USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol I > Part 35
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After his term had expired Governor Downey retired full of honor to his home in Los Angeles, where he was loved and respected during his re- maining days and where his memory is revered to-day. He died March I, 1894, in Los Angeles. In 1869 he built the Downey Block, one of the great buildings of Los Angeles. He had meantime started the first bank in Los Angeles and had established a large ranch, with Downey City, named in his honor, as its market place. In those early times there were few small tracts of land. Governor Downey was the first to set the example of cut- ting up large tracts into small farms for the men of small means. Anaheim colony was the fruit of his plans.
Governor Downey married the daughter of Don Rafael Guirado, a Spanish gentleman of Sonora. She was killed in the Tehachapi disaster in 1883. Some years later he was married to Miss Rosa V. Kelly, a well
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known Los Angeles lady. In his domestic and social relations, as well as in his public life, he was ever a kind Christian gentleman.
MARK L. McDONALD.
Hon. Mark L. McDonald, a Californian of forty-five years' standing, has been identified with the financial and industrial interests of the state for many years and is accounted one of the foremost citizens. He has been very successful in his private business, and from a beginning comparatively insig- nificant has become the possessor of a large property and gained a place of prominence among the financiers of the Pacific coast. Mr. McDonald is a broad-minded character, with an energy and enterprise which influences ev- erything and everybody with whom he has relations, and he has also been identified with much that has made for the public welfare of his city and state. Santa Rosa will, in particular, always hold him in esteem for the many enterprises of a public nature to which he has given his aid or been foremost in conducting.
Mr. McDonald was born near Mackville, Washington county, Kentucky, May 5, 1833, and was a son of Colonel James and Martha (Peters) Mc- Donald. His father was a farmer and stock-raiser in the noted bluegrass regions of Kentucky, and was a prominent man in local and state affairs. Mark L. McDonald was reared on his father's place, and after completing his education in the local schools went to Union College, at Schenectady, New York. In 1859 he brought his parents across the plains to California, and his identification with the state has been continuous since that year. Both his parents died in California, his father in Sacramento, and his mother in 1883, in San Francisco.
His first work on coming to this state was with a railroad company from which his brother had a contract for building grades across the moun- tains. He served in the capacity of engineer for his brother. He later came to San Francisco, and became a stock broker in the stock board. The brokerage firm of McDonald and Whitney was for twenty years one of the best known of its kind in San Francisco, and had a prosperous existence. Mr. McDonald was also a member of the state board of horticulture, and is at present a member of the state board of trade.
At the time of the Columbian Exposition at Chicago he was appointed by President Cleveland a national World's Fair commissioner at large, and was a member of the committee on permanent organization. He helped organize the board of lady managers, which took such a prominent part in the fair, and it was due to his efforts that each state secured representation on this board. He appointed Mrs. Potter Palmer a member of this board, and she was elected its president.
Mr. McDonald has a magnificent home in Santa Rosa. It is situated on a hundred and sixty acre tract just outside the town limits. Twenty-five acres are devoted to fruit trees, and he has on his place trees from all parts of the world, each state and country being represented by a characteristic tree.
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Mr. McDonald built the water works of Santa Rosa, and also laid out an addition to the city of one hundred and sixty acres. He also built the street railroad in Santa Rosa. Fraternally he affiliates with the Masonic or- der, and has taken the Knight Templar degrees.
He was married in 1864 to Miss Ralphine North. a daughter of Judge R. North, of Natchez, Mississippi. They have five children: M. L., Jr., mentioned below; Stewart McD., Mabel, Edith May and Florence.
M. L. McDonald, Jr., was born in San Francisco, June 6. 1868, and attended the Urban and Trinity schools of that city. He graduated in the class of '90 from Princeton University, and then returned to Santa Rosa. He attended to some interests at the World's Fair, and then returned to Santa Rosa in July. 1894. He is now engaged in fruit-packing, and is at the head of one of the important establishments of this nature in Sonoma county. He is also president of the Santa Rosa Water Company, and in many ways manifests his public spirit and enterprise.
