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 61

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 61
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 61


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Before coming to the United States in 1891 Mr. Breschini had married Miss Roselia Tunesi, like himself a native of Switzerland, and three children now brighten their fireside, Bernard, Jr., Caesar and Jennie, the latter now Mrs. Fred Vosti of Gonzales.


JOTHAM A. BAILEY.


Having had the privilege of extended experi- ence with agricultural affairs in three states, Mr. Bailey has gained a thorough knowledge of their resources. As a boy he aided his father on a farm in Ohio, where he learned the rudimentary lessons of agriculture. During early manhood he became a resident of Wisconsin and there planted and harvested for years in succession. Finally he came to California, where his work was rather along the line of clearing and improv- ing than cultivating land, yet he was able to gain a comprehensive knowledge of farming con- ditions in the great west. After many years of usefulness he has retired from active cares and is spending the afternoon of life in his pleasant home in Monterey.


Born at Andover, Ashtabula county, Ohio,


February 5, 1837, Jotham A. is a son of Jonathan D. and Judith (Wallace) Bailey, natives of Washington county, N. Y., the former having been variously employed as a farmer, miller and dairyman. The son was sent to country schools and taught at home the principles of self-reliance and industry so indispensable to permanent pros- perity. Starting out for himself at the age of twenty-one years, he spent one year at Royalton, Waupaca county, Wis., but returned thence to Olio on account of the death of his father. At the outbreak of the Civil war in 1861 he offered his services to the Union while he was at Jef- ferson, Ohio, but on account of the condition of his health he was rejected.


Returning to Wisconsin and there regaining his health, in 1863 Mr. Bailey was accepted as a member of Company A, Forty-second Wisconsin Infantry, and until the close of the war two years later he remained at the front. During a part of the time he was out after guerillas. However, for the most part he was engaged in picket duty up and down the Mississippi and was stationed at Fort Cairo, Cairo, Ill., at the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. After receiving an honorable discharge from the army he returned to Wisconsin and resumed farm activities, while also he became interested in the milling business and followed the trade of a carpenter. After twenty years of uninterrupted activities there he came to California in 1885 and settled at Red Bluff, buying a ranch near the Sacramento river bottom. In a very short time he sold the property and during the same ycar (1885) he came to Monterey, where he owns a comfortable home at No. 613 Lighthouse avenue, and has money invested in other prop- erty in this city.


Mr. Bailey was married in Jefferson, Ohio, in April, 1858, to Phoebe S. Strowbridge, who died in Pacific Grove July 8, 1890, aged fifty- three years. She was a native of Ohio and a woman of culture and refinement.


When the Pacific Improvement Company be- gan its work, Mr. Bailey was employed by them to assist in surveying the lots at Pacific Grove and later they engaged him to clear the roads and cut down the trees. For ten years he re- mained with the same company, and meantime won a reputation as an expert in the use of the


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axe, his work as a woodman being skilled and thorough. Since he left the employ of the com- pany he has lived in retirement, having no cares other than those incident to the management of his property. For years he has been identified with the Grand Army of the Republic. Move- ments for the public good receive his co-opera- tion and always he has contributed to the ad- vancement of the community by means of his time and influence, cheerfully assisting every- thing that promises to promote local upbuilding and prosperity.


CHARLES STRAUBE.


A practical demonstration of the results ob- tainable by a union of singleness of purpose, good judgment and a large capacity of industry is found in the home surroundings and accumula- tions of Charles Straube, who is now living re- tired in Hollister and enjoying the results of many years as a rancher near the town. De- scended from a long line of German ancestors, he came to the United States during young manhood, supplied with a large measure of op- timism, adaptiveness and resource, all of which qualities he has put into practice, as will be seen by a resumé of his life history.


