USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume II > Part 3
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Mr. Button was married in 1885 to Mrs. Emma Haas, a daughter of Captain Johland, of Napa, California, who was a sea captain and an early resident of New Bedford, Massachusetts. He sailed around the Horn and made his home in Napa, where his brother had previously located. To Mr. and Mrs. Button were born two daughters : Mrs. H. A. Merrill, a resident of Oakland; and Mrs. Dan H. Knox, of Alameda. By her former marriage Mrs. Button has a daughter, Mrs. N. T. Luning, of Oakland. She has two grandchildren, David H. and Fred E. Merrill. She is still residing at the old home at 590 Thirty-fourth street, Oakland.
Fras L. Button
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In politics Mr. Button was a stanch republican and November 5, 1899, was unanimously appointed a school director to fill a vacancy. He was elected for the following term and while serving on the high school committee was largely instru- mental in reorganizing and improving the personnel of the teaching force. A Mason in high standing, he was chosen master of Oakland Lodge, No. 188, F. & A. M., in 1889 and also belonged to the local chapter, council and commandery, to Oakland Lodge of Perfection of the Scottish Rite Consistory, and to Aahmes Temple of the Mystic Shrine. His membership relations likewise extend to the Eastern Star and in 1890 he was made grand patron of the order.
At an early age Mr. Button showed evidences of musical talent, which was fully developed. In 1870, when a boy of fourteen, he sang in the May Festival at San Francisco and later was a member of the choir of St. Paul's church and also of the Independent church, of which the Rev. Hamilton was then pastor. For several years he was a director and in 1880 was elected president of the original Orpheus Society, which at that time was a choral club of mixed voices, led by the late W. J. Macdougall. In youth he began the study of the flute and readily mastered that difficult instrument. For years he played in the Shrine, Templar and Bohemian Bands of San Francisco and Oakland, and in 1925 was one of the organizers of the California Flutists Guild of Oakland, of which he was made secretary. A patron of the opera, Mr. Button had a collection of opera programs dating from his college days, and these were carefully preserved in his scrapbook. As a youth he became interested in conchology, which was his father's hobby, and in the course of a half century the family accumulated one of the largest and finest private collections of shells in this country. In later years he took an interest in the radio, giving a number of talks over the same on various subjects. He enjoyed travel, scenery, art and music, was just getting ready to enjoy life with his family when he was called away.
In 1920 Mr. Button was one of the founders of the Oakland Pioneers Society and served as its president up to the time of his death, which occurred October 2, 1927, when he was seventy-one years of age. With deep interest he watched the development of Oakland and had an intimate knowledge of matters pertaining to its history. His activities touched life at many points, and judged from the standpoint of service, his was a notably successful career.
DOMINICAN SISTERS
Among the religious educational orders in Alameda county, one of the most worthy is that of the Dominican Sisters, at Mission San Jose, whose two-fold purpose is that of teaching and the training of teachers. The order has been established here for many years and the splendid work done has been a blessing to the community and an honor to the cause which it represents. The Dominican Sisters Congregation of the Queen of the Holy Rosary, the mother house of which is located at Mission San Jose, is an offshoot of the Convent of the Holy Cross, of Brooklyn, New York. On November 11, 1876, Sister Pia, Sister Amanda and Sister Salesia, of the Convent of the Holy Cross, arrived in San Francisco, Cali-
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fornia, to take charge of St. Boniface School. In 1890 they founded the convent at Mission San Jose, the building being dedicated by the Most Rev. P. W. Riordan, Archbishop of California. Rev. Mother Pia was the local foundress and the first prioress general. The order prospered and in 1926 the Sisters celebrated the golden jubilee of the founding of the order, at which time a beautiful shrine was erected and dedicated in the grounds of the convent, in memory of its foundress. The establishment was originally a parochial school for boys and girls, but in 1904 the boys were transferred to the school at Ukiah, Mendocino county, and in 1908 the girls were transferred to St. Mary's of the Palms, at Mission San Jose, at which time the convent became a training school for teachers, for which purpose it is still being used. The graduates of this school become teachers in the different parochial schools, for which work they receive special preparation, and thus a high grade of instruction is assured for the schools. At present there are forty-six students enrolled in the convent, and there is a faculty of six instructors, who, in addition to their work in the training school, teach religion on Sundays in the various churches and missions of the valley. The work of the Dominican Sisters has long been regarded as of great importance in both of its phases and is a most valuable adjunct to the great work of the church in this territory.
