USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume II > Part 20
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work, in all of which his individuality is apparent, for he is distinctly original in his conceptions and execution. He has painted a number of noteworthy back- grounds, among which are "Lake Tahoe" and "Golf Scene," in Gerwin's clothing store in Oakland, and a number of scenic backgrounds for leading automobile es- tablishments in Oakland. Among his more serious productions is "In the Garden of Gethsemane," in St. Vincent's Orphanage, at San Rafael, California, and which is regarded as a masterpiece. His work is held in high regard by discriminating judges of art and San Leandro is justifiably proud to number him among her citizens.
In 1920, in Oakland, Mr. Furenza was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Kogler, who was born and reared in Pennsylvania, but became a resident of Oak- land in 1902. They are the parents of a daughter, Mary. In 1921 Mr. Furenza became a resident of San Leandro and has taken a deep interest in the progress and welfare of this community, being an active member of the Chamber of Com- merce. He is a republican in his political views and belongs to the American Order of Foresters in San Francisco. Mr. Furenza lives in accordance with the basic teachings of the Master, and is loyal to his ideals. He has made many warm friends since locating in San Leandro and commands the sincere respect of the entire community, where he is honored for his accomplishments in art and his high qualities as a citizen.
LEE S. KERFOOT
The parks of Oakland excite the admiration and praise of all visitors to the city and are the pride of the people living here. Their beauty and attractiveness is in very large measure due to the intelligent direction, artistic taste and tireless efforts of Lee S. Kerfoot, who for fourteen years has rendered appreciated serv- ice as superintendent of the city parks. Mr. Kerfoot was born in Napa City, Cali- fornia, on the 23rd of June, 1879, and is a son of Joseph and Stella Kerfoot. The father came to California in young manhood in 1859, settling in Humboldt county, where he became proprietor of a hotel, which he conducted to the time of his death, in 1907. The mother was born in Wisconsin and came to this state in her girlhood.
Lee S. Kerfoot completed the public school course and then entered the Col- lege of Mines of the University of California, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science. He was identified with mining as an engineer about one year, and then entered the United States mint in San Francisco, in which he was employed for five years. During the following four years he was in charge of the United States assay office in Seattle, Washington, and on leaving that posi- tion entered the employ of the People's Water Company, of Oakland, with which corporation he remained until 1913, when he was appointed to his present posi- tion as superintendent of the city parks. During his administration the park system has been greatly developed and improved and today the parks of Oakland compare favorably with any others on the coast. Mr. Kerfoot has devoted him- self tirelessly to the end that these open spaces should be not only things of beauty, but also of real value to the people as places of recreation and pleasure.
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Mr. Kerfoot was united in marriage to Miss May Good, who was born and reared in Oakland, and they are the parents of a son, James, who is a student in the University of Oregon. Mr. Kerfoot gives his political support to the re- publican party and is a member of the Kappa Alpha college fraternity and the Athenian Nile Club. He is a lover of outdoor life and athletic sports and enjoys a well deserved popularity throughout the community.
MRS. ETTA L. (KNOX) LYNCH
No resident of San Leandro holds a more enviable place in the esteem of the people than does Mrs. Etta L. Lynch, to whom belongs the distinction of being one of the oldest living native women of this locality. She has resided here all her life, has been active and influential in affairs relating to the public welfare, and the gracious influence of her life has made for the good of those with whom she has been associated.
Mrs. Lynch was born on East Fourteenth street, about one and a quarter miles south of San Leandro, and is a daughter of Lewis and Mary (Allen) Knox, both natives of Ohio, where they were reared and educated. About a week after their marriage they started on the long voyage to California, sailing around Cape Horn and arriving here in the early '50s. They first settled in the Castro valley in Ala- meda county, where Mr. Knox engaged in farming. He was a man of great energy and marked business ability and prospered in his undertaking, becoming an extensive grain raiser. After living in the valley two years, the family moved to a new home on East Fourteenth street, San Leandro, where their residence still stands. Mr. Knox continued his agricultural operations, farming in the Liver- more valley as well as in this locality, and he acquired several thousand acres of land. His activities were cut short, however, by a stroke of paralysis and he died at San Leandro in 1886, at the age of fifty-seven years. To him and his wife were born ten children, five sons and five daughters, of whom the only survivors are Orrin, who is a carpenter and builder in San Francisco; and Mrs. Etta L. Lynch, of this review.
