead 
 started to California, General Johnston furnished 
 him an escort of one hundred and fifty soldiers 
 and even with this guard the Mormons made one 
 attempt to capture him. Failing, however, they 
 were forced to return for re-inforcements and 
 Mr. Hollingshead thus escaped them, although a 
 stout guard was maintained every night until 
 thev were well out of the state. Upon his arrival 
 in California Mr. Hollingshead located at Wheat- 
 land. Yuba countv, where he purchased a farm, 
 and up to the time of his retirement, which oc- 
 curred a few years ago. he engaged in general 
 agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. His 
 wife also survives and with her husband is en- 
 ioving the fruits of their earlv industry and en- 
 ergv. Thev have reared a family of five chil- 
 dren, of whom four are living, while three of 
 Mrs. Hollingshead's children by her first mar- 
 riaee also survive. 
 
 Georpe W. Bennett was five years old when 
 he was taken bv his stepfather and mother to 
 I'tah, and the troubles and dangers experienced 
 during their seven vears' residence there were in- 
 deliblv impressed upon his memorv. His educa- 
 tion was received in the common schools of Yuba 
 countv after their location there, while at the 
 same time he acquired a practical training along 
 aericultural lines. He remained at home until 
 nearlv twentv-one, when he took up the stock 
 business independently, locating in Sacramento 
 countv, where he remained for two years. At the 
 >?xpiration of this time he went to Reno, Nev., 
 and there engaeed in the dairv business, being a 
 resident of the location before the first house was 
 built. He was successful in his operations and 
 continued to follow this pursuit for about five 
 vears, when he disposed of his interests and the 
 two vears following prospected and mined in 
 the Salt lak-e countrv. With the proceeds of his 
 work he returned to Wheatland and purchased a 
 steam threshing outfit, and hv combining the 
 operation of the same with farming pursuits in 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 765 
 
 Browns valley he acquired considerable means in 
 the ansuing years. 
 
 During his residence in Reno Mr. Bennett had 
 made several trips through Honey Lake valley, 
 Lassen county, and since 1869 had maintained 
 more or less interest in the development of this 
 section. In 1891 he came to Lassen county with, 
 his steam thresher and a year later located his 
 family here permanently, at the present writing 
 t)perating the Ripley farm, consisting of four 
 hundred and fifty acres on the Susan river. He 
 devotes his time largely to the raising of cattle 
 and horses, the brand for the former being S. 
 i'). and the latter several circles on the left jaw, 
 a G. B. on the shoulder, or a B lying flat witli 
 S under it, on the thigh. He has a thoroughbred 
 Norfolk stallion and breeds the best stock. His 
 dairy, consisting of twenty to twenty-five cows, 
 is also a source of no small income. He has just 
 closed his fifth year in this location and has with- 
 out question won a position of importance among 
 the farmers and stockmen of Lassen county. 
 
 In Alarysville Mr. Bennett was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Ruth Colton, a native oi Forbes- 
 town, Cal., and they became the parents of seven 
 children, of whom the eldest, ]\Iary, Mrs. Peter- 
 sen, is a resident of Corning, Cal., while the 
 others, James, Sidney, Robert, Elmer, Georgie 
 and William, are all at home. The family sup- 
 port the Baptist Church, which they attend. In 
 politics Mr. Bennett is an adherent of the prin- 
 ciples advocated in the platform of the Demo- 
 cratic party. He is a citizen of worth and prom- 
 inence and stands high in the esteem of all who 
 know him, honored alike for the business abil- 
 ities which he has displayed during his residence 
 m Lassen county and the qualities of his citizen- 
 ship. 
 
 PLUMMER R. WELSH, proprietor of the 
 Longville hotel in the town of that name, owner 
 of a valuable dairy and stock ranch in the Hum- 
 bug valley, and owner and manager of the saw- 
 mill in Longville, is a member of a southern 
 family identified with the United States through 
 several generations. How-ever. owing to the 
 early death of his father, Philip, he has little in- 
 
 formation concerning the ancestral history aside 
 from the fact of their long identification with 
 American history. Himself a native of Anne 
 Arundel county, Md., born February 10. 1828. 
 he was quite a small child when the family re- 
 moved to Ohio and there he lost his father by 
 death. When he was about ten years of age he 
 accompanied his mother to Illinois and settled 
 on a farm, but the death of his mother three 
 years later broke up the family circle and threw 
 him upon his own resources for a livelihood. 
 For a time he was employed as a farm hand at 
 $5 per month and board, but later his wages were 
 raised to $8, which in those days was considered 
 a fair salary. Not satisfied, however, with pros- 
 pects in that locality, he soon went to Jackson 
 county and secured work by the month, saving 
 his earnings with frugal care in view of his ap- 
 proaching settlement to domestic ties. Subse- 
 quent to his marriage in 1848 be took up a tract 
 of government land in Jackson county, Iowa, 
 and at once began to prepare the place for the 
 raising of crops, a work in which he met with 
 some degree of success. 
 
 Tlie removal of the Welsh family to the west 
 occurred in iSrio, when they traveled across the 
 plains with horses and ox-tearns and settled in 
 Sutter county near Yuba City. For twelve 
 years Mr. Welsh carried on a stock ranch in 
 that neighborhood. During the latter part of 
 1871 he came to Plumas county and bought 
 about thirteen hundred acres, principallv sit- 
 uated in Humbug valley, where he built a small 
 sawmill and also erected a hotel for the enter- 
 tainment of summer guests. Though not an 
 oflfice-seeker nor interested actively in politics, 
 he is a stanch Republican and gives his influence 
 to his party and to such of his friends as are 
 candidates for local positions. By his marriage 
 to Miss Sarah Daniels, a native of Pennsylva- 
 nia, he has six children, namely: John W., a 
 rancher residing in Butte county; Columbus, 
 who also follows ranching; Melissa, widow of 
 John McCalpine. of Sutter county: Gara, wife 
 of W. A. Ward, and a resident of Oroville, this 
 state; Tenie. Mrs. James Walch. a widows ; and 
 Webster, who makes his home with his parents 
 in Humbug vallev. 
 
766 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 DENIS WOOD. Aniong the enterprising 
 and progressive business men of Susanville 
 Denis Wood holds a substantial position. As 
 junior member of the well-known firm of Hun- 
 singer & Wood he is carrying on an extensive 
 trade in meats of all kinds, and is one oi the lead- 
 ing stock buyers and dealers of Lassen coitnty. 
 A son of the late Jeremiah Wood, he was bom 
 December 25, 1852, in Cherokee, twelve miles 
 north of Nevada City, being the second white 
 male child born in Nevada county. 
 
 Born in Ireland in 1812, Jeremiah Wood spent 
 his boyhood days in the old country. When old 
 enough to begin life on his own account he im- 
 migrated to America, locating first in New York 
 state. In 1849 ^"2 joined the band of emigrants 
 seeking for gold in the western fields, and tak- 
 ing the Panama route came to the Pacific coast. 
 Locating in Nevada county, he was there for 
 several years employed in placer and h\draulic 
 mining. In 1887 he took up his residence in 
 Susanville, and remained here until his death, 
 in 1889. In 1 85 1 he married .\nn Clifford, who 
 was born in Ireland, and died in San Francisco, 
 Cal. Of the five sons and one daughter born of 
 their union, all are living with the exception of 
 one son. Those besides Denis, the subject of this 
 sketch, are: J. C, engaged in stock-raising in 
 Weiser, Idaho; Mrs. Katie O'Neill, of Nevada 
 City ; and T. F. and J. H., stockmen at The 
 Dalles, Ore. 
 
 Brought up in Nevada county. Denis Wood 
 obtained his early education in the common 
 schools, subsequently acquiring some knowledge 
 of farming and stock-raising. In 1872, with his 
 brother, J. C. Wood, he came to Susanville, and 
 as a member of the fim: of Wood Brothers 
 opened a meat market and engaged in the 
 butchering business, at the same time buying a 
 farm at Willow Creek, where he engaged ex- 
 tensively in stock-raising. His shop was sub- 
 sequently burned, and afterward he was for a 
 time in business with J. R. Cain. In 1888 Mr. 
 Wood was elected county sherifif of Lassen coun- 
 ty, and for two years, from January, 1889, until 
 January, 1891, rendered e.xcellent service in that 
 capacity. Continuing the butcher business, Mr. 
 Wood was for a time in partnership with John 
 
 Long, but has since been a member of the firm 
 of Hunsinger & Wood. 
 
 January 9, 1880, in Susanville, Cal., Mr. Wood 
 married Belle Johnston, who was born in Mich- 
 igan, one of the six children of the late Robert 
 Johnston, of whom a brief sketch may be found 
 elsewhere in this volume. Of the union of Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wood six children have been born, 
 namely: Leda, Frank, Walter (who died Janu- 
 ary 13, 1905, aged nineteen years), Marie, John 
 and Raymond. In his political affiliations Mr. 
 Wood is a stanch Democrat, and for a number 
 of years served as school trustee. He is a mem- 
 ber of Silver Star Lodge No. 135, I. O. O. F., 
 and is one of the charter members of Lassen 
 Parlor No. 99, N. S. G. W., which he represent- 
 ed as a delegate to the Grand Parlor which met 
 in Nevada Citv. 
 
