USA > California > Sonoma County > An illustrated history of Sonoma County, California. Containing a history of the county of Sonoma from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time > Part 97
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UDGE MURRAY WIIALLON was born at Mayville, Chantanqna County, New York, August 14, 1816. Ilis father, Henry Whallon, was a native of New Jersey. Ile was married in Washington County, New York, his
wife being a native of Bucks County, Pennsyl- vania, after which, in March, 1812, he went to Mayville, Chautauqua County. He was a car- penter and joiner by trade, working at that a part of the time, and later engaging in farming. He worked at his trade in Erie, Pennsylvania, and assisted in building the fleet of Commodore Perry. In 1831 he moved to North East Town- ship, Erie County, where he bought a farm and resided until his death, which occurred in 1850, at the ripe old age of seventy-seven. His wife died in 1858, in Mayville, New York, at the same age. They had a family of eleven chil- dren, of whom eight lived to be grown-six sons and two daughters. One son, S. S. Whal- lon, was one of the canal commissioners for the State of New York, and died in 1858 at Erie, Pennsylvania. Another son, James H. Whal- lon, was a preacher in the Methodist Episcopal church in western New York and western Penn- sylvania for about thirty years, and for several years was presiding elder. Ile died in 1880 at Erie, Pennsylvania. Murray Whallon was among the younger members of his father's family. Ile was educated at the Mayville Academy, and on the 7th of September went to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he taught school two winters, and in the meantime pursued his studies in law under Sylvester W. Randall. Ile was admitted to the bar of Pennsylvania in 1839, and practiced his profession in that county for several years, where he took an active part in the political issues of the day. Early in life he showed a tendency toward polit- ical matters, and before he was of age he at- tended a young men's Democratic convention, and was placed upon a committee along with other able young men, among whom was Frank- lin Waite, of Jamestown, New York, and Her- man Risley, of Fredonia, New York. This committee prepared an address that was pub- lished and extensively circulated in western New York. At Erie, Pennsylvania, he was placed on a committee of the Democratic party of that city, to call a mass meeting on the 10th of September, 1840, and was appointed and
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aeted as grand marshal of that meeting, which was composed of from thirty to forty thousand people. Hle was elected in 1853 to the second mayorship of the city of Erie, and served that term. These events were immediately preced- ing what 'is known as the Erie Railroad war. In 1854 a controversy was aroused between the people and the Erie & Northeast Railway Com- pany, a short road leading from Erie to the New York State line. Under the charter of that road the company was prohibited by law to occupy with their track any street or public highway open. In direct opposition to their contract, they, in the construction of the road, occupied about a mile of the publie highway leading from Erie to Buffalo, and a mile of a street in the eity of Erie. When this controversy arose, the supervisors of the township of IIarbor Creek, who had control of the publie highways, and the city council of Erie, by resolution and ordi nance, determined to and did remove the rail- road track from the highway and street, or enough of it to make a break of seven miles in the road. The matter was taken to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, which decided that the township and eity authorities had a right to re- inove the road. An application was made from that section to the Legislature. A bill was passed which was signed by the Governor, re- pealing the charter of the railroad from Erie to the Ohio State line, and placing the road in the hands of three commissioners, which consisted of William F. Packer, afterward elected Gov- ernor of Pennsylvania; Alexander MeClure, now editor of the Philadelphia Times, and Murray Whallon, the subject of this sketch. At the next session of the Legislature, the Dem- veratie and Whig convention, the conventions of both parties who had opposed the course the railroad company had taken, nominated for the Legislature Gideon J. Ball, afterward treasurer of that State, and Murray Whallon. During that session the railroad corporations, including the leading railroads of Ohio and New York, by corruption, succeeded in passing a bill through the Legislature, giving them a legal right to what
they had claimed in this long contest. This was only done after a protracted contest in the house, lasting over two weeks, during which Mr. Whal- lon and his colleagues held the floor in opposi- tion to the bill until the afternoon of the last day of the session. The speaker of the house, having the same views on the matter, enabled them to obtain the floor. In 1845 Mr. Whallon was appointed collector of customs at Erie, under the Polk administration. In August, 1857, he received a letter from Judge Jeremiah S. Black, the attorney-general of the United States under the administration of President Buchanan, offering him a position as superin- tendent of Indian affairs for Utah, which he declined. In November of the same year he was called to Washington by letter from Gov- ernor William Bigler, then United States Sena- tor from Pennsylvania. He went there and soon after was appointed, with ex-Governor Hugh J. Anderson, of Maine, on a commission to investigate the defalcation of the melter and refiner in the San Francisco mint. Connected with this were several other important matters pertaining to this coast. After spending about a month examining the correspondence at Wash- ington relating to the matter, and gaining what information he could at the mint at Philadel- phia and at the assay office at New York, with his colleagues he sailed from New York for San Francisco, January 20, 1858, arriving at the latter place February 14. They were engaged in the investigation of that question, the examni- nation of the affairs of the custom house and land office at San Francisco, and looking into the affairs of the different enstom houses on the coast from San Diego to Olympia, for about ten months. On the return trip they sailed together from San Francisco to Havana, and owing to the condition of Mr. Whallon's health, thinking it not best to go north at that time of the year (January), deferred his journey, and arrived in Washington in March, 1859, when they completed their reports to the satisfaction of the authorities at Washington. In an inter- view with the president, he learned from him
