USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol I > Part 58
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RUDOLPH WITTENBROCK.
Rudolph Wittenbrock, in whose death at his home in Sacramento county, January 24, 1900, his community and the state at large lost a man of great nobility and integrity of character and unusual usefulness in the world's af- fairs, was a member of that now rapidly thinning army of pioneers who sought homes and fortunes on the Pacific coast during the early fifties.
Born in Prussia, in February, 1825, so that he had reached the age of threescore and fifteen when death summoned him, at the age of nine years coming with his parents to America and being reared mainly in Virginia, in 1850, in company with his brother Henry (also deceased), he left St. Louis, Missouri, which had been his home for some time theretofore, and came out to California to seek a fortune by gold mining. After a brief experience in that occupation he returned to St. Louis, was there married on October 8, 1852, to Miss Elizabeth Boylston, a native of Maryland and of German ex- traction, and in 1853, with his young bride, he crossed the plains with ox teams and after a five months' journey arrived in Sacramento county, which was destined to be his permanent home and center of activity until death. Locating on a ranch five miles north of the city of Sacramento, he there en- gaged in the cattle and dairy industry for a number of years, later moving to the city of Sacramento, which was his home through the rest of his life. He was among those who early became interested in the hop-growing in- dustry in this part of the country, and his widow still manages a consider- able hop farm.
Successful in business and influential as a citizen, the late Mr. Witten- brock held a place of high esteem in his county. He had won this place by his own industry and persevering labor, for he had very few advantages at the start of life and passed among his fellow citizens as one who had achieved all that he possessed. He was a Republican in politics, and was a member of the German Lutheran church. He was a veteran member of the Odd Fel- lows at Sacramento, and his interment was conducted under the ceremonies of that order.
Mrs. Wittenbrock, who resides at 1800 J street in Sacramento, is
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esteemed as one of the noble pioneer women of Sacramento county, for she has spent over fifty years in that county, and her mind, still bright and active, travels back through a long vista of remembrances of events that occurred at the beginning of California history. She is an attendant at the German Lutheran church in Sacramento. She was the mother of nine children, and the eight who are still living are named as follows: Clara, who is the wife of Adam Damn, of Sacramento; Mary, wife of James M. Morrison, of Sac- ramento; George F., a deputy sheriff of Sacramento county; Laura, wife of J. Gestner, of Sacramento; Emma, wife of William Heavener, of Sacra- mento; Mrs. Elizabeth Martine, of Sacramento; Minnie, wife of Edward Weil, of Sacramento; and Katie, wife of Henry Kleinsorge, who is con- nected with the D. O. Mills and Company National Bank at Sacramento. The deceased child was named Ida.
JOSEPH B. LAUCK.
Joseph B. Lauck. adjutant general of the state of California under appointment from Governor Pardee, has been identified with the west and with California for nearly forty years, during which time he has had a most successful and honorable career in various lines of activity, but es- pecially as a railroad man. He was a boyish but gallant and daring sol- dier during the Civil war, and he has since then been prominently identified with the National Guard of California. For many years he was an effi- cient servant of the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific railroads, being ad- vanced from a humble position to one of responsibility, which he only re- signed to accept his present place among the state officials. He has in every relation of life proved himself a man of integrity and honor, and his success is not less due to these worthy characteristics than to his energy and executive ability.
General Lauck was born in York, Pennsylvania, November 27, 1846. His father, Henry B. Lauck, was a native of Pennsylvania, a prominent farmer there, and died in 1876. He was of German ancestors who had taken up their residence in Pennsylvania at an early day, and different mem- bers of the family took part in the Revolutionary war, some of whom gained distinction for their services. Henry B. Lauck married Barbara Stambaugh, who was born in Pennsylvania of German ancestry, and some of her forefathers also were soldiers in the Revolution. She died in 1889, leaving three sons: Joseph B .; Michael, a carpenter of Findlay, Ohio; and John, a farmer in Hancock county, Ohio.
