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 80
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
WALTER A. MILLER
Numbered among the intelligent and respected citizens of Merced County is Walter A. Miller, a man of unlimited energy and perse- verance, who, mainly by his untiring industry and wise management, has succeeded in building up a fine dairy business as the proprietor of the Sanitary Milk Company. He owns his own ranch, on which he has 170 milch cows, and employs fifteen men in handling the output; he makes delivery of his products by auto truck. Mr. Miller was born in Germany on November 2, 1883, a son of Walter and Jose- phine Miller, both natives of the same country. The family came to the United States in 1884, when our subject was only six months old; the father was in the dairy business in Pennsylvania; later the parents returned to their former home in Germany.
Walter A. Miller received his educational training from private teachers and at an early age assisted his father in the dairy business. When his parents returned to Germany he came to California and worked on a dairy in Fresno County; and later went into business for himself at Lindsay, Cal., and was thus engaged until 1918, when he came to Merced County and established his present dairy which has greatly prospered under his able direction.
The marriage of Mr. Miller united him with Miss Florinda Souza and they are the parents of one daughter, Dorothy. Fra- ternally, Mr. Miller is identified with the Eagles and Moose of Merced and politically he is a Republican.
856
HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
GEORGE H. BLOUNT
As proprietor of the Stevinson Hotel and of the Stevinson-Tur- lock auto stage line, the latter operated under the regulations of the State Railroad Commission, George H. Blount of Stevinson, Mer- ced County, is making his influence felt for the good of his adopted county and is reaping a benefit for himself as well. A native of Can- ada, he was born at Trenton, in the Province of Ontario, on July 10, 1875, a son of Josiah C. and Rebecca (Losie) Blount. The father died, in 1911, in the Stevinson Colony, aged seventy-three years, and the mother married again and is now the wife of Otto Heinze, of the Stevinson Colony. The Blount family went from the Province of Ontario to Saskatchewan, and from there came down to Wisconsin in 1891, where the father became a citizen of the United States.
George H. Blount is the fifth child in a family of nine, six of whom are still living, and he was educated in the public schools of Canada and Wisconsin, attending only one winter in the last-named State. He came with the family, upon their removal to California in 1893, and settled at Nipomo, San Luis Obispo County ; later going to the Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara County, thence to Lompoc, and from there to Mendocino County, where he remained for eight years. Then he accompanied the family to Contra Costa County, where he engaged with the Standard Oil Company as a pipe fitter. In 1908 he came to the Stevinson Colony and here he has been an ac- tive factor in helping to build up the locality. Besides operating the hotel and stage line, Mr. Blount also owns and runs the two school busses that carry the pupils to and from the Stevinson Colony to the Hilmar Union High School at Hilmar.
The marriage of George H. Blount with Miss Lelia Finley was celebrated in Lompoc on March 23, 1898. Her parents were the well-known pioneers A. W. and Elmira (Hastings ) Finley, natives of Missouri. The father of A. W. Finley, Asa Wallace Finley, was a veteran of the Mexican War. A. W. Finley's father-in-law, David Campbell, started for California with a train of covered wagons from Missouri, in the spring of 1846; at first it was a part of the ill-fated Donner party, but was separated from that train at Omaha, where David Campbell became the captain and brought the train safely through to the coast, being guided over the mountains by Kit Carson. Upon arriving in California the Campbells settled at Fort San Jose in October, 1846. The father of Mrs. Blount, A. W. Finley, was only two years of age when his parents came with the Campbell train and he is now making his home with his daughter and her husband. He is hale and hearty at the age of eighty-one. The town of Camp- bell, in Santa Clara County, was named for Benjamin Campbell of
857
HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
this branch of the Campbell family. Mrs. Blount was born in Hol- lister, San Benito County and attended the public schools there. Mr. and Mrs. Blount have had nine children: Herbert and Charles both died in infancy; Ethel, married Gavin Wilson of Richmond, Cal., an ex-navy man who served in the World War, and they have one child, Elizabeth Ann; Glena Ana, a student in the Stockton Commercial College; Georgia Isabel, wife of George J. Holm, an ex-service man, who is employed by the Shell Oil Co. at Crow's Landing; Vyren Dar- rel, William Vernon, Ruth Elizabeth and George Lloyd, all pupils in the grammar school. Mrs. Blount is the local correspondent for the Merced Sun-Star and the Hilmar Enterprise. Mr. and Mrs. Blount are members of the Christian Church at Stevinson. Politically they cast their votes for Democratic candidates, and Mr. Blount served on the County Central Committee in 1924. For the past eight years Mrs. Blount has served on the election board.
