USA > California > Alameda County > History of Alameda County, California. Volume II > Part 44
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Mr. Orra took an active interest in the welfare of the community from the time he took up his residence here and was a leader in various movements for the bettermen of the locality, being particularly solicitous as to the schools, advocating the best educational facilities. When he moved to Fifty-fifth avenue he took an active part in organizing the Melrose sanitary district and in securing transportation for for the people of East Oakland. He was a man of clear-headed judgment, progres- sive views and energetic methods, did well whatever he undertook, and was held in high esteem by everyone who knew him, for he was unselfish and indefatigable in his efforts for the general good.
To Mr. and Mrs. Orra were born two children, Marie Rosalie and Camille Frank. Marie Rosalie became the wife of Alfred Seyden, who has been a member of the police department of Oakland for the past eighteen years and is now serving as sergeant-at-arms of the city council. He was born in San Francisco and is a son of John Henry Seyden, who came across the plains to this state in 1848. He took an active part in the early affairs of the state, having been a member of the Vigilantes. For a number of years he was in the mines of Calaveras county, but later engaged in the grocery business in what is now known as Chinatown, in San Francisco. He became a member of the police department of that city and was prominent in political affairs, frequently having been a delegate to state conventions. In his later years he made his home in Hays Valley, where his death occurred at the age of eighty years. Alfred Seyden has been a resident of Oakland since 1902 and his excellent record in the public safety service has won for him a high place in public regard. Mr. Orra was a stanch republican in his political views, and was a member of the Ancient United Order of Druids and the Improved Order of Red Men. Kindly and affable in manner, he was widely known throughout his section of the city and no resident of this community had more warm and loyal friends than did he.
MRS. ESTHER REYNOLDS TAYLOR
The Glen Taylor School, at Alameda, has long been recognized as one of the distinctive educational institutions of central California, and through its founder and principal, Esther Reynolds Taylor, has rendered invaluable service to her state. Its twenty-five years of history has been a record of earnest, able and well directed effort, affording the highest type of training in the development of body, mind and character, and because of her outstanding success Mrs. Taylor holds an enviable place in the ranks of the successful educators of the state. Mrs. Taylor is a native of Illinois, in which state she was reared and educated, attending Rockford College and La Salle University. In 1886 she came to Oakland, Cali- fornia, and in 1902 established the Glen Taylor School, of which she has been the head continuously since. This well known school is for boys and girls and the course of study embraces the grades from pre-primary to and including the second year of high school. First established as a kindergarten, its educationl pro- gram was enlarged two years later and through the subsequent years it has enjoyed a well merited popularity, two generations of some families having attended here.
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The instruction includes music, French, dancing, physical training, swimming, row- ing and other desirable subjects, the predominating aim of the school being the development of its students into well rounded young men and women, mentally and physically. The classes are small, so that each pupil receives individual instruc- tion during the formative period of life. The delightful situation of the school on the bay shore, with beautiful natural surroundings; its splendid equipment and a strong and well-selected faculty, all combine to afford unusually favorable opportunity for the proper education of those so fortunate as to be admitted to this school. The school maintains a summer lodge on Lake Orindor and a scout master looks after the boys during their outing periods. Mrs. Taylor has devoted herself closely to the school, in the successful record of which she takes a justifi- able pride, and her life work has received recognition throughout the community. She is president of the Alameda Business and Professional Women's Club and commands the respect and admiration of all who know her.
NAT LENA
Nat Lena, of Alameda, deserves much credit for reaching the splendid position which he now occupies in business circles, for he began his career in this country without money or influential friends and through capability, gradually forged ahead despite obstacles and discouragements and is now one of the successful men of his community. Mr. Lena was born on a farm near Lucca, Italy, on the 21st of December, 1885, and is a son of Barto and Anena Lena. He had but limited opportunity for a school education, for, at the age of eight years he was following the plow on the home farm. At the age of ten years he was taking contracts for farm plowing, and was working from three o'clock in the morning until nine o'clock at night. He started to do odd jobs on his father's farm in Italy when very young and when about seven years of age began looking after the stock on the farm. One day his father sent him to hunt the cows and drive them home for milking. He became lost in the forest and wandered about over the hills for two weeks, at the end of which time he met a man who took him home to his parents.