Joseph B. Lauck was educated in the public schools of Ohio, but his education was concluded when he was thirteen years of age. He worked on his father's farm and at other occupations until the war. In September, 1861, when a boy of fifteen years, he entered the Union army and gave loyal service to his country until 1865. He went through all the western campaigns and engagements from Fort Henry to Vicksburg and from Chattanooga to the sea, and was mustered out at Camp Denison, Ohio, September 5, 1865, going home with a war record of which both he and his descendants may well be proud. He remained at home until March,
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1866, and then went west as far as Nebraska, where on May 7, 1866, he took service with the Union Pacific Railroad. He was engaged in the construction work of that road, laying rails, and continued at it until the two sections of the road met at Promontory and formed one continuous band of steel between the Mississippi valley and the west. He had many interesting experiences during that time. He was afterward in the employ of the road as brakeman and conductor, until the latter part of August, 1873, when he came to California, and in October engaged with the Cen- tral, now the Southern Pacific Railroad. In April, 1874, however, he went back to the Union Pacific and was in the train service until the following November, when he once more came to California and entered the employ of the Central Pacific, running a train out of Lathrop for a year or more. He was next identified with the North Pacific Coast Railroad, with which he remained until July 10, 1886. He was then appointed traveling passen- ger agent for the Southern Pacific Company, and served continuously from July II, 1886, to February 15, 1904, at which date he assumed his duties as adjutant general of the state of California, with term of office to con- tinue during Governor Pardee's incumbency. He has always been an active Republican, and interested to the extent of his time and ability in the up- building and progress of the party.
Mr. Lauck was married in San Rafael, California, in September, 1878, to Miss Carrie H. Stowell, a native of Wisconsin. They have one daugh- ter, Veda B. Mr. Lauck affiliates with the Masonic order, the Order of Railway Conductors and the Grand Army of the Republic. His record in the National Guard of California has been a long and honorable one. It is as follows: Enlisted in Company D, Fifth Infantry, May 14, 1885, being the organizer of the company and elected its captain on the same date; re- signed September 22, 1886; elected captain of Company A, Fifth Infantry, August 26, 1886, re-elected August 30, 1888, and resigned June 5, 1889; appointed lieutenant colonel and aide de camp, staff of commander in chief, April 1, 1891; resigned February 23, 1894, and reappointed July 3, 1894, serving until relieved on January 19, 1895.
WARREN E. DOAN.
Warren E. Doan, the official court stenographer of Sacramento county, decided upon the occupation of court reporter when he left school, and has been persistent in winning a well deserved success in this pursuit, as his present important position indicates. For many years he was reporter in Placer county, and has held his position in Sacramento county since 1897. He is a man of engaging personality, genial and popular among his asso- ciates, and has found and filled a worthy place in this world of work.
Mr. Doan was born March 8, 1862, in Portland, Oregon, being a soll of Riley R. and Sarah Catherine (Butler) Doan. His father was a native of Ohio, and was a mechanic and inventor by trade. He died in August, 1902. He had come across the plains to the coast in 1852, and for a time was in the sawmill business at Sly Park in El Dorado county, California; from there he went to Austin, Nevada, where he worked in the mines; thence
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to Colfax, Placer county, California, in the same occupation; was again in the sawmill business in El Dorado county, whence he went to Sacramento; he was foreman of the mines at Harrison Gulch, in the employ of Captain Roberts, and the latter was part owner of the steam road wagon which was the invention of Mr. R. R. Doan, and was a most valuable and widely used machine. He bought a farm at Elmira and spent the last three years of his life in farming. He was seventy-three years old at the time of his aeath. He came from a family who were early settlers of Ohio and Michi- gan, and his ancestors, of English-Scotch stock, came to America prior to the Revolution. His wife was born in Peoria, Illinois, of English lineage, and now makes her home in Oakland. There are three children: Warren E .; Arthur, in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad; and Dora E., wife of Charles Lowell, a farmer near Elmira.
Mr. Warren E: Doan received his education in the schools of Sacra- mento, and in 1880, having studied shorthand sufficiently to become an amanuensis, entered the office of Major Winn J. Davis, official reporter of the superior court. In 1882 he became an amanuensis for the firm of Hunt- ington, Hopkins and Company, but after fourteen months returned to work for Major Davis, with whom he remained until 1889. In that year he was appointed official reporter of the superior court of Placer county, and had his residence at Auburn until 1897, at which time he received his appoint- ment as court reporter of Sacramento, and has given a most creditable ad- ministration of the duties of that office to the present time. During the time he was with Mr. Davis, he was also associated with Hon. William M. Cutter, official reporter of the superior courts of Yuba, Sutter and Butte counties.
