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 62
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On the 5th of November, 1898, the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Marie Clements, an estimable lady, who was born in this state and is a daughter of L. B. Clements, now deceased. Her father was one of the Cali- fornia pioneers of 1849, and for more than twenty years served as justice of the peace of Santa Cruz. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have one son, Rialto F., born November 18, 1900. The Doctor exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the Republican party, and socially affiliates with the Knights of Pythias of which he is now vice chancellor. Both he and his wife have the high regard of many friends and enjoy the hospitality of the best homes in this locality.
HON. CHARLES F. CURRY.
He who is now filling the office of secretary of state of California is a young man for whom the future doubtless holds in store still higher honors. for his abilities well entitle him to high distinction either in state or nation. He has the strong intellectuality and keen foresight of the statesman, Com-
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bined with which is a spirit of patriotism which places the national welfare before partisanship and the general good before personal aggrandizement. Hle is one of the most popular men ever called to public office in California. and in his present high position is discharging his responsible duties in a man- ner which shows that the confidence reposed in him has not been misplaced.
Mr. Curry is a man of marked individuality and striking personality and would attract attention anywhere. Ilis face is somewhat of the Lincoln type, strong, rugged and noble. He is probably over six feet tall and when walking his head is slightly inclined forward, which indicates the studious mind and scholarly habits of the man. A heavy growth of black hair crowns a broad forehead, and a pair of dark eyes flash fire as he attacks injustice or anything worthy of contempt, but usually beams with kindliness, too, that indicates the true spirit of the man. His face at once indicates firmness, thor- oughness and an inflexible perseverance, yet a genial smile wins the friend- ship of all. No duty is by him neglected, no task slighted, yet he finds time to manifest his sincere interest in his fellow-men, and his social nature and pleasant, courteous manner is such as to endear him to all and make him a favorite in all classes. These elements, combined with his mentality. well fit him for leadership, and the position of secretary of state is ably filled by Charles F. Curry, the record of whose life follows:
Charles Forrest Curry was born in Mapleville, Illinois, March 14. 1858. Ilis paternal great-grandparents were Judge William and Annie E. ( Jenkins ) Curry, natives of England, coming to America in 1844. They took up their residence at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, in the territorial days of that com- monwealth. There the Judge was extensively engaged in dealing in cattle. By profession, however, he was an attorney and served as one of the local judges of southwestern Wisconsin. He died in 1863, at the age of sixty years, and his wife passed away in San Francisco, at the age of seventy-eight years
Charles H. M. Curry, the father of our subject, was born in England. November 4. 1833, and with his parents came to the United States. He was educated in the schools of Mineral Point and in his eary life learned the printer's trade, but never followed that pursuit. Instead he joined his father in the cattle business and was connected with that enterprise until coming to California. In 1876 he left the Mississippi valley, after residing for thirty- five years at Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and came to California, but soon after went to Washington territory, where he remained for two years. On the expiration of that period he returned to San Francisco, taking a very active interest in politics and was soon recognized as a leader in the Republican ranks
of this state. lle had aided in the organization of the Republican party in Wisconsin and was the mayor of Mineral Point and superintendent of public instruction. He was one of the first representatives of the Knights of Honor in California, served as the grand reporter for fourteen years and for twelve years he was a member of their supreme lodge of the United States. 'Ichim the society owes its present proud position on the Pacific coast.
Charles H. M. Curry was married, in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, to Miss Emma J. Kimball, who was born in Naperville, Illinois, June 29. 1837,
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and is a daughter of Leonard and Minerva ( Chatfield) Kimball. Her mother is now living with our subject. Her father was a pioneer farmer of Wisconsin, Illinois and California. After coming to the Pacific coast he returned to the east, but later again came to California and died in Sonoma county, at the age of seventy-three years. His wife passed away in Illinois, in 1897, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. The great-grandparents of our subject on the maternal side-the Kimballs-were natives of Ver- mont and the great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His great-grandfather Chatfield was also a Revolutionary hero, and Sherman Chatfield served through the war of 1812. Edmond Mallory, another great-grandfather of the subject of this review, was also a soldier in the war of the Revolution and was the president of the first university established in New Hampshire. Judge William Curry, an uncle of our subject, is yet a prominent resident of Mineral Point, Wisconsin. He has served for three terms as county clerk, as treasurer for two terms, as notary public and has occu- pied the bench of the police court. For many years he has been identified with the banking interests of the town and is alike prominent in business circles.
