USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume II > Part 36
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when E. O. Webb came west in 1872 he engaged in farming and fruit raising, developing the land into one of the best ranches in this section of the county. In the course of time it became very valuable, being located near the heart of the business district. He lived on this place for fifty-three years, or until 1926, when he sold it and moved into the splendid home which he had built at 107 Soto street, where he now resides. For the past ten years he has been a director of the Bank of Hayward and its vice president for the past four years.
In 1898 Mr. Webb married Miss Henrietta Lehnhart, who was born in San Francisco and is a daughter of Henry and Julia Lehnhart, both of whom were natives of Germany. They came to California in an early day, settling first in San Francisco, where the father was connected with Halbrook, Merrill and Company, hardware dealers. Both parents are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Webb have two children, Otis, and Deborah, who graduated from the University of California in 1928. Mr. Webb is a republican in his political views and has been actively inter- ested in the educational affairs of his community, having served as a trustee of the Hayward high school district for thirty-four years, during thirty years of which period he has been president of the board. A man of marked business ability, sterling integrity of character and strong personality, he has long been numbered among Hayward's most influential and substantial citizens and no resident of this community commands public confidence and respect to a greater degree.
GEORGE A. TUM SUDEN
George A. Tum Suden, who for many years has been actively identified with the well known corporation, the H. Tum Suden Mercantile Company, of which he has been president for sixteen years, is one of Oakland's most highly regarded business men, esteemed by reason of his high character and substantial worth. He was born at 1551 Thirteenth avenue, in this city June 13, 1869, and is a son of Henry and Catherine (Ahrens) Tum Suden. His father was born in Hanover, Germany, in 1835, and was there reared to the age of sixteen years, securing a good education in the public schools. In 1851 he came to the United States, where he obtained employment in a grocery store, at a wage of six dollars a month and board. In 1853 he came to California, locating in San Francisco, where he at once found employment, and during the ensuing three years worked on Kearney, Pine, Dupont, Jackson, Sacramento and Davis streets. In 1856 he bought an interest in a restaurant on California and Davis streets, his patronage coming largely from the lumbermen of the city, all of the lumber firms being at that time located on California street. For about nine years he carried on that business at various loca- tions and in 1863 sold out to his partner and moved to Oakland. Here he formed a partnership with Mr. Erzgraber and opened a store at the corner of East Twelfth street and Fourteenth avenue, in San Antonio, as the place was then known. After the death of his first partner, he became associated with another man, and con- tinued the business to the time of his death. It enjoyed a steady and healthy growth through the years and, in May, 1907, was incorporated as the H. Tum Suden Mercantile Company, of which Mr. Tum Suden was president ; A. C. Tum Suden,
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vice president, and George A. Tum Suden, secretary and treasurer. As he pros- pered, Mr. Tum Suden bought land in various parts in the city, on which he erected buildings, one of which was a large brick warehouse, which he used for his own purposes until 1890, when the business was moved to Fourteenth street and Thir- teenth avenue. Prior to that time he had also conducted an express business between Oakland and San Francisco, running teams in both cities, while from two to five carloads of goods were brought daily from San Francisco to Oakland over the old narrow gauge road. This proved a profitable business, and he later sold it at a very satisfactory figure. He was a keen and sagacious business man and remained at the head of his company to the time of his death, which occurred December 22, 1912.
In 1860, in California, Mr. Tum Suden was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Ahrens, a native of Hanover, Germany, and who came to California in 1852. They became the parents of eleven children. The mother passed away in May, 1920. Mr. Tum Suden was a stanch republican in his political views, though he main- tained an independent attitude in local elections. Upon the incorporation of Brook- lyn he was named a trustee of the city, was one of the organizers of the Merchants Exchange, was a strong supporter of education, and took a keen interest in every- thing pertaining to the progress and development of his community. He was a member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges and was a member of the Ger- man Lutheran church. Intensely loyal in his religious belief, he did more, perhaps, than any other one man to build up his church in the west. A missionary came to his place of business one day in San Francisco and together they made plans and carried them out for the establishment of the German Lutheran church on Tele- graph hill, from which sprang more than one hundred churches of that denomina- tion in the northwest. By a straight-forward and commendable course he made his way from a humble beginning to an honored and respected position in the business world, winning the hearty admiration of the people of his adopted city and earning a reputation as an enterprising, progressive man of affairs and a broad-minded, charitable and upright citizen, which the public was not slow to recognize and appreciate.
