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 19
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 19
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During this time he became thoroughly familiar with the dairy business, obtaining a working knowledge of it that enabled him to follow it later on for himself. While on the ranch just men- tioned he saw a shipment of one hundred dozen of eggs which brought the shiper $90. As a nucleus of a ranch of his own Mr. Blinn pur- chased fifty cows and began making butter and cheese, and during the four years he conducted the ranch he was successful far beyond his ex- pectations.
In 1866 Mr. Blinn returned east as far as She- boygan Falls, Wis., where on January 13 of that year he was united in marriage to Miss Isabella Smith, who was born in Onondaga county, N. Y. Immediately after their marriage the young peo- ple set out for California where Mr. Blinn re- sumed activities on his ranch. He increased the size of his herd by the purchase of fifty more cows, for which he paid $50 each, while those which he formerly purchased had cost him only $30 each. Upon selling out his ranch at the end of four years he went to Topeka, Kans., and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land near that city ; he was attracted there from the fact that his father had previously bought a quarter section there, and the latter remained there in all two years and a half. The venture on the part of both father and son, however, proved a failure, as both of them lost their land. Returning to California after this experience, in 1874 Mr. Blinn settled in Salinas and resumed work at the carpenter's trade, being employed on the old West End school. Upon the completion of this job he went to Gonzales, where his father had in the meantime located, and for a time was em- ployed in the wagon shop in which his father was interested, business being conducted under the name of Blinn & Withrow. Subsequently he lo- cated on the Romie ranch of one hundred acres near Gonzales, upon which he engaged in raising grain for three years, and then, removing to San Luis Obispo county, he leased land upon which he again started in the dairy business. During the twenty-four years of his residence there, how- ever, he had become owner of the property. In October, 1907, he sold the property and came to Monterey county, at the same time purchasing the property on which he now resides, com- prising fifty-one acres near Spreckels.
Haus B. Christiansen mg
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
Eight children were born of the marriage of George W. Blinn and his wife, but of these two are deceased, George H. dying at the age of four years, and Franklin when in his twenty-fifth year. Oscar M., who was born in Sonoma county, owns and operates a dairy ranch near Santa Margarita, San Luis Obispo county ; he is married and has two children. Victor H., also a native of Sonoma county, owns a ranch in Fresno county upon which he is making a specialty of stock and al- falfa. Emma J. was also born in Sonoma county ; she now makes her home in San Luis Obispo county with her sister, Grace B .; the lat- ter was born in Salinas and is now the wife of Christian Jaspersen, who owns a ranch near Santa Margarita; they are the parents of two daughters. George G. was born in Monterey county and is now working on a farm in San Luis Obispo county. Edgar F. was also born in Mon- terey county, and he, too, works on farms in this vicinity. In politics Mr. Blinn is a Republican, the principles of which party he has espoused ever since he was nineteen years of age, and his first vote was cast in favor of Abraham Lincoln.
HANS BOHN CHRISTIANSEN, M. D.
In point of years Dr. Christiansen would, no doubt, be called a comparatively newcomer in Salinas, though, judging by what he has ac- complished in building up a practice during the past six years, one unfamiliar with the circum- stances would undoubtedly think this had been the work of several decades. While in former years he carried on a general practice of medi- cine and surgery, since locating in this city he has concentrated his efforts on the treatment of diseases of the eye, ear and nose. In his office at No. 250 Main street he has a well-equipped laboratory, all the modern appliances and con- veniences used by the profession here being in readiness.
A native of Denmark, Dr. Christiansen was born in Svanike, on the island of Bornholm, No- vember 22, 1868, the son of Christian Michael and Laura Andrea Mathilde (Bohn) Christian- sen, they, too, being natives of Denmark. At an early age Hans B. Christiansen showed a predilection for the medical profession, but cir-
cumstances were such that he had attained man- hood before he was able to carry out his plans and take up the study of medicine in earnest. However, June of 1894 witnessed his gradua- tion from the medical college at Copenhagen, and thereafter he located for practice in that city. While he built up and maintained a good private practice, it was as a medical officer in hospitals and on board ocean liners that came into the harbor of Copenhagen that he came into the greatest prominence. Among the many offices of this character which he filled so suc- cessfully may be mentioned the following: As- sistant medical officer at the Royal Fredericks Hospital, where he made a specialty of surgery ; assistant medical officer at Royal Fredericks Hospital of Medicine and Surgery; assistant to the preceptor of the university at the Royal Fredericks Hospital; assistant medical officer at the Blegdans Hospital; assistant medical officer at the Royal Fredericks Hospital through all the wards; while he held the same office at St. Jo- seph's Hospital, was medical practitioner in Co- penhagen and Fredericksberg, and country physician at Dalmose station at Sjaelland. He also held the office of surgeon on board the emi- grant steamers of the Thinqualla line, running between Scandinavia and New York.