Mr. Doan is a Republican in politics, but takes no active part in party affairs. He was appointed a notary public in 1893. He affiliates with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. For three years he was a private in Company G of the National Guard of California, that being a Sacramento company.
Mr. Doan was married in Washington (now Broderick), Yolo county, California, October 17, 1883, to Miss Kittie E. Young, a native of Yolo county and a daughter of Captain William H. Young. Her father was fore- man of the carpenters for the San Joaquin Transportation Company, and he has built several of the company's boats. He came around the Horn to California in 1850, and was in the employ of the transportation company for thirty years. He comes of an old American family of English lineage. Mr. and Mrs. Doan have one child, Norman E., who is eighteen years old and a graduate of the Sacramento high school, now taking a post-graduate course.
LAWRENCE FISHER.
Lawrence Fisher, late of Sacramento, who died at his home in that city February 4, 1903, in his seventy-first year, had been a resident and an active business man in the capital city for over thirty years, and although he was in the fulness of years and had garnered the best sheaves in life's har-
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vest when death called him, yet his demise meant a great loss to his com- munity in sturdy and noble character.
Born at Bolton, Lancashire, England, November 22, 1832, a son of William H. and Jane Fisher, native English people, he was reared and edu- cated in the country that gave him birth and at an early age began learn- ing the blacksmith trade, an occupation which he followed with almost phe- nomenal skill and success throughout his active career. In whatever com- pany of fellow workmen he was thrown, he was immediately recognized as a master of his craft, and undoubtedly was one of the best blacksmiths that ever crossed the waters from England to America.
On March 5, 1855, in England, occurred the marriage which gave him a lifelong companion, who still survives him and is one of the most esteemed and lovable old ladies in the city of Sacramento. Her maiden name was Mary Morgan, born at Bolton, England, February 8, 1829, a daughter of James and Alice (Fern) Morgan, of English birth and ancestry.
In 1857 Mr. Fisher came, alone, to America, locating in Cleveland, Ohio, where three months later he was joined by his wife and their one child. After following his trade several years in Cleveland he was attracted to that then great center of industrial activity-the oil regions of Pennsylvania, where, in connection with the business of oil-producing, all kinds of mechani- cal work, and especially blacksmithing, were in greatest demand. He lived and worked among several of the famous oil centers of those times. In 1872 he came with his family to California, and at Sacramento at once se- cured employment at his trade in the old Central Pacific Railroad shops. He followed his trade in those shops, both under the regime of the Cen- tral Pacific and its successor, the Southern Pacific, for twenty-one years, and as an industrious and skillful craftsman had few equals. He had exer- cised good business ability throughout his career, acquiring considerable property, and on a ranch of one hundred and forty-three acres, several miles north of Sacramento, an estate which is still the property of his widow, he followed his tastes for agriculture and managed his farm in a very profitable manner. The ranch is now being managed by his grandson, Roy L. Briggs. He was a distinctly moral man, of tried integrity and uprightness, and was regarded with particular esteem by all who knew him. In politics he voted the Democratic ticket.
The home of Mrs. Fisher is at 631 E street in Sacramento. She was the mother of six children altogether, but three have been taken away by death, and those living are Sarah J., wife of Albert D. Briggs, of Sutter county; Mary E. and Lawrence S., who both live in Sacramento.
WILLIAM A. GETT.
Among the representative men of Sacramento county is William A. Gett. who holds a high position in the regard of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Gett is one of the native sons of Sacramento, born on the 17th of July, 1863, and is a representative of one of the old families of Kentucky. his ancestors having located there at 'an early epoch in the development of
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that state. His father, Captain WV. A. Gett, was a veteran of the Mexican war and at Buena Vista, under Colonel Jefferson Davis, also a pioneer of California, arriving here on the Humboldt in 1849.