Hon. Charles F. Curry pursued his early education in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and later continued his studies in the Lincoln school, of San Fran- cisco, and the University of Washington Territory, remaining in the latter institution for one year. Subsequently he engaged in clerking in a book- store for two years, and for four years was employed as a salesman in a jewelry store. On the expiration of that period he began business for himself as a jeweler and continued in that line until 1892, when he accepted a position in the Sacramento post-office. There he remained for four and a half years, at the end of which time he resigned to accept the position of county clerk.
Mr. Curry has always taken a deep interest in politics and has made a close study of the questions and issues which affect the state and national wel- fare. When only twenty-two years of age he was elected to the state legisla- ture of California, where he served for one term, taking an active part in the legislation and labored earnestly for the adoption of the measures which he believed would be a benefit to the commonwealth. He was made the chairman of the committee on employes, and on crimes and penalties, and was a member of the committee on education and public buildings and grounds. He has frequently served the public as the secretary of the San Francisco delegation at the conventions of his party, and his opinions carry weight in its councils. .He filled the office of county clerk for a term of four years, and on the expira- tion of that period still higher honors were accorded him: for by a vote of the people he was elected to the responsible position which he is now so acceptably filling.
Mr. Curry is an esteemed member of the Knights of Honor, with which he has been connected for twelve years, and for three years he has been its representative to the supreme lodge. He has belonged to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and for some time has attended the sessions of its grand lodge, in which he was made the chairman of the finance committee in 1898.
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On resigning that position he was appointed a member of the arbitration committee. He also belongs to the Masonic fraternity, having his member- ship in a lodge at San Francisco, and in his life exemplifies the benevolent prin- ciples of these orders.
He was married, in 1891, to Lillie A. Sipperly, who was born at Thomp- son Flat. Butte county, California, March 1. 1864, a daughter of Frederick W. and Sarah ( Thompson ) Sipperly, both of whom were natives of the Empire state. Her father died in Butte county, where he had engaged in mining. Her mother is still living. Mrs. Curry was engaged in the schools of Red Bluff and San Francisco and was a lady of marked culture and refined character. By her marriage she became the mother of two children: Flor- ence A., born August 17, 1892: and Charles F., born Angust 13, 1893. She was a consistent member of the Presbyterian church, and when called to her final rest October 25. 1895. her death was deeply mourned by her many friends in San Francisco. Such in brief is the history of one of the younger representatives of the public life in California. His years, however, have been no bar to his progress, as his strong intellectuality, his keen dis- cernment and his patriotic spirit have won recognition in the high political honors accorded him. He has already left the impress of his individuality upon the Golden state, and in future years will undoubtedly be actively con- cerned in shaping the public policy of California.
JACKSON DENNIS.
Jackson Dennis is a self-made man who, without any extraordinary family or educational advantages at the commencement of life, has battled earnestly and energetically, and by indomitable courage and integrity has achieved both character and fortune. By sheer force of will and untiring effort he has worked his way upward and is to-day one of the most prominent business men of Sutter Creek.
