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 93

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 93

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member or the Sacramento Grange, No. 12. He was married February 13, 1870, to Mrs. Anna A. Hite. They have one son, George H., who was born December 27, 1875. Mrs. Slawson was born in Schuyler County, Illinois, January 20, 1852. Her parents and family of ten children removed to California across the plains by ox teams in 1853, being six months on the journey. Upon their arrival here they immediately settled on a farm in Sacramento County, where they resided until the death of her father, Alexander Hite, which occurred De- cember 30, 1885. He was a native of Shenan- doah County, Virginia, born February 3, 1806. Her mother, Arrabella (Mathews) Hite, was born in Licking County, Ohio, January 1, 1811, and is still living.

ILLIAM H. SLAWSON, a prosperous rancher on the Sacramento River, was born in Sussex County, New Jersey, July 30, 1835, a son of De Witt and Elizabeth (Horton) Slawson. When he was twelve years of age the family removed to Illinois, locating in Perry County, where the subject of this sketch lived for abont ten years, employed upon a farm. He then started for the golden West, going to New Orleans by steamboat, thence by the steamer "Philadelphia " to Havana, the Granada to Aspinwall, and after crossing the Isthmus, by the steamer "Golden Gate" to San Francisco, arriving March 2, 1857. He soon went to the Sonora mines, where he followed gold-mining for a short period, with but little taste for it and corresponding success, and then he resorted to his favorite calling, that of agri- culture, which he has ever since pursued, and in which he has enjoyed signal prosperity. He was on the tract of land adjoining the Tuolumne River until 1865, when he located in this county. Here he first bought a farm of 160 acres on the Freeport road, a part of the Win- ters ranch, where he made his home about three years, then he moved down upon the Cosumnes

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River and bought 540 acres near Benson's Ferry. In 1875 he moved upon the Lower Stockton road, adjoining the place of his brother, S. S. Slawson, and resided there five years; he then sold that place and moved further up, to Whisky IIill, and bought a place there, occu- pying it two years; and in 1883 he purchased his present place on the river road about four miles below the city, where he owns 156 acres of land as fertile as the valley affords, on the banks of the river. In 1866 he married Mrs. Catharine Kendall, nee Clingenpeel, a native of Dayton, Ohio, and a daughter of an old Vir- ginian. She was but five years of age when her parents moved with the family to Fulton County, Illinois. She married William S. Kendall, and they came to California in 1857. After resid- ing in this State a few years they went back to Canton, Fulton County, Illinois, where Mr. Kendall died in January, 1863. By that mar- riage there was one son, William Smith Ken- dall, now residing in Sacramento. Mr. and Mrs. Slawson have an adopted son, named Charles H. Slawson, who was born March 15, 1876.

PRENTIS SMITH, vice-president of the National Bank of D. O. Mills, was born in the city of St. Louis in 1841, the son of Saul Smith, the distinguished actor, anthor and scholar, who died in 1869. The Smith family are eminently American; the father is a native of New York State, and grandfather Smith, a New Englander, took part in the Re- volutionary War, and was wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill. On the maternal side the family is almost equally well known, the mother, Elizabeth Pugstey, was a native of Westchester County, New York, and a member of the fam- ily of that name, who for generations have had their home on the banks of the far-famed IIud. son River. Brought up and educated in his native city, in early life he witnessed the dire sectional feelings and animosity developed by

the Civil War. His experience as a financier and banker has been both comprehensive and varied, first as a bank clerk, and later on as cashier in the United States Sub-treasury in his native city, and as a private banker in Illinois; in these and other enterprises he has gained en- viable reputation as a financier prior to his com- ing to San Francisco in 1875. He there accepted the position of executive secretary and con- fidential factotum to D. O. Mills, and, when in 1885 Mills withdrew his San Francisco office to the city of New York, Mr. Smith was invited to come to Sacramento, and, in conjunction with Cashier Miller, assume the management of the Mills bank, having been appointed to its vice- presidency. Mr. Smith was married in the city of St. Louis, in 1865, to Miss Alice Vaile, who is a scion of an old French family, and a worthy representative of her ancestry. They are much respected in Sacramento, and move in the best circles of society.

VAN MAREN, farmer, was born in Mer- ced County, California, August 5, 1861. His father, a native of Holland, died in 1876, at the age of fifty-four years. The son is now on a ranch of 600 acres, which is indeed a fine property. It is divided into five parts for his children. Mr. Van Maren's wife, now de- ceased, was born in Germany and came to this country in 1850, and died August 16, 1879.

