USA > California > A Volume of memoirs and genealogy of representative citizens of northern California, including biographies of many of those who have passed away > Part 26
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In his political views Mr. Mansfield has been a stalwart Republican since the organization of the party and has always kept well informed on the issues of the day, as every loyal American citizen should do, thus being able to uphold his position by an intelligent understanding of the questions which affect the weal and woe of the nation. The cause of education has ever found in him a warm friend and he has labored earnestly and effectively for the best interests of the schools. For fifteen years he has been a school trustee and for a number of years the clerk of the school board. Since 1870 he has been identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Methodist church he is a leading and earnest member, having long served as one of its trustees. His belief has permeated his life and ruled his conduct toward his fellow men. Of unswerving integrity and honor, and having a perfect appreciation of the higher ethics of life, he has gained and retained the confidence and respect of those with whom he has associated and is distinctively one of the leading citi- zens of Tuolumne county with whose interests he has long been identified.
ISAAC COOPER.
The California pioneers of 1849 are fast passing away, but there are still among the residents of the state those who came to the Pacific coast the year following the discovery of gold in California, attracted by the possibility of rapidly securing wealth. Among this number is Isaac Cooper, now one of the Prominent citizens of Oleta. Amador county. He has reached the eighty-sev- enthi milestone on life's journey and receives the veneration and respect which
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is always accorded old age, for his life has been upright and worthy of high regard.
Mr. Cooper was born in New York on the 8th of February, 1813, and traces his ancestry back to James Cooper, a minister of the Society of Friends who settled in Philadelphia in 1650 and became one of the prominent mer- chants in that city, being connected with its commercial interests for many years. His son, William Cooper, was the father of James Cooper, and the latter had a son William, who was the grandfather of the subject of this review. Representatives of the name were participants in the war of the Revo- lution and were prominent in public office and in all the public affairs in the early history of the country, leaving the impress of their strong individuality upon events which aided in shaping the destiny of the nation. His birth occurred in 1734, and after arriving at years of maturity he became a leader, in thought and movement of the public life of the community. He served as a judge of the court of common pleas, for two termis was a member of the United States congress and in 1811 occupied a seat in the state legislature. llc was killed by a political antagonist who struck him over the head with a club. One of his sons, Fennimore Cooper, has gained world-wide fame as a writer of stories concerning the early conditions of America. Another son, Samuel Cooper, the father of our subject, was born in New Jersey and when he had attained his majority married Miss Elizabeth Bartlett, a lady of English lineage whose ancestors were early settlers of the colonies. Her father was captured by the British in the Revolutionary war and was held as a prisoner in the New York sugar-house until the cessation of hositilities. They had three sons, of whom Mr. Cooper is the only survivor.
Our subject is a self-educated and a self-made man. He received but limited educational privileges and began to earn his own living by chopping wood at twenty-five cents a cord. In 1849 he was employed in a similar man- ner in California, but received eight dollars and board for his work. He spent the year 1833 in Toledo, Ohio, and in 1834 went to Chicago, being present at the time the last payment was made to the Indians for the land on which that metropolis is now located. In 1836 he was a resident of Iowa, and this has he been a pioneer in various states. In 1839 he married Miss Caroline Armstrong, in Ohio. Five children were born to them: Frances, the wife of F. M. Hubbell, of Des Moines, Iowa; George Pomroy; Florence, a widow; Alice, deceased ; and Fennimore Isaac.
His love of pioneer life and the hope of securing wealth on the Pacific slope led Mr. Cooper to cross the plains to California in 1849. He made the journey with an ox team and was accompanied by two companions. Unmo- lested by the Indians, they arrived at Shingle Springs on the 7th of September, and at Sacramento Mr. Cooper began work on the levee, for which he was paid ten dollars a day. Subsequently he engaged in placer mining at Coloma and on the American river, where he met with a fair degree of success. In the fall of 1850 he returned to the east, but voted on the question of the adoption of the state constitution before leaving. He had made on an average twenty five dollars per day while in the placer mines, and with the capital he had acquired
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he purchased a farin near the city of Des Moines, Iowa, after his return to the Hawkeye state. There he carried on agricultural pursuits and afterward acted as a clerk in the United States land office and also discharged the duties of receiver and registrar in the city of Des Moines. He likewise engaged in deal- ing in stock and conducted various other enterprises, which were capably man- aged and netted him good returns.