Etta L. Knox attended the public schools and Mrs. Field's Seminary at Oak- land, and remained at home until 1882, when she became the wife of Oscar Jackson Lynch. At that time a local newspaper created smiles by heading the marriage announcement with the words, "A San Leandro Girl Lynched." Mr. Lynch was born in Keokuk, Iowa, and was a son of the Rev. W. F. B. and Rachel (Jackson) Lynch. His parents were natives of Pennsylvania and after their marriage they settled in Butler county, Ohio. Later they removed to Keokuk, Iowa, where they lived until 1864, when they made the long journey across the planes to California. On the way, they stopped at Washoe, Nevada, where the father engaged in teach- ing school for a couple of years, during which period he was ordained a minister of the Presbyterian church. He was an effective preacher, being an orator, and an able and scholarly man, and was one of the leading ministers of his denomination in this part of the state, holding pastorates in Oakland and other points in the East Bay district. He also taught school and served eight years as county superintendent
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of schools of Alameda county. In many respects he was a remarkable man and filled a large place in the life of his community. To him and his wife were born five children; Elizabeth, Mrs. Laura A. Eber (the only surviving child, represented in a personal sketch on other pages of this work), Dr. W. F., Oscar J. and Harry W.
Oscar J. Lynch received a good education and taught school up to the time of his marriage. In the following year he located in Red Bluff, where he conducted a drug store for about nine months, after which he removed to Gilroy and engaged in the same line of business. Four years later he located in San Jose, where also he owned a drug store, and three years later went to Astoria, Oregon, where he was engaged in the same business for fourteen months. He then returned to San Leandro, of which city he became a pioneer druggist, Lynch's Pharmacy be- coming one of the best known commercial houses in this locality, and he remained identified with that business continuously up to the time of his death, which oc- curred October 10, 1914, when he was fifty-seven years of age. He was a man of strong character and marked individuality; was successful in his business affairs; was public spirited in his relation to the welfare of his community, and commanded the respect and confidence of all who knew him. He served as a member of the board of city trustees and was mayor of the city for four years, giving a pro- gressive and creditable administration. To Mr. and Mrs. Lynch were born two chil- dren, Laura and Harry, both of whom died of diphtheria, about six weeks apart, at the respective ages of ten and eight years.
Mrs. Lynch as a charter member of the Alta Mira Club and has long been a member of the Presbyterian church, in the choir of which she sang for forty years. Mr. Lynch also was an active member of that church, serving as elder and for many years as superintendent of the Sunday school. Mrs. Lynch gives her support to the republican party and has always shown a keen interest in the public affairs of her community, giving her earnest support to every interest that promises to ad- vance the general welfare. She has been particularly active in the home department of her church, and her efforts have been consistently directed to the helpful and uplifting influences of life. Kindly and hospitable by nature, she has always been extremely popular among her acquaintances, and her gracious qualities of char- acter have endeared her to all who know her.
WELCOME SANFORD FREEMAN
Welcome S. Freeman is recognized as the leading poultry man of the Castro valley, having achieved a distinctive success through his determined and persistent efforts along rightly directed lines. He is progressive and up-to-date and well merits the prosperity which is crowning his efforts.
He was born in Natick, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, on the 30th of March, 1878, and is a son of Hiram Jackson and Sarah Elizabeth (Allen) Freeman. He spent his boyhood in his native state, where he received a public school education, and then, as a boy of twelve years went to work for the wholesale drygoods firm of Brown, Durrel & Company, of Boston. He was with that concern for nine years,
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the last year as a traveling salesman, and then became connected with the Prudential Life Insurance Company. He made a splendid record with that company, having nineteen men under him, and when, at the end of seven years, he resigned his posi- tion every inducement was offered him to remain. He had other plans in view however and, going to Derry, New Hampshire, he engaged in the chicken business. He had eighty-seven acres of land, which he improved with a good set of buildings for his purpose, and there he hatched and brooded his chickens with coal oil lamps for heat. He shipped his chickens to the Boston markets, and carried on a suc- cessful business for four years, when he sold out and entered the employ of the Cyphers Incubator Company of Buffalo, New York. He was with that concern for seven years and then, in 1916, came to Oakland, California, as manager of the local branch of the Buckeye Incubator Company. Anxious to again engage in the chicken business, in 1917 he came to the Castro valley and leased the land on which he is now located. Later he bought six acres, to which he subsequently added two and a half acres, and on this place he has buildings and equipment valued at twenty-three thousand dollars. He specializes in White Leghorn chickens and, with a thorough understanding of every detail of the buisness, he has made a splen- did success of it, being now the largest and most prosperous poultry man in the valley. For the past ten years he has brooded an average of fifty thousand chick- ens on the place annually, besides about three thousand of special stock. His place is well improved, nothing being omitted that will contribute to the successful operation of the business.
