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 24
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 24
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Extensive travel throughout this country and Mexico has made Mr. Hohstadt an authority on
JBS Cale
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
conditions, both past and present, and as he is a pleasing conversationalist, one in listening to him is not only entertained, but is instructed also. Wherever he has made his home he has entered heartily into whatever measure meant better con- ditions for the general good, this being especially noticeable in Salinas, where he is known as one of her most public-spirited citizens. Politically he is a Republican, and with his wife he is a member of and ardent worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
THOMAS BENTON SLATE.
For many years Mr. Slate was identified with the agricultural and business interests of Monte- rey county, and during this time he rose to a posi- tion of influence among those with whom he was brought in contact. A native of Missouri, he was born October 13, 1841, the son of John T. and Frances ( Holland) Slate, who for many years had been residents of the Mississippi val- ley. Thomas B. Slate was a child of thirteen years when with his parents he crossed the plains for the Pacific coast country, going directly to Linn county, Ore. When seventeen years old he went to British Columbia to engage in mining, but from there he soon afterward came to Cali- fornia. From 1872 until his death his home and interests were centered in Monterey county. Soon after coming to the state he became the owner of the famous Slate Springs, one hundred miles south of Monterey on the coast, where he resided for twenty-two years. In this vicinity he also owned one thousand acres of land upon which he carried on farming and stock raising extensively, and indeed was recognized through- out this part of the county as an authority in agricultural affairs, especially in the breeding and raising of horses and cattle.
Mr. Slate's marriage, which occurred in Mon- terey August 26, 1880, united him with one of the native daughters of California, Bersabe R. Soberanes, who was born in Monterey county, a descendant of the original Vallejo family, her grandmother being a sister of Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. At his death, September 25, 1894. Mr. Slate left besides his widow, several children, of whom we make the following men-
tion: Thomas Robert is a resident of Punta Arenas, Patagonia, South America; John Ese- quiel is in business in Fairbanks, Alaska; Wil- liam Porter is in Kansas City, Mo .; Edward Hol- land is a graduate of a business college in San Francisco; Arabella graduated from Heald's Business College in San Jose May 13, 1909, and on September 2 following became the wife of Sergeant-Major John G. Millar, Eighth United States Infantry; and the youngest child in the family, Herbert, is a student in the high school in Monterey. All of the children received their initial training in the schools of Monterey and are exemplifying in their lives an earnestness of purpose and a right understanding of the ideals of life which reflect creditably both upon their school training and upon the home atmosphere, which has always been one of educational and moral uplift. On account of ill health, in 1894 the family moved to New Monterey, where Mr. Slate bought a home, and in the fall of that same year he passed away. The following year Mrs. Slate moved to the old Vallejo homestead in Monterey with her children and resided there for eleven years when she erected her present home at No. 320 Pacific street. In addition to the home place she also owns five cottages, from the rental of which she receives a neat income.
GEORGE T. ELLIOT.
So closely has the life of Mr. Elliot been asso- ciated with San Benito county during nearly twenty-five years past, that scarcely an enter- prise can be mentioned with which he has not been associated. While his interests and accom- plishments have been versatile, there is probably no one of them that has been more helpful to himself and his fellow-citizens alike than his investigations and accomplishments along horti- cultural lines. Indeed, to him is readily conceded the credit for inaugurating the industry in San Benito county, one that holds first place in the county's well-being and progress, and places it in the forefront of horticultural activity in the state.
