USA > California > Merced County > A history of Merced County, California : with a biographical review of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present > Part 54
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J. WALTON HUFFMAN
One of the most prominent figures in the development of the East Side of Merced County was the late C. H. Huffman, whose son, J. Walton Huffman, the subject of this review, is one of the young business men of Merced. A sailor before the mast, C. H. Huffman came round the Horn in 1848 and settled in Stockton in early days where he was successfully carrying on the business of hauling freight into the southern mines. He first visited Merced County in 1868 and later became right-of-way agent for the Central Pacific Railway. Acting in this capacity, he purchased the Merced townsite. The father later established his residence here, beginning the acquirement of farm and grazing lands, and became agent of Isaac Friedlander for the purchase of grain in the San Joaquin Valley. In 1882 C. H. Huffman joined Colonel Crocker in the development of the present irrigation system, later incorporated as the Crocker-Huffman Land & Water Company. Mr. Huffman was resident manager until his resignation in 1892, and for many years he occupied, with his family, the company's residence on Bear Creek at the end of M Street, which old timers call to this day the "Huffman mansion." Mr. Huffman superintended the building of the canal system, which was under the engineering direction of C. D. Martin. Mr. Huffman relinquished his connection with the canal company early in the nineties and sold his interest in the canal system and the lands of the company to the Crockers, removing his residence to San Francisco, where he died.
J. Walton Huffman is a native son of Merced, Cal., born May 18, 1890, a son of C. H. and Laura (Kirkland) Huffman. The latter, a native of Missouri, crossed the plains in early days with her parents. J. W. received his education in the schools of San Francisco and in young manhood removed to Modoc County, where he spent fifteen
John Halverson Mrs Sarah & Halverson
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years raising cattle and horses. He then returned to his native county and established his present business, that of sand and gravel con- tractor; his business has steadily increased in volume during the passing of the years.
The marriage of Mr. Huffman united him with Miss Pearl Jones, of Los Angeles, Cal., and they are the parents of one daughter Lois Evelyn. Mr. Huffman is independent in his political views. Fratern- ally he is a member of the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Native Sons, and he belongs to the Rotarians.
JOHN HALVERSON
The science of husbandry could find no representative more worthy than John Halverson, retired rancher of Snelling, who has met with success in the growing of grain. His history, as well as that of his forebears, is one telling of perseverance and struggle, coupled with honesty and resulting in prosperity. He was born at Boney Prairie, Wisconsin, March 30, 1858, the eldest of the five children of Oliver and Christine (Johnson) Sorenson, both natives of Norway. The grandparents were among the earliest Norwegian immigrants to Wisconsin, and they brought with them their respective families. John Halverson's maternal grandparents and his own parents were among a number of Wisconsin people who came to California in 1861 in a train of 100 wagons, and they were en route nine months. His grandparents had two five-yoke teams of fine oxen. During the early part of the journey Grandfather Johnson became ill and it was thought he could not survive the trip. His wife drove the other five-yoke team the entire way from Wisconsin. His death occurred at Stockton, Cal., soon after they arrived. John Halverson's mother, Christine Sorenson, divorced her husband and married Ole Halverson, a native of Norway, who proved to be a generous, kind-hearted stepfather and husband. He had a son by a former marriage, and thus their family was increased to six children, all of whom were reared to maturity in California. John took his step-father's name, as did all of the children. During the flood of 1861 the family lived in Stockton and were forced to vacate their home, which was made of adobe, and seek higher ground. Mr. Halverson owned and operated a claim and silver mine near Silver City during 1862 and 1863.
John Halverson received a good education at Stockton, Adams- ville and Paradise City, in Stanislaus County. In 1867 the family moved to Stanislaus County, where the parents died in their home at Adamsville in 1869. The countryside was open and unfenced, and only a very few years before their arrival the plains were thickly
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inhabited by elk and antelope. The native fiber grass was cut and harvested by the settlers for hay for several seasons, and this region was known as "the pocket country." After the death of his parents John Halverson went to live in the home of a friend of his parents at Paradise City, where for five years he was subjected to a life of torment and treacherous handling, with no privileges and the hardest kind of labor. He then entered the employ of a rancher in 1874, and drew his first wages at Adamsville; and by continuing steadily until 1881, he was able to take the responsibility of leasing land on his own account, on which he put in a crop, and with fair results during the ensuing years made his start. In 1886 he moved to Merced County, and since that year his residence has been within a four-mile circle of Snelling. He was always engaged in the growing of cereal grains and at times has operated 3500 acres, raising large crops of wheat and barley. In addition, he raised all the work stock he used, and always had some to sell each year. In 1899 he purchased 418 acres three miles northwest of Snelling, where he built his home. In 1921 he sold all but eighty acres of his ranch, but later bought back forty acres. His first investment had been in 1893, when he bought and sold forty acres, south of Merced. On his present ranch of 120 acres he has erected a group of buildings, including a fine modern residence, and here he lives with his wife, renting out a portion of his land.
