USA > California > San Benito County > History and biographical record of Monterey and San Benito Counties : and history of the State of California : containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present. Volume II > Part 14
USA > California > Monterey County > History and biographical record of Monterey and San Benito Counties : and history of the State of California : containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present. Volume II > Part 14
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The son for whose benefit this trip was made improved in health from the very beginning of the journey and soon was as rugged as the other children. The family decided to join the father of Mrs. Watts near Prescott, Ariz., and pro- ceeded to that city, where they arrived Septem- ber 20, 1877. Very few emigrants had made that region a stopping-place and plenty of land was to be had, so Mr. Watts engaged in farming for a year. From there he went to Mexico and set- tled in the state of Sonora, where he engaged extensively in raising cattle. These were sold to buyers when they came through the country. To secure needed pasturage he leased a range along the Santa Cruz river and controlled more than twenty-five leagues of land, which he leased for five years at $100 per year in Mexican money. For ten years he met with success in the raising and selling of cattle. Meanwhile he had holdings in Arizona and spent some time in that territory with his cattle on the range, but when the dry years came he sold his range property in Arizona and remained exclusively in Mexico with the
stock. He had as many as sixteen hundred head of cattle in his herds, but the Mckinley bill stopped the transfer of stock from Mexico to the United States and he then commenced to dispose of his stock. It was two years before all of the cattle could be sold. Meantime the Wilson bill became a law, with twenty per cent ad valorem duty on all stock brought over the line. To add to the difficulties of the situation, an unjust quar- antine was put on all cattle in spite of the protests. of the stockmen, who knew their cattle to be free from disease.
Life in a country remote from civilization is- never free from deprivations, and Mr. and Mrs. Watts had their share of hardship and danger. They were so completely isolated from Amer- icans that at times Mrs. Watts did not see a: white woman for seventeen months. Their post- office was sixty miles away, and neither a church nor a school could be seen in a day's ride. The country was infested by Apaches and Mr. Watts never understood why they did not molest him, his home, his stock or his men. However, they probably knew that he was a sure shot with a gun and that his house was built with port-holes, while within there was always kept a full supply of arms and ammunition to withstand a siege. Sometimes the Indians ravaged the homes of set- tlers not far distant and on such occasions Mr. Watts with others would ride long distances in an effort to overtake the savages, but never once did he see an Apache. Thinking of such things in these later days of comfort, he wonders how he could do so much riding in lonely spots and through the mountains, yet never come to any harm.
Having closed out the cattle business Mr. and Mrs. Watts decided to settle in California. Often during their years of loneliness on their ranch in Mexico they had spoken of a location in the vicin- ity of Visalia, where they had seen some beauti- ful trees. It was their desire to seek a home near that spot, but, learning that the climate was less favorable than at other points in the state, they went to Tulare and thence proceeded to the country around Watsonville. At a cost of $6,000 a tract of one hundred and sixty-four acres was bought. An apple orchard had been started, which since has been increased to twenty-seven acres. For three years Mr. Watts had the help
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of a son, but since then he has worked the ranch alone. From 1896 to the present time he has remained on the ranch. Besides realizing satis- factory results from his investment here, he has enjoyed the climate and the association with con- genial people. His greatest sorrow came to him in 1907, when he was called upon to part with the wife who had been his companion through all the hardships and trials of a long life together, whose courage had been his anchor in every trouble, whose heart had never faltered amid dis- couragements and whose feet were never too weary to do acts of kindness for her loved ones. Under her influence her sons and daughters were reared to habits of industry, perseverance and kindliness, and when finally she was called from her labors of usefulness she passed into eternity encompassed with the Christian's faith and hope.
W. J. HILL.
So indissolubly has the life of Mr. Hill been associated with the city of Salinas during the past generation, that to write the history of one will of necessity mean including much of the other. During his long residence in the city he has been the fostering spirit of its principal enterprises. Indeed it would be difficult to name a progressive project that has lacked his hearty support. If there existed no other cause to bring the name of W. J. Hill prominently be- fore the attention of the people, the fact of his long and noble work as editor of the Index would be sufficient. This, however, is only one of the avenues of his usefulness to the city and county, for he has ably represented his district as state senator during three sessions of the legislature, has served as mayor of Salinas four terins, and for the past eight years has efficient- ly filled the position of postmaster.
