USA > California > A history of the new California, its resources and people; Vol II > Part 8
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D. completed his studies in the public schools of Portland, putting aside his text books at the age of twenty years. After completing his education he was apprenticed to the wheelwright's trade, and although he was very suc- cessful in his efforts along that line he did not find the occupation congenial, and with the money saved from his labors in that direction he turned his attention to merchandising, conducting a general store at Ketchum, Idaho. He was also manager for the Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone Company. In 1889, however, he disposed of his business interests there and came to Cali- fornia, locating in San Jose. Here he accepted a position as manager for the California Green and Dried Fruit Company, acting in that capacity until 1900, when he resigned in order to become manager for the Pine Box Manu- facturer Agency, which is his present business connection. He controls the affairs of the company in a most capable manner, his career being character- ized by strict executive force, keen business discernment and unfaltering energy.
In 1887 Mr. Worswick was united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Hol- comb, a native of California and a daughter of A. A. and Jane Holcomb, who were pioneer settlers of California, coming to this state from Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Worswick now have two children: George D., a youth of fourteen, who is a student in the public schools; and Mildred. In social circles in San Jose they occupy an enviable position, and their home is justly celebrated for its pleasing hospitality.
Mr. Worswick belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen, to the National Union, the Woodmen of the World and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. His political allegiance has ever been given to the Republican party, which he strongly supports on questions of state and national policy. In 1902 he was nominated on the non-partisan ticket and was elected mayor of San Jose by a majority of three hundred and seven- teen. Up to this time he had not taken an active part in politics, but became identified with the good government movement, and at the urgent solicitation of his friends decided to accept the nomination and was chosen for the office. In his administration of the affairs of the city he is ever living up to the terms which he made, conducting the city's business along practical and progressive, yet economical, lines and putting forth every effort in his power to maintain law and order, to establish justice and to promote the material upbuilding of the municipality. He stands as a high type of the American citizen of the far west, being alert, enterprising and progressive. With quick recognition of opportunity he at the same time manifests a con- servatism that is the result of mature deliberation and sound judgment, and the safety and welfare of the city may well be intrusted to such a man.
W. N. MOORE.
WV. N. Moore, a thoroughly progressive and up-to-date mining man of California, has some extensive interests in the way of mining claims in various parts of the state, but makes his residence at Stella, in Shasta county. Few men are better versed than he in the science of metallurgy as practically
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applied to mining operations, and, because nearly all the years of his life have been devoted to this work in California, his knowledge of the state mineral deposits is very extensive and makes him an expert in many lines of his work.
Mr. Moore is the son of an old California pioneer, and his paternal grandfather, Joshua Moore, was born in Scotland, whence he came to the United States with his parents at the age of twelve years. The family located in Tennessee, where Joshua grew up and became a farmer. He served all through the war of 1812, rising eventually to the rank of a petty officer, and died at the age of seventy-six years. His son, J. P. Moore, the father of W. N. Moore, was also a farmer, and went through the Mexican war, coming out as a lieutenant colonel. Following the war he moved from Tennessee to Arkansas, being employed there in government service on an Indian reserva- tion, and in 1853 he drove an ox team across the plains to California, locat- ing with his family near Marysville on the Sacramento river. Here he raised stock and farmed, and later moved to Butte county, where he died in 1896, at the age of seventy-eight. He married Miss Elizabeth Birchett, a daughter of Marion Birchett, who was a Tennessee farmer and also a Mexican war veteran.
Mr. W. N. Moore was born in Marion county, Arkansas, July 22, 1848, the same year in which gold was discovered in the state of his future activity. In 1864 he began mining in Plumas county, and during the more than forty years subsequent to that time has devoted his principal energies to the dis- covery and mining of the precious metal. He has operated in the prominent districts of the state. As an expert prospector he has done a great deal toward gaining a correct knowledge of the minerals of the state, and ranks high as an authority on mineralogy. He owns seventeen claims in the Whis- kytown district. and possesses some stock in the Butte county mines. Throughout his career he has been an active Democrat, and has taken a public-spirited interest in all matters for the general welfare.