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that Edwin M. Stanton had requested the presi- dent to appoint Mr. Whallon to the position of superintendent of Indian affairs for California. The president said he could not do that, for he did not think he was sufficiently acquainted with the Indians to take charge of the affairs. Ile went to the treasury department one morn- ing, where he met his eolleagne, Governor An- derson, who said the president had sent to the department for his name. It was learned that the president had sent his name to the senate for the appointment of eustoms at Erie, Penn- sylvania. When Mr. Whallon saw the presi- dent. he said he had sent in his appointment for the position, because the appointment had to be filled before the senate adjourned. Mr. Whallon went to Erie and discharged the duties of that office until May. 1860, when Governor Bigler wrote to him that the president had con- eluded to send him to California again to assist in the trial in the cases of the United States against the defaulting melter and refiner of the mint, and two cases against the defaulting eol- lector of customs. He went to Washington and soon learned that the seeretary of the treas- ury had removed Ross Brown, who had been acting as special agent of the treasury depart- ment for the Pacific coast. The secretary of the treasury offered him the appointment in con- nection with this other matter. He aceepted. and after getting his instructions, sailed for this coast in May, 1860. Hle discharged the duties of that position for about fourteen months, and in the meantime assisted the district attorney, Calhoun Benham, in trying the cases of the United States against Haraszthy, the melter and refiner, and his sureties. The other cases he was not able to try, for the war came on and the Lincoln administration came into power, when Mr. Whallon was removed. In Mareh, 1561, he purchased a vineyard in Sonoma Val- ley, and in 1562 his family removed to this State. The next year he was nominated, against his protest, by the Democratie convention of this county, for the State Legislature, and after an exeiting canvass. in which he made over
twenty speeches, the whole ticket was elected. He oeenpied a seat in the Legislature during the session of 1863-'64, and was one of the twelve Democrats in the house. In 1865 he was nomi- nated and elected county recorder and ex-oficio anditor of Sonoma County. Near the elose of his term he received a letter from Mr. Olmton, who was then State comptroller, stating that in his annual report he had recommended to the Legislature the appointment of a commission to consist of three auditors, to revise the revenne laws of the State, and asking Mr. Whallon's permission to use his name, to which he agreed. The report was made and printed, but nothing was done in the matter by the Legislature. In 1883, seeing the contest coming up between Carlisle and Randall for speakership, and long knowing Mr. Randall and agreeing with him upon his views of the tariff question. and having high appreciation of his ability as a speaker and admiration for his character as a man and legis- lator, he wrote him a long letter, giving his views on the tariff, and urged him to introdnee a bill to repeal the entire internal revenue sys- tem. giving strong reasons for so doing. Mr. Randall acknowledged the receipt of the letter at onee, and said he would answer it in two or three days, which he did in a twelve-page letter. stating that he and Governor Curtin agreed with his views, and entirely endorsing what he had said. After thanking him for the interest he had taken in the contest, he asked him to do what he could to forward his chanees with this litigation. Up to that time the Democratie party in this State was apparently solid for a tariff for revenue only, believing with Mr. Randall and Governor Curtin, the Democratie party could not obtain and control the majority of the electoral vote of this country on that issue when sharply made, although that was in the platform of the canvass of 1876. But then their snecess depended and was won upon the issne of retrenchment and reform, the question of the tariff not having been diseussed, if at all, but slightly. Mr. Whallon moved to San Rafael at that time for the purpose of assisting in this
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work, and his correspondence and personal in- terviews with the members-elect to Congress, succeeded, with the aid of others, in producing a change of sentiment upon this subject. At that time many of the leading Democrats in the State took the same view of the subject that Mr. Whallon did, and, by themselves and with him, joined in letter and dispatches addressed mainly to General Rosecrans, a member of Con- gress from this State, urging him to support Mr. Randall for the speakership. Prominent among those who did so was William T. Cole- man, W. D. English, then and now chairman of the Democratic State Central Committee, and Hon. J. S. Hager, now collector of customs at San Francisco. Judge Whallon moved to Petaluma in 1883. Ile was married in Janu- ary, 1842, to Adelia A. George, a native of Erie, Pennsylvania. They have had seven chil- dren, of whom two are now living -Clinton George Whallon, residing at Modesto, Califor- nia, and Leila Emma, wife of Mayor John Brown, of Santa Rosa.