A native of the Empire state, George T. Elliot was born in Genesee county, N. Y., on October 12. 1834, the son of Julius and Ala-
30
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
meda (Holcomb) Elliot, and on the paternal side is a descendant of John Eliot, whose name be- came known in the missionary world through his helpful influence among the Indians in the State of Maine during the early days. To a degree above the average was opportunity afforded Mr. Elliot for obtaining an education, and as he was of a penetrating and determined mind he made rapid strides in his studies. After graduating from the common and high schools of his home town he attended the Middlebury Academy, in Warsaw, N. Y., later attended the Mt. Cæsar school in Cheshire county, N. H., and graduated from this latter institution in 1855. The close of his school career also inaugurated the begin- ning of his business life and association with public interests. Leaving the east in the year just mentioned, he came as far west as Jefferson county, Wis., and during his residence there he was appointed deputy county sheriff, serving in this capacity for two years. Subsequently he went to Portage Prairie, Wis., where for one year he carried on farming, and at the end of this time, in 1861, he came to California via the Isthmus of Panama and located in Solano county, Cal. With the eye of the prophet he was able to see that an excellent opportunity to engage in the stock business awaited one who was willing to undertake it, and without loss of time he made up his mind to be the one to make the venture. His first step was to take up from the government a quarter section of land near the town of Maine Prairie, and this he stocked with cattle, and later acquired thirteen hundred and twenty-five acres there. His prognostica- tions in regard to the possibilities to be reached in the stock business were amply realized during the twenty-one years in which he followed it, and resulted in his becoming not only an author- ity on the subject, but he also became one of the most prominent men of the county. During this time he took up the practice of law, having studied law while a resident of Wisconsin. Al- together he followed the profession in Solano county for three years, and then, in 1884, after selling out his interests there, he came to San Benito county and located near Hollister. Three miles south of town he took up a tract of two hundred and five acres and later seventy addi- tional acres, the latter of which he set out in
orchard to prunes, pears, peaches and apricots, the remainder of the ranch being used as farm- ing and grazing land. Mr. Elliot has made a study of agricultural chemistry and is regarded as an authority on the valuation of the various soils throughout the state.
Mr. Elliot was married in Swanzey, N. H., in 1856, to Miss Sarah L. Trowbridge, a native of that eastern state, but who passed away in California in 1877. Six children were born to this worthy couple, and named in the order of their birth they are as follows: Hattie, the wife of J. E. Wilson, of Oakland; George A .; Charles R .; Joseph D .; Harold E. R., and Mary L., the wife of C. R. MacLachlan, of Oakland. In 1884 Mr. Elliot married Alice Mary Newton, of Yolo county, Cal. She departed this life in De- cember, 1904, leaving the following children : Albert N., a resident of Hollister ; Alice N., who is a trained nurse in St. Luke's Hospital, in San Francisco ; and Addison N.
Throughout his entire life Mr. Elliot has heen a very busy man, but it would be an in- justice to suppose that all of his efforts had been expended along lines that would ultimately bring material benefit to him. On the other hand his interest in his fellowmen is broad and deep, and no avenue for their uplift or improvement has been allowed to lag for want of his encour- agement and support. As an advocate of the temperance cause his name is well known, for he has lectured on the subject all over the state, and as he is a fluent speaker and a man of good address and education he never fails to win the confidence of his hearers. His interest in the temperance cause makes him a valuable mem- ber and worker in the Independent Order of Good Templars. His voice has been heard with equal force on the political platform, his first speech of this character being made at a pri- mary election in 1863. In 1872, during the Greeley campaign, he lectured in several coun- ties throughout the state under the direction of the county committee. In 1876 he addressed large audiences throughout the coast counties in behalf of Haves. Mr. Elliot was made a can- didate for state senator in 1902, in opposition to Thomas Flint, but he failed of election by a small number of votes. Wherever Mr. Elliot has filled positions of trust or responsibility he
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has been successful in the highest sense, always leaving behind him an untarnished record and an unspotted reputation. Under all circum- stances he has been found loyal to truth, honor and the right, than which no higher praise could be bestowed upon any man.
CARLYSLE S. ABBOTT.
