USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol II > Part 39
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 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
Already the volume of business done by the company has reached an extensive figure and made the investment a profitable one. Following the completion of the ice and cold storage plant Mr. Morgan turned his atten- tion to the promotion of a still greater enterprise, the establishment of an extensive brewery and malting plant, the estimate cost of which is four hundred thousand dollars. In addition to this enterprise Mr. Morgan has established a banking corporation with headquarters at Sacramento, the ob- ject of which is not only to conduct a regular banking business, but also to promote large industrial and manufacturing enterprises on the Pacific coast.
On the 15th of January, 1899, Mr. Morgan was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Rowellan Hall, a native of San Francisco and a daughter of John Jay Hall, a prominent attorney of San Francisco. She is a grand- daughter of Major Lowell Hall, who was the organizer and president of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad Company, the Grand Rapids and Lake Shore Railroad Company, and the Chicago, Michigan and Lake Shore Rail- road Company; she is a niece of the late Senator Hoar of Massachusetts. Mrs. Morgan is a prominent member of the many ladies' clubs of Sacramento and is a social favorite here. She possesses marked histrionic ability and her readings are a delightful feature of many social functions.
From humble surroundings Mr. Morgan has worked his way upward to large successes. His early years were spent upon his father's farm in Oregon, and following the death of his mother, which 'occurred when he was nine years of age, he was practically thrown upon his own resources. His education was acquired solely through his individual efforts, working through the summer months and attending school in the winter seasons. He has essentially formulated and given shape to his own character and he has developed a robust manhood that commands respect and confidence. Few
844
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
men without greater advantages have attained the degree of prosperity which he now enjoys, and he has so directed his labors that while he has gained for himself a place among the wealthy residents of Sacramento his business in- terests have also been important factors in the development of the city in which he makes his home.
RICHARD W. CLAYTON.
Richard W. Clayton is an enterprising business man actively associated with the fruit-raising industry of California. He is now located in Wooden valley, eleven miles east of Napa, where he is extensively engaged in the raising of grapes. He is a native son of this state, his birth having occurred in Solano county, near the Napa county line, on the 13th of October, 1859. His father, Peter Overton Clayton, was a native of Kentucky and a repre- sentative of a family that for several generations has been found in the Blue Grass state. After arriving at years of maturity Peter O. Clayton was mar- ried to Sophia Jane Jessie, of Jackson county, Missouri. In the maternal line our subject is also descended from an old Kentucky family, and in pioneer days representatives of the name went to Missouri.
Peter O. Clayton was educated in Missouri for the Methodist ministry, and was an earnest Christian man, putting forth strong and effective effort to advance the cause of the church. He did considerable preaching as a local minister in Missouri and freely gave his service to upbuilding the cause of Christianity, never accepting any money compensation. His life largely exemplified the Golden Rule of " Doing unto others as he would have others do unto him." He remained in the Mississippi valley until 1850, when he resolved to try his fortune in California and made his way across the plains. Here he turned his attention to farming in the Suisun valley, where he car- ried on agricultural pursuits continuously for sixteen consecutive years, or until 1866, when he rented his farm, and after two years he sold the prop- erty. He then removed to Los Angeles county, locating near Downey City, where he remained until his death, which occurred in July, 1891. He had long survived his wife, who had passed away in 1862 when the subject of this review was but three years of age. Richard W. Clayton has an own sister, Mrs. Amanda Walker of Los Angeles, California, who is the wife of Benjamin F. Walker, a ranchman and dairyman. After the death of his first wife the father again married and there were children by this union, including Elizabeth Clayton, who is a teacher in the Los Angeles high school; Bertrand, who is a teacher in a Japanese college in Japan, thirty miles distant from any other white person; and Edward and John, who are now students in the State University at Berkeley, California.