He was married in 1896 to Miss Juillard, a daughter of C. F. Juillard. of Santa Rosa. They have one child, Juillard McDonald.
TRUMAN REEVES.
Honored and respected in every class of society. Truman Reeves has for some time been a leader in thought and action in the public life of Cali- fornia, and his name is inscribed high on the roll of its foremost citizens, his honorable career adding lustre to the history of the state. Faithfulness to duty and strict adherence to a fixed purpose in life will do more to advance a man's interests than wealth or adventitious circumstances. The successful men of the day are they who have planned their own advancement and have accomplished it in spite of many obstacles and with a certainty that could have been attained only through their own efforts. This class of men has a worthy representative in Truman Reeves, who began life amid unfavoring circumstances upon an Ohio farm.
Mr. Reeves was born at Chardon, Ohio, August 17, 1840, a son of Will- iam C. Reeves, whose birth occurred in Bridgewater, Somersetshire, Eng- land. He was a tanner by trade and came to America in 1825. He married Miss Clara Northway of Cardiff. New York, who was of Scotch descent, her ancestors having come to the new world prior to the war of the Revo- lution, while her father was a soldier of the war of 1812. William C. Reeves died in 1872, but the mother is still living on the old homestead at Orwell. Ohio, at the age of ninety years. In the family were the following named: Calvin: George Phippen; Charles, deceased; Truman; Edwin: Maria Jane; Calling's, deceased: Edward: Andrew Isaiah, deceased; and Emery Alvaris.
Mr. Reeves attended the district schools in the winter months and in the summer seasons worked upon his father's farm. He afterward enjoyed the advantages of some school training in Orwell Academy in Ohio. In 1858 he was apprenticed to learn the watch-maker's trade with the firm of King & Brothers of Warren, Ohio, and remained in their employ until the
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time of the Civil war in 1861, when, prompted by a spirit of patriotism, he enlisted as a private and by promotion in recognition of meritorous service attained the rank of lieutenant. He was acting brigade commissary sergeant with General Kilpatrick's brigade in 1863. In January, 1864, he re-enlisted for three years. During his service he was wounded three times, the last time at the battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, during General Grant's advance on Richmond, and thereby lost his left arm, this ending his service in the field.
After his return home Mr. Reeves was appointed postmaster at Orwell, Ashtabula county, Ohio, and occupied that position until 1868. In the fall of that year he was elected recorder of Ashtabula county and served in the latter capacity for six years in a most commendable manner.
In 1875 Mr. Reeves came to California, settling first at San Bernardino. There he began work at his trade, and it is said that he is the only successful one-handed watchmaker in the world. By the use of ingenious appliances which he has invented to take the place of his left hand he has been enabled to do all kinds of watch work that is usually done only by the most skilled workmen. Mr. Reeves set out and planted one of the first orchards in southern California at Redlands, containing orange, apricot and peach trees. Ten acres were devoted to these fruits, and by his labors he demonstrated the possibilities of that section of the state as a fruit- producing district.
In 1867 Mr. Reeves was united in marriage to Miss Marion E. McCon- key, of Oberlin, Ohio, a daughter of Addison and Mary McConkey, of Cuya- hoga county, Ohio, early settlers of that locality. They have two children, Clarence H. and Clara B. The latter resides with her parents in Sacramento and the former entered the ministry in 1891 at the age of twenty-one years. He went to China as a missionary and after six years died in that country of smallpox in 1897.
Mr. Reeves is fraternally connected with the Odd Fellows and the Grand Army of the Republic. He gives his political allegiance to the Republican party, and has been honored with positions of distinctive preferment in this state. From 1882 until 1886 he represented San Bernardino county in the legis- lature, and in the spring of 1890 was appointed by the United States gov- ernment to assist in taking the recorded indebtedness of the sixth congres- sional district of California. In the fall of the same year he was elected treas- urer of San Bernardino county, holding the office by re-election for eight years and during the last four years also serving as tax collector. In 1898 he was elected state treasurer by a majority of 23.400 votes on the Repub- lican ticket. In 1902 he was re-elected to the office by a plurality of 47,884. His is a sturdy American character and a stalwart patriotism. He lias the strongest attachments for our free institutions and is ever willing to make personal sacrifices for their preservation.
