USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol II > Part 53
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Mr. Evans afterward organized the Excelsior Redwood Company, and in this was associated with C. and George Hooper, of San Francisco. They engaged in the lumber business for twelve years or until 1894. That was the year of the great financial panic which swept over America, and the company ceased operations temporarily, disposing of their lumber stock and other interests. In 1904, the market value in timber lands having re- sumed its normal condition, the company decided to sell its vast timber interests instead of operating these, and finally disposed of the major portion of their lands, which have been locally known as the Fresh Water and Ryan slough lands, selling out to the Fresh Water Lumber Company.
The business career of Mr. Evans was a notable one. He had come to California with no capital, but he improved his time and utilized his opportunities to the best advantage. He recognized that the present and not the future was the moment for action, and he so directed his efforts that he made each day count as a factor in the sum total of the labor and business energy that brought to him splendid success. His dealings with his fellow men were always fair, and he was never known to take advantage of the necessities of an individual in a trade transaction, but he improved the great natural resources of the state and through the exercise of marked executive skill and business management made for himself a conspicuous and honorable position in California.
Mr. Evans was always a public spirited man, and his labors were frequently directed in lines that proved of marked benefit to his city. He held the office of mayor of Eureka and his administration was characterized
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by the same dispatch and business-like methods that made him successful as a lumber merchant. Whatever tended to promote the welfare of city or county received his endorsement and usually gained his active co-operation. He was one of the organizers and also served as the president of the cham- ber of commerce. Of the question of economics he was a deep and earnest student, and he applied his knowledge to the practical workings of the business world. He instituted what is known as the Bull Donkey system in the logging camps, thereby doing away with the use of horses and oxen. It was largely through his efforts at the time he was mayor of the city that the local railway contest was brought about in which the larger railway operators became interested.
Mr. Evans was married in 1864 to Miss Katharine Morton, a native of Philadelphia, and the following children were born to them: Esther, wife of C. H. Laboyteaux; Rosetta, the wife of G. K. Coleman; David W .; Annie, deceased; Kate, the wife of I. R. Belcher, of Los Angeles; Mary; Elizabeth. At the time of his death the estate, which was a very large and valuable one, was divided among his wife and children.
Mr. Evans passed away in the year 1901. His entire freedom from ostentation or self-laudation made him one of the popular citizens of Hum- boldt county, with whose history he was long and prominently identified. While he had the capacity for marked business enterprise and control of mammoth interests, he was at the same time actively associated with the upbuilding and progress of this community, and wide-awake to the best interests of his wife and children. He possessed strongly domestic tastes, and while he accomplished much in the business world and ratified his friendships by kindly sympathy and thoughtful consideration for others, his greatest depth of love was reserved for his family.
GEORGE A. KELLOGG.
George A. Kellogg, secretary and manager of the Shingle Manufac- turers' Association, is thus actively identified with one of the great produc- tive industries of central California and in business circles has displayed the qualities which are the sure foundation of success-energy, strong deter- mination and unfaltering diligence.
He is a native of Boone county, Illinois, born in 1853, and is a son of Eli D. and Margaret Jane ( Passage) Kellogg, both of whom were natives of New York and representatives of old American families. The paternal ancestor came from England in 1635 and established a home in Connecticut, where representatives of the name took part in the Revolutionary war as members of the patriot army. In the maternal line Mr. Kellogg is of Mohawk Dutch descent, the representatives of the Passage family having located in the Mohawk valley of New York in the latter part of the seven- teenth century. Eli D. Kellogg was a shoemaker by trade, but through the greater part of his active business career followed farming and trading. In the year 1859 he came to California, settling first in Trinity county, and in 1870 came to Humboldt county. He is now living retired in Eureka,
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California, at the age of seventy-seven years, while his wife has reached the age of seventy-two years. In their family were three sons and a daugh- ter, Jay A. and Edward L., both of Seattle ; George A .; and Olive.