Born on the ist of November. 1852, in Andrain county, Missouri, he is a son of James Dennis, whose birth occurred in Missouri, in 1815. Ilis father was a farmer and for many years was a leading citizen of his com- munity, holling the office of district judge. He was married in his native state to Miss Mary A. Donavan, whose birth occurred in Linn county, Mis- souri, and in that state they became the parents of five children, who in 1853 accompanied them on their journey across the plains to California. The father was the captain of the company which made the trip at that time. They secured their outfits at St. Joseph, Missouri, and in the party were one hundred and twenty men, women and children, their equipments consisting of twenty-three wagons, drawn by ox teams. They were harassed by savages and had several hard fights with the red men, four of their number being killed, while a considerable amount of their stock was captured and driven away. Mr. Dennis, with a squad of men, followed the Indians, and when they overtook them, punished them severely and recaptured most of the cattle. On the Platte river they succeeded in purchasing more cattle and were thus
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enabled to make their way over the plains to the land of gold. They crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains and came down the old Volcano road to Ione, Amador county, where Mr. Dennis followed his trade of carpentering.
For some years he carried on contracting and building, after which he be- came the proprietor of the Arcade Hotel, which he conducted successfully for a considerable period. He then left Ione and engaged in copper mining near what is now the Newton mine in Amador county, but in that venture he lost much money and was obliged to resume his work as a contractor. He assisted in building the towns of Shingle Springs and Latrobe, in El- dorado county, and followed his chosen vocation until his eyesight began to fail, when he was forced to retire from active business. He then came to Sutter Creek, which place he continued to make his home until his death, which occurred on the 4th of March, 1897, when he had attained the age of eighty-two years. He was an upright. honorable man, and in politics a life- long Republican, supporting the Union cause during the Civil war. His wife survived him until the 16th of November, 1899, when she, too, passed to the home beyond. Two children were added to their family in Cali- fornia, making seven in all, and of that number five are yet living, namely : John D., who is a druggist in San Luis Obispo: Henry, a telegraph operator and station agent for the Valley Road ; Maggie, the wife of William Land; Louise, the wife of A. Adams, of Sacramento; and Jackson, the subject of this sketch.
The last mentioned was only a year old when brought by his parents to California. He was educated in the public schools of Ione, Latrobe and Shingle, and when his literary course was completed he began reading medi- cine under the direction of Dr. J. A. Brown, of Sutter Creek, and subse- quently took a course in the medical department of the Cooper School of San Francisco. On leaving that institution he accepted a clerkship in his brother's store, which was subsequently sold to the firm of Dunlap & Walker, and at a later day Mr. Dennis purchased the interest of Mr. Walker, the firm then being Dunlap & Dennis, which relationship was retained for eight years, when Mr. Dennis bought out his partner, becoming sole proprietor. Through the succeeding years he has conducted the leading drug store at Sutter Creek, having nearly all the trade in his line in the town. He car- ries a large and complete stock of everything found in a first-class estab- lishment of the kind, and his commendable business methods, reasonable prices and honorable dealing have secured to him a large patronage.
Mr. Dennis has always been an active factor in the life of Sutter Creek in every way. For over thirty years he held the position of postmaster, being appointed by President Grant and serving in the office until after the inauguration of President Mckinley, when he resigned in order to give more undivided attention to his commercial interests. His long retention in office indicated his fidelity and his promptness in the administering of the affairs of the office. He is also a representative of the Western Union Tele- graph Company, the Wells-Fargo Express Company and has the agency for the Sunset Telegraph Company, which has recently been extended to the
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town. He is an expert telegraph operator and an able representative of the corporations mentioned. He owns the brick business block in which his drug store and the post office are located, and in all his business affairs he has prospered. On the 26th of March, 1900, Mr. Dennis organized a bank, the only one in Sutter Creek. He expected it would have a steady growth and build up a banking business in a gradual manner : but on the first day of opening he was rushed with deposits, doing a ten-thousand-dollar business! The first three months' business aggregated what he expected to do in a year's time. So encouraging is his success that a building must be erected ex- pressly for his bank.