July 29, 1869, Mr. Moore married Miss Margaret Parman, a daughter of Henry Parman, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser of Sutter county and an old soldier of the Mexican war. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Moore: Elizabeth, who married George Lane. died at the age of twenty-two; Lela is the wife of Elmer Danner, of Colusa, California : Maud is the wife of Ed Butler, of San Francisco; and Cleveland is associated with his father in mining enterprises. On September 7, 1897. the family were bereaved of the devoted wife and mother, who passed away at their home in Colusa.
THOMAS J. SINNOTT.
Thomas J. Sinnott is one of the extensive landowners of Santa Clara county, his possessions aggregating five hundred and seventy-one acres, all included within the boundary of his home farm. This property is the vis- ible evidence of his life of thrift and industry, and his history shows what can be accomplished by determination and force of character. He is a native
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of Quebec, Canada, his birth having occurred in that city on the Ist of Janu- ary, 1838.
His parents were John and Elizabeth (Bulger) Sinnott, who though born in Ireland were of French descent. It was about the year 1831 that John Sinnott crossed the Atlantic and established his home in Quebec, fol- lowing the occupation of farming in that locality. There he remained for twenty years, and on the expiration of that period came to California with his family in 1851, making the trip by way of the Panama route. He first settled near Mountain View on the Murphy estate, but in 1856 removed to the vicinity of Milpitas, where he purchased four hundred acres of land, becoming one of the early pioneer residents of that locality. He improved his farm so that in course of time it became a valuable and productive prop- erty, on which he engaged in the raising of grain and also in stock-raising and in dairying. He was practical in his business methods, energetic and enterprising, and the success which he achieved was the result of untiring effort through an honorable business career. Both he and his wife died in 1883, when eighty-three years of age, there being less than a month's differ- ence in the time of their deaths.
Thomas J. Sinnott acquired his early education in Canada. He attended private schools and has largely supplemented his knowledge through expe- rience, observation and reading in later years. He was a youth of fifteen when, in 1851, he came with his father's family to the Pacific coast. Here he worked upon the home farm, and following his father's death he and his brother Patrick took charge of the property and have conducted it up to the present time. Thomas J. Sinnott has never married, but Patrick Sinnott, who was born in 1842, was married to Miss Helen Twohig, a native of California, her parents having located in this state in early pioneer days. The brothers have always been associated in their work and business interests, and their ranch now comprises five hundred and seventy-one acres of valuable land, which is well improved with all modern equipments.
CHARLES HENRY BLINN.
Charles Henry Blinn, adjuster of duties in the custom house of San Francisco, to which position he was appointed on the Ist of April, 1902, is a native of the Green Mountain state, his birth having occurred in Burling- ton, Vermont, on the 27th of January, 1843. He belonged to a family of eight children, being the third in order of birth among five sons and three daughters whose parents were Chauncey and Editha M. (Harrington) Blinn. In the paternal line he is descended from French Huguenot ancestors who settled in Shelburne, Vermont, in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Since that time representatives of the name have been found in various por- tions of New England, and several were identified with the patriotic army in the war of the Revolution, while Chauncey Blinn served his country as a soldier of the war of 1812. He was a master wheelwright by occupation, and followed that pursuit for a number of years.
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Charles Henry Blinn acquired his education in the public schools of his native city and later benefited by instruction received in the academy of Burlington, Vermont, where he pursued a preparatory course, fitting him for entrance in the state university. He was thus a student at the time of the inauguration of the Civil war in 1861. His interest centered in his country and its welfare, and prompted by a spirit of patriotism he and his two brothers enlisted in the First Regiment of Vermont Cavalry under Col- onel L. B. Platt. This regiment served in all the battles of the Potomac and was in the great cavalry charge under General Farnsworth, of General Kilpatrick's division, in the sanguinary conflict at Gettysburg. Mr. Blinn afterward served under Generals Custer and Sheridan. In 1864 he was in the Shenandoah valley with Sheridan's army and with the Army of the Potomac in General Grant's campaign. After the expiration of his three years' term of service, following the battle of Cedar Creek, he was mustered out on the 19th of November, 1864.