ANTONIO BARDELLINI
A record of the pioneers of Alameda county must include the name of Antonio Bardellini, who for long years was actively connected with various enterprises in this county, his efforts contributing to the development and progress of the localities in which he lived. He was born August 17, 1833, in Lerchi, Italy, where he spent his early years. In young manhood he became a sailor and followed the sea for many years, during which period he visited most of the ports of the world. In 1850 he reached San Francisco, where he engaged in the fishing business for awhile, but later went to the gold mines. After several years thus spent, he went to Mexico and established a dry goods store, which he conducted for a short time, when he returned to California and engaged in gold mining in the canyons of the Sierras. Later he engaged in fishing for the San Jose market, but in 1858 opened a general merchandise store at Mission San Jose, where he remained for six years. His next location was at Alisal, now Pleasanton, where he opened the Rose Hotel, the first in that place, and now known as the Pleasanton Hotel. In 1869 Mr. Bardellini went to Laddsville, where he built a hotel, which he managed for four years, after which he bought a ranch and set out the first vineyard in that locality. His hotel was destroyed by fire in 1872 and he then devoted his attention to farming until 1874, when he sold the ranch and located on a property at the corner of First and L streets, in Livermore, which he had purchased sometime previously. There he built the Washington Hotel, the leading hotel of that place, and conducted it to the time of his death, which occurred on the 18th of August, 1883.
On October 20, 1862, in San Francisco, Mr. Bardellini was united in marriage to Miss Maria Lometti, a native of Italy. Of. their ten children four are now living : Joseph B., Carrime J., Furrello J. and Emil A. Mr. Bardellini was a man of great
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energy and persistence, was square in all of his dealings and during all the years of his life here he commanded the unqualified respect and confidence of his fellow- men, who appreciated his sterling character and his genial and friendly manner.
CHARLES H. HALE
No citizen of San Leandro possesses the unqualified confidence of the people to a greater degree than does Charles H. Hale, whose record here as a banker, covering a period of thirty-five years, has stamped him as a man of stanch integrity and as an able and successful business man, while his efforts and influence have also been directed to the development and progress of his community. He served for thirty-one years as cashier of the Bank of San Leandro and was for the past four years manager of its successor, the San Leandro Branch of the American Trust Company of California.
The Bank of San Leandro was established in 1893, starting with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars, and opened its doors for business May 15, 1893, in the old frame building that stood on the present site of the splendid bank building which is now occupied by the institution, on the northeast corner of East Fourteenth street and Estudillo avenue. Its first officers were S. Huff, president; R. S. Far- relly, vice president ; and Charles H. Hale, cashier ; and its directors were S. Huff, R. S. Farrelly, T. P. Cary, Joseph Herrscher, Dr. G. Vivian, J. B. Mendonca and L. C. Moorehouse. This bank was very successful, and out of its profits there was organized, in 1910, the First National Bank of San Leandro, the two institutions being operated by the same officers. Mr. Huff was succeeded in the presidency by L. C. Moorehouse, after whom came Amzi B. Cary, who filled that position from 1915 to 1924. The present banking house was erected in 1914 by the two banks, both occupying the ground floor. In 1924 the Bank of San Leandro and the First National Bank were taken over by the American Trust Company of California, which is the outcome of the merger of two great San Francisco banks, the Mer- cantile Trust Company, founded in 1854, and The American Bank, founded in 1871, and which is one of the largest and strongest financial institutions on the Pacific coast, having total resources of nearly three hundred million dollars.
