An illustrated history of Sacramento County, California : containing a history of Sacramento County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future portraits of some of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also prominent citizens of today, Part 91

Author: Davis, Winfield J., 1851- 4n
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 916

USA > California > Sacramento County > An illustrated history of Sacramento County, California : containing a history of Sacramento County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future portraits of some of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also prominent citizens of today > Part 91

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mother's estate. Mr. Reese has been a success- ful farmer. Ile commenced with nothing but his own energy, good judgment, and persever- ance, and now owns one of the prettiest and most valuable pieces of property in this county. His vineyard of forty-three acres is in good bearing. The oldest part of it was planted in 1863, by James Hooker, of Sacramento, who was in partnership with his uncle; one of them died, however, before their plans were realized and the place was sold. Mr. Reese is a mem- ber of the Odd Fellows' Society, Elk Grove Lodge, No. 274, and of the Florin Grange, No. 130. Mr. and Mrs. Reese have five children : Edward E., born August 2, 1880; Ethiel M., September 1, 1882; Percy D., May 31, 1884, John K., December 30, 1886, and Frank L., July 14, 1889.

M YRON SMALL GREEN was born in Richmond, Vermont, May 17, 1838, his parents being Iddo and Lonisa (Whitcomb) Green. The mother died in 1887, aged seventy-six; the father, a carpenter by trade, is still living, aged eighty, on January 9, 1889. Grandfather Isaac Green was over seventy when he died. Grandmother (Stevens) Whit- comb also lived to a good old age, dying of apoplexy. M. S. Green received a limited edn- cation in the district schools, and at the age of fifteen came to California with his uncle, James Whitcomb, helping to drive cattle across the plains. The uncle liad come to California in 1850 with his brother Silas. They were the owners of a large part of the Whitcomb ranch, now owned by N. M. Fay. Yonng Green helped around on the place until near the close of 1856. On December 20 of that year he left San Francisco for Vermont, where he spent one year in an academy at Underhill Centre. Re- turning in April, 1858, he went into the butcher- ing business in Sacramento. He also bought and sold stocks, and of this he has done more for less ever since. For some years his uncle

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

James Whitcomb, carried on a large butchering business in the mining regions, running five shops at as many points, and in these enter- prises Mr. Green was often an assistant, and at other times did butchering on his own account or for others. In 1871 Mr. Whitcomb bought a fruit ranch of 103 acres ou the Sacramento, about four miles above Courtland. In 1873 he was seriously injured, resulting after a few months in paralysis of the lower limbs, which proved incurable. He had recourse to various kinds of treatment from 1873 to 1876, but all proved ineffective. In 1876 he settled down in the new house he had just built on his fruit ranch, and lived there ten years, dying July 18, 1886, aged sixty-one. Mr. Green now occupies the place, and is administrator of the estate. There are about twenty acres of orchard, and forty of alfalfa, the other chief industry being the raising of horses and cattle. In 1865 Mr. Green was married in Virginia City to Miss Frances J. Field, a native of Keokuk, Iowa, danghter of Edward and Eliza (Moran) Field. Mr. Field was a native of Vergennes, Ver- mont. Mr. and Mrs. Green are the parents of three children: Clara Lonisa, born in 1869; James Whitcomb, in 1871; and Edward, in 1880.

ILLIAM C. SHELDON was born Feb- ruary 26, 1848, on the well-known Sheldon ranch, being the oldest child and only son of Jared D. and Catherine F. (Rhoads) Sheldon. The father was original grantee of what was then called the Omnochum- ney Rancho, which, being afterward divided between him and his partner, became better known as the Sheldon and Daylor ranches. Will- iam C. successively attended the Rhoads and Wilson district schools until he reached the age of fifteen. In 1863 he entered Benicia College, taking a full course of three years, and after- ward a business course of one year in San Fran- cisco. At the age of nineteen he returned to

the farm, and in 1873 he received title to his individual share of the Sheldon estate, on which he still resides. It contained 630 acres, to which he has since added ninety. Of this about 230 acres are bottom land. On September 26, 1872, he was married to Miss Anna V. Cook, born in Burlington, New Jersey, of American parentage. They are the parents of six chil- dren: William Jared, born July 26, 1873; Catherine Polly, March 9, 1875; George Tru- man, October 18, 1877; Jessie Cornelia, Oc- tober 14, 1879; Laurin Murat, August 12, 1882; and a girl baby, not yet named, born March 25, 1888.

