USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol II > Part 63
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his efforts. He is now the owner of one thousand acres of land, and through- out the period of residence in this state has been engaged in agricultural pur- suits. About one hundred and twenty acres of his land is devoted to fruit growing, including a large vineyard, and also many other varieties of fruit.
Mr. Thornton was married in January, 1877, to Miss Emma Greaves, and of their six children, four are now living, namely: Mary A., of New Hope: Clara B., a resident of San Francisco; Jessie C., also of New Hope; and Alice, the wife of William Koontz and a resident of New Hope. The two who have passed away were Georgie and Maggie. In his political affil- iations Mr. Thornton is a stanch and uncompromising Republican, and one of its active workers. For eight years he served as a director of the state insane asylum at Stockton, and during four years of that time was vice president of the board, and some years ago was a candidate on the Republi- can ticket for the position of state senator from San Joaquin county, but was defeated by a very small margin by the former senator, Hon. B. F. Lang- ford. He is now serving as the postmaster of New Hope, which official posi- tion he has held for many years. Fraternally he is a member of the Elks at Stockton, and of the Knights of Pythias at Lodi.
JAMES VINCENT SWIFT.
James Vincent Swift, editor and proprietor of the Redwood City Demo- crat, the official Democratic organ of San Mateo county and also the lead- ing newspaper of that county, has enjoyed the usual variety and interest of a journalistic career, but with unusual success in that line of business. He has been connected with the profession in this one city for over a quarter of a century, and the Democrat is practically a monument to his editorial enterprise. Public spirit and laudable interest in the welfare of his city and county have also led him to participation in civic and political affairs, and he has served his city well and usefully on more than one occasion.
A native son of San Mateo county, born in January, 1862, at what is called West Union, only a few miles from Redwood City, when he was a youngster of seven years he accompanied his parents and four brothers and sisters to Redwood City, where he has lived and wrought out his career prac- tically ever since. He is a son of Myles and Mary Swift, natives of Ire- land, who were pioneers of San Mateo county. The father, who is now de- ceased, was a farmer and esteemed throughout his community for his many excellent qualities.
The Redwood City schools afforded Mr. Swift his early educational training, but he left them at the age of fourteen-from choice, not from ne- cessity. For the time a career of hard physical labor appealed to him, and as a farm hand he entered upon an independent career until his blistered hands reminded him that he should look about for something not only less arduous but more remunerative. At seventeen years of age there came to him an opportunity to enter the printing office of the Times-Gasctte at Redwood City. and it was there that he learned his trade of printer. In three years he had charge of the mechanical department of that journal, and soon after, upon
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the death of the editor, he became one of his successors. One of the early copy-book precepts that had made a great impression upon young Swift's mind was the adage concerning a rolling stone and its failure to accumulate moss. Actuated thereby, he remained with the Times-Gasette, the greater part of the time as a printer, for nearly twenty years. In 1898, associated with W. L. Davis, he bought the Democrat. In March, 1903, the partner- ship was dissolved by Mr. Swift's purchase of the other's interests, and since then he has been editor and proprietor. It has always been his ambition to publish one of the very best newspapers in San Mateo county, and as such the Democrat is recognized to-day. Also the Democrat has the most modern and complete printing establishment in the county, and furthermore it is the only newspaper in the county which is housed in its own building, Mr. Swift having recently purchased a suitable block in the business center of Redwood.
As a man of affairs and deeply interested in the welfare of his city, Mr. Swift has served Redwood four terms as city assessor, two terms as a member of the city council, and at this writing is serving his second term as a trustee of the Redwood City school district. The schools of Redwood are among the best in the state, their recent school building having been erected at a cost of forty thousand dollars. A loyal Democrat in a very strong Re- publican county, Mr. Swift's political earnestness and active advocacy of his party's principles have fallen only just short of securing his election to one of the county offices. He was nominated for county clerk in 1902, made a hard fight for election, and although he started his campaign late the results of his hustling showed that he lacked only thirty-eight votes of being the next incumbent of the position.
