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 8
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
59
OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
tact, and his loss was mourned throughout the entire community. His early political support was given the Whig party, and when the Republican party was formed he joined that organization, being a firm adherent of the Union cause throughout the dark days of the Civil war. Charitable and benevolent, he was known as the poor man's friend, and in all life's relations he was just and honorable. His wife was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, July 21, 1803, a daugther of Jacob and Barbara (Smith) Leib. After her hus- band's death she removed to New Berlin, Ohio, and later met with an accident that caused her death, on the 16th of August, 1882.
Judge Holl was a child of only nine months when his parents removed from Pennsylvania to Stark county, Ohio. He was reared near the village of New Berlin, and acquired his education in what was then known as Packer's school, but now is called the Apple Grove school. His childhood was passed in the usual manner of farmer lads of his period, and at the age of eighteen he learned the carpenter's trade, serving an apprenticeship with Israel P. Feather, near New Berlin.
When the California gold fever broke out he suffered an attack, and, being a young boy of unusual enterprise, he determined to seek his fortune in the land of gold. Accordingly, in the spring of 1850, he bade adieu to home and friends in Ohio and started down the Mississippi river, going by way of the gulf of Mexico and Nicaragua river and lake, and then on foot and ox-cart to the Pacific ocean, where he boarded a sailing vessel bound for San Francisco. He left home on the 4th of March, 1850, and arrived at the Golden Gate on the 27th of August. Delay was occasioned by mismanage- ment on the part of the transportation agent, and their progress was further barred by the breaking out of cholera, and they were thus held in quarantine in New Orleans. They were also delayed on the west side of that country by the failure of the vessel to put in an appearance at the time appointed. Scarcity of provisions on the Pacific coast occasioned much suffering. There were one hundred members of the party with which Judge Holl traveled. On the 4th of July the captain gave them some flour and a small pig for a 4th-of-July dinner.
At length, however, Judge Holl safely reached his destination and began mining near Grass Valley, but met with indifferent success ; and after a year he decided to leave the search for gold to others. He then began work in a car- penter shop in Grass Valley, and was very prosperous in that venture until a fire destroyed all his property. Phoenix-like, however, his business arose from the ashes, and he was soon again enjoying a liberal patronage in the line of his chosen vocation; but a second time he met with heavy losses by fire, and this determined him to engage in work that required other than physical labor. Coming to Sacramento, he took up the study of law, and an excellent memory enabled him to gain not only a broad knowledge of the principles of juris- prudence but also wide general information. He spent much time in the state library and remembered all that he read. Since his admission to the bar he has been one of the leading practitioners in Sacramento, and was elected judge of the Sacramento police court, acceptably filling that position for a
60
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
number of years. He is widely known on the Pacific coast as a leading repre- sentative ot the legal fraternity and enjoys the high regard of his professional brethren.
January 16, 1868, the judge was united in marriage to Miss Julia Hart- well, and to them have been born two sons: James, who is managing his father's ranch in Lassen county ; and Charles, a rising young attorney of Sac- ramento.
Not long after his marriage Judge Holl extended the field of his labors by securing large tracts of land near Mount Shasta, California, and engaged in sheep raising. He started with over two thousand head of sheep and a number of cattle, but a deep snow rendered the venture largely unsuccessful. For months snow to a great depth lay upon the ground, and when spring came Mr. Holl had only nine sheep and one bull! However, he continued in the stock-raising business and he is still interested in stock-raising in northern California. But he is probably better known in connection with his law prac- tice. As few men have done, he seems to realize the importance of the pro- fession to which he devotes his energies, and the fact that justice and the high attribute of sympathy he often holds in his hands. His reputation has always been won through earnest, honest labor, and his standing at the bar is a merited tribute to his ability.
HON. FINDLEY R. DRAY.
There are no abstract rules sufficient for building character: none for achieving success. The man who can rise from the ranks to a position of eminence is he who can see and utilize the opportunities that surround his path. The essential conditions of human life are ever the same, the sur- roundings of individuals differ but slightly; and, when one passes another on the highway to reach the goal of prosperity before others who perhaps started out before him, it is because he has the power to use advantages which prob- ably encompass the whole human race.
1 !