EDGAR RICKSECKER, surveyor, is a native of eastern Pennsylvania. IIe grew to manhood and received his edu- cation in his native State, and there engaged in teaching for six or seven years. In 1868 he inet, in Philadelphia, the division engineer of the Salt Lake division of the Union Pacific Railroad, and engaged with him to come West in the employ of the company, which he did the same year in the month of February. They came through on stage coachies from Chey- enne, the then terminus of the road to Salt Lake City. Ile remained in the employ of the company for two years, and a large por- tion of the time had charge of the division en- gineer's office. On leaving this company, he, with other civil engineers, went East and for some time was engaged in making surveys for railroad lines in the Central States, and also did other surveying work. In 1871 he went to 40
Puget Sound in the employ of the Northern Pacific Company. The failure of Jay Cook put a stop to the progress of that company's opera- tions for a period of years. In the interval be- tween 1871 and 1881 he was variously engaged at surveying, ranching, etc., living several years of the time in San Francisco. In 1881, the work on the Northern Pacific Railroad hav- ing been resumed, he was again employed by the company for fifteen months, with his head- quarters at Spokane Falls. In 1882 he came to Sonoma County and purchased a tract of land between Occidental and Duncan's Mills, sixteen miles from Santa Rosa, which he still owns. This tract consists of fifty-five acres, ten acres in bearing vineyard, and several acres in prunes and other trees. llis vineyard has an altitude of 400 feet. In 1887 Mr. Ricksecker came to Santa Rosa in the interest of the Sebas- topol Railroad, for Donahue, and surveyed and located the line which has not yet been built. Since locating here lie has conducted a private surveyor's office, and has had a fine business. Mr. Ricksecker's father, Edmond Ricksecker, was a surveyor and also an enthusiastic student of natural history, and the son inherited his tastes in both directions. He began the study of natural history in early boyhood, and has always devoted his spare time to the collection and classification of specimens in botany, orni- thology and entomology, and possesses a fine col- lection in each class, but he has an extraordinary collection of entomologieal specimens. During his residence in San Francisco he collected 2,000 specimens of coleoptera, and mounted them elegantly. These he sold to the State University for the College of Agriculture. Since 1881 he has collected and now has, mostly mounted, 3,200 species and 30,000 speci- mens of coleoptera. They are chiefly a Pacific coast collection, although he has many speci- mens from the States east of the Rocky Moun- tains, and some from Europe which he obtained by exchange. Many of his specimens he raised from the larvæ state. He is one of ten or twelve scientists on this coast who have engaged
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in the entomologieal work for life, and for the pleasure it yiekls. Mr. Riekseeker is a zealous enthusiast in the study of inseet life, and reads and discusses the volumes of beautifully pre- served bugs and moths as eloquently as an orator would read a fine oration, or an elocution- ist, a book of poems. He spent nine months in the United States service in 1863-64, being a member of the One Hundred and Fifty-third Pennsylvania Infantry, and participating in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Mr. Ricksecker was united in marriage, in 1881, with Miss McFarland, a native of California, born in Sierra County, near the summit of the range of mountains by the same name. She was reared and educated in San Francisco. They have three children. Mr. Rickseeker also has three children by a former marriage, a son and daughter married. Mr. Ricksecker is the Re- publican nominee for county surveyor of Sonoma County.