In 1870 Mr. Cooper was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died in that year, leaving three children : George Pomroy, Florence Alice and Fennimore. For his second wife Mr. Cooper chose Miss Charlotte Mann, a niece of Horace Mann. He then returned to California on a visit and while at Oleta he purchased the fine house in which he now resides, the place being surrounded by seven acres of valuable land. Here he is now spending the evening of his active and successful life. Since returning to this state he has been extensively interested in mining enterprises and is the owner of the Cooper mine.
In politics he has been a Democrat since the time of Andrew Jackson, but the honors and emoluments of public office have had no attractions for him. He is still a hale and hearty old gentleman and still associated with business affairs. Old age does not necessarily indicate weakness, nor incapacity, for there is an old age which is an inspiration and a benediction to all, and which gives out of the rich stores of wisdom and experience to those who have more recently started upon life's pilgrimage. Of such a type Mr. Cooper is a repre- sentative, and in Amador county he is widely known and honored.
FREDERICK COX.
Frederick Cox is first of all a typical Sacramento business man with the abundant energy and enterprise of the class that has laid the solid foundation of one of the leading cities on the Pacific coast. He has been connected with the business interests of California for more than forty-five years. Ilis life has been one of great activity, directed by an ambition to succeed on the lines of usefulness and an unconquerable spirit of determination. While eminently conservative, he is therefore always safe. Once he decides upon a course of action he enters upon it with an enthusiasm that conquers opposition, and overcomes obstacles that leads to a triumphant accomplishment of his purpose. Through all his business life he has been the soul of honor, courting honesty and integrity as the best capital that a man can possess.
Frederick Cox is a native of England, his birth having occurred in Somer- setshire, in 1828. His father was John Cox, who also was born in Somerset- shire and died at the age of sixty-two years. His mother bore the maiden name of Thomazin Luxton, and was a native of Devonshire, England. In their family were four children, two of whom are now living. Frederick and a Sister who makes her home in England. The subject of this review pursued In- early education in the land of his birth, but when still very young came to die new workl. and after spending six months in New York state removed ww Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There the father occupied a position as a book-
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keeper and buyer for a firm carrying on a wholesale and retail meat business, and in his youth his son became familiar with the butchering business.
When gold was discovered in California and the tide of emigration turned strongly toward the Pacific coast, it was his desire to make his way to the golden state, but lack of funds prevented his doing so at that time. In 1850, however, he joined a party who were preparing to make the long and weari- some journey across the plains. Crossing the Missouri river near the present site of Omaha they obtained their guide-books, which had been published by the Mormons and which indicated the route and camping grounds. These were found to be very reliable, and following directions they at length arrived safely at Salt Lake City. At that point they procured another guide-book which gave directions from there on to California : but this publication led them into many difficulties. However, they pressed on, reaching Ringgold, Eldorado county, California, at the end of that year. Not long after reaching Salt Lake City it was found that Mr. Cox was the only member of the party who had any funds left, so that from that time until they reached their destination he paid all the bills. Pitching their tent in the middle of a little mining camp. the entire capital of the company, seven dollars, was invested in beef steak, molasses and flour. After regaling themselves with this sumptuous fare, Mr. Cox made his first attempt at oratory and in a most forceful and politic manner addressed his comrades as follows, saying that it was now "every one for himself."