CURTIS HARVEY CASTLE, JR.
The name of Curtis Harvey Castle, Jr., is held in high regard in Merced County, not only as the son of one of the best known and most highly esteemed physicians and surgeons of Merced and a man who represented his district in the 55th Congress of the United States from 1896 to 1898, but also for his own public spirit and deep interest in the progress of both the city and county of Merced. His father, Curtis Harvey Castle, Sr., is mentioned at length on another page in this history.
Curtis Harvey Castle, Jr., was born at Point Arena, Mendocino County, Cal., in December, 1883, and he was educated in the public schools of the State, attending the high school in Merced for three years. After leaving school he put in two years in Death Valley in mining; then he went to Dinuba, Tulare County, and purchased land and improved a vineyard, remaining for three years. His next move was to Los Angeles and for a year he was in the employ of Barker Brothers, furniture dealers. He then worked for the Southern Pacific Railway at Bakersfield for a year, but returned to his ranch and re- mained for six years. His next business venture was in Merced, where he bought an interest in the Merced Drug Company, but sold out after four months. He then went to Old Mexico and bought a hundred acres of land and remained there for twelve months, but came back to his Dinuba ranch, where he remained until 1915, when he returned to Merced and engaged in the manufacture of ice cream and did a retail candy business, operating under the name of The
858
HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
Castle for six years. In 1919 he started the Castle Ice Cream Com- pany, now known as the Acme Ice Cream Company, though he still retains stock in the concern.
Mr. Castle was united in marriage in Tulare County, with Mabel Pearl Brewer, born at Traver, that county; and they have a daughter, Virginia. Fraternally, Mr. Castle belongs to the Knights of Pythias ; and he is a member of the Lions Club of Merced. Politically, he is a Democrat. He is indulging in one of his hobbies, that of raising high grade pigeons, and at his home near the edge of Merced has some fine birds.
SOREN HUSMAN
Although without means or influential friends, Soren Husman possessed the cheerful optimism of youth, and, when he had com- pleted the common schools in his native country, started out for himself at the age of sixteen. He was born in Jylland, Denmark, on February 19, 1881, the son of J. C. Husman, who was twice mar- ried. By the first wife there were three children: Anders, Kath- erine (deceased), and Helena. Of his second union, when he married Sina Sorensen, there were ten children, viz .: Maria, Soren, Kirs- tine, Clara, Alfred (deceased), Julia and Alfreda, twins (deceased ), Katherina, Alfred and Bror.
Soren Husman could well be spared from home and after he had earned enough money for his passage to America, we find him in Staplehurst, Seward County, Neb., in 1903, where he was employed at farm labor for a year. In 1904, he came to Watsonville, Cal., worked for a year on a ranch, then went to the Hawaiian Islands and was employed in a dairy there about a year. In 1906, he re- turned to California and found work with A. P. Miller, in a dairy north of Newman, Stanislaus County. He then worked for others, but came down into Merced County in the Clay district. By 1908, he had saved enough money from his wages to make a payment on a tract of forty acres in the Romero school district under the canal and here he carried on a dairy until 1923, when he engaged in rais- ing turkeys. He owns a hill ranch of 480 acres in the Crittenden tract, a part of the Barnes ranch, capable of pasturing 100 head of cattle. He came to live on his ranch in 1908, leveled and checked it for irrigation and erected his house and farm buildings.
On March 6, 1913, Mr. Husman was married to Astrid Ebbe- sen, born in Jylland, Denmark, the daughter of Hans and Anna Ebbesen. The father was a native of Kalvslund, Denmark, and was a teacher in the schools of Stendrup. He could trace the Ebbesen
859
HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
family back 400 years and some members of the family were occu- pying the same farm on which he was born, always farming, Hans being the only exception. The mother was Anna Hansen, and was born in Jylland. Astrid was the eldest child, the others being Helga Dagmar, Ebbe, Thyra, Jens, Einar, Axel and Gudron. Mrs. Hus- man received a good education and taught school several years prior to coming to California, in 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Husman have six children : James, Hans, Alfred, Selma, Elmer and Irwin. Mr. Hus- man is independent in politics, voting for the best men and meas- ures regardless of party. He has been a trustee of the Romero school for several years and is a man always to be relied upon for advanc- ing the best interests of his adopted country.
