USA > California > Napa County > Historical and descriptive sketch book of Napa, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino : comprising sketches of their topography, productions, history, scenery, and peculiar attractions > Part 12
USA > California > Lake County > Historical and descriptive sketch book of Napa, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino : comprising sketches of their topography, productions, history, scenery, and peculiar attractions > Part 12
USA > California > Sonoma County > Historical and descriptive sketch book of Napa, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino : comprising sketches of their topography, productions, history, scenery, and peculiar attractions > Part 12
USA > California > Mendocino County > Historical and descriptive sketch book of Napa, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino : comprising sketches of their topography, productions, history, scenery, and peculiar attractions > Part 12
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Bad health induced Col. Clyman in the Winter of 1842-3, to try a trip across the plains. He joined a party at Independence, Missouri, and traveled overland to Oregon, thence by the land route he arrived in Napa in 1845, and returned East the following Summer. Three years after he made a final settlement upon the
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beautiful farm upon which he now resides, two miles Northwest of Napa City. Col. Clyman kept an itineracy of all his journeyings, which he wrote up at night by the light of his camp-fire. It evinces good intelligence, sound judgment and shrewd observation. He describes the soil, scenery, timber, climate, and other peculiarities of California with a minuteness of detail not elsewhere to be met with, giving the most vivid and graphic pictures of the country just as it was in 1845. This venerable gentleman, now 79 years of age, is still in full possession of all his faculties. His life has been strange and eventful, but its evening is full of peace. He is re- spected by all as a brave, reliable and truthful man.
ELISHA G. YOUNG.
Elisha G. Young came to this county in 1850, and. has persued the occupation of a farmer ever since. He has been quite success- ful in his favorite employment, and ranks high as a trustworthy and useful citizen. He merits a notice in a local history, as one of the pioneers of agriculture.
RALPH ELLIS.
This gentleman is a native of Pennsylvania, came to California in 1853, and was for two or three years treasury expressman in the mountains for the banking and express company of Everts, Wilson & Co., whose principal house was at Marysville, with branches at La Porte, St. Louis, Gibsonville, Pine Grove, and Poker Flat. Stages ran only to La Porte. Beyond that point all the coin was sent to the mining camps on the backs of mules, and gold dust re- turned by the same conveyance. As much as 300 pounds avoirdu- pois of dust was frequently carried at a time, and the perils of the business were such as to require the services of men of strong nerve and unflinching courage. Mr. Ellis was elected Clerk of Sierra county in 1857, and removed to Napa City in 1860. He served as Sheriff of Napa county for one term, and then entered upon an extensive warehouse business, and the purchase and sale of grain. As an intelligent and upright business man he has no su- perior.
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PETER D. BAILEY.
Peter D. Bailey, Esq., is a native of Ireland, and one of the pio- neers of this county. He came by the overland route to Napa in 1849, and has ever since been a resident. He was among the first who commenced the cultivation of grain on an extensive scale, and demonstrated the value of our valley lands for agricultural purposes. A thorough education and excellent judgment have enabled him to attain success in his favorite pursuits and to win the respect of all classes. He was here when the county was organized, and took part in public affairs in the day of "small beginnings." We are indebted to him for many details of early history which are em- bodied in this volume.
CHARLES HOPPER.
