USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume II > Part 42
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In 1907, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Mr. Neilson was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Bell, who is a native of Scotland, in which country they had become engaged, and who made the journey of six thousand miles to Vancouver to join the future husband. To them have been born five children: Andrew Scott, now a foreman with the Bethlehem Steel Corporation in Buffalo, New York, was married in that city to Miss Jean Clayworth, of Berkeley, California, whose father. Joseph Clayworth, owns the Berkeley Pharmacy; Margaret Bell, who will graduate in June, 1928, from the Berkeley high school, will enter the University of Cali- fornia ; Robert Turner and Thomas Scott are pupils in the Thousand Oaks public school in Berkeley; and Dorothy Jean, five years old, is at home. The family reside in the beautiful home at 1886 San Ramon avenue, which Mr. Neilson built three years ago, at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars, and he also owns another good residence property in this city.
Mr. Neilson was made an American citizen in 1925 and gives his political support to the republican party, taking an active interest in public affairs. He is a member of the Berkeley Kiwanis Club and the Berkeley Manufacturers Associa- tion. He was made a Master Mason in St. John's Lodge, No. 117, at Greenock, Scotland, and is now a member of Thousand Oaks Lodge, No. 478, at Berkeley. He still retains his membership in the chapter of Royal Arch Masons at Greenock.
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He was reared in the Congregational church in his native land but is now an earnest member of the Presbyterian church in Berkeley. His father was a very active member of the Congregational church in Scotland, in which he served as an elder and deacon for thirty years. Mr. Neilson has always been interested in athletics and from 1906 to 1911 he was a member of all the representative Canadian foot- ball organizations, being captain of the "Vancouver Thistles" during 1907-8, this team winning exceptional honors, going through both years without a defeat. In 1908 he was president of the Boilermakers Union in Vancouver, being one of the youngest men ever to hold that office. Optimistic in disposition, cordial and friendly in manner, he is extremely popular among his associates, while in the business world his technical ability and sound judgment in practical affairs have given him a high standing as a man well worthy of the confidence and respect which are uni- formly accorded him throughout the city in which he lives.
WILLIAM BARTON STRAUB
The present large and well equipped plant and prosperous business of the Em- pire Foundry Company, of Oakland, stands in evidence of the tenacity of pur- pose, the indomitable persistence and the sound business judgment of its founder and president, William B. Straub, who established the concern in 1903. From a modest beginning, and in spite of many obstacles, the business has steadily grown and developed into one of the important industrial establishments of Oakland and Mr. Straub is numbered among the community's leading and highly respected business men. He was born in Waldo, Marion county, Ohio, November 9, 1873, and is a son of George W. and Sarah (Corbin) Straub. The mother having passed away a number of years ago, and the father, who had followed the business of contracting and bridge building, died November 5, 1927, at the age of eighty- one years.
William B. Straub secured his educational training in the public schools and a business college and also attended night schools for several years. In his boy- hood he was apprenticed to the moulder's trade, of which he acquired an intimate knowledge, and, after working at his trade in Marion and Columbus, Ohio, for several years, went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he engaged in the foundry business. He was not satisfied with conditions there, however, and after a few years he closed out his business, with the intention of seeking his fortune in the Klondike gold fields. On his way there, he decided to first look over the western country, including British Columbia and Washington and after a couple months in Honolulu came to California and was so favorably impressed with this latter state that he decided to locate here. He was variously employed for a few years and in 1903 established a small foundry. For the first few years, owing to the depressed business situation and the keenness of competition, he found it hard to hold his own, but, owing to the high quality of his products, his persistent in- dustry and square dealing, he managed to tide over the hard times and eventually prosperity began to crown his efforts, so that by 1905 increasing business prompted him to incorporate the present company. At that time the foundry was located
WILLIAM B. STRAUB
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at Third and Washington streets, and when the Western Pacific Railroad entered Oakland was able to sell its lease to the railroad at a profitable figure, and in 1909 the company bought the land now occupied at 433-435 Third street. The com- pany employs forty men and carries on a general foundry business, manufacturing all kinds of light and heavy castings for machinery, mining tools and street cast- ings. They made a specialty of the manufacture of iron mantel grates and various hardware equipments and builders' supplies, their products being used in Oakland and the Bay district. About 1909 Mr. Straub organized the Straub Manufacturing Company, of which he is president, and which specializes in making mining ma- chinery, crushing and grinding mills and gold dredges, a number of the latter having been sent to the Nome, Alaska, district, and now their machinery products are in most all parts of the mining world. This company also employes a large number of men.
