Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century, Part 76

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1366

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Sarah (Barry) McDaniel. He was the father of Mrs. Minnie L. Gardener, deceased, formerly the wife of Judge William Paul Gardener, since deceased, leaving three children: Minnie L., Ira O. and Paul Gardener, residents of Los Angeles, at No. 636 West Adams street.

JOSHUA A. CONAWAY. Like so many of the pioneers who sought the golden possibilities of the far west, Mr. Conaway came hither in the long and tedious way that fell to the lot of the greater portion of the emigrants of those days. Leaving his Missouri home in 1853, he crossed the plains via the overland route with ox teams, and suffered many deprivations and dangers. Upon locating in Amador county, on the Moke- lumne river, he engaged in the occupations of farming and stock-raising, to which in youth he had become accustomed. For nearly seventeen years he lived on different ranches. From Ama- clor he removed to San Joaquin county and se- cured the title to government land, which he im- proved and planted in various fruits and a vine- yard. Surrounded by the comforts obtained by his industry, he remained there for twelve years. Eventually coming to Ventura county, he home- steaded a claim. Very unjustly he was obliged to pay the Southern Pacific Railroad Company for the land. However, he had the privilege of retaliating, for when the company desired the right of way through his property he made them pay twice as much for the land as his neighbors received for theirs, and in this way he received his money back.

From time to time Mr. Conaway added to his possessions by the purchase of more land, until he now has six hundred and twenty acres. At first he raised sheep and other kinds of stock, as well as wheat and barley. Of later years he has handled cattle, horses and hogs, and en- gaged extensively in general farming and fruit raising. He erected a convenient and comfort- able home, put up a substantial barn and insti- tuted modern and labor-saving improvements. This varied line of business was carried on until 1894, when he formed a stock company, com- posed of the members of his family, called the Conaway Company, Incorporated, of which he was president and general manager. This novel idea has been the subject of much favorable com- ment on the part of Mr. Conaway's neighbors and friends, who recognize the many-sided ad- vantages it is possible to develop therefrom. The farm is a monument to the patience, skill and good management of the owner, every tree and shrub having been planted by himself, while every advance made has been of the most sub- stantial kind.

The early life of Mr. Conaway was spent in Monongalia county, W. Va., where he was born April 4, 1830. From there he accompanied his parents to Monroe county, Ohio, and later to

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Tyler county, W. Va. Of Irish descent, his paternal great-grandfather came to America be- fore the Revolution, and for many years the de- scendants lived in West Virginia. Eli, father of Joshua A. Conaway, was born in Virginia, east of the Blue Ridge mountains, and his wife, Mary (Baker) Conaway, was born, of Welsh descent, in the same locality. Of their nine children Joshua A. was the sixth. He received his edu- cation in public schools, and when twenty years of age removed to Iowa, where he farmed in Linn county. Next he tried his luck in the Wis- consin pineries. At the end of two years he set- tled in Ashley, Pike county, Mo., where he was overseer on a plantation, and later ran an en- gine in a lumber establishment.

In 1859 Mr. Conaway married Miss Elizabeth J. Blamey, who was born in England, and died in Ventura county January 25, 1894. Ten chil- dren were born of their union, eight of whom are now living. The eldest, Mary, is the widow of H. S. Adney and publishes the Antelope Val- ley Gazette, which was founded by her husband. Alice and Ethan W. are deceased. The others are named as follows: Austin, of Los Angeles; Charles W., of Santa Monica; Jennie B., wife of Charles Gilday; Albion N. T .; Lulu V. and Lelia V. (twins), the former the wife of F. W. Kent and the latter Mrs. J. R. Black; and Ben- ton Conaway.

Since coming to Ventura county Mr. Conaway has been prominent in the affairs of his adopted locality, and in politics especially has taken an active part in undertakings of the Democratic party. In this capacity he has been a director in the Cienega school district. As one of the supervisors, elected in February of 1873, he took an active part in the organization of Ventura county, also systematized the board that built the courthouse and jail, and was otherwise in- strumental in securing important improvements in the building up of the county. In 1880 he was elected county assessor, in which position he has served for seven years. His influence upon the moral tone of his neighborhood has been pronounced, and as steward and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he has been fore- most in many good works. His well-known views on the temperance question have been fearlessly maintained, and it is a generally recog- nized fact that his life and deeds bear out in their entirety his expressed convictions.