A native of Germany, Charles Straube was born in Saxony July 9, 1830, and grew to a sturdy young manhood in his native Fatherland. As he approached the age when, in compliance with the German custom, it was obligatory up- on him to enter the military service of his coun- try, he came to the United States instead, as he had no taste nor inclination for the other alterna- tive. Entirely alone so far as relatives or friends were concerned he came to the United States in 1849, the vessel on which he made the voyage dropping anchor in the harbor of New York. He did not remain long in the metropolis, how- ever, but soon after landing he secured trans- portation to the south, going directly to Lexing- ton, Ky., and remaining there for five years, during this time being employed as a well-borer. In the meantime he had became interested in California through the reports which he had heard of the wealth of gold awaiting the ambi- tious miner, and the year 1854 witnessed his departure from the south, with the far west as


his destination. The voyage as far as the Isth- mus of Panama was without any special event worthy recording, but at this point they were dishearted indeed in being compelled to wait three weeks for a ship to take them north on the Pacific. They finally reached San Francisco, in March, 1854, and from there Mr. Straube went immediately to the mines of Dutch Flats, in Placer county. The fact that he remained there for twenty years is conclusive evidence that he was successful in his search for the yellow metal, and ever since giving up the miner's life, in 1875, he has been a resident of San Benito county. Not far from the town of Hollister, near the San Benito river, he bought two hun- dred and fifty acres of ranch land which at the time was in an uncultivated condition, but un- der his careful management was made to bloom and blossom. All departments of agriculture were carried on to some extent, but it was as a horticulturist that his greatest successes are rec- orded. Twenty-one acres were devoted to an orchard, all of the trees being in excellent bear- ing condition and yielding fruit excelled by no other orchard in the locality. In 1890 Mr. Straube disposed of his ranch property and has since made his home in Hollister, enjoying con- tentedly the results of his former years of labor.


Mr. Straube's marriage occurred in 1863 and united him with Miss Augusta Riechter, who, like himself, was a native of the Fatherland. Three children blessed their marriage, Charles J., Lillian and Camilla, the last-mentioned the wife of Paul Nelson. Mr. Straube is a member of but one fraternal order, the Independent Or- der of Red Men, joining the order in the early days at Dutch Flats.


HENRY G. WINCHELL.


One of the ranches in Monterey county which under the indefatigable supervision of its owner has been transformed from a brush-covered tract to an attractive homestead, belongs to Henry G. Winchell, who came to California during May of 1870 and for a quarter of a century lived in Solano county, but eventually removed to the property he now owns and occupies. The ninety acres of his estate presented an unattractive and


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unpromising appearance at the outset, but his energetic labors produced a marked change in appearance and a corresponding increase in rev- enue, for the apples and the walnuts are sold each year at excellent prices. A portion of the land is in meadow and considerable hay is sold. The residence was erected by the present owner, who indeed has made all of the improvements to be noted on the farm.


At Princeton, Green Lake county, Wis., Henry G. Winchell was born January 29, 1852, being a son of John B. and Harriet E. (Holmes) Win- chell. The father, a native of Michigan, and a pioneer of Wisconsin in 1836, served as one of the very first sheriffs of Green Lake county and also followed the trade of a millwright there. During 1861 he took the family to Iowa and settled in Floyd county, where he engaged in farm pursuits. Not feeling satisfied with the location, he came to California in 1870 accom- panied by his family and settled at Vacaville, Solano county. Near that town he leased land and embarked in agricultural labors, continuing thus engaged until his death, which occurred in 1880, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife survived him five years and was seventy years old at the time of her death.


Primarily educated in Wisconsin and after- ward a pupil in Iowa common schools, Henry G. Winchell acquired with thoroughness the prin- ciples of an education so essential to all. At the age of eighteen he came to California with his parents and the other members of the family circle who established homes in this state. His eldest brother, Don A., remained in Iowa. Amy J., who married E. J. Allen, died in California in 1908. Lyford died from the effects of army service. Barney is living in Wisconsin. The youngest of the children is Harriet, who makes her home in Napa. Henry G., who was fifth in the family circle, married in January of 1883, Annie R. Mix, a native of Iowa. They are the parents of six children, namely: Ida, Charles. Guy, Grace, Raymond and Frank.