Mr. Charles Hopper was born in North Carolina, A. D. 1800, and although now 73 years of age, has a full head of hair-fuller indeed than most men have at 40. His memory is perfect, even to the smallest details, and the old fire is in him yet. No better ex- ample can be cited of the venturesome, courageous, yet wary and shrewd frontiersman. One thing we specially mark and leave to the judgment of the reader. Uncle Charley has a firm and abiding faith in some supernatural power that watches over men. We do
not speak of the idea of a general Providence that rules over all things, and which is common to all men. His thought is rather, if we understand him, that, especially, when a good man is alone and in danger, whether from within him or from without, there will come teachings and warnings of supernatural origin and distinctness, entitled to implicit confidence. He gives the following instance, which occurred while crossing the great desert Southeast of Tulare Lake. "Here we were two days without water, and camped at night in the worst of spirits, not knowing whether to go back or keep on, and there was a good deal of murmuring in camp. I do not know how to account for it, unless there was some supernatural in- terference- and I think from this circumstance, as well as others in my experience, that there was-but towards morning, whether in a dream or not, I cannot say, I saw a green spot where there was
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plenty of water; and could perfectly see the course that led to it. It was so perfectly plain, and I was so sure of it, that I got up, mount- ed my horse, and told the party when they got up to follow my trail. I struck out Northwardly, away from the trail we had come over, and everything I came to was just as I had before seen it, so that I wasn't one bit surprised when I saw a few miles ahead, a green, gras- sy spot, where, when I came up to it, there was the blessed water we so much needed. Can it be that we, who are immersed in the learning of the books, and " tutored in the rudiments of many des- perate studies," are less wise than the lonely trapper who rolls him- self in his blankets under the silent watch of the stars ? Is it true that there are
" Airy tongues that syllable men's names
On sands and shores and desert wildernesses ?"
There are similar experiences in the life of Geo. C. Yount, of which we have memoranda, which we omit as foreign to our present purpose.
He set out in May, 1841, with a party of thirty men, one woman and one child, from Jackson county, Missouri. John Bartleson was Captain of the company, which was increased to seventy-five before starting, by another party commanded by Captain Fitzpatrick, bound to Oregon, and which seperated from Captain Bartelson's company at Soda Springs, near Fort Hall. Mr. Hopper remembers the names of the following persons who belonged to his party :
Col. John Bartelson, Col. J. B. Chiles, (now of Chiles' valley), John Bidwell, (Hon. John Bidwell, of Butte county), Andrew Kel- sey, (afterwards killed by the Clear Lake Indians), Nathan Toms, Michael Nye, Captain Rickman, McMahan, Benjamin Kelsey, C. M. Weber, (now a prominent citizen of Stockton), - Chandler, John McDowell, Green McMahan, - Springer, Grove Cook, Mrs. Benjamin Kelsey and child.
·He describes San Francisco, then called Yerba Buena, in 1841, as follows :
" It was a miserable place-nothing but a lot of sand-hills, a lit- tle trading port of the Hudson Bay Company .. There was one hut, said to be a sort of tavern, and Col. Chiles and I went in and called for something to eat. The landlord said, 'Gentlemen, I have noth- ing in God's world to give you, but will look around and try to get
.
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you some beef.' Well, he did get some after a while, and broiled it for us. That was the kind of accommodations you got in San Francisco in those days. It's a little different now !"
Mr. Hopper returned to Missouri in 1842 by way of New Mexi- co, and in 1847 returned to California with his family. He then purchased a large farm on the Caymus Grant from Mr. Yount, upon which he still resides. His early life was spent as a trapper and hunter in the great wilderness between the Mississippi and the Pa- cific, and many are the hair breadth escapes which he has expe- rienced, from the savages and the fury of the elements. He cor- roborates Mr. Yount as to the great number of grizzly bears in this region, having killed no less than nine within a mile of his house in the Summer of 1848, and seen great numbers of them. Bear hunt- ing seems to be his favorite sport, and he still sometimes takes the field against them, when tired of the monotony of in-door life. He is apparently as hale and vigorous as a man of twenty, and his eye-sight is as keen as ever. No one stands higher as a conscien- tious, true-hearted and generous man, whose word is inviolable. He is universally respected, and is affectionately called " Uncle Charley" by all who know this brave old pioneer.
GOV. L. W. BOGGS.
