USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol I > Part 48
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
HARVEY W. STRADER, M. D.
Dr. Harvey W. Strader, who is engaged in the general practice of medi- cine in Sacramento, was born December 14, 1859, in Pearisburg, Virginia. His father, Josiah Strader, was born in North Carolina and is of Holland- Dutch descent. The family was founded in America near Chambersburg. Pennsylvania, the ancestors being among the early Dutch settlers of that state. Representatives of the name took an active part in the Revolutionary war in behalf of the cause of independence, and two great-uncles of Dr. Strader were officers of the war of 1812. Josiah Strader served as an officer in the Confederate army throughout the entire period of the Civil war and during much of the time had charge of a section of heavy wagons loaded with ammunition, while later he did detail duty. At the time of General Lee's surrender he had charge of wagons which were used in gathering up provisions for the soldiers. He has made farming his life work, and is
455
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
still living on the old home place in Virginia. He married Miss B. C. Johnston, who was born in the same house in which occurred the birth of Dr. Strader. Her father was a native of Pennsylvania and became the founder of the family .in the United States. Her three brothers served in the war for the Confederacy and lost their lives while advocating the southern cause. Mrs. Strader now resides with her husband on the old family home- stead. By her marriage she became the mother of six sons and four daugh- ters: Harvey W .; John A., who is living in Ottumwa, Iowa; S. J., who makes his home at Pearisburg, Virginia; T. D., a minister of the Methodist Episcopal church; George S .. who is engaged in the real estate business at Bluefield, West Virginia; W. E., who carries on farming at Pearisburg; Mrs. H. L. Phleger, of Pembroke, West Virginia; Mrs. H. B. Shelton, of Bluefield, West Virginia; Mrs. L. L. Johnston, at Columbus, Ohio; and Haven A., a teacher in the public schools of Bluefield.
Dr. Strader at the usual age entered the public schools at Pearisburg and there continued his studies until he had completed the high school course. He afterward engaged in teaching school for two years during 1881-2, and in 1883 he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Baltimore, Maryland, where he attended medical lectures for three years and was then graduated, after successfully passing the required examinations, on the 13th of March, 1885, at which time the degree of Doctor of Medicine was con- ferred upon him. He practiced for one year in his native town, and in May, 1886, removed to Filmore county, Nebraska, continuing a member of the medical fraternity at that place, until May, 1892, when lie came to Sacra- mento, California, where he has practiced continuously since. He engages in the general practice of medicine and surgery, and the liberal patronage extended him attests his ability and the confidence reposed in him by the public.
Dr. Strader was married in January, 1887, in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Miss A. R. Piercy, a native of Iowa, and a daughter of John Piercy, a con- tractor and builder who was born in Ireland, but was of English parentage, while his wife was of Scotch birth. Mrs. Strader is the youngest of ten children. By her marriage she has become the mother of three sons, Piercy Winton. who at the age of sixteen years is a student in Atkinson's Business College; William Frederick, aged twelve, a student in the Sutter grammar school; and George Arthur, a lad of five years.
Dr. Strader was president of an organization having in view the exten- sion of the J street electric road to the suburbs and this will soon be estab- lished. In politics he is an independent Democrat, who does not take a very active part in political work, although in Nebraska he served as a delegate to some of the county and state conventions and has also been a delegate to county conventions in Sacramento. Socially he is connected with the Masonic fraternity. the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. Formerly he was identified with the Woodmen of the World and served for two terms as presiding officer in the local lodge. He was also connected with the Royal Arcanum and for one term was its presiding officer. In relation to his profession, however, he holds membership in the
456
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
American Medical Association, the California State Medical Society, the Sacramento Society for Medical Improvement, of which he was at one time president, and the Alumni Association of the College of Physicians and Sur- geons of Baltimore, Maryland. He has written and read interesting papers before the Sacramento County Medical Society on a number of different occasions, and his fellow-practitioners as well as the general public bear testi- mony concerning his professional skill and ability as well as his personal worth.
ASA CLARK.
