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 5

Author: Guinn, J. M. (James Miller), 1834-1918; Leese, Jacob R. Monterey County; Tinkham, George H. (George Henry), b. 1849. Story of San Benito County
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Los Angeles, Calif. : Historic Record Co.
Number of Pages: 454


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 5
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 5


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Hiram Corey was born March 7, 1831, in Stanbridge, Province of Quebec, Canada, the fourth in a family of eleven children (ten of whom grew to maturity) born to Reuben and Melinda (Reynolds) Corey, the former born in Hancock, Mass., March 13, 1801, and the latter born in Vermont, July 17, 1803. Reuben Corey was but two years old when he was taken from the farm in Massachusetts to Canada. There he grew to manhood and was educated, and in the course of time won the rank of captain in . Her Majesty's service. In 1856 he moved to Bloomfield, Sonoma county, Cal., where he bought a ranch of three hundred acres and im- proved it and was engaged in its cultivation un- til he retired in 1865 and died in 1878, aged


seventy-seven years, in Bloomfield, where he had made his home for many years. His wife lived to reach the age of seventy-seven, dying in 1880.


The ancestry of Hiram Corey can be traced to 1630, when the progenitor of the family came to the United States from England and settled in Massachusetts. The records show that those bearing' the name have filled positions of trust and honor in many instances, from the early period to the present time. Capt. Reuben Corey received his rank for valor performed in the re- bellion of 1836. On the maternal side he comes from a family equally prominent, his mother being in a direct line of descent from one of nine partners who were granted an entire town- ship in Dutchess county, N. Y., by George III. After the removal of the family to California and the establishing of a home in Sonoma coun- ty it became known as one of the most hos- pitable homes in the county, and they enter- tained ministers of the Methodist faith, that being the church of which they had been mem- bers for over fifty years, as well as those of other denominations that .came their way. Reu- ben Corey was a pronounced Republican and became one of the prominent men in his adopted county. On March 5, 1873, Reuben Corey and his wife celebrated their golden wedding anni- versary, at which time there were living eight children, thirty-two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.


January 1, 1852, Hiram and Noah Corey left Canada and came to California, via Nicaragua, and arrived in San Francisco, at Clark's Point, February 26 of that year. In that city the brothers engaged in contracting for a time, get- ting out logs for a saw mill. Later they en- gaged in ranching, supplying vegetables to the state's prisons, and in 1852 we find them in Marin county, where one of the events of their lives occurred and goes to show that those men that came to the undeveloped west had but little thought of personal safety in the upbuilding of this great commonwealth.


In 1852 the Corey brothers were located in Marin county, on Corte Madera creek, engaged in farming, stock-raising and lumbering. They were in the prime of their manhood, active, in- dustrious and courageous and possessed of


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great endurance. They chartered a schooner of three tons from Bectile Bros. to go to San Francisco to lay in a stock of provisions for the winter season, as during the rainy season it was very difficult to obtain supplies at that place. December I they embarked from Corte Madera and sailed under favorable winds until Alcatraz Island was reached; there the wind died down and they were left becalmed and with the out- going tide, began to drift towards the Golden Gate; as they passed Shag rock about four o'clock they were nearly wrecked. They were warned by a captain of a vessel that they were in great danger and to make a haven if pos- sible. Their boat was unwieldy, the oars were made out of native oak and were heavy and the oarlocks were but pins made out of red- wood ; they were dragging their anchor, a large rock incased in a net and fastened to about thirty feet of rope. In spite of all they could do they were unable to make any headway against the tide, still they were hopeful that the flood tide would take them back as the ebb had taken them out to sea. During the night their hopes were about to be realized, as the Golden Gate was only about a mile away, but then the ebb caught their frail craft and bore them out to sea, but still in sight of the lighthouse. After drifting all night without food or water, the morning of the second day found them cold, hungry and thirsty, with nothing on board to assuage their thirst or hunger and a stiff wind still blowing off the heads, so much so that larg- er vessels were forced to put back to sea, after attempting to enter the gate.