CHARLES E. SHERMAN. In November of 1869 Charles E. Sherman, ex-farmer, dairy- man, miner, stage driver, and general business man, arrived in Santa Barbara with seventy-five cents in his pocket, and no experience in the business which was to be his occupation. He located on the corner which he has since pur- chased and rented a small building, and for three months bought meat of his brother-in-law, after

which he began to buy his own cattle and do his own slaughtering. In 1870 himself and Mr. Eland built a slaughter house, and in 1872 formed the partnership which has lasted ever since. From the start they had two markets, and have since had three and four retail markets, be- sides carrying on a large wholesale trade. Ad- joining the city they have a ranch of three hun- dred and sixty acres. They own a steam sau- sage plant and steam rendering works, and make about the finest bacon in the state. While the railroad was being built they ran a slaughter house at Gaviota and supplied the railroad gangs with meat, running four-horse teams to supply the demand. The contract was a very heavy one, and the trip between Gaviota and Point Concepcion a trying one, but the firm filled their contract to the letter and were said to furnish the finest meat ever eaten by the men. The firm also deal in shipping cattle and sheep to Los Angeles, and have bought the original corner where they first started business.

Back to Revolutionary days the Shermans trace their descent, the original home of their forefathers having been in England. Charles E. Sherman was born in Bellevue, Jackson county, Iowa, in 1843, a son of George Sherman, who was born in Addison county, Vt., and came to Iowa in 1840 with the paternal grandfather Sherman. He had previously married Eliza Morgan, of Vermont, who died in Iowa in 1854. As one of the early pioneers of Bellevue Mr. Sherman took an active interest in the develop- ment of the town, and for many years ran the ferry across the Mississippi river. He subse- quently turned his attention to farming nine miles from the town, and there occurred his death in 1854. There were three children in the family, of whom Caleb came to California in 1850. He engaged in mining and other occupa- tions for several years in different parts of the state, eventually settling in Santa Maria, where he was one of the brightest lights in the profes- sion of law. He became assistant state's attor- ney, and was also a notary public. He died in the city of his adoption in 1900, his busy and useful and brilliant life being sadly missed from the favorite haunts that had known him so many years. Adelia, the daughter of the fam- ily, married Mr. Turner, and died in Stony Point, Cal.

At the age of eleven years Charles E. Sher- man was left an orphan. He began to work 011 a farm, and in return for chores and general services received his board and clothes and the privilege of occasionally attending the public schools. This was continued for six years, and in 1859 he decided to go west to Pike's Peak, but changed his mind in favor of California and started the day after. The journey was under- taken via Panama, and in New York he boarded

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an ocean craft the character of which may be determined from its name, "Rolling Moses." Arriving in San Francisco he went to Petaluma, where lived his brother, and then went to school for one winter in Bloomfield. He left Iowa with $100, but was obliged to borrow $200 more. to get here, and this amount he borrowed of his uncle, Charles Morgan, at Bloomfield, and sent it back to the man who had befriended him. In return he worked for his uncle. He engaged in threshing and teaming at Redwood for two years, and then went into partnership with his brother at Bodego Corners, Sonoma county. They ran a hotel which was sold out in 1863, when they went to Nevada, intending to engage in the livery business at Austin. How- ever, the best-laid plans are subject to change, and the light rigs which they took with them for future business were on the way traded for mules, and the mules eventually traded for twenty-five milch cows. Of course there was nothing to do but go into the dairy business with the cows, and for this purpose they took up a ranch and meadow, and did a flourishing business near Austin and Jacobsville, Nev. For a gallon of milk they received from $1.50 to $2.50. For further gains they cut about seventy- five tons of hay which sold for from $100 to $150 per ton. The next year the price of milk went down to fifty cents a gallon and they no longer deemed it expedient to continue in the dairy business. After disposing of their inter- ests, Mr. Sherman entered into partnership with some men in the livery and feed business, but owing to the business laxity of his partners the common fund soon disappeared, and in 1865 he left with a span of horses and a wagon and returned to Bloomfield, Sonoma county. He drove a stage for Lou Miller from Petaluma to Duncan's Mills, and in 1866 returned to Iowa, via Nicaragua, and engaged in the livery busi- ness at Bellevue for two years. There he mar- ried Cecilia Savitz, who was born in Pennsyl- vania, and died in Santa Barbara in October of 1899. In 1868 he brought his wife to Cali- fornia, via Panama, and drove the stage again between Petaluma and Duncan's Mills until coming to Santa Barbara in 1869.