During the twenty-five years of his residence in Solano county, Mr. Winchell was for part of the time a farmer, while at other times he en- gaged in the livery business and made Vacaville his home. During several seasons he had charge of threshing machines. The roads of the early


days he assisted in building and for eight years acted as roadmaster in Solano county, while since coming to Monterey county he has been roadmaster of his district and is recognized as an efficient, practical road-builder. While living at Vacaville in 1882 he became a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Politically he votes the Democratic ticket at national elec- tions. The development of the public schools is an object of deep interest to him and through his present service as trustee of the Elkhorn district he is rendering valuable aid in the up- building of the local school system. While liv- ing in Solano county he found the warm weather very detrimental to his health and moved to Monterey county in the hope that the change of climate might prove beneficial. The change had the effect desired and he soon found himself restored to health, for which reason, as well as for pleasant associations, profitable work and congenial friends, he is a warm friend of Mon- terey county and a stanch believer in its future prosperity.


NATHANIEL ROSCOE SPRAGUE.


No incidents of unprecedented good luck have marked the life of Mr. Sprague, but his is a record showing the importance of determination, force of will and unwearied perseverance in over- coming the discouraging features attendant up- on ill health with all of its train of adverse con- sequences. More than once, when an occupation was opening up a prosperous future before him, the condition of his health necessitated the seek- ing of other means of livelihood. Finally it be- came advisable for him to relinquish business interests and after doing so he turned his atten- tion to fruit-raising in the Prunedale district. The climate and occupation have proved health- ful, and he has found quiet content in his cozy home.


Mr. Sprague is a native of Minnesota and was born at Maple Lake, Wright county, June I, 1861, being a son of Martin H. and Lydia (Bentley) Sprague. The father, while improv- ing a claim in Minnesota, followed the occupa- tion of a civil engineer and laid out several of the towns in Wright county. Coming to Cali- fornia in 1876 he settled at Sacramento and


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secured employment as stationary engineer in the plant of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, holding the position until he removed to Pacific Grove in 1888. Afterward he lived there, in re- tirement from business activities, until his death in 1903, at the age of seventy-five years. In his family there were three children, James Otho, Mrs. Julia C. Gaffney of Oregon, and Nathaniel Roscoe. The last-named spent his early boy- hood in Minnesota and Kansas and came to Cali- fornia in 1878, after which he attended school for a short time.


Entering the employ of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company Mr. Sprague learned the trade of a boiler-maker, in which he became very pro- ficient. However, the work affected his hearing to such an extent that, to avoid total deafness, he was obliged to seek another occupation. There- upon he took up the trade of a painter and ac- quired a thorough knowledge of the same, which he followed in San Francisco and in the employ of the government on Mare Island. Later he settled in Pacific Grove and entered upon con- tract painting, filling contracts in various parts · of the state. From three to twenty men were kept in his employ according to the amount of work on hand. During the twenty-five years of his work at painting he never met with an acci- dent to himself or men, but in every respect except that of health he was fortunate. Event- ually he was obliged to give up the work owing to its injurious effects upon his health and thus was ended his identification with an occupation for which he was well qualified by experience and thoroughness of work.


Since acquiring eighty-three acres in the Prunedale district, Mr. Sprague has added to the value of the land by improvements and has planted thirty acres in apples. During 1907 fifteen hundred boxes were sold from the orchard and in 1908 he sold more than three thousand boxes, while about one thousand boxes were un- fitted for shipment by the falling of the apples to the ground. In addition to owning his home place in the Prunedale district, he still owns resi- dence property in Pacific Grove, where for four- teen years he owned the bath-house and pleasure boats. By his marriage to Nellie M. Birks, a native of Iowa, he has six children, Forest, Anita, Morris, Russell, Birdie and Elfleta. The


maintenance of good schools is in his opinion of the highest value to any community and he has ever been foremost in plans for the upbuilding of the educational interests of his district. Those of his children now of school age are attending the home school and are receiving all the ad- vantages the locality renders possible, in order that they may be qualified for the responsibilities of life. While voting the Republican ticket in national politics, he has supported in local cam- paigns the men whom he considers best qualified to represent the community, irrespective of their political ties. As already stated, the measure of his success in life, in spite of handicaps, has been commendable. When he settled in Pacific Grove he had only $20 in his possession and his present financial standing speaks volumes for his perseverance, industry and sagacious manage- ment of affairs.