George A. Tum Suden received his education in the Franklin school in Oak- land and then engaged in the insurance business in San Francisco, being for five years connected with the firm of Brown, Craig & Company, after which he became associated with his father's business in Oakland, and on the incorporation of the H. Tum Suden Mercantile Company, in 1907, he became its secretary and treas- urer, which dual position he held until his father's death in 1912, when he became president. He is still at the head of the business, but expects to sell it, after which he will reenter business on his own account. He has had a good business record and stands high in the commercial circles of his city.
Mr. Tum Suden was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Beaver, who was born and reared in Sonoma county, this state. He gives his political support to the republican party and, like his father, has shown a commendable interest in everything relating to the material, civic or moral welfare of his community. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World, is the oldest living charter member of the Brooklyn parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden West and has been president of the Brooklyn Improvement Club since its organization, fourteen years
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ago. He is a lover of outdoor life, horses and yachting being his favorite forms of recreation. Cordial and friendly in manner, he is favorably known throughout the city, where he has spent his life, and has a host of warm and loyal friends, who esteem him for his genuine worth as a man and citizen.
GEORGE WINDSOR
Among the residents of Piedmont who have devoted their efforts to the up- building and development of that locality, none takes precedence over George Windsor, who is doing a large business as a building contractor, specializing in the better class of residences, in which work he has been very successful. Mr. Wind- sor was born in Custer City, in the Black hills of South Dakota, November 3, 1893, and is a direct descendent of Lord Baltimore, who was so prominently identified with the early history of Maryland colony. He attended the public schools of his home district in the Black Hills and then went to Bandon, Coos county, Oregon, where he learned the carpenter trade, at which he was employed there for a num- ber of years. In 1914 he went to San Francisco, where he worked on the construc- tion of the buildings for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, held in 1915. Later in Klamath Falls, Oregon, he worked in sawmills for a short time, and in 1916 came to Oakland, where he was employed in the construction of the Alameda Title and Insurance building, the East Bay Market building, the Durant automobile factory and a number of fine residences. In 1922 Mr. Windsor located in Piedmont and engaged in the contracting business on his own account, in which success has accompanied his efforts. He has erected a large number of fine homes in Pied- mont and the Merritt Lake district, among which may be mentioned those of Mrs. Harriet A. Haas, Atlee F. Hunt, J. L. Glikbarg, H. H. Ruh, James E. Waddell, Peter Rock and William E. Sullivan. He has averaged from ten to twelve resi- dences a year and in the executing his contracts is conscientious in every detail of his work. He built and owns a three-story apartment house in Oakland.
Mr. Windsor was united in marriage to Miss Martha Korth, who is a native of San Francisco, and they are the parents of a daughter, Ruth Ann. Mr. Wind- sor is a member of Live Oak Lodge, No. 61, A. F. & A. M., of Oakland. He enjoys the respect and esteem of those who know him and is regarded as one of the substantial and worthy citizens of Piedmont.
CHRIS S. NIELSEN
Chris S. Nielsen, who is well known in real estate and insurance circles in Oak- land, has had a varied career in different parts of the world, and is a man of wide general information, being a keen observer and a frequent traveler. He was born in Denmark on the 4th of December, 1866, and is a son of N. P. and Mary (Hansen) Sorensen, the former having been a farmer and both died when eighty years of age.