Of Scotch parentage, W. J. Hill was born near Prescott, Canada West, March 3, 1840, the son of John and Eliza Hill. For the times and the place he received a fairly good education. During boyhood and early manhood he re- mained apparently content in his native Cana- dian home, but nevertheless he was chafing un- der its restraints and in 1862, when he was about twenty-two years of age, he ventured out boldly into regions about which little was then known.
He came to San Francisco by the Panama route and thence went to the newly discovered Caribou gold fields in British Columbia, traversing the fa- mous Klondike region long before anyone had any idea of its richness in gold. Returning to. California he, in the winter of 1863, crossed over into Esmeralda, Nev., then a lively mining dis- trict. From there he went to Salt Lake and . thence to the gold fields in the Boise Basin, Idaho, landing in August of that year at what is now the site of Idaho City. Locating a placer mine he worked it that fall and the next spring, then went over to Owyhee, Idaho, where he as- sociated himself with Jared Lockwood and Frank Cable, whom he had met in the Caribou mines, and who had located ranches in Jordan valley about twenty-five miles from Silver City, Idaho. An Indian war was then raging throughout that region and shortly after Hill's arrival on the- scene, a large band of the savages raided the valley, committing numerous depredations, in- cluding the murder of Michael Jordan, a pioneer after whom the valley was named. Hill was one of a party of one hundred and fifty volun- teers, miners and ranchers, who went out on the trail of the Indians and overtook them on the- upper Owyhee, where the savages were fortified in the rocks and bluffs on each side of the river. In the desperate conflict that ensued the Indians were dislodged and over one hundred of them left dead upon the battlefield. Two white men were killed and Hill received a bullet through his left thigh, which caused him to walk with the aid of a crutch all summer. In the fall of 1864, Hill and his partners built the first livery stable in Silver City, packing in hay on mules and horses over the mountain trail from Jordan valley and selling it to teamsters for $300 a ton.
In 1865 they established a ferry on the Owyhee river at the junction of the Chico and Humboldt roads, sixty miles from Silver City, where miners and prospectors from California and Nevada had to cross on their way to the Idaho mines. It fell to Hill's lot to run the ferry while the part- ners took care of the ranches in the valley, forty miles away. He held the fort for three years, and became famous throughout all that country on account of his thrilling adventures and desperate single-handed combats with the redskins. He was severely wounded a number of times, but
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seemed to bear a charmed life, and the Indians became superstitious over their failure to kill him and thought him to be a "bad medicine man," proof against their bullets and arrows. It was about this time that our hero became known far and wide as "Old Hill," a title given him by those that did not know him personally but who had heard of his exploits and supposed him to be some daring old mountaineer, instead of al- most the beardless boy that he was. Living for thirty days on camas, a root which he dug from the ground, and existing for ten days on com- mon feed barley, are samples of the hardships that he endured on the frontier. Among the old pioneers of Idaho he is still referred to as "Old Hill of Owyhee," and his deeds will be rehearsed around hearthstone and camp fire as long as any of them remain this side of the grave.
Mr. Hill became identified with the world of journalism in 1867, when he sold his interest in ferry and ranches to his partners and with Hen- ry Millard purchased the Weekly Owyhee Av- alanche, published at Silver City, which they conducted in partnership for three years with Hill as editor, after which the latter became sole proprietor. In 1874 he started the Daily Av- alanche, the first daily paper in Idaho, the press upon which it was printed being operated by ·steam and was the first steam power press in the territory. Through his financial assistance and personal influence a telegraph line was con- structed from Winnemucca, Nev., to Silver City, a distance of two hundred and ten miles, and he paid $300 a month for telegraph news for his paper. In politics Mr. Hill was then, as now, a stanch Republican, and although the locality was strongly Democratic, so great was his popularity that he was elected successively on the Republi- can ticket to the offices of county clerk, tax col- lector and sheriff.