George A. Kellogg was brought to California by his parents in 1859 when but six years of age, and acquired his early education in the public schools of Trinity county, while later he was a student in the academy at Rohnerville, Humboldt county. He ended his student life when nineteen years of age, but continued in school as a teacher and was thus identified with the educational interests of Humboldt county for eight and a half years. He was very successful in his school work, imparting with great clearness and due conciseness to others the knowledge that he had acquired, and at the same time maintaining that discipline without which the work of the schoolroom is of little avail. In 1882 he was elected auditor and recorder of Humboldt county and capably served for eight years. Since 1890 he has been connected with the Vance Redwood Company as auditor and accountant and was for two years bookkeeper. In 1897 he became one of the organizers of the Shingle Manufacturers' Association, and was elected secretary and manager, which position he has filled up to the present time. In 1896 he was chosen secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of Eureka and has acted in that capacity to the present day. He is thus closely asso- ciated with the industrial and trade interests of Humboldt county, and has made for himself an honored name in business circles, while at the same time he has gained a comfortable competence.
In December, 1877, occurred the marriage of Mr. Kellogg and Miss De Ette Felt, a daughter of the late Dr. T. D. Felt, and a sister of Dr. Rae Felt, of Eureka. Her father was one of the pioneer physicians of the county, and took an active part in the development and progress of this section of the state, while at the same time he faithfully discharged the duties of his profession. To Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg have been born three children: Georgia D., Adelbert D. and Pearl E. Since 1875 Mr. Kellogg has been a faithful member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in his life exemplifies the teachings of that beneficent society. His political views are in accord with the principles of the Republican party, and as a frequent delegate to county conventions he has taken an active part in shaping the policy of the party in this locality. He is now president of the Hum- boldt Club, and thus in business, political, fraternal and social circles he takes an active part, and has also exerted strong influence in behalf of the intellectual development of his community. Almost his entire life has been passed in California, and he has witnessed remarkable changes as Humboldt county has emerged from pioneer conditions, becoming imbued with all the progressive measures and business activities known to the older east.
CURTIS FALK, M. D.
Dr. Curtis Falk, the junior member of the well known firm of Falk Brothers, physicians and surgeons of Eureka, was born in Findlay, Ohio, in 1876, and is of German lineage. The year 1877 witnessed his arrival in
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Eureka, and, therefore he has spent almost his entire life in this state. His preliminary education, acquired in the public schools of Eureka, was sup- plemented by study in an academy and business college, and his prepara- tion for his profession was made in Cooper Medical College, of which he is a graduate of the class of 1897, having therein completed the regular four years' course. Following his graduation he returned to Eureka and located in Loleta and practiced there three years, and coming to Eureka joined his brother Charles C. Falk, who have since practiced conjointly, establishing a business that is of an important character and has now reached paying pro- portions.
In 1897 Curtis Falk married Miss Annie Hall, a native of New York, and a daughter of John and Mary Hall, both of whom were natives of New York. They have three children, Andrae, Steadman and Curtis Lane. Dr. Falk is a member of various fraternities-the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Order of For- esters of America, the Woodmen of the World, and professionally he is identified with the Humboldt County Medical Society, the California State Medical Society, and the American Medical Association. Of the first-named, he is now serving as treasurer and he is also secretary and director of the Sequoia Sanitarium Association. He is also county physician in partnership with his brother. His professional success is founded upon both a scientific and humanitarian interest in the calling to which he devotes his time and labors and in which he has made for himself a creditable record.
ABRAHAM K. GRIM.
Abraham K. Grim, recorder of Alameda county, is a man whose active business career in California reaches back over more than half a century to the days of '49, when he crossed the plains from his eastern home, ambitious to make his fortune on the Pacific coast.
