USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol II > Part 16
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Mr. Cottle was born in St. Charles county, Missouri, October 10, 1819, being one of a family of seven sons and six daughters, whose parents, Oliver and Charity (Lowe) Cottle, were natives respectively of Vermont and Ten- nessee. For many years the family lived upon a farm in St. Charles county, Missouri, but made a brief sojourn to New Orleans on their way to Texas, and it was in New Orleans that the father fell a victim of the yellow fever, and died. The mother returned with her children to Missouri and from there went to Des Moines county, Iowa, where she remained until . death. Without any educational advantages'to aid him in life Ira Cottle became self- supporting at an early age, and in 1836 went to work in the lead mines of Wisconsin, where he was employed for a long period. In 1849 he began to cultivate a farm in Clayton county, Iowa, and in 1854 crossed the plains with ox teams, arriving in California after a journey of six months. In 1858 Mr. Cottle moved from the east side of the Coyote creek district where he had been living, to Willow Glen, Santa Clara county, joining his brother Royal Cottle, who had settled there in 1857.
At an expenditure of $2,500 he became the owner of one hundred and twenty-five acres forming a part of the Nar Vaez grant. For many years he engaged in raising hay and grain, but subsequently set out much of the land in fruit, being among the first to interest himself in horticulture. After
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having managed the place successfully for years, he disposed of it by sale or gifts to his children, and now retains only seven acres in his possession. While living in Wisconsin in 1846 Mr. Cottle married Mary Ann Baker, who was born in Indiana and died in California. Of that union five chil- dren were born. William Oliver and George Byron, who reside near their father's place: Charles Albert, who died soon after the family came to Cali- fornia; Susie E. and Mary Ellen (twins), the former being the wife of David Wight, Jr., and the latter deceased. The second marriage of Mr. Cottle united him with Mrs. Clara (Chase) Smith, who was born in Roches- ter, New York. Her father, Rev. Jacob Chase, was a minister in the Uni- versalist denomination throughout all of his active life. After the comple- tion of her education in an academy in Rochester, Miss Chase was married to Joseph Smith, a native of New York and a mason by trade. She came to California in 1861 and settled in San Francisco, where she made her home until her marriage in 1876 to Mr. Cottle.
While not a politician nor an office seeker Mr. Cottle has always been interested in matters affecting the welfare of his county and state, and has been a student of political economy. After the disintegration of the Whig party he allied himself with the Republican party upon its organization and has since been a stanch supporter of its men and measures.
JOHN McLAREN.
John McLaren will long merit honorable mention in the annals of San Francisco for the work he has accomplished in beautifying the Golden Gate Park, which under his superintendency has become one of the most entranc- ing spots dedicated by a municipality for a public pleasure ground and breath- ing place. As a landscape gardener he has no superior on the Pacific coast, and deserves rank with the best anywhere. He learned his high-art pursuit in Scotland, a country famous for that class of workers, and all the years since he came to America have been spent in California. He owes more than his skill and vocation to the land of his birth, for he is a representative Scot, hardy, industrious, thoroughly upright in every transaction, and has never failed to gain and retain the greatest respect and good will of his fellow citizens.
Mr. McLaren was born at the famous old town of Stirling, Scotland. December 20, 1846, being one of the family born to his parents of beloved memory, Donald and Katherine (McDougall) McLaren. He gained his education by attendance at the public schools, and, as his father was a farmer, remained on the home place and helped cultivate the soil until he was eighteen years old. He then went to Edinburg and began his apprenticeship in the Botanic Gardens, where he became an expert landscape gardener. In 1871 he emigrated to America, and in February of the same year located in Cali- fornia. He took charge of the Howard estate at San Mateo, laid out the roads, divided the grounds and planned and executed some of the finest effects in the way of landscape gardening to be found on any private estate in Cali- fornia. In 1887 he moved to San Francisco and accepted the position of
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superintendent of the Golden Gate Park. He resides in the beautiful stone house on the park grounds. He has watched and planned improvements for this park for now more than eighteen years, and under his direction there has been evolved a park of wonderful beauty and fitness for all the uses to which a public resort is put. He deserves and receives much credit and praise for what he has accomplished, and in many ways the park will always remain a memorial to his best efforts and life work.