M BARTIN LITCHFIELD. Among the fine orehards in the neighborhood of Sebastopol-the most productive fruit- growing section in the county-is that of the subject of this sketeh. Ile is the owner of ninety acres of as productive fruit land as there is in Sonoma County, forty-five acres of this land being devoted to orchard, divided as fol- lows: fifteen acres of French prunes, fifteen acres of peaches, such as Wiley eling, Orange eling and Crawfords (early and late), five acres of apples, five acres of Bartlett pears, and five acres of Golden Drop pears. There are also fifteen aeres of grapes, of the Zinfandel variety, and he has a family vineyard containing a large variety of table grapes. The rest of his land is still in its wild state, covered with a heavy growth of fir timber. Mr. Litchfield has made a perfeet success in his horticultural and viti- cultural operations. Ilis Freneh prunes have several times been awarded the first premium in Sonoma County fairs. Nearly all of this orchard
and vineyard has been planted by him. When he took up his residence upon the lands in 1880 there were but ten aeres in orchard, and a small vineyard, which he uprooted and planted the ground with peach trees. There is on this place a fine cottage residence and commodious out- buildings, including a fruit dryer, nearly all of which improvements have been made by Mr. Litehfield. In this connection a sketch of his life will be found of interest. He was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, May 22, 1836, the son of Chauncey and Martha (Knight) Litehfield, who were natives of New York. When he was about a year old his father moved to Fulton County, Illinois, and there engaged in farming and stoek-raising. Mr. Litehfield was early inured to farm labor, reeeiv- ing at the same time sueh educational advan- tages as the common sehools afforded. In 1843 the death of his father occurred, leaving the care of the family and the management of the farm dependent upon the mother. It was thus that the subject of this sketch was, at the early age of fifteen years, in charge of most of the out-door work upon the farm. He was one of the first to enter into grape and fruit culture in Fulton County. The experience and practical knowledge he gained in his young manhood in Illinois, have been shown by the snecess before mentioned in this county. Mr. Litchfield even- tnally became the sole owner of the old home- stead by purchasing the interests of the other heirs. In 1858 he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Pollock. She was the daughter of David and Mary (MeMiller) Pollock, resi- dents of Fulton County. Mr. Litehfield con- ducted his farming operations upon the old homestead until 1879. In that year he visited California, and after making a tour of various seetions of the State, seeking a desirable loea- tion, he came to Sonoma County. Delighted with the place, he sought no further, but pur- chased the land before described. He then re- turned East and after disposing of his interests there, returned with his family and took up his present residence. Although Mr. Litehfield's
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residence in this county is comparatively brief, he has identified himself from the first with all enterprises that tend to promote the interests and welfare of the community in which he resides. He has therefore gained a large circle of friends and acquaintances, by all of whom he is respected and esteemed. Always a strong supporter of the public schools, lie has served for eighteen years as a school trustee- ten years in Illinois and eight in the Sebastopol district. He is a member of the Sebastopol Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, and is its pres- ent master. Politically, he is a strong and con- sistent Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Litchfield have eight children living, viz .: Frank, Elmer, Sophia, Lavina, Oscar, Cora, Estella and Bessic. Frank is a resident of Occidental, and Sophia is now the principal of the Sebastopol public schools.
ILLIAM H. HILTON was born in New York City in 1829. Ilis father, Will- iam IIilton, was a native of New York, and a veteran of the war of 1812, having served under General Scott. His mother, Matilda (Shonnard) Hilton, was also born in New York, and was a descendant of the old Dutch families of colonial times. Mr. Hilton was reared in the city of his birth, and was given the advantages of a good schooling, but being of an adventurous and roving disposition, a life of study was irk- some to him, and when less than fifteen years of age he ran away from a comfortable home and embarked on a sailing vessel bound for Galveston, Texas. Upon his arrival there he secured work as a clerk in a store in Houston. While there he made the acquaintance of a party of Indian hunters, and joined them in several of their forays against the Indians of northern Texas and New Mexico. At the breaking out of the Mex- ican war in 1846, he promptly joined the noted Texas rangers, under Captain Henry, and served with them throughout the whole of that memor- able struggle. Although but eighteen years of
age he was a man in courage and daring, and was selected as a dispatch bearer for General Scott on many occasions, one of which is worthy of note. Himself and two others were selected by the General to carry dispatches from the city of Mexico to Pueblo. This hazardous under- taking was successfully accomplished by Mr. Hilton. He succeeded in running the gauntlet of the Mexican guerrillas that infested the country, escaping with a severe wound in the head, but his two companions were killed. At the close of the war in 1848 he returned to New York City, where he remained until the next spring, when the news of the gold discoveries in California prompted him to seek his fortune in the new El Dorado. In February, 1849, he embarked for a voyage around the Ilorn, on the ship Panama. After a long but uneventful passage, he arrived at San Francisco and pro- ceeded at once to the mines on the Yuba River. The heavy rains of the winter of '49 and '50 drove most of the miners to the lower country, and Mr. Ililton located at Sacramento, Of a generous nature, he spent most of his small gains in providing for his sick comrades, and then went to driving a team, and by this means entered into teaming and freighting upon his own account, after which he returned to mining occupations on the American River and in Grass Valley. During this time he took up the study of chemistry and geology, under the tutorship of his friend, Prof. Durand. In 1857 he went to Mexico, where he followed mining for about a year. While in Mexico Mr. Hilton accepted the position of superintendent and mining ex- pert of some mines in Chili, South America, where he went, and after some months spent there, he returned to the United States. In 1859 and 1860 lie was engaged with the noted prospector, Erenberg, in prospecting and locat- ing mines in Arizona and Mexico. In the fall of 1860, Mr. IIilton returned to California, and went to the Washoe district, Nevada. He was there engaged in mining and prospecting until 1861, when he was attacked by the Indians while on one of his prospecting tours, and so.