Mr. Grim was born in Canton, Stark county, Ohio, August 26, 1830, son of William and Catherine (Keefer) Grim, both natives of Pennsylvania and representatives of old American families. The Keefers were originally German, the family was planted in America before the Revolutionary pe- riod, and their home was for many years in Pennsylvania; while the Grims came to this country from Holland at an early day. Abraham K. Grim is the eldest member and only survivor of a family of three sons and one daugh- ter. The father was a merchant. He moved to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1840, and there spent the closing years of his life and died, his death occur- ring in 1852, while on his way to California. From the age of ten to sixteen, Abraham K. attended public school and college in Wayne county. At sixteen he left school to become a clerk, and clerked until he was nearly nineteen. It was then that the California gold fever broke out all over the country. Among its victims was young Grim. His long and tedious jour- ney across plains and over mountains terminated at Sacramento, October 6, 1849. The following spring he mined at "Hangtown," now Placer- ville. Mining, however, did not then claim his attention long. He turned
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to merchandising, banking and the real estate business, and thus he was variously occupied, in Sacramento, until 1863. Also, in 1852, he was one of the business managers of the Sacramento Union, one of the first daily . newspapers in California.
In 1863 Mr. Grim went to Virginia City, Nevada, and established a bank, which he operated until 1867. His next move was to San Fran- cisco, where he was interested in stocks and mining. In 1892 he moved across the bay to Berkeley, and from that year to 1896 was manager of the Consolidated Street Railway Company of Oakland.
Throughout the whole of his busy business career Mr. Grim has had the happy faculty of making friends, and his growing popularity manifested itself when, in 1898, he was elected county recorder of Alameda county, and again, in 1902, when he was honored by re-election to the office, as an inde- pendent candidate. His political affiliations, however, have for the most part been with the Republican party. Fraternally he is identified with the Elks.
Mr. Grim was married, in 1855, to Anna M. Kauffmann, a native of Ohio and a daughter of Rudolph Kauffmann, an early settler of that state. They have had a family of two sons and two daughters, namely: Alonzo M .; Kitty, deceased; Bessie, wife of Judge Carroll Cook, of San Francisco; Alfred R., assistant manager of the Aachen & Munich Insurance Company of San Francisco.
CHARLES CLIFFORD FALK, M. D.
Dr. Charles Clifford Falk, engaged in the general practice of medicine and surgery in Eureka, was born November 17, 1872, at Findlay, Hancock county, Ohio, a son of Elijalı and Amelia (Dibler) Falk, both of whom were descendants of German parents. After residing in Ohio for a number of years they came to California in 1877, locating in Humboldt county. The father was a millwright by trade and built some of the largest sawmills in the county.
Dr. Falk, but five years of age when brought by his parents to Humboldt county, attended the public schools of Eureka, also pursued an academic course of study, and at the age of twenty-one put aside the text-books which gave him a more specifically literary knowledge in order to prepare for the practice of medicine and surgery. He then matriculated in the Cooper Medical College and was graduated in 1897, at which time the Doctor of Medicine degree was conferred upon him. He then returned to Eureka and established himself in practice. His brother joined him about three years ago and this partnership still continues. They have secured a large patronage, and their thorough preparation and broad reading since leaving college have well qualified them to cope with the intricate problems which the physician is continually called upon to solve as he endeavors to check the ravages of disease and restore to man his most cherished possession- health.
Charles Clifford Falk was united in marriage in 1901 with Miss Tucie
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R. Baker, a native of Eureka and a daughter of Rasmus Baker, a pioneer farmer and miner of the county. They have one son, Charles Clifford, Jr. In Eureka they have a large circle of friends, and the Doctor is well known in fraternal interests here, belonging to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of the Maccabees, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Independent Order of Foresters. In politics he is a Republican, and he and his brother have dis- charged the duties of county physician since 1901. He is also on the physi- sians' staff of the Sequoia Hospital, and is a director of the institution. He has always taken a deep interest and active part in local and state politics and has frequently been a delegate to the county conventions of the Repub- lican party, the principles of which he strongly endorses. He is also lieu- tenant with rank of assistant surgeon in the state militia. He is a member of Humboldt County Medical Association, State Medical Association and the American Medical Association.
RAE FELT, M. D.