The first great rush of immigrants to California was in 1846, during the pendency of hostilities between the United States and Mexico. Among the arrivals that year was Governor L. W. Boggs and family. Much of the early history of Sonoma and Napa is identified with that of Governor Boggs, and a history of these coun- ties with his name left out would be as the play of Hamlet with the ghost omitted. At the time of his arrival here, Mr. Boggs found the town of Sonoma, then the seat of justice for the Northern Dis- trict of California, almost deserted. The few native Californians had taken the oath of allegiance to the United States and lived in social friendship with the Americans, were prompt and faithful in the discharge of their duties as citizens, and honorable in all their dealings. At the close of the Mexican war, Gen. Riley appointed Governor Boggs as Alcalde for Sonoma, on account of his former experience as an executive officer.
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Governor Boggs was born in Lexington, Kentucky, 1798. He was at the battle of the Thames under Shelby's command of Ken- tucky troops. In 1818 he emigrated to Missouri and settled at St. Louis. Here he was married to a daughter of Col. John Bent, and by her had two sons. Soon after the birth of the second son he be- came a widower. He afterwards married a daughter of Col. Jesse Boone, son of old Daniel Boone of Kentucky fame. His last wife, who still lives at her fine home in Napa Valley, is the mother of nine children. She was married to L. W. Boggs at the age of eighteen. Mr. Boggs was closely related to the Andersons, of Sumpter notoriety, the Olivers and Frazers of Kentucky. Much of his early life was full of adventure and hardships. For a considera- ble time he was extensively engaged in trading with various tribes of Indians in the territories, and at another time engaged in the overland trade to Santa Fé. At that early day-from 1826 to 1840- this Santa Fé journey was considered a very hazardous trip. After successfully following this business for a considerable length of time, Mr. Boggs with his family settled down on his old home and farm adjoining the town of Independence, Jackson county, Missouri. Here he filled various offices of trust from that of post master to the Governor of the State, and took an active part in the framing of many of the laws of that State. During his term of office as Gov- ernor, he was often petitioned by the people of Western Missouri to remove the Mormons, who had become a great trouble, both to the people and to the authorities. He finally ordered out the militia and compelled the Mormons to cease their depredations and leave the State. For the firm action of Governor Boggs in freeing the State of this great Mormon evil, he received the thanks of the peo- ple and the congratulations of the Governors of other States. But the Mormon leaders selected him for assassination. Joe Smith the Mormon prophet, selected a young man, Orrin P. Brockwell, to proceed to Independence and murder Mr. Boggs. ^ The attempt at assassination was made and came near proving successful. This emissary from Nauvoo had made himself acquainted with the resi- dence and habits of Mr. Boggs, and one evening as the latter took his accustomed seat in his sitting room, fired a charge of some ten or fifteen buck-shots from a large holster pistol. Only four of the
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balls took effect. Two penetrated the skull and lodged in the lobe of the brain over the left eye, one passed through the neck and came out at the roof of the mouth, and the other lodged in the neck. Much doubt was long entertained of his surviving, and he never wholly recovered from the effects of the wounds.
Mr. Boggs was one of the first persons who advocated settling the Pacific coast, and he was the author of the first essay in regard to the feasibility of constructing a trans-continental railroad. He formed the idea that a road near the 35th parallel could be con- structed and would prove the greatest enterprise of the age. Time has proved the correctness of his estimates. On his leaving with his family for California he was escorted far out on the plains by num- bers of his old friends, who bade him adieu, wishing success in his new enterprise. At the time of his departure from Missouri, Gov- ernor Boggs was uninformed of the declaration of war with Mexico, and upon being informed by a messenger from Col. Boone of West Port, would have returned, only for the opposition of his son, Wm. M. Boggs, who proposed making the journey, war or no war. The Governor's former experience as a trapper and trader on the fron- tiers was of great use to him on this journey.
