USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol II > Part 64
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On the 30th of November, 1891, occurred the marriage of Mr. Mar- ston and Miss Minerva A. Wingerter, a native of San Francisco and a daughter of Charles and Caroline Wingerter, early pioneer residents of this city in which her father was at one time a prominent and prosperous merchant. The marriage of our subject and his wife was blessed with one son, Charles, who died at the age of five years. Mr. Marston is quite well known in fraternity circles and enjoys the high esteem of many of his
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brethren of different orders. He is a vice president of the Native Sons of the Golden West, belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias fra- ternity and the Woodmen of the World. He is also identified with the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree, and also the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. He has made for himself a creditable political record and gives his allegiance to the Republican party, having firm faith in its principles as containing the best elements of good government. He regards it the duty as well as the privi- lege of every American citizen to support the measures that he believes calculated for the general welfare, and he ever keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day. In 1886 he was chief clerk in the Cali- fornia legislature and in 1902 he was appointed by Governor Gage as a trustee of the State Normal School at San Jose. On the 16th of March, 1904, he was reappointed by Governor Pardee. He possesses untiring in- dustry, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution. His close application to his business and his excellent management have brought to him the high degree of prosperity which is to-day his, and his course demonstrates the truth of the saying that success is not the result of genius, but the outcome of a clear judgment and experi- ence.
HARRY W. HUTTON.
Harry W. Hutton may without invidious distinction be termed one of the foremost men not only of San Francisco but also of central Cali- fornia, for he is not only a representative of the profession which stands as the conservator of the rights and liberties of the people but has also been the champion of many measures which have had direct benefit upon the privileges of his fellow citizens and especially of the labor class-the great wealth-producing portion of the people. He has stood as the friend of the oppressed as against the oppressor, has made a close and earnest study of the social and economic questions of the day and has labored in the line wherein his sympathies have been elicited.
Mr. Hutton is a representative of that class of men who have risen from the ranks to positions of leadership because of the improvement of opportunities such as surround the entire people. He had not the advan- tages of wealth or of influential friends to aid him at the outset of his career; on the contrary has been dependent upon his own resources from boyhood and has advanced through the inherent force of his character and through acquired ability. A native of England, he was born in Hertford- shire in 1856 and when a young lad began earning his own living as an errand boy in a millinery establishment in New Zealand. His father, John Hutton, who is now a skilled mechanical engineer of Seattle, Washington, came to the Pacific coast about 1870, and the son, then fourteen years of age, entered the public schools of San Francisco, in which he completed a good practical English education that served him as an excellent founda-
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tion on which to build his success in later life. In his youth, having shown that he had inherited his father's mechanical genius, he was apprenticed to learn the machinist's trade with the Risdon Iron Works of San Francisco. He thoroughly mastered the business and became recognized as one of the foremost machinists and mechanical engineers on the coast. He was at one time mechanical draftsman at Gold Hill, Nevada, and has acquired a thorough and comprehensive knowledge of mechanical matters, which has proved of great and important benefit to him in his law practice. He is a licensed engineer for ocean steamships, having served in that capacity on various vessels sailing to Panama, China and Australia. Through long ex- perience he gained a thorough knowledge of the shipping business and marine matters, which he has used with good effect in his practice bearing upon maritime matters. During his active connection with mechanical labors, he made steady progress, rising from one position to another of more importance and responsibility, until he was an acknowledged leader in his line. He has become a partner in the ownership of three large ves- sels, and in his ventures in this department of business he has been unusu- ally fortunate, his knowledge of maritime matters, his judgment and fore- sight and his integrity in business bringing him well deserved success.
Mr. Hutton, however, determined to devote his energies to a profes- sional career and prepared for the practice of law in the Hastings College of Law of San Francisco, of which he is a graduate. He was admitted to the bar in 1883, but it was not until three years later that he entered upon the active practice of his profession. He has been a general practitioner, well versed in the various departments of jurisprudence, and while he has handled with ability some criminal cases attracting wide-spread attention, he has also been equally successful in civil practice, handling many cases relative to United States patents and patent rights, while on maritime law he is considered an authority. He has shaped the construction of mari- time law in the different courts and probably nearly all of the amendments to the sailor law have been evolved from the active brain of Mr. Hutton. He was also counsel in the case of Robertson versus Baldwin, in which the supreme court of the United States held that contracts for service could be enforced by imprisonment.
