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 58
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104
Mr. Davis was born in Dayton, Tippecanoe county, Indiana, Decem- ber 16, 1845, and is of English descent. His grandfather, John J. Davis. was the owner of large plantations in Texas and became one of the men of wealth and influence in that state. John S. Davis, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Ohio, in 1809, his father having located there in pioneer days. As he neared man's estate he determined to devote his energies to the practice of medicine and for fifty years was actively interested in the pro fession in different parts of the country. When the subject of this review was but two years of age he lost his mother by death, he being the youngest of her four children. Dr. Davis was married again, his second union being with Mary Ann Speed. of Louisville, Kentucky. With his wife and chil dren he crossed the plains to California. They started from Illinois along
465
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
the southern route, but remained for a year in Texas with an uncle of Mr. Davis, who was buying a large herd of stock to bring to this state. The uncle had crossed the plains before and was the captam of the train which Mr. Davis and his family joined and which consisted of sixty families, three hundred young men who were single, with one thousand head of cattle and a large number of horses. It was one of the best equipped outfits that made the journey to the Pacific coast ere the advent of railroads, the trip being planned and the outfits superintended by a man of broad experience. At El Paso a man who was en route to California with a herd of cattle had his stock stolen by the Mexicans, and in order to get even he took possession of all the cattle he could find along the way! At El Paso he was arrested and put in jail by the Mexicans. A request was sent to the train with which the Davis family traveled to rescue the man. In order to do this they had to cross the river and make an attack on the jail; but a drunken member of the party disclosed their plans so that the Mexicans were prepared for them and a severe battle ensued in which twelve of the Americans were killed and several wounded. They were obliged to retreat and the man remained in jail there for eighteen months, while the Davis train was forced to travel night and day in order to get away from the enraged Mexicans. It was a very trying experience, which they might have avoided had they not attempted to rescue the imprisoned American. The Indians also occasioned considerable trouble by stampeding the stock, although they were bribed by gifts of meat, sugar and coffee, the emigrants believing that it was a cheaper and better way to give them those groceries than to fight them and perhaps lose many lives.
L'pon arriving in California Dr. Davis and his family located on a farm on the Tuolumne river, near French Bar, the uncle of our subject there owning a large amount of land, a ferry-boat and a tavern. In Novem- ber. 1855. they arrived at Columbia, reaching their destination just after the execution of a man by the name of Bartlett, who had been hung for murder. Dr. Davis practiced his profession for three years at Columbia and returned to the east, and again came to California in 1896, and died m Ukial. Mendocino county, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. One of his sons. T. R. Davis, was shot by the Indians in Arizona, where he was freighting. The red men killed him and his teamsters and robbed the wagons. One daughter of the family. Mary, is deceased, while the other daughter, Charlotte, became the wife of Judge MeGary and resides in Ukiah, Mendocino county, California.
In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of R. C. Davis and Miss Florence M. Trask, who was born in Columbia, and is a daughter of P. M. Trask. one of the highly respected pioneers of Tuolumne county. The pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs. Davis has been blessed with three children : George IL. when is now acting as his father's bookkeeper: Harry and Josephine florence, who are in school. Theirs is a delightful home, celebrated for its warm hospitality, and the members of its household enjoy the esteem of all who know them. Socially Mr. Davis is a member of the Independent
i
-- 1 1 i
--
461
OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
Order of Odd Fellows, of which he has been a representative for the past twenty-seven years. His political support is given untiringly to the Repub- lican party, and, though he has never been an office-seeker and has refused to become a candidate for different official positions, he has done effective service in the interest of education as a useful and active member of the school board. He has always taken a deep and active interest in the growth and development of this section of the state. He is a public-spirited, pro- gressive citizen and his labors have been an important factor in the sub- stantial progress and improvement of California. He now lives in the enjoyment of peace and plenty, held in the highest esteem by all as one of California's best and bravest pioneers.
WILLIAM B. OFFICER, M. D.