In reviewing the list of officials who have devoted their energies and best efforts to some particular department of the state government, there is no one who stands out more prominently than Dr. Asa Clark, the honored superintendent of the state hospital at Stockton. All those who have been familiar with the conduct of the institution since its inception unite in the statement that its development under the present management has been little short of marvelous, and its high ranking among similar institutions of the United States is unquestionably due to the executive ability combined with the thorough knowledge and unflagging zeal of Dr. Clark.
He is a native of Essex county, New York, born June 29, 1824, and a son of Curtis and Electa (Meacham) Clark, both deceased. The father followed agricultural pursuits and moved to Minnesota, where he died at an advanced age. When twelve years of age our subject was attending pub- lic school in Chicago. After a grammar school course he started the study of medicine at Rush Medical College, the famous Dr. Brainerd being one of his instructors. He was graduated in the class of 1849, and in the same year came to California, locating at Placerville. A bad attack of fever de- cided him to leave this locality and for some time he practiced in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, but in 1853 he returned to Placerville, where he remained until 1861, at which time he located in Stockton. He went there as assistant superintendent of the state hospital, which position he occupied for ten years. In 1871 he established the Pacific hospital (now known as Clark's Sanitarium). It was originally intended for the care of insane patients from the territory of Nevada and a more detailed description is given in the following sketch of Dr. F. P. Clark, a son of our subject. In 1892 he was elected superintendent of the state hospital, which position he is still filling. In 1856 he married Mary Elizabeth Mountjoy, a native of Ohio, and three living children and one deceased is the result of the union. Hattie Electa is now the wife of Montgomery Boggs, of San Francisco; Dr. Fred P. and Geraldine are the other living children.
Dr. Clark is a member of the California Medical Association, the San Joaquin Medical Association and the American Medical Association. He is a Republican in politics.
The results accomplished by Dr. Clark in the improvement of the state hospital have not been accomplished without a large amount of painstaking endeavor. As is common with the majority of institutions of that char- acter, the amount of appropriations for improvement has always been to-
Isa Clark
457
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
tally deficient and the natural consequence has been somewhat lax methods in its conduct. When Dr. Clark took the management, the institution was not a pride to the state, but very much to the contrary. Appropriations sufficient to meet the growing demands were impossible to obtain and the only money available was the small amount of contingent fund allowed. In the face of all this, however, Dr. Clark started out in a systematic plan for remodeling the entire institution- a work which a man of less energy, ability and fore- sight would not have undertaken. One point to illustrate: He found the female inmates without employment of any kind,-a condition of affairs bad for both the mental and physical health of the patients and also bad from a financial standpoint. Provisions were made to provide them with material for all descriptions of fancy work and some of the most magnificent articles of this description in the state have been manufactured in the hospital. These have always found a ready sale, and with the proceeds derived, a complete revolution has been made in the woman's department. Necessary luxuries were then purchased and the natural beautifying of the environments of the place have worked wonders in both the condition of the patients and the appearance of the hospital. It was Dr. Clark who devised the irrigation sys- tem now in use on the ground which hitherto did not exist, but which is now producing the vegetables, berries, etc., used at the hospital. The new bakery and kitchen were designed by him and there is no institution in the state either public or private that can show anything more complete from every standpoint. Sanitary conditions have been closely adhered to in connection with economy and convenience so that out of the contingent fund that no one but Dr. Clark figured on as amounting to much of anything, improve- ments have been made that are a source of marvel to all concerned. To-day the institution as reconstructed by him, is one in which every citizen of the state can take honest pride and when it is considered that these results have been obtained in the face of what appeared to be insurmountable obstacles the name of Dr. Clark will ever be remembered as an official who probably has done as much or more for the department entrusted to his care as any official of the state, and who will leave behind him an enduring monument of the crowning glory of his life's labors.
JOHN W. THOMPSON.