OSEPH SIMS was born in London, Eng- land, in 1832. His father emigrated to Canada a few months before his birth, and the mother followed soon after that event. Both died in Toronto, aged abont sixty-two. When abont thirteen years of age Mr. Sims first came to the United States, but soon went back and spent one winter at school to supplement the scant education of his earlier years. After- ward through life by reading and private study

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he has still further supplied the negligence of his boyhood in that regard. In 1847 Mr. Sims went to New York and enlisted at Fort Hamilton in the regiment of Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, now a resident of San Francisco. The original regiment had left in 1846 for California to take part in the Mexican War in that quarter, and had arrived in 1847. The new recruits, about 200 in number, reached Monterey in 1848, and Company D, Henry M. Nagley, Captain, of which Mr. Sims was a member, was sent by the same vessel to Lower California. They were in active service six months. Company D was the last command to leave Mexican soil at the close of the war; left the field Angust 31; and were mustered out at Monterey in October, 1848. With his partner, Charles H. Ross, and several others, the subject of this sketch went to mining at Mokelumne Hill in Calaveras County. They crossed the San Joaquin at Stockton by the ferry, which was a inere whaleboat, requiring the taking to pieces of a common cart for shipment. Dissatisfied with results at Mokelumne Hill, they remained only a few weeks, and on Christ mas-day, 1848, Mr. Sims and Mr. Ross were on the Sacramento on their way to Sutter's Fort, with a light snow falling, the first they had seen in California; so the subject of this sketch ante- dates by at least a few days the earliest forty- niners, and he has never since been absent from Sacramento County for over three months at a time. In April, 1849, with his partner and about forty others, mostly ex-soldiers and Oregonians, Mr. Sims went up the American River. They had a brush with the Indians, who tried to raid their pack-stock, but the Oregon- ians, who had a special hatred of them, and the ex-soldiers constituted a very different party from what they had usually encountered and a few Indians were killed. When they reached the diggings all seemed to be doing very well, some making eighty dollars a day, each, but the demon of unrest seized most of the party and after two or three weeks they went off looking for richer deposits. Mr. Sims and his partner, who was only two or three years older, did not

feel it safe to remain alone, and Mr. Ross returned to Sacramento. Mr. Sims went forward toward Shasta with some others, but hearing un- favorable reports at Cottonwood Creek he too returned to Sacramento. In the autumn of 1849 Mr. Sims and Mr. Ross located a few miles below Freeport, built a cabin, and cut some wood, but the flood of 1849-'50 swept all away. They concluded that it was not the proper sec- tion for their purpose, which was the raising of cattle, and they fell back to the interior, selling their claim on the river. In 1850 they took up a large body of land, east of what is now some- times called Sims Lake, of which 1,100 acres were finally patented to them by the United States Government or the State of California. They were the first actual settlers for miles around, thongh some parties were temporarily occupying natural-grass lands in the neighbor- hood. The first year they too confined their labors to cutting the natural hay on their low lands; but soon varied tlreir industries by rais- ing cattle, sowing grain, and dairying. In 1860 Mr. Sims bought his partner's interest, the whole having a frontage of about one mile on the lower Stockton road, about ten miles south of Sacramento, and running west to the lake already mentioned. Besides general farming -- grain, hay, cattle and horses-Mr.Sims has thirty- four acres of vineyard, six of which were planted twenty years ago, thirteen in 1883, and fifteen in 1888. In 1877 he built a new residence of nine rooms, making a comfortable and well- appointed home in the midst of his vines and fig-trees. In 1860 Mr. Sims was married to Miss Mary L. Moor, April 13, 1835, a native of Bennington, New York, the daughter of Thomas and Mahala D. (Highley) Moor. The latter, a native of Connecticut, is still living in full pos- session of all her faculties at the age of eighty- three. Mr. Moor, who was a native of New York, died in 1864, aged about sixty-five. The Moor family crossed the plains in 1854, settling in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Sims are the parents of three living children: Hattie May, born November 8, 1862; William Moor, July

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

30, 1865; Paul Revere, November 23, 1869. William M. took a full business course of two years at the Napa Collegiate Institute, and Paul R. is at present in the same institution, where he will graduate in May. Miss Hattie M. re- ceived a grammar-school course and also learned music. The family lived in Sacramento three or four years some ten years ago for the better education of the children. Mr. and Mrs. Sims and the two oldest children are members of Sacramento Grange, No. 12, Mr. Sims being master in 1889. He is a member of the Pio- neer Society.