 AUGUSTUS CASSIUS HUNSINGER, sen- 
 ior member of the firm of Hunsinger & Wood, 
 was born at Burnt Prairie, WTiite county. 111., 
 November 13, 1856, a son of Benjamin F. Hun- 
 singer, a farmer. Early in the "Gos Benjamin 
 F. Hunsinger crossed the plains with ox-teams, 
 accompanied by his wife and three children, and 
 after journeying for six months arrived at In- 
 dian X'alley, Cal., where he was engaged in ag- 
 ricultural pursuits for many seasons. In 1889 
 he came to Susanville, and here resided until his 
 death, in 1899. His wife, whose maiden name 
 was Electra Gillison, was born in White coun- 
 ty, 111., and now resides at Fort Jones, Cal. Of 
 the six children born of their union four are 
 living. .Augustus Cassius being the third child in 
 order of birth. Beginning life for himself when 
 of age. Mr. Hunsinger engaged in teaming, for 
 ten years driving for Nevells, of Plumas Eureka 
 Mine. Locating in .Susanville in 1885. he em- 
 barked in the butchering business, his market 
 being on the same street upon which his present 
 ]>lace of l)usiness is located. Twice has he been 
 liurned out. but each time he has rebuilt, and has 
 added up-to-date improvements. The firm of 
 Hunsinger & Wood has one of the neatest and 
 most completely fitted markets in the cit\'. with a 
 good refrigerator, and all the requisites for sup- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 767 
 
 plyiiit; their patrons with the best possible serv- 
 ice. The ice-house, with a capacity of forty tons, 
 is in the rear of the market, and nearby is the 
 large packing house and electric-power estab- 
 lishment, while the slaughter house is a mile and 
 a half out of the city. This firm carries on 
 an extensive pork packing business, and has the 
 well-deserved reputation of producing and cur- 
 ing the finest hams and bacon in the county. 
 
 .\t Plumas Eureka Aline, in 1883, Mr. Hun- 
 singer married Fannie Woodward, who was lx)rn 
 in the Mohawk valley, Plumas county, a daughter 
 of George Woodward, now residing in Johns- 
 ville, Cal. Mr. and Mrs. Hunsinger are the 
 parents of six children, namely: Jessie P.. of 
 Oakland, Cal. ; Lola, Martha, Willa, Leland and 
 Alice. Politically Mr. Hunsinger is a Democrat, 
 and for the past fifteen years has been a member 
 of the board of school trustees, serving in 1900, 
 when the new brick public school building was 
 erected. Fraternally he is a member of Lassen 
 Lodge No. 149, F. & A. M., of Lassen Chap- 
 ter, R. A. M., and of the Rebekahs, and is past 
 grand of the Odd Fellows lodge, of which he is 
 a member. Mrs. Hunsinger is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church and one of its act- 
 ive workers. 
 
 CHARLES PERRY. An old settler of Sierra 
 county, Charles Perry was torn in St. Louis 
 county, Mo., April 29, 1824, and was a son of 
 Jack and Theresa (Marshall) Perry, natives re- 
 spectively of Canada and St. Louis county. Mo. 
 During an early day his father settled in Missouri 
 and purchased from Spaniards a tract of sixty 
 acres lying fourteen miles west of the city of 
 St. Louis. When the Indians began to commit 
 depredations and endangered the lives of the 
 settlers he enlisted in a volunteer company and 
 aided in subduing them. Aiter an active life 
 covering eighty years he died at his home place 
 and on the same farm occurred the death of his 
 wife at about ninety years of age. Tlicir son, 
 Charles, remained on the home farm until his 
 marriage at the age of eighteen years, after 
 which he was employed on a steamer running 
 up the Illinois river, then on a boat amning 
 23 
 
 south to New Orleans, also worked on a levee 
 and handled freight in St. Louis. For four 
 years he was employed during the winter months 
 as a wood chopper in Illinois, his work being 
 in Calhoun county. Meantime in the summer 
 he assisted in running wood boats down the 
 Mississippi river. As a pilot he had few sujx;- 
 riors in those days; every mile of the river-bed 
 was known to him, and he displayed skill in 
 piloting the boats safely to their destinations. 
 
 Relinquishing all of his activities in that sec- 
 tion of the country, Mr. Perry in 1852 came 
 across the plains to California, bringing with 
 him a yoke of o.xen and a wagon. His first 
 location was at Devil's Gate, where a brother- 
 in-law had a trading post. The winter w^as spent 
 there, and meanwhile he erected a bridge across 
 Sweetwater creek and was paid $3 per wagon 
 by emigrants desiring to cross. After having 
 conducted the toll bridge during the summer 
 of 1853, in the spring of the following year 
 he put up another bridge, but emigration was 
 small that year and the water low. Selling his 
 interest, he went fifty miles up the river to 
 Warm Springs, where he carried on a small trad- 
 ing post. The following summer he carried on 
 a small store at Big Sandy. In .August of 1856 
 he arrived in the Sierra valley, where he worked 
 at baling hay during the first season and the next 
 year took a contract to bale hay for $25 per ton, 
 clearing from this work $900 in six weeks. The 
 next step which he took was the taking up of 
 a ranch near Sierraville. where he accumulated 
 a tract of about four hundred acres, and engaged 
 in raising stock cattle and in general farm pur- 
 suits. After a time he turned his attention to 
 the raising of horses and made this his specialty 
 until 1895, when he sold the land and the stock. 
 ( )n retiring from ranch work he removed to 
 Oak Park, a suburb of Sacramento, where he 
 bought four lots and erected a substantial house. 
 In March of 1905 he returned to Sierraville, 
 Sierra county, where he made his home with a 
 daughter, Mrs. Henry Slipner. until his death, 
 November 7, 1905. 
 
 Before leaving Missouri Mr. Perry lost his 
 first WMfe and after coming to the west he mar- 
 ried Miss Margaret Murphy, who was born in 
 
768 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Ireland, came to the United States at the age 
 of fourteen years and settled in California as 
 early as 1856. Here. she spent her remaining 
 years and died at the age of sixty-five. Ten 
 children were bom of their union, namely : 
 Amanda, widow of Theodore Blasedell and a 
 resident of Sierra county ; George W. of Loyal- 
 ton, Cal. ; Mary Jane, Mrs. James I. Noblet. who 
 lives at Chico, this state; Stacy A., Mrs. Henry 
 Slipner, who lives in Sierraville, her husband 
 being a rancher; Mrs. Maggie Swall, of Reno. 
 Nev. ; Sophrotiia, who is the wife of Joseph 
 Derwatcher, of Sierra county ; Susan, deceased : 
 Henry, who died at fourteen years ; Charles, now 
 in Alaska ; and Joseph, deceased. In his political 
 views Mr. Perry always supported Democratic 
 principles, but never maintained any active part 
 in local or countv affairs. 
 
 JARED BATES. Prominent among the in- 
 telligent and prosperous agriculturists of the 
 Sierra valley is Jared Bates, a rancher and 
 stockman, living seven miles southeast of Beck- 
 with. He is an experienced farmer, and in the 
 pursuit of his chosen occupation is exercising 
 great skill and excellent judgment. A son of 
 David Bates, he was born in Concord. Somer- 
 set county. Me., September 21, 1840, coming 
 from substantial colonial stock. His paternal 
 grandfather, Jared Bates, for whom he was 
 named, lived to the ripe old age of ninety years, 
 spending his entire life in Maine, his home be- 
 ing near Augusta. 
 
 David Bates was likewise a life-long resident 
 of Maine, dving on the farm which he had im- 
 proved, at the age of seventy-one years. He 
 married Sarah Partridge, a native of Maine, 
 and the descendant of one of the older New 
 England families. She died when comparative- 
 ly voung, being but forty-eight years of age 
 when she passed to the higher life. 
 
 Born and reared on a farm, Jared Bates ob- 
 tained his early knowledge of books in the dis- 
 trict schools, remaining with his parents until 
 becoming of age. Fired with the patriotic en- 
 thusiasm of a long line of New England ances- 
 
 tors he offered his services to his country dur- 
 ing the Civil War, enlisting, December 7, 1861, 
 in the Fourth Maine Light Field Artillery as 
 gunner, but afterwards being promoted to the 
 rank of sergeant. The first winter he spent 
 with his compan)- in Augusta, and in the spring 
 was ordered to Washington, where for ten 
 weeks he was ill in a hospital. Recovering his 
 health, he joined his regiment at Fort Ramsay, 
 \'a., and subsequently took part in the follow- 
 ing-named engagements : Cedar Mountain, 
 South Mountain, Md. ; .-Xntietam ; second battle 
 of Bull Run; Chantilly ; Battles of the Wilder- 
 ness, north and south : Brandy Station : Mine 
 Run ; Gaines' Mills ; Spottsylvania ; Cold Har- 
 bor ; and in all of the engagements at the siege 
 of Petersburg, the battery that he was connect- 
 ed with firing the first shots into that city. Mr. 
 Bates first enlisted for three years, and at the 
 expiration of the time veteranized and though 
 often a participant in fierce battles, he was never 
 wounded. On June 15, 1865, in Augusta, Me., 
 he was honorably discharged from service with 
 a record . for courage and bravery of which he 
 may well be proud. 
 