Politically Mr. Sherman has been prominent in Santa Barbara, and for many years was a member of the Democratic county committee. In 1879 he was elected sheriff of Santa Barbara county, and assumed control of the office in January of 1880, serving for two years and ten months. For one term he served in the city council from the fourth ward. Fraternally he is associated with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Sherman has one son, George C., who is proprietor of the California market in Santa Barbara.

J. BERT SAXBY, D. D. S. One of the most popular and successful dentists in Southern Cali- fornia is J. Bert Saxby, a resident of Santa Bar- bara since 1896. A typical westerner in enter- prise, character and training, he was born in Ventura, December 29, 1870, and is a member of a family long identified with New York state, and of English extraction. The paternal grand- father was born in New York, as was also I. T. Saxby, the father of J. Bert. The elder Saxby was for many years prominent in commercial cir- cles of New York City, and in 1852 migrated to California via Panama, settling in Nevada City, where he engaged in mining. From 1862 until 1868 he lived in San Francisco, and in the fall of 1868 removed to Ventura, which was hence- forth the scene of his most ambitious efforts. Heart and soul he became interested in the up- building of the city, and many of the largest of the early enterprises here represented were di- rectly due to his executive and financial ability. At first engaged in the stock business, he later devoted himself to commercial matters, and or- ganized the first lumber business of the town, known as Saxby, Walton & Co., later as the Saxby & Collins Company. Mr. Saxby was also a director in the Bank of Ventura, and up to the time of his death, in 1885, at the age of fifty- eight years, was active in the management of his affairs as a business man and enterprising citi- zen. He is remembered as one of the stanch sup- porters of the town of his adoption; and his character and attainments fully justified the es- teem and confidence in which he was held.

The mother of Dr. Saxby was formerly Frances Johnson, who was born in Genesee county, N. Y., a daughter of J. B. Jolinson, a native of the same county. J. B. Johnson was an attorney in New York and transferred his legal practice to Nevada City, Cal., in 1850, start- ing across the plains with ox-teams in 1849, the journey consuming eight months. He subse- quently re-crossed the plains twice, his family joining him in 1856. He became a judge and district attorney at Nevada City, and attained to renown as a capable exponent of law, some of his most prominent cases being large mining litigations. His professional career continued until the time of his death in 1890; his wife died at Nevada City in 1894. There were seven chil- dren in this family. Mrs. Frances (Johnson) Saxby was the mother of two children, of whom Frank G. is a resident of Ventura.

Dr. Saxby attended the public schools of Ventura and was graduated from the high school at Oakland, Cal., this instruction being supplemented by a course at Heald's Business College in San Francisco, from which he was graduated in 1890. He then returned to Ventura, and having decided to devote his life to the profession of dentistry, entered the office

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of Staire Brothers for preliminary instruction. In 1893 he entered the Baltimore Dental Col- lege (the oldest dental college in the country), and was graduated in 1896, with the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. His subsequent location in Santa Barbara he has since had no cause to regret .. He is a member of the South- ern California Dental Association, is variously interested in the fraternal, social and profes- sional interests of the town, and is an honored and popular acquisition to the general affairs of Santa Barbara. Fraternally he is a Native Son of the Golden West, and is associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, having been originally a member of the Franklin Lodge No. 2, of Baltimore, Md., of which he is past grand master. Politically he is a Republican, and in religion a member of the Congregational Church.

In Nevada City, Cal., occurred the marriage of Dr. Saxby and Miss Hattie Hook, who was born in Nevada City, and is a daughter of John Hook, a merchant of Nevada City, who is still living and came from Wheeling, W. Va., in 1851. To Dr. and Mrs. Saxby have been born three children : Bernice Twilley, J. Bert, Jr., and Donald Thorndyke Saxby.