On his arrival in Sonoma, Governor Boggs engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was selected by General Riley as Alcalde for Sonoma and filled that position to the satisfaction of the people. He was at one time an extensive land-holder in Sonoma valley. But dis- posing of his property in Sonoma, he, in 1852, moved to Napa valley and settled upon a beautiful farm seven miles North of Napa City. He died March 14th, 1860. His older sons are well known as citizens of enterprise and intelligence. Angus Boggs, after a long residence here, removed some years since to San José. Henry C. Boggs, although still a property-holder in Napa, resides in Lake county, and George W. Boggs in San Joaquin valley. Albert G. Boggs has served the county as Treasurer for many years ; and Wm. M. Boggs, a resident of Napa City, and President of the Pioneer Association of Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Marin, is well known and highly esteemed as a citizen of worth.
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JOSEPH MECKLENBURG.
This gentleman came overland to California from Ohio in 1853, and has since been engaged in farming and carrying on the business of a miller above St. Helena. His attention, however, has not been confined to his private affairs. He has taken an active part in the political affairs of the county, and for three successive terms filled the office of Supervisor with credit to himself and advantage to the public interests. On all public questions his course has been up- right and honorable. Mr. Mecklenburg is a man of large and en- lightened views, and when he has once formed a deliberate opinion of a proposed measure, is always ready to stand by it in spite of op- position. Many of our principal public improvements have been either originated or made successful through his influence. He is still a member of the Board of Supervisors.
JOHN STECKTER.
Mr. John Steckter came to this county overland in 1849, and has since resided upon his beautiful and extensive farm near Oakville. There were far more Indians than whites on his arrival. He is one of our most respected and substantial citizens. His description of Napa City as it was in 1849, is brief and graphic, consisting simply in the statement that "there wasn't any such place. The name had got there somehow, but the city hadn't." There were neither streets nor sidewalks, and little to indicate where either were inten- ded to be. The ways trodden by men and horses had a convenient free-and-easy way of going pretty much where they had a mind to, without much regard to line and compass. Vallejo & Frisbie had a store on the point where the river and creek meet, when Mr. Steck- ter arrived in the county, and a few scattered shanties on Main street. His farm adjoins the quicksilver region on the West side of the valley.
HORATIO NELSON AMESBURY.
This gentleman is one of the pioneer farmers of Napa county, well and favorably known as one of the most thorough and skillful in his profession. He was born in Stonington, Connecticut, in 1814,
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and came to this State via Cape Horn in 1850, in the Fall of which year he settled in this county. He was employed for a while upon the American Hotel, then in course of erection, and shortly after- wards engaged in his favorite pursuit of agriculture. In 1853 he purchased Roscobel Farm in Brown's Valley, the magnificent place upon which he still resides, about two miles from Napa City. When he arrived here there were only eleven buildings in Napa City. Mr. Amsbury remembers the men and events of those days with great distinctness. On one occasion he and Hon. Nathan Coombs had business in Benicia, but Mr. Amesbury declined to go by the usual conveyance, the little steamer Dolphin, not considering her safe, and therefore made the journey on horseback. Mr. Coombs took the steamer, and came very near being wrecked by a storm in the Straits ! On his arrival he found Mr. Amesbury had arrived before him, and told him that during the gale when he ex- pected to be lost, he had taken a pack of cards and thrown them overboard, for fear, that if he got drowned they might be found in his pocket. Mr. Amesbury was among the earliest orchardists in the valley, having commenced in 1854, and brought out a large as- sortment of choice varieties of trees from the East in 1855. He has also experimented somewhat in the cultivation of cotton, tobacco, and Japan rice.
LYMAN CHAPMAN.
Mr. Chapman, who now resides upon his beautiful farm about a mile from Napa City, was born at Groton, New London county, Connecticut, in 1821. He with Nathan Coombs and Samuel Starr, built the American Hotel, which is still standing. The raising of . this building excited a good deal of attention, as it was the first regu- larly framed edifice erected in this region. People came even from the Russian River region to see it, and a great crowd was gathered to see the raising. It cost Mr. Coombs about $400 for " egg-nog " to treat them-and he came off cheaply at that, as eggs at that time cost $12 per dozen. Mr. Chapman kept the hotel for three years, and then entered upon agricultural pursuits, which he has followed successfully ever since.