The Abbott family is of English origin, and the first American representative was George Abbott, who settled in Andover, Mass., before the Revolutionary war. To this ancestor are traceable nearly all of the name of Abbott in the United States and Canada. It was about 1790 that Abiel Abbott and his four sons went from Connecticut to Lower Canada and took up . form a wagon into a cart, using the hind wheels farming in Stanstead county, their farm being directly on the line that divided Canada from Vermont. One of these sons was John Abbott, who by his marriage witlı Lydia Boyington be- came the father of seven sons and three daugh- ters, one of these children being Carlysle S. (better known to his friends as "Carr Abbott"), of this review, and the only survivor. He was born on the paternal farm in the province of Quebec February 26, 1828, and until he was sixteen years of age his life was associated with farm life in that section of the country. At the age of eight years he was deprived of the loving care of his mother and after her death he was placed in the care of an older brother, with whom he remained for about eight years.
Young Abbott was a youth of proud spirit and could not lightly overlook his brother's re- fusal of a horse and carriage with which he wished to drive a young lady to a party. The circumstance was the means of his running away from home, and by way of Lake Champlain, the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes he made his way to Chicago, thence to Sycamore, DeKalb county, Ill., by stage. There he remained until his twenty-first year, working at any honest em- ployment in return for his board, clothes and schooling. About this time his brother Alvin and eight other young men made up a party to cross the plains and as he had expressed a desire to go he was also made one of the party. They reached the Missouri river in safety, but at
Omaha it was deemed advisable to unite forces with other small companies like their own, this insuring better protection from the Indians and also lessening guard duty. From Omaha the party included fifty men, who remained together until Fort Laramie was reached, but as some of the party wished to cover the ground faster, by the time they reached the Humboldt the party had been reduced to the number with which they started from Illinois, ten. The reaching of the Humboldt was synonymous with the beginning of difficulties for the little party, the first disaster being the loss of the greater part of their pro- visions through theft. Alvin Abbott then became ill with cholera, and in order to make it possible to travel faster and thus procure relief, the brother, C. S., worked during one night to trans-
of the wagon, and by morning they were ready to again take up the march and by the time they reached the upper sink of the Humboldt, Alvin Abbott had recovered. Forty-five miles of desert now lay before them, of which fifteen miles was shifting sand, and here they ate the last of their provisions, the last allowance consisting of an ounce of dried beef and two tablespoonfuls of flour made into a gruel, and to quench their thirst each had six quarters of dried apples. The next morning at ten o'clock found them ten miles from the Carson river, and up to this point they had left behind all but three of their horses, and of those remaining, two belonged to the Abbott brothers. On the way they had passed hundreds of dead oxen and horses, many of them hitched to wagons, which were loaded with all kinds of mining machinery and clothing, but none of them contained food of any kind. As the com- pany were out of water it was decided that Car- lysle S. Abbott and a Mr. Reddington should go ahead and get a supply. They walked the ten miles carrying a ten-gallon can to fill, and when they reached the trading post on the river they spent the last of their money for hard tack. filled the can, and with it swung on a pole be- tween them, made the trip through sand, ankle deep to rejoin their comrades. After the water and provisions were divided they proceeded on their way. At Carson City, then a Mormon station, they rested for a few days before taking up the march across the Sierras. The trail which
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they followed brought them out at Georgetown, where for five days thereafter their rations con- sisted of two tablespoonfuls of flour and one ounce of dried beef at a meal, and when this supply was exhausted they subsisted on hazel- nuts and buds of wild roses. So weakened had they become through lack of nourishment that they could make only eight miles a day. It was finally voted that one more of the horses would have to be sacrificed, the one selected being a favorite animal belonging to C. S. Abbott. How- ever, on descending the mountain a buck was sighted and killed by one of the men who had retained his gun. It was about noon of the fol- lowing day that they reached a trading post at the head of the Missouri Canyon, the trail there starting for the Middle Fork of the American river at Volcano bar. The trials and hardships of the past months had their compensation at last, for they had finally reached the mines. The remaining horse was sold for $25, with which they purchased a pick, shovel and pan, but as this left them with nothing to purchase provisions, they were still in a sad plight. The storekeeper at the settlement was a man of large heart, and after the little band had stated their case to him he willingly offered to trust them for a week's supply of food and for necessary clothing. The first week brought no returns for their work and their provisions were exhausted, so they were compelled to ask further credit at the store. The second week, however, brought a change in their luck, as C. S. Abbott took out enough gold to pay up their indebtedness at the store, besides leaving them a surplus. On ac- count of his former sickness, Alvin Abbott was not allowed to work at mining, so he acted as cook for himself and brother.