ULYSSES SIGEL WEBB.
An enumeration of the men of the present generation who have won success and public recognition for themselves and at the same time have
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honored the state to which they belonged, would be incomplete were their failure to make prominent reference to the one whose name initiates this paragraph. He holds distinctive precedence as an eminent lawyer and states- man, as a man of broad attainments and as a valued and patriotic citizen. He has been and is distinctively a man of affairs and one who has wielded a wide influence. A strong mentality, invincible courage and a most de- termined individuality have so entered into his makeup as to render him a natural leader of men and a director of opinion. He has, moreover, not yet attained the prime of life and undoubtedly the future holds for him greater successes, for his talents and powers will develop still more with the advanc- ing years.
Mr. Webb was born September 29, 1864, in West Virginia, a son of Cyrus Webb, a representative of an old Virginia family and a captain in the Civil war. In 1869 the father removed to Kansas, where he engaged in farming and stock-raising, spending his remaining days in that state. His . death occurred in 1899, when he was seventy-three years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eliza Cather, was also a representative of an old Virginia family and is still residing on the family homestead in Kansas at the age of sixty-nine years. By her marriage she became the mother of five sons and two daughters, and with the exception of the subject of this review all are yet residents of the Sunflower state.
Ulysses Sigel Webb was a mere lad when taken by his parents to Kan- sas, and in the public schools of Augusta, that state, he pursued his early education, while later he became a student in the normal school at Fort Scott, Kansas. He finished his own course in 1885 and then engaged in teaching school for a short time, after which he became connected with journalistic interests in Augusta, editing a weekly paper in that city until 1887. In the meantime, however, he had determined to enter upon the work of the legal profession and took up the study of law in Augusta, dili- gently pursuing his reading. In the spring of 1888 he came to California, locating in Quincy, Plumas county, where he entered upon the practice of law, being admitted to the bar soon after his arrival in this state. The po- litical positions he has held have been in the line of his chosen calling. In 1890 he was elected district attorney of Plumas county, and served so ac- ceptably that he was three times re-elected, his term of service therefore covering twelve years, had he not resigned in the summer of 1902 on being appointed attorney general for the state in order to fill a vacancy. At the Republican convention held in that year he was nominated for the office and was elected at the succeeding election for a term of four years, so that he is now at the head of the legal department of the state. While engaged in the general practice of law he conducted a number of very important mining interests. As a lawyer he is sound, clear-minded and well trained. The limitations which are imposed by the constitution on federal powers are well understood by him. With the long line of decisions from Marshall down, by which the constitution has been expounded, he is familiar, as are all thoroughly skilled lawyer's. He is at home in all departments of the law,
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from the minutiæ in practice to the greater topics wherein are involved the consideration of the ethics and the philosophy of jurisprudence and the higher concerns of public policy. But he is not learned in the law alone, for he has studied long and carefully the subjects that are to the statesman and the man of affairs of the greatest import,-the questions of finance, political economy, sociology,-and has kept abreast of the best thinking men of the age. He is clear in argument, thoroughly in earnest, full of the vigor of conviction, never abusive of adversaries, imbued with highest courtesy, and yet a foe worthy of the steel of the most able opponent.
In October, 1895, was celebrated the marriage of Ulysses S. Webb and Miss Grace Goodwin, a native of California and a daughter of Judge J. D. and Martha Goodwin, of Quincy, Plumas county. They have three chil- dren, Hester, Sigel Goodwin and Grace. Mr. Webb belongs to the Masonic and Knights of Pythias fraternities, and to the Union League Club. While undoubtedly not without that honorable ambition which is so powerful and useful as an incentive to activity in public affairs, he regards the pursuits of private life as being in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. His is a noble character, one that subordinates personal ambition to public good and seeks rather the benefit of others than the aggrandizement of self. Endowed by nature with high intellectual qualities and well versed in the line of his profession, he merits the honor which has been conferred upon him by his election to the highest office in the law-enforcing department of the state.