The ability of Mr. Halverson as a horseman may best be told by mentioning the work accomplished by him in various places. His teams were used in hauling pile timbers from Merced in the construc- tion of the Yosemite Valley Railroad, for which he received three dollars per ton, the contract running over a period of three months ; and he did his share in building the railroad from Merced Falls to Merced, which was finished in 1906. At one time he owned ninety-five head of work stock. In his operations on the West Side, in the fall of 1906, his teams were used with others by the Associated Oil Pipe Line Company, from Mendota to the Coalinga fields, and he was three months on this job. In 1896 he drove a team of eighteen animals into Hornitos, drawing three wagons loaded with machinery for the mines. Besides the regular ranch routine work, every season after harvest, until 1906, his teams were to be seen on the county roads in transporting grain to Nelson's mill at Merced Falls, or to Turlock. His brother owned and operated one of the earliest harvesters ever used in Merced County, and Mr. Halverson worked on it several sea- sons, later owning one of his own. His uncle, widely known at "Bale Rope" Johnson, was a pioneer teamster and, being a world-wide traveler, wrote the interesting book "Journey Around the World"; he passed away at his home in San Jose, Cal. The Modesto Herald frequently published interesting articles prepared by him.
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In Adamsville, on June 17, 1883, John Halverson married Miss Sarah Jane Grayston, born in Pennsylvania in 1866, the twelfth in order of birth of fourteen children born to Robert and Ellen Burt Grayston, natives of England and Scotland, respectively. This family came to California about 1868, being preceded by the father two years. Mr. Grayston was a farmer in the Adamsville and Westport districts and died aged sixty-three. His widow was accidentally killed when she was seventy-four. Mrs. Halverson received a good education at the Westport school, and prefers the great open spaces, having been reared and having always lived on ranches. Mr. and Mrs. Halverson have seven children, six of whom are living. Henry lives in Merced; Oliver died in 1919 at Snelling, being survived by his widow and twin sons ; LeRoy B., of Modesto, is a partner with his brother Charles, the firm being known as Halverson Brothers, building contractors ; Mae Harder, of Modesto, has two daughters; Clara Hannos resides in Merced; Charles, of Modesto, is a building contractor; and Bessie Geary, of Snelling, has one daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Halverson have twelve grandchildren, the eldest of whom is a student in the Merced Union High School. Mr. Halverson is a public-spirited citizen and a good mixer. He served as a school trustee from 1887 to1899 in the Snelling district; and he holds membership in Willow Lodge, I. O. O. F., having belonged to this lodge for the past thirty-two years, and is also a member and Past Chief Patriarch of the Encampment. Both Mr. and Mrs. Halverson are active in the Rebekah Lodge, and have been delegates to the Grand Lodge. Mr. Halverson was District Deputy in 1923, and he holds the office of treasurer of the Rebekah and Odd Fellows Lodges, and is a member of the Veteran Odd Fellows at Fresno.
