USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol I > Part 37
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Mr. Joost was born in a small village, Aint Lehe, in the province of Hanover, Germany, a son of Martin and Anna Dorothea (Borchers) Joost. In the family were five brothers and two sisters, the subject of this review being the sixth in order of birth. His parents undoubtedly never dreamed that their son would one day become a leader in the business world of one of the metropolitan centers of America, but his own strong purpose and in- domitable energy have won him the enviable and honorable position which he to-day occupies as a foremost figure in business circles of San Francisco. His education was acquired in the village school of Köhlen, Provinz Han- over, Germany, and he displayed special aptitude in his studies, He was reared upon his father's farm and received training there in habits of indus- try, economy and honesty. When fifteen years of age, however, he bade adieu to home and native land and sailed for the new world. His father and mother paid his steamship passage and gave him pocket money amounting to ten dollars in United States gold. It was with this capital that he started out for himself. He had hoped to meet his eldest brother, Tonjes Joost, in New York. The brother had left home many years before and was supposed to be engaged in business in the eastern metropolis, but to the boy's surprise when he arrived in the American port he learned that his brother had dis- posed of his business interests there and had joined the emigrants who were then making their way to California. Accordingly, the following year Mr. Joost made preparations to come to the far west, and through the aid of a friend accomplished the journey, landing at the "Long wharf" in San Fran- cisco on the Ist of April, 1857. He had made the journey by steamer by way of Panama, and it was not long ere he found his brother, who was then doing a prosperous business in San Francisco.
Mr. Joost entered his brother's employ in the capacity of a salesman, and during the two years which he thus served he saved from his earnings one thousand dollars. With this capital he began business on his own
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account. He opened a grocery store on the old Mission toll road, and started in this business a few days before Christmas of 1859. The land which he purchased at that time is now the site of Joost Brothers' hardware store at the corner of Eleventh and Mission streets. Mr. Joost continued in the grocery business for eighteen years and often conducted two or three stores. His business methods were such as would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny, and as he always carried a good line of staple and fancy groceries and put forth every effort in his power to please his patrons he developed a business that soon reached profitable and extensive proportions. One of the secrets of his success, perhaps, is that he never paid rent for any property, but always made it his plan to buy wherever his business was located. As time and opportunity afforded he thus made judicious investments, and having retained in his possession many pieces of choice property he is to-day the owner of valuable realty holdings, including some of the most desirable busi- ness locations in the city. Although he continued in the grocery trade for many years he did not find this pursuit entirely congenial, especially disliking the liquor feature of the trade, and in 1887 he disposed of his grocery stock in order to deal in hardware. At that time he entered into partnership rela- tions with his brother, Fabian, who was the first of the family to come to California, and who was engaged in mining at the time of the arrival of Behrend Joost on the Pacific coast. Their hardware enterprise proved very successful from the beginning and has since been conducted. About 1893 the business was incorporated under the style of the Joost Brothers Com- pany, and the trade has now reached a large annual figure. Mr. Joost de- voted his entire attention to his hardware store until a few years ago and even now gives several hours daily to the business.