Richard W. Clayton became a student in the public schools in his early boyhood days and was reared under the parental roof. Throughout his busi- ness career he has been identified with general farming and with the fruit- raising industry which is such an important factor in the material develop- ment and prosperity of the state. His home is situated in Wooden valley about eleven miles east of Napa. There he owns fifty acres devoted to vine- yard and general farming. but he is principally engaged in the raising of
845
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
grapes. He was one of the first to plant grapes in Wooden valley and this is now acknowledged the coming industry of the district, having already added largely to the welfare of the people of this portion of the state. The yield brings an annual return of from four to six thousand dollars for fifty acres and yet the industry is only in its infancy at the present time. The vines in Wooden valley are extraordinary on account of the amount of wood which they produce and hence afford greater ability to carry more fruit. The people in this locality find the raising of grapes a more profitable enter- prise than the production of grain, and Mr. Clayton is one of the pioneers in this line of work. He has made a close study of grape culture, the possi- bilities of the soil and the needs of the plant, and that he is thoroughly con- versant with practical methods is indicated by the splendid results that are crowning his efforts.
On the 7th of June, 1888, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Clayton and Miss Elizabeth J. McKinley, who was born in Napa county, California, the wedding being celebrated, however, in Suisun valley of Solano county. Her father came to this state from Ohio. He was distantly connected through their Scotch ancestry with the late President Mckinley. Mr. and Mrs. Clayton have a pleasant home and many friends in the locality where they reside. He belongs to the Order of Eagles, but takes no active part in fraternal circles, preferring to devote his time and energies to business affairs, which are constantly growing in volume and importance, the well improved appearance of his place indicating his enterprise and thrift.
JOHN C. BURGESS.
John C. Burgess, noted California pioneer and for more than half a century a successful mining man, has been for the greater part of these years in the vicinity of Yreka and the Shasta valley. As an Indian fighter, a prospector, gold operator, executor of trusts reposed by men of authority, a shrewd and reliable business man, he has been pretty well all over the moun- tains and valleys of the Golden state and is a typical Californian in word and deed.
He was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, September 5, 1829, and on both sides of his parentage came of a good old American ancestry, of Scotch stock. His father, P. M. Burgess, was born in Virginia, and his death occurred in 1866. He was a farmer in his native state, and in 1842 moved out to Missouri, where he continued in agriculture until his death. He was a prominent man in both states, and was a tobacco commissioner in Richmond, Virginia. His wife was Rebecca Toler, also a native of Vir- ginia, and she passed away about 1893. Her people were from Scotland. Mr. J. C. Burgess has one brother, Robert, who is in the real estate business in Missouri, and two sisters, Mrs. Mary Delaney, of Hannibal, Missouri, and Mrs. Ann W. Wilson, of Woodland, California.
Mr. John C. Burgess was educated in the common schools of Vir- ginia and Missouri, and his studies were concluded at the age of sixteen. He employed himself on his father's ranch until 1847, and at the age of seventeen enlisted in Company F of the Fourteenth Regiment bound for
846
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
the Mexican war. He is one of the few remaining veterans of that struggle which added so much dominion to this country. He was through the war, and received his discharge in 1848. He was under General Scott at the taking of the City of Mexico, and was at the front during the entire course of that short but brilliant triumph of American arms.
On receiving his discharge he returned to his Missouri home and re- mained with his father until the spring of 1849. The gold fields of Cali- fornia naturally attracted his young and ardent character, and in the spring of '49, in a train of ten wagons, he came across the plains to this state. Not a man in the company was over twenty-four or twenty-five years old, and they enjoyed the journey as did few others of the forty-niners. They had music to enliven and cheer, their traveling was leisurely, and in many ways the trip was memorable to all concerned. Their route was through Hedgepath's cut-off, and the train reached the Sacramento valley on Sep- tember 15. Mr. Burgess, however, remained with his brother-in-law, Dr. Williams, who was taken sick in Deer Creek in Nevada county, where they remained until the government train came through and the physician of the government party took charge of Williams. Mr. Burgess then pro- ceeded on foot, going down the Feather river, where he did his first mining, and remained about a week. He then came upon part of the train with which he had crossed the plains. He took a wagon load of medicine be- longing to Dr. Williams to Sacramento, whence he went above Auburn and mined two weeks; thence to Yankee Jim's diggings, between the middle and the south forks of the American river, where he spent the winter; in the spring was with the first crowd that went into Eldorado canyon. His brother William and a man named John (Captain) Hazlett came along and Mr. Burgess went with them, in the summer of 1850, to Bear river, where they worked until fall: were at Grass valley for two weeks, but, dissatis- fied, established what was called the " secret diggings " two miles below Cold Springs, between Bear river and the north fork of American river, re- maining till the spring of 1851 and establishing a store. Scott's bar in Siskiyou county was the next destination, whither they went with a pack train, landing and camping, with a pack train, in Yreka creek valley March 22, 1851, and two days later reaching Scott's bar. Brother William and Hazlett went on to the head of Sacramento valley to obtain provisions, but on the next day sent a letter to Mr. Burgess telling him to come to the newly discovered diggings on Yreka flats. This Mr. Burgess did the very next day, and from this dated his introduction and permanent stay in this vicin- ity, where he has carried on his mining operations ever since.