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Mr. Nielsen was educated in the public schools of his native land and remained at home until twenty-one years of age, when he came to the United States, arriving here September 7, 1887. He was at Fresno, California, for about two years, com- ing to Oakland in 1889, and engaged in the cement contracting business, partic- ularly in the construction of sidewalks. In June, 1891, he turned his attention to the saloon business, which he carried on until 1898, when he went to the Klondike gold field, where he experienced many hardships in his search for the yellow metal. However, he was fairly successful during the six years that he remained in that territory, and on his return to Oakland, in 1904, engaged in the building and contracting business, which he carried on for several years. He then established a saloon at Twelfth and Franklin streets, later giving his half interest in the place to his partner Peter Olsen, whom he had taken in as a boy and who had accom- panied him on his trip to Alaska. In the meantime Mr. Nielsen had taken up the life and fire insurance business, in which he was meeting with success, and about four years ago he also became interested in the real estate business and is still carrying on both lines.
Mr. Nielsen was united in marriage to Miss Nina Eureka Moore, who was born in Placerville, California. He is a stanch republican in his political views, and, fraternally, is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has taken the degrees of both the York and Scottish rites. He also belongs to the Sciots, of which he is a past topack ; the Danish Brotherhood and the Dania. Mr. Nielsen is very fond of traveling and has visited all of the European countries and practically every state in the Union. He is a man of broad views and well defined opinions on public questions, has shown a commendable interest in the welfare and progress of his city and county, and in his business affairs is progressive and enterprising. Person- ally he is genial and friendly and throughout the range of his acquaintance is held in high regard.
WILLIAM T. DAVIS
William T. Davis, editor and publisher of the Pleasanton Times and judge of the city court, is one of the community's most useful citizens and has been a definite factor in the promotion of its material, civic and moral interest. He was born in Ely, White Pine county, Nevada, on the 28th of November, 1886, and secured his education in the public schools of Redwood City, California, to which place his family had moved. When sixteen years of age he went east to learn the printing business, and there became a linotype operator, gaining recognition as an expert. Going to Chicago, he was employed on the Inter Ocean and Tribune, after which he returned to California and worked on various papers in San Francisco and the Tribune and Enquirer in Oakland. He was then employed by the govern- ment to take a battery of linotype machines to Porto Rico, where he set them up and operated them for five years. On his return to this country he worked on the San Jose Times until 1916, when he came to Pleasanton and bought the Times, which he has since published. Progressive and enterprising, he has given the com- munity the news while it is news, is an attractive style and free from all objection-
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able features, so that the Times is a welcome visitor to most of the homes of this locality. Typographically, it is equal to any of its contemporaries and has proven an excellent advertising medium. Nine years ago Mr. Davis was appointed judge of the city court, and so satisfactory has he discharged the duties of that position that he has been retained in office ever since. Personally and through the columns of his paper, he has been a constant and effectual booster of Pleasanton and has given his earnest support to every measure calculated to advance the public inter- ests in any way.
Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Mura Wilcox, of Hollister, San Benito county, California, and they are the parents of two children, Dorothy and Wilbur. Mr. Davis is a member of Alesal Lodge, No. 321, A. F. & A. M .; San Jose Consistory, A. A. S. R., and the I. D. E. S., a Portuguese society. Personally he is a man of sterling character and inflexible integrity, and owes his success in life to his determination and tireless effort along right lines. He enjoys a wide acquaintance throughout this section of the county, is affable and friendly and com- mands the unqualified confidence and respect of his fellowmen.
HARI Y J. MEYER
Among the substantial and pros rous merchants of Hayward Harry J. Meyer holds a prominent place, commandi: { the respect of his fellowmen because of his business success and his fine perso al qualities. He was born in San Francisco, California, December 13, 1893. F.is parents Henry and Marie (Sieh) Meyer, were born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, the father in Bonnstadt and the mother in Frederickstadt. In 1881 the father came to California, by way of the isthmus of Panama, and went to work in the old Kreig tannery, having learned the business in Germany. About six months later he was made foreman and held that position for a number of years. He then found employment as a clerk in a grocery store, where he remained until 1892, when he opened a grocery store of his own, which he successfully conducted until burned out by the great fire of April, 1906. About six months later he engaged in the liquor business at Ninth and Bryant streets, San Francisco, where he continued until 1912, when he came to Hayward and established a similar business at B and Main streets. He conducted that place until the national prohibition act was passed, since which time he has clerked for E. C. Willis in the Auto Stage cigar store, in the Villa Hotel building. He is now sixty-three years of age. His wife died in San Francisco when her son Harry J. was but six years old. Mr. Meyer is a republican in politics.