OHN T. STOLL, manufacturer of and dealer in saddles and harness, No. 610 K street, Sacramento, came to this city a poor boy; to-day he leads in his line of business, with a trade extending throughout the Pacific coast. He was born in Ober-verrieden, Bavaria, Ger- many, January 6, 1843. His mother's maiden name was Margaret Ladeo. His father, Carl Stoll, and his grandfathers for three preceding generations, were saddlers and harness-makers. Even before he was six years of age he had learned to do some work in this line. Visiting at his grandfather's one day, the latter, who also carried on a shop, asked him if he knew any- thing about the business, and he replied, " Not much." Being given the task of sewing a buckle upon a hame-strap, he succeeded so well as to · elicit the praise of his grandfather and uncle, who gave him presents of money as testimonials. At the tender age of fourteen years he embarked from Bremen for California, on the sailing ves- sel Lanra, with no money of his own bnt with $500 in coin belonging to his uncle, to meet him here. He arrived at New York, and thence came by way of the Isthmus to San Francisco, arriving November 7. He worked steadily at his trade with his uncle at Stockton until the Fraser River gold mining excitement. He went there and worked in a hotel about three months and then returned to his uncle at Stockton. He

soon earned enough at odd jobs to pay his uncle the 8253 he owed him for passage money. In partnership with Charles Wagner, a newly formed but intimate acquaintance, he began buying mustang ponies. Starting to Sacra- mento with a load of leather, drawn by two mustangs, one of the animals gave out as they were crossing Dry Creek abont twilight in the evening; and Warner, being taller and stouter, carried the leather across the creek on his back. When all were across it was quite dark. That night they obtained little or no sleep, but in the morning they found they had been lying beside a small building containing hay. Of this they gave a quanity to the horses and then lay down on the hay to finish ont their sleep. By noon they found a farmer three miles distant, who came with his team to their assistance and helped them along until they were across the Cosumnes River, receiving $2.50 for his reward. Arriving at this city Mr. Stoll liked the place, remained here and was employed by Wagner & Gehring in their saddle and harness shop, at $25 a month. Work becoming slack there in about six weeks, he had to find another place, which turned out to be at the shop of Samuel Roth, on J street, where he had great ambition to excel in his calling. The flood of 1861 sus- pended this establishment, and Mr. Stoll went to Stockton to visit his sister who had a short time before come over from Germany, and he worked for his uncle again for two weeks at from $18 to $21 a week. He was then per- suaded by a friend to try his luck in Calaveras County; but just before going there he re- ceived a letter from Mr. Roth, desiring him to return to him. He came here, but only to set- tle up with him, and he went again to the moun- tains to open up business, having only $60 in cash. His friend Charles Wagner and his brother lent him a stock of leather. As yet he was but eighteen years of age, and did not seem to be over fifteen. People coming in would ask him where the boss was. This embarrassed him, but he made his headway by doing good work, and in five months he was worth $600. He

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went to Murphy, and soon all the men from Murphy to Silver Creek were owing him from $10 to $40, making a total of $800. He in- vested in silver and copper stock, and in two years' time was worth a little over $1,500, and had spent nearly half of that amount in mining speculations. The building of the Central Pa- cific Railroad checked his business, and after visiting, in company with his old friend Eber- hardt of Sac. amento, the mines of Silver Moun- tain, Carson and Virginia City, he returned to this place. Their trip through the mountains and in Nevada was filled with romantic inci- dents. Mr. Eberhardt purchased the interest of Frank Gehring in the firm of Wagner & Geh- ring, and he wrote to Mr. Stoll, who had gone temporarily to Murphy's, to come down and buy out the other partner. This being done, the business there was conducted by Eberhardt & Stoll until 1867, when Mr. Stoll bought Mr. Eberhardt's interest, and he has since carried on the business alone. When he began alone here he employed but one workman and did only a retail business; he now employs forty mnen, and since 1885 has been doing an extensive whole- sale business. He manufactures his own stock, making a specialty of saddles, for which he has gained a wide reputation. Ifis trade extends through California, Oregon, Washington Terri- tory, Nevada, Utah and Idaho. In 1865, when he came to Sacramento, he had but $850 in coin. He paid that as part of the purchase price ($2,650), for Mr. Wagner's interest, giving his note for the balance; within a year and a half after that he had paid that balance. The year subsequently he bought out Mr. Eberhardt and still had money left. Next he bought the building, and soon had that paid for. Mr. Stoll was married in February, 1867, to Miss Orsillia Haag, a native of Germany, who came to Amer- ica when a child of three years, her people set- tling in Cincinnati. She was left an orphan at an early age, and came to California with rela- tives. Mr. and Mrs. Stoll have four children, namely: John C., Albert G., Horatio F., and Edwin P. Mr. Stoll has long been connected