It was with all of the experience gleaned from the numerous positions juist mentioned that Dr. Christiansen came to the United States, land- ing upon these shores November 14, 1903. Com- ing direct to California, he immediately took steps to make himself eligible to practice in this state, and August 6, 1904, he received the nec- essary credentials in San Francisco. The fol- lowing month he went to Santa Cruz, remaining there until December Ist of the same year, when he came to Salinas and opened an office for the practice of his profession. As has been stated previously, he makes a specialty of the eye, ear and nose, and his practice in this line includes patients from all parts of the county. A close student, ever ready to test the merits of new medical or surgical discoveries, inventions or appliances, he keeps abreast of the times in re- gard to his profession and is numbered among the foremost physicians in Monterey county, his patronage being extensive and lucrative. While his professional duties absorb a great deal of
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his time and thought, still they do not prevent him from doing his duty as a faithful citizen toward the home of his adoption, and especially in the city in which he lives.
JAMES B. IVERSON.
The family represented by James B. Iverson boasted an ancestry which has given to its de- scendants sturdy qualities of manhood and in- sured the success of their careers. Many decades before the duchy of Sleswick was conquered by the Prussians the Iverson family flourished in that part of Denmark, generation after genera- tion adding lustre to a name already held in high repute. James B. Iverson was born in Apenrade, Sleswick, Denmark, October 3, 1835, the son of parents who were also natives of the same prov- ince, Jesse and Hannah (Rurup) Iverson. Dur- ing his active life the father followed the black- smith's trade in his native land, but his later years were spent in the United States. The wife and mother had passed away July 13, 1881, and nearly ten years later, October 15, 1890, the death of the father occurred.
James B. Iverson had the advantages of a common school education in his native town, and during his entire training was under the instruc- tion of one teacher. When his school days were over he apprenticed himself to his father to learn the trade of blacksmith, and later followed it until he was required to give his services in the army. After sixteen months in the service he determined to come to the United States, and the year 1863 witnessed his landing in California. His first location was in San Lorenzo, Alameda county, where for five years he was in the em- ploy of Henry Smith, and thereafter for three months he was employed in Watsonville. From there he came to Salinas, arriving September 3, 1868, with a capital of about $2,000, this, in ad- dition to $1,000 which he borrowed, being invest- ed in a business venture on the site now occupied by Ford & Sanborn's store. As years came and went the little blacksmith shop which he then started developed with the increasing demand of the times, until finally it became the largest man- ufactory of plows, harrows, buggies and wagons in Monterey county. The demand for larger
quarters led to the removal of the plant in 1873 to their present location, corner of Monterey and Gabilan streets. It was in 1877 that Mr. Iver- son took his brother, E. Peter, into the partner- ship, an association which has continued ever since.
As his business increased and his means ac- cumulated, James B. Iverson invested in lands, which he improved, among these being the Corral de Tierra ranch of eighteen hundred acres, de- voted to pasture and hay, and the Rancho Pancho Rico, a one-thousand acre stock ranch; this he sold in 1909. If Mr. Iverson may be said to have a hobby, it is an intense interest in and love for fine horseflesh, and much of his time has been given to raising high-grade trotting stock. Among the fine animals which have been bred and trained on his ranch may be mentioned Dictatress, a pacer with a record of 2:0932; North Star, a three-year-old trotter, with a record of 2:111/4, and in 1905 he held the world's record in Cali- fornia for the three-year-old geldings and cap- tured the three sweepstake prizes; Prince Gift, trotter, with a record of 2:12; and at one time he owned one of the sons of Electioneer, Eu- geneer by name, with a record of 2:28. All of these animals were trained on Mr. Iverson's pri- vate track, and here also many of the most noted animals known to the California circuit have gained their records. He is a member of the Pacific Coast Trotting Horse Breeders' Associa- tion.