A man of resourceful business ability, he has been very active in many lines and has become a co-operant factor in a number of important concerns in San Francisco. Many men, desiring to engage in business, sought his financial support and counsel, and in a number of these cases Mr. Joost has mnade investment, but has always refused to enter into any great business undertaking in which he could not be the directing spirit. He has never placed himself in a position to be ruled by the opinions and actions of others. He was organizer of the first home loan and building association in the state of California, became one of its directors at that time and acted in that capacity until the affairs of the company were closed out. He was also one of the first stockholders in the California Savings & Loan Society. When the Panama canal project was first undertaken by Mr. De Lesseps Mr. Joost became one of the organizers of a company to contract for four- teen million dollars to be expended in dredging. This enterprise proved a financial success, Mr. Joost's profits amounting to eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars in fourteen months. With the property he secured in early life and the dividends from the Panama canal he began to operate in outside real estate, becoming one of the city's heaviest and most successful dealers in outside lands. He now has large offices on Montgomery street and is president of the Clarendon Heights Land Company and several other com- panies, including the Sunnyside Land Company. One of his greatest enter-
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prises has been the establishment of the San Francisco & San Mateo Electric Railway system, covering over twenty-one miles of track. In 1889 he secured a franchise for the electric railway to extend from the foot of Market street in San Francisco to the Baden stockyards in San Mateo county. Work was begun and the road was completed April 14, 1891. This is the first elec- tric railroad to cross the hills, and thirty cars are now in operation. The cost of the road was one million six hundred thousand dollars, and Mr. Joost became the first president of the company, acting in that capacity for four years, when the road passed from his control. He afterward devoted his attention to the hardware and real estate business, in which he has continued to the present time.
In 1874 Mr. Joost was united in marriage to Miss Anna Miller, a native of Wisconsin and of Gerinan descent. They had six children, but lost one, the others being: Martin B .; Maria, the wife of J. Frank Walter; Anna Dorothea, who is a graduate of the California University and a dentist by profession : Behrend A .; and Wesley. Mr. Joost is a member of the old Dutch Reformed church and his political allegiance is given to the Repub- lican party. He is devoted to his family, finding his greatest pleasure at his own fireside, when not occupied with the duties connected with his extensive business interests. While "the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong." the invariable law of destiny accords to tireless energy, indus- try and ability a successful career. The truth of this assertion is abundantly verified in the life of Mr. Joost, who, though he has met many difficulties and obstacles, has overcome these by determined purpose and laudable endeavor, working his way steadily upward to success.
JOHN ALDEN ANDERSON.
John Alden Anderson, present lieutenant governor of California and one of the most prominent Republicans of the state, is practically a native son of the state which has thus honored him, for, although born during a visit of his parents to the east, he has had his home in the Golden West all his life, and is thoroughly imbued with the spirit and elan of the country. He has for nearly a decade been prominent before the Republican bodies of the state, and his public career has been both creditable and extremely useful, as the present responsible office of which he is incumbent would indicate. In business affairs he has been equally successful and prominent, and from an early age has been devoted to the great fruit-growing industry which in modern times is California's chief claim to world fame. He is interested in both the practical and theoretical sides of fruit culture, and finds his greatest pleasure in work in his orchards near his home in Suisun, Solano county.
Mr. Anderson's ancestors, on both sides, came to America in colonial times and participated in the Revolutionary war. He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. Z. Anderson, respected and pioneer residents of San Jose, Santa Clara county. J. Z. Anderson was born in Crawford county, Pennsylvania, September 26, 1829, and was educated at Kingsville Academy, Ohio. He
alden anderson
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came to California in 1852, but in 1857 returned to Meadville, Pennsylvania, where he married Miss Sallie E. Sloan, and whence they soon afterward came to California.
Ten years after their marriage these parents returned for a visit at Meadville, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, and while there on October II, 1867, John Alden Anderson was born. Three months later he was brought to California by his parents, who settled in San Jose, which they have made their home to the present time. Mr. Anderson's early education was ob- tained in the public schools of San Jose, and he was afterward a student in the University of the Pacific. After leaving college he became identified with the fruit-shipping business, and worked for his father until 1886, at which time he commenced business for himself, raising fruit and later shipping it. He was engaged in packing and shipping fruit under his own name until 1898, when he organized the Alden Anderson Fruit Company, at Suisun, which concern deals extensively in dried fruits in different parts of the state. In 1902, when the fruit-shippers of California organized an agency for the better and more efficient distribution of their products, Mr. Anderson, because of his extensive experience and thorough business quali- fications, was induced to accept the management of the organization, which is known as the California Fruit Distributors, with headquarters at Sacra- mento. Mr. Anderson is still at the head of this association, and is likewise president of the Alden Anderson Fruit Company and of the Concord Fruit Company at Concord, Contra Costa county. He still retains his interest in orchards and some small fruit concerns, and makes fruit culture a close study.