In 1902 Mr. Lena emigrated to the United States, landing at New York, and there obtained work in a laundry and as a dish washer in a restaurant. Dur- ing this period he was endeavoring to make up for his previous lack of education by attending night school in New York. In the hope of bettering his condition he went to West Virginia where, for a few years, he worked in coal mines, but de- cided to return to New York. Not having money for carfare, he walked from West Virginia to New York, working his way as he went, and made the trip in thirty-six days. He now turned his attention to the cement industry, being em- ployed in carrying buckets of cement used in the construction of large sky scrapers. From New York Mr. Lena went to Ohio, where he obtained work in drilling railroad tunnels, and from there went to St. Louis, Missouri, where he was em- ployed as a cement worker on the world's fair grounds. He arrived in San Fran- cisco, California, March 5, 1907, with a cash capital of seven dollars and fifty cents, and was fortunate in quickly finding employment with the Oakland Con-
NAT LENA
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ยท crete Company. While on that job he worked on the construction of the city hall, the Bank of Italy building on Eleventh street, and other important buildings, and then, coming to Alameda, became a foreman for A. LaPlant, with whom he re- mained for six years. In 1914 Mr. Lena started in business on his own account, under the name of N. Lena, and has been very successful. He has done a large amount of contracting throughout this section of the county, among the buildings erected by him being the Alta Bates sanitarium, the Oakland-Scavanger building, Cochran & Celli garage Oakland, the buildings on the Fairmede Golf Club grounds, the Jewish synagogue in Alameda, and a number of buildings in Burlingame and Walnut Creek. Thorough and painstaking in everything he does, the high quality of his work has been his best recommendation and he is regarded as a trustworthy and dependable man in all of his engagements. When he started in business for himself in Alameda he began in a small way. All concrete at that time was mixed on boards with a shovel, and a wheelbarrow was used to transport it to the con- crete forms. The people of Alameda can well remember Nat Lena and his start in the cement contracting business but he laid a fine foundation for his future en- terprise, and today he ranks as one of the largest and best known cement contrac- tors in the Bay cities, while his equipment is modern and up-to-date in his line.
Mr. Lena is a member of the board of directors of the Bank of Italy in Ala- meda. Fraternally he is identified with Speranza Lodge, No. 219, A. F. & A. M .; Oakland Consistory, A. A. S. R., Aahmes Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S .; is treasurer of the Foresters of America and belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the Druids, the Foresters of America, the Alameda Rotary Club and the Chamber of Com- merce. He was made a citizen of this country in 1912 and has loyally upheld its institutions and best interests. He is one of the prominent members of the Cheese- rollers Club of San Francisco, an Italian organization, in which the members play a game similar to the American game of bowling, excepting that they use balls of cheese instead of wooden balls. Mr. Lena is an expert player and has won a number of prizes at this game. He is a man of high business ideals, always giving a fair deal, and among his stanchest friends are those who have done business with him. He has shown a keen interest in the progress and welfare of his community and is well worthy the respect and confidence which are accorded him by his fellowmen.
FRANK GARATTI
Honor is due the individual who, beginning his active career a poor boy in a strange land and amid unfamiliar surroundings, eventually, through his determined and persistent efforts, forges ahead and reaches a position of independence, in- fluence and honor among his fellowmen. Such is the record of Frank Garatti, of Pleasanton, who is now numbered among his community's prosperous and respected citizens. He is a native of Italy, born on the 26th of August, 1879, and was there reared and educated. In 1895 at the age of sixteen years, he emigrated to the United States alone, coming direct to Pleasanton and here secured employment with the Remillard Brick Company, one of the pioneer industries of this locality, with which he remained eight years. He ran a boarding house for four years, and then
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started a winery, buying grapes and making wine. Later he bought land and planted a vineyard, most of his grapes being of the black variety, and he has added to his acreage as he has prospered until now he has two hundred and fifty acres in cultivation, being the leading grape grower of the valley. He produces five hundred and fifty tons of grapes annually, which he ships in carload lots to the eastern market. Mr. Garatti has realized splendid success in this line of business and has wisely invested in real estate, being the owner of several valuable properties in Oakland, in addition to his holdings in Pleasanton.