ARED DIXON SHELDON, deceased, was born January 8, 1813, in Underhill Centre, Vermont, his parents being Truman and Polly (Dixon) Sheldon. The father served in the War of 1812, and was engaged in the battle on Lake Champlain. When visited by their grandson, William C. Sheldon, in 1871, the old couple were hale and cheerful at the ages, re- spectively, of eighty-nine and eighty-seven, and both died in 1876. Truman Sheldon was the seventh in descent from one of three brothers- Isaac, John and William-who were among the early arrivals in Boston. Those who write their name Shelden are descendants of William, and all of either form in the United States are de- scendants of the three, except one family in New York city and one in Buffalo, New York. Truman Sheldon learned the trade of tanner and currier from his father, who worked at that trade, but Truman himself spent most of his life on a farm. Jared D., and an older brother, Orville, had to work on the farm in youth to help pay a debt for which the father had become security. The education thus limited was after- ward supplemented by special efforts. As com- pensation for their sacrifice, the father made them a gift of the remaining years to their majority. Both went West, and became teach- ers of distriet schools, using the intervals be-

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tween school terms in perfecting their own education by attending college and by private study. Jared Sheldon taught school at Quincy, Illinois, in 1832, at $16 a month, which he then regarded as a fine salary. In 1834 he taught in the township of Berne, Indiana. In May, 1835, he wrote from Dayton, Ohio, "a place of abont 4,000 inhabitants," and alluded to the fertility of the Miami Valley. At some time in those years, 1831 to 1837, he was mar- ried in Iowa to Miss Edwards, who died six months later. In 1837 he was farming near Quincy, and in 1838 was the owner of 160 acres in southern Indiana, the sale of which he entrusted to his brother, who accounted for the samne to the heirs in 1872, with interest. In the spring of 1838 he went to St. Louis, Mis- souri, where he engaged as a guard to some ex- pedition to Santa Fé. There he transferred his services to a party-probably a hunting and prospecting party-bound for California. The Lewis and Clark exploring expedition is thought to have supplied the incentive to this marked change in his career. On the journey he became sick and was necessarily left behind to follow as best he could. Among the trials of that lonely journey, he used to recall in after life as the most disagreeable, was the effort to sustain life by eating coyote. He made his way to Cali- fornia, and is known to have arrived in 1839. He spent one season in sea-otter hunting-it may have been in 1839-'40. His later educa- tion included some knowledge of surveying and building, and it is also assumed that he was a regular carpenter, but this idea arose from his having had so inch to do with building, while in fact, so far as known, it was rather as a con- tractor or superintendent than as a practical mechanic. Ile erected the first saw mill on the Pacific slope, at or near Los Angeles, the saws being transported on pack-asses from Mexico, wrapped in raw-hides. The mill was put in complete working order in 1841, but the owner dying during its construction and the widow not being required by Mexicans then to pay her husband's debt, Mr. Sheldon was left in the

lurch. Meanwhile he had contracted some debts. in the prosecution of the work, and being un- able to pay lie was sentenced to imprisonment. Learning this, he took refuge among the In- dians, and became of such service to his new friends on their raids into the plains that the Governor annulled his sentence, and he returned to civilized life. He is known to have traded in horses between California and Chihuahua one year, and it is not improbable that it was at this period of his eventful life. He was engaged for two years in building a custom-house in Mon- terey, for which he received from Governor Micheltorena, in 1844, a title to what was then known as the Omochumney rancho, one league wide on the right bank of the Cosumnes and extending to the upper crossing of the trail to Stockton from New Helvetia. It was afterward called the Sheldon ranch, and, after the division with his partner, William Daylor, the name of cach owner was given to his share. About this time he built the first flour-mill on the Pacific Coast, in the Russian settlement at Bodega; and in June, 1844, he built one at San Jose In 1845 Mr. Sheldon first came to settle perma- nently on his ranch, which had been attended to by his partner, William Daylor, and his as- sistants, to fulfill the requirements of Mexican law in regard to occupation and improvement. Three hundred head of cattle had been obtained of Dr. Marsh in exchange for some job of build- ing by Mr. Sheldon. Other herds were re- ceived on the place on shares. Altogether the ranch afforded ample occupation for both part- ners. In March, 1847, Mr. Sheldon was mar- ried by Alcalde Sinclair, at his place on the American River, to Miss Catherine F. Rhoads, aged fifteen, a daughter of Thomas Rhoads, who had arrived in California in the fall of 1846, and was then living on Dry Creek. In 1847 Mr. Sheldon's flour-mill on the Cosumnes was in operation. Ilis extensive lands and immense herds made him the natural prey of the free- booters of the period. His wealth was great and his losses heavy. In 1851 Mr. Sheldon erected a dam near Clark's Bar for the irriga-