Until 1853 they mined with long-toms and sluices, and then he moved down on Hawkin's flats and ran five or six mines at a time. In the fall of 1855 he put up a hydraulic outfit at China Gulch, and in addition to work- ing mines with hired men, he continued the hydraulic until selling it about 1868.
In 1863 he bought the ranch now known as the George Simmons ranch, which he conducted until 1867-68, when he disposed of it. He then bought
847
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
the Butterfield hay ranch on East Willow creek, and operated this until its sale about 1880.
Mr. Burgess was prominent in many of the Indian troubles of the early days, and both as a fighter and a pacificator distinguished himself. At the time of the massacre of the emigrants at Tule lake in 1852, he was one of the company, with Ben Wright as captain, which went down to Bloody Point and cut off and had a severe fight with the redskins, killing about two hundred of them. The company guarded the emigrants for eighty-one days, and on the departure of the train had another encounter with the hostiles, engaging in a hand-to-hand combat, with odds forty-seven against eighteen. Forty of the Indians were killed, but only three of the whites were wounded, and they got well. The Indians had a few guns, but knew little about using them, and relied chiefly upon the bow and arrow.
Mr. Burgess also took part in the Rogue river valley fight, when a captain of dragoons and a lieutenant were killed. The company was made up at Jacksonville, and when the Indians ran, the whites followed and slew all they could reach, pursuing and exterminating one band of twenty. Many other Indian fights have had Mr. Burgess as an active participant, and while he was packing up the Sacramento valley in 1851 he was in conflict with the aborigines every day. During the Modoc war he was commissioned by Governor Booth to raise one hundred volunteers and take the field, and he had already signed fifty of the number when he got word from the Indian, " Bogus Charlie," at Shovel Creek, that the latter wished to see him. He went and had a conference with the Indian, in which he strongly advised that the hostiles surrender themselves to the officers, which "Charlie " finally agreed to do: and they did, with the exception of seven renegades, who were followed and captured. Mr. Burgess then sent word to General Davis that there was no further need for the company, and accordingly dis- charged the fifty already enrolled. Mr. Burgess was then commissioned by General Davis to go about the country and pick up the renegades of the tribe, which duty he also successfully accomplished, the more easily because he was known to nearly every red man in the country.
Since 1880 Mr. Burgess has given almost his entire attention to mining. For twenty years he owned the Punch Creek ledge mine near Humbug creek, and finally sold it for two hundred and fifty dollars; recently the same property has sold for seventv-five thousand dollars. At various times he has owned about half the mines on Humbug creek. He now resides in Yreka on the home place, which he purchased in 1872.
He is a strong Democrat, and has represented the party a great many times in county conventions. In 1869 he ran for the office of county sheriff, and was elected and served a term of two years. He had charge of the county roads for many years, and is still one of the road overseers.
Mr. Burgess was married, June 7. 1855, in Shasta Valley, to Miss Louisa Brown, who was born in Illinois, and is still living. They have two sons, Pleasant Mattison and John C., Jr., the latter an electrician in Nevada City. Their three daughters are: Belle, wife of George Dibble.
848
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
a farmer of Siskiyou county: Lulu, wife of Dell Cann, in the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad at Sacramento; and Nellie, wife of George Meanıber, a soda manufacturer in Yreka.
EMILIO LASTRETO.