Mr. Garatti was united in marriage to Miss Ida Robolli, a native of Italy, from which country she was brought to the United States at the age of three years. They are the parents of three children, Zelda, Florence and Hazel. Mr. Garatti gives his political support to the republican party and has shown a helpful interest in the welfare of his community. He is now serving his third term as a member of the board of town trustees, having charge of the department of streets and buildings. He is a member of the Ancient United Order of Druids, the I. D. E. S. and the U. P. E. C. In all of his affairs he has exercised sagacity and judgment of high order, tireless industry, sound common sense and wise economy standing as the elements which have most largely contributed to his success. He is cordial and friendly in manner and throughout the community in which he lives he com- mands the good will and regard of his fellowmen.
JOSEPH DIEVES
The East Bay district of Alameda county is indebted to Germany for many of its best citizens, who have contributed in very large measure to the development and prosperity of their respective communities. Of this number was the late Joseph Dieves, who indicated his faith in the future possibilities of Oakland by making large investments in real estate here, and later developments abundantly proved the accuracy of his judgment. The year 1853 witnessed his arrival in California. His birth occurred at Heimetzheim on the Rhine, Germany, August 24, 1816, and he there received his educational training in the public schools. At an early age he was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker, and followed that trade in his native land until twenty-five years of age when he left home and spent three years in acquiring an added knowledge of his trade through practical experience in Belgium, France and Holland. He then returned home but in 1847 came to the new world settling first in Boston, Massachusetts. A year later he removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, remaining a resident of that city until 1853 when he came to California by way of the Isthums route. After three months spent in Sonora he came to Alameda county, locating in Oakland where he was employed at the car- penter's trade for a time. He then went to San Leandro where he purchased five acres of land on which he built the Eagle Hotel, the first public house in that section of the county. In 1861 he went into the country and opened a road house on the old stage road to Stockton and in these ventures success attended his efforts but desiring a larger field of operation he built the Globe Hotel in San Francisco. After conducting it for a time he leased the Cosmopolitan Hotel at the corner of
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Seventh street and Broadway in Oakland and conducted this until 1868 when he sold to J. J. Hannifin and returned to his native land for a visit. On again coming to California he acquired an interest in the Oakland brewery, remaining a partner in that enterprise until his death, which occurred August 9, 1889. Through the pioneer period he had assisted in the material development and upbuilding of the region and the value of his labors in this section was widely recognized and appreciated.
In 1846 Joseph Dieves was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Gette, also a native of Germany, who died in 1892, at the age of sixty-seven years. They were parents of two children, Joseph Peter and Mary A., who in 1868 became the wife of I. Surryhue and died July 2, 1903. They have an adopted daughter Gertrude M., who became the wife of Thomas Bibber.
Joseph Peter Dieves was born at Cologne, Germany, January 2, 1847, but was only eight years of age when his father Joseph Dieves, established his family in the home on the San Leandro road near San Leandro. Thereafter he was closely identified with Alameda county and for many years ranked as one of her most popular citizens especially among the sporting fraternity. He became the owner of the Three Mile House on the San Leandro road now East Fourteenth street, having there five acres with picnic grounds, race track and other features. This was the rendezous of the East Bay sporting fraternity and the colored pugilist, the late Peter Jackson trained there for all of his contests on the coast and was backed financially by Joseph P. Dieves. His father, who had amased a fortune in connection with the Oakland Brewery, started him in business but Joseph P. Dieves showed marked capability in directing and conducting his affairs. The Three Mile House became famous for its splendid meals while its cigars, wines and liquors were unsurpassed. It was regarded as the greatest treat that could be extended a friend to entertain him at the Three Mile House.