Aside from his profession Mr. Hutton has probably given more atten- tion and study to the labor problems of the day than to any other question. He is a believer in organized labor and enjoys the distinction of being one of the organizers of the first labor federation in the United States. He has been attorney for the Sailors' Union throughout its existence and has handled nearly all the cases for the labor council. He has watched the ten- dency of the times, the growth of monopolies and the oppression of the wage earner through a dominant power which seemingly takes the respon- sibility from the individual and places it upon an organization which enables the individual to shirk his personal obligations to his fellow men. He has stood as the friend of the working men, laboring earnestly for right, justice and consideration, and many hundreds of the wage earners have reason to feel for him the deepest gratitude. He is a man who has traveled exten-
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sively and his varied experience in diversified situations have given him a broad view of social and economic questions. Because of these conditions he was selected by Eugene Schmitz, mayor of San Francisco, for a position on the board of police commissioners of San Francisco, in January, 1902, and is now filling that office. He has no strong political affiliations, sup- porting principle rather than party, and giving his allegiance to the move- ments for the benefit of organized labor.
In 1889, in San Francisco Mr. Hutton was married to Miss Inez Sexton, of Michigan, who possessed superior musical talent and was for a time connected with the Alice Oates Opera Company and the Fay Tem- pleton Opera Company. She possesses a remarkably brilliant mezzo- soprano voice, a fine conception of rendition and is probably one of the most finished artists Michigan has produced. Mr. and Mrs. Hutton have a wide acquaintance in San Francisco and are popular in both social and musical circles. He is a man of winning personality, genial and approach- able in manner, and his strong mentality is supplemented by a ready and warm-hearted sympathy and understanding.
JOHN F. DAVIS.
For twenty-five years a prominent member of the California bar, also a leader in the public affairs of the state, Mr. John F. Davis was born on. Angel Island, Bay of San Francisco, June 5, 1859, and has spent practically all of his active career in his native state. Mr. Davis is a successful man by virtue of hard work on his individual initiative and a persistence in the pursuit of high professional ideals which stopped nothing short of first-class attainment.
Spending the first four years of his life on Angel Island, and the next five on Reed's ranch in Marin county, he then went to San Francisco to acquire his education. He graduated from the North Cosmopolitan gram- mar school on Filbert street in 1873, from the San Francisco Boys' high school in 1877, and to complete his literary preparation he went east and entered Harvard, where he was graduated in 1881, after the regular four years' course. Returning to his native bailiwick he entered the law depart- ment of the University of California and was graduated in 1884. This broad and very liberal education was not gained without the expenditure of much effort upon matters outside the regular school studies. To capi- talize his student career he taught Latin, Greek and mathematics at Bates' " Berkeley Gymnasium," a private preparatory school for the various uni- versities, located at Berkeley. He also gave private tuition, preparing pupils for Harvard, Yale and the University of California. While teaching he read law in the office of E. D. Sawyer, at 420 California street in San Francisco, and on his graduation from the university law school he was admitted to the bar and entered upon active practice. During 1884-86 he spent considerable time traveling and studying in Europe. He was located in Calaveras county fron 1886 to 1892, and since then has carried on his practice mainly at Jackson, Amador county. His legal connections brought him so much to San Francisco that in 1904 he established his office in that
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city, and now spends most of his time in the metropolis, although still main- taining his office at Jackson.
Mr. Davis has been in constant contact with men and events since he was a boy, understands the ways of the world and men's minds as well as legal technicalities and processes, and it is therefore natural that his ability as a lawyer and power in public affairs have brought him into prominent connection with official life. In 1892 he was the candidate on the Repub- lican ticket for Congress from the second district, but the Cleveland tidal wave defeated him. He was appointed by Governor Markham as judge of the superior court of Amador county, but at the end of his two years' term declined a renomination. The state legislature also had the benefit of his valuable services for four years, during which time he served as senator from the tenth senatorial district. At the present time he is serving as commissioner for the revision and reform of the law, a position to which he brings a wealth of legal talent and broad experience and a breadth of view such as this office demands to a greater degree than almost any other in the state service. He has served two years in the office and has two yet to serve.