Charles H. Hale, who is of the illustrious Hale family of the east, was born at Pacheco, Contra Costa county, California, on the 11th of July, 1867, and is the second in order of birth of the three children of H. M. and Frances Elizabeth (Lyon) Hale. The father was born in Ohio and the mother in Illinois, from which state she was brought across the plains in a covered wagon by her parents. She became one of the early school teachers of Contra Costa county. H. M. Hale came to the coast by way of the isthmus route and he and his brother, William M. Hale, established a general mercantile business at Pacheco, which was a thriving town in early days. In 1872, at Martinez, they opened the first bank in Contra Costa county, and it is still in existence, W. A. Hale, a cousin of Charles H. Hale, being its president. H. M. Hale was identified with the banking business there to the time of his death, which occurred in 1899. He is survived by his widow, who still lives at Martinez, being ninety years old in May, 1928.
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Charles H. Hale attended the public and private schools in Contra Costa county, after which he took a course at Hopkins Academy, in Oakland. It was then that he first met Amzi B. Cary, a fellow student, an incident that led to a warm and lasting friendship. Mr. Hale entered his father's bank at Martinez, where he remained until 1882, and then became an employe of Yates & Company, dealers in paints and oils in San Francisco. With that firm he remained until 1892, and two years later came to San Leandro and became cashier of the Bank of San Leandro, which had just been organized. People generally were not accustomed to the use of banking privileges at that time and the process of building up a business of that kind was at first slow, but gradually business men realized the advantages of banking methods and the Bank of San Leandro enjoyed a very successful career, becoming one of the important factors in the commercial prosperity of this community.
In 1898, in San Leandro, Mr. Hale was united in marriage to Miss Marina Cummins, who was born near Lodi, California, and who attended the Oakland high school. Her family name is of Scotch origin, and it was at one time spelled Cumin, also sometimes Cummin. In the United States this has been further changed to Cummins and Cummings. The late Senator Cummins of Iowa was of this lineage, as is Congressman Cummins of New York state. There is also a branch of the family in Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Hale are the parents of one child, Henry M., who is now assistant sales manager for the Caterpillar Tractor Company, at Peoria, Illinois. Charles H. Hale is a republican in his political affiliation and is a member of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce. He is a man of clear vision and keen discrimination in business matters, possesses executive ability of a high order, and his achievements have given him a place among the leading bankers of Alameda county. Absolutely dependable in every relation of life and a man of splendid personality, he has long been regarded as one of the most useful and reliable citizens of San Leandro and commands the confidence of all who come in contact with him.
HENRY MEYER
For thirty-five years Henry Meyer has been numbered among the progressive and successful business men of the Elmhurst district of Oakland, of which locality he was a pioneer, and his prosperity is well merited, for he has in every way kept pace with the growth of that section of the city and has given his patrons a high type of service. Mr. Meyer was born in Germany August 3, 1869, a son of Claus and Geche (Purch) Meyer, both of whom are deceased, the mother having died when her son was but eight years of age.
Henry Meyer attended the grade schools in his native land and when seventeen years of age came to the United States. He did not speak or understand the English language and on arriving here began attending night school. For awhile he was employed in Spreckel's sugar refinery, but later obtained a position as clerk in a grocery store, where he learned the details of the business. Afterward he was employed for awhile in the liquor business, working in the old Louvre in San Francisco. In 1893 he formed a partnership with a cousin, Claus Meyer, and engaged in the grocery business in the Elmhurst district, which at that time was
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but sparsely settled, but gave promise of becoming one of the populous sections of the city. Their store was located at 9336 East Fourteenth street and a very gratifying measure of success attended their efforts, so that they continued the business there for twenty-nine years, or until the death of Claus Meyer, after which Mr. Meyer bought his cousin's interest. About 1922 the store was moved to the corner of Ninety-fourth avenue and East Fourteenth street, which property Mr. Meyer had acquired in the early years of his business career, and there he remained until the property was sold to the Bank of Italy, when he moved to 1424 Ninety- fourth avenue, where he is still located. He carries a large and well selected line of groceries, vegetables, fruits and grocers' sundries and by his prompt and courteous service he won and retains his full share of the local business in his line.