CHARLES FORREST CURRY.
The name of Charles Forrest Curry is honorably inscribed upon the pages of California's history, and in molding the public policy he has had due regard for the general welfare, his course ever being marked by a pa- triotic devotion to the general good. He is now serving as secretary of state, and his course in official life is in harmony with his record as a business man and a private citizen, distinguished by fidelity to every trust reposed in him and by prompt discharge of every duty that devolves upon him.
Mr. Curry was born March 14, 1858, in Naperville, Illinois, a son of Charles H. M. Curry, who was a native of England and in his childhood days was brought to America by his parents, who settled in Wisconsin, becoming early residents of that state. In the year 1873 Charles H. M. Curry came to California and embarked in the jewelry business in San Francisco, becoming a representative merchant of that city. He was for fifteen years grand secre- tary of the Knights of Honor for the state of California, and he died in San Francisco in 1896 at the age of sixty-three years. He was a man promi- nent in public affairs and served as a delegate to various municipal and state conventions of the Republican party, being recognized as one of its leaders in local ranks. He married Emma J. Kimball, who was born in Illinois and was of Scotch and English descent. Her parents were of an old American family, established in New England at an early period in the colonization of the new world. Her ancestry in the paternal line can be traced back to the
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arrival of the Mayflower with its little band of Pilgrims who made the first settlement in New England. The parents of Mrs. Curry were of Massachus- etts and Virginia families. She still survives her husband and is now living in Sacramento at the age of sixty-six years. In her family were three sons and three daughters, of whom Charles Forrest is the eldest. The others are now deceased with the exception of Annie M., the wife of James Peterson, and Minerva.
Charles Forrest Curry began his education in the public schools of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, where his father was filling the position of su- perintendent of public instruction. He afterward benefited by a year's study in the University of Washington at Seattle, but at the age of seventeen years put aside his text books and became an active factor in business life. Return- ing to San Francisco he accepted a position as salesman in the Methodist Book Depository, where he remained during the years 1875 and 1876. On the expiration of that period he embarked in the jewelry business in connec- tion with his father and continued in that trade until 1890, when he was ap- pointed superintendent of station B of the San Francisco postoffice, serving in that capacity until 1894. In the fall of the latter year he was elected county clerk and filled that position from 1894 until 1898. His name was then placed upon the ticket of the Republican party in connection with the candi- dacy of secretary of state, and, being elected, he entered upon a term of service that has continued through re-election up to the present time in 1904, and he will remain as the incumbent in the office until 1906. He had represented his district in the general assembly of California in 1886, having been chosen for a term of two years.
In 1892 occurred the marriage of Mr. Curry and Miss Lillie A. Sieperly, a native of California and a daughter of F. W. and Sarah A. Sieperly, both of whom were natives of New York. Mrs. Curry died in 1898, leaving two children : Florence A. and Charles F., both of whom are students in the public schools of Sacramento.
Mr. Curry is prominent and popular in fraternal circles. He is con- nected with the Masonic lodge, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of Honor, the Woodmen of the World, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and has been a member of the supreme lodge of the Knights of Honor for the past ten years. He has also been a member of the grand lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen for seventeen years, and at present is a member of the arbitration committee. He is the first vice president of Aerie, No. 9, of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, of Sacramento. A resi- dent of California since fifteen years of age, his record is well known espe- cially in the central part of the state, where his sterling worth has commanded for him the confidence and regard of those with whom he has been associated. His public career is commendable and has reflected honor upon the state which has honored him. Throughout his whole life whatever his hand has found to do, whether in his mercantile career or in his official duties or in any other sphere, he has done with all his might and with the deep sense of con- scientious obligation.
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WILLIAM W. SHANNON.