Harry J. Meyer spent his boyhood in San Francisco, where in the public schools he received his educational training. For a number of years he worked as a clerk in a grocery store, and later was employed in the feed business until March 1, 1927, when he established his present business at 658 Main street, Hayward, handling all kinds of poultry supplies, seeds, grain, feed, wood and coal. He has a well equipped place of business, carries a large stock and his methods are such as have gained for him a large patronage and the confidence of the public.
On February 19, 1927, Mr. Meyer was united in marriage to Miss Lena H.
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Ebert, who was born in Pierre, South Dakota, and is a daughter of Fred and Magdalene (Ihli) Ebert, the former an early settler in Nevada, where he lived during the busy mining days. Subsequently he moved to Pierre, South Dakota. His wife was born in Germany and when five years of age was brought to this country by her parents, who settled first in Illinois, but later moved to South Dakota, where she was reared and where she met and married Mr. Ebert. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer are the parents of a son, Harry John, Jr.
Mr. Meyer is a stanch republican in his political views. He is a member of the Woodmen of the World, the Native Sons of the Golden West, the Lions Club, and the American Legion for he is a veteran of the World war, having enlisted June 6, 1917, he was assigned to Company H, One Hundred and Fifthy-ninth Infantry Regiment, and was first sent to Elko, Nevada, where he performed guard duty. Later he was for eleven months in training at Camp Kearney, and was then ordered overseas. Landing at Liverpool, his regiment entrained for Win- chester, England, later proceeding to Southampton, and on August 24, 1918, crossed the channel to La Havre, France. From there they proceeded to their billets at Les Bourdelines, near Nevers, in central France. Later Mr. Meyer was sent to an officers training camp at La Volbonne, east of Lyons, where he remained until several weeks after the signing of the Armistice. He then returned to his company, which embarked April 5th for home, and he was honorably discharged at San Francisco, April 30, 1919. Mr. Meyer is a man of candid and straight- forward manner, is giving his close attention to his business and well deserves the success which is crowning his efforts. He has many loyal friends throughout the community and commands the respect of all who know him.
ALEXANDER E. ORTON
One of the outstanding construction concerns of the East Bay district is A. E. Orton Master Builders, Inc., which has erected many of the finest and most attrac- tive homes in this locality. A E. Orton, president of the company, is himself a master builder and to his initiative ability, original ideas and enterprising spirit is largely due the phenomenal success which is attending the enterprise. Born in London, England, on the 8th of May, 1889, he is a son of Ernest Robert and Fanny Elizabeth (Lewrence) Orton. His father came to the United States in 1880, remaining here for a number of years, and then took a trip around the world, covering a year, after which he located in Canada, where he remained about two years. He then returned to England, where he and his wife are living.
Alexander E. Orton attended the public schools of his native city and then went to Canada, where he took a course in civil engineering at the University of Tor- onto. He served a long apprenticeship at the building trade, and for a number of years was with Sir Blundel Maples. He then did some contracting and served as superintendent of construction until 1914, when he took a trip to Europe and spent about three months at his home. On his return to this country he located in San Francisco, where he served as chief engineer and master mechanic for a large company until 1920, when he came to Oakland. At that time, because of financial
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reverses, he had a cash capital of less than twenty-five dollars, besides which he owned a small automobile. He sold the car and made payment on a lot on Sixty- fifth avenue, on which he built a small house, and from that beginning he has steadily advanced in the building business until today he is recognized as one of the leaders in his line in the district. He has built over two hundred homes, em- ploying a large force of men, and also now owns a mill in which he manufactures all interior finish and other material which he uses in his building operations. He has also superintended the erection of a number of large buildings, and during the World war was in charge of the construction of cantonments at the Presidio, San Francisco, having fifteen hundred men under him. In 1918 Mr. Orton, in associa- tion with C. C. Morris, incorporated the A. E. Orton Master Builders, the object of which was to meet the demand that one responsible firm should be able to handle with equal efficiency all types of construction, including stores, apartments, gar- ages, warehouses, super-service stations and office buildings, as well as large and small homes. The company is also able to offer a complete building service to the prospective builder, from drawing plans and specifications and furnishing esti- mates to financing the building. Because of the fact that every detail of construc- tion is handled by one firm, maximum quality and efficiency can be had with the minimum of cost.