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tion of his lands. The water was flowing on his grounds in nice shape when the miners in that region undertook to tear it down as inter- fering by back water with their labors. Accom- panied by his workmen, Mr. Sheldon sought to proteet it against an overwhelming force of angry miners. He was threatened with death if he went on the dam. Perhaps thinking their threats to be mere bravado, he paid no heed to their warnings. The miners fired and one of his men fell dead and another was wounded, Dazed by the crime or despising danger, he inade no effort to escape, though the angry mob was shouting "Now for Sheldon," and at the next volley he was shot dead-July 12, 1857. He left a widow, aged nineteen, and three elil- dren. Of these the second was accidentally drowned a few years later; the oldest, William C., was three years old, and the youngest, Cath- erine D., was only fifteen days. She became the wife of Joel S. Cotton, but died in 1873, leav- ing two children: Katie Irene and Joel S., whose birth the mother survived but a few days. The father died in 1878.

ELSON WILCOX, farmer, Sutter Town- ship, was born May 18, 1825, in Madison County, New York, a son of Sanford R. and Climena (Hunt) Wilcox. Edward Wilcox, his grandfather, was a native of Rhode Island, emigrated to New York, and lived to the age of ninety-nine years. He had three sons and two daughters. One son, R. B., went to Wisconsin and became wealthy. Sanford R., a carpenter by trade, and one sister, lived and died in Madison County, New York. Nelson's mother was a native of Vermont, and died in 1885. In this family were seven children, only two of whom are now living: Nelson and a sister. Helen M. died in Hamilton. Sophia Clark still lives in Madison County. Nelson, the second in the family, has made his own way in the world ever since he was twelve years of age, be- sides assisting in the eare of other members of

the family. In 1844, the day after Polk was elected President of the United States, he be- gan to learn the carpenter and joiner's trade, of Charles Gardner, in Madison County; worked with him three years as an apprentice, and then bought out his time and worked for him for wages three years longer, and then was a con- traetor and builder until he came to California, October 1, 1858. After thirteen months in Sac- ramento County he returned East, making one of the quiekest.trips then on record, being only eighteen days and twenty hours from San Fran- cisco to New York. In March, 1860, he came again to California with his family, locating first on the Cosumnes River two years; then he lived four years on a raneh in Brighton Town- ship; next he came into the city and engaged in contracting and building until 1884; worked on the State Capitol over two years. He purchased his present ranch of 122 acres, five miles from Sacramento eity, on the lower Stockton road, in 1883. Here he raises grain and fruits; has many raspberries and strawberries. Once he had over two tons of ripe strawberries on the vines. He has about nine aeres in vineyard and eleven acres in other fruits, among which are forty orange trees, a very large number for a ranch. With the aid of his estimable wife Mr. Wilcox has been successful in his life's work, having made a comfortable home. Flowers and shrub- bery most tastefully adorn the premises. One specimen of the shrubbery is a rose bush which is possibly the mnost magnificent one in the county, spreading out as it does to an expanse of ten feet, and yielding beantifully-colored and finely perfumed flowers. September 11, 1847, is the date of Mr. Wilcox's marriage to Miss Abigail Keyes, a native of New York. Their first child was born, and died on the anniversary of that day, at the age of one year. They had eight ehildren altogether, and six died in in- fancy. The two living are Gussie N. and Nelson H. Mrs. Wilcox died December 5, 1888, at the age of sixty-two years. Mr. Wil- cox is a veteran Odd Fellow, being a member Sacramento Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F., and of

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the Encampment, No. 42; he is also a member of the K. of P., Lodge No. 12; of I. O. R. M., Lodge No. 14; and of P. of H., No. 12. His first vote for President of the United States was cast for a Whig, and since then he has been a Republican; has been several times a delgate to connty conventions.