Emilio Lastreto, for nearly fifteen years one of the prominent and in- fluential members of the bar of San Francisco, is a native son of this city, and has spent nearly all his life within its confines. He is a young law- yer of unusual ability in court and counsel practice, and his devotion to his profession and his energy and unremitting endeavor in its practice have gained him enviable distinction in the city, where he is also held in high esteem for his genial social qualities and personal character.
Mr. Lastreto was born in San Francisco, February 25, 1869, a son of Luigi F. and Charlotte (Parrain) Lastreto. His mother was a native of Paris and of an old French family, and his father was born in Genoa, Italy. His father came to California in 1855, and, with his uncle, N. Larco, engaged in the mercantile business being now at 230 California street, San Francisco, carrying on a general commission business with Central America and Mexico.
Mr. Lastreto received his education in the public schools of San Fran- cisco, graduating from the boys' high school in 1885. He gained his pro- fessional training with George D. Shadburne, Esq., and in the Hastings College of Law, and was admitted to the bar on May 5, 1890, since which time he has been in active practice in this city, and with excellent success. Besides an extensive private clientage he represents a number of the lead- ing business and mining corporations of the county.
Mr. Lastreto affiliates with the Native Sons of the Golden West, and is a past president of the order ; he is a Great Representative of the Improved Order of Red Men. In politics he is a strong Republican. He finds much diversion in his relations with the Olympic Club, of which he is a life mem- ber, and has devoted himself especially to fencing and sword play, in which he is an adept.
BENJAMIN DAVIDSON DEWEESE.
Benjamin Davidson Deweese, who is a representative of farming inter- ests at Napa, California, was born in the Willamette valley of Oregon on the 27th of June, 1854, which indicates that his parents were pioneer residents of the Sunset state. He is a son of George Washington and Rachel (David- son) Deweese, both of whom were natives of Kentucky, but at an early date in the development of the northwest they established their home in Oregon, remaining residents of the Willamette valley until 1861, when they made preparation to remove to California, arriving in Napa on the Ist of May of that year. They had for ten years lived in Oregon, being among the number who crossed the plains in 1851. In the years of his early manhood and more matured life and in a locality in which he remained for any length of time the father engaged in farming and buying stock, and his activity and energy
Emilio LasTretas
849
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
in business affairs proved a strong element in the success he achieved, William Deweese, a brother of our subject, is now a resident of Napa.
Benjamin D. Deweese spent the first seven years of his life in the county of his nativity and then accompanied his parents on their removal to Cali- fornia. His preliminary education was acquired in the public schools of Napa and later he entered the College of Woodland, California, where he pursued his studies until 1875. He then put aside his text-books in order to learn the more difficult lessons that come in the school of experience, and has since been engaged in farming. His tract of land is pleasantly and conveniently located about three miles from Napa, and there he gives his time and energies to general agricultural and horticultural pursuits. He has kept in touch with the progressive methods of the times and in the super- vision of his property shows a thorough and practical familiarity with modern farm work. He was city marshal of Napa for two terms, from 1889 until 1891, but other than these he has held no public positions. His political allegiance is given to the Democracy and while he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day as every true American citizen should do he does not care to enter actively in political work.
Mr. Deweese was married in Napa, California, October 23, 1881, to Miss Emma Milliken, and in 1893 a legal separation was secured. There were two sons born of this marriage: George, who at the age of twenty years is engaged in clerking in Oakland, California, in the employ of Fair- childs & Company ; and Benjamin, aged fifteen, who is at home and assists in the conduct of the ranch. Mr. Deweese has never sought to figure prom- inently before the public, desiring rather to give his undivided attention to his business affairs, and in this way he has gained the success which crowns his efforts and makes him one of the substantial citizens of this community.
MAYFIELD SMITH.
One of the most important elements in the development of California is the fruit-raising industry. The rich soil of this country yields an excellent return to the orchardists who carry on their work along modern progressive lines. as does Mr. Smith, who is numbered among the enterprising residents of Santa Clara county. He is a native son of California and one who throughout his career has been imbued with the enterprising spirit that has been the dominant factor in the upbuilding of the great west.