Mr. Swift has been married and has a son and a daughter. Arthur and Eilleen, aged twenty and eighteen, respectively. He has fraternal affilia- tions with the Native Sons of the Golden West, the Knights of Pythias and the Eagles.
GILES N. FREMAN.
Giles N. Freman, county superintendent of schools of Fresno county, in a prominent California educator of many years' experience, having been engaged in school work during the greater part of his forty years' residence in the state. He is thus one of the pioneers in the founding of the great and admirable school system of California, and his efforts and influence in the various communities where his duties called him and in the offices which he has filled have contributed no small share to the general progress along such lines. He has seen the schools in many parts of the state de- velop from small, inefficient and badly organized centers of learning into educational systems comparable to the best in the country, and at the pres- ent time he is superintending the schools in his own county. Mr. Freman has also been interested in fruit farming a number of years, and has made this a very profitable line of his activity.
Mr. Freman was born in Missouri in 1838, being a son of John and Massey E. ( Parman) Freman, both natives of Kentucky. His parents were
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early settlers to Missouri, and his father was a farmer and also a country school teacher in that state. Mr. Freman was reared on his father's farm until he was fifteen years old, and at that age he entered a printing office and was connected with that line of work for four years on the Nebraska City News in Nebraska, and the Fremont County Journal in Iowa. He pursued his further education at Howe's Seminary at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, graduating from that institution in 1861. For the following two years he was employed as an instructor in Abingdon College, Illinois, but in 1863 he came out to California and has made this state the scene of all his subsequent labors. For six years he taught in Hesperian College in Yolo county, and for two years was principal of the grammar school of Yolo county. He was superintendent of the public schools of the same ยท county from 1871 to 1877, for two terms. He then gave up the teaching profession for a time, and from 1877 to 1889 was engaged in fruit farm- ing. In 1890 he was appointed principal of Washington colony school in Fresno county, and held that position for a year. He was then appointed deputy county superintendent under T. J. Kirk, then county superintendent of Fresno county, now state superintendent of public schools, and after his term in that capacity was over he returned to his fruit ranch in Fresno county. In 1901 he was once more summoned into the educational field, being appointed to fill the unexpired term of county superintendent of schools of Fresno county, and in the following year was elected to that office, which he still holds.
Mr. Freman cast his first presidential vote for Lincoln and has ever since given his allegiance to the party of the great emancipator. His only fraternal affiliations are with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, hav- ing become a charter member of Woodland Lodge of that order in 1877.
Mr. Freman was married in 1863 to Miss Mary T. Martin, a native of Missouri, and a daughter of John E. Martin, who was an early settler of the state of Illinois, having come from an old Virginia family. Three children were born of this union: Giles Clarence, an attorney in Fresno; Fred Harold, who is a cashier of the New York Journal; and Frank, who conducts his father's fruit ranch. His first wife died in 1883, and in 1887 Mr. Freman married Sarah A. DeBell.
WILLIAM FRANCIS KANE.
The rapid development of all material resources during the closing years of the nineteenth century and the opening years of the twentieth century has brought business enterprises up from the day of small things to gigantic proportions and men are required to handle millions as calmly and carefully and as successfully as their grandfathers handled hundreds. All the history of the world shows that to grapple with new conditions, to fill breaches in all great crises men have been developed and have stood ready to assume new and great responsibilities and have discharged them well and profitably. Many youths now taking their first lessons in practi- cal business will work up gradually from one responsibility to one higher and then to still higher ones, as has Mr. Kane, and will be as he has been
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the right man for the place when on the march of advancement the place is ready and they are needed in it. Mr. Kane is still a young man, yet is occupying a very important place in connection with the development of the mining interests of the Tonopah district of Nevada. He makes his home in San Francisco and is one of the native sons of California, his birth having occurred in the city of Sierra, in Sierra county, March 26, 1869.