with the Turn-Verein, of which society he has been leader and secretary. He is also a mem- ber of Sacramento Lodge, No. 2, I. O. O. F., having passed all the chairs.

S AMUEL M. HOOVER, deceased, was born June 5, 1828, in Blair (then Bedford) County, Pennsylvania, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Sprecher) Hoover. The former was born January 1, 1793, and the latter Octo- ber 21, 1798. They were married February 23, 1819, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, both being natives of that county. The term of their married life extended over forty years. They removed from Lancaster County to Bedford, and afterward to Martinsburg, Blair County, where the subject of this sketch was born. In 1854 they sold out and went to Illinois, locating on a farm in Whiteside County, adjoining the city of Sterling, where they made their home for the remainder of their lives. Mr. Hoover died July 14, 1859, and his wife August 3, 1870. They were the parents of nine children, viz .: Catha- rine, George, Sarah, Samuel M., Louisa, John, David, Elizabeth and Henry. Excepting the eldest daughter, Catharine, all are living, and, with the exception of John and Louisa, are the heads of families. Samuel, our subject, was raised on his father's farin. The country there was new, and the children were brought up very differently from the children of to-day, having to endure many hardships. Samuel Hoover had to walk three miles to school in the winters through the snow. In the summer they could not spare him, but kept him at home to work on the farm. When a boy, especially on wash- days, he was sent out into the fields to pick up stones and pile them in a heap, ready to be hauled away. Many times he has worked at it till his fingers bled. Often his lunch was sent ont to him, in order that he would not bother the folks at the house. On cold, frosty morn- ings he was sent barefooted after the cows. These are only a few of his early experiences.

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Poverty was not the cause of this, as his parents were considered to be rich and were prosperons farmers, but it was the enstom of the country. All the lads of the neighborhood were brought up in the same way. He was a great help to his father in many ways when he grew older; he assisted him in building their house, barns and other buildings. When he was twenty-one years old he determined to go West. He told his father, who tried to dissuade him, telling him that if he wished to marry and settle down he would give him a fine start; but young Hoover was determined to see more of the country. Accordingly his father gave him $300 and told him to go and see for himself, and if he succeeded in finding a better country than Pennsylvania, the old gentleman might be in- duced to sell ont and emigrate. In 1850 he started for Burlington, remaining about two weeks, then returned to Pennsylvania. He traveled all the way back by land. His route was to Rock Island, then across to Peoria; there took the stage for Indianapolis, the stage route being over corduroy roads. The passen- gers stood it as long as they conld, then got ont and walked into Indianapolis. At Zanesville they bought horses, and Mr. Hoover started down the turnpike on horseback, crossing the Wheeling bridge, and then ou into Pennsyl- vania, arriving home after the hardest riding he ever did. The following spring he and his brother George started back for Iowa and Illi- nois, buying a couple of fine stallions in Penn- sylvania before starting, taking them to Illinois. On arriving there, George returned to Pennsyl- vania, and reported to his father that it was a pretty good country, which was the cause of the old gentleman seiling out and moving to Illi- nois. Samuel and George had arranged to go to raising horses in Illinois before George re- turned East, leaving Samuel there, where he remained till spring, and during that time made considerable preparations for going into that business. Then the California gold fever broke out, and he began making the arrangements necessary for a trip across the plains. He bought