Mr. McLaren was married in 1876 and has one son, Donald, who is now located at Kobe, Japan, in the employ of the Pacific Mail Steamship Com- pany.
WILLIAM CHARLES KENNEDY.
William Charles Kennedy, who stands at the head of the legal profes- sion in San Jose, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 25, 1849, a son of James F. and Serena (Salter) Kennedy, both also natives of that city, and members of prominent American families whose history dates back to the period of the Revolution. In that struggle the great-grandfather of our subject took an active part. James F. Kennedy was prepared for the legal profession and was a protege of Commodore Stockton, and came to California in 1850 to take charge of property purchased by that gentleman, known as the Stockton ranch. This comprised about three thousand acres and was located between San Jose and Santa Clara and between the Ala- meda and Guadalupe rivers. Mr. James F. Kennedy was the first Republi- can sheriff of Santa Clara county, and his death occurred while in office in 1865. He was ever an active and prominent worker in the ranks of the Re- publican party, and on one occasion, with Governor Stanford, was the can- didate for the office of lieutenant governor, but was defeated, but was after- ward a member of Governor Stanford's official staff. He was the first presi- dent of the Agricultural Society and Jockey Club of Santa Clara county.
William Charles Kennedy, who was one of a family of six children, five sons and one daughter, came with his mother and brother to California in 1851. The knowledge which he received in the public schools was sup- plemented by a course in Santa Clara College, in which institution he grad- uated at the age of eighteen years, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Go- ing thence to Nevada, he pursued the study of law and was admitted to practice in the supreme court at Carson City, and in 1871 came again to California and located for practice in San Jose, where he has since maintained his resi- dence and where he is well known as a successful and distinguished lawyer, whose marked abilities have gained him prestige among those who are de- voting their energies to the legal profession.
In December, 1879, Mr. Kennedy was united in marriage to Miss Kate Moody, a native of San Jose and a daughter of Charles Moody, one of the prominent early settlers of California and for many years prominent in the milling industry. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy was brightened and blessed by the birth of one son, Karl F., who is now attending Stanford University, where he is pursuing the study of law. For several years Mrs. Kennedy has been president of the Woman's Club of San Jose and is a trus-
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tee of the Carnegie Public Library, being the only lady to hold that posi- tion. Mr. Kennedy is a stalwart supporter of Republican principles, and in his fraternal relations is a member of the Masonic order.
THE F. CHEVALIER COMPANY.
The F. Chevalier Company, of San Francisco, which is now one of the most complete wholesale liquor houses in the west, is likewise one of the oldest firms of the kind on the Pacific coast, and it has a history of as long- continued and successful existence as can be instanced by almost any com- mercial enterprise in California.
The firm of F. Chevalier and Co. was founded in Placerville, Califor- nia, by the late Fortune Chevalier, in the year 1857. The business was shortly afterward moved to Sacramento and there carried on till 1870, when the increasing importance of the house and its expanding operations neces- sitated its removal to San Francisco. In 1872 their celebrated Castle whis- kies were protected by a trade-mark deposited in the United States patent office at Washington, and since then re-registered and filed for record, and from that date the firm, by progressive methods and honorable dealings, has steadily widened its scope of usefulness and added to its resources.
The firm now occupies the centrally located and spacious quarters at Nos. 9, 11, 13 and 15 Beale street, San Francisco, and has traveling repre- sentatives covering the entire Pacific coast, besides resident agents at var- ious centers throughout the eastern states. Much attention has also been de- voted by this progressive house to the manufacture of a full line of cordials, liquors, cremes, syrups, essences, fruit juices and other delicacies in demand m the up-to-date saloon and cafe of the period, so that, although primarily whiskey merchants, the F. Chevalier Co. have also succeeded in making their establishment a complete liquor house, where every liquor liable to be re- quired by the dealer may be found in stock, representative of the finest types and at rates equal to those of even any house making a specialty of such articles.