His father, James W. Kane, a native of New York, came to this state in 1851, making the long and tedious journey across the plains. He en- gaged in mining at Sierra City, then a noted placer camp, and later he entered upon the practice of law, which he still follows in Sierra City, hav- ing been long recognized as a leading member of the bar there. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Riley, was a native of Ireland and also became a resident of California during the pioneer epoch in its history. She formed the acquaintance of Mr. Kane in Sierra and there gave her hand in marriage to him. In the family were three sons and two daughters.
William Francis Kane, as a student in the public schools at Sierra City. mastered the branches of English learning usually taught in city insti- tutions. He put aside his text-books there at the age of seventeen years and went to San Francisco, where he entered upon a course of study in the San Francisco business college. When he had completed the studies there he became connected with mining in Idaho, Colorado and California, and in this way obtained considerable experience in mining operations. He also pursued a course in mining engineering at the School of Mines at Golden, Colorado, and was graduated with the class of 1892.
On the 8th of March, 1896, Mr. Kane was united in marriage to Miss Maude Ryan Gilnagh, a native of Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Kane are widely known in San Francisco, where they have an extensive circle of acquaintances, and he is prominent among the business men of central California and is a representative of important interests in the west, repre- senting an enterprise which has largely been the source of the great wealth and prosperity of this section of the country. He is a man of keen dis- crimination and sound judgment and his executive ability and excellent management are bringing to the concern with which he is connected a large degree of success.
THOMAS CARROLL OWEN.
Thomas Carroll Owen, who has spent nearly all his life in California, has been identified with several of the principal industries of the state, and is now connected with the big race horse ranch of Mr. Spreckels near Napa. Mr. Owen is a man of first-class business ability and executive manage- ment, and has been successful in his various enterprises. He is held in high esteem in Napa and the surrounding country, where he has made his resi- dence for many years, much of the time being associated with his late father in business.
Mr. Owen was born in Carthage, Illinois, in December, 1853, the son of L. F. and Mary ( Hobart) Owen, the former of Kentucky and the latter of New York. His father, who was a rancher, came to California as a
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forty-niner, but in 1852 returned to Hancock county, Illinois, where he was married. The family all came out to California in 1861, and Mr. L. F. Owen was engaged in ranching in Sonoma valley until 1865, and then moved into the Berryessa valley and engaged in stock-raising. He was engaged in this business until his death, which occurred in January, 1900.
Mr. Owen, who is the oldest of the four children of his parents, after the death of his father continued stock-raising and fruit-growing in the Berryessa valley, until 1903, and then for a short time was in the lumber business in Napa, after which he took his present position with the Spreck- els ranch. He received his early education in the public schools, and later attended the Baptist College at Vacaville for two years, being graduated in 1872. He has never married. In politics he is a Republican, but has never sought or held office, and is connected with no fraternal orders.
SAMUEL ROBERT CROOKS.
Samuel Robert Crooks, a capitalist engaged in the management of the invested interests which constitute the Crooks estate, was born in San Francisco, August 1, 1858, and is a representative of one of the distin- guished families of the city that has been represented here from pioneer times. His father, Matthew Crooks, was a native of Ireland and in the year 1848 crossed the Atlantic to America, landing at New Orleans. A year later he came to San Francisco, hoping that the new but rapidly de- veloping west would furnish a lucrative field in which to exercise his native business talents and powers, and although he was destined to achieve large successes his first venture proved a failure. He was the first to bring with him a stock of general merchandise, transporting his goods on the third steamer which passed into the Golden Gate. After engaging in the sale of a general line of goods for a brief period, he found that his profits were not accruing rapidly enough to make the business a paying venture and accordingly he sought another field of labor. He began teaming, which at that time was a vocation which brought large returns, no load being hauled for less than twenty-five or thirty dollars, no matter how light the weight or short the distance. Subsequently he began operating in real estate and in that business laid the foundation for a vast fortune, making judicious investments in property as he saw favorable opportunity. As the years have gone by this has increased rapidly in value and to-day the Crooks estate is one of the most important of central California, embracing splendid landed possessions, besides other important investments. Mr. Crooks was a man of excellent business judgment and foresight, and as the years progressed he improved the opportunities brought about by the changing business conditions of California and kept in touch with the prog- ress of the times. He became a well known factor in commercial and finan- cial circles and his career excited the admiration of his contemporaries and won their respect because of his honorable and enterprising methods.