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severely wounded that his life was despaired of, and upon his partial recovery he returned East for medical and surgical treatment. As soon as his health permitted he eame again to California, and engaged in his old occupation. The war of the Rebellion then fired his military ardor, and he returned to New York and enlisted in the old Seventh New York Regiment, but his disabilities prevented him from engaging in active service in the field. Consequently he left the army and returned to the Pacific coast. For the next ten years Mr. Hilton was engaged in varions mining enterprises, principally in Mex- ico. The year 1572 found him so broken in health that he was compelled to seek rest. lle therefore located in San Francisco, where he remained until 1881, when he came to Sonoma County and purchased 137 aeres of land in Ben- nett Valley, on the Santa Rosa and Glen Ellen road, about two and a half miles from Glen Ellen. Ilere Mr. Hilton took up his residence, and sinee that time has devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. In this he has been very successful, and is building up what is destined to be one of the model vineyards and orchards of Sonoma County, He has now (1888) thirty acres of Zinfandel wine grapes, and a fine ten acre orchard containing French prunes and Bartlett pears, and also a choice variety of other fruits. A fine two-story residence, commodious barns and out-buildings attest the enterprise and good taste Mr. Hilton is displaying in his improvements. Politically, Mr. Hilton is a
Republican. Ile is a member of the California Pioneer Society of San Francisco. In 1876 he married Miss Mary V. Glasgow, a native of California. Mrs. Hilton's parents are natives of Virginia. They have one child-William H.
PRESS SMITHI, M. D., has been an active member of the medical profes- sion in Santa Rosa for twenty years, having settled here in 1868, and has for many years been recognized as one of the representa-
tive physicians of this part of the Pacific coast. Dr. Smith was born in Charleston, South Caro- lina, October 10, 1839, and was there educated at the State Military Academy, also graduating at the Medical College of South Carolina in 1861. He had previously, however, attended a course of lectures in the New York Medical College. After his gradnation he immediately entered the Confederate army as a Lieutenant, and participated in the first battle of Bull Run. During his army service of nearly four years Dr. Smith rose to the rank of Major, and participated in some of the hottest engagements of the war, occupying posts of heavy responsi- bility and great importance. For quite a time he was in command of Battery Greig, on Morris Island, opposite Charleston, South Carolina, during its bombardment. This was a terrible position, the circumstances of which can only be appreciated when recounted by such a brilliant conversationalist and raconteur as is the Doctor. lle was also in command of Fort Moultrie for several months. During his service he was three times wounded, the last time quite serious- ly. at the battle of Averyboro, in March, 1865 by a minie-ball through the left leg below the knee, which severed the tibial artery and nerve. This laid him up for nearly a year. When able he began the practice of medieine in his native State, continuing until he moved to California and resumed it in Sonoma County. Dr. Smith was one of the prime movers in organizing the first medical society in this county, and was its secretary. The society prospered for a year or two, then languished and finally ceased to exist. Its meetings were held quarterly in the several principal towns of the county. Years later a seeond medieal society of Sonoma County was organized, of which Dr. Smith was also a men- ber, and which had a similar history to that of its predecessor. Dr. Smith is a member of the State Medieal Society of California, and is now serving his seventh year as physician to the Sonoma County Hospital, having been twice chosen to that position. The subject of this sketeli is deseended from one of the old Caro-
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