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.
JOTHAM H. HOWLAND.
J. H. Howland, Esq., was one of the early settlers of this State and county. He sailed from Boston, Massachusetts, on the bark Carib, and after a passage of ISo days arrived in San Francisco in 1848. The Carib was the first vessel from the Atlantic coast that ar- rived here after the discovery of gold. In 1851 Mr. Howland en- gaged in mercantile business in Napa City, where he has resided ever since. He has held the offices of Public Administrator and that of County Recorder for several terms with credit, and ranks high for honor and intelligence. Although in the prime of life, he ranks as a pioneer of civilization on the Pacific coast, and is in every sense a true Californian.
JOHN B. HORRELL.
J. B. Horrell is one of the pioneer mechanics of Napa, and has been largely engaged in the business of a carpenter and builder since his arrival from Pennsylvania in December, 1849. His first work was upon a building erected for T. G. Baxter for a restaurant, upon the site of Earl's Block, Main street. He was also employed upon the Napa Hotel in 1850. He has lived to see Napa City expand from a little hamlet to its present proportions, and is still in the full strength of manhood. He owned and constructed the first bridge ever built across Napa River, known as the " toll bridge." It was situated a few rods East of Vernon Mills, and was in use down to 1858.
SAMUEL HEALD.
Mr. Heald, a millwright by trade, is a native of Ohio, and came out from Missouri in 1849. After remaining a few weeks at Mr. Kellogg's in Napa Valley, he went to Fitch's ranch (upon which Healdsburg now stands) and returned East via New Orleans in Jan- uary, 1851. He then returned across the plains to Napa and was employed the Winter following upon Yount's mill. In the Fall of 1852 he removed to Santa Clara. In the Spring of 1854 he visited the East, and in the Fall returned to Santa Clara. In the Fall of 1856, he settled finally in Napa City, where he still resides. He
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was for some time proprietor of the Vernon Flour Mills, first alone, and then as a partner in the firm of Heald, Cooper & Kester. Mr. Heald was one of the first organizers of the Republican party in this county, when the opposite party were so strong as to make imme- diate success out of the question. He is a man of strong convic- tions, following out and practising what he thinks to be right, with- out fear or favor. He is widely known as an advocate not only of total abstinence from intoxicating liquors, but from animal food, to- bacco and every other narcotic. What he preaches he practices, and his evident intelligence and sincerity command the respect of even those who hold opposite opinions.
WM. H. WINTER.
This excellent citizen and old pioneer is descended from Englislı stock who traced their ancestors back to the Saxons. He was born in 1819 in Vigo county, Indiana. His father had settled in that county when it formed a part of what was known as the Northwest Territory, and died a short time before the birth of our subject .- When about five years old, Mr. Winter's mother moved up near Crawfordville, in the same State, and here his boyhood was spent. The only feat of note was his sailing or floating down the Wabash, Ohio and Mississippi once on a flatboat to New Orleans. This, in those days, was considered a great feat. Soon after his return, he started for this coast. He came out as far as Missouri in 1841, and remained there, in Johnson county, till the Spring of 1843, when he joined a party and started for California. On the Platte River he fell in with the Chiles party. They all traveled together to Fort Hall, when they separated. The wagons came down the Humboldt, guided by the famous mountaineer, Col. Joe Walker. His company again separated at Fort Boise, on the Snake River. He, in compa- ny with five others, passed down to Oregon. At Walla Walla the company sold their horses to the Hudson Bay Fur Company, and bought a kind of flat-bottomed boat, propelled by oars, and in this they passed down the Columbia River to Portland. The Winter of 1843-4 was spent at the Willamette Falls. In the Spring of 1844 he joined the Kelsey party, of which William Hargrave and Henry Fowler were members, and came to California. Many hardships,
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adventures and hair-breadth escapes were met with on the way, but no serious accident. They came down the Sacramento Valley to Cache Creek. After leaving the Mission on the Willamette, the party had seen no signs of white people till they arrived at Cache Creek. Soon after, they went to Sutter's Fort. Here he met with a Mr. Williams, with whom he had become acquainted on the Plains, and these two made a journey down through the San Joaquin Valley over to San José and Gilroy. At this time no inhabitants lived in the San Joaquin Valley ; only wild bands of mustang horses were to be seen. On their return, however, they found that Col. Weber, who had obtained a large grant of land in the San Joaquin Valley, had sent out one Lindsay with a large herd of cattle, and that this person had stationed himself near the present site of Stockton. The Indians were so bad, that the following Winter they killed Mr. Lindsay and drove off the cattle. Thus ended the first attempt at settling the San Joaquin.