The indulgence of prolix encomium upon a life which is eminently one of exceptional modesty would be palpably incongruous, even though the record of good accomplished, of kindly deeds performed and of high rela- tive precedence attained might seem to justify the utterance of glowing eulogies. The subject of this review is a man who stands "four-square to every wind that blows," who is possessed of marked ability and who is vitally instinct with the deeper human sympathies, and yet who in his useful career avoided everything in the nature of display or notoriety; and in this spirit would the biographer wish to have his utterances construed.
The Doctor was born in Harrison county, Missouri, on the 13th of December, 1865, and is the fourth in order of birth in a family of nine children, whose parents were William H. and Martha ( Enloe ) Officer. The father was a native of Ohio and during his childhood removed to Missouri with his parents. He there learned the carpenter's trade and for many years followed contracting and building. He served with distinction throughout the war of the Rebellion, holding the rank of orderly-sergeant in a regiment that was connected with the Federal forces. Later in life he studied pharmacy and became a druggist. His wife is a native of Mis- souri and in that state they are still living.
During his early boyhood William B. Officer pursued his education in the public schools and was also instructed by private tutors. He entered upon his business career in the capacity of clerk in a mercantile establish- ment, and while thus engaged began reading medicine. He pursued his lecture course in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of St. Louis, and was graduated in that institution in 1892, receiving the third prize for scholarship in a class of one hundred and five. After a brief clinical expe- rience the Doctor returned to McFall, Missouri, and practiced there for a time, and then came to the Pacific coast, locating near Jacksonville. Ore- gon, in the extreme southern part of the state. After practicing there for about five years, the Doctor came to Grass Valley and at this writing holds the position of county health officer and is also a member of the city board
462
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
of health. He enjoys likewise a large private practice, his skill and ability being widely recognized.
In southern Oregon, on the 2d of June, 1897, was celebrated the mar- riage of Dr. Officer and Miss Cora E. Brown, a lady of culture and refine- ment, who was born in Oregon. They now have one daughter, Allison. In politics the Doctor is a Republican, and socially he is connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Foresters of America .- in each of which he is the examining physician. He is also an assistant examining physician of the Pennsylvania Mutual Life Insurance Company. He holds high rank in the social and professional circles and is widely and favorably known in the community in which he makes his home.
GEORGE GUNNULDSON.
Through almost five decades George Gunnuldson has been an eye wit- ness of the growth and improvement of California, for he is numbered among the pioneers of 1853. Only three years had passed since its admis- sion to the Union when he landed on the Pacific coast, to find here a min- ing population, a state of mining camps with few of the comforts known to the east and isolated from the highly improved section of country by long stretches of barrens, by rocky fastnesses and by ocean water.
Mr. Gunnuldson is a native of the land of the Midnight Sun, his birth having courred in Norway, on the 25th of July, 1829. His father, George Gunmuldson. also a native of that country, married Miss Inga Hansdinigh- ter. They were members of the Lutheran church, in which the father served as a deacon. In their family were ten children, nine sons andl a daughter. Five of the sons are still living, the eldest residing upon the old home farm in Norway. The father died in the sixty-seventh year of his age and the mother passed away at the age of seventy-seven.
George Gunnuldson acquired his education in the schools of his native omnitry cod renomed upon the home farm until twenty-two yours of age. Ile then sight a home in America, and in Wisconsin worked as a farm land until he had save l one hundred and twenty dollars, when he came by way of the Nicaragua route to California, landing at San Francisco with just twenty-five cents left in his pocket. This he spent for something to et. \ min wlin Dad come with him to the Pacific coast paid his passage to Plumas county, where he began mining on the east branch of the north fork of Feather river, and in three weeks he was enabled to pay the man fifty dollars for the twenty five he had borrowed of him. The percentage exacte was estatal, but Mr. Gunnuldson paid it. The doctor with whom he livell loanel him four hundred dollars, with which he bought an interest in the Bunker IliM mthe, faking no note for the indebtedness and asking for no security. He der Incurred an indebtedness of seventy dollars for provisions, all to be paid when the mine yielded him a sufficient sum. All through the winter he took out about seven dollars per day, and in the
463
OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
spring he discharged his obligations to the doctor, also paying the other debt and had some money left. He continued to operate the Bunker Hill mine for two years, during which time he had taken out and saved three thousand dollars. He was then paid four hundred dollars for his interest in the mine.