Matthew Crooks was united in marriage in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Miss Susan Gallagher, a native of that city, and they became the par- ents of ten children, of whom the following now survive: A daughter,
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who is the wife of Thomas Morffew, who is accounted the most distin- guished dentist of this state; Mrs. J. P. Smith; Mrs. Morris Newton; Mrs. Olive B. Hodgton; Samuel; John J. and Robert Crooks. The mother died in 1864 and the father's death occurred in February, 1879. Thus passed away one of the prominent pioneer settlers who aided in laying the foundation for the present progress and prosperity of the state.
Samuel R. Crooks acquired his early education in the private school of Madame Zitska, in South Park, then the aristocratic section of San Francisco. Subsequently he attended the public schools and later entered St. Mary's College, where he remained as a student for four years. He then spent two years at University Mound, and on putting aside his text- books entered upon his business career in connection with the management of the estate left by his father. His attention has since been given to the supervision of its extensive possessions, embracing valuable realty both in the city and the state, including two of the largest and finest ranches in California, one in San Luis Obispo county and the other in Sonoma county. In the control of these he has manifested keen discernment and a broad knowledge of business conditions and affairs, and his capable management has made the property a productive investment. While well known in San Francisco, where he has made many friends, he has never become prom- inent in fraternal circles, and holds membership only with the Native Sons of the Golden West.
H. R. ARNDT, M. D.
Dr. H. R. Arndt, an eminent neurologist of the Pacific coast, is also engaged in the general practice of medicine and has become a factor in political and fraternal circles of the west. A strong intellectuality, a com- manding presence and devotion to the general welfare of his state have made him a leader in public thought and action as well as in the profession which he has chosen for the field of his professional activity.
Dr. Arndt was born in Prussia, Germany, on the 18th of January, 1848. His father, Dr. John L. Arndt, was also a physician and belonged to one of the prominent families of his native country. He was related to many distinguished German citizens, including John L. Arndt, a noted theologian, and "Father" Arndt, the celebrated German historian and poet. Becoming deeply interested in political interests and involved in some of the political conditions which aroused the antagonism of the reigning house, John L. Arndt came as a political exile to the United States, establishing his home in the east, and there continued in the practice of medicine until his life's labors were ended in death.
Dr. Arndt pursued his education in the schools of Germany and the United States, and is a graduate of the Western Reserve College at Cleve- land, Ohio, of the class of 1869. For a year prior to his graduation, how- ever, he engaged in the practice of medicine and remained a member of the profession in Ohio until his office was destroyed in a most disastrous fire which visited his home town. Dr. Arndt then removed to Michigan, where he continued in the active practice of medicine until he accepted the profes-
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sorship of materia medica and nervous diseases in the Homeopathic Medi- cal College of the State University at Ann Arbor. He continued his edu- cational labors there until the failing health of his wife caused him to resign and remove to San Diego, California, in order that Mrs. Arndt might benefit by the more salubrious climate of the Pacific coast. In 1900 he came to San Francisco, and has since then been a member of the medical fraternity here, engaged in general consulting practice and making a spe- cialty of mental and nervous diseases. His services are in demand as a consulting specialist, and he is the author of many valuable medical works, including a three-volume work called " Arndt's System of Medicine" and also " Arndt's Practice of Medicine," a large one-volume work for the use of students. He is likewise the author of other works that have had a large sale and is considered an authority upon the subjects treated. For a quarter of a century he has been engaged in editing medical journals, and he is now a trustee of and the professor of the Practice of Medicine and of Mental and Nervous Diseases in the Hahnemann Medical College of the Pacific. He is likewise visiting physician to the San Francisco City and County Hospital, belongs to various medical societies, and has been president of a large number of these. He is also corresponding and hon- orary member of several leading medical associations of America and Great Britain.