 Returning home, J\Ir. Bates purchased a farm, 
 which he managed successfully for about eight 
 years. .Selling out in 1873 he came to Califor- 
 nia, locating in the Sierra valley, and for two 
 years worked in the large dairy operated bv his 
 brother-in-law. Then, with a partner, he 
 bought out the proprietor, and continued dairy- 
 ing two years, when the partnership was dis- 
 solved and the property divided. Mr. Bates 
 then invested his money in land, buying one 
 hundred and sixty acres of his present home 
 farm, to which he has subsequently added by 
 purcha.sie. having now a clear title to ten hun- 
 dred and fifty acres of choice land. For many 
 years he made a specialty of dairying, keeping 
 from twenty-five to sixty cows, but since 1902 
 he has given up dairying, and now devotes his 
 attention to raising stock, hay and grain. He 
 keeps from one hundred and fifty to two hun- 
 dred head of cattle, mostly Herefords, and is 
 nnich interested in breeding and raising horses, 
 having from twenty-five to forty Percherons. 
 ]\Iarch 8, 1868, in Somerset county, Me., Mr. 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 709 
 
 ilatcs married .Mrs. .Mary A. Savage, who was 
 Ijorn in Maine, and they have one child, Ulysses 
 Grant Bates, who is interested in business with 
 his father. Politically Mr. IJates is a sound Re- 
 publican, but has steadily refused all official 
 honors. Several years ago he secured a charter 
 for the establishment of the South Mountain 
 Post, G. A. R., at Loyalton, and gave to the post 
 its name, but the membership was so small that 
 the organization had to be given up. 
 
 JOSEPH H. FLETCHER. The residence 
 of the Fletcher family in California covers prac- 
 tically the entire period since the discovery of 
 gold, the first of the name in the state having 
 been Thomas H., a native of Belfast, Me., and 
 a seafaring man by occupation, for some years 
 the captain of a vessel that sailed the broad 
 waters of the Atlantic ocean. However, after 
 his marriage to Mary Ann Brown, a native of 
 Brownsville, Me., he abandoned the sea and 
 sought an occupation that would permit him to 
 remain with his family. For some years he was 
 engaged in mercantile and lumbering industries 
 at Oldtown, Penobscot county. Me., but u]x)n 
 learning of the discovery of gold in California 
 he made arrangements to dispose of his property 
 in the east in order that he might try his for- 
 tunes in the then unknown regions of the west- 
 ern coast. During the year 1850 he and other 
 sailors purchased a ship and sailed around the 
 Horn, reaching San Francisco after a long but 
 uneventful journey, .\fter a brief experience in 
 the mines of Georgetown he proceeded to 
 Downievillc, lx)ught a pack train and engaged 
 in freighting between Marysville and Downie- 
 ville. During the year 1852 he also became in- 
 terested in a mercantile establishment, although 
 he did not then relinquish his management of 
 the pack-train. After buying an interest in the 
 Gold Bluff mine near Downieville in 1857 he 
 acted as its superintendent for some years, but 
 the mine did not prove to be a paying undertak- 
 ing and he eventually abandoned its working. 
 
 Coming to the Sierra valley in 1863 Mr. 
 Fletcher engaged in operating a sawmill near 
 
 Sattley. At first this was run by water ix>wer, 
 but in 1870 he introduced steam, making of the 
 mill a first-class plant with modern equipments. 
 Unfortunately he carried no insurance and when 
 the mill burned to the ground he suffered a loss 
 of $30,000. In politics he voted with the Re- 
 publican ])arty, but did not maintain any active 
 part in political afTairs nor did he ever seek 
 office. At the time of his death in 1881 he was 
 sixty-six years of age. His wife, who had come 
 to California via Panama with her three chil- 
 dren, died at San Francisco at the age of eighty 
 years, firm in the faith of the Congregational 
 church, with which for years she had been iden- 
 tified. 
 
 .'\mong the children of Thomas H. l-'lelcher 
 and his wife there was a son, named Joseph H., 
 who was born in Penobscot county. Me., July 9, 
 1843. At the age of fourteen years he came to 
 California. Prior to that time he had studied in 
 public schools and afterward he attended the 
 Collegiate Institute at Benicia. On leaving col- 
 lege he became connected with his father as a 
 sawyer in the mill, also worked on a ranch. In 
 1882 by the running of a wagon over him he 
 suffered the loss of the left limb, which it was 
 necessary to amputate below the knee. On re- 
 covering his health he engaged in the drug busi- 
 ness at Johnsville. Plumas county, and mean- 
 while became actively associated with the local 
 work of the Republican party. \\'hen attending 
 a county convention as delegate he was nomi- 
 nated for recorder and at the election won by a 
 flattering majority, although he had made no 
 special effort to win and had done little can- 
 vassing. On his election he sold the drug busi- 
 ness and removed to Quincy to enter upon his 
 official duties. Two years later he was again 
 elected to the office and at the expiration of his 
 second term he was appointed justice of the 
 peace at Quincy, later serving as coroner and 
 public administrator for four years. Upon re- 
 tiring from the latter position he removed to San 
 Francisco, where now he makes his home at \o. 
 374 Shotwell street. Since 1902 he has traveled 
 in California and Nevada as the representative 
 of a San Francisco wholesale house dealing in 
 clothing, shirts and neckwear. Though no 
 
770 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 longer a resident of the Sierra valley he often 
 visits his old home and his visits are always wel- 
 comed by his former associates, for he is a 
 genial, companionable man, with an interesting 
 fund of anecdote and a broad range of knowl- 
 edge. In 1866 he married Miss Mary A. Himes, 
 who was born in New York. Eleven children 
 were born of their union, but they suffered a 
 deep bereavement in losing all but two of them 
 while they were yet young. Those now living 
 are George T., a millwright at San Francisco, 
 and Esther M., wife of A. J. Lorshettcr, of San 
 Francisco. Ever since casting his first ballot for 
 Abraham Lincoln at his second election Mr. 
 Fletcher has supported Republican principles and 
 candidates, and has kept posted concerning the 
 issues of the age. 
 
 MRS. MARGARET A. DROEGE, former- 
 ly Margaret Sauer, was born in Ober-Hessen, 
 Germany, August 20, 1848, and was reared and 
 educated in her native country until she was four- 
 teen years of age. During the year 1862 she 
 landed in the United States, coming immediately 
 to Plumas county. Gal., where she has since re- 
 sided. In 1865 she was married to Adam 
 Droege, who is a native of Prussia, coming to 
 this country in 1852. Three children were bom 
 to them, all in Indian Valley, viz. : Frederick, 
 who resides at Quincy, this county ; Frances, who 
 married Asa Gray, of Quincy ; and W. Roy, who 
 is on the home farm, and assists in its manage- 
 ment. 
 
 A short time after their marriage Mr. and 
 Mrs. Droege came to Indian Valley and pur- 
 chased the home ranch, consisting of one hun- 
 dred and ninety acres of valley land, and home- 
 steaded one hundred and sixty acres of timber 
 land adjoining. This was all improved, and they 
 erected upon it a comfortable residence, good 
 barns and other out-buildings, etc.. and it is now 
 a valuable piece of real estate lying near Tay- 
 lorsville, where general farming and stock-rais- 
 ing are carried on with splendid success. Mr. 
 Droege has mining interests near Greenville, this 
 county, which occupy the greater portion of his 
 
 time and attention, and he is thus compelled to 
 leave the greater part of the management and op- 
 eration of the ranch to his wife and son. As 
 Mrs. Droege is thoroughly efficient, she is suc- 
 cessful in the performance of the duties which 
 have thus fallen upon her. Energetic and tactful, 
 she is a most estimable woman, ever at the front 
 when duty calls. 
 
 ISRAEL K. NYE. A successful rancher and 
 dairyman of Indian valley, Plumas county, is 
 Israel K. Nye, who resides near Taylorsville. 
 He was born in Berks county, Pa., September i, 
 1844, and spent his boyhood with his parents on 
 the home farm, attending the common schools 
 until about fifteen years of age. When he was a 
 young lad his parents removed to Dauphin coun- 
 ty. Pa., farming on rented land there until their 
 deaths. In 1878 Mr. and Mrs. Nye came to Cal- 
 ifornia, settling in Taylorsville, Plumas county, 
 where he mined until 1893 with fair success. He 
 then rented the Blood ranch in Indian valley and 
 carried on general farming and dairying until 
 1 901, at which time he rented the Thompson 
 ranch. This consists of about seven hundred 
 acres, three hundred of which is good farm land 
 and the remainder in timber, and in connection 
 with this he operates his own land of two hun- 
 dred and forty acres (mostly grazing land) at 
 Lone Rock in this county, also one hundred and 
 fifty acres on the north arm near Taylorsville, 
 where he carries on a dairy business during the 
 winters. He has over one thousand acres of land 
 under his control, and has been successful in its 
 management, being now on the road to financial 
 independence. 
 