His birth occurred in December, 1851, near Mountain View in Santa Clara county. He is a son of Frederick and Lucinda (Mayfield) Smith. His father was a native of Germany and when a little lad of five years was brought to America by his parents, who settled in New Albany, Indiana. There he was reared to agricultural pursuits and became a farmer, remain- ing a resident of the Hoosier state until 1848, when he came to California, traveling after the primitive manner of the time. He had an ox team and wagon, and thus he journeyed across the hot arid plains and over the moun- tains, continuing the trip day after day until his eyes were at length glad- dened by the sight of the green fields of this state. He followed the fortunes
850
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
of mining for about two years, meeting with considerable success, and then he judiciously determined to invest his earnings in realty. Coming to Santa Clara county, he settled near Mountain View, where he became the owner of a tract of land and engaged in stock-raising. From 1857 until 1864 he followed that pursuit in Tulare and Sonoma counties and then returned to Santa Clara county, where he continued to reside until his death. Through- out his business career he was identified with agricultural interests and lived a busy, useful and honorable life, covering a period of fourscore years. He died in 1891, and his wife, who passed away the same year, was also eighty years of age. They were the parents of five children : Mayfield, who is the youngest ; General Taylor, deceased; Henry C., who has passed away; Thomas, a resident farmer of Los Angeles county, California; Ellen, the widow of B. R. Bailey, who was a prominent stock and cattle man of Santa Clara county.
Mayfield Smith was reared in his parents' home and at the usual age entered the public schools, acquiring a good knowledge of the branches of English learning usually taught in such institutions. He continued to assist his father in the operation of the homestead farm up to the time of his par- ents' death, and has since conducted the farm for himself. The place com- prises fifty-five acres of land principally devoted to the cultivation of fruits. and his specialty is prunes and peaches. He has a thorough and practical knowledge of the best methods of producing good crops, and his labors have resulted in bringing to him an excellent financial return.
In 1897 Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Marguerite Hertel. who was born in San Jose, California, and is a daughter of Charles and Mary (Bonnett) Hertel. Her father was one of the early pioneer settlers who crossed the plains in 1848, taking up his abode in Amador county, where he lived for ten years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Santa Clara county, where he engaged in business as a butcher and cattle dealer. His death occurred in 1883. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been born two children, but Grace Marguerite died at the age of three years. They have a little son, Mark. Both Mr. and Mrs. Smith are well known in Santa Clara county, where they have long resided, and the hospitality of many of the best homes of their locality is cordially and freely extended to them.
STEPHEN AQUILLA JONES.
The phrase " through struggles to success " is a practical summing up of the life record of Stephen Aquilla Jones, who from early boyhood has been dependent upon his own resources, and without any family inheritance or in- fluential friends to aid him has worked on steadily year after year until he is now the possessor of a comfortable property, owning a ranch near Atlas. He was born in Rush county, Indiana, on the 3d of December, 1836, a son of Isaac Bennington and Lucy (Stuart) Jones, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. His educational privileges were extremely limited, for at the early age of ten years he began earning his own living, but in the practical school of experience he has learned many valuable lessons. He plowed when
851
HISTORY OF THE NEW CALIFORNIA.
he was not large enough to reach the handles, and he performed other ardu- ous work of a farm, being thus employed in Greene county, Missouri, four and a half miles southeast of Springfield. He worked in that locality for nine years, his wages being increased as the years brought added strength and rendered his labors more efficient. At the age of nineteen he entered the employ of W. B. Anderson, with whom he continued for a year and a half, and on the expiration of that period he came to California with a cattle train of five hundred head. This was not the cattle train of the present time, when stock-cars furnish easy means of shipment, for Mr. Jones and his comrades drove the stock across the plains, for mile after mile until the days had become weeks and the weeks months. Two propositions were made to him ere he started on this trip. The first was that he should be paid regular wages in addition to his board, and the second was that he should be allowed to take fifteen head of cattle along with the bunch. He was also to receive his board but no money compensation. He chose the latter and at length arrived safely in Napa county in 1857, with his fifteen cattle. He proceeded to the Foss valley, ten miles north of Napa, in order to pasture his cattle, and in that locality he began working for H. M. War- den, in whose employ he continued at intervals for four years.
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.