Mr. Anderson's political life began in 1896, when, after a keenly con- tested fight, he was nominated for the nineteenth assembly district, consisting of Solano county, and was victorious at the election by a handsome majority. At the succeeding Republican convention of 1898 he was the unanimous nominee for the assembly, and was elected by a still larger majority. In 1900 he was again induced to stand for election, and ran several hundred votes ahead of his ticket and was chosen by an overwhelming majority. He gained wide prominence in the thirty-third session of the legislature, being elected speaker in January, 1899, during the memorable senatorial deadlock. He served through the severe ordeal of the long session and through the special session, and became noted as a parliamentarian of absolute impartiality, fearlessness and justice, and gained the confidence and good will of all the factions over which he presided.
At the convention of the California League of Republican Clubs at Los Angeles in April, 1900, he was honored by unanimous election to the presidency, and again at the great convention of League Clubs in San Jose, in April, 1902, where over twenty-five hundred delegates were assembled, Mr. Anderson's ability as a presiding officer, his strength of character and his activity in behalf of the interests of the Republican party were recog- mized, and his nomination for the presidency met the endorsement of every congressional district of the state. At the Republican state convention held
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in Sacramento in August, 1902, he was unanimously nominated for lieu- tenant governor, and was elected by a flattering majority.
Mr. Anderson is a public-spirited citizen, and a man of deeds rather than of words. He is foremost in movements for the advancement and welfare of the state, and he is the more valuable as an adviser and co-adjutor because of his close interest in the industrial, commercial and rural life of the state and each locality. He has made an enviable record in both public and private life, and his career is without blemish.
Mr. Anderson was married at Rockville, Solano county, March 2, 1893, to Miss Carrie Lois Baldwin, the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Baldwin, pioneer residents of the county and now living in Suisun. Mr. Anderson and his wife and little daughter live in simple style in a comfortable residence in Suisun. He is a lover of home and the house- hold penates, and in his wife he has a companion who takes a lively interest in all that concerns the welfare and progress of her husband. They both enjoy the society and friendship of many friends, but his business duties necessarily deprive him of many joys of a social nature. In his home town he is a genial and everyday man, and evinces an interest in the welfare of his neighbors and public improvements.
Mr. Anderson affiliates with Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at San Francisco; Naval Commandery No. 19, K. T., Vallejo; Solano Chapter No. 43. R. A. M., Suisun : Suisun Lodge No. 55, F. & A. M .; Suisun Chapter No. 2, O. E. S .; Suisun Lodge No. III, K. P .; Vallejo Lodge No. 559, B. P. O. E .: and Solano Camp No. . 524, W. O. W.
THOMAS B. W. LELAND, M. D.
Dr. Thomas B. W. Leland is among the younger representatives of the medical fraternity of San Francisco, but his years seem no bar to his progress and prominent position in connection with his chosen calling. He was born on the 19th of September, 1870, in Jamestown, Tuolumne county, California, and is a son of Gustavus A. and Fanny (McPhillips) Leland. The father was a native of Massachusetts and was of English lineage, his ancestors set- tling in the old Bay state in the seventeenth century. In the year 1850, at- tracted by the opportunities of the great and growing west where the re- cently discovered gold mines were also leading to the development of many fields of business activity, he came to California, settling in Jamestown, where he conducted a mercantile enterprise for a short time. He afterward became proprietor of a bakery, which he also conducted for a brief period, and then turned his attention to mining operations. He still resides upon the old fam- ily homestead and is now seventy-three years of age.
Dr. Leland is the youngest in a family of five children, three sons and two daughters. At the usual age he began his education in the public schools of his native town, where he pursued his studies until at the age of sixteen vers he entered the state normal school at San Jose, California, being therein graduated with the class of June. 1890. Following the completion of his literary course he engaged in teaching school for two years in Merced county.