Dr. Rae Felt, who in the medical profession has won a position in accordance with the possession of skill and ability, receiving a patronage that is a public avowal of confidence in him and a recognition of his con- scientious obligations to his duties, was born on the 19th of May, 1869. He is a native son of Humboldt county, his birthplace being Hydesville. His parents were Dr. Theodore Dwight and Catharine ( Miller) Felt. The father was a native of Massachusetts and belonged to one of the oldest American families, his ancestors having come from England in the May- flower and landed at Plymouth Rock, thus being among the first settlers upon the shore of New England. Dr. Theodore Dwight Felt, after prac- ticing medicine and surgery in the east for some time, came to California in 1849. He crossed the plains after the primitive manner of travel at that period in the country's development and first settled at Sacramento. His early life in this state was devoted to the operating of stage lines. He also engaged in mining in Trinity county, spending a year or two in that way after leaving Sacramento. In 1851 he came to Humboldt county, where he established himself in the practice of his chosen profession, becom- ing one of the pioneer physicians of this portion of the state. He practiced in the early days when his patients were widely scattered and it necessi- tated long and arduous rides in order to administer to the sick and suffering, but he never hesitated in response to a call and as the years advanced and population in this district increased he was accorded a very liberal and grati- fying patronage. He became the loved family physician in many a house- hold and his memory is yet cherished by those who knew him professionally and socially. He died in the year 1898 at the advanced age of eighty-one years. In the family were four sons and a daughter.
Dr. Rae Felt, the youngest, was a student in the public schools of Hum- boldt county. He afterward engaged in teaching for six months, and then desiring to become a member of the medical fraternity he entered the medical
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department of the University of California, in which he was graduated in November, 1890. He afterward served for one year in the United States Marine Hospital service and later was in the United States revenue marine service as surgeon on the United States cutter Richard Rush, cruising through the Behring sea and Pribloff islands. In the fall of 1892 he entered into partnership relations with his father, and this business association was continued until the death of Dr. Felt, Sr. Since then the son has practiced alone and is now widely acknowledged to be one of the capable and success- ful physicians of Eureka, manifesting keen interest in the profession from a scientific standpoint, while his labors are always dominated by a broad and deep human sympathy. Dr. Felt is also a lover of fine horses and operates a large ranch, where he raises fine thoroughbred stock.
In December, 1893, was celebrated the marriage of Dr. Rae Felt and Miss Annie A. Smith, of Alameda county, California, a daughter of William Smith. In Eureka they have a wide acquaintance, and hospitable homes are ever open for their reception. Dr. Felt is a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, the Native Sons of the Golden West, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Foresters of America. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he takes a deep and active interest in local and state politics, doing all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party. He has frequently been a delegate to county and state conventions and in 1903 was chairman of the county convention. He belongs to the California State Medical Society and his standing among his professional brethren is indicated by the fact that he has been chosen president of the Humboldt County Medical Society.
EDWIN GEORGE KRAMER.
Edwin George Kramer, proprietor of the Revere House at Eureka, was born in North San Juan, Nevada county, California, in 1867, his parents being George and Alice (Gries) Kramer. The father was a native of Germany and the mother of Cincinnati, Ohio, and in the year 1852 the former came to California. Not long afterward he established his home in North San Juan, becoming one of the early settlers there. He conducted a barber shop at that place for a few years and afterward went to Sierra county, locating at Brandy City, a mining camp, where he engaged in the hotel business for four years. On the expiration of that period he came to Eureka, where he again established a hotel, continuing in this business up to the time of his retirement, when he was succeeded by his son Edwin G. In the family were four sons, the brothers of Edwin being Clarence and Ralph, who are engaged in the hotel business at Fortuna, Humboldt county; and Herbert, who is attending school.