Mr. Meyer was united in marriage to Miss Amic Hamilton, who is a native of Ireland but has long been a resident of Oakland, where the marriage occurred. They are the parents of six children, namely: Annie, who is the wife of Daniel Brown; Alma and Henry, who are associated with their father in the grocery business; Lurline, who is employed in an insurance office in San Francisco; Marguerite and Charlie. There are also several grandchildren. Mr. Meyer is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Improved Order of Red Men and the Sons of Herman. He is a lover of outdoor life and is especially fond of motoring, having driven to New Jersey, during which trip he crossed twenty-five states and covered ten thousand miles. He has shown deep interest in the progress and welfare of his city and county and in every relation of life has proven well worthy of confidence and regard, while socially he is extremely popular among his associates and friends.
GUY MATTHEW TURNER
One of the most prominent figures in aviation circles of central California is Guy M. Turner, airport field superintendent at Oakland, whose record stamps him as a man of superior ability and efficiency in his chosen calling. Mr. Turner was born in New Albany, Indiana, on the 26th of December, 1890, and is a son of George and Elizabeth Turner, the former a pioneer glass blower. When Guy M. Turner was about six years of age both of his parents died and thereafter he was dependent largely upon his own resources. His education was mostly received in the school of experience, and on February 1, 1906, at the age of fifteen years, he enlisted in the United States Navy, in which he served twenty-one years and nine months. Enter- ing as an ordinary seaman, he was advanced, because of his studious habits and close and intelligent attention to duty, to the rank of chief gunner's mate. Later he took a vocational course at the Great Lakes Aviation Mechanics School, where his rating was changed from chief gunner's mate to aviation chief machinist's mate. On May 26, 1927, he came to Oakland and was put in charge of the preparation of the runway for the planes which made the dash for the Hawaiian islands. Later, in a competitive examination for the superintendency of the airport, Mr. Turner re- ceived a marking of ninety-six per cent, the highest among the group who took the
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examination, and was appointed to the position, which he is now holding, under the airport commission. This is now one of the finest airports in the country and is growing in importance, being now the western terminal for the coast-to-coast mail service. Mr. Turner takes pride in keeping the airport field and all of its service departments at the highest point of efficiency at all times and his record has gained for him the confidence and respect of all who have come in contact with him.
Mr. Turner was united in marriage to Miss Maye McDade, who was born in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, the Order of the Eastern Star, the National Aviation Association and the Civil Service Associa- tion of Oakland. He also belongs to the United States Naval Aviation Reserve. Aviation is his hobby and he is now in an admirable position to contribute to the success of the service, for which he has had thorough and practical training.
SAMUEL LEE
Samuel Lee, of Alameda, has gained an enviable reputation as a designer and builder of good homes, an evidence of which is the fact that he is never idle and that among his patrons have been many wealthy and discriminating people, who have been glad to avail themselves of his artistic taste as well as his technical ability as a builder. Mr. Lee was born in Greenwich, England, December 31, 1874, and is a son of Cornelius Marsh and Eliza Jane (Munn) Lee. The father brought his family to California in 1878, locating first in Pasadena, where he remained about a year, moving then to San Francisco. He was a cabinetmaker by trade and in the latter city opened a cabinet shop, in the operation of which his skill and workman- ship won him a large patronage. He established his residence in Alameda and in the public schools of this city his son, Samuel, received his educational training. When fourteen years of age he started to learn the carpenter and cabinetmaker's trade, of every phase of which he gained thorough knowledge. In 1906 Mr. Lee formed a partnership with his eldest brother, Alfred C. Lee, and established a cabinet shop in San Francisco, later moving it to Alameda. At a subsequent period Mr. Lee was associated in business with Lemuel Richards, but since 1915 has operated alone. He was for two years engaged in the building and contracting business in Marin county, but since 1917 has had his headquarters in Alameda. He builds and sells fine homes, does a vast amount of cabinet work, installs store and office fixtures, and has done the finishing work on many of the best apartment houses and fine residences in Alameda. He built some very artistic homes in Fireside Park, Alameda, and has done a good deal of designing, being a man of original ideas, combined with an exact technical knowledge, and his work has been very favorably commented upon by competent judges. He has four nice homes in the Fernside district and one in the Thompson tract.