HON. C. A. STORKE. The first representa- tive of the Storke family in America came from Holland in 1660 and settled on the Connecticut river. During the colonial period they mostly engaged in seafaring pursuits. From Connecti- cut John Storke moved to Chemung county, N. Y., but later went to Yates county, the same state, where he was a pioneer farmer. His son, Orson, a native of Chemung, N. Y., moved to Oshkosh, Wis., in 1849, and there engaged in farming until his death, in 1855. He had mar- ried Electa Tompkins, who was born in Clyde, N. Y., and whose father, Calvin Dean Tomp- kins, was a builder in that town. The record of the Tompkins family is traced back to the time of George II in England. On coming to Amer- ica they were given a grant of land embracing all of Staten Island, and for several generations this property descended, by entail, to the oldest son. During the time of the Revolution the then owner advocated Tory principles, for which his estate was confiscated and forever lost to the family. However, the younger sons re- moved to New Jersey, remained there perman- cntly, and one of that branch, Dr. Jacob Tomp- kins was a surgeon in the colonial army during the Revolution. During the winter at Valley Forge he died from the exposures and hard- ships of that memorable time. His son married a Miss Dean, whose father, Daniel Dean, a native of Holland and a Baptist minister, came to America prior to the Revolution, and served in that war as a private, receiving a wound at Yorktown from which he died. Mrs. Electa

(Tompkins) Storke makes her home with her son, C. A., in Santa Barbara, and is now seventy- nine years of age. Besides this son she has one other, Eugene, who was graduated from the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, and is now practicing in Minneapolis, Minn.

In Penn Yan, N. Y., C. A. Storke was born November 19, 1847. His earliest recollections cluster around Oshkosh, where he attended the public schools. At eight years of age he began to set type in a newspaper office conducted by his uncle, W. C. Tompkins, with whom he re- mained some years. When only fifteen he was made foreman of the Appleton Motor. A year later he enlisted, in February, 1864, in Company G, Thirty-sixth Wisconsin Infantry, and was mustered in at Madison, Wis. Assigned to the Second Corps, army of the Potomac, he arrived at the front in time to take part in the battle of Spottsylvania. Later he was at North Anna and Totopotomy. June 1, 1864, at Cold Harbor, four companies of his regiment, numbering two hundred and forty, entered the battle, and one hundred and sixty-nine were left wounded on the field. He and eleven others of his company were captured and sent to Libby prison, thence to Andersonville, where he remained until Sep- tember 30, 1864. Next he was transferred to Savannah, then to Milan, Ga., afterward to Blackshear, that state, and finally to Florence, S. C., where he was paroled in December, 1864. During his imprisonment his weight had been reduced to ninety-five pounds and eight of the twelve comrades had succumbed to their suffer- ings. On his return to the Union lines, he re- mained in the parole camp at Annapolis and in St. Louis until the close of the war, and was mustered out at Madison, Wis., May 26, 1865.

Returning home, Mr. Storke entered Kala- inazoo College. He matriculated in Cornell University at its opening in 1868, and was graduated in 1870, with the degree of A. B. After teaching in Adelphi Academy, Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1872 he came to Santa Barbara as pro- fessor of mathematics in Santa Barbara Col- lege. The following year he resigned and went to Los Angeles, where he founded and for six months conducted the Los Angeles Herald. On selling it, he began the study of law under Charles E. Huse, and was admitted to the bar in 1875, since which time he has practiced law in Santa Barbara. Meantime his activities in the Democratic party have made him prominent. At this writing he is chairman of the county Democratic central committee, and formerly he served on the state central committee. In the fall of 1882 he was elected a member of the as- sembly. Two years later he was a candidate for the state senate and carried his county, but was defeated by Republican majorities in other portions of the district. In 1888 he was again elected to the legislature, where he rendered

Maulhardt

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valuable service in the interests of the people. In 1898 he was appointed district attorney for the balance of the term. In December, 1899, he was elected mayor on an independent ticket, and took the oath of office January 1, 1900, to serve for two years. During his administration among the most important improvements have been the completion of the city water system and the building of the new high school. It was his privilege, as mayor, to welcome President Mckinley to Santa Barbara, and the entire com- munity aided him in making this occasion one never to be forgotten.