John W. Thompson has had a variety of experiences since coming to California nearly fifty years ago. Since 1902 he has resided at 930 West Oak street in Stockton and is one of the highly respected and worthy citi- zens of that progressive municipality. The greater part of his career has been devoted to agricultural pursuits, of which industry he is one of the best representatives in this part of the state, but he has also found an outlet for his energies in many other enterprises linked with the life of the western coast. As his career has covered broad fields of activity, likewise has he been very successful, and he is ranked among the influential and prosperous citi- zenry of San Joaquin county. The record of which he may be most proud is the fact that he is in the best sense of the term a self-made man. and as
458
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
the architect of his own fortunes has builded well and with serious purposes in life.
He came from the east to California in 1856, by way of the isthmus route, and on his first landing in the city of San Francisco he was introduced to a typical pioneer scene that has remained in his memory ever since. On the day of his arrival the "Vigilance committee," as they were called, con- ducted the execution of the notorious Casey and Cory; thus primitive justice of the Golden state was meted out. His first occupation in the state was salmon fishing at Sacramento, and after this he was in Montana for a short time. Returning to Sacramento for a time, he later located at Lathrop in San Joaquin county, where he was engaged in the hotel business for awhile. At the same place he became agent for the Wells-Fargo and Company's Ex- press, and was also postmaster there. He has always taken a prominent and public-spirited part in community affairs, and has been a useful citizen. In 1877 he settled on his ranch several miles south of Lathrop, and was act- ively engaged in ranching and stock-raising there until 1902, when he moved to Lathrop and resided in that town for a time, and then in the same year came to Stockton, where he has since made his home. He still owns his fine ranch of seven hundred acres about five miles south of Lathrop, and gives much attention to its operation.
January 2, 1881, Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Adelaide L. Clapp. who was born in Wilmington, Massachusetts, being a daughter of Noah and Louise (Stickney) Clapp, her father a native of Braintree, Massachusetts, and her mother of Andover, Massachusetts. She was reared and well edu- cated in her native state, and in 1873 she accompanied her parents from Massa- chusetts to California, the family locating near Lathrop, where she lived un- til her marriage. She is a lady of unusual graces of disposition and charac- ter, and has been a most efficient life partner of her husband in achieving their well deserved success. She is one of three surviving daughters of her parents, and her sisters are Mrs. B. A. Goodwin, of San Joaquin county, and Mrs. N. H. Locke, of Lockeford, California. Noah Clapp, her father, is now eighty-four years of age, and makes his home with Mr. and Mrs. Thomp- son, but her mother died on August 26, 1891.
Mr. Thompson served as trustee of the Rustic school district for three years. He affiliates with Morning Star Lodge, F. & A. M., at Stockton, and also with Stockton Chapter No. 28, R. A. M., and Stockton Commandery No. S. K. T., being a Mason of high standing and in much esteem among the brethren of the craft. He is also a member of Mount Horeb Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Ripon, this state. He is a Democrat in politics, and has always taken much interest in the success of his party.
DR. SAMUEL E. LATTA.
Dr. Samuel E. Latta, one of the prominent and well known physicians of Stockton, California, has been engaged in active practice of his profes- sion for twenty years, and the latter half of that period has been spent in Stockton. He is a physician of experience, ability and thorough equipment,
459
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
and has gained a well deserved reputation throughout San Joaquin county. He is one of the progressive members of the profession, and besides attend- ing to his private practice is also interested in movements to advance the standard of the excellence and efficiency of his fellow practitioners through- out the state.
Dr. Latta was born in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, May II, 1862, a son of Dr. William S. Latta, now deceased, and Sarah A. Latta, now living in Lincoln, Nebraska. He went through the courses at the Lincoln high school and was a student in the State University at that place for three years. With the career of his honored father as his example, he chose the profes- sion of medicine, and entered Rush Medical College at Chicago, where he was graduated in the class of '84, with the degree of M. D. He practiced in Lincoln for two years, and then came to the Pacific coast and located in San Joaquin county, where his subsequent useful career has been spent. He was located at Woodbridge for eight years, and was then appointed to the responsible position of superintendent of the San Joaquin county hospital, where he remained four years. He then took up private practice in Stock- ton, and at present enjoys a representative and lucrative patronage among the best classes of citizens.