In the fall of 1850 Mr. Cox formed the acquaintance of Lloyd Tevis, a member of the firm of Haggin & Tevis, who were engaged in trading in horses and buying stock from the immigrants. Mr. Cox secured employment of a butcher in Ringgold, for whom he worked two months, receiving five hundred dollars for his services during that time. His employer wishing to leave the country, he purchased the business which he conducted for nine months, when he sold out and went to Carson river valley in Nevada. There he engaged in stock-dealing enterprises, which have grown to such extensive proportions that he is now known as one of the leading and best known stock-raisers of the state. In Nevada he purchased horses and cattle from the immigrants, fat- tened them on the rich meadow lands of the valley and sold them in California at a good profit. In the spring of 1852 he removed to Shingle Springs, Eldo- rado county, where he purchased a meat market, and while there entered into partnership with Crawford W. Clarke, a connection that has since been con- tinued, covering a period of forty-seven years. During this time nothing has occurred to disturb the harmonious relations between them and the part- nership has proved of mutual pleasure and profit. From the beginning success attended their efforts and at the end of two years they sold their business in Shingle Springs at a good profit and took a six-months trip to the eastern states.
In the fall of 1854 they returned and opened a market in Grass Valley. Nevada county, where they also extended the field of their operations by buy- ing and selling cattle. The latter branch of their business became so extensive that they sold the market and removed to the Sacramento valley, where they have since controlled one of the most extensive cattle ranches of the Pacific
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coast. As this region of the country became more thickly settled it was impos- sible to secure tracts of land large enough to serve as grazing grounds, and this led to the purchase of extensive cattle ranges in the counties of Sutter, Kern and San Luis Obispo and eastern Oregon, which they still hold. In con- trol of one of the mammoth cattle industries of the state they have secured therefrom a handsome income which has numbered them among the wealthy citizens of the county. Mr. Cox has also been connected with other business interests of Sacramento, holding the presidency of the California State Bank.
In November, 1857, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Cox and Miss Jennie A. Holdridge, of Eldorado county, and to them have been born two sons and three daughters, of whom one son and two daughters are living. One daughter died in infancy and a son at the age of seven years. Crawford John is married and has three children; Mrs. Jennie A. Peltier has two children; Fredda is at home with her parents. The family are communicants of the Episcopal church. They have a beautiful residence in Sacramento and the circle of their friends is very extensive.
Mr. Cox has long taken a deep interest in political affairs and has been more or less actively connected with the party's work. He votes with the Democracy and in 1882 was elected state senator, serving through two regular and two extra sessions of the legislature. In 1886 he declined a re-nomina- tion. By appointment of the governor he has served for seventeen years as a member of the state board of agriculture and in this capacity has largely advanced the interests of the farming classes in California. Applying honest principles in the affairs of life, he has won the confidence of the business com- munity and in a high degree of the public at large.
B. F. HOWARD.
The schools of Sacramento county owe their presentexcellence and advanced position in a very large measure to Professor B. F. Howard, the county super- inten lent. In the eras of antiquity a man's prominence was rated by his phys- ical prowess, and his powers of endurance and his strength ; but as the years have passed these tests have been relegated to the background. Mentality has come to be regarded as the standard which indicates his rightful position in the world. The work of the educator is regarded by all as one of the responsibil- ities to which man can direct his energies. The careful training of the mind of the young leads to success in after life that could never otherwise be . htained. It is not alone the knowledge one gains from text-books, but the power of mental concentration, of keen discernment and of utilizing readily thoughts acquired in youth which makes the work of the educator of vastly more importance than that of any other calling in life. With the full realization of the responsibility that rests upon him. Professor Howard has for a number of years guided and controlled the work carried on in the public schools of Sac- ramento county, and under his management marked advancement has been ninde in methods of instruction and in promoting intellectual activity.