In 1914 Mr. Freeman married Mrs. Emma (Fuchs) Fuller, who is a native of Germany and is a daughter of August and Anna K. Fuchs. She came to this country with her parents, who located first in New York city, but who in 1922 came to make their home with Mrs. Freeman, in whose home they both died.
Mr. Freeman is a member of the Rotary Club and is a director of the Cham- ber of Commerce of Hayward. He has displayed a high type of ability in all of his operations, has taken a commendable interest in the welfare and prosperity of his community, and commands the confidence and respect of all who know him.
CARL EARNEST HARDY
A man of thorough technical training and wide experience in his special line of work, Carl Earnest Hardy is rendering valuable service as superintendent of the electrical department of the city of Oakland. He is progressive in his ideas and methods, has maintained his department at the highest standard of efficiency and is particularly well qualified for the position which he is so ably filling. Mr. Hardy was born in Rome, Georgia, on the 31st of December, 1876, and is a son of Sam- uel G. and Sarah Katherine (Moore) Hardy, who were members of old American families, and are now deceased. The father was for many years engaged in the wholesale and retail hardware business and commanded the respect of all who knew him.
Carl E. Hardy obtained his early education in the private schools of his home community, after which he attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute, from which
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he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electric Engineering. He continued his technical studies in Cornell University, where he won the degree of Mechanical Engineer, after which he served several years as master electrician in the United States navy yard at Norfolk, Virginia. He resigned that position to become superintendent of the Ladd Lime and Stone Company, of Georgia, and later became assistant superintendent of shops of the Mare Island navy yard, in California. For several years he was in the employ of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company as Industrial Engineer of its San Francisco office, and resigned that position July 1, 1915, when he was appointed superintendent of the electrical department of the city of Oakland. During his twelve years' in- cumbency in this position the importance of his department has greatly increased, as have his official duties, and among the outstanding improvements inaugurated dur- ing his regime has been the present splendid street lighting system.
Mr. Hardy was united in marriage to Miss Alice I. Armstrong, a native of California, and they are the parents of a daughter, Alice Moore. In his political views, Mr. Hardy is a republican and has shown a commendable interest in public affairs. Fraternally a mason, he is a member of Oakland Commandery, Knight Templar; and Aahmes Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Oakland. He also belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Napa, the En- gineers Club of San Francisco and the Electrical Club of Oakland, and is an associate of the American Institute of Engineers. He is a Protestant in his re- ligious belief and stands for all that is best in community life, giving his support to every enterprise for the advancement of the public welfare. Because of his loyal and efficient service to his city and his splendid personal qualities, he well deserves the high place which he holds in the esteem of his fellowmen.
LORENZ SEELY PRATT
Among those whose persistent and well directed efforts have contributed in a definite way to the growth and development of San Leandro, Lorenz S. Pratt is numbered. The success which is now his is well merited, for he has fought persis- tently against handicaps that would have utterly discouraged one of less mettle, and today he is one of San Leandro's most highly esteemed citizens. Mr. Pratt was born in Brooklyn, New York, on the 22nd of October, 1887, and is a son of Seely L. and Lucy (Goble) Pratt, both of whom are deceased, the mother dying when her son was but eight years old. His father was a steam engineer and had charge of the engine room of the Arbuckle coffee plant in Brooklyn for many years. To him and his wife were born three children : Nancy, the wife of George W. Allen, of Richmond Hill, Long Island, New York, who has been with the Equitable Trust Company of New York for the past twenty-five years ; Nelson D., who was drowned in the Red river in Arkansas, when twenty-one years old; and Lorenz Seely.