In 1873 Mr. Hill was married in Silver City to Miss Belle Peck, a highly accomplished na- tive daughter of California, the ceremony being performed by Gov. T. W. Bennett, who traveled .one hundred and twenty miles by stage for that purpose. The wedding was a notable event, practically the whole town taking part in the celebration.
At the time of the collapse of the Idaho min- ing boom in 1876 Mr. Hill decided to settle in
California and came to Salinas, where he pur- chased the Index, a weekly paper that had been established three years before by M. R. Byerly. He replaced the old Hoe hand press by a fine cylinder press operated by steam, the first news- paper press operated by steam in the county. In 1896 he started the Daily Index, which soon achieved distinction as being one of the best and most influential country dailies in the state. Mr. Hill also introduced the first linotype machine in1 Monterey county at a time when there was but one other in operation between San Francisco and Los Angeles. He was always in the lead and ahead of the times. Through his long asso- ciation with his paper Mr. Hill's name has be- come a household word throughout Monterey and adjoining counties.
Mr. Hill is a man of wide information, a forceful writer and a speaker of note as well. He was chosen to deliver the address of wel- come to President Benjamin Harrison when the latter visited Monterey in 1891, and his effort received high praise in the reports given by the metropolitan newspapers and by all who heard him on that occasion. Mrs. Hill is also a wom- an of unusual ability and has been the greatest assistance to her husband in his newspaper work and other undertakings. They have one son, William C., who fills the responsible position of money order clerk in the Salinas postoffice.
Notwithstanding his many business cares and responsibilities Mr. Hill finds time for the so- cial amenities of life. Fraternally he is a mem- ber and Past Master of Salinas Lodge No. 204, F. & A. M .; Past Patron of Reveille Chapter No. 47, O. E. S .; a member of Salinas Chapter, R. A. M. : and of Watsonville Commandery No. 22, K. T .: a member of Salinas Lodge No. 614, B. P. O. E .; was the first Master Workman of Sausal Lodge No. 47, A. O. U. W., and is Past Master of Salinas Grange, Patrons of Hus- bandry.
Although he has reached the age of three score and ten years, Mr. Hill still maintains his mental faculties and physicial activity to a marked degree and takes the keenest interest in all the affairs of his city and county, as well as the state and nation. He is an interesting racon- teur and it is a treat to hear him relate incidents of his strenuous life on the frontier in the long
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ago. He treasures as a priceless souvenir his trusty old sixteen-shooter Henry rifle, forerun- ner of the present-day Winchester. Its stock is splintered and its barrel dented, the marks of Indian bullets and arrows. He evinces a singu- lar affection for the old weapon, asserting that it saved his life many times.
July 1, 1909, Mr. Hill sold his newspaper and printing business and announced that he would not again be a candidate for the postmastership after the expiration of his term, his intention being to divest himself of all public business with its cares and responsibilities, and retire to private life. After doing some traveling abroad Mr. and Mrs. Hill will spend the remainder of their days with their books and flowers and the companionship of friends in their beautiful home in Salinas. As he happily expresses it, "We in- tend to journey onward to the sunset by easy stages, enjoying our well earned rest."
WORTHINGTON PARSONS.
Ever since becoming a resident of the Salinas valley, Monterey county, in the year 1875, Mr. Parsons has been deeply interested in the mate- rial upbuilding of the region and in many ways has promoted local progress. Both as a rancher in the county and as a citizen of Salinas he has accomplished much to promote the advancement of agricultural and commercial enterprises, but in nothing that he has undertaken has he met with greater success than in the breeding and raising of fine trotting stock, a business which he has followed exclusively since 1904, and which has won him the reputation of being an expert in this line, equaled by few and exceeded by none in this part of the state.
A descendant of ancestors who for genera- tions had been identified with the south, Worth- ington Parsons was also a native of that sec- tion of country, his birth occurring near St. George, Tucker county, W. Va., December 29, 1852. His earliest recollections are of the home farm in that vicinity, where during his boyhood he enjoyed the care-free life which the circum- stances of his parents made possible. This was destined to be of short duration, however, for when he was eight years old his first sorrow
came to him in the death of his mother. Six years later he was deprived of the companion- ship and guidance of his father, and thus at a time when the average child is enjoying the freedom from care and responsibility he took up the burden of carrying on the home farm which the death of his father laid upon his young shoulders. However, he had inherited qualities which enabled him to surmount difficulties and take an optimistic view of life and he courage- ously undertook the tasks which lay before him. The education which had been begun in the schools adjacent to his home he completed by a well-planned course of home study, to the end that he is now one of the best informed men in his community. Aside from his management of the home farm his first business venture was as a lumberman, and for two years he was also employed in a grist-mill.