OHN WILD, farmer, near Folsomn, was born in England, May 1, 1810, son of Benjamin and Ann (Winters) Wild, na- tives also of England, and occupants of the farm where the subject of this notice was reared. At the age of nineteen years he commenced work- ing away from home occasionally, and when twenty-one he went out for himself altogether, learning the machinist's trade in Rochedale, England, and followed the same until he came to America in 1844, sailing from Liverpool to New York city. The first four years in this country he spent at Hood's Island, working at his trade; next he was in Massachusetts; in 1850 he came to California by way of the Isth- Inus, on the steamer Philadelphia, the trip oc- cupying six weeks and three days. Coming on to Sacramento he at once found employment in a blacksmith's shop. In one half-day he re- paired a starting-bar for a steamboat, for which service he received $50. Six weeks after arriv- ing in Sacramento he went to Mississippi Bar and mined two weeks there; the ensuing six months he was at Dolan's Bar, and then at Mormon Island, and at all the mines in the vicinity of Placerville, that of Stony Dam being the principal one. He was successful in his mining career, which extended over a period of twenty years. In 1852 he settled upon his property, which now comprises 300 acres of land, all supplied with water and well adapted to general farming. This tract he found in a perfectly wild state, and he has made all the im- provements that now exist upon it. He has been a member of I. O. O. F. for fifty years or more, has been past officer for over fifty-one

months in the lodge, No. 91, of Warrington, England. In 1830, in England, he married Miss Ellen Rollinson, and they have two sons: James and Benjamin, both born in England, and both now residents of California, and min- ers by occupation, at present being located in the Amador mines. Mr. and Mrs. Wild live by themselves in their quiet cosy home half a mile from Folsom. He has been a man of great energy, and is still vigorous and of a happy disposition.

TOE SILVA, one of the well-known ranching men of Sutter Township, was born in 1822 in the Western Islands, and in 1855 emi- grated to California, and was first engaged in mining gold on Negro Bar near Folsom, in which business he was successful. Soon after- ward he bought his present place of ninety-five acres six miles from Sacramento on the river road, where he is doing well in raising vege- tables. His wife, Mary, was also born on the Western Islands, but they were married after coming to Sacramento. Their children are three in number: Joe, Manuel and Mary.

BRAM WOODARD, farmer, San Joaquin Township, was born in Hoosick, Rensse- laer County, New York, February 9, 1822, a son of Phineas Woodard (who also was born in that county near the east State line), and Phebe, nee Phillips, who was born in the town- ship of Grafton, same county. His grandfather on his mother's side was John Phillips, a Qua- ker who came from England and settled on the Van Rensselaer grant in the township of Graf- ton. His paternal grandfather, Jonathan Wood- ard, was born in Dutchess County, New York, of German descent, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. When Burgoyne sent a detachment of 500 English and 100 Indians to destroy the stores collected at Bennington, in

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Vermont, he was under the command of Gen- eral Stark, who, with 800 Vermont and New Hampshire militia, killed and took prisoners the most of this detachment; but Mr. Woodard was not at the battle, as he had been previously sent to Albany with the provision wagons. Word had been circulated that were the English successful the Indians were to be allowed to massacre the women and children, which would have seemingly been easy, as all the men were at the battle. Mrs. Woodard, acting upon the strength of this report, collected about thirty women and fortified them in a log cabin, armed with scythes, sticks and other crude weapons of defense, and waited the outcome of the battle. The next day she went upon the battle-field to see if her husband's body were among the killed. She turned over more than 200 bodies in her search, but, as stated before, he was not at the battle. While she was searching she canie to a wounded English officer, who asked her to give him a drink of water, and she politely complied with the request. He was under the command of General Gates at the battle of Stillwater and the surrender of Burgoyne. He survived during the entire war. Mr. Abram Woodard's grand- father, Phillips, on his mother's side, was a roy- alist and was captured while trying to make his way to Canada and placed in prison. An in- stance of his prison life was this: When Wash- ington was reviewing the troops the royalists were brought out of prison and compelled to lift their hats to him. This Mr. Phillips posi- tively refused to do, for which he was heavily ironed and sent back to the prison, where he remained until the close of the war. Phineas Woodard was a farmer in New York State all his life, dying in the winter of 1867, at the age of eighty-four years; and his wife died three years afterward, at the age of eighty-six years. When she was about eighty she made a trip from New York State to Minnesota, and returned without an escort, showing what a strong and active woman she was at that age. They had five sons and five daughters, of whom three are now living, and only two even left the State of