Mr. Straub was united in marriage to Miss Laura Fisher, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. J. Fisher, the former a large land owner and a son of Captain Fisher who bought one of the old Spanish land grants in Santa Clara county, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Straub have a daughter, Gertrude. Politically Mr. Straub is a republican and fraternally a member of the Knights of Pythias. He also belongs to the Round Table, the Chamber of Commerce, the California Manufacturers Association and the Foundries Association. His has been a life of activity and diligence, characterized by honesty and integrity in all of his affairs, and success in substantial measure has rewarded his labors. He has given his aid and cooper- ation for the advancement and progress of his community and has ever stood for those forces which advance of the public welfare. He has therefore gained a high place in public esteem and is well worthy of the confidence which is reposed in him by his fellowmen.
AMZI B. CARY
No history of Alameda county would be complete without specific reference to the life and labors of Amzi B. Cary, of San Leandro, whose business activities have been of a character and magnitude that have had large bearing on the progress and development of his section of the county. For many years he has been a prom- inent figure in banking circles and is now the vice president of the San Leandro Branch of the American Trust Company, of San Francisco. The latter institution, which is the outcome of the merger of the Mercantile Trust Company of California, founded in 1854, and The American Bank, founded in 1871, is one of the largest banking institutions of the country, having total resources of nearly three hundred million dollars.
The Bank of San Leandro was organized in 1893, opening for business on May 15, with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, and was first located in an old frame building that occupied the site of the present banking building. Its officers were as follows : S. Huff, president ; L. C. Moorehouse, vice president ; Charles H. Hale, cashier ; directors, S. Huff, R. S. Farrelly, T. P. Cary, Joseph Herrscher, Dr. G. Viveon, J. B. Mendonca and L. C. Moorehouse. The First Nat-
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ional Bank of San Leandro was organized in 1910 out of the profits of the San Leandro Bank, which was a state bank, and two banks were operated with the same set of officers and directors. S. Huff was the first president and was succeeded by L. C. Moorehouse, after whom came Amzi B. Cary, who filled the executive position from 1915 to 1924, when the banks were taken over by the American Trust Company. The present banking house was erected in 1914 by the two banks, both of which occupied the first floor, and this is the present location of the institu- tion, the San Leandro Branch of the American Trust Company. The present of- ficers are: Amzi B. Cary, vice president ; Charles H. Hale, manager; Lester F. Sterner, assistant manager, with A. B. Cary, A. Lucio, J. B. Mendonca, H. T. Smyth, R. W. Tutt and Charles H. Hale as members of the advisory board.
Amzi B. Cary was born near Knight's Ferry, Stanislaus county, California, November 1, 1863, a son of Talcott Patchin and Elizabeth (McGee) Cary. The Cary family is of English origin and the progenitor of the family in this country was John Cary, who settled in Massachusetts in colonial days. From this family sprang Alice and Phoebe Cary, the well known poets and hymn writers, Eugene Cary, who ran for mayor of Chicago against the late Carter Harrison, and many others who have been distinguished as surgeons, preachers, lawyers, soldiers, man- ufacturers and business men.