Prominent socially as well as professionally, Mr. Davis is a member of the college fraternity of Beta Theta Pi, Omega Chapter (University of California) ; also of the Native Sons of the Golden West, and of the Union League and Harvard clubs.
Mr. Davis was married at Jackson, California, November 26 (Thanks- giving day), 1896, to Miss Lillian Parks, a daughter of J. F. Parks, super- intendent of the Kennedy Quartz Mine at Jackson. Their three children are Mary, aged seven years, Ruth, aged five, and John Parks, aged twenty- two months.
WILLIAM A. BOWDEN.
William A. Bowden, well known as a representative of the San Jose bar and one whose efforts have led him from the ranks of the many to a posi- tion among the successful few, was born in New York in 1865. He is a son of Pierce and Mary (Grace) Bowden, both of whom were natives of the south of Ireland and came to America in 1862. The father was a farmer by occupation, and after a number of years' residence in the Empire state he started for the Pacific coast in 1875, locating in Santa Clara county. Here he resumed farming and continued in that occupation throughout his business career. He died in 1900 at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. His wife passed away in southern Indiana. In the family were three sons and a daughter, the latter being Mary A., now the widow of William F. Carroll, while the brothers of our subject are Nicholas, a practicing attorney of San Jose, and Charles D., an orchardist of the Santa Clara valley.
William A. Bowden was a lad of four years when his parents removed from the Empire state to southern Indiana, and there he pursued his early education, which he afterward continued in California as a student in Santa Clara College. He left school at the age of seventeen years, and then added to his literary education a preparation for the practice of law. In 1886 he
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was admitted to the bar and has since continued an active member of the legal profession, being accorded a good clientage and connected generally with the important litigated interests in his district. Precision and thorough- ness characterize the preparation of his cases, and clearness and logic are manifest in his presentation of a case before court or jury.
In 1893 Mr. Bowden was united in marriage to Miss Alice Hobbs, a daughter of Celden X. Hobbs, a pioneer resident of Santa Clara county and a man prominently identified with the improvement of this portion of the state. He was the builder of the Delagoa Bay Railroad, extending from Delagoa Bay into the interior of Africa, and was killed there during the construction of the road. Mr. and Mrs. Bowden are well known in social circles in San Jose, and the number of their friends is almost co-extensive with the number of their acquaintances. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Young Men's Institute. His political allegiance is given to the Repub- lican party, but he has never sought to figure before the public in political life, preferring to give his time and energies to his professional duties as the foundation for a successful and lucrative practice.
JUDGE BELDEN GOODWIN HURLBURT.
Through many years Judge Hurlburt has been a distinguished factor in the public life of California. He has won distinction in legal circles and has left the impress of his individuality for good upon the legislation of the state. He is a man remarkable in the breadth of his wisdom and in his indomitable perseverance and strong force of character, and his life has not one esoteric phase, being an open scroll inviting closest scrutiny. Although his have been "massive deeds and great" in one sense, yet his entire accomplishments but represent the result of the fit utilization of the innate talent which is his, and the directing of his efforts in those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination lead the way. There are in Judge Hurlburt a weight of char- acter, a native sagacity, a keen perception and a fidelity of purpose that com- mand the respect of all. He has carved his name deeply upon the record. of the political and professional history of the state, which owes not a little of its advancement to his efforts. It is, therefore, imperative that definite con- sideration be given him in this volume and with pleasure we present to our readers the history of his career.