During this day Hiram found twenty grains of corn in one of his pockets that had been left from feeding his chickens the day they left home and these he divided with his brother and with it tried to stay their hunger; in the meantime they were being tossed towards the Farallones, when on the third day they found themselves at the entrance of Drake's Bay with a heavy land breeze. During this day they were buffeted by heavy winds and drifted out of sight of land with no compass and increased cravings for drink and food. That night the wind shifted and their craft was blown with great velocity towards land and about midnight they could hear the roar of the breakers through the storm that


was raging and in a short time their boat was thrown on a shelving rock under a cliff that was about fifty or sixty feet high. As soon as the boat struck the rocks the brothers seized their blankets and jumped, landing safely and fortu- nately, for the next wave capsized the boat and wrecked it against the rocks. They found a path leading from the rock upon which they had been thrown and this they followed, though it was midnight and stormy; this led them to a small ravine where they made a bed and slept soundly after their days and nights of exposure and hunger and thirst. The storm increased during the night and in the morning there was a stream of water running between them as they lay on the ground. Awakening about the mid- dle of the day they found their blankets satt- rated and a dense fog obscuring the sky. Tak- ing a westerly course in an endeavor to find some place where they could satisfy their hun- ger they came to a camp of the United States Coast Survey and here they were received with generous hospitality and kept for a week. At the end of this time a start was made for their home and they were supplied with biscuits and bacon and reached Tomales bay, the only way in which to get to Corte Madera, as the streams were all running bank full. The ferry was run by a colored man, who failed to see their signals, and during the night they had to keep up a fire to ward off the bears that visited the camp. The next morning they returned to the camp of the surveyors and were invited to remain till the fog lifted, when they could take passage in a Whitehall boat that was to be dispatched to San Francisco. One week later the head surveyor and his assistant, accompanied by the Corey brothers, boarded the boat, taking along pro- visions. After arriving at the entrance to the bay they found they could not cross the bar and the small boat was turned to sea and the fol- lowing morning they found themselves at their starting point, Drake's Bay. That evening they made another attempt to cross the bar and failed. About this time their water was gone and their provisions soaked with salt water and rendered 11nfit for use. A point was sighted that was familiar to Mr. Corey, it being the place where the Tennessee was wrecked, and they made for a small cove near by. After a landing was made


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the breakers increased and to save the boat it was deemed advisable to put back to sea. Noah Corey decided to go with the surveyors, while Hiram was going to walk to his destination. He pushed the boat out through the breakers, but before it had gone ten rods it was capsized by a heavy sea, and Hiram, being a good swimmer, made out through the surf to rescue his brother, who was not a strong swimmer. The others could help themselves ; after great difficulty they all reached the shore, but the boat had a hole stove in its side and nothing was saved, the instruments being lost with the rest of their belongings. Wet and hungry they all walked to Sausalito, arriving about 12 o'clock, and the next morning all but Hiram Corey boarded a ferry boat for San Francisco, while he started back to Corte Madera on foot. It was known that the brothers had drifted out to sea and as they had been gone two weeks it was thought they must have perished and a cousin, William Reynolds, took charge of their affairs. Thinking to gain by his action a resident of the vicinity filed a claim against the estate for $200, bor- rowed money, and was going to force settle- ment, but the timely appearance of Mr. Corey caused the matter to be dropped and that man was never seen about the locality again, as he left after having his rascality discovered. After all the trials incident to this experience their lives were spared and as expressed by Hiram Corey, "The guarding hand of Providence was with us."


In 1856 Mr. Corey was married to Rose Frost. a native of Essex, Vt., and a descendant of one of the prominent families of that state and to the co-operation of Mrs. Corey, who died March 9, 1900, is due great credit for part of the suc- cess attained by Mr. Corey and the position he holds in the state as one of the progressive, pub- lic spirited and enterprising men. He has been connected with all movements in the county for the betterment of the general conditions and as a trustee of the schools for many years has favored all educational movements. He is a member and trustee of the Presbyterian church, has been connected with the Monterey County District Agricultural Association as a director, was one of the organizers and is a director of . the Monterey County Bank, is one of the large