After returning to Sutter's Fort Mr. Winter came over into Napa Valley, and visited Mr. Yount's ranch, and then passed over to Sonoma. In the latter place he fell in with Messrs. Fowler and Hargrave, and spent the Winter with them in that valley. In the following Spring, 1845, he and other parties from various portions of the State made Sutter's Fort a rendezvous, to form a party to go back across the Plains. The party, when completed, consisted of thirteen members. This party was the first that ever attempted to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains going East. A few parties had found their way over the mountains into the State, but none had at- tempted to recross. They crossed over in safety; passed up the Humboldt and Bear River; camped for a time with a party out re- cruiting; crossed to the South Pass, and traveled on to Fort Laramie. Here the party separated. The Indians were very bad, and some of the party wanted to halt and go from there through to the Missouri River with the provision wagons; seven, of whom Mr. Winter was one, concluded to attempt to go straight through. They succeeded without any great accident. On reaching the Missouri the company disbanded, the parties going to their several homes. He and his companion, Mr. Johnson, traveled on together to Indiana, retaining all the way their pack animals with which they left this country .-
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Mr. Winter remained in Indiana till the Spring of 1849, when he got up a company and came out to California. On the head waters of the Blue River, before starting across to the Platte, the party found they were the head train of the season. The company crossed with nothing more than the usual number of accidents and losses allotted to such perilous journeys. After reaching California, Mr. Winter settled near Mokelumne, and engaged in mining. He opened a provision and grocery store, and obtained a postoffice for the place -afterwards known as Winter's Bar-and did considerable business. In 1850, however, he sold out and went back home by way of the Panama and Chagres River route. Soon after his return to Indiana he was married and engaged in farming. In 1851, becoming dis- satisfied, he traveled through Texas in search of a better country, and not being satisfied with that State, returned in 1853 with his family to California. The Winter of 1853-4 he spent in Colusa county, and in the following Spring moved to Lake county. In . Lake county he found one of the best places he had ever seen for gratifying one of his greatest passions-bear hunting. The bears were plentiful all over the county. In 1855 he came over to Napa and bought a tract of 664 acres on the Huichica ; some time after- wards he purchased 600 acres more. This place he has ever since made his home. Mr. Winter's life has been an eventful one; and the many incidents, travels, hardships and hair-breadth escapes that have been allotted to him would, if collected, make a volume more entertaining than the finest romance. From youth till his settling in Napa, his life was one of continual adventure. As a trapper, mountaineer and explorer, he had few equals. Since his settling down on his farm in this county, he has surrounded himself with all the comforts and conveniences of life. He has made very ex- tensive and beautiful improvements, and his farm now is regarded as among the best in the county. He has, also, been an. extensive stock raiser, and in taking care of his herds has spent much time in various parts of this State and in Nevada. Mr. Winter has always taken an active part in whatever was of interest to the county and the State. He has, though never a politician, always taken a deep in- terest in the political changes and transactions in the county. He has always been an advocate of the principles (not the practices) of
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