Having been fortunate in his work he decided to return to Norway to visit his relatives, and with his money in a belt around his body he started for his old home. There were eleven hundred passengers on board the Yankee Blade, on which they left San Francisco, and when four hundred miles from that port the vessel ran on a breaker. Her stern became deeply submerged in the water, while her bow was pointed skyward. About one hundred and sixty passengers, mostly women and children, were taken to shore with the boats. One of the boats, however, was swamped. It con- tained among others a woman who was washed ashore and saved. She had put life-preservers on her two little girls and herself, and, as stated, the waves carried her to land, but the life-preservers on her children had slipped, thus letting their heads into the water and they were drowned. The tollowing day the steamer Goliath sighted the disabled Yankee Blade, cast anchor and sent boats to the relief of the passengers, who were then taken on board and carried to San Diego. Two bullocks swam ashore from the wreck and furnished food for those that were left on land. Only a few minutes after the last of the passengers were taken off the ill-fated vessel she parted in the middle and sank. Captain Rundall, of the Yankee Blade, had agreed to return the passengers to San Francisco, but he did not keep his promise and the opposition line finally took pity on them and conveyed them to the Golden Gate.
On again reaching San Francisco Mr. Gunnuldson deposited his money with P. Bacon & Company, bankers, but a policeman with whom he became acquainted told him that it would be better for him to loan it and thus get interest on it. He acted upon this advice and loaned it to a man whom both he and the policeman regarded as financially safe, the man promising to return it on three days' notice. Not long afterward the policeman informed Mr. Gunnuldson that the man was gambling, and our subject therefore investigated the matter. finding his debtor betting twenty-dollar gold pieces on faro. The next day he went to the man's shop to demand his money, but found that the business had been attached, thus causing him to lose the entire amount. Our subject then began working for forty dollars a month, being thus employed until he had saved money enough to get back to the mines.
Mr. Gunnuldson then went to Iowa Hill, where he worked for twenty- two dollars per week for a year. He was connected with different mining interests and made considerable money. He owned a gold claim at Damas- cus, and after working it for some time sold the property for fourteen hun- dred dollars, disposing of it on account of ill health, which prevented him from engaging in its operation. He then came to Dutch Flat and had a claim at "Ne'er a Red" (which meant not a cent). He also had a mine at
464
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
Monumental canyon, which he worked for three years, taking out as high as three hundred dollars in a single day. At this time he saved money and in the passing years was actively identified with mining interests, so that not until recently did he find time to again undertake the voyage to his native land. Ile, however, once more visited Norway, but his mother had died in the meantime and he made only a short stay. He now has a good home at Dutch Flat and owns valuable real estate in this vicinity, both in timber and in farming lands. He has been persevering, industrious and economical, and he richly deserves his prosperity. He has met hardships and trials in his business career, but fate has been kind to him and has rewarded his perseverance by a handsome competence. He can never forget the dreadful hours spent in the bow of the Yankee Blade, when it seemed that he and his fellow passengers must be engulfed in the waters of the Pacific. It was a time of such fearful peril that it baffles all description.
In 1877 Mr. Gunnuldson was happily married to Miss Katie Lang. a daughter of Leopold Lang, of Germany. She was born in that country and came to California in 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Gunnuldson now have two daughters: Eva, a successful school teacher; and Anna, who is with her parents. Since the time of the Civil war our subject has been a stalwart Republican, yet does not consider that he is bound by party ties. He and his wife are members of the Order of Chosen Friends, and have a wide acquaintance in the community where they have so long resided. Although his experiences have been varied and oftentimes unsuccessful, yet viewed in the light of his present prosperity his career has been a fortunate one and he feels no regret that he left the land of the Midnight Sun to seek a home in free America, where advantages are so freely offered to all who care to improve them.
DIOVOL B. SPAGNOLI.