land owners in the county and in every way has shown himself a generous and charitably in- clined citizen. During his entire life he has been an active man. In 1862 he went to Aurora, near Virginia City, where he was for a time super- intendent of the Red, White & Blue mines ; these were abandoned upon the advice of Mr. Corey as being unprofitable. He was sent to San Pedro to arrange for the transportation of the machinery from that place to the mines on the Owens river, a distance of two hundred and fifty miles. The route lay through an Indian country and the savages were hostile to the whites and took every opportunity to be re- venged for some fancied wrong. As the road had to be built part of the way, Mr. Corey, who was familiar with the locality, drove one of the teams ; fortunately they were not molested. The lumber for the mines had to be rafted about fifty miles and this was done under his direction


also. After he had completed this work he went back to Marin county and leased a ranch near Point Reyes and engaged in dairying and farming. In October, 1872, he came to Monte- rey county. leased the Buena Vista ranch of seventy-seven hundred and twenty-four acres and upon this he began a dairy business which was soon increased to five hundred cows. His first lease was for five years and at the end of the time took it for the following seven years; in 1883 the land came into his possession and he retained it until 1889, when he sold it to the Buena Vista Land Company and he later pur- chased two thousand acres of the tract.


In 1890 Mr. Corey took his family to Europe, during their stay touring through Belgium, Hol- land, England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Ger- many and Austria, and meeting with many pleas- ant and novel experiences, and also bringing back many souvenirs of the journey. In 1891 he returned to Monterey county and purchased his present ranch, known as the Las Palmas Rancho, and began its improvement by the erection of modern buildings, beautifying the grounds by planting ornamental and fruit trees. The house, modern in all its appointments, was designed by Mr. Corey and his wife and erected by Mr. Bas- sett and is a model farm house in every way. It stands in a sheltered canyon and is known far and wide for the hospitality shown by its own-


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ers. Mr. Corey began raising horses for pleas- ure, but later it was turned to profit, for there was a demand for the kind of animals which he raised. He imported the stud from England and has made a specialty of draft horses and road- sters.


The second marriage of Mr. Corey, May 22, 1901, united him with Mrs. Elfrida (Eade) Johnson, who was born in Jo Daviess county, Ill., October 25, 1870, and is the daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Nattrass) Eade, both of whom are living in King City, well advanced in years and surrounded by their many friends. Mr. Eade and his wife are both natives of Eng- land and he came to America when he was but nine years of age and to California in 1849 and engaged in mining. He has made five trips across the plains, the first time accompanied by his father, who died of cholera on the way. Mrs. Corey is the mother of two daughters, Emily Pearl, by a former marriage to Thomas J. John- son, and Augusta Eleanor, by the marriage with Mr. Corey.


J. G. HAMILTON.


Although not one of the earliest settlers of California (for he did not come to the west until after the expiration of his service in the Civil war) Mr. Hamilton has an assured right to the rank of pioneer by reason of his identifi- cation with the business interests of Hollister from the period of their incipiency. Then, too, he was likewise a pioneer of Iowa, for at the time of his removal thither at the age of eight years the country was still in the primeval con- dition of nature, inhabited principally by Indians, with here and there a white settlement. Born in Pennsylvania, in the village of Smithfield, January 13, 1839, he accompanied the family to Waverly, Iowa, about the year 1847, and there he received such educational advantages as the day afforded. However, his present broad fund of information has been gained almost wholly from observation and reading. After leaving school he entered upon an apprenticeship to the trade of a harness-maker, but his labors were disturbed by the outbreak of the Civil war. Dur- ing 1862 he enlisted as a member of the Twenty- first Iowa Infantry, in which he served with


valor until the close of the war, when he was mustered out and returned to his Iowa home with an honorable record as a soldier. During a portion of his service he had been under Gen- eral Warren in Missouri fighting General Price. All through the memorable siege of Vicksburg he was in front of that city and aided in secur- ing its downfall. Altogether, he took part in twenty-three regular battles, and three separate times he received wounds at the hands of the enemy.