The subject of this sketch spent his boyhood days in Sacramento and his education was acquired in the public and private schools of this city. In early life he devoted his time and attention to civil engineering and sur- veying ; but a professional field proved to him more attractive, and he took 11p the study of law. Two weeks after he attained his majority he passed an examination before the supreme court of California and at once entered upon the active work of his profession in his native city.
He has been tendered the nomination for many positions of responsi- bility and trust, but has always declined these, wishing first, as he says, to win the right of accepting office at the hands of the people by placing him- self at the head of his profession. At the general state election in 1902 he was a candidate on the Democratic ticket for the office of attorney gen- eral, and with one exception, polled the largest vote given to any Demo- cratic nominee; he was not elected, the entire party suffering defeat in that year.
On the 21st of September, 1892, Mr. Gett was united in marriage to Miss Ema Sweeney, a native of San Francisco, and their pleasant home in the capital city is noted for its hospitality and good cheer. Mr. Gett has been actively connected with the National Guard of California, retiring in 1895 with the rank of major. He is a well known and prominent mem- ber of the Native Sons of the Golden West, being a past president of Sac- ramento Parlor No. 3. He has been a delegate to many grand parlors and has held several important commissions for the order. He is, also, a past chieftain of the Caledonian Society. In Masonry he is a member of Te- hama Lodge No. 3; Sacramento Commandery, K. T .; the Order of the Eastern Star and the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is an Odd Fellow and also belongs to the Knights of Honor.
At the memorial exercises, held by the Knights Templar, in Sacra- mento, as a tribute to the memory of President Mckinley, he delivered the address, which was a most classic oration. He also delivered the Fourth of July oration, at Fresno, in 1903. It will thus be seen that he has be- come a recognized factor in fraternal and military circles of his state and in public affairs, while at the same time his devotion to his profession has won him most gratifying success.
ALONZO EMERY RAYNES.
Alonzo Emery Raynes, California pioneer, merchant and man of affairs, is one of the most interesting characters and successful men of northern California and Siskiyou county. His career, especially during its early years, was one continuous record of adventurous activity-as one who sought excitement for its own sake, who delved for the golden treasures of the Pacific Eldorado, who packed and trafficked among the mining camps, who traveled about the wild country without fear of personal danger and more
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than once risked death in encounters with the red men, and who in the years of more sober and less strenuous activity has held positions of public trust and responsibility and become one of the most influential and reliable of the business men of his community. He is one of the few survivors of the "days of old, the days of gold," and his personal history and reminiscences form one of the many attractive chapters of California pioneer history.
He was born in Brewer, Maine, September 27, 1830, so that he is already past the Psalmist's limit of life. His father, Solomon, was also born in Maine and died in 1884, being of an old American family of Eng- lish descent. He was in the butchering and mercantile business, and was a prominent and well known man of his community. He married Ann Martin, a native of Maine and connected with the Adams family, of Revolutionary and English lineage. Mr. A. E. Raynes has one half-brother, John Martin, a retired business man living in Bangor, Maine; his two sisters are Nancy Ellen, widow of Judge A. M. Roseborough, and residing at Highland Park, Oakland, California, and Mrs. Rebecca Stevens, of South Windom, Maine.
Alonzo E. Raynes received his early education in the public schools and at Hamden (Maine) Academy. At the age of sixteen he became clerk in a store at Bangor, where he remained until January, 1849. He then sailed on the bark Suliot, via Cape Horn, from Belfast, Maine, on the first ship that left Maine for California in consequence of the gold excitement. It arrived in San Francisco, July 19, 1849. This voyage is one of the inter- esting features of Mr. Raynes' career. There were about fifty passengers on board, and when they got out to sea and into the gulf stream they found they were short of water, that in the whale casks not being usable, and they were placed on short allowance until they could reach the Cape Verde islands for a new supply. The next stopping place was Rio de Janeiro, where the ship was provisioned. In rounding Cape Horn the captain's son, a friend of Mr. Raynes, was lost overboard. There was a variously assorted company on board, merchants, lawyers, doctors and youngsters seeking their fortune for the first time, and Mr. Raynes was one of a quartette of young men with vocal talents who enlivened many an hour of the voyage. At Val- paraiso they were engaged, for fifty dollars, to sing four selections between acts at the theatre, and after singing were invited into the manager's box, and afterward went to the home of the American consul.