The interests already mentioned do not repre- sent the only activities with which Mr. Iverson's name is connected, and, indeed, there are few en- terprises in Salinas in which he does not figure in some capacity. He was one of the founders and is vice-president of the Monterey County. Bank, is also president of the Monterey Agricul- tural Association, is a stockholder in the Wahr- lich-Cornett Co., and at one time was president of the Gas, Electric Light and Water Co. The latter company owes much of its prosperity to the united efforts of Mr. Iverson and W. Vander- hurst, who are also interested in other undertak- ings, among which may be mentioned large land holdings, both in the city and throughout the county, which, through development, have be- come valuable properties. All the success that has come to Mr. Iverson from a financial stand-
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point has not been through outside assistance, but rather has been the result of unwearied en- deavor and good management. Fraternally he has been a member of the Odd Fellows order since 1869, at which time he joined Alisal Lodge, No. 163, at Salinas, and since 1879 he has acted as treasurer of Compromise Encampment, No. 37, of which he is also a member, and is a member of the Uniform Rank, Patriarchs Militant. It was largely through his efforts that the Odd Fel- lows hall became a possibility, and from the date of its organization until the consolidation he was president of the Hall Association. Po- litically he is a Democrat, and it was on the ticket of this party that he was elected as a member of the city council, serving that body faithfully for two terms.
JOHN ANDERSON.
The frontier scenes of California and the cos- mopolitan population of gold-seekers made an indelible impression upon the memory of the twelve-year old boy who, in the spring of 1850, landed at the harbor of the Golden Gate after a tedious and uneventful voyage from Australia. The family came originally from Scotland and in the midst of the changes which life brought to them they never lost their fond affection for their native country. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Jane Robinson, was born at Al- loa, Scotland, and died in the Calaveras valley, Santa Clara county, in 1876, at the age of eighty- eight. The father, John Anderson, Sr., was a dyer by trade and followed that occupation in Scotland and Australia, remaining in the latter country a little less than one year and thence migrating to the United States. Afterward he remained in California until his death, which occurred in August of 1871. In the family there were six children, namely: Margaret, Alexander, Jane, Marion, Mrs. Helen Meek of San Jose and John, Jr., all of whom are de- ceased with the exception of Mrs. Meek.
Born at Bannockburn, Scotland, June 4, 1838, John Anderson was about eleven years of age when he accompanied his parents to Australia and the following year he became a resident of California, attending school in San Francisco. where the family remained one year. Meanwhile
the eldest son went to the mines. In the fall of 1851 the family removed to Santa Clara county and settled on a ranch which they named Bannockburn, in memory of their old Scotch home. Much of the ranch was in pasture and the cattle industry became a specialty of the head of the ranch. Grain and hay were raised in large quantities. Building one of the first warehouses in the country, the father for years bought and sold grain and through that occu- pation, as well as by means of other activities, he accumulated a competency. The pioneer up- building of the county received the benefit of his progressive spirit.
After having completed his studies in Santa Clara College, John Anderson, Jr., began to act as assistant to his father in ranching and busi- ness affairs. During 1871 he bought John Car- ter's undivided one-half interest with George Pomeroy in a part of the Alisal ranch and after his marriage, in August of 1873, he came to Monterey county to make his home. The Alisal ranch was divided in the autumn of 1877 and he thereupon received as his part five hundred and sixty-five acres. Taking his family to his part of the tract, he established a home at the intersection of the roads and actively engaged in ranch pursuits. The valley in those days was largely unimproved and without fences. As a pioneer farmer, he introduced new methods of agriculture, availed himself of improved ma- chinery and by a progressive spirit and indom- itable energy aided in the upbuilding of the com- munity.
Upon selling the ranch in September of 1887 Mr. Anderson removed to Oregon and engaged in stock-raising on a ranch of twenty-three hundred acres in Douglas county, where also he devoted considerable attention to horticulture. After almost five years in that state he returned to California and settled at Pacific Grove, where he made his home for one year. Meanwhile he purchased a tract of somewhat less than five hundred acres, comprising a part of the Weth- erell estate and situated two and one-half miles from Salinas. The improvement and cultivation of the land occupied his attention during the ensuing years. In 1893 he erected a comfortable residence and there he died, September 14, 1901, after a long illness. In his demise the locality
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
lost one of its progressive ranchers, a man of superior intelligence, interested in educational advancement, and for some years a trustee of the district school. In fraternal relations he was a Mason, but before he removed to Oregon he had been demitted.