E. J. SPARLING.


A trip from his far-distant home to California with his father in the year 1869, when he was thirteen years of age, gave Mr. Sparling his first impressions concerning the vast and then unknown west. It was not until 1876 that he came as a permanent settler. Since the latter year he has been identified with the upbuilding of the state, first as a rancher and later as a builder, and in both of these occupations he has proved to be energetic and resourceful. At the time that the village of Hollister received an impetus resulting in a new growth he came to the town and ever since he has been connected with its material development. Many of the most substantial buildings in the town were erect- ed by him under contract, and his name is in- dissolubly associated with local building interests.


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Bruce county, Canada, is the native place of Mr. Sparling, who was born January 26, 1856, near Owen sound, an inlet of the Georgian bay. He was a son of a cooper, Edward Sparling, who earned a livelihood for the family by follow- ing his chosen trade, and eventually came to California, where he spent his last days in the home of his son in San Benito county, dying here at the age of eighty-four years. The family removed to Michigan about 1864, when the son was a child of eight years, and he was sent to


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school in Grand Rapids, where he acquired a fair education. As previously stated he visited Cali- fornia when he was thirteen years of age. Re- turning to Michigan he served an apprenticeship of two years to the trade of a carpenter. When he became a permanent resident of the west, during the year 1876, he settled in Mendocino county, securing employment in the woods and in the mills, and later working at his trade in various towns in the northern part of the state. In 1886 he went to San Diego and the following year he began to take building contracts.


Upon coming to San Benito county during 1890 Mr. Sparling took up land in the Panoche country, his first tract embracing three hundred and twenty acres of unimproved land. It was only after a residence of three years that he could file on the claim. From time to time he added to the original claim until he now has seven hundred acres, well adapted to the pastur- age of stock. He remained on the farm for some years and meanwhile erected the Spencer block in Hollister, also drew the plans for and erected the Panoche school, afterward serving as school trustee for three years. His interest in politics brought him local prominence in the Democratic party and for some years he represented the fourth district as a member of the board of supervisors, during which time he gave con- spicuous aid to progressive enterprises and fav- ored all important public improvements. At different times he has been a delegate to state and county conventions and likewise he has heen a worker on the county central committee.


Immediately after removing to Hollister in 1902 Mr. Sparling began to be active in the building business and drew the plans for the residences of J. G. Hamilton, G. W. McConnell, John Garcia, J. Cochrane and others. Since the earthquake in 1906 he has erected both blocks owned by the Grangers' Union, the building owned by Mrs. Porter, the City Hall, the Masonic Temple, the Hollister high school and the Hazel Hawkins hospital, all in his home town, also the school in San Juan and two large warehouses in Tres Pinos owned by the Farmers Warehouse Company. In addition Dr. H. J. Macomber gave him the contract for remodeling the buildings at Cienega de los Paicines rancho. During the busy seasons he furnishes employment to a large


number of laborers. All of the work has his personal supervision and he is unusually strict in his adherence to the spirit as well as the letter of the contract, aiming to give the most intelli- gent and satisfactory service possible in every instance.


The marriage of E. J. Sparling and Gertrude Smith was solemnized in Marion, Ind., in 1890,- and was blessed with eight children, namely: Frank, Wayne, E. J., Jr., Nada, Earl, William and Maurice and Dorris, twins. At this writing Mr. Sparling has fraternal. associations with the- Elks at Salinas and the Eagles at Hollister. Formerly he was an Odd Fellow and as a mem -. ber of the canton, September 20, 1888, he took the grand prize for drill in the state. In addi- tion to his identification with that memorable event he represented his lodge in the grand lodge- and passed all the chairs in the local organization.


CYRUS SYLVESTER SHOTWELL.