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but regarded this merely as a preliminary step to other professional labor. In 1892 he entered the medical department of the University of California, and while pursuing his studies in that institution through the day he spent his evenings as a teacher. He was graduated in 1894 with the degree of Doc- tor of Medicine, and spent the succeeding year as house physician in St. Luke's Hospital, thus adding to his theoretical knowledge broad practical ex- perience. He was also for one year resident physician and surgeon at the Railroad Hospital in Oakland, California, and throughout this period he was teaching in an evening school in San Francisco, becoming principal of the Hamilton Evening School, in which capacity he served until 1896. In that year he turned his attention to the duties of a private practice as a member of the medical profession of San Francisco, where he has remained to the present time. In 1896 he also was adjunct to the chair of physiology in the medical department of the University of California and was assistant to the chair of Medicine in the Post-graduate school of the University of Cali- fornia. He was appointed professor of internal medicine in the Post-graduate school, which position he still holds. As an educator he has gained high rank, and holds the esteem and good will of his students. In 1899 he was ap- pointed autopsy surgeon to the coroner of San Francisco, and upon the death of Dr. Cole, the coroner, he was appointed to fill the vacant office. In 1900 he was elected to that office, this incumbency continuing from 1901 until 1903, when he was re-elected for a further term of two years. He has a large private practice and has gained success from a professional standpoint.
In 1897 Dr. Leland was united in marriage to Miss Florence McMahon. a native of San Francisco, and a daughter of P. P. McMahon, one of the pioneer settlers and native sons of California. The Doctor and his wife have two children, Dorothy and Sherman. He is identified with a number of the leading fraternal and social organizations of San Francisco, including the Native Sons of the Golden West, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Eagles, the Druids and the Foresters. He belongs to the Naval Militia of California, was first lieutenant in command of the first division and was afterward commissioned by Governor Pardee as chief surgeon with the rank of lieutenant commander. Dr. Leland in his professional service has been prompted by a laudable ambition for advancement as well as by deep sym- pathy and humanitarian principles that urge him to put forth his best efforts in the alleviation of suffering. He has gained recognition from the profes- sion as one of its able representatives, and the trust reposed in him by the public is indicated by the liberal patronage accorded him.
JULIUS KAHN.
Julius Kahn, whose varied career has brought forth activity in many lines of usefulness and of benefit to his fellow men, was born in Germany on the 28th of February, 1861, and is the eldest child of Herman and Jeanette (Weil) Kahn, who are also natives of Germany. The father was reared and educated in his native country and in 1865 came to America, settling in Calaveras county. California, where he turned his attention to agricultural
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pursuits. Later he removed to San Francisco, where he conducted a bakery and restaurant. In 1866 Mrs. Kahn joined her husband in the new world, having remained in the fatherland until he had established a home for her at Mokelumne Hill in Calaveras county. Mr. Herman Kahn is still living at the age of seventy-one years, but his wife passed away in 1900 at the age of sixty-three years. They were the parents of six sons and one daughter.
Julius Kahn was brought to America by his mother when a little lad of five years, and was educated in the public schools of Calaveras county, also of Stockton, San Joaquin county, where he attended school for a year, and in the public and high schools of San Francisco. He put aside his text books at the age of sixteen years and entered upon his business career in a clerical capacity in a commission house. At the age of eighteen years, possessing inuch histrionic talent, he went upon the stage and as a representative of that profession traveled extensively throughout the country, supporting such famous actors as Edwin Booth, Joseph Jefferson, Tomasso Salvini, Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Florence and Clara Morris. In 1890 Mr. Kahn left the stage and took up the study of law. In 1894 he was admitted to practice in the supreme court. He has since been active as a representative of the legal profession and now has a good clientage in San Francisco, the extent and importance of his practice continually increasing. While he has become well known as a lawyer he has at the same time been prominent in public affairs in other walks of life. In 1892 he was elected to represent his dis- trict in the state legislature, and served in the assembly for one term, while in 1894 he declined a nomination for the state senate, preferring to do his duty . in advancing the best interests of the commonwealth as a private citizen. In 1898, however, he was elected to represent his district in Congress and was re-elected in 1900, thus serving for four consecutive years, but in 1902 he was defeated for the position. He became an active factor in developing and managing the financial interests of the enterprise known as the Mid-winter Fair, and was appointed secretary of the finance committee, his labor con- tributing in large measure to its success.