Judge Hurlburt is a native of Connecticut, his birth having occurred in Winchester in 1820, his parents being Erastus and Clara C. (Goodwin) Hurl- burt, both of whom were representatives of old Connecticut families that were established in America when this country was numbered among the colonial possessions of Great Britain. Representatives of the name were identified with the colonial army at the time of the Revolutionary war and Erastus Hurlburt was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Judge Hurlburt spent his boyhood days in New England and pursued his early education in the public schools, while later he became a student in an academy at Goshen, Connecticut. His early privileges, however, were
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somewhat limited and he put aside his text books at the age of sixteen years. His boyhood days were spent upon the home farm, his father being an agricul- turist, and he continued to assist in the cultivation and development of thefields until twenty-one years of age, when he started out upon an independent business career. Leaving the Atlantic coast he made his way into the interior of the country, spending eight years in Wisconsin. In 1852 he came to California. Gold had in the meantime been discovered and the mining districts of the far west were continually attracting to the Pacific coast men from every station in life who wished to rapidly acquire a fortune. After crossing the plains Judge Hurlburt settled in Sutter county, and he was admitted to the bar in the district court in 1853. In 1854 he was elected judge of the county court, and again in 1862 was chosen for that office for a term of four years. He afterward removed to Humboldt county, California, in 1872, and while liv- ing there was elected in 1874 to represent his district in the general assembly, where he served for two years. In 1884 he was elected to the state senate as a representative from the first senatorial district, comprising the counties of Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino. He served for four years, and to each question which came up for settlement he gave his careful and close con- sideration, his influence and aid being important factors in the passage or suppression of many movements and measures, which he believed would either prove of benefit to the state or act as a detrimental influence in public affairs. In the year 1874 Judge Hurlburt was admitted to practice in the supreme court. In 1886 he removed to Tulare county, California, where he resided for four years. In 1890 he came to Santa Clara county, where he has since made his home.
In 1850 occurred the marriage of Judge Hurlburt and Miss Caroline De- laney, the wedding being celebrated in Harrison. county, Ohio. She was a daughter of Samuel Delaney, who located in the Buckeye state in early pio- neer times and belonged to an old American family. They became the par- ents of three children : Walter, A. B. Goodwin and Glendora A. The daugh- ter is the wife of Frank Pedlar, who is deputy coiner in the United States mint at San Francisco. Mrs. Hurlburt passed away in 1884, and in 1896 the Judge was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Abbie C. Phelps Wyngate, a native of Masschusetts and the widow of Moses Wyngate, of Santa Clara county, California. Her first husband came to this state in 1885 and was an orchardist.
Judge Hurlburt who now gives his time and attention to insurance in- terests, was one of the organizers of the Santa Clara County Fire Insurance Company, of which he is now the president. This is one of the important business concerns of central California, and in control of its affairs the Judge has manifested excellent business ability and executive force. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party and he has taken a very active part in its work since 1858, when he was made a member of the first Repub- lican convention that named the state ticket in California. From an early age he has continuously advanced along lines demanding strong mentality and close application. Faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation-such has been his life record. His scholarly attainments, his citi-
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zenship, his reliable judgment and his charming powers of conversation would have enabled him to ably fill and grace any position, and he has been no less honored in public than loved in private life.
W. H. MARTIN.
W. H. Martin has been closely associated with the substantial growth and development of the west and has been the promoter of important and responsible business interests. He has assisted in pushing forward the wheels of progress and through the utilization of opportunity he has attained wealth. He has opened and developed mining property and now has quite extensive investments in mining interests.
Born in the state of New York, he is a son of N. H. Martin, who was a farmer by occupation. Attracted by the business possibilities of the far west he came to San Francisco, arriving on the 10th of January, 1864, and during the intervening years he has so directed his labors as to accumulate a large fortune. He became a wharf and railroad contractor and built many of the large wharves and cable railroads of this city. He also took and executed the contracts for the construction of the railroad tunnels in Santa Cruz county and in 1880 he located the well known town of Bisbee, Ari- zona, which he named in honor of his friend, Judge Bisbee, of San Fran- cisco. He opened and developed the Copper Queen mining property and has done much profitable mining both in Arizona and California. His investments have been judiciously placed, and from nature's rich resources he has won prosperity that classes him among the most successful men of the state.
Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Adams, and they have one son. They make their home in San Francisco and throughout the state as. well as in this city they have a wide acquaintance. Mr. Martin is a man of broad capabilities as his varied and extensive business interests indicate. A gentleman of fine address and thorough culture, he occupies a first place in society as well as in the business circles of California. His intellect is strong, his judgment correct and his views are clear and decided, and through the utilization of his opportunities he has prospered from year to year, displaying in all his acts an aptitude for successful man- agement.
BOUND TO PLEASE THE Heckman Bindery.
FEB.66 N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA
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