Talcott Patchin Cary was born in Boston Valley, near Buffalo, New York, and the old Cary home in which he was born is still owned by a descendant of John Cary. It is noteworthy that in the five generations of children born in that house there has been but one girl. Mr. Cary came to California in 1852, and for several years was engaged in gold mining at Poverty Hill, in Tuolumne county. In 1855 he became interested in farming and stock raising at Knight's Ferry, Stanis- laus county, in which he met with success, becoming owner of an improved farm of four thousand acres. At about the time of the building of the Central Pacific Railroad to Modesto he moved to that place, which at that time was practically ruled by the lawless elements to such an extent that it became necessary to organize a vigilance committee to curb their gambling and criminal activities. In 1878 Mr. Cary brought his family to San Leandro, where he continued his prosperous career and became one of the most influential men of the community. He took a deep interest in its welfare and advancement and donated to the city the ground for the free public library, on which a building was erected through the generosity of Andrew Carnegie. He served as a member of the board of education and as a city trustee and aided in the development of the city along all lines. He was an active member of the Presbyterian church, to which he gave liberal support, as he also did to worthy benevolent causes. On his home place he planted fifty-five acres to cherries and apricots and also acquired large landed holdings in the San Joaquin valley. He became financially interested in the old Sweepstake factory at San Leandro, which was one of the first concerns to manufacture agricultural imple- ments in California. He died at San Leandro, May 21, 1923, at the advanced age of ninety-five years, honored and respected throughout the community. He had five brothers, namely: Luther, who became a physician and served as surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil war; Van Renssalaer, who succeeded to the old Cary homestead at Boston Valley, New York; Richard, who became a noted manu- facturer in western New York; Amzi B., who also was an army surgeon during
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the Civil war and died from the effects of exposure and hardships, and who was the favorite brother of Talcott P. Cary, who named his son in his honor; and Eugene, who served as a captain in the Union Army, afterward became a lawyer, served as a judge, became dean of the insurance men of the United States, and was a candidate for mayor of Chicago. One of Amzi B. Cary's sons, Frank, is now a noted surgeon of Chicago.
After coming to California Talcott P. Cary was married to Miss Elizabeth McGee, who was born in Virginia and who, on the maternal side, was descended from the Lee family so noted in Virginia public life and of which General Robert E. Lee was a member. The McGees were frontiersmen and pioneers, moving west- ward in advance of civilization and settling in Kentucky, Texas and California, crossing the plains, by way of the old Santa Fe trail, in 1850. Members of the family settled first at Santa Barbara, but later went to Tuolumne county and en- gaged in mining. Mrs. Cary died in San Leandro, at the age of sixty-nine years. To Talcott P. and Elizabeth Cary were born three children, namely: Lucy C., who is the widow of Austin Walrath, and resides at 706 Estudillo avenue, San Leandro; Maggio, who is the wife of E. C. Perkins, of Oakland, California; and Amzi B.
Amzi B. Cary was reared at Knight's Ferry to the age of nine, and obtained his education in the public schools of Knight's Ferry, Modesto and San Leandro, the Oakland high school, and at Hopkins Academy, in Oakland. At the latter insti- tution he first met Charles H. Hale, with whom he has been associated in business for a third of a century. For several years after leaving school Mr. Cary handled cattle and sheep at Knight's Ferry, raising great heards of Hereford cattle and large droves of Merino sheep. He prospered in that line and bought his father's stock farm there, to which he added by subsequent purchase until he owned twelve thousand acres of land. In 1895 he sold his farm and live stock interests and be- came one of the organizers of the Bank of San Leandro and, a few years later, of the National Bank of San Leandro, with both of which institutions he remained actively identified until their merger into the American Trust Company in 1924, acting as president for the last nine years of that period. Since that date he has been at the head of the San Leandro Branch of the American Trust Company.
On September 18, 1889, in Alameda, California, Mr. Cary was united in mar- riage to Miss Bessie E. Gibbons, a daughter of the late Professor Alexander Gib- bons, who was a graduate in both medicine and theology, and became the president of the College of the Pacific at San Jose, which is now located at Stockton. To Mr. and Mrs. Cary were born four children: Lois, who died at the age of seventeen years ; Dorothy, who died in infancy; Ruth and Lucy, twins, the former a graduate of the State Teachers College at San Jose, while the later is a graduate of Leland Stanford University and is the wife of Max Cochrell, who is a student in the law school of the University of Colorado.