 In 1871 Mr. Nye was married to Miss Elmira 
 A. Carpman, who was born in Dauphin county. 
 Pa., and five children were born to them, viz. : 
 Amos A., who died when eight years of age; 
 Gracie, who married Charles Adams of Taylors- 
 ville ; Galen, who resides in Pennsylvania ; Plu- 
 mas and Walter, both at home. In politics Mr. 
 Nye supports the Republican platform, and both 
 he and his wife were brought up in the Lutheran 
 church. Mrs. Nye is a most estimable woman 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 771 
 
 ami a devoted wile and niollier, making her hus- 
 band a helpmeet in the truest acceptation of the 
 term. She has been carrying on the farming op- 
 erations during the absence of her husband, who 
 has other interests to occupy his attention. 
 
 H. C. FLOURNOY. One of the prominent 
 and successful citizens of Plumas county is H. C. 
 Flournoy, who is a native of this state, and a 
 son of Robert S. Flournoy, a pioneer settler of 
 California, a full account of whose career will 
 be found elsewhere in this volume. H. C. Flour- 
 noy was born at Taylorsvilie, Plumas county, 
 October 14, 1865, and when he was a year old 
 his parents removed to a farm, where he spent 
 his childhood and attended the public school. 
 \Vlien about eighteen years old he took charge 
 of the ranch which his father had deeded to him- 
 self, his brother and a sister, consisting of some 
 four hundred and fifty acres, three hundred of 
 which were under cultivation, the remainder in 
 pasture land. In 1892 he was candidate for the 
 office of clerk and auditor, but was defeated in 
 the election by only one vote. In November, 
 1894, however, he was the successful candidate 
 for both of these offices, and the following 
 month gave up the management of his ranch in 
 order to devote all of his time to his official du- 
 ties. In 1898 he was elected to the same offices 
 on the Democratic ticket in a county that was 
 three hundred Republican. In 1902 he was nom- 
 inated for re-election, but was defeated, after 
 which he became manager for J. M. Engle, a 
 real estate and mining promoter of Plumas 
 county. 
 
 September 28, 1903, when the Plumas County 
 Bank was opened at Quincy, Mr. Flournoy, who 
 had been the principal promoter of the move- 
 ment to organize this bank, became its cashier 
 and manager, which position he has since held. 
 Of the two hundred and fifty shares of stock in 
 this organization, he at one time held forty, but 
 has since disposed of part of his holdings. The 
 capital stock of the bank is $25,000. The organ- 
 ization has proved a very successful one and has 
 had a steady growth. 
 
 December 9, 1896, Mr. Flournoy was married 
 to Flora Gansner, the first white girl born on 
 the old Camp French Bar, on the east branch of 
 the north fork of Feather river, in this county. 
 She was born in May, 1868, and has spent her 
 life in this county. Her father, Florian Gans- 
 ner, is a sawmill and mining man of this county. 
 
 In politics Mr. Flournoy is a Democrat and 
 has been taking an active part in political move- 
 ments since he was a young man. Fraternally 
 he is identified with Plumas Lodge No. 88, I. O. 
 ( ). F., and with the Native Sons of the Golden 
 West, Ouincy Parlor No. 131, having passed all 
 the chairs of both organizations. Aside from the 
 management of the bank, lie has extensive min- 
 ing interests in I'lumas county. Personally he 
 is a man of magnificent physique, standing six 
 feet three and one-quarter inches in height, and 
 with qualities of mind and heart corresponding 
 with his physical appearance. Having no chil- 
 dren of their own, Mr. and Mrs. Flournoy have 
 ado]5ted a daughter, Tennye Zola Flournoy. 
 
 LOUIS NELSON PETER. A prominent 
 attorney of Quincy, Plumas county, is Louis 
 Nelson Peter, who was born in this county, 
 -March 24, 1872, the son of William Thomas 
 Peter, a successful rancher and prominent citi- 
 zen of the county, an account of whose career 
 will be found elsewhere in this volume. His 
 mother, Sarah Isabelle Evans, is a native of Fay- 
 ette county. 111. Mr. Peter spent his boyhood 
 on his father's ranch, attending the public 
 schools until he was twenty years of age, when 
 he entered the San Jose Business College, from 
 which he was graduated in the spring of 1893. 
 The following fall he entered the law office of 
 Judge C. E. Mclaughlin of Ouincy, now on the 
 bench of the court of appeals of California, and 
 in 1895 was admitted to the bar. The follow- 
 ing year, 1896, he began practicing his profes- 
 sion, in which he has since continued. 
 
 Mr. Peter has for some years been quite prom- 
 inent in politics and in 1898 was a candidate on 
 the Democratic ticket for district attorney 
 against U. S. Webb, the present attorney gen- 
 
772 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 eral, but was defeated by only ten votes in a 
 strong Republican county. In 1902 he was 
 again nominated for the same office and this time 
 was elected by a majority of fifty-two votes and 
 has proved an efficient officer, performing the 
 duties pertaining thereto to the satisfaction of 
 his constituents. 
 
 February 22, 1899, Mr. Peter was married to 
 Miss Jessie Johnson, a native of this state, hav- 
 ing been born in Plumas county at Big Meadows, 
 and a daughter of Burwell Johnson. Three 
 children have been born to them, viz.: Mabel C, 
 Louis Nelson, Jr., and Earl Vern. Fraternally 
 Mr. Peter is identified with Quincy Parlor No. 
 131, N. S. G. W., of which he was secretary for 
 several years. He is of a genial, kindly disposi- 
 tion, and is very popular both in social and polit- 
 ical life. 
 
 ARTHUR W. KEDDIE. Whatever their 
 nationality or previous environment, the citizens 
 of Quincy are one in their admiration for their 
 home city and their faith in its possibilities. 
 Among its residents none is more loyal or en- 
 thusiastic than Arthur W. Keddie, who is one 
 of California's pioneers and has witnessed the 
 gradual development of the local industries as 
 well as the growth in population. For a great 
 many years he carried on an extensive abstract 
 business and as surveyor and civil and mining 
 engineer had established a large patronage, but 
 he has recently turned the abstract and engineer- 
 ing work over to a ]>artner and is now devot- 
 ing his entire time to the interests of the West- 
 ern Pacific Railroad. As assistant chief engineer 
 of the road he has charge of the project under 
 way to construct the road through Beckwith 
 Pass in the Sierras and by way of the North 
 Fork of the Feather river. The selection of a 
 route for the great transcontinental railway 
 through Plumas county represents I\Ir. Keddie's 
 thought and labor for the past thirty-five years 
 and it is with just pride that he witnesses its 
 consummation. As an evidence of the regard in 
 which he is held by his fellow-citizens we quote 
 from a local paper concerning his recent ac- 
 complishment : 'Tn dollars and cents it is not 
 
 easy to estimate the value of Mr. Keddie's serv- 
 ices to his employers. To him the people of 
 Plumas county owe a debt of gratitude which 
 few of them fully appreciate. When the West- 
 ern i'acific Railway Company shall have placed 
 one hundred miles of road within the limits of 
 Plumas, and the development of our forest and 
 mineral resources shall have begun on a large 
 scale, our people will better realize the value of 
 his efforts." 
 
 A. W. Keddie is a native of Perthshire, Scot- 
 land, and was born June 27, 1842. His parents 
 removing to Canada, however, when he was 
 only one year old he has no personal knowledge 
 of his native land, and until twenty-one years 
 of age remained an inmate of his parents' Can- 
 adian home. At an early age he had displayed a 
 ])redilection for surveying and after completing 
 his apprenticeship as a civil engineer, took a 
 practical course under the Canadian government, 
 all of which was accomplished by tlie time he 
 had reached his twenty-first year. At this age, 
 in the fall of 1863, he came to CalifoTnia, and 
 for about a year practiceil surveying in and 
 around San Francisco, but in 1864 he came to 
 Plumas county and from that day to the present 
 his interests have been centered in this part of 
 the west. The immediate cause of his removal 
 to this county was for the purpose of making 
 a survey between the American and Indian val- 
 leys. By the time he had resided in the state 
 five years he was entitled to his naturalization 
 papers, and as a citizen of the United States in 
 1868 he was nominated and elected surveyor of 
 Plumas county. The following year he was 
 appointed L'nited States deputy surveyor, a posi- 
 tion which he has held uninterruptedly up to 
 the present time. During his early career as 
 surveyor he made a map of the county for the 
 use of the supervisors before the government 
 surveys had been made, and later Mr. Keddie's 
 survey was accepted for government use. 
 