The marriage of John Anderson united him with Miss Cecilia Henderson, who was born in Dundee, Scotland, and in 1870 came to Cali- fornia to visit a brother. Here she formed the acquaintance of Mr. Anderson, whom she mar- ried in 1873. Of their children six were born in California and the two youngest are natives of Oregon. The eldest, John A., born in Mon- terey county, in September, 1874, is married and resides in Salinas, where he is employed by the railroad company in the signal system. Mary remains with her mother on the home ranch. David is at home assisting with the ranch work; Robert is assistant manager of the S. P. Milling Co., in Salinas; Leo is on the ranch; George died in 1907, while working in the mines in San Bernardino county; Cecil is also at home and with the other sons assists in caring for the home place; and Jessie, who graduated from the Salinas high school in 1909, is now attend- ing the State Normal at San Jose.
W. N. FURLONG.
The biographies and reminiscences of the early settlers of California would not be complete with- out the life history of that prominent and re- spected citizen of Pacific Grove, William New- man Furlong. Born in Canada March 21, 1836, his early life was passed on a farm. His parents having died when he was an infant he did not have the early advantages of other children, and at an early age was obliged to shift for himself and make his own way in the world unaided. In his youth he learned the trade of carpenter, and followed it for many years during his early life in California. In the year 1858, having heard of the great opportunities in California for young men of push and perseverance, he came west by way of the isthmus, landing in San Francisco December 28, 1858.
From San Francisco Mr. Furlong went direct to Gilroy by stage (this being before the time of
railroads), and for a time worked on a farm near town. Seeing a good opportunity to resume work at his trade of carpenter and builder, he took up this important industry, constructing the first church edifice built in Old Gilroy, erecting a large three-story brick house for Horace Wilson, and also a fine residence for James Ellis. In those early days he was obliged to dress all the lumber by hand, which was hard and tedious. work. During his stay in Gilroy Mr. Furlong engaged in a number of enterprises and was suc- cessful in all of them, in fact, he never failed in anything that he undertook. One of these un- dertakings was the purchase of a six-acre or- chard, set to apples, apricots, plums and peaches. He was also in the bee business, building his own hives. At one time he owned one of the best dairies in the state, having one hundred and seventy-five cows, and also having eight hundred and twenty-five acres of land under cultivation. In addition to the various enterprises already mentioned, he owned and conducted two large sawmills with success.
Mr. Furlong was a prominent citizen of Gilroy during his residence there, holding the office of mayor for one term, and was supervisor of Santa Clara county for two terms. He was chairman of the board of supervisors when the Mount Hamilton road was built. He assisted in the division of the county when San Benito county was formed, and was one of the fifty men who bought out Colonel Hollister at that time. He started to spend the summers at Pacific Grove over twenty-five years ago, before there were any cottages and when people lived in tents. Twenty years ago he erected with his own hands the resi- dence which he now occupies at Pacific Grove, situated on an elevation overlooking the bay of Monterey. Mr. Furlong has many interests in and about this section of Monterey county. He owns a number of business blocks in Monterey, is part owner of the First National Bank building of that city, has property interests on Lighthouse avenue, Pacific Grove, is a stockholder in the First National Bank of Monterey, and also a stockholder in the Sand & Limestone Brick Com- pany. He has also owned extensive property in Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose.
Mr. Furlong was married December 5, 1861, to Mary Elizabeth White, a native of New Or-
ONEday
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
leans. Three children have been born of their union, as follows: Albert W., a resident of Co- lumbia ; May Caroline, the wife of Albert Long, of Gilroy; and George W., who resides in Pa- cific Grove. Mr. Furlong has always been a public-spirited man and has been ready to lend his aid to any enterprise which would tend to ad- vance the interests of the community.
EARL D. EDDY.