Politically Mr. Cary has always been an active supporter of the republican party and has served as a member of the county central committee and the state cen- tral committee of that party. He has never been a candidate for public office, but has been influential in the political affairs of his section of the state. He is a member of Eden Lodge, No. 113, A. F. & A. M., of which he is a past master ; San Leandro Chapter, R. A. M., and Oakland Council, R. & S. M. Mrs. Cary is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of which denomination her father was a minister.
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The family lives in an attractive home at 730 Estudillo avenue, built by Mr. Cary in 1889, where the spirit of hospitality and good cheer has always reigned. While his individual affairs have made heavy demands on his time. Mr. Cary has never lost sight of his obligations to his community and has given his earnest support to all measures calculated to better the public welfare or advance the city's interests along material, civic or moral lines. Owing to his successful business career, his probity of character, his genuine worth and his kindly and genial manner, he com- mands to a marked degree the confidence and esteem of his fellowmen and is re- garded as one of the representative citizens of San Leandro.
ELLIOTT JOHNSON
A prominent member of the Alameda county bar, and one of the public-spirited and influential men of Oakland, Elliott Johnson has gained recognition as one of the representative citizens of his community. He was born in Oakland on the 17th of November, 1889, and is a son of James A. and Cecelia M. Johnson. The father, who was one of the pioneer members of the legal profession in this sec- tion of the state, having been a practicing attorney in Oakland for forty-seven years, died in December, 1927.
After graduating from high school, Elliott Johnson entered the University of California, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1912. He next became a student in the Hastings Law School, in San Francisco and won the Bachelor of Law degree in 1914. He was admitted to the bar and has since been actively engaged in practice in Oakland and San Francisco, in partnership with George K. Ford and M. M. Bourquin. He has gained a wide reputation as a successful trial lawyer and a sound and reliable office counselor.
Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Hope Mathews, who was born and reared in this state, and they are the parents of four children. He gives his poli- tical support to the republican party. In Masonry he has taken the Scottish Rite degrees and is a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Athenian Nile Club, the Olympic Club of San Fran- cisco, the Athens Athletic Club and the California State Bar Association. His professional record and his public-spirited interest in his community, have gained for him the respect and the good will of his fellowmen throughout Alameda county.
OLAF RIECHEL
Cement has taken its rightful place high in the list of the leading building materials and is now practically indispensable in the construction of modern business blocks and residences. One of the leading cement contracting firms in the East Bay district is that of Riechel & Bredhoff. The senior member, Olaf Riechel, was born in Chicago, Illinois, February 21, 1878, and received his early education in the schools of that city. When twelve years of age he accompanied his parents on
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their removal to Alameda, California, and in the public schools of this city com- pleted his studies. When seventeen years of age he went to work for Powell Brothers, with whom he learned the trade of cement working. He was promoted to the position of foreman and eventually became superintendent of construction, having in charge the erection of the Orpheum Theater building and other important business structures, as well as large apartment houses and fine residences. He remained with that firm for twenty years and in 1918, formed a partnership with H. G. Bredhoff, under the firm name of Riechel & Bredhoff, and engaged in the cement contracting business. They are doing a large business in their line, particu- larly as subcontractors, besides which they have laid many miles of cement walks and curbs in the East Bay cities. They did the cement work on the Heald Business College building, the Lynn building and the Barber block, as well as apartment houses and homes, and also erected the cement walls around the Pacific Gas and Electric plant on Thirty-first street, Oakland. They have likewise been very scu- cessful in building and selling homes.