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His entire life has been passed in California, his birth having occurred in the Golden state on the IIth of October, 1851. Professor Howard is a son of Mark and Jane ( Kelso) Howard. The latter, a native of Ireland, was three times married and with her first husband, J. Mckinstry, came to the United States. The only surviving child of this marriage is J: K. Mckinstry, of Galt, California. The children of the second marriage were Mark E. ; Charles B., a prosperous farmer of Sacramento county; and B. F. Howard, our subject. The third marriage was her union with Thomas Armstrong, a native of Eng- land, a prominent engraver of international fame. There was one child by this union, who is now the widow of Dr. A. P. Whittell, for many years a noted oculist of San Francisco. The Howard family, of which our subject is a mem- ber, was represented in the famous battle in Manila bay, May 1, 1898, hy a cousin of our subject, Thomas Benton Howard, of Galena, Illinois, who bears the title of lieutenant. His position in Admiral Dewey's fleet was that of navigating gunnery officer of the Concord. As a cadet in the academy young "Ben" acquitted himself so nobly that President Grant frequently made him the subject of the most flattering comment. He was often, by special invita- tion, a guest at the White House and was usually appointed Grant's aid when- ever the president visited Annapolis. Lieutenant Howard was graduated at the top of his class in 1869, was promoted ensign in 1874, junior-lieutenant in 1878 and lieutenant in 1883. He has served on the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic, West Indies, Pacific and Asiatic stations and at the Naval Academy. He married Miss Anne Claude, the daughter of Dr. Abram Claude, of Annap- olis. Their son was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1895, at the instance of the late Congressman Cooke of Chicago, and is now in the senior class.
Professor Howard was educated in Sacramento and Oakland. During his early life he assisted in the work of the farm and stock ranch. Determining to devote his energies to educational lines, he was made the principal of the schools in Yolo county, and acceptably filled that position from 1879 until 1886. In the latter year he was elected county superintendent of Sacramento county, which position he has since acceptably filled, discharging his duties in a manner so prompt and reliable that he has won the high commendation of many of his fellow townsmen and gained the esteem of all with whom he has come in contact.
Mrs. Howard, the wife of our subject, is a recognized leader in the musical circles of Sacramento, and has superior powers as a vocalist. She bore the maiden name of Sarah Morton, was born in Mariposa county, California, and is a daughter of Edmund G. and Adaline (Hicks) Morton. She has a sister, Mary E., who was graduated at the State University at Berkeley, California. in 1890, and is now a teacher in the high school in Sacramento. Her mater- nal great-grandfather, William Hicks, was one of the heroes of the Revolution- ary war and took part in the famous "tea party" when the loyal colonists destroyed the chests of tea, throwing them into the bay. He resided in Yar- mouth, Maine, and by occupation was a farmer. He died at the age of one hundred and ten years. William E. Hicks, the grandfather of Mrs. Howard. married Adeline Drinkwater, and the grandparents were natives of Yar-
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mouth, aml there spent their entire lives, the former dying at the age of forty- five and the Latter at the age of thirty-eight years. Mr. Hicks was a seafaring man, andmany other members of the family also followed the sea. Mrs. Hicks was a daughter of Elbridge and Sarah ( Loring ) Drinkwater, and were natives of Yarmouth the former an old sea captain who died when about sixty-five years of age. The Drinkwater family is of Scotch origin, the ancestors being traced back to Hugh Drinkwater, who resided in Aberdeen, Scotland.
The father of Mrs. Howard was a native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and at the age of seventeen removed to Boston, where he learned the painter and grainer's trade. In 1852 he left the "Hub" and sailed around Cape Horn to California, where he arrived in the month of August, landing at San Francisco. He first worked in the mines, later went to Stockton and subse- quently to Sacramento county, but is now living in Colusa county, at the age of seventy-five years. His wife was a native of Yarmouth, Maine, born in 1827. and is also living. Mrs. Howard attended school in Sacramento county and was also a student in Perry Seminary in Sacramento. When eleven years of age she began studying music, being instructed in piano-playing by Madam Routier. She afterward took a course in voice culture under Madam Rose- wald for three years, and others of the best teachers of the city, including Mrs. Lester, a daughter of one of the old pioneers, Conrad Clinch, whose wife is still living in Sacramento. Mrs. Howard first began singing in public in 1888, as a member of the choir of the Baptist church, later for eight years the leading singer in the choir of the Congregational church, and has also been employed in St. Paul's Episcopal church and the Presbyterian church. Through her own efforts she secured her musical education, engaging in teach- ing that she might obtain funds to prosecute her studies.