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON SHAW
The son of an honored pioneer and himself a native son, William Henry Harrison Shaw is one of the progressive and substantial citi- zens of Snelling, where he has resided since 1895. He was born at West Point, Calaveras County, on April 26, 1868, being the second in order of birth of the thirteen children of W. S. and Henrietta (Stipe) Shaw. The father was born of Scotch-English parentage in Missouri, on February 11, 1835, and coming West in 1861, located near Sacramento, where he worked in the mines on the Calaveras River. He had been accompanied across the plains by Mr. Calla- means, there being about one hundred wagons in the train. Henrietta Stipe was born in Virginia, August 13, 1850, of German parents, and she came with her parents from Iowa, landing near Stockton. At Jenny Lind she was married to Mr. Shaw and they started out
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together on the old Griffith ranch on the Merced River, ten miles below Snelling, in 1873. In the fall of 1874 they moved to Hope- ton, where Mr. Shaw was employed on the Ruddle ranch, and in 1880 they went to Washington Territory, but came back to Merced County in the fall of 1891, where they were occupied in extensive grain farming for eleven years. Mr. Shaw was a Democrat, a man highly respected among his fellow-citizens, and was greatly mourned when his passing occurred at Hopeton, on February 23, 1893. Mrs. Shaw died in 1917, likewise missed by her friends and family. In 1923, those who survived the parents were: Sam H. H. Shaw, of Snelling; W. H. H. Shaw of this review; Mrs. E. H. Halstead, of Snelling ; Mrs. Dora A. Bloed, of Snelling; Thomas P., also of Snel- ling; Rachel Poor, of Brewster, Wash .; and R. W. Shaw, a rancher near Snelling.
About forty pupils, with but one teacher in attendance, comprised the student body and faculty of the Hopeton School where Mr. Shaw gained his elementary education. Being reared as a farmer's son, he worked out on ranches as a plow boy, and later on the Bill Grade ranch, driving eight- to ten-animal teams. Upon removing to Snelling in 1895, he ran a freight team from Merced to Snelling and Merced Falls, continuing in this business for seven years. Upon the completion of the Yosemite Valley Railroad he was appointed by the American Railway Express as agent at Snelling, and he served from May 21, 1906 until January, 1921.
A fine three-and-one-half-acre plot in Snelling, upon which a resi- dence has been erected, comprises the home place of Mr. Shaw. He has developed his ranch into a splendid income property, it being devoted to berries and fruit, which are shipped to the Yosemite Val- ley in the open season, and also sold at Merced Falls. He receives good prices, and has little trouble in disposing of his produce. He has harnessed the water in the old Montgomery ditch, which runs through his place, using water-wheel power to lift the irrigation water to a tank seventeen feet above the ditch. This contrivance he made with his own hands. An eight-foot wheel runs the force pump with a ten- inch stroke, affording ample water for fire protection on the ranch.
Mrs. Shaw was formerly Jessie Alice Kauffman, a daughter of the late D. J. and Sarah Kauffman, and was born in Virginia. They came to Washington Territory in 1879 and to Fresno, Cal., in 1891, where they were prosperous farmers. In Fresno, on June 20, 1896, she was united in marriage to Mr. Shaw and their union has been blessed with the birth of two children: Nina, who resides with her parents, and Floris, who is stenographer with the Sperry Flour Com- pany in Fresno. Mr. Shaw is a Democrat in national affairs but he stands for broad community development. He contributes gener-
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ously to all worthy church organizations, and is a Past Grand and Past District Deputy of Willow Lodge, No. 121, I. O. O. F., having belonged since January 28, 1893; and is also a member and Past Chief Patriarch of Snelling Encampment, No. 83, I. O. O. F. He has belonged to the Woodmen of the World at Merced for over twenty years.
WILLIAM NEWTON BAKER
One of the most highly developed fruit ranches and vineyards located on the State highway in Merced County and situated at the crossing of Cressey Way was improved to its present state by William Newton Baker, who is now residing on the property and superintends its cultivation for his son, Dr. W. A. Baker, of Tuscon, Ariz., to whom he recently sold it. Mr. Baker was born in Boone County, Mo., March 18, 1853, the son of Ambrose Dudley and Hannah (Baker) Baker, both natives of Kentucky, but who were married in Missouri, where the father was a farmer and a stock-raiser. They both died in California, the father at Modesto, at the age of sixty- eight, and the mother at the home of our subject in 1913, aged eighty- three. They came to California in 1864, with their five children, across the plains and arrived at Tuolumne City on July 20, of that year, where an uncle, C. C. Baker, was already located. The children of the family were: Columbus Baker, who died in Santa Ana in 1920; Martha Margaret Hamilton, who died in Orange County in 1918; William Newton, of this review; Pauline, widow of I. C. Grimes of Modesto; and Queen Elizabeth, Mrs. J. E. Clarey of Fruitland precinct, Merced County.