Carlysle Abbott had been fairly successful in his mining venture, so much so that he felt justified in returning east and claiming his prom- ised bride. Before coming to California he had been employed for a time in Beloit, Wis., and while there had formed the acquaintance of and become engaged to Elizabeth Merriman, the daughter of Dr. Lewis Merriman, a well-known resident of that city. Mr. Abbott left California on the return voyage in November, 1851, and arrived in New York on Christmas Day. Thence he went direct to Beloit, and on March 19, 1852,
the marriage of the young people was celebrated. They at once outfitted with provisions and ox- teams and started for California on their wed- ding trip, this journey being luxurious as com- pared with the one made by Mr. Abbott in 1850. In his train were sixty oxen, fifty cows and heifers, ten good horses and five wagons, all be- longing to himself, besides which he received as passage money $125 from eighteen men who went along with him and shared the work. Mr. Abbott was impressed with the fact, that at points on the way where he had nearly starved on his previous trip, he was able to sell flour and beans to destitute travelers. The plains abounded with all kinds of wild game, so that the larder was constantly supplied with fresh meat.
Upon his arrival in California Mr. Abbott settled on the Sacramento river near Washing- ton, but he did not remain there long, as high water caused the loss of nearly all of his cattle and he became dissatisfied with the location. Selling out, he went to Nevada City and engaged in the dairy business, following this with fairly good success for several years. The year 1858 found him in Point Reyes, Marin county, where he had removed with his stock, and there he en- gaged in making butter and cheese for the San Francisco market until 1865, when he located in Monterey county and has since resided here. When he came to this county he brought with him five hundred cows and located on four thou- sand acres of land which he purchased, this now being the site of the Spreckels sugar factory. His dairy of five hundred cows was increased to fifteen hundred and became one of the largest dairy ranches in the United States. He also at one time owned twelve thousand acres where King City is located, but this as well as large means which he had accumulated was lost through attempting to finance the building of the narrow gauge railroad from Monterey to Salinas, but though very disastrous to him it was of untold benefit to the community.
Since his location in Monterey county, Mr. Abbott has twice been elected to represent his constituents in the state legislature, and he was also a delegate to the Republican national conven- tion at Philadelphia at the second nomination of U. S. Grant for the presidency. Shortly after he
Dane Talbott
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
took up his' residence in Salinas, in 1865, Mr. Ab- bott erected the Abbott Hotel, one of the largest blocks in this city. It would be impossible to name a measure undertaken for the good of the city or county that has not had the active co- operation of Mr. Abbott, for from the first he has been optimistic in regard to its future and much credit is due him for what has been ac- complished. Advancing years do not tend to lessen this interest, and at present he is interested in the development of the new Lonoak oil fields that have been discovered in the county. Of the four children born to Mr. and Mrs. Abbott we mention the following: Donna Maria became the wife of C. G. Chamberlain, but is now de- ceased ; Clara is the wife of Dr. N. S. Giberson of San Francisco; Harvey E., a resident of Sa- linas, is efficiently filling the office of supervisor of the county, and Francis A. is a member of the Salinas Meat Company and mayor of Sa- linas. Now in the evening of his days, Mr. Abbott is enjoying to the fullest extent the pos- session of all of his faculties, and is making his home in Salinas where he has been a factor for the past forty-four years.
DAVID PAUL TALBOTT.
So indissolubly has the life of Mr. Talbott been associated with Monterey county and King City during the past thirty-five years that to write the history of one will of necessity mean including much of the other. During the long period of his association with this locality he has been the fostering spirit of its principal enter- prises, indeed, it would be difficult to name a pro- gressive project that has lacked his hearty sup- port.