EDWARD BICKMORE
Among the successful and enterprising professional men of Mer- ced County, is Edward Bickmore, who has won an enviable reputation throughout this section as an able lawyer. The son of a California pioneer, he was born near Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, Cal., on July 27, 1876. His father, Thomas Bickmore, when a mere lad helped to drive oxen across the plains to California in 1852. The family settled in the vicinity of Los Angeles, at El Monte. When a young man, Thomas Bickmore came north through the West Side of the San Joaquin Valley to Watsonville, where later he farmed and raised fruit. In 1854 Miss Martha Cullumber left her home in Texas for California, and in 1866 she was married to Thomas Bick- more at Watsonville, and the home was established there. Thomas Bickmore was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the Union Army; he is now deceased; the mother is still living, residing at Hollister.
The public schools of Santa Cruz County furnished the early education of Edward Bickmore; this was supplemented by the study of law in a private office. In April, 1908 he was admitted to prac- tice law by the State bar and opened an office and engaged in the practice of his profession in Watsonville; then for four years he maintained an office in Los Banos; and during 1913 established a law office in Merced, where he has since been engaged in building up a lucrative practice.
The marriage of Mr. Bickmore united him with Miss Alice G. Bourges, a native daughter of Monterey County, and one son, Thomas E., has been born of this union. Fraternally, Mr. Bickmore is a member of the Odd Fellows, the Native Sons of the Golden West, and
860
HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
the Woodmen of the World. In line with his profession he is a mem- ber of the State Bench and Bar Association. While C. H. McCray was in the United States service in 1918, Mr. Bickmore served as deputy district attorney. He takes a keen interest in his profession and is a booster for Merced County. While not active in public affairs, yet he is intensely interested in the growth and advancement of his section of California.
HAROLD BONE
The genealogy of the Bone family is traced back to England and in Southampton, Harold Bone was born on December 26, 1886, a son of Frederick and Olive (Summers) Bone, both natives of Eng- land. The father was a gardener by trade and came to California in 1889, settling in Merced County, where he followed his calling. When our subject was a lad of four years the family left England and joined the father in California. The father is now deceased, but the mother is still living.
Harold Bone received his education in the schools of Merced. While still in his teens he was apprenticed to learn the plumber's trade, which he later followed for ten years; then from 1915 to 1921 he was engaged in the fire insurance business, winning success by his characteristic perseverance and industry. In 1922 he was appointed to complete an unexpired term as justice of the peace, occasioned by the death of F. H. Farrar, of Township No. 2, in Merced; he gave such thorough satisfaction that at the election that fall he was elected unanimously to the position for a term of four years. His nature is genial and his intelligence broad, substantial and helpful, thereby becoming not only a popular official, but one who can be thoroughly relied upon in all matters pertaining to his office. Mr. Bone has never married. Fraternally, he is a member of the Elks and the Wood- men of the World.
HENRY F. BURKE
From early youth to the present day, Henry F. Burke, who has the agency of the Paige and Jewett cars at Merced, has always been interested in and operating some sort of instrument or appliance for locomotion. The son of Henry F. and Frances ( Bittell) Burke, he was born in Cleveland, Ohio, February 11, 1881, and attended the local public school until he was thirteen years of age, when he became a jockey for two years. He then served an apprenticeship as a ma-
861
HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
chinist for three years, after which he went into the bicycle business, all in Cleveland. As an amateur rider he won two prizes, riding to Geneva and return, but when he sold these prizes he was rated as a professional, which he practiced for three years in connection with the bicycle business. He won a number of century medals for riding 100 miles a day. In 1889 he was engaged in working on the first Winton car built. After that he was in the Buick and the Packard factories, and in the Kissel factory in Wisconsin two years. Through the succeeding years he worked in various States, North and South. For a year and a half he was in business in Louisiana, and then went to Texas. From there he came to California and in 1920 located in Merced. He worked on a salary for a time and then engaged in business for himself. He started in a modest way on October 20, 1921, and now employs five men in his present location at 345 Seven- teenth Street, with the agency of the Paige and Jewett cars.