Arriving at San Francisco, he went to Stockton by sail boat, and there he and his partners engaged a Spanish ox team to haul their provisions to Mokelumne Hill. The party mined at Mckinney's bar until fall, and then put up the first cabins ever erected on Mokelumne Hill. Mr. Raynes worked there till the spring of 1850, and then embarked at Stockton and went up the Tuolumne river to Don Pedro's bar. In the fall he returned to Stockton and clerked in a store until the time of the Gold Bluff excitement, when he went to San Francisco and took passage on the brig Waukulla for Trinidad bay. A storm at night wrecked the vessel, but he was saved, along with his guitar, and by playing and singing he got his lodging and supper.
His next venture was on the Salmon river in Siskiyou county, where
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he determined to start an express business. He went to a place called Bess- ville, and all along the river took the names of the miners working there. He then went back to Trinidad, and sent the list of names to the San Fran- cisco postoffice and arranged to have all the letters for the corresponding persons and a number of eastern newspapers sent on to him. He took these up the Salmon river and delivered them at the rate of two dollars per letter and one dollar per paper, taking in eight hundred dollars from this enter- prise. He then bought a horse and continued his expressing operations. He crossed Klamath river in those days at Blackman's ferry, and he had a large tent for his men to sleep in.
One day, on returning from a trip down the river, he met a man by the name of Blackburn, who reported that the Indians had killed everybody in the vicinity except himself and wife. Blackburn had two rifles and re- volvers and plenty of ammunition, and while his wife loaded the guns he stood guard till morning, when the redskins withdrew. Raynes, with two ranchers from two miles' distant, started for Trinidad for assistance. getting lost in the redwood forest during the night, and returned with twelve men. They had a fight at Lagoon, thence went on to Bald Hill and Durkey's ferry, where they fought and drove off the Indians, and eventually restored peace to the neighborhood.
Mr. Raynes, in company with Cram and Rogers, under the name of Cram, Rogers and Company, made arrangements to act as agents for the Adams Express Company and the old banking firm of Adams and Com- pany, establishing offices at Yreka, Weaverville, and in Jacksonville. Oregon, and they continued these connections four or five years, until the failure of Adams and Company. In 1854 Mr. Raynes was sent to New York, as a messenger for the Adams Express Company.
He then got the mail contract from Shasta to Weaverville and down the Trinity river, which he continued until 1858. In that year he went back to Maine and married Miss Fannie Parsons, of Bangor, after which he returned to Yreka and embarked in the stationery and fancy goods busi- ness with Henry Wadsworth, and has been in business in this city ever since. He bought out his partner in two years, and then moved to his present quar- ters on Miner street, forming a partnership with C. H. Pile, who was then postmaster. When Pile's term was up Mr. Raynes was appointed to the office of postmaster, holding the office several terms, and in one way or other was connected with the postoffice of Yreka for nearly thirty years, having had the office in his store during all that time.
Mr. Raynes was elected to the office of county treasurer for one term, and was chief of the fire department for two terms. He was a school trustee for many years and clerk of the board for some time. He has always been ac- tive in the work of the Republican party, and has attended the county con- ventions. He has extensive mining properties. He owns a quarter interest in the Beaver Creek placer mine on Klamath river, a quarter interest in a quartz ledge on the Humbug Creek, and recently sold to G. W. Grayson, for thirty thousand dollars, a fourth interest in the Great Northern mine on
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Humbug creek. He was at one time interested in the blue gravel mine at Greenhorn creek and worked it for two years. He has fraternal relations with the Masonic order, being a member of the blue lodge, chapter and com- mandery, and also with the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
Mr. and Mrs. Raynes had three sons, one of whom, Frederick T., was drowned in the Klamath river. Herbert R. is a practicing attorney and has held the office of district attorney ; Francis E. is a physician of San Francisco. Mr. Raynes has responded to many requests for charity, and is known as one of the generous men of northern California, giving much from the accumulations of his past years for the benefit of his fellow men.
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