William Newton was a lad of eleven when his parents crossed the plains and he drove the loose stock brought by his father, riding horseback all the way. He attended school in Missouri, and in Stani- slaus and Merced Counties, the school in the latter county being taught by Frank Fowler, a well-known teacher at Snelling, when that was the county seat. He grew up in Stanislaus County until 1869, when the family removed to Merced County and located at Snelling. His first business experience was in the sheep business, going out on the old Spence ranch above Merced Falls, where he ranged his band of sheep, which in time increased until he had 3000 head and owned 720 acres of land on the Merced River, having a frontage of one and one-half miles on that stream. This ranch is still known as the Baker ranch. From the sheep business Mr. Baker engaged in merchandis- ing at Snelling and Merced Falls, but as the population was decreasing he left there and went to Modesto where he bought wool for San Francisco firms for several years. His next move was to Delano,
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Kern County, where he operated a store for about five years, remov- ing at that time to Orange County and engaging in the real estate and insurance business, and in buying wool, for fourteen years. We then find him back in Merced engaged in the real estate business for three years. He had bought ninety acres on the highway and rented it, but the renters did not carry on as he wished and he moved onto the place and since then has been looking after its cultivation. He set out all the trees and vines and erected the buildings suitable for his needs. Now there are seventy-five acres in Malagas, Empe- rors and Tokays, and seven acres in peaches, also an acre of family orchard. He sold it all to his son, Dr. W. A. Baker, but manages the property for him. While living in Modesto Mr. Baker served as justice of the peace for two years.
Mr. Baker was married in 1872, to Miss Elizabeth Willis, daugh- ter of Thomas and Elizabeth Willis, ranchers near Sonora, Tuolumne. County, where the wedding was celebrated. They had five children born to them: Walter E., a rancher in Fruitland precinct; E. N. Baker, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce at Merced; Edna Elizabeth (twin of E. N.), now the wife of R. C. Balaam of Merced; W. A. Baker, a prominent dentist in Tuscon, Ariz .; and Maud B., who became the wife of B. C. Keister of Merced. The wife and mother died in 1882, at the age of thirty-three. The second marriage of Mr. Baker was in 1883, when he married Mrs. Clara A. Clark, widow of C. A. Clark, by whom she had a daughter, Grace, now Mrs. G. T. Parr, of Berkeley. Mrs. Clara A. Baker was a daughter of A. H. Hall, a lumberman of Truckee many years ago. She was born in Maine and died in Berkeley on June 18, 1923, aged seventy- two. Mr. Baker has always been interested in the development of Merced County and has done what he could to help every worthy project that would be of benefit to the people or make the county a better place in which to live and prosper. He holds the respect of all who know him and his friends are legion.
ERNEST D. KAHL
A representative of an old pioneer family in Merced County, Ernest D. Kahl well represents the name left by his father, in the ranks of the agricultural and horticultural developers. He is a native of the State, born in Monterey County, March 27, 1860, a son of the late Adam Kahl and his good wife, whose sketch appears in another part of this volume. Our subject was educated in the schools of Merced County and alternated his attendance with working on the ranch with his father, from whom he received a practical training in
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all branches of farm labor so that he has been enabled to make a success of his work in later years. He has been actively engaged in ranching in Merced County for many years and has been so success- ful that he has been able to turn the ranch over to his sons, who con- tinue its operation in partnership with the father.
When Ernest D. Kahl married he chose for his wife Margaret Baxter, who was born in Nova Scotia the daughter of J. C. Baxter, a prominent rancher of this county wherein she was reared and educated. There were two sons born of this fortunate marriage, Leslie A. and James A., who are now conducting the ranches controlled by their father. Mr. Kahl is a strict prohibitionist and fraternally is a mem- ber of Yosemite Parlor No. 24, N. S. G. W., Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Encampment of that order. He takes an inter- est in promoting every good cause for the welfare of the county and its citizens and he and his wife have an ever-widening circle of friends.