 Returning to Canada for his bride, June 9, 
 1869, Mr. Keddie was united in marriage with 
 Miss Margaret D. Barnes, who was a native of 
 England, but was reared in Canada. At her death 
 November 16, 1901, besides a devoted husband 
 she left four children to mourn her loss, as fol- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 r3 
 
 lows : Margaret K., the widow of C. H. Kahrs ; 
 Helen, the wife of Gilbert Palmer, at home ; Will- 
 iam Arthur, assistant engineer on the United 
 States geological survey works in Nevada, hav- 
 ing graduated from the L'niversitv of Nevada ; 
 and Edith, who is also at home with her father. 
 Mr. Keddie is thoroughly versed in the history, 
 plans and principles of the Republican party, of 
 which he is a stanch supporter, and for several 
 years he served as chairman of the county central 
 committee. His fraternal affiliations include mem- 
 bership in Plumas Lodge No. 60, 1*". & .X. M., 
 of which he was master for twelve years ; Granite 
 Chapter No. 94, R. A. M., at Loyalton ; and the 
 Ancient Order of United Workmen. Personally 
 Mr. Keddie is a man of cjuiet tastes, modest and 
 unassuming, though the work which he is ac- 
 complishing is making a marked impress upon 
 the trend of events in California. The record of 
 his life is entitled to a place of distinction in the 
 annals of the state. 
 
 JAMES MEGOWN. Plumas county has 
 been the scene of many mining experiences 
 since gold was discovered within its confines, and 
 among those who participated in them the name 
 of James Megown figures prominently. He 
 traces his ancestry to Scotland, whence the pa- 
 ternal grandfather removed to Ireland, and in 
 County Down his son James, the father of our 
 subject, was born. He was a participant in the 
 War of 181 2, in which he engaged in hauling 
 ammunition. 
 
 James Megown, Jr., was born in P.utler county. 
 Pa., November 29, 1819, and was reared in that 
 county until the family removed to New Brigh- 
 ton, Beaver county, same state. There he sub- 
 sequently learned the brick-layer's trade, io\- 
 lowing this for some vears in addition to taking 
 contracts for the erection of blast furnaces and 
 similar structures. During the gold excitement 
 of 1856 he was one of those who left their homes 
 in the east and came to California by way of the 
 Isthmus of Panama. His first experience was 
 at Eureka South, Nevada county, where he 
 mined during the summer, and then came to 
 
 Plumas county, and in the vicinity of his present 
 property carried on mining and prospecting. In 
 i<S57 he purchased the Burton gulch, also in this 
 county, and after working it one year gave it up 
 to establish a brick-yard in Nevada City. For 
 several years he carried this on with splendid 
 results, and in the meantime erected a number 
 of buildings. The latter business he was en- 
 abled to follow throughout all the seasons of 
 the year, and when the water season was on he 
 followed mining in addition to his other duties. 
 He is the owner of the famous Megown quartz 
 mine, located about six miles northwest of 
 Meadow X'alley, which for several years pro- 
 duced large quantities of gold, but which is not 
 now in operation. Mr. Megown anticipates sell- 
 ing his mine in the near future, as owing to his 
 advanced age he is no longer able to run it. 
 
 November 18, 1846. Mr. Megown was married 
 to Miss Nancy Moore, who was born in Beaver 
 county, Pa., and came to California about the 
 year 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Megown became the 
 parents of six children, but with one exception all 
 are deceased. The only child living is James 
 C, who is a brick-layer in San Francisco. Polit- 
 ically Mr. Megown is a Republican, and al- 
 though he has always taken a keen interest in 
 affairs of a public nature, he could never be in- 
 duced to hold office. Before coming west he was 
 made a Mason in Union Lodge No. 259, A. F. & 
 .\. M., at New Brighton, Pa. 
 
 ANDREW MILLER. During a long period 
 of busy years the business interests and stock in- 
 dustrv of Plumas and Lassen counties were ably 
 represented by the progressive pioneer whose 
 name introduces this article. By birth a German 
 and by training an .American. Mr. Miller com- 
 bined the thrift of the one race with the enter- 
 ])rise of the other and thus became the possessor 
 of cpialities admirably ada])ting him for the suc- 
 cessful prosecution of such affairs as engaged 
 his attention. .\s a pioneer of 1849 he witnessed 
 the development of California from the earliest 
 period of .Xmerican occupancy and aided in fos- 
 tering its industries and promoting its prosper- 
 
774 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 ity. Among the people of that section of north- 
 ern Cahfornia where long he made his home he 
 is remembered as a loyal citizen, efficient in- 
 cumbent of local offices, sagacious merchant and 
 enterprising stock-raiser, a man who without 
 aid from others accumulated a competency and 
 left to his heirs a goodly estate as well as the 
 memory of an honorable life. 
 
 Born in Bavaria, Germany, June 8, 1826, An- 
 drew Miller was a boy of twelve years when he 
 accompanied his parents to the United States 
 and settled in Missouri. In the spring of 1849 
 he joined a party bound for the gold mines of the 
 trans-mountain region. The journey was made 
 with ox-teams and horses and proved uneventful, 
 but fatiguing. It was during September that he 
 arrived at Hangtown (now Placerville), where 
 he tried his luck in the mines for a year or more. 
 No special good fortune awaited his industrious 
 efforts, so he turned to other avenues of em- 
 ployment, and began to run a pack train from 
 Sacramento and Marysville to the different min- 
 ing camps. As early as 1855 he opened stores 
 in Humbug valley and Marion Flat, also with 
 a partner owned and operated a general store in 
 Susanville. When the building of the wagon 
 roads caused the packing business to be unprofit- 
 able he sold his teams and gave up freighting, 
 after which he devoted his time to merchandis- 
 ing. 
 
 An appointment as receiver of the L'nited 
 States land office at Susanville caused Mr. Miller 
 to remove to that city in 1874 and for twelve 
 years he filled the position with characteristic 
 enterprise and fidelity. Upon retiring from of- 
 fice he returned to Plumas county and settled in 
 Humbug valley upon a tract which he had ac- 
 quired as early as 1856. To the original prop- 
 erty he added from time to time until eventuallv 
 he acquired about eleven hundred acres, a part 
 of which was fertile valley land, while the bal-, 
 ance was timber and grazing land. The raising 
 of stock was his specialty and brought him ex- 
 cellent returns in the course of the vears. Mean- 
 while he became active in politics. When the 
 Republican party was first organized in Plumas 
 county he assisted in placing its affairs upon a 
 substantial basis and was one of its founders. 
 
 In recognition of his activity he was tendered 
 the office of supervisor in i860 by members of 
 his party, and again, thirty-five years later, he 
 was made a member of the same board. When 
 the postoffice was established at Longville in 
 i860 he was chosen' the postmaster and continued 
 in the office for a long period, while at the pres- 
 ent time the family still have charge of the office. 
 
 The marriage of Mr. Miller took place August 
 24, 1862, and united him with Miss Lydia A. 
 Russell, who was born in Maine, August 20, 
 1838, and came to California via Panama in 
 i860, hoping that the change of climate might 
 prove of benefit to her health. Since then she 
 has continued to reside in the west, with health 
 restored under the invigorating influence of the 
 genial climate of the mountain regions. In her 
 family there are six children, namely : Maude, 
 who married P. K. Heard and lives in Modoc 
 county, this state ; Keith R., a business man of 
 Sterling, Cal. ; Frank L., who with his youngest 
 brother has charge of the home ranch; Mabel 
 L., who resides with her mother and has charge 
 of the store and office at Longville ; Perley J., 
 of San Francisco; and Markel, who with Frank 
 superintends the home place and also has charge 
 of an adjoining property of one hundred and 
 sixty acres. 
 
 interested in fraternal matters, Mr. Miller 
 was associated with the blue lodge, chapter and 
 commandery at Susanville, and in his life en- 
 deavored to exemplify the noble teachings of 
 Alasonry, as well as the doctrines of the Congre- 
 gational church, to which he gave earnest alle- 
 giance. When death called him* from the center 
 of his activities, December 6, 1903, the loss was 
 felt to be a deep bereavement for family and 
 friends and a distinct loss to the citizenship of 
 Plumas county. The year after his demise the 
 home was burned to the ground by accident and 
 immediately afterward the family built on the 
 same site a commodious hotel, where in the sum- 
 mer they board city guests seeking the fine air 
 of the mountains and the excellent hunting and 
 camping facilities offered. The sons have suc- 
 ceeded to the management of the ranch which 
 is now owned by their mother, and tliev also 
 have mining interests inherited from their 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 75 
 
 father, so tliat with stock-raising, dairying and 
 superintending the family's business and mining 
 affairs they as yet have found Httle leisure for 
 participation in politics or social n;atters, al- 
 though they are public-spirited, progressive and 
 generous in contributions to movements for the 
 upbuilding of their community. 
 