In his political views Professor Howard is a stalwart Republican, having supported the party since he cast his first presidential vote for General Grant at the time of his second nomination. He has been a member of the Sacra- mento city school board, having been appointed to the position in 1886, to fill a vacancy. However, he has never sought office outside of his chosen vocation. He is a member of Sacramento Parlor, No. 3. N. S. G. W., and belongs to the local organization of the National Union. He and his wife attend service at the Congregational church. Hle is a man of strong individuality, of marked intellectual attainment, of broad human sympathy, and his influence upon the educati nal circles of Sacramento county has been most marked and beneficial.
JAMES F. PARKS.
Nature has been very bountiful in bestowing upon California rich mineral resources and from an early period in the history of the state Mr. Parks has been an active factor in developing its mining interests. He is now the super- intendent of the Kennedy and South Eureka mines located at Jackson and Sut- ter Creek, and his long mining experience makes him particularly efficient as the manager of these interests.
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Mr. Parks is a native of Missouri, his birth having occurred in Cooper county, on the 9th of September, 1835. He is descended from one of the old families of the south, his father, Samuel Parks, having been born in 1812 in Kentucky, whence he removed to Cooper county, Missouri, when a young man. In the latter state he was married to Miss Christiana Clark, a native of Virginia, born at Hanover Court House. They became the parents of nine chil- dren, seven of whom are living. In support of his family Mr. Parks followed the pursuit of farming and stock-raising. He was a Universalist in his relig- ions faith, and died in 1875, in the sixty-third year of his age. His wife still survives him and now resides in Windsor, in her eighty-fifth year, being well preserved both mentally and physically.
James Franklin Parks was her second child and is now the eldest sur- vivor of the family. He was only seven years of age when taken by his parents in their change of residence to Benton county, Missouri, where he acquired his education. In 1855, having attained the age of twenty years, he crossed the plains to California, driving an ox team. It was a long and tedious journey, but after four and a half months of travel across the long sandy stretches and over the mountains he arrived safely at Volcano, California, where he left the party with which he had traveled and for some time he engaged in prospecting and mining on Kern river and also followed mining in Mariposa county. His first experience at quartz mining was at Hornitos, where he was paid four dollars per day, mining in the Bear Valley and Princeton gold mines.
Subsequently he went to Virginia City, Nevada, being employed in the Comstock mines for eight years in the capacity of foreman. For a period of two years he was the superintendent of a White Pine mine, and while in Vir- ginia City he there voted at the first territorial election and the first state election held in Nevada, continuing in White Pine county until 1871. He then assumed charge of the Indian Valley mine in Plumas county, California, where he remained for two years, when, in 1873. he came to Amador county to take charge of the Keystone mine at Amador City. For fourteen years he operated that property which made good dividends throughout the period. He was highly esteemed by the members of the company for which he worked so long and faithfully until he severed his connection with them, when he took charge of the Kennedy mine at Jackson, in February, 1887, a position which he has since continued to fill. During twenty-seven years he has had charge of mines located within a radius of five miles and his long service well indicates his ability and his faithfulness to the trust reposed in him. During this time he has acquired many mining interests of his own and is now the possessor of considerable valuable property of this character.
Mr. Parks was united in marriage, in 1871, to Miss Mary Pheby, a native of England, and their union has been blessed with four children. natives of Plumas and Amador counties, namely : Lillian, now the wife of Judge John F. Davis, of Jackson: Samuel Thomas, who is connected with the mining interests in Amador county; James Franklin, who is a student in the Lick School of Mechanical Arts, in San Francisco; and Mary Elizabeth, who resides with her parents. Mrs. Parks is a valuable member of the Methodist church,
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and Mr. Parks has membership affiliations with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the American Order of United Workmen. He is also con- nected with the Chosen Friends and has many times been presiding officer of these organizations. He and his family reside at Kennedy Hill, adjacent to Jackson.
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