A brother who had crossed the plains to Cali- fornia during 1860 and had settled in Marys- ville, wrote to Mr. Hamilton concerning the op- portunities offered by the west, and this was the inducement that caused him to bid farewell to his Iowa friends preparatory to the removal to the coast. On his arrival at Marysville he entered a harness-shop owned by his brother and there he completed his trade, after which he con- ducted a shop at Susanville for two years, mean- while also engaging in mining.


Hearing much concerning the newer and more undeveloped regions toward the south, Mr. Ham- ilton was. induced to come to Hollister, and here for five years he operated a shop on Fourth street. This was the first harness shop in Hol- lister. The surrounding country was very sparse- ly settled, Mexicans predominating. As yet the Americans had not been attracted to the region in large numbers. On every hand extended the broad open plains with here and there a sheep ranch. Roads had not been opened and the ma- jority of the settlers traveled on horseback. For that reason Mr. Hamilton carried in his shop a full equipment of saddles, bridles and spurs, and it was not until some years later that he began to deal in harness. Not only was the shop the first of the kind in the county, but to this day it continues under the title of J. G. Hamilton, al- though the original owner has retired from the business, turning its supervision over to his son, Ray. The failure of his health led him to seek outdoor activities and he thereupon began the improvement of his ranch of thirty-six acres ad- joining the town site. Since then the fruit trees have proved very productive and their crops yield him large revenues. Apricots and prunes have been his specialty and the soil has proved well adapted to their successful culture. For


Jolie Villefranche


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thirty-five years he has remained at his present location and in 1902 he replaced the original structure by a modern building now standing.


By his marriage Mr. Hamilton was united with the daughter of the honored pioneer of Hollis- ter, the late T. L. Dryden. Their five children were born and reared in Hollister and received excellent advantages. Two daughters were taken from the home by death after their grad- uation. The youngest daughter, Lottie, remains at home. The two sons are Fred, of the Grang- ers Union, and Ray, of the harness-shop. For two terms Mr. Hamilton served as a member of the board of education. On the organization of the San Benito Improvement Club he was ap- pointed a member of the executive committee and aided materially in the responsible tasks be- fore the club. Prior to the separation of San Benito county he was one of a committee of two sent from this county to Monterey county for the purpose of circulating petitions and enlisting the aid of people there relative to the division. The blue lodge and chapter of Masons at Hollis- ter have his name on their rolls as a charter member, and he has been past master of the lodge, besides which he is actively associated with the Watsonville Commandery.


HON. JOHN K. ALEXANDER.


Of Mr. Alexander it may be said that he has not only recognized opportunities, but has created them, and that while filling the positions of trust which the confidence of the people and his own ability have brought his way, he has not only maintained former standards, but has raised conditions within reach of his superior ideas of justice and municipal purity. His rec- ord throughout central California is that of a skilled lawyer and learned judge, and so faith- fully and wisely did he discharge the duties as judge of the superior court of Monterey county that he won the highest praise from those whose experience and knowledge qualified them to rightly estimate his services.


In retrospect the mind of Judge Alexander wanders to his boyhood home in Brandon, Ran- kin county, Miss., where his birth occurred in 1839. Soon afterward his parents moved to Jackson, the capital of the state, which was his


home up to the age of fifteen years. In 1854 he accompanied his mother, brother and sister to California, where they were met by the. father, who had come to the state in 1849. The latter lived to the ripe age of eighty-six years, passing away at Sacramento City, Cal., while the mother died six years later, at the age of eighty. While in his home in the south Mr. Alexander had begun his education in the com -- mon schools of Jackson, and after coming to California he became a pupil in the grammar- school in Sacramento. The continuity of his studies was broken in upon when, in 1857, he- left school and began to work in a gold quartz mine in Calaveras county, continuing this for one year. At the end of this time he returned. to Sacramento and entered the high school, from which he graduated with honors two years later .. For one term thereafter he acted as vice-princi- pal of the school, and at the same time gained his primary knowledge of the law by studying in the office of George R. Moore and later with the firm of Harrison & Estee. From his earliest years it had been his highest ambition to pre -- pare for and follow the legal profession, and it was with deep concentration and earnestness of purpose that he pursued his studies. October 7, 1862, he was admitted to practice in the su- preme court of the state, upon the motion of Morris M. Estee, following an examination in- open court, and on November 17, 1898, was ad- mitted to practice in the district court of the United States at San Francisco. In 1863 he. formed a partnership with his former preceptor, George R. Moore, which continued up to the time of the latter's death. Soon afterward a partnership was formed with Hon. John W. Armstrong, subsequently superior judge of Sacramento county, this continuing amicably and' profitably for two years, or until the election of Judge Alexander to the office of district attor- ney in 1870. On the expiration of his term of office he took a deserved vacation, the first dur- ing his active life, and returned to the home of his childhood, where he threw off the weight of cares and responsibilities in the associations of the happy past. On his return to the west he entered into a business association with Hon. A. C. Freeman, the well-known law writer and eminent lawyer, a partnership which continued"