Dr. Latta is surgeon for the Santa Fe Railroad which position he has occupied for six years, his division being from Merced to Antioch. He is a member and takes an active part in the proceedings of the San Joaquin Medi- cal Society and the California State Medical Society. He is affiliated with the Woodbridge lodge and the Stockton chapter and commandery of the Masonic order, and in politics is a Republican. Dr. Latta married, in 1882, Miss Anna E. Hyde, a native of New York state. They have five children : Winifred A., William H., Samuel G., Olive M. and Earl V.
FRANK GREGORY.
Frank Gregory, a clerk in the county recorder's office at Sacramento, is one of the well known business men of this city, and the name has been associated with the various departments of civic and commercial activity in Sacramento for over thirty years. One of the largest and best known fruit and produce houses of the city, in existence for almost a half a cen- tury, was established and conducted for many years by Mr. Gregory's father, and Sacramento claims as one of her most public-spirited and capable execu- tive heads Mr. Gregory's brother. The family has always been known for its business ability, its integrity, and its honorable endeavors in every rela- tion of life, and Mr. Frank Gregory is a worthy representative of the name. and is held in unequivocal esteem wherever known.
Frank Gregory was born in Sacramento, February 22, 1863. His father, Julius Gregory, was born in Cette, southern France, and was a pio- neer to California of 1849. He was engaged in business in San Fran- cisco for a few years, and in 1852 came to Sacramento and established the produce business whose trade was one of the most extensive in the west. He also was a successful miner in Mono county, California, and at .
460
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
the time of his death, in May, 1871, he left a large estate. His wife was Mary E. Gregory, a native of England, and who died in 1899. She was prominent in the social and business circles of Sacramento, and showed remarkable talent as a business woman, having extensive dealings with rail- roads and navigation companies. There are three daughters in the family : Mrs. Daisy L. Schindler, Miss Amelia and Miss Malvena, all residing in Sacramento.
Frank Gregory was educated in the public and high schools of Sac- ramento, and then in private schools, concluding his education at the age of twenty-three. He had clerked in his father's store, and later, with his brother, E. J., whose history is given below, succeeded to the business. They carried on the store with good success until about 1896, and then in making large shipments of green fruit to eastern markets lost heavily and were compelled to wind up their business. After going out of the mercan- tile business, Mr. Gregory embarked in the hop brokerage business and had extensive dealings with London markets for several years. At the death of his mother he was appointed executor of her estate, which consisted prin- cipally of large real estate holdings, much of it in Sacramento. He put the affairs in good shape and managed the distribution of the property, and then obtained a position as clerk for the late Colonel J. B. Wright, super- intendent of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company.
Mr. Gregory is a Republican, and has been a considerable factor in city and county politics. He has been active in the first ward, where he has his residence, and is now a county central committeeman of the first district. He has been to a number of county conventions, and although he has repeatedly been urged to accept nominations, he has always preferred the appointive positions. He has never married. He affiliates with the Masonic fraternity, being a Knight Templar and a Shriner, and is a prom- inent member of the Eagles.
HON. E. J. GREGORY.
Hon. E. J. Gregory, who is at present engaged in the patent business in New York city, was for a number of years one of the best known busi- ness men of Sacramento, and was also one of the most popular mayors that city ever had. The firm of Gregory Brothers Company, of which he was the head, had a reputation throughout the United States, and was of mate- rial benefit in placing California products before the world.
Hon. Eugene J. Gregory, a son of Julius Gregory, who was the founder of the above mentioned produce house, and whose life of activity was bene- ficial to the city and the trade interests of the entire state, was born in San Francisco, August 15, 1854, so that he is one of the early native sons of California. He grew up in this state, obtaining a thorough business and academic education in the schools of the commonwealth. About 1880 he assumed the management of the business of the Gregory Brothers Com- pany, and for a number of years was actively identified with the introduc- tion of California products to other portions of the country.