The last named attended the public schools of Brooklyn until thirteen years old, when he started out to make his own way in the world. His first job was driv- ing a milk wagon, his route reaching from one end of Brooklyn to the other, and for this service he received one dollar a week and his board. He stuck to that
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job for two years, after which he was employed at various occupations until seven- teen years of age when he started west. He reached Pasadena, California, in May, 1905, and has been a resident of this state continuously since. He had at- tended night school in Brooklyn and after coming to Pasadena took a correspon- dence course in civil engineering. He went to work for the California Cultivator, for which he rode all over southern California on a bicycle, soliciting subscriptions and advertising. He was with that publication for two years and then went to work for the Porterville Messenger, at Porterville, Tulare county, where for a year he did soliciting, news gathering and reporting. His next venture was as a com- piler and publisher of city directories, getting out these works for Porterville and Tulare, after which he went to Sacramento and entered the employ of Polk & Husted, directory publishers, who were at that time engaged in getting out a di- rectory of that city. On the completion of that work, Mr. Pratt established the Track and Field Magazine, at Sacramento, a publication devoted to the interests of motor boating, the turf and track and all outdoor sports. In this venture he lost everything, but gained much valuable experience. He then went to work as an assistant to Harry A. Norman, an undertaker at Sacramento, his chief duty being to answer night calls, for which he received just about enough to live on. In 1910 Mr. Pratt went to San Francisco and obtained employment in the general freight offices of the Southern Pacific Railroad, with which he remained until the latter part of 1912. He then went to Anderson, Shasta county, and bought the Ander- son Valley News, which he ran for five years, selling out in 1919. In November of that year he came to San Leandro and for a time was variously employed, among his other ventures in 1910 being the working up of a booster edition of fifty thousand copies of a write-up known as the "Sacramento Valley Opportunity," a special edition of the Sacramento Union for the Panama-Pacific Exposition. Soon after arriving at San Leandro he bought a home and engaged in the insur- ance business. However, illness overtook him and for about two years he was un- able to attend to business. About five years ago, having in large measure recovered his health, he made a new start and has been successful to a marked degree, being now one of the best known real estate, insurance and loan men in this part of the county. His slogan, "Pratt's Policies Pay," has become a well known sign through- out this community and he has built up a prosperous business. He has handled a large amount of town and country property, sells all kinds of insurance, and makes a specialty of construction and re-financing, as well as flat and installment loans. He represents the Central Loan Association and the Western Building and Loan Association of Salt Lake City, and has earned a reputation as a sound and reliable business man.
On December 21, 1912, in San Francisco, Mr. Pratt was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Kinyon, who is a native of Iowa, but was a resident of Shasta county, California, at the time of her marriage. Mrs. Pratt has been a true helpmate to her husband, assisting him in his business affairs, in which she has proven compe- tent and capable. Politically Mr. Pratt is a stanch republican and has taken an active part in public affairs. In 1918 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the state Legislature from the third district. In October, 1927 he was appointed city treasurer of San Leandro and is now discharging the duties of that office in a manner that is meeting with general commendation. He is a director of the Cham-
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ber of Commerce and a member of the Kiwanis Club and is one of San Leandro's most persistent and effective boosters, having not only a deeply abiding faith in the future of this locality, but also a genuine love and admiration for its people, among whom he has established many warm and loyal friendships.