After the war he entered the office of the Central Vermont Railroad Company at St. Albans, Vermont, as a clerk, and later accepted the posi- tion of chief clerk at the Weldon House at St. Albans, a famous summer hotel. Subsequently he occupied a similar position in the Ottawa Hotel at Montreal, Canada, and the year 1868 witnessed his arrival on the Pacific coast. He has since been a resident of California and is thoroughly in sym- pathy with the interests of the great west, co-operating in public measures for general advancement and improvement. On his arrival in this state he accepted a position with the Wells Fargo and Company's Express, with which he continued until 1874, when he resigned in order to accept a posi- tion as one of the writers on the Daily Alta, a newspaper of San Francisco, with which he was connected until 1878, when he accepted a position in the custom house at San Francisco as chief permit clerk. He acted in that capac- ity until the Ist of April, 1902, when he was promoted to adjuster of duties' in which capacity he is now serving.
In 1880 Mr. Blinn was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Holbrook, a native of New Hampshire, a daughter of Hon. Albert Holbrook. At the time of her marriage she was a distinguished actress and was well known on the stage under her maiden name, being leading lady with W. E. Sheri- dan and also playing in the old California theater with Lawrence Barrett and John McCullough. To Mr. and Mrs. Blinn has been born one son, who has gained distinction by reason of his histrionic talent on the London stage.
Mr. Blinn belongs to George H. Thomas Post, G. A. R., and has been its quartermaster for the past twenty-one years. He is financial secretary and treasurer of San Francisco Council No. 540, National Union, in which capacity he served for fourteen years. He is now a director of the Veterans Home Association, having served for ten years, being appointed three times by the successive governors Budd, Gage and Pardee. He is also chairman of the supplies committee for the association. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party, and a close study of the questions and issues of the day has enabled him to support his political preferences by intelligent
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argument. In matters of citizenship he is progressive and patriotic, giving to his country in days of peace the same loyal devotion that he manifested when on southern battlefields he followed the starry banner of the nation.
HON. FRANK D. RYAN.
Those who write the biography of prominent men usually begin with the circumstances attending their youth and their parentage, and much greater credit is commonly awarded to him who has risen from the depths of poverty through stern adversity to a high place of honor among men. It is a matter of daily observation that an experience in menial labor and humble life is an element for popular strength in a candidate for high public office and it is said that sons of prominent men seldom rise to the heights which their fathers had attained. As a western editor has expressed it "If any section of a house still honored rises to greatness he will have achieved it. He will not be born to it or find it thrust upon him, and he must be very great indeed to overcome the disadvantage of standing in the shadow of a colossal ancestry:" yet in the career of Frank D. Ryan we find one who has become a distinguished lawyer and leader in political circles, notwithstand- ing the fact that his record must hear comparison with that of the Hon. John Ryan, his father, who was formerly commissioner of streets and second trus- tee of Sacramento, and who also held other representative positions for many years and was accounted one of the prominent and influential men of the capital city.
Mr. Ryan was born in Sacramento on the IIth of May, 1859, and ac- quired his academic education in his native city, supplementing it, however, by a course in St. Mary's College in San Francisco, in which he was graduated with the class of 1878. Returning to Sacramento he then took up the study of law in the office and under the direction of Judge R. C. Clark, being ad- mitted to practice in the supreme court November 9, 1880. He then opened an office and at once entered upon the prosecution of his chosen profession. No dreary novitiate awaited him, for almost immediately he secured a good clientage, which has been constantly growing in volume and importance, and thus he has been connected with much of the important litigation tried in the courts of his district. He is at home in all departments of law from the minutiæ in practice to the greater topics wherein are involved the consid- eration of the ethics and philosophy of jurisprudence and the higher con- cerns of public policy. He is clear in argument, thoroughly in earnest over whatever involved, never abusive of adversaries, imbued with the highest courtesy and yet a foe worthy of the steel of the most able opponent.
Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity it cannot be denied that members of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs than any other class of the community. This is but the natural result of causes which are manifest and require no explanation, for the ability and training which qualify one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for duties which lie outside the strict path of his profession and which touch the general interests of society. Mr. Ryan has been particularly active in mat-
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ters political, having firm belief in the principles upon which the Republi- can party rests its cause. His abilities as a worker and orator have been fre- quently employed, and he has several times been called upon to accept re- sponsible political positions. In 1882 he was elected to represent his county in the twenty-fifth session of the state legislature, a session of great interest to the city and county of Sacramento. At the subsequent election he was again the choice of his party for the same position, but afterwards resigned the nomination because a change of residence made him ineligible. He was the youngest member of the house at the time, but by no means the least active and efficient worker, in fact his labors and influence were strongly felt and his support was given to many measures which have resulted in benefit to the commonwealth. In 1885 Mr. Ryan was appointed chief clerk of the house of representatives, holding that position until 1889, including two extra ses- sions. In 1890 he was elected district attorney, was re-elected in 1892 and again in 1894, holding the office continuously for eight years, or until the close of the year 1898, when he retired to become a candidate for Congress. He was appointed commissioner of public works in the fall of 1899 for a term of four years. Soon after this appointment, however, the act under which it was made was repealed, but in March, 1900, Governor Gage again appointed him for a term of four years, so that he is the present incumbent of that office. In public positions his efforts have resulted from careful delib- eration and wide consideration of the questions involved and their probable effect upon the general welfare. He is fearless in the advocacy of his convic- tions, and no one has cause to question the integrity of his course.
Mr. Ryan has, perhaps, occupied an even larger place in the public atten- tion and regard and performed a more important work as a member of the Order of the Native Sons of the Golden West, having assisted in its incor- poration in the year 1880. He was a member of the Grand Parlor in 1880 when it was incorporated, and during that year was chosen grand vice presi- dent. In April, 1889, he was elected grand president of the Native Sons and served for one term in that position-the highest within the gift of the fra- ternity. He has been a prominent factor in the almost unexampled growth and prosperity of the Native Sons and has had the satisfaction of seeing more than a score of the members occupying seats in the legislature. He served on the board of Sutter Fort trustees, and was one of the originators of the proposition to buy the land and restore the fort as an historical place worthy of preservation. This was done during his service on the board. A com- mittee was appointed to take in charge this matter by the Grand Parlor of Native Sons in 1888, and twenty thousand dollars was raised for the pur- chase of the land. This committee, to which Mr. Ryan belonged, secured the passage of an act of the legislature creating the board of the Sutter Fort trustees, and the title of the land was conveyed to the state, which then made an appropriation of twenty thousand dollars to restore the old fort. Mr. Ryan, following the completion of his work in this connection, retired from the board in 1902. On the occasion of the unveiling of the handsome monu- ment to General Winn, the founder of the Order of Native Sons in Sacra- mento Valley, Mr. Ryan took a leading part. He has been one of the trustees
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of the state library of California for one term, and for three years was a trustee of the Chico State Normal School, but resigned before the expiration of his term. He has likewise been a trustee of the Sacramento lodge of Elks since its organization, is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Young Men's Institute. He has also been active in military affairs of this state. He enlisted as a private in Company G of Sacramento City in the year 1880. He was afterwards elected one of the line officers of Company B of the same city. After four years' service as a private and a lieutenant of his company, he was appointed major and inspector of the Fourth Brigade, and also served in the same capacity in another brigade, and voluntarily re- tired with the rank of major in the year 1895.