The company also owns the picturesquely situated Chateau Chevalier vineyards, near St. Helena in the foothills of Napa county, California, and which are planted out with the best varieties of vines, from which are pro- duced the Chateau Chevalier wines, well known and appreciated locally as well as in the eastern states.
MICHAEL BROEDEL.
Michael Broedel is a self-made man, all that he possesses having been ac- quired through his own efforts. He is now proprietor of the Pioneer carriage works in San Jose, and has built up a good business. He was born in New York city in September, 1857, and is of German parentage, his father and mother having come from Germany to the new world. He acquired his education in the public schools of Pennsylvania, and at the age of thirteen years put aside his text-books in order to earn his own living. He began
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working in a flax factory in Greenville, Pennsylvania, and later learned the trade of brick-making. In 1873 he came to California, locating in San Jose, and the following year he began learning the blacksmith's trade, at which he served a three years' apprenticeship. He was then employed in the same shop as a journeyman until 1883 and gained a comprehensive knowledge of the business, becoming an expert workman. In the latter year he removed to the vicinity of Alameda, where he opened a shop, conduct- ing it until 1888. He then engaged in the vegetable and fruit business, but in 1890 returned to his trade and was employed as a journeyman blacksmith near Alameda.
In was in 1892 that Mr. Broedel came to San Jose, where he opened a general blacksmith shop and carriage works on Orchard street. In 1897 he removed to his present location at No. 551-555 South Market street. He manufactures only such carriages as are ordered and he makes a specialty of orchard trucks, and show wagons, for which there is a very large demand. The output of his factory is all sold on the Pacific coast, throughout Santa Clara and surrounding counties. He buys all of his stock from leading supply houses on the coast, thus insuring the best quality, and the product of his factory is always of the highest grade.
In 1880 occurred the marriage of Mr. Broedel and Miss Esibell Hamb- len, a daughter of Alpheus Hamblen, an expert mechanic in the employ of the United States government in San Francisco. He has two sons, Charles X. and William M. Starting out in life for himself at the early age of fif- teen years with no family or pecuniary advantages to aid him at the outset of his career, he has steadily worked his way upward, overcoming all the difficulties and obstacles in his path by strong and persistent purpose. Grad- ually he has advanced until he has gained a full measure of success and is well known as a representative of the industrial interests of San Jose.
JAMES H. CAMPBELL.
James H. Campbell, the present district attorney of Santa Clara county, California, was born on the 27th of February, 1850, at Andover, Massachu- setts, and received his elementary education in the public schools of Massa- chusetts and California, later becoming a student in St. Ignatius College, San Francisco, and this was supplemented by a course in the Santa Clara College, graduating in the last-named institution in 1872, with the degree of A. B. After receiving the Master of Arts degree in the same college he . began the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in April, 1874, contem- poraneous with the admission of Governor James H. Budd, ex-Senator Stephen M. White, Jackson Hatch and other notable lawyers. In August, 1874, Mr. Campbell came to San Jose and was appointed assistant district attorney under Thomas Bodley, with whom he formed a law partnership at the expiration of their term of office, and in 1879 Mr. Campbell was elected to the office of district attorney, in which he served for two terms. On two occasions he was also nominated for the office of superior judge, but owing to business engagements he was obliged to decline the nomination. In 1898
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and again in 1902 he was elected the district attorney of Santa Clara county. Professional eminence is an indication of individual merit, for in professional life advancement comes only as the reward of earnest, persistent labor and the exercise of natural talents, and is therefore the fitting reward of labor. For a number of years past Mr. Campbell has been accorded a prominent position at the California bar, and his professional career is an honor to the district which so honored him.
In 1878 Mr. Campbell was united in marriage to Mary Faulkner, a na- tive of Boston and a daughter of John F. and Anne Faulkner, early and well known residents of Santa Clara county. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are Argyll, Maude and Irene, the eldest of whom is attend- ing the law department of the Northwestern University at Chicago, Illinois. In his fraternal relations Mr. Campbell is a member of the Y. M. I. and the order of Elks. His political support is given to the Democracy, having always taken an active interest in local and state politics, but largely in a non-partisan way.