Mr. Dieves was married in Oakland, November 22, 1868, to Rose F. Siegrist, who was a famous acrobat and noted tight rope walker. They became the parents of three children : Joseph A., Charles I., and Adeline M., the wife of J. Parsons, all living in Alameda county. The mother's death occurred April 28, 1894, when she was forty-seven years of age. On the eighth of October, 1895, in Oakland, Joseph P. Dieves was married to Miss Lilliam Plitt, a daughter of Justis Daniel and Ida Plitt, who were natives of Germany, and became pioneers of Alameda county, where the father was proprietor of Plittsville Park. He was well known as a. popular hotel keeper and pioneer and after selling the popular summer resort, Piedmont Springs, he became the owner and proprietor of the Plittsville Hotel, about a half mile from Three Mile House, owned by Peter Dieves. This he also made an attractive resort to the public. Mrs. Dieves was born in San Jose, April 4, 1874, and was one of three children: Emma, who became the wife of Edward Baldwin, and was killed in a railway accident. and Elizabeth, now the wife of William F. Maxwell of Stockton. The youngest daughter Lillian was reared in Piedmont and attended its schools.
In young manhood Joseph P. Dieves was a member of the Oakland Fire de- partment. His genial manner made him known as "Joe" to all with whom he came in contact. As time went on his popularity increased as his acquaintance broadened, he became a factor in county politics but while he assisted many a
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friend to success in the poltical field he never aspired to office. He seems satisfied to aid his friends and this he did in other ways than in politics. It is said that the needy were never refused aid at his door and in his passing, Alameda county lost a citizen long a prominent figure in the county. He was a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he had in large measure those splendid qualities which make for genial companionship and strong friendship.
To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Dieves was born one son, William J., who is an accountant and resides with his widowed mother in the beautiful residence which they built in 1926 at 581 Kenwyn Road.
THOMAS M. ROBINSON, JR.
Thomas M. Robinson, Jr., manager of the West Berkeley branch of the Amer- ican Trust Company, has long been identified with the banking interests of this section of the state, and has gained a well merited reputation for sound judgment and dependability. He has a splendid war record, has been a loyal and public- spirited citizen and stands deservedly high in the esteem of his fellowmen. Mr. Robinson was born in Oakland, California, on the 7th of November, 1894, and is a son of Thomas M. and Mary J. (Havens) Robinson, who now reside in Denver, Colorado, being respectively seventy and sixty-five years of age. Thomas M. Robinson is well known in the East Bay district, having been an early settler of this locality, and was prominent in local public affairs, having served for a number of years as chief deputy assessor of Alameda county. Upon his election to his present position as head clerk of the Woodmen of the World he moved to Denver, Colorado, where the head office of that order is located. Mrs. Robinson's mother, whose maiden name was Elizabeth Shattuck, was a sister of Francis K. Shattuck, who was the first permanent settler in Berkeley and in whose honor Shattuck avenue, the principal street in this city, was named. He was also the founder of the First National Bank, the earliest financial institution in Berkeley. This bank was taken over by the American Trust Company in 1922, being now known as the Berkeley branch of that institution.
Thomas M. Robinson, Jr., was reared in Oakland and Berkeley, and graduated from the Fremont high school in the former city in 1912. He then entered the Crocker National Bank of San Francisco, beginning as a messenger, but received promotions until he became teller, in which position he was serving when his country entered the World war. He at once enlisted in the Masonic Ambulance Company, which later became officially known as the Three Hundred and Sixty-fourth Ambulance Company, and went into training at Camp Lewis. Being ordered overseas, he sailed from New York, landing at Southampton, and was soon after- ward in the thick of the war activities in France, taking part in the St. Mihiel drive, the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the battles on the Belgium front, and was on the Lys-Scheldt front in Belgium when the Armistice was signed. In 1919 he returned to the United States, arriving at Camp Upton, Long Island, on Easter morning, and was honorably discharged at the Presidio, San Francisco. Mr. Robinson then entered the First National Bank of Berkeley as teller, remaining there until that
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institution was taken over by the American Trust Company, in 1922, when he opened the Elmwood branch of the Mercantile Trust Company. In January, 1927, the American Bank and the Mercantile Trust Company were merged under the name of the American Trust Company, of which these Berkeley banks are now branches, and at that time Mr. Robinson, who was still serving as manager of the Elmwood branch, was transferred as manager to the West Berkeley branch of the American Trust Company, which office he is still filling in a very able and satisfactory manner.