On the 30th of January. 1872, Mr. Dennis wedded Miss Frances Ricard, and to them have been born the following named children : Wilfred, who is the superintendent of the Free American Quartz Mining Company and the principal stockhokler: Harry S., who enlisted in the heavy artillery at the breaking out of the Spanish- American war and was stationed at Fort Canby until after the close of hostilities, when he received an honorable discharge. lle next enlisted in the Third Cavalry and is now engaged in the pursuit of Aguinaldo in the Philippines. Hazel, the daughter of the family, is at home with her parents, who occupy a very pleasant residence adjoining Sutter Creek, where Mr. Dennis owns forty acres of valuable land. He is a mem- her of the blue lodge and chapter of the Masonic fraternity and has filled all the offices in both branches of the Odd Fellows society: and is also a member of the Independent Order of Foresters and of the Chosen Friends. His wife is a valued member of the Methodist church. He contributes liberally to all enterprises and interests calculated to prove a public benefit and is one of the valued residents of his community. His official conduct was that of an upright, honorable business man, who retired from office as he had entere 1 .- with the confidence. respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.
FRED WERNER.
Fred Werner, recently deceased, was numbered among the honored Cali- joana pioneers of 1849, who after long connection with the affairs of life entered in the evening of life a well earned rest. He resided at Sutter Creek, in -Amador county. His life history began on the banks of the Rhine. in Bavaria, Germany, where his birth occurred on the 24th of March, 1824. his parents being Henry and Elizabeth ( Neu) Werner. His father was a shoe- maker by trade, following that pursuit in order to provide for the mainte- nance i his family. He had five children. His death occurred in his forty- eighth year and his wife passed away in her sixtieth year.
Mr. Werner, of this review, was their second born, and in his native land he obtained his education and Tearned the butcher's trade. The favorable reports he received concerning the opportunities and advantages of the new world led him to seek a home across the Atlantic, and in 1846 he sailed for New York, landing at the American metropolis, amid strangers whose lan- no se was unknown to him, without money or influential friends to aid him.
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He worked at his trade in New York city until 1848, and then made his way westward to Chicago, where he followed the butchering business until the spring of 1849. Desirous of trying his fortune in the newly discovered gold fields of California, he then started upon the hazardous journey across the plains to the Pacific slope, leaving his Chicago home on the first of April and arriving at San Francisco on the 19th of November, 1849. He was with a party of Ave young men, who made the journey with two wagons drawn by oxen. They were five months upon the way but in safety reached Sacramento, where Mr. Werner engaged in the butchering business on his own account. Beef was then selling for ten dollars per hundred-weight at wholesale and sirloin steak brought twenty-five cents a pound. He continued business in the capital city for five years and then obtained a large ranch in Solano county, where he engaged in stock-raising, making a specialty of cattle and horses. He pur- chased thoroughbred cattle and fine-blooded horses, and for many years was prominently identified with the stock-raising interests of California and did much to improve the grade of animals raised on the Pacific slope. At one time he was the owner of Rattler, the best horse in the commonwealth.
After conducting business here for seven years he returned to the land of his nativity to visit relatives and friends, but the great affection which he had formed for his new home led him again to California, when he took up his abode at Sutter Creek. Here he purchased a butchering business, which he carried on for many years, meeting with marked success in his undertak- ing. In 1873 he erected a brick building, twenty feet wide and extending to the rear boundary of the block. It was located in the very center of the business district, and through many years he furnished to the inhabitants of the town choice meats at reasonable prices, and thus he gained a very liberal patronage. His business methods were ever honorable and commendable, and he gained the respect and confidence of his fellow men. At the time of his death he owned a ranch of two thousand acres and still was raising stock, but practically living retired, having relegated to others the more arduous duties of his business, to which, however, he gave to some extent his personal supervision. He was a charter member of the Pioneer Society of Sacramento and reached the traditional age of three-score years and ten. He died August 12, 1900, very suddenly, from a stroke of apoplexy, and his passing away occasioned a gloom throughout the community, for he was held in high esteem by the citizens generally.
EDWARD HARRIS.