Mr. Burke was united in marriage with Miss Emma Nelson, of Louisiana, who shares with him the high regard of many friends. Mr. Burke is not tied to any party ; he votes for the men and measures which seem to be for the best interest to the greatest number. He is a member of the Moose fraternity. He is fond of outdoor life and motoring, and made the record from Merced to Yosemite Valley on June 1, 1923, driving in a blinding storm, in three hours and twenty-six minutes. Highly respected and public-spirited, he has won a place in the foremost ranks of representative citizens.
JERRY J. JIRSA
The well known contracting painter and interior decorator of Merced, Jerry J. Jirsa, was born in Bohemia, now Czecho-Slovakia, on March 25, 1877. He came with his parents to the United States in 1880, and located in Chicago, where he was educated in the public schools. He then learned the trade of painter, and after completing his apprenticeship, took up the painting business in Chicago and fol- lowed it there for a time. He then went to Idaho Falls, Idaho, and engaged in his work there for ten years.
In March, 1920, Mr. Jirsa located in Merced, and for the past two years has been engaged in business for himself, and has met withı the success which always comes to a man who knows his work thoroughly and is interested in the artistic as well as the commercial side of it. He has painted the new gymnasium at the high school, the auditorium, and the cafeteria at the manual arts school, as well as a number of residences and apartments, and he specializes in interior
862
HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
decorating, paper work, etc. During the busy season he employs a number of men, but does all the planning and laying out of the work himself, and his years of experience have made him expert in his line, getting the best results obtainable, and adding to the pleasure in life derived from beautiful surroundings.
The marriage of Mr. Jirsa united him with Miss Nellie Lymath, and seven children have blessed their union: Robert, Louise, Vera, Helen, Madalene, Leslie, and Mildred. Fraternally, Mr. Jirsa be- longs to the Modern Woodmen and to the Eagles. He is deeply interested in Merced and Merced County, and shows his public spirit in supporting civic and moral advancement in his community, and is most highly esteemed as a citizen of real worth.
JOSEPH PATRICK ADAMS
Whatever of success has been achieved by Joseph Patrick Adams may be attributed to his own keen and capable judgment and his indus- trious application to business. For the past six years he has been dealing in washing machines; while making this his specialty he also sells the Eureka vacuum cleaner and the Grand Electric Ironer, manu- factured in Detroit, Mich. His store is located at 409 Seventeenth Street, Merced, and here he is headquarters for hemstitching, pleat- ing, button-making, etc. In Dublin, Ireland, he was born August 9, 1888, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Ellis) Adams, both natives of the same country. Joseph was six years old when he accompanied his parents to the United States; they settled in Philadelphia, Pa., where he attended the Sisters' School. While still in his teens he became con- nected with Ringling Brothers Circus and remained with them for seven years, and for one year he was with Forepaugh & Sells Circus. In 1911 he came to California and located in Fresno, where he became an employee of the San Joaquin Light & Power Company, remaining for five years in their employ. In 1919 he engaged in his present business, in Merced, which has proven a successful venture.
The marriage of Mr. Adams united him with Miss Margaret Cook, a native of Kansas, but reared in Fresno, Cal. Four children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Adams: Jesse is the eldest; then comes Jane, who is musically inclined and frequently appears in public in Merced; Kathryn is the third; and the youngest is Robert. Mr. Adams is prominent fraternally, being affiliated with the Benevo- lent Protective Order of Elks, all branches of the Knights of Pythias, and the Woodmen of the World, all of Merced; politically he is independent in his selection of candidates to hold offices.
863
HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
CHARLES W. REUTER
Although a young man, Charles W. Reuter has become well estab- lished in Merced as one of the representative business men of the city. His birth occurred in Merced, November 17, 1886, a son of George and Margaret (Martin) Reuter. George Reuter settled in Merced County about forty years ago, and operated one of the lead- ing tonsorial parlors in the City of Merced for many years. Both parents are now deceased.