 L. S. WILSON was born in Bethany, Genesee 
 county, N. Y., September 25, 1833, a son of 
 John and Laura (Howard) Wilson, both na- 
 tives of New Hampshire. When he was a lad 
 of sixteen years John Howard volunteered in 
 the war of 1812, after his service was over re- 
 turning to New York, remaining there until 
 about twent\-five years ago, when his son 
 brought him to California, the mother having 
 died some time previously. Here his earth life 
 came to a close, and his remains were interred in 
 Fort Jones cemetery. 
 
 L. S. Wilson was reared to young manhood in 
 Bethany, N. Y., receiving his education in the 
 common schools, and when nineteen years of 
 age set out on his independent career. Going to 
 New York City he obtained employment as 
 clerk in a mercantile establishment, but was 
 there only six months when he was seized with 
 a desire to come to the gold fields of California. 
 In the spring of 1853, notwithstanding the fact 
 that he possessed limited means, he took steam- 
 er at New York, and rounding Cape Horn, ar- 
 rived in San Francisco, where he remained but 
 a short time. Going to Auburn, he found him- 
 self without funds, and accepted the first em- 
 ployment that offered, which happened to be 
 waiting on table in one of the hotels. As soon 
 as he had saved a little money he engaged in 
 mining, but w-as not very successful, and hav- 
 ing a brother in Siskiyou county, he started for 
 that county afoot. Upon his arrival there he 
 obtained employment with a Mr. Calahan, and 
 some time later purchased the ranch upon 
 which he now lives, near Etna Mills. 
 
 Mr. Wilson was married to Martha Smith of 
 Iowa, and six children were born to them, three 
 of whom are living, as follows : John M., re- 
 
 siding near his father ; Laura May, who married 
 F. I. Wctmore of Etna Mills; and L. S., Jr., 
 who lives on the home ranch. Mrs. Wilson died 
 several years ago, and is buried in Fort Jones 
 Cemetery. Fraternally Mr. Wilson is identified 
 with Evening Star Lodge, F. & A. M., at 
 Etna, and the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
 lows, being one of the two charter members of 
 the lodge at Fort Jones. He is a public spiritetl 
 man, and it was through his efforts that Etna 
 today enjoys the benefits of a public reading 
 room and library. On the Republican ticket he 
 at one time made the race for assemblyman, but 
 was defeated by William Irwin, who was after- 
 wards governor of the state. He is a self-made 
 man, and having worked hard and obtained a 
 competency for his family, he is now living re- 
 tired from the activities which for so many 
 \ears engaged his attention, and in the evening 
 of life is enjoying the fruits of his labor. 
 
 LODOVICO DOTTA. Prominent among 
 the enterprising and progressive farmers of 
 Plumas county that have met with success in 
 their chosen occupation is Lodovico Dotta, of 
 Vinton, the owner of a productive farm, lying 
 in the Sierra valley. Since purchasing his 
 ranch, he has labored wisely, and by the exer- 
 cise of his native industry and his able business 
 capacity he has rendered it one of the finest 
 and most attractive estates in the communitv, 
 having the land largely under cultivation, and 
 finely improved. He was born in S\vitzerland, 
 March 19, 1844, and was brought up on a farm, 
 receiving a practical education in his native 
 hamlet. 
 
 Leaving home when ,a youth of twenty years, 
 Lodovico Dotta determined to seek for himself 
 more favorable opportunities for bettering his 
 financial condition in America, and October 23, 
 1864, landed in New York harbor. Imfnediately 
 continuing his journey westward, he arrived 
 in San Francisco on November 28, of that vear, 
 and from there went to Eldorado county, where 
 he was employed in prospecting and mining for 
 a number of winters, while during the summer 
 
776 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 seasons he managed a small ranch and orchard 
 he had bought in Garden valley. In 1879, on 
 account of ill health, Mr. Dotta sold out his 
 possessions in that place, and came to the Sier- 
 ra valley, where he worked as a farm hand for 
 four years. Investing his money in land here 
 in 1883. he purchased his present ranch, and has 
 now eight hundred acres in his home place, and 
 six hundred acres of grazing land among the 
 hills. He carries on general farming success- 
 fully, and is specially interested in dairying, 
 keeping about forty-five cows, from this branch 
 of his industry reaping a good annual income. 
 
 February 14, 1898, Mr. Dotta married Claud- 
 ina Ponci, who was born in Switzerland, and 
 came from there to America in 1896, arriving in 
 New York November 22. Four children have 
 been born of the union of ?»lr. and Mrs. Dotta, 
 namely : Josie, Rinaldo, Anita, and Lodovico, 
 Jr. Politically Mr. Dotta is a sound Democrat, 
 but has never cared to hold any public office. 
 
 ROLAND BASS, a native of California, is an 
 extensive stock raiser of Lassen county, in which 
 business he has been engaged throughout his 
 mature years. The youngest in a family of eight 
 children, he was born in Elysian valley, Lassen 
 county, March 23, 1875, a son of Richard D. and 
 Mary (Carlyon) Bass, natives respectively of 
 Kentucky and Cornwall, England. The descend- 
 ants of pioneers, they both inherited the spirit 
 of the early days and in 1853 joined the western 
 trend of civilization, with ox-teams and neces- 
 sary equipment setting out for California. 
 The journey was one of hardship and priva- 
 tion and continued for four months and twelve 
 days from the date of starting. Safely ended 
 at last, in Plumas county Mr. Bass sought 
 employment in the mines and remained so occu- 
 pied until the fall of 1857. Deciding to estab- 
 lish a home in the state, he then came to Las- 
 sen county and in Elysian valley purchased the 
 squatter's righ.t to property which he continued 
 to own up to the time of his death, which oc- 
 curred November 11, 1904. He became one of 
 the most successful stockmen in this section of 
 
 country, acquiring extensive property in Las- 
 sen county and a large stock range in Last Chance 
 valley, Plumas county, where he had immense 
 herds of cattle. He was recognized as one of the 
 leading citizens of Lassen county and was held 
 in the highest esteem by all who knew him. He 
 is survived by his wife, who still resides on the 
 home farm. 
 
 Reared on the home farm Roland Bass re- 
 ceived his education in the public school of 
 Janesville, and in the meantime learned the stock 
 business under the able instruction of his father. 
 At the age of eighteen years he began inde- 
 pendent operations in this line, establishing the 
 brand a circle and bar. He has met with success 
 in his venture and bids fair to rank among the 
 successful stockmen of northern California. He 
 owns a range of twelve hundred and eighty acres 
 on Last Chance creek, in Plumas county, where, 
 during the summer, he keeps a large herd of cat- 
 tle. Mr. Bass has established a home in Lassen 
 count}', having married in Reno, Nev., Miss 
 Anna Hansen, a native of Janesville, this county. 
 Her father. Christian Hansen, a native of Den- 
 mark, came to California in the early tlays of the 
 state and located in Janesville, where he followed 
 his trade of cooper until his death, which oc- 
 curred in igo2. His wife is still living and makes 
 her home in Janesville. Of their five children 
 Mrs. Bass is the oldest. Mr. and Mrs. Bass are 
 the ])arents of one son, Edward McDonald. Mr. 
 Bass is associated politically with the Democratic 
 party, and socially he is a member of Honey Lake 
 Parlor, N. S. G. W. He is an esteemed citizen 
 of Lassen county, besides the inheritance of a 
 good name having built up for himself an hon- 
 ored position in the community. 
 
 CHARLES E. EMERSON. Throughout the 
 length and breadth of Lassen county the name 
 of Charles E. Emerson is . a household word 
 among the people ; not only by reason of his 
 present service as a county official, but also by 
 his connection with a large number of important 
 commercial enterprises vitally contributory to the 
 progress of the region. Indeed, scarcely an en- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 777 
 
 terprise has been ])rojccted of recent years for 
 the permanent development of the comity which 
 has not been fostered by his sagacious judgment, 
 and not a few undertakings owe their origin to 
 his fertile brain and keen foresight. A life- 
 long resident of this locality, he was born in 
 1868 in Susanville, where he now resides, and is 
 the son of the well-known pioneer, Charles Em- 
 erson, who crossed the plains in i860, settled in 
 Susanville, served in the Indian troubles, became 
 prominent in the county and Iniilt. on the present 
 site of the Odd Fellows' building, one of the first 
 hotels in this section of the state. After varied 
 experiences as a miner in different portions of 
 the Rocky mountain region, at this writing he 
 acts as manager of a mining cnmpanv in Old 
 Mexico. 
 