William Wigmore Shannon, state printer of California, has through- out his entire business career been engaged in this department of business and has made steady and consecutive progress in keeping with the modern business spirit. Well qualified therefore for the duties which now devolve upon him, he was elected superintendent of the state printing office in 1902, and in his administration of its affairs has manifested the same enterprising spirit which characterized his control of individual business interests.
Mr. Shannon, born at San Francisco, on the 30th of May, 1858, is a son of Michael and Mary (Wigmore) Shannon, the former a native of Hali- fax, Nova Scotia, and the latter of Fermoy, Ireland. In his childhood days the father accompanied his parents on their removal from Halifax to Bos- ton, Massachusetts. where he remained until March 3, 1854, when he started for California, making the journey by way of the Nicaragua route. Prior to his removal to the Pacific coast he had worked at the cutlery business and at copper plate printing, and after reaching San Francisco he sought and ob- tained employment in the printing office of Frank Eastman, with whom he remained as a journeyman until 1878, when he was admitted to a partner- ship under the firm name of Frank Eastman & Company. This relation was maintained until the death of Mr. Eastman in 1890, when Mr. Michael Shan- non succeeded to the business, of which he is now the senior partner. The old firm name has been retained, and this is the pioneer printing establish- ment of California, having been started in 1850, and having had a continuous existence greater than that of any similar enterprises in the state. That the business has been profitable its long existence plainly indicates.
William W. Shannon pursued his education in the public schools of San Francisco and is a graduate of the Lincoln grammar school of the class of 1872. On putting aside his text-books he entered the employ of Bacon & Company, printers and publishers, with whom he remained two years. After a year spent in the employ of the Bancroft Company, he entered the service of Frank Eastman & Company, in the fall of 1874, and was foreman of the book department for many years, and his ability as a competent and faithful workman was so thoroughly recognized and appreciated by Frank Eastman & Company, that in 1898 he was admitted a member of the firm and con- tinued his active connection with the business until his election to his pres- ent position of superintendent of the state printing office in 1902. He stands as one of the leading representatives of his line of business in California. He has given special attention to artistic work, has kept in touch with the latest processes and methods introduced into the business, and his own prac- tical and original ideas have found exemplification in pleasing work that has given general satisfaction and which won for the house in which he was a partner a very desirable patronage. His course in office has been commend- able and he has proved a worthy custodian of the printing interests of the state.
In 1880 Mr. Shannon was united in marriage to Miss Annie Dwyer, a native of The Dalles, Oregon. Two children were born to them, Austin F.
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and William W. The wife and mother died in 1891, and in 1899 Mr. Shan- non was again married, his second union being with Miss Annie Louise Fell, a native of San Francisco and a daughter of William Fell, who was a mem- ber of the firm of Gleason & Fell, dry-goods merchants of San Francisco.
Mr. Shannon is particularly prominent as a member of the Native Sons of the Golden West. He has filled all the chairs of California Parlor No. I, has been a delegate to the grand parlor fifteen times, and in 1891 was elected a grand trustee of the order. He is one of the charter members and was the first chief ranger of Court Eldorado, A. O. F .; belongs to Manzanita Grove, Order of Druids; the Woodmen of the World; Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is a past presi- dent of San Francisco Typographical Union No. 21, and was a delegate to the International Typographical Union, held at Atlanta, Georgia, in 1890. He belongs to the Union League Club and to the Press Club of San Fran- cisco, and is well known throughout the state to representatives of the "art preservatives of all art." He has been a resident of Sacramento since his election to office, and in this as well as the city of his birth has gained a wide and favorable acquaintance.
HON. GEORGE C. PERKINS.
Hon. George C. Perkins, present United States senator from California, for many years prominent in the business and public affairs of the state of California, with many of his industrial and commercial interests and opera- tions attaining a world-wide scope. has had the career of a typical American captain of industry, with all the interesting phases of early struggles, a ma- turing business judgment and foresight, a widening of interests and a gaining control of extensive enterprises, and then permanent success and power in commerce and industry and political and public life.
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