1
To-day among the most prominent business men and political leaders of Sacramento stands Findley R. Dray. At a very early age he started out upon an independent business career, and his diligence and enterprise have enabled him to overcome all the obstacles in his path and secure a leading position in the ranks of the prosperous business men of the capital city. He is also a potent factor in political circles and his labors have to-day largely advanced the growth and success of the Republican party.
A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Dray was born in Bedford, October 23, 1833, and the genesis of his family line, so far as accurately known, is as follows: Edward Dray and Nancy Dray, his wife, about the year 1740 in Pennsylvania. Thomas Dray and James Dray, sons of Edward and Nancy Dray ( James Dray being born in year 1767 and died in the year 1867, at Niles, Ohio), both of whom became early settlers of the Western Reserve, Ohio. Thomas Dray married Miss Elizabeth Thompson and was finally drowned in the Mahoning river, in March, 1812. The children of Thomas
---------
----- 1
1
1 1
i
61
OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
Dray and Elizabeth nec Thompson were Moses, Joseph, Thompson and Mar- garet. the last named becoming the wife of Amos A. Stoddard, of Cleveland, Ohio. Moses Dray was born in Youngstown, Ohio, and married Eliza, a daughter of Abel Findley, of Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and the children of Moses Dray and Eliza Findley were: Findley R. Dray. of Sacramento, California : Caroline E., who married P. J. Miller, of Athens, Illinois ; Walter S., of Chicago, Illinois; Sherman B., of Browning, same state; W. H. H. and Thompson. Walter S., W. H. H. and Thompson are deceased.
Findley R. Dray married Miss Mary F. Orrick, of Missouri, in the year 1861, in Sacramento, California, and the names of their children are as fol- lows : Laura E., who married George H. Perry, of San Francisco; Caroline E., who married Charles A. Culver, of Mount Vernon, New York; Mary F .. deceased : Anna B., who became the wife of James H. Warrack, of Sacra- mento, California; Bruce L., married to Mabel A. Johnson, of Sacramento; Arthur F .: Alice M., of Sacramento; and Dr. Frank R. Dray, of San Francisco, single.
Findley R. Dray, whose name introduces this review, first attended school in New London, Iowa, and later pursued his studies to a limited extent in Missouri; but his mother, who was a very intelligent and cultured lady, taught her children their first lessons, instilling into their minds principles of noble manhood and womanhood. They were taught to be truthful, indus- trious and self-reliant, and the lessons of usefulness which Findley R. Dray thus learned in his youth have influenced his entire career and made him a man of firm purpose, of strong character and inflexible integrity. Although he never served a regular apprenticeship, he worked at the carpenter's trade with his father. When he came to California across the plains, arriving in Hangtown July 17, 1850, and in Sacramento September 10, 1850, he was in his seventeenth year, and from that time he was practically dependent upon his own exertions.
After many varied experiences in mining at Drytown, Amador county, in the fall of 1850; at Rabbit Creek, Sierra county, in 1851; Shasta, in 1852: and Bear River, Nevada county, in 1853, he returned to Sacramento and engaged in farming in connection with George L. Clarke, and about eighteen months later bought out his partner and carried on agricultural pursuits alone until 1857, when he sold out and returned to Sacramento.
After his marriage, Mr. Dray again engaged in mining, near Austin. Nevada, until the summer of 1864, when he returned to Sacramento and entered the office of James McClatchy as deputy sheriff. This was his first official position and his initiation into active connection with political affairs. He afterwards served for two years as the public administrator and was then elected county assessor, in which office he served most acceptably and efficiently for eight years. Later he was appointed a supervisor to fill out an unexpired term, and on his retirement from that office he entered the real-estate and insurance business, with which he was connected one year. Since that time he has been a prominent representative of the Sacramento Bank, acting as a sur- veyor of the lands belonging to that institution for about ten years, and since
62
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
the second year of his connection with the bank he has been a member of its directorate. He is a man of sound judgment, keen sagacity and unquestioned probity, and his opinions are highly valued in financial circles.