One of the first houses in the Prunedale colony was owned and occupied by Mr. Shotwell, who. came to this location February 22, 1898, and purchased a forty-acre grain field without im- provements. Since then he has planted fifteen acres in an apple orchard and transformed the- tract into a valuable fruit farm, where he and his wife, after long years on the frontier endur- ing hardships and peril, are spending the twi- light of their useful lives in quiet contentment. The family of which he is a member always has been on the vanguard of civilization and suc- cessive generations pioneered their way across the plains in the days before the building of the railroads. . The paternal grandfather, a pioneer of Ohio, assisted in framing the constitution of that state and otherwise contributed to its per- manent progress.


As early as 1853 John M. Shotwell followed the tide of emigration toward the setting sun and left Ohio for the shores of the Pacific. A year's sojourn in Oregon was followed by removal to Washington. The household goods were trans- ported in a canoe up the Cowlitz river through a wild and unsettled region to a tract of virgin prairie land, where settlement was made and where the remainder of his life was devoted to-


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farming. Shortly after his arrival he assisted in building a fort for protection from the Indians who were numerous and troublesome. The coun- try was then unbroken. Scarcely had a furrow been turned in the soil, and towns now flourish- ing had not then sprung into existence. No grain had been raised. Nor were there any facilities for shipping crops if raised. With the .steady advance of the country he was identified until his death, which occurred at the age of eighty-four years.


Born in Clermont county, Ohio, in 1846, Cyrus Sylvester Shotwell was about seven years of age when his father, John M., started with the fam- ily for the far-distant west. When free schools were organized about 1856 he attended three months in the year and the remainder of the time was given to assist his father on the farm. While still a mere lad he contracted rheumatism so seriously that, at the age of twenty, he was forced to seek a different climate, and found benefit from visits at Gilroy Hot Springs and Paso Robles Springs. When Los Angeles was still a hamlet of adobe houses he visited there and was offered, for $3.25 an acre, one hundred and sixty acres of land now in the heart of the city.


After having been employed in the Paso Robles hotel for one year at $75 a month, Mr. Shotwell secured employment in the Morris house at Santa Barbara, and for two years he filled that position. Meanwhile he bought a lot in a cen- tral location, erected a building and for the next ten years he conducted a store. During that time he was offered land at $7.50 an acre occu- pying the present site of Goleta. In 1880 he removed from Santa Barbara to Tucson, Ariz. and later mined through a region infested with Indians. At Galeyville he opened and conducted a store in a tent. The shipment of goods long distances by freight cost him heavily, but every- thing sold high and the business was profitable until repeated attacks by the red men forced him to leave. Meanwhile a company of Galey- ville militia had been organized with him as sec- ond lieutenant. The famous chief, Geronimo, bore down upon Cochise county September 10, 1881, with a band of three hundred, led by him- self. mounted on a large white horse. One thou- sand shots were fired and one messenger was killed, but no other harm was done. Mr. Shot-


well called for the soldiers from San Simon, but they arrived too late to be of any assistance.


Fleeing from the attacks of the Indians, Mr. Shotwell moved to Tucson, paying men with ox- teams $500 to move his goods the distance of twenty-five miles. In his new location he opened a store, but soon lost $16,000 by the change of residence. Next he became interested in the sale of town-site lots at Logan, where in twenty days he sold $20,000 worth of lots. Leaving Arizona in 1885 he spent four years at Santa Barbara, after which he crossed the desert to Phoenix in a private conveyance. Learning of the death of his father, he returned to Wash- ington and took up agricultural pursuits. After seven years on a farm in that state he came to California, visiting Salinas and from there com- ing to the Prunedale district, where he decided to settle.


The marriage of Mr. Shotwell took place at Santa Barbara December 9, 1874, and united him with Mary Forbush, who was born and reared in Santa Barbara. Her only brother, Fred, was the first white child born in that town. Her sis- ters are Mrs. Harriet Lord and Mrs. Eva Logan, the latter being wife of the gentleman in whose honor Logan, Ariz., was named. The father of Mrs. Shotwell was Roswell Forbush, a pioneer of 1849, who came around the Horn in a sailing vessel to San Francisco and from there proceeded to Santa Barbara. Returning to his native place in New York in 1854 he married and in 1855 brought his wife, Mehitable, to Santa Barbara, where he remained until his death, November 13, 1893. Mrs. Forbush passed away in February of 1909, at the age of seventy- eight years.




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