Dr. Arndt has been a recognized and influential factor in political cir- cles in California, advocating Republican principles and laboring untiringly for their adoption, and served as a member of the state central committee. He is a prominent Knight of Pythias, a Past Grand Chancellor of the State of California and a Supreme Representative. He is also a prominent offi- cer of the Uniform Rank, K. of P., being the chief of the general staff of that organization.
Dr. Arndt was married twice. His second wife was Florence B. Blackman, a talented lecturer on dramatic and musical subjects, who died October 16, 1903.
FRANK WHEELER MARSTON.
Frank Wheeler Marston possesses the undaunted spirit and business enterprise which have developed and are developing the marvelous resources and wealth of the western states and territories. At an early age he learned one of the great lessons of life-that there is no royal road to wealth- and recognizing the dignity and value of labor he has toiled industriously until he has gained not only a comfortable competence, but also the esteem and confidence of the people with whom he has been associated for many years. Work, the true friend of mankind, has developed his latent re- sources and brought out the strong self-reliant force of his character.
Mr. Marston is a native son of California, his birth having occurred in Centerville, Alameda county, on the 19th of January, 1859. His father, Samuel I. Marston, was a native of Maine and a representative of an old New England family, the ancestry of which can be traced back to an early period in the colonization of the new world. Representatives of the name
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were identified with the early wars of the country, and among the patriots of the Revolution were some of the ancestors of our subject. It was in the year 1849 that Samuel I. Marston came to California, attracted by the recent discovery of gold. He desired to win wealth rapidly if possible and for several years devoted his energies to mining, but not meeting the success he had anticipated in that field of labor he turned his attention to farming, locating at Centerville, Alameda county. There he successfully carried on agricultural pursuits for a number of years and likewise became a prominent and influential resident of his community. He took an active part in political affairs and was public administrator of Alameda county for several years. He married Miss Abbie M. Griffin, also a native of the Pine Tree state and a representative of a family that was planted on New England soil prior to the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Marston came with her parents to California in the early '50s, her people being among the pioneer settlers of this state. By her marriage she became the mother of eight children, four sons and four daughters.
Frank Wheeler Marston began his education in the public schools of Alameda county and when he had mastered the elementary branches of learning continued his studies in Washington College, where he was grad- uated at the age of twenty-two years. After leaving school he went to Candelaria, Nevada, where he acted as chief clerk in the general mercantile store of Traver & Root. He was also postmaster at that place and likewise occupied the position of agent for the Wells Fargo Express Company. In 1884, however, he left the far west and made his way to Chicago, where he served as cashier for the Niagara Fire Insurance Company, spending about two years in that city. In 1886 he returned to California and for about two years was engaged in the real estate and insurance business at Los Angeles, while in 1888 he came to San Francisco and acted as executive secretary under General W. H. Dimond, superintendent of the United States mint in this city. He filled that position for four years and then in 1892 turned his attention to the restaurant business, becoming proprie- tor of the establishment, which he conducted for ten years. On the expira- tion of that epoch he sold out and became a factor in the industrial inter- ests of the city. In the fall of 1902 he organized the Pacific Vacuum Ice Company, which was capitalized for one million two hundred thousand dol- lars. He was at that time elected its president and has since served in that capacity. The successful conduct of this enterprise is largely due to his ability in business affairs and his keen discrimination. Its patronage has become extensive and, therefore, the stockholders receive a good annual dividend on their investment.
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