In viewing the mass of mankind in the varied occupations of life, the conclusion is forced upon the observer that in the vast majority of cases men have sought employment not in the line of their peculiar fitness but in those fields where caprice or circumstances have placed them, thus explaining the reason of the failure of ninety five per cent, of those who enter commercial and professional circles. In a few cases it seems that men with a peculiar fit ness for a certain line have taken it up. Such is the fact in the case of the subject of this biography. Diovol Benedetto Spagnoli. He is one of the most capable members of the bar in this section of the state and has shown that De is endowed with a strong mentality and keen analytical powers that enable Fem to win prominence in connection with judicial interests. He is also mm- bered among the early pioneers of the state, having arrived in California on the ist of August, 1854.
Mr. Spagnoli is a native of Piedmont. Italy, born on the 30th of Novem- Le, 1840, and is descended from an old Roman family of prominence. His father, Diodato Spagnoh, was born in Piedmont, and after arriving at the
-
1
1
-
! 1
465
OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
age of maturity wedded Marie Antoinette Fantoli, also a native of Pied- mont. The father was a merchant and a prominent road contractor and builder. In 1854, with his wife and two sons, he sailed for California, landing in New York, the American metropolis, on the Ist of July. On the 5th of that month he took passage for San Francisco, making the journey by way of the Nicaragua route, and on the Ist of August the steamer in which they sailed dropped anchor in San Francisco, California. The father engaged in mining for a few months, but afterward established a mercantile store at Clinton, Amador county, where he continued to carry on a successful business up to the time of his death, which occurred September 24, 1863, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. His good wife, surviving him for a decade, departed this life on the 17th of March, 1873, at the age of sixty-six years. Their other son, Sylvester G. Spagnoli, is now the treasurer of Amador county.
Mr. Spagnoli, whose name introduces this review, obtained his literary education in Italy and in France, and pursued his law studies under the direc- tion of Judge R. M. Briggs and United States Senator J. T. Farley. He has always been an active advocate of Democratic principles and on the ticket of the party was elected clerk and recorder of Amador county in 1869, filling the position for two years. Later he was admitted to practice law in the district courts, the supreme court of the state and in the United States district court, and in 1895 was licensed to practice before the supreme court of the United States. The same year he had the honor of being appointed by Presi- dent Cleveland to the position of United States consul at the city of Milan, in the kingdom of Italy, and served his country in that capacity in a most creditable manner for three years. On the expiration of that period he returned to California and resumed the practice of law in Jackson, where he now has a large and distinctively representative clientage. At the bar he has won great honor by reason of his superior ability, his close application to his business, his devotion to his clients' interests and the able manner in which he handles his cases. His keen analytical power enables him to determine easily the important points in the suit and these he presents in a forceful manner to judge and jury.
In 1889 Mr. Spagnoli was united in marriage to Miss Rose Isabella Bryan, a native of Penobscot, Maine. To them were born five sons and a daughter, but only two of the sons are now living: Sylvester Nelson D., who was born in San Francisco, served as United States vice consul to Italy during his father's term and is now reading law in his father's office: and the other son. Urbano G. D., is a graduate of the School of Pharmacy of California, at San Francisco. The mother died on the 8th of August, 1874, and in 1881 Mr. Spagnoli was joined in wedlock to Miss Ida B. Kerr, a daughter of Professor A. W. Kerr, a prominent educator of this state. Their marriage has been blessed with a son and daughter .- Ernest B. D. and Roma Venetia .- both attending school.
Mr. Spagnoli has not only been a successful law practitioner but has also made profitable investments in mining and other property interests. Ile
466
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
owns considerable stock in large quartz mines, has five hundred acres of min- ing and agricultural lands, and is the proprietor of a drug store in Jackson, which business is now carried on by his son Urbano. He also built and owns the Spagnoli block building, opposite the court-house at the county seat. Ilis residence is one of the most tasteful and attractive homes in Jackson and he enjoys the warm regard of a host of friends. Mr. Spagnoli is one of the oldest representatives of the Masonic fraternity in the county. He received the sublime degree of Master Mason in Amador Lodge, No. 65. F. & .\. M., of Jackson, in 1866 and is now a past master. He has also taken the Royal Arch degree, and the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite, and is past patron of Chapter No. 66, in the Order of the Eastern Star. He is likewise a mem- ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, has filled all of its offices, and belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Chosen Friends. Ile is well and favorably known by the citizens of the county, being a pioneer of the state, and merits honorable mention among the representative men of California.