H. G. Bredhoff was born in San Francisco, California, on the 8th of March, 1888, and received his educational training in the public schools of Alameda and Oakland. On leaving school he learned the trade of cement worker and was em- ployed on the construction of the old Realty Syndicate building in Oakland. He was with Powel Brothers for sixteen years, leaving the employ of that firm to enter into business with Mr. Riechel. He is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
PHILIP M. FISHER
Philip M. Fisher, born in Berlin, Pennsylvania, June 1, 1852 and settling in Alameda county, May 4, 1877, for fifty years has been one of California's most prominent educators, serving as teacher, principal, Alameda county superintendent of schools, editor and proprietor of the State Educational Journal, secretary of the senate committee on education and public morals, State Institute conductor, member of the Alameda county board of education, member of the board of trus- tees of the San Francisco State Normal school, and initiator of state legislation per- taining to teachers' annuities, tenure, union district high schools. With his efforts ever directed toward the welfare of both teacher and child, and standing for the schools as an instrument of the people rather than an organization purely for the advancement of educators as a professional body, he is one of California's most beloved public men, and one whose advice is sought on educational matters through- out the state.
Mr. Fisher's parents came from Germany as bride and groom in 1834, settling in Berlin, Pennsylvania. The father was German with a Holland strain, the mother German with a Normandy strain. The grandfathers on the Fisher side had been schoolmasters in the Rhineland country for three hundred years. Mr. Fisher's par- ents had nine sons and three daughters. Of the daughters, one died of black fever while a missionary in the Congo. Of the sons, eight taught school in their earlier careers, one became a country official and newspaper editor, two became superin- tendents of schools, two doctors of divinity, preaching in both German and English
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in prominent Pennsylvania cities.
Mr. Fisher himself, next to the youngest of the twelve children, began teaching in Pennsylvania at the age of fourteen, learned a trade, paid his own way through Mt. Union College, Ohio, and shortly after came to California.
His first educational work in Alameda county began when he taught in the Sunol school. Here he remained until January, 1880, when he was elected principal of the school at Washington Corners, now Irvington. From this position, in 1882, he was elected county superintendent of schools of Alameda county ; was reelected in 1886, serving until January 1, 1891. During the 1891 state legislature session he served as secretary of the senate committee on education and public morals, under Hon. Guy C. Earl, chairman. In the sessions of 1893 and 1895 he served in a similar capacity.
During the period from July, 1891, to July, 1896, Mr. Fisher also was proprie- tor and editor of the Pacific Educational Journal, and in the same period he likewise was a conductor of teachers' institutes, in which capacity he directed institutes in fifty-five counties of the state from Del Norte and Modoc to San Diego. In the summer of 1891 he maintained a Summer Training School for teachers at Coro- nado. In 1895 at the republican state convention he was candidate for state super- intendent of public instruction, being the middle man of three and failing because of geographical distribution of political offices insisted upon by "practical politics."
In July, 1896, he was elected to the Oakland school department and assigned to the newly created Central Grammar at 12th and Market streets. This position he held through various stages of the school's growth from Central Grammar to Central high school, Polytechnic high, Manual Training and Commercial high, and its final change to Technical high and the new building at 42nd street and Broad- way. Throughout the development of this school Mr. Fisher served for twenty- eight years as head and directing mind, being absent from the school only two half days during the period.
He was named principal emeritus in 1924, and appointed to the position of director of academic studies in all the senior high schools of the Oakland system, a position he now holds. At the time of writing he holds the record in California for length of service in educational work,-fifty-one years.
During this half century of work, Mr. Fisher was ever actively associated with school legislation. He has been president of the Oakland Teachers Association, and of the California High School Principals Association. In the '90s he represented his fellow county superintendents in an "Omnibus Bill" in which provisions of the school law were harmonized and simplified with increased financial aid provided. He was also author of the bill providing for the creation of the union district high schools in this state, a matter in which he collaborated with Mrs. May Cheney and the late Professor William Carey Jones of the University of California. This bill has been pronounced one of the most important educational measures in the state-under it, and sponsored in legislature by Assemblyman Frank Farrett of Livermore, the Livermore section was organized as District No. 1.
In Mr. Fisher's busy career, he also found time to take a law course at Hastings Law School in San Francisco and many courses at the State University form which he holds a Master's degree.
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