Mr. Ryan was married on the 25th of November, 1883, in Sacramento, to Miss Ella Boutwell, who was born in Placer county, California, and is a daughter of S. A. Boutwell, a pioneer farmer and stock-raiser of that county. The children born of this marriage are Frank D., who is now a student in Santa Clara College; Estelle, Ruth and Irene, who are attending school in Sacramento. The family is prominent in the social circles of this city and Mr. Ryan has a wide acquaintance throughout the state, the circle of his friendship being greatly extended through his political and fraternal connec- tions. He has in professional life won success, yet he is not learned in the law alone, for he has studied long and carefully the subjects that are to the statesman and the man of affairs of the greatest import-the questions of finance, political economy and sociology,-and has kept abreast with the best thinking men of the age.
PERCY VINCENT LONG.
Percy Vincent Long, city attorney of San Francisco, was born March 26, 1870, in Sonora, Tuolumne county, California. His parents, William G. and Mary J. (Linekin) Long, were both natives of Maine. The father came to California in 1850, making the voyage around Cape Horn and on reaching the Golden state took up his abode in Sonora, where he became in- terested in mining, and since that time has given his energies to the develop- ment of the rich mineral resources of the state. In 1872 he was elected rep- resentative in the state legislature from the district comprised of the coun- ties of Inyo, Mono and Tuolumne, serving during the twentieth general assembly, and during the twenty-sixth session of the legislature he was the representative from Tuolumne county alone. In 1890 he was appointed United States marshal by President Benjamin Harrison and served for four years, representing the northern district of California. He has a wide acquaintance in both mining and political circles and his influence in both has been widely felt.
Judge Percy V. Long, the second son, was a student in the public schools of Haywards and Oakland in his early boyhood, and continued his course in the high school there until he put aside his text-books at the age of seventeen years. He entered upon his business career in connection with merchandising at Haywards and continued in that until 1890, when, having
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formed a resolution to make the practice of law his life work, he became a student in the office of M. A. Wheaton, who directed his reading until May, 1891. At that time he became deputy clerk in the office of the clerk of the supreme court, and while discharging his duties in that connection he con- tinued his law studies and in October, 1892, was admitted to the bar. How- ever, he continued to fill the clerical position mentioned until January, 1895, when he entered upon tlie active practice of law in connection with Hon. Frank H. Dunne, now judge of the superior court, this association being maintained until 1897.
In the fall of 1900 Judge Long was elected justice of the peace, serv- ing for a term of two years and was then re-elected in 1902 to serve for a four years' term. In 1903, however, he was chosen city attorney, and ere entering upon the duties of the latter position resigned as justice of the peace. He made a splendid record as a popular and trustworthy official and his course reflected credit upon his constituents and the party of his choice -the Republican-upon whose ticket he was nominated.
Judge Long was married in June, 1900, to Miss Emma B. Sexton, a native of California and a daughter of William Sexton, who came to this state in pioneer times and is now regarded as one of the best known insur- ance men not only of San Francisco but on the Pacific coast. He arrived in California from Maine in 1853, and was closely identified with many early events which shaped the policy of the state in its formative period. He filled the position of sheriff in Placer county about forty years ago and also occupied legislative and other positions. Both Mr. and Mrs. Long have always been residents of California, and in San Francisco and other portions of the state have a wide and favorable acquaintance. Judge Long belongs to Golden Gate Parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden West and ranks high in that fraternity, having been for four terms a grand trustee, while from 1890 until 1902, inclusive, he was a delegate to the grand parlor. He is also well known in other fraternal and charitable organizations. He has been exalted ruler of the San Francisco Lodge of Elks and is a member of the Court Palo Alto of the Foresters of America, Golden Gate Camp, Woodmen of the World, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and South San Francisco Lodge, F. & A. M. Although a young man he has already attained distinction as a leader in political and fraternal circles, and at the bar has won the prominence which comes through merit and earnest, honest labor.
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