JUDGE CHARLES NELSON FOX.
One of the eminent corporation lawyers and legal practitioners at the San Francisco bar is Charles Nelson Fox, who has also been a member of the supreme court of California. He was born March 9, 1829, in Wayne county, Michigan. His father, Benjamin F. Fox, was a native of New York, but was of English descent. The family was established in America in early colonial days. Representatives of the name took an active part in the colonial and Revolutionary wars, patriotism being ever numbered among the salient characteristics of the Fox family.
The father was a farmer by occupation and in the year 1850 came to California attracted by the discovery of gold on the Pacific coast. He lo- cated in the mining regions, where he remained until 1851, experiencing se- vere hardships incident to the early settlement of the state. He then re- turned to Michigan in the fall of 1852, but in the spring of 1853 again made his way to California, this time accompanied by all the members of his fam- ily with the exception of his son Charles. On reaching the Pacific coast he secured a ranch in San Mateo county and began its development and im- provement. He was a member of the vigilance committee in the early days before the institution of a state government or the election of officers to main- tain law and order. The best element in the citizenship of California were no longer willing to endure the lawlessness and crime which were then prev- alent, and established the system known as the vigilance committees in dif- ferent parts of the state. This committee took the law into their own hands and administered justice according to the conditions of the time and the necessities for prompt and immediate action. At a later day Mr. B. F. Fox served as county judge of San Mateo county. Prominent and influential in the early development of his section of the state, he left the impress of his individuality upon public progress and his name is deeply inscribed on the records of the honored pioneers. He died in the year 1869 at the age of
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Chat. Dr. Fox
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sixty-four years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Crane, was a native of New York and was of German and English descent. She represented an old American family founded in the new world at an early epoch in its colonization. Her brother, Alexander D. Crane, was one of the circuit judges of Michigan. Mrs. Fox passed away in 1887 at the age of seventy-seven years. In the family were four sons and four daughters, all of whom have passed away with the exception of Judge Fox and his sisters, Mrs. Sarah E. Quigley, of Plumas county, California; and Mrs. Nancy L. Palmer, of Santa Clara, California.
Judge Fox spent his early life amid rural environments, being reared upon his father's farm in Michigan. He attended the little district school near his home, but desirous of benefiting by more advanced instruction he left the parental roof at the age of sixteen years and became a student in the Ann Arbor University. Not long after this, however, owing to illness, he was ordered by his physicians to abandon his studies at that time. When he had sufficiently recovered his health he accepted a position in a printing office and completed an apprenticeship at that trade on the paper which was called the Michigan Argus. He worked his way upward and eventually be- came a member of its editorial staff.
About the time he attained his majority Judge Fox was elected recorder of the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, having previously served as chief deputy recorder for County Recorder Washtenaw. In 1853 he served as mayor ex- officio of Ann Arbor and was actively connected with public affairs in that city. During his service in the recorder's office he entered upon the study of law under the direction of Olney Hawkins, and at the close of his term of official service he entered the law office of Kingsley & Morgan, with whom he remained up to the time of his arrival in California. In 1856 he was ad- mitted to practice in all of the courts of the state of Michigan, but did not long remain a member of the bar there.