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until the ill health of Judge Alexander made a «change of climate necessary. What was consid- ered a loss to Sacramento proved a blessing to Salinas, and has continued to be since he located here in 1874. He at once took up the practice ·of law and has followed it continuously, with the exception of the period of his judicial service. Recognizing his ability and fitness for public office, his fellow-citizens had urged him un- ceasingly to. allow his name to be used on the ticket of the Democratic party for the office of superior judge. His election followed in 1879. His ideals of what a judge should be were so high that he shrank from assuming a position in which, to use his own words, "To assume the judicial ermine requires the abandonment of all party bias and personal prejudice, a possession of educational qualifications, clean hands and pure heart." He felt his own incompetency to meet this high ideal, but upon his election to office steadfastly determined to live up to this standard, in so far as lay in his power. That he met the approbation of the people was dem- onstrated when, in 1884, he was nominated and elected his own successor, on the Democratic ticket, although both county and state were Re- publican.


From the foregoing the quiet, modest and un- assuming manner of Judge Alexander is shown unmistakably, and when to this is added a depth of knowledge and clearness of judgment there is little cause to wonder whence comes his power among his associates. Few of his decisions were reversed, although many appeals were taken to higher courts. His charge to the jury in the murder trial of the People vs. Iams, which is given in full in the California reports, is consid- rered a very able legal paper and was highly com- plimented by the supreme court in affirming his decision. His charge to the jury in the case of E. T. Simmons vs. Pacific Improvement, for $100,000 damages, is considered one of the ablest statements of law on the subject of prob- able cause that ever emanated from an American jurist, and is a masterpiece of logic and clear, concise English. After the separation of San Benito and Monterey counties he was appointed a member of the committee to adjudicate the indebtedness of the counties, a position requiring the wisest judgment and greatest tact. In July,


1888, the degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by the Los Angeles University. In the line of his profession he is a member of the San Francisco Bar Association, president of Monte- rey County Bar Association, and fraternally is past master of Salinas Lodge, No. 204, F. & A. M., past high priest of Salinas Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M., past patron of Revielle Chapter, No. 47, O. E. S., and also a member of the Masonic Veterans' Association. As president of the Ma- sonic Hall Association of Salinas he has served since its organization, in 1897. He is vice-presi- dent of the First National Bank and Salinas Valley Savings Bank. His marriage occurred August 2, 1865, and united him with Miss Sal- lie B. Carothers, of Petaluma, and two sons and a daughter have been born to them. To one meeting Judge Alexander casually he would find him dignified and rather reserved, yet to those who know him best he is a genial comrade and entertaining companion, with a fund of quiet humor, as well as a store of diversified knowl- edge which has been gathered during his active life.


HENRY S. BALL.


The family represented by this honored Cali- fornia pioneer of 1850 became established in America during the colonial period of our coun- try's history and one of its most famous mem- bers was Mary Ball, who became the mother of George Washington. The descendants of the original settlers scattered along the coast after the Revolutionary war and as the tide of emigra- tion drifted toward the Mississippi valley they, too, aided in the development of the vast uncul- tivated regions of the west. Few of the name attained fame, but they formed the sturdy, law- abiding and patriotic class of citizens so essen- tial to the permanent prosperity of any country.




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