Since coming to Santa Barbara, Mr. Storke has been made a Mason, and is now connected with the chapter and commandery here. Sev- eral times he has been commander of the Starr King Post No. 52, G. A. R., and frequently he lias served on the staff of the department com- mander. He is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. In his family there are three chil- dren: Thomas More, Mattie M. and Alice. The son is a graduate of the Leland Stanford Uni- versity and is now proprietor of the Santa Bar- bara Independent.

ALBERT F. MAULHARDT is one of the leading citizens in his county, known and es- teemed for his fine qualities and achievements, chief among the latter being his successes not only in experimental agriculture and invention of machinery, but also in the introduction and promotion of commercial enterprises, which in some instances not only doubled the value of local real estate, but in one case in particular the taxed values of the entire county increased two-fold within a year as the indirect result of his efforts for the public welfare. While other prominent men lent their aid in securing the magnificent sugar factory at Oxnard (second largest in the world), Mr. Maulhardt is credited with the lion's share of the work; every local newspaper and all important newspapers in Southern California making extended reference to his untiring efforts in this direction, and it is unanimously conceded that. had his efforts been wanting, Ventura county would likely still be without the enterprise. He early grasped the advantages which would accrue from the pres- ence in the community of such a large factory, the benefit to the farmers and to commerce, the rise in values of land, the increase of railway fa- cilities, and numerous other advantages that he saw were bound to come to his community with the introduction of such a large undertaking as the plant of the American Beet Sugar Company at Oxnard. To show his public spirit, we will give one incident in his efforts to secure the beet sugar industry for his locality: In order to convince the farmers of the profits and benefits in this new crop and industry, and to show to the manufacturer the adaptability of the local

soil for such production, as well as the willing- ness of the farmers to produce sugar beets, he saw the necessity of some one to carry on an extensive experimental beet test under very con- servative supervision, and proceeded, at a loss to his own business, to personally secure over two hundred and fifty acres in small lots (half an acre to five acres) in over two hundred different locations in the valley and had nine-tenths of it planted by his own men to insure proper work, going about it at times, giving private instruc- tion as to the care of the test, besides giving lectures on the subject at various meetings and through the press. On one occasion, seeing a test neglected by a neighbor, he sent his own men to attend to it at his own expense. The re- sult of those tests was marvelous: in many in- stances from twenty-five to thirty-five tons of beets per acre were produced, with an average of over cightcen per cent sugar, and in a number of cases sugar beets containing a maximum of thirty-two per cent sugar were obtained. The effect of such a test was quickly made manifest when some fifteen thousand acres were pledged under a seven-year contract to grow sugar beets and a two-million dollar plant was erected by the Oxnards to convert the beets into sugar. He was also instrumental in securing the erec- tion of the bridge over the Santa Clara river (one of the longest and finest in Southern Cali- fornia), an undertaking brought forward in pub- lic elections on different occasions, but which had always failed theretofore to secure the nec- essary support for its erection. He has also suc- cessfully organized the farmers into unions and associations at various times to promote the proper marketing of the crops and for the estab- lishment of facilities for the general welfare.

That the American farmer is a vital force in the country's development, all will acknowl- edge; for upon his understanding and success hangs the fate of, not many, but all, enterprises. The hand of the progressive farmer of to-day is guided, from the sowing to the harvesting of the crop, by the scientific deductions of some master agriculturist who has studied with infi- nite care the possibilities of the soil and the workings of nature. No more earnest student of agriculture has brought his intelligence and common sense to bear upon the land than Albert F. Maulhardt, who has added to his farming en- terprises all the manifold incidentalswhich make the difference between a progressive and non- progressive farmer. As an authority on agri- cultural matters in general he is not exceeded in the scope of his influence, and from far and near those who desire the benefit of his conclu- sions call upon him with the assurance that they will be benefited thereby and be placed in touch with the most approved and scientifically thought out ways and means; so much so that when it was being agitated as to whether api-

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Historical and biographical record of southern California; containing a history of southern California from its earliest settlement to the opening year of the twentieth century, Part 76

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co. Number of Pages: 1366

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman pub. co.
Number of Pages: 1366