The desire for a broader outlook and larger field for operation brought Mr. Parsons to Cal- ifornia in the year 1875, at which time he came direct to the Salinas valley, and securing work on a ranch he remained with his employer for eight years. During this time he gained an in- valuable insight into the methods of farming in the west and he also laid by a neat sum of money with which to establish an enterprise of his own. Investing in horses and machinery necessary in the maintenance of a well-equipped ranch, he located on a choice piece of property in the val- ley and in the years which followed he in- creased his holdings as his means permitted, and at the time of disposing of his ranch in 1904 he had twelve hundred acres, all under cultivation.
After disposing of his ranch interests Mr. Parsons established his home in Salinas and concentrated his efforts in a line of endeavor which he had followed to some extent in con- nection with his general ranch enterprise, the breeding of fast trotting horses. On coming to Salinas he sold all of his horses with the ex- ception of Albert Mack, a yearling, and one fast mare, Bertie Mack, then a two-year-old, which in the meantime has gained a record for speed which has made her famous. On August 19, 1908, at Chico, she trotted a mile in 2:08, making the fastest time from one to five heats of any trotter ever raced west of the Rocky
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mountains, and during the years 1907 and 1908 was the largest money winner on the Pacific coast. She held the record for trotting the fast- est mile on the following tracks: Chico, Sacra- mento, Spokane and Portland, and in two years she earned in purses over $11,000. Mr. Parsons sold this valuable mare on February 18, 1909, to C. K. G. Billings, of Cleveland, Ohio, for $7,000, the latter taking her to Europe with other fast racing horses, where she is maintaining the ,record which she gained in this country. Mr. Parsons is still breeding and raising fine racing stock and now has four of the fastest horses on the coast. Albert Mack, a six-year-old bay stal- lion, with a record of 2:30, is a full brother to Bertie Mack; Berlock is a two-year-old chestnut stallion, out of the dam of Bertie Mack by Zo- lock, whose record is 2:0574; Merry Widow is a chestnut filly, two years old, by Albert Mack, whose record was 2:30; and Merry Mack is a one-year-old chestnut stallion, the fastest yearling that Mr. Parsons ever owned or saw trot. All of the horses just mentioned took first prizes in their respective class at the county fair held in Salinas in August, 1909.
Mr. Parsons was united in marriage in 1874 with Miss Annie Wilmoth, also a native of St. George, Tucker county, W. Va., and three daugh- ters have been born to them as follows: Dorcas, the wife of W. H. Rowling, a commercial trav- eler with headquarters in San Francisco; Alida, who became the wife of Duncan F. Mckinnon, a well-known rancher in the Salinas valley; and Nellie, the wife of Elmer Mckinnon, also a rancher in the valley. Having devoted his at- tention closely to his business affairs and his leisure hours to the enjoyment of his home Mr. Parsons has not been active in social orders or politics, the only organization with which he is identified being the Fraternal Brotherhood.
JOHN PESANTE.
Three countries contributed to form the en- vironment that moulded the destiny of John Pesante, Switzerland having been his birthplace, Germany the home of his boyhood, and the United States the land of his adoption and the scene of his maturer activities. It was the dis-
covery of gold that led him to seek the far west, but it was not until 1854 that he joined other Argonauts bound for the Pacific coast, and after having made the tedious trip across the plains he engaged in mining at Dutch Flat, Placer coun- ty. For many years he remained in that county and meantime he met with sufficient success in hydraulic mining to provide the means necessary for embarking in agricultural pursuits.