 When eighteen years of age Qiarles E. Emer- 
 son began to teach school and the next vear he 
 was chosen principal of the Susanville grammar 
 school. For seven years he engaged in teaching, 
 but meantime he had turned his attention to com- 
 mercial pursuits and had acquired mercantile in- 
 terests which he still holds. As a merchant lie 
 has had various reverses, the most serious of 
 which was the loss of his building and stock of 
 gCK)ds by fire on three different occasions. Ulti- 
 mately he determined to erect a structure as 
 nearly fireproof as a building can be, and with 
 that end in view he planned the erection of what 
 is conceded to be the most substantial structure 
 in Lassen county, a building 96x140 feet in di- 
 mensions, three stories in height, with basement, 
 the brick for the entire block having been manu- 
 factured at local brick yards. The office and 
 dining-room of the Emerson hotel occupy the 
 first floor and the large store conducted by Mr. 
 Emerson is also on this floor. On the second 
 floor is Emerson hall, equipped with a suitable 
 stage and provided with other conveniences that 
 make it the best room in the county for concerts 
 and theatrical purposes. The hotel was opened 
 June 3, 1900, and has since been conducted un- 
 der Mr. Emerson's management. At the same 
 time he has established a growing trade in mer- 
 chandise and agricultural implements. Separate 
 from his store is a large fireproof carriage re- 
 pository and warehouses. Wholesalers estimate 
 
 that he handles more buggies than any oilier re- 
 tail dealer on the I'acific coast. 
 
 Tlie supervision of his large interests in Su- 
 sanville does not represent the limit of Mr. Em- 
 erson's commercial enterprises. Among his 
 other interests may be mentioned the general 
 store and the creamery at Standish, of both of 
 which he is proprietor and which have been made 
 important industries under his pushing leader- 
 ship. The creamery manufactures twenty-one 
 thousand pounds of butter per month, which is 
 shipped to the cities of Nevada and also to San 
 Francisco. While all of the enterprises pre- 
 viously mentioned have been vitally associated 
 with the development of the county, perhaps 
 none in which he has an interest bears a closer 
 relation to local development than the Lassen 
 & Willow Creek Water Company, Incorporated, 
 of which he is president and the leading spirit. 
 The object of the company is to tap Eagle lake 
 and bring its waters through Willow Creek val- 
 ley to irrigate the broad expanse of Honey Lake 
 valley. Without question it is the greatest en- 
 terprise of the kind started in northern Califor- 
 nia and when completed will do more to develop 
 the natural resources of Honey Lake valley than 
 any other plan yet inaugurated. In addition he 
 is interested in the development and reclaiming 
 of Honey Lake island, and has interests in Wild- 
 horse mine in Nevada and Inskip mine in Huttc 
 county, this state. 
 
 At Susanville, in 1887, occurred the marriage 
 of Mr. Emerson to Miss May, daughter of 
 Luther Spencer and niece of the late Judge E. V. 
 Spencer, of Susanville. During an early tlay 
 Luther Spencer crossed the plains to California, 
 after which he followed the carpenter's trade 
 and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. 
 During the trouble with Indians he offered his 
 services and aided in defending the homes of the 
 settlers. After an active and honorable life he 
 passed away in Susanville in 1875, six years 
 after the death of his wife, who was Mary Fran- 
 ces Funk, a native of Pennsylvania. In his wife 
 Mr. Emerson has found a capable helpmate, one 
 possessing the gentleness, refinement and intel- 
 ligence tliat win for her ready and permanent 
 
778 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 friendships. They are the parents of four chil- 
 dren, Marie, Tro, Wes and jNIae. 
 
 After attaining liis majority Mr. Emerson be- 
 came identified witli Lassen Lodge No. 149, F. 
 & A. M., of which he acted as past master for 
 two terms ; and later he became a member of 
 Lassen Chapter No. 47, R. A. M., Lassen Com- 
 mandery No. 13, K. T., and Islam Temple, N. 
 M. S., of San Francisco, while with his wife he 
 affiliates with Hesperian Lodge No. 112, Order 
 of the Eastern Star, at Susanville, in which Mrs. 
 Emerson is past worthy matron. On the organ- 
 ization of Lassen Parlor No. 99, N. S. G. W., 
 he became one of its charter members and later 
 was honored with the office of president. Among 
 other fraternal relations are his associations with 
 the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of 
 United Workmen. Politically he has been a 
 stanch and faithful upholder of Republican prin- 
 ciples. On the regular party ticket in 1898 he 
 was elected assessor of Lassen county by a ma- 
 jority of four hundred, and four years later he 
 was again elected to the office by an increased 
 majority, to serve until January of 1907. This 
 office he has filled with credit to himself and to 
 the satisfaction of the people, discharging all of 
 its duties with promptness and efficiency. To 
 conduct so many business responsibilities, in ad- 
 dition to filling a county office, demands that a 
 man be mentally and physically well balanced, 
 and no one can boast of more thorough equip- 
 ment in this respect than Mr. Emerson, who has 
 a keen, vigorous, alert mind, in a sound, stalwart 
 and robust body, and is therefore able to assume 
 manifold responsibilities impossible to one of 
 less athletic physique. 
 
 JOHN WESLEY HOSSELKUS. The re- 
 cent demise of J. W. Hosselkus removed from 
 Lassen county one of her prominent and success- 
 ful ranchers, his property lying five miles 
 southeast of Susanville. His father, Daniel Hos- 
 selkus, was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., and 
 was a descendant of an old Dutch familv of Hol- 
 land. He was a carpenter, mason and farmer 
 at Coryville, where his death occurred. His 
 
 mother, formerly Deborah Kellogg, was also a 
 native of New York state, and was a member 
 of an old New England family. She died in the 
 town of Oakfield, N. Y. Both parents were con- 
 sistent members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Six children were born to them, four 
 daughters and two sons, but of this number on- 
 ly one daughter is living. John Wesley, who 
 was next to the oldest child, was born May 
 26, 1833, at Coryville, N. Y., and received 
 his early education in the public schools of his 
 native county, afterwards attending the academy 
 at Coryville. He learned the mason's trade from 
 his father and followed this in connection with 
 building until 1863, when he came west via the 
 Isthmus of Panama from New York City. From 
 Aspinwall he came to San Francisco on board 
 the Constitution, arriving in San Francisco in 
 July, 1863. F^rom that city he went to Indian 
 valley, in Plumas county, where he remained a 
 week, then went to Susanville, where he pro- 
 cured work on a building for Miller & Kings- 
 ley, which was being built of stone. He fol- 
 lowed the mason's trade in Plumas and Modoc 
 counties until 1873, when he purchased the ranch 
 which was his home the remainder of his life. It 
 consists of four hundred acres of land on the 
 south side of the valley five miles south of Su- 
 sanville, upon which he raised large quantities of 
 hay and grain, and also ran a dairy here. There 
 are large meadows on this farm, and water for 
 irrigation purposes is obtained from the Gold 
 River ditch. 
 
 Mr. Hosselkus was as successful a farmer and 
 stock-raiser as he was a mason. He was a stock- 
 holder of the Lassen County Bank and super- 
 visor of the first district of Lassen five years ; 
 also trustee of Richmond school district many 
 years. In politics he was a Republican, and fra- 
 ternally was identified with the Masonic order, 
 also belonging to the Eastern Star, with which 
 Mrs. Hosselkus is still identified. 
 
 In Susanville Mr. Hosselkus married Mrs. 
 Sarah Todd Emerson, daughter of James and 
 Mary (Gray) Todd, both of whom died at Phil- 
 adelphia, Pa. Her brother. Dr. William Todd, 
 served as surgeon of a regiment, No. 19 Penn- 
 
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 779 
 
 sylvaiiia Volunteer Infantry, and is now practic- 
 ing his profession at I'hilatlelpiiia. Another 
 brother, Joseph, also served in the Civil war in 
 Company G, First United States Mounted Rifles, 
 and he now resides in Lassen county. Mrs. 
 Hosselkus came to California in the "505, and in 
 1863 removed to Honey Lake valley. There are 
 two step-sons, Hon. James T. I^ird, ex-state 
 senator; and Charles E. Emerson, county as- 
 sessor of Lassen county. 
 
 PETER HENRY A'CGT. A native of Ger- 
 many, having been born at Laar, Westphalia, 
 April I, 1853, Peter Henry Vogt was reared on 
 a farm, and obtained his education in the com- 
 mon schools of his native locality. His father, 
 Casper, was also born in Germany, where he 
 spent his life. Twice married, three children 
 were born of the first marriage, all of whom 
 are deceased, and of the five children of the 
 second marriage four are living, Henry having 
 died at Adin, Cal., in 1904. The mother of 
 these children, formerly Fredricka Banner, was 
 a native of Germany, where she passed her en- 
 tire life. 
 