Few there are even in this era of restless activity for whom destiny has in store identifi- cation with more varied enterprises than it has been the privilege of Dr. Eddy to enjoy. Many occupations widely different in nature have en- gaged his attention at different periods of his life and in each of them he has gained helpful ex- perience, so that he now possesses a rounded character and profound information impossible to those whose spheres of activity have been nar- row and limited. In the afternoon of his event- ful existence we find him engaged in dental practice at Salinas, where he has built up a prac- tice that includes patients from all parts of the county. Recently he has utilized for the pain- less extraction of teeth an anaesthetic of his own manufacture and he further has made a specialty of crown and bridge work.
Born in Chautauqua county, N. Y., April 9, 1853. Dr. Eddy is a son of James and Dorcas Warner (King) Eddy, natives respectively of New York state and Pennsylvania, and descend- ants of colonial settlers of Rutland, Vt. Death deprived the son of a father's support and affec- tionate care when he was a child of nine years and from that time forward he had to earn his own way in the world. A home was offered on a farm and there he remained until he was eight- een, when he went to Erie, Pa., and began an apprenticeship to the moulder's trade in an iron foundry. After ten months he gave up the work, feeling that he had no special aptitude for the occupation.
Securing employment on a railroad in a very humble capacity, the young man gradually worked his way forward and at the age of twenty- one years he was made a conductor on the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad. The road
was at the time beginning to use air-brakes for the first trial and double tracks were another in- novation of the period. On resigning as con- ductor he went to New York City and entered upon the study of pharmacy and medicine, in which he had two courses of lectures, but he- never engaged in practice. Instead, he entered the employ of the government as a member of the engineering corps on Castle Island in Boston harbor, and assisted in remodeling the fortifica -- tions by putting in modern guns. At the expira- tion of two years, in January of 1876, he entered the artillery service at Charleston, S. C., and in the spring of the same year he was promoted to. be corporal of Battery E, Fifth Artillery. After having passed the examination for entrance to the artillery school at Old Point Comfort, Va.,. he remained a student for two years and then was graduated with second honors in a class of one hundred and eighteen. The school had a library containing more than one hundred thousand vol- times, but without a catalogue, and thus the use- fulness of the books was greatly impaired.
In a conversation with Lieutenant Cobb, the manager of the institution, Dr. Eddy stated that he could prepare a catalogue if funds could be- provided to finance the undertaking. The neces- sary amount was secured and eight months later five hundred copies of the catalogue were printed. To aid in the work, fourteen assistants were. secured from among the most talented of the one thousand students attending the school. The work was accomplished with thoroughness and the catalogue filled a long-felt want. On com- pleting the work Dr. Eddy secured a commission as steward in the hospital corps and served for one year at Fortress Monroe. On accepting the. appointment he was assigned to the latter post, but at the expiration of a year he was ordered to the west and was given his choice between an assignment in Texas and one in California. At once he chose the latter and arrived in this state in 1880, where he became steward on Al- catraz island. During the Apache campaign of 188I he went to Arizona and returned to the. island with eighty savages who had been sen- tenced to serve life imprisonments. However, after a short time the Indians were given their liberty, one at a time, until all had been liberated.
After a service of three years at the Hooper-
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valley Indian reservation in Humboldt county, Dr. Eddy retired from the army service in 1884. Meanwhile he had passed an examination in 1882 for a commission, in the regular army, but being married he was not allowed to accept. After leaving the army he practiced dentistry at San Jose and for three years engaged in the build- ing business, meanwhile doing special work on the Turn Verein hall and furnishing the design for the finishing of the city hall. From San Jose he went to San Francisco and there prac- ticed dentistry until 1900, when trouble with his ·cyes caused him to seek a change by going into the mountains. For two years he practiced .among the miners in Placer county. In early life he had completed his dental studies, but it was not until 1885 that he took up dental prac- tice according to modern methods, and since that time he has advanced to a prominent position among the dentists of the state. Since 1904 he has had his office and home at Salinas. His first marriage took place in 1879 and united him with Elizabeth Thomas, who was born in Virginia and died in California in 1893. The only son of the marriage, Earl Dorr, was born in Humboldt county and now holds a responsible position as business manager of the San Francisco Argo- naut. The doctor's second marriage took place January 3, 1909, and united him with Miss Lena Belle Luzier, who was born in West Virginia.
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