Edwin G. Kramer pursued his education in the public schools of North San Juan and of Sierra county, continuing his studies until fifteen years of age, when he joined his father in the conduct of the hotel, and has con- tinued in this line of business up to the present time. In 1892 he became his father's successor as proprietor of the Revere House, under which name the
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hotel has always been known. In 1899 he rebuilt and remodeled the prop- erty, and now has a first-class hotel conveniently arranged and equipped with modern improvements and accessories. He gives due care and consideration to the comfort and convenience of his patrons, and has gained almost uni- formly the good will and confidence of those with whom he has been brought in contact through business relations.
In 1892 occurred the marriage of Mr. Kramer and Miss Magdalene Hardewig, a native of New Jersey and a daughter of Bernard Hardewig. They have two children, Oliver and Helen, and in Eureka they are well known, and the hospitality of many of the best homes of the city is cor- dially and freely extended to them. Mr. Kramer has various fraternal rela- tions, being connected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the A. O. F. and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. In his political views he is a Republican, and always takes an active part in political interests of county and state, doing all in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of his party, for he believes that its principles are in harmony with the best elements of good government. He is a member of the chamber of commerce and of the Humboldt Club of Eureka, and he has a wide and favorable acquaintance in this part of the state, where he has so directed his energies that success has attended his efforts, making him one of the sub- stantial citizens of Eureka.
JOHN SHACKELFORD TAYLOR.
John Shackelford Taylor, one of the oldest and most prominent of the original California forty-niners, has for many years been identified with the stock-raising and business interests of Sonoma county, and is one of the best known residents of Santa Rosa. His career has been replete with the glorious deeds of the past, during the wonderful days of the Eldorado gold excitement as well as during the period of development and progress of the state into the greatest of western commonwealths. He made the ever to be remembered journey across the plains when he was a boy, and from that active and arduous entrance into western life and ways he has been identified with nearly all the activities and industries for which the Pacific coast is noted. The record of his success is written in the large bulk of landed and commercial property which he owns in Sonoma county and also by the prominent part he has taken in the public life of his community, many of its institutions and worthy enterprises owing much of their welfare to his public-spirited endeavor and material aid. There are none in this section of the state who in a higher degree deserve or receive the esteem and sincere regard of their fellow men than Mr. Taylor, whose life's long and eventful course is briefly indicated in the following paragraphs.
He was born in Pittsylvania county, Virginia, November 27, 1828, a son of Mumford Sled and Mildred (Shackelford) Taylor, both natives of the same state. His parents emigrated to Missouri in 1837, and his father was a farmer and justice of the peace in Ray county of that state, and occu- pied a place of prominence and influence throughout the community. Both
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John & Taylor
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parents have long since passed away, his father at the age of fifty and his mother aged seventy-eight. They had eight children, and of these a son and a daughter went to California, where they died.
John Shackelford Taylor, the only one of the family now living, was reared on a Missouri farm among the hills of Ray county, and in the winter season had the few school advantages offered in that neighborhood. He thus alternated between the country school and the work of the farm until he was nineteen years old. About that time the news of the Eldorado dis- coveries of California was the principal topic of conversation among young and old, and offered especial scope to the imagination and ardor of the young men. Mr. Taylor in 1849 left his home in Ray county and went to Independence, Missouri, where he got a position under General Lucas to drive a six-yoke ox team across the plains to El Paso, Texas. Before start- ing, another Ray county boy, Tom Gordon, put in his appearance, and these two young men allied their fortunes on this trip and with the same train. The company of twelve wagons soon started, and about September 15 reached the Arkansas river. Thence they traveled through the Arkansas valley for eight days, fresh meat being secured each day by the killing of a buffalo. At the Cimarron river they came across the skull bones of ninety-eight mules that had perished in a snow storm of the previous year, and a few weeks later, when within twenty-five miles of the Red river, this company also encountered a severe snowstorm. In due course of time they reached Las Vegas, and on New Year's day, 1850, crossed the Rio Grande and entered the town of Paso del Norte. This was the end of the journey for the train, and Mr. Taylor and his partner had to find other means of reaching the coast. They were fortunate in falling in with a train of Texans, thirty-three in number, who were going to the city of Durango. From this point it would be easy for them to reach the coast and take ship for San Francisco.
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