His prominence and special fitness for office also led to his selection for higher political honors than had theretofore been accorded him, and in 1886 he was elected a member of the state senate, in which he served two terms. He was a member of various important committees, including those on finance and the judiciary. He has always been a stalwart Republican since casting his first presidential vote for the pathfinder, General John C. Fremont, in 1856. His labors in the campaign of 1896 were most effective. He was instrumental in organizing the Sacramento Mckinley League, composed of fifty of the most prominent Republicans in this section of the country, and largely through the efforts of this organization many Republicans, who were in doubt as between Allison of Iowa, Reed of Maine and Mckinley of Ohio, came over and the vote of the California delegates was given to President Mckinley. Mr. Dray is the president of the League, and the executive committee is com- posed of the following named : William Beckman, W. B. Thorpe, T. R. Dray, E. S. Hadley, C. T. Jones, W. A. Anderson, Judson Brusie, J. H. Batcher, George C. McMullen, C. F. Gardner and J. B. Devine. Under the adminis- tration of Mr. Dray and the able work of the secretary, W. B. Thorpe, the work of the league was most splendidly planned and carefully executed, and was productive of most desirable results.
Mr. Dray has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for forty-two years, and has passed through all the degrees of the subordinate lodge. His family attend the Congregational church and occupy a very prom- ment position in social circles in the Capital City. He is a well informed man, possessed of broad general information and in his nature there is nothing narrow or contracted. He has a spirit that while devoted to his community, is liberal enough to recognize and appreciate advancement and progress in any other part of the world. He has the esteem and confidence of all with whom public or private life have brought him in contact, and his name is now insep- arably interwoven with the history of the state's advance, and with the finan- cial annals of the Capital City.
HON. EUGENE ARAM.
Prominent among the leading law practitioners of Sacramento is the gentleman whose name heads this review, who has won a distinguished posi- tion in connection with the jurisprudence of central California. He is one of the native sons of the Golden state, his birth having occurred in the ancient and interesting city of Monterey on the 26th of January. 1848. He is the youngest of the four children of Joseph and Sarah A. ( Wright ) Aram. His father was one of the early pioneers who aided in laying the foundation for the present development and progress of California. He was born in Oneida county, New York, March 24, 1810, and his boyhood days were spent on his father's farm. On the paternal side he was of English lineage and on the
63
OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
maternal side of Scotch and Irish descent. His father, Matthias Aram, was a native of Yorkshire, England, and came to America toward the close of the eighteenth century, and married Sarah Tompkins. He served with distinc- tion in the American army in the war of 1812.
Captain Joseph Aram, the father of our subject, married Miss Mahala Birdsell and in 1835 they removed to Ohio, where the young wife died eight- een months later, leaving an infant daughter, Sarah M., who is the widow of the late Rev. P. Y. Cool and resides in Los Angeles, California. Subsequently he married Miss Sarah A. Wright, a native of Vermont and a representative of one of the early colonial families. She was the daughter of Seaman and Fanny ( Briggs) Wright, her birth occurring near Montpelier, Vermont, November 14, 1811. Seaman Wright was a native of Vermont, born Septem- ber 12, 1782. His wife Fannie was born June 12, 1788. They were the parents of eight children : Lydia, N. L. M., Sarah A., George S., Peter, Daniel H., Elias M. and Francis D., only one of whom survives,-Colonel Elias M ..- who resides in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1840 they removed to Joe Daviess county, Illinois, where Mr. Aram engaged in farming and lead-mining until 1846. In that year he crossed the plains to Cailfornia and played an important part in the early history of the state. He aided in laying the foundation for the present prosperity and progress of the commonwealth and his name is insep- arably interwoven with its annals. He was a member of the first constitutional convention and also of the first legislature of California. A man of strong individuality, of keen intellectuality and of marked force of character, he was well fitted for leadership, and a spirit of patriotism prompted him to render effective and beneficial service to the new state. His wife, who bravely shared with him all the hardships of pioneer life, died in 1873. He passed away March 31, 1899, at San Jose, California, and is survived by only one brother, John Aram, of Grangeville, Idaho. By their union there were four children, namely : George, who is now deceased; Jennie E., who became the wife of A. E. Pomeroy, and died in 1868; Martha, who died in 1858; and Eugene, our subject.