After their marriage, which occurred in Mich- igan, John Pesante and his wife ( formerly Caroline Odem, a native of Germany) crossed the plains to California and settled in Placer county. They continued at the same location until 1869 and meanwhile seven children were born to them, namely: Albert, who resides on the home ranch in Monterey county, is married and has four children ; Lena, who married Mat- thias Manning, of San Francisco, and has four daughters; Peter, who is married, has one son, and resides on the home ranch; Mary, Mrs. John Muller, of Honolulu, who has one son and one daughter; John, unmarried, and residing on the home ranch; Carrie, who married D. S. Huchins, and lives in San Francisco; and Annie, Mrs. H. Elliott, of Oakland. After the family moved to Monterey county two daughters were born, namely : Emma, who married Harry Ball, of San Francisco; and Matilda, who died at the age of twelve years.
In search of a suitable location for agricultural pursuits, Mr. Pesante came via steamer to Mon- terey and made a tour of investigation through the country. A decision to settle in the Pajaro valley had been abandoned owing to defective titles of the lands desired, and he thereupon bought at $8 an acre, six hundred acres of the Moro Cojo grant, which was in the primeval condition of nature, absolutely without any at- tempt at development or cultivation. No roads had been opened, no fences had been built, no houses were in the region, and consequently there were no neighbors to relieve the isolation of the spot. Much of the land was covered with live-oak timber; indeed, there was not a spot sufficiently free from timber to permit the erec- tion of a house until a clearing had been made. Thousands of cords of wood were sold from the place. Cattle were raised on the pastures there 1intil finally the land was cleared for grain-
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raising, after which the stock was mostly sold. The produce was hauled to Castroville and shipped from Moss Landing to San Francisco.
The success which met the efforts of Mr. Pesante induced others to settle in the neigh- borhood and soon the valley was teeming with industry. It then became necessary to establish a school. Prunedale district was organized through the efforts of Mr. Pesante and others and for many years he served as a trustee. When the building was erected he helped to haul the lumber from Watsonville, it being impossible to secure any at nearer points. As he was a promoter of free schools, so likewise he pioneered all movements for the development of his com- munity and the valley had no citizen more loyal than he. While in national politics he voted with the Democratic party, in local matters he was independent and gave his support to the men he deemed best qualified to represent the people. Personally he never sought office but always he was willing to aid friends who were candidates for office. Fraternally he was connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his wife was associated with the Rebekahs. In his donations to churches and home and foreign charities he was liberal, in his dealings with all he showed the highest principles of honor, in manner he was genial, and in disposition tender- hearted and quickly moved by the sorrows of others.
Years after coming from the old country Mr. Pesante returned thither. The two trips were markedly different. In the one he traveled by sailing vessel and "prairie schooner." In the other, he traversed the continent in a palatial Pullman and crossed the ocean on a steamer with luxurious appointments. It was in July of 1892 that he went back to the old home, and while he found few kindred or friends remaining there, nevertheless the journey was one of great pleas- ure and profit. Shortly after his return he was taken ill and January 18, 1893, he passed away at the age of sixty-one years. Throughout the greater part of his life he enjoyed the splendid health which his powerful physique suggested. His wife and children were the objects of his deepest affection. The former survived him fourteen years and passed away in May of 1907 when lacking only one day of being eighty years
old. The older children attended school at Dutch Flat, in Placer county, and the younger members of the family were educated in Prune- dale school, Monterey county. The daughters became able assistants to the mother, and the sons. being taken into partnership by the father; relieved him of the hardest manual labor of the ranch, while enjoying the benefit of his counsel and co-operation. By industry, integrity and energy, they are proving themselves to be worthy sons of an honored sire and are adding lustre to the family name.
SOLOMON A. PARSONS.
Forty years have come and gone since Mr. Parsons first set foot on California soil in 1869, and the greater part of this time has been passed in' Monterey county. For generations the fam- ily had been identified with the south, especially with the Virginias, and at the time of the birth of S. A. Parsons his parents were living in West Virginia. He was born in Tucker county in 1849, and was reared and educated in that vicinity until attaining young manhood. It was then, when he began to think seriously of settling down to some active pursuit in life, that he real- ized how meagre were the opportunities for get- ting a business start in the south, and it was this realization that brought him to California in the hope of a broader outlook. In this he was not disappointed, as the accomplishments of his life will clearly prove.
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