a wagon and four horses, and secured three pas- sengers who paid him $150 each for their pass- age through and board. Early in the spring of 1852 they started from Council Bluffs, follow- ing the main road of travel via Salt Lake. They took in a few more passengers on the road, among whom were ex-Lieutenant-Governor Charlie Fish, and a man named Durgae. The wagon train they joined was commanded by Captain Conda, who had abont forty men with him and a large band of horses. Mr. Hoover's and Conda's parties continned together until they neared Salt Lake, where they separated, Hocver going via Salt Lake, and Conda going by a northern route; some of Conda's men joined Hoover. The party stopped in Salt Lake City a week, taking in supplies. They finally continued their journey, and arrived in Califor- nia in August. At Ragtown Mr. Hoover sold his horses and wagon, with the exception of the stallion which he had brought all the way from Pennsylvania, and which was alınost too weak to walk, to an old stage man named "Bill" Hamilton, for $700. He received the payment in inch slugs, which he packed on his person. as his horse was not able to carry them. At Mud Springs he sold the horse for $500. Then, unincumbered, he returned to Placerville, and he and the man named Durgae took a contract for putting down a slide or shoot to pass lumber down to the ditch to build a flume. For this they received $500. He came to Sacramento and at last decided that he wanted a ranch. Ac- cordingly he and a Dutchman who had come ont with him started for the Debago conntry, in the neighborhood of the red-woods. They fonnd the people there very much averse to having any new-comers there, on account of the trouble they were having with the squatters' claims, and as he was very politely but forcibly re- quested by several men to leave, he concluded he had better do so; so, mounting their horses, he and the Dutchman came straight back to Sacramento. Not long after that he bought ont a restaurant between J and K streets, which he ran two or three days, and finding it to be a

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good business, bought out another on Front street. Three weeks later the big fire of 1852 came, and he was the loser by about $1,500, to- gether with the improvements he had laid out on the place. This left him only $400, $200 of which he gave to a man and commissioned him to go to San Francisco and buy a stock of cakes, cherry brandy, etc. When the goods arrived from San Francisco he was unprepared to re- ceive them, and as part of them were of such a nature that they had to be disposed of iinmedi- ately, he spread out his cakes on the top of his barrels, and sold out all except his brandy. He was well satisfied with the results. He then decided to try mining, and accordingly sent for his Dutchman and went to Sonoma. They worked two weeks and got nothing. Mr. Hoover had his own and his friend's expenses to pay; so when his funds were reduced to $20 they started for Sacramento. Arriving at Stock- ton, he had but $5, not enough to bring them both to Sacramento; so he told his friend to work his way up. When he arrived in Sacra- mento he had but 25 cents in his pocket. With this he bought some pie, then crept into a hay- stack, where he spent the night, the first and last night he ever spent in a like place. Next morning he hunted up "Bill" Hamilton, the man who bought his horses, told him he was "dead broke" and wanted a job. Hamilton took him to the Bee House, gave him his break- fast, and told the landlord to board him as long as was necessary; then gave him two horses and told him to go to work for himself, and when he was able he could repay him. In the course of two weeks he had made $700, besides paying Mr. Hamilton. This was during the floods, and the streets of Sacramento were all afloat. He hitched his team to a boat and took passengers through the streets. This only lasted two weeks, and then the streets were once more fit for foot travelers. He then tried hauling freight, and continued until the railroad was built. Finally he purchased his present place of 1,200 acres on the Cosumnes River, where he carried on a successful business, the ranch being fertile

and productive. He was one of the largest hop-growers in the county; also raised grain and cattle. He owned another ranch of 1,600 acres on the Sacramento River, which is devoted to stock-raising. He first commenced raising hops some eight or nine years ago. The year hops commanded such a high price he hauled the most valuable load ever hauled through the streets of Sacramento; it consisted of 105 bales loaded on four wagons, and drawn by nine mules and a horse. He took it to Front street, and delivered part of it to Booth & Co., and the rest to Mebius & Co. It brought $10,000. The home place is one of the finest in the coun- try. The building is a handsome structure, and the place is kept in first-class order. Mr. Hoover was married April 18, 1861, to Marga- ret Van Zandt, daughter of John and Lydia Van Zandt, all natives of Mifflin County, Penn- sylvania. She was born November 25, 1838, and resided in her native place till she was six- teen years of age; then she went to Huntingdon County to school, and afterward taught school as long as she was in that State. From Penn- sylvania she went to Illinois, thence to Missouri where she was married. She left there for Cali- fornia April 21, 1861. Mr. and Mrs. Hoover had one son, Ben Van Zandt Hoover, born No- vember 24, 1863.

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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