Eugene Aram, the youngest of the family, acquired his education in the public schools of San Jose and in the University of the Pacific. He was graduated at the latter institution with the class of 1870, and immediately afterward began the study of law in the office of Judge D. S. Payne, of San Jose. He applied himself diligently to the mastery of the principles of juris- prudence, and after three years was admitted to the bar. He has practiced his profession continuously since and is classed among the leading and successful lawyers of Sacramento. For a few years he engaged in practice in Arizona and in 1885 was elected to the legislature of that territory. In 1896 he took up his residence permanently in Sacramento and entered into partnership with Gen- eral J. L. Hart. He has already secured a large patronage here and is accounted one of the leading lawyers of the capital city. In politics he is a stalwart Republican and has been a delegate to many of the conventions of the party. A close student of political issues, his sound judgment in such matters
64
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
has made him a leader in the ranks of the party, and in 1895 and 1897 he rep- resented the sixth district in the state senate.
Mr. Aram has won for himself very favorable criticism for the careful and systematic methods which he has followed in the practice of law. As an orator he stands high, especially in the discussion of legal matters before the court, where his comprehensive knowledge of the law is manifest and his application of legal principles demonstrates the wide range of his professional acquire- ments. In connection with the legislative interests of California his course has been marked by devotion to the public good. He has studied closely the questions at issue uring the sessions of the senate and his careful consider- ation is manifested in the earnest and able support given to the measures which he believes will prove beneficial to the commonwealth. In professional, political and social circles he has gained the high regard of those with whom he has been brought in contact and all who know him esteem him for his sterling worth.
On the 17th of March, 1875, Mr. Aram was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth J. Jasper, a native of California, and a daughter of J. M. C. Jasper, of Wheatland. Her death occurred March 6, 1892.
JAMES W. MARSHALL.
A glance at the history of past centuries will indicate at once what would be the condition of the world if the mining interests no longer had a part in the industrial and commercial life. Only a few centuries ago agriculture was almost the only occupation of man. A landed proprietor surrounded himself with his tenants and his serfs who tilled his broad fields, while he reaped the reward of their labors; but when the rich mineral resources of the world were placed upon the market industry found its way into new and broader fields. minerals were used in the production of thousands of new articles of trade and in the production of hundreds of inventions, and the business of nations was revolutionized. When considering these facts we can in a measure determine the value of the mining interests to mankind. No name is more inseparably connected with the mining interests of California than that of James W. Mar- shall, the discoverer of gold in this state; and that the people recognized what he has done for the commonwealth is indicated by the fact that in recent years there has been erected to his memory a fine monument.
James W. Marshall was a native of New Jersey, born on a farm near Marshall Corners, in Hunterdon county, on the foth of October, 1810. His parents also were natives of that state, his father being born on the same farm, in 1786. He married Miss Sarah Wilson, who was born in 1788, and in Maryland, in 1834, departed this life. His wife survived him for many years and passed away in 1878. Mr. Marshall's grandmother on the paternal side was Rebecca Hart, a daughter of John Hart, one of the signers of the Declar- ation of Independence, of New Jersey. Mr. Marshall also claimed that an eighth strain of Delaware Indian blood flowed in his veins. He acquired a thorough education in his native state and there learned the trade of
65
OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
wheelwright from his father, after which he worked for a few months in Crawfordsville at the carpenter's trade. About the year 1835 he removed to Warsaw, Illinois, and then to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, intending to enter a claim in the Platte purchase, but instead he worked at the carpenter's trade and also engaged in trading to some extent, with fairly good success; how- ever, he was taken ill there with the ague and became greatly reduced in weight. In May, 1844, he started for California as one of the "bull punchers" in a train of one hundred wagons. The winter was passed at Fort Hall and thence he went to Oregon, finally reaching California, where he entered the employ of Captain Sutter, at Sutter's Fort, continuing with him for several months. He made plows and spring wheels and was the "handy man" about the place, for his mechanical skill enabled him to man- ufacture almost anything that was needed.
Mr. Marshall enlisted in the Bear Flag war and served throughout that struggle and also in the Mexican war in California. He was a brave and efficient soldier and his labor contributed not a little toward the successful termination of hostilities. In March, 1847, he received an honorable dis- charge, but he claimed he was never paid for his services. He returned to Fort Sutter and was later an unattractive specimen of humanity upon the return trip as he tramped through the forests and over the hills barefooted and clad in buckskin.