Mr. Orton was united in marriage to Miss Emily Elizabeth White, of Canada, and they are the parents of two sons, Alexander and Robert. Mr. Orton is a mem- ber of Burlingame Lodge, No. 400, A. F. & A. M .; Oakland Consistory, A. A. S. R .; Aahmes Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Sciots, No. 2, of Oakland, and also the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. In his younger days Mr. Orton took an active interest in athletics and while in school held the quarter-mile running record, and was an expert socker player. He gives close attention to the business of which he is the head, in the management of which he has shown sound judgment, and in all of his affairs has been guided by the highest business ethics, so that he commands the confidence and respect of all who have dealt with him.
ED DOTY
Probably no personal name is more frequently seen on the streets of Oakland than that of Ed Doty, whose name is impressed on many miles of cement side- walks which he has constructed here. He has also done an enormous amount of work in other lines of cement contracting, so that he is today one of the best known men in his line of work in the Bay district. Mr. Doty was born in Lon- don, Ontario, January 24, 1862, and in early childhood was taken by his parents to Detroit, Michigan, where he was reared and educated. He recalls that Detroit sent some of her fire apparatus to Chicago at the time of the great fire there in October, 1871, the smoke from which was blown across Lake Michigan and darkened the sky for days. He also tells of the millions of passenger pigeons that would fly mornings and evenings, the great flocks shutting out the sun but they were killed in such vast numbers that now none remain. From a small boy he had always been ambitious to go west and in 1881 an opportunity came to him to go to Mon-
ED DOTY
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tana to work for the Northern Pacific Railroad, which at that time had been built only as far west as Glendive, Dakota. The western plains were all a great buffalo country and the hides were stacked up along the track like cordwood, but the year in which he made his westward trip and the following year were the last of great buffalo hunting, as the animals by that time had been practically killed off.
Mr. Doty followed the railroad as it was extended westward until he came to what is now Billings and as the town was then developing somewhat rapidly, he started in an independent business venture there, namely hauling water from the Yellowstone and selling it for fifty cents a barrel to the saloons and restaurants. The next year the railroad was completed to the vicinity of Livingston and he freighted into the Yellowstone Park, for it was in that year that this great national park was opened to the public, and all supplies were hauled there from the end of the track at Gardiner by mule and horse teams. The country was rough and unbroken and in those days any path that the wheel of a wagon would go over was called a road. This was before the days of graded roads but there were miles and miles of corduroy roads, built of logs about a foot in diameter laid side by side in the swampy places in order that the wagons might be taken from one rocky point of the valley to another valley. In common with most of the men who came west at that time, Mr. Doty did not consider the land worth anything. It was a common saying that "We had land in the bank and money in Michigan." It was a common thing to drive for days at a stretch through level meadows of grass up to the wagon beds and it could be taken by anyone who wanted it. In a year or two, however, all of the land was homesteaded and Mr. Doty had to go back into the mountains and take up a ranch, every acre of which had to be reclaimed. He spent the following nine years in raising horses and cattle, but the widespread financial panic of the Cleveland administration caused him to lose everything. He then went south to the Crow Indian country and established a sawmill on the West Rosebud. After eight years his health failed because of the high altitude and rigorous climate and he then went to the Hawaiian islands, where he obtained a position as foreman over the bolt and pipe fitters in the Honolulu Iron Works, most of whom were half-breeds, a mixed strain of Kanakas, Portuguese, Chinese and Japs. The confinement of his work was not pleasing to a man who had always lived out of doors, so Mr. Doty left Honolulu and went to the island of Guam, where he met among other Americans the boatswain who was blown up on the Maine in Havana harbor. He had married a Spanish girl and had a family and appeared very happy.
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