 The second child in order of birth, Peter H. 
 Vogt was sixteen years of age when, in 1869, 
 he came to the New World and located for a 
 time in St. Louis, Mo. After working there at 
 various occupations until 1871 he then came 
 to California. .Settling in Honey Lake valley he 
 entered the employ of John Hulsman. with whom 
 he continued for nine years, during which time 
 he had accumulated sufficient means to enable 
 him to become a property owner. Purchasing 
 the McDow mill, seven miles from Susanville, 
 he operated this for several years, then purchased 
 the old Lynch place and engaged in the manu- 
 facture of lumber there, later removing to Las- 
 sen creek, two miles from the Lynch place, and 
 continued in the lumber business. In 1903 he 
 sold his saw mill to Thomas H. Wilson and pur- 
 chased two hundred acres of land on Lassen 
 creek, which he improved and upon which he 
 .successfully engaged in stock raising and farm- 
 
 Mr. Vogt was married twice, the first time 
 in Susanville to Lizctta Hulsman, who was a 
 native of Germany, and died at Susanville. His 
 second marriage was with Mrs. Mary Eliza 
 (Menefee) Smothers, at Susanville, the daughter 
 of Nimrod William Menefee. The latter, who 
 was a native of West \'irginia, came to this state 
 in 1857 across the plains, going first to Carson 
 valley, then to Sonoma county, this state, later 
 to Eldorado county, and finally to Willow Creek, 
 where he died. Her mother, formerly Mary F. 
 Sheckles, a native of Kentucky, is still living, 
 and resides on the old home place. Mrs. Vogt 
 is one of three children, all of whom are living, 
 both of her brothers, William N. and James B. 
 residing at Willow Creek. ^Mrs. \'ogt was mar- 
 ried first to Jacob C. Smothers at Willow Creek. 
 Mr. Smothers was a native of Kentucky, and 
 died at Hayden Flill. Two children were born 
 of this marriage, viz., Laura, Mrs. Hartson, of 
 Honey Lake valley; and Perry William. Mrs. 
 Vogt owns a farm in Willow Creek valley of a 
 hundred and si.\ty acres, a portion of which is 
 meadow land, and upon this farm a successful 
 stock business is carried on. Mr. Vogt is a 
 self-made man, and though he has had reverses, 
 has nevertheless been-verv successful. 
 
 WILLIAM T. BURNHAM. Pleasantly lo- 
 cated on the Grizzly valley road, six miles north- 
 west of Beckwith, is William T. Burnham, a 
 ranchman and stock-raiser, who is contributing 
 his full share towards developing and advanc- 
 ing tlie agricultural interests of this section of 
 Plumas county. A native of Ontario, Canada, 
 he was born May 20, 1849. When he was but 
 an infant his paretits removed to St. Lawrence 
 county, N. Y.. where he was brought up and 
 educated. 
 
 At the age of twelve years William T. Burn- 
 ham began to be self-supporting, and as a wage- 
 earner assisted in supporting the family also. At 
 first he worked for his board only, attending 
 school winters, but as soon as old enough to re- 
 ceive wages he always gave a part of his earn- 
 ings to his parents as long as they needed it. 
 
780 
 
 HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 Leaving his native state in 1878, he crossed the 
 country to Churchill county, Nev., where for six 
 years he was employed in the Eagle Salt works. 
 Becoming then associated with a mining com- 
 pany as an employe, he spent a few months in 
 Dayton, Nev., and was then sent to Washoe, in 
 that state, where he had charge of a shaft for 
 si.x months. The company closing its. works, he 
 was engaged in ranching for a short time, after- 
 wards being employed for awhile at the Pyramid 
 Lake mines. In August, 1885, he came to Plumas 
 county, and for more than a year worked on a 
 ranch in Beckwith. In October. 1886, with three 
 companions, he took a contract for putting in one 
 million feet of logs in this section, and filled the 
 contract, for which he failed to get his pay. Aft- 
 er that venture, in company with Messrs. Benja- 
 min L. Jones and Tliomas Jones, he worked for 
 wages in a mine, and was also engaged in pros- 
 pecting. In December, 1896, investing the money 
 that he had accumulated in real estate, he pur- 
 chased his present ranch, containing three hun- 
 dred and twenty acres of land, one hundred acres 
 being hay and grain land in the valley. He also 
 homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres of ad- 
 joining land, and took up a timber claim of forty 
 acres of valuable land, to which he has a good ti- 
 tle. In the management of his' property he has 
 shown marked ability and skill, and is quite suc- 
 cessful. Politically he has been identified with 
 the Republican party since taking out his natural- 
 ization papers, in Quincy, this county. 
 
 PETER LASSEN, pioneer and frontiersman, 
 was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. .August 7, 
 1800, and after receiving an education in the 
 common schools learned the trade of a black- 
 smith. In 1829 he came to the United States, 
 and after spending some time m different east- 
 ern cities, came west to Keytesville, Charlton 
 county. Mo. In 1839, with twelve others (two 
 of whom were women), he formed a company 
 and crossed the plains and mountains to Oregon, 
 arriving at The Dalles in October. 1839. Mak- 
 ing their way on to the Willamette valley, they 
 wintered in Oregon Citv. 
 
 In the spring of 1840 they came by vessel to 
 California, landing at Port Ross, then a Russian 
 trading post, and thence made their way to 
 Sutters camp, near the mouth of American river, 
 and fifteen days later went on to San Francisco. 
 Soon after tliis Mr. Lassen went to San Jose, 
 working at his trade through the winter. In 
 the spring of 1841 he purchased some land near 
 Santa Cruz, where he built and operated a saw- 
 mill. This he afterwards sold in 1842. receiv- 
 ing as pay one hundred head of mules which 
 he drove to Sutter's camp. There he engaged 
 in stock-raising, ranching on an adjoining fann, 
 at the same time working at liis trade for Cap- 
 tain Sutter and taking his pay in stock. In 
 1843 he with John Bidwell and James Bruheim 
 pursued a party of emigrants who were on their 
 way to Oregon, overtaking them at the present 
 site of Red Bluff, and recovered some stolen 
 animals. The northern end of the valley was 
 then entirely unsettled and Mr. Lassen was so 
 pleased with the country he selected a tract and 
 applied to Governor Micheltorena for a grant 
 of land, which in due time he obtained and in 
 F"ebruary, 1844. he located on it. building the 
 first civilized habitation north of Marysville. 
 The grant was on Deer creek, in what is now 
 Tehama county. It was from his place that 
 Fremont started on his journey from the Sac- 
 ramento valley to Oregon in 1846, and Mr. Las- 
 sen a few days later guided Lieutenant Gillespie 
 in search of the Pathfinder, overtaking him that 
 memorable night on the banks of Klamath lake. 
 .•\fter the discovery of gold in 1848 Mr. Las- 
 sen started with Paul Richardson as a companion 
 to find a good trail for the emigrants into the 
 upper end of the valley, the intention being to 
 divert emigrants from the usual route, that is, 
 the Humboldt and Truckee route. They found 
 what was afterwards known as the Lassen route. 
 Two years before this a company from the 
 Willamette valley had laid out what is known 
 as the southern route to Oregon, running from 
 Fort Hall west to Goose lake, thence to Tule 
 lake and on to Modoc county, across Lost river, 
 around the lower end of Klamath lake, through 
 the pass to Rogue River vallev and thence by 
 the Hudson Bay trail to the Willamette valley. 
 
HISTORIC/VL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 
 
 7sl 
 
 The route followed to Yreka and vicinity in 
 1851, and later years was the old southern 
 Oregon trail as far as Klamath lake and thence 
 to Yreka by way of Sheep Rock. Mr. Lassen's 
 route followed the Oregon road as far as the 
 headwaters of Pitt river, then branched south, 
 following down the stream until north of Las- 
 sen Peak, passing around the eastern base of 
 the mountain to Mountain Meadows, then on 
 west to Big Meadows, then on to the lieadwaters 
 of Deer creek, following that stream down to 
 Lassen's ranch. Messrs. Lassen and Richardson 
 reached Fort Hall in the summer of 1848 and 
 induced a train of cniigrants to try the new 
 route to California. Mr. Lassen conducted tlu' 
 twelve wagons that com|josed the train, safcl\', 
 though the_\- encountered some rugged and dif- 
 ficult mountains until the}- reachecLBig Meadows, 
 and in one of these valleys they stopped for a 
 time to recruit the stock and supply themselves 
 with provisions, being unable to proceed in the 
 condition they then were in. Here they were 
 overtaken by a partv of Oregonians on their way 
 to the gold fields and with their aid reached 
 Lassen's ranch in safets'. 
 
 In 1849-50 a cutoff was made, or as it was 
 sometimes called, "Lassen's Horn" route, sar- 
 castically comparing it to the journey around 
 Cape Horn, The point of divergence from the 
 main route down the Humboldt was indicated 
 by a post stuck in the desert sand, across which 
 was nailed a shake bearing the inscription "Las- 
 sen's road to guide the unwary emigrant ;" but 
 it was not very popular on account of the deep 
 snows. Lassen was unfortunate on his grant 
 and went to Indian valley. I'lnmas county, in 
 1 85 1, and with Isadore Meyerwitz and (Jeorge 
 E. St. I'elix took up a ranch and opened a 
 trading post. .\ few years later Messrs. Lassen 
 and Meyerwitz came to Honey lake, the first 
 actual settlers of the valley. Mr. Meyerwitz 
 was drowned in the lake in 1856 and noble- 
 hearted Lassen met his death by a shot from a 
 rifle in 1859. Indians are sup])ose<l to have killed 
 him when he was in the mountains with his 
 st(X"k. The big pine tree where he first camped 
 in the valley is still standing on the farm he 
 located and in the shadow of this pine is a 
 monument erected to liis memory by the Ma- 
 sonic fraternitv. of which he was a member. 
 

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