JOHN E. ISAAC.
Within the past few years, a period of less than a decade. many events have occurred which will ever find a place upon the pages of the world's his- tory, and these events have clearly demonstrated the fact that the Angl )- Saxon race will become the dominant power of the world. The triumph of the American arms in the Spanish war not only overthrew the rule of a Latin nation in the West Indies but also resulted in the establishment of American influence in the islands of the east. At the present time a great war is being waged in Africa by an English-speaking people, with which Mr. Isaac, through the ties of nationality, is closely identified. It was the English race that laid the foundation for the American republic, sending many of its best repre- sentatives into the wilderness of the new world to found here a country whose power and importance is now acknowledged by the oldest races of Europe. From an Anglo Saxon lineage Mr. Isaac is descended, his birth having oc- curred in London, England, on the 21st of September, 1840. For many generations as fir back as his ancestry can be traced, the family are English. The father of our subject became one of the California pioneers of 1849. Hle Wieated in the capital city and for many years was connected with the detective force of Sacramento, with which delicate and important service hie was connected from early manhood up to the time of his death. in 1877. Ilis wife, who bore the maiden name of Alice Cooper, died in 1895. In their family were eight children, the subject of this sketch being the fourth in order of birth. He was abont sixteen years of age when he came to Califor- nia, and at different times he resided at Virginia City and Carson, Nevada. spending about twelve years in that way. During that time he followed clerking and was connected with the post-office in Carson for a number of years. In 1873 he came to Nevada City and some years ago was appointed deputy sheriff. He also filled the position of health officer for one year, and in
467
OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
May, 1899, he was elected assessor. He has been a member of the fire depart- ment for twelve years ; has held the office of chief engineer and secretary of the board of delegates, which position he still holds. He is a painter, paper-hanger and decorator by trade, and in connection with his business he has discharged the various duties entrusted to him by his fellow townsmen in a most accept- able manner.
While residing in Nevada Mr. Isaac was married, in July, 1870, to Miss Elizabeth Whilden, a lady of culture and refinement whose birth occurred in Wales. Her father, Edward Whilden, came to California in 1854 and for many years followed mining at Nevada City. His death occurred in April, 1895.
In politics Mr. Isaac is a stanch Republican, taking an active interest in public matters, frequently serving as a delegate to county conventions. Socially, he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has passed all the chairs of the subordinate lodge, and also has become a mem- ber of a lodge of the Rebekah degree. He belongs to the subordinate lodge and uniformed rank of the Knights of Pythias, has filled all of its offices, and has been secretary for twelve years. He is a valued representative of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, has been honored with its various official positions, has been a representative at the grand lodge for several years and has taken its degree of honor and become a member of the society of the Rathbone Sis- ters. He is a man of marked ability and energy and therefore is always in demand in connection with the important activities in business and public life.
MICHAEL D. KELLY.
The well known resident of Stent, Tuolumne county, California, whose name appears above is not only a mining man but is also the son of a mining man. His father, Dennis Kelly, and his mother, Ellen Harrington, were born in Ireland, were married there and there five children were born to them. In 1847, Mr. Kelly came to the United States and found employment in the mines in Wisconsin, and in 1848 he sent for his wife and children, who joined him at New Diggings, in La Fayette county, that state, where Michael D. Kelly was born September 30, 1850. Four other children were added to Mr. and Mrs. Kelly's family after they came to Wisconsin and four of their offspring are living at this time, including the subject of this sketch, two of his sisters in Colorado and one on the family homestead in Wisconsin, where the father died at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years, his wife at the age of eighty-three.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.