On the 19th of March, 1899, Mr. Kahn was united in marriage to Miss Florence Prag, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, and a daughter of Conrad and Mary Prag. Her father was a pioneer settler of California, arriving in this state in 1848. Mrs. Kahn received her education in California, and following her graduation from the State University she engaged in teaching in the high school of San Francisco up to the time of her marriage. Her mother, Mrs. Mary Prag, has been largely interested in educational work in the state and is at present at the head of the history department of the girls' high school of San Francisco. To Mr. and Mrs. Kahn has been born one son, Julius, whose birth occurred on the 14th of March, 1902.
Mr. Kahn is very prominent and influential in social circles. He be- longs to the Masonic fraternity, to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to the I. O. B. B., to the Eagles, and is a life member of the Actors' Order of Friendship. He is likewise a member of the Union League Club and the Press Club of San Francisco, also the Green Room Club of New York.
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His travels and varied experiences have made him a man of the world in the best sense of the term, a man familiar with the political and social con- ditions of life, with its art and educational interests and with the various elements that contribute to the progress and prosperity of his home city. Courteous and affable in manner, the circle of his friends is constantly broadening and he enjoys the high regard of all with whom he comes in contact.
DONALD McLEOD.
Among the honored pioneer citizens of San Joaquin county is Donald McLeod, who has made his home in California since 1863. He is, there- fore, familiar with many of the events which shaped the early history of the state, has witnessed much of its transformation and growth, and in all these years has been loyal to its best interests. He is now residing on Roberts Island near the San Joaquin river, devoting his energies to agricultural pur- suits. He was born in Cumberland county, Nova Scotia, on Christmas day of 1841, his parents being Norman and Eunice (Grattu) McLeod. His father was a native of the highlands of Scotland, while the mother's birth occurred in Nova Scotia, and she too was of Scotch extraction.
In the place of his nativity Donald McLeod was reared, and in his youth he attended the early subscription schools of his locality. He had few of the advantages afforded young men at the present day, but his early privileges were supplemented by the knowledge and training gained from practical ex- perience in a busy life. When a youth of but thirteen years he went to sea on a coasting vessel plying between Nova Scotia and American ports. He fol- lowed the sea at intervals for a number of years, until 1862, when he left the water and turned his attention to other callings. In 1863 he came to California by way of the isthmus route and continued his journey to San Joaquin county, where he arrived in the month of March. He has resided here continuously since. For a time he lived on Union Island, and was en- gaged for a number of years in the raising of cattle and sheep. In 1889 he removed to his present farm on Roberts Island, bordering the San Joaquin river. Here he has forty-one acres of land under a high state of cultivation.
For a number of terms Mr. McLeod has served as a trustee of the Fair- child school district and is now serving as a trustee of Reclamation district No. 524. In his political views he is a Democrat who keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. He belongs to Morning Star Lodge, F. & A. M., at Stockton, and he has a wide acquaintance throughout this part of the county.
In September, 1876, occurred the marriage of Mr. McLeod and Miss Sarah Burnett, who was born in Stockton, California, and is a daughter of William Burnett, formerly of that city. Mr. and Mrs. McLeod are both well known in San Joaquin county, having long maintained their residence within its borders. What to many others are matters of history and record are to him matters of experience and of personal observation, and he has taken a just pride in what has been accomplished in this section of the state.
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