New York. Mr. Abram Woodard, whose name heads this sketch, was brought up on his father's farm and lived there until 1849, in the meantime making a trip to Wisconsin in 1844. During the year 1849 he left New York for the home of his married sister in Janesville, Wisconsin. During the following winter he was employed by a Mr. Clark. About April 10, the following spring, Mr. Woodard left for the Golden West. Going first to St. Louis, to buy provisions, he ascended the Missouri River to St. Joseph, where he joined the overland train of three wagons and a number of horses. He was elected captain. Crossing the Missouri River May 11, at the end of eighty-five days he reached Ring- gold, near Diamond Spring. Until 1853 Mr. Woodard worked in the mines there, while liis partner, David Cook, who was not able to work in the mines, remained on the Sheldon and Day- lor grant on the Cosumnes River, buying and trading in live-stock with the money Mr. Wood- ard furnished him. June 1, 1853, they left for New York by water and the Isthmus, landing there in twenty-three days. After a visit home they went to Wisconsin and put up 100 tons of hay, bought 426 head of cattle and twenty-two horses, and kept them on that hay during the following winter; and the next year, 1854, drove them across the plains to California, as- sisted by fourteen men. Arriving here October 22, they sold their stock, realizing high prices for some of it. After a little war-cloud between the squatters and the grant owners had blown over, Mr. Woodard and his partner bought 1,000 acres of land, which was afterwards divided equally between them. Crook sold his land to Dr. James Caples, and Mr. Woodard has ever since occupied his first purchase. About half of it is bottom land, very rich and productive. He has 170 acres in wheat, forty in hops, and about the same amount in alfalfa and corn; the remainder is pastnre. He has about seventy head of horses and cattle, counting old and young. Politically Mr. Woodard was in early days a Douglas Democrat, and since then has been a Republican. He was married Jannary

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9, 1856, to Miss Elizabeth Sampson, who was born in England, Angust 28, 1839, daughter of Henry Sampson, who was a farmer, and who came to this country in 1844; was a business man in St. Louis a number of years, came to California in 1852, and died in February, 1863. Mrs. Woodard was only two years old when her mother died. Mr. and Mrs. Woodard have three children: Julia, wife of Richard Bilby, of this county; Irwin, who married Miss D. A. Witt, and resides on a part of the home place; and Flora, at home. They have lost two children; one died in infancy; the other, Joseph, died in 1878, at the age of nineteen years.

RANK D. SCHULER, a farmer of Sutter Township, was born in Switzerland, July 15, 1850, a son of Carl D. and Regina (Appert) Schuler; was reared in his native place, and in 1872, after spending eight months in France, emigrated to the United States, landing at New York. He worked in dairies three years near St. Louis, Missouri, then, coming to California, he resided in San Francisco four years, on a dairy. Coming then to Sacramento, he opened a saloon on K street, between Front and Second, and ran that two years. In 1881 he purchased his present place in Sutter Town- ship, between the upper and lower Stockton roads, about four miles from the city. The ranch contains fifty acres, and is devoted prin- cipally to fruit-raising, and partly to hay. There are apples, fine grapes, strawberries, blackberries and Bartlett pears, all of which are bearing. On arriving in this country Mr. Schuler had noth- ing; but as he has always been a hard-working man and a good manager, he has acquired a fine and productive place. Ile was married in 1880 to Babette Stadler, a native of Switzerland, and a woman of excellent worth. She came to the United States in 1872, worked in the States about six years, visited the old country for half a year, and came to California about eleven years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Schuler have two $8

children, namely: Barbara, born December 5, 1883; and Frank Antoine, April 12, 1885.

ANUEL F. SILVEISA was born on one of the Azores Islands in 1851. In 1870 lie came to California and almost directly to Sacramento. For the first five years he worked aronnd at different places, and then purchased the present residence, a nice little ranch of fifty-five acres, where he raises vege- tables and a small quantity of hay. The maiden name of his wife was Mary Waters. She also was born on the Azores Islands in 1861. They have a happy family of five children, named Mary, Mannel, Joseph, Caroline and Rosa.

NDREW K. WACKMAN, farmer, San Joaquin Township, was born in Ross County, Ohio, eight miles south of Chilli- cothe, on the Scioto River, December 31, 1833. His grandfather, Marcus Wackman, was a resi- dent of New York State, but whether a native of that State or not is not definitely known. His wife's maiden name was Maria Cole. Marcus spent the greater part of his life in that State, and when advanced in years made his home with his son, John Wackman, in Ohio, where he died. In his family were four sons and two daughters: Abram, John. James, Jacob, Mary and Lovina. Abram, John and James moved to Ohio and died there; the two daughters also died in Ohio, and Jacob passed the remainder of his days in New York State. John Wack- man moved to Ohio when a young man, and there married Harriet Kelly. They made their home in Ross County during their life-time and died there, he in 1836 and she May 1, 1885, at the age of ninety years. She retained a good memory and did not become childish. In her family were four sons and two daughters: Mar- cus, Mary Louisa Jane, Harrison, Eliza Jane, John, and Andrew K. Harrison was the only

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Author: Davis, Winfield J., 1851- 4n Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 916

Author: Davis, Winfield J., 1851- 4n
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 916