Edward Harris, the superintendent of the Big Bonanza mine, of Cala- veras county, California, owned by the Oriole Mining & Milling Company, is a native son of California, born in Angel's Camp on June 10, 1870. His father was James Harris, who was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in 1833, and in 1852 left his native land and came to America, immediately directing his steps to San Francisco and later located at .Angel's Camp. He had been a very successful miner in Calaveras, Mariposa and Eldorado counties, at
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one time, when working the Dead Horse mine, taking out a nugget that was valued at seven hundred dollars. Before his death, in Angel's Camp. he was engaged in many mining enterprises, many of them very successful, as he was a man of both industry and good judgment. The mother of our subject was married, in Angel's, to James Harris, her name being Jane Mc- Cann. She was a native of Louisiana and had emigrated to California with her family in 1855. Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Harris: Car- rie, now the wife of George Glass, of Angel's Camp, California: Nellie, the wife of C. Powell, residing in Stockton, California: Annie F .. the wife of J. Davis, residing in Angel's Camp: Henry James, a miner, has his residence also F. Angel's Camp: and Mary J., the wife of F. Lyons, of the same city. These, with our subject, are the survivors of the children, and the beloved mother in her fifty-fifth year is enjoying the respect of her family and friends and may live long to still cherish and encourage them.
Edward Harris was educated in the public school and when but sixteen years of age began to follow the example of his father and engage in mining. the family owning the mine of which he now is superintendent. for twenty- five years. It is a very rich mine, fourteen thousand dollars having been taken from the surface. It is now being operated and has a shaft five hun- dred and thirty-five feet deep, much ore being already dumped. But this is not the only mining property possessed by Mr. Harris, several other valu- able tracts rich in ore being in his possession. He understands the science of mining, being a mining expert, and much success has attended his efforts in developing the mineral resources of this part of the state.
Mr. Harris was married August 16. 1897. to Miss Maud Dolan, of Grass Valley, and this union has been blessed with one beautiful little daugh- ter. Marvel Almira. Mr. and Mrs. Ilarris are located in a handsome residence at Angel's Camp, with beautiful surroundings, and they are held in the high- est esteem by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
FRANK HOFFMAN.
Frank Hoffman is numbered among the pioneer settlers of Amador county and in the affairs of life he has achieved success, demonstrating the fact that prosperity is not the outcome of genius or talent but follows persistent and well directed efforts. A native of Germany, he was born in Evarsdorf. April 18, 1825. and is a son of John Hoffman, a farmer by occupation and a member of the Lutheran church. In his family were two sons and a daughter, but the latter has passed away, and the parents both died in the sixty fourth year of their age.
Frank Hoffman pursued his education in the schools of his native land until he had attained the age of thirteen years. In 1844. at the age of nine- teen, he came to the United States, having but little money and little ex- perience in the ways of the world. He was not familiar with the English language or the customs of the country, but he readily adapted himself to the latter and soon mastered the former. Locating in St. Louis, Missouri,
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he learned the butcher's trade, and in 1850 he crossed the plains, with mule teams, with a company of sixty-two families journeying westward with the hope of acquiring a fortune on the Pacific slope. Mr. Hoffman's immediate companions were three unmarried men who ate and slept together, having a wagon in which to haul their goods, drawn by two mules and two horses. The trail was marked by newly made graves of victims who had been killed by the Indians, but they proceeded on their way unmolested until they ar- rived at Green river, where they left their wagon and loaded their effects on their Forses and mules, thus continuing the journey to Hangtown, the men covering the distance on foot. After four months and ten days upon the way they arrived at their destination. They had crossed the Mississippi at St. Joseph, Missouri, on the 4th of May and had endured the usual hard- ships of life on the plains. There were no bridges, and therefore all the rivers had to be forded, and they narrowly escaped being drowned in the Platte.
At Mud Springs, California, Mr. Hoffman secured a position as a butcher. and after three weeks his employers purchased fifteen head of cattle, of which Mr. Hoffman butchered four. While he was herding the remaining eleven he was approached by three men who asked him if he owned the cattle. On receiving a negative answer they inquired for the owners, and Mr. Hoffman pointed out to them his employers. They then proceeded to drive off the cattle and took with them the owners, whom it is supposed were hung, for nothing was ever heard from them afterward! Mr. Hoffman was thus de- prived of his wages, except that he was given half of a beef, which he sold.
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