In 1911 Mr. Lee was united in marriage to Miss L. A. Salisbury, of Sutter county, California, and they are the parents of two children, Alton S. and Rose- mary. Mr. Lee is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and of the Alameda Rotary Club, and has a record of one hundred per cent attendance at the dinners
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of the latter organization over a period of four years. He is exceedingly popular among his associates, being a man of genial and affable manner, while throughout his community he is regarded as a man well worthy of public confidence and esteem. He is very much interested in yachting and at one time built a sailing yacht called the Venus. He also sailed with his brother on the Frisco Bay.
CHARLES SPARWASSER
Standing in the front rank of the capable interior decorators of the East Bay district, Charles Sparwasser has long commanded a large business throughout this section of Alameda county, many of its finest homes containing evidences of the high quality of his work. Mr. Sparwasser was born in Germany on the 28th of January, 1872, and is a son of George and Julia (Meisner) Sparwasser, of whom the former was engaged in the tanning business, and both of whom are deceased.
Charles Sparwasser was educated in the public schools and a gymnasium in his native land and for a short time assisted his father in the tanning business. When sixteen years of age he emigrated to the United States, going direct to San Fran- cisco, where he remained about one year, during which time he took advantage of every opportunity to master the English language. He then went to sea, following that pursuit until twenty-two years of age, when he came to Oakland and learned the trade of interior decorating, including painting and papering, in which he became an expert, and for the past sixteen years has been in that line of business on his own account. He has done a large amount of work in the larger and finer residences of San Francisco, as well as throughout Oakland, Berkeley and Pied- mont, and has also done much contract painting. He is painstaking and thorough in everything he does, is artistic in his ideas, and through the years that he has been in business his work has been his best advertisement.
Mr. Sparwasser was united in marriage to Miss Lidia Frances Anderson, who was reared in this city. By a former marriage he has a daughter, Julia. He gives his political support to the republican party and takes a helpful interest in matters affecting the welfare and progress of his community. Courteous and accommodat- ing, cordial in manner, and square in all of his dealings, he is widely known throughout Oakland and is held in high regard by all who have come in contact with him.
WALTER R. COOK
Walter R. Cook, of Castro Valley, has won substantial success in the chicken business because he has given intelligent direction to his work and has followed scientific methods. He now has a well improved ranch and is numbered among the progressive and enterprising citizens of his community. Born at Kearney, Buffalo county, Nebraska, on the 29th of May, 1883, he is a son of Charles and Anna (Wright) Cook. The family moved to Kimball county, that state, where he spent his boyhood and attended the public schools, after which he assisted his father, who
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„mission which located the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor on land which he had taken up from the United States government, but had sold some years previously. Both the Whitmore and Sanford families came to America from Eng- land and were pilgrim Puritans. The Sanfords settled in Massachusetts in 1626, two years prior to the location of the Whitmore family. Ezra W. Whitmore fol- lowed farming for many years, served as county superintendent of schools of Washtenaw county, Michigan, for four years and was a recruiting officer during the Civil war. He spent the last eleven years of his life with his son Welles in California.
Welles Whitmore attended the public schools of his native state and later entered the University of Michigan, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1875. He then entered a law office in Ohio, where he pursued the study of Blackstone and Kent. In 1877 he came to California, setting foot upon the soil of this state for the first time on July 8th. He continued his law study in an office in San Francisco and was duly admitted to the bar of the district court in that city in 1878 and to the district court and county court of Alameda county in 1879, at which time he established his residence in Oakland, where he has since resided. He was admitted to practice before the supreme court of this state in 1882. He served four years as deputy district attorney under Judge E. M. Gibson, who was then district attorney of Alameda county. He has always been distinguished for his learning in the law and his clear-headed judgment, having during his long career at the bar handled successfully many important cases, while as an office counselor he is regarded as sound and reliable. By working nights from seven to twelve, while serving as deputy district attorney, from 1878 to 1880, Mr. Whitmore compiled an index giving all the decided points of law digesting all the reported cases decided by the supreme court of the state of California and reported in the California Supreme Court Reports from Volume I to LIII inclusive. No reliable digest of the judicial decisions of the said court was then in existence. This work was published by Bancroft-Whitney Company of San Francisco, law book publishers, and leading lawyers in California were quick to see the value of this work, which had a large sale for the next eight or ten years, going through several editions. This reflects greatly on Mr. Whitmore's tireless energy and his profound knowledge of the law.
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