On October 10, 1926, in Applegate, Placer county, California, Mr. Robinson was united in marriage to Miss Ione Graham, who was born in San Francisco and is a daughter of Douglas J. Graham, secretary and treasurer of the Vulcan Iron Works of that city. Mr. Robinson is a Mason and an Elk. He was one of the organizers of Berkeley Post, No. 7, A. L., of which he is the present head, having been elected commander January 1, 1928. He is a director and treasurer of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, belongs to the West Berkeley Manufacturers' Association and was one of the founders and served for three years as president of the College Avenue Commercial Association. He is a member of the Berkeley city planning commission and has given freely of his time and effort to the various movements for the promotion of his community's interests along material and civic lines. He and his wife are earnest members of the First Congregational church of Berkeley, and in the social circles in which they move are deservedly popular.
HENRY FREDERICK EDSON
Henry F. Edson, a member of the well known law firm of Seccombe & Edson, of Oakland, has gained a high place among the members of the Alameda county bar, due to his record as an able and reliable attorney, so that he commands a large and remunerative clientele. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and is a son of Henry F. and Sophia (Wirth) Edson. Henry F. Edson, who died shortly before his son's birth, was in the United States Army for many years. His widow is now living in Berkeley, California.
Henry F. Edson attended the public schools of Muscatine, Iowa, to which place his mother had moved, and, having become an accomplished musician, he took up concert work, traveling extensively over the Southern states until 1911, when he came to California. For awhile he lived in Oakland, but later went to Santa Cruz, where he taught in the high school. Ambitious to enter the legal profession, he took up the study of law in the office of former Lieutenant Governor William T. Jeter, at Santa Cruz, and was admitted to practice at Sacramento, April 1, 1919. He had previously served his country during the World war in the Department of Justice, under the United States Attorney General. Locating in Wyoming, he was engaged in the practice of law for five years, and during that period also became interested in the oil developments of that state. In 1924 Mr. Edson returned to Oakland and engaged in the practice of his profession, in which he has successfully continued to the present time. In April, 1927, he formed a partnership with Charles
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H. Seccombe, under the firm name of Seccombe & Edson, which has proven a strong combination, the firm enjoying an enviable reputation in legal circles.
Mr. Edson was united in marriage to Miss Eleanor Mae McWhorter, a native of this state, and to them have been born three children, Henry F., Jr., Eleanor Mae and Patricia Wirth. In his political views Mr. Edson has always been a stanch democrat, active in his support of that party. He served as chairman of the democratic central committee in Santa Cruz county and during one of President Wilson's campaigns he was chairman of the speakers' bureau in San Francisco. While in Wyoming he was a potent factor in the election of Governor Ross and was the democratic candidate for state senator, being defeated by only fifty votes. He is a member of West Point Lodge, No. 159, A. F. & A. M .; Santa Cruz Chapter, No. 38, R. A. M .; Santa Cruz Council, No. 17, R. & S. M .; Oakland Consistory, No. 2, A. A. S. R .; Aahmes Temples, A. A. O. N. M. S .; and Santa Cruz Chapter, No. 273, O. E. S. He also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Royal Neighbors. He is affiliated with the California State Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Mr. Edson is a prominent figure in the music circles of Oakland and San Francisco, possessing a pleasing, robust tenor voice, and is frequently heard in solo and concert work, being also the director of the Scottish Rite choir. He holds a commission as captain in the Officers Reserve Corps, and is a member of Sainte Claire Court, No. 31, O. of A .; San Francisco Chapter, No. 18, National sojourners club, composed of army, navy and marine officers, who are Masons. He is Grand Commander of the supreme council of Loyal Patriots, and also belongs to the Fifty-Fifty Club. He possesses a genial and cordial manner that makes for friendships, and throughout the wide range of his acquaintance is held in the highest measure of esteem.
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