RICHARD J. MONTGOMERY
Richard J. Montgomery, who for thirty-six years has been engaged in the real estate business in Oakland, is regarded as one of the substantial and reliable busi- ness men of his city and, through his activities as a realtor, has contributed in large measure to the development and upbuilding of this district. Mr. Montgomery was born in Yuba City, Sutter county, California, on the 3d of April, 1863, and is a son of Zachariah and Ellen (Evoy) Montgomery. His father was born March 6, 1825, near Bardstown, Nelson county, Kentucky, and was a son of Thomas and Clotilda (Wathen) Montgomery. The latter's granduncle, Zachariah Riney, was Abraham Lincoln's first teacher. The Montgomery family is descended from an old Norman family that accompanied William the Conqueror to England, and it is believed that the progenitor in this country came over with Lord Baltimore and settled in Maryland. Representatives of the name later went to Kentucky, locating in Nelson county. When Zachariah Montgomery was about three years old, his family moved to a sugar plantation in Daviess county, Kentucky, where he was reared to young manhood. At the age of nineteen years, having completed the course in the public schools, he entered St. Mary's College and completed his course at St. Joseph's College, from which institution he was graduated with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts. In the meantime he had also been pur- suing the study of law under Ben Hardin and was admitted to the bar at Bards- town in 1850. For a short time he taught school and, on July 31, 1850, with just enough borrowed money to defray his expenses, he started for California in com- pany with several friends. They traveled by boat from Louisville, Kentucky, to St. Joseph, Missouri, where they outfitted with mule teams and made the long journey across the plains, arriving in Sacramento, California, about three months later. For awhile Mr. Montgomery engaged in mining in the northern part of the state, but, not meeting with satisfactory success, he located in Sacramento in 1852 and began the practice of law. Later he moved to Shasta county, which at that time was the center of mining activities. There he met success and for awhile was in partnership with J. H. McCune, who, as prosecuting attorney, had been his opponent in his first case and had been impressed with his conduct of his client's cause. In 1854 he moved to Marysville and became associated with F. L. Aude. In 1856 he was appointed district attorney for Sutter county and upon the expira- tion of that term was elected to the office, which he held for two years. He was very successful in his practice, being particularly strong as a jury pleader, and so uniformly was his ability recognized that it came to be a common saying "Get Zach Montgomery and a Sutter county jury and the devil can't beat you." In 1860 Mr. Montgomery was a Breckinridge candidate for presidential elector, and in the following year the democratic party sent him to the state legislature from Sutter
RICHARD J. MONTGOMERY
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, county, so that he was a member of the assembly at the time of the breaking out of the Civil war. Though he sympathized with the South, he was strongly opposed to the war on constitutional grounds, and urged and pleaded that California remain neutral. However, this state stood actively for the Union and a bill was passed by the legislature requiring all attorneys to take a "test oath" to support the govern- ment and constitution. Mr. Montgomery refused to take the oath, claiming that it was unconstitutional, as he had already sworn to uphold the constitution. As a consequence he was forced to abandon his lucrative practice and in 1864 moved to Oakland.
Here pandemonium reigned. San Francisco was under military rule and citi- zens 'were being arrested without legal process and thrown into prison without trial, and without the slightest warning, prominent among whom were Bishop Kavanaugh and Colonel C. L. Weller. The latter, at supper with his family one evening, was summoned to the door, seized and carried over to Alcatraz without being allowed to even bid his wife good-bye, she remaining for three months in ignorance of his whereabouts. Losing all hopes of securing peace and liberty, the democrats, in August, 1864, decided on holding a mass meeting and invited Mr. Montgomery to address them. Hearing of the move, the San Francisco papers were a unit in their bitter denunciation of the leader and his party. In their nervous endeavor to quelch the meeting they advocated, in no covert tones, the imprison- ment, and even death, of Montgomery. Undaunted by their threats, two days be- fore the appointed time Mr. Montgomery went over to San Francisco to prepare his speech, and from his hotel sent instructions to his faithful but distracted wife, as to direction in certain personal affairs in the event of trouble to him before or after his speech. On August 3d friends and opponents assembled in Hayes park, heavily armed, fully expecting trouble. Preliminary to his speech, Mr. Mont- gomery requested that in case anything happened to him that his manuscript as he had prepared it should be given to his family. But the fact is undeniable, as Cali- fornians of that day remember, that no more military arrests were made in this state from that time until after the assassination of President Lincoln. Further- more, the military prisoners then confined were released within a few days after the speech. This is the more remarkable in view of the fact that the Alta Califor- nia insisted on Mr. Montgomery's immediate arrest and imprisonment. How- ever, the American Flag, the strongest republican paper in the state and the only one the lecturer bitterly denounced, joining the Alta California in demanding the speaker's arrest, in referring to the attitude of the other paper, sa'd, "The Alta is addicted to these spasms of Loyalty," and scouted the idea of carrying out its suggestions.
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