Again he entered the service of Captain Sutter and on the 27th of August, 1847, formed a partnership with him to build a sawmill on the south fork of the American river, the Captain furnishing the capital, while Marshall was to select the site and build and operate the mill for one-fourth of the lumber manufactured. It was also agreed that at the end of the Mexican war if California belonged to Mexico, Sutter, as a citizen of that country, should hold the mill-site, and if California was ceded to the United States Mr. Marshall, being an American citizen, should have the property. The agreement was drawn up by John Bidwell, who was then a clerk in Sutter's store, and was witnessed by him and Samuel Kyburz. The site selected was Coloma, a name which has been Americanized from the Indian Cul-lu-mah, said to mean beautiful vale. It was situated forty miles to the east of Sacramento, and Marshall at once proceeded to launch the great enter- prise of building a sawmill for the manufacture of lumber. He first erected a double log cabin, in which he and his assistants might spend the winter. The ground was cleared for the building, the trees felled and whipsawed, the dam was built and the necessary flumes and races constructed. The timbers of the mill were raised in the latter part of 1847. Everything had to be made out of crude material on the spot with almost no implements or machinery to assist in the prosecution of the work.
Mr. Marshall returned to Sutter's Fort on the 18th of December. 1847. to make the models for the mill, and on the 14th of January, 1848 he set out to return to the site of the new enterprise. The dam, which was built by the Indians, was completed and was made with brush and timbers, weighted down with stone. Soon after Mr. Marshall's return the river rose to an
66
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
unusual height during a severe storm, and, being backed up by the dam, swept down upon the mill placing the structure in great danger. In this crisis Mr. Marshall and his men worked for hours waist-deep in the icy water until the building was firmly anchored. Upon a trial the tail race was found to be too shallow to carry the back water from the wheel, and while engaged in making this deeper. Mr. Marshall discovered gold. He was alone in the bottom of the race at the time the bed rock was uncovered, and six inches under water he saw the glistening metal. He at once picked up two pieces, and, pounding it with a stone, found that it was malleable. He again picked up four other pieces and with them proceeded to where Mr. Scott was working in the mill and said, "I have found it." Scott asked what he had found and Marshall responded. "Gold." Four days after the discovery he went to Sutter's fort, taking with him about three ounces of the gold, which he and Captain Sutter tested with nitric acid.
After his discovery Mr. Marshall had a number of the mill men work on "tribute" and did considerable mining with the Indians also, but in the rush of immigrants that came to the coast he lost the land, to which he had only a squatter's right, that came under either American or Mexican law was null and void on mineral land in equity; and in accordance with mining usages which had been in vogue to that time, he was entitled to two operating site claims and the ground occupied by the mill, together with an amount of land necessary for the untrammeled operation of the mill; but he wanted the entire claim, and, instead of concentrating his attention upon mining. he spent his time in fighting the natives and getting into trouble with the newcomers. This rendered him so unpopular that he was finally unable to save that to which he was justly entitled and ultimately lost everything, having no remuneration for his discovery.
For several years Mr. Marshall was a wanderer, but finally returned to Coloma and purchased the tract where his little cabin stood and which is now the site of the monument that has been erected to his memory. He there had a vineyard and its fruits brought to him a good financial return. In 1862 his old cabin was destroyed by fire and the present little frame dwelling was erected by him in its place. In 1869 and 1870 he went on two lecturing tours, which proved an unqualified success from a financial standpoint, but the habit of strong drink grew upon him and brought him to an untimely end. Many of his later years were spent at Kelsey, about six miles distant from Coloma. After his return from his second lecture tour the legislature of the state made the following appropriations for him : February 2, 1872. two hundred dollars per month for two years: March 23. 1874, one hundred dollars per month for two years: April 1. 1876, one hundred dollars per month for two years, thus giving him a total of ninety- six hundred dollars. He scattered his means indiscriminately among his friends and parasites, and his habit of strong drink so preyed upon him that it almost entirely destroyed his manhood. This had the effect to cause the legislature to cease its appropriations and the remaining seven years of his life were spent in poverty as far as ready money was concerned.
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.