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 83
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ten miles northwest of Modesto, in Stanislaus county, and became the owner of eight hundred acres of very valuable land, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation. He erected his present delightful residence and surrounded it with shrubbery and shade and fruit trees of his own planting. and here in his comfortable home he is spending the evening of life. enjoy- ing the fruits of his former toil and the respect of his fellow men.
He has four children, namely: Edward, who cultivates the home farm ; Catherine, Margaret and Sophia. Mr. and Mrs. Meinecke have long trav- eled life's journey together, their mutual love and confidence increasing as the years have passed by. Mr. Meinecke has been a life-long Democrat, and since 1852 he has been a valued member of the Masonic fraternity, being raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in Wisconsin. He now belongs to the blue lodge in Stockton and to the Royal Arch chapter of Modesto. The hope of bettering his financial condition in America has been more than realized and he is now the possessor of a handsome competence, which is the merited reward of his earnest labor.
WILLIAM L. BUCKLEY, M. D.
William L. Buckley, a prominent physician practicing the regular pro- fession in Milton and also filling the office of coroner and public admin- istrator of Calaveras county, was born in the city of Stockton. this state. on the 14th of October. 1870. He is a son of William Samuel Buckley, a California pioneer of 1853, who was born in Parkersburg, Virginia, in 1829. and is of German and Scotch ancestry, the founders of the family in Amer- ica being early settlers of the Old Dominion. He was educated in Virginia and in Portland, Oregon. He crossed the plains to California in the year when so many people suffered from the cholera, many graves marking the route of the emigrants. He, too, was ill with the disease, but recovered.
In Oregon he formed a company of men who went with him and fought in the war with the Indians. For a time he resided in Walla Walla, Wash- ington, and he pursued a law course in Portland, Oregon, being admitted to the bar in that state. Subsequently he engaged in practice in Liberty, Cali- fornia, where he successfully continued in business until 1870, in which year he was appointed county judge of San Joaquin county. On the expiration of his term he was elected to that office for a term of four years and later he was elected superior judge and again occupied a position on the bench. He served for twelve years in a judicial capacity, and during his term as superior judge he had the honor of administering the oath of office to two of California's governors at the time of their inauguration. He was a lawyer of pronounced ability. his knowledge of legal principles being comprehensive and profound. He was at home in all departments of law from the minutiæe in practice to the greater topics wherein is involved the consideration of the ethics and philosophy of jurisprudence and the higher concerns of public policy. His fidelity to his clients' interests was proverbial and therefore his clientage was very extensive. In politics he was an active member of the Democratic
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party, and. although he did not allow partisanship to influence him in the slightest degree when on the bench, when not in office he did much effective work in promoting the interests of Democracy. He was prominently con- nected with mining enterprises and took a deep interest and active part in the development of the natural resources of the state and also its progress along intellectual lines. He was a prominent member of the Masonic fra- ternity, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias fraternity.
In 1865 Mr. Buckley was happily married, in Liberty, California, to Miss Minerva C. Crawford, a lady of refinement and culture. She was born in Quincy, Illinois, and was a daughter of M. C. Crawford, a California pio- neer. The Judge and Mrs. Buckley became the parents of six sons, but the Doctor is now the only survivor of the family. The Judge departed this life on the Ist of April, 1891. in the sixty-first year of his age, and thus was called from earth one of California's ablest and best pioneer citizens. His widow still survives him, at the age of fifty-three years, and occupies her pleas- ant home in Stockton, esteemed and beloved by all who have the pleasure of her acquaintance.
Dr. Buckley was educated in Stockton and in Portland, Oregon, pursu- ing his preparation for medical practice in the university of the latter state. He was graduated on the 2d of April, 1894. after which he put to practical test the knowledge he had acquired by entering the Good Samaritan Hos- pital. On completing his professional duties there he opened an office in Stockton, where he remained for three years, and in 1897 he came to Milton. where he has since been located. He at once entered upon his practice and here enjoys the confidence and good will of the citizens of Calaveras county. In 1898 he was elected by the Democratic party to the position of coroner and public administrator of the county, and has since filled the position with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents ..