ANTHONY WARFIELD MEANY
A native son of the Golden State and an educator of prominence and influence in Merced is Anthony Warfield Meany, the principal of Merced High School and supervising principal of the Livingston High School. Mr. Meany is blessed by nature with a healthy mental and moral outlook on life and early in his career manifested a desire to enter upon a professional career; this desire was gratified largely through his own efforts. A son of the late Anthony J. Meany, he was born on March 24, 1882, in Merced. A. J. Meany was a prom- inent citizen of the San Joaquin Valley and was born in Ireland on March 1, 1842, was taken to Canada when a babe in arms and there .grew to boyhood. At about the age of eleven he left home and went to Pennsylvania, where he served an apprenticeship, under an older brother, to learn the trade of carpenter and cabinet-maker. In early manhood he worked on an Ohio River steamboat for a time, then drifted into St. Louis, where he remained and made his start for California via Panama about 1863. Upon arriving in California he at once located in Mariposa County and followed his trade and became a very well-known and successful contractor and builder. In time he located in Snelling, Merced County and worked at his trade and while living there was elected sheriff of the county in 1872, serv- ing in that office for twelve years. When the county seat was re- moved to Merced he located in that city and ever afterwards made it his home. After his term in office expired he resumed the build- ing business and continued active until his death, passing away in November, 1891, at the family home in Merced. He was twice
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married. His first wife was Emma Ruddle, niece of the late John Ruddle, and one daughter is now living, Daisy Meany the wife of J. F. King, an Oakland dentist. His second marriage, in 1881, united him with Miss May Tackett, who was born in Tuolumne County in 1858. Her parents crossed the plains in 1856 and settled near Sonora, where her father was engaged in the building business. By this second marriage a son, Anthony Warfield Meany, was born. A. J. Meany had served two terms in the California State senate.
Anthony Warfield Meany was reared in Merced and attended the public schools for his preliminary education, graduating from the high school in 1900. His father dying when he was a lad of nine, he has but little recollection of him. Determined to get a good edu- cation he next entered the University of California at Berkeley, meanwhile working in warehouses during vacations to pay his own way. He was active in the student body at college and was on the track team for three years, was on the Blue and Gold staff and Rally committee and was a member of the Skull and Keys, and the Golden Bear, honor societies, and still holds his membership in the Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was graduated with honors in 1905 with the A. B. degree. He took a position in a warehouse for a time, then spent three years as an employe of the Yosemite Valley Railroad during its construction. His next position was as book- keeper for John R. Graham, where he remained until he began teach- ing in the Merced school in 1908; six years later he was appointed principal of the high school when there were eight teachers and a student body of 150. This has been increased to twenty-seven teach- ers and a student body of 450 in Merced, and when the Livingston branch was added the faculty was increased to thirty-five and the student body to 600. The new buildings have been erected since Mr. Meany has been in charge.
The marriage of A. W. Meany with Miss Kathryn Stradley, of New York, took place on July 6, 1914, and they have a daughter, Kathryn Christine. In politics Mr. Meany is a Democrat and served as chairman of the County Central Committee. He is an exempt fireman, having served as a volunteer of the Merced department for six years. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masons, the Elks and the Native Sons; and he is a member of the Rotary Club, the California State Teachers' Association and the California High School Principals' Association. During the war he was County Food Administrator under Ralph Merritt, and served on the County De- fense Committee and various Bond and Speaking Committees. As a citizen he is progressive and a champion of all measures for the bene- fit of his town, county and State. All in all he is a man of whom his city may be justly proud.
Fannie Mi Master
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HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
JOHN JAMES McMASTER
A resident of Merced County for the last thirty-five years, and until the last few years an extensive grain rancher of the San Joaquin, J. J. McMaster has been prominent in the developing of this part of the Golden West; and during his residence here he has built up a reputation for honesty of purpose, and as an advocate of the creed of right living has had a very helpful and wholesome influence among his friends and associates in his adopted country. A native of Ontario, Canada, he was born on November 3, 1856, the fourth of eight children, and second of four sons, born to his worthy parents, Robert and Minerva (McGleason) McMaster, both natives of Ontario and now deceased. They were farmers in the Dominion, and young John J. grew up on the home farm, attending the public school and between study periods learning the duties of a farmer's son in the sixties, when soil cultivation was a quite different matter from what it is today, with all the modern machinery and farm appliances. When nine years old, he earned his first dollar, paid him by a wealthy stockman for the return of a strayed animal; and in those days a dollar looked mighty big to the lad. On reaching thirteen years, he started to work as a plow boy, working for a widow, Mrs. White, who paid him nine dol- lars a month and supplied him with an ox-team and plow; and so he started life in Canada, amid pioneer surroundings, working out on neighboring farms but remaining at the home fireside until he reached the age of twenty-four. That year he married and took on the responsibilities of a man of family, starting in the ranch business in Brighton Township, at a time when general prices were lower than at any previous time. Locating nine miles from Trenton, he made three trips to market weekly to dispose of his produce; and by the hardest kind of work, and early and late application, made a comfortable living for his growing family.
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