461
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
His best remembered service to the city, however, was as its efficient mayor. At the municipal election of 1887, at the earnest solicitation of his friends and contrary to his own wishes, he became a candidate for that office. Party lines are drawn quite closely in Sacramento, and as a rule, majorities are never heavy on either side. Mr. Gregory, as the candidate of the Republican party, was elected by a plurality of 1,919 votes, which was the largest plurality ever secured theretofore in the city. This was due to his great popularity and the confidence with which every class of citizens regarded him. He justified expectations by his course as mayor, for he did much to rectify current abuses in the various departments of the municipal government, made careful appointments, and in every way possi- ble introduced business methods into the management of city affairs, so that in many ways he saved large sums of money to the people.
Mr. Gregory affiliates with the Masonic order, in which he is a past master, and also with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and other orders. He is a man of captivating personality, with a charm and a genial- ity of manner which gain many friends, and is highly favored in social cir- cles and among his fellow citizens and associates. He is especially esteemed in the city where he so long made his home and of which he was such a capable chief executive. He was married July 3, 1874, to Miss Emma Crump, a native of Sacramento, who has since died. They had one son, Julius, who is now twenty-eight years of age and is associated with his father in the patent business in New York. Mr. Gregory was a trustee of Sutters Fort and a member of the California River Improvement Associa- tion; director of the California Midwinter Fair Exposition; director of Museum Association and many other positions of public trust, the duties of which were filled with so much satisfaction to the public that Mr. Greg- ory's name was prominently mentioned about ten years ago as a candidate on the Republican ticket for governor of California, but his business inter- ests would not permit him to accept the nomination. With his renowned popularity throughout the state, had he consented to accept the nomination, it would have meant his election by an overwhelming majority.
LAUREN W. RIPLEY.
Lauren W. Ripley, librarian of the public library of Sacramento, which position he has held since 1900, has been connected with the library for over twenty years, and his record both for length of service and high efficiency is hardly surpassed by any in the state. He has devoted his best efforts to the upbuilding and advancement of Sacramento's literary interests, and to making the library the civic power for good which it really is when properly managed. Library economics and management have passed through their greatest period of developent to their high state of efficiency since Mr. Ripley became connected with the work, and he has constantly kept abreast of the progress in this pursuit, which has in fact risen to the rank of a profession and requires talents of a high order.
Mr. Ripley was born in Sacramento, April 27, 1864. His father, Cap-
462
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
tain James M. Ripley, was a native of New York, and belonged to an old American family whose ancestors came from England as early as 1680. He came to California in 1850, via the isthmus, and made Sacramento his home from 1860 until his death. which occurred in 1881. His wife was Harriet Adams, a native of Pennsylvania and of German descent, and she is still living in Sacramento. They were the parents of three sons, Arthur L. and Herbert M., being also residents of Sacramento.
Lauren W. Ripley was educated in the public schools, and graduated from the Sacramento high school with the class of 1883. Before completing his high school course, in January, 1882, he went into the public library as assistant librarian, and remained in that capacity until his appointment as librarian in June, 1900. When he first became connected with it, the library contained only eight thousand volumes, but there are now on the shelves forty thousand and the circulation and reading public have increased to even a larger degree.
Mr. Ripley was married in Sacramento in September, 1903, to Miss Harriet M. Nelson, a native of Sacramento, California, and a daughter of Clarence N. Nelson, of Sacramento. Mr. Ripley affiliates with the Native Sons of the Golden West.
WILLIAM MCLAUGHLIN.
William McLaughlin, who is now filling the office of county supervisor, has been almost continuously in the public service since 1880, and has also been the promoter of many enterprises having direct bearing upon the ma- terial progress and prosperity of the state. For almost a half century he has resided in California, and regarded as a citizen he belongs to that pub- lic-spirited, useful and helpful type of men whose ambitions and desires are centered and directed in those channels through which flows the greatest and most permanent good to the greatest number. It is therefore consis- tent with the purpose and plan of this work that his record be given among those of the representative men of the central portion of the state. He is numbered among the adopted sons of California that the Emerald Isle has furnished to the new world.
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.