Charles W. Reuter received a public school education in Merced and after his school days were over he learned the carriage trimming and furniture business and followed it for eight years; then for three years he was in the garage business and gradually worked into his present line. At first he established a vulcanizing business, then put in a stock of automobile accessories and at the present time carries the largest stock in this line in the city and employs the services of five men.
The marriage of Mr. Reuter united him with Miss Julia Collins and one child, Catherine, was born of this union. Mrs. Reuter is now deceased. Mr. Reuter is a stanch Republican. Fraternally, he belongs to the Elks, the Native Sons of the Golden West, and the U. P. E. C. He is a member of the local Chamber of Commerce.
L. C. GARDNER
A progressive business man of Merced is found in L. C. Gardner, more familiarly known as "Rube" Gardner, a nickname acquired during his fifteen years of active connection with the baseball leagues of our nation. He first engaged in professional baseball in 1904, and, with the exception of two years, continued with decided success until 1919, when he engaged in business in Merced. First he conducted an auto service station at the corner of Sixteenth and M Streets for three years, then moved to his new location on Seventeenth and M Streets, where he carries a complete line of service supplies and auto- mobile tires. He was born in Huntington, Tenn., on November 5, 1883, a son of Daniel and Mollie Gardner, farmer folk. The mother is now deceased, while the father is still living.
L. C. Gardner was reared on the home farm in Tennessee and attended public school in Huntington; he was also engaged in the grocery business in his native state for a time. At the age of twenty- one he took up professional baseball and for four years played with the southern league ; then he went to Panama as United States deputy
864
HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
collector of customs and remained in this capacity for two years, when he again took up baseball, coming to the Coast League in 1912, and was with the Oakland Club until 1919. His career as a baseball player was distinguished by marked ability and he won an enviable reputation as a successful player. Mr. Gardner employs the most modern methods in the operation of his business, which is growing steadily under his capable supervision.
The marriage of Mr. Gardner united him with Miss Emma Story, a native of Savannah, Tenn., and they are the parents of one son, Jack, born at Panama in 1909. Mr. Gardner is a public-spirited citizen who supports men and measures calculated to advance the prosperity of his community. Fraternally he is a member of the Elks and the Knights of Pythias; and he belongs to the Merced Cham- ber of Commerce.
HUGH K. LANDRAM
Among Merced's native sons is attorney Hugh K. Landram, a man endowed with a large amount of vim and energy, who has won for himself a notable position among the lawyers of this prosperous city. He is a son of an esteemed pioneer family. His father, Carter Landram, was a prominent citizen of Merced, born in Macon County, Mo., April 13, 1840. After a long and useful life he passed away on March 2, 1924. The mother of our subject passed away in 1896.
The birth of Hugh K. Landram occurred on January 1, 1885. and he was reared and educated in Merced. After completing the grammar school course he entered high school, from which he was graduated in 1903; then he went to Lebanon, Tenn., where he at- tended the Cumberland University, from which he was graduated in 1907, with the degrees of B. S. and LL. B. He took one year of postgraduate work at the University of Michigan; then returning to Tennessee he took the bar examination and was admitted to practice in July, 1908. The following fall he returned to California and was admitted to the bar of California in October of the same year. It was but natural that his thoughts turned to his native city in which to begin the practice of his profession, and in Merced he became associated with F. G. Ostrander. The association was carried on suc- cessfully until 1912, when Mr. Landram, on account of failing health. retired and discontinued the practice of law for three years. In January, 1915, he again opened offices in Merced and one year later became associated with J. J. Griffin; this association was terminated at the death of Mr. Griffin in December, 1921. On July 1, 1919 Mr. Landram was appointed district attorney of Merced County to com-
865
HISTORY OF MERCED COUNTY
plete the term of C. W. Croop, who resigned, and this appointment covered a period of two and a half years.
The first marriage of Mr. Landram united him with Miss Rubye Keck, a native of Tennessee. She passed away in 1912. In 1919, Mr. Landram was married the second time, Miss Charlotte Stockird, a native of Merced, becoming his bride. Fraternally, Mr. Landram is a member of the Masons and the Elks; he belongs to the Chamber of Commerce and to the Rotary Club. Since 1919 he has served as a trustee of the Merced High School. Mr. Landram actively supports all measures that advance the interest of the people of his native county.
WILLIAM E. BAILEY
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.