The descendant of southern ancestors, Mr. Talbott was born August 25, 1854, in St. George, Tucker county, W. Va., and in that locality he was reared until a lad of ten years. He well re- members the exciting events attending the re- moval of the family home to Illinois in 1865, for he was then of an age to find excitement and en- joyment in anything that broke in upon the mo- notony of his daily life. While the family were living in the south little or no attention was paid to his education, but after the removal to Illi- nois he became a regular attendant of the public
schools near his home. His father being a tiller of the soil, it was only natural that he should imbibe some knowledge of this calling through the performance of the chores that fall to the lot of the average farmer's son. The result of this early training was, that when the time came for him to select a life calling for himself he chose the one which had occupied his father through- out his lifetime.
It was in 1875, when he was a young man of twenty-one years, that Mr. Talbott determined to come to the Pacific coast country and start life anew in the midst of untried conditions. He came direct to Monterey county and purchased a large tract of land in Chualar canyon, compris- ing twenty-six hundred acres. After making his home upon it for about a year he moved upon the Jacks ranch near Chualar, where he had fifteen hundred acres under cultivation. He remained upon that ranch until 1900, when he located on the Dumphy ranch, in the vicinity of King City. The latter ranch comprises sixty-one hundred and sixty-five acres, which he has had under cul- tivation ever since 1900, and since 1904 it has been the home of the family, who prior to that time. from 1900 to 1904, lived in Chualar canyon. The greater part of this vast acreage is given over to the raising of wheat and barley, although upon his own ranch of twenty-six hundred acres in Chualar canyon he raises cattle almost exclu- sively. To some extent he also raises high-grade horses. In order to harvest the large crops of wheat and harley as they mature Mr. Talbott has supplied himself with two complete threshing outfits and during the harvest season sixty-five men are given employment. Comparatively few men have the knowledge and ability to carry out the vast undertaking over which Mr. Talbott presides with ease. This, however, is but one of the enterprises which make claim upon his time and attention. With equal ease and facility he presides over large business corporations, being president of the Salinas Valley Electric & Power Company, of King City, and vice-president of the Salinas Valley Warehouse & Storage Com- pany of the same city, and in a public capacity he served efficiently as supervisor of the county district No. 3 since the fall 1906, and for many years served as trustee of the Canyon district school.
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HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
In all of his undertakings Mr. Talbott has had the sympathy and co-operation of his wife, whom he married in 1879, and who before her marriage was Miss Isabelle Ellis, a native of Indiana, though before her removal to California she had been a resident of Illinois. Four children have been born of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Tal- bott, as follows : Blanche, the wife of G. V. Bar- low, and a resident of Gonzales; Maude, the wife of H. J. Lange, of King City; and Eugene and Hazel, both of whom are still at home with their parents. Besides the ranching property which Mr. Talbott owns in this vicinity he also has large holdings of business property in King City, upon which he erected a two-story business block in 1908 and in 1909 a similar-size building of concrete. In spite of his many engrossing cares Mr. Talbott still finds time to cultivate the social side of life and no one is received more cordially into the various organizations of which he is a member than is he. Fraternally he holds membership in Gonzales Lodge No. 273, I. O. O. F .; King City Lodge F. & A. M .; and the Eastern Star Chapter, also of this city.
THOMAS W. CHURCH.
More than twenty-five years have elapsed since Mr. Church landed in Monterey county, a stranger in this then sparsely settled community and the possessor of but scanty means. The surroundings were those of the frontier. Roads had not been opened and when he settled on a raw tract of land he found it necessary to ride on horseback forty-five miles to the nearest market. His first property was secured by buying a squatter's right and later he proved up on two claims, both of which he improved with fences and buildings. There were but four brick buildings at the time in the now flourishing little city of Salinas and the supply of merchandise carried in the town was far inferior to that of the present day. All in all, the changes of these years have been many and justify the pride ex- perienced by every loyal resident.
While Mr. Church has made California his home since 1875, he is of foreign birth and an- cestry and was born in county Londonderry, Ireland, September 13, 1836. At the age of ten
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