Judge Fox started for California in 1857, arriving at his destination on the 14th of August, of that year. He immediately entered upon practice in San Mateo county, and in November, 1857, was appointed district attorney to fill a vacancy. At the next regular election he was elected and served for two successive terms, holding the office altogether for five years. He came to San Francisco in 1862 and opened a law office here, but continued to make his home in San Mateo. Prior to his arrival in San Francisco, he was at- torney for the San Francisco & San José Railroad Company and secured the rights of way for that line in surrounding counties. After his removal to this city he was attorney for the Western Pacific Railroad Company and acted as its president up to the time of the transfer of this line to the Central Pacific Railroad Company. In 1860 he became attorney for the Spring Val- ley Water Works Company, which obtained the greater bulk of its water and water rights in San Mateo county. Soon after his removal to San Fran- cisco he was made the general attorney of this company and continued to act in that capacity until he was appointed by Governor Waterman to fill a vacancy in the supreme bench of California. He thus served until the next general
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election in the fall of 1889, when he retired from the bench and resumed the practice of law. He was then re-engaged as attorney for the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company and has continued as such to the present time, while also conducting a general law practice of large extent and great im- portance. During his term in the supreme court Judge Fox handed down a notable decision on the Jessup case involving the methods by which an illegitimate child might be made legitimate. The decision has been approved wherever the question has arisen in the courts of the civilized world. Dur- ing his service he also decided upon private relations, and questions of con- stitutional and corporation law, which decisions have since been recognized and quoted as authority. Of recent years Judge Fox has given much atten- tion to the laws on irrigation and his ideas concerning these carry weight in professional circles. He is remarkable among lawyers for the wide re- search and provident care with which he prepares his cases, his legal learn- ing, his analytical mind and the readiness with which he grasps the points in an argument, all combining to make him one of the strongest and most ef- fective members of the California bar.
Judge Fox was married in Michigan, but lost his first wife in that state. In 1864 he wedded Mrs. Mary Schwartz Rice, a native of France, who came to California in 1857 and lost her first husband soon after her arrival. To the Judge and his wives have been born eight children, but only two are now living : Mrs. Mary Gray and Miss Ida Frances Fox.
When twenty-one years of age the Judge became a member of the Odd Fellows society, in which he has since been active and influential. He was grand master for the state of California in 1867-8, was grand patriarch in 1868-9 and was representative to the grand lodge of the United States in 1869-70. He was the first president of the Odd Fellows' home, which was founded under his administration, and acted in that capacity from 1893 un- til 1898. He has also been a member of the Masonic fraternity since 1866, belonging to Oakland Lodge No. 188, F. & A. M., and also to the com- mandery of Oakland, but his labors have been chiefly in the path of the Odd Fellows society. He has made a lasting impression upon the bar of the state for both legal ability and of a high order and for the individuality of a personal character which impresses itself upon the community. Such have been his force of character and natural qualifications that he has written his name upon the keystone of the legal arch of California.
LEWIS MOREING.
Lewis Moreing, a contractor and builder of Stockton, California, has for several years been identified with the growth and development of this place. Mr. Moreing's parents were among the early pioneers of San Joa- quin county. His father, Cyrus Moreing, a native of Wisconsin, crossed the plains to California in 1860 and settled in San Joaquin county. Here he met and in Stockton married Miss Arena Lewis, a native of Mis- souri, who, at the age of six years, had with her parents made the journey across the plains with ox teams, their settlement being in San Joaquin county,
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where her father engaged in farming. Cyrus Moreing gave his attention to agricultural pursuits for many years, later engaging in contracting and building, and for a few years being associated in business with his son, the subject of this sketch. Having returned to the farm, he has since 1901 been operating extensively in dairying and the cattle business. He and his wife are the parents of five sons and one daughter, Lewis being their first born. The mother died in 1884.
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Lewis Moreing dates his birth at Stockton in 1872. He was educated in the public schools and the Stockton Business College. He began con- tracting and building in 1895, in partnership with his father, with whom he was associated until 1901, since which time he has carried on business under his own name.
Mr. Moreing married, in 1891, Miss Carrie Martin, a native of Stock- ton and a daughter of S. L. Martin, a pioneer farmer of the county. They have one daughter, Hazel. The only fraternal organization with which Mr. Moreing is associated is the Elks.
ALMARIN B. PAUL.
Almarin B. Paul, of San Francisco, is numbered among the promoters of the substantial upbuilding and progress of California. Coming to the state about the time of the discovery of gold, he has taken cognizance of existing conditions, has labored for their improvement and has instituted many movements resulting in the material benefit of his city and state.
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