The Doctor was happily married, in 1894. to Miss Grace F. Hale, a native of Stockton and a daughter of Joseph Hale, a prominent pioneer of the state. She is a valued member of the Episcopal church. The Doctor belongs to the Ancient Order of Foresters. His attention, however. is chiefly given to his professional duties and he has gained high rank among the rep- resentatives of the medical fraternity in Calaveras county. In manner, pleas- ant and cordial: in business, reliable : and in office, trustworthy, he has won many warm friends in this locality and is certainly deserving of their regard.
REV. C. C. PIERCE.
Eldorado county has one citizen who is beloved by all irrespective of party, religious or other affiliations .- not because of riches, for he has none : not because of position, as he considers himself as only an humble worker in the Master's vineyard : nor because of any expected material benefits, but sim- . ply because he has spent his life in earnestly and unselfishly endeavoring to benefit his fellow men without a thought of fame or reward. Like the Master,
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the poor are his people and he watches over them as a shepherd gaards his flocks. In addition to his duties as officiating minister at the Episcopal church at Placerville, he walks all over the county, holding services in the various school-houses, and uses all of his spending money in buying books and papers for the children. He ministers to the sick and cares for the dying, not because he is a minister but because it is his nature to do so. The universal regard which is felt for him is simply a spontaneous tribute to his kindly character and disinterested motives.
Rev. C. C. Pierce was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 2, 1825. He attended the Woodward high school, after which he studied law. He finally entered the ministry, graduating at the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal church at New York, and was ordained in Trinity church upon the first day of July, 1860. On the very next day he left for San Francisco, arriving there on the 25th. He came to Placerville on the 30th of March, 1861, and for nearly five years held services in the court room. In 1865-6 the Episcopal church was built by the general community and Mr. Pierce has been the officiating minister, without salary, ever since. He also holds gospel meetings in twenty-four districts.
[The above brief account is taken, by permission, from the Mountain Democrat, of Placerville, California. ]
LEWIS VOYLE.
Throughout the long period of forty-seven years Lewis Voyle has claimed California as the place of his residence and is now successfully engaged in the livery business at Knight's Ferry. He was born in south Wales, on the 2d of January, 1832, and is a son of George and Priscilla Voyle, both of whom were natives of that little rock-ribbed country. The father owned a ship, of which he was captain. In 1837, when his son Lewis was only five years of age, he met with an accident which necessitated the amputation of his leg and ultimately caused his death. His wife departed this life in the fortieth year of her age. Their religious belief was in harmony with the Episcopal faith and they were people of high moral worth and of sterling character, who enjoyed the confidence and regard of all with whom they came in contact.
Lewis Voyle is the only one of their five children in the United States. Ile served an apprenticeship on an English man of war-the school ship- and in 1851 he came to the new world, but continued to sail up the Mediter- ranean and to South America for a time. Subsequently he made his way to California, where he joined the crew of a coasting vessel, continuing to fol- low the sea until March, 1855. He encountered many severe storms during his experience as a sailor, but escaped all injury. At length he determined to abandon life on the ocean wave and in 1855 took up his abode at Knight's Ferry. He engaged in both placer and hydraulic mining, continuing his con- nection with that industry for twelve years. However, he met with but moderate success and in consequence turned his attention to teaming, which
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was then a most paying business. He freighted from Knight's Ferry to Oakdale and the different towns in the mountains, and in connection with freighting he established and maintained a livery stable, which he has since conducted, being the only liveryman at Knight's Ferry at that time. He keeps good carriages and horses, and his obliging manners and efforts to please his patrons have secured to him a good business. He has engaged in raising Hambletonian horses and has not only improved his own stock but has also done much to improve the grade of stock raised by the people in the vicinity of Knight's Ferry. Thus he has increased the market value and contributed to the prosperity of the citizens of his community.
In 1864 Mr. Voyle was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Stanfield. and their union has been blessed with three children, namely: George S., who is the foreman of the electrical works in Visalia: Emma J., now the widow of Fred W. Bach: and John T., who is his father's partner in the livery business. Mr. Voyle owns a good residence in Knight's Ferry. His first wife departed this life in 1872, and in 1875 he again married, his second union being with Delia Cady, a native of Ireland, who has now traveled life's journey by his side for a quarter of a century and has been to him a most faithful companion and helpmeet. In his political affiliations Mr. Voyle has ever been a stalwart Republican, and though he has never sought office he has taken a deep interest in the growth and success of his party and has ever kept well informed on the issues of the day. Public-spirited and pro- gressive, he gives an earnest support to every measure or movement calculated to prove of public benefit and has taken a great interest in the improvement of the roads. For some years he filled the office of road master and did much toward securing the establishment of good highways in his part of the county. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and has many excellent characteristics that commend him to the confidence, good will and friendship of his fellow men, and is widely and favorably known in Stanislaus and adjoining counties.
WALTER JANSEN.
There is. in the anxious and laborious struggle for an honorable com- petence and a solid career of the business or professional man fighting the every-day battle of life, but little to attract the idle reader in search of a sensational chapter: but for a mind thoroughly awake to the reality and meaning of human existence, there are noble and immortal lessons in the life of the man, who, without other means than a clear head, a strong arm and a true heart, conquers adversity, and. toiling on through the work-a-day years of a long career, finds that he has won not only wealth but also something far greater and higher. the deserved respect and esteem of those with whom his years of active life placed him in contact.
Such a man, and one of the leading citizens of Lincoln, is Walter Jansen. who was born in Germany, on the 5th of November. 1862, near the city of Apenrade. Ilis father. Henry Jansen, was also born in that country. Hle served in the German navy and was a scafaring man, spending his entire
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life upon the waters. He attained the age of eighty-one years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna Marie Olsen, was of Danish lineage. They had seven children, six of whom are living. three sons and three daughters, and the mother also survives, in the seventy-seventh year of her age, mak- ing her home in her native country. Walter Jansen, of this review, was the third in order of birth. He was educated in the schools of the fatherland and in 1877 came to California. He was then but fifteen years of age,-a poor boy who was forced to gain a fortune for himself or else enjoy none of the comforts that a competence can bring. He was wise in choosing for the scene of his labors a land in which opportunity and effort are not hampered by caste and class. He came to Placer county and worked as a farm hand for ten years. On the expiration of that period he worked for the Buckeye Mill Company, of Marysville, and was with that company at their branch office in Lincoln for five years. Then, forming a partnership in 1893. he became the proprietor of the business at Lincoln, and after two years he purchased his partner's interest and has since been alone in the enterprise. He deals in farmers' hardware, grain, hay and flour, and has a large ware- house. He buys, sells and stores grain and does nearly all of the grain business in this part of the country. His sales of farm implements and farmers' hardware are also extensive and his patronage is steadily increasing.
In 1890 Mr. Jansen was joined in wedlock to Mrs. Emma Jenkins, who by her former marriage had a daughter, Eva by name. Of the second mar- riage there is one son, named Walter K. Since coming to Lincoln Mr. Jansen has taken an active interest in the upbuilding of the town, and was elected a member of its board of trustees in April, 1900, so that he is the present incumbent and is filling the office most creditably. Widely known in the Masonic fraternity, he is a valued member of Gold Hill Lodge, No. 32. F. & A. M. He rapidly became thoroughly posted in the work and tenets of the order and served as the master of the lodge for five years, during which time the organization which he represented made a creditable advance- ment. He is also a Royal Arch Mason, holding membership in Delta Chapter. Of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows he is a representative, and has passed all of the chairs in the subordinate lodge and has been a representative to the grand lodge. He likewise holds membership in the Independent Order of Foresters. He is one of Lincoln's most energetic and successful business men. Of strong individuality and indubitable probity, he has attained to a due measure of success in the affairs of life and his influence has ever been exerted in the direction of the true and the good. His life history is an illustra- tion of what may be accomplished in the land of the free. .
WILLIAM S. HICKMAN. M. D.
In the enterprising city of Georgetown all business enterprises are rep- resented, and among the residents of the place are numbered capable mem- bers of the professions. A well known and prominent member of the medical fraternity is Dr. William S. Hickman, who has attained a position of dis-
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tinction in the line i his chosen calling. He is a native of Tennessee, born at Dandridge, on the 6th of December, 1856. At the age of ten years his father and the family removed to Knoxville, where the subject of this sketch was reared and educated. The Doctor is descended from an old Virginian family. His father, C. A. C. Hickman, was born in Virginia and was reared and educated in the Old Dominion. When a young man he removed to Tennessee, where he married Miss Lucinda C. Jett, a native of that state and a daughter of Edwin T. Jett, a gentleman of Scotch ancestry. The Doctor's father was a planter and a gentleman of marked ability and strong influence in the community, where he made his home. At the time of the Civil war he espoused the cause of the Union and upheld the supremacy of the national government in Washington. He died in 1891, at the age of seventy-two years, his wife having preceded him to the great beyond four years, dying in her fifty-sixth year. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and were people of the highest respectability who enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all who knew them.
Dr. Hickman was the third in a family of nine children. Deciding to devote his life to the practice of medicine and surgery, he entered the medical department of Vanderbilt University, completing the course and graduating at that institution in March, 1886. He immediately afterward came to Georgetown, where he opened an office, and after practicing for four years he went to New York and took a post-graduate course at the New York Polyclinic. He then returned to Georgetown and to-day is enjoying a very large patronage, which has come to him by reason of his marked skill and ability in the line of his chosen vocation.
The Doctor gives his political allegiance to the Republican party. yet he is liberal and independent in his views. He is a valued member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the blue lodge, chapter and commandery, and is very active in the order, being thoroughly familiar with its tenets and its principles which he exemplifies in his daily contact with his fellow men. Ile is a past master of the blue lodge and thrice past and high priest of the chapter, and in 1895 he was made a Sir Knight. He is also a member and past grand of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Since locating in Georgetown he has manifested a deep and commendable interest in every- thing pertaining to its advancement and welfare, withholding his support from no measure or movement calculated to prove of general good. He has acquired a very enviable reputation in the line of his profession and has a host of warm friends who regard him highly by reason of his professional skill and of his many estimable qualities.
JOHN D. TATE.
John D. Tate, a retired capitalist of Sacramento, who for many years has been a resident of the city, was born in York county, Pennsylvania. Feb- ruary 28, 1829. his parents being William and Mary ( Longnecker ) Tate The latter was a daughter of Daniel Longnecker, who lived and died near
JOHN D. TATE
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Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The father of our subject also was a native of the Keystone state, whence he removed to Ohio when his son John was a little lad of six years. Taking up his abode in Richland county, he there carried on agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred when he was sixty-five years of age. His wife was born near Gettysburg, and died in the Buckeye state, at the age of sixty years. Four children were born of their union, two of whom are yet living.
John D. Tate spent his boyhood days upon the home farm, giving con- siderable time to the duties and labors of field and meadow, but also en- joyed the sports and games in which boys of that period indulged. He remained with his father until he had attained his majority and then determined to seek a home and fortune on the Pacific coast, for it was about this time that the discovery of gold in California was attracting to the far west many of the reliable and enterprising young men of the east. In the spring of 1850 he made preparations for the journey, and on the 4th of May left Philadelphia, arriving at his destination on the 15th of June, following. He went direct to Nevada City, and there remained for a few months, after which he came to Sacramento. Here he began dealing in wood and also conducted an exten- sive ranch until the floods of 1861-2, when he sold his property and has since lived retired.
In his political views Mr. Tate has been a stalwart Republican since the organization of the party, and in early life he voted with the Whigs. In 1856 he cast his ballot for John C. Fremont and has since exercised his right of franchise for the men and measures of the party which stood by the Union in the Civil war and which has ever upheld American institutions. He fre- quently attends its conventions and his influence in its councils is marked. Mr. Tate has reared an adopted daughter, Emma, who was married and died at the age of twenty-four years, leaving three children,-Minnie Zoe, Amey Zella and Master Harrison,-all of whom Mr. Tate has legally adopted, giv- ing them his name.
ADMIRAL ERWIN WARREN.
The business interests which contribute to the prosperity and activity of Oakdale include the industry which is managed by Mr. Warren, who is successfully engaged in carriage-making and blacksmithing in that town, and his diligence and enterprise are characteristics that are well worthy of emulation. A native of New York, he was born in Medina, Orleans county, in the Empire state, June 15, 1842, and is descended from one of the old New England families, his parents being William T. and Celesta ( Foote) Warren, the latter a native of Orleans county. In the year 1853 the father came to California, going directly to Sonoma City, Sonoma county, where he engaged in wagon and carriage making. He removed to Ilangtown and there he was honored with the position of mayor of the city,-now the town of Placerville. While in Virginia City, Nevada, he served as alderman, and at Watsonville he was a justice of the peace. Thus it will be seen that he
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was not only an active factor in industrial circles but also had marked influ- ence upon the public life in the execution of the duties of his various official positions. He was industrious and intelligent and a thoroughly reliable citi- zen and was a faithful member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He departed this life in 1896, at the age of seventy-six years. The mother of our subject had died in the east, and the father afterward contracted a second marriage, by which he had one child, who was born ere his emigra- tion to California. On coming to the Pacific coast he brought with him his second wife, his son Admiral and a daughter of the second marriage.
Mr. Warren, of this review, was in his eleventh year when he came to California. He pursued his education in the schools of Placerville and Sacramento and was afterward sent east to complete his course, at Three Rivers, Michigan. He also took a course in a commercial college and was thus well equipped for the duties and responsibilities of business life. He opened a carriage and blacksmith shop in Virginia City, Nevada, where he remained for thirteen years, making considerable money; but through invest- ment he lost all of this. In 1883 he went to the territory of Washington and was taken ill there and returned to California, arriving in June of that year. The four years following, however, he carried on business at the Twen- ty-six Mile House, after which he opened his present shop in Oakdale, and here he has carried on business with excellent success for the past twelve years, numbering among his patrons many of the best residents of the town and surrounding country. In addition to his shop he has a good home and has acquired considerable other town property.
In 1886 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Warren and Mrs. Mary Markley, of Chinese Camp, Tuoluunne county, a daughter of George Carter. By her former marriage she has one child, named Anna Belle Markley. Mr. Warren has a son, named William Admiral. After seven years of happy married life. the mother was called to her final rest. In 1895 Mr. Warren was again married. his second union being with Miss Etta Dickson. Their pleasant home in Oakdale is the center of a cultured social circle and their friends are many. Mr. Warren has always been ready to aid every enter- prise intended to benefit and improve his town. As the architect of his own fortunes he has builded wisely and well. for all he has has been made through his own efforts and he is to-day counted one of the substantial citizens of the community in which he resides.
JOHN Q. WRENN, M. D.
Engaged in the prosecution of the most humane profession to which man devotes his energies, that of the alleviation of human suffering. Dr. John Quincy Wrenn is accorded a place among the prominent practicing physicians of Eldorado county. He makes his home in Placerville. A native of Indi- ana, he was born in Westfield, that state, on the 23d of August, 1844. and is of English lineage, his ancestors being early settlers